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Tag: Roush Fenway Racing

  • The Final Word – Jimmie and Matt continue their battle, Harvick starts a family feud at Martinsville

    The Final Word – Jimmie and Matt continue their battle, Harvick starts a family feud at Martinsville

    We were wrong. We were wrong about the big wild card that is Talladega, though to our credit neither Jimmie Johnson nor Matt Kenseth finished in the top ten that day. Still, even with a runner up finish there, Dale Earnhardt Jr remained miles away from the leaders. Kyle Busch made up all of seven points on Johnson and a whopping 15 on Kenseth, but still nowhere near enough.

    We were wrong about Martinsville, which should be renamed Johnsonville the way Jimmie lays it down there. While Jeff Gordon tied Five Time in wins at the paper clip, claiming his 8th at the track and the 88th of his Cup career, and while Johnson made it 17 top fives in 24 attempts, Kenseth finished second. It was only his 4th top five there in 28 attempts. So, it would appear that whatever the 2003 champ did while employed by Jack Roush no longer applies in any negative sense since he joined Joe Gibbs. For Matt, his history is history as he forges a new path.

    What we have is a new Matt, a renewed Jimmie, and as we change our focus to Texas we have these boys tied in points, 27 points ahead of Gordon and 28 up on Kevin Harvick. It remains a two way fight, unless fate intervenes and messes up the plans of one or both of them. Could that intervention come in Texas? Based on the past two weeks, how in hell should I know?

    Still, both leaders have done well at Fort Worth in the past. Both have a couple of wins there, both have an average finish of better than tenth, both are tied with 15 Top Tens on this track. So, both should do well on Sunday. Should.

    There should be peace and harmony the world over, but Kevin Harvick is preparing to leave RCR after a thirteen year association by crapping all over the bosses grandsons. It is one thing to criticize a young driver with whom he had issues in the truck race on Saturday. It is another to state that a reason for the job change next year was due to these punk-ass, rich kids, who have had everything spoon fed to them, coming up to eventual Cup rides with grand pappy while having no respect for the sport. Who urged the boy to run into Harvick to get things nice and hot? Well, that would be Grandpa Childress himself, never mind the less than loving comments the two had in regards to Harvick in the garage area afterwards. Kevin said on Sunday’s telecast that he was sorry. I am sure that will make everything all better between all concerned. Hallmark, no doubt, has a new card to write.

    Rating Martinsville – 5.5/10 – The oldest venue on the NASCAR circuit deserved better on Sunday’s telecast. We all did.

    Fort Worth just means more of the same. A two-man race with a few waiting in the wings for something bad to happen to the front duo. Maybe we should dub this the Tango in Texas, because it takes two to…ah, forget it. Enjoy the week.

  • Reigning Nationwide Series Champion Stenhouse Jr. Returns to NNS at Texas

    Reigning Nationwide Series Champion Stenhouse Jr. Returns to NNS at Texas

    CONCORD, N.C. (Oct. 19, 2013) – After winning back-to-back championships in the NASCAR Nationwide series in 2011 and 2012, Roush Fenway Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. makes his series return at Texas Motor Speedway, piloting the No. 16 Zest Ford Mustang in Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge.

    The two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion has six career NNS starts at the 1.5-mile track earning two top-five and four top-10 finishes, including a victory in the 2012 spring race.

    “I’m really excited to be able to get back in a Nationwide car at Texas Motor Speedway,” Stenhouse said. “I watch the Nationwide races each week and want to be out there racing, so to get this opportunity at Texas is going to be awesome.

    “The Nationwide series has meant so much to me and my career,” added Stenhouse. “I can’t wait to get in the No. 16 Zest Ford Mustang and hopefully can get this Ford into victory lane and earn another cowboy hat.”

    The O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge is set for Saturday, Nov. 2. Coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. (EST) on ESPN2. The race can also be heard on Performance Racing Network (PRN) and SIRIUS radio channel 90.

    Roush Fenway Racing is the winningest team in NASCAR history, fielding multiple teams in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series’ with championship drivers Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Trevor Bayne and Travis Pastrana. Having celebrated 25 winning years in 2012, Roush Fenway is the leader in NASCAR marketing solutions, pioneering motorsport’s first team-focused TV show and its award-winning marketing campaigns for RickyvsTrevor.com, “25 Winning Years” and Google+.  Visit http://www.RoushFenway.com, circle on Google+ at +Roush Fenway Racing, become a fan on Facebook and Instagramhttp://instagram.com/roushfenwayracing and follow on Twitter at @roushfenway.

  • David Ragan Discusses Driving For Front Row Motorsports

    David Ragan Discusses Driving For Front Row Motorsports

    At New Hampshire Motor Speedway, I got the chance to talk to Talladega race winner, David Ragan.  In the interview, we talked about the progression of Front Row Motorsports, his sponsors, his future and even a little about fans that claimed to be related to him but weren’t! Here’s the complete interview; enjoy!

    First off, I want to talk to you real quick about that incredible win at Talladega. Was that one bigger than your first one with Roush just because of the circumstances surrounding it?

    Every win in the Sprint Cup Series is big but the win for Front Row probably meant more than the other. Every win is very special in any of the top three series of NASCAR. To get the first win for the organization is big and to overcome all the challenges we faced (to get there). A 1-2 finish makes it even more special; that was definitely a team effort and it was a big day for myself as well as our car owner Bob Jenkins and the whole team.

    You’ve had the rare opportunity to both race and win for a top level organization as well as one of the smaller teams; one most would call underfunded so what’s the major differences from a driver’s standpoint?

    The biggest thing from the larger, more established teams vs. a smaller, growing team is just resources. The larger teams have been in the sport for 25+ years and got a lot more money, a lot more sponsors and a lot more employees so that’s something we fight on a daily basis. We fight to create more revenue and get more partners for Front Row and it’s a slow process but we’ve been very successful  in making it happen.

    Do you have aspirations to return to a top level team or are you happy here trying to help Front Row grow and build?

    Well my aspirations are to win more races and compete for championships and I’m only 27 years old. I feel like I got a long time left in this sport and if that’s going to be growing Front Row Motorsports and getting them to a be able to be competitive consistently and win multiple races; that would be great. But if a opportunity comes up with a larger team that puts me back immediately into a more competitive program, then that’s something I have to look at too but I am very happy at Front Row and helping them grow and get better…that would be a great story to tell.

    Do you feel more pressure racing for a team like Front Row because being competitive means everything to them; it’s about survival but with a bigger team, you are just expected to do well?

    There’s pressure in every situation whether you’re trying to make the race and you’re going to finish 43rd or if you’re trying to win a race and go for the championship. There’s a lot of pressure in every situation; it just comes from different directions.

