Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: Greg Biffle

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Las Vegas

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Las Vegas

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished sixth at Las Vegas and maintained his lead in the Sprint Cup point standings. Johnson leads Brad Keselowski by five points.

    “It’s always good to leave Las Vegas on top,” Johnson said. “The season is shaping up to be a two-man battle for the Sprint Cup championship. Who’s going to win it, me or Keselowski? I don’t have a clue, but if I was a detective, I’d have a ‘lead.’”

    2. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski started on the pole in the Kobalt Tools 400 and finished third, his third top-5 result of the year. Keselowski now trails Jimmie Johnson by five in the point standings.

    “It was quite an awkward moment when the Miller Lite Ford was awarded the Coors Light Pole Award,” Keselowski said. “Luckily, my ‘wide mouth’ didn’t ‘vent,’ thereby avoiding a ‘vortex’ of controversy.”

    3. Matt Kenseth: On his 41st birthday, Kenseth held off Kasey Kahne to win the Kobalt Tools 400, his 25th career Sprint Cup win.

    “How about that race trophy I was awarded?” Kenseth said. “Toyota engine issues aside, Joe Gibbs, for once, is happy to have a wrench thrown into his operation.

    “I became just the third driver to win on his birthday. Carl Edwards threatened to give me a ‘spanking,’ but I politely declined.”

    4. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt posted his third top-10 finish of the year with a seventh at Las Vegas. He now trails Jimmie Johnson by 10 in the point standings.

    “I’m off to the best three-race start of my career,” Earnhardt said. “And I’m still in third.

    “I hear they’ve chosen a grand marshal for the April race in Texas. His name is ‘N.R. Ray,’ and I understand he’ll be packing a starter’s pistol.”

    5. Denny Hamlin: An eventful week for Hamlin culminated with a 15th at Las Vegas, as Joe Gibbs teammate Matt Kenseth won the Kobalt Tools 400. Earlier in the week, Hamlin was fined $25,000 for making critical comments about the new Gen-6 car.

    “There’s five digits in $25,000,” Hamlin said. “Unfortunately for NASCAR, they’ll only see one of them.”

    6. Carl Edwards: Edwards backed up his win at Phoenix with a solid fifth at Las Vegas, earning his second top 5 of the year. He moved up six spots to fifth in the point standings, 31 out of first.

    “I hear Danica Patrick was hit in the head by a rock,” Edwards said. “If it’s anything like her driving, I’m sure it left a dent.”

    7. Kasey Kahne: Kahne No. 5 Chevy was clearly the class of the Kobalt Tools 400, but lost the race off pit road to Matt Kenseth on the final caution. Kahne tracked down Matt Kenseth but was unable to make the winning pass and settled for second.

    “I’m amazed that Kenseth could hold me off on old tires,” Kahne said. “And speaking of ‘old’ and ‘tired,’ how about the racing at Las Vegas. Maybe Denny Hamlin was on to something. His children may not be, but his points sure are legitimate.”

    8. Mark Martin: Martin finished 14th in the Kobalt Tools, as Michael Waltrip Racing teammate Martin Truex, Jr. finished eighth. Martin is sixth in the point standings, 34 out of first.

    “Much like my homeboy 50 Cent to find black people at Daytona,” Martin said, “I’m on a fruitless quest of my own—-to win a Sprint Cup championship.

    9. Greg Biffle: Biffle finished 17th in the Kobalt Tools 400 as former Roush Fenway teammate Matt Kenseth took the win. Biffle is tied for seventh in the point standings, 36 out of first.

    “Congratulations to Matt,” Biffle said. “I knew he’d do well in the Dollar General Toyota. When you combine Matt’s boring personality in a car with ‘Dollar’ on the side, you get a character named ‘So-So Money.’

    10. Kyle Busch: Busch overcame an early pit road speeding penalty to claim fourth in the Kobalt Tools 400.

    “Pit road speeding is exactly what you’d expect from Joe Gibbs Racing,” Busch said. “Usually, it happens when we’re in a hurry to make an engine change.”

  • 2013 Sprint Cup Team Preview: Roush Fenway Racing

    2013 Sprint Cup Team Preview: Roush Fenway Racing

    Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
    Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

    We’re down to our last four Sprint Cup teams to preview for 2013 and today we’ll focus on the Ford team of Roush Fenway Racing, which will field cars for Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, and rookie Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    Greg Biffle

    In 2012, Biffle led the Roush-Fenway camp with two wins and a fifth place finish in the final standings and was the only driver to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup out of the three Roush Fenway drivers that will be running the 2013 campaign. After an impressive 2012 run with first year crew chief Matt Puccia in which the team led the standings for a large part of the year, the duo will return to the #16 3M team and look to make a strong run at the 2013 title.

    Carl Edwards

    After a 2012 campaign in which Edwards failed to win a race and qualify for the Chase and what many would consider his worst season to date, the #99 team went through some shakeups over the offseason. Neither of Edwards two crew chiefs from the 2012 season, Bob Osbourne and Chad Norris, will return in 2013. Veteran crew chief Jimmy Fennig will team up with Edwards in 2013 and the hope is the veteran crew chief can resurrect this team from the ashes of the 2012 season. Under the tutelage of Fennig, look for Edwards to rebound in 2013 and make it back into the Chase for the Sprint Cup this year.

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr

    After Matt Kenseth left the #17 team to move over to Joe Gibbs Racing, the vacancy was filled by two-time Nationwide champion, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Stenhouse will team up with first time crew chief and longtime team engineer, Scott Graves for his rookie campaign. After performing well in the few Sprint Cup races he has run so far, look for Stenhouse to turn some heads this season, especially in the Rookie of the Year battle that he will have with Danica Patrick this year.

