Tag: kyle busch

Grading the Sprint Cup Rides – 2013 Third Term Report

Hot 20 over the past 10 – Montoya soon to be rid of fenders, NAPA soon to be rid of Michael Waltrip

Surprising and Not Surprising: Dover AAA 400

Under picture perfect skies in the Delmarva, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 44^th annual AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway.

Surprising: Probably the biggest surprise was that the ‘monster’ that usually lurks at the track known as the ‘Monster Mile’ was nowhere to be found.

In fact, at a track where one driver’s misfortune can also collect others in the process, there were but 4 cautions for 21 laps, including 3 cautions for debris and one for fluid on the track from the Blue Deuce of Brad Keselowski.

“I’m not exactly sure what happened but something in the rear end housing went out and burned itself up,” the reigning champ said. “We tried to get off the track as fast as we could with the Miller Lite Ford to not bring out a yellow, but obviously wasn’t quite quick enough.”

“We’re getting all of our bad luck out of the way this year.”

Not Surprising: When your driver breaks record after record, including surpassing Richard Petty and Bobby Allison for eight wins at Dover, it is not surprising that the crew chief is proud. But Chad Knaus was absolutely effusive when it came time to talk about his driver Jimmie Johnson.

“It’s been an honor to be able to work with Jimmie over the course of the years,” Knaus said. “I think he’s able to pull out some things that are pretty spectacular.”

“He’s able to dig deeper, pull out his cape, make things happen in winning moments of these races that other people cannot do,” Knaus continued. “It’s pretty spectacular.”

“I think Jimmie is probably the most underrated champion we have in this industry,” Knaus said. “He is by far and above the most powerful driver over the course of the last 25, 35 years in this sport.”

Surprising: Dale Earnhardt Jr. emerged from his second place run at the ‘Monster Mile’ with a renewed confidence and an obvious fire in his belly to get to Victory Lane.

“I feel we’ve been able to really show what our team’s capable of,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet said. “The changes we’re making, everything seems to be going in the direction you want.”

“We came really close today,” Junior continued. “I don’t feel like today was a highlight for us.”

“I think this is how it’s supposed to be every week.”

Not Surprising: With his eye out the front windshield, it was not surprising that Joey Logano, who finished third had no idea what happened to his teammate Brad Keselowski. In fact, he did not even want to take the time to find out, adopting his version of a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy.

“I try not to ask questions,” the driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Chevrolet said. “I know for me, when I talk on the radio, I slow down a lot.”

Surprising: In spite of a pit crew swap with RCR-alliance Nationwide team partners, Kurt Busch had issues, again with a loose wheel. The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet finished a disappointing 21^st, the second lowest of all of the Chase drivers, losing two Chase positions from seventh to ninth.

“A loose wheel did us in,” Busch said. “Nothing went our way today.”

“This is the Chase and you can’t afford to have these problems,” Busch continued. “We need to regroup and get it together for Kansas next week.”

Not Surprising: While certainly disappointed to not be in Victory Lane, Kyle Busch was not surprisingly satisfied with his third straight top-five finishes in the Chase to date.

“Certainly, I wish we definitely could have gotten more,” the driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota said. “We were about a fifth to seventh-place car much of the day and we ended up fifth.”

“The Interstate Batteries Camry got what it could out of it.”

Surprising: As a last minute addition to the Chase, it has been surprising to see Jeff Gordon progress in the way that he has, in fact climbing out of the basement to the fifth place in the standings due to his fourth place finish at Dover.

But even more surprising was the fact that the driver was having such a great time just watching his teammates battle for the win.

“All in all, it was a great day for the Axalta Chevrolet,” Gordon said. “I was having fun.”

“Congrats to Jimmie as he’s so tough here,” Gordon continued. “It was a great job by Junior too.”

“That was fun to watch.”

Not Surprising: When a driver competing for the championship has mechanical failures, it is not surprising that he becomes one of NASCAR’s biggest losers. But even with that, there is no quit for the driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford.

And in this case, Carl Edwards, who experienced a broken left-rear hub, finished the worst of all Chasers in 35^th, plummeting from fourth to eleventh in the standings.

“We did not need to have that trouble,” Edwards said. “Something broke in the left-rear, so that’s tough.”

“Overall, we gave it the best effort we could,” Edwards continued. “We don’t quit.”

Surprising: After convincingly clinching the first two races in the Chase, it was surprising that the driver of the No. 20 Home Depot ‘Let’s Do This’ Toyota pronounced his seventh place finish ‘decent.’

“We kind of missed it today,” Matt Kenseth said. “We got caught with being the last on two tires and restarting on the inside, which was really bad.”

“Still salvaged a respectable finish, but certainly I wanted to do better than that.”

Not Surprising: Even with his sponsor, 5-Hour Energy, renewing their relationship and in spite of his positive, image-enhancing yoga event for Living Beyond Breast Cancer prior to the race, Clint Bowyer was resoundingly booed by the crowd at the Monster Mile during driver introductions.

The driver of the No. 15 Raspberry5hourEnergyLivingBeyondBreastCancer Toyota finished top ten and moved two positions up in the standings to the eighth spot.

Surprising: Jamie McMurray followed up his top-five run at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with an eleventh place finish at the Monster Mile. And with that, the driver of the No. 1 Liftmaster Chevrolet pronounced his season ‘pretty good.’

