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  • From afar Hendrick basks in a long coming Earnhardt Jr. victory

    From afar Hendrick basks in a long coming Earnhardt Jr. victory

    [media-credit name=”Dan Sanger” align=”alignright” width=”259″][/media-credit]It was never supposed to be like this. The story wasn’t supposed to be written this way. The plot one that was never considered.

    When Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced his signing with Hendrick Motorsports in late 2007 the assumption was that he was soon headed toward many wins and his first championship. Not that he would win one race, struggle so bad in some of the sports top equipment and go through many internal changes only to see nothing work.

    Having only two wins in four-and-a-half years at HMS? Many in the Earnhardt Jr. corner would have laughed at the absurdity. But here he is, snapping his 143 race winless streak to capture his second point-paying race with HMS and 19th of his career.

    Much has changed since 2008. Crew chiefs Tony Eury Jr. and Lance McGrew have come and gone, giving it their best shot to make the sports most popular driver a winner. When they didn’t, Steve Letarte go the call. And who can ever forget when Hendrick announced a major change for three of his four teams by switching crew chiefs and cars.

    Earnhardt Jr. going from what had been the newly formed 88 shop to moving into the shop with Jimmie Johnson and driving old Jeff Gordon cars. Hendrick doing everything in his power to make Earnhardt Jr. competitive again, changing everything he could, moving pieces and parts that weren’t bolted down. The biggest change pairing Earnhardt Jr. and Letarte, whom he got to continue to praise on Sunday for a performance in which Earnhardt Jr. led 95 of 200 laps in his Dark Knight Rises Chevrolet.

    “They just get along so good,” said Hendrick. “I think the chemistry is the best I’ve seen with any crew chief and driver. And you just look at the way they’ve been running and had a lot of speed, you knew it was going to come.

    “And just try to say, Dale, don’t worry about that, man. You’re almost leading the points here. You’ve got more top 10s than anybody. When you run second, third and fourth, you’re going to win races. And we hated Pocono, took a chance, but there was too much on the line. I can tell you that’s the longest 18 laps I’ve ever spent, at the end of this race.”

    Made worse because Hendrick was sitting at home, not standing atop the pit box looking things over. The mind can wonder while watching and listening to the TV broadcast. Even for Hendrick, who has now won 203 NSCS races, he knows it’s never over until it’s over.

    “I was doing laps around my couch, trying to end this race,” he said. “Batman was in a hurry. I was too nervous to stand still. Linda [Hendrick’s wife] and I were just watching it, come on, no problems. I was so afraid there was going to be a caution, or something was going to happen.”

    Since his Father’s Day win at Michigan in 2008 Earnhardt Jr. has finished second on seven different occasions. Experiencing close, rough weekends and everything in between. Now the drought is over, the slate wiped clean, focus being celebrate big and then go try to win again.

    And Earnhardt Jr. he wants his owner to enjoy this win for as long as possible. It was a long time in the making.

    “I told him he should have a good excuse for not being there,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “He better be on a boat somewhere in the Keys or something. But he said he was at home but they were thrilled to death, so I know that no matter where he was, he enjoyed this.

    “I told him that I had to thank him for sticking with me and getting me back to Victory Lane and he went through hell and high water to make it happen and he should enjoy the win.”

    After the company won their 200th race at Darlington last month with Jimmie Johnson, country music star Brad Paisley joined in the celebration. Hendrick says there’s no telling what they’ll do for this win.

    “We do like to celebrate together because the organization just works so hard and they want to see Junior do so well,” he said. “So stay tuned.”

    When the dust finally settles, the champagne finished, confetti cleared and Quicken Loans 400 trophy in its new home, Earnhardt Jr. and company will begin focusing on an even bigger accomplishment. He now sits second in points, just four markers behind leader Matt Kenseth heading into Sonoma.

    Even better, when the Chase starts in September it will come with better position for Earnhardt Jr. than in the past. He now has the bonus points to go with winning, something he’s never had in his previous Chase appearances.

    And Hendrick is ready to start talking and thinking champion and adding another one to his collection. That being a first with Earnhardt Jr. The way the No. 88 National Guard / AMP Energy team has started the season it certainly seems possible. They were already on the list of contenders and a win solidifies that status.

