Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: David Starr

  • Cole Custer Sweeps All Rounds of Xfinity Qualifying for DC Solar 300

    Cole Custer Sweeps All Rounds of Xfinity Qualifying for DC Solar 300

    In the last race of the NASCAR Xfinity Series regular season, Cole Custer sets the pace for the pole position at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the inaugural DC Solar 300 with a speed of 179.295 mph at 30.118 seconds.

    “Yeah, that was one of the craziest qualifying sessions I’ve had,” Custer shared on pit road after winning his fifth career pole in the XFINITY Series.

    Custer was over two-tenths faster than Austin Cindric, who edged out Elliott Sadler and Christopher Bell by thousands of a second between those three drivers. Ross Chastain fought his way to a fifth place effort.

    Shane Lee in his first 1.5 mile oval attempt stayed in the top ten of qualifying all day, and will start in sixth. JR Motorsports teammates Tyler Reddick, Justin Allgaier and Michael Annett will start seventh through ninth respectively. The last two drivers to attempt a qualifying time in the final round were Ryan Sieg and Ryan Reed.

    Jeremy Clements was the only driver in the final round that did not make an attempt to qualify, so his No. 51 Chevrolet will start in the 12th spot in today’s race.

    Last Second Lap gives Custer the Pole in the First Round of Qualifying

    The No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford set the pace early in qualifying with a speed of 177.032 mph in the first round of qualifying. After struggling to get through the inspection line, Custer was able to finally pass inspection, finish their final preparations and cross the start/finish line to begin their qualifying attempt with 40 seconds left on the clock. JR Motorsports teammates Justin Allgaier and Tyler Reddick were close in the top three. Christopher Bell and Elliott Sadler completed the top five, but Shane Lee was the one who held the top spot the longest for his first 1.5 mile race.

    During the first stage of qualifying, many cars failed inspection, mostly in the rear end. A few teams even failed the second time, putting the car chiefs in jeopardy. According to NASCAR’s rulebook, if a team fails inspection three times, the car chief is ejected from the race and facility for the rest of the weekend. Because of this, some teams elected to not to go through inspection. Matt Tifft was one driver that failed inspection for a third time, so his car chief was ejected for the remainder of the weekend.

    David Starr qualified 24th in the first round to be the last driver to move into the second round. He will start in that spot for Saturday's DC Solar 300. Photo by Rachel Myers for Speedway Media.
    David Starr qualified 24th in the first round to be the last driver to move into the second round. He will start in that spot for Saturday’s DC Solar 300. Photo by Rachel Myers for Speedway Media.

    Qualifying was halted for a red flag incident with Garrett Smithley, who collided with the outside wall. In qualifying, any incidents that would usually be a yellow flag in race conditions is a red flag. This halts the timer, but inspections continued to give teams a little extra time. Smithley would have to start at the rear of the field in a backup car.

    David Starr held the last transferable spot going into the second round, as he beat Timmy Hill.

    The drivers that either elected to not attempt a qualifying run or were held up with tech inspection included Daniel Hemric, Stan Mullis, Matt Tifft, Brandon Jones, Ryan Preece and Ryan Truex.

    Custer Sweeps Both Stages of Qualifying

    Cole Custer kept his top spot in the second round of qualifying with a speed of 178.406 mph. Ross Chastain found himself in the top 10 of qualifying for the first time with a runner-up effort. Austin Cindric, Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell completed the top five of the second round.

    Roughly four drivers made some last run attempts to get into the final round of qualifying but fell short of the top 12. The closest of these was Chase Briscoe, but as he took the green flag, the car got loose and was close to hitting the outside wall at the exit of Turn 4. He pulled out onto the track earlier in the session, but after he took the green flag, the car bobbled in the bumps of Turns 1 and 2, so he wisely backed out to get a better attempt later in the session.

    Four drivers in the second stage did not set a qualifying time: Ray Black II, Cole Rouse, BJ McLeod and David Starr.

