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Tag: Daytona International Speedway

  • The Long Off Season is Finally Over

    The Long Off Season is Finally Over

    It’s almost time. Late in the week and over the weekend, engines will roar at Daytona International Speedway as Speedweeks continues. Of course, it’s a little different this year. It will be the last Speedweeks for Jeff Gordon and the first for Mike Helton with his new position at NASCAR. Carl Edwards will go from Ford to Toyota in Cup for the first time and Elliott Sadler and teammate Darrell Wallace Jr. will move from Toyota to Ford in the Xfinity Series. As much as things stay the same, there are a lot of changes.

    The biggest change is the Sprint Cup car itself, but we won’t know how that will go until the second race of the season at Atlanta since the Daytona car is essentially the same as last year. Qualifying for the front row for the Daytona 500 will follow the procedure used at the rest of the tracks last year for the first time. The two qualifying races on Feb. 19 will determine the rest of the field in what has to be the most complicated formula in racing. We love it because they’re finally racing again. One has to wonder if any of the usual suspects will not make the field much like Ricky Stenhouse Jr. at Talladega last year. We will soon know.

    Will Kevin Harvick continue to top the speed charts? Will the change of scenery lift Carl Edwards to the heights that rocketed Matt Kenseth to the most wins in 2013? Will Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski continue to win multiple races? Will Roush Fenway Racing make a comeback or will they continue to flounder? Will Tony Stewart rebound to his usual winning ways? Can Ryan Newman play the consistency card once again and contend again? Will Jimmie Johnson become dominant again and win his seventh title or will Jeff Gordon, in a final run, beat him out? This guy is getting excited already, and it hasn’t even started yet.

    The first real race of the season is on Saturday night in the Sprint Unlimited, which has invited most of the world to race in the short race that once was a race for pole winners. No more. Almost everyone is in the pool, except for teams who just don’t have the finances to run one more race at Daytona. That said, from Friday’s practice until the Great American Race (thank you Ken Squier for making that popular) on Sunday, Feb. 22, every race fan will be glued to the television, and hopefully with gas prices being so low, a few more people will actually show up in the stands. It’s NASCAR season again and this reporter is pumped!

  • NASCAR Schedule for Daytona Friday, Feb. 13 – Sunday, Feb. 15

    NASCAR Schedule for Daytona Friday, Feb. 13 – Sunday, Feb. 15

    The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to racing this week at Daytona International Speedway with the Sprint Unlimited Saturday evening and Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying on Sunday.

    Friday, Feb. 13

    5:00 p.m. – 5:55 p.m. Sprint Cup Practice for Sprint Unlimited – FOX Sports 1
    6:30 p.m. – 7:25 p.m. Sprint Cup Final Practice for Sprint Unlimited – FOX Sports 1

    Saturday, Feb. 14

    10:30 a.m. – 12:25 p.m. Sprint Cup Practice for DAYTONA 500 – FOX Sports 1
    1:30 p.m. – 3:25 p.m. Sprint Cup Practice for DAYTONA 500 – FOX Sports 2
    8:15 p.m. – Sprint Unlimited (75 Laps, 187.5 Miles) FOX
    11:00 p.m. – NASCAR Victory Lane – FOX Sports 2 – Time approximate

    Sunday, Feb. 15

    1:35 p.m. – Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FOX

    All times Eastern.

    ARCA Racing Series Schedule

    The ARCA Racing Series will also be on track at Daytona for the Lucas Oil 200 Saturday afternoon.

    Thursday, Feb. 12

    4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. – ARCA Practice

    Friday, Feb. 13

    9:30 a. m. – 10:30 a.m. – ARCA Final Practice

    3:30 p.m. – ARCA Group Qualifying

    Saturday, Feb. 14

    4:15 p.m. ARCA Lucas Oil 200 (80 Laps, 200 Miles) FOX Sports 1

    All times Eastern.

     

  • Odds and Ends as the New NASCAR Season Prepares to Crank it Over

    Odds and Ends as the New NASCAR Season Prepares to Crank it Over

    A new season, with a new defending champion, will be soon upon us. Kevin Harvick and the rest of the boys, and girl, will be in Daytona in less than a month to kick things off. According to Jayski, 43 teams have dreams of running full-time in 2015, with more than a dozen seeing drivers with new crew chiefs, and a handful of wheel men changing seats.

    Former Daytona winner Trevor Bayne goes full-time with Roush, returning in Mark Martin’s old No. 6. Sam Hornish Jr. makes a return to Cup driving the Petty No. 9. Carl Edwards moves on to Gibbs and the No. 19. Brian Vickers is out of Waltrip’s No. 55 until he mends from a heart repair. Nineteen-year-old Chase Elliot should get some seat time with Hendrick, while driving for Junior in the minor series. In the trucks, Junior will have soon-to-be 17-year-old Cole Custer running about 10 races. Cole Custer. If that isn’t the best damned name in NASCAR, I don’t know what is.

    Danica Patrick will be back. She will continue to be back regardless as to what she does, or does not do on the track, as long as fans and sponsors love her and pay her way. You could say she is a lot like Dale Earnhardt Jr. in that way, albeit minus the iconic father, the two Daytona 500 wins, five Talladega triumphs, 23 career victories, and seven appearances in the season’s top ten rankings.

    As I mentioned, while Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus continue their most successful racing marriage, others will be in new relationships. Danica, Junior, and Cousin Carl will be amongst those with new crew chiefs. So will Jamie McMurray, Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Paul Menard, Martin Truex Jr. and both Busch brothers. That could prove interesting, especially in the early going.

    Some get going, some get gone, and sometimes somebody is not happy the ways things turned out. As none of us were witness to the alleged altercation between Kurt Busch and his ex, we are left following along the court case. To be honest, as long as the guy is shown not to be a menace to society, as long as what may have happened is all that may have happened, I really do not care. As much as it is serious business for the principles involved, it is nothing more than a sideline event for the rest of us. An outcome to take notice of if we so wish, but not much more.

    It would be nice to owe millions, if only for having the chance to have spent millions in the first place. We try to live within our means, so that means my family is not bogged down in debt. Still, it would be nice to know that if I completely blew it there might be a bank or two willing to forgive millions in loans they gave me. It must be sweet to be in a position to forgive such a loan.