    A status many expected years ago. Consistency, wins and championships being a big reason for signing with HMS in the first place. But, better late than never.

    “When you see a car and a driver get momentum, and all the cars are running real well, they’re sharing information, and Dale is just switched on,” Hendrick said. “He’s got the confidence, Stevie has the touch and every week they’re the best by far.

    “I think he’s sitting in the cat bird seat to win his first championship.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Pocono 400 Presented by #NASCAR

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Pocono 400 Presented by #NASCAR

    [media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]With a shortened race, a repaved track, a snazzy new Twitter partnership, and Doc Mattioli looking down from heaven, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Pocono 400 presented by #NASCAR.

    Surprising:  As the checkered flag flew at Pocono Raceway, it was surprising the history that was made by race winner and driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet. Joey Logano became the youngest Pocono winner ever at 22 years and 17 days, breaking the record set by Jeff Gordon, who won at 24 years of age.

    Logano also was the first pole winner in 31 races to go on to Victory Lane. The young driver led 49 laps, a career high, and will now race in the 2013 All-Star race.

    “Yeah, the moment is pretty surreal,” Logano said. “Not just crossing the line, obviously that’s an amazing moment, and I didn’t stop screaming until I got to about – well, victory lane, I guess.”

    “You work so hard to do this,” Logano continued. “To get a victory, it meant so much.”

    “Pulling the Home Depot car into victory lane at a Sprint Cup race and winning it the right way was just an amazing, amazing feeling that you can’t replicate and you can’t explain what it means.”

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising that the second place finisher was gracious as always, even in defeat. Veteran driver Mark Martin, behind the wheel of the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, came out on the wrong end of a bump and run to the young driver that he has been touting for many years.

    “I’m just so thankful to have the opportunity that Michael Waltrip, first of all, and Aaron’s and Toyota have given me to drive competitive race cars,” Martin said. “It is so incredible to be in something that is strong enough that I can contend.”

    Surprising:  It was surprising how focused and disciplined Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and crew chief Steve Letarte were at Pocono, pitting to take fuel and still finishing with a top-10.

    “Well, we just didn’t want to run out of gas,” Dale Junior said. “I didn’t know the caution flags were going to be so long. And they were long enough to help them guys make it on fuel.”

    “We’re not taking those kinds of chances – just yet.”

    Not Surprising:  On a newly-paved race track, it was not surprising that passing was challenging and restarts were even more insane. Both drivers of the Stewart Haas team could most certainly attest to that.

    “The restarts were insane,” Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Modbil1/Office Depot Chevrolet and third place finisher, said. “But you had to take full advantage of them.”

    “That was the biggest opportunity to make gains and definitely big gains,” Smoke continued. “You could get three or four at a time if somebody got bottled up a little bit.”

    “You had to be on your toes for the restarts for sure.”

    Teammate Ryan Newman, behind the wheel of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet, also had a tough time on restarts. With just 40 to go, Newman fell from sixth to 11th place due to a crazy restart, finishing the race in 12th.

    “I told the guys that I just got too aggressive on that restart,” Newman said. “It ended up costing us some spots there.”

    “At the end of the race, we just didn’t have the track position that we needed and we didn’t get the top-10 finish that we felt we deserved.”

    Surprising:  Team Dodge had a surprisingly tough day at the race track. Brad Keselowski wheeled his No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge to an 18th place finish, while AJ Allmendinger took one of the most brutal hits of his racing career in his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge.

    “My team did a great job through all the adversity today,” Keselowski said. “We got caught twice on the timing lines and then we had some problems with the ignition.”

    “And at the very end, we lost brakes,” Keselowski continued. “It was just one fight after another.”

    “I’m not sure what happened,” Allmendinger said of his crash.”That was pretty hard, that might be one of the hardest hits I’ve had.”

    Not Surprising:   With over 22 speeding penalties meted out by NASCAR during the race, it will not be surprising to see crew chiefs galore on pit road at Michigan for the upcoming race weekend. One of the multiple speeding offenders was none other than five-time champ Jimmie Johnson.