  • NASCAR Stars Put Fa La La in the Season

    NASCAR Stars Put Fa La La in the Season

    Biffle_LimoPhoto Credit: Action Sports Photography

    What’s a NASCAR driver to do in the off season? For many, there are sponsor commitments, testing, and just plain relaxing with family and friends.

    But for some of NASCAR’s brightest stars, this time of year is all about putting the ‘fa la la’ in the holiday season, especially for those in need.

    Greg Biffle, who usually spends his time behind the wheel of the No. 16 3M Ford for Roush Fenway Racing, decided instead to spread some holiday cheer by serving as chauffeur for one of his fellow RFR employees for the company’s holiday bash.

    The colleagues at Roush Fenway Racing took a chance on a ride with the Biff by purchasing raffle tickets, with proceeds benefitting the Salvation Army Angel Tree Program to needy children. The raffle winner got chauffeured to and from the party in Biffle’s 1983 ‘Boss Hogg’ style limo, complete with horns on the front of the car and a horn playing the theme from the ‘Dukes of Hazard.’

    “We decided to raffle off a ride for a Roush Fenway employee to the company party this year and use the money to buy gifts for the Salvation Army Angel Tree program,” Biffle said. “Roush Fenway agreed to match the proceeds.”

    “I had wanted to do something for a local family this holiday season and I thought it would be fun to raffle off a ride in this old limo,” Biffle continued. “I saw it at an auto auction and thought it would be fun to drive around.”

    The winner of the Biffle ride was Brian Steager, who has worked for RFR for nine years in the paint and body department.

    “It was a very good ride,” Steager said. “We got there safe and sound and it was an excellent experience all the way around.”

    USO 2012 NASCAR TourPhoto Credit: USO Photo by Michael Clifton

    The holiday ride with the Biff raised over $2,000 for the Salvation Army, which will grant the holiday wishes of several children this year.

    “It was a lot of fun,” Biffle said. “It went to a very worthy cause and hopefully we’ll do it again soon.”

    Two of NASCAR’s young guns decked the halls with their own version of holiday cheer. Nationwide champ and Cup up and comer Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and new Penske Cup driver Joey Logano put the ‘fa la la’ in the season for troops serving overseas.

    Logano and Stenhouse Jr. traveled with the USO to the Middle East and Germany to meet and thank those in uniform. The two drivers visited six bases in all, meeting hundreds of men and women in the military to thank them for their service.

    “We had the chance to meet some amazing men and women on our USO tour,” Logano said. “I have so much respect for our troops; they do their jobs day in and day out without complaint and are always giving it their all.”

    “We are lucky to have these men and women serving and protecting our country and I can’t thank them enough for all that they do.”

    This was Stenhouse’s first holiday tour of USO duty and the young driver thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

    “It was an honor to meet our troops and see them in action,” Stenhouse said. “The service and sacrifice of these men and women and their families are inspiring.”

    “I have nothing but admiration and gratitude for what they do for our country.”

    Michael Waltrip, former driver, Daytona 500 winner and now principal in Michael Waltrip Racing, also granted a few holidays wishes of his own. He and his colleagues participated in ABC’s ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’ to help a family in Lincolnton, North Carolina, who had a big heart for foster children but needed an even bigger home.

    The Friday family, foster parents to over 30 children took in a teenage boy and his five siblings. Their ranch home, however, needed that bit of a NASCAR makeover in order to have room for the family to celebrate Christmas.

    And thanks to Michael Waltrip and his MWR team, the Christmas miracle of a home big enough for all of its children was granted.

    Ryan Newman put the final ‘fa la la’ into the holiday season with his annual Ryan Newman Foundation dinner and auction, raising over $340,000 for animal welfare, education and conservation activities. The event also featured a charity fishing tournament, with 148 teams competing.

    “Krissie and I appreciate everyone who participated in the fishing tournament,” Newman said. “The weather was perfect.”

    While the experts were fishing, Neman actually was schmoozing with sponsors and other fans on a luxury yacht, all in the name of charity.

    “I didn’t know what to think of the yacht event,” Newman said. “But it turned out to be a good thing.”

    “It was a good way to have some one on one time with me and check out Lake Norman.”

    Even the NASCAR race tracks have gotten into the holiday spirit. Charlotte Motor Speedway, in the heart of racing country, has not only been decked out in holiday lights but will also be showing holiday movies throughout the season, all to benefit Speedway Children’s Charities.

    The track’s light show, featuring over 800 displays and more than 3 million lights, has been on display, with movies such as ‘A Christmas Story’, ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ and ‘Christmas Vacation’ shown through the end of December.

    NASCAR driver Ryan Newman, however, best summed up the sentiments of all of the NASCAR community hoping to spread some good cheer and ‘fa la la’ spirit for the holidays.

    “It’s something I think we’ll do again next year.”

  • Greg Biffle ‘Very Proud of the Year’

    Greg Biffle ‘Very Proud of the Year’

    Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Ford for Roush Fenway Racing, was not just relieved when his NASCAR year-end banquet speech as the fifth place finishing driver was over. He was also “very proud of what we did this year.”

    Biffle and his team scored two wins in the season, with 12 top-five finishes and 21 top-ten finishes. He led the point standings, made the Chase, and had an average finish for the year of 10.2.

    “I was nervous at the beginning of this year because this was really a brand new team,” Biffle said. “It takes a while to get your legs under you.”

    “Out of seventeen guys, only three of them were same from the year previous,” Biffle continued. “And they were all hand-picked by Matt Puccia (crew chief).”

    “I figured we were going to have our challenges ahead of us,” Biffle said. “So to come out of the gate like we did and lead the points all the way through when the Chase started was amazing for me.”

    “I was really excited about that.”

