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  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Kentucky Quaker State 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Kentucky Quaker State 400

    With a surprising Sunday afternoon race thanks to Mother Nature on Saturday night, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 3rd Annual Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts at Kentucky Speedway.

    Surprising:  Although five-time champion Jimmie Johnson ended up with a top-ten finish, the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Dover White Chevrolet made two surprisingly uncharacteristic mistakes.

    First, Johnson, in a pit road fake out, pulled back on track well in front of the pace car. Although no penalty was issued, this mistake garnered a warning from Race Director David Hoots, who advised Johnson to cease the shenanigans.

    The second mistake came on what has become Johnson’s Achilles heel, a late race restart. After jumping the start and being penalized at the Dover race, Johnson has seemingly been spooked by restarts, this time blaming none other than the race winner for the Kentucky restart miscue.

    “The No. 20 broke the pace car speed, which you aren’t supposed to do,” Johnson said. “I don’t know, we were kind of in an awkward situation in that restart.”

    “And then we were like three and four-wide going in the corner, something happened with the air and it just kind of turned me around,” Johnson continued. “Unfortunate, but at least we rallied back for a good finish.”

    Not Surprising:  With the combination of the race delay to Sunday under the sun and the bumpiness of the track, it was not surprising that a gutsy call from the pit box to stay out on old tires would be the one to win the race. And although it turned out to be a brilliant call, victorious driver Matt Kenseth had his doubts at the time.

    “I didn’t roll the dice, Jason (Ratcliff) did,” Kenseth said. “I thought he was slightly crazy when that happened.”

    “It’s just been an unbelievable season and year of my life honestly,” the driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, said. “I didn’t think there was any way that we were going to hold on for that win.”

    “Jason made the right call at the right time and those guys got it done.”

    This was Kenseth’s fourth victory in 2013 and his highest win total since 2006. It was his first victory in three races at Kentucky Speedway.

    Surprising:  Although under sunshine instead of a full moon, there were still some surprisingly strange incidents in the race which unfortunately impacted other drivers who were innocent victims not of their own doing.

    One of the most impacted was Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who after turning in a pole winning qualifying lap, was hit by an errant tire carcass from the Denny Hamlin machine. He did, however, manage to salvage a decent finish in the twelfth spot.

    “Can’t do anything about what happened out on the race track with that casing,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Youth Foundation Chevrolet said. “You just fix it and keep going.”

    “They guys did a good job on pit road all day long working on it and trying to fix everything,” Junior continued. “We did well enough to get a decent finish out of it.”

    The other two drivers impacted through no fault of their own were Brad Keselowski and Greg Biffle. Both drivers were collected in a hard crash caused by Kurt Busch, who admitted that he  ill-advisedly used the apron to try to pass.

    “Wrecks happen,” Keselowski, the driver of the Blue Deuce, said. “There is no reason to drive like an animal but apparently I am the only one that got that memo.”

    “I don’t know what happened,” Biffle said. “I’m sure someone got aggressive or made a mistake or did something to cause that.”

    The issues were costly to both drivers, with Keselowski losing four positions in the point standings, falling to 13th, and Biffle losing three positions to the ninth spot.

    Not Surprising:  With the resurgence of Earnhardt Ganassi Racing continuing, it was not surprising that Jamie McMurray had a pretty good run at Kentucky. In fact, the driver of the No. 1 Hellmann’s Chevrolet scored the runner up position when the checkered flag flew.

    “Yes, it was a really good day for us,” McMurray said. “We’ve had really quick cars for the last two months but had really unfortunate luck.”

    “So, it’s cool to have a really good run.”

    This was McMurray’s first top-ten finish in three races at Kentucky and his fourth top-ten finish in 2013.

    Surprising:  Denny Hamlin had a surprisingly bad day at Kentucky, hitting the wall after his tire blew. While Hamlin has been struggling with back issues, this time he surprisingly had his bell rung instead and was held in the infield care center to evaluate if he had had a concussion.

    Hamlin’s heavy hit was also costly, with a 35th place finish, leaving him in the 25th position in the point standings, well out of current Chase contention.

    “Definitely have to proceed on,” Hamlin said. “Hopefully, at least something to build off of even though we didn’t have a good finish.”

    Not Surprising:   Clint Bowyer continued to impress, scoring his sixth top-five finish for the season. The driver of the No. 15 Camry 30th Anniversary Toyota took the checkered flag in third at Kentucky, getting ever so close to that first win of the season.

