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  • Matty’s Picks 2013 – Vol. 11 Quicken Loans 400 – Michigan International Speedway – June 16, 2013

    Matty’s Picks 2013 – Vol. 11 Quicken Loans 400 – Michigan International Speedway – June 16, 2013

    I’m back after my yearly boycott of one of the two Pocono races, and I come back amidst a shake up in both the number 1 seed for The Chase, and a hot streak out of the Stewart-Hass stable has mixed up the standings for the two Wild Card spots at the end of the season. Matt Kenseth held the advantage for the top seed in The Chase with three early victories but now he’s got a companion in fellow champion Jimmie Johnson, who recorded his third win of the year last Sunday at Pocono Raceway. Remember, each win in the regular season is worth three bonus points when the Chase begins in mid-September, so winning races now can really help our your cause in September.

    Kenseth, a two-time Michigan winner, arguably has been the season’s fastest commodity leading 11 of 14 races. The 2003 champ’s pace has sometimes proved too fast for his JGR Toyota, which has suffered two engine-related DNFs – something to watch for this weekend, as Michigan tends to be rough on engines.

    Johnson peaked early, winning the Daytona 500. Nothing’s happened over the next 13 races to suggest that’s anything but a good thing for the Hendrick Motorsports team. In fact, his best vote of confidence comes from crew chief Chad Knaus following Sunday’s dominant victory at Pocono:

    “Jimmie and I are in a really good spot. Jimmie is switched on right now,” said Knaus in the post race press-conference. “He’s as good or better than I’ve ever seen him.”

    An important stat for Jimmie’s start to this 2013 season is in four of his five championship seasons, he won two or more races through the first Pocono event – he’s won 3 so far this season. Considering he has finished among the top five in 7 of this season’s 14 races and led a combined 271 laps in his past two starts, I think this team is really clicking, and when this team is clicking, WATCH OUT.

    Taking a look at the other end of The Chase field, you’ve got red-hot Tony Stewart. Stewart’s latest feat is disproving a mysterious theory that the current points system works against recovery from an early season filled with misfortune. It took Tony just 3 races to erase that misconception.
    Tony left Darlington on Mother’s Day weekend ranked 21st in the standings, but he enters Father’s Day weekend in 13th, but more importantly just 17 points out of the 10th spot in points. In just 3 races, Stewart has closed the gap on 10th by 45 points with 3 solid finishes, including the win at Dover.

    As far as Michigan goes, the track itself is a 2-mile D-shaped oval situated in the “Irish Hills” of Michigan. It was previously known as the “sister track” to Texas World Speedway, not to be confused with Texas Motor Speedway of course, which was actually used as a blueprint for the construction of California Speedway. Michigan is recognized as one of motorsports’ premier facilities because of its wide surface and fast speeds. Because there are no restrictor plates at Michigan, it’s considered the fastest track in NASCAR as corner entry speeds are anywhere from 215 to 220 MPH. There’s a lot of room to race at Michigan, creating a lot of passing and great opportunities for 3 & 4 wide restarts.

    Michigan Picks

    Winner Pick
    On Wednesday, I picked Carl Edwards while previewing Sunday’s Quicken Loans 400 with Greg of the Prime Sports Network. It’s a pick I am happy with considering 16 drivers have won from the pole at Michigan, making it the winningest starting spot in the field. Edwards took the pole on Friday with a qualifying speed topping 202 MPH.

    On top of taking the pole on Friday, Edwards boasts the series-best average finish of 8.2 over the course of his career, the second-best average running position, over 2,500 laps run in the top 15, and a Driver Rating of 105.2 which is good enough for 3rd best on the list of active drivers.
    Even in the horrific 2012 season for Carl Edwards, he managed to finish 11th in the June race after starting 42nd, and 6th after he started outside the front row. Considering his success here over the years, I still like Carl as a pick this week.

    Dark Horse Pick
    I didn’t have a longshot on Wednesday during the preview show with Greg, and unfortunately don’t have one for this Saturday Pick’s column this week. To me, there is so much talent starting at the front of the field this week, the top-10 finishing spots are going to be claimed by the top guys. I don’t see too much room for any drivers to “shock the world” this week in Michigan.

    A melancholy Godspeed this week to Jason Leffler, who passed following a Sprint Car crash in Bridgeport, NJ earlier this week. I was a fan of Leffler throughout his career, and am saddened by the loss of one of the true racers of the NASCAR community.

    That’s all for this week, so until we head to wine country…You Stay Classy NASCAR Nation!

  • Crunching The Numbers: Michigan

    Crunching The Numbers: Michigan

    After having races in three different states last weekend for the three national series, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series join back up for a companion weekend at Michigan International Speedway, the bad fast two-mile oval located in the Irish Hills of Michigan. The high speeds generated at the track are due in large part to the repave that the track underwent last season, as well as the long straightaways and the wide, sweeping corners that tend to produce three and four wide racing.

    Sprint Cup Series – Quicken Loans 400

    After taking on the “Tricky Triangle” in Pocono last weekend, the Sprint Cup Series heads west to Michigan for race No. 15 of the season. Many are expecting a blazing fast race with the combination of the new pavement from last year and the new Gen6 car that has been breaking track records all season long. If that trend continues this weekend, the track record of 203.241 mph set last season at this race by Marcos Ambrose could very well be in danger of falling.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Carl Edwards 17 2 9 13 0 275 21.1 8.2
    Matt Kenseth 27 2 12 17 0 284 18.3 9.6
    Jeff Gordon 40 2 18 25 5 954 11.1 11.7
    Greg Biffle 20 3 9 12 1 517 13.2 11.8
    Tony Stewart 28 1 11 19 0 224 19.4 11.9
    Denny Hamlin 14 2 5 7 0 149 14.5 13.6
    Mark Martin 54 5 18 31 1 965 11.7 14.0
    Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 27 2 6 10 2 293 15.0 14.8
    Kevin Harvick 24 1 3 8 0 149 18.1 14.8
    Jimmie Johnson 22 0 4 9 0 565 8.8 15.2

    Who To Watch: With car owner Jack Roush hailing from Michigan and some of the Roush organization being based in Michigan, it is no surprise that Ford drivers run well at this track. Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Ford for Roush-Fenway Racing, leads all active drivers in the stats category at Michigan with two wins, nine top fives, 13 top tens, 275 laps led, and an average finish of 8.2 in 17 races.

    Matt Kenseth, former teammate to Edwards and current driver of the No. 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, also has run well at Michigan with two wins, 12 top fives, 17 top tens, 284 laps led, and an average finish of 9.6 in 27 races. However, Toyota’s recent decision to detune their engines in favor of better reliability may hamper Kenseth and the other Toyota drivers at Michigan, where an engine that can produce big horsepower and speed can provide a sizeable advantage over the competition.

