Tag: Denny Hamlin

NASCAR 2012 Season Predictions

[media-credit id=18 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]*Kevin Harvick’s wife DeLana gives birth to a healthy baby boy on July 14^th. The couple refuses an anonymous $1,000,000 offer to name the baby “Jimmy John,” as well as an anonymous $2,000,000 offer to name the baby “Kyle Hates.” Instead, the Harvick’s name the child “Richard Childress Harvick.”

Then in July during an incident in the New Hampshire Motor Speedway garage area, Kyle Busch is punched by a “Richard Childress” for the second time in less than a year when young Harvick nabs Busch trying to steal candy from a baby.

Kevin Harvick finishes the season with four wins and finishes fourth in the final Sprint Cup standings.

*Brad Keselowski leads at the halfway point of the Daytona 500, earning the $200,000 bonus, and tweets about it as he speeds around the 2.5 mile oval at over 200 miles per hour. NASCAR is not too pleased, and true to their commitment to abolishing secret fines, announces a $25,000 fine for Keselowski on Twitter.

*Kurt Busch, in his new ride for Phoenix Racing, is the laughingstock of the NASCAR garage, and this time, it has nothing to do with his ears. Busch remains bewildered as to the reasons of the laughter, that is, until Roger Penske, a Greek mythology aficionado, explains to Busch the legend of the Phoenix, a mythical firebird that builds a nest, then burns the nest and itself to a pile of ashes, after which a new Phoenix emerges.

Busch is oblivious to the connection, and says he’s never burned a nest, but does cop to burning several bridges.

*Four-time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon begins the “Drive For Five,” the 11^th installment of his annual quest for his fifth Sprint Cup title.

Hendrick Motosports teammate Kasey Kahne simultaneously begins his own “Drive For 5,” as he takes over the No. 5 car driven by Mark Martin. Kahne’s first order of business in his new car is to adjust the seat. His second order of business is to squelch the retirement rumors inherent in driving the No. 5.

*In honor of the deal with Stewart Haas Racing that ensures Danica Patrick a starting spot in the season’s first five races, the Bradford Exchange offers the “Danica Patrick Silver Platter” collectible edition place settings. Each plate is hand-crafted, and comes with a matching spoon, as well as a GoDaddy.com napkin holder.

Patrick starts 29^th in the Daytona 500, and finishes 39^th after a wreck with Robby Gordon sends her to the garage, where a miffed Gordon demands an apology, and a refund for some worthless merchandise he hastily purchased.

*Boris Said wins the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway on June 24^th, slipping by Marcos Ambrose on the final lap. In the post-race press conference, Said Shockingly announces his retirement from racing in order to pursue his true love, rock and roll. Said introduces his band, the “Said Heads,” featuring Said on vocals, Boris Heard on guitar, Boris Smelled on bass, Boris Tasted on drums, and Boris Felt on keyboards.

The “Said Heads” first single, “Greg Biffle Needs A Friggin’ Whoopin,’ And I’m Going To Give It To Him,” debuts at Number 198 on Billboards Top 200 modern rock tracks, and the band later embarks on a Japanese tour opening for Slipknot and GWAR.

*The pairing of Denny Hamlin and new crew chief Darian Grubb is an instant success, as Hamlin wins three of the season’s first eight races, including back-to-back wins at Martinsville and Texas. An optimistic Hamlin starts thinking about winning a championship, while a pessimistic Grubb starts thinking about losing his job.

*Bill Elliott’s pilots his Wal-Mart-sponsored car to a solid 9^th-place finish at the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona on July 7^th, a result that proves two things: 1) Elliott’s still got it, and 2) you can still get a 27 cent can of kidney beans at Wal-Mart.

*Carl Edwards wins the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway, dominating a race marked by few lead changes and ever fewer cautions. Luckily, massive 2011 road construction projects alleviate traffic issues at the track, allowing fans speedy egress from the Sparta facility, resulting in some of the weekend’s best racing.

Edwards posts five wins in the season’s first 26 races, and starts the Chase For The Cup in first, and finishes second to Jimmie Johnson for the Sprint Cup title.

*Dale Earnhardt, Jr. snaps his winless streak by winning the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega on May 6^th, starting from the pole and leading 198 laps. After a victory lap, Earnhardt drives his No. 88 Chevrolet into the infield, where legions of Junior Nation fans, ironically “amped” up on Diet Mountain Dew, lift the 3,400 machine over their heads, as it becomes the first vehicle in history to “crowd surf.”

Earnhardt doesn’t win again until December, when he captures NASCAR’s most popular driver award.

*Kyle Busch sweeps the weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway in late August, winning the Camping World Truck, Nationwide, and Sprint Cup races.

Busch celebrates with the slowest victory procession in history, a drive which takes him from Bristol to Mooresville, NC at four miles per hour. There, Busch cruises at a snail’s pace through the winding back roads of rural Iredell County for hours, until a county officer stops him and advises him that “You’ll have to go faster.” A satisfied Busch complies.

*Prior to the Nationwide STP 300 at Chicagoland Speedway, the Reverend Jesse Jackson voices his protest over the lack of minorities in NASCAR by uttering the phrase “bigotry, bigotry, bigotry” in his invocation, leading to a firestorm of controversy, as well as an Auto-tuned Youtube hit song.

The situation leads to a dialogue between Jackson and Brian France, and the

Simpleminded NASCAR chairman agrees to make changes, starting the following week in Indianapolis, where France taps the Black Keys to perform before the race.

