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  • Nelson Piquet’s penalty looks bad on sport

    Nelson Piquet’s penalty looks bad on sport

    Nelson Piquet Jr. was fined $10,000 and ordered to attend sensitivity training earlier on Monday after posting an Instagram comment with a gay slur directed at fellow Nationwide Series competitor in Parker Kligerman. Kligerman posted a selfie following a workout and Piquet opined by adding in a three letter slur. From the context it appeared that Piquet was just messing around with Kligerman. Kligerman seemed to respond jokingly to Piquet’s comments. It seemed harmless right? NASCAR certainly didn’t believe so. This decision will ultimately have a negative impact on the sport.

    Honestly, I have a real problem with NASCAR’s decision making when it comes to this. When are we going to grow up? This is NASCAR. We should be setting an example and that is an example different from other sports. What do you see happening in America right now? How about taking a look at our public schools? Bullying is a huge problem in public schools, but that wouldn’t be an issue if the schools made silly rules that prevent people being bullied from protecting themselves. As a result, some of these kids are taking matters into their own hands and taking their own lives. It is a very sensitive subject, but the facts are there. Bullies in school are the equivalent to the criminals committing gun crimes in places like Chicago and Los Angeles. There are laws that take guns away from people who abide by the law, but criminals are criminals. They will commit crimes no matter what stands in their way. Why do I even bring that into this article?

    NASCAR should not be regulating the actions of the drivers and by actions I mean the specific rhetoric. If a racer wants to go out and go on a homophobic rampage then that is his/her decision, but keep in mind that there may be some consequences for what you have done. These drivers are not children. I’m sick and tired of the political correctness that has been plaguing sports in America today. I may be completely dead wrong on this issue. Maybe our sport is going through a huge cultural change and not all of us realize it, but it’s not the NASCAR that we are accustomed to. If NASCAR allows the drivers to show their true personalities on and off the race track, I guarantee you that more fans and more people will tune into the races. Our viewership will expand instead of decline.

    Floyd Mayweather Jr. isn’t exactly the most popular boxer out there, but the man knows how to win prizefights and win a lot of money in the process. Why did so many people buy PPV for his fight with Oscar De La Hoya back in 2007? The pre-fight hype and the trash talk added so much to the story. The things that Mayweather said in Oscar’s face would certainly give him a major fine in NASCAR today and you can probably add some of the things he has said to fellow rival Manny Pacquiao as well. NASCAR is in the same box. Do we allow our drivers to show their true feelings? That is something that NASCAR is missing and we need to regain it soon before it is too late.

    Now, I’m going back to Piquet. Was what he said wrong? I didn’t find it to be derogatory in that context, but people still can find it offensive. Piquet has a right to say what he wants to say. The First Amendment guarantees that. What really made me skeptical was the statement from Piquet. I just did not find that to be legitimate from Piquet. And by that I mean that Piquet didn’t really want to say that. It seems that these sort of statements are forced upon drivers like Piquet to ensure the reputation of the sport doesn’t get damaged, but NASCAR should be focusing on having good racing instead of this. I know that this is a very tough topic to discuss in the NASCAR garage, but I’m not afraid to speak my mind on the issue. I didn’t find Piquet to do anything wrong. He made a joke on Instagram. That’s it. He’ll have to face the consequences of how sponsors treat him and how other fans treat him for now on, but that’s essentially his own doing and NASCAR should put their emphasis on making the racing product better for the fans, not regulating what drivers say. I see more fans coming to the track if they take my suggestions.Comment with your thoughts!

  • Crunching The Numbers: Watkins Glen

    Crunching The Numbers: Watkins Glen

    After some exciting races at Pocono Raceway and Iowa Speedway last weekend, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series head north for some road course racing at Watkins Glen International, the always entertaining 2.45 mile road course in Upstate New York. This weekend will mark the second road course race for both series after the Sprint Cup Series visited Sonoma Raceway and the Nationwide Series was at Road America back in June.

    NASCAR Sprint Cup Series – Cheez-It 355 at the Glen

    As the Sprint Cup Series heads into Watkins Glen for the second road course race of the year, the Race to the Chase is also heating up with only five races remaining until the Chase begins and several drivers still in contention for those coveted spots. There are several drivers, including some in Chase contention who always run well at this track, so this race should be a fight from beginning to end as we get one step closer to finalizing the field for the Chase.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Marcos Ambrose 5 2 5 5 0 46 13.2 2.0
    Brad Keselowski 3 0 2 2 0 39 16.0 8.0
    Kyle Busch 8 1 3 7 1 159 7.4 9.0
    AJ Allmendinger 4 0 1 2 0 8 15.2 9.0
    Carl Edwards 8 0 3 5 1 1 12.5 9.4
    Kevin Harvick 12 1 2 6 0 29 13.2 13.1
    Jimmie Johnson 11 0 4 6 1 11 6.2 13.2
    Martin Truex Jr. 7 0 2 4 0 0 18.7 13.7
    Jeff Gordon 20 4 6 9 2 233 9.4 14.8
    Juan Pablo Montoya 6 1 2 4 1 81 10.3 15.0

    Who To Watch: After winning at Watkins Glen in the past two seasons, the driver who runs best at the track is none other than road course ace Marcos Ambrose, whose stellar Watkins Glen career includes the two wins, five top fives, five top tens, 46 laps led, and an average finish of 2.0 in five starts. The lowest that Ambrose has ever finished is third, so the road to victory on Sunday will have to go through Ambrose.

