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  • Martin Truex Jr. Celebrates Victory and Life after Pocono Win

    Martin Truex Jr. Celebrates Victory and Life after Pocono Win

    The challenges of the last year and a half seemed to vanish as Martin Truex Jr. drove his No. 78 Chevy into victory lane after winning Sunday’s Axalta “We Paint Winners” 400 at Pocono Raceway to end a 69-race winless streak. It was his third career Sprint Cup win, his first with Furniture Row Racing and the first for crew chief Cole Pearn.

    But this victory was about so much more than mere numbers. Its significance transcends breaking a losing streak, leading the most laps or cementing his standing in the Chase. This was about beating the odds, both professionally and personally.

    Last year was one of the lowest points in Truex’s life as he struggled with his new team managing only five top-five finishes the entire season. But Truex remained committed to the small single-car team led by owner Barney Visser. His biggest test, however, came as longtime girlfriend Sherry Pollex underwent treatment for cancer.

    Truex was inspired by her strength, saying, “She showed me what she was made of and I was like, wow, if she can do that then I can do this, this is easy.”

    This season has seen a resurgence of Truex’s career, perhaps sparked by Pollex’s remission. The couple hugged after he climbed out of his car and one can only imagine the myriad of emotions they experienced in that brief moment, particularly since Truex lost his grandmother this week.

    “Sherry is here healthy and is excited as I am and everything is going well for her,” said Truex.

    “It never gets any better than this,” he exclaimed. “It takes time to heal things especially with what Sherry and I went through. This just kind of makes you forget all about it. Tomorrow we are still going back to normal life. We always try to remember that and be ourselves and remember why we are here and how lucky we are to be doing this. I just feel super blessed to be with this group of guys. They are super impressive and I’m just proud to drive cars for them.”

    Truex’s win was popular within the NASCAR community. Even second place finisher, Kevin Harvick, said, “If you’re going to lose to somebody today, that’s a great person to lose to.”

    “You look at everything, personally and professionally Martin and Sherry have dealt with,” he continued, “and you have to be super-happy for them. To see them have that bright spot is something I think the whole garage will support and be happy with.”

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. agreed, saying, “I’m just happy for him. I know he’s been through a lot of stuff, both inside the car and outside the car the last several years. He’s been able to get into a good opportunity with good people. He’s got a team that believes in him. They’ve come a long way over the last several years.”

    Truex was humbled by the support of his fellow competitors.

    “It means a lot, it really does, because there’s going to come a time when racing and where you finish in races doesn’t matter,” Truex said. “What’s going to matter is kind of the legacy you leave and how people look at the person that you are. So that means a ton to me to have that respect, and, honestly, it’s kind of humbling.”

    Sometimes winning isn’t everything. Sometimes the journey is more important than the destination. Today was one of those days.

  • Martin Truex Jr. Heads to Atlanta with Renewed Confidence and Purpose

    Martin Truex Jr. Heads to Atlanta with Renewed Confidence and Purpose

    Last year was undoubtedly one on the most difficult for Martin Truex Jr., both professionally and personally. A disappointing season with no wins and only one top-five and five top-10s only tells part of the story. His longtime girlfriend Sherry Pollex underwent treatment for ovarian cancer. Pollex finished her final primary chemotherapy treatment in January and has opted for a maintenance program of once monthly chemo treatments.

    As the new season begins, Truex has a new perspective and appreciation for life. After competing for the win in the Daytona 500, a revitalized Truex is eager to carry that momentum forward as they head to one of his favorite tracks, Atlanta Motor Speedway.

    Truex was competitive all weekend, finishing second in the Sprint Unlimited and fifth in the Budweiser Duel. He ran in the top ten for much of the Daytona 500, lining up fifth after the last caution for the green-white-checkered restart and ended the day in eighth place.

    “I sure hated to see that last caution come out,” Truex said. “We didn’t restart in the lane I was hoping for. We were one spot away from being in the catbird seat, but restrictor-plate racing is all about circumstances.”

    With new crew chief, Cole Pearn, at the helm, the result is indicative of the intense preparation the team put in during the off season to prepare for this year. They rallied to keep Truex at the front, despite some pit road miscues. The ability to remain calm and prevail under these circumstances speaks volumes about the team’s determination.

    “We almost threw away this race a couple of times,” admitted Truex. “One was for a pit-road speeding penalty and another for a fuel issue. Those issues were costly at the time, dropping us back to the rear of the field. But we came charging back with a powerful race car and good pit strategy by our crew chief Cole Pearn. When you can come back like the way we did it says something about the makeup of this team. It was a lot of fun to run up front and to be in contention at the end.”

    Truex is optimistic about the 2015 season, saying, “The Daytona performance isn’t a guarantee that we’ll run real good all season long. But with the things we did over the winter, the testing we did towards the end of last year, the momentum we gained and the team changes we made, I feel really good about our stuff and what we’re going to do. We’ll have to see how we do at Atlanta. We’re looking forward to going there. It’s one of my favorite tracks and we’ll see if we can’t come out of there about seven spots better.”

    The No. 78 Furniture Row Racing team heads to Atlanta, eighth in driver points, with the goal of keeping Truex in Chase contention as he embraces a new season of possibilities.

     

  • Driver and Team Changes for the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Season

    Driver and Team Changes for the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Season

    As one season ends and a new one approaches, teams begin a self evaluation that often results in changes among key personnel. Here’s your guide to some of the new alliances we will see in 2015.

    Hendrick Motorsports

    Dale Earnhardt Jr.:

    As Steve Letarte departs for the television broadcast booth; Greg Ives will take over the role of crew chief for the No. 88 team. Ives will have big shoes to fill as the pairing of Letarte with Earnhardt in 2011 was the catalyst for resurgence in Earnhardt’s career. He’s coming off his first multiple win season since 2004 and running out of time in the championship hunt.

    While some question his lack of experience in the Cup series, Earnhardt is confident that Ives is the right person for the job.

    “I don’t think it’s a step back, I think it’s a step forward,” he said. “This is a guy that engineered Jimmie (Johnson) to five championships, won the Nationwide Series championship last year, almost won it with Regan (Smith) the year before. Basically, in more than 50 percent of the years he’s been in the sport, he’s won a championship.”

    The No. 88 Chevrolet will also have a new sponsor in the Sprint Cup Series as Nationwide Insurance takes over as Earnhardt’s primary sponsor, replacing National Guard. Nationwide will sponsor 21 races each year of the next three seasons.

    Kasey Kahne:

    Keith Rodden, formerly of Chip Ganassi Racing, will assume crew chief duties for the No. 5 Chevrolet in 2015. Rodden worked with Kahne at Hendrick Motorsports as team engineer from 2004 until 2013. He replaces Kenny Francis who has been with Kahne since the end of 2005.  The successful partnership of Francis and Kahne produced 16 of Kahne’s 17 career Sprint Cup wins but floundered in 2014. Kahne only had one victory and barely made it into the Chase. Francis moves to the new position of vehicle technical director and will also serve as Chase Elliott’s crew chief for five races in 2015.