    Others to keep an eye on include: Jeff Gordon, with two wins, 18 top fives, 25 top tens, five poles, 954 laps led, and an average finish of 11.7 in 40 races; Greg Biffle, with three wins, nine top fives, 12 top tens, one pole, 517 laps led, and an average finish of 11.8 in 20 starts; Tony Stewart, who has been on a roll since winning at Dover two weeks ago, has one win, 11 top fives, 19 top tens, 224 laps led, and an average finish of 11.9 in 28 starts; Denny Hamlin, with two wins, five top fives, seven top tens, 149 laps led, and an average finish of 13.6; and Mark Martin, with five wins, 18 top fives, 31 top tens, one pole, 965 laps led, and an average finish of 14.0 in 54 races.

    We can’t forget about Dale Earnhardt, Jr. either, with both of his Michigan wins equating to his last two Sprint Cup Series wins, including his win in this race one year ago. In addition to his two wins, Earnhardt, Jr. has six top fives, 10 top tens, two poles, 293 laps led, and an average finish of 14.8 in 27 races. Earnhardt will also be running a special “Man of Steel” paint scheme this weekend, and the driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet could very well take a superhero themed car to Victory Lane for the second year in a row.

    Nationwide Series – Alliance Truck Parts 250

    The first standalone race of the season for the Nationwide Series at Iowa last weekend surely did not disappoint as the race that was postponed to Sunday due to rain saw Trevor Bayne overtake a dominant Austin Dillon in the closing laps to win. The Nationwide drivers head north to Michigan this weekend for another companion weekend with their Sprint Cup counterparts. With only a few Sprint Cup regulars running this race, we could possibly see a Nationwide regular get to Victory Lane once again on Saturday.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Kyle Busch 5 1 4 4 0 119 7.4 4.8
    Joey Logano 4 1 1 4 0 31 6.8 5.0
    Brian Vickers 5 0 2 3 1 114 5.2 9.0
    Paul Menard 7 0 2 6 1 50 12.9 9.3
    Justin Allgaier 4 0 1 2 0 14 14.0 9.5
    Austin Dillon 2 0 1 1 1 11 19.0 12.0
    Brian Scott 3 0 0 1 0 0 15.0 13.7
    Elliott Sadler 8 0 0 4 0 10 20.6 14.5
    Michael Annett 4 0 0 0 0 0 18.5 15.0
    Trevor Bayne 3 0 1 1 0 1 5.7 15.3

    Who To Watch: Two of the three Sprint Cup regulars running on Saturday, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano, lead in the stats category at Michigan with each driver having one win apiece. Busch has slightly better stats than Logano with four top fives, four top tens, 119 laps led and an average finish of 4.8 in five starts versus Logano’s one top five, four top tens, 31 laps led and an average finish of 5.0 in four starts. Logano and Busch are also the only drivers that will be racing on Saturday that have a Nationwide Series win at Michigan.

    Others to keep an eye on include: Brian Vickers, with two top fives, three top tens, one pole, 114 laps led, and an average finish of 9.0 in five starts; Paul Menard, the third of the three Sprint Cup regulars, with two top fives, six top tens, one pole, 50 laps led, and an average finish of 9.3 in seven starts; Justin Allgaier, with one top five, two top tens, 14 laps led, and an average finish of 9.5 in four starts; and Austin Dillon, who nearly won last week in Iowa, with one top five, one top ten, one pole, 11 laps led, and an average finish of 12.0 in two starts.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Party in the Poconos 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Party in the Poconos 400

    With a picture-perfect race day after a qualifying rainout, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 32nd annual Party in the Poconos 400.

    Surprising:  With good practice times and a decent starting position set on owner’s points, it was most surprising to see the No. 5 Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet  head to pit road and then to the garage on the first lap of the race.

    “We have no idea what happened with the car yet,” Kasey Kahne said. “The crew and engineers have been looking at things but they’re still unsure.”

    “II know that when I took off, in second gear, I had no power and it was just vibrating like crazy,” Kahne continued. “The faster I went, the worse the vibration was.”

    With the garage time, Kahne finished nineteen laps down in the 36th position. He also lost two positions in the point standings, falling from the fifth to seventh spot.

    Not Surprising:  With the controversy of the Dover restart still ringing in his ears, Jimmie Johnson put it all behind him, leading a record setting 128 laps out of the total 160 at Pocono Raceway.

    And with a lap leading percentage of 80%, there was no surprise that the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet found Victory Lane for the third time of the season and the third time at Pocono.

    “I’m sure we’ve had some other really strong races like that, but not in recent memory,” Johnson said. “What a race car.”

    “There are only so many tricks you have if you play by the rules with those restarts,” Johnson continued. “Fortunately, I was able to get the lead and have clean air again at the end.”

    Surprising:  With all the struggles of team Ford, it was most surprising to see Greg Biffle, in the No. 16 3M Ford, surge at the end to score the runner up position.

    “We had some good restarts and we were lucky with the lane choices and my car ran pretty good on restarts,” Biffle said. “Clearly we’re not celebrating that we finished second quite yet and have our cars figured out, but this is definitely a step in the right direction.”

    “We certainly ran better here than we have been all season and certainly that’s a positive for us going to next week, so hopefully we’ll continue to build on that.”

    Not Surprising:  With a third place finish in the books, NASCAR’s most popular driver pronounced it all good, as well as predicting that the momentum might just carry the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet into Victory Lane soon.

    “We are all right,” Dale Earnhardt, Jr. said. “We know what we need to do.”

    “Confidence is there so all the fans can rest assured we feel like we are on the right track,” Junior continued. “We want to get a win, man.”

    “If we keep getting close, we are going to get one.”

    Surprising:  The announcement of Toyota Racing Development backing down the horsepower to improve reliability surprisingly came at the worst time for Denny Hamlin, who has been battling intently to recover from his injury and make the Chase.

    “We weren’t competitive,” the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota said after finishing eighth. “We’re just trying to do everything we can and grind and finish good when we don’t have a winning car.”

    “And by no means did we have a winning car this weekend.”

    Not Surprising:   Fellow Toyota teammate Kyle Busch was the top Toyota finisher, bringing his No. 18 M&Ms Toyota Camry home in the sixth position.

    “The car was loose in turn three all day, but we got the car feeling pretty good towards the end,” Busch said. “We probably had a seventh place car all day long.”

    “I just couldn’t get going on that last restart,” Busch continued. “I just didn’t do a good job there and we found ourselves in sixth.”

    “We’ll take that and go on to Michigan.”

    Surprising:  Stewart-Haas Racing had a surprisingly good time at the Party in the Poconos, with Tony Stewart finishing in fourth, Ryan Newman finishing fifth, and Danica Patrick finishing on the lead lap at her first ever try on that tricky track.

    “It’s one thing if one car runs good, but to have two or all three of us running good shows that we are gaining momentum,” Tony Stewart, team owner and driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, said . “Really proud of our group at SHR.”

