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Tag: Regan Smith

  • Kurt Busch Snags 14th Career Pole at Pocono; Paul Menard Scores Second

    Kurt Busch Snags 14th Career Pole at Pocono; Paul Menard Scores Second

    [media-credit name=”Ed Coombs” align=”alignright” width=”209″][/media-credit]After crashing his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge in practice and having to pull out a backup car, Kurt Busch was despondent, especially thinking that if qualifying was rained out, he would start the 5-Hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway dead last.

    But the racing gods were with him, the weather held, and Busch snagged his 14th career pole, with a speed of 171.579 mph and a time of 52.454 seconds. This was Busch’s first pole in 21 races at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’

    “There were quite a bit of different emotions out there today, especially after having to bust out the backup car from yesterday’s  mishap,” Busch said. “If it were raining today, we’d be starting last.”

    “Now luckily the weather held out and we’re on the pole,” Busch said. “It’s an amazing swing of events and an honest thank you to my guys. To pull the backup out as a pole winning car is really something you wouldn’t hear about back in the day.”

    Busch’s pole also signified the third straight pole for Penkse Racing and his teammate Brad Keselowski was the winner of last weekend’s event at Kansas Speedway. Busch admitted in the media center after his pole run that Penske Racing has indeed turned a corner.

    “We haven’t changed a lot of things since Richmond and it’s just been some procedures and processes and maybe looking at the data a bit differently,” Busch said. “It’s great to come back out and get on the pole again.”

    Busch also referenced his superstition, feeling that he was stuck on the ‘unlucky 13’ pole.

    “To be number 14 already, really feels good,” Busch said.

    Busch’s crew chief, Steve Addington, echoed his driver’s feelings about the pole run.

    “I want to thank everybody on this Shell/Pennzoil Dodge,” Addington said. “The work they did to get this car ready was awesome.”

    “To lay down a lap like that is pretty impressive,” Addington continued. “And that guy that sits behind the steering wheel isn’t too damn bad either.”

    Paul Menard, driver of the No. 27 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet, scored the outside pole, with a speed of 171.422 mph and a time of 52.502 seconds. This was Menard’s fifth top-10 start of 2011 and his first such start in nine races at Pocono.

    “We definitely thought it would rain out qualifying today,” Menard said. “So, we tried to post a good time early in practice and felt that would be our qualifying run.”

    “We were hoping for rain, honestly,” Menard continued. “To qualify second and actually put a lap down was pretty cool. It was much more meaningful that way.”

    Four-time champion Jeff Gordon posted his 22nd top-10 start at Pocono Raceway. He qualified third in his No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, with a speed of 171.350 mph and a time of 52.524 seconds.

    “I’ll be honest, prior to that run, I was kind of hoping it was going to rain,” Gordon said with a laugh. “We made a couple of qualifying runs yesterday and we weren’t really thrilled with the pace.”

    “The track was definitely a lot different as it was hot and slick,” Gordon continued. “We did our fastest laps in race trim and so we weren’t really sure what to expect today.”

    “We looked at the lap times and seeing just how fast the track was today, it gets you anxious when you ran a 54.10 and guys were running in the 52s,” Gordon said. “It was interesting because right before I left the truck I told Alan (Gustafson), ‘It looks like half a second per corner’ and as a driver, a half a second a corner just isn’t fathomable.”

    “As a driver, to go out there and do that and put up a good lap and be third, I’m thrilled,” Gordon said. “I’m very, very happy.”

    Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota and past master of Pocono Raceway, qualified fourth with a speed of 171.174 mph and a time of 52.578 seconds.

    Regan Smith, behind the wheel of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet, continued his hot qualifying hand and rounded out the top five, with a speed of 171.164 mph and a time of 52.581 seconds.

    Starting Lineup
    5-Hour Energy 500, Pocono Raceway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=14
    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
    1 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 171.579 52.454
    2 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 171.422 52.502
    3 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 171.35 52.524
    4 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 171.174 52.578
    5 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 171.165 52.581
    6 99 Carl Edwards Ford 171.057 52.614
    7 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 170.836 52.682
    8 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 170.532 52.776
    9 0 David Reutimann Toyota 170.348 52.833
    10 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 170.2 52.879
    11 6 David Ragan Ford 170.177 52.886
    12 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 170.126 52.902
    13 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 169.908 52.97
    14 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 169.872 52.981
    15 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 169.856 52.986
    16 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 169.702 53.034
    17 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 169.671 53.044
    18 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 169.607 53.064
    19 20 Joey Logano Toyota 169.52 53.091
    20 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 169.501 53.097
    21 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 169.447 53.114
    22 46 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 169.444 53.115
    23 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 169.441 53.116
    24 71 Andy Lally* Ford 169.37 53.138
    25 51 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 169.307 53.158
    26 38 Sam Hornish Jr. Ford 169.278 53.167
    27 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 169.224 53.184
    28 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 169.176 53.199
    29 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 169.17 53.201
    30 34 David Gilliland Ford 169.119 53.217
    31 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 169.113 53.219
    32 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 169.084 53.228
    33 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 168.932 53.276
    34 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 168.89 53.289
    35 13 Casey Mears Toyota 168.666 53.36
    36 66 Michael McDowell Toyota 168.218 53.502
    37 16 Greg Biffle Ford 167.773 53.644
    38 37 Tony Raines Ford 167.395 53.765
    39 181 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 167.264 53.807
    40 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 167.057 53.874
    41 32 Mike Bliss Ford 166.867 53.935
    42 7 Scott Wimmer+ Dodge 162.414 55.414
    43 150 T.J. Bell* Toyota 166.633 54.011
  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Charlotte Coca Cola 600

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Charlotte Coca Cola 600

    After exceptionally exciting finishes in the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500 earlier in the day, all signs pointed to a stellar finish in one of NASCAR’s biggest races of the season. Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”260″][/media-credit]Surprising: With several of the sport’s biggest races won by first-timers this season, including Trevor Bayne’s story book win at the Daytona 500 and Regan Smith’s unpredicted win at Darlington, it was a bit surprising that no first time winner stood in Victory Lane after the Coke 600.

    One driver, however, came mighty close. David Ragan, who had snagged the Showdown win to make it into the All-Star Race the weekend before, almost pulled off his own Cinderella-like story, falling short of the win by just one position.

    Ragan, in his No. 6 UPS “We Love Logistics” Ford, finished second, scoring his highest career finish in the Coca Cola 600.

    “We had a strong car all day,” Ragan said. “That’s a finish that we deserved, but we just went about doing it the hard way.”

    Not Surprising:  After all those laps and all those miles, it was not surprising to see the Coca Cola 600 come down to a green, white checkered finish. And it was equally unsurprising to see one driver that is becoming well-known for his stealth finishes to come from nowhere and snag another victory.

    Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Armed Forces Tribute Chevrolet, did just that to lead the last 400 feet of the race and take the checkered flag for his fifth top 10 and second top five in 21 starts at Charlotte.

