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Previewing the NRA 500 at Texas Motor Speedway

NASCAR is getting ready for Race #7 on the schedule located at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Will things finally settle down this weekend? I think so considering it is a large track with lots of room to race but you don’t have to look any further than the 2013 Auto Club 400 if you want a shoot a gaping hole in that theory. It seems like this year anything can and will happen. We’ve had Danica Patrick on pole for the Daytona 500, Tony Stewart going after Joey Logano, crews pushing and shoving, Edwards back in victory lane, Dale Jr. leading the standings, the race leaders taking each other out for the win, Denny Hamlin refusing to pay a fine and now having to sit out a few races due to a compression fracture in his lower back! Yea, you could say it’s been a wild season so far and we are only six races in by the way.

The Gen-6 has proven it is a great car even after it raised a lot of concern following the rather lackluster Daytona 500 we had. It put on a great show at both Las Vegas and Fontana which were the targeted track layouts when designing this new car. They put a lot of emphasis on improving racing at intermediate tracks which I believe they have accomplished with flying colors. Not only did we have great finishes at both Vegas and Cali but we also set the record for most green flag passes at one while tying the record at the other.

The next challenge for the Generation 6 is the night race at Texas Motor Speedway which is a track that is notorious for having things get wild and out of control very quickly. That’s kind of following the theme for us in 2013 so I guess it’s a great time to be heading to TMS! You can expect record speeds posted at this already blistering fast track which will really jack up the intensity as we get ready for the first Saturday night race of the season. Things always seem to get a little crazier at these NASCAR races every time the lights get turned on.

It’s time to look at who the favorites are to take the win this weekend and which drivers should be worried about this race. Here are some stats that I’ll let you sink your teeth into before I give my opinion…

Texas Motor Speedway Track Facts

Track Size: 1.5-miles

Banking/Turns 1 & 2: 24 degrees

Banking/Turns 3 & 4: 24 degrees

Banking/Frontstretch: 5 degrees

Banking/Backstretch: 5 degrees

Frontstretch Length: 2,250 feet

Backstretch Length: 1,330 feet

Race Length: 334 laps / 500 miles

Top 10 Driver Ratings at Texas

(Compiled from TMS races from 2005-2012)

1.) Matt Kenseth———–106.6

2.) Jimmie Johnson——-103.5

3.) Greg Biffle—————103.4

4.) Tony Stewart———–101.4

5.) Kyle Busch————–98.7

6.) Carl Edwards———–98.3

7.) Denny Hamlin———93.3

8.) Dale Earnhardt Jr—–92.7

9.)Clint Bowyer———–92.5

10.)Jeff Gordon———–91.9

Most Top 5’s at Texas Among Active Drivers

1.) Matt Kenseth———12

2.) Jimmie Johnson—-9

3.) Mark Martin———8

4.) Jeff Gordon———-8

5.) Greg Biffle————-7

6.) Tony Stewart——–6

7.) Carl Edwards——–5

8.) Denny Hamlin——-5

9.) Kyle Busch————5

10.) Kasey Kahne——-4

Most Top 10’s at Texas Among Active Drivers

1.) Matt Kenseth———–15

2.) Jimmie Johnson——14

3.) Mark Martin———–13

4.) Dale Earnhardt Jr.—12

5.) Kurt Busch————-12

6.) Tony Stewart———12

7.) Jeff Gordon———–11

8.) Greg Biffle————-11

9.) Kevin Harvick——-10

10.) Jeff Burton———–9

Best Average Finishes Among Active Drivers

1.) Matt Kenseth————-8.3

2.) Jimmie Johnson ——–9.3

3.) Denny Hamlin———–10.9

4.) Kevin Harvick———–12.5

5.) Tony Stewart————12.7

6.) Clint Bowyer————12.8

7.) Dale Earnhardt Jr.—-13.6

8.) Mark Martin————13.9

9.) Kurt Busch————–14.1

10.) Kyle Busch————14.9

Most Laps Led Among Active Drivers

1.) Matt Kenseth————-772

2.) Greg Biffle—————-732

3.) Tony Stewart————727

4.) Jeff Gordon————–584

5.) Kyle Busch————–521

6.) Carl Edwards———–493

7.) Dale Earnhardt Jr.—-448

8.) Jimmie Johnson——443

9.) Kurt Busch————-235

10.) Kasey Kahne——–218

Victories at Texas Motor Speedway

– Jeff Burton won the first ever NSCS race at Texas back in 1997 beating pole sitter, Dale Jarrett by 4.067 seconds in a Ford 1-2 finish; Bobby Labonte was 3rd

– Carl Edwards holds the record for the most victories among active drivers with 3 (2005, 2008, 2008)

– Six active drivers have won at Texas a total of two times (Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Burton Denny Hamlin)

– Six active drivers have won at Texas once (Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman, Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton)

– Bobby Labonte, Joe Nemechek, Dave Blaney and Kevin Harvick are the only active drivers to run over 20 races at Texas but have yet to win a race there

– 11 of the 24 races at Texas Motor Speedway have been won by Ford drivers (Chevrolet has 8, Dodge 3 and Toyota 2)

– Twice has a race at Texas been won from the pole, 15 times from the top 5, 18 times from the top 10, twice from positions 11th-20th, and 4 times from 21st or worse

– 31st is the farthest back a winner has come from at Texas (Matt Kenseth in Spring, 2002)

Texas Motor Speedway Race & Caution Stats

– 8 is the average number of cautions at Texas Motor Speedway

– 2 is the least amount of cautions in TMS history (Spring, 2012) while 12 is the most (Spring, 2000; Fall, 2006; Fall, 2007)

– There has been a caution within the final 10 laps 5 times in the track’s 24 race history

– Three times the race has gone beyond its scheduled distance due to a Green-White-Checker

– In 24 NSCS races, Texas Motor Speedway has never had a shortened race

After looking all this over, you can see that Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth look like the favorites to win this race and if you don’t go with those two, you probably want to keep your pick in the Roush stable with the dominance and power Ford has shown here. This race doesn’t usually feature many cautions so that means teams won’t get many opportunities to adjust an ill handling race car so keep that in mind. You need a driver that can adapt to the changing track conditions and can carry the car when he needs to. 5-time and 2x Daytona 500 champion Matt Kenseth both fit that description very well.

Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle are both threats every time we show up to Texas so they would be good choices as well. Another driver to keep an eye on but doesn’t drive for the blue oval is Dale Earnhardt Jr. He scored his first ever NSCS win at Texas back in 2000 and has always been solid here. If you want to look at a driver that has never won at Texas but may be a good pick then Kyle Busch is your man. He has made the highlight reel at Texas A LOT in recent years but for all the wrong reasons. Taking out a title contender under caution, getting parked by NASCAR, flipping the bird at a NASCAR official and getting told to shut up by your crew chief while you were preaching your constitutional rights over the radio isn’t exactly what you want to be remembered for.