    After a bit of a victory drought, Biffle scored his first win of the 2012 season at Texas Motor Speedway in the spring race, the Samsung Mobile 500. He went on to visit Victory Lane a second time in the Michigan 400 in late summer.

    “It was such a relief,” Biffle said of his Texas win. “And I was so excited.”

    “When you win there is so much emotion,” Biffle continued. “So much goes through you.”

    “I was more excited for the team and Matt Puccia for his first Cup win,” Biffle said. “And it was the first Cup win for more than half the guys on my team.”

    “I’ve won 17 or 18 times or however many,” Biffle continued. “It’s special to me each time you get there, but it’s neat every time to take people to Victory lane.”

    “And it was kind of a dry spell for me,” Biffle said. “So, it was nice to get back in there to Victory Lane.”

    Biffle, like most of the top-ten drivers, was honored to have finished fifth in the final point standings. But he was dreading his banquet speech, stating he just had to rely on the teleprompter to get through it.

    “I’ve got too much ADD so I had to use a teleprompter,” Biffle said. “I’ll talk about one thing and forget about what’s next.”

    “I’ve thought about trying to do bullet points on the teleprompter like ‘team’, ‘Jack Roush’, ‘thank the sponsors’, and ‘NASCAR’,” Biffle continued. “It just doesn’t work for me because I get rambling on and can’t transition to the next thing very well.”

    “I’m better off just to write a short and simple speech,” Biffle said. “I have to write the speech because I have to put it in my words, the way I say it, instead of trying to read something that’s unnatural.”

    “Then I do better with it.”

    In addition to the NASCAR festivities, Biffle also enjoyed his time in Vegas by bonding with some of his team over drinks and a little gambling.

    “I’ve had a lot of fun gambling and playing craps with some of the guys,” Biffle said. “Just enjoying the city, going out and enjoying a few drinks has been fun.”

    “Normally, when I’m racing, Monday I might have a beer or two sometimes,” Biffle continued. “But it’s nice to come here and enjoy the city and not have to get into the race car the next day.”

    While many of the drivers who have been trying their hands at the Vegas tables have lost some significant dollars, Biffle stated that he has been holding his own in the casino.

    “I’m about even, which means I won because I’m having a lot of fun and I’m doing it for free right now,” Biffle said. “I don’t have a lot of money to lose and I work very hard but I’m going to have a little fun.”

    “It’s like going to the amusement park and you’ve got to pay for it, but with this, you have the opportunity to win a little.”

    Of the new champion, Biffle admitted that he really did not know Brad Keselowski all that well. But he also admitted to feeling a certain kinship with the new young champion.

    “Brad’s been pretty busy,” Biffle said. “I’m looking forward to getting to know him a little bit better.”

    “We’ve done a few things or talked about doing a few things away from the track.”

    “I see a lot of myself in Brad,” Biffle said. “Brad wasn’t given anything.”

    “He didn’t have anyone paying the bills all the way for him,” Biffle continued. “He worked hard.”

    “I remember him at the race track when he was 14 or 15 years old helping his dad when his dad was running the Truck Series,” Biffle said. “So then Brad raced the Truck Series and Nationwide and got an opportunity to step into the 2 car.”

    “They weren’t fast right away but with time and hard work, they’ve gotten up on the stage,” Biffle continued. “That’s a credit to how hard he’s worked.’

    Just like the new champion, Biffle also intends to work hard in the 2013 season. And next year, he hopes to have an even more consistent season, especially with the new race car.

    “I want to be in the new Fusion every day,” Biffle said. “But there again, testing is limited.”

    “NASCAR is going to do a few tests at Charlotte,” Biffle continued. “But I don’t think we’ll get a lot of tests before we get going.”

    “Last year, we just weren’t as prepared and weren’t as ready,” Biffle said. “We went from a good group of tracks for us to something a little different and that’s what really caught us off guard.”

    “What I think we learned is that we won’t make that mistake in 2013, especially if we’re lucky enough to make the Chase next year.”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Homestead

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Homestead

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    [media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”323″][/media-credit]1. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 15th at Homestead, well ahead of a faltering Jimmie Johnson, and earned his first Sprint Cup championship. Keselowski finished 39 points ahead of Clint Bowyer and 40 ahead of Johnson.

    “We saw a blow out,” Keselowski said, “and a bow out, all in the same race. This is likely the first of more titles to come. I’ve already coined a slogan for our quest for the 2013 Cup: ‘2 For 2.’

    “Johnson tried to get into my head, and he did, easily. As a five-time Cup winner, he knew exactly what it took to get into the mind of a champion.”

    2. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson suffered a loose lug nut penalty, followed by mechanical issues at Homestead and finished 36th, unable to challenge Brad Keselowski for the championship. Johnson finished third in the final point standings, 40 points behind first-time champ Keselowski.

    “When I said we needed the ‘raise our game,’” Johnson said, “I wasn’t referring to being ‘jacked up’ in the garage. But I’ll take my misfortune and deal with it. That’s life. Or, as a driver with five Cup titles would say, ‘C’est la V.’

    “Keselowski earned the title fair and square. But if not pit errors and mechanical issues that resulted in a 32nd and 36th to end the season, things would have been different. As it is, I’ve got to ‘hand it’ to Keselowski, which I did.”

    3. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer finished second to Jeff Gordon in the Ford EcoBoost 400, posting his ninth top-5 finish of the year. Bowyer finished second in the final Sprint Cup point standings, 39 out of first.

    “Once again,” Bowyer said, “I couldn’t catch Gordon. That’s okay. The off-season will give me ample time to plan my vengeance down to every detail. After all, I want to ‘exact’ revenge.”

