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Tag: Martin Truex Jr.

  • Capital City 400 Review: Virginia is for Drama

    Capital City 400 Review: Virginia is for Drama

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]For the first half of the race, it looked like Carl Edwards would be the man in victory lane at the end of the Capitol City 400. However, after a late race penalty Edwards was put to the rear of the field, giving the lead up for grabs.

    After leading for 206 laps, Edwards was black flagged for jumping the restart on Lap 320. He was forced to make a pass through penalty on pit road, which dropped him back to 15th place. The No. 99 team was very irate about the situation, but NASCAR wasn’t hearing it. Edwards’ team was confused about the situation and wanted to know if they received the penalty for jumping the restart, or for beating Stewart to the line.

    Edwards may have jumped the restart however, the situation looked worse when Stewart spun his tires on the start – this bunched up the rest of the field and caused Edwards’ to jump out about three car lengths over the rest of the field.

    Either way you look at it, this penalty gave Stewart the lead of the race.  Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, and AJ Allmendinger rounded out the Top 5. Stewart and Busch led the field with seven seconds over Earnhardt. It looked as if Stewart would drive to his third victory lane of the season until caution for debris flew once again with 14 laps to go. Edwards received the lucky dog during this caution and was back on the lead lap.

    After problems on pit road for Stewart, Busch won the race off of pit road. Stewart spun his tires once again on the restart, allowing Earnhardt to take over second position and give the fans something to yell about. Earnhardt trailed Busch by half a second but wasn’t able to catch him when the checkered flag waved. Finishing second has moved Earnhardt to second position in point’s standings, just five points from the leader.

    Busch took Richmond by storm, winning the Nationwide race as the car owner of Kyle Busch Motorsports, and winning as a driver for Joe Gibbs Racing. Busch has been flying under the radar this season and is lower in points than we normally see him. Winning at Richmond gained him two positions in points, moving him to 11th position.

     

    What’s On the Horizon for Talladega?

    The good thing about Talladega is: it’s anybody’s race! It doesn’t matter where you start, because it only takes one lap for a driver to move from last to first position, or vice versa. Talladega is the biggest and wildest track on the circuit and it never fails to put on a good show.  Jimmie Johnson won the Aaron’s 499 last year, and he could very well do it again. However, I’m looking at Michael Waltrip Racing in Talladega.

    I believe that MWR will be a force to reckon with at the Superspeedway. Owner Michael Waltrip will get behind the wheel of the No. 55 to race at a track that he has won before. Everyone knows that Waltrip is a master at superspeedways and his drivers, Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer, aren’t too shabby either.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”319″][/media-credit]Bowyer has two career wins at Talladega, along with six top 10 finishes. Although Truex hasn’t won at Talladega in the Cup series, he has won the Aaron’s 312 Nationwide race three years in a row. Truex has been oh so close to reaching victory lane this season and I think Talladega will be where he gets his first win of 2012.

  • STP 400 Review: Close, But No Cigar

    STP 400 Review: Close, But No Cigar

    Martin Truex Jr. has been on his game this season, with six Top 10 and three Top 5 finishes, including winning the pole award at Texas Motor Speedway. He has been oh so close to victory lane, but just hasn’t been able to get his second Sprint Cup career win.

    [media-credit name=”Jamie Squire/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”308″][/media-credit]It looked as if Sunday would be the day Truex would drive his No. 55 Napa Chevrolet to victory lane, after leading 173 laps and dominating the field all day. However, late in the race, his car got loose as the sun began to shine on the cold track. This caused Truex to lose speed, allowing fellow Toyota driver Denny Hamlin to steal the top position from him. Truex gave it all he had in the closing laps, pushing his car to the edge, but he couldn’t catch Hamlin’s fast FedEx Toyota.

    Truex’s runner-up finish has gained him two positions in points, moving him to second place, just 15 points out of the lead. Heading to Richmond International Speedway, Truex has one Top 5 and two Top 10 finishes.

    I think Truex’s next best chance of winning his first race of the season will be at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Coca Cola 600. He has good statistics on intermediate tracks, with 12 Top 5 finishes. He has also won two non-points races at Charlotte Motor Speedway – the All-star showdown race in 2007 and 2010.

    Kahne’s Season Continues to Look Up

    Kasey Kahne started the STP 400 in ninth position and remained in the Top 10 for most of the race. His eighth place finish at Kansas is only his second Top 10 of the season. Kahne’s back-to-back Top 10 finishes, at Texas Motor Speedway and Kansas, have moved him from 31st to 26th in the standings.

