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  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Martinsville Goody’s Fast Relief 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Martinsville Goody’s Fast Relief 500

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]At a track where short-track tempers mix with history and old time racing, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 63rd running of the Goody’s Fast relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

    Surprising:  After appearing that Rick Hendrick would surely get his 200th win with Jeff Gordon dominating the race and his HMS teammates Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. nipping at his heels, it was surprising that a Hendrick-powered race car, instead of a Hendrick driver, tooled to Victory Lane.

    Ryan Newman, behind the wheel of the No. 39 Outback Steakhouse Chevrolet, survived a green, white, checkered melee to score his first victory of the season. This was also Newman’s first victory and 11th top-10 finish in 21 races at Martinsville Speedway.

    “The first green, white, checkered, I told the guys on the radio that I wasn’t sure I could win it,” Newman said. “It was an awesome finish. Circumstances put us in the right position.”

    “I really need to thank Hendrick for their support of the engines this year.”

    Not Surprising:  Although the race featured the fewest caution periods, just seven, since September 1996, the race was the longest in Martinsville history, with 515 laps and 270.89 miles run because of the green, white checkered finish.

    Surprising:  It was a bit surprising to hear a nurse credited for a second place race finish. Yet in spite of spending time in the infield care center before the race, the driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge A.J. Allmendinger scored his career best finish at Martinsville.

    When asked how he managed to finish second, ‘Dinger said, “The medical nurses to begin with, because I felt horrible this morning, just been sick.”

    “I just kept fighting,” Allmendinger said. “I don’t know if I had a second-place Charger, but you’ve got to put yourself in position to do that.”

    “I’d like to have got the win, but it was a good day.”

    Not Surprising:  Fan favorite Dale Earnhardt, Jr. pulled off another solid race day, finishing third in his No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, as well as taking over the second spot in points, just six behind leader Greg Biffle.

    And much to the delight of the crowd, Junior even led a few laps as he posted his 14th top-10 finish in 25 races at Martinsville.

    “Yeah, I’m real happy with our finish,” Junior said. “We worked really hard all day to get the best finish we could.”

    “This is our first race with AMP on the hood and we’re proud to have a good finish for those guys.”

    Surprising:  Fords, a manufacturer that traditionally struggles in comparison to Chevrolets at Martinsville Speedway, had a surprisingly good day. The highest finishing Ford was the No. 17 Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation/Gary Sinise Foundation Ford piloted by Matt Kenseth.

    “We were pretty good,” Kenseth said. “We weren’t as good as those Hendrick Chevrolets cars but for us at Martinsville, it was pretty good.”

    “We came home in the top-10 at Martinsville and to not have anybody mad and not be mad at anybody is probably a pretty good day.”

    Not Surprising:   While Kenseth got away without anger issues, tempers flared for a few other drivers, notably Jeff Gordon, who was upset with Clint Bowyer, and most of the field who were furious at David Reutimann.

    The driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, Jeff Gordon, was pretty peeved at Clint Bowyer, behind the wheel of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, for dive bombing and wrecking him in the last laps of the race.

    “Clint and I are friends and I have a lot of respect for him, but I was pretty mad at him,” Gordon said. “I didn’t get the best restart and he said he got hit from behind.”

    “I had nowhere to go,” Gordon said. “That’s just the way our year has been going.”

    But the driver who scored highest for the number of drivers made angry was none other than David Reutimann, behind the wheel of the No. 10 Accell Construction Chevrolet. Rooty raised the ire of many drivers for not pitting after being black-flagged for mechanical problems and stopping dead on the race track.

    “I was trying to limp around to stay in the top 35,” Reutimann said. “The motor just quit.”

    “I didn’t stop there intentionally,” Reutimann continued. “I know it sucks and I hate it for everyone affected.”

    “I hate that I was involved with anything that changed the complexion of the race.”

    Surprising:  After scoring the pole position, it was surprising that the curse on Kasey Kahne continued. The driver of the No. 5 Hedrickcars.com Chevrolet again had engine woes and finished a miserable 38th.

    Not Surprising: While Kahne continues to struggle with his seemingly cursed season, it was not surprising to see the Busch brothers struggle at Martinsville. Both Kurt, driving the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Services, and brother Kyle, behind the wheel of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota, had mechanical issues that plagued their day.

    Kyle Busch finished 36th while his brother Kurt soldiered on to a 33rd place finish.

    “We got a little behind because the car was just too loose,” Dave Rogers, Kyle Busch’s crew chief said. “Kyle was doing a great job at hanging onto it and it wheel-hopped a little bit and we got into the fence.”

    Surprising:  Martin Truex, Jr. continued to surprise, this time with a good run at Martinsville. The driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota scored another top-5 finish.

    “This feels great,” Truex said. “We backed into that one a little bit with those guys getting tangled up front.”

    “This is probably my worst race track and to come out of here with a fifth place finish – I’m pretty proud of that.”

    Not Surprising:  The driver of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion not surprisingly planned to celebrate his maintenance of the points lead by heading out for Easter vacation.

    “It feels good to go on vacation being the points leader,” Greg Biffle said. “Leaving here on top feels good because this is a tough place for us and we came here and ran respectable.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Auto Club 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Auto Club 400

    [media-credit name=”Simon Scoggins” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]While sunny during pre-race activities, weather came in and played a prominent role at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 16th annual, but first ever rain-shortened, running of the Auto Club 400.

    Surprising:  While the race was caution free until the predicted rain appeared, the most surprising issue, other than weather, affecting the racing was that of problems on pit road. Even with the shortened number of laps run, there were five pit road speeding penalties, including Regan Smith, Joey Logano, Bobby Labonte, Brad Keselowski, and J.J. Yeley.