Ryan Newman, Joey Logano, Brian Vickers and Paul Menard are drivers that have struggled here in the past and you may want to stay away from. All of them have an average finish worse than 20th and although Ryan has won at Texas, that was 10 years ago. Since that victory, he has posted seven finishes of 20th or worse. Menard has one bright spot in his TMS career which was a 5th back in 2011 but besides that, he has ran mostly mid-pack. Joey has finished 19th or worse in seven of his nine Texas Motor Speedway starts but I would be careful here. Logano seems much stronger in 2013 and may actually run very well. He has contended for the win in two of his last three races which is an awesome accomplishment for him as he tries to prove he deserves respect from his fellow racers. He needs to start bringing this winning cars back home in one piece though. Vickers will be filling in for Denny Hamlin in the #11 car and like Logano, be careful just writing this guy off because of his history. He has changed and is running for a top tier team now. Brian’s finishes at Texas have been far less than spectacular posting results around 20th or 25th most of the time with the occasional bright spot and a pole but that’s it.

With the Gen-6 making its night race debut and how wild the 2013 season has been, it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see Logano or Vickers pulling into victory lane this weekend. I expect this race to be a very interesting with a lot of passing, blistering speeds and not much wrecking until we get late into the event. You will probably see a bunch of comers and goers as well. I think Jimmie Johnson will continue to show some muscle but win #3 of the year won’t come this weekend. I see one of the Roush or Gibbs drivers taking the victory Saturday night and more specifically Matt Kenseth or Carl Edwards. I hope you enjoyed and feel free to post any comments you have below!

April 11, 2013
Surprising and Not Surprising: Martinsville STP Gas Booster 500

Refreshed from an off-weekend and ready to go short track racing, here is what was surprising and not surprising when the Cup drivers returned to racing in the STP Gas Booster 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

Surprising: With all the talk of paybacks from feuding drivers, it was surprising just how uneventful the last restart and final laps of the race were, especially since the trio competing at the end included Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer, all of whom have history together.

In fact, at last year’s Martinsville race, the three drivers tangled in the final laps, with Bowyer on new tires and the Hendrick teammates on old tires, sending them all spinning and handing the race win to Ryan Newman.

Gordon and Bowyer also have history and unsettled scores from last season that even carried over through the end-of-year banquet in Las Vegas. Yet, in spite of a few nudges here and there, they raced each other cleanly and respectfully, which was more than surprising given the rhetoric and hostility between the two.

“Well, we just didn’t need those cautions there at the end,” Gordon, who finished third in the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, said. “We just needed more laps there at the end.”

“Well, last year I had the upper hand with tires and it just didn’t work out,” Bowyer, driver of the No. 15 RK Motors Toyota and race runner up, said. “It’s just disappointing.”

“Just wish I’d had that clock.”

Not Surprising: With Jimmie Johnson’s stats at Martinsville, including multiple wins and the best driver rating of 122.3, it was not surprising at all to see him in Victory Lane, collecting his eighth grandfather’s clock.

And while Johnson winning at Martinsville was not surprising in the least, the depth of bittersweet emotion in victory lane was also not surprising, given the history of loss for team owner Rick Hendrick and his family at that rack.

With caps turned backwards in memory of Ricky Hendrick and the other members of the HMS team lost in the plane crash at Martinsville nine years ago, Rick Hendrick shared that the track holds so many mixed emotions for him, including the joy of winning and the agony of loss.

Yet in spite of the bittersweet memories, Hendrick was also incredibly proud of the accomplishment of winning 20 races at that track, the most of any organization in the sport.

“I was looking at that scoreboard over there, the first time I ever came to a Cup race was here with my dad,” Hendrick said. “We’ve been fortunate to have some great drivers and this track has been awful good to us.

Surprising: While it was surprising enough that Danica Patrick, behind the wheel of the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, finished 12^th, it was even more surprising that she beat out her Stewart Haas Racing teammates Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman, who finished 17^th and 31^st respectively.

This was Patrick’s first time at Martinsville Speedway in a Cup car and, in spite of an early spin, she rallied back to the checkered flag as the highest finishing rookie in the race.

“Yeah, well never being at Martinsville, I didn’t know what to expect,” Patrick said. “I felt like I made a lot of passes.”

“I’m most proud about coming back from two laps down and being on the lead lap,” Patrick continued. “Then grabbing a 12^th place finish in the end was good.”

Not Surprising: One of the biggest complaints after Martinsville was, not surprisingly, the lack of a second groove in the track and how much track position was lost because of it.

Although finishing top-ten, Marcos Ambrose, driver of the No. 9 Stanley Ford, had quite a bit to say about the battle for the preferred inside line.

“You had to fight like a dog to try to get to the inside,” Ambrose said. “If you got hung out there, there’s just nothing you could do – you’re just along for the ride.”

Surprising: With all the attention on and rhetoric about Joey Logano, it was a bit surprising that he was pretty much a non-factor at Martinsville.

In fact, going into the short track race weekend, Logano said that he would not seek conflict but he also vowed not to lay down for anyone.

“There’s a fine line of how you’re going to earn that respect,” Logano said. “I’m not a guy that’s going to look for trouble, but I’m also the guy that’s not going to get walked on.”

Logano experience neither being in trouble or getting walked on at Martinsville, finishing 23^rd in his No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford. And with that non-stellar finish, he fell two spots in the point standings to 11^th.

Not Surprising: Any racer out of the car would find it difficult being at the track. So, it was not surprising just how tough Denny Hamlin took sitting out and watching another driver behind the wheel of his race machine.

“The start of the race was nothing like I thought it was,” Hamlin said. “The start of the race absolutely killed me.”

“That was very, very tough to watch,” Hamlin continued. “I didn’t’ realize the physical toll that coming out here was going to take on me.”

Surprising: With Roush Fenway Racing traditionally struggling at Martinsville, it was surprising to see one of their drivers finish top ten. Greg Biffle, behind the wheel of the No. 16 3M Ford, brought his car to the checkered flag in the ninth position.

“It was a hard fought day,” Biffle said. “Our car was way too tight and I had to keep working on it.”

“There was no outside groove whatsoever and everyone really wanted the bottom,” Biffle continued. “But we still finished in the top-10 so I’m pretty happy about that.”

Not Surprising: There were several bounce back finishes amongst drivers who struggled and then came back strong at the finish of the race. One of the most notable was Brad Keselowski, who overcame a questionable pit road penalty to finish sixth in his Blue Deuce.

“That was a hard-fought finish,” Keselowski said. “We wanted to be able to win here and just haven’t been strong enough to do it.”

“But I’m proud of where we are right here today.”

Another amazing performance was given by Iron Man Mark Martin, who was involved in a multi-car crash on lap 180 and then rallied to finish tenth. To boot, this stellar finish was in an unfamiliar car in which he was subbing for the injured Denny Hamlin.

Yet not surprisingly, Martin once again downplayed his accomplishment.

“It wasn’t that great of a result; we were capable of a little bit better,” Martin said in his usual humble style. “I did not fill Denny Hamlin’s shoes, I can tell you that much.”

“He is the master.”

