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  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Lenox Industrial Tools 301

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Lenox Industrial Tools 301

    [media-credit name=”Kirk Schroll” align=”alignright” width=”242″][/media-credit]While not surprising that conversation still swirled around A.J. Allmendinger and his failed drug test, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 20th running of the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    Surprising:  Race winning crew chiefs do not usually look at getting a manicure as part of their post-race celebratory plans. But Kenny Francis, crew chief for the winning No. 5 Farmer’s Insurance Chevrolet driven by Kasey Kahne, may have to do just that.

    “I bit off all my fingernails,” Francis said, after watching the battle between his driver and a hard-charging Denny Hamlin. “At least I have two weeks for them to grow back.”

    “Yeah, from the pit box, we had a pretty good car all day,” Francis continued. “Fortunately we were able to finish it off and outrun him to the finish.”

    This was the No. 5 team’s second victory for car owner Linda Hendrick and the first ever trip to Victory Lane for driver Kasey Kahne at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    Not Surprising:  As in all relationships, one of the biggest issues causing trouble is the failure to communicate. Not surprisingly, a failure to communicate, in this case between driver and crew chief, actually cost the No. 11 team a chance to win at the ‘Magic Mile’.

    “We made our bed by taking those four tires,” Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota, said. “Darian (Grubb, crew chief) wanted to take two (tires) – I told him I just needed tires and that was it.”

    “He took it that I needed four tires,” Hamlin continued. “It was just a little miscommunication that turned into a second-place finish.”

    Hamlin, who started from the third spot, was the highest finishing Toyota driver and led five times for a race-high 150 laps of the 301 mile race.

    Surprising:  It was a matter of surprising seconds that both helped and hurt one race team at New Hampshire this weekend. Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota, scored the pole position for the race by just 0.003 seconds.

    Timing, however, came back to bite him when he sped by seconds on pit road and never really recovered. Busch, after leading 65 laps, finished the race in the 16th position.

    “It was a tough day for the Interstate Batteries Toyota,” Dave Rogers, crew chief, said. “We got caught speeding the first run there – that wasn’t Kyle’s fault.”

    “We calculate the RPM we’re supposed to run,” Rogers continued. “Gave Kyle the wrong number and he sped and that got us behind from the beginning.”

    “Then we were trying to play catch-up all day long.”

    Not Surprising:  When it comes to flat, shorter tracks, it is not surprising that talk turns to tire wear. And some drivers, particularly four-time champion Jeff Gordon, had some thoughts to share on this issue after the race.

    “Yeah, I’m really disappointed in today,” Gordon, who finished sixth in the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet, said. “This tire, I tell you, Goodyear has got to go back to the drawing board.”

    “They came here with a new tire and it is not a very good tire,” Gordon continued. “I think they know it and I’m hoping that they can come up with something a little bit better than this.”

    Surprising:  At a track where he once was dominant, and in fact led every lap for one race, it was surprising to see Jeff Burton run so poorly. The driver of the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet had problems on pit road, went down a lap and finished 21st.

    “We had a pit road incident early in the race that really set us back,” Burton said. “We had a top-12 car throughout the day, but couldn’t get a caution when we needed it.”

    “The speed was there but those long green-flag runs hurt us trying to get that lap back.”

    Not Surprising:  Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who should definitely be known as ‘Mr. Consistent’, kept up his stretch of consecutive laps finished and pulled off another good run at New Hampshire.

    The driver of the No. 88 National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet finished fourth in the race and is now just 16 points behind Chase standing leader Matt Kenseth.

    “We’re running strong,” Dale Junior said. “I’m really happy with how many points we’re gaining every week and what we’re doing consistently.”

    “We’ve found speed and improved.”

    Surprising:  One driver who desperately needed a good run to stay in championship contention had a surprisingly difficult day.  Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford Fusion, finished 18th and remained stuck in the 11 position in points, with no wins to his credit.

    Edwards finished so poorly that another surprise occurred after the race. Crew chief Bob Osborne was replaced by Chad Norris, who has been with Roush Fenway Racing since 2005 and has led the team’s research and development efforts since 2011.

    “Our commitment to winning a championship with the No. 99 in 2012 has not waivered,” Jack Roush, team owner said. “I’m committed to providing the resources to Carl and to his team to do that.”

    “This restructuring of Bob’s role and the introduction of Chad Norris as the crew chief for the No. 99 will put us in the best possible position for these final seven races before the Chase begins.”

    Not Surprising:   No one could blame new father Kevin Harvick for not only focusing on the race but also having baby Keelan on his mind. The driver of the No. 29 Rheem Chevrolet finished eighth after battling handling issues throughout the race.

    “I’m really proud of the entire Rheem crew and the effort they put in today, but we couldn’t figure out the right set up to get out front,” Harvick said. “We finished about where we should have.”

    “I’m looking forward to the off weekend,” Harvick continued. “It couldn’t have come at a better time and it will be great to spend time at home with my wife and newborn son.”

    Surprising:    It is not often when you hear a driver admit to struggling mightily with a particular issue on his race car. But Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M/Post-It Ford Fusion did just that, in spite of finishing ninth and being the highest Ford finisher of the New Hampshire race.

    “I’m a terrible driver when it comes to taking care of the brakes,” Biff said. “It’s got to be me because we’ve done everything under the sun, but about halfway through I lost my brakes and that’s about all I could do.”

    “Off the green, it would come back and haul like crazy, but then I just had to keep giving it up,” Biffle continued. “It was just a case of brakes.”

    Not Surprising:  Michael Waltrip Racing continues to be synonymous with good runs, with all three of the team cars in the top-15 in the running order.

    Clint Bowyer, driving the No. 15 5-hour Energy Toyota, was up on the wheel and finished third, while Martin Truex Jr. finished 11th and Brian Vickers finished 15th.

    “All in all, it was a good weekend for our 5-hour Energy Toyota,” Bowyer said. “It was a good way to get things turned around.”

    “After the last two weeks of getting wrecked, it felt good to get a good finish.”

    Surprising:  Although it was hot at the track where the driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet has won before, Tony Stewart surprisingly struggled, finishing 12th in contrast to his second place finish last year.

    “We just had no grip out there,” Stewart said. “Steve (Addington, crew chief) made one last change there at the end, and it definitely helped.”

    “We were finally able to make up some ground.”

    Not Surprising:  There was no magic for the Earnhardt Ganassi Race team at the ‘Magic Mile’.  Jamie McMurray, behind the wheel of the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Allstate Chevrolet, finished 20th and his teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, driving the N. 42 Degree Chevrolet, finished 25th.

    “To tell you the truth, today was rough,” Montoya said. “We struggled all weekend.”

    “Today was a tough day for our Bass Pro Shops team,” McMurray reiterated. “We battled some handling issues early on in the race but we never gave up and brought home a lead lap finish.”

    The Sprint Cup Series has its last off weekend next week before the dash to the end of the season. The next race on the schedule will be on July 29th at the Brickyard.