    4. Kasey Kahne: Kahne finished 21st at Homestead on an up-and-down day for Hendrick Motorsports, as Jeff Gordon took the checkered flag and Jimmie Johnson finished 36th. Kahne ended the year fourth in the point standings, 55 behind Brad Keselowski.

    “NASCAR wives and girlfriend were having babies right and left this year,” Kahne said. “Even Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson got in on the act, because a rivalry was ‘born.’”

    5. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 24th at Homestead, ending a disappointing Chase For The up in fifth, 62 out of first.

    “Congratulations to Brad Keselowski,” Hamlin said. “And congratulations to car owner Roger Penske. I’m not sure if Penske is on Twitter, but if he were, his message to Keselowski would have to be ‘@ a boy!.”

    6. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished 18th at Homestead, piloting the No. 17 Best Buy Ford in his final race for Roush Fenway Racing. He finished sixth in the point standings, 74 out of first.

    “My car said ‘Best Buy,’” Kenseth said, “but it should have said ‘Good Bye.’”

    7. Greg Biffle: Biffle finished fifth in the Ford EcoBoost 400, his 12th top-5 finish of the year. He ended the year fifth in the point standings, 68 out of first.

    “It was an eventful year at Roush Fenway Racing,” Biffle said. “There was a lot of movement within the company. There’s a perfectly good explanation for Matt Kenseth’s departure; Carl Edward’s ‘disappearance’ is another story.”

    8. Kyle Busch: Busch finished fourth in the Ford EccoBoost 400, posting his 12th top 5 of the year and eighth of the Chase.

    “One day,” Busch said, “I’m going to put it all together. Actually, I often put it together for one day; it’s one season I have trouble with.”

    9. Jeff Gordon: Gordon won for the second time this season, beating Clint Bowyer to the stripe to win the Ford EcoBoost 400. Gordon finished 10th in the point standings, 97 out of first.

    “That’s like adding insult to insult for Bowyer,” Gordon said. “I didn’t ‘make his day,’ but I did ‘make his day worse.’”

    10. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished eighth at Homestead, following his win at Phoenix with his 14th top-10 result of the year. He finished eighth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 79 out of first.

    “Brad Keselowski is a worthy champion,” Harvick said, “and one that is popular among fellow drivers. I think I speak for everyone, especially my former teammate Clint Bowyer, when I say that Keselowski, unlike Jeff Gordon, got what was coming to him.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Phoenix Advocare 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Phoenix Advocare 500

    [media-credit name=”Simon Scoggins” align=”alignright” width=”244″][/media-credit]In the next to the last race on the one miler in the Valley of the Sun, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 25th annual Advocare 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

    Surprising:  Although avoiding the shower of sponsor product, baby Keelan had his first ever visit to Victory Lane, celebrating with his dad Kevin Harvick, driver of the Richard Childress Racing No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet.

    “It was great to be back in Victory Lane and to have Keelan there for our first victory celebration as a family,” Harvick said. “He was fine until everyone started screaming.”

    “That made him cry.”

    Surprisingly, this was Harvick’s first victory of the 2012 season, breaking a 44 race winless streak. Also surprisingly, this was Richard Childress Racing’s first win of the year as well.

    Harvick’s victory came on the heels of a surprising announcement prior to the race, one that will see him leave RCR for Stewart Haas Racing in the 2014 season.

    “It has been a struggle and an interesting weekend to say the least,” Harvick said. “Regardless of what happens in 2014, we have the end of this year and we’ve got all of next year.”

    “We want to win races and we want to be competitive and that is what we are here to do.”

    Not Surprising:  The theme of survival, which has been his mantra since Talladega and throughout the Chase, continued with the driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge.

    Brad Keselowski finished sixth in the Blue Deuce and also grabbed the points lead in the championship race after competitor Jimmie Johnson hit the wall to finish 32nd. Keselowski also had to navigate a wild last lap wreck, in which he was dinged, to take the checkered flag.

    “I raced pretty hard last week at Texas but that was borderline ridiculous,” Keselowski said. “We survived and I’m proud of everyone on the Miller Lite team for that.”

    “I felt very lucky to make it through the carnage today.”

    Surprising:  For a driver, crew chief and team that is so often totally in control, it was most surprising for the championship contending Jimmie Johnson and team No. 48 to come out of Phoenix feeling totally out of control.

    “We were cruising along and I think going to have a top-10 day if things worked out,” Johnson said. “I had a slight vibration and then as I was coming off of turn four, it went down and straight in the wall I went.”

    “Unfortunately, we lost a lot of control or all control in the championship,” Johnson continued, now 20 points back of point leader Keselowski. “It’s way, way out of our control with the problem we had.”

    “That’s racing,” Johnson said. “We will go to Homestead and do all we can down there and see how things pan out.”

    Not Surprising:  As with any fracas, there are a variety of ways to see the incident, depending on your point of view. And the melee on and off the track between Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet, and Clint Bowyer, pilot of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, was no exception to this rule.

    “It’s just that things have gotten escalated over the year and I’ve just had it,” Gordon said after wrecking Bowyer and participating in a bench-emptying brawl in the garage area. “Clint’s run into me numerous times.”

    “I’ve had it and was fed up with it and got him back.”

    “For him to act like that, I barely touched him,” Bowyer said. “Next thing I know, Brett (Griffin, spotter) is telling me that he’s waiting on me.”

    “It’s pretty embarrassing for a four-time champion and what I consider one of the best the sport’s ever seen to act like that.”

    For those directly and not so directly involved in the disagreement, other perceptions prevailed.

    “When I was young, I thought Jeff Gordon was the best driver,” Joey Logano, whose No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet was collateral damage in the Gordon/Bowyer madness, tweeted after the race. “Now I’ve lost a lot of respect for him.”