    “We were lucky,” Harvick said. “It’s nothing against the race track, I just don’t like racing here. But to be in Victory Lane, it says a lot about this Budweiser team.”

    “This is a huge accomplishment for us,” Harvick continued, admitting that he had struggled with his car and team throughout the race. “This is a hell of a race to win. We’re going to celebrate it like it’s our last one.”

    Surprising:  After leading the race on the final lap, seeing the checkered flag, and then running out of gas, it was surprising how positive Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was after the race. Junior limped to the finish line on fumes to finish seventh in his No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet.

    Echoing his ever upbeat crew chief Steve Letarte, Earnhardt, Jr. said, “I’m disappointed we didn’t win, but if we would’ve won, it would have been a gift.”

    “We ran good tonight,” Junior continued. “I’m proud.”

    Not Surprising: In contrast to the positive, proud vibes in the Dale Jr. camp, it was not surprising that there was a whole lot of swearing going on in his teammate Jimmie Johnson’s camp. In fact, crew chief Chad Knaus dropped the F-bomb on national television when Johnson’s engine expired with just five laps to go in the race.

    This was the first engine failure for Hendrick Motorsports this season and it forced Johnson to a 28th place finish in his No. 48 Lowes Summer Salutes Chevrolet. Johnson also fell one spot, from second to third, in the point standings.

    Surprising:  Although the Coca Cola 600 is the longest race of the season, it was surprising to see the number of engine failures that occurred. In addition to Jimmie Johnson, Jamie McMurray, Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart all experienced engine issues.

    For Jamie McMurray, behind the wheel of the No. 1 Bass Pro Shop/Convoy of Hope for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, this engine failure signified the sixth of the season for the ECR engine builders.

    “It started shaking and one second later, it was ‘boom,’” McMurray said.

    Hamlin, on the other hand, was able to recover after his engine issues, with his No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota team doing a yeoman’s job of changing out the carburetor. Hamlin managed a top ten finish, which boosted him into the top twelve Chase contenders.

    Stewart also suffered engine woes in the waning laps of the race, radioing crew chief Darian Grubb that something was amiss with less than 20 laps to go. Stewart, in his No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, finished 17th, scoring his 10th top-20 finish to date.

    Not Surprising:  In addition to engine woes, it was not surprising that many other teams were plagued with other types of mechanical problems, from overheating to radio problems.

    Greg Biffle, behind the wheel of the No. 16 3M Ford, seemed ready to implode from overheating issues in his car early in the race. Biffle was, however, able to overcome, rallying back to lead laps at the end. Unfortunately, he too succumbed to not having enough gas, having to make a splash and go stop at the end, which relegated him to a 13th place finish.

    Jeff Gordon, piloting the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, also struggled and battled radio issues early in the race. Gordon too looked strong at the end of the show, only to have to pit for gas as well. Gordon finished 20th, falling two positions to 16th in the point standings.

    Surprising:  Serving as a substitute driver for Trevor Bayne and making his Cup debut, it was surprising how well Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. did in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford. Stenhouse, Jr. managed to bring his car home in the 11th position even after having several close encounters with the wall.

    “That was interesting,” Stenhouse, Jr. said. “I hit the wall a couple of times, the caution came back out and it worked great for us.”

    “I’m just glad I got this opportunity.”

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising that after Stenhouse, Jr. and Bayne prayed together before the race, Bayne playfully pushed his friend out of the way and tried to get behind the wheel of his race car. After five weeks of being out of his car due to a mystery illness, Bayne was most certainly chomping at the bit to get back to racing.

    Bayne reinforced that desire by tweeting after the race, “This was by far the hardest weekend to sit back and watch! Can’t wait to be back in action!!”

    Surprising:  In the battle of the Busch brothers, it was surprising that this weekend Kurt Busch prevailed, finishing fourth in his Shell/Pennzoil No. 22 Dodge, while baby brother Kyle took a wild ride through the grass and then another spin, finishing 32nd in his No. 18 M&Ms Toyota.

    “The race was 600 miles and it felt like 800,” Dave Rogers, Busch’s crew chief, said. “Kyle was trying to make something out of nothing and it got away from him. We ended our day a little early.”

    Not Surprising:  Not surprisingly, one driver who never expected to even make the show captured the true spirit of the Memorial Day race weekend. David Starr, behind the wheel of the No. 95 Jordan Truck Sales.com Ford Fusion crashed early in the race, finishing 36th. Yet this is what he had to say.

    “This was a great weekend,” Starr said. “I’m just honored and blessed to be driving this Ford Fusion.”

    “It was awesome out there,” Starr continued. “It was a big honor to race in the Coca Cola 600 even though it ended up like this. I’m really blessed.”

  • David Ragan Has Every Intention of Being NASCAR’s Next Cinderella Story

    David Ragan Has Every Intention of Being NASCAR’s Next Cinderella Story

    From Trevor Bayne’s win of the Daytona 500 to Regan Smith’s win last weekend at Darlington, Cinderella stories have been all the rage in NASCAR.

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”279″][/media-credit]One driver who is ready to put on the glass slipper in Victory Lane is David Ragan, driver of the No. 6 UPS Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. In fact, Ragan is indeed planning to be that next big underdog winner.

    “Absolutely, I will be the next Cinderella story,” Ragan said. “I feel like we’re in a position to win a race. And if we can get a little more consistent, I think we have a team that can make the Chase.”

    “From our practice and qualifying efforts, our races and our pit stops, everything is a couple of notches better than what it was even in the year when we finished 13th in the points,” Ragan continued. “I feel like any weekend we go, we’ve got the attitude to win the race.”

    While Ragan may have the winning attitude for that Cinderella finish, he acknowledged that the upcoming race at Dover International Speedway will be a challenge.  In fact, he has one word for the track affectionately known as the Monster Mile and that is “breathtaking.”

    “You almost have to hold your breath all the way around,” Ragan said. “Even on the straight-aways, you still have to drive the car so you’re holding your breath most of the way around.”

    Ragan also affirmed that Dover, in addition to earning the nickname ‘Monster Mile’ has also earned its stripes as ‘Bristol on Steroids.’

    “If you took Bristol by your hands and stretched it out, you’d have Dover,” Ragan said. “You get a lot of speed and a lot of banking so ‘Bristol on Steroids’ is a good way to describe it.”

    “It’s real intimidating the first time you get there,” Ragan continued. “But once you get the hang of it, you actually look forward to it.”

    “You go into the corner and it feels like you fall down a story or two and as you get back on the throttle, you’re driving out of the corner,” Ragan said. “It’s a very cool sensation and when you have a fast car, it makes it even more fun.”

    In spite of the monster challenges at Dover, Ragan takes solace in the fact that his team, Roush Fenway Racing, has a history of running well there.

    “Clearly that’s a track that Roush cars are good at,” Ragan said. “So even in down years, we’ve been good there.”

