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Aaron’s 499 Review: Talladega Puts On a Show

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photography, Inc.” align=”alignright” width=”228″][/media-credit]When NASCAR comes to Talladega it’s almost like playing the lottery; you never know who is going to win, but it’s still fun to gamble. Jeff Gordon started on the pole with last year’s champion Tony Stewart on the outside pole. The race was delayed for about 30 minutes due to rain that flooded the track overnight, but once the race got started it was an entertaining show.

Overheating started out early on Lap 16 when Regan Smith blew an engine to bring out the caution flag. Tony Stewart, who was leading when the caution came out, got off pit road second to Matt Kenseth. Kenseth was able to hold the lead until Lap 26 when Michael Waltrip took his No. 55 Toyota to the lead.

The overheating woes continued on Lap 44 when Ryan Newman took his car to the garage when water began to pour out of his windshield. The top three drivers under this caution were Waltrip, Kenseth, and Stewart. At Talladega a driver can go from the rear of the field to the front instantly with the help of the two car tandem and that’s exactly what Jimmie Johnson did on Lap 46 with the help of his teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kurt Busch.

Kenseth took the lead in his Best Buy Ford on Lap 53 with Jeff Gordon in tow. Around this time is when Johnson reported to the team that his engine was blowing up due to overheating. After green-flag pit stops on Lap 58 Earnhardt took over the lead from Kenseth for about 20 laps, until Earnhardt lost the draft and dropped back to 15th position. Approximately 50 laps into the race Kasey Kahne was forced to make a spotter change. His interim spotter Kevin Hamlin was suffering from laryngitis at the time and eventually lost his voice. The No. 5 team replaced Hamlin with Joe Nemecheck’s spotter to finish the race.

From 80 laps to go on, the leader of the race changed almost every ten laps. The drivers exchanging the lead were Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne, Kenseth, Casey Mears, Brad Keselowski, and Kurt Busch. Busch caught a big break on Lap 141 when his car ran out of fuel just as caution flew on the race track. In Turns 3 and 4 the big one struck involving Landon Cassill, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Juan Montoya, Terry Labonte, Aric Almirola, and Dave Blaney. Under this caution Kenseth and Ambrose were penalized for pitting too soon. Kurt Busch and Bobby Labonte also pitted too soon after running out of fuel.

Paul Menard led the restart with Keselowski on his outside. Keselowski took the lead with 39 to go. Mears spun his race car in Turn 3 to bring out a caution with 15 laps to go. During this caution Stewart brought his car down pit road for overheating issues. The cautions continued when former teammates Keselowski and Kurt Busch got together, sending Busch spinning through the infield.

As the field attempted to restart, another caution flew once again. Hamlin jumped out of line to try and make it three wide down the middle. Allmendinger blocked Hamlin and started another big wreck. Menard, Kevin Harvick, and Waltrip were also involved. Just before the restart Hamlin blew a tire causing the caution to be extended for debris on the track.

The race was settled by a green-white-checkered finish between Kenseth, Keselowski, and Kyle Busch. Keselowski pulled ahead by three car-lengths over the field to win his second race at Talladega.

[media-credit name=”articles.boston.com” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Kurt Busch, or Should I Say “Ricky Bobby”?

Kurt Busch’s paint scheme for Talladega looked very familiar to race fans, and even non-race fans. Busch ran the colors of “ME” from the popular movie “Talladega Nights”. Not only did he run Ricky Bobby’s paint scheme, his entire team took this role to a whole different level. The team referred to Busch as “Ricky” over the radio and quoted the movie throughout the entire race. The team even carried a stuffed animal cougar named “Karen” in the racecar with them.

Busch’s race was going very well until Lap 181 when Keselowski and Busch got together, sending Busch sliding across the start-finish line. With limited damage to his race car, it looked as if Busch would be able to get back on track and continue racing. However, when Busch drove his car down pit road backwards in attempt to get to his pit stall, he was forced to pit again. This is when the fun and games ended between the team and driver, and the No. 51 car finished in 20th place, one lap down.

Fresh Faces Finish in the Top-20

After losing his Cup ride at Roush Racing last season, it was nice to see David Ragan finish in 7th position. Ragan ran a clean race and was able to stay out of trouble to keep his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford in the Top-10. Trevor Bayne is running a part-time NASCAR schedule this season due to lack of sponsorship with Wood Brother’s Racing. Bayne is known for being a good plate-track racer and he finished in 8th position in the Aaron’s 499. Aric Almirola is another driver who we don’t normally see at the top of the field, but was able to finish in 12th position. David Gilliland, who is Ragan’s teammate at Front Row Motorsports, finished in 13th position. Travis Kvapil, who is running a par-time schedule, finished in 16th position.

May 8, 2012
Surprising and Not Surprising: Aaron’s 499 at Talladega

[media-credit name=”Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”243″][/media-credit]From a rain-delayed beginning to the green, white, checkered finish, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 43^rd annual Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Surprising: It was surprising that it took nearly 36 years for a Dodge to return to Victory Lane, with the last one being the Dodge win of Dave Marcos on August 8, 1976.

And thanks to Brad Keselowski, in the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge for Penske Racing, the long winless streak for the manufacturer was finally been broken.

“At Talladega you don’t have a plan,” Keselowski said. “You go up front and you race your butt off all day.”

“You either get to the front or you don’t,” Keselowski continued. “That’s what we did.”

“Man it feels good to win here in Talladega,” Keselowski declared from Victory Lane. “I’m glad to come out on top with the Miller Lite Dodge.”

This was Keselowski’s sixth victory in 99 Cup races and his second victory and fifth top-10 finish in 2012. The driver has won twice before at Talladega as well.

Not Surprising: Since it was Talladega, as well as Super Moon and Cinco de Mayo weekend, it was not surprising that crazy things happened, including many drivers watching the remainder of the race from the sidelines, due to everything from engine woes to multiple car pileups.

Even the most influential athlete and five-time champ Jimmie Johnson was not immune, succumbing to engine failure and officially retiring on Lap 110 with a 35^th place finish.

Johnson spent the remainder of the race on his teammate Dale Earnhardt Junior’s pit box, rooting for that elusive 200^th win for Hendrick Motorsports, which again was not meant to be.

“We lost the oil pressure there,” the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet said. “We don’t know exactly what happened.”

Surprising: In spite of celebrating his 20 year sponsorship with Dupont and 20 straight years with a pole, Jeff Gordon was NASCAR’s surprising biggest point’s loser. The four-time champion battled overheating all race long and was caught up in the ‘big one’ on Lap 141.