    “Things were just repaved, everything has been redone and we need to physically walk down and mark it off ourselves to understand what happened there,” Johnson said. “We got nailed with a lot of other guys.”

    Surprising:  After a fitful start to the season, Jamie McMurray had a surprisingly good finish at Long Pond. The driver of the No. 1 Banana Boat Chevrolet finally pulled off a top-10 finish.

    “We had a really good Banana Boat Chevy today,” McMurray said. “I am proud of the effort from everyone one this team and feel good about the way we performed.”

    “It’s nice to walk out of here with a top-10 finish.”

    Not Surprising:  The monkey remained on the back of the driver of the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet. In spite of running as well as top-five, Jeff Gordon and his team made the decision to pit for fuel with just 23 laps to go.

    That decision bit Gordon yet again, relegating him to a 19th place finish. The four-time champ has just 4 top-10 finishes in the last 17 races.

    And with the finish at Pocono, Gordon fell to 22nd in the point standings, with only wild card wins as his hope to get into the 2012 Chase.

    Surprising:  Kyle Busch and team No. 18 for Joe Gibbs Racing surprisingly suffered the second engine failure in a row at Pocono, finishing 30th.

    “It’s very frustrating,” Busch said. “We got knocked back on the first lap in traffic by a stupid move and we’re fighting our way back through and then we have another engine issue.”

    “We’re putting ourselves in a hell of a hole and it’s not going to be easy to come out of it.”

    Not Surprising:  With Greg Biffle’s valve train failure and 24th place finish, it was not surprising that a new points leader emerged after the checkered flag was waved at Pocono.

    Teammate Matt Kenseth, with his solid seventh place finish, took over the lead, ten points ahead of Dale Earnhardt. Jr., with Biffle falling to 16 points behind to third in the standings.

    “It’s unfortunate we fell back that far, but the points are so tight we knew that if we had an issue we were going to drop a lot,” Biffle said. “You’re vulnerable when you’re only one point or ten points ahead, but that’s racing.”

    “It’s better than being second,” Kenseth said of his points lead, “But I’m just kind of disappointed right now because I thought we had a shot to win.”

    “I couldn’t go on restarts,” Kenseth said. “We’ll keep working on it, but I’m happy we got a decent finish and took over the point lead.”

  • Joey Logano Puts the Moves on Mark Martin to Score Pocono Win

    [media-credit id=43 align=”alignright” width=”268″][/media-credit]At the newly-paved Pocono Raceway, young Joey Logano put the moves on veteran Mark Martin, literally, to score the race win. This was career win number two for the driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota and his first win of the season.

    With the victory, Logano became the youngest race winner at Pocono.

    “That feels awesome to finally win one the right way,” Logano said. “You don’t know how much this means.”

    “I knew my car was better than his and clean air was worth so much,” Logano said of his battle with Martin. “I didn’t want to get in the back of Mark there.”

    “I saw the bobble coming off 3 and I knew that was my chance,” Logano continued. “I would have been on suicide watch if I would have given it away like that.”

    Logano’s crew chief, Jason Ratcliff, got his first Sprint Cup win as well.

    “We were saving the best Gibbs car for last,” Jason Ratcliff said, with a chuckle. “To get my first win at Pocono is a great experience and to get it with Joey was the best.”

    “It was a great weekend for us.”

    In contrast to the youngest race winner, Mark Martin, one of the veterans of the sport and driver of the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, came in second after being moved out of the way by the youngster.

    This was Martin’s second second place finish at Pocono, posting his 34th top-10 in 51 races at Pocono. It is his fifth top-10 finish of the season.

    “We were racing hard,” Mark Martin said. “I wanted to win it so bad.”

    “I’d call it a bump and run,” Martin said of Logano’s move. “It’s not how I would have done it.”

    “If I had a fast enough car, he would have gotten a return,” Martin continued. “It was a great race and I’m very, very proud of my race team for putting me in something that would give me a shot.”

    “Maybe next week, we’ll be the ones with the trophy.”

    Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet, finished third. This was Smoke’s 19th top-10 finish in 27 races at Pocono.

    “It was frustrating the first half of the race until guys got their cars better,” Stewart said. “You really just kind of got stuck and then it seems like the longer the race went, the easier it got to pass toward the end.”