    Kasey Kahne used a new spotter on Sunday – Kevin Hamlin, who is a former driver and a Richard Childress Racing employee. Kahne will use Hamlin for the upcoming races at Richmond International Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway while he searches for a solution to his spotter woes. Jeff Gordon’s former spotter, Shannon McGlammery, replaced Kole Kahne at Martinsville Speedway after confusion that led to a wreck at Bristol Motor Speedway. Kahne has been weighing out his options since, trying to decide which spotter he feels most comfortable with.

    This week Kahne heads to the track where he won his first Sprint Cup Series race in 2005. He has three Top 5 and six Top 10 finishes at Richmond International Raceway. Although the season is still young, Kahne will need to get the ball rolling if he wants to make the Chase this year. With the wild-card Chase format, Kahne could also make the Chase simply by winning a race.

    Earnhardt Currently Leads Hendrick Motorsports

    If you would have asked me at the beginning of the season which driver of Hendrick Motorsports would be the most competitive this season, I wouldn’t have chosen Dale Earnhardt Jr. However, Earnhardt has regained his competitive nature that he seemed to have lost the past few seasons and his consistency is impeccable. So far in 2012, Earnhardt has six Top 10 finishes, including a second place finish in the Daytona 500. It seems as if his No. 88 team has finally found that chemistry they have been looking for and are ready to be competitive every week.

    What’s most shocking about this season for HMS is not the fact that Earnhardt is running so well, but that the rest of HMS has had a less than mediocre year. As previously stated, Kahne is just starting to get his season rolling after struggling for the first part of the season – while Kahne’s teammates, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, have been flying under the radar.

    Gordon has an average finish this season of 20th position and is 18th in points standings. His dissapointment after Kansas was evident after suffering engine issues and finishing in 21st position. Johnson has yet to win a race this season, but seems to be okay with just consistent finishes. So far Johnson has six Top 10 finishes this season.  It will be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out among the HMS team.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Kansas STP 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Kansas STP 400

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Tyler Barrick/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]From the command to start engine from Victory Junction Gang campers to Brad Keselowski manning the tank to rip up the Kansas track after the race ended, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 2nd Annual STP 400.

    Surprising:  While Kansas may be known as the Land of Oz, it was more like the land of highs and lows for this race day, with an extremely high number of engine failures and pit errors to a record low number of cautions.

    Dale Earnhardt, Jr., driver of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard, was one of the first to struggle on pit road, missing it completely as he attempted to pit early in the race. Other drivers, such as Kasey Kahne and Kevin Harvick barely made it to the pits after running short on fuel. And even five-time champion Jimmie Johnson had his own set of pit woes with his team struggling with a loose lug nut.

    There were also an extremely high number of engine problems, affecting  drivers from Bobby Labonte and Mark Martin to four-time champion Jeff Gordon, all of whose engines either sputtered or just plain blew up completely.

    And as for cautions, there were only three, the lowest ever for a Sprint Cup race at Kansas Speedway. Although there was the lowest number of cautions, on the flip side, the average speed was surprisingly the highest at Kansas, 144.126 mph, a new track record.

    Not Surprising:  On the rough surface of the Kansas Speedway, it was not surprising that tires made all the difference in the outcome of the race. Just ask Martin Truex, Jr. whose tires fell off after leading 173 laps, costing him the race win and handing it to Denny Hamlin with just 31 laps to go.

    “We put that last set of tires on and it wasn’t anything like it had been all day long – just bad, bad loose,” the driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry said. “We had them. I don’t know what happened with that last set of tires but they were terrible.”

    With Truex’s tire troubles, Denny Hamlin capitalized, scoring his 19th victory in 231 Cup Series races. This was the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota driver’s second victory and fourth top-10 finish in the 2012 season. It was also the first time his manufacturer, Toyota, was in victory lane at Kansas.

    “I knew that he was driving his heart out as well as I was driving mine,” Hamlin said. “What got me the lead was driving hard and that’s kind of where we were able to stretch it out.”

    Surprising:  After scoring the pole position, it was surprisingly heartbreaking that the troubles that have been omnipresent for A.J. Allmendinger continued. The driver of the No. 22 AAA Dodge for Penske Racing went from race leader to a 32nd place finish because of engine troubles.

    “Man, it’s just starting to feel like ‘Ground Hog’s Day’,” Allmendinger said. “We were off to such a great start and then the gremlins hit us.”

    “Not sure how to explain it other than you’re on the pole one minute riding around leading laps and then the next thing you know your car isn’t right,” Dinger continued. “I just couldn’t believe it. Like I said, ‘Ground Hog Day.’

