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Surprising and Not Surprising: Federated Auto Parts 400

[media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”221″][/media-credit]In a race full of twists and turns, including rain delays and wild card drama, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 55^th annual running of the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond.

Surprising: It was surprising what a dramatically different reaction this driver had to a second place run this weekend as compared to the last.

Jeff Gordon, piloting the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, went from kicking himself for his second place finish behind Denny Hamlin at Atlanta to being thrilled with his Richmond runner up run, especially since it clinched his wild card spot in the championship Chase.

Gordon, Alan Gustafson (crew chief), Eddie D’Hondt (spotter) and the entire 24 team demonstrated the ‘never give up’ mantra, taking a car that was admittedly ‘junk’ at the beginning of the race, cutting the chain on the rear sway bar on a pit stop, and getting the car back up through the field after the rain delays to finish in the second spot and secure the final wild card berth in the Chase.

“We went from last week to being the most disappointed I’ve ever been to finish second to the most excited I’ve ever been to finish second,” Gordon said. “Wow, what a race for us.”

“I still can’t believe we actually did it.”

Not Surprising: As elated as Jeff Gordon was, the driver who fell out of the Chase was equally deflated, if not more so. Errors on pit road, including a lug nut problem that created a lengthy pit stop, cost Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota, the chance to compete for the Cup this year.

Busch, who finished the race in the 16^th position, fell back to the 13^th spot in the point standings, losing his wild card berth to Gordon.

“We missed it,” Busch said simply, after gathering his composure enough to make a brief statement. “That’s it, plain and simple.”

“There’s no right way to handle this situation.”

Surprising: While many were surprised that all four of the Hendrick Motorsports cars scored spots in the Chase, the bigger surprise was that Michael Waltrip Racing achieved a similar feat, getting both of their race cars into Cup contention.

In fact, one of their drivers, Clint Bowyer, in the No. 15 5-Hour EnergyToyota, powered through an incident with Juan Pablo Montoya and almost running out of gas, to make his way right toVictory Lane.

“”To win this last race before this Chase is unbelievable,” Bowyer said. “We had a lot of adversity we had to bounce through.”

“This is a good way to get things bounced back headed into this Chase,” Bowyer continued. “You never give up in this sport.”

Bowyer’s Michael Waltrip Racing teammate, Martin Truex Jr., also never gave up and achieved his goal of a Chase spot.

“Man, I feel good,” the driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts MWR Toyota said. “The way our cars are running and as fast as we’ve been the last six or seven weeks, we’re dangerous.”

“Looking forward to going out and having some fun and hopefully we’ll be in the hunt.”

Not Surprising: Although thrilled that the team that bears his name raced two cars into the championship hunt, co-owner Michael Waltrip had another driver and good friend on his mind as he reflected on just how far his team had come over the years.

“I’m so proud of what we’ve put together,” Waltrip said. “I’m obviously really happy with having two cars in the Chase.”

“But my inspiration for having a team from the beginning was Dale Earnhardt,” Waltrip continued. “I always wanted to have a team like Dale had.”

“So anytime something goes good, I always think about what all he meant to me.”

Surprising: Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota had a surprising new attitude about not only his race, in which he led 202 laps but finished 18^th, but also his bid for the championship.

“For the most part, I think I’ll just be a lot more relaxed this time around,” Hamlin said. “What do we have to lose?”

“We’ve never won a championship,” Hamlin continued. “We’re going out there to try to win our first.”

“I’m going to race week-to-week and just not think about a championship until I get to Homestead.”

Not Surprising: While Richmond was good to Stewart Haas Racing, it was not quite good enough to get one of their teams into the Chase.

Tony Stewart, piloting the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, finished 4^th at Richmond and became the 3^rd seed in the Chase standings.

“Really proud of Steve Addington (crew chief) and all of our guys at Stewart-Haas Racing,” Smoke said. “Just proud of the effort tonight.”

Teammate Ryan Newman, however, did not fare so well. Although he brought his No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet home in the 8^th position, he missed out on a spot in the Chase.

“It’s disappointing,” Newman said. “I don’t really know what to say other than that.”

“We gave it all we had and we didn’t get the win we needed to make the Chase.”

Surprising: One driver who has been admittedly struggling all year had a surprisingly good Richmond run. Jeff Burton, driving the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet, finished top-10, in the sixth position to be exact.

“I’ve been saying week after week how strong this team is getting and we proved that tonight with a hard-fought top-10 finish,”Burton said. “I am happy and proud of everyone.”

Not Surprising: Although Kasey Kahne focused mightily on his No. 5 race car all night and into the morning, he was, not surprisingly, focused on another number, four, after the race.

“Four Hendrick cars in the Chase,” Kahne said. “Four Chevrolets too.”

Kahne finished 12^th at Richmond, but more importantly secured the 11^th seed in the Chase, making him one of those four Hendrick Motorsports drivers in the hunt for the championship.

Surprising: Ford had a surprisingly divided run to the Chase, with two Fords in and two Fords out. Matt Kenseth, in the No. 17 Best Buy Ford, finished fifth and will be seeded 8^th in the Chase. Greg Biffle, in the No. 16 3M Ford, finished 9^th and is seeded fifth in the Chase.

The two Fords out, however, were Carl Edwards in the No. 99 Kellogg’s Ford and Marcos Ambrose in the No. 8 MAC Tools Ford. Edwards finished the Richmond race in the 17^th position and Ambrose finished top-15.

“I’m obviously disappointed,” Edwards said. “We just let too many points get away for a bunch of different reasons.”

“We will just go try to build the best team we can for next year and try to make sure a Ford wins this championship.”

“I just tried my hardest,” Ambrose said. “It wasn’t our night.”

“Obviously we wanted the win, but it wasn’t meant to be.”

Not Surprising: One driver was not only happy to be in the conversation, but has just been plain having fun as well. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished 14^th in the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet and picked up the 7^th place in the Chase.

“We ran good,” Junior said. “I’m proud of the effort the whole company put forward this year.”

“I’ve had an awesome time,” Junior continued. “It’s been so much fun.”

“We are in the conversation and we’re going to work hard to still be in that conversation at Homestead.”

