Tag: Greg Biffle

FedEx 400 Review: Predictions and Previews

Self Inflicted Bad Luck for Gordon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Earnhardt Improves Stats at Dover

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

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

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

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

Predictions for Pocono

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

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

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

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

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

Dale Earnhardt Jr. quote via SPEEDTV.com

June 5, 2012
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

June 4, 2012
Surprising and Not Surprising: Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

May 31, 2012
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Charlotte

[media-credit id=38 align=”alignright” width=”228″][/media-credit]Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Jimmie Johnson: One week after winning the All-Star Race, Johnson saw a top-5 finish in the Coca Cola 600 slip away after he drug his gas man down pit road. The subsequent stop-and-go penalty left him with an 11^th-place finish.

“Usually,” Johnson said, “when someone gets taken for a ride, it’s NASCAR rules officials, and Chad Knaus is driving. This time, though, it was my fueler. And people thought I was ‘tanking’ in the All-Star Race.”

2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished second at Charlotte, posting his second runner-up result in the last three races. He is up one spot to third in the Sprint Cup point standings, 16 behind Greg Biffle.

“There was no catching Kasey Kahne,” Hamlin said. “He took off like a bat out of hell. At least that’s what Red Bull Racing said when Kahne’s obligations with them were up.

“Now he’s in the No. 5 car at Hendrick Motorsports. I expect him to be there a long time. Only a fool would give up that ride. And I know fools. In fact, I work with one.”

3. Greg Biffle: Biffle led 204 of 400 laps in the Coca Cola 600, but slowed late as track conditions cooled and Kasey Kahne took over the race. Biffle still finished fourth, his seventh top 5 of the year, and remained atop the point standings with a 10-point lead over Matt Kenseth.

“I’ve held the lead in the point standings for months,” Biffle said. “Now, my supporters and my detractors are saying the same thing: ‘Biffle’s not going anywhere.’

“We were unstoppable in the early stages. Then, like Carl Edwards in last year’s Chase, we couldn’t get t he job done in ‘prime time.’”

4. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt finished a solid sixth at Charlotte, earning his ninth top-10 result of the year. He is now fourth in the point standings, 18 behind points leader Greg Biffle.

“My winless streak has reached 141 races,” Earnhardt said. “That means it’s been almost four years since I’ve tasted champagne. Junior Nation fans are so loyal, they’re still impressed with my performance, despite my lack of wins. They’re amazed than anyone can go that long without alcohol.

“Regardless, I’m still the sport’s most popular driver. That makes me NASCAR’s ‘Mr. Congeniality.’ And, here at Hendrick Motorsports, home of ten championships and 201 victories, most of which aren’t mine, well, that makes me ‘Mr. Congratulatory.’”

5. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished 10^th at Charlotte, joining Roush Fenway teammates Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards, who finished fourth and ninth, respectively, in the top 10. Kenseth remained second in the point standings, only 10 behind Biffle.

“I finished 10^th,” Kenseth said, “yet I was a lap down. I’ve been called a ‘non-factor’ before, usually in physical confrontations with other drivers, but this takes the cake.”

6. Kasey Kahne: Kahne won his third Coca Cola 600, taking charge late and besting his closest pursuers easily to grasp his first win for Hendrick Motorsports. With top-9 finishes in his last six points races, Kahne is arguably the hottest driver in NASCAR.

“That one win was a long-time coming,” Kahne said. “Mighty Kasey finally struck.

“The No. 5 team is hot now, with a win to go along with six consecutive top-10 finishes. I think it will behoove people at Hendrick to be a little more specific when they say ‘It’s 5-time.’”

7. Kyle Busch: Busch stayed hot with a third-place finish in the Coca Cola 600, and has now finished no worse than fourth in his last four points races. He improved one place to eighth in the Sprint Cup point standings, where he trails Greg Biffle by 62.

“You can talk about the ‘old’ Kyle Busch and the ‘new’ Kyle Busch,” Busch said. “But really, what’s changed? Competitors are still irritated by my driving—they just don’t want to punch me for it. I think marriage has calmed me. I think it could do the same for my brother Kurt—-if he had 12 wives.

