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Jeff Gordon Added To Chase In Unprecedented Move by NASCAR!

As if we thought the fallout from Richmond couldn’t get any more bizarre…NASCAR has stunned us with another unprecedented move. They have expanded the chase field to thirteen cars and we now welcome Jeff Gordon to the lineup. The drivers that make up the 2013 chase has changed twice in the last six days in a wild and unprecedented turn of events that has made NASCAR the top story in sports all around the country. Today, Jeff Gordon was added to the chase as a 13th seed while Front Row Motorsports and Penske Racing were put on probation for the remainder of the year for attempting to manipulate the chase outcome. The two drivers who were initially put out of the chase due to MWR’s shenanigans are now back in. It was the morally correct decision but was it actually the right call?

Announcement

MIKE HELTON:  As you’re well aware, we’ve been looking at a lot of video, audio and timing and scoring information and other data from the Richmond race.  We reacted earlier this week and then based on further due diligence, what we’re determined to do — what we’ve decided is in addition to what other actions we’ve taken, we’re going to put Front Row Motorsports and Penske Racing both on probation for the balance of the year for actions detrimental.

And in addition we are organizing a mandatory meeting with drivers and owners and crew chiefs for tomorrow to hopefully address and make more clearly the path going forward as it applies to the rules of racing and the ethical part of it. Basically what I’m saying is that we’ve decided that we will put Front Row and Penske Racing on probation for the balance of the season for actions detrimental.

BRIAN FRANCE:  In addition to that, we’ve decided that due to the totality of the events that were outside of Jeff Gordon’s — his issues, we’re going to add a 13th position to the field, and Jeff Gordon will qualify for the championship this year, the Sprint Cup Championship.

We believe in looking at all of it that there were too many things that altered the event and gave an unfair disadvantage to Jeff and his team, who would have qualified, and I have the authority to do that.  We are going to do that.  It is an unprecedented and extraordinary thing, but it’s also an unprecedented and extraordinary set of circumstances that unfolded in multiple different ways on Saturday night, and we believe this was the right outcome to protect the integrity, which is our number one goal of NASCAR.

Mike mentioned a moment ago, we will be clarifying in a significant way the rules of racing and the rules of the road going forward, and we will be looking forward to that meeting and addressing the media after that, after we meet with the teams to clarify that with certainly with the media and our fan base.

NASCAR contradicted what they said Monday night about the “ripple effect” and how they can’t help Gordon by adding Jeff to the chase today because it was the fair thing to do in their eyes. I think Brian France had something to do with that drastic change in opinion. Over the past week, NASCAR has slowly molded the chase field back to what it was going to be before Bowyer’s infamous spin…minus the victory that Newman would have most likely collected. When this call was first made, I was shaking my head in disbelief and although I was happy for Gordon; I was not happy with the decision to alter the fabric of the chase to include him. After mulling it over, I have changed my stance.

There were four cars from three different teams working to make sure Jeff Gordon didn’t make the chase Saturday night. NASCAR has penalized them for it but couldn’t slam them to the ground on the basis that the evidence against the teams was inconclusive. Bowyer’s spin certainly looked intentional but in reality, we can’t be 110% certain that it was without an admission. As for the Gilliland and Logano deal, we know exactly what and who they were talking about on their radio but Penske was smart enough not to say anything on the airways that could be incriminating should NASCAR look into it which they obviously did. Since there is no record of them saying anything, NASCAR also called that evidence inconclusive. In their minds, they felt the right course of action would be to assist the man all of these teams tried and succeeded in hurting. Now these teams didn’t have a vendetta to keep Jeff out of the chase but they needed to make sure Gordon wouldn’t get to the top 10 in order to help themselves.

NASCAR is trying to undo the damage done by these organizations that attempted to manipulate the outcome of the race to make the chase. Some people are questioning NASCAR’s integrity for changing the rules of the chase like this but in my opinion, these are special circumstances so special exceptions need to be made. Some will argue that Truex should be let in the chase but NASCAR won’t consider that because they’d be rewarding MWR and giving them exactly what they wanted. Some say if we are letting Gordon in, then we should let Truex in as well but the problem with that is that he wasn’t going to make it without that assist from his MWR teammates; Gordon was. I’d take Logano’s three bonus points away though. Before Gilliland let him by, he was still in the top ten in points (courtesy of MWR) but they still did it for insurance. They wanted those three bonus points is all. The biggest thing that concerned me with that radio communication was that it sounded like Penske was trying to buy the spot and that really bothers me…NASCAR had this to say about a possible bargain between the teams:

“The idea of a bargain that is completely off limits in our view.  But that bargain never — we don’t believe that bargain ever happened, and we don’t believe anything happened, other than the discussions about it, and that’s why the probation is — we’re sending we think an appropriate message there.” – Brian France

I believe this call by NASCAR will help ease the anger of a lot of irate fans but in the end, there is really no right answer in this mess. It’s like trying to put broken glass back together; you can be very tedious about it and try as hard as you can to fix it but it will always be broken glass. NASCAR is going through a phase right now and what exactly this phase entails will become much clearer tomorrow when NASCAR officials hold their mandatory meeting for all drivers and teams. Right now, the feeling in the garage is that if we are going to mess with the race, do it in a way that NASCAR won’t notice or that they have to call it “inconclusive;” a word I’ve heard more than my own name the past six days. I think NASCAR will lay down some guidelines and rules tomorrow that abrogates helping a teammate during a race. Whatever they say, it will definitely make these teams hesitant and think twice about even the slightest manipulation in the future.

I do not think that this call compromises the integrity of NASCAR like a contingent of people out there have stated. I don’t think they crossed a line by enlarging the chase field nor do I believe it makes them look bad. Some say that if NASCAR really wanted to be fair, they’d take Logano out of the chase via a 50pt penalty so that Gordon got in just like they did with Truex and Newman. At first, that sounds like a good idea until you really think about it. Joey, like Martin, knew nothing about the side deals going on; they were just focused on driving. Plus, all Penske did was give Joey a little bit of insurance to make sure he got top 1o and didn’t have to settle for the Wild Card. (Another reason to take 3pts from Joey) Still doesn’t make it right but throwing them out of the chase for it seems a bit drastic to me.

Even without that 1pt from David, Joey would have won the tiebreaker against Gordon so nothing changes. The pass ended up being innocuous to the chase outcome. MWR’s transgressions greatly supersede that of Penske Racing’s. If this was a court of law, I’d charge Penske with a misdemeanor and Waltrip with a felony. That is why you can’t treat Penske the way you treated MWR who manipulated the race on three different fronts. There was the spin that changed the whole race, the green flag pit stop by Vickers and Bowyer who dawdled on pit road until he was two laps down. That’s a 2pt swing in favor of Logano that would have otherwise gotten Gordon into the top 10.

This is the last I hope to write about the Richmond fallout. I cover racing because I love to talk about racing, not politics. This has been a weird and unfortunate situation that has put NASCAR in a very tight spot and I applaud them for thinking excessively about it and reacting appropriately. Like I said before, there are no right answers or panacea if you will in this deal…there are just options to repair the damage that can’t be fully undone. A devastated and livid Martin Truex Jr. ends up being the guy shafted and the one most feel sympathy for. Martin’s anger from his evanescent stay in the 2013 chase will probably linger with him for a long time unfortunately. My only wish is that NASCAR hit Bowyer with a point penalty that actually affected his chase efforts. Other than that, they did a decent job handling such a tumultuous situation.

