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Tag: Kurt Busch

  • Five Spots + Ten Drivers = Excitement At Richmond

    Five Spots + Ten Drivers = Excitement At Richmond

    Since the first season of NASCAR’s Chase format, the last race of the “regular season” has been and at the three-quarter mile short track at Richmond International Raceway. Richmond has provided several fantastic finishes that made some drivers’ seasons a success and left others licking their wounds as they came to the realization that they were not eligible for a series championship.

    In the first Chase season Jeremy Mayfield was faced with the ultimate challenge – win to get in. The entire race was drama filled as lap after lap the topic of conversation was Mayfield and his quest to stay in contention.

    Last season it was four time series champion, Jeff Gordon. Gordon came into the event 13th in the standings, battling Kyle Busch for a Chase spot. Coming fresh off a second place finish at Atlanta, Gordon seemed to have momentum in his corner. Handling problems, however, plagued the No. 24 team in the first half of the race.

    The handling issues were so bad, the car would not respond to normal adjustments, leading crew chief, Alan Gustafson to throw a hail-mary in a last ditch effort to stay in contention for the title.  Gustafson disconnected the rear sway bar and the car came alive! Gordon drove to a second place finish, with Busch only managing a 16th place finish, one lap off the pace. When the dust cleared, Gordon beat Busch by a mere three points.

    The scenario this season may lead to the most exciting regular season final ever. Ten drivers are going for five spots. The number of variables that could change the outcome would rival any NFL playoff race. A fact that NASCAR, I’m sure, had in mind when the concept of the Chase was designed.

    Entering the this weekend, six drivers are locked in – Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, and Kasey Kahne. Kahne is locked based on wins and a wild card spot. He is, however, only ten points out of tenth spot. Kahne will be a major player in several other driver’s Chase hopes. If he moves into the top ten, it completely changes the wildcard picture.

    Kahne will be chasing Kurt Busch, who is currently in tenth. Busch does not have a win this season, so it is crucial for him to stay inside the top ten. Busch’s fate is in his own hands. If he wins, he is in. A feat the No.78 Furniture Row team has been very close to achieving several times this season. This weekend would be the perfect time for them to find victory lane. Making the Chase not only would solidify the Denver based team as a major contender, it would also signify Busch’s return to the top after his fall from grace and his release from Penske racing. Busch talked about his position on Thursday, “You know, a few months ago we needed to put ourselves in position to control our own destiny. We’ve accomplished that. Is it the cushion we wanted? No. We only have a six point cushion. At the same time we can look forward and see Biffle is ninth in points, and he’s only eight points ahead of us.”

    Breathing down the neck of Kurt Busch, is Richmond miracle worker, Jeff Gordon. Gordon sits in 11th place in the standings, just six points behind Busch. One thing Gordon has in his favor is the fact that Kahne is his teammate. Kahne being locked in as wildcard could permit him to layback and to give Gordon every opportunity to lock into the top ten. Gordon could then focus on beating Busch. Gordon was asked about his scenario at Richmond, “I’ll be honest, I think we were in a tougher spot last year than this year. I think the way it prepared us was knowing no matter what happens, you can never give up.”

    The series’ most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., though not locked in, is pretty safe. Earnhardt currently sits seventh in the standings, 31 points ahead of tenth. He will lock himself in with a 32nd place finish. Earnhardt has a strong record at the speedway with three wins and 12 top-10’s. Earnhardt was asked about the possibility of team orders this weekend to help teammates. Earnhardt responded, “We haven’t really talked about that. I know from my point of view it would be hard to understand exactly what I could do to help one of my teammates. The crew chiefs can see the picture a lot clearer than the driver can. I want to help my teammates. I want my teammates to be in the Chase. I want Rick (Hendrick) to have as much opportunity to have a chance to win a championship as he can as an owner.”

    Joey Logano, in his first season with Penske Racing, is also in fairly comfortable shape. Logano currently sits eighth in points, ten points ahead of tenth place. He also has one win this season. Logano commented on Thursday about his Chase hopes, “We had a really good test here. I feel like our car is going to be pretty fast. We finished third here in the spring. Really, I mean, the only thing you can do is go out there and keep doing what you’ve been doing.”

    In addition to Kahne, Martin Truex Jr. also hold a wildcard spot. He will be battling with Ryan Newman for that spot, assuming Logano and Biffle stay inside the top ten. Of course, as stated before, the major domino, Kasey Kahne, could completely change everything if he moves into the top ten. Also, if Gordon, McMurray, or Keselowski win and end up with a higher point total, that will change the scenario for Newman and Truex.

    A major story this weekend is defending champion Brad Keselowski. He has a huge hurdle to overcome to make it into the Chase. He currently sits 15th in the standings, 28 points outside the top ten, without a win. Keselowski needs to win and beat out Truex and Newman by significant amounts to clinch a wildcard spot. Keselowski commented Thursday night, “I feel like we’re a great race team. I feel like in the sports world, especially racing, you can only really control how fast you are and how well you execute. You can’t control the luck side. We’ve had a lot of bad luck. There’s been some times when we haven’t executed.”

    All in all, it should be another great show at a great racetrack. NASCAR should be commended for their decision to put the final race of the regular season at Richmond. The speedway always provides drama and amazing battles. It will be one for the memory banks.

    The green flag for the Federated Auto Parts 400 will fall at 7:30 pm local time.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Atlanta Advocare 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Atlanta Advocare 500

    In one of the closest races to the Chase, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 54th running of the Advocare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

    Surprising:  While many drivers felt that the Atlanta race would be critical, Kyle Busch surprisingly found his race win to be positively pivotal after clinching a spot in the coveted Chase.

    “Well, it started a little ugly,” the driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota said. “I was a little ill on the radio, I’m sure, but I can’t say enough about Dave Rogers (crew chief) right here and the team that he’s assembled around us.”

    “I think if you can pin a championship night on one race, I think tonight was the night,” Busch continued. “We certainly had a lot to do and a lot to overcome, and I think that Dave and these guys stuck with me.”

    “For as bad as I may have been talking, they certainly never gave up,” Busch said. “The Lord was with us and blessed us today with a great night.”

    This was Busch’s 38th win in 318 Cup Series races, his fourth victory of the season and his second checkered flag at Atlanta. This was also the 250th win for Toyota and the 100th win for Kyle Busch in a Toyota across the three national series.

    Not Surprising:  There were two very disappointed drivers following closely on the heels of race winner Kyle Busch.

    And although they disagreed on a few issues post-race, they did agree on two things, that they were disappointed with the finish and that they had to overcome adversity, one with a pit road problem and the other related to his fractured wrist.

    “We’re both mad because we didn’t win,” Truex Jr. said after finishing third in his No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota said.

    “Yeah, we both agree that sucks,” Logano, who finished second behind the wheel of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, said.

    “We overcame a loose wheel early in the race and cycled ourselves back to the lead after all of that,” Logano said. “I just needed 30 laps of green flag to get all the way up there to the front.”

    “The cast just inside my hand here got all soft,” Truex Jr. said after the race. “I think maybe it’s just gotten wet from sweat or something and softened up, so we’ll have to look into that.”

    Surprising:  There were some angry drivers after the race at Atlanta, which surprisingly occurred at this mile and a half track instead of a short track.

    Denny Hamlin was one angry bird, from altercations with other drivers to anger at NASCAR. Four-time champ Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards were also at odds with one another after some hard racing and contact.

    “Our night was ruined because of a penalty putting us two laps down that we couldn’t overcome,” Hamlin, who finished 38th in his No. 11 SportClips Toyota, said. “We got wrecked by the No. 27 (Paul Menard), blew the tire, blew the fender off and blew another engine.”

    Hamlin was also angry with his teammate Kyle Busch, at one point hollering over his radio ““Tell Kyle if he would f****** let me go, he’d learn how to drive this track and not be an idiot.”

    “We’re just getting kicked in the nuts every weekend by something and I just can’t catch a break,” Hamlin said after the race.

    Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards also had their angry moments, both during and after the race.

