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  • Drew Blickensderfer to call 400th Cup event as crew chief at Atlanta

    Drew Blickensderfer to call 400th Cup event as crew chief at Atlanta

    A significant milestone achievement is in the making for Drew Blickensderfer, crew chief for Aric Almirola and the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang team in the NASCAR Cup Series. By participating in this weekend’s Cup event at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Blickensderfer will call his 400th race as a crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series. 

    A native of Mount Zion, Illinois, Blickensderfer, who grew up interested in racing and had a brief career as a modified racer before relocating to North Carolina and working as a crew member for Dale Earnhardt Inc., Bill Davis Racing and Roush Racing, became a crew chief for the first time during the 2006 Xfinity Series season when he worked atop the pit box of the No. 50 Roush Racing Ford team driven by Danny O’Quinn Jr. He then remained as an Xfinity crew chief for the newly named Roush Fenway Racing in 2007, where he led the No. 17 Ford team to his first two career victories as a crew chief with Matt Kenseth piloting the ride. After commencing the 2008 season as a crew chief for the No. 17 entry, where he went to Victory Lane at Atlanta Motor Speedway with Kenseth in March, he made a mid-season swap to Roush’s No. 60 Ford team that was being piloted by Carl Edwards. With Edwards behind the wheel, Blickensderfer led the No. 60 team to seven victories and a runner-up result in the 2008 Xfinity drivers’ standings.

    In 2009, Blickensderfer graduated to the NASCAR Cup Series to work as a crew chief for the 2003 Cup champion Matt Kenseth and the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion team. In his first appearance as a Cup crew chief, Blickensderfer achieved his first career win in the rain-shortened 51st running of the Daytona 500, which marked the first 500 victory for both Kenseth and Roush Fenway Racing. The duo then went two-for-two early in the 2009 season after Kenseth held off Jeff Gordon to win at Auto Club Speedway during the following weekend. Their flawless start to the season, however, came to an end during the following weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway when Kenseth retired in 43rd place, dead last, due to an early engine failure. Then for the remaining 23 regular season events, the No. 17 team led by Blickensderfer only achieved seven additional top-10 results as they slipped out of the top-12 postseason cutline during the regular season finale at Richmond Raceway in September and resulted with Kenseth failing to make the Cup Series Playoffs for the first time in his career. Kenseth and Blickensderfer went on to record three top-three results during the final 10 events before finishing in 14th place in the final standings.

    Early in the 2010 Cup Series season, Blickensderfer was replaced by veteran Todd Parrott despite guiding Kenseth to an eighth-place result during the 52nd running of the Daytona 500 in February. Seven months later, he returned as a crew chief for David Ragan and the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion team, beginning at Kansas Speedway. Blickensderfer served as Ragan’s crew chief for six of the final eight scheduled events as they achieved a season-best result of eighth place at Texas Motor Speedway in November before Ragan finished in 24th place in the final standings.

    Blickensderfer remained as Ragan’s crew chief for the 2011 Cup Series season. During the 53rd running of the Daytona 500, Ragan was in position to win until he was penalized for a late restart violation, where he swapped lanes from the top to the bottom prior to reaching the start/finish line to restart the event. The penalty sent him to the rear of the field as he ended up in 14th place in the final running order. Blickensderfer and Ragan then recorded four top-10 results, including a runner-up result in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, during the following 15 scheduled events. They also managed to earn a victory in the non-points All-Star Open at Charlotte in May that allowed Ragan to compete in his first All-Star Race, where he finished eighth. Then when NASCAR returned to Daytona in July, Ragan redeemed himself by claiming the Coke Zero 400 and notching his first career victory in NASCAR’s premier series. The victory also snapped Blickensderfer’s 57-race winless drought dating back to February 2009. For the remainder of the season, however, the duo earned only three additional results in the top 10 and did not make the Playoffs as Ragan fell back to 23rd place in the final standings.

    For the 2012 Cup season, Blickensderfer transitioned from Roush Fenway Racing to Richard Childress Racing, where he served as a crew chief for veteran Jeff Burton and the No. 31 Chevrolet Impala team. The duo earned a fifth-place result during the 54th running of the Daytona 500 before finishing sixth at Bristol Motor Speedway three races later. Despite achieving a runner-up result at Daytona in July, Burton and Blickensderfer struggled with consistency as they did not make the Playoffs. Then with three races remaining to the season, Blickensderfer moved to Richard Petty Motorsports to serve as crew chief for Australia’s Marcos Ambrose and the No. 9 Ford Fusion team. During the three-race stint, the new duo managed a season-best result of 13th place during the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November before Ambrose finished in 18th place in the final standings, one spot ahead of Jeff Burton. By then, Blickensderfer surpassed 100 career events as a Cup Series crew chief.

    Blickensderfer remained as Ambrose’s crew chief for the following two seasons. During the two seasons, the duo earned a pole, three top-five results and 13 top-10 results with Ambrose’s best points result being 22nd in 2013. Their best on-track moment during the two-year stretch was at Watkins Glen International in August 2014, where Ambrose settled in second place following a late battle with eventual winner AJ Allmendinger.

    Ten races into the 2015 Cup Series season, Blickensderfer was a crew chief for Sam Hornish Jr., who replaced Ambrose in the No. 9 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford Fusion but finished no higher than sixth place at Talladega Superspeedway in early May. After being replaced by veteran crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion in May, Blickensderfer did not return as a Cup Series crew chief until late into the 2016 season, where he worked atop the No. 43 RPM Ford Fusion pit box piloted by Aric Almirola. Appearing in seven of the final eight scheduled events, Almirola and Blickensderfer finished no higher than eighth place, which occurred at Talladega in October, before Almirola finished in 26th place in the final standings for a second consecutive season. By then, Blickensderfer surpassed 200 Cup career events as a crew chief.