“Yeah, it’s been good,” McMurray said. “I think our cars have been even better than what they were in 2010 when we won some big races.”

“We were able to hit on a few things that has really worked well for us at a variety of different tracks.”

Not Surprising: With nothing to lose after losing his Chase spot, Martin Truex Jr. was proud of the ‘Hail Mary’ that he and his crew threw at the No. 56 NAPA Shocks Toyota Camry, finishing 15^th.

“Chad (Johnston, crew chief) took a real chance with our set up and I am proud of him for it,” Truex Jr. said. “We had nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

“Sometimes you have to think outside the box.”

September 30, 2013
The Final Word – Dover is over, now off to Kansas where Kyle’s dreams go to die

Dover in a nutshell? Well, Jimmie won, Matt did not, and Kyle had to settle for a mere Top Five. What has not changed is that the trio remain the only relevant drivers as they head to Kansas for Sunday’s fourth round of the Chase.

Johnson made it a record eight wins at that track in just 24 starts in Delaware. By claiming his fifth of the season, and 65th of his career, the five-time former champ is just 8 points behind Kenseth, who finished 7th at Dover. Busch was fifth last Sunday and is a dozen points off the pace. Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick are next, 39 points away. So, until each and every one of the three leaders cough and sputter to somewhere beyond a Top Ten, at least, the rest of them remain just members of the supporting cast.

Dale Earnhardt Jr started from the pole and finished just behind Johnson. A win would have meant more to him than a great points day, as he sits 57 back in the waiting room. Most of the Chasers did well, taking all Top Ten spots, while Kasey Kahne (13th), Kurt Busch (21st after a loose wheel green flag stop), and Carl Edwards (35th after a broken wheel hub) were the outsiders.

As NASCAR no longer releases attendance figures, we are left guessing as to what those big bare patches in the grandstands meant in way of numbers. Considering Dover is a track situated within a hundred miles of Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, somebody does not give a damn. A bunch of somebodies. Maybe stellar television coverage might entice them out to take a look at the real deal.

Rating Dover – 5.5/10 – Too bad, as the visuals of this track, with the dive down the hill into the corners before swooping up on the other side, can be rather breathtaking. I did enjoy watching Race Day, but unfortunately none of the SPEED announcers would later appear on the ESPN broadcast. Good reporting from the pits, but the main crew were, well, the pits. Same old, same old.

After 31-years, ESPN fired Marty Reid for mistaking the white flag for the checkered flag, and for one second declaring Ryan Blaney the Nationwide winner at Kentucky a lap early. Considering it did not detract in the least from the broadcast, that Blaney was leading by a large margin, or considering the amateur hour that is ESPN’s Cup coverage, you would have figured he might have got a bit of slack from the clowns in the suits. Then again, they might have done him a favor. Reid’s replacement? That would be Allan Bestwick. Good grief.

Kansas Speedway is next on the schedule. Matt Kenseth won the last two run there and has been in the Top Ten in each of his past six attempts.

Kansas Speedway, where Jimmie Johnson has a pair, including the fall of 2011. Where he has six Top Fives in 14 attempts, along with 10 Top Tens, and leads all active drivers with an average finish of 7.6.

Kansas Speedway, where Kyle Busch sucks. Sorry, but two Top Tens in a dozen starts does not cut it. Seven times he has failed to crack even the Top Twenty. This is where his Chase hopes go to die, unless this is the year he avoids his Chase jinx.

Congratulations to my mother-in-law, who turns 80 years old today. She will not be part of the broadcast of this race. To be fair, Fran doesn’t know a damn thing about NASCAR, but she would be a hell of a lot more entertaining than what we will hear this Sunday. Maybe she could fill in for Marty. Enjoy the week!

September 30, 2013
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: New Hampshire

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth took the lead for good with 93 laps left and held of Kyle Busch to win the Sylvania 300, his second consecutive win. He leads Busch by 14 in the Sprint Cup point standings.

“The No. 20 Toyota was awesome,” Kenseth said. “If anyone needs to size me for a champion’s pair of slacks, I wear a ‘Husky.’”

2. Kyle Busch: Busch finished second to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Matt Kenseth for the second straight race, this time at New Hampshire. It was Busch’s series-best 13th top 5 of the year, and he trails Kenseth by 14 in the points standings.

“In the JGR ‘1-2 Punch,’” Busch said, “I must be the ‘2.’ Joe Gibbs brings the ‘punch’ to the Chase. Michael Waltrip brings the ‘punchline.’”

3. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson took fourth at Loudon, and remained within striking distance of Matt Kenseth in the points standings. Johnson is third, 18 behind Kenseth.

“Matt won the traditional lobster claws trophy for the victory,” Johnson said. “His two victories to start the Chase, however, have everyone else in a ‘pinch.’”

4. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished ninth in the Sylvania 300, his 14th top 10 of the year. He is fourth in the points standings, 36 behind Matt Kenseth.

“It looks like Matt Kenseth is the man to beat,” Edwards said. “And I used to be the man to do it.”

5. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished a disappointing 20th at New Hampshire on a day dominated by Joe Gibbs Racing. He is now sixth in the points standings, a distant 39 out of first.

“Did you hear?” Harvick said. “Danica Patrick will be hosting the American Country Awards in Las Vegas on December 10th. One thing is for sure—she won’t be winning anything.”

