Tag: Ryan Newman

  • Denny Hamlin Scores Third Pole of 2013 Season at Monster Mile

    Denny Hamlin Scores Third Pole of 2013 Season at Monster Mile

    Denny Hamlin appears to be on a mission since returning to the track from his back injury. And today his mission was accomplished when he scored his third pole of the season for the 44th running of the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks.

    Hamlin ran a fast lap of 22.788 seconds at a speed of 157.978 miles per hour. In addition to being his third pole of the season, it is his second pole at Dover, and his 15th pole in the Cup Series.

    “It’s been good,” Hamlin said in the media center after his pole run. “To have the FedEx Freight/Autism Speaks Toyota on the pole for the title race is awesome and hopefully we get to raise a little bit more awareness  and get a little bit more media attention for that.”

    Hamlin acknowledged that his good qualifying runs are also instrumental in his recent race results.

    “I feel like I’ve gained a lot of knowledge in how to qualify better,” Hamlin said. “It’s all helping out our cause for the moment.”

    In spite of feeling like he has learned lessons, Hamlin really did not believe that he had even run a lap worthy of pole material after his fast lap.

    “When I ran the lap, I wasn’t in love with it,” Hamlin said. “I thought fundamentally I didn’t do that great of a job.”

    “I knew the track conditions were really bad,” Hamlin continued. “ In the back of my mind, I’m saying I’m preparing for the worst and hoping for the best.”

    “We were just counting down and saying, “Can’t be any worse than sixth, can’t be any worse than fifth.”

    “And we’re on the front row,” Hamlin said. “It’s cool that we’re giving our pit crew yet again a huge advantage when those guys are already the best on pit road.”

    While Hamlin is feeling good as far as recovering from his back injury, he admitted to taking some extra precautions for his own comfort in the race car.

    “We have some lumbar support,” Hamlin said. “We have some air bags in the seat itself to help with comfort.”

    “I did switch up my belt configuration to help as well,” Hamlin continued. “I think overall I’m pretty comfortable right now, really as comfortable as I’ve been.”

    “That extra lumbar support definitely helps.”

    Martin Truex Jr. will start right next to Hamlin, securing the outside pole for Sunday’s race at his home track. His NAPA Auto Parts Toyota ran a lap of 22.814 seconds at a speed of 157.798 miles per hour.

    This was Truex’s eighth top-10 start of the season and his seventh in 15 races at the Monster Mile.

    “It was a good lap for sure,” Truex said. “You always want to come here and get the pole.”

    “I love this place so  much and have so many fans in this area,” Truex continued. “It was a solid run.”

    Truex Jr. admitted that the track really was much slicker than even in practice. And the driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota said he might just have left a little bit out there because of it.

    “The track was hotter, it was slick and pretty dang hard to drive,” Truex said. “I probably left maybe a little bit out there.”

    “I was a tiny bit conservative in one spot, otherwise it was a great lap,” Truex continued. “The guys did a pretty good job getting the balance right to where we had good speed.”

    “I’m proud of them for that and now we can go work on Sunday.”

    Kyle Busch, who secured the third place starting honors said his lap was just ‘fine.’ The driver of the No.18 M&Ms Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing posted his ninth top-10 start at the Monster Mile with a lap of 22.820 seconds and 157.756 miles per hour.

    “We were just a little too tight and I had to slow up a little bit through turns three and four and just missed out getting another pole for use this year,” Busch said. “Great effort by the team and guys.”

    “They did a really good job of having the car snugged up just enough for me there where we made a good lap and we were top-three so we’re pleased with that,” Busch continued. “It will give us a better pick at pit selection there and we can see the front.”

    Teammate Matt Kenseth, who will start fourth in the race on Sunday, was happy yet unhappy with his qualifying run.

    “I honestly thought this morning we were going to have a shot at the pole today,” the driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota said. “So, just a little off but I was pretty happy with it.”

    “The track changed just a little more than we anticipated.”

    Ryan Newman, in the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet, led the Stewart Haas Racing team in qualifying. He secured the final spot in the top-five with a run of 22.826 seconds and a speed of 157.715 miles per hour.

     

    Starting Lineup
    FedEx 400, Dover Int’l Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/cup/qual.php?race=13
    ===========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
    ===========================================
    1 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 157.978 22.788
    2 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 157.798 22.814
    3 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 157.756 22.82
    4 20 Matt Kenseth Toyota 157.736 22.823
    5 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 157.715 22.826
    6 55 Mark Martin Toyota 157.604 22.842
    7 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 157.549 22.85
    8 2 Brad Keselowski Ford 157.48 22.86
    9 22 Joey Logano Ford 157.46 22.863
    10 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 157.405 22.871
    11 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 157.35 22.879
    12 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 157.24 22.895
    13 78 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 157.054 22.922
    14 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Chevrolet 156.713 22.972
    15 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 156.556 22.995
    16 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 156.175 23.051
    17 13 Casey Mears Ford 156.169 23.052
    18 99 Carl Edwards Ford 156.054 23.069
    19 16 Greg Biffle Ford 155.952 23.084
    20 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 155.696 23.122
    21 33 Landon Cassill(i) Chevrolet 155.44 23.16
    22 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 155.407 23.165
    23 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. # Ford 155.239 23.19
    24 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 155.206 23.195
    25 51 Austin Dillon(i) Chevrolet 155.146 23.204
    26 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 155.086 23.213
    27 83 David Reutimann Toyota 155.059 23.217
    28 38 David Gilliland Ford 154.972 23.23
    29 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 154.679 23.274
    30 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 154.619 23.283
    31 98 Michael McDowell Ford 154.573 23.29
    32 19 Mike Bliss(i) Toyota 154.5 23.301
    33 43 Aric Almirola Ford 154.48 23.304
    34 30 David Stremme Toyota 154.295 23.332
    35 34 David Ragan Ford 153.984 23.379
    36 87 Joe Nemechek(i) Toyota 153.636 23.432
    37 7 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 153.557 Owner Points
    38 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 153.492 Owner Points
    39 10 Danica Patrick # Chevrolet 153.381 Owner Points
    40 36 JJ Yeley Chevrolet 152.892 Owner Points
    41 35 Josh Wise(i) Ford 152.355 Owner Points
    42 32 Timmy Hill # Ford 150.912 Owner Points
    43 44 Scott Riggs Ford 150.71 Owner Points
  • Crunching The Numbers: Dover

    Crunching The Numbers: Dover

    After two weeks at home in Charlotte, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams pack up and head north to Dover, Delaware for a date with “The Monster Mile” at Dover International Speedway. For the first time since the season openers at Daytona in February, all three series will be at the same track for a rare tripleheader weekend.