    Remaining as Almirola’s crew chief, Blickensderfer commenced the 2017 Cup season with a fourth-place result in the 59th running of the Daytona 500. Nine races later at Talladega in May, however, Blickensderfer was hit with a three-race suspension and a $65,000 fine due to Almirola’s fourth-place car failing post-race inspection. By the time Blickensderfer returned atop the No. 43 paddock, Almirola was absent and recovering from injuries sustained from a harrowing wreck at Kansas Speedway in May. At Pocono Raceway in June, Blickensderfer worked with Bubba Wallace, who finished 26th in his Cup debut. After spending the following four scheduled events working with Wallace and road-ringer Billy Johnson, Blickensderfer reunited with Almirola at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July. The duo, however, could not generate on-track consistency for the remainder of the regular season stretch as they missed the Playoffs. They went on to finish in the top 10 three times during the final 10 events before Almirola settled in 29th place in the final standings.

    For the 2018 Cup Series season, Blickensderfer was paired with Bubba Wallace, who took over the No. 43 RPM Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and contended for the Rookie-of-the-Year title. During the 60th running of the Daytona 500, Wallace rubbed fenders with Denny Hamlin to earn a strong runner-up result by a nose. Blickensderfer and Wallace would proceed to finish in the top 10 on two additional occasions for the remainder of the season as Wallace settled in 28th place in the final standings and a runner-up to the Rookie-of-the-Year title behind William Byron. 

    In 2019, Blickensderfer departed Richard Petty Motorsports and joined Front Row Motorsports to serve as a crew chief for Michael McDowell and the No. 34 Ford Mustang team. The new duo earned a strong fifth-place result during the 61st running of the Daytona 500 before earning one additional top-five result at Talladega in October and finishing in 27th place in the final standings. By then, Blickensderfer surpassed 300 Cup career events as a crew chief.

    Despite finishing in 16th place during the 62nd running of the Daytona 500 in 2020, Blickensderfer and McDowell doubled their top-10 results from the previous season to four and boosted their final standings result by four places to 23rd.

    Then in 2021, Blickensderfer etched his name as a two-time Daytona 500 winning crew chief and returned to Victory Lane after McDowell dodged a multi-car melee on the final lap to take the lead at the moment of caution and claim his first victory in his 358th career start in NASCAR’s premier series. The Daytona 500 victory along with four additional results in the top 10 during the 26-race regular season stretch were enough for McDowell to claim a spot for the 2021 Cup Playoffs, which marked Blickensderfer’s first postseason appearance as a Cup Series crew chief. The duo’s run for the title, however, came to an early end during the Round of 16 after McDowell finished 37th, 28th and 24th respectively. Finishing no higher than 16th place twice during the final seven events, McDowell settled in a career-best 16th place in the final standings.

    Following a three-year stint at Front Row Motorsports, Blickensderfer announced his departure from the team in December 2021. A month later, he was announced as a crew chief for Almirola, who was set to retire as a full-time competitor following the 2022 season, and the No. 10 Ford Mustang team for Stewart-Haas Racing. The move marked a reunion for both the crew chief and the driver since 2017. Through the first half of the 2022 Cup season, Blickensderfer and Almirola have achieved two top-five results and five top-10 results. Despite being ranked in 12th place in the regular season standings, they trail the cutline to qualify for the 2022 Cup Playoffs by 47 points with eight regular season events remaining to the schedule.

    Through 399 previous appearances, Blickensderfer has achieved four victories, four poles, 26 top-five results and 68 top-10 results while working with nine different competitors.

    Blickensderfer is scheduled to call his 400th Cup Series career event at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 10, at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • McDowell to make 350th Cup start at Bristol

    McDowell to make 350th Cup start at Bristol

    A significant milestone is in the making for Michael McDowell, driver of the No. 34 Ford Mustang for Front Row Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series. By taking the green flag for this weekend’s Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway, McDowell will reach 350 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.

    A native of Glendale, Arizona, McDowell was in the early stages of his racing career in NASCAR when he was selected as driver of the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry for Michael Waltrip Racing at Martinsville Speedway in March 2008. The move came as David Reutimann, who started the season as the No. 00 driver, moved over to drive MWR’s No. 44 UPS Toyota Camry for the remainder of the season when the 1999 Cup champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett retired as a competitor. Starting in 34th place, McDowell finished 26th in his Cup debut after sustaining a flat tire in the closing laps.

    On April 4 at Texas Motor Speedway, McDowell was qualifying for the upcoming Cup weekend race at the Lone Star state when he got loose entering Turn 1. Trying to straighten the car, the car turned back to the right and made heavy head-on contact into the outside SAFER barriers at over 180 mph as the car rolled over. With the car spinning sideways while upside down across the barriers, the car rolled back over and proceeded into a series of barrel rolls down to the apron before coming to rest on all four wheels with fire bursting out at the front. Despite the accident that left the No. 00 Aaron’s Toyota demolished, McDowell was able to escape uninjured and make the mandatory trip to the infield care center. His wreck was a prime example of how the safety enhancements and features made within the sport throughout the modern era, from the SAFER barriers to the HANS device and the Car of Tomorrow, keep the competitors safe in the event of an on-track incident. The cause of the accident was later revealed due to a loose sway bar on McDowell’s car.

    From Phoenix Raceway in April through Dover International Speedway in September, McDowell continued to drive Michael Waltrip Racing’s No. 00 Toyota in the Cup Series, where his best result was 20th place at Richmond Raceway in September. After failing to qualify for the following race at Kansas Speedway, McDowell was released from the team.

    Starting the 2009 season as an Xfinity Series competitor for JTG-Daugherty Racing, McDowell did not make a Cup start until September at Richmond. Driving the No. 36 Wave Energy Drink Toyota for Tommy Baldwin Racing, McDowell started and finished 41st in his first Cup start of the season. He competed in seven additional Cup races with Tommy Baldwin, where he finished no higher than 38th.

    McDowell started the 2010 season by driving the No. 55 Toyota Camry for Prism Motorsports. He finished in 14th place in the first of two duel races at Daytona International Speedway in February and earned one of two transfer spots to the 52nd running of the Daytona 500 along with Max Papis. He went on, however, to finish 33rd in the main event due to a drive shaft issue. Throughout the 2010 Cup season, he competed in 24 of the 36-race schedule and he failed to finish in all but one race, which was at Talladega Superspeedway in October as he finished 35th and was two laps behind the leaders.

