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  • Matty’s Picks Vol. 21 – Kansas – Hollywood Casino 400 – October 9, 2011

    Matty’s Picks Vol. 21 – Kansas – Hollywood Casino 400 – October 9, 2011

    “We’re not in Kansas anymore Toto”

    I figured I would add some kind of excitement to this week’s race by using a famous movie quote to break the ice in this week’s column.

    There were 17, uneventful lead changes among 9 drivers during the STP 400 earlier this year at Kansas Speedway, a race that I chose to watch the back of my eyelids rather than the on-track activities. According to this week’s media advance from NASCAR, Kansas Speedway was Brad Keselowski’s coming out party, winning there in June during the series’ first trip to the 1.5-mile track.

    [media-credit name=”Kansasspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”250″][/media-credit]Apparently, I missed Keselowski’s run to the front in June, as he was only shown in the top spot for the last 9 laps, the only laps he lead all day. Keselowski’s run to the front started around lap 165, after the 5th and final caution flag flew during the STP 400. The final 102 laps would be run under green-flag conditions and Keselowski would go on to win by a margin of 2.813 seconds over second-place finisher Dale Earnhardt Jr.

    My picks for June’s race at Kansas Speedway were Jeff Gordon as my Winner Pick and A.J. Allmendinger for my Dark Horse. Gordon finished 4th, and Allmendinger flirted with a Top-15 for the majority of the race, but failed in the fuel-mileage game and ended up finishing 26th.

    I can’t say that I’m overly-excited for the race on Sunday, partly due to the fact that it’s almost guaranteed that that race will come down to fuel-mileage in the end. I AM excited for the second-half of The Chase to start, and to finally visit some tracks that will keep me awake on Sunday Afternoon.

    Dover Recap

    There was no place to go for me but up after my performance two weeks ago at New Hampshire. I had my worst combined total finishes two weeks ago with a 25th and 26th-place finish for my picks. I half-rebounded last week at Dover, scoring a top-5 for my winner pick.

    Let’s start with the bad news this week.

    Greg Biffle was my Dark Horse pick last week at the Monster Mile after an intense look at his statistics prior to last week’s AAA 400. In the prior 5 races at the Monster Mile, Biffle’s finishes were: 19th, 6th, 19th, 3rd, and 16th. In the 5 races prior to the start of the 2009 season, Biffle’s finishes were: 1st, 3rd, 6th, 2nd, and 8th.

    After getting off to a solid start it appeared that Greg Biffle was headed for a top-10 finish in Dover today. He was running seventh when the field restarted on lap 358 following a caution but lost control of his 3M Cubitron II Ford three laps later and made contact with the inside wall. Biffle brought the car to pit road for repairs but went two laps down in the process. When the checkered flag dropped Biffle was in the 27th position. He dropped one spot in the points to 15th.

    “We had a fast car from the start,” said Biffle. “The guys worked hard in the pits all day and we should have had a top-10 finish at the least. We had a pit road penalty early on and were able to bounce back from that but we were just too loose on that last run.”

    My winner pick faired a lot better than Biffle last week, finishing in the runner-up spot. Spinning his tires on the final restart might have cost Jimmie Johnson his seventh victory at Dover International Speedway, but it didn’t hurt his run for a sixth straight NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.

    Johnson had led a race-high 157 laps coming into the final restart at Dover’s one-mile concrete oval. He lined up on the front row with Kurt Busch and spun the tires slightly, giving Busch the edge. Johnson crossed the finish line second, improving five spots in the championship standings to fifth.

    Johnson spoke of his troubles on the final restart following the AAA 400 last Sunday “I just got a poor restart when I was the leader, and for the last restart, I didn’t get a good one again,” Johnson said. “I couldn’t race (Busch) through Turns 1 and 2. The cars were very equal. We saw that.”

    I look to parlay my half-rebound last week at Dover into full-on success this weekend at Kansas.

    Kansas Picks

    Chevrolet has claimed 6 victories in the 10 Hollywood Casino 400’s, the most of any other manufacturer, but Chevy hasn’t seen Victory Lane at Kansas since October of 2009. Chevy’s recent lack of success has me looking at a Dodge and a Ford on Sunday.

    Winner Pick

    Due to his success at Kansas in June, and his lack of success in The Chase thus far, Brad Keselowski is receiving my Winner Pick this week. Even though he led just 9 laps en route to his victory at Kansas in June, his teammate Kurt Busch led a race-high 4 times for 152 laps.

    Busch’s soaked up Penske Racing’s pool of luck last week at Dover, and I think its Brad’s turn to hit the spotlight this weekend. He raced his way into the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup in dramatic fashion, but has failed to reach Victory Lane since his win at Bristol in late-August.

    Keselowski is ready to put his name back in the discussion for the Driver’s Championship this year and I say he is the favorite to win on Sunday. “We do want to send a message this weekend that we are going to fight to the finish,” Keselowski said.

    At this point in the season, Keselowski is looking to rebound from a disappointing power-steering issue and 20th place finish last week, and put his name back in the mix to take home the Sprint Cup.

    Dark Horse Pick

    David Ragan will be making his 175th Career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start this weekend at Kansas Speedway. Sticking with my trend of not picking a Chase driver for my Dark Horse pick, I think Ragan stands the best shot of bringing home a Top-5 out of all non-chasers this weekend.

    His past finishes at Kansas are less than impressive but Ragan and his Crew Chief, Drew Blickensderfer seem to have the fuel mileage game down to a science. In the prior two races decided by gas (Geico 400 at Chicagoland and Sylvania 300 at Loudon), Ragan finished 11th and 7th respectively.

    Ragan has five prior Sprint Cup starts at Kansas Speedway. With those five starts, Ragan has an average starting position of 16.8 and finishing position of 17.6.

    Ragan said earlier this week “We always look to improve at tracks from the first event there and Kansas is a track that really fits our program. Our engines run well there and our cars are fast. Drew and I are going to work hard to try and grab another win for our UPS team.”

    He will be piloting the car that finished 13th at Kansas Speedway earlier this year, and I think Ragan is a driver ready to pounce on the chances of playing spoiler on Sunday.

    That’s all for this week, stay tuned next week as I make my first trip to Charlotte Motor Speedway with SpeedwayMedia.com editor, Ed Coombs and Photo Journalist, Brad Keppel. I look forward to an exciting week next week, so be sure to stay tuned for live updates on my trip on Twitter @ML_B_Lo.

    Until Next Week…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Dover AAA 400

    In spite of the monstrously cloudy skies that yielded a bit of drizzle throughout the race, every lap of the AAA 400 was completed at Dover International Speedway. Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the track affectionately known as the ‘Monster Mile.’

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”223″][/media-credit]Surprising:  It was surprising that a ‘Polish Victory Lap’ rather than a back flip capped the finish of the Cup race on the concrete. Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Dodge, surprisingly scored his first ever victory at the ‘Monster Mile.”