    “The restarts were insane,” Smoke continued. “All in all, for a freshly paved track, it was a pretty good race.”

    The day started with a bang at the ‘Tricky Triangle’, with a record two cautions in the first 15 laps, on for an accident involving Landon Cassill, Martin Truex, Jr. and AJ Allmendinger and the second for an accident involving Reed Sorenson, Tony Raines, and JJ Yeley.

    “Sometimes when you try to take it easy, you get yourself in trouble,” Cassill, driver of the No. 83 Burger King/Real Fruit Smoothies said. “I really hate this.”

    “This is two tough weeks in a row and it’s tough on my guys.”

    One of the other drivers involved in the early race melee, AJ Allmendinger, was very slow in exiting his car after his on-track incident in his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge.

    “I’m not sure what happened,” Dinger said. “I think I blew a right front.”

    “I’m just a little sore, had the wind knocked out of me,” Allmendinger continued. “That might be one of the hardest hits I’ve had.”

    The other big story from the Pocono 400 presented by #NASCAR was the incredible number of speeding penalties, some entering but most exiting pit road. The final tally for pit road speeding penalties total was 22 and affected drivers from Jeff Gordon to Jeff Burton.

    “I was obviously being told by my crew chief that a lot of guys were getting busted in that last segment,” Stewart said. “We just made sure we were a little bit on the conservative side.”

    “It just shows the guys are pushing the envelope on it so close,” Smoke said. “But it makes you wonder if something was going on because a lot of guys got busted in the same spot.”

    The other news from Long Pond was that a new points leader emerged after the Pocono 400 presented by #NASCAR. With Greg Biffle’s 24th place finish, his teammate Matt Kenseth, who finished seventh, scored the top dog position.

    “It’s probably the best we’ve ever performed at Pocono,” the driver of the No. 17 Ford EcoBoost Fusion said. “That was the positive part because we went up there and led some laps under green and thought we were pretty competitive.”

    In typical Kenseth style, his comment on assuming the points lead was “It’s better than being second.”

    “But I’m kind of disappointed,” Kenseth continued. “I thought we had a shot to win under the right circumstances.”

    “Us and the 88 (Dale Earnhardt, Jr.) were pretty strong when we were out front and it just didn’t happen,” Kenseth said. “We’ll keep working on it, but I’m happy we got a decent finish and took over the point lead.”

    Unofficial Race Results
    Pocono 400, Pocono Raceway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=14
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 1 20 Joey Logano Toyota 48
    2 6 55 Mark Martin Toyota 43
    3 22 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 41
    4 24 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 40
    5 5 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 40
    6 16 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 38
    7 14 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 38
    8 8 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 37
    9 3 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 35
    10 11 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 35
    11 2 99 Carl Edwards Ford 33
    12 18 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 32
    13 9 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 31
    14 21 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 30
    15 20 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 29
    16 7 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 28
    17 17 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 28
    18 31 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 26
    19 12 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 25
    20 23 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 24
    21 25 51 David Reutimann Chevrolet 23
    22 27 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 22
    23 36 38 David Gilliland Ford 22
    24 13 16 Greg Biffle Ford 21
    25 42 10 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 19
    26 37 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 18
    27 34 34 David Ragan Ford 18
    28 29 43 Aric Almirola Ford 16
    29 10 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 15
    30 4 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 14
    31 19 22 AJ Allmendinger Dodge 13
    32 40 36 Tony Raines Chevrolet 12
    33 43 33 Stephen Leicht * Chevrolet 11
    34 30 98 Michael McDowell Ford 10
    35 26 13 Casey Mears Ford 9
    36 32 249 J.J. Yeley Toyota 8
    37 33 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0
    38 28 119 Mike Bliss Toyota 0
    39 39 74 Stacy Compton Chevrolet 5
    40 38 23 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 4
    41 41 32 Reed Sorenson Ford 0
    42 35 26 Josh Wise * Ford 3
    43 15 83 Landon Cassill Toyota 1
  • Kasey Kahne Riding the Momentum Wave

    Kasey Kahne Riding the Momentum Wave

    [media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]From an abysmal 29th place finish at Daytona and with even more bad luck in the next few races at the start of the season, Kasey Kahne has made a phenomenal turnaround, with top-10 finishes in the last seven races and a win in the Coke 600.