    “He just slide-jobbed me and I thought it was really out of character for him and I didn’t understand what was going on there,” Edwards said, after finishing 18th in his No. 99 Subway Ford. “I did everything I could not to wreck us both.”

    “I’ve never seen him drive me like that,” Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet said of his battle with Edwards. “It was pretty wild.”

    “He didn’t like that I slid him early in the race,” Gordon, who finished sixth to keep his Chase hopes alive, continued. “We went into (Turn) 1 and he took my line away to keep me behind him and I was a lot better than him and I just dove inside.”

    “I came up a little bit too short on him,” Gordon said. “And that was my fault.”

    “But he decided he was going to give me back, I guess, and he did all night,” Gordon continued. “I tried to have a regular conversation and that didn’t seem to be possible with him.”

    “We don’t agree on what happened and finally he got frustrated enough with the conversation that he just walked away,” Edwards said of Gordon. “That might have been smart.”

    Not Surprising:  Even though he has signed with another race team for 2014, Kurt Busch not surprisingly continues to impress. The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Beautyrest Chevrolet motored from tenth to second on one of the restarts, and went on to finish the race in fourth, climbing into the tenth spot in the Chase standings.

    “I noticed the 78 and I was like okay, they’re having a decent day,” Kyle Busch said of brother Kurt. “Then he was in my mirror and I’m like did everybody wreck?”

    “The kid was wheeling it, I guess,” Kyle Busch continued. “That was pretty impressive.”

    Brother Kurt Busch agreed, saying simply, “I can’t tell you what I did right, but it all went right.”

    Surprising:  For the third week in a row, five-time champion Jimmie Johnson struggled and at one point during the race had even lost the points lead.

    Johnson was involved in the first true caution, following the competition yellow, when the field stacked up on a restart, collecting teammate Kasey Kahne, Jeff Burton and Mark Martin in addition to himself.

    The driver of the No. 48 Lowes Dover White Chevrolet next hit the tire carcass from the Paul Menard vehicle, sustaining further damage, and went on later in the race to spin out.

    Although Johnson finished 28th, he still managed to hold serve over Clint Bowyer in the point standings by 28, ironically the same number of points as his finishing order.

    Not Surprising:   Clint Bowyer, behind the wheel of the No. 15 RKMotorsCharlotte.com Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing not surprisingly decided that he would just go have an adult beverage after his experimental engine expired, resulting in a 39th place finish.

    “Well, it certainly sucks,” Bowyer said. “That was a super big bummer right there.”

    “I wanted to go for the win,” Bowyer continued. “It was ours to lose and we found a way to lose.”

    “I’m going to go have a beer.”

    Surprising:  Kevin Harvick, was surprisingly conflicted, happy with securing his role in the Chase, but not so happy with his race car.

    “Obviously we’re happy to be in the Chase, but our day wasn’t very good,” the driver of the No. 29 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet said. “Our car was just terribly tight all night long and drove nothing like it did in practice.”

    We’ll work on that.”

    Not Surprising:  Although Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished eighth, he was most grateful to leave Atlanta in one piece and in good Chase contention, hanging tough in the seventh spot in the point standings.

    ““I was real thankful the car was as good as it was,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard/Race2Achieve.org Chevrolet said. “We have struggled here and not ran great here the last several trips.”

    “All in all I’m real pleased with the way the car performed and the job the guys did.”

    Surprising:  After finding out this week that he would no longer be driving for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in NASCAR, being replaced by young up and coming driver Kyle Larson, Juan Pablo Montoya has surprisingly been reacting like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.

    Montoya’s performance has also picked up since then as well, demonstrated by his seventh place finish at Atlanta in his No. 42 Target Chevrolet.

    “It was a good night,” Montoya said. “The guys made great changes and the car was good at the end.”

    “Happy that we were able to bring home another top-10 finish for Target tonight.”

    Not Surprising:  So often, the outcome of any race is outside the control of the man or woman behind the wheel. So, not surprisingly after engine troubles, reigning champ Brad Keselowski felt out of control, especially regarding his chances to make the Chase.

    “Some things you can’t control and this was one of those days,” Keselowski said after finishing 35th in his Blue Deuce. “It just broke.”

    “There’s only so much you can control,” Keselowski continued glumly. “Maybe this was control, and maybe it wasn’t.”

    “I don’t know until the guys take (the engine) apart and look at it.”

     

  • Crunching The Numbers: Atlanta

    Crunching The Numbers: Atlanta

    After three nights of battling in the bullring that is Bristol Motor Speedway last weekend, the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series head to Atlanta Motor Speedway for Labor Day weekend and more racing under the lights on the fast 1.5 mile speedway. With a track surface that is old and worn, having not been repaved since its reconfiguration in 1997, the track has gotten rave reviews from drivers who enjoy slipping and sliding around on the worn out asphalt. The Sprint Cup Series will have their shot at the track on Sunday night, while the Nationwide Series takes to the track the night before for their race.

    NASCAR Sprint Cup Series – Advocare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway

    Only two races remain until the cut-off for the Chase for the Sprint Cup and the points standings heading into this weekend’s race are still as tight as they were prior to Bristol. After having a 77 point lead just two weeks ago, Jimmie Johnson’s points lead has shrunk to 18 points over second place Clint Bowyer after finishes of 40th and 36th in the past two races. Both Johnson and Bowyer are locked into the Chase and with his win last weekend at Bristol, Matt Kenseth locked himself into the Chase as well. Several drivers are fighting for the remaining Chase berths, with only 24 points separating Kasey Kahne in eighth with defending champion Brad Keselowski in 11th. Two other former Sprint Cup champions, Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon, are lurking just behind Keselowski, only six and 11 points back, respectively. The fight to make the Chase is going to come right down to the wire and how these drivers perform at Atlanta will go a long way in helping their Chase fortunes.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Jimmie Johnson 21 3 11 13 0 440 8.6 11.1
    Jeff Gordon 39 5 16 25 2 1280 12.3 11.9
    Dale Earnhardt Jr 25 1 8 11 2 632 16.2 12.5
    Matt Kenseth 24 0 8 14 0 253 21.6 12.7
    AJ Allmendinger 7 0 0 2 0 1 27.9 14.4
    Carl Edwards 15 3 8 10 0 345 10.3 15.1
    Greg Biffle 18 0 3 9 1 291 12.5 16.0
    Denny Hamlin 13 1 2 5 1 314 13.4 16.2
    Brian Vickers 15 0 1 7 0 8 16.2 16.4
    Jeff Burton 35 0 8 14 0 104 25.3 16.5

    Who To Watch: After two dismal finishes in the past two weeks, Jimmie Johnson has to be happy to be heading to Atlanta this weekend since his stats at the 1.5 mile track are tops in the series. In 21 starts, Johnson has three wins, 11 top fives, 13 top tens, 440 laps led, and an average finish of 11.1.

    Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammates, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr., fall in second and third with their stats at Atlanta. Gordon has 39 starts, with five wins, 16 top fives, 25 top tens, two poles, 1280 laps led and an average finish of 11.9. In 25 starts, Earnhardt Jr., has one win, eight top fives, 11 top tens, two poles, 632 laps led, and an average finish of 12.5.

    Besides the Hendrick Motorsports contingent, others who run well at Atlanta include: Five-time winner in 2013, Matt Kenseth, with eight top fives, 14 top tens, 253 laps led, and an average finish of 12.7 in 24 starts; A.J. Allmendinger, with two top tens, one lap led, and an average finish of 14.4 in seven starts; Carl Edwards, with three wins, eight top fives, 10 top tens, 345 laps led, and an average finish of 15.1 in 15 starts; and Greg Biffle, with three top fives, nine top tens, one pole, 291 laps led, and an average finish of 16.0 in 18 starts. 

