Tag: kyle busch

Surprising and Not Surprising: Charlotte Bank of America 500

After Jacquelyn Butler, David Ragan’s girlfriend won the ‘Better Half Dash’ and Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne shared a heartfelt invocation, the engines fired under the lights at NASCAR’S home track, Charlotte Motor Speedway.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”237″][/media-credit]Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 52^nd Annual running of the Bank of America 500.

Surprising: With a surprising show of emotion and his dry sense of humor emerging, the driver of the No. 17 Fluidmaster Ford took the checkered flag with whoops of joy, saying in Victory Lane that it was not too late for departing sponsor Crown Royal to reconsider staying on the car.

Kenseth scored his victory from the outside pole position, qualifying surprising well for a driver not known for the most successful time trial efforts. This was Matt Kenseth’s 21^st career victory and his third win of the year.

“It was an awesome win for us,” Kenseth said. “It was a good race.”

“Track position was really important, so qualifying helped,” Kenseth continued. “It made a big difference.”

Kenseth was also surprisingly appreciative of the win, especially after not having been to the winner’s circle for twenty races.

“I’m always thankful to get to victory lane,” Kenseth said. “You never know if you’re ever gonna win another race or when your last win is.”

“I’m thankful for them all and I greatly appreciate being in a position to be able to win races and these guys giving me the cars and the crew and the opportunity to do that.”

Not Surprising: To no one’s surprise, the two drivers finishing second and third had some intense conversation with one another right after the race.

Carl Edwards, who finished third in his No. 99 Aflac ‘Now Hiring’ Ford, almost immediately jumped out his car at the finish to lean into the bridesmaid-yet-again Kyle Busch’s second place No. 18 M&Ms Toyota for a chat.

“We were just talking about the way we were racing there,” Edwards said. “We’re fine. We’ve talked about it and we’ll move on.”

“Hey, this is NASCAR and we’re racing as hard as we can,” Edwards continued. “And we didn’t wreck each other.”

“He just said he didn’t like the way I raced him off Turn Two that one time when he got under me,” Busch said. “He made me loose and it was steering me down the track and I was just trying to hold on.”

“Great run by the M&Ms Camry,” Busch, who not only rebounded from starting last to leading a race high 111 laps, continued. “Best run we’ve had here in a while but still coming up short.”

With his finish, Edwards maintained the points lead by five, with Kyle Busch improving his position by four spots, up to the fourth position, just 18 points behind the leader.

“Overall it was a really good day for our Aflac Fusion,” Edwards said. “We’re trying to have a championship year here and we dodged some bullets.”

“We’ve got to keep finishing like this,” Busch said. “That’s all it takes. If we can finish second here on out, we might win this thing.”

Surprising: At a track often known for Chevy domination, particularly of the Hendrick Motorsports kind, it was surprising to see the Ford brand, primarily the Roushketeers, not only in victory lane but dominating the front of the field. There were four Fords to Chevrolets three in the top ten for this season’s Charlotte fall running.

The win was also significant for Ford team Roush Fenway, marking their 298^th overall victory and their 20^th NASCAR victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was the first Cup win for owner Jack Roush at Charlotte since 2002.

“All of the Ford cars ran well tonight,” Jack Roush, team owner said. “It was just a matter of time until Matt broke loose from his obscurity in the back and middle of the pack and worked his way to the front.”

As surprising as the Ford dominance was, particularly of Roush Fenway Racing, it was equally surprising to see how poorly the Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team ran. The HMS highest finisher was Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the 19^th position.

“I was not the faster car,” the driver of the No. 88 Amp Energy/National Guard/Chevy 100^th Anniversary Chevrolet said. “We got a couple wave-arounds and had a loose wheel that cost us another lap.”

“We just have to correct some of those mistakes,” Junior continued. “We just had a couple of little circumstances that cost us a shot at finishing in the top ten.”

Hendrick Chevrolet teammates Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin also had surprisingly, and uncharacteristically, difficult runs at Charlotte. Their poor finishes, 34^th, 21^st and 37^th respectively, was surprisingly poignant for the teams sporting the Chevy 100^th anniversary emblems.

Jeff Gordon, in the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger/Chevy 100^th Anniversary Chevrolet, went for a wild ride at one point in the race and struggled the rest. Mark Martin in the No. 5 GoDaddy.com/Chevy 100^th Anniversary Chevrolet, suffered mechanical problems that left him in the garage for many laps making repairs.

Probably the toughest of the Hendrick finishers was five-time champ Jimmie Johnson, whose No. 48 Lowes/Chevy 100^th Anniversary Chevrolet hit hard into the wall, taking his breath away.

“That one stung for sure,” Johnson said of his hit. “Just thankful to have safe race cars, safe walls, softer walls and everything did its job.”

With the wreck and the DNF, Johnson was also the biggest loser in the point standings, dropping five positions to eighth.

“This is not going to help us win a sixth championship,” Johnson conceded. “We will go for every point we can from here on out and hopefully we are still champions at the end of the year.”

Not Surprising: It was not surprising to see the infamous grin of the driver from down under after finishing fifth. Marcos Ambrose, behind the wheel of the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 9 Stanley Ford Fusion, could not have been more pleased with his Charlotte run, scoring his third consecutive top-10.

“I ran great,” Ambrose said simply. “I just really appreciate that opportunity.”

RPM teammate AJ Allmendinger, behind the wheel of the No. 43 Best Buy Ford Fusion, also continued his solid runs, finish seventh.

“It’s not what I wanted, but the end result is good,” Dinger said. “I’m happy there were so many Fords in the top 10.”

