Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: Ryan Newman

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400

    From oil pan issues for the cars of Joe Gibbs Racing to the end of probation for driver rivals Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick, the Irish hills of Michigan once again saw plenty of action for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”265″][/media-credit]Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 43rd annual Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

    Surprising: It was surprising that Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota, did not win last weekend at Pocono Raceway, a place that he had ‘owned’ for so many races in the past. But it was also surprising the Hamlin, who has been battling engine failures and other bad luck so mightily this season, finally put that behind him and took the checkered flag.

    This was Hamlin’s first win of the 2011 season, although he has had six top-10 finishes to date. His previous win was sixteen races ago when Hamlin was the victor at Texas Motor Speedway in November 2010.

    “We finished,” Hamlin said. “We got it done. It’s a big Father’s Day.”

    Not Surprising:  Since it was Michigan, Jack Roush’s backyard and Ford’s playground, it was not at all surprising that two drivers from that racing stable did well, scoring top five finishes.

    Matt Kenseth, behind the wheel of the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford, driving as hard as his car would go while not wrecking on the final lap, finished in the runner up spot. His RFR teammate Carl Edwards, piloting the No. 99 Aflac ‘Now Hiring’ Ford and winner of the Nationwide race the day before, finished fifth.

    This was Kenseth’s 15th top-10 finish in 24 races at Michigan International Speedway.  This was also Kenseth’s eighth top-10 finish in 2011.

    “We had a really fast car and thought we were going to have a chance to win,” Kenseth said. “I got back to Denny (Hamlin), but I could not get back around him. I tried everything I could, but I just could not figure out how to do it.”

    For Edwards’ part, he just really wanted to win the Cup race, vowing to head all the way to the top of the grandstands just as he had in the Nationwide race, if he did. While he scored fifth instead of first, Edwards did extend his Chase points lead to 20 points over second place.

    Surprising:  Continuing with the Carl Edwards theme, it was most surprising to see the driver, who is usually most professional and an excellent spokesperson for the sport, call NASCAR out after the race.

    “Track position is so important,” Edwards said. “Sadly, down force is such a big factor in these cars and I am really hoping that NASCAR will take the opportunity in 2013 to take down force away so the fans can see the guys race race cars and not race down force. That would be cool.”

    Not Surprising: Neither oil pan troubles nor physical ailments could stop Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Snickers Toyota, from his appointed rounds. After complaining of nausea and pain in the center of his chest, Busch drove forward from his 24th place starting spot to finish third.

    “He just had a little stomach ache,” Dave Rogers, crew chief, said. “We gave him some Tums in a bottle of water and it took care of it.”

    Busch’s crew did have Scott Riggs standing by if needed, but when Busch was leading at the half-way mark of the race, there was no way he was ever going to get out of his car, not matter how poorly he felt.

    “Kyle is pretty dedicated to this race team,” Rogers said. “He’s a pretty tough kid so I didn’t think he would get out.”

    “I didn’t feel that bad,” Busch said. “It felt like I was running a 400 mile marathon running on my feet instead of in a race car.”

    Although Busch has never won at Michigan International Speedway, this was his fourth top-10 finish in 13 races in the Irish hills. Busch’s third place finish mirrored his third place finish the previous week in the Pocono race.

    “It wasn’t going to be a great day but we turned it into a good one,” Busch said. “Overall I’m happy with today; happy with the finish. If you finish third in the last 10 races every single race, you might win this thing, so we’ll take it.”

    Surprising: The primarily poor performance of the Hendrick Motorsports team was fairly surprising. Five-time champion Jimmie Johnson spun on lap 8, bringing out the first caution of the race.

    Johnson, driving the No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet, finished 27th and lost the second spot in the Chase standings, falling to the fifth position.

    Johnson’s teammate, four-time champion and winner of last weekend’s race, Jeff Gordon, also did not fare very well in the Irish hills. Gordon, this week driving the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, started 31st and finished 17th, falling one spot in the points to the 12th and final potential Chase spot.

    What was most surprising, however, were the harsh words HMS driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr. had for his teammate Mark Martin. The driver of the No. 88 Amp Energy/National Guard Chevrolet made perfectly clear that he was not happy with being squeezed into the wall by the driver of the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet.

    “He just come on up and drove us into the fence,” Junior said of his teammate Martin. “He ran us flat in the wall.”

    “I think we will get it sorted out,” Martin said in rebuttal. “I made a mistake.”

    Dale Jr. finished 21st, his first finish out of the top-10 this season. Junior was, however, able to hold on to his third place in the points standings.

    Mark Martin actually finished top-10, the best of all of the Hendrick Motorsports cars. He climbed one position in the points to 14th, just 20 points behind his teammate Jeff Gordon in the last Chase position.

    Not Surprising:  The majority of the Richard Childress Racing entries had a very good day at Michigan. Paul Menard, who has been struggling of late, had a terrific run, bringing his No. 27 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet home in the fourth position.

    Clint Bowyer also had a good day in the Irish hills. The No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet finished in the eighth spot.

    Finally, ‘the Closer’ Kevin Harvick overcame adversity and a brush with the wall to finish 14th in his No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet. Harvick leapfrogged over Dale Junior to lay claim to the second spot in the point standings.

    Surprising:  One of the best surprises of the day was the terrific run by young Landon Cassill, piloting the No. 51 Security Benefit/Thank a Teacher Today Chevrolet for Phoenix Racing. Cassill finished 12th, the best finish ever in his Cup career, tying the best finish for Phoenix Racing this season.