    Not Surprising:  Kurt Busch, behind the wheel of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet, once again faced adversity, this time with a problem on pit road. And not surprisingly, he and his team rallied yet again to finish top-10.

    “We had a fast car again, ran up front but a mistake on my part on pit road stalled our momentum,” Busch said. “But we battled back with a solid finish.”

    “The good news is that we know how to overcome adversity and the more we perform the way we have been, the better we’ll get.”

    Surprising:  Matt Kenseth had an uncharacteristically and surprisingly tough day, doing some synchronized spinning with Juan Pablo Montoya and then wheel-hopping on pit road and having some contact with Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

    “I mean, disappointing,” the driver of the No. 20 Home Depot/Husky Tools Toyota said. “I thought we had a top-five at the very worst or seventh or eighth-place car.”

    “Whenever you don’t finish where you are running, it’s always disappointing.”

    Not Surprising:  Earnhardt Ganassi Racing just keeps gaining ground, this week with Jamie McMurray finishing thirteenth and Juan Pablo Montoya finishing fourteenth.

    “We just have to execute,” Montoya said. “Each person has got to do its own little thing.”

    “We just have to keep our heads down and keep doing our work and we will be fine.”

    Surprising:  AJ Allmendinger had a surprisingly difficult day in the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Services Chevrolet, finishing a disappointing 33rd. The ‘Dinger was responsible for the next to the last race caution after experiencing significant tire troubles.

    In spite of this, Allmendinger was surprisingly chosen to replace Bobby Labonte when the Cup crowd heads to Michigan next weekend. JTG Daugherty Racing’s leadership apparently selected ‘Dinger to shake down the car to see if and how the performance can be enhanced.

    “I have raced for Phoenix Racing some this year and feel confident I’ll be able to provide JTG Daugherty Racing with a good comparison,” Allmendinger said. “I’m thankful for this opportunity to work with the team and Bobby.”

    Not Surprising:  For Chad Knaus, crew chief, and team Jimmie Johnson, the focus still remains on the point standings. And this team not surprisingly knows exactly how important their points lead is, now 51 points ahead of Carl Edwards.

    “As far as points go, it’s always important,” Knaus said. “We’ve got some very tricky race tracks coming up and we want to make sure that we get as many points accumulated as possible.”

    “That’s just the way we roll.”

     

  • Jimmie Johnson Party of One in Pocono Victory Lane

    Jimmie Johnson Party of One in Pocono Victory Lane

    After dominating at Dover last week and not getting the result he wanted due to a restart penalty, Jimmie Johnson ordered up a table for one at the Party in the Poconos 400 Presented by Walmart, right in Victory Lane.

    Although challenged by some late race cautions, Johnson dominated the race, leading a career high 128 laps.

    He also dominated the race weekend, from being quickest in first practice to being at the front of the field in the final practice session. And thanks to the rainout of qualifying, the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet also started from the pole, which was critical for track position.

    The win was Johnson’s 63rd career victory, his third win of the season, and his third checkered flag in 23 races at the Tricky Triangle.

    “What a race car,” Johnson said. “Not only the car and the handling and the grip that it had, but also the engine and what was under the hood.”

    “When I would lean on the throttle, this baby would yard anybody and everybody,” Johnson continued. “Today everything worked out.”

    Not only did Chad Knaus, Johnson’s crew chief, concur but he also enjoyed every minute of the Pocono competition.

    “Wow, it was a lot of fun,” Knaus said. “I really love this race track.”

    “It’s always been one of my favorites,” Knaus continued. “When you come up here you have to have a race car that will handle, great horsepower and so many cool things that come into play.”

    “When we showed up on Friday, we realized that we had a great car,” Knaus said. “Jimmie did a fantastic job and his car control was second to none.”

    Greg Biffle, who had a great run at Pocono, particularly on the last restart, finished in the runner up position with his No. 16 3M Ford. Although this was his fifth top-10 finish in 21 races at Pocono and his fifth top-10 finish of the season, Biffle acknowledged that the good finish did not come quite as easily as he would have liked.

    “It was definitely a struggle for us,” Biffle said. “We had two pit stops that weren’t the greatest and hung a lug nut.”

    “We were struggling for track position all day,” Biffle continued. “Turns 3 and 4 (or whatever you call it) was where we struggled.”

    “I was terrible there and anything I would gain in turns 1 and 2, I would lose.”

    Biffle acknowledged that he simply did not have anything for the 48 bunch. But he took the runner up finish as a positive, particularly going into Michigan next week, a track where he has had success in the past.

    “The 48 was super fast,” Biffle said. “He just drove away from everybody.”

    “We had some good restarts and we were lucky with the lane choices, but most of the top five cars were faster than us on sheer speed,” Biffle continued. “We still have work to do but this is a step in the right direction.”

    “That’s a positive for us going to next week.”

    Fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. led the Hendrick Motorsports team in the finishing order, taking the checkered flag third in the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet. This was Junior’s 10th top-10 finish in 27 races at Pocono.

    But even with the top-five finish, Earnhardt Jr. acknowledged that the restarts at the Tricky Triangle were the most challenging for him to overcome.

    “Them last restarts were kind of tough,” Junior said. “Being on the inside on the front row really ain’t the cat bird’s seat.”

    “The guys behind you can get good runs and put you three-wide,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “So, I was more in defense mode there and Greg (Biffle) just got around us on the outside.”

    “But I’m pretty happy with the way we ran,” Junior said. “Just looking forward to going to Michigan, a track we run pretty good at, next week.”

    Stewart-Haas Racing had a great time at the Party in the Poconos, with Tony Stewart, in the No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, finishing fourth and teammate Ryan Newman, in the No. 39 HAAS Automation Chevrolet, finishing fifth.

    “The restarts got tight,” Stewart acknowledged. “The good thing is we got confidence from the last three weeks in a row.”

    The third member of the Stewart-Haas team, Danica Patrick, finished 29th in her first ever run in a Cup car at Pocono. She did, however, bring her No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet to the checkered flag on the lead lap.

    “For Ryan and I to finish in the top five and Danica doing better, we’re just gaining on it,” Stewart said. “I’m just proud our group had a good run.”

    Stewart’s teammate Ryan Newman did indeed have a good finish, playing both the speed and strategy cards throughout the race, even on the restarts.

    “Well we did have the speed today,” Newman said. “Strategy worked out to our benefit.”

    “I thought I was going to be in the middle of a Busch (brother Kurt and Kyle) sandwich there at the end going into Turn 2,” Newman continued. “But I have to thank them for giving me a little bit of room.”

    “Strategy worked to our benefit with the yellows there at the end,” Newman said. “Just a good rebound for us and that’s really what we needed for this team.”

    The Busch brothers, Kyle and Kurt, finished sixth and seventh respectively. Both, however, had their share of adversity from which they had to battle back.

    “We just kept working on our M&M’s Camry all day,” Kyle Busch said. “We probably had a seventh-place car all day long and found ourselves in third on the last restart.”

