Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: Ryan Truex

  • Recapping ‘Monday Madness’ in NASCAR

    Recapping ‘Monday Madness’ in NASCAR

    Daytona must be getting closer as Monday was filled with news concerning the quickly approaching NASCAR season. From a deadly duo ready to battle for the Nationwide Series’ Owner’s Championship to a retired driver set to take some laps at Daytona, the day in news never let up.

     

    Sam Hornish Jr. to Compete in 7 Races for JGR’s No.54 Nationwide Series Entry 

    Sam Hornish Jr. announced today that he will compete in seven NASCAR Nationwide Series races for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2014. He will be behind the wheel of the No.54 car in the events Kyle Busch does not compete in. Hornish Jr.’s first race will be at Talladega in May.

    After finishing runner-up to Austin Dillon in the Nationwide Series standings last season, Hornish Jr. was left without a ride for 2014 due to lack of sponsorship. Hornish Jr. will not have a chance at redemption for the driver’s championship but he will play a crucial role in the No.54 car’s owner’s championship bid. The No.54 car came up short on the owner’s title last season but a revamped effort for 2014 makes them an early favorite to capture the crown.

     

    Chase Elliott Partners with NAPA, JR Motorsports for Full-time Nationwide Series Ride in 2014

    Chase Elliott was able to announce his plans for the future today. After losing Aaron’s as a sponsor following the 2013 season, Elliott went sponsor hunting in order to continue his racing career. Rick Hendrick and Elliott met with NAPA towards the end of 2013 and now NAPA will sponsor him full-time in his first Nationwide Series season. Elliott will get behind the wheel of the No.9 NAPA Chevrolet in 2014. The deal with NAPA is a multi-year agreement.

    Elliott initially broke the record for being the youngest winner in NASCAR history last season until Erik Jones broke the record again in the penultimate race of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) season. Elliott competed in a select number of NCWTS events last season, but no Nationwide Series races due to the age limit. The now 18 year-old will be able to compete for the Nationwide Series title in 2014 as he continues building his racing career.

     

    David Reutimann Out at BK Racing, Bowman, Truex Considered Favorites for Ride

    BK Racing announced today that they have mutually split ways with David Reutimann. Reutimann had competed for the team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the previous two seasons.

    With Reutimann gone, a ride has opened at BK Racing. It is unknown whether BK Racing will terminate the ride or if they will sign a new driver. Alex Bowman tested the No.83 car at Charlotte last month. Bowman will also test the car later this week at Daytona. He is currently without a ride for 2014 and appears as the favorite for the No.83 car.

    Ryan Truex’s name has also come up as he will test BK Racing’s No.93 car at Daytona. Truex is currently under contract with Richard Petty Motorsports.

     

    Bill Elliott to Test No.5 for JR Motorsports at Daytona

    On the heels of the Chase Elliott announcement, JR Motorsports laid out their testing plans for Daytona International Speedway. With Dale Earnhardt Jr. unavailable, Bill Elliott will be behind the wheel of the car Earnhardt Jr. will pilot at the Nationwide Series season opener in February. Elliott’s last NASCAR venture came in 2012 when he raced a Turner-Scott Motorsports entry in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. According to JR Motorsports, this is a one-time deal.

  • Ryan Truex Feeling Fortunate and Lucky After Bristol Debut

    Ryan Truex Feeling Fortunate and Lucky After Bristol Debut

    While Ryan Truex’s Sprint Cup Series debut might not have turned out exactly as he had hoped, the 21 year old development driver for Richard Petty Motorsports and past K&N Series Champion left Bristol feeling ‘fortunate and lucky’ to be where he is at currently in the sport today.

    First and foremost, the youngest racing Truex feels lucky to be able to get back in a race car after a dirt bike accident over the Easter holiday left him injured with a broken collar bone.

    “I went to the doctor and we hoped it would heal on its own,” Truex said. “We went six weeks and it hadn’t healed so then we had to have surgery.”

    “I have a plate and twelve screws in there,” Truex continued. “It’s fine now but it wasn’t fun at the time.”

    “I had to go through the surgery plus the physical therapy, which was twelve weeks from the time I had surgery to the time I was cleared to race.”

    “And that didn’t include the six weeks of hoping that it would heal on its own,” Truex said. “It’s been a challenge and I’m apparently now banned from dirt bikes.”

    Truex also feels fortunate and lucky to have signed with Richard Petty Motorsports as a development driver and to have been able to maintain a relationship with Phoenix Racing that allowed him to make his Cup debut in the No. 51 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    “Before I signed with Richard Petty Motorsports, I was supposed to drive the No. 51 in Richmond and Dover,” Truex said. “And then I went and got hurt and messed those plans up.”