    This team is definitely making progress…I don’t know if you knew this but Front Row Motorsports was listed as No.800 on Inc. Magazine’s 5,000 fastest growing companies last year. What are you guys doing that other small teams that seem to be stuck in a rut aren’t?

    Well I think that we got a good attitude and we work hard and we got Bob Jenkins who is an entrepreneur, a smart business man. We all got a good attitude when we come to work each day and we’ve leveraged ourselves to some really good partners with CSX, Love’s Travel Stops, Peanut Patch Boiled Peanuts, and Farm Rich. You got three or four companies there that that are solid companies. The more we can develop those relationships, the better off we’ll be.

    That kind of leads me to my next question…where do all these sponsors come from? It seems like every week, you or Gilliland have a new or different sponsor on the car. Where are you getting all these sponsors?

    I don’t know; that’s a good question there. They come from all around. We got ourselves a marketing team that works hard and we can provide a good package for a company that has been burnt out by spending too much money with larger teams or companies that are fairly new to the sport and want to grow and get involved. I think we got a unique situation and that makes us fortunate enough to have some of the partners that we do have and the ones we’re able to get.

    Front Row has been noticeably faster in 2013. You’ve been awesome in qualifying recently and both you and David Gilliland seem to be running in the top 20 a lot more often; where’s the speed coming from?

    It’s a combination of the things we’ve talked about. Just working harder, trying to build better racecars and getting more confidence with our team and having a better notebook with this Gen-6 car and beeing able to test a few more times this year so it hasn’t been one particular thing. It’s been an awry of five or six small things that’s helped us get to this next point and that’s where we need to focus to get even better. Just need to keep working on a lot of small things; I don’t think we’re going to have one grand-slam that jumps us to the top 10 but a lot of little, small items will eventually get us there.

    How soon before you think Front Row is capable of winning races at places other than plate tracks?

    In the right situation, we could have a shot to do it this year in the final ten races. Hopefully, there’s not a lot of rule changes for 2014 and we can build some better racecars and we can learn from our 2013 experiences. It’s coming and hopefully, sooner rather than later.

    When you’re not at the track racing and when you’re not with your family; what is it you like to do?

    Well, you just about explained every day of my life. I do the NASCAR racing about 40 weeks a year and I go do some short track racing with my Late Models a couple weekends a year…the other five or six weekends a year, I’m with my family and spending some time at our Ford dealership down in Perry, Georgia. It keeps us busy.

    Nick & DavidWhat’s the strangest fan encounter you’ve ever had?

    Well, we have a lot of crazy fan encounters. I’ve met guys that have their name, David Ragan spelled the same way and people who claim they’re your cousin but they’re really not and people that want you to sign “unique” stuff. There’s a lot of crazy/passionate NASCAR fans out there and it’s hard to just pick one because they’res a lot of them.

  • Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Talks About His Rookie NSCS Season

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Talks About His Rookie NSCS Season

    Following the opening Cup practice of the weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, I spoke with ROTY contender and 2-time Nationwide champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. regarding his rookie season. The past few weeks, Ricky has turned a corner winning the pole at Atlanta before ripping off back-to-back top ten finishes. There is no doubting this guy’s ability and it’s only a matter of time before his true potential at the Cup level is fully realized.

    Talk first about the transition from Nationwide to Cup and the challenges you face as you try to adapt to the Gen-6 car.

    The biggest thing is obviously the horsepower. Having the Gen-6 cars being implemented this year at the same time I’m coming in; I thought (that) was a great time because everyone’s still learning. We haven’t really been as fast at Roush-Fenway as a whole as we wanted and we’re trying to figure this car out as a race team. Driving wise, it’s a big difference. There’s a lot more brake that you got to use and you can’t just jump right back into the gas with all that extra horsepower. It’s been a challenge trying to figure that out. One of the biggest things about Cup is that we always practice at the worst time of the day and then race at a completely opposite (time). In Nationwide, you practice early in the morning; the temperatures are a little cooler and then we race at night. With the Cup cars, we practice dead in the middle of the day so that transition from practice to the race is something I’ve been trying to figure out as well. There’s a lot of factors that go into learning these cars and we’re starting to figure it out.

    Every driver has their particular style of driving and how they want their cars setup; how do you like your cars to feel?

    Yeah, I like mine loose. I hate when our car doesn’t turn. If you listened on our radio, you would find that out. (chuckles) I like my cars to turn…I feel like when the car’s too tight with my driving style of driving (which is) really hard and aggressive, there’s nothing you can do but slow down to get the car to turn. When it’s a little looser, you can still drive it hard and try to get it to tighten up the harder you drive it so I enjoy a loose racecar.

    Going into this season, what were your expectations and have you met them?

    No, we have not met them. We wanted to be top 15 team in points.I think we can get maybe an 18th, 17th or something before the year’s up. We feel like we should have more top 10’s by now. I would like to be running top 10 consistently by now…we’ve done it the past few weeks but we still got to get that speed consistently every week. We’ve led laps which is a positive; we wanted to lead laps this year at some point but we just haven’t been able to finish the races off like we want to. We’ve been fast at the beginning of some races; had some bad luck when we have been fast but yeah, we definitely want some more top 10’s before the end of the year…we thought we’d have quite a few by now.

    The past few weeks, you’ve been doing a lot better. You got that pole and two top 10’s so what’s changed?

    Just getting more comfortable. The guys are working really hard and Scott (Graves) and the guys are making really good calls at the end of these races to keep our track position. I’m not the only rookie here; Scott is a new crew chief so he’s learning as well. At the beginning of the year, we had a lot of times at the end of these races where we tried to make these cars better and we would never make them better and we’d still be behind a lot of guys on the restarts. Staying out and keeping our track position has been one of the best things but you still got to have a decent racecar to do that. I think our cars have been getting a little better and I’m getting more comfortable as well.

    How close do you think you are to that first win…do you think you might be able to get it before the end of the year?

    That would be nice…if we can carry this momentum that we got going to some of these mile and a half race tracks like Charlotte, Kansas, and Texas; I feel like those are going to be our best shots at it. You know, Talladega we were really fast and we led laps there earlier in the year so if we can carry some momentum into those race tracks, keep making our cars better and I keep getting better as a driver; those would be our best shots.

    As you try to adapt to these cars, which driver has been the biggest help to you?

    The teammates are great help. Obviously, I can look at their data and see what they’re doing and how they’re driving the cars. Kevin Harvick has been another good one that has really reached out and helped me; especially at some of the tracks that I haven’t been to like Sears Point or Infinion…(Sonoma)…yeah, Sonoma or whatever it is. He’s (Harvick) raced with me in Nationwide so he knows my tendencies (in Nationwide) and he knows that they won’t exactly work over here. He’s been a big help as well.

    You know, as a rookie, sometimes the veterans pick on you so has anyone given you a hard time this year?