Gordon fell six spots, from 17^th to 23^rd, in the point standings. The driver of the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet finished the race in the 33^rd position.

“That was not fun,” Gordon said. “I didn’t like hitting the wall.”

“Man, this is just one of the most bizarre years that this Dupont Chevrolet and Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet team has ever gone through,” Gordon continued. “I mean, it’s almost comical at this point.”

Not Surprising: As high as his teammate was for winning, it was not surprising that the other Penske Dodge competitor, A.J. Allmendinger was about as low as he could go.

The driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil-AAA Dodge went to block Denny Hamlin and the wreck was on. Allmendinger finished 15^th after starting from the outside pole.

“My guys did a good job, fast motor, fast race car,” Allmendinger said. “I had a chance to win the race until it all went down the drain.”

“We had a chance to win,” Dinger said with abject disappointment. “I’m happy the 2 car won.”

Surprising: At a track where the spotter is essential, it was surprising that the driver of the No. 5 Farmer’s Insurance Chevrolet was able to rebound for a good finish after losing his spotter Kevin Hamlin to laryngitis.

Kasey Kahne, dodging at least three wrecks, finished fourth. He was the highest Hendrick Motorsports finisher.

“We survived, that was the biggest thing,” Kahne said. “We missed the wrecks and got a good push there at the end.”

“We were catching the guys in front of us, but it was just too late.”

Not Surprising: With the new rules changes by NASCAR designed to decrease the tandem racing and increase the pack racing, it was not surprising that many drivers were concerned about the cars overheating and the temperatures of the water and oil in the engines.

The unofficial ‘Mayor’ of the NASCAR garage, Jeff Burton, weighed in on the issue. The driver of the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet was none too happy in spite of his tenth place finish.

“Not being able to race the way we want to race is frustrating,” Burton said. “Every time we would get in the pack, our water pressure would get real high.”

“We didn’t want to push water and that wasn’t a lot of fun,” Burton continued. “But we caught a lucky break when the caution came out and fortunately that helped us a lot.”

Surprising: Kurt Busch, channeling his inner Ricky Bobby, had a surprisingly good run in his No. 51 Talladega Nights ME car. In fact, it was even surprisingly pleasant to listen to his radio chatter as he rattled off strings of dialogue from the movie.

Unfortunately, Busch was caught up in one of the late race crashes, relegating him to a 20^th place finish.

“It was a good effort all day by the team,” Busch said. “It’s pretty disappointing to come to one of the places we have circled on the schedule, run well all day, and then have it end like this.”

“But that’s a part of it.”

Not Surprising: Fresh off his second place finish in the Nationwide race, it was not surprising to see Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota, finish in the runner up spot in the Cup race.

“For me, whatever Talladega and Daytona is, it’s a restrictor plate race,” Busch said. “That’s what we all know going into the weekend.”

“Some of us love coming here, some of us dread it,” Busch continued. “You don’t have control of your own destiny, I don’t feel like.”

Surprising: When asked if he preferred the pack racing to the tandem drafting, Tony Stewart had a surprisingly ‘interesting’ idea for what he thought might just make the racing even better.

“I think we ought to make it a figure eight,” the driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet said. “If we could make it a figure eight, it would be perfect here.”

“We can stop at the half way mark, take a break and turn around and go backwards the rest of the way,” Smoke continued. “Then with ten to go, we split the field in half and half go the regular direction and half of them go backwards.”

Not Surprising: NASCAR’s most popular driver gained a new moniker, ‘Mr. Consistent’, that is not at all surprising given the good start to his season. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. had another solid run, finishing ninth in his No. 88 National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet.

“This is definitely the most consistent we’ve ever been, or I’ve ever been,” Junior said. “I have a great team and they give me great cars.”

“It worked out and we ended up getting a finish, and not tore up and on the hook,” Junior continued. “I hope we can go to Darlington and keep our consistency going.”

May 7, 2012
Surprising and Not Surprising: Richmond Capital City 400

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”236″][/media-credit]Virginia may be for lovers but that was not the only emotion running high at Richmond International Raceway. Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 58^th Annual Capital City 400 Presented by Virginia is for Lovers.

Surprising: While Kyle Busch is no stranger to Victory Lane in the spring race at Richmond, it was still surprising to see the pure joy and raw emotion he exhibited after the checkered flag flew.

The win, Busch’s first of the 2012 season, along with the victory of his team and brother Kurt in the Nationwide race the night before, just seemed to send Kyle Busch over the moon.

“It means so much that we’re able to come to this place every time and know that we can have a decent car again and again,” the driver of Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 M&Ms Toyota Camry said. “It wasn’t the best car but it was really good.”

“It was a gift,” Busch continued. “We just kept fighting, kept ourselves up there in track position, kept the fenders clean, the right side clean and kept us in the game all race long.”

This was Busch’s 24^th victory in 266 Cup races. The win, his fourth consecutive at Richmond, broke a tie with Richard Petty, who held that record from 1971 to 1973.

Not Surprising: While it is never surprising that tempers flare at this Virginia short track, this time drivers were not as mad at each other as they were at NASCAR.

Both Tony Stewart, who was bitten by a late race caution for debris and problems on pit road, and Carl Edwards, who was penalized by NASCAR for jumping the restart after leading the most laps, were very unhappy campers at race end.

“When the caution is for a plastic bottle on the backstretch, it’s hard to feel good about losing that one,” Stewart said. “And we gave it away on pit road.”

“So we did everything we could to throw it away and it got taken away from us,” Stewart continued. “We lost it for a caution for a plastic bottle, so you tell me how you’d feel.”

Edwards was equally frustrated after being black flagged for jumping the restart. He and his crew chief Bob Osborne argued their case with NASCAR in the hauler after the race.

“We had to just agree to disagree and that’s the way it is,” Edwards said. “They run the sport and they do the best job they can.”

“I drive a race car and do the very best job I can,” Edwards continued. “This whole thing is very frustrating. I don’t feel like we did the wrong thing.”

The driver of the No. 99 Ford EcoBoost finished tenth, while the driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet finished third. Both drivers held serve in the point standings, with Stewart remaining in eighth and Edwards in ninth.

Surprising: Fans of the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet witnessed another surprisingly bad run by Jeff Gordon and company. While the team managed to qualify decently, in sixth, they fell back immediately after the green flag flew, then ending up cutting a tire to finish a miserable 23^rd.