September 12, 2012
Surprising and Not Surprising: Irwin Tools Bristol Night Race

[media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]With their intro songs, as well as the voices of their children singing the national anthem ringing in the drivers’ ears, here is what was surprising and not surprising from 52^nd Annual Irwin Tools Night Race at the new, old Bristol.

Surprising: This driver not only proved he can dance the ‘Dougie’ but he can also win the night race at Bristol, scoring one of the biggest wins of his career.

Denny Hamlin, driving the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, scored his third victory of the season, but more importantly his 20^th career Cup victory and the 200^th win for the No. 11 car.

“You dream about winning at this place and I’ve come so close and never won,” Hamlin said. “This is just a big win.”

“It’s big because it’s my 20^th, 200^th for the car, and you look at the names, Ned Jarrett and those guys that have driven the No. 11.”

“I’m just a spec on that stat sheet of wins for this number,” Hamlin continued. “This is a number that has been big in NASCAR history.”

“And it’s big for me.”

Not Surprising: Ever the showman, it was not surprising that track owner Bruton Smith delivered exactly what he wanted for the fans of Bristol Motor Speedway, pronouncing that the ‘old’ Bristol, complete with beating and banging, was back at the newly changed track.

“I will be the first to admit that I was somewhat hesitant going into the race at Bristol after the changes that were made to the track,” Larry McReynolds, former crew chief and NASCAR analyst, said. “Now, after what I saw last weekend, I believe we have reached a balance that everyone can be happy with.”

“We still have some of what I call the new Bristol, which is side-by-side racing, while at the same time, we sure did have a lot of the old Bristol again,” McReynolds continued. “Saturday night brought us 13 cautions, which is the most at Bristol since March 2007.”

“What’s interesting about that, March 2007 was the last race before they re-did the surface the last time.”

Surprising: While Tony Stewart, driving the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet, had a miserable night on the track, tangling with competitor Matt Kenseth while racing for the lead and wrecking to finish 27^th, he received surprisingly high marks from one of his other competitors on his helmet toss at the No. 17 Valvoline NextGen Ford.

“I saw him lingering, kind of waiting with his gear,” Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Dover White Chevrolet, said. “I figured something was going to happen.”

“I heard he had a good toss on it,” Johnson continued. “I know he impressed our crew. They said he had an arm on him; he hit a good throw and hit it dead center.”

Not Surprising: Apparently one other quasi-member of the Stewart Haas racing team, rookie Danica Patrick learned her lessons well from team collaborator and mentor Tony Stewart.

While the driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet for Tommy Baldwin Racing did not throw her helmet after a late race altercation with Regan Smith cost her a top-20 finish in her first Bristol Cup race, she did her fair share of finger wagging at her nemesis as he came around the track.

“We’re all racing hard,” Patrick said. “This is Bristol and that is why people love this track is because you see a lot of that and you see tempers flare.”

“It was just a bummer because I really felt like the GoDaddy Chevrolet was going to get a solid, maybe a top-20 , finish and on the lead lap.”

“So, it’s a shame we lost that,” Patrick continued. “But you know,Bristol is a place where you find out who’s playing fair and who’s not.”

Surprising: The ‘Sheriff’ showed his badge at Bristol, as well as how hungry he was to be back behind the wheel of a competitive race car. Brian Vickers, driving the No. 55 MyClassicGarage.com Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, finished fourth in a race which he also had the privilege of leading.

“I gave it all I could,” Vickers said “But it wasn’t enough.”

“I’m still really happy with a fourth place,” Vickers continued. “Obviously please, but not satisfied.”

“I’d loved to have won this thing and we had a shot at it.”

Not Surprising: Casey Mears, behind the often start-and-park wheel of the No. 13 Ford Fusion for Germain Racing, scored his first pole in many, many years, thanks to a surprise rain washing out the qualifying session.

Yet, even with the great starting spot, it was not surprising that Mears faded throughout the race, finishing 21^st.

“It’s been a couple of years,” Mears said of his pole position. “The team has really grown in strides and we’ve made a lot of big improvements this year.”

“We still have a lot to learn and still have a lot to grow.”

Surprising: While Joey Logano, driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota, faces an uncertain future as well as a battle for a Chase spot, it was still surprising just how frustrated the young driver was even with an 8^th place finish at Bristol.

“This was the most frustrating race I think I’ve ever been a part of,” Logano said. “I had a good care in the beginning of the race and the track changed and we just couldn’t keep up with it.”

“We need a win and anything short of that is not good enough.”

Not Surprising: ‘Mr. Consistent’, otherwise known as Dale Earnhardt Jr., clinched his spot in the championship hunt with a twelfth place finish at Bristol. He was joined by fellow clinchers teammate Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle, the current points leader.

“I feel good about it,” Junior said of his clinch. “We worked real hard all season and I want to thank my guys.”

“I made a little mistake and came down a closed pit,” Earnhardt, Jr. continued. “But we had a fast car.”

Surprising: Kyle Busch, who has had quite a prior record at Carl Bristol with four wins, five top-five finishes and seven top-10s in the last ten Cup races there, surprisingly struggled at this new/old Bristol.

The driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota did, however, pull off a top-10 finish in spite of it all.

“Our night was decent,” Busch said. “I think I screwed us up in practice – just not getting the right setup underneath the car.”

“I took our guys in a little bit of the wrong direction so I hate it for them,” Busch continued. “We fought hard and did all we could.”

While Busch did not get a needed win, he did keep his hopes alive in the ‘wild card’ race for the Chase. He sits now in the 13^th spot, second in the wild card standings thanks to Carl Edwards’ gas gamble and 22^nd place finish at Bristol.

Not Surprising: Perhaps it was the Farmville-themed race car, but Jeff Gordon, veteran and four-time champ was have a great deal of fun racing at a track that has been very good to him in the past.

And with his third place finish, the driver of the No. 24 Farmville/Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, moved up two spots in the standings to the 14^th position.

“What I loved about the racing, even though it was really tough to pass, is it just reminded me of old school Bristol,” Gordon said. “You did slide jobs on guys when you got runs and that’s what we had tonight.”

“So, I think it was a success and I certainly had a lot of fun.”

Surprising: Whether a road course, oval or short track, Marcos Ambrose continued his reign of good finishes with another top-5 finish. The good run at Bristol moved the driver of the No. 9 DeWalt Ford up one position to 16^th in the point standings.

