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  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Quaker State 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Quaker State 400

    [media-credit name=”Adam Lovelace” align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]Racing, rather than traffic, ruled the day at the second annual running of the Quaker State 400. Here is what was surprising and not so surprising from Kentucky Speedway.

    Surprising:  It was surprising the odds that Brad Keselowski played to get to Victory Lane. He finished No. 1 in the Quaker State 400 in the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge to score his No.3 win for the 2012 season.

    Keselowski, in a back-up car after a practice accident with Juan Pablo Montoya, scored his first ever win at Kentucky.

    “Who’d have figured my best finish would have came in the hardest race but that just shows the importance of teamwork,” Keselowski said. “The group of guys that I have on this Miller Lite Dodge, they’re just bad asses.”

    “They put together a back-up car from last year in the hundred degree heat in an hour’s time,” Keselowski continued. “And that’s what got us to Victory lane today and I’m proud of these guys for it, damn proud of ‘em.”

    “I think that sums it up.”

    Not Surprising:  Penske Racing’s other car, with A.J. Allmendinger behind the wheel, also beat the odds at Kentucky. The ‘Dinger brought the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge home in the ninth position, in spite of running out of gas on the last lap.

    “I was happy with the way most of the day went, especially around here because I haven’t been good around here,” Allmendinger said. “A lot of the credit goes to Brad helping me out. He’s obviously really good.”

    “But for a track that I’m not very good at, that I really struggle at and tough conditions, running inside the top 10 for pretty much all of the day and getting a ninth out of it, which I’d like to have been a little bit better, but it’s something to build on.”

    Surprising:  Stewart Haas Racing had a surprisingly bad day in the Blue Grass State. Tony Stewart, in the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, had ignition problems early in the race which led to his 32nd place finish.

    With that dismal finish, Smoke became NASCAR’s biggest loser, dropping four positions to ninth position in the point standings.

    Teammate Ryan Newman, behind the wheel of the No. 39 Tornados Chevrolet, finished 34th after blowing his engine and careening into the wall. Although Newman was not physically hurt, his psyche took a hit with his second DNF of the season.

    Not Surprising:  On the flip side, Hendrick Motorsports had a fabulous day at Kentucky Speedway, with Kasey Kahne finishing second, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. fourth, Jeff Gordon fifth, and Jimmie Johnson sixth.

    This was Kahne’s first top-10 finish in two races at Kentucky and his eighth top-10 finish of the season.

    “Well, we had a really good Quaker State Chevrolet,” Kahne said. “We had to pass a ton of cars and came up a little short.”

    “But the team was awesome.”

    Kahne’s HMS teammate and four time champ Jeff Gordon echoed his sentiments.

    “It was a pretty flawless night for our Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet,” Jeff Gordon said. “I was pretty excited that we came home with a fifth place finish, battling up front like we did.”

    Surprising:  After three straight engine issues in a row and a smack against the wall at Kentucky, Kyle Busch, who was dominant early in the race, finished with a surprising top-10.

    “It was definitely not any fun – not as much fun as we were having early on,” Busch said. “We just had to persevere and try to get through it the best we could.”

    “So, tough night again for these M&M’s guys,” Busch continued. “We salvaged a heck of a finish for what all we had to go through.”

    Not Surprising:   Every race, even in the heart of horse country, has its share of drivers unhappy with one another. And this race was no exception, with drivers Joey Logano and Ryan Newman getting into it.

    “I’m not really sure what’s going on with the boy in that No. 20 car,” Newman said. “He’s got a few things to learn and I’m going to have to be the one who teaches him.”

    Surprising:  Matt Kenseth’s announcement that he would leave Roush Fenway Racing at the end of the season for pastures unknown had surprisingly no effect on him on the track. Kenseth, in his No. 17 Fifth Third Ford Fusion finished 7th and maintained his points lead in the Chase standings.

    “It was a huge struggle for us tonight,” Kenseth said. “I am happy to finish seventh for as big of a struggle as it was.”

    Not Surprising:  Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, announced via Twitter prior to the race that he would be staying on with Joe Gibbs Racing and, to no one’s surprise, finished third in the Quaker State 400.

    This was Hamlin’s first top-10 finish in two races at Kentucky Speedway.

    “Our car was really strong,” Hamlin said. “I’m proud of this FedEx team. We needed a finish and that was my first priority on that last run.”

    “Anybody that follows me on Twitter – I like to give them the information first,” Hamlin continued. “A proud moment for us and Joe Gibbs Racing to sign an extension and know where we’re going to be for the foreseeable future.”

    “Hopefully we’ll win a championship together.”

    Surprising:  Forget the consistent points racing, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has a surprising new attitude – he just wants to win. Junior, behind the wheel of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet, finished fourth, however, still had his Michigan win of two weeks ago on his mind.

    “It was really fun,” Junior said of his top-5 at Kentucky. “But we’re just ready to win.”

    “I really had fun winning the other week,” Junior continued. “I’m ready to get back to Victory Lane. I ain’t going to be as patient this time.”

    Not Surprising:  Martin Truex Jr., in the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, continued to fly the flag for Michael Waltrip Racing, finishing eighth.

    “We weren’t very good all night,” Truex Jr. said. “We had a good finish – – I guess.”

    “We were just really tight all night and we couldn’t do anything to fix it.”

    Surprising:  Carl Edwards and company made a rare mistake on pit road, having to come for a splash of gas to finish the race. The No. 99 UPS Ford Fusion took the checkered flag in the 20th position at race end.

    “We had a pretty good car at the end,” Edwards said. “Bob (Osborne) called me onto pit road.”

    “He knew we should have pitted that last time but I was already so far around that cone that I just didn’t feel right cutting across traffic and slamming the splitter down to make it to pit road.”

    “We were put in a box,” Edwards continued. “I am real frustrated. We need to get this in gear.”

    Not Surprising:  After a 21st place finish, it is not surprising to lose positions in the point standings. And Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 American Red Cross Ford Fusion, did just that, falling to the fourth spot in the Chase.

    “We qualified a little better this year than we did last year but the end result was the same,” Biff said. “We were off a little bit and just couldn’t get a handle on it.”

    The Cup Series next travels to Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400 for another Saturday night of racing under the lights

     

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Sonoma Toyota Save Mart 350

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Sonoma Toyota Save Mart 350

    [media-credit name=”Credit: By Ezra Shaw, Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”213″][/media-credit]From the land of wine, as well as left and right turns, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma.

