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  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Coke Zero 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Coke Zero 400

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”214″][/media-credit]From drivers on ‘baby watch’ to the suspension of A.J. Allmendinger for failing his random substance abuse test, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona.

    Surprising:  One of the most sought after drivers for this race weekend was surprisingly Kenny Wallace. This Nationwide driver and Speed on-air personality actually had two offers to drive, first as back up for Kevin Harvick, whose wife DeLana held off on delivering ‘Baby Otis’ (now Keelan Paul Harvick) until after the race and then for Sam Hornish, Jr., just in case he did not make it to the race track to sub for suspended driver Allmendinger.

    “Well, that was drama,” Wallace said. “It was a feather in my cap for these car owners to think of my superspeedway driving.”

    “It was a little uncomfortable for everybody,” Wallace continued. “What happened with all the sponsors and all the automakers, this was all people helping people at this point.”

    Not Surprising:  In the midst of a heat wave and in spite of starting at the back of the field due to post-qualifying tech issues, the proverbial Smoke rose to the top, of the leader board in this case.

    Tony Stewart, in the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet, sliced and diced his way to the checkered flag to score his 47th victory in the Cup Series, now 14th on the all-time win list.

    This was Smoke’s third victory of the season, putting him in a tie with Brad Keselowski for Cup Series wins this year. This was also Stewart’s 18th win at Daytona International Speedway, second most all-time to Dale Earnhardt.

    “The great thing about restrictor-plate racing is that 43 cars all have the same shot at winning the race,” Stewart said. “But that’s also part of what makes it frustration too.”

    “It’s just being at the right place at the right time,” Smoke continued. “And when those last two big wrecks happened, we were in the right spot.”

    Surprising:  In spite of wrecking both on the track and on pit road, this driver salvaged a surprisingly good finish. Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Pepsi Max Chevrolet, survived the melee of the race and the final laps to bring his bruised vehicle to the checkered flag in 12th place.

    “There were moments tonight when I felt like we had a car that could win,” Gordon said. “And then that wreck happened when we were trying to come to pit road that just changed our night.”

    “I even got in the wreck on that last lap and still finished 12th,” Gordon said. “We don’t have much of a race car, but we got a 12th place finish.”

    Not Surprising:  Dale Earnhardt, Jr. continued to keep his streak of consecutive laps finished alive, in spite of being caught up in the final wreck of the race like so many others.

    Although poised for a top-five, the driver of the No. 88 National Guard ‘An American Salute’/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet crossed the finish line in 15th.

    “My mama told me she hoped the Cup race wasn’t as wild as the Nationwide race, but they always are, you know?” Junior said. “All these races are always like that and you just try to survive.”

    “We just came up a little short.”

    Surprising:  After a tough season to date, Jeff Burton, in the No. 31 Wheaties Chevrolet, had a surprisingly good second place finish. This was his 11th top-10 finish in 38 races at Daytona and his best finish of the season to date.

    “Well it certainly feels good to have a good finish,” Burton said. “We’ve had a miserable year.”

    “To get out of Daytona with a second tonight is probably more than I can expect with all the wrecks and stuff,” Burton continued. “Hopefully we can build on this.”

    Not Surprising:   From starting from the pole to having a car at the front of the field for much of the race, it was not surprising that Matt Kenseth scored a strong third place finish. Yet it was also not surprising to see just how bereft the driver of the No. 17 Zest Ford was when the race was done.

    “I’m really disappointed,” Kenseth said. “We thought we had one of the best cars.”

    “I was hoping it was going to be me or the 16 in Victory Lane,” Kenseth continued. “I feel like my team kind of deserved to be down there holding the hardware.”

    “We were in contention but we just didn’t get it done that last lap.”

    Surprising:  After a pit road mishap that turned this driver backwards and almost into Brad Keselowski’s pit stall and crew, Ryan Newman made a surprising recovery. The driver of the No. 39 Aspen Dental Chevrolet managed to finish top-five.

    “After what happened on pit road, I really didn’t know what to expect,” Newman said. “But the guys did a great job with the repairs.”

    “I’m just happy to bring a car home in one piece from one of these races.”

