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  • Kasey Kahne Pays Tribute to Jason Leffler in Pocono Victory Lane

    Kasey Kahne Pays Tribute to Jason Leffler in Pocono Victory Lane

    Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet, came from the eighteenth starting spot to finish first in the GoBowling.com 400 at Pocono Raceway.

    And in the midst of his celebration in Victory Lane, he took a moment to pause and pay tribute to his friend Jason Leffler, with whom he had ridden home with before and after the last Pocono race prior to Leffler’s fatal sprint car accident.

    “This summer has been tough on some racers,” Kahne said. “I thought about it on my way up here because Jason flew up and back with me.”

    “It was tough and there are so many people that were good friends with Jason so I wanted to mention him.”

    This was Kahne’s 16th victory in 345 NASCAR Sprint Cup races, his second victory in 2013, and his second victory at Pocono. He advanced one position in the point standings to the eighth spot.

    “I felt like our Farmers Insurance Chevrolet was the best car,” Kahne said. “Once I cleared Jeff (Gordon), that was pretty much the race.”

    “To come here and dominate the race and get the win was really cool,” Kenny Francis, crew chief said. “We were all about to jump off the box when Kasey made that pass.”

    Jeff Gordon, who suffered that fateful pass by teammate Kasey Kahne, celebrated his birthday by finishing runner up in his No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet.

    This was Gordon’s 29th top-10 finish in 42 races at Pocono and his ninth top-10 finish of the season.

    “He was super-fast all day,” Gordon said of Kahne. “Those guys deserved and earned that win today.”

    “We had them though,” Gordon continued. “We had the position and got a good restart and I’m pretty disappointed that I allowed him to get to the outside of me in Turn One.”

    “That’s the advantage you have of being second, just like the restart before that where I had a little bit of an advantage being in second and got position on him,” Gordon said. “I thought that last restart I did everything I needed to do and I looked in my mirror and I really thought that the inside lane got a good run. I thought all I needed to do was get the bottom but man, he caught me by surprise and blasted by me.”

    “And in that scenario, it just kills your momentum.”

    While Gordon was disappointed, he was definitely counting his blessings, especially as it pertains to the point standings and getting into Chase contention.

    “I feel fortunate to come in second,” Gordon said.  “I feel like we had a great day all in all and I’m very proud of that.”

    “That’s something we can build a lot of momentum on,” Gordon continued. “Yeah, I’m frustrated right now because we had a shot at it and I know how important wins are, but second is a great points day for us as well.”

    Gordon moved up one spot in the point standings up to the ninth position.

    Fellow birthday boy Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet, finished third. And for him it felt like a victory, having conquered some of the demons that had plagued the team.

    “It was definitely a run that we were able to close the chapter on having little problems here and there,” Busch said. “What I mean by that is that we executed really well today.”

    “It was pit strategy, pit stops, two tires, four tires and all to be in position at the end,” Busch continued. “When the 48 had their trouble, we were even able to get into the pits before they closed them.”

    “It just seems like the team is flowing really well and I’m excited for this portion of the season because we now get to go back to all these tracks a second time and we have fresh notes,” Busch said. “So, working together, what I’m happy about is that we’re small but we can shoot from the hip a lot and make up a lot of ground by being aggressive.”

    “Even though we didn’t win, I feel good about this third place finish because this was a championship effort.”

    This was Busch’s 14th top-10 finish in 25 races at Pocono and he moved up one position to 13th in the point standings.

    Ryan Newman, coming off the race win at the Brickyard, continued riding the momentum wave with a fourth place finish in his No. 39 Haas Automation 30th Anniversary Chevrolet.

    “Well it was a good run no doubt,” Newman said, in spite of some pit road challenges. “Big for Quicken Loans and their ‘Bring it Home’ sweepstakes.”

    And of course Newman reminded all that Bloomin’ Onions would be available for all at Outback on Monday.

    Rounding out the top-five was Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the No. 88 National Guard Youth Foundation Chevrolet.

    “We had a good car but not as good as it needed to be,” Junior said. “We just didn’t have the edge that we needed.”

    “I want to thank my guys who did a good job on strategy and pit stops.”

    While Chevrolet dominated the top five, team Penske flew the Ford team colors, with Brad Keselowski finishing sixth and Joey Logano finishing seventh.

    “We were close to the 5 and 24 but they were probably a tad faster,” the reigning champ and driver of the No. 2 Redd’s Apple Ale Ford said. “Damn, we were just a little bit short.”

    “We were a lot better than we finished,” the driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford said. “Seventh isn’t bad but I thought we were a top-three car today.”

    “We just have to keep our heads in the game and keep trying to make up points.”

    Both Logano and Keselowski each moved up one position in the point standings, with Logano now in 17th and Keselowski now in wild card contention in 12th.

    Kyle Busch was the highest finishing Toyota. He brought the No. 18 M&M’s Peanut Butter Toyota to the checkered flag in the eighth spot.

    “We were just a little bit off today,” Busch said after starting from the outside pole. “It seemed like we could get going good on restarts and it would drive well for a few laps, then we couldn’t keep up as well on the long run.”

    “That’s about all we had.”

    Points leader Jimmie Johnson had a very eventful day in his No. 48 Lowe’s Planes Chevrolet, but battled back to a 13th place finish after blowing a tire and hitting the wall. In spite of all that, Johnson actually increased his points lead over Clint Bowyer to 77 points.

    “Yeah, my day kept needing to be calibrated as the day went on,” Johnson said. “I really felt like we had a shot to win, unfortunately blew a tire off of Turn One and ended those hopes there.”

    “We worked on the car and got it better,” Johnson said. “Then I hit the wall so hard that it knocked a spark plug wire off the spark plug.”

    “They were able to get everything hooked back up and the engine took off,” Johnson continued. “Off we went and salvaged a very nice finish.”

     

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Indianapolis

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson controlled the Brickyard 400 until a slow pit stop late in the race likely cost him any chance at the win. He finished second behind Ryan Newman and still maintained a healthy led in the Sprint Cup point standings.

    “I’m certainly disappointed in the last pit stop,” Johnson said. “But what can you do, short of reciting the Lowe’s motto to my pit crew and tell them to ‘Never stop improving.’

    “They call me ‘5-Time.’ I used to think that was because of my five titles. Now, I think it’s because I’ve lost a race I should have won five times this year.

    2. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished fifth in the Brickyard 400, posting his fifth top-5 result of the year. He is sixth in the point standings, 120 out of first.

    “I’m thrilled with the result,” Kenseth said. “After a shaky start to the season, the No. 20 Toyota engines have been quite reliable. This was the 20th running of the Brickyard 400, and I’m happy my 20 was still running.”

    3. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer led a lap late on Sunday but had to pit for fuel, resulting in a 20th in the Brickyard 400. He remained second in the point standings, 75 behind Jimmie Johnson.

    “I’m still searching for my first win,” Bowyer said, “and I’ll do anything to win. That includes sitting on a cushion of hundreds of bottles of 5-Hour Energy at Pocono this Sunday. Maybe a ‘booster seat’ is exactly what I need to win.”