6. Greg Biffle: Biffle finished third in the Sylvania 300, posting his best finish since a win at Michigan in June. He is fifth in the points standings, 38 out of first.

“The Richmond scandal is still casting a dark shadow over NASCAR,” Biffle said. “I know there’s one on the front of my car, but the real ‘splitters’ are Michael Waltrip Racing sponsors.”

7. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer took 17th in the Sylvania 300. He fell to tenth in the points standings and trails Matt Kenseth by 48.

“NAPA dropped sponsorship of Michael Waltrip Racing,” Bowyer said. “It’s no longer ‘NAPA Know-How;’ it’s ‘NAPA No More.’

“Now 5-Hour Energy may be ending their sponsorship. If MWR loses any more sponsors, out cars will be drawing ‘blank’ stares next year.”

8. Kurt Busch: Busch finished 13th as bother Kyle took the runner-up spot, while Matt Kenseth won his second Chase race. Kurt is seventh in the points standings, 40 out of first.

“We’re the only single-car team in the Chase,” Busch said. “But really, who needs teammates? That’s not me talking; that’s a quote from Tony Stewart, right after I decided to join Stewart-Haas.”

9. Ryan Newman: Newman started on the pole at New Hampshire and led two laps before handling issues led to a 16th-place finish. He is ninth in the points standings, 47 out of first.

“I set a record for speed in qualifying,” Newman said, “with a lap of 136.497 miles per hour. That’s one of the reasons they call me ‘Rocketman.’ The other reason: because with me, there will be a re-entry.”

10. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt posted his 16th top-10 result of the year with a sixth at New Hampshire. He trails Matt Kenseth by 62 in the points standings.

“You could say I’m a long shot to win the Sprint Cup title,” Earnhardt said. “And that’s okay with the people of Junior Nation, because they like any shot.”

September 24, 2013

This grading system is pretty basic. Top 10’s, with extra consideration given for wins and Top 5’s, can help you earn an A+. Keep it in the Top 20 each race and that is worth a B. Just by finishing 30^th each time out and that would still get you a C-. Less than that is a failure; a failure to compete, a failure to get noticed.

Grade: A

The top students have been to joy to have in class, even though Jimmie did cost himself an A+ by playing hookey in the weeks leading to the Chase. We are hopeful Kyle continues his stellar work through the final part of the year, though he has had trouble in the past. Matt has really hit the books as of late, and could wind up class valedictorian if he continues his progress. Carl once again is near the head of the class, but time will tell if can charge to the front to finally be number one.

CAR	DRIVER	WINS	TOP 5	TOP 10	TOP 20	TOP 30
48	Jimmie JOHNSON	4	11	17	21	25
18	Kyle BUSCH	4	13	17	20	22
20	Matt KENSETH	7	8	15	21	24
99	Carl EDWARDS	2	8	14	24	26

Grade: A-

Kevin has been in the top half of the class pretty much the entire year and only twice has the dog eaten his homework. Clint is usually a very popular boy, but for some reason I detect that many of his classmates do not want him to wind up at the head of the class this year.

CAR	DRIVER	WINS	TOP 5	TOP 10	TOP 20	TOP 30
29	Kevin HARVICK	2	7	14	25	25
15	Clint BOWYER	0	8	14	24	26

Grade: B+

Kurt, who usually does not play well with others, has some cheering for him. It will be interesting how he works with his new friends when class resumes next year. Kasey had some trouble last week, as did little Joey a week earlier. Dale is once again a very popular boy while Ryan has had some issues to work through, but seems to have replaced former friends with some new ones for next year. Martin has had some problems as well due to the company he keeps, and I am not sure how that will work out. Greg remains a solid student, with Mark helping Tony since he hurt his leg. Meanwhile, Jeff needed some help near the end of the term, though I am not sure it will be enough for him to realize his dreams by the end of the school year.

CAR	DRIVER	WINS	TOP 5	TOP 10	TOP 20	TOP 30
78	Kurt BUSCH	0	9	14	20	23
5	Kasey KAHNE	2	8	11	18	20
22	Joey LOGANO	1	8	14	19	23
88	Dale EARNHARDT, Jr	0	5	15	21	24
39	Ryan NEWMAN	1	6	13	21	22
56	Martin TRUEX, Jr	1	6	12	21	23
16	Greg BIFFLE	1	4	11	23	24
14	Tony STEWART	1	5	10	19	27
24	Jeff GORDON	0	5	13	21	22

Grade: B

It has been a disappointing year for some students. Brad has stumbled a bit since being last year’s valedictorian. Juan Pablo plans to transfer out of our school next year, returning to where he had previously enjoyed very good grades. His friend Jamie will remain with us, and has hopes of improving his status next year. Mark has been busy, first helping Brian earlier this year and now Tony. I am expecting good things when Brian returns full-time next year. Along with Paul, they might not make the honor roll this year, but these boys have done enough work to show they belong here.

Grade: B-

Aric has shown signs that we might expect better things ahead for him. Jeff, as always, was expecting more. As he leaves us a year early, we will miss this well spoken young man.

CAR	DRIVER	WINS	TOP 5	TOP 10	TOP 20	TOP 30
43	Aric ALMIROLA	0	1	5	22	24
31	Jeff BURTON	0	2	6	17	23

Grade: C+

Marcos and Ricky have been okay, though not great. They both manage to get their work done, but I still would like to see better things from them before the year is out.