*Columbia Pictures announces it will film a sequel to Talladega Night: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby titled Talladega Nights 2: The Ballad Of An Entirely Fictional Character Loosely-Based On Tony Stewart. A clean-shaven Zack Galifianakis is tapped to play the title role, and immediately begins a strict dietary regimen to gain 15 pounds for the role.

*Dale Earnhardt, Jr. adopts the phrase “One In ‘12” as the official rallying cry in his quest to capture his first Sprint Cup championship. However, after a late-season slump leaves him in 15^th place in the points standings, “One In 12” quickly becomes Earnhardt’s rallying cry for simply making the Chase.

*It takes three months for Matt Kenseth to earn his first win of the season, a victory at Charlotte in the Coca-Cola 600, and another two months for people to start caring.

*Jimmie Johnson, feeling that he needs a change, shaves his signature beard and grows a Fu Manchu mustache, which affords him a more serious and sinister look. Johnson becomes the most-feared driver at autograph signings, as well as on the track, where his newfound persona rankles many drivers, including Joey Logano, who is envious of any type of facial hair.

Johnson wins his sixth Cup title with a masterful performance in the Chase, winning four races and wrapping up the title at Phoenix on November 11^th.

February 9, 2012
From Testing to Teammates and Team Changes, Tony Stewart Excited for 2012

[media-credit name=”Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”232″][/media-credit]Tony Stewart doesn’t appear ready to descend from cloud nine, where’s he’s been since winning his third career Sprint Cup Series championship in dramatic fashion last November in Homestead.

Thursday Stewart was among 31 other teams who got a taste of the first on-track action of the year as they began testing for next months Daytona 500. It was there Stewart said he’s really excited about the upcoming NASCAR season because of the many new things ahead for Stewart-Haas Racing.

“Obviously the end of the year last year was – still almost like a fairy-tale for us, storybook ending,” said Stewart. “But this is our biggest race of the year. It starts today. Well, it started the day after Homestead actually for the crew guys and today is the first day that we get an idea of the rewards for their hard work and see these cars on the racetrack and see what kind of speed they have.”

Normally a driver to find other things to do with his time instead of test, Stewart acknowledged that he was having fun. Not as much though as the individuals who put their blood, sweat and tears into building brand new racecars. Testing days are their days, when the hard work during the offseason from crew chiefs, car chiefs and engineers is put into motion.

“Our sport is unique obviously having our biggest race the first race of the year,” Stewart said. “But it’s very fitting at the same time because this race, we have more time during the off season to prepare for this race then we do the others. You bring cars here that you have the extra time to just make them that little bit nicer than you normally have time to do.”

The work Stewart put into the off season as a team owner he hopes will do its part in winning their first Daytona 500. The Indiana native has won everything in NASCAR except its biggest race. He’s won everything there is to win at Daytona – three July classics, three Budweiser Shootouts, one Gatorade Duel race and six Nationwide Series races – but not February’s Great American Race.

When the green flag drops on February 26 it’ll be the 14th attempt for Stewart. Now though, coming off another huge accomplishment he’s looking toward racing momentum (he won in other racing series during the off season) as well as a few key pieces at SHR to lead him into Daytona’s hallowed ground.

First comes new teammate in superstar Danica Patrick. Another drafting partner, one he worked very well with in July during the NNS race, will be there to lend a helping hand to both Stewart and Ryan Newman during Speedweeks. Patrick will attempt to run in the 500 and other Cup races during the 2012 season.

And while Stewart is certainly happy for Patrick, he’s even happier about who her crew chief will be. Some of the biggest news since Homestead has been the personnel changes around the garage. From drivers to spotters and crew chiefs, this was one of the busiest off seasons in recent memory.

First, Stewart hired Steve Addington as his crew chief; with the man he won the title with in 2011, Darian Grubb, moving to Joe Gibbs Racing and Denny Hamlin. As if in return, Greg Zipadelli moves to SHR as their competition director, leaving behind JGR where he and where once upon a time he and Stewart worked together.

Twelve years ago it was Stewart and Zippy, as he’s known, rolling into the garages at Daytona ready to set the racing world on fire. They won two championships together and over 35 races before Stewart left JGR and formed his own team. Zippy stayed behind but now feels the time is right to make a change and reunite with Stewart.

According to Stewart it made sense to have Zippy in both roles, competition director and part-time crew chief. His experience with young and often inexperienced drivers will play a major role for Patrick in her learning process. It’s the best of both worlds for SHR.

It’s also the best certainly for Stewart. During their tenure together the two were very close, fighting like brothers during the bad times and succeeding in big ways during the good times. The two are perfect for each and the reunion has everyone excited, but none more than Stewart to have his best friend back on his side.

“You know, it’s nice having Zippy back,” Stewart said. “I got to work with him for ten years, so seeing him at the track here today was the first big reminder of kind of going back to what it was like to start with him in ’99. I know we’re excited to have him back and we’re not working in the same capacity together that we did for ten years, but he’s right there next door and it feels like home again. So I’m pretty excited about it.”

January 13, 2012
Common Sense Rules for NASCAR

CIA Stock Photo

I was reading a NASCAR news story the other day and thinking to myself, ‘What ever happened to common sense?’ And then it occurred to me that the term common sense is an oxymoron.

Having the sense to do or say the right thing has become a characteristic that is rare in today’s society. NASCAR is a perfect example of this.