    Surprising:  The most surprising thing about the first road course race of the season was just how surprised the winner of the race was in Victory Lane. In fact, he was so surprised that he forgot his car, which was out of gas, and walked to Victory Lane.

    “What the hell am I doing here,” Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, said. “I’m not a road racer!”

    “Never in a million years did I think I could come here and be the best of the best,” Bowyer continued. “This is a dream come true. It was meant to be.”

    This was Bowyer’s first victory for the 2012 season and his first victory at Sonoma.

    Not Surprising:  The second and third place finishers definitely had a mutual admiration society going on for each other after racing each other cleanly, particularly during the final green, white, checkered laps.

    Tony Stewart, in his No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, finished second while Kurt Busch, in the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet, finished third.

    “I’m a little choked up,” Kurt Busch said after battling for the lead in spite of an injured race car. “I’m just glad we brought it home third.”

    “If I was smarter, I would have let Tony Stewart go a lap, a half-a-lap ahead,” Busch continued. “Maybe he could have got to Bowyer for a big finale.”

    “What everyone probably didn’t see was that something was wrong with his car,” Smoke said of Kurt Busch in the No. 51. “Something in the rear-end was breaking and he was driving the wheel s off that thing.”

    “I don’t know how he kept it on the race track,” Stewart continued. “He did a really good job of keeping that thing going.”

    Stewart scored his ninth top-10 finish at Sonoma and his third straight top-3 finish. Kurt Busch posted his fifth top-10 finish in 12 races at Sonoma.

    Surprising:  The seemingly strongest two cars on the road course had surprising struggles to contend with before finishing in the top-10.

    The fastest qualifier, Marcos Ambrose, struggled in race trim, yet finished eighth, while outside pole sitter Jeff Gordon ran out of gas, losing track time and position to finish sixth.

    “We really missed it,” the driver of the No. 9 Stanley Ford Fusion said. “We missed it bad and we did good to recover and get a top-10 out of it.”

    “We had no speed in the car and we paid the price, “Ambrose continued. “I just feel bad for my Stanley team. It was just terrible.”

    “We went about a half-of a lap too far,” Jeff Gordon said. “It never fails, you run out just as you pass pit entrance.”

    “We were lucky to get back to pit road and get it fueled up,” the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet continued. “Luckily, we had enough laps to slowly work our way up into the top-10.”

    Not Surprising:  Since Dale Earnhardt, Jr., by his own admission, is not the biggest lover of road course racing, it was not surprising that last week’s Michigan race winner struggled at Sonoma. The driver of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet finished 23rd after a late race accident.

    “I’m just mad because we didn’t run better,” Junior said. “We weren’t good all weekend.”

    “I mean I ain’t the best road course racer out there, but I can damn sure do better than that,” Dale Jr. continued. “We’ve just got to do a better job.”

    Surprising:  Joe Gibbs Racing teammates were surprisingly playing a different sport with one another. Late in the race, young Joey Logano, behind the wheel of his No. 20 Home Depot Toyota, tangled with not only Kyle Busch but also Denny Hamlin.

    “He really overshot the corner and got into us,” Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota, said of his teammate Logano. “Once you drive that extra 50 feet in, there’s nothing you can do to take it back.”

    “We were the bowling pins and he was the bowling ball.”

    Hamlin got the worst of the bowling tournament, finishing 35th, while teammate Kyle Busch, in the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, finished 17th. ‘Bowling ball’ Logano managed to finish in the tenth spot.

    Not Surprising:  While he has not been regularly driving a stock car, it was not surprising that Brian Vickers was able to parlay some of his Le Mans racing experience to his NASCAR performance at Sonoma.

    Piloting the No. 55 RKMotorsCharlotte.com Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, Vickers kept both his nose and his car clean to finish fourth.

    “It was great to run LeMans and then come here,” Vickers said. “I learned a lot about road racing.”

    “Everyone at MWR is putting great cars on the track,” Vickers continued. “They’ve all made it possible for me to take the RKMotors car and put it in the top-five.”

    Surprising:  Casey Mears, behind the wheel of the NO. 13 GEICO Ford Fusion had a surprisingly good go of it at Sonoma, finishing top-15.

    “We had a good car all weekend,” Mears said. “”It was a solid day for us. I am proud of what everybody did here and we will just keep improving.”

    Not Surprising:  To no one’s surprise, two Roushketeers ended up atop the leader board in the point standings.

    Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Ford EcoBoost Ford and NASCAR’s newest free agent, finished 13th at Sonoma but still leads his teammate Greg Biffle, who finished 7th in his 3M/US Stationary Ford, by 11 points in the standings.

    “We had a decent day,” Biffle said. “But we were just too loose all day.”

    “We need to work on our road course program a little bit.”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Sonoma

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Sonoma

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson posted his eighth top-5 finish of the year with a fifth in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma. He is fourth in the standings, 25 out of first.

    “Clint Bowyer was solid in the 5-Hour Energy Toyota,” Johnson said. “But does that necessarily make him a contender for the Sprint Cup title? What’s more impressive? Doing it five times, or for ‘5-Hours?’

    “There’s a lot of drivers, Bowyer included, who have a single victory this year. They’re just a drop in the bucket. If five-straight Cup titles is a ‘reign,’ then one win is merely a drop of reign.”

    2. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth held on to the Sprint Cup points lead with a 13th at Sonoma. With ten races left until the Chase For The Cup, he leads Greg Biffle by 11.

    “As you know,” Kenseth said, “I’m leaving Roush Fenway Racing at season’s end. However, I’m not at liberty to discuss my contract situation. And that’s sad, because the one time I have something to talk about, I’m not able to.

    “In any case, when I do sign a new contract, it will be the first time I’ve been paid for my autograph in ages.”

    3. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: After snapping a 143-race winless streak with a victory at Michigan on June 17th, Earnhardt followed with a disappointing 23rd in the Toyota/Save Mart 350. Earnhardt was running 13th when he spun on the final lap. He is now third in the point standings, 14 out of first.

    “I can’t be too upset for not winning at Sonoma,” Earnhardt said. “No, not because I just won at Michigan, but because Junior Nation would never forgive me for drinking wine.”

    4. Tony Stewart: Stewart passed Kurt Busch with one lap to go to take the runner-up spot at Sonoma. Stewart chased Clint Bowyer to the checkered flags, but finished .829 behind, and is now eighth in the point standings, 74 out of first.