    Not Surprising:  Joey Logano, driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota, continued to dig for a potential Chase spot, finishing fourth. Logano moved up two spots to 14th in the point standings after the Daytona race.

    “It didn’t go as planned, but ended up pretty good,” Logano said. “So, we’ll take that for sure – a fourth place finish.”

    “That’s how we’ve got to keep fighting.”

    Surprising:  Two drivers known primarily for past glories did surprising well at Daytona. Michael Waltrip, driving the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, and Bobby Labonte, behind the wheel of the No. 47 Kingsford Charcoal Toyota, finished ninth and tenth respectively.

    “At the end of the race, I was confident I could push,” Waltrip said. “We just had a damaged car and probably pretty lucky we got a top-10.”

    “We got close, but that was all we could do is get close.”

    “We were a tortoise out there tonight,” Labonte said. “We just ended up missing those wrecks and that’s all that saved us tonight.”

    Not Surprising:  There were plenty of hard hits out there to no one’s surprise and one particularly hard hit befell five-time champ Jimmie Johnson. The driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet was involved in one of the ‘big ones’ on lap 123.

    “We were all getting ready to pit so I was waving my hand out the window,” Johnson said. “And as soon as I let off the gas, someone got into the back of me.”

    “I went down on the inside wall,” Johnson continued. “As I was spinning, I could see a lot of other cars were collected too.”

    Surprising:  Father of Chase Elliott, who has been tearing up the NASCAR ladder, made some headlines himself in the No. 50 Walmart Chevrolet. ‘Awesome Bill from Dawsonville’ was having a heck of a good race until crashing with many others on lap 123.

    “We were just a victim of circumstances,” Elliott said. “But man I was proud of all those guys on Turner Motorsports and Walmart.”

    “That’s the best I’ve run in a long time.”

    Not Surprising:  Frustration, to no one’s surprise, was the feeling of the day at Daytona International Speedway under the lights. Perhaps Carl Edwards, driving the No. 99 Subway Ford Fusion, summed it up best.

    “Frustrating describes this whole type of event,” Edwards said. “It’s very difficult.”

    “You’re just really trying hard not to wreck and ruin your day or other people’s day,” Edwards continued. “It’s a tough race.”

     

  • Green-White-Checkered Needs To Go

    Green-White-Checkered Needs To Go

    Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR
    A multi-car crash on the backstretch during the first green-white-checkered finish led to Eric McClure being sent to the hospital.

    When I worked in the backroom of a grocery store in high school, there was horsing around to be had. One of my former managers offered this sage advice: “It’s all fun and games until somebody gets hurt”. I scoffed at his suggestion at the time—no one had ever gotten hurt stocking canned corn. However, the advice he gave has some very real-world applications.

    When Eric McClure hit the wall during the first green-white-checkered finish, I gasped out loud. The last time I remember doing that was when Jeff Fuller crashed at Kentucky in 2006. McClure’s car appeared to hit the inside SAFER barrier full throttle. After a lengthy extraction process, McClure was transported by helicopter to a local hospital. NASCAR later reported McClure was conscious, alert, and talking to attendants en route to the hospital.

    For all the safety advances NASCAR has made in the past decade, whether it is mandated usage of the HANS device, the COT, or improved headrests, it puzzles me as to why NASCAR is favor of a two-lap banzai run to the finish, especially at a track such as Talladega. A large wreck is almost guaranteed. At the speeds run at Talladega, this would seem like a far from ideal situation.

    This is the same sanctioning body that throw caution flags for bottles of water and refuses to let cars race back to the caution flag, even the cautions for a one-car spin in which the car that drew the caution is already moving again. The inconsistency in safety decisions is something that needs to be discussed.

    NASCAR has acquiesced to the fans’ wishes too often over the last ten years and its time for this concept to die. With McClure’s serious crash at the end of this race, the fun and games are over. NASCAR needs to end the G-W-C finishes.

    Hornish, Patrick Clash

    As the cars came to the checkered flag, Sam Hornish Jr. moved up the track due to a tire problem and put Danica Patrick in the wall. In an apparent fit of retaliation, Patrick rear-ended Hornish after the race and put him nose-first into the turn one wall. Patrick doubted this version of events, telling Hornish “Yeah right”. A close inspection of the replay does indeed show Hornish with a tire down.

