Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: sprint cup series

Comparing the JGR & Penske Racing Penalties: Did NASCAR Make The Right Call?

In the past two weeks we’ve seen two big teams get hammered by NASCAR for illegal parts. The administration certainly isn’t messing around this year, if you are found in violation of their rules no matter what the circumstances surrounding it are, you will be punished harshly. I fully agree with the Penske penalties but I do not agree with how hard they came down on JGR and Matt Kenseth. If anyone should have received a larger punishment, it should be the No.2 and No.22 because they purposely tried to get a performance advantage by manipulating the rear ends of their racecars. The No.20 issue was simply a mistake on the part of TRD and there was no malicious intent whatsoever.

During pre-race inspection at Texas, officials found that Penske Racing had messed with the rear end housings of their cars attempting to get them to skew which was outlawed by NASCAR at the start of this year. Both the No.2 and the No.22 barely made it to the grid in time for the race and Brad Keselowski was very vocal following the event. He was quoted saying,

“I have one good thing to say, that’s my team and effort they put in today in fighting back with the absolute bulls— that’s been the last seven days in this garage area. The things I’ve seen over the last seven days have me questioning everything that I believe in, and I’m not happy about it. I don’t have anything positive to say and I probably should just leave it at that. There’s so much stuff going on…you have no f—— idea what’s going on, And that’s not your fault and that’s not a slam on you. I could tell you there’s nobody, no team in this garage with the integrity of the 2 team. And the way we’ve been treated over the last seven days is absolutely shameful. I feel like we’ve been targeted over the last seven days more than I’ve ever seen a team targeted. But my guys kept their heads on straight and they showcased why they are a winning team and championship team. We’re not going to take it. We’re not going to be treated this way.”

NASCAR surprisingly did not penalize Keselowski for those incensed comments but they weren’t bashful about dropping the hammer on the team for their rear end housing infraction. They suspended the crew chiefs, the car chiefs, team engineers and the team manager for six weeks. They also fined the crew chiefs $100,000, took 25 points away from Brad and Joey and placed all the team personal that they suspended on probation until December 31st, 2013. What these guys did was play in the gray area and ended up stepping on NASCAR’s toes. They aren’t bad, they aren’t cheaters, they are just doing their job. Every team from all eras has always tried to find an advantage by playing in iffy territory. It’s nothing new and every team does it, some just do it better than others. When you mess around in the danger zone, you’re eventually going to get bit and that’s what happened here. I have no remorse for them and feel the penalties are fully justified.

Photo Credit: Sal Sigala Jr./Speedway Media

When it comes to Joe Gibbs Racing and their ground shattering punishment, a large contingent of people out there including myself feel NASCAR went too far. A connecting rod was found to be approximately 2.7 grams underweight when NASCAR weighed it during the tear down of the race winning No.20 car from Kansas. The other 7 connecting rods were each a few grams to the good and perfectly legal. There are areas on a racecar that are considered sacred ground and not even the likes of Chad Knaus would dare mess with them. That’s the tires, the fueling system and the engine. As a result, NASCAR dropped the hammer hard in a penalty that ranks right up there as one of the biggest ever. Crew chief Jason Ratcliff was fined $200,000 and suspended for six races, an astonishing 50 points were taken away, Matt won’t get chase bonus points for the win and can’t use it as a WC either, the owners license of Joe Gibbs has been suspended for six weeks, the pole won’t count towards the 2014 Sprint Unlimited and Toyota loses 5 manufacturer points.

One connecting rod 2.7 grams underweight gives no advantage and in fact, it throws the engine slightly out of balance which could hurt overall performance. It was an error made by TRD when creating the parts and nothing more. NASCAR doesn’t look at it that way though and although I don’t like it, I can understand that. If they started basing penalties on the exact person who was in the wrong, it would bring in an infinite number of variables and it could get very messy. This case in particular exemplifies one that would be a black and white but a lot of them wouldn’t be. In order to maintain consistency and integrity, they have to police each case basically using tunnel vision. They can’t factor in the all the details; just simply look at it and say this piece was in violation of this rule therefore we will issue the appropriate penalties. This is when the appeal committee comes in handy though. They are separate from the NASCAR officials who initially hand out punishments and they base their decisions after hearing the team’s explanation for why they were in violation of the rules. With this particular situation, I think JGR has a good chance to reduce the penalties. It’s actually a pretty solid system that NASCAR has put in place and works very well most of the time.

I still firmly believe that TRD should have gotten more of a punishment though. Penske pushes the limits trying to gain an advantage and gets caught but their penalty is less than a team that had an issue with a manufacturer supplied part that didn’t even help performance of the car. That doesn’t make sense to me. It looks like they came down harder on JGR because they raced with the “illegal” part and won with it unlike Penske whose blunder was caught before the race even began. TRD took full blame for the error but the responsibility falls on the shoulders of the teams in the eyes of NASCAR. Matt Kenseth wasn’t pleased with how hard his team was hit and had this to say regarding the penalties:

“I think the penalties are grossly unfair. I think it’s borderline shameful. There’s no argument the part was wrong. They weighed it and it was wrong. However, there is an argument that there certainly was no performance advantage. If you can find any unbiased, reputable, knowledgeable engine-builder and if they saw the facts, what all the rods weighed. The average weight of all the rods was well above the minimum — 2.5 (grams) above the minimum at least. There was one in there that was way heavy. There was no performance advantage, there was no intent, it was a mistake. JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) had no control over it. Certainly to crush Joe Gibbs like that — to say they can’t win an owner’s championship with the 20 this year is just, I can’t wrap my arms around that, it just blows me away. And the same with Jason Ratcliff (crew chief). I don’t feel bad for myself at all, but for Jason and Joe, I just couldn’t feel any worse. There’s no more reputable, honest hard-working guys with good reputations more so than those two — I feel really bad for them.”

