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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 28^th 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 17^th, scoring his 10^th 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 13^th 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 20^th, falling two positions to 16^th 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 11^th 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 32^nd 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 36^th. 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.”

May 30, 2011
It was a hot summer night and the track was burning…

The night seemed perfect. The glitz was all in place. The fireworks were breath taking. The excitement was palpable. The anticipation was not only visible but audible. There were two things on everyone’s mind; would Dale Earnhardt Jr be in the All Star race? Would the race be as bold as the fireworks in the pre-race show? The answer was a long drawn out one that left most unsatisfied with both answers.

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]The All Star race was hyped and billed as the most exciting race under the lights. Here was where the true determination and aggression of NASCAR’s finest would be seen. There were commercials that depicted it as a western gun fight and show down with NASCAR’s Mike Helton as the Sheriff quickly appearing to maintain law and order. What it was, was overly complicated, strung out follow the leader racing that, unlike other races this year, didn’t even have a good ending.

The Showdown although starting out with a bang, lost its fizzle early. It was dominated by David Regan and Brad Keselowski. There was never much doubt as to who the winner would be with Regan setting the fastest time in either section in qualifying; the questions were who would be second, would Dale Jr race his way in, who would be the fan vote.

Keselowski showed dominance in his Miller Lite Dodge from the drop of the green flag. He had speed and handling and showed the slicing dicing skills of an experienced chef at the cutting block. He would lead the final segment until the final lap when Ragan would resume the lead. The two held a dominating distance over third place Marcos Ambrose. Earnhardt Jr would struggle through the event finishing a disappointing 6^th.

The driver’s introductions for the All Star Race were bright and inviting. With flashing lights and smoke and fireworks each driver and his team were introduced to the crowd. Each team had items that were thrown out to the crowd as they were cheered on to pit road. Smiles and fan interactions were in abundance with the exception of Denny Hamlin who never looked at the crowd. He walked over and shook hands with each of his crew and then walked to pit road in the group.

When the fan vote was announced by all three Miss Sprint Cup’s, who had campaigned heavily for Brian Vickers and leaked information that the “obvious choice” was not in fact leading the vote, the noise level was deafening. Dale Earnhardt Jr would in fact compete in the All Star Race thanks to the fans. Earnhardt took a moment to thank not only his fans but all the fans that voted in the competition. As well as giving his own fans a shout out on the radio before the beginning of the race.

Sprint announced that the voting exceeded 2 million votes this year. The most of any year since the fan votes inception. Despite early reports, Darrell Waltrip said that Earnhardt had indeed won by a landslide.

Pole position for the All Star race was won by Kyle Busch on Friday evening, with Clint Bowyer starting on the outside front row. The first pit stall however would be selected by the winner of the pit crew challenge which was Denny Hamlin’s number 11 Fed Ex Toyota crew.

The All Star race was hyped to the hilt. Track President Marcus Smith offered to pay any fines for fighting that might be incurred. The All Star race could have been an exciting and breath taking event if the drivers had been willing to push the issue of racing. In the end they were not.

The race was an over structured, over complicated, and a too long glorified test session for the Coca Cola 600. Even the last 10 laps showed to be a strung out follow the leader affair. The most excitement came after the race when winner Carl Edwards destroyed the race winning car sliding through the grass and hitting a man hole cover and basically tearing the whole right front corner and suspension out from under the car.

Second place driver Kyle Busch who scored his highest finish in his All Star Race career stated, “Sorry we didn’t give you any scoop (or) drama,” he said. Busch admitted the race was “tame”. The trend seems to have begun in 2008 when the rule changes to the event began in earnest leading us to the current 100 lap structure that encourages follow the leader type racing. With the final 10 laps being the source of excitement. But this year even that was missing.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished a disappointing 14^th in the race, suggested on Friday, that a simpler shorter format might guarantee more excitement for the fans. He suggested that adding other events on the bill would ensure that the fans got their money’s worth for the price of the ticket. Not a bad thought. It would certainly be better than keeping track of how many laps, how many segments, when are the mandatory pit stops, when can you add fuel, how many tires do you have to take. and when is the break.

The All Star Race was a true gauge of the status of the competition in our sport today. It is a gauge as to why the fan base is decreasing on a regular basis. Between the poor racing, the commentators on the TV broadcast, the endless hollow promises, our sport has reached a crisis level. What has brought us here? Lots of things the biggest is money. And not the struggling economy, this started long before that. It began with greed. With a series sponsor that refused to allow competing companies to sponsor competitors. It was compounded by a series that wanted to govern who had a sponsor and what that sponsor’s product was. It was an unaccommodating series that signaled the end of support from companies like Jack Daniels and Jim Beam. It was only last year that GT Vodka came into the Nationwide series on a limited schedule with JR. Motorsports.

But perhaps the truest blow to the sport and its competitive ability came in 2008 when NASCAR eliminated testing. NASCAR eliminated testing at the request of the car owners when the economy tanked in 2007 on the claim that it would save them money. Truth is they replaced it with computer simulation programs and simulation engineers all of which in the long run probably cost at least as much as the testing did without the same results.

1989 Winston Cup Champion, Rusty Wallace described the benefits of testing as “You can take the cars out there and unbolt the suspension and try different things and tune the car up and get it ready for that track. Your driver is out there practicing and honing their skills.” Wallace stated that the elimination of testing was the biggest blow to the sport in his opinion.

When you look at the competition we are seeing week in and week out, and compare it to the description he gave is it any wonder we see cars that are evil and ill handling? Champions that are not competitive. Multiple part failures under stress. Tire compounds that are not compatible to track surfaces. If the teams were testing even on a limited basis, Wallace suggested 10 test sessions a year, we wouldn’t be seeing these kinds of issues.