    “That was a great day all around,” Cassill said. “We lost some track position early but fought back all day. We had a good break at the end.”

    Not Surprising:  With Hall of Fame inductee Bud Moore on his race car in celebration of the US Army’s 236th Birthday, Ryan Newman had an ‘Army Strong’ day, finishing sixth.

    “It was a good finish for us,” Newman said. “We fought back hard.”

    Newman’s teammate and owner Tony Stewart also had a favorable race result. The driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet finished the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 in seventh.

     

  • Jeff Gordon Improves Chase Chances With Second Win of the Season

    Jeff Gordon Improves Chase Chances With Second Win of the Season

    [media-credit name=”Kirk Schroll” align=”alignright” width=”240″][/media-credit]Jeff Gordon, sporting the familiar No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet colors, scored his second win of the 2011 season, moving ever closer to Chase contention. This is Gordon’s fifth top-10 finish in 2011 and his fifth victory in 37 races at Pocono Raceway.

    Gordon also reached another significant milestone with his win in the 5-Hour Energy 500. The victory ties Gordon with Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip for third on the all-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win list.

    “It certainly helps us,” Gordon said of his Chase chances. “Our focus has to be the same all the time, try to win races, to lock ourselves in.”

    “I’m just more excited about the momentum coming toward us,” Gordon continued. “The things that we believe in are starting to come true.”

    “You question that at times,” Gordon said. “Days like today show how serious we are. At this point in the season, to get our program turned around, the timing couldn’t be better and hopefully we can keep that going.”

    “This is a tough place to win.”

    Gordon’s crew chief, Alan Gustafson, could not agree more with his driver.

    “There are a lot of things at a track like this that are so difficult,” Gustafson said. “We were a little nervous. To win in this sport, you have to have everything on the edge.”

    The Busch brothers, Kurt and Kyle, gave Gordon a run for his money, scoring second and third respectively. Kurt Busch posted his 11th top-10 finish in 21 races and Kyle Busch posted his fourth top-10 finish in 13 races at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’

    “It was a great, hard fought battle for us on the No. 22 car today,” pole sitter and second place finisher Kurt Busch. “It was a nice, steady run and we were able to have smooth pit stops and we had a great handling car.”

    “It was a great genuine day for our team to run in the top five all day,” Busch continued. “It’s pleasing to see that result.”

    “I was giving it all I had and I just couldn’t quite close the gap.”

    Busch admitted that there were many things to balance in the race, especially as he engaged in the heated battle with race winner Gordon.

    “It was an interesting day with shifting,” Busch said. “We shifted quite a bit today and had to keep track of the temperatures and the revs on the engine and fuel mileage as well. There was a lot to balance inside the car today.”

    Baby brother Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota, was also pleased with his third place finish.

    “For us, we had a long way to come from since we started deep in the field,” Busch said. “We worked our way towards the front steadily and methodically for most of the race.”

    “We had good pit stops all day and the guys did a good job giving me the right adjustments,” Busch continued. “The restarts played in our favor and we passed a few cars there. That last restart is where we got most of our track position.”

    “Kurt was so much faster than I was that last run of the race that it wasn’t going to do me much to hold him up,” Busch said “So, I tried to let him go and see if he couldn’t catch the 24 and make a race out of it.”

    “We just tried to bring home a solid third.”

    Unfortunately, Kyle Busch’s car failed post-race inspection due to a height issue, too high on the left. “Being a parent, it means more to experience that with them,” Gordon said of having daughter Ella in Victory Lane. His car is being transported back to NASCAR’s R&D center for a more-in-depth look.

    In contrast to Gordon and the Busch boys, the point’s leader coming into the race, Carl Edwards had a miserable day. The driver of the No. 99 Kellogg/Cheez-It Ford finished 37th after he broke a valve in the engine.

    Even with that bad finish, Edwards did, however, maintain the points lead with the narrowest of margins. He is now just six points ahead of Jimmie Johnson, who finished the race in the fourth spot.

    In a somewhat bizarre turn of events, Edwards joined the broadcast booth to provide commentary while his team worked furiously on his car in the garage. He was able to turn one last lap to avoid the DNF.

    “I was very careful not to overdrive,” Edwards said. “One of the valves got in an argument with something in the engine and lost.”

    Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Okuma Chevrolet, had an eventful day but still managed to finish fifth in the 5-Hour Energy 500. Harvick survived problems early when his crew did not get all the fuel in and he then got off the sequence of pit stops.

    Dale Earnhardt, Jr., in the No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet, Juan Pablo Montoya, piloting the No. 42 Target Chevrolet, Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Affliction Clothing Live Fast Ford, Ryan Newman, behind the wheel of the of the Haas Automation Chevrolet, and Martin Truex, Jr., in his No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, rounded out the top ten.

