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Tag: Jeff Gordon

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Chicagoland

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Chicagoland

    [media-credit name=”Noel Lanier” align=”alignright” width=”247″][/media-credit]Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski won the Geico 400, taking round 1 of the Chase For The Cup after holding off Jimmie Johnson at Chicagoland. Keselowski leads the point standings, three ahead of Johnson.

    “I’m aiming to be Roger Penske’s first Sprint Cup champion,” Keselowski said. “Nothing beats flying the checkered flag, except the ‘Jolly Roger.’

    “This could be the making of a great rivalry with Johnson. I took it to him; now I want to take it from him.”

    2. Jimmie Johnson: After starting from the pole, Johnson led a race-high 172 laps but couldn’t close the deal at Chicagoland, finishing second to Brad Keselowski’s late rush. Johnson now trails Keselowski by three in the Sprint Cup point standings.

    “Keselowski’s win had the makings of a ‘statement’ victory,” Johnson said. “Luckily for me, Keselowski doesn’t make statements, he makes ‘tweets.’ Kes has hundreds of thousands of followers; I’m not one of them. I only follow two people—Richard Petty and dale Earnhardt.”

    3. Tony Stewart: Stewart overcame a poor qualifying effort (29th), as well as an extra pit stop to correct a vibration, to finish a solid sixth in the Geico 400, a solid start to his defense of the 2011 Sprint Cup title. He trails Brad Keselowski by eight in the point standings.

    “The vibration was a potentially disastrous situation,” Stewart said, “but we handled it like champions. You could say we were ‘shaken, not stirred.”

    4. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin ran out of fuel late in the Geico 400, turning a likely top-10 finish into a 16th. The result dropped him from the top spot in the point standings to a tie for fourth, 15 behind Brad Keselowski.

    “What’s the bigger miscalculation?” Hamlin asked. “Me running out of gas, or people predicting me to come through when the pressure’s on? I had to make a late stop to ‘top off.’ For that reason, I’m ‘off the top.’”

    5. Kasey Kahne: Kahne finished third in the Geico 400, and leaped five spots in the point standings to fourth, where he is 15 points out of the lead.

    “I think my competitors are aware that I’ll be around until the end,” Kahne said. “Despite leaving a number of racing teams in my career, I think it’s apparent that I won’t ‘go away easily.’”

    6. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer led six laps at Chicagoland on his way to a tenth-place finish. He is now 15 points out of first in the point standings.

    “We could have used a dose of 5-Hour Energy,” Bowyer said, “because that was a ‘ho-hum’ finish.”

    7. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt qualified fourth, but started at the back of the field after an engine change, and salvaged a solid eighth in the Geico 400. He is 17 points behind Brad Keselowski in the point standings.

    “I guess it’s time I show what I’m made of,” Earnhardt said. “You’d think the name alone would be enough, but I guess I have to prove it as much on the track as I do in the merchandise trailers.”

    8. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex posted his 15th top-10 finish of the year with a ninth at Chicagoland, but made up little ground to the Chasers in front of him. He is now ninth in the point standings, 21 out of first.

    “I need a win,” Truex said. “In other words, I need to get going. NASCAR just reinstated A.J. Allmendinger, so maybe he can recommend a good ‘stimulant’ to get me going.”

    9. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished 18th, one lap down to the leaders, after a broken shock ruined his quest for a victory run at Chicagoland. He

    “We’re certainly disappointed in our shock failure,” Kenseth said. “Such a finish is tough to swallow, and even harder to absorb.”

    10. Greg Biffle: Biffle finished 13th, tops among Roush Fenway’s three car team. After leading the point standings for much of the year, it was a disappointing start to the Chase for the 3M team.

    “We certainly weren’t on our game,” Biffle said. “I guess you could say for the start of the Chase we were ‘off and running.’”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Federated Auto Parts 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Federated Auto Parts 400

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”221″][/media-credit]In a race full of twists and turns, including rain delays and wild card drama, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 55th annual running of the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond.

    Surprising:  It was surprising what a dramatically different reaction this driver had to a second place run this weekend as compared to the last.

    Jeff Gordon, piloting the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, went from kicking himself for his second place finish behind Denny Hamlin at Atlanta to being thrilled with his Richmond runner up run, especially since it clinched his wild card spot in the championship Chase.

    Gordon, Alan Gustafson (crew chief), Eddie D’Hondt (spotter) and the entire 24 team demonstrated the ‘never give up’ mantra, taking a car that was admittedly ‘junk’ at the beginning of the race, cutting the chain on the rear sway bar on a pit stop, and getting the car back up through the field after the rain delays to finish in the second spot and secure the final wild card berth in the Chase.

    “We went from last week to being the most disappointed I’ve ever been to finish second to the most excited I’ve ever been to finish second,” Gordon said. “Wow, what a race for us.”

    “I still can’t believe we actually did it.”

    Not Surprising:  As elated as Jeff Gordon was, the driver who fell out of the Chase was equally deflated, if not more so. Errors on pit road, including a lug nut problem that created a lengthy pit stop, cost Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota, the chance to compete for the Cup this year.

    Busch, who finished the race in the 16th position, fell back to the 13th spot in the point standings, losing his wild card berth to Gordon.

    “We missed it,” Busch said simply, after gathering his composure enough to make a brief statement. “That’s it, plain and simple.”

    “There’s no right way to handle this situation.”

    Surprising:  While many were surprised that all four of the Hendrick Motorsports cars scored spots in the Chase, the bigger surprise was that Michael Waltrip Racing achieved a similar feat, getting both of their race cars into Cup contention.

    In fact, one of their drivers, Clint Bowyer, in the No. 15 5-Hour EnergyToyota, powered through an incident with Juan Pablo Montoya and almost running out of gas, to make his way right toVictory Lane.

    “”To win this last race before this Chase is unbelievable,” Bowyer said. “We had a lot of adversity we had to bounce through.”

    “This is a good way to get things bounced back headed into this Chase,” Bowyer continued. “You never give up in this sport.”

    Bowyer’s Michael Waltrip Racing teammate, Martin Truex Jr., also never gave up and achieved his goal of a Chase spot.

    “Man, I feel good,” the driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts MWR Toyota said. “The way our cars are running and as fast as we’ve been the last six or seven weeks, we’re dangerous.”

    “Looking forward to going out and having some fun and hopefully we’ll be in the hunt.”

    Not Surprising:  Although thrilled that the team that bears his name raced two cars into the championship hunt, co-owner Michael Waltrip had another driver and good friend on his mind as he reflected on just how far his team had come over the years.

    “I’m so proud of what we’ve put together,” Waltrip said. “I’m obviously really happy with having two cars in the Chase.”

    “But my inspiration for having a team from the beginning was Dale Earnhardt,” Waltrip continued. “I always wanted to have a team like Dale had.”