    “It was just a perfect execution with making the car better during the race,” Busch said. “To win in a Sprint Cup race in the Chase, this is what it’s all about.”

    “We knew that the 22 was a good car,” Travis Geisler, Director of Competition, Penske Racing, said. “It was a great day.”

    Not Surprising:  Although not a winner as he was in the Nationwide race the previous day, Carl Edwards, to no one’s surprise, finished a solid top-five. The driver of the No. 99 Aflac Ford rebounded from a pit road speeding penalty to finish third, which was good enough to keep him tied atop the leader board in the Chase point standings.

    “It was a great day, other than that feeling I had when I ruined it there on pit road,” Edwards said sheepishly. “We were very, very fortunate.”

    “As frustrated as I am with myself for messing that up, I’m really, really grateful for the give that was given to us with that caution and the ability to come back up there.”

    Surprising:  It was surprising to see a not-so-happy Harvick in the media center after the race, especially after assuming the top spot in the Chase standings. The driver of the No. 29 Rheem Chasing the Cure Chevrolet is now officially tied with Edwards but claims the top spot due to his higher number of wins.

    After finishing tenth, Harvick seemed subdued and perhaps even a bit exhausted in the media center, complaining at one point about the flash of the photographers’ bulbs bothering his eyes.

    “We circled this one as a place to come to overcome some things and the guys did a good job today,” Harvick said. “All in all it was okay.”

    Not Surprising:  To no one’s surprise, old ‘Five Time’ is back, even taunting the media after the race a bit, asking if he was still considered out of contention for his sixth consecutive championship with his third place finish at Dover.

    Jimmie Johnson, behind the wheel of his familiar No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet, also seems to have reconciled well with his crew chief Chad Knaus, at least from the improved politeness during the radio chatter.

    “It was a great day for us, to lead that many laps and to have great stops on pit road across the board,” Johnson said. “I wish that we could be one spot better but I just did not get two good restarts that the end of that thing and cost myself.”

    Surprising:  Although Tony Stewart predicted that Dover was not his best track, it was surprising just how badly both he and his teammate Ryan Newman ran at the ‘Monster Mile.”

    The driver and team owner of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet finished 25th, with his teammate behind the wheel of the No. 39 US Army ROTC Chevrolet finishing just ahead of him in 23rd.

    “Even when we got the balance half-way decent, it didn’t have speed,” Smoke said. “So, we just missed it.”

    Stewart’s crew chief, Darian Grubb, echoed his driver’s sentiments exactly.

    “The biggest thing is just that we don’t have the concrete tracks figured out,” Grubb said. “At Bristol and Dover, we’ve just struggled for three years now with Tony there.”

    Sounding very much like his teammate, Newman also seconded theme of totally missing the set up.

    “We just didn’t have it right all weekend,” Newman said. “We tried a number of adjustments and pit strategies but nothing seemed to work in our favor.”

    “We just have to put this weekend behind us and move on.”

    Not Surprising:   It is not surprising that A J Allmendinger, driver of the No. 43 Best Buy Ford Fusion, just keeps rolling along with solid finishes. In fact, not only did the ‘Dinger finish with a top-10, but so did his Richard Petty Motorsports teammate Marcos Ambrose in the No. 9 Stanley Ford Fusion.

    “It was a solid day,” Allmendinger said. “Obviously, we want to try to win but at least we were there all day.”

    “We’ve been bashed up pretty good the last month, so it’s just good to come back with a solid day,” Ambrose said. “I’m proud of the team. They’ve stood by me after a tough month.”

    Surprising:  In a surprising version of ‘Chasers Gone Bad’, at least three of the drivers in contention had monstrously bad days.

    Brad Keselowski, who had been wearing the Cinderella slipper, took a bit of a stumble at Dover International Speedway. After battling a power steering problem, the driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge came in 20th.

    “I finally caught the back end of the field, but when I got up to the rear of a car, I couldn’t do anything, couldn’t get around them,” Keselowski said. “It’s frustrating. I think we were good enough to get a solid run out of it but ended up 20th.”

    “That’s the way it goes.”

    With his tough finish, Keselowski fell three spots in the Chase standings to the sixth position.

    Dale Earnhardt, Jr., driving the No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet, also battled mechanical issues, in his case a broken sway bar. Then towards the end of the race, he had a loose wheel, which caused him to finish 24th, two laps down to the race winner.

    “That’s racin’,” Junior said. “That’s all I can say. I’ve had a lot of shit happen to me over the years, good and bad. I’ve just kinda got to roll with the punches.”

    Dale Junior fell two positions in the point standings to the 10th position.

    Junior’s teammate Jeff Gordon also struggled all day long in his No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet. Starting from the 34th position, Gordon rallied to finish 12th, however, fell four positions in the point standings to ninth.

    “Yeah, that’s been a struggle for us here at this track this year,” Gordon said. “It started off good and we worked our way forward pretty quick from the 34th starting position, but once we got up there I made some mistakes and we just didn’t have it on the restarts.”

    Not Surprising:  Quiet Kenseth continued his Cup quest with a top-5 finish at the ‘Monster Mile.”  The driver of the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion maintained his seventh place in the Chase standings, just 14 points out of first.

    Not surprisingly, Kenseth claimed “We got lucky.”

    “We had a pretty solid day,” Kenseth continued. “We were able to lead a little bit. There were times in the race when we were pretty dominant.”

    “I was hoping for a little better at times, but it’s important to get a good finish every week.”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished third at Dover, leading 116 of 400 laps, and gained a share of the Sprint Cup point standings. Edwards is tied with Kevin Harvick atop the standings, with a nine point lead over Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart.

    “Luckily,” Edwards said, “I don’t do a back flip for third place finishes. And, judging by Saturday’s result, I don’t do back flips for wins, either. It used to be called a ‘somersault;’ with the change of season, it’s now called a ‘fall.’”

    2. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson held off Carl Edwards in the closing laps in the AAA 400 to take the runner-up spot at Dover. Johnson vaulted five spots in the point standings to fifth and is 13 out of first.

    “Many though my slow start in the Chase indicated that I was ‘going nowhere,’” Johnson said. “Well, they were right, because this strong finish indicates that I’m ‘not going anywhere.”

    [media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”203″][/media-credit]3. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished tenth in the AAA 400, a solid effort considering Dover is not one of his strongest tracks. He did, however, move in to a tie in the points lead with Carl Edwards, with a nine point lead on Tony Stewart in second.

    “It’s great to be on top in the Sprint Cup point standings,” Harvick said. “But the issue with leading is one that is much akin to Clint Bowyer’s future with Richard Childress Racing—staying there.”

    4. Kurt Busch: Busch left Jimmie Johnson after a late restart and cruised to the win in the AAA 400, his second win of the year and first of the Chase. Busch climbed from ninth to third in the point standings, and trails co-leaders Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick by ninth.

    “It’s doubly satisfying to pass Johnson for the win,” Busch said. “I know ‘slaps in the face,’ and that had to feel like one to Johnson.

