Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: Talladega Super Speedway

  • The Outsider: Kenseth’s Struggles Continue

    The Outsider: Kenseth’s Struggles Continue

    If you would have told me that Matt Kenseth would have been winless headed into the ninth race of the season and on the outside looking into the playoffs, I would have called you crazy. But, that is the case, he currently sits 18th in points with just one top 10 finish this season.

    Last year at this time, Kenseth was sitting pretty with four top 10 finishes, one of those being a win at Bristol, which solidified his spot in NASCAR’s playoffs.

    So, what happened? It’s certainly not a team performance issue as Job Gibbs Racing has proven that it is one of the top teams in NASCAR, if not the top. Kyle Busch has won two races, Edwards captured a checkered flag at Bristol and Hamlin won the biggest race of the season, the Daytona 500. But, Kenseth can’t seem to put solid runs together. From an outside perspective, it looks as though he has a great relationship with his crew chief Jason Ratcliff, they’ve seen victory lane numerous times together, so what’s the issue?

    Here’s my take:

    Last season, Kenseth was the first driver in NASCAR history to receive a two-race suspension. The suspension followed his actions at Martinsville Speedway when he had a “tire go down” entering into turn one, where he then took out race leader Joey Logano.

    Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images
    Photo Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images

    But, let’s flashback to a couple of weeks prior. Kenseth was leading at Kansas, Kenseth throws the block two times on Logano. Following that, Logano heads into turn one and races Kenseth hard into the corner, Kenseth gets spun out. That incident severely hurt Kenseth’s chance of advancing to the next round of the Chase.

    Next stop, Talladega. One of Kenseth’s last shots at advancing into the next round of the chase. Harvick causes mayhem on a final restart resulting in the field piling up, Kenseth is involved, therefore eliminating him from the next round of the chase.

    Following Talladega, the incident between Kenseth and Logano happened at Martinsville and Kenseth then gets suspended. He said he had a tire go down, but we all knew that it was retaliation stemming from Kansas. He felt Logano took something from him at Kansas, therefore, Kenseth took something from Logano at Martinsville, an eye for an eye, or as it’s called in NASCAR, “driver code.”

    This begs the question, could Kenseth’s slow start in 2016 all stem from his issues with Logano last season? Listen, Kenseth is a professional on and off the track, he’s a champion at NASCAR’s highest level and he’s one of the most respected drivers in the garage. However, he’s also human and whether he’d want to admit it or not, he might currently be having a hangover from last season’s incidents.

    Kenseth will find victory lane this season. This weekend at Richmond might be the perfect place for him to bounce back since he won there last season. But, for now, he’s on the outside looking into the playoffs.

     

  • Sauter wins wild one at Talladega

    Sauter wins wild one at Talladega

    Johnny Sauter, driver of the ThorSport No. 98 Carolina Nut/Curb Records Toyota, survived the carnage of yet another wild Talladega finish to score his third win of the season.

    As Sauter and his teammate came off turn four hooked together in a tandem draft, their rearview mirror filled with the chaos. Miguel Paludo got into the back of Jeb Burton sending him up the track into the No. 51 truck of Kyle Busch. As Busch bounced off the wall back across traffic he slammed into the trucks of Paludo and Darrell Wallace Jr.. Paludo’s truck instantly began flipping down the frontstretch.

    To add insult to injury, the trucks of Busch and Wallace came back across the track for another round of destruction. The second place truck of points leader, Matt Crafton, Sauter’s teammate at ThorSport racing, got clipped and turned around. The No. 19 truck of Ross Chastain, who had ran well all day, was turned head on onto the outside wall along with Parker Kligerman.

    In total twelve trucks were involved in the final crash as the field neared the start finish line. Fortunately, all driver were treated and released from the infield care center, with the exception of one. Justin Lofton was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.

    Johnny Sauter commented about the win after the race, “This is awesome. I’m so proud of everybody …” he continued about the crash behind him, “I had a pretty good idea what was going to happen. Everybody was fighting for the same real estate.”

    Though Crafton was involved in the last lap crash, he managed to make across the finish line in ninth place. Additionally, he actually increased his points lead from 41 to 57. James Buescher who was involved in an earlier crash fell from second to third in points, losing the spot to Ty Dillon.

    Talladega once again lived up to its reputation as the wildcard event. Fortunately, for the ThorSport team, they held all the wildcards today.