    “Phoenix Racing was able to plug me into their schedule later in the year and Bristol was the first opening,” Truex continued. “So, that was the first one we chose being a half mile and I was approved for it by NASCAR to run in the Cup Series.”

    After being out recuperating from his injury, the opportunity to be back behind the wheel of a race car, especially in the Cup Series at one of the most noted tracks on the circuit in a race under the lights was not only exciting but a bit overwhelming for the young up and coming driver.

    “It was really cool but a little intimidating being in a field with guys like Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson, all those guys who have proven themselves in the Cup Series,” Truex said. “And that was my first race since the Daytona Truck race so it had been about six months since I had raced anything.”

    “The week before, I practiced and qualified Marcos Ambrose’s Nationwide car so I had a little seat time in something but other than that, that was the first weekend back in a race car and the first time in the Gen 6 car at all,” Truex continued. “So, it was a bit of a curve ball for me and it was a steep learning curve.”

    Truex did indeed have challenges in his Cup debut, struggling with his car race, hitting the wall and finishing 42nd in the Bristol Irwin Tools Night Race.

    “We qualified really well and I was really happy with that,” Truex said. “We practiced pretty good and I thought we were a top-20 car at least.”

    “In the race, we started off the first few laps and did alright but for some reason our car was just really, really loose and I ended up getting up out of the groove,” Truex continued. “I got up in the marbles and got freight trained.”

    “Once I gathered it back up and got the junk off my tires, we started riding and were way back,” Truex said. “I was biding my time and then we started to get really, really tight and, being a rookie, I didn’t realize the problem at the time but it turns out that we ran over some debris and we had a cut in the left front tire.”

    “It was slowly going down and then it blew out and ended our night.”

    Fortunately, the rookie driver did not re-injure his collar bone although his older brother Martin Truex Jr. did not fare so well. After Martin’s hard hit late in the race at Bristol, an MRI showed that he had broken his right wrist and will have to wear a special cast for the rest of the racing season.

    Although Ryan’s Cup debut race night was shortened by the blown tire and wreck into the wall, the younger Truex did learn some lessons from the evening and even got some advice and counsel from some of the biggest names in the sports.

    “The biggest lesson for me is that I just need to be out there every weekend,” Truex said. “Since I stepped up from the K&N Series to Nationwide in 2011, I’ve been running part-time, once or twice a month at the most.”

    “Last year, I had seven races with Joe Gibbs Racing, plus a couple of other races with some other teams, which added up to about eleven races for the year,” Truex continued. “That’s been the biggest challenge for me is just having some repetition in my racing and going out every weekend in my race car and be familiar with it.”

    “One of the people that I talked to before driver intros standing in the tunnel at Bristol was Jeff Burton,” Truex said. “I thought that was really cool.”

    “Mark Martin came up to my car and talked to me for a few minutes and told me what to expect and what to do,” Truex continued. “So, there were a couple of guys that I respect who talked to me and I thought that was awesome.”

    “I grew up watching them race so for them to come over and give me words of advice was really cool.”

    Another of Truex’s idols has been Richard Petty and the young driver feels especially fortunate and lucky to be invited into the fold of the ‘King’ and a part of Richard Petty Motorsports.

    “It’s a huge deal for me to be with Richard Petty Motorsports,” Truex said. “In the past few years, I’ve been jumping around between teams and had some one-off deals, but since I’ve left Michael Waltrip Racing, I’ve never really had a true home.”

    “So, they’ve taken under their wing and committed to developing me as a driver in the Cup Series,” Truex continued. “I’ve signed a multi-year deal with them with the goal of running full-time in the Cup Series one day.”

    “So, that feels really good to just have one place to focus on and not have to worry about where I’m going to race week to week.”

    For this year, Truex will continue to run some races in the No. 51 car for Phoenix Racing and hopes to be back in that car as early as the Richmond race. But his real focus is on the 2014 season when, sponsorship pending, he hopes to race full-time for Richard Petty Motorsports in the Nationwide Series.

    “That’s the goal for me personally and for the team to be out there next year running for a championship,” Truex said. “But the biggest thing is finding the funding to do that.”

    “Now that I have a team out there searching and helping me find the funding to run full-time, it takes a lot of pressure of me and makes me feel more secure with my future.”

    Most of all, Ryan Truex is feeling fortunate and lucky to be a part of a family that has supported and nurtured his racing career every step of the way.