    “The hard part was getting around Busch,” Stewart said. “He’s never easy to overtake, unless it’s in a test of mental stability. I know Kurt is struggling to find sponsorship, but I think now is the time for Planter’s to get back into sport. What better sponsor for Busch than ‘nuts?’”

    5. Greg Biffle: Biffle’s No. 16 3M Fusion was the first Ford across the line at Sonoma, finishing seventh for his ninth top 10 of the year. He remained third in the point standings, and trails Matt Kenseth by 17.

    “I’m just happy I didn’t have a confrontation with Boris Said,” Biffle said. “I surely don’t want to wake with ‘Said Head’ almost as much as I don’t want to wake up with a ‘Said Head.’ His fans are crazy, and not even my type.

    “But I finished seventh, while Boris finished 29th. And Boris, of all people, knows a ‘whuppin’’ when he sees one.”

    6. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer dominated at Sonoma, leading 71 of 112 laps for his first win of the year. Bowyer pulled away from Kurt Busch on the green-white-checkered finish, and held off Tony Stewart down the stretch. Bowyer is ninth in the point standings, 84 out of first.

    “I’m proud to give Michael Waltrip Racing its first win,” Bowyer said. “You can best believe Michael won’t stop talking about this, ever. Now I can say I’ve won one for the ‘gabber.’

    7. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin suffered difficult day at Sonoma, spinning on lap 94 after contact with Joe Gibbs teammate Joey Logano, and finishing 35th after a DNF due to suspension failure. Hamlin tumbled three places to eighth in the point standings, 73 out of first.

    “Logano wrecked me,” Hamlin said. “By the way, he’s still in negotiations for a new contract with JGR. If he’s back with Gibbs, that will be two of us resigned—Joey re-signed to a new contract, and me resigned to being his teammate for longer.”

    8. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex led 15 laps in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 before fading to finish 22nd. He remained seventh in the Sprint Cup point standings, 68 out of first.

    “First,” Truex said, “Dale Earnhardt, Jr. wins at Michigan. Then, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. gets a ride at Roush Fenway Racing. It appears I’ll be the final ‘Junior’ to achieve glory in NASCAR. As ‘Junior’s’ go, they should start calling me ‘Martin Truex, III.’”

    9. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished 16th in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 after running out of gas midway through the race, costing him several positions. Harvick and the No. 29 Rheem team salvaged a decent finish thanks to the Lucky Dog free pass on lap 83. He now sits sixth in the point standings, 64 out of first.

    “This is shaping up to be a forgettable season,” Harvick said. “Of course, when I say this could be the worst nine months of my life, I guess I should clarify that it’s me talking and not my pregnant wife DeLana.”

    10. Jeff Gordon: Despite running out of gas on lap 73, Gordon battled back to record a sixth-place finish at Sonoma. NASCAR’s all-time road course win leader posted his second consecutive sixth-place result as he tries to make a move towards a berth in the Chase.

    “I hear Matt Kenseth is leaving Roush Fenway Racing at season’s end,” Gordon said. “It’s unclear whether Matt is leaving under his own accord or was pushed out. Knowing Matt as I do, I’m almost positive he was pushed.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Michigan Quicken Loans 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Michigan Quicken Loans 400

    [media-credit name=”Dan Sanger” align=”alignright” width=”237″][/media-credit]From blistering speeds to blistering tires, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 44th annual Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

    Surprising:  After the repaving, days of tire testing and several practices resulted in pervasive tire blistering throughout the garage, it was surprising the praise shared for Goodyear when they made the very difficult call to switch up the tires for the race.

    And although known for his sometimes hard-hitting rhetoric, second place finisher Tony Stewart had nothing but cheers for team Goodyear.

    “I think we need to give 100 percent credit to Goodyear for this weekend,” the driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet said. “I mean, what they had to do Friday night was a really hard decision to make.”

    “It was for the betterment of all of us as drivers and teams and for the sport,” Smoke continued. “So every one of us need to walk through the garage and stop at Goodyear and shake every one of their guys’ hands.”

    Not Surprising:  While Junior nation paced and held their collective breaths during the final laps of the Quicken Loans 400, no one was more anxious than team owner Rick Hendrick.

    “That was the longest 18 laps of my life,” Hendrick said of the waning laps before Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finally took that checkered flag, ending his four-year winless drought.  “I was doing laps around my couch, trying to end this race, man.”

    “I was too nervous to stand still,” Hendrick continued. “Linda and I were just watching it and saying ‘Come on, no problems.’ I was so afraid there was going to be a caution or something was going to happen.”

    “I thought Dale had a real shot at Pocono,” Hendrick said. “But this is like a huge load off our backs.”

    Surprising:  While his teammate basked in the glory of Victory Lane, Jeff Gordon celebrated a top-10 finish, as well as a surprising career milestone. The driver of the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet scored the 400th top-10 finish of his Cup career.

    With his sixth place run, Gordon became the second youngest driver to achieve that milestone. This was also his fifth top-6 finish at Michigan International Speedway in the last seven races at that track.

    “It was not easy,” Gordon said, especially after having to move up from his 28th starting spot. “We had a really good race car today.”

    “I’m just glad we had a solid day,” Gordon continued. “It’s something to build on.”

    Not Surprising:  Always understated and never surprising Matt Kenseth had another solid run, finishing third in his No. 17 EcoBoost Ford. Kenseth also held onto the points lead, lording just four points over second place contender Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

    “We were pretty good in the beginning of the race and got shuffled back and it was tough to work traffic today,” Kenseth said. “They got the setup good on the last two runs and had good pit stops.”

    “We were able to stand on the gas and work our way up there to third.”

    Surprising:  One of the hottest drivers on the circuit surprisingly went from Victory Lane in Pocono and in the Michigan Nationwide race to hitting the wall and ending his Michigan Cup race with a DNF.

    “It was just the restarts,” Joey Logano said. “The slower lapped car – we all waved around and we’re all trying to turn down underneath him.”

    “I thought I had it saved and over-corrected and went in the wall,” Logano continued. “It’s a little frustrating.”

    “We’ll go back out there next week and win that one.”

    Not Surprising:   NASCAR is a family so, to no one’s surprise, several teams and crew members came to the aid of a driver in trouble. After wrecking, Denny Hamlin tried to drive to pit road only to be engulfed in flames in the race car.

    “There’s a lot of good safety stuff, but I’ve got to thank all of the crew guys that hauled ass over there and got me out,” the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota said. “It was just a tough day.”