“But a lot of people have noticed a difference, for the better, in me. Some of my rivals like to call it ‘chump change.’”

8. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex finished one lap down, in 12^th place, at Charlotte, as handling issues exacerbated by changing track conditions spelled trouble. He dropped one spot in the point standings to sixth, 49 out of first.

“This was the fastest 600 in history,” Truex said. “And that can’t be good for television ratings, because it was the ‘least-watched’ race in history.

“But it’s off to my favorite track,Dover, which is music to my ears, much like the sweet, soothing voice of Michael Waltrip.”

9. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished eighth in the Coca Cola 600, scoring his sixth top-10 result of the year and second in a row. He is now seventh in the point standings, 55 out of first.

“We’re by no means where we want to be,” Harvick said, “but that’s two-straight top-10 results. Slowly, but surely, we’re getting there. Even my wife DeLana keeps insisting, ‘Baby steps, Kevin. Baby steps.’”

10. Tony Stewart: Stewart was knocked off the lead lap when he collided with Brad Keselowski on pit road midway through Sunday’s race. Stewart eventually finished 25^th, three laps down.

“I’m in the pits,” Stewart said, “and the next thing I know, I’m pointed in the wrong direction. Keselowski had an explanation for it, all right—it’s called the ‘Polish Pit Stop.’

“But I’m not one to point fingers, unless they’re balled into a fist and hurled in the direction of an enemy.”

May 29, 2012
Coca Cola 600 Review: Kahne Scores First Win For Hendrick

Kahne Scores First Win for HMS

Kahne blew the doors off of his competitors Sunday night to score his fourth win at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the 53rd Annual Coca-Cola 600. This win is extra special for Kahne because it is his first win as a driver for Hendrick Motorsports, and his first win of the season.

When Kahne made the move to HMS at the end of the 2011 season, Kahne had very high expectations of his performance with his new team. However, his expectations did not go according to plan; for the first five races of the season, Kahne finished outside of the Top-10. His first top-10 finish of the season did not come until Texas.

Kahne started in the 7th position and slowly made his way up to the front, taking the lead from Kyle Busch on Lap 258. On the final restart of the race with 76 laps to go, Kahne restarted in 6th position after taking four tires on pit road. It took Kahne only four laps to rocket past his competitors to take over second position and threaten leader Denny Hamlin for the win. With 68 laps to go, Kahne took the lead back and held on to it until the drop of the checkered flag.

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]“It feels really good”, Kahne said after the race. “It’s so special and awesome to drive for Rick and Linda Hendrick. For them to make me a part of their company, this is an unbelievable to drive for Hendrick Motorsports and be a part of everything they do there.”

“Our Hendrick engine was awesome ton, brand new car that so many people put a lot of effort into. Thanks to Quaker State and the durability of the oil we did 600 miles, no problem, with tons of power. Farmer’s Insurace, HendrickCars.com, and Chevrolet have all been a huge part of our season and it feels good to get a win tonight.”

Kahne gained one position in points with this win, moving him to 15th position, 123 points behind the leader.

Greg Biffle Keeps up Consistency

Greg Biffle has been in prime form this season, running in the Top-5 week-in and week-out. Driving in the car that he won with at Texas Motor Speedway, Biffle finished a solid fourth position Sunday night. Biffle came into this race as the point’s leader and will hold that position leaving Charlotte, with ten points over his Roush Fenway teammate Matt Kenseth.

“We were super-good early. I can’t believe how fast we were, but the guys did a great job. We gained a little in the points, but we really wanted to win,” Biffle said after the race. “We have to go back to the drawing board a little bit. We need a little more grip, a little bit more turn when the sun goes down.” Biffle finished the race in fourth position.

Gordon’s Luck Begins to Change

Before the Coca-Cola 600, Jeff Gordon sat uncharacteristically in 24th position in Cup standings. However, Sunday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Gordon’s luck slowly began to change for the better. After starting in 23rd position in the Coca-Cola 600, Gordon drove his No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet to the front to finish in seventh position. With his top-10 finish, Gordon has moved to 22nd in standings.