    “So anytime something goes good, I always think about what all he meant to me.”

    Surprising:  Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota had a surprising new attitude about not only his race, in which he led 202 laps but finished 18th, but also his bid for the championship.

    “For the most part, I think I’ll just be a lot more relaxed this time around,” Hamlin said. “What do we have to lose?”

    “We’ve never won a championship,” Hamlin continued. “We’re going out there to try to win our first.”

    “I’m going to race week-to-week and just not think about a championship until I get to Homestead.”

    Not Surprising:   While Richmond was good to Stewart Haas Racing, it was not quite good enough to get one of their teams into the Chase.

    Tony Stewart, piloting the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, finished 4th at Richmond and became the 3rd seed in the Chase standings.

    “Really proud of Steve Addington (crew chief) and all of our guys at Stewart-Haas Racing,” Smoke said. “Just proud of the effort tonight.”

    Teammate Ryan Newman, however, did not fare so well. Although he brought his No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet home in the 8th position, he missed out on a spot in the Chase.

    “It’s disappointing,” Newman said. “I don’t really know what to say other than that.”

    “We gave it all we had and we didn’t get the win we needed to make the Chase.”

    Surprising:  One driver who has been admittedly struggling all year had a surprisingly good Richmond run. Jeff Burton, driving the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet, finished top-10, in the sixth position to be exact.

    “I’ve been saying week after week how strong this team is getting and we proved that tonight with a hard-fought top-10 finish,”Burton said. “I am happy and proud of everyone.”

    Not Surprising:  Although Kasey Kahne focused mightily on his No. 5 race car all night and into the morning, he was, not surprisingly, focused on another number, four, after the race.

    “Four Hendrick cars in the Chase,” Kahne said. “Four Chevrolets too.”

    Kahne finished 12th at Richmond, but more importantly secured the 11th seed in the Chase, making him one of those four Hendrick Motorsports drivers in the hunt for the championship.

    Surprising:  Ford had a surprisingly divided run to the Chase, with two Fords in and two Fords out. Matt Kenseth, in the No. 17 Best Buy Ford, finished fifth and will be seeded 8th in the Chase. Greg Biffle, in the No. 16 3M Ford, finished 9th and is seeded fifth in the Chase.

    The two Fords out, however, were Carl Edwards in the No. 99 Kellogg’s Ford and Marcos Ambrose in the No. 8 MAC Tools Ford. Edwards finished the Richmond race in the 17th position and Ambrose finished top-15.

    “I’m obviously disappointed,” Edwards said. “We just let too many points get away for a bunch of different reasons.”

    “We will just go try to build the best team we can for next year and try to make sure a Ford wins this championship.”

    “I just tried my hardest,” Ambrose said. “It wasn’t our night.”

    “Obviously we wanted the win, but it wasn’t meant to be.” 

    Not Surprising:  One driver was not only happy to be in the conversation, but has just been plain having fun as well. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished 14th in the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet and picked up the 7th place in the Chase.

    “We ran good,” Junior said. “I’m proud of the effort the whole company put forward this year.”

    “I’ve had an awesome time,” Junior continued. “It’s been so much fun.”

    “We are in the conversation and we’re going to work hard to still be in that conversation at Homestead.”

  • The Chase Is Set, But Make No Mistake, Gordon Is In!

    The Chase Is Set, But Make No Mistake, Gordon Is In!

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]It was misery. I wish I could have been at Richmond sitting in the stands without all the commentary provided by ESPN last night. Clint Bowyer won the race, but it was almost an afterthought to Bestwick, Jarrett, and Petree. All attention was on Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon, the two drivers who would finish 12th (yes, I said 12th) in the standings that lead to NASCAR’s playoff, The Chase. It was an amazing turn of events and Gordon deserves most of the credit, but there were 41 other drivers out there and one (Bowyer) was making a statement for Michael Waltrip Racing that was just as amazing. Drama, yes, but truth be told, Gordon has little chance at a championship given his team’s record in 2012.

    I know the argument. Tony Stewart did it last year. So did the NFL’s NY Giants and baseball’s St. Louis Cardinals, but this is not football or basketball and there are a lot of good teams in the final 12 that won’t be sitting down and doing nothing these last 10 races. Is it possible? Yes. Is it probable? No. Gordon has one win this season and that came when his teammate and Matt Kenseth decided to drive too hard and the rains came. I am looking forward to the mustache coming back on Jeff, though. Reminds me of the time we chatted at Myrtle Beach Speedway back when he was running the No. 1 Ford sponsored by Baby Ruth candy bars. Nice kid then and nice man now, so he was not the problem last night. The race telecast, however, was.

    Let’s look at the Chase competitors and see who just might have the upper hand.

    1. Denny Hamlin – The driver who came on strong in the final few races has the point for the final run to the Sprint Cup Championship. He finished 8th in the regular season standings, but bonus points for winning (he had four wins, which was more than anyone else) put him first with 2012 points, only three ahead of Jimmie Johnson.
    2. Jimmie Johnson – He sits three points behind Hamlin. Finishing the regular season in 10th place, he won three races, had more top fives and top tens than Hamlin. He also has won this five times.
    3. Tony Stewart – He sits in a three way tie for second, but we’ll use third because he won three races and is the defending champ. Tony wasn’t very consistent this year, but we all know that what he did last year proves he can do it again.
    4. Brad Keselowski – Also tied for second place, Keselowski won three races and like Stewart isn’t Jimmie Johnson. Brad finished fifth in the regular season standings.
    5. Greg Biffle – The regular season champion (that and $1.00 will get you a sweet tea at McDonald’s) now sits six points behind Hamlin. Seeing himself behind four drivers that he led by double digit points has to be upsetting, but this is a new season.
    6. Clint Bowyer – In case you haven’t heard, he won the Richmond race, and with two wins sits in a tie with Biffle for fifth and sixth. He finished seventh in the regular season standings and has been coming on in recent weeks.
    7. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – Junior sits nine points behind Hamlin and won at Michigan. He finished second to Biffle in the regular season standings. The fan favorite has to make up those nine points, knowing he has three teammates to battle to get there.
    8. Matt Kenseth – Tied with Earnhardt for seventh and eighth, he finished third in the regular season standings, but only had one win, the Daytona 500.
    9. Kevin Harvick – Harvick had a rough season with no wins and only four top five finishes. He was also ninth in the regular season standings.
    10. Martin Truex, Jr. – The final three positions all have 2000 points, 12 behind the leader. Truex came close, but didn’t win in 2012. Consistency got him up to sixth in the regular season standings and his car has looked better lately.
    11. Kasey Kahne – Kahne had a horrible start to 2012 which explains why the bonus points for his two wins still has him in Wild Card territory. He finished 11th in the regular season standings, but improved as the year went along.
    12. Jeff Gordon – Unless you without a scanner and sitting in the stands in Richmond last night or just didn’t watch, you know the story of Gordon’s frantic march to get the last place in The Chase. He won only one race and was involved in various crashes and missteps as the season progressed.

