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Tag: Michael Waltrip Racing

  • Matt Poole Tops the Hot List in the Peak Stock Car Dream Challenge

    Matt Poole Tops the Hot List in the Peak Stock Car Dream Challenge

    Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) has teamed up with Peak Antifreeze and Motor Oil to offer the opportunity of a lifetime to aspiring race car drivers.

    Michael Waltrip, the founder and co-owner of MWR, says “the PEAK Stock Car Dream Challenge is a really big deal for all the men and women across the country who feel they could be professional race car drivers if they were just given a chance. Our sport is always trying to usher in a new generation of driving talent as well as spread our passion for racing with everyone, and PEAK is giving us a really unique opportunity to do so.”

    Matt Poole originally saw the tweet about the ‘Peak Stock Car Dream Challenge’ on Twitter.

    “I clicked on the link,” Matt said, “and my heart skipped a beat. I knew this could be the chance I have been working towards for the last 10 years since I began chasing my racing dream. The first thought that popped into my head was ‘oh, this is me’. It’s a very fair contest. They are not picking just one person from all of the contestants but are picking 10 drivers to have a three day competition in July at Charlotte Motor Speedway.”

    For those who are not familiar with his story, Matt explains, “Everyone who knows me knows how I have been ‘chasing the racing dream the hard way’ for the last ten years. My dream is all about honoring the memory of my mother, Peggy Poole, who passed away from a heart attack in 2003 and my best friend Tonya Schultz, who was murdered by her husband in 2005. When I ran my very first race in the Street Stock Series at Hickory Motor Speedway, I had their pictures taped to the dash of the car and I donated my winnings to the American Heart Association and the Victory Junction Gang Camp in their memory.

    My dream is not about being rich and famous; my dream is about racing and winning. I plan to donate race winnings from any race the same way, to honor their memory. They meant the world to me and this is my way of making sure they are not forgotten.”

    The contest runs through May 31. Each participant must submit a video audition and fans can vote for their favorite up to five times each day. Points are awarded based on a variety of factors including votes, video audition views and the number of times the driver profile is shared on Facebook and Twitter.

    Matt read through the rules and submission guidelines, made a video and submitted his entry.

    “When I submitted it,” he told me, “I had no clue that it would explode the way it has. I knew that the people who know me best would be behind me but they took the ball and ran with it. The votes started rolling in. Then out of nowhere, both Kelley and Rene Earnhardt shared my contest page on their Facebook pages. Next, the ‘Fans of Dale Earnhardt Jr’ Facebook page shared my link. I started getting requests for interviews, was a guest on several different radio shows and the votes continued to pour in.”

    At the conclusion of the contest period, ten drivers will be chosen to participate in a three day Richard Petty Driving Experience (RPDE) race program. The Grand Prize Winner/PEAK Dream Driver will be chosen from these ten participants using the following criteria: (1) performance and ability during the 3-day RPDE program including input from RPDE personnel and other personnel chosen by Sponsor; (2) attention to the PEAK brand; and (3) attention to racing subject matter and demonstrated enthusiasm for racing.

    The winner will become the next Michael Waltrip Racing Development ‘PEAK Dream Driver’ and will, subject to verification and subject to qualification as provided in the rules, have the opportunity to compete as a competitively licensed driver in a PEAK-sponsored stock car in a sanctioned race of Sponsor’s choosing in the Summer or Fall of 2013.

    Being on the Peak Stock Car Dream Challenge top ten ‘Hot List’ is no guarantee that a driver will be selected.  But Matt Poole believes that first place takes him one step closer to his dream.

    He is amazed at how quickly he achieved his goal, thankful to everyone who continues to support him and appreciative of the opportunity.

    “It took only 2 weeks for me to reach the top five on the “Hot List,” he said, “and less than a week later, I was in first place. Now I am sitting on a 15,000 plus point lead over second place.

    Everyone is still sharing the link every single day, encouraging all their friends to vote 5 times a day. The response has been literally mind blowing. But we would not even have this opportunity if it weren’t for Peak Antifreeze and Motor Oil who is sponsoring the contest. I cannot thank them enough for giving me this opportunity. There will never be enough thanks for everyone who has voted for me five times a day and shared the page every day. All of my friends, fans and my family are the ones who have gotten me to where I am today.

    This is my childhood dream of being a race car driver coming true. This is what I have worked towards for ten years. I’m in it to win it.”

    If you would like to vote for Matt Poole, please visit his profile page at . You can also visit his website at .

  • Brian Vickers and Trevor Bayne Look for Healing in Nationwide Series

    Brian Vickers and Trevor Bayne Look for Healing in Nationwide Series

    Photo Credit: brianvickers.com
    Photo Credit: brianvickers.com

    Two NASCAR stars, Brian Vickers and Trevor Bayne, were sidelined due to serious illness just a few years ago. Now both drivers are looking to heal their careers in the Nationwide Series this season.

    In May of 2010, Cup driver Brian Vickers was visiting Washington, DC when he began to experience chest pains and trouble breathing. Initially, Vickers downplayed his symptoms, especially since he was young and in great shape.

    But when the pain persisted and even intensified, the driver of the then No. 83 Red Bull Racing Toyota sought emergency medical treatment. It was then determined that Vickers was suffering from blood clots in both lungs and also in his leg.

    Vickers knew almost immediately that this would impact his racing career. In fact, he almost delayed seeking treatment because he was fearful of losing his Cup ride.

    “I didn’t want to go to the doctor because they were going to take me out of the car,” Vickers said at the time. “Going through the CT scans, they found the blood clots in both lungs and my left leg.”

    Because Vickers was put on Coumadin, a blood thinner, to treat the clots, it was determined by his medical team that he indeed did have to step out of the race car and focus on his physical healing. Vickers ended up being out for the remainder of the season, watching only as a supporter of his beloved race team.

    But Vickers health challenges continued after a clot was discovered in a finger in his left hand. At that time, the driver underwent further testing to be diagnosed with May-Thurner Syndrome, a rare condition causing clots, as well as having a hole between the right and left atrium in his heart.

    Vickers then decided to undergo heart surgery to fix the hole, as well as have a stent placed in his left leg to assist with his circulation. Vickers made the difficult decisions about the surgeries after learning that he was at high risk for stroke without it.

    “I would rather die than have a stroke,” Vickers said at the time. “I don’t want to run the risk of living like a vegetable.”

    This additional surgery ensured that Vickers would not be ready to get back on the race track until the 2011 season. Unfortunately, Vickers dreams of returning in triumph were not to be, starting with involvement in the ‘big one’ at Daytona and then having issues and run-ins with several drivers, most notably Matt Kenseth.

    Vickers finished the 2011 season in the 25th position in points, with just seven top-10 finishes. The year ended even more dismally when his team, Red Bull Racing, folded up their NASCAR tent and left the sport.