There is not a single driver in the Cup/Nationwide field that has not earned his way there. There is not a champion in the field now or ever who did not earn that championship with his abilities behind the wheel. And yet week after week we are asking the question what happened? How did a team with major factory support have brake failure 3 weeks in a row? How does a team with major factory support suffer right front tire failures 4 weeks in a row? These drivers both had won championships. They were not rookies. A Champion of the series relegated to the position of an also ran in a car that has factory support. A driver with 18 victories in the sport who seemingly could not get out of his own way for over 2 years? These men did not suddenly lose the ability to drive a race car. The companies that created the parts and pieces didn’t suddenly forget how or what they were doing. Teams that have been in the sport for several years didn’t suddenly forget how to build race cars.

The COT is part of the issue. It came on the scene full time in 2008. The same time we did away with testing. It was then we began seeing multiple race failures. We replaced competitive motorsports with safety and series control. Now don’t misunderstand me, I would not trade the safety factors of this car for the old car. Not in a million years. Those factors have saved drivers lives as recently as the truck race at Dover and the cup race at Richmond. But the competitive element has to be there as well.

Fans complain about Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch winning so many races and championships. The two of them are probably two of the most talented drivers on the circuit. The new car came easy for them. But if testing were again allowed, you would see more drivers win and compete for the win. You would see more confidence in the car from drivers in heavy traffic situations. You wouldn’t be seeing the All Star race used as a test session for the Coca Cola 600.

This problem is only going to grow when the new COT is introduced in 2013. We will simply start the learning curve over again. With no testing and no experience in and with the car the problem will compound on itself yet again.

Brian France, stated this past week that NASCAR needs Dale Jr to win to survive. And although it would be awesome to see Dale Jr in victory lane again, if for no other reason to silence the haters and the nay sayers, what NASCAR needs in order to survive is to bring back testing of the cars on the tracks they are going to race on. What NASCAR needs if it is to survive is to return to it’s competitive roots where we have more than two cars competing for the win. With the new points system and the ramifications of DNF’s, it seems only fair to level the playing field and give the drivers and teams back the foundations that they need to put on the show that made NASCAR a household name.

The All Star race was like a $250,000 dollar fireworks display that when the switch was thrown the whole thing fizzled. The disappointment and the let down will have far reaching effects. Hopefully, NASCAR can figure out that the way to slow the hemorrhage is to go back to doing what they do best, Having 42 cars all going fast and turning left.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * * * * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Congratulations to Kyle Busch on his Camping World truck series win on Friday night. It was a perfect illustration of why you never give up until the checkered flag waves.

Congratulations to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on his first career Nationwide Series Win at Iowa. Welcome to the very exclusive club of talented drivers that have won before you.

Congratulations to David Ragan on his Showdown win, and to Carl Edwards on his All Star Win. Conspiracy theorists please hush. The man crossed the line first. The win belongs to him until John Darby and Robin Pemberton say otherwise.

Congratulations to Denny Hamlin’s Fed Ex team on their victory in the pit crew challenge. It was an awesome competition the best of the entire weekend in my opinion.

Congratulations to Dale Jr. and his Jr. Nation on their victory in the fan vote. Remember always the parable of the sticks. Stand together and you can not be broken. Step apart and you will fail.

That said, to all the competitors in all the series thanks for giving us everything you have to give, you are our heroes. Most importantly, thanks to all the families who shared their loved ones with us so we could cheer our favorite driver and favorite teams. You are the true heroes of the sport and we are forever in your debt.

May 22, 2011
Joey Logano Dishes on Dover, His Season, Boys Have at It, Turning 21 and Farmville

From his most eventful Nationwide race that featured everything from rain delays to a late race crash that sent him from second to thirteenth in the final green-white-checkered attempt, Joey Logano always seems to have a most eventful time at Dover International Speedway.

Here are just a few of the musings from the driver of the JGR No. 20 Home Depot Toyota Camry on everything from racing the Monster Mile to playing his favorite game, Farmville.

[media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”238″][/media-credit]“This is my favorite race track,” Logano said of Dover International Speedway. “We did roll over there a few years back but this is where I started my first Nationwide race.”

“I’ve always run good here,” Logano continued. “I’ve always had fast cars and I like the place.”

“I have no reason to not like it,” Logano said. “It’s not the track’s fault that I rolled over. You always remember it, but it’s no big deal.”

While he enjoys Dover, Logano acknowledges that he has not enjoyed the struggles his team has experienced so far this season. In fact, he would give himself a ‘C’ so far if he had to assign a letter grade for his performance.

“It’s a passing grade,” Logano said. “But it’s not a stellar one.”

“This season has not been so hot,” Logano said. “We’re not where we want to be in points or where we thought we would be.”

“From the beginning part of the year, we had fast cars but everything you could ever imagine has gone wrong,” Logano continued. “Now our cars are not as fast as what they were, so we’re trying to figure out what we need to do to get them where we need to be.”

Logano believes that most of his struggles, as well as his team’s, have been as a result of not fully understanding the tires this year.

“The big thing is really the tires this year,” Logano said. “It suits some guys driving styles better than others.”

“I think it plays right into Kyle’s (Busch) hands the ways he drives the race car,” Logano continued. “But for me and Denny (Hamlin), we’ve had to do a lot of different stuff to try to make a go of it.”

Although struggling with the tires, Logano has taken some solace, and even finding some amusement, in the ‘boys have at it’ controversies currently surrounding the sport.

“Lucky for me, I don’t have any problems yet so far, but last year I had plenty,” Logano said. “I just think it’s funny that all of them are fighting each other now.”

“I’m just standing here watching,” Logano continued. “It’s pretty funny and really cool when you get to watch them all fighting and you’re not involved with it.”