    For those who care, the field is made up of six Chevrolet’s, three Toyota’s, two Fords, and one Dodge. Combined, the drivers participating in The Chase have 13 Sprint Cup championships, though nine of those belong to two drivers – Gordon and Johnson.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Advocare 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Advocare 500

    [media-credit name=”Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”232″][/media-credit]From daylight to darkness over the Labor Day holiday weekend, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 53rd annual Advocare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

    Surprising:  While stock car racing often focuses on the skills of the driver, the race winner surprisingly took little credit for his first ever Atlanta win, instead attributing the victory to his crew chief and team.

    Denny Hamlin, in the No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota, scored his 21st career victory and his fourth victory of the 2012 season. And with all that, he locked himself not only into a Chase berth, but a top seed with his multiple victories.

    “This has been something in the works for a very long time,” Hamlin said. “I have a lot of wins in my career because of two very important guys.”

    “One is Darian (Grubb, crew chief) and the other is Mike Ford (Hamlin’s prior crew chief),” Hamlin continued. “Mike put together 80% of a championship winning team, and Darian has just filled that gap and put the rest of the pieces of the puzzle together.”

    “The pit crew nailed it,” Hamlin said of his team’s Atlanta performance. “They were just on it all day long.”

    “I’ve never seen our crew just so happy to be at the race track every single week.”

    Not Surprising:  Yes, regrets they have got a few, particularly runner up Jeff Gordon and fourth place finisher Martin Truex Jr.

    “I’m just mad at myself right now,” the driver of the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet said after almost catching the race winner during the green, white, checkered finish. “I guess I’m just getting soft in my old age.”

    “I’m too nice because, I don’t know, 15 years ago I would have just moved him right up the race track,” Gordon continued. “I don’t know why I didn’t do that.”

    In spite of his disappointment, this was Gordon’s 25th top-10 finish in 39 races at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It is also his 11th top-10 finish for the season.

    The driver of the No. 56 NAPA Shocks Toyota was also full of regrets after leading in the waning laps until the final caution came out for Jamie McMurray’s crash.

    “Just spun the tires,” Truex said of his restart. “It just wasn’t meant to be, I guess.”

    “It’s tough losing when you haven’t won in a long time,” Truex continued. “We were close.”

    “It just sucks we couldn’t get it done tonight.”

    In spite of his regrets about not winning, Truex Jr. did lock himself into the championship Chase, as well as locking into a three year contract continuation with Michael Waltrip Racing.

    Jeff Gordon, on the other hand, moved up one position in the point standings to 13th, but still remains outside of wild card contention and will have to finish ahead of Kyle Busch in the Richmond race in order to capture that Chase spot.

    Surprising:  While usually the first one to grab the microphone and most certainly one of the most verbal drivers, whether in the media center or on the grid, Carl Edwards was surprisingly at a loss for words as his engine, as well as his Chase hopes, seemingly went up in smoke.

    “I don’t even know what to say,” the driver of the No. 99 Subway Ford Fusion said. “This is not the interview I wanted to do after the race.”

    “I love this race track but it looks like a piston or something broke,” Edwards said regarding his engine woes. “It started making noise with about 25 to 30 laps to go.”

    “I mean, I just can’t believe this,” Edwards continued. “That’s just how our season has been going and I don’t know what the reason is.”

    “It’s just hard to put into words.”

    Edwards dropped two positions to 14th in the point standings after his 36th place finish at Atlanta.

    Not Surprising:  In spite of a most bitter Nationwide race battle, involving water bottle throwing and cheek ‘patting’, both drivers put aside their differences to finish top-5 at Atlanta, resulting in two Chase clinches.

    Keselowski, behind the wheel of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, finished third, scoring his second top-10 finish at Atlanta. Harvick, piloting the No. 29 Rheem Chevrolet, finished in the fifth spot.

    And yes, both drivers pronounced their finishes good.

    “Yeah, just a solid night,” Keselowski said. “Once again the 2 team stepped up, made great changes, and we are just proud of that effort.”

    “I’m proud to say we clinched our spot in the Chase.”

    “This was just a great night for our Rheem team,” Harvick said. “Things are going in the right direction and thanks to this solid run, we have clinched a post in the Chase.”

    Surprising:  As if losing one of his primary sponsors, Office Depot, was not enough, Tony Stewart added insult to injury by falling like a rock from his pole starting spot to finish 22nd, one lap down.

    “We just couldn’t get a handle on this thing tonight,” the driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevy said. “I was just to free.”

    “We chased it all night,” Smoke continued. “We’ll go back to the shop, tear it apart and see what the deal is.”

    Stewart remains in the tenth spot in the point standings.

    Not Surprising:   While Stewart struggled, teammate Ryan Newman affirmed his mission after the race, which saw the driver of the No. 39 Army Medicine Chevrolet finish 35th after an on-track incident with five-time champ Jimmie Johnson and fall out of wild card contention.

    “All I know was we ran out of room on the restart there,” Newman said. “It wasn’t my fault but it was just racing.”

    “In the big picture, tonight’s result hurt us relative to the Chase,” Newman continued. “But the US Army soldiers we represent are known for their refusal to accept defeat.”

    “The battle is certainly not over,” Newman said. “Our mission is clear.”

    Surprising:  While Newman may have seen it as just racing and Sam Hornish Jr. was just caught up in it all, Jimmie Johnson seemed surprisingly befuddled by the wreck on Lap 269, as in his mind, he was just easing on down the race track.

    “I think the No. 39 was on the outside and the No. 22 was next to me; we just all converged at one spot,” Johnson said. “All I know is I was riding down the road and left plenty of room on the outside of me and got turned head on into the wall.”

    The driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet finished 34th and fell two positions in the point standings to fourth. Johnson was, however, already locked into the Chase competition.

    Not Surprising:  Danica Patrick can finally claim ‘mission accomplished’ after checking off her ‘to do ‘list’ of finishing the race with all of the fenders intact on her No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet.

    “Yeah, that was what we were supposed to do today,” Patrick said of her 29th finish in her first race at Atlanta in a Cup car. “We were just in that phase of get the laps done, feel it out, run different lines, bring the car home, finish the race and try and learn a bit as we go.”

    “I think that was a good step for me,” Patrick said. “We did what we meant to do.”

    Surprising:  Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s crew chief Steve Letarte has been called many things, but what his current driver called him was a bit surprising.

    “Steve Letarte is really experienced and did a lot of crafty stuff to get us back into position,” Dale Junior said. “That’s about the only thing I think we can take away from that track.”