    Starting Lineup
    Las Vegas Motor Speedway
    Inaugural DC Solar 300

    Pos Car Driver Team Make
    1 00 Cole Custer Code 3 Associates Ford
    2 22 Austin Cindric # MoneyLion Ford
    3 1 Elliott Sadler OneMain Financial Chevrolet
    4 20 Christopher Bell # GameStop Tomb Raider Toyota
    5 42 Ross Chastain DC Solar Chevrolet
    6 3 Shane Lee Childress Vineyards Chevrolet
    7 9 Tyler Reddick # Nationwide Children’s Chevrolet
    8 7 Justin Allgaier BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet
    9 5 Michael Annett Allstate Parts & Service Group Chevrolet
    10 39 Ryan Sieg Big Valley Towing Chevrolet
    11 16 Ryan Reed Drive Down A1C Lilly Diabetes Ford
    12 51 Jeremy Clements RepairableVehicales.com Chevrolet
    13 60 Chase Briscoe Ford
    14 23 Spencer Gallagher Allegiant Chevrolet
    15 36 Alex Labbe # Sticky-stuff.com/JamesCarterAtty Chevrolet
    16 4 Landon Cassill Chevrolet
    17 35 Joey Gase Sparks Chevrolet
    18 38 JJ Yeley RSS Racing Chevrolet
    19 55 Bayley Currey(i) Prevagen Toyota
    20 26 Max Tullman Yurpal.com Ford
    21 8 Ray Black II Chevrolet
    22 78 Cole Rouse Chevrolet
    23 15 BJ McLeod teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet
    24 52 David Starr Chevrolet
    25 66 Timmy Hill CrashClaimsR.Us Dodge
    26 45 Josh Bilicki # Prevagen Toyota
    27 76 Spencer Boyd # Grunt Style Chevrolet
    28 74 Mike Harmon Shadow Warriors Project Chevrolet
    29 40 Chad Finchum # Smithbilt Homes Chevrolet
    30 93 Jeff Green RSS Racing Chevrolet
    31 90 Josh Williams Sleep Well/Star Tron Chevrolet
    32 72 John Jackson CrashClaimsR.Us/JamesCarterAtt Toyota
    33 01 Vinnie Miller # JAS Expedited Trucking Chevrolet
    34 18 Ryan Preece Rheem Toyota
    35 21 Daniel Hemric South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet
    36 19 Brandon Jones Menards Mastercraft Doors Toyota
    37 2 Matt Tifft KCMG Chevrolet
    38 11 Ryan Truex LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet
    39 0 Garrett Smithley FAME-USA.com Chevrolet
    40 13 Stan Mullis OCR Gaz Bar Dodge

     

  • Crunching The Numbers: Dover

    Crunching The Numbers: Dover

    After two weeks at home in Charlotte, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams pack up and head north to Dover, Delaware for a date with “The Monster Mile” at Dover International Speedway. For the first time since the season openers at Daytona in February, all three series will be at the same track for a rare tripleheader weekend.

    Sprint Cup Series – Fed Ex 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks

    The first of two visits for the Sprint Cup Series at Dover will feature the best drivers in the world talking on one of the toughest tracks on the circuit. The one mile concrete oval, which is one of the only two high banked concrete tracks on the schedule in addition to Bristol, is one of the reasons many have labeled this treacherous track as “Bristol on steroids”. This race, the 13th of the season, also marks the halfway point in the 26 race regular season, with 13 races remaining until the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup this fall.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Carl Edwards 17 1 8 12 0 532 15.0 8.3
    Jimmie Johnson 22 7 11 16 3 2318 9.7 8.6
    Jeff Gordon 40 4 15 22 4 2292 11.6 12.0
    Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 1 0 0 0 0 0 17.0 12.0
    Ryan Newman 22 3 6 11 4 842 9.5 12.1
    Mark Martin 53 4 24 32 5 1769 12.3 12.3
    Greg Biffle 21 2 6 10 1 463 11.7 12.4
    Aric Almirola 2 0 0 1 0 0 16.5 12.5
    Matt Kenseth 28 2 13 18 1 746 16.1 12.6
    Clint Bowyer 14 0 1 7 0 34 17.6 13.2

    Who To Watch: The best driver statistically at Dover? That would be none other than Carl Edwards. With his one win, eight top fives, 12 top tens, 532 laps led, and an average finish of 8.3 in 17 races, it’s no surprise that Edwards has earned the nickname of “Concrete Carl” for his prowess on tracks with a concrete surface.

    Right in Edwards tire tracks are the Hendrick Motorsports duo of Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. In 22 starts, Johnson has seven wins, 11 top fives, 16 top tens, three poles, 2318 laps led, and an average finish of 8.6. Gordon has 40 starts, with four wins, 15 top fives, 22 top tens, four poles, 2292 laps led, and an average finish of 12.0.