    “The 24 should be parked!” Denny Hamlin tweeted after the race. “He took out 5 cars in that BS!”

    One driver, however, seemingly enjoyed the hoopla and the sparring.

    “I like fights,” Kevin Harvick, race winner, said to the media with a devilish grin. “We should have more fights.”

    “They’re not always fun to be in, but fights are what made NASCAR what it is.”

    Surprising:  While Denny Hamlin had much to say about fellow competitor Jeff Gordon via Twitter, he also had a lot to say about the track, even with a second place finish.

    “The track is just so slick,” Hamlin said after the race. “Treacherous. The race track is extremely treacherous.”

    “You can’t – with these hard tires – you just can’t get a grip on the race track.”

    “Everyone’s just sliding around and sliding into each other.”

    The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota also had some choice, but perhaps not politically correct words, for the track conditions on the final lap, which led to multiple wrecks and many torn up race cars.

    “There was oil all over the track,” Hamlin said. “Ray Charles could see that.”

    “Holy cow, it was a mess.”

    Not Surprising:   After dominating for the first third of the race, the intrepid Kyle Busch, behind the wheel of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota, had to settle for a third place finish. This was Busch’s 10th top-10 finishes in 16 races at Phoenix International Raceway.

    “Great day,” Busch said simply. “Guys gave me an awesome car.”

    “Obviously, having a car that’s the class of the field – you expect to win and you’re supposed to win,” Busch continued. “I guess I just didn’t know how to win it today.”

    “So, it seems to be the way the year goes.”

    Surprising:  For as bad of a season and weekend that Jeff Burton was having, the driver of the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet pulled off a surprisingly good 13th place finish in the Advocare 500.

    Burton had to start from the rear of the field after multiple accidents in both Friday and Saturday’s practices.

    “Just a solid effort this weekend from the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet team,” Burton said. “We wrecked two cars on Friday and Saturday.”

    “For these guys to come back and give this kind of effort was amazing.”

    Not Surprising:  Kurt Busch continued to settle in with his new Furniture Row race team, recovering from a lug nut problem to finish eighth in the Valley of the Sun. This was his second straight eighth-place finish, giving his team its best back-to-back finishes in the team’s history.

    “That was a wild ending,” the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Farm American Chevrolet said. “I just stayed on the gas to get to the finish line.”

    “We definitely had a car that was capable of winning,” Busch continued. “We battled back to notch our second straight top-10.”

    Surprising:  Another Cup rookie had a surprisingly good day, in fact the best yet in her young career in the top tier of the sport. Danica Patrick, in the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, finished 17th, her best result to date.

    “We had a green-white-checkered, so it was a nice exciting finish for the fans,” Patrick said. “The No. 31 went in too deep and clipped my left rear, spun me around and I just tried to limp back to the line.”

    “Still our best finish,” Patrick continued. “But you always want more.”

    Not Surprising:  Ryan Newman, often known as the ‘Iron Man’ of the sport, proved he was as tough as all the veterans’ pictures on his camouflaged car. After qualifying in the 12th position, the driver of the No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet worked his way to the front to finish fifth in the Advocare 500.

    “That was a good run for our Quicken Loans Chevrolet,” Newman said. “It was a special Veteran’s Day paint scheme and I’m really proud of everything there.”

    Surprising:  Chaser Martin Truex, Jr., racing no doubt with a heavy heart for his home state of New Jersey ravaged by Hurricane Sandy, saw his day end before it even got started. The driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota had an engine failure and finished 43rd.

    “Well, the engine started laying down on like the second lap and something broke in the top end, so we were done for the day,” Truex said. “It’s a shame.”

    “Just one of those deals – probably a parts failure or something.”

    Not Surprising:  Greg Biffle showed his mettle behind the wheel, coming back from a miserable start to the race to being the highest finishing Ford, scoring a top-10 finish.

    “It was actually a hard fought day,” the driver of the No. 16 Filtrete/3M Ford said. “We came back from not having a very good car to being really good.”

    “We kept working on it and working on it,” Biffle continued. “I never thought we’d get that good.”

    “That was remarkable.”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Phoenix

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Phoenix

    [media-credit name=”Simon Scoggins” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski took charge of the point standings with a win at Phoenix, while Jimmie Johnson crashed hard into the wall late. With one race remaining, Keselowski leads Johnson by 22 points.

    “It’s all over but the tweeting,” Keselowski said. “The race at Phoenix had so many acts of stupidity, from drivers and NASCAR officials alike, I’m not sure what had more ‘characters’—the race itself, or one of my tweets.”

    2. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson’s bid for a sixth Sprint Cup championship took a blow at Phoenix, where a late tire problem sent the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet into the wall late. Johnson finished 32nd, while Brad Keselowski came home 6th and took over a nearly insurmountable lead in the point standings.

    “We just cut a tire at the most inopportune time,” Johnson said. “Up until that point, it was a ‘Goodyear.’

    “We aren’t conceding anything. However, it’s a bad sign when you see a fat lady singing about throwing in the towel.”

    3. Clint Bowyer: Jeff Gordon took out Bowyer with three laps to go at Phoenix, in response to contact initiated by Bowyer earlier in the race. Bowyer later tried to confront Gordon in the garage, sparking a brawl between crew members of both team.

    “Did you see me racing to accost Gordon in the garage?” Bowyer said. “I put the ‘sprint’ in ‘Sprint Cup’ and the ‘rage’ in ‘garage.’

    “Luckily for Gordon, Michael Waltrip was holding me back. It’s certainly not the first time Michael’s been seen hugging a man.”

    4. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished second in the AdvoCare 500 at Phoenix, posting his 14th top 5 of the year. Hamlin is fifth in the point standings, 62 out of first.