    Nah….everybody’s been pretty good. Some of them that I haven’t raced with; they’ll get a little madder than others like if I don’t give them enough room or whatever but everybody’s been pretty good. I haven’t really had any issues.

    I asked this to Eric McClure this a few weeks ago and got a pretty funny response (Ricky chuckles) and I’ve asked a couple other drivers it and gotten some interesting answers so I thought I might ask you…what’s the strangest fan encounter you’ve ever had?

    Mine hasn’t been too bad or at least from what I can remember. Normally, you’d remember something like that. Umm…I signed a guys forehead once; that was kind of weird because I don’t know why you would want someone’s signature on your forehead. (chuckles) That’s probably been the weirdest thing. It’s always a little different….sometimes they’ll show you pictures of their room and they’ll have pictures all over the place but it takes die-hard fans like that to keep our sport going.

    At just 25 years old, Ricky has an incredible future ahead of him. He’s got a solid ride with a top tier organization and he will most likely be a chase contender within the next couple of years. He only has two top 10’s in his rookie season but wasn’t there some other new guy a few years back who in his first full-time season, only finished inside the top 10 twice driving for a top level team just like Ricky? I think he is a Nationwide champion too actually. Oh yeah! He’s that guy we call Brad Keselowski…the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion.

  • The Final Word – After New Hampshire, we are down to three contenders heading to Dover

    The Final Word – After New Hampshire, we are down to three contenders heading to Dover

    No one wishes Matt Kenseth any bad fortune, but if something should happen, like a 35th place at Dover next weekend, I am sure a dozen other fellows would not be terribly upset.

    Things have gone so right for the 2003 Cup champion since moving from the Roush to the Gibbs racing stable. For the first time, he has won seven races in a single season, and for the first time in 28 starts he is a winner in New Hampshire. All this in his 500th career start, where only Richard Petty was victorious on the day he reached the same milestone.

    Come to think of it, bad things for both Kenseth and team mate Kyle Busch probably would not tear up the opposition terribly much. Rowdy has ran second in both Chase events, and trails Matt by 14 points in the chase for the title. Let us sum up. Over the past five events, Carl Edwards won a race, Kyle won another, and Kenseth has claimed three. So much for sharing.

    Jimmie Johnson remains in the hunt, and as of right now he is the only other invitee to this party. A fourth place result, following a fifth at Chicago, has him 18 points in the rearview. That is just half the distance the fourth ranked team of Edwards is sitting, with seven of the 13 contenders now 40 or more points back. They need to see smoke, bad tires, bad handling, loose lug nuts, a broken jack, a meeting with a wall, an alien abduction of a certain somebody, something to get them all back into contention.

    Rating New Hampshire – 6/10 – I believe I have seen more exciting soccer games. It was not an entertaining broadcast by any measure, not visually and certainly not from the announcers, unless you were cheering for Kenseth or Shrub. If so, give it a 9. With ESPN departing after next season, do not expect things to improve anytime soon. Well, not until February.

    Expect Johnson to do well at Dover on Sunday, where he has won 7 in 23 attempts, compiling 16 Top Tens. Mind you, nine Chasers have wins there, with Kenseth having a couple himself. Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, and Kasey Kahne have not yet tasted victory on the Monster Mile. In nine races, Logano has led just one lap, but considering what went down at Loudon he just might win the damn thing. Well, maybe if he still drove for Joe Gibbs.

    But that honor belongs to Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch, with Jimmie Johnson a Hendrick co-star in this production as they move to Delaware. As long as that trio continues to run well, this Chase is over for the other ten. Enjoy the week.

  • My 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship Predictions

    My 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship Predictions

    Once we get past all the chaos and controversy surrounding Richmond; it becomes apparent that we still have a championship battle to talk about! Thirteen…yes, thirteen racers will battle tooth and nail for the coveted Sprint Cup trophy and they have ten races to get it done. This chase lacks Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and reigning champion Brad Keselowski but it still features some of NASCAR’s heavyweights. Four champions, six Daytona 500 winners and eight teams make up the 2013 chase field. No one has shown immunity to bad luck this season; not even 5-time champion Jimmie Johnson and I could certainly see this coming down to three or five man race at Homestead, much like what we saw in 2004. It’s going to be a great battle!

    1.) Matt Kenseth – 5 Wins & 2003 NSCS Champion

    Matt Kenseth has been known to quietly click away solid finishes race after race and have sub-par efforts in qualifying seeing that the “go fast for two lap thing” has never really been Matt’s forte. All that changed when he joined Joe Gibbs Racing this year. Matt has made his presence known and has asserted himself as one of the guys you have to go through if you want to win the championship. It’s almost like Roush-Fenway was holding him back. The Achilles Heel of this team may be the lingering TRD engine issues although they have gotten it under control for the most part. Matt is a top five and top ten machine which is why he’s finished 8th or higher in the standings in nine of the last eleven years. He has proven that he’s fully capable of being a title threat and I’ll be very surprised if he’s not a contender.

    2.) Jimmie Johnson – 4 Wins & 5-time NSCS Champion (’06, ’07, ’08, ’09, ’10)

    The untouchable No.48 team has been vulnerable this year. Their immunity to bad luck has ceased and their rivals are excited to take them on. A recurring thing you heard at Chase Media Day was that drivers thought they can beat Jimmie and they said that with a big grin on their face. This is the guy everybody compares themselves with. If you can beat him, then you definitely have a shot at it! Don’t fool yourself into believing that this rash of bad luck has enervated this team. They have endured their fair share of bad luck in 2013 but it was while they were running up front and for the win so don’t think for a second that they are under performing this year. They just aren’t quite as lucky. If fate was kinder, Johnson could be starting the chase with eight or nine wins. As for momentum going into the chase; Jimmie Johnson doesn’t need momentum. He becomes a winning machine that can do no wrong when the playoffs start. Only time will tell if the this group becomes that indestructible winning machine that all their competitors fear or if the bad luck that has plagued the No.48 carries over into the post-season. One thing for certain is that you can never count out Jimmie Johnson and that elite No.48 team.

    3.) Kyle Busch – 4 Wins & Best Points Finish of 5th (2007)

    Rowdy Busch. Some love him, many hate him but no one can deny the fact that he’s a heck of a wheel man. Kyle has never fared too well in the chase and last year, he missed out on the post-season by 1pt but went on to score enough points in the ten race stretch that would have given him a 3rd place finish in the championship. The chase is primarily made up of large, high speed banked ovals which bodes well for Busch and his teammate, Matt Kenseth. JGR has excelled at those venues this year with six of their combined nine wins coming at those kind of tracks. Kyle has always had issues handling adversity and it will be interesting to see if he falls apart and makes imprudent decisions should things get tempestuous for him at some point in this chase. I believe 2013 will be the best chase result of Kyle’s career.