    The series now travels to the shortest track on the circuit, Martinsville Speedway for the Kroger 200 on Saturday October 26, 2013.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Talladega Good Sam 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Talladega Good Sam 500

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Sean Gardner/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”230″][/media-credit]With Chase race four at Talladega delivering on its reputation as the ‘wild card’ and ‘game changer’ in the championship battle, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 44th running of the Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500.

    Surprising:  Manhandling a very free race car and making a miracle save or two did not prevent this driver from being the loneliest, but no doubt happiest, man at Talladega Super Speedway. Matt Kenseth survived the last lap ‘big one’ to score his first ever win at the track.

    Kenseth, in a very pink No. 17 Ford EcoBoost/National Breast Cancer Foundation Ford, notched his 23rd victory in 466 Cup races. This was his second win and 17th top-10 finish for the 2012 season.

    Kenseth’s spotter Mike Calinoff described his driver’s lonely but lucky status best with his radio call on the final lap of the race.

    “They’re wrecking behind you,” Calinoff said. “The whole field is wrecking.”

    “There isn’t anyone who isn’t wrecked.”

    “I looked behind me and saw nothing,” Kenseth said, echoing his spotter’s words. “Being in front of it all was the best place to be.”

    Not Surprising:  Although making the Chase, albeit barely, and admittedly not having the best of racing luck with him for much of the season, this driver was thrilled that things finally went his way at unpredictable ‘Dega.

    “For a change, I finally came out on the good side of it,” Jeff Gordon, who finished second in his No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, said. “I really have no idea how we all made it to the white flag because it was three, four wide.”

    “I got hit by the No. 18 and somehow that turned me down on the apron and I just put it back to the floor and drove by every car.”

    “I came out of that second behind the No. 17,” Gordon said. “That is like a win.”

    This was Gordon’s 19th top-10 finish in 40 races at Talladega and his 15th top-10 finish for the season.

    Surprising:  It was a surprisingly humble and contrite Tony Stewart that greeted the media after causing the twenty-four car pileup and flipping end over end in his own No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet amidst the melee.

    “I just screwed up,” Smoke said. “I turned down across, I think it was Michael (Waltrip) and crashed the whole field.”

    “It was my fault blocking to try to stay where I was at,” Stewart continued. “So, I take 100% of the blame.”

    Not Surprising:  Not surprisingly, the theme for the day for the point’s leader Brad Keselowski was simple. He just wanted to survive Talladega and come out intact on the other end.

    Keselowski, in his now familiar Blue Deuce, did indeed survive, finishing seventh in spite of being caught in the pile up. He now has a 14 points advantage over second place Chase contender Jimmie Johnson.

    “We were four-wide for about two and a half straight laps and it was just a matter of time before you are wrecked,” Keselowski said. “It happens but that’s just Talladega.”

    “That’s pretty big,’ Keselowski said of his points lead. “I just feel lucky to survive Talladega.”

    Keselowski was so happy to have survived that he tweeted the following entrepreneurial thought after the race.

    “Someone needs to make a t-shirt that says, “I survived Talladega,” @keselowski said. “Guaranteed at least 43 customers.”

    Surprising:  NASCAR’s biggest loser at Talladega was surprisingly one of Dega’s darlings, as well as fan favorite Dale Earnhardt, Jr.  The driver of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew Paint 88/National Guard Chevrolet finished a disappointing 20th, dropping four positions in the Chase standings to 11th, all as a result of the ‘big one.’

    And even more surprising, NASCAR’s most popular driver had some pretty harsh words to share after the race, particularly for the style of racing at Talladega and the longevity of the sport in light of it.

    “Yeah, I took a lot of hard shots,” Junior said. “If this is what we did every week, I wouldn’t be doing it.”

    “I would find another job.”

    “The way we are going ain’t the right direction,” Dale Earnhardt, Jr. said. “I don’t care what anybody says for the good of the sport; I mean it’s good for the here and now and it will get people talking today, but for the long run that is not going to help the sport the way that race ended and the way the racing is.”

    “It’s not going to be productive for years to come.”

    Not Surprising:   With over half the field involved in the last lap crash, it was not surprising that several drivers, including some of the Chase contenders, were a bit confused as to where exactly they finished. There was so much confusion that crew chiefs gathered around the NASCAR hauler to see indeed where their driver ended up officially.