The Penske Racing appeal will be held May 1st at the NASCAR R&D Center and no one expects their punishment to be reduced in any way. They appealed not because they thought they could win, but because they wanted to have some time to find appropriate replacements for their soon to be sidelined seven high profile team members. JGR is also appealing the penalties issued to them and like I said before, they do have a fighting chance. The date of their appeal hasn’t been set yet but my guess would be that it would take place the week leading up to Talladega or possibly the week following it.

I’m sure all of you out there have your own sentiments regarding these highly controversial incidents so feel free to voice your opinions below!

April 25, 2013
Win #1 Is Coming Soon For Both Aric Almirola & Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is eight races into his rookie Cup season and is closing in fast on securing his first win racing at the pinnacle of NASCAR. At Kansas, his chances of winning were very high until a late race debris caution thwarted the young racer’s chances at victory. He ended the race 11th tying his career best. Aric Almirola has raced in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) for six years but this is just his second full-time season. He started up front last Sunday and his #43 Ford Fusion for Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) adorned a throwback STP paint scheme that the legendary Richard Petty once ran. He finished 8th after running as high as 2nd during the event.

There’s no question that these two will win their first NSCS race soon and it shouldn’t surprise anyone if they both do it in 2013. Ricky was battling with Scott Speed for the ARCA championship back in 2008 and things got pretty ugly between the two. After Stenhouse took Speed out in what looked to be an intentional incident, Speed retaliated handing the title to Justin Allgaier. After that, Roush moved Ricky up to Nationwide (NNS) where he would struggle to find his footing throughout the 2009 season wrecking very often. Towards the end of 2010 when rumors started to swirl that Ricky might lose his ride, something clicked inside his brain and he started ripping off top 5’s all over the place. He went on to win the NNS title in both 2011 and 2012 before taking over the #17 from Matt Kenseth in the NSCS.

Photo Credit: Mike Holloway/Speedway Media

Ricky is one of the more aggressive drivers in the sport today but he’s learned to temper that aggression over the past few years. In 2013, he has yet to post a top 10 finish but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t spent any time up front. On the contrary, he was within arm’s reach of victory lane at Kansas before a caution came out while he was on pit road ruining his day. Aric Almirola is quietly sitting 12th in the standings right now and ripped off his first two top 10’s of the season at Texas (7th) and Kansas (8th). The RPM driver is gaining momentum as he looks to bring the famous No.43 back to victory lane for the first time in the 21st century.

His NASCAR career started back in 2004 when he competed in four truck races finishing inside the top 10 twice. In 2006, he went full time in the Camping World Truck Series finding little success and struggling to an 18th place finish in the standings. He also won the pole for a NNS race that year at Daytona. In 2007, he got his chance in Cup and I believe he was thrown into the car way too soon like so many other drivers. In 4 years of driving part-time, he accumulated one top 5 and two top 10’s. In 2011, he joined JR Motorsports and ran for the NNS title finishing a solid 4th in the points. He was ready to go back to Cup and Richard Petty knew it offering him the #43 seat which was vacated by AJ Allmendinger. Aric’s results were sporadic and disappointing but things look a lot different in 2013. He has driven smart races, contends for top 10’s every week and stays out of trouble finishing well.

Now that the history lesson is over, let’s talk a little about the future of these two very talented racers. Stenhouse was brought up the “right way” and is ready to battle for wins against the likes of Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth. Almirola is just now getting to that point and is outperforming teammate Marcos Ambrose; it was the other way around last year.

If fate was kinder, Ricky could have won Kansas this past weekend just eight races into his rookie year and with 28 races remaining, he’s got plenty of time for redemption. I don’t see Ricky making the chase this year unless he wins a race or two which he’s fully capable of doing. On the other hand, the consistency of Aric Almirola could be enough to get him inside the top 10 and into the chase with no wins. He needs to turn those 14th’s and 15th’s into 7th’s and 8th’s though which he seems to be doing. That famed #43 has been driven by a lot of people since that Martinsville win way back in 1999 so history isn’t on his side but that car hasn’t been this fast in a while either. Ricky will win in 2013, Aric might but they both will end up winning multiple races before their careers are over.

They both have the talent, the team, the crew chief and the passion to get it done and they will.

April 24, 2013
Winning Engine From Matt Kenseth’s Kansas Car Illegal

Major news is breaking in the racing world today after the connecting rod in the engine of Kenseth’s winning Kansas car was found to be illegal following the race. The engine is supplied by Toyota Racing Development but Joe Gibbs Racing will be held accountable in the eyes of NASCAR. I expect major penalties much like we saw with Penske Racing following the NRA 500 at Texas; possibly even harsher due to the fact the team raced with it and won.