“I’m just trying hard,” Ambrose said. “That’s two top-fives in two weeks for us.”

“It’s been a great month,” Ambrose continued. “I’m just really proud to represent the King, have a strong run and give them a shot to make the Chase.”

Not Surprising: After being hit with a hefty penalty for irregularities with the frame rails of the No. 27 Menards/Schrock Chevrolet, Paul Menard, crew chief Slugger Labbe and the team battled back for a 10^th place finish on the short track.

“This entire team overcame a lot for this top-10 finish,” Menard said. “The pit crew was amazing tonight too.”

“Once we were able to move into the high groove, the car was pretty good.”

Because of the penalty, Menard and his team are now in the 17^th position in the point standings. Team owner Richard Childress is appealing the severity of the penalty.

August 29, 2012
Surprising and Not Surprising: Finger Lakes 355 at The Glen

[media-credit id=24 align=”alignright” width=”224″][/media-credit]In spite of a few drops of rain and much discussion about oil on the track in the waning laps, here is what else was surprising and not surprising for the 27^th annual Finger Lakes 355 at The Glen.

Surprising: Although this two-time winner at the Glen was far from home, in fact about as far away as one can possibly be, he felt right at home, relishing his triumph with his family from down under in Victory Lane.

Australian Marcos Ambrose, driving the No. 9 Stanley Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports, scored his first victory of the season and his second win in 141 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.

“My kids haven’t shared this in America and it’s a special thing to win a NASCAR race, especially a Sprint Cup race, so it’s fantastic,” Ambrose said of having his children with him in Victory Lane and the media center post-race. “I’ve got my in-laws sitting in the back here too.”

Although Ambrose was surrounded by family, his thoughts were with his family who could not be with him to celebrate.

“My dad is in the hospital right now, so I hope this makes him feel better and gets him going,” Ambrose continued. “It’s a tough life when you’re racing , especially I’m from Australia and my immediate family is down home and I feel a long way away a lot of days.”

“It’s great to have my family here and great to let them celebrate with me,” Ambrose said. “These days don’t come around every day.”

Not Surprising: Ever the hard core racer, it was no surprise to see Brad Keselowski so completely jazzed with his runner up finish after beating and banging with Ambrose all the way to the checkered flag.

This was the second top-10 finish in three races at Watkins Glen International for the driver of the Miller Lite Blue Deuce for Penske Racing. It was also Keselowski’s 12^th top-10 finish of the season.

“That’s what racing is supposed to be right there; a little bit of bumping and rubbing but none of that intentional wrecking BS,” Keselowski said. “It came down to just running a whole lap against Marcos.”

“I got in the oil and we’d slip up,” Keselowski continued. “He’d get by me and then he’d get in the oil and I’d get by him.”

“It’s great to race against guys like Marcos that you can run on, lean on and don’t lose their cool,” Keselowski said. “I think that’s the way racing should be.”

Surprising: They may be teammates and even share a Hendrick Motorsports garage, but Jimmie Johnson took advantage of his teammate Dale Junior’s slip up to not only finish third in the race, but also snatch the points lead away from him.

“I just got in the corner and made a mistake and that was pretty much all there was to it,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet said. “I was just overdriving the car.”

“It was a bad ugly finish at the end.”

Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Cortez Silver Chevrolet, deemed the finish “chaotic” as well.

“But I’m glad we got back to the finish line and finished third,” Johnson continued. “Very solid day for this Lowe’s team.”

“I’m excited to be leading the points.”

Not Surprising: In spite of one Earnhardt Ganassi Racing driver sitting on the pole and the other re-signing with the team, both EGR drivers had yet another rough day at the race track.

Juan Pablo Montoya, driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet, secured his second pole in a row, last week at Pocono and this week at the Glen. Mechanical troubles, however, sidelined JPM, relegating him to a 33^rd place finish.

“I think it was the lower control arm,” Montoya said. “We got the last two poles and I did think we had a car to win today.”

“It was looking really good; everything looked like it was going according to the plan,” Montoya continued. “All of a sudden I hit a curb and the car went completely left on me.”

Teammate Jamie McMurray, fresh off inking his signature on his new contract with the team, also struggled. Jamie Mac hit the Armco barrier so hard that it left its impression on the driver’s side door of his No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet.

“It just happened all of a sudden,” McMurray said. “The tire blew out and we hit the guardrail pretty hard.”

Surprising: While the Queen may have had her James Bond moment at the Olympics, there was one such moment at the Glen, with the wild card spots being definitely ‘shaken, not stirred.’

The two drivers whose Chase chances were most shaken were both Kyle Busch and four-time champion Jeff Gordon.

Busch, behind the wheel of his No. 18 M&Ms Toyota, looked like he would notch another win until he tangled with Brad Keselowski and got shuffled back to seventh at the race end. That win would have moved Busch into the second wild-card spot in the Chase.

“I’ve got nothing good to say,” was Busch’s only post-race comment. He later posted on Facebook, “Can it get any worse?”

The other driver shaken in the Chase was Jeff Gordon, behind the wheel of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet. He too was headed for at least a top-10 finish until he slid in oil and wrecked on the last lap, finishing 21^st.

Gordon lost two spots in the Chase standings, falling to 15^th.

“I’m pretty bummed,” Gordon said after the race. “We didn’t have the day I thought we were going to have.”

Not Surprising: While brother Kyle struggled at the Glen, so too did big brother Kurt Busch. Busch, driving the No. 51 Phoenix Racing Construction Services Chevrolet, had a mechanical problem, blew a tire, and headed to the garage.

“These guys work way too hard for these mechanical things to happen,” Busch said. “Sometimes these things just add up and we are just on the wrong side of the eight-ball.”

Surprising: For the second race in a row, Denny Hamlin suffered problems on the track that entailed another quick exit from his No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota.

“I have a thing with wrecks and fires here lately,” Hamlin said. “I was fine until once again I started feeling the heat and looked down and saw the fire at my feet.”

“Once I got fire on me, I decided to stop at the nearest fire station,” Hamlin continued. “It’s unfortunate but an overall bad weekend for us.”

Not Surprising: Regan Smith, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Farm American Chevrolet, had another top 10 finish for himself and the team. Smith, who finished ninth at Pocono last weekend, replicated it again at the Glen.