    “Good day for us,” Bowyer said. “Obviously when you get that close at the end you can smell a chance at the win – just not our day yet.”

    Surprising:  In spite of getting trapped on pit road when a caution flew yet again, four-time champion Jeff Gordon managed to overcome and salvage a top-ten finish at the end of the day.

    “We had an awesome fast Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, that is for sure,” Gordon said. “I think we passed more cars than anybody.”

    “These pit stops just aren’t going our way,” Gordon continued. “You just have to keep working hard at it and hope they fall your way eventually.”

    Not Surprising:  Just as Dale Earnhardt Jr. got lucky in qualifying by catching a cloud, Kyle Busch was searching all race day for the same. Busch rebounded from an early race spin to finish in the fifth position in his No. 18 Doublemint Toyota Camry.

    “Anytime I got cloud cover, I could pick up three-tenths of a second,” Busch said. “It was a stupid amount of time I could pick up and then I go down into the next corner and the sun is back and then you’re wrecking loose.”

    “We persevered and came home fifth,” Busch continued. “We can take that effort and go into next week.”

    Surprising:  The end of one driver’s record was the beginning of another driver’s redemption. Bobby Labonte’s streak of 704 consecutive starts came to an end at Kentucky Speedway and the Quaker State 400 marked the first race since 1978 in which there was no driver named Labonte.

    While Bobby Labonte sat on the sidelines, the replacement driver in the No. 47 Scott Products Toyota, AJ Allmendinger, had his own comeback moment at Kentucky. The ‘Dinger, who had tested positive for substance abuse one year ago at Kentucky came back and finished 22nd for JTG-Daugherty Racing.

    Not Surprising:  At a track where he has won three straight Nationwide Series races, all coming from the pole, it was not surprising to see Joey Logano have a top-five finish at Kentucky Speedway. And this young driver, behind the wheel of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford was wishing for just one more caution in which he was convinced he could have gotten to Victory Lane.

    “I felt like we were good enough to win for a little bit,” Logano said. “We were sitting pretty in fourth when the caution came out and that usually puts you second or third.”

    “I was hoping for one more caution because I thought I would be in the cat-bird seat if that happened.”

    Surprising:  After winning at Sonoma and predicting his winning ways would continue, Martin Truex Jr. took an ill-handling car and managed a surprisingly good top ten finish.

    “We dodged a lot of bullets,” the driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota said. “We didn’t have a very good car.”

    “We just never could get the car in the race track and I feel lucky to finish where we did,” Truex Jr. continued. “These are the kind of days that we need when we don’t have a good car – to persevere, fight through it and get a top-ten.”

    Not Surprising:  After running so well this season and being second in the point standings to none other than five-time champ Jimmie Johnson, it was no wonder that Carl Edwards was confused after finishing 21st in the race at Kentucky.

    “Man, I don’t understand what happened,” the driver of the No. 99 UPS Ford Fusion said. “We were terrible at the end.”

    “I just couldn’t make anything happen,” Edwards continued. “We’re going to have to try to figure that out.”

    “We were feeling really good and having a good time out there for a while but it turned out terribly,” Edwards continued. “I guess that is the way it goes.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Sonoma Toyota Save Mart 350

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Sonoma Toyota Save Mart 350

    Under unexpected cloudy skies and even some rain drops, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 25th annual Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.

    Surprising:  Martin Truex Jr. was in surprisingly esteemed company with his 218-race winless streak, the second longest in the Cup Series to Bill Elliott’s 226-race winless streak.

    But Truex managed to avoid that number one winless record spot by grabbing the brass ring on the road course, attaining his second career victory, his first at Sonoma, and his first of the season.

    And according to the driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, the win marks the beginning of the new winning Truex.

    “I can’t even put it into words,” Truex said in Victory Lane. “I have so many people to thank who have stuck with me.”

    “The team is just phenomenal,” Truex continued. “It feels damn good to get one finally.”

    “Today was just our day and our time,” Truex said. “Our car was flawless.”

    “We’re going to get a bunch of them now, I can tell you that much.”

    Not Surprising:  The remainder of the MWR Race team also had a good day at the race track, with Clint Bowyer, defending Sonoma winner, finishing fifth in his No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota and Brian Vickers, fresh off his sixth place Nationwide finish at Road America, finishing 13th in the No. 55 RKMotorsCharlotte.com Toyota.