    “I thought we had a car that could run top-three or four at times, but just didn’t have a great day and on fire is not a good way to end it.”

    Surprising:  Rough times surprisingly continued to plague the Busch brothers, from Pocono to the Irish hills of Michigan. Kurt Busch, who sat out of his car at Pocono due to a verbal altercation with a media member, wrecked on lap two of the Michigan race.

    Brother Kyle fared none better, experiencing engine failure for the third weekend in a row.

    Kurt Busch finished 30th and Kyle Busch finished 32nd. With the engine failure, Kyle Busch managed to hold on to 12th in the point standings, but barely remained in Chase contention.

    Not Surprising:  Jimmie Johnson, along with his lucky horseshoe, continued to triumph over adversity. The driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet managed yet again to pull off another top-5 finish.

    “Man, we were coming,” Johnson said. “We were really flying.”

    “And then I blistered the right rear again and had to just hang on,” Johnson continued. “And then I ran out of fuel going into Turn 3 and coasted around and made it to the finish.”

    “It was a tough day; but a good finish, so we’ll take that.”

    Surprising:  EGR racer Juan Pablo Montoya had a surprisingly good run at Michigan, finishing eighth.

    “It was good,” the driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet said of his top-10 run. “I will tell you the truth, yesterday when they changed tires, I was really worried.”

    “I called my dad to wish him a Happy Father’s Day and he said, ‘How is the car?’ I said, ‘If it handles the way it handled yesterday we are going to get lapped every 20 laps.”

    “Our team has a lot of potential and we showed a little bit of what we can do,” JPM continued. “I think we still have a lot of work to do, but I’m happy, really happy.”

    Not Surprising:  As the fastest racer in NASCAR, Marcos Ambrose not only scored the pole with a new track record, but also finished ninth in his No. 9 Stanley Ford Fusion.

    “We will take the top-10 but we had a great car today and we lost a little bit of track position and it hurt us there,” Ambrose said. “I am proud of my Stanley team. We led some laps and looked good up there.”

    “It was a strong day for us, not quite what we wanted, but we will take it and move along to Sonoma.”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Pocono

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Pocono

    [media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”237″][/media-credit]Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished fourth at Pocono, posting his 10th top-10 result of the year. He remained fifth in the Spring Cup point standings, 30 out of first.

    “Pit road speeding penalties were the story at Pocono,” Johnson said. “I got nabbed twice myself. There are so many speed traps on pit road, I apparently wasn’t the only ‘5-timer’ at Pocono.

    “I got ‘busted twice.’ And I’m so good, they’ll be saying that again at my Hall of Fame induction ceremony.”

    2. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished seventh in the Pocono 400, and, with the struggles of Roush Fenway teammate Greg Biffle, is the new points leader. Kenseth holds a ten-point lead over Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

    “It’s one thing to lead the point standings now,” Kenseth said. “It’s another to lead at season’s end. And, as The Fixx once eloquently stated, let’s hope ‘One Thing Leads To Another.’”

    3. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt led 36 laps at Pocono, second only to Joey Logano’s 49, but settled for an eighth-place finish, his third-straight top 10 and seventh in the last eight races. Earnhardt improved one place in the Sprint Cup point standings and trails Matt Kenseth by 10.

    “We had the car to win the race,” Earnhardt said, “but, as a 143-race winless streak would seem to suggest, not the driver.

    “We had to play it safe and pit for fuel late in the race. I know Junior Nation wanted me to go for the win, but if they could just picture alcohol in the place of fuel, I think they’d understand.”

    4. Greg Biffle: Biffle led 19 early laps in the Pocono 400 before mechanical issues dropped him to a finish of 24th, his worst result of the season. After leading the point standings for 11 consecutive weeks, Biffle fell to third, and now trails Matt Kenseth by 10.

    “Up until Pocono,” Biffle said, “our engines have been pretty reliable. Usually, when there’s talk of ‘mechanical issues’ around here, it’s a comment on Kenseth’s personality.”

    5. Denny Hamlin: Perennial Pocono favorite Hamlin started and finished fifth in the Pocono 400, as Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano took the victory. Hamlin is fourth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 19 out of first.

    “Logano ran a heck of a race,” Hamlin said. “He was awesome. So awesome, in fact, that Joey was the only driver his father confronted after the race.”

    6. Kevin Harvick: Karvick finished 14th at Pocono, one of several drivers slowed by a record 22 pit road speeding penalties administered by NASCAR during Sunday’s race. Harvick moved up one place in the point standings to sixth, 53 out of first.

    “I was one of several drivers penalized for speeding on pit lane,” Harvick said. “I have to question NASCAR’s methods. Normally, when you say ‘speed trap’ in NASCAR circles, everyone assumes you’re talking about a member of the Mayfield clan getting busted for buying meth from an undercover cop. Not anymore.

    “Obviously, the timing mechanisms at Pocono need reviewing. That would make everyone happy. In other words, it’s time to ‘calibrate, good times.’”

    7. Tony Stewart: Stewart broke a streak of two consecutive 25th-place finishes with a strong third in the Pocono 400, his fifth top 5 of the year. He remained eighth in the point standings, where he trails leader Matt Kenseth by 75.

    “As you know,” Stewart said, “Kyle Busch won my charity Prelude To A Dream race at Eldora Speedway. So, Kyle’s name is ‘dirt’ while his brother Kurt’s name is ‘mud.’”

    8. Kyle Busch: Busch finished 30th after a blown engine ended his day on lap 76. He fell three places to 12th in the Sprint Cup point standings, 21 ahead of Paul Menard in 13th.

    “Off all people,” Busch said, “I was one who didn’t get a speeding penalty.

    “It’s old news that my brother Kurt was sent home for the weekend. Funny thing is, ‘home’ doesn’t want him around either.”

    9. Carl Edwards: Edwards was caught up in a lap 1 incident at Pocono that left him at the back of the field. But the No. 99 Kellogg’s/Cheez It team battled back, and Edwards bagged a solid 11th, and improved one spot to 11th in the point standings.

    “I bringing up the rear in the point standings among Roush Fenway drivers,” Edwards said. “My teammates, Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle, are still quite supportive. They greatly appreciate the distance I’ve put between us.”

    10. Joey Logano: Logano started on pole and led a race-high 49 laps at Pocono, but needed a late pass of Mark Martin to capture his first win since 2009. In a contract year, Logano made a strong case for Joe Gibbs Racing to resign NASCAR’s youngest Sprint Cup driver.