NASCAR is even very strict when it comes to the engines of these cars. If you remember a few years back, a tremendous fine was handed to Carl Long when he showed up to Charlotte with an over sized motor and the penalty basically ended his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career. He was suspended for eight weeks, fined $200,000 and lost 200 pts (equivalent of about 50 today) for having an engine that was 0.17 cubic inches over limit.

With the new Generation 6 car, NASCAR has been more than willing to drop the hammer on these teams and I don’t think it pleases them one bit to find out after someone won the race with an illegal car. The winning car, the second place finisher and a randomly selected one get taken back to the R&D Center each week. This week, that was Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne and Bobby Labonte. The No.5 and No.47 passed NASCAR’s scrutiny with no issues. The advantage of lighter connecting rods could be that the engine will respond quicker and can turn a higher RPM.

At this time, it is unclear if the team manipulated the connecting rods or exactly how much it was under the minimum weight. NASCAR officials have yet to confirm or deny the violation but they will most likely update the situation later today. This is very surprising to me and caught a lot of people off guard considering we usually hear things like this on Monday or Tuesday.

*As a result of this violation, NASCAR has assessed the following penalties:

·         Crew chief Jason Ratcliff has been fined $200,000 and suspended from NASCAR until the completion of the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship points events (a period of time that also includes the non-points NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race) and placed on probation until Dec. 31.

·         Car owner Joe Gibbs has lost 50 championship car owner points; the first place finish from April 21 at Kansas Speedway will not earn bonus points toward the accumulated aggregate car owner points total after the completion of the first 26 events of the current season and will not be credited towards the eligibility for a car owner Wild Card position; has had the owner’s license for the No. 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car suspended until the completion of the next six championship points events, therefore being ineligible to receive championship car owner points during that period of time.

·         Driver Matt Kenseth has lost 50 championship driver points; the Coors Light Pole award from April 19 at Kansas Speedway will not be allowed for eligibility into the 2014 Sprint Unlimited; the first place finish from April 21 at Kansas Speedway will not earn bonus points toward the accumulated aggregate driver points total after the completion of the first 26 events of the current season and will not be credited towards the eligibility for a driver Wild Card position.

·         The loss of five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Manufacturer Championship points.

*credit NASCAR.

You can follow my twitter account, @ndegroot89 for more updates as this drama with the No.20 team unfolds.

April 24, 2013
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Kansas

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished third in the STP 400 at Kansas and lengthened his lead in the Sprint Cup point standings. He now leads Hendrick teammate Kasey Kahne by 37.

“That’s a heck of a cushion after eight races,” Johnson said. “If there were debris cautions in the point standings, NASCAR would fly one now

“Brad Keselowski swears his team did nothing wrong. He gives new meaning to the term ‘defending’ champ. Penske is appealing their punishment, but NASCAR probably won’t change their mind. That ship has sailed, or better yet, that ship has been ‘docked.’”

2. Kasey Kahne: Kahne posted his fifth top 5 of the year, taking the runner-up spot in the STP 400 at Kansas Motor Speedway. He leaped five places in the point standings to second, where he trails Jimmie Johnson by 37.

“I just couldn’t make the pass on Matt Kenseth,” Kahne said. “He’s like the NASCAR rule book to Penske Racing—there’s just no getting around it.”

3. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski closed an eventful week with a sixth in the STP 400, overcoming early damage to claim his seventh top-10 finish of the year. Earlier in the week, the No. 2 Miller Lite team was docked 25 points for an unapproved part in Texas.

“As you may have seen,” Keselowski said, “my rear bumper cover flew off near the end of the race. That’s not the only time my car’s rear end has been ‘uncovered’ lately.

“I’m sure NASCAR has heard enough me lately. It’s not often NASCAR quotes David Gilliland, but they’d like me to ‘shut up and race.’”

4. Greg Biffle: Biffle finished 19th at Kansas on a tough day for Roush Fenway Racing, as the team failed to produce a top-10 finish. Biffle fell one spot to fourth in the point standings, and now trails Jimmie Johnson by 47.

“Roger Penske said the team was working in a ‘gray area’ of the rule book,” Biffle said. “Apparently, that’s another area in which NASCAR lacks ‘color.’”

5. Kyle Busch: Busch struggled in the STP 400, spinning twice, the second of which sent him into the wall and sliding into the path of Joey Logano’s No. 22 Penske Ford, which slammed Busch’s Toyota. Both cars were done for the day, and Busch finished 38th, his worst finish this season since a 34th at Daytona.

“Logano has a ‘nose’ for Joe Gibbs Racing cars,” Busch said. “That’s in stark contrast to his ‘tail’ for NASCAR inspectors.”

6. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt finished 16th at Kansas, his third consecutive finish outside the top 10. After taking the points lead after a runner-up finish at California, Earnhardt is now tied for fifth, 35 out of first.

“That last caution ruined our chances,” Earnhardt said. “I hate flag waving, unless it’s green, checkered, or done by my fanatical fan base. But I’m not one to complain. I don’t need some two-bit driver to tell me to ‘shut up and race.’”

7. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth won his second race of the year, capturing the STP 400 after a timely caution flag gave him the lead with about 40 laps to go. He held off Kasey Kahne down the stretch, and is now eighth in the point standings, 59 out of first.

“Thank goodness for Brad Keselowski’s rear bumper flying off,” Matt Kenseth. “And I commend Keselowski for his defiance. NASCAR throws the book at him, and he throws back! He’s one tough customer. If he were a professional wrestler, he would hail from ‘Parts Unknown.’”