     

  • Eddie D’Hondt, Jeff Gordon’s Spotter, Sees a Team on the Verge

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”168″][/media-credit]While Eddie D’Hondt has done just about everything in his career, from racing modifieds in the Northeast to spotting for four-time champion Jeff Gordon, he is absolutely sure of one thing.

    D’Hondt is firmly convinced that the No. 24 team is on the verge of taking the checkered flag and, once that occurs, that there will be other wins to follow.

    “We’ve had some awful good races and we’re so close and on the verge of busting out,” D’Hondt said. “Working with Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) and getting to know Jeff (Gordon) more and more has been very rewarding.”

    “Once we finally have our day, it will all come together.”

    D’Hondt brings years of racing experience to the spotter’s stand for team 24. He has worked for drivers the likes of Tony Stewart, Kenny Wallace and Bill Elliott, as well as owning his own Nationwide team with Tommy Baldwin and working for Yates Racing.

    “Since I left Yates, I’ve been pretty much spotting for teams,” D’Hondt said. “I’ve worked for Kyle Busch the last year and a half and now Jeff Gordon.”

    “So, that’s my journey.”

    Because of his diversified background, on and off the track, D’Hondt feels that he brings multiple characteristics to the spotter’s stand. But he credits his time behind the wheel as the key to effective spotting from the sky.

    “I think having been a driver helps me understand a little bit of the driver’s aspect of it and understanding the cars,” D’Hondt said. “I stay on top of that as best I can.”

    “A lot of spotters were drivers at one point so it helps.”

    D’Hondt also acknowledges that his spotting style varies, depending both on the type of track and on the type of driver.

    “It may vary for sure,” D’Hondt said. “At a speedway race, the driver and spotter talk a lot more.”

    “Here at New Hampshire, it’s more the crew chief than me talking,” D’Hondt continued. “I also spot for Justin Allgaier in the Nationwide Series and Miguel Paludo in the Truck Series, so whatever feedback, like tire wear or other trends, I’ll bring it to their attention.”

    In his career, D’Hondt has seen many changes in the role of the spotter. And that evolution has kept him constantly busy on the stand, with breaks in the action being few and far between.

    “The evolution of the spotter has changed over the last few years,” D’Hondt said. “It used to be when a caution came out, you could take a drink or relax a little bit.”

    “Now, there’s a lot more action,” D’Hondt continued. “We’re looking for cars coming around so we don’t hit them or looking for problems in the pit stalls. Pit road is tight and cars are coming at the last second.”

    Because of all this action, D’Hondt advises preparation for each and every race is key. And once the race starts, focus is all important, especially with juggling multiple radios as well as seeing the activities on track.

    “Two hours before a race, I’ll go up and start getting into my mental mode,” D’Hondt said. “Once the race starts, you could blow a bomb up next to me and I would never notice.”

    “I have five radios on, so I’m listening to a tremendous amount of things,” D’Hondt continued. “I listen to the race broadcast, NASCAR, myself, and I have a digital radio when the crew chief talks to me.”

    “So, it’s pretty dizzying,” D’Hondt said. “But that’s all just part of me being able to give information when it’s applicable or warranted.”

    Of course, because spotters are human too, there are other preparations that have to occur before they came atop the stand.

    “There’s a lot of goofy stuff we have to do to prepare for a race, like make sure we got to the bathroom before it starts,” D’Hondt said. “Like at the Charlotte 600, you’ve better have gone because there’s no time once you’re up there.”

    “I generally won’t drink anything two hours before a race,” D’Hondt continued “Once the race starts, I’ll take a drink every once in awhile.”

    “I also chew gum to keep my mouth going,” D’Hondt said. “The only time we’ll eat anything is in between practices because that’s a decent enough break.”

    One of the more recent challenges that spotters like D’Hondt have had to face is the ever changing paint schemes on their drivers’ cars. This played special havoc for D’Hondt last weekend at Daytona when driver Jeff Gordon was in the black Pepsi Max race car.

    “We had a black car at a dark race track last Saturday and when the wrecks started happening and there’s smoke, it’s really hard,” D’Hondt said. “You just have to feel your way through it.”

    “It’s almost a sixth sense.”

    “I come early and walk around the garages to make sure I know what the sponsors are and whose car number is whose because a lot of times, Jeff will ask,” D’Hondt continued. “So that’s part of my job.”

    While many consider the role of spotter as glamorous and exciting, D’Hondt affirms the most serious aspect of the job.

    “It’s got its glamorous side to it,” D’Hondt said. “But at times, it can be pretty intense.”

    “It’s our job to keep the drivers safe first and foremost.”

    While safety is supreme, spotters also play important roles as information givers, as well as cheerleaders and encouragers. And of course, that balance depends greatly on the driver, his tenure in the sport and his own expertise behind the wheel.

    “Sometimes I feel like cheerleading might be a good thing, but there are other times when you just have to let them concentrate and do their jobs,” D’Hondt said. “So, there’s a little bit of a fine line there.”

    “I think it depends on the driver,” D’Hondt said. “With Jeff, as a four-time champion, I don’t have to tell him much.”

    “With a second year driver in the Truck Series, he still has a lot to learn,” D’Hondt continued. “I can say, in the right moment, a lot to help him.”

    Of all the drivers he has worked with, D’Hondt expresses highest admiration for his current driver and four-time champion.

    “Jeff has been there, done that and he knows,” D’Hondt said. “So, I talk a whole lot less when it comes to Jeff.”

    “I’ve worked with a lot of drivers with tenure in our sport, but Jeff Gordon to me is the consummate professional,” D’Hondt continued. “He amazes me how he never gets rattled, never takes his anger out on his guys and is just very professional.”

    “I like that and I like to carry myself the same way.”

    With D’Hondt atop the spotters’ stand and Jeff Gordon behind the wheel, this spotter knows it is just a matter of time until he, his team and driver finally reach Victory Lane. And with one win will no doubt come others as well.

    “We’ve had a pretty rough year, not because we haven’t had fast cars or cars capable of winning,” D’Hondt said. “I feel like once we win our first race, it won’t be our last.”

    “I feel like now, we’re in a pretty good rhythm,” D’Hondt continued. “And having won in the past, I know I will never lose sight of what winning will mean.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Coke Zero 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Coke Zero 400

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”214″][/media-credit]From drivers on ‘baby watch’ to the suspension of A.J. Allmendinger for failing his random substance abuse test, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona.

    Surprising:  One of the most sought after drivers for this race weekend was surprisingly Kenny Wallace. This Nationwide driver and Speed on-air personality actually had two offers to drive, first as back up for Kevin Harvick, whose wife DeLana held off on delivering ‘Baby Otis’ (now Keelan Paul Harvick) until after the race and then for Sam Hornish, Jr., just in case he did not make it to the race track to sub for suspended driver Allmendinger.