Surprising: Another pleasant surprise for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing was the good finish for once of one of its drivers. Jamie McMurray, behind the wheel of the No. 1 Novo Nordisk Chevrolet for EGR, finished seventh.

“We had a really good car,” McMurray said. “Made a good pit call at the end and got a couple of extra spots.”

“That was a really good day for us.”

Not Surprising: Although working with a relatively new team in Furniture Row Racing, it was not surprising that veteran driver Kurt Busch had the presence of mind to not only angle the car before hitting the wall after his brakes failed, but also had the wherewithal to utilize his fire suppression system when his car went up in flames.

“Something let go in the brakes,” Busch said. “I had to turn the car to the right otherwise I was going to hit harder than what we did.”

“It was a bummer day.”

Unfortunately, that bummer day resulted in Busch falling from 13^th to 19^th in the driver point standings. The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Serta Chevrolet, along with all of his Cup competitors, will have a chance at redemption as the elite series heads into Texas Motor Speedway.

April 9, 2013
Tony Stewart Fared Better at Local Short Tracks than in Martinsville Cup Race

There is no doubt that Tony Stewart, three-time NASCAR champion, is a fierce competitor. This past weekend, however, Stewart was more successful on the local short track circuit, including Williams Grove and Selinsgrove Speedway, than he was in the Cup race at Martinsville.

On Friday night, Smoke showed up to race at Williams Grove Speedway in Pennsylvania. Taking his spot in a sprint car, he was quick in hot laps and started eighth in the heat race.

Stewart picked his way through the field to finish second behind Brent Marks in the heat event. His finish gave him the opportunity to draw for his start position in the feature.

Smoke went on to run in the top five for most of the 25-lap main event and was as high as third at the halfway mark. He was then passed by Don Kreitz, Jr. to finish fourth.

With his appetite whetted for the Pennsylvania short tracks, Stewart jumped back to the sprint car track from Martinsville to compete on Saturday at Selinsgrove Speedway in the Empire Super Sprint/Mach 1 Chassis 358-360 sprint car challenge race.

“My pilots get a lot of third-shift flights,” Stewart said of his travel between race tracks. “But it makes it all worthwhile when I can come to a cool place like this.”

“It’s obviously one of the most famous tracks in Pennsylvania.”

This was Stewart’s first completed race at Selinsgrove, where racers like Jan Opperman cut their teeth and honed their racing prowess. The last Selinsgrove race in which Smoke competed was called due to rain.

And just like the other racing legends back in the day, Smoke strutted his stuff, setting a new track record in qualifying, with a fast lap of 17.168 seconds.

Unfortunately, Stewart’s luck did not hold out when it came to drawing for his starting position. He drew eighth in the feature event.

“I was nervous when we drew an eight for the feature,” Stewart said prior to the race. “Knowing that Pat Cannon and Mark Smith are up there, those are the guys you’re going to have to watch out for and have to beat.”

Smoke had no reason to be nervous, however, as once the green flag dropped, he drove to the front of the field, winning his first sprint race of the year. The victory was especially sweet since Stewart’s race got rained out last year.

“It’s an honor to run here,” Smoke said in Victory Lane. “I’m glad we got back here tonight.”

“The track got so wide and racy,” Stewart continued. “It’s fun when you can go to a track and have a lot of room to race from top to bottom.”

Although Stewart shared that he would take the momentum of the Selinsgrove win with him to Martinsville, that was not meant to be. Smoke started deep in the field in the Cup race in 26^th and finished not much higher in 17^th.

Although Stewart’s No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet did improve by the mid-point of the race, he suffered from restarting in the outside lane on lap 473 and was stuck there for many of the final laps.

“We were treed in that outside lane,” Stewart said. “We worked hard on this Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevy all weekend.”

“It wasn’t perfect,” Smoke continued. “But we made steady progress with it.”

“To have it kind of fall away like that at the end is pretty disappointing.”

While Stewart may have enjoyed his Pennsylvania short track experiences better than his Cup run, he certainly must have enjoyed seeing his teammate and protégé Danica Patrick outshine him. Danica finished 12^th and scored her best Sprint Cup result since finishing eighth in the Daytona 500.

“It was a nice day for us,” Patrick said. “We’ve had quite a few bad ones since Daytona.”

“So, we’ll take this and get rolling into the summer because we don’t have a break until July.”

Unfortunately, Smoke’s other teammate Ryan Newman had an even more miserable day than his team owner. Newman had several flat right-front tires which resulted in a 31^st place finish, eight laps down.

“That wasn’t the finish we deserved today,” Newman said. “We had a right-front tire go down late in the going and that obviously put us behind.”

“NASCAR penalized us for intentionally bringing out the caution so they held us for three laps,” Newman continued. “We lost another right front not long after that and our day was pretty much done from there.”

Team owner, Sprint Cup and sprint car racer Tony Stewart can, however, claim one bright spot. He leads both Newman and Patrick in the point standings, currently 22nd, 96 points behind new point’s leader Jimmie Johnson.

Stewart is scheduled next to compete in the Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. But one never knows at which sprint car track he will appear next.

April 9, 2013
Greg Biffle ‘Very Proud of the Year’

Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Ford for Roush Fenway Racing, was not just relieved when his NASCAR year-end banquet speech as the fifth place finishing driver was over. He was also “very proud of what we did this year.”

Biffle and his team scored two wins in the season, with 12 top-five finishes and 21 top-ten finishes. He led the point standings, made the Chase, and had an average finish for the year of 10.2.

“I was nervous at the beginning of this year because this was really a brand new team,” Biffle said. “It takes a while to get your legs under you.”

“Out of seventeen guys, only three of them were same from the year previous,” Biffle continued. “And they were all hand-picked by Matt Puccia (crew chief).”

“I figured we were going to have our challenges ahead of us,” Biffle said. “So to come out of the gate like we did and lead the points all the way through when the Chase started was amazing for me.”

“I was really excited about that.”

After a bit of a victory drought, Biffle scored his first win of the 2012 season at Texas Motor Speedway in the spring race, the Samsung Mobile 500. He went on to visit Victory Lane a second time in the Michigan 400 in late summer.

“It was such a relief,” Biffle said of his Texas win. “And I was so excited.”

“When you win there is so much emotion,” Biffle continued. “So much goes through you.”

“I was more excited for the team and Matt Puccia for his first Cup win,” Biffle said. “And it was the first Cup win for more than half the guys on my team.”

“I’ve won 17 or 18 times or however many,” Biffle continued. “It’s special to me each time you get there, but it’s neat every time to take people to Victory lane.”

“And it was kind of a dry spell for me,” Biffle said. “So, it was nice to get back in there to Victory Lane.”

Biffle, like most of the top-ten drivers, was honored to have finished fifth in the final point standings. But he was dreading his banquet speech, stating he just had to rely on the teleprompter to get through it.

“I’ve got too much ADD so I had to use a teleprompter,” Biffle said. “I’ll talk about one thing and forget about what’s next.”

“I’ve thought about trying to do bullet points on the teleprompter like ‘team’, ‘Jack Roush’, ‘thank the sponsors’, and ‘NASCAR’,” Biffle continued. “It just doesn’t work for me because I get rambling on and can’t transition to the next thing very well.”