Common sense and truisms are closely linked so I thought I would share some of these truths as guidelines for the common sense impaired.

A closed mouth gathers no foot. This one is simple. Think before you speak (or tweet) and avoid those embarrassing headlines (Kasey Kahne-Breastgate).

Be careful who you step on while climbing the ladder of success; you’re liable to meet them on the way down. Kurt Busch

Don’t bite the hand that feeds you. Just ask Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman or Brad Keselowski-Secret fine recipients.

Expect the unexpected. Trevor Bayne wins the 2011 Daytona 500.

Good things come in small packages. Mark Martin

Hope springs eternal. Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans

Money talks. “It doesn’t matter if you have the most wins, pole positions, a championship or talent. If you have the money, you get a job.” Mike Skinner

Keep your hands to yourself. “Hold my watch.” Richard Childress

Nobody loves a winner who wins all the time. – Jimmie Johnson

Close, but no cigar. Carl Edwards

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. – Tony Stewart

If in doubt, remember this. There is nothing so small it can’t be blown out of proportion.

Mike Skinner quote courtesy of Angie Skinner-SiriusXM NASCAR Radio via Facebook

January 2, 2012
Surprising and Not Surprising: AAA Texas 500

When the green flag flew on the seventh annual running of the AAA Texas 500, it seemed almost as an afterthought to a difficult week, with the passing of patriarch Russ Wallace, the plane crash injuring Rick and Linda Hendrick, and of course the parking of Kyle Busch after his detrimental on-track actions during the Truck race.

[media-credit name=”Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”272″][/media-credit]Yet, when the checkered flag finally flew at Texas Motor Speedway, there were some surprising, as well as not so surprising, moments from the third to the last race of the 2011 season.

Surprising: After back to back wins, it was surprising to see that even Smoke was a bit overcome, albeit by the intensity of the race, emotion and the heat of Victory Lane.

“This is for the Wallace family,” Stewart said after getting out of his car. “And for Mr. Hendrick and his wife. And I had a buddy that passed away when we were at Charlotte and I didn’t want to forget him.”

Yet even with splashing some water on his face, Smoke still had to take a seat in Victory Lane, while those around him fanned him with their Stetson hats to allow him to catch his breath.

Tony Stewart, however, bounced back quickly. He then donned the traditional black hat and took some shots with the guns in celebration of scoring his 43^rd career victory, his fourth win of the season, and his second victory at Texas.

Stewart also re-affirmed that his sights are firmly set on winning that coveted Cup championship. With his race win, Smoke is now just three points behind leader Carl Edwards.

“I don’t think we have to say anything,” Stewart said, unlike last week where he talked some smack in Victory Lane. “Our performance speaks for itself.”

“Do not count us out of this thing,” Stewart said. “We did everything we needed to do today.”

Not Surprising: Roush Fenway Racing did not disappoint or surprise at the mile-and-a-half track where they have been so dominant all season. RFR had three of their drivers in the top five, with Carl Edwards in second, Matt Kenseth in fourth, and pole sitter Greg Biffle in fifth.

The team combined to lead 124 laps at Texas Motor Speedway, with Edwards leading 14, Kenseth leading 87 and Biffle leading 23. Even David Ragan, whose future remains uncertain, finished in the 12^th position.

“I’m proud of our guys today,” Edwards, behind the wheel of the No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion said. “We wanted to beat Tony and pad the lead, but we are still the point’s leader.”

This was Edwards’ sixth top-10 finish in 14 races at Texas Motor Speedway. It is his 24^th top-10 finish to date in the 2011 season.

Greg Biffle, behind the wheel of the No. 16 Ford Fusion, started from the pole to bring his car home for a top-five finish.

“We had a pretty good car,” Biffle said. “The last pit stop, I slid through the box and that probably cost me a third-place finish or a couple of spots anyway. We fought hard and came back.”

“It’s hard to be disappointed when you run in the top five,” teammate Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion, said. “I wish we could have performed a little better, but that’s all we had.”

“This has always been a pretty good track for our organization.”

Surprising: It was a bit surprising to see how current Michael Waltrip Racing driver Martin Truex, Jr. did, finishing eighth in his No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, in spite of the big changes announced for the MWR organization prior to the race.

“I am really proud of my entire NAPA team today,” Truex Jr. said. “The NAPA Know How pit crew was on it.”

“We are moving in the right direction and I appreciate all the work MWR is doing to get us in contention.”

Not Surprising: After learning that he was no longer a member of the MWR team after the 2011 season, it was no surprise that the woes on the track continued for driver David Reutimann. The driver of the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine finished 22^nd.

“It was very difficult,” team owner Michael Waltrip said of his decision to let Reutimann go. “I love David. He’s a great man and he’s always been there to do anything I needed him to do.”

“I know it was hard for David to get the news,” Waltrip continued. “I’m thankful that he drove for me for so long.”

Surprising: After such a Cinderella run, Brad Keselowski’s championship hopes have all but gone up in smoke. The driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge had a very difficult day at Texas, finishing 24^th.

“Just a tough night,” Keselowski said. “We couldn’t get the speed out of our car that we needed and fought all day for track position.”

“We lost the handling on the car right in the middle part of the race and adjustments were made to make it better and it just made it worse,” Keselowski continued. “It was unfortunate.”

Not Surprising: One driver who continues to make noise, however, was AJ Allmendinger, who scored another top-10 in his No. 43 Best Buy Ford Fusion for Richard Petty Motorsports.