    Sprint Cup Series – Fed Ex 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks

    The first of two visits for the Sprint Cup Series at Dover will feature the best drivers in the world talking on one of the toughest tracks on the circuit. The one mile concrete oval, which is one of the only two high banked concrete tracks on the schedule in addition to Bristol, is one of the reasons many have labeled this treacherous track as “Bristol on steroids”. This race, the 13th of the season, also marks the halfway point in the 26 race regular season, with 13 races remaining until the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup this fall.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Carl Edwards 17 1 8 12 0 532 15.0 8.3
    Jimmie Johnson 22 7 11 16 3 2318 9.7 8.6
    Jeff Gordon 40 4 15 22 4 2292 11.6 12.0
    Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 1 0 0 0 0 0 17.0 12.0
    Ryan Newman 22 3 6 11 4 842 9.5 12.1
    Mark Martin 53 4 24 32 5 1769 12.3 12.3
    Greg Biffle 21 2 6 10 1 463 11.7 12.4
    Aric Almirola 2 0 0 1 0 0 16.5 12.5
    Matt Kenseth 28 2 13 18 1 746 16.1 12.6
    Clint Bowyer 14 0 1 7 0 34 17.6 13.2

    Who To Watch: The best driver statistically at Dover? That would be none other than Carl Edwards. With his one win, eight top fives, 12 top tens, 532 laps led, and an average finish of 8.3 in 17 races, it’s no surprise that Edwards has earned the nickname of “Concrete Carl” for his prowess on tracks with a concrete surface.

    Right in Edwards tire tracks are the Hendrick Motorsports duo of Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. In 22 starts, Johnson has seven wins, 11 top fives, 16 top tens, three poles, 2318 laps led, and an average finish of 8.6. Gordon has 40 starts, with four wins, 15 top fives, 22 top tens, four poles, 2292 laps led, and an average finish of 12.0.

    Others to keep an eye on include former Dover winners Ryan Newman, with three wins and an average finish of 12.1; Mark Martin, with four wins and an average finish of 12.3; Greg Biffle, with two wins and an average finish of 12.4; and Matt Kenseth, with two wins and an average finish of 12.6.

    Nationwide Series – 5 Hour Energy 200

    Another race weekend and another field full of Cup regulars in the Nationwide Series. This time the Nationwide regulars outnumber the Cup regulars in the top 10 statistically at Dover. Could a Nationwide regular take the checkers on Saturday for the third time this year? The statistics point to that being a good probability.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Brian Vickers 5 1 3 4 0 105 6.6 6.2
    Joey Logano 8 2 4 5 2 465 4.9 6.5
    Reed Sorenson 11 0 6 10 0 7 12.1 7.2
    Austin Dillon 2 0 0 2 0 0 10.0 8.0
    Ty Dillon 1 0 0 1 0 0 3.0 8.0
    Kyle Busch 15 3 7 10 3 853 10.2 11.6
    Parker Kligerman 1 0 0 0 0 0 12.0 12.0
    Kasey Kahne 13 0 3 7 1 66 10.2 12.1
    Brian Scott 6 0 1 3 0 0 16.8 12.2
    Elliott Sadler 10 0 1 5 1 11 12.7 13.0

    Who To Watch: Brian Vickers heads up the list as the best statistically at Dover with one win, three top fives, four top tens, 105 laps led, and 6.2 average finish in five starts. The only Cup regular in the top five statistically at Dover, Joey Logano, has two wins, four top fives, five top tens, two poles, 465 laps led, and an average finish of 6.5 in eight starts. Reed Sorenson has six top fives, 10 top tens, seven laps led and an average finish of 7.2 in 11 starts. Next up are the Dillon brothers, Austin and Ty, who both have average finishes of 8.0 in a combined three starts.

    The majority of the season has seen Kyle Busch and his Joe Gibbs Racing team dominating and winning race after race. If anyone wants to make it to Victory Lane, they will have to go through Busch, who has three wins, seven top fives, 10 top tens, three poles, 853 laps led, and an average finish of 11.6 in 15 races. Joe Gibbs Racing has won four of the last six Nationwide Series races at Dover and with a win this weekend, Busch would become the series wins leader at Dover, setting yet another record in the process.

    Camping World Truck Series – Lucas Oil 200

    The Dover tripleheader weekend kicks off with the Camping World Truck Series hitting the track for their race on Friday afternoon. This race has been known to produce more first time winners and rookie winners than repeat winners. If this continues to hold true, we could see one of the series many young guns make their first trip to Victory Lane.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Ty Dillon 1 0 0 1 0 0 6.0 6.0
    Joey Coulter 2 0 0 1 0 0 3.5 8.5
    David Starr 11 0 3 7 1 17 15.1 9.1
    James Buescher 4 0 1 3 0 0 14.0 10.2
    Kyle Busch 7 2 2 4 1 711 4.1 10.9
    Ron Hornaday, Jr. 8 1 3 5 1 275 5.8 11.1
    Justin Lofton 3 0 1 2 0 22 15.7 12.7
    Johnny Sauter 4 0 1 1 0 0 4.5 13.8
    Matt Crafton 12 0 2 7 0 16 17.5 13.8
    Timothy Peters 6 0 0 2 0 1 14.0 14.7

    Who To Watch: Both Kyle Busch, who will be attempting the tripleheader by running in all three series, and Ron Hornaday, Jr. are the only winners of this race in the field for Friday’s race. Others to keep an eye on that have had good runs at the track, but no wins include: Ty Dillon, who finished sixth in his lone start at the track last year; Joey Coulter, who has an average finish of 8.5 in two starts; David Starr, with an average finish of 9.1 in 11 starts; and series champion James Buescher, who has an average finish of 10.2 in four starts.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Coca Cola 600

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Coca Cola 600

    With the focus on America’s military, past, present and those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for freedom, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Memorial Day running of the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    Surprising:  NASCAR’S elite Cup drivers had to face surprising battles of their own, as unfortunately did some fans in the stands, when an overhead camera cable, utilized by Fox Sports to cover the race, broke.

    Several drivers and race cars were impacted, as well as ten fans sustaining injuries, with three taken to the hospital for evaluation and further treatment.

    The race was red flagged to allow fans to be helped, as well as to surprisingly allow the drivers and teams an opportunity to evaluate and then work on their wounded race cars.

    “At this time, we do not have a cause for the failure of the camera drive line that interrupted the Coca Cola 600 and our concern is with the injured fans,” Fox Television said in a statement issued shortly after the incident.

    “We apologize to the racers whose cars were damaged and offer a sincere ‘thank you’ to the staff at Charlotte Motor Speedway for attending to the injuries and keeping us informed,” the statement continued. “A full investigation is planned and use of the camera is suspended indefinitely.”