    NASCAR Nationwide Series – Great Clips/Jeff Foxworthy’s Grit Chips 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway

    With 10 races remaining in the Nationwide Series schedule, the points standings remain tight after Bristol with just 39 points separating the top five in points and the gap for Sam Hornish, Jr. over second place Austin Dillon sitting at just six points. None of the top five in points has been able to win at Atlanta heading into this weekend, so if any of the championship contenders find themselves in Victory Lane or find trouble on Saturday night, the points standings could be shaken up once again.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Austin Dillon 1 0 0 1 0 0 9.0 6.0
    Joey Logano 2 0 0 2 0 0 10.5 6.0
    Cole Whitt 1 0 0 1 0 0 12.0 8.0
    Kevin Harvick 11 1 6 8 0 376 8.2 8.5
    Justin Allgaier 4 0 1 2 0 15 20.0 10.2
    Kasey Kahne 11 0 4 7 1 95 10.5 10.6
    Sam Hornish Jr 2 0 0 1 0 1 5.5 12.0
    Kyle Busch 9 0 5 6 3 490 3.4 13.9
    Michael Annett 4 0 0 1 0 0 23.5 16.2
    Brian Scott 3 0 0 0 0 0 21.3 17.0

    Who To Watch: With the points lead up for grabs, Austin Dillon has to be happy to be at Atlanta this weekend since he has the best stats of the series at the track. In his lone start at Atlanta last season, Dillon started ninth and finished sixth.

    Sprint Cup regular Joey Logano, driving the dominant No. 22 Ford this weekend, falls in just behind Dillon with two top tens in two starts, giving him an average finish of 6.0.

    Others to keep an eye on include: Cole Whitt, with an eighth place finish in one start at the track; Kevin Harvick, with one win, six top fives, eight top tens, 376 laps led, and an average finish of 8.5 in 11 starts; Justin Allgaier, with one top five, two top tens, 15 laps led, and an average finish of 10.2 in four starts; Kasey Kahne, with four top fives, seven top tens, one pole, 95 laps led, and an average finish of 10.6 in 11 starts; and points leader Sam Hornish, Jr., with one top ten, one lap led, and an average finish of 12.0 in two starts.

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park

    With the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series headlining at Atlanta, the Camping World Truck Series heads to Canada for their inaugural race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park near Toronto, which also is the first race for the series outside of the United States and marks the return to a road course for the first time since 2000. This race is basically a toss-up since only one driver in the field, Ron Hornaday Jr., has previous Truck Series road course experience, so this will be an interesting race to see who will become the inaugural race winner. The Trucks will take to the track for their race on Sunday afternoon, prior to the Sprint Cup Series race from Atlanta later that night.

  • Gene Haas Hires Kurt Busch On His Own

    Gene Haas Hires Kurt Busch On His Own

    Earlier today, Stewart-Haas Racing held a press conference to officially announce the signing of Kurt Busch. The 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion will pilot the Haas Automation Chevrolet as the 4th car in the 2014 Stewart-Haas Racing fleet. Today, we learned that Gene Haas pursued Kurt without talking to his business partner Tony Stewart about it. We also learned that Stewart-Haas Racing needs to build an extension to their building in order to facilitate Kurt’s cars and that Kevin Harvick still wants to beat up the brother of his future teammate. Yeah…it’s been an interesting day to say the least.

    Here are some important quotes from today’s press conference…

    Gene Haas

    “Tony broke his leg.  I didn’t have really a chance to talk to Tony about it at all since he wasn’t really talking to anybody.  So I kind of did this on my own, probably overstepped my authority a tich there.  I’m not used to having too many authorities to work with.  I’ve been pretty much on my own.  I did realize that Tony might be a little bit upset about it.  He was, he was a little upset.”

    “I kind of like his (Kurt) attitude.  He’s passionate about what he does.  He likes to win.  He’s not afraid to get in people’s faces.  I think that kind of reflects my company a little bit.”

    “It really all started at the General Motors dinner in Indianapolis.  I talked to Kurt, found out that he really didn’t have a firm contract with his current team.”

    “(Tony said) You need to wait a while.  I kind of made an offer to Kurt here, I don’t know if he’s going to take it or not, and if he takes it, I’m not backing down.  That’s where we were.”

    “Your third question was why not Ryan?  You know, Ryan has been an excellent driver.  He’s been with us going on five years now.  I think he’s done a great job driving the car…..The question is, at some point I am now going to be the sponsor.  I just simply wanted a change and an opportunity to do something different.  I don’t think this says anything negative about Ryan…..I just feel that I want to take hold of an opportunity that was presented to me.  It gives me a chance to, you know, be a sponsor and direct things the way I wanted to direct them.”

    (Asked what if Tony put his foot down & said no to 4th car) “I never crossed that bridge.  You know, I don’t know.  Tony kind of does his own thing, I kind of do my own thing.  I have to admit we kind of think alike. Like I say, I don’t think Tony was exactly enthralled with what I did.  But I think he saw it my way, you know (laughter).  Either that or get out of the building. Anyway, he has a lot of power.  I have to admit, you know, I have some power, too.  I think in a sense it’s a check-and-balance system where the two powers balance each other out.”

    “I take gambles, I made a decision, and I think I’m going to be proven right.  I think we’re going to win a lot more races than anybody ever thought possible.”

     “With Kurt Busch, I saw an opportunity.  Even though Tony was incapacitated, I couldn’t really talk to him about it, I just decided it was something that was too good to pass up.”

     “Tony was very much in favor of the fourth team.  What Tony was against was us trying to get it done for next year.  Just so you don’t read anything more into it.”

    Kurt Busch

    “We haven’t come to a decision on a car number.  It’s obviously Gene’s team and Tony Stewart is the car owner.  They’ve given me some nice input on what they’d like.  They’ve actually been open to what I would like….my eight-year-old Houston says, Put 360 on the door. (I ask) why 360? Because you’ve come full circle.”

    “You know, it’s easy as a 25-year-old to say you know everything, that you can do everything by yourself.  That’s what I thought that I could do when I moved from Roush Racing to Penske back in 2006, to bring Roger his first championship.  I thought I could wear all the weight on my back.  That was not the case…The Penske thing, the image, all of that, it wasn’t your own identity, you were trying to be something else.”

    “You got to let the rough edges drag sometimes.  When you have a guy like Gene Haas that wants to make you part of a four-car, super-power team calling, you have the ability to be yourself, to work with guys that have those same edgy attitudes as yourself, that’s the journey I’ve been on over the last 18 months.”

    “We still have the present that’s right in front of us.  The next two weeks are the most important weeks of the 78 car’s career.  If we find ourselves racing somebody heads up going into Richmond, that’s what I want to be there for, to deliver them into the Chase, and at the same time it’s the goal achieved of being in that position.  When points can reset, we’ll only be five points away from the championship lead.  There’s no sense in giving up then.  We’ll keep plugging away and pushing.  Time is now with the 78 car.”

    “It’s been a great journey.  When I first started out, I was an undiscovered punk out on the West Coast.  Jack Roush put me in his truck.  I didn’t know where the brake pedal was apparently because I ran into everything.  We had a start to the truck season that was unreal.”

    (Asked about 2014 Indy 500 Aspirations) “It’s something that’s still on the table.  There’s certain timelines that I’ve agreed to with Michael Andretti if we’re still going to do the deal.  We’re working on things.  I mention that to Tony when we got together.  He said, Man, if you’re going to run Fontana this year, I’m rolling with you and I’m going to be there with you. There’s still the concern of running extracurricular races.  But right now the focus is obviously on these next two weeks and getting the 78 car in the Chase.  We’ll see what opportunities lie ahead.  Everything has to be the right situation for it to happen.”

    Greg Zipadelli 

    (Asked about how having four fiery drivers is going to work) “We built a rubber room upstairs, that’s the first thing we did. (laughs) When you have four passionate drivers, I would much rather deal with that than to try to figure out how to get them going.  You’re born with that.  The competitiveness that these guys have, that’s what you need in this sport. We’ll deal with what comes our way on a weekly basis and we’ll continue to race.  It’s as simple as that.  I think what makes this unique is there’s three guys and Danica that all had their days.  I think they can all help each other.  At least that’s the theory I’m going with.”