“That was probably the most comfortable I’ve ever felt on a mile-and-a-half, especially one like this,” Dinger said. “It was fun.”

“From the start we were just passing cars and making good adjustments,” Allmendinger continued. “It was a good fight to 10^th but overall, and more importantly, that’s something to build on.”

Surprising: It was a bit surprising to see that Brian Vickers’ intense driving style carried over from Martinsville to Texas. On lap 201, the driver of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota assisted with bringing out the second caution by tussling with Juan Pablo Montoya and Geoffrey Bodine.

“Stupid Vickers ran over a lapped car,” came over JPM’s radio, summing up yet another tough day at the office for ‘The Sheriff’, who finished 21^st.

Not Surprising: Kasey Kahne continued his string of top-10 finishes, scoring the third spot in his No. 4 Red Bull Toyota. This was Kahne’s fourth top-10 in 15 races at Texas Motor Speedway.

“We were really close,” Kahne said of his almost-winning run. “I wanted to win really bad today.”

“It was a great race for us,” Kahne continued. “This has been our best time the whole season.”

Surprising: Taking the wheel of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry from sidelined Kyle Busch, Michael McDowell surprisingly was not able to capitalize on his prime opportunity. Even with Busch looking on atop the pit box, McDowell could not get his car dialed in and finished 33^rd.

“We obviously were hoping for more and were hoping for a big day,” McDowell said. “But that wasn’t meant to be.”

“Gave it all I had and we just struggled pretty much all day long.”

Not Surprising: McDowell was not the only JGR driver to struggle at Texas Motor Speedway. Joey Logano, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota, blew an engine on Lap 262, and Denny Hamlin, behind the wheel of the No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota, struggled all day, finishing 20^th.

“We just fought an ill-handling car all day,” Hamlin said. “It’s probably one of the worst that we’ve had in a long time.”

“We’ll have to go back to the shop and look at it,” Dave Rogers, crew chief for the No. 18, said of the entire team’s performance. “This tire at this track is pretty tricky. You have to dare to lean on it and it’s not comfortable getting in the corner.”

“We have to look at it for sure.”

Surprising: Although not mathematically eliminated, it still seems surprising to think that, without some sort of miracle, Jimmie Johnson will not be on the championship banquet stage this year. With his struggling performance at Texas, including a spin through the grass on Lap 240, the driver of the No. 48 MyLowes Chevrolet, managed to finish fourteenth and is now back 55 points to the Chase leader.

“I fought a loose race car all night long and I lost it,” Johnson said. “And I think sliding through the grass did some damage.”

“It didn’t really drive good after that.”

Not Surprising: With a sixth place run in his No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, it was not surprising that it felt like a win to driver Jeff Gordon.

“We moved up right away,” Gordon said. “I thought we had a car that could compete for the win but when the sun went down, it changed for us and we lost a little bit there at the end.”

“Compared to the way we ran here earlier in the year, it is almost like a win for us.”

November 7, 2011
BREAKING NEWS : NASCAR : Kyle Busch Suspended for Remainder of Texas Race Weekend

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”216″][/media-credit]After an incident that saw Kyle Busch deliberately wreck championship contender and series veteran Ron Hornaday under caution Friday night Kyle Busch has been parked for the remainder of the race weekend at the Texas Motor Speedway. The Winstar World Casino 350K NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race was only 14 laps in when the incident occurred.

NASCAR officials met with Busch briefly after the incident and scheduled a meeting for early Saturday morning. After the wreck on Friday which sent Hornaday out of the race Hornaday said furiously, “He pulled my shoulder out. Luckily I had a chiropractor put it back in and I’ll be good. If NASCAR doesn’t do it, I’m going to buy Tommy Baldwin’s ride and that guy will never finish another race. That’s a promise. … This was a yellow flag, turned when you’re not prepared and your heart is not pumping and all that stuff and then you get turned directly in the fence. So let’s have at it? I can go beat his ass? He lives too close to me. So we’ll see what NASCAR does. If they don’t handle it right, I’ll be at his house Monday morning.”

After the meeting Busch left the NASCAR hauler and went directly to the driver’s motor coach lot with comment.

Michael McDowell replaced Busch in his Sprint Cup car for practice this morning and reports in garage indicated that Denny Hamlin would replace him in the Nationwide Series race today.

Helton said, “Boys Have It had clear line that could be crossed. We saw it last night.”

“done under section 9.12 of the rulebook, that gives NASCAR the authority to react during a race weekend. And following the event and after a good deal of conversation and discussion, NASCAR has decided to maintain that parked position on the driver of the 18 truck for the balance of the weekend.” NASCAR president Mike Helton said.

In a nutshell…… Busch will not race anymore this weekend at Texas.

It not a first for NASCAR, but maybe an eye opener for Busch. Kevin Harvick (2002) and Robby Gordon (2008) have been suspended for Sprint Cup races for actions on the track.

November 5, 2011
Surprising and Not Surprising: Martinsville Tums Fast Relief 500

Even before the race, the infamous short-track tempers were flaring with Kevin Harvick and Greg Biffle getting into it on and off the track during practice. Here is what was surprising and not surprising when the green flag flew for the 63^rd annual Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”236″][/media-credit]Surprising: It was most surprising that at race end, Victory Lane was more like a Food Network ‘Throwdown with Bobby Flay’ show, with victor Tony Stewart challenging current point’s leader Carl Edwards regarding the Chase.