    The NASCAR Hall of Fame has been a white elephant from the beginning, with even its location suspect. It would seem the 25 minute drive from the track in Concord to downtown Charlotte is a trek many are not interested in making. Even the Daytona Experience, rejected as a site for the Hall, closed its doors and it was located right beside that track. I understand it will re-open again next year as the home of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. That is irony. Oh well, all is forgiven, I guess, to the tune of nearly $20 million. Now if they can only attract some paying customers, or the Convention Center there might wind up with tons of space for it to expand.

    It would be nice to say the new season means a change in the seasons, but for those of us in the lands of snow and ice, it does not. At least it gives us an idea what clear pavement, green grass, and shirt sleeves might look like. That, and a return of our favorite drivers, is good enough.

  • Leilani Munter Continues to Share Renewable Energy Message Through Racing

    Leilani Munter Continues to Share Renewable Energy Message Through Racing

    Racer, self-proclaimed vegan hippie chick, and passionate environmentalist Leilani Munter is continuing her efforts to share her renewable energy message through her racing.

    In fact she will do just that at the next ARCA race in Kansas for Venturini Motorsports, in addition to making a special energy stop along the way.

    “I’ll be running Kansas on October 3rd with Venturini Motorsports,” Munter said. “It’s called the Energy Freedom car to address all of the environmental issues that I am passionate about. I think the race will air on Fox Sports 2 at 7 PM on October 3rd.”

    “Prior to the race, I’m going to this really cool town, Greensburg, Kansas,” Muter continued. “They were hit with an F5 tornado and it basically took out the whole town. It was devastating and demolished the whole town.”

    “But they did something really amazing,” Munter said. “They rebuilt the town on 100% renewable energy. The last place that you would expect is that this little tiny town could become an example to the world that you can run completely off of renewables. So, I’m going to sit down with some of the families that lived through that tornado and saw how the renewable energy has changed them. I’m going to document this and talk to the Mayor and we’re just going to produce a short film that we will share on line to tell the story of this amazing town and how they rebuilt. I want to show that Kansas is doing this as part of the race weekend. I think it’s a story that many have not heard. I’m really excited about it and will put that out after the Kansas race.”

    Munter has also been sharing her renewable energy passion by taking electric routes to the race track. In fact, she has taken her new Tesla across the country to the race track to demonstrate just how easy and convenient that mode of transportation really is.

    “I bought my Tesla about a year ago now,” Munter said. “It’s just a wonderful car and I haven’t been to the gas station for a year now. But I’ve also discovered in owning this car how many myths there are about electric cars. One of the many things that people don’t understand is that there is a charging network throughout the country that makes it possible for me to easily do cross country trips.”

    “That’s the purpose of behind why I wanted to drive to Chicagoland Speedway because I wanted people to see and have an example that long electric road trips are possible and they are convenient,” Munter continued. “I was able to stop for 15 minutes, just long enough to get out of your car, use the rest room, have a cup of coffee, walk back to the car and go. And it is a free charge and it is also a very fast charge.”

    “I think one of the myths that people have is that it is not convenient and that you cannot go long distances,” Munter said. “I felt like it was important to do that to show a real time example. I partnered with my friends from the Solution Project, an organization that I joined on the Board of Advisors. Their goal is to push forward with the notion that the US can be using 100% renewable energy by 2050.”

    “The other thing I wanted to bring out with that road trip was to show that one of the problems with gasoline is that a large amount is coming from OPEC, from overseas and oftentimes from countries that don’t like us or countries where there is conflict, which makes gas prices go up,” Munter said. “When you are charging with electricity, there are several advantages. One is that all that money is staying locally in the United States. So, it’s very patriotic to drive an electric car because you are paying money to travel but all of the money stays where domestically. When you fill up with a gallon of gasoline, a large portion of what you are paying is going to OPEC. So, if you don’t want to fund or be part of the problem of spending dollars on foreign oil, then you would want to drive electric. Who in their right mind would argue about keeping money in the United States?”

    While Munter has seen her share of resistance to her renewable energy message in the past, she has definitely seen some changes in recent years, with more understand and embracing of the technology.

    “There are always going to be people that I’m not going to win over,” Munter acknowledged. “I understand that there are those who are resistant to change. I’ve been talking about this for many, many years and there was a great deal of criticism.”

    “But I see that changing now,” Munter continued. “For example at the Daytona race that I ran last year, we actually had the Green Tea Party out there. This is the Tea Party, which is definitely conservative not liberal side of things. They were there because they are fighting for energy independence. They don’t think it is fair that the utilities are trying to stop Americans from putting solar on their homes. They can agree that we as Americans can choose the type of power we want.”

    “That is the most important conversation to have.”

    Munter also acknowledged that her environmental passions have at times negatively impacted her racing passion. But in the end, she has chosen to be true to her convictions and not compromise her strongly-held beliefs.

    “I definitely did make a choice,” Munter said. “There were a few offers that I’ve had in the past to be in the car full-time at higher levels than I am at now. But those companies offering that opportunity to me were not in line with my environmental views.”

    “In essence, I want to work with people that are trying to make the world a better place,” Munter continued. “Ethically I ended up making the decision to walk away from being in the race car full-time and possibly have a full-time career as a driver but possibly selling out in terms of who I was as a person personally.”

    “That was probably a defining moment for me,” Munter said. “The racer in me thought ‘Oh my God, I could be in a car full-time.’ At the end of the day, I couldn’t do it. So, in that respect, the environmental front to my racing because I made that conscious choice did impact my racing career. I did choose to walk away and in some cases, yes it has hurt my racing career because I’ve had less races than I could have.”

    “But I wouldn’t have felt good about it,” Munter continued. “I would have felt badly about not aligning myself with who I want to be and how I want to live.”

    While it may have taken some time for her energy and racing passions to come together, Munter is most hopeful for the remainder of the 2014 racing season, as well as the new ARCA season ahead next year.

    “Hopefully as the world has woken up to our environmental problems, I have definitely seen a lot more people recognize that what I’m doing makes sense,” Munter said. “And so I’m hoping that they are making choices and that I can find companies that understand why I did walk away and want to support the difference I’m trying to make.”

    “Sponsorship is looking pretty good to race in Daytona and things are looking good for me to actually race full-time next year,” Munter said. “I feel like I have more momentum than ever but I will definitely be getting to Daytona in my Tesla.”