“I’m better off just to write a short and simple speech,” Biffle said. “I have to write the speech because I have to put it in my words, the way I say it, instead of trying to read something that’s unnatural.”

“Then I do better with it.”

In addition to the NASCAR festivities, Biffle also enjoyed his time in Vegas by bonding with some of his team over drinks and a little gambling.

“I’ve had a lot of fun gambling and playing craps with some of the guys,” Biffle said. “Just enjoying the city, going out and enjoying a few drinks has been fun.”

“Normally, when I’m racing, Monday I might have a beer or two sometimes,” Biffle continued. “But it’s nice to come here and enjoy the city and not have to get into the race car the next day.”

While many of the drivers who have been trying their hands at the Vegas tables have lost some significant dollars, Biffle stated that he has been holding his own in the casino.

“I’m about even, which means I won because I’m having a lot of fun and I’m doing it for free right now,” Biffle said. “I don’t have a lot of money to lose and I work very hard but I’m going to have a little fun.”

“It’s like going to the amusement park and you’ve got to pay for it, but with this, you have the opportunity to win a little.”

Of the new champion, Biffle admitted that he really did not know Brad Keselowski all that well. But he also admitted to feeling a certain kinship with the new young champion.

“Brad’s been pretty busy,” Biffle said. “I’m looking forward to getting to know him a little bit better.”

“We’ve done a few things or talked about doing a few things away from the track.”

“I see a lot of myself in Brad,” Biffle said. “Brad wasn’t given anything.”

“He didn’t have anyone paying the bills all the way for him,” Biffle continued. “He worked hard.”

“I remember him at the race track when he was 14 or 15 years old helping his dad when his dad was running the Truck Series,” Biffle said. “So then Brad raced the Truck Series and Nationwide and got an opportunity to step into the 2 car.”

“They weren’t fast right away but with time and hard work, they’ve gotten up on the stage,” Biffle continued. “That’s a credit to how hard he’s worked.’

Just like the new champion, Biffle also intends to work hard in the 2013 season. And next year, he hopes to have an even more consistent season, especially with the new race car.

“I want to be in the new Fusion every day,” Biffle said. “But there again, testing is limited.”

“NASCAR is going to do a few tests at Charlotte,” Biffle continued. “But I don’t think we’ll get a lot of tests before we get going.”

“Last year, we just weren’t as prepared and weren’t as ready,” Biffle said. “We went from a good group of tracks for us to something a little different and that’s what really caught us off guard.”

“What I think we learned is that we won’t make that mistake in 2013, especially if we’re lucky enough to make the Chase next year.”

December 3, 2012
Cole Whitt Ready For Some NASCAR Bashing

[media-credit name=”JR Motorsports/Spin Master” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]JR Motorsports young gun Cole Whitt is all set to do some NASCAR bashing at his upcoming Nationwide race at Texas Motor Speedway.

In fact, the up and coming young gun will be behind the wheel of the No. 88 NASCAR Bashers car, promoting a new race car toy made by Spin Master that wrecks, transforms and then is reassembled to do it all over again.

“It is an awesome opportunity for me and JR Motorsports to be teamed up with NASCAR Bashers for Texas,” Whitt said. “We already had the Atlanta race with them and ran really well.”

“That’s always fun when you run good with your sponsor.”

While Whitt may be pleased to run well with NASCAR Bashers on the hood, he is most excited about the toy itself. And being a ‘big kid’, he has already had the opportunity to play.

“It’s a really cool toy,” Whitt said of the NASCAR Basher, which is styled like an actual NASCAR race car that actually transforms after wrecking. “I went to an autograph signing at Walmart and they had them on the table, so I got to play with them.”

“They kept me entertained.”

Whitt acknowledged that the coolest part of the NASCAR Bashers is that there are not only countless ways to wreck them, but, just like his own NASCAR pit crew does for him, the cars can be rebuilt and readied to race once again.

“I think what’s cool about it is the kids can beat and bang on them,” Whitt said. “That’s part of our sport and that makes it exciting and why people watch.”

“Our cars are always on edge and when we crash, we may be out of the race,” Whitt continued. “But with NASCAR Bashers, the kids can play with them and crash them and they just break apart.”

“But then they can snap them all back together and keep playing with them,” Whitt said. “I wish our race cars were that easy to put back together.”

“That’s what makes it exciting for the kids.”

Whitt admitted that he wished that he had toys like NASCAR Bashers, instead of having to do his own crash improvisations.

“I didn’t get to have anything as cool as NASCAR Bashers when I was a kid,” Whitt said. “I had to take a hammer to my race cars and I’d just beat them up and make them look like they were all crashed up.”

“My cars were done after that though,” Whitt continued. “At least with NASCAR Bashers you can put them back together and keep playing.”

There was one other feature of NASCAR Bashers that really appealed to Whitt. And that was the important ability to attract a younger audience to the sport.

“What’s cool about NASCAR Bashers is that they are for younger fans and that’s who NASCAR wants to bring into the sport,” Whitt said. “This starts a family tradition and that’s part of JR Motosports being a family tradition.”

“It’s pretty exciting for us to get kids excited about the sport.”

“I’m just an average kid that came up through the sport and JR Motorsports gave me this awesome opportunity,” Whitt said. “NASCAR’s really always focused on trying to find that next generation of fans and we finally have some young kids coming up in the sport and kids can relate.”

“That’s what the Nationwide Series is all about with young kids trying to make a name for themselves and trying to win races with the bigger names.”

NASCAR Basher’s maker, Spin Master, could not agree more with their young driver.

“Spin Master wants to engage young fans with great products and unique means to reach them,” Craig Drobis, Marketing Director for Spin Master, said. “The NASCAR Bashers product and partnering with a young rising star like Cole does that.”

At the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge in Texas, Whitt will not only run the NASCAR Bashers car but will also show off the new toys on his hero card and at autograph signings throughout the race weekend. And Whitt will have a special honor, that of serving as ESPN’s in-race reporter.

As pleased as Whitt is about driving the NASCAR Bashers car, he is also thrilled to finish off the season on a high note from a performance perspective, especially after a bit of an up and down year.

“This year’s been a little bit of a roller coaster,” Whitt said. “You’ve got to race and learn by your mistakes.”

“So far, it’s been a good year and we’re starting to really hit our stride and run consistently lately,” Whitt continued. “There were a lot of changes throughout the season with JR Motorsports, all in the direction of making the team better.”

“And I think we really have been improving.”

Even with NASCAR Bashers on the hood at Texas and a strong run in the final races, Whitt is still unsure, however, of his future in the new year. He is hoping that he remains a part of JR Motorsports, especially with the recent signing of Regan Smith to the team.

“So far, I’m not exactly sure what 2013 holds for me but we’re looking at it as we’re going into 2013 with JR Motorsports and we’re hoping to find a little more funding,” Whitt said. “We want to go for that championship.”