    “How about that bump I gave Martin before I slipped past him?” Logano said. “I kicked the old guard old school. If Mark’s upset, I’m sure I could get a note from my father excusing me.

    “My win should go a long way in getting a new deal with JGR. I’m expecting to get paid. Soon, there will be more ‘bread’ in ‘Sliced Bread.’”

  • Pocono 400 Review: Logano Tames the Triangle

    [media-credit id=43 align=”alignright” width=”268″][/media-credit]After starting on the pole on Sunday, Joey Logano claimed his second Cup win in 125 starts. The Joe Gibbs Driver broke a 104 race win-less streak to become the youngest driver to win at Pocono, at 22 years and seven days old. This is crew chief Jason Ratcliff’s first Cup win of his career and the No. 20 team became the 10th different winner of 2012.

    “You work so hard to do this, and them teaming me up with Jason has been an awesome experience,” Logano said. “We’ve been growing together a lot lately and able to make our cars better. To get a victory, it meant so much, and pulling the Home Depot car into victory lane at a Sprint Cup race and winning it the right way was just an amazing, amazing feeling that you can’t replicate and you can’t explain what it means.”

     

    Earnhardt Oh So Close to Victory

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. earned his Cup-best 11th top-10 finish of 2012, taking over second in points. Earnhardt led 36 laps on the 2.5 mile track and looked as if he would break the 4 year win-less drought looming over his head.

    The driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet was leading with 35 laps remaining when a caution flag flew, leaving his crew chief Steve Letarte with a tough decision to make. If the race went green from that point on, Earnhardt would have been about five laps short on fuel. With this information, the team pitted twice in the remaining 35 laps to guarantee they would make it on fuel.

    “We had a really, really good car,” Earnhardt said. “That was fun. That was the funnest car I’ve had all year and the best car I’ve had at Pocono in a long, long time. So, I’m just really trying not to be too upset about it because we did a lot of good things today and we’ve got a lot to look forward to.”

    Although the team did make it on fuel, Earnhardt’s domination throughout the race ended with an eighth place finish. Earnhardt now resides in second position in standings, just 10 points behind leader Matt Kenseth.

     

    Controversy Over Pit Road Penalties

    The talk of the race surrounded the outstanding amount of infractions that occurred on pit road. There were 22 speeding penalties, the most in documented infraction history since 2006. Travis Kvapil was penalized four times for speeding on exit; David Reutimann was penalized three times – two for exiting and one entering; Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, AJ Allmendinger were each penalized twice.

    Many drivers blamed the scoring timers on pit road for the speeding penalties. However, according to NASCAR’s vice president of competition, the problem was with the drivers.

    “This track’s gone under a lot of reconfiguration since last year,” Robin Pemberton said after the race. “It’s a brand new pit road, all brand new loops, positions have been changed since last year. Sections were smaller than they were last year throughout pit road and, actually, the last section is a little bit bigger.”

    Brad Keselowski, who finished in 18th position after the penalties, had a different opinion on the infractions.

    “It was obvious that the section had some kind of issue because I know both times I got busted I was under the limit with my tools that I have available,” said Keselowski. “I was consistent down pit road, so if I was speeding in that sector, I would have been speeding in the others — but it didn’t show that. I think there’s plenty of evidence to show that there is something wrong with that section timing.”

    Johnson, who fell back to 22nd after the penalties, rebounded to finish in fourth position.

     

    Quicken Loans 400 Predictions

    [media-credit name=”NASCAR.com” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]This weekend we head to Michigan International Speedway and all eyes will be on the No. 88 team where they captured their first and only point’s win for Hendrick Motorsports in 2008. After dominating most of the race at Pocono and finishing in the top 10 for the 11th time this season, expectations are high for the Cup veteran. Along with his win four years ago at this track, Earnhardt has four top-5 and eight top-10 finishes at Michigan and is looking to drive to victory lane once again.

    Denny Hamlin is another driver who knows how to get the job done at MIS. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has two wins at this track, with five top-5 and seven top-10 finishes. Hamlin is currently fourth in Cup standings and has two wins so far this season.

    Kevin Harvick is another driver to keep an eye on, with one win in 2010 and seven top 10 finishes. Harvick resides in sixth position in points, 53 points behind the leader. The Richard Childress Racing driver has yet to win a race this season, but has been very consistent with three top-5 and seven top-10 finishes.

    Carl Edwards is itching to get his first win of the season, and MIS may be the track that he drives to victory lane at. The Roush Fenway Racing driver has impressive stats here, with two wins, nine top-5 and 12 top-10 finishes. Edwards is also looking to break into the top 10 in points, sitting in 11th position, 100 points behind leader and teammate Kenseth.

     

    All quotes via NASCAR.com.

  • Joey Logano Scores First Season Pole at Tricky Triangle

    Joey Logano Scores First Season Pole at Tricky Triangle

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”220″][/media-credit]Joey Logano, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota, scored his first pole of the season at the track known as the ‘Tricky Triangle.’ And his time trial lap for the Pocono 400 Presented by #NASCAR was tricky indeed, especially with some leftover speedy dry from a problem in the ARCA Series.

    “The track was dirty and I really don’t know why but I think it was from the ARCA cars,” Logano said. “I saw a few cars with the rooster tail off the back of them so the first few guys had a hard time.”

    “Even when I went out, I got to that trouble spot and got loose,” Logano continued. “I felt like I left a tenth and a half right there.”

    “I felt like I nailed Turns Two and Three pretty good,” Logano said. “So, I was hoping to have been in the top five and it ended up being good enough.”

    Logano ran a lap of 50.112 seconds at a speed of 179.598 miles per hour. This was Logano’s fourth pole in his 125 Cup Series races and his second pole in seven races at Pocono Raceway.

    “I think my guys have done a really good job focusing in here from the tire test to the practice to get the car handling right,” Logano said. “We went down a lot of different routes with our set up and we just kind of found something that all of us like.”

    “My Home Depot car is fast,” Logano continued. “It’s good in qualifying trim and in race trim too.”

    “It’s exciting and I think the race will be good,” Logano said. “Anytime you can be up front and start with clean air is important.”

    Including Joey Logano as pole sitter, Joe Gibbs Racing had all three of its drivers in the top five in time trials. Kyle Busch, in the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota, qualified fourth and Denny Hamlin, in the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, qualified fifth.