    “I just couldn’t get going for some reason,” Busch continued. “I just didn’t do a good job there and we found ourselves in sixth.”

    “We’ll take that and go on to Michigan.”

    “We had a fast car again, ran up front but a mistake on my part on pit road stalled our momentum,” Kurt Busch said, after overshooting his pit box on Lap 126. “But we battled back with a solid finish.”

    “We’ve made great strides in the past month and need to continue the progression,” Busch continued. “I don’t see any reason why we can’t.”

    Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota, Kevin Harvick, behind the wheel of the No. 29 Rheem Chevrolet, and Joey Logano, just back from Iowa in time to jump behind the wheel of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford rounded out the top ten finishers for the 32nd annual Party in the Poconos.

     

     

  • Danica Patrick Acknowledges Learning Curve Continues at Pocono

    Danica Patrick Acknowledges Learning Curve Continues at Pocono

    As Danica Patrick approaches her first race ever at Pocono Raceway, she absolutely acknowledges that she is still very much in learning curve mode. In fact, the rookie Patrick is just the second woman to race at Pocono, following in the steps of Janet Guthrie.

    “I think that people have been really understanding to the fact that this is a learning curve and coming from IndyCar is a totally different place,” Patrick said. “I feel that’s been actually very publicized that there is going to be time needed to see that through.”

    “That doesn’t stop me from getting mad or wanting more,” Patrick continued. “I think that’s just the nature of someone competitive.”

    “There are a lot of times that my crew chief wants to remind me that I’m doing a good job and that this is the first year, not only in Cup, but my second full-time in stock cars,” Patrick said. “But I have high expectation levels.”

    “It keeps me pushing,” Patrick continued. “I think the media has done a good job of education maybe the more casual fan that it’s a big transition.”

    Patrick is definitely in learning mode at Pocono and expressed her gratitude for at least being able to test there recently. She was, however, disappointed not only that practice was rained out but qualifying as well.

    “It’s a good thing we came last week and tested, that’s for sure,” Patrick said. “Obviously it doesn’t look like we’ll get out on the track (because of the rain).”

    “Unfortunately that will leave it up to points to qualify,” Patrick continued. “Oh well, I’ve qualified worse than that on my own.”

    “It’s not in the very back,” Patrick said of her qualifying position in P30. “It will just kind of leave it up to race runs tomorrow, which is not a bad thing when you’re coming to a track for the first time.”

    “To some degree, you just have to learn for yourself what’s going to happen and ultimately what you need,” Patrick continued. “I definitely have good resources with my teammates and am talking with my crew chief about what to expect and what we need to be looking for and what tends to happen in the race here.”

    “So, I’ll be asking those questions.”

    While Patrick expressed her admiration for her boss Tony Stewart, owner/driver for Stewart Haas Racing, she does not necessarily lean on him for advice about the race track, even at one where she has never been like the Tricky Triangle.

    “I don’t necessarily even really talk to Tony or anybody about how to drive it,” Patrick said. “I think that it’s very hard for someone to say well, you need to really carry a lot of speed.”

    “What does that mean?” Patrick continued. “I have to get out on the track and feel what it means and then have a very specific question that I need answered.”

    “Everyone drives differently, so it’s not like someone can just tell you how to drive the track.”

    “I find that I have a lot better results through questions once I’ve actually done something and had a taste of what it is I’m doing,” Patrick said. “It’s very difficult to come to a place that you’ve never seen and ask the right questions.”

    While Patrick may not rely on her boss for tips on how to master the three turns of Pocono, she does want to learn just how he masters the media.

    “I just wish I could do an interview like him,” Patrick said. “He does such a great job.”

    “It’s so funny,” Patrick continued. “He’s not afraid to say what he really thinks at all; even more than me.”

    “And he is much more funny about it,” Patrick said. “He’s so much more adorable about it.”

    “He has a huge drive to be fast and make the team better and make his car better and you feel that, for sure,” Patrick continued. “You also feel that passion.”

    “I love him.”

    One arena that Patrick does not consult in her NASCAR learning curve is the media itself. And she has learned some interesting lessons, especially through social media.

    “Do I read the press?” Patrick was asked. “Only if a have a good weekend.”

    “If I don’t, I don’t,” Patrick continued. “I read it too if there are a lot of pictures; pictures are my favorite.”

    “Social media has given everyone a platform to speak their minds,” Patrick said. “But what that’s done is kind of put your finger on the pulse of what’s going to be written about.”

    “If people don’t like me, they can at least respect my honesty.”

    Most of all, Patrick continues her learning curve in the sport with the support of her incredible fan base. And as she makes her Pocono debut, she is most appreciative of the young ones, both boys and girls, who look up to her and her role in the sport.

    “That’s sometimes the best part of your day is to hear a little kid say that they look up to you,” Patrick admitted. “I never, ever get sick of that.”

    “Some of the kids are very open and they feel like they know you and they come and hug you,” Patrick continued. “It’s a nice feeling.”

    “It makes it all feel kind of worthwhile on days that aren’t good,” Patrick said. “It helps to understand that it’s just one day and that it will pass and they like you because they’ve seen you do well and that they enjoy you as a competitor.”

    “I’m learning about that perspective and it can really brighten up your day.”

  • Crunching The Numbers: Pocono/Iowa/Texas

    Crunching The Numbers: Pocono/Iowa/Texas

    After last weekend’s triple-header at Dover International Speedway, the three national series go their separate ways this weekend with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series headlining at Pocono Raceway, the NASCAR Nationwide Series heading to the Midwest for a Saturday night showdown at Iowa Speedway, and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series kicking off the weekend in the Lone Star State with their race on Friday night at Texas Motor Speedway. This marks the one and only time during the season that all three series are at three different tracks in three different states in one weekend.

    Sprint Cup Series – Party In The Poconos 400 Presented By Walmart

    The Sprint Cup Series makes its first of two trips to Pocono Raceway this weekend to take on one of the most unique tracks on the circuit. With only three turns instead of the usual four and all three of varying banking (14 degrees in Turn 1, 8 degrees in Turn 2, and 6 degrees in Turn 3), this 2.5 mile track is one of the hardest to perfect a setup for and several of the top drivers in the series have yet to master the “Tricky Triangle”.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Jimmie Johnson 22 2 9 15 2 562 9.3 9.0
    Jeff Gordon 40 6 18 28 2 965 11.4 10.2
    Denny Hamlin 14 4 8 9 2 663 5.6 10.7
    Mark Martin 52 0 20 34 3 448 9.3 11.1
    Tony Stewart 28 2 11 20 2 156 12.4 11.3
    Ryan Newman 22 1 7 10 2 163 9.8 12.4
    Carl Edwards 16 2 5 8 0 212 19.0 13.2
    Kevin Harvick 24 0 5 8 0 5 19.8 14.1
    Matt Kenseth 26 0 3 10 0 54 18.5 14.3
    Brad Keselowski 6 1 2 2 0 27 19.5 14.5

    Who To Watch: No surprise with who’s on top of the list this week. Five-time champion Jimmie Johnson heads up the list with the best stats at Pocono with two wins, nine top fives, 15 top tens, two poles, 562 laps led and an average finish of 9.0 in 22 starts.