With his win, Stewart felt free to throw down the Chase gauntlet, climbing two positions to the second spot in the Chase standings. Smoke is now just eight points out of first place, where Carl Edwards currently resides.

“He’d better be worried,” Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, said of Edwards in Victory Lane. “That’s all I can say. He’s not going to have an easy three weeks.”

“This is the best Chase field we’ve ever had,” Stewart continued. “To be in the position that we’re in right now, sitting here knowing that we’re right in the middle of this thing with three weeks to go, it’s obviously a great feeling and a great position to be in.”

“We’ve just got to go out and keep doing what we’re doing here.”

This was Stewart’s third victory of the season, as well as his third win in 26 races at Martinsville Speedway. The forty-year old has now won 42 times in 461 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.

Not Surprising: In spite of some Martinsville mayhem, the momentum that has been Carl Edwards throughout the Chase, was maintained, although greatly challenged. The driver of the No. 99 Scotts Winterguard Fertilizer Ford, who was lapped twice during the race and almost penalized for jumping a restart, finished respectably, albeit his worst Chase finish to date, in the ninth position.

“This track has just been really, really tough for me,” Edwards said after the race. “So I think this is one of those days where everything went wrong and everything went right as well.”

Also not surprisingly, Edwards seemed in no way fazed by Stewart’s ‘throw down’ challenges regarding the championship Chase. And he laid down his own challenge as well.

“I told you I thought he was one of the guys that could win this race and be a guy that you’d have to beat for the championship,” Edwards said of Smoke. “I think he’s proving that right now.”

“We’ll go race hard,” Edwards continued. “They’re gonna have to race us too, so I’m excited about the next three races.”

Surprising: It was most surprising to see just how aggressively Dale Earnhardt, Jr. ran his Martinsville race. In fact at one point he quipped that he might become known as a ‘dirty driver’ if there were more short tracks like Martinsville on the Cup schedule.

Junior, who finished seventh in his No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew Paint the 88/National Guard Chevrolet, seemed absolutely pleased that the race was as chaotic as it was.

“Well, it’s time man,” Junior said. “That right there was basically, hey the season is running down and we are not going to be racing much longer and I am going to miss it so I came to the buffet and got everything I could eat.”

“I drank a couple of AMPs before the race started and probably was a little bit too excited,” Junior also confessed.

Not Surprising: It was not surprising that the so-called ‘Masters of Martinsville’, teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, came ever so close to getting Hendrick Motorsports that coveted 200^th win.

Johnson, who finished second in his No. 48 MyLowe’s Chevrolet, posted his 18^th top-10 finish in 20 races at Martinsville. Gordon, piloting the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, finished third, his 31^st top-10 finish in 38 races at Martinsville Speedway.

In spite of not achieving the 200^th HMS win milestone, Gordon in particular still made history. Gordon made his 650^th start, as well as becoming the fourth driver to lead more than 3,000 laps at Martinsville Speedway.

“Gosh we came so close to getting win 200 for Rick Hendrick,” Gordon said. “I ran it as hard as I possibly could to get our Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet back to the front.”

“It was pretty fun coming up through there and getting up to the front and leading,” Gordon continued. “It just seemed like the last couple of runs just didn’t quite go our way.”

“So, we came home third and it was a nice top five for us.”

For his part, five-time champ Jimmie Johnson was just trying to mind his ‘P’s and Q’s’, especially when it came time to race with Stewart for the win.

“I just wanted to do the right thing and unfortunately got beat in the process,” Johnson said of his battle with Smoke. “Thought about going in there and leaning on him but that was just not the right thing to do.”

Surprising: It was surprising to see the moniker of good guy ‘Sheriff’ usually worn by Brian Vickers change to the villain of the short track. Vickers was at the heart of many of the race cautions, finally succumbing to the damage and taking his ailing No. 83 Red Bull Toyota off the track.

Chaser Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford, was one of Vicker’s victims. He finished the race 31^st thanks to his on-track incident, falling three spots to fifth in the championship standings.

“The 83 car hit me about twice a lap every lap for about ten laps,” Kenseth said. “So, it made me mad.”

“By the looks of his car, I wasn’t the first one he hit.”

Jamie McMurray, in the No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet was also involved in an incident with the No. 83 car. The crash with Vickers early in the race effectively ended McMurray’s day, relegating him to a 35^th place finish.

“When you don’t feel like you have the corner good, you block,” Vickers said. “I pulled down and blocked and I saw he (Brian Vickers) was going to get in there, so I moved back up the track.”

“I feel like he let off the brake and went ahead and sent me for a ride,” Vickers continued. “I just felt like he kind of took a cheap shot on me and I just didn’t appreciate it.”

Not Surprising: After winning his first ever Truck Series race at the short track, Denny Hamlin went on to have a great run in the Cup race. The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota Camry finished fifth, his first top-five in the 2011 Chase.

“We had a great race car today,” Hamlin said. “I felt like the best car most of the day.”

“We thought it was a blessing that last stop when we beat the 24 (Jeff Gordon) out – the pit crew did an amazing job,” Hamlin continued. “It was the dagger for us because it put us on the outside line with those guys that stayed out.”

“We just needed to start on the bottom one or two of those restarts – then we would have been fine.”

Surprising: It was almost spooky to watch the tricks played on Kyle Busch in his No. 18 M&M’s Halloween Toyota Camry late in the race. He and driver Matt Kenseth got into each other during a restart and then Busch lost a tire after leaving the pits for the repair as he was trying to stay on the lead lap.