“Hopefully our deal comes together and I find a little more sponsorship because I think we could really give it a run for the money,” Whitt said. “Plus Regan would be a great teammate I could learn from.”

“I just hope we get that opportunity.”

But until that time, Whitt will simply focus instead on doing some NASCAR bashing at Texas Motor Speedway.

“I just think NASCAR Bashers are plain awesome,” Whitt said. “I always crashed my cars when I was a kid.”

“So being able to put them back together is really, really awesome.”

NASCAR Bashers are available at Walmart, Target, ToysRus, NASCAR.com and at official NASCAR Trackside Merchandise trailers at track. They are designed for children ages 5 and up and are reasonably priced at $9.99 for the NASCAR Basher race car, with additional accessories available.

October 27, 2012
Michael Annett Is Flying High Yet Under the Radar

[media-credit name=”Photo Credit: Phil Cavali” align=”alignright” width=”172″][/media-credit]At Texas Motor Speedway, Michael Annett scored his second top-10 and fifth top-15 finish in just six races with his new team, Richard Petty Motorsports. And with that good run, he officially moved up two spots to fifth in the Nationwide Series point standings.

Yet, as high as the young driver of the No. 43 Pilot Flying J Ford Mustang is flying early in the season, he still is very much under the radar in a series dominated by the likes of veteran Elliott Sadler, reigning champ Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., up and comer Austin Dillon, and Danica Patrick.

“To me, that’s how I’ve lived my whole life,” Annett said. “Even when I played hockey growing up, I never did anything outlandish.”

“I was just the guy that got the job done,” Annett continued. “That’s pretty much my M.O. and how it’s been for me in my racing career.”

Although flying under the radar so far this season, the new Richard Petty Motorsports driver has had some impressive initial success, especially with his recent run at Texas. Annett finished ninth, rebounding from running into a lapped car and taking advantage of the lights going out at the speedway.

“We probably could have won the race if I hadn’t run into a lapped car,” Annett said. “But I loved it when the lights went out because we were overheating and getting ready to pit.”

“So, I liked that the lights brought out the caution,” Annett continued. “The whole night was about overcoming adversity, so to come out ninth and to see the guys faces with a top ten finish, it was cool.”

Annett also contributes his early success at Richard Petty Motorsports with the team’s affiliation with Roush Fenway Racing, particularly in light of their driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. winning last year’s Nationwide championship.

“I think the success started with what Roush Fenway built last year with the championship and the relationship we have with them,” Annett said. “That partnership is huge.”

“At Texas, we unloaded and we were close but we were still missing a little bit,” Annett continued. “To be able to go and talk to the No. 6 team and use some things they found, it’s just a huge advantage to us.”

In spite of early success at Richard Petty Motorsports, the reality for Annett was that he had to make a difficult transition rather abruptly when his former team, Rusty Wallace Racing, shut down at the end of last year due to lack of sponsorship.

“It was definitely tough, very unfortunate and a testament to the economic times,” Annett said of the demise of his former team. “They couldn’t find a sponsor for Steven (Wallace) with 5-Hour Energy leaving.”

“Rusty said he didn’t want to do it out of his pocket,” Annett continued. “So, the month before Daytona, they announced they were shutting down and we had to go find a place to race.”

Fortunately for Annett his long-time sponsor, Pilot Flying J, stuck with him and gave him the opportunity to seek out another team. He was especially pleased when Richard Petty Motorsports ended up being one of the teams interested in him.

“I’m definitely blessed to have Pilot as a partner that I’ve had since I’ve started racing,” Annett said. “That enabled me to go to other teams and when I went to Richard Petty Motorsports, it just felt right.”

“It felt like a family, listening to Richard (Petty),” Annett continued. “He and I saw eye to eye on everything and it felt right.”

Annett said it hit him how fortunate he was to be with Richard Petty Motorsports when he and the team went out for their first race together at Daytona in the Drive4COPD 300.

“It’s funny,” Annett said. “It didn’t hit home to me until Daytona when Richard (Petty) was standing on one side and Dale Inman on the other side, both giving me pointers before I got into the car.”

“And all I could think was ‘this is crazy,’ Annett said. “I’ve ridden on the plane with Richard and talked to him and the best way to put it is that I’m blessed. It’s pretty cool.”

The other ‘cool’ discovery for this low-key driver was his new crew chief at Richard Petty Motorsports, Philippe Lopez.

“I had no idea about Philippe Lopez before this season started,” Annett said. “His name got brought up and I didn’t know a thing about him.”

“When I asked around, there is always somebody who doesn’t like somebody, but not one person had anything bad to say about Philippe,” Annett continued. “That’s pretty cool.”

“From Daytona to now, there hasn’t been one mechanical problem and his confidence on the radio is huge,” Annett said. “It’s been a really good relationship.”

After his strong run at Texas with his new crew chief and team, Annett will have another off-weekend before heading to Richmond International Raceway next weekend for the NASCAR Nationwide Series 250.

“Richmond is one of those tracks that I’ve struggled at,” Annett said. “But each time, we go back, I get better.”

“I think I finished 11^th or 12^th last time so if I crack the top-10, I know that we’ll have had a good race,” Annett continued. “At Richmond, if you get the right car, you can come out of there with a top-5 or a win.”

Yet even with his impressive start to the season and in spite of having total upheaval in his team, the young driver is not one often mentioned in the Nationwide Series discourse.

“I don’t mind it, but I worry more about the guys on the team because I want them to get the credit they deserve,” Annett said. “I was hoping that at Daytona when Dale Jarrett started talking about me that would be the start of things.”

“But I’ve fallen back into my old ways of just getting my job done, under the radar,” Annett continued. “But where we finish and the results will show themselves.”

“And if they want to talk about us, they will,” Annett said. “My guys still know I’m driving my butt off for them and they’re doing the same back to me.”

April 19, 2012
Surprising and Not Surprising: Texas Samsung Mobile 500

[media-credit name=”Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”254″][/media-credit]Deep in the heart of Texas Motor Speedway, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 16^th running of the Samsung Mobile 500.

Surprising: In spite of Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tool Chevrolet, leading over 150 laps, it was surprising that his team owner will have to wait yet another race to secure the 200^th win for Hendrick Motorsports.

Johnson, who finished second, was the highest ranking HMS driver for the night. This was Johnson’s 13^th top-10 finish in 18 races at Texas and his fifth top-10 finish for the year.

“I’m definitely disappointed, but we had a great race car and there’s a lot to be proud of here today,” Johnson said. “Certainly wish we were there in Victory Lane but everybody knows we’re here.”

“We’re awfully close to it with this KOBALT Tools Chevrolet.”

Although still at the 199 win mark, all of the Hendrick drivers had surprisingly good nights, even Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne, who finished fourth and seventh respectively. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., the final HMS pilot, finished tenth.

This was the first time since the 2011 spring race at Talladega that Hendrick Motorsports had all four of its cars in the top-10 at the finish.

Not Surprising: At a track where Roush Fenway Racing traditionally dominates, it was not surprising to see one Roushketeer, Greg Biffle, in the winner’s circle with his cowboy hat and guns. This was Biff’s first win of the 2012 season and ended a 49 race winless streak.