    While Johnson has the best overall stats, the most wins goes to his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Jeff Gordon, who has six wins, 18 top fives, 28 top tens, two poles, 965 laps led and an average finish of 10.2 in 40 starts. Two of Gordon’s six wins have come in the last four races at the track, and Gordon is the most recent Pocono winner with his win in the rain shortened event last August.

    Many drivers don’t get their first win at a tricky track like Pocono, but Denny Hamlin did just that, sweeping both Pocono races in his rookie season of 2006 and adding two more wins since then to give him a total of four wins, eight top fives, nine top tens, two poles, 663 laps led, and an average finish of 10.7 in 14 races.

    Others to keep an eye on include: Mark Martin, who nearly won this race one year ago before fading late, with 20 top fives, 34 top tens, three poles, 448 laps led, and an average finish of 11.1 in 52 starts; and Tony Stewart, winner of last week’s race at Dover, who has two wins, 11 top fives, 20 top tens, two poles, 156 laps led, and an average finish of 11.3 in 28 starts.

    Nationwide Series – DuPont Pioneer 250 at Iowa

    With only one Sprint Cup Series regular scheduled to make the trip to Iowa from Pocono this weekend, this race will truly be a showcase of the Nationwide Series regulars in what is sure to be great racing at the .875 mile short track in Iowa. Several of the Nationwide regulars have never turned a lap at this track and who comes out on top after 250 miles is anyone’s guess.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Elliott Sadler 4 1 4 4 3 100 2.2 2.8
    Parker Kligerman 1 0 0 1 0 0 10.0 8.0
    Michael Annett 6 0 1 2 0 4 20.7 10.2
    Kenny Wallace 4 0 0 3 0 0 20.2 10.2
    Justin Allgaier 6 0 1 4 0 150 5.8 11.3
    Cole Whitt 2 0 0 1 0 4 12.0 13.0
    Sam Hornish, Jr. 3 0 1 1 0 69 4.0 13.0
    Austin Dillon 4 0 1 2 0 53 7.0 14.2
    Reed Sorenson 3 0 1 2 0 77 16.0 15.3
    Mike Bliss 6 0 0 0 0 3 19.2 17.0

    Who To Watch: As the only driver who will be racing on Saturday that has a win at Iowa, Elliott Sadler comes in far ahead of the other drivers in the field with his one win, four top fives, four top tens, three poles, 100 laps led, and an average finish of 2.8 in four starts.

    Others to keep an eye on that have raced at Iowa before include: Parker Kligerman, Michael Annett, Kenny Wallace, Justin Allgaier, Cole Whitt, Sam Hornish Jr., and Austin Dillon. All of these drivers have average finishes of 14.2 or better.

    While drivers like Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, and points leader Regan Smith have never raced at Iowa, look for these drivers to also be in the running for the win on Saturday night.

    Camping World Truck Series – Winstar World Casino 400 at Texas

    With the Camping World Truck Series race at Texas also being a standalone event, there will be no Sprint Cup regulars making the trip down for Friday night’s race. This means we will get to see a great battle between those that have been in the Truck Series for years and with the young guns that have infiltrated the series this year. Just as we saw a couple of weeks ago at Charlotte, this race should be more of the same with two and three wide racing throughout the field for the entirety of the event.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Ty Dillon 3 0 2 3 0 23 6.7 5.0
    Joey Coulter 4 0 2 4 0 9 8.0 5.2
    Johnny Sauter 9 2 4 7 1 213 11.8 6.4
    Todd Bodine 17 6 10 11 1 329 11.3 9.7
    Matt Crafton 24 0 6 13 2 42 15.6 11.0
    James Buescher 8 0 0 3 2 129 7.8 12.6
    Ron Hornaday, Jr. 20 3 6 11 0 681 9.2 12.9
    Brendan Gaughan 17 4 7 7 0 163 17.4 13.6
    David Starr 29 0 7 11 0 20 14.1 14.3
    Timothy Peters 10 0 0 2 0 1 16.4 15.4

    Who To Watch: As Truck Series mainstays, drivers to watch at Texas include: Ty Dillon, with two top fives, three top tens, and an average finish of 5.0 in three starts; Joey Coulter, with two top fives, four top tens, and an average finish of 5.2 in four starts; Johnny Sauter, with two wins, four top fives, seven top tens, one pole, 213 laps led, and an average finish of 6.4 in nine starts; and Todd Bodine, with six wins, 10 top fives, 11 top tens, one pole, 329 laps led, and an average finish of 9.7 in 17 starts.

    While the mainstays will have a leg up in Texas, the young guns of the series can’t be overlooked. Drivers who have shown they have real potential in this sport that are making noise in the Truck Series including Darrell Wallace, Jr., Jeb Burton, and Ryan Blaney. One of these rookies have a real shot at the win, especially with no Cup regulars in the field.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson was black-flagged for jumping the final restart at Dover, a mistake that most likely cost him his third win this season. After serving a drive-through penalty, Johnson finished 17th, one lap down.

    “Much like NASCAR did by allowing the NRA to sponsor a race,” Johnson said, “I jumped the gun. Needless to say, I won’t be exchanging pleasantries with NASCAR any time soon. We’re certainly not ‘BFF’s.’ After getting black flagged, it appears I got ‘BF-F’d.’

    “I don’t agree with the call. Obviously, it’s NASCAR’s last-ditch effort to add some color to the sport.”

    2. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth’s day ended abruptly in Dover, as his engine blew on lap 159 with the lead. He finished 40th, his worst finish of the year, and fell one spot in the point standings to fourth, 74 behind Jimmie Johnson.

    “That’s not the first engine to blow,” Kenseth said. “If it’s not our engine, it’s our ‘suspension’ holding us back. What do our engine and ‘suspension’ have in common? They both will ‘expire’ soon.”

    “But there’s one good thing about blowing an engine. The faulty parts get burned beyond recognition. Ha! Take that, NASCAR inspectors.”

    3. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished 14th at Dover, as Roush Fenway Racing cars all finished in the top 15. Edwards remained second in the point standings, 30 out of first.

    “Roush cars took the 13th, 14th, and 15th spots,” Edwards said. “All week long, Ricky Stenhouse has been singing Al Green’s ‘Let’s Stay Together.’ I guess Greg Biffle and I thought he was singing to us.

    “But it remains to be seen what lasts longer for Stenhouse—his relationship, or his manhood.”

    4. Kyle Busch: Busch led a race-high 150 laps and finished fourth in the Fed Ex 400 at Dover International Raceway, posting his sixth top 5 of the year. He is ninth in the Sprint Cup point standings, and trails Jimmie Johnson by 99.

