Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: Roush-Yates

  • Hot 20 – The Yates legacy will come to life under the hood of a third of the Charlotte field

    Hot 20 – The Yates legacy will come to life under the hood of a third of the Charlotte field

    When one of the legends in the sport leaves us, we remember. If a man is known simply by the company he keeps, Robert Yates did very well.

    As a team owner, he was the boss to such NASCAR luminaries as Davey Allison, Larry McReynolds, Ernie Irvan, Dale Jarrett, and Ricky Rudd. His boys led him to 57 Cup wins over parts of nearly 20 campaigns. Jarrett and Allison allowed him to celebrate three Daytona 500 wins and a pair of July races. They each brought him a World 600 victory. He was a five-time winning owner at Talladega. Thanks to Jarrett, he got to kiss the bricks twice at Indianapolis. The boys helped him to a pair of Bristol wins. Six Richmond triumphs, two each delivered by Irvan and Jarrett, with Allison and Rudd chipping in the other two. In 1999, Jarrett delivered a Cup championship. Yes, Yates knew talent, and they produced for him.

    Robert Yates also knew engines. Not only was there a Yates engine powering Jarrett, they also sent Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip to the top of the mountain. Yates Engines provided the gusto that provided 77 Cup wins, and continue to do so under the guiding hand of his son, Doug.

    NASCAR owner, engine maker, and Hall of Fame inductee in the class of 2018, Robert Yates leaves us at 74 years of age.

    When the engines come to life this Sunday afternoon in Charlotte, a third of the field will have Roush-Yates power plants under the hood.

    1. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 3059 POINTS – 5 Wins
    Could sit Saturday night and still rank among the top dozen.

    2. KYLE BUSCH – 3041 POINTS – 4 Wins
    Elliott did not try to block him or send Kyle into the fence and lost. Chase needs a new plan.

    3. KYLE LARSON – 3034 POINTS – 4 Wins
    Ganassi has won 16 titles – 7 IndyCar crowns, 5 Grand-Am, 4 Champ Car. One appears missing.

    4. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 3020 POINTS – 2 Wins
    Not sure if he be a Hatfield or McCoy, but Rowdy wants to womp him low and womp him high.

    5. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 3017 POINTS – 3 Wins
    Not only is he NASCAR’s most decorated active driver, but also its highest paid. Sorry Junior.

    6. KEVIN HARVICK – 3015 POINTS – 1 Win
    Wants the future of the sport, Mr. Elliott, to win soon. As for what Mr. Busch thinks…

    7. DENNY HAMLIN – 3013 POINTS – 2 Wins
    “NASCAR drivers should be making NBA, NFL money.” I wonder if track owners will pony up?

    8. RICKY STENHOUSE JR. – 3010 POINTS – 2 Wins
    Sometimes a gamble earns you seven points and advancement in the Chase.

    9. RYAN BLANEY – 3008 POINTS – 1 Win
    Give a kid a checkered flag, and that Kyle Larson cap he was sporting comes right off.

    10. CHASE ELLIOTT – 3006 POINTS
    The day he decides to be a selfish jerk on the track is the day he will head to Victory Lane.

    11. MATT KENSETH – 3005 POINTS
    Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to the next WWE heavyweight champion.

    12. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 3003 POINTS
    Ganassi came close in 2005 to a title, but Stirling Marlin broke his leg. This was his replacement.

    13. RYAN NEWMAN – 2067 POINTS – 1 Win
    No doubt he loves his crew chief, but probably loves Stenhouse’s just a bit more.

    14. AUSTIN DILLON – 2065 POINTS – 1 Win
    Won the last time he was at Charlotte. Another would be a lovely consolation prize.

    15. KASEY KAHNE – 2046 POINTS – 1 Win
    Can he do for Leavine Family Racing what Kurt did for Furniture Row?

    16. KURT BUSCH – 2044 POINTS – 1 Win
    19th was his best first-round finish, and that is just not good enough. It really is not good at all.

    17. CLINT BOWYER – 750 POINTS
    Sixth place finish at Dover was good. His crew chief’s $10,000 fine…not so much.

    18. JOEY LOGANO – 741 POINTS – 1 Win
    If Kim Jong-un had launched those bad boys on Wednesday, Joey would have been safe.

    19. ERIK JONES – 728 POINTS
    If Hamlin is right, we might need a bottle drive to help top up Erik’s salary for next season.

    20. DANIEL SUAREZ – 653 POINTS
    Suarez could take the next three races off, and still would easily claim a spot in our Hot 20.

  • As NASCAR Heads to California…

    As NASCAR Heads to California…

    I’ll be short this time. The NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series teams are headed to Fontana, California and Auto Club Speedway, and while the folks who cover NASCAR continue to try to brainwash us into thinking that we’re just going to love the race on Sunday, it’s woefully obvious that we’re going to see a race that disappoints us. Why? Because it’s California, that’s why. Despite the rave reviews I’ve heard this week about how much the fans are just prejudiced against this track, the truth is that they have good reason for their prejudice. It hasn’t been a show to remember ever. Let’s hope that things change this week.

    [media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”253″][/media-credit]And one more thing about Fontana. Who in the wide, wide world of sports decided it was a good thing to go out to Phoenix and Las Vegas, take a week off, run Bristol and head back to California? It boggles my mind. The week off makes more sense if you run at Fontana and come back to Bristol due to weather considerations. The schedule makers get a bye because last weekend was so wonderful and this weekend is going to be cold. Luck, I guess, but the travel costs for teams are not a laughing matter.

    I am amazed at the continuing saga of Rick Russell’s 2nd Chance Motorsports and driver Jennifer Jo Cobb’s disputes. Today, Russell filed a complaint against Cobb saying she was guilty of larceny for stealing parts. If I read the comments right, Cobb says that the parts were moved to a storage building on Russell’s property and the storage facility belonged to Russell. What? Sounds like the way things are going all over America. Everyone wants to sue once there is a disagreement and if a suit is not possible, you either take it to the press or call the law. Even more amazing is that Russell and Cobb had a contract that required her to repair the car if it was damaged in a race, which happened at Las Vegas. Furthermore, she was required to supply engines for the car. I guess Jennifer Jo really wanted to race so much she entered into a really lousy contract. This can be best described as a mess.

    I noted with interest that TRG Motorsports is changing to Ford bodies and power after California. It’s a limited agreement with Roush Fenway Racing to build the cars and with Roush-Yates Engines to supply powerplants. I wonder if this is a trend. We’ve seen Richard Petty Motorsports move from Dodge to a similar agreement with RFR last year. The same thing happened with Front Row Motorsports and now with TRG. Ford has now increased their number of cars from five in 2008 to nine in 2011, and if rumors are to be believed, there could be more. It’s very interesting, to say the least.

    Finally, all I’ve heard this week is how Jimmie Johnson is a lock to win at Auto Club Speedway. And if not him, it has to be Jeff Gordon. I might agree if it weren’t for a couple of guys who have performed much better and have a record at Fontana, namely Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth, not to mention Kevin Harvick. No one promotes “Five-Time” and Gordon more than the fine folks, who cover the sport, but here’s my shocking prediction—it might be Kyle Busch, much to the chagrin of NASCAR Nation. But, then again, who knows? I just know that we’ll know late on Sunday evening. But the constant presumption that the favorite always has to be one of the Hendrick teams is interesting. It ignores recent performances. But what do I know?