    Not Surprising:  With his confidence growing, it was not surprising to see fellow Penske racer Sam Hornish Jr. have a respectable run in his one off deal for the team. The driver of the No. 12 SKF Penske Dodge scored a 19th place finish.

    “We had a decent day,” Hornish Jr. said. “We led some laps and made a very respectable effort.”

    “It was good to get back in a Cup car again.”

    Surprising:  Since everyone wants to win in front of their friends and family, it was surprising that no home town heroes were in victory lane at Kansas Speedway. Carl Edwards, who was able to drive to the track from his home, finished ninth and Clint Bowyer, fellow Kansas native, had engine troubles, finishing in the 36th spot.

    “It was just a major bummer,” Clint Bowyer, the driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, said. “I just wish it wouldn’t have happened here.”

    “It wasn’t a great result but a really good effort,” Edwards said of his run in the No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion. “I wanted to win here more than anything but we get to come back.”

    “It’s humbling and I can’t wait to come back,” Edwards continued. “We’ll do it.”

    Not Surprising:   The quest for the 200th win for Hendrick Motorsports is not surprisingly beginning to resemble the streak that Susan Lucci experienced with her Daytime Emmy awards. While Hendrick Motorsports had a fairly good day, with the exception of Jeff Gordon, the 200th victory still remains elusive.

    “It just didn’t happen,” the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger said. “As a group, we know it’s coming.”

    “It’s just when you have a target, it always makes it more challenging,” Gordon continued. “We’re trying not to put too much pressure on us with that and just trying to go out and do our thing and do our job.”

    Surprising:  While Hendrick Motorsports struggled to reach their 200th win marker at Kansas, it was surprising to note that there is another quest for a 200th victory. The race winning No. 11 car in fact now has 199 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories, breaking a tie for most wins all-time with the No. 43.

    Other drivers who have won in the No. 11 car include Cale Yarborough with 55 wins, Ned Jarrett with 49, Darrell Waltrip with 43, Denny Hamlin with 19, Junior Johnson with 11, Bill Elliott with 6, Geoff Bodine with 4, Terry Labonte with 4, Bobby Allison with 3, Buddy Baker with 2, A.J. Foyt with 1, Mario Andretti with 1 and Parnelli Jones with 1.

    Not Surprising:  Greg Biffle, to no one’s surprise, has continued his consistently good runs. The driver of the No. 16 3M Ford finished fifth and more important maintained his points lead.

    “It’s not a disappointing day for a fifth-place finish,” Biffle said. “But it’s probably a disappointing day for how the car ran.”

    “It feels good to be disappointed with a fifth-place finish,” Biff continued. “Fifth is OK but we wanted to compete better on the race track.”

     

  • Truex Jr. trying to look forward after disappointing Kansas defeat

    Truex Jr. trying to look forward after disappointing Kansas defeat

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”255″][/media-credit]Since he won his first career race at Dover in June of 2007, Martin Truex Jr. says the story of his career has been giving wins away.

    None of them however, were as disappointing as Sunday afternoon in Kansas. Truex led 173 of 267 laps but after the team’s final pit stop was unable to overcome Denny Hamlin. Whether it was the appearance of the sun or the set of tires, the No. 56 didn’t drive as well as it had been and his late race charge wasn’t enough.

    “It’s a little bit frustrating to be honest, but overall a good day for the NAPA team,” said Truex. “I guess if we can be disappointed with second it showed how far we’ve come as a race team. Just really proud of everybody at MWR and Toyota for helping us get where we are. The NAPA team was phenomenal today.”

    Truex started the STP 400 from the sixth position but quickly moved into the lead by the races 40-lap mark. At times he held more than a five second advantage over competitors such as Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson.

    The NAPA machine was so strong that Johnson was never able to get around Truex, even though Johnson’s crew chief Chad Knaus was sure Truex would either mess up or the 48 team would beat him off pit road.

    Neither happened, and Truex continued to set a strong pace. He looked untouchable and headed for his second career win. But the final pit stop changed everything, even though he came out ahead of Hamlin.

    Truex told the team the car was “wrecking loose” and repeatedly said he wasn’t happy with the set of tires. With 30 laps to go Hamlin finally got around Truex for the lead and the win.

    “I felt like today was a kind of day where I thought I was back and felt really strong that we’d have a car that could contend for the win going into the race and then be able to do that all day long, it was a good feeling,” said Truex.