    “My brother has always been there for me my whole career, and my parents are at my races every single weekend giving me support,” Truex said. “My dad always tells me that if you work as hard as you can and take advantage of every opportunity, there is no reason why you can’t reach your goal.”

    “That’s been my philosophy too,” Truex continued. “There has been plenty of frustrating moments but then you step back and look at how far I’ve come and at the people I have around me, and it’s a pretty awesome deal for me.”

    “I’m fortunate and lucky to be able to be where I’m at,” Truex said. “And I know that if I keep working at it, never give up and get down on myself that eventually it will work out.”

     

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: IRWIN Tools Bristol Night Race

    Surprising and Not Surprising: IRWIN Tools Bristol Night Race

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    “It’s Bristol racing.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    “We will take it and move on.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

     

  • Ryan Truex makes Sprint Cup Debut at “World’s Fastest Half-Mile”

    Ryan Truex makes Sprint Cup Debut at “World’s Fastest Half-Mile”

    With the support of Richard Petty Motorsports and Phoenix Racing, the Richard Petty Motorsports development driver, Ryan Truex, will make his first Sprint Cup series start this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    Truex, a Mayetta New Jersey native, comments on his upcoming debut, “I’m excited to make my NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut at Bristol.  It has been tough waiting on the sidelines while I healed from my collarbone injury, but now I am ready to go…It’s pretty awesome that it’s coming at Bristol at the night race.  This is a premier race on the Sprint Cup circuit.”

    Truex will be driving the No. 51 car for Phoenix Racing.  Phoenix Racing is notorious for giving young drivers opportunities to drive for their team.  Ryan’s older brother Martin is also a former Phoenix Racing driver.

    Truex is no stranger to the NASCAR Nationwide Series, Camping World Truck Series, and the K&N Pro Series East with thirty-five Nationwide Series starts, three Camping World Truck Series Starts, and twenty-two K&N Pro Series East starts.  During his three years in the K&N Pro Series East, Truex claimed five victories, seventeen top-ten finishes, and won the championship in back-to-back seasons in 2009 and 2010.

    Truex signed a multi-year development contract with Richard Petty Motorsports earlier this year, and Richard Petty commented on Ryan’s Bristol debut.  He said, “It will be a big night for Ryan. He is a talented driver, and we look forward to his future with our team. We are working hard to find funding support to give him more opportunities behind the wheel.”

    Sprint Cup practice at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile” will begin Friday at noon, with final practice and qualifying following.  The Irwin Tools Night Race will be Saturday August 24th at 7:30 pm EST.

  • Brad Keselowski Wins Nationwide Race; Austin Dillon Wins Dash4Cash

    Brad Keselowski Wins Nationwide Race; Austin Dillon Wins Dash4Cash

    [media-credit name=”Kirk Schroll” align=”alignright” width=”231″][/media-credit]Brad Keselowski, in the No. 22 Snap -On Penske Dodge, sat on the pole, led the most laps and took the checkered flag, as well as the American flag, right to Victory Lane.

    The win was Keselowski’s second victory in 2012 and his first win at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Keselowski also now ranks 15th on the all-time win list in the Nationwide Series.

    “It was a great day,” Keselowski said. “It was one of those days when things came together,”

    “We unloaded yesterday with a lot of speed and tried to work on making sure it stayed there,” Keselowski continued. “It feels good to finally come here and close the deal.”

    “It’s great to have Roger (Penske) here today to witness it and be part of it,” Keselowski said. “I’m very proud of the effort and proud of the result.”

    Kevin Harvick, driving the No. 33 Barber Foods Chevrolet, finished second and was totally unhappy after the race finish. While it was a positive finish overall, he was most displeased with the lapped car No. 24 car of Amber Cope, who broke his momentum and cost him the win.

    “It was a good day,” Harvick said. “The 22 and I were pretty evenly matched and I knew the restart was the best place to capitalize.”

    “It just came down to an unfortunate deal there and we got beat,” Harvick continued. “Obviously we wish we would have been able to win the race but got cut up in a cluster of lapped cars.”

    “That 24 car is somebody who shouldn’t be on the race track,” Harvick said. “She wants to be Danica Patrick but she can’t hold her helmet.”

    This was Harvick’s 11th top-10 finish in 12 races at the Magic Mile and his sixth top-10 finish in 2012.

    Rookie driver Austin Dillon, sans crew chief due to his penalty of last week, finished in the third position in his No. 3 Advocare Chevrolet. Dillon was also the highest finishing rookie, the highest finishing Nationwide regular, and the winner of the $100,000 in the Nationwide Dash4Cash.