    “Well, that was drama,” Wallace said. “It was a feather in my cap for these car owners to think of my superspeedway driving.”

    “It was a little uncomfortable for everybody,” Wallace continued. “What happened with all the sponsors and all the automakers, this was all people helping people at this point.”

    Not Surprising:  In the midst of a heat wave and in spite of starting at the back of the field due to post-qualifying tech issues, the proverbial Smoke rose to the top, of the leader board in this case.

    Tony Stewart, in the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet, sliced and diced his way to the checkered flag to score his 47th victory in the Cup Series, now 14th on the all-time win list.

    This was Smoke’s third victory of the season, putting him in a tie with Brad Keselowski for Cup Series wins this year. This was also Stewart’s 18th win at Daytona International Speedway, second most all-time to Dale Earnhardt.

    “The great thing about restrictor-plate racing is that 43 cars all have the same shot at winning the race,” Stewart said. “But that’s also part of what makes it frustration too.”

    “It’s just being at the right place at the right time,” Smoke continued. “And when those last two big wrecks happened, we were in the right spot.”

    Surprising:  In spite of wrecking both on the track and on pit road, this driver salvaged a surprisingly good finish. Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Pepsi Max Chevrolet, survived the melee of the race and the final laps to bring his bruised vehicle to the checkered flag in 12th place.

    “There were moments tonight when I felt like we had a car that could win,” Gordon said. “And then that wreck happened when we were trying to come to pit road that just changed our night.”

    “I even got in the wreck on that last lap and still finished 12th,” Gordon said. “We don’t have much of a race car, but we got a 12th place finish.”

    Not Surprising:  Dale Earnhardt, Jr. continued to keep his streak of consecutive laps finished alive, in spite of being caught up in the final wreck of the race like so many others.

    Although poised for a top-five, the driver of the No. 88 National Guard ‘An American Salute’/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet crossed the finish line in 15th.

    “My mama told me she hoped the Cup race wasn’t as wild as the Nationwide race, but they always are, you know?” Junior said. “All these races are always like that and you just try to survive.”

    “We just came up a little short.”

    Surprising:  After a tough season to date, Jeff Burton, in the No. 31 Wheaties Chevrolet, had a surprisingly good second place finish. This was his 11th top-10 finish in 38 races at Daytona and his best finish of the season to date.

    “Well it certainly feels good to have a good finish,” Burton said. “We’ve had a miserable year.”

    “To get out of Daytona with a second tonight is probably more than I can expect with all the wrecks and stuff,” Burton continued. “Hopefully we can build on this.”

    Not Surprising:   From starting from the pole to having a car at the front of the field for much of the race, it was not surprising that Matt Kenseth scored a strong third place finish. Yet it was also not surprising to see just how bereft the driver of the No. 17 Zest Ford was when the race was done.

    “I’m really disappointed,” Kenseth said. “We thought we had one of the best cars.”

    “I was hoping it was going to be me or the 16 in Victory Lane,” Kenseth continued. “I feel like my team kind of deserved to be down there holding the hardware.”

    “We were in contention but we just didn’t get it done that last lap.”

    Surprising:  After a pit road mishap that turned this driver backwards and almost into Brad Keselowski’s pit stall and crew, Ryan Newman made a surprising recovery. The driver of the No. 39 Aspen Dental Chevrolet managed to finish top-five.

    “After what happened on pit road, I really didn’t know what to expect,” Newman said. “But the guys did a great job with the repairs.”

    “I’m just happy to bring a car home in one piece from one of these races.”

    Not Surprising:  Joey Logano, driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota, continued to dig for a potential Chase spot, finishing fourth. Logano moved up two spots to 14th in the point standings after the Daytona race.

    “It didn’t go as planned, but ended up pretty good,” Logano said. “So, we’ll take that for sure – a fourth place finish.”

    “That’s how we’ve got to keep fighting.”

    Surprising:  Two drivers known primarily for past glories did surprising well at Daytona. Michael Waltrip, driving the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, and Bobby Labonte, behind the wheel of the No. 47 Kingsford Charcoal Toyota, finished ninth and tenth respectively.

    “At the end of the race, I was confident I could push,” Waltrip said. “We just had a damaged car and probably pretty lucky we got a top-10.”

    “We got close, but that was all we could do is get close.”

    “We were a tortoise out there tonight,” Labonte said. “We just ended up missing those wrecks and that’s all that saved us tonight.”

    Not Surprising:  There were plenty of hard hits out there to no one’s surprise and one particularly hard hit befell five-time champ Jimmie Johnson. The driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet was involved in one of the ‘big ones’ on lap 123.

    “We were all getting ready to pit so I was waving my hand out the window,” Johnson said. “And as soon as I let off the gas, someone got into the back of me.”

    “I went down on the inside wall,” Johnson continued. “As I was spinning, I could see a lot of other cars were collected too.”

    Surprising:  Father of Chase Elliott, who has been tearing up the NASCAR ladder, made some headlines himself in the No. 50 Walmart Chevrolet. ‘Awesome Bill from Dawsonville’ was having a heck of a good race until crashing with many others on lap 123.

    “We were just a victim of circumstances,” Elliott said. “But man I was proud of all those guys on Turner Motorsports and Walmart.”

    “That’s the best I’ve run in a long time.”

    Not Surprising:  Frustration, to no one’s surprise, was the feeling of the day at Daytona International Speedway under the lights. Perhaps Carl Edwards, driving the No. 99 Subway Ford Fusion, summed it up best.

    “Frustrating describes this whole type of event,” Edwards said. “It’s very difficult.”

    “You’re just really trying hard not to wreck and ruin your day or other people’s day,” Edwards continued. “It’s a tough race.”

     

  • Kyle Larson ‘Felt Like a Super Star’ With Top Ten Truck Finish

    Kyle Larson ‘Felt Like a Super Star’ With Top Ten Truck Finish

    [media-credit name=”Photo Credit: kylelarsonracing.com” align=”alignright” width=”157″][/media-credit]Making his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut in the UNOH 225 at Kentucky Speedway, one young driver just wanted to learn and finish the race.

    But Kyle Larson, behind the wheel of the No. 4 Chip Ganassi Racing Teams Mobile App, finished top ten and simply “felt like a super star.”

    “That was a big surprise,” Larson said. “I didn’t get much practice there so I didn’t really know how I was going to do.”

    “And with me blowing a motor up and not having much practice, as well as being a go or go homer, I didn’t push it too hard in qualifying,” Larson continued. “I just wanted to spend the first part of the race figuring out how the truck handled and how the air moved around.”

    “Once I learned some stuff, I could really race and I could start picking off people,” Larson said. “And then I found myself in the top ten, so I was really excited about it.”

    “I felt like a super star.”

    With a top-ten in his Truck debut, Larson also garnered a fair amount of attention, particularly from the media. But the young driver took it all in stride.

    “I don’t pay too much attention about it,” Larson said. “The spot light’s been on me for quite a while now.”

