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Surprising and Not Surprising: Texas Samsung Mobile 500

[media-credit name=”Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”254″][/media-credit]Deep in the heart of Texas Motor Speedway, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 16^th running of the Samsung Mobile 500.

Surprising: In spite of Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tool Chevrolet, leading over 150 laps, it was surprising that his team owner will have to wait yet another race to secure the 200^th win for Hendrick Motorsports.

Johnson, who finished second, was the highest ranking HMS driver for the night. This was Johnson’s 13^th top-10 finish in 18 races at Texas and his fifth top-10 finish for the year.

“I’m definitely disappointed, but we had a great race car and there’s a lot to be proud of here today,” Johnson said. “Certainly wish we were there in Victory Lane but everybody knows we’re here.”

“We’re awfully close to it with this KOBALT Tools Chevrolet.”

Although still at the 199 win mark, all of the Hendrick drivers had surprisingly good nights, even Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne, who finished fourth and seventh respectively. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., the final HMS pilot, finished tenth.

This was the first time since the 2011 spring race at Talladega that Hendrick Motorsports had all four of its cars in the top-10 at the finish.

Not Surprising: At a track where Roush Fenway Racing traditionally dominates, it was not surprising to see one Roushketeer, Greg Biffle, in the winner’s circle with his cowboy hat and guns. This was Biff’s first win of the 2012 season and ended a 49 race winless streak.

The win was the company’s ninth win at Texas, the most of any other racing entity.

“I just dug deep,” Biffle said about his hard fought win. “I knew I had to do it and I kept trying and trying and trying.”

“I knew the team would forgive me if I wrecked it trying to beat him,” Biffle continued. “So, I just gave it all I had.”

Surprising: It was surprising that the fire was extinguished and there was no smoke at Texas this weekend. Tony Stewart, reigning past champion, finished 24^th, two laps down.

“We just couldn’t get the handle on this thing tonight,” Stewart said. “We chased it all night.”

“We’ll go back to the shop, tear it apart, and see what the deal is.”

Surprisingly, his teammate Ryan Newman was right there with him, finishing a bit better at 21^st, yet also two laps down.

“Things didn’t go our way today,” the driver of the No. 39 US Army Chevrolet said. “But we’ll be back stronger next week to complete the mission, which is winning the race.”

Not Surprising: Martin Truex, Jr., to no one’s surprise, continued tearing up the track for Michael Waltrip Racing. The driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota started from the pole position and finished top ten, in sixth place to be exact.

Truex, Jr. has finished top-10 in nine of the last twelve races.

“It was a lot of fun out there running up front with the NAPA Toyota,” Truex, Jr. said. “I can’t say enough about everybody on this NAPA team and everybody at MWR.”

“Hopefully we can keep this thing going.”

His MWR teammate Mark Martin also had a great run at Texas, a track where he was rated 12^th in the driver rankings. Martin, behind the wheel of the No. 55 Aaron’s 2000 Best of the Best Toyota, finished third.

This was Martin’s 13^th top-10 finish in 23 races at Texas Motor Speedway.

“Mark Martin is so enthusiastic,” team owner Michael Waltrip said. “He has pumped all of the drivers up.”

“We are very happy with our team’s performance.”

Surprising: It was most surprising that at a race where there are on average eight to nine restarts, there were only two caution flags thrown, one for debris and one for Trevor Bayne’s encounter with the wall.

The yellow flag flew just twice within the first 100 laps of the race, leaving the rest of the race to be run under green flag conditions. This was the first time in history that a superspeedway race had that many green flag laps without a caution.

Not Surprising: Unfortunately but not surprisingly, there was no Bubba Watson moment for Denny Hamlin at Texas, a track at which he traditionally runs well. The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Office/March of Dimes Toyota had a decent day, finishing 12^th,but was the last car on the lead lap at race end.

Surprising: At a track where he sat out last year’s fall race because of the Truck race incident with Ron Hornaday and where this year he had an issue in the pits with his air hose getting stuck under the car, Kyle Busch had a surprising good day after all.

The driver brought his No. 18 Toyota Interstate Batteries Toyota to the checkered flag in the 11^th spot.

Not Surprising: Since Chassis No. 665 scored a good finish for Landon Cassill at Michigan last year, it was not surprising that new driver Kurt Busch gave it a whirl for a good run at Texas. The driver of the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet finished 13^th.

“It was a good night and finish for us,” Busch said. “We had little struggles but were able to overcome those.”

“This was a good night and a nice top-15 finish for us.”

Surprising: The struggles of the Penske Dodge teams surprisingly continued and both drivers ended up just plain frustrated.

AJ Allmendinger, in the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge, finished 15^th but his teammate Brad Keselowski, behind the wheel of the Blue Deuce, had all kinds of problems that sent him off to the garage, finishing in the frustratingly low position of 36^th spot.

“The race tonight was frustrating,” Dinger said. “We had a fast Shell/Pennzoil Dodge and we just didn’t make it happen tonight.”

“This has been a very frustrating weekend to say the least,” Keselowski said. “We just need to clean some things up so that the potential of this team can shine.”

“Right now, we aren’t doing that.”

Not Surprising: As predicted, especially given the wicked weather in the area, the wind most certainly did wreak havoc throughout the race. And while it affected most drivers equally, there were still some drivers that felt the high wind added to the frustrations of their day.

“Between the wind, the changing race track and the handling, it was a long night for the Target team,” Juan Pablo Montoya said. “We didn’t have much of a chance to work on the car like we had hoped to.”

JPM finished 16^th in his No. 42 Target Chevrolet, one lap down at race end.

April 15, 2012
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Martinsville

[media-credit name=”Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Tony Stewart: Stewart salvaged a solid seventh-place finish at Martinsville after a wild finish scrambled the finishing order and gave Stewart’s teammate Ryan Newman the win. Stewart moved up one place into a tie for third in the Sprint Cup point standings, and trails Greg Biffle by 12.

“Some people would say Ryan ‘bullied’ his way to the win,” Stewart said. “Those people would all share the last name ‘Logano.’

“I guess you could say Ryan stole the win. He took the win right out from under the noses of Hendrick Motorsports. As a result of Ryan’s win, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson should visit Outback Steakhouse, Ryan’s sponsor, and get a free Bloomin’ Onion. Let me reiterate: it’s free, so they won’t have to steal it.”