    Unofficial Race Results
    5-Hour Energy 500, Pocono Raceway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=14
    =========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 3 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 47
    2 1 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 43
    3 34 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 42
    4 14 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 41
    5 32 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 39
    6 21 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 38
    7 16 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 38
    8 27 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 36
    9 8 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 35
    10 31 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 34
    11 19 20 Joey Logano Toyota 33
    12 17 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 32
    13 9 0 David Reutimann Toyota 31
    14 2 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 30
    15 5 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 29
    16 12 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 28
    17 11 6 David Ragan Ford 27
    18 10 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 26
    19 4 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 27
    20 33 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 24
    21 15 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 24
    22 23 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 22
    23 20 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 21
    24 25 51 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 0
    25 28 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 19
    26 40 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 18
    27 37 16 Greg Biffle Ford 17
    28 18 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 16
    29 30 34 David Gilliland Ford 15
    30 35 13 Casey Mears Toyota 14
    31 41 32 Mike Bliss Ford 0
    32 24 71 Andy Lally * Ford 12
    33 13 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 11
    34 7 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 10
    35 26 38 Sam Hornish Jr. Ford 0
    36 38 37 Tony Raines Ford 8
    37 6 99 Carl Edwards Ford 7
    38 42 7 Scott Wimmer Dodge 0
    39 43 150 T.J. Bell * Toyota 0
    40 29 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0
    41 36 66 Michael McDowell Toyota 4
    42 22 46 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 2
    43 39 181 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 0

  • The Top Five things I’ve learned about NASCAR Penalties

    Fans are always complaining about penalties. They see no consistency in the rulings and are tired of the secrecy.

    However, after much study and thought, I think I’ve finally figured it out. To understand the system, you simply have to understand the masterminds behind NASCAR.

    1) It’s okay for drivers to curse on their in-car radio. Fans are encouraged to listen by renting scanners so that they can tune in to their favorite driver.

    But don’t let that driver make the mistake of using colorful language on national television during a post race interview. Even NASCAR’s favorite son, Dale Earnhardt Jr. couldn’t get away with that one.

    NASCAR is a family sport and families don’t use four letter words.

    2) If drivers are really angry, the best place to express it is in the NASCAR hauler. What happens in the hauler stays in the hauler. If the public doesn’t see it, it didn’t happen, including all those secret fines we’re not supposed to know about.

    3) Drivers are encouraged to be themselves but don’t knock NASCAR in the process or you might get hit with one of those secret fines. NASCAR is very touchy about protecting its “brand.” Just ask Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman.

    4) A little bump between drivers on the cool down lap is allowed. You can get in a retaliatory “Don’t think I’ve forgotten what you did” tap, disguised as a congratulatory tap, as long as you don’t bring it onto pit road.

    5) In the spirit of “have at it boys,” it is permissible for drivers to throw helmets and exchange a few blows. Just don’t announce what you’re going to do beforehand by removing your watch. Passion is good, premeditation is frowned upon.

    It really boils down to one thing. NASCAR is not to be confused with a democracy. They wrote the rule book and when all else fails, they have one rule that covers everything.

    Section 12-1 Actions detrimental to stock car racing. Cross this line and they will issue the appropriate penalty.

    What constitutes actions detrimental to stock car racing? That’s for them to know and you to find out.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Dover FedEx 400 Benefitting Autism Speaks

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Dover FedEx 400 Benefitting Autism Speaks

    Under threatening skies at the beginning of the race and with one caution for precipitation, the sun emerged and then beat down upon the Monster Mile at Dover, Delaware for the remainder of the race.

    Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks.

    [media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit] 

     

    Surprising: It was surprising to see the comers and goers at Dover and in the end, to see who gambled and who did not. And in a town where the casino resides right next to the track, the gambling paid off, especially for those that either stayed out without tires or who took two instead of four.

    Mark Martin, driver of the No. 5 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, was probably the biggest gambler, staying out on the last pit stop with no new tires to finish in the runner up position. This was his first top five of the season.

    “Lance McGrew and the GoDaddy.com team deserve this,” Martin said. “We just about pulled one off there. We finally had a good finish.

    Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Wiley X Sunglasses Ford, also gambled with a two tire stop, and finished his day in Victory Lane.

    “Obviously it was a great day for us and pretty exciting for us to win that way here at Dover,” Kenseth said. “I was happy we were able to pull it off.”

    The gambling also paid off in the point standings, with Kenseth jumping four spots to the sixth position and Martin moving up three spots to the 11th position.

    Not Surprising:  With so many drivers taking either no or just two tires, it was not surprising that the dominant cars throughout most of the race, including the No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet of Jimmie Johnson and the No. 99 Aflac Ford of Carl Edwards, finished a bit further back in the pack in ninth and seventh respectively, after deciding on a four-tire strategy.

    This was  the second week in a row that Edwards and company took four tires and did not win. Both Edwards and Johnson, however, maintained their top standing in the points, first and second respectively.

    Surprising:  It was surprising just how different the Monster Mile treated teammates throughout the race. One of the best examples was the split between Richard Petty Motorsports teammates A.J. Allmendinger and Marcos Ambrose.

    After starting from the outside pole, the ‘Dinger not only had high hopes for a great finish but he even fulfilled his wish of leading a lap. But instead of potentially contending for a race win, the engine on his Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Best Buy Ford gave up the ghost.

    “I don’t know, it was weird because it all happened at once and there was no sign of it,” Allmendinger said. “We were going to run them (the leaders) down and all of a sudden off (turn) two, it went.”

    “Honestly, it sucks,” Allmendinger continued. “I really wanted this for us and Ford and Best Buy and everybody, the King especially. I hate this.”

    On the flip side, his RPM teammate Marcos Ambrose, in the No. 9 Dewalt Ford, had a stellar day, finishing in the third spot.

    “I get a good feel on these concrete tracks,” Ambrose said. “On concrete, I think it’s the steep banking that helps me feel the tires.”

    “It was a great day and a really good call for two tires there at the end.”