    “I just try to go out and race because that’s my job and I love doing it,” Larson continued. “I just want to go out and win. And if I keep winning, the spot light will be even better.”

    Although Larson seemingly sprang onto the NASCAR scene, he has been driving since the age of seven. And he has an extremely impressive racing resume.

    “I started racing outlaw karts when I was seven,” Larson said. “They’re 400 pound go karts with 500 cc engines. So, they have way too much power for how much they weigh.”

    “I did that for about seven or eight years and moved into 360 and 410 sprint cars on dirt when I was 14,” Larson continued. “I won a couple races the first two years and my fourth year I won the championship and last year was my first year racing nationally in USAC in all their divisions.”

    “I also ran some outlaw races and I’m the only other driver besides I think Tony Stewart to win in all the open wheel national touring series all in one year,” Larson said. “I swept the four crown last year at Eldora Speedway and I did it my first try. That was cool to do.”

    “Last year I won a lot of big races so last year stands out to me because of that.”

    Larson has also been part of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, running in the K&N Pro Series East under the auspices of Rev Racing. And the young racer credits much of his success so far to that program.

    “It’s helped me a lot,” Larson said. “My mom’s Japanese so that’s how I’m in the diversity program.”

    “I run for Rev Racing and we’ve been pretty good all year,” Larson continued. “We got a win at Gresham a couple weeks ago.”

    “We just got to make the right calls for the race,” Larson said. “That’s our biggest problem we’ve had this year, not keeping up with the race track because it changes so much.”

    “I think if we work on that, we’ll be better and win some more races.”

    While Larson enjoys driving all types of race cars, his favorite being the winged sprint car, he sees himself racing in NASCAR’s highest levels. And ultimately, he would like to own his own race team.

    “Hopefully the route I’m going will take me to the Sprint Cup Series some day,” Larson said. “That’s my goal and that’s what I want to do.”

    “I want to race with Stewart and Gordon and Kahne and all those guys every week,” Larson continued. “And I’d like someday to own my own team like Kahne and Tony do.”

    “That’s my goal is to get to the Sprint Cup Series so I can help young kids coming up.”

    Larson aspires to be like two drivers in the Cup Series currently, but for very different reasons.

    “As far as a driver, I’d like to be like Kyle Busch because he wins, not a whole lot this year, but he’s a talented driver and he always gives 110%,” Larson said. “As far as off the track goes, I think I need to be like Jimmie Johnson.”

    “He’s really good with the fans and really good with the sponsors too,” Larson continued. “I’d like to be a driver like Kyle and like Jimmie off the track.”

    But for now, the young up and comer just hopes he can do some more truck racing, which of course is dependent on sponsorship.

    “Yeah, sponsors mean a lot as far as getting rides,” Larson said. “I’ve been lucky being with Chip Ganassi Racing and he helped out a lot with this year and also with the truck race at Kentucky.”

    “He has been a great help to me and hopefully we can find some more sponsors to get some more races,” Larson continued. “It’s tough to do with the economy being so bad.”

    “They’ve talked about a few more races but it all depends on if we get a sponsor,” Larson said. “If it were up to me, I’d be racing every weekend in that truck.”

    “I had a lot of fun.”

    Larson’s family also had a great time watching him race in his first ever Truck race. Although his parents still live in his native California, they have taken off this summer to watch their son and to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

    “Right now, my mom and dad are with me at these races, hanging out,” Larson said. “My dad just retired so he has some time now to come watch me.”

    “They were really happy after the Truck race,” Larson continued. “My dad’s a crier so he was up in the stands tearing up.”

    “They were really excited and happy that I did good in my first start.”

    For fans who want to get to know the young Larson, he has two surprises to share. The first is his passions off the track and the other is his interesting exercise regimen, or lack thereof.

    “These past few weeks, I raced every day,” Larson said. “I don’t get a lot of free time but when I do, I’m out fishing.”

    “During the winter, I like to go snowboarding when I can,” Larson continued. “I’m not good at it but I like going down the mountain.”

    “I’m also really skinny but I love to eat,” Larson continued. “And no, I don’t work out at all.”

    “I worked out a few times this year with Rev Racing but then I started racing so I didn’t have time,” Larson said. “I don’t get tired though.”

    “That’s what I think people would find surprising about me,” Larson said. “I never get winded. I think it’s just because I stay calm.”

    Finally, the young racer is simply enjoying his time in the sun, especially during his Truck debut.

    “That’s really the first time I’ve ever raced with all that media around,” Larson said. “So that was cool to get interviewed.”

    “I really did feel like a super star.”

     

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Quaker State 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Quaker State 400

    [media-credit name=”Adam Lovelace” align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]Racing, rather than traffic, ruled the day at the second annual running of the Quaker State 400. Here is what was surprising and not so surprising from Kentucky Speedway.

    Surprising:  It was surprising the odds that Brad Keselowski played to get to Victory Lane. He finished No. 1 in the Quaker State 400 in the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge to score his No.3 win for the 2012 season.

    Keselowski, in a back-up car after a practice accident with Juan Pablo Montoya, scored his first ever win at Kentucky.

    “Who’d have figured my best finish would have came in the hardest race but that just shows the importance of teamwork,” Keselowski said. “The group of guys that I have on this Miller Lite Dodge, they’re just bad asses.”

    “They put together a back-up car from last year in the hundred degree heat in an hour’s time,” Keselowski continued. “And that’s what got us to Victory lane today and I’m proud of these guys for it, damn proud of ‘em.”

    “I think that sums it up.”

    Not Surprising:  Penske Racing’s other car, with A.J. Allmendinger behind the wheel, also beat the odds at Kentucky. The ‘Dinger brought the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge home in the ninth position, in spite of running out of gas on the last lap.

    “I was happy with the way most of the day went, especially around here because I haven’t been good around here,” Allmendinger said. “A lot of the credit goes to Brad helping me out. He’s obviously really good.”

    “But for a track that I’m not very good at, that I really struggle at and tough conditions, running inside the top 10 for pretty much all of the day and getting a ninth out of it, which I’d like to have been a little bit better, but it’s something to build on.”

    Surprising:  Stewart Haas Racing had a surprisingly bad day in the Blue Grass State. Tony Stewart, in the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, had ignition problems early in the race which led to his 32nd place finish.

    With that dismal finish, Smoke became NASCAR’s biggest loser, dropping four positions to ninth position in the point standings.

    Teammate Ryan Newman, behind the wheel of the No. 39 Tornados Chevrolet, finished 34th after blowing his engine and careening into the wall. Although Newman was not physically hurt, his psyche took a hit with his second DNF of the season.

    Not Surprising:  On the flip side, Hendrick Motorsports had a fabulous day at Kentucky Speedway, with Kasey Kahne finishing second, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. fourth, Jeff Gordon fifth, and Jimmie Johnson sixth.

    This was Kahne’s first top-10 finish in two races at Kentucky and his eighth top-10 finish of the season.