Surprising: As surprisingly strong as Brad Keselowski has been, surging forward in race finishes as well as in the points, the driver of the No. 2 ‘Blue Deuce’ had an equally surprisingly tough day at Charlotte.

Keselowski finished 16^th, falling two positions to sixth in the point standings. He currently sits 25 points behind points leader Carl Edwards.

“I feel frustratingly fortunate,” Keselowskis said. “The yellows really hurt us. It just wasn’t meant to be.”

Not Surprising: Tony Stewart, who scored his first pole at Charlotte Motor Speedway, overcame tight conditions as well as some damage to his No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet, to rally back for a top-10 finish.

“We were good off the front there, just when we got back in traffic, we got really tight,” Smoke said. “We just kind of rallied back.”

Not surprisingly, teammate Ryan Newman also scored a top-10 finish in his No. 39 Cookies for Kid’s Cancer/Gene Haas Foundation Chevrolet.

“We needed to get at least that much tonight,” Newman said after the race. “We’ll take a top-10 here tonight and now it’s on to the next one.”

With their finishes, Stewart advanced two positions to the fifth spot in the Chase, while Newman moved up one position in the points to tenth.

Surprising: With the image of Hall of Famer Glenn Wood on the famed No. 21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion, it looked like the young driver Trevor Bayne had a fast car and would have a good run. Surprisingly, the car ran out of gas on Lap 238.

“That’s a bad feeling to run out of gas, especially when you’re not expecting it,” Bayne said. “The 21 was just fast.”

“It must have been sucking up more fuel than we thought being that fast, but I think something just had to be funky in the fuel cell or something messed up on the can.”

Not Surprising: Call him ‘Closer’ or ‘Lurker’ but it was not surprising to see Kevin Harvick have yet another solid race, finishing sixth and maintaining his second place position in the point standings. With that, the driver of the No. 29 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet confirmed that he was just happy to be at the half-way in the Chase race.

“We made it through the first five Chase races this year,” Harvick said. “We had had a lot of goals that we wanted to achieve this year and that was one of them.”

“IF you would have told me we would come out of Charlotte with only a five point deficit going into the next five races, I would be really happy.”

October 16, 2011

Carl Edwards Scores Victory at the Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage at Charlotte

Carl Edwards only led five laps in Friday’s race but they were the ones that mattered. On lap 195, with a little help from teammate Trevor Bayne, Edwards took the lead from Kyle Busch and never looked back, bringing his Roush Fenway Ford into Victory Lane.

“If Trevor hadn’t given me that push,” said Edwards, “we would have had a really hard time. So [it was] just a really, really good team effort.” This was his 37^th victory in the Nationwide Series.

Kyle Busch finished second followed by Trevor Bayne in third, who scored his first top-five finish in three races at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Elliot Sadler in fourth and Brian Scott rounded out the top five.

Elliot Sadler also claimed the Nationwide Insurance Dash4Cash $100,000 bonus and won $100,000 for NASCAR fan Joe Thornton of New Port riche, Fla.

“It’s a thrill just to come to the races, but to win the $100,000 I’m speechless,” Thornton said. “I don’t know what we’re going to do with it — my wife wants to pay the house off, we’ll see. It’s just unbelievable, you know.”

Sadler is now only 15 points behind points leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Paul Menard, winner of the Coors Light Pole Award, brought the field to green Friday evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway but only led the first 26 laps.

Brad Keselowski seemed to have the most dominant car of the night, leading 119 laps. But on lap 170 he suddenly slowed due to a tire going down.

In the end, it was a battle between Edwards and Kyle Busch with Trevor Bayne making a late charge in the final five laps. But Edwards was able to hold off Busch and the remainder of the field for the win.

Jack Roush, car owner of the No. 60 Fastenal Ford, was ecstatic and a little amazed after the race.

“I think I’m gonna lose my mind here,” he said. He continued, “Carl wrecked his car today and the car decided it wouldn’t give up. I’m going to talk to that car and I’m going to give that car a kiss tonight.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr retains the points lead followed by Elliot Sadler, Aric Almirola, Justin Allgaier and Reed Sorenson in fifth.

Unofficial Race Results
Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage, Charlotte Motor Speedway

=========================================
Pos.		No.	Driver	Make	Points
=========================================
1	5	60	Carl Edwards	Ford	0
2	6	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	0
3	11	16	Trevor Bayne	Ford	41
4	12	2	Elliott Sadler	Chevrolet	41
5	8	11	Brian Scott	Toyota	39
6	3	22	Brad Keselowski	Dodge	0
7	10	31	Justin Allgaier	Chevrolet	37
8	1	33	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	0
9	2	6	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Ford	36
10	9	32	Brian Vickers	Chevrolet	0
11	17	30	Jason Leffler	Chevrolet	33
12	7	12	Sam Hornish Jr.	Dodge	32
13	19	66	Steve Wallace	Toyota	31
14	13	7	Josh Wise	Chevrolet	30
15	14	88	Aric Almirola	Chevrolet	29
16	20	9	Kenny Wallace	Toyota	28
17	22	62	Michael Annett	Toyota	27
18	27	81	Blake Koch *	Dodge	26
19	4	20	Joey Logano	Toyota	0
20	23	19	Mike Bliss	Chevrolet	24
21	32	15	Timmy Hill *	Ford	24
22	36	1	Mike Wallace	Chevrolet	22
23	31	150	T.J. Bell	Chevrolet	0
24	41	28	Derrike Cope	Chevrolet	20
25	39	89	Morgan Shepherd	Chevrolet	19
26	33	39	Joey Gase	Ford	18
27	37	52	Kevin Lepage	Chevrolet	17
28	18	38	Kasey Kahne	Chevrolet	0
29	24	51	Jeremy Clements	Chevrolet	15
30	35	23	Robert Richardson Jr.	Chevrolet	14
31	34	14	Eric McClure	Chevrolet	13
32	15	182	Reed Sorenson	Dodge	12
33	38	40	Charles Lewandoski *	Chevrolet	11
34	16	99	Ryan Truex *	Toyota	0
35	42	70	Angela Cope	Chevrolet	9
36	40	87	Kevin Conway	Toyota	8
37	28	97	Joe Nemechek	Toyota	7
38	25	104	Tim Andrews	Ford	6
39	26	103	Scott Riggs	Chevrolet	5
40	30	141	Johnny Chapman	Chevrolet	4
41	21	147	Scott Speed	Chevrolet	3
42	29	142	Erik Darnell	Chevrolet	0
43	43	44	Jeff Green	Chevrolet	1