    “The concrete doesn’t change,” Ragan continued. “Dover stays pretty much the same so we’ve got a good set up we can work with, which makes life a lot easier.”

    “We haven’t had the finish that we deserved,” Ragan said of his own Dover history. “We’ve had some crazy things happen there, from very bad pit stops under green to being caught up in a wreck or two.”

    In addition to hoping for better Dover luck, Ragan and team are also bringing a brand new chassis, Primary RK-759, to the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks race.

    “So, far having a brand new car has been very good,” Ragan said. “Our pole winning car at Texas was a brand new car. Our top five car at Richmond was a brand new car. The Daytona 500 car was a new car.”

    “So, that’s a testament to how good our new cars are,” Ragan continued. “That gives me some extra confidence that we’re taking the best car we can take to the track.”

    Last fall’s Dover race was also the first pairing of driver Ragan with crew chief Drew Blickensderfer.

    “This is the first track where Drew and I got to work together, so we’re going back to a track that we’ve run at before,” Ragan said. “That’s shown to have been better for us, going back to Texas and Martinsville where we’ve run at before last year and scored top tens.”

    “We have a great relationship,” Ragan continued about his crew chief pairing with Blickensderfer. “We’re both pretty young and we’re not afraid to venture out and be aggressive and try some different things on the race cars.”

    “Drew and I are both very hungry so we know we are capable of winning and want to make it happen,” Ragan said. “So, we definitely have high hopes this weekend.”

    One thing that Ragan wants to avoid happening this weekend is to get caught up in any of the ‘boys have it’ shenanigans that have occurred over the past two race weekends.

    “I don’t know if you’ll have the same couple of characters that we’ve had the past few weeks, but Dover is an exciting track and there’s not a lot of give and take there,” Ragan said. “Accidents do happen so I would say that you probably have a good chance of having a little more fireworks this weekend.”

    “I haven’t gotten into it with anyone but there’s always the next week,” Ragan said with a chuckle. “We’re just trying to stay focused on our plan and stay out of all that. But if something comes up, we’ll be ready.”

    But what David Ragan is most ready for is that first, and to date elusive win, which for him would complete his dream of a Cinderella race weekend.

    “Your first win is always special and at a track like Dover, it would be very special to get a win,” Ragan said.

    “Regan Smith proved that if you’re in a position to win, it can happen,” Ragan continued. “If we put ourselves in the top five or top ten, anything can happen.”

    “I can tell you one thing, there won’t be anybody trying any harder this weekend.”

  • Darlington’s Grace plays second fiddle to controversy

    Darlington’s Grace plays second fiddle to controversy

    [media-credit name=”Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”266″][/media-credit]Darlington is without a doubt the Grand Dam of NASCAR. She stands bold and proud. She is a legend even among the legends. To conquer her once is an accomplishment. To conquer her twice puts you in a class reserved for the greats of the sport. Whether it’s once or multiple times, to win at Darlington, especially in the Southern 500 is a testament to your talent and the talent and perseverance of the team that stands behind you.

    I usually run down the weekend’s races what happened who won. The news of the weekend, changes etc. And then I try to offer a little perspective from the outside looking in. This weekend I feel like the real story is not so much what happened during the races themselves, but what happened at the track that is the story. There were actually only 4 track stories this week.

    One was the incident with Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer and Aric Almirola. Hamlin dove to the inside of Almirola and Bowyer making it three wide coming out turn 2 and caused a crash that involved 8 cars. And took out his most dominant NNS competition. It is a perfect illustration of how the Nationwide Series is being hurt by the Sprint Cup regulars. The dominance of Kyle Busch is making it more and more evident that the Nationwide Series will crown a win less champion. That is a slap in the face of the competitors within that series. It’s an insult. The less experienced, less funded Nationwide series struggle to stay with in sight of the Sprint Cup visitors.

    Worse when the Sprint Cup drivers come to play they have little respect or concern for the series regulars that they may harm, points wise in the process. Denny Hamlin is a seasoned and experienced Sprint Cup Series Regular with 5 cup series starts at the track Too Tough To Tame. He is familiar with the narrow surface and the do’s and don’ts of Darlington. Yet he choose to go 3 wide and cause an 8 car pile up on the final restart of the Nationwide Race. Then he is shocked that he would be accused of wrong doing. After all, he is a seasoned Sprint Cup driver who should be revered and respected for his experience and ability.

    The second track issue was actually from last week and it was Newman/Montoya. The rumor began circulating, via a member of the media, that Newman punched Montoya in the NASCAR hauler. Montoya’s response was “ask Newman.” Newman’s response, “That’s speculation.” NASCAR’s response, “It’s safe to say that this meeting did not go as well as we intended. We are probably not through with this situation yet.” DW said “having been in that room everyone in the room would have had to been in the fight for it to happen.” There is no confirmation there. NONE. Neither driver will comment. NASCAR is not willing to comment. Montoya showed no after effects. No bruising. No swelling. No puffiness. The same was true for Newman. Now Newman is not a small man. And I think it safe to say he doesn’t throw a punch like a girl. Montoya is also not a small man and I would say that he is not likely to stand and take a punch without delivering one of his own. Both would leave tell tale after signs.

    So basically there is no story there. The story was pure sensationalistic garbage that was built up and escalated to create a furor. Much like P.T. Barnum would build up the expectation to sell tickets to his greatest show on earth by releasing a half truth story about a lion attacking a trainer or an elephant that enraged broke it shackles and had to be calmed by a performer. Is there truth there sure a shred. They did have a meeting in a small room with NASCAR. Other than that there is no evidence or confirmation that anything else happened.

    The third was a feel good story very similar to Daytona. Regan Smith wins the Southern 500 by holding off a charging Carl Edwards. Like Wow. Really? Seriously? Yep Really Seriously. All the way from Colorado. The wrong has been righted. It took 3 years but it happened. He didn’t win on gas mileage. He didn’t win by wrecking someone. He didn’t win on a penalty. He won by using an old Pearson trick out of 4. He used the wall to clip the rear bumper and send him straight down the front straight way to give him a momentum advantage that utilized the long range horsepower of the ECR power plant under the hood. Knowing Carl would brake getting into the corner and it would slow the FR9 just enough to prevent him from being able to out accelerate and pull him to the checkers.

    It was a bold gutsy move. It could have gone way wrong. He could have taken out both of them. It was the final lap Checkers or wreckers move that was executed perfectly. They will refer to it as a Cinderella victory and Smith says he is really cool with that. But in truth that was no lucky rookie move. Watch the video. He hit it directly in the center apex of the 4th corner. Watch a Pearson clip the exact same place that Pearson would clip the guard rail in the 2nd corner. Luck? There has to be some riding with them all. But a random stroke of luck highly highly unlikely.

    The final story of the weekend is typical of two Bull Moose in a china shop. They broke dishes and trampled linens. They put the cats in danger and they show no remorse. The story was Harvick/Busch. Let’s look at it.