8. Carl Edwards: Edwards led 19 laps at Kansas but fell a lap down after an untimely caution and finished 17th. He fell one spot to sixth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 49 out of first.

“I’m no stranger to having a muscular physique, Edwards said. “And I’m no stranger to losing points due to a failed inspection. You could say I’ve been ‘sculpted’ and ‘busted.’”

9. Paul Menard: Menard led the Richard Childress Racing charge at Kansas, finishing 10th while teammate Kevin Harvick came home 12th. Menard is now 10th in the point standings, 71 out of the lead.

“Harvick has an average finish of 16th this season,” Menard said. “On a related note, Jimmy John’s has introduced a new topping for their sandwiches in Kevin’s honor—-it’s called the ‘medi-okra.’”

10. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer posted his fourth top-5 result of the season with a fifth in the STP 400. He is ninth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 64 out of first.

“David Gilliland did what many of us have wanted to,” Bowyer said. “No, not put Danica in her place, but talk dirty to her.

“As you may have heard, I just opened the Clint Bowyer Autoplex in Emporia, Kansas. It’s been a dream of mine to own my own car dealership. Let that be a lesson to the youngsters: if you chase your dreams, you may catch them. And, if you chase Jeff Gordon, you may not.”

April 23, 2013
The Good, Bad & The Ugly For JGR at Kansas

Joe Gibbs Racing had a very up and down day at Kansas with one car getting sprayed by champagne while the other three sat in the garage torn up. They fielded a fourth car for this race and that was the No.81 driven by NASCAR Nationwide Series championship contender, Elliott Sadler. Here is a rundown of how the day went for all four drivers and for most of them, it wasn’t pretty.

Kyle Busch #18

Kyle rocketed up to 3rd early in the event and he looked fast. What looked like a promising race for last week’s winners quickly took a turn for the worse just five laps into the race. The rear end went around on Busch coming out of turn 2 sending the car skidding sideways down the backstretch. Kyle got away with no damage and restarted at the back of the pack. He fought his way back through the field with a visibly loose car and was looking fast again until lap 105 when things went very, very wrong. The No.18 went spinning for the second time but Kyle was unable to escape this incident unharmed. He slid down the track directly into the path of former teammate, Joey Logano and the two slammed into each other in a savage collision ending both of their days in an instant. The Kansas curse continues for Busch who has never finished better than 7th at this track. This weekend, Kyle wrecked two Sprint Cup cars and a Camping World Series truck and posted DNF’s in both races. He walked away very frustrated finishing 38th in the STP 400 falling to 7th in the standings.

Elliott Sadler #81

Elliott started the race in 24th and dropped back rapidly. For the first 80 laps or so, he struggled with the car falling back into the 30’s. Remember, this is Sadler’s first appearance driving the Gen-6 so I would imagine that it was very difficult for him to get a feel for these wicked fast machines. On lap 85, his day was cut short when he lost control in turn 4 sending his ALERT Energy Gum Toyota Camry into the wall tail first. He brought the car back to the garage with the rear end all crunched and the crew opted not to make repairs considering he wasn’t running for points. With their day over, No.81 posted a disappointing 40th place finish. Sadler will get a chance at redemption in his next shot at driving the #81 when NASCAR visits Talladega.

Brian Vickers #11

Brian was coming off a solid top 10 at Texas and hoped to make some noise at Kansas in a substitution role for Denny Hamlin. He started 16th and like Sadler, Brian struggled with the handling of his race car causing him to drop back into the 20’s. We didn’t hear much about Vickers until lap 175 but it was for all the wrong reasons. The No.11 smacked the wall off of turn 2 sending Brian spinning down the back stretch. He was able to keep it from nosing into the inside wall and continued the race. The suspension was damaged though and his ill handling car became even more uncontrollable. NASCAR warned the team to pick up the speed or they would be parked but the No.11 was able to soldier on and finish the race. Brian Vickers limped the car home 31st, 10 laps behind the leader in what may be his final start in the No.11 pending what doctors tell Hamlin this week.

Matt Kenseth #20

After reading the race summaries from the other three, a fan who didn’t know any better would look at Matt and wonder what happened to ruin his day. On the contrary, Kenseth had what I would call a fairly decent race. He started on pole and led the first 100 laps or so before falling back due to varying race strategies. With 52 to go, Matt reclaimed the top spot and never looked back. Well, I shouldn’t say he never looked back considering Kasey Kahne filled up his rear view mirror harassing Kenseth for the final 20 laps or so. The two battled hard a lot like they did at Las Vegas with Kenseth prevailing in the end winning his 26th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race. He’s now won the last two events at Kansas and finds himself 8th in the standings.

Even with the victory, it was certainly a tough day for Joe Gibbs Racing who lost half their fleet before even half the race was completed. “The Coach” probably didn’t know what to think when he walked back to the garage covered in confetti only to see his other three cars sitting there severely damaged. Everyone looked at Matt to join JGR and become a mentor to the other drivers in the stable and he’s done more than that so far winning two races and out-performing his teammates on a regular basis. The 2003 NSCS champ looks posed to be in contention for the Cup this year and who knows how many more wins he’ll rack up before the season is done.