    4. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished a disappointing 19th at Indianapolis, falling victim to fuel mileage that forced a late pit stop for a splash of gas. He remained fourth in the point standings and trails Jimmie Johnson by 92.

    “That may have been the most uneventful race in NASCAR history,” Harvick said. “We may only visit Indianapolis once a year, but this race sure was ‘common place.’

    5. Carl Edwards: Edwards came home 13th at Indianapolis, recording the top finish for Roush Fenway Racing. He is now third in the Sprint Cup point standings, 85 behind Jimmie Johnson.

    “Johnson has run away with the points lead,” Edwards said. “A lot of people call me ‘Cousin Carl.’ Not Jimmie; he calls me ‘Distant Third Cousin Carl.’”

    6. Kyle Busch: One day after winning the Nationwide Indiana 250 on Saturday, Busch finished tenth in the Brickyard 400 for his 12th top 10 Sprint Cup of the year. He is seventh in the point standings, 130 out of first.

    “Ryan Newman certainly made his presence known at Indianapolis,” Busch said. “You could say the Brickyard 400 was a lot like Juan Montoya’s head—-Newman put his ‘stamp’ on it.”

    “NASCAR has suspended the use of aerial cameras. And speaking of faulty things in high places, Brian France is still the chairman of NASCAR.”

    7. Tony Stewart: Stewart finished third at the Brickyard as Stewart-Haas teammate Ryan Newman captured his first win of the year. Stewart currently holds one of the wildcard spots in the Chase For The Cup standings.

    “What a win by Ryan,” Stewart said. “As drivers with no necks go, he stands head and shoulders above the rest. If I didn’t know better, I’d say Ryan’s earned his keep. It’s too bad I can’t keep him.”

    8. Kasey Kahne: Kahne finished third at Indianapolis, one spot behind Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson, who was searching for his fifth Brickyard win. Kahne is ninth in the point standings, 176 out of first.

    “The race was Jimmie’s until that fateful final pit stop,” Kahne said. “If Kevin Harvick is the ‘Closer,’ then Jimmie must be the ‘Opener,’ because he’s left more doors open than Bruton Smith’s butler.”

    9. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt finished sixth at Indianapolis as Hendrick Motorsports took three of the top six spots at the Brickyard. Earnhardt is fifth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 124 behind Jimmie Johnson.

    “Jimmie let another win slip through his fingers,” Earnhardt said. “That’s bad for Jimmie, but perfect for a promotional tie-in with Lowe’s. Whenever Jimmie loses a race he should have won, customers can expect ‘giveaways’ at their local Lowe’s home improvement stores.

    “I’m still looking for sponsors for the last 12 races this season. Usually, it’s not hard to find people willing to pay for my name or image—they’re Junior fans in a tattoo parlor.”

    10. Ryan Newman: With a speedy two-tire pit stop with 30 laps to go, Newman took the lead and held on the win the Brickyard 400. Starting on the pole, Newman won a race-long battle with Jimmie Johnson, who suffered a slow final pit stop that may have cost him the lead.

    “This was a timely win,” Newman said. “I’m an Indiana native who had gone 49 races without a win, so I wanted it badly, and so did my home fans. Before the race, you could have said, ‘This native’s restless.’”

    “Does Tony Stewart regret letting me go from Stewart-Hass Racing? Maybe. I don’t fault Tony. It was a business decision, one that an owner like Tony has to make sometimes. It’s like they say, ‘Where there’s Smoke, there’s fired.’”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Samuel Deeds 400 at the Brickyard

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Samuel Deeds 400 at the Brickyard

    At one of the most historic tracks on the NASCAR Sprint Cup venue, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 20th running of the Crown Royal Presents the Samuel Deeds 400 at the Brickyard Powered by BigMachineRecords.com.

    Surprising:  It is not often that Chad Knaus, one of the best crew chiefs in the business, gets outfoxed, however he surprisingly did at the Brickyard by none other than Matt Borland who won his first race since being reunited with driver Ryan Newman.

    Borland made the gutsy two-tire call with just eleven laps left in the race to score the kissing of the bricks for his driver and the team of the No. 39 Quicken Loans/The Smurfs Chevrolet.

    “Matt Borland just made an awesome call,” Newman said. “I have won more races with him on old tires and out of gas than I have with four tires and the best car.”

    This was the first win of the season for soon to be unemployed driver Newman and the first win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for his team, Stewart-Haas Racing.

    “It’s just a fantastic day,” Borland said. “This is Ryan’s hometown and the Brickyard is the Brickyard.”

    “We were finally able to get everything right on race day.”

    Not Surprising:  Five-time champ Jimmie Johnson was disappointed but not surprisingly gracious in defeat. And the driver of the No. 48 Lowes/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet did not even throw anyone under the bus in the process.

    “Second is never fun especially at the Brickyard,” Johnson said. “Bummed out with that, but stuff happens.”

    “I believe the No. 39 took two (tires) as well where we took four (tires),” Johnson continued. “I don’t fault the call by any means.”

    “We win as a team we lose as a team, it’s just how it is.”

    Surprising:  Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, was the highest finishing Camry, taking the checkered flag in the fifth spot. But even with that good run, Kenseth admitted that he had nothing for the surprisingly fast two-some of Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson.

    “They were way faster than us and they were up there pretty far,” Kenseth said. “Jimmie went by me so quick that I thought he was going to suck the numbers off the doors.”

    “Ryan had a really fast car,” Kenseth continued. “We had a top-10 car most of the day, but I couldn’t run with those guys.”

    Not Surprising:  Hendrick horsepower ruled the day at the Brickyard, with six of the drivers in the top-ten having that power under their hood. One of those drivers, Kasey Kahne even credited team Hendrick power in the engine of his No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet with his third place run.

    “We had a really fast Great Clips Chevrolet,” Kahne said. “Great Hendrick horsepower was key.”

    Not surprisingly and not coincidentally, Hendrick Motorsports also just named engine whiz Doug Duchardt as their new Executive Vice President and General Manager, effective immediately.

    “Doug has led by example from his first day with us,” Mr. H. said “He understands the importance of relationships and has helped promote a culture of teamwork and communication.”

    Surprising:  Dale Earnhardt Jr. pulled off a surprisingly good finish, in fact a sixth place finish, in spite of troubles on and off the race track. The driver of the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet battled a loose wheel at the start of the race and troubles with the car running at the end of the race, as well as coping with the loss of his uncle Randy Earnhardt, whose death Junior learned of while at the track.

    “The car was shaking real bad,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “Steve (Letarte, crew chief) is a good strategist and we ended up alright.”

    “Randy was always there,” Junior said of his uncle who passed away. “It is just very, very sad but I am glad his suffering is over with.”

    “I loved him dearly and will miss him a lot.”

    Not Surprising:   Kurt Busch has been running so well as of late that, not surprisingly, he was distressed with a top-15 finish. The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Beautyrest Chevrolet finished the race in the 14th position, which was exactly where he stood in the point standings when the race was over.

