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Tag: Steve Addington

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Bristol Food City 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Bristol Food City 500

    From the intro songs to the beating and the banging that comes with short-track racing, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 53rd annual Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    Surprising:  Hendrick Motorsports’ Kasey Kahne is a Bristol victory virgin no more. The driver of the No. 5 Great Clips Chevrolet scored his first ever win in nineteen races at Thunder Valley and his first win of the young 2013 season.

    “This is a big win,” Kahne said. “The whole team was flawless.”

    “I feel like for myself it’s a big accomplishment to win here,” Kahne continued. “We’ve prepared pretty hard this year and it feels good to win.”

    Not Surprising:  Both Busch brothers earned their stripes as ‘come back kids’, overcoming adversity to finish in the top five.

    Kyle Busch, behind the wheel of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota, overcame a speeding penalty to finish second and Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Beautyrest Chevrolet, contended with a loose wheel, as well as some damage to his race car, to battle back to a fourth place finish.

    This was Kyle Busch’s second top-10 finish in 2013 and Kurt Busch’s best finish of the 2013 season, as well as his best finish so far with Furniture Row Racing.

    “I need to stop getting penalties and stay up front all race,” Kyle Busch said. “I wish there was more to have there. But it’s a good day I guess.”

    “Considering how much we had to battle back from adversity today, the finish was even more gratifying” Kurt Busch said. “We battled hard and the poor No. 78 car – she’s used up.”

    Kyle Busch is now in the top ten in points and Kurt Busch vaulted from 29th to 16th in the point standings.

    Surprising:  While Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth have had issues between one another in the past, they had a surprisingly tough encounter on the track at Bristol. With Gordon in the lead and Kenseth right behind, Gordon blew a tire, hit the wall and Kenseth plowed into him from behind after his throttle apparently stuck.

    “As soon as I got into the banking, I felt the tire go,” the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet said. “I really hate that for Kenseth.”

    “There was not a lot either of us could do,” the driver of the No. 20 Home Depot/Husky Toyota said. “It will take a lot of Husky tools to fix that thing.”

    “We had a great car but we didn’t make it to the end.”

    Not Surprising:  Yes, it was Bristol and there were some temper flare ups, especially between Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano, who do have a history with one another.

    Hamlin, who had had an eventful week deciding not to appeal his $25,000 fine from NASCAR, got a bit peeved with Joey Logano and ended up turning his former teammate and sending him spinning.

    The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota, finished 23rd and Logano, driving the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, finished 17th.

    “Really, you’ve got to control your car and he slid up in front of me,” Hamlin said. “I meant to run into him but didn’t mean to spin him out.”

    “We finished bad. He finished bad,” Hamlin continued. “It’s even.”

    “That’s a freaking genius behind the wheel of the 11 car – probably the worst teammate I ever had, so I learned that now,” Logano said. “He decided to run in the back of me, so whatever.”

    “I have a scorecard and I’m not putting up with that,” Logano continued. “What goes around comes around.”

    And yes, the disagreement spilled over into Twitter-world, first with Logano tweeting, “Hey @dennyhamlin great job protecting that genius brain of yours by keeping your helmet on” and Hamlin responding, “Last time I checked he had my cell and direct message button to choose from if he’s got a problem. Otherwise hush little child.”

    Surprising:  It was a surprisingly difficult day for the drivers of the cereal cars, with Jeff Burton, driver of the No. 31 Cheerios Chevrolet, and Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Kellogg’s/Frosted Flake Ford Fusion, involved in an early wreck.

    Burton finished 32nd while Edwards soldiered on, in spite of being ill most of the race and reportedly throwing up in his car, to finish 18th.

    “I have to thank the infield medical folks and folks with NASCAR medical,” Edwards said. “They really helped me out a lot today.”

    “That’s the most miserable race I’ve ever been through, but there was a little bit of satisfaction to come back and finish 18th.”

    Not Surprising:   Brad Keselowski, who finished third in the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion and now leads in the point standings, was not satisfied in the least.

    “We weren’t close at the start but at the end, the car was pretty good,” Keselowski said. “The 2 team did a great job adjusting on the car during the race. “

    “We’ve been so damn close and just haven’t sealed the deal.”

    Surprising:  In spite of bringing out the first caution with a flat tire, spin and a wreck, Tony Stewart still managed to keep his sense of humor throughout the rest of the race.

    On lap 254 with only half of the race completed, Stewart radioed in to his ailing crew chief Steve Addington to say, “The good news is that it’s halfway over.”

    Addington, who was battling the flu, replied simply, “Don’t make me laugh too hard right now.”

    Not Surprising:  While he may not have been stellar, he has been consistent so far in the 2013 season. Fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished sixth and is just nine points behind Keselowski, sitting second in the point standings.

    The driver of the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet solely credits the consistent performance to crew chief Steve Letarte, who Earnhardt Jr. referred to after the race as ‘magic man.’