April 22, 2013
Success Continues For Paul Menard at Kansas

Paul Menard is one of the mellowest drivers in the garage area. He is never embroiled in any controversies and quietly goes about doing his own thing. Paul has caught a lot of flak in the past due to the fact that his father’s company has been plastered across the hood of almost every car he’s ever driven. A certain contingent of fans attacked him (including me) because not only did he get to NASCAR with help from his dad, but he wasn’t finishing well. Most of that talk has ceased in recent years with Paul performing at a much better level with Richard Childress Racing. I now have a lot of respect for this guy realizing that I was wrong and can’t wait to see him win some more races and he will win more races.

It seems that every year, he starts well but fades around race four or five ending up in the mid-teens with a decent year. Well, we are eight races into 2013 and the Wisconsin native has finished inside the top 10 in half of the races run so far and comfortably sits 10th in the standings ahead of his Richard Childress Racing counterparts. He has been outperforming both of his teammates and if you combined the amount of top 10’s Burton and Harvick have in 2013, they still don’t match Menard’s numbers. If you look at the timeline of his career, you can see that Menard’s been making monumental progress on the track every year with results steadily improving showing that he’s learning and adapting. At 32 years old, he is at the age that most people would consider the prime of a race car driver’s career and don’t be surprised if you see him put that Menards Chevrolet in the chase. The car doesn’t seem capable of taking Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports head-on right now and winning races, but they will get there.

Most don’t know this but Paul’s first two major motorsport victories came in the Rolex Sports Car Series back in 2002. In impressive fashion, he won his in his first and second ever starts in sports cars racing on road courses proving at the age of 21 that he is fully capable of winning. Unfortunately, the natural talent he has was overshadowed when people saw the son of billionaire John Menard show up in NASCAR with his own last name all over the cars he was racing. There are still fans out there that give him hell for how he got here, but the guy is performing so who really cares. They should just be happy that a true racer made his way into NASCAR no matter what path he took.

I don’t hear anyone bad mouth the Burton’s but that’s simply because they are unaware to the fact that Jeff and Ward’s father had money and owned JE Burton Construction. In the end though, both of them proved they belong winning multiple races including the 2002 Daytona 500.

Menard is proving his worth as well and I can see him winning many more races throughout his career. He reminds me of Matt Kenseth who is also a very smooth racer rarely involving himself in drama and quietly posting excellent results every week. It’s a very rare occurrence to see Menard involved in a crash, especially one caused by him.

He’s incredibly underrated and one of the most solid drivers in the garage area. I had the pleasure of meeting his crew chief Slugger Labbe a couple years back when my brother worked with the team and I could tell then that his rather exuberant personality really compliments the laid back, reserved one of Paul Menard making them a perfect pair.

Keep up the good work team No.27 and good luck in the rest of 2013!

April 22, 2013
Previewing The STP 400 at Kansas Speedway

NASCAR roars into Kansas Speedway this weekend for the 8th race of the 2013 season. It seems like we are saying this at every track this year but once again, you can expect record speeds by the Gen-6 this weekend. Kansas was repaved last summer and we all remember the wild show it put on in the fall.

Sixteen cars posted DNF’s and fourteen cautions flew in the crash marred event that Matt Kenseth ended up winning by just four tenths over Martin Truex Jr. The 12-year old track has featured fourteen races producing ten different winners.

The 1.5 mile venue is owned by the International Speedway Corporation (ISC) and seats 81,687 people. It’s classified as a “D-Shaped Tri-Oval” much like its sister track, Chicagoland Speedway. Here are some stats and facts that you should know as we gear up for this mid-western throw-down!

Kansas Speedway Track Facts

Track Size: 1.5-miles

Banking/Turns 1 & 2: 17-20 degrees

Banking/Turns 3 & 4: 17-20 degrees

Banking/Frontstretch: 10 degrees

Banking/Backstretch: 5 degrees

Frontstretch Length: 2,685 feet

Backstretch Length: 2,207 feet

Race Length: 267 laps / 400 miles

Capacity: 81,687

Kansas Speedway Stats

Inaugural Race Winner: Jeff Gordon by .413 tenths over Ryan Newman

Only Driver to Sweep the Weekend: Joe Nemechek winning both the NNS and NSCS events in 2004

Most Wins By a Driver: Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle who have all won twice

Most Wins By a Team: Roush Fenway Racing and Hendrick Motorsports who each have 4

Most Wins By a Manufactuer: Chevrolet has won 7 of the 14 events (Ford-4, Dodge-2, Toyota-1)

Youngest Kansas Winner: Ryan Newman at 25 years, 9 months and 27 days in October of 2003

Oldest Kansas Winner: Mark Martin at 46 years, 9 months and 0 days in October of 2005

Pole Sitters: Only twice has a pole sitter won from the pole (Joe Nemechek-2004, Jimmie Johnson-2008)

Starting Positions By Winners: 2 from the pole, 4 from 2nd-5th, 2 from 6th-101th, 4 from 11th-20th, 2 from 21st or worse

Worst Starting Position By Race Winner: 25th by Brad Keselowski in 2011

Youngest Kansas Pole Winner: Jason Leffler at 26 years, 0 months and 14 days in September of 2001

Oldest Kansas Pole Winner: Mark Martin who was 50 years, 8 months and 25 days in October of 2009

Most Starts Without a Win: 14 by Bobby Labonte, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Kurt Busch