    Other penalties were doled out to Jamie McMurray, driver of the No. 1 Bass Pro Shop/Allstate Chevrolet for a lug nut violation and Matt Kenseth, behind the wheel of the No. 17 Ford EcoBoost Ford, who had to go to the tail end due to a team member not being in contact with the outside tires.

    The most costly errors on pit road, however, occurred for four-time champion Jeff Gordon and his No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet crew. Gordon had two penalties; one on lap 107 for removing equipment, including the gas can man himself, from the pit stall and the second one on lap 126 for a tire rolling beyond the center of pit road.

    “It was just not our day on pit road,” Gordon said simply.

    Not Surprising: It was not surprising that the reigning champ proved that age 40 is just about the perfect time to peak in NASCAR racing.

    Tony Stewart, behind the wheel of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, scored his 46th victory, tying Buck Baker for 14th on the all-time Cup Series win list.

    This was Smoke’s second victory in the first five races of the 2012 season. This was his second victory and 12th top-10 finish in 21 races at Auto Club Speedway.

    “I mean you hate to have them end with rain like that,” Stewart said. “But I’ve lost some that way. The good thing is we didn’t back into the lead because we stayed out, the leaders came in.”

    “I mean, we were leading the thing and had earned that spot,” Stewart continued. “I’m proud of that.”

    Surprising:  Usually somewhat morose after a race, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. surprisingly deemed himself “pretty happy.” The driver of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet finished third in the race and moved up to third in the point standings as well.

    This was Junior’s fifth top-10 finish in 20 races at Auto Club Speedway.

    “We had a really good car,” Dale Junior said. “I was really happy about that.”

    “We drove the car up to fifth before the weather came,” Junior continued. “We made the right choice by staying out and building ourselves into the top three.”

    Not Surprising:  On a day when the driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota led laps, clipped the wall, and then had to work his way back up front, it was not surprising to see Kyle Busch score the runner up spot.

    This was Busch’s 10th top-10 finish in 15 races at the Fontana track. It was also his second top-10 finish in the 2012 season.

    ‘I wish we would have been able to race the whole thing on one hand, but on the other hand I’m kind of glad we’re not because we kind of had a little bit of damage that slowed us down there,” Busch said. “All in all, it was a really good day.”

    Surprising:  It was a bit surprising that the driver who not only finished sixth in the race, but kept the points lead too, just was not all that pleased at the end of the race festivities.

    “I like this track but the last few times here, we’ve been off just a tick,” Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Ford, said. “Today, I didn’t keep up with the track.”

    “I was a little bit too tight.”

    Not Surprising:   As so often happens, it was not surprising that the pole sitter did not win the race. In this case, pole sitter Denny Hamlin was well positioned to do so, however, pitted prior to the rain, which relegated him to an 11th place finish.

    “We were planning on the race going back to green,” the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota said. “We had finally gotten to Stewart’s bumper when the rain came.”

    Surprising:  Granted, the race was rain-shortened, however, it was still surprising to see Kurt Busch in his new No. 51 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet score a top-10 finish, the best of the season for both the driver and his team.

    “This just goes to show what results when you are smart all day,” Busch said. “The car’s going back onto the trailer without a scratch on it.”

    “That’s a first for us this year.”

    Not Surprising:  Martin Truex, Jr., to no one’s surprise, continued flying the flag for Michael Waltrip Racing with another good run. The driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota finished eighth and is now sixth in the point standings.

    “Overall, it was a decent day,” Truex, Jr. said. “This place was really tough on us last year.”

    “It’s nice to come in here and have a decent run – something we can build on.”

    Surprising:  It was a bit surprising that the driver known as ‘The Closer’ did not seal the deal at the Auto Club Speedway. The driver of the No. 29 Jimmie John’s Gourmet Sandwiches Chevrolet finished fourth and is just seven points behind the points leader in the standings.

    “All in all, the guys on the Jimmy John’s Chevrolet did a pretty good job,” Harvick said. “We will just keep working away.”

    Not Surprising:  Jimmie Johnson, not surprisingly, seems to be well on his way to living up to his Twitter moniker of ‘Six Pack.’ After a successful appeal that restored his points and kept his crew and car chiefs intact, Johnson survived an oil leak to finish top-10 in the No. 48 Lowe’s/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet.

    “Something happened and we developed an oil leak,” Chad Knaus, Johnson’s crew chief, said. “But the Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevy ran well today.”

    “We were really happy with the performance.”

     

  • Auto Club 400 Review: Stewart Smokes The Competition Once Again

    Auto Club 400 Review: Stewart Smokes The Competition Once Again

    [media-credit name=”Simon Scoggins” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]2011 champion Tony Stewart led twice for 42 laps in the Auto Club 400(or should we say Auto Club 322?) and went on to win his second race of the season in California. After raindrops started to hit the track on Lap 124, Stewart, who was leading the race at the time, faked a move toward pit road to play with the competition’s pit strategy. He stayed on track just before the commitment cone, giving him the lead when NASCAR called the rain delayed race on Lap 129.

    Stewart has moved three positions in points standings and is now in fourth position, 18 points behind the leader. This is Stewart’s second win at Fontana and his 46th career win, tying him with Buck Baker for 14th on the career victory list.

    It is quite an accomplishment for a driver to win seven times in the last 15 races, and that is exactly what Stewart has done. Typically Stewart isn’t much of a contender in the first half of the season, but this season the veteran is taking off like a rocket. In the first five races of the 2011 season, Stewart only scored one top five finish and didn’t win his first race until the 27th race of the season, the first race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

    Greg Biffle Remains The Points Leader

    Greg Biffle may have flown under the radar at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday, but he still flies high on top of the points standings so far this season. Biffle qualified his 3M Ford Fusion in fourth position and rode in the Top 10 for most of the race.  Biffle now has four top-10 finishes in five races so far this season. Biffle’s consistency this season is sure to put him in victory lane. Biffle’s last win was at Kansas Speedway in October of 2010.

