Tag: Jimmie Johnson

NASCAR Needs To Change Restart Rules

From what I saw, NASCAR made the right call at Dover black flagging Jimmie Johnson but if you step back and take a look at how restarts are policed; you would agree that NASCAR needs to overhaul the entire process. There is a much simpler way of going about restarts that would be better for everyone if they implemented it. Before I get to what that exactly is, here’s a look back at other restart controversies that drastically affected the outcome of races.

There have been many restart controversies in NASCAR; too many actually. It’s a very gray area and it’s always a judgment call on NASCAR’s part. There really isn’t a black and white ruling with restarts and the calls are usually very inconsistent. That’s not a shot at the officials; it’s just a tough thing to police. NASCAR has a restart zone and the 2nd place car is not allowed to pass the leader unless they don’t go by the time the field gets to the end of the restart area. The leader can also be legally passed if they are unable to maintain a reasonable speed. The drivers mess with one another on restarts all the time trying to get that slight advantage that could potentially change the outcome of their race.

Earlier this year, we saw Carl Edwards brake-check the field at Phoenix allowing him to get a considerable gap over Jimmie Johnson. Technically, he didn’t maintain a reasonable speed by slowing down like that but NASCAR let it slide. Last year, there was a Nationwide race at Indianapolis where Elliott Sadler had the win taken away from him after a controversial restart. He beat leader Brad Keselowski to the line, there’s no doubt about that but the circumstances surrounding it is what makes it controversial. Not only did leader Brad Keselowski spin his tires, but Elliott’s teammate Austin Dillon was shoving him so there was no possible way he could back off and give the position back. NASCAR black-flagged him anyway costing him the victory and taking valuable points away from him.

NASCAR usually doesn’t care if the second place car beats the leader to the line as long as it’s by just a small amount but in situations like Sadler’s, there was nothing he could do about it. Another incident was last year at Richmond and that was just a complete mess in more ways than one. Not only did Stewart spin his tires in the worst way, but both he and Edwards thought they were the leader at the time and in control of the race. In the end, Carl was issued a penalty ruining his night. There have been so many problems with restarts the past few years that I could write a book on it and it’s all so unnecessary; there is a much better way to go about restarts. A couple other recent problems were David Ragan in the 2011 Daytona 500 and Johnny Sauter in a truck race at Texas a couple years back.

The question is, how should NASCAR police restarts? The best option in my opinion would be the complete abatement of the current restart rules. NASCAR needs to seriously consider implementing a rule just like Indycar’s. Everyone must stay in formation until the green flag flies and then all bets are off. Just start racing after the green flag is waved with no restart zones or being told to stay in line. That will instantly erase all these games played on restarts, take away all the controversy and it will actually make the races more exciting. With the way it works now, you are at the mercy of the driver alongside you which isn’t right.

This system has worked perfectly in Indycar and would work just as well in NASCAR. No more restart controversies, no more brake-checking, no more holding your breath until you cross the line and most importantly, no more judgment calls. It’s a simple idea that would be a great addition to the racing and make for a better race. You’ll have people fanning out 4-wide before they even get to the stripe as they race off into the corner instead of everyone slowing down and speeding up to make sure they don’t do anything wrong. The only issues they’d have is when an overzealous driver takes off before the restart zone which would be a fairly easy thing to police.

We have easily 10 or more issues with restarts every year across all three national touring divisions and that’s way too many in my eyes. NASCAR is doing the best they can trying to enforce the rules we have in place but it’s an unneeded burden for the drivers and officials to have to deal with. Get rid of the current restart rules and employ Indycar’s; it’s that simple.

June 3, 2013
Tony Stewart Outsmoked Juan Pablo Montoya for Monster Mile Win

Tony Stewart defied all odds, coming from a 22^nd starting position at the Monster Mile, to battle Juan Pablo Montoya to win the 44^th Annual FedEx benefiting Autism Speaks race. This was Smoke’s first victory of the season and only his third top-10 finish in 2013.

“This was not a car that could have won the race,” Stewart said. “Just great pit strategy at the end.”

“Steve Addington (crew chief) made a great call there that last caution and gave us the opportunity to race for it up there.”

“Just really proud of the Code 3 Associates Chevy,” Stewart continued. “Code 3 has done such an awesome job of getting everybody in Oklahoma back on their feet.”

“I couldn’t think of a better wayto celebrate their work.”

Stewart acknowledged that this has been a tough season, however, the win will certainly prove that the team is headed in the right direction, thanks to their perseverance.

“Our guys at our shop have been digging,” Smoke said. “None of these guys get down.”

“That is what carries you to days like today at the end of the day.”

Juan Pablo Montoya, finishing second in the No. 42 Energizer Chevrolet for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, benefitted from a black flag of the strongest car in the race when NASCAR ruled on lap 381 that Jimmie Johnson jumped the restart. The penalty sent Johnson through the pits for a pass through penalty and Montoya to the race lead.

Montoya, however, could not hold off Tony Stewart and had to settle for the runner up race finish instead. And he admitted that it was a struggle in spite of testing earlier at the Monster Mile.

“Our car was OK,” Juan Pablo said in the media center after the race. “We came here and did a test before the race.”

“It was a lot cooler, so when we unloaded we had to do quite a bit of work on the car,” Montoya continued. “We struggled with loose all day.”

“We were really, really loose and the longer we would run, the looser we would get,” Montoya said. “It was a bit of a hit and miss.”

“On one of the runs under green, we decided to make a couple changes on the car and it just came to life,” Montoya continued. “It came to life at the right time.”

“It was a shame to lose but I just couldn’t hold Tony off.”

While Juan Pablo Montoya thought that Johnson was trying to time the restart just right, he admitted that he would have done the exact same thing given the circumstances.

“Jimmie was letting off and I knew he was trying to jump the start,” Montoya said. “And I backed up a little bit for him and when we got to the line, he wanted to time it and he timed it too well.”

“He wanted to get the jump on me and he just jumped it too much,” JPM continued. “I would have tried to do the same thing.”

Runner up Montoya also traded paint with Kurt Busch, in the No. 78 Furniture Row/Sealy Chevrolet, who finished 12^th.

“It’s weird, I got to his bumper – I don’t think I touched him, got him loose, got into turn three and he gave me a tap and I’m like, I don’t think I hit you,” Montoya said. “But it’s OK.”