    For the 2012 season, although Vickers started without a ride, Michael Waltrip snatched him up and put him in the No. 55 MWR Toyota for several races. Vickers showed his talent in the shared ride with Mark Martin, with three top-5 and five top-10 finishes in eight races.

    With redemption and career healing in mind, Vickers will be back behind the wheel of a race car full-time for the 2013 Nationwide season for Joe Gibbs Racing. He will also return to MWR for nine Cup races in the car shared again with Mark Martin.

    “I’m looking forward to being back in the Nationwide Series and in NASCAR,” Vickers said. “I learned a lot over the last three or four years, from being taken out of the car being sick to not being full-time this past year with everything that happened leading up to the season.”

    “My perspective on life changed through all these events,” Vickers continued. “There are no guarantees in life.”

    “I’ve learned that the hard way,” Vickers said. “My focus is on 2013 and I think the success this year will lead to great opportunities next year.”

    Photo Credit: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images North America
    Photo Credit: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images North America

    Like Vickers, Trevor Bayne is also looking to heal and rejuvenate his racing career by competing in the Nationwide Series full-time in 2013. But Bayne, like Vickers, went from being on the top of the world in 2011 as the Daytona 500’s youngest race winner to being hospitalized with double vision a few short months later.

    Bayne’s medical drama began just as suddenly as Vickers’ issues when he complained of numbness in his arms while competing in the Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. Bayne initially thought his problems were due to an insect bite but he continued to experience nausea, fatigue and vision issues and was hospitalized at the Mayo Clinic for further testing.

    Although his doctors never officially confirmed it, the young Roush Fenway driver said that Lyme disease had been causing all of his problems.

    “They wouldn’t confirm it because it’s such a hard thing to define,” Bayne said. “Lyme is something that hides in your bloodstream.”

    “It is hard to diagnose,” Bayne continued. “But if they treat it and it goes away, to me that seems like a pretty good answer.”

    Sadly for Bayne, however, his illness caused him to be sidelined just enough so that others were behind the wheel of his race car. And he had to stand by and helplessly watch while his rival and teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. catapulted to fame after clinching the Nationwide title.

    Bayne’s 2012 season was not much better as the youngster had just six Nationwide starts, all because of lack of sponsorship. With no funding, Bayne had just one more start before the season ended, again with his teammate Stenhouse Jr. holding the 2012 championship trophy.

    “If you would have told me it would look like this, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Bayne said. “It’s been a little bit of a roller coaster.”

    Bayne is especially ready to start the 2013 season, knowing that he can not only compete full-time with sponsorship but that he now has a chance at the Series championship himself.

    “I still want to make it in this sport,” Bayne said. “And I want to be a top name that is contending for championships.”

    “This is my opportunity to do that.”

    Bayne will be working with Stenhouse’s former crew chief Mike Kelley, as well as one of his sponsors, Cargill. The youngster will also be running a part-time Cup schedule for the Wood Brothers, with whom he won that unforgettable Daytona 500.

    After both drivers’ medical battles, there is no doubt that both Bayne and Vickers are beside themselves with hope for their 2013 healing season prospects.

    “I think as a person, you grow and evolve through life experiences,” Vickers said. “Every day is an audition.”

    “I think we’ve got a lot to show here,” Bayne said. “I’m competitive and I want to be a part of the championship at the end of the year.”

    “It’s what keeps us going.”

  • 2013 Sprint Cup Team Preview: Michael Waltrip Racing

    2013 Sprint Cup Team Preview: Michael Waltrip Racing

    Photo Credit: Brad Keppel

    Today our 2013 Sprint Cup team previews focus on Michael Waltrip Racing, the organization that finished 2nd in points in 2012. Michael Waltrip Racing will field three entries in 2013, the #15 for Clint Bowyer, #56 for Martin Truex Jr, and the #55 will feature a combination of drivers including Mark Martin, Brian Vickers, and Michael Waltrip.

     

    Clint Bowyer

    In his first year with Michael Waltrip Racing, Clint Bowyer surprised everyone with a 2nd place points finish in 2012. Many thought there would be an adjustment period for Bowyer and crew chief Brian Pattie, but the team ran strong all year, accumulating 3 wins. If not for getting caught up in the last lap melee at Talladega and getting intentionally wrecked by Jeff Gordon at Phoenix, Bowyer most likely would have been in the running for the Sprint Cup championship at Homestead. With sponsorship from 5 Hour Energy and Peak Antifreeze, Bowyer and Pattie will team up once again in 2013 and if the debut season for the duo is any indication, this team should have no problem winning races and making the Chase in 2013 and could be a strong contender for the 2013 title.

     

    Martin Truex Jr

    The 2012 season for Martin Truex Jr was one in which Truex was competitive week in and week out and came close many times to winning a race, but came up just short every time. The consistent run landed Truex in the Chase and he finished the year in 11th place. Truex and crew chief Chad Johnston will team up once again in 2013 and with the chemistry building between the two, look for Truex to finally get that monkey off his back and get back to victory lane for the first time since 2007 and most likely make it back into the Chase as well.

     

    #55 Team

    Although no one driver drove the #55 full time in 2012, the trio of drivers that split up the schedule (Mark Martin, Brian Vickers, and Michael Waltrip) had a good enough performance between the three to land the #55 car at 15th in the owners points in 2012. The three drivers will once again split time in the #55 in 2013, with Martin running 26 races, Vickers running 9 races and team owner Waltrip running the two restrictor plate races at Talladega and the July Daytona race. With the talent in the seat of the #55 car, it definitely would not be a surprise to see this team in Victory Lane at least once this year

  • NASCAR Stars Put Fa La La in the Season

    NASCAR Stars Put Fa La La in the Season

    Biffle_LimoPhoto Credit: Action Sports Photography

    What’s a NASCAR driver to do in the off season? For many, there are sponsor commitments, testing, and just plain relaxing with family and friends.

    But for some of NASCAR’s brightest stars, this time of year is all about putting the ‘fa la la’ in the holiday season, especially for those in need.

    Greg Biffle, who usually spends his time behind the wheel of the No. 16 3M Ford for Roush Fenway Racing, decided instead to spread some holiday cheer by serving as chauffeur for one of his fellow RFR employees for the company’s holiday bash.

    The colleagues at Roush Fenway Racing took a chance on a ride with the Biff by purchasing raffle tickets, with proceeds benefitting the Salvation Army Angel Tree Program to needy children. The raffle winner got chauffeured to and from the party in Biffle’s 1983 ‘Boss Hogg’ style limo, complete with horns on the front of the car and a horn playing the theme from the ‘Dukes of Hazard.’

    “We decided to raffle off a ride for a Roush Fenway employee to the company party this year and use the money to buy gifts for the Salvation Army Angel Tree program,” Biffle said. “Roush Fenway agreed to match the proceeds.”