    “The 14th place finish is unacceptable,” Busch said. “We’ve accomplished a lot thus far this season, but one area we need to improve upon is finishing strong.”

    “No question we have to run better than we did today if we want to get into the top-10,” Busch continued. “We need to have strong finishes in the next six races.”

    Surprising:  Brad Keselowski was the biggest Indy loser, falling four spots in the point standings to 13th with his 21st place finish in his No. 2 Miller Lite Ford.

    “That was definitely not the day we wanted,” Keselowski said. “We weren’t a 21st place car.”

    “It is just the way things worked out,” Keselowski continued. “That has been the story of the year.”

    Not Surprising:  With a hard fought battle, Jeff Gordon bounced back into the top ten in the point standings with his top ten finish in his No. 24 Pepsi Max Chevrolet at the Brickyard.

    “You had to fight extremely hard in this race,” Gordon said. “It was just pit strategy and speed in the car and traffic.”

    “It was not easy I can tell you that.”

    Surprising:  There is a surprisingly tight Sunoco Rookie of the Year battle going on at present, with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. leading by just nine points over Danica Patrick in the ROTY standings.

    Patrick, however, did not help her case with her 30th place finish at the Brickyard, although her ROTY competitor Stenhouse Jr. did not fare much better, finishing 25th.

    “We tried something, it just didn’t work, and that’s that,” Patrick said. “It just was what it was.”

    “It would have been nice to have a better day than this and be able to march forward,” Patrick continued. “We just didn’t and that’s just all there is to it.”

    Not Surprising:  With the lack of passing on the track, it was not surprising that many were calling for some changes, including driver Carl Edwards, who finished 13th in his No. 99 Fastenal Ford Fusion.

    “When you rely on down force and your car is going 200 mph and everything has to be perfect and there is a car up there in front of you that disrupts that air, it just becomes difficult,” Edwards said. “I don’t know that there is a fundamental problem with the car but I would be really curious to see what no front splitter and a really tiny rear spoiler would do.”

    “I think it would allow Goodyear to make a tire that is softer so it would fall off more and I think you would see those great races.”

     

  • Matty’s Picks Vol. 17 – Crown Royal Presents the Samuel Deeds 400 at The Brickyard Powered by BigMachineRecords.com – Indianapolis Motor Speedway – July 28, 2013

    Matty’s Picks Vol. 17 – Crown Royal Presents the Samuel Deeds 400 at The Brickyard Powered by BigMachineRecords.com – Indianapolis Motor Speedway – July 28, 2013

    The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits the famed 2.5-mile rectangle in the Midwest at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 20th time on Sunday for a 400-mile race which will certainly have some foreshadowing into the future this week and here is why. The race at IMS has some serious championship implications this week as 15 of the 19 races at the Brickyard have been won by series champions. The Indy race winner has gone on to capture the NASCAR Sprint Cup title in eight different seasons and Jimmie Johnson was the most recent in 2009, duplicating his Indy-Sprint Cup championship sweeps of 2006 and 2008.

    Indy has eluded the majority of the top 10 guys in points over the years as Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick are the only two members of the current top 10 in the standings have won at The Brickyard.

    As far as the makes go, Chevy has been nearly invincible over the years at the brickyard as the last non-Chevrolet to win at IMS was Ray Evernham’s Dodge driven by a guy named Bill Elliot all the way back in 2001, in fact a General Motors product has won 15 of the 19 races held at the Brickyard which includes Bobby Labonte’s win for Pontiac in 2000.
    Nothing to recap this week as we had our first week off since Easter last week, so we’ll move on to the picks.

    Winner Pick
    On Thursday while previewing today’s race from the Brickyard with Greg Depalma on the Prime Sports Network, it was Kevin Harvick who I liked to win because of his flat-track history and the generous 20 to 1 odds that came along with him. Despite a couple solid practice sessions on Friday and Saturday, Karvick’s qualifying position has me a bit gun-shy to pull the trigger on him for this afternoon. Just 3 of the 19 races at the Brickyard have been won from starting spots 20th or worse, and Harvick qualified his Chevrolet 24th so though I still think he poses a solid threat for his 3rd victory of the season, I don’t think he’s got the car to beat this weekend.

    Instead, I’m going to swap my pick this week and go with the other guy I picked Thursday to win at The Brickyard in Kasey Kahne. Kasey has a lot going for him this weekend as first, he’s in a Chevy, second he finished runner up in the 2005 race in just his 2nd ever start at IMS, and 3rd he’s been fast all weekend. Kahne was 5th in the first practice, 2nd behind Kurt Busch in Happy Hour, and will roll off 7th when the green flag flies later this afternoon. I’ve got a hunch today, and I think we see Kasey Kahne kiss the bricks for the first time.

    Dark Horse Pick
    My Dark Horse driver has not changed from Thursday but the odds associated with my Dark Horse sure have. Juan Montoya started the week as a 30 to 1 longshot. He’s now just behind guys like four-time Brickyard winner Jeff Gordon and two-time winner Tony Stewart at 12 to 1 right now! This means I’m not the only person in the world to believe in this guy because of his history at IMS. This car has shown speed again this year at The Brickyard and after winning the first practice session, following up in 3rd on the charts during Happy Hour, and qualifying 8th, my pick from Thursday is looking better and better.

    If it wasn’t for a pit road speeding penalty back in 2009, Montoya’s name would have been etched in Brickyard history in the stock car category, and I think Juan is due for a win at The Brickyard.

    That’s all for this week, enjoy the race and until we are done with the flat tracks for a few weeks…..You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Coke Zero 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Coke Zero 400

    In addition to a dose of roof flap drama, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 55th annual Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

    Surprising:  Who knew that the magic between driver Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus, leading to their record-setting night of sweeping both the 500 and 400 at Daytona in the same year, all started over a beer and a game of horseshoes?

    “People make the difference,” five-time champ Johnson said. “Chad and I have a relationship since the first time we drank beer in my backyard throwing horseshoes.”

    “It was the start of many good things to come,” Johnson continued. “The relationships, the people make the difference.”

    “That’s where the magic lies.”

    Johnson also gave Team Hendrick its first sweep at Daytona since 1986 when Geoff Bodine and Tim Richmond accomplished the same feat. This was Johnson’s 64th career Cup Series win and his fourth victory of the season, tying competitor Matt Kenseth in the win column.

    Not Surprising:  While Tony Stewart finished runner up in his No. 14 Bass Pro Shops Ducks Unlimited Chevrolet, regaining the six spots in the point standings to the tenth position, he finished off the night ‘testy’ in the media center after the checkered flag flew.

    When asked whether or not his retreat to the rear of the field for much of the race was pre-planned, Stewart showed his dismay for what he considered perhaps not the best question of the evening.

    “You guys act like you’ve never seen me do that before,” Smoke answered. “I’ve been doing that for 15 years and we’ve had good results on it.”

    When next asked about whether or not he liked this type of racing at this stage in his career, Stewart again reverted to past practice.

    “Go back to your old notes,” Smoke said. “My opinion hasn’t changed in 15 years.”

    “If you don’t have them, somebody else in the room will have them, you know that.”