    “My win certainly tightens up the point standing in the Chase For The Cup. My brother knows all too well that when you put a Busch brother out front, things get ‘tight,’ particularly Kyle’s nerves.”

    5. Tony Stewart: After two wins to start the Chase, Stewart’s luck ran out at Dover, where handling issues left him in an early hole from which he couldn’t escape. He finished 25th, two laps down, and fell out of the Sprint Cup points lead.

    “I guess winning three races in a row was too much to expect,” Stewart said. “Otherwise, I may have ran away with the Sprint Cup title. In this case, the third time was the charm for 11 other Chase drivers. But ‘winning three’ isn’t easy; that’s something I’ve spent the last ten years learning.”

    6. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth, who won at Dover in May, took fifth in the AAA 400, collecting his eighth top-5 result of the year. He remained sixth in the point standings, where only 19 points separate the top nine drivers.

    “We took two tires on the final pit stop in May,” Kenseth said. “We took four this time. Suffice it to say we were ‘dis-May-ed’ with our finish.

    “My esteemed teammate Carl Edwards is tied for the lead in the point standings with his esteemed arch-nemesis Kevin Harvick. That makes for an interesting situation, and I, like most others, can’t wait to see which one ‘chokes’ first.”

    7. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished a disappointing 20th at Dover, amazingly his first finish outside the top 12 since a 35th at New Hampshire in July. He fell three places in the point standings to sixth, and trails the leaders by 14.

    “We had a good car until our power steering failed,” Keselowski said. “You could say we were ‘cursed’ by mechanical issues, which is definitely not the first time the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge has been ‘cursed.’ Heck, Kurt Busch used to drive this car.”

    8. Jeff Gordon: Gordon qualified 34th at Dover, and with track position at a premium, could only manage a 12th-place finish. He fell four places to ninth in the point standings, and is 19 out of first.

    “We’ve dug ourselves a hole,” Gordon said. “That’s not as bad as my Hendrick teammate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. He dug himself a grave.”

    9. Kyle Busch: Busch bounced back from two sub-par finishes to start the Chase with a sixth at Dover, his 17th top-10 finish of the season. He eighth in the point standings,15 points out of the lead.

    “A sixth-place finish is encouraging,” Busch said, “but knowing you started the Chase with the lead just three short weeks ago is discouraging. But I’ve got my head up. I understand Denny Hamlin has employed a sports psychologist to improve his attitude. Many people say I need psychological help. My supporters say I don’t need psychological help, just an evaluation. Anyway, if a sports psychologist could tell me anything, he’d likely say ‘You’re still in the driver’s seat.’ And I would likely reply, ‘I’m paying you for this?’”

    10. Ryan Newman: Newman finished 23rd, two laps down, after ongoing handling issues left his No. 39 Stewart-Haas Chevy with little grip and poor handling. He is now 11th in the Sprint Cup point standings, 41 out of first.

    “Our performance is upsetting,” Newman said. “And I think it showed on my face. Anyone could see that I was ‘drivin’ and (c)Ryan.’

    “I’m declaring myself a non-factor in the Chase. And if things work out for me like they did for Tony Stewart, I’ll be back in the thick of things after winning at Kansas and Charlotte.”

  • Kurt Busch King of the Concrete with Win at Monster Mile

    Kurt Busch King of the Concrete with Win at Monster Mile

    Kurt Busch, behind the wheel of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Dodge, conquered the concrete track at Dover for the first time ever to score his second win of the season.  This was his 24th victory in 393 Cup Series races.

    [media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]“It was just a perfect execution today with making the car better during the race,”  Busch said. “I can’t be happier right now.”

    “To win a Sprint Cup race in the Chase, that’s what it’s all about,” Busch said. “We had everything go wrong last week and everything go right this week.”

    Busch’s race win puts him firmly in fourth place in the point standings.

    “This is the playoffs,” Busch said. “I feel like we’re right in the mix. You just have to cover up those bad days.”

    Busch’s crew chief echoed his driver’s sentiments, making the right calls at the right time. And Penske Racing’s team leadership, including the Director of Competition, could not have been more pleased.

    “We had to put a good bit of wedge in it and finally found a direction with the tire pressure,” Steve Addington, Busch’s crew chief said. “Then it came to life. We finally got us another win with this No. 22 car.”

    “This is definitely awesome,” Travis Geisler, Director of Competition for Penske Racing, said. “We knew that the No. 22 was a good car. To win in the Chase is awesome.”

    Busch was trailed by two other Chase contenders, Jimmie Johnson, in the No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet, who finished as runner up and Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Aflac Ford, who overcame a pit road speeding penalty to finish third.

    Johnson scored his 14th top-10 finish in 20 races at the Monster Mile. It was his 19th top-10 finish of the season.

    “Obviously it was a great day for us to lead that many laps and having great stops on pit road,” Johnson said of his runner up finish. “I wish that we could be one stop better.”

    “But all in all, it was exactly what we needed,” Johnson continued. “Mission accomplished.”

    With his second place finish, Johnson is now fifth in the point standings, just 13 points out of the lead. With that, Johnson couldn’t help but poke a little fun in the media center, especially since many had pronounced him out of contention for the championship.

    “Are we out of this?” Johnson asked coyly. “Last week we were considered done.”

    Edwards posted his 11th top-10 finish in 15 races at Dover International Speedway. For Edwards, however, who won the Nationwide race at Dover the day before the Cup race, this was a hard fought battle back to the front after his mistake on pit road.

    “It was a great day other than that feeling I had when I ruined it on pit road,” Edwards said. “That’s about as small as you can feel in a race car.”

    “We talked about it before the race on pit road but I just blasted right through it,” Edwards continued. “As frustrated as I am with myself, I’m grateful for the gift I was given, especially with my guys sticking beside me.”

    “That was fun.”

    After Busch, Johnson and Edwards, Matt Kenseth was the next highest Chase finisher. The driver of the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford, finished fifth.

    “We got lucky,” Kenseth said. “The last restart was good but the one before that was no good.”

    “As good as everybody is these days and as equal as everybody is, it’s important to get a good finish every week,” Kenseth continued. “You need to be in the top five to be able to stay in the hunt.”

    Kevin Harvick, this week sporting a pink No. 29 Rheem Chasing the Cure Chevrolet, assumed the points lead with his top-10 finish. He is, however, tied with Carl Edwards, but has a higher number of wins so is the highest seed.

    “Obviously, we circled this one as a place to come to overcome some things,” Harvick said. “We had to put two tires on there at the end to protect the track position side of it.”

    Harvick admitted that the competition is so equal. In fact, only 15 points currently separate the top eight in the point standings.

    “The competition level is so even,” Harvick said. “You’re going to have to be consistent and solid and keeping yourself in contention until the last couple of races.”

    There were four non-Chasers who finished in the top ten at the Monster Mile. Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota, finished fourth; A.J. Allmendinger, behind the wheel of the No. 43 Best Buy Ford, finished seventh; Clint Bowyer, in the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet, finished eighth; and Marcos Ambrose, in the No. 9 Stanley Ford, finished ninth.

