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Tag: Jeff Burton

  • Greg Biffle Celebrates NASCAR Banquet and NASCAR Pets Calendar

    Greg Biffle Celebrates NASCAR Banquet and NASCAR Pets Calendar

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: New Hampshire Sylvania 300

    Surprising and Not Surprising: New Hampshire Sylvania 300

    With a little bit of magic as well as mayhem, especially on pit road, here is what else was surprising and not so surprising in the 17th annual running of the Sylvania 300 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    Surprising:  With no wins and a 20th best driver rating at the Magic Mile, one driver who just so happened to be celebrating his 500th career start, defied the odds, scoring his second win in two Chase races.

    Victor Matt Kenseth also became only the third driver to win back to back in the Chase, joining Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle in that accomplishment.

    “For me to win at New Hampshire, first of all, is more than a stretch and more than a dream,” the driver of the No. 20 Home Depot/Husky Toyota said. “This is probably one of my worst places.”

    “That just shows you how good this whole team is,” Kenseth continued. “I didn’t even know there was a Victory Lane here.”

    “It honestly doesn’t really seem real that we won yet.”

    Not Surprising:  As has happened for most of the season, restarts played a pivotal role for several drivers at the Magic Mile, including those drivers that finished second and third.

    For Kyle Busch, who finished runner up yet again to teammate Kenseth, the final restart was what did him in, however, Greg Biffle, who finished third, credited a good restart with his top-five finish.

    “Those last couple restarts just making some spots, I spun my tires too much,” Busch said. “But just frustrating sometimes when you feel like you’re getting beat on restarts too much.”

    “Other than that, second.”

    “There at the end, we just drove — we just kept gaining positions,” Biffle said. “I gained like four or five spots on a couple restarts in a row and got up in the top six, and then that final restart the outside lane really got going good.”

    “I’m excited about finishing third,” Biffle continued. “Our car was competitive, and we’re happy about the whole weekend.”

    Kyle Busch posted his eighth top-10 finish in 18 races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Biffle posted his ninth top-10 finish in 23 races at the Magic Mile.

    Biffle was NASCAR’s biggest mover, gaining six places in the point standings as he leap frogged to the fifth position, while Busch held serve in P2, just 14 points behind Kenseth.

    Surprising:  For all the bad luck that the No. 24 team has had throughout the regular season, this time the driver was the one that caused the poor finish.

    Jeff Gordon, four-time champion, made a critical error in getting just far enough out of his pit box to have to back up, losing precious time and costing him vital track position, as well as a 15th place finish.

    “I’m highly disappointed in myself,” Gordon said. “I just came in and slid through.”

    “I carried a little bit more speed in there and crossed the splitter over the line by an inch and that’s all it takes to make a difference between a chance at winning and finishing 15th.”

    Not Surprising:  After getting booted out of the Chase through no fault of his own, as well as losing his NAPA sponsorship, Martin Truex Jr. had something to prove. And he did just that, leading 98 laps and bringing his No. 56 NAPA Toyota to a top-ten finish at the Magic Mile.

    We had a good car the first half of the race,” Truex Jr. said. “That last set of tires was just terrible for us.”

    “We obviously made some huge gains in the right direction,” Truex Jr. continued. “Just weren’t good enough to be there when it counted.”

    Surprising:  Kasey Kahne took a surprisingly hard hit into the wall and ended up appearing to be confused, unable to hear the questions, or perhaps just really disappointed in his 37th place finish.

    “I seriously don’t really remember how it happened,” the driver of the No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet said. “I hit the inside wall but I’m not sure how I got there.”

    Not Surprising:   The Cinderella slipper lost just a little bit of its luster after yet another issue on pit road. So, it was not surprising that the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet was just a tad upset and pretty disappointed at the race end.

    “We didn’t hit it right on the adjustments today,” Busch said. “While we aren’t pleased with where we finished (13th), we fought for every position.”

    “We know we can do much better.”

    Surprising:  Who knew someone would be so happy to be on the rebound? But Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was just that, finishing sixth after a disastrous first Chase race.

    “Just real happy to be able to rebound from earlier,” the driver of the No. 88 Time Warner Cable Chevrolet said. “Glad we were able to get a decent finish.”

    Not Surprising:  Testing apparently paid off for one five-time champion Jimmie Johnson, who finished a strong fourth, now just 18 points behind leader Kenseth. And the driver of the No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet pronounced himself pleased with his team’s flat track program.

    “It took a lot of hard work to get the end result, but we’ve got a nice race car for these flat tracks,” Johnson said. “I’m looking forward to Phoenix now.”

    “It’s good to have a good run here knowing we can go to Phoenix and be competitive too.”

    Surprising:  After an early spin on lap 38 to bring out the second caution of the race, Jamie McMurray had a surprising bounce back to finish fifth. The driver of the No. 1 Linksys Chevrolet for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing gave the Chevrolet brand one of the two top-fives when the checkered flag flew.

    “Yeah, are car was really good even after the crash,” McMurray said. “Just a fun day racing.”

    Not Surprising:  Veteran driver Jeff Burton has literally ‘owned’ the New Hampshire Motor Speedway over the years, often in dominating fashion leading laps and heading straight to Victory Lane.

    So, it was not surprising that the driver of the No. 31 Cheerios Chevrolet SS had another good run at the Magic Mile. Burton was the fourth Chevrolet driver to finish top-10, scoring an eighth place at his ‘favorite’ track.

    Surprising:  In spite of Stewart-Haas Racing scoring the pole with Ryan Newman with a new track record, it was surprisingly not a stellar day for the team. Newman ended up finishing 16th, while teammates Mark Martin and Danica Patrick finished 23rd and 27th respectively.

    “I still don’t understand what happened with the car,” Newman said. “It just never drove the same after we won the pole on Friday afternoon.”

    “Even in practice on Saturday. Glad we got back up to 16th after the deal on pit road, but I don’t know,” Newman continued. “We’ll head to Dover and see what we can get.”