    So, there is no wonder that the driver of the No. 5 Farmer’s Insurance Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports is riding high on the wave of momentum.

    “Well, momentum and confidence has a lot to do with running well in racing and being up front,” Kahne said. “Our team has been building that momentum and seems like we get more of it each week.”

    “So, it’s been really positive,” Kahne continued. “It’s tough to do this without momentum and confidence and once you get it, it can really turn your season around.”

    Kahne is also riding the wave of momentum as the rookie member of the Hendrick Motorsports team. He joins teammates Jimmie Johnson, who won last weekend’s race at Dover, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. who is third in the point standings, in the HMS surge.

    “I feel like our company is really strong right now,” Kahne said. “The cars are great. The engines are great.”

    “They’re always trying to get more and trying to get better,” Kahne continued. “I’m really enjoying working with my teammates.”

    Kahne does, however, feel for one of his Hendrick Motorsports teammates, Jeff Gordon, who is struggling even more than he has this season. But he thinks that the driver of the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet just has to gut it out before he too finds that momentum upswing.

    “Jeff’s been as fast as any of us but he just hasn’t had the best of luck,” Kahne said. “I have no advice for Jeff.”

    “When it turns around, it turns around,” Kahne said. “There is nothing you can do about it.”

    To what does Kahne attribute his own turn-around and momentum-gathering?

    “We’re just getting a little more familiar with things,” Kahne said simply. “At the start of the year, we were probably as fast as we are right now but we just weren’t able to finish the weekends off.”

    “We’ve been fortunate enough the last six or seven weeks to put the full race together and finish it off,” Kahne continued. “It’s been a lot better for us.”

    [media-credit name=”Gary Buchanan” align=”alignright” width=”223″][/media-credit]Kahne admits that, because of his difficult season start, his momentum currently has also helped his position in the point standings, with potential to even make the Chase. Kahne sits currently in 14th in points, with the one win.

    “Well, I’ve had to think about the points as bad as we started out,” Kahne said. “We were getting ready to miss races, we were so far back in points.”

    “So, I had to think about points and where we’re at and how to get back in the hunt,” Kahne continued. “And we’ve been able to do that. So, we’ve got to keep that mentality the rest of the season.”

    Has the point situation changed the way Kahne races?

    “Well I mean in certain situations, you probably are more cautious because you know what the end result can be if you’re not,” Kahne said candidly. “So, at times you need to be cautious and at other times you just race as hard as you can.”

    “And if you don’t race as hard as you can with this group of guys, you’re going to get passed or left behind,” Kahne continued. “So, it’s tough.”

    “You just think about points in certain circumstances,” Kahne said. “But other than that, you race as hard as you can.”

    Kahne is looking forward to continuing to ride the wave of his momentum at Pocono Raceway, especially on the repaved track and with the shortened race format.

    “I think that 400 miles is great,” Kahne said. “500 miles was just a long time at this track.”

    “The repave is perfect,” Kahne continued. “It’s as nice as I’ve seen and felt and the transitions on the track are really good.”

    “Hopefully we can get enough rubber on the track to create some racing,” Kahne said. “I know as time goes on the track will open up and be a really good one to race on but the first one’s going to be tough.”

    “But with the two days of testing prior to the race weekend, it will really help everything and hopefully we’ll be able to do some passing on Sunday and move up if we have a car that can move up.”

    While Kahne acknowledges that Pocono will be a challenge, particularly with the one groove currently and the chaos expected in the turns, he knows that with time the track will be even better.

    “It will slowly rubber in and open up and you’ll be able to pass but it will be a little more difficult than what you’d want as a driver and as someone running a race track,” Kahne said. “But when you have a repave, it takes a little bit of time and that’s part of it.”

    “Eventually it’s going to be really good,” Kahne continued. “But on Sunday, you’ll be able to pass but it will be difficult at times.”

    “Yeah, I think Turn One will be utter chaos,” Kahne said. “The big thing will be making sure you’re in a good position off the corner to where you can be in a good spot getting to the Tunnel Turn.”