    “I worked with Keith for years, said Kahne.”We’ve got a great relationship, we’re friends, and it’s exciting to know we’ll be working together full time again. I think he brings a lot to the 5 team.”

    Chase Elliott: After winning the XFINITY championship and becoming the youngest NASCAR Touring Series champion last year, Elliott has been named as Jeff Gordon’s successor in the No. 24 Chevy in 2016. As preparation for that role, he will run five Cup races this season in the No. 25 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet with Kenny Francis by his side as crew chief. Those five races include Martinsville Speedway in March, Richmond International Raceway in April, Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July and Darlington Raceway on Sept. 6.

    Joe Gibbs Racing

    Joe Gibbs Racing ended the 2014 season with only two wins and as Carl Edwards moves from Roush Fenway Racing to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2015, J.D. Gibbs, president of JGR, is using the opportunity to make some changes.

    “With the expansion of our NASCAR Sprint Cup Series operations to four teams next year with the addition of Carl Edwards,” he stated, “we have been able to take a step back and evaluate each of our teams and make decisions that we feel are best for our organization long term.”

    Kyle Busch:

    Adam Stevens will move from the XFINITY Series where he and Busch combined for 19 wins, to partner with Busch in the Cup Series as crew chief for the No. 18 Toyota.

    Busch had one Cup win in 2014 and advanced to the Chase but was eliminated from championship contention in the second round. The frustration of the season sometimes disintegrated into heated exchanges between Busch and Rogers, undoubtedly putting a strain on their relationship.

    Denny Hamlin:

    Dave Rogers (Busch’s crew chief for five seasons) will join Hamlin’s No. 11 team as crew chief.

    Hamlin scored one victory last season and advanced to the final round of the Chase. He led 50 laps in the championship title race at Homestead-Miami Speedway but Darian Grubb’s decision not to pit for fresh tires late in the race was costly.

    Carl Edwards:

    Edwards, the newest member of the JGR team will be paired with Darian Grubb (Hamlin’s former crew chief) in the No. 19 Toyota.

    Richard Petty Motorsports

    Sam Hornish Jr.: Three-time IndyCar champion Hornish signed a multi-year deal to replace Marcos Ambrose in the No. 9 Ford this year after Ambrose announced his intention to return home to Australia at the end of the 2014 season. Drew Blickensderfer will continue in his position as crew chief.

    Hornish is optimistic about his future stating, “I feel like having the opportunity is great for me, and above and beyond, to be able to drive for Richard Petty now is just awesome. I’ve worked four years to get back to this point, and I feel like as a driver I’ve come a long way. ”

    Roush Fenway Racing

    Trevor Bayne:

    Bob Osborne will return to RFR as the crew chief for the No. 6 when Bayne begins his first full-time Sprint Cup season in 2015. Osborne was Carl Edwards’ longtime crew chief and a guiding force behind his 18 career wins.

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr.:

    After a disappointing season with only one top-five finish, Nick Sandler will take over crew chief duties for the No. 17 of Stenhouse in 2015, replacing Mike Kelley who will continue as car chief.

    “Nick has a strong engineering background with the company”, Jack Roush explained, “and his time working hand-in-hand with Jimmy Fennig over the past few seasons will prove invaluable as he takes the helm of the No. 17.”

    Wood Brothers Racing

    Ryan Blaney:

    Blaney will replace Trevor Bayne as the driver of the famed No. 21 Ford Fusion this year in an expanded 18 race Sprint Cup schedule as Wood Brothers Racing enters its 65th year in NASCAR with a new technical alliance with Team Penske.

    Blaney is optimistic about the upcoming season saying, “We have a very fast car for the 500 and a fast car for this whole year. They’ve worked really hard on our speedway car and they are very confident going into it.

    “Just the history of this car with that race, it would be just amazing. I hope we can pull a Trevor Bayne moment.”

    Jeremy Bullins will reunite with the team to serve as the crew chief for Blaney. Bullins first worked with Wood Brothers Racing in 1999 and from 2000-2002 was the race engineer for the No. 21 in the Cup Series.

    Furniture Row Racing

    Martin Truex Jr.: Truex’s first year with the team failed to produce any wins and only one top-five in the No. 78 Chevrolet. In his sophomore season with the team, he will be paired with former team lead engineer Cole Pearn who will replace Todd Berrier as crew chief.

    General Manager Joe Garone emphasized the struggles they experienced last year will make them stronger going forward.

    “What we went through last year, our performance was horrible and we hadn’t gone through that as a team yet,” Garone said. “We’ve been through that, we looked at where we were weak, where we had things where we were off base, and we’ve realigned it and we’re going to prove it this year.”

    HScott Motorsports

    Michael Annett: Annett, who brings sponsorship from longtime backer Pilot Flying J, joins the organization for the 2015 season as they expand to a two car team.

    “This opportunity came very late, but it was one that I couldn’t pass up and definitely wanted to jump on,” Annett said. “I know there’s going to be some growing pains. We don’t even have a car number yet, let alone a crew chief.”

    Tommy Baldwin Racing

    Alex Bowman: Bowman will drive the No. 7 Chevrolet in his second full-time year in the Sprint Cup Series after a rookie season at BK Racing.  Kevin “Bono” Manion will remain with TBR as Bowman’s crew chief.

    Owner Tommy Baldwin Jr. said, “Alex is the future of TBR, and he will be a great representative of our team. He is a young driver who displayed a great talent in both the Xfinity and Sprint Cup Series the past few years. We are pleased to give Alex the opportunity to further showcase his skills behind the wheel of the No. 7 Chevrolet this season.”

  • Martin Truex Jr’s 2015 Season is Most Important Yet

    Martin Truex Jr’s 2015 Season is Most Important Yet

    There were several drivers who had disappointing seasons in the 2014 season. Included in those drivers is Mayetta, New Jersey native Martin Truex Jr. Truex joined Furniture Row Racing after spending the previous five seasons at Michael Waltrip Racing. Truex had a contract that ran through the 2017 season with the organization but that all changed on one September night at Richmond International Raceway.

    The infamous “spingate” scandal happened on Saturday September 7, 2013 when Truex’s teammate Clint Bowyer spun on lap 394 of a 400 lap race at Richmond International Speedway. Several drivers and teams felt that Bowyer spun intentionally. The spin was very beneficial to Truex. While Truex had nothing to do with the controversy, which was coerced by team general manager Ty Norris (among others), he seemed to get hit the worst.