The win was the company’s ninth win at Texas, the most of any other racing entity.

“I just dug deep,” Biffle said about his hard fought win. “I knew I had to do it and I kept trying and trying and trying.”

“I knew the team would forgive me if I wrecked it trying to beat him,” Biffle continued. “So, I just gave it all I had.”

Surprising: It was surprising that the fire was extinguished and there was no smoke at Texas this weekend. Tony Stewart, reigning past champion, finished 24^th, two laps down.

“We just couldn’t get the handle on this thing tonight,” Stewart said. “We chased it all night.”

“We’ll go back to the shop, tear it apart, and see what the deal is.”

Surprisingly, his teammate Ryan Newman was right there with him, finishing a bit better at 21^st, yet also two laps down.

“Things didn’t go our way today,” the driver of the No. 39 US Army Chevrolet said. “But we’ll be back stronger next week to complete the mission, which is winning the race.”

Not Surprising: Martin Truex, Jr., to no one’s surprise, continued tearing up the track for Michael Waltrip Racing. The driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota started from the pole position and finished top ten, in sixth place to be exact.

Truex, Jr. has finished top-10 in nine of the last twelve races.

“It was a lot of fun out there running up front with the NAPA Toyota,” Truex, Jr. said. “I can’t say enough about everybody on this NAPA team and everybody at MWR.”

“Hopefully we can keep this thing going.”

His MWR teammate Mark Martin also had a great run at Texas, a track where he was rated 12^th in the driver rankings. Martin, behind the wheel of the No. 55 Aaron’s 2000 Best of the Best Toyota, finished third.

This was Martin’s 13^th top-10 finish in 23 races at Texas Motor Speedway.

“Mark Martin is so enthusiastic,” team owner Michael Waltrip said. “He has pumped all of the drivers up.”

“We are very happy with our team’s performance.”

Surprising: It was most surprising that at a race where there are on average eight to nine restarts, there were only two caution flags thrown, one for debris and one for Trevor Bayne’s encounter with the wall.

The yellow flag flew just twice within the first 100 laps of the race, leaving the rest of the race to be run under green flag conditions. This was the first time in history that a superspeedway race had that many green flag laps without a caution.

Not Surprising: Unfortunately but not surprisingly, there was no Bubba Watson moment for Denny Hamlin at Texas, a track at which he traditionally runs well. The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Office/March of Dimes Toyota had a decent day, finishing 12^th,but was the last car on the lead lap at race end.

Surprising: At a track where he sat out last year’s fall race because of the Truck race incident with Ron Hornaday and where this year he had an issue in the pits with his air hose getting stuck under the car, Kyle Busch had a surprising good day after all.

The driver brought his No. 18 Toyota Interstate Batteries Toyota to the checkered flag in the 11^th spot.

Not Surprising: Since Chassis No. 665 scored a good finish for Landon Cassill at Michigan last year, it was not surprising that new driver Kurt Busch gave it a whirl for a good run at Texas. The driver of the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet finished 13^th.

“It was a good night and finish for us,” Busch said. “We had little struggles but were able to overcome those.”

“This was a good night and a nice top-15 finish for us.”

Surprising: The struggles of the Penske Dodge teams surprisingly continued and both drivers ended up just plain frustrated.

AJ Allmendinger, in the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge, finished 15^th but his teammate Brad Keselowski, behind the wheel of the Blue Deuce, had all kinds of problems that sent him off to the garage, finishing in the frustratingly low position of 36^th spot.

“The race tonight was frustrating,” Dinger said. “We had a fast Shell/Pennzoil Dodge and we just didn’t make it happen tonight.”

“This has been a very frustrating weekend to say the least,” Keselowski said. “We just need to clean some things up so that the potential of this team can shine.”

“Right now, we aren’t doing that.”

Not Surprising: As predicted, especially given the wicked weather in the area, the wind most certainly did wreak havoc throughout the race. And while it affected most drivers equally, there were still some drivers that felt the high wind added to the frustrations of their day.

“Between the wind, the changing race track and the handling, it was a long night for the Target team,” Juan Pablo Montoya said. “We didn’t have much of a chance to work on the car like we had hoped to.”

JPM finished 16^th in his No. 42 Target Chevrolet, one lap down at race end.

April 15, 2012
Greg Biffle Snaps Winless Streak at Texas Motor Speedway
[media-credit name=”Nigel Kinrade/Autostock” align=”alignright” width=”301″][/media-credit]So far this year Greg Biffle had done everything right, except win. That all changed on Saturday night as he led 90 laps on his way to winning the Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

“I’ll tell you what, I could say it’s about time, but hard work pays off still today, and that’s what this is about,” Biffle says. “The team and Matt Puccia putting together the guys he has, the engine shop, how hard they’ve worked on the fuel injection and the engines and all that.  I am just thankful to get the opportunity to drive these cars as fast as they are.  We knew it was a matter of time we were going to win one of these things.  We’ve been running so good.  We had great pit stops, we’ve had good cars.  Vegas we were off a little bit, and that ate at us a little bit because that’s a good track for us.  So we came here and really focused on our car to get it driving the best we could.”

The 17^th win of his career allowed Biffle to end a 49-race winless streak that dated back to October 3, 2010 when he won at Kansas Speedway.

With 30 laps to go, Biffle was able to catch Jimmie Johnson in traffic and pass him for the lead.

“I’ll tell you what, catching the 48 car at the end, I had to dig deep,” Biffle comments. “It was all I had to be able to get to him, and it seemed like when I got to him it was too easy.  I don’t know if he used up his tires or the traffic — he had trouble, I think a little bit of trouble in traffic.  That’s when I could close in on him.  But over all it was a good night for us.”

Johnson would come home to finish second despite getting into the wall with 15 to go for his fifth top five of 2012 after leading 156 laps.

“I wish we could have won,” Johnson says. “We were in contention, had a great race car.  Pit stops were just amazing all night long.  Car was great.  You know, at the end the 16 — really probably the last two or three runs the 16 and I were pretty equal, run pretty similar lap times, and right before the last pit stop I got caught in some traffic, he got to me and came out of the pits and was pacing him and had a second half lead and then we caught traffic, some guys were multiple laps down that didn’t show much respect to myself, the leader, and before I know it 16 was there on the side of me and got by.”

Mark Martin would finish third to continue the hot streak that Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) has been on early this season.

“I am just so proud of MWR and all the people there and the teamwork that they have shown there starting with Martin Truex, Jr., who has put so much work into getting the program where it was when we started the season and everybody combined,” he says. “They really have a lot of great people there with great attitude, great teamwork, and man, have I got one awesome crew chief in Rodney Childers.  This is so much fun and such an incredible privilege to drive a race car at this point in my career, to be able to drive a race car for a team like that and in a hot rod like that.