Track Qualifying Record: Kasey Kahne at a 28.219 (191.360mph) in October of 2012

Track Race Record: Denny Hamlin-144.122 mph (02:46:44) in April of 2012

Least Amount of Cautions: 3 in April of 2012

Most Amount of Cautions: 14 in October of 2012

Average Number of Cautions: 7

Top 10 Driver Ratings at Kansas

1.) Jimmie Johnson…………………… 119.5

2.) Greg Biffle………………………….. 113.0

3.) Matt Kenseth………………………. 106.4

4.) Jeff Gordon………………………… 101.5

5.) Tony Stewart……………………….. 100.8

6.) Carl Edwards………………………… 95.1

7.) Mark Martin…………………………… 91.3

8.) Kevin Harvick……………………….. 90.6

9.) Martin Truex Jr…………………….. 90.5

10.) Brad Keselowski……………………. 90.1

Best Average Finish at Kansas

1.) Jimmie Johnson——-8.0

2.) Greg Biffle————–9.5

3.) Brad Keselowski——-9.8

4.) Carl Edwards———–10.8

5.) Jeff Gordon————-11.0

6.) Tony Stewart———–11.7

7.) Kevin Harvick———-12.9

8.) Denny Hamlin———–14.0

9.) Clint Bowyer————14.0

10.) Kasey Kahne———–15.0

Most Wins at Kansas Speedway

1.) Jimmie Johnson——–2 (2008 & 2011)

2.) Greg Biffle—————2 (2007 & 2010)

3.) Tony Stewart———–2 (2006 & 2009)

4.) Jeff Gordon————-2 (2001 & 2002)

5.) Matt Kenseth———–1 (2012)

6.) Denny Hamlin———1 (2012)

7.) Brad Keselowski——1 (2011)

8.) Mark Martin———–1 (2005)

9.) Joe Nemechek——–1 (2004)

10.) Ryan Newman——1 (2003)

Most Top 5’s at Kansas Speedway

1.) Jeff Gordon———8

2.) Greg Biffle———–7

3.) Tony Stewart——-6

4.) Jimmie Johnson—5

5.) Matt Kenseth——-5

6.) Carl Edwards——-4

7.) Denny Hamlin—–3

8.) Ryan Newman——3

9.) Martin Truex Jr.—-2

10.) Kasey Kahne——-2

Most Top 10’s at Kansas Speedway

1.) Jimmie Johnson———11

2.) Jeff Gordon————–10

3.) Greg Biffle—————9

4.) Tony Stewart———–9

5.) Matt Kenseth———–8

6.) Carl Edwards———–8

7.) Kevin Harvick———6

8.) Dale Earnhardt Jr.—-6

9.) Kasey Kahne———-5

10.) Mark Martin———5

Considering all that, Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle and Jeff Gordon look like the biggest threats to take the victory this weekend. Biffle has finished inside the top 10 in seven of the last eight races, Johnson is currently on an eight race top 10 streak at while Gordon has had some lackluster results the past three races. Another driver you have to watch out for but isn’t very high in most of the stats is Matt Kenseth. He won the first race at Kansas after the repave, is riding a streak of three straight top-5’s and hasn’t finished worse than 7th since 2009. A dark horse would have to be Martin Truex Jr. He doesn’t have a great record here but he did finish second in both races last year. Make sure you keep an eye on both him and Kenseth this weekend.

Drivers you may want to stay away from include Kyle Busch, Marcos Ambrose and the 2005 winner of this race, Mark Martin. Ambrose has never led a lap at Kansas, has a best finish of 9th and a best starting position of 18th. Martin did win at Kansas but that is just about the only bright spot on his resume at the track. Martin finished 20th or worse in nearly half the races he’s participated in and has only broken inside the top-20 twice in his last five races. Busch’s stats really surprised me and I had to look at a few times thinking no way are these his stats. His average finish of 21.0 is very low for him and in his whole career, Busch has posted two top 10’s and no top 5’s at the track. He hasn’t led very many laps either proving he’s never really a factor.

I expect that this race will be very fast paced and will feature out of control race cars a lot like last fall’s event. The track has a lot of grip and you can expect to see bottom feeders as well as drivers riding the cushion just inches away from smacking the wall. I don’t think it will have wrecks every 10 laps like it did last year but I don’t see long runs forcing them to make green flag pit stops either.

Busch has been great in 2013 and will have his best race to date at Kansas blowing his best finish of 7th out of the water but he won’t win. I am going with a very hungry driver who is desperate to reach victory lane, Truex Jr. He will finally get that second career win this weekend at Kansas Speedway. Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne will be major factors throughout the race but I am going with Truex Jr. to steal the show Sunday!

Feel free to post who you think will win the STP 400 below!

April 18, 2013
210 Races & Counting… When Will Truex Finally Get That Breakthrough Win?

Martin Truex Jr. is a highly underrated driver in my eyes but it’s easy for people to overlook a guy who has just one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) victory in 268 races. On June 4, 2007, Truex Jr. won at Dover International Speedway by a staggering 7.3 seconds over Ryan Newman capturing his lone NSCS win at what happened to be his home track. If fate was just a little bit kinder to Truex Jr., he could be nearing ten total wins right now instead of still searching for his second. Last weekend he was a few laps away from victory lane until a late race caution ripped it away from him once again. It’s a feeling the Mayetta, the New Jersey native knows much too well.