    After an impressive seventh place finish at Richmond Truex found himself in the 2013 Chase for the Sprint Cup, but for only a couple of days. The 2013 season looked like it was going to be a significant year in his career, considering how well he ran throughout the year but after a historic 100 point penalty was handed down by NASCAR to Michael Waltrip Racing after the ‘Spingate’ scandal, Truex was outside of the chase. The penalty evaporated all the good memories from the 2013 season. The penalty was devastating for everyone involved including sponsor NAPA Auto Parts, who after spending 14 seasons associated with Michael Waltrip, announced that they would be leaving Michael Waltrip Racing at the end of the season due to the scandal.

    From that point Waltrip allowed Truex to explore other options for the 2014 season. His No.56 Toyota ride for the team would no longer have a sponsor and there were doubts coming from the organization that they would be able to field an entry for Truex. Truex explored his options and found a ride at Furniture Row Racing. The team had a seat open after veteran driver Kurt Busch left for Stewart-Haas Racing.

    Truex signed a three year contract with Furniture Row Racing in October 2013 and for Truex it was a best case scenario after having such an unfortunate circumstance. Furniture Row Racing finished an impressive 10th in the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings and the team has a major association with Richard Childress Racing. For Truex things looked to be in line for a solid 2014 season.

    However, the 2014 season was a tough one for Truex. He and crew chief Todd Berrier did not seem to be on the same page for most of the season and the performance of the No. 78 team was down for most of the season. Truex only recorded one top-five finish and five top-10 finishes. It was a far cry from the 2013 season which saw Kurt Busch rattle off 11 top-five finishes and 16 top-10 finishes. It was a disappointing year for Truex and the Furniture Row Racing team.

    The struggles in 2014 forced Furniture Row Racing to make changes heading into the 2015 season. This week the team announced that crew chief Todd Berrier would be replaced by team engineer Cole Pearn. It will be Pearn’s first chance to crew chief a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series operation. Berrier, meanwhile, will remain with the organization in a major role.

    The crew chief change is just more proof that Truex has a lot of pressure to run well heading into the 2015 season. It’s clear that Furniture Row Racing believes they can be much better than they were in the 2014 season and a crew chief change proves that. Truex will be entering his second year of a three year contract at Furniture Row Racing and it may arguably be his most important season.

     

  • Martin Truex Jr. and Kurt Busch – A comparison

    Martin Truex Jr. and Kurt Busch – A comparison

    At the end of the 2013 season, Kurt Busch left Furniture Row Racing and headed over to “greener” pastures – Stewart-Haas Racing. After a thorough search, Furniture Row named Martin Truex Jr. as the new driver of the No. 78. Given the success Busch had with the team in 2013, there would naturally be comparisons between the old driver and new. So how does Truex stack up to Busch?

    First, let’s look at the many events that set the stage for the change in the first place. It was quite a unique set of circumstances that set the whole thing into play.

    Tony Stewart had gotten injured in a sprint car crash and was in the hospital for a period of time. While Stewart was recovering from his injuries, team co-owner, Gene Haas, publicly announced that he was hiring Kurt Busch as a driver for Stewart-Haas Racing; a move that, evidently, he did not consult with his partner, Stewart, about.

    In an interview, Haas said, “I don’t think Tony was exactly enthralled with what I did.” He then continued while laughing, “But I think he saw it my way, you know. Either that or get out of the building.” Some assumed that it was just a joke, many people inside the organization, however, did not seem as confident. The entire scenario opened up questions as to who is actually running the team, and how the team hierarchy is structured.

    Regardless of what the circumstances were, Busch would be the fourth driver at Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014. A move that finally brought him back to an upper-echelon team after his fall from grace when he continually drew the attention from the media for being extremely belligerent to team members and media members. When he was released from Penske Racing, he found himself driving for the underfunded team of James Finch, seemingly the only owner that would take a chance on him.

    After leaving James Finch’s Phoenix Racing, he took the job driving the No. 78 at Furniture Row Motorsports. Though, it too was an underfunded team, they were in better condition than the Phoenix organization.

    Martin Truex Jr.’s situation was just as bizarre. Truex seemed to be comfortable in his position at Michael Waltrip Racing though he wasn’t “setting the world on fire,” he was running somewhat consistent.

    During the fall Richmond race, the No. 56 driven by Truex was involved in, what some have called a “race fixing” scandal. Several Michael Waltrip Racing Team members were instrumental in instructing the team’s drivers to pit for the sole purpose of allowing other drivers to advance their positions. Additionally, Clint Bowyer was accused of spinning his car on purpose to bring out a yellow to benefit the team.

    As a result of these actions, the team was penalized and Martin Truex Jr, who had seemingly made the Chase, was removed from the Chase. After several days of enormous media attention, most of it bad, NAPA Auto Parts decided to end its partnership with Michael Waltrip Racing and Truex.

    Shortly after the announcement from NAPA, the team announced that Truex was free to look for a job with another team. It took several weeks, but Furniture Row Racing decided to sign Truex to drive the No. 78.

    Busch actually had a much better than expected season in the No. 78. The team signed a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing. The technical assistance coupled with the driving talent of Busch provided a recipe for success that the Denver based team had never seen before.

    Busch became the “Cinderella story” of 2013. Though he did not find victory lane, many times due to mistakes by the team, he did perform very well. By this point of the season in 2013, Busch had accumulated two top-fives, 3 top-10s, earned a pole and had led 108 laps. Heading into Charlotte, he was sitting in 18th place in the points.

    Truex has always been a smooth racer and has managed to find victory lane twice in his career. His best season came in 2007 with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Leaving an upper level, well-funded team like Michael Waltrip Racing, however, and going to drive for an underfunded team based in Denver, Colorado, has led many to contemplate whether he has now lost his chance at prominence. If he cannot perform up to the level that Busch did the previous year, it could draw criticism of his ability.

    Thus far the numbers for Truex are not living up to the standard that Busch set a year ago. Heading into Charlotte, Truex has only one top-10 finish, a tenth at Richmond. He has led no laps and has only completed 94.2% of the possible laps. He currently sits 26th in points, eight positions lower than Busch at this same point; a stark difference in the numbers Busch put up in 2013.

    The only highlight for Truex came at the season opening Daytona 500 where he qualified on the outside pole. At that time, it looked like Truex would be a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, it hasn’t turned out that way.

    Truex is definitely a driver that takes care of equipment. He will probably tear up less race cars than Busch did last year. Which type of driver would you want for your team? One who drives middle of the pack with mediocre results but less damage and repairs to the cars or a driver who attracts more media attention with better finishes and a shot at the championship but a few more torn up racecars to keep the team busy?

    The scenario definitely gives us a unique opportunity to compare the two styles. Smooth consistent and steady mediocrity, or loose, fast, and sometimes a little crazy, top-10s.

    Either way, what Barney Visser should be commended for is what he has accomplished with his team. It’s obvious that he wants to perform well. NASCAR is not just a hobby for him, he wants to succeed. The same can be said for Truex. He wants to succeed, the question is – is this combination the right mix to make that happen?

    Now one-third way through the season, Busch definitely has the edge in this comparison. The end of the season stats will tell the entire tale.