    “That’s where you’re going to be where it’s going to be treacherous, especially if you try three-wide.”

    Kahne’s wave of momentum also continues off, as well as on, the track. The young driver has also been busy with a variety of events run by the Kasey Kahne Foundation, created in 2005 to help chronically ill children and disadvantaged youth.

    “Our Foundation is doing well,” Kahne said. “We’re setting up different events and things to make sure we raise some money each year.”

    “The ‘Five Kahne 5K’ will be in October again during the Charlotte weekend, which is always pretty cool,” Kahne continued. “A lot of people in the Charlotte area really enjoy it.”

    “We have a lot of fun running and trying to raise some money to put some smiles on some kids’ faces.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: FedEx 400 Autism Speaks

    Surprising and Not Surprising: FedEx 400 Autism Speaks

    [media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]While it was not surprising that the Monster Mile lived up to its reputation, with a major wreck in the early laps of the FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks, here are some of the other surprises at the Monster Mile in Dover, Delaware.

    Surprising:  It was surprising just how serious race winner Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Madagascar Chevrolet, was able to be about his record-setting run at the Monster Mile as he sported his rainbow-colored Madagascar wig in Victory Lane.

    Johnson not only led 289 of the 400 laps for his seventh Monster Mile win, but he also tied the record of Richard Petty and Bobby Allison for most ever career wins at Dover International Speedway.

    “I’m just proud of this hair,” Johnson said. “The hair really brought some speed to the team.”

    “I’m never one that paid attention to stats,” Johnson said of his record-setting run. “I truthfully never thought I would be a guy that would build up any cool stats and here I am with some pretty cool stats, with legends of our sport and guys that I’ve looked up to.”

    “I’m very proud of the effort and I know it’s hard to give you a serious answer with this hair on right now, but am very proud of the seven wins here and to be in that elite company.”

    Not Surprising:  Kevin Harvick, behind the wheel of the No. 29 Jimmy Johns Chevrolet, was also happy in spite of have some pit road miscues and not quite closing the deal on the race win. Harvick came in second, his 10th top-10 finish in 23 races at the Monster Mile.

    “Yeah, we had a solid race,” Harvick said. “I made a mistake on pit road there and got us back to about 20th.”

    “The car was good enough to be able to drive back through the pack.”

    Surprising:  It was surprising that the two drivers named Jeff, both Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton, had strong race cars but continuing bad luck runs.

    Jeff Gordon, who has struggled all year in his No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet, was leading the race when he felt a tire going down. Jeff Burton on the other had had an engine fail in his No. 31 BB&T Chevrolet.

    “We definitely had a loose left rear,” Jeff Gordon said. “It didn’t go on right to begin with and the left-rear tire-changer knew that.”

    “And so when I started to complain about it, we knew that there might be an issue and there was,” Gordon continued. “So, in some ways we got fortunate today. I could have stayed out there and wrecked because it wasn’t really vibrating. It was getting real loose.”

    “Well, first of all, we had a good car today,” Jeff Burton said. “We had a solid top-10 car easy.”

    “We broke an engine here, but it just is what it is,” Burton continued. “The monkey is on us right now.”

    Not Surprising:  The equation of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. plus a Hendrick Motorsports race car equals consistency continued at the Monster Mile. The driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet had yet another top five run, finishing fourth and moving to third in the point standings, just ten points out of the top spot.

    “We had a good car,” Junior said. “We had good speed.”

    “We are getting close and finishing good when we are not winning,” Junior continued. “It was a good day for us, a good points day.”

    Surprising:  It was surprising to see Kyle Busch out of the race, suffering engine failure in his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota. Busch finished an uncharacteristic 202 of the scheduled 400 laps and finished 29th.

    “Unfortunately, we had a valve spring break in the engine, which hit the pistons,” Busch said. “It’s real unfortunate.”

    “I hate it that we give a post-race interview this way, rather than finishing.”

    Not Surprising:   It was not surprising, however, to see the other Busch, big brother Kurt, self-destruct yet again. Kurt Busch incurred two pit road penalties and then also had an engine failure, finishing 24th in the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Services Chevrolet.