“It’s racing hard.”

Montoya also credited his good finish to the growing chemistry with his crew chief Chris Heroy. But that relationship has been a struggle as they found ways to work together to get the car to Montoya’s liking.

“When we started, we sucked and it was hard,” Montoya said. “He had a certain mentality as to how the car should be set up.”

“He didn’t get that if he set it up that way, I couldn’t drive it,” Montoya continued. “You have to give me something that I can drive and be comfortable.”

“It took a little time but now we’re clicking real well,” Montoya said. “And we’ve been getting good results every week.”

Although the car was a handful, Montoya was pleased with the race finish and acknowledged that it bodes well for their continuing success.

“It was a hell of a finish,” Montoya said. “It’s been awhile since we finished this good.”

“We’ve had near misses but I think the wins are coming.”Montoya continued. “I’ve said this before, you’ve got to get top-5s and top-10s to be able to add wins.”

“Today we gave ourselves a good chance but the car was a little too much of a handful there at the end,” Montoya said. “We tried.”

This was Montoya’s third top-10 finish in 13 races at Dover and his third top-10 finish of the season.

Jeff Gordon, driving the No. 24 AARP Credit Cards from Chase Chevrolet, finished a strong third, ahead of all of his other Hendrick Motorsports teammates. This was Gordon’s 23^rd top-10 finish at Dover.

“Yeah it was a fantastic finish for us,” Gordon said. “We battled hard all day long, hovering 13^th, 14^th, I think we got to maybe 10^th at one time.”

“I knew that clean air was making a huge difference,” Gordon continued. “So, we were fortunate there where we only had a few laps on the tires and we decided to stay out.”

Gordon acknowledged that this run was exactly what he was hoping for to turn his season around.

“It’s certainly a great feeling,” Gordon said. “We just have to fight.”

“We fought hard today, very hard and this is a tough place,” Gordon continued. “It was not an easy race but this team never gave up.”

Gordon jumped four spots in the point standings, from 15^th to 11^th, now within striking distance of Chase contention.

Kyle Busch, driving the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, finished in the fourth position, in spite of yet again some sort of parts failure.

“We must have broken a right front bump stop or something,” Busch said. “Just another parts failure for us.”

“It’s unfortunate we weren’t able to capitalize on getting a win today,” Busch continued. “I felt like we had something for the 48 but it didn’t come down to having to race the 48.”

“Just seems to be our two years continuing today.”

Brad Keselowski in the Blue Deuce, with his crew chief Paul Wolfe back at his side, finished in the fifth position. But the reigning champ was most complimentary of past champ Stewart after the race.

“We drove hard all day but didn’t have the speed to win the race,” Keselowski said. “It’s good to see Tony win.”

“That was a good race,” Keselowski said. “I was having fun watching him.”

After the race, however, NASCAR reported that Keselowski’s No. 2 was found to be too low in the front in post-race inspection, with potential penalties to be announced later in the week.

Certainly, one of the most dramatic moments of the race was the black flag of Jimmie Johnson, who had worked his way through the pack and looked to be the car to beat. Understandably, Johnson saw the restart just a bit differently fromJuan Pablo Montoya.

“No, I was half throttle,” Johnson said of the restart. “At some point you have to go.”

“I’m waiting for him and he never comes,” Johnson said of Montoya. “Chad (Knaus, crew chief) told me to take off and not worry about it.”

“Not a good way to lose the race,” Johnson lamented. “We had the strongest car.”

There were also several engine issues in the race as well, including Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr., both with Toyota engines.

“Something let go in the motor,” Truex said. “Just dropped a cylinder and started smoking all at once.”

“Same thing happened to the 20 it looked like,” Truex continued. “Pretty disappointing.”

Truex Jr. finished 38^th while Kenseth finished 40^th.

“Something broke in the engine,” Kenseth said, sounding eerily similar to Truex’s report. “You have to finish these things.”

“Man, it’s disappointing.”

The other dramatic moment in the race occurred between Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet, and David Gilliland, driver of the No. 38 Long John Silver’s Ford, who traded paint and then wrecked each other.

“We just got wrecked,” Gilliland said. “It is a shame.”

“We had a fast race car and a great run going and unfortunately someone lost their patience a little bit and we got wrecked.”

“It is too bad but that is just the way it goes I guess.”

Ryan Newman declined to comment after the incident.

Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top ten finishers in the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway.

June 2, 2013
Matty’s Picks 2013 – Vol. 10 FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks – Dover International Speedway – June 2, 2013

The Monster Mile is up next this season, and if Sunday’s race is anything like the previous twelve races this season, we’re in for a show. Sunday’s FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks also marks the midway point of the regular season for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and just one year ago, nine of the top-10 drivers in the points standings leaving this June race at The Monster Mile ended up in the field of twelve in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

On the horizon this week at Dover, five-time champ Jimmie Johnson looks to unseat legends Bobby Allison and Richard Petty at the top of the all-time win list at Dover International Speedway. He is the defending race winner and scored his seventh win at the Monster Mile in Delaware’s capital city.

Sunday also marks the return of key personnel from the Penske camp at a time when defending series champ, Brad Kesolowski needs them the most.

Last Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 marked Bad Brad’s first DNF since the 2012 Daytona 500, and sitting tenth in points with not a win to his name yet in 2013, this team needs to get moving to punch their ticket to the big dance at the end of the year. Crew chief Paul Wolfe and other members of Penske Racing will make their return to the pit box this weekend, following their suspension stemming from the April 13th race at Texas. It’s been only two points races since Wolfe was ousted by NASCAR, but in those two races, Kesolowski finished 32nd at Darlington and 36th last week at Charlotte. There couldn’t be a better time for Wolfe’s return and Brad has done his part so far this weekend for a solid finish, qualifying the Blue Deuce in 8th for tomorrow’s FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks.

I was off last week and with nothing to recap, we’ll roll on to my pick’s for Dover.

Dover Picks

Winner Pick
Had I written this column on Wednesday, it would have been tough to pass up Jimmie Johnson’s immaculate record at The Monster Mile, but it’s Saturday and Johnson hasn’t won a race at Dover after starting outside the top-10 since completing the season-sweep at Dover in the fall race in 2002. Jimmie is not my pick this week.