2. Dale Earnhardt, Jr: Earnhardt made a risky move to pit during a caution with three laps to go, but the move paid off after a disastrous restart for Hendrick teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. When the dust settled, Ryan Newman had stolen the win, and Earnhardt had a third, his third top-5 finish of the year.

“Hendrick cars were running 1-2-3 with two laps to go,” Earnhardt said. “Hendrick’s 200^th victory was so close, we could smell it. Oddly enough, it smelled like a Bloomin’ Onion from Outback Steakhouse.

3. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth posted his third top-5 finish of the year with a fourth in the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville. He is now tied for third in the point standings, 12 behind Roush Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle.

“Recklessness caused pure chaos at Martinsville,” Kenseth said, “which led to an amazing finish. What’s more amazing? The fact that I used ‘recklessness,’ ‘chaos,’ and ‘Martinsville’ in a sentence, and didn’t mention Brian Vickers.”

4. Greg Biffle: Biffle maintained the Sprint Cup points lead with a 13^th-place finish at Martinsville, one lap down. He holds a six-point lead over the hard-charging Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who finished third.

“David Reutimann was clearly driving the ‘Car Of Tomorrow,’” Biffle said, “because at that rate of speed, it would have been Monday before he completed 500 laps.”

5. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson’s epic duel with Hendrick teammate Jeff Gordon was interrupted two laps from the end by the stalled No. 10 car of David Reutimann, which forced the race’s penultimate caution. On the ensuing restart, Johnson and Gordon spun after Clint Bowyer’s dive to the bottom, assisted by a bump from Ryan Newman, caused short-track chaos. Johnson limped home with a 12^th-place finish.

“Newman got lucky,” Johnson said, “and I can live with that. As my five Sprint Cup titles can attest, I’d rather be good than lucky. But give Newman credit. For someone with no neck, he sure did stick his out.”

6. Kevin Harvick: Harvick started second on the grid at Martinsville and led 21 early laps before his day went sour. He finished 19^th, two laps down, and tumbled one spot in the point standings into a tie for third.

“We totally missed the setup on the No. 29 ‘Budweiser Is Back’ Chevrolet,” Harvick said. “As a result, my pit crew sent me out on the track with half-hearted encouragement, saying ‘This Dud’s For You.’ I can’t thank them enough, so I won’t thank them at all.”

7. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex posted his fourth top-10 finish of the year with a fifth in the Goody’s Fast Relief 500. He jumped two places in the point standings into a tie for third, 12 behind Greg Biffle.

“Between David Reutimann, Clint Bowyer, and Ryan Newman,” Truex said, “it was an April fools day to remember. Apparently, Auto Club Speedway wasn’t the only appearance the Three Stooges made.”

8. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer’s dash to the inside on a late restart, helped by a bump from Ryan Newman, initiated a crash that wiped out Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon from contention. Bowyer spun as well in the melee, but recovered to finish 10th, and now sits ninth in the point standings, 34 out of first.

“I had fresh tires,” Bowyer said, “so I knew I could get a good jump on Gordon and Johnson on the restart. I had ‘grip;’ they had ‘gripes.’ But don’t blame me. I was trying to win. David Reutimann? I’m not sure what he was doing? I don’t know why he chose to park on the track. My guess? It’s Martinsville, and that was the only spot available.”

9. Jeff Gordon: Looking for a win to boost a lackluster season, Gordon saw a near-victory ripped from his grasp after a caution for David Reutimann’s stalled car led to the restart that wrecked Gordon. Gordon took the lead after stalking Jimmie Johnson for 50 laps, and was poised to give Hendrick Motorsports its 200^th win.

“Obviously,” Gordon said, “Reutimann has a mistaken idea of ‘start and park.’ He was, quite literally, out for a Sunday drive.

“I understand Reutimann was trying to score as many points as possible to keep that No. 10 car in the top 35, so Danica Patrick can run her allotted races. Heck, why not just let Patrick race at Martinsville. That way, we know any caution caused by the No. 10 would have been a legitimate one.”

10. Ryan Newman: Newman plowed his way to the front on a restart with two laps to go, leaving the Hendrick Motorsports duo of Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson in his wake. Newman held off A.J. Allmendinger on the final green-white-checkered finish to secure his first win of the season, and Stewart-Haas Racing’s third.

“Hopefully,” Newman said, “I haven’t burned any bridges with the Hendrick camp. After all, they do provide us with engines. So, I don’t mind them giving me horsepower, but I do mind them giving me grief. Joke of the day: How is Stewart Haas Racing different from Hendrick Motorsports? Stewart Haas can win with Hendrick engines.”

April 3, 2012
Stewart-Haas Racing Finds Success Early in the Season

[media-credit id=24 align=”alignright” width=”226″][/media-credit]Early in the season, all eyes are on Tony Stewart and his Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) team following the late domination last year and so far this year. At Martinsville this past weekend, Newman added to the win column to give SHR their third win in the first six races.

“The strength overall for Stewart-Haas, it’s a two-mile racetrack and a half-mile racetrack, and Stewart already won on a mile-and-a-half racetrack,” Newman says. “So we have a good strong start to the season when it comes to looking at the racetracks and the places that we race at, and that makes a difference. Some guys are only capable of winning at certain racetracks and we have proved that Stewart-Haas is capable of a lot.”

For Newman’s crew chief Tony Gibson, it is all about having solid equipment each week.

“We know we are working hard as a company to make sure both these cars are as close as we can get, other than what the two different drivers need, little things,” he says. “We have everything there we need to win every week. It’s hard to win every week, but we have got the equipment and the drivers to do it. We just have to execute and make sure it happens.”

One of the benefits that helps SHR is both Stewart and Newman are good at a variety of tracks. In Newman’s 16 career victories, he has won at 11 different tracks.

“I have got some tracks I like better than others, but there’s not a track out there that I dislike,” Newman says. “That just goes to show you when it comes to my stats, I’m a contender at a lot of racetracks and that’s — I think the best I’ve ever run in the championship is sixth, but just goes to show if we get the right situation and package together for the last ten, with the difference and versatility in the racetracks, we’ll be in good shape. I look forward to it.  We just have to keep our nose to the grindstone.  This is a great step in the right direction but ultimately this is just one small steppingstone and we have to build a pretty nice sidewalk.”