    “We weren’t quite good enough to win,” Allmendinger said. “It was a solid day. Obviously, we want to try to win, but at least we were there all day.”

    “We’ve been bashed up pretty good the last month so it’s just good to come back with a solid day,” Ambrose said. “I’m proud of my team. They’ve stood by me after a tough month and I’m looking forward to getting to Kansas.”

     

    Unofficial Race Results
    AAA 400, Dover International Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=29
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 2 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 47
    2 6 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 44
    3 4 99 Carl Edwards Ford 42
    4 9 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 40
    5 18 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 40
    6 5 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 39
    7 7 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 38
    8 27 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 36
    9 12 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 35
    10 22 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 35
    11 13 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 34
    12 34 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 32
    13 14 0 David Reutimann Toyota 31
    14 30 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 30
    15 23 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 29
    16 3 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 28
    17 16 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 27
    18 11 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 26
    19 17 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 25
    20 15 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 25
    21 19 6 David Ragan Ford 23
    22 24 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 22
    23 20 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 21
    24 21 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 20
    25 28 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 19
    26 8 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 18
    27 10 16 Greg Biffle Ford 17
    28 36 34 David Gilliland Ford 16
    29 33 20 Joey Logano Toyota 15
    30 1 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 15
    31 25 51 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 0
    32 41 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 12
    33 37 71 Andy Lally * Ford 11
    34 43 38 J.J. Yeley Ford 10
    35 39 13 Casey Mears Toyota 9
    36 40 32 Mike Bliss Ford 0
    37 26 37 Josh Wise Ford 0
    38 38 7 Reed Sorenson Dodge 0
    39 42 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0
    40 35 66 Michael McDowell Toyota 5
    41 31 30 David Stremme Chevrolet 3
    42 29 46 Scott Speed Ford 0
    43 32 55 Travis Kvapil Ford 0
  • Matty’s Picks Vol. 20 – Dover – AAA 400 – October 2, 2011

    Matty’s Picks Vol. 20 – Dover – AAA 400 – October 2, 2011

    The Monster-Mile! Dover International Speedway is one of my favorite tracks on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule, so yes I will watch the race this Sunday for the first time in three weeks.

    [media-credit name=”doverspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”254″][/media-credit]A short 6-hour trek from where I grew up, Dover has been a popular destination for vacations of my family and friends. Dover’s high concrete banking offers endless passing potential, high speeds, and even a spot to pay for your trip in the casino located along the backstretch of the 1-mile concrete oval.

    I was lucky enough, two years ago, to have the opportunity to ride shotgun in a two-seater, NASCAR Stock Car around the high-banks of Dover International Speedway. Monster Driving School offered members of the media complementary rides in the two-seater stock cars at the Monster Mile, and in turn gave me the utmost respect for stock car drivers. The experience is one that I will never forget and made my interest level in NASCAR go from insane to outright ridiculous.

    Now for anyone out there that thinks the 43 guys that strap into the 750-horsepower stock cars each week are not actual athletes, THINK AGAIN. I had the opportunity to take 8-laps around the Monster Mile, and I will tell you I had all I could do to walk straight when I climbed out of the car. The exuberant amount of adrenaline I had flowing through my veins that day was the only thing aiding my head to stay straight and remotely close to my body. I have the utmost respect for those guys now after just 8-laps, I can’t fathom the physical strain 3.5 hours of petal to the metal action puts on a driver’s body.

    So if you’re one of those people who think NASCAR isn’t a sport, I challenge you to climb into one of those 750-horsepower stock cars and THEN see what you think.

    Loudon Recap

    If I had fifty-cents for every time one of my picks ran out of gas in the past two weeks, I would have enough for one double cheeseburger at McDonalds. (My roommates’ favorite snack in college)

    It was another terrible week for me in New England last week (even though I got my revenge by my Bills taking it to Tom Brady and the Patriots last week), marking my worst combined total finish in the 19 editions of Matty’s Picks.

    Ryan Newman was my winner pick last week, and yes I did make the pick before the dramatic qualifying session that ensued last week, resulting with Newman starting on the pole for last Sunday’s Sylvania 300.

    Newman led the following 62 laps, when a miscue on pit-road sent him back in the field, never to reach the lead again. The bad news continued to roll in for Newman when he cut a tire down late in the race while running in the top-10 with just five laps remaining. The catastrophe cost Newman an imminent top-10 finish, and a boost in the points standings as well. Instead, the misfortune caused Newman to drop from 8th to 12th in points.

    Newman spoke earlier this week about his misfortune in the first two races of The Chase “The results have not equaled the performances for our team at the past two races,” said Newman. “We’ve put ourselves in a hole, but the good news is that we still have eight races to go to make up the difference. We’ve been known for our comebacks and the way we fight through adversity. One thing you always hear from our Soldiers is that you never quit and you complete the mission. That’s what this Army race team has done and will always continue to do.”

    As for my Dark Horse pick, Clint Bowyer was poised to win the race Sunday but his gas tank did not agree with him winning the race.

    After starting 11th, Bowyer wasted no time in breaking into the top 10 and was shown in 8th-place around the midway point in the race. It was at that time when crew chief Shane Wilson came over the radio and told Bowyer to save as much fuel as he could for the end of the race.

    Bowyer flexed his muscles after a round of pit-stops near lap 250 when he took the lead, conserving fuel all the way. He was ahead of race-winner Tony Stewart by half a second when his engine was finally starved of fuel with just three laps remaining. Bowyer’s day ended on pit-road with a 26th-place result and he was short when speaking with the media following the race “It’s just not our year. I’m proud of this team. What a great car. It just didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to.”

    Even Stewart had sympathy for fellow Chevy driver Clint Bowyer following his win last Sunday “I know exactly what that feels like. I know exactly how he feels (Clint Bowyer) right now. I saw him slow down the back and I thought ‘Oh, no, you’re kiddin’ me’. That is not the way you want to win it for sure.”

    Dover Picks

    The spring race at Dover back in May marked the debut of Matty’s Picks, and laid the groundwork for a successful regular season of picks this year. I am looking to rebound off the past two weeks of miserable picks and get back into championship contention down the stretch here in the final 8 editions of Matty’s Picks.

    Considering five drivers (Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, and Matt Kenseth) have combined to win 15 of the last 19 races at the Monster Mile, it leaves little for question this week.

    Winner Pick

    Jimmie Johnson sits 10th in points going into Sunday’s race, a position he is fairly unfamiliar with this far into the Sprint Cup Schedule.

    He leads all active drivers with 6 wins at the Monster Mile, including three of the last five after sweeping both races in 2009 and taking the fall race last year in Dover. The concrete mile has been kind to Johnson throughout the years (something that doesn’t always happen when your tires break loose due to the severe banking all around the track), making one of the most incredible saves in NASCAR history back in his 2006 qualifying efforts.