There is no other driver hotter than Matt Kenseth right now, and as a two-time Dover winner, there is nothing to shake a stick at about this team this weekend. He’s notched eight top-5 finishes in eight of his last ten starts at The Monster Mile, his win in 2011 included in that number. Considering the top four starting spots for tomorrow’s FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks are Toyotas, I think I’ve gone with the right manufacturer for the win tomorrow. Kenseth is also racing for Joe Gibbs Racing in today’s NASCAR Nationwide Series’ 5-Hour Energy 200, gaining valuable seat time at a track as difficult as any to master. This guy is hot and he’s returning to a place he likes and has won before.

Dark Horse Pick

I’m not sure if a guy with “Concrete Carl” as one of his many nicknames can be considered a Dark Horse, but he’s flown under the radar all season, despite sitting second in points. The current odds show Carl at 12 to 1, but I think those are fantastic odds given the fact he boasts the series’ best average finish (8.3) at Dover. He has been one of the best on these surfaces between the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Sprint Cup series, and in the fall, Edwards finished fifth despite the horrific 2012 season he was having. Concrete Carl is a contender this week and he will roll off 18th tomorrow at The Monster Mile.

That’s all for this week, so until we head to the Tricky Triangle, you stay classy NASCAR NATION!

June 1, 2013
Previewing the FedEx 400 at Dover International Speedway

After a strange and controversial night at Charlotte, NASCAR’s best get ready to take on Dover. With a nickname like “The Monster Mile” and people referring to this place as “Bristol on Steroids,” you don’t have to know much about NASCAR to know that this is one tough track. It’s fast; high banked and is notorious for taking out a good chunk of the field in a matter of seconds. One driver stands above the rest as the favorite every time we visit this venue and his name is Jimmie Johnson. 5-time is a 7-time Dover winner capturing the checkered flag in four of the last eight races. With an average finish of 8.6 and well over 2,300 laps led in his career at Dover, you’d have to be crazy to bet against him. I guess I’m crazy then…

Jimmie is no doubt going to be fast at Dover and will probably lead for a good portion of the event but when the dust settles, he won’t be standing in victory lane. Why would I make such a bold statement? Well, I think he’s going to have some very stiff competition in the form of Matt Kenseth. Matt has been the fastest man on track this year winning three times and having a car capable of reaching victory lane in almost every single event thus far. Matt has two wins at Dover coming in 2006 and 2011 and with how blistering fast he’s been this year, he is my number one pick to keep Johnson out of victory lane for a record setting 8th time. Matt’s not the only driver that may give Jimmie a run for his money though; there are a couple more that drivers that will be contenders on Sunday.

Carl Edwards is another driver that will run well and could be a player at the end of the race. One of his many nicknames is “Concrete Carl” due to how dominant he is when we visit concrete tracks including Dover. He may only have won win in 17 starts at this track but his average finish is the best in the field. (8.3) He has eight top fives and twelve top tens at Dover leading multiple laps in 10 of his 17 starts. He will be strong and so will Kyle Busch. Don’t be surprised if you see Kyle in victory lane three times this weekend as he’s participating in the Truck, Nationwide and Cup race. He dominates at Bristol and Dover is simply a bigger and faster version of that Tennessee short track with a very tricky exit to the corners thrown in. Kyle has won at Dover at least two times in all three national touring divisions. You have to attack this track and throw it off into and out of the corners just trusting that it will stick. That suits Busch’s driving style very well. He’s not a very patient driver and he likes to go after it from the very start which is probably part of the reason why he’s never won the Coca Cola 600 but is so successful at tracks like Dover and Bristol.

Kasey Kahne has been very strong in 2013 and won at Bristol so one may think he would be a contender here but history says otherwise. This is actually one of Kahne’s worst tracks statistically. In 18 starts, he’s never won and only once has he posted a finish inside the top five. Kasey’s only led a handful of laps and with over half his results being 20th or worse, his average finish of 21.4 isn’t very promising. Although his speed in 2013 may tempt you to pick him as a favorite Sunday, I’d advise that you stay away from Kasey just this once. Another driver to stay away from is 2-time Dover winner Tony Stewart. Yes, you read that right; I said stay away from a 2-time Dover winner at Dover. Tony’s two wins came back in 2000 and since 2010, he has had a miserable time at the Monster Mile. In his last five starts, he has failed to finish better than 20th and most of that is due to just a poor handling racecar; not bad luck. Even in his 2011 championship run when he won half the chase races, he finished 25th at Dover which was by far his worst result during the play-offs.

Dover is a very tough track that is unique in more ways than one. You are going up a hill when you drive out of the corner and the banking goes from 28 degrees to 9 with no transition period which launches the car onto the straightaway. It makes the car light and very hard to control which can get you into trouble real fast. When someone spins, it’s nearly impossible to not hit something. When a couple cars crash; the rest of the field usually comes piling in like the “big one” at Talladega. The track gets blocked and there is nowhere to go except for directly into the melee. To win here you have to be physically tough, you can’t let the Monster unnerve you and a driver has to be committed. You have to throw the car off into the corner and just pray that you make it. If you second guess yourself, then Miles the Monster is going to grab you and you’re going for a ride.

May 31, 2013

Crunching The Numbers: Dover

After two weeks at home in Charlotte, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams pack up and head north to Dover, Delaware for a date with “The Monster Mile” at Dover International Speedway. For the first time since the season openers at Daytona in February, all three series will be at the same track for a rare tripleheader weekend.

Sprint Cup Series – Fed Ex 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks

The first of two visits for the Sprint Cup Series at Dover will feature the best drivers in the world talking on one of the toughest tracks on the circuit. The one mile concrete oval, which is one of the only two high banked concrete tracks on the schedule in addition to Bristol, is one of the reasons many have labeled this treacherous track as “Bristol on steroids”. This race, the 13th of the season, also marks the halfway point in the 26 race regular season, with 13 races remaining until the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup this fall.