October 15, 2011

Edwards Wins Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage

courtesy of www.onpitroad.com

Carl Edwards has won the 30^th Annual Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage here at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was a rocky road to the backflip tonight, but in the end it was a restart from hell from Kyle Busch that allowed Edwards the win.

Bypassing the first 180 laps of tonight’s 200 lap event, it all boiled down to 3 drivers when the checkered flag flew over the hood of the No. 60 Fastenal Ford.

Paul Menard won the Coors Light Pole Award earlier today in NASCAR Nationwide Series Qualifying, but led only the first 26laps of tonight’s event when points leader, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. threw his hat in the mix as possible contenders for the win.

A late race caution was not the issue for then-leader Brad Keselowski, it was slowing down off of Turn number four here at Charlotte Motor Speedway that took Keselowski out of contention for the win tonight. The spin under caution put Kyle Busch to the lead with around 20 laps left, but the incident would not mark the end of the fireworks in the last 30 miles of tonight’s race.

Fast-forwarding again to the final restart, with just 4 laps left, Kyle Busch chose the outside line as his preferred line of restart. The restart dragged all the way within 30 feet of the pink Start/Finish Line before the throttles were hammered. Busch squandered heading into turn number one, and the fight was on for the win with Stenhouse Jr., Edwards, and Rowdy Busch all in the hunt for the point.

It was Edwards that flexed his muscles by the time the field may their way back to my vantage point off the end of Pit Road here at Charlotte, and it was a 6 car-length lead that Edwards would take with 3 miles left to run. Kyle Busch made his best efforts to reel in the battered No. 60 Fastenal Ford Ford Mustang (the car was seriously trashed, Jack Roush said he would actually kiss the car later tonight for staying together) but would only manage to sneak a peek under Edwards in the final turn.

Kyle Busch blamed the Toyota horsepower for the squandered attempt to take the win, but it was the Fastenal parts of Carl Edward’s No. 60 Ford Fusion that held up after he put a “Charlotte Stripe” on his torn racecar.

Edward’s victory is his 37^th in 241 NASCAR Nationwide Series Starts, and his 8^th this season. Trevor Bayne finished third as the highest finishing Nationwide Series points contender.

In the points, Elliott Sadler trimmed Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s lead to just 15 as the Nationwide Series takes a two week break from on-track action.

October 15, 2011

Tony Stewart Wins Pole for the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte

Tony Stewart captured his thirteenth career pole Thursday evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a qualifying speed of 191.959 mph.

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”206″][/media-credit]Stewart was happy with his effort but a little surprised that the speeds did not noticeably increase from what they had experienced during practice.

“That was a pretty cool lap, obviously,” he said. But, Stewart continued, “Typically we see the pace pick up a little more in qualifying than what we saw tonight.”

Five of the top ten positions were claimed by drivers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Matt Kenseth will start beside Stewart in the second position followed by Carl Edwards in third. Ryan Newman qualified sixth and Jimmie Johnson secured the ninth starting spot.

The remaining Chase contenders qualified as follows:

Kevin Harvick – 14^th

Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 15^th

Denny Hamlin – 17^th

Kurt Busch – 20^th

Jeff Gordon – 23^rd

Kyle Busch – 25^th

Brad Keselowski – 26th.

Drivers Josh Wise, Scott Speed and Geoffrey Bodine failed to make the field.

The Bank of America 500 this Saturday evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway is the fifth race in the fight for the Sprint Cup championship.

