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  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Charlotte Bank of America 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Charlotte Bank of America 500

    After Jacquelyn Butler, David Ragan’s girlfriend won the ‘Better Half Dash’ and Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne shared a heartfelt invocation, the engines fired under the lights at NASCAR’S home track, Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”237″][/media-credit]Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 52nd Annual running of the Bank of America 500.

    Surprising:  With a surprising show of emotion and his dry sense of humor emerging, the driver of the No. 17 Fluidmaster Ford took the checkered flag with whoops of joy, saying in Victory Lane that it was not too late for departing sponsor Crown Royal to reconsider staying on the car.

    Kenseth scored his victory from the outside pole position, qualifying surprising well for a driver not known for the most successful time trial efforts. This was Matt Kenseth’s 21st career victory and his third win of the year.

    “It was an awesome win for us,” Kenseth said. “It was a good race.”

    “Track position was really important, so qualifying helped,” Kenseth continued. “It made a big difference.”

    Kenseth was also surprisingly appreciative of the win, especially after not having been to the winner’s circle for twenty races.

    “I’m always thankful to get to victory lane,” Kenseth said. “You never know if you’re ever gonna win another race or when your last win is.”

    “I’m thankful for them all and I greatly appreciate being in a position to be able to win races and these guys giving me the cars and the crew and the opportunity to do that.”

    Not Surprising:  To no one’s surprise, the two drivers finishing second and third had some intense conversation with one another right after the race.

    Carl Edwards, who finished third in his No. 99 Aflac ‘Now Hiring’ Ford, almost immediately jumped out his car at the finish to lean into the bridesmaid-yet-again Kyle Busch’s second place No. 18 M&Ms Toyota for a chat.

    “We were just talking about the way we were racing there,” Edwards said. “We’re fine. We’ve talked about it and we’ll move on.”

    “Hey, this is NASCAR and we’re racing as hard as we can,” Edwards continued. “And we didn’t wreck each other.”

    “He just said he didn’t like the way I raced him off Turn Two that one time when he got under me,” Busch said. “He made me loose and it was steering me down the track and I was just trying to hold on.”

    “Great run by the M&Ms Camry,” Busch, who not only rebounded from starting last to leading a race high 111 laps, continued. “Best run we’ve had here in a while but still coming up short.”

    With his finish, Edwards maintained the points lead by five, with Kyle Busch improving his position by four spots, up to the fourth position, just 18 points behind the leader.

    “Overall it was a really good day for our Aflac Fusion,” Edwards said. “We’re trying to have a championship year here and we dodged some bullets.”

    “We’ve got to keep finishing like this,” Busch said. “That’s all it takes. If we can finish second here on out, we might win this thing.”

    Surprising:  At a track often known for Chevy domination, particularly of the Hendrick Motorsports kind, it was surprising to see the Ford brand, primarily the Roushketeers, not only in victory lane but dominating the front of the field. There were four Fords to Chevrolets three in the top ten for this season’s Charlotte fall running.

    The win was also significant for Ford team Roush Fenway, marking their 298th overall victory and their 20th NASCAR victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was the first Cup win for owner Jack Roush at Charlotte since 2002.

    “All of the Ford cars ran well tonight,” Jack Roush, team owner said. “It was just a matter of time until Matt broke loose from his obscurity in the back and middle of the pack and worked his way to the front.”

    As surprising as the Ford dominance was, particularly of Roush Fenway Racing, it was equally surprising to see how poorly the Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team ran. The HMS highest finisher was Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the 19th position.

    “I was not the faster car,” the driver of the No. 88 Amp Energy/National Guard/Chevy 100th Anniversary Chevrolet said. “We got a couple wave-arounds and had a loose wheel that cost us another lap.”

    “We just have to correct some of those mistakes,” Junior continued. “We just had a couple of little circumstances that cost us a shot at finishing in the top ten.”

    Hendrick Chevrolet teammates Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin also had surprisingly, and uncharacteristically, difficult runs at Charlotte. Their poor finishes, 34th, 21st and 37th respectively, was surprisingly poignant for the teams sporting the Chevy 100th anniversary emblems.