    “It’s a case of ‘too little, too late,” Hamlin said. “But I can look forward to next year for comfort. I’ll spend the next four months much like my pregnant girlfriend—‘expecting.’”

    5. Kasey Kahne: Kahne started fourth and finished fourth at Phoenix, posting his 12th top-5 result of the year. He is third in the point standings, 50 behind Brad Keselowski.

    “NASCAR penalized Jeff Gordon with a vengeance,” Kahne said. “He was docked 25 points and fined $100,000. I believe before he commits such an act again, he’ll think long and hard. In other words, he’ll ‘pre-meditate’ before he does it.”

    6. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished 14th at Phoenix, behind Roush Fenway teammates Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards, who finished 7th and 11th, respectively. Kenseth is sixth in the point standings, 74 out of first.

    “People can criticize Jeff Gordon all they want,” Kenseth said, “but I think he showed exceptional driving skill. Like a true professional, he hit all his ‘marks.’”

    7. Greg Biffle: Biffle finished seventh at Phoenix, posting his 20th top-10 result of the year. He is seventh in the point standings, 78 out of first.

    “NASCAR promoted the ‘Boys, have at it,’” policy,” Biffle said, “and they got what they asked for—the ‘Boy Wonder’ versus the ‘Bow’ Wonder.’”

    8. Kevin Harvick: Harvick won for the first time this season, taking the AdvoCare 500 at Phoenix. The win came just days after Harvick announced he will drive for Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014.

    “Along with Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman,” Harvick said, “my addition will give Stewart-Haas three of the most ornery drivers in NASCAR. Stewart likes playing ‘grab ass’ with me, and he definitely ‘grabbed’ an ‘ass’ when he signed me.”

    9. Jeff Gordon: After contact by Clint Bowyer damaged his car, Gordon retaliated by intentionally wrecking Bowyer, taking out Joey Logano in the process and nearly collected Brad Keselowski. The incident sparked a brawl in the pits, and on Monday, NASCAR docked Gordon 25 points and fined him $100,000.

    “I let my emotions get the best of me,” Gordon said. “That just happens to be the only sighting of the ‘best of me’ since my last Sprint Cup title in 2001.

    10. Kyle Busch: Busch came home third in the AdvoCare 500, his third straight top-3 finish and sixth of the Chase.

    “I’m certainly encouraged for next year by my Chase performance,” Busch said. “After not making the Chase, I was saying, ‘Wait ‘til next year.’ Now, I’m saying, ‘Can’t wait ‘til next year.’”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Texas

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Texas

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”236″][/media-credit]Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson passed Brad Keselowski with two laps to go at Texas and pulled away to win at Texas, his second consecutive win in the Chase. Johnson extended his lead in the point standings, and now holds a seven point edge on Keselowski.

    “That may have been the second-best ‘restart’ of my career,” Johnson said. “The best, of course, would be the ‘restart’ to another multi-Cup championship run.

    “Of course, it was quite fitting that I fired the celebratory ‘six-shooter’ after the race, a sound which heralded my quest for my sixth Cup title. The bullets weren’t real, mind you. Judging by the number of pregnant wives and girlfriends in NASCAR this year, I must have been the only one ‘shooting blanks.’”

    2. Brad Keselowski: Holding the lead with two laps to go at Texas, Keselowski was passed on the restart by Jimmie Johnson and finished second. After leading the championship standings with four races to go, Keselowski is now seven points back of Johnson.

    “Seven points is not insurmountable,” Keselowski said, “but Johnson may be. Unfortunately, I find myself behind the ’48-ball.’”

    3. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer finished sixth in the AAA Texas 500, earning his 21st top-10 result of the year. He is third in the point standings, 26 behind Jimmie Johnson.

    “Until someone tells me otherwise,” Bowyer said, “I’ll keep racing like I have a chance to win the Cup. Keep in mind, I don’t like people telling me things.”

    4. Denny Hamlin: After his disastrous result at Martinsville two weeks ago, Hamlin finished a disappointing 20th at Texas. Deemed a threat to win the Cup just three weeks ago, Hamlin is now well out of the championship picture, 49 out of first in the point standings.

    “Our Sprint Cup championship hopes came ‘unplugged’ last week at Martinsville,” Hamlin said. “At Texas, we didn’t have electrical issues, but after finishing 20th, there was an ‘outage’—I’m further ‘out’ of the championship picture.”

    5. Kyle Busch: Busch finished third at Texas, backing up his runner-up finish at Martinsville on October 27th. It was his fifth top 5 of the Chase, and tenth of the year.

    “Just once,” Busch said, “I’d like to be dangerous in a ‘Chase’ that doesn’t involve a policeman.”

    6. Kasey Kahne: Kahne finished well out of contention at Texas, finishing 25th, one lap off the lead. He is now fourth in the point standings, 29 out of first.

    “It’s come down to a battle between Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski,” Kahne said. “I’m sure Keselowski doesn’t mind hearing, ‘And then there were two.’ But I think he’d much rather hear, ‘And then there was ‘2.’”

    7.  Jeff Gordon: Gordon finished 14th in the AAA Texas 500, and is now sixth in the point standings, 54 out of first.

    “Brad Keselowski is giving Jimmie Johnson all he can handle,” Gordon said. “You could it’s a ‘handful, and then some.’ You could also say that about Jimmie’s soon-to-be growing Sprint Cup championship haul.”

    8. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth led one lap and came home fourth at Texas, posting his 12th top-5 finish of the year. He is eighth in the point standings, 65 out of first.

    “I was out of the title hunt early,” Kenseth said, “but don’t tell me I’m not a man of my word. I told Jack Roush I’d ‘be there at the end’ and I will be, because I’ve got two more races with Roush Fenway.”