    Not Surprising:  In a race that was fraught with several ‘weird’ incidents in addition to the camera failure, it was not surprising that race winner Kevin Harvick focused on not just celebrating in Victory Lane.

    “Well, first off I want to say I hope everybody is okay from that cable,” the driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet said. “That was quite a weird incident there.”

    “Second, I just want to say thank you to all these guys at RCR (Richard Childress Racing),” Harvick continued. “To win at Charlotte is something that we had to overcome for a long time.”

    “Just got to thank everybody from Budweiser, Sprint, all the fans and this great promotion with the Folds of Honor special beer cans,” Harvick said. “Five cents from every can goes to Folds of Honor.”

    This was Harvick’s 21st victory in 442 Cup starts, his second victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway, as well as his second victory of the 2013 season.

    Surprising:  While Chevrolets tend to be dominant at Charlotte Motor Speedway, there was one five-time champion Chevy driver noticeably absent from the front of the pack this weekend.

    In fact, Jimmie Johnson, the driver with the best rating at Charlotte, with a 111.7 average out of a possible 150, finished 22nd.  The driver of the No. 48 Lowes Patriotic Chevrolet fought loose conditions all evening and finally spinning out of contention.

    “Yeah, we were like a fifth place car,” Johnson said. “And then we got pulled around in Turns 3 and 4 and spun.”

    “That really affected our finish from that point,” Johnson continued. “It was a long night with a lot of issues.”

    Not Surprising:  As so often happens in big-time motorsports, the dominant car did not finish first, especially since there was some strategy involved. That is exactly what happened to Kasey Kahne, who had by far the strongest car in the field, and ended up not pitting when everyone else in the field did so.

    “Well, there was a couple of guys that had just got tires so we thought they would stay out,” Kahne said. “Instead the whole field pitted.”

    “We had a great Time Warner Cable Chevy all night,” Kahne continued. “We were just in a tough spot there.”

    Kahne finished in the runner up position, his 11th top-ten finish in nineteen races at Charlotte and his sixth top-10 finish of the season.

    Surprising:  Kurt Busch, who has struggled to close out strong at the end of the race, surprisingly overcame great adversity to finish third in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing/Sealy Chevrolet.

    “Still shell shocked,” Busch said. “We picked up the lead and the battery went dead.”

    “We battled back, Busch continued. “The guys changed it as fast as they could and we got third.”

    “It was a great night to run up front and showcase what this team is made of.”

    This was Busch’s seventh top-ten finish in 26 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    Not Surprising:   Denny Hamlin, behind the wheel after his back injury, not only qualified well but also ran well in the top five, capitalizing on every situation possible to get himself and his team back into contention.

    Hamlin, behind the wheel of the No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota, started from the pole and was the highest finishing Toyota Camry driver in the race. Hamlin scored the fourth spot when the checkered flag flew and moved up three positions in the point standings to 24th.

    “Proud of our effort,” Hamlin said. “We need solid runs like this.”

    Surprising:  In an incident that looked like Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Danica Patrick wrecked each other, Brad Keselowski, who was also involved, surprisingly threw himself under that bus.

    “Yeah, I cut Danica off,” Keselowski said. “I didn’t know we were still three-wide and I caused a big wreck.”

    “I feel bad for her and I send my apologies to her,” Keselowski continued. “It was a long night for the Miller Lite Ford.”

    Keselowski finished 36th and fell three spots to 10th in the point standings.

    Not Surprising:  In a battle for the lucky dog after being trapped in the pits when a caution came out, Jeff Gordon became the unlucky dog yet again.

    “We were a victim of the caution coming out while we were on pit road,” Gordon said. “We were going for the Lucky Dog and had to be real aggressive.”

    “We were racing three-wide and that’s what’s going to happen,” Gordon continued. “I hate we were back there.”

    “We had an awesome Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet.”

    Gordon finished 35th and fell three spots to 15th in the point standings.

    Surprising:  Stewart Haas not only had a surprisingly good finish for at least two of their drivers, with Ryan Newman finishing sixth and Tony Stewart finishing seventh, but they also gained some hope for the remainder of the season.

    “It was a solid night for Stewart-Haas Racing,” Newman said.

    “We finally got some stability in the car,” Stewart said.

    “All three of our cars made big improvements this week in terms of performance,” Greg Zipadelli, Competition Director, said. “Danica had a bad day, but overall we ended up with a couple of good finishes, which was certainly an improvement.”

    Not Surprising:  Given the length of the race, it was not surprising to see some engines fail under the pressure.

    One such failure happened to Kyle Busch, who had again been dominant, until his car was injured by the camera cable. He was able to get repaired and was still performing at the front of the field when the engine let go, ending his day in the 38th position.

    “We had been running first, second or third most of the evening, but just catastrophic engine failure,” Busch said. “It seems to be that time of the year again.”

    “I hate it for all my guys,” Busch continued. “It’s just so frustrating to see it end on a short note like that and not getting the finish that we needed.”

    Dale Earnhardt, Jr. also suffered an engine issue in his No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet, relegating him to a 39th place finish. NASCAR’s most popular driver, however, put it all in perspective.

    “We had smoke in the cockpit for three laps and we started losing power before it broke,” Junior said. “We didn’t have a really good car.”

    “But I want to wish everyone a happy Memorial Day weekend,” Earnhardt Jr. continued. “I take a lot of pride in the National Guard and hope everyone shakes a soldier’s hand and thanks them for what they do.”

  • Matty’s Picks 2013 – Vol. 9 Sprint All-Star Race – Charlotte Motor Speedway – May 18, 2013

    Matty’s Picks 2013 – Vol. 9 Sprint All-Star Race – Charlotte Motor Speedway – May 18, 2013

    We’re 1/3 of the way through the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, and it’s onto Speedweeks at Charlotte. A million bucks is up for grabs this week (actually 2 million), and unlike the NHL, the NBA, and the MLB, we’re already on to the All-Star weekend.

    There have been 28 previous All-Star races, all but one being held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the 1986 event was held at Atlanta Motor Speedway and won by Bill Elliott. The first All-Star race was won by Darrell Waltrip back in 1985 amongst a field of 12. This year, 22 cars will take the green flag of the 2013 All-Star race, 19 of those divers have already locked up a spot in the field.

    Here’s how the starting field for the drivers that will be making the start in the main event tonight:
    – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points race winners in 2012 and 2013
    – NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race winners in the last 10 years
    – Drivers who are past NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions in the previous 10 years
    – The top-two finishers in the Sprint Showdown, the 40-lap race that precedes the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
    – The top Sprint Fan Vote driver who finishes the Showdown and whose car is in “raceable” condition.