    Jeff Gordon, in the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger/Chevy 100th Anniversary Chevrolet, went for a wild ride at one point in the race and struggled the rest. Mark Martin in the No. 5 GoDaddy.com/Chevy 100th Anniversary Chevrolet, suffered mechanical problems that left him in the garage for many laps making repairs.

    Probably the toughest of the Hendrick finishers was five-time champ Jimmie Johnson, whose No. 48 Lowes/Chevy 100th Anniversary Chevrolet hit hard into the wall, taking his breath away.

    “That one stung for sure,” Johnson said of his hit. “Just thankful to have safe race cars, safe walls, softer walls and everything did its job.”

    With the wreck and the DNF, Johnson was also the biggest loser in the point standings, dropping five positions to eighth.

    “This is not going to help us win a sixth championship,” Johnson conceded. “We will go for every point we can from here on out and hopefully we are still champions at the end of the year.”

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising to see the infamous grin of the driver from down under after finishing fifth. Marcos Ambrose, behind the wheel of the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 9 Stanley Ford Fusion, could not have been more pleased with his Charlotte run, scoring his third consecutive top-10.

    “I ran great,” Ambrose said simply. “I just really appreciate that opportunity.”

    RPM teammate AJ Allmendinger, behind the wheel of the No. 43 Best Buy Ford Fusion, also continued his solid runs, finish seventh.

    “It’s not what I wanted, but the end result is good,” Dinger said. “I’m happy there were so many Fords in the top 10.”

    Surprising:  As surprisingly strong as Brad Keselowski has been, surging forward in race finishes as well as in the points, the driver of the No. 2 ‘Blue Deuce’ had an equally surprisingly tough day at Charlotte.

    Keselowski finished 16th, falling two positions to sixth in the point standings. He currently sits 25 points behind points leader Carl Edwards.

    “I feel frustratingly fortunate,” Keselowskis said. “The yellows really hurt us. It just wasn’t meant to be.”

    Not Surprising:   Tony Stewart, who scored his first pole at Charlotte Motor Speedway, overcame tight conditions as well as some damage to his No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet, to rally back for a top-10 finish.

    “We were good off the front there, just when we got back in traffic, we got really tight,” Smoke said. “We just kind of rallied back.”

    Not surprisingly, teammate Ryan Newman also scored a top-10 finish in his No. 39 Cookies for Kid’s Cancer/Gene Haas Foundation Chevrolet.

    “We needed to get at least that much tonight,” Newman said after the race. “We’ll take a top-10 here tonight and now it’s on to the next one.”

    With their finishes, Stewart advanced two positions to the fifth spot in the Chase, while Newman moved up one position in the points to tenth.

    Surprising:  With the image of Hall of Famer Glenn Wood on the famed No. 21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion, it looked like the young driver Trevor Bayne had a fast car and would have a good run. Surprisingly, the car ran out of gas on Lap 238.

    “That’s a bad feeling to run out of gas, especially when you’re not expecting it,” Bayne said. “The 21 was just fast.”

    “It must have been sucking up more fuel than we thought being that fast, but I think something just had to be funky in the fuel cell or something messed up on the can.”

    Not Surprising:  Call him ‘Closer’ or ‘Lurker’ but it was not surprising to see Kevin Harvick have yet another solid race, finishing sixth and maintaining his second place position in the point standings. With that, the driver of the No. 29 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet confirmed that he was just happy to be at the half-way in the Chase race.

    “We made it through the first five Chase races this year,” Harvick said. “We had had a lot of goals that we wanted to achieve this year and that was one of them.”

    “IF you would have told me we would come out of Charlotte with only a five point deficit going into the next five races, I would be really happy.”

  • Matt Kenseth Wins the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

    Matt Kenseth Wins the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

    At a track where passing is difficult, his second place starting position was pivotal. While other drivers had problems, Kenseth kept himself in a position to capitalize on their misfortune.

    Tony Stewart was competitive at the beginning of the race but lost the handling on his car about halfway through the race. Stewart wasn’t able to contend for the win but was still able to salvage an eight place finish. He also gained two spots in the points and is now in fifth place.

    Greg Biffle was also fast early in the race but a missing lug nut during a pit stop put him one lap down.  Although he regained the lap, a late race scuffle with Stewart and a subsequent cut tire left Biffle with a fifteenth place finish.