    Not Surprising: The tale of two teammates continued with the results chasm between Brian Vickers, piloting the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, and his teammate Kasey Kahne in the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota.

    Vickers, who at the time of last year’s Dover race was in the hospital “with two IVs stuck in both arms”, finished fifth, while Kahne blew an engine and was out of the race.

    “This was a great team effort,” Vickers said. “I feel great. It was a special race.”

    Kahne, on the other hand, started fourth and was running in the top ten for much of the race, only to experience engine issues.

    “We had a great Red Bull Toyota,” Kahne said.”The car was really fast early on. I think I over-revved it so it may be my fault that it let go.”

    Surprising:  Both cars in the Stewart-Haas Racing stable, including the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet of Ryan Newman and the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet piloted by Tony Stewart, were surprisingly bad at the Monster Mile.  In fact, Stewart deemed his car evil, finishing 29th, multiple laps down. Newman battled all day as well, taking the checkered flag in the 21st position.

    Stewart summed up the SHR day overall on one of his radio communications during the race, saying “I’ve got no (expletive) confidence in our team right now.”

    Not Surprising: Kyle Busch in the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota surprised no one in driving from the rear of the field due to an engine change to a fourth place finish.

    “Considering how far behind we started with the engine failure and how I ran it into the fence, it was a really good result,” Busch said.

    Surprising:  After a hard crash in the Nationwide run that ruined a potentially winning day, Joey Logano, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota, had high hopes for redemption, starting in the fifth spot. Logano, however, brought out the first caution, spinning and hitting the wall. Logano’s car was not right for the rest of the race, again hitting the wall in the waning laps of the race to finish 27th.

    Not Surprising: Living up to the track’s nickname, there were some monstrous moments on pit road during the race in Dover. David Ragan, driver of the No. 6 UPS Ford, had an adventure getting to his pit, spinning, hitting the guard rail and then almost blocking the entrance trying to get his car pointed in the right direction.

    “I just locked up the rear brakes a little coming into the pits during the green flag stop,” Ragan said. “That’s the first time I’ve ever wrecked like that getting to pit road.”

    “I guess I pushed it a little too hard today.”

    Rookie Andy Lally, in the No. 71 Interstate Moving Services Ford, also had a pit misadventure, with a major slide down pit road late in the race. Lally finished in the 33rd position.

     

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Darlington

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Darlington

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Carl Edwards: Edwards led 57 laps at Darlington, and seemed well on his way to victory when an untimely caution with 10 laps to go altered the course of the race. Edwards and most of the front-runners pitted for tires, while Regan Smith stayed out and took the lead. Smith withstood Edwards’ charges and held on for his first career Sprint Cup win.

    “It would have been great to honor the birth of my son with a win,” Edwards said. “As it was, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick were the ones paying homage to infantile behavior. I really thought we made the right decision to pit, but Smith wouldn’t let me by. He won the battle; Busch and Harvick started a war.”

    2. Kyle Busch: Busch was battling with Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer for sixth on lap 363 when contact between the three sent Bowyer spinning. After Harvick bumped Busch’s No. 18 Doublemint Toyota from behind, Busch retaliated by spinning the No. 29 Budweiser Chevy. And incensed Harvick later tried to punch Busch, but Busch simply drove away, sending Harvick’s parked car into the pit road wall. Busch finished 11th, and met with NASCAR officials, along with Harvick, Richard Childress, and Joe Gibbs after the race.

    “Maybe now,” Busch said, “Harvick will have a new appreciation for the ‘drive-through window.’ I was just sitting in my car minding my own business, when Harvick appears out of nowhere. I refuse to sit ‘idly’ by and give him a free shot at my head. I’m not afraid on him; I just simply drove off the ‘beaten’ path.

    “Despite fines and penalties from NASCAR, I stand by my actions. In regards to punishment, I listened to what NASCAR had to say. But like any driver worth his salt, I didn’t ‘hear’ it. Some have ‘selective hearing;’ I have ‘disciplinary hearing.’”

    3. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson survived an early spin courtesy of Juan Montoya, making a spectacular save to keep the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet off the wall. Johnson recovered, and overcame a subsequent spin due to loose handling on lap 220, and was primed for a top-10 finish. But a loose lug nut 10 laps from the end forced him to the tail end of the longest line, and he finished 15th. Johnson remains second in the point standings, 23 out of first.

    “It’s on!” Johnson said. “Unfortunately, I’m referring to the Kyle Busch-Kevin Harvick feud, and not the lug nut in question.

    “I’m embroiled in a feud of my own, with Montoya. Of course, JPM apologized for spinning me. Now, I’m not sure I’m ready to forgive him. Frankly, as a five-time Cup champion, I’m about sick of making ‘acceptance’ speeches.”

    4. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished 17th at Darlington after Kyle Busch sent him spinning on lap 363 in retaliation for what Busch called “unacceptable racing” on Harvick’s part. Afterward, Harvick insinuated that his business with Busch is far from done. Harvick is fifth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 50 behind Carl Edwards.

    “It’s far from over,” Harvick said. “I know that, Busch knows that, and NASCAR knows that. Even my sponsor, Budweiser, knows that. Hence, the presence of a special Budweiser slogan on my car for upcoming races that says, ‘This Bud’s Coming For You.’

    “Kyle’s mother must be proud. In Mrs. Busch’s honor, I’d like to extend Happy Mother’s Day wishes to her via Kyle when I say ‘Your momma.’ But let’s not let our feud take away from Regan Smith’s victory. It was truly a magical night at Darlington. Even I tried a little magic of my own when, much like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat, I tried to pull a ‘chicken’ out of the No. 18 car. Even Kyle got in on the fun with his little ‘disappearing act.’”