“We had an awesome race car and we showed it right from the drop of the green,” Gordon said. “We drove up through there. Obviously, it got tougher as you got further to the front. We still had a few things that needed to go a little bit better for us. We stayed out that one time and showed how good our car was. When we could be up front with those guys and we were on older tires hung out there in fourth.”

May 29, 2012
Edwards ‘passed a lot of cars’ while rallying for Charlotte top-10

[media-credit id=38 align=”alignright” width=”242″][/media-credit]Carl Edwards was plenty thankful that Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway was the longest race of the year.

Edwards and his No. 99 Fastenal team had to use that time to battle back from an early pit road miscue. In what could have been one hot, long and frustrating night, Edwards and company stayed calm, cool and collected to come back and finish ninth. It wasn’t lost on Edwards afterwards just how far he had come.

“We passed a lot of cars,” he said. “I don’t know how many cars we passed, but we passed a bunch of them. I thought Greg [Biffle, teammate] was gonna get the win for Fastenal, that would have been really neat, but we struggled. We had that loose wheel. I think Matt [Kenseth, teammate] had a loose as well, so we’ll have to figure out what was going on there.

“And then at the end I got in a line of cars and everybody’s cars were pretty fast so it was hard to make up any ground. I thought we had a shot at winning early in the race because we were really fast. We had a lot of troops here and a lot of folks being honored and hopefully we put on a good show for them.”

If anything Edwards put on a show for his team and fans. After pitting on lap 149 for a loose wheel he fell one lap down and ran 33rd. With caution flags few and far between, Edwards was unable to find himself in the lucky dog position until right before halfway.

While he would never make it to the lead, Edwards found himself back in contention with 100 laps to go. But as he watched Biffle lead the most laps, Edwards fought to find the right balance for his car. Yet, he continued to march through the field and into the top-10.

“Truly, I don’t think anymore passed more cars,” said Edwards about his progress under green flag conditions. “We went from 28th to somewhere around 12th and then went all the way back to 32nd or 33rd, and then got all the way back up to ninth. People say we can’t pass, we can pass but we needed 700 miles or 800 miles.”

But the race’s 600 miles were just enough. Kasey Kahne earned his first win of the season, something Edwards said was hard earned. He on the other hand is still searching for his first win since Las Vegas in March of 2011.

Sunday night was a good run for the team, who are trying to not let the disappointment of last year’s Chase loss hang over their heads. Some call it the second place curse, and when comparing how Edwards ran in 2011 to how he’s currently running, there might be something to it.

He’s not as dominant as he once was. But he’s not as bad as he could be. There’s just still room for improvement. All three Roush-Fenway cars finished in the top 10 on Sunday and Edwards saw how fast his teammates were and how fast he should be. It makes his finish “hard to swallow.”

Even more so since Biffle and Kenseth have already won races this season and sit first and second in points. According to Edwards they need to figure out how to make his car go that fast.

Edwards remains 10th in points after picking up his eighth top-10 finish of the season. Edwards will take it but he wants more. The strength of his team was tested during the year’s longest race, and they passed with flying colors.

Now it’s a matter of closing the deal and there will be plenty of opportunities ahead. Edwards has won at each of the next three tracks on the schedule.

“I was pleased with one or two runs in the middle of that race,” Edwards said when asked if he was happy. “I thought, ‘OK, this is it. We’re back to top form here,’ and then for some reason at the end the balance wasn’t as good, so I think we have some things to work on.

“But our whole Roush Fenway team showed a lot of strength. I think the Fords taking the front row in qualifying was great. Greg led the most laps, it appeared to me. Every time I looked at the scoreboard I was jealous of him, but I hope we can go to Dover and get that win.

“There couldn’t be a better track coming up than Dover.”

