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  • M&M’s Mars NASCAR’s Teaching Sponsor In More Ways Than One

    M&M’s Mars NASCAR’s Teaching Sponsor In More Ways Than One

    M&M’s Mars has been one of NASCAR’s few full-time sponsors, adorning the car of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, usually driven by Kyle Busch. The sponsor, however, has not only succeeded on the track, but has become one of the sport’s newest teaching sponsors, in more ways than one.

    One of the most important ways that M&M’s Mars has been educating through racing is by participating in the NASCAR Kinetics program. Recently, NASCAR expanded this successful program, providing college students with real-world marketing challenges in the sport, from 12 to 20 schools this semester.

    The NASCAR Kinetics program began in 2009 with just four schools participating. But over the past few years, the program has expanded to become NASCAR’s biggest college experience.

    “NASCAR Kinetics is a dynamic initiative that merges educational and experiential tasks,” Steve Phelps, NASCAR Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, said. “We anticipate students will leverage the marketing techniques and lessons in teamwork they learn through the program to successfully position themselves in an increasingly competitive motorsports industry.”

    This year, the program is concentrating on three case studies, including evaluating social media strategies for Michael Waltrip Racing and coming up with sponsorship activation ideas for Dodge. The third case scenario is working with M&M’s Mars to celebrate the colorfulness of the M&M’s characters as the sport’s official chocolate.

    The students have to host one of three viewing parties highlighting the M&M’s brand. Their challenge is to “Make Race Day More Fun” through the use of the candy, as well as attracting casual and avid NASCAR fans.

    You can get TEFL certified and Teach English Abroad and get a life-changing opportunity to travel the world and immerse yourself in new cultures.

    “M&M’s has been involved with the NASCAR Kinetics program since spring 2009 and has been the sponsor of the viewing party case study since spring 2010,” Lauren Nodzak, PR Manager of Mars Chocolate North America, said. “We originally got involved after the Winston-Salem State University team reached out to us on the M&M’s Racing Facebook page and invited us to cover their party.”

    “After being exposed to the program at that level, we decided to become a partner and make the viewing party case study sponsored by M&M’s.”

    Nodzak affirms that M&M’s candy is the “perfect fit” as a snack for NASCAR fans coming together to enjoy the race. “The idea of getting your friends together to watch a NASCAR race while enjoying plenty of M&M’s is a key component,” Nodzak said.” Racing fit perfectly within the brand as we launched an overall brand campaign, ‘M&M’s Makes Race Day More Fun.’

    Nodzak said that the students have been most creative in marketing the M&M’s brand through the viewing parties, from sharing recipes including the brightly-colored candy to having M&M’s race car driver Kyle Busch look-a-like contests.

    “The students have taken some very creative approaches to incorporating M&M’s into their parties,” Nodzak said. “Just as exciting is how the students have taken fun to the next level, from NASCAR simulators to marching bands at these events.”

    “Working with college students through the NASCAR Kinetics program has given us an additional channel to leverage our NASCAR sponsorship,” Nodzak continued. “NASCAR Kinetics brings a new level of engagement and brand advocates into the M&M’s Racing family.”

    Unfortunately, M&M’s Mars has had to involve themselves in another educational endeavor in addition to the NASCAR Kinetics program. The sponsor has had to teach its star driver Kyle Busch a lesson after an on-track incident with Ron Hornaday in the Truck race at Texas Motor Speedway.

    Because of the incident, Busch was not only penalized by NASCAR by being forced to sit out the Nationwide and Cup races last weekend, but was also forced to forgo his M&M’s sponsor being on his No. 18 car for the last two races of the season. Mars, Inc. did, however, affirm their sponsorship of Busch for the 2012 season, hopefully after their driver has had time to reflect on lessons learned.

    “As a proud member of the racing community, Mars and M&M’s brand strong support the partnership we have with Joe Gibbs Racing and are committed to NASCAR,” Debra Sandler, Chief Consumer Officer of Mars Chocolate North America, said. “Yet Kyle’s recent actions are unacceptable and do not reflect the values of Mars.”

    “While we do not condone Kyle’s recent actions, we do believe that he has shown remorse and has expressed a desire to change,” Sandler continued. “We believe our decision will have a positive impact on Kyle and will help him return next season ready to win.”

    “There’s remorse from my side and to be apologetic to the M&M’s brand and all the folks that put their heart and soul into this NASCAR program for years,” Busch said. “There is an opportunity for me to become a better person, to grow, to learn from this and I’m looking forward to those days.”

    “Kyle and all of us are committed to learn from this so that we never have to go through this again,” Joe Gibbs, team owner, said simply.

    From the college students participating in the NASCAR Kinetics program to the NASCAR driver sporting the M&M’s brand colors, there is no doubt that Mars, Inc. has become one of the sport’s most important educators as well as sponsors.

    And hopefully, all involved under the tutelage of the colorful candy company, will learn their lessons well.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: AAA Texas 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: AAA Texas 500

    When the green flag flew on the seventh annual running of the AAA Texas 500, it seemed almost as an afterthought to a difficult week, with the passing of patriarch Russ Wallace, the plane crash injuring Rick and Linda Hendrick, and of course the parking of Kyle Busch after his detrimental on-track actions during the Truck race.