    Tony Stewart falls in second statistically at this track and is undoubtedly one of the best at Watkins Glen with five wins, but unfortunately Stewart will be missing the race Sunday due to a broken leg that he suffered in a Sprint Car wreck on Monday night.

    With Stewart out, the next driver in line statistically is Brad Keselowski, who has finished second to Ambrose the last two years, and in three starts has the two top fives, two top tens, 39 laps led, and an average finish of 8.0.

    Others who run well at the road course include: Kyle Busch, who has one win, three top fives, seven top tens, one pole, 159 laps led, and an average finish of 9.0 in eight starts; A.J. Allmendinger, who won the Nationwide Series race at Road America in June, with one top five, two top tens, eight laps led, and an average finish of 9.0 in four starts; and Carl Edwards, with three top fives, five top tens, one pole, one lap led, and an average finish of 9.4 in eight starts.

    The others in the top ten statistically (Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Martin Truex Jr., Jeff Gordon, and Juan Pablo Montoya) will also be strong contenders for the win this weekend. 

    NASCAR Nationwide Series – Zippo 200 at the Glen

    This weekend at Watkins Glen marks the second of three road course races this season for the Nationwide Series with a date at Mid-Ohio awaiting the drivers next weekend. With the points lead swapping between Austin Dillon, Sam Hornish Jr., and Regan Smith over the past few weeks, the unpredictability that is Watkins Glen is sure to shake up the points standings once again.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Brad Keselowski 4 0 2 4 0 44 7.8 5.2
    Nelson Piquet Jr. 1 0 0 1 0 0 10.0 7.0
    Kyle Busch 6 0 4 5 0 90 7.2 9.3
    Kasey Kahne 2 0 0 1 0 0 6.5 10.0
    Brian Scott 3 0 0 1 0 0 16.7 12.3
    Joey Logano 5 0 2 3 0 8 8.4 13.4
    Elliott Sadler 4 0 0 1 0 0 13.0 14.8
    Michael Annett 4 0 0 0 0 0 26.2 17.2
    Justin Allgaier 4 0 0 1 0 1 17.0 18.0
    Trevor Bayne 2 0 0 1 0 0 15.0 19.0

    Who To Watch: While Brad Keselowski has been a runner-up on the Sprint Cup side statistically, he takes one step up in the Nationwide Series at Watkins Glen with the best statistics of the drivers entered on Saturday. In four starts, Keselowski has two top fives, four top tens, 44 laps led, and an average finish of 5.2.

    Next is Nelson Piquet, Jr., who has a Nationwide Series road course win at Road America and in his lone Watkins Glen start in 2010 finished in seventh. Piquet’s road course skills are likely to have him in contention for the win.

    Others who run well at the track include: Kyle Busch, with four top fives, five top tens, 90 laps led, and an average finish of 9.3 in five starts; Kasey Kahne, with one top ten and an average finish of 10.0 in two starts; Brian Scott, with one top ten and an average finish of 12.3 in three starts; and Joey Logano, who will be driving a special No. 48 Ford this weekend, with two top fives, three top tens, eight laps led, and an average finish of 13.4 in five starts.

  • Crunching The Numbers: Sonoma & Road America

    Crunching The Numbers: Sonoma & Road America

    That time of the year has come again when the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series head for the first road courses of the season in Sonoma, CA and Elkhart Lake, WI, respectively. Many of the road course races in recent memory have turned into races that resemble short track races than the follow the leader races of old and this weekend’s events should be more of the same beating and banging all the way to the finish. Add in the addition of so called “road course ringers” and the road courses make for very entertaining races.

    NASCAR Sprint Cup Series – Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma

    This weekend marks the annual trip to California Wine Country and Sonoma Raceway’s lone Sprint Cup date. With the advent of double file restarts, this race has become a must see event due to the narrow course that these drivers are trying to navigate while running two wide. That factor often leads to cars being spun off course and tempers flaring among the drivers. In addition to that, the Sprint Cup Series will debut group based qualifying this weekend and this will also be the Sonoma debut for the Gen6 car, which throws more uncertainty into this race that has not seen a repeat winner in the past eight races.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Jeff Gordon 20 5 12 16 5 450 7.4 8.6
    Clint Bowyer 7 1 4 5 0 73 17.1 9.7
    Tony Stewart 14 2 5 9 1 82 11.1 10.9
    Marcos Ambrose 5 0 2 4 1 46 5.0 12.8
    Ryan Newman 11 0 2 5 0 11 10.8 12.9
    Juan Pablo Montoya 6 1 1 4 0 9 18.8 13.2
    Jimmie Johnson 11 1 4 6 0 85 16.0 13.8
    Greg Biffle 10 0 2 4 0 9 16.4 14.9
    Kevin Harvick 12 0 3 4 0 10 16.7 16.1
    Joey Logano 4 0 0 2 1 5 11.8 17.0

    Who To Watch: Four-time Sprint Cup champion, Jeff Gordon, has proven himself to be one of the best on road courses, especially at Sonoma, with five wins, 12 top fives, 16 top tens, five poles, 450 laps led, and an average finish of 8.6 in 20 races.

    2012 winner, Clint Bowyer, has also proven his mettle at Sonoma with one win, four top fives, five top tens, 73 laps led, and an average finish of 9.7 in seven races.