Now, can we please get back to talking about actual racing!

POLL: Did NASCAR make the right call by adding Jeff Gordon to the chase?

September 13, 2013
Surprising and Not Surprising: Richmond Federated Auto Parts 400

With everything on the line as far as Chase berths, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 56^th annual Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

Surprising: The very technology that attracts fans to the sport because of how up close and personal they can be with their drivers and teams, including in-car audio and race scanners, was surprisingly what doomed Michael Waltrip Racing at Richmond.

After the race, the in-car audio and video of Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, seemingly indicated that his late race spin, which sent his teammate Martin Truex, Jr. into the Chase, may not have been so accidental.

To complicate matters, the audio of the race scanner chatter between MWR driver Brian Vickers and his spotter Ty Norris also seemed to indicate some shenanigans about pitting to allow Truex Jr. into the Chase as well.

In a surprising Monday after the race weekend press conference, NASCAR announced significant penalties to address these issues which they deemed detrimental to the sport, including points penalties, the largest monetary fine ever imposed, and the indefinite suspension of key MWR leader Ty Norris.

Even more surprising, because of the reduction in the points, Martin Truex Jr. was moved out of the Chase and Ryan Newman was placed into the Chase.

“Based upon our review of Saturday night’s race at Richmond, it is our determination that the MWR organization attempted to manipulate the outcome of the race,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. “As the sport’s sanctioning body, it is our responsibility to ensure there is a fair and level playing field for all of our competitors and this action today reflects our commitment to that.”

Not Surprising: While the major issues with MWR may have been surprising, it was not surprising that the last race of the regular season yet again involved a restart controversy. And this time it involved the ultimate race winner Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Frosted Flakes Ford.

“What happened on that last restart is Paul (Menard) had two tires,” Edwards said. “I knew he was going to be at a big disadvantage with grip.”

“He took off and I waited until he went to go,” Edwards continued. “As we were going, his car actually touched my door.”

“I heard his engine speed up and he spun the tires,” Edwards said. “At that point, I really had no choice.”

Edwards scored his 21^st win in the Cup Series, his second victory of the season and his first win at Richmond. He is now seeded fifth in the Chase, just nine points behind the leader.

Surprising: Jimmie Johnson, fresh off the birth of his second daughter Lydia, continued his slump, finishing outside the top 25 for the fourth straight race. Johnson’s previous worst slump was three straight finishes of 36^th or worse in August 2004.

Johnson endured mechanical problems and a late-race spin to finish 40^th at Richmond in his No. 48 Lowes/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet. In spite of his struggles, he is still seeded second in the Chase, just three points behind the leader.

“Yeah, that was a tough night,” Johnson said. “Just a bummer we ended the regular season like we did.”

“We will go to Chicago and get this Chase started off on the right foot.”

Not Surprising: The current lame duck drivers had positive results when it came time to decide the Chase, with one making history, one solidly in, and the third catapulting in thanks to the MWR penalties.

Kurt Busch, current driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Beautyrest Chevrolet who will be moving to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014, made history by finishing second at Richmond and taking his one-car team into the Chase. He is seeded 10^th in the Chase standings at present, 15 points behind the leader.

“It’s an amazing feeling to go up against these big teams and to put a little lone Chevrolet from Colorado into the Chase against the big boys,” Busch said. “This feels incredible.”

Kevin Harvick, who has run consistently all season and will also move to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014 along with Kurt Busch, closed the deal on his Chase berth, finishing the race in 11^th and taking the fourth seed position in the Chase, just nine out of first.

“We’re as good as we’ve ever been over the years,” the driver of the No 29 Budweiser Chevrolet said. “Hopefully we can take our team and get better over the next few weeks.”

Ryan Newman, the other lame duck driver, who just confirmed that he will be leaving Stewart-Haas Racing for Richard Childress Racing in 2014, ended up in the Chase after NASCAR levied its decision regarding Martin Truex Jr.

“I am proud that NASCAR took a stand with respect to what went on Saturday night at Richmond,” Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet, said. “I know it was a tough decision to make.”

“With that being said, myself, Matt Borland (crew chief) and this entire No. 39 team are looking forward to competing for the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.”

Surprising: Roush Fenway had a surprisingly good night at and after the Richmond race, locking up two of its drivers in the Chase and having its rookie driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. score a top-10 finish.

This was the tenth time in ten seasons that Roush Fenway Racing has placed multiple teams into playoff contention. The event also marked the seventh time that RFR driver Carl Edwards made the Chase in his career.

Roush Fenway Racing has achieved another milestone, that of placing five of ten entries inside the Chase since 2005, including both Carl Edwards and teammate Greg Biffle.

“As I look at the racetracks in front of us in the Chase, I think that we’ve got more momentum than we’ve ever had as we look at it going forward,” team owner Jack Roush declared.

Not Surprising: The ever understated Matt Kenseth not only made the Chase with his ‘new’ team Joe Gibbs Racing but is seeded in the top dog position of P1, with all the other contenders literally chasing him for the championship.

Kenseth, behind the wheel of the No. 20 Home Depot Husky Toyota, finished sixth at Richmond.

“We ended up finishing the night decent,” Kenseth said. “The last couple cautions fell our way and the last restart fell our way.”

“I feel good going to Chicago – it will be alright.”

Surprising: Considered a short track, it was surprising that there was not one caution caused by anything other than debris or a single car incident at RIR under the lights.

In fact, the first one hundred laps of the race were completely caution free and there were only five yellow flags for a total of 29 laps.

Not Surprising: The disappointment, not surprisingly, of two past champions was absolutely palpable after seeing their Chase hopes disappear.

Both reigning champ Brad Keselowski and four-time champion Jeff Gordon failed to make the Chase for 2013. Keselowski finished in 17^th and Gordon finished 8^th in the final race before the Chase.

“I don’t really have any emotions right now,” Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford. “We weren’t good enough to make it and we didn’t.”

“That is the reality.”

“It’s disappointing to miss it that close,” Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, said after barely missing the Chase. “I love the effort this team put in.”

Surprising: Two drivers who made it into the Chase were surprisingly disappointed after their Richmond run. Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 American Heritage Chocolate Toyota, and Kasey Kahne, behind the wheel of the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet, were both unhappy after their 19^th and 14^th place finishes respectively.

“We made it I guess,” Busch said. “We’ll just have to work and lay all the pieces out and see what needs to be better.”

“So I’m not pleased with where we’re at,” Kahne said. “But I’m still very confident and feel that going into the Chase it’s a clean sheet of paper for everybody, and we’re going to be where we need to.”

“People can speculate and wonder all week long, but I really look forward to getting to Chicago and showing people what this team has in it.”

Not Surprising: Ironman Mark Martin, substitute driver for the recuperating Tony Stewart, not surprisingly brought home the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet for his first-ever top-10 performance in that race car.

“Really proud of all the guys on this Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 team,” Martin said. “They improved the car throughout the race and made some great calls.”

“We got our first top-10 together,” Martin continued. “We’ll take that and build on it.”