    “I have to give all the credit to Steve Letarte,” Junior said. “He made a couple, two, three great pit calls there at the end and gave us the opportunity to get some guys on old tires and beat a few guys that we probably weren’t going to beat.”

    “Great call by him.”

    Surprising:  There were some surprising names in the top ten when the checkered flag waved at Bristol, including Brian Vickers, Paul Menard and Jamie McMurray.

    “Honestly after today, it felt like a win,” Vickers, driver of the No. 55 RK Motors Toyota, said. “We had some damage but got that fixed and we got back to the top 10.”

    Not Surprising:  In spite of a stellar Daytona, Danica Patrick has continued to struggle at the tracks following the season kick off. The driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, finished 28th at Bristol, several laps down.

    “We just never really got it completely freed up like we needed to,” Patrick said. “It was better later in the race, but by then the damage was done.”

    Patrick is looking forward to the next race at Fontana, in spite of never having driven a Cup car at that track before.

    “There are a lot of things that I have to work on at this point in time,” Patrick said. “The most important thing is to find a decent balance to start off the race so that we don’t drop back.”

     

     

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Federated Auto Parts 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Federated Auto Parts 400

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”221″][/media-credit]In a race full of twists and turns, including rain delays and wild card drama, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 55th annual running of the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond.

    Surprising:  It was surprising what a dramatically different reaction this driver had to a second place run this weekend as compared to the last.

    Jeff Gordon, piloting the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, went from kicking himself for his second place finish behind Denny Hamlin at Atlanta to being thrilled with his Richmond runner up run, especially since it clinched his wild card spot in the championship Chase.

    Gordon, Alan Gustafson (crew chief), Eddie D’Hondt (spotter) and the entire 24 team demonstrated the ‘never give up’ mantra, taking a car that was admittedly ‘junk’ at the beginning of the race, cutting the chain on the rear sway bar on a pit stop, and getting the car back up through the field after the rain delays to finish in the second spot and secure the final wild card berth in the Chase.

    “We went from last week to being the most disappointed I’ve ever been to finish second to the most excited I’ve ever been to finish second,” Gordon said. “Wow, what a race for us.”

    “I still can’t believe we actually did it.”

    Not Surprising:  As elated as Jeff Gordon was, the driver who fell out of the Chase was equally deflated, if not more so. Errors on pit road, including a lug nut problem that created a lengthy pit stop, cost Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota, the chance to compete for the Cup this year.

    Busch, who finished the race in the 16th position, fell back to the 13th spot in the point standings, losing his wild card berth to Gordon.

    “We missed it,” Busch said simply, after gathering his composure enough to make a brief statement. “That’s it, plain and simple.”

    “There’s no right way to handle this situation.”

    Surprising:  While many were surprised that all four of the Hendrick Motorsports cars scored spots in the Chase, the bigger surprise was that Michael Waltrip Racing achieved a similar feat, getting both of their race cars into Cup contention.

    In fact, one of their drivers, Clint Bowyer, in the No. 15 5-Hour EnergyToyota, powered through an incident with Juan Pablo Montoya and almost running out of gas, to make his way right toVictory Lane.

    “”To win this last race before this Chase is unbelievable,” Bowyer said. “We had a lot of adversity we had to bounce through.”

    “This is a good way to get things bounced back headed into this Chase,” Bowyer continued. “You never give up in this sport.”

    Bowyer’s Michael Waltrip Racing teammate, Martin Truex Jr., also never gave up and achieved his goal of a Chase spot.

    “Man, I feel good,” the driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts MWR Toyota said. “The way our cars are running and as fast as we’ve been the last six or seven weeks, we’re dangerous.”

    “Looking forward to going out and having some fun and hopefully we’ll be in the hunt.”

    Not Surprising:  Although thrilled that the team that bears his name raced two cars into the championship hunt, co-owner Michael Waltrip had another driver and good friend on his mind as he reflected on just how far his team had come over the years.

    “I’m so proud of what we’ve put together,” Waltrip said. “I’m obviously really happy with having two cars in the Chase.”

    “But my inspiration for having a team from the beginning was Dale Earnhardt,” Waltrip continued. “I always wanted to have a team like Dale had.”

    “So anytime something goes good, I always think about what all he meant to me.”

    Surprising:  Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota had a surprising new attitude about not only his race, in which he led 202 laps but finished 18th, but also his bid for the championship.

    “For the most part, I think I’ll just be a lot more relaxed this time around,” Hamlin said. “What do we have to lose?”

    “We’ve never won a championship,” Hamlin continued. “We’re going out there to try to win our first.”

    “I’m going to race week-to-week and just not think about a championship until I get to Homestead.”

    Not Surprising:   While Richmond was good to Stewart Haas Racing, it was not quite good enough to get one of their teams into the Chase.

    Tony Stewart, piloting the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, finished 4th at Richmond and became the 3rd seed in the Chase standings.

    “Really proud of Steve Addington (crew chief) and all of our guys at Stewart-Haas Racing,” Smoke said. “Just proud of the effort tonight.”