This was Gordon’s sixth finish of 21^st or worse in the last 11 races. The four-time champ is currently mired in the 17^th position in the point standings, out of Chase contention at present.

Not Surprising: While none of the Hendrick drivers scored the elusive 200^th win for Mr. H, that most popular one, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., had another solid run at the short track.

In spite of brake issues, Junior scored the runner up spot. This was his 11^th top-10 finish at Richmond and his seventh top-10 finish in 2012.

“We had some brake problems all night long,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard/Diet Mount Dew said. “Kind of tried to overcome them best we could.”

“We were maybe a fifth place car,” Dale Earnhardt, Jr. continued. “I’m really happy to gain a couple of spots there at the end with that caution and get some more points.”

Speaking of those precious points, Junior currently sits in the same points position as where he finished the race, second. He is now just five points back from points leader Greg Biffle.

Surprising: Rolling tires, not tire wear, was one of the most surprising factors influencing the race at Richmond, especially for five-time champ Jimmie Johnson.

The driver of the No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet was penalized to the tail end of the lead lap due to his pit crew losing contact with a rolling tire. Yet, in spite of the mistake, Johnson finished sixth and remained philosophical about it all at race end.

“Stuff happens,” Johnson said. “It’s racing.”

“Unfortunately we had a tire get away from us and had to serve that penalty and go to the back,” Johnson continued. “But the good news is we had a very fast race car.”

“I certainly wish we didn’t have that mistake, but when you’re in this deal long enough mistakes happen,” Johnson said. “I don’t want to beat anybody up.”

Not Surprising: It was not surprising to see the majority of Michael Waltrip’s team continue their good runs. The best of the bunch this race was Clint Bowyer, who brought his No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota home in the seventh spot.

Nipping at Bowyer’s heels was veteran and pole sitter Mark Martin, who scored an eighth place finish in his No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota.

“I’ve never seen a guy (Rodney Childers, crew chief) improve one of my cars that much in one race,” Martin said. “You’ve got to be able to do that.”

“I’m really impressed,” Martin continued. “They did a great job.”

Surprising: Although Greg Biffle was sporting the ‘Give Kids A Smile’ promotion on the outside of his No. 16 EM Ford, it was surprising that there were no smiles from inside that race car. Biffle struggled most of the night and finished a disappointing 18^th.

“It was a tough night,” Biff said. “We never recovered from our poor qualifying run and struggled with the turn and forward drive.”

“We just didn’t have the turn and the drive that we needed,” Biffle continued. “It is frustrating.”

Not Surprising: It was not surprising to hear the disappointment in Denny Hamlin’s voice after not winning at his home track. The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota finished fourth.

“Yeah, I’m a little disappointed,” Hamlin said. “We just never really hit it today.”

“We had times where we were competitive and we just got behind on one run,” Hamlin continued. “So, we just couldn’t recover from that.”

Surprising: It was surprising to see Trevor Bayne in his fire suit on the pit box throughout the race, waiting in the wings to see if Marcos Ambrose would be in need of his services.

But the young Daytona 500 winner never got to climb aboard as the driver of the No. 9 Stanley Ford drove through his back pain to finish 22^nd.

Not Surprising: To no one’s surprise, Brad Keselowski, behind the wheel of the Blue Deuce, was the highest finishing Dodge in the Capital City 400, scoring ninth place.

Also, not surprisingly, Kes and his crew are all about clawing their way into Chase contention with top-10 finishes.

“We just keep knocking top 10s out,” Paul Wolfe, crew chief of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, said. “That’s what we need to do to continue to gain points right now and put ourselves in position to get into the Chase.”

April 29, 2012
Surprising and Not Surprising: Texas Samsung Mobile 500

[media-credit name=”Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”254″][/media-credit]Deep in the heart of Texas Motor Speedway, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 16^th running of the Samsung Mobile 500.

Surprising: In spite of Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tool Chevrolet, leading over 150 laps, it was surprising that his team owner will have to wait yet another race to secure the 200^th win for Hendrick Motorsports.

Johnson, who finished second, was the highest ranking HMS driver for the night. This was Johnson’s 13^th top-10 finish in 18 races at Texas and his fifth top-10 finish for the year.

“I’m definitely disappointed, but we had a great race car and there’s a lot to be proud of here today,” Johnson said. “Certainly wish we were there in Victory Lane but everybody knows we’re here.”

“We’re awfully close to it with this KOBALT Tools Chevrolet.”

Although still at the 199 win mark, all of the Hendrick drivers had surprisingly good nights, even Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne, who finished fourth and seventh respectively. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., the final HMS pilot, finished tenth.

This was the first time since the 2011 spring race at Talladega that Hendrick Motorsports had all four of its cars in the top-10 at the finish.

Not Surprising: At a track where Roush Fenway Racing traditionally dominates, it was not surprising to see one Roushketeer, Greg Biffle, in the winner’s circle with his cowboy hat and guns. This was Biff’s first win of the 2012 season and ended a 49 race winless streak.

The win was the company’s ninth win at Texas, the most of any other racing entity.

“I just dug deep,” Biffle said about his hard fought win. “I knew I had to do it and I kept trying and trying and trying.”

“I knew the team would forgive me if I wrecked it trying to beat him,” Biffle continued. “So, I just gave it all I had.”

Surprising: It was surprising that the fire was extinguished and there was no smoke at Texas this weekend. Tony Stewart, reigning past champion, finished 24^th, two laps down.

“We just couldn’t get the handle on this thing tonight,” Stewart said. “We chased it all night.”

“We’ll go back to the shop, tear it apart, and see what the deal is.”

Surprisingly, his teammate Ryan Newman was right there with him, finishing a bit better at 21^st, yet also two laps down.

“Things didn’t go our way today,” the driver of the No. 39 US Army Chevrolet said. “But we’ll be back stronger next week to complete the mission, which is winning the race.”

Not Surprising: Martin Truex, Jr., to no one’s surprise, continued tearing up the track for Michael Waltrip Racing. The driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota started from the pole position and finished top ten, in sixth place to be exact.

Truex, Jr. has finished top-10 in nine of the last twelve races.

“It was a lot of fun out there running up front with the NAPA Toyota,” Truex, Jr. said. “I can’t say enough about everybody on this NAPA team and everybody at MWR.”

“Hopefully we can keep this thing going.”

His MWR teammate Mark Martin also had a great run at Texas, a track where he was rated 12^th in the driver rankings. Martin, behind the wheel of the No. 55 Aaron’s 2000 Best of the Best Toyota, finished third.