     

  • Daytona 500 and Olympics End With Similar Storylines

    Daytona 500 and Olympics End With Similar Storylines

    This past weekend, the 56th running of the Daytona 500 kicked off the 2014 NASCAR season, while the Winter Olympics wrapped up business in Sochi, Russia. Yet, as disparate as the competition was, from stock car racing to ice dancing, there were some surprisingly similar story lines when all was said and done.

    Gold Medal Pressure Packed Performances

    Both the Daytona 500 and the Winter Olympics undoubtedly featured gold medal performances, including the first US gold medal in Alpine skiing, as well as the Great American race win by NASCAR’s most popular driver.

    And yet interestingly enough for both competitors, Ted Ligety and Dale Earnhardt Jr. respectively, their gold medal, award winning performances ended up like weights being lifted off their shoulders.

    “This is the event I wanted most,” Ligety, the first American man to win two Alpine skiing gold medals, said. “It’s the event I’ve been putting so much pressure on myself to win, so to pull through is an awesome feeling. I’m super happy.”

    “It’s a big race and you want to win it so badly, and your team wants to win so badly,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “You realize at that moment that there are countless people watching on television and there are countless people sitting in the grandstands with your shirts and hats on, and your team is over on the pit wall and your family back home — there are so many people pulling for you and want to see you win.”

    “It was a heavy weight that was lifted.”

    Silver Medal Disappointments

    While the runner up position might feel like a triumph to many athletes, to the US Women’s Hockey team and to Joe Gibbs racer Denny Hamlin, second place was an absolute disappointment.

    The US Women’s Hockey team surrendered a two goal lead in the final period of the game, losing to their Canadian rivals, who scored the gold.

    “We were up two goals, so it’s heartbreaking and shocking that we didn’t win the game,” forward Kelli Stack said. “It feels like a bad dream.”

    Just like the US Women’s Hockey Team, who appeared to have everything going for them until the bitter end, Denny Hamlin, behind the wheel of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, was having a stellar Speedweeks, winning the Sprint Unlimited and one of the Duels.

    But then along came the Daytona 500, where the driver had an almost catastrophic situation develop in that he had not radio communication with his spotter. Between the radio issue and the loss of speed, Hamlin finished a disappointing second in the Great American Race.

    “Our cars just weren’t as good as the week progressed,” Hamlin said. “Maybe we were the same, but the competition definitely got better. It wasn’t as easy to pass as it was early in the week.”

    “It’s a tough business,” Hamlin continued. “Our car was OK. Given the right circumstances, it was a race winner.”

    Cinderella Stories

    Another similar storyline that emerged from both the Daytona 500 and the Winter Olympics were those inspiring Cinderella stories. In the Olympics, one such story was Mikaela Shiffrin, who became the youngest slalom champ in Olympic history at age 18.

    Her run, however, was not completely smooth as she lost her balance a bit going through the gates and also lost her left ski which rose way too far off the course.

    She persevered and did not give up, moving from having what she described as a “terrifying” run to an Olympic gold medal run.

    “It’s going to be something that I chalk up as one of my favorite experiences for the rest of my life,” Shiffrin said. “But my life’s not over yet.”

    In the Daytona 500, another Cinderella story unfolded with rookie driver Austin Dillon, who was bringing the storied No. 3 car back to the track after being driven by the late Dale Earnhardt, Sr.

    Dillon actually started the Great American race from the pole position, battled some difficulties and some crashes throughout the race, yet finished in the top-10 as the highest finishing rookie.

    “I think the yellow stripe on the bumper (signifying a rookie) showed a little bit tonight, but we made it through it,” Dillon said. “It was fun. I had a blast. The car was fast.”

    Agony of Defeat

    Every Olympic athlete, as well as every NASCAR driver, goes into competition with the full intent on doing their very best. Unfortunately, things sometimes go awry and the defeat can be a most bitter pill to swallow.

    Both Shaun White, infamous snow boarder, and Martin Truex, Jr., behind the wheel of his new ride in the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet, shared their own versions of the agony of defeat.

    White lost out on a medal after crashing in the halfpipe competition, ending his ‘three-peat’ effort.

    “I didn’t really get to break out everything, which is frustrating. Tricks were still in my pocket,” White said. “I definitely knew what run I wanted to put down, and my dream scenario was I was going to land that first run and then maybe have the opportunity to do something that hadn’t been done before. I tried to win. I went for it.”

    Martin Truex Jr. had a similar experience to White in that he started out with high hopes on the outside pole for the Daytona 500, only to crash out in the qualifying race, relegating him to the back of the starting field in a backup car.

    Then on lap 32, Truex’s backup car blew an engine and his hopes and dreams went up in smoke with the car.

    “It’s definitely a tough break for the team,” Truex said. “I went to bed the night before the race thinking this was my best chance to win the Daytona 500.”

    Just Happy to Be in the Show

    In both the Olympics and the Daytona 500, there are competitors that are just happy to be part of the even itself, no matter where they finished. And for the Jamaican bobsled team as well as for Michael Waltrip, sometime racer and broadcaster, that was just the case.

    “It’s a great race for the fans and it was really fun to be out there and to be part of it,” Waltrip said after finishing 41st in his No. 66 Blue-Def/AAA Toyota.

    The Jamaican Bob Sled team finished 29th in their two-man competition, yet remained as upbeat as ever, channeling their inner ‘Cool Runnings.’

    “We have the athletic ability. We have shown we can do it,” Chris Stokes, president of the Jamaica Bobsleigh Federation, said. “We just have to pull things together in Jamaica itself.”

    In the End, It’s All About Family

    Whether in NASCAR or the Olympics, the athletes and teams who compete only do so with the support of their families and extended families.

    For Olympic Skeleton racer Noelle Pikus-Pace, it was all about her loved ones as she slid to a silver medal, all with her family by her side. In fact, the mother of two, a 6 year old daughter and a 2 year old son, said that her children were her inspiration as she trained for the international competition.

    “After all of the hard work that not only I but my family put in to achieve this dream, it came in those minutes, those seconds,” Pikus-Pace, 31, told PEOPLE of her Sochi success. “It really was a fairytale ending.”

    The same fairytale ending was true for the Hendrick family in NASCAR, with Hendrick Motorsports driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in victory lane and HMS teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson in the top-five.

    “Oh my God, I am so excited for the Hendrick family and Hendrick Motorsports right now,” Jeff Gordon said. “This team did an amazing job and gave me a great race car at the end of the show.”

    And so as the Olympic flame was extinguished and as the confetti flew at the end of the Daytona 500, the competitions ended with very similar storylines.

    For the Winter Olympians, there will be a four year hiatus and wait until the next big event. But for the NASCAR competitors, the next race is simply around the bend at Phoenix International Speedway next weekend.