    The driver of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet already locked into the championship show, finished 7th in the Atlanta race before the Chase. He now is second in the point standings, just eight points back from leader Greg Biffle.

    Not Surprising:  In spite of the penalty cloud still hanging over their heads, Paul Menard, in the No. 27 Quaker State/Menards Chevrolet, and crew chief Slugger Labbe pulled of an eighth place finish.

    “We kept making the car better,” Menards said. “As the sun went down, we got better, made the right adjustments, and came away with another top-10.”

    Surprising:  Kasey Kahne seemed absolutely surprised that he didn’t fall further than 11th in the points with his 23rd place finish.

    “We just really missed it tonight,” the driver of the No. 5 Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet said. “The harder I drove, the worse I was.”

    “I can’t believe I’m in 11th,” Kahne continued. “I felt like I probably lost 10 spots.”

    “But we’re still in 11th and have two wins and I think we’re sitting decent.”

    Not Surprising:  Forget sexy, Kyle Busch is the wild card and he knows it. And he also knows that Jeff Gordon is most likely the competitor that he will have to beat to keep that wild card standing.

    The driver of the No. 18 Wrigley Doublemint Toyota finished 6th at Atlanta, gaining one position in the point standings to 12th, the second wild card position.

    “Overall the night was good for us,” Busch said. “Had to pass a few cars and got by a few cars to finish sixth.”

    “I’m not saying that I’m for sure going to be in the Chase at all – anything can happen,” Busch continued. “Jeff Gordon is no slouch at Richmond either and I feel like that’s the guy we’re racing.”

    “We’ll just have to see how it all plays out.”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Atlanta

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Atlanta

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”220″][/media-credit]Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin beat Martin Truex, Jr. out of the pits on the race’s final caution, and then held off Jeff Gordon to win the AdvoCare 500. Hamlin’s fourth win of the year will give him the top seed in the Chase in two weeks, barring a win at Richmond by Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, or Brad Keselowski.

    “I kept Gordon out of the winner’s circle,” Hamlin said, “which may have put Kyle Busch in the Chase. You may think I’m doing Kyle a favor. Not so. In fact, I’m doing myself a favor, by letting a driver in the Chase who has no chance of winning the Cup.”

    2. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson sparked a wreck with 56 laps to go when he made contact with Sam Hornish, Jr. sent Johnson into the wall. The No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy spun sideways and was slammed by Newman’s No. 39. Johnson finished 34th, 58 laps down.

    “I guess I didn’t see Hornish,” Johnson said. “That’s probably because he’s been ‘invisible’ since coming to NASCAR from Indy cars.”

    3. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished third at Atlanta with his tenth top-5 finish of the year. He is now sixth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 48 out of first, and by virtue of his three wins, will start no worse than second in the Chase.

    “Joey Logano will be my new teammate in 2013,” Keselowski said. “If he’s anything like me, and nothing like A.J. Allmendinger, then he won’t take anything from anybody.”

    4. Greg Biffle: Biffle started on the front row at Atlanta, but struggled with handling issues for much of the night and finished 15th. He still leads the point standings with one more race before the Chase For The Cup field is set.

    “I’m just happy to still be on top in the point standings,” Biffle said. “Even if it’s for just one more week, I still have more ‘staying power’ than some of my Roush Fenway teammates. If it’s not Matt Kenseth telling us he’s going somewhere, it’s Carl Edwards telling us he’s not going somewhere. For the Chase, it seems, none of us are going anywhere.”

    5. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt surged on the green-white-checkered finish at Atlanta, taking seventh in the AdvoCare 500. He moved up one spot to second in the point standings, where he trails Greg Biffle by eight.

    “They say once the Chase begins,” Earnhardt said, “the ‘cream rises to the top.’ Does that explain why I’ll tumble down the standings when the points are reset?”

    6. Tony Stewart: Stewart struggled at Atlanta, running two laps down for much of the race before finishing 22nd, one lap down to the leaders. Stewart has not finished better than 19th in the last four races, and is tenth in the Chase, 18 points ahead of Kasey Kahne.

    “As you know,” Stewart said, “I’m losing Office Depot as a primary sponsor. Whereas the No. 14 has been ‘Office Depot’d’ for many years, it’s now being ‘Office Deposed.’ It seems that sponsorships, like helmets, are going ‘Mobil.’”

    7. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth led the Roush Fenway charge at Atlanta, finishing ninth for his 15th top-10 of the year. He is third in the point standings, 21 out of first.

    “Tony Stewart said there is no ill will between us from the Bristol helmet toss,” Kenseth said. “Considering Stewart’s history of holding grudges, I’m skeptical when he says ‘We’re cool.’

    “I’m finally able to officially announce my signing with Joe Gibbs Racing. It’s not like it was a secret, so I was quite taken aback by all the questions ‘thrown’ at me at the press conference.”

    8. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex hopes for his first win of the year crumbled when Jamie McMurray slammed the wall with five laps to go. Truex was edged out of the ensuing pit stop by Denny Hamlin, and eventually finished fourth. He is fifth in the point standings, and unless he wins at Richmond on Saturday, will start at the bottom of the Chase field.

    “I, along with NAPA, signed on for another three years with Michael Waltrip Racing,” Truex said. “Now, I think I’d rather ‘dot the eyes’ of McMurray as opposed to those of the contracts.”

    9. Kevin Harvick: Harvick led 101 laps, second to Denny Hamlin’s 105, and finished fifth, his first top-5 result since a second at Dover. Harvick is ninth in the point standings, 72 out of first.

    “A water bottle may have cost me the win in Saturday’s Nationwide race,” Harvick said. “I only wish the explanation for my lack of Sprint Cup wins could be explained as easily.”

    10. Kyle Busch: Busch kept his Chase hopes alive, with help from Joe Gibbs teammate Denny Hamlin, with a sixth in the AdvoCare 500. Hamlin’s win prevented Jeff Gordon from an all-important second victory, thereby allowing Busch to maintain a wildcard spot.

    “If anyone deserves to be a ‘wild card,’” Busch said, “it’s me, although the ‘old’ Kyle Busch was wilder and more of a card than the ‘current’ Kyle Busch. Strangely enough, for once, people are encouraging me to ‘go wild.’”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Irwin Tools Bristol Night Race

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Irwin Tools Bristol Night Race

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]With their intro songs, as well as the voices of their children singing the national anthem ringing in the drivers’ ears, here is what was surprising and not surprising from 52nd Annual Irwin Tools Night Race at the new, old Bristol.

    Surprising:  This driver not only proved he can dance the ‘Dougie’ but he can also win the night race at Bristol, scoring one of the biggest wins of his career.

    Denny Hamlin, driving the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, scored his third victory of the season, but more importantly his 20th career Cup victory and the 200th win for the No. 11 car.