    “As long as I’m in a race car, it gives me this amazing ability as a biologist and environmentalist to talk to a huge demographic of people that normally wouldn’t hear this message,” Munter continued. “The race car gives me a voice that amplifies my message to a group that we need to talk to.”

    “I think we are seeing more and more people seeing that this is a good thing.”

  • NASCAR Champions Featuring Richard Petty

    NASCAR Champions Featuring Richard Petty

    Cup Champion: 1964, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1979
    Born: July 2, 1937
    Hometown: Randleman, North Carolina
    Career: 1958 – 1992

    Premier Series Stats:
    Starts: 1185
    Wins: 200
    Poles: 123

    With his tall, slender frame, signature feathered cowboy hat and sunglasses; he is easily one of the most recognizable figures in the racing world. His accomplishments on the track will likely never be equaled and a worthy successor may never be found. There has only been one king in NASCAR and that king is Richard Petty.

    His success in the Sprint Cup Series is unparalleled and includes the most wins (200) and the most poles (123). He is tied with Dale Earnhardt for the most championships (seven) and holds the record for most Daytona 500 wins with seven. In 1967 he set two records with the most wins in a season (27) and the most consecutive wins (10). His 1,185 starts set the bar for the most starts in the series.

    Petty retired from driving in 1992 and assumed the role of car owner with Petty Enterprises. The organization won a total of 268 races before they merged with Gillett Evernham Motorsports in 2009 to form Richard Petty Motorsports. In 2010, Petty was inducted into the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

    With Petty at the helm, Richard Petty Motorsports currently fields two cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with Marcos Ambrose and Aric Almirola and a Nationwide Series team with Dakoda Armstrong.

    Petty’s legacy and influence, however, extend beyond mere statistics. It cannot be truly measured by numbers in a record book but rather is reflected in the lives he has touched.

    In 2003, John Force (16-time NHRA Funny Car champion), was asked what kind of legacy he wanted to leave in drag racing.

    “Hell, that’s an easy one to answer,” he said. “I want to be the guy that signed more autographs for the fans than anyone else. When I was first getting into this sport I watched Richard Petty. I watched the way he treated his fans. He would stand and sign autographs as long as people wanted them. I never saw him refuse to give a fan an autograph. I saw the love that his fans had for him and the way he seemed to really like them. I want to be like Petty except I that I want to sign even more autographs than he has. I want to take care of my fans the way he has.”

    For some fans, it was Petty’s prowess on the track that inspired their allegiance. Jimmy Taylor shared this memory from August 1979 at Michigan International Speedway.

    It was “20 laps to go,” he told me. “Petty is following Baker lap after lap. They take the white flag coming down the back stretch. Baker goes low to block the slingshot. Petty goes high instead, coming off turn four, side by side, screaming to the checkered, Petty wins by four feet! This 13-year-old boy cried like a baby with joy, the second greatest moment of my life besides my child’s birth.”

    For Mike Neff, Senior Writer at Frontstretch.com, it was a chance encounter that left a lasting impression.

    “In 2003 the fall Nationwide race at Charlotte was scheduled to run on Friday night but it was rained out,” he explained. “Saturday morning I packed up the kids and the wife and headed to the track. When we got there we stopped at the restroom for mom and the kids to take a break before we went to our seats. As I waited on them I saw Richard Petty leaning against the wall waiting for Lynda to come out of the restroom as well. I took the opportunity to shake his hand, having never met him before.

    “The family comes out of the restroom and we head down to our cheap seats, three rows up from the track at the flag stand and settle in to watch the race. As the pace laps are going on, who comes to sit directly behind us, in the cheap seats, but Richard Petty. Couldn’t believe he was sitting in such crappy seats.

    “Throughout the race people come by and talk, take pictures, get autographs, tell stories and just get their own little piece of the King. We did get to talk a little about racing during cautions and spent the whole race just being fans. It was one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had at a race track.

    “When the day ended I wished him well, he thanked me for spending the race with him and we went on our way. I can’t imagine Dale Jr. or Jimmie Johnson sitting four rows up at a Nationwide race and spending 75 percent of the time interacting with fans. There is a reason he’s called The King.”

    Randy Claflin’s favorite story is about a special birthday present courtesy of Petty.

    “In October of 1988, some of my family went to Florida on vacation,” he began. “On our way back home to Michigan, we stopped at the Petty museum for my birthday. While watching a movie in the museum, I heard a race car start up. Soon you could hear it moving around the building I was in. I went running through the museum with my camera (an old 110 film camera) out the front door. Here is Richard driving one of his Pontiacs around the parking lot. When he saw me and my camera, he stopped so I could take a picture. I went over to him and introduced myself to him and he shook my hand. He wished me a Happy Birthday, started the car back up and drove off. I lost the picture long ago but the memory of a great birthday present will live forever.”

    Terry Strange recounted a touching memory from Bristol about how a small gesture from Petty had a huge impact on a young boy.

    “Many years ago, the infield at Bristol was grass, and racers, their families and some fans could drive their own vehicles inside to park. My wife and I were sitting in our car eating a sandwich before we pushed the cars out to line up pre-race. A lady driving a pickup with a disabled child in the back (in a wheelchair) drove into the infield. She couldn’t find a place to park, as all the spaces in our section were full. A yellow tape separated us from the press parking, which was half-full. I held the rope up and let the lady come through.

    “She thanked me, and said that her son loved Richard Petty, and that his dream was to one day meet him. I had talked to him earlier,” Terry said, “and knew where his truck was parked. I walked over to his truck, where he was eating his own sandwich. I told him about the young man, he promptly put the sandwich down and told me to take him to the boy. As we walked across the infield to the truck, the boy lit up with a huge smile, Richard got up into the back of the truck and sat and talked with the youngster for quite a while. The boy’s mother cried. I waved and walked back to my car, then to work. I knew that afternoon why they call him The King.”

    Many drivers look at signing autographs as an obligation. Today’s fans often have to jump through hoops just to be part of autograph sessions that are first come, first served and limited to a strict period of time. Petty is a different breed of driver and as Bob Waas discovered, “He is the real deal.”

    Bob was an official from 1967-1977 at the now defunct, Islip Speedway in New York and his story dates back to July 5, 1967 when he drove the pace car for a NASCAR event.