“I could see the leader the whole race, and at times we could gain — when we were at our very best we were making some gains on the leaders, and when we were at our worst we were falling back some, and most of the time we could kind of maintain pace.  We don’t have much more work to do, and we can get up there and be battling for the win.  So I’m really proud of the guys.  We’ve made improvements on our racer every race that we’ve got to run together, so Rodney and I are starting to figure some things out in the car that I like for the long haul.  So it’s working well.”

Jeff Gordon would finish fourth followed by Matt Kenseth in fifth. Pole sitter Martin Truex Jr. finished sixth, followed by Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The race was the quickest in Texas Motor Speedway history with an average speed of 160.577 and had the fewest cautions ever with two for 10 laps. The first was for Trevor Bayne getting into the wall, while the second was for debris.

Following the win, Biffle leads Kenseth and Earnhardt Jr. by 19 points in the Sprint Cup Series Points Standings heading into Kansas Speedway.

Full Rundown:
1. Greg Biffle
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Mark Martin
4. Jeff Gordon
5. Matt Kenseth
6. Martin Truex Jr.
7. Kasey Kahne
8. Carl Edwards
9. Kevin Harvick
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
11. Kyle Busch
12. Denny Hamlin
13. Kurt Busch
14. Jamie McMurray
15. AJ Allmendinger
16. Juan Pablo Montoya
17. Clint Bowyer
18. Paul Menard
19. Joey Logano
20. Marcos Ambrose
21. Ryan Newman
22. Aric Almirola
23. Regan Smith
24. Tony Stewart
25. Casey Mears
26. David Reutimann
27. Bobby Labonte
28. Trevor Bayne
29. Jeff Burton
30. Landon Cassill
31. David Gilliland
32. Reed Sorenson
33. JJ Yeley
34. Tony Raines
35. David Ragan
36. Brad Keselowski
37. Dave Blaney
38. Travis Kvapil
39. Josh Wise
40. Mike Bliss
41. Michael McDowell
42. Scott Riggs
43. Scott Speed
April 15, 2012
Lap by Lap: Samsung Mobile 500 won by Greg Biffle

[media-credit name=”Tom Pennington/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]In the quickest race in Texas Motor Speedway history, Greg Biffle passed Jimmie Johnson with 30 laps to go and never looked back, snapping a 49-race winless streak.

Green Flag

Lap 1: Martin Truex Jr. leads the first lap

Lap 10: Truex leads Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne, Marco Ambrose, Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin, Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard, Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman.

Lap 14 Amborse, Kenseth and Martin pass Kahne; Denny Hamlin passes Newman

Lap 27 Truex leads Biffle, Kenseth, Ambrose, Martin, Johnson, McMurray, Kevin Harvick, Menard, Carl Edwards

Lap 36 Biffle leads Truex, Kenseth, Ambrose, Martin, Harvick, Johnson, Edwards, Keselowski, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 37 Kenseth passes Truex for second

Lap 39 Harvick passes Martin for fifth

Lap 41 Harvick passes Ambrose for fourth

Lap 45 to 48 the leaders pit

Lap 49 Biffle now leads

Lap 52 Biffle leads Harvick, Truex, Kenseth, Martin, Ambrose, Keselowski, Johnson, Edwards, McMurray

Lap 64 Biffle leads Harvick, Truex, Kenseth, Martin, Ambrose, Johnson, Keselowski, McMurray and Edwards

Caution Lap 67 Debris…….The leaders go down pit road…….Truex leads Biffle, Martin, Johnson, Ambrose, Edwards, Keselowski, Harvick, Earnhardt Jr., McMurray, Kyle Busch, Menard, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton

Restart Lap 72

Lap 73 Truex and Biffle are side-by-side for the lead

Lap 75 Biffle clears Truex for the lead

Lap 76 McMurray passes Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 77 Biffle leads Truex, Kenseth, Johnson, Martin, Ambrose, Edwards, Keselowski, McMurray and Harvick

Lap 79 Kenseth passes Truex

Lap 82 Kenseth to the lead past Biffle

Lap 86 Kenseth, Biffle, Martin, Johnson, Truex, Ambrose, Edwards, Keselowski, McMurray and Gordon

Lap 88 McMurray passes Keselowski for eighth

Caution Lap 95 Trevor Bayne gets into the wall……Leaders head down pit road…..

Restart Lap 101

Lap 102 Biffle now leads the field.

Lap 105 Biffle leads Johnson, Truex, Kenseth, Ambrose, Martin, Keselowski, Allmendinger, Gordon and Kyle Busch

Lap 111 Earnhardt Jr. passes Busch for 10^th

Lap 114 Johnson passes Biffle for the lead

Lap 115 Gordon passes Allmendinger for eighth

Lap 117 Earnhardt Jr. passes Gordon for ninth

Lap 118 Johnson leads Biffle, Truex, Kenseth, Ambrose, Martin, Keselowski, Gordon, Earnhardt Jr., Allmemdinger

Lap 123 Kenseth passes Truex for third

Lap 125 Earnhardt Jr. passes Gordon for eighth

Lap 127 Johnson leads Biffle, Kenseth, Truex, Ambrose, Martin, Keselowski, Earnhardt Jr., Gordon, Harvick

Lap 139 Johnson leads Biffle, Kenseth, Truex, Ambrose, Keselowski, Martin, Earnhardt Jr., Gordon, Harvick

Lap 141 Juan Pablo Montoya hits pit road as the leaders begin hitting pit road.

Lap 147 Leaders Johnson and Biffle pit, handing the lead to Truex

Lap 148 Truex leads Kenseth, Martin, Johnson and Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 156 Keselowski is having motor problems

Lap 159 Truex leads Kenseth, Johnson, Martin, Biffle, Earnhardt Jr., Harvick, Gordon, Allmendinger, Denny Hamlin

Lap 160 Johnson passes Kenseth for second; Gordon passes Harvick for seventh

Lap 180 Truex leads Johnson, Kenseth, Martin, Biffle, Gordon, Earnhardt Jr., Harvick, Ambrose, Allmendinger

Lap 181 Johnson takes the lead

Lap 184 Pit stops begin……

Lap 186 Leader Johnson hits pit road

Lap 189 Pit cycle complete. Johnson is the leader once again.

Lap 197 Johnson leads Martin, Biffle, Kenseth, Truex, Harvick, Earnhardt Jr., Gordon, Ambrose and Allmendinger

Lap 200 Gordon passes Earnhardt Jr. for seventh

Lap 203 Hamlin passes Allmendinger for 10^th

Lap 214 Johnson leads Biffle, Martin, Kenseth, Truex, Gordon, Harvick, Earnhardt Jr., Ambrose and Hamlin

Lap 228 Johnson leads Biffle, Martin, Kenesth, Truex, Gordon, Earnhardt Jr., Ambrose, Harvick, Hamlin, Kahne

Lap 229 Harvick comes down pit road so Hamlin and Kahne both pass him

Lap 230 Martin comes down pit road from third position

Lap 231 Trevor Bayne and Juan Pablo Montoya pit along with Jeff Burton, Denny Hamlin

Lap 232 Marco Ambrose, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr. pit

Lap 233 Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Newman pit

Lap 234 Jimmie Johnson pits from the lead, followed by Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth. Pit cycle complete, handing the lead to Johnson over Biffle.