    “Everybody just merged together and we were all in a big wad at that point,” Jimmie Johnson, piloting the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, said. “Fortunately my car I could still drive to the finish so I passed a couple of guys that were sitting there on the bottom trying to get going themselves.”

    “I guess I finished 17th,” Johnson said. “I don’t know.”

    Teammate Kasey Kahne, in the No. 5 Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet, also was a bit confused as to his finishing spot.

    “You are kind of along for the ride once it starts,” Kahne said. “We ended up making it back to the line; a few cars passed us so we might be a little better than 13th.

    Finally, Richard Petty Motorsports driver Marcos Ambrose, piloting the No. 9 DeWalt Ford, was confused but willing to forget about it in the end.

    “We had a strong day,” Ambrose said. “I thought I missed the wreck but at least I didn’t cause it.”

    “I have no idea where I finished, but we’ll just go on to the next one and forget about this.”

    Johnson did indeed finish 17th as he predicted, Kahne finished 12th, a bit better than he thought, and Ambrose ended up in 27th, a finish he most likely will want to forget.

    Surprising:  Kyle Busch became a surprisingly ‘lucky dog’ at Talladega. The driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota was not only the official ‘lucky dog’, getting his lap back after a speeding penalty, but was also a ‘lucky dog’ in navigating his way through the major 24 car pile up to finish third.

    “Our day was pretty good,” Busch said. “I got busted for speeding, so that was my fault and we had to battle through that.”

    “That was probably one of the most tense parts of the race for me was having to race for the ‘lucky dog’ to get back on the lead lap.”

    “But all in all, our guys had some good pit stops and we gained some spots,” Busch continued. “I’m just glad and thankful that I was able to get through with no damage and make it through unscathed.”

    Not Surprising: The two drivers who will apparently swap their rides for the next race, with Kurt Busch going to the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing team and Regan Smith taking over the No. 51 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet, had polar opposite finishes to their last race in their former rides.

    Regan Smith ended his tenure at Furniture Row with a 5th place finish, his best ever at a restrictor plate track, while Kurt Busch finished 39th after being parked by NASCAR for not heeding their command to stop his race car after his wreck.

    “This is the way my life works,” Kurt Busch said. “I am leading, I wreck, I run out of gas and now I’m in trouble.”

    “This year has been a great year to test me in every way.”

    “What a wild ending,” Smith said. “We restarted the green-white checkered in 28th, picked up a bunch of spots on the first lap and then came the wreck.”

    “Somehow I was able to drive it to the checkered flag with a fifth-place finish.”

    Surprising:  Rather than having a ‘Talladega Nights’ flashback, Greg Biffle was having another movie moment instead.

    “It was like Days of Thunder, coming through the smoke and the grass,” the driver of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion said. “A car flew over the top of my car as I turned to the bottom and missed guys by three inches.”

    “It was the craziest thing I’ve ever been involved in in my life.”

    Biffle had his own crazy moment in the race, making an amazing save after being turned sideways in the draft. He finished the race in sixth, gaining two positions in the point standings to ninth.

    Not Surprising:  The difficult season for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing continued in agonizing style at Talladega for both of their drivers. Jamie McMurray, former Daytona 500 winner and driver of the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Allstate Chevrolet, finished 34th after leading 38 laps of the race.

    Teammate Juan Pablo Montoya finished 38th in his No. 42 Target/Gillette Chevrolet after an engine failure on lap 156.

    “We were running right up there in the lead pack the majority of the day and then something happened to the motor,” JPM said. “The car started smoking and I felt like it was going to let go at any minute.”

    “We just can’t catch a break.”

    “The Bass Pro Shops Chevy ran great all day,” McMurray said. “It was great to get back up there and lead some laps.”

    “I wish the outcome had turned out differently,” McMurray continued. “The guys did a great job and I felt like we had the car to beat.”

     

  • David Ragan Talks Talladega, Darlington and Just Plain Going Nuts

    David Ragan Talks Talladega, Darlington and Just Plain Going Nuts

    [media-credit name=”www.davidragan.com” align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]David Ragan, driver of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford, has had so much going on, from an intense run at Talladega to his upcoming race at historic Darlington, that no one would be surprised if the young driver was also going just plain nuts.

    After a scorching weekend at ‘Dega, where drivers not only battled heat in the race car to heat in their engines, Ragan managed to escape relatively unscathed to score his first top ten of the 2012 season.