    Like last year, the All-Star race will consist of five segments – four 20-lap segments and a 10-lap shootout. Unlike last year, the running the running order at the completion of the fourth segment (Lap 80) will be repositioned behind the Pace Car, based on the drivers’ average finish for the first four segments – putting a premium on strong finishes throughout the entire event.

    The new lineup will be placed directly behind the caution car prior to the opening of pit road for a mandatory four-tire pit stop, yielding the spotlight from the drivers to the pit crews.
    The order of the cars returning to the track will determine the starting order of the final 10-lap shootout. Running order ties will be broken by the finish of the fourth segment.
    I am a fan of the new setup as NASCAR has done a nice job of eliminating the sandbagging factor we’ve seen in previous events, by emphasizing strong finishes in each of the first four 20-lap segments.

    Darlington Recap

    I will keep this brief this week as the intro section is rather long, and I have little to brag about from last week. I chose Kasey Kahne as the winner last week, a pick that looked like a jackpot throughout the middle to late stages, but with 33 laps to go, my chances went south. Whether Kyle Busch got into Kahne, or if he only got close enough to take the air off the No.5 car, this little rivalry heating up between the two drivers is going to be something to watch over the next few weeks. The incident left Kahne settling with a 17th place finish.
    As for my Dark Horse, Ryan Newman, it was the fourth time I picked him this season and he did ok for me for the first time this year. Newman ran a strong race, avoiding trouble throughout and finished 10th.

    All-Star Picks

    Winner Pick
    On Thursday in my preview of tonight’s All-Star race with Greg Depalma on The Prime Sports Network, I picked a guy who is one of the favorites tonight, despite never winning a race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    This is a Kyle Busch style race, with nothing to lose and two million bucks at stake, you can bet that the floorboards of the No.18 car are going to be worn out at the end of the race on Saturday Night.

    He has never won an all-star event in 7 tries despite starting on the pole three times and never won at Charlotte in 26 tries. In spite of never winning at Charlotte, Kyle has been very strong throughout the course of his career and since 2008, he has finished outside the top 8 just twice in 14 races. Kyle’s Driver Rating has never been less than 100, besides the two accidents in 2010 and 2011 since the spring of 2007.

    He has lead laps in 20 of 26 starts at Charlotte, and in the fourth starting spot tonight, Kyle has put himself in position for an early lead. He was close in 2011 to the cool million when he started on the pole for his third time, but Carl Edwards was the guy to beat that night. I still like my pick today.

    Dark Horse Pick

    He might not be a Dark Horse now, but on Thursday he was a 30 to 1 longshot to win the All-Star race tonight. An important stat to mention with this Dark Horse pick is that Eight of the 28 (28.5%) NASCAR Sprint All-Star Races have been won from the front row: four from the pole and four from second-place.

    The guy I picked on Thursday as a “quiet pick” to win the million bucks was Kyle’s brother, Kurt. Kurt Busch’s overall All-Star Race record is: 11 starts, one win, four top-fives, six top-10s, one pole and 30 laps led. His average start is 8.1 and average finish 10.8.

    He followed his 2010 All-Star Race win with a victory the following week in the Coca-Cola 600 and is one of four active drivers to have won the Charlotte double. The others are Jeff Gordon (1997), Jimmie Johnson (2003) and Kasey Kahne (2008). Busch qualified for this year’s Sprint All-Star Race as both a former winner of the event and as a former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion (2004).

    Kurt will be starting outside of Carl Edwards on the front row tonight, and is my quiet sleeper pick this week.

    That’s all for this week, so until the longest race of the season next week, You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Matty’s Picks 2013 – Vol. 8 Darlington Raceway – Bojangles’ Southern 500 – May 11, 2013

    Matty’s Picks 2013 – Vol. 8 Darlington Raceway – Bojangles’ Southern 500 – May 11, 2013

    Darlington Raceway needs no introduction this week. Its the 64th annual Bojangles’ Southern 500 and there’s a reason why the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has continued to come back to the track Too Tough To Tame year after year. It’s NASCAR’s oldest paved superspeedway, and over the years has become one of my favorite stops on the series. There’s something about the history, the heritage, and the excitement about the racing at Darlington that keeps me glued to the broadcast and puts Darlington on my bucket list.

    Talladega Recap

    Last weekend’s chaos at Talladega left me in rough shape, but the good news for me is that nobody saw David Ragan soaring to Victory Lane either. Scoring an unlikely win on the last lap of last week’s Aaron’s 499 with help from his teammate David Gilliland, was a shot in the arm for both David Ragan, Front Row Motorsports, and all the under-funded teams in the sport. It was a major confidence booster in the garage for teams not normally in the spotlight, being that the entire race was dominated by the big guns like Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson. It was a “David takes down Goliath” last week at Talladega, but don’t expect the same this week at Darlington.

    As for my picks last week, I went with defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion, Brad Kesolowski to win last week. Bad Brad made it through the mayhem of each of the big wrecks, but unfortunately had no help for a charge to the front following the rain delay and wound up finishing 15th.

    As for my Dark Horse, Danica Patrick, a late race accident on lap 182 ended her long day of drafting. She missed a big accident early and waited out the three-hour rain only to be caught up in a late race crash on the backstretch when several cars began crashing in front of her. The incident put her out of the race, finishing in 33rd.

    Darlington Picks

    Winner Pick
    On Wednesday while previewing tonight’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 with Greg Depalma on the Prime Sports Network, I picked Kasey Kahne to win, before the cars even hit the track in South Carolina. It’s a pick I still like after Kahne showed decent speed in practice and qualified the No.5 Time Warner Cable Chevrolet in the fourth starting spot. He enters Saturday Night’s race coming off consecutive top 10’s at Darlington Raceway, leading laps in 3 of the last 4 at The Lady In Black. Flashback to 2011, Kahne dominated the Southern 500 in his No.4 Red Bull Toyota, leading a race-high 124 laps, but a late race incident involving oil dropped on the track, collected a slue of solid race cars including Kahne. NASCAR failed to throw a caution, despite many drivers reporting oil on the track, a call that was looked at as controversial in many drivers eyes. Kahne has completed all but one lap in his 10 races at Darlington, and he’s put himself in position to pick up his first win at the historic track through a solid qualifying run on Friday.