May 28, 2012

2012 Sprint All-Star Review: The No. 48 Team Dominates All-Star Week

Sprint Showdown: Dale Jr Back To Victory Lane

AJ Allmendinger put his No. 22 Pennzoil Dodge on the pole; however, as the field was coming out of Turn 4 to take the green-flag, Allmendinger was forced to pit for a flat left front tire. This moved Allmendinger to the back of the field, remaining on the lead lap. Allmendinger’s loss was Dale Earnhardt Jr’s gain. Because of Allmendinger’s misfortune, Earnhardt took over the pole position, with Martin Truex Jr. starting in second. Earnhardt looked like a bullet shot out of a gun when he jumped out to a 1.398 second lead over Truex within three laps of the green-flag.

Earnhardt held onto the lead through the end of the 20-lap segment. While under caution, majority of the teams from third position back went down pit road for adjustments. Earnhardt remained on track to hold onto the lead for the restart and once again jumped ahead of the field by half a straight away. After starting in the back of the field, Jamie McMurray stayed on track during this caution to pick up the second position.

[media-credit name=”Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Allmendinger and Truex battled aggressively for third position for nearly 10 laps, with Allmendinger finally taking the position with 12 laps to go. Allmendinger then caught McMurray with 10 laps to go, battling for the position to advance to the All-Star race. This battle continued in the final ten laps – all the while, Dale Jr. held onto a two second lead.

With a lap and a half to go, McMurray got loose coming off the backstretch which allowed Allmendinger to get under his bumper and make an aggressive pass on him. Earnhardt went on to win the Sprint Showdown, with Allmendinger getting the second place transfer spot. “I got to give most of the credit of our performance to the team”, Earnhardt said. “They put a great car out on the line today that was fast right out the gate.”

Earnhardt was assumed by many to win the fan vote. With Earnhardt winning the showdown race, this opened up the fan vote to Bobby Labonte. “Actually, the story is two weeks ago we weren’t even going to show up here because this is not in our budget to run this race”, Labonte said. “Guys stepped up, so we got this far. Hopefully we can just keep going. Again, just thank the fans for doing that. That’s really a great deal.”

Sprint All-Star Race: Johnson Steals All-Star Victory

Kyle “Rowdy” Busch started on the pole for the race, with Ryan “Rocket Man” Newman on the outside pole. Jimmie Johnson showed he had a fast car right off the bat, taking over the lead on Lap 16. After the first segment ended, pit stops and strategy began to play out. Jimmie Johnson pitted twice under this caution; while seven other drivers, including Earnhardt and Denny Hamlin, did not make a pit stop. Hamlin restarted the race in first position, with a fast Earnhardt restarting in 6th position.

Caution waved on Lap 26 when Carl Edwards’ engine expired. The race restarted on Lap 31 with Hamlin and Marcos Ambrose, who did not pit, leading the field. Just one lap later, Kenseth wasted no time taking over the second position from Ambrose. On the same lap, Earnhardt began to put pressure on Ambrose for third position. Kenseth took over the lead just before the end of the second segment, with Earnhardt taking over third.

Seven drivers stayed out under caution, allowing Keselowski, Kasey Kahne, and Kevin Harvick to take over the top three positions. Right at the start-finish line, Kahne tried his best to steal the lead from Keselowski, but was about an inch shy of taking it.

Beginning the fourth segment, Kurt Busch took over the lead of the race after staying on track under caution. It only took Earnhardt, who restarted in second, two laps to take over the lead. Running on old tires, Busch dropped back to fourth position, as Allmendinger and Kahne took over the second and third positions.

Caution waved on Lap 68 when the second Roush Fenway Ford of Greg Biffle, lost an engine. With 16 to go on the restart, Earnhardt took over the lead once again and jumped out to a hefty lead. As the final segment came to a close, the 10-lap shootout began. Johnson led the field off pit road, with Kenseth, Keselowski, and Earnhardt following. In the same week that his No. 48 Lowes team won the pit crew challenge, Johnson took his Lowes Chevrolet to victory lane in the All-Star race for the third time in his career. This win has tied Johnson for most All-Star victories with Dale Earnhardt and his teammate, Jeff Gordon.