    Johnson has an average finish of 9.6 at Dover, and sitting 10th in points is nowhere he wants to be for any period of time. “New Hampshire obviously wasn’t the finish we were looking for especially with how good we were throughout the weekend. I’m really looking forward to this weekend though. Dover has always been a good place for the 48 team and I really enjoy racing there. I’m not really sure why, but it has always just kind of suited my driving style” said the five-time champ earlier this week about his chances this weekend.

    Jimmie Johnson’s quest for 6 in a row is underway, and now the time to make his statement, a win will do it.

    Dark Horse Pick

    Since the other four drivers are in The Chase that are a part of the statistic above pertaining to the past 19-races at Dover, I have to go with the only driver without a shot at claiming the Sprint Cup this year.

    Greg Biffle’s trends at Dover have been rather interesting to look at this afternoon. It seems like he is more back and forth than a ping-pong match. In the past 5 races at the Monster Mile, Biffle’s finishes have been: 19th, 6th, 19th, 3rd, and 16th. In the 5 races prior to the start of the 2009 season, Biffle’s finishes were: 1st, 3rd, 6th, 2nd, and 8th.

    Now, Biffle is not in the Chase, but is a serious contender to take the checkered this Sunday. His average career finish across 18 races is 11.4 and he currently sits 13th on the speed charts in Sprint Cup Final practice.

    The Biff is also coming of an impressive third-place finish last week at Loudon, and sits just three points out of the top Non-Chaser points in 14th. Biff spoke about his success at Dover this week “I’ve had some success at Dover and it would be great to get the 3M Ford Fusion in victory lane there this weekend. It’s been a pretty up and down season for us so far but I feel like we’re moving in the right direction. A win would definitely keep the momentum going though. As a driver, you have to be on your toes in Dover. You want your car to be a little loose but at the same time, it can’t be too loose. I have high expectations for this weekend.”

    That’s all for this week as I look forward to watching my first Chase race this season on Sunday afternoon because my Buffalo Bills are on the road this week in Cincinnati.

    Until next time…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Loudon Sylvania 300

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Loudon Sylvania 300

    While rain played a factor earlier in the race weekend, New Hampshire Motor Speedway was not only bathed in sunshine, but was hot enough to boil a lobster for the running of the 15th annual Sylvania 300. Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the track dubbed the ‘Magic Mile’.

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Gregg Ellman-Pool/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”228″][/media-credit]Surprising:  While one five-time champion usually peaks in performance during the Chase competition, it was most surprising to see another driver, one who deemed himself unworthy of even being in the Chase, win his second race in a row.

    Tony Stewart, behind the wheel of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet, took the checkered flag, giving him a perfect Chase record to date. This was Smoke’s 41st Cup Series win and put him in the lead dog position in the point standings.

    “I’ll be honest, we were about a 10th place car the majority of the day,” Stewart said. “The closer to the front we got, the better it drove.”

    “Man, what a day to win it,” Stewart continued. “Such an irony from last year where we ran out of gas coming to the white.”

    Not Surprising:  Speaking of fuel mileage racing, which happened all weekend long, it was not surprising to see this come into play yet again at the ‘Magic Mile.’ In fact, fuel mileage cost one driver the race and another Chase driver a possible win as well.

    Most affected by the fuel mileage gremlin was Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet. Bowyer ran out of fuel with just three laps to go, allowing Smoke to blow by him for the win.

    “It’s just not our year,” Bowyer said. “What a great car. It just didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to.”

    The other driver who struggled with fuel mileage was Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet. As Gordon was moving forward at race end, his crew chief Alan Gustafson advised him that there had been a problem while fueling that may have resulted in his tank not being completely packed full.

    Gordon immediately went into conservation mode, letting many of his competitors blow by him. Gordon finished fourth in the race and move dup in the point standings to the fifth spot.

    “It is tough conditions to race in,” Gordon said. “I don’t think that we wanted to see back-to-back fuel mileage races like this, but it is kind of the name of the game these days.”

    “We were just setting the pace so it is unfortunate that that happened,” Gordon continued. “It is something we need to be better at.”

    Surprising:  Although battling tire camber troubles all race long, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and his ever positive crew chief Steve Letarte seemed surprisingly pleased with their 17th place finish with the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet. Earnhardt, Jr. fell three spots in the points, from fifth to eighth.

    “We had a flat tire there at the end,” Junior said. “We had a fast car all day.”

    “I was real happy with the car,” Earnhardt, Jr. continued. “We were real competitive. And I got to race up front.”

    “I had an awesome car all day long and I’m happy about what my guys did.”

    Not Surprising:  After starting the race fuming because he his car was stuck in NASCAR technical inspection during the pre-race festivities, Kurt Busch continued his ‘Drive for Anger’ campaign in his No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Dodge.

    Busch was so annoyed when he finally did get in the car to race that team ‘Captain’ Roger Penske had to come on the radio, telling his driver to “Keep your head in this.”

    “It was a frustrating day,” Busch said. “We were late going through inspection and that set the tone for the day.”

    “NASCAR wasn’t 100% happy with what they saw on one of their gauges,” Travis Geisler, Director of Competition for Penske Racing, said of the inspection delay. “So, we had to do a little work on it.”

    Busch finished 22nd, making him also the official ‘Biggest Loser’ in the points, falling from fourth to ninth.

    Surprising:  As a result of the Sylvania 300, three surprising basement dwellers emerged. Five-time champ Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet, was the first, finishing 18th and falling to tenth in points.

    In addition to his struggles on the track, Johnson also had some harsh exchanges with his crew chief, Chad Knaus, who goaded his drive to ‘prove’ that he could drive the car.

    “Yeah, it wasn’t what we thought it was going to be,” Johnson said. “We just didn’t have the breaks go right and really get the track position as we needed it throughout the day.”

    “I’m going 100 percent regardless of what’s being said on the radio,” Johnson continued. “I think he (Knaus) was just being optimistic there about what was left in my back pocket; but my suit doesn’t have any back pockets.”

    Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet, also became an official basement dweller. Newman, who started the race from the pole, finished 25th and fell four spots to 11th in the points.

    “We just had a tough day,” Newman said. “We had a couple of slow pit stops and then we had a tire go down at the end.”

    “It was just a disappointing day for us.”

    Finally, it has been surprisingly painful to watch the ongoing implosion of Denny Hamlin and company. The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota, finished 29th, remaining in the 12th Chase spot.

    “It was another tough day for us,” Hamlin said. “We’re just figuring out what we need to do to be a little bit more competitive.”

    Not Surprising:  To no one’s surprise, the ascent of the Keselowski continued at the ‘Magic Mile’. The driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger finished second to Stewart and catapulted himself to third in points.

    “I feel really good about this one,” Keselowski said. “We struggled a little bit this weekend, but we executed and that’s what these races are about.”

    “It’s been a good roll.”

    Surprising:  Mark Martin, behind the wheel of the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, looked surprisingly like the driver of old. Martin led a total of 46 laps, almost two times more than he had led all season.