    5. Ryan Newman: Newman posted his fourth top-5 finish of the year with a fifth in the Showtime Southern 500. He led 28 laps, and improved two places in the point standings to sixth, 61 out of first.

    “You may have heard,” Newman said, “that I threw a punch at Juan Montoya during our meeting with NASCAR officials to discuss our budding feud. I gave reconciliation a chance. Apparently, there’s just no getting through to Montoya. I’ve always said, ‘Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.’ So I did.”

    6. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt finished 14th at Darlington, victimized by a penalty for hitting the pit road entrance cone on a lap 329 stop. He remained fourth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 47 out of first.

    “It was a crazy week at the track,” Earnhardt said. “Even inanimate objects weren’t safe from being hit. Surprisingly, orange safety cones are a lot like certain drivers, in that safety cones don’t fight back, either.”

    7. Tony Stewart: Stewart took a gamble at Darlington, staying out while most of the leaders pitted after Jeff Burton’s blown engine brought out the caution on lap 359. It paid off, as Stewart gained substantial track position, and scored his fourth top-10 finish of the year with a seventh. He jumped three places in the point standings to seventh, 65 out of first.

    “From what I hear,” Stewart said, “even a meeting with NASCAR did nothing to settle the Ryan Newman-Juan Montoya feud. And that’s no surprise. Both Ryan and Juan are very headstrong, so it’s shocking to see that neither was willing to show ‘resolve.’

    “Montoya was unwilling to take any responsibility for wrecking Ryan at Richmond. Are we supposed to believe that his spin of Ryan was simply an accident? I think Ryan has resigned himself to accepting that claim, no matter how implausible it seems. That’s why he’s taking no responsibility for punching Montoya. That’s called the ‘Oops! Upside Your Head’ defense.”

    8. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer saw a possible top-5 finish disintegrate when he spun into the inside wall after Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and Bowyer battled door to door on lap 363. Bowyer’s No. 31 BB&T Chevy was done for the day, and he finished 31st.

    “I knew I was in trouble when Busch, Harvick, and myself came out of the corner side-by-side-by-side. That kind of lateral racing can lead to only one thing: collateral damage. And that was me.

    “Of course, as we already know, Harvick won’t take Busch’s actions sitting down. Kevin’s reputation is that of someone who never backs down. Everyone expects Kevin to retaliate, and I’m sure he’ll be ‘Happy’ to oblige.”

    9. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth blew a tire early at Darlington and fell three laps down and was never able to catch a break to regain track position. When his night at Darlington was done, Kenseth posted a finish of 25th, his third result outside the top 20 since winning at Texas on April 9th. He dropped one place in the point standings to tenth, 83 out of first.

    “I was an early victim of the ‘Lady In Black,’” Kenseth said. “It’s possibly the first time in my life I’ve been chosen first by a woman.

    “As for the Kyle Busch-Kevin Harvick, it appears NASCAR was somewhat lenient with punishment. But that’s not surprising. Of course, NASCAR’s backed themselves into a corner by advocating the ‘Boys, have at it’ mentality, which, as history shows, is inevitably translated by drivers into the ‘Boys, have a tit-for-tat’ mentality.”

    10. Kasey Kahne: Kahne started on the pole at Darlington and led 124 of 370 laps on his way to a fourth-place finish, his second consecutive top-5 result after last week’s third at Richmond.

    “I’m riding a wave of momentum right now,” Kahne said. “But I won’t get complacent. In this sport, momentum is like a one-year contract—very fleeting. I have to hand it to Red Bull for signing me to a one-year contract with the knowledge that at year’s end, I’ll say ‘Bull split’ and head over to Hendrick. Mighty Kasey doesn’t strike out; he strikes deals.”

  • Darlington’s Grace plays second fiddle to controversy

    Darlington’s Grace plays second fiddle to controversy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

     

    Interested in the business side of racing? Check here: online mba programs.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Darlington Showtime Southern 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Darlington Showtime Southern 500

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Richmond – A Camoflage Affair

    Richmond – A Camoflage Affair

    [media-credit id=18 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]It was a short track. It was a night race. So this race should have been an incredible journey back to the old school racing that made NASCAR a household word. But from the beginning of the week end it was obvious that something was missing. The first races of the weekend might have been the problem. Did they set the pace.

    The K&N East series race lacked luster and excitement. It was to be blunt, dull.  It was a close race at the front between Darrell Wallace Jr and Max Gresham. Wallace, from Mobile, Ala., gained his third victory in just his 13th career start in the K&N Pro Series East. He took the lead from Gresham for the first time on Lap 55, and the two later swapped it following a restart on Lap 78, and for the decisive time on Lap 79.

    “We just had to be patient, and be there at about halfway,” Wallace said. “[Max] Gresham was pretty strong, and I think we just a little bit better car and a better line, and we just took it away from him.”

    Next on the schedule was the Denny Hamlin Late Model charity race. A thunder storm that moved through the area kept the crowd to a minimum but Denny Hamlin finally won his own charity race.

    Although he was scheduled to start on the pole for the race, he choose to start from the back. Hamlin moved his way through the pack avoiding accidents along the way to join team mate Kyle Busch at the front of the field. The final restart came when Max Gresham and Darryl Wallace Jr tangled causing the final caution.