    Others to keep an eye on include former Dover winners Ryan Newman, with three wins and an average finish of 12.1; Mark Martin, with four wins and an average finish of 12.3; Greg Biffle, with two wins and an average finish of 12.4; and Matt Kenseth, with two wins and an average finish of 12.6.

    Nationwide Series – 5 Hour Energy 200

    Another race weekend and another field full of Cup regulars in the Nationwide Series. This time the Nationwide regulars outnumber the Cup regulars in the top 10 statistically at Dover. Could a Nationwide regular take the checkers on Saturday for the third time this year? The statistics point to that being a good probability.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Brian Vickers 5 1 3 4 0 105 6.6 6.2
    Joey Logano 8 2 4 5 2 465 4.9 6.5
    Reed Sorenson 11 0 6 10 0 7 12.1 7.2
    Austin Dillon 2 0 0 2 0 0 10.0 8.0
    Ty Dillon 1 0 0 1 0 0 3.0 8.0
    Kyle Busch 15 3 7 10 3 853 10.2 11.6
    Parker Kligerman 1 0 0 0 0 0 12.0 12.0
    Kasey Kahne 13 0 3 7 1 66 10.2 12.1
    Brian Scott 6 0 1 3 0 0 16.8 12.2
    Elliott Sadler 10 0 1 5 1 11 12.7 13.0

    Who To Watch: Brian Vickers heads up the list as the best statistically at Dover with one win, three top fives, four top tens, 105 laps led, and 6.2 average finish in five starts. The only Cup regular in the top five statistically at Dover, Joey Logano, has two wins, four top fives, five top tens, two poles, 465 laps led, and an average finish of 6.5 in eight starts. Reed Sorenson has six top fives, 10 top tens, seven laps led and an average finish of 7.2 in 11 starts. Next up are the Dillon brothers, Austin and Ty, who both have average finishes of 8.0 in a combined three starts.

    The majority of the season has seen Kyle Busch and his Joe Gibbs Racing team dominating and winning race after race. If anyone wants to make it to Victory Lane, they will have to go through Busch, who has three wins, seven top fives, 10 top tens, three poles, 853 laps led, and an average finish of 11.6 in 15 races. Joe Gibbs Racing has won four of the last six Nationwide Series races at Dover and with a win this weekend, Busch would become the series wins leader at Dover, setting yet another record in the process.

    Camping World Truck Series – Lucas Oil 200

    The Dover tripleheader weekend kicks off with the Camping World Truck Series hitting the track for their race on Friday afternoon. This race has been known to produce more first time winners and rookie winners than repeat winners. If this continues to hold true, we could see one of the series many young guns make their first trip to Victory Lane.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Ty Dillon 1 0 0 1 0 0 6.0 6.0
    Joey Coulter 2 0 0 1 0 0 3.5 8.5
    David Starr 11 0 3 7 1 17 15.1 9.1
    James Buescher 4 0 1 3 0 0 14.0 10.2
    Kyle Busch 7 2 2 4 1 711 4.1 10.9
    Ron Hornaday, Jr. 8 1 3 5 1 275 5.8 11.1
    Justin Lofton 3 0 1 2 0 22 15.7 12.7
    Johnny Sauter 4 0 1 1 0 0 4.5 13.8
    Matt Crafton 12 0 2 7 0 16 17.5 13.8
    Timothy Peters 6 0 0 2 0 1 14.0 14.7

    Who To Watch: Both Kyle Busch, who will be attempting the tripleheader by running in all three series, and Ron Hornaday, Jr. are the only winners of this race in the field for Friday’s race. Others to keep an eye on that have had good runs at the track, but no wins include: Ty Dillon, who finished sixth in his lone start at the track last year; Joey Coulter, who has an average finish of 8.5 in two starts; David Starr, with an average finish of 9.1 in 11 starts; and series champion James Buescher, who has an average finish of 10.2 in four starts.

  • NASCAR BTS: Jason Trinchere’s Journey From Racer to Penske Engineer

    NASCAR BTS: Jason Trinchere’s Journey From Racer to Penske Engineer

    Many racers realize along the way that another career may be awaiting them other than being behind the wheel.  This week’s edition of NASCAR BTS goes behind the scenes with Jason Trinchere to learn more about his journey from short-track racer to design engineer at Penske Racing.