    Throughout the 2011 Cup season, McDowell competed in 32 of the 36-race schedule, 31 with HP Racing. His best result with the team was 30th place at Sonoma Raceway in June. In November at Texas Motor Speedway, he drove the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing in place of the suspended Kyle Busch, who was parked by NASCAR throughout the weekend as a result of intentionally wrecking NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr. in the Truck Series race at Texas at the start of the weekend. McDowell finished in 33rd place, three laps behind the leaders, in his lone Cup start with JGR.

    In 2012, McDowell remained with HP Racing, which was renamed to Phil Parsons Racing. Competing in 30 of the 36-race Cup schedule and in the No. 98 K-Love Radio Ford Fusion, his best result was 23rd at Bristol Motor Speedway in August while he sustained 25 DNFs. Prior to the conclusion of the 2012 season, McDowell reached 100 career starts in the Cup Series.

    Following the 2013 Cup season, where he competed in all but three races while achieving his first top-10 career finish in the Daytona 500 in February (ninth place), McDowell was named driver of the No. 95 Ford Fusion for Leavine Family Racing for the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series season. He failed to qualify for the Daytona 500, but went on to compete in 19 of the 36-race schedule. His best result was seventh place in the rain-shortened Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway in July.

    McDowell continued to drive for Leavine Family Racing in 2015, where he made 16 starts with the team and finished no higher than 20th place at Watkins Glen International in August, and in 2016 when LFR formed an alliance with Circle Sport and changed manufacturers from Ford to Chevrolet. Starting the 2016 Cup season in the No. 59 Thrivent Financial/K-LOVE Chevrolet SS, McDowell finished in 15th place in the 58th running of the Daytona 500. He then split driving responsibilities of the No. 95 LFR Chevrolet with Ty Dillon throughout the season, where he finished 10th at Daytona in July, 12th at Richmond in September and 14th at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October. He concluded the season by finishing in 10th place at Homestead-Miami Speedway and a career-best 30th place in the final standings. By the time the 2016 season concluded, McDowell had surpassed 200 career starts in the Cup Series.

    Following the 2017 Cup season, where he competed the entire 36-race Cup schedule with Leavine Family Racing, achieved a career-best fourth-place finish at Daytona in July and finished a career-best 26th place in the final standings, McDowell moved to Front Row Motorsports to pilot the No. 34 Ford in 2018. He started the season by finishing in ninth place in the 60th running of the Daytona 500 in February. For the remainder of the season, he achieved nine additional top-20 results, led a career-high 33 laps in total and he concluded the season in 26th place in the final standings.

    Remaining with Front Row Motorsports for the 2019 season while paired with former Daytona 500-winning crew chief Drew Blickensderfer, McDowell started the season on a high note by finishing in fifth place in the 61st running of the Daytona 500. He achieved three additional top-15 results over the next 29 Cup races before he logged in another fifth-place result at Talladega in October. He went on to conclude the season in 27th place in the final standings. Following the 2019 season, McDowell surpassed 300 Cup career starts.

    This season, which marks his third with FRM, McDowell has achieved three top-10 results and nine top-15 results through 28 Cup races. He is ranked in 22nd place in the standings, he holds a career-best average result of 19.9 and is coming off a 25th-place result at Richmond while he also continues to pursue his first elusive victory in NASCAR’s premier series.

    Catch McDowell’s milestone start at Bristol Motor Speedway for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Saturday, September 19. The race will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Wallace to make 100th Cup start at Dover

    Wallace to make 100th Cup start at Dover

    A major milestone is in the making for Bubba Wallace, driver of the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE and NASCAR’s current lone African-American competitor in the Cup Series. When the green flag waves on Saturday, August 22, at Dover International Speedway, Wallace will reach 100 starts in the sport’s premier series and in his third full-time season competing against NASCAR’s elite.

    A native of Mobile, Alabama, Wallace was already a rising star in NASCAR entering June 2017, having won six ARCA Menards Series East races and five NASCAR Truck Series races while competing in his third season in the Xfinity Series with Roush Fenway Racing. By then, Aric Almirola was in his sixth season as driver of the No. 43 Smithfield Ford Fusion for Richard Petty Motorsports.

    When Almirola was injured and diagnosed with a compression fracture of his T5 vertebrae after being involved in a vicious multi-car accident at Kansas Speedway in May, Richard Petty Motorsports named Wallace as an interim competitor of the No. 43 Smithfield Ford, beginning at Pocono Raceway in June. Wallace’s interim role at Pocono not only marked his Cup debut, but he also became the first African-American competitor to compete in the Cup Series since Bill Lester made the last accomplishment in 2006. At Pocono, Wallace qualified 16th and finished 26th in his Cup debut after being hampered with a handful of pit road speeding penalties. Following the race, where he congratulated his longtime friend, fellow competitor and first-time winner Ryan Blaney, Wallace passed out and required medical attention.

    Wallace made three additional starts in 2017 in the No. 43 car at Michigan International Speedway in June, Daytona International Speedway and at Kentucky Speedway (both in July). His best results during those three races were a 15th-place result at Daytona and an 11th-place result at Kentucky. The following race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Almirola was medically cleared to return to competition and Wallace was left without a full-time ride for the remainder of the season after his Xfinity ride at Roush Fenway Racing was terminated due to sponsorship issues. He made one start in the Truck Series at Michigan in August, where he won driving for MDM Motorsports, and one additional start in the Xfinity Series at Chicagoland Speedway in September, where he finished 10th driving for Biagi-DenBeste Racing.

    In mid-October, amid months of speculation, NASCAR Hall of Famer and team owner Richard Petty named Bubba Wallace as a full-time competitor of the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season, which Wallace entered as a Rookie-of-the-Year candidate as he also became the first African-American competitor to compete on a full-time basis in the Cup Series since the late NASCAR Hall of Famer Wendell Scott made the last accomplishment in 1971.