    As for the rest of his Roush Fenway Racing team, Carl Edwards finished in fifth position, his second top five of the season. Edwards gained three spots in the standings to rest in 12th position. Matt Kenseth finished in 13th position and dropped two positions in points to reside in fifth.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr Continues Consistency; Unlikely Finishes for Rest of HMS

    Dale Earnhardt Jr has been at the top of the leader board this season and continued his consistency with a third place finish in the Auto Club 400. Earnhardt was running in fifth position when caution for rain came out on Lap 123. This allowed him to pick up two spots when two cars ahead of him pitted under the caution. Earnhardt has finished in 15thposition or better so far this season, including two top five finishes. He is currently third in points, after gaining three positions with his top five finish in Fontana.

    The rest of Earnhardt’s Hendrick Motorsports team didn’t suffice as well as he did. While running in fourth position under caution on Lap 129 , Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet began leaking oil from the rear of his car. Thanks to the caution and rain shortened race, Johnson was able to limp around the track on the apron and finish in 10th position.

    All Kasey Kahne needed at the Auto Club Speedway was to finish the race in a conservative fashion. He did just that, finishing in 15th position, his best finish of the season. Before the race at Fontana, Kahne was 34th in owner points. After the race, he has moved himself up to 26th position and gave himself some breathing room heading to Martinsville next weekend, where the owner points will be reset.

    Jeff Gordon had a miserable day after suffering two pit road penalties, moving him from the top five all the way back to 26thposition. His first penalty of the race came on Lap 107 for equipment leaving the pit stall; Equipment being the gas can, along with his gas man. The final blow of the day came on Lap 126 when the team had a tire roll outside of the pit box.

    Who Will Win At Martinsville Speedway?

    Next weekend we head to the short track of Martinsville Speedway, known for it’s hot dogs and most importantly the grandfather clock trophy awarded to the winner of every race. Hometown boy Denny Hamlin knows how to get around the place, with four Cup wins at this track. However, teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon always fair well here with 13 wins between the both of them. As always, you can’t count out Tony Stewart who won the last race here in October and has won at Martinsville three times in his career.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Kobalt Tools 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Kobalt Tools 400

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”259″][/media-credit]Under a gloriously sunny sky and with an amazing flyover complements of the United States Air Force Thunderbirds, the green flag flew on the Kobalt Tools 400. Here is what was surprising and not surprising from Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

    Surprising:  Since the reigning champ is primarily known for heating up over the summer or in the Chase, it was surprising to see Tony Stewart capture the checkered flag this early in the season.

    This was also Smoke’s first ever win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a track that he felt definitely owed him one after a pit miscue cost him the victory last year.

    “I don’t know that it’s important this early but we only get one shot at Vegas,” the driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet said. “It was real hard leaving here last year. It’s nice to come here and have a car that was bad to the bone.”

    It was also surprising that Steve Addington, Stewart’s new crew chief, won his first ever Cup race with a driver not named Busch. And although known for his calm, relaxed nature, Addington definitely felt the pressure of calling the race on his shoulders.

    “I take it very personal every time that car goes on the race track,” Addington said. “I felt a ton of pressure on myself to get a win and I’m glad that’s under our belt.”

    “The stars lined up and we won this race at Vegas.”

    Not Surprising:  With the penalty appeal scheduled to be heard during the upcoming week, it was not surprising to see Jimmie Johnson attempt to get the best finish and most points possible. The driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet scored the runner up spot in the race bearing his sponsor’s name.

    Johnson had an eventful race weekend, crashing in the first lap of final practice, as well as having to go to the rear of the field in a backup car for the start of the race. So, although he wanted the win, he seemed satisfied with his second place run.

    “Tony could just get through the gears better,” Johnson said of his final run with Smoke. “With everything we went through this weekend, I’ll take it.”

    Surprising:  Greg Biffle, behind the wheel of the No. 16 3M/Meguiars Ford, scored his third third place finish of the season. But even more surprising, the Biff is now the official points leader, with the chance to be the only driver to win a championship in all three of NASCAR’s top tier series.

    “It certainly has started off to be a good season for us so far,” Biffle said. “We’re super excited about it but there again, we want to win like the 14 car did today so we’re going to keep our heads down and keep working hard.”

    Not Surprising:  With one half of the Stewart-Haas Race team in Victory Lane, it was no surprise that his teammate would not be far behind. Ryan Newman, in his No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet for SHR, scored a top-5 finish as well.

    “It was a hard fought day,” Newman said. “We struggled a bit in the pits but we got lucky on the last restart. It was an awesome day for Stewart-Haas.”

    Surprising:  As good as Jimmie Johnson was for Hendrick Motorsports, it was surprising to see four-time champion Jeff Gordon struggle so mightily. Gordon fought tight conditions most of the race, complaining that his car was plowing mightily.

    Gordon did manage to bring his anniversary celebrating No. 24 Dupont 20 Years Chevrolet home in the twelfth position.

    “Well, we weren’t very good,” Alan Gustafson, Gordon’s crew chief, said simply. “We struggled but we ended up with an okay finish. Sometimes you have to do that and we did it.”

    “You’re never happy with 12th, but there was a point in time during the day when I would have been happy to finish 20th,” Gustafson continued. “So, it was okay.”

    Not Surprising:   In spite of the fact that the two are teammates, it was not surprising to see sparks fly yet again between the Roushketeers Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards. The two tangled on the restart in the waning laps of the race.