Driver	Races	Win	Top 5	Top 10	Pole	Laps Led	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
Carl Edwards	17	1	8	12	0	532	15.0	8.3
Jimmie Johnson	22	7	11	16	3	2318	9.7	8.6
Jeff Gordon	40	4	15	22	4	2292	11.6	12.0
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	1	0	0	0	0	0	17.0	12.0
Ryan Newman	22	3	6	11	4	842	9.5	12.1
Mark Martin	53	4	24	32	5	1769	12.3	12.3
Greg Biffle	21	2	6	10	1	463	11.7	12.4
Aric Almirola	2	0	0	1	0	0	16.5	12.5
Matt Kenseth	28	2	13	18	1	746	16.1	12.6
Clint Bowyer	14	0	1	7	0	34	17.6	13.2

Who To Watch: The best driver statistically at Dover? That would be none other than Carl Edwards. With his one win, eight top fives, 12 top tens, 532 laps led, and an average finish of 8.3 in 17 races, it’s no surprise that Edwards has earned the nickname of “Concrete Carl” for his prowess on tracks with a concrete surface.

Right in Edwards tire tracks are the Hendrick Motorsports duo of Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. In 22 starts, Johnson has seven wins, 11 top fives, 16 top tens, three poles, 2318 laps led, and an average finish of 8.6. Gordon has 40 starts, with four wins, 15 top fives, 22 top tens, four poles, 2292 laps led, and an average finish of 12.0.

Others to keep an eye on include former Dover winners Ryan Newman, with three wins and an average finish of 12.1; Mark Martin, with four wins and an average finish of 12.3; Greg Biffle, with two wins and an average finish of 12.4; and Matt Kenseth, with two wins and an average finish of 12.6.

Nationwide Series – 5 Hour Energy 200

Another race weekend and another field full of Cup regulars in the Nationwide Series. This time the Nationwide regulars outnumber the Cup regulars in the top 10 statistically at Dover. Could a Nationwide regular take the checkers on Saturday for the third time this year? The statistics point to that being a good probability.

Driver	Races	Win	Top 5	Top 10	Pole	Laps Led	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
Brian Vickers	5	1	3	4	0	105	6.6	6.2
Joey Logano	8	2	4	5	2	465	4.9	6.5
Reed Sorenson	11	0	6	10	0	7	12.1	7.2
Austin Dillon	2	0	0	2	0	0	10.0	8.0
Ty Dillon	1	0	0	1	0	0	3.0	8.0
Kyle Busch	15	3	7	10	3	853	10.2	11.6
Parker Kligerman	1	0	0	0	0	0	12.0	12.0
Kasey Kahne	13	0	3	7	1	66	10.2	12.1
Brian Scott	6	0	1	3	0	0	16.8	12.2
Elliott Sadler	10	0	1	5	1	11	12.7	13.0

Who To Watch: Brian Vickers heads up the list as the best statistically at Dover with one win, three top fives, four top tens, 105 laps led, and 6.2 average finish in five starts. The only Cup regular in the top five statistically at Dover, Joey Logano, has two wins, four top fives, five top tens, two poles, 465 laps led, and an average finish of 6.5 in eight starts. Reed Sorenson has six top fives, 10 top tens, seven laps led and an average finish of 7.2 in 11 starts. Next up are the Dillon brothers, Austin and Ty, who both have average finishes of 8.0 in a combined three starts.

The majority of the season has seen Kyle Busch and his Joe Gibbs Racing team dominating and winning race after race. If anyone wants to make it to Victory Lane, they will have to go through Busch, who has three wins, seven top fives, 10 top tens, three poles, 853 laps led, and an average finish of 11.6 in 15 races. Joe Gibbs Racing has won four of the last six Nationwide Series races at Dover and with a win this weekend, Busch would become the series wins leader at Dover, setting yet another record in the process.

Camping World Truck Series – Lucas Oil 200

The Dover tripleheader weekend kicks off with the Camping World Truck Series hitting the track for their race on Friday afternoon. This race has been known to produce more first time winners and rookie winners than repeat winners. If this continues to hold true, we could see one of the series many young guns make their first trip to Victory Lane.

Driver	Races	Win	Top 5	Top 10	Pole	Laps Led	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
Ty Dillon	1	0	0	1	0	0	6.0	6.0
Joey Coulter	2	0	0	1	0	0	3.5	8.5
David Starr	11	0	3	7	1	17	15.1	9.1
James Buescher	4	0	1	3	0	0	14.0	10.2
Kyle Busch	7	2	2	4	1	711	4.1	10.9
Ron Hornaday, Jr.	8	1	3	5	1	275	5.8	11.1
Justin Lofton	3	0	1	2	0	22	15.7	12.7
Johnny Sauter	4	0	1	1	0	0	4.5	13.8
Matt Crafton	12	0	2	7	0	16	17.5	13.8
Timothy Peters	6	0	0	2	0	1	14.0	14.7

Who To Watch: Both Kyle Busch, who will be attempting the tripleheader by running in all three series, and Ron Hornaday, Jr. are the only winners of this race in the field for Friday’s race. Others to keep an eye on that have had good runs at the track, but no wins include: Ty Dillon, who finished sixth in his lone start at the track last year; Joey Coulter, who has an average finish of 8.5 in two starts; David Starr, with an average finish of 9.1 in 11 starts; and series champion James Buescher, who has an average finish of 10.2 in four starts.

May 29, 2013

Surprising and Not Surprising: Coca Cola 600

With the focus on America’s military, past, present and those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for freedom, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Memorial Day running of the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Surprising: NASCAR’S elite Cup drivers had to face surprising battles of their own, as unfortunately did some fans in the stands, when an overhead camera cable, utilized by Fox Sports to cover the race, broke.

Several drivers and race cars were impacted, as well as ten fans sustaining injuries, with three taken to the hospital for evaluation and further treatment.

The race was red flagged to allow fans to be helped, as well as to surprisingly allow the drivers and teams an opportunity to evaluate and then work on their wounded race cars.

“At this time, we do not have a cause for the failure of the camera drive line that interrupted the Coca Cola 600 and our concern is with the injured fans,” Fox Television said in a statement issued shortly after the incident.

“We apologize to the racers whose cars were damaged and offer a sincere ‘thank you’ to the staff at Charlotte Motor Speedway for attending to the injuries and keeping us informed,” the statement continued. “A full investigation is planned and use of the camera is suspended indefinitely.”

Not Surprising: In a race that was fraught with several ‘weird’ incidents in addition to the camera failure, it was not surprising that race winner Kevin Harvick focused on not just celebrating in Victory Lane.

“Well, first off I want to say I hope everybody is okay from that cable,” the driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet said. “That was quite a weird incident there.”

“Second, I just want to say thank you to all these guys at RCR (Richard Childress Racing),” Harvick continued. “To win at Charlotte is something that we had to overcome for a long time.”