    The young, up and coming driver beat out Elliott Sadler, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Michael Annett, the other three eligible drivers for the Nationwide Series Dash4Cash prize.

    “It’s great,” Dillon said. “Winning our first Nationwide race at Kentucky was our number one moment of the year but this comes close.”

    “We started 12th and got up there quick,” Dillon continued. “Dash4Cash racing right there was awesome. I gave it my all.”

    And what was Dillon planning to do with all that cash won from the Dash4Cash promotion?

    “I said I was going to get a pool,” Dillon said. “I wish I had a pool right now.”

    “Maybe I’ll be smart like my Grandpa and invest it.”

    “I want to thank Nationwide for letting us do this, Dillon continued. “To run for a hundred grand is amazing.”

    Sam Hornish, Jr., in the No. 12 Alliance Truck Parts Dodge, came in fourth, giving Roger Penske top-five finishes for both Nationwide cars and some welcome good news after the suspension of his Cup driver A.J. Allmendinger this past weekend.

    “At the end of the day, a top-five finish is good,” Hornish said. “All in all, I’m pretty happy with how we ran.”

    “Just wish we would have had a little bit more for those guys at the end of the race.”

    There was also drama on pit road after the race with Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., who was overcome with heat and stretched out on pit road until a stretch took him to the infield care center. Stenhouse had been ill all week, which in addition to the heat, no doubt caused such a physical reaction at race end.

    In spite of it all, Stenhouse, Jr., in the No. 6 Cargill Ford, was able to gut it out to finish in the fifth position.

    “Ricky has been sick most of the week just fighting the flu bug,” crew chief Mike Kelley said. “At the end of the race I think the heat and the exhaustion caught up with him.”

    “They’ve got him in the infield care center,” Kelley continued. “He’s awake and alert and getting some fluids in him.”

    “He’ll be fine.”

    Both Danica Patrick and Travis Pastrana wrecked in the F.W. Webb 200. Patrick was able to soldier on, bringing her No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet to the checkered flag in the 14th position.

    Pastrana, however, was not as fortunate, finishing 31st in his No. 99 Boost Mobile Toyota Camry for RAB Racing. Pastrana suffered a hard hit into the wall, with some flames in the car erupting after the crash.

    “Just the tire went flat coming into the corner,” Pastrana said. “I was locking up the brakes a lot trying to get the car in and eventually just wore out that right-front tire.”

    “They gave me such a great car to start out there,” Pastrana continued. “I hate that I just went too soon on that first green when everyone started going.”

    Kasey Kahne, in the No. 38 Great Clips Chevrolet, Elliott Sadler, in the OneMain Financial Chevrolet, Justin Allgaier, in the No. 31 Brandt Chevrolet, Jamie McMurray, in the No. 30 LiftMaster Chevrolet, and Ryan Truex, in the Grime Boss Chevrolet, rounded out the top ten finishers.

    After this race, Elliott Sadler leads the point standings in the NASCAR Nationwide Series by three points over Austin Dillon.

    Unofficial Race Results
    F.W. Webb 200, New Hampshire
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/race.php?race=17
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 1 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge 0
    2 4 33 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 0
    3 12 3 Austin Dillon * Chevrolet 42
    4 6 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 40
    5 3 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 39
    6 2 38 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 0
    7 7 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 37
    8 13 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 36
    9 9 30 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 0
    10 11 18 Ryan Truex Toyota 34
    11 14 43 Michael Annett Ford 33
    12 8 11 Brian Scott Toyota 32
    13 15 44 Mike Bliss Toyota 31
    14 18 7 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 30
    15 27 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 29
    16 16 81 Jason Bowles * Toyota 29
    17 25 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 27
    18 10 88 Cole Whitt * Chevrolet 26
    19 19 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 25
    20 22 19 Tayler Malsam Toyota 24
    21 28 41 Timmy Hill Ford 0
    22 37 14 Eric McClure Toyota 22
    23 33 70 Tony Raines Chevrolet 0
    24 32 39 Josh Richards Ford 20
    25 21 108 Matt Frahm Ford 19
    26 43 124 Amber Cope Chevrolet 0
    27 40 52 Joey Gase * Chevrolet 17
    28 5 54 Kyle Busch Toyota 0
    29 36 4 Danny Efland Chevrolet 15
    30 17 23 Jamie Dick Chevrolet 14
    31 20 199 Travis Pastrana Toyota 13
    32 34 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 12
    33 30 86 Kevin Lepage Ford 11
    34 29 171 Scott Riggs Ford 0
    35 38 50 T.J. Bell Chevrolet 9
    36 42 174 Mike Harmon Chevrolet 8
    37 39 175 Matthew Carter Chevrolet 7
    38 35 46 Chase Miller Chevrolet 6
    39 41 15 Charles Lewandoski Chevrolet 5
    40 26 40 Erik Darnell Chevrolet 4
    41 24 42 Josh Wise Chevrolet 0
    42 31 47 Stephen Leicht Chevrolet 0
    43 23 10 Jeff Green Toyota 1