    Worse yet, after the race, Busch was suspended for the upcoming race weekend at Pocono due to a verbal altercation with one of the NASCAR media corps, Bob Pockrass of Sporting News. His probation was also extended until the end of the year.

    “I accept NASCAR’s decision,” Busch said. “I put them in a box, they had to take action and it’s my fault for putting them in this position.”

    “I apologize for the comments I made to Bob Pockrass.”

    Surprising:  It was surprising that ‘Concrete’ Carl most certainly did not live up to his reputation at the Monster Mile. Edwards, driving the No. 99 Subway Ford, hit the wall on Lap 165, finishing 26th.

    “Our front right tire went flat,” Edwards said. “I don’t know exactly why.”

    “This is such a fun race track and the car was so good,” Edwards continued. “I am really frustrated our day got cut short.”

    Not Surprising:  Teammate Matt Kenseth had another solid run in his No. 17 Best Buy Ford to no one’s surprise. Kenseth finished third, posting his 18th top-10 finish in 27 races at Dover, and now sits just one point out of the top spot in the point standings.

    “Yeah, our finish was really good,” Kenseth said. “Our end result, can’t really complain about that.”

    “I am happy to come home third with a car that didn’t drive the way we wanted it to.”

    Surprising:  For the first time in a Sprint Cup car at the Monster Mile, Aric Almirola had a surprisingly good run. The driver of the No. 43 Jani-King/Smithfield Ford Fusion finished the race in the sixth position.

    “I would say that is pretty respectable for our first time here,” Almirola said. “It was a great day for everybody on this Jani-King Smithfield Ford.”

    “I am proud of everybody and we had a really good run.”

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising that the biggest winners of the Monster Mile weekend were all of the children with autism and their families who got to not only attend the race but do so in a special area of the grandstands conducive to dealing with their challenges and where they could meet some of their NASCAR heroes.

    “I know that I really appreciate what Dover International Speedway and the Autism Speaks group does to host all the families for this event,” Jamie McMurray, driver of the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet and an autism spokesman, said. “I am just glad that I can do something to help this cause.”

     

  • FedEx 400 Review: Predictions and Previews

    FedEx 400 Review: Predictions and Previews

    Self Inflicted Bad Luck for Gordon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

     

    Earnhardt Improves Stats at Dover

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

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

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

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

     

    Predictions for Pocono

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

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

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

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

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

     

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. quote via SPEEDTV.com

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Paulie Harraka: Graduate, NASCAR Truck Series Driver, and Entrepreneur

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”223″][/media-credit]In spite of being just 22 years old, Paulie Harraka is already wearing many hats, including graduate, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver of the No. 5 Wauters Motorsports Ford, and entrepreneur.

    One of Harraka’s most prized hats to wear is that of graduate, recently completing his walk for his college diploma from Duke. Harraka graduated with a double major in marketing management and sociology and a minor in history.

    “It’s amazing that it’s over,” Harraka said. “When you’re a freshman, it seems so far away.”

    “Four years just go by,” Harraka continued. “I look back and I got to do so much that I took advantage of. It’s been awesome.”

    “It’s exciting not to have to write papers and to not have to take exams anymore,” Harraka said. “But at the same time, I miss not living with all my closest friends within a quarter of a mile.”

    Now that he has had a chance to reflect on his college career, Harraka said that he learned so many lessons. In fact, there were so many, yet each and every one has made him the driver that he is today.

    “So much of what I did at Duke was about supporting my racing career and augmented what I do at the race track, whether that was networking with Duke alumni or leadership classes or marketing classes,” Harraka said. “There is no question that I would not be here right now without my Duke education.”

    Although Harraka had a double major, as well as a minor, he selected his college course with just one thing in mind, how they would impact his racing career.

    “Racing was really my focus at Duke,” Harraka said. “I took engineering classes, leadership classes, business classes, marketing classes and anything that would help me at track.”

    “If you looked at my Duke transcript not knowing that I race, you would think that’s a pretty random grouping of classes that don’t go together,” Harraka continued. “But understanding that they fit together into a racing context, it all makes sense.”

    As a race truck driver, Harraka is wearing another hat, that of debutante at Dover International Speedway, known as the ‘Monster Mile.’ And while he is looking forward to it, he acknowledged that the track is indeed a bit monstrous.