    Carl Edwards, in the No. 99 Alfac Ford, saw it this way.

    “Matt spun his tires just a little bit on the restart and I went down to the apron,” Edwards said. “He gave me a ton of room but we just got all bunched up over there.”

    Kenseth, behind the wheel of the brightly colored No. 17 Zest Ford, just seemed confused by it all.

    “I honestly don’t really know what happened,” Kenseth said. “Carl just laid back and got by me three-wide and then it just didn’t seem like there was a lot of room getting into turn one.”

    “And then I did get clear behind him and he just stopped in the middle of the corner.”

    Edwards was able to finish well in the fifth position, while Kenseth finished 22nd in contrast.

    Surprising:  With their driver under the weather, it was surprising to see the No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet score an eighth place finish.

    “Jamie (McMurray) showed up this morning and he was sick,” crew chief Kevin ‘Bono’ Manion, said “For him to come through like he did for us today was really big.”

    “Going into this race, we felt really strong about our McDonald’s Chevrolet,” Manion continued. “All in all, it was a good day.”

    Not Surprising:  In spite of leading more laps than he did all last season and scoring a top-10 finish, it was not surprising to find a frustrated Dale Earnhardt, Jr. at the end of the race.

    “I think we should have run better than that,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet said. “We are just a little bit disappointed.”

    “We were fast and I knew before the end of the race we were going to have to free my car up and I never let Steve (Letarte) do it,” Junior said. “It was more my fault than anything really. I didn’t give him enough information I guess.”

    Surprising:  Fresh faced youngster Trevor Bayne had a surprisingly good run in his No. 21 Motorcaft/Quick Lane Ford for the famed Wood Brothers.

    “A top-10 feels like a win to us,” Bayne said simply. “We hadn’t had a top-10 since Daytona and it feels good to be back at it.”

    Not Surprising:  Unfortunately, it was not surprising that the Dodges again struggled early in this 2012 season. Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, finished 32nd and his teammate AJ Allmendinger fared even worse, finishing 37th in his No. 22 Pennzoil Dodge.

    “We had a pretty decent Dodge Charger and we were going to give Tony a run for his money,” Keselowski said. “The fuel pump broke. It just wasn’t meant to be.”

    “Man, this is not the start to the season any of us were expecting,” Allmendinger said. “Just when I knew we could make something solid, we started having fuel pressure issues.”

    “We came into the garage and changed some things,” ‘Dinger continued. “My guys busted their butts but we’re not sure yet what the cause was.”

    “But you know the guys back at the Penske shop will figure it out.”

  • Tony Stewart Smokes The Competition in Las Vegas

    Tony Stewart Smokes The Competition in Las Vegas

    [media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]Last year, Stewart dominated and came close to winning, but found himself at the bad end of a penalty late in the race. This year, he dominated once again and was able to close the deal, holding Jimmie Johnson off coming to the checkered flag.

    “I don’t know if we had the dominate car today, but we were so strong on the restarts,” he says. “I had to go. I knew that when Matt and Greg had better tires than us, I knew we’d be able to hold them off for a little bit. I didn’t know we could hold them off till the end.”

    The win marks the first for Stewart at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, now leaving him with only two tracks on NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule he hasn’t won at – Darlington and Kentucky. It also marks the first win for Stewart with new crew chief Steve Addington.

    “We talked three times before the race,” Stewart says of Addington. “He is very thorough with us, he explains the changes, he wants your input. He’s been very good at getting to know these guys.”

    Addington says that for him, it allowed him to take a lot of pressure off of himself.

    “He kept telling me to relax and have fun and we’re going to win our races,” he says. “But I take it very personal every time that race goes on the track. I put more on than I thought I would with them winning the championship, for me. Everybody at Stewart-Haas has been great, doing what I asked, asking me what I wanted done. It’s just been about me putting pressure on myself.”

    With 34 laps to go, Stewart made a daring three-wide pass on the restart to get by Brad Keselowski and take the lead. Stewart would lose the lead after coming down pit road for a splash of gas, but was able to get the lead back with on a later restart with 17 laps to go. He never looked back, holding on to the lead through the final two restarts.

    “That’s what made today special,” he says. “We didn’t have to hold off the challenge once; we had to hold them off multiple times. It makes me feel like I’ve earned my keep.”

    Jimmie Johnson came home second after having to start at the back of the field with a back-up car due to a wreck in practice.

    “With everything we went through this weekend, we’ll take it,” he says. “But man, I want to win. We had a little more speed, but tony could get away on the restarts and through the gears. We’ll have to see what we’re doing, what I’m doing wrong.”

    Greg Biffle would score a third place finish after making his way through the Roush-Fenway scramble on the backstretch after the restart. On the restart, Matt Kenseth spun the tires, which caused Carl Edwards to make a move on the inside of Matt on the apron to make it three wide. The group made it through turn one, before Kenseth made contact with Kasey Kahne, causing him to get into the wall.

    “I just got down in there, Carl was on the top digging,” Biffle says. “I was just trying to ease up, giving him room – I didn’t see what happened back there.”

    “Matt spun his tires just a little bit on the restart,” Edwards explains. “I went down on the apron, he gave us a lot of room. We just got all bunched up back there.”

    “Carl just laid back and got by me three-wide,” Kenseth says. “They got by me through the middle of the corner and then they just got up in front of me and stopped.”

    Ryan Newman finished fourth, followed by Edwards. Clint Bowyer finished sixth, followed by Paul Menard, Jamie McMurray and Trevor Bayne. Dale Earnhardt Jr. would round out of top 10 after leading the first 40 laps of the race.