    “That was a track that we had circled at the beginning of the season and a track that I’ve performed well as has Front Row Motorsports,” Ragan said. “At restrictor plate racing, when you run in a pack and when you can draft with other cars, it puts everyone on more of an equal playing field.”

    “I felt like if we went down and didn’t make any mistakes, we would have a chance for a top-10 and that’s exactly what we did,” Ragan continued. “It was good to get a top-10 finish and hopefully we can improve on that for the rest of the year.”

    Ragan certainly seems to have a knack for the superspeedways, a talent that has enabled him to keep his cool in spite of the craziness that often ensues at restrictor plate tracks.

    “I’ve been fortunate enough to drive some good race cars over the years, with Ford engines and Roush prepared cars,” Ragan said. “You have to be patient and not push the issue.”

    “You have to make the best decisions possible and we’ve always been able to come out of the superspeedways clean.”

    Ragan recognized that some drivers were driven a bit batty by not only being back in the pack but also by trying to manage their temperature and pressure gauges.

    “I think there were some issues with overheating and you just had to manage them,” Ragan said. “We were all fighting the same issues, all 43 cars.”

    “It is annoying and it is frustrating,” Ragan continued. “But it’s just another element that makes NASCAR racing what it is.”

    “I’m partial to the pack racing,” Ragan said. “I think it’s more fun for the fans.”

    “I have an open attitude either way but I am partial to the pack racing because I’m a fan and that’s what I’d like to see.”

    With the pack in back of him, Ragan is ready to tackle the track dubbed ‘Too Tough to Tame’ this weekend.

    “I think we need to finish on the lead lap,” Ragan said of his Darlington plans. “We need to race the race track and run our own race. I think a top-15 to a top-20 would be a solid day for us.”

    Ragan also fully plans to let himself go just a little nuts at Darlington for the race weekend. He will have Peanut Patch Boiled Peanuts as the primary sponsor on his car for the historic Bojangles Southern 500.

    “McCall Farms, with their division the Peanut Patch, is going to take a dip into the NASCAR world and be the primary sponsor on the No. 43 car,” Ragan said. “I grew up in Georgia where there were a lot of peanuts planted near the cotton. So, I’m a big boiled peanut fan.”

    “They’re located right down the road from the race track,” Ragan continued. “They have a lot their employees that are going to be coming to the track.”

    In addition to the peanuts, a definite concern at the race track for those who are superstitious, Ragan will also be driving a green race car, a color that again is one that is shunned by most. But neither seems to both the young driver in the least.

    “I’m not a big superstitious guy but maybe if they see us in their rear view mirror in the peanut car, they’ll get out of our way,” Ragan said.

    For any fans that want to join Ragan in going nuts this weekend, the Peanut Patch is running a special promotion on Front Row Motorsports Facebook page. All fans have to do is upload a video stating whey they want to “Go Nuts for David Ragan.”

    “I haven’t seen any of the videos but I’ll have to check it out for sure,” Ragan said. “I don’t know who has the final say but I’m sure I can check it out and then hopefully influence whoever that’s going to be.”

    Ragan is also balancing his nutty schedule on the track with his many off-track activities. The young driver is involved in everything from volunteer work with the Shriners to some old fashioned asphalt racing.

    “I just completed one of the final steps in Free Masonry to become a Shriner,” Ragan said. “So, hopefully by summer we will be an official Shriner and a member of the Oasis Temple here in Charlotte.”

    “We’ll also be at the Summer Shoot Out at the Shrine 100 in August.”

    “We’re in the process of putting together another asphalt late model to do some racing around the southeast later in the year,” Ragan said. “I’ll drive and we run a young kid from Texas Andy Hogan and his next race is in Huntsville, Alabama next weekend.”

    Ragan freely admits that his season has been a bit crazy to date. But in order to combat that, Ragan said strongly that consistency is the key.

    “The season’s been OK,” Ragan said. “I’d give us a B minus.”

    “We need to be more consistent,” Ragan continued. “We’ve been able to achieve some of our top 20 goals but we can certainly be more consistent.”

    “And as long as we can keep getting better, that’s a good thing.”

    Ragan fully intends to capitalize on his seventh place finish at Talladega with another good run at the ‘Lady in Black.’ And if he wins, Ragan predicts all kind of going nuts.