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”272″][/media-credit]Yet, when the checkered flag finally flew at Texas Motor Speedway, there were some surprising, as well as not so surprising, moments from the third to the last race of the 2011 season.

    Surprising:  After back to back wins, it was surprising to see that even Smoke was a bit overcome, albeit by the intensity of the race, emotion and the heat of Victory Lane.

    “This is for the Wallace family,” Stewart said after getting out of his car. “And for Mr. Hendrick and his wife. And I had a buddy that passed away when we were at Charlotte and I didn’t want to forget him.”

    Yet even with splashing some water on his face, Smoke still had to take a seat in Victory Lane, while those around him fanned him with their Stetson hats to allow him to catch his breath.

    Tony Stewart, however, bounced back quickly. He then donned the traditional black hat and took some shots with the guns in celebration of scoring his 43rd career victory, his fourth win of the season, and his second victory at Texas.

    Stewart also re-affirmed that his sights are firmly set on winning that coveted Cup championship. With his race win, Smoke is now just three points behind leader Carl Edwards.

    “I don’t think we have to say anything,” Stewart said, unlike last week where he talked some smack in Victory Lane. “Our performance speaks for itself.”

    “Do not count us out of this thing,” Stewart said. “We did everything we needed to do today.”

    Not Surprising:  Roush Fenway Racing did not disappoint or surprise at the mile-and-a-half track where they have been so dominant all season. RFR had three of their drivers in the top five, with Carl Edwards in second, Matt Kenseth in fourth, and pole sitter Greg Biffle in fifth.

    The team combined to lead 124 laps at Texas Motor Speedway, with Edwards leading 14, Kenseth leading 87 and Biffle leading 23. Even David Ragan, whose future remains uncertain, finished in the 12th position.

    “I’m proud of our guys today,” Edwards, behind the wheel of the No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion said. “We wanted to beat Tony and pad the lead, but we are still the point’s leader.”

    This was Edwards’ sixth top-10 finish in 14 races at Texas Motor Speedway. It is his 24th top-10 finish to date in the 2011 season.

    Greg Biffle, behind the wheel of the No. 16 Ford Fusion, started from the pole to bring his car home for a top-five finish.

    “We had a pretty good car,” Biffle said. “The last pit stop, I slid through the box and that probably cost me a third-place finish or a couple of spots anyway. We fought hard and came back.”

    “It’s hard to be disappointed when you run in the top five,” teammate Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion, said. “I wish we could have performed a little better, but that’s all we had.”

    “This has always been a pretty good track for our organization.”

    Surprising:  It was a bit surprising to see how current Michael Waltrip Racing driver Martin Truex, Jr. did, finishing eighth in his No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, in spite of the big changes announced for the MWR organization prior to the race.

    “I am really proud of my entire NAPA team today,” Truex Jr. said. “The NAPA Know How pit crew was on it.”

    “We are moving in the right direction and I appreciate all the work MWR is doing to get us in contention.”

    Not Surprising:  After learning that he was no longer a member of the MWR team after the 2011 season, it was no surprise that the woes on the track continued for driver David Reutimann.  The driver of the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine finished 22nd.

    “It was very difficult,” team owner Michael Waltrip said of his decision to let Reutimann go. “I love David. He’s a great man and he’s always been there to do anything I needed him to do.”

    “I know it was hard for David to get the news,” Waltrip continued. “I’m thankful that he drove for me for so long.”

    Surprising:  After such a Cinderella run, Brad Keselowski’s championship hopes have all but gone up in smoke. The driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge had a very difficult day at Texas, finishing 24th.

    “Just a tough night,” Keselowski said. “We couldn’t get the speed out of our car that we needed and fought all day for track position.”

    “We lost the handling on the car right in the middle part of the race and adjustments were made to make it better and it just made it worse,” Keselowski continued. “It was unfortunate.”

    Not Surprising:   One driver who continues to make noise, however, was AJ Allmendinger, who scored another top-10 in his No. 43 Best Buy Ford Fusion for Richard Petty Motorsports.

    “That was probably the most comfortable I’ve ever felt on a mile-and-a-half, especially one like this,” Dinger said. “It was fun.”

    “From the start we were just passing cars and making good adjustments,” Allmendinger continued. “It was a good fight to 10th but overall, and more importantly, that’s something to build on.”

    Surprising:  It was a bit surprising to see that Brian Vickers’ intense driving style carried over from Martinsville to Texas. On lap 201, the driver of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota assisted with bringing out the second caution by tussling with Juan Pablo Montoya and Geoffrey Bodine.

    “Stupid Vickers ran over a lapped car,” came over JPM’s radio, summing up yet another tough day at the office for ‘The Sheriff’, who finished 21st.

    Not Surprising:  Kasey Kahne continued his string of top-10 finishes, scoring the third spot in his No. 4 Red Bull Toyota. This was Kahne’s fourth top-10 in 15 races at Texas Motor Speedway.

    “We were really close,” Kahne said of his almost-winning run. “I wanted to win really bad today.”

    “It was a great race for us,” Kahne continued. “This has been our best time the whole season.”

    Surprising:  Taking the wheel of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry from sidelined Kyle Busch, Michael McDowell surprisingly was not able to capitalize on his prime opportunity. Even with Busch looking on atop the pit box, McDowell could not get his car dialed in and finished 33rd.