CAR	DRIVER	WINS	TOP 5	TOP 10	TOP 20	TOP 30
9	Marcos AMBROSE	0	0	5	19	23
17	Ricky STENHOUSE, Jr	0	0	2	20	25

Grade: C

I do not know what to say about Denny. I know he was hurt earlier in the year, but he has not been his old self since he returned. It appears he would just as soon end the year, go on vacation, and start afresh next year.

CAR	DRIVER	WINS	TOP 5	TOP 10	TOP 20	TOP 30
11	Denny HAMLIN	0	3	6	12	19

Grade: C-

Casey is not quite ready to compete with the big boys just yet, but I have been pleased with his progress. I am interested to see how he might do next year. I will miss Bobby, though he has had another disappointing year. Some seem happy with Danica’s progress, but I feel we should expect more by this time. She is blessed with so much more than a lot of the other students. David did succeed on the subject of Alabama geography, with some help from his close friend, the other David, but neither are quite there yet. As for A.J., who sometimes goes by Regan or Austin or, just last week, by Michael, might make some real progress once he figures out who he really is.

CAR	DRIVER	WINS	TOP 5	TOP 10	TOP 20	TOP 30
13	Casey MEARS	0	0	1	9	23
47	Bobby LABONTE	0	0	1	8	21
10	Danica PATRICK	0	0	1	6	23
34	David RAGAN	1	1	1	4	21
38	David GILLILAND	0	1	1	5	20
51	A.J. ALLMENDINGER	0	0	2	7	18

Grade: F

To be honest, I am not sure why these boys are even in my class. Both Dave and Travis, I am sure, would do so much better at Nationwide High. What can you say about J.J. (other than he enjoyed Daytona seven months ago), David S. (who just isn’t the same boy the past two weeks), David R. or Timmy? No, really. What can you say about them? Well, I’ve seen worse. I feel bad for Trevor, as I think if he would attend class more often he might be able to pull in a better grade than this. However, to be fair, of the nine assignments he has done, none have been much to write home about. As for Landon, things just don’t seem to work out. He and Tony R. have done most of the assignments for Austin, which is too bad as the young fellow has done so much better on the two he has written on his own. There are other students who drop in from time to time, but I have reserved my remarks for those who have tried to attend class at least nine times this year. God bless Scott, Michael, Joe, and Mike, but if the school board ever considers reducing class size, they make a good argument. To be honest, they usually do not stick around long enough to become a nuisance. The sad thing is, all four have ability but you never get to see it.

CAR	DRIVER	WINS	TOP 5	TOP 10	TOP 20	TOP 30
7	Dave BLANEY	0	0	0	2	18
93	Travis KVAPIL	0	0	0	4	15
36	J.J. YELEY	0	0	1	2	14
30	David STREMME	0	0	0	4	13
83	David REUTIMANN	0	0	0	1	14
32	Timmy HILL	0	0	0	2	12
21	Trevor BAYNE	0	0	0	4	8
40	Landon CASSILL	0	0	0	4	8
33	Austin DILLON	0	0	0	2	12
95	Scott SPEED	0	0	1	1	3
98	Michael MCDOWELL	0	0	1	1	2
87	Joe NEMECHEK	0	0	0	0	3
19	Mike BLISS	0	0	0	0	1

September 24, 2013

Surprising and Not Surprising: New Hampshire Sylvania 300

With a little bit of magic as well as mayhem, especially on pit road, here is what else was surprising and not so surprising in the 17^th annual running of the Sylvania 300 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Surprising: With no wins and a 20^th best driver rating at the Magic Mile, one driver who just so happened to be celebrating his 500^th career start, defied the odds, scoring his second win in two Chase races.

Victor Matt Kenseth also became only the third driver to win back to back in the Chase, joining Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle in that accomplishment.

“For me to win at New Hampshire, first of all, is more than a stretch and more than a dream,” the driver of the No. 20 Home Depot/Husky Toyota said. “This is probably one of my worst places.”

“That just shows you how good this whole team is,” Kenseth continued. “I didn’t even know there was a Victory Lane here.”

“It honestly doesn’t really seem real that we won yet.”

Not Surprising: As has happened for most of the season, restarts played a pivotal role for several drivers at the Magic Mile, including those drivers that finished second and third.

For Kyle Busch, who finished runner up yet again to teammate Kenseth, the final restart was what did him in, however, Greg Biffle, who finished third, credited a good restart with his top-five finish.

“Those last couple restarts just making some spots, I spun my tires too much,” Busch said. “But just frustrating sometimes when you feel like you’re getting beat on restarts too much.”

“Other than that, second.”

“There at the end, we just drove — we just kept gaining positions,” Biffle said. “I gained like four or five spots on a couple restarts in a row and got up in the top six, and then that final restart the outside lane really got going good.”

“I’m excited about finishing third,” Biffle continued. “Our car was competitive, and we’re happy about the whole weekend.”

Kyle Busch posted his eighth top-10 finish in 18 races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Biffle posted his ninth top-10 finish in 23 races at the Magic Mile.

Biffle was NASCAR’s biggest mover, gaining six places in the point standings as he leap frogged to the fifth position, while Busch held serve in P2, just 14 points behind Kenseth.