    1) Harvick booted Busch. There is no way he didn’t know that if the opportunity arose that Busch was not going to feed it back. Busch has proven that. He is as aggressive as Harvick and equally if not superiorly talented.

    2) Busch hooked Harvick on the front stretch a little over half way to one. Kyle did NOT use good judgment. He hooked him on the front stretch in front of the entire oncoming field. That was dangerous to the on coming field and Harvick. If your beef is with Kevin, keep your beef with Kevin. Don’t cost other owners and drivers good finishes and money because the two of you want to see who has the bigger set of family jewels.

    3) Race ends. Busch knows that Harvick is not going to let this go. He has seen and knows Harvick. Harvick blocks his way in the pits. They go on the track. Harvick pulls up next to him. Kyle puts the car in reverse tearing the reverse gear out of the car. He now can only go forward. Harvick backs up. Kyle pulls forward Harvick cuts him off for pit road getting in front of him. You let it go but you take it back?

    4) On pit road Kevin kills the car. Takes off the steering wheel. Kyle bumps him from behind as though to say, “Come on man let’s go home.” Kevin puts steering wheel back on. Takes steering wheel back off. Bud crew is coming down pit road and they are in sight.

    5) Kevin comes out of the car. He has one crew man behind him and one at his car. There are pedestrians including officials on pit road. There are crews working on packing things up behind the pit wall. Kevin goes to the 18 and starts in the window.

    6) Remember here, Kyle has no reverse gear. He pushes the Budweiser Chevy to move it out of the way and the car fires. It turns the way the wheels are turned and picks up speed into the pit road wall. It barely misses the Bud crew man. It scares the be Jesus out of the crew packing pit boxes. It wipes out the front of the Budweiser Chevy.

    7) Kyle drives on to the garage. Exits the car goes in his hauler. Kevin pursues him. His entrance to the hauler is blocked of course. The crews then have a shouting match with officials in the middle.

    8) We have yet another Hauler meeting with NASCAR. Busch leaves through the side door and is not caught by media. Harvick leaves through the front door. KH: “Things happen.” Reporter: What does that mean? KH: “It’s just racing I guess.” Media: What was said? KH: “Not much.” Media: What can you tell us? KH: “Not much. It was a private meeting. That is why it was held in the hauler not in the media center.”

    9) At 115 AM NASCAR releases that the 18 team voluntarily tore down the transmission of the 18 “to the bearings” to show officials that the transmission really didn’t have a reverse gear. The gear reportedly appeared to be sheared in two.

    10) 2 AM Kevin Harvick tweets “Guess my next race will be in the truck series next weekend.”

    Somehow here, Kyle Busch became the aggressor and the bad guy. Kevin Harvick became the wronged innocent. The fan reaction on social media sites was ruthless and brutal. Kyle Busch was everything but a human being. Kevin Harvick was of questionable birth origin and definitely challenged intellectually. It was a horrible display of the fickle nature of the “real NASCAR fans”. If someone unfamiliar with the sport were to have read the slanderous comments made of each of the drivers, seen the wishes of harm and destruction to each of the drivers, and seen the gloating over perceived violence on pit road they would question whether these two individuals were actually terrorists. The display was disheartening and embarrassing. It was illustrative of why our sport continues to be viewed as a backwards redneck affair not worthy of commitment from networks, sponsors, or new fans.

    Truth they were both aggressors. Both knew better than to take on the opponent that they were taking on. Both knew the results would be ugly. And they were. Both of them were wrong. What happens on the track is racing. We have all seen Big E do it a million times. It’s not personal. It’s racing. It’s bringing back, “Sunday Money.” But what happened after the checker flag crossed the line. It put uninvolved by standers at risk. There is no defense for a human being from a 3600 lb race car. The human is not going to win the fight. Who lives with the consequences? They both do and so does everyone else who watched it unfold wanting to look away and not being able to.

    Have at it boys has limits. It has to. The limit has to be endangerment of human life. No matter who is involved. The message has to be loud and clear. There can’t be any doubt of where the line is. If you want to have a fist fight get out of the cars and “have at it boys”. But don’t use the cars as fists.

    The stories of the races seem secondary, almost as if they were supporting cast. The peripheral stories took center stage. And they sang like Luciano Pavarotti in Rigoletto.

    I feel like to reverse the roles is against the grain. And yet we were there to see a race. And we saw a very good one. It just wasn’t as vivid as the stories that surrounded it. Who would have ever thought that the lady in black would be upstaged by a few rough neck high strung hot headed kids who really want people to see them standing in the shadow of the greatest race track aggressor of all time. And yet they fall short of understanding the very purpose and reason behind the aggression in the first place, to be the best one must believe they are the best. They must conduct themselves as though they are the best. They must set the standards that all the rest are to be judged by. When that occurs, one’s actions and performance will live after them as the stuff that legends are made of. Perhaps the only one there who truly understood that was the Lady in Black her self. Over the years she has witnessed the best and the worst of her suitors. She has chosen only a few. Those few are the legends that make the Southern 500 the most coveted jewel in the Sprint Cup crown.

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * * * * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

    Congratulations to Kyle Busch and his Z-Line Designs Toyota team on their Nationwide Series Victory.

    Congratulations to Regan Smith and his Furniture Row Chevrolet Team on their incredible victory in the Sprint Cup series. Incredible performance, incredible move and an incredible well deserved victory.

    Congratulations to Carl Edwards and his wife Dr. Kate Edwards on the birth of their second child Michael on May 3, 2011.

    Get Well Wishes go out to Brenda Jackson on her back injury. We hope you are feeling better soon.

    That said, to all the competitors in all the series thanks for giving us everything you have to give, you are our heroes. Most importantly, thanks to all the families who shared their loved ones with us so we could cheer our favorite driver and favorite teams. You are the true heroes of the sport and we are forever in your debt.

     

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  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Darlington Showtime Southern 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Darlington Showtime Southern 500

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”283″][/media-credit]Honoring one of NASCAR’s most historic race tracks, as well as celebrating their mothers, NASCAR’s most elite drivers battled the track dubbed as “too tough to tame.”

    Here is what was surprising and not surprising for the Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway this Mother’s Day weekend.

    Surprising:  With his mother Lee unable to accompany him due to her work with animals impacted by the tornados in Alabama, a most surprised and emotional Regan Smith, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet, finally got that elusive first Cup win.

    Smith led just eleven laps during the race. The 27 year old driver had his fastest lap at the end when it counted, just barely holding off a hard-charging Carl Edwards.

    With his voice choking and tears dotting his cheeks, Smith sincerely thanked his crew chief and his team for enabling him to finally achieve his dream to win a race.

    “I can’t believe it, you guys,” Smith said. “This is the Southern 500. We’re not supposed to win this thing.”