    Dark Horse Pick
    On Wednesday, I liked Ryan Newman’s chances at The Lady In Black, but throughout the weekend we haven’t seen much speed out of the No.39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet. I thought he was the guy to look at who has flown under the radar with solid finishes at Darlington, including 6 top 10’s in the last 8 races at Darlington. He traditionally has qualified very well in South Carolina, notching one pole and starting outside the top 12 just twice in 14 starts. He’s got some work to do if he’s to end up in Victory Lane, but needs a solid finish for not only his Chase hopes, but to keep Stewart-Haas racing on the radar as a major player in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

    That’s all for this week, so until we head to Charlotte and All-Star Weekend, You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Talladega Aaron’s 499

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Talladega Aaron’s 499

    With a three hour plus rain delay pushing the Aaron’s 499 from day into a Talladega Night, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Alabama 2.66 mile oval.

    Surprising:  While Talladega has seen its share of calamities, the 44th annual race running seemed to be the granddaddy of all mayhem. There was not just one ‘big one’ but two, with sixteen cars involved in the first wreck early in the race and twelve cars in the second ‘big one’ near the end of the race.

    In between the crashes, there was the weather red flag, which lasted three hours, 36 minutes and six seconds, pushing the race to its finish in what some called darkness.

    There were two drivers, however, who experienced the most ‘Dega mayhem. Kurt Busch, driving the No. 78 Furniture Row/Beautyrest Chevrolet, was having a great run until getting clipped by another car as it slipped down the track.

    This sent Busch airborne and rolling over and over to eventually land smack dab on top of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet of Ryan Newman.

    “We just got hit from behind and along for the ride we went,” Busch said. “It’s Talladega, what can I say.”

    “That’s no way to end a race,” Newman said. “You got what you wanted but that’s just poor judgment restarting the race, running in the dark and running in the rain.”

    Not Surprising:  While ‘Dega may have been filled with mayhem for many drivers, it was a dream come true and the luckiest track ever for two Ford drivers, who both just happened to be named David.

    For David Ragan, winning his first race at Talladega and scoring the first ever victory for his team Front Row Motorsports, Talladega was indeed a dream come true.

    “I always knew in my heart I would get another chance,” Ragan said. “We know we are an underdog but we know ‘Dega is an equalizer.”

    “How sweet to see all those Fords up there for the win,” Ragan continued. “I’m looking at my mirror and I was wondering if I was dreaming.”

    While David Ragan stood in Victory Lane, he would not have been there without the push of his teammate David Gilliland, who himself pronounced Talladega as the luckiest track ever.

    “It was a big day,” the driver of the No. 38 Love’s Travel Stops Ford said. “A lot of it had to do with this little note from my 10-year-old daughter Taylor wishing me good luck.”

    “She wrote that with a little horseshoe on it and put it on my dash before the race,” Gilliland continued. “And she had some horseshoe good luck earrings in too.”

    Surprising:  The race at Talladega was surprisingly nightmarish for one Trevor Bayne, who had once asked if he was dreaming after winning the Daytona 500. The driver of the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford blew up, bringing out the first caution of the race.

    “There was no warning at all,” Bayne said of his engine issue. “I got to turn one and it let go.”

    “I’m surprised the whole field didn’t crash with as much oil that was pouring out of this thing.”

    Not Surprising:  Given the carnage on the race track, it was not surprising that Trevor Bayne was not the only driver watching the remainder of the race from his motor home. In fact, Kasey Kahne, who was involved in the ‘big one’ early on, watched what was left of the race from his couch at home.

    “Btw I’m on the couch at home,” Kahne, driver of the No. 5 Time Warner Cable Chevrolet for Hendrick Motor Sports, tweeted after being knocked early. “This sucks.”

    Kahne finished 42nd and lost three spots in the point standings, falling from the third to the sixth position.

    Surprising:  Demonstrating a new-found maturity, Kyle Busch accepted full responsibility for causing the first ‘big one’ at Talladega.

    “Kind of caused it,” the driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota said. “I really don’t know what happened.”

    “I know I got in the back of the No. 5,” Busch continued. “I hated that I caused a melee for everybody especially early in the race.”

    “I hated that we all got crashed in that deal.”

    Not Surprising:   Restrictor plate racing does indeed make strange bedfellows. There was no better demonstration of this than the ‘friends’ that Denny Hamlin made to enable his successful comeback to the sport after his back injury.

    “It means a lot as a driver to have your peers have your back like that,” Hamlin said of Tony Stewart, Juan Pablo Montoya, Michael Waltrip and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., all of whom fell to the back of the pack to help him. “They really sacrificed the first part of the race for me.”

    “I can’t thank them enough.”

    Also, not surprisingly, the driver change between Hamlin and Brian Vickers went perfectly, allowing Hamlin to escape through the roof hatch to the broadcast booth in the Hollywood Hotel while watching his replacement Brian Vickers take the wheel, only to wreck out in the ‘big one.’

    “Everything went seamless and painless,” Hamlin said. “Every week I feel a lot better.”

    Surprising:  Danica Patrick showed some surprisingly skilled evasive moves in avoiding the first wreck and was in good position until the late-race accident on lap 182 ended her day. The driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet for Stewart Haas Racing finished 33rd.

    “We were watching and we were like, ‘Holy Cow’,”  Tony Gibson, crew chief, said of Danica’s avoidance of the first ‘big one’.  “I don’t know how she missed it.”

    “It’s just unfortunate how it ended up with the late-race crash,” Gibson continued. “But that’s part of restrictor-plate racing.”

    Not Surprising:  With a rain delay of the magnitude at Talladega, it was not surprising that several drivers and cars had issues attempting to go back racing. Juan Pablo Montoya could not get his No. 42 Clorox Chevrolet re-started after the rain delay and ended up behind the wall before returning to the track for a 25th place finish.

    Joey Logano was right there with JPM struggling to restart after the rain delay, however, his problem was more serious and ultimately fatal. The No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford had some sort of engine issue that led to his 35th place finish.

    “We’re not sure what happened,” Logano said. “We’re thinking maybe an air pocket somehow got in the water system, but it doesn’t make sense.”

    “It’s a bummer when you’re sitting third when it is raining and you don’t finish the race.”

    Surprising:  Toyota had a good day at Talladega with occasional Toyota driver and team owner Michael Waltrip surprisingly leading the way. Waltrip was the highest running Toyota  with a fourth place finish, followed by Martin Truex Jr. in seventh and lap-leader Matt Kenseth in eighth.

    “I love being a part of the Toyota family,” the driver of the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine/Alabama National Champ Toyota said. “We had a great run.”

    “I had a ball,” Waltrip continued. “I love being at Talladega and I love racing.”

    Not Surprising:  Jimmie Johnson extended his points lead to 41 over second place Carl Edwards with his fifth place finish at Talladega.

    “It was obviously a very good day for our Lowe’s Chevrolet,” Johnson said. “We had a very fast car and I felt like we were a player all day long, and that’s awesome.”

    Surprising:  Regan Smith, behind the wheel of the No. 51 Hendricks.com Chevrolet, was surprisingly disappointed with his top-ten finish, especially after winning the crash-filled Nationwide race.