This was also his first career top-10 finish on a road course.

“I am happy to come away with a top-10,” Smith said. “I am very proud of this team and very excited about what we’ve been able to accomplish recently.”

“We’re on the right track and that’s encouraging.”

Surprising: Something that is surprisingly not heard often was heard at the road course this weekend. Veteran driver Jeff Burton was black flagged for failing to maintain minimum speed.

“Once again, bad luck found us, this time it was in the form of a fuel pump issue,” the driver of the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet said. Burton soldiered on to finish 30^th.

Not Surprising: Michael Waltrip Racing teammates Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr. conquered nerves and dodged bullets respectively to both finish in the top-10 on the road course.

“That was some slick racing the last few laps,” Bowyer, behind the wheel of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, said. “We were sliding everywhere.”

“It was kind of fun, but it was pretty nerve-wracking.”

“Man, it was rough,” teammate Truex, Jr., driving the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, said after running out of gas with 25 laps to go. “Those kinds of days when you make mistakes, you’ve got to battle back.”

“We dodged a big bullet be being able to come back through the field like that.”

Surprising: Tony Stewart, driving the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, made a surprising and uncharacteristic error on a road course, spinning on lap 71 after being second in the race running order.

Smoke backed into the Armco barrier, significantly shortening up the car. He went on to rally after repairs from 29^th to finish 19^th.

“Sorry guys,” Stewart said. “I gave it away there.”

Not Surprising: On the flip side, Stewart Haas Racing teammate Ryan Newman said a big hello to the wild card spot in the Chase. The driver of the No. 39 US Army Chevrolet finished 11^th to move up to 13^th in the point standings, just 49 points out of the 10^th position.

“In the end, it was a good day for us in the points, which was what we needed to make the Chase,” Newman said. “That’s our mission and we’re going to have to fight it out these next four races.”

“Just like our Army Strong soldiers, we’re a determined bunch and we’re not going to give up.”

August 15, 2012
Surprising and Not Surprising: Lenox Industrial Tools 301

[media-credit name=”Kirk Schroll” align=”alignright” width=”242″][/media-credit]While not surprising that conversation still swirled around A.J. Allmendinger and his failed drug test, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 20^th running of the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Surprising: Race winning crew chiefs do not usually look at getting a manicure as part of their post-race celebratory plans. But Kenny Francis, crew chief for the winning No. 5 Farmer’s Insurance Chevrolet driven by Kasey Kahne, may have to do just that.

“I bit off all my fingernails,” Francis said, after watching the battle between his driver and a hard-charging Denny Hamlin. “At least I have two weeks for them to grow back.”

“Yeah, from the pit box, we had a pretty good car all day,” Francis continued. “Fortunately we were able to finish it off and outrun him to the finish.”

This was the No. 5 team’s second victory for car owner Linda Hendrick and the first ever trip to Victory Lane for driver Kasey Kahne at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Not Surprising: As in all relationships, one of the biggest issues causing trouble is the failure to communicate. Not surprisingly, a failure to communicate, in this case between driver and crew chief, actually cost the No. 11 team a chance to win at the ‘Magic Mile’.

“We made our bed by taking those four tires,” Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota, said. “Darian (Grubb, crew chief) wanted to take two (tires) – I told him I just needed tires and that was it.”

“He took it that I needed four tires,” Hamlin continued. “It was just a little miscommunication that turned into a second-place finish.”

Hamlin, who started from the third spot, was the highest finishing Toyota driver and led five times for a race-high 150 laps of the 301 mile race.

Surprising: It was a matter of surprising seconds that both helped and hurt one race team at New Hampshire this weekend. Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota, scored the pole position for the race by just 0.003 seconds.

Timing, however, came back to bite him when he sped by seconds on pit road and never really recovered. Busch, after leading 65 laps, finished the race in the 16^th position.

“It was a tough day for the Interstate Batteries Toyota,” Dave Rogers, crew chief, said. “We got caught speeding the first run there – that wasn’t Kyle’s fault.”

“We calculate the RPM we’re supposed to run,” Rogers continued. “Gave Kyle the wrong number and he sped and that got us behind from the beginning.”

“Then we were trying to play catch-up all day long.”

Not Surprising: When it comes to flat, shorter tracks, it is not surprising that talk turns to tire wear. And some drivers, particularly four-time champion Jeff Gordon, had some thoughts to share on this issue after the race.

“Yeah, I’m really disappointed in today,” Gordon, who finished sixth in the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet, said. “This tire, I tell you, Goodyear has got to go back to the drawing board.”

“They came here with a new tire and it is not a very good tire,” Gordon continued. “I think they know it and I’m hoping that they can come up with something a little bit better than this.”

Surprising: At a track where he once was dominant, and in fact led every lap for one race, it was surprising to see Jeff Burton run so poorly. The driver of the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet had problems on pit road, went down a lap and finished 21^st.

“We had a pit road incident early in the race that really set us back,” Burton said. “We had a top-12 car throughout the day, but couldn’t get a caution when we needed it.”

“The speed was there but those long green-flag runs hurt us trying to get that lap back.”

Not Surprising: Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who should definitely be known as ‘Mr. Consistent’, kept up his stretch of consecutive laps finished and pulled off another good run at New Hampshire.

The driver of the No. 88 National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet finished fourth in the race and is now just 16 points behind Chase standing leader Matt Kenseth.

“We’re running strong,” Dale Junior said. “I’m really happy with how many points we’re gaining every week and what we’re doing consistently.”

“We’ve found speed and improved.”

Surprising: One driver who desperately needed a good run to stay in championship contention had a surprisingly difficult day. Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford Fusion, finished 18^th and remained stuck in the 11 position in points, with no wins to his credit.

Edwards finished so poorly that another surprise occurred after the race. Crew chief Bob Osborne was replaced by Chad Norris, who has been with Roush Fenway Racing since 2005 and has led the team’s research and development efforts since 2011.

“Our commitment to winning a championship with the No. 99 in 2012 has not waivered,” Jack Roush, team owner said. “I’m committed to providing the resources to Carl and to his team to do that.”

“This restructuring of Bob’s role and the introduction of Chad Norris as the crew chief for the No. 99 will put us in the best possible position for these final seven races before the Chase begins.”