Starting Lineup
Bank of America 500, Charlotte Motor Speedway
http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=31
===========================================
Pos.	No.	Driver	Make	Speed	Time
===========================================
1	14	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	191.959	28.131
2	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	191.918	28.137
3	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	191.87	28.144
4	43	A.J. Allmendinger	Ford	191.768	28.159
5	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	191.741	28.163
6	39	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	191.585	28.186
7	27	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	191.462	28.204
8	4	Kasey Kahne	Toyota	191.394	28.214
9	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	191.34	28.222
10	21	Trevor Bayne	Ford	191.259	28.234
11	6	David Ragan	Ford	191.002	28.272
12	9	Marcos Ambrose	Ford	191.002	28.272
13	5	Mark Martin	Chevrolet	190.9	28.287
14	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	190.894	28.288
15	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	190.833	28.297
16	20	Joey Logano	Toyota	190.82	28.299
17	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	190.799	28.302
18	56	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	190.638	28.326
19	33	Clint Bowyer	Chevrolet	190.611	28.33
20	22	Kurt Busch	Dodge	190.57	28.336
21	78	Regan Smith	Chevrolet	190.429	28.357
22	47	Bobby Labonte	Toyota	190.255	28.383
23	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	190.007	28.42
24	13	Casey Mears	Toyota	189.727	28.462
25	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	189.54	28.49
26	2	Brad Keselowski	Dodge	189.52	28.493
27	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	189.401	28.511
28	31	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet	189.082	28.559
29	0	David Reutimann	Toyota	188.923	28.583
30	51	Landon Cassill	Chevrolet	188.851	28.594
31	83	Brian Vickers	Toyota	188.772	28.606
32	42	Juan Montoya	Chevrolet	188.725	28.613
33	34	David Gilliland	Ford	188.6	28.632
34	55	Travis Kvapil	Ford	188.271	28.682
35	36	Dave Blaney	Chevrolet	188.239	28.687
36	30	David Stremme	Chevrolet	187.918	28.736
37	66	Michael McDowell	Toyota	187.454	28.807
38	38	J.J. Yeley	Ford	187.383	28.818
39	87	Joe Nemechek	Toyota	187.311	28.829
40	71	Andy Lally*	Ford	186.657	28.93
41	71	Hermie Sadler+	Ford	185.676	29.083
42	32	Mike Bliss+	Ford	185.44	29.12
43	7	Robby Gordon	Dodge	186.303	28.985

October 14, 2011

NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Kansas

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson dominated at Kansas, leading 197 of 272 laps, and easily pulled away from the challenge of Kasey Kahne to win the Hollywood Casino 400. It was Johnson’s second win of the year, and vaulted him to within four of the Sprint Cup points lead.

[media-credit id=2 align=”alignright” width=”221″][/media-credit]“I’m not ‘done,’” Johnson said. “I’m just getting started. If you’re looking for volunteers to say ‘You were wrong’ to those people who counted me out, well, count me in.

“A win in Kansas means I’ll celebrate with Kansas. The band, not the state. I led nearly every lap, and won handily, leaving 42 cars as ‘Dust In My Wind.’ I struggled early in the Chase, but Chad Knaus told me to keep digging and things would turn around. He was right, and his suggestions to ‘Carry On Wayward ‘Son’ proved prescient.”

2. Carl Edwards: Edwards overcame race-long handling issues, falling a lap down at one point, and stormed back to finish fifth at Kansas. He maintained the Sprint Cup points lead, and holds a one-point lead over Kevin Harvick, with Jimmie Johnson only four back.

“We really came back from the brink,” Edwards said. “The car was junk for most of the day, but with a lot of adjustments and tweaks, we were able to pull one out of our Aflac.

“Harvick finished sixth, so he could just as easily be in the points lead had I not held him off. It was a great battle for fifth, but in light of Johnson’s dominance, Harvick and I might as well be battling for second.”

3. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski raced to a third-place finish at Kansas, his ninth top-5 result of the year. He improved two places in the point standings to fourth, and trails Carl Edwards by 11.

“I’m by far the youngest Chase competitor,” Keselowski said. “And of all the twenty-something’s in the Chase, I’m the only one making a mark. So, you describe our impact on the Chase as ‘youth is served,’ but you can describe my impact on the Chase as one ‘serving of youth.’”

4. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished sixth in the Hollywood Casino 400, earning his 16^th top-10 finish of the year. Harvick fell out of a tie in the points lead, and now trails Carl Edwards, who finished fifth, by one.

“I’m only one point out of the lead,” Harvick said, “yet everyone seems ready to hand Jimmie Johnson his sixth Sprint Cup title, even though he’s four behind the lead. Well, it’s way too early for me to concede the title to Johnson. I have no qualms about making a ‘concession stand.’”

5. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth led 26 laps and posted a solid fourth at Kansas, his ninth top-5 result of the year. He jumped two spots in the point standings to fifth, and trails Carl Edwards by 12.

“I trail Edwards by 12?” Kenseth asked. “Is that in ‘cool points? Anyway, I’m the driver that’s been hovering around, waiting to make a move. Unfortunately, if all you do is hover, then your championship hopes just won’t float.”

6. Kyle Busch: Busch just missed a top-10 finish at Kansas, coming home 11^th in the Hollywood Casino 400. With four races down in the Chase, Busch is now eighth in the point standings, 20 out of first.

“I’m not worried about ‘insurmountable leads,’” Busch said. “It’s ‘insurmountable deficits’ that concern me.”

7. Tony Stewart: Stewart let a certain top-10 finish slip away when he slid past his pit stall during the race’s final caution. The lengthy pit stop cost him several positions, and he restarted 17^th before finishing 15^th. Stewart tumbled four spots in the point standings to 7^th, 19 out of first.

“A mere two races ago,” Stewart said, “I was leading the Sprint Cup point standings. Now, I’m in seventh. So, my pit mishap at Kansas is no big deal, considering I’ve had longer ‘slides’ before.”

8. Kurt Busch: Busch, last week’s winner at Dover, finished 13^th in the Hollywood Casino 400 after a losing ground on the race’s final restart. Busch dropped two places to sixth in the point standings, and is now 16 out of first.

“One week after I smoked him for the win at Dover,” Busch said, “Jimmie Johnson goes out and wins at Kansas, and wins so handily that he’s practically anointed champion. What does Johnson hate more? Losing to me, or losing in general?”

9. Jeff Gordon: Gordon’s engine blew with four laps to go at Kansas and he finished 34^th, which could prove to be fatal to his championship hopes. He is now 47 points out of the lead with six races remaining in the Chase.

“They call Jimmie Johnson ‘5-time,’” Gordon said. “It’s a nickname I’ve longed to possess. The bad news: they won’t be calling me that this year. The good news: the nickname will likely be available next year.”