    “We had a fast car all weekend long,” Bowyer said. “We got close but we pitted and nobody came with us.”

    “A long time coming for Martin and happy to see him in Victory Lane.”

    MWR driver Vickers may not have had quite the finish he wanted but he got something even more important, a ringing endorsement from his team owner Michael Waltrip after the race.

    “We want Brian Vickers to be a part of this organization in the future,” Waltrip said after the race. “He’s our guy.”

    “We’re trying to put the pieces together.”

    Surprising:  Jeff Gordon, who had an eventful day of having to overcome a pitting too early penalty, also achieved a surprising record of his own.

    This was the Gordon’s 302nd career top-five finish, breaking the tie he had for third with Hall of Fame driver David Pearson.

    “This is one of those crazy types of races where pit strategy goes all over the place and you never know what might happen,” the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet said.  “The way things have been going on the track for me haven’t been great and they way things have been going with the calls haven’t been going his (crew chief Alan Gustafson’s) way either.”

    “But wow, we finally had a race car that was fantastic,” Gordon continued. “We had a lot of fun out there.”

    This was Gordon’s 17th top-10 finish in 21 races at Sonoma.

    Not Surprising:  Carl Edwards started where he finished, third and third, in his No. 99 Aflac Ford. This was his fourth top-10 finish in nine races at Sonoma and he was officially the highest finishing Ford in the race.

    “I would have liked to have made a couple spots up,” Edwards said. “It feels weird to race that hard all day and finish in the same spot you started.”

    “That’s the true story,” Edwards continued. “It was a pretty dynamic race.”

    “Eventually we will win one of these races.”

    Even with his third place start and finish, Edwards remains in the second place in the point standings, 25 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.

    Surprising:  Kurt Busch was, by his own admission, surprisingly fast both on and off the track. He endured not one but two pit road speeding penalties , and in spite of that managed to claw his way back to the fourth finishing position in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing/Sealy Chevrolet.

    “Yeah, we were fast, even on pit road, twice,” Busch said. “I messed up, flat out.”

    “I didn’t hit my tachometer right and I was speeding both times,” Busch continued. “I just put myself in a position that was poor trying to get too much on pit road.”

    “But man this Furniture Row Chevy was fast.”

    Not Surprising:   Juan Pablo Montoya had a fast race car but that was not quite enough to finish the Sonoma race. The driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet needed some additional gas in his vehicle, running out on the last lap and dropping from the front of the field to a 34th place finish.

    “It’s just heartbreak,” Montoya said. “Our Target Chevy was really good today.”

    “You’ve got to defend them in the way they do the fuel calculations,” Montoya continued. “It should have been a little smarter.”

    “We’ve got tools to prevent things like that from happening.”

    Surprising:  Kyle Busch, who finished 35th in his No. 18 M&Ms Toyota after contact with both Montoya and Edwards sent him spinning, took to Twitter to battle those who were criticizing him.

    His first tweet of “Awww. My heart melts for @jpmontoya who ran out of gas. Only thing I got for Carl is “aww crap,” sent the tweet war off and running with some of his followers.

    After a few barbs back and forth, however, Busch showed his more jovial side, ending the Twitter visit with “Brought to u in part by mms. LOL” in response to this tweet @queers4gears: Does @KyleBusch’s twitter feed come with popcorn? #Entertainment.

    Not Surprising:  Most likely the two most disappointed drivers at Sonoma were those that started on the front row. Jamie McMurray had a great pole run only to finish 25th due to a flat tire and damage, while Marcos Ambrose, who had tested at Sonoma and qualified on the outside pole, salvaged a seventh place finish.

    “It’s OK,” the driver of the No. 9 Stanley Ford said. “We got a top-10 out of it.”

    “The weather cooled down and lot and we just didn’t anticipate that when we set the car up,” Ambrose continued. “Of course I wanted to win but that’s the way it goes.”

    Surprising:  There were two surprising engine issues right at the start in the race. Bobby Labonte, in the No. 47 Kingsford Toyota, did not even make a lap before his engine expired.

    Joining him was Jacques Villeneuve, who made it to Lap 19 before having his No. 51 Tag Heuer Avant-Garde Eyewear Chevrolet pushed into the garage with gear and engine woes.