“I like it,” Logano said, with his trademark grin. “It’s very entertaining.”

Logano grew more philosophical, however, when talking about the balance between standing up for yourself and crossing that ‘boys have at it’ line.

“That’s a hard question to answer,” Logano said. “Every situation is different.”

“But if it happens over and over, you’ve got to do something different,” Logano continued. “You talk to them first and if not, I don’t know, then if you’ve got to wreck them, you’ve got to wreck them.”

Unlike Jeff Gordon, who in the media center said that he never made or took a call from a driver with whom he had had issues and did not want anyone to call him, Logano definitely thinks a call is warranted.

“Every time I’ve had an issue that’s my fault, I’ll call,” Logano said. “I feel like people should call me if something happens or at least talk to me if it’s before practice or before the next race.”

“Just talk to me, Logano continued. “That’s just how I feel about it. It may or may not settle the waters but at least you’ve talked.”

While continuing to enjoy the fracas around him, Logano is also looking forward to several other events coming up on his horizon. One of those events is personal as Logano will also turn 21 years of age in the next few weeks, a major milestone for anyone.

What has the young man planned for his special day?

“I won’t do anything,” Logano said. “I hate going out.”

“I’ll probably grill out at my house with a group of friends,” Logano continued.”We’ll probably play ping pong, or other games. My house is full of games like that. I enjoy that.”

After his birthday celebration, Logano has another date circled on his calendar, that of the Prelude to the Dream race at Eldora Speedway.

“It’s cool,” Logano said of the Prelude race. “We’ve done it the past two years. It’s interesting because it’s completely different.”

“I’ve never, ever been on dirt,” Logano continued. “It’s not what I grew up doing. The way you drive your car is backwards.”

“When you’re naturally doing something, you have to tell yourself not to do it,” Logano said. “It’s weird until you get used to it.”

One of the other weird factoids about Joey Logano is one that many fans may find surprising.

“I play the hell out of Farmville,” Logano said, sharing one of his most surprising features. “That and the fact that I really do smile that much.”

May 15, 2011
Surprising and Not Surprising: Richmond’s Crown Royal 400

After the sounds of the US Marine Drum and Bugle Corps playing the National Anthem and the command to start engines by surviving war hero and race namesake Staff Sergeant Matthew Hansen faded, Saturday night racing was officially underway at Richmond International Raceway.

Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Crown Royal Presents the Matthew and Daniel Hansen 400.

Surprising: It was surprising to see just how quickly the pole sitter Juan Pablo Montoya, in his No. 42 Target Chevrolet, fell from his prime starting position into a world of trouble with Ryan Newman, piloting the No. 39 US Army Medicine Chevrolet.

After some tussling back and forth for position, Newman had had enough with the ever assertive Montoya, sending JPM into the wall on Lap 106. Montoya returned to the track and on Lap 236 took his revenge. [media-credit id=5 align=”alignright” width=”258″][/media-credit]

After being spun out by Montoya, Newman was definitely hot under the collar. “I can’t believe they’re not going to black flag that 42 car,” Newman said. “I’m going to take care of this after the race.”

Newman did indeed head straight for the NASCAR hauler after the race to share his concerns and see what the sanctioning body had to say about the incident. Montoya, on the other hand, waved off the media, jumped on his golf cart and headed back to the motor coach lot without comment.

Newman declared he just wanted the situation to be handled fairly by the sanctioning body.

“I know that he (Montoya) ran up on me of (Turn) 2 there and I clipped him. I mean I’m not going to try to dump myself into the wall,” Newman said. “But to retaliate the way he did just didn’t show much class.”

Not Surprising: Since the track was Richmond, it was not surprising to see the Joe Gibbs Racing team at the front of the pack when the checkered flag flew. While Denny Hamlin had dominated the weekend, winning his own charity race as well as the Nationwide event, it was JGR teammate Kyle Busch, in his award winning M&Ms Pretzel Toyota, that led 235 laps including the final 84, to claim the victory.

“This race tonight was a good one,” Busch said. “We knew if we could go through traffic, we could win.”

“We just really got beat by our teammate,” Hamlin said. “He drove a great race. Our cars were dead equal. We just got beat.”

Surprising: There were definitely some surprising names in the top ten finishers when the checkered flag flew at RIR. Both Red Bull drivers, Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota, and his teammate Brian Vickers, behind the wheel of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, had good nights.

Kahne, still smarting from his recent knee surgery, finished third and Vickers posted a tenth place finish.

Another driver David Ragan, piloting his No. 6 UPS “We Love Logistics” Ford for Roush- Fenway Racing, had a strong car especially at the end of the race, finishing fourth.

“It was a fun night,” Ragan said. “This is my favorite track to come to. Back in 2007, we finished third here and I have really liked the place since.”

The final driver not usually in the top ten but with a great run at Richmond was AJ Allmendinger. With new sponsor Nautica on his No. 43 Ford Fusion, the ‘Dinger brought his car home in the seventh spot.

“Sometimes in these races, you have to get a little lucky,” Allmendinger said. “We have been on the bad end before with good cars so I will take luck over skill any day.”

Not Surprising: Although mightily struggling for much of the race, five-time champion Jimmie Johnson found his inner rally and finished eighth.

“We had a good finish out of it but it was a long, long night,” Johnson said. “We got the car semi-competitive and then finally got some strategy, got back on the lead lap and we went from there. So, frustrating night but a good points night.”

Surprising: Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Jeff Gordon had a surprisingly bad night. Gordon yet again found a non-safer barrier wall and wrecked into it driver’s side first.

The crash on Lap 301 also collected Paul Menard, Mark Martin, David Reutimann, Bobby Labonte, Jamie McMurray and Matt Kenseth.