    “I had wanted to do something for a local family this holiday season and I thought it would be fun to raffle off a ride in this old limo,” Biffle continued. “I saw it at an auto auction and thought it would be fun to drive around.”

    The winner of the Biffle ride was Brian Steager, who has worked for RFR for nine years in the paint and body department.

    “It was a very good ride,” Steager said. “We got there safe and sound and it was an excellent experience all the way around.”

    USO 2012 NASCAR TourPhoto Credit: USO Photo by Michael Clifton

    The holiday ride with the Biff raised over $2,000 for the Salvation Army, which will grant the holiday wishes of several children this year.

    “It was a lot of fun,” Biffle said. “It went to a very worthy cause and hopefully we’ll do it again soon.”

    Two of NASCAR’s young guns decked the halls with their own version of holiday cheer. Nationwide champ and Cup up and comer Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and new Penske Cup driver Joey Logano put the ‘fa la la’ in the season for troops serving overseas.

    Logano and Stenhouse Jr. traveled with the USO to the Middle East and Germany to meet and thank those in uniform. The two drivers visited six bases in all, meeting hundreds of men and women in the military to thank them for their service.

    “We had the chance to meet some amazing men and women on our USO tour,” Logano said. “I have so much respect for our troops; they do their jobs day in and day out without complaint and are always giving it their all.”

    “We are lucky to have these men and women serving and protecting our country and I can’t thank them enough for all that they do.”

    This was Stenhouse’s first holiday tour of USO duty and the young driver thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

    “It was an honor to meet our troops and see them in action,” Stenhouse said. “The service and sacrifice of these men and women and their families are inspiring.”

    “I have nothing but admiration and gratitude for what they do for our country.”

    Michael Waltrip, former driver, Daytona 500 winner and now principal in Michael Waltrip Racing, also granted a few holidays wishes of his own. He and his colleagues participated in ABC’s ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’ to help a family in Lincolnton, North Carolina, who had a big heart for foster children but needed an even bigger home.

    The Friday family, foster parents to over 30 children took in a teenage boy and his five siblings. Their ranch home, however, needed that bit of a NASCAR makeover in order to have room for the family to celebrate Christmas.

    And thanks to Michael Waltrip and his MWR team, the Christmas miracle of a home big enough for all of its children was granted.

    Ryan Newman put the final ‘fa la la’ into the holiday season with his annual Ryan Newman Foundation dinner and auction, raising over $340,000 for animal welfare, education and conservation activities. The event also featured a charity fishing tournament, with 148 teams competing.

    “Krissie and I appreciate everyone who participated in the fishing tournament,” Newman said. “The weather was perfect.”

    While the experts were fishing, Neman actually was schmoozing with sponsors and other fans on a luxury yacht, all in the name of charity.

    “I didn’t know what to think of the yacht event,” Newman said. “But it turned out to be a good thing.”

    “It was a good way to have some one on one time with me and check out Lake Norman.”

    Even the NASCAR race tracks have gotten into the holiday spirit. Charlotte Motor Speedway, in the heart of racing country, has not only been decked out in holiday lights but will also be showing holiday movies throughout the season, all to benefit Speedway Children’s Charities.

    The track’s light show, featuring over 800 displays and more than 3 million lights, has been on display, with movies such as ‘A Christmas Story’, ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ and ‘Christmas Vacation’ shown through the end of December.

    NASCAR driver Ryan Newman, however, best summed up the sentiments of all of the NASCAR community hoping to spread some good cheer and ‘fa la la’ spirit for the holidays.

    “It’s something I think we’ll do again next year.”

  • Clint Bowyer ‘Happy to be Second’

    Clint Bowyer ‘Happy to be Second’

    [media-credit name=”Photo Credit: Gary Buchanan” align=”alignright” width=”227″][/media-credit]While it may have been Clint Bowyer’s first season ever with Michael Waltrip Racing, it was the best season of his career.

    And the driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota couldn’t be happier, finishing second in the Chase standings, just 39 points behind champion Brad Keselowski and a mere one point ahead of third place finisher and five time champ Jimmie Johnson.

    “Can you believe I beat Jimmie Johnson?” Bowyer said in the media session following his runner up speech at the banquet. “It was a whopping one point.”

    “That’s like winning.”

    Bowyer most likely never dreamed that he would finish the year so strongly, especially after leaving Richard Childress Racing at the end of 2011 and signing with new team Michael Waltrip Racing.

    “Those were nerve-racking times in the winter last year,” Bower said. “I had lost my ride at RCR and walked into a new program with a lot of unknowns.”

    “But I had a lot of confidence in what was going on,” Bowyer continued. “They paired me with Brian Pattie (crew chief) and a lot of good people and that’s what it takes to be successful.”

    Bowyer made the Chase with three victories in the year, including wins at Sonoma, Richmond and Charlotte. He also scored ten top-5 and 23 top-10 finishes for the 2012 season.

    Bowyer’s first win was one of his sweetest, coming at the road course of Sonoma, where he had never won before. He dominated that race, leading 71 or the 112 laps.

    “It was awesome,” Bowyer said of that first victory for MWR.”I run well at Sonoma.”

    “It’s one of those tracks where I’m comfortable from the very first laps I run,” Bowyer continued. “It just came effortless.”

    “You’re at the top of the board in practice and, if you’re not, you knew just what kind of adjustment you needed to put you at the top of the board,” Bowyer continued. “I’ve just always been able to find good speed there.”

    “I’ve learned to enjoy those road courses.”

    Bowyer has also learned to enjoy fuel mileage racing, winning his next two races at Richmond and Charlotte by saving gas and playing that strategy.

    At Richmond, Bowyer recovered from a spin midway through the race due to a cut tire in a close encounter with Juan Pablo Montoya, saved fuel at the end, and went on to Victory Lane. This win put Bowyer in the sixth position to start the run for the championship.

    “Thank you, Juan Pablo, for wrecking me and then winning me the race,” Bowyer said exuberantly. “It’s a good way to bounce back headed into the Chase after the bad race last weekend in Atlanta.”

    Bowyer’s third win, also in fuel conservation mode, came at Charlotte in October. The driver actually ran out of gas during his burnout celebration and walked with team owner Michael Waltrip to Victory Lane.

    For Bowyer, these three wins, as well as finishing second in the Chase were the capstones for his successful season.

    “My season highlights were all about winning,” Bowyer said. “Winning on my worst race tracks, a mile and a half and a road course.”

    “That says a lot about what we’ve got going on as a race team.”

    Unfortunately for Bowyer, however, there were also some lowlights of the season that have, according to the driver, almost overshadowed all of the accomplishments. And those lowlights involve fellow competitor and four-time champion Jeff Gordon.

    Interestingly, Gordon and Bowyer have had an interesting relationship throughout the season, clashing on the track but yet also having good runs together at the same time.