[media-credit name=”Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”342″][/media-credit]At the end of the race, instead of driving the flag around the track in victory, Johnson took his car owner for a victory lap. Rick Hendrick was at the end of pit road and told Johnson to come pick him up. Once Hendrick put his leg inside the car, he was in for a ride. Rather than driving his owner to victory lane, Johnson took his car owner for a little joy ride around the tri-oval. Rick waved to the fans around the track in a humorous manner. Johnson won a total of $1,071,340 with his All-Star win.

Race Results : Sprint All-Star Race
Sprint All-Star Race – May 19, 2012 – Exhibition

Pos.	No.	Driver	Make	Speed	Time	Bnd
1	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	0	90	Running
2	2	Brad Keselowski	Dodge	0	90	Running
3	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	0	90	Running
4	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	0	90	Running
5	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	0	90	Running
6	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	0	90	Running
7	9	Marcos Ambrose	Ford	0	90	Running
8	51	Kurt Busch	Chevrolet	0	90	Running
9	5	Kasey Kahne	Chevrolet	0	90	Running
10	39	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	0	90	Running
11	22	AJ Allmendinger	Dodge	0	90	Running
12	78	Regan Smith	Chevrolet	0	90	Running
13	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	0	90	Running
14	15	Clint Bowyer	Toyota	0	90	Running
15	21	Trevor Bayne	Ford	0	90	Running
16	27	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	0	90	Running
17	14	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	0	90	Running
18	34	David Ragan	Ford	0	90	Running
19	47	Bobby Labonte	Toyota	0	90	Running
20	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	0	90	Running
21	55	Mark Martin	Toyota	0	90	Running
22	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	0	67	Out of Race
23	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	0	25	Out of Race

May 20, 2012

Matty’s Picks 2012 – Vol. 12 Charlotte Motor Speedway – NASCAR Sprint All Star Race – May 19, 2012

[media-credit name=”charlottemotorspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”199″][/media-credit]The stars have come home to Charlotte for this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint All Star Race, and this year brings new drivers, a new format, but the same old distinction. A million dollars rides on the driver able to cross the finish line first following 90 or so laps at The Beast of the Southeast. Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint All Star Race will be run in 4-20 lap segments, with the four segment-winners staging at the front of the field for the final 10-lap shootout to the wire for the cool million. 90 or more laps will make up the All Star race this year, as only green flag laps count in the final 10-lap shootout.

Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race wins, with three under his belt already. Carl Edwards made his mark on Charlotte Motor Speedway last season when he practically ripped the front end of his Ford Fusion off from the rest of the car, following his turn through the front-stretch grass in celebration of his first NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race win.

Some big names still need to race (or be voted) into the big dance on Saturday Night, namely Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Jeff Burton, and Jamie McMurray. The way to earn a ticket to the big dance – finish in the top two of the Sprint Showdown is a surefire way, the other – be at the top of the Sprint Fan Vote. Much like Friday and Saturday night home-track races, there’s an A-main and a B-main tonight in Concord. The Sprint Showdown will be ran in two segments of 20 laps each, with the top two finishers moving onto tonight’s A-main.
With the absence of NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship points comes an extreme level of action and daring driving. Settling for second is never a thought in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race, making it one of my favorite race weekends of the entire Sprint Cup season.

Darlington Recap

The Lady in Black tamed my recent hot streak of winner picks last week, a result of the toughness Darlington Raceway brings to the sport.

I picked last week’s pole-sitter, Greg Biffle to win the Bojangles’ Southern 500, a move that looked fairly promising for 74 or so laps last Saturday Night. Biffle’s car seemed to go away as the laps ticked away, battling loose conditions through the latter of the laps at Darlington. He ran in the top-10 for the majority of the race, but the late-race caution set the field up for a green-white-checkered finsh. Biffle restarted 10th, but his 3M Ford Fusion was too much of a handful to muscle into the top-10, ultimately crossing the finish line in 12th.