    Wallace made his first start in the No. 43 Chevrolet in the first of two Can-Am Duel races at Daytona International Speedway in February, where he dodged a handful of on-track incidents to finish in third place behind race winner Blaney and Joey Logano. Wallace’s third-place result in the duel event earned him the seventh-place starting spot for the 60th running of the Daytona 500 three days later. Prior to the 500, Wallace received support from a number of star athletes, including Super Bowl XLV champion Charles Woodson, Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron and Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton. During the Daytona 500, Wallace made a late charge and edged Denny Hamlin by a nose to finish in second place behind race winner Austin Dillon. Though he did not win the race, he won the hearts of fans over his strong performance and he cherished the result during his post-race press conference by sharing a tearful hug with his mother and family. Wallace also became the highest-finishing African-American competitor in the Daytona 500, eclipsing the previous record made by Scott’s 13th-place result in 1966.

    Following his historic run in the Daytona 500, Wallace finished no higher than 20th place in the next five Cup races before he earned his second top-10 career finish (eighth-place) at Texas Motor Speedway. The following race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Wallace had a historic run in the making when he took the lead from Brad Keselowski on Lap 375 of 500 and led his first six laps in the Cup Series and in a blue and orange No. 43 STP Chevrolet that mirrored the scheme Richard Petty sported when he dominated stock car racing in the past. Though Wallace was primed for a strong result at Bristol, he ended his race with a disappointing 16th-place finish following handling issues. For the remainder of his rookie Cup season, Wallace earned one additional top-10 result (10th at Phoenix) and was beaten by William Byron for the Rookie-of-the-Year title. Overall, Wallace earned one top-five result, three top-10 results and an average result of 24.5 throughout the 36-race schedule before he concluded the season in 28th place in the final standings.

    Wallace started off the 2019 season with lead engineer Derek Stamets as his new crew chief following Blickensderfer’s departure from RPM to Front Row Motorsports. For the first 12 Cup races of the season, Wallace finished no higher than 17th place (Martinsville in March). The following race, which was the Monster Energy Open at Charlotte Motor Speedway, was where Wallace flexed his muscles after he fended off a late charge from Daniel Suarez to win the second of three stages in the Open and transfer to his first All-Star Race of his career. Wallace’s success continued during the main event, where he finished in fifth place. His other success to the 2019 season occurred at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he dodged a series of carnages to finish in third place behind race winner Kevin Harvick and Logano. The third-place result marked his first top-five result since finishing second in the 2018 Daytona 500 and the second crown-jewel event where he earned a podium result. Wallace, however, recorded four additional top-15 results before he concluded the season in 28th place in the final standings and with an average result of 23.9.

    This season, Wallace reunited with veteran crew chief Jerry Baxter, who won five Truck races with Wallace in 2013 and 2014 with Kyle Busch Motorsports. Wallace started off the season by finishing 15th in the Daytona 500. He rebounded the following race by finishing in sixth place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after opting to remain on track on old tires for a two-lap shootout to the finish. He went on to finish 27th and 19th in the next two Cup races before COVID-19 paused this year’s racing season through May. By then, Wallace was in 18th place in the regular-season standings.

    Since the return of racing at Darlington Raceway in May through last weekend at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course, Wallace has earned three additional top-10 results, seven additional top-15 results and an average result of 19.8. He is currently in 21st place in the regular-season standings and is 165 points below the top-16 cutline to make this year’s Cup Playoffs. He has yet to announce his racing plans for next season and beyond.

    In addition to his competitiveness on the track, Wallace, this season, has become the face of NASCAR’s involvement in the Black Lives Matter movement and speaking out on the abuse of African Americans by the police. At Martinsville Speedway, he sported a special black scheme on his No. 43 Chevrolet that featured the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter and the phrase “Compassion, Love, Understanding.” Shortly after at Talladega Superspeedway, where a noose was discovered in Wallace’s garage stall, all the competitors and crew members joined Wallace to the front of the pit road in a show of solidarity through the national anthem and prior to the race. Despite the incident being determined that Wallace was not a target of a hate crime and the backlash that followed suit towards the competitor of the iconic No. 43 car, Wallace vows to continue to maintain his stance against his doubters and race towards history both on and off the track.

    Catch Wallace’s milestone start on August 22 at Dover at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: SpongeBob SquarePants 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: SpongeBob SquarePants 400

    With the hopes of attracting a younger crowd to the sport with appearances by Squidward Tentacles, Larry the Lobster, and Patrick Star, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 5th annual SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway.

    Surprising: Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick continued to host their own version of a swap meet, trading wins and runner-up finishes back and forth yet again. This time, the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet took the checkered flag first, with the driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet scoring runner-up honors.

    Harvick and Johnson have been having such a swap meet that in the races where Harvick has finished second, Johnson has won each race.

    “We won a championship on pit calls and tires, and everything fell our way,” Harvick said. “We’ve had a lot of things go our way, and we’ve had a lot of things work out, and running up front and having a chance to win, it’s almost harder to win the races when you’re leading races, because you’ve got guys that are a little off pace, like the first four were that stayed out, hoping that they could get a good restart and get the clean air and their car would hold on just long enough to get the win.”

    “It’s no frustration, just keep going at it.”

    “I still think he’s the car to beat right now,” Johnson said of Harvick. “We’re finding ways to win races, but I just think that they have a bit more control of their own destiny right now. We’re getting better. We’re closing the gap a little bit each week. But we’ve still got a little bit of work to do.”

    Not Surprising: In spite of not taking home the trophy, Martin Truex Jr. kept his chin up, noting that in addition to scoring his tenth top-10 finish in 11 races and maintaining his second place in the point standings, he took another step forward toward his Victory Lane goal.

    “I felt like tonight we kind of gained a big step in speed, and hopefully that’s something that will continue,” Truex said. “We brought a new car here this weekend and it’s kind of the newest and latest and greatest that we’ve come up with and definitely feel like we closed that gap a little bit.”