    When Bowyer won at Sonoma, he spied a picture of Jeff Gordon, five-time Sonoma winner, in the media center after the race, and noted how much bigger that made his win there.

    “I looked up and Jeff Gordon was there on the wall, won this race many times, he’s a champion of this sport and I just beat him,” Bowyer said. “You have no idea…I’m a young racer from Kansas.”

    “You don’t forget stuff like that.”

    Bowyer’s Richmond race was also intertwined with Gordon’s in that, while Bowyer stood in Victory Circle, Gordon scored his own brand of victory with Bowyer, beating out Kyle Busch for the final spot in the Chase.

    But it was the altercation with Jeff Gordon at Phoenix, the next to the last race of the season and in the Chase, that has consumed all of the attention, much to Bowyer’s chagrin.

    At that race, with Gordon intentionally crashing Bowyer late in the race, leading to a melee in the pits, and Bowyer’s now infamous run to catch Gordon, the spotlight shifted from accomplishment and finishing second place to the newest rivalry in the sport.

    “It’s a bad thing,” Bowyer said. “I want to get this behind me because I’ve had such a great year.”

    “And I hated that happened at the end of the year because that’s all you guys in the media wanted to talk about,” Bowyer continued. “That’s the story, but that’s what sucked for me, knowing how good of a year we had, how much pride we had, and because of a stupid thing there, that’s what we’re talking about, not how we ran in the Chase and in the season.”

    Does Bowyer think that the Phoenix altercation with Gordon cost him the championship? Although still smarting from it all, Bowyer definitely acknowledged that there were other factors that led to his second place Chase standing finish.

    “No, we got behind at Talladega and never really bounced back,” Bowyer said. “I knew that was going to be a hard one to overcome, especially as hard as Jimmie and Brad were running.”

    “But, look at the way we ran in the Chase,” Bowyer continued. “A bad race was sixth, you know.”

    “When you’re running like that, it’s pretty rare,” Bowyer said. “And if we can continue to build on that like I think we can, it gives me a lot of confidence and a lot of pride.”

    And that pride and sense of accomplishment is what Bowyer fully intends to focus on for the remainder of 2012, the offseason, and into the New Year.

    “When we made the Chase, my realistic goal was to be in the top five,” Bowyer said. “To exceed that…you can’t ask for more.”

    “I’m with a group that I can really enjoy,” Bowyer continued. “Anytime you’ve had success the way we’ve had success, you’re bound to have fun and build confidence within yourself.”

    “I feel like this year I ran the way I was capable of running and it was super-cool to be a part of it.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Charlotte Bank of America 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Charlotte Bank of America 500

    [media-credit name=”Greg Arthur” align=”alignright” width=”241″][/media-credit]In a race now known as one without an Earnhardt and without a North Carolina born driver, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    Surprising:  At his worst track statistically and on a mile and half track where he has never won, this driver, although thrilled to be in Victory Lane after a fuel mileage battle extraordinaire, seemed also to be strangely depressed.

    “I can’t do a burnout,” Clint Bowyer said woefully after having his No. 15 5-Hour Energy/Avon Foundation for Women Toyota pushed to the winner’s circle. “The thing doesn’t have enough fuel in it to do a burnout.”

    “I’d like to practice a burnout,” Bowyer continued ruefully. “It’s so much fun burning rubber.”

    “Oh hell, I don’t care,” Bowyer then said. “It’s a lot more fun getting handed that trophy – that’s what it’s all about.”

    Not Surprising:  Although Chaser Clint Bowyer survived on fumes to end the race, it was not surprising that his other Chase contenders, in fact the top three in the points battle, were also challenging their own fuel demons, literally having to slow down in order to finish the race.

    “Yeah, you’re just running the race backwards basically,” Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota, said after finishing second. “You’re just seeing how slow you can go and maintain your track position.”

    “It’s tough because I’m sitting there thinking I can go by this 15 (Bowyer) or catch him just about any time I want, but Darian (Grubb, crew chief) is screaming at me to back off.”

    “We started saving with double the distance to just be cautious,” Jimmie Johnson, who finished third in the No. 48 MyLowe’s Chevrolet, said. “We didn’t want to go up there and chase the No. 11 (Hamlin) and get ourselves in trouble.”

    Brad Keselowski, usually known as an excellent fuel-mileage racer, actually sputtered, coasting to pit road after running out of fuel. “I didn’t know what was going on,” the driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge said. “I think we probably would have finished fourth or fifth if we didn’t run out of fuel.”

    “I had to coast for quite a ways and it wouldn’t start when I got back to pit road.”

    This small fuel sputter, along with having to stop for fuel in the waning laps, cost Keselowski a top-5 finish, landing him in the 11th spot instead when the checkered flag flew.

    Yet, in spite of the fuel challenges at Charlotte, Keselowski maintained P1 in the Chase standings but is now just seven points ahead of Jimmie Johnson and fifteen points ahead of Denny Hamlin.

    Surprising:  Jeff Gordon and team 24 Drive to End Hunger made some surprisingly costly errors in the Bank of America 500. Gordon, fighting an ill-handling race car most of the night, incurred a speeding road penalty and struggled to regain track position from that point on.

    “We missed the setup at the beginning, but we worked on it and worked on it and had it driving good there at the end,” Gordon said. “We just couldn’t catch a caution to get us back on the lead lap.”

    “It was just one of those nights.”

    Gordon finished 18th, his fourth finish of 18th or worse in his last five races at Charlotte. He also fell three positions, from sixth to ninth in the Chase standings, 50 points back from the Chase leader.

    Not Surprising:  Pole sitter Greg Biffle had a good enough run to actually swap point’s positions with Jeff Gordon in the Chase standings. The driver of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion finished fourth, gaining three Chase positions, from ninth to sixth in the standings, 43 points out of the lead.

    “We had the fastest car, but couldn’t make it on fuel,” Biffle said. “We had the fastest car at the end, but didn’t quite get there.”

    “It hurts to get beat on fuel mileage, but we were the first car behind the three that made it on fuel mileage, so I feel pretty good with fourth.”

    Surprising:  Stewart Haas Racing faced some surprising challenges at Charlotte Motor Speedway under the lights.

    SHR Chase driver Tony Stewart started from deep in the field and got into an accordion-style accident on a restart that damaged the front of his No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet.

    “I was following the 2 car (Keselowski) there and he had to check up,” Smoke said. “Man, I drilled him and it screwed up the nose of our race car.”

    SHR teammate Ryan Newman forfeited a great starting spot in the front of the field due to an engine change, which forced him to the rear of the field in a race where track position was key.

    “We definitely took a hit with the engine change,” Newman said. “We had a really fast car in practice and qualifying and it wasn’t the same in the race.”

    “It was a tough night for us.”

    Stewart rallied to finish 13th, while Newman, in the No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet, finished a disappointing 20th.