    After the race, Hornish said “Coming off four, the tire went flat. The 2 (Elliott Sadler) was pushing me which I appreciate, but at that time I didn’t need it. I was trying to get out from in front of him, but the car wouldn’t turn anymore. Then after the race was over, we got right-reared by the 7 car. I don’t know what she had in her head, but she decided to right-rear us, wreck the car after the race was over. That’s really frustrating.”

    This is NASCAR officiating at its finest. Patrick has a long history of incidents with other drivers on the track and has never been reprimanded for any of them. If Kyle Busch was the one that turned Hornish, he would have been ejected from the track and slapped with a fine. Patrick intentionally wrecked Hornish and won’t be receiving as much as a wrist slap. NASCAR needs to take a good, hard look at this incident and see what they might be setting themselves up for down the road if this act goes without penalty. If NASCAR penalizes anyone else for a similar move, NASCAR will once again be accused of favoritism.

    After the incident, Sprint Cup driver David Stremme tweeted “Maybe it’s just girls can have at it”. That might just be the case, as reportedly Patrick nor Hornish were called to the NASCAR hauler after the race.

    Looking back…

    Last week at Richmond, Morgan Shepherd, driver of the no. 89 Racing with Jesus Chevrolet extended his record as the oldest driver to lead a lap in the Nationwide series. Shepherd actually led a total of three laps. On leading the lap, Shepherd said “When the opportunity was there, we decided to stay out for the extra bonus point”. Unfortunately, Shepherd’s luck wasn’t as fortuitous at Talladega, as he was swept up in the first multi-car crash, ending up with a 35th place finish.

    And looking forward…

    The Nationwide Series heads to Darlington next week for the VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200. Denny Hamlin has won three of the last six races at Darlington and will figure to be a prominent player in this years’ race as well. The other three drivers to score victories in the last six are Sprint Cup drivers as well: Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, and Tony Stewart each have one victory as well.

    Mark can be found on Twitter @ SpdwyMediaModor.

  • Sam Hornish Jr.: I feel like we’re going to continue to work hard

    Sam Hornish Jr.: I feel like we’re going to continue to work hard

    [media-credit name=”Simon Scoggins” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]After not having the warranted success at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series level, Sam Hornish Jr. took a step back to the NASCAR Nationwide Series to spend some more time learning. Hornish proved his talent last year, winning the second last race of the season at Phoenix. Now he enters the 2012 season, ready to run the full schedule.

    So far, it hasn’t gone as well as he would’ve hoped as he sits sixth in points, 54 points behind Elliott Sadler.

    “We would’ve liked to have better results so far,” Hornish says. “But all in all, we’ve shown that we’ve got an opportunity to take a big step forward moving on out so looking forward getting through our couple off-weekends here and getting back to racing.”

    Once he gets back going, Hornish is hoping to win some races and contend for the championship.

    “I feel like we’re going to continue to work hard and try to get the results we want out of it,” he says. “We really have a good opportunity to bring a couple sponsors along, with Alliance Truck Parts and WURTH Group. They’re new to racing and sponsoring anything, so we have the opportunity to bring them along.” He adds that he hopes to make the transition back to the Sprint Cup Series.

    Hornish made the move over to NASCAR full-time in 2008, driving for Roger Penske.

    “It’s been a good relationship so far,” he says of the partnership with Penske. “Roger has always been really good to me and we started off back in 2003. When we started off, we had a couple goals in mind – we achieved the first couple, and now we’re working on the next one.”

    One of the benefits to the Nationwide Series program at Penske is Hornish can lean on teammate Brad Keselowski, but he says that it works both ways as he can also help Keselowski if he is having problems.

    “I kind of look at it that we’re both in the same boat and that we’re doing everything we can do to learn as much as we can to be successful,” he adds.

    In continuing to work at his NASCAR career, one of the biggest lessons he learned in racing as a whole about attitude plays a huge factor.

    “There’s a lot of about your attitude and a lot of about persistence and not wanting to give up and to continuing learning,” he says. “Racing is ever evolving; I believe you have constantly willing to learn and try new things. I guess that all goes with your attitude; you got to be willing to do those things. You got to have a good attitude, embrace the positives and remember a bad day at the race track is always better than a good day anywhere else.”