  • Logano Puts on Monstrous Nationwide Show; Stenhouse Jr. Wrecks Out of Points Lead

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”223″][/media-credit]Joey Logano put a whipping on the Monster Mile, dominating most of the race and leading laps to score his first Nationwide win ever at the Dover track, as well as the coveted Miles the Monster trophy.

    Although strong throughout much of the race, Logano pitted under caution and had to battle back against teammate Ryan Truex in the last twenty laps to score the checkered flag.

    “I was frustrated as soon as the caution came out and we lost our track position,” Logano said. “Once we got to second and he (Truex) got caught in lapped traffic, I was able to pass cars, take the lead and get the win.”

    “When you lead it, think you gave it away, and then get the win, it’s good.”

    “It’s been four or five years and I have never gotten a win here,” Logano said. “It’s the coolest trophy you can win. It’s awesome to finally get it.”

    The driver of the No. 18 Dollar General Toyota led the parade of Joe Gibbs Racing drivers with teammates Ryan Truex and Brian Scott in second and third respectively.

    Although Truex gave a very gutsy performance to finish second, especially after just having had surgery for appendicitis, he was not a happy camper.

    He was particularly upset with lapped traffic, which slowed his run and allowed Logano to pass him.

    “I’m not happy,” the driver of the No. 20 Grime Boss Toyota said. “It’s second and I’m not happy with it.”

    “We had a winning car,” Truex said. “I hate to blame it on someone else, but it’s just stupid.”

    “I probably could have picked a better lane around them,” Truex said of the lapped traffic. “It’s just frustrating.”

    “I wish I could have got a win,” Truex said. “It was too close to come in second.”

    As unhappy as Truex was, the third member of the Joe Gibbs Racing triumvirate, Brian Scott was most pleased with his third place finish. Scott did admit, however, that he probably could learn some lessons from his younger teammates.

    “We had a really good Dollar General Toyota all day,” Scott said. “This one’s for JGR with a one, two, three finish.”

    “It’s fun to be up there and racing our teammates for the win,” Scott continued. “I’m a young kid myself at 24, but Ryan and Joey, who are younger than me, can show me a few things.”

    “Really happy to bring back a top-5 finish after all we’ve been through this year,” Scott said. “Hopefully, it’s a huge confidence booster for the team.”

    Kurt Busch, in the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota for Kyle Busch Motorsports, finished fourth and Justin Allgaier, in the No. 31 Brandt Chevrolet, rounded out the top five. These two drivers, however, were none too happy with one other, having some words after the race on pit road.

    “We just agreed to disagree on a few things at the race track,” Allgaier said of the incident with Busch. “Great day for the Brandt Chevrolet.”

    “Glad we finished in the top-five; that was the first one for us this season,” Allgaier continued. “It was definitely a good day.”

    Austin Dillon, driver of the No. 3 American Ethanol/New Holland Chevrolet, was the highest finishing rookie, scoring the sixth spot.

    “It was a good run,” Dillon said. “We made sure our car was good for the race and it was.”

    “It was just way too tight in traffic,” Dillon continued. “We didn’t have the car to get up there like Joey did.”

    Troubles abounded, however, for points leader Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. when he lost control of the No. 6 Cargill Beef Ford Mustang and hit the wall hard on lap 27. The young driver took full responsibility for the wreck.

    “I just lost it,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “I wasn’t up on the wheel and just kind of riding around until that competition caution and just got behind on the steering.”

    “It was driver error, totally my fault,” Stenhouse continued. “We will have to go back take a weekend off and get ‘em at Michigan.”

    Stenhouse, Jr. was able to get back out onto the track but his car looked more like a modified car than a Nationwide car. He finished a disappointing 32nd and fell to second in the point standings, twelve behind Elliott Sadler.

    Yet in spite of being the new points leader, Elliott Sadler was also not amongst the happy camper drivers as far as his finish.

    “Our run today was not what we were looking for,” Sadler said. “To finish seventh is kind of disappointing.”