    “It’s disappointing for sure,” Patrick said after making her second start at the Magic Mile. “The car just never felt ‘in’ the track today.”

    “It was a frustrating day,” Martin said. “We just could never get track position.”

    “It wasn’t the ideal race.”

    Not Surprising:  Landon Cassill, driver of the No. 40 Moonshine Attitude Attire Chevrolet, not surprisingly had the best response via Twitter to the race after finishing 34th.

    “Tough day today,” Cassill tweeted. “We had a decent car but got trapped on pit road when the caution came out.”

    “That’s the way the pickle squirts as my mom says.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Atlanta Advocare 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Atlanta Advocare 500

    In one of the closest races to the Chase, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 54th running of the Advocare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

    Surprising:  While many drivers felt that the Atlanta race would be critical, Kyle Busch surprisingly found his race win to be positively pivotal after clinching a spot in the coveted Chase.

    “Well, it started a little ugly,” the driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota said. “I was a little ill on the radio, I’m sure, but I can’t say enough about Dave Rogers (crew chief) right here and the team that he’s assembled around us.”

    “I think if you can pin a championship night on one race, I think tonight was the night,” Busch continued. “We certainly had a lot to do and a lot to overcome, and I think that Dave and these guys stuck with me.”

    “For as bad as I may have been talking, they certainly never gave up,” Busch said. “The Lord was with us and blessed us today with a great night.”

    This was Busch’s 38th win in 318 Cup Series races, his fourth victory of the season and his second checkered flag at Atlanta. This was also the 250th win for Toyota and the 100th win for Kyle Busch in a Toyota across the three national series.

    Not Surprising:  There were two very disappointed drivers following closely on the heels of race winner Kyle Busch.

    And although they disagreed on a few issues post-race, they did agree on two things, that they were disappointed with the finish and that they had to overcome adversity, one with a pit road problem and the other related to his fractured wrist.

    “We’re both mad because we didn’t win,” Truex Jr. said after finishing third in his No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota said.

    “Yeah, we both agree that sucks,” Logano, who finished second behind the wheel of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, said.

    “We overcame a loose wheel early in the race and cycled ourselves back to the lead after all of that,” Logano said. “I just needed 30 laps of green flag to get all the way up there to the front.”

    “The cast just inside my hand here got all soft,” Truex Jr. said after the race. “I think maybe it’s just gotten wet from sweat or something and softened up, so we’ll have to look into that.”

    Surprising:  There were some angry drivers after the race at Atlanta, which surprisingly occurred at this mile and a half track instead of a short track.

    Denny Hamlin was one angry bird, from altercations with other drivers to anger at NASCAR. Four-time champ Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards were also at odds with one another after some hard racing and contact.

    “Our night was ruined because of a penalty putting us two laps down that we couldn’t overcome,” Hamlin, who finished 38th in his No. 11 SportClips Toyota, said. “We got wrecked by the No. 27 (Paul Menard), blew the tire, blew the fender off and blew another engine.”

    Hamlin was also angry with his teammate Kyle Busch, at one point hollering over his radio ““Tell Kyle if he would f****** let me go, he’d learn how to drive this track and not be an idiot.”

    “We’re just getting kicked in the nuts every weekend by something and I just can’t catch a break,” Hamlin said after the race.

    Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards also had their angry moments, both during and after the race.

    “He just slide-jobbed me and I thought it was really out of character for him and I didn’t understand what was going on there,” Edwards said, after finishing 18th in his No. 99 Subway Ford. “I did everything I could not to wreck us both.”

    “I’ve never seen him drive me like that,” Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet said of his battle with Edwards. “It was pretty wild.”

    “He didn’t like that I slid him early in the race,” Gordon, who finished sixth to keep his Chase hopes alive, continued. “We went into (Turn) 1 and he took my line away to keep me behind him and I was a lot better than him and I just dove inside.”

    “I came up a little bit too short on him,” Gordon said. “And that was my fault.”

    “But he decided he was going to give me back, I guess, and he did all night,” Gordon continued. “I tried to have a regular conversation and that didn’t seem to be possible with him.”

    “We don’t agree on what happened and finally he got frustrated enough with the conversation that he just walked away,” Edwards said of Gordon. “That might have been smart.”

    Not Surprising:  Even though he has signed with another race team for 2014, Kurt Busch not surprisingly continues to impress. The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Beautyrest Chevrolet motored from tenth to second on one of the restarts, and went on to finish the race in fourth, climbing into the tenth spot in the Chase standings.

    “I noticed the 78 and I was like okay, they’re having a decent day,” Kyle Busch said of brother Kurt. “Then he was in my mirror and I’m like did everybody wreck?”

    “The kid was wheeling it, I guess,” Kyle Busch continued. “That was pretty impressive.”

    Brother Kurt Busch agreed, saying simply, “I can’t tell you what I did right, but it all went right.”

    Surprising:  For the third week in a row, five-time champion Jimmie Johnson struggled and at one point during the race had even lost the points lead.

    Johnson was involved in the first true caution, following the competition yellow, when the field stacked up on a restart, collecting teammate Kasey Kahne, Jeff Burton and Mark Martin in addition to himself.

    The driver of the No. 48 Lowes Dover White Chevrolet next hit the tire carcass from the Paul Menard vehicle, sustaining further damage, and went on later in the race to spin out.

    Although Johnson finished 28th, he still managed to hold serve over Clint Bowyer in the point standings by 28, ironically the same number of points as his finishing order.

    Not Surprising:   Clint Bowyer, behind the wheel of the No. 15 RKMotorsCharlotte.com Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing not surprisingly decided that he would just go have an adult beverage after his experimental engine expired, resulting in a 39th place finish.

    “Well, it certainly sucks,” Bowyer said. “That was a super big bummer right there.”

    “I wanted to go for the win,” Bowyer continued. “It was ours to lose and we found a way to lose.”

    “I’m going to go have a beer.”