This weekend, NASCAR visits the recently repaved Kansas Speedway which put on a very eventful race last fall. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought we were in Bristol after a race that had 16 cars post DNF’s and 14 cautions marring the event. In the two races held there in 2012, we had two different winners but the race runner-up remained the same in both…..Truex Jr. It was hard to watch him drive his heart out in the closing laps last weekend only to come up empty handed after running so well. Let me make it clear that in almost every situation, it hasn’t been his fault when these wins got away. Mechanical failures, wrecks, bad pit stops and questionable cautions have all have plagued him every time he seems to have one in the bag.

Truex Jr. has won two Nationwide titles and a total of 19 races across every NASCAR division so don’t think for a second that he lacks the talent to get the No.56 to victory lane. I should also add that he was the 2005 IROC runner-up defeating prominent racers such as 3x Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves, 6x Grand-Am champion Scott Pruett, 4x CART champion Sebastian Bourdais and NSCS champions Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch. You don’t just accidentally out-perform those guys. I believe that once Martin gets his second win and he will get it, then the racing world will finally witness his true potential. This illusive win is holding him back and once he gets it, the field better watch out because that NAPA Toyota Camry will quickly become a regular sight in the winner’s circle.

Kansas is a good place for the 30 year old racer to rebound from the disappointment of Texas and finally snag a victory considering his recent record at the 1.5 mile track. There is a contingent of people out there that say losing at Texas will bring him down but I think it will have the reverse effect. All that heart-breaking finish will do is make him hungrier and more driven than ever to get to victory lane. If it’s the last lap and you find yourself battling Truex Jr. for the win, you better be ready to race harder than you’ve ever raced before because you can bet Truex Jr. will put up one hell of a fight. He has the potential to be a championship contender once he finally has that race where all the pieces come together. That monumental victory that is coming will work wonders for his Sprint Cup career and you will see a new, happier and more competitive driver out on that race track.

I know that’s a very bold statement but despite his lack of wins, he’s shown on multiple occasions that he can get the job done behind the wheel of a race car. Motivation and confidence has a funny way of turning a decent driver into a NSCS champion and if you want an example of that, look no further than a driver by the name of Brad Keselowski. It wasn’t too long ago we looked at him as just another driver that had won a race at Talladega back in 2009.

Truex Jr. is a true racer who fought his way to where he is today and I firmly believe that he will win many Cup races in the years to come.

April 18, 2013
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Texas

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson took sixth in the NRA 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday night and held on to the lead in the Sprint Cup point standings. He leads Brad Keselowski by nine points.

“I think leaving Texas with the points lead is important,” Johnson said, “and a good sign that I’ll win my sixth Sprint Cup championship. Just call me ‘number 1 with a bullet.’”

2. Kyle Busch: Busch completed the sweep at Texas, following his Friday Nationwide win with a Saturday triumph in the NRA 500. Busch beat Martin Truex, Jr. out of the pits on the race’s final caution and led the final 16 laps.

“I led 171 laps on Saturday night,” Busch said, “or as they’re called at Texas Motor Speedway, ‘rounds.’

“With Denny Hamlin out with a back injury, and Matt Kenseth his typical hum-drum self, Joe Gibbs Racing is truly in a Lone Star ‘state.’”

3. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished ninth in the NRA 500 after scrambling to change the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge’s rear-end housing, which NASCAR had deemed illegal. After the race, Keselowski lashed out at NASCAR, claiming his team had been unfairly targeted in the garage area.

“NASCAR can kiss my rear-end housing,” Keselowski said. “I apologize for my rant, but what better place than the NRA 500 to go ballistic on NASCAR. And what better place for NASCAR to wield its itchy trigger finger when it comes to accessing inspections.”

4. Kasey Kahne: Kahne just missed his fifth top-10 finish of the year with an 11th in the NRA 500. He is seventh in the point standings, 37 out of first.

“I’m not sure the NRA will be back as a sponsor for a race,” Kahne said. “But Mark Martin’s got a plan. Since he’s real tight with the rap community, he thinks there should be the ‘NWA 500.’ Of course, that’s pending NASCAR approval, as well as the construction of a track in Compton, California.”

5. Joey Logano: Logano nearly missed the start of Saturday’s race, arriving late to the grid after a NASCAR inspection forced the No. 22 team to change the car’s rear-end housing. After starting at the back of the field, Logano worked his way to a fifth-place finish, and moved up two places to ninth in the point standings.

“Starting at the back of the field?” Logano said. “That’s the real ‘rear-end housing.’

“Luckily, though, the lengthy inspection process afforded me ample time to catch up on some reading, particularly some dated copies of Denny Hamlin Magazine. They’re called ‘back issues.’”

6. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer finished 15th in the NRA 500, as Michael Waltrip Racing teammate Martin Truex, Jr. took the runner-up spot. Bowyer remained eighth in the point standings, and trails Jimmie Johnson by 61.

“I support the 2nd Amendment,” Bowyer said. “And, I also support the ‘5th’ Amendment—5-Hour Energy shots for everyone!”

7. Greg Biffle: A strong run at Texas for Roush Fenway Racing saw Biffle finish fourth, one spot behind teammate Carl Edwards. Biffle is now fourth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 30 out of first.