    “Anytime you expand, there’s difficulties.  We expanded last year.  We kind of sat back and looked at some of the things that we went through last year, how we can prevent some of them.  We can start building cars today, which we couldn’t do last year because of the body change.  We can start putting people in here to go to work in the fab shop to take some of that load today, which we couldn’t do last year.  We were behind on getting plates in here, things of that nature. As far as that goes, I think we’re in much better shape than we were a year ago for many reasons” 

    To summarize, we now know that Kurt Busch will definitely drive for Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014 and that Haas Automation will be the sponsor. We also know that Gene Haas pursued Kurt without consulting Tony which upset Tony at first but he got over it. SHR will have to expand the building so they can facilitate four cars and Gene seems to be incredibly confident in Kurt’s ability to take the team to levels of success they have yet to experience. It’s a very interesting and intriguing deal that is unique in the way it went down.

    SHR will definitely be a force to be reckoned with in 2014 but don’t be surprised if they stumble over themselves at the start of the season much like they did this year. It’s always a difficult transition when a team expands their operation and SHR certainly isn’t immune to that. The biggest questions left to be answered are what will the number be, who will be the crew chief and will Kurt Busch still take that Indy 500 offer from Andretti?

    I believe that in the long run, this was a good move for Stewart-Haas but I don’t know if it was for Kurt. He and Furniture Row seemed to be getting to the point of almost breaking out and winning multiple races. They were gelling really well despite their less than stellar pit stops which seem to be their Achilles Heel in 2013. He is their No.1 driver obviously and all the focus is on him and him alone. Although he will be No.1 in Gene’s mind, he won’t truly be the No.1 driver at SHR; that will always be Tony. Kurt and FRR could have reached some incredible heights together but this decision to leave certainly wasn’t a bad one. He’s basically joining Hendrick Motorsports Jr.

    Photo Credit: Getty Images
    Photo Credit: Getty Images

    The biggest unknown in all this is will these four fiery personalities be able to work with one another with no issues? Less than six months ago, Tony Stewart was running Kurt Busch into the wall at Richmond on the cool down lap after Busch laid the bumper to his future boss in the closing laps. Kurt’s future teammate, Kevin Harvick acknowledged on Twitter today that he still wants to knock Kyle Busch’s teeth out and those are his words. Will it be smooth sailing? I doubt it. Will they work out whatever disagreements they have and be fine in the end? Most likely. Something Kurt doesn’t have to worry about next year is pleasing sponsors with a crystal clean personality which has been a challenge for him in the past. Haas actually stated that he loves that Kurt isn’t afraid to get fired up and let the rough side drag so maybe this is the perfect scenario for Kurt. He’ll have an owner that wants him to wear his emotions on his sleeve and no sponsor that wants a squeaky clean representative as their driver.

    I personally can’t wait to watch SHR in 2014. Gene Haas has asserted himself as a legitimate authority in the team; the program has been bolstered tremendously with the addition of a Sprint Cup champion and a Daytona 500 winner so don’t be surprised if Stewart-Haas cars make up 25% of the chase in 2014.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: IRWIN Tools Bristol Night Race

    Surprising and Not Surprising: IRWIN Tools Bristol Night Race

    From NASCAR children National Anthem singing to cars colliding and tempers flaring, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 53rd annual IRWIN Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    Surprising:  Disappointment surprisingly abounded atop the Chase leaderboard, with both point’s leader Jimmie Johnson finishing worse than 36th for the second week in a row and second place Chaser Clint Bowyer being spun out while in the lead, finishing 14th.

    “This racing stuff happens,” Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Dover White Chevrolet said after finishing 36th. “Luckily, we had a big point’s lead that we can kind of deal with right now.”

    “We’ve locked into the Chase and certainly want to clean things up,” Johnson continued. “We’ll keep after it and be back again next week.”

    Having once had been in the lead by over 70 plus points, Johnson is now just 18 points ahead of the second place driver Clint Bowyer.

    “I felt like we had a shot at winning and then I got spun out by a lapper, of all things,” Bowyer said after the race. “It hit that left-front tire, and the car never turned the center (of the corners) as good the rest of the night.”

    “I’m really just disappointed … because we had a really good car,” Bowyer continued. “Absolutely nothing went our way all night.”

    Not Surprising:  Although he has been a bit quiet over the last month or two, the resurgence of Matt Kenseth at Joe Gibbs Racing continued, with the driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota rolling right into Bristol’s Victory Lane for the fifth time this season.

    This was Kenseth’s 29th win in 496 Cup Series races and his third victory in 28 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    “The last month and a half, two months has been a little bit more of a, I hate to say reality check,” Kenseth said. “We’ve struggled just a little bit more, haven’t quite had the speed so it was really, really encouraging this weekend to get to the track and be really fast.”

    “It’s a huge win for us,” Kenseth continued. “The Bristol night race is one of the biggest races of the year.”

    “I’m glad we were able to pull it off.”

    Surprising:  The driver of the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet seemed surprisingly befuddled at the end of the race in spite of finishing runner up under the Bristol lights.

    “I didn’t get it done,” Kasey Kahne said dejectedly. “We ended up second and it was a good point’s day but I didn’t figure out how to win the race.”

    “I don’t know, I just don’t know,” Kahne continued. “I think at the end of the day I just don’t wreck people.”

    This was Kahne’s ninth top-10 finish in 20 races at Bristol and his 11th top-10 finish of the season. He also moved up three positions in the Chase standings to the eighth spot.

    Not Surprising:  Joey Logano, riding the wave of momentum from last week’s race win at Michigan, not surprisingly proved, at least in his own mind, that he has the mettle to make it into the Chase.

    The driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford finished fifth and moved up three spots in the points to the tenth position.

    “We came from the back three times to get a top-five finish,” Logano said. “They can’t put us down and can’t keep us down.”

    “We deserve to make this Chase and if we keep doing this on days that they’re trying to put us down, we deserve it.”

    Surprising:  Although admittedly hoping that the leaders would wreck each other so he could score the win, Juan Pablo Montoya surprisingly credited his third place finish to, of all things, a speeding penalty.

    “I got caught speeding there with like 170 to go or something and that kind of hurt us,” the driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet said. “But I’ll tell you the truth, I think it helped us because if it would have played right, we probably would have run out of gas.”

    “It made it more interesting,” Montoya continued. “I really cooked the front tires there at the end but it was fun.”

    This was JPM’s fourth top-10 finish in 14 races at the Bristol Motor Speedway.

    Not Surprising:   Well, it was Bristol after all so, to no one’s surprise, there were a few tempers flaring, especially after a late race wreck took out many of the best cars, including some Chase contenders.

    Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick, who do have a history with one another, had a rather vigorous discussion on pit road after the wreck when Harvick pulled into Hamlin’s pit stall and Hamlin gave him a shove out of the box.

    As a result, Harvick jumped out of his car and beat a path to the door of Hamlin’s car to have a few words about the incident.

    “I just saw the No. 11 shoot across the track,” Harvick said. “He said the No. 56 got into him and so I just wanted to know what happened.”

    “He just told me his version of it,” the driver of the No. 29 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet said. “It’s all good.”

    “It’s Bristol racing.”

    Harvick finish 34th but maintained his fourth spot in the point’s standings while Hamlin finish 28th, well out of Chase contention in 25th in the point’s standings.

    Surprising:  In spite of some greetings from Smoke’s recovery bed, the Stewart-Haas Racing team had a surprisingly tough day. Mark Martin, subbing for the ailing Stewart, finished 20th with Ryan Newman right behind him in 21st and Danica Patrick in 26th.

    “We had some tough luck and a few things that we could’ve done better, but we were pretty fast at the end,” Martin said. “That’s why I go home feeling good about it because we were able to improve the car and get it competitive.”

    “This one is behind us and hopefully we’ll move ahead from here.”

    “I really don’t know what happened there,” Newman, behind the wheel of the No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet, said. “A couple of guys around us made contact and that triggered a big mess.”

    “Our Quicken Loans Chevrolet was damaged pretty significantly; it was a handful to drive those last 50 laps with,” Newman continued. “I basically tried to just stay out of everyone’s way and bring the car to the finish.”

    “There is nothing you can do about getting into the wall and having damage,” Patrick said. “We came back as best as we could and made the car as good as it was at the end.”