“It knocked the wind out of me,” Gordon said after his visit to the infield care center. “I seem to find the worst angles of walls.”

“What a shame,” Gordon continued. “The Dupont Chevrolet was so strong. With 100 laps to go everyone was losing their patience including me. I just wish they had a safer barrier there.”

Not Surprising: Unfortunately, it was not surprising that Team Penske continued their struggles. Kurt Busch, in the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge, had all kinds of trouble, from the initial wreck involving Montoya, continuing throughout the race. Teammate Brad Keselowski, in the Blue Deuce, was also involved in several crashes. Busch finished 22^nd and Keselowski finished 36^th.

Surprising: After returning to the lead lap via the ‘lucky dog’ process, Dave Blaney, with his newly committed sponsor Golden Corral on his No. 36 race car, managed to move forward at the end of the race to finish 13^th, his season’s best. Blaney, racing not start and parking for Tommy Baldwin Racing, has now locked himself into the top 35, firmly ensconced in 32^nd in the point standings.

Not Surprising: Carl Edwards had another strong run, posting a fifth place finish in his No. 99 Scotts EZ Seed Ford. He also maintained the top spot in the point standings, nine points over second place Jimmie Johnson and thirty points ahead of race winner Kyle Busch in third.

“That was a lot of work,” Edwards said. “I think that feeling of fifth here tonight will be replaced with the points lead feeling in a little bit and that will feel better.”

May 1, 2011
Chase Elliott Competes With The Big Boys For A Good Cause

Chase Elliott, son of Cup champion Bill Elliott, was prepared to race at Richmond International Raceway in the K&N Pro Series East Race for the first time in his young career.

But the youngster got the chance to do something even more special, compete with the ‘big boys’ of the racing world at Denny Hamlin’s Charity Race, the Denny Hamlin Shootout.

Elliott was tapped to drive Brandon Butler’s Late Model, filling in for Kasey Kahne who is still recovering from additional knee surgery. The up and coming driver not only got to compete against some of his idols, like Hamlin, Tony Stewart, Michael Waltrip and newcomer Travis Pastrana, but also got to challenge his own dear old dad.

Because of his inexperience, having never even competed in a Whelen All-American late model race car before, Chase Elliott started in the back of the field just behind father Bill. This starting position turned out to be one of the luckiest as much of the field was involved in a major crash in the first lap of the race.

While Chase went low to escape the wreck, right behind his father, Bill Elliott did get clipped from behind, doing major damage to his race car.

“I thought I was a goner when they were barreling down from the wall,” Chase said to his dad. “But they hit you instead.”

“Well I’m glad I could be of assistance to you there, son,” father Bill Elliott quipped quickly.

After the major wreck, Matt McCall and Max Gresham brought the field to the restart green flag. They were quickly challenged by Cup contender Kyle Busch, who not only led but dominated the competition, as he so often does.

At the half-way mark of the race, however, Chase Elliott had worked his way forward to claim the 12th position. He even managed to get past one of his biggest racing idols Tony Stewart.

“He let me go,” Elliott said of his pass around Smoke.

Elliott continued to move forward, cracking the top ten and finally claiming a third place finish behind Denny Hamlin, race host, and Michael Waltrip.

Ever the racer, however, Elliott was hoping for an even better finish.

“On that last restart if we hadn’t have gone three-wide off in Turn One, I think we could have been battling for the win,” Elliott said. “I had a blast. To be able to run with great drivers and I am looking forward to hopefully being able to do it again sometime.”

Elliott also played a role in raising money for several charities, including the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, St. Jude Children’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital in Richmond. Race founder and winner Denny Hamlin said that 10 percent of this year’s race proceeds will be given to assist the victims of the recent tornados.

While Elliott celebrated his unexpectedly good finish in the Hamlin charity race, he was still smarting a bit from his K&N Pro Series East race prior to the charity event. After a sixth place qualifying effort in the East Series Blue Ox 150, Elliott struggled throughout the bulk of the race.

In addition to the fact that he had never been to the .75 mile, D-shaped oval track at Richmond, he also had to battle a rain delay, as well as a tight No. 9 HendrickCars.com race car. On Lap 75 when the caution flag flew, Elliott had dropped to 14th on the track and came out 25th after a pit stop for a track bar adjustment.

Elliott was never able to advance much further and he finished the race 24th.

“We just need more time to figure these cars out,” Elliott said. “We will get it.”

“I thought the car was good in practice,” Elliott continued. “But we had no drive-up off the corner when it came time for the race.”

Elliott will next compete in the K&N Pro Series East race at Bowman-Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on June 4th. This will also be the fifteen year old Elliott’s debut at that historic track.

April 30, 2011
Surprising and Not Surprising: Martinsville Goody’s Fast Relief 500

[media-credit name=”Brad Kepel ” align=”alignright” width=”277″][/media-credit]
Martin Truex Jr. crashes into Kasey Kahne at Martinsville
At Martinsville’s version of the ‘paper clip’, NASCAR’s elite made their own history at one of the most storied tracks on the circuit. Greg Biffle and Jamie McMurray both made their 300^th starts of their careers and iron man Mark Martin made his 800^th start of his career.

Here is what was surprising and not surprising in the Goody’s Fast Relief 500:

Surprising: It’s not often when the duel for the second place finish is one of the most surprising, and exciting, moments of the entire race. But this second place competition just happened to be between NASCAR’s most popular driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and one of the sport’s rowdiest drivers Kyle Busch. Junior prevailed by the slightest of margins, less than 0.020 of a second.

Both the driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet and the No. 18 Pedigree Toyota had great points days, with Junior climbing four spots to eighth and Busch taking the points lead.