    Not Surprising:  While Danica Patrick supposed that she was comfortable at Sonoma in that she at least knew where the ladies’ restrooms were, she finished a very uncomfortable 29th in her No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet.

    “It was a long day – a long weekend,” Patrick said. “We just couldn’t get the car to the point where I was comfortable with it.”

    “Having the cut tire and going into the tire barrier was just sort of salt in the wound,” Patrick continued. “Hopefully we have a better weekend next week at Kentucky.”

    Surprising:  Rookie Paulie Harraka, attempting his first Cup start in his No. 52 Hasa Pool Products Ford, had a surprisingly difficult start to the race, wrecking as the cars went out on track for the pace laps.

    “I don’t know what to say except that stuff happens,” Harraka said. “Somebody two cars ahead of me decided to stop in the go lane and why he did that I have absolutely no idea, but these cars don’t stop very well on the wet asphalt.”

    “Sometimes crazy stuff happens.”

    Not Surprising:  While Dale Earnhardt Jr. may not have scored a top-ten finish, he was still smiling after Sonoma with a 12th place finish at a road course which admittedly is not his forte.

    “It was a pretty good day,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet said. “This is definitely my worst race track, my least favorite track.”

    “We will take a top-15 here any week.”

     

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Party in the Poconos 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Party in the Poconos 400

    With a picture-perfect race day after a qualifying rainout, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 32nd annual Party in the Poconos 400.

    Surprising:  With good practice times and a decent starting position set on owner’s points, it was most surprising to see the No. 5 Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet  head to pit road and then to the garage on the first lap of the race.

    “We have no idea what happened with the car yet,” Kasey Kahne said. “The crew and engineers have been looking at things but they’re still unsure.”

    “II know that when I took off, in second gear, I had no power and it was just vibrating like crazy,” Kahne continued. “The faster I went, the worse the vibration was.”

    With the garage time, Kahne finished nineteen laps down in the 36th position. He also lost two positions in the point standings, falling from the fifth to seventh spot.

    Not Surprising:  With the controversy of the Dover restart still ringing in his ears, Jimmie Johnson put it all behind him, leading a record setting 128 laps out of the total 160 at Pocono Raceway.

    And with a lap leading percentage of 80%, there was no surprise that the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet found Victory Lane for the third time of the season and the third time at Pocono.

    “I’m sure we’ve had some other really strong races like that, but not in recent memory,” Johnson said. “What a race car.”

    “There are only so many tricks you have if you play by the rules with those restarts,” Johnson continued. “Fortunately, I was able to get the lead and have clean air again at the end.”

    Surprising:  With all the struggles of team Ford, it was most surprising to see Greg Biffle, in the No. 16 3M Ford, surge at the end to score the runner up position.

    “We had some good restarts and we were lucky with the lane choices and my car ran pretty good on restarts,” Biffle said. “Clearly we’re not celebrating that we finished second quite yet and have our cars figured out, but this is definitely a step in the right direction.”

    “We certainly ran better here than we have been all season and certainly that’s a positive for us going to next week, so hopefully we’ll continue to build on that.”

    Not Surprising:  With a third place finish in the books, NASCAR’s most popular driver pronounced it all good, as well as predicting that the momentum might just carry the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet into Victory Lane soon.

    “We are all right,” Dale Earnhardt, Jr. said. “We know what we need to do.”

    “Confidence is there so all the fans can rest assured we feel like we are on the right track,” Junior continued. “We want to get a win, man.”

    “If we keep getting close, we are going to get one.”

    Surprising:  The announcement of Toyota Racing Development backing down the horsepower to improve reliability surprisingly came at the worst time for Denny Hamlin, who has been battling intently to recover from his injury and make the Chase.

    “We weren’t competitive,” the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota said after finishing eighth. “We’re just trying to do everything we can and grind and finish good when we don’t have a winning car.”

    “And by no means did we have a winning car this weekend.”

    Not Surprising:   Fellow Toyota teammate Kyle Busch was the top Toyota finisher, bringing his No. 18 M&Ms Toyota Camry home in the sixth position.

    “The car was loose in turn three all day, but we got the car feeling pretty good towards the end,” Busch said. “We probably had a seventh place car all day long.”

    “I just couldn’t get going on that last restart,” Busch continued. “I just didn’t do a good job there and we found ourselves in sixth.”

    “We’ll take that and go on to Michigan.”