    “We will take it and move on.”

    Not Surprising:  In spite of finishing top-10, Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Axalta Coating Systems Chevrolet, could only talk about opportunities lost at Bristol, especially after gaining just one position in the standings to the 13th spot.

    “I think we were better than that,” Gordon said of his seventh place finish. “I don’t know if we had enough for Matt but we fought hard and gave it our best effort.”

    “Gained points on 10th but not as much as we could have,” Gordon continued. “But we gained something.”

    Surprising: While the Truex brothers were excited to be racing against one another yet again, both Ryan Truex, making his Cup debut, and Martin Truex, Jr. had surprisingly difficult days.

    Young Ryan Truex spun and hit the wall, retiring his No. 51 Seawatch Chevrolet after 39 laps to finish 42nd in his first ever Cup effort.

    Brother Martin had a very hard crash late in the race, causing him to finish 35th in his No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota. Although maintaining his wild card status thanks to his win, Truex Jr. also suffered in the point standings, losing two positions to 14th.

    “We ran up towards the front all night,” Truex Jr. said. “Just disappointed.”

    “They start wrecking and you’re an innocent victim,” Truex Jr. continued. “We didn’t deserve that tonight.”

    Not Surprising:  Another brother duo, this one with the surname Busch, had eventful days at Bristol as well, with Kyle Busch having to start from the rear of the field to finish 11th and Kurt Busch suffering wheel hub issues resulting in a 31st place run.

    “Yeah, I guess we had a right-rear hub fail where the studs pulled through or they weren’t tightened,” the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing/Sealy Chevrolet said. “We just rode around.”

    Kurt Busch lost three positions in the point’s standings, falling to the 12th spot. Kyle Busch remains in the fifth spot in the standings, 82 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.

    Surprising: There was a surprising first-of-the season engine failure at Roush Fenway Racing and it happened to none other than the race lap leader Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford.

    “I didn’t have any warning,” Edwards said. “The car was almost perfect and the engine ran awesome until it broke.”

    “The engine ran great until it blew up, so if we run like that the rest of the year, it’s going to be awesome.”

    Not Surprising:  Marcos Ambrose finished top-10 for two weeks in a row and he said that the devil made him do it.

    “That’s two top-10s in two weeks and we’ve got to take that,” the driver of No. 9 Stanley Ford Fusion said. “Yeah, I guess a little bit of the Tasmanian Devil comes out in me at this track.”

    “This is a really aggressive track and you’ve got to be aggressive all night,” Ambrose continued. “You’ve got to gnaw on that steering wheel and I just like getting up on the wheel like that.”

    “These are good nights to test your mettle and see what kind of man or lady you are out there and get after it.”

    The Cup Series will head next to Atlanta for the next to the last race before the Chase begins.

     

  • Could Kurt prevent Kyle from sweeping Bristol?

    Could Kurt prevent Kyle from sweeping Bristol?

    The Busch brothers have both been very successful at Bristol Motor Speedway. Kurt was always a threat during the early 2000’s. In recent years, Kyle has taken the reigns and been very dominate. In fact, with his dominating win Friday night in the Food City 250, Kyle became the winningest driver at Bristol in the three national series combined.

    During a six race stretch from 2002-2004, Kurt piled up four wins, and sixth place and an eighth place. Kurt has a career total of 25 starts, five wins, seven top-5’s, and 14 top-10’s.

    In similar fashion, during a six race stretch for Kyle, from 2009-2011, he also scored four wins, a second and a ninth. Kyle has a career total of 17 starts, five wins, eight top-5’s, and 12 top-10’s.

    The one advantage Kyle has over his brother is Camping World Truck and Nationwide Series experience. Kyle has scored four wins in Camping World Trucks and six wins in Nationwide. Many of these wins coming in dominating fashion.

    In 2010, Kyle completed the weekend sweep at Bristol winning all three races. This weekend he has the opportunity to do so again. Kyle came from being almost a lap down on Wednesday night to win the UNOH 200. He then proceeded to take the entire field to school on Friday on the Food City 250 leading 228 of 250 laps.

    Kyle has two hurdles to overcome – first, he tagged the wall in qualifying and will start 43rd. No one has ever won at Bristol starting from the 43rd spot. Second, his brother Kurt. Kurt has been on a roll of late. Kurt’s Furniture Row Racing Team has been making strides in becoming faster and more consistent each week.

    The team’s alliance with Richard Childress Racing gave them access to the information and technology they needed to become a front runner. Then you add in Kurt, who fell from grace a few years ago, and has been on a mission to prove himself worthy of a top notch ride in NASCAR’s premier series.

    Personality issues were Kurt’s downfall. A confrontation with respected ESPN reporter, Jerry Punch, was the final straw. Kurt found himself looking for a job. He landed with Phoenix Racing, a team that was extremely underfunded compared to the mega teams Kurt had been used to driving for.

    After a period of time with that team, he found himself at Furniture Row Racing. FRR is a self-sponsored, independent team based in Denver, Colorado. Kurt brought experience, talent, and determination to the organization. It is a recipe that has worked well, and now they have results to show for it.

    The brothers are now in a position to go head to head with their Bristol experience. Kurt will be starting second on Saturday night, and will be attempting to prevent Kyle from sweeping the weekend. Kurt has been on the verge of winning his first race since 2011.

    At one time, there seemed to be a family feud between the two. Once in 2007 during an All-Star race at Charlotte they got together and took each other out. In recent years, however, they seem to be getting along very well. Kurt even drove for his brother in a few Nationwide races last season.

    With the feud over, Kurt and Kyle both seemingly more mature with an eye on the bog picture, it would make for a fantastic show, if it were to come down to Kurt and Kyle battling each other for the win in the Irwin Tools Night Race. The green flag falls at 7:44pm local time.

  • Dale Jarrett and Nicole Briscoe Excited for NASCAR Contenders Live Event

    Dale Jarrett and Nicole Briscoe Excited for NASCAR Contenders Live Event

    While the contenders for the NASCAR Chase may still be uncertain at present, there are two NASCAR personalities who are most certainly looking forward to the special event, NASCAR Contenders Live Sponsored by Toyota and Sprint, where fans will formally meet the twelve Chase competitors.

    Nicole Briscoe, ESPN analyst, and her colleague and NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett will both take lead roles in the NASCAR Contenders Live event at Chicago’s Navy Pier in the Grand Ballroom from 1:30 to 3:00 PM CT on September 12th. The event, back by popular demand for the second year in a row, will be featured prior to the first Chase race at Chicagoland Speedway.

    NASCAR Contenders Live will begin with Dale Jarrett sitting down in front of the fans with NASCAR President Mike Helton to discuss how NASCAR will approach officiating of the final races to decide the Sprint Cup championship.

    “I think the biggest thing that I’m excited about in the NASCAR Contenders Live event is creating a little excitement with the fans before the get to see the twelve Chase drivers,” Jarrett said. “Mike Helton and myself have been around this a long time, have experienced a lot and seen a lot of things happen and this is an opportunity to set things up for the fans and to give them a perspective from the NASCAR-side of the Chase.”

    “We’ll talk about what NASCAR expects from the drivers and even what they may or may not tolerate just because it’s kind of the playoffs,” Jarrett continued. “I wasn’t a big fan of the Chase when Mike Helton first talked to me about it but I’ve become a huge fan of it because it is exactly what our sport needs.”

    Jarrett is excited to talk to Helton about the Chase format, as well as other aspects of the Chase scenario itself.

    “NASCAR knows that every driver involved will make a great champion for the sport but they want to make it as fair as they can make it,” Jarrett said. “I want to ask Mike if they scrutinize with these twelve teams any more than others.”

    “I’ll talk to him about the pressure ramping up in NASCAR control to make calls and are they more lenient or strict with those Chase drivers as they battle for the championship,” Jarrett continued. “I think it’s great for the fans to see the NASCAR side of it.”

    “We’re very fortunate in our sport to have someone like Mike Helton who understands about everything involved in our sport,” Jarrett said. “He can answer and talk on all different levels and I think the fans appreciate that.”