    Others who run well on the road course include: Tony Stewart, with two wins, five top fives, nine top tens, one pole, 82 laps led, and an average finish of 10.9 in 14 races; Road course ace Marcos Ambrose who has yet to win at Sonoma, but has two top fives, four top tens, one pole, 46 laps led, and an average finish of 12.8 in five races; Ryan Newman, with two top fives, five top tens, 11 laps led, and an average finish of 12.9 in 11 races; 2007 winner, Juan Pablo Montoya, with one win, one top five, four top tens, nine laps led, and an average finish of 13.2 in six races; and Jimmie Johnson, with one win, four top fives, six top tens, 85 laps led, and an average finish of 13.8 in 11 starts.

    NASCAR Nationwide Series – Johnsonville Sausage 200 at Road America

    For just the fourth time, the Nationwide Series will be making the trek to Wisconsin to take on the daunting 4.048 mile road course, the longest on the circuit. The field will be full of drivers who have never raced at the track or only have one start, leaving the field wide open for a new winner. With none of the Sprint Cup regulars attempting the double and a few “ringers” joining the field, the odds are high that one of the Nationwide regulars will find themselves in Victory Lane for the third race in a row.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Nelson Piquet, Jr. 1 1 1 1 1 19 1.0 1.0
    Reed Sorenson 1 1 1 1 0 1 12.0 1.0
    Brendan Gaughan 1 0 1 1 0 0 6.0 3.0
    Owen Kelly 1 0 1 1 0 0 9.0 5.0
    Sam Hornish, Jr. 1 0 1 1 0 3 8.0 5.0
    Cole Whitt 1 0 0 1 0 0 14.0 9.0
    Elliott Sadler 2 0 1 1 0 0 10.0 9.5
    Brian Scott 3 0 0 1 0 10 13.3 12.0
    Max Papis 2 0 1 1 0 1 3.5 13.5
    Blake Koch 1 0 0 0 0 0 24.0 14.0

    Who To Watch: With a win and a pole in his only race at the track last season, Nelson Piquet, Jr. is at the top of the list statistically of the drivers who have competed at Road America. Piquet led 19 laps en route to victory last season and is looking to become the first repeat winner at the track in the short history that the Nationwide Series has there.

    The only other driver in the field with a win is Reed Sorenson, who along with his one win has one top five, one top ten, one lap led and an average finish of 1.0 in one start.

    Others who run well at Road America, but have yet to win include: Brendan Gaughan, with a third place finish in his lone start; Owen Kelly, piloting Kyle Busch’s No. 54, with a fifth place finish in one start; Sam Hornish, Jr., currently sitting second in points, with a fifth place finish in one start; Cole Whitt, who recently returned to the Nationwide Series, with a ninth place finish in one start; and Elliott Sadler, who is the highest ranking driver with more than one start and has one top five and one top ten in his two starts at the track.

  • Joey Coulter’s Dream Comes True with First Ever Truck Win at Pocono

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”219″][/media-credit]With his mother Susan screaming “Burn out time” and “Oh, I love Pocono,” Joey Coulter’s dream of winning a race came true.

    The driver of the No. 22 RCR/darrellgwynnfoundation.com Chevrolet got his first win in the 3rd annual Pocono Mountains 125 and the first win ever in his Truck Series career.

    Coulter is the ninth different winner this season to visit Victory Lane and the fourth different first-time winner of 2012.

    “It feels amazing and there’s no way to describe it,” Coulter said. “I just can’t thank everyone enough for the opportunity. I can’t thank them enough for sticking behind me.”

    “It’s a dream come true,” Coulter continued. “Call me in three days when it finally hits me.”

    Coulter acknowledged that his racing has always included his family and that indeed his mom was even more excited than he was.

    “For us, it’s always been a family event,” Coulter said. “They’ve been the ones to help me get here.”

    “To have them at the race track every weekend is a huge part of my career.”

    Coulter’s mother Susan echoed the family pride in her son’s racing career and his first trip to Victory Lane.

    “I am so proud of him,” Susan Coulter said of her winning son. “He’s worked so hard for this since he was 8 years old.”

    “He did this one himself,” Susan Coulter continued. “We have the best team in the world. I’m so happy.

    While Coulter’s family was ecstatic, team owner Richard Childress was equally proud of his young driver. And he also revealed that Coulter, in his opinion, is ready to go to the next level in the sport.

    “Joey’s had a really fast truck for the last two years and misfortunes would take him out of the winner’s circle,” Childress said. “I’m really happy for his family and for the whole Coulter team.”

    “We’re talking about running in the Nationwide Series with him next year,” Childress continued. “Sponsorship is the key to putting it together.”

    An important part of that Coulter RCR team has been crew chief Harold Holly. Coulter fully credits Holly with “teaching him how to drive” when they first started together in the ARCA Series.

    “This is as big as any of ‘em win-wise,” Holly said of the win. “We have such a strong support group.”

    “I’m tickled to death.”

    James Buescher, piloting the No. 31 Koike Aronson/Ransome Chevrolet, finished second. This was his second top-10 finish in three races at Pocono and his seventh top-10 finish for the season.

    “The Chevy was decent but we were tight all day long,” Buescher said. “Just couldn’t get it to turn on exit on any corner.”

    “I was just trying to keep up with Nelson and stayed out to lead a lap,” Buescher continued. “The truck was good but it wasn’t the fastest truck out there.”

    “We’ll just dust it off, take it to Michigan and try to get back to it.”

    Probably the most disappointed racer when the checkered flag flew was Nelson Piquet Jr., who sat on the pole and was by far the dominant truck for most of the race. Piquet Jr. finished third, scoring his first top-10 finish in two races at the ‘Tricky Triangle.”