    “Well, we had a really good Quaker State Chevrolet,” Kahne said. “We had to pass a ton of cars and came up a little short.”

    “But the team was awesome.”

    Kahne’s HMS teammate and four time champ Jeff Gordon echoed his sentiments.

    “It was a pretty flawless night for our Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet,” Jeff Gordon said. “I was pretty excited that we came home with a fifth place finish, battling up front like we did.”

    Surprising:  After three straight engine issues in a row and a smack against the wall at Kentucky, Kyle Busch, who was dominant early in the race, finished with a surprising top-10.

    “It was definitely not any fun – not as much fun as we were having early on,” Busch said. “We just had to persevere and try to get through it the best we could.”

    “So, tough night again for these M&M’s guys,” Busch continued. “We salvaged a heck of a finish for what all we had to go through.”

    Not Surprising:   Every race, even in the heart of horse country, has its share of drivers unhappy with one another. And this race was no exception, with drivers Joey Logano and Ryan Newman getting into it.

    “I’m not really sure what’s going on with the boy in that No. 20 car,” Newman said. “He’s got a few things to learn and I’m going to have to be the one who teaches him.”

    Surprising:  Matt Kenseth’s announcement that he would leave Roush Fenway Racing at the end of the season for pastures unknown had surprisingly no effect on him on the track. Kenseth, in his No. 17 Fifth Third Ford Fusion finished 7th and maintained his points lead in the Chase standings.

    “It was a huge struggle for us tonight,” Kenseth said. “I am happy to finish seventh for as big of a struggle as it was.”

    Not Surprising:  Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, announced via Twitter prior to the race that he would be staying on with Joe Gibbs Racing and, to no one’s surprise, finished third in the Quaker State 400.

    This was Hamlin’s first top-10 finish in two races at Kentucky Speedway.

    “Our car was really strong,” Hamlin said. “I’m proud of this FedEx team. We needed a finish and that was my first priority on that last run.”

    “Anybody that follows me on Twitter – I like to give them the information first,” Hamlin continued. “A proud moment for us and Joe Gibbs Racing to sign an extension and know where we’re going to be for the foreseeable future.”

    “Hopefully we’ll win a championship together.”

    Surprising:  Forget the consistent points racing, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has a surprising new attitude – he just wants to win. Junior, behind the wheel of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet, finished fourth, however, still had his Michigan win of two weeks ago on his mind.

    “It was really fun,” Junior said of his top-5 at Kentucky. “But we’re just ready to win.”

    “I really had fun winning the other week,” Junior continued. “I’m ready to get back to Victory Lane. I ain’t going to be as patient this time.”

    Not Surprising:  Martin Truex Jr., in the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, continued to fly the flag for Michael Waltrip Racing, finishing eighth.

    “We weren’t very good all night,” Truex Jr. said. “We had a good finish – – I guess.”

    “We were just really tight all night and we couldn’t do anything to fix it.”

    Surprising:  Carl Edwards and company made a rare mistake on pit road, having to come for a splash of gas to finish the race. The No. 99 UPS Ford Fusion took the checkered flag in the 20th position at race end.

    “We had a pretty good car at the end,” Edwards said. “Bob (Osborne) called me onto pit road.”

    “He knew we should have pitted that last time but I was already so far around that cone that I just didn’t feel right cutting across traffic and slamming the splitter down to make it to pit road.”

    “We were put in a box,” Edwards continued. “I am real frustrated. We need to get this in gear.”

    Not Surprising:  After a 21st place finish, it is not surprising to lose positions in the point standings. And Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 American Red Cross Ford Fusion, did just that, falling to the fourth spot in the Chase.

    “We qualified a little better this year than we did last year but the end result was the same,” Biff said. “We were off a little bit and just couldn’t get a handle on it.”

    The Cup Series next travels to Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400 for another Saturday night of racing under the lights

     

  • Matty’s Picks 2012 – Vol. 17 Kentucky Speedway – Quaker State 400 – June 30, 2012

    Matty’s Picks 2012 – Vol. 17 Kentucky Speedway – Quaker State 400 – June 30, 2012

    For the second time in Kentucky Speedway’s brief 12-year history, the big guns of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will set their sights on the 1.5-mile, D-shaped demon. My forecast for the weekend, ‘it’s going to be HOT!’ Temperatures are slated to reach triple-digits all weekend in the Bluegrass State, and the heat will only add to the slickness of the racing surface in Sparta.

    It was a year ago that I had the privilege (or punishment) of covering the Inaugural Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway, and amidst the traffic issues, inclement weather and irritated race fans, I managed to have a good time. Jerry Carroll and now Bruton Smith have erected an absolutely magnificent facility in Northern Kentucky, and should be extremely proud to have been mentioned atop the list of sold-out races in 2011.

    Sonoma Recap

    I had a decent weekend last week in wine country, but did not have as good of a weekend as I would have liked. I’m supposedly a ‘Road Course Specialist’ so one would assume I could come up with some a decent finish in Sonoma.

    My Winner Pick last week was the guy that 95% of the entire NASCAR community had pegged to win the Toyota/Save Mart 350, but fell short in his effort to win from his second Coors Light Pole in as many weeks. Marcos Ambrose was the guy to beat going into last week’s 110 lap stanza, but Ambrose battled an ill-handling chariot early in his quest to make it two road course victories in a row for the Stanley team. Ambrose shuffled his way back to a race-low 16th position and rallied to start 13th before the green-white-checkered finish.

    Ambrose’s work with just two laps to work with showed me why I made the call to go with him last week. The Aussie was able to rebound from the ill handling racecar he had early on to finish 8th last week, earning me a much-needed top 10 in Sonoma.

    My Dark Horse was another driver with a roller-coaster of a day last week in wine country…

    Jeff Gordon started his day on the outside of the front row and quickly took advantage of Ambrose’s misfortune early on. Gordon snagged the lead on lap 12, and amidst his tenure leading the 2012 Toyota/Save Mart 350, managed to surpass 23,000 career laps led, the most among active drivers and ranking seventh on the all-time list. The No. 24 Chevrolet remained in the top 5 until lap 71 when his Impala sputtered on-track, a telling sign of an empty fuel cell. He was able to limp his car to pit road where he received a full tank of fuel and four tires, arming him for a run for the checkered. As the race shook out, drivers came to pit road, gained positions and following the green-white-checkered, the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet was shown 6th on the final leaderboard, giving me a double top-10 week last Sunday.

    Kentucky Picks

    With just one year of history to pull from in the Bluegrass State, it is tough to identify a guy who is ‘Good at Kentucky’. I’m going to do my best this week and pray for a win…

    Winner Pick

    Kyle Busch is where my money is going this week. He absolutely dominated the weekend last year in Sparta (winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ race after starting dead last, finishing second in the Nationwide race after finishing dead last, and by dominating the Inaugural Quaker State 400 from the pole) and is hungry to solidify his spot in The Chase for the Sprint Cup with a win on Saturday night. As I glance at current practice speeds from Kentucky, he had been shown third fastest in the first hour, but has slipped to 9th currently.