100 to go Johnson leads Biffle, Martin, Kenseth and Truex

96 to go Johnson leads Biffle, Martin, Kenseth, Truex, Gordon, Harvick, Ambrose, Earnhardt Jr., and Kahne

71 to go Gordon passes Truex for fifth; Kahne passes Earnhardt Jr. for ninth

67 to go Gordon passes Kenseth for fourth

59 to go Ambrose passes Harvick for seventh

58 to go Johnson leads Biffle, Martin, Gordon, Kenseth, Truex, Ambrose, Harvick, Kahne, Earnhardt Jr.

55 to go Kahne passes Harvick for eighth as Joey Logano pits. Harvick joins Logano on pit road.

54 to go Regan Smith pits

53 to go Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Allmendinger, Bowyer, Mears pit

52 to go Almirola, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, Kasey Kahne, Martin Truex Jr. pit

51 to go Greg Biffle, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Marco Ambrose, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jamie McMurray pit.

50 to go Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon pits handing the lead back to Jimmie Johnson

49 to go Johnson leads Biffle, Martin, Kenseth, Gordon, Truex, Harvick, Ambrose, Kahne and Hamlin

46 to go Ambrose passes Harvick for seventh

44 to go Earnhardt Jr. passes Hamlin for 10^th

41 to go Kahne passes Harvick for eighth

40 to go Johnson leads Biffle, Martin, Kenseth, Gordon, Truex, Ambrose, Kahne, Harvick and Earnhardt Jr.

37 to go Gordon passes Kenseth for fourth

30 to go Biffle takes the lead from Johnson

24 to go Biffle leads Johnson, Martin, Gordon, Kenseth, Truex, Ambrose, Kahne, Harvick, Earnhardt Jr.

21 to go Trevor Bayne got into the wall but no caution

17 to go Kahne passes Ambrose for seventh

15 to go Johnson gets into the wall

13 to go Edwards passes Earnhardt Jr. for 10^th

6 to go Edwards passes Harvick for ninth

Final Lap – Marco Ambose is slow and out of gas.

Greg Biffle wins followed by Johnson, Martin, Gordon, Kenseth, Truex, Kahne, Edwards, Harvick, Earnhardt Jr.

April 15, 2012
Matty’s Picks 2012 – Vol. 8 Texas Motor Speedway – Samsung Mobile 500 – April 14, 2012

[media-credit name=”texasmotorspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”199″][/media-credit]We head to the Lone Star State for tonight’s Samsung Mobile 500 for the first scheduled race under the lights during this 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Its wide, its fast, and there will be plenty of drama when the green flag flies later this evening. This is just the second mile-and-a-half track of the season, and is guaranteed to pull me away from the NHL playoffs tonight.

Texas has been one of my favorite tracks for a while now, I’m not sure if its the speed, the flames and six-shooters in Victory Lane, the simple thought that ‘Everything’s Bigger in Texas’ – (a track that comfortably seats over 190,000). If you recall last fall’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway , the race was promoted as a old west showdown between Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart. This weekend will not be much different except that it will be a duel between two teams, Roush Fenway Racing (8 wins in 22 Cup races at Texas) and Michael Waltrip Racing.

Last Week’s Recap

I had a great time celebrating Easter back in Syracuse, Mom made some great ham, showed my brothers and SpeedwayMedia.com editor Ed Coombs how to catch fish…
Back to racing.

It was two-weeks ago that we visited Martinsville Speedway for the Goody’s Fast Relief 500, and it was a dandy of a race on April Fools Day. My Dark Horse pick two weeks ago was a long shot after NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying, but Kurt Busch was up for the challenge of winning the race from 40th. Well, Busch’s day ended after a slue of problems with the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Services Chevrolet including a pair of blown right-front tires. Busch’s No. 51 was shown way down towards the bottom of the scoring pylon in 33rd, netting me yet another finish outside the top 30.

It was a much better day for my Winner Pick two weeks ago, leading a race-high 328 laps and completely dominating the 500-lap battle at Martinsville Speedway. It was David Reutimann that squashed my hope of picking up my first win of the season two weeks ago at Martinsville. When his car came to rest on the backstretch with just three laps to go, he brought out the caution that would make the final restart of the race a five-car fiasco. My Winner Pick had the lead on the final restart, partly because him and his teammate Jimmie Johnson opted not to come to pit road under the final caution for fresh tires. Jeff Gordon had dominated all day, and when the field took the green flag on the race’s final restart, he was punted by Clint Bowyer, who was shoved by race-winner Ryan Newman. It was a result of fresh tires vs. old tires, and the old tires lost. Gordon finished 14th.

Texas Picks

Besides a couple Hendrick chassis, its a MWR versus Roush Fenway battle this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Roush Fenway drivers Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle are sandwiched between pole-sitter Martin Truex and Mark Martin in the top-4 starting spots, setting the stage for the two-team battle under the lights tonight.

Winner Pick

I think its Matt Kenseth who will fire the six-shooters tonight in Fort Worth. He is the defending winner of the Samsung Mobile 500, his second Cup win at Texas coming this time last year. His average finish of 8.7 at Texas is the best out of all the drivers taking the green tonight, and he’s also got two NASCAR Nationwide Series victories under his belt at Texas.

Kenseth will start on the outside of the front row tonight, and is excited for his chances of putting the cowboy hat on in Victory Lane, “I don’t really know why, but it has been a pretty good track for us in the past. We have had a lot of good runs and finishes here. Whenever you come back to a track you’ve had success at, then I think you probably always look forward to coming back to it maybe a little bit more. As far as mile-and-a-half tracks, we have only been to Vegas (this season) and I thought we performed really well there.“

Dark Horse Pick

Since Roush Fenway claimed my Winner Pick this week, Michael Waltrip Racing will take my Dark Horse this week, although this pick is a stretch of a Dark Horse.

He’s starting 4th tonight in just his 5th start of the 2012 season, but he will be piloting a rocket ship in the form of a Toyota Camry. Mark Martin is running a limited schedule this season in the No. 55 Aaron’s Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, so when he does make it behind the wheel, he’s got to make the most out of it.

He fired the six-shooters in Victory Lane at Texas back in 1998, but struggled severely in the two races in the Lone Star State last year with 36th and 19th place finishes. Texas has been fairly kind to him with 7 top-5’s and 12 top-10’s, and enjoys the ‘Hometown’ feel Texas has for him, “Texas Motor Speedway is about 450 miles from my hometown of Batesville, Arkansas. I’ve had a stronger fan following there than anywhere else. Sure I listen in driver introductions when the fans cheer or boo, but I really notice the fans in general throughout the weekend. They are pretty vocal. Since it isn’t that far from Batesville it’s one of the places where my fans go. Texas and Kansas are probably the two places where I see or hear from most of my fans. That’s always a great feeling.”

Tonight will be fun and I look forward to what the Lone Start State’s first race of 2012 has to offer. Until Next Time…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

April 14, 2012