    “We’ll just have to wait and see if that plays out on other racetracks, but felt like if we can keep doing that and keep finding little things here and there to close that gap and keep being consistent putting ourselves in position I feel like we can win some races.”

    “We’ve got a great team, we’ve got everything we need to do it, and we’ve got a lot of confidence, so we’ve just got to keep getting in that position and try to close the deal.”

    Surprising: With a new crew chief on board, Bono Manion now in for Drew Blickensderfer, Sam Hornish Jr. fared a little better than usual on the intermediate track of Kansas.

    “We had a good car and we took two there at the end,” the driver of the No. 9 Medallion Bank Ford said. “I was a little scared to adjust on it because it had felt good where it was at and we were a little on the free side and I didn’t want to free it up too much.”

    “It ended up being too tight and the guys did a great job making good calls to get the car better and the pit crew did a good job.”

    “It is something to build on and a big improvement for us as far as our downforce racing this year. I am appreciative to have a run like we did.”

    Not Surprising: For the second time in as many races, a driver took NASCAR to task for not throwing the caution. Last race at Talladega, it was Carl Edwards expressing his concern about the lack of caution after wrecking and this race it was Denny Hamlin voicing the same.

    “There was no caution there and then we cut a left rear, blew it off of turn four and spun out, hit the wall at the start finish line,” Hamlin said. “I keep spinning out, I keep hitting the wall and I can’t figure out why everyone is still coming at 200 and I look and the green light is still on.”

    “They didn’t throw a caution until seven seconds after I wrecked. Luckily nobody hit us. They’ll continue to monitor the situation, I’m guessing is what they’ll say.”

    The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota finished a disappointing 41st.

    Surprising: ‘New’ drivers David Ragan, this week for the first time in the No. 55 SquarePants/Aaron’s Dream Machine for Michael Waltrip Racing, and Erik Jones, making his Sprint Cup debut in the No. 18 Red Nose Day Camry subbing for Kyle Busch, both had difficult days.

    Ragan finished 33rd and Jones finished 40th after being involved in accidents later in the race.

    “It’s definitely nice to be as fast as we were and we had a great M&M’s Camry, but I just got loose off (turn) four and lost it,” Jones said. “All my fault, guess I have to go back and figure it out. You know, we had a good night before that.”

    “Something to take from it. I’m ready to do another one — I hope I get another shot.”

    Not Surprising: As has occurred at most intermediate tracks to date, Chevrolet was the dominant manufacturer, scoring the first four spots in the finishing order. In addition to Johnson winning and Harvick scoring runner-up, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Talladega race winner, and Hendrick teammate Jeff Gordon finished in the third and fourth places respectively.

    Surprising: Drivers in contention for Rookie of the Year honors finished surprisingly badly. Jeb Burton, leading ROTY candidate had all kinds of problems, wrecking and spinning his No. 26 Maxim Fantasy Sports Toyota.

    Brett Moffitt, behind the wheel of the No. 34 Dockside Logistics Ford was the highest finishing rookie in 34th.

    Not Surprising: At least one NASCAR driver has finally found a home after moving from team to team and even out of the sport at one point in his career. Prior to the race, JTG Daugherty Racing announced the AJ Allmendinger would continue as the team’s driver for five more years.

    “I have always said I have a verbal lifetime contract with JTG Daugherty Racing, but I want to announce today that I have officially signed a contract for a five-year deal,” Allmendinger said. “It’s pretty awesome to see our team thriving and I love our sponsors.”

    They allow me to do what I love to do. I know Tad (Geschickter, team owner) has busted his butt to put all of this together and he has the business model figured out.”

    Allmendinger scored a good run after announcing his new deal, finishing 14th in his No. 47 Dillon’s/Scott Products Chevrolet.

    Surprising: There was some pride brewing on behalf of at least one of the Roush Fenway teams. Greg Biffle, in his No. 16 Cheez-It SpongeBob SquarePants Ford, finished in the 12th position, a definite improvement and step in the right direction.

    “I am really proud of the 16 team,” Biffle said. “We kept adjusting on the car as the night went on and we were able to come home 12th.”

    “We just missed out on the top-10, which is an improvement from where we have been lately, so that is a good sign. We just have to keep working on it and I know they guys will.”

    “It is a little bit of momentum in the right direction, so we will take it and move on to Charlotte.”

    Not Surprising: Kurt Busch finished where he started, both in the eighth spot in his No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet. This was also the eighth straight race this season where Busch finished top-15.

    “The Haas Automation Chevy had its fast moments and then it had its loose moments,” Busch said. “We hung onto it most of the night with making her pretty wide on the front straightaway and in the corners.”

    “Eighth place is good. It’s something to build on. When we come back here in the Chase, it’s great to have these notes and to go from this point forward.”

    “We could contend early, and then when the pace picked up, we got too loose. So we’ve got to work on that.”

    The Cup Series will next head to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Sprint Showdown and the All Star Race weekend.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Pure Michigan 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Pure Michigan 400

    Sporting some of the fastest speeds at any track this season, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 44th running of the Pure Michigan 400 in the Irish hills.

    Surprising:  While the driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford did his job in qualifying, scoring the pole position for the race start, it was all about team Penske when the 23 year old Joey Logano took the checkered flag and found his way to Victory Lane at Michigan International Speedway.

    “This was a hard-fought win throughout this whole Penske team,” Logano said. “This 22 team gave me a great Shell Pennzoil Ford that was capable of winning.”

    “This race team did a fabulous job,” Todd Gordon, crew chief, said. “Really proud of this whole team.”

    “As I go back probably 30 years here at the track, this is probably one of the biggest wins,” Roger Penske, team owner, said. “It’s clearly a team effort.”

    This was Logano’s first victory of the 2013 season, his first victory at Michigan International Speedway and his first victory with team Penske Ford.

    Not Surprising:  Because the race was at Michigan, it was not surprising that fuel mileage, tires and track position played critical roles in how the race unfolded.