    “We obviously were hoping for more and were hoping for a big day,” McDowell said. “But that wasn’t meant to be.”

    “Gave it all I had and we just struggled pretty much all day long.”

    Not Surprising:  McDowell was not the only JGR driver to struggle at Texas Motor Speedway. Joey Logano, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota, blew an engine on Lap 262, and Denny Hamlin, behind the wheel of the No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota, struggled all day, finishing 20th.

    “We just fought an ill-handling car all day,” Hamlin said. “It’s probably one of the worst that we’ve had in a long time.”

    “We’ll have to go back to the shop and look at it,” Dave Rogers, crew chief for the No. 18, said of the entire team’s performance. “This tire at this track is pretty tricky. You have to dare to lean on it and it’s not comfortable getting in the corner.”

    “We have to look at it for sure.”

    Surprising:  Although not mathematically eliminated, it still seems surprising to think that, without some sort of miracle, Jimmie Johnson will not be on the championship banquet stage this year. With his struggling performance at Texas, including a spin through the grass on Lap 240, the driver of the No. 48 MyLowes Chevrolet, managed to finish fourteenth and is now back 55 points to the Chase leader.

    “I fought a loose race car all night long and I lost it,” Johnson said. “And I think sliding through the grass did some damage.”

    “It didn’t really drive good after that.”

    Not Surprising:  With a sixth place run in his No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, it was not surprising that it felt like a win to driver Jeff Gordon.

    “We moved up right away,” Gordon said. “I thought we had a car that could compete for the win but when the sun went down, it changed for us and we lost a little bit there at the end.”

    “Compared to the way we ran here earlier in the year, it is almost like a win for us.”

     

  • Confidence A Double Sided Coin

    Confidence A Double Sided Coin

    A long time ago, the short track ace and 89 Winston Cup Champion Rusty Wallace made the statement, “It’s not cocky if you can get it done. It’s confident.” Then there was the standard that was attributed to Dale Earnhardt, “When the green flag drops the BS stops.” Both come down to one thing, if you can do what you say you can do you are speaking from a position of confidence not arrogance. Tony Stewart has proven over the last 8 weeks that he is confident and can back up what he says.

    [media-credit name=”Mike Holloway” align=”alignright” width=”232″][/media-credit]Confidence turned around Tony Stewart’s season and made him a serious contender being only 3 points out of the chase lead. But confidence can be a bad thing in excess. This weekend we saw that as well with Kyle Busch who was parked for the weekend after the Camping World Truck Race in which he retaliated and drove Ron Hornaday into the outside Safer Barrier, destroying both trucks. When asked if he was concerned about NASCAR parking him or removing him from the competition on Saturday and Sunday he said he wasn’t concerned and didn’t care.

    On Saturday morning, when NASCAR handed down it’s decision to maintain his parked status through this weekend, he seemed more concerned and to care a great deal more. Busch issued a letter of apology to his fans, the drivers, the team, and ownership for his actions. He watched the race from atop of the pit box and seemed to be seriously depressed and contrite. Although, he has granted no interviews or made any statements other than the letter of apology that he issued Saturday night, the emotion was all over his face.

    The question was asked by many of why Kyle Busch and not Carl Edwards. The answer came from Mike Helton in the form of history. Kyle had already been placed on probation this year for similar aggressive driving. And basically they found the line for have at it boys. That was the limit and he went past it.

    The real victim this weekend was Ron Hornaday. If you take yourself out. If you make a mistake or the engine blows and you are taken out of the championship hunt it’s difficult but you can swallow it. When you are taken out for a normal racing incident that has to be gut wrenching.

    I think that the one thing that we are missing here is the probability of contributing factors to the incident. The length of the season is a primary factor. Sprint Cup drivers compete for 10 months out of the year. That is longer than a woman carries a baby. And if you ask any one who has had that honor, they will tell you that it is an exhausting experience. The drivers are fatigued simply by the length of the season. When you add the stress of the chase and the PR commitments that go with it you have compounded the issue yet again. It comes down to one common factor, they are tired. We all know that people deal with tired differently. Kyle is known to be short tempered and aggressive. He had gotten himself together and showed himself worthy of his championship contention until 3 weeks before the end of the season and after 4 weeks of being involved in wrecks. He snapped. What he did was very very wrong.

    NASCAR’s action was very appropriate. But the solution maybe not in parking him but looking at the cause. Obviously the young man’s temper is a part of it. But the schedule and pressure of the chase also have to be considered as a part of that.

    Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards are obviously handling the stress and long schedule much better. Leaving Texas the Championship race is separated by 3 points going into the “new” Phoenix. Stewart has proved that he and his team are worthy contenders and capable of taking Carl Edwards to the very line in Homestead. Stewarts dominating performance at Texas left little doubt that Smoke intends to sit at the front table in Las Vegas. Carl Edwards left no doubt that he has the same intention.

    Perhaps the chase contender performance that slipped through the cracks was that of the 88 of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Earnhardt struggled all day but stayed solidly in the top 20 all race. Finally, crew chief Steve Letarte hit the nail on the head on the next to last caution and Earnhardt flew through the field into the top ten. The final stop of the race came under green and Earnhardt’s crew redeemed themselves for earlier chase race failures getting him out and picking up one spot when all the stops shook out. The 88 finished 7th and moved up to 7th in the points. He made his move quietly and without fan fare. But the last 2 weeks have shown the Earnhardt that JRNation had hoped to see from the beginning of the chase.