10. Dale Earnhart, Jr.: Earnhardt finished 14^th in the Hollywood Casino 400, and moved up one spot in the point standings to ninth, 43 out of first.

“Jimmie Johnson looks like a solid bet to win his sixth Sprint Cup championship,” Earnhardt said. “If that happens, then it’s a perfect example of ‘deJJa vu.’”

October 11, 2011

Biffle takes the Hollywood Casino 400 pole at Kansas

Qualifying at Kansas took place under cool and cloudy conditions with wind gusts that reached up to 25 mph. At the end of qualifying, Greg Biffle’s Sherwin Williams Ford from Roush Fenway Racing was sitting on the pole with a lap of 174.887 MPH. His teammate Carl Edwards will start outside the front row in the Aflac Ford.

[media-credit id=2 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]“Well, it was a really good lap. I think what I really would rather talk about is how slow we were when we unloaded off the truck. It was quite amazing. We were 35th or 37th when we unloaded off the truck today.” Biffle said. “We made about six qualifying runs and the last one was pretty dang good and they changed a bunch more stuff on it for the real one. The car was really good.”

The pole for the Hollywood Casino 400 was the 8th of Biffle’s career and his best start in 11 tries at the mile and a half track.

Edwards commented he had never started this far up at Kansas so he was excited. Edwards said “How you qualify is not indicative of how you are going to run in the race.” But he stated that he was excited to be starting so far up in the field.

It is Roush Fenway’s eighth Sprint Cup pole in 2011, with all four of the team’s Cup drivers having won multiple poles this season. It also marked Roush Fenway’s second Sprint Cup pole at Kansas and its first since 2005.

Kyle Busch who starts 3rd tomorrow stated that he hoped to have a much better race than he had last time here at Kansas. He also stated that he was happy to see Clint Bowyer added to the Toyota family.

“We were looking for a little bit more than that, but certainly the pace is a little bit slower than we expected qualifying to be. So far so good. We’ve dodged a couple bullets. The M&M’s Camry unloaded good.” Busch said.

Austin Dillon qualified 26th to make his first start in the Sprint Cup Series.

“Thinking about it going up there, I wasn’t nervous all the way up until it was time to go. And then it’s just like you think of every little thing that could go wrong. We were fast enough in practice to get in really fast. That time we actually picked up some more speed, but I think if I would have calmed down a little bit it would have helped my lap.” Dillon said.

The field is separated by only 0.86 of a second.

Starting Lineup
Hollywood Casino 400, Kansas Speedway
http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=30
===========================================
Pos.	No.	Driver	Make	Speed	Time
===========================================
1	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	174.887	30.877
2	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	174.571	30.933
3	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	174.447	30.955
4	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	174.436	30.957
5	4	Kasey Kahne	Toyota	174.413	30.961
6	27	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	174.317	30.978
7	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	174.222	30.995
8	56	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	174.126	31.012
9	5	Mark Martin	Chevrolet	174.092	31.018
10	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	174.048	31.026
11	39	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	174.031	31.029
12	2	Brad Keselowski	Dodge	174.02	31.031
13	6	David Ragan	Ford	173.863	31.059
14	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	173.617	31.103
15	83	Brian Vickers	Toyota	173.605	31.105
16	78	Regan Smith	Chevrolet	173.527	31.119
17	22	Kurt Busch	Dodge	173.327	31.155
18	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	173.238	31.171
19	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	173.182	31.181
20	20	Joey Logano	Toyota	173.171	31.183
21	9	Marcos Ambrose	Ford	173.066	31.202
22	43	A.J. Allmendinger	Ford	172.944	31.224
23	14	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	172.933	31.226
24	33	Clint Bowyer	Chevrolet	172.889	31.234
25	46	Scott Speed	Ford	172.866	31.238
26	198	Austin Dillon	Chevrolet	172.723	31.264
27	0	David Reutimann	Toyota	172.607	31.285
28	55	J.J. Yeley	Ford	172.568	31.292
29	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	172.535	31.298
30	34	David Gilliland	Ford	172.43	31.317
31	31	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet	172.397	31.323
32	30	David Stremme	Chevrolet	172.177	31.363
33	47	Bobby Labonte	Toyota	172.161	31.366
34	42	Juan Montoya	Chevrolet	171.936	31.407
35	71	Andy Lally*	Ford	171.86	31.421
36	38	Travis Kvapil	Ford	171.521	31.483
37	13	Casey Mears	Toyota	171.429	31.5
38	36	Dave Blaney	Chevrolet	170.989	31.581
39	7	Reed Sorenson	Dodge	170.837	31.609
40	66	Michael McDowell	Toyota	170.53	31.666
41	51	Landon Cassill	Chevrolet	170.482	31.675
42	32	Mike Bliss+	Ford	170.132	31.74
43	87	Joe Nemechek	Toyota	170.148	31.737

October 7, 2011

Move Over Boys, It’s Time for Fans to Have at It

While the action has been intense on the track all season long with ‘boys have at it’, double-file restarts and the most intense battle for the Chase still to be played out, NASCAR fans will soon have the opportunity during Champion’s week to ‘have at it’ themselves with their favorite drivers , unfiltered, in Las Vegas.

[media-credit name=”Photo Credit: nascar.com” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]NASCAR’s wildly successful ‘After the Lap’ event will be repeated for the third year at the Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Vegas. Tickets for the December 1^st opportunity to ‘have at it’ with the champ and Chase contenders are officially now on sale by visiting www.nascarafterthelap.com.