    Busch took the lead at the green but ran out of gas on the back stretch allowing Hamlin and Michael Waltrip to take over the point. “I’m glad he ran out of fuel because it might have got ugly,” Hamlin said. “Trust me; if Kyle wouldn’t have run out of gas, I would have done everything possible to get around him.”

    Hamlin, who said last week that the race raised over $100,000 last year, said he will wait to see how much money was raised this year, then give 10 percent to help tornado victims. Where that money will go specifically will be determined by where there is the most need, he said.

    His usual charities — the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, St. Jude Children’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital in Richmond — will receive the other 90 percent of money raised.

    Friday would bring the Nationwide Series to the spotlight with Carl Edwards starting the Fastenal Ford Fusion from the pole of the Bubba Burger 250. The race would have strange turns of events throughout its course.

    The most prominent of those oddities was the lack of cautions. Only 2 yellow flags waved for the entire race. The long green flag runs made for a decisively boring race that saw Denny Hamlin lead for 199 of the 251 laps.

    The second was a penalty assessed by NASCAR to pole sitter Carl Edwards. Edwards who ran out of gas and had to push started was penalized for working on the car outside the pit box even though the rule clearly gives him 3 boxes to be pushed by crew to restart the car. The penalty put the pole sitter 5 laps down and for the most part eliminated him from competition.

    NASCAR would announce on Saturday that they had made an error with the penalty and in fact Edwards and his Jack Roush crew were in the right. No change was made to the finishing order.

    The third oddity came when Aric Almirola’s Hellmann’s Chevrolet ran out of fuel on the back stretch. Almirola who asked for team mate Josh Wish to give him a push, instead found help from former Jr. Motorsports driver, Brad Keselowski. Keselowski pushed the car to the opening of the pit road and then took a run with a hard push to propel the 88 down the pit road before resuming his position on the track.

    Almirola who was not under power at that time was deemed to be speeding on pit road. His crew who worked quickly to refuel and change tires got the car to refire almost immediately.

    As Almirola left the pit road it was deemed that he was speeding off pit road as well. To further add confusion to the issue, television commentators stated the speeding was to avoid going a lap down and a penalty would be assessed. With in seconds Almirola began to back up in the line up to the last position on the lead lap as is customary for speeding under caution. The final position was 7th. Almirola came across the line in 5th position on the checkered flag which waved with the caution flag.

    The 88 was originally credited by NASCAR timing and scoring as finishing in the 5th spot. Shortly after the conclusion of the race Almirola was relegated first to the 6th position and then finally to the 14th spot one lap down. NASCAR put him one lap down due to the speeding penalty and said he should have started at the end of the one lap down cars.

    Almirola who was obviously upset, stated, “They are going to have to explain this one to me. I went from 5th to 14th after the race.” Almirola and Crew Chief Tony Eury Sr spent time in the NNS hauler discussing the issue.

    In defense of Almirola, he was scored first 5th then 6th then 14th. He was not alone in his finishing position being changed after the race several drivers’ positions changed and the final finishing order was not available until after 1 AM CST. At that point Nascar.com still listed Aric Almirola and the 88 in 5th position. The next morning the line up had been changed yet again.

    The final oddity occurred when Danica Patrick was shown as the driver for the 7 car out of the JR Motorsports stable. The NASCAR 2011 game sponsored car was driven by Josh Wise and finished 6th. Speeds “unofficial results” show Patrick as finishing 3rd in the 7 car. The 7 car however, was never in the 3rd position on the race track.

    The Sprint Cup race would be frustrating to say the least. Long green runs were followed by yellows every 10 laps and then a long green flag run to the checkers. The viewers at home and the fans in the stands seemed to be the only people wondering about the outcome, the announcers for Fox seemed to know who the winner would be from the beginning of the race. Constant proclamations of Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin would indeed prove to be the case as the Gibbs team finished 1st and 2nd.

    The race was full of action typically seen on a short track. Tempers flared between Juan Montoya and Ryan Newman with Newman going to the hauler to see “what they intended to do with the 42.” Montoya exited the track on a golf cart immediately following the race with no comments given to the press.

    Jeff Gordon who undoubtedly had one of the strongest cars in the field was wrecked in a multiple car pile up on the front stretch and hit hard with the driver’s side door on the only accessible wall that did not have a safer barrier. Gordon was slow to exit the car, but said later on Twitter that he was fine, but would be sore for a couple of days.

    The usually strong Budweiser Chevy faded late in the race to finish a lap down, a performance very uncharacteristic of Kevin Harvick. He was not the only car to struggle uncharacteristically. Jimmie Johnson rallied late to finish 9th but struggled the entire race. As did Dale Earnhardt Jr who had to stop late in the race for fuel and was thus relegated to a 19th place finish 2 laps down.

    The fact that a short track race became a fuel mileage situation was frustrating. Fuel mileage races are for the most part a boring affair. This was no different. Although it had all the short track action, it was just an ok race. It left this writer scratching her head.

    What happened? Why did this race go from being a promise of exciting old school racing to a snoozer? All the pieces were there. Yet the most excitement came from the radio communication of drivers like Kurt Busch, Martin Truex Jr, and Ryan Newman. If you were not able to partake in the scanner communications the race was well drab.

    This race truly was a camouflage affair. It had all the promise of the hunt and yet at the end it fell short of its promise. It was not the track itself. It was not the cars or even the drivers’ performances. It was that one missing link. It was the missing something that kept the race from being good that made it just ok.