    “We had to fight back from a lucky dog but definitely not the day we wanted at Dover,” Sadler said. “We have homework to do before we come back in the fall.”

    “We are the points leader and we’re very happy to be back in the points race,” Sadler continued. “But we know as a team that the 6 car is going to run good every week and is not going to have problems every week.”

    “But it does feel good to be back in the middle of this thing,” Sadler said. “As a team, we just have to keep fighting and keep improving.”

    Unofficial Race Results
    5-hour Energy 200, Dover International Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/race.php?race=12
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 2 18 Joey Logano Toyota 0
    2 1 20 Ryan Truex Toyota 43
    3 5 11 Brian Scott Toyota 41
    4 9 54 Kurt Busch Toyota 0
    5 7 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 40
    6 11 3 Austin Dillon * Chevrolet 38
    7 6 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 37
    8 3 33 Ty Dillon Chevrolet 0
    9 14 30 James Buescher Chevrolet 0
    10 15 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 34
    11 23 43 Michael Annett Ford 33
    12 12 22 Parker Kligerman Dodge 0
    13 10 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 31
    14 19 88 Cole Whitt * Chevrolet 30
    15 30 81 Jason Bowles * Toyota 29
    16 20 19 Tayler Malsam Toyota 28
    17 28 14 Jeff Green Toyota 27
    18 27 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 26
    19 21 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 25
    20 13 199 John Wes Townley Toyota 0
    21 34 23 Jamie Dick Chevrolet 23
    22 18 39 Josh Richards Ford 22
    23 22 38 Brad Sweet * Chevrolet 21
    24 32 50 T.J. Bell Chevrolet 20
    25 – 4 Brad Teague Chevrolet 19
    26 36 52 Joey Gase * Chevrolet 18
    27 29 40 Erik Darnell Chevrolet 17
    28 – 124 Tim Bainey Jr. Chevrolet 0
    29 35 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 15
    30 17 7 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 14
    31 26 41 Timmy Hill Ford 0
    32 4 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 12
    33 8 44 Mike Bliss Toyota 11
    34 – 174 Mike Harmon Chevrolet 10
    35 37 171 Matt Carter Chevrolet 9
    36 – 175 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 0
    37 24 42 Josh Wise Chevrolet 0
    38 16 47 Scott Speed Chevrolet 0
    39 25 10 Kevin Lepage Toyota 5
    40 31 108 Tim Andrews Ford 4
    41 – 15 Blake Koch Chevrolet 3
    42 33 46 Matt DiBenedetto Chevrolet 0
    43 – – – – 0

  • Carl Edwards Conquers Concrete Monster for Nationwide Win

    Carl Edwards could now be dubbed ‘King of the Concrete’ after a conquering win at the Monster Mile in the 26th Annual OneMain Financial 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”230″][/media-credit]The driver of the No. 60 Fastenal Ford even did his trademark victory back flip, although not quite sticking the landing due to the high banking at Dover International Speedway.

    “My back flip was terrible,” Edwards said. “I was nervous doing it on the banking. I’m not going to do it tomorrow if I win because there is too much banking.”

    Edwards also made his traditional foray into the crowds to celebrate his victory. On the way, he signed one fan’s Subway car and received plenty of congratulations.

    “There was one guy up there that had all my gear on and he was just pumped,” Edwards said. “It’s just neat up there and all the drivers should try it.”

    This was Edwards’ seventh win of the season. But more important, this was Edwards’ ninth win on the concrete, scoring him a perfect driver rating.

    “That was a great race,” Edwards said. “It all starts at the shop because these Ford Mustangs are spectacular.”

    “That was a very fast car,” Edwards continued. “Pit stops were great. Strategy was great. And we hung on for the win.”

    Mike Beam, Edwards’ crew chief, echoed his driver’s sentiments.

    “We really worked hard on the car,” Beam said. “Carl’s feedback was perfect. It worked out well.”

    Team owner Jack Roush praised the chemistry of the team, as well as all of the members of the group that works on the car.

    “It’s been a great team,” Roush said on the one year anniversary of the team coming together. “We put our Nationwide shop in the same location as the Cup shop. So, the help that Ford was giving would help all of the teams.”

    “Thankfully, Carl didn’t crack his noggin on his back flip.”

    Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 22 Ruby Tuesday Dodge, finished second.

    “I almost felt like we were first in class until the restarts,” Keselowski said. “We did a great job with our Ruby Tuesday Dodge Challenger.”

    “Carl was just way faster than anyone else,” Keselowski continued. “We weren’t as good as Carl was.”