    Not Surprising:   Kyle Busch, in the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota, finally had a good finish, in fact a top-five finish, to show for his efforts in front of the home crowd.

    “The car was really good,” Busch said. “I felt like we had a winning car barring circumstances and how they played out.”

    “But that just wasn’t there for us at the end with the strategy and everything,” Busch continued. “We came home okay.”

    Surprising:  With every other driver so fixated on fuel, it was surprising that this driver, who finished seventh, could have cared less.

    “We got good fuel mileage, but that wasn’t our focus,” Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford, said. “Our focus was going as fast as we could and I think we showed a little more promise than we have in a long time.”

    “It’s been a long time since we’ve been this competitive on a mile-and-a-half, so I’m very happy with it.”

    Not Surprising:  With Dale Earnhardt, Jr. out of the race car due to a concussion, it was no surprise that all eyes were on Regan Smith, substituting for Junior in the No. 88 Amp Energy/National Guard Chevy, and also on Kurt Busch, who took over Smith’s No. 78 Furniture Row/Farm American Chevrolet ride for the first time this season.

    Busch finished 21st while Smith finished 38th with an engine failure.

    “The important part was that we had a really fast race car,” Smith said. “It’s disappointing and it’s a shame.”

    “Finishing 21st might not appear that we made progress,” Busch said. “But the fact of the matter is that we did in our first three days together at the track.”

    “It was an uneventful race, but an eventful weekend.”

    Surprising:  With the shuffling of Kurt Busch to Furniture Row and Regan Smith to Dale Earnhardt Junior’s seat, there was one surprising opening for a driver that needed a second chance.

    A.J. Allmendinger, returning from suspension after completing NASCAR’s Road to Recovery program, took the wheel of the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet and finished 24th at Charlotte under the lights.

    “I have a lot of unfinished business,” the ‘Dinger said. “I have a lot of things I want to accomplish still.”

    “It’s not going to be easy,” Allmendinger continued. “I’m going to have to do a lot of work for it, but I’m willing to do it.”

    Not Surprising:  Michael Waltrip Racing had another stellar day at the race track. One MWR driver, Clint Bowyer, was in Victory Lane while the other two MWR drivers both had top-ten runs.

    Mark Martin, in the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, finished sixth and Martin Truex, Jr., behind the wheel of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, finished tenth.

    “We started racing in 2007 and here we are in 2012 racing for a championship,” Michael Waltrip, team owner, said. “There are a few things that have happened to me over my racing career that are really special and this is one of those.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Dover AAA 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Dover AAA 400

    [media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”233″][/media-credit]As all at the Monster Mile mourned the passing of Chris Economaki, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the third Chase race, the 43rd annual AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway.

    Surprising:  While Chevrolet has been dominant at the Monster Mile in the past, particularly with Jimmie Johnson behind the wheel, and Toyota strong in qualifying this race with Denny Hamlin on the pole, it was surprising that neither manufacturer ended up in Victory Lane.

    Instead the lone representative of the Dodge brand took the checkered flag, waved the American flag, and even did a stellar burnout in spite of being almost out of fuel.

    “Dodge has really performed with us,” Roger Penske, the ‘captain’ of the victorious No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Penske team, said. “They committed to us three or four years ago as we became the only team.”

    “The greatest thing we could do would be to bring a championship to Dodge this year,” Penske continued. “At the moment, we represent them.”

    “They’re partners,” Penske said. “We’re going to do our best.”

    Penske’s driver Brad Keselowski not only score the win for Dodge, but also got his first win at the Monster Mile. Even more important, Keselowski grabbed the points lead in the Chase standings and is now five points ahead of Jimmie Johnson.

    Not Surprising:  One driver that had to have a good run in order to even stay with spitting distance of the Chase contenders pulled it off and tamed the monster for a second place finish.

    “I thought it was a solid effort,” Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet, said. “Our car was pretty good right from the start.”

    “It was a great finish to come home second,” Gordon continued. “This is nice to follow up what we had last week.”

    “We’re running good,” Gordon said. “We got seven more weeks to get it done.”

    Surprising:  For a track known as the ‘Monster Mile’, it was surprising that the monster was in the fuel tank and not on the race track itself.

    There were just five cautions total in the race, most for debris, and the final laps were nail biters to see who would make it on fuel rather than who would wreck or have other on-track incidents.

    Even five-time champ Jimmie Johnson, behind the wheel of the No. 48 Lowes/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet, had to back it down because of his fear of running out of Sunoco, finishing fourth instead of first just to be sure about that pesky fuel mileage.

    “Well, for starters, we’re not very good at fuel mileage races,” Johnson said. “So, when I heard that, I’m like, man, we’re in big trouble.”

    “And Chad asked me to start saving fuel,” Johnson continued. “It’s tough; it really is.”

    “I wished we could have raced for it,” Johnson said. “But it is what it is.”

    “You’ve got to be good on all fronts and we did a decent job today.”

    Not Surprising:  They say that races can be won or lost in the pits and that proved true for many drivers trapped a lap down after a cycle of pit stops gone awry with a caution. But for one Chase contender, Kasey Kahne, his entire race was impacted by what happened on pit road.

    “We don’t know why I had to pit the first time, but the car just started shaking really bad,” the driver of the No. 5 Farmer’s Insurance Chevrolet, said. “Right before it did that, we were fast, we finally got our laps back that we lost early and we were coming.”

    Then the No. 5 team made a critical mistake on the stop with a lug nut and Kahne again had to visit pit road, losing track position and precious time.

    “We were sitting really good because we had just pitted and topped off on fuel,” Kahne said. “It’s too bad whatever it was.”

    “We’ll figure it out and hopefully we don’t have it happen again.”

    Kahne finished the race in 15th and fell to sixth position in the point standings, 32 points behind the leader.

    Surprising:  Although the non-Chase Fords fared surprisingly well, with Carl Edwards finishing fifth in his No. 99 Fastenal Ford, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., in his new Ford Cup ride finishing 12th, the Chase Fords of Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth had surprisingly bad days at the Monster Mile.

    In fact, Biffle and Kenseth had such surprisingly bad days, finishing 16th and 35th respectively, that they both fell to the basement in the Chase point standings, facing an incredibly uphill battle to get back into the championship hunt.

    “It’s tough,” Biffle, driver of the No. 16 Scotch-Brite Ford Fusion said, after contending with a loose wheel and having a meltdown of epic proportions on his scanner. “We were in great position, but that really kind of takes us out of the title hunt.”

    “We really needed to finish in the top three here to be a factor, but now we’ll just work on being in the top 10.”

    “In two of three Chase races, something either fell off or broke, so obviously that’s not good,” Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 EcoBoost Ford Fusion, said. “This is probably the worst we’ve run here for as long as I can remember.”

    “From the first lap on the track to the last lap on the track, we were pretty much junk.”