    Surprising:  Rookie of the Year contender Ricky Stenhouse Jr. thought that he had successfully broken a barrier in his 2013 career. Unfortunately he was unpleasantly surprised after NASCAR showed him the photo finish, realizing that he still had more work to do.

    “We’ve been working all year long and we’ve got a couple of 11ths, 12ths, and it’s good to break that barrier of top ten,” Stenhouse Jr. said, before learning that he had really finished in the 11th spot.  There is no doubt that he will be aiming for that barrier again at New Hampshire and with a vengeance.

    Not Surprising:  Kevin Harvick was not happy in spite of being the third place finisher in his No. 29 Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet.

    “Yeah, we didn’t win,” Harvick said. “That was our expectation coming here.”

    “I felt like we were in the right position,” Harvick continued. “We couldn’t get everything lined up to get going.”

    Surprising:  Probably the most surprised driver at Daytona was Paul Menard, who lost an engine with absolutely no warning in the early going on Lap 22.

    “Something just let go,” the driver of the No. 27 Rheem/Menards Chevrolet said. “I felt the heat come up.”

    “It gave no indication,” Menard continued. “I haven’t had a motor failure in forever.”

    “Just unfortunate.”

    Not Surprising:   NASCAR’s biggest loser in addition to Menard was Joey Logano, who brought out the second caution of the race with a tire failure and a crash into the wall. The driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford fell hard in the point standings, losing five positions and dropping from the 10th to the 15th position.

    “It was a big hit,” Logano said of his trip into the wall. “But it was a bigger hit in the points really.”

    “We’ve lost a lot but we’re not out of it by any means.”

    Surprising:  While Daytona is known for its share of ‘big ones’, there were some particularly hard hits in this version of the Coke Zero 400, including crashes for Denny Hamlin, A.J. Allmendinger, and Kasey Kahne.

    Hamlin was involved in two crashes, the second just a few laps away from the checkered flag.  The two wrecks added insult to his already injured back, as well as a sore knee and head from a crash just last week at Kentucky.

    Allmendinger, in the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet for James Finch, described his wreck as a ‘Days of Thunder’ moment, one that injured him in his ‘man parts’ and sent him stumbling out of his car in pain.

    “Everybody moved down and Denny (Hamlin) appeared right in front of me,” Allmendinger said. “I just hit him as hard as I could unfortunately.”

    One of the most bizarre but hard wrecks occurred at the end of the race, knocking a strong player out of contention. On Lap 155, Kasey Kahne got slammed while running at the front of the field, crashing hard into the inner wall.

    “I got slammed and shot to the left,” Kahne said. “It’s kind of how these races go.”

    “You don’t have a lot of control over what happens.”

    Not Surprising:  Michael Waltrip, behind the wheel of the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota often driven by Mark Martin, scored a top-five finish. Waltrip, who has a stellar resume on plate tracks, pulled off another good finish in spite of being a bit rusty behind the wheel and having some struggles in the pits.

    “We were just really fortunate after getting into a wreck on pit road,” Waltrip said. “I’m just happy for the team because it was a well-deserved finish.”

    Surprising:  MWR teammate Clint Bowyer also had such a surprisingly good run, finishing fourth in his No. 15 Blue DEF Diesel Exhaust Fluid Toyota. And with that finish, he ousted Carl Edwards from second place in the point standings, sitting 49 points behind leader Johnson.

    “I was pushing Michael and got him passed,” Bowyer said. “I looked in the mirror and all hell broke loose.”

    “That’s Daytona,’ Bowyer continued. “But I’ll take a top-five anytime in one of these races.”

    This was Bowyer’s third top-five finish in a row.

    Not Surprising:  With team owner and driver Tony Stewart setting the bar in the runner up spot, the rest of the Stewart-Haas Racing team also finished well at Daytona, in spite of final lap mishaps.

    Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Outback Steakhouse Chevrolet, scored bloomin’ onions for all with a top-ten finish. This was Newman’s sixth top-ten at Daytona and his eighth of the season

    “I’m glad we got a top-10 for Outback Steakhouse, but I hate that we destroyed another race car on the final lap,” Newman lamented. “That just seems to be the norm for us when it comes to restrictor-plate racing.”

    SHR teammate Danica Patrick was also involved in the multi-car melee at the end of the race, finishing 14th in her No.  10 GGoDaddy.com Chevrolet.

    This was her fourth top-15 finish of the 2013 season.

    “Well a green-white-checkered finish is always exciting,” Patrick said. “All in all, it was a solid day.”

    Surprising:  Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet, continues to amaze with his performance, finishing sixth and putting himself in Chase contention with a five spot move up in the point standings to ninth.

    This is the highest in the point standings that Kurt has been so far in the 2013 season. This was also his third straight top-ten finish and his eighth top-10 finish of the season.

    “We stayed out of trouble, had smooth pit stops and had a big points night for our Furniture Row team,” Busch said. “These guys are working hard and it’s paying off.”

    Not Surprising:  Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished top-ten at Daytona, in spite of some challenges with his race car.

    “I had fun,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet said. “We just didn’t make our way to the front.”

    “We had a problem with the car,” Junior continued. “Something broke and we could hardy steer it coming into the pits.”

    The eighth place finish at Daytona moved Earnhardt Jr. up one position in the points standings to fifth.

     

  • Crunching The Numbers: New Hampshire & Iowa

    Crunching The Numbers: New Hampshire & Iowa

    After celebrating the Fourth of July weekend on the high banks of Daytona International Speedway, the three national NASCAR series head to short, flat tracks in separate parts of the country this weekend. New Hampshire Motor Speedway will host the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series, while the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to Iowa for a standalone weekend of their own.

    NASCAR Sprint Cup Series – Camping World RV Sales 301 at New Hampshire

    For the first time this season, the Sprint Cup Series makes its way to the flat one mile oval in Loudon, N.H., the eighth of eight tracks that the series has already visited this year that will also be in the Chase for the Sprint Cup that starts in September. Drivers that have won the July race here have gone on to win the championship four times, with success in this race carrying over to the track’s Chase date in September. The track has also featured 10 different winners since 2008, so will we finally see a repeat winner or will this mark 11 different winners?

    Driver Races Wins Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Denny Hamlin 14 2 7 10 0 417 13.6 7.9
    Jimmie Johnson 22 3 8 15 0 321 11.1 9.5
    Jeff Gordon 36 3 16 21 4 1316 9.9 10.5
    Tony Stewart 28 3 14 17 1 1218 11.2 11.4
    Ryan Newman 22 3 6 15 6 720 8.0 12.7
    Kevin Harvick 24 1 5 12 1 319 14.1 13.7
    Jeff Burton 36 4 8 13 0 783 19.4 13.8
    Matt Kenseth 26 0 5 12 0 89 21.1 14.0
    Brad Keselowski 7 0 2 4 1 10 15.6 14.0
    Carl Edwards 17 0 2 3 0 70 15.2 14.5

    Who To Watch: As he mounts what may be his last stand to make the Chase, and his Chase hopes rapidly dwindling thanks to some unfortunate circumstances that have befallen him this season, Denny Hamlin has to be happy to be heading to a track where he tops the list statistically. Hamlin’s New Hampshire career has featured two wins, seven top fives, 10 top tens, 417 laps led, and an average finish of 7.9 in 14 races. Hamlin is also coming off of a stellar 2012 campaign at the track with a second place finish in the July race and a win in the September race.