This was Martin’s 13^th top-10 finish in 23 races at Texas Motor Speedway.

“Mark Martin is so enthusiastic,” team owner Michael Waltrip said. “He has pumped all of the drivers up.”

“We are very happy with our team’s performance.”

Surprising: It was most surprising that at a race where there are on average eight to nine restarts, there were only two caution flags thrown, one for debris and one for Trevor Bayne’s encounter with the wall.

The yellow flag flew just twice within the first 100 laps of the race, leaving the rest of the race to be run under green flag conditions. This was the first time in history that a superspeedway race had that many green flag laps without a caution.

Not Surprising: Unfortunately but not surprisingly, there was no Bubba Watson moment for Denny Hamlin at Texas, a track at which he traditionally runs well. The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Office/March of Dimes Toyota had a decent day, finishing 12^th,but was the last car on the lead lap at race end.

Surprising: At a track where he sat out last year’s fall race because of the Truck race incident with Ron Hornaday and where this year he had an issue in the pits with his air hose getting stuck under the car, Kyle Busch had a surprising good day after all.

The driver brought his No. 18 Toyota Interstate Batteries Toyota to the checkered flag in the 11^th spot.

Not Surprising: Since Chassis No. 665 scored a good finish for Landon Cassill at Michigan last year, it was not surprising that new driver Kurt Busch gave it a whirl for a good run at Texas. The driver of the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet finished 13^th.

“It was a good night and finish for us,” Busch said. “We had little struggles but were able to overcome those.”

“This was a good night and a nice top-15 finish for us.”

Surprising: The struggles of the Penske Dodge teams surprisingly continued and both drivers ended up just plain frustrated.

AJ Allmendinger, in the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge, finished 15^th but his teammate Brad Keselowski, behind the wheel of the Blue Deuce, had all kinds of problems that sent him off to the garage, finishing in the frustratingly low position of 36^th spot.

“The race tonight was frustrating,” Dinger said. “We had a fast Shell/Pennzoil Dodge and we just didn’t make it happen tonight.”

“This has been a very frustrating weekend to say the least,” Keselowski said. “We just need to clean some things up so that the potential of this team can shine.”

“Right now, we aren’t doing that.”

Not Surprising: As predicted, especially given the wicked weather in the area, the wind most certainly did wreak havoc throughout the race. And while it affected most drivers equally, there were still some drivers that felt the high wind added to the frustrations of their day.

“Between the wind, the changing race track and the handling, it was a long night for the Target team,” Juan Pablo Montoya said. “We didn’t have much of a chance to work on the car like we had hoped to.”

JPM finished 16^th in his No. 42 Target Chevrolet, one lap down at race end.

April 15, 2012
Matty’s Picks 2012 – Vol. 8 Texas Motor Speedway – Samsung Mobile 500 – April 14, 2012

[media-credit name=”texasmotorspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”199″][/media-credit]We head to the Lone Star State for tonight’s Samsung Mobile 500 for the first scheduled race under the lights during this 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Its wide, its fast, and there will be plenty of drama when the green flag flies later this evening. This is just the second mile-and-a-half track of the season, and is guaranteed to pull me away from the NHL playoffs tonight.

Texas has been one of my favorite tracks for a while now, I’m not sure if its the speed, the flames and six-shooters in Victory Lane, the simple thought that ‘Everything’s Bigger in Texas’ – (a track that comfortably seats over 190,000). If you recall last fall’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway , the race was promoted as a old west showdown between Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart. This weekend will not be much different except that it will be a duel between two teams, Roush Fenway Racing (8 wins in 22 Cup races at Texas) and Michael Waltrip Racing.

Last Week’s Recap

I had a great time celebrating Easter back in Syracuse, Mom made some great ham, showed my brothers and SpeedwayMedia.com editor Ed Coombs how to catch fish…
Back to racing.

It was two-weeks ago that we visited Martinsville Speedway for the Goody’s Fast Relief 500, and it was a dandy of a race on April Fools Day. My Dark Horse pick two weeks ago was a long shot after NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying, but Kurt Busch was up for the challenge of winning the race from 40th. Well, Busch’s day ended after a slue of problems with the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Services Chevrolet including a pair of blown right-front tires. Busch’s No. 51 was shown way down towards the bottom of the scoring pylon in 33rd, netting me yet another finish outside the top 30.

It was a much better day for my Winner Pick two weeks ago, leading a race-high 328 laps and completely dominating the 500-lap battle at Martinsville Speedway. It was David Reutimann that squashed my hope of picking up my first win of the season two weeks ago at Martinsville. When his car came to rest on the backstretch with just three laps to go, he brought out the caution that would make the final restart of the race a five-car fiasco. My Winner Pick had the lead on the final restart, partly because him and his teammate Jimmie Johnson opted not to come to pit road under the final caution for fresh tires. Jeff Gordon had dominated all day, and when the field took the green flag on the race’s final restart, he was punted by Clint Bowyer, who was shoved by race-winner Ryan Newman. It was a result of fresh tires vs. old tires, and the old tires lost. Gordon finished 14th.

Texas Picks

Besides a couple Hendrick chassis, its a MWR versus Roush Fenway battle this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Roush Fenway drivers Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle are sandwiched between pole-sitter Martin Truex and Mark Martin in the top-4 starting spots, setting the stage for the two-team battle under the lights tonight.

Winner Pick

I think its Matt Kenseth who will fire the six-shooters tonight in Fort Worth. He is the defending winner of the Samsung Mobile 500, his second Cup win at Texas coming this time last year. His average finish of 8.7 at Texas is the best out of all the drivers taking the green tonight, and he’s also got two NASCAR Nationwide Series victories under his belt at Texas.

Kenseth will start on the outside of the front row tonight, and is excited for his chances of putting the cowboy hat on in Victory Lane, “I don’t really know why, but it has been a pretty good track for us in the past. We have had a lot of good runs and finishes here. Whenever you come back to a track you’ve had success at, then I think you probably always look forward to coming back to it maybe a little bit more. As far as mile-and-a-half tracks, we have only been to Vegas (this season) and I thought we performed really well there.“

Dark Horse Pick

Since Roush Fenway claimed my Winner Pick this week, Michael Waltrip Racing will take my Dark Horse this week, although this pick is a stretch of a Dark Horse.

He’s starting 4th tonight in just his 5th start of the 2012 season, but he will be piloting a rocket ship in the form of a Toyota Camry. Mark Martin is running a limited schedule this season in the No. 55 Aaron’s Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, so when he does make it behind the wheel, he’s got to make the most out of it.