    Surprising:  Stewart-Haas Racing had a surprisingly good time at the Party in the Poconos, with Tony Stewart finishing in fourth, Ryan Newman finishing fifth, and Danica Patrick finishing on the lead lap at her first ever try on that tricky track.

    “It’s one thing if one car runs good, but to have two or all three of us running good shows that we are gaining momentum,” Tony Stewart, team owner and driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, said . “Really proud of our group at SHR.”

    Not Surprising:  Kurt Busch, behind the wheel of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet, once again faced adversity, this time with a problem on pit road. And not surprisingly, he and his team rallied yet again to finish top-10.

    “We had a fast car again, ran up front but a mistake on my part on pit road stalled our momentum,” Busch said. “But we battled back with a solid finish.”

    “The good news is that we know how to overcome adversity and the more we perform the way we have been, the better we’ll get.”

    Surprising:  Matt Kenseth had an uncharacteristically and surprisingly tough day, doing some synchronized spinning with Juan Pablo Montoya and then wheel-hopping on pit road and having some contact with Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

    “I mean, disappointing,” the driver of the No. 20 Home Depot/Husky Tools Toyota said. “I thought we had a top-five at the very worst or seventh or eighth-place car.”

    “Whenever you don’t finish where you are running, it’s always disappointing.”

    Not Surprising:  Earnhardt Ganassi Racing just keeps gaining ground, this week with Jamie McMurray finishing thirteenth and Juan Pablo Montoya finishing fourteenth.

    “We just have to execute,” Montoya said. “Each person has got to do its own little thing.”

    “We just have to keep our heads down and keep doing our work and we will be fine.”

    Surprising:  AJ Allmendinger had a surprisingly difficult day in the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Services Chevrolet, finishing a disappointing 33rd. The ‘Dinger was responsible for the next to the last race caution after experiencing significant tire troubles.

    In spite of this, Allmendinger was surprisingly chosen to replace Bobby Labonte when the Cup crowd heads to Michigan next weekend. JTG Daugherty Racing’s leadership apparently selected ‘Dinger to shake down the car to see if and how the performance can be enhanced.

    “I have raced for Phoenix Racing some this year and feel confident I’ll be able to provide JTG Daugherty Racing with a good comparison,” Allmendinger said. “I’m thankful for this opportunity to work with the team and Bobby.”

    Not Surprising:  For Chad Knaus, crew chief, and team Jimmie Johnson, the focus still remains on the point standings. And this team not surprisingly knows exactly how important their points lead is, now 51 points ahead of Carl Edwards.

    “As far as points go, it’s always important,” Knaus said. “We’ve got some very tricky race tracks coming up and we want to make sure that we get as many points accumulated as possible.”

    “That’s just the way we roll.”

     

  • Jimmie Johnson Party of One in Pocono Victory Lane

    Jimmie Johnson Party of One in Pocono Victory Lane

    After dominating at Dover last week and not getting the result he wanted due to a restart penalty, Jimmie Johnson ordered up a table for one at the Party in the Poconos 400 Presented by Walmart, right in Victory Lane.

    Although challenged by some late race cautions, Johnson dominated the race, leading a career high 128 laps.

    He also dominated the race weekend, from being quickest in first practice to being at the front of the field in the final practice session. And thanks to the rainout of qualifying, the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet also started from the pole, which was critical for track position.

    The win was Johnson’s 63rd career victory, his third win of the season, and his third checkered flag in 23 races at the Tricky Triangle.

    “What a race car,” Johnson said. “Not only the car and the handling and the grip that it had, but also the engine and what was under the hood.”

    “When I would lean on the throttle, this baby would yard anybody and everybody,” Johnson continued. “Today everything worked out.”

    Not only did Chad Knaus, Johnson’s crew chief, concur but he also enjoyed every minute of the Pocono competition.

    “Wow, it was a lot of fun,” Knaus said. “I really love this race track.”

    “It’s always been one of my favorites,” Knaus continued. “When you come up here you have to have a race car that will handle, great horsepower and so many cool things that come into play.”

    “When we showed up on Friday, we realized that we had a great car,” Knaus said. “Jimmie did a fantastic job and his car control was second to none.”

    Greg Biffle, who had a great run at Pocono, particularly on the last restart, finished in the runner up position with his No. 16 3M Ford. Although this was his fifth top-10 finish in 21 races at Pocono and his fifth top-10 finish of the season, Biffle acknowledged that the good finish did not come quite as easily as he would have liked.