    Richmond was full of the high strung antics of the thoroughbreds that make up the Sprint Cup roster. The angry words, the angry antics, the promise of long memories, drivers who were angry at cars, engineers, teams, pit stops and well just themselves; for all of the hype Richmond fell short of being a good show. That perhaps was the biggest surprise of all.

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

    Congratulations to Darrell Wallace Jr on his K&N East series win. He showed the grace and class in victory lane that one must possess to be a champion of the sport. I look forward to watching him grow within the sport. Congratulations to Denny Hamlin on his Nationwide Series win. He put on a dominating performance. Congratulations to Kyle Busch on his Sprint Cup win. Happy Birthday Kyle and may you have many returns on the day. Kudos to the Lowes Race team on never giving up, the perseverance of champions was never more evident than it was in Richmond on Saturday night. You proved how you became 5 time champions and why you are challengers for the 6 pack.

    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.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Richmond’s Crown Royal 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Richmond’s Crown Royal 400

    After the sounds of the US Marine Drum and Bugle Corps playing the National Anthem and the command to start engines by surviving war hero and race namesake Staff Sergeant Matthew Hansen faded, Saturday night racing was officially underway at Richmond International Raceway.

    Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Crown Royal Presents the Matthew and Daniel Hansen 400.

    Surprising:  It was surprising to see just how quickly the pole sitter Juan Pablo Montoya, in his No. 42 Target Chevrolet, fell from his prime starting position into a world of trouble with Ryan Newman, piloting the No. 39 US Army Medicine Chevrolet.

    After some tussling back and forth for position, Newman had had enough with the ever assertive Montoya, sending JPM into the wall on Lap 106. Montoya returned to the track and on Lap 236 took his revenge. [media-credit id=5 align=”alignright” width=”258″][/media-credit]

    After being spun out by Montoya, Newman was definitely hot under the collar. “I can’t believe they’re not going to black flag that 42 car,” Newman said. “I’m going to take care of this after the race.”

    Newman did indeed head straight for the NASCAR hauler after the race to share his concerns and see what the sanctioning body had to say about the incident. Montoya, on the other hand, waved off the media, jumped on his golf cart and headed back to the motor coach lot without comment.

    Newman declared he just wanted the situation to be handled fairly by the sanctioning body.

    “I know that he (Montoya) ran up on me of (Turn) 2 there and I clipped him. I mean I’m not going to try to dump myself into the wall,” Newman said. “But to retaliate the way he did just didn’t show much class.”

    Not Surprising:  Since the track was Richmond, it was not surprising to see the Joe Gibbs Racing team at the front of the pack when the checkered flag flew. While Denny Hamlin had dominated the weekend, winning his own charity race as well as the Nationwide event, it was JGR teammate Kyle Busch, in his award winning M&Ms Pretzel Toyota, that led 235 laps including the final 84, to claim the victory.

    “This race tonight was a good one,” Busch said. “We knew if we could go through traffic, we could win.”

    “We just really got beat by our teammate,” Hamlin said. “He drove a great race. Our cars were dead equal. We just got beat.”

    Surprising: There were definitely some surprising names in the top ten finishers when the checkered flag flew at RIR. Both Red Bull drivers, Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota, and his teammate Brian Vickers, behind the wheel of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, had good nights.

    Kahne, still smarting from his recent knee surgery, finished third and Vickers posted a tenth place finish.

    Another driver David Ragan, piloting his No. 6 UPS “We Love Logistics” Ford for Roush- Fenway Racing, had a strong car especially at the end of the race, finishing fourth.

    “It was a fun night,” Ragan said. “This is my favorite track to come to. Back in 2007, we finished third here and I have really liked the place since.”

    The final driver not usually in the top ten but with a great run at Richmond was AJ Allmendinger. With new sponsor Nautica on his No. 43 Ford Fusion, the ‘Dinger brought his car home in the seventh spot.

    “Sometimes in these races, you have to get a little lucky,” Allmendinger said. “We have been on the bad end before with good cars so I will take luck over skill any day.”

    Not Surprising:  Although mightily struggling for much of the race, five-time champion Jimmie Johnson found his inner rally and finished eighth.

    “We had a good finish out of it but it was a long, long night,” Johnson said. “We got the car semi-competitive and then finally got some strategy, got back on the lead lap and we went from there. So, frustrating night but a good points night.”

    Surprising: Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Jeff Gordon had a surprisingly bad night. Gordon yet again found a non-safer barrier wall and wrecked into it driver’s side first.

    The crash on Lap 301 also collected Paul Menard, Mark Martin, David Reutimann, Bobby Labonte, Jamie McMurray and Matt Kenseth.

    “It knocked the wind out of me,” Gordon said after his visit to the infield care center. “I seem to find the worst angles of walls.”

    “What a shame,” Gordon continued. “The Dupont Chevrolet was so strong. With 100 laps to go everyone was losing their patience including me. I just wish they had a safer barrier there.”

    Not Surprising: Unfortunately, it was not surprising that Team Penske continued their struggles. Kurt Busch, in the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge, had all kinds of trouble, from the initial wreck involving Montoya, continuing throughout the race. Teammate Brad Keselowski, in the Blue Deuce, was also involved in several crashes. Busch finished 22nd and Keselowski finished 36th.