    “This race is so special and so meaningful,” Smith continued. “We were standing there looking at the names and the faces on the trophy, and you think, ‘My face is going to be there right next to these guys, and it’ll be there forever.’”

    Not Surprising:  After attending to the birth of his second child, son Michael, it was not surprising that Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 60 Aflac Ford for Roush Fenway Racing, continued his big week with a runner up finish at Darlington.

    “First of all, congratulations to Regan,” Edwards said graciously. “I’m sure that will feel good tomorrow, but right now, I wanted to win that race.”

    “I guess if I had to get beat, it’s all right to get beat by him,” Edwards continued. “We’re leading the points so we’ll just go to the next one.”

    Surprising: At the track where getting the infamous ‘Darlington stripe’ is more a question of when not if, it was surprising to see the number of problems on pit road instead of on the track.

    Several drivers had a tough time getting into their pit stalls, including Dale Earnhardt, Jr., driver of the No. 88 Amp Energy Sugar Free/National Guard Chevrolet, who just nicked the commitment cone coming in for his pit stop.

    Martin Truex, Jr., in the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, also had trouble getting to his pit box. Yet Truex was trumped by Paul Menard, driver of the No. 27 Turtle Wax/Menards Chevrolet, who spun into the pits ending up head first into his stall.

    Four-time champion Jeff Gordon, this week in his No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, also experienced pit difficulties, dragging his gas man almost out of the pit stall on exit.

    His Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson was unlucky in his pit stall as well, hanging a lug nut on the No. 48 Lowes/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet, and having to return to pit road for repairs.

    Not Surprising:  While it was not surprising that the ‘Lady in Black’ brought out the dark side of many drivers’ temperaments, it was Kyle Busch versus Kevin Harvick, rather than Juan Pablo Montoya and Ryan Newman, that took center stage after the race’s overtime finish.

    The two tangled dramatically on the track in the waning part of the race, trading pushes and shoves, which then carried over as both tried to make their way to pit road.

    Harvick struck first, blocking Busch’s entrance to pit road. Busch tried has best evasive action, going back onto the track and even backing up to get away from the driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet.

    Unhappy Harvick continued the pursuit, hopping out of his car to confront the driver of the No. 18 Wrigley’s Doublemint Camry. Busch had the last ‘word’, bumping Harvick’s driver-less car into the wall on pit road.

    “It was tight racing after the restart there,” Busch said. “I gave him (Harvick) room but he came off the wall and lifted early and then drove in the back of me,”

    “It was just uncalled for, just unacceptable racing.”

    For his side of the story, Harvick had little to say as he emerged from the NASCAR hauler.

    “Obviously, we were just racing hard and doing what we had to do at the end,” Harvick said. “And things happen. That’s it.”

    Busch finished the race in eleventh, while Harvick came in 17th. Both drivers held position in the point standings, third and fifth respectively.

    Surprising: While Kurt Busch, behind the wheel of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge, continued his struggles, wrecking his primary car during practice and not having much better luck in his back up car during the race, the other half of the Penske duo had a surprisingly good finish.

    Piloting the Blue Deuce, Brad Keselowski, mirroring Smith’s decision to stay out on the late caution, had a good run at race end, taking the checkered flag in third.

    “To have a chance at it I was going to have to get the first restart and I just wasn’t strong enough to do that,” Keselowski said. “I ended up giving Regan a whale of a push and once he cleared Carl, he was gone.”

    “I’m really happy for Regan and wanted to make sure that if I couldn’t win, he would and it looks like it worked out for him and his whole team,” Keselowski continued. “It’s a win for the underdogs tonight.”

    Not Surprising: Kasey Kahne, after qualifying his No. 4 Red Bull Toyota on the pole, was strong from the drop of the green flag to the end of the race. Although he led the most laps, Kahne also had a collision with the wall, which relegated him to a fourth place finish.

    “We were tight and we had to keep tuning the car up and fixing the car,” Kahne said after the race. “I killed the crush panel so I’m covered in fumes and rubber and stuff.”

    “We didn’t finish as good as we should have,” Kahne continued. “But fourth’s good for as hard as I hit the wall.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Texas Samsung Mobile 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Texas Samsung Mobile 500

    [media-credit name=”(c) CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”279″][/media-credit]With the honors of hosting the first night race of the 2011 season, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

    Surprising:  Although Matt Kenseth was dominant for most of the race, when the checkered flag flew for him, the usually stoic driver of the No. 17 Crown Royal Black Ford for Roush Fenway Racing was surprisingly emotional.

    “After two years, I didn’t know if I’d be back here,” Kenseth said in Victory Lane. “I’ve been so blessed in my life with a beautiful family, a great team and I do what I love for a living.”

    “I haven’t had something like this for a long, long time,” Kenseth continued. “I have lost a lot of close ones at this track. It feels good to be able to close it out.”

    Kenseth’s win ended a 76-race drought dating back to his win on February 22, 2009 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. This was Kenseth’s 19th career win.

    Not Surprising:  From his 29th starting position, it was not surprising that Kevin Harvick just could not continue his consecutive win streak this weekend at Texas.  The driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet was entangled in a pit road problem early in the race from which he never recovered, finishing 20th.

    “Our first two pits stops pretty much ruined our day,” Harvick said. “The 00 and 20 wrecked in front of us trying to leave pit road, so we had to stop, back up and move around them.”

    Surprising: Speaking of those pit road incidents, it was surprising just how influential pit road problems were during this race. On the first stop with everyone in the pits, it looked more like bumper cars than the usually smoothly choreographed tire changes and refueling.

    Both David Reutimann and Joey Logano sustained damage on pit road due to collisions and Dave Blaney got his No. 36 Accell Construction Chevrolet completely turned in the wrong direction due to a spin into his pit stall.

    One of the costliest pit road problems, however, was the too fast entering speeding penalty that was assessed to Tony Stewart late in the race.

    “Sorry, I knew I did it,” Stewart told his crew after being advised of the penalty on lap 276 of the race. Prior to the penalty, Stewart had overcome a collision in the pits at lap 11 to lead twice in the race for a total of 12 laps.

    “You know, it took almost the whole race to crack the top-10, so to be in the position we were in there at the end, I guess is a good thing,” Stewart said. “But when you’re in that position and you can’t capitalize, it’s pretty frustrating. Speeding on pit road didn’t exactly help the cause either.”

    Not Surprising:  Just as in the Nationwide race, the race was relatively clean and green. The only major crash again involved Martin Truex, Jr., who for the second week in a row hit the wall hard. This time instead of Kasey Kahne buffering his hit as at Martinsville, Truex, Jr. took innocent bystanders Mark Martin and Regan Smith with him for a wild TMS ride.

    “I’m OK,” Mark Martin, driver of the No. GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, said. “I didn’t see the pile up in front of us. Just racing.”

    “Unfortunate deal for the NAPA Toyota,” Truex, Jr. said. “We were struggling but we were running our butts off.  Once you make mistakes and you get desperate, you just get yourself in trouble.  It sucks having this two weeks in a row.”