Not Surprising: No one could blame new father Kevin Harvick for not only focusing on the race but also having baby Keelan on his mind. The driver of the No. 29 Rheem Chevrolet finished eighth after battling handling issues throughout the race.

“I’m really proud of the entire Rheem crew and the effort they put in today, but we couldn’t figure out the right set up to get out front,” Harvick said. “We finished about where we should have.”

“I’m looking forward to the off weekend,” Harvick continued. “It couldn’t have come at a better time and it will be great to spend time at home with my wife and newborn son.”

Surprising: It is not often when you hear a driver admit to struggling mightily with a particular issue on his race car. But Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M/Post-It Ford Fusion did just that, in spite of finishing ninth and being the highest Ford finisher of the New Hampshire race.

“I’m a terrible driver when it comes to taking care of the brakes,” Biff said. “It’s got to be me because we’ve done everything under the sun, but about halfway through I lost my brakes and that’s about all I could do.”

“Off the green, it would come back and haul like crazy, but then I just had to keep giving it up,” Biffle continued. “It was just a case of brakes.”

Not Surprising: Michael Waltrip Racing continues to be synonymous with good runs, with all three of the team cars in the top-15 in the running order.

Clint Bowyer, driving the No. 15 5-hour Energy Toyota, was up on the wheel and finished third, while Martin Truex Jr. finished 11^th and Brian Vickers finished 15^th.

“All in all, it was a good weekend for our 5-hour Energy Toyota,” Bowyer said. “It was a good way to get things turned around.”

“After the last two weeks of getting wrecked, it felt good to get a good finish.”

Surprising: Although it was hot at the track where the driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet has won before, Tony Stewart surprisingly struggled, finishing 12^th in contrast to his second place finish last year.

“We just had no grip out there,” Stewart said. “Steve (Addington, crew chief) made one last change there at the end, and it definitely helped.”

“We were finally able to make up some ground.”

Not Surprising: There was no magic for the Earnhardt Ganassi Race team at the ‘Magic Mile’. Jamie McMurray, behind the wheel of the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Allstate Chevrolet, finished 20^th and his teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, driving the N. 42 Degree Chevrolet, finished 25^th.

“To tell you the truth, today was rough,” Montoya said. “We struggled all weekend.”

“Today was a tough day for our Bass Pro Shops team,” McMurray reiterated. “We battled some handling issues early on in the race but we never gave up and brought home a lead lap finish.”

The Sprint Cup Series has its last off weekend next week before the dash to the end of the season. The next race on the schedule will be on July 29^th at the Brickyard.

July 18, 2012
Coke Zero 400 Review: Daytona Knows Drama

NASCAR announced 90 minutes before the start of the Coke Zero 400 on Saturday that driver AJ Allmendinger would be temporarily suspended from competition after failing a drug test taken at Kentucky Speedway last weekend. The Penske Racing organization scrambled to find a replacement driver; the team flew in Penske’s Nationwide driver Sam Hornish Jr. from Charlotte, NC to Florida to fill the ride. Hornish arrived with police escort in Daytona just in time for pre-race ceremonies to begin.

“You know it’s a disappointment at this particular time, but we’re going to wait and see what the second test results are before we make any comment or decisions. I don’t think it’s fair to him,” team owner Roger Penske said Sunday before the IndyCar race in Toronto. Penske was vacationing in Europe and was traveling to Toronto when the news was released.

[media-credit name=”Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”311″][/media-credit]The fate of Allmendinger rests with the results from his “B” drug test sample. He has 72 hours from the time he was notified of testing positive on Saturday to request his “B” sample be tested. If the sample comes back positive, Allmendinger will be subject to being suspended from NASCAR indefinitely.

Allmendinger’s will remain suspended for the upcoming Cup race at New Hampshire and Hornish will continue to pilot the No. 22 Pennzoil Dodge until the results of the “B” sample are released.

Penske Racing hired the former Red Bull driver in late December after the team parted ways with Kurt Busch at the end of the 2011 season. Allmendinger was 23rd in the Sprint Cup Series standings heading into Daytona, where he won the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona sports car race in January.

Allmendinger is the most well-known driver suspended from NASCAR for a failed drug test since Jeremy Mayfield in 2009. Mayfield has fought NASCAR over the test for many years and has not raced a NASCAR event since. If Allmendinger’s “B” test does come back positive, he may have the opportunity to go through NASCAR’s drug rehabilitation program and return to competition in the future.

Roush Duo Comes Up Short

Matt Kenseth won the pole for the Coke Zero 400 and with the help of Roush Fenway Racing teammate, Greg Biffle, led the first 41 laps of the race. The No. 17 was trying to accomplish something that no driver has done since 1982 – win both Sprint Cup races at Daytona in the same year.

The duo was a force to be reckoned with all throughout the race, despite Biffle being penalized and sent to the rear of the field for making a pit stop while pit road was closed under caution. The RFR teammates were able to reconnect and rebound to take over the lead once again.

With half a lap remaining in the Coke Zero 400, Kenseth remained in the lead with Biffle following closely. The No. 17 Ford was passed by Tony Stewart after Kenseth slowed down to reconnect with his teammate on the back straightaway. The No. 16 was involved in a multi-car wreck that unfolded coming to the checkered flag, resulting in a disappointing 21st place finish for Biffle. Kenseth finished in third position, with Jeff Burton passing him for second on the final lap.

“I guess you need to be happy when you finish that good, but also when you have restrictor plate cars that fast, that doesn’t happen very often and sure want to figure out how to win with so the last two I feel like you always second-guess your moves, but I feel like we had one of the fastest cars all three races this year really”, Kenseth said in the media center after the race.

“Happy to get third but on the other hand, I am incredibly disappointed. My team kind of deserved to be down there holding the hardware and I kind of let them down. But overall, we had a really fast car, we had a pretty good race, made our way back to the front after the pit road thing and were in contention, just didn’t get it done that last lap.”

Kenseth remains the point’s leader with 25 points over Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished 15th after being involved in the crash on the final lap. Biffle was able to gain one position in standings, moving him to third position.