    “Back then when the Sprint Cup cars (Grand National) visited Islip they didn’t have their own pace car driver,” he revealed, “so they entrusted the local officials with the duty of driving the pace car.

    “At the conclusion of the race I had the pleasure of driving the winner around the track so he could wave to the fans. It was a convertible in case you were wondering. On this night Richard Petty won so I picked him up at the start/finish line and took him around the track a few times. They told me over the radio to bring him to the press box afterwards so he could sign some autographs.

    “I was standing next to Richard when he signed his first autograph and it seemed to take a very long time. I looked over his shoulder and noticed that his autograph had lots of swirls and circles and other lines that I think would be hard to duplicate. I said to Richard, ‘You’re not going to sign all of them like that are you?’ He gave me that dumbfounded look and said, ’Of course I am Bob, it’s my autograph!’ I replied, ‘But, look at all the people!’  By now the line had grown so long it went down the entire length of the stairs and wrapped around the corner. Richard said to me, ‘It’s okay, I’ll stay here all night to sign autographs for the fans.’”

    Bob’s story doesn’t end there. A year later he was walking through the pits and passed by Petty and his brother Maurice who were sitting on the tailgate of their truck.

    “I kept walking as I gave a wave in his direction while shouting out, ‘Hi Richard.’ When he replied, ‘Hi Bob,’ it floored me. All those miles traveled between stops at our little track and somehow, he remembered my name.”

    These are only a few of the stories that came pouring in when I asked Petty fans to share some of their favorite moments. There were far too many to share them all but there was one sentiment expressed throughout. Richard Petty may be called The King because of his achievements on the track but it is his actions off the track that make him NASCAR royalty in the hearts of the fans.

    Accomplishments:

    All Time Wins Leader: 200
    All Time Poles Leader: 123
    1959: Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year Award
    1962, 1964, 1968, 1974-1978: Sprint Cup Most Popular Driver Award
    1964, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1979: Sprint Cup Champion
    1964. 1966, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1979, 1981: Daytona 500 Winner
    1967: Most Sprint Cup Wins in One Season – 27 Wins
    1967: Most Sprint Cup Consecutive Wins – 10 Wins
    1973: North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame Inductee
    1989: Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Inductee
    1992: Awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom
    1997: International Motorsports Hall of Fame Inductee
    1997: North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame Inductee
    1998: Named One of NASCAR’s Greatest Drivers
    1998: National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame Inductee
    2010: NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee

    John Force Quote from dragracingonline.com June 16, 2003

    Special thanks to Randy Claflin, Mike Neff, Terry Strange, Jimmy Taylor and Bob Waas for their contributions.

     

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Daytona Coke Zero 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Daytona Coke Zero 400

    From a rain delay of a day to a rain-shortened race, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

    Surprising: In spite of the fits and starts of the race due to the rain, the Coke 600 was still the stuff of legends, from the anniversary victory for The King and Richard Petty Motorsports to the last call of Barney Hall of Motor Racing Network.

    RPM’s famed No. 43 made it to Victory Lane, thanks to some rainy luck for driver Aric Almirola and crew chief Trent Owens, on the 30th anniversary of The King’s 200th historic win at Daytona. Almirola was the 43rd driver to pilot the No. 43, scoring his first win of his career at his home track.

    “I couldn’t have dreamed of a better place to get my first win,” Almirola said. “I’ve sat in these grandstands and watched the Daytona 500. I’ve watched the Firecracker 400s. That’s what everybody always talked about, and as a young kid, coming over here and watching, just dreamed about what it would be like to have a chance to race at the highest level at this racetrack.”

    “I think it’s very cool that we won on this weekend,” Almirola continued. “It’s 30 years to the weekend that The King won his 200th race with the President here. That’s really special.”

    Another legend, Barney Hall, also called his final race at Daytona and will retire from race announcing at the age of 82 years.

    “He has spoken to millions of fans and made millions of individual fans of our sport,” NASCAR president Mike Helton said. “I wanted to thank him for all he has done for us personally, but also all he has done for NASCAR.”

    Dale Earnhardt Jr., an aficionado of the history of the sport, also shared his appreciation for the career of Hall.

    “Barney Hall is a legend,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. tweeted. “I grew up listening to him. Forever grateful.”

    Not Surprising: In spite of the weather drama and the strategy that was playing out to outfox the rain drops, it was not surprising that what caught the eye of mainstream media were the two ‘big ones’, involving a total of 42 crashed race cars.

    Second place finisher Brian Vickers had a bird’s eye view of both incidents, barely making it through each incident.

    “We went to the front, and then it got a little bit too dicey for my comfort that early, and guys were moving around a lot,” Brian Vickers, second place finisher, said. “So we went to the back, just had a bad feeling about kind of the energy in the pack and where it was headed, so we dropped back, and at about two laps later there was a big crash and we were fortunate to be out of that.”

    “We ended up actually getting into the pack at about the wrong moment and were fortunate enough to get through the last big wreck,” Vickers continued. “I saw it kind of starting out of the corner of my eye, a car from the outside to the inside just went way too quick, and I just jumped on the brakes and as soon as I saw it opening downshifted and went to the gas and was able to get through it. But very lucky to get through that wreck and keep the FSU car out of trouble.”

    Surprising: Kurt Busch had some surprising comments about his relationship with his crew chief Daniel Knost after finishing the race in the third spot.

    “Yeah, the relationship with Daniel, you know, there’s some times when a driver and a crew chief hit it off and they’re off to the races right away. Daniel and I have been slower to mature together in our relationship, and so we’re 18 races into our first date,” the driver of the No. 41Haas Automation Chevrolet, said. “Now we’re going into the second half of the season, and all of our first dates are done.”

    “We’ll go to New Hampshire next week, and that’ll be the last new track that we see together, and then from there on out, all the tracks that we’ve been to we have notes and we have test sessions planned, and that’s where we have to make the 41 team stronger.”

    Not Surprising: There was no driver more excited about a top-five finish than Austin Dillon, who has been battling Kyle Larson for Rookie of the Year honors. And this race saw Dillon hold serve over Larson, who was involved in the first wreck and finished 36th.

    “It’s huge for us getting a top 10, a top 5; it definitely can change the rookie race,” the driver of the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/NRA Museum Chevrolet, said. “We’ve got some momentum now.”