    The 32-year-old started in racing, running go-karts to have something to do with his dad.

    “All of the sudden it was 30 weekends a year and we were traveling all over the United States and Canada,” he says. “I continued to move up to ladder and eventually found myself in open wheel and after I achieved everything I wanted to achieve over there, I decided I wanted a new challenge and moved over to run stock cars.”

    While racing in open-wheel, he won three IndyCar championships and the 2006 Indianapolis 500. Of the transition, Hornish says one of the biggest differences between open wheel and stock car is the people.

    “In NASCAR, it’s called “stock car” racing, but there’s a lot more lien in the rules and what you’re allowed to do – geometries, set-up of the cars – that you’re not allowed to do in IndyCar,” he explains. “IndyCar is more of a spec race, where everybody has the same car. There’s sometimes when there’s different engines, but the package is the same and it’s really hard to gain advantage. Over here, it’s really easy to get yourself lost if you’re not doing the right things, just ‘cause there are so many things that you can change with the car itself. With all those things that you’re changing, you have to have the right people to be able to make the changes to help you move forward and allow you to kind of learn the things you need to be successful.”

    Hornish says one of the biggest racing memories in his career was the Indianapolis 500 win, but there are also plenty of other good memories.

    “There’s a lot of my favorite memories that don’t necessarily coincide with a win,” he says. “There just more of a good day at the track or involved in racing. Racing has always been a family sport for me; it started out as something to do with my dad. Now I take my family to the race track with me and hopefully some point in time, I can have the roles reversed when I’m watching somebody else race. But we’ll see how that all plays out.”

    Besides spending time with family away from the track, Hornish enjoys building and restoring things.

    “I restored a 108 barber chair a year ago and two years ago for Christmas, I redid my dad’s 1950 Swing Bicycle that he had,” he says.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Kobalt Tools 500

    With NASCAR traveling to the ‘Valley of the Sun’ for the next to the last race of the season, it was no surprise that the reconfigured race track was soaked instead with liquid sunshine. Yet, the track dried, veteran racer Adrian Fernandez uttered the four most famous words in racing, and the green flag waved as scheduled.

    [media-credit id=40 align=”alignright” width=”221″][/media-credit]Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 24th running of the Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

    Surprising:  While it was no surprise that PIR was new and improved, with brand new pavement as well as a new track layout, it was surprising to see the new faces that showed up in Victory Lane this weekend.

    From the Nationwide race with Sam Hornish Jr. scoring his first ever NASCAR win to young Ryan Blaney, son of Dave Blaney, notching the ‘W’ in the K&N Pro Series West finale, PIR definitely had some fresh-faced winners.

    But most surprising was Cup winner Kasey Kahne, scoring his first win since 2009, his first victory of the 2011 season, and his first victory ever at Phoenix International Raceway. Kahne’s victory came in his next to the last ride in his No. 4 Red Bull Toyota.

    “It feels great to get a win for Red Bull and get a win in the 4 car,” Kahne said. “To win a race at this level, as competitive as everything is right now, for myself, to see how happy all the pit crew guys were, the guys preparing the race cars at Red Bull, it was pretty cool.”

    “Makes you feel pretty good to be a part of that.”

    Not Surprising:  To no one’s surprise, Carl Edwards, behind the wheel of the No. 99 Aflac Ford, and his championship Chase nemesis Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, stalked each other all race long, finishing second and third respectively.

    And not surprisingly, thanks to that close finish, the championship will be decided at the final race of the season in Homestead, Florida. Edwards is currently just three points ahead of Smoke going into Ford Championship weekend, one of the closest margins between first and second in the Chase in NASCAR Sprint Cup history.

    “As far as I’m concerned, it’s a dead heat going in there,” Stewart said of the upcoming Homestead weekend. “We just got to do our job like we’ve been doing.”

    “I’m still pumped up,” Smoke continued. “I want to go to Homestead tomorrow and start. I want tomorrow to be Friday. I’m excited about it and ready to go.”

    “Yeah, Homestead is going to be a lot of fun,” Edwards said. “I really enjoy racing there.”