    Teammate Ryan Newman, however, did not fare so well. Although he brought his No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet home in the 8th position, he missed out on a spot in the Chase.

    “It’s disappointing,” Newman said. “I don’t really know what to say other than that.”

    “We gave it all we had and we didn’t get the win we needed to make the Chase.”

    Surprising:  One driver who has been admittedly struggling all year had a surprisingly good Richmond run. Jeff Burton, driving the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet, finished top-10, in the sixth position to be exact.

    “I’ve been saying week after week how strong this team is getting and we proved that tonight with a hard-fought top-10 finish,”Burton said. “I am happy and proud of everyone.”

    Not Surprising:  Although Kasey Kahne focused mightily on his No. 5 race car all night and into the morning, he was, not surprisingly, focused on another number, four, after the race.

    “Four Hendrick cars in the Chase,” Kahne said. “Four Chevrolets too.”

    Kahne finished 12th at Richmond, but more importantly secured the 11th seed in the Chase, making him one of those four Hendrick Motorsports drivers in the hunt for the championship.

    Surprising:  Ford had a surprisingly divided run to the Chase, with two Fords in and two Fords out. Matt Kenseth, in the No. 17 Best Buy Ford, finished fifth and will be seeded 8th in the Chase. Greg Biffle, in the No. 16 3M Ford, finished 9th and is seeded fifth in the Chase.

    The two Fords out, however, were Carl Edwards in the No. 99 Kellogg’s Ford and Marcos Ambrose in the No. 8 MAC Tools Ford. Edwards finished the Richmond race in the 17th position and Ambrose finished top-15.

    “I’m obviously disappointed,” Edwards said. “We just let too many points get away for a bunch of different reasons.”

    “We will just go try to build the best team we can for next year and try to make sure a Ford wins this championship.”

    “I just tried my hardest,” Ambrose said. “It wasn’t our night.”

    “Obviously we wanted the win, but it wasn’t meant to be.” 

    Not Surprising:  One driver was not only happy to be in the conversation, but has just been plain having fun as well. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished 14th in the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet and picked up the 7th place in the Chase.

    “We ran good,” Junior said. “I’m proud of the effort the whole company put forward this year.”

    “I’ve had an awesome time,” Junior continued. “It’s been so much fun.”

    “We are in the conversation and we’re going to work hard to still be in that conversation at Homestead.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Pennsylvania 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Pennsylvania 400

    [media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Under stormy skies that unfortunately ultimately proved fatal for one race fan, here is what was surprising and not so surprising from the Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono Raceway.

    Surprising:  It was surprising just how quickly the NASCAR family came together after several fans were struck by lightning at the track and one was killed. Pocono Raceway has established the Pennsylvania 400 Memorial Fund to benefit the victims of the lightning strike.

    Donations are being accepted at any PNC branch or by mailing checks or money order to the Pennsylvania 400 Memorial Fund, Pocono Raceway, 1234 Long Pond Road, Long Pond, PA 18334.

    Not Surprising:  After a weekend of Heisman honors and birthday celebrations, the winner of the Pennsylvania 400 had just one thought on his mind.

    Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, was grateful to have his family with him to celebrate his first victory of the season.

    “Today was an amazing victory experience, probably one of the best in my career because with the rain, the lightning, wind blowing sideways, everything going on, you know; I was just so excited to be able to have my family here,” Jeff Gordon said. “It’s the first time I’ve had all of them here for a victory.”

    “I didn’t care if it was under the shed or in the garage,” Gordon continued. “Even my wife, she’s not been able to experience all those wins. I want her to feel what it’s like.”

    “Ella is getting to the age where it’s exciting,” Gordon said. “Leo was able to hold up his finger, No. 1, so that was cool.”

    “This is one that I’m not going to forget.”

    Surprising:  It was surprising how verbose and a bit resigned Kyle Busch was after having yet another tough day at the track. The driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota finished a miserable 33rd and fell out of Chase contention, losing four spots to 15th place in the points.

    “We just blew out the rear brake rotors – disintegrated it and then blew out the rear caliper after that,” Busch said. “Getting down into Turn One with a three-wheel brake is about the worst situation you can have as a race car driver.”

    “I just hate it for all of these guys,” Busch continued. “We had a really fast race car today.”

    “It’s just the way it seems to be, but the way our year has gone,” Busch said. “It’s just inevitable to have something every week happen.”

    “We hoped we had shaken it but obviously it’s not to be.”

    Not Surprising:  Big brother Kurt Busch had absolutely nothing to say after his check in at the infield care center post hitting the wall hard at Pocono Raceway on Lap 86.

    The driver of the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Services Chevrolet finished 30th. Kurt Busch is now 25th in the point standings.

    Surprising:  The driver who never seems to stop improving, just like his sponsor, had an uncharacteristic moment that changed the course of the race at Pocono.

    Jimmie Johnson, behind the wheel of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, was leading the race when he tangled with competitor Matt Kenseth, taking out the leaders of the pack and allowing teammate Jeff Gordon to drive through for the win.