    The 48 of Jimmie Johnson continued to struggle eliminating themselves from any possibility of recovering for the 6th championship in a row. Johnson who spun the 48 off of turn 4 late in the race and then received a commitment cone violation for driving straight to his pit stall rather than going around the track finished a hard fought 14th while maintaining 6th in the points 24 points ahead of team mate Dale Earnhardt Jr.

    The race itself was a long drawn out follow the leader affair. No different than the spring race at Texas. But it’s hard to pan the race with a promoter like Eddie Gossage. Gossage put on an incredible show. From the infield rodeo to the incredible black hat 6 shooter display in victory lane. Without a doubt Eddie Gossage has stepped up and into the role of the most theatrical and entertaining promoter in all of racing.

    With that in mind, the racing on the track was unexciting. But the activities that surrounded it made it difficult not to enjoy the weekend even from afar.

    Confidence is a powerful thing. Whether it’s positive or negative it is the attitude that will carry us through on top or leave us flat and defeated. Talent will carry you a very long way. It will smooth ruffled feathers. It will open difficult doors. But the one thing that talent can’t over come is a negative attitude. But nothing lasts forever, and attitudes change, when they do confidence reigns and talented young men become Championship contenders.

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * * * * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

    Congratulations to Kevin Harvick on his victory in the Camping World Truck Series and his victory as in the car owners points in that series.

    Congratulations to Trevor Bayne on his first Nationwide Series victory.

    Congratulations to Tony Stewart on his second consecutive victory in the Sprint Cup Series.

    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.

  • BREAKING NEWS : NASCAR : Kyle Busch Suspended for Remainder of Texas Race Weekend

    BREAKING NEWS : NASCAR : Kyle Busch Suspended for Remainder of Texas Race Weekend

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”216″][/media-credit]After an incident that saw Kyle Busch deliberately wreck championship contender and series veteran Ron Hornaday under caution Friday night Kyle Busch has been parked for the remainder of the race weekend at the Texas Motor Speedway.  The  Winstar World Casino 350K NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race was only 14 laps in when the incident occurred.

    NASCAR officials met with Busch briefly after the incident and scheduled a meeting for early Saturday morning. After the wreck on Friday which sent Hornaday out of the race Hornaday said furiously, “He pulled my shoulder out. Luckily I had a chiropractor put it back in and I’ll be good. If NASCAR doesn’t do it, I’m going to buy Tommy Baldwin’s  ride and that guy will never finish another race. That’s a promise. … This was a yellow flag, turned when you’re not prepared and your heart is not pumping and all that stuff and then you get turned directly in the fence. So let’s have at it? I can go beat his ass? He lives too close to me. So we’ll see what NASCAR does. If they don’t handle it right, I’ll be at his house Monday morning.”

    After the meeting Busch left the NASCAR hauler and went directly to the driver’s motor coach lot with comment.

    Michael McDowell replaced Busch in his Sprint Cup car for practice this morning and reports in garage indicated that Denny Hamlin would replace him in the Nationwide Series race today.

    Helton said, “Boys Have It had clear line that could be crossed. We saw it last night.”

    “done under section 9.12 of the rulebook, that gives NASCAR the authority to react during a race weekend. And following the event and after a good deal of conversation and discussion, NASCAR has decided to maintain that parked position on the driver of the 18 truck for the balance of the weekend.” NASCAR president Mike Helton said.

    In a nutshell…… Busch will not race anymore this weekend at Texas.

    It not a first for NASCAR, but maybe an eye opener for Busch. Kevin Harvick (2002) and Robby Gordon (2008) have been suspended for Sprint Cup races for actions on the track.

  • Matty’s Picks: Vol. 26 – Texas – November 6, 2011

    Matty’s Picks: Vol. 26 – Texas – November 6, 2011

    I am a fan of old western movies, (some of my favorites include High Plains Drifter, The Outlaw Josy Wales, and North To Alaska) and this week couldn’t be any more of a cliché storyline showdown if you asked for it.

    [media-credit name=”texasmotorspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]First, the race takes place in the Lone Star State, the most cliché western setting on the face of the Earth. Second, The Chase for the Sprint Cup is boiling down to a two-man showdown between points-leader, Carl Edwards and two-time Sprint Cup Champion Tony Stewart. The lead has been shaved to eight with just three weekends remaining in the 2011 campaign.

    Third, the video and graphics posted on Texas Motor Speedway’s homepage tells it all. President of Texas Motor Speedway, Eddie Gossage might be dubbed the Don King of NASCAR after this weekend’s hype of the Stewart/Edwards saga.

    Not to add insult to injury but fourth, Tony Stewart’s comments in Victory Lane last weekend at Martinsville Speedway was the quote heard ‘round the world: “Carl Edwards had better be real worried. That’s all I’ve got to say. He’s not going to sleep for the next three weeks.”

    This race has certainly gained the attention of race fans across the globe, and may be more hyped than the “Thrilla in Manila” before all is said and done.