    Trevor Bayne had a strong top ten car throughout the race but a problem with a fuel cell caused him to run out of gas and go three laps down.

    Five-time champion Jimmie Johnson provided the biggest surprise of the night.  Johnson, who was racing for seventh position, crashed into the wall on lap 317 and destroyed the No. 48 Chevy, ending his night. Johnson dropped five positions in the points standings to eighth place, 35 points behind leader Carl Edwards.

    When asked about the impact this would have on his quest for a sixth championship, Johnson said, “We just have to keep racing. That’s all there is to it. There’s five races left and a lot can happen in five races.”

    Matt Kenseth has been steadily gaining ground and now sits third in the points standings.   He was all smiles after the race.

    “I’m happy to have won, obviously.” Kenseth continued, “I’m always thankful to get to victory lane. You never know if you’re ever gonna win another race or when your last win is, and I’m certainly thankful for them all and I greatly appreciate being in a position to be able to win races and these guys giving me the cars and the crew and the opportunity to do that.”

    Unofficial Race Results
    Bank of America 500, Charlotte Motor Speedway
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 2 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 47
    2 25 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 44
    3 3 99 Carl Edwards Ford 42
    4 8 4 Kasey Kahne Toyota 40
    5 12 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 39
    6 14 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 38
    7 4 43 A.J. Allmendinger Ford 37
    8 1 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 37
    9 17 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 35
    10 6 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 35
    11 11 6 David Ragan Ford 34
    12 16 20 Joey Logano Toyota 32
    13 20 22 Kurt Busch Dodge 31
    14 32 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 31
    15 5 16 Greg Biffle Ford 30
    16 26 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 28
    17 7 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 27
    18 28 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 26
    19 15 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 25
    20 31 83 Brian Vickers Toyota 24
    21 23 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 23
    22 38 38 J.J. Yeley Ford 23
    23 18 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 21
    24 19 33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet 20
    25 21 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 19
    26 29 0 David Reutimann Toyota 18
    27 27 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 17
    28 30 51 Landon Cassill Chevrolet 0
    29 22 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 15
    30 42 32 Mike Bliss Ford 0
    31 10 21 Trevor Bayne Ford 0
    32 24 13 Casey Mears Toyota 12
    33 41 71 Hermie Sadler Ford 0
    34 9 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 11
    35 35 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 9
    36 33 34 David Gilliland Ford 8
    37 13 5 Mark Martin Chevrolet 7
    38 43 7 Robby Gordon Dodge 6
    39 37 66 Michael McDowell Toyota 5
    40 34 55 Travis Kvapil Ford 0
    41 36 30 David Stremme Chevrolet 3
    42 40 277 Andy Lally * Ford 2
    43 39 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0
  • Carl Edwards Scores Victory at the Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage at Charlotte

    Carl Edwards Scores Victory at the Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage at Charlotte

    Carl Edwards only led five laps in Friday’s race but they were the ones that mattered. On lap 195, with a little help from teammate Trevor Bayne, Edwards took the lead from Kyle Busch and never looked back, bringing his Roush Fenway Ford into Victory Lane.

    “If Trevor hadn’t given me that push,” said Edwards, “we would have had a really hard time. So [it was] just a really, really good team effort.” This was his 37th victory in the Nationwide Series.

    Kyle Busch finished second followed by Trevor Bayne in third, who scored his first top-five finish in three races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  Elliot Sadler in fourth and Brian Scott rounded out the top five.

    Elliot Sadler also claimed the Nationwide Insurance Dash4Cash $100,000 bonus and won $100,000 for NASCAR fan Joe Thornton of New Port riche, Fla.

    “It’s a thrill just to come to the races, but to win the $100,000 I’m speechless,” Thornton said. “I don’t know what we’re going to do with it — my wife wants to pay the house off, we’ll see. It’s just unbelievable, you know.”

    Sadler is now only 15 points behind points leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    Paul Menard, winner of the Coors Light Pole Award, brought the field to green Friday evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway but only led the first 26 laps.

    Brad Keselowski seemed to have the most dominant car of the night, leading 119 laps. But on lap 170 he suddenly slowed due to a tire going down.

    In the end, it was a battle between Edwards and Kyle Busch with Trevor Bayne making a late charge in the final five laps. But Edwards was able to hold off Busch and the remainder of the field for the win.