    In fact, fuel mileage bit one of the sports veterans, who was racing all out for the ‘W’.

    “We were just hoping for one more yellow,” Mark Martin, driver of the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota said, after running out of gas while leading to finish 27th.

    “Just stayed ahead of Joey there, but if he would have slowed down, I could have maybe saved enough,” Martin said. “I had to go that fast just trying to stay in the lead.”

    Tires also played a significant role in the Pure Michigan 400, to which Dale Earnhardt, Jr. could definitely attest.

    “It’s just the tire; we’ve had a lot of problems with,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Youth Foundation Chevrolet said after experiencing a right-front tire problem on lap 135. “I think this is the same tire we struggled with the last race.”

    Because of his tire troubles, Junior finished the race in the 36th position and fell one position to seventh in the point standings.

    Track position was also key as is so often the case at Michigan, a point driven home for young substitute driver Austin Dillon, behind the wheel of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet for the recuperating Tony Stewart.

    Dillon wrecked early in the race and had to work diligently with crew chief Steve Addington to garner the track position that led to their respectable 14th place finish.

    “Definitely scared myself at the beginning as it was too early to be wrecking out there,” Dillon said. “Luckily we had saved enough car where we could work on it and get some track position.”

    “Steve made some great calls on track position and them guys did a great job.”

    Surprising:  In addition to Austin Dillon’s comeback, Clint Bowyer made a surprisingly good comeback to finish 5th in his No. 15 5-hour Energy Toyota after a first lap spin. Bowyer was the highest finishing Toyota and the only Toyota in the top ten at the finish of the Pure Michigan 400. And while Bowyer struggled, he took great pride in his ability to bounce back from the adversity.

    “Man, what a long day,” Bowyer said. “Beats the hell out of me how I recovered to finish fifth.”

    “Spinning out on the first lap I’m like – I couldn’t figure it out,” Bowyer continued. “Hard fought battle.”

    “Those days are what wins championships.”

    Bowyer took over second in the point standing and is 41 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.

    Not Surprising:  But for a tricky restart, the driver known as the ‘Closer’ almost closed the deal in the Irish hills of Michigan. Kevin Harvick, piloting the No. 29 Rheem Chevrolet, finished second, his 10th top-10 finish at MIS and his 12th top-10 finish in 2013.

    “I just mistimed the last restart there,” Harvick said. “I had to check up and that allowed the No. 22 to kind of make it three-wide and get under me and then we had to fight back from there.”

    “But all in all it was a good day.”

    Surprising:  The points leader and five-time champ had a surprisingly challenging day at Michigan, having to drive through the field in his back up car due to a practice lap wreck. Although he looked strong and even led two laps, Jimmie Johnson experienced engine failure and ended up his day finishing 40th in his No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet.

    “The engine broke there,” Johnson said. “When we came in for a green flag pit stop, something started then it definitely dropped a cylinder.”

    “This track is hard on engines,” Johnson continued. “Days like today am thankful for the big points lead and the bonus points in the Chase.”

    “We’ll dust ourselves off and go on to next week.”

    Not Surprising:   Kurt Busch, who after the race reportedly received an offer to driver for Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014, proved the caliber of his driving abilities and the value of his team with a third place finish. This was Busch’s ninth top-10 finish in 26 races at MIS and the good finish moved him up two spots to ninth in the point standings.

    “To be in position and run well, to post a top-three finish, just got to thank the guys,” the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet said after the race. “Furniture Row is acting like a big-time player right now.”

    “We had a little bit of weaknesses here and there but overall, we keep positing good results and it’s very satisfying.”

    Surprising:  Paul Menard, driver of the No. 27 NIBCO/Menards Chevrolet, surprisingly scored his first top five of the season.

    “We really needed a good run,” Menard said. “We have been crashing a lot.”

    “We had a good car all weekend.”

    Not Surprising:  Jeff Burton, who has been running better and better as the season progresses, finished top-10 in his No. 31 Cheerios Chevrolet. And even with that, Burton ended up both happy and disappointed.

    “It’s good to be disappointed with eighth,” Burton said. “That is a good thing.”

    “That’s a step in the right direction, no drama, got what we deserved and we will go on.”

    Surprising:  Marcos Ambrose had a surprising bump up into the top-10 finishing order after a tough run at Watkins Glen, finishing sixth in his No. 9 Dewalt Ford.

    “We ran in the top-10 for a lot of the day and it was a better day for us,” Ambrose said. “I am proud of Drew (Blickensderfer, crew chief) for calling a great race.”

    “He got us up there with track position and we were able to hold on.”

    Not Surprising:  There was no surprise in seeing Greg Biffle, who is usually strong at Michigan, finish in the ninth position in his No. 16 3M Ford. And according to the Biff, he would have done even better had it not been for some problems in the pits.

    “We bumped the No. 2 coming out of the pits in that scramble at the end and hurt the left front fender,” Biffle said. “That was really tough for us.”

    The next race will be tough for all of the drivers as they head to the beating and banging at Bristol Motor Speedway under the Saturday night lights.

  • Jeff Burton Shares Life Lessons From the Track

    Jeff Burton Shares Life Lessons From the Track

    [media-credit name=”Gary Buchanan” align=”alignright” width=”223″][/media-credit]After a great run at Dover International Speedway went bad due to engine problems, it is no wonder that Jeff Burton, driver of the No. 31 Armed Forces Foundation Chevrolet, might be just a bit philosophical.

    But, according to Burton, every lesson is a life lesson when it comes to NASCAR racing.

    Burton’s first lesson is that persistence and never giving up is critical to success both on and off the track. And he most certainly feels that his team is starting to turn it around because of their persistence and willingness to work together.

    “I feel like we’re starting to turn the corner,” Burton said. “Our performances are starting to be much better.”

    “The better you run, the better your luck gets,” Burton continued. “When you teeter on not running well, little things are big things.”

    “Fortunately the last couple weeks, we did have fast cars,” Burton said. “So, that’s what really feels good to me. We’re making gains on the types of tracks we’ve been struggling on.”