    “Well the last few laps I didn’t see much because it was pretty dark,” Smith said. “A little disappointed.”

    “I kept getting stalled out by the cars on the outside.”

    Not Surprising:  Even with the mayhem of restrictor plate racing, Aric Almirola, behind the wheel of the No. 43 Gwaltney Ford, continued his streak of consecutive top-ten finishes. In fact, he will make history for Richard Petty Motorsports at Darlington if he finishes in the top-ten there.

    “We sure are on a roll lately,” Almirola said. “I think we are the only people that aren’t surprised we are seventh in points and have the longest current top-10 streak in the series.”

    “We just need to keep it up and start moving to top-fives and hopefully a win soon.”

  • Crunching The Numbers: Richmond

    Crunching The Numbers: Richmond

    After a blazing fast weekend at Kansas Speedway, the NASCAR world sets its sights on Richmond International Raceway and the second night race of the year for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series. As one of the few short tracks on the circuit, Richmond always provides great racing in each series and this weekend’s events should be no exception, especially with the Sprint Cup drivers getting their first shot at this track in the new Gen6 car.

    Sprint Cup Series

    For the third time this season, the Sprint Cup Series makes its way to a short track and will take on the 3/4 mile Richmond International Raceway under the lights on Saturday night for the first night-time short track race of the season. Will Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports continue their stranglehold on Victory Lane with the new Gen6 car, or will we see a new contender emerge after 400 laps in the Toyota Owners 400?

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Kyle Busch 16 4 12 13 1 891 12.7 5.4
    Clint Bowyer 14 2 2 8 0 163 14.1 9.6
    Tony Stewart 28 3 11 19 0 950 17.7 10.4
    Ryan Newman 22 1 5 13 1 450 11.3 11.6
    Kevin Harvick 24 2 6 15 1 942 16.5 11.7
    Mark Martin 54 1 18 30 5 449 9.7 11.9
    Dale Earnhardt Jr 27 3 9 11 1 494 15.9 13.9
    Jeff Gordon 40 2 16 25 5 1415 7.9 14.4
    Carl Edwards 17 0 3 8 1 442 11.7 14.9
    Jeff Burton 37 1 9 16 1 942 15.2 15.0

    Who To Watch: With four wins in 16 races at Richmond along with 12 top fives, 13 top tens, one pole, 891 laps led, and an average finish of 5.4, Kyle Busch leads all active drivers with the best statistics at this track. After a terrible weekend last week in Kansas, this race could be just what the doctor ordered for Busch to get back to his winning ways.

    Others to keep an eye on include: Clint Bowyer, who won last fall to give himself two wins and has an average finish of 9.6; Tony Stewart, who has had a lackluster season thus far, but could rebound here due to his two wins and average finish of 10.4; Ryan Newman, Stewart’s SHR teammate, who has one win and an average finish of 11.6; and Kevin Harvick, who has two wins and an average finish of 11.7.

    The rest of the drivers in the top ten statistically at Richmond (Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, and Jeff Burton) could also be threats here Saturday as they have a combined seven wins and average finishes of 15.0 or better.

    One last note of importance that could come into play here is that Toyota has won seven of the last eight races at Richmond, will we see their dominance continue or will Chevrolet or Ford have something to say about it?

    Nationwide Series

    Friday night’s running of the Nationwide Series’ ToyotaCare 250 will be full of Sprint Cup regulars coming in to see if they can steal the show away from the Nationwide regulars. Sounds like a recipe for some great racing pitting the Nationwide drivers running for points against their Sprint Cup counterparts who just want the trophy and the win.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Kyle Busch 15 4 9 12 3 772 8.9 6.7
    Kevin Harvick 23 6 15 18 2 1089 8.3 7.0
    Brian Vickers 5 0 1 3 0 0 20.4 12.4
    Reed Sorenson 9 0 2 6 0 4 11.6 13.3
    Austin Dillon 3 0 0 2 0 14 12.0 13.7
    Justin Allgaier 8 0 1 3 0 0 16.4 14.1
    Trevor Bayne 4 0 1 2 0 0 6.8 14.8
    Parker Kligerman 1 0 0 0 0 0 7.0 15.0
    Joe Nemechek 22 1 5 9 0 201 13.8 15.5
    Elliott Sadler 19 0 2 6 0 58 19.7 16.1


    Who To Watch: To say that Kyle Busch has been dominating the field this season in the Nationwide Series would be an understatement and Busch is poised to continue that dominance in Friday night’s race. Heading into the weekend, Busch has four wins, nine top fives, 12 top tens, three poles, 772 laps led and an average finish of 6.7 in 15 starts at Richmond. However, another Sprint Cup regular hot on his heels at Richmond is Kevin Harvick, who has six wins, 15 top fives, 18 top tens, two poles, 1089 laps led, and an average finish of 7.0 in 23 starts. Following behind Busch and Harvick is a slew of Nationwide regulars, including: Brian Vickers, Reed Sorenson, Austin Dillon, Justin Allgaier, Trevor Bayne, and Parker Kligerman, all of whom have average finishes ranging from 12.4 to 15.0.

  • Matty’s Picks 2013 – Vol. 5 Texas Motor Speedway – NRA 500 – April 13, 2013

    Matty’s Picks 2013 – Vol. 5 Texas Motor Speedway – NRA 500 – April 13, 2013

    Turn on the lights and turn up the heat this week as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races under the lights for the first time this season. Texas Motor Speedway needs no introduction as it has produced some of the fastest speeds and exciting finishes we’ve seen over the past few seasons.

    Remember back to last season, The Chase for the Sprint Cup was heating up between five-time champ, Jimmie Johnson and now defending champion, Brad Kesolowski. The fall race at Texas last year was firmly in the hands of the No. 48 team for the majority of the 335 laps run, but a late-race caution flag lined the two Championship contenders up side-by-side for a fantastic finish. The two collided with one another in the final laps, with Johnson emerging victorious from the awesome battle and Kesolowski landing in second.

    The 1.5/2 mile intermediate tracks are the ones NASCAR circled when designing the new Gen-6 car. They wanted to design a race car that would tighten the delta we’ve seen on the intermediate tracks with the Gen-5 race car over the course of the past five or so seasons. So far this season, we’ve seen a record number of green flag passes for the lead at Las Vegas with 31, and matched the track record of 41 at Auto Club Speedway. Based on these two important stats, I’m going to make the statement that the designers of the Gen-6 car have done their job and improved the passing on these traditional “cookie-cutter” tracks. Saturday night will be no different. Watch for track-record speeds and passing throughout the field.