    Trinchere started his racing journey early, in fact from the time of his birth. And, as with so many racers, his father also was involved in the sport.

    “Ever since the time I was born, there was a race car or a go kart in our garage,” Trinchere said. “My dad started racing when he was in high school.”

    “When I was born, he stopped driving and became a car owner,” Trinchere continued. “So, he always had cars around the whole time I was growing up.”

    Trinchere caught the racing bug from his father and set off in go karts. Initially it was just for fun but the competition soon drew him in, hook, line and sinker.

    “When I was about ten or eleven years old, he sold his modified team and we started racing go karts,” Trinchere said. “It was mainly just for fun but then we started racing competitively.”

    “We had fun, raced dirt and had three championships,” Trinchere continued. “Then we started racing in the dirt asphalt division in the early ‘90s.”

    “So, I started driving those and that was the whole time I was in high school,” Trinchere said. “I didn’t even have my driver’s license when I started racing.”

    Although he loved being behind the wheel of a race car, Trinchere also enjoyed the mechanical and engineering side of the sport.

    “My dad was an auto mechanic so I learned that side of the business from him,” Trinchere said. “When I was in high school, I took machine shop in Vo Tech so I could make a lot of the components for our race cars.”

    “I wasn’t’ too sure of what I wanted to do and I was thinking of coming to the NASCAR Tech School but was concerned it was more for people not involved in racing,” Trinchere continued. “My dad talked me into studying engineering since I was the kid sitting at home playing with erector sets all the time.”

    After high school graduation, Trinchere had to make a critical decision about going to college and also what to do about his racing career. Ironically, he initially wanted to follow the path of his now team owner at Penske Racing.

    “When I came out of school, I wanted to go to Lehigh to follow in the footsteps of Roger Penske but the reality of how much college costs set in,” Trinchere said. “So, I went to community college to do my electives and take their associates classes in engineering.”

    “Then I transferred to Penn State Harrisburg campus,” Trinchere continued. “It was far enough to experience college life but close enough to home to go there and race.”

    Trinchere also happened to find his soul mate in the racing business.

    “When I went to college, I didn’t have the time to race in one place, so I started going to upstate New York and raced at Oswego and all different kinds of tracks,” Trinchere said. “At that time, when I was finishing college, my girlfriend (who is my wife now) was also involved in racing as her dad raced at Selinsgrove Speedway in Pennsylvania.”

    “So, imagine that, I met my wife through racing as well.”

    Trinchere and his wife decided that they needed to consider heading south to Charlotte and the heart of racing country to make both of their dreams come true.

    “I got a phone call from Dave McCarty, who at that time was the crew chief at Spears Motorsports for David Starr,” Trinchere said. “So, I followed up on that opportunity and he liked the fact that I was a racer with a degree in engineering.”

    “Being a Truck team, they didn’t want to hire a Cup engineer because a kid coming out of college was much cheaper,” Trinchere continued with a chuckle. “We moved down, bought a house (the same one we are living in now) and went racing.”

    “I worked at Spears and the next year Aric Almirola came in as the driver,” Trinchere continued. “I learned a lot there with David Starr, Aric Almirola and Dennis Setzer.”

    “It was a very small team with about twelve employees,” Trinchere said. “It was a neat opportunity to go to a little team and run against the big boys and do well.”

    “That made me feel good.”

    Trinchere left Spears to go to CJN Racing with Jason Keller as the driver. But shortly thereafter, he headed to DEI where he stayed even through the merger with Chip Ganassi Racing.

    “I went to DEI to be the Nationwide engineer when they ran a car, which was only part-time,” Trinchere said. “We had Trevor Bayne and Jesus Hernandez as the drivers.”

    “I was also support engineer for the 01 Cup car when Regan Smith was driving it,” Trinchere continued. “Then I switched over to Martin Truex’s car.”

    “It was a very busy year, going to a third of the Cup races and the rest of the East races.”

    “At the end of the season, there were talks and then the merger with Chip Ganassi occurred,” Trinchere said. “Before Homestead they came around and told us what time the meeting was, all but me.”

    “I didn’t know if that was good or bad,” Trinchere continued. “But I learned that people with meetings were let go and people who didn’t have a meeting were being kept.”

    “That was a little bit of a hard time.”