    Martinsville Recap

    With qualifying rained out last Saturday, Denny Hamlin would start the No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota 11th, and quickly made it known that I had made a solid Winner Pick. An early incident would force Hamlin to Pit Road for fresh slicks, restarting him at the rear of the field. The fresh Goodyear’s were all he needed to hit the point by lap 63.

    As all race fans know, 500 laps at Martinsville is an eternity…Hamlin, the favorite at the historic short track knows that the key to winning at the paper clip is staying out of trouble. Caution by caution, the race drew on until Hamlin regained the lead at lap 320.

    With 81 laps remaining, Hamlin was shown fourth on the leaderboard, but could not find the speed to run with eventual race-winner, but enough to fend off the lower-half of the Top-10, finishing in 5th. My Winner Pick mentioned the chaos last week after the checkered flew: “For Martinsville for sure. People just have no regard. I would get into guys and then I know it’s coming — I’m going to get slammed in the next corner. It’s just one of those things where it’s frustrating to watch because you see some of these cars getting torn up on accidents. Accidents happen and some these drivers need to realize that.”

    As for my Dark Horse Pick, I was at a severe disadvantage when I submitted my column last week before ANY on-track activity at the paper clip. After starting 20th, Juan Montoya drove his way into the Top-15, overcame two costly penalties on Pit Road, but still finished outside the Top-20 in 22nd.

    I said last week that I was going out on a limb by picking the Colombia native, and that’s exactly the result I received when the hoodless No. 42 Target Chevrolet crossed the finish line in 22nd last week.

    Texas Picks

    Dark Horse Pick

    Marcos Ambrose is my guy this week.

    Ambrose is starting to get the hang of these fast 1.5-mile intermediate tracks. His performances this season Texas and her two twin sisters, Charlotte and Atlanta, has proved that Ambrose is a threat when the haulers pull into Fort Worth. Ambrose finished 6th in our first trip to Texas Motor Speedway this spring, he matched that finish at Charlotte in the Coke Zero 600, and one-up’ed himself just three weeks ago in the Bank of America 500, finishing 5th.

    His only finish outside the Top-10 out of the three sister tracks was Labor Day weekend at Atlanta where he finished 21st. Prior to this season, Ambrose hadn’t scored a Top-10 at Texas Motor Speedway. Ambrose will bring the same chassis that has finished so well this season (No. 735) at Texas, Charlotte, and Atlanta,

    He is coming off a fairly dismal, 29th-place finish last week at Martinsville and looks forward to Sunday’s AAA Texas 500: “I enjoy going to Texas Motor Speedway. I have run well there in the past and it’s always seemed to be a good track for me. We’ve been good on 1.5-mile tracks this year and I think we’ve got the intermediate track setup figured out. We are taking the same car we finished sixth with earlier this year back to Texas this weekend, so I’m optimistic about our chances and I expect to see the DEWALT Ford finish in the Top 10 Sunday.”

    Winner Pick

    Its only right that I pick one of the two drivers taking part in the Showdown In The Lone State State this week. That being said, I’m going with the driver of the duo that has yet to score a win in this 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup.

    After this spring’s trip to Texas, Carl Edwards was shown 3rd on the leaderboard behind race-winner Matt Kenseth, and non-chaser Clint Bowyer.  This was the first trip to Texas since 2008 that Edwards scored a Top-5, following a drought that lasted the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

    Edwards swept the races at Texas in 2008, and scored his first victory at Texas in the fall of 2005. Edwards has finished outside the Top-10 just one time during this 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup, his 11th place finish coming at the roulette wheel, Talladega Superspeedway.

    It’s almost a lock for a Top-5 this week for me, and with Edwards’ attitude working for me, my confidence level couldn’t be any higher: “We couldn’t be coming to a better race track. This track has been great for us. Practice went really well. We’ve got two Fords one and two and we’ve got as good a car and engine as we’ve ever brought here, so that’s good and I’m just ready for qualifying tonight. We’d like to qualify well and get a good starting position. It would be really nice if we could qualify on the pole and get that first pit box. That would be spectacular, but this race is one of the most fun races we go to.” 

    That’s it for this week, stay tuned next week as The 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup heads to the desert…

    Until next week…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Ron Hornaday Wins the WinStar World Casino 400k at Texas Motor Speedway

    Ron Hornaday Wins the WinStar World Casino 400k at Texas Motor Speedway

    In a race that had a record number of leaders and lead changes, it was Ron Hornaday winning the WinStar World Casino 400k after a controversial call on the last lap.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”272″][/media-credit]On the final green white checkered finish, Johnny Sauter had the lead and chose to start on the outside. Before crossing the start finish line, Sauter came down in front of Hornaday, which is a no-no as according to the NASCAR rulebook. Rules states clearly that you must stay in your lane until you cross the line. As a result, Sauter was black flagged, handing the win over to Hornaday.

    “I’m not going to go down that way and judge,” he said. “I saw him sliding down and once he figured it out, he went back up there. I kind of saved my stuff just in case that happened there. It’s just an unbelievable day. I’ll take it.”

    The win marks the 48th career win for Hornaday and his third win at Texas Motor Speedway.

    “The way our year has been going, we’re gaining on them, but we’re still not right yet,” he added. “These guys never lay back. Thanks to Kevin and Delana for believing in me.”