    “You dream about winning at this place and I’ve come so close and never won,” Hamlin said. “This is just a big win.”

    “It’s big because it’s my 20th, 200th for the car, and you look at the names, Ned Jarrett and those guys that have driven the No. 11.”

    “I’m just a spec on that stat sheet of wins for this number,” Hamlin continued. “This is a number that has been big in NASCAR history.”

    “And it’s big for me.”

    Not Surprising:  Ever the showman, it was not surprising that track owner Bruton Smith delivered exactly what he wanted for the fans of Bristol Motor Speedway, pronouncing that the ‘old’ Bristol, complete with beating and banging, was back at the newly changed track.

    “I will be the first to admit that I was somewhat hesitant going into the race at Bristol after the changes that were made to the track,” Larry McReynolds, former crew chief and NASCAR analyst, said. “Now, after what I saw last weekend, I believe we have reached a balance that everyone can be happy with.”

    “We still have some of what I call the new Bristol, which is side-by-side racing, while at the same time, we sure did have a lot of the old Bristol again,” McReynolds continued. “Saturday night brought us 13 cautions, which is the most at Bristol since March 2007.”

    “What’s interesting about that, March 2007 was the last race before they re-did the surface the last time.”

    Surprising:  While Tony Stewart, driving the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet, had a miserable night on the track, tangling with competitor Matt Kenseth while racing for the lead and wrecking to finish 27th, he received surprisingly high marks from one of his other competitors on his helmet toss at the No. 17 Valvoline NextGen Ford.

    “I saw him lingering, kind of waiting with his gear,” Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Dover White Chevrolet, said. “I figured something was going to happen.”

    “I heard he had a good toss on it,” Johnson continued. “I know he impressed our crew. They said he had an arm on him; he hit a good throw and hit it dead center.”

    Not Surprising:  Apparently one other quasi-member of the Stewart Haas racing team, rookie Danica Patrick learned her lessons well from team collaborator and mentor Tony Stewart.

    While the driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet for Tommy Baldwin Racing did not throw her helmet after a late race altercation with Regan Smith cost her a top-20 finish in her first Bristol Cup race, she did her fair share of finger wagging at her nemesis as he came around the track.

    “We’re all racing hard,” Patrick said. “This is Bristol and that is why people love this track is because you see a lot of that and you see tempers flare.”

    “It was just a bummer because I really felt like the GoDaddy Chevrolet was going to get a solid, maybe a top-20 , finish and on the lead lap.”

    “So, it’s a shame we lost that,” Patrick continued. “But you know,Bristol is a place where you find out who’s playing fair and who’s not.”

    Surprising:  The ‘Sheriff’ showed his badge at Bristol, as well as how hungry he was to be back behind the wheel of a competitive race car. Brian Vickers, driving the No. 55 MyClassicGarage.com Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, finished fourth in a race which he also had the privilege of leading.

    “I gave it all I could,” Vickers said “But it wasn’t enough.”

    “I’m still really happy with a fourth place,” Vickers continued. “Obviously please, but not satisfied.”

    “I’d loved to have won this thing and we had a shot at it.”

    Not Surprising:   Casey Mears, behind the often start-and-park wheel of the No. 13 Ford Fusion for Germain Racing, scored his first pole in many, many years, thanks to a surprise rain washing out the qualifying session.

    Yet, even with the great starting spot, it was not surprising that Mears faded throughout the race, finishing 21st.

    “It’s been a couple of years,” Mears said of his pole position. “The team has really grown in strides and we’ve made a lot of big improvements this year.”

    “We still have a lot to learn and still have a lot to grow.”

    Surprising:  While Joey Logano, driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota, faces an uncertain future as well as a battle for a Chase spot, it was still surprising just how frustrated the young driver was even with an 8th place finish at Bristol.

    “This was the most frustrating race I think I’ve ever been a part of,” Logano said. “I had a good care in the beginning of the race and the track changed and we just couldn’t keep up with it.”

    “We need a win and anything short of that is not good enough.”

    Not Surprising:  ‘Mr. Consistent’, otherwise known as Dale Earnhardt Jr., clinched his spot in the championship hunt with a twelfth place finish at Bristol. He was joined by fellow clinchers teammate Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle, the current points leader.

    “I feel good about it,” Junior said of his clinch. “We worked real hard all season and I want to thank my guys.”

    “I made a little mistake and came down a closed pit,” Earnhardt, Jr. continued. “But we had a fast car.”

    Surprising:  Kyle Busch, who has had quite a prior record at Carl Bristol with four wins, five top-five finishes and seven top-10s in the last ten Cup races there, surprisingly struggled at this new/old Bristol.

    The driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota did, however, pull off a top-10 finish in spite of it all.

    “Our night was decent,” Busch said. “I think I screwed us up in practice – just not getting the right setup underneath the car.”

    “I took our guys in a little bit of the wrong direction so I hate it for them,” Busch continued. “We fought hard and did all we could.”

    While Busch did not get a needed win, he did keep his hopes alive in the ‘wild card’ race for the Chase. He sits now in the 13th spot, second in the wild card standings thanks to Carl Edwards’ gas gamble and 22nd place finish at Bristol.

    Not Surprising:  Perhaps it was the Farmville-themed race car, but Jeff Gordon, veteran and four-time champ was have a great deal of fun racing at a track that has been very good to him in the past.

    And with his third place finish, the driver of the No. 24 Farmville/Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, moved up two spots in the standings to the 14th position.

    “What I loved about the racing, even though it was really tough to pass, is it just reminded me of old school Bristol,” Gordon said. “You did slide jobs on guys when you got runs and that’s what we had tonight.”

    “So, I think it was a success and I certainly had a lot of fun.”

    Surprising:  Whether a road course, oval or short track, Marcos Ambrose continued his reign of good finishes with another top-5 finish. The good run at Bristol moved the driver of the No. 9 DeWalt Ford up one position to 16th in the point standings.

    “I’m just trying hard,” Ambrose said. “That’s two top-fives in two weeks for us.”

    “It’s been a great month,” Ambrose continued. “I’m just really proud to represent the King, have a strong run and give them a shot to make the Chase.”

    Not Surprising:  After being hit with a hefty penalty for irregularities with the frame rails of the No. 27 Menards/Schrock Chevrolet, Paul Menard, crew chief Slugger Labbe and the team battled back for a 10th place finish on the short track.

    “This entire team overcame a lot for this top-10 finish,” Menard said. “The pit crew was amazing tonight too.”

    “Once we were able to move into the high groove, the car was pretty good.”

    Because of the penalty, Menard and his team are now in the 17th position in the point standings. Team owner Richard Childress is appealing the severity of the penalty.