    Post-merger, Trinchere worked for both the 1 and 42 teams.

    “It worked out pretty well working for Jamie McMurray and Juan Pablo Montoya,” Trinchere said. “I did a program called ‘Dart Fish’ at the track where I would record qualifying runs.”

    “I did that for a year and at the end of the season, the engineering manager asked if I could do anything else to help the team and I was moved over to the design engineering team,” Trinchere continued. “It was fun to have the direct impact of what happened at the track.”

    Trinchere had a very eventful New Year, however, as he was offered and accepted a job at Penske Racing.

    “Within three days of sending my resume in, I had an interview,” Trinchere said. “I’m doing the same stuff as a design engineer.”

    “Their group is a little larger and uses different software but I am working with the 2 and 22, “Trinchere continued. “It’s been exciting but scary changing jobs, especially after five years.”

    “So, this is the next chapter for me.”

  • Rockingham Speedway Hosts Toyota Test Session

    Rockingham Speedway Hosts Toyota Test Session

    [media-credit name=”Rockingham Speedway” align=”alignright” width=”265″][/media-credit]Monday morning I was at home doing the usual housework when all of a sudden it hit me. Why am I in the house on such a beautiful day when I could be at ‘The Rock’? So I ditched the chores, hopped in my car and drove out to Rockingham Speedway.

    I arrived around 2:30 pm and decided to check in at the office. One of the best parts of the day was the opportunity to spend a few minutes with Andy Hillenburg. His vision and perseverance combined to bring NASCAR back to this historic track.

    After parking my car I walked to the grandstands, took my seat and joined the others who were there to watch the testing session. As I sat and watched, I couldn’t help but smile. ‘The Rock’ is an integral part of NASCAR history and a sense of awe immediately enveloped me.

    While I was thinking about all that had come before, a father and son walked past me and caught my eye. I listened as the father patiently explained to his son what was happening.  The young boy gazed into his father’s eyes, determined not to miss a single word.

    That’s when it dawned on me. Maybe I had been looking at this all wrong. Maybe it’s not the past that’s important but the new memories that this young boy and others like him will make when NASCAR returns to ‘The Rock’.

    That reunion will take place when Rockingham Speedway hosts the Camping World Truck Series on April 15, 2012. Tickets are available for pre-order now at www.rockinghamspeedway.com.
    Drivers who participated in the test session:

    NASCAR Sprint Cup – Denny Hamlin
    NASCAR Nationwide – Steve Wallace, Michael Annett, Darrell Wallace Jr.
    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – Kyle Busch, Brian Ickler, Timothy Peters, David Starr

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Charlotte Coca Cola 600

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Charlotte Coca Cola 600

    After exceptionally exciting finishes in the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500 earlier in the day, all signs pointed to a stellar finish in one of NASCAR’s biggest races of the season. Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”260″][/media-credit]Surprising: With several of the sport’s biggest races won by first-timers this season, including Trevor Bayne’s story book win at the Daytona 500 and Regan Smith’s unpredicted win at Darlington, it was a bit surprising that no first time winner stood in Victory Lane after the Coke 600.

    One driver, however, came mighty close. David Ragan, who had snagged the Showdown win to make it into the All-Star Race the weekend before, almost pulled off his own Cinderella-like story, falling short of the win by just one position.

    Ragan, in his No. 6 UPS “We Love Logistics” Ford, finished second, scoring his highest career finish in the Coca Cola 600.

    “We had a strong car all day,” Ragan said. “That’s a finish that we deserved, but we just went about doing it the hard way.”

    Not Surprising:  After all those laps and all those miles, it was not surprising to see the Coca Cola 600 come down to a green, white checkered finish. And it was equally unsurprising to see one driver that is becoming well-known for his stealth finishes to come from nowhere and snag another victory.

    Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Armed Forces Tribute Chevrolet, did just that to lead the last 400 feet of the race and take the checkered flag for his fifth top 10 and second top five in 21 starts at Charlotte.

    “We were lucky,” Harvick said. “It’s nothing against the race track, I just don’t like racing here. But to be in Victory Lane, it says a lot about this Budweiser team.”

    “This is a huge accomplishment for us,” Harvick continued, admitting that he had struggled with his car and team throughout the race. “This is a hell of a race to win. We’re going to celebrate it like it’s our last one.”