    “I thought it was just junk on my tires,” Johnson said. “And when I got into Turn 1, I realized quickly that it was a flat and it wasn’t trash on my tires.”

    “I don’t think he had a flat, did he?,” Kenseth said of Johnson. “We went off into Turn 1 and I could hear his pipes (roaring). I’m not sure he has lifted yet.”

    “He just drove in really, really, really, really far and spun out underneath me and I got wrecked.”

    Johnson came in 14th while Kenseth finished 23rd in his No. 17 Zest Ford.

    Not Surprising:   Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing continued his quiet ascension up the Chase standings, up two positions to the fifth spot. Truex Jr., from nearby New Jersey, finished 3rd at Pocono.

    “We had a pretty good car all weekend long,” Truex Jr. said. “We were really fast at the end.”

    “I’m proud of the team for what we’ve done and what we’ve accomplished,” Truex Jr. continued. “To be where we’re at; this is a big deal for us.”

    Surprising:  At a track he has so often mastered and one where he just announced his impending fatherhood, Denny Hamlin had a surprisingly terrible finish at Pocono.

    The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota Camry struggled all day and was caught up in the late race accident with Johnson and Kenseth to finish 29th.

    Hamlin also spent some extended time in the infield care center receiving medical evaluation because of stomach pain. He was treated and eventually released.

    “The leaders got in trouble and next thing you know, one of the cars slid right in front of me and that was about the end of it,” Hamlin said. “We weren’t going to win anyway and at this point, all we’re racing for is wins.”

    “I had some pains in my stomach, but they’ve subsided.”

    Not Surprising:  The impending storm off the track was Kasey Kahne’s friend on the track as he finished second even with a flat tire and a stormy pit stop, where he ran over his air hose and lost precious time in his stall.

    “I felt good about where we were,” Kahne said. “I am a little upset with myself and the way I ran the race, but we definitely had a great Farmers Insurance Chevrolet and ended up with a great result.”

    Surprising:  Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who looked so strong at the start of the race, even taking the lead early, had surprising transmission problems that ended his consecutive laps run streak for the season.

    Even with that 32nd place finish, however, Junior was surprisingly able to hang on to the points lead due to Kenseth’s wreck at the end of the race. He is now just 5 points ahead on the Chase leader board.

    “We don’t ever break parts,” the driver of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet said. “It’s tough.”

    “We had a good run going and I’m sorry for all the guys in the shop.”

    Not Surprising:  The Stewart Haas Racing duo of Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman had a good day at the ‘Tricky Triangle’, finishing fifth and sixth respectively.

    “I’m really proud of Steve Addington (crew chief) and these guys,” the driver of the No. 14 Office Depot Back to School Chevrolet said. “We didn’t necessarily throw a Hail Mary at it, but we kind of went back to where we started and worked from that.”

    “I’m really proud of Steve for finding the package that we ran.”

    “A good solid day,” the driver of the No. 39 Haas Automation/Quicken Loans Chevrolet, said. “We needed that.”

    “And another top-10.”

    Surprising:  Regan Smith, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Farm American Chevrolet, who has had a rough 2012, had a surprisingly good run at Pocono, finishing ninth. This was his first top-10 finish in quite a while at the track.

    “We had a good car this weekend and it got even better as the race went on,” Smith said. “It’s a great feeling in our Furniture Row camp to have the kind of performances we’ve had the last two weekends.”

    “We’re moving along with plenty of enthusiasm right now and feel that we’re in the process of turning things around.”

    Not Surprising:  While Martin Truex Jr. had a great run at Pocono, so too did the rest of the Michael Waltrip Racing team.

    Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry and star of the Pocono tweet-up, finished 8th, and teammate Mark Martin, in the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, finished 12th.

    “We’ll take it,” Bowyer said.

    “We had a fast car,” Martin said. “A 12th place finish isn’t too bad.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Lenox Industrial Tools 301

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Lenox Industrial Tools 301

    [media-credit name=”Kirk Schroll” align=”alignright” width=”242″][/media-credit]While not surprising that conversation still swirled around A.J. Allmendinger and his failed drug test, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 20th running of the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    Surprising:  Race winning crew chiefs do not usually look at getting a manicure as part of their post-race celebratory plans. But Kenny Francis, crew chief for the winning No. 5 Farmer’s Insurance Chevrolet driven by Kasey Kahne, may have to do just that.

    “I bit off all my fingernails,” Francis said, after watching the battle between his driver and a hard-charging Denny Hamlin. “At least I have two weeks for them to grow back.”

    “Yeah, from the pit box, we had a pretty good car all day,” Francis continued. “Fortunately we were able to finish it off and outrun him to the finish.”

    This was the No. 5 team’s second victory for car owner Linda Hendrick and the first ever trip to Victory Lane for driver Kasey Kahne at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    Not Surprising:  As in all relationships, one of the biggest issues causing trouble is the failure to communicate. Not surprisingly, a failure to communicate, in this case between driver and crew chief, actually cost the No. 11 team a chance to win at the ‘Magic Mile’.