He fired the six-shooters in Victory Lane at Texas back in 1998, but struggled severely in the two races in the Lone Star State last year with 36th and 19th place finishes. Texas has been fairly kind to him with 7 top-5’s and 12 top-10’s, and enjoys the ‘Hometown’ feel Texas has for him, “Texas Motor Speedway is about 450 miles from my hometown of Batesville, Arkansas. I’ve had a stronger fan following there than anywhere else. Sure I listen in driver introductions when the fans cheer or boo, but I really notice the fans in general throughout the weekend. They are pretty vocal. Since it isn’t that far from Batesville it’s one of the places where my fans go. Texas and Kansas are probably the two places where I see or hear from most of my fans. That’s always a great feeling.”

Tonight will be fun and I look forward to what the Lone Start State’s first race of 2012 has to offer. Until Next Time…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

April 14, 2012
Surprising and Not Surprising: Martinsville Goody’s Fast Relief 500

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]At a track where short-track tempers mix with history and old time racing, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 63rd running of the Goody’s Fast relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

Surprising: After appearing that Rick Hendrick would surely get his 200^th win with Jeff Gordon dominating the race and his HMS teammates Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. nipping at his heels, it was surprising that a Hendrick-powered race car, instead of a Hendrick driver, tooled to Victory Lane.

Ryan Newman, behind the wheel of the No. 39 Outback Steakhouse Chevrolet, survived a green, white, checkered melee to score his first victory of the season. This was also Newman’s first victory and 11^th top-10 finish in 21 races at Martinsville Speedway.

“The first green, white, checkered, I told the guys on the radio that I wasn’t sure I could win it,” Newman said. “It was an awesome finish. Circumstances put us in the right position.”

“I really need to thank Hendrick for their support of the engines this year.”

Not Surprising: Although the race featured the fewest caution periods, just seven, since September 1996, the race was the longest in Martinsville history, with 515 laps and 270.89 miles run because of the green, white checkered finish.

Surprising: It was a bit surprising to hear a nurse credited for a second place race finish. Yet in spite of spending time in the infield care center before the race, the driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge A.J. Allmendinger scored his career best finish at Martinsville.

When asked how he managed to finish second, ‘Dinger said, “The medical nurses to begin with, because I felt horrible this morning, just been sick.”

“I just kept fighting,” Allmendinger said. “I don’t know if I had a second-place Charger, but you’ve got to put yourself in position to do that.”

“I’d like to have got the win, but it was a good day.”

Not Surprising: Fan favorite Dale Earnhardt, Jr. pulled off another solid race day, finishing third in his No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, as well as taking over the second spot in points, just six behind leader Greg Biffle.

And much to the delight of the crowd, Junior even led a few laps as he posted his 14^th top-10 finish in 25 races at Martinsville.

“Yeah, I’m real happy with our finish,” Junior said. “We worked really hard all day to get the best finish we could.”

“This is our first race with AMP on the hood and we’re proud to have a good finish for those guys.”

Surprising: Fords, a manufacturer that traditionally struggles in comparison to Chevrolets at Martinsville Speedway, had a surprisingly good day. The highest finishing Ford was the No. 17 Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation/Gary Sinise Foundation Ford piloted by Matt Kenseth.

“We were pretty good,” Kenseth said. “We weren’t as good as those Hendrick Chevrolets cars but for us at Martinsville, it was pretty good.”

“We came home in the top-10 at Martinsville and to not have anybody mad and not be mad at anybody is probably a pretty good day.”

Not Surprising: While Kenseth got away without anger issues, tempers flared for a few other drivers, notably Jeff Gordon, who was upset with Clint Bowyer, and most of the field who were furious at David Reutimann.

The driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, Jeff Gordon, was pretty peeved at Clint Bowyer, behind the wheel of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, for dive bombing and wrecking him in the last laps of the race.

“Clint and I are friends and I have a lot of respect for him, but I was pretty mad at him,” Gordon said. “I didn’t get the best restart and he said he got hit from behind.”

“I had nowhere to go,” Gordon said. “That’s just the way our year has been going.”

But the driver who scored highest for the number of drivers made angry was none other than David Reutimann, behind the wheel of the No. 10 Accell Construction Chevrolet. Rooty raised the ire of many drivers for not pitting after being black-flagged for mechanical problems and stopping dead on the race track.

“I was trying to limp around to stay in the top 35,” Reutimann said. “The motor just quit.”

“I didn’t stop there intentionally,” Reutimann continued. “I know it sucks and I hate it for everyone affected.”

“I hate that I was involved with anything that changed the complexion of the race.”

Surprising: After scoring the pole position, it was surprising that the curse on Kasey Kahne continued. The driver of the No. 5 Hedrickcars.com Chevrolet again had engine woes and finished a miserable 38^th.

Not Surprising: While Kahne continues to struggle with his seemingly cursed season, it was not surprising to see the Busch brothers struggle at Martinsville. Both Kurt, driving the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Services, and brother Kyle, behind the wheel of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota, had mechanical issues that plagued their day.

Kyle Busch finished 36^th while his brother Kurt soldiered on to a 33^rd place finish.

“We got a little behind because the car was just too loose,” Dave Rogers, Kyle Busch’s crew chief said. “Kyle was doing a great job at hanging onto it and it wheel-hopped a little bit and we got into the fence.”

Surprising: Martin Truex, Jr. continued to surprise, this time with a good run at Martinsville. The driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota scored another top-5 finish.

“This feels great,” Truex said. “We backed into that one a little bit with those guys getting tangled up front.”

“This is probably my worst race track and to come out of here with a fifth place finish – I’m pretty proud of that.”

Not Surprising: The driver of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion not surprisingly planned to celebrate his maintenance of the points lead by heading out for Easter vacation.

“It feels good to go on vacation being the points leader,” Greg Biffle said. “Leaving here on top feels good because this is a tough place for us and we came here and ran respectable.”

April 2, 2012
Matty’s Picks 2012 – Vol. 7 Martinsville Speedway – Goody’s Fast Relief 500 – April 1, 2012

[media-credit name=”Matt LaFlair” align=”alignright” width=”224″][/media-credit]Under the gun with a very important deadline this week, Matty’s Picks will be very brief and uneventful, much like last week’s Auto Club 400.

Last week was another dismal performance for me picking winners, much like this week’s winner pick’s start to the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. I picked Matt Kenseth as my winner pick last week because of the domination of the Ford FR9 engines early this season, but again I was let down. Kenseth finished the 112 lap sprint 17th, and I received zero points for my efforts.