“It’s one of our favorite events,” Norris Scott, Vice President of Partnership Marketing and Business Solutions for NASCAR said. “It’s 3,000 fans packed into the Hard Rock getting an hour or even more of unfiltered access to the drivers.”

“At this point, they have their helmets off, the champion has been decided and it’s a lot of fun,” Scott continued. “There’s a large Q&A session with the fans and Jamie Little hosts it to keep it all going.”

“What I like about it most is the drivers are just having fun up on stage with the fans and with each other,” Norris said. “We’re glad to be continuing this.”

Last year’s event definitely lived up to the ‘unfiltered’ status that Scott described. But, according to Scott, that is exactly what makes the event so special and unique.

“There were some really funny moments,” Scott said. “One of the questions to Tony Stewart was ‘If you were on a reality show, which one would you want to be on.’ He went through all of the reasons he wouldn’t want to be on one but then ended up saying it would be ‘The Bachelor,’ much to the delight of the fans.”

“Clint Bowyer was talking about the green room and about how all the guys were changing into more comfortable clothes and he was busting Kyle Busch for wearing green underwear, asking him what that was all about.”

“Unfiltered is the best way to describe it,” Scott said. “They’re just so good and so comfortable up there and the fans love it.”

Do Scott and the NASCAR leadership ever worry that the fans may cross the line or get out of hand a bit with their questions?

“They’re respectful but I’m not going to lie to you,” Scott said candidly. “There were a few moments last year where we wondered where this was going to go. But Jamie Little is a great host and keeps it in line.”

Last year, one of the Vegas headliners, Carrot Top, made a special appearance, adding another unique element to the event. This year will be no different with Bill Engvall, best known from The Blue Collar Comedy Tour, making his own cameo appearance.

“He is pretty funny and he will spice it up a little bit,” Scott said. “When I tell people about the event, I really have a tough time finding another sports league as a comparable event to this.”

“ There’s no doubt that others have a Q&A for fans but I can’t think of another event where the top 12, including the champion of the sport, are in a venue allowing fans to ask these raw questions to them and them answering them on the spot,” Scott continued. “It’s really unique and special for us.”

Another unique aspect to this year’s event will be that all proceeds, $20 per ticket, will benefit the NASCAR Foundation, particularly programs helping children.

“That’s a new element this year,” Scott said. “In prior years, it’s been free but this year all the event proceeds will go to the NASCAR Foundation. The Foundation has a new focus on kids and children’s initiatives so the money will go through that.”

The ‘After the Lap’ event, while special and unique, is just one of the many events planned for Champion’s Week.

“Prior to the NASCAR ‘After the Lap’ event, the drivers are doing their drive around on the Strip, doing burnouts and then they pull into the Hard Rock,” Scott said. “There is the Coca Cola Fan Zone and the drivers sign autographs. That builds on the excitement before the drivers get into the Hard Rock.”

“Sprint will also have their Sprint Experience there,” Scott continued. “They are bringing a smaller version of what they bring to the track each week outside the Hard Rock.”

One of the sport’s other major partners, Ford, will be further sweetening the fans ‘have at it’ experience with their unique ‘Send Me to Vegas Sweepstakes.”

“One of the unique things about Ford is not only is there the ‘Send me to Vegas Sweepstakes’ where fans can not only go to ‘After the Lap’ but also a chance to win a 2012 Ford Explorer,” Scott said. “Ford is bringing a lot to the table in terms of supporting the event as well as making it pretty memorable for one lucky fan.”

Scott affirmed that Las Vegas is the perfect place to hold all of the Championship events, from the banquet to the burnouts on the Strip to the Hard Rock event. Last year, close to 20,000 fans lined the streets and the ‘After the Lap’ event was sold out with 3,000 fans in attendance, as it is expected to be again this year.

“Las Vegas has been a great city to work with,” Scott said. “Vegas is very quickly become a packed week in terms of events for the fans.”

“Being on the Strip, with the lights and the casinos, it is pretty awesome.”

October 6, 2011
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished third at Dover, leading 116 of 400 laps, and gained a share of the Sprint Cup point standings. Edwards is tied with Kevin Harvick atop the standings, with a nine point lead over Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart.

“Luckily,” Edwards said, “I don’t do a back flip for third place finishes. And, judging by Saturday’s result, I don’t do back flips for wins, either. It used to be called a ‘somersault;’ with the change of season, it’s now called a ‘fall.’”

2. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson held off Carl Edwards in the closing laps in the AAA 400 to take the runner-up spot at Dover. Johnson vaulted five spots in the point standings to fifth and is 13 out of first.

“Many though my slow start in the Chase indicated that I was ‘going nowhere,’” Johnson said. “Well, they were right, because this strong finish indicates that I’m ‘not going anywhere.”

[media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”203″][/media-credit]3. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished tenth in the AAA 400, a solid effort considering Dover is not one of his strongest tracks. He did, however, move in to a tie in the points lead with Carl Edwards, with a nine point lead on Tony Stewart in second.

“It’s great to be on top in the Sprint Cup point standings,” Harvick said. “But the issue with leading is one that is much akin to Clint Bowyer’s future with Richard Childress Racing—staying there.”

4. Kurt Busch: Busch left Jimmie Johnson after a late restart and cruised to the win in the AAA 400, his second win of the year and first of the Chase. Busch climbed from ninth to third in the point standings, and trails co-leaders Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick by ninth.

“It’s doubly satisfying to pass Johnson for the win,” Busch said. “I know ‘slaps in the face,’ and that had to feel like one to Johnson.