  • Sprint Media Tour – Day Two – Furniture Row Racing and Hendrick Motorsports

    Sprint Media Tour – Day Two – Furniture Row Racing and Hendrick Motorsports

    The final two stops on day two of the tour featured Furniture Row Racing and Hendrick Motorsports. Furniture Row found its most success last season with Kurt Busch in the driver’s seat, but Busch has been replaced by Martin Truex, Jr., who piloted a Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota in 2013.

    Furniture Row is the only single car team to ever make the Chase and is the only Cup team headquartered west of the Mississippi River. Their alliance with Richard Childress Racing was hailed as vital to their performance.

    “Our team is intact from last year,” said team manager Joe Garone. “We didn’t want the season to end.” Crew Chief Todd Berrier said, “Things have come together very well with Martin. I felt like we had strong opportunities to win races last year, so we strengthened the things we needed to work on.”

    In an unusual turn of events, Truex was not at the press conference. After some jokes about where in the world he was, he appeared on the big screen during his vacation in the Caribbean. Questions were asked of Truex from a really long distance.

    “I know all of you are tired of hearing everyone say they are excited for this year, so I’ll just say I’m fired up, Truex said. “I couldn’t be more pleased about how the way things have gone. Luckily, we will be in the Chase. I’ve been in the Chase and kicked out of the Chase before. I want to take this team to the next level. I wanted to get away from last year and what happened at the end of the season and this situation helps a lot.”

    The final team on Day Two’s schedule was NASCAR’s most successful team of the last two decades, Hendrick Motorsports. The first question team owner Rick Hendrick was asked is what is most thrilling moment in the 30 years HMS has existed?

    “I think it will have to be when Ricky (Hendrick’s son who was killed in a plane crash near Martinsville, Virginia) won his truck race. My second most thrilling moment was when Geoff Bodine won the first race for HMS at Martinsville. We were about to close the doors on the operation, and those that close rarely ever open up again.”

    Asked about the changes to qualifying that NASCAR has proposed, the drivers (Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.), all seemed to be in agreement.

    Johnson said if it was good for the sport and it would keep the grandstands full and television ratings high, he was all for it. Kahne felt it would give him a better shot of winning and starting near the front. Earnhardt said that he was “all for it,” and even though he does not like change, he has gotten used to it. Gordon said after watching Formula-1, he thinks it will create excitement for the race.

    When Hendrick was asked why he wasn’t heavily invested in the Nationwide Series, he said, “I had a development program a few years ago and it almost broke me, but helping Dale, Jr. has helped. I’ll help him to do that.”

    Other issues were discussed including the bet between Kyle Busch and Kahne on the Super Bowl. Kahne is an avid Seahawks fan and Busch is a Broncos fan. Who ever wins has to wear the other team’s jersey for a week. “I don’t want to wear an orange jersey under any circumstances,” Kahne said.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Phoenix Advocare 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Phoenix Advocare 500

    After welcoming a serviceman home in honor of Veteran’s Day and with all eyes on the Chase contenders, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 26th annual Advocare 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

    Surprising:  Drivers leaving their teams at the end of the 2013 season had surprisingly good finishes, with the best of course being race winner Kevin Harvick, who will leave Richard Childress Racing to go to Stewart Haas Racing in 2014.

    “We challenge each other,” Kevin Harvick said of his RCR relationship. “There’s no better way to go out than to do what we’ve done this year.”

    “I think as we move forward will probably make us closer as friends.”

    And along with Harvick, Kurt Busch, another driver in transition who will be leaving Furniture Row Racing to join Harvick as Stewart Haas Racing teammate, finished fifth.

    The top ten was filled with other racers leaving their teams after the checkered flag flies next weekend at Homestead Miami Speedway, including Juan Pablo Montoya, who finished sixth and is heading to the IndyCar Racing Series; Martin Truex Jr., who is leaving Michael Waltrip Racing for Furniture Row Racing and finished eighth; and Ryan Newman, who finished tenth and will head from Stewart Haas Racing to Richard Childress Racing in the New Year.

    Not Surprising:  With championship points on the line all around, there were a few mea culpas issued not surprisingly after the race end.

    Carl Edwards, who had a scary moment of close racing and contact with championship contender Jimmie Johnson, could not apologize to him more. Edwards first apologized over his radio after the contact and then met Johnson on pit road after the race to declare mea culpa yet again.

    “Yeah, I definitely did not mean to hit him,” Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford, said of his Johnson close encounter. “He did a heckuva job saving it and I’m just glad he saved it.”

    “I did not want to be part of the championship in that manner.”

    Edwards himself almost had the race won but ran out of gas to finish a disappointing 21st.

    The other mea culpa, which had definite championship implications, came from Jason Ratcliff, crew chief for Matt Kenseth. Ratcliff and the team struggled all day with the handling of the car and in the pits, finishing 23rd in the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota and falling 28 points behind the Chase leader.

    “I apologize for giving you something like that,” Ratcliff said to Kenseth. “I apologize for a really poor job of executing.”

    “I apologize to all of you,” Ratcliff continued. “Just a bad job on my part.”

    Surprising:  While Phoenix usually generates some exciting racing, there was a surprising amount of strategy that played out throughout the race, with cars staying out, pitting, and taking all kinds of tire combinations. In fact, there was so much confusion for one driver that it almost made his head spin.

    “There was a lot of strategy and it confused the heck out of me,” Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford said after finishing ninth. “At times we were leading the race and at times we were 24th.”

    “Overall, it was a weird race because you didn’t know where you were at and you just passed the cars in front of you,” Logano continued. “It was too confusing for me.”

    Not Surprising:  Jimmie Johnson channeled his inner dirt track racer to bring home yet another top-ten finish, his 17th in 21 races at Phoenix International Raceway. To be precise, Johnson finished third in his No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet.

    “I knew I had a great race car,” Johnson said. “But I really had to fall back on my dirt driving skills racing out here in the desert all the years that I did.”

    “I knew I could get through traffic and I knew I was in good shape relative to the championship battle,” Johnson continued. “I’m in a position I want to be in and now we just need to go to Florida and have another good day.”

    Surprising:  Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet is a basement dweller in the point standings no more, thanks to his second place finish in the Valley of the Sun. Kahne advance from the 13th position in the Chase to the 12th spot after posting his seventh top-10 at Phoenix International Raceway.

    “We got our car really good about Lap 150,” Kahne said. “I got a little loose in the last restart but just felt good about our Farmers Insurance Chevrolet.”

    “We made some big gains and I got a nice second-place finish.”

    Not Surprising:  Ricky Stenhouse Jr. not only maintained his strong lead in the Rookie of the Year battle over girlfriend and competitor Danica Patrick but actually gained ground after his 12th place finish and her 27th place finish.

    “It was a tough day all around,” Patrick said after starting 32nd, battling a loose race car and getting caught in a major-league wreck with Cole Whitt, David Reutimann and Justin Allgaier. “We started out pretty loose and got down a lap early.”