    “We missed just a little bit,” Busch said. “You’re kind of tentative going out there knowing everybody has been a little bit slick, but a couple of guys started to back up their times from practice.”

    “We backed up our time from practice too, but just a little bit off in qualifying trim for some reason,” Busch continued. “Solid lap.”

    “We were on pace for the pole and just got loose in Turn Three and lost a bunch of time,” Hamlin said. “I wanted to get below 50 seconds.”

    “We have a great car for tomorrow and should be up front throughout the day,” Hamlin continued. “Hopefully we can get the first win at Pocono on the new pavement.”

    Carl Edwards, behind the wheel of the No. 99 Kellogg’s Ford Fusion, scored the outside pole position at Pocono. This was Edwards’ sixth top-10 start of 2012 and his fifth in 15 races at Pocono.

    “Joey had to go show off for everybody and do what he did in practice,” Edwards said. “I’m telling you, I have to give Joey credit.”

    “For me, it’s very difficult to run a fast lap yesterday and go through the night thinking about everything and come back a day later in pretty difficult conditions there in Turn One and back that time up,” Edwards continued. “I think it’s very impressive.”

    “I’m extremely pleased that we get to start up front with our Kellogg’s Ford,” Edwards continued. “A lot of people were complaining about how long we were here and how much practice there was. I’m not complaining at all because we needed every day that we were here to get faster.”

    “I’m pretty excited about the race.”

    Paul Menard, in the No. 27 Menards/Sylvania Chevrolet, qualified third. This was Menard’s best career start at Pocono Raceway.

    “Up to this point, this was probably the most important qualifying session of the year,” Menard said. “It’s going to be hard to pass and we’ve put a lot of emphasis on qualifying.”

    “I felt like I did as good as I could have hoped,” Menard continued. “I’m really glad we’re starting on the inside.”

    Josh Wise, in the No. 26 MDS Transport Ford, was the highest qualifying rookie, scoring the 35th starting spot.

    “It was really loose for me,” Wise said. “I’ve never been here before so we just got the car driving as good as we could.”

    “We just put in a solid lap and got it in the show, so that’s all we’ve got to do.”

    Starting Lineup
    Pocono 400, Pocono Raceway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=14
    ===========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
    ===========================================
    1 20 Joey Logano Toyota 179.598 50.112
    2 99 Carl Edwards Ford 178.866 50.317
    3 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 178.582 50.397
    4 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 178.575 50.399
    5 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 178.543 50.408
    6 55 Mark Martin Toyota 178.228 50.497
    7 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 178.158 50.517
    8 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 177.939 50.579
    9 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 177.862 50.601
    10 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 177.823 50.612
    11 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 177.658 50.659
    12 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 177.536 50.694
    13 16 Greg Biffle Ford 177.518 50.699
    14 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 177.501 50.704
    15 83 Landon Cassill Toyota 177.204 50.789
    16 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 177.026 50.84
    17 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 176.988 50.851
    18 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 176.852 50.89
    19 22 AJ Allmendinger Dodge 176.803 50.904
    20 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 176.658 50.946
    21 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 176.543 50.979
    22 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 176.419 51.015
    23 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 176.16 51.09
    24 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 176.149 51.093
    25 51 David Reutimann Chevrolet 176.074 51.115
    26 13 Casey Mears Ford 175.596 51.254
    27 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 175.576 51.26
    28 119 Mike Bliss Toyota 175.387 51.315
    29 43 Aric Almirola Ford 175.159 51.382
    30 98 Michael McDowell Ford 175.073 51.407
    31 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 174.88 51.464
    32 249 J.J. Yeley Toyota 173.943 51.741
    33 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 173.869 51.763
    34 34 David Ragan Ford 173.853 51.768
    35 26 Josh Wise* Ford 173.497 51.874
    36 38 David Gilliland Ford 173.24 51.951
    37 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 171.854 52.37
    38 23 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 171.52 52.472
    39 74 Stacy Compton Chevrolet 171.155 52.584
    40 36 Tony Raines Chevrolet 167.411 53.76
    41 32 Reed Sorenson+ Ford – –
    42 10 Dave Blaney+ Chevrolet – –
    43 33 Stephen Leicht* Chevrolet 170.345 52.834
  • FedEx 400 Review: Predictions and Previews

    FedEx 400 Review: Predictions and Previews

    Self Inflicted Bad Luck for Gordon

    Jeff Gordon undoubtedly had the fastest car in the field on Sunday and even led a portion of the FedEx 400. After pit stops with about 150 laps to go, Gordon had to pit again for a loose wheel, forcing him to give up his lead position.

    Gordon still had a good chance to win the race, after putting himself in the lead by four seconds, even after the loose wheel. Unfortunately for Gordon, being on a different pit cycle than the rest of the field, he had to pit with 76 laps to go. For Gordon to find the lead again, he needed the rest of the field to pit under green to cycle back around as the leader.

    A caution flag waving 16 laps later for debris made it nearly impossible for Gordon to get back to the lead. Gordon did put himself back on the lead lap, but finished a disappointing 13th position.

    [media-credit name=”Patrick McDermott/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]”The fastest car doesn’t always win the race,” Gordon said. “And we’re sitting here in 13th, or whatever — it’s silly. It’s always more frustrating when you’ve got a car that can win, and you show it by going up there and taking the lead.

    “We don’t care about finishing top-15 or top-10 right now. That does nothing for us. We need wins.”

    Gordon did gain one position in points, moving to 21st position, but is still 175 points behind the leader.

    My view on Gordon’s bad luck this season is – every driver has an off season. This season is Gordon’s off season. He is a four-time champion of the Cup series and his bad luck can’t continue for long. For Gordon to make the Chase, he has to have wins now. The five upcoming races are tracks that Gordon can and has won at before.

    Next week we head to Pocono Raceway where Gordon won just last year and has four previous wins at. He has scored two wins at Michigan International Speedway; five wins at Infineon Raceway; and 6 wins at Daytona International Speedway. He has not won at Kentucky Speedway, where the Cup series just started racing at last season; however, Gordon did finish in 10th position in the Quaker State 400 in 2011.

     

    Earnhardt Improves Stats at Dover

    Before the running of Sunday’s FedEx 400, Dale Earnhardt Jr. had not finished in the Top 10 at Dover International Speedway since September of 2007. Earnhardt Jr’s fourth-place finish on Sunday marks the 10th time in 13 races this season that he has finished in the Top 10. With this finish, Earnhardt has gained one spot in points standings moving to third, only 10 points behind the leader.