My Dark Horse finished in the top-10 and without my stat book in front of me I can not tell you exactly how many times that has happened this year. I picked Martin Truex Jr. last week as my Dark Horse, but he is steadily working his way into the ranks of not qualifying as a Dark Horse. At any rate, he scored an 8th place finish last week, keeping him inside the top-5 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points standings.

Martinsville Picks

Everyone knows the history of the paper-clip in Southern Virginia, so I don’t need to re-iterate how excited I am to watch all 500 laps tomorrow afternoon. It’s probably the only true short-track left on the circuit, and the race Sunday is surely going to be one of the more exciting stanzas of the season.

Winner Pick

He’s off to a slow start this season but I’m thinking his luck is about to turn around. Sitting in 25th place in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Standings, Jeff Gordon needs to get his act together quickly as we’re almost a quarter of the way to the start of the 2012 Chase for the Sprint Cup. He’s been the guy to beat all weekend at Martinsville Speedway, winning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Final Practice by two-tenths of a second. When you’re talking a flat short -track, two-tenths is an eternity. He’ll start 9th tomorrow, and in order for the Drive to End Hunger team to be in the big dance at the end of the season, Jeff Gordon has to turn his luck around soon.

Dark Horse Pick

This one might be a long shot this week, but in order to win big, you have to bet big. Kurt Busch is another guy that if he didn’t have bad luck this season, he wouldn’t have any at all. He’s starting way back in the field, and will need the combination of solid pit strategy, a good race car, and a bit of lady luck this weekend in Martinsville to come up with a solid finish. The paper-clip in Southern Virginia has not been the kindest of places for Busch historically, with an average finish of just 20.8. One of his 7 career short-track wins has come at Martinsville, but he’s got a tall task ahead of him if he’s to leave Old Dominion with a solid finish.

That’s it for this week, and until next time…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

March 31, 2012
Surprising and Not Surprising: Auto Club 400

[media-credit name=”Simon Scoggins” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]While sunny during pre-race activities, weather came in and played a prominent role at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 16^th annual, but first ever rain-shortened, running of the Auto Club 400.

Surprising: While the race was caution free until the predicted rain appeared, the most surprising issue, other than weather, affecting the racing was that of problems on pit road. Even with the shortened number of laps run, there were five pit road speeding penalties, including Regan Smith, Joey Logano, Bobby Labonte, Brad Keselowski, and J.J. Yeley.

Other penalties were doled out to Jamie McMurray, driver of the No. 1 Bass Pro Shop/Allstate Chevrolet for a lug nut violation and Matt Kenseth, behind the wheel of the No. 17 Ford EcoBoost Ford, who had to go to the tail end due to a team member not being in contact with the outside tires.

The most costly errors on pit road, however, occurred for four-time champion Jeff Gordon and his No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet crew. Gordon had two penalties; one on lap 107 for removing equipment, including the gas can man himself, from the pit stall and the second one on lap 126 for a tire rolling beyond the center of pit road.

“It was just not our day on pit road,” Gordon said simply.

Not Surprising: It was not surprising that the reigning champ proved that age 40 is just about the perfect time to peak in NASCAR racing.

Tony Stewart, behind the wheel of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, scored his 46^th victory, tying Buck Baker for 14^th on the all-time Cup Series win list.

This was Smoke’s second victory in the first five races of the 2012 season. This was his second victory and 12^th top-10 finish in 21 races at Auto Club Speedway.

“I mean you hate to have them end with rain like that,” Stewart said. “But I’ve lost some that way. The good thing is we didn’t back into the lead because we stayed out, the leaders came in.”

“I mean, we were leading the thing and had earned that spot,” Stewart continued. “I’m proud of that.”

Surprising: Usually somewhat morose after a race, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. surprisingly deemed himself “pretty happy.” The driver of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet finished third in the race and moved up to third in the point standings as well.

This was Junior’s fifth top-10 finish in 20 races at Auto Club Speedway.

“We had a really good car,” Dale Junior said. “I was really happy about that.”

“We drove the car up to fifth before the weather came,” Junior continued. “We made the right choice by staying out and building ourselves into the top three.”

Not Surprising: On a day when the driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota led laps, clipped the wall, and then had to work his way back up front, it was not surprising to see Kyle Busch score the runner up spot.

This was Busch’s 10^th top-10 finish in 15 races at the Fontana track. It was also his second top-10 finish in the 2012 season.

‘I wish we would have been able to race the whole thing on one hand, but on the other hand I’m kind of glad we’re not because we kind of had a little bit of damage that slowed us down there,” Busch said. “All in all, it was a really good day.”

Surprising: It was a bit surprising that the driver who not only finished sixth in the race, but kept the points lead too, just was not all that pleased at the end of the race festivities.

“I like this track but the last few times here, we’ve been off just a tick,” Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Ford, said. “Today, I didn’t keep up with the track.”

“I was a little bit too tight.”

Not Surprising: As so often happens, it was not surprising that the pole sitter did not win the race. In this case, pole sitter Denny Hamlin was well positioned to do so, however, pitted prior to the rain, which relegated him to an 11^th place finish.

“We were planning on the race going back to green,” the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota said. “We had finally gotten to Stewart’s bumper when the rain came.”

Surprising: Granted, the race was rain-shortened, however, it was still surprising to see Kurt Busch in his new No. 51 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet score a top-10 finish, the best of the season for both the driver and his team.

“This just goes to show what results when you are smart all day,” Busch said. “The car’s going back onto the trailer without a scratch on it.”

“That’s a first for us this year.”

Not Surprising: Martin Truex, Jr., to no one’s surprise, continued flying the flag for Michael Waltrip Racing with another good run. The driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota finished eighth and is now sixth in the point standings.

“Overall, it was a decent day,” Truex, Jr. said. “This place was really tough on us last year.”

“It’s nice to come in here and have a decent run – something we can build on.”

Surprising: It was a bit surprising that the driver known as ‘The Closer’ did not seal the deal at the Auto Club Speedway. The driver of the No. 29 Jimmie John’s Gourmet Sandwiches Chevrolet finished fourth and is just seven points behind the points leader in the standings.

“All in all, the guys on the Jimmy John’s Chevrolet did a pretty good job,” Harvick said. “We will just keep working away.”