    “I thought we were going to steal one with strategy but it wasn’t meant to be,” Keselowski said. “We just didn’t have enough for him today.”

    Clint Bowyer, behind the wheel of the No. 33 Rheem Heating Cooling and Water Heating Chevrolet, scored the third spot in the finishing order.

    “I was pretty sure we weren’t first in class,” Bowyer said with a chuckle. “The caution came out and took two tires and then we had to take four and lost a lot of track position.”

    “We just got beat up on pretty bad,” Bowyer continued. “Carl was fast and he was the class of the field.”

    Ryan Truex, driving the No. 20 Heinz 57 Sauce Toyota, was the race’s top finishing rookie, bringing his race car home in eighth position. Not to be confused with his brother, Cup driver Martin Truex, Jr., Ryan still showed the same affinity for his local, home track.

    “I don’t appreciate being called Martin,” Truex said in the media center when he was incorrectly introduced. “But we had a great day.”

    “The caution got us off sequence,” Truex continued. “We deserved to be top five.”

    “It’s great when you can have good cars and run like that but it’s disappointing when you don’t get the finish you thought you should.”

    Probably the luckiest driver on the track for this Nationwide race was Reed Sorenson, driver of the No. Dollar General Chevrolet, who finished seventh.

    Sorenson benefitted from a NASCAR error where he should have gone to the rear of the field due to pitting too early, however, NASCAR failed to get the information to him in a timely manner.

    “I didn’t know what was going on,” Sorenson said. “I knew a lot of cars had to do the wave around. I don’t think it would have affected where we finished.”

    “I don’t know what the problem was but all in all it was a top-10 day for the Dollar General car.”

    Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., driving the No. 6 Blackwell Angus Ford, scored a top five finish. But more important, he came out of the Monster Mile with the points lead, 22 points over Elliott Sadler.

    “I wish I would have been a little bit better,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “We just never had the car the way we needed it.”

    “We stayed tight the whole day,” Stenhouse continued. “We didn’t make any mistakes and that’s what we need to do each and every week.”

    “A top five is definitely a good result for us.”

    Stenhouse Jr. now sees himself and his team as in control of the championship competition.

    “I think we’re in control for sure but we have to control what we do,” Stenhouse, Jr. said. “I’ve got to keep it out of the fence and keep the fenders on it.”

    “We’ve got a real good shot at this thing,” Stenhouse said. “We have a race team that’s pretty determined to win this thing.”

    No doubt, Elliott Sadler, who had started from the pole position in his No. 2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet, was the most disappointed driver coming out of the Monster Mile. Sadler finished fourteenth, trailing Stenhouse Jr. in the point standings.

    “We were a little bit too loose with the cloud cover,” Sadler said. “My car would get too free. As soon as we pitted, the caution came out and it put us in a bigger hole.”

    Sadler, however, is still hopeful about his championship hopes.

    “We got five races left and anything can happen,” Sadler said. “I got to do a better job in practice for how I like it in practice to be able to get into Victory Lane.”

    “We just have to find that next level and we will have to win a race or two to get back into this.”

    ——–

    Unofficial Race Results
    OneMain Financial 200, Dover International Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/race.php?race=29
    =========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 2 60 Carl Edwards Ford 0
    2 8 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge 0
    3 4 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 0
    4 7 38 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 0
    5 6 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 39
    6 9 16 Trevor Bayne Ford 38
    7 19 32 Reed Sorenson Chevrolet 37
    8 5 20 Ryan Truex * Toyota 36
    9 13 19 Mike Bliss Chevrolet 35
    10 14 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 34
    11 11 11 Brian Scott Toyota 33
    12 18 62 Michael Annett Toyota 32
    13 3 18 Joey Logano Toyota 0
    14 1 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 31
    15 16 88 Aric Almirola Chevrolet 29
    16 10 9 Kenny Wallace Toyota 28
    17 15 7 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 0
    18 23 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 26
    19 17 30 Jason Leffler Chevrolet 25
    20 12 66 Steve Wallace Toyota 24
    21 22 81 Blake Koch * Dodge 23
    22 42 15 Timmy Hill * Ford 22
    23 31 39 Fain Skinner Ford 21
    24 27 14 Eric McClure Chevrolet 20
    25 39 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 19
    26 41 28 Derrike Cope Dodge 18
    27 37 52 Kevin Lepage Chevrolet 17
    28 36 70 Casey Roderick Chevrolet 16
    29 21 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 16
    30 24 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 14
    31 25 23 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 13
    32 33 171 Matthew Carter Ford 12
    33 40 40 Josh Wise Chevrolet 11
    34 34 175 Carl Long Ford 10
    35 35 141 Johnny Chapman Chevrolet 9
    36 38 49 Mark Green Chevrolet 8
    37 26 104 Kelly Bires Ford 7
    38 20 147 Charles Lewandoski * Chevrolet 6
    39 43 146 Chase Miller Chevrolet 5
    40 30 142 Tim Andrews Chevrolet 0
    41 28 182 Scott Wimmer Dodge 3
    42 32 150 T.J. Bell Chevrolet 0
    43 29 44 Jeff Green Chevrolet 1
  • Brett Moffitt Plans to Follow MWR Teammate Ryan Truex to East Series Championship