    “We were all happy to get that good run at Talladega,” Ragan said. “But we need to continue to expect to get those good finishes.”

    “You’ll see us get real crazy if we’re able to catch the checkered flag for one of these races.”

     

  • Simple Physics spoils Talladega

    Simple Physics spoils Talladega

    [media-credit name=”Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]For a long time I have said of Talladega and Daytona that they are multi-million dollar junk yards. This year was no different but this time it could all be laid at NASCAR’s feet.

    In Daytona, in an effort to break up the tandem draft, NASCAR altered the grill opening and the radiator capacity and put a pressure valve in the cooling system of the cars. The purpose was to keep the cars from pushing one another for laps at a time. They lowered the rear bumper cover. They decreased the size of the spoiler. End result they broke up tandem drafting successfully and sent the teams back to pack racing.

    No I have no problem with pack racing. It was certainly more exciting than surrey racing. But NASCAR did not take into consideration the change of seasons and climates.Talladega in the spring is much warmer temperature wise than Daytona in February. When they made no changes for the 90 degree ambient temperature in Alabama, they created a race situation that was hardly a race. A very sarcastic Tony Stewart said post race, “The racing was awesome,” Stewart said. “It’s fun to be able to race and have to watch the (overheating) gauges at the same time. It just adds that much more. Being able to make yourself run on the apron and everything to try to get clean air, it makes it fun.”

    Teams spent most of the day monitoring water pressure and temperature gauges and trying to hold together engines that were overheating kind of like a boiling tea kettle. Basically the overheating situations made it impossible for the cars to race. At one point in the race Jeff Gordon said ‘My (water) pressure is way high. The temperatures are not flashing but I gotta get out of here.” How exactly do you get out of a pack that has 40 cars in it without wrecking 10 of them and yourself?

    The temperatures affected the ability for teams to fuel the cars. Alcohol is lighter than the petroleum fuel and is much more temperature sensitive. When you add the humidity at Talladega you created a vapor lock type situation where the teams couldn’t get the car full of fuel. With no venting in the can or the system it makes impossible to force the air out of the system and replace it with fuel. Think about the finger on the end of the straw trick. If you heat the straw it doesn’t work as well. It’s more difficult to get fluid into the straw. Now I understand that DW is of the opinion that the fuel was vaporizing from the cars but that is simply not true.

    What is true is that more and more NASCAR shows that its cost containment measures are merely a control of competition measure. The COT itself is more expensive to build. The new EFI system is much more expensive to build, monitor and maintain. And then to decrease the cooling capability of the car on an engine that now uses Ethanol which burns hotter than petroleum fuel you are asking to blow up and destroy very very expensive and highly specialized engines.

    NASCAR needs to once again examine its mandates for teams on the Super Speedways. To force drivers to watch gauges and pressures in packs moving 190 mph is asking for disaster. To put them in packs, which they should, but take away the ability to keep the million dollar engines from blowing up because no air can get to the engine and the engine is trying to cool itself on 2 gallons of water is poor judgment at the very best. It creates situations that even the skills of the best stock car drivers in the world can’t maneuver out of.

    Speaking of maneuvering, huge display of car control by Dale Earnhardt Jr in getting through the first wreck of the day by slicing and dicing his way through the carnage, it was just another example of the talent that is often overlooked behind the wheel of the 88.

    Another point of contention this weekend occurred at the checkered flag in the Nationwide race. It was yet another blatant example of double standards in NASCAR. Sam Hornish, Jr. suffered a flat right front tire coming out of four and with the limited control that brings got into Danica Patrick who got into the wall. Patrick retaliated after the checkered flag going into one on the cool down lap and spun the car of Hornish into the wall.

    NASCAR turned a blind eye to situation, even though when compared to video tape of the Busch/Hornaday incident in Texas they appear to be very similar. Busch as you will recall had been placed on probation for similar incidents and was then sat out for the remainder of the Texas weekend. Patrick however, was not even called to the trailer.

    Let me just say that the touch me not attitude and the tantrums that are synonymous with Danica’s reputation are a result of sanctioning bodies not holding her to the same standards as every other driver on the track. It was those tantrums that made Indy Car breathe a sigh of relief when she left for NASCAR on a full time basis.