    Surprising:  Kevin Harvick, was surprisingly conflicted, happy with securing his role in the Chase, but not so happy with his race car.

    “Obviously we’re happy to be in the Chase, but our day wasn’t very good,” the driver of the No. 29 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet said. “Our car was just terribly tight all night long and drove nothing like it did in practice.”

    We’ll work on that.”

    Not Surprising:  Although Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished eighth, he was most grateful to leave Atlanta in one piece and in good Chase contention, hanging tough in the seventh spot in the point standings.

    ““I was real thankful the car was as good as it was,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard/Race2Achieve.org Chevrolet said. “We have struggled here and not ran great here the last several trips.”

    “All in all I’m real pleased with the way the car performed and the job the guys did.”

    Surprising:  After finding out this week that he would no longer be driving for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in NASCAR, being replaced by young up and coming driver Kyle Larson, Juan Pablo Montoya has surprisingly been reacting like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.

    Montoya’s performance has also picked up since then as well, demonstrated by his seventh place finish at Atlanta in his No. 42 Target Chevrolet.

    “It was a good night,” Montoya said. “The guys made great changes and the car was good at the end.”

    “Happy that we were able to bring home another top-10 finish for Target tonight.”

    Not Surprising:  So often, the outcome of any race is outside the control of the man or woman behind the wheel. So, not surprisingly after engine troubles, reigning champ Brad Keselowski felt out of control, especially regarding his chances to make the Chase.

    “Some things you can’t control and this was one of those days,” Keselowski said after finishing 35th in his Blue Deuce. “It just broke.”

    “There’s only so much you can control,” Keselowski continued glumly. “Maybe this was control, and maybe it wasn’t.”

    “I don’t know until the guys take (the engine) apart and look at it.”

     

  • Ryan Truex Feeling Fortunate and Lucky After Bristol Debut

    Ryan Truex Feeling Fortunate and Lucky After Bristol Debut

    While Ryan Truex’s Sprint Cup Series debut might not have turned out exactly as he had hoped, the 21 year old development driver for Richard Petty Motorsports and past K&N Series Champion left Bristol feeling ‘fortunate and lucky’ to be where he is at currently in the sport today.

    First and foremost, the youngest racing Truex feels lucky to be able to get back in a race car after a dirt bike accident over the Easter holiday left him injured with a broken collar bone.

    “I went to the doctor and we hoped it would heal on its own,” Truex said. “We went six weeks and it hadn’t healed so then we had to have surgery.”

    “I have a plate and twelve screws in there,” Truex continued. “It’s fine now but it wasn’t fun at the time.”

    “I had to go through the surgery plus the physical therapy, which was twelve weeks from the time I had surgery to the time I was cleared to race.”

    “And that didn’t include the six weeks of hoping that it would heal on its own,” Truex said. “It’s been a challenge and I’m apparently now banned from dirt bikes.”

    Truex also feels fortunate and lucky to have signed with Richard Petty Motorsports as a development driver and to have been able to maintain a relationship with Phoenix Racing that allowed him to make his Cup debut in the No. 51 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    “Before I signed with Richard Petty Motorsports, I was supposed to drive the No. 51 in Richmond and Dover,” Truex said. “And then I went and got hurt and messed those plans up.”

    “Phoenix Racing was able to plug me into their schedule later in the year and Bristol was the first opening,” Truex continued. “So, that was the first one we chose being a half mile and I was approved for it by NASCAR to run in the Cup Series.”

    After being out recuperating from his injury, the opportunity to be back behind the wheel of a race car, especially in the Cup Series at one of the most noted tracks on the circuit in a race under the lights was not only exciting but a bit overwhelming for the young up and coming driver.

    “It was really cool but a little intimidating being in a field with guys like Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson, all those guys who have proven themselves in the Cup Series,” Truex said. “And that was my first race since the Daytona Truck race so it had been about six months since I had raced anything.”

    “The week before, I practiced and qualified Marcos Ambrose’s Nationwide car so I had a little seat time in something but other than that, that was the first weekend back in a race car and the first time in the Gen 6 car at all,” Truex continued. “So, it was a bit of a curve ball for me and it was a steep learning curve.”

    Truex did indeed have challenges in his Cup debut, struggling with his car race, hitting the wall and finishing 42nd in the Bristol Irwin Tools Night Race.

    “We qualified really well and I was really happy with that,” Truex said. “We practiced pretty good and I thought we were a top-20 car at least.”

    “In the race, we started off the first few laps and did alright but for some reason our car was just really, really loose and I ended up getting up out of the groove,” Truex continued. “I got up in the marbles and got freight trained.”

    “Once I gathered it back up and got the junk off my tires, we started riding and were way back,” Truex said. “I was biding my time and then we started to get really, really tight and, being a rookie, I didn’t realize the problem at the time but it turns out that we ran over some debris and we had a cut in the left front tire.”

    “It was slowly going down and then it blew out and ended our night.”

    Fortunately, the rookie driver did not re-injure his collar bone although his older brother Martin Truex Jr. did not fare so well. After Martin’s hard hit late in the race at Bristol, an MRI showed that he had broken his right wrist and will have to wear a special cast for the rest of the racing season.

    Although Ryan’s Cup debut race night was shortened by the blown tire and wreck into the wall, the younger Truex did learn some lessons from the evening and even got some advice and counsel from some of the biggest names in the sports.

    “The biggest lesson for me is that I just need to be out there every weekend,” Truex said. “Since I stepped up from the K&N Series to Nationwide in 2011, I’ve been running part-time, once or twice a month at the most.”

    “Last year, I had seven races with Joe Gibbs Racing, plus a couple of other races with some other teams, which added up to about eleven races for the year,” Truex continued. “That’s been the biggest challenge for me is just having some repetition in my racing and going out every weekend in my race car and be familiar with it.”

    “One of the people that I talked to before driver intros standing in the tunnel at Bristol was Jeff Burton,” Truex said. “I thought that was really cool.”