“The M&M’s Toyota Camry was really fast,” crew chief Dave Rogers said. “We led the most laps again, the second time this year that we’ve led the most laps at Martinsville.”

“That’s just hard racing out there,” Rogers continued. “We were a victim of circumstance at a short track.”

Not Surprising: After an admittedly miserable season, it was not surprising that Jeff Burton, driver of the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet, continued to turn it around with another good run. Burton followed his second place finish last weekend at Talladega with a sixth place finish at Martinsville, his third top-10 finish for the season.

“I can’t be too unhappy with finishing sixth because the Cat team worked their tails off to get us in position at the end to win this thing,” Burton said. “That last caution probably didn’t help us, but it was another solid finish.”

Surprising: Surprising kudos to Casey Mears, driver of the No. 13 Geico Toyota Camry , who scored his best finish of the season to date. The Germain Racing driver, cheered on by crew chief Bootie Barker, finished 12^th at the Martinsville short track.

“I’m so proud of all the guys on this Geico racing team,” Mears said. “We’ve known all year that we could run this well and it’s a nice feeling to have two weeks in a row where we have run up front.”

Not Surprising: A.J. Allmendinger continued his strong run, finishing 11^th, just shy of another top-10 finish. In fact, the Dinger’s No. 43 AdvoCare Ford Fusion looked to be the car to beat until a late race altercation, as well as some slower pit stops, relegated him further back in the pack.

“That’s Martinsville,” Allmendinger said simply. “It was a really good car.”

“I was proud of all the guys,” Allmendinger continued. “We’ve got to work on our pit stops a little bit because we kept losing a couple of spots, but what really hurt us was I got put three-wide on the outside and got into one and that shoved the fender over the tire and from there, we were at the back of the pack and everybody was just gauging back there.”

Surprising: Brad Keselowski’s Cinderella carriage turned into a bit of a pumpkin at Martinsville. The driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger had a good run going, but ended up finishing 17^th.

“That’s racing on these short tracks,” Keselowski said. “We got some good racing in the middle section of the race, but at the end we just didn’t catch a break.”

“It will come back around for the Miller Lite Dodge team,” Keselowski continued. “We came up a few laps short.”

Not Surprising: Kevin Harvick continued his reign as the ‘Closer’, finishing fourth in his No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet. Happy has now finished in the top five for three consecutive races at Martinsville.

“It was definitely a battle,” Harvick said. “Everybody was driving hard.”

“That is what you are supposed to do here at Martinsville.”

October 31, 2011
Matty’s Picks: Vol. 25 – Martinsville – October 30, 2011

What more fitting of a facility than Martinsville Speedway to travel to on this Halloween weekend. Martinsville Speedway has been known to create some very wild and down-right ere finishes.

[media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Known for their extraordinary culinary excellence in the field of Hot Dogs, Martinsville is a popular destination for 70,000+ NASCAR fans each spring and fall. I have not yet had the pleasure of visiting Martinsville Speedway, but it is one of those classic tracks that I would like to visit in the near future.

We go from the largest track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule (Talladega at 2.66 miles), to the shortest (0.526) this weekend in Southern Virginia. Being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles, the first NASCAR sanctioned event was held at Martinsville Speedway on Independence Day of 1948. NASCAR has continued to visit the half-mile paper clip ever since. It is the only racetrack that has remained on the NASCAR circuit since its beginning in 1948, so yes there is quite a bit of racing history in Henry County, Va.

Its slight 12-degrees of banking in the corners makes passing a bit difficult without the use of the front-bumper. Jumping off the bottom groove and into the top-lane could cost you two, three, and sometimes even four positions. It’s a one groove racetrack that is fun to watch, but could be a driver’s worst nightmare this Halloween weekend.

Talladega Recap

The 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup is not being very kind to me as a sports guru that is supposed to know what he’s talking about. After the first 6 races of The Chase, my winner picks have a combined average finish of 19.6, I have two Top-5’s thrown in that mix as well. It’s not every day that a Long Shot finishes in front of the favorite…(unless you happen to be my Dark Horse of the week).

My Dark Horses have fared a bit better in the grand scheme of things, finishing on average 3.3 spots better than my winner picks. So, I may have this Dark Horse thing down, but may be the curse of many Championship hopefuls currently fighting for that Driver’s Championship.

Last week, I threw all my eggs in one team’s basket and came out a loser. I threw my eggs in the Richard Childress Racing basket last week, but happened to pick the wrong drafting tandem in the end. As we all know, picking the right team results in nothing but a “coulda, woulda, shoulda” outcome.

I was a curse to my Winner Pick last week in Alabama…

Kevin Harvick and his teammate Paul Menard were the two fastest cars last week in NASCAR’s EFI testing at Talladega Superspeedway. That fact didn’t help me out when it came down to the Good Sam Club 500 last Sunday.
The tandem were a dominating force for more than 100 laps, and on a number of occasions dropped back in the field to avoid the mess at the front of the field but quickly powered their way back to the front, showing the power of their Chevrolets. With help from Menard on his rear bumper, Harvick was able to lead the field on 6 occasions for a total of 13 laps.

On lap 104, disaster struck with my Winner Pick, Menard in tail of course, when a slue of cars started spinning and wrecking directly in front of the No. 29 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet. The wreck collected Harvick, running all chances for me to get a win. Harvick limped home 32nd, and left my Dark Horse Pick, Paul Menard without a dancing partner.