    “The racecar was really tight,” Earnhardt Jr. says. “I knew by the end of the race, it was going to be a really, really tight race track and we needed to free the car up. I didn’t give Stevie enough information throughout the day to tell him how tight it was. I didn’t keep up my end and gave up a lot of spots at the end of the race.”

    Pole sitter Kasey Kahne finished 19th after struggling with the handling of the car during the second half of the race.

    Greg Biffle now leads the points, 10 points over Kevin Harvick. Denny Hamlin sits third in points, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth.

    Unofficial Race Results
    Kobalt Tools 400, Las Vegas Motor Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=3
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 – 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 48
    2 – 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 43
    3 – 16 Greg Biffle Ford 42
    4 – 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 40
    5 – 99 Carl Edwards Ford 39
    6 – 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 39
    7 – 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 37
    8 – 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 36
    9 – 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 0
    10 – 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 35
    11 – 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 34
    12 – 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 33
    13 – 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 31
    14 – 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 30
    15 – 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 29
    16 – 20 Joey Logano Toyota 28
    17 – 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 27
    18 – 55 Mark Martin Toyota 26
    19 – 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 25
    20 – 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 24
    21 – 34 David Ragan Ford 24
    22 – 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 23
    23 – 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 21
    24 – 43 Aric Almirola Ford 20
    25 – 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 19
    26 – 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 18
    27 – 13 Casey Mears Ford 17
    28 – 30 David Stremme Toyota 16
    29 – 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 15
    30 – 32 Ken Schrader Ford 14
    31 – 10 David Reutimann Chevrolet 13
    32 – 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 13
    33 – 38 David Gilliland Ford 11
    34 – 33 Brendan Gaughan Chevrolet 10
    35 – 51 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 9
    36 – 83 Landon Cassill Toyota 8
    37 – 22 A.J. Allmendinger Dodge 8
    38 – 98 Michael McDowell Ford 6
    39 – 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 5
    40 – 26 Josh Wise * Ford 4
    41 – 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0
    42 – 37 Timmy Hill* Ford 2
    43 – 249 J.J. Yeley Toyota 1
  • Daytona 500 Review: The Good, The Bad, and The Jet Dryer

    Daytona 500 Review: The Good, The Bad, and The Jet Dryer

    The 2012 Daytona 500 is one that will go down in history as being the longest and most bizarre races of all time. The race was post-poned on two occasions due to a downpour of rain. The race was originally scheduled to start at 1pm est. on Sunday, but was rescheduled for noon on Monday. When the rain continued to flood Daytona the following day, NASCAR was forced to post-pone the race again until 7pm est. Monday night. An estimated 140,000 fans showed up for the event and got their monies worth.

    The Good

    Matt Kenseth Excels in Daytona: Matt Kenseth started out the season with a bang, winning the second Gatorade Duel race and qualifying in fourth position for the Daytona 500. He led the race two times throughout the night for 50 laps total, but most importantly led the last lap to take his second win in the Great American Race. The 2012 season marks the 25th anniversary for Roush Fenway Racing and Kenseth’s win gave RFR their 300th career win.

    Denny Hamlin is back: After a rough and rocky ending to the 2011 season, Denny Hamlin was ready to close the book and start the 2012 season with a fresh outlook. He began that outlook with a new championship winning crew chief, Darian Grubb. They started speedweeks off well, finishing in 5th position in the Bud Shootout. The FedEx Toyota qualified in the 37th position for the Daytona 500, but quickly made that up, going on to lead the race. Hamlin led for 57 laps, earning the 3M Lap Leader award of the race. He also won the USG Improving The Finish award for gaining 27 positions, the most gained during the race. Overall, the No. 11 team finished the race in fourth position.

    Greg Biffle exceeds expectations: After a win-less 2011 season and a disappointing 16th place finish in the championship standings, Greg Biffle was at the top of the leader board at Daytona. He started out speedweeks finishing in sixth position in the Bud Shootout and qualifying on the outside pole for the Daytona 500, along-side his teammate Carl Edwards. He led the race on eight different occasions for a total of 44 laps. On the last lap, while running second, he was passed by Dale Earnhardt Jr to bring home a third place finish in the Great American Race.

    The Bad

    Danica Patrick has rocky NASCAR start:IndyCar turned NASCAR star Danica Patrick did not have her entrance to the Cup series go as planned. I think the media was more saddened over this than Patrick herself. Patrick started the race in the 29th position after taking a hard crash in the Gatorade Duels. The Daytona 500 wasn’t much better for the rookie after being a victim of someone else’s wreck on the second lap of the race. The No. 7 Go Daddy team was able to repair the car and get her back out on the track to finish in 38th position.[media-credit name=”Tom Pennington/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”274″][/media-credit]

    Jimmie Johnson starts the season on a sour note: Jimmie Johnson’s Daytona experience was an overall unsuccessful week. On February 17th, the No. 48 car failed initial inspection, resulting in NASCAR confiscating the C-pillars on the car. In the Bud Shootout he was caught up in a late race multi-car incident, leaving him to finish in 14th position. After being involved in a crash on Lap 2 of the Daytona 500, Johnson came home with a 42nd place finish. Unfortunately, the disappointment continued after leaving Daytona.

    NASCAR announced Wednesday that the No. 48 team was in violation of Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4J (any determination by NASCAR officials that race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules detailed in Section 20 of the rule book or has not been approved by NASCAR prior to the event); and 20-2.1E (if in the judgment of NASCAR officials, any part or component of the car not previously approved by NASCAR that has been installed or modified to enhance aerodynamic performance will not be permitted — unapproved car body modifications).