    Burton also credits learning lessons together with crew chief Drew Blickensderfer, who came over toward the end of last season from Roush Fenway Racing.

    “I feel like we’re starting to learn each other,” Burton said. “Whenever you bring somebody new in like Drew, there’s a period of time it takes to get acclimated.”

    “You hope it’s going to work out quickly, but when we hired Drew we didn’t hire him because of what we thought he could do today but what we thought he could do for us long-term,” Burton continued. “We didn’t believe that he was going to bring stuff over from Roush and make us better because we’ve been through all that before.”

    “Long-term, we felt like that was the right thing to do and given some time, as we’ve had to grow together and him get accustomed to what I’m feeling  and what I like to feel, we’re starting to get better and run well.”

    Burton said that he has always been optimistic and, even after last weekend’s heartbreak at the Monster Mile, reiterated that he is one that never gives up. One of the prime motivators for the veteran driver is that he fully intends to grab that championship ring before his run is over.

    “I’ve always been like that,” Burton said of his tenacity. “I’m not here just to be here.”

    “I’m here for a reason,” Burton continued. “I want to win a championship before I get done.”

    “That drives me,” Burton said. “I’ve never been a guy that believes that people are out to get more or that there’s some sort of conspiracy for me not to run well. I believe it’s in our hands.”

    “I haven’t forgotten how to drive a race car,” Burton continued. “I drive for a really good company.”

    “I believe that if we do keep fighting and swinging, we’ll get back to where we want to be.”

    But before Burton can score the championship, he has to get into the Chase hunt. And he still feels there is that chance, in spite of the troubles they have had so far this season.

    “Unfortunately three of the races where we had engine trouble, we were running the best that we have run,” Burton said. “That’s really hurt us in the points. But barring that, we’d be sitting there twelfth in points with a team that’s improving.”

    “So, there’s still a chance for us to make the Chase, although the days are dwindling,” Burton continued. “We’ve got to get it together and start having good finishes.”

    “We’re in the growth process,” Burton said. “We’re taking a team that was 20th in points last year and trying to put it in championship contending form.”

    “It takes a little time to do that.”

    Along with the rest of his competitors, Burton will be tackling the ‘Tricky Triangle’ this race weekend. Burton feels already that the lesson learned for the newly-repaved Pocono Raceway is all about track position.

    “I think, as with any newly paved race track, that track position will be important,” Burton said. “I don’t think we’re going to see multiple grooves this week.”

    “Having said that, we really weren’t seeing multiple grooves the other way because it had gotten so slick and it was hard to make things happen,” Burton continued. “The track is definitely an improvement.”

    “The first couple of races you’re probably not going to see a second groove develop,” Burton said. “But long-term, the race is going to be better here.”

    Burton is also pleased about the shortening of the race at Pocono. In fact, he would like to see some of the other races on the circuit trimmed back a bit as well.

    “I’m a proponent of shorter races,” Burton said. “I think it’s the right thing to do.”

    “I think we need some 300 mile races,” Burton continued. “Having said that, the Coke 600 has its place. The Southern 500 has its place. The Daytona 500 has its place.”

    “I’m not advocating a shorter for every race thing,” Burton said. “I just think on average our races should be just a little bit shorter.”

    Burton’s biggest concern about the sport, however, is the number of people coming, or not coming, to the races. And as the unofficial ‘mayor’ of the garage area, Burton thinks this is a critical lesson that NASCAR must tackle.

    “The concern I have is the number of people coming to the races,” Burton said. “I think our competition level is really good. Honestly, from a competition standpoint I’m not sure how we could do a whole lot better.”

    “The economy is a tough thing,” Burton continued. “And when the economy is bad, we’re not going to have the viewership.”

    “We just have to get through this,” Burton said. “I think we’re several years away from being back to whatever ‘normal’ is.”

    “There’s a snowball effect to the bad economy that runs through our sport for a long time,” Burton continued. “But all in all, in a down economy, we’re pretty healthy.”

    In spite of the struggles and challenges of the sport, Burton credits NASCAR and racing for teaching him most, if not all, of his life lessons.

    “Most lessons in my life have been learned through racing, although they might not have been learned on the race track,” Burton said. “They might have been learned by something involved in racing.”

    “To me, persistence is a core value,” Burton continued. “These are simple things.”

    “When you complicate things, it makes life harder,” Burton said. “When you treat people the way you want to be treated, it may not always be the easiest thing to do but sometimes the right thing is not the easiest.”

    Burton shared that his biggest life lesson from the track, however, is to follow you dream and your passion, as well as sinking all you have into that dream.

    “Pick something you love and give everything you’ve got to it,” Burton said. “And you may or not be successful.”

    “But at the end of the day and if you’ve done it the right way, then you can sleep at night,” Burton continued. “If you’ve given a half effort and you know it, then you’ll never sleep well.”

    “You have to give it all,” Burton said. “You have to choose the way you’re going to conduct your life and not waver from that.”

    “Those values to me carry through to whatever you’re doing, whether school, marriage, life or whatever you’re doing,” Burton said. “Those lessons will take you a long way.”

  • Sprint Cup: Crew Chief Changes for 2012

    Sprint Cup: Crew Chief Changes for 2012

    Shane Wilson has been named the crew chief of the No. 29 Budweiser/Rheem/Jimmy John’s team with driver Kevin Harvick for the 2012 season. Wilson has previously been with the No. 33 team of Clint Bowyer for the past three seasons. Gill Martin, who has been with the No. 29 team since May 2009, has been named director of team operations.

    Wilson and Harvick have worked together in 2006 to earn 10 wins, 24 top-five and 31 top-10 finishes in the Nationwide series en-route to winning the championship. The team had an 824-point margin of victory, creating a new series record.

    Steve Addington, the No. 22 crew chief for the 2011 season, is taking his talent to the No. 14 team of Tony Stewart for the 2012 season.  Addington has served as crew chief for Bobby Labonte (2005), J.J. Yeley (2006-2007), Kyle Busch (2008-race No. 33 of 2009) and Kurt Busch (2010-2011) during his Sprint Cup career.  Twelve wins were scored with Kyle Busch at Joe Gibbs Racing and four wins with Brother Kurt during while working with Penske Racing. 