    “It was definitely a struggle for us,” Biffle said. “We had two pit stops that weren’t the greatest and hung a lug nut.”

    “We were struggling for track position all day,” Biffle continued. “Turns 3 and 4 (or whatever you call it) was where we struggled.”

    “I was terrible there and anything I would gain in turns 1 and 2, I would lose.”

    Biffle acknowledged that he simply did not have anything for the 48 bunch. But he took the runner up finish as a positive, particularly going into Michigan next week, a track where he has had success in the past.

    “The 48 was super fast,” Biffle said. “He just drove away from everybody.”

    “We had some good restarts and we were lucky with the lane choices, but most of the top five cars were faster than us on sheer speed,” Biffle continued. “We still have work to do but this is a step in the right direction.”

    “That’s a positive for us going to next week.”

    Fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. led the Hendrick Motorsports team in the finishing order, taking the checkered flag third in the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet. This was Junior’s 10th top-10 finish in 27 races at Pocono.

    But even with the top-five finish, Earnhardt Jr. acknowledged that the restarts at the Tricky Triangle were the most challenging for him to overcome.

    “Them last restarts were kind of tough,” Junior said. “Being on the inside on the front row really ain’t the cat bird’s seat.”

    “The guys behind you can get good runs and put you three-wide,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “So, I was more in defense mode there and Greg (Biffle) just got around us on the outside.”

    “But I’m pretty happy with the way we ran,” Junior said. “Just looking forward to going to Michigan, a track we run pretty good at, next week.”

    Stewart-Haas Racing had a great time at the Party in the Poconos, with Tony Stewart, in the No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, finishing fourth and teammate Ryan Newman, in the No. 39 HAAS Automation Chevrolet, finishing fifth.

    “The restarts got tight,” Stewart acknowledged. “The good thing is we got confidence from the last three weeks in a row.”

    The third member of the Stewart-Haas team, Danica Patrick, finished 29th in her first ever run in a Cup car at Pocono. She did, however, bring her No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet to the checkered flag on the lead lap.

    “For Ryan and I to finish in the top five and Danica doing better, we’re just gaining on it,” Stewart said. “I’m just proud our group had a good run.”

    Stewart’s teammate Ryan Newman did indeed have a good finish, playing both the speed and strategy cards throughout the race, even on the restarts.

    “Well we did have the speed today,” Newman said. “Strategy worked out to our benefit.”

    “I thought I was going to be in the middle of a Busch (brother Kurt and Kyle) sandwich there at the end going into Turn 2,” Newman continued. “But I have to thank them for giving me a little bit of room.”

    “Strategy worked to our benefit with the yellows there at the end,” Newman said. “Just a good rebound for us and that’s really what we needed for this team.”

    The Busch brothers, Kyle and Kurt, finished sixth and seventh respectively. Both, however, had their share of adversity from which they had to battle back.

    “We just kept working on our M&M’s Camry all day,” Kyle Busch said. “We probably had a seventh-place car all day long and found ourselves in third on the last restart.”

    “I just couldn’t get going for some reason,” Busch continued. “I just didn’t do a good job there and we found ourselves in sixth.”

    “We’ll take that and go on to Michigan.”

    “We had a fast car again, ran up front but a mistake on my part on pit road stalled our momentum,” Kurt Busch said, after overshooting his pit box on Lap 126. “But we battled back with a solid finish.”

    “We’ve made great strides in the past month and need to continue the progression,” Busch continued. “I don’t see any reason why we can’t.”

    Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota, Kevin Harvick, behind the wheel of the No. 29 Rheem Chevrolet, and Joey Logano, just back from Iowa in time to jump behind the wheel of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford rounded out the top ten finishers for the 32nd annual Party in the Poconos.

     

     

  • Tony Stewart Outsmoked Juan Pablo Montoya for Monster Mile Win

    Tony Stewart Outsmoked Juan Pablo Montoya for Monster Mile Win

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    “It’s racing hard.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    “Man, it’s disappointing.”

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

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

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

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

    Ryan Newman declined to comment after the incident.

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

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Coca Cola 600

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Coca Cola 600

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Kevin Harvick Closes Out Strange Coca Cola 600 With Second Season Win

    Kevin Harvick Closes Out Strange Coca Cola 600 With Second Season Win

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

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

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

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

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

    “And it paid off.”