     

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Bristol

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Bristol

    [media-credit name=”Dan Sanger” align=”alignright” width=”217″][/media-credit]Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished second at Bristol and clinched a spot in the Chase For The Cup. He moved up two places to second in the Sprint Cup point standings, 11 behind Greg Biffle.

    “What a dramatic race,” Johnson said. “There was helmet-tossing, finger-wagging, and lots of trash talking. Obviously, Danica Patrick wasn’t the only one to get her panties in a wad.

    “And speaking of ‘unmentionables,’ I think it’s clear that when speaking of potential 2012 Cup champions, no other names should enter the conversation except mine. I’ve got the car, the cool demeanor, and a crew chief who knows his way around, especially the rules.”

    2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin passed Carl Edwards with 39 laps remaining and went on to win for the first time at Bristol. Hamlin’s third win tied him with Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, and Brad Keselowski, and all but clinched a spot in the Chase.

    “I may be the only Joe Gibbs Racing driver to make the Chase For The Cup,” Hamlin said. “And that’s fine with me, because I’m perfectly happy to remain single.

    “My third win all but guarantees me a spot in the Chase. Above all, I want to control my own destiny where the Chase is concerned. Contrary to what you may have heard, I do believe in ‘berth control.’”

    3. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt finished 12th  in the Irwin Tools Night Race, joining a trio of his Hendrick Motorsports teammates in the top 12. With his finish, Earnhardt clinched a spot in the Chase For The Cup.

    “That’s right,” Earnhardt said. “I’ve mathematically earned a spot in the Chase. That’s a huge milestone, because, for once, the members of Junior Nation are happy to ‘do the math.’”

    4. Greg Biffle: Biffle finished 19th on a disappointing night for Roush Fenway Racing at Bristol, as Matt Kenseth tangled with Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards ran out of gas late. Despite the finish, Biffle punched his ticket to the Chase and continues to lead the points standings.

    “What a throw by Tony Stewart,” Biffle said. “Now I’m the only Roush Fenway driver not to fall victim to Stewart’s ‘mind’ games. Matt obviously has been involved in his share of retaliatory incidents at Bristol. Sure, Tony Stewart needs anger management; Matt needs danger management.”

    5. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth and Tony Stewart wrecked while battling for the lead midway through Saturday night’s race, sending both into the inside wall. As Kenseth passed Stewart on pit road, a disgruntled Stewart flung his helmet at the No. 17 Ford, nailing it squarely on the front bumper. Kenseth eventually finished 25th and fell two places in the point standings to fourth.

    “I felt like Juan Montoya,” Kenseth said, “because I was target-ed. Tony aims like a champ, but throws like a girl. Everyone’s always said Tony likes to throw ‘blame’ around. This is an obvious example.”

    6. Tony Stewart: After a costly spin with Matt Kenseth damaged his No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart retaliated by tossing his helmet at Kenseth’s car on pit road. After eventually posting a 27th-place finish, Stewart vowed to wreck Kenseth for the rest of the year.

    “If Kenseth gets in my way again,” Stewart said, “heads will roll, again. I let my temper get the best of me. As you know, my temper is undefeated in matchups with ‘me.’

    “Kenseth’s going to get what’s coming to him. At least that’s what Joe Gibbs tells me.”

    7. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski took a bump from behind on lap 263 that sent him into the outside wall, resulting in damage to the front-end alignment. He eventually finished 30th, 66 laps down. He fell two spots to seventh in the point standings and is 59 out of first.

    “It’s too bad Matt Kenseth wasn’t driving a ‘Dodge,’” Keselowski said. “Then maybe he could have avoided Tony Stewart’s helmet. As it was, Kenseth is an ass(ault victim).”

    8. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer remained solidly in the hunt for a Chase spot with a seventh at Bristol, his 14th top-10 finish of the year. Now sixth in the points standings, he trails Greg baffle by 55.

    “Who knew Tony Stewart was such a good golfer?” Bowyer said. “His approach to ‘17’ was perfect. I bet Tony wishes he would have tossed his HANS device at Kenseth as well. Then, he could honestly say he showed ‘restraint.’”

    9. Kasey Kahne: Kahne finished ninth in the Irwin Tools Night Race, joining Hendrick teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, who finished second and third, in the top 10. He currently holds the first wild card spot for the Chase For The Cup.

    “We’d really like to get four Hendrick drivers in the Chase,” Kahne said. “Mainly, to keep Jimmie Johnson ‘company.’”

    10. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex lead 44 laps and finished 11th in the Irwin Tools Night Race. He moved up one spot to fifth in the Sprint Cup point standings and trails Greg Biffle by 52.

    “Without a win this year,” Truex said, “I’ll be starting at the back of the Chase field. In other words, I’ll be giving everyone a ‘head start,’ which is exactly what Tony Stewart gave a surprised Matt Kenseth.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Pure Michigan 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Pure Michigan 400

    [media-credit name=”Dan Sanger” align=”alignright” width=”217″][/media-credit]From the older pole sitter Mark Martin, celebrating thirty years of racing at MIS, to Kid Rock giving the command, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 43rd annual Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

    Surprising:  It was surprising that the race winner, standing in Victory Lane in the Irish hills of Michigan, had another city, Las Vegas, on his mind.

    Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Ford, capitalized on the Jimmie Johnson’s engine woes to score his second victory of the season and his third at Michigan International Speedway.

    He is now 20 points ahead of his teammate Matt Kenseth in the point standings and has a Vegas-style championship celebration on his mind.

    “It’s an important win,” Biffle said. “We have been working really hard to get back into Victory Lane.”

    “We are going to make a run at the title,” Biff continued. “I know they don’t talk about us a lot, but they will when we get to Vegas.”

    Biffle’s win also catapulted Roush Fenway Racing to its 12th win at MIS, breaking a tie with the Wood Brothers for most wins at that race track.

    Not Surprising:  For the second week in a row, Brad Keselowski was the enthusiastic runner-up, heading quickly to Victory Lane to congratulate the race winner.

    “He just did a great job,” Keselowski said of Biffle. “He had a fast car and passed me legit and I couldn’t keep up with him.”

    “I tell you what, it felt good to be racing up there at my home track here at Michigan,” The driver of the Blue Deuce continued. “It’s an honor to race with guys like Greg and be door-to-door.”

    “I feel like the best is yet to come.”

    This was Keselowski’s second top-10 finish in seven races at Michigan and his best finish at his home track. He has now finished 1st, 8th, 5th, 9th, 4th, 2nd and 2nd in the last seven races.

    Surprising:  Mr. Hendrick found himself in a surprising role, that of referee between two of his drivers, veteran Jeff Gordon and the sport’s most popular Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

    The two tangled on the track after a restart, which led to consternation from the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet and confusion from Junior and company.

    “He took me four-wide and then he slid up in front of me,” Gordon said after the race. “I didn’t think it was very smart what he did.”