    “I don’t know what to say,” Piquet Jr. said. “There’s only one word that can describe it and that’s frustration.”

    “The last restart was a bit of a problem,” Piquet continued. “It’s a shame.”

    “It was another race that we could have won.”

    Piquet Jr. was also involved with one of the more dramatic moments of the race when he and veteran Todd Bodine tangled, with Bodine getting the worst end or it, including a trip to the infield care center.

    After exiting his race truck, Bodine hurled his helmet in the direction of Piquet, Jr.

    “Nelson didn’t get a good run off two and I pulled down to start drafting,” Bodine said. “I should have known better not to trust Nelson to do the right thing, just move over and side draft with me.”

    “You watch tomorrow in the Cup race and you’ll see it a million times,” Bodine continued. “I know Nelson feels like he owes me one, from Kansas I think.”

    “We had a great truck,” Bodine said. “It’s a shame that ignorance has to take you out of the race.”

    Without a doubt, Piquet Jr. had a different take on the incident.

    “His spotter should have told him that I was behind him,” Piquet Jr. said. “There’s nothing I could have done.”

    “The move he did was inexperienced,” Piquet continued. “With all the experience he has, there’s no explanation.”

    “Not much to say,” Piquet said. “I couldn’t have done anything else.”

    Ty Dillon, driving the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet, was the highest finishing rookie driver. Dillon, teammate to race winner Joey Coulter, finished in the sixth spot.

    “I’m kind of disappointed,” Dillon said. “I made a rookie mistake on the first lap that really put us behind.”

    “I’m so proud of my teammate Joey Coulter though,” Dillon said. “That was awesome. I’m really happy for Joey. He’s put his time in.”

    Dillon was most excited about gaining some points in the championship standings. He is now just eight points behind leader Timothy Peters.

    “We’ve got some good momentum coming,” Dillon said. “I think we’ve found something.”

    “We’re second, only 8 points out,” Dillon continued. “And we’ll keep trucking.”

    Matt Crafton, in the No. 88 Jeld Wen/Menards Toyota, finished fourth and Danny Hamlin, driving the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 18 GNC Live Well/M&Ms Toyota rounded out the top five.

    “The power of those guys in front of us was big,” Hamlin said. “We just didn’t have a great handling truck.”

    “Hopefully now I can give them a little bit of feedback for what I feel like this program needs to work on.”

    Unofficial Race Results
    Pocono Mountains 125, Pocono Raceway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/truckseries/race.php?race=11
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 4 22 Joey Coulter Chevrolet 47
    2 5 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 43
    3 1 30 Nelson Piquet Jr. Chevrolet 43
    4 9 88 Matt Crafton Toyota 40
    5 16 18 Denny Hamlin Toyota 0
    6 2 3 Ty Dillon * Chevrolet 38
    7 17 29 Parker Kligerman Ram 37
    8 11 9 John Wes Townley * Toyota 36
    9 35 6 Justin Lofton Chevrolet 35
    10 20 8 Ross Chastain * Toyota 34
    11 14 23 Jason White Ford 34
    12 18 98 Dakoda Armstrong * Toyota 32
    13 3 32 Miguel Paludo Chevrolet 31
    14 15 33 Cale Gale * Chevrolet 30
    15 6 2 Tim George Jr. Chevrolet 29
    16 25 27 C E Falk Chevrolet 28
    17 19 99 Bryan Silas * Ford 27
    18 23 84 Chris Fontaine Chevrolet 26
    19 10 9 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 25
    20 34 57 Norm Benning Chevrolet 24
    21 32 159 Kyle Martel Chevrolet 0
    22 8 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 23
    23 27 28 Wes Burton Chevrolet 21
    24 7 5 Paulie Harraka * Ford 20
    25 30 282 Sean Corr Ford 19
    26 12 11 Todd Bodine Toyota 18
    27 13 13 Johnny Sauter Toyota 17
    28 21 93 Dennis Setzer Chevrolet 16
    29 26 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 15
    30 31 225 Brandon Knupp Chevrolet 0
    31 22 7 Jeff Agnew Toyota 13
    32 29 174 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 0
    33 36 175 Adam Edwards Chevrolet 11
    34 28 38 Chris Jones Chevrolet 10
    35 33 0 Chris Lafferty Ram 9
    36 24 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb Ram 8

  • Nelson Piquet Jr. Right at Home With Pocono Truck Pole

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”219″][/media-credit]Nelson Piquet Jr., who was racy in practice behind the wheel of his No. 30 Autotrac Chevrolet, scored the coveted pole position for the Camping World Truck race at Pocono. Piquet’s speed was 169.504 mph and a time of 53.096 seconds, a new track qualifying record.

    This was Piquet’s second pole of the 2012 season. His first pole was in Rockingham in the spring of this year.

    “I feel at home when I come to Pocono,” Piquet Jr. said. “Everyone is so welcoming and there are some diehard race fans in Pennsylvania.”

    “After a weekend off, I’m always more than ready to get back to the racetrack,” Piquet Jr. continued. “It’s going to be an exciting race at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’

    “I would love to get my first NCWTS win at a track I feel so welcomed at.”

    What Piquet Jr. did not share was that he really did not off the weekend off. The young driver completed the Chicago Rock’n’Roll Half-Marathon, with a speed of 2 hours, 18 minutes and 43 seconds, as well as celebrated his 27th birthday.

    Piquet Jr., however, will have a challenge on his hands, having to battle Richard Childress Racing phenom Ty Dillon for the race win.