    “We’ve got the last four races, I think, in the rookie race, and just stay consistent and hopefully we can come out with this thing,” Dillon continued. “Our cars have been really fast all year, and we’re getting better each week. I feel like we’re gaining a little bit, and I’m excited about that.”

    Surprising: Driver Paul Menard no doubt had the most appropriate car name for this Daytona race, driving the No. 27 SPLASH/Menards Chevrolet. Menard was marking time in the back but then got caught in the second big one to finish 16th.

    Menard did, however, gain at least one position in the point standings, regaining his spot in tenth.

    “We battled weather all weekend,” Menard said. “Our strategy was to ride around in the back and miss all the wrecks, but with rain coming we knew it was time to move towards the front.”

    “Of course, when we got to the front someone got turned around and we were caught up in a huge mess,” Menard continued. “Fortunately, my guys did a great job on pit road to repair damage and were able to keep us on the lead lap.”

    “I think we moved up in points, so all-in-all it wasn’t a terrible day.”

    Not Surprising: With Daytona, anything can happen during the ‘big ones’, including cars going airborne and upside down. Unfortunately, for both Jamie McMurray and Kyle Busch, each experience a little bit of both.

    “It’s kind of scary I think my car got airborne,” McMurray, behind the wheel of the No. 1 Cessna Chevrolet, said. “I have never had that happen before it’s a helpless feeling when you are getting hit as you are in the air.”

    “It was kind of scary, but glad it looks like everyone is okay.”

    “Just felt like a slow carnival ride,” Kyle Busch said of his upside down ending. “I guess that’s fitting for the Fourth of July weekend. I just got T-boned there at the end and it just kind of toppled me over.”

    “I got hit by the 26 (Cole Whitt) which just toppled me over and when I toppled over you know you just sit there upside down basically in your restraints,” Busch continued. “Your chest is held, your abdomen is held and everything is held and you just wait for them to come in there and get you and turn you over, because it’s way safer to get turned over in that seat because you already got turned over once then it is to try to undo the belts and bang your head off the ceiling and try to get out.”

    Surprising: One would have thought that the race was at a short-track rather than on the high banks of a restrictor plate track with the way tempers were flaring.

    “The No. 17 car (Ricky Stenhouse Jr.) got sideways on the lap that we’re all getting a competition caution,” Tony Stewart, behind the wheel of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Ducks Unlimited Chevrolet said. “I don’t know. I guess Ricky thought it paid something to get to lap 20. I don’t know. It didn’t make much sense to me, but I’m not that smart either; so I don’t know. I don’t know that I’m the right person to ask.”

    “I guess is was just Stenhouse being an idiot,” Smoke continued. “It didn’t make much sense when we’re coming to the caution, we’re like a quarter of a lap from getting to the caution and he does something stupid.”

    “It tore up a lot of people’s cars and a lot of people’s days,” Stewart said. “To get here on Wednesday night and sit here all day and run 19 and three-quarter laps and get wrecked by somebody who’s doing something stupid.”

    Not Surprising: Like so many of the other racers, Martin Truex Jr. was ready to put Daytona in his rear view mirror. In spite of a vibration and battery change, Truex finished 15th in his No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet.

    “It was a roller coaster day,” Truex said. “We never could get going. I didn’t like what I was seeing early in the race and I hung back. That turned out to be a good move as we missed being collected in the first wreck.”

    “Then we had a vibration in the car, and later we needed to make a battery change,” Truex continued. “As I was exiting pit road after the battery change, the second big wreck happened. We most likely would have been in that wreck had we not been on pit road changing the battery.”

    “We eventually got back on the lead lap and we were ready to move forward. But we never got that opportunity because of the race being declared official following more rain.”

    “It’s been one of those weekends you want to forget about and move on.”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Daytona

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Daytona

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jeff Gordon: Gordon overcame damage in an early wreck at Daytona and finished 12th, maintaining the points lead. He leads Dale Earnhardt Jr. by 27, as Hendrick drivers occupy the top three spots.

    “It was all about survival,” Gordon said, “and I survived. ‘It’s called survival, only the strong can survive.’ And that may be the first and last time a NASCAR driver quotes Grand Master Flash.

    “And speaking of NASCAR and rappers, I haven’t seen 50 Cent around lately. That may be because Erin Andrews told him to kiss off.”

    2. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson was caught in a lap 20 wreck that ended his day with a 42nd-place finish, his worst of the year. He is third in the points standings, 55 out of first.

    “What a day for Aric Almirola,” Johnson said. “Richard Petty made the 43 car famous; Almirola made it relevant, at least on Sunday. That makes Aric ‘King’ for a day. And he’ll be in the news consistently for the coming week. So, that makes Aric a loyal subject.”

    3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Earnhardt finished 14th at Daytona, the top finisher among Hendrick Motorsports cars. He is second in the Sprint Cup points standings, 27 behind Jeff Gordon.

    “I was looking for the Daytona sweep,” Earnhardt said. “Unfortunately, there wasn’t a broom in sight—only mops.

    “That’s probably one of the wettest weeks of racing at Daytona. The rain affected everything: practice, qualifying, and the race. But it was business as usual for Junior Nation in the Daytona infield—-their alcohol consumption dictates that they’re never dry.”

    4. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished a lap down in 18th in the Coke Zero 400. Kesekowski’s No. 2 Chevy was one of 25 cars affected by a lap 97 pile-up that forced a red flag.

    “I’m not sure who started that mess,” Keselowski said, “but I’d like to punch them. Hopefully, should I open up a can of whoop ass, somebody else will bleed, and not me.”

    5. Carl Edwards: Edwards found trouble early at Daytona, becoming one of several cars involved in a lap 20 wreck started when Roush Fenway teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got loose. Edwards eventually finished 37th, 46 laps down.

    “Tony Stewart was not happy with Stenhouse,” Edwards said. “He called him an ‘idiot.’ Trust me, you don’t want to be in Tony Stewart’s doghouse. It’s way too crowded in there.”

    6. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth took 20th at Daytona in a race won by Aric Almirola’s No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports car. Kenseth, still winless on the year, is fifth in the points standings, 71 out of first.

    “What a win for Almirola,” Kenseth said. “It’s always wide open when there’s a restrictor plate race. And when they say ‘anybody’ can win, what they really mean is a ‘nobody’ can win.”