    4.) Kevin Harvick – 2 Wins & Best Points Finish of 3rd (’10 & ’11)

    Kevin Harvick has once again made his way into the chase without many people noticing. “The Closer” not only comes out of nowhere at the end of races but he also has an uncanny way of making his way into the top five in points at the end of the season on multiple occasions without anyone realizing it.  I don’t see a championship for Kevin this year but I wouldn’t put it past him. This “lame duck” wants to deliver Richard Childress his first Cup title since 1994 and he’s got one last chance to get it done.

    5.) Carl Edwards – 2 Wins & Best Points Finish of 2nd (’08 & ’11)

    He’s tied for 2nd, he’s finished 2nd and he’s tied for 1st….guess what comes next? I believe it’s only a matter of time before Cousin Carl, as Kenny Schrader would call him, hoists the trophy in Miami at the end of the season. Carl is one of those drivers who is a champion waiting in the wings. It will come with time. His consistency is what won him the unofficial title of regular season champion and his consistency also helped him stay neck-and-neck with Tony Stewart in 2011. Despite the two wins, Carl hasn’t shown that he can contend for wins on a regular basis but should the other drivers use up their mulligans while he keeps clicking away top 10’s and top 5’s, he may very well find himself in the middle of the title fight.

    6.) Joey Logano – 1 Win & Best Points Finish of 16th (2010)

    Penske Racing got one driver in the chase this year…and it wasn’t Brad Keselowski. Joey Logano has truly impressed me this year with his tenacity and the way he and this No.22 camp have handled adversity. Joey has won the pole for the first chase race and he seems to have found his niche in the form of large, high banked ovals. Lucky for him, that’s 50% of the chase races. He will win at least one race in the chase in my opinion and I see him as a dark horse. You wouldn’t normally look at Logano as  title threat seeing that he’s never gotten a top 15 points finish but he could surprise a few people. His inexperience in this kind of situation may be what hurts him in the end though.

    7.) Greg Biffle – 1 Win & Best Points Finish of 2nd (2005)

    I doubt Greg Biffle can win the championship this year. He has spent the majority of his season around 8th-10th in points and I don’t expect that to change in the chase. He only has three top five finishes in the first 26 races and ten top 10’s. Those are the lowest numbers of anyone in the top 13 in points right now. The Fords seem very strong at Chicagoland so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him win one of the 1.5 milers but other than that, I really don’t expect Greg to make much noise in the chase this year.

    8.) Clint Bowyer – 0 Wins & Best Points Finish of 2nd (2012)

    Would I be exaggerating if I said this guy has a lot of attention on him going into Chicagoland? I thought not. Clint Bowyer and his race team have been the headline on every major news outlet this week for all the wrong reasons. He was grilled by multiple ESPN reporters, booed by fans at NASCAR Contenders LIVE, harassed by thousands of incensed people on Twitter and even criticized by his fellow competitors. His integrity has been called into question after a spin that many believe to be deliberate and his intentions with seven laps to go were incontrovertible to most but Bowyer denies it. Clint says that all this negative attention has him determined more than ever to win it all. The usually loquacious Clint is ready to just put that helmet on and go to work. He has spent most of 2013 near the top of the standings despite failing to reach victory lane. I don’t think all this drama will affect him while he’s racing. I wouldn’t bet against it hurting his team though. Distractions are never a good thing in sports. I would say Clint can be a contender just like he was in 2012 but some disgruntled drivers that didn’t take too kindly to what went down may make sure that a championship for the No.15 doesn’t happen this year. It will be interesting to see how Bowyer is treated by other drivers once we get to racing at Chicagoland..

    9.) Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 0 Wins & Best Points Finish of 3rd (2003)

    Dale Jr. has consistency but he isn’t up there mixing it up for victories every week like his teammate Jimmie Johnson and even Kasey Kahne are. They need to take it up a notch if they want to hold their own against Johnson, Kenseth and Kyle Busch in this chase. If they can’t do that, then I don’t see Jr. getting anything higher than 5th or 6th this year.

    10.) Kurt Busch – 0 Wins & 2004 NSCS Champion

    Here we have the first “single car” team to ever make the chase. Despite their strong technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing, they are still considered a single car operation. Do not make the foolish mistake of underestimating Kurt Busch or this well funding race team though. The tenacity and raw talent of this proven champion is undeniable and he can most certainly win the championship this year….if he had a better pit crew. When the pressure’s on, the No.78 crew almost always drops the ball and costs Kurt valuable spots. NASCAR is a team sport and if you have a pit crew that isn’t getting the job done, it doesn’t matter if you have a Dale Earnhardt caliber guy wheeling the No.48 with Junior Johnson on top of the pit box…you still won’t win. They have two crew guys so hopefully, he doesn’t encounter as many costly issues on pit road. If his pit crew can get it together, Kurt can be a serious threat for the championship before he departs for Stewart-Haas Racing at the end of the year.

    11.) Kasey Kahne – 2 Wins & Best Points Finish of 4th (2012)

    Kasey Kahne was my pick to win the title back in March and I wouldn’t be surprised if he proved me right. If fate was kinder (and if Kasey was more aggressive), he could have at least five wins right now. He has four runner-up finishes this year; three of which came down to half a second or less. He also crashed while leading Michigan, Darlington and while going three wide for the lead with two laps to go at the July Daytona race. Kasey’s kindness on track though may pay dividends during the chase when he’s racing around guys not in the running that remember his courtesy while racing them earlier in the year. On the flip side, it may also tempt drivers his battling to use him up not thinking there will be any repercussions. In my eyes, Kasey can win the championship this year if the stars align.

    12.) Ryan Newman – 1 Win & Best Points Finish of 6th (’02, ’03 & ’05)

    Ryan wasn’t a chaser until Monday night which seemed crazy until Jeff Gordon had to go and outdo him by being added to the chase as the 13th seed less than 48 hours before the first chase race! Ryan is motivated and motivation always seems to have an uncanny way of giving a driver a few extra horsepower. Can he hold his own against Busch, Johnson and Kenseth? I doubt it but be assured that the Rocket Man will go all out and leave nothing on the table before his release from Stewart-Haas Racing. Ryan has been fired and replaced because Gene Haas believes Kurt is a better driver. He’s also been called an ogre, had an airborne car land on top of him, been cheated out of his 18th career win, knocked out of the chase before being put back in two days later and even watched his good friend and current owner break his leg in a Sprint Car crash….yeah; it’s been an interesting year to be Ryan Newman to say the least. He will make some noise in this chase probably by winning at one of the flat tracks that he;s always so good at and I see him having his best points finish since 2005.