    “The cool thing about Homestead, you’re going to be able to move around, pass, and not get hung up as badly in traffic as you can at other racetracks,” Edwards continued. “I don’t think there’s a better place to go than Homestead to fight for this championship.”

    Surprising:  After Phoenix, with only those two drivers remaining in contention for the championship, it is indeed surprising that five-time champion Jimmie Johnson will not be six-time champ.

    Johnson, behind the wheel this weekend of a black No. 48 Lowe’s Kobalt Tools Chevrolet, finished 14th in the race and sits currently in the fifth position in points, 68 points out of first and officially out of contention.

    “Yeah, I’m definitely disappointed that we won’t be able to go to Homestead and race for our sixth, but that’s motorsports,” Johnson said. “It’s a very tough business.”

    “What we did over the last five years was absolutely spectacular,” Johnson continued. “What we did over the last five years is abnormal. Now we’ll get a taste of normalcy.”

    Also surprisingly, Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammates, especially Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. also had difficulty in the ‘Valley of the Sun.’ The driver of the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet fared especially poorly, struggling with brake problems to finish 32nd.

    “We weren’t good when we got here,” Gordon said. “We were fighting and battling but then the brake problem happened and that pretty much ruined our day.”

    Dale Earnhardt, Jr., in the No. 88 Retro Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard, also struggled and finished 24th.

    “We pitted and got caught with the caution and lost a couple of laps and just never got a chance to get it back,” Junior said. “We missed it. We didn’t hit it.”

    Not Surprising:  As bad as Hendrick Motorsports team members fared, it was no surprise that the other half of the Stewart Haas Racing duo fared well. Ryan Newman, with his No. 39 US Army Veteran’s Day Tribute car covered with pictures of vets, finished top-five yet again.

    “The guys on the US Army Chevrolet, with the Veteran’s Day special paint scheme, that was an amazing comeback for us to come from 30th to fifth,” Newman said. “I’m really proud of that.”

    Surprising:  Although the two tangled at Martinsville, it was surprising to see the feud continue between Brian Vickers, soon to be out of work with his No. 83 Red Bull Toyota team exiting the sport next week, and Matt Kenseth, race pole sitter, who was looking for a good run in his No. 17 Crown Royal Ford.

    “My two year old could watch that and know it was intentional,” Kenseth said of his wreck with Vickers. “It was real pre-meditated.”

    “I don’t understand what happened,” Vickers said of his Kenseth encounter. “He just stopped on the straight-away.”

    “He wrecked me at Martinsville,” Vickers continued. “He got wrecked here. He just lifted halfway down the back stretch. I’ll count that one.”

    Kenseth finished a miserable34th, dropping two positions to sixth in the point standings. Vickers soldiered on for a 23rd place finish, languishing in the 25th position in the points.

    Not Surprising:  Having had the most miserable week leading up to the race, from being parked to losing his sponsor for the last two races, it was not surprising that Kyle Busch’s most miserable weekend continued.

    Busch had to start the race from the back of the field due to engine troubles caused by human error. He managed to work his way up through the pack, only to have the engine of his No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota expire on Lap 214.

    “It’s just devastating,” Busch said. “To go through turmoil like this, all you can do is group together and pull through it and try to persevere and move on.”

    “Catastrophic engine failure,” Busch continued. “It’s terrible to have one in a weekend, let alone two in a weekend.”

    “It’s certainly a tough few weeks and all we can do is look forward to next week at Homestead.”

    Surprising:  It was surprising to see another crew swap during the race, this time for AJ Allmendinger, whose pit crew let him down during a stop, most likely costing the driver of the No. 43 Wix Filters Ford, a race win.

    Allmendinger’s crew was swapped out for the crew of David Ragan, another Ford driver who was not in the hunt, helping the Dinger to a top-five finish.

    “We were losing four or five spots on a stop,” Allmendinger said. “You can’t do that and win a race and those guys are pretty good.”

    “Thanks to the 6 guys, our Ford teammates coming over and pitting the last two stops,” Dinger said. “They did a good job.”

    Not Surprising:  To no one’s surprise, Allmendinger’s Richard Petty Motorsports teammate Marcos Ambrose also had a good run at PIR. The driver of the No. 9 DeWalt Ford finished a respectable eighth.