Menard’s help would come in the way of Australian native, Marcos Ambrose. The tango of Menard and Amrbose systematically picked their way through the field for 80 or so laps until the final restart. It was then when Menard paired with fellow Chevrolet driver, Tony Stewart to run the final 3 laps of the Good Sam Club 500 nose-to-tail. The two scrambled to finish strong, but Menard would be the 6th pusher of the field, coming home in 12th place.

Martinsville Picks

Winner Pick

There’s one guy I think of when I think Martinsville, and that’s Virginia-native, Denny Hamlin. Hamlin has finished outside the Top-10 just twice in the last 12 races at the paper clip, and that race being this April in the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500. Before his 12th place finish in April, Hamlin had won the prior three races at Martinsville, a track where he loves to race.

Hamlin is a bit of a forgotten Chase driver, but really could make a statement in his 13th visit to Martinsville Speedway. The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota has a .333 win percentage at Martinsville, with all four victories coming in the Car of Tomorrow.

“It’s such a short race track that when you find a technique that works for you where you pick up a little time, that’s what you do,” Hamlin said Friday. “No matter what vehicle you’re running. Aero and horsepower don’t mean much – it’s more about how you technically drive around it and how good the car is. Rules changes don’t matter, whether it’s a wing, a spoiler, the Car of Tomorrow or the car of yesterday. Those same techniques work. That’s why you see the same guys running up front. It’s their technique and what works for them.”

Dark Horse Pick

Going out on a limb with this pick, I’m going with a guy that might be overlooked when it comes to Short Track racing.

Juan Montoya is a guy that might be overlooked on every track but Infineon and Watkins Glen. He started 27th in April, and drove his No. 42 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet to 4th when the checkered flag flew.

His average finish isn’t too shabby for a Short Track at 13.9, but with no practice sessions today in Southern Virginia, I have nothing but past stats to guide my picks. Both of Montoya’s career Top-5’s on Short Tracks have been at Martinsville Speedway, and I think he has the finesse (and front bumper) it takes to finish strong at the paper clip. He has also finished 97.6% of all the laps run at Martinsville since his first start in 2007.

The No. 42 Target Chevrolet team will bring Chassis #1110 to Martinsville, the same Chassis that aided Montoya to a 4th place finish, overcoming his 27th place starting spot. Chassis #1110 also started 31st in September at New Hampshire and finished in 9th. This chassis knows how to work through traffic.

That’s it for this week so until next time, You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!!

October 28, 2011
Rockingham Speedway Hosts Toyota Test Session

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

October 25, 2011

Tony Stewart Wins Pole for the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte

Tony Stewart captured his thirteenth career pole Thursday evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a qualifying speed of 191.959 mph.

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”206″][/media-credit]Stewart was happy with his effort but a little surprised that the speeds did not noticeably increase from what they had experienced during practice.

“That was a pretty cool lap, obviously,” he said. But, Stewart continued, “Typically we see the pace pick up a little more in qualifying than what we saw tonight.”

Five of the top ten positions were claimed by drivers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Matt Kenseth will start beside Stewart in the second position followed by Carl Edwards in third. Ryan Newman qualified sixth and Jimmie Johnson secured the ninth starting spot.

The remaining Chase contenders qualified as follows:

Kevin Harvick – 14^th

Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 15^th

Denny Hamlin – 17^th

Kurt Busch – 20^th

Jeff Gordon – 23^rd

Kyle Busch – 25^th

Brad Keselowski – 26th.

Drivers Josh Wise, Scott Speed and Geoffrey Bodine failed to make the field.

The Bank of America 500 this Saturday evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway is the fifth race in the fight for the Sprint Cup championship.

Starting Lineup
Bank of America 500, Charlotte Motor Speedway
http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=31
===========================================
Pos.	No.	Driver	Make	Speed	Time
===========================================
1	14	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	191.959	28.131
2	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	191.918	28.137
3	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	191.87	28.144
4	43	A.J. Allmendinger	Ford	191.768	28.159
5	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	191.741	28.163
6	39	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	191.585	28.186
7	27	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	191.462	28.204
8	4	Kasey Kahne	Toyota	191.394	28.214
9	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	191.34	28.222
10	21	Trevor Bayne	Ford	191.259	28.234
11	6	David Ragan	Ford	191.002	28.272
12	9	Marcos Ambrose	Ford	191.002	28.272
13	5	Mark Martin	Chevrolet	190.9	28.287
14	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	190.894	28.288
15	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	190.833	28.297
16	20	Joey Logano	Toyota	190.82	28.299
17	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	190.799	28.302
18	56	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	190.638	28.326
19	33	Clint Bowyer	Chevrolet	190.611	28.33
20	22	Kurt Busch	Dodge	190.57	28.336
21	78	Regan Smith	Chevrolet	190.429	28.357
22	47	Bobby Labonte	Toyota	190.255	28.383
23	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	190.007	28.42
24	13	Casey Mears	Toyota	189.727	28.462
25	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	189.54	28.49
26	2	Brad Keselowski	Dodge	189.52	28.493
27	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	189.401	28.511
28	31	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet	189.082	28.559
29	0	David Reutimann	Toyota	188.923	28.583
30	51	Landon Cassill	Chevrolet	188.851	28.594
31	83	Brian Vickers	Toyota	188.772	28.606
32	42	Juan Montoya	Chevrolet	188.725	28.613
33	34	David Gilliland	Ford	188.6	28.632
34	55	Travis Kvapil	Ford	188.271	28.682
35	36	Dave Blaney	Chevrolet	188.239	28.687
36	30	David Stremme	Chevrolet	187.918	28.736
37	66	Michael McDowell	Toyota	187.454	28.807
38	38	J.J. Yeley	Ford	187.383	28.818
39	87	Joe Nemechek	Toyota	187.311	28.829
40	71	Andy Lally*	Ford	186.657	28.93
41	71	Hermie Sadler+	Ford	185.676	29.083
42	32	Mike Bliss+	Ford	185.44	29.12
43	7	Robby Gordon	Dodge	186.303	28.985