    7. Joey Logano: Logano finished 17th in a crash-filled Coke Zero 400 that left only 17 cars on the lead lap. He is now sixth in the points standings, 105 out of first.

    “My teammate Brad Keselowski had the cut on his hand glued together,” Logano said. “And I believe it’s made him a better driver, because now he’s even more skilled at operating a ‘stick shift.’

    “My car was leaving a trail of debris late in the race. As a result, I was black-flagged. That’s similar to my dad being black-listed.”

    8. Kyle Busch: Busch finished 28th after being collected in lap 97’s “Big One,” which involved no less than 25 cars and left Busch’s No. 18 Toyota upside down.

    “Jeremy Mayfield would call that a ‘roofie,’” Busch said, “or a ‘downer.’ Luckily, the tow truck was there quickly to turn me over. Mayfield would call that an ‘upper.’

    “It was certainly a wild ride, and reminded me of that fateful day in Iredell County, North Carolina back in May of 2011. In that case, it wasn’t the ‘Big One’ that forced me into the grass on the side of the road, but a State Trooper.”

    9. Aric Almirola: Almirola captured the rain-shortened Coke Zero 400, placing the No. 43 car in winner’s circle for the first time since 1999. The win came almost 30 years to the day of Richard Petty’s 200th and final NASCAR victory.

    “It was a great day for ‘The King,’” Almirola said. “And Prince, too, because we’re gonna party like it’s 1999.

    “I won $377,176 in prize money. I think I could win another weather-shortened race, or be a big-time player at the strip club, because with that kind of cash, you can really ‘make it rain.’”

    10. Kevin Harvick: Harvick suffered damage in the first of two “Big Ones” in the Coke Zero 400. He eventually finished 39th after completing just 46 laps.

    “Haas Automation became an official sponsor of Ferrari’s Formula 1 through the 2015 season,” Harvick said. “Gene Haas is an astute business man, and the timing of this deal is perfect. Before forming a partnership with Ferrari’s ‘Prancing Horse,’ he got into business with Tony Stewart’s ‘Ranting Donkey.’”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Kentucky Quaker State 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Kentucky Quaker State 400

    From the jaw-jarring bumps of the old pavement in which Kentucky Speedway takes such pride, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 4th Annual Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts.

    Surprising: Dominance and redemption surprisingly co-existed in the Bluegrass state. Penske dominated, from qualifying to Victory Lane for Brad Keselowski, yet there was also redemption for several drivers, including Tony Stewart, who rebounded from an engine change to finish 11th, as well as Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick, who both had struggles in the pits and went on to finish sixth and seventh respectively.

    “Yeah, what a really fast car,” Keselowski said after his second win of the season and his second win at Kentucky in the No. 2 car. “It feels really good, obviously, to get that second win.”

    “We have got a really good stretch run going here over the summer, so it’s very exciting for me personally, very rewarding, and I feel like we’re in such a strong spot,” Keselowski continued. “A lot of momentum, and this was really a big night for us in so many ways.”

    Stewart, Gordon and Harvick may not have been in Victory Lane, but all three felt redeemed nonetheless.

    “I would’ve liked to have been a little better than what we were there at the end, but I think we definitely had to fight our way up there through the day,” Stewart said. “We never did anything tricky to get track position. We pitted every time the pits were open. We didn’t do any less than anybody else did on any stop.”

    “All in all, I thought we had a pretty honest day there and I can’t complain about that.”

    Not Surprising: Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota, played it fast and loose, right into the runner up position. This was Busch’s fourth top-10 finish in four races at Kentucky Speedway and his seventh top-10 finish of the season.

    “I got to traffic, man, I just got too loose,” Busch said. “I was kind of loose the whole run, but I kept getting looser and looser throughout the run, where normally the rest of the runs prior to that throughout the race I was getting tighter throughout the run.”

    “I was loose the whole race,” Busch continued. “I was loose, but it was a drivable loose, it wasn’t just a wrecking loose, until the end, and then I was wrecking.”

    “For as loose as I was I had good grip and I was moving forward,” Busch said. “It looked like a lot of guys were struggling with the same issues I was but worse, so I was able to go by them, so I felt pretty good about it.”

    Surprising: As a past champion, Brad Keselowski most certainly knows how to celebrate, but this time it resulted in some surprising bodily harm. Thanks to a broken bottle of champagne in Victory Lane, the victor ended up with four stitches to boot.

    “We were playing around with some champagne bottles and as I told my good friend, ‘We should have stuck with beer,’” Keselowski said. “We were having too much fun with champagne and one of the bottles broke and I cut my hand open. It’s no big deal.”

    “It’s all fixed now, so we’re good,” Keselowski continued. “Yeah, welcome to the party. It’s all good. I’m just glad we won. It’s a lot better story when you win and get hurt.”

    Not Surprising: Usually race car drivers emerge after the race being mad at other drivers, but there was one driver who was just mad at himself after the Quaker State 400.

    “The first wreck one of those lapped cars spun in front of us and when he spun he lit up his rear tires and made a huge smoke cloud,” Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 43 Eckrich Ford, said. “My spotter, Tyler, was telling me to go high and I was kind of in the middle of the race track to see what he was gonna do and at the last minute he was like, ‘Go high, go high,’ so I veered high and McMurray was out there.”

    “I honestly had no idea he was out there and I ran into him, so I feel horrible,” Almirola continued. “I’m just mad at myself. I realize circumstances weren’t in our favor, but I should have done a better job of getting slowed down and not running into the 1 car.”

    Surprising: Kentucky race weekend was certainly a good one for Ryan Newman, with Caterpillar Inc. renewing their sponsorship on his car, and with a third place finish, just his second top-10 at Kentucky Speedway.

    “Just a good, solid night for the Caterpillar Chevrolet,” Newman said. “All the guys did a really good job strategy wise. Kept our track position all night.”

    “Good job for everybody at RCR and ECR, and we’ll keep digging.”

    Not Surprising: Clint Bowyer took to Twitter and told it like it was for his No. 15 5-Hour Energy race team after finishing 23rd.

    “Got our natural asses kicked tonight,” Bowyer tweeted after the race. “Testing this week to get to the bottom of a few things. We WILL get it fixed!!!”