September 10, 2013
NASCAR Drops Penalty Hammer on Michael Waltrip Racing; Newman Heads to Chase

In an unprecedented Monday evening news conference after the wild Richmond race on Saturday night, NASCAR dropped the penalty hammer on Michael Waltrip Racing.

“Based upon our review of Saturday night’s race at Richmond, it is our determination that the MWR organization attempted to manipulate the outcome of the race,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. “As the sport’s sanctioning body, it is our responsibility to ensure there is a fair and level playing field for all of our competitors and this action today reflects our commitment to that.”

Although NASCAR could not determine if the late race spin by MWR driver Clint Bowyer was intentional, that combined with the unusual pitting by MWR teammate Brian Vickers, which was documented on the radio transmissions between him and spotterTy Norris, added up to what the sanctioning body considered a violation of Section 12-4, Actions detrimental to stock car racing.

As a result, NASCAR levied the following penalties:

*The three MWR teams, including the No. 15 of Clint Bowyer, the No. 55 of Brian Vickers, and the No. 56 of Martin Truex Jr. were penalized with the loss of 50 championship driver and 50 championship owner points, respectively.

*NASCAR also fined MWR $300,000, the largest fine that the sanctioning body has ever levied.

*Ty Norris, the Executive Vice President & General Manager of Michael Waltrip Racing and the spotter for Brian Vickers, has been suspended indefinitely from the sport.

*The three crew chiefs, Brian Pattie on the No. 15, Scott Miller on the No. 55 and Chad Johnston on the No. 56 car have also been placed on probation until the season end.

The controversy started after in-car audio and video revealed what appeared to be some sort of exchange in code between Bowyer and his team, leading to a late race spin and caution that changed the entire complexion of the finishing order and the Chase setting.

“(Newman) is going to win the race,’’ spotter Brett Griffin told Bowyer in audio first aired by ESPN.

About 30 seconds later, crew chief Brian Pattie asked Bowyer if his arm was hurting and if it was “hot in there” and then was told to “Itch it.” Shortly after that, Bowyer seemed to have jerked the wheel, sending his No. 15 5-Hour Energy spinning and his teammate Martin Truex Jr. into Chase contention.

Even Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was right behind Bowyer, commented after the race that the spin was suspicious.

“He just spun right out,” Junior said. “That’s the craziest thing I ever saw.”

“He just came right around,” Junior continued. “We were going into (Turns) 3 and 4 … he was hemming around on the brakes and jerking the car around, and then the thing just spun out.”

“It was crazy.”

Because of the point penalties, which were assessed following the Richmond race and not after the Chase seeding, the point total for the No. 56 car piloted by Truex Jr. was reduced to 691, eliminating him from the second Wild Card berth.

This change, which put Truex Jr. in 17^th position in points, moved Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 car for Stewart-Haas Racing, up into the Chase field.

“Obviously, we’re very pleased with NASCAR’s decision to provide Ryan Newman’s rightful place in this year’s Chase,” Tony Stewart, Co-Owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, said. “NASCAR was put in a very difficult position Saturday night at Richmond and we commend the sanctioning body for taking the time to do the necessary due diligence to ensure that the right call was made.”

“I am proud that NASCAR took a stand with respect to what went on Saturday night at Richmond,” Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet, said. “I know it was a tough decision to make.”

“With that being said, myself, Matt Borland (crew chief) and this entire No. 39 team are looking forward to competing for the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.”

As with any penalty, Michael Waltrip Racing can appeal, however, that still will not re-instate Martin Truex Jr. back into Chase contention. Shortly after the penalties were announced, MWR advised that they would not be appealing the decision.

“What occurred on the No. 55 radio at the end of Saturday night’s race in Richmond was a split-second decision made by team spotter Ty Norris to bring the No. 55 to pit lane and help a teammate earn a place in the Chase,” a statement from Michael Waltrip Racing read. “We regret the decision and its impact.”

“We apologize to NASCAR, our fellow competitors, partners and fans who were disappointed in our actions,” the MWR statement continued. “We will learn from this and move on.”

“As general manager, Ty Norris has been an integral part of Michael Waltrip Racing since its founding and has my and (co-owner) Rob Kauffman’s full support.”

September 9, 2013
Controversy In Richmond: Did MWR Deliberately Manipulate Chase Outcome?

There was a lot on the line at Richmond Saturday night but was it so much so that it would actually push a team to deliberately alter the outcome in order to benefit themselves? When you’re talking about a shot at the Sprint Cup championship; I’d say so. The awkward spin by Clint Bowyer and the suspicious Brian Vickers radio communication in the closing laps raised a lot of eyebrows and accusations started flying before the checkered flag even flew.

Team orders. It’s a phrase that makes all race fans cringe and a policy that has been unfortunately showcased at one point or another in every major motorsport and has most recently found its way into the world of NASCAR. Team orders drastically affected the outcome of the race to make the chase Saturday night leaving millions of fans outraged. The evidence against culprits aka Michael Waltrip Racing…well, it’s substantial. The orchestration of this shady move to get Truex Jr. into the chase looked pretty blatant and has NASCAR nation infuriated. Before we dive any deeper into this volatile controversy; here is the overwhelming evidence against Michael Waltrip Racing…

In-Car Camera & Audio of Clint Bowyer Leading Up To & During Spin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brrgyDs3CfE&feature=youtu.be

Very odd and conspicuous dialogue there….did you notice how awkward and controlled that spin looked? It did not appear to be an expert racecar driver getting loose while driving on the ragged edge. This caution gave Martin Truex Jr. another shot at making the chase with a late restart and he did just that. Newman went from on his way to victory and ensuring a chase berth to enduring the bitter feeling of defeat when he lost the WC in a tie with Truex. Ryan came within a few feet of making the chase One more corner and he would have taken 2nd position from Kurt Busch which would have given him the edge over Martin for the final Wild Card. Defending champion Brad Keselowski’s thoughts on the Clint’s spin…“Quite honestly, I don’t know what to think…” Race winner Carl Edwards saw this Bowyer clip in the media center and simply said, “that’s going to be a popular video.”

Brian Vickers Radio Communication With Five Laps Remaining

Team “We’re probably going to pit here on green” Brian: “Are you talking to me?” Team: “Yeah, we’re going to pit.” Brian: “What? I’ve got to pit? I don’t understand. Pit right now?” Team: “You’ve got to pit this time by. We need that 1 point.” Brian: “10-4. Do I got a tire going down?” Team: “Yeah”

I was giving MWR the benefit of the doubt until I heard this exchange. The “point” the team was referring to was for Joey Logano; not Martin Truex Jr…let me explain. Vickers was a full lap ahead of Joey before the green flag pit stop but finished a lap down and behind the No.22. There were no issues with the car that would explain the lost lap but this radio communication gives us the reason we feared. They wanted Joey to get that point because it would help him stay inside the top 10 in points. Why is that important? Because if Joey was outside the top 10 in points when the race ended; he would need to take Wild Card in order to make the chase…the Wild Card that would otherwise belong to Martin Truex Jr.

Michael Waltrip

NASCAR.com’s Alan Cavanna tweeted that Michael Waltrip walked up to Truex on pit road following the race and said, “You’ve got awesome teammates.” In a post-race interview, Michael had this to say…

“I don’t know…I didn’t hear any…I was busy monitoring who was doing what. I mean, I don’t think Bowyer spun on purpose. But I don’t know.” (He was then asked if it would be okay if Bowyer’s spin was intentional) “I don’t like to do what ifs. We’re just really grateful that we got two of our cars in the Chase. It would be a real bummer if our young organization only got one in and not the other.”