    Winner of last weekend’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona and four-time winner on the season, Jimmie Johnson, comes in just behind Hamlin with three wins, eight top fives, 15 top tens, 321 laps led, and an average finish of 9.5 in 22 starts.

    Others who run well in the Granite State include: Jeff Gordon, with three wins, 16 top fives, 21 top tens, four poles, 1316 laps led, and an average finish of 10.5 in 36 starts; Tony Stewart, with three wins, 14 top fives, 17 top tens, one pole, 1218 laps led, and an average finish of 11.4 in 28 starts; Ryan Newman, with three wins, six top fives, 15 top tens, six poles, 720 laps led, and an average finish of 12.7 in 22 starts; and Kevin Harvick, who has one win, five top fives, 12 top tens, one pole, 319 laps led, and an average finish of 13.7 in 24 starts.

    Matt Kenseth, who is tied with Jimmie Johnson for most wins on the year, doesn’t have a stellar career at New Hampshire (0 wins, five top fives, 12 top tens, 89 laps led, and 14.0 average finish in 26 starts), but with the success that he has had in his first season with Joe Gibbs Racing, Kenseth would be another to keep an eye on this weekend.

    NASCAR Nationwide Series – CNBC Prime’s “The Profit” 200 at New Hampshire

    As the Nationwide Series heads to New Hampshire to share in the companion weekend with the Sprint Cup Series, we have a couple of storylines that will be playing out this weekend. First, New Hampshire marks the second leg of the Nationwide Insurance “Dash 4 Cash”, in which the highest finisher out of eligible drivers will be able to win a $100,000 bonus. The eligible drivers for this weekend are Daytona “Dash 4 Cash” bonus winner Elliott Sadler, Austin Dillon, Kyle Larson, and Sam Hornish, Jr. The other storyline will be the Cup regulars who will be running on Saturday and when looking at the statistics for this track are evenly distributed among the Nationwide regulars. As is the case anytime there is a Sprint Cup/Nationwide companion weekend, it is the battle between the Cup regulars and the Nationwide regulars, who will come out on top this week?

    Driver Races Wins Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Sam Hornish, Jr. 1 0 1 1 0 0 6.0 4.0
    Kasey Kahne 5 0 2 4 0 53 9.6 6.8
    Brian Vickers 2 0 1 1 0 0 7.0 8.0
    Trevor Bayne 2 0 1 1 0 58 12.5 9.0
    Justin Allgaier 4 0 0 3 0 0 9.8 9.2
    Kyle Busch 7 3 4 4 1 273 5.4 10.7
    Matt Kenseth 7 1 3 5 0 55 17.9 11.4
    Joey Logano 3 0 2 2 1 111 3.7 11.7
    Reed Sorenson 5 0 0 2 0 0 10.8 12.6
    Austin Dillon 2 0 1 1 0 1 10.0 14.0

    Who To Watch: Currently sitting second in points, Sam Hornish, Jr., is tops statistically at New Hampshire with a sixth place start and a fourth place finish in his lone start at the track last year.

    Cup regular Kasey Kahne comes in right behind Hornish with two top fives, four top tens, 53 laps led, and an average finish of 6.8 in five starts. Nationwide regulars Brian Vickers, Trevor Bayne, and Justin Allgaier are next with average finishes of 8.0, 9.0, and 9.2 respectively.

    Cup regulars and Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth, are the only two in the top ten statistically at New Hampshire with a win. Busch has three wins, four top fives, four top tens, one pole, 273 laps led, and an average finish of 10.7 in seven starts. Kenseth, winner of last weekend’s race at Daytona, has one win, three top fives, five top tens, 55 laps led, and an average finish of 11.4 in seven starts

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – American Ethanol 200 at Iowa

    While the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series are enjoying New England this weekend, the young guns of the Camping World Truck Series will be in America’s Heartland taking on Iowa Speedway in a Saturday night showdown that is sure to be full of great racing, as the racing always is at this short track.

    Driver Races Wins Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Ryan Blaney 1 1 1 1 0 50 2.0 1.0
    Johnny Sauter 5 0 5 5 0 24 5.2 3.8
    Matt Crafton 5 1 3 5 0 56 8.6 4.4
    Ty Dillon 2 0 1 2 0 0 12.0 4.5
    Joey Coulter 3 0 1 2 0 0 9.3 8.7
    Miguel Paludo 3 0 0 1 0 0 10.0 12.7
    Timothy Peters 5 1 1 2 1 87 7.0 13.2
    Ross Chastain 2 0 0 0 0 0 21.0 13.5
    James Buescher 5 0 1 2 0 98 10.2 14.6
    Brendan Gaughan 1 0 0 0 0 0 19.0 16.0

    Who To Watch: Ryan Blaney surprised everyone last year at Iowa Speedway when he became the youngest winner in series history in only his third career start. Blaney, who now has a full time ride with Brad Keselowski Racing could very well make it two in a row this weekend and give Ford their first win of the season and first win since pulling factory support from the series some years back.

    Others who run well at Iowa are Johnny Sauter, with five top fives, five top tens, 24 laps led, and an average finish of 3.8 in five starts; Matt Crafton, with one win, three top fives, five top tens, 56 laps led and an average finish of 4.4 in five starts; Ty Dillon, with one top five, two top tens, and an average finish of 4.5 in two starts; and Joey Coulter, with one top five, two top tens, and an average finish of 8.7 in three starts.

    Of course, the rookies of the series Jeb Burton, Darrell Wallace, Jr., and Chase Elliott will be strong this weekend, as they have been all season long.

  • Matty’s Picks 2013 – Vol. 15 Coke Zero 400 – Daytona International Speedway – July 6, 2013

    Matty’s Picks 2013 – Vol. 15 Coke Zero 400 – Daytona International Speedway – July 6, 2013

    Daytona needs no introduction this week. Since it’s the Crown Jewel of NASCAR, everyone knows the history of the track and the races its produced over the years, so I’ll keep it short and talk a little bit about what I was able to gather from the February races – including that “HISTORIC” Daytona 500.

    If you got past the fact that Danica was on the pole for the Daytona 500 and all the hoopla that surrounded that story, you would have seen that the Daytona 500 this year was pretty boring as far as plate races go. It could have been because of that early crash that put a lot of the top guys out of contention – Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick, Jamie McMurray, Juan Pablo Montoya, Tony Stewart, Brad Kesolowski, and Kyle Busch, – that was all about 30 laps in, so a lot of the heavy hitters were out early.