    “Then obviously we got caught up in the accident,” Patrick continued. “It’s disappointing, but the GoDaddy guys did a good job of fixing it as best they could so we could finish.”

    Surprising:  It will be a surprisingly different Vegas experience for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Usually the sport’s most popular driver picks up that award at the Myers Brother Luncheon and heads on home, however, this year, he will have a major speaking role as he is fifth in the point standings after finishing fourth at Phoenix in spite of a loose wheel.

    “We had a fast car,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet said. “I thought Steve Letarte (crew chief) could get some good strategy to get us back up into the top-10, top-five and I was real happy with the way we were able to rebound.”

    This was Junior’s third top-5 finish in the past four races.

    Not Surprising:  Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet achieved another milestone after his 14th place finish at Phoenix. Gordon led his 400th lap in 2013, which marks the 20th consecutive year that he has led at least 400 laps.

    Surprising:  Phoenix proved to be the tale of the two Davids, with David Gilliland having a good run, at one point running top-10, and teammate David Ragan having engine troubles yet again.

    Gilliland finished 24th and moved up to 25th in the point standings while Ragan finished 35th and fell to 28th in points.

    “That was probably the best car we had all year,” Gilliland said. “We had some brake issues at one point, but overall it was a great car and a good points day.”

    Not Surprising:  Greg Biffle had an eventful day at Phoenix as he had to start from the back of the field due to a transmission change in his No. 16 3M Scotch Ford.

    Nevertheless, Biffle was able to run in the top-10 with the help of some strategy from atop the pit box and finished 13th in the race.

    Biffle also moved up one place in the championship standings to the seventh spot.

    The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will head south to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the Ford Ecoboost 400 season finale where the 2013 champion will be determined.

     

  • NASCAR BTS: Furniture Row Racing Team Members Reflect on their Service for Veteran’s Day

    NASCAR BTS: Furniture Row Racing Team Members Reflect on their Service for Veteran’s Day

    While NASCAR is indeed patriotic and wounded warriors and troops are often brought to the track, there are veterans in the midst of the sport that not only service their race teams but have also provided distinguished service to their country.

    In celebration of Veteran’s Day, this week’s NASCAR Behind the Scenes focuses on two veterans on the Furniture Row Racing team, Chuck Lemay, who served in the Navy, and Charlie Krauch who served in the Army.

    “I am the Director of Transportation for Furniture Row Racing,” Charlie Krauch said. “My main focus is to make sure the truck drivers get to the race tracks, unload and load the trucks every week, get the cars ready to go, make sure that they leave on time for the race, testing and going back and forth to North Carolina to the wind tunnel.”

    “I was in the United States Army from 1971 to 1973,” Krauch continued. “I was in Vietnam in 1971 and 1972.”

    “I’m not a rah-rah veteran type of guy,” Krauch said. “I think that goes back to my days in the service when it was not a very popular occupation to be in.”

    “I very seldom tell people that I was in Vietnam and to this day as well just because of the way things were back then,” Krauch continued. “Today, I’m thankful that people are recognizing those in the military.”

    “They need to be recognized and I’m really happy that they are,” Krauch said. “I know how it was on the other hand.”

    “You have to understand that these are basically kids in the service right now, with probably the average age of around 18 or 19 years old,” Krauch continued. “You take them from coming out of high school to putting them in the service and sending them overseas and having them see and do what they need to do over there, it’s pretty traumatic I would think.”

    “I know it was for me and I would think it would be the same way for them.”

    “When I’m having a bad day, I sometimes think about the time that I spent in the military and reflect back on that,” Krauch said. “And I realize that things could be a lot worse like it was back then.”

    “I sometimes use that as a focus for myself to bring myself up a little bit every now and then.”

    “For me, Veteran’s Day is not about me,” Krauch continued. “It’s about the guys and gals who are serving now and those who are coming back from whatever conflicts they are coming back from.”

    “They are the ones that need to have the focus of Veteran’s Day,” Krauch said. “I also think about the older veterans that we are losing every day, like the World War II guys.”

    “I think there is a big role for them as well,” Krauch continued. “I think the focus needs to be on the troops we have now more so than in the past.”

    “They are the ones that are doing it now and they really need to be the focus.”

    Krauch’s colleague Chuck Lemay, hauler driver for the No. 78 team, agreed with that assessment as he reflected on his own service in light of Veteran’s Day.

    “I was in the United States Navy from January of 1975 through January of 1978,” Lemay said. “I signed up for a two years overseas program and I was stationed in Sasebo, Japan.”

    “I was in kind of a related situation to what I do know as I was a quartermaster, which dealt with navigation,” Lemay continued. “I was on the USS White Plains, named after White Plains, New York.”

    “When we were at sea, we kept the ship’s position with our charts and celestial navigation by the stars all the way up to the latest technology that just came out,” Lemay said. “But nothing is more precise than the stars you know, like the days of Galileo.”

    “My ship was a supply ship so we would pull alongside other ships,” Lemay continued. “We would steam alongside the other ships and transport goods across on wire cables.”

    “So, I’ve kind of come full circle you know, because now I’m steering the hauler, or ‘Raven’ as I call her,” Lemay said. “She is a real pretty truck and I steer her down that highway now.”

    “Veteran’s Day, the older I get, the more I appreciate it,” Lemay said. “My father was in the Battle of the Bulge and he was a POW in World War II.”

    “He has since passed, but he was my hero,” Lemay continued. “My brother was in Vietnam and he was a machine gunner on the helicopter.”

    “So, here I was the baby of the family so I thought that I should do that too,” Lemay said. “They sold me on that commercial, ‘Join the Navy, and See the World.’

    “I thought I needed a little discipline in my life so I joined up with the Navy,” Lemay continued. “And it was the best three years of my life.”

    “And I met my lovely wife when I was in the Navy and we are still married today 36 years later.”

    Both Lemay and Krauch will be working on Veteran’s Day, even after their team scored a fifth place finish at Phoenix International Raceway. The two team members will be getting ready for the final race of 2014 as they prepare for their longest trip of the season, from Denver, Colorado where the team is based, to Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    “We have our biggest trip of the year coming up next week,” Lemay said. “Almost 40 hours to get that hauler from Colorado to Homestead.”

    “We’ll get back to Denver after Phoenix and then the other two drivers will flip the truck around and then we will come in Tuesday morning and take off,” Lemay continued. “Looking at world through a windshield, like the country song says, that’s what we are doing.”

    Both Lemay and Krauch will, however, take a moment to look at the flags flying in the shop, reflecting all branches of the service as they celebrate Veteran’s Day.

    “I think that’s really super to have the flags in the shop,” Lemay said. “History shows that we’ve never really treated our veterans really well.”

    “World War II, they had the big parade and the picture of the sailor kissing the girl in New York,” Lemay continued. “But after that, the Korean and Vietnam veterans didn’t really get anything.”