His older brother and 3-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Darrell Waltrip tweeted, “Watched on TV just like most of you, looked like typical #Nascar race at #Richmond, cars spinning, tires blowing, cautions, restarts, etc.” DW later tweeted, “Wasn’t at the race. I don’t have a radio so I don’t know what was said. If something inappropriate happened, I trust #NASCAR to handle it.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Was In Proximity Of Bowyer During Spin)

“He just spun right out. That’s the craziest thing I ever saw. He just came right around. He got…we were going into, through 3 and 4, and I don’t know if they can put up his brakes and his gas. We got all the technology. But he was hemming around on the brakes and jerking the car around, and then the thing just spun out. It was crazy. I don’t know what was going on. It was right there, I almost run into it, so I’m glad we were able to get out of there without any trouble.”

Clint Bowyer

“My car was tight as hell. (Jimmie Johnson) blew a tire and hit the wall. I’m telling you, I was the next one. That thing slid, what, maybe less than 10 feet and blew out, you know what I mean? Something was going on there. I’ve been doing this a long time. It is what it is. It’s unfortunate. I know it’s a lot of fun for you guys to write a lot of whacky things. Go ahead if you want to, get creative. But don’t look too much into it.”

Others React

In the media center, Ryan Newman and Jeff Gordon refused to speculate but Ryan angrily acknowledged that an intentional spin would obviously upset him. Jeff tweeted Sunday morning saying, “Was feeling pretty bad about missing the #Chase but after seeing all the details coming out now I feel even worse for @RyanNewman39.” Country music superstar Blake Shelton who is a friend of Clint tweeted, “Y’all should follow @ClintBowyer!!! The definition of team player!!! #hero“ I interpreted that as him implying Clint’s spin was intentional in his eyes. A less than thrilled Tony Stewart was asked if he believes someone would spin out in order to help a teammate and he immediately said. “Yep. There’s a lotta money involved in making the Chase.” The feeling about the spin was unanimous among the ESPN commentators who cried foul and called out Clint which only fueled the fire as fans took to social media to voice their displeasure and argue their points. NASCAR was a trending topic on Twitter for nearly three hours following the race.

My Take

After seeing, hearing and reading all this; there is little doubt that Michael Waltrip Racing played the system in a blatant attempt to help Martin Truex Jr. procure a chase spot. There is conclusive audio evidence and numbers that prove MWR’s chicanery. Brian Vickers ran 40mph off the pace on the final lap for a reason we have yet to ascertain while Clint Bowyer was able to lose two laps as he appeared to dawdle in the pits after receiving very little damage in the now infamous spin.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

MWR successfully coordinated their cars in what looked to be a well thought out and masterful plan to ensure a chase berth for Martin with the only flaw being that they failed miserably at making it look inconspicuous. But If NASCAR is going to let something like this slide with such overwhelming evidence out there, then why not take what you can and not care who sees? With everything at stake, if you leave the teams any wiggle room whatsoever; they will most certainly take it. That’s why it is crucial that NASCAR react and drop the hammer on this team. It’s not like MWR would be the only team to stoop to this level if necessary; they just happened to be the ones tempted by circumstance to take fate into their own hands. If NASCAR turns a blind eye to it, they definitely won’t be the last to give into that temptation.

NASCAR did say Sunday afternoon that they are taking some time to review the audio and video while they look for evidence of wrongdoing. It is standard protocol for NASCAR to review all races before they make them official but they will certainly pay extra attention to the area in question. Regardless of their decision; the damage has already been done. Should they do nothing though; they will basically be tacitly approving of teams making a mockery of the system. All drivers were warned in the drivers meeting to keep it “fair and square” but that apparently fell on deaf ears in the MWR camp. I will say this though…don’t attack Clint Bowyer and Brian Vickers for simply doing what they’re told. The team should have never handed down these orders in the first place but if you know NASCAR won’t punish you for it; then why not? It’s like saying that if you rob a bank, it’s illegal but we won’t punish you for it.

In the end, it’s a shame that such a spectacular night of racing action was overshadowed by this unfortunate situation and no matter what NASCAR does; the bitter taste left in the mouths of fans, drivers and teams won’t rescind anytime soon. Oh…and the sponsors are fired up too. Quicken Loans (Newman sponsor) posted this on their Facebook page; “We were so close last night and that last caution hurt us. Something didn’t look right about it but you be the judge.” Then PEAK (Bowyer sponsor) posted on their Facebook these two words that shows their feelings about the whole deal pretty plainly; “Phoenix. 2012.”

The integrity of NASCAR is at stake here in the midst of one of the most profound controversies in recent memory and it occurred on one of the biggest nights on the schedule. You know that infamous part of the rule book so commonly quoted by NASCAR – “Actions Detrimental To Stock Car Racing?” That’s basically what Michael Waltrip Racing is guilty of. Something needs to be done about this because nothing will drive fans away quicker than team orders being tolerated. I’ve always been one to say that controversy and the free publicity that comes out of it is never a bad thing but this is one of those rare circumstances when I feel the complete opposite…it’s borderline embarrassing for the NASCAR community.

Disdain for Michael Waltrip Racing won’t cease anytime soon for thousands of incensed and unforgiving NASCAR fans and I’m sure a seething Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman won’t soon forget this either. I like Clint Bowyer, I like Brian Vickers and I like Michael Waltrip but what they did at Richmond is incredibly unsportsmanlike. I hate writing negative stories but this is one issue that just can’t be ignored. We now head to the first race of the chase on the heels of a huge controversy that is far from over. I wouldn’t be surprised if lingering anger and frustration from the drivers done wrong may lead to some on track retaliation as they seek racing justice the old fashioned way.

September 8, 2013
Ryan Truex Feeling Fortunate and Lucky After Bristol Debut

While Ryan Truex’s Sprint Cup Series debut might not have turned out exactly as he had hoped, the 21 year old development driver for Richard Petty Motorsports and past K&N Series Champion left Bristol feeling ‘fortunate and lucky’ to be where he is at currently in the sport today.

First and foremost, the youngest racing Truex feels lucky to be able to get back in a race car after a dirt bike accident over the Easter holiday left him injured with a broken collar bone.

“I went to the doctor and we hoped it would heal on its own,” Truex said. “We went six weeks and it hadn’t healed so then we had to have surgery.”

“I have a plate and twelve screws in there,” Truex continued. “It’s fine now but it wasn’t fun at the time.”

“I had to go through the surgery plus the physical therapy, which was twelve weeks from the time I had surgery to the time I was cleared to race.”

“And that didn’t include the six weeks of hoping that it would heal on its own,” Truex said. “It’s been a challenge and I’m apparently now banned from dirt bikes.”

Truex also feels fortunate and lucky to have signed with Richard Petty Motorsports as a development driver and to have been able to maintain a relationship with Phoenix Racing that allowed him to make his Cup debut in the No. 51 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

“Before I signed with Richard Petty Motorsports, I was supposed to drive the No. 51 in Richmond and Dover,” Truex said. “And then I went and got hurt and messed those plans up.”