Surprising: For all the bad luck that the No. 24 team has had throughout the regular season, this time the driver was the one that caused the poor finish.

Jeff Gordon, four-time champion, made a critical error in getting just far enough out of his pit box to have to back up, losing precious time and costing him vital track position, as well as a 15^th place finish.

“I’m highly disappointed in myself,” Gordon said. “I just came in and slid through.”

“I carried a little bit more speed in there and crossed the splitter over the line by an inch and that’s all it takes to make a difference between a chance at winning and finishing 15^th.”

Not Surprising: After getting booted out of the Chase through no fault of his own, as well as losing his NAPA sponsorship, Martin Truex Jr. had something to prove. And he did just that, leading 98 laps and bringing his No. 56 NAPA Toyota to a top-ten finish at the Magic Mile.

We had a good car the first half of the race,” Truex Jr. said. “That last set of tires was just terrible for us.”

“We obviously made some huge gains in the right direction,” Truex Jr. continued. “Just weren’t good enough to be there when it counted.”

Surprising: Kasey Kahne took a surprisingly hard hit into the wall and ended up appearing to be confused, unable to hear the questions, or perhaps just really disappointed in his 37^th place finish.

“I seriously don’t really remember how it happened,” the driver of the No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet said. “I hit the inside wall but I’m not sure how I got there.”

Not Surprising: The Cinderella slipper lost just a little bit of its luster after yet another issue on pit road. So, it was not surprising that the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet was just a tad upset and pretty disappointed at the race end.

“We didn’t hit it right on the adjustments today,” Busch said. “While we aren’t pleased with where we finished (13^th), we fought for every position.”

“We know we can do much better.”

Surprising: Who knew someone would be so happy to be on the rebound? But Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was just that, finishing sixth after a disastrous first Chase race.

“Just real happy to be able to rebound from earlier,” the driver of the No. 88 Time Warner Cable Chevrolet said. “Glad we were able to get a decent finish.”

Not Surprising: Testing apparently paid off for one five-time champion Jimmie Johnson, who finished a strong fourth, now just 18 points behind leader Kenseth. And the driver of the No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet pronounced himself pleased with his team’s flat track program.

“It took a lot of hard work to get the end result, but we’ve got a nice race car for these flat tracks,” Johnson said. “I’m looking forward to Phoenix now.”

“It’s good to have a good run here knowing we can go to Phoenix and be competitive too.”

Surprising: After an early spin on lap 38 to bring out the second caution of the race, Jamie McMurray had a surprising bounce back to finish fifth. The driver of the No. 1 Linksys Chevrolet for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing gave the Chevrolet brand one of the two top-fives when the checkered flag flew.

“Yeah, are car was really good even after the crash,” McMurray said. “Just a fun day racing.”

Not Surprising: Veteran driver Jeff Burton has literally ‘owned’ the New Hampshire Motor Speedway over the years, often in dominating fashion leading laps and heading straight to Victory Lane.

So, it was not surprising that the driver of the No. 31 Cheerios Chevrolet SS had another good run at the Magic Mile. Burton was the fourth Chevrolet driver to finish top-10, scoring an eighth place at his ‘favorite’ track.

Surprising: In spite of Stewart-Haas Racing scoring the pole with Ryan Newman with a new track record, it was surprisingly not a stellar day for the team. Newman ended up finishing 16^th, while teammates Mark Martin and Danica Patrick finished 23^rd and 27^th respectively.

“I still don’t understand what happened with the car,” Newman said. “It just never drove the same after we won the pole on Friday afternoon.”

“Even in practice on Saturday. Glad we got back up to 16th after the deal on pit road, but I don’t know,” Newman continued. “We’ll head to Dover and see what we can get.”

“It’s disappointing for sure,” Patrick said after making her second start at the Magic Mile. “The car just never felt ‘in’ the track today.”

“It was a frustrating day,” Martin said. “We just could never get track position.”

“It wasn’t the ideal race.”

Not Surprising: Landon Cassill, driver of the No. 40 Moonshine Attitude Attire Chevrolet, not surprisingly had the best response via Twitter to the race after finishing 34th.

“Tough day today,” Cassill tweeted. “We had a decent car but got trapped on pit road when the caution came out.”

“That’s the way the pickle squirts as my mom says.”

September 23, 2013
The Final Word – After New Hampshire, we are down to three contenders heading to Dover

No one wishes Matt Kenseth any bad fortune, but if something should happen, like a 35th place at Dover next weekend, I am sure a dozen other fellows would not be terribly upset.

Things have gone so right for the 2003 Cup champion since moving from the Roush to the Gibbs racing stable. For the first time, he has won seven races in a single season, and for the first time in 28 starts he is a winner in New Hampshire. All this in his 500th career start, where only Richard Petty was victorious on the day he reached the same milestone.

Come to think of it, bad things for both Kenseth and team mate Kyle Busch probably would not tear up the opposition terribly much. Rowdy has ran second in both Chase events, and trails Matt by 14 points in the chase for the title. Let us sum up. Over the past five events, Carl Edwards won a race, Kyle won another, and Kenseth has claimed three. So much for sharing.