October 14, 2011

NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished third at Dover, leading 116 of 400 laps, and gained a share of the Sprint Cup point standings. Edwards is tied with Kevin Harvick atop the standings, with a nine point lead over Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart.

“Luckily,” Edwards said, “I don’t do a back flip for third place finishes. And, judging by Saturday’s result, I don’t do back flips for wins, either. It used to be called a ‘somersault;’ with the change of season, it’s now called a ‘fall.’”

2. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson held off Carl Edwards in the closing laps in the AAA 400 to take the runner-up spot at Dover. Johnson vaulted five spots in the point standings to fifth and is 13 out of first.

“Many though my slow start in the Chase indicated that I was ‘going nowhere,’” Johnson said. “Well, they were right, because this strong finish indicates that I’m ‘not going anywhere.”

[media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”203″][/media-credit]3. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished tenth in the AAA 400, a solid effort considering Dover is not one of his strongest tracks. He did, however, move in to a tie in the points lead with Carl Edwards, with a nine point lead on Tony Stewart in second.

“It’s great to be on top in the Sprint Cup point standings,” Harvick said. “But the issue with leading is one that is much akin to Clint Bowyer’s future with Richard Childress Racing—staying there.”

4. Kurt Busch: Busch left Jimmie Johnson after a late restart and cruised to the win in the AAA 400, his second win of the year and first of the Chase. Busch climbed from ninth to third in the point standings, and trails co-leaders Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick by ninth.

“It’s doubly satisfying to pass Johnson for the win,” Busch said. “I know ‘slaps in the face,’ and that had to feel like one to Johnson.

“My win certainly tightens up the point standing in the Chase For The Cup. My brother knows all too well that when you put a Busch brother out front, things get ‘tight,’ particularly Kyle’s nerves.”

5. Tony Stewart: After two wins to start the Chase, Stewart’s luck ran out at Dover, where handling issues left him in an early hole from which he couldn’t escape. He finished 25^th, two laps down, and fell out of the Sprint Cup points lead.

“I guess winning three races in a row was too much to expect,” Stewart said. “Otherwise, I may have ran away with the Sprint Cup title. In this case, the third time was the charm for 11 other Chase drivers. But ‘winning three’ isn’t easy; that’s something I’ve spent the last ten years learning.”

6. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth, who won at Dover in May, took fifth in the AAA 400, collecting his eighth top-5 result of the year. He remained sixth in the point standings, where only 19 points separate the top nine drivers.

“We took two tires on the final pit stop in May,” Kenseth said. “We took four this time. Suffice it to say we were ‘dis-May-ed’ with our finish.

“My esteemed teammate Carl Edwards is tied for the lead in the point standings with his esteemed arch-nemesis Kevin Harvick. That makes for an interesting situation, and I, like most others, can’t wait to see which one ‘chokes’ first.”

7. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished a disappointing 20^th at Dover, amazingly his first finish outside the top 12 since a 35^th at New Hampshire in July. He fell three places in the point standings to sixth, and trails the leaders by 14.

“We had a good car until our power steering failed,” Keselowski said. “You could say we were ‘cursed’ by mechanical issues, which is definitely not the first time the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge has been ‘cursed.’ Heck, Kurt Busch used to drive this car.”

8. Jeff Gordon: Gordon qualified 34^th at Dover, and with track position at a premium, could only manage a 12^th-place finish. He fell four places to ninth in the point standings, and is 19 out of first.

“We’ve dug ourselves a hole,” Gordon said. “That’s not as bad as my Hendrick teammate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. He dug himself a grave.”

9. Kyle Busch: Busch bounced back from two sub-par finishes to start the Chase with a sixth at Dover, his 17^th top-10 finish of the season. He eighth in the point standings,15 points out of the lead.

“A sixth-place finish is encouraging,” Busch said, “but knowing you started the Chase with the lead just three short weeks ago is discouraging. But I’ve got my head up. I understand Denny Hamlin has employed a sports psychologist to improve his attitude. Many people say I need psychological help. My supporters say I don’t need psychological help, just an evaluation. Anyway, if a sports psychologist could tell me anything, he’d likely say ‘You’re still in the driver’s seat.’ And I would likely reply, ‘I’m paying you for this?’”

10. Ryan Newman: Newman finished 23^rd, two laps down, after ongoing handling issues left his No. 39 Stewart-Haas Chevy with little grip and poor handling. He is now 11^th in the Sprint Cup point standings, 41 out of first.

“Our performance is upsetting,” Newman said. “And I think it showed on my face. Anyone could see that I was ‘drivin’ and (c)Ryan.’

“I’m declaring myself a non-factor in the Chase. And if things work out for me like they did for Tony Stewart, I’ll be back in the thick of things after winning at Kansas and Charlotte.”

October 4, 2011