    “As disappointed as I am with this second place, this is a big day for us as a team. It’s kind of a statement for us that we’re here for the long haul; we’re here for the rest of the season. We’re not just a flash in the pan. We’ve been solid each week, and I know our wins are going to come, we just need to keep running like we are.”

    For as disappointed and frustrated Truex was afterwards, he knew there was no place for his team to go but up. It will just take some time to get over what happened on Sunday.

    But knowing that he’s a capable driver and that his team is capable of getting the job done, will help. It’s why Sunday left Truex with a difficult pill to swallow, knowing a win just slipped through their fingers and it wasn’t because they had made a mistake or made a bad adjustment to the car.

    “But to put tires on and not touch the car and all of a sudden the car drives worse than it has all day, it is pretty frustrating when you haven’t won in a while,” he said. “But again, I’ve got I’ve got a lot of confidence in this team right now. I can’t thank Michael [Waltrip, owner] and Rob [Kauffman, MWR partner] and everybody at NAPA enough for allowing us to put this program together and to stand behind us for a few years to get it going.

    “Good things are in the future for us, and I’ve just got to keep looking at that direction.”

    His second place finish moves Truex to second in points, 15 points behind leader Greg Biffle. Next weekend the series heads to Richmond, where Truex led and had a shot to win last season before a loose lug nut forced him to make an unscheduled pit stop. He finished 27th and fired his team over the radio.

    This year Truex is standing behind his team. Crew chief Chad Johnston has been a big part of it, Truex saying he’s one of the smarter guys in the garage but very quiet.

    Johnston has become a great team leader says Truex, and since the two started working together the chemistry was there. They understand each other and Johnston knows what Truex needs.

    So believing in Johnston is Truex, he said that down the road he’ll be known as one of the elite crew chiefs. First though, they need to start winning and Sunday was proof that they aren’t far away from doing so. It’s why they won’t be settling for second place anymore.

    “No, not with a second, no doubt,” said Truex when asked if he was ever as disappointed with second before. “I’ve given wins away though and been this disappointed before. I can remember back at ‘07 Phoenix, we led about the whole race and the last time the caution came out we stayed out and everybody pitted.

    “It’s kind of things like that that seem to be the story of my career since my first win. But again, I’m just proud of the team and proud of where we’ve come. To sit here and be disappointed with second is saying something for us. Just looking forward to coming back to the racetrack next week.

    “I really enjoy working with this team. They’re doing a phenomenal job. I can’t even tell you how much fun we’re having to be honest. Once I get over the defeat in a few hours, I’m going to look at all the positives, and there’s a lot of positives we can take out of this weekend and so far this season.

    “We’re not near as good as we can be yet, and we’re going to keep pushing forward and try to keep getting better. I know our wins are going to come soon.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Texas Samsung Mobile 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Texas Samsung Mobile 500

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    “Hopefully we can keep this thing going.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    “Right now, we aren’t doing that.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Last Week’s Recap

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

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

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

    Texas Picks

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

    Winner Pick

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

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

    Dark Horse Pick

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

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

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

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

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Martinsville Goody’s Fast Relief 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Martinsville Goody’s Fast Relief 500

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Martinsville Picks

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

    Winner Pick

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

    Dark Horse Pick

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

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

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Auto Club 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Auto Club 400

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    “I was a little bit too tight.”

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

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

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

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

    “That’s a first for us this year.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    “We were really happy with the performance.”

     

  • Matty’s Picks 2012 – Vol. 6 Auto Club Speedway – Auto Club 400 – March 25, 2012

    Matty’s Picks 2012 – Vol. 6 Auto Club Speedway – Auto Club 400 – March 25, 2012

    [media-credit name=”autoclubspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]Back to the west coast we go this weekend for the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway.  It’s a place that I really can’t speak on the history of racing there, probably because its not a race that I can say I watch intently each year.  Following the addition of a second NASCAR weekend in 2004, Auto Club Speedway has experienced some intense scrutiny amongst the racing community with the intense attendance problems the racetrack has experienced.

    Attendance at the track has dropped by as much as 20,000 fans, nearly 1/4th of the facility’s capacity, since the 2004-2010 two-race stretch, and with the weather forecast for tomorrow, I’m not sure this year will be any better for the racetrack.

    After catching some of yesterday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice and qualifying sessions, I’m starting to think Auto Club may actually be developing some character. Watching the drivers wrestle their buggies around the 2-mile D-shaped oval makes me think tomorrow’s (or Monday’s) Auto Club 400 may be a bit more exciting than  usual. The aging racing surface at Auto Club Speedway  has left teams searching for grip and lifting their cars off the asphalt to clear the roller-coaster of bumps though the corners at Fontana.