Meanwhile, Stewart has won at a variety of tracks, too, from road courses to short tracks and mile-and-a-halves. This year, Stewart won at both mile-and-a-halves, Las Vegas Speedway and Auto Club Speedway. These two wins come after winning five of the final 10 races last season on the way to winning the championship.

“To go through an offseason and pick it back up and to have some pretty big personnel changes in the middle of all that so, it’s pretty big right now,” Stewart says. “You know the hard part is that you just don’t want it to end, you want it to stay like this.”

Even with winning the championship, Stewart fired crew chief Darian Grubb and hired Steve Addington to take his place. Despite having the run to the title, Stewart felt that communication wasn’t there with Grubb as they struggled the majority of the year.

As people focusing towards this year’s chase, many people are looking at the win column early this year to see who will be in the Chase come September. Newman says for him, he just worries about being consistent.

“I think our team is definitely a Top-10 contending team,” he says. “We have proved that the first six races of the season or whatever we are at now.  If we have to, then we do. But if we have to, and it’s tough to say because of what Stewart went through last year if you have to; usually if you have to do that, my point is, you’re not a championship-contending team. So I would rather much rely on how strong we are each and every week than rely back on a win or multiple wins to get into the Chase.”

Newman’s crew chief Tony Gibson thinks that Newman and team can put together a good solid run into and throughout the Chase this year.

“We know we can do it; we have said it time and time again, the equipment is there and everything we need to do to win,” he says. “We just have to put it in place and execute.  We have struggled a little bit at that.  We had 27 and a half great races last year and we failed in the Chase.  We didn’t run as good as we needed to run, and Stewart took off like a ball of fire.

“It was disappointing for us — he’s still on fire.  It’s disappointing for us because we know we have the same equipment and we know we should be winning those races, too.  It puts pressure on us and makes us work harder and think, why aren’t we winning, and they are winning.”

April 3, 2012
Surprising and Not Surprising: Martinsville Goody’s Fast Relief 500

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]At a track where short-track tempers mix with history and old time racing, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 63rd running of the Goody’s Fast relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

Surprising: After appearing that Rick Hendrick would surely get his 200^th win with Jeff Gordon dominating the race and his HMS teammates Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. nipping at his heels, it was surprising that a Hendrick-powered race car, instead of a Hendrick driver, tooled to Victory Lane.

Ryan Newman, behind the wheel of the No. 39 Outback Steakhouse Chevrolet, survived a green, white, checkered melee to score his first victory of the season. This was also Newman’s first victory and 11^th top-10 finish in 21 races at Martinsville Speedway.

“The first green, white, checkered, I told the guys on the radio that I wasn’t sure I could win it,” Newman said. “It was an awesome finish. Circumstances put us in the right position.”

“I really need to thank Hendrick for their support of the engines this year.”

Not Surprising: Although the race featured the fewest caution periods, just seven, since September 1996, the race was the longest in Martinsville history, with 515 laps and 270.89 miles run because of the green, white checkered finish.

Surprising: It was a bit surprising to hear a nurse credited for a second place race finish. Yet in spite of spending time in the infield care center before the race, the driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge A.J. Allmendinger scored his career best finish at Martinsville.

When asked how he managed to finish second, ‘Dinger said, “The medical nurses to begin with, because I felt horrible this morning, just been sick.”

“I just kept fighting,” Allmendinger said. “I don’t know if I had a second-place Charger, but you’ve got to put yourself in position to do that.”

“I’d like to have got the win, but it was a good day.”

Not Surprising: Fan favorite Dale Earnhardt, Jr. pulled off another solid race day, finishing third in his No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, as well as taking over the second spot in points, just six behind leader Greg Biffle.

And much to the delight of the crowd, Junior even led a few laps as he posted his 14^th top-10 finish in 25 races at Martinsville.

“Yeah, I’m real happy with our finish,” Junior said. “We worked really hard all day to get the best finish we could.”

“This is our first race with AMP on the hood and we’re proud to have a good finish for those guys.”

Surprising: Fords, a manufacturer that traditionally struggles in comparison to Chevrolets at Martinsville Speedway, had a surprisingly good day. The highest finishing Ford was the No. 17 Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation/Gary Sinise Foundation Ford piloted by Matt Kenseth.

“We were pretty good,” Kenseth said. “We weren’t as good as those Hendrick Chevrolets cars but for us at Martinsville, it was pretty good.”

“We came home in the top-10 at Martinsville and to not have anybody mad and not be mad at anybody is probably a pretty good day.”

Not Surprising: While Kenseth got away without anger issues, tempers flared for a few other drivers, notably Jeff Gordon, who was upset with Clint Bowyer, and most of the field who were furious at David Reutimann.

The driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, Jeff Gordon, was pretty peeved at Clint Bowyer, behind the wheel of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, for dive bombing and wrecking him in the last laps of the race.

“Clint and I are friends and I have a lot of respect for him, but I was pretty mad at him,” Gordon said. “I didn’t get the best restart and he said he got hit from behind.”

“I had nowhere to go,” Gordon said. “That’s just the way our year has been going.”

But the driver who scored highest for the number of drivers made angry was none other than David Reutimann, behind the wheel of the No. 10 Accell Construction Chevrolet. Rooty raised the ire of many drivers for not pitting after being black-flagged for mechanical problems and stopping dead on the race track.

“I was trying to limp around to stay in the top 35,” Reutimann said. “The motor just quit.”

“I didn’t stop there intentionally,” Reutimann continued. “I know it sucks and I hate it for everyone affected.”

“I hate that I was involved with anything that changed the complexion of the race.”

Surprising: After scoring the pole position, it was surprising that the curse on Kasey Kahne continued. The driver of the No. 5 Hedrickcars.com Chevrolet again had engine woes and finished a miserable 38^th.

Not Surprising: While Kahne continues to struggle with his seemingly cursed season, it was not surprising to see the Busch brothers struggle at Martinsville. Both Kurt, driving the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Services, and brother Kyle, behind the wheel of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota, had mechanical issues that plagued their day.

Kyle Busch finished 36^th while his brother Kurt soldiered on to a 33^rd place finish.