    “Mark Martin came up to my car and talked to me for a few minutes and told me what to expect and what to do,” Truex continued. “So, there were a couple of guys that I respect who talked to me and I thought that was awesome.”

    “I grew up watching them race so for them to come over and give me words of advice was really cool.”

    Another of Truex’s idols has been Richard Petty and the young driver feels especially fortunate and lucky to be invited into the fold of the ‘King’ and a part of Richard Petty Motorsports.

    “It’s a huge deal for me to be with Richard Petty Motorsports,” Truex said. “In the past few years, I’ve been jumping around between teams and had some one-off deals, but since I’ve left Michael Waltrip Racing, I’ve never really had a true home.”

    “So, they’ve taken under their wing and committed to developing me as a driver in the Cup Series,” Truex continued. “I’ve signed a multi-year deal with them with the goal of running full-time in the Cup Series one day.”

    “So, that feels really good to just have one place to focus on and not have to worry about where I’m going to race week to week.”

    For this year, Truex will continue to run some races in the No. 51 car for Phoenix Racing and hopes to be back in that car as early as the Richmond race. But his real focus is on the 2014 season when, sponsorship pending, he hopes to race full-time for Richard Petty Motorsports in the Nationwide Series.

    “That’s the goal for me personally and for the team to be out there next year running for a championship,” Truex said. “But the biggest thing is finding the funding to do that.”

    “Now that I have a team out there searching and helping me find the funding to run full-time, it takes a lot of pressure of me and makes me feel more secure with my future.”

    Most of all, Ryan Truex is feeling fortunate and lucky to be a part of a family that has supported and nurtured his racing career every step of the way.

    “My brother has always been there for me my whole career, and my parents are at my races every single weekend giving me support,” Truex said. “My dad always tells me that if you work as hard as you can and take advantage of every opportunity, there is no reason why you can’t reach your goal.”

    “That’s been my philosophy too,” Truex continued. “There has been plenty of frustrating moments but then you step back and look at how far I’ve come and at the people I have around me, and it’s a pretty awesome deal for me.”

    “I’m fortunate and lucky to be able to be where I’m at,” Truex said. “And I know that if I keep working at it, never give up and get down on myself that eventually it will work out.”

     

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Pure Michigan 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Pure Michigan 400

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    “Those days are what wins championships.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    “We had a good car all weekend.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Pocono Go.Bowling.com 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Pocono Go.Bowling.com 400

    At a track known as tricky, with a bowling sponsor for its second race of the season, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 40th annual GoBowling.com 400, at Pocono Raceway.

    Surprising:  Probably most surprising about the Pocono race weekend was what followed shortly thereafter, with top-ten finisher Tony Stewart flipping in a sprint car accident at Southern Iowa Speedway, which resulted in a fractured leg.

    This was eerily and scarily ironic after joking with the media during his Pocono availability about his sprint car racing escapades, including a flip prior to the Pocono race.

    Stewart had to undergo surgery and because of the break of both his tibia and fibula, Stewart Haas Racing announced that Max Papis will pilot Smoke’s Cup ride at the Glen.

    Not Surprising:  In a Pocono race weekend where the victors in both the ARCA and Truck Series were determined on restarts, it was not surprising that the winner of the Cup race Kasey Kahne also made it to the checkered flag thanks to a restart.

    “I about gave it away,” the driver of the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet said after scoring his second win of the season, as well as his second victory at Pocono. “I spun the tires a little bit and Jeff (Gordon) got a great jump and Kurt (Busch) pushed me all the way to Turn 1, which really helped.”

    “And then I had one opportunity,” Kahne continued. “It was either go for it and make it work or not.”

    “It was a great race.”

    Surprising:  A pair of birthday boys, Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch scored surprisingly good finishes on their special days. The driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet and the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet finished second and third respectively.

    “It’s funny how our emotions go up and down in this sport,” Gordon said. “Before the race, if you told me that I’d finish second, I’d say that was a great birthday gift.”

    “I’m disappointed that we didn’t get this win.”

    “This was a phenomenal run today,” Busch said. “Right now, we’re getting the job done.”

    “So, I’m happy for this finish and this team and just the job we’re doing.”

    Not Surprising:  The vibration plaguing Dale Earnhardt Jr. continued to be a hot topic, with the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Youth Foundation Chevrolet discussing it even after his top five finish.

    “Well, we changed every part on the car but the engine,” Junior said. “We got it to the point where we could drive it.”

    “I felt good coming in here and thought we might win the race, but we came up a little short.”

    Surprising:  Timmy Hill was the surprising Rookie of the Race after finishing 27th in his No. 32 Oxy Water Ford. ROTY competitors Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Danica Patrick both had troubles on the track, with Stenhouse Jr. crashing on the very first lap and Patrick bringing out the seventh caution of the day in a tangle with Travis Kvapil, Paul Menard and Jeff Burton. Stenhouse Jr. finished 34th and Patrick finished 35th.

    “It’s not the way we wanted to start the day,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “I was kind of hoping everyone would stay in line but it didn’t play out like that.”

    “We were just having a steady race and a good race, and it was over,” Patrick said. “We were competitive and we were making good calls in the pits.”

    “Everything was going; it just happens.”

    Not Surprising:   Even with a tire issue and a resulting crash that was so hard it knocked a spark plug wire off, Jimmie Johnson managed to finish the race, in which he had started on the pole with a new track record, in the 13th position.

    And even with all the challenges of the day, the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Planes Chevrolet managed to increase his points lead to 77 over second place Clint Bowyer.

    “My day kept needing to be re-calibrated,” Johnson said. “I really felt like we had a shot to win, unfortunately blew a tire off of Turn On and ended those hopes there.”

    “We salvaged a very nice finish though.”

    Surprising:  Contrary to all the Bloomin’ Onion fans, driver Ryan Newman was surprisingly unhappy with his fourth place finish in his No. 39 Haas Automation 30th Anniversary Chevrolet.