Point’s Battle Heats Up

[media-credit name=”Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images” align=”alignleft” width=”285″][/media-credit]Tony Stewart scored his 18th overall victory at DIS, second-most all-time to Dale Earnhardt. This is the No. 14 team’s third win of the season and has propelled him in Cup standings. The Stewart Haas driver and team owner gained four position’s in points with his win Saturday night and is now in 5th position, 84 points out of the lead. The three-time series champion looks to be on another championship run heading into New Hampshire, a track where he has three previous wins.

Clint Bowyer has fallen three positions to 10th place in standings after a 29th place finish in the Coke Zero 400. After riding in the back of the pack for most of the night, Bowyer looked to be heading to the front in the final laps of the race. His potentially good night came to a halt with eight laps to go after being involved in a multi-car accident, ending his night. The No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota is now 104 points behind the leader, just three points behind 9th place of Brad Keselowski.

The Michael Waltrip racing team has high hopes heading to Loudon, where Bowyer has won twice; including his first Cup series victory in 2007, where he started on the pole and led 222 of 300 laps.

The Wild Card battle – the two positions in the Chase given to the two drivers with the most victories ranked 11th to 20th in points – is heating up between some of the sport’s most popular contenders. The battle is as close as it’s ever been after top-five runs by Joey Logano and Ryan Newman at Daytona. A seventh-place finish for Kasey Kahne has increased the intensity of the wild-card hunt; with only eight races remaining until the Chase, anything can happen!

July 9, 2012
Surprising and Not Surprising: Quaker State 400

[media-credit name=”Adam Lovelace” align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]Racing, rather than traffic, ruled the day at the second annual running of the Quaker State 400. Here is what was surprising and not so surprising from Kentucky Speedway.

Surprising: It was surprising the odds that Brad Keselowski played to get to Victory Lane. He finished No. 1 in the Quaker State 400 in the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge to score his No.3 win for the 2012 season.

Keselowski, in a back-up car after a practice accident with Juan Pablo Montoya, scored his first ever win at Kentucky.

“Who’d have figured my best finish would have came in the hardest race but that just shows the importance of teamwork,” Keselowski said. “The group of guys that I have on this Miller Lite Dodge, they’re just bad asses.”

“They put together a back-up car from last year in the hundred degree heat in an hour’s time,” Keselowski continued. “And that’s what got us to Victory lane today and I’m proud of these guys for it, damn proud of ‘em.”

“I think that sums it up.”

Not Surprising: Penske Racing’s other car, with A.J. Allmendinger behind the wheel, also beat the odds at Kentucky. The ‘Dinger brought the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge home in the ninth position, in spite of running out of gas on the last lap.

“I was happy with the way most of the day went, especially around here because I haven’t been good around here,” Allmendinger said. “A lot of the credit goes to Brad helping me out. He’s obviously really good.”

“But for a track that I’m not very good at, that I really struggle at and tough conditions, running inside the top 10 for pretty much all of the day and getting a ninth out of it, which I’d like to have been a little bit better, but it’s something to build on.”

Surprising: Stewart Haas Racing had a surprisingly bad day in the Blue Grass State. Tony Stewart, in the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, had ignition problems early in the race which led to his 32^nd place finish.

With that dismal finish, Smoke became NASCAR’s biggest loser, dropping four positions to ninth position in the point standings.

Teammate Ryan Newman, behind the wheel of the No. 39 Tornados Chevrolet, finished 34^th after blowing his engine and careening into the wall. Although Newman was not physically hurt, his psyche took a hit with his second DNF of the season.

Not Surprising: On the flip side, Hendrick Motorsports had a fabulous day at Kentucky Speedway, with Kasey Kahne finishing second, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. fourth, Jeff Gordon fifth, and Jimmie Johnson sixth.

This was Kahne’s first top-10 finish in two races at Kentucky and his eighth top-10 finish of the season.

“Well, we had a really good Quaker State Chevrolet,” Kahne said. “We had to pass a ton of cars and came up a little short.”

“But the team was awesome.”

Kahne’s HMS teammate and four time champ Jeff Gordon echoed his sentiments.

“It was a pretty flawless night for our Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet,” Jeff Gordon said. “I was pretty excited that we came home with a fifth place finish, battling up front like we did.”

Surprising: After three straight engine issues in a row and a smack against the wall at Kentucky, Kyle Busch, who was dominant early in the race, finished with a surprising top-10.

“It was definitely not any fun – not as much fun as we were having early on,” Busch said. “We just had to persevere and try to get through it the best we could.”

“So, tough night again for these M&M’s guys,” Busch continued. “We salvaged a heck of a finish for what all we had to go through.”

Not Surprising: Every race, even in the heart of horse country, has its share of drivers unhappy with one another. And this race was no exception, with drivers Joey Logano and Ryan Newman getting into it.

“I’m not really sure what’s going on with the boy in that No. 20 car,” Newman said. “He’s got a few things to learn and I’m going to have to be the one who teaches him.”

Surprising: Matt Kenseth’s announcement that he would leave Roush Fenway Racing at the end of the season for pastures unknown had surprisingly no effect on him on the track. Kenseth, in his No. 17 Fifth Third Ford Fusion finished 7^th and maintained his points lead in the Chase standings.

“It was a huge struggle for us tonight,” Kenseth said. “I am happy to finish seventh for as big of a struggle as it was.”

Not Surprising: Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, announced via Twitter prior to the race that he would be staying on with Joe Gibbs Racing and, to no one’s surprise, finished third in the Quaker State 400.

This was Hamlin’s first top-10 finish in two races at Kentucky Speedway.

“Our car was really strong,” Hamlin said. “I’m proud of this FedEx team. We needed a finish and that was my first priority on that last run.”

“Anybody that follows me on Twitter – I like to give them the information first,” Hamlin continued. “A proud moment for us and Joe Gibbs Racing to sign an extension and know where we’re going to be for the foreseeable future.”

“Hopefully we’ll win a championship together.”

Surprising: Forget the consistent points racing, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has a surprising new attitude – he just wants to win. Junior, behind the wheel of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet, finished fourth, however, still had his Michigan win of two weeks ago on his mind.

“It was really fun,” Junior said of his top-5 at Kentucky. “But we’re just ready to win.”

“I really had fun winning the other week,” Junior continued. “I’m ready to get back to Victory Lane. I ain’t going to be as patient this time.”

Not Surprising: Martin Truex Jr., in the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, continued to fly the flag for Michael Waltrip Racing, finishing eighth.