    Sauter, meanwhile, was credited with a 22nd place finish as the last truck on the lead lap.

    “He’s got a lane to race down there,” Sauter said of NASCAR’s call. “We both spun the tires. I was just trying to save the truck.”

    Parker Kligermann, meanwhile, came home second as he scored his best career finish in 10 starts.

    “I just wanna thank these guys right here,” Kligermann said. “We don’t go to the wind tunnel; we don’t do shake-rig testing. They gave me an awesome truck and its about making the best of these opportunities. I owe to them since Phoenix and to know that we’re one spot away from right there (victory lane), is good.”

    David Mayhew also scored his best career finish in five starts as he finished third in his first start with Kevin Harvick Incorporated.

    “We had a really good truck,” Mayhew said. “I gotta thank Kevin and Delana Harvick and all these guys at KHI. Without this opportunity, you won’t be able to run like guys like that. Those guys made awesome adjustments on pit road and kept working on it.”

    For Brian Ickler, he was able to rebound to finish fourth after spinning out on lap 50 after contact with Todd Bodine.

    “We had a good truck all weekend,” Ickler said. “Bodine and I got into it in there and we spun out but we came back up there. I gotta thank Kyle and Samantha for the opportunity. I get to this one more time at Iowa and can’t wait.”

    Joey Coulter rounded out the top-five in fifth, matching the fifth place finish last week at Kansas. Ricky Carmichael finished sixth, followed by Ryan Sieg, Miguel Paludo, Justin Lofton and pole sitter James Buescher. Buescher came back to finish 10th after getting frontend damage midway through the race.

    Buescher started the race from the pole, though on lap four, Austin Dillon took the lead before the first caution for oil on the track at lap five. The restart would come at lap 10 and Buescher would jump back to first, till lap 15 when Dillon grabbed it back.

    The second caution came out on lap 23 for Chase Mattiolli going for a spin and all the leaders pitted with Steve Arpin, who was making his first ever Camping World Truck Series start, coming off pit road first. The restart came at lap 27 and by lap 31, Dillon was already back in the lead.

    The third caution came out at lap 51 for Brian Ickler spinning and the leaders would pit again, though Dillon would hold serve. The restart came at lap 56, though another caution would come out at lap 59 for Ryan Sieg spinning. The restart would come at lap 63 and on lap 64, Johnny Sauter jumped into the lead.

    The fifth caution came out at lap 66 for David Starr and Todd Bodine making contact.

    “I shouldn’t had been back there racing them,” Bodine said. “I could’ve stayed behind him or went under and I chose the wrong one of the two.”

    Some of the lead trucks pitted while nine didn’t, which handed the lead to Nelson Piquet Jr. when the restart came at lap 72. He was able to hold the lead till lap 75 when Miguel Paludo would take over the top spot, till he got passed by Joey Coulter at lap 83.

    The sixth caution would come at lap 90 when Austin Dillon and Matt Crafton made contact as Crafton tried to slide up in front of Dillon, thinking he was clear.

    “I guess he just got a run there the last second,” Crafton said. “He wasn’t there, he wasn’t there and then he was there and I tried to back off and tried to turn left, but couldn’t cause I was free and then I got hooked on the front straightaway. Kind of a hard way to go down.”

    Once again, some drivers pitted while others stayed out, which handed the lead over to Ron Hornaday for the lap 95 restart, though he’d only hold it till lap 100 when Sauter would once again take it over.

    The seventh caution would come out when Cole Whitt would blow up and everybody pitted, except Ryan Sieg who stayed out. The restart came with 55 to go and the race would only stay green for five laps as the eighth caution would fly when Justin Marks would go for a spin. Sieg pitted under the caution, giving the lead back to Hornaday. The restart came with 45 to go and with 37 to go, Sauter would go back to the front.

    The ninth caution came out with 30 to go with Steve Arpin would get loose, making contact with Austin Dillon, sending them both into the grass. The restart came five laps later and Sauter would lead all the way to the final caution with seven to go when Clay Rogers got into the wall.

    The race would go back to green with the green-white-checkered, which is where the call was made against Sauter. On the final lap, Travis Kvapil and Johanna Long made heavy contact with the wall as Kvapil got loose coming off of turn four.

    Sauter now leads Whitt in the point standings by 12 points as they’re followed by Dillon, Crafton and Timothy Peters.

    The next race for the Camping World Truck Series is on Thursday July 7th at Kentucky Speedway.

  • Alex Tagliani Wins Peak Performance Pole Award For Firestone Twin 275s at Texas

    Alex Tagliani Wins Peak Performance Pole Award For Firestone Twin 275s at Texas

    After winning the pole for the Indianapolis 500, Alex Tagliani makes it two in a row as he won the PEAK Performance Award Pole Award for the Firstone Twin 275s on June 11th at Texas Motor Speedway.

    “It’s a tribute to how much effort and how much love the guys put in the car,” he said. “I watched them work the last two weeks and they worked harder than when they brought the car to Indianapolis. That’s what a team does. We’re going to continue to work hard and bring fast cars to the track. Being fast on an oval is great, but I won’t be happy until I can stick it to Will (Power) and the Penske cars on a road course that’s my next goal.”