    “It’s a good run but not as good as it could have been,” Newman said. “Just a horrible day in the pits for us.”

    “We have to get that figured out.”

    Not Surprising:  Having come into the Pocono weekend with high hopes for not only a good finish but also making the Chase, there was no one, not surprisingly, more frustrated with being caught up in a wreck not of his doing than Jeff Burton.

    The driver of the No. 31 FXI Gutterclear 365 Chevrolet was so upset that he put a nice sized dent in the roof of his car after pounding it royally after getting caught up in the Danica Patrick, Paul Menard and Travis Kvapil mess.

    “By the time I got there, they were wrecked,” Burton said. “We had a good car but we just kept getting in trouble.”

    “It’s just kind of how the year’s going.”

    Surprising:  Although teammates and the highest finishing Fords, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano had surprisingly different views on the challenge of the restarts.

    “We caught that one yellow at the worst possible time with 50 or 60 to go and pitted for four and we were going to be okay but then we caught another yellow which killed our strategy,” the driver of the No. 2 Redd’s Apple Ale proclaimed. “Damn, we were just a little bit short.”

    “Those restarts helped us,” the driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford said. “The cautions at the end helped us make up what we lost.”

    “It’s kind of funny how it worked out.”

    Not Surprising:  Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Peanut Butter Toyota, was the highest finishing Toyota, ending the race in the eighth position.

    “We were just a little bit off today,” Busch said. “It seemed like we could get going good on restarts and it would drive well for a few laps, then we couldn’t keep up as well on the long run.”

    “That’s about all we had with our M&M’s Peanut Butter Camry,” Busch continued. “We were able to get a top-10 out of a day where we were just a little behind.”

     

  • Richard Childress Shares Indianapolis Memories As 20th Annual Brickyard 400 Approaches

    Richard Childress Shares Indianapolis Memories As 20th Annual Brickyard 400 Approaches

    This weekend’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway marks the 20th running of the Brickyard 400 on the hallowed ground that was only graced by open-wheel cars until 1994, when NASCAR came to town and stock cars began racing on the famed 2.5 mile speedway as well. Since the inaugural running of the race, the Brickyard 400 has become one of the most prestigious races on the circuit, joining the Daytona 500, Southern 500, and Coca-Cola 600 as the “crown jewels” of the schedule.

    Richard Childress has become one of the most successful owners at Indianapolis, winning the Brickyard 400 three separate times and with three different drivers, including Dale Earnhardt in 1995, Kevin Harvick in 2003, and Paul Menard in 2011. Childress is the only owner in the Sprint Cup Series to accomplish that feat.

    Childress shared his thoughts on Indianapolis during a teleconference this week in the lead up to the 20th running of the Brickyard 400 this weekend.

    “You know, when you said 20 years, it kind of reminds me of that old song Bob Seger sings, 20 Years Ago, Where Does It Go? It doesn’t seem 20 years ago when Dale Earnhardt pulled up there to run our first test. I guess that was a year or so before we went up there and raced, just to see how the Cup cars would do.To be able to see that car go around the racetrack in such a historical place as Indy with all the history there, to have Dale go around there, it was pretty amazing.”, Childress said.

    “Then coming back in 2003, we won with Kevin Harvick up there. That was a special win, as well, because we did start from the pole that day. We’ve been right there to win other Brickyards, but unfortunately we didn’t pull them off. One that ranks really high, maybe above the other two, was when Paul Menard won in 2011. What made that so special was knowing that Paul’s family was there. Knowing what John Menard had put into that, I think he had entered like 30 some car over 20 years at Indy, in the Indy 500. To be part of watching his son win that race was such a special day. Riding around the track, that’s the neatest part of Indy, is getting to ride around the track, seeing all the fans hollering.  That’s really a cool thing right there.”

    Childress elaborated further on why he thinks the 2011 Brickyard 400 win by Menard ranks highly among the three Brickyard 400 wins that RCR has. “Not taking anything away from Dale or Kevin’s first win there, but that one was so special I think because of being able to win a race with Paul, being able to win at Indy where that whole family had put so much into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. John Menard played a huge role for many years.  To be able to win that race with him, have his whole family there that day, it was almost like a storybook ending to a great venture in Indy for John Menard.”

    Over time, the Brickyard 400 has lost some luster in the eyes of some in the sport, but Childress still believes that Indianapolis is one of the marquee events in the sport. When asked about that he said, “ If you want to win a race, you want to win the Daytona 500, you want to win the Coke 600, and Indy, the Brickyard 400.  Those are the three, in my opinion, of the biggest crowns you can win”

    Chevrolet has an impressive record at Indianapolis, winning the last 10 and 14 out of the 19 total Sprint Cup Series races at the track. Childress also shared his thoughts on that: “I think the caliber of the teams, the effort that every team puts in to go win at Indy, because we know it’s a big deal for Chevrolet to go up there and win.  I think it’s just that extra motivation for all of us. The other guys have it, too. But I think we know how important that win is for Chevy.”

    Richard Childress Racing will have the opportunity for a fourth win this weekend with four cars out of the RCR stable entered. In addition to regular drivers Kevin Harvick, Paul Menard, and Jeff Burton, Austin Dillon will also be making his Cup Series debut at Indianapolis this weekend.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Camping World RV Sales 301

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Camping World RV Sales 301

    On a steamy day in New England where the action on the track was just as hot, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Camping World RV Sales 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    Surprising:  While usually on target, Chad Knaus’ prediction of his driver motoring through the pack to the front only partially came true. Johnson, who started dead last in his No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet due to failing post qualifying inspection, made his way through the field to finish just shy of the top-five in the sixth spot.

    But although his prediction of a last to first performance was not fulfilled, crew chief Knaus felt that he and team 48 had made the statement they wanted to make in light of their inspection failure.

    “We made the best of a bad situation and that’s all you can do,” Knaus said. “We wanted to make it a non-issue and I think that’s exactly what we did.”