    Not Surprising:   There is no doubt that Kyle Busch, who had yet another great race going, including leading the most laps until fuel mileage concerns forced him to pit road at the race end, has become the modern day racing equivalent of the biblical character Job.

    The driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota just cannot seem to catch a break, whether it is fuel mileage, engine failure or other strange on-track incidents. And, just like Job, Busch has done his share of vociferously and vehemently questioning the racing gods, as well as his team and manufacturer.

    “It’s frustrating,” Dave Rogers, Busch’s crew chief said. “I knew if it came down to a fuel mileage race that we were going to be in trouble.”

    “There was no doubt that we had the fastest car,” Rogers continued. “We played our best cards and we came up short.”

    Surprising:  Denny Hamlin, a physical force behind the wheel at any track, stepped up his mental game for a surprisingly good finish at the Monster Mile. The driver of the No. 11 Fed Ex Office Toyota Camry and pole sitter, finished top-ten, one of his best results at a track that admittedly is not his favorite.

    “Top-10 day on a race track like this and to battle for the win all day – I’m not going to complain,” Hamlin said. “We ran our ass off today.”

    “Like I said, there’s nothing we can’t handle on the race track,” Hamlin continued. “I think our performance today is a testament to where we’re heading.”

    Not Surprising:  Veteran Mark Martin, the ‘Energizer Bunny’ of the Cup Series, just keeps getting it done on the race track whenever he is behind the wheel of the No. 55 Aaron’s 2000th Store, Bronx, NY Toyota. Martin finished 3rd, announcing that, although not part of the Chase, he is still a contender.

    “I don’t know if everybody really noticed or not, but we had a rocket ship, super fast car,” Martin said in the media center after the race. “We were passing cars left and right.”

    “I have a fantastic race team,” Martin continued. “We were just having a blast.”

    Surprising:  In contrast to veteran Martin, three-time and reigning Cup champion Tony Stewart and his race team had a surprisingly challenging day. Smoke finished 20th in his No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet and teammate Ryan Newman, in the No. 39 US Army Chevrolet, finished right behind him in 21st.

    “We just got caught behind the eight-ball there,” Stewart said. “We got a lap down and the next run we pitted, came back out and the No. 36 crashes.”

    “It was just a domino effect,” Smoke continued. “As soon as we’d pit, the caution would come out again.”

    Not Surprising:  In addition to the stellar run of Mark Martin, the other two Michael Waltrip Racing cars, both in Chase contention, had decent, top-10 finishes at the Monster Mile. Martin Truex Jr. finished sixth and teammate Clint Bowyer finished ninth.

    “Well, it wasn’t pretty at the beginning,” Truex Jr., driving the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, said. “But it was pretty damn pretty at the end.”

    “It’s great a great finish for where we started,” Truex continued. “What a crazy day.”

    “When you have days like that, you just have to keep fighting and we kept fighting and came out with a good results.”

    Both Truex and Bowyer advanced two positions a piece in the point standings. Martin Truex Jr. is now eighth in points, 42 behind the leader, and Clint Bowyer is now fourth in points, 25 behind leader Keselowski.

    Surprising:  One racer, making her first start at the Monster Mile, expressed surprising comfort with the concept of a fuel mileage racing, in spite of finishing 38th in her No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet.

    “I’m so used to the concept of fuel mileage racing that I don’t have any problem with it,” Patrick said. “Even at the start of the run I’m saving fuel already and they told me not to.”

    “I was a little slow to start,” Patrick continued. “But we worked our way through it and made it better most every stop.”

    “That is a good starting place for next year when we get here and that is the point of these races.”

    Not Surprising:  While pronouncing the finish ‘decent’, it was not surprising that the crew chief for NASCAR’s most popular driver was not particularly thrilled with the 11th place finish of the No. 88 National Guard/Diet Mount Dew Chevrolet.

    “We had a good car and we are fine with what we had,” Steve Letarte, crew chief for Dale Earnhardt, Jr., said. “To come here and not be good in practice and have a good car and feel like we could run in the top-five – that’s heading in the right direction.”

    “We just need a little luck on our side.”

  • Brad Keselowski Tames Monster Mile for First Win and Points Lead

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”230″][/media-credit]Brad Keselowski, driving the No. 2 Miller Lite  Dodge for Penske Racing, not only tamed the Monster Mile with his first ever win at Dover International Speedway, but also took the points lead, now five points over Jimmie Johnson.

    This was Keselowski’s fifth win of the season and his ninth career win. He has now won two of the three races so far in the Chase.

    “I’m happy for our day here obviously,” Keselowski said. “We certainly were a lot stronger here than we were in the past.”

    “I may not have had the best car but hung around in that top five, just kept creeping around and when you do that, you put yourself in position for good things to happen.”

    “That’s what this 2 team has done the last few months.”

    “That was the type of performance we needed to stay in this championship and we showed today that we’re going to continue to be there every week,” Paul Wolfe, crew chief for the race winning car, said. “This was another small step to the ten races and I’m proud to be able to come out of here in the points lead.”

    One driver that needed a great run actually got it at the Monster Mile. Jeff Gordon, behind the wheel of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, held on to finish in the runner up position.

    “I thought it was a solid effort,” Gordon said. “Our car was good right from the start.”

    Gordon admitted he had a car that was better on the long runs, but that actually helped when it came time to finish up the fuel mileage racing.

    “We struggled on the short runs,” Gordon said. “We started really struggling on the restarts and losing positions.”

    “But that played to our favor because we could come in and top off,” Gordon continued. “It gave us the opportunity not to have to save fuel.”

    “I thought me and Mark Martin were going to be battling for the win”, Gordon said. “We just got a little too tight at the end.”

    Although Gordon is still 48 points out in the Chase, he has moved forward into the tenth spot after race three of the Chase.

    “This is nice to follow up with what we had last week,” Gordon said. “We’re just taking a few steps in the Chase each week.”

    “It was a great day all around.”

    Wily veteran Mark Martin, behind the wheel of the No. 55 Aaron’s 2000th Store/Bronx NY Toyota, finished third for Michael Waltrip Racing.

    “I don’t know if everybody really noticed but we had a rocket ship,” Martin said. “Super fast car.”

    “We battled from behind all day,” Martin continued. “We were just passing cars left and right.”

    “It was a hard fought battle by a great race team,” Martin said. “I had a really, really fast race car.”

    “It feels really good, regardless of the points, to run good.”

    Jimmie Johnson, in the No. 48 Lowe’s /Kobalt Tools Chevrolet, not only lost the points lead but had to finish off the race in fuel saving mode, for fourth.

    “It’s a tough situation to be in, but I’m more focused on the big prize,” Johnson said. “I’m very happy we got to the finish line.”

    “We had clean air but I had to give it up because of saving fuel,” Johnson continued. “Today we were fourth, which is not bad.”

    Johnson acknowledged that it was difficult to let cars pass, especially those Chase competitors, just to have to save fuel.