    Jack Roush, car owner of the No. 60 Fastenal Ford, was ecstatic and a little amazed after the race.

    “I think I’m gonna lose my mind here,” he said. He continued, “Carl wrecked his car today and the car decided it wouldn’t give up. I’m going to talk to that car and I’m going to give that car a kiss tonight.”

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr retains the points lead followed by Elliot Sadler, Aric Almirola, Justin Allgaier and Reed Sorenson in fifth.

    Unofficial Race Results
    Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage, Charlotte Motor Speedway
    =========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 5 60 Carl Edwards Ford 0
    2 6 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 0
    3 11 16 Trevor Bayne Ford 41
    4 12 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 41
    5 8 11 Brian Scott Toyota 39
    6 3 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge 0
    7 10 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 37
    8 1 33 Paul Menard Chevrolet 0
    9 2 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 36
    10 9 32 Brian Vickers Chevrolet 0
    11 17 30 Jason Leffler Chevrolet 33
    12 7 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 32
    13 19 66 Steve Wallace Toyota 31
    14 13 7 Josh Wise Chevrolet 30
    15 14 88 Aric Almirola Chevrolet 29
    16 20 9 Kenny Wallace Toyota 28
    17 22 62 Michael Annett Toyota 27
    18 27 81 Blake Koch * Dodge 26
    19 4 20 Joey Logano Toyota 0
    20 23 19 Mike Bliss Chevrolet 24
    21 32 15 Timmy Hill * Ford 24
    22 36 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 22
    23 31 150 T.J. Bell Chevrolet 0
    24 41 28 Derrike Cope Chevrolet 20
    25 39 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 19
    26 33 39 Joey Gase Ford 18
    27 37 52 Kevin Lepage Chevrolet 17
    28 18 38 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 0
    29 24 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 15
    30 35 23 Robert Richardson Jr. Chevrolet 14
    31 34 14 Eric McClure Chevrolet 13
    32 15 182 Reed Sorenson Dodge 12
    33 38 40 Charles Lewandoski * Chevrolet 11
    34 16 99 Ryan Truex * Toyota 0
    35 42 70 Angela Cope Chevrolet 9
    36 40 87 Kevin Conway Toyota 8
    37 28 97 Joe Nemechek Toyota 7
    38 25 104 Tim Andrews Ford 6
    39 26 103 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 5
    40 30 141 Johnny Chapman Chevrolet 4
    41 21 147 Scott Speed Chevrolet 3
    42 29 142 Erik Darnell Chevrolet 0
    43 43 44 Jeff Green Chevrolet 1
  • NASCAR Pays Tribute by ‘Honoring Our Heroes’ with Special Paint Schemes and Remembrance

    NASCAR Pays Tribute by ‘Honoring Our Heroes’ with Special Paint Schemes and Remembrance

    If there is a NASCAR race being run in Richmond, you will generally find me in the Media Center moonlighting from my “day job.” It allows me to put on a different hat for a couple of days and see the world in a completely different light. Writing about NASCAR is not only a passion, but, at times, a much needed distraction from my full-time career. I am a Paramedic with a background in firefighting. Rarely do my worlds collide, but this weekend, commemorating the tenth anniversary of 9/11 at the track, they did just that.

    I listened to drivers share their personal accounts of where they were on Sept. 11, 2001. Denny Hamlin was putting an exhaust on a new car, Kurt Busch was testing in South Carolina and Ryan Newman was listening to a waterproof radio that hung from the shower head while he was bathing that morning. You can’t help but be transported right back to where each of us was that day.

    I lived in Arlington, directly across from the Pentagon, I watched it all play out in real time before my eyes. Not knowing what could possibly happen next, I choked back tears as I said my “good-byes” and “I love yous” to my parents on the phone that morning. It seems almost melodramatic now but at the time I was terrified and truly unsure if I’d make it out alive. The anniversary brings back painful memories for me. It remains the worst day of my life.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”234″][/media-credit]Today in the Media Center I was reminded of loss, as Mary Siller Scullin recounted her brother’s life, a New York Firefighter who died on Sept. 11, 2001. Stephen Siller was off that day preparing for a game of golf with friends when he heard the news that the World Trade Center had been attacked. Instinctively, he grabbed his gear, threw it into his truck and made his way towards the burning towers. When he arrived at the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, it had already been closed to vehicular traffic, so Siller put his 75 pound gear on his back and ran through the tunnel to the towers to help  rescue his fellow New Yorkers.