    “We didn’t need to win, but the most important thing is we didn’t need to lose,” Knaus continued. “And I think we came out of here with a solid run.”

    With that top-10 finish, Johnson remains solidly in the points lead as well, 56 points ahead of runner up Clint Bowyer.

    Not Surprising:  Just as the chemistry between Knaus and Johnson led to a decent run after adversity, it was not surprising that the chemistry between Rodney Childers and Brian Vickers achieved their dream of taking the Michael Waltrip Racing’s No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine to Victory Lane.

    Vickers, who battled back from life-threatening blood clots to race again, credited his relationship with crew chief Childers, which has spanned almost his entire lifetime, as making the difference in his win at the Magic Mile.

    “I can remember the day Clyde (Vickers, Brian Vickers’ father) walked into our go-kart shop in Cornelius, North Carolina and said he wanted to buy his eight-year-old kid a go kart,” Childers said. “So, we got it together overnight and they came and picked it up the next day and then a good friend of ours helped Brian get started.”

    “This means a lot to me.”

    “I just thank God for the chance and opportunity to come back and this team and Rodney believing in me and giving me a second chance,” Vickers said. “That’s a testament to the whole team and everyone at Michael Waltrip Racing.”

    Surprising:  Joey Logano, a former New Hampshire winner, was surprisingly the first caution of the day, blowing a tire and spinning out on Lap 4 of the race. This is the second race in a row where tire failure has contributed to the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford team’s struggles.

    “The left rear tire blew out,” Logano said. “It isn’t like we touched anyone and rubbed it to make it go down, it just blew out.”

    “I am just mad right now.”

    Logano has a right to be mad, as he finished 40th and even more important took a significant hit in the point standings, losing three positions and falling to 18th.

    Not Surprising:  Whether it was the combination of the heat or the grueling schedule as the garage readied for the first weekend off in a very long time, it was not surprising that tempers were flaring on the one-mile track and that there were more cautions in this one race than in the past three New Hampshire races combined.

    The most caustic exchange happened right after the race end when Kyle Busch had some choice words for Ryan Newman and vice versa.

    “Newman is the biggest stupid idiot out here and a big ogre,” Busch said. “I’m glad he’s out of a job.”

    “I’m just afraid if I re-arranged his face I might fix it,” Newman responded. “He’s frustrated finishing third or wherever he was after hitting me.”

    “He’s a heck of a talent but he’s not very bright,” Newman continued. “I’ll leave it at that.”

     Surprising:  Just when it appeared that Stewart-Haas Racing was on the upswing, another surprisingly bad day occurred in New Hampshire.

    Smoke ran out of gas on the final lap to finish 26th, Patrick wrecked into her Rookie of the Year competitor to finish 37th, and Newman had his aforementioned tangles with the Busch brothers and finished 39th.

    “Thought we were about three quarters of a lap to the good,” Smoke said. “Obviously didn’t get as much gas saved as I thought we would.”

    “I feel bad,” Patrick said. “What can I say? We were having a reasonable race and just didn’t mean to do it.”

    “The worst part is that I didn’t want to take anybody with me.”

    Not Surprising:   The unfortunate struggles of Denny Hamlin continued at New Hampshire, with a lug nut issue and a 21st place finish. The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota sits 25th in the point standings, very far out of Chase contention.

    Surprising:  One of the surprises of the race was Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 43 Smithfield Ford, who finished fifth thanks to some good pit strategy and a great call from atop the box.

    “When everybody else stayed out that gave us the opportunity when everyone else came to pit to make it on fuel,” Almirola said. “And we stayed out.”

    “That was a great call by Todd Parrott (crew chief),” Almirola continued. “It is a great way to go into the off weekend.”

    Not Surprising:  At a track that he loves, Jeff Burton finished top three to no one’s surprise. And with his good finish, Burton pronounced that he was still in Chase contention, contrary to everyone’s perception.

    “We had a really good car,” the driver of the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet said. “A lot of people have given up on this team but we haven’t given up on ourselves.”

    “We are going to keep working,” Burton said. We feel like we have an uphill battle but we feel like we still have a shot at it.”

    Surprising:  Brad Keselowski and company showed his championship caliber by bouncing back at the Magic Mile. The driver of the Blue Deuce finished fourth, in spite of the ‘grueling race.’

    “We fought hard all day and came home with a fourth so that was a decent day,” Keselowski said. “Not the win I wanted for sure.”

    “But it is still a solid day though and something to be proud of.”

    Not Surprising:  While all the drivers complained about the difficulty of the track and race, Carl Edwards not surprisingly termed it a battle field.

    “That was a hell of a battle,” the driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford said. “Everybody fought really hard the whole time and we ended up with a top-10.”

    “We were able to get a good finish out of a crazy day.”

    Surprising:  Even with having to stop in the middle of the race track to avoid the Newman/Kurt Busch crash, Matt Kenseth pulled off a surprisingly good finish. The driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota finished in the ninth position.

    “I had a good car, probably the best car I’ve ever had here,” Kenseth said. “Kind of lost track position when Kurt cleaned out Newman.”

    “I had to stop and miss that wreck.”

    Not Surprising:  After a grueling race and first part of the season, everyone needed to relax according to Jeff Gordon, who managed to salvage a tenth place finish after a challenging race at New Hampshire.

    “Everybody, no matter whether you’re leading the points or running where we are in points or 30th in the points, everybody has to take moments to step away and relax a little bit and regroup,” Gordon said. “And so, this off-weekend will be good for everybody.”

     

  • Brian Vickers Becomes New Sheriff in Town with New Hampshire Win

    Brian Vickers Becomes New Sheriff in Town with New Hampshire Win

    Brian Vickers, driver of the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, proved that there was a new sheriff in town in the Camping World RV Sales 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    Vickers scored his first win of the season, forgoing the traditional burnout to instead claim the checkered flag and celebrate the moment high-fiving the fans.