    Dillon qualified his No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet, in the outside pole position at a speed of 169.252 mph and a time of 53.175 seconds.

    This was Dillon’s ninth top-10 start for the 2012 season.

    “I’m excited to see what it’s really like to race on the new surface,” Dillon said. “I had a lot of fun there last year and earned a win in the ARCA Racing Series.”

    Miguel Paludo, with a speed of 168.631 mph and a time of 53.371 seconds, posted his first ever top-10 start at Pocono Raceway. This is the sixth in eleven races this season for the driver of the No. 32 Duroline Brakes Chevrolet.

    Joey Coulter, who had to go out last in the qualifying run due to Justin Lofton’s spin, qualified fourth in his No. 22 RCR/darrellgwynnfoundation.com Chevrolet. James Buescher, behind the wheel of the No. 31 Koike Aronson/Ransome Chevrolet, rounded out the top five.

     

    Starting Lineup
    Pocono Mountains 125, Pocono Raceway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/truckseries/qual.php?race=11
    ===========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
    ===========================================
    1 30 Nelson Piquet Jr. Chevrolet 169.504 53.096
    2 3 Ty Dillon* Chevrolet 169.252 53.175
    3 32 Miguel Paludo Chevrolet 168.631 53.371
    4 22 Joey Coulter Chevrolet 168.53 53.403
    5 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 168.143 53.526
    6 2 Tim George Jr. Chevrolet 167.645 53.685
    7 5 Paulie Harraka* Ford 167.448 53.748
    8 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 167.33 53.785
    9 88 Matt Crafton Toyota 167.299 53.796
    10 9 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 167.119 53.854
    11 9 John Wes Townley* Toyota 166.793 53.959
    12 11 Todd Bodine Toyota 166.698 53.99
    13 13 Johnny Sauter Toyota 166.396 54.088
    14 23 Jason White Ford 165.99 54.22
    15 33 Cale Gale* Chevrolet 165.63 54.338
    16 18 Denny Hamlin Toyota 165.596 54.349
    17 29 Parker Kligerman Ram 165.484 54.386
    18 98 Dakoda Armstrong* Toyota 165.484 54.386
    19 99 Bryan Silas* Ford 164.423 54.737
    20 8 Ross Chastain* Toyota 163.304 55.112
    21 93 Dennis Setzer Chevrolet 161.241 55.817
    22 7 Jeff Agnew Toyota 161.005 55.899
    23 84 Chris Fontaine Chevrolet 159.691 56.359
    24 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb Ram 169.665 56.368
    25 27 C E Falk Chevrolet 159.295 56.499
    26 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 158.73 56.7
    27 28 Wes Burton Chevrolet 158.59 56.75
    28 38 Chris Jones Chevrolet 158.231 56.879
    29 174 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 157.312 57.211
    30 282 Sean Corr Ford 156.125 57.646
    31 225 Brandon Knupp Chevrolet 155.491 57.881
    32 159 Kyle Martel Chevrolet 151.172 59.535
    33 0 Chris Lafferty Ram 149.43 60.229
    34 57 Norm Benning Chevrolet 147.278 61.109
    35 6 Justin Lofton+ Chevrolet – –
    36 175 Adam Edwards Chevrolet 131.886 68.241

  • Todd Bodine Scores Truck Win at Rainy Monster Mile

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”223″][/media-credit]In spite of Kevin Harvick having by far the dominant race truck, Todd Bodine, in his No. 11 Red Horse Racing Toyota, stole the win away thanks to rain calling an early end to the Lucas Oil 200.

    This was Bodine’s 22nd victory in 196 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races, but his first victory this year. It was also his first win at the Monster mile.

    “Man, finally,” Bodine said. “It’s pretty special. Dover has always been high on my list as one of my favorite tracks. To be able to come back and get a win in Trucks, it kind of puts in perspective what I’ve needed to do here.”

    “To be able to do it with a brand new team and get the team the Monster trophy, it means a lot.”

    “We didn’t have the best Tundra today but Rick (Gay Jr. crew chief) made a great call,” Bodine said. “You don’t like to win them this way but I’ve lost them this way so I’m going to take it.”

    “I took a gamble today and it paid off,” Gay said simply.

    Parker Kligerman, behind the wheel of the No. 29 Cooper Standard Ram, finished 2nd in the rain-shortened event. This was his first top-10 finish in two races at the Monster Mile and his third top-10 finish in 2012.

    “We had a really fast race truck and were biding our time until halfway,” Kligerman said. “We got a little front end damage and the guys did a great job repairing it.”

    “I was angry and I drove like my hair was on fire,” Kligerman continued. “We drove up to sixth and knew the rain was coming so we just were at the right place at the right time.”

    Kevin Harvick, pole sitter and driver of the No. 2 Tide Chevrolet, did all he could to preserve a good finish, coming out third when the race was called. It was his second top-10 finish in two races at Dover.

    “We had a great truck all weekend and just got beat by the weather there,” Harvick said. “All in all the guys did a great job of controlling all the things that can and that’s all you can do.”

    “I still thought we had a chance,” Harvick continued. “They threw the caution before it even started raining so we wasted 25 laps between two cautions waiting around to see if it was going to rain.”

    “It was just one of those deals.”

    Harvick was unbeatable when he was out front in clean air. But the driver of the No. 2 Tide Chevrolet had more difficulty in the midst of traffic.

    “We just got tight,” Harvick said. “So when we got in traffic, it didn’t handle near  as well.”