    Jarrett is not only looking forward to discuss the Chase format with Helton but also sharing his thoughts with the NASCAR President on the Chase itself.

    “From my side, even though I’m going to do most of the questioning, there will also be opportunities to throw in my ideas on the Chase,” Jarrett said. “Right now we have no idea who is going to be in the Chase and that’s a great thing.”

    “For us in television, it gives us the next three weeks to keep up with and talk about all the scenarios.”

    Jarrett has some ideas about who may be a favorite for the Chase, but is also intrigued by the wide-open nature of the Chase to date.

    “You have to make Jimmie Johnson a favorite but after what happened this past week, you have to wonder just how much anyone can be considered a favorite,” Jarrett said. “We say this every year, but the competition does get stronger each year.”

    “There are more teams capable of putting together a ten race stretch where they do things right,” Jarrett continued. “It literally could come down to four or five drivers at Homestead to win the race and take the championship.”

    “And it might take like a Tony Stewart a few years ago winning the race to win the championship.”

    “I’m more excited about this year than I ever have been because you have drivers trying to make history and those that are looking for that first ever opportunity,” Jarrett said. “And then you look at someone like Kurt Busch at what some would consider a small team showing his muscle.”

    “And you have his brother Kyle Busch, who wants to do well in the Chase just so we will quit asking him about it,” Jarrett continued. “So, there are a lot of great storylines and I think it’s pretty wide open.”

    So what advice would the NASCAR veteran give to the drivers who will be competing for that coveted Sprint Cup?

    “Although I’ve never raced for the championship in this format, I know what this time of year is like when you are racing for a championship,” Jarrett said. “The biggest thing is to embrace the moment in these final ten weeks.”

    “You like to think that you will be in that position again but the reality is that you may not,” Jarrett continued. “It’s not that you can get rid of the pressure because that pressure is there every week but have to have fun with it.”

    “Have a good time because if you can’t do that, it’s not worth doing.”

    Dale Jarrett photoIn addition to sharing his words of wisdom for the twelve special drivers and lobbing questions at the NASCAR President, Dale Jarrett thinks that the NASCAR Contenders Live event is special for one other reason.

    “With this event, the thing that intrigues me is the opportunity for the fans to see the drivers as they prepare for the Chase,” Jarrett said. “There will be serious questions but there will also be some fun.”

    “I love the fans interactions with the drivers.”

    After his portion of the program concludes, Dale Jarrett will hand the baton over to his ESPN colleague Nicole Briscoe for the main event of introducing the Chasers to the fans.

    “I am the host of NASCAR Contenders Live, which for me is super-exciting because it’s more of a relaxed event,” Briscoe said. “The drivers are away from the track and not in that competitive place so you get to have more fun with the guys.”

    “Plus the fans are involved and that is the most fun.”

    While Briscoe approaches every aspect of her job seriously, she has not yet developed the questions that she will ask of the Chase drivers and for one very good reason.

    “At this point, we don’t even know the bottom half of the Chase,” Briscoe said. “I can pretty much guarantee Jimmie Johnson and I think this weekend a few more drivers may lock into the Chase.”

    “But the rest, I swear will be decided on that last lap at Richmond.”

    Like Jarrett, Briscoe acknowledges that the NASCAR Contenders Live event is one where the drivers’ personalities can shine. And she too has the opportunity to relax a bit herself and let the fans see her personality as well.

    “The fans want to see the drivers’ personalities and I’ll let them go wherever they want to go,” Briscoe said. “It’s totally an opportunity for me to let my hair down as well.”

    “I enjoy the personality side of it because that makes this so interesting and different.”

    Does Briscoe expect some interplay between the drivers as they come out to be questioned by her?

    “I think there will be some trash talking because the drivers will come on in groups,” Briscoe said. “You will have those different personalities up there and that will make it be the event.”

    Just like Jarrett, Briscoe is also most intrigued with the whole notion of the Chase because in her mind, it is ‘one giant question mark’ at present.

    “I think when I look at the season right now to me it is one giant question mark on how the Chase will play out and who will make it,” Briscoe said. “You look at Joey Logano who just won and he got closer but that doesn’t guarantee him a wild card.”

    “Then you look at a guy like Martin Truex Jr. who was so excited after his win at Sonoma and then look at how the next races have played out,” Briscoe continued. “Then you have to look at the question marks around Kurt Busch in terms of what is he going to do next year and what can the little team that could do.”

    “And then if you look at the top of the points, what Jimmie Johnson has done so far is really quite remarkable.”

    “He is one of the greatest drivers that the sport has ever seen and I have so much respect for what he has done,” Briscoe said. “So, I look at who can compete against Jimmie Johnson and is there anyone that can run with him?”

    “That’s my question mark about how this is going to play out.”

    Fans who wish to participate in NASCAR Contenders Live Sponsored by Toyota and Sprint can visit www.NASCAR.COM/ContendersLive to purchase tickets for $10 dollars and to enter the Contenders Live sweepstakes for a chance to win a new 2014 Toyota Tundra CrewMax Limited, as well as other prizes.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Michigan

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Michigan

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson’s day ended when his engine blew on lap 55 and he eventually finished 40th, but still maintained a healthy lead in the Sprint Cup point standings. He leads Clint Bowyer by 41.

    “We’re not sure what broke,” Johnson said, “but we tried to repair it. With a nod to all the conspiracy theorists who think NASCAR has handed me five Cups, you could say the ‘fix’ was on.’”

    2. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer finished 5th in the Pure Michigan 400, posting his seventh top-5 result of the year. He trails Jimmie Johnson by 41 in the points standings.

    “How anxious am I to do a victory burnout?” Bowyer asked. “So anxious, I spun on the first lap.”

    3. Kyle Busch: One week after winning at Watkins Glen, Busch finished 31st, three laps down, at Michigan, ending a run of six consecutive races with finishes of 12th or better. He remained fifth in the point standings, and now trails Jimmie Johnson by 107.

    “The handling of the No. 18 Toyota was off all day,” Busch said. “Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 FedEx car were not much better. For those two Joe Gibbs Racing cars, you could say ‘shipping and handling’ was an issue.

    “It’s off to Bristol now, where I’ve won five times. I love Bristol, and not just because the tracks suits my style. It’s the one place where people call me their ‘favorite’ and mean it.”

    4. Kevin Harvick: Harvick took the runner-up spot at Michigan, recording his best finish since a third at Charlotte in May. He is now fourth in the points standings, 64 behind Jimmie Johnson.

    “Is Kurt Busch joining Stewart-Haas Racing?” Harvick said. “If he does, the SHR team will consist of Tony Stewart, Danica Patrick, Busch, and myself. I like the makeup of that team, especially the gender balance.”

    5. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished 15th in the Pure Michigan 400, posting the best finish among Joe Gibbs Racing cars. Since winning his fourth race at Kentucky in late June, Kenseth has only two top-10 results.

    “NASCAR’s Facebook page directed viewers to the wrong channel for the race,” Kenseth said. “It appears the rule book isn’t the only thing of NASCAR giving mixed signals.

    “And speaking of Facebook, Carl Edwards is a very active user. It’s just like old times for me, because that son of a gun won’t stop ‘poking’ me.”

    6. Carl Edwards: Edwards posted his 12th top-10 finish of the year with a tenth at Michigan, joining teammate Greg Biffle, who finished ninth, in the top 10. Edwards is now 51 behind Jimmie Johnson in the Sprint Cup points standings.

    “Roush Fenway Racing could very well have two drivers in the Chase,” Edwards said. “That’s got to make Jack Roush happy. They call Jack “The Cat In The Hat” because he’s always wearing his trademark Panama hat. And when the Chase For The Cup is all said and done, we might all be wearing some form of headgear. Chances are, though, it won’t be a crown.”

    7. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: While leading on lap 136, Earnhardt blew his right front tire and slammed the wall, severely damaging his No. 88 Chevrolet. He eventually finished 36th, 29 laps down, and is now seventh in the points standings, 134 out of first.