    Surprising: Texas Motor Speedway may just be the surprising turning point for young Roush Fenway driver David Ragan. After qualifying well and being in position to even win in several of the past races, Ragan, who started the Samsung Mobile 500 from the pole position, finally got a good finish.

    Ragan brought his No. 6 UPS Freight Ford to the checkered flag in the seventh position. His top-ten finish also moved him up to 17th in the point standings.

    Not Surprising:  Just as the Fords were strong all day at Texas Motor Speedway, claiming five of the ten finishing spots, Carl Edwards in his No. 99 Scotts Ford proved his ‘Iron Man’ status yet again.

    Edwards overcame stomach problems to finish in the third position and claim the points lead in the process. The driver blamed his physical ailments on a new rice and bean dish that his mother had cooked for him prior to the race.

    “I’m all hopped up on Pepto Bismol,” Edwards said in the media center after the race. “I hate to throw my mom under the bus but she cooked something last night that I don’t think was too good.”

    Surprising:  Behind the wheel of the No. 9 Stanley Ford, Marcos Ambrose had one of his best oval track efforts in his career, finishing sixth. This was the second top-ten finish on a mile and a half track this season for the Richard Petty Motorsports ace from down under.

    “I’m very proud of the Stanley boys for putting together this result,” Ambrose said. “We’re starting to really click on these intermediate ovals. It’s great to be running out in the front of the pack and it gives us a lot of confidence moving forward,”

    Not Surprising: Dale Jr. had yet another consistent run and finish. The driver of the No. 88 Amp Energy/National Guard Chevrolet gained the most positions in the race and finished in seventh.

    Most impressive is his continuing climb in the point standings, this time gaining another two positions to claim the sixth spot as a result of his top-ten finish. Junior is no doubt looking forward to next weekend’s race at Talladega Super Speedway, where he is not only wildly popular but also has outstanding plate racing skills.

  • Regan Smith Thinks His Team is Best Kept Secret in NASCAR

    Regan Smith Thinks His Team is Best Kept Secret in NASCAR

    Regan Smith has been described by Mark McCardle, managing director of competition for Furniture Row Racing, as one of the best-kept secrets in the garage area. But Smith puts the credit solely on his team, crowning them the true best kept secrets in NASCAR.

    [media-credit name=”Gary Buchanan” align=”alignright” width=”266″][/media-credit]Smith and his No. 78 Chevrolet Furniture Row Racing team have indeed had an eventful start to their 2011 racing season. Right out of the box, the young driver led several laps of the Daytona 500 before being caught up in a late race crash, yet still managing to finish seventh.

    “It felt great to lead,” Smith said. “I think more importantly than that, it felt great to lead with five to go.”

    “And how good that felt went downhill pretty quick from there,” Smith continued. “We had a strong car and we were in a position where we wanted to be.”

    Smith had been working with Kurt Busch at the time and the two were committed to each other since their cars were so good together. Busch unfortunately got separated from Smith, then got an unexpected push from Tony Stewart, and the wreck was on.

    In spite of the melee on the track, Smith still counted his Daytona experience as a “really good day.”  He was also most pleased that he and his team were able to rebound from the accident to salvage a good finish.

    “To be honest, I was surprised that the car was able to finish,” Smith said. “Usually when you wreck at Daytona, there are two options, one being that you are t-boned and the other that you are airborne. I never thought option three would be that we drove off and finished the race.”

    “Just that quick I had to switch my brain off from trying to win the 500 to realizing that this is a 36 race season and we need points right now,” Smith said. “As soon as I finished spinning on the back stretch, that was my mindset.”

    Smith admitted that he was definitely angry after the race and “pretty bummed out.” As he was riding to the airport with his fiance after the race, it hit him just how close he had come to winning the Great American Race.

    “That’s when it sunk in,” Smith said. “I realized how close we were to this deal. But we recovered well as a team.”

    Smith credits his Daytona recovery full to his team, who he says has worked hard to calm him down and keep his head in the game.

    “Last year, I would have imploded,” Smith said. “That goes a long way to say how good of a team I’ve got around me.”

    After putting Daytona in his rear view mirror, Smith turned his attention to discussing his Phoenix race. He qualified fifth for the second race of the season, but again got caught up in a big wreck that relegated him to finishing 34th, dropping him to the 19th position in the point standings.

    “I think we had a bigger wreck at Phoenix than we did at Daytona,” Smith said ruefully. “Last week was just circumstances. We had a fast race car and I was fast all weekend. It was just bad luck.”

    While Smith acknowledged that there were many different strategies playing out in the race, with varying tire and pit sequences in play, he also admitted surprise at just how racy many of his fellow competitors were.

    “The whole race was like that and I wondered why they were so aggressive so early on,” Smith said. “I don’t know if that all caused the wreck. I think it was just ignorance.”

    This weekend, Smith is ready to tackle Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He practiced well and qualified 12th for the Kobalt Tools 400.

    “Off the truck, the car was good,” Smith said. “We have some ideas for what we want to change in race trim. But overall, we had another solid day with our Furniture Row Chevrolet.”

    “I feel strong about this weekend,” Smith said. “We’re looking at this weekend just like we did Daytona and Phoenix. We’re here to get top tens now.”

    “That’s our goal and there will come a point when we get top fives,” Smith continued. “That will be cool.”

    Smith admits that he and his team are focused but also have a bit of a chip on their shoulders, especially since they are the only team based out of Denver, Colorado, not Charlotte, North Carolina.

    “We’ve all got a little chip on our shoulder being from Denver,” Smith said. “We want to prove that we can not only run good from Denver but we can run as good as these big super teams.”

    “I don’t think anybody in this trailer or on this team is surprised about how we are starting this year off,” Smith continued. “We’re kind of off the radar. But I know this is what I expected and this is what all these guys expected.”

    “I look at it as I’m with a team that’s the best kept secret in the garage,” Smith said. “I know the people that I get to work with and I wouldn’t trade it for any other team in this garage.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: PIR Subway Fresh Fit 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: PIR Subway Fresh Fit 500

    After one of the most exciting Daytona 500 finishes, the Cup Series promptly headed west to Phoenix International Raceway. Although it actually rained a bit in the Valley of the Sun, the second race of the NASCAR season, the Subway Fresh Fit 500, was filled with its own share of surprises.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”292″][/media-credit]Surprising:  In contrast to the youngest winner, 20 year old Trevor Bayne, celebrating in Victory Lane after his Daytona 500 win last week, a 39 year old veteran driver was finally able to celebrate a victory, ending a 66 race winless streak.  After receiving a big bear hug from team owner Rick Hendrick, the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, Jeff Gordon, stood relieved and overwhelmed with emotion in Victory Lane.

    What seemed to mean the most to Gordon, in addition to beating Kyle Busch of course, was how the fans embraced his win.