    If you are going to climb in and race with the boys you have to expect to be treated exactly like one of them. Because when you climb in that car you are no longer male or female. You are a driver period. I was very disappointed that NASCAR didn’t at least issue a warning about the behavior. Especially in light of the fact that she once again crawls in a Cup Car at Darlington. To let this slide says it’s ok for her to continue this behavior. It is not ok for Kyle Busch or Kevin Harvick or Carl Edwards or Denny Hamlin but it is ok for Danica. Honestly folks that simply doesn’t fly. It does however add another color to the WWE palate that NASCAR has begun to resemble.

    Congratulations to this weeks winners. Kyle Larson and Tracy Hines in USAC competition, Chad Kemenah and Sammy Swindell in World of Outlaws competition, Brandon McReynolds in ARCA competition, Joey Logano on his NNS win and Brad Keselowski on his Sprint Cup Series win.

    Thoughts and prayers continue for Eric McClure and his family as he continues to recover after a very frightening crash during the NNS race on Saturday.

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

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Texas

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Texas

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Carl Edwards: Edwards took third at Texas, passing Tony Stewart’s gassed out car on the final lap, as Roush Fenway Racing placed all four cars in the top 7. Edwards battled stomach problems all day, as well as handling issues in the No. 99 Scott’s Ford, but hung in to post his fourth top-5 result of the year. He vaulted passed Kyle Busch in the point standings, and holds a nine point lead.

    “We were loose all day,” Edwards said. “And when I say ‘we,’ I mean the car and me. It’s hard to find a rhythm when you’re constantly telling your car to ‘go’ and only your stomach is listening. It was a day of ‘fits and sharts.’ My teammate David Ragan may drive the UPS car, but it was me who truly found out what brown could do for me. The answer was very little.

    “As you may know, I’m in the last year of my contract, and I’m currently in talks with Roush Fenway concerning a contract extension. I’m pretty confident we’ll get it done, especially after Saturday night’s performance, because I seriously doubt anyone else would want my ‘seat’ after that.”

    2. Kyle Busch: Busch was running third and primed to contend for the win at Texas, but a left-rear tire vibration forced a late pit stop, putting the No. 18 Interstate Battery Toyota a lap down. Busch never got a caution to get back on the lead lap, and settled for a disappointing 16th, which knocked him from the Sprint Cup points lead. He trails Carl Edwards by nine points.

    “Given the circumstances,” Busch said, “I’d rather not be behind Edwards at this point. As it stands, though, Carl’s the only driver in front of me, and that makes him the public enemy No. 1. Ironically, public enemy No. 1 faced a devious nemesis at Texas, ‘public enemy No. 2.’    

     “Joe Gibbs Racing is still experiencing engine problems. Luckily, we’ve identified the issues—they’re apparently called ‘Denny Hamlin’ and ‘Logano.’ I think those two have answered the age-old question: ‘What happens when a driver and car run out of talent at the same time?’ 

    3. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth ended a 76-race winless streak with an assertive victory in the Samsung Mobil 500 at Texas, leading 169 of 334 laps and winning by over eight seconds over Clint Bowyer. Kenseth donned the ceremonial ten-gallon hat and six shooters afforded the Texas winner in victory lane, celebrating his first win since California in 2009. He leapt six places in the Sprint Cup point standings to third, 13 behind Carl Edward and four behind Kyle Busch.

    “Surprise!” Kenseth said. “It’s Matt Kenseth with the ‘hat trick,’ and not Kevin Harvick. And it’s not just Carl Edwards ‘shooting blanks;’ it’s me as well.

    “I’ve always ran well at Texas, and I knew we were capable of winning here. I just had to go out and do it. Much in the same way that Edwards did, I told myself, ‘I’ve got to go.’ Luckily for me, and for Carl, I did, and he didn’t.”

    4. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson battled loose-handling conditions for the majority of Texas’ 334 laps on Saturday night, but still managed a solid eighth-place finish. Johnson dropped one spot in the point standings, and now trails Carl Edwards by 13 points.

    “We’ve gone seven races this season without a win,” Johnson said. “I could be a whiner and blame everybody, which would be a case of a ‘critical ass’ calling out the ‘critical mass.’ But I’ve learned that criticism is a useless endeavor—it can only lead to forced, insincere apologies to NASCAR.

    “But it is much too early in the season to be worrying about my deficiencies. I should know that better than anyone. I’ve made a habit of spending the first 26 races showing I’m mortal, and the last ten proving I’m immortal. I’ve spent five years perfecting the art, and it’s a cause I’m proud to champion.”