    9. Tony Stewart: Stewart finished fifth in the AAA Texas 500, equaling his best finish of the Chase. He is 71 out of the lead in the point standings.

    “We’re mathematically still alive,” Stewart said, “but there’s no chance we’ll win the Cup. And don’t make me say it again. Believe me when I say there will be ‘no repeating.’”

    10. Greg Biffle: Biffle finished 10th at Texas, joining Roush Fenway teammate Matt Kenseth, who finished fourth, in the top 10. Biffle is 83 out of first in the point standings.

    “I could be the next to ‘go,’” Biffle said. “No, I’m not leaving Roush Fenway; I’m the next driver soon to be mathematically eliminated from Sprint Cup contention.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Charlotte Bank of America 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Charlotte Bank of America 500

    [media-credit name=”Greg Arthur” align=”alignright” width=”241″][/media-credit]In a race now known as one without an Earnhardt and without a North Carolina born driver, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    Surprising:  At his worst track statistically and on a mile and half track where he has never won, this driver, although thrilled to be in Victory Lane after a fuel mileage battle extraordinaire, seemed also to be strangely depressed.

    “I can’t do a burnout,” Clint Bowyer said woefully after having his No. 15 5-Hour Energy/Avon Foundation for Women Toyota pushed to the winner’s circle. “The thing doesn’t have enough fuel in it to do a burnout.”

    “I’d like to practice a burnout,” Bowyer continued ruefully. “It’s so much fun burning rubber.”

    “Oh hell, I don’t care,” Bowyer then said. “It’s a lot more fun getting handed that trophy – that’s what it’s all about.”

    Not Surprising:  Although Chaser Clint Bowyer survived on fumes to end the race, it was not surprising that his other Chase contenders, in fact the top three in the points battle, were also challenging their own fuel demons, literally having to slow down in order to finish the race.

    “Yeah, you’re just running the race backwards basically,” Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota, said after finishing second. “You’re just seeing how slow you can go and maintain your track position.”

    “It’s tough because I’m sitting there thinking I can go by this 15 (Bowyer) or catch him just about any time I want, but Darian (Grubb, crew chief) is screaming at me to back off.”

    “We started saving with double the distance to just be cautious,” Jimmie Johnson, who finished third in the No. 48 MyLowe’s Chevrolet, said. “We didn’t want to go up there and chase the No. 11 (Hamlin) and get ourselves in trouble.”

    Brad Keselowski, usually known as an excellent fuel-mileage racer, actually sputtered, coasting to pit road after running out of fuel. “I didn’t know what was going on,” the driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge said. “I think we probably would have finished fourth or fifth if we didn’t run out of fuel.”

    “I had to coast for quite a ways and it wouldn’t start when I got back to pit road.”

    This small fuel sputter, along with having to stop for fuel in the waning laps, cost Keselowski a top-5 finish, landing him in the 11th spot instead when the checkered flag flew.

    Yet, in spite of the fuel challenges at Charlotte, Keselowski maintained P1 in the Chase standings but is now just seven points ahead of Jimmie Johnson and fifteen points ahead of Denny Hamlin.

    Surprising:  Jeff Gordon and team 24 Drive to End Hunger made some surprisingly costly errors in the Bank of America 500. Gordon, fighting an ill-handling race car most of the night, incurred a speeding road penalty and struggled to regain track position from that point on.

    “We missed the setup at the beginning, but we worked on it and worked on it and had it driving good there at the end,” Gordon said. “We just couldn’t catch a caution to get us back on the lead lap.”

    “It was just one of those nights.”

    Gordon finished 18th, his fourth finish of 18th or worse in his last five races at Charlotte. He also fell three positions, from sixth to ninth in the Chase standings, 50 points back from the Chase leader.

    Not Surprising:  Pole sitter Greg Biffle had a good enough run to actually swap point’s positions with Jeff Gordon in the Chase standings. The driver of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion finished fourth, gaining three Chase positions, from ninth to sixth in the standings, 43 points out of the lead.

    “We had the fastest car, but couldn’t make it on fuel,” Biffle said. “We had the fastest car at the end, but didn’t quite get there.”

    “It hurts to get beat on fuel mileage, but we were the first car behind the three that made it on fuel mileage, so I feel pretty good with fourth.”

    Surprising:  Stewart Haas Racing faced some surprising challenges at Charlotte Motor Speedway under the lights.

    SHR Chase driver Tony Stewart started from deep in the field and got into an accordion-style accident on a restart that damaged the front of his No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet.

    “I was following the 2 car (Keselowski) there and he had to check up,” Smoke said. “Man, I drilled him and it screwed up the nose of our race car.”

    SHR teammate Ryan Newman forfeited a great starting spot in the front of the field due to an engine change, which forced him to the rear of the field in a race where track position was key.

    “We definitely took a hit with the engine change,” Newman said. “We had a really fast car in practice and qualifying and it wasn’t the same in the race.”

    “It was a tough night for us.”

    Stewart rallied to finish 13th, while Newman, in the No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet, finished a disappointing 20th.

    Not Surprising:   Kyle Busch, in the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota, finally had a good finish, in fact a top-five finish, to show for his efforts in front of the home crowd.

    “The car was really good,” Busch said. “I felt like we had a winning car barring circumstances and how they played out.”

    “But that just wasn’t there for us at the end with the strategy and everything,” Busch continued. “We came home okay.”

    Surprising:  With every other driver so fixated on fuel, it was surprising that this driver, who finished seventh, could have cared less.

    “We got good fuel mileage, but that wasn’t our focus,” Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford, said. “Our focus was going as fast as we could and I think we showed a little more promise than we have in a long time.”