    The race was boring in the sense that nobody could really pass. Matt Kenseth led 86 laps before he blew up, and it seemed like anyone who stepped out of line really paid the price, even if they had a car to help push. It was pretty much follow the leader and a lot of the guys complained over the two weeks about not being able to pass in the then brand new Gen6 racecar.
    One word of caution this week is with the Toyotas, and there has been talk about their engine issues the past few weeks. These engines haven’t been tested since Michigan where it was announced they would not be scaling back the horsepower any further, but the series hasn’t been at tracks where engine longevity has been a factor since Greg Biffle’s win at Michigan. Toyota has won JUST ONE points race at Daytona in 132 races. Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch both blew up in the Daytona 500, and Martin Truex Jr. had engine issues as well, certainly something to consider this week when making your picks.

    Kentucky Recap

    I picked Kyle Busch last week at a place where it is impossible not to mention him where his performances over the years have been nothing less than exemplary. Busch started his No. 18 Doublemint Toyota in fourth and raced inside the top five through the early portion of the race before he got loose and caused a caution. Busch would have to restart in 37th but would climb all the way back to the top 15 by lap 83 and great work by his Doublemint team and a little pit strategy would help him get back inside the top five for a restart on lap 93. Busch would continue to run up front with the leaders while battling changing handling conditions. Despite the challenges all night, Busch and the Doublemint team managed to scrape together another Top-5 at Kentucky.

    As for my Dark Horse, Joey Logano, also known as the hottest driver in NASCAR not named Kevin Harvick, had another solid week in the No. 22 Pennzoil Ford Fusion. The team qualified 11th for the Quaker State 400, and with solid pit stops and consistent adjustments by Crew Chief Todd Gordon, Logano began to climb through the front of the field by lap 110. Logano never ran outside the Top 5 in the second-half of the race, until the final restart with about 20 laps to go. He restarted 7th and made a bold move on the restart, moving up to 4th where he would cross the finish line, netting himself his 5th top-five of this 2013 season.

    Daytona Picks

    Winner Pick
    I didn’t pull out my dice and roll them to pick my winner this week, but I did, I think the dice would have revealed the numbers two and nine meaning the guy I’d be looking at this week is the hottest guy in the sport right now and that’s Kevin Harvick.

    Harvick was unlucky earlier this year when he crashed early in the Daytona 500. He won the Sprint Unlimited, won his Duel race, and was certainly one of the cars to beat. As far as the stats go, he’s won two races at Daytona and if you throw in the duel races he’s won, the count is 7 wins on restrictor plate tracks – 5 of which coming in the last 3 years.

    This team brings 7-straight top-10’s to Daytona and considering he’s due for a good restrictor plate finish (finished 42nd in the Daytona 500 and 40th at Talladega in May) Harvick was my top pick on Thursday and remains my top pick for the win tonight.

    Dark Horse Pick

    Paul Menard is a guy who manages to stay out of trouble at Daytona. He has completed 99.3% of the 2148 laps of his 12 starts at Daytona, leading 38 laps in the meantime. Daytona is second on his list of tracks with an average finish of 17.3 and that number comes with a 38th place finish averaged in those numbers (2009 Daytona 500). He’s been good at Daytona, might not be the BEST longshot pick this week with the Front Row Motorsports teams showing speed in both practice sessions, but working with Harvick in the draft will prove to be beneficial for this team tonight.

    That’s all for this week, be sure to tune in on Thursday as Greg and I preview next week’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    So until next time, You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Jeff Burton Is All Atwitter Over Kwikset Sponsorship and Sweepstakes

    Jeff Burton Is All Atwitter Over Kwikset Sponsorship and Sweepstakes

    Jeff Burton not only has a new sponsor this year in Kwikset, a major manufacturer and supplier of residential locks, but he is also all atwitter over their sweepstakes “I Heart the Mayor.”

    The special Twitter promotion will be ending this weekend at the July 6th Daytona race. In celebration of the sweepstakes finale, Kwikset will be the primary sponsor on the hood of the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet for the Coke Zero 400.

    “Quite simply, any fan can go to www.iHeartTheMayor.com and from there you can send a tweet which goes directly to me,” Burton said. “You hashtag #TweetToWin and then you’re done.”

    “Hopefully you’ll be chosen and the winner will come to Richard Childress Racing for the October race weekend in Charlotte for a behind the scenes tour of how we build our race cars, how we build our engines, and how we get ready to race,” Burton continued. “And then from there the fans will go to the winery and have lunch, which is a very special treat.”

    “Finally the winners will wrap up the weekend as the guests of Kwikset at their VIP hospitality area for the Bank of America 500 race,” Burton said. “They will really get an inside look at the race and at the shop and get to do it in a VIP way.”

    “It’s a neat deal that Kwikset has done and somebody is going to have a really great time.”

    While Burton is atwitter about the sweepstakes and what it may mean to one of his lucky fans, he also is thrilled to have Kwikset come on board as a sponsor, for his team as well as for the sport.

    “Over the years, the economy took a downward turn and we haven’t seen a lot of new companies come in to NASCAR,” Burton said. “So, to have a company like Kwikset come in, a big company with name recognition because people have their product on their front doors, as the primary sponsor at Daytona is good for us and good for the sport.”

    “I’ve been really fortunate in my career to represent some ‘who’s who’ in American business,” Burton continued. “I’ve been blessed with that and this is another example of a company with quality products and cool, innovative stuff that they will talk about this weekend that makes the product more usable.”

    Kwikset also feels fortunate to have a driver like Burton, known for his advocacy for safety, as a spokesperson for their product.

    “Family, safety and innovation are Kwikset’s core tenets,” Greg Gluchowski, President of the Hardware & Home Improvement Group at Spectrum Brands, said. “Once we learned that Jeff had similar passions, we knew this partnership would be beneficial for both parties.”

    “The ‘I Heart the Mayor’ sweepstakes is a fun way for motorsports and Kwikset fans to learn more about our products and Jeff, while also giving them the opportunity to win a once-in-a- lifetime experience.”

    In their special promotion, Kwikset has indeed capitalized on one of their driver’s most notable monikers, ‘Mayor’ of the NASCAR garage area. Burton’s ‘Mayor’ moniker has evolved over time and goes back to one of the darker times in the sport when Dale Earnhardt was tragically killed at Daytona.

    “It all started a long time ago as it related to safety, prior to Dale Earnhardt’s death,” Burton said. “I was working hard and trying to make things happen and when Dale was killed, I was one of the more outspoken in the sport about safety.”

    “We had been working on new seat technology and I was involved in the very first carbon seat brought into NASCAR,” Burton continued. “I ran the very first head surround that is now the rule.”

    “So, I was ahead of the curve and I was willing to talk about it because I knew we had major problems,” Burton said. “Some people thought I was committing professional suicide by doing it but I never felt like that or that I’d wake up with the horse head in my bed so to speak.”

    “Someone had to speak out and be educated about it and I was that person at that time,” Burton continued. “That got me into the media coming to talk to me about difficult things and the topic of the day.”

    “So, that’s what started the ‘Mayor’ label.”

    “I think we always have to stay ahead on safety,” Burton said. “NASCAR has done a phenomenal job on becoming the leader in motorsports as it relates to safety.”