    “Man, we just beat Kyle Busch!” Gordon said after getting out of his race car. “Are you kidding me? Pinch me, pinch me.”

    “I don’t really care how we do it because we just wanted to get to Victory Lane,” Gordon said. “But to do it that way, leading the most laps, and to see the fans’ reaction. What an awesome feeling it is.”

    “God, it feels so amazing,” Gordon said. “I’ve got to say thanks to the fans.”

    With the win at PIR, his 83rd, Gordon officially tied Cale Yarborough for fifth in NASCAR’s all-time win list. Gordon also catapulted up 21 spots in the points, now in the fifth position.

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising that Kyle Busch, who had won both the Truck and Nationwide Series races at PIR, was right there nipping at Gordon’s heels in the final laps. Busch battled back from an early incident to give Gordon a run for his money, just coming short of the sweep by finishing as the runner up.

    After paying homage to Gordon, Busch then apologized for getting into Carl Edwards, whose pole sitting race car was totally wrecked as a result of the contact.

    “It was unintentional,” Busch said. “All that aside, we came through a lot of adversity and kept battling through everything that was thrown at us. There at the end, Jeff just had a better car than us and flat out passed me.”

    Surprising: In a flashback moment to Daytona, there was actually a ‘big one’ at Phoenix International Raceway.  Thirteen cars were involved, including the likes of Brian Vickers, Jamie McMurray, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, David Ragan, Regan Smith and David Reutimann to name a few.  The race actually had to be red-flagged in order to allow for the extensive clean up needed.

    Clint Bowyer summed up his take on the ‘big one’ up best. “I’m pretty disgusted with the whole thing,” Bowyer said. “Our day is done.”

    Not Surprising:  Whether as a result of the big one or smaller skirmishes on the track, there were several drivers who were unhappy with one another, sparking the first rivalries of the season. One of the biggest differences of opinion occurred between Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch, who clashed in an early incident.

    “In my opinion, this was the car to win,” Edwards said after his tussle with Busch. “That’s too bold a move to make early in the race.  We had been in the running for the race win.”

    Other cross words were exchanged between Brian Vickers and Matt Kenseth after getting into one another.

    “Matt wrecked us,” Vickers said simply. “It’s coming back to him.”

    Surprising: One of the most surprising finishes was for NASCAR’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. After receiving a penalty for entering too fast into his pit, sliding through his pit stall, and breaking a wheel off the jack, Junior rallied back for a top ten finish.

    Not Surprising: Rick Hendrick’s wisdom in making his giant crew chief swap amongst the Hendrick drivers, sans Jimmie Johnson, certainly became evident at this race. Thanks to his pairing of Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., the new duo was able to rally back from adversity, with Letarte serving as head cheerleader. And of course, the driver in Victory Lane, Jeff Gordon, credited his new crew chief pairing with Alan Gustafson, with getting him back to winning ways.

    Surprising and Not Surprising: It was surprising, yet not surprising, that last week’s winner Trevor Bayne had such a difficult time at Phoenix. He wrecked his primary car in practice and had the same experience in his back up car in the race. Bayne hit the wall hard, bringing out the third caution in the race and totally destroying the rear end of his No. 21 Wood Brothers race car.

    “I don’t know what happened,” Bayne said after the wreck. “That’s tough coming off of our high at Daytona to come to this, but we’ve got a great race team behind us.”

    “We’ll be back at Vegas,” Bayne continued. “I hate it ended this way this weekend, but we’ll be back.”

    Indeed all of the Sprint Cup drivers will be back and this time they will try their luck on the track in Sin City. The Kobalt Tools 400 will run at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 6th at 3:00 PM and will be broadcast on FOX and PRN.

  • The Final Word on the Daytona 500

    The Final Word on the Daytona 500

    So, what did we learn at the Daytona 500?

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”270″][/media-credit]Well, we learned that if the rest of the races this season are comparable to the first, 2011 will be one hell of a year in NASCAR. To start with, you have a 20 year (and one day) old driver winning his first race in his second Cup start in an event it took Dale Earnhardt 20 years to finally claim. Trevor Bayne demonstrated throughout all the practices and his duel qualifier that he has that certain something. Jeff Gordon recognized it, and now most race fans should as well. The only question remaining is, what is the kid going to do now for an encore?

    We learned that Dale Earnhardt, even ten years after his death, is still held in reverence. In sports, only hockey’s Maurice Richard comes to mind as being even close. Only Elvis can still spark such emotions. Few people in this world can still bring tears to the eyes of strangers after a decade as the memory of the Intimidator did over the past week.

    We learned that his son can still run strong at the big track and remains as popular as ever. Too bad he found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time as Junior went from a Top Ten to sit 24th. David Ragan messed up the re-start of a green-white-checkers, which started a chain reaction of misfortune behind him that concluded Junior’s day. Earnhardt’s three team mates all got caught up in the 15-car Big One of Lap 29, with Jimmie Johnson and Gordon limping around to finish in 27th and 28th place. At least Mark Martin recovered to wrap up 10th.

    We learned that Hendrick engines can, and did, fail. Kevin Harvick was gone from the scene within 20 laps, while Jeff Burton didn’t even make half way. J.J. Yeley got in ten before he was done, deemed the day’s Biggest Loser and collecting his single point for coming out.

    We learned that eight cylinders beats seven, which is why last year’s Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray had to settle for 18th. We learned that Furniture Row’s Regan Smith is another fellow to watch for this season as he did himself proud to wind up seventh. Of course, we learned that two cars in tandem not only move fast at Daytona, but if the manoeuver isn’t done just right one can help ruin the day of the guy you were trying to help.

    We learned that FOX came in with some new toys. They had cameras that showed heated tires and images that showed how much the drivers were turning the wheel. Nothing as stupid as ESPN’s bogus draft track, but unfortunately someone there insists on keeping Digger alive. Digger is dead, so let’s move on.

    We learned on Friday night that Michael Waltrip still has some racing left in him, as he won the truck event 10 years to the day after he won the Daytona 500. Tony Stewart was 13th Sunday, but won his sixth season opening Nationwide race in his last seven attempts at Daytona on Saturday.

    Next Sunday, a most welcome schedule change moves up our first visit to Phoenix by more than a month. Last April, Ryan Newman was the man, with Gordon and Johnson finishing right behind him. After their Daytona experience, I’m thinking those two could use a little history repeating itself in Arizona. By the way, as Bayne isn’t in the running for a Cup title this year, Carl Edwards leads the standings by a single point over David Gilliland and Bobby Labonte. Huh? Oh, it could be a very interesting season.

    Enjoy your week.

  • Fairy Tales Do Come True, Just Ask Trevor Bayne, Daytona 500 Winner

    Fairy Tales Do Come True, Just Ask Trevor Bayne, Daytona 500 Winner

    For Trevor Bayne, fresh off his 20th birthday and in only his second race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, dreams really do come true.  Bayne became the youngest winner of “The Great American Race”, the Daytona 500.