“Just got to thank everybody from Budweiser, Sprint, all the fans and this great promotion with the Folds of Honor special beer cans,” Harvick said. “Five cents from every can goes to Folds of Honor.”

This was Harvick’s 21^st victory in 442 Cup starts, his second victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway, as well as his second victory of the 2013 season.

Surprising: While Chevrolets tend to be dominant at Charlotte Motor Speedway, there was one five-time champion Chevy driver noticeably absent from the front of the pack this weekend.

In fact, Jimmie Johnson, the driver with the best rating at Charlotte, with a 111.7 average out of a possible 150, finished 22^nd. The driver of the No. 48 Lowes Patriotic Chevrolet fought loose conditions all evening and finally spinning out of contention.

“Yeah, we were like a fifth place car,” Johnson said. “And then we got pulled around in Turns 3 and 4 and spun.”

“That really affected our finish from that point,” Johnson continued. “It was a long night with a lot of issues.”

Not Surprising: As so often happens in big-time motorsports, the dominant car did not finish first, especially since there was some strategy involved. That is exactly what happened to Kasey Kahne, who had by far the strongest car in the field, and ended up not pitting when everyone else in the field did so.

“Well, there was a couple of guys that had just got tires so we thought they would stay out,” Kahne said. “Instead the whole field pitted.”

“We had a great Time Warner Cable Chevy all night,” Kahne continued. “We were just in a tough spot there.”

Kahne finished in the runner up position, his 11^th top-ten finish in nineteen races at Charlotte and his sixth top-10 finish of the season.

Surprising: Kurt Busch, who has struggled to close out strong at the end of the race, surprisingly overcame great adversity to finish third in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing/Sealy Chevrolet.

“Still shell shocked,” Busch said. “We picked up the lead and the battery went dead.”

“We battled back, Busch continued. “The guys changed it as fast as they could and we got third.”

“It was a great night to run up front and showcase what this team is made of.”

This was Busch’s seventh top-ten finish in 26 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Not Surprising: Denny Hamlin, behind the wheel after his back injury, not only qualified well but also ran well in the top five, capitalizing on every situation possible to get himself and his team back into contention.

Hamlin, behind the wheel of the No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota, started from the pole and was the highest finishing Toyota Camry driver in the race. Hamlin scored the fourth spot when the checkered flag flew and moved up three positions in the point standings to 24^th.

“Proud of our effort,” Hamlin said. “We need solid runs like this.”

Surprising: In an incident that looked like Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Danica Patrick wrecked each other, Brad Keselowski, who was also involved, surprisingly threw himself under that bus.

“Yeah, I cut Danica off,” Keselowski said. “I didn’t know we were still three-wide and I caused a big wreck.”

“I feel bad for her and I send my apologies to her,” Keselowski continued. “It was a long night for the Miller Lite Ford.”

Keselowski finished 36^th and fell three spots to 10^th in the point standings.

Not Surprising: In a battle for the lucky dog after being trapped in the pits when a caution came out, Jeff Gordon became the unlucky dog yet again.

“We were a victim of the caution coming out while we were on pit road,” Gordon said. “We were going for the Lucky Dog and had to be real aggressive.”

“We were racing three-wide and that’s what’s going to happen,” Gordon continued. “I hate we were back there.”

“We had an awesome Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet.”

Gordon finished 35^th and fell three spots to 15^th in the point standings.

Surprising: Stewart Haas not only had a surprisingly good finish for at least two of their drivers, with Ryan Newman finishing sixth and Tony Stewart finishing seventh, but they also gained some hope for the remainder of the season.

“It was a solid night for Stewart-Haas Racing,” Newman said.

“We finally got some stability in the car,” Stewart said.

“All three of our cars made big improvements this week in terms of performance,” Greg Zipadelli, Competition Director, said. “Danica had a bad day, but overall we ended up with a couple of good finishes, which was certainly an improvement.”

Not Surprising: Given the length of the race, it was not surprising to see some engines fail under the pressure.

One such failure happened to Kyle Busch, who had again been dominant, until his car was injured by the camera cable. He was able to get repaired and was still performing at the front of the field when the engine let go, ending his day in the 38^th position.

“We had been running first, second or third most of the evening, but just catastrophic engine failure,” Busch said. “It seems to be that time of the year again.”

“I hate it for all my guys,” Busch continued. “It’s just so frustrating to see it end on a short note like that and not getting the finish that we needed.”

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. also suffered an engine issue in his No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet, relegating him to a 39^th place finish. NASCAR’s most popular driver, however, put it all in perspective.

“We had smoke in the cockpit for three laps and we started losing power before it broke,” Junior said. “We didn’t have a really good car.”

“But I want to wish everyone a happy Memorial Day weekend,” Earnhardt Jr. continued. “I take a lot of pride in the National Guard and hope everyone shakes a soldier’s hand and thanks them for what they do.”

May 28, 2013
Kevin Harvick Closes Out Strange Coca Cola 600 With Second Season Win

From surviving two red flags, one for a bizarre camera cable snap that injured cars on the track as well as some fans in the stands, to the second red flag for a Talladega-style pile up, Kevin Harvick survived it all to live up to his moniker as the ‘Closer’, going to Victory Lane for the second time this season.

“Well first off, I want to say I hope everybody is okay from that cable,” the driver of the No. 29 RCR Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet said. “That was quite a weird incident there.”

“Second, I want to just say thank you to all the guys at Richard Childress Racing,” Harvick continued. “To win at Charlotte is something that we had to overcome for a long time.”

Harvick credited his victory to some old fashioned pit road tire strategy, a great restart against Kasey Kahne, and getting out in front in clean air.

“Clean air was really big,” Harvick said. “Obviously with him (Kahne) being on old tires, we knew that the restart was going to be important to be able to get that clear track.”

“And it paid off.”

One of the most disappointed drivers no doubt was Kasey Kahne, who after battling flu-like symptoms prior to the race and having such a strong car, still could not hold off Harvick for the win. Instead the driver of the No. 5 Time Warner Cable Chevrolet for Rick Hendrick Motorsports finished second yet again.

“Yeah, we ran second to Matt (Kenseth) at Vegas, second to Matt (Kenseth) again at Kansas and now second to Kevin (Harvick) here,” Kahne said. “We were the fastest car in all three of those.”