    Here’s what Busch had to say about returning to Kentucky as the Inaugural Race Winner:

    “I think it’s cool. You look at some of the new venues we’ve been to over the years and Jeff Gordon got to win a number of inaugural races, like the Brickyard, Fontana, and Kansas. He was always the guy who was known to figure out places the fastest, but we were able to be the ones to do that last year at Kentucky. There aren’t many opportunities these days to go to a new venue, so for us being able to win the first race there was extra special and, to put that M&M’s car in victory lane. We’d love to be able to come back there with our Red, White, and Blue M&M’s car and still keep us as the only winners there thus far in Sprint Cup.”

    Dark Horse Pick

    Why not make it an all Busch weekend this week and pick the No. 51 Finch Racing Chevy to win or bring home a top-5 this week? His Phoenix Construction Services Impala held together last week to finish 3rd in Sonoma, and barring suspension from NASCAR this week, I think Kurt Busch has a decent shot at a strong finish this week. As a glance at the practice speeds, its looking like KuBu has a decent car and is working on primarily race-trim, with the go-or-go homers soaking up a good portion of positions 10-20 on the practice leader board. He finished 9th last year in the inaugural race at Kentucky Speedway, driving for Penske Racing.

    That’s all for this week, so until we throw the restrictor plates on once again this year…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

  • NASCAR Drivers Are Athletes According to New Research

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”240″][/media-credit]A recent, first of its kind study published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research proved definitively that not only are athletic skills needed behind the wheel of a stock car, but also that there is a significant correlation between performance on the track and the length of resistance training sessions.

    The study also revealed that those stock car drivers who assessed their own fitness positively performed better on the track. Their conditioning also correlated with less fatigue and less susceptibility to injuries.

    “The sport is actually more demanding now than it used to be,” four-time NASCAR Cup champion Jeff Gordon stated. “We’ve gotten smarter on the physical side of it, working out more.”

    “So, I think the drivers are in a little bit better physical shape than what they used to be as far as preparing for the races.”

    The study also showed that “upper body strength was identified as the most important physical ability for driving stock cars by 100% of the subjects in the study.”

    “I do a lot of strength training,” Danica Patrick, NASCAR Nationwide driver, said. “I work with a trainer and he sends me programs every four or five weeks.”

    “The most important thing is performing in the car so that is what I’m weight training for,” Patrick continued. “I feel that weight training is very beneficial for your physique.”

    “I do two days upper and one day lower,” Patrick said. “The program changes throughout the year.”

    “I take a month off at the end of the year to recover so I don’t get injured,” Patrick continued. “As the year goes on, I work on peak strength so what I do in the car is easy.”

    “I think working out has to help and I’ve always felt that it helped me,” Patrick said. “I’ve always worked out since I started in racing and I work out as hard as I ever had right now.”

    “I’m in as good a shape as I’ve ever been,” Patrick continued. “I think being prepared physically and mentally is a big part of racing for me. For myself, I know it helps me.”

    The study revealed that “62.5% of the subjects reported cardiovascular endurance as one of the top physical demands of driving a stock car.” According to the research, this is consistent with the reports of the drivers who often feel intense fatigue, elevated heart rate and shortness of breath as a result of the physicality of their racing.

    “I work with weights four days a week – just the different muscle groups and trying to get more endurance and strength,” five-time NASCAR Cup champ Jimmie Johnson said. “The mindset being that I’ll have more energy and perform better at my job.”

    One important aspect of racing that the study highlighted was the need for strength training in order to assist in thermoregulation and heat tolerance. In fact, being able to cope with the temperatures in the race car was found to be the third most important physical demand of stock car racing.

    “I don’t know if there’s a direct correlation but I think you might have a little bit of an edge if you can stay in shape,” NASCAR Nationwide Series reigning champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. said. “I do work out. We have a great trainer at the shop.”

    “When you’re in the seat every week, you work out every muscle,” Stenhouse Jr. continued. “The main thing is to stay hydrated in the cars and that’s what I really focus on.”

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series rookie driver Paulie Harraka agrees with his racing compatriot, especially as far as working out to deal with the heat. Harraka also added the element of dealing with the gravitational forces in the race car as another reason to include strength training in preparation for being on the track.

    “Certainly as a driver, you’ve got to train for the g-forces that you feel,” Harraka said. “One lap is tough but it’s when you get to lap 150 and you’ve been in there and not able to move that you get fatigued.”

    “You have to deal with that and with the heat inside the race cars.”

    Finally, the study revealed that one of the major physical demands of stock car racing included hand/eye/foot coordination, reflexes and reaction time. In fact, 30% of the drivers indicated that “hand, eye, and foot coordination was an important physical demand associated with stock car racing.”

    Two NASCAR drivers, Kasey Kahne and Carl Edwards, have taken this aspect of training to heart, using Dynavision™ D2, a machine that tracks and improves reaction time, peripheral awareness, hand-eye coordination and other visual-motor skills.

    The D2 has a sphere of buttons that light up in random succession and the drivers have to call out the random flashing numbers in the midst of noises simulating those on the track.

    “That’s the kind of environment that we race in,” Edwards said. “There is a lot of noise; you are focusing on different things.”

    “You’re having to verbalize something a lot of times about the car,” Edwards continued. “So, that’s actually a good test.”

    Whether strength conditioning, cardiovascular exercising or improving reaction times, the study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research proves once and for all the athletic component of NASCAR racing and the correlation between working out and improving on-track performance.

     

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Sonoma Toyota Save Mart 350

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Sonoma Toyota Save Mart 350

    [media-credit name=”Credit: By Ezra Shaw, Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”213″][/media-credit]From the land of wine, as well as left and right turns, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma.

    Surprising:  The most surprising thing about the first road course race of the season was just how surprised the winner of the race was in Victory Lane. In fact, he was so surprised that he forgot his car, which was out of gas, and walked to Victory Lane.

    “What the hell am I doing here,” Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, said. “I’m not a road racer!”

    “Never in a million years did I think I could come here and be the best of the best,” Bowyer continued. “This is a dream come true. It was meant to be.”

    This was Bowyer’s first victory for the 2012 season and his first victory at Sonoma.

    Not Surprising:  The second and third place finishers definitely had a mutual admiration society going on for each other after racing each other cleanly, particularly during the final green, white, checkered laps.

    Tony Stewart, in his No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, finished second while Kurt Busch, in the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet, finished third.

    “I’m a little choked up,” Kurt Busch said after battling for the lead in spite of an injured race car. “I’m just glad we brought it home third.”

    “If I was smarter, I would have let Tony Stewart go a lap, a half-a-lap ahead,” Busch continued. “Maybe he could have got to Bowyer for a big finale.”