    Not Surprising:  David Ragan’s ‘Drive for a Sponsor’ continued behind the wheel of the No. 6 UPS Ford. The young driver overcame being a lap down with the ‘lucky dog’ to finish seventh.

    “We didn’t have the best of cars today but we showed that with some hard work and good strategy, we could overcome that,” Ragan said. “It feels good for the UPS team to get a top 10.”

    “So it was a good job by everybody and now it’s on to Dover.”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: New Hampshire

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: New Hampshire

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”238″][/media-credit]1. Tony Stewart: Stewart zoomed past Clint Bowyer’s sputtering No. 33 Chevrolet with two laps to go at New Hampshire, capturing his second-straight win and moving to the top of the Sprint Cup point standings. Stewart is 2 for 2 in the Chase and now leads Kevin Harvick by seven points.

    “I was past Bowyer in a flash,” Stewart said. “I saw ‘Cheerios’ then said my ‘bye bye’s.’ I left Bowyer faster than Richard Childress.

    “As I cryptically stated before, we turned things around by unloading some ‘dead weight.’ A Stewart-Haas press release states that no further clarification of what or who ‘dead weight’ is or was is forthcoming. The ‘weight’ is over, and as soon as I have a bad finish and need a convenient scapegoat, the ‘wait’ will be over, and I’ll name names.”

    2. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski charged late to finish second in theSylvania300, earning his fifth finish of third of better in the last eight races. He leaped three spots in the point standings to third, and now trails Tony Stewart by 11.

    “I’m just curious,” Keselowski said. “If I win a race in the Chase, do I get credit for it?

    “Anyway, for anyone who’s doubted my ability as a viable championship contender, this should prove once and for all that I can win it all. I’m no longer just a ‘Cinderella’ story, but I’ve ‘made believers’ out of many.”

    3. Jeff Gordon: Gordon led a race-high 78 laps, and looked to be on his way to the win before a problem on a gas can exchange on his final pit stop dropped him back in the field. He finished third and vaulted six spots in the point standings to fifth, 23 out of first.

    “If it’s not another team sabotaging a sure win,” Gordon said, “it’s my own. When you have a car as good as the No. 24 Chevy was on Sunday, you should ‘get more out’ of it than a third place. By that same token, my re-fuelers should ‘get more in.’”

    4. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished eighth at New Hampshire, posting his series-best 19th top-10 result of the year, and second of the Chase. He sits fourth in the point standings, 14 out of first.

    “Tony Stewart and the No. 14 team are peaking at the right time,” Edwards said, “which happens to be six months later than I did.”

    5. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished a disappointing12th in the Sylvania 300, as a stop for fuel left him mired in traffic and unable to make a run towards the front. He dropped out of the lead in the point standings, but trails new leader Tony Stewart by only seven points.

    “I really could have used a teammate’s spin,” Harvick said, “but I think it would have been too much to ask Clint Bowyer to spin while he was leading the race. Clint, understandably, isn’t willing to ‘take one for the team’ because Richard Childress is willing to ‘take one from the team.’”

    6. Kyle Busch: Busch finished a lackluster 11th at Loudon, as an ill-handling car left him frustrated. After entering the Chase For The Cup on top of the standings, he’s fallen into a tie for sixth, 26 out of first.

    “I’m running myself right out of championship contention,” Busch said. “I ‘took a bow’ four times during the regular season. I think I’ve got one more in my. That would be my ‘final bow,’ because it’s ‘curtains’ for my title hopes.”

    7. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished a solid sixth at Loudon as all four Roush Fenway cars cracked the top 10. Kenseth jumped four spots in the standings and is now tied for sixth, 26 behind Tony Stewart.

    “Roush Fenway has two cars in the Chase,” Kenseth said, “and two cars out of the Chase. And four cars with no chance of winning the Sprint Cup.”

    8. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson was competitive early in the Sylvania300, but faded late after contact with Kyle Busch. He finished 18th and tumbled two places to tenth in the point standings. It’s the first time Johnson has ever been lower than ninth in the Chase standings.

    “Most people are saying it’s time to show ‘what we’re made of,’” Johnson said. “That’s wrong. I know what we’re made of—five Cups of championship.”

    9. Ryan Newman: Newman started from the pole and led the first 62 laps at Loudon, only to see a solid finish derailed by a loose right front wheel five laps from the end. He finished a lap down in 25th and dropped five places in the points to 11th.

    “Me and Tony finished 1-2 here back in July,” Newman said. “I guess I didn’t hold up my end of the bargain this time. I felt like the ‘third wheel’ this time, thanks to my fourth wheel.”

    10. Kurt Busch: Busch’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge failed pre-race inspection and was late to pit road before the start of the Sylvania300. He finished 22nd and dropped five places to ninth in the point standings.

    “You heard right,” Busch said. “The ‘F’ word was uttered on live television—the ‘fail’ word. NASCAR said the car’s rear-end housing didn’t fit the templates. It was too high. I’ll tell what’s not too high—my opinion of this team.”

  • Denny Hamlin and the Ultimate What Could Have Been Situation

    Denny Hamlin and the Ultimate What Could Have Been Situation

    The 2010 season was supposed to be the season of Denny Hamlin and in a way it was. Just not how he had imagined or as others would have preferred to talk or write about after 10 months, 22 tracks and 36 Sprint Cup Series races. Supposed to be, until one moment in time got in the way.

    [media-credit name=”Dan Sanger” align=”alignright” width=”243″][/media-credit]Instead of winning his first career championship and ending the stranglehold that Jimmie Johnson had on the top spot, Hamlin walked away empty handed. He had won a series high eight races and was leading the points heading into the season finale in Homestead-Miami before Johnson and his 48 team did what they’ve done best the last few years.

    Now with the 2011 Chase underway Hamlin’s in a much different position. He’s far from being the favorite but while not mathematically eliminated, he might be realistically. After a rough weekend in Chicago he’s 12th in the standings and behind the leaders by nearly a whole race, 41 points. The No. 11 team has encountered every type of trouble possible this season and has only found victory lane once.

    Friday at New Hampshire, sight of the second Chase race, Hamlin was asked about losing the championship last year. The question, related to fuel mileage, which has decided a fair share of races this year, also had another twist to it. One of those, what would have been had fuel mileage not been a factor?

    “That’s what was the ultimate dagger for us for the championship” Hamlin said. “We dominated the entire race and we didn’t have good fuel mileage and we had to pit when everyone else didn’t and obviously we went from – I think at the time if I finish in the top five, I’m 80 to 100 points to the good going into the last race.”

    For Hamlin it’ll always leave a lasting question in his mind about the championship. Racing is no different than any other sport or even life; moments of what could have, should have or even would have been are never far.

    If a caution would have fallen at a different time or a different strategy decision was made, what if that chassis sitting back at the shop had been used instead? There are thoughts of what Tim Richmond, Adam Petty or even Dale Earnhardt could have or would have been. Just one moment in time changes the future’s path.