“My win certainly tightens up the point standing in the Chase For The Cup. My brother knows all too well that when you put a Busch brother out front, things get ‘tight,’ particularly Kyle’s nerves.”

5. Tony Stewart: After two wins to start the Chase, Stewart’s luck ran out at Dover, where handling issues left him in an early hole from which he couldn’t escape. He finished 25^th, two laps down, and fell out of the Sprint Cup points lead.

“I guess winning three races in a row was too much to expect,” Stewart said. “Otherwise, I may have ran away with the Sprint Cup title. In this case, the third time was the charm for 11 other Chase drivers. But ‘winning three’ isn’t easy; that’s something I’ve spent the last ten years learning.”

6. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth, who won at Dover in May, took fifth in the AAA 400, collecting his eighth top-5 result of the year. He remained sixth in the point standings, where only 19 points separate the top nine drivers.

“We took two tires on the final pit stop in May,” Kenseth said. “We took four this time. Suffice it to say we were ‘dis-May-ed’ with our finish.

“My esteemed teammate Carl Edwards is tied for the lead in the point standings with his esteemed arch-nemesis Kevin Harvick. That makes for an interesting situation, and I, like most others, can’t wait to see which one ‘chokes’ first.”

7. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished a disappointing 20^th at Dover, amazingly his first finish outside the top 12 since a 35^th at New Hampshire in July. He fell three places in the point standings to sixth, and trails the leaders by 14.

“We had a good car until our power steering failed,” Keselowski said. “You could say we were ‘cursed’ by mechanical issues, which is definitely not the first time the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge has been ‘cursed.’ Heck, Kurt Busch used to drive this car.”

8. Jeff Gordon: Gordon qualified 34^th at Dover, and with track position at a premium, could only manage a 12^th-place finish. He fell four places to ninth in the point standings, and is 19 out of first.

“We’ve dug ourselves a hole,” Gordon said. “That’s not as bad as my Hendrick teammate Dale Earnhardt, Jr. He dug himself a grave.”

9. Kyle Busch: Busch bounced back from two sub-par finishes to start the Chase with a sixth at Dover, his 17^th top-10 finish of the season. He eighth in the point standings,15 points out of the lead.

“A sixth-place finish is encouraging,” Busch said, “but knowing you started the Chase with the lead just three short weeks ago is discouraging. But I’ve got my head up. I understand Denny Hamlin has employed a sports psychologist to improve his attitude. Many people say I need psychological help. My supporters say I don’t need psychological help, just an evaluation. Anyway, if a sports psychologist could tell me anything, he’d likely say ‘You’re still in the driver’s seat.’ And I would likely reply, ‘I’m paying you for this?’”

10. Ryan Newman: Newman finished 23^rd, two laps down, after ongoing handling issues left his No. 39 Stewart-Haas Chevy with little grip and poor handling. He is now 11^th in the Sprint Cup point standings, 41 out of first.

“Our performance is upsetting,” Newman said. “And I think it showed on my face. Anyone could see that I was ‘drivin’ and (c)Ryan.’

“I’m declaring myself a non-factor in the Chase. And if things work out for me like they did for Tony Stewart, I’ll be back in the thick of things after winning at Kansas and Charlotte.”

October 4, 2011
Martin Truex Jr. Scores Monstrous Pole at Track He Owes

At a track that he considers home, as well as the one to whom he owes the launching of his Cup career, Martin Truex, Jr., driver of the No. 56 Napa Auto Parts Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, scored his first pole of the season.

[media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”238″][/media-credit]This was Truex’s sixth pole in his Cup career but his second in 12 races at Dover International Speedway. Truex conquered the concrete mile for the fastest lap at a time of 22.641 seconds and a speed of 159.004 mph.

“It was a good lap,” Truex Jr. said. “I knew it was good coming off of (Turn) Four but you never know exactly what kind of time you have to run, especially today with the track being so much faster than in practice yesterday.”

Truex Jr. also affirmed his affection and affinity for the Monster Mile, which is just two hours away from Mayetta, New Jersey where he grew up.

“It’s always nice to come here to Dover,” Truex Jr. said. “I love this place.”

“I feel like I understand what it takes to get around the place,” Truex said. “It’s a really challenging and difficult race track and if you don’t like it, it’s one of those places that you’re never going to figure out.”

“I really enjoy the place and I’ve had good race cars too.”

Truex Jr. also hopes that being on the pole can catapult his team back to Victory Lane, a place where he has not been in awhile.

“I feel good we can get back there this weekend,” Truex said. “Certainly our team has done a phenomenal job the second half of the year.

“We’ve had some really strong runs lately,” Truex continued. “This is a great thing for us. It would be nice to get back to Victory Lane before the season is out.”

Truex Jr. was also proud that he was able to outrun the Chase competitors for the pole position. Having said that, however, he still lamented that he was not chasing the Cup championship this year.

“It doesn’t feel good to not be in it,” Truex Jr. said. “But this is what we come to the race track to do every weekend.”

“Today we were the best out of the cars out of the race track,” Truex continued. “If we do this next year, we will be in the Chase.”

Truex, Jr. was just 0.003 seconds ahead of second place qualifier Kurt Busch, driving the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Dodge. This was Busch’s 17^th top-10 start of 2011 and his 15^th in 23 races at the Monster Mile.

“This has always been a fun track to qualify on and one you have to get really amped up for,” Busch said. “It was a nice lap for us but I left a little bit on the table.”

“Sure enough Martin Truex Jr. got us by three thousandth of a second.”

Busch acknowledged that qualifying was a challenge after a night of rain led to a ‘green’ race track.