    “We had a good car today,” the Aussie said. “We were solid all day long. It bodes even better for the first half of next season.”

    Surprising:  Since Jeff Burton has had a fairly difficult 2011 season, it was a bit surprising to see the driver of the No. 31 Caterpillar Global Mining Chevrolet end up with a fourth place finish. The top-five finishing driver hopes that the turnaround will continue right into the 2012 season.

    “The Caterpillar Chevrolet was good, really, all day,” Burton said. “When things are tough, you find out what people are made of. My group has just kept digging and kept their heads up.”

    “Nobody has quit on this team, not once,” Burton continued. “I’m real proud of that.”

    “We’ve run really well the last month and hopefully we will build some momentum going into next year.”

    Not Surprising:  With no ride secured for next year, it was not surprising to see David Reutimann, ousted driver of the No. 00 TUMS Toyota Camry for Michael Waltrip Racing, drive his guts out for a seventh place finish in the next to the last race of the season.

    “We qualified in the top-10 and we were able to stay up there all day long,” Rooty said. “I’m proud of the crew guys for the job they did today. They really stuck with me.”

    “This is a great group of guys, probably one of the best in the garage and they’ve been with me a long time,” Reutimann continued. “We have one more week together and I want to go out on a high note at Homestead.”

     

  • 5-hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway Preview

    5-hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway Preview

    Pocono may just be the most interesting race track that the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits. No other track has three different straightaways of different lengths and three completely different corners. This creates a challenge for both driver and crew. The driver must be able to adapt to all the elements that the track presents them while their crew chief must not only keep up with the track, but make the car handle the best it can in all three corners of the track.

    [media-credit name=”PoconoRaceway.com” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Many people often ask the question, “What corner is most important at Pocono?’ The most common answer that I have heard is, “The one right before the longest straightaway.” The reason for this is so that the car can carry as much speed as possible down the long straightaway into the next corner. If that is the case, what do you do about the remaining three corners? Most crew chiefs today try to get the car as balanced as possible through all corners of the track, while some make one corner really good and have their driver deal with an ill handling car in the remaining. Both styles of setup have worked before so there really is no one way to go about it.

    Also, for the first time in since NASCAR implemented the gear rule, drivers will be able to shift going down the long straightaways at Pocono. Back in the day, this was common practice and the fast way around the track. A few years back, NASCAR changed the gear that the teams had to run which made shifting the cars a thing of the past. Now that it’s back, it just adds another challenge for these drivers and teams on Sunday. Don’t look for transmission failures like you used to see in the past. These things are bullet proof now and they rarely go out.

    Many fans and drivers alike complain about the races at the Pocono Raceway. Fans think the races are too long, too boring and we should only visit there once a year. Many drivers agree that the races are too long as some drivers have said that 500 miles at Pocono feels longer that 600 miles at Charlotte. It’s not secret that the triangle shaped track doesn’t have a history of exciting racing, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t happen.

    Remember the 2000 Winston Cup Series season? Go back to the day when Jeremy Mayfield and the Dale Earnhardt duked it out on the 2.5 mile triangle. When Mayfield pulled an Earnhardt on Earnhardt. Go back to just last year. Where Joey Logano gave us one of the great sound bites of recent memory when he questioned Kevin Harvick’s role in his family. The late Tim Richmond also pulled off a stellar win at the tricky triangle after coming back from illness. These moments prove that you can have great events happen at Pocono Raceway.

    Now to get down to business.

    Hot Drivers at Pocono

    Denny Hamlin- What more needs to be said about Denny other than he is simply masterful at Pocono. Ever since he has began racing in the Cup Series, he has pretty much owned this joint. In ten starts, Denny has four wins most recently coming in this race last year. Plus, Denny is on a role as of late. This would be a prime weekend for the 11 team to get to victory lane.

    Jimmie Johnson– Johnson is the only other driver to average a top ten finishing position at Pocono( Hamlin is the other). Jimmie has always been extremely solid here and even swept the races in 2004. Be sure to watch that 48 team this weekend!