“Phoenix Racing was able to plug me into their schedule later in the year and Bristol was the first opening,” Truex continued. “So, that was the first one we chose being a half mile and I was approved for it by NASCAR to run in the Cup Series.”

After being out recuperating from his injury, the opportunity to be back behind the wheel of a race car, especially in the Cup Series at one of the most noted tracks on the circuit in a race under the lights was not only exciting but a bit overwhelming for the young up and coming driver.

“It was really cool but a little intimidating being in a field with guys like Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson, all those guys who have proven themselves in the Cup Series,” Truex said. “And that was my first race since the Daytona Truck race so it had been about six months since I had raced anything.”

“The week before, I practiced and qualified Marcos Ambrose’s Nationwide car so I had a little seat time in something but other than that, that was the first weekend back in a race car and the first time in the Gen 6 car at all,” Truex continued. “So, it was a bit of a curve ball for me and it was a steep learning curve.”

Truex did indeed have challenges in his Cup debut, struggling with his car race, hitting the wall and finishing 42^nd in the Bristol Irwin Tools Night Race.

“We qualified really well and I was really happy with that,” Truex said. “We practiced pretty good and I thought we were a top-20 car at least.”

“In the race, we started off the first few laps and did alright but for some reason our car was just really, really loose and I ended up getting up out of the groove,” Truex continued. “I got up in the marbles and got freight trained.”

“Once I gathered it back up and got the junk off my tires, we started riding and were way back,” Truex said. “I was biding my time and then we started to get really, really tight and, being a rookie, I didn’t realize the problem at the time but it turns out that we ran over some debris and we had a cut in the left front tire.”

“It was slowly going down and then it blew out and ended our night.”

Fortunately, the rookie driver did not re-injure his collar bone although his older brother Martin Truex Jr. did not fare so well. After Martin’s hard hit late in the race at Bristol, an MRI showed that he had broken his right wrist and will have to wear a special cast for the rest of the racing season.

Although Ryan’s Cup debut race night was shortened by the blown tire and wreck into the wall, the younger Truex did learn some lessons from the evening and even got some advice and counsel from some of the biggest names in the sports.

“The biggest lesson for me is that I just need to be out there every weekend,” Truex said. “Since I stepped up from the K&N Series to Nationwide in 2011, I’ve been running part-time, once or twice a month at the most.”

“Last year, I had seven races with Joe Gibbs Racing, plus a couple of other races with some other teams, which added up to about eleven races for the year,” Truex continued. “That’s been the biggest challenge for me is just having some repetition in my racing and going out every weekend in my race car and be familiar with it.”

“One of the people that I talked to before driver intros standing in the tunnel at Bristol was Jeff Burton,” Truex said. “I thought that was really cool.”

“Mark Martin came up to my car and talked to me for a few minutes and told me what to expect and what to do,” Truex continued. “So, there were a couple of guys that I respect who talked to me and I thought that was awesome.”

“I grew up watching them race so for them to come over and give me words of advice was really cool.”

Another of Truex’s idols has been Richard Petty and the young driver feels especially fortunate and lucky to be invited into the fold of the ‘King’ and a part of Richard Petty Motorsports.

“It’s a huge deal for me to be with Richard Petty Motorsports,” Truex said. “In the past few years, I’ve been jumping around between teams and had some one-off deals, but since I’ve left Michael Waltrip Racing, I’ve never really had a true home.”

“So, they’ve taken under their wing and committed to developing me as a driver in the Cup Series,” Truex continued. “I’ve signed a multi-year deal with them with the goal of running full-time in the Cup Series one day.”

“So, that feels really good to just have one place to focus on and not have to worry about where I’m going to race week to week.”

For this year, Truex will continue to run some races in the No. 51 car for Phoenix Racing and hopes to be back in that car as early as the Richmond race. But his real focus is on the 2014 season when, sponsorship pending, he hopes to race full-time for Richard Petty Motorsports in the Nationwide Series.

“That’s the goal for me personally and for the team to be out there next year running for a championship,” Truex said. “But the biggest thing is finding the funding to do that.”

“Now that I have a team out there searching and helping me find the funding to run full-time, it takes a lot of pressure of me and makes me feel more secure with my future.”

Most of all, Ryan Truex is feeling fortunate and lucky to be a part of a family that has supported and nurtured his racing career every step of the way.

“My brother has always been there for me my whole career, and my parents are at my races every single weekend giving me support,” Truex said. “My dad always tells me that if you work as hard as you can and take advantage of every opportunity, there is no reason why you can’t reach your goal.”

“That’s been my philosophy too,” Truex continued. “There has been plenty of frustrating moments but then you step back and look at how far I’ve come and at the people I have around me, and it’s a pretty awesome deal for me.”

“I’m fortunate and lucky to be able to be where I’m at,” Truex said. “And I know that if I keep working at it, never give up and get down on myself that eventually it will work out.”

August 28, 2013
Surprising and Not Surprising: Camping World RV Sales 301

On a steamy day in New England where the action on the track was just as hot, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Camping World RV Sales 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Surprising: While usually on target, Chad Knaus’ prediction of his driver motoring through the pack to the front only partially came true. Johnson, who started dead last in his No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet due to failing post qualifying inspection, made his way through the field to finish just shy of the top-five in the sixth spot.

But although his prediction of a last to first performance was not fulfilled, crew chief Knaus felt that he and team 48 had made the statement they wanted to make in light of their inspection failure.

“We made the best of a bad situation and that’s all you can do,” Knaus said. “We wanted to make it a non-issue and I think that’s exactly what we did.”

“We didn’t need to win, but the most important thing is we didn’t need to lose,” Knaus continued. “And I think we came out of here with a solid run.”

With that top-10 finish, Johnson remains solidly in the points lead as well, 56 points ahead of runner up Clint Bowyer.

Not Surprising: Just as the chemistry between Knaus and Johnson led to a decent run after adversity, it was not surprising that the chemistry between Rodney Childers and Brian Vickers achieved their dream of taking the Michael Waltrip Racing’s No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine to Victory Lane.

Vickers, who battled back from life-threatening blood clots to race again, credited his relationship with crew chief Childers, which has spanned almost his entire lifetime, as making the difference in his win at the Magic Mile.

“I can remember the day Clyde (Vickers, Brian Vickers’ father) walked into our go-kart shop in Cornelius, North Carolina and said he wanted to buy his eight-year-old kid a go kart,” Childers said. “So, we got it together overnight and they came and picked it up the next day and then a good friend of ours helped Brian get started.”

“This means a lot to me.”

“I just thank God for the chance and opportunity to come back and this team and Rodney believing in me and giving me a second chance,” Vickers said. “That’s a testament to the whole team and everyone at Michael Waltrip Racing.”

Surprising: Joey Logano, a former New Hampshire winner, was surprisingly the first caution of the day, blowing a tire and spinning out on Lap 4 of the race. This is the second race in a row where tire failure has contributed to the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford team’s struggles.

“The left rear tire blew out,” Logano said. “It isn’t like we touched anyone and rubbed it to make it go down, it just blew out.”

“I am just mad right now.”

Logano has a right to be mad, as he finished 40^th and even more important took a significant hit in the point standings, losing three positions and falling to 18^th.