“Did someone at Hendrick Motorsports rat out Penske Racing?” Biffle said. “Conspiracy theories abound, with many saying someone at Hendrick pointed NASCAR in the direction of the Penske car’s rear housings. And when Rick Hendrick says ‘jump,’ NASCAR asks the same thing as they do of the height of Penske rear-end housings—‘how high?’”

8. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt lost battery power while running third on Saturday night, but didn’t realize it was a battery issue until later. Instead of switching to backup power, Earnhardt pitted, and after an unfortunate series of events, Earnhardt was penalized twice. He finished 29th, four laps down.

“Luckily,” Earnhardt said, “I only shot myself in the foot. Unfortunately, I thought the problem was something else, and not the battery. That’s called ‘getting jumped’ to a conclusion.”

9. Carl Edwards: Edwards posted his fourth top-5 result of the season with a third in the NRA 500. He improved two places to fifth in the point standings, and now trails Jimmie Johnson by 35.

“I felt right at home at TMS,” Edwards said. “As NASCAR’s resident fitness freak, I feel quite comfortable showing my ‘guns.’ And what about these super fans here in Texas, all decked out in their sleeveless shirts. Obviously, they support the right to bare arms.”

10. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished 12th at Texas as Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch won from the pole. Kenseth is now 11th in the point standings, 65 out of first.

“We had a mishap in the pits in which a crew member’s foot caught fire,” Kenseth said. “God bless his sole, we extinguished it before any damage was done.”

April 15, 2013
NASCAR Will Not Fine Brad Keselowski For Post-Race Comments

In a move that surprised a lot of people, NASCAR has decided not to fine Brad Keselowski for his rather colorful comments following the NRA 500 last Saturday. Brian France confirmed that no penalties will be handed down during an interview with Fox Business earlier today. People are puzzled as to why Denny Hamlin’s seemingly harmless comments at Phoenix warranted a $25,000 fine while Brad firing off at the administration was looked at as an okay move. Keselowski was incensed by the way officials had treated his team but he wouldn’t go into detail regarding it. For those of you that never got to hear or read what the reigning champion said, here you go…

“I have one good thing to say, that’s my team and effort they put in today in fighting back with the absolute bulls— that’s been the last seven days in this garage area. The things I’ve seen over the last seven days have me questioning everything that I believe in, and I’m not happy about it. I don’t have anything positive to say and I probably should just leave it at that. There’s so much stuff going on…you have no f—— idea what’s going on, And that’s not your fault and that’s not a slam on you. I could tell you there’s nobody, no team in this garage with the integrity of the 2 team. And the way we’ve been treated over the last seven days is absolutely shameful. I feel like we’ve been targeted over the last seven days more than I’ve ever seen a team targeted. But my guys kept their heads on straight and they showcased why they are a winning team and championship team. We’re not going to take it. We’re not going to be treated this way.”

Now for the Denny Hamlin comments from Phoenix to refresh your memory…

“I don’t want to be the pessimist, but it did not race as good as our Generation 5 cars, this is more like what the Generation 5 was at the beginning. The teams hadn’t figured out how to get the aero balance right. Right now, you just run single-file and you cannot get around the guy in front of you. You would have placed me in 20th-place with 30 to go, I would have stayed there — I wouldn’t have moved up. It’s just one of those things where track position is everything. In the media center – I hate to be Denny-downer, but I just didn’t pass that many cars today. That’s the realistic fact of it.”

I am happy NASCAR decided not to penalize Keselowski because I love watching drivers speak their minds but I don’t understand how they found the Keselowski comments to be okay while Hamlin’s were considered “disparaging remarks.” Perhaps they have decided to take a more relaxed stance when it comes to dropping the hammer on drivers who speak their minds and if that’s so, then good job NASCAR. Remember though, there is still a possible ground shattering penalty coming Penske Racing’s way so the team as a whole hasn’t gotten away from NASCAR’s iron fist just yet. You can expect fines, point deductions and possible suspensions handed down to the team within the next 48 hours.

Keselowski is one of the most, if not the most opinionated driver in the garage area and even if you don’t agree with him, you have to admire and respect his raw, uncensored honesty. He is a new kind of driver that doesn’t bother to sugar coat anything to make it easier to hear for the more sensitive people out there. He speaks what he feels and doesn’t care about the possible repercussions. From calling Kyle Busch an ass in front of 150,000 screaming Bristol fans to his animated interviews on ESPN following his championship or using more swear words than nouns in the Phoenix Media Center last November; he has never been afraid to call it like he sees it. Brad is a new breed of racer and love him or hate him, right or wrong, always know that what you hear him say is the absolute truth in his eyes. I thank you for that Brad and please continue to stay true to yourself.

The head officials are notorious for making inconsistent calls but with literally millions of people trying to tell them how to do their job every day, it’s practically impossible to make everyone happy. Hopefully, this decision to leave the champ alone will set a new precedent on how officials will look at future incidents. Letting drivers speak their minds without the possibility of punishment would be great for this sport. The fans want to see personalities. They want to see their drivers show passion and so far 2013 has given us a very healthy dose of all that! These guys have to keep in mind though that they are ambassadors of this great sport so they shouldn’t go around bashing it every week. The phrase, don’t bite the hand that feeds you would work very well here. In the end, call it what you want but I applaud NASCAR for keeping their hands out of this one and letting the drivers vent their frustrations.

April 15, 2013