    “I didn’t feel like I did anything wrong,” Earnhardt, Jr. said. “I thought there was plenty of room.”

    Not Surprising:  Marcos Ambrose, winner of last week’s race at the Glen, continued riding the wave of momentum on his mission to try for a Chase berth. Ambrose, in the No. 9 Stanley Ford Fusion, finished fifth and currently sits 17th in points with one win.

    “It was a really strong day,” Ambrose said. “We came off a win and sometimes you struggle to keep that mojo going.”

    “It’s great to run top five, but winning is what it’s all about now for us.”

    Surprising:  While races can sometimes be full of challenges and surprises, Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet, sure had his hands full in the Irish hills.

    Kahne was caught up in the one of the major wrecks of the day, yet was still able to overcome to finish third, his eighth top-10 finish in 18 races at MIS.

    “Man, there was a lot that went on for us,” Kahne said. “Slid through the grass and thought it destroyed my car.”

    “Fortunately it just pushed the right fender in,” Kahne continued. “The guys were able to pop it up out and we came back to third.”

    “Solid day, solid recovery.”

    Not Surprising:   In spite of a wreck that could have been devastating, with his car practically impaled, the ever effervescent Mark Martin had only praise for his team after getting out of his fiery, destroyed race car.

    “I just want to thank all the race fans,” the driver of the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota said. “Michael Waltrip gave me a chance to drive an awesome race car.”

    “I’m glad I’m OK too and I’m glad I got to drive this thing.”

    Martin was rewarded for his efforts with a deal announcement that he will drive 22 races for MWR in 2013.

    Surprising:  With an engine shop that is usually the gold standard, it was surprising that drivers were in defense mode of the Hendrick motors after four failures during the race.

    Tony Stewart was one of those drivers affected by a broken valve spring in his No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet, relegating him to a 32nd place finish. This was Stewart’s first DNF in 42 races.

    “It’s not something that’s the norm,” Smoke said. “I appreciate everybody at the Hendrick engine department.”

    “We have the best engine department in the world, definitely in the series, and they did everything they could,” Stewart continued. “It was just a bad day.”

    Not Surprising:  In spite of his teammate’s engine troubles and his own flu-like symptoms, Ryan Newman said hello to an eighth place finish at MIS. This was also his eighth top-10 finish for the season, keeping him in potential Chase contention in the wild card spot.

    “I’m better,” Newman said after stepping out of the car. “I think adrenaline took over for the most part.”

    “Finishing eighth, I think we’re proud of that.”

    Surprising:  Traditionally at a track like Michigan, four-wide racing is the norm. But surprisingly, MIS may have become the new Bristol, thanks to the beating and banging on the track and the feuds developing in the aftermath.

    One such duo that tangled at MIS was Juan Pablo Montoya, driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet, and young Joey Logano, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet.

    “He came down on me twice,” Logano said of Montoya. The youngster soldiered on after a hard hit to the wall to finish 31st.

    “Well anything that could go wrong today did,” JPM, who finished 26th, said. “It was a rough day.”

    Not Surprising:  Sam Hornish Jr. continued to show just how badly he wants to retain the seat of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger. After finishing second in the Nationwide race in Montreal, Hornish returned to MIS and worked his way up from the back of the field to finish 12th in the Cup race.

    “Not a bad day,” Hornish Jr. said. “I felt like it was pretty good from the point that we started in the back and worked our way up and by the midpoint of the race, we were running in the top five.”

    “We just got off on our strategy and that kept us from getting the finish that we wanted.”

    “Hopefully I get the opportunity to be here in the Cup Series.”

     

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Michigan

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Michigan

    [media-credit name=”Dan Sanger” align=”alignright” width=”226″][/media-credit]Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jimmie Johnson: After passing Brad Keselowski on lap 191, Johnson was poised to capture his series-best fourth win of the year. But a blown engine just four laps later ended Johnson’s day, and his 27th-place finished dropped him to fourth in the point standings.

    “That’s was my second engine failure of the weekend,” Johnson said. “Let me tell you, that ‘b(Lowe’s).’ Who’s building these things? Ironically, he may have to be ‘let go.’

    “Is Keselowski the biggest threat to my chances of winning my sixth Cup title? If number of tweets is any indication, then I’m in deep trouble. But I, a five-time champion, tend to put more stock in ‘hardware’ instead of ‘software.’ I don’t follow @Kes, or that logic.”

    2. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski took the runner-up spot for the second-straight week, finishing second to Greg Biffle in the Pure Michigan 400. Keselowski remained fifth in the point standings and is 47 out of first.

    “Am I destined for second place?” Keselowski said. “Apparently, I need to send a tweet to ‘@theleader,’ because that’s who I’m following.

    “I hear than Joey Logano could be my new teammate at Penske Racing. I think it would be great to see Joey’s name on the side of a Penske Dodge. That way, I can once again say I have a teammate who’s ‘on something.’”

    3. Greg Biffle: Biffle took the lead when Jimmie Johnson’s engine blew on lap 196, and held off Brad Keselowski to win the Pure Michigan 400. It was Biffle’s second win of the year, giving him the Sprint Cup points lead and significantly improving his position in the Chase.

    “These are happy days for me,” Biffle said. “Oddly enough, Johnson’s ‘expiration point’ became my ‘inspiration point.’ And I ‘made out’ well.

    “It looks like Jack Roush’s hopes for the Cup title rest solely on my shoulders. Matt Kenseth seems to be mailing it in, while Carl Edwards won’t deliver on Sunday.”

    4. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt, who won at Michigan in June, finished fourth in the Pure Michigan 400, his tenth top-10 of the year. He moved up one spot in the Sprint Cup point standings to third, 22 behind Greg Biffle.

    “Jeff Gordon had some unkind words for me over the radio at Michigan,” Earnhardt said. “I’m not offended. And neither is Rick Hendrick. In his eyes, Gordon was just ‘sharing information.”

    5. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished 17th at Michigan, as Roush Fenway teammate Greg Biffle gave Jack Roush his 12th win at Michigan. Kenseth is now second in the point standings, 20 behind Biffle.

    “Congratulations to Greg Biffle,” Kenseth said. “I have no problem ‘giving it up’ for the Biff.’ I also have no problem ‘giving it up’ for a fat new contract with Joe Gibbs Racing. I envy Biffle. He closed the deal and wasn’t afraid to talk about it.”

    6. Kasey Kahne: Kahne solidified his wildcard position in the standings with a third in the Pure Michigan 400. He is 11th in the point standings, 33 behind Deny Hamlin in 10th.

    “Mark Martin had a heck of a crash on Sunday,” Kahne said. “Officially, he retired on lap 64. Considering the magnitude of the wreck, I’m surprised Mark was able to walk away. I’m even more surprised he didn’t officially announce his retirement.”