Not Surprising: Whether it was the combination of the heat or the grueling schedule as the garage readied for the first weekend off in a very long time, it was not surprising that tempers were flaring on the one-mile track and that there were more cautions in this one race than in the past three New Hampshire races combined.

The most caustic exchange happened right after the race end when Kyle Busch had some choice words for Ryan Newman and vice versa.

“Newman is the biggest stupid idiot out here and a big ogre,” Busch said. “I’m glad he’s out of a job.”

“I’m just afraid if I re-arranged his face I might fix it,” Newman responded. “He’s frustrated finishing third or wherever he was after hitting me.”

“He’s a heck of a talent but he’s not very bright,” Newman continued. “I’ll leave it at that.”

Surprising: Just when it appeared that Stewart-Haas Racing was on the upswing, another surprisingly bad day occurred in New Hampshire.

Smoke ran out of gas on the final lap to finish 26^th, Patrick wrecked into her Rookie of the Year competitor to finish 37th, and Newman had his aforementioned tangles with the Busch brothers and finished 39^th.

“Thought we were about three quarters of a lap to the good,” Smoke said. “Obviously didn’t get as much gas saved as I thought we would.”

“I feel bad,” Patrick said. “What can I say? We were having a reasonable race and just didn’t mean to do it.”

“The worst part is that I didn’t want to take anybody with me.”

Not Surprising: The unfortunate struggles of Denny Hamlin continued at New Hampshire, with a lug nut issue and a 21^st place finish. The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota sits 25^th in the point standings, very far out of Chase contention.

Surprising: One of the surprises of the race was Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 43 Smithfield Ford, who finished fifth thanks to some good pit strategy and a great call from atop the box.

“When everybody else stayed out that gave us the opportunity when everyone else came to pit to make it on fuel,” Almirola said. “And we stayed out.”

“That was a great call by Todd Parrott (crew chief),” Almirola continued. “It is a great way to go into the off weekend.”

Not Surprising: At a track that he loves, Jeff Burton finished top three to no one’s surprise. And with his good finish, Burton pronounced that he was still in Chase contention, contrary to everyone’s perception.

“We had a really good car,” the driver of the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet said. “A lot of people have given up on this team but we haven’t given up on ourselves.”

“We are going to keep working,” Burton said. We feel like we have an uphill battle but we feel like we still have a shot at it.”

Surprising: Brad Keselowski and company showed his championship caliber by bouncing back at the Magic Mile. The driver of the Blue Deuce finished fourth, in spite of the ‘grueling race.’

“We fought hard all day and came home with a fourth so that was a decent day,” Keselowski said. “Not the win I wanted for sure.”

“But it is still a solid day though and something to be proud of.”

Not Surprising: While all the drivers complained about the difficulty of the track and race, Carl Edwards not surprisingly termed it a battle field.

“That was a hell of a battle,” the driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford said. “Everybody fought really hard the whole time and we ended up with a top-10.”

“We were able to get a good finish out of a crazy day.”

Surprising: Even with having to stop in the middle of the race track to avoid the Newman/Kurt Busch crash, Matt Kenseth pulled off a surprisingly good finish. The driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota finished in the ninth position.

“I had a good car, probably the best car I’ve ever had here,” Kenseth said. “Kind of lost track position when Kurt cleaned out Newman.”

“I had to stop and miss that wreck.”

Not Surprising: After a grueling race and first part of the season, everyone needed to relax according to Jeff Gordon, who managed to salvage a tenth place finish after a challenging race at New Hampshire.

“Everybody, no matter whether you’re leading the points or running where we are in points or 30^th in the points, everybody has to take moments to step away and relax a little bit and regroup,” Gordon said. “And so, this off-weekend will be good for everybody.”

July 17, 2013
Brian Vickers Becomes New Sheriff in Town with New Hampshire Win

Brian Vickers, driver of the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, proved that there was a new sheriff in town in the Camping World RV Sales 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Vickers scored his first win of the season, forgoing the traditional burnout to instead claim the checkered flag and celebrate the moment high-fiving the fans.

“I don’t know if I can put it into words,” Vickers said. “With everything I’ve gone through from the blood clots to are you ever going to race again to now I can race, but I don’t have a job to getting a phone call from Ty (Norris) to run eight races, nothing could be more special to have this win.”

“I’m grateful to my family and friends who have supported me along the way,” Vickers continued. “When your back’s against the wall, you find out quickly who is willing to vouch for you.”

“Sitting in Victory Lane is one of the most special events of my life.”

The last time that Vickers was in Victory Lane was on August 16, 2009 at Michigan. Until now, he has never won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

“I’m just thankful that I was able to get back in the car and that there were people that still believed in me,” Vickers said. “That was the biggest emotion that I have and will have going forward.”

“They took a chance in a lot of ways,” Vickers continued. “I’m just very thankful for all that and that’s the main emotion that I still have.”

Although Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota, finished in the runner up position, he acknowledged that it was one difficult race, especially contending with race winner Vickers.

“Well it was certainly a tough one,” Busch said. “Our car was super-fast for the short run of the race and we could run up front and make some ground.”

“But once we got close to somebody, the aero effect seemed to take over,” Busch continued. “I was just getting tighter and tighter as the run went along.”

“I’m really proud of the effort and glad we came home second but it was a really tough day for us.”

Busch had nothing but praise for Brian Vickers, as well as Michael Waltrip Racing, with whom Joe Gibbs Racing has a relationship. And he even learned a little bit that he can take into the next Loudon race during the Chase.

“Vickers was obviously going to be the car to beat,” Busch said. “But congratulations to them.”

“It was cool to see an MWR team in Victory Lane with the relationship we have with JGR,” Busch continued. “Certainly, we really wanted to win but we know what we need to do to get our car better for when we come back in the Chase race.”

This was Busch’s seventh top-10 finish in 17 races at the Magic Mile and his 11^th top-10 finish of the season.

Jeff Burton achieved a milestone at a track that he loves, scoring his best finish of the season in third. The driver of the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet posted his 14^th top-10 finish at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

“You know, we feel good about what we’re doing,” Burton said. “We are definitely making progress and we feel like we are starting to building on something.

“And we think we can improve.”

Brad Keselowski, who sat on the pole, finished fourth in the Blue Deuce. And he echoed what most of the drivers were saying, that the race was one of the toughest he has run.

“That was a grueling race for sure,” Keselowski said. “We fought hard all day and came home with a fourth, so that was a decent day.”

“I thought we had a shot at it,” Keselowski continued. “The 18 and 78 were really good and I hadn’t been around the 55 all day until the end.”

“But man, that last run, he was definitely fast and deserved the win,” Keselowski said. “It was a decent day for the Miller Lite Ford Fusion but we just needed a little bit more to win.”

One of the bigger surprises of the race was the finish of Aric Almirola, behind the wheel of the No. 43 Smithfield Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports, finishing fifth. And he gave all the credit to the man atop his pit box, crew chief Todd Parrott.

“We really struggled and Todd saw that track position was really important,” Almirola said. “So, we took two tires on one of those cautions and that was really bad so we came back down pit road and took four tires when everybody else stayed out and that gave us the opportunity when everyone else came to pit to make it on fuel and we stayed out.”