“We got a little behind because the car was just too loose,” Dave Rogers, Kyle Busch’s crew chief said. “Kyle was doing a great job at hanging onto it and it wheel-hopped a little bit and we got into the fence.”

Surprising: Martin Truex, Jr. continued to surprise, this time with a good run at Martinsville. The driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota scored another top-5 finish.

“This feels great,” Truex said. “We backed into that one a little bit with those guys getting tangled up front.”

“This is probably my worst race track and to come out of here with a fifth place finish – I’m pretty proud of that.”

Not Surprising: The driver of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion not surprisingly planned to celebrate his maintenance of the points lead by heading out for Easter vacation.

“It feels good to go on vacation being the points leader,” Greg Biffle said. “Leaving here on top feels good because this is a tough place for us and we came here and ran respectable.”

April 2, 2012
Goody’s Fast Relief 500 Review: How It All Changes In An Instant

When the green flag dropped at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, Kevin Harvick stole the lead from Kasey Kahne and looked to continue his domination. Harvick, who won the Camping World Truck Series race the day before, held the lead for 22 laps before Jeff Gordon passed him for the lead – much to the fans delight. From that point forward, it was a Hendrick battle between teammates Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Dale Jr who ran in the Top-10 for most of the race. It looked as if Hendrick Motorsports would finally get the 200th win they have been searching for. But when at Martinsville, everything can change in an instant.

Kahne’s Disappointing Season Continues

Kahne’s weekend at Martinsville started on a positive note, with qualifying on the pole position in the Goody’s Fast Relief 500. When I asked him on Friday what he was looking to improve on for Martinsville, he said “Every time you go to Martinsville you try to improve on the last time you were here. We were pretty good here last year in both races. We didn’t have good finishes because we got caught in other people’s wrecks, but we actually had really fast cars”. This round of Martinsville wasn’t a factor of other driver’s wrecks, but engine issues.

On Lap 231 Kahne came over the radio saying “We may be broke”, referring to the engine. When he left pit road smoke began to sputter from the back of the car. On Lap 234, he took his HendrickCars.com Chevrolet to the garage area and the No. 5 team began to work viciously to try and revive the engine. 84 laps after Kahne made the team aware of the engine issues, Kahne’s motor expired after attempting to return to the race.

Although Kahne’s finish was yet again a difficult thing to digest, he tried to look on the upside after the race. “I mean, it is and it isn’t(an upsetting finish). I am upset that we haven’t run great this year, but we are great on Friday and Saturday. We were fast again today and we have the speed so when it’s our time we will be ready to take advantage of it.” This finish dropped Kahne four positions in Cup standings to 31st position. He is now hovering in the bottom of the Top-35 in owner’s point’s, in 32nd position. Kahne is hoping to change his 2012 statistics at a track where he has one win at and four top-10 finishes: Texas Motor Speedway.

Kahne tried a new spotter for this race and will continue to have Shannon McGlamery spot for him at TMS on a two week basis. After Texas, he will decide if he would like to keep McGlamery as his spotter or allow his cousin Kole Kahne to remain his spotter. “I was a little unpleased after California. We are just looking at something for a couple of weeks. We are going to see after Texas. We are going to sit down and decide if that is the direction I want to go or if I feel comfortable with Kole doing it again or what”.

Earnhardt Top Finishing Hendrick Car After Late Race Crash

Dale Earnhardt Jr started the race in 14th position, at a track where he has yet to take home a grandfather clock at. By Lap 8, Earnhardt moved himself into the Top 10 and was eyeing the Top 5. He gained three positions to move to seventh position by Lap 50, giving Junior Nation something to be excited about. When at Martinsville, rubbing is racing, and Earnhardt couldn’t have gone through this race without being shoved around a little. On Lap 106 Aric Almirola was on Earnhard’ts inside attempting to pass him. His race car then became loose, shoving Earnhardt up the track. Earnhardt wasn’t too happy about this move and retaliated two laps later, getting the position back.

[media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]After flying through the field for the entire race, Dale Jr finally took the lead from his teammate Gordon on Lap 229 and stayed in the lead until caution was thrown two laps later. With 20 laps to go the Hendrick teammates of Gordon, Johnson, and Earnhardt were running 1-2-3 and it looked as if HMS would finally get that 200th win they have been searching for.

On the last restart of the day it was Gordon and Johnson on the front with Earnhardt and Clint Bowyer following in the second row. In Turn 1 Bowyer threw his car below Gordon and Johnson and spun both himself and Johnson out, and removing Gordon from the lead. Earnhardt was untouched and was able to finish the race in third position behind race winner Ryan Newman and AJ Allmendinger. Earnhardt is now second in Cup standings, six points behind leader Greg Biffle.

Newman Wins After Controversial Caution

Ryan Newman, who has been running under the radar for quite some time, picked up his first win for 2012 at Martinsville on Sunday. Newman was able to get into the Top 5 after a caution was thrown with seven laps to go after David Reutiman stopped on track in Turn 1. Reutiman had a left front tire that was loose and was limping around the track for 3 laps in an attempt to maintain top 35 in owner points. The No. 10 car is normally driven by Danica Patrick and the team wanted Danica’s car to remain in the top 35 in owner point’s so Danica doesn’t have to qualify on time in the future.

“Whether – no matter what happened, it’s not eh first time somebody stopped on ta straightaway with a few laps to go and forced us into a green-white-checkered restart at the end of the race. We’ll take what we can get. Like I said, we’re lost them that way hands down several times here and it’s nice to be able to win one”, Newman said when asked about Reutiman stopping on the track.

Newman is eighth in points standings, gaining two positions with his win at Martinsville.

April 2, 2012
Lap by Lap: Goody’s Fast Relief 500 won by Ryan Newman

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”100″][/media-credit]Ryan Newman survived the pair of Green-White-Checkered finishes at Martinsville Speedway to score the 16th victory of his career.

Green flag

Lap 1 Kevin Harvick leads lap over Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer and Ryan Newman.