    Jeff Gordon- In 36 starts at the triangle, the wonder boy has ripped off 4 wins, 16 top 5’s and 25 top tens. His average finish is 10.5 which puts him in elite class at this track. Gordon has not been up to the Gordon standard as of late, but you really can’t count him out for a good run.
    Solid Pick

    Tony Stewart- Pocono was the track where Stewart-Haas Racing picked up their first points paying Sprint Cup win back in 2009. In his last 11 starts at Pocono, Tony has 10 top 10 finishes. If they team can give Smoke a piece to work with, he can get it done this weekend.

    Brian Vickers- Few people remember how strong Vickers was in 2005 at Pocono. It looked as though Brian was going to pull off his first Cup win that day until a late race pace by Carl Edwards. The Red Bull team has fast cars and Brian is back to the Brian of old so to speak. With an average finish of 14.5, Brian could be in for a nice day Sunday.
    Sleeper Pick

    Juan Pablo Montoya- Montoya has really taken to the big flat tracks. With how dominant he has been at the Brickyard, it was a matter of time before it transfered to the triangle.

    Sam Hornish Jr.- I know this one sounds a little bit crazy, but just think for a second how close Sam was to winning here just two years ago. Sam is filling in for Travis Kvapil this weekend in the #38 Front Row Motorsports entry. If he can stay on the lead lap, and get a late race caution with some strategy, watch out for the former Indy 500 champ.
    Stay Away From…

    Marcos Ambrose- While Marcos has had a great year so far, the Pocono’s are not place for the Aussie to get excited about. Ambrose, who finished sixth in his first attempt here, has never finished better than 30th since. Sunday might be a challenge for the tin topper.

    With all that said, my pick for the race is…..
    Denny Hamlin

  • Penske Racing announces sponsorship for Busch, Hornish and Keselowski

    Penske Racing announces sponsorship for Busch, Hornish and Keselowski

    Kurt Busch joins Coca-Cola Racing Family

    Kurt Busch, the 2004 Sprint Cup Series champion, will join the Coca-Cola Racing family of drivers for the 2011 Sprint Cup Series campaign, Coca-Cola and Penske Racing announced Monday evening. Busch will be featured in many Coca-Cola in-store promotions this year as well as make promotional appearances for the brand.

    [media-credit name=”Motorsports Images and Archives” align=”alignleft” width=”250″][/media-credit]“I am honored to represent Coca-Cola during 2011 racing season,” said Busch, who scored two wins and two poles in 2010, finishing 11th in the final Cup Series standings. “We’re looking forward to a great season as we transition to the No. 22 car and it’s awesome to have Coca-Cola on board for the ride.”
    Busch finished 11th in last year’s Sprint Cup Series driver standings. He posted two wins last season.

    The Las Vegas, Nevada native switched rides within the Penske Racing organization and will race the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Dodge Charger.

    Alliance Truck Parts to sponsor Hornish in Nationwide Series

    Alliance Truck Parts will be Sam Hornish Jr.’s primary sponsor for his NASCAR Nationwide Series efforts this season, Penske Racing confirmed today. Hornish’s ride in last year’s Nationwide Series finale was also sponsored by Alliance Truck Parts.

    According to the press release, the sponsorship will be for at least eight races. Hornish is expected to race in at least ten events this season in the Nationwide Series. Specific events to be announced at a later date.

    “It’s exciting to be able to return to the car and get a chance to represent the Alliance Truck Parts brand again this season. I know everyone at Penske Racing will be working hard to get the best results possible this year in the Nationwide Series.”

    Hornish is moving from a full-time Sprint Cup Series ride to a full-time Nationwide Series ride in the Nationwide Series.

    Ruby Tuesday to move to Brad Keselowski’s Cup ride

    After sponsoring Brad Keselowski’s run to a Nationwide Series driver championship last season, Ruby Tuesday has expanded it’s sponsorship to the Cup Series for this season.

    In addition to sponsoring Keselowski in nine Nationwide Series races, Ruby Tuesday will also have their logo on the rear deck lid of Keselowski’s No. 2 Dodge in the Sprint Cup Series.

    “I am very excited to represent Ruby Tuesday again in 2011,” said Keselowski. “They were an integral part of our championship season in 2010, and I look forward to winning more races with them in the future. The fact that they have grown their relationship to include the ‘Blue Deuce’ is something in which we take great pride at Penske Racing.”