Jimmie Johnson remains in the hunt, and as of right now he is the only other invitee to this party. A fourth place result, following a fifth at Chicago, has him 18 points in the rearview. That is just half the distance the fourth ranked team of Edwards is sitting, with seven of the 13 contenders now 40 or more points back. They need to see smoke, bad tires, bad handling, loose lug nuts, a broken jack, a meeting with a wall, an alien abduction of a certain somebody, something to get them all back into contention.

Rating New Hampshire – 6/10 – I believe I have seen more exciting soccer games. It was not an entertaining broadcast by any measure, not visually and certainly not from the announcers, unless you were cheering for Kenseth or Shrub. If so, give it a 9. With ESPN departing after next season, do not expect things to improve anytime soon. Well, not until February.

Expect Johnson to do well at Dover on Sunday, where he has won 7 in 23 attempts, compiling 16 Top Tens. Mind you, nine Chasers have wins there, with Kenseth having a couple himself. Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, and Kasey Kahne have not yet tasted victory on the Monster Mile. In nine races, Logano has led just one lap, but considering what went down at Loudon he just might win the damn thing. Well, maybe if he still drove for Joe Gibbs.

But that honor belongs to Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch, with Jimmie Johnson a Hendrick co-star in this production as they move to Delaware. As long as that trio continues to run well, this Chase is over for the other ten. Enjoy the week.

September 23, 2013
Matt Kenseth Wins at New Hampshire

Matt Kenseth is the man to beat in the 2013; there is no doubt about that. He has now won both chase races with his teammate, Kyle Busch finishing 2nd just like Chicagoland last weekend. This is his 7th win of the season and the 31st of his career. Matt started 9th and wasn’t looked at as a favorite to win the race and wasn’t a factor until after the halfway point. He’s never gone to victory lane at New Hampshire until now and it just so happened to be his 500th career start as well.

The race kicked off with Ryan Newman on pole but he would quickly be overtaken by a hard-charging Kasey Kahne. Kasey led until the first caution of the day flew courtesy of Josh Wise going for a spin in turn 4. On the restart, Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing teammates Juan Pablo Montoya and Jamie McMurray made contact sending the No.1 spinning. Jamie kept it off the wall though and the car was fine until rookie Kevin Swindell ran into the back of him. McMurray rebounded and finished a solid 5th with a damaged rear end.

The next incident involved Bobby Labonte and David Gilliland on the front stretch. Labonte’s car was destroyed while Gilliland suffered some front end damage during the crash. Martin Truex Jr. led a bunch of laps before Jeff Gordon took control of the event. A rare pit road mistake by the 4-time champ ruined his race as he brought home a disappointing 15th place finish.

Late in the race, Kasey Kahne got loose underneath Brian Vickers and smacked the inside wall. He was very upset and didn’t have anything to say when he left the infield care center. Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a fantastic restart with 30 to go and rocketed up to 2nd but he gave it all back within a few laps. It came down to a duel between JGR teammates Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch with the 2003 NSCS champion prevailing as Kyle desperately tried to get to him. Track position was key today and when you didn’t have it, you didn’t stand a chance.

The race featured eleven different leaders, seven cautions and nineteen lead changes. 28 cars finished on the lead lap and five failed to finish. Kenseth, (Kyle) Busch and Johnson have separated themselves from the rest of the chase field and are certainly living up to all the hype surrounding their chase chances. Matt has a 14pt lead over teammate Kyle and Jimmie Johnson faces a 18pt deficit. There’s a noticeable gap back to 4th place Carl Edwards who sits 36pts back. 10th on back are a full race’s worth of points behind the leader and Kasey Kahne is now last in the chase; 71pts back of Kenseth.

RACE RESULTS

1.) Matt Kenseth #20

2.) Kyle Busch #18

3.) Greg Biffle #16

4.) Jimmie Johnson #48

5.) Jamie McMurray #1

6.) Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88

7.) Brian Vickers #55

8.) Jeff Burton #31

9.) Carl Edwards #99

10.) Matin Truex Jr. #56

11.) Brad Keselowski #2

12.) Denny Hamlin #11

13.) Kurt Busch #78

14.) Joey Logano #22

15.) Jeff Gordon #24

16.) Ryan Newman #39

17.) Clint Bowyer #15

18.) Marcos Ambrose #9

19.) Juan Pablo Montoya #42

20.) Kevin Harvick #29

21.) Aric Almirola #43

22.) Paul Menard #27

23.) Mark Martin #55

24.) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #17

25.) Casey Mears #13

26.) David Reutimann #83

27.) Danica Patrick #10

28.) Travis Kvapil #93

29.) David Ragan #34

30.) Michael McDowell #51

31.) Dave Blaney #7

32.) Josh Wise #35

33.) JJ Yeley #36

34.) Landon Cassill #40

35.) Joe Nemechek #87

36.) Timmy Hill #32

37.) Kasey Kahne #5

38.) Kevin Swindell #30

39.) David Gilliland #38

40.) Bobby Labonte #47

41.) Tony Raines #33

42.) Johnny Sauter #98

43.) Scott Riggs #95

– Richard Petty is the only other driver besides Kenseth to win in his 500th start

– 4 of Matt’s 7 victories this season have all come at tracks that he had not won at until 2013

– Kenseth is the 12th different driver to win in the last 12 New Hampshire races

– This is the third time a chase driver has won the first two chase races…Biffle did it in 2008 & Stewart in 2011

September 22, 2013
Matty’s Picks 2013 – Race 28 SYLVANIA 300 – New Hampshire Motor Speedway – September 22, 2013

The NASCAR silly season continues on to New England this week (I mean the 2013 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup) as we head to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the second time this season. The biggest news yet again this week is what is happening off-track rather than the second race of this 2013 season full of parody and certainly, DRAMA.

The Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) saga continued earlier this week as NAPA pulled the plug on sponsoring Michael Waltrip’s No. 56 NASCAR Sprint Cup team. On the company’s Facebook page, NAPA posted this statement: “After thorough consideration, NAPA has made the difficult decision to end its sponsorship arrangement with Michael Waltrip Racing effective December 31, 2013.” A huge statement considering NAPA had been with Michael Waltrip since he raced for Dale Earnhardt Inc. in the 2001 Daytona 500, also Waltrip’s first victory in the cup series.

The statement expanded on NAPA’s position in the sport and its position in the sponsorship, “NAPA believes in fair play and does not condone actions such as those that led to the penalties assessed by NASCAR. We remain supportive of the millions of NASCAR fans and will evaluate our future position in motorsports.”

Of course Michael Waltrip had something to say, “NAPA has been with me from winning two Daytona 500s, to missing races with a new start-up team, and back to Victory Lane again,” Waltrip said. “The relationship grew far past that of just a sponsor, but more of a partner and a friend. We will not be racing a NAPA car in 2014, but I have friendships that will last a lifetime.”

Now, the focus shifts to Martin Truex Jr. and what/if he can do anything to improve his situation in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. On Thursday, Truex spent time at a Woonsocket, Rhode Island NAPA store, and was the source of controversy just a day after it was made public that NAPA was pulling the plug on Truex’s boss. Poked by the media via Twitter, Truex remained professional saying he still had NAPA on the hood for Sunday’s race and was doing his duty as a representative of NAPA to meet with fans and store owners.

The next chapter in the MWR saga will be if/can Truex make a move to another race team because of the sponsorship issues, where will he go, and will NAPA come with him? The obvious seat for Truex would be the No.78 Furniture Row Racing team, a phone that has been ringing off the hook with interest given what the team has done in this 2013 by putting the single-car team into The Chase. The next few weeks will be interesting to see with Truex, Aaron’s will be sticking around, but 5-Hour Energy has still to release the results of their evaluation of their MWR sponsorship.

New Hampshire Picks

Winner Pick

I like back-to-back Joe Gibbs Racing winners to start the 2013 Chase for the Sprint Cup. Since we haven’t had back-to-back race winners yet this season, it’s not Matt Kenseth and since Denny Hamlin’s best finish in 3 months is a 18th place finish at The Brickyard, Kyle Busch has to be my Winner Pick this week.

Qualifying is fairly irrelevant at New Hampshire, so starting 12th is not deterring me from the guy who had the best 10-lap average in the first practice session on Friday at Loudon. The New Hampshire stats look good for Kyle, carrying the momentum and the confidence of being mentioned as a favorite for the Sprint Cup Championship. He’s won at New Hampshire before, brings an additional 5 top fives, and seven top tens to the table this week. Throw in the practice speeds, I’m sold on Kyle Busch as a Winner Pick this week.

Dark Horse Pick

Yet again have I picked the eventual pole-sitter on Thursday Night with Greg on the Prime Sports Network, and yet again will I stick with my Dark Horse pick from Thursday Night.
Ryan Newman claimed his 7th career pole at New Hampshire on Friday, his 51st career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole. Considering the pole position has produced more New Hampshire race winners than any other starting position, I like my chances with Newman on Sunday. He’s got three wins at New Hampshire, an additional six top 5’s, and 15 top 10’s in 23 New Hampshire races. Newman likes Loudon, I like Newman as a longer play this week.

That’s all for this week, so until the saga continues in Delaware next week…..You Stay Classy NASCAR Nation!

September 21, 2013

Brad KESELOWSKI

Juan Pablo MONTOYA

Jamie MCMURRAY

Brian VICKERS

Paul MENARD

So, what have we learned lately? Well, if one cheats, one must not do so in a fashion that allows them to be quickly caught. Caught by everybody. Caught on scanners, radios, and in full view of millions at the track and watching on television. Nothing good can ever come from that. That is, if one decides that they must cheat in the first place.

Since February, 2001 NAPA and Michael Waltrip have been synonymous in NASCAR. That comes to an abrupt end at the conclusion of this year when the company terminates its association with MWR, and it is all due to the events at Richmond. It is a very high price to pay and as much as I did not condone that team’s actions, as much as I applaud NASCAR’s reaction to them, I hate to have seen it come to this. I understand why the team did what it did. I understand why the fans reacted as they did, with those actions affecting two drivers who have become sentimental favorites. I understand why NAPA did what they did, being sensitive to public perception. However, it gives me no joy to read about it. The price has been paid. It is time to move on.

Juan Pablo Montoya is moving on. After seven seasons and two victories in NASCAR’s Cup series, he returns to the open wheeled racing in which he thrived between 1999 and 2006. Over the course of those eight campaigns, he won 18 races, claimed the CART championship as well as the Grand Prix of Monaco in claiming seven Formula One events. Ironically, while he joins the Penske organization in IndyCar, he has run only one race in that circuit, winning the 2000 Indianapolis 500. We look forward to his return to the track in St. Petersburg, Florida in late March.