Not Surprising: Jimmie Johnson, not surprisingly, seems to be well on his way to living up to his Twitter moniker of ‘Six Pack.’ After a successful appeal that restored his points and kept his crew and car chiefs intact, Johnson survived an oil leak to finish top-10 in the No. 48 Lowe’s/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet.

“Something happened and we developed an oil leak,” Chad Knaus, Johnson’s crew chief, said. “But the Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevy ran well today.”

“We were really happy with the performance.”

March 26, 2012
NASCAR 2012 Season Predictions

[media-credit id=18 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]*Kevin Harvick’s wife DeLana gives birth to a healthy baby boy on July 14^th. The couple refuses an anonymous $1,000,000 offer to name the baby “Jimmy John,” as well as an anonymous $2,000,000 offer to name the baby “Kyle Hates.” Instead, the Harvick’s name the child “Richard Childress Harvick.”

Then in July during an incident in the New Hampshire Motor Speedway garage area, Kyle Busch is punched by a “Richard Childress” for the second time in less than a year when young Harvick nabs Busch trying to steal candy from a baby.

Kevin Harvick finishes the season with four wins and finishes fourth in the final Sprint Cup standings.

*Brad Keselowski leads at the halfway point of the Daytona 500, earning the $200,000 bonus, and tweets about it as he speeds around the 2.5 mile oval at over 200 miles per hour. NASCAR is not too pleased, and true to their commitment to abolishing secret fines, announces a $25,000 fine for Keselowski on Twitter.

*Kurt Busch, in his new ride for Phoenix Racing, is the laughingstock of the NASCAR garage, and this time, it has nothing to do with his ears. Busch remains bewildered as to the reasons of the laughter, that is, until Roger Penske, a Greek mythology aficionado, explains to Busch the legend of the Phoenix, a mythical firebird that builds a nest, then burns the nest and itself to a pile of ashes, after which a new Phoenix emerges.

Busch is oblivious to the connection, and says he’s never burned a nest, but does cop to burning several bridges.

*Four-time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon begins the “Drive For Five,” the 11^th installment of his annual quest for his fifth Sprint Cup title.

Hendrick Motosports teammate Kasey Kahne simultaneously begins his own “Drive For 5,” as he takes over the No. 5 car driven by Mark Martin. Kahne’s first order of business in his new car is to adjust the seat. His second order of business is to squelch the retirement rumors inherent in driving the No. 5.

*In honor of the deal with Stewart Haas Racing that ensures Danica Patrick a starting spot in the season’s first five races, the Bradford Exchange offers the “Danica Patrick Silver Platter” collectible edition place settings. Each plate is hand-crafted, and comes with a matching spoon, as well as a GoDaddy.com napkin holder.

Patrick starts 29^th in the Daytona 500, and finishes 39^th after a wreck with Robby Gordon sends her to the garage, where a miffed Gordon demands an apology, and a refund for some worthless merchandise he hastily purchased.

*Boris Said wins the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway on June 24^th, slipping by Marcos Ambrose on the final lap. In the post-race press conference, Said Shockingly announces his retirement from racing in order to pursue his true love, rock and roll. Said introduces his band, the “Said Heads,” featuring Said on vocals, Boris Heard on guitar, Boris Smelled on bass, Boris Tasted on drums, and Boris Felt on keyboards.

The “Said Heads” first single, “Greg Biffle Needs A Friggin’ Whoopin,’ And I’m Going To Give It To Him,” debuts at Number 198 on Billboards Top 200 modern rock tracks, and the band later embarks on a Japanese tour opening for Slipknot and GWAR.

*The pairing of Denny Hamlin and new crew chief Darian Grubb is an instant success, as Hamlin wins three of the season’s first eight races, including back-to-back wins at Martinsville and Texas. An optimistic Hamlin starts thinking about winning a championship, while a pessimistic Grubb starts thinking about losing his job.

*Bill Elliott’s pilots his Wal-Mart-sponsored car to a solid 9^th-place finish at the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona on July 7^th, a result that proves two things: 1) Elliott’s still got it, and 2) you can still get a 27 cent can of kidney beans at Wal-Mart.

*Carl Edwards wins the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway, dominating a race marked by few lead changes and ever fewer cautions. Luckily, massive 2011 road construction projects alleviate traffic issues at the track, allowing fans speedy egress from the Sparta facility, resulting in some of the weekend’s best racing.

Edwards posts five wins in the season’s first 26 races, and starts the Chase For The Cup in first, and finishes second to Jimmie Johnson for the Sprint Cup title.

*Dale Earnhardt, Jr. snaps his winless streak by winning the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega on May 6^th, starting from the pole and leading 198 laps. After a victory lap, Earnhardt drives his No. 88 Chevrolet into the infield, where legions of Junior Nation fans, ironically “amped” up on Diet Mountain Dew, lift the 3,400 machine over their heads, as it becomes the first vehicle in history to “crowd surf.”

Earnhardt doesn’t win again until December, when he captures NASCAR’s most popular driver award.

*Kyle Busch sweeps the weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway in late August, winning the Camping World Truck, Nationwide, and Sprint Cup races.

Busch celebrates with the slowest victory procession in history, a drive which takes him from Bristol to Mooresville, NC at four miles per hour. There, Busch cruises at a snail’s pace through the winding back roads of rural Iredell County for hours, until a county officer stops him and advises him that “You’ll have to go faster.” A satisfied Busch complies.

*Prior to the Nationwide STP 300 at Chicagoland Speedway, the Reverend Jesse Jackson voices his protest over the lack of minorities in NASCAR by uttering the phrase “bigotry, bigotry, bigotry” in his invocation, leading to a firestorm of controversy, as well as an Auto-tuned Youtube hit song.

The situation leads to a dialogue between Jackson and Brian France, and the

Simpleminded NASCAR chairman agrees to make changes, starting the following week in Indianapolis, where France taps the Black Keys to perform before the race.

*Columbia Pictures announces it will film a sequel to Talladega Night: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby titled Talladega Nights 2: The Ballad Of An Entirely Fictional Character Loosely-Based On Tony Stewart. A clean-shaven Zack Galifianakis is tapped to play the title role, and immediately begins a strict dietary regimen to gain 15 pounds for the role.

*Dale Earnhardt, Jr. adopts the phrase “One In ‘12” as the official rallying cry in his quest to capture his first Sprint Cup championship. However, after a late-season slump leaves him in 15^th place in the points standings, “One In 12” quickly becomes Earnhardt’s rallying cry for simply making the Chase.

*It takes three months for Matt Kenseth to earn his first win of the season, a victory at Charlotte in the Coca-Cola 600, and another two months for people to start caring.