“That was a great pit call by Todd Parrott and these guys on the Smithfield Ford Fusion did a great job and that is nice,” Almirola continued. “It is a great way to go into the off weekend.”

As with any short, flat track, there were some moments both on and off the track that sparked some rather emotional responses.

Probably the most disappointed was Kurt Busch, who sat on the outside pole and then got tangled up with Matt Kenseth, sending Ryan Newman spinning as well. The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet finished 31^st.

I just got hit from behind,” Busch said. “There was three-wide action and everybody’s going hard.”

“Kenseth was in the middle on the back straightaway,” Busch continued. “The car gets light when there is no air on the rear spoiler back there.”

“We just got whacked by a bunch of guys,” Newman said. “The No. 18 hit me first, the No. 2 hit me next and then I guess it was Kurt (Busch) that went underneath three-wide.”

“The No. 20 come and clipped us and knocked us into the fence and took himself out,” Newman said. “That was the best I could tell.”

“We kind of were in a bad spot having a little bit older tire but just a lot of disrespect from a bunch of guys on restarts.”

The Rookie of the Year contenders Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Danica Patrick also had a moment together, finishing 23^rd and 32^nd respectively. And for those two drivers, it was all about the brakes that were to blame as they both went crashing.

“My brakes were going out all race really,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “I was complaining about it all race.”

“We will take the weekend off and go to Indy.”

Jimmie Johnson, who came from the rear to finish sixth and maintain the points lead, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top-ten in the 21^st Annual Camping World RV Sales 301 at the Magic Mile.

July 14, 2013
Surprising and Not Surprising: Coke Zero 400

In addition to a dose of roof flap drama, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 55^th annual Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

Surprising: Who knew that the magic between driver Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus, leading to their record-setting night of sweeping both the 500 and 400 at Daytona in the same year, all started over a beer and a game of horseshoes?

“People make the difference,” five-time champ Johnson said. “Chad and I have a relationship since the first time we drank beer in my backyard throwing horseshoes.”

“It was the start of many good things to come,” Johnson continued. “The relationships, the people make the difference.”

“That’s where the magic lies.”

Johnson also gave Team Hendrick its first sweep at Daytona since 1986 when Geoff Bodine and Tim Richmond accomplished the same feat. This was Johnson’s 64^th career Cup Series win and his fourth victory of the season, tying competitor Matt Kenseth in the win column.

Not Surprising: While Tony Stewart finished runner up in his No. 14 Bass Pro Shops Ducks Unlimited Chevrolet, regaining the six spots in the point standings to the tenth position, he finished off the night ‘testy’ in the media center after the checkered flag flew.

When asked whether or not his retreat to the rear of the field for much of the race was pre-planned, Stewart showed his dismay for what he considered perhaps not the best question of the evening.

“You guys act like you’ve never seen me do that before,” Smoke answered. “I’ve been doing that for 15 years and we’ve had good results on it.”

When next asked about whether or not he liked this type of racing at this stage in his career, Stewart again reverted to past practice.

“Go back to your old notes,” Smoke said. “My opinion hasn’t changed in 15 years.”

“If you don’t have them, somebody else in the room will have them, you know that.”

Surprising: Rookie of the Year contender Ricky Stenhouse Jr. thought that he had successfully broken a barrier in his 2013 career. Unfortunately he was unpleasantly surprised after NASCAR showed him the photo finish, realizing that he still had more work to do.

“We’ve been working all year long and we’ve got a couple of 11ths, 12ths, and it’s good to break that barrier of top ten,” Stenhouse Jr. said, before learning that he had really finished in the 11th spot. There is no doubt that he will be aiming for that barrier again at New Hampshire and with a vengeance.

Not Surprising: Kevin Harvick was not happy in spite of being the third place finisher in his No. 29 Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet.

“Yeah, we didn’t win,” Harvick said. “That was our expectation coming here.”

“I felt like we were in the right position,” Harvick continued. “We couldn’t get everything lined up to get going.”

Surprising: Probably the most surprised driver at Daytona was Paul Menard, who lost an engine with absolutely no warning in the early going on Lap 22.

“Something just let go,” the driver of the No. 27 Rheem/Menards Chevrolet said. “I felt the heat come up.”

“It gave no indication,” Menard continued. “I haven’t had a motor failure in forever.”

“Just unfortunate.”

Not Surprising: NASCAR’s biggest loser in addition to Menard was Joey Logano, who brought out the second caution of the race with a tire failure and a crash into the wall. The driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford fell hard in the point standings, losing five positions and dropping from the 10^th to the 15^th position.

“It was a big hit,” Logano said of his trip into the wall. “But it was a bigger hit in the points really.”

“We’ve lost a lot but we’re not out of it by any means.”

Surprising: While Daytona is known for its share of ‘big ones’, there were some particularly hard hits in this version of the Coke Zero 400, including crashes for Denny Hamlin, A.J. Allmendinger, and Kasey Kahne.

Hamlin was involved in two crashes, the second just a few laps away from the checkered flag. The two wrecks added insult to his already injured back, as well as a sore knee and head from a crash just last week at Kentucky.

Allmendinger, in the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet for James Finch, described his wreck as a ‘Days of Thunder’ moment, one that injured him in his ‘man parts’ and sent him stumbling out of his car in pain.

“Everybody moved down and Denny (Hamlin) appeared right in front of me,” Allmendinger said. “I just hit him as hard as I could unfortunately.”

One of the most bizarre but hard wrecks occurred at the end of the race, knocking a strong player out of contention. On Lap 155, Kasey Kahne got slammed while running at the front of the field, crashing hard into the inner wall.

“I got slammed and shot to the left,” Kahne said. “It’s kind of how these races go.”

“You don’t have a lot of control over what happens.”

Not Surprising: Michael Waltrip, behind the wheel of the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota often driven by Mark Martin, scored a top-five finish. Waltrip, who has a stellar resume on plate tracks, pulled off another good finish in spite of being a bit rusty behind the wheel and having some struggles in the pits.

“We were just really fortunate after getting into a wreck on pit road,” Waltrip said. “I’m just happy for the team because it was a well-deserved finish.”

Surprising: MWR teammate Clint Bowyer also had such a surprisingly good run, finishing fourth in his No. 15 Blue DEF Diesel Exhaust Fluid Toyota. And with that finish, he ousted Carl Edwards from second place in the point standings, sitting 49 points behind leader Johnson.

“I was pushing Michael and got him passed,” Bowyer said. “I looked in the mirror and all hell broke loose.”

“That’s Daytona,’ Bowyer continued. “But I’ll take a top-five anytime in one of these races.”

This was Bowyer’s third top-five finish in a row.

Not Surprising: With team owner and driver Tony Stewart setting the bar in the runner up spot, the rest of the Stewart-Haas Racing team also finished well at Daytona, in spite of final lap mishaps.

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Outback Steakhouse Chevrolet, scored bloomin’ onions for all with a top-ten finish. This was Newman’s sixth top-ten at Daytona and his eighth of the season

“I’m glad we got a top-10 for Outback Steakhouse, but I hate that we destroyed another race car on the final lap,” Newman lamented. “That just seems to be the norm for us when it comes to restrictor-plate racing.”

SHR teammate Danica Patrick was also involved in the multi-car melee at the end of the race, finishing 14^th in her No. 10 GGoDaddy.com Chevrolet.