    Surprising: After a tire issue sent rookie Kyle Larson hard into the wall and out of the race, Austin Dillon became the highest finishing rookie. The driver of the No. 3 Cheerios Protein Chevrolet took the checkered flag in the 16th position.

    Larson does, however, still lead in the Sunoco Rookie of the Year battle and has scored Rookie of the Race honors eleven times to Dillon’s five.

    “Blew a right front (tire),” Larson said dejectedly. “This is the first time that’s ever happened to me in stock car racing.”

    “So, big hits,” Larson continued. “But it sucks. We were hoping for a good points day to pad our points were we are before we go to Daytona where it’s a real crapshoot. It’s disappointing to have two weekends that didn’t end up very well the last couple of races.”

    “Oh, well. That’s how it goes,” Larson said. “We’ll try and go to Daytona and rebound and gain some more points.”

    Not Surprising:   Joey Logano proved that not only was his teammate powerful, but he had Penske power to boot, finishing ninth place in spite of being down a cylinder.

    “I think Team Penske dominated Kentucky this weekend, it’s just unfortunate we dropped a cylinder there, but it’s still a top-10 out of being down one cylinder,” Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, said. “We’ll take that.”

    Surprising: Matt Kenseth, in his No. 20 Dollar General Toyota, proved his worth to his sponsor, who announced prior to the race that they would increase their primary sponsorship from 27 to 30 races. Kenseth finished fourth and felt that “Overall, it was a positive weekend.”

    “I feel like we’re gaining on it,” Kenseth continued. “I thought we had a pretty good car. They had a great stop and got me good track position and I was able to get up two or three spots for the restart and hang onto fourth.”

    Not Surprising: Dale Jr. was fired up and ready to go after struggling mightily in practice, qualifying 29th, yet racing back to finish fifth, scoring his ninth top-five in 2014. And with that, Junior became the only driver so far with that many top-fives for the season to date.

    “So Steve (Letarte, crew chief) and the guys did a good job in having to deal with me and trying to put a good car under me this weekend,” Junior said. “It was a lot of fun in the race.”

    “It just fired me up … (and) they put a good setup under the car,” Earnhardt continued. “It wasn’t the best car out there, but we finished where we should have tonight with the speed the car the showed.”

    The Cup Series next heads to Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca Cola on Saturday, July 5th. Happy Independence Day!

     

  • NASCAR BTS: Chris MacNicol AKA Talladega Tire Man

    NASCAR BTS: Chris MacNicol AKA Talladega Tire Man

    At Talladega this past weekend, one fan, wearing only a Goodyear, received some significant television time during the race broadcast. So, this week’s NASCAR Behind the Scenes simply had to focus on Chris MacNicol, the man otherwise known as the Talladega Tire Man.

    MacNicol, surprisingly was not always a rabid, tire-wearing race fan. In fact, the native Floridian moved to Alabama to play baseball in college. One weekend, his baseball buddies suggested they check out the nearby NASCAR race track.

    “A bunch of my teammates said to go to Talladega and I told them, “I’m not going to watch that. That’s silly,” MacNicol said. “But I’ve been to every race since. I always tell people who ask me about the races that it is really that different when you are there at the track.”

    “It give me goose bumps to talk about it now,” MacNicol continued. “Once you stand next to the track and see 43 cars go by at 200 miles per hour, you are hooked. It’s unbelievable.”

    Once MacNicol was hooked on racing, not only did he attend the Talladega races but he also went off to Daytona, which had been on his bucket list. And at Daytona, not Talladega, the Tire Man was actually born.

    “One year, my dad, my brother, my best friend I grew up with and his dad said we were all going to meet at Daytona,” MacNicol said. “So, we met them in Daytona, which was on our bucket list in 2004.”

    “I had just enclosed the carport on my house and that was my man cave, with all my baseball memorabilia and my NASCAR memorabilia,” MacNicol continued. “I was building an end table out of racing tires for the man cave and I had one tire that a friend gave me after he drove at the Richard Petty Driving School. So, we were walking around the infield at Daytona on Saturday after what was then the Busch race and a NASCAR truck pulled by and asked if we wanted to buy a tire.”

    “And, of course, I wanted to buy one for my end table and asked how much,” MacNicol said. “So, for $5 I bought it. I rummaged through the truck trying to find some decent tire and I came across Joe Nemechek’s right front tire that he qualified with. I thought that was cool and so I bought the tire.”

    “We were in Turns One and Two but we were camped in Turns Three and Four, which was a long way,” MacNicol continued. “So, I’m carrying my cooler and my beverage and I’m trying to roll this tire. And I’m spilling my beverage and I’m getting frustrated so I laid the tire down and sat down. I sat on the edge of the tire and my rear end sunk in the middle. And I had this epiphany that if I pulled the tire up on my hips that it would stick.”

    “So, after I pulled it up, it pulled my shorts up too. It took us close to five hours to get back to our campsite because everybody started stopping and taking pictures. Instantly I knew that this would have to happen at Talladega too.”

    “And here we are today.”

    Once the Talladega Tire Man was born, MacNicol’s adventures continued, even to the point of having a brush with the law.

    “One of my dad’s favorite stories to tell is after we finally get back to the campsite at Talladega and I’m standing there in my tire, a Sheriff’s officer came by in the car,” MacNicol said. “It was a lady Sheriff and she just rolled down her window far enough so we could see her eyes. She motions me to come to the car and she said “Please tell me that you’re wearing something underneath that tire.” I told her “Yes, ma’am and do you want to see?” And she said “Nope”, slowly rolled the window back up and drove away.”

    MacNicol found out the hard way after his Daytona tire inauguration, that some modifications had to be made if he was going to be able to continue living out his stint as Tire Man at every Talladega race.

    “I had to make some modifications to the tire,” MacNicol said. “Walking around Daytona, I actually got scars on my legs from where it rubbed me raw. When I pulled it up on my hips, the inner tire bead sat just below my hips so it actually was held up on the upper part of the legs. So, you can imagine walking around for a few days in a tire, it didn’t feel that great.”

    “So, I got the bright idea from my wife’s granddaddy, who always wore these two-inch Dickies suspenders and I thought I could make it to hold the tire up,” MacNicol continued. “The tire has two U-bolts in the front and two in the back that I attach my suspenders to. I also cut out the bottom, but it was still jagged. So, one day I was walking through Home Depot and I saw this nice, cushy pipe insulation and I thought I could put that around the bottom of the tire. And it worked great.”