     13.) Jeff Gordon – O Wins & 4-time NSCS Champion (’95, ’97, ’98, ’01)

    Well, who saw this coming? You aren’t supposed to be here! One of unluckiest guys in the garage got a once in a life time break Friday when he was added to the chase as a 13th seed. It would be an auspicious time for Jeff to go buy a lottery ticket right now…although he obviously doesn’t need it. I am hoping that he somehow goes on a tear in the chase, becomes a contender and that we go to Homestead with Kansas Clint and 4-time 1-2 in points. In reality though, I don’t see Jeff making much of an impact on the 2013 chase at all. He is fully capable of being a 5-time champion talent wise but all the pieces team and luck wise just aren’t there. This was a nice gesture by NASCAR but Jeff’s team is not championship caliber in 2013….I think he will spend the last 10 races in the back half of the chase field.

    My Three Championship Picks

    Kasey Kahne: Why Kasey? I have liked what I’ve seen out of him this year with the speed he’s shown on both 1.5 milers and short tracks. I also like the chemistry he has with long time crew chief Kenny Francis. When it comes to the best driver/crew chief combos in the garage; these two are near the top of the list. Kasey is also able to keep a level head in difficult situations and get all he can out of the car without risking his whole race; necessities for a championship hopeful. Bad luck and JGR drivers running him over has been his only noticeable weakness in 2013.

    Kurt Busch: You want to talk about determination? You want to talk about someone that will drive their guts out and finish 10 spots higher than the car he’s driving should? That would be Kurt Busch. That No.78 has been blistering fast at every kind of track this year; they have no bad track. Kurt has completely changed as a person and for the better. No longer does he act churlish towards the media, fans and his team when things get rough. In fact, he’s become one of the most optimistic people out there when things go awry. If Furniture Row wasn’t trying to resolve their pit crew issues, then I’d be counting Kurt out but they’ve already replaced a front tire changer and tire carrier. If Kurt has a solid pit crew, he can win it all.

    Jimmie Johnson: Do I really need to say why? You can never count out 5-time and like I said earlier, his win column could be in the double digits this year if it weren’t for bad luck. Like always, he is fast everywhere and his team is solid as a rock. Performing at a super-human level during the chase is something embedded deep within the DNA of everyone on this race team. Chad Knaus is very fastidious and will make sure everything that he can possibly control is in his control. Jimmie doesn’t need momentum to be on his side. He doesn’t even need a good start to the chase. Nothing phases the 5-time champ and that’s why he is one of my three favorites to win the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup championship?

    Feel free to post your picks below or to comment on mine!

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Richmond Federated Auto Parts 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Richmond Federated Auto Parts 400

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    “That is the reality.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: IRWIN Tools Bristol Night Race

    Surprising and Not Surprising: IRWIN Tools Bristol Night Race

    From NASCAR children National Anthem singing to cars colliding and tempers flaring, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 53rd annual IRWIN Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    Surprising:  Disappointment surprisingly abounded atop the Chase leaderboard, with both point’s leader Jimmie Johnson finishing worse than 36th for the second week in a row and second place Chaser Clint Bowyer being spun out while in the lead, finishing 14th.

    “This racing stuff happens,” Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Dover White Chevrolet said after finishing 36th. “Luckily, we had a big point’s lead that we can kind of deal with right now.”

    “We’ve locked into the Chase and certainly want to clean things up,” Johnson continued. “We’ll keep after it and be back again next week.”

    Having once had been in the lead by over 70 plus points, Johnson is now just 18 points ahead of the second place driver Clint Bowyer.

    “I felt like we had a shot at winning and then I got spun out by a lapper, of all things,” Bowyer said after the race. “It hit that left-front tire, and the car never turned the center (of the corners) as good the rest of the night.”

    “I’m really just disappointed … because we had a really good car,” Bowyer continued. “Absolutely nothing went our way all night.”

    Not Surprising:  Although he has been a bit quiet over the last month or two, the resurgence of Matt Kenseth at Joe Gibbs Racing continued, with the driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota rolling right into Bristol’s Victory Lane for the fifth time this season.

    This was Kenseth’s 29th win in 496 Cup Series races and his third victory in 28 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    “The last month and a half, two months has been a little bit more of a, I hate to say reality check,” Kenseth said. “We’ve struggled just a little bit more, haven’t quite had the speed so it was really, really encouraging this weekend to get to the track and be really fast.”

    “It’s a huge win for us,” Kenseth continued. “The Bristol night race is one of the biggest races of the year.”

    “I’m glad we were able to pull it off.”

    Surprising:  The driver of the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet seemed surprisingly befuddled at the end of the race in spite of finishing runner up under the Bristol lights.

    “I didn’t get it done,” Kasey Kahne said dejectedly. “We ended up second and it was a good point’s day but I didn’t figure out how to win the race.”

    “I don’t know, I just don’t know,” Kahne continued. “I think at the end of the day I just don’t wreck people.”

    This was Kahne’s ninth top-10 finish in 20 races at Bristol and his 11th top-10 finish of the season. He also moved up three positions in the Chase standings to the eighth spot.

    Not Surprising:  Joey Logano, riding the wave of momentum from last week’s race win at Michigan, not surprisingly proved, at least in his own mind, that he has the mettle to make it into the Chase.

    The driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford finished fifth and moved up three spots in the points to the tenth position.

    “We came from the back three times to get a top-five finish,” Logano said. “They can’t put us down and can’t keep us down.”

    “We deserve to make this Chase and if we keep doing this on days that they’re trying to put us down, we deserve it.”

    Surprising:  Although admittedly hoping that the leaders would wreck each other so he could score the win, Juan Pablo Montoya surprisingly credited his third place finish to, of all things, a speeding penalty.

    “I got caught speeding there with like 170 to go or something and that kind of hurt us,” the driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet said. “But I’ll tell you the truth, I think it helped us because if it would have played right, we probably would have run out of gas.”

    “It made it more interesting,” Montoya continued. “I really cooked the front tires there at the end but it was fun.”

    This was JPM’s fourth top-10 finish in 14 races at the Bristol Motor Speedway.

    Not Surprising:   Well, it was Bristol after all so, to no one’s surprise, there were a few tempers flaring, especially after a late race wreck took out many of the best cars, including some Chase contenders.

    Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick, who do have a history with one another, had a rather vigorous discussion on pit road after the wreck when Harvick pulled into Hamlin’s pit stall and Hamlin gave him a shove out of the box.

    As a result, Harvick jumped out of his car and beat a path to the door of Hamlin’s car to have a few words about the incident.

    “I just saw the No. 11 shoot across the track,” Harvick said. “He said the No. 56 got into him and so I just wanted to know what happened.”

    “He just told me his version of it,” the driver of the No. 29 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet said. “It’s all good.”

    “It’s Bristol racing.”

    Harvick finish 34th but maintained his fourth spot in the point’s standings while Hamlin finish 28th, well out of Chase contention in 25th in the point’s standings.