My Dark Horse last week qualified for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 in the sixth spot, and ended the race one spot better in fifth. Martin Truex Jr. also battled a loose condition throughout the duration of the race and ran as high as first, but only faltered back to 11th last week. He lead a season high 25 laps and managed to hold his 5th place spot in the championship points standings.

All-Star Picks

There is so much to pick for tonight’s All-Star festivities, so I will try to keep my picks short and sweet this week…

Sprint Showdown

Kicking off tonight’s on-track activities is the B-main or LCQ (if you’re used to motorcycle racing), otherwise known as the Sprint Showdown. The Showdown is packed with guys eager to have a shot at racing for the cool million, but its Martin Truex Jr. and Jeff Burton that will punch their tickets to the big dance by racing their way into the A-main. Both will start in the top-5 for the Showdown and practiced well on Friday.

Fan Vote

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will not race his way into the Sprint All-Star race, but will have a shot at the million via JR Nation. The will vote in droves following his third-place effort in the Sprint Showdown, but JR will start last on the grid for the NASCAR All-Star Race by receiving the 2012 fan vote for the second straight year.

NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
Here’s the segment winners first:
1- Kyle Busch
2- Jimmie Johnson
3- Jeff Gordon
4 – Tony Stewart

Starting in the top-4 spots of the 10-lap shootout for tonight’s million-dollar purse will be one Toyota and three Chevrolets. In the end, it will be Stewart claiming victory in the All-Star race. He was at Thursday night’s Pit Crew Challenge, and was disappointed when his Stewart-Haas Racing crew was knocked out of the competition in the semi-finals. The defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion is out for revenge tonight and will go home a million dollars richer when the checkered falls.

That’s all for this week, so until next week’s Monaco Grand Prix, Indy 500, and Coke 600…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

May 19, 2012
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Darlington

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

1. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished sixth at Darlington, posting his seventh top 10 of the year. He is second in the Sprint Cup point standings, and now trails leader Greg Biffle by two points.

“Once again,” Kenseth said, “the cowardly actions of Kurt Busch have overshadowed an exciting and historic night at Darlington. Bojangles picked the right race to sponsor. They’re a lot like Kurt Busch—they both specialize in ‘chicken.’”

2. Greg Biffle: Biffle started on the pole at Darlington, and dominated the first third of the race before handling issues arose due to changing track conditions. He maintained the lead in the points position and leads Matt Kenseth by two.

“I’ve held the points lead for a long time,” Biffle said. “And I plan on battling to keep it. Say what you will about me, but don’t compare me to Kurt Busch, because I won’t go down without a fight.”

3. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin led 56 laps in the Southern 500, and sped by Tony Stewart on the final restart to claim the runner-up spot to Jimmie Johnson. Hamlin held on to fourth in the point standings and is 17 behind Greg Biffle.

“I had my firesuit signed by the great Cale Yarborough,” Hamlin said. “Now I can say I’m just like Jimmie Johnson: I’ve got the name of a Sprint Cup champion on my suit.”

4. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson led a race-high 134 laps in the Southern 500 and controlled the final third of the race. After speeding away on the final restart, Johnson had his first win of the season, as well as Hendrick Motorsports’ 200^th win.

“In addition to giving Rick Hendrick his 200^th win,” Johnson said, “I also broke a 16-race winless streak with the victory. That’s called ‘killing two birds with one stone.’ This year, it seems I’m the only driver at Hendrick capable of ‘throwing’ a stone.”

5. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt finished 17^th at Darlington, his first finish outside the top 10 in seven races. He remained third in the Sprint Cup point standings, 14 out of first.

“Congratulations to all at Hendrick Motorsports on their 200^th win,” Earnhardt said. “I can call myself part of a winning team for the first time in years.”

6. Tony Stewart: Stewart battled back from clutch troubles to compete for the win at Darlington. But a sub par restart on the green-white-checkered finished relegated him to a solid third-place finish. He is seventh in the point standings, 42 out of first.