    “I don’t know if I can put it into words,” Vickers said. “With everything I’ve gone through from the blood clots to are you ever going to race again to now I can race, but I don’t have a job to getting a phone call from Ty (Norris) to run eight races, nothing could be more special to have this win.”

    “I’m grateful to my family and friends who have supported me along the way,” Vickers continued. “When your back’s against the wall, you find out quickly who is willing to vouch for you.”

    “Sitting in Victory Lane is one of the most special events of my life.”

    The last time that Vickers was in Victory Lane was on August 16, 2009 at Michigan. Until now, he has never won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    “I’m just thankful that I was able to get back in the car and that there were people that still believed in me,” Vickers said. “That was the biggest emotion that I have and will have going forward.”

    “They took a chance in a lot of ways,” Vickers continued. “I’m just very thankful for all that and that’s the main emotion that I still have.”

    Although Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota, finished in the runner up position, he acknowledged that it was one difficult race, especially contending with race winner Vickers.

    “Well it was certainly a tough one,” Busch said. “Our car was super-fast for the short run of the race and we could run up front and make some ground.”

    “But once we got close to somebody, the aero effect seemed to take over,” Busch continued. “I was just getting tighter and tighter as the run went along.”

    “I’m really proud of the effort and glad we came home second but it was a really tough day for us.”

    Busch had nothing but praise for Brian Vickers, as well as Michael Waltrip Racing, with whom Joe Gibbs Racing has a relationship. And he even learned a little bit that he can take into the next Loudon race during the Chase.

    “Vickers was obviously going to be the car to beat,” Busch said. “But congratulations to them.”

    “It was cool to see an MWR team in Victory Lane with the relationship we have with JGR,” Busch continued. “Certainly, we really wanted to win but we know what we need to do to get our car better for when we come back in the Chase race.”

    This was Busch’s seventh top-10 finish in 17 races at the Magic Mile and his 11th top-10 finish of the season.

    Jeff Burton achieved a milestone at a track that he loves, scoring his best finish of the season in third. The driver of the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet posted his 14th top-10 finish at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    “You know, we feel good about what we’re doing,” Burton said. “We are definitely making progress and we feel like we are starting to building on something.

    “And we think we can improve.”

    Brad Keselowski, who sat on the pole, finished fourth in the Blue Deuce. And he echoed what most of the drivers were saying, that the race was one of the toughest he has run.

    “That was a grueling race for sure,” Keselowski said. “We fought hard all day and came home with a fourth, so that was a decent day.”

    “I thought we had a shot at it,” Keselowski continued. “The 18 and 78 were really good and I hadn’t been around the 55 all day until the end.”

    “But man, that last run, he was definitely fast and deserved the win,” Keselowski said. “It was a decent day for the Miller Lite Ford Fusion but we just needed a little bit more to win.”

    One of the bigger surprises of the race was the finish of Aric Almirola, behind the wheel of the No. 43 Smithfield Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports, finishing fifth. And he gave all the credit to the man atop his pit box, crew chief Todd Parrott.

    “We really struggled and Todd saw that track position was really important,” Almirola said. “So, we took two tires on one of those cautions and that was really bad so we came back down pit road and took four tires when everybody else stayed out and that gave us the opportunity when everyone else came to pit to make it on fuel and we stayed out.”

    “That was a great pit call by Todd Parrott and these guys on the Smithfield Ford Fusion did a great job and that is nice,” Almirola continued. “It is a great way to go into the off weekend.”

    As with any short, flat track, there were some moments both on and off the track that sparked some rather emotional responses.

    Probably the most disappointed was Kurt Busch, who sat on the outside pole and then got tangled up with Matt Kenseth, sending Ryan Newman spinning as well. The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet finished 31st.

    I just got hit from behind,” Busch said. “There was three-wide action and everybody’s going hard.”

    “Kenseth was in the middle on the back straightaway,” Busch continued. “The car gets light when there is no air on the rear spoiler back there.”

    “We just got whacked by a bunch of guys,” Newman said. “The No. 18 hit me first, the No. 2 hit me next and then I guess it was Kurt (Busch) that went underneath three-wide.”

    “The No. 20 come and clipped us and knocked us into the fence and took himself out,” Newman said. “That was the best I could tell.”

    “We kind of were in a bad spot having a little bit older tire but just a lot of disrespect from a bunch of guys on restarts.”

    The Rookie of the Year contenders Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Danica Patrick also had a moment together, finishing 23rd and 32nd respectively. And for those two drivers, it was all about the brakes that were to blame as they both went crashing.

    “My brakes were going out all race really,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “I was complaining about it all race.”

    “We will take the weekend off and go to Indy.”

    Jimmie Johnson, who came from the rear to finish sixth and maintain the points lead, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top-ten in the 21st Annual Camping World RV Sales 301 at the Magic Mile.

     

  • Jeff Burton Is All Atwitter Over Kwikset Sponsorship and Sweepstakes

    Jeff Burton Is All Atwitter Over Kwikset Sponsorship and Sweepstakes

    Jeff Burton not only has a new sponsor this year in Kwikset, a major manufacturer and supplier of residential locks, but he is also all atwitter over their sweepstakes “I Heart the Mayor.”

    The special Twitter promotion will be ending this weekend at the July 6th Daytona race. In celebration of the sweepstakes finale, Kwikset will be the primary sponsor on the hood of the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet for the Coke Zero 400.

    “Quite simply, any fan can go to www.iHeartTheMayor.com and from there you can send a tweet which goes directly to me,” Burton said. “You hashtag #TweetToWin and then you’re done.”

    “Hopefully you’ll be chosen and the winner will come to Richard Childress Racing for the October race weekend in Charlotte for a behind the scenes tour of how we build our race cars, how we build our engines, and how we get ready to race,” Burton continued. “And then from there the fans will go to the winery and have lunch, which is a very special treat.”

    “Finally the winners will wrap up the weekend as the guests of Kwikset at their VIP hospitality area for the Bank of America 500 race,” Burton said. “They will really get an inside look at the race and at the shop and get to do it in a VIP way.”