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

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

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

    “We just need to finish it off.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

     

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Sprint All-Star Race

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Sprint All-Star Race

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    “I don’t know how we keep doing it.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    “Just have to keep working at it.”

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

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

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

  • Kurt Busch Is Ready To Win Another Championship

    Kurt Busch Is Ready To Win Another Championship

    Kurt Busch will be a 2x NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) champion; it’s simply a matter of when it will happen. Although he and Furniture Row Racing are fast this year, I doubt his second championship will come in 2013 but I will be very surprised if they don’t make the chase and win at least one race. Kurt has matured so much as a driver in the last year and has shocked me with his abrupt attitude change. Yes, he will still get animated inside the racecar but if you listened to every driver’s scanner, they all do at some point. After every race, he gives a positive interview no matter what and tempers his emotions which we’ve never seen him do in the past.

    At Richmond, he was guaranteed a top three finish until a late race caution jumbled up the running order and he ended up 9th. On the final lap, Kenseth knocked him out of the way costing him a couple more positions and Kurt was obviously upset following the race bumping Matt on the cool down lap but that’s it. In fact, the usually calm Matt Kenseth was more fired up in his post-race interview than the strangely optimistic Kurt Busch. Kurt hasn’t made a single imprudent decision this year and there were multiple incidents when it would have been understandable to be upset.

    He’s led over 100 laps this year and has run up front in most of the races although a few of the finishes don’t show it. If this team can get their pit stop mistakes and mechanical issues fixed, then they will become a serious threat on the track. They could have won the All-Star Race if they had a faster stop and loose wheels/lugnuts have destroyed what would have been great races for them on more than one occasion this year. Once again, the elder Busch looked at the brighter side of things following the race instead of dwelling on all the bad moments.

    This much more mature Kurt Busch has taken Furniture Row Racing to the next level. Regan Smith was a good driver but Kurt is an extraordinary driver. Kurt’s probably the most versatile racer in the garage right now next to Tony Stewart and very few men throughout racing history have the ability to jump into different kinds of racecars and perform competitively like him. A couple weeks ago, he took a V8 Supercar around the Circuit of the Americas, then he drove an Indycar at 220mph passing rookie orientation and a few days later he shattered the track record at one of the most difficult tracks on the NASCAR schedule (Darlington). Not many people can kill the rear end of a car at Daytona during a crash and come back to win the race like Kurt did last July. Not many people can have their career slammed to the ground but somehow get back up again and be competitive. Not many people can completely change their attitude for the better in the matter of a year. Kurt Busch did.

    I have gained so much respect for Kurt recently and it’s paramount that he keeps it up. His temper has been holding him back and now that he’s got his Achilles Heel under control, the field better watch out. When I used to look at Kurt Busch, I thought of a highly aggressive racecar driver that had an uncontrollable temper and would be out of NASCAR soon. Now I look at Kurt and I can see him becoming a Tony Stewart or an AJ Foyt winning many many races and not just in NASCAR. He’s tested the waters of open wheel, took a V8 Supercar for a spin and I think sports cars will be on his radar soon as well. The 24 Hours of Daytona is a highly prestigious race and I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t compete in that event within the next couple of years.

    The No.78 may be a single car operation but there are no JTG or Swan Racing by any means. Barney Visser has some deep pockets so don’t mistakenly label this team as underfunded. If Kurt or crew chief Todd Berrier need something, they will get it. Their relationship with ECR engines and Richard Childress Racing is really helping them out this year too. Michael Waltrip Racing was the most recent team to work their way from the bottom of the totem pole all the way to the top of the food chain and I believe Furniture Row Racing will be the next to accomplish that feat. They have the driver, the crew chief, the money, the equipment; now all they need is the consistency which they will get eventually. You are doing a great job Kurt and good luck the remainder of 2013!

  • Matty’s Picks 2013 – Vol. 9 Sprint All-Star Race – Charlotte Motor Speedway – May 18, 2013

    Matty’s Picks 2013 – Vol. 9 Sprint All-Star Race – Charlotte Motor Speedway – May 18, 2013

    We’re 1/3 of the way through the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, and it’s onto Speedweeks at Charlotte. A million bucks is up for grabs this week (actually 2 million), and unlike the NHL, the NBA, and the MLB, we’re already on to the All-Star weekend.