“Indeed,” Stewart said, “we had serious clutch problems. That pales in comparison to the plight of Carl Edwards. He experienced ‘clutch’ problems in all ten races of the Chase last year.

“I hear the teams of Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch had to be separated after the race. If I were feuding with Busch, everyone knows the only things needing separation would be my hand and Kurt’s face.”

7. Martin Truex, Jr.: After struggling at Richmond and Talladega, Truex rebounded with a fifth in the Bojangles’ Southern 500, posting his fourth top-5 result of the year. He is tied for fifth in the point standings, 39 out of first.

“Michael Waltrip said Darlington Raceway is probably the most intimidating track on the NASCAR circuit,” Truex said. “But hearing that said in Waltrip’s silky, effeminate voice quelled my trepidations. Michael puts the ‘lady’ in ‘Lady In Black.’

“’The Lady In Black’ wasn’t the only lady in Darlington. Danica Patrick was there. She’s ‘The Lady In Red,’ after finishing six laps in the hole.”

8. Kyle Busch: Busch recorded his third consecutive top-4 finish, posting a fourth at Darlington. After a slow start to the season, Busch is up to ninth in the point standings, where he trails Greg Biffle by 62.

“I may be the hottest driver in NASCAR right now,” Busch said, “but I doubt anyone’s aware of that. I know it seems impossible, but a Busch brother can do something quietly.

“My older and less-wiser brother Kurt was involved in a confrontation with Ryan Newman’s team after Kurt spun his tires through Newman’s pit stall.

Newman attributed Kurt’s actions to a ‘chemical imbalance.’ That’s an astute observation. Kurt often loses his balance, often after being slapped in the face.”

9. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished seventh in the Southern 500, earning his seventh top-10 result of the year. He is now 10^th in the point standings, 74 out of first.

“Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth are 1-2 in the point standings,” Edwards said, “while good old Cousin Carl well behind in seventh. I guess that makes me a ‘distant’ cousin.”

10. Kevin Harvick: Harvick was not a factor at Darlington, finishing 16^th in the Bojangles’ Southern 500. Harvick has only two top 10’s in the last five races, and hasn’t won since September of 2011.

“I don’t know who’s more ‘due,’” Harvick said. “Me or my wife. I just know I bitch less about it.

“In any case, Darlington is one tough track. Not only is it hard to drive there, it’s near impossible to get your hands on a Busch brother there as well. Whether they finish the race or not, the Kyle and Kurt are always classified in the race results as ‘running.’”

May 15, 2012
Surprising and Not Surprising: Darlington Bojangles Southern 500

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”224″][/media-credit]With the NASCAR moms getting the race started with the command, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 63^rd annual Bojangles’ Southern 500.

Surprising: Only one of three women to compete at historic Darlington, Danica Patrick achieved her goal of finishing the race.

And although the driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet finished 31^st, she surprisingly finished better than at least one veteran driver, Jeff Gordon, whose bad luck, this time tire trouble and mechanical failure, continued to plague him yet again.

“I know I didn’t have a great result, but I accomplished all the things I wanted to accomplish,” Patrick said. “My goals were to be respectable out there and I think I held my own all right.”

“I earned my stripes anyway.”

Not Surprising: As he took in the moment of celebrating his 200^th win with his driver Jimmie Johnson, it was no surprise that Mr. Hendrick twice paid tribute to those that were lost in the plane crash and who helped build the team to have achieved that milestone.

“I had to get away,” Hendrick said. “They said that we were going to make it (on fuel), but I don’t believe them, you know?”

“I’m kind of numb, but I’m glad it’s over,” Hendrick continued. “I think we’re going to win a few more now.”

In fact, Hendrick whispered that plan to the driver of the No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet in Victory Lane as he bear hugged him several times.

“You’ve got to love that man,” Johnson said of his boss Mr. H. “He said,’ Two hundred is great, but let’s go get 250.’ So, that tells you where his head is.”

“Oh, man, what a day,” Johnson said simply.

The 200^th victory for Hendrick Motorsports makes them only the second team, next to Petty Enterprises with 268 wins, to accomplish such a milestone.