Not Surprising: Now officially able to relinquish his former nicknames of ‘Happy’ and the ‘Bakersfield Basher’, Kevin Harvick, this week in his No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet, can most decisively claim the nickname ‘The Closer.’ Harvick is the first repeat winner of the season and has now won back to back races in decisive passes late in the race.

“Just an awesome day,” Harvick said. “I didn’t think we had the car to do that. I had a lot of fun racing with Dale Jr. and I hate to be the bad guy, but we’re in it to win it.”

Surprising: The two dominant drivers of past Martinsville races were not the ones battling for the lead this year. With 34 laps to go, Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet, made an uncharacteristic mistake, entering the pits too fast. He was forced to the tail end of the field, finishing in the 11^th position.

Denny Hamlin, oft the master of Martinsville, was one of the first to get to pit road, which bit him late in the race. The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota had to take a wave around on Lap 473, relegating him to a 12^th place finish.

Not Surprising: To no one’s surprise, four-time Cup champion and seven time Martinsville winner Jeff Gordon had a strong day, finishing fifth in the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet. With his good run, Gordon also surpassed the ‘King’ Richard Petty and took the fourth spot in the all-time laps led category.

“We did have a great day,” Gordon said. “We weren’t great at the beginning but we worked our way up. It was an awesome day to drive to fifth there at the end.”

Surprising: The number of changing lanes before reaching the start finish line penalties, affectionately known as the ‘David Ragan faux pas’ after his Daytona mistake cost him the win, was definitely surprising. Penalized were Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin, and Tony Stewart.

It took Kenseth almost half the race to right his wrong. At the end of the day, Kenseth was able to salvage a sixth place finish in his No. 17 Crown Royal Ford.

Martin was also able to redeem himself, finishing 10^th in his No. 5 Quaker State/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet. Martin is now officially the eighth driver to reach the level of 800 starts in his racing career.

The driver who came out on the short end of the changing lanes penalty stick was Tony Stewart. The driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet finished a miserable 34^th, several laps down.

Not Surprising: Short tracks usually equal short tempers and that was definitely the case at Martinsville. Several drivers were unhappy with one another for the bumping, beating and grinding that occurred during the hard racing.

Most notably was Paul Menard, who had been leading the charge for his new Richard Childress Racing team, only to get into it with Robby Gordon.

Menard said that Gordon brake-checked him “out of apparent retaliation,” putting a hole in the radiator of the No. 27 NIBCO/Menards Chevrolet. Menard finished 38^th, falling six spots to 13^th in the point standings.

Another byproduct of the hard racing that had tempers flaring was the usually unflappable Aussie Marcos Ambrose, who was definitely angry with Michael McDowell.

“I don’t know what McDowell was thinking,” Ambrose said. “I got stuck on the outside and lost 20 positions just trying to get to the bottom and he just jacked me up and put me in the fence around lap 100. It was uncalled for and made for a very long day.”

Surprising: At a short track like Martinsville, big wrecks are not the norm. But there was a monster of a hard hit when Martin Truex, Jr. lost his brakes and pummeled himself into the wall, taking innocent bystander Kasey Kahne with him.

The hit was so intense that the race had to be red flagged while repairs were made to the safer barrier. Thankfully the drivers of both the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota and the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota were able to walk away from the incident.

“I thought, oh man, this is going to hurt,” Truex said of the wreck. “Thanks to NASCAR and everybody who built the SAFER barriers. Ten years ago, I wouldn’t be standing here.”

Not Surprising: As loud as the Truex/Kahne wreck was, in contrast the quietest mover in the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 was Juan Pablo Montoya. The driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet started in the 27^th position and, without fanfare, worked his way towards the front to finish fourth. JPM is also quietly working his way up the leader board, advancing one position to seventh in the point standings.

April 3, 2011
Surprising and Not Surprising: Auto Club 400

From the moment Sugar Ray Leonard dropped the green flag for the pole and outside pole sitters, Juan Pablo Montoya in his fiery red No. 42 Target Chevrolet and Denny Hamlin in his No. 11 FedEx Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, expectations were high at the fourteen degree banked, wide open track in Fontana, California.

[media-credit name=”Credit: Victor Decolongon/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”273″][/media-credit]Here is what was surprising and not surprising in the purposely shorter Auto Club 400, down in length by 20% and 100 miles from last year:

Surprising: After an absolutely dominant performance by Kyle Busch, who led the most laps at 151 and ascended to 29^th on the all-time laps led leader list surpassing Fireball Roberts, and a late race charge by Fontana favorite Jimmie Johnson, one driver led less than a lap and took the checkered flag.

Bakersfield, California native Kevin Harvick finally got that coveted first win at his home state track, Auto Club Speedway. Reminiscent of his racing idol the late, great Dale Earnhardt, Harvick sported his own brand of intimidation, bumping Jimmie Johnson just enough to rattle him so Harvick could slip by for the win on the last lap.

“Well we had them all beat last year and I gave it away,” Harvick said in a Budweiser-soaked Victory Lane. “What a great day.”

“All these guys did a great job on pit road,” Harvick continued. “Gil (Martin) made the right call. We held those guys off and our car just kept going.”

“Today we had a fast car and the circumstances played in our favor.”

This was Harvick’s 15^th victory, putting him in a tie with Ernie Irvan for 48^th on NASCAR’s all-time Cup Series win list. This was team owner Richard Childress’ 95^th Cup Series win, but the team’s first ever win at Auto Club Speedway as well.

Not Surprising: It was not surprising to see five-time champ Jimmie Johnson, piloting the very familiar No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, finish in the runner up position. This was Johnson’s 10^th top-two finish in 17 races at Auto Club Speedway.

“It reminded me of last year in the spring race,” Johnson said. “We just couldn’t hold him off.”