    “We made our bed by taking those four tires,” Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota, said. “Darian (Grubb, crew chief) wanted to take two (tires) – I told him I just needed tires and that was it.”

    “He took it that I needed four tires,” Hamlin continued. “It was just a little miscommunication that turned into a second-place finish.”

    Hamlin, who started from the third spot, was the highest finishing Toyota driver and led five times for a race-high 150 laps of the 301 mile race.

    Surprising:  It was a matter of surprising seconds that both helped and hurt one race team at New Hampshire this weekend. Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota, scored the pole position for the race by just 0.003 seconds.

    Timing, however, came back to bite him when he sped by seconds on pit road and never really recovered. Busch, after leading 65 laps, finished the race in the 16th position.

    “It was a tough day for the Interstate Batteries Toyota,” Dave Rogers, crew chief, said. “We got caught speeding the first run there – that wasn’t Kyle’s fault.”

    “We calculate the RPM we’re supposed to run,” Rogers continued. “Gave Kyle the wrong number and he sped and that got us behind from the beginning.”

    “Then we were trying to play catch-up all day long.”

    Not Surprising:  When it comes to flat, shorter tracks, it is not surprising that talk turns to tire wear. And some drivers, particularly four-time champion Jeff Gordon, had some thoughts to share on this issue after the race.

    “Yeah, I’m really disappointed in today,” Gordon, who finished sixth in the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet, said. “This tire, I tell you, Goodyear has got to go back to the drawing board.”

    “They came here with a new tire and it is not a very good tire,” Gordon continued. “I think they know it and I’m hoping that they can come up with something a little bit better than this.”

    Surprising:  At a track where he once was dominant, and in fact led every lap for one race, it was surprising to see Jeff Burton run so poorly. The driver of the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet had problems on pit road, went down a lap and finished 21st.

    “We had a pit road incident early in the race that really set us back,” Burton said. “We had a top-12 car throughout the day, but couldn’t get a caution when we needed it.”

    “The speed was there but those long green-flag runs hurt us trying to get that lap back.”

    Not Surprising:  Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who should definitely be known as ‘Mr. Consistent’, kept up his stretch of consecutive laps finished and pulled off another good run at New Hampshire.

    The driver of the No. 88 National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet finished fourth in the race and is now just 16 points behind Chase standing leader Matt Kenseth.

    “We’re running strong,” Dale Junior said. “I’m really happy with how many points we’re gaining every week and what we’re doing consistently.”

    “We’ve found speed and improved.”

    Surprising:  One driver who desperately needed a good run to stay in championship contention had a surprisingly difficult day.  Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford Fusion, finished 18th and remained stuck in the 11 position in points, with no wins to his credit.

    Edwards finished so poorly that another surprise occurred after the race. Crew chief Bob Osborne was replaced by Chad Norris, who has been with Roush Fenway Racing since 2005 and has led the team’s research and development efforts since 2011.

    “Our commitment to winning a championship with the No. 99 in 2012 has not waivered,” Jack Roush, team owner said. “I’m committed to providing the resources to Carl and to his team to do that.”

    “This restructuring of Bob’s role and the introduction of Chad Norris as the crew chief for the No. 99 will put us in the best possible position for these final seven races before the Chase begins.”

    Not Surprising:   No one could blame new father Kevin Harvick for not only focusing on the race but also having baby Keelan on his mind. The driver of the No. 29 Rheem Chevrolet finished eighth after battling handling issues throughout the race.

    “I’m really proud of the entire Rheem crew and the effort they put in today, but we couldn’t figure out the right set up to get out front,” Harvick said. “We finished about where we should have.”

    “I’m looking forward to the off weekend,” Harvick continued. “It couldn’t have come at a better time and it will be great to spend time at home with my wife and newborn son.”

    Surprising:    It is not often when you hear a driver admit to struggling mightily with a particular issue on his race car. But Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M/Post-It Ford Fusion did just that, in spite of finishing ninth and being the highest Ford finisher of the New Hampshire race.

    “I’m a terrible driver when it comes to taking care of the brakes,” Biff said. “It’s got to be me because we’ve done everything under the sun, but about halfway through I lost my brakes and that’s about all I could do.”

    “Off the green, it would come back and haul like crazy, but then I just had to keep giving it up,” Biffle continued. “It was just a case of brakes.”

    Not Surprising:  Michael Waltrip Racing continues to be synonymous with good runs, with all three of the team cars in the top-15 in the running order.

    Clint Bowyer, driving the No. 15 5-hour Energy Toyota, was up on the wheel and finished third, while Martin Truex Jr. finished 11th and Brian Vickers finished 15th.

    “All in all, it was a good weekend for our 5-hour Energy Toyota,” Bowyer said. “It was a good way to get things turned around.”

    “After the last two weeks of getting wrecked, it felt good to get a good finish.”