    “It’s tough,” Johnson said. “But you have to race on all fronts and we had a decent day today.”

    Once known as ‘Concrete Carl’, the driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford finally had a good day on the concrete banks of the Monster Mile, finishing fifth.

    “That was a decent run for us,” Edwards said. “We had a lot of good luck.”

    “If I can’t be winning the race, I enjoy seeing the battle out there,” Edwards continued. “We’ve got some work to do and we have to keep working on these cars.”

    “We didn’t drop the ball and we had some fun,” Edwards said. “It’s fortunate we came home top five.”

    Some Chase contenders salvaged a fairly decent day; however others had dramatically difficult days. Among the latter was Matt Kenseth, who hit the wall twice and finished a miserable 35th in his No. 17 Ford EcoBoost Ford.

    “Today was a struggle,” Kenseth said. “This is probably the worst we’ve run here for as long as I can remember.”

    “From the first lap on the track to the last lap on the track, we were pretty much junk.”

    Kenseth had the distinction of being the worst finisher of the Chasers and fell into the basement position in 12th, now 72 points behind leader Keselowski.

    Other Chase contenders fared better than Kenseth, including Martin Truex Jr., who finished sixth; Denny Hamlin in eighth; Clint Bowyer in ninth; Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in eleventh; Kevin Harvick in the 13th spot, and Kasey Kahne who finished 15th.

    The remaining Chase drivers, Greg Biffle, who had a tire issue and a major meltdown, and Tony Stewart, who was just off all day, finished 16th and 20th respectively at Dover International Speedway.

    Unofficial Race Results
    AAA 400, Dover Int’l Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=29
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 10 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 47
    2 7 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 43
    3 26 55 Mark Martin Toyota 41
    4 11 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 41
    5 15 99 Carl Edwards Ford 39
    6 3 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 38
    7 5 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 39
    8 1 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 37
    9 2 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 36
    10 14 20 Joey Logano Toyota 34
    11 25 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 33
    12 17 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 0
    13 13 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 31
    14 16 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 30
    15 9 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 29
    16 6 16 Greg Biffle Ford 28
    17 18 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 27
    18 27 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 26
    19 21 43 Aric Almirola Ford 25
    20 24 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 24
    21 8 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 23
    22 19 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 22
    23 28 51 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 21
    24 20 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 20
    25 4 22 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 0
    26 35 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 18
    27 39 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 17
    28 38 10 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 0
    29 33 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 15
    30 31 34 David Ragan Ford 14
    31 30 13 Casey Mears Ford 13
    32 42 38 David Gilliland Ford 12
    33 41 32 T.J. Bell Ford 0
    34 40 36 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 10
    35 12 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 9
    36 22 83 Landon Cassill Toyota 8
    37 23 26 Josh Wise * Ford 7
    38 32 98 Michael McDowell Ford 6
    39 37 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0
    40 34 195 Scott Speed Ford 4
    41 43 37 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 3
    42 36 23 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 2
    43 29 191 Reed Sorenson Chevrolet 0
  • Denny Hamlin Scores First Ever Pole At Monster Mile

    Denny Hamlin Scores First Ever Pole At Monster Mile

    [media-credit name=”Gary Buchanan” align=”alignright” width=”216″][/media-credit]At a track that has been admittedly been monstrous in the past to him, Denny Hamlin pulled off the fastest qualifying lap of his Monster Mile career, scoring his first ever pole at Dover International Speedway.

    Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota grabbed the pole with a fast lap of 22.599 seconds at a speed of 159.299 mph. This is Hamlin’s third pole of the season but his first ever at Dover in 14 races at the Monster Mile.

    “That was an amazing run,” Hamlin said. “Definitely wasn’t what I expected, but it sure feels good to get a pole here.”

    “Our car was really strong in race trim and really wasn’t all that good in qualifying trim,” Hamlin continued. “Hopefully this is a good sign of things that will give us a strong run here on Sunday.”

    “Starting from the pole will help us in tuning our car throughout the day,” Hamlin said. “Obviously track position is going to be very, very crucial and we’ve got to do everything we can to keep that.”

    “We’ve got a car that’s very capable of staying in the front and hopefully we’ll have a shot to win.”

    Hamlin humbly credited his crew chief Darian Grubb for his pole winning qualifying effort.

    “I think there’s a lot of drivers out there that could be able to do what I do with the cars that Darian has been giving me the last few weeks,” Hamlin said. “I’m going to give him pretty much all the credit and ride his back as long as it will hold me.”

    The second and third qualifying positions belonged to Michael Waltrip Racing teammates Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex, Jr.

    “It was good,” Bowyer, driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, said. “When you’re that close, it’s disappointing because you know just if you could have put the gas down that much more anywhere around the race track, you’d of had the pole.”

    “I will save that for another day.”

    Bowyer posted his 12th top-10 start of 2012 and his fifth in 14 races at the Monster Mile.

    “It’s a good day for us,” Martin Truex, Jr., driver of the No. 56 NAPA Toyota, said. “It’s been a good weekend so far.”

    “The NAPA Toyota was about perfect,” Martin Truex Jr. continued. “Had to lift off turn four and gave it to him.”

    “The car was awesome.”

    This was Truex’s sixth top-10 start at Dover International Speedway and his 13th in 29 races this season.

    Sam Hornish, Jr. sat on the pole briefly but was relegated to a fourth place qualifying run in his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger.

    “The lap was OK,” Hornish said. “From inside the car, I thought that we put together a pretty solid lap.”

    “Our race runs yesterday didn’t have the speed that we needed, so I’m really happy that I qualified well.”

    Kyle Busch, in the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, rounded out the top-five in qualifying at Dover. Busch had his hands full, with the car wiggling during the lap.

    “I really don’t know what I did wrong,” Busch said. “It stepped out and I just had to catch it and wait and go after it the second lap.”

    “Just glad we were able to have a strong second lap.”

    While the qualifying lap may have been a bit squirrelly, Busch said he might just have the car to beat on race day.

    “I think we’ve definitely got a top-three car right now,” Busch said. “I think we’re one of those in the top elite.”

    Ten of the twelve Chase drivers qualified in the top-13 positions during the time trials, with Hamlin in first, Bowyer second, Truex Jr. third, Greg Biffle sixth, Jeff Gordon seventh, Kasey Kahne in ninth, Brad Keselowski in tenth, Jimmie Johnson in eleventh, Matt Kenseth in twelfth and Kevin Harvick in thirteenth.

    Chase drivers Tony Stewart qualified 24th and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. qualified 25th.

    Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., making his first Cup start in the No. 6 Cargill Ford, qualified 17th and Danica Patrick, in the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, qualified 38th.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Geico 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Geico 400

    [media-credit name=”Noel Lanier” align=”alignright” width=”235″][/media-credit]In the opening salvo of the 2012 Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the Geico 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

    Surprising:  The following words from his Chase video promo proved prophetic for the driver who likened his victory to a win in the opening round of a heavyweight fight for the championship.