    Brett Moffitt Plans to Follow MWR Teammate Ryan Truex to East Series Championship

    Up and coming NASCAR driver Brett Moffitt will soon take the wheel of the race car formerly driven by Ryan Truex, the two-time K & N Pro Series East champion and little brother of Cup driver Martin Truex, Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing’s newest addition also plans to follow in Truex’s footsteps by winning the East Series championship in 2011.

    “We’re really excited,” Moffitt said of his new Michael Waltrip Racing ride. “It’s really a good fit right now for where I’m at in my career and what they are looking to do. I’m really excited to try to run for their third consecutive championship in the East Series.”

    [media-credit name=”Brett Moffitt Racing” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Moffitt credits his “good PR lady Michelle” for talking to Ty Norris at MWR and securing his new ride. As are many drivers, Moffitt continues to search for sponsors for the car, the No. 00 so familiar to Michael Waltrip Racing fans.

    Moffitt will be running the full K&N Pro Series East schedule in 2011, from Greenville-Pickens Speedway where he won his first ever pole, to the Monster Mile where he won a race in the 2010 season. This is the third year that Moffitt has raced the East Series, finishing third and then second in points, last year and this year respectively.

    “My first year in the Series, I ended up third in points with Andy Santerre Motorsports,” Moffitt said. “This past year with Joe Gibbs Racing, I ended up second in points. So, if I continue that trend, then I should be the champion next year.”

    Moffitt will also have the same crew chief, Mike Greci, who took Ryan Truex to his championships. In addition to the two East titles with Truex in 2009 and 2010, Greci has won two other East championships, both with Mike Stefanik in 1997 and 1998.

    “I’ll also have the same crew that Truex had on his team,” Moffitt said. “Travis Pastrana will also be running some West races for the team but they really don’t know what he’s going to do yet.”

    Pastrana, who will be Moffitt’s teammate in the companion West Series, actually did some testing in Florida this week at New Smyrna Speedway. He intends to make his NASCAR debut at the Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale in January 2011.

    In addition to having an action sports star as a teammate, Moffitt also knows that he has big shoes to fill as he follows in Champion Ryan Truex’s footsteps.

    “I’m excited. I’m ready to go out there,” Moffitt said. “I’ve had a lot of fast cars these past two years but a lot of bad luck. Hopefully we can turn that luck around and I’m looking forward to the first race just to see how we do.”

    The young driver, just 18 years old, also knows that he is very fortunate to even have a ride, given the toll of the economy, especially on the more local tiers of NASCAR racing.

    “This is an amazing opportunity,” Moffitt said. “At this point with how hard it is to find sponsors and what not, to be able to know during the off season what you are doing next year is really quite a relief. It’s stressful trying to find out what you’re going to do, but I’m definitely excited to be in the position I am right now.”

    With his ride in hand and his plans secure, Moffitt now intends to focus on preparing for the 2011 season.
    “I’ll be doing a lot of personal training,” Moffitt said. “We’re going testing right in the middle of January so that will help our team and help me more.”

    Moffitt, a native of Grimes, Iowa, will continue to live with his parents next year. But he is anxious to move to North Carolina, “if only his parents would allow” him to make the move.

    Moffitt will be celebrating the holidays in what he calls “snow-covered Iowa.” He, like so many others, has recently spent a great deal of time in airports, experiencing the delays that only Mother Nature can share at this time of year.

    As he waits, however, he is most definitely counting all of his blessings as he contemplates the 2011 season.

    “This is a heck of an opportunity,” Moffitt said. “I’m honored they chose me to contend for another championship. I plan to show them they made the right decision.”

    “We have a lot of faith in Brett,” car owner Michael Waltrip said. “We saw what he did the last two years on the track and we are confident he will do well with us. I think MWR fans and NASCAR fans are really going to like him.”