    Bristol Recap

    If it wasn’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have any at all after these first 5 races of the 2012 season. Bristol was fun for my first time as a member of the NASCAR media, but I am seeing why there are concerns about the racing in Thunder Valley . 200 caution-less laps at Bristol was unheard of prior to the track’s reconfiguration and addition of progressive banking in 2007. Last week’s Food City 500 produced a stretch of 220 laps without a caution, a stretch of racing facing scrutiny inside the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage:

    “I feel like the old-style track brought what the fans want to see, and whether it’s what the car owners want to see or the drivers, and whether you’ve got to run into each other or you don’t, the old-style racing was more to the appeal of the fans.” said Kevin Harvick, “Any time you run 200 laps at Bristol with no cautions, it’s going to get boring fast in my opinion.”

    I can remember a few of my first trips to Bristol Motor Speedway when there were 10,000 race fans in front of the backstretch grandstands looking for their ticket into the Last Great Coliseum. This year, I traveled to BMS with a group of fans that ended up buying tickets for $20 each for their Food City 500 seats. The NASCAR stat sheet said there was 102,000 fans in the grandstands last week, but to me, we were lucky if the bull ring in Thunder Valley was half-full.

    On the other end of the spectrum, you’ve got a guy that might have a bit of a biased opinion of the racing surface in Thunder Valley, but no matter what, I tend to agree with his opinion. The final 20-25 laps last week at Bristol Motor Speedway were some of the most exciting laps I’ve had the privilege of seeing in-person. Each time Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth circled the .533-mile high-banks of the final stretch of the race last week, they traded paint, running positions, and created a show for the 80,000’ish fans in attendance.

    “I’m very biased, I know,” Keselowski said. “But to me this was one of the best Bristol races I’ve ever seen. We ran side by side for 20 laps. There was some good beating and batting, some wrecking. … I don’t know what’s better than that, short of a 30-car wreck every week.”

    It was great to watch if you can appreciate hard racing, and don’t care about the wrecks, but a forgetful race if you’re the ones that like to see multiple crashes each week. To me, a half-empty bull ring will be what we get each trip to Tennessee until the track is returned to its old configuration. With the gloves-off beating and banging racing style NASCAR is trying to return to, ruining the Mecca of all rough racetracks is a step in the opposite direction.

    Oh, forgot to touch on my picks from last week;

    Winner pick – Kyle Busch was caught up in the day’s only multi-car accident on lap 25. He returned to the race in his battered Wrigley Doublemint Toyota and finished 32nd.

    Dark Horse Pick – Joey Logano, started 9th and never really made a surge towards the front. Finished two laps down in 16th.

    Auto Club 400 Picks

    I’m almost scared to pick anyone this week, but once I hit rock-bottom, there will be nowhere to go but up. Hopefully I hit rock-bottom last week at Bristol, and I can get back into the habit of looking like I know what I’m talking about.

    Winner Pick

    The Ford FR9 engines have been unbelievably strong thus far this season, and Fontana is a track that having a strong engine will put you in Gatorade Victory Lane. A history of winning at Auto Club Speedway also helps my Winner Pick’s case this week having 3 wins already at the 2-mile oval.

    Matt Kenseth has been on fire thus far this year, setting the high mark after winning his second Daytona 500 a month ago. He was just short of winning last week at Bristol Motor Speedway last week, and is a 7 to 1 favorite for the win this week. He will start 15th when the green-flag files at Fontana (whenever that may be) but was second in yesterday’s practice session and is currently shown in 8th in Happy Hour.

    The FR9’s have been great this season, and Kenseth has the car he needs to bring it home this week.

    Dark Horse Pick

    Toyota Racing Development’s headquarters happen to be located in Southern California, nearby Fontana, CA in Costa Mesa. TRD wants nothing other than a win at its home track and with one shot to do it in 2012, rest asured the Toyota teams will be pulling out all the stops this weekend.

    A guy that has been on a role in a way that flies a bit under-the-radar is Martin Truex Jr. In his last 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Starts (dating back to Talladega last October), Truex has scored 6 top-10’s, including a third-place finish last week at Bristol. He’s lead the charge along with Clint Bowyer for Michael Waltrip Racing, sitting 4th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Standings.

    Truex will start 13th, but was 9th fastest in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Final Practice and the top 3 starters for the Auto Club 400 will be making the start in Toyota Camrys.

    An FR9 and a TRD Camry are my picks for this week, and be sure to stop back next week for my Martinsville picks. Until next week… you stay classy NASCAR NATION!