    Martinsville Recap

    I went with the defending champ last week, and it was the five-time champ who dominated the STP Gas Booster 500. Against my better judgment, I picked against the recent history at Martinsville Speedway, and it came back to bite me in the end. I went against the history of the past 21 races at the paper-clip, being dominated by three drivers, Jimmie Johnson being one of them. Ford also hadn’t visited Victory Lane (or should I say the front stretch backdrop) in over a decade as well. It was ultimately Johnson and the Chevy’s that dominated last week. Never bet against the trends. Kesolowski finished sixth.

    I picked a Chevy for my dark horse pick last week, but I had no luck with Ryan Newman finishing 31st, as the Stewart-Haas camp continued their slow start last week at Martinsville.

    Texas Picks

    If you tuned into www.primesportsnetwork.com on Wednesday night, you heard Greg Dipalma and I preview Saturday Night’s NRA 500 from Texas Motor Speedway. There were a couple drivers I really liked because of where the odds opened up, Matt Kenseth at a 12 to 1 and Dale Earnhardt Jr. at 15 to 1. I made my picks on Wednesday evening based off historical finishes at TMS without the advantage of seeing any testing or practice speeds.

    There was one trend that was clear across the board, starting up front at Texas is very important. We highlighted some drivers who have not traditionally qualified well at Texas, and their tallies in the win column at Texas reflected the importance of starting up front. Six of the last eight races at Texas Motor Speedway have been won from a starting spot inside the top-5.

    Winner Pick

    I liked my pick on Wednesday, and I’m sticking with him again today. Matt Kenseth really likes Texas Motor Speedway, probably because he enters Saturday with a top-5 in each of the last five races at TMS. He boasts the series best average finish (6.2) in the last ten races at TMS and won the first Gen-6 race on a 1.5-mile track when he snubbed Kasey Khane from the win in Las Vegas. Fast forward to Thursday’s test sessions at TMS and look at the 7 fastest 10 consecutive lap averages, and you’ll find Matt Kenseth. Flip to the 5th best consecutive lap average, and you’ll find his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Kyle Busch. Despite Jimmie Johnson being fastest in both test sessions yesterday as far as 10 lap averages are concerned, Toyota claimed 3 of the top 5 10 consecutive lap averages on the day.

    Kenseth will be the 13th car on the track for qualifying later this evening and is my guy who will be there at the end this week.

    Dark Horse Pick

    I didn’t have a long shot pick on Wednesday, but since the cars have unloaded and been on track the past two days, one car has shown a ton of speed in testing. As I mentioned before, qualifying well might mean the difference between a win and a tenth place finish this week in Texas. The No.78 Furniture Row racing Chevy has been fast the past two days, winning the first test session and coming in runner-up in the second of the two test sessions yesterday. Kurt Busch followed up his season-high fourth place finish at Bristol with a top-5 at Auto Club Speedway, the other intermediate oval race this season. We’ve seen some speed out of this team so far this weekend, and Busch will look to shake the woes he had at Martinsville last week with a solid finish in the Lone Star State.

    That’s all for this week, so until Kansas, you stay classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Martinsville STP Gas Booster 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Martinsville STP Gas Booster 500

    Refreshed from an off-weekend and ready to go short track racing, here is what was surprising and not surprising when the Cup drivers returned to racing in the STP Gas Booster 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

    Surprising:  With all the talk of paybacks from feuding drivers, it was surprising just how uneventful the last restart and final laps of the race were, especially since the trio competing at the end included Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer, all of whom have history together.

    In fact, at last year’s Martinsville race, the three drivers tangled in the final laps, with Bowyer on new tires and the Hendrick teammates on old tires, sending them all spinning and handing the race win to Ryan Newman.

    Gordon and Bowyer also have history and unsettled scores from last season that even carried over through the end-of-year banquet in Las Vegas. Yet, in spite of a few nudges here and there, they raced each other cleanly and respectfully, which was more than surprising given the rhetoric and hostility between the two.

    “Well, we just didn’t need those cautions there at the end,” Gordon, who finished third in the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, said. “We just needed more laps there at the end.”

    “Well, last year I had the upper hand with tires and it just didn’t work out,” Bowyer, driver of the No. 15 RK Motors Toyota and race runner up, said. “It’s just disappointing.”

    “Just wish I’d had that clock.”

    Not Surprising:  With Jimmie Johnson’s stats at Martinsville, including multiple wins and the best driver rating of 122.3, it was not surprising at all to see him in Victory Lane, collecting his eighth grandfather’s clock.

    And while Johnson winning at Martinsville was not surprising in the least, the depth of bittersweet emotion in victory lane was also not surprising, given the history of loss for team owner Rick Hendrick and his family at that rack.

    With caps turned backwards in memory of Ricky Hendrick and the other members of the HMS team lost in the plane crash at Martinsville nine years ago, Rick Hendrick shared that the track holds so many mixed emotions for him, including the joy of winning and the agony of loss.

    Yet in spite of the bittersweet memories, Hendrick was also incredibly proud of the accomplishment of winning 20 races at that track, the most of any organization in the sport.

    “I was looking at that scoreboard over there, the first time I ever came to a Cup race was here with my dad,” Hendrick said. “We’ve been fortunate to have some great drivers and this track has been awful good to us.

    Surprising:  While it was surprising enough that Danica Patrick, behind the wheel of the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, finished 12th, it was even more surprising that she beat out her Stewart Haas Racing teammates Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman, who finished 17th and 31st respectively.

    This was Patrick’s first time at Martinsville Speedway in a Cup car and, in spite of an early spin, she rallied back to the checkered flag as the highest finishing rookie in the race.

    “Yeah, well never being at Martinsville, I didn’t know what to expect,” Patrick said. “I felt like I made a lot of passes.”

    “I’m most proud about coming back from two laps down and being on the lead lap,” Patrick continued. “Then grabbing a 12th place finish in the end was good.”

    Not Surprising:  One of the biggest complaints after Martinsville was, not surprisingly, the lack of a second groove in the track and how much track position was lost because of it.

    Although finishing top-ten, Marcos Ambrose, driver of the No. 9 Stanley Ford, had quite a bit to say about the battle for the preferred inside line.

    “You had to fight like a dog to try to get to the inside,” Ambrose said. “If you got hung out there, there’s just nothing you could do – you’re just along for the ride.”

    Surprising:  With all the attention on and rhetoric about Joey Logano, it was a bit surprising that he was pretty much a non-factor at Martinsville.

    In fact, going into the short track race weekend, Logano said that he would not seek conflict but he also vowed not to lay down for anyone.

    “There’s a fine line of how you’re going to earn that respect,” Logano said. “I’m not a guy that’s going to look for trouble, but I’m also the guy that’s not going to get walked on.”