    After starting in 17th position, Earnhardt reached the Top 10 in less than 100 laps. By the middle of the race, he was in the Top 5, where he ran the rest of the day.

    “We are getting close,” Earnhardt said after finishing in fourth position. “We are finishing good when we are not winning. I can’t complain too much about how we are doing. We’ve got some tricky tracks coming up for us. The summer months aren’t really my thing, the tracks at least, but hopefully we can have some more good runs.”

    Next weekend at Pocono mark four years and 143 races that Earnhardt has gone without a win. However, this is only his second season working with crew chief Steve Letarte, and we have already seen vast improvement among the team in 2012. With tracks that Earnhardt has won at coming up on the schedule – Daytona and Michigan – I expect Earnhardt to get his first win of the season soon.

     

    Predictions for Pocono

    Like I said before, Gordon’s luck will turn around; and what better track for him to do that at than Pocono? Gordon is the reigning winner of last year’s race and has four wins under his belt at this track. He has also scored two pole starting position here in 98’ and 96’.

    “Bad” Brad Keselowski, who won last year’s fall race at Pocono can’t ever be counted out to win any race. Keselowski is sitting comfortably in 11th position in points, 86 points behind the leader, and is looking to get his third win of the season.

    When NASCAR comes to Pocono, all eyes are on four-time winner, Denny Hamlin. Hamlin is the master of the tricky triangle, where he swept both races here in 2006 starting from the pole. He knows how to get the job done at this track and is eyeing the points lead, sitting in fourth position, just 22 points behind the leader.

    [media-credit name=”Doug Pensinger/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”305″][/media-credit]The not-so underdogs of the race would have to be Greg Biffle and Kasey Kahne. Biffle is the current point’s leader of the Cup standings and has one win at this track in 2010. Kahne, who won the race from the pole in 2008, is on a role from his win at Charlotte Motor Speedway two weeks ago. He has finally gotten the bad luck off of his shoulders and is ready to gain points and rise from his 14th position in standings.

    Last but not least, you can’t count out five-time champ Jimmie Johnson who is still beaming from scoring Hendrick’s 200th win at Darlington. Johnson has won at Pocono twice in his career and has started on the pole twice at this track. He is currently sitting fifth position in points, 33 points behind the leader.

     

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. quote via SPEEDTV.com

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover

    [media-credit name=”Tammyrae Benscoter” align=”alignright” width=”260″][/media-credit]Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson dominated atDover, leading 289 laps, including the final 76, to win for the second time this year and capture his seventh victory at the Monster Mile. Johnson is fifth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 33 behind Greg Biffle.

    “I got a great start when we went green for the last time,” Johnson said, “and we left Kevin Harvick and the Jimmy Johns No. 29 in our wake. What’s the difference in ‘Jimmie Johnson’ and ‘Jimmy Johns?’ Three letters….’W-I-N.’

    “You may have seen wearing a multi-colored wig to promote Madagascar 3. Many sports fans see a colored wig and expect to see a ‘John 3:16’ sign. Not in this case. However, you may see a ‘Johnson 6:12’ sign, after a capture my sixth Cup title this year.”

    2. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished third in the Fed Ex 400, posting his eight top-10 result of the year. He has not finished outside the top 11th since a 16th atCalifornia and now trails Greg Biffle by only a single point in the standings.

    “Jimmie Johnson certainly was dominant,” Kenseth said, “even while wearing a silly wig. The funny thing is, he made everyone else look like a clown.”

    3. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt finished fourth in the Fed Ex 400 atDoveron a stellar day for Hendrick Motorsports, as Jimmie Johnson’s win led the way for three HMS cars in the top 10. Earnhardt is now third in the point standings, ten behind Greg Biffle.

    “Doesn’t Jimmie look cool in a wig?” Earnhardt said. “If a narrow win is said to be by a ‘hair,’ then Jimmie’s margin of victory over Kevin Harvick must have been by a ‘wig.’

    “I can’t say I’m not jealous, because after 142 races without a win, I’m dying to ‘wig out’ myself.”

    4. Greg Biffle: Biffle finished 11th in the Fed Ex 400, just missing his ninth top-10 of the year. He narrowly remained atop the Sprint Cup point standings, ahead of Roush Fenway teammate Matt Kenseth by a single point.

    “Never underestimate the value of a single point,” Biffle said. “Carl Edwards never will.

    “I’m hanging on to the points lead by a thread. And, as Kurt Busch has said on countless occasions, “I sure hope I don’t lose it.”

    5. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin led two early laps at Dover, but struggled with handling issues before coming home 18th. He dropped one place in the point standings to fourth, 22 out of first place.

    “Jimmie Johnson’s win was historic,” Hamlin said. “His sevenDoverwins tied him with Richard Petty and Bobby Allison. It was truly one for the books. And speaking of ‘books,’ just call Johnson the ‘Librarian,’ because he checked out on everyone.”

    6. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex finished a solid yet disappointing seventh atDover, posting his eighth top-10 result of the year. He remained sixth in the point standings, 45 out of first.

    “Jimmie Johnson whipped the field easily,” Truex said. “His lead was so big, he was able to celebrate early. I think that’s called a ‘whoopee cushion.’”

    7. Kevin Harvick: Harvick took the runner-up spot atDoverafter Jimmie Johnson ran away from the No. 29 Jimmy Johns Chevy on the final restart with 31 laps to go. It was Harvick’s second runner-up finish of the year as he continues to search for the season’s first win.

    “Close, but no cigar,” Harvick said. “But no worries. As an expectant father, I can at least expect one cigar this season.”

    8. Kyle Busch: Busch’s engine expired on lap 205, sending the No. 18 M&M’s Toyotato the garage with a 29th in the Fed Ex 400. Busch fell one place to 9th in the point standings, where he is 80 behind Greg Biffle.

    “What can you say?” Busch said. “I say the same thing about engine failure that my brother Kurt says about his emotions: ‘I have no control over it.’ Kurt is truly psychotic. His car number shouldn’t be ’51;’ it should be ‘5150.’”

    9. Tony Stewart: Stewart was collected in a lap 10 wreck that involved 12 cars and left his No. 14 Chevrolet with considerable damage. He limped home with a 25th-place finish and is now eighth in the point standings, 79 out of first.

    “Kurt Busch has been suspended for one race,” Stewart said. “And deservedly so. NASCAR had no recourse but to punish him. Kurt forced their hand, just like he did mine when I punched him.”