    Surprising:  Although it was hot at the track where the driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet has won before, Tony Stewart surprisingly struggled, finishing 12th in contrast to his second place finish last year.

    “We just had no grip out there,” Stewart said. “Steve (Addington, crew chief) made one last change there at the end, and it definitely helped.”

    “We were finally able to make up some ground.”

    Not Surprising:  There was no magic for the Earnhardt Ganassi Race team at the ‘Magic Mile’.  Jamie McMurray, behind the wheel of the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Allstate Chevrolet, finished 20th and his teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, driving the N. 42 Degree Chevrolet, finished 25th.

    “To tell you the truth, today was rough,” Montoya said. “We struggled all weekend.”

    “Today was a tough day for our Bass Pro Shops team,” McMurray reiterated. “We battled some handling issues early on in the race but we never gave up and brought home a lead lap finish.”

    The Sprint Cup Series has its last off weekend next week before the dash to the end of the season. The next race on the schedule will be on July 29th at the Brickyard.

     

  • Tony Stewart: Its nice to get off to a good start this year

    Tony Stewart: Its nice to get off to a good start this year

    [media-credit name=”Credit: By Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”232″][/media-credit]Tony Stewart had become known for going on these awesome summer stretches, winning races from the summer on. However, so far this season, he has two wins in the first five races.

    “It’s been nice to get off to a good start this year the way we have,” Stewart says. “I’m really excited about the start that we’ve got going. We’ve been strong everywhere we’ve been.”

    So far this season, Stewart sits fourth in points, despite finishing outside the top 15 twice this season to open the year.

    “We’ve had top 10 cars and top five cars every race this year after that,” Stewart continues. “So really, really proud of what (crew chief) Steve (Addington) and all our guy sat Stewart-Haas Racing have done.”

    If you look back to last season when he won five races late in the year, he has now won seven of the last 15 races. The last time a driver did that was Jimmie Johnson in 2009-10.

    “Gene Haas is a big factor in that,” Stewart says. “Gene has always give us the flexibility and the tools to do what we think needs to be done at the shop.”

    Stewart adds that whenever he has asked Haas for something, Haas has delivered.

    “There’s been some key pieces that we’ve needed in the shop and he’s been behind it a hundred per cent,” he continues. “That gives all of our guys the confidence that we’re doing everything that we can to give ourselves the best opportunity to be successful.”

    The team has been able to get better, as Stewart notes, due to how Addington has adjusted to the team.

    “A lot of times when crew chiefs change race teams, they bring the whole team with them,” he explains. “Steve came by himself to our organization and had to learn a whole different group of guys to work with.  I think he’s settled in quickly and really gets along good with our guys, learned our system really quick. He brings so much to the table.  We’ve learned a lot from him.  He’s made great adjustments through the off-season and those results are showing right now.”

    Addington adds to that by saying that Stewart has a group of dedicated guys at the shop.

    “It’s just racers, guys that want to work,” Addington says. “There’s a lot of smart people that give you support.  You can ask a question and somebody will have you an answer really fast. Getting in there, getting to know personalities, things like that, you learn how to work and deal with each person.”

    This weekend, Stewart goes to a track where he has had success before as he won the race last fall at Martinsville. In 26 races, he has had three wins, nine top fives and 14 top 10s.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Kobalt Tools 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Kobalt Tools 400

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Tony Stewart Looks To Repeat Last Year’s Championship Success

    Tony Stewart Looks To Repeat Last Year’s Championship Success

    [media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”189″][/media-credit]After winning a championship, the conventional way of thinking is to keep the team the exact same way and take the same attack approach.

    However, Tony Stewart went down a different route as at the end of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship season, he let crew chief Darian Grubb go. In exchange, he hired Steve Addington to become his crew chief for 2012.

    Stewart felt the change was necessary after how they ran for the majority of the year.

    “We kind of got in a slump last year and felt like we needed to make a change,” Stewart said during Texas Motor Speedway’s Media Day. “It’s definitely not uncommon in our sport to do that, but it seemed very odd to do it at the end of the year like that but we actually made the decision before the Chase started.”

    Many people forgot that before the Chase started, Stewart’s average finish was 14.23 while he sat ninth in points with no wins. He was also saying that his team didn’t belong in the chase with the way they were running as he knew they wouldn’t be able to contend.

    However, once they were in the Chase, it was like someone flipped a light switch as Stewart went on a terror, winning five of the 10 races and was crowned the champion.

    “We ran well during the year; we just hadn’t got that win yet,” Stewart said. “It seemed that anything that could go wrong went wrong. But it seemed like when the Chase started we finally got all that bad luck behind us. We started strong at Chicago and Loudon was a track where Ryan (Newman) and I had run well there in the spring, so the first win at Chicago was kind of a surprise. We expected to run well at Loudon but I don’t think we would have planned or could have predicted we were going to get three more wins after that. It was a remarkable run.”

    So far this season, Stewart hasn’t hit the magic stride yet as he finished 16th at Daytona due to a late race spin and 22nd at Phoenix due to a fuel pick-up issue.