    There have been 28 previous All-Star races, all but one being held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the 1986 event was held at Atlanta Motor Speedway and won by Bill Elliott. The first All-Star race was won by Darrell Waltrip back in 1985 amongst a field of 12. This year, 22 cars will take the green flag of the 2013 All-Star race, 19 of those divers have already locked up a spot in the field.

    Here’s how the starting field for the drivers that will be making the start in the main event tonight:
    – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points race winners in 2012 and 2013
    – NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race winners in the last 10 years
    – Drivers who are past NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions in the previous 10 years
    – The top-two finishers in the Sprint Showdown, the 40-lap race that precedes the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
    – The top Sprint Fan Vote driver who finishes the Showdown and whose car is in “raceable” condition.

    Like last year, the All-Star race will consist of five segments – four 20-lap segments and a 10-lap shootout. Unlike last year, the running the running order at the completion of the fourth segment (Lap 80) will be repositioned behind the Pace Car, based on the drivers’ average finish for the first four segments – putting a premium on strong finishes throughout the entire event.

    The new lineup will be placed directly behind the caution car prior to the opening of pit road for a mandatory four-tire pit stop, yielding the spotlight from the drivers to the pit crews.
    The order of the cars returning to the track will determine the starting order of the final 10-lap shootout. Running order ties will be broken by the finish of the fourth segment.
    I am a fan of the new setup as NASCAR has done a nice job of eliminating the sandbagging factor we’ve seen in previous events, by emphasizing strong finishes in each of the first four 20-lap segments.

    Darlington Recap

    I will keep this brief this week as the intro section is rather long, and I have little to brag about from last week. I chose Kasey Kahne as the winner last week, a pick that looked like a jackpot throughout the middle to late stages, but with 33 laps to go, my chances went south. Whether Kyle Busch got into Kahne, or if he only got close enough to take the air off the No.5 car, this little rivalry heating up between the two drivers is going to be something to watch over the next few weeks. The incident left Kahne settling with a 17th place finish.
    As for my Dark Horse, Ryan Newman, it was the fourth time I picked him this season and he did ok for me for the first time this year. Newman ran a strong race, avoiding trouble throughout and finished 10th.

    All-Star Picks

    Winner Pick
    On Thursday in my preview of tonight’s All-Star race with Greg Depalma on The Prime Sports Network, I picked a guy who is one of the favorites tonight, despite never winning a race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    This is a Kyle Busch style race, with nothing to lose and two million bucks at stake, you can bet that the floorboards of the No.18 car are going to be worn out at the end of the race on Saturday Night.

    He has never won an all-star event in 7 tries despite starting on the pole three times and never won at Charlotte in 26 tries. In spite of never winning at Charlotte, Kyle has been very strong throughout the course of his career and since 2008, he has finished outside the top 8 just twice in 14 races. Kyle’s Driver Rating has never been less than 100, besides the two accidents in 2010 and 2011 since the spring of 2007.

    He has lead laps in 20 of 26 starts at Charlotte, and in the fourth starting spot tonight, Kyle has put himself in position for an early lead. He was close in 2011 to the cool million when he started on the pole for his third time, but Carl Edwards was the guy to beat that night. I still like my pick today.

    Dark Horse Pick

    He might not be a Dark Horse now, but on Thursday he was a 30 to 1 longshot to win the All-Star race tonight. An important stat to mention with this Dark Horse pick is that Eight of the 28 (28.5%) NASCAR Sprint All-Star Races have been won from the front row: four from the pole and four from second-place.

    The guy I picked on Thursday as a “quiet pick” to win the million bucks was Kyle’s brother, Kurt. Kurt Busch’s overall All-Star Race record is: 11 starts, one win, four top-fives, six top-10s, one pole and 30 laps led. His average start is 8.1 and average finish 10.8.

    He followed his 2010 All-Star Race win with a victory the following week in the Coca-Cola 600 and is one of four active drivers to have won the Charlotte double. The others are Jeff Gordon (1997), Jimmie Johnson (2003) and Kasey Kahne (2008). Busch qualified for this year’s Sprint All-Star Race as both a former winner of the event and as a former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion (2004).

    Kurt will be starting outside of Carl Edwards on the front row tonight, and is my quiet sleeper pick this week.

    That’s all for this week, so until the longest race of the season next week, You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!