    The Talladega Tire Man sensation really gained momentum, however, after being featured in a book and also through social media, especially Facebook and Twitter.

    “I was approached in 2010, when NASCAR was really trying to put the race fans first, the business communications director for NASCAR at the time and a writer for the Sporting News contacted me about making the Talladega Tire Man part of a book on race fans,” MacNicol said. “The book was “The Weekend Starts on Wednesday”, which was a story all about NASCAR fans, from those like me who go to the race track and act silly to Afghanistan war veterans who have a purple heart and a doctor who climbed Mount Everest and planted a NASCAR flag.”

    “There are some pretty amazing people in that book,” MacNicol continued. “Once that started, we thought that we should get involved with Facebook and Twitter. But we mostly did it because we wanted to share pictures with the fans. And it’s just blossomed from there.”

    What may be most surprising, however, is that the Talladega Tire Man does not charge for pictures or receive any remuneration for his efforts. MacNicol simply does it for the love of racing and the race fans.

    “My only thing is that I do this because I love it,” MacNicol said. “I love racing and I love the fans. I’m not in it for the money. Once it becomes a job, that’s not what I want. That’s not fun anymore. The Tire Man to me is somebody who is out, has passion for racing and is just like everybody else in the stands. I’m no different than anybody else that buys a ticket and comes to the race track.”

    What has surprised MacNicol himself the most as he roams the Talladega infield is the warm reception that he gets each and every race.

    “The most surprising thing is how gracious people are and how friendly people can be,” MacNicol said. “Sometimes when you walk up and there’s a half-naked man there, you may not get the best response.”

    “But everybody is so nice and it’s been that way my entire experience at Talladega,” MacNicol continued. “I’ve made life-long friends and that friendship has just expanded with the Tire Man to an enormous amount of people all over the country. When they showed me on TV on Sunday, we got messages from people in Chicago, Nashville, Charlotte and all over the place.”

    “So, that’s probably the best thing and the most inspiring thing to me to come back and do it every year.”

    Now in his tenth year as the Talladega Tire Man, MacNicol realizes that he may not be able to do this forever. But he has already been thinking ahead and is well prepared for the future.

    “I’m 40 now and pretty soon now, the Tire Man is going to have a little drag in his rear quarter panel,” MacNicol said with a laugh. “But I’ve got three boys, ages 11, 9 and 5, and last year, I made them their own tires.”

    “I didn’t force them to wear them and they have to want to wear them,” MacNicol continued. “I didn’t bring them this past race but they said I had to bring them next race.”

    Simply put, MacNicol wants all race fans to know one thing about the Talladega Tire Man.

    “I just appreciate the opportunity and just love being able to convey a fan’s passion about NASCAR,” MacNicol said. “I am a huge race fan.”

    “And basically I’m just me.”

     

  • Kasey Kahne Riding Momentum Train; Finishes 8th At Bristol

    Kasey Kahne Riding Momentum Train; Finishes 8th At Bristol

    Kasey Kahne hasn’t shocked fans so far this season, or battled inside the top five every lap; however, he’s been consistent, very consistent.

    Beginning in Daytona International Speedway, Kahne and the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet SS began Speedweeks strong. He started 10th in his respective Budweiser Duel and after working with fellow Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr., he piloted his No. 5 to a runner-up finish, giving him a fifth place start in the Daytona 500.

    The beginning miles of the Great American Race witnessed Kahne overpower fellow competitor Kyle Busch for the race lead, and maintained that advantage until a caution, which would change his day completely. He entered pit road, running inside the top three, and spun when exiting pit road due to the dampness on the racetrack – keep in mind the race had been under a rain delay prior to the incident.

    The accident forced Kahne to restart in the rear of the field – which isn’t an ideal position with the new drafting pack at restrictor plate racetracks – and he wouldn’t ever regain a top ten position, and eventually was tangled up in a multi-car wreck. After the confetti cleared from Kahne’s teammate, Earnhardt Jr.’s, celebrating in victory lane, the No. 5 machine was officially scored 31st, which is his fourth all-time worst finish at Daytona.

    Entering Phoenix International Raceway after a dismal Daytona running, it seemed the team needed to step up their game – and they did quite nicely.

    They qualified 11th and quickly faded in the early going, eventually going a lap down, before crew chief Kenny Francis decided to make some key adjustments that would help Kahne regain the lap he had lost. During the final stint of the event, the No. 5 team flew past cars left and right to finish an acceptable 11th place, right where they began the 500 mile event.

    Following a reassuring 11th place finish in Phoenix, the team traveled to the gambling city of Las Vegas, attempting to score their first top ten of the season to really get the ‘ball rolling’.

    Kahne began the race 13th and remained inside the top 15 all afternoon, and with 30 laps remaining the team cracked the top 10 and finished a season-best eighth, giving them a little momentum heading forward.

    Then, the team prepared for the treacherous, but always entertaining, Bristol Motor Speedway. They rolled off the hauler hoping to repeat last season’s win at the half mile, however, during the first practice sessions, the team understood that wasn’t an easy task at hand.

    Kahne practiced 18th, 10th and 19th fastest, which was most likely disappointing, considering the team was dominate here last season. However, Kahne wasn’t giving up yet, he qualified 10th which seemed to give the No. 5 squad all the confidence they needed.

    But, the team quickly received a ‘wake up call’ as they were shuffled outside the top ten for the first 100 laps of the Food City 500. Then, the rains came, which wasn’t necessarily a horrible thing for Francis and Kahne, as they’d get to debrief about what happened in the first few runs.

    When the engines re-fired, Kahne quickly advanced inside the top ten, where he ran for the remainder of the event, and captured his second-straight eight place finish.

    However, finishing eighth wasn’t the big picture, it was the fact that if Kahne can continue posting top ten finishes week in, week out, then the No. 5 team could clinch a Chase berth without a victory – and that’s the ultimate goal for any organization, making the Chase.

    While making the Chase without a victory is a great thing to have going for you, Kahne and the No. 5 team are probably still anticipating a win. Nevertheless, despite one bad finish at Daytona, Kahne and his crew have been extremely consistent to date, and now, the team is riding momentum heading into Auto Club Speedway and beyond.