    “It would take a little longer in traffic because it would get so tight off the corner.”

    Nelson Piquet, Jr. had a great run in his No. 30 Qualcomm Chevrolet, finishing in the fourth position.

    “At the end with the rain coming and going, we stayed out and it worked out,” Piquet Jr. said. “We ended up with a top five and that was very important for us.”

    Cale Gale, who finished fifth in the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet, was the highest finishing rookie in the race.

    “Obviously we qualified good today,” Gale said. “We got involved in a little incident at the start of the race that got us behind.”

    “We made adjustments to the truck and the last portion of the race, it was a lot better,” Gale continued. “We were praying for a little bit of rain there at the end.”

    “We are happy,” Gale said. “We finally got a result that we are proud of.”

    Ty Dillon, who finished sixth in his No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Allstate Chevrolet, had a very special evening in addition to the top-ten finish.

    Dillon broke Ricky Hendrick’s record of five straight top-10 finishes by a rookie in the opening five races and now is the sole owner of that record, with six straight top-10 rookie finishes in the first five races.

    “That’s very special,” Dillon said. “I’m very happy for my team.”

    “Now we need to consistently make those top-fives,” Dillon continued. “We had a fast track today but a little bit to the free side.”

    “Track position meant a lot and we played our hand right there at the end.”

    Unofficial Race Results
    Lucas Oil 200, Dover International Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/truckseries/race.php?race=6
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 13 11 Todd Bodine Toyota 47
    2 11 29 Parker Kligerman Ram 43
    3 1 2 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 0
    4 18 30 Nelson Piquet Jr. Chevrolet 40
    5 5 33 Cale Gale * Chevrolet 39
    6 6 3 Ty Dillon * Chevrolet 38
    7 15 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 37
    8 10 88 Matt Crafton Toyota 36
    9 8 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 35
    10 16 6 Justin Lofton Chevrolet 35
    11 2 22 Joey Coulter Chevrolet 33
    12 9 32 Miguel Paludo Chevrolet 33
    13 17 18 Brian Scott Toyota 0
    14 24 81 David Starr Toyota 31
    15 12 8 Ross Chastain * Toyota 29
    16 21 9 John Wes Townley * Toyota 28
    17 25 5 Paulie Harraka * Ford 27
    18 30 275 Caleb Holman * Chevrolet 26
    19 7 27 Jeb Burton * Chevrolet 25
    20 19 98 Dakoda Armstrong * Toyota 24
    21 27 170 Jeff Agnew Chevrolet 23
    22 23 99 Bryan Silas * Ford 22
    23 29 84 Chris Fontaine Chevrolet 21
    24 4 13 Johnny Sauter Toyota 20
    25 35 57 Norm Benning Chevrolet 19
    26 33 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb Ram 18
    27 3 9 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 17
    28 31 261 Wes Burton Ford 16
    29 22 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 15
    30 14 24 Max Gresham * Chevrolet 14
    31 28 7 Chris Jones Toyota 13
    32 32 93 Johnny Chapman Chevrolet 12
    33 20 23 Jason White Ford 11
    34 34 174 Mike Harmon Chevrolet 0
    35 26 38 Dennis Setzer Chevrolet 0
  • Kahne Wins Inaugural Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200 at Rockingham Speedway

    Kahne Wins Inaugural Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200 at Rockingham Speedway

    Kasey Kahne was in the lead heading into the final 20 laps at Rockingham Speedway. He never relinquished that lead, scoring the victory in the inaugural Camping World Truck Series race at Rockingham Speedway. This was Kahne’s first victory in of 2012.

    Kahne described this as “the best weekend I have had in a long time.” He drove in three races this weekend with three impressive finishes; third place in the Nationwide Series in Texas, seventh place in the Cup race, and the win at Rockingham.

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Rainer Ehrhardt/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”253″][/media-credit]He went on to explain how happy he was to be a part of the event.

    “When I heard they were putting a race on here at Rockingham, as soon as I heard about it, I was trying to figure out whom I would race for and how I would make it here,” he said.

    He only got about 4 ½ hours sleep the previous night but that did not dampen his enthusiasm.

    “Coming to ‘The Rock’ I was so excited that I woke up early. My alarm was supposed to go off at nine this morning and I woke up at 7:30 and couldn’t go back to sleep.”

    Sunday marked NASCAR’s first return to Rockingham Speedway since February 2004.

    ‘The Rock,’ under the guidance of Andy Hillenburg, opened its arms to the fans allowing them access to the infield and pit road, areas that are normally out of bounds for most ticket holders. Golf cart shuttles were available to take fans to their seats. They were limited but if you didn’t mind waiting, you could catch a ride. The atmosphere was more like a family reunion than a sporting event.

    Everyone from the staff to the fans to the drivers was excited to be a part of the track’s return to NASCAR.

    Nelson Piquet Jr. led the field to green on a sunny Sunday afternoon in the Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200. He led a total of 107 laps during the race and was dominant most of the race.

    Points leader John King spun out on lap four, hit the inside wall and brought out the first caution.

    Piquet continued to lead the field and had just lapped the tenth place car when a debris caution was called.

    Matt Crafton took the lead shortly after the restart, leaving Piquet Jr. in second place.

    Kasey Kahne started in the rear of the field but quickly worked his way into the top three battling with Matt Crafton and Nelson Piquet Jr. for the lead. Kahne took over the lead on lap 155.

    On the final pit stop Piquet Jr. was caught too fast exiting and had to go to the back of the field, ending his bid for a win. He fought his way back to finish the race in seventh position.