Surprising: It was certainly surprising to see so few cautions at the beginning of the race on a track whose moniker is ‘Too Tough to Tame.’

In fact, the yellow flag did not fly for the first 172 laps in Bojangles’ Southern 500, allowing the drivers to make three green-flag pit stop cycles in that run.

Not Surprising: As is so often the case, it was not surprising that the last caution, late in the race to set up the green-white-checkered finish, set off some sparks.

The melee started when Kurt Busch, behind the wheel of the underfunded No. 51 Phoenix Construction Services Chevrolet hit the wall, which caused Ryan Newman, in the No. 39 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet, to not only check up but get turned into the wall by Aric Almirola, in his No. 43 Verifone Sail Ford.

After the race, Newman and Busch had a confrontation, as did some of their crew members. But all was resolved, especially after intervention by the NASCAR officials.

“It’s crazy,” Tony Gibson, Newman’s crew chief, said. “Things happen and everybody’s emotions run high.”

“It’s a hot night,” Gibson continued. “Everybody settled down and talked about it. We’re all good.”

Newman put it more simply, “It all went bad there at the end.”

Surprising: The Dodge team had a surprisingly rough night at the historic track, with both drivers encountering their own struggles. Brad Keselowski, in the Blue Deuce, battled back to score a 15^th place finish, while A.J. Allmendinger, in the battered No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge, finished 33^rd.

“I think we had a top-15 Dodge; I just tore it up early in the run,” Keselowski said. “I got loose and hit the wall pretty good.”

“We just struggled all night going from one extreme to the other, from so tight to just wicked loose,” Allmendinger said. “We could never find a happy medium.”

“The car was just a handful all night.”

Not Surprising: The Toyota drivers had a surprisingly good evening with the ‘Lady in Black’, especially since the majority of them scored in the top-10 finishing order. Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota, finished second to earn the status of highest-finishing Toyota driver.

Kyle Busch, in the No. 18 Wrigley’s Doublemint Toyota, finished fourth with Martin Truex, Jr., in the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, in fifth. The driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota, Joey Logano, rounded out the top-ten for the manufacturer.

“It was a good day for our Sport Clips Toyota,” Hamlin said. “We just didn’t have quite the winning car today.”

“We wanted to win the Southern 500, but second isn’t too bad.”

Surprising: Tony Stewart, reigning Champion, surprisingly still has not tamed that Darlington track, which is one of two where Smoke has not won. The driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet came close, however, scoring a hard-fought third place finish, his best ever at the storied 1.366 mile oval.

As with several drivers, Stewart battled fuel mileage at the end. But he had the added complexity of a clutch problem as well, making re-starts a challenge.

“I broke the clutch with about 85 (laps) to go there,” Stewart said. “And the fuel pressure light was blinking when we got the one-to-go signal.”

“We just got better as the night went on,” Smoke continued. “We weren’t good enough to win the race but I’m still pretty happy to come out of here with a third tonight.”

Not Surprising: The Fords ran steady and consistent at Darlington, to no one’s surprise especially with the Ford of Greg Biffle scoring the pole for the evening. Matt Kenseth’s No. 17 Zestfully Clean Ford, finished sixth, with Carl Edwards, in the No. 99 EcoBoost Ford, finishing 7^th.

Marcos Ambrose, in his No. 9 DeWalt Ford, overcame adversity and damage to finish 9^th and pole sitter Biffle brought his No. 16 Ford to the checkered flag in the 12^th spot.

Although the good run of team Blue Oval is not surprising, Marcos Ambrose’ post-race comments were most surprising. When asked where he came from after being two laps down to finish top-ten, the Aussie said, “I came from Mars.”

“At Lap 200, I was about ready to hang myself and by Lap 260, I was ready to go to the front and show the boys what I had.”

“I re-entered orbit around Lap 260 and the last 80 laps were a lot of fun.”

“Our team didn’t give up.” Ambrose said. “It was just a good night for us.”

May 13, 2012