    “This is a tough place,” Harraka said. “Dover is different. You drive right off the straightaway and down into the corner and it’s like a three story drop.”

    “Matt Crafton described it as the best roller coaster ride you’ll ever have and I definitely understand what he means,” Harraka said. “It’s big. It’s fast. It’s a lot of fun, but it will be a challenge with 30 plus other trucks.”

    Harraka may be making his debut at Dover, but his Truck is sporting sponsorship from Phoenix International Raceway. Because of a close relationship between the PIR track president and Harraka, the two decided to do a special promotion for the Phoenix fall race.

    “Today is June 1st and the day that the tickets go on sale for the Phoenix fall race,” Harraka said. “So, they wanted to do a promotion around the first day of their ticket sales.”

    “Anyone that buys their tickets online or by calling today or this month gets a discount,” Harraka said. Second, anybody that tweets #GoPaulie during the race gets entered into a drawing and if we win, they get a whole package at the track.”

    While Harraka has Phoenix Raceway on the car, the Truck race driver is also sporting the familiar puzzle piece for the charity Autism Speaks for his Dover debut, calling awareness to the full spectrum of the disease which affects so many.

    “What Dover does with the whole weekend is great because they tie in Autism Speaks to the entire weekend,” Harraka said. “Everybody has met someone or has a friend or family member with autism.”

    “To be a part of that, in a micro way, is cool.”

    Harraka’s final hat, but probably one of the most important, is that of entrepreneur. And that hat is most critical as it is the basis for funding for his racing career.

    “A number of the investors will be at the race, which I’m excited about,” Harraka said. “That part of the business is going really well and I’m excited about that.”

    “A number of our investors have really become engaged in coming to a number of the races,” Harraka continued. “Our Executive Chairman, this will be his fourth race this year.”

    “We’re bringing this whole group of people as NASCAR fans that in the past have never had a connection to the sport,” Harraka said. “They are interested in getting involved both in my racing career and helping us improve our whole program.”

    “They’re not just silent cash,” Harraka continued. “They are people that are not intrusive or invasive but want to help however they can.”

    Harraka acknowledges that his business model may just be working a bit better than his on-track performance. And in many ways, he might just be the Jeff Gordon of the Truck Series, having just as much bad luck as the four-time champion.

    “At some point performance will affect the business model,” Harraka said. “But, we’re still moving forward and improving and as long as we are, we’ll be in good shape.”

    “Some of it’s been bad luck but some of it’s been self-inflicted,” Harraka acknowledged. “Some of it is situations that we’ve been put in, but at Charlotte, I screwed up.”

    “It happens,” Harraka said. “It’s the beginning of the season. It’s a new race team with a rookie driver. It’s a lot of things we need to work through.”

    “The worst thing you can do is to just put your head down,” Harraka continued. “You’ve got to keep your head up and look at what went wrong and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

    “Eventually, we’ll fix all the problems and have a good day.”

    One other hat that the young driver is wearing is that of perpetual learner.

    “You just got to keep learning,” Harraka said. “I was pulling in to the track and my phone rang and it’s Ricky Rudd, who has been a long-time mentor of mine.”

    “So, we start chatting and he said that he just wanted to remind me of something,” Harraka continued. “And he reads down the list of Sprint Cup drivers and how many cars they wrecked at the beginning of their careers.”

    “And the moral of the story is that Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch topped that list,” Harraka said. “So, he said that is what I needed to think about and work on.”

    The last hat that Harraka is wearing at the Monster Mile is that of hometown hero. In fact, a whole busload of family and friends are heading from Wayne, New Jersey to Dover, Delaware to watch their boy make his debut.

    “I have friends and family that are coming down,” Harraka said. “In fact, a whole busload with Paulie T-shirts will be filling the front stretch.”

     

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Coca Cola 600 Review: Kahne Scores First Win For Hendrick

    Coca Cola 600 Review: Kahne Scores First Win For Hendrick

    Kahne Scores First Win for HMS

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

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

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

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

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

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

     

    Greg Biffle Keeps up Consistency

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

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

     

    Gordon’s Luck Begins to Change

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

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