Lap 5 Jeff Gordon passes Brad Keselowski for sixth

Lap 7 Gordon passes Newman for fifth

Lap 11 Bowyer and Gordon pass Hamlin for third

Lap 16 Harvick leads Kahne, Bowyer, Gordon, Hamlin, Keselowski, Newman, Kyle Busch, Paul Menard and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 16 Gordon passes Bowyer for third

Lap 17 Keselowski passes Hamlin for fifth

Lap 18 Newman passes Hamlin for sixth as Earnhardt Jr. passes Menard for ninth

Lap 20 Harvick leads Kahne, Gordon, Bowyer, Keselowski, Newman, Hamlin, Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Menard

Lap 23 Gordon takes the lead from Harvick

Lap 28 Gordon leads Harvick, Bowyer, Keselowski, Kahne, Newman, Hamlin, Earnhardt Jr., Busch and Martin Truex Jr.

Lap 60 Kurt Busch to pit road with a flat tire

Lap 68 Hamln passes Harvick

Lap 69 Gordon leads Keselowski, Bowyer, Kahne, Hamlin, Harvick, Newman, Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch and Jeff Burton

Lap 88 Gordon leads Keselowski, Kahne, Bowyer, Hamlin, Newman, Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Burton, Harvick

Lap 95 Hamlin passes Bowyer for fourth

Lap 98 Caution Kyle Busch into the wall due to a broken rear track bar. Pit stops…..Gordon leads Hamlin off pit road. Gordon chooses to start on the inside….Two penalties: Newman too fast entering, Johnson too fast exiting

Lap 105 Restart as Gordon keeps the lead over Hamlin though turn one.

Lap 111 Gordon leads Hamlin, Kahne, Bowyer, Keselowski, Truex, Burton, Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart.

Lap 114 Kahne passes Hamlin for second

Lap 121 Gordon leads Kahne, Hamlin, Bowyer, Burton, Truex, Earnhardt Jr., Keselowski, Kenseth and Stewart

Lap 159 Gordon leads Hamlin, Bowyer, Earnhardt Jr., Kahne, Burton, Truex, Keselowski, Stewart, Kenseth

Lap 169 Keselowski passes Truex for seventh

Lap 173 Earnhardt Jr. passes Bowyer for third

Lap 177 Kenseth passes Stewart for ninth

Lap 179 Kahne passes Bowyer

Lap 180 Gordon leads Hamlin, Earnhardt Jr., Kahne, Bowyer, Burton, Keselowski, Truex, Kenseth, Stewart

Lap 189 Keselowski passes Burton for sixth

Lap 220 Gordon leads Earnhardt Jr., Hamlin, Kahne, Bowyer, Kenseth, Keselowski, Almirola, Stewart, Johnson

Lap 221 Bobby Labonte hits pit road

Lap 223 Kahne passes Hamlin for third

Lap 225 Harvick and Truex pit

Lap 229 Earnhardt Jr. passes Gordon for the lead

Lap 230 Kahne. A.J. Allmendinger and Joey Logano pit

Lap 233 Earnhardt Jr., Edwards, Greg Biffle, Regan Smith and Gordon pit, handing the lead to Hamlin

Lap 235 Marco Ambrose, Hamlin, Johnson and Edwards pit, handing the lead to Bowyer

Lap 237 Bowyer, Rains, Keselowski, Hermie Sadler and Kenseth pit, handing the lead to Almirola.

Lap 239 Almirola pits, handing the lead to Gordon.

Caution Lap 245 Dave Blaney goes for a spin. Kahne goes behind the wall due to a motor issue. Some lead lap cars pit, others decide to stay out.

Restart Lap 255 as Gordon pulls the lead early over Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 260 Gordon leads Earnhardt Jr., Bowyer, Kenseth, Keselowski, Hamlin, Johnson, Truex, Almirola, Stewart

Lap 262 Bowyer passes Earnhardt Jr. for second

Caution Lap 264 Juan Pablo Montoya hits the inside wall after contact from Ken Schrader. Newman gets the lucky dog.

Restart Lap 272

Lap 275 Gordon leads Bowyer, Earnhardt Jr., Keselowski, Kenseth, Hamlin, Johnson, Truex, Stewart and Allmendinger

Lap 280 Hamlin and Johnson both pass Kenseth

Lap 281 Stewart passes Truex for eighth

Lap 287 Johnson passes Hamlin

Lap 289 Johnson passes Keselowski

Lap 290 Gordon leads Bowyer, Earnhardt Jr., Johnson, Keselowski, Hamlin, Kenseth, Stewart, Truex and Allmendinger

Lap 300 Allmendinger and Almirola pass Truex

Lap 310 Gordon leads Bowyer, Johnson, Earnhardt Jr., Keselowski, Hamlin, Kenseth, Stewart, Allmendinger and Almirola.

Lap 314 Johnson passes Bowyer for second

Caution Lap 316 Kahne blows up…..Gordon leads Johnson, Bowyer, Earnhardt Jr., Keselowski, Hamlin, Kenseth, Stewart, Allmendinger and Almirola….Keselowski too fast in the pits

Restart Lap 328

Lap 333 Gordon leads Johnson, Earnhardt Jr., Hamlin, Bowyer, Kenseth, Stewart, Almirola, Allmendinger and Truex

Lap 340 Hamlin passes Earnhardt Jr. for third

Lap 348 Bowyer passes Earnhardt Jr. for fourth

Lap 355 Earnhardt Jr. passes Bowyer for fourth

Lap 356 Johnson passes Gordon for the lead

Lap 357 Johnson leads Gordon, Hamlin, Earnhardt Jr., Bowyer, Kenseth, Stewart, Almirola, Newman and Allmendinger

Caution Lap 361 Travis Kvapil spins. Edwards gets the lucky dog…..All of the leaders pit……Hamlin leads Gordon, Johnson and Stewart off pit road

Restart Lap 368 and Hamlin leads Gordon off of turn two

128 to go Hamlin leads Johnson, Gordon, Kenseth, Bowyer, Newman, Stewart, Truex, Earnhardt Jr., Allmendinger

122 to go Bowyer passes Kenseth for fourth

112 to go Hamlin leads Johnson, Gordon, Bowyer, Newman, Kenseth, Earnhardt Jr., Keselowski, Truex and Stewart

107 to go Johnson passes Hamlin for the lead, Gordon also passes Hamlin.