    The communication between him and Addington is still being tweaked, but going good so far.

    “Like when I say, ‘it’s a little loose,’ he has to figure out how much a little means to me,” Stewart explained. “What is a little to me may be a lot bigger change to him. So it’s just figuring out when I say a little or a lot how much that actually is. I don’t think it will take really long. We worked really well together last weekend we just had some bad luck during the race. We had a solid day going.”

    Despite it being early in the season, Stewart knows he needs to make a charge soon.

    “There is really nothing to fall back on,” he said. “It’s nice knowing that we’ve got good notes; we’ve got good tracks coming up. Vegas was one last year where we had a dominant car and had a penalty with an air hose getting caught on the body work. It cost us a shot to win the race. It’s nice to go back to some of these tracks knowing we ran well at them. With this Chase format, you have 26 weeks just to get yourself in there so you can’t take it easy at the beginning of the year and think that you are going to waltz right into a spot in the Chase. You’ve got to get after it right away.”

    Stewart went and selected Addington based on his time spent at Joe Gibbs Racing.

    “I had known Steve through the (Joe) Gibbs (Racing) days when I was driving for (crew chief Greg) Zipadelli and (Steve) Addington was working for Kyle Busch,” Stewart said. “I had enjoyed working with him over there and when it came time to try and figure out who we wanted to look at I think it was a scenario where Steve was ready for a change and we were ready for a change. I think it was the right opportunity at the right time. I definitely knew Steve’s credentials because we had worked with him at Gibbs, so it seemed like a natural change for both of us.”

    Stewart also looked to expand his organization further by continuing to look at Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) by hiring Greg Zipadelli to be the Competition Director at Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) and to crew chief for rookie Danica Patrick. Zipadelli was the crew chief for Stewart during Stewart’s entire time at JGR and won two championships with him.

    It seemed like a natural selection for Stewart to hopefully bring success over to SHR. Beyond that, Zipadelli has helped Stewart transition from open-wheel to NASCAR so he was hoping that would choreograph over to helping Patrick.

  • Sprint Cup: Crew Chief Changes for 2012

    Sprint Cup: Crew Chief Changes for 2012

    Shane Wilson has been named the crew chief of the No. 29 Budweiser/Rheem/Jimmy John’s team with driver Kevin Harvick for the 2012 season. Wilson has previously been with the No. 33 team of Clint Bowyer for the past three seasons. Gill Martin, who has been with the No. 29 team since May 2009, has been named director of team operations.

    Wilson and Harvick have worked together in 2006 to earn 10 wins, 24 top-five and 31 top-10 finishes in the Nationwide series en-route to winning the championship. The team had an 824-point margin of victory, creating a new series record.

    Steve Addington, the No. 22 crew chief for the 2011 season, is taking his talent to the No. 14 team of Tony Stewart for the 2012 season.  Addington has served as crew chief for Bobby Labonte (2005), J.J. Yeley (2006-2007), Kyle Busch (2008-race No. 33 of 2009) and Kurt Busch (2010-2011) during his Sprint Cup career.  Twelve wins were scored with Kyle Busch at Joe Gibbs Racing and four wins with Brother Kurt during while working with Penske Racing. 

    It came as a bit of a shock when Stewart’s crew chief Darian Grubb announced at Homestead that he was released from the team at the end of the 2011 season.  The news of him leaving Stewart-Haas came shortly after he led the team to winning the Championship.  As of now, Grubb has not announced what team he will be with next year.

    The garage rumors say that he may rejoin his former co-workers at Hendrick Motorsports, possibly as a crew chief for one of the team’s four cars. Team owner Rick Hendrick told reporters during a teleconference Monday morning that his crew chief lineup is set for 2012. However, Hendrick did admit to making Grubb another offer to rejoin the team.

    Rumors have been confirmed this week that Drew Blickensderfer will join Richard Childress Racing next year to crew chief the No. 31 team with driver Jeff Burton.  Luke Lambert, interim crew chief during the closing weeks of the 2011 season, will remain at RCR in a yet-to-be announced position.

    [media-credit name=”NASCAR.SPEEDTV.com” align=”alignleft” width=”400″][/media-credit]

    Blickensderfer is leaving Roush Fenway racing after nearly ten years with the team, most recently as the crew chief of the No. 6 team with driver David Ragan.

  • Kurt Busch Snags 14th Career Pole at Pocono; Paul Menard Scores Second

    Kurt Busch Snags 14th Career Pole at Pocono; Paul Menard Scores Second

    [media-credit name=”Ed Coombs” align=”alignright” width=”209″][/media-credit]After crashing his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge in practice and having to pull out a backup car, Kurt Busch was despondent, especially thinking that if qualifying was rained out, he would start the 5-Hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway dead last.

    But the racing gods were with him, the weather held, and Busch snagged his 14th career pole, with a speed of 171.579 mph and a time of 52.454 seconds. This was Busch’s first pole in 21 races at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’

    “There were quite a bit of different emotions out there today, especially after having to bust out the backup car from yesterday’s  mishap,” Busch said. “If it were raining today, we’d be starting last.”