“We just didn’t win any of them,” Kahne continued. “I feel good about where we are and the team is doing an awesome job.”

“We just need to finish it off.”

There is no doubt that the third place finisher Kurt Busch felt a real kinship with the warriors that he supports through the Armed Forces Foundation. The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing/Sealy Chevrolet battled the cable hitting the car incident, a dead battery and keeping track position throughout the night to score the top-five finish.

“I’m still shell shocked,” Busch said. “We picked up the lead and then the battery went dead.”

“I don’t know what to think of that,” Busch continued. “We battled back.”

“The guys changed it as fast as they could and we got third,” Busch said. “We had a good car.”

“You’ve got to be perfect to win these things and I was close.”

While Chevrolet dominated the first three positions, Denny Hamlin in his No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota and Joey Logano in his No. 22 Pennzoil Shell Ford, rounded out the remainder of the top five in the finishing order for the 54^th annual Coca Cola 600.

“We need solid runs like this,” Hamlin said as he continues to recover from his back injury. “I feel good.”

“We didn’t have a winning car, but we had a fourth to sixth-place car and that’s where we ended up.”

While Hamlin was feeling good, fifth place finisher Logano was tired but pleased, especially with his team and crew.

“It was a long race,” Logano said. “Starting from 31^st with the Shell/Pennzoil Ford, we had our work cut out for us, especially at a track that is so hard to pass.”

“That was a long race, a really long race, but I think my guys did an awesome job coming from 31^st up to fifth,” Logano continued. “I’m super proud of them.”

The weirdest part of the race, and for many the scariest, was the network broadcast camera cable breaking, strewing wiring on the track and into the stands. The most damaged car on the track was the No. 18 M&M Red-White-Blue M-Prove America Toyota of Kyle Busch.

AT least ten fans were also injured in the stands, seven treated and released at the track and three sent to hospitals for further evaluation and treatment as needed.

“I didn’t see anything,” Busch said. “I just heard a big thunk on the right-front tire and thought the tire blew out.”

“That’s how hard it felt,” Busch continued. “I felt it like, ‘Whoa’, that’s weird.”

“Maybe now we can get rid of that thing.”

The second major incident occurred later in the race but also resulted in a red flag. Drivers affected in the Talladega-like wreck included Jeff Gordon, Aric Almirola, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Bobby Labonte.

“I got under Mark (Martin) and I was down next to the grass and he clipped me in the right rear corner panel,” Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 43 US Air Force Ford, said. “It kind of stinks.”

“I got squeezed in there trying to run the thing three-wide,” Mark Martin, driver of the Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, said. “And there wasn’t quite room there.”

“We were racing three-wide and that’s what’s going to happen,” Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, said. “We were going for the Lucky Dog and had to be real aggressive.”

“I hate we were back there,” Gordon continued. “We had an awesome Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet.”

Almirola, Martin and Gordon finished 33^rd, 34^th and 35^th respectively.

In spite of a battery issue, a spin late in the race, and a 22^nd place finish, five-time champ Jimmie Johnson maintained his points lead, in fact 32 points ahead of Carl Edwards.

“Yeah, we were like a fifth place car,” Johnson said. “But then we got pulled around in Turns 3 and 4 and spun.”

“We did have some issues with the charging system of the car with batteries dying and things like that throughout the race, which added more excitement for us,” Johnson continued. “It was a long night with a lot of issues.”

“All that did some damage to the car and that really affected our finish from that point.”

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will leave home and head next to compete at the Monster Mile in Delaware.

May 27, 2013
Surprising and Not Surprising: Sprint All-Star Race

As NASCAR’s elite briefly battled Mother Nature and then each other, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the aftermath of the 2013 Sprint All-Star Race.

Surprising: The race was won not so much through fierce competition on the track but more through strategy and quick execution on pit road. And in the end, Jimmie Johnson and his team, including crew chief Chad Knaus and the new overall-the-wall group, had to pull out a record-setting pit stop to score the All-Star win.

Johnson had to claw his way to the front after a poor qualifying run, which included a loose lug nut penalty and a slide through his pit box. He started 18^th as a result but worked his way methodically to the front with the help of his team.

Johnson’s pit crew, however, actually delivered the million on their final ‘money stop,’ according to Knaus.

“We dug in really deep and got a really good set up in the Lowe’s Chevrolet,” Knaus said. “The pit crew did fantastic.”

“11.8 second pit stop,” Knaus continued. “I’ve been fortunate to win a lot of races but this was a lot of fun.”

Not Surprising: While the race was ‘pointless’, with no points gained or lost in the race to the Chase, given the race winner, it was still a record setter when the checkered flag flew.

The million dollar driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, broke a tie with his HMS teammate and partial owner Jeff Gordon and legend Dale Earnhardt Sr. for the most wins in a non-points race.

Johnson won his second straight All-Star Race and scored his fourth All-Star Race victory.

“It’s just dedication and drive from every member of Hendrick Motorsports,” Johnson said. “We know we have to keep pushing one another.”

“I don’t know how we keep doing it.”

Surprising: Reigning champ Brad Keselowski had a surprisingly bad All Star event, with a transmission break down of some sort early in the race.

“Something just broke in the back half of the drive train, either the transmission or drive shaft gear – I’m not sure which one – but it’s one of those deals, unfortunately,” the driver of the Blue Deuce said. “We’ll try to learn from it and move on.”

“You can be mad about it or move on and get ready for the next race,” Keselowski continued. “We’ll do the latter.”

Not Surprising: The Busch brothers, Kyle and Kurt, were both dominant yet again but could not pull of the finish they no doubt wanted so badly, with one having damage and the other a slow pit stop at the end of the race. Both brothers, however, took away lessons learned for the next big race, the Coke 600.

“I think we were just getting beaten around on every restart,” Kyle Busch said. “We had the best car here tonight but it was a good learning day for the 600.”

“To win segments and to be in position, it still makes you feel proud,” Kurt Busch said. “They put me in position with the overall best finish.”

“We were a shade slower on pit road and a shade slower on that last adjustment,” Busch continued. “It was a million bucks going out the window, but we’re building our notebook up going into the 600.”

Surprising: The rules of engagement were surprisingly so complicated that not only were the announcers in the booth confused, but calculators in the control tower were working at a feverish pitch trying to determine the order on pit road for the last segment four-tire money stop.