“It’s difficult,” Busch said. “I remember in years past when the track would be fresh from rain and it would be on the looser side. But when you are on the tight side at the Monster Mile, you don’t have the speed.”

Busch also said that he was not worried in the least about being the only car in the Chase to qualify in the front of the pack.

“It won’t be scary,” Busch said. “We’re qualified on the front row so you have to trust the guys around you.”

“That’s only lap one of the race,” Busch continued. “You race your own race and let it all pan out.”

“When you get to the final two pit stops, that’s when you look for the other Chase guys.”

Paul Menard, driver of the No. 27 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet, qualified in the third spot. This was Menard’s third top-10 start at Dover and his 14^th in 29 races in the 2011 season to date.

“It was a good run for us,” Menard said. “Obviously, I wanted that pole.”

“I’m still shaking a little bit from the run,” Menard continued. “It takes a lot to get up on the wheel after not practicing. Starting P3 is pretty good for us.”

Carl Edwards, behind the wheel of the No. 99 Aflac Ford, and Kyle Busch, this week in the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota rounded out the top five in qualifying for the AAA 400.

October 1, 2011
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: New Hampshire

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”238″][/media-credit]1. Tony Stewart: Stewart zoomed past Clint Bowyer’s sputtering No. 33 Chevrolet with two laps to go at New Hampshire, capturing his second-straight win and moving to the top of the Sprint Cup point standings. Stewart is 2 for 2 in the Chase and now leads Kevin Harvick by seven points.

“I was past Bowyer in a flash,” Stewart said. “I saw ‘Cheerios’ then said my ‘bye bye’s.’ I left Bowyer faster than Richard Childress.

“As I cryptically stated before, we turned things around by unloading some ‘dead weight.’ A Stewart-Haas press release states that no further clarification of what or who ‘dead weight’ is or was is forthcoming. The ‘weight’ is over, and as soon as I have a bad finish and need a convenient scapegoat, the ‘wait’ will be over, and I’ll name names.”

2. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski charged late to finish second in theSylvania300, earning his fifth finish of third of better in the last eight races. He leaped three spots in the point standings to third, and now trails Tony Stewart by 11.

“I’m just curious,” Keselowski said. “If I win a race in the Chase, do I get credit for it?

“Anyway, for anyone who’s doubted my ability as a viable championship contender, this should prove once and for all that I can win it all. I’m no longer just a ‘Cinderella’ story, but I’ve ‘made believers’ out of many.”

3. Jeff Gordon: Gordon led a race-high 78 laps, and looked to be on his way to the win before a problem on a gas can exchange on his final pit stop dropped him back in the field. He finished third and vaulted six spots in the point standings to fifth, 23 out of first.

“If it’s not another team sabotaging a sure win,” Gordon said, “it’s my own. When you have a car as good as the No. 24 Chevy was on Sunday, you should ‘get more out’ of it than a third place. By that same token, my re-fuelers should ‘get more in.’”

4. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished eighth at New Hampshire, posting his series-best 19^th top-10 result of the year, and second of the Chase. He sits fourth in the point standings, 14 out of first.

“Tony Stewart and the No. 14 team are peaking at the right time,” Edwards said, “which happens to be six months later than I did.”

5. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished a disappointing12^th in the Sylvania 300, as a stop for fuel left him mired in traffic and unable to make a run towards the front. He dropped out of the lead in the point standings, but trails new leader Tony Stewart by only seven points.

“I really could have used a teammate’s spin,” Harvick said, “but I think it would have been too much to ask Clint Bowyer to spin while he was leading the race. Clint, understandably, isn’t willing to ‘take one for the team’ because Richard Childress is willing to ‘take one from the team.’”

6. Kyle Busch: Busch finished a lackluster 11^th at Loudon, as an ill-handling car left him frustrated. After entering the Chase For The Cup on top of the standings, he’s fallen into a tie for sixth, 26 out of first.

“I’m running myself right out of championship contention,” Busch said. “I ‘took a bow’ four times during the regular season. I think I’ve got one more in my. That would be my ‘final bow,’ because it’s ‘curtains’ for my title hopes.”

7. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished a solid sixth at Loudon as all four Roush Fenway cars cracked the top 10. Kenseth jumped four spots in the standings and is now tied for sixth, 26 behind Tony Stewart.

“Roush Fenway has two cars in the Chase,” Kenseth said, “and two cars out of the Chase. And four cars with no chance of winning the Sprint Cup.”

8. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson was competitive early in the Sylvania300, but faded late after contact with Kyle Busch. He finished 18^th and tumbled two places to tenth in the point standings. It’s the first time Johnson has ever been lower than ninth in the Chase standings.

“Most people are saying it’s time to show ‘what we’re made of,’” Johnson said. “That’s wrong. I know what we’re made of—five Cups of championship.”

9. Ryan Newman: Newman started from the pole and led the first 62 laps at Loudon, only to see a solid finish derailed by a loose right front wheel five laps from the end. He finished a lap down in 25^th and dropped five places in the points to 11^th.

“Me and Tony finished 1-2 here back in July,” Newman said. “I guess I didn’t hold up my end of the bargain this time. I felt like the ‘third wheel’ this time, thanks to my fourth wheel.”

10. Kurt Busch: Busch’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge failed pre-race inspection and was late to pit road before the start of the Sylvania300. He finished 22^nd and dropped five places to ninth in the point standings.

“You heard right,” Busch said. “The ‘F’ word was uttered on live television—the ‘fail’ word. NASCAR said the car’s rear-end housing didn’t fit the templates. It was too high. I’ll tell what’s not too high—my opinion of this team.”

September 27, 2011