103 to go Johnson leads Gordon, Hamlin, Bowyer, Newman, Keselowski, Kenseth, Earnhardt Jr., Truex, Biffle

101 to go Bowyer passes Hamlin for third

99 to go Earnhardt Jr. passes Kenseth

89 to go Truex passes Kenseth; Allmendinger passes Biffle; Keselowski passes Newman

88 to go Johnson leads Gordon, Bowyer, Hamlin, Keselowski, Newman, Earnhardt Jr., Truex, Kenseth, Allmendinger

81 to go Earnhardt Jr. passes Newman

75 to go Keselowski passes Hamlin

72 to go Earnhardt Jr. passes Hamlin

68 to go Newman passes Hamlin

67 to go Johnson leads Gordon, Bowyer, Keselowski, Earnhardt Jr., Newman, Hamlin, Truex, Kenseth, Allmendinger

63 to go Kenseth passes Truex for eighth

52 to go Earnhardt Jr. passes Keselowski for fourth

50 to go Johnson leads Gordon, Bowyer, Earnhardt Jr., Keselowski, Newman, Hamlin, Kenseth, Truex, Allmendinger

44 to go Earnhardt Jr. passes Bowyer for third

40 to go Allmendinger passes Truex for ninth

36 to go Johnson leads Gordon, Earnhardt Jr., Bowyer, Keselowski, Newman, Hamlin, Kenseth, Allmendinger and Almirola

20 to go Kenseth passes Hamlin for seventh

15 to go Allmendinger passes Hamlin for eighth

3 to go Gordon and Johnson side-by-side for the lead as the caution comes up for Reuitmann being stalled. Stewart gest the lucky dog.

Green-White-Checkered…..Gordon and Johnson stay out as everybody else pits.

Restart……..Bowyer took Gordon and Johnson three-wide, sending all three for a spin……Keselowski just ran out of fuel while running third

Restart…….Newman and Allmendinger are side-by-side for the lead.

Ryan Newman wins over Allmendinger and Earnhardt Jr.

April 2, 2012
A Chain Reaction Victory for Newman

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]The shortest track on the circuit, the oldest track on the circuit, but Martinsville delivered a short track shot in the arm for NASCAR’s faithful. It was a shot that the power house of Hendrick Motorsports had a bad reaction to.

The class of the field this weekend was without a doubt Jeff Gordon. Towards the end Jimmie Johnson powered by under green even after a pit road penalty. But 7 laps from the end Jeff Gordon would make the pass on the 5 time champion to retake the lead. But that was when everything exploded.

With 7 laps to go David Reutiman came to a stop on the race track after limping around the track for nearly 3 laps. Bringing out the caution flag and setting up the Green White Checker finish. Reutiman had a left front tire that was practically falling off the car and had limped around the track for 3 laps in an attempt to maintain top 35 in owner points.

“Number one, I just hate it. I don’t even know how the race ended up finishing, but I just hate that I was involved in anything that changed the complexion of the race so I got to apologize to the guys that it affected. It broke a tie rod or something like that. I was just trying to limp around there. We needed to finish next couple of laps to try to stay in the top 35. Then the motor had been breaking up for the last couple of laps. Broke a timing belt or whatever down the back straightaway, and the motor just quit. I would not have stopped on the freaking racetrack. I would have limped it around there and come to pit road, which is what I was trying to do. The thing quit going down the back straightaway, and it shut off. I just didn’t stop there intentionally. I know it sucks. I hate it for everybody that it affected, but I mean I can’t get out and push the thing. You know, it shut off. It’s that simple. Gosh, I can’t believe I’m — I was just trying to finish the day out and trying to stay in top 35, which is why we were trying to limp around out there. They gave me the black flag. We were coming to pit road, and it shut off. And that’s far as I could go,” stated Reutiman post race.

The top two cars would not pit on the caution flag. They had over a hundred laps on their tires. Everyone behind them pitted for fuel and at least 2 tires. On the restart, Jeff Gordon stated, “I spun my tires there on the restart and I knew he (Clint Bowyer) was there. I just didn’t have anywhere to go and Jimmie didn’t have anywhere to go.” The melee sent the top three cars of Gordon, Johnson, and Bowyer to the back of the lead lap cars with significant damage.

The second Green White Checker finish would finish the race and see Ryan Newman as the winner. A.J. Allmendinger would finish a career high second. And HMS’s banner would be carried by the 88 of Dale Earnhardt Jr. who finished a very strong 3^rdafter leading early in the race.

The victory by Ryan Newman would mark the 3^rd in 6 races for Stewart Haas racing. “We were not a dominate race car,” Newman said. “Clint kind of cleared out Turn One for us and we were fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time.”

The issue this race is the no. 10 car staying on the track even though he had an obvious problem. Spotters reported from the roof that the left front wheel was trying to fall off the car. But instead of pitting Reutiman was instructed to stay out as long as he could to secure the top 35 in points position. In the process of trying to continue to make laps way under speed the car sustained an engine failure and died on the back stretch of the track Reutiman says he coasted as far as he coast and that they had received the black flag and were trying to get to pit road.

I have a couple problems with this. One why would you even try to continue to drive a car that had steering issues or the left front wheel trying to come off when there are that many cars on that small of track? You put yourself and others at huge risk.

And although John Darby of NASCAR stated to Claire B Lange, “”it was a situation he couldn’t avoid and I don’t think it affected the outcome of the race.” Darby continues that anything could have happened, someone else might have spun, etc, so it’s “unfair to point fingers” at Reutiman. I respectfully disagree. First of all it did affect the outcome of the race. The wreck that ensued on the restart would not have happened if the caution had not come out allowing other teams to stop for fuel and tires. Could the front two have stopped? Sure they could have but track position is a premium in our sport today and it would have been incredibly risky for them to stop.

Secondly, you don’t call a driver to the hauler because their actions were all good.

Third, why was there a delay in throwing the caution by NASCAR? I understand not wanting to disrupt the flow of the race. I understand not wanting to affect the outcome of the race. But by not throwing the caution, NASCAR contributed to the risk that the other drivers and indeed Reutiman himself were in.

Do I think this makes David Reutiman a bad person? No I don’t. I think this makes David Reutiman a victim of circumstances. He has a co driver that apparently no one believes has the ability to qualify for a race without car owner points, which is pretty sad when you think about the fact that she is only a rookie in the series not in a race car. Frankly, if I were her I would be insulted that no one believed I was capable of that fundamental act. However, she apparently is lacking something because they are bound and determined she has to have that cushion. Who am I to argue with Greg Zipadelli’s success? He nailed it on the head in Daytona after all.