    “It is really nice to see this turn around lately and showing these guys respect,” Lemay said. “So, to see those flags flying in the shop, every day they catch my eye,” Lemay said. “I was part of that.”

    “It makes you feel proud.”

    Lemay and Krauch also expressed pride in working for their driver Kurt Busch, who has been so active with the Armed Forces Foundation, focusing on those veterans with hidden war wounds, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.

    “I want to first thank all veterans past, present and future for their bravery and sacrifices in preserving our freedom,” said Furniture Row Racing driver Kurt Busch. “I urge American citizens to make an extra effort on Veterans Day to thank those who served.”

    In addition to Krauch and Lemay, the No. 78 team has five other veterans who have served their country, including David ‘Bugzee’ Hicks (Navy), Andy Morgan (Army), John Parks (Marines), Craig Phillips (Air Force) and Barney Visser (Army).

    “It’s pretty special to have seven team members who are veterans, including our team owner Barney Visser,” Busch said. “I am very proud of them, as I am of all of our veterans.”

    Perhaps Lemay summed it up best as he reflected on his own service and the service of others, sharing how he recognized Veteran’s Day at Phoenix International Raceway this past weekend.

    “I just did celebrate Veteran’s Day a little bit ago,” Lemay said from the track. “A bunch of Marines came by and I just shook their hands.”

    “Everyone should shake the hands of anyone in the service, especially on Veteran’s Day.”

  • My 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship Predictions

    My 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship Predictions

    Once we get past all the chaos and controversy surrounding Richmond; it becomes apparent that we still have a championship battle to talk about! Thirteen…yes, thirteen racers will battle tooth and nail for the coveted Sprint Cup trophy and they have ten races to get it done. This chase lacks Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and reigning champion Brad Keselowski but it still features some of NASCAR’s heavyweights. Four champions, six Daytona 500 winners and eight teams make up the 2013 chase field. No one has shown immunity to bad luck this season; not even 5-time champion Jimmie Johnson and I could certainly see this coming down to three or five man race at Homestead, much like what we saw in 2004. It’s going to be a great battle!

    1.) Matt Kenseth – 5 Wins & 2003 NSCS Champion

    Matt Kenseth has been known to quietly click away solid finishes race after race and have sub-par efforts in qualifying seeing that the “go fast for two lap thing” has never really been Matt’s forte. All that changed when he joined Joe Gibbs Racing this year. Matt has made his presence known and has asserted himself as one of the guys you have to go through if you want to win the championship. It’s almost like Roush-Fenway was holding him back. The Achilles Heel of this team may be the lingering TRD engine issues although they have gotten it under control for the most part. Matt is a top five and top ten machine which is why he’s finished 8th or higher in the standings in nine of the last eleven years. He has proven that he’s fully capable of being a title threat and I’ll be very surprised if he’s not a contender.

    2.) Jimmie Johnson – 4 Wins & 5-time NSCS Champion (’06, ’07, ’08, ’09, ’10)

    The untouchable No.48 team has been vulnerable this year. Their immunity to bad luck has ceased and their rivals are excited to take them on. A recurring thing you heard at Chase Media Day was that drivers thought they can beat Jimmie and they said that with a big grin on their face. This is the guy everybody compares themselves with. If you can beat him, then you definitely have a shot at it! Don’t fool yourself into believing that this rash of bad luck has enervated this team. They have endured their fair share of bad luck in 2013 but it was while they were running up front and for the win so don’t think for a second that they are under performing this year. They just aren’t quite as lucky. If fate was kinder, Johnson could be starting the chase with eight or nine wins. As for momentum going into the chase; Jimmie Johnson doesn’t need momentum. He becomes a winning machine that can do no wrong when the playoffs start. Only time will tell if the this group becomes that indestructible winning machine that all their competitors fear or if the bad luck that has plagued the No.48 carries over into the post-season. One thing for certain is that you can never count out Jimmie Johnson and that elite No.48 team.

    3.) Kyle Busch – 4 Wins & Best Points Finish of 5th (2007)

    Rowdy Busch. Some love him, many hate him but no one can deny the fact that he’s a heck of a wheel man. Kyle has never fared too well in the chase and last year, he missed out on the post-season by 1pt but went on to score enough points in the ten race stretch that would have given him a 3rd place finish in the championship. The chase is primarily made up of large, high speed banked ovals which bodes well for Busch and his teammate, Matt Kenseth. JGR has excelled at those venues this year with six of their combined nine wins coming at those kind of tracks. Kyle has always had issues handling adversity and it will be interesting to see if he falls apart and makes imprudent decisions should things get tempestuous for him at some point in this chase. I believe 2013 will be the best chase result of Kyle’s career.

    4.) Kevin Harvick – 2 Wins & Best Points Finish of 3rd (’10 & ’11)

    Kevin Harvick has once again made his way into the chase without many people noticing. “The Closer” not only comes out of nowhere at the end of races but he also has an uncanny way of making his way into the top five in points at the end of the season on multiple occasions without anyone realizing it.  I don’t see a championship for Kevin this year but I wouldn’t put it past him. This “lame duck” wants to deliver Richard Childress his first Cup title since 1994 and he’s got one last chance to get it done.

    5.) Carl Edwards – 2 Wins & Best Points Finish of 2nd (’08 & ’11)

    He’s tied for 2nd, he’s finished 2nd and he’s tied for 1st….guess what comes next? I believe it’s only a matter of time before Cousin Carl, as Kenny Schrader would call him, hoists the trophy in Miami at the end of the season. Carl is one of those drivers who is a champion waiting in the wings. It will come with time. His consistency is what won him the unofficial title of regular season champion and his consistency also helped him stay neck-and-neck with Tony Stewart in 2011. Despite the two wins, Carl hasn’t shown that he can contend for wins on a regular basis but should the other drivers use up their mulligans while he keeps clicking away top 10’s and top 5’s, he may very well find himself in the middle of the title fight.

    6.) Joey Logano – 1 Win & Best Points Finish of 16th (2010)

    Penske Racing got one driver in the chase this year…and it wasn’t Brad Keselowski. Joey Logano has truly impressed me this year with his tenacity and the way he and this No.22 camp have handled adversity. Joey has won the pole for the first chase race and he seems to have found his niche in the form of large, high banked ovals. Lucky for him, that’s 50% of the chase races. He will win at least one race in the chase in my opinion and I see him as a dark horse. You wouldn’t normally look at Logano as  title threat seeing that he’s never gotten a top 15 points finish but he could surprise a few people. His inexperience in this kind of situation may be what hurts him in the end though.

    7.) Greg Biffle – 1 Win & Best Points Finish of 2nd (2005)

    I doubt Greg Biffle can win the championship this year. He has spent the majority of his season around 8th-10th in points and I don’t expect that to change in the chase. He only has three top five finishes in the first 26 races and ten top 10’s. Those are the lowest numbers of anyone in the top 13 in points right now. The Fords seem very strong at Chicagoland so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him win one of the 1.5 milers but other than that, I really don’t expect Greg to make much noise in the chase this year.