    “My car took a hard turn right, directly into the wall,” Earnhardt said. “Usually, the fans of Junior Nation and their conservative political views love anything that’s to the ‘extreme right.’ And my fans, much like my car after the wreck, won’t ‘turn left’ for anything.”

    8. Kasey Kahne: Kahne was the top finisher for Hendrick Motorsports, piloting the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet to seventh at Michigan while Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished 40th and 36th, respectively.

    “Who would have though Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch would be teammates?” Kahne said. “That could happen in 2014, and lead to an interesting situation: Stewart is Busch’s car owner, responsible for getting Busch from race to race. Tony’s never been accused of being slow, but in this case, he’ll really have to haul ‘ass.’”

    9. Joey Logano: Starting from the pole, Logano led 51 laps at Michigan and assumed the lead when Mark Martin ran out of gas with three laps to go. Logano’s win in the Pure Michigan 400 was his first win of the season, and moved him to 13th in the points standings, in sound position to challenge for a wildcard Chase spot.

    “There are some who think Martin will never run out of gas,” Logano said. “So it was a surprise when he did.

    “Martin got the call to drive the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Chevy for Tony Stewart for the remainder of the year. It makes sense that Martin is there for the reinvention of “Smoke;” after all, he was there for the invention of fire.”

    10. Kurt Busch: Busch overcame a loose lug nut issue that cost him track position before a late dash moved him up to his sixth top-5 finish of the year. He is ninth in the Sprint Cup points standings, two points ahead of Greg Biffle in tenth.

    “This was huge for my Chase hopes,” Busch said. “I’m in the top 10 now. There’s a good chance there will be two Busch brothers in the Chase. That’s good news for television ratings, and even better news for the other ten Chasers.

    “There are reports that I have a formal offer to drive a fourth car for Stewart-Haas Racing next year. Tony and I have had our differences over the years, but with this contract, I guess we’ll finally be ‘on the same page.’”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Pure Michigan 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Pure Michigan 400

    Sporting some of the fastest speeds at any track this season, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 44th running of the Pure Michigan 400 in the Irish hills.

    Surprising:  While the driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford did his job in qualifying, scoring the pole position for the race start, it was all about team Penske when the 23 year old Joey Logano took the checkered flag and found his way to Victory Lane at Michigan International Speedway.

    “This was a hard-fought win throughout this whole Penske team,” Logano said. “This 22 team gave me a great Shell Pennzoil Ford that was capable of winning.”

    “This race team did a fabulous job,” Todd Gordon, crew chief, said. “Really proud of this whole team.”

    “As I go back probably 30 years here at the track, this is probably one of the biggest wins,” Roger Penske, team owner, said. “It’s clearly a team effort.”

    This was Logano’s first victory of the 2013 season, his first victory at Michigan International Speedway and his first victory with team Penske Ford.

    Not Surprising:  Because the race was at Michigan, it was not surprising that fuel mileage, tires and track position played critical roles in how the race unfolded.

    In fact, fuel mileage bit one of the sports veterans, who was racing all out for the ‘W’.

    “We were just hoping for one more yellow,” Mark Martin, driver of the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota said, after running out of gas while leading to finish 27th.

    “Just stayed ahead of Joey there, but if he would have slowed down, I could have maybe saved enough,” Martin said. “I had to go that fast just trying to stay in the lead.”

    Tires also played a significant role in the Pure Michigan 400, to which Dale Earnhardt, Jr. could definitely attest.

    “It’s just the tire; we’ve had a lot of problems with,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Youth Foundation Chevrolet said after experiencing a right-front tire problem on lap 135. “I think this is the same tire we struggled with the last race.”

    Because of his tire troubles, Junior finished the race in the 36th position and fell one position to seventh in the point standings.

    Track position was also key as is so often the case at Michigan, a point driven home for young substitute driver Austin Dillon, behind the wheel of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet for the recuperating Tony Stewart.

    Dillon wrecked early in the race and had to work diligently with crew chief Steve Addington to garner the track position that led to their respectable 14th place finish.

    “Definitely scared myself at the beginning as it was too early to be wrecking out there,” Dillon said. “Luckily we had saved enough car where we could work on it and get some track position.”

    “Steve made some great calls on track position and them guys did a great job.”

    Surprising:  In addition to Austin Dillon’s comeback, Clint Bowyer made a surprisingly good comeback to finish 5th in his No. 15 5-hour Energy Toyota after a first lap spin. Bowyer was the highest finishing Toyota and the only Toyota in the top ten at the finish of the Pure Michigan 400. And while Bowyer struggled, he took great pride in his ability to bounce back from the adversity.

    “Man, what a long day,” Bowyer said. “Beats the hell out of me how I recovered to finish fifth.”

    “Spinning out on the first lap I’m like – I couldn’t figure it out,” Bowyer continued. “Hard fought battle.”

    “Those days are what wins championships.”

    Bowyer took over second in the point standing and is 41 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.

    Not Surprising:  But for a tricky restart, the driver known as the ‘Closer’ almost closed the deal in the Irish hills of Michigan. Kevin Harvick, piloting the No. 29 Rheem Chevrolet, finished second, his 10th top-10 finish at MIS and his 12th top-10 finish in 2013.

    “I just mistimed the last restart there,” Harvick said. “I had to check up and that allowed the No. 22 to kind of make it three-wide and get under me and then we had to fight back from there.”

    “But all in all it was a good day.”

    Surprising:  The points leader and five-time champ had a surprisingly challenging day at Michigan, having to drive through the field in his back up car due to a practice lap wreck. Although he looked strong and even led two laps, Jimmie Johnson experienced engine failure and ended up his day finishing 40th in his No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet.

    “The engine broke there,” Johnson said. “When we came in for a green flag pit stop, something started then it definitely dropped a cylinder.”

    “This track is hard on engines,” Johnson continued. “Days like today am thankful for the big points lead and the bonus points in the Chase.”

    “We’ll dust ourselves off and go on to next week.”

    Not Surprising:   Kurt Busch, who after the race reportedly received an offer to driver for Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014, proved the caliber of his driving abilities and the value of his team with a third place finish. This was Busch’s ninth top-10 finish in 26 races at MIS and the good finish moved him up two spots to ninth in the point standings.

    “To be in position and run well, to post a top-three finish, just got to thank the guys,” the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet said after the race. “Furniture Row is acting like a big-time player right now.”

    “We had a little bit of weaknesses here and there but overall, we keep positing good results and it’s very satisfying.”

    Surprising:  Paul Menard, driver of the No. 27 NIBCO/Menards Chevrolet, surprisingly scored his first top five of the season.

    “We really needed a good run,” Menard said. “We have been crashing a lot.”

    “We had a good car all weekend.”

    Not Surprising:  Jeff Burton, who has been running better and better as the season progresses, finished top-10 in his No. 31 Cheerios Chevrolet. And even with that, Burton ended up both happy and disappointed.

    “It’s good to be disappointed with eighth,” Burton said. “That is a good thing.”

    “That’s a step in the right direction, no drama, got what we deserved and we will go on.”

    Surprising:  Marcos Ambrose had a surprising bump up into the top-10 finishing order after a tough run at Watkins Glen, finishing sixth in his No. 9 Dewalt Ford.

    “We ran in the top-10 for a lot of the day and it was a better day for us,” Ambrose said. “I am proud of Drew (Blickensderfer, crew chief) for calling a great race.”

    “He got us up there with track position and we were able to hold on.”

    Not Surprising:  There was no surprise in seeing Greg Biffle, who is usually strong at Michigan, finish in the ninth position in his No. 16 3M Ford. And according to the Biff, he would have done even better had it not been for some problems in the pits.

    “We bumped the No. 2 coming out of the pits in that scramble at the end and hurt the left front fender,” Biffle said. “That was really tough for us.”

    The next race will be tough for all of the drivers as they head to the beating and banging at Bristol Motor Speedway under the Saturday night lights.

  • The Countdown Hits Three: Who Will Make the 2013 Chase?

    The Countdown Hits Three: Who Will Make the 2013 Chase?