Congratulations to this weeks winners, Sammy Swindell in World of Outlaws in Merced, Kevin Harvick in Camping World Trucks, Will Power in Indy Car and Ryan Newman in Sprint Cup. Don’t forget Newman’s victory entitles you to a free Bloomin Onion at his sponsor, Outback Steakhouse on Monday if you mention his victory.

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

April 1, 2012
Ryan Newman Quietly Having Good Season in Owner’s Shadow

[media-credit id=24 align=”alignright” width=”226″][/media-credit]While the spotlight may be on Tony Stewart, his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Ryan Newman is quietly having a good season so far as he sits 12^th in points.

“We didn’t have the car that we had at Daytona last year but at Phoenix, I put ourselves in a bad situation by crashing the primary car,” he says. “Then we got crashed going for fifth in the race with 50-some laps to go. I think our cars have been good. We’ve got the monkey off our back, so to speak, at Vegas with a lucky chance to get up there in fourth and with the No. 17 (Matt Kenseth) and the No. 5 (Kasey Kahne) having their situation.

At the end of the 500 laps at Bristol Motor Speedway, Newman came home in the 12^th position to match his spot in points.

“I’m just really proud of the guys,” he says. “They’ve worked really hard. It’s obviously been a very hectic start to the season with some rain delays and west coast trips and things like that. But they’ve done an excellent job.”

While teams are continuing to look for advantage, NASCAR has thoughts of closing that up by releasing the EFI data to race teams. Newman says that in the past, it’s been easy for NASCAR to keep it simple and old school.

“The EFI opens up a lot of doors,” he says. “They’ve given us a couple of channels to be able to review when it comes to brake-pressure and throttle position. It’s nice to see those things to compare, but like you said; it does have a catch-22 side to it and that’s the fact that if it is a secret, then it’s no longer; and if it is an advantage, it may not be anymore.”

Newman says that drivers can look at the data to see the differences, but putting it to practical use, it may not be as easy.

“I can look at Tony Stewart’s curve and try to match it and I can’t do it with my race car or with the line I’m running or whatever,” he says. “It’s not so much as simple as that as it is as it is that it just gives us an idea of what to maybe change or try at different race tracks. And obviously, that’s going to change as we go into the second race after we can look at some data; it’s all new to us right now. So, it’s an interesting perspective on a change when it comes to technology.”

As Newman heads to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, it will be another chance to emerge from the boss’ shadow. It won’t be easy as Newman’s average finish at California is 14.4. However, Newman may choose to keep himself hidden as that way it gives him the chance to sneak up and pounce on the competition.

March 20, 2012
Surprising and Not Surprising: Kobalt Tools 400

[media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”259″][/media-credit]Under a gloriously sunny sky and with an amazing flyover complements of the United States Air Force Thunderbirds, the green flag flew on the Kobalt Tools 400. Here is what was surprising and not surprising from Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Surprising: Since the reigning champ is primarily known for heating up over the summer or in the Chase, it was surprising to see Tony Stewart capture the checkered flag this early in the season.

This was also Smoke’s first ever win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a track that he felt definitely owed him one after a pit miscue cost him the victory last year.

“I don’t know that it’s important this early but we only get one shot at Vegas,” the driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet said. “It was real hard leaving here last year. It’s nice to come here and have a car that was bad to the bone.”

It was also surprising that Steve Addington, Stewart’s new crew chief, won his first ever Cup race with a driver not named Busch. And although known for his calm, relaxed nature, Addington definitely felt the pressure of calling the race on his shoulders.

“I take it very personal every time that car goes on the race track,” Addington said. “I felt a ton of pressure on myself to get a win and I’m glad that’s under our belt.”

“The stars lined up and we won this race at Vegas.”

Not Surprising: With the penalty appeal scheduled to be heard during the upcoming week, it was not surprising to see Jimmie Johnson attempt to get the best finish and most points possible. The driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet scored the runner up spot in the race bearing his sponsor’s name.

Johnson had an eventful race weekend, crashing in the first lap of final practice, as well as having to go to the rear of the field in a backup car for the start of the race. So, although he wanted the win, he seemed satisfied with his second place run.

“Tony could just get through the gears better,” Johnson said of his final run with Smoke. “With everything we went through this weekend, I’ll take it.”

Surprising: Greg Biffle, behind the wheel of the No. 16 3M/Meguiars Ford, scored his third third place finish of the season. But even more surprising, the Biff is now the official points leader, with the chance to be the only driver to win a championship in all three of NASCAR’s top tier series.

“It certainly has started off to be a good season for us so far,” Biffle said. “We’re super excited about it but there again, we want to win like the 14 car did today so we’re going to keep our heads down and keep working hard.”

Not Surprising: With one half of the Stewart-Haas Race team in Victory Lane, it was no surprise that his teammate would not be far behind. Ryan Newman, in his No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet for SHR, scored a top-5 finish as well.

“It was a hard fought day,” Newman said. “We struggled a bit in the pits but we got lucky on the last restart. It was an awesome day for Stewart-Haas.”

Surprising: As good as Jimmie Johnson was for Hendrick Motorsports, it was surprising to see four-time champion Jeff Gordon struggle so mightily. Gordon fought tight conditions most of the race, complaining that his car was plowing mightily.

Gordon did manage to bring his anniversary celebrating No. 24 Dupont 20 Years Chevrolet home in the twelfth position.

“Well, we weren’t very good,” Alan Gustafson, Gordon’s crew chief, said simply. “We struggled but we ended up with an okay finish. Sometimes you have to do that and we did it.”

“You’re never happy with 12^th, but there was a point in time during the day when I would have been happy to finish 20^th,” Gustafson continued. “So, it was okay.”

Not Surprising: In spite of the fact that the two are teammates, it was not surprising to see sparks fly yet again between the Roushketeers Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards. The two tangled on the restart in the waning laps of the race.

Carl Edwards, in the No. 99 Alfac Ford, saw it this way.

“Matt spun his tires just a little bit on the restart and I went down to the apron,” Edwards said. “He gave me a ton of room but we just got all bunched up over there.”

Kenseth, behind the wheel of the brightly colored No. 17 Zest Ford, just seemed confused by it all.