    Crew chief Chad Knaus and car chief Ron Malec are suspended for the next six Sprint Cup Series championship events and have been placed on NASCAR probation until May 9th. Knaus was also fined $100,000. Johnson and car owner Jeff Gordon have been penalized with the loss of 25 driver and owner points, respectively. As a result of the penalty, Johnson is now 23 points in the negative after earning just two points with his 42nd place finish in the Daytona 500. The team will appeal the penalty, allowing Knaus and Malec to attend the race at Phoenix this weekend.

    And, The Jet Dryer

    With 40 laps remaining in the Daytona 500, the race took a very unexpected turn. While under caution, a suspension piece on Juan Pablo Montoya’s No. 42 car broke, causing the car’s brakes to lock up. This sent Montoya spinning and crashing violently into a jet dryer truck that was on the race track. Jet dryer trucks carry an estimated 200 gallons of jet fuel, which caused a fiery explosion immediately upon impact.

    Thankfully both Montoya and the driver of the truck walked away from the incident without any major injuries. The fire from the incident took several long, frightening minutes to contain. NASCAR used Tide laundry detergent to clean the spilled fuel off of the track surface. Fans were then again forced to sit through a two hour red flag period waiting for the track to be cleaned. During the red flag, drivers were parked on the backstretch, providing the fans with a bird’s eye view of their favorite driver.

    In finishing the Daytona 500 around one o’clock in the morning, NASCAR teams had their week cut short in preparation for the next race. Teams will head to Phoenix International Raceway this weekend and leave the madness of Daytona in their rear-view mirror.

  • The Only Thing Missing from the Daytona 500 was the Locusts

    The Only Thing Missing from the Daytona 500 was the Locusts

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”286″][/media-credit]There was something in the air on Sunday that you just kind of knew that NASCAR had once again been beaten by its arch nemesis Mother Nature. The monsoons like rains were unrelenting and the track was being to resemble the Everglades more than NASCAR’s crown jewel Daytona International Speedway. But what was to come no one could have possibly predicted.

    History was made during this years Daytona 500. It was a foregone conclusion that history was going to be made regardless of who won when NASCAR vice president Mike Helton announced that the Daytona 500 would be run during prime time on Monday evening. Fox broadcasting was in. All of its affiliates and stations would broadcast the rain delayed season opener during its most expensive broadcast time frame. Starting at 7PM EST and running to its conclusion. It would be the wee hours of Tuesday morning before the sport would crown its Daytona champion for 2012. But it was all that happened in between the start and finish that would make it memorable.

    The anticipation on the starting grid was thick you could almost cut it with a knife. 43 of the best stock car drivers in the world had waited 36 hours to get the Daytona 500 underway. They were ready to race. They were under the lights. They were in prime time. The pressure of the 500 is normally pretty high but this made it more so.

    The classic under the lights phenomenon took place early on. The cool night temperatures and the lights take us back to our roots of Saturday night racing and always bring a more aggressive driver to the track. That aggression showed it’s head on the second lap of the race in the form of a multi-car pile up that took out 5 time Jimmie Johnson and involved the sports new star Danica Patrick.

    Patrick who was a victim of other people’s crashes in every race that she ran at Daytona sat patiently and dejectedly in her mangled car while crew chief Greg Zipadelli and team made the extensive repairs to get her back on the track. Many of her detractors pointed fingers and said see she can’t drive. However, the truth was light years from that. The truth was that she showed the guts and tenacity of her muse the honey badger. She refused to quit. Even when she had made up as many spots as possible and was given the option of parking the severely injured Go Daddy Chevrolet she persevered. At the end of the 6 hour race she exited her car pale and obviously exhausted with a smile and the patience to answer the mass of media’s questions. Her skill set is lacking yes. But so is the skill set of every other rookie who has ever driven a cup car at Daytona including names like Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Rusty Wallace, Ken Schrader and yes even Richard Petty. She showed however, that she has the tenacity to acquire the skill set with help from her team and teammates.

    The racing calmed down for many laps with the Roush boys showing the way for most of the race. There were some blown engines due to anomalies that couldn’t be explained completely but were attributed to the rain delay and the moisture’s effect on the gauges, including 4 time champion Jeff Gordon whose Hendrick Motorsports AARP Chevy expired very early on.

    The next real excitement would come for the $200,000 half way bonus. The pack surged, positions were traded wholesale and from the middle of the pack a long shot emerged and with help from Greg Biffle’s Ford, Martin Truex Jr would claim the big half way pay day.

    But the biggest and strangest event of the night was triggered when the yellow flew with 40 laps to go. Juan Pablo Montoya knew he had a problem. The car was vibrating violently in every gear. But he had no warning when the car suddenly snapped to the right and into a truck drawn jet blower and then slide to the bottom of the track. The driver of the jet blower and Juan Pablo Montoya were not injured. But the grand jewel of NASCAR was not so lucky. 200 gallons of jet fuel and diesel ignited out of the third turn setting the track all the way to the grass and including the safer barrier on fire. The spectacular fire could be seen for miles in the night sky.

    The red flag found drivers racing for the porta johns and Brad Keselowski tweeting the activity to world on his phone. The 2 hour delay pushed the Daytona 500 into the wee hours of the morning Tuesday.

    The damage to the track was minimal and patched and the cars again fired to take the green. The race would see more cautions including the final which would collect current champion Tony Stewart. Stewart would restart the race on a Green White Checker deep in the pack with a car whose tow was out 2 to 3 inches according to radio communications with crew chief Steve Addington. Stewart would finish a disappointing 16th on the lead lap and moving through towards the front.

    The race win would go to Matt Kenseth in the Best Buy Ford. Kenseth would hold off the tandem of Greg Biffle and Dale Earnhardt Jr for the win. Earnhardt Jr would make a last turn pass and run to take second.