    Logano experience neither being in trouble or getting walked on at Martinsville, finishing 23rd in his No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford. And with that non-stellar finish, he fell two spots in the point standings to 11th.

    Not Surprising:   Any racer out of the car would find it difficult being at the track. So, it was not surprising just how tough Denny Hamlin took sitting out and watching another driver behind the wheel of his race machine.

    “The start of the race was nothing like I thought it was,” Hamlin said. “The start of the race absolutely killed me.”

    “That was very, very tough to watch,” Hamlin continued. “I didn’t’ realize the physical toll that coming out here was going to take on me.”

    Surprising:  With Roush Fenway Racing traditionally struggling at Martinsville, it was surprising to see one of their drivers finish top ten. Greg Biffle, behind the wheel of the No. 16 3M Ford, brought his car to the checkered flag in the ninth position.

    “It was a hard fought day,” Biffle said. “Our car was way too tight and I had to keep working on it.”

    “There was no outside groove whatsoever and everyone really wanted the bottom,” Biffle continued. “But we still finished in the top-10 so I’m pretty happy about that.”

    Not Surprising:  There were several bounce back finishes amongst drivers who struggled and then came back strong at the finish of the race. One of the most notable was Brad Keselowski, who overcame a questionable pit road penalty to finish sixth in his Blue Deuce.

    “That was a hard-fought finish,” Keselowski said. “We wanted to be able to win here and just haven’t been strong enough to do it.”

    “But I’m proud of where we are right here today.”

    Another amazing performance was given by Iron Man Mark Martin, who was involved in a multi-car crash on lap 180 and then rallied to finish tenth. To boot, this stellar finish was in an unfamiliar car in which he was subbing for the injured Denny Hamlin.

    Yet not surprisingly, Martin once again downplayed his accomplishment.

    “It wasn’t that great of a result; we were capable of a little bit better,” Martin said in his usual humble style. “I did not fill Denny Hamlin’s shoes, I can tell you that much.”

    “He is the master.”

    Surprising:  Another pleasant surprise for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing was the good finish for once of one of its drivers. Jamie McMurray, behind the wheel of the No. 1 Novo Nordisk Chevrolet for EGR, finished seventh.

    “We had a really good car,” McMurray said. “Made a good pit call at the end and got a couple of extra spots.”

    “That was a really good day for us.”

    Not Surprising:  Although working with a relatively new team in Furniture Row Racing, it was not surprising that veteran driver Kurt Busch had the presence of mind to not only angle the car before hitting the wall after his brakes failed, but also had the wherewithal to utilize his fire suppression system when his car went up in flames.

    “Something let go in the brakes,” Busch said. “I had to turn the car to the right otherwise I was going to hit harder than what we did.”

    “It was a bummer day.”

    Unfortunately, that bummer day resulted in Busch falling from 13th to 19th in the driver point standings. The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Serta Chevrolet, along with all of his Cup competitors, will have a chance at redemption as the elite series heads into Texas Motor Speedway.

  • Matty’s Picks 2013 – Vol. 4  Martinsville Speedway – STP Gas Booster 500 – April 7, 2013

    Matty’s Picks 2013 – Vol. 4 Martinsville Speedway – STP Gas Booster 500 – April 7, 2013

    It has been a couple weeks since you have heard from me, and I am excited for my opportunity to spout off my thoughts before tomorrow’s STP Gas Booster 500. Martinsville Speedway is one of my favorite stops on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series each year due to its storied history and true short-track persona. It is the only track left on the NASCAR circuit which was part of the original schedule back in 1948, and the .526 mi paper-clip needs no further introduction.

    If you’ve been following SpeedwayMedia or myself on Twitter, you may have noticed I’ve taken my thoughts and picks to the online radio/podcast arena, joining Greg Dipalma of the Prime Sports Network each Wednesday evening to preview the upcoming week’s race. This past week, Greg and I had the privilege of speaking with Mike Smith, PR Director for Martinsville Speedway, who offered his insight on what it takes to put on a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at the storied short track in Southern Virginia. Somewhere around 80,000 Martinsville hot dogs will be consumed this weekend, and I thank Mike Smith for taking a break from his cooking duties to speak with us this week.

    No recap this week so we’ll move right into my picks for tomorrow’s STP Gas Booster 500.

    Winner Pick
    A few important factors have made paring down the list of potential winners tomorrow at Martinsville Speedway. The first important statistic that has helped to set my fantasy roster and make some bold statements as to who will win the race tomorrow afternoon is, 93 of the 128 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Martinsville Speedway have been won from a top-10 starting position. Furthermore, just 5 of the 128 races have been won from a starting spot outside the top-20. Add the two together, and 123 of the 128 races have been won from inside the top-20.

    Now, it’s the track’s recent history that I am betting against this week. The past 20 races at Martinsville Speedway have been dominated by three drivers, Jimmie Johnson (7 total wins in past 20 races), Jeff Gordon (4 wins in past 20 races), and Denny Hamlin (4 wins in past 20 races). Also, Chevrolet has won all but 5 of the past 20 races (4 being won by Hamlin in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and one by Rusty Wallace in 2004 for Dodge). The manufacturer missing in these talks is Ford, who has not visited Gatorade Victory Lane since Kurt Busch won from the 36th starting position, the deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Martinsville Speedway.

    The driver I am going with this week finished 3rd at the other short-track race this year, and besides Watkins Glen and Sonoma, has been strongest on the short-tracks over his career. In six starts at Martinsville Speedway, Brad Kesolowski has just three top-10’s and has lead just ten laps at the paper-clip, but has yet to finish outside the top-20. He ranks fourth among active drivers – behind Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and Denny Hamlin, and will start seventh tomorrow at Martinsville Speedway. Kesolowski is a short-track guy and will look to snap Ford’s 20-race winless streak in Southern Virginia tomorrow.

    Dark Horse Pick
    Ryan Newman is a driver who struggled earlier this season in finishing the race, but who has rebounded nicely since his 38th place finish at Las Vegas with solid finishes at both Bristol and Auto Club Speedway. He stole the win at Martinsville Speedway last season, and over the course of his career, has finished the best at short tracks over intermediate tracks, road courses, and restrictor plate tracks. In 22 races at the paper-clip, Newman has tallied a win, seven top fives, eleven top tens, and has started on the pole three times. Newman will roll off the grid in the tenth starting position tomorrow and looks for a solid finish tomorrow to improve his chances of making The Chase for the Sprint Cup this season.

    That’s all for this week, be sure to tune into www.PrimeSportsNetwork.com on Wednesday as Greg and I preview next week’s race from Texas Motor Speedway!

    Until next time, you stay classy NASCAR NATION!