    “In the past they were followers and were reactive but now they are so proactive,” Burton continued. “My role is now to just remind all that we don’t quit and keep on it.”

    While Burton is passionate about his mayoral role and has the ear of the sanctioning body, he also feels that NASCAR needs to pay attention to the voice of the fans as well.

    “I have a good relationship with NASCAR and we talk about ways now to make the sport even better,” Burton said. “We don’t always agree but they always listen and that’s all you can ask.”

    “I think it’s important for our sport,” Burton continued. “We have to have the competitors involved and able to give their opinion but we don’t always need to be listened to.”

    “One of the major problems with other sports in my opinion is that they listen to the athletes and the owners too much instead of listening to the fans,” Burton said. “In our sport, the fans get a vote before I do and I’m OK with that.”

    While Burton has been atwitter about this social media campaign with Kwikset, he has also been pretty pleased about his performance on the track, in spite of not always getting the finishes he and his team would like.

    This past weekend at Kentucky, Burton rebounded from two speeding penalties to run in the top-five until several pit and on-track incidents left him to take the checkered flag in the 19th position.

    “The speeding penalties were just a mistake on our tachometer,” Burton said. “We recovered and got ourselves in the top five.”

    “Then it went downhill quickly after a brush up with Kasey Kahne on pit road and having a hole knocked in the nose,” Burton continued. “So, now instead of being a fifth place car, we were a tenth place car.”

    “And then on the last restart, Ryan Newman and I went three-wide into Turn 3 and Montoya didn’t know we were three-wide,” Burton said. “And we all crashed into each other, I got the right side of my car all torn up, and we went from running ninth to finishing 19th.”

    “It wasn’t a good finish but we did run well,” Burton continued. “We’ve been running well lately and last week I think we could have won the race.”

    “I feel good about what we’re doing but we’re just a little late doing it.”

    Burton is also looking forward to some strategy plate racing at Daytona and hopes to come out of it just a little better than his other experiences so far this year on the superspeedways.

    “Daytona is a little bit of a crap shoot,” Burton said. “You have to miss the wrecks.”

    “It’s just a tough race,” Burton continued. “I’ve been in two restrictor plate races this year and got caught up in two wrecks not of my doing.”

    “Last year, we had an average finish of fifth at plate races and this year we haven’t been able to finish a race because of wrecks,” Burton said. “We’ve just got to go there, put ourselves in position to be running at the end of the race, and then anything can happen.”

    But what Burton hopes most of all this weekend is that his fans take to Twitter, just as he does, and participate in Kwikset’s special sweepstakes.

    “I’ve really become interested in social media and check Twitter at least two or three times a day,” Burton said. “I follow the people that I want to follow and I follow the organizations that I want to follow.”

    “I get a lot of my news through Twitter, following different news and sports outlets,” Burton continued. “I really don’t watch the news anymore because I follow it on Twitter and then investigate it further.”

    “There are some things that are disappointing but overall it’s a very positive outlet and I’ve really been impressed with it.”

    And this race weekend, Burton will be even more closely watching his Twitter feed, especially with the hash tag #TweetToWin as all of his fans have the opportunity to participate for a chance at one of the most unique behind-the-scenes experiences in the sport.

    For more information about Kwikset’s sweepstakes in partnership with Jeff Burton, visit www.iHeartTheMayor.com.

  • Crunching The Numbers: Kentucky

    Crunching The Numbers: Kentucky

    After a weekend of turning left and right at the road courses at Sonoma and Road America, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series, joined by their NASCAR Camping World Truck Series counterparts, head back east to the 1.5 mile Kentucky Speedway for the second tripleheader of the season. This time around all three races will be under the lights of this oval that is a relative newcomer to the schedule, having only hosted all three series for the past two years.

    Sprint Cup Series – Quaker State 400

    As the Sprint Cup Series heads into Kentucky Speedway for a Saturday night showdown under the lights, the series reaches an important milestone for the season. This weekend’s race marks the beginning of the 10 races before the start of the “Chase for the Sprint Cup”. The so-called “Race for the Chase” sets off a mad dash for drivers trying to accumulate wins and rack up points to either make the Chase or improve their position in the standings for a better seed once the Chase starts. There are also a couple of unknowns surrounding this race since the teams have a slim notebook on setups for this track since it has only been on the schedule since 2011 and the Gen6 makes its Kentucky debut this weekend as well.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Brad Keselowski 2 1 1 2 0 147 7.0 4.0
    Jimmie Johnson 2 0 1 2 1 21 3.0 4.5
    Kyle Busch 2 1 1 2 0 243 1.5 5.5
    Matt Kenseth 2 0 0 2 0 0 16.5 6.5
    Denny Hamlin 2 0 1 1 0 63 14.5 7.0
    Kasey Kahne 2 0 1 1 0 1 11.5 7.5
    Jeff Gordon 2 0 1 2 0 0 11.5 7.5
    Carl Edwards 2 0 1 1 0 0 16.0 12.5
    Martin Truex, Jr. 2 0 1 1 0 1 13.0 13.0
    Kevin Harvick 2 0 0 0 0 0 11.5 13.5

    Who To Watch: As one of the only two winners at Kentucky and the defending race winner, Brad Keselowski has found a way to get around the 1.5 mile oval better than anyone else, with his one win, one top five, two top tens, 147 laps led, and an average finish of 4.0. Five-time Sprint Cup Series champion, Jimmie Johnson, comes in right behind Keselowski with one top five, two top tens, one pole, 21 laps led, and an average finish of 4.5. Kyle Busch, the inaugural race winner at Kentucky, falls in just behind Keselowski and Johnson with one win, one top five, two top tens, 243 laps led, and an average finish of 5.5.

    Others who run well at Kentucky include: Matt Kenseth, with two top tens and an average finish of 6.5; Denny Hamlin, who could really use a win to boost his Chase hopes, with one top five, one top ten, 63 laps led, and an average finish of 7.0; Kasey Kahne, with one top five, one top ten, one lap led, and an average finish of 7.5; and Jeff Gordon, with one top five, two top tens, and an average finish of 7.5.

    Nationwide Series – Feed The Children 300

    As the second half of the weekend tripleheader, the Nationwide Series has been running at Kentucky since 2001 and moved to two races per year at the track last season. Only two Sprint Cup Series regulars will be running on Friday night and if the Nationwide Series regulars can get past those two drivers then a Nationwide Series regular should find their way to Victory Lane. For even more incentive for a Nationwide regular to run well in this race, this is the qualifier for the first “Dash 4 Cash” race at Daytona. The top four finishers among Nationwide Series regulars at Kentucky will have a shot at a $100,000 bonus in the race next week at Daytona.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Austin Dillon 2 2 2 2 2 257 1.0 1.0
    Brad Keselowski 5 1 4 5 0 132 11.0 3.6
    Sam Hornish, Jr. 2 0 1 2 0 5 3.5 4.0
    Elliott Sadler 3 0 2 3 1 101 7.0 6.3
    Justin Allgaier 5 0 2 4 0 29 6.2 9.0
    Kyle Busch 5 1 3 3 0 311 12.2 9.8
    Cole Whitt 2 0 0 1 0 0 12.5 10.0
    Trevor Bayne 3 0 0 0 0 0 10.0 11.3
    Michael Annett 5 0 1 4 0 5 13.0 11.8
    Brad Sweet 2 0 0 1 0 0 16.5 13.0

    Who To Watch: Austin Dillon made his first two starts at Kentucky in 2012 and has a perfect record thus far at the track with two wins, two top fives, two top tens, two poles, 257 laps led and an average finish of 1.0 in his two starts. If Dillon can continue his Kentucky magic, the No. 3 Chevrolet will be tough to beat Friday night.