Matt Kenseth returns to the track this Sunday at Loudon, New Hampshire. Unlike the other five drivers among our hottest half dozen, which includes the Busch Brothers, Ryan Newman, Kevin Harvick, and Jeff Gordon, Kenseth has never won at Loudon in 27 attempts. Then again, he has never won six races in a season before, either, and that Joe Gibbs car of his might be just what he needs to break that streak in New Hampshire.

Name	Points	Pos	LW	Rank	W	T5	T10
Kyle Busch	354	1	1	(2)	2	4	6
Kurt Busch	339	2	2	(6)	0	5	7
Ryan Newman	328	3	5	(8)	1	4	6
Matt Kenseth	327	4	3	(1)	2	3	5
Kevin Harvick	326	5	6	(4)	0	3	5
Jeff Gordon	312	6	8	(7)	0	1	7
Jamie McMurray	310	7	4	(15)	0	1	2
Carl Edwards	304	8	11	(5)	1	2	4
Greg Biffle	299	9	13	(11)	0	0	3
Kasey Kahne	293	10	10	(10)	1	3	4
Brad Keselowski	293	11	15	(14)	0	2	4
Joey Logano	280	12	7	(12)	1	3	6
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	279	13	9	(13)	0	1	5
Jimmie Johnson	271	14	14	(3)	1	3	5
Juan Pablo Montoya	269	15	12	(20)	0	2	4
Paul Menard	261	16	17	(16)	0	2	3
Marcos Ambrose	256	17	16	(21	0	0	2
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.	247	18	20	(19)	0	0	2
Clint Bowyer	245	19	18	(9)	0	2	4
Aric Almirola	239	20	21	(18)	0	1	1
Jeff Burton	230	21	22	(22)	0	1	2
Martin Truex, Jr.	227	22	19	(17)	0	2	3

September 19, 2013

History Says That Title Hopes May Be Over For Earnhardt & Logano

Joey Logano and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were both having respectable runs at Chicagoland until their races went up in smoke…literally. Engine failures ended their days prematurely and the pair brought home disappointing results of 35th and 37th in the chase opener. The rain delay that forced NASCAR to finish at night definitely had a deleterious effect on the engines which may have consequently ended the dreams of two championship hopefuls very early in this chase…the nose damage to the No.88 may have been the reason for Dale’s motor giving up though. Whatever the reason, the fact is that these two are now 52 and 53 points back of the leader which is a margin that will certainly be difficult to make up. Can it be done? Of course it can; especially with Talladega on the schedule but history says that they can’t do it.

Last Place In Points After Chase Race #1

2012: Jeff Gordon was 47pts out and went on to finish 10th in the standings

2011: Denny Hamlin was 41pts out and went on to finish 9th in the standings

2010: Clint Bowyer went on to finish 10th in the standings with the old points system

2009: Kasey Kahne went on to finish 10th in the standings

2008: Matt Kenseth went on to finish 11th in the standings

2007: Kurt Busch went on to finish 7th in the standings

2006: Kyle Busch went on to finish 10th in the standings (10 Driver Chase Field)

2005: Kurt Busch went on to finish 10th in the standings

2004: Jeremy Mayfield went on to finish 10th in the standings

If the pattern continues, these two will most likely finish 9th or worse in points this year. The deficit they now face is more than a race’s worth of points but if they can be spot on the rest of the season while others use up their mulligans; they can definitely work their way back into contention. Unfortunately, I don’t see Earnhardt or Logano being able to put together nine consecutive perfect races although a large contingent of the NASCAR fan base, aka JR Nation would argue otherwise.

Eventual Champion’s Points Position After Chase Race #1

2004: 1st

2005: 1st

2006: 9th

2007: 1st

2008: 1st

2009: 2nd

2010: 6th

2011: 2nd

2012: 1st

History also tells us that Matt Kenseth or Kyle Busch will most likely come away with the championship this year. Only twice in the chase’s nine year history has the eventual champion left the first race worse than 2nd in points. On both occasions, it was 5-time champ Jimmie Johnson. That 9th place in ’06 really stands and it was only a ten person chase at that time so how did Jimmie come back to win the title after that? He had five consecutive top two finishes at the end of the year; that’s how. With six races to go; he was still back in 8th spot. It would take an incredible run like the one Johnson had to put yourself back into contention for the championship after a dismal start to the chase.

We used to talk about mulligans in the chase and how everyone has one that they can use. That’s no longer the case. With how competitive the Sprint Cup Series has become, you have to be perfect with no mistakes in every single race from Chicagoland all the way to Homestead. In 2011, Carl Edwards finished 2nd in the final three races of the year, led laps in eight of the ten chase races, put together seven top five’s, nine top 10’s and his worst finish in those ten weeks was 11th but it still wasn’t enough to win the championship!

I think this year’s chase is going to be the most competitive one ever. I feel that there are about ten drivers with a legitimate shot at the title but Kenseth, Kyle Busch and Johnson are the obvious favorites. Those three also dominated the regular season but when we left Richmond; it was Carl Edwards leading the points so it’s anyone’s guess who will hoist the Cup in November. I believe that this chase will be about survival and winning will be a necessity to keep your title hopes alive. It will come down to the final race, the final laps and maybe even the last corner of the last lap.

September 18, 2013