This was her fourth top-15 finish of the 2013 season.

“Well a green-white-checkered finish is always exciting,” Patrick said. “All in all, it was a solid day.”

Surprising: Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet, continues to amaze with his performance, finishing sixth and putting himself in Chase contention with a five spot move up in the point standings to ninth.

This is the highest in the point standings that Kurt has been so far in the 2013 season. This was also his third straight top-ten finish and his eighth top-10 finish of the season.

“We stayed out of trouble, had smooth pit stops and had a big points night for our Furniture Row team,” Busch said. “These guys are working hard and it’s paying off.”

Not Surprising: Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished top-ten at Daytona, in spite of some challenges with his race car.

“I had fun,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet said. “We just didn’t make our way to the front.”

“We had a problem with the car,” Junior continued. “Something broke and we could hardy steer it coming into the pits.”

The eighth place finish at Daytona moved Earnhardt Jr. up one position in the points standings to fifth.

July 10, 2013
Surprising and Not Surprising: Sonoma Toyota Save Mart 350

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Eventually we will win one of these races.”

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

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

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

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

“But man this Furniture Row Chevy was fast.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Sometimes crazy stuff happens.”

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

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

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

June 24, 2013
Surprising and Not Surprising: FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks

With the temperatures soaring and the ‘monster’ on the prowl, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 44^th annual FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway.

Surprising: With even the drivers predicting that the ‘usual suspects’ would run well at Dover, there was a most surprising and surprised driver in Victory Lane instead.

“If somebody would have told me it was going to be this way, I would have told them they were crazy,” race winner Tony Stewart declared in Victory Lane. “This was not a car that could win the race.”

Stewart had not won a race at the Monster Mile since 2000 and has struggled for the most part at the track. This was not only Smoke’s first win of the season but, also surprisingly, his first top-10 finish in 2013.

“Our guys at the shop have been digging, “ the driver of the No. 14 Code 3 Associates/Mobil 1 Chevrolet said of his team. “That is what carries you to days like today at the end of the day.”

Not Surprising: Restart gamesmanship, which has been discussed all season long this year, played a major factor as well at the Monster Mile. This time the games played out between then race leader Juan Pablo Montoya and Jimmie Johnson, the latter of whom was undoubtedly the strongest car on the track.

Late in the race, NASCAR deemed that Johnson jumped the restart and black flagged him, forcing him to serve a pass through penalty. Johnson ended the race in the 17^th position while Montoya finished second after the late pass on the high side by race winner Stewart.

“Jimmie (Johnson) was laying off about nearly a car length from me, and I knew he was trying to jump the restart,” the driver of the No. 42 Energizer Chevrolet said. “When we got to the line, I think he wanted to time it and he timed it too well.”

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

“It’s one of those deals that when you time it too good, it actually hurts you.”

Johnson of course had a different take on the restart gamesmanship, blaming Montoya instead.

“I was at half throttle,” Johnson said. “At some point you have to go.”

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

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

Surprising: Jeff Gordon, this week driving the No. 24 AARP Credit Cards from Chase Chevrolet, was surprisingly the best finisher amongst the Hendrick Motorsports group.

Gordon finished third, while teammates Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished tenth, Jimmie Johnson finished 17^th and Kasey Kahne took the checkered flag in 23^rd after spinning out on lap 318.

“Yeah it was a fantastic finish for us,” Gordon said. “We battled hard all day long.”

“Today was a great race for us, just because we were sitting there 12^th, 13^th, 14^th, and we stayed out and all of a sudden, here we are third.”

“So that’s a great lesson for us to learn when we go to other tracks as well.”

This was Gordon’s 23^rd top-10 finish in 41 races at Dover International Speedway. The third place finish was also critical to Gordon, who jumped from fifteenth to eleventh in the point standings.

Not Surprising: Another parts failure played a role in Kyle Busch’s failure to score the finish that he wanted. In spite of that, however, he did end the race in the top—five, finishing fourth.

“We must have broken a right front bump stop or something,” Busch said. “Just past halfway, that’s when it took a dump on us.”

“I hate it,” Busch continued. “It’s unfortunate we weren’t able to capitalize on getting a win.”

Surprising: Kyle Busch was not the only Toyota driver to experience mechanical failures as both Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr. surprisingly suffered blown engines.

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

“We were one or two adjustments away there from having something for them,” the driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota said. “Damn, I wish we could have made it to the end.”

“Something broke in our engine too,” Kenseth said. “Pretty disappointing.”

“Something went wrong with a part,” the driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota said. “There’s nothing I can do about it.”

Not Surprising: Michael Waltrip Racing, with the exception of Martin Truex, Jr., showcased their survival skills at the Monster Mile , with Clint Bowyer and Mark Martin finishing sixth and ninth respectively.

“We got a pretty decent finish but we just didn’t run very good all weekend long,” Bowyer said. “Definitely need to go back and do our homework and figure some things out for our 5-Hour Energy Toyota.”

“It was a really great effort by our team,” Martin said. “Our Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota had more potential at the end than we were able to show.”

“We’re making progress.”

Surprising: Denny Hamlin, who described himself as being on a mission to win and who snagged the coveted pole position, had a surprisingly bad day at Dover.

On lap 378, Hamlin blew a tire and hit the wall, bringing out the seventh caution of the day. The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Freight/Autism Speaks Toyota finished 34^th and fell to 26^th in the point standings.

Not Surprising: With the temperature being so high, it was no surprise that tempers ran a little hot as well. Ryan Newman, manhandling his No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet without power steering, had his own temper flare-up while trying to pass David Gilliland, behind the wheel of the No. 38 Long John Silver’s Ford.

And when the two drivers touched, they both went spinning and crashing hard.

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

“Unfortunately someone lost their patience a little bit,” Gilliland continued. “It is too bad but that is just the way it goes I guess.”

Newman declined comment after the incident.

Surprising: Brad Keselowski was the highest finishing Ford, bringing his Blue Deuce to the checkered flag in the fifth position. He also had his crew chief Paul Wolfe back atop the war wagon after serving his penalties and suspension.

“We drove hard all day, we just didn’t have the speed needed to go win the race,” Keselowski said. “ But we had the speed we needed to have a solid day.”

“The guys did a great job executing today,” Keselowski said. “We wanted to win too so we will keep working to find a little more speed and get up there.”

Unfortunately, Keselowski’s good run was marred by NASCAR’s announcement that his car did not pass post-race inspection as its front was too low. Penalties were just announced and include a fine of $25,000 for crew chief Wolfe and the continuation of his probation until year-end.

The team has also been docked six driver points and six car owner points.

Not Surprising: Joey Logano, who won the Nationwide race the day before, exceeded his own expectations, battling back from a flat tire and using the lucky dog position to finally finish the race in the seventh position.

“We fought all day basically trying to get a lucky dog after that flat tire,” Logano said. “We would get one back and then go down two and then get one back.”

“This weekend I thought we were going to finish about 15 laps down,” Logano continued. “We weren’t any good in practice and Todd (Gordon, crew chief) and all the guys did a good job making it better for me.”

“By the end it was a top-five car and we just ran out of time,” Logano said. “ I feel like that we could have finished in the top-five but considering where we were, we will take that all day.”

June 4, 2013