“We weren’t very good all night,” Truex Jr. said. “We had a good finish – – I guess.”

“We were just really tight all night and we couldn’t do anything to fix it.”

Surprising: Carl Edwards and company made a rare mistake on pit road, having to come for a splash of gas to finish the race. The No. 99 UPS Ford Fusion took the checkered flag in the 20^th position at race end.

“We had a pretty good car at the end,” Edwards said. “Bob (Osborne) called me onto pit road.”

“He knew we should have pitted that last time but I was already so far around that cone that I just didn’t feel right cutting across traffic and slamming the splitter down to make it to pit road.”

“We were put in a box,” Edwards continued. “I am real frustrated. We need to get this in gear.”

Not Surprising: After a 21^st place finish, it is not surprising to lose positions in the point standings. And Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 American Red Cross Ford Fusion, did just that, falling to the fourth spot in the Chase.

“We qualified a little better this year than we did last year but the end result was the same,” Biff said. “We were off a little bit and just couldn’t get a handle on it.”

The Cup Series next travels to Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400 for another Saturday night of racing under the lights

July 1, 2012
Surprising and Not Surprising: Sonoma Toyota Save Mart 350

[media-credit name=”Credit: By Ezra Shaw, Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”213″][/media-credit]From the land of wine, as well as left and right turns, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma.

Surprising: The most surprising thing about the first road course race of the season was just how surprised the winner of the race was in Victory Lane. In fact, he was so surprised that he forgot his car, which was out of gas, and walked to Victory Lane.

“What the hell am I doing here,” Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, said. “I’m not a road racer!”

“Never in a million years did I think I could come here and be the best of the best,” Bowyer continued. “This is a dream come true. It was meant to be.”

This was Bowyer’s first victory for the 2012 season and his first victory at Sonoma.

Not Surprising: The second and third place finishers definitely had a mutual admiration society going on for each other after racing each other cleanly, particularly during the final green, white, checkered laps.

Tony Stewart, in his No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, finished second while Kurt Busch, in the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet, finished third.

“I’m a little choked up,” Kurt Busch said after battling for the lead in spite of an injured race car. “I’m just glad we brought it home third.”

“If I was smarter, I would have let Tony Stewart go a lap, a half-a-lap ahead,” Busch continued. “Maybe he could have got to Bowyer for a big finale.”

“What everyone probably didn’t see was that something was wrong with his car,” Smoke said of Kurt Busch in the No. 51. “Something in the rear-end was breaking and he was driving the wheel s off that thing.”

“I don’t know how he kept it on the race track,” Stewart continued. “He did a really good job of keeping that thing going.”

Stewart scored his ninth top-10 finish at Sonoma and his third straight top-3 finish. Kurt Busch posted his fifth top-10 finish in 12 races at Sonoma.

Surprising: The seemingly strongest two cars on the road course had surprising struggles to contend with before finishing in the top-10.

The fastest qualifier, Marcos Ambrose, struggled in race trim, yet finished eighth, while outside pole sitter Jeff Gordon ran out of gas, losing track time and position to finish sixth.

“We really missed it,” the driver of the No. 9 Stanley Ford Fusion said. “We missed it bad and we did good to recover and get a top-10 out of it.”

“We had no speed in the car and we paid the price, “Ambrose continued. “I just feel bad for my Stanley team. It was just terrible.”

“We went about a half-of a lap too far,” Jeff Gordon said. “It never fails, you run out just as you pass pit entrance.”

“We were lucky to get back to pit road and get it fueled up,” the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet continued. “Luckily, we had enough laps to slowly work our way up into the top-10.”

Not Surprising: Since Dale Earnhardt, Jr., by his own admission, is not the biggest lover of road course racing, it was not surprising that last week’s Michigan race winner struggled at Sonoma. The driver of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet finished 23^rd after a late race accident.

“I’m just mad because we didn’t run better,” Junior said. “We weren’t good all weekend.”

“I mean I ain’t the best road course racer out there, but I can damn sure do better than that,” Dale Jr. continued. “We’ve just got to do a better job.”

Surprising: Joe Gibbs Racing teammates were surprisingly playing a different sport with one another. Late in the race, young Joey Logano, behind the wheel of his No. 20 Home Depot Toyota, tangled with not only Kyle Busch but also Denny Hamlin.

“He really overshot the corner and got into us,” Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota, said of his teammate Logano. “Once you drive that extra 50 feet in, there’s nothing you can do to take it back.”

“We were the bowling pins and he was the bowling ball.”

Hamlin got the worst of the bowling tournament, finishing 35^th, while teammate Kyle Busch, in the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, finished 17^th. ‘Bowling ball’ Logano managed to finish in the tenth spot.

Not Surprising: While he has not been regularly driving a stock car, it was not surprising that Brian Vickers was able to parlay some of his Le Mans racing experience to his NASCAR performance at Sonoma.

Piloting the No. 55 RKMotorsCharlotte.com Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, Vickers kept both his nose and his car clean to finish fourth.

“It was great to run LeMans and then come here,” Vickers said. “I learned a lot about road racing.”

“Everyone at MWR is putting great cars on the track,” Vickers continued. “They’ve all made it possible for me to take the RKMotors car and put it in the top-five.”

Surprising: Casey Mears, behind the wheel of the NO. 13 GEICO Ford Fusion had a surprisingly good go of it at Sonoma, finishing top-15.

“We had a good car all weekend,” Mears said. “”It was a solid day for us. I am proud of what everybody did here and we will just keep improving.”

Not Surprising: To no one’s surprise, two Roushketeers ended up atop the leader board in the point standings.

Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Ford EcoBoost Ford and NASCAR’s newest free agent, finished 13^th at Sonoma but still leads his teammate Greg Biffle, who finished 7^th in his 3M/US Stationary Ford, by 11 points in the standings.

“We had a decent day,” Biffle said. “But we were just too loose all day.”

“We need to work on our road course program a little bit.”