    One would think that all the strangeness that could possibly effect a race would be done, especially since the checkered flag had flown and the winner had been crowned. But not so in this case, within an hour of the finish of the race the track was enveloped in a thick dense fog that shut down the airport and prevented drivers and teams from leaving the track until Tuesday morning.

    Today, many are talking about the jet dryer crash and TV ratings are the highest for any race in Fox Broadcast history. They are talking about Brad Keselowski’s tweeting during the red flag. NASCAR says that he broke no rules and there will be no fines. They are talking about the fact that Greg Biffle could not advance on Matt Kenseth in the final two laps of the races even with a pusher. Some say he was protecting Kenseth’s win. Some say he found the new catch in the aero package two cars are no longer faster than one or the pack. Some are talking about Danica’s Daytona Fizzle. Frankly, those folks are just wrong. Danica’s misfortunes were not of her own making and she showed a great deal of skill and tenacity. The one thing that no one is talking about this year is a boring race, because this may very well have been the most memorable Daytona 500 in history.

    Congratulations to Matt Kenseth on his Daytona 500 victory. It was well deserved.

    Kudos to Dale Earnhardt Jr and his 88 team on an incredible run it is an incredible start to what promises to be an even better year.

    Kudos to Tony Stewart and his Office Depot team for pushing the envelope to the max with a car that would have been near impossible to drive for some.

    Kudos to Denny Hamlin for showing the strongest and most dedicated performance all night only to come up a little bit short at the very end.

    Congratulations to James Beuscher on his NNS win. And to John King on his NCWTS win.

    That said, to all the competitors in all the series thanks for giving us everything you have to give, you are our heroes. Most importantly, thanks to all the families who shared their loved ones with us so we could cheer our favorite driver and favorite teams. You are the true heroes of the sport and we are forever in your debt.

  • Matt Kenseth Wins Daytona 500 After Rain and Fire

    Matt Kenseth Wins Daytona 500 After Rain and Fire

    [media-credit name=”Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]NASCAR fans have seen strange things happen before – animals on the track, a rolling plastic inflated orange – but after this weekend at Daytona International Speedway, it certainly takes the cake.

    The race was supposed to begin on Sunday afternoon, however was delayed due to rain. The weather caused NASCAR to postpone the race till 7pm on Monday night, making it the first Daytona 500 to be started on a non-scheduled day and the first primetime 500. This wouldn’t be the end of the chaos, as during the race, a broken part on Juan Pablo Montoya’s racecar would cause him to crash into a jetdryer, setting it on fire.

    After all the craziness and on Day 3 of the Daytona 500 (early Tuesday morning), Matt Kenseth came home victorious for his second Daytona 500 victory.

    “We had a lot of problems – we had the engine spew out water, fuel issue, radio issue – the team could hear me but I couldn’t talk to them,” Kenseth says. “I gotta thank Greg Biffle for working with me; we had fast rockets. It was all about who was in front of who at the end.”

    The victory for Kenseth marks his second Daytona 500 victory and the 300th NASCAR victory for Roush-Fenway Racing.

    “It is very fitting for Kenseth to win the 300th victory,” Roush said. “It’s fitting to do it with Jimmy Fenning (crew chief) who has been with Roush Racing for a long time. It’s fitting to do it with Matt Kenseth has been with Roush Racing for a long time. It’s very nice to celebrate our 300th win, winning the 54th Annual Daytona 500 and with it being Kenseth’s second, it’s pretty special.”

    A green-white-checkered would conclude the Daytona 500 as contact from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. would send Tony Stewart for a spin, collecting Kyle Busch, Dave Blaney, Ryan Newman, David Reuitmann and David Gilliland.

    On the restart, Kenseth made the quick move to get in front of teammate Greg Biffle and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Biffle followed Kenseth all the way around the track, looking for the right time to make his move, but that never came as Biffle was behind Kenseth across the finish line.

    “I think it’s a combination of everything, but I think it’s the combination of what would give us the best finish,” Kenseth said of their teamwork.

    Biffle would come home third in the end as Dale Earnhardt Jr. would pass him at the start-finish line for second.

    “I would have liked to have won, but I told Greg that I was going to push him on the last restart,” Earnhardt Jr. said afterwards. “I thought he was ‘waiting waiting’ and I waited till the last minute for him to make a move, and then made a move.”

    Biffle said that he tried to win the race, but couldn’t get a run on Earnhardt Jr.

    “All night, Jr had been shoving me against the back of the 17 car at will and at granted, he had someone pushing him,” Biffle explained. “We weren’t locked together but anytime you get locked together, you just go. But once he was against my bumper and I knew he was, I pushed the gas down and I thought we would drive up on the back of the 17 without a problem. It must have just pushed enough air to push the 17 out. So I thought I had to get out from behind him. So I tried to move out and Matt isn’t stupid, but we needed a run. I was also watching my bumper as I had him on me and didn’t know what pressure he had him.”

    In contrast, Kenseth said Biffle could’ve made the move while Roush said, “Greg was unselfish and worked with Matt tonight.”

    In looking back at the final laps now, Biffle said he should’ve dragged the brake and created some space between himself and Kenseth to get a run.

    Denny Hamlin would finish fourth, followed by Richard Childress Racing teammates Jeff Burton, Paul Menard and Kevin Harvick. Pole sitter Carl Edwards would finish eighth, followed by Joey Logano and Mark Martin.

    The halfway payday of $200,000 would go to Martin Truex Jr., who would finish the race in 12th behind Clint Bowyer.

    The race would see a red flag last for more than two hours after an odd incident that happened under caution with 42 laps left in the event.

    As Juan Pablo Montoya came out of pit road and tried to catch up with the back of the field, something would break in the back end of his Chevrolet, causing him to slam into a jetdryer in turn 3. The contact caused a huge jet fuel fire that would take the two hour period to clean up in an 11-step process.