    Surprising:  In spite of some greetings from Smoke’s recovery bed, the Stewart-Haas Racing team had a surprisingly tough day. Mark Martin, subbing for the ailing Stewart, finished 20th with Ryan Newman right behind him in 21st and Danica Patrick in 26th.

    “We had some tough luck and a few things that we could’ve done better, but we were pretty fast at the end,” Martin said. “That’s why I go home feeling good about it because we were able to improve the car and get it competitive.”

    “This one is behind us and hopefully we’ll move ahead from here.”

    “I really don’t know what happened there,” Newman, behind the wheel of the No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet, said. “A couple of guys around us made contact and that triggered a big mess.”

    “Our Quicken Loans Chevrolet was damaged pretty significantly; it was a handful to drive those last 50 laps with,” Newman continued. “I basically tried to just stay out of everyone’s way and bring the car to the finish.”

    “There is nothing you can do about getting into the wall and having damage,” Patrick said. “We came back as best as we could and made the car as good as it was at the end.”

    “We will take it and move on.”

    Not Surprising:  In spite of finishing top-10, Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Axalta Coating Systems Chevrolet, could only talk about opportunities lost at Bristol, especially after gaining just one position in the standings to the 13th spot.

    “I think we were better than that,” Gordon said of his seventh place finish. “I don’t know if we had enough for Matt but we fought hard and gave it our best effort.”

    “Gained points on 10th but not as much as we could have,” Gordon continued. “But we gained something.”

    Surprising: While the Truex brothers were excited to be racing against one another yet again, both Ryan Truex, making his Cup debut, and Martin Truex, Jr. had surprisingly difficult days.

    Young Ryan Truex spun and hit the wall, retiring his No. 51 Seawatch Chevrolet after 39 laps to finish 42nd in his first ever Cup effort.

    Brother Martin had a very hard crash late in the race, causing him to finish 35th in his No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota. Although maintaining his wild card status thanks to his win, Truex Jr. also suffered in the point standings, losing two positions to 14th.

    “We ran up towards the front all night,” Truex Jr. said. “Just disappointed.”

    “They start wrecking and you’re an innocent victim,” Truex Jr. continued. “We didn’t deserve that tonight.”

    Not Surprising:  Another brother duo, this one with the surname Busch, had eventful days at Bristol as well, with Kyle Busch having to start from the rear of the field to finish 11th and Kurt Busch suffering wheel hub issues resulting in a 31st place run.

    “Yeah, I guess we had a right-rear hub fail where the studs pulled through or they weren’t tightened,” the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing/Sealy Chevrolet said. “We just rode around.”

    Kurt Busch lost three positions in the point’s standings, falling to the 12th spot. Kyle Busch remains in the fifth spot in the standings, 82 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.

    Surprising: There was a surprising first-of-the season engine failure at Roush Fenway Racing and it happened to none other than the race lap leader Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford.

    “I didn’t have any warning,” Edwards said. “The car was almost perfect and the engine ran awesome until it broke.”

    “The engine ran great until it blew up, so if we run like that the rest of the year, it’s going to be awesome.”

    Not Surprising:  Marcos Ambrose finished top-10 for two weeks in a row and he said that the devil made him do it.

    “That’s two top-10s in two weeks and we’ve got to take that,” the driver of No. 9 Stanley Ford Fusion said. “Yeah, I guess a little bit of the Tasmanian Devil comes out in me at this track.”

    “This is a really aggressive track and you’ve got to be aggressive all night,” Ambrose continued. “You’ve got to gnaw on that steering wheel and I just like getting up on the wheel like that.”

    “These are good nights to test your mettle and see what kind of man or lady you are out there and get after it.”

    The Cup Series will head next to Atlanta for the next to the last race before the Chase begins.

     

  • Matty’s Picks Vol. 19 – Pure Michigan 400 – Michigan International Speedway – August 18, 2013

    Matty’s Picks Vol. 19 – Pure Michigan 400 – Michigan International Speedway – August 18, 2013

    Off to Michigan this week for the second and final stop in The Great Lakes State this season and Michigan International Speedway is the 2.5-mile D-shaped superspeedway with 18 degrees of banking in the corners, 12 on the frontstretch, and 5 on the long backstretch. We see speeds top 210 MPH at MIS, making it the fastest track on the schedule.

    Qualifying is fairly important this week, but not nearly as important as last week as 16 of the 88 races at Michigan have been won from the pole – unlike 9 of 30 last week at Watkins Glen. 66 of the 88 have been won from inside the top 10 however, but Mark Martin won from the furthest back – 32nd – in the spring race of 2009.

    As far as the manufacturers go, Ford has the edge by winning 33 of the 88 races all-time but only three of the last 10 races with the next best being Chevrolet with 20 wins. Ford driver Greg Biffle will go for his 3rd straight victory at MIS this week, also for Roush Fenway Racing who happens to have the most wins of any team at Michigan, with 13 wins all-time.

    In news outside of Tony Stewart, it was announced on Tuesday, Juan Montoya would not return to Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in 2014. Juan came to EGR in 2007, his first ride in a stock car – he made The Chase in 2009, but has not finished better than 17th in the points since then for car owner Chip Ganassi.

    My thought is the departure could open the seat for it’s 21-year-old development driver Kyle Larson, who currently competes in the Nationwide Series for Turner Scott Motorsports. Chip Ganassi was actually at Larson’s car, giving him a pep-talk for the majority of the pre-race at Watkins Glen this past weekend before the Nationwide race, so to me he’s probably at the top of the list to replace Juan next season.

    We’ve seen these mid-season announcements before – this season even with Kevin Harvick going to Stewart-Haas – we’ve seen what he’s done sitting 4th in points for RCR and even Ryan Newman losing his ride at SHR and winning the Brickyard. Bottom line is these guys are competitors and they want to win today, next week, next month, and next year. There are no discounted parts put on these cars to guys who are leaving at the end of the season, and these guys without rides next season want a win now more than ever.

    Watkins Glen Recap

    It was a fantastic weekend last week for me at my hometown track, and I was 50/50 on my picks last week at Watkins Glen.

    It was extremely difficult to go to The Glen and not look at Marcos Ambrose to win. He had won back-to-back races at Watkins Glen and was the overwhelming favorite going into last week’s Cheez-It 355 at The Glen for a number of reasons, mainly because he had won those two previous races and because he put his No.9 Ford on the pole, the most proficient starting spot for race-winners over the years at Watkins Glen.

    Well, if the race last week was 51 laps instead of 92, Marcos Ambrose would have been a fantastic pick last week as he completely dominated the early stages of the race last week at Watkins Glen. An unfortunate caution for Ambrose came out in the middle of pit sequences for the majority of the field, and Ambrose was shuffled back in the pack after leading the majority of the early stages of the race.