    Last November one decision from crew chief Mike Ford, one race, one pit stop forever altered Hamlin’s season.

    He finished 12th at Phoenix after leading a race high 190 laps and saw his point lead decrease to 15 over Johnson. Whereas Hamlin ran top three all afternoon, Johnson struggled all day, never led a lap but wound up fifth after the fuel mileage bug bit those in front of him. In the end, Hamlin wouldn’t get to have the race in Homestead that he was looking for.

    “I just start my engine and run around at Homestead like Jimmie did the last four years and we take home the championship,” said Hamlin. “It’s a completely different mindset. Obviously with momentum we see how that momentum went to the final race and worked against us. Fuel mileage has completely changed this sport over the last few years.”

    Hamlin’s luck has also changed. He went from being the driver to watch on any given weekend at any given track to hardly on the map. His tough luck shows how fickle this sport can be. Johnson is the lone exception of the ever-changing nature of the Cup Series.

    Drivers come and go; those on top are knocked down. The Virginia native has been knocked down already in this year’s championship fight and plenty throughout the season. Yet, he’s perfectly fine with that. Hamlin knows that’s the way the pendulum swings and his team will work hard to get back to where they feel they belong.

    “In sports, staying at the top is very, very difficult,” said Hamlin. “It’s extremely hard. You see professional teams in sports where you have 10 to 12 people out on the field. One person gets hurt and it completely changes the dynamic of the entire team and all of a sudden they look terrible, the same team that was going for a championship last year.”

    In NASCAR, no better example as shown week in and week out by the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 FedEx team. And according to Hamlin, this year NASCAR is showing how much of a team sport it really is.

    “That’s a good thing,” he said. “I like that, but you’re going to live and die by the sword. Those days where you have problems, you’ve got to just suck it up and figure out what you’ve got to do to get better at your job and not worry about the variables that you can’t handle, you can’t change and I feel like I need to do that at this point.”

  • Matty’s Picks Vol. 19 – New Hampshire – Sylvania 300 – September 25, 2011

    Matty’s Picks Vol. 19 – New Hampshire – Sylvania 300 – September 25, 2011

    Race No. 2 of the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup brings us back to Loudon, New Hampshire. On April 12, 1934 the highest wind speed recorded at ground level was recorded at Mount Washington, NH. The wind speeds were three times as fast as those in most hurricanes.

    [media-credit name=”nhms.com” align=”alignright” width=”254″][/media-credit]The 750 horsepower engines of the NASCAR Sprint Cup racecars will not reach speeds nearly as fast as those at Mount Washington in 1934, but they will be going as fast as the wind speeds of most hurricanes, Sunday Afternoon.

    I didn’t fare extremely well with my Dark Horse pick after the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ first stop this season in New Hampshire, but I did manage to pick the Runner-up in the July race. I thought I had nailed my Dark Horse pick in the July race (even after submitting my picks before any on-track activities) after finding out Regan Smith would start in 11th for the Lenox Industrial Tools 301, but knew a Top-10 finish would be too good to be true.

    My Winner Pick for the July race, Tony Stewart started outside pole and would finish exactly there. I had a 2nd and a 33rd place finish earlier this year, with Regan Smith giving me my first pick to finish outside the Top-30 cars.

    Chicago Recap

    Well, if you’re my winner pick, plan on finishing 22nd…

    Two weeks ago, I picked Clint Bowyer to win the Wonderful Pistachios 400 at Richmond International Raceway; his result, a 22nd place finish.

    Last week, I picked Kyle Busch to win the Geico 400 at Chicagoland Speedway; his result, a 22nd place finish.

    I used up my mandatory once-a-month Kyle Busch pick last week only because it was the second-to-last race of the month, and I probably should have held out and picked the Las Vegas native this week. It was my mistake in thinking that the race at Chicagoland would not turn out to be another once of these fuel-mileage fiascos we see each race at these 1.5-mile cookie-cutter style racetracks.

    As we all know, its checkers or wreckers for Kyle Busch each time he straps up his helmet to go racing. And that mentality really puts you at a huge disadvantage when you are trying to conserve fuel at the end of the race. Sometimes I feel like Rowdy’s right foot is made of lead, and he really cannot resist the temptation to jam his foot through the floorboards of his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry. He reached the point position early in the race on Monday, but when the race shook out (as it has historically); it was the guy with the most mustard left in the bottle that took the checkered.

    Kyle explained his day after the 400 mile stanza: “We had a good car today and kept fighting back all day long. But, once we hit that debris it made the car really loose and I was doing the best I can. I still hoped we could finish in the top-10. I saved as much fuel as I could but I guess it just wasn’t enough and we ran out with two to go. Just really disappointing day.”

    As for my Dark Horse pick last week, he was one of the 7-Chevrolets that finished in the Top-10 on Monday.

    Mark Martin’s 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season has been one filled with questions, disappointments, and very few triumphs. Martin’s starting spot in Monday’s race wasn’t anything to write home about either.

    I had made my decision on Martin early in the week last week and was put to ease after the first practice session on Friday, after he posted the 3rd best speed of the practice session. I knew all along that winning one of the final 10 races this season would be quite an achievement for the 52-year old whose career seems to be coming to its final chapter.

    Many frustrations have plagued Mark Martin’s final season at Hendrick Motorsports, which in the early stages of the race I thought would be the case yet-again for my Dark Horse pick. After starting 25th in the Geico 400, Martin battled through potential damage on the front spoiler on his No. 5 Chevrolet to eventually lay down lap times that were as fast as the race leaders.

    With all the fast cars running out of gas at the end, Martin had enough fuel left in the tanks to pass the wounded on the apron and bring home a Top-10 Dark Horse pick for me. Martin finished one-spot better than teammate Jimmie Johnson in 9th place, certainly a respectable finish after qualifying so poorly.

    New Hampshire Picks

    As I watch the practice speeds roll across my phone today, I can’t help but to notice the fire power the Chevrolets seem to be packing this weekend at New Hampshire. Eight of the Top-10 drivers in practice today have been piloting Chevrolets; I’m going with Chevy for Sunday…

    Winner Pick

    I’m really going out on a whim here this week and picking July’s race winner to take the checkered flag in Loudon, Sunday Afternoon (or Monday as it looks right now). He’s atop the leaderboard following Sprint Cup practice earlier today, and with that will do all he can to secure a favorable starting position for Sunday’s 3-hour nap window.

    Ryan Newman won July’s Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway after starting from the pole. Since there is little-to-no passing opportunity at New Hampshire, starting up-front is key in a successful finish. No other driver has more poles than Newman at the 1-mile flat track in New England and he hasn’t finished outside the Top-8 in his past three trips to Loudon.