    “What everyone probably didn’t see was that something was wrong with his car,” Smoke said of Kurt Busch in the No. 51. “Something in the rear-end was breaking and he was driving the wheel s off that thing.”

    “I don’t know how he kept it on the race track,” Stewart continued. “He did a really good job of keeping that thing going.”

    Stewart scored his ninth top-10 finish at Sonoma and his third straight top-3 finish. Kurt Busch posted his fifth top-10 finish in 12 races at Sonoma.

    Surprising:  The seemingly strongest two cars on the road course had surprising struggles to contend with before finishing in the top-10.

    The fastest qualifier, Marcos Ambrose, struggled in race trim, yet finished eighth, while outside pole sitter Jeff Gordon ran out of gas, losing track time and position to finish sixth.

    “We really missed it,” the driver of the No. 9 Stanley Ford Fusion said. “We missed it bad and we did good to recover and get a top-10 out of it.”

    “We had no speed in the car and we paid the price, “Ambrose continued. “I just feel bad for my Stanley team. It was just terrible.”

    “We went about a half-of a lap too far,” Jeff Gordon said. “It never fails, you run out just as you pass pit entrance.”

    “We were lucky to get back to pit road and get it fueled up,” the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet continued. “Luckily, we had enough laps to slowly work our way up into the top-10.”

    Not Surprising:  Since Dale Earnhardt, Jr., by his own admission, is not the biggest lover of road course racing, it was not surprising that last week’s Michigan race winner struggled at Sonoma. The driver of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet finished 23rd after a late race accident.

    “I’m just mad because we didn’t run better,” Junior said. “We weren’t good all weekend.”

    “I mean I ain’t the best road course racer out there, but I can damn sure do better than that,” Dale Jr. continued. “We’ve just got to do a better job.”

    Surprising:  Joe Gibbs Racing teammates were surprisingly playing a different sport with one another. Late in the race, young Joey Logano, behind the wheel of his No. 20 Home Depot Toyota, tangled with not only Kyle Busch but also Denny Hamlin.

    “He really overshot the corner and got into us,” Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota, said of his teammate Logano. “Once you drive that extra 50 feet in, there’s nothing you can do to take it back.”

    “We were the bowling pins and he was the bowling ball.”

    Hamlin got the worst of the bowling tournament, finishing 35th, while teammate Kyle Busch, in the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, finished 17th. ‘Bowling ball’ Logano managed to finish in the tenth spot.

    Not Surprising:  While he has not been regularly driving a stock car, it was not surprising that Brian Vickers was able to parlay some of his Le Mans racing experience to his NASCAR performance at Sonoma.

    Piloting the No. 55 RKMotorsCharlotte.com Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, Vickers kept both his nose and his car clean to finish fourth.

    “It was great to run LeMans and then come here,” Vickers said. “I learned a lot about road racing.”

    “Everyone at MWR is putting great cars on the track,” Vickers continued. “They’ve all made it possible for me to take the RKMotors car and put it in the top-five.”

    Surprising:  Casey Mears, behind the wheel of the NO. 13 GEICO Ford Fusion had a surprisingly good go of it at Sonoma, finishing top-15.

    “We had a good car all weekend,” Mears said. “”It was a solid day for us. I am proud of what everybody did here and we will just keep improving.”

    Not Surprising:  To no one’s surprise, two Roushketeers ended up atop the leader board in the point standings.

    Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Ford EcoBoost Ford and NASCAR’s newest free agent, finished 13th at Sonoma but still leads his teammate Greg Biffle, who finished 7th in his 3M/US Stationary Ford, by 11 points in the standings.

    “We had a decent day,” Biffle said. “But we were just too loose all day.”

    “We need to work on our road course program a little bit.”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Sonoma

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Sonoma

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson posted his eighth top-5 finish of the year with a fifth in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma. He is fourth in the standings, 25 out of first.

    “Clint Bowyer was solid in the 5-Hour Energy Toyota,” Johnson said. “But does that necessarily make him a contender for the Sprint Cup title? What’s more impressive? Doing it five times, or for ‘5-Hours?’

    “There’s a lot of drivers, Bowyer included, who have a single victory this year. They’re just a drop in the bucket. If five-straight Cup titles is a ‘reign,’ then one win is merely a drop of reign.”

    2. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth held on to the Sprint Cup points lead with a 13th at Sonoma. With ten races left until the Chase For The Cup, he leads Greg Biffle by 11.

    “As you know,” Kenseth said, “I’m leaving Roush Fenway Racing at season’s end. However, I’m not at liberty to discuss my contract situation. And that’s sad, because the one time I have something to talk about, I’m not able to.

    “In any case, when I do sign a new contract, it will be the first time I’ve been paid for my autograph in ages.”

    3. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: After snapping a 143-race winless streak with a victory at Michigan on June 17th, Earnhardt followed with a disappointing 23rd in the Toyota/Save Mart 350. Earnhardt was running 13th when he spun on the final lap. He is now third in the point standings, 14 out of first.

    “I can’t be too upset for not winning at Sonoma,” Earnhardt said. “No, not because I just won at Michigan, but because Junior Nation would never forgive me for drinking wine.”

    4. Tony Stewart: Stewart passed Kurt Busch with one lap to go to take the runner-up spot at Sonoma. Stewart chased Clint Bowyer to the checkered flags, but finished .829 behind, and is now eighth in the point standings, 74 out of first.

    “The hard part was getting around Busch,” Stewart said. “He’s never easy to overtake, unless it’s in a test of mental stability. I know Kurt is struggling to find sponsorship, but I think now is the time for Planter’s to get back into sport. What better sponsor for Busch than ‘nuts?’”

    5. Greg Biffle: Biffle’s No. 16 3M Fusion was the first Ford across the line at Sonoma, finishing seventh for his ninth top 10 of the year. He remained third in the point standings, and trails Matt Kenseth by 17.

    “I’m just happy I didn’t have a confrontation with Boris Said,” Biffle said. “I surely don’t want to wake with ‘Said Head’ almost as much as I don’t want to wake up with a ‘Said Head.’ His fans are crazy, and not even my type.

    “But I finished seventh, while Boris finished 29th. And Boris, of all people, knows a ‘whuppin’’ when he sees one.”

    6. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer dominated at Sonoma, leading 71 of 112 laps for his first win of the year. Bowyer pulled away from Kurt Busch on the green-white-checkered finish, and held off Tony Stewart down the stretch. Bowyer is ninth in the point standings, 84 out of first.

    “I’m proud to give Michael Waltrip Racing its first win,” Bowyer said. “You can best believe Michael won’t stop talking about this, ever. Now I can say I’ve won one for the ‘gabber.’

    7. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin suffered difficult day at Sonoma, spinning on lap 94 after contact with Joe Gibbs teammate Joey Logano, and finishing 35th after a DNF due to suspension failure. Hamlin tumbled three places to eighth in the point standings, 73 out of first.