    “NASCAR races will soon be covered on TNT,” Busch said. “Interestingly enough, that’s home to the series Falling Skies. Fox recently became the home to a new series—Falling Cables.”

    5. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer came home fourth at Dover, scoring the top finish for Michael Waltrip Racing. He moved up one spot to third in the point standings, and is 50 out of first.

    “We’re still searching for our first win of the year,” Bowyer said. “It’s not a matter of ‘if,’ it’s a matter of ‘when.’ That also applies to the matter of whether a Toyota engine will explode. In that respect, Toyota’s got a lot of ‘whens’ this year.”

    6. Kevin Harvick: After winning in Charlotte last week, Harvick finished eighth at Dover for his fifth top-10 result of the year. He is now fourth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 74 out of first.

    “The finish at Dover begs the question,” Harvick said. “Who’s faster? Jimmy John’s or Jimmie Johnson. All I know is that Jimmy John’s, unlike Jimmie Johnson, can’t get their too fast.”

    7. Kasey Kahne: Kahne led two laps early and was headed for a sure top-10 finish before a late incident left him with rear-end damage. He finished 23rd, four laps down, and fell two spots to seventh in the point standings, 81 out of first.

    “Have you heard?” Kahne said. “There’s a new swimsuit calendar coming out featuring 12 of NASCAR’s sexiest inspectors in bikinis. It’s called ‘Sanctioning Bodies.’”

    8. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski posted his first top-10 finish since Kansas with a fifth at Dover. The defending Sprint Cup champion is now eighth in the point standings, 98 behind Jimmie Johnson.

    “I’m well behind Johnson,” Keselowski said, “and my car failed post-race inspection at Dover. I’m the defending Cup champion, but I’m not driving like it. I don’t know who’s ‘come down’ harder this year—-NASCAR or me.

    “NASCAR said the front of our car was too low, and I was penalized for it. That’s odd, because as A.J. Allmendinger found out, Penske drivers are often penalized for being too high.”

    9. Tony Stewart: Stewart benefitted on Jimmie Johnson’s black flag and caught Juan Montoya with three laps to go to win the Fed Ex 400 at Dover. The win ended a four-month winless drought, and moved Stewart up to 16th in the point standings.

    “I like my wins like I like my food,” Stewart said. “Served on a silver platter. And apparently, I like my wins like I like my women—single. And, I like my wins like I like my engines—gift-wrapped from Hendrick Motorsports.”

    10. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt posted a quiet 10th-place finish at Dover, collecting his eighth top 10 of the year. He remained sixth in the point standings, where he trails Jimmie Johnson by 75.

    “I still feel like we’re building on something here,” Earnhardt said. “Unfortunately, it’s another long winless streak.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks

    Surprising and Not Surprising: FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks

    With the temperatures soaring and the ‘monster’ on the prowl, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 44th annual FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway.

    Surprising:  With even the drivers predicting that the ‘usual suspects’ would run well at Dover, there was a most surprising and surprised driver in Victory Lane instead.

    “If somebody would have told me it was going to be this way, I would have told them they were crazy,” race winner Tony Stewart declared in Victory Lane. “This was not a car that could win the race.”

    Stewart had not won a race at the Monster Mile since 2000 and has struggled for the most part at the track. This was not only Smoke’s first win of the season but, also surprisingly, his first top-10 finish in 2013.

    “Our guys at the shop have been digging, “ the driver of the No. 14 Code 3 Associates/Mobil 1 Chevrolet said of his team. “That is what carries you to days like today at the end of the day.”

    Not Surprising:  Restart gamesmanship, which has been discussed all season long this year, played a major factor as well at the Monster Mile. This time the games played out between then race leader Juan Pablo Montoya and Jimmie Johnson, the latter of whom was undoubtedly the strongest car on the track.

    Late in the race, NASCAR deemed that Johnson jumped the restart and black flagged him, forcing him to serve a pass through penalty. Johnson ended the race in the 17th position while Montoya finished second after the late pass on the high side by race winner Stewart.

    “Jimmie (Johnson) was laying off about nearly a car length from me, and I knew he was trying to jump the restart,” the driver of the No. 42 Energizer Chevrolet said. “When we got to the line, I think he wanted to time it and he timed it too well.”

    “He wanted to get the jump on me and he just jumped it too much,” Montoya continued. “I would have tried to have done the same.”

    “It’s one of those deals that when you time it too good, it actually hurts you.”

    Johnson of course had a different take on the restart gamesmanship, blaming Montoya instead.

    “I was at half throttle,” Johnson said. “At some point you have to go.”

    “I’m waiting for Montoya and he never comes,” Johnson continued. “Chad (Knaus, crew chief) told me to take off and not worry about it.”

    “Not a good way to lose the race,” Johnson said. “We had the strongest car.”

    Surprising:  Jeff Gordon, this week driving the No. 24 AARP Credit Cards from Chase Chevrolet, was surprisingly the best finisher amongst the Hendrick Motorsports group.

    Gordon finished third, while teammates Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished tenth, Jimmie Johnson finished 17th and Kasey Kahne took the checkered flag in 23rd after spinning out on lap 318.

    “Yeah it was a fantastic finish for us,” Gordon said. “We battled hard all day long.”

    “Today was a great race for us, just because we were sitting there 12th, 13th, 14th, and we stayed out and all of a sudden, here we are third.”

    “So that’s a great lesson for us to learn when we go to other tracks as well.”

    This was Gordon’s 23rd top-10 finish in 41 races at Dover International Speedway. The third place finish was also critical to Gordon, who jumped from fifteenth to eleventh in the point standings.

    Not Surprising:  Another parts failure played a role in Kyle Busch’s failure to score the finish that he wanted. In spite of that, however, he did end the race in the top—five, finishing fourth.

    “We must have broken a right front bump stop or something,” Busch said. “Just past halfway, that’s when it took a dump on us.”

    “I hate it,” Busch continued. “It’s unfortunate we weren’t able to capitalize on getting a win.”

    Surprising:  Kyle Busch was not the only Toyota driver to experience mechanical failures as both Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr. surprisingly suffered blown engines.

    “Something let go in the motor,” Truex Jr. said. “Just dropped a cylinder and started smoking all at once.”

    “We were one or two adjustments away there from having something for them,” the driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota said. “Damn, I wish we could have made it to the end.”

    “Something broke in our engine too,” Kenseth said. “Pretty disappointing.”

    “Something went wrong with a part,” the driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota said. “There’s nothing I can do about it.”

    Not Surprising:   Michael Waltrip Racing, with the exception of Martin Truex, Jr., showcased their survival skills at the Monster Mile , with Clint Bowyer and Mark Martin finishing sixth and ninth respectively.