    “Now luckily the weather held out and we’re on the pole,” Busch said. “It’s an amazing swing of events and an honest thank you to my guys. To pull the backup out as a pole winning car is really something you wouldn’t hear about back in the day.”

    Busch’s pole also signified the third straight pole for Penkse Racing and his teammate Brad Keselowski was the winner of last weekend’s event at Kansas Speedway. Busch admitted in the media center after his pole run that Penske Racing has indeed turned a corner.

    “We haven’t changed a lot of things since Richmond and it’s just been some procedures and processes and maybe looking at the data a bit differently,” Busch said. “It’s great to come back out and get on the pole again.”

    Busch also referenced his superstition, feeling that he was stuck on the ‘unlucky 13’ pole.

    “To be number 14 already, really feels good,” Busch said.

    Busch’s crew chief, Steve Addington, echoed his driver’s feelings about the pole run.

    “I want to thank everybody on this Shell/Pennzoil Dodge,” Addington said. “The work they did to get this car ready was awesome.”

    “To lay down a lap like that is pretty impressive,” Addington continued. “And that guy that sits behind the steering wheel isn’t too damn bad either.”

    Paul Menard, driver of the No. 27 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet, scored the outside pole, with a speed of 171.422 mph and a time of 52.502 seconds. This was Menard’s fifth top-10 start of 2011 and his first such start in nine races at Pocono.

    “We definitely thought it would rain out qualifying today,” Menard said. “So, we tried to post a good time early in practice and felt that would be our qualifying run.”

    “We were hoping for rain, honestly,” Menard continued. “To qualify second and actually put a lap down was pretty cool. It was much more meaningful that way.”

    Four-time champion Jeff Gordon posted his 22nd top-10 start at Pocono Raceway. He qualified third in his No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, with a speed of 171.350 mph and a time of 52.524 seconds.

    “I’ll be honest, prior to that run, I was kind of hoping it was going to rain,” Gordon said with a laugh. “We made a couple of qualifying runs yesterday and we weren’t really thrilled with the pace.”

    “The track was definitely a lot different as it was hot and slick,” Gordon continued. “We did our fastest laps in race trim and so we weren’t really sure what to expect today.”

    “We looked at the lap times and seeing just how fast the track was today, it gets you anxious when you ran a 54.10 and guys were running in the 52s,” Gordon said. “It was interesting because right before I left the truck I told Alan (Gustafson), ‘It looks like half a second per corner’ and as a driver, a half a second a corner just isn’t fathomable.”

    “As a driver, to go out there and do that and put up a good lap and be third, I’m thrilled,” Gordon said. “I’m very, very happy.”

    Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota and past master of Pocono Raceway, qualified fourth with a speed of 171.174 mph and a time of 52.578 seconds.

    Regan Smith, behind the wheel of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet, continued his hot qualifying hand and rounded out the top five, with a speed of 171.164 mph and a time of 52.581 seconds.

    Starting Lineup
    5-Hour Energy 500, Pocono Raceway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=14
    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
    1 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 171.579 52.454
    2 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 171.422 52.502
    3 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 171.35 52.524
    4 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 171.174 52.578
    5 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 171.165 52.581
    6 99 Carl Edwards Ford 171.057 52.614
    7 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 170.836 52.682
    8 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 170.532 52.776
    9 0 David Reutimann Toyota 170.348 52.833
    10 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 170.2 52.879
    11 6 David Ragan Ford 170.177 52.886
    12 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 170.126 52.902
    13 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 169.908 52.97
    14 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 169.872 52.981
    15 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 169.856 52.986
    16 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 169.702 53.034
    17 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 169.671 53.044
    18 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 169.607 53.064
    19 20 Joey Logano Toyota 169.52 53.091
    20 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 169.501 53.097
    21 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 169.447 53.114
    22 46 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 169.444 53.115
    23 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 169.441 53.116
    24 71 Andy Lally* Ford 169.37 53.138
    25 51 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 169.307 53.158
    26 38 Sam Hornish Jr. Ford 169.278 53.167
    27 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 169.224 53.184
    28 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 169.176 53.199
    29 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 169.17 53.201
    30 34 David Gilliland Ford 169.119 53.217
    31 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 169.113 53.219
    32 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 169.084 53.228
    33 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 168.932 53.276
    34 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 168.89 53.289
    35 13 Casey Mears Toyota 168.666 53.36
    36 66 Michael McDowell Toyota 168.218 53.502
    37 16 Greg Biffle Ford 167.773 53.644
    38 37 Tony Raines Ford 167.395 53.765
    39 181 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 167.264 53.807
    40 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 167.057 53.874
    41 32 Mike Bliss Ford 166.867 53.935
    42 7 Scott Wimmer+ Dodge 162.414 55.414
    43 150 T.J. Bell* Toyota 166.633 54.011