Not Surprising: Joey Logano, in the Penske No. 22, exercised some muscle, pushing the No. 5 car of Kasey Kahne out of the way to charge up to take the checkered flag in the second position.

“The 22 guys did a great job,” Logano said. “We had a good restart in the last segment.”

“The only shot I had would have been a caution but it was a lot of fun,” Logano continued. “Second is awesome but then it sucks at the same time.”

“I wish we had another caution to give Jimmie a run for his money.”

Surprising: Jamie McMurray kept the competitive fires going for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with scoring the Showdown win to make the race and then going on to score a top-ten finish in his No. 1 Bass Pro Shop/National Wild Turkey Foundation Chevrolet.

“Really happy with our car,” Jamie Mac said. “Our car was extremely fast.”

“It was tough in traffic but overall we had a good car.”

Not Surprising: According to pole sitter Carl Edwards, who finished the All Star race in the tenth position, tires were critical. And if he could do it all over again, Edwards would no doubt reconsider the decision to stay out without those fresh tires.

“We thought if we stayed out we could maintain track position but tire wear had to be taken into account,” the driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford said. “Everyone was racing so hard, right on the edge of wrecking.”

“I wish we had another shot at it,” Edwards continued. “We’re going to talk a lot about strategy for the 600 and take all this information and put our best foot forward for the 600.”

In spite of his tire troubles, Edwards acknowledged that he thought the All Star racing was some of the best that he had ever seen.

“It was very good racing,” Edwards said. “This track was so fast.”

“These are the best drivers in the world and I saw some saves out there that I don’t know how they pulled it off.”

Surprising: Although the struggles of Stewart Haas Racing continued, team owner Tony Stewart, known for his occasional angry outbursts, was quietly encouraging throughout the All Star Race, in which he finished 14^th.

“Keep your heads up guys,” Stewart said over the radio when the checkered flag flew. “We’ll figure this out.”

“Just have to keep working at it.”

Not Surprising: It was an up and down kind of night for the lone female on the Sprint Cup circuit. Although Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, was voted into the All Star Race through the fan vote, she certainly did not have an All Star evening, finishing in the 20^th position, the last of the running vehicles.

“First and very foremost, thank you to all the fans who voted for me,” Patrick said. “I’ll never forget that.”

“It just makes me feel bad to win the Sprint Fan Vote and fun in the back of the race,” Patrick continued. “It was a tough night.”

May 23, 2013
Previewing the Coca Cola 600

When you talk about the most prestigious races in NASCAR, the Coca Cola 600 is easily in the top two or three. Charlotte is the home for most of the teams which already gives this race importance but it is also the longest race on the NASCAR schedule. It’s also very special considering that it’s Memorial Day weekend; the track does a lot for veterans and also puts on a wild pre-race show for the fans. 600 grueling miles at the 1.5 mile quad-oval will test each driver mentally and physically while also pushing their machines too the absolute limit and beyond. It takes patience and experience to win this race but we have seen some surprises in the past. Casey Mears won his only NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race in the Coke 600 back in 2007 and David Reutimann captured his first victory in the 600 two years later.

The first Coke 600 took place back in 1960 and it was actually called the World 600. 36 of the 60 entries failed to finish the race and another six were disqualified. Joe Lee Johnson won the inaugural event and maybe that was an omen for the Johnson that would dominate this track half a century later. 5-time NSCS champion Jimmie Johnson (no relation to Joe Lee) is without a doubt the best driver to ever take on Charlotte Motor Speedway. He won his record 4th All-Star Race less than one week ago surpassing fellow legends Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt. Joey Logano finished 2nd in the All-Star Race after the Busch brothers dominated most of the event. Here’s a look at who I think will be contenders this weekend and why…

Kurt and Kyle Busch were fast last weekend and will definitely be fast again in the 600. Kurt Busch is the 2010 winner of the Coke 600 while his little brother Kyle has never visited victory lane at Charlotte. I doubt that they will win the 600 though; this a race where patience is a necessity and these highly aggressive racers go all-out every lap which just doesn’t work here. They will be fast and I can see them leading some laps but they won’t be in contention for the victory late in the race. Matt Kenseth is the definition of patience; he always keeps the car in contention but waits to unleash his true potential until it’s time to pounce. Matt is a 2-time Charlotte winner including the 2000 Coca Cola 600 which happened to be his first Cup victory. He will be up front and could pull it and I see him finishing well but not winning much like the Busch’s.

That leads me to Jimmie Johnson, the master of Charlotte. Four All-Star wins, six point race wins including three consecutive wins in the Coke 600 make up his impressive resume. He hasn’t won a points race at Charlotte since 2009 and has finished outside the top 10 in four of his last six races here but look no further than last Saturday night if you have doubts when it comes to his chances. He will lead laps, he will be a contender but he will not win his 4th Coca Cola 600 this weekend. So, I’ve shut down Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, and even Jimmie Johnson so who is left that might take the checkered flag Sunday night?

Defending Coca Cola 600 winner Kasey Kahne is my pick to win this weekend. He is coming off a great run in the All-Star Race and he has been very fast at every 1.5 mile track this year. He finished a very close 2nd at Las Vegas and Kansas and nearly won the All-Star Race. Kasey is a 4-time Charlotte winner and a 3-time winner of the Coca Cola 600 in 2006, 2008 and 2012. With Hendrick power and some great talent behind the wheel, I see the Farmers Insurance Chevrolet going to victory lane this weekend. Not to mention he wants to run well for his newly acquired Yellow Lab named Billy. (Check Kahne’s Twitter if you have no clue what I’m talking about)

So Kahne, Johnson, Kenseth and the Busch brothers are the obvious favorites to win this weekend. Who then are the drivers that will most likely struggle? Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Martin Truex Jr. and Marcos Ambrose are drivers I think will have problems at Charlotte. Stewart-Haas Racing as a whole has had an awful season with the exception of the few great runs Ryan Newman has put up and Patrick’s Daytona 500 pole. Tony was never a contender in the All-Star Race quietly finishing 14th and never running up front. I’m afraid we will see more of the same from him in the 600 but Newman on the other hand showed a lot of strength last week before making heavy contact with Kyle Busch when he was charging through the field on a restart. Biffle also struggled in the All-Star Race and has very up and down results at Charlotte never winning. Truex was disappointing in the Sprint Showdown bouncing off the wall multiple times during the event. Ambrose’s car from last week was hopefully burned because it was so terrible. He was out of control in All-Star Race practice before he crashed into the wall when the rear axle flew out. His backup wasn’t much better and he ran towards the back of the pack finishing 17th.