    5. Kevin Harvick: Harvick’s effort to win his third-straight race was derailed early after a right-side tire violation penalty on his first pit stop. With track position compromised, he eventually fell two laps down and never returned to the lead lap, finishing 20th. He tumbled four places to ninth in the point standings, and trails Carl Edwards by 28.

    “Unfortunately,” Harvick said, “I won’t be saying ‘three in a row.’ They say good things come in three’s, except for four-tire pit stops.”

    6. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt posted his second-straight top-10 finish, and fourth of the season, with a ninth in the Samsung Mobil 500. He moved up two places in the point standings to sixth, and trails Carl Edwards by 21.

    “It’s now been 100 races since my last win,” Earnhardt said. “That’s a dry spell any member of Junior Nation could be proud of. But that’s a long time to go without a win. Now, when I see a ‘three-finger salute,’ I’ll know it means ‘three digits.’ Of course, that’s opposed to the normal ‘three-finger salute,’ in which three of my fans stand in unison and flip the bird to the driver that just passed me on the track.

    “Now, that 100-race winless streak could very well come to an end at Talladega. I hear two-car tandems again will be the norm as they were at Daytona, and the multi-car draft seems to be a thing of the past. So, Sunday’s race will be a lot like a typical weekend in the Talladega infield, with multiple hookups with 10-15 partners, and the occasional threesome, with feelings of regret when it’s over.”

    7. Kurt Busch: Busch led five times for 50 laps at Texas, but found himself in an off-sequence pit situation without a much-needed caution. Forced to pit late while running second, Busch settled for a 10th, and fell one spot in the point standings to fifth, 16 out of first.

    “We qualified 10th and finished 10th,” Busch said. “That’s what I call ‘running in place.’ And speaking of ‘running in place,’ the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge team could use a ‘jog,’ preferably to the noggin, to rouse us from the doldrums of mediocrity. I’ve told my team the same thing I‘ve told my cosmetic surgeon: ‘You can do better than this.’”

    8. Ryan Newman: Newman faced an uphill battle on Saturday night at Texas, as the No. 39 U.S. Army Chevy lacked the necessary handling and speed to be a factor in the Samsung Mobil 500. Newman salvaged a 14th-place result, scrapping until the end. He dropped one place in the point standings to seventh, 23 out of first.

    “It was a tough day for Stewart-Haas Racing,” Newman said. “I struggled all day, and Tony Stewart ruined a potential race-winning fuel strategy by speeding in the pits on his final stop. So, I was ‘sorry,’ and Tony apologized. I’m sure Tony had a horrible feeling in his gut after that huge mistake. It seems that, much like Carl Edwards, Tony was suffering from his own case of ‘botch-ulism.’” 

    9. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer’s runner-up finish at Texas gave him three consecutive top-10’s after an early season of struggles, and solidified much-needed momentum for the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team. Bowyer nearly wrecked while leading when contact with Brian Vickers sent him spinning, but a miraculous save kept him in the running.

    “My sympathies go out to Carl Edwards,” Bowyer said. “I can certainly relate to the ordeal he experienced on Saturday, because I nearly crapped my pants too. If not for our abilities to avoid catastrophe, we both could have had a mess on our hands.”

    10. Tony Stewart: Stewart’s shot at a Texas victory ended when a late pit road speeding penalty ruined what appeared to be a winning fuel strategy by the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 team. Stewart ran out of fuel on the final lap while running third, and finished 12th. 

    “In times like these,” Stewart said, “I must choose my words wisely. Criticizing NASCAR’s pit road speed monitoring system so soon after being penalized would be a case of bad timing. And explaining the use of sarcasm and puns right now would be a case of good timing. And you know me. If you believe overly embellished Rolling Stone accounts of my life as a playboy and hard partier, then I certainly know everything possible about ‘good time-ing.’”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Texas Samsung Mobile 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Texas Samsung Mobile 500

    [media-credit name=”(c) CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”279″][/media-credit]With the honors of hosting the first night race of the 2011 season, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

    Surprising:  Although Matt Kenseth was dominant for most of the race, when the checkered flag flew for him, the usually stoic driver of the No. 17 Crown Royal Black Ford for Roush Fenway Racing was surprisingly emotional.

    “After two years, I didn’t know if I’d be back here,” Kenseth said in Victory Lane. “I’ve been so blessed in my life with a beautiful family, a great team and I do what I love for a living.”