    Siller lost his life when the towers collapsed leaving behind his wife, five children and five siblings to carry on his memory and share his story. The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, was started by his brother Frank to honor his fallen sibling. It is a charitable organization set up to follow in the footsteps of this true American hero.

    Drivers David Gilliland, Danica Patrick, Greg Biffle, Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. joined Howard Hitchcock, Vice President of Lionel NASCAR Collectibles, to present a $125 thousand dollar check to Mary Suller Scullin, Vice President of the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

    One of the primary missions of the Foundation is to help military members who have been seriously injured and sacrificed the quality of their lives in the line of duty.  The Foundation is currently in the process of building “smart homes” for three servicemen who suffered the loss of both arms and legs during combat but lived to share their stories.

    Two of the three gentlemen were on hand, US Army Specialist Brendan Marrocco and USMC Corporal Todd Nicely. Scullin earmarked the donation to be used for the construction of a customized home for Nicely. Marrocco’s home was finished in June.

    “It’s not every day that you get to do something so important for America’s finest heroes on an anniversary that’s so meaningful to our country,” said Hitchcock. “I’m proud of our team, we worked extremely hard to put the Honoring Our Heroes program together and we hope this donation and the funds that follow it will go a long way towards finishing Todd’s new home. “

    The check was the first installment of the proceeds from Lionel NASCAR Collectibles “Honoring Our Heroes” die-cast program.  Eight drivers will run a special “Honoring Our Heroes” pain scheme this weekend. Each of those cars will honor those who lost their lives in the 9/11 attack as well as our nation’s military heroes. During the Nationwide race, look for the special paint schemes on the cars of Danica Patrick, Carl Edwards, Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.. David Gilliland, Greg Biffle, Tony Stewart and Jamie McMurray will their “Honoring Our Heroes” cars on Saturday night’s Sprint Cup race.

    “When we first talked to Lional NASCAR about the possibility of drivers racing with out Foundation’s name on the cars, we had no idea it would be this big,” said Scullin. “Today, as I see these drivers and all these cars I am overwhelmed with emotion. On September 11, 2001, my brother Stephen sacrificed his life for his fellow Americans and he would be honored to know that his legacy is making such a difference in the lives of young men like Brendan and Todd.”

    After the presentation of the check, Scullin presented each of the drivers a small piece of metal from the World Trade Center stamped with the words “W.T.C. 9/11 Never Forget” and the number 343 in honor of the 343 firefighters who died that day.  She reminded the drivers that the metal was special because her brother’s body was never recovered, so each piece of that metal held a piece of Stephen’s spirit and hoped that it would help to keep each of them safe.

    Each of the drivers acknowledged the “gift” with great humility and thanks. They not only recognized the lives lost, but applauded the fact that even though all those firefighters lost their lives running into the face of danger, the disabled servicemen who sat before them knew that they could face death or dismemberment but they still signed up to simply “do their jobs” and if given the chance would do it all again.

    It is refreshing to see that our NASCAR heroes have heroes of their own.

  • Brad Keselowski Captures Unexpected Win at Lucas Oil Raceway

    Brad Keselowski Captures Unexpected Win at Lucas Oil Raceway

    [media-credit name=”Adam Lovelace” align=”alignright” width=”245″][/media-credit]After starting on the pole and leading 189 laps of the Kroger 200 Nationwide Series race at Lucas Oil Raceway Saturday night, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. could almost taste the win. But with Brad Keselowski in the picture nothing is certain.

    After a green-white-checkered restart, Keselowski wasted no time in overtaking leader Stenhouse Jr. and blasted across the finish line for his second win this season in the Nationwide Series.

    “It’s a very special win being from Michigan,” Keselowski said. “I’ve been coming to this race track for years. I’ve been to victory lane as a team guy and a mechanic but never a driver. It’s so special to win here and win here in a Dodge.”

    The majority of the race was tame with Roush Fenway Racing teammates, Stehnouse Jr. Carl Edwards and Trevor Bayne leading the pack.  Elliot Sadler who started the race in last position and rookie Austin Dillon were also looking strong as the race began winding down.