    Others to keep an eye on include Sprint Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski, who will be running all three races during the weekend, with one win, four top fives, five top tens, 132 laps led, and an average finish of 3.6 in five starts; Sam Hornish, Jr., with one top five, two top tens, five laps led and an average finish of 4.0 in two starts; Elliott Sadler, with two top fives, three top tens, one pole, 101 laps led, and an average finish of 6.3 in three starts; Justin Allgaier, with two top fives, four top tens, 29 laps led, and an average finish of 9.0 in five starts; and Kyle Busch, who is always a threat in these Nationwide Series races, with one win, three top fives, three top tens, 311 laps led, and an average finish of 9.8 in five starts.

    Camping World Truck Series – UNOH 225

    For the first time in three weeks, the Camping World Truck Series heads back to the track to kick off the weekend tripleheader with their race on Thursday night. As in the Nationwide Series race, a couple of Sprint Cup regulars, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski, will be running this race to try and complete the tripleheader weekend. With that in play, we will see a battle between the up and comers that are regulars in this series and the Sprint Cup regulars that have reached the upper echelon of the sport. Who will win out between the two? Tune in Thursday to find out.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Kyle Busch 3 1 1 3 0 177 4.7 4.7
    James Buescher 6 2 3 5 0 188 10.5 7.3
    Joey Coulter 4 0 1 3 1 47 8.0 7.8
    Ty Dillon 3 0 2 2 0 3 7.3 8.0
    Ryan Blaney 1 0 0 0 0 13 16.0 11.0
    Ron Hornaday, Jr. 10 3 3 6 1 141 10.9 11.6
    Matt Crafton 14 0 4 9 1 36 11.2 11.6
    Johnny Sauter 6 0 1 3 1 50 6.7 12.3
    Timothy Peters 9 0 2 3 0 13 14.3 15.7
    Brad Keselowski 3 0 1 1 0 4 22.7 16.7

    Who To Watch: Kyle Busch leads all active drivers at Kentucky with one win, one top five, three top tens, 177 laps led and an average finish of 4.7 in three starts at the track. 2012 Truck Series champion James Buescher comes in just behind Busch with two wins, three top fives, five top tens, 188 laps led, and an average finish of 7.3 in six races. Joey Coulter, driver for Kyle Busch Motorsports, is next with one top five, three top tens, one pole, 47 laps led, and an average finish of 7.8 in four starts. Ty Dillon also has a good record with two top fives, two top tens, three laps led, and an average finish of 8.0 in three starts.

    Others to keep an eye on include rookies Jeb Burton and Darrell Wallace, Jr, both of whom have never raced at Kentucky and Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski, who will be driving his own team’s truck and trying to capture the Truck Series win that has eluded him thus far in his career.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Michigan

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Michigan

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jimmie Johnson: While in pursuit of Greg Biffle in the lead, Johnson’s No. 48 Chevy cut a tire and slammed hard into the wall at Turn 2. Biffle went on to win, while Johnson finished 28th, one lap down. He remained the points leader, and holds a 31-point cushion over Carl Edwards.

    “I’ll let Biffle enjoy the moment,” Johnson said. “He tastes victory. I drink it.”

    2. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished second in the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan, posting his fourth consecutive top-10 result. He is fourth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 62 out of first.

    “Sunday was my first Father’s Day as a father,” Harvick said, “and I finished runner-up to Greg Biffle. I always like to say, ‘I’m a daddy first, and a driver second.’”

    3. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished eighth at Michigan, falling victim to an untimely caution, while Roush Fenway teammate Greg Biffle took the win. Edwards remained second in the point standings and trails Jimmie Johnson by 31.

    “Biffle refused to help me get some debris off my grill,” Edwards said. “But I’ve got no problem ‘trashing’ him. I guess my current teammate is a lot like my former teammate, Matt Kenseth, in that neither ‘favors’ me.”

    4. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth came home sixth at Michigan, collecting his eighth top 10 of the year. He improved one spot in the point standings to fifth and is now 82 out of first.

    “Toyota Racing Development is boosting the power of their engines,” Kenseth said. “That likely means Toyota cars will be going faster….when their engines blow.”

    5. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: A promising day for Earnhardt at Michigan turned sour when his engine blew on lap 131 after he had led 34 laps on the day. He finished 38th and tumbled three places in the point standings to seventh, 91 out of first.

    “We’re close to signing a sponsor that will be new to NASCAR,” Earnhardt said, “and it will be a big deal for both parties. In other words, it’s a ‘win-win’ situation, which doubles my number of victories over the last year.”

    6. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer posted his eight top-10 finish of the year with a seventh in the Quicken Loans 400. He remained third in the point standings and trails Jimmie Johnson by 49.

    “The No. 15 5-Hour Energy car took a beating,” Bowyer said. “Of course, it’s taken a ‘beating’ all year, because I haven’t won a single race. That may change. I won last year at Sonoma’s road course, so I’m confident things will make a ‘turn’ for the better.”

    7. Kyle Busch: Busch led the way for Joe Gibbs Racing with a fourth in the Quicken Loans 400. He is fourth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 86 out of first.

    “Michigan is a fast track,” Busch said. “It carries more speed than the Mayfield’s. That speed is probably why I was penalized for passing on pit road. And that reminds of the title of my upcoming autobiography, ‘Black Flags And Blue Lights.’”

    8. Greg Biffle: Biffle held off Jimmie Johnson at Michigan to give Ford its 1,000th victory in NASCAR. Biffle inherited the lead on a fortunate pit stop on lap 167, and kept Johnson at bay before the No. 48 blew a tire with two laps to go.

    “I stared down Johnson,” Biffle said, “and he blinked. Or maybe he just winked. In any case, he saw me. For once, I can say I had the ‘look’ of a champion.

    9. Kasey Kahne: Kahne blew a tire while leading on lap 104 at Michigan on a tough day for Hendrick Motorsports. Kahne finished 38th, while Jimmie Johnson was the highest Hendrick finisher in 28th.

    “Tire issues meant it wasn’t a good day for Hendrick,” Kahne said. “You want to know why? Because it was a Goodyear.”

    10. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 12th in the Quicken Laons 400 at Michigan on a historic day for Ford, as Greg Biffle gave the auto maker it’s 1,000th win.

    “If you don’t think this is a big deal for Ford,” Keselowski said, “then you’ve been misinformed. Biffle celebrated in Victory Lane with Miss Sprint Cup. Me? I got stuck with ‘Miss Informed.’”