    Surprising:  After leading the race on the final lap, seeing the checkered flag, and then running out of gas, it was surprising how positive Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was after the race. Junior limped to the finish line on fumes to finish seventh in his No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet.

    Echoing his ever upbeat crew chief Steve Letarte, Earnhardt, Jr. said, “I’m disappointed we didn’t win, but if we would’ve won, it would have been a gift.”

    “We ran good tonight,” Junior continued. “I’m proud.”

    Not Surprising: In contrast to the positive, proud vibes in the Dale Jr. camp, it was not surprising that there was a whole lot of swearing going on in his teammate Jimmie Johnson’s camp. In fact, crew chief Chad Knaus dropped the F-bomb on national television when Johnson’s engine expired with just five laps to go in the race.

    This was the first engine failure for Hendrick Motorsports this season and it forced Johnson to a 28th place finish in his No. 48 Lowes Summer Salutes Chevrolet. Johnson also fell one spot, from second to third, in the point standings.

    Surprising:  Although the Coca Cola 600 is the longest race of the season, it was surprising to see the number of engine failures that occurred. In addition to Jimmie Johnson, Jamie McMurray, Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart all experienced engine issues.

    For Jamie McMurray, behind the wheel of the No. 1 Bass Pro Shop/Convoy of Hope for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, this engine failure signified the sixth of the season for the ECR engine builders.

    “It started shaking and one second later, it was ‘boom,’” McMurray said.

    Hamlin, on the other hand, was able to recover after his engine issues, with his No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota team doing a yeoman’s job of changing out the carburetor. Hamlin managed a top ten finish, which boosted him into the top twelve Chase contenders.

    Stewart also suffered engine woes in the waning laps of the race, radioing crew chief Darian Grubb that something was amiss with less than 20 laps to go. Stewart, in his No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, finished 17th, scoring his 10th top-20 finish to date.

    Not Surprising:  In addition to engine woes, it was not surprising that many other teams were plagued with other types of mechanical problems, from overheating to radio problems.

    Greg Biffle, behind the wheel of the No. 16 3M Ford, seemed ready to implode from overheating issues in his car early in the race. Biffle was, however, able to overcome, rallying back to lead laps at the end. Unfortunately, he too succumbed to not having enough gas, having to make a splash and go stop at the end, which relegated him to a 13th place finish.

    Jeff Gordon, piloting the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, also struggled and battled radio issues early in the race. Gordon too looked strong at the end of the show, only to have to pit for gas as well. Gordon finished 20th, falling two positions to 16th in the point standings.

    Surprising:  Serving as a substitute driver for Trevor Bayne and making his Cup debut, it was surprising how well Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. did in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford. Stenhouse, Jr. managed to bring his car home in the 11th position even after having several close encounters with the wall.

    “That was interesting,” Stenhouse, Jr. said. “I hit the wall a couple of times, the caution came back out and it worked great for us.”

    “I’m just glad I got this opportunity.”

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising that after Stenhouse, Jr. and Bayne prayed together before the race, Bayne playfully pushed his friend out of the way and tried to get behind the wheel of his race car. After five weeks of being out of his car due to a mystery illness, Bayne was most certainly chomping at the bit to get back to racing.

    Bayne reinforced that desire by tweeting after the race, “This was by far the hardest weekend to sit back and watch! Can’t wait to be back in action!!”

    Surprising:  In the battle of the Busch brothers, it was surprising that this weekend Kurt Busch prevailed, finishing fourth in his Shell/Pennzoil No. 22 Dodge, while baby brother Kyle took a wild ride through the grass and then another spin, finishing 32nd in his No. 18 M&Ms Toyota.

    “The race was 600 miles and it felt like 800,” Dave Rogers, Busch’s crew chief, said. “Kyle was trying to make something out of nothing and it got away from him. We ended our day a little early.”

    Not Surprising:  Not surprisingly, one driver who never expected to even make the show captured the true spirit of the Memorial Day race weekend. David Starr, behind the wheel of the No. 95 Jordan Truck Sales.com Ford Fusion crashed early in the race, finishing 36th. Yet this is what he had to say.

    “This was a great weekend,” Starr said. “I’m just honored and blessed to be driving this Ford Fusion.”

    “It was awesome out there,” Starr continued. “It was a big honor to race in the Coca Cola 600 even though it ended up like this. I’m really blessed.”