    The action became more heated towards the end of the race. Things began to go badly for Carl Edwards after a caution on lap 175 for a wreck involving Steve Wallace, Michael Annett and Tim Andrews. Edwards was penalized for exiting too fast off of pit road. He slowly worked his way back towards the front but the penalty cost him a shot at the win.

    Dillon did not pit and restarted the race in first position, followed by Stenhouse Jr., Bayne, Sadler and McDowell. But Dillon didn’t keep the lead long and was quickly passed by Stehnouse Jr. and Bayne advanced to second place.

    But with only twelve laps to go, Bayne suffered a blown engine, bringing out another caution.

    More chaos ensued when Justin Allgaier, who had made his way into the second position, had a brake fire which forced him off the track.

    Because the drivers had already lined up for the restart, the NASCAR rule which states that drivers must stay in their lanes, went into effect.

    This moved Brad Keselowski, who had been behind Allagaier in fourth, up to the second position.

    Keselowski, who had been mid-pack for much of the race, was now in a position to make something happen.

    On the restart, Keselowski quickly made his move, forcing Stenhouse Jr. high and taking the lead.

    The race was under green for only two laps when Elliot Sadler spun out, collecting his teammate Austin Dillon, and ending their hopes for a top five finish.

    Finally, on lap 202, the race was underway again but Keselowski held onto the lead to capture the victory.

    After the race, Stenhouse Jr. was obviously disappointed saying, “It’s frustrating. I’ve been working on my restarts all year, but it got us tonight. Our car was pretty fast, but you couldn’t say it was dominant since we didn’t win the race.”

    However, Keselowski gave Stenhouse Jr. credit for having the car to beat.

    “I had a great short-run car that could give Ricky a run for his money.  If the race was two or three laps longer, I’m sure Ricky would have drove around us.”

    James Buescher finished in second place with Stenhouse Jr., Aric Almirola and Carl Edwards rounding out the top five.

    Stenhouse Jr. leads the points standings in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, followed by Reed Sorenson, Elliot Sadler, Justin Allgaier and Aric Almirola.

  • From Victory Lane to the Garage: Trevor Bayne Doesn’t Get Chance at Daytona Sweep

    From Victory Lane to the Garage: Trevor Bayne Doesn’t Get Chance at Daytona Sweep

    The hardest part for Trevor Bayne was not being able to show what his No. 21 Motorcraft Ford could do. Standing in the garage area looking at a race car that was just as good if not better than the one sitting just out front in the museum, Bayne was suddenly brought back down to earth.

    “If it was going be a winner, we’ll never know, but I think it could have been for sure,” said Bayne.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”253″][/media-credit]Instead, just five laps after the green flag the team was packing up and heading home, memories of February long gone. After starting on the outside of the front row, Bayne found a drafting partner early in Clint Bowyer before he started to fall through the field. He landed on the front bumper of the No. 2 Dodge of Brad Keselowski but found out that these dancing partners had two left feet.

    “I wanted to be a pusher because I know that these things can happen,” Bayne explained. “He got to us and was pushing us down the frontstretch and I was still kind of lifting a little bit, letting him get to my bumper and then I got back to the gas wide-open. I don’t know if I turned down more getting in or if he kind of came up across our bumper, but either way, our bumpers caught wrong and it sent up spinning.”

    Keselowski turned the No. 21 entering turn one and Bayne starting spinning toward the inside of the track. Bowyer and Jeff Burton who were drafting on the inside of the No. 2 and No. 21 got collected as Bayne clipped Bowyer’s machine and shot back up into the wall head-on.

    “It happens all the time but it’s tough that it is our car,” said Bayne. “I hate tearing up a good race car and they duplicated what we had here in February, which is hard to do, so I’m thankful for the Wood Brothers standing behind me through everything I’ve been through this year.”

    The 20-year-old has been through more than he and the rest of the sport could imagine. Just 24 hours after his birthday in February he won the Daytona 500 for one of the most famous teams and family in the sport. It was just his second career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and it shot him to super stardom.

    Bayne can no longer walk through the garage or any area for that matter without being recognized. Something that seemed unimaginable a year ago when he saw the likes of Jeff Gordon or Kyle Busch and the swarms of fans around them. Bayne has his own following now and no longer has to think about how cool it would be like Gordon or Busch.