    Surprising:  After returning to the lead lap via the ‘lucky dog’ process, Dave Blaney, with his newly committed sponsor Golden Corral on his No. 36 race car, managed to move forward at the end of the race to finish 13th, his season’s best. Blaney, racing not start and parking for Tommy Baldwin Racing, has now locked himself into the top 35, firmly ensconced in 32nd in the point standings.

    Not Surprising: Carl Edwards had another strong run, posting a fifth place finish in his No. 99 Scotts EZ Seed Ford. He also maintained the top spot in the point standings, nine points over second place Jimmie Johnson and thirty points ahead of race winner Kyle Busch in third.

    “That was a lot of work,” Edwards said. “I think that feeling of fifth here tonight will be replaced with the points lead feeling in a little bit and that will feel better.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Aaron’s 499 at Talladega

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Aaron’s 499 at Talladega

    At one of the longest tracks on the NASCAR Cup circuit, 2.66 miles to be exact, where lead changes abound and Dale Earnhardt still rules with ten wins, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.

    [media-credit name=”Steven Iles” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Surprising:  Whether you call it the two car tango, dancing with the cars, friends with benefits, flying united, or Noah’s Ark racing, it was most certainly the pairs competition at ‘Dega this year. In comparison to the Daytona 500 to start the season, it was also most surprising how committed the pairs were to one another at Talladega.

    Dale Earnhardt, Jr., driver of the No. 88 National Guard/Amp Energy Chevrolet, summed it up best. “We all had commitment phobia in the past. But in this situation, you had to commit and make sacrifices, just like in a relationship.”

    Not Surprising:  There was no doubt that overcoming that commitment phobia was key to the race finish. Channeling their inner Talladega Nights characters Ricky Bobby and Cal Naughton, Jr., Dale Earnhardt, Jr. pushed his teammate Jimmie Johnson, in the No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet, to the checkered flag, scoring the closest margin of victory record at just .002 seconds.

    As both drivers shouted “Woo hoos” on their radios, congratulating each other and even sharing the checkered flag, Johnson scored his 54th career victory, tying Lee Petty, NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, for ninth on the all-time Cup Series win list.

    Johnson’s win moved him two spots ahead in the point standings. He currently sits in the second spot, just five points behind leader Carl Edwards.

    The other half of that tandem duo, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. also surged forward in the point standings. Junior moved up three spots to claim the third position, just 19 points behind Edwards and 14 points behind Johnson.

    Surprising: While it was surprising that there was technically no ‘big one’ and thankfully no cars went airborne, there were a few spectacular wrecks and even more amazing saves. Ryan Newman, in the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet, laid claim to the biggest saves of the day, two of them in fact, calling on all of his dirt track racing experience to do so. After his first save, Newman was not so lucky on his second save, flat spotting all his tires and relegating him to a 25th place finish.

    Not Surprising:  While some drivers were busy saving their cars, other drivers not usually at the front got their chance to shine. Dave Blaney, behind the wheel of the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet, almost had to make good on the sponsor’s offer to let kids eat free if he finished in the top ten. After leading several laps, Blaney unfortunately got turned by Kurt Busch, lost the draft and finished 27th.

    Andy Lally, rookie driver of the No. 71 Interstate Moving Services Ford, also had a big day. Known primarily for his Rolex racing skills, Lally found his place in the draft and finished 19th for TRG Motorsports.

    Surprising: After running so well together and finishing first and second respectively in the Nationwide race, it was somewhat surprising to see how badly Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Pretzel Toyota, and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano, behind the wheel of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota, fared while working together.

    On lap 140, Logano tapped Busch, sending him spinning and bringing out the fourth caution. The impact was so intense that Busch’s right side tires lifted before spinning, landing him driver’s side against the retaining wall.

    “Joey (Logano) and I worked great all day,” Busch said. “I got spun out – it was nothing Joey did wrong.”

    “It’s just a product of what we’ve got,” Busch continued. “So far, at every restrictor-plate race, I’ve been spun out.”

    Not Surprising: Since dynamic duos were all the rage, it was not surprising that other pairs fared well together. Clint Bowyer, in the No. 33 BB&T Chevrolet, and Kevin Harvick, behind the wheel of the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet, both out of the Richard Childress stable, pushed each other to top-ten finishes.

    In addition, Hendrick Motorsport teammates Jeff Gordon, driving the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet while battling a nasty cold, and Mark Martin, piloting the No. 5 Carquest/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, also were committed to each other to finish third and eighth respectively.

    Finally, Roush Fenway Racing teammates Carl Edwards, point leader and expectant father, and Greg Biffle, who just re-signed with sponsor 3M and RFR, were also locked together throughout the race. Edwards finished sixth and Biffle came in right behind in seventh.

    Surprising:  Red Bull had a most surprisingly bad day at the Talladega Superspeedway.  Brian Vickers, in the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, spun and hit the wall as a result of contact with Landon Cassill, bringing out the first caution of the race.

    Teammate Kasey Kahne, in the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota, got involved in the second wreck of the day, caught up in an incident started by the collision of teammates Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski. Kahne’s car burst into flames from the oil and the driver was still reeking of smoke in the infield care center before being checked out and released.

    Not Surprising: It was not just the drivers that had to dodge and weave in order to stay out of harm’s way this weekend, with tornado warnings throughout the area prior to the race. But in typical NASCAR fashion, the drivers, fans and all their families stuck together, looking out for one another and working together to ensure everyone’s safety.

    And in that spirit of camaraderie, happy Easter wishes to all, that is until the next race at Richmond, the Crown Royal 400, on April 30th.