    “Well, I thought when I left the pits, I felt a weird vibration,” Montoya said. “I got my crew to check it and they said it was fine. Everytime I got on the gas, I felt the rear moving slightly and just as I asked my spotter about it, it turned right.”

    The condition of the race track was in great question after the massive clean-up, but the surface became unharmed and the drivers were able to run the full distance. President Mike Helton said it was important for him to that they take the time to do the necessary clean-up and get the full race in due to the dedication saw from the fans who had stuck around both days.

    Montoya’s teammate Jamie McMurray would also have something break on his car, causing a five car wreck with 13 to go that collected Kasey Kahne, Regan Smith, Edwards and Tony Stewart.

    The jetdryer incident wasn’t the only big piece of action on track during the Daytona 500. When the race started, contact from Sadler to Johnson on lap two would see Johnson for a spin, and then get hit hard in the driver’s door by David Ragan.

    “I’m good,” Johnson said afterwards. “That last hit in the door was pretty hard. We were all just trying to make our lane work. There was a lot of energy there and Elliott got into the back of me, turning me into the wall. I knew sitting in the middle of the track that was someone was going to hit me and Ragan had no place to go. It sucks to be done this early after all the effort into this car.”

    “I just want to see the replay to see what bonehead would make a move like that early in the 500,” Ragan said of the incident.

    Other drivers collected in the accident would include 2011 Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne, Kurt Busch and Danica Patrick.

    “I have no idea what happened,” Bayne said. “This is devastating. We wait a whole day for a race and this happens on lap 1.”

    “Any lap that I turn is progression,” she said. “That’s why I was proud of them for getting me on the track. Was there much to gain for me to get back on track? No. But there was experience as I got back up in pack.”

    Patrick would finish in 38th in her cup debut, but pick up valuable knowledge.

    “I honestly I think I picked up a lot of tips and honestly, I wish the race would’ve been a single file line at the beginning like it was when I got back up there,” she said.

    Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon also wouldn’t make it to the finish as he would blow the motor on lap 81.

    “It’s pretty strange that we’ve been through some liability testing and if I saw some high temps, I would have expected this,” he said. “I saw some low temps so I thought we were in good shape. It’s just a shame. This is not the way we wanted to start the season with the Daytona 500.”

    With everything that happened in Daytona, the rest of the 2012 NASCAR season ends and we’ve certainly learned to expect the unexpected.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: AAA Texas 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: AAA Texas 500

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    “We have to look at it for sure.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

     

  • Matt Kenseth Wins the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

    Matt Kenseth Wins the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

    At a track where passing is difficult, his second place starting position was pivotal. While other drivers had problems, Kenseth kept himself in a position to capitalize on their misfortune.

    Tony Stewart was competitive at the beginning of the race but lost the handling on his car about halfway through the race. Stewart wasn’t able to contend for the win but was still able to salvage an eight place finish. He also gained two spots in the points and is now in fifth place.

    Greg Biffle was also fast early in the race but a missing lug nut during a pit stop put him one lap down.  Although he regained the lap, a late race scuffle with Stewart and a subsequent cut tire left Biffle with a fifteenth place finish.

    Trevor Bayne had a strong top ten car throughout the race but a problem with a fuel cell caused him to run out of gas and go three laps down.

    Five-time champion Jimmie Johnson provided the biggest surprise of the night.  Johnson, who was racing for seventh position, crashed into the wall on lap 317 and destroyed the No. 48 Chevy, ending his night. Johnson dropped five positions in the points standings to eighth place, 35 points behind leader Carl Edwards.

    When asked about the impact this would have on his quest for a sixth championship, Johnson said, “We just have to keep racing. That’s all there is to it. There’s five races left and a lot can happen in five races.”

    Matt Kenseth has been steadily gaining ground and now sits third in the points standings.   He was all smiles after the race.

    “I’m happy to have won, obviously.” Kenseth continued, “I’m always thankful to get to victory lane. You never know if you’re ever gonna win another race or when your last win is, and I’m certainly thankful for them all and I greatly appreciate being in a position to be able to win races and these guys giving me the cars and the crew and the opportunity to do that.”

    Unofficial Race Results
    Bank of America 500, Charlotte Motor Speedway
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 2 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 47
    2 25 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 44
    3 3 99 Carl Edwards Ford 42
    4 8 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 40
    5 12 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 39
    6 14 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 38
    7 4 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 37
    8 1 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 37
    9 17 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 35
    10 6 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 35
    11 11 6 David Ragan Ford 34
    12 16 20 Joey Logano Toyota 32
    13 20 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 31
    14 32 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 31
    15 5 16 Greg Biffle Ford 30
    16 26 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 28
    17 7 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 27
    18 28 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 26
    19 15 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 25
    20 31 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 24
    21 23 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 23
    22 38 38 J.J. Yeley Ford 23
    23 18 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 21
    24 19 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 20
    25 21 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 19
    26 29 0 David Reutimann Toyota 18
    27 27 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 17
    28 30 51 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 0
    29 22 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 15
    30 42 32 Mike Bliss Ford 0
    31 10 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 0
    32 24 13 Casey Mears Toyota 12
    33 41 71 Hermie Sadler Ford 0
    34 9 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 11
    35 35 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 9
    36 33 34 David Gilliland Ford 8
    37 13 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 7
    38 43 7 Robby Gordon Dodge 6
    39 37 66 Michael McDowell Toyota 5
    40 34 55 Travis Kvapil Ford 0
    41 36 30 David Stremme Chevrolet 3
    42 40 277 Andy Lally * Ford 2
    43 39 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0