    Tagliani qualified his No. 77 Bowers and Wilkins cars for Sam Schmidt Motorsports at a speed of 215.186mph.

    Defending champion Dario Franchitti will start second (214.801), followed by Will Power.

    “It was a good run out there Verizon car,” Power said. “I was flat and on the white line for both laps. We have some work to do tonight in practice to find a good race trim, but we should be good. We get two shots at it tomorrow and I’m definitely ready to race.”

    Takumo Sato and Ed Carpenter rounded out the top five.

    “It was fantastic, very exciting,” Sato said. “The car was balanced and really felt good.  After morning practice we were confident that we could have a good qualifying and after watching TK’s (Tony Kanaan’s) run I was even more confident.  Now we really need to concentrate on getting a good car for the race which is a very different car from qualifying.”

    “It’s been a good day for the Dollar General team,” Carpenter said. “I feel good about our car. We seem to have good speed. I wasn’t sure where we were going to end up, but it seems like everyone ran quicker during qualifying than we did in practice. I’m happy with our qualifying effort, but I always want to be faster. Either way we have a good starting spot for tomorrow night, and I think we have something for them.”

    Wade Cunningham qualified eighth in his IZOD IndyCar Series debut.

    “We bolted new tires on and tried to adjust the balance a little bit,” he said. “Time is quite tight in the session, so we didn’t have time to do everything we wanted. So really for us going into qualifying was like a bit of the unknown. We have a teammate who is on pole, and we knew what they were doing. But again, we didn’t want to make any hiccups that would penalize ourselves by making mistakes. We didn’t go as far as Alex did in qualifying set-up. So there’s a little bit of speed there and, also, I made a little mistake on my gearing entering the green flag which cost us a bit of time as well.”

    The Firestone Twin 275s consists of two 114-lap races back-to-back with the first one taking the green flag at 7:45pm CT on Saturday June 11th and the second race will follow an hour after the first race is completed.

    The race will be telecast live in High Definition at 8 p.m. (ET) by VERSUS. The race will air live on the IMS Radio Network, SiriusXM channel 94 and www.indycar.com. Live timing and scoring reports from the Firestone Twin 275s are available on the Internet at www.indycar.com.

  • Joey Coulter Still Feeling Awesome After Career Best Truck Run

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”260″][/media-credit]While much of the attention was focused on what happened after the Truck race at Kansas Speedway, Joey Coulter was still riding on a self-proclaimed high of awesomeness after his career best finish.

    The driver of the No. 22 Richard Childress Racing/Darrell Gwynn Foundation Chevrolet started eighth in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas this past weekend. Yet he was able to finish the race with the first top five of his rookie season.

    “It was huge,” Coulter said of his run at Kansas. “We’ve had some good runs in the ARCA Series at a mile and a half but to run as good as we did at Kansas was awesome.”

    Coulter contributes his great run to a combination of great pit strategy, keeping up with the race track and working with his RCR teammate Austin Dillon.

    “Austin (Dillon) is a great teammate,” Coulter said. “His crew chief and my crew chief, me and Austin, we talk a lot.”

    “We sit down all the time during practice and talk about what we are fighting,” Coulter continued. “Austin has brought me up to his level really quick.”

    “He’s done a great job explaining to me the different ways to drive these trucks,” Coulter said. “I’ve watched a lot of video and I’ve talked to a lot of drivers and it’s just all that combined that contributed to our run at Kansas and we were just able to put it all together.”

    “We both know that if he is faster than me, he’s the guy I can go to and find out why,” Coulter continued. “That’s going to bring me to his speed. Then once I get there, I might hit on something and end up a little bit faster than him.”

    “He’s going to come to me and we’re going to tell him what we did and it’s just going to keep going back and forth until we’re both really, really fast,” Coulter said. “The great thing about a teammate is that open line of communication is there and you can always get the information you need.”

    “It works and I love having a teammate,” Coulter said. “It’s my first time having one and I love it.”

    Coulter also contributes his success to the equipment available to him at Richard Childress Racing. And finally Coulter gives all the due to his family, who has stood with him since he began his racing journey.

    “RCR in my opinion is the best equipment in the Truck Series,” Coulter said. “The guys that build those trucks are the same guys that go to the race track and work on them at the track.”

    “So, when they build something at the shop, they really put everything they’ve got into it,” Coulter continued. “Everybody puts so much pride into their work that when the race truck rolls into the trailer on the way to the race, it looks more like something that would roll through the block on Barrett Jackson.”

    “These things come out looking great.”

    “My family has been there since the beginning,” Coulter said. “Mom, dad and my girlfriend have been there since I was short track racing in Florida.”

    “It’s really hard for them to miss a race, which is cool,” Coulter continued. “I love having them there.”

    Coulter did take at least a little bit of time to celebrate his great finish. But that run actually made Coulter even more anxious to get to the next track.

    “When I got back after the race, I hung out with my parents and soaked it all in,” Coulter said. “I kept watching the highlights on Speed Center and reading the articles on line, just soaking it all in.”

    “We really enjoyed it, but at the same time it just made me a lot more excited to get to Texas,” Coulter said. “I just kept telling my crew chief, ‘Let’s go to Texas right now. I’m ready to go.’”

    Coulter has actually been to Texas Motor Speedway before, running there last year in the ARCA Series.