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”281″][/media-credit]”I keep thinking I’m dreaming, I really do,” Bayne said in Victory Lane. “We said a prayer before the race and this just shows how powerful God is and the good job these guys did on this race car. This is just incredible.”

    “I drove down here in my F150 and I was planning to drive back, but I think someone else will have to drive it back for me,” Bayne said, acknowledging that he must now do his Daytona 500 duties in New York City as the race winner. “I guess I will have to call someone to get some clothes down here.”

    “This is so crazy,” Bayne continued. “I felt a little undeserving, but I’m just glad that I got to be the guy behind the wheel to get the win.”

    Bayne’s team owners Eddie and Len Wood were beside themselves after the win. It was so emotional that they both, particularly Eddie Wood, had to stop talking several times to get their tears in check.

    “It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” owner Eddie Wood said, with a hitch in his voice. “We’ve struggled just to make the Daytona 500.”

    “It’s unbelievable we are sitting here,” Wood continued. “Trevor Bayne did such a good job. Now he is a Daytona 500 winner.”

    Donnie Wingo, Bayne’s crew chief, was also elated at his driver and team’s success.

    “I couldn’t be happier and the job the kid done today, you couldn’t ask for anything else,” Donnie Wingo, crew chief, said. “At the end, he did what he needed to do.”

    “He just might be the next big deal.”

    The race not only left Trevor Bayne and his car owners and crew chief shaking in disbelief, but many of the other drivers as well. There were a record 74 lead changes, a record 22 different race leaders, and a record 16 cautions in the event.

    “I’ve never run one like that,” veteran Terry Labonte, driver of the No. 32 U.S. Chrome Ford Fusion, said. “It’s a good thing the race wasn’t much longer because we were about done.” Labonte finished the race in the 15th position.

    Just as in the Bud Shootout and the Gatorade Duels, this running of the Daytona 500 necessitated a dance partner, with all cars running in the now familiar duo pack. The tandem racing put even more pressure on the spotters, who were not only having to guide their drivers around the track but strategize on the spotter stand as to who to partner up with next.

    “It was a pretty crazy day overall,” Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota, said. “Everything was just all over the place and pretty nuts.”

    Busch had his own set of challenges, spinning early in the race on lap 4 after getting tagged by his pusher, who was at the time Michael Waltrip.  Busch managed to recover and snag a top-ten finish, scoring in the eighth spot.

    Another major factor in the race was engine failure, especially given the hotter ambient temperature at Daytona. Both Kevin Harvick and Richard Childress Racing teammate Jeff Burton lost their engines, an anomaly for sure for ECR engines.

    Harvick denied any forewarning of his engine failure, saying “No, it just let loose.”

    “I just blew water out of the bottom of the thing,” Harvick continued. “I hadn’t done anything different.”

    Burton echoed his teammate’s sentiments about the engine failure.

    “We are asking a lot out of the engines here for sure,” Burton said. “These are tough situations. I thought we were well within our limits but maybe not.”

    It would not be a Daytona 500 without the “big one” and this was delivered at lap 29 of the race.  Fourteen cars were involved, including three of the Hendrick teammates Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Mark Martin, taking them for the most part out of race contention.

    Dale Earnhardt, Jr., in the spotlight due to the commemoration of the tenth anniversary of his father’s death at Daytona, also had a good run, at least until the final laps of the race when a crash took him out of contention. Earnhardt came in 24th, after claiming the pole, wrecking in practice, and starting from the rear of the field.

    “We run good,” Earnhardt, Jr. said. “I had as much fun as I could under the circumstances. It was wild.”

    Carl Edwards took the runner up spot to Bayne’s fairy tale ending.

    “Trevor, he did a good job of blocking the bottom,” Edwards said. “All day we waited and waited, trying not to tear up the race car.”

    “There at the end, it almost worked out perfectly,” Edwards continued. “We didn’t have a chance to be able to mount up a real charge on him.”

    “I think that I can tell you that second place in the Daytona 500 feels way worse than any other position I’ve ever finished in the Daytona 500,” Edwards said. “But that is made better by listening to Trevor and how excited he is. He is really a nice young man, a great guy to represent this sport with this win.”

    David Gilliland, veteran Bobby Labonte, and Kurt Busch rounded out the top five in “The Great American Race.” The rest of the top ten included Juan Pablo Montoya in sixth, Regan Smith in seventh, Kyle Busch in eighth, Paul Menard in ninth, and Mark Martin, who rebounded from the big one to finish tenth.

    Unofficial Race Results

    Daytona 500, Daytona International Speedway

    February 20, 2011 – Race 1 of 36

    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Pts. Bon. Laps Status
    1 31 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 0 0 208 Running
    2 12 99 Carl Edwards Ford 42 0 208 Running
    3 5 34 David Gilliland Ford 41 0 208 Running
    4 6 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 41 1 208 Running
    5 25 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 40 1 208 Running
    6 4 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 39 1 208 Running
    7 27 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 38 1 208 Running
    8 39 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 37 1 208 Running
    9 1 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 36 1 208 Running
    10 34 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 34 0 208 Running
    11 35 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 34 1 208 Running
    12 42 9 Bill Elliott Chevrolet 32 0 208 Running
    13 3 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 31 0 208 Running
    14 18 6 David Ragan Ford 31 1 208 Running
    15 37 32 Terry Labonte Ford 30 1 208 Running
    16 16 7 Robby Gordon Dodge 29 1 208 Running
    17 15 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 28 1 208 Running
    18 2 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 27 1 208 Running
    19 29 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 26 1 208 Running
    20 36 77 Steve Wallace Toyota 0 0 208 Running
    21 38 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 24 1 208 Running
    22 20 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 24 2 206 Running
    23 11 20 Joey Logano Toyota 21 0 206 Running
    24 13 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 21 1 202 Running
    25 17 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 19 0 199 Running
    26 21 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 19 1 198 In Pit
    27 24 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 17 0 189 Running
    28 23 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 17 1 173 Running
    29 8 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 16 1 166 Running
    30 10 0 David Reutimann Toyota 14 0 164 Running
    31 30 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 13 0 160 Running
    32 7 38 Travis Kvapil Ford 0 0 153 In Pit
    33 33 71 Andy Lally * Chevrolet 11 0 149 Running
    34 26 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 10 0 133 Running
    35 14 16 Greg Biffle Ford 9 10 126 Running
    36 32 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 9 1 92 Out
    37 19 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 7 0 82 Running
    38 40 37 Robert Richardson Jr. Ford 0 0 45 Running
    39 22 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0 0 29 In Pit
    40 9 115 Michael Waltrip Toyota 4 0 28 In Pit
    41 41 192 Brian Keselowski* Dodge 3 0 28 Running
    42 28 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 3 1 22 Out
    43 43 46 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 1 0 10 Out