    “I haven’t had something like this for a long, long time,” Kenseth continued. “I have lost a lot of close ones at this track. It feels good to be able to close it out.”

    Kenseth’s win ended a 76-race drought dating back to his win on February 22, 2009 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. This was Kenseth’s 19th career win.

    Not Surprising:  From his 29th starting position, it was not surprising that Kevin Harvick just could not continue his consecutive win streak this weekend at Texas.  The driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet was entangled in a pit road problem early in the race from which he never recovered, finishing 20th.

    “Our first two pits stops pretty much ruined our day,” Harvick said. “The 00 and 20 wrecked in front of us trying to leave pit road, so we had to stop, back up and move around them.”

    Surprising: Speaking of those pit road incidents, it was surprising just how influential pit road problems were during this race. On the first stop with everyone in the pits, it looked more like bumper cars than the usually smoothly choreographed tire changes and refueling.

    Both David Reutimann and Joey Logano sustained damage on pit road due to collisions and Dave Blaney got his No. 36 Accell Construction Chevrolet completely turned in the wrong direction due to a spin into his pit stall.

    One of the costliest pit road problems, however, was the too fast entering speeding penalty that was assessed to Tony Stewart late in the race.

    “Sorry, I knew I did it,” Stewart told his crew after being advised of the penalty on lap 276 of the race. Prior to the penalty, Stewart had overcome a collision in the pits at lap 11 to lead twice in the race for a total of 12 laps.

    “You know, it took almost the whole race to crack the top-10, so to be in the position we were in there at the end, I guess is a good thing,” Stewart said. “But when you’re in that position and you can’t capitalize, it’s pretty frustrating. Speeding on pit road didn’t exactly help the cause either.”

    Not Surprising:  Just as in the Nationwide race, the race was relatively clean and green. The only major crash again involved Martin Truex, Jr., who for the second week in a row hit the wall hard. This time instead of Kasey Kahne buffering his hit as at Martinsville, Truex, Jr. took innocent bystanders Mark Martin and Regan Smith with him for a wild TMS ride.

    “I’m OK,” Mark Martin, driver of the No. GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, said. “I didn’t see the pile up in front of us. Just racing.”

    “Unfortunate deal for the NAPA Toyota,” Truex, Jr. said. “We were struggling but we were running our butts off.  Once you make mistakes and you get desperate, you just get yourself in trouble.  It sucks having this two weeks in a row.”

    Surprising: Texas Motor Speedway may just be the surprising turning point for young Roush Fenway driver David Ragan. After qualifying well and being in position to even win in several of the past races, Ragan, who started the Samsung Mobile 500 from the pole position, finally got a good finish.

    Ragan brought his No. 6 UPS Freight Ford to the checkered flag in the seventh position. His top-ten finish also moved him up to 17th in the point standings.

    Not Surprising:  Just as the Fords were strong all day at Texas Motor Speedway, claiming five of the ten finishing spots, Carl Edwards in his No. 99 Scotts Ford proved his ‘Iron Man’ status yet again.

    Edwards overcame stomach problems to finish in the third position and claim the points lead in the process. The driver blamed his physical ailments on a new rice and bean dish that his mother had cooked for him prior to the race.

    “I’m all hopped up on Pepto Bismol,” Edwards said in the media center after the race. “I hate to throw my mom under the bus but she cooked something last night that I don’t think was too good.”

    Surprising:  Behind the wheel of the No. 9 Stanley Ford, Marcos Ambrose had one of his best oval track efforts in his career, finishing sixth. This was the second top-ten finish on a mile and a half track this season for the Richard Petty Motorsports ace from down under.

    “I’m very proud of the Stanley boys for putting together this result,” Ambrose said. “We’re starting to really click on these intermediate ovals. It’s great to be running out in the front of the pack and it gives us a lot of confidence moving forward,”

    Not Surprising: Dale Jr. had yet another consistent run and finish. The driver of the No. 88 Amp Energy/National Guard Chevrolet gained the most positions in the race and finished in seventh.

    Most impressive is his continuing climb in the point standings, this time gaining another two positions to claim the sixth spot as a result of his top-ten finish. Junior is no doubt looking forward to next weekend’s race at Talladega Super Speedway, where he is not only wildly popular but also has outstanding plate racing skills.