    “We got a pretty decent finish but we just didn’t run very good all weekend long,” Bowyer said. “Definitely need to go back and do our homework and figure some things out for our 5-Hour Energy Toyota.”

    “It was a really great effort by our team,” Martin said. “Our Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota had more potential at the end than we were able to show.”

    “We’re making progress.”

    Surprising:  Denny Hamlin, who described himself as being on a mission to win and who snagged the coveted pole position, had a surprisingly bad day at Dover.

    On lap 378, Hamlin blew a tire and hit the wall, bringing out the seventh caution of the day. The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Freight/Autism Speaks Toyota finished 34th and fell to 26th in the point standings.

    Not Surprising:  With the temperature being so high, it was no surprise that tempers ran a little hot as well. Ryan Newman, manhandling his No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet without power steering, had his own temper flare-up while trying to pass David Gilliland, behind the wheel of the No. 38 Long John Silver’s Ford.

    And when the two drivers touched, they both went spinning and crashing hard.

    “We just got wrecked,” Gilliland said. “It is a shame.”

    “Unfortunately someone lost their patience a little bit,” Gilliland continued. “It is too bad but that is just the way it goes I guess.”

    Newman declined comment after the incident.

    Surprising:  Brad Keselowski was the highest finishing Ford, bringing his Blue Deuce to the checkered flag in the fifth position. He also had his crew chief Paul Wolfe back atop the war wagon after serving his penalties and suspension.

    “We drove hard all day, we just didn’t have the speed needed to go win the race,” Keselowski said. “ But we had the speed we needed to have a solid day.”

    “The guys did a great job executing today,” Keselowski said. “We wanted to win too so we will keep working to find a little more speed and get up there.”

    Unfortunately, Keselowski’s good run was marred by NASCAR’s announcement that his car did not pass post-race inspection as its front was too low. Penalties were just announced and include a fine of $25,000 for crew chief Wolfe and the continuation of his probation until year-end.

    The team has also been docked six driver points and six car owner points.

    Not Surprising:  Joey Logano, who won the Nationwide race the day before, exceeded his own expectations, battling back from a flat tire and using the lucky dog position to finally finish the race in the seventh position.

    “We fought all day basically trying to get a lucky dog after that flat tire,” Logano said. “We would get one back and then go down two and then get one back.”

    “This weekend I thought we were going to finish about 15 laps down,” Logano continued. “We weren’t any good in practice and Todd (Gordon, crew chief) and all the guys did a good job making it better for me.”

    “By the end it was a top-five car and we just ran out of time,” Logano said. “ I feel like that we could have finished in the top-five but considering where we were, we will take that all day.”

  • Tony Stewart Outsmoked Juan Pablo Montoya for Monster Mile Win

    Tony Stewart Outsmoked Juan Pablo Montoya for Monster Mile Win

    Tony Stewart defied all odds, coming from a 22nd starting position at the Monster Mile, to battle Juan Pablo Montoya to win the 44th Annual FedEx benefiting Autism Speaks race. This was Smoke’s first victory of the season and only his third top-10 finish in 2013.

    “This was not a car that could have won the race,” Stewart said. “Just great pit strategy at the end.”

    “Steve Addington (crew chief) made a great call there that last caution and gave us the opportunity to race for it up there.”

    “Just really proud of the Code 3 Associates Chevy,” Stewart continued. “Code 3 has done such an awesome job of getting everybody in Oklahoma back on their feet.”

    “I couldn’t think of a better wayto celebrate their work.”

    Stewart acknowledged that this has been a tough season, however, the win will certainly prove that the team is headed in the right direction, thanks to their perseverance.

    “Our guys at our shop have been digging,” Smoke said. “None of these guys get down.”

    “That is what carries you to days like today at the end of the day.”

    Juan Pablo Montoya, finishing second in the No. 42 Energizer Chevrolet for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, benefitted from a black flag of the strongest car in the race when NASCAR ruled on lap 381 that Jimmie Johnson jumped the restart. The penalty sent Johnson through the pits for a pass through penalty and Montoya to the race lead.

    Montoya, however, could not hold off Tony Stewart and had to settle for the runner up race finish instead. And he admitted that it was a struggle in spite of testing earlier at the Monster Mile.

    “Our car was OK,” Juan Pablo said in the media center after the race. “We came here and did a test before the race.”

    “It was a lot cooler, so when we unloaded we had to do quite a bit of work on the car,” Montoya continued. “We struggled with loose all day.”

    “We were really, really loose and the longer we would run, the looser we would get,” Montoya said. “It was a bit of a hit and miss.”

    “On one of the runs under green, we decided to make a couple changes on the car and it just came to life,” Montoya continued. “It came to life at the right time.”

    “It was a shame to lose but I just couldn’t hold Tony off.”

    While Juan Pablo Montoya thought that Johnson was trying to time the restart just right, he admitted that he would have done the exact same thing given the circumstances.

    “Jimmie was letting off and I knew he was trying to jump the start,” Montoya said. “And I backed up a little bit for him and when we got to the line, he wanted to time it and he timed it too well.”

    “He wanted to get the jump on me and he just jumped it too much,” JPM continued. “I would have tried to do the same thing.”

    Runner up Montoya also traded paint with Kurt Busch, in the No. 78 Furniture Row/Sealy Chevrolet, who finished 12th.

    “It’s weird, I got to his bumper – I don’t think I touched him, got him loose, got into turn three and he gave me a tap and I’m like, I don’t think I hit you,” Montoya said. “But it’s OK.”

    “It’s racing hard.”

    Montoya also credited his good finish to the growing chemistry with his crew chief Chris Heroy. But that relationship has been a struggle as they found ways to work together to get the car to Montoya’s liking.

    “When we started, we sucked and it was hard,” Montoya said. “He had a certain mentality as to how the car should be set up.”

    “He didn’t get that if he set it up that way, I couldn’t drive it,” Montoya continued. “You have to give me something that I can drive and be comfortable.”

    “It took a little time but now we’re clicking real well,” Montoya said. “And we’ve been getting good results every week.”

    Although the car was a handful, Montoya was pleased with the race finish and acknowledged that it bodes well for their continuing success.

    “It was a hell of a finish,” Montoya said. “It’s been awhile since we finished this good.”

    “We’ve had near misses but I think the wins are coming.”Montoya continued. “I’ve said this before, you’ve got to get top-5s and top-10s to be able to add wins.”

    “Today we gave ourselves a good chance but the car was a little too much of a handful there at the end,” Montoya said. “We tried.”

    This was Montoya’s third top-10 finish in 13 races at Dover and his third top-10 finish of the season.

    Jeff Gordon, driving the No. 24 AARP Credit Cards from Chase Chevrolet, finished a strong third, ahead of all of his other Hendrick Motorsports teammates. This was Gordon’s 23rd top-10 finish at Dover.

    “Yeah it was a fantastic finish for us,” Gordon said. “We battled hard all day long, hovering 13th, 14th, I think we got to maybe 10th at one time.”