    Being shuffled back at Watkins Glen is never a good thing, due to the limited passing opportunities, and Ambrose learned the hard way after being tangled up in an accident between Turn 2 and 3 on lap 84. The wreck would end Ambrose’s march towards the front last week and would land him a disappointing 31st place finish.

    As far as my Dark Horse goes, Martin Truex Jr’s. race at Watkins Glen was much less eventful, running in the top 5 all day, and being in the front of the field for the majority of the day paid its dividends as Truex would score a 3rd place finish behind Kyle Busch and Brad Kesolowski. I’m not sure I’ll be allowed to call Truex a Dark Horse next season with his win at Sonoma in June and his 3rd place finish at The Glen last week, bringing his season road-course average finish to runner-up finish.

    Michigan Picks
    Winner Pick

    Up until this year, Matt Kenseth added to the dominance of Roush-Fenway Racing at Michigan International Speedway, winning twice for Jack Roush in 2002 and 2006. On top of the wins, he’s got 12 Top 5’s and 18 top 10’s at MIS in 28 races, making him the 2nd best driver overall at Michigan all-time.

    Kenseth is in the top 5 in ALL BUT ONE….of the pre-race loop stats, he’s second in Average Running Position and Driver Rating, he’s third in Average Green Flag Speed, Laps in the top 15, and quality passes, and the one loop stat he’s not in the top 5……Fastest Laps Run – he’s got 159 and that’s good enough for 6th on the list. He’s qualified 12th which doesn’t scare me because of the great passing stats he has over the years at Michigan.

    He was 7th at California in March, 6th at Michigan earlier this year in June, and with the way he’s running this season, it’s been 5 weeks since he’s won and without a win this week, he’ll tie his longest stretch this season without a win….so I’m going with Matt Kenseth as my top pick this week.
    Dark Horse Pick

    On Thursday while previewing this week’s race at Michigan with Greg on the Prime Sports Network, I picked Joey Logano as my longshot play of the week. Qualifying has really helped my cause with Logano because yesterday in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying, Logano shattered the track record at Michigan International Speedway and captured the Coors Light Pole, another week for me picking the pole-sitter before any cars hit the track.

    Logano won the Nationwide race at Michigan last season, but MIS hasn’t been too kind to him in the cup series. Besides his 9th earlier this season, he’s finished 31st, 35th, and 21st in his previous 4 starts at Michigan. He did lead 21 laps in that race in June race, the only laps he’s ever led at Michigan, and with his teammate Brad Keselowski coming alive down the stretch here this season, I think this team is only going to get better. Considering 16 of the 88 races at Michigan have been won from the pole position, I like my chances this week with Logano, he’ll stay my longshot play of the week.

    That’s all for this week, so until we head for the Hills of Tennessee…..You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Ford Michigan 2 Friday (Carl Edwards & Greg Biffle)

    Ford Michigan 2 Friday (Carl Edwards & Greg Biffle)

    Ford Racing NSCS Notes & Quotes:
    Pure Michigan 400 Friday Advance (Michigan International Speedway)
    Friday, August 16, 2013

    Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion and Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Best Buy Geek Squad Ford Fusion, were part of a joint media session Friday at Michigan International Speedway. The Roush Fenway Racing teammates talked about their respective seasons to date, the team’s success over the years at MIS and the countdown to the Chase.

    CARL EDWARDS, No. 99 Geek Squad Ford Fusion and GREG BIFFLE, No. 16 3M Ford Fusion – GUYS, CAN YOU EACH TALK ABOUT YOUR SUCCESS OVER THE YEARS HERE AT MICHIGAN?

    CARL EDWARDS: “Yeah, it is a great track for us. We love Michigan. It is a lot of fun. I actually beat Greg here which is the only thing I have beaten him at in a long time. I was in front of him and enjoying that at Michigan. I was finally in front of him for something. We appreciate you letting us do media together. We hope that we can get another win for Ford. That 1,000th win for Ford here in June was really neat. I actually got a watch the other day that said, “Congratulations Greg Biffle on your 1,000th win”, I don’t know, maybe Greg sent that over to my hauler. We are hoping to get another win here and we have won really well. I love this race track. This will be a lot of fun.”

    GREG BIFFLE: “Like Carl said, this is a great race track for Roush Fenway as a whole. Going back to Jeff Burton, Mark Martin and Matt Kenseth. All of us have had a lot of success here and Carl has won here a few times. This has been a good track for us. I was worried about when they repaved it what would transpire but we have been really good since the repave and the track is really coming back in and racing a lot like it used to race. I really love this place. It is one of my favorite places to come and you can run two and three wide through the corner in a down force situation where you normally can’t do that at most race tracks. That is always a strategy and fuel mileage plays a factor. It is hard on the engines here too. This is just a fun place for myself and our team to race.”

    WITH THIS NEW GENERATION 6 CAR, DO YOU START THE SETUP AND AERO PACKAGE FROM ZERO OR CAN YOU USE DATA FROM THE PREVIOUS CAR?
    GREG BIFFLE: “I think that we start with a modified setup from the old car but one thing we have learned over the last little bit about the car is that it is much more finicky than the old car was. At least that is my opinion. If we are off a tiny, tiny bit with this car it goes from being running the top-five or top-eight to running 25th. There is a really fine line. That is something we have learned in our camp. We have to be right on the mark with this thing or we don’t have any speed. I don’t know if it is just us or this car in general or whatever but we have learned that we have to be right on with the setup of this car. We thought a half pound or quarter pound or a wedge made a difference before but it has multiplied. Yes, we can use some of the old information but you have to be right on. Sometimes a couple hours of practice isn’t enough.”

    BRAD KESELOWSKI A FEW DAYS AGO WAS TALKING ABOUT HOW THEY WERE POLITICKING WITH NASCAR AND THE FORDS WITH REGARD TO PROCESS AND DEVELOPMENT TO CATCH UP WITH THE OTHER MANUFACTURERS. WHAT DO YOU GUYS KNOW ABOUT THAT? HE SAID EVERYTHING WILL COME INTO PLACE WHEN THE CHASE STARTS.

    CARL EDWARDS: “That is good news. I think as a group, Brad has been a big part and Joey (Logano) have been a big part. Greg and Ricky (Stenhouse) have worked probably closer than we have in the past to try to be one Ford and the best we can and do whatever it takes. If it turns out that we need to do some politicking for things to be different than we will do everything we can. Right now, I can only speak for Jimmy Fennig and my team and I am sure Greg and Matt (Puccia) are doing the same thing and that is to make our car the best it can be for the final 10 races. Greg is fast every week. We are fast every week. We just need to find that last little bit, that last little adjustment, so we can race with these guys. From where we are at, all we can do is build the best race cars and drive the hardest we can and we are hoping that gets us a championship. If Brad wants to or somebody at Ford wants to go work on bigger picture stuff we will help with that all we can.”