    10. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer led a strong Michael Waltrip Racing charge at Dover, finishing fifth, as teammates Martin Truex, Jr. and Mark Martin finished 7th and 14th, respectively. Bowyer improved two places to 10th in the Sprint Cup point standings, where he is 81 out of first.

    “You probably saw Ryan Newman nearly run over one of my crewmen,” Bowyer said. “And that was the only time during the race that the words ‘That was close!’ were uttered. It was a scary moment, almost as scary as Jimmie Johnson’s dominance.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”230″][/media-credit]In the NASCAR season’s longest race of the year, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 53rd running of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    Surprising:  Although billed as the sport’s longest race, usually known for the endurance factor moving from day to night, this year’s Coke 600 was the quickest one ever.

    The race took a total of 3 hours, 51 minutes and 14 seconds.

    Prior to 53rd running of the Coca Cola 600, the longest race was in 1995 at 3 hours, 56 minutes and 55 seconds.

    Not Surprising:  After finally scoring his 200th win for the company that bears his name, Rick Hendrick’s prediction of more wins to follow came true. Kasey Kahne, in the No. 5 Quaker State Chevrolet, secured his first win as a Hendrick Motorsport’s driver, which came on his 300th career start.

    The win was also Kahne’s first win of the season. The 32 year old driver has now won in a Dodge, Ford, Toyota and now a Chevrolet.

    “It’s been an exciting three weeks for Hendrick Motorsports,” Kahne said. “It’s exciting to be a part of that.”

    “It’s so special and awesome to drive for Rick and Linda Hendrick,” Kahne continued. “For them to make me a part of their company; this is unbelievable to drive for Hendrick Motorsports and be a part of everything they do.”

    Surprising:  After winning last weekend’s Sprint All-Star Race, it was surprising to see Jimmie Johnson have a rare pit road miscue, especially since he was running the top-5 at that time. Johnson received a stop-and-go penalty for leaving his pits with both the gas man and the gas can on Lap 354.

    “We had a couple little mistakes on pit road tonight,” Johnson said. “It happens.”

    “Last week things couldn’t have gone any better and then this week we had a few little issues.”

    Not Surprising:  As he has been all season, it was not surprising that Greg Biffle, in his No. 16 Fastenal Ford, was a contender all race long. In fact, Biff received the 3M Lap Leader award, leading 204 laps.

    Biffle maintains the points lead, ten points ahead of Matt Kenseth.

    “The car was really, really good,” Biffle said. “But there at the end when the speeds picked up, we would kind of slide across the track.”

    “We gained a little in points, but we really wanted to win.”

    Surprising:  After a most abysmal start to the season, it was surprising to see Jeff Gordon finally get a top ten finish under his belt. Gordon, behind the wheel of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, ran strong, finishing seventh.

    “We had an awesome race car and we showed it right from the drop of the green,” Gordon said. “We drove up through there.”

    “This is a great effort for this team,” Gordon continued. “I’m so proud of them.”

    Not Surprising: HMS teammate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. continued his consistent streak, scoring his seventh top-10 in eight races.

    “It just says we are consistent and we want to win a race,” Junior said. “That’s all I can tell you.”

    “It feels good to be competitive,” Junior continued. “I don’t want to take our consistency for granted but we would like to improve just a little bit more and we’ll get some wins.”

    Surprising:  It was surprising how badly the Petty Motorsports drivers finished, especially after securing the pole and outside pole respectively.

    Aric Almirola, who started on the pole with his famed No. 43 US Air Force Ford Fusion, finished 16th. Outside pole sitter Marcos Ambrose finished 32nd in his No. 9 Dewalt Ford.

    “When you start on the front row or the pole, you know you’ve got a fast car,” Almirola said. “So, this is tough.”

    “But I can’t reiterate enough that we’re making improvement,” Almirola continued. “We see light at the end of the tunnel and that’s what it’s all about.”

    “I’m proud of everybody at Richard Petty Motorsports.”

    Not Surprising:  Despite the naysayers, Danica Patrick achieved her goal of completing every lap of the race. The driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet finished 30th, five laps down.

    “We had a lot of green-flag running and for me as a driver in general in NASCAR but especially as a new driver in the Cup Series, that hurts me,” Patrick said. “I’m just not great at making the best out of a car that’s not perfect and those runs really show that.”

    “We brought the GoDaddy car home and one of the goals was to finish,” Patrick continued. “I would have liked to have been a little faster overall but I think there were some times in there when it was decent.”

    Surprising:  It was a bit surprising to see Ryan Newman outshine his boss at a track where Tony Stewart is traditionally strong. Newman, driving the No. 39 US Army Chevrolet, finished  14th and his boss and team owner in his No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet finished 25th .

    Smoke was moving forward after adjusting on his car throughout the race only to have a tussle with Brad Keselowski on pit road. Stewart spun as a result of that contact and had to turn around to reach his pits, putting him two laps down.

    Teammate Danica Patrick acknowledged that her mentor had a tough evening.

    “Tony is a fantastic driver and if he had a tough day, that’s just the way the season goes,” Patrick said. “So this is NASCAR and sometimes you do and sometimes you don’t.”

    Not Surprising:  While he may not have totally lived up to his ‘Closer’ moniker, Kevin Harvick brought his No. 29 Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet home in eighth place.

    “We had a solid night,” Harvick said. “We snuck up there in the top-five and got our bonus point for leading a lap.”

    “The pit crew was awesome and we were able to adjust our car,” Harvick continued. “This isn’t our strongest race track, but I feel like we had a solid package to build on.”

    Surprising:  Young Landon Cassill, in his No. 83 Burger King Real Fruit Smoothies Toyota, had a great run in the prestigious Coca Cola 600, finishing 18th. It was his team’s best finish of the season to date and the first time that the team started and finished inside the top-20.

    “Last’ week’s performance at Charlotte was a real confidence booster for us,” Cassill said. “I feel like we’re getting stronger each week and it gets me excited as a driver.”

    Not Surprising:  Two of the principals of Joe Gibbs Racing had a good run as they usually do. Denny Hamlin, in the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota, finished in the runner up spot and teammate Kyle Busch, in his No. 18 M&Ms Red White and Blue Toyota, finished right behind him in third.

    “It’s also good to finish like that,” Busch said. “We just need to carry on that momentum.”

    “This is a good race for us so we can bring back some good notes for when we come back in October.”