“I knew he was coming,” Johnson said of Harvick. “If I could have got by the 18 a lot sooner, it might have been enough, but I was way loose and driving my butt off.”

“Just glad it turned out to be a decent day.”

Surprising: In spite of losing the race after being so dominant, it was surprising to see this ‘new’ Kyle Busch take it all in stride. Busch stood calmly by his No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota, waiting to share his thoughts on his third place finish and his first top ten finish in the past four races at Auto Club Speedway.

“We gave the race away today unfortunately,” Busch said. “We seemed to be losing the handle on that last set of tires and couldn’t get the right speed I needed.”

“I can’t say enough about the guys on pit road and the guys back at the shop,” Busch continued. “They got us in position but unfortunately I couldn’t get the job done today.”

“I just didn’t have what it took there at the end.”

Not Surprising: After having a chance at the race win and falling back, it was not surprising to see Tony Stewart pitch his gloves off after the race and stalk out of his car to his hauler, waving off any media who dared approach him. Stewart, who had run in the top five most of the day, making daring pit calls with his crew chief to stay out when others pitted for tires, faded back to finish 13^th.

With that finish, Stewart ended a four race streak of top-10 finishes at Auto Club Speedway. The driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet for the team that bears his name also fell three spots in the point standings to the sixth spot.

Surprising: Unfortunately, the engine woes that have been plaguing Joe Gibbs Racing continued this weekend. Young Joey Logano had to start at the back of the pack due to an engine change, clawing his way back up to a 25^th place finish.

Even more devastating was the engine failure of Denny Hamlin, who had been the outside pole sitter and who looked to be a contender early in the race. After nursing his wounded car along and then going a lap down, Hamlin finally gave it up and headed to the garage.

“We’ve got to go to work and figure out how to get the reliability back,” Hamlin said. “Our engine department has got to go to work.”

“It was a slow death for our car today.”

Not Surprising: Sadly the curse of the first lap leader continued at Auto Club Speedway. In 21 races at the track, the first lap leader has never gone on to win the race.

This was the case for Juan Pablo Montoya, who started off in the pole position and led that first deadly lap. Montoya had his struggles but did manage to rally back for a top ten finish, keeping him solidly in eighth position in the point standings.

Surprising: Both Red Bull teams had amazingly good runs in Fontana this weekend. Brian Vickers, in the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, finished eighth while teammate Kasey Kahne, in his No. 4 Red Bull Toyota, followed right behind in the ninth position.

“Well, we wanted to win,” Vickers said. “But this is just what the Red Bull 83 team needed.”

Not Surprising: Carl Edwards, who has been so dominant this season, finished sixth. With his good run, Edwards was able to assume his place on top of the points leader board, now officially the first repeat points leader in five races this season.

March 28, 2011
Mark Martin Lucky in Vegas While Danica Patrick Makes History

Mark Martin, driving the No. 32 Dollar General for Turner Motorsports for the first time, not only was lucky with his fuel mileage but also took advantage of the bad luck of Brad Keselowski to win the 15th Annual Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

[media-credit name=”Gary Buchanan” align=”alignright” width=”239″][/media-credit]This was Martin’s 49th Nationwide win Series win, making him the seventh oldest driver to win a Nationwide race.

“We only had one chance to win the race and that was to win it on fuel,” Martin said in the media center after celebrating his win in Victory Lane. “When I caught Brad, I realized that it was going to take all the gas I had to get past him.”

“Trent (Owens) gave me great information,” Martin said of his crew chief, who scored his first win ever. “I managed to back off the throttle and wait to see if Brad (Keselowski) would make it or not.”

“It worked out for us today,” Martin continued. “It was a great team effort. Turner Motorsports is doing such good work and I wanted to get in there and be a part of it.”

“It was a real special win for us,” Martin said. “We got us another trophy and that’s all I care about.”

Martin’s Turner Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier also had good luck in Vegas, scoring a second place win in the No. 31. This was Allgaier’s third top-10 finish in three races at Las Vegas and his second top-10 finish in 2011.

“This was a really good finish for us because we battled through a lot of adversity,” Allgaier said. “To be able to come out of here one, two and to be able to be beat by Mark Martin, as much as I wanted to win the race there is only one person in the garage that I’d rather have beat me and it would be Mark.”

“Mark is really cool.”

While luck was on the side of Martin and Allgaier, Brad Keselowski had some of the worst luck of the Vegas Nationwide race weekend. According to Keselowski, the weekend started bad and ended even worse.

“We started off this weekend and we were atrociously bad,” Keselowski said. “My team worked all weekend long and found speed in my car.”

“From there we used great strategy and smarts to get in position to win the race,” Keselowski said. “I was trying to conserve my stuff and felt we had it, but obviously didn’t.”

“I just ran over something because it went down pretty quick,” Keselowski said of his blown tire. “It was just one of those days where you do everything right and don’t win. That’s why they call it racing.”

“I just feel bad for my guys,” Keselowski continued. “We’ve had three great cars in the last three races and something has happened. It just has to come back around. We’re on the down side of the roller coaster and I’m ready for it to come back up.”

While Martin took the checkered flag, Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 7 GoDaddy.com for JR Motorsports crossed the finish line in the fourth position, making her own brand of history as the highest finishing female ever in a NASCAR national series. With Patrick’s fourth place finish, she topped the record of Sara Christian, who finished fifth in 1949.

“I guess that’s something I don’t think about,” Patrick said when asked about her history-making run. “I don’t think about trying to be the highest finishing female. I just think about trying to win the race.”

“It was a good day,” Patrick, running in just her 16th race, said. “We just had a good car. I knew it from the beginning of the race.”

“We worked so hard on the car this weekend and we did have a lot of practice time, which was good,” Patrick said. “I missed those lucky dogs like three more times and we finally got it.”