    Three night races are all that remain before the 2013 chase field is set. The sand in the hour glass is running out and the time to make something happen is now. The tension in the garage is palpable and the intense feeling of trepidation among the teams in the danger zone is growing with every passing race. Procuring a chase berth means you have a shot to become the next NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) titlist. Glory, money and a place among NASCAR’s immortals; that is what they are all fighting for. They are fighting to ensure the longevity of their titles hopes…it’s an obvious fact that you can”t win the championship if you don’t secure a spot in the chase first

    Multi-million dollar sponsors pay to see you put their car in the elite twelve. Millions of loyal fans cheer you on until their voices become raspy because they want to see you make postseason headlines. The pressure to succeed is always there but it isn’t truly felt until this time of the year rolls around. The stakes are high and failure isn’t an option for chase hopefuls although failure will be the inevitable result of the futile efforts by some. A position suddenly means so much more now and you will see drivers throw a whole race away as they try desperately to gain just one more point; the point that could make their season or break it. The innocuous driving that we’ve watched all year will rescind as we get closer and closer to Richmond. This is a race within a race; one none of these men are willing to lose.

    Photo Credit: LAT Photographic
    Photo Credit: LAT Photographic

    To earn your place in the 2013 chase, you must first conquer the treacherous Bristol Motor Speedway. When you go to Bristol, you leave your manners at the entrance gate. The racing will be rough, tempers will flare, sparks will fly under the lights and sheet metal will most certainly be twisted into 3,000lb piles of smoldering wreckage. To survive Bristol, a driver must take what they can and give nothing back. They must race every lap like it’s the last because if they don’t, the race leader will be knocking on their rear bumper shortly as he proceeds to lap the field. A driver can be their own worst enemy at this concrete Colosseum and out of control emotions have ruined the races of even the greatest racers in the past. This track will bring you to your knees and is notorious for destroying the dreams of many chase hopefuls in a heartbeat.

    Atlanta Motor Speedway is no Bristol but it’s no walk in the park either. At speeds that will break the 200mph barrier and restarts that will see the pack fanning out three and four wide; a steady hand on the wheel and nerves of steel are a necessity at this historic venue. This is the penultimate race before the chase commences so a bad run here will most likely doom the chase hopes for that individual. The last ten winners at Atlanta all went on to make the chase; 2006 was the last time that didn’t happen. This race is notorious for being hard on engines making patience a virtue and drivers must walk the thin line of aggression and over driving as they try to get all they can without making any imprudent decisions. That’s why drivers such as Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte, Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards have all excelled here.

    Lastly, we have Richmond. Richmond will be all or nothing for a lot of people while others will do their best to survive the inevitable short track carnage that will ensue and bring home a solid finish…easier said than done. Being a short track and the final race to make something happen; Richmond will definitely put on one hell of a show. Desperate drivers will do desperate things in order to get their team in the chase and then there are always the ones that are already locked in but want some more of those precious bonus points. Carl Edwards knows all to well how important those bonus points can be. It will be a wild night under the lights at Richmond; you can be sure of that. The race will feature some of the most aggressive driving of the year and with everything that’s on the line; there’s sure to be some incensed drivers when the dust settles.

    With all this being said, one looming question remains…who will make the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup chase?

    The Solid Six – “The solid 6″ is what I’m calling the top six in points right now. They are Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards. Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth. Four of them have won multiple races, everyone in the top five is a full race ahead of 11th and all of them have shown a lot of muscle this year either by winning or with consistency. They will all surely make the chase unless something catastrophic or unforeseen happens like the unfortunate situation with Tony Stewart.

    Photo Credit: USA Today
    Photo Credit: USA Today

    The Danger Zone –This label is applied to the drivers just barely within or just outside the top 10 and are currently winless in 2013. Those drivers are Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, and Jeff Gordon. We have quite an impressive group of drivers in this category but despite how good of a driver they all are; some will miss out on a chance at the 2013 championship. Dale Jr. has only recently had his name added to this anxious and nervous list after a few poor finishes have all but caused his cushion over 11th to vanish. Jr. is is not known to win many races so that might make his fans a little nervous with him so close to the cutoff. I have some good news though…the next three tracks are all ones Earnhardt has been fast at in the past so you shouldn’t be too concerned about him unless the bad luck that has hindered him lately continues.

    Here’s something no one saw coming…defending NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski has yet to win this year and is right on the edge of falling out of the top 10. Last month, I would have told you that he’s done but my opinion has been altered after his last three performances. The No.2 team seems to have finally found their niche again and are back to clicking away great runs on a weekly basis. Bristol is one of Brad’s best tracks and I firmly believe that the reigning champ will have a presence in the chase this year.

    Speaking of champs…how about Jeff Gordon? He finds himself in the middle of the danger zone and he’s beginning to make that a habit lately to the displeasure of his many fans but 4-time seems to always get the job done in the end. I’m sorry but the feel good story of Richmond last year won’t do it again in 2013 and that’s not a knock on Jeff. His team hasn’t shown much strength this year and look no further than the Pure Michigan 400 for proof of that. I don’t see them pointing this sinking ship in the right direction in time to make the chase but they will hopefully turn it around in 2014.

    Kurt Busch is another former champion that’s trying to hold his ground in the top 10 with no wins. He has turned a lot of heads this year driving for Furniture Row Racing. He’s made that team a contender on a weekly basis and if fate was kinder (and his pit crew was faster/made less mistakes), he’d have multiple wins already. Based on the way they are performing at every kind of track this year, I see the flat black No.78 in the chase this year. He he will most certainly win a race in 2013 but maybe not before Richmond so I count on him holding his own inside the top 10.

    Wild Card Race – This category is fairly self-explanatory. It’s the guys that have wins but find themselves in the danger zone. They are Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne, Martin Truex Jr, Joey Logano and Ryan Newman. Kasey Kahne is the only driver in this group that has multiple wins in 2013 and he will definitely make the chase in my opinion either via a wild card or by positioning himself inside the top 10. He’s shown a lot of muscle this year and I’m sticking to my prediction that I made back in March; he will be a threat for the championship regardless of his recent travails.

    I believe that Greg Biffle and Martin Truex Jr will both put up a valiant effort but in the end, it will be to no avail. I see “lame duck” Ryan Newman taking the wild card while these two endure a very poignant moment as they realize that a chase berth has slipped through their fingers. Newman is motivated and has something to fight for besides just a spot in the chase which makes him a much more volatile opponent. He’s also Stewart-Haas’ only hope to win the title now and it would be foolish to underestimate the tenacity and determination of the “Rocket Man.” I predict that he will make his way into the chase at the expense of Truex Jr. and Biffle.

    Photo Credit: Simon Scoggins
    Photo Credit: Simon Scoggins

    The proverbial wild card in this wild card race has to be Joey Logano. His win in the “Motor City” gained him credence as a threat for the wild card but my feelings regarding Joey’s chase chances are still ambivalent. A driver becomes unpredictable after tasting victory lane for the first time this far into a season. They may suddenly go on a tear and catapult themselves into chase contention or they may just quietly miss out on all the postseason fun.

    Just look at Ryan Newman for proof of what I’m talking about. He has spent a lot more time up front since his surprise win in the Brickyard 400. I’ve always said that motivation and confidence has an uncanny way of giving a driver a few extra horses under the hood. Joey had a great run at Bristol in March before Denny Hamlin found his rear bumper so don’t count this guy out but only time will tell if he is truly a contender or just a pretender.

    All Or Nothing – The “all or nothing” guys is a very dangerous contingent of drivers due to the obvious fact that they have nothing to lose and everything to gain. The only way to keep their chase hopes alive is if they win. They are the drivers in the teens that have no wins and haven’t shown that they have the ability to make a run for the top 10. Said drivers are Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard and Aric Almirola. All three of them are stretches to make the chase and would most likely need two wins to make it. I highly doubt that any of them will get even one win before the chase but the chance is still there so keep an eye on them if any of the three should end up winning Bristol or Atlanta.

    It will be very interesting as we watch the best NASCAR has to offer battle tooth and nail to procure a cede in the 2013 chase in these final three races. Now I’d like to hear your thoughts…feel free to post your theories on who makes the chase below and I’d love to debate it with you!