    GREG BIFFLE: “The only thing I really know about it, which is very little, is that the car is much different now in the race trim package that we have now with the spoiler and splitter and all of the way it ends up getting specked out – it is much different than the way this car began life and was submitted. All our CFD and wind tunnel work around that has changed slightly. When they changed the spoiler and splitter and those things, did our car get affected differently than the other cars? I think I have scratched the surface of understanding a little bit of what the talk might be between the cars. One thing we do know is our car has a tremendous amount of speed in it. But again, we have to be right on the setup. Last race here, I remember and Carl and I were just talking about it walking up here. We were running seventh or eighth and I was kicking and screaming and I couldn’t get it to go any better. We made tiny adjustments and gained track position then got out front through a pit cycle and I got the car driving perfect and off I went. Yeah, the 48 was still faster and catching us a little bit but we were able to level out that difference in speed it seemed like as we fine tuned and adjusted in on our car. That is something we are working hard on as a group and getting our cars fine tuned. That could be part of it too.”

    HOW DO YOU BALANCE WHAT YOU WILL TRY TO DO THE NEXT FOUR RACES? A WIN OR TWO WOULD PROBABLY GET YOU IN THE CHASE BUT YOU CAN’T HAVE A BAD FINISH EITHER. HOW DO YOU BALANCE THAT?

    GREG BIFFLE: “Unfortunately we aren’t in a great spot. Indy really killed us. That was the turning point for us. We felt like we were really on some momentum and qualified 27th and finished 24th and never ran better than that all day. That buried us in the points. We go back to Pocono with a lot better finish, 10th, and get caught 20 feet from getting onto pit road at the Glen with the caution coming out. We come out of the pit cycle sixth and get sent to the back of the field with 30 laps to go. You are right. We can’t have things like that happen. We need to finish where we are running and are struggling with that some. The next four weeks are going to be about who is on the plus side of that. If you get caught a lap down or this or that or pit road penalties or something – or are you getting good finishes. We have four races left to do that. We are in the middle of the bees nest and we understand that. All we can do is get the best finishes we can the next four weeks.”

    THIS TRACK HAS BEEN NAMED TRACK OF THE YEAR IN TERMS OF FAN EXPERIENCE. IN TERMS OF DRIVER EXPERIENCE HOW WOULD YOU SAY IT RANKS?

    CARL EDWARDS: “I think this is one of our favorite race tracks. For me, this is the site of my first start so it is real special for that reason. It is just a fun place. It seems the weather is always great and the race is great and the fans are into it. The infield here is like none other. It is pretty amazing out there. I think it is a good experience overall and we all enjoy coming.”

    WHAT WILL IT BE LIKE FOR YOU GUYS WHEN JACK ISN’T AROUND AT THE RACE TRACK AS MUCH?

    GREG BIFFLE: “I think it will be a long time before he is not at the race track every weekend. These things not having carburetors anymore and looking at the spark plugs and those things, technology changes. Carl and I used to go in and sit down with the crew chief to figure out what right front spring we are going to start with and what front sway bar. We don’t do that anymore. The technology is changing so Jack is still involved and he has less of a role but so do we almost because technology has taken over a little bit. I think you are going to see Jack around a lot and still involved.”

    CARL EDWARDS: “It is his team and he is the leader. It is nice to have that leadership and so I don’t want to see him step back. Hopefully he stays as involved as he can be because we really enjoy having him here.”

    CARL, YOU STARTED THE SEASON OFF WITH JIMMY FENNIG KIND OF LIKE A FRESH COUPLE JUST DATING. HAVE YOU MOVED BEYOND THAT PART OF THE RELATIONSHIP? “Yeah, we fought over who was going to do the laundry for a little while and stuff like that. I think we have a very good relationship right now. I was actually talking to some folks about that this week that listen to the races on the radios and I am starting to understand Jimmy. It is true, he is as dedicated as he seems to be. He cares more about winning – there is nobody that cares more about winning than him. I have been around Mike Mittler and Jack Roush and Jimmy Fennig and those guys are unmatched. I really respect him. We are starting to communicate better. I think for a little while he didn’t really understand what I was saying. He understood but not to the degree of me being loose or tight. I think we both have more faith in each other than we ever have. It is coming together really well in my eyes.”

    IT HAS BEEN A FEW WEEKS SINCE THE CITY OF DETROIT FILED FOR BANKRUPTCY. SINCE YOUR MANUFACTURER IS SO CLOSELY TIED TO THE STATE OF MICHIGAN AND ITS ECONOMY, HAS ANY OF THAT TOUCHED YOU GUYS?

    CARL EDWARDS: “All I can say is that in 2008 when Jim Farley brought us all in and explained to us how Ford was in big trouble and that they were going to have to make some tough decisions to make it through it, that was really sobering to hear him speak that way about the company, our company, Ford. To see how they came through that, making tough decisions was inspiring. I can only imagine the decisions being made in Detroit and how tough they are. At the end of the day, if the tough decisions now come out better in the end and make things viable for more people then it is the right thing. I only have read about it and understand it from a distance.”

    GREG BIFFLE: “Like Carl said, a lot of people had to make tough decisions back in 2008 and it is tough to correct that ship but Ford was able to do that well. It takes a lot to be able to do that and it is unfortunate that the city has gone through what they have. I know Ford has been a huge supporter of the area and provided a lot of jobs and I think the ship will get righted and it will get better once it gets going back to the right direction. I think it will be a good place.”

    IT WAS ANNOUNCED TODAY THAT NASCAR AFTER THE LAP WILL RETURN TO CHAMPIONS WEEK IN VEGAS. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHY IT IS SUCH A FUN EVENT FOR YOU DRIVERS?

    GREG BIFFLE: “Well, I hope I am there. That is about all I can say about it. I am really looking forward to being there and making the After the Lap award show but I think it is really neat that Ford has stepped up and done things there that they are doing with that program and sending some fans out there. Somebody is going to get to win a new truck and a lot of cool things.”

    CARL EDWARDS:  “The thing that makes me nervous about that is it usually gets pretty loose and things are said and done like Jeff Gordon break dancing. Once it is done I kinda think, man, as that okay? The fans seem to enjoy it. The website is NASCARAfterTheLap.com and someone is going to win a 2014 F-150 Tremor truck.”

    GREG BIFFLE: “Have you seen that truck? That thing is really cool”

    CARL EDWARDS: “There is a sweepstakes and you go to NASCARAfterTheLap.com and you can win a 2014 Tremor, which is a pretty awesome truck. Each year, that is one of the neatest parts, they give someone the truck right there in front of the crowd and it is spectacular.”

    GREG BIFFLE: “I wonder if we are eligible”

    CARL EDWARDS: You already have one don’t you?

    GREG BIFFLE: It has the EcoBoost motor in it and is a really neat truck. I wish I had one.

    CARL EDWARDS: “You will have one. You have every car.”