    “I love that race track,” Coulter said. “It is so much fun. It’s unreal how fast you can go through the corners with so much grip.”

    “It’s wide open from what I’ve heard,” Coulter continued. “It’s going to be an experience to go around the track and never take your foot off the gas. I can’t wait to do that.”

    Coulter admits that he expects more of the same at Texas as at Kansas in terms of the weather and the intense heat. He credits his growing up in Florida for his ability to handle the heat, that and a new tip that his teammate recently gave to him.

    “I’m very glad that I was born in Florida, where there are two seasons, hot and very hot,” Coulter said. “It’s just something I’ve gotten used to over the years.”

    “My teammate actually got me drinking Pedialyte this weekend and I felt way better before and after the race this time,” Coulter continued. “I’m working out every day like I have been for awhile and that helps with the heat too.”

    Coulter will also be celebrating a personal milestone when he reaches Texas this week. He will turn 21 years old on Wednesday, June 8th.

    “We are actually going to head to Texas a day early so I don’t have to be traveling on my birthday,” Coulter said. “I’m definitely not going to do anything crazy because we have to work this weekend.”

    “I’ll probably go some place and see if they card me,” Coulter said with a chuckle. “I’m excited about it. It’s really kind of like the last real exciting age.”

    For his birthday, Coulter may also indulge in one of his favorite confectionaries. In fact, he is nicknamed after one of them, “Cupcake”.

    “Before the Darlington race, we did a media event, me and Johanna Long,” Coulter said. “We got to talk to a bunch of young kids about how important it is to stay in school.”

    “There was this little hole in the wall, family cupcake place and somehow I got stuck carrying the box of cupcakes,” Coulter continued. “I guess that’s where I got the nickname of ‘cupcake’ from.”

    From celebrating his birthday to his top-five finish, Coulter has just one word to sum up his life at present.

    “Awesome,” Coulter said. “It’s a great feeling to be in the situation I am.”

    “I’m extremely fortunate to have the opportunities I’ve had,” Coulter continued. “My dad has always been sure to tell me that there are plenty of unemployed race car drivers.”

    “I’m grateful for this opportunity,” Coulter said. “RCR is an awesome organization and there are an awful lot of awesome people that have gotten me to where I am.”

  • Matt Kenseth Breaks 76-Winless Streak, Winning Samsung Mobile 500

    Matt Kenseth Breaks 76-Winless Streak, Winning Samsung Mobile 500

    [media-credit name=”Steven Iles” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Throughout the night, Matt Kenseth made it clear that he was there to win and at the end after all the strategy played it course, Kenseth was in the lead with 13 to go and went on to win.

    “After two years, I didn’t know if I could get back to here again,” Kenseth said. “I give a lot of credit to Jimmy Fennig and the guys on this team for working as hard as they do.”

    Midway through the race, it looked as though his chances at his 19th career victory were in jeopardy as he didn’t get enough fuel on a pit stop. Though with the tires falling off as much as they were, when he pitted, the rest of the field soon followed so they wouldn’t lose time.

    “The key was running up front,” Kenseth said. “Even when we got behind when we had to pit, we ended up forcing the field to pit due to the tires so that was the key.”

    Finishing in second was Clint Bowyer, who was leading with 86 to go when he made a huge save after running up on Brian Vickers while trying to put him down a lap.

    “That was my fault; totally my fault,” Bowyer said. “To come up on those lappers, they hold us up so much. I thought I got by him, though we made contact and I thought I was done at that point.”

    Third-place belonged to Matt Kenseth’s Roush-Fenway teammate Carl Edwards, who at the beginning of the race, was feeling sick.

    “I am all hopped up on pepto bismo,” Edwards said. “I hate to throw my mom under the bus, but she cooked something last night and I don’t think it was good.

    “Matt and those guys did a great job. I gotta say congratulations to them. The good thing is we know what they got in their car so we can work on that and I can’t wait for the next one at Darlington.”

    Greg Biffle and Paul Menard rounded out the top five. Marcos Ambrose finished sixth with pole sitter David Ragan seventh, followed by Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kurt Busch. Tony Stewart looked to finish third, though ran out of gas on the final lap, resulting in a 12th place finish, behind Jeff Burton.

    The main incident of the race was with 120 to go when Kevin Harvick slighlty bumped Martin Truex Jr., sending him into Mark Martin and Regan Smith. Harvick said on his radio after the incident that he noticed Truex slowing up, tried to go left to avoid him, but they still made contact.

    “We’re okay,” Mark Martin said. “Just pile up in front and I wailed a couple, I think Martin in the wall, a couple other walls. It’s racing.

    “I didn’t have any steering after the first hit so I hit the outside and then the inside twice so that’s what you have sometimes when you’re racing. We were having a bad night and it ended up worse.”

    “Unfortunate deal for the NAPA Toyota,” Mark Truex Jr. said. “We were struggling tonight. We were running our butts off running 16th. We made a mistake on pit road and got back there. Once you make one mistake, you got to battle twice as hard to get back up there.

    “The 2 checked up, I checked and I got hit from behind. You get back there, you get desperate and you take two tires and get yourself as trouble.”

    With his third place finish, Carl Edwards now leads the points, nine points over Kyle Busch, who finished 16th.