“I honestly don’t really know what happened,” Kenseth said. “Carl just laid back and got by me three-wide and then it just didn’t seem like there was a lot of room getting into turn one.”

“And then I did get clear behind him and he just stopped in the middle of the corner.”

Edwards was able to finish well in the fifth position, while Kenseth finished 22^nd in contrast.

Surprising: With their driver under the weather, it was surprising to see the No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet score an eighth place finish.

“Jamie (McMurray) showed up this morning and he was sick,” crew chief Kevin ‘Bono’ Manion, said “For him to come through like he did for us today was really big.”

“Going into this race, we felt really strong about our McDonald’s Chevrolet,” Manion continued. “All in all, it was a good day.”

Not Surprising: In spite of leading more laps than he did all last season and scoring a top-10 finish, it was not surprising to find a frustrated Dale Earnhardt, Jr. at the end of the race.

“I think we should have run better than that,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet said. “We are just a little bit disappointed.”

“We were fast and I knew before the end of the race we were going to have to free my car up and I never let Steve (Letarte) do it,” Junior said. “It was more my fault than anything really. I didn’t give him enough information I guess.”

Surprising: Fresh faced youngster Trevor Bayne had a surprisingly good run in his No. 21 Motorcaft/Quick Lane Ford for the famed Wood Brothers.

“A top-10 feels like a win to us,” Bayne said simply. “We hadn’t had a top-10 since Daytona and it feels good to be back at it.”

Not Surprising: Unfortunately, it was not surprising that the Dodges again struggled early in this 2012 season. Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, finished 32^nd and his teammate AJ Allmendinger fared even worse, finishing 37^th in his No. 22 Pennzoil Dodge.

“We had a pretty decent Dodge Charger and we were going to give Tony a run for his money,” Keselowski said. “The fuel pump broke. It just wasn’t meant to be.”

“Man, this is not the start to the season any of us were expecting,” Allmendinger said. “Just when I knew we could make something solid, we started having fuel pressure issues.”

“We came into the garage and changed some things,” ‘Dinger continued. “My guys busted their butts but we’re not sure yet what the cause was.”

“But you know the guys back at the Penske shop will figure it out.”

March 12, 2012
Subway Fresh Fit 500 Review: A Sign of Things to Come

[media-credit name=”Simon Scoggins” align=”alignright” width=”238″][/media-credit]Denny Hamlin started the race in 13th position and by Lap 20 he was in the Top-5. He worked his way up to third position by Lap 33, after caution was thrown for Clint Bowyer blowing a tire. He hovered in the Top-5 until Lap 247 when caution was thrown for David Reutimann blowing an engine. When leader Martin Truex Jr. pitted for tires and fuel, this allowed Hamlin to get the lead on the restart.

It looked as if the race would come down to Brad Keselowski and Hamlin battling for the lead, until Keselowski locked up his brakes going into turn four, shortly after the restart on Lap 253. This forced Keselowski to drop back to sixth position and give Hamlin the lead of the race. Hamlin faced heat from a hard-charging Kevin Harvick in the last 50 laps of the race, until he ran out of fuel on the final lap, allowing Hamlin to drive to victory lane for the first time in 39 Sprint Cup Series races.

We haven’t seen Hamlin in this competitive form since 2010 when he won eight races and finished second in points standings behind five-time champion Jimmie Johnson. Hamlin admitted last season that Johnson defeating him for the championship title is something that has never left his mind. He sought assistance from a sports psychologist in 2011 to help him be mentally prepared and competitive for this season, and it evidently worked. Hamlin is now leading the championship standings by six points over Greg Biffle heading to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Although we are still early in the season, I expect to see Hamlin continue to be at the top of the standings this year.

Harvick Keeps Up Momentum

Kevin Harvick started in the eighth position and was leading the race by Lap 20. After a caution on Lap 56 for debris, he lost the lead to Johnson on pit road and dropped back to 4th position. Harvick hovered in the Top-5 until Lap 151, when he moved up to second position and put himself in contention for the lead once again. On Lap 165 a three-wide battle for the lead played out between Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., and Harvick – with Harvick coming out on top.

Harvick lost the lead once again when Truex did not pit under caution and received the lead of the race, placing Harvick in second position on the restart. Eventually Truex was forced to pit, allowing Hamlin to take over the race lead using pit strategy. Despite running out of fuel on the last lap, Harvick was able to coast around the track to finish the race in second position. With his second place finish at Phoenix and seventh place finish at Daytona, Harvick is now third in the championship standings.

Edwards’ Disappointing Day in Phoenix

Carl Edwards started the race in 24th position and didn’t gain much ground in the race. As Edwards was attempting to make a late race charge, gaining sixth positions among leaders, when he made contact with Ryan Newman with 65 laps to go. The contact caused right front fender damage to the No. 99 car and ended Edwards’ chance of a decent finish. Edwards finished the race in 17th position and dropped from the top 10 in points standings.

This is not the Edwards we are used to seeing, after finishing in second place in the championship battle last season, with a tie breaker used to determine the winner. On the up-side, Edwards has time to make up ground before he has to worry about the championship battle for this season.

[media-credit name=”Simon Scoggins” align=”alignright” width=”262″][/media-credit]Stewart Struggles with EFI System

Reigning champion Tony Stewart got a rude lesson in this year’s new electronic fuel injection Sunday at PIR. With about 60 laps left in the Subway Fresh Fit 500, Stewart was running 13th and shut off his engine during a caution period to save fuel. Normally when drivers do this, the engine will fire back up easily on command. But this time the engine in Stewart’s No. 14 Chevrolet wouldn’t re-fire despite repeated attempts. Stewart fell two laps down until his crew finally got the car started, and Stewart finished in 22nd position. Stewart’s season hasn’t started off to his liking, after finishing 16th in the Daytona 500 and currently sitting 15th in points standings.

NASCAR Safety Improvement

NASCAR has announced that pace cars with flashing lights will now trail jet-drying trucks during caution periods. The safety workers operating the jet dryers will wear firesuits and helmets for added protection. During the Daytona 500, Juan Pablo Montoya’s Chevrolet suffered a broken part that caused the car to careen into one of the drying trucks, setting off an explosion that delayed the race for more than two hours for track clean up.

March 5, 2012