This 600 mile event Sunday will have some good racing but don’t be surprised to see it get very calm with some long green flag runs throughout it. There will be lots of comers and goers as teams struggle to adapt to abruptly changing track conditions. Charlotte is considered the most weather sensitive track next to Indianapolis and the transition from day to night is going to give the crew chief’s problems as they try to keep up. Watch out for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing by the way. Both McMurray and Montoya were very fast in the Showdown and Jamie won it going on to finish a solid 8th in the All-Star Race. Juan would have most likely been right there with him had he not been handed a pit road speeding penalty halfway through the race which forced him to restart last. He drove all the way back up to the top five but ran out of time to race his way into the big show. It will be a race that will keep you guessing when it comes to who’s going to win and maybe we’ll see another first time winner like this race is so famous for producing.

May 23, 2013

Crunching The Numbers: Charlotte

When race fans think of Memorial Day weekend in the motorsports world, one thing immediately comes to mind and that is NASCAR taking to the track at Charlotte Motor Speedway for their traditional May race weekend that many consider to be the greatest weekend of motorsports all year long with NASCAR at Charlotte, IndyCar at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Formula 1 at Monaco.

Sprint Cup Series

The two weeks that Charlotte Motor Speedway hosts the Sprint Cup Series in May features two races on the extreme opposite side of the distance scale, with last weekend’s NASCAR Sprint All Star Race being one of the shortest and this weekend’s running of the Coca-Cola 600 as the longest of the season. The 400 lap race, which starts in the daytime and runs into the night can give teams fits when trying to set up the car to run well in both the daytime and nighttime. Look for the team that can keep up with the adjustments as darkness descends on the track to be up front at the end with a chance at the win.

Driver	Races	Win	Top 5	Top 10	Pole	Laps Led	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
Joey Logano	8	0	2	5	0	3	14.5	10.1
Jimmie Johnson	23	6	11	15	3	1439	7.3	11.4
Carl Edwards	16	0	5	10	0	98	18.2	12.0
Kasey Kahne	18	4	7	10	0	807	10.5	12.4
Tony Stewart	28	1	6	12	1	695	15.8	14.0
Aric Almirola	2	0	0	0	1	3	9.0	14.0
Denny Hamlin	15	0	3	8	0	159	14.1	14.1
Matt Kenseth	27	2	7	14	0	455	17.8	14.2
Kyle Busch	18	0	8	11	1	793	15.0	15.3
Bobby Labonte	40	2	12	17	3	807	15.7	15.5

Who To Watch: Joey Logano, who was at the top of the list with the best average finish heading into last weekend’s All Star Race also finds himself at the top of the list for best average finish in points races at Charlotte Motor Speedway with two top fives, five top tens, and an average finish of 10.1 in eight races at the track. Coming off of a second place finish in the All Star Race last weekend, Logano could find his way to Victory Lane for the first time this season.

Last weekend’s All Star Race winner, Jimmie Johnson, is no slouch at Charlotte as his No. 48 team has seemed to own this place over the years. Johnson has an impressive career at the track with six wins, 11 top fives, 15 top tens, three poles, 1439 laps led, and an average finish of 11.4 in 23 starts. With stats like that, Johnson could very well pull the All Star Race/Coca-Cola 600 sweep 20 years after legendary driver Dale Earnhardt accomplished that same feat.

Others to keep an eye on include All Star Race pole sitter, Carl Edwards, who has five top fives, 10 top tens, 98 laps led, and an average finish of 12.0 in 16 starts; and Kasey Kahne, who gave Jimmie Johnson a run for his money in the opening laps of the final segment of the All Star Race before fading to fourth by the end of the race. Kahne has four wins, seven top fives, 10 top tens, 807 laps led, and an average finish of 12.4 in 18 races.

Nationwide Series

In the lead up to the Coca-Cola 600, the Nationwide Series will have their chance on track in the History 300 on Saturday afternoon. In what seems to be a recurring theme in the Nationwide Series, several Sprint Cup regulars will be running this race in order to learn some information for the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, meaning we’ll see another round of the Nationwide regulars versus the Cup regulars.

Driver	Races	Win	Top 5	Top 10	Pole	Laps Led	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
Kyle Busch	19	6	14	16	0	903	10.2	6.3
Austin Dillon	2	0	0	1	0	0	2.0	8.5
Joey Logano	9	1	4	5	1	155	6.9	8.6
Brian Vickers	10	0	5	6	1	91	13.2	11.1
Kevin Harvick	22	0	4	13	2	274	11.9	11.5
Trevor Bayne	3	0	1	1	0	0	12.7	12.3
Matt Kenseth	20	3	9	11	4	662	10.0	13.6
Justin Allgaier	9	0	2	4	0	6	14.7	14.3
Mike Bliss	16	2	5	5	0	43	17.9	16.2
Elliott Sadler	12	0	4	5	1	16	12.8	17.2

Who To Watch: The drivers with the best average finishes that will be running in the History 300 seems to be split almost 50/50 between the Cup regulars and Nationwide regulars with Kyle Busch at the top of the heap. Busch has six wins, 14 top fives, 16 top tens, 903 laps led, and an average finish of 6.3 in 19 starts. The top Nationwide regular is Austin Dillon, who only has two starts at Charlotte, but has an average finish of 8.5 with one top ten finish. Others who could find their way to Victory Lane on Saturday include: Joey Logano, with one win, four top fives, five top tens, one pole, 155 laps led, and an average finish of 8.6 in nine starts; Brian Vickers, who has five top fives, six top tens, one pole, 91 laps led, and an average finish of 11.1 in 10 starts; Kevin Harvick, with four top fives, 13 top tens, two poles, 274 laps led, and an average finish of 11.5 in 22 starts; Trevor Bayne, with one top five, one top ten, and an average finish of 12.3 in three starts; and Matt Kenseth, who has three wins, nine top fives, 11 top tens, four poles, 662 laps led, and an average finish of 13.6 in 20 starts.

Although, not on the list, the top two drivers in points, Regan Smith and Sam Hornish, Jr., could also find their way to Victory Lane this weekend to add to their lead on the other drivers in the points.

May 22, 2013