“It allowed me to be consistent at the end, cautious and not over drive,” Patrick said. “It was a good day for GoDaddy and JR Motorsports.”

Trevor Bayne, the Daytona 500 winner, rounded out the top five for the Sam’s Town 300. After a fairly chaotic run last weekend at Phoenix, Bayne felt most fortunate to have been so close to the front of the field.

“It was cool to get a top-five out of that,” Bayne said. “You take them how you get them.”

“It is awesome for these guys to get a top-five and we probably didn’t deserve it,” Bayne continued. “But we saved gas and put ourselves in that position. I can’t wait to watch the tape on this one.”

Carl Edwards, who had been so dominant in the early part of the race, finished in the sixth position. Denny Hamlin, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Jason Leffler and Kenny Wallace rounded out the top ten.

Reed Sorenson maintains the Nationwide Series points lead, with Ricky Stenhouse and Jason Leffler following closely behind in second and third respectively. Danica Patrick and Justin Allgaier round out the top five in the point standings.

Unofficial Race Results
Sam’s Town 300, Las Vegas Motor Speedway
March 5, 2011 – Race 3 of 34

Pos. St. No. Driver Make Pts. Bon. Laps Status

1 – 32 Mark Martin Chevrolet 0 0 200 Running

2 – 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 42 0 200 Running

3 – 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge 0 0 200 Running

4 – 7 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 40 0 200 Running

5 – 16 Trevor Bayne Ford 39 0 200 Running

6 – 60 Carl Edwards Ford 0 0 200 Running

7 – 20 Denny Hamlin Toyota 0 0 200 Running

8 – 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 36 0 200 Running

9 – 38 Jason Leffler Chevrolet 35 0 200 Running

10 – 9 Kenny Wallace Toyota 34 0 200 Running

11 – 30 Reed Sorenson Chevrolet 33 0 200 Running

12 – 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 32 0 200 Running

13 – 62 Michael Annett Toyota 31 0 200 Running

14 – 11 Brian Scott Toyota 30 0 200 Running

15 – 88 Aric Almirola Chevrolet 29 0 198 Running

16 – 66 Steve Wallace Toyota 28 0 198 Running

17 – 19 Mike Bliss Chevrolet 27 0 197 Running

18 – 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 26 0 196 Running

19 – 99 Ryan Truex * Toyota 25 0 195 Running

20 – 14 Eric McClure Chevrolet 24 0 194 Running

21 – 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 23 0 193 Running

22 – 23 Robert Richardson Jr. Dodge 22 0 193 Running

23 – 97 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 21 0 193 Running

24 – 15 Timmy Hill * Ford 20 0 193 Running

25 – 28 Derrike Cope Chevrolet 19 0 190 Running

26 – 81 Donnie Neuenberger Dodge 18 0 189 Running

27 – 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 17 0 181 In Pit

28 – 33 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 0 0 168 Running

29 – 70 Shelby Howard Chevrolet 15 0 165 Running

30 – 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 0 0 130 In Pit

31 – 79 Jennifer Jo Cobb * Ford 13 0 127 Running

32 – 141 Carl Long Ford 12 0 83 In Pit

33 – 40 Scott Wimmer Chevrolet 11 0 72 Out

34 – 27 J.J. Yeley Ford 0 0 25 Out

35 – 25 Kelly Bires Ford 9 0 14 In Pit

36 – 55 Brett Rowe Chevrolet 8 0 12 In Pit

37 – 24 Kevin Lepage Ford 7 0 11 In Pit

38 – 39 Josh Wise Ford 6 0 10 In Pit

39 – 52 Daryl Harr Chevrolet 0 0 8 In Pit

40 – 103 Charles Lewandoski * Dodge 4 0 6 In Pit

41 – 168 Tim Andrews Ford 0 0 4 In Pit

42 – 44 Jeff Green Chevrolet 2 0 2 In Pit

43 – 87 Kevin Conway Chevrolet 0 0 2 In Pit

March 5, 2011
Denny Hamlin Could Find Redemption at Phoenix With Better Fuel Strategy

The last time Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin visited Phoenix International Raceway, he was only two races away from accomplishing what no other driver had been able to achieve since NASCAR brought into play the Car of Tomorrow for full time use in 2008. Hamlin came so close to winning his first championship, and putting an end to Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson’s four year championship reign.

[media-credit name=”Patrick McBride” align=”alignright” width=”240″][/media-credit]Instead after leaving Phoenix, gone was the look of confidence the NASCAR Sprint Cup point’s leader displayed after his win in the AAA Texas 500 on Nov. 7. It was replaced with a look of repugnance, after watching his dominating performance take a backseat to Johnson’s late-race fuel strategy payoff. Hamlin, who led a race high 190 laps while Johnson failed to lead a lap and collect the extra five bonus points, quickly found himself having to protect a small lead against the four-time champion heading into the final race at Homestead.

The day began to unfold for Hamlin on lap 233, when Robby Gordon spun which brought out the caution and the leaders headed to pit road. Kyle Busch beat Hamlin off pit road to grab the lead with 87 laps left in the race, and Johnson passed Kevin Harvick in the pits to take over fourth place. Mike Ford told Hamlin over the radio they’re about 12-13 laps short on fuel, and that’s when Johnsons crew chief Chad Knaus, began scheming with his driver to save fuel in hopes of cutting into Hamlin’s point lead. Knaus was listening to the radio chatter when he overheard Ford telling Hamlin he was not going to make it to the end.

Knaus’s gamble paid off when Johnson started conserving fuel with 15 laps left, and the team was able to finish the race in fifth, seven positions ahead of Hamlin. More importantly Johnson was able to shave an additional 43 points with the gamble and put himself within 15 points instead of 58, had Hamlin also gambled and finished the race in second without running out of fuel.