    James Buescher finished the race in second place position earning him his second top ten finish of 2012. Matt Crafton finished third followed by Johnny Sauter. Timothy Peters rounded out the top five.

    Peter’s fifth place pushed him to a six point lead in the point standings over Justin Lofton. Ty Dillon is third, followed by James Buescher and Parker Kligerman.

    Ty Dillon finished in eighth place and was the highest finishing rookie.

    The next Camping World Truck Series race will be April 21, 2012 at Kansas Speedway.

    Unofficial Race Results
    Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200, Rockingham Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/truckseries/race.php?race=3
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 5 4 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 0
    2 16 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 42
    3 8 88 Matt Crafton Toyota 42
    4 10 13 Johnny Sauter Toyota 40
    5 3 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 40
    6 17 22 Joey Coulter Chevrolet 38
    7 1 30 Nelson Piquet Jr. Chevrolet 39
    8 12 3 Ty Dillon * Chevrolet 36
    9 6 29 Parker Kligerman Ram 35
    10 19 6 Justin Lofton Chevrolet 34
    11 27 27 Jeb Burton * Chevrolet 33
    12 22 9 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 32
    13 21 81 David Starr Toyota 31
    14 11 98 Dakoda Armstrong * Toyota 30
    15 23 32 Miguel Paludo Chevrolet 29
    16 29 2 Tim George Jr. Chevrolet 28
    17 13 33 Cale Gale * Chevrolet 27
    18 15 24 Max Gresham * Chevrolet 26
    19 18 92 David Reutimann Chevrolet 0
    20 20 9 John Wes Townley * Toyota 24
    21 24 275 Caleb Holman* Chevrolet 23
    22 32 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 22
    23 30 214 Brennan Newberry Chevrolet 21
    24 28 23 Jason White Ford 20
    25 14 8 Ross Chastain * Toyota 19
    26 2 5 Paulie Harraka * Ford 18
    27 36 170 Jeff Agnew Chevrolet 17
    28 26 202 Tyler Young Chevrolet 16
    29 33 93 Chris Cockrum Chevrolet 15
    30 35 57 Norm Benning Chevrolet 14
    31 7 11 Todd Bodine Toyota 13
    32 31 99 Bryan Silas * Ford 12
    33 25 7 John King * Toyota 11
    34 4 18 Jason Leffler Toyota 10
    35 34 7 Johnny Chapman Toyota 9
    36 9 60 Grant Enfinger Chevrolet 8
  • Nelson Piquet Jr. Wins the Camping World Truck Series Pole at Rockingham Speedway

    Nelson Piquet Jr. Wins the Camping World Truck Series Pole at Rockingham Speedway

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photography” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]After four practice sessions, the trucks took to the track Saturday afternoon to qualify at ‘The Rock.’ Nelson Piquet Jr. captured the pole driving his No. 30 Chevrolet Silverado. It was his first pole in 33 career starts.

    He described the track as difficult and said the last couple of days have been tough. He doesn’t necessarily expect the pole position to translate into a win because of the unpredictability of tire wear at the track.

    Paulie Harraka qualified in the second position, calling it a “solid” run. Timothy Peters will start the race in third position after fighting “a tight condition.”

    Jason Leffler and Brad Sweet (qualifying for Kasey Kahne) round out the top five.  Kahne, who will compete in the Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway Saturday, will start the truck race from the back of the field Sunday afternoon.

    The Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200 begins at 1:00 pm Sunday and will be televised live on Speed. Speed coverage will begin at 12:30pm with ‘NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Setup.’  It will mark NASCAR’s first return to the track since 2004.

     

    Starting Lineup
    Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200, Rockingham Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=3
    ===========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
    ===========================================
    1 30 Nelson Piquet Jr. Chevrolet 144.387 24.933
    2 5 Paulie Harraka* Ford 144.381 24.934
    3 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 143.937 25.011
    4 18 Jason Leffler Toyota 143.73 25.047
    5 4 Brad Sweet Chevrolet 143.392 25.106
    6 29 Parker Kligerman Ram 143.147 25.149
    7 11 Todd Bodine Toyota 143.033 25.169
    8 88 Matt Crafton Toyota 142.976 25.179
    9 60 Grant Enfinger Chevrolet 142.885 25.195
    10 13 Johnny Sauter Toyota 142.693 25.229
    11 98 Dakoda Armstrong* Toyota 142.642 25.238
    12 3 Ty Dillon* Chevrolet 142.535 25.257
    13 33 Cale Gale* Chevrolet 142.349 25.29
    14 8 Ross Chastain* Toyota 142.298 25.299
    15 24 Max Gresham* Chevrolet 142.259 25.306
    16 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 142.158 25.324
    17 22 Joey Coulter Chevrolet 142.034 25.346
    18 92 Chad McCumbee Chevrolet 141.989 25.354
    19 6 Justin Lofton Chevrolet 141.766 25.394
    20 9 John Wes Townley* Toyota 141.682 25.409
    21 81 David Starr Toyota 141.06 25.521
    22 9 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 140.658 25.594
    23 32 Miguel Paludo Chevrolet 140.488 25.625
    24 275 Caleb Holman* Chevrolet 140.455 25.631
    25 7 John King* Toyota 140.384 25.644
    26 202 Tyler Young Chevrolet 140.362 25.648
    27 27 Jeb Burton* Chevrolet 140.203 25.677
    28 23 Jason White Ford 139.969 25.72
    29 2 Tim George Jr. Chevrolet 139.654 25.778
    30 214 Brennan Newberry Chevrolet 139.373 25.83
    31 99 Bryan Silas* Ford 138.648 25.965
    32 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 138.206 26.048
    33 93 Chris Cockrum+ Chevrolet 134.133 26.839
    34 7 Johnny Chapman+ Toyota 131.536 27.369
    35 57 Norm Benning+ Chevrolet 131.411 27.395
    36 170 Jeff Agnew Chevrolet 139.346 25.835
  • Kevin Harvick Incorporated Looks To Tame The Lady In Black This Saturday Night

    Kevin Harvick Incorporated Looks To Tame The Lady In Black This Saturday Night

    On Saturday night, three trucks will be taking the green flag looking to win for car owners Kevin and Delana Harvick.