    8.) Clint Bowyer – 0 Wins & Best Points Finish of 2nd (2012)

    Would I be exaggerating if I said this guy has a lot of attention on him going into Chicagoland? I thought not. Clint Bowyer and his race team have been the headline on every major news outlet this week for all the wrong reasons. He was grilled by multiple ESPN reporters, booed by fans at NASCAR Contenders LIVE, harassed by thousands of incensed people on Twitter and even criticized by his fellow competitors. His integrity has been called into question after a spin that many believe to be deliberate and his intentions with seven laps to go were incontrovertible to most but Bowyer denies it. Clint says that all this negative attention has him determined more than ever to win it all. The usually loquacious Clint is ready to just put that helmet on and go to work. He has spent most of 2013 near the top of the standings despite failing to reach victory lane. I don’t think all this drama will affect him while he’s racing. I wouldn’t bet against it hurting his team though. Distractions are never a good thing in sports. I would say Clint can be a contender just like he was in 2012 but some disgruntled drivers that didn’t take too kindly to what went down may make sure that a championship for the No.15 doesn’t happen this year. It will be interesting to see how Bowyer is treated by other drivers once we get to racing at Chicagoland..

    9.) Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 0 Wins & Best Points Finish of 3rd (2003)

    Dale Jr. has consistency but he isn’t up there mixing it up for victories every week like his teammate Jimmie Johnson and even Kasey Kahne are. They need to take it up a notch if they want to hold their own against Johnson, Kenseth and Kyle Busch in this chase. If they can’t do that, then I don’t see Jr. getting anything higher than 5th or 6th this year.

    10.) Kurt Busch – 0 Wins & 2004 NSCS Champion

    Here we have the first “single car” team to ever make the chase. Despite their strong technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing, they are still considered a single car operation. Do not make the foolish mistake of underestimating Kurt Busch or this well funding race team though. The tenacity and raw talent of this proven champion is undeniable and he can most certainly win the championship this year….if he had a better pit crew. When the pressure’s on, the No.78 crew almost always drops the ball and costs Kurt valuable spots. NASCAR is a team sport and if you have a pit crew that isn’t getting the job done, it doesn’t matter if you have a Dale Earnhardt caliber guy wheeling the No.48 with Junior Johnson on top of the pit box…you still won’t win. They have two crew guys so hopefully, he doesn’t encounter as many costly issues on pit road. If his pit crew can get it together, Kurt can be a serious threat for the championship before he departs for Stewart-Haas Racing at the end of the year.

    11.) Kasey Kahne – 2 Wins & Best Points Finish of 4th (2012)

    Kasey Kahne was my pick to win the title back in March and I wouldn’t be surprised if he proved me right. If fate was kinder (and if Kasey was more aggressive), he could have at least five wins right now. He has four runner-up finishes this year; three of which came down to half a second or less. He also crashed while leading Michigan, Darlington and while going three wide for the lead with two laps to go at the July Daytona race. Kasey’s kindness on track though may pay dividends during the chase when he’s racing around guys not in the running that remember his courtesy while racing them earlier in the year. On the flip side, it may also tempt drivers his battling to use him up not thinking there will be any repercussions. In my eyes, Kasey can win the championship this year if the stars align.

    12.) Ryan Newman – 1 Win & Best Points Finish of 6th (’02, ’03 & ’05)

    Ryan wasn’t a chaser until Monday night which seemed crazy until Jeff Gordon had to go and outdo him by being added to the chase as the 13th seed less than 48 hours before the first chase race! Ryan is motivated and motivation always seems to have an uncanny way of giving a driver a few extra horsepower. Can he hold his own against Busch, Johnson and Kenseth? I doubt it but be assured that the Rocket Man will go all out and leave nothing on the table before his release from Stewart-Haas Racing. Ryan has been fired and replaced because Gene Haas believes Kurt is a better driver. He’s also been called an ogre, had an airborne car land on top of him, been cheated out of his 18th career win, knocked out of the chase before being put back in two days later and even watched his good friend and current owner break his leg in a Sprint Car crash….yeah; it’s been an interesting year to be Ryan Newman to say the least. He will make some noise in this chase probably by winning at one of the flat tracks that he;s always so good at and I see him having his best points finish since 2005.

     13.) Jeff Gordon – O Wins & 4-time NSCS Champion (’95, ’97, ’98, ’01)

    Well, who saw this coming? You aren’t supposed to be here! One of unluckiest guys in the garage got a once in a life time break Friday when he was added to the chase as a 13th seed. It would be an auspicious time for Jeff to go buy a lottery ticket right now…although he obviously doesn’t need it. I am hoping that he somehow goes on a tear in the chase, becomes a contender and that we go to Homestead with Kansas Clint and 4-time 1-2 in points. In reality though, I don’t see Jeff making much of an impact on the 2013 chase at all. He is fully capable of being a 5-time champion talent wise but all the pieces team and luck wise just aren’t there. This was a nice gesture by NASCAR but Jeff’s team is not championship caliber in 2013….I think he will spend the last 10 races in the back half of the chase field.

    My Three Championship Picks

    Kasey Kahne: Why Kasey? I have liked what I’ve seen out of him this year with the speed he’s shown on both 1.5 milers and short tracks. I also like the chemistry he has with long time crew chief Kenny Francis. When it comes to the best driver/crew chief combos in the garage; these two are near the top of the list. Kasey is also able to keep a level head in difficult situations and get all he can out of the car without risking his whole race; necessities for a championship hopeful. Bad luck and JGR drivers running him over has been his only noticeable weakness in 2013.

    Kurt Busch: You want to talk about determination? You want to talk about someone that will drive their guts out and finish 10 spots higher than the car he’s driving should? That would be Kurt Busch. That No.78 has been blistering fast at every kind of track this year; they have no bad track. Kurt has completely changed as a person and for the better. No longer does he act churlish towards the media, fans and his team when things get rough. In fact, he’s become one of the most optimistic people out there when things go awry. If Furniture Row wasn’t trying to resolve their pit crew issues, then I’d be counting Kurt out but they’ve already replaced a front tire changer and tire carrier. If Kurt has a solid pit crew, he can win it all.

    Jimmie Johnson: Do I really need to say why? You can never count out 5-time and like I said earlier, his win column could be in the double digits this year if it weren’t for bad luck. Like always, he is fast everywhere and his team is solid as a rock. Performing at a super-human level during the chase is something embedded deep within the DNA of everyone on this race team. Chad Knaus is very fastidious and will make sure everything that he can possibly control is in his control. Jimmie doesn’t need momentum to be on his side. He doesn’t even need a good start to the chase. Nothing phases the 5-time champ and that’s why he is one of my three favorites to win the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup championship?

    Feel free to post your picks below or to comment on mine!