    “I didn’t start out wanting to be a race car driver,” Brad Keselowski said in the video. “I started out wanting to be a championship race car driver.”

    Also, just as he predicted in his Chase video, the driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge for Penske Racing had to battle a championship veteran, none other than five-time champion Jimmie Johnson, for the race win.

    “Of course at every stop up the ranks there was some veteran that wanted to test me,” Keselowski continued in the video. “Someone I had to prove myself to.”

    “These days, well, not much has changed. I’m Brad Keselowski and this is my Chase.”

    Yes, at least so far in the championship battle, it most certainly is Keselowski’s Chase. With his win, Keselowski now leads the point standings for the first time in his career.

    Not Surprising:  With the Chase competition in full gear, it was not surprising that a bit of controversy played into the race finish.

    Runner up Jimmie Johnson, who has never won at Chicagoland, expressed concerns about Keselowski of blending prematurely, crossing the line a little bit too early after making his final pit stop in his opinion.

    “He did cut up early,” Johnson said. “It did impede my progress.”

    “But it didn’t affect the outcome, I don’t believe, “Johnson continued. “The way he made quick work in traffic and stretched it out on me, I’m not sure I would have held him off.”

    Although NASCAR reviewed the situation, the sanctioning body ruled that there was no foul. Johnson finished second, his ninth top-10 finish in 11 races at Chicagoland and his 18th top-10 finish in 2012.

    Johnson was also the lap leader of the race, leading a whopping 172 laps of the Geico 400. He kept Chase leader Keselowski in his sights, however, and is now just three points back.

    Surprising:  Both Roush Fenway drivers in the Chase had surprisingly bad days. Matt Kenseth, behind the wheel of the No. 17 Best Buy Ford, had the shock of his life and Greg Biffle, in the No. 16 3M Ford was shocked by how bad his final pit stop was.

    “A shock fell off, I guess,” Kenseth said. “I guess it didn’t get tight.”

    “We had a brake line get loose at Bristol and a shock fall off in this race, so obviously we have to get to the bottom of that.”

    “We were really good there at the end and we did our last stop and the car just went bad,” Biffle said. “It never fails, the last stop of the day we put our tires on and it went bad.”

    Kenseth finished 18th and fell three positions to 11th in the Chase standings, 26 back of the leader. Biffle finished a bit better in 13th but lost three positions to 8th in the Chase standings and is now 19 points behind the leader.

    Not Surprising:  The grunt of pain when this driver hit the wall hard said it all for his race, as well as being symbolic for much of his 2012 season.

    Even bringing back his old school mustache could not help Jeff Gordon as his throttle stuck, hurtling him into the safer barrier and relegating him to a 35th place finish. Gordon did not budge from the 12th position, however, is now a daunting 47 points away from the Chase points leader.

    “We were having a good day,” Gordon said. “We had a top-5 car and who knows what we could have done.”

    “We had a throttle stick,” Gordon said. “I left off and it didn’t come all the way back.

    “In this deal, you can’t afford issues like that.”

    Surprising:  Dale Earnhardt, Jr. had a surprising destination in mind as his goal for the rest of the Chase, especially having to start from the rear due to an engine issue and finishing eighth.

    “I was disappointed in myself for making that mistake with the engine and getting us that far back at the start of the race,” the driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy/7-Eleven/National Guard Chevrolet said. “We really couldn’t overcome the track position.”

    “We need to be in the media center after all these races as much as possible,” Junior said, noting his new destination goal. “Eighth is all right, but I know Brad is going to run well and Jimmie is obviously going to be tough.”

    “You can’t run eighth every week and win the championship.”

    Junior maintained his seventh position in the Chase standings and is 17 points back from leader Keselowski.

    Not Surprising:   Earnhardt Junior’s teammate Kasey Kahne was the Chase’s official biggest mover, gaining six positions to fifth in the standings with his third place finish.

    “The Farmers Insurance Chevrolet was good all day,” Kahne said. “The pit stops were awesome and I felt good about it.”

    While Kahne was happy about his finish, he also expressed some concerns about what he and his crew chief Kenny Francis will face in the next mile and a half track on the schedule.

    “We made a lot of adjustments and Kenny did a nice job, but we just couldn’t figure anything out to make the car better,” Kahne said. “So, I just feel like I was lacking today and hopefully we can talk about it this week and get it better for some of these other 1.5 mile tracks.”

    Surprising:  Michael Waltrip Racing, after blazing into the Chase with its two primary drivers Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex, Jr., were surprising non-factors for the win in the first race of the championship ten.

    Truex, Jr., driving the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, finished ninth and Bowyer, piloting the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, finished right behind him in tenth. They are sixth and ninth respectively in the point standings after the Chicagoland race.

    “It just wasn’t a good day,” Bowyer said simply. “I don’t know whether it was strategy or pit stops or what, but it seemed like we lost spots on pit road all day and it just cost us.”

    “You ain’t going to win a championship with decent days.”

    “We were horrible at the start,” Truex Jr. said. “We made lots and lots and lots and lots of changes – big changes and it just worked at the end.”

    “It wasn’t the way we wanted to start the Chase.”

    Not Surprising:  The driver that lost his spot in the twelve eligible to run for the Chase at Richmond could only wonder what could have been, especially after having a top-5 run at Chicagoland.

    “The day started off really good,” Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Doublemint Toyota, said. “We were following Jeff Gordon up to the front.”

    “We had a strong Doublemint Camry,” Busch continued. “Just didn’t quite have enough for the top-three today, but we got a fourth-place effort out of it.”

    Surprising:  In an unusual move, NASCAR actually reversed a penalty, however, it was still a very big setback for one young driver.

    Aric Almirola, in his No. 43 Farmland Ford Fusion, who was penalized by NASCAR for a loose tire, was later told by NASCAR that the call was a mistake, giving him his pass through penalty lap back. Almirola, who was having a good run, just could not recover and finished 17th.

    “That was very bizarre,” Almirola said. “To be running fourth and get a pass through penalty and lose a lap and then have them tell you that they are sorry and give you your lap back, but you are on the tail end of the lead lap so you go from running fourth to 23rd or 24th, that was pretty pathetic.”

    “They fixed it and gave us our lap back, but it was disappointing.”

    Not Surprising:  Denny Hamlin, after running out of fuel to finish 16th in his No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota, made the challenge of the post race.

    “This was just us making a big mistake with our fuel again,” Hamlin said. “It’s tough but we’re strong enough and fast enough this Chase that we can make up 15 points easily.”

    In fact, Hamlin expressed such confidence heading into the second Chase race at Loudon that he posted the following tweet @dennyhamlin.

    “This is 1 week of 10. We will win next week.”