    7. Tony Stewart: Stewart finished 32nd at Michigan after a long day in which he struggled after losing a cylinder on lap 51. After several trips to the garage, Stewart ended the day 92 laps down.

    “Luckily,” Stewart said, “I’ve got three wins to fall back on. And I pride myself on being amply cushioned.

    “My good friend Danica Patrick ran over a shoe in Montreal on Saturday. It seems she’s trying a little too hard to get her ‘footing’ in NASCAR. She probably could have used a shoe ‘horn.’ The GoDaddy.com car spits out shoes faster than a Chinese Nike factory.”

    8. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 11th at Michigan, leading one lap and just missing on his 12th top-10 result of the year. He is tenth in the point standings, 96 out of first.

    “Despite my standing in the points,” Hamlin said, “I still think I’ll contend for the Sprint Cup title once the Chase begins. So, unlike my unborn child, my championship hopes are ‘legitimate.”

    9. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer posted his third consecutive top-10 finish with a seventh in the Pure Michigan 400. He remained seventh in the Sprint Cup point standings, 66 out of first and firmly in place to make the Chase.

    “I’m a shoo-in to make the Chase,” Bowyer said. “And speaking of ‘shoe-ins,’ a sneaker tossed on the track in Montreal derailed Danica Patrick’s chances in the Nationwide race. She ran slap over the thing. I’m guessing she would have stopped had it been a high heel.”

    10. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex finished 10th at Michigan, scoring his 13th top-10 result of the year. He stands sixth in the point standings, 60 out of first.

    “Michael Waltrip Racing is poised to put two cars in the Chase For The Cup,” Truex said. “Can you imagine an MWR driver winning the Sprint Cup championship? Michael says if you can’t ‘buy’ that, maybe you will ‘rent’ it.”

  • Pure Michigan 400 Review: Bizzare Day at Michigan

    Pure Michigan 400 Review: Bizzare Day at Michigan

    [media-credit name=”Dan Sanger” align=”alignright” width=”232″][/media-credit]As the 43rd Annual Pure Michigan 400 came to a close, the race was anyone’s game with some of the top names in the sport racing for the lead position. Brad Keselowski held the lead with 10 laps to go, as five-time champion Jimmie Johnson was putting the pressure on him. Keselowski’s No. 2 Miller Light Dodge got loose one lap later and Johnson was able to sneak by him to take over the lead. Greg Biffle, who was running third with ten to go, was able to pass Keselowski for second as Johnson took over the lead.

    It looked as if Johnson would drive on to win his fourth race of the season, until his engine expired with 6 laps remaining – making that the third Hendrick Motorsports engine with problems this weekend. The race would finish under green-white-checkered as Biffle held off a hard-charging Keselowski to win for the second time this season and third time at MIS.  Kasey Kahne finished in third position, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Marcos Ambrose rounding out the top five.

    “It was a wild race. We struggled with our car throughout the weekend, worked real hard on it overnight,” said Biffle after the race. “My car was super good at the beginning of the race when the track was green. Once I got on restarts and in traffic, I wasn’t that good.

    “We just kept working on it, trying different things. But, we were so good out front. I knew once we got out front we’d be tough to beat. I know that a lot of people don’t expect us to win the championship, and don’t think we can compete for the title. But, we will be a factor when it comes down to Homestead.”

    This moves the No. 16 team to the points lead, with 20 points over Roush Fenway Racing teammate Matt Kenseth. Earnhardt moves to third position in standings, with his teammate Johnson dropping three positions to fourth. Keselowski rounds out the top five, 47 points behind the leader.

    Cautions Breed Cautions

    First caution of the day occurred on Lap 6 when Aric Almirola and David Gilliland got together on the front stretch. Unfortunately for the rest of the field, this was just the start of the cautions for the day.

    [media-credit name=”Wesley Hitt/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”221″][/media-credit]Mark Martin started the race from the pole position and ended his day with a bizarre crash on Lap 64. Juan Pablo Montoya and Bobby Labonte were racing in front of Martin in an attempt to stay on the lead lap, when the two got together coming out of Turn 4. Martin dove low to try and avoid the incident, but sent his car spinning down pit road. His car then crashed into an opening of the pit wall just in front of the No. 5 team’s pit stall. Crew members dove to safety as debris flew from the pit stall and the No. 55 Toyota.

    “That was a pretty freak angle that I got at that,” Martin said. “I’m not sure what you could do. It could have been really bad if I would have got in that hole a little deeper where it caught me in the door instead of in the crush area back there. It’s hard to keep up with what exactly is going to be happening there. I was hoping that I was going to miss the pit wall completely and not tear the car up, but then I saw that the angle I was going that I was going to hit the end of pit wall.”

    Luckily, Martin was able to walk away from the incident safely, along with the crews on pit road. If the car would have hit any closer to the driver’s door than it did, Martin may not have been so lucky. Martin will continue driving part-time for Michael Waltrip Racing in 2013, with 22 Sprint Cup races on his schedule.

    Drivers were having a tough time getting their cars to stick to the track in Turn 4 on Sunday, including Watkins Glen winner, Marcos Ambrose. On Lap 77 his Stanley Tools Ford got loose and slid up the track and tapped the No. 78 sending him into the Turn 4 wall. Regan Smith was able to continue, but finished the race in 29th position, 47 laps down.

    The numerous amounts of cautions continue on Lap 90 when Joey Logano blew a right front tire due to a fender rub he sustained a few laps earlier. Two laps earlier the No. 42 of Juan Pablo Montoya got into Logano and forced him into the outside wall, causing the fender rub. Montoya finished in 26th position, Logano in 31st place.

    On Lap 135 Kurt Busch’s bad luck continued as he appeared to break something in the right front of his No. 51 Toyota and slammed into the wall. This brought out a caution and changed up pit strategy as 11 cars did not pit, including Earnhardt who assumed the race lead. Earnhardt led the field for a total of 25 laps after starting in the back of the field due to wrecking his car in final practice on Saturday.

    The last crash-induced caution occurred when Trevor Bayne blew his right front tire on Lap 182, causing him to finish in 24th position.

    Chase for the Sprint Cup

    With only three races left until the Chase for the Sprint Cup, all eyes are on drivers like Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin who are riding the line for falling out of the top ten in points. Kahne is only 33 points away from jumping into the top ten and continues to hold one of the wild cards that will allow him access into the Chase. If he races his way into the Chase and Hamlin or Stewart were to drop out of the top ten, this would give the wild card slot to one of them. As of now, Kahne and Ryan Newman hold these cards.

    Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Marcos Ambrose, and Joey Logano still have a shot to steal the wild card away from Newman, as they all hold one win this season. The wild card option goes to the drivers outside of the top ten who have the most wins this season; so far the only driver with more than one win outside of the top ten is Kahne.