    “It’s been a long time since we’ve been this competitive on a mile-and-a-half, so I’m very happy with it.”

    Not Surprising:  With Dale Earnhardt, Jr. out of the race car due to a concussion, it was no surprise that all eyes were on Regan Smith, substituting for Junior in the No. 88 Amp Energy/National Guard Chevy, and also on Kurt Busch, who took over Smith’s No. 78 Furniture Row/Farm American Chevrolet ride for the first time this season.

    Busch finished 21st while Smith finished 38th with an engine failure.

    “The important part was that we had a really fast race car,” Smith said. “It’s disappointing and it’s a shame.”

    “Finishing 21st might not appear that we made progress,” Busch said. “But the fact of the matter is that we did in our first three days together at the track.”

    “It was an uneventful race, but an eventful weekend.”

    Surprising:  With the shuffling of Kurt Busch to Furniture Row and Regan Smith to Dale Earnhardt Junior’s seat, there was one surprising opening for a driver that needed a second chance.

    A.J. Allmendinger, returning from suspension after completing NASCAR’s Road to Recovery program, took the wheel of the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet and finished 24th at Charlotte under the lights.

    “I have a lot of unfinished business,” the ‘Dinger said. “I have a lot of things I want to accomplish still.”

    “It’s not going to be easy,” Allmendinger continued. “I’m going to have to do a lot of work for it, but I’m willing to do it.”

    Not Surprising:  Michael Waltrip Racing had another stellar day at the race track. One MWR driver, Clint Bowyer, was in Victory Lane while the other two MWR drivers both had top-ten runs.

    Mark Martin, in the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, finished sixth and Martin Truex, Jr., behind the wheel of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, finished tenth.

    “We started racing in 2007 and here we are in 2012 racing for a championship,” Michael Waltrip, team owner, said. “There are a few things that have happened to me over my racing career that are really special and this is one of those.”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Charlotte

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Charlotte

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”241″][/media-credit]Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski ran out of fuel while leading on lap 59 at Charlotte, and that miscalculation may have cost him the win. After a late stop for gas, Keseklowski emerged 16th and finished 11th. He now leads Jimmie Johnson in the point standings by seven.

    “The Miller Lite Dodge was the hottest car in the Chase until Saturday,” Keselowski said. “And we all know what happens with a cold Miller Lite—you get a ‘coaster.’

    2. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished third in the Bank Of America 500 after fuel mileage concerns forced him to race conservatively. Still, Johnson cut into Brad Keselowski’s points lead, and now trails by only seven.

    “Keselowski led for 139 of 334 laps,” Johnson said. “It was his race to lose, and he did. But I don’t mind trailing in the point standings right now. I’m a five-time champion; Keselowski’s got no titles to his name. That puts me ‘second to none.”

    3. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin led 36 laps at Charlotte and finished third behind Clint Bowyer and Jimmie Johnson, while Brad Keselowski finished 11th. Hamlin is now 15 behind points-leader Keselowski, and eight behind Johnson in second.

    “The No. 11 Fed Ex Toyota was not made to conserve gas,” Hamlin said, “so we have to savor every drop. It seems that my pregnant girlfriend isn’t the only one carrying ‘precious cargo.’”

    4. Clint Bowyer: After a beneficial fuel gamble, Bowyer held off a charging Denny Hamlin to take the Bank Of America 500, his third victory of the year. Bowyer is now fourth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 28 behind Brad Keselowski, and well within striking distance for the Cup.

    “I proved I’m still a force in the Chase,” Bowyer said. “But I realize I’m gonna need some luck as well. So I’ve got to ask myself, “Do you feel lucky, punk?’”

    5. Kasey Kahne: Kahne finished eighth at Charlotte, one lap down to the leaders. He is now fifth in the point standings, 35 out of first.

    “It was weird not seeing Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the No. 88 car,” Kahne said. “I’m sure Junior was disappointed. But look on the bright side: he found another way to break a winless streak.”

    6. Greg Biffle: Biffle started on the pole at Charlotte and led 71 laps before finishing fourth, his best finish of the Chase. He leaped three spots in the point standings to sixth, and is 43 out of first.

    “Carl Edwards couldn’t win with the points lead in last year’s Chase,” Biffle said. “Matt Kenseth is leaving Roush Fenway. And I couldn’t win from the pole at Charlotte. It doesn’t seem that anyone at Roush Fenway Racing can finish what they started.”

    7. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex posted his 17th top-10 finish of the year with a 10th at Charlotte. He is seventh in the Sprint Cup point standings, 49 out of first.

    “I’ve got five races to make up 49 points,” Truex said. “I’m guessing the five races beats the 49 points to the finish line. And that’s one more win than I have this year.”

    8. Kyle Busch: Busch finished fifth at Charlotte, one of only six cars on the lead lap. It was his ninth top-5 result of the year.

    “I didn’t qualify for the Chase For The Cup,” Busch said, “so I, like about 8 of 12 Chasers to far behind to matter, am not eligible to win the title. It may be lonely at the top, but not at the bottom.”

    9. Tony Stewart: Stewart sustained front-end damage after an early re-start went awry. He recovered to finish 13th, one lap down, and now finds himself in a 50 point hole to points leader Brad Keselowski.

    “If it’s not someone going too fast behind me,” Stewart said, “it’s someone going too slow in front of me. Normally, I’m more prepared in crunch time.”

    10. Jeff Gordon: Gordon’s day was ruined by a pit road speeding penalty that put him one lap down. He finished two laps down in 18th for his worst finish of the Chase. He trails Brad Keselowski by 50 points in the Sprint Cup point standings.

    “That’s a deficit from which I can’t escape,” Gordon said. “I was once married to a ‘gold digger;’ she, in turn, was married to a ‘hole digger.’”