    “I knew that clean air was making a huge difference,” Gordon continued. “So, we were fortunate there where we only had a few laps on the tires and we decided to stay out.”

    Gordon acknowledged that this run was exactly what he was hoping for to turn his season around.

    “It’s certainly a great feeling,” Gordon said. “We just have to fight.”

    “We fought hard today, very hard and this is a tough place,” Gordon continued. “It was not an easy race but this team never gave up.”

    Gordon jumped  four spots in the point standings, from 15th to 11th, now within  striking distance of Chase contention.

    Kyle Busch, driving the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, finished in the fourth position, in spite of yet again some sort of parts failure.

    “We must have broken a right front bump stop or something,” Busch said. “Just another parts failure for us.”

    “It’s unfortunate we weren’t able to capitalize on getting a win today,” Busch continued. “I felt like we had something for the 48 but it didn’t come down to having to race the 48.”

    “Just seems to be our two years continuing today.”

    Brad Keselowski in the Blue Deuce, with his crew chief Paul Wolfe back at his side, finished in the fifth position. But the reigning champ was most complimentary of past champ Stewart after the race.

    “We drove hard all day but didn’t have the speed to win the race,” Keselowski said. “It’s good to see Tony win.”

    “That was a good race,” Keselowski said. “I was having fun watching him.”

    After the race, however, NASCAR reported that Keselowski’s No. 2 was found to be too low in the front in post-race inspection, with potential penalties to be announced later in the week.

    Certainly, one of the most dramatic moments of the race was the black flag of Jimmie Johnson, who had worked his way through the pack and looked to be the car to beat. Understandably, Johnson  saw the restart just a bit differently fromJuan Pablo Montoya.

    “No, I was half throttle,” Johnson said of the restart. “At some point you have to go.”

    “I’m waiting for him and he never comes,” Johnson said of Montoya. “Chad (Knaus, crew chief) told me to take off and not worry about it.”

    “Not a good way to lose the race,” Johnson lamented. “We had the strongest car.”

    There were also several engine issues in the race as well, including Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr., both with Toyota engines.

    “Something let go in the motor,” Truex said. “Just dropped a cylinder and started smoking all at once.”

    “Same thing happened to the 20 it looked like,” Truex continued. “Pretty disappointing.”

    Truex Jr. finished 38th while Kenseth finished 40th.

    “Something broke in the engine,” Kenseth said, sounding eerily similar to Truex’s report. “You have to finish these things.”

    “Man, it’s disappointing.”

    The other dramatic moment in the race occurred between Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet, and David Gilliland, driver of the No. 38 Long John Silver’s Ford, who traded paint and then wrecked each other.

    “We just got wrecked,” Gilliland said. “It is a shame.”

    “We had a fast race car and a great run going and unfortunately someone lost their patience a little bit and we got wrecked.”

    “It is too bad but that is just the way it goes I guess.”

    Ryan Newman declined to comment after the incident.

    Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top ten finishers in the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway.

  • Previewing the FedEx 400 at Dover International Speedway

    Previewing the FedEx 400 at Dover International Speedway

    After a strange and controversial night at Charlotte, NASCAR’s best get ready to take on Dover. With a nickname like “The Monster Mile” and people referring to this place as “Bristol on Steroids,” you don’t have to know much about NASCAR to know that this is one tough track. It’s fast; high banked and is notorious for taking out a good chunk of the field in a matter of seconds. One driver stands above the rest as the favorite every time we visit this venue and his name is Jimmie Johnson. 5-time is a 7-time Dover winner capturing the checkered flag in four of the last eight races. With an average finish of 8.6 and well over 2,300 laps led in his career at Dover, you’d have to be crazy to bet against him. I guess I’m crazy then…

    Jimmie is no doubt going to be fast at Dover and will probably lead for a good portion of the event but when the dust settles, he won’t be standing in victory lane. Why would I make such a bold statement? Well, I think he’s going to have some very stiff competition in the form of Matt Kenseth. Matt has been the fastest man on track this year winning three times and having a car capable of reaching victory lane in almost every single event thus far. Matt has two wins at Dover coming in 2006 and 2011 and with how blistering fast he’s been this year, he is my number one pick to keep Johnson out of victory lane for a record setting 8th time. Matt’s not the only driver that may give Jimmie a run for his money though; there are a couple more that drivers that will be contenders on Sunday.

    Carl Edwards is another driver that will run well and could be a player at the end of the race. One of his many nicknames is “Concrete Carl” due to how dominant he is when we visit concrete tracks including Dover. He may only have won win in 17 starts at this track but his average finish is the best in the field. (8.3) He has eight top fives and twelve top tens at Dover leading multiple laps in 10 of his 17 starts. He will be strong and so will Kyle Busch. Don’t be surprised if you see Kyle in victory lane three times this weekend as he’s participating in the Truck, Nationwide and Cup race. He dominates at Bristol and Dover is simply a bigger and faster version of that Tennessee short track with a very tricky exit to the corners thrown in. Kyle has won at Dover at least two times in all three national touring divisions. You have to attack this track and throw it off into and out of the corners just trusting that it will stick. That suits Busch’s driving style very well. He’s not a very patient driver and he likes to go after it from the very start which is probably part of the reason why he’s never won the Coca Cola 600 but is so successful at tracks like Dover and Bristol.

    Kasey Kahne has been very strong in 2013 and won at Bristol so one may think he would be a contender here but history says otherwise. This is actually one of Kahne’s worst tracks statistically. In 18 starts, he’s never won and only once has he posted a finish inside the top five. Kasey’s only led a handful of laps and with over half his results being 20th or worse, his average finish of 21.4 isn’t very promising. Although his speed in 2013 may tempt you to pick him as a favorite Sunday, I’d advise that you stay away from Kasey just this once. Another driver to stay away from is 2-time Dover winner Tony Stewart. Yes, you read that right; I said stay away from a 2-time Dover winner at Dover.  Tony’s two wins came back in 2000 and since 2010, he has had a miserable time at the Monster Mile. In his last five starts, he has failed to finish better than 20th and most of that is due to just a poor handling racecar; not bad luck. Even in his 2011 championship run when he won half the chase races, he finished 25th at Dover which was by far his worst result during the play-offs.

    Dover is a very tough track that is unique in more ways than one. You are going up a hill when you drive out of the corner and the banking goes from 28 degrees to 9 with no transition period which launches the car onto the straightaway. It makes the car light and very hard to control which can get you into trouble real fast. When someone spins, it’s nearly impossible to not hit something. When a couple cars crash; the rest of the field usually comes piling in like the “big one” at Talladega. The track gets blocked and there is nowhere to go except for directly into the melee. To win here you have to be physically tough, you can’t let the Monster unnerve you and a driver has to be committed. You have to throw the car off into the corner and just pray that you make it. If you second guess yourself, then Miles the Monster is going to grab you and you’re going for a ride.