June 27, 2012
Toyota/Save Mart 350 Review: Surprises at Sonoma

Clint Bowyer surprised fans when he qualified in sixth position for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma. With the overall strength that Michael Waltrip Racing has shown in 2012, it wasn’t much of a surprise to the world when the No. 15 5 Hour Energy Toyota crossed the finish line first on Sunday. Like most races at Sonoma, fuel mileage was an issue in the closing laps when the race finished under green-white-checkered. Bowyer did run out of fuel – on his victory lap.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”317″][/media-credit]“It’s all about surrounding yourself with good people and we certainly have that. We have great partners, 5-hour ENERGY, Napa and Aaron’s, my teammates, Martin Truex and Mark Martin, I’m telling you, everybody is working very, very good together with this group.

That’s something I’ve never been able to do before. I’ve had good teammates and I’ve had good stuff, but never like this at this magnitude. This is a young group. Michael stuck it out and I’m telling you, he’s fixing to reap the benefits. He’s worked hard. Our marketing department does a great job and this is I think the first of many to come. To have this dirt boy from Kansas in victory lane at this road course is big, trust me. “

This is Bowyer’s first win for MWR and his first win of the season. With this victory, he has rocketed two spots in the standings to 7th position, 67 points behind the leader. If the 15 team were to drop out of the Top 10 in points standings, they now have the opportunity to take the wild-card position to be in the chase for the Sprint Cup.

Smoke Rebounds at Sonoma

Tony Stewart started Sonoma off on a rocky note with practice session speeds of 24th, 17th, and 21st position. The two time winner of this track qualified in 24th position and rebounded to finish in second position. With this finish Smoke shot up three spots in points, to fifth position, just 63 points behind the leader.

“I was really pleased with it to be honest. The last two days we have not been real happy with our balance and just couldn’t seem to get the speed that a lot of the guys that were putting up big numbers at the top of the board were able to run. We couldn’t even run within a second of them the last two days.

To end up running second like this is just a really good effort for all of our guys. Really proud of Steve Addington, never gave up this weekend. Nobody ever gave up on trying to find something that was going to be a little bit better. So him and Jeff Meendering and Greg Zipadelli and all of these guys on the team, just really proud of the effort they put forward this weekend.”

Underdogs Fill the Top-10

Brian Vickers, who is running a partial schedule with MWR, qualified his No. 55 Toyota in 21st position. His team fought hard to get to the front of the field, and came home with a fourth place finish. Vickers has two other starts this season, with finishes of 5th and 18th position. The former Red Bull driver is using this part-time gig to try and show other teams what he is capable of; so far, Vickers impresses the field with his finishes.

Marcos Ambrose pleasantly surprised the NASCAR world once again we he qualified his Stanley Ford on the pole for the second week in a row. Although the “thunder from down under” couldn’t contend for the win, he was able to hold on to a strong eighth place finish. Ambrose has four top-10 finishes this season and is sitting 16th in points standings. If he were to grab a win before the Chase for the Sprint Cup, he could hold a coveted wild card, allowing him to contend for the championship.

AJ Allmendinger is another driver who didn’t qualify well at Sonoma, starting in the 17th position. However, by the end of the race, he was racing the front runners and finished in 9th position. Moving to Penske this season, expectations have been high for the No. 22 Pennzoil driver. This season Allmendinger has scored two top-10 finishes and one top-5.

June 26, 2012
Martin still winless at Pocono, unable to return favor to Logano

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”258″][/media-credit]Mark Martin was four laps away from finally going to Victory Lane at Pocono before the kid he discovered at 11-years-old got in the way.

Joey Logano put the bumper to Martin in turn one to take the lead and the win on Sunday afternoon in the Pocono 400 presented by #NASCAR. Bittersweet for Martin who was looking for his first win with Michael Waltrip Racing in the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine, but happy for Logano who captured his second career NSCS win.

“I’m just so thankful to have the opportunity that Michal Waltrip first of all, and Aarons and Toyota have given me to drive competitive racecars,” said Martin. “It is so incredible to be in something that is strong enough that I can contend. We went after that thing really hard, we had a great racecar. I really stuck my neck out on the line to get that lead. I almost pulled it off the restart before and I was willing to risk it all to try to get the lead.

“And once I got out there, Joey was stronger than we were. Just a little bit stronger and I was pushing as hard as I could push and had a little slip there off of three and he was able to get up on me and get by. We sure certainly would have got back up there and raced for the win after the pass if we would have the car but he was able to pull away.”

Martin credited crew chief, Rodney Childers and the entire crew for the car. They started sixth, finished second and led four laps. While others fell by the wayside or shot themselves in the foot, Martin stayed focus on the track and on pit road knowing he had car capable of winning.

A car which had great speed and the durability to make all 400 miles. But it was Logano who started first and finished first, something Martin said he knew long ago he would one day do.

“He raced for it, he was fast from day one of testing,” Martin said of Logano. “He certainly didn’t get that one handed to him, especially my pulling off that last restart. Maybe things will start to turn. He’s been kind of in a stall in his career or in his progression with the Cup Series, but it looks like the last couple of weeks that maybe that’s starting to turn.

“I’ve always known since I saw him drive at 11-years-old that could be a Cup champion. I knew it then.”

Sunday he was just a winner and at Martin’s expense in what he called a bump and run. Something Martin admitted that had he had a fast enough car and got back to Logano, he would have returned. After all, it’s something that’s been accepted in the NASCAR garage for a long time.

“It’s not how I would have done it,” said Martin. “It was great racing, and everybody does what they decide to do. It was a great race, and I’m very, very proud of my race team for putting me in something that would give me a shot. I’m having fun with it. Maybe next week we’ll be the ones with the trophy.”

Martin though goes 0-51 at Pocono, still never having won at the triangle shaped track. However, with his finish on Sunday he’s finished second there seven times. That to the likes of Rusty Wallace, Alan Kulwicki, Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and now Joey Logano.

And in that time he’s led 446 laps, making Pocono to Martin what Daytona was to Dale Earnhardt. Yet, it doesn’t weigh on him. Martin’s been around the sport long enough to know what it can do to drivers. How hard it is to win a championship, let alone a single race. Having come this far and with what success he has had at Pocono, it’s something he can live with.

“You’re not owed this stuff, man,” he said. “I’ve earned all those second place finishes and I’m proud of that. You’re not entitled. You’ve got to go get ‘em.”

June 10, 2012
Capital City 400 Review: Virginia is for Drama

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

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

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

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

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

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

What’s On the Horizon for Talladega?

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

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

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

May 1, 2012