    Newman loves racing at New Hampshire, and I would too if I had an average finish of 12.4 in 19 races. “New Hampshire has always been a good place for me. I’m not a hundred percent sure why. It’s the place of my first win, when I hadn’t won in a long while, 70 some races. I won again there. This past July we were able to qualify and finish 1-2 at Stewart-Haas. It’s a fun race; it’s a very finesse racetrack. You can’t overdrive the car there very much because it’s so flat”, said Newman just yesterday before he arrived at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    Ryan Newman seems to have a rocket ship of a car this weekend, watch for him to lead the pack for the majority of the 300 laps on Sunday (or Monday).

    Dark Horse Pick

    As I said last week, I will finish the season by picking a driver that sits outside The Chase for the Sprint Cup as my Dark Horse each week.

    Unlike my Winner Pick, whom I have yet to pick this year, I’ve spoke about my Dark Horse pick 4 times this season, second only to Kyle Busch in number of picks this season. His results for me have been like his results at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, really good or really bad, nothing in the middle.

    Clint Bowyer has given me two Top-5 picks this year, but the other two times I’ve picked him in my column, he has given me a 36th and a 22nd-place finish. Bowyer is coming off the disappointment of missing The Chase for the Sprint Cup just two weeks ago, and has rebounded nicely from such disappointment by netting a 7th place finish last week at Chicago.

    Bowyer’s stats at New Hampshire Motor Speedway are just as I described, really good or really bad. He won this race just a year ago, but finished 17th at Loudon in July. He has visited Victory Lane in New England twice in his Sprint Cup career, finishing in the Top-10 a total of four times in eleven tries.

    Bowyer also described enjoying his trips to New Hampshire earlier this week: “Flat tracks like New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Richmond International Raceway always fit my driving style. I love racing up there. It is a lot of fun. Nothing in particular, it just fits my driving style.”

    I picked Clint Bowyer to win the race just two weeks ago at Richmond, and he let me down. He will rebound for me this weekend and stick his nose in the mix for the win.

    That’s all for this week as I set my sights on the two most important football games this season, my West Virginia Mountaineers hosting the Tigers from Louisiana State University tomorrow night in primetime, and my hometown Buffalo Bills take on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots here in Buffalo on Sunday Afternoon.

    Until next time…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Ryan Newman’s Loudon Love Affair Continues with Pole Run

    Ryan Newman’s Loudon Love Affair Continues with Pole Run

    In spite of the rain drops that yet again delayed action on the track, Ryan Newman continued his love affair with the ‘Magic Mile’, scoring a record-setting sixth pole.

    [media-credit name=”Gary Buchanan” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Newman, behind the wheel of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet, turned a lap of 28.213 seconds and a speed of 135.002 mph.

    This was Newman’s third pole in 2011 and his 59th career pole, tying him for ninth all-time with Bobby Isaac, Hall of Fame Nominee. In spite of it being a personal career pole best, it was the drama of it all that most impressed Newman.

    “In general, I don’t think I’ve seen that kind of drama going into the last five cars qualifying in my ten or eleven years of experience,” Newman said. “It’s kind of a tough situation, one hand you’re thinking other guys had to qualify in the sprinkles.”

    “My track was dry,” Newman continued. “I don’t know if it was any faster. I think we picked up the same speed as the other guys did earlier in qualifying.”

    The drama particularly played out with five-time champion Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet, who started his qualifying run but then pulled off the track, only to be resoundly booed and heckled by the crowd, who were desperate for the completion of qualifying.

    “Some of them did and some of them didn’t go out, but in the end we’re supposed to have dry track conditions or at least not be raining when we go out on the race track,” Newman said. “So, I understand where Jimmie (Johnson) came from when he pulled in.”

    “I’m just really proud of my team,” Newman said. “We backed up what we did here at least on Friday from the spring race and give the Haas Automation a good starting spot.”

    The Red Bull teammates of Kasey Kahne, behind the wheel of the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota, and Brian Vickers, driving the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, were also part of the drama that played out in Loudon qualifying.

    Vickers went out prior to the rain drops falling, where Kahne had to cool his heels with the five remaining cars awaiting the drying of the track. In the end, Kahne still scored the outside pole, while Vickers lost the provisional pole, falling to the third spot.

    “Obviously the conditions were tough,” Vickers said. “I would have liked to have seen it play out just running straight through.”

    “It is what it is,” Vickers continued. “Either way we started out better than we would have.”

    “We ended up with a top-three start,” Vickers said. “So, that’s great and both Red Bull cars are up front.”

    “But again, I would have liked to have seen our laps hold if we were heads up in the same position.”

    Outside pole sitter Kasey Kahne was second quickest when he finally got to qualify, with a lap of 28.263 seconds and a speed of 134.763 mph.

    “It was a good effort,” Kahne said. “We ended up right where we would have been if it would have ended up if it hadn’t rained.”

    “The track was definitely slicker,” Kahne continued. “The way my car handled, we were definitely quicker in practice. But I’m glad we got qualifying in.”

    Greg Biffle, driving the No. 16 Ford40MPG.com Ford, and Kurt Busch, behind the wheel of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Dodge, rounded out the top five for the 15th annual Sylvania 300.  The remainder of the top ten qualifiers were Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex, Jr. and Jimmie Johnson.

    Starting Lineup
    Sylvania 300, New Hampshire Motor Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=28
    ===========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
    ===========================================
    1 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 135.002 28.213
    2 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 134.763 28.263
    3 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 134.648 28.287
    4 16 Greg Biffle Ford 134.587 28.3
    5 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 134.382 28.343
    6 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 134.354 28.349
    7 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 134.16 28.39
    8 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 134.146 28.393
    9 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 134.146 28.393
    10 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 134.075 28.408
    11 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 134.056 28.412
    12 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 133.981 28.428
    13 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 133.82 28.462
    14 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 133.816 28.463
    15 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 133.792 28.468
    16 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 133.769 28.473
    17 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 133.755 28.476
    18 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 133.595 28.51
    19 0 David Reutimann Toyota 133.572 28.515
    20 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 133.445 28.542
    21 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 133.357 28.561
    22 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 133.245 28.585
    23 99 Carl Edwards Ford 133.203 28.594
    24 20 Joey Logano Toyota 133.114 28.613
    25 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 132.905 28.658
    26 6 David Ragan Ford 132.896 28.66
    27 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 132.665 28.71
    28 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 132.591 28.726
    29 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 132.572 28.73
    30 51 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 132.429 28.761
    31 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 132.232 28.804
    32 38 J.J. Yeley Ford 132.213 28.808
    33 34 David Gilliland Ford 132.048 28.844
    34 30 David Stremme Chevrolet 131.856 28.886
    35 66 Michael McDowell Toyota 131.797 28.899
    36 7 Robby Gordon Dodge 131.352 28.997
    37 13 Casey Mears Toyota 131.293 29.01
    38 55 Travis Kvapil Ford 131.058 29.062
    39 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 130.833 29.112
    40 32 Mike Bliss Ford 130.613 29.161
    41 37 Josh Wise Ford 130.55 29.175
    42 71 Andy Lally+* Ford 128.784 29.575
    43 46 Scott Speed Ford 130.305 29.23