    “Logano wrecked me,” Hamlin said. “By the way, he’s still in negotiations for a new contract with JGR. If he’s back with Gibbs, that will be two of us resigned—Joey re-signed to a new contract, and me resigned to being his teammate for longer.”

    8. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex led 15 laps in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 before fading to finish 22nd. He remained seventh in the Sprint Cup point standings, 68 out of first.

    “First,” Truex said, “Dale Earnhardt, Jr. wins at Michigan. Then, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. gets a ride at Roush Fenway Racing. It appears I’ll be the final ‘Junior’ to achieve glory in NASCAR. As ‘Junior’s’ go, they should start calling me ‘Martin Truex, III.’”

    9. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished 16th in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 after running out of gas midway through the race, costing him several positions. Harvick and the No. 29 Rheem team salvaged a decent finish thanks to the Lucky Dog free pass on lap 83. He now sits sixth in the point standings, 64 out of first.

    “This is shaping up to be a forgettable season,” Harvick said. “Of course, when I say this could be the worst nine months of my life, I guess I should clarify that it’s me talking and not my pregnant wife DeLana.”

    10. Jeff Gordon: Despite running out of gas on lap 73, Gordon battled back to record a sixth-place finish at Sonoma. NASCAR’s all-time road course win leader posted his second consecutive sixth-place result as he tries to make a move towards a berth in the Chase.

    “I hear Matt Kenseth is leaving Roush Fenway Racing at season’s end,” Gordon said. “It’s unclear whether Matt is leaving under his own accord or was pushed out. Knowing Matt as I do, I’m almost positive he was pushed.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Michigan Quicken Loans 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Michigan Quicken Loans 400

    [media-credit name=”Dan Sanger” align=”alignright” width=”237″][/media-credit]From blistering speeds to blistering tires, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 44th annual Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

    Surprising:  After the repaving, days of tire testing and several practices resulted in pervasive tire blistering throughout the garage, it was surprising the praise shared for Goodyear when they made the very difficult call to switch up the tires for the race.

    And although known for his sometimes hard-hitting rhetoric, second place finisher Tony Stewart had nothing but cheers for team Goodyear.

    “I think we need to give 100 percent credit to Goodyear for this weekend,” the driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet said. “I mean, what they had to do Friday night was a really hard decision to make.”

    “It was for the betterment of all of us as drivers and teams and for the sport,” Smoke continued. “So every one of us need to walk through the garage and stop at Goodyear and shake every one of their guys’ hands.”

    Not Surprising:  While Junior nation paced and held their collective breaths during the final laps of the Quicken Loans 400, no one was more anxious than team owner Rick Hendrick.

    “That was the longest 18 laps of my life,” Hendrick said of the waning laps before Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finally took that checkered flag, ending his four-year winless drought.  “I was doing laps around my couch, trying to end this race, man.”

    “I was too nervous to stand still,” Hendrick continued. “Linda and I were just watching it and saying ‘Come on, no problems.’ I was so afraid there was going to be a caution or something was going to happen.”

    “I thought Dale had a real shot at Pocono,” Hendrick said. “But this is like a huge load off our backs.”

    Surprising:  While his teammate basked in the glory of Victory Lane, Jeff Gordon celebrated a top-10 finish, as well as a surprising career milestone. The driver of the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet scored the 400th top-10 finish of his Cup career.

    With his sixth place run, Gordon became the second youngest driver to achieve that milestone. This was also his fifth top-6 finish at Michigan International Speedway in the last seven races at that track.

    “It was not easy,” Gordon said, especially after having to move up from his 28th starting spot. “We had a really good race car today.”

    “I’m just glad we had a solid day,” Gordon continued. “It’s something to build on.”

    Not Surprising:  Always understated and never surprising Matt Kenseth had another solid run, finishing third in his No. 17 EcoBoost Ford. Kenseth also held onto the points lead, lording just four points over second place contender Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

    “We were pretty good in the beginning of the race and got shuffled back and it was tough to work traffic today,” Kenseth said. “They got the setup good on the last two runs and had good pit stops.”

    “We were able to stand on the gas and work our way up there to third.”

    Surprising:  One of the hottest drivers on the circuit surprisingly went from Victory Lane in Pocono and in the Michigan Nationwide race to hitting the wall and ending his Michigan Cup race with a DNF.

    “It was just the restarts,” Joey Logano said. “The slower lapped car – we all waved around and we’re all trying to turn down underneath him.”

    “I thought I had it saved and over-corrected and went in the wall,” Logano continued. “It’s a little frustrating.”

    “We’ll go back out there next week and win that one.”

    Not Surprising:   NASCAR is a family so, to no one’s surprise, several teams and crew members came to the aid of a driver in trouble. After wrecking, Denny Hamlin tried to drive to pit road only to be engulfed in flames in the race car.

    “There’s a lot of good safety stuff, but I’ve got to thank all of the crew guys that hauled ass over there and got me out,” the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota said. “It was just a tough day.”

    “I thought we had a car that could run top-three or four at times, but just didn’t have a great day and on fire is not a good way to end it.”

    Surprising:  Rough times surprisingly continued to plague the Busch brothers, from Pocono to the Irish hills of Michigan. Kurt Busch, who sat out of his car at Pocono due to a verbal altercation with a media member, wrecked on lap two of the Michigan race.

    Brother Kyle fared none better, experiencing engine failure for the third weekend in a row.

    Kurt Busch finished 30th and Kyle Busch finished 32nd. With the engine failure, Kyle Busch managed to hold on to 12th in the point standings, but barely remained in Chase contention.

    Not Surprising:  Jimmie Johnson, along with his lucky horseshoe, continued to triumph over adversity. The driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet managed yet again to pull off another top-5 finish.

    “Man, we were coming,” Johnson said. “We were really flying.”

    “And then I blistered the right rear again and had to just hang on,” Johnson continued. “And then I ran out of fuel going into Turn 3 and coasted around and made it to the finish.”

    “It was a tough day; but a good finish, so we’ll take that.”

    Surprising:  EGR racer Juan Pablo Montoya had a surprisingly good run at Michigan, finishing eighth.

    “It was good,” the driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet said of his top-10 run. “I will tell you the truth, yesterday when they changed tires, I was really worried.”

    “I called my dad to wish him a Happy Father’s Day and he said, ‘How is the car?’ I said, ‘If it handles the way it handled yesterday we are going to get lapped every 20 laps.”

    “Our team has a lot of potential and we showed a little bit of what we can do,” JPM continued. “I think we still have a lot of work to do, but I’m happy, really happy.”

    Not Surprising:  As the fastest racer in NASCAR, Marcos Ambrose not only scored the pole with a new track record, but also finished ninth in his No. 9 Stanley Ford Fusion.

    “We will take the top-10 but we had a great car today and we lost a little bit of track position and it hurt us there,” Ambrose said. “I am proud of my Stanley team. We led some laps and looked good up there.”

    “It was a strong day for us, not quite what we wanted, but we will take it and move along to Sonoma.”