*Jimmie Johnson, feeling that he needs a change, shaves his signature beard and grows a Fu Manchu mustache, which affords him a more serious and sinister look. Johnson becomes the most-feared driver at autograph signings, as well as on the track, where his newfound persona rankles many drivers, including Joey Logano, who is envious of any type of facial hair.

Johnson wins his sixth Cup title with a masterful performance in the Chase, winning four races and wrapping up the title at Phoenix on November 11^th.

February 9, 2012
NASCAR Nationwide Series May Be The One to Watch in 2012

Sandwiched between the top-tier NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the rough and tumble Camping World Truck Series is the middle child, the Nationwide Series. But for the upcoming 2012 season, this may indeed be the preferred series to watch for the NASCAR fandom.

[media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”218″][/media-credit]One of the biggest new stories in the Nationwide Series is of course that of Danica Patrick running her first full-time gig in NASCAR since her abdication from the world of open wheel racing. For her first Nationwide run, the marketing diva will be continuing her association with JR Motorsports with Tony Eury, Jr. as her crew chief.

“I’m going into this season with a little bit more of a ‘I’m going to do it’ attitude,” Patrick said. “I’ve got a lot to learn and I know that.”

“I’m going to make lots of mistakes I’m sure,” Patrick continued. “But I’m mentally wrapping my head around not just learning but being successful and running well and getting to Victory Lane and thinking about that so my thoughts translate to the real world and really happen.”

Patrick also fully intends to run for the Nationwide championship and even her crew chief believes that is possible. Eury’s goal is to get his driver into the top ten in points after the first ten races of the season, positioning her to make a run at the title.

“She’s gone to a lot of these tracks,” Eury Jr. said. “Before she wasn’t running for points.”

“This year, she’s here for the reason to win the championship,” Eury Jr. continued. “So, she’s not going to be that person that kind of lays over.”

In addition to seeing the new aggression of Patrick on the Nationwide as she attacks her first ever full-time stint, two other super aggressive drivers, in fact brothers, are planning to share a Nationwide gig in 2012.

Big brother Kurt Busch will be sharing a 2012 Nationwide seat with little brother and team owner Kyle for Kyle Busch Motorsports.

Monster Energy, leaving prior driver Ricky Carmichael high and dry, will sponsor the Busch brothers in their No. 54 Monster Energy Camry. Kyle will drive the season opener at Daytona and the following four races and then split the ride with his brother Kurt.

While not competing with Patrick for the Nationwide championship, since both Busch brothers are also racing in the Cup Series, the duo fully intends to complete for the 2012 Nationwide Owner’s Championship.

“We’ve had a lot of talks about how this whole deal is going to work out, what we’re both looking to get out of this and what a great opportunity this is to race in the Nationwide Series,” Kyle Busch said. “Kurt’s never done a full Nationwide deal; he’s always had the itch but never really cared about it.”

While Danica Patrick and the Busch brothers have something to prove in the Nationwide Series, a driver whose Nationwide debut has been delayed also has to prove he can get back behind the wheel of a race car.

Travis Pastrana, who was scheduled to come to the Nationwide world last year but could not due to a serious injury sustained during the X Games competition, plans to run seven Nationwide races, starting with Richmond.

“I feel really good,” Pastrana said during the NASCAR Preview 2012. “The therapy the last two weeks has made huge improvements.”

“We’ll start out with seven Nationwide races and that’s kind of a let’s see how we do, let’s see what we need more work on,” Pastrana continued. “If we’re running OK or if I can get sponsorship to keep running wherever we’re running, we’re going to keep trying to get seat time.”

“I basically have to prove I can get in a car.”

As opposed to Pastrana with something to prove, one driver who has already proven that he can drive a race car will be back to defend his Nationwide title. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. will indeed return to the Series, driving full-time again for Roush Fenway Racing.

“They’re working on sponsorship for it right now, so everything is good,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “It sounds like we’re going to be able to go and defend our title again.”

Stenhouse Jr. won the Nationwide title by just 45 points over Kevin Harvick Inc. driver Elliott Sadler. And for this upcoming year, Stenhouse Jr. is certainly hoping that the championship competition will not be quite as close.

“I think we will do little things at the beginning of the year different,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “So, hopefully the points chase isn’t so close all year. That drives you nuts.”

Speaking of Elliott Sadler, or ‘Ricky Bobby’ as he is affectionately known, he will indeed be back to challenge the other Ricky, Stenhouse that is, for the Nationwide Series championship. Since Sadler’s former team is no longer, ‘Ricky Bobby’ will be driving the No. 2 OneMain Financial for Richard Childress Racing.

“It is such a great opportunity to compete for such an accomplished organization like Richard Childress Racing,” Sadler said. “To have an organization like OneMain Financial support me on and off the track again this year really makes me eager to get back to the track to compete for the Nationwide Series championship.”

“We came up short last year, but I know we have all the parts in place to win this year with this RCR team.”

Speaking of Richard Childress Racing, that team will be putting a member of the family, grandson Austin Dillon, on the Nationwide Series track this year. Dillon, last year’s 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion, will be driving the very storied No. 3 Chevy as his Nationwide ride, competing for another honor, the Nationwide Rookie of the Year.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge of moving with Danny Stockman (crew chief) and the guys to the NASCAR Nationwide Series with the No. 3,” Dillon said. “Our goal next year is to win races and compete for Rookie of the Year honors.”

Finally, there are two veterans worth mentioning as very good reasons to watch the 2012 Nationwide Series.

First is Morgan Shepherd, who at the sweet age of 70 years, will be driving in his 45^th season in the Nationwide Series. Shepherd, competing with plenty of faith, hopes to better his best ever 21^st place in the Nationwide point standings in 2011.

The other veteran who is always worth watching in the Nationwide Series is Kenny Wallace, affectionately known as the ‘Herminator’. Wallace will be back with RAB Racing, behind the wheel of the No. 09 American Ethanol Toyota Camry.

“Corn farmers are excited to continue our relationship with RAB Racing and Kenny Wallace in 2012,” Garry Niemeyer, National Corn Growers Association President, said. “Kenny is a fan favorite and one of the most visible drivers in the sport.”

So, from the veterans, like Morgan Shepherd and Kenny Wallace, to the newbies, like Danica Patrick and Travis Pastrana, the Nationwide Series does indeed seem to be the one to watch in 2012.

Fans can catch all the action of the Nationwide Series, beginning with the DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, February 25^th, 2012.

January 22, 2012