    For Kevin Harvick Incorporated, there are only eight tracks that they have yet to win at in the Camping World Truck Series in their 10 year history and Darlington is one of them. With Darlington marking the team’s 300th Camping World Truck Series start, it’d certainly mark a good way to celebrate.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”294″][/media-credit]Leading the way for them will be four-time Camping World Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday, driving the No. 33 Sherwin-Williams Chevrolet.

    “I’m really looking forward to having another solid finish at Darlington,” Hornaday said. “We finished third here last year and it was a best for KHI. We hope to set another best for KHI and bring home a victory. This track can be a beast if you aren’t careful. The track is pretty narrow so there is a lot of rubbin’ that goes on during the race.

    “With all of the tracks on the Truck Series schedule today, there are eight that I have yet to grab a win at. Darlington is one of those. Hopefully this weekend the No. 33 team will help bring that list down to seven and prove that we can tame the track.”

    Hornaday has enough experience as he has made over 1700 laps at Darlington, including 147 laps in the truck series. Last year marked the time he took a truck to Darlington, where he finished third-place. In the last race at Phoenix, Hornaday found himself finding third and that is the same truck that they plan on taking to Darlngton. The third place finish at Phoenix allowed Hornaday to go from 28th to 10th in points so certainly a win would help in Hornaday’s chances at a fifth title.

    Joining Hornaday as a teammate at Darlington will be Sprint Cup Series veteran Elliott Sadler for his second Camping World Truck Series race of the year. Sadler drove the No. 2 back at Daytona, where he finished second to Michael Waltrip in a nailbitter. Sadler looks to improve that by one position in his No. 2 Armour Vienna Sausage Chevrolet. The Pinnacles Food brand has been a lucky brand for KHI as the four previous times they have run their colors, whoever has been driving the car has found victory lane. Harvick got his first win as a owner/driver with them at Bristol in 2009 and then backed that up with wins at Nashville and Richmond, while Hornaday took them to victory lane at Martinsville last year.

    “I really enjoy racing at Darlington Raceway,” Sadler said. “I have had a lot of success there in the past and think it is important anytime that you can go to a track and get some extra track time. I have had a lot of fun competing in the Truck Series and I’m ready to try and tame the track they claim is ‘Too Tough to Tame’ as we try and get our first victory of 2011.”

    Despite no truck starts at Darlington for Sadler, you can’t count him out as he won the pole for the 2003 Sprint Cup event and has two top-fives and four top-10 finishes in the Cup Series. He also seen seven Nationwide races at Darlington, which have earned him a top-five, two top-10s and a pole in 1997. The chassis will also be familiar for Sadler as it is the same chassis he drove to win at Pocono last July and the truck Hornaday finished second with at Homestead last year.

    The team will also be taking Camping World Truck Series newcomer Nelson Piquet Jr. in the No. 8.

    “I think the learning curve is going to be a lot like it was in Phoenix,” Piquet said. “It’s going to be another weekend where I’m learning the track and trying to gain as much experience as I can. I hope that some of what I learned in Phoenix will apply when we get to Darlington, but they’re obviously different tracks with different characteristics and different challenges. I think the best thing I got out of Phoenix was the experience of racing so closely with the other drivers and having the opportunity to bump and push and make contact with the other trucks. That’s definitely going to come into play this weekend.”

    “I think this track is really going to suit Nelson,” crew chief Chris Carrier said. “With his natural driving ability, truck control and fast reflexes, I feel that this could be a really good weekend for him.”

    While the track may not familiar, the truck will be as it will be the same truck he drove to a 13th-place finish in the last race two weeks ago at Phoenix. This is also the same truck that Harvick won a pole and visited victory lane at Gateway in 2010 with,

    “The biggest thing you need is a well-balanced, well-driving truck,” Carrier went on to say. “The truck needs to handle so well that it gives the driver the resolve to be bigger than the challenge that the track presents to him. The track is extremely fast and narrow since it was repaved a few years ago, and the trucks reach speeds way beyond what the track was originally designed for. If your truck drives really well and the driver can predict what it’s going to do, it allows him to drive the racetrack without having to focus on driving the truck. It also doesn’t hurt to have some good fabricators and some big hammers on hand, because no matter how experienced your driver is or how good your truck is, it isn’t a question of if, but more a question of when you’re going to hit the wall and earn that Darlington stripe.”

    The Too Tough To Tame 200 will be run on March 12, 2011 at Darlington Raceway, a 1.366-Mile Egg-Shaped Oval. The race is set to be 147 laps, or 200.8 miles. SPEED will broadcast the race live at 5:00 p.m. EST with the Set-up at 4:30 p.m. EST while the Motor Racing Network will be live at 4:45 p.m. EST.