    It came as a bit of a shock when Stewart’s crew chief Darian Grubb announced at Homestead that he was released from the team at the end of the 2011 season.  The news of him leaving Stewart-Haas came shortly after he led the team to winning the Championship.  As of now, Grubb has not announced what team he will be with next year.

    The garage rumors say that he may rejoin his former co-workers at Hendrick Motorsports, possibly as a crew chief for one of the team’s four cars. Team owner Rick Hendrick told reporters during a teleconference Monday morning that his crew chief lineup is set for 2012. However, Hendrick did admit to making Grubb another offer to rejoin the team.

    Rumors have been confirmed this week that Drew Blickensderfer will join Richard Childress Racing next year to crew chief the No. 31 team with driver Jeff Burton.  Luke Lambert, interim crew chief during the closing weeks of the 2011 season, will remain at RCR in a yet-to-be announced position.

    [media-credit name=”NASCAR.SPEEDTV.com” align=”alignleft” width=”400″][/media-credit]

    Blickensderfer is leaving Roush Fenway racing after nearly ten years with the team, most recently as the crew chief of the No. 6 team with driver David Ragan.

  • David Ragan Has Every Intention of Being NASCAR’s Next Cinderella Story

    David Ragan Has Every Intention of Being NASCAR’s Next Cinderella Story

    From Trevor Bayne’s win of the Daytona 500 to Regan Smith’s win last weekend at Darlington, Cinderella stories have been all the rage in NASCAR.

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”279″][/media-credit]One driver who is ready to put on the glass slipper in Victory Lane is David Ragan, driver of the No. 6 UPS Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. In fact, Ragan is indeed planning to be that next big underdog winner.

    “Absolutely, I will be the next Cinderella story,” Ragan said. “I feel like we’re in a position to win a race. And if we can get a little more consistent, I think we have a team that can make the Chase.”

    “From our practice and qualifying efforts, our races and our pit stops, everything is a couple of notches better than what it was even in the year when we finished 13th in the points,” Ragan continued. “I feel like any weekend we go, we’ve got the attitude to win the race.”

    While Ragan may have the winning attitude for that Cinderella finish, he acknowledged that the upcoming race at Dover International Speedway will be a challenge.  In fact, he has one word for the track affectionately known as the Monster Mile and that is “breathtaking.”

    “You almost have to hold your breath all the way around,” Ragan said. “Even on the straight-aways, you still have to drive the car so you’re holding your breath most of the way around.”

    Ragan also affirmed that Dover, in addition to earning the nickname ‘Monster Mile’ has also earned its stripes as ‘Bristol on Steroids.’

    “If you took Bristol by your hands and stretched it out, you’d have Dover,” Ragan said. “You get a lot of speed and a lot of banking so ‘Bristol on Steroids’ is a good way to describe it.”

    “It’s real intimidating the first time you get there,” Ragan continued. “But once you get the hang of it, you actually look forward to it.”

    “You go into the corner and it feels like you fall down a story or two and as you get back on the throttle, you’re driving out of the corner,” Ragan said. “It’s a very cool sensation and when you have a fast car, it makes it even more fun.”

    In spite of the monster challenges at Dover, Ragan takes solace in the fact that his team, Roush Fenway Racing, has a history of running well there.

    “Clearly that’s a track that Roush cars are good at,” Ragan said. “So even in down years, we’ve been good there.”

    “The concrete doesn’t change,” Ragan continued. “Dover stays pretty much the same so we’ve got a good set up we can work with, which makes life a lot easier.”

    “We haven’t had the finish that we deserved,” Ragan said of his own Dover history. “We’ve had some crazy things happen there, from very bad pit stops under green to being caught up in a wreck or two.”

    In addition to hoping for better Dover luck, Ragan and team are also bringing a brand new chassis, Primary RK-759, to the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks race.

    “So, far having a brand new car has been very good,” Ragan said. “Our pole winning car at Texas was a brand new car. Our top five car at Richmond was a brand new car. The Daytona 500 car was a new car.”

    “So, that’s a testament to how good our new cars are,” Ragan continued. “That gives me some extra confidence that we’re taking the best car we can take to the track.”

    Last fall’s Dover race was also the first pairing of driver Ragan with crew chief Drew Blickensderfer.

    “This is the first track where Drew and I got to work together, so we’re going back to a track that we’ve run at before,” Ragan said. “That’s shown to have been better for us, going back to Texas and Martinsville where we’ve run at before last year and scored top tens.”

    “We have a great relationship,” Ragan continued about his crew chief pairing with Blickensderfer. “We’re both pretty young and we’re not afraid to venture out and be aggressive and try some different things on the race cars.”

    “Drew and I are both very hungry so we know we are capable of winning and want to make it happen,” Ragan said. “So, we definitely have high hopes this weekend.”

    One thing that Ragan wants to avoid happening this weekend is to get caught up in any of the ‘boys have it’ shenanigans that have occurred over the past two race weekends.

    “I don’t know if you’ll have the same couple of characters that we’ve had the past few weeks, but Dover is an exciting track and there’s not a lot of give and take there,” Ragan said. “Accidents do happen so I would say that you probably have a good chance of having a little more fireworks this weekend.”

    “I haven’t gotten into it with anyone but there’s always the next week,” Ragan said with a chuckle. “We’re just trying to stay focused on our plan and stay out of all that. But if something comes up, we’ll be ready.”

    But what David Ragan is most ready for is that first, and to date elusive win, which for him would complete his dream of a Cinderella race weekend.

    “Your first win is always special and at a track like Dover, it would be very special to get a win,” Ragan said.

    “Regan Smith proved that if you’re in a position to win, it can happen,” Ragan continued. “If we put ourselves in the top five or top ten, anything can happen.”

    “I can tell you one thing, there won’t be anybody trying any harder this weekend.”