    Keselowski posted two top-ten finishes last season, earning an average finish of 22.4. The 2011 season will be his second full-time season after making his debut in 2008.

  • Steven Wallace to Run the Daytona 500, Sam Hornish Jr. Without Cup Ride? No Way!

    Steven Wallace to Run the Daytona 500, Sam Hornish Jr. Without Cup Ride? No Way!

    Folks, the headline may be hard to believe—but it is true. Well, okay, most of you would believe the second half of the headline, but not the first half.

    As reported by Fox Sports on Saturday, Sam Hornish Jr. will not be racing anything in the Cup Series for Penske Racing or anybody come Daytona or during the year.

    His crew has been shrunk to either join the Nationwide teams or strengthen Brad Keselowski’s Cup team.

    This would equal no surprise, as Hornish hasn’t done anything in Cup except cause wrecks and incidents that have many people questioning why he was even in the series to begin with. Let’s face it—in 108 starts, he only has two top fives and eight top 10s. If you can’t get it done in that time, then how much time do you want?

    NASCAR is a performance-driven business, and if you can’t get it done, you’re cut. Just ask Scott Speed, as he was booted from Red Bull Racing despite “contract terms” and “discussions” when he finished outside the top 20 in points.

    Hornish has only lasted as long as he has with Penske due to their IZOD IndyCar success, as Hornish won 19 races, had 62 top fives and 80 top 10s in 116 starts. It’s the situation of being the teacher’s pet, but the teacher has run out of excuses to keep the principal from intervening.

    So what happens in NASCAR when you don’t do well? Simple—you go down and run one of the two lower divisions, or you face the music and leave the series. Some drivers who have stepped down have found success and have loved it there—namely Ron Hornaday and Todd Bodine. The Camping World Truck Series has become home to drivers with this scenario and now has fans tuned in for the high-octane drama.

    However, Dario Franchitti also faced the music but went back to IZOD IndyCar instead after his NASCAR experiment failed and won the championship. Some drivers are only fit for one form of motorsports, while others can adapt across the board, like Tony Stewart.

    Hornish has taken the road of going down to the Nationwide Series for 2011, as he will run at least 10 races for Roger Penske, including the season opener at Daytona. Hornish will have no excuses for those 10 races, as Penske had two cars in the top five last year in points, so we know they have a good program. It’ll all be up to the driver and for him to prove that he belongs in NASCAR.

    The second half of the story, though, is where the shocker hits—the owner’s points from the No. 77 car that Hornish drove will be used by Steven Wallace for the season-opening Daytona 500. With the No. 77 being 30th in points, therefore in the top 35, that will lock Steven into the race. What is wrong with this picture?

    EVERYTHING ABOUT IT! Steven has yet to even find success in the Nationwide Series and has caused too many wrecks to count. Many fans have already expressed their thoughts towards Rusty Wallace in telling him to take his son out of the car and put his money in someone who can drive, such as his niece Chrissy Wallace.

    His stats speak towards what the fans are saying, as in 157 starts he only has four top fives and 29 top 10s. He also has seven DNFs in his past 12 Nationwide Series restrictor plate starts. Now, we’ll be nice and say that he has been improving each year, yet not enough that it warrants him being allowed to run the biggest race of the year in the top series.

    Rusty also said that he thinks Steven will be the Sprint Cup Series champion in 2015—delusional much? Doesn’t he see what we see in the fact that Steven can’t even call himself a top Nationwide Series driver?

    Folks, last year’s Daytona 500 was almost ruined in the headlines by a pothole. Luckily, Jamie McMurray won it in emotional fashion and stole the headlines.

    With Wallace starting this year’s Daytona 500 and the harm that he could cause, we may need another dramatic win to steal the headlines. Without it, we could see a lot of hate mail floating across the web over another ruined Daytona 500.

    Penske Racing has obviously made some interesting choices since the conclusion of 2010 with choosing to attempt to find Hornish sponsorship rather than Justin Allgaier and now allowing a wrecking ball to run the biggest race of the year. Thankfully, there are people like Steve Turner who help those in need (Allgaier), and hopefully somebody like him will save us from doom in the Daytona 500.