On lap 288 Hamlin told his crew chief, “Don’t let them short-pit us, Mike,” and two laps later Hamlin also begins saving fuel knowing that Ford had already told him earlier they would be 12-13 laps short. Finally with 14 laps left in the race, Ford called Hamlin in for two tires and fuel which took him 7.6 seconds and put him a lap back. It wasn’t until lap 301 when Hamlin would pass Edwards and get his lap back, and with five laps left he was still outside the top-10 in 15th place, while Johnson was in serious conservation mode running in sixth.

By the time the checkered was thrown, Hamlin crossed the line in 12th; Johnson picked up a spot and finished fifth with Harvick right behind in sixth. Johnson as we know went on to win his fifth championship, while Hamlin would spend the off-season wondering how he could let the championship slip away so easily. Hamlin talked about what his off-season was like when he said that, “I think just getting in the offseason — getting away from racing for a little while definitely helps a lot.” Hamlin also added that, “When you look back at it and I look back at it; it was a heck of a career year for myself. That’s something that can’t be overlooked because it’s the best I’ve ever performed throughout my career — my young career.”

The loss not only affected his fans, but it also affected the mindset of Hamlin in a positive way when he spoke about the upcoming season by saying, “Obviously, my passion for one thing. You look at the video of me after the race and you wouldn’t think we’d still be leading the points, but it was just the passion because I knew that I let a big opportunity slip away from us in the sense of we could’ve gone to Homestead and just kind of rode around and collected a championship.”

“For me, it was just my passion. It’s always been in me — the competitiveness has always been in me and it will never change.” Hamlin also added that, “I’ve only been around this team, me and this team, for five year. We’ve accomplished a lot of things that a lot of guys never will. So, for me, I just look forward and try and figure out how we can progress and get to number one.”

Hamlin will begin Sunday’s race from the 12^th spot in the field, and once again will have to work his way to the front. Fuel along with tires will once again be an issue, unlike the race at Daytona last Sunday when the teams were able to come in for fuel only on many of the pit stops. If Ford and Hamlin play their strategy right, redemption could come in a very big way, even though the ghosts of what could have been might be lurking around.

February 27, 2011
Jeff Burton Claims Second Duel Victory; Brian Keselowski Makes the Show

The second Gatorade Duel race was all about teamwork and brotherly love. Clint Bowyer pushed his Richard Childress Racing teammate Jeff Burton to the checkered flag and victory, while Brad Keselowski pushed his brother Brian into a place in the Daytona 500.

[media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]”It’s a shame two cars can’t fit in here,” Burton said in Victory Lane. “Clint and I decided that we would find each other early and it worked out well. For us, this is a good start and being in Victory Lane means a great deal.”

“I learned a lot of things,” Bowyer said for his part, acknowledging the pusher role. “I don’t know if there will be another rule change. It was fun out there.”

While Bowyer and Burton were high fiving one another after taking the checkered flag, Brad Keselowski was leaning in to congratulate his brother Brian, newly announced Rookie of the Year candidate, who made the biggest race of his life.

“I owe my brother in a thousand ways,” Brian Keselowski said. “We wouldn’t have made it here without him.”

Keselowski, racing an old Ray Evernham car built in 2006, seemed almost in shock that he had raced his way in to the Daytona 500. “I owe everything to eveybody right now,” Keselowski said.

“I didn’t get to start driving until I was 18 years old,” Keselowski said. “But I had to do it all on my own. If I didn’t put it together, I wouldn’t be racing right now.”

Michael Waltrip, former Daytona 500 winner, also made it in on time, thanks to his third place finish. While he felt “blessed to be here,” Waltrip also admitted that he was really “tired”, particularly mentally after that challenging race.

“You wouldn’t believe how relieving it is to get in no matter how you get in,” Waltrip said.

Thanks to Waltrip’s finish, Travis Kvapil secured his place in the race on his time. This was his first time to really experience the two car tango in race conditions.

“Well it feels great,” Kvapil said about racing his way into the show. “Last year, we missed this race and we have worked really hard over the wintertime. It paid off for us and it’s great for our team.”

The second duel race had a record 22 lead changes and also had a few more cautions than the first race. One of the first drivers to get involved in a wreck was Joey Logano, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota.

“Sometimes you’re the bug and sometimes you’re the windshield,” Logano said. “Today I was the windshield. Wrong place, wrong time.”

Denny Hamlin also had a less than stellar day. The driver of the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing had a tire go down and then was involved in a single car spin.

“I have to have a sense of humor I’ve learned this weekend,” Hamlin said. “What’s so crazy is the fact that we were spun out and three laps later we go from deal last to second or something like that.”

“This has been an amazing ride and hopefully our weekend is steadily improving,” Hamlin continued. “We finally did finish. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens from this day forward.”

One of the most heartbreaking wrecks occurred late in the race, when Trevor Bayne, who had been stellar all race long, tussled with Jeff Gordon, causing a multi-car accident. David Ragan was also a significant victim in this wreck as well.

“I really had a blast working with Trevor Bayne,” Gordon said. “He’s a good kid. He’s a heck of a race car driver.”

For his part, Bayne was thrilled to have been working with his boyhood hero, Jeff Gordon.

“Gordon and I worked awesome together and it was just down there at the end,” Bayne said. “I hate it for all these guys because we were doing awesome, but that’s part of it. That’s racing. We’ll get there.”

In addition to the two car tandem of Jeff Burton, winner, and runner up Clint Bowyer, Michael Waltrip, Kyle Busch and Brian Keselowski rounded out the top five finishers. Jamie McMurray, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex, Jr. and Carl Edwards completed the top ten in the second Gatorade duel.

February 17, 2011