    “It’s a neat deal that Kwikset has done and somebody is going to have a really great time.”

    While Burton is atwitter about the sweepstakes and what it may mean to one of his lucky fans, he also is thrilled to have Kwikset come on board as a sponsor, for his team as well as for the sport.

    “Over the years, the economy took a downward turn and we haven’t seen a lot of new companies come in to NASCAR,” Burton said. “So, to have a company like Kwikset come in, a big company with name recognition because people have their product on their front doors, as the primary sponsor at Daytona is good for us and good for the sport.”

    “I’ve been really fortunate in my career to represent some ‘who’s who’ in American business,” Burton continued. “I’ve been blessed with that and this is another example of a company with quality products and cool, innovative stuff that they will talk about this weekend that makes the product more usable.”

    Kwikset also feels fortunate to have a driver like Burton, known for his advocacy for safety, as a spokesperson for their product.

    “Family, safety and innovation are Kwikset’s core tenets,” Greg Gluchowski, President of the Hardware & Home Improvement Group at Spectrum Brands, said. “Once we learned that Jeff had similar passions, we knew this partnership would be beneficial for both parties.”

    “The ‘I Heart the Mayor’ sweepstakes is a fun way for motorsports and Kwikset fans to learn more about our products and Jeff, while also giving them the opportunity to win a once-in-a- lifetime experience.”

    In their special promotion, Kwikset has indeed capitalized on one of their driver’s most notable monikers, ‘Mayor’ of the NASCAR garage area. Burton’s ‘Mayor’ moniker has evolved over time and goes back to one of the darker times in the sport when Dale Earnhardt was tragically killed at Daytona.

    “It all started a long time ago as it related to safety, prior to Dale Earnhardt’s death,” Burton said. “I was working hard and trying to make things happen and when Dale was killed, I was one of the more outspoken in the sport about safety.”

    “We had been working on new seat technology and I was involved in the very first carbon seat brought into NASCAR,” Burton continued. “I ran the very first head surround that is now the rule.”

    “So, I was ahead of the curve and I was willing to talk about it because I knew we had major problems,” Burton said. “Some people thought I was committing professional suicide by doing it but I never felt like that or that I’d wake up with the horse head in my bed so to speak.”

    “Someone had to speak out and be educated about it and I was that person at that time,” Burton continued. “That got me into the media coming to talk to me about difficult things and the topic of the day.”

    “So, that’s what started the ‘Mayor’ label.”

    “I think we always have to stay ahead on safety,” Burton said. “NASCAR has done a phenomenal job on becoming the leader in motorsports as it relates to safety.”

    “In the past they were followers and were reactive but now they are so proactive,” Burton continued. “My role is now to just remind all that we don’t quit and keep on it.”

    While Burton is passionate about his mayoral role and has the ear of the sanctioning body, he also feels that NASCAR needs to pay attention to the voice of the fans as well.

    “I have a good relationship with NASCAR and we talk about ways now to make the sport even better,” Burton said. “We don’t always agree but they always listen and that’s all you can ask.”

    “I think it’s important for our sport,” Burton continued. “We have to have the competitors involved and able to give their opinion but we don’t always need to be listened to.”

    “One of the major problems with other sports in my opinion is that they listen to the athletes and the owners too much instead of listening to the fans,” Burton said. “In our sport, the fans get a vote before I do and I’m OK with that.”

    While Burton has been atwitter about this social media campaign with Kwikset, he has also been pretty pleased about his performance on the track, in spite of not always getting the finishes he and his team would like.

    This past weekend at Kentucky, Burton rebounded from two speeding penalties to run in the top-five until several pit and on-track incidents left him to take the checkered flag in the 19th position.

    “The speeding penalties were just a mistake on our tachometer,” Burton said. “We recovered and got ourselves in the top five.”

    “Then it went downhill quickly after a brush up with Kasey Kahne on pit road and having a hole knocked in the nose,” Burton continued. “So, now instead of being a fifth place car, we were a tenth place car.”

    “And then on the last restart, Ryan Newman and I went three-wide into Turn 3 and Montoya didn’t know we were three-wide,” Burton said. “And we all crashed into each other, I got the right side of my car all torn up, and we went from running ninth to finishing 19th.”

    “It wasn’t a good finish but we did run well,” Burton continued. “We’ve been running well lately and last week I think we could have won the race.”

    “I feel good about what we’re doing but we’re just a little late doing it.”

    Burton is also looking forward to some strategy plate racing at Daytona and hopes to come out of it just a little better than his other experiences so far this year on the superspeedways.

    “Daytona is a little bit of a crap shoot,” Burton said. “You have to miss the wrecks.”

    “It’s just a tough race,” Burton continued. “I’ve been in two restrictor plate races this year and got caught up in two wrecks not of my doing.”

    “Last year, we had an average finish of fifth at plate races and this year we haven’t been able to finish a race because of wrecks,” Burton said. “We’ve just got to go there, put ourselves in position to be running at the end of the race, and then anything can happen.”

    But what Burton hopes most of all this weekend is that his fans take to Twitter, just as he does, and participate in Kwikset’s special sweepstakes.

    “I’ve really become interested in social media and check Twitter at least two or three times a day,” Burton said. “I follow the people that I want to follow and I follow the organizations that I want to follow.”

    “I get a lot of my news through Twitter, following different news and sports outlets,” Burton continued. “I really don’t watch the news anymore because I follow it on Twitter and then investigate it further.”

    “There are some things that are disappointing but overall it’s a very positive outlet and I’ve really been impressed with it.”

    And this race weekend, Burton will be even more closely watching his Twitter feed, especially with the hash tag #TweetToWin as all of his fans have the opportunity to participate for a chance at one of the most unique behind-the-scenes experiences in the sport.

    For more information about Kwikset’s sweepstakes in partnership with Jeff Burton, visit www.iHeartTheMayor.com.