    Yet, for all the good there has been the bad. What started in Daytona in February came full circle Saturday night at the same track.

    “It’s not fun, I can promise you,” said Bayne of his trouble. “It takes about a half-second and you say, ‘Oh, here it goes,’ because you get sideways and you know the point of correction. You know at what point you can still correct and then you know when it’s too far … It’s going to happen again tonight, I’m sure, but it’s just really unfortunate for us. I wanted to back-up what we did here in February, obviously, but we aren’t going to get the chance to do that.”

    He would have given it a valiant try though. On top the speed and qualifying charts, Bayne was storyline “a” entering the weekend. There was never any doubt that he was going to be fast or would have a drafting partner. All eyes were on the red and white Ford that while able to fly under the radar in February was now expected to be at the front of the field on Saturday night.

    Except the fan favorite and fantasy league shoe-in, Bayne finished 41st on Saturday night. And while he was disappointed at the turn of events Bayne left Daytona with the right mindset, something he’d been praised for since he arrived on the NASCAR scene.

    “I can’t explain what I’ve been through this year,” he said. “It’s tough at times and it’s good at times, but I just know that I’ve got really good people behind me and that’s why I say that about Ford and everybody at Wood Brothers and Roush Fenway on the Nationwide side. I’ve got great people behind me, so that gives me confidence. If I didn’t have that and I didn’t have my faith and everything else, right now that would be a pretty bad blow I can promise you that.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Daytona Coke Zero 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Daytona Coke Zero 400

    With firecrackers sparkling, patriotism soaring and flags flying high in celebration of the July 4th holiday weekend, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Coke Zero 400 run under the lights at Daytona International Speedway.


    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”261″][/media-credit]Surprising: Sentimental favorite Trevor Bayne and points leader Carl Edwards both surprisingly had a world of trouble at the world center of racing.

    Bayne, piloting the famed Wood Brothers No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire and Auto Center Ford, was making his triumphant return to the superspeedway after winning the Daytona 500 and then having to get out of the car for a bit as a result of a never-diagnosed illness.

    The young driver’s high hopes were dashed early, when he was turned by Brad Keselowski, in the No. 2 Blue Deuce for Penske Racing, on Lap 5 of the race. Bayne and team were unable to repair the car and he finished 41st.

    “I don’t know if I turned down more getting in or if he (Keselowski) kind of came up across our bumper, but, either way, our bumpers caught wrong and it sent us spinning,” Bayne said. “You know that can happen here.”

    “It happens all the time, but it’s tough that it was our car,” Bayne continued. “I hate tearing up a good race car. If I didn’t have my faith and everything else right now, that would be a pretty bad blow I can promise you that.”

    Bayne was not the only one that had a tough night. Points leader coming into the race Carl Edwards had his hands full as well behind the wheel of the No. 99 Subway Ford for Roush Fenway Racing.

    Edwards was running third, being pushed by teammate Greg Biffle, when he hit the wall on lap 23. Edwards’ car was severely damaged, allowing fumes to get into the car and sickening the driver.

    While Edwards did get his car back on the track, he finished 37th, losing the points lead to Kevin Harvick.

    “We don’t ever give up and that’s the thing,” Edwards said. “I told my guys to keep their heads up. We’ll take this bad day and keep our pride.”

    “We knew coming here we could come out losing a bunch of points and we lost about as many as we could, but that’s OK,” Edwards continued. “We’re still right there. Hopefully we’ll be leading it after next week.”

    Not Surprising:  There was another Cinderella glass slipper waiting and not surprisingly this one was polished with redemption for one driver who was definitely due one at Daytona.

    David Ragan, who had come so close to winning the Daytona 500 but was penalized for changing lanes in the waning laps, was pushed to his first ever Cup victory by teammate Matt Kenseth.

    This was Ragan’s first victory in 163 Cup races but his fifth top-10 finish in 2011. The driver of the No. 6 UPS “We Love Logistics” Ford for Roush Fenway Racing scored his fourth top-10 finish in ten races at Daytona.

    “It was a tough one in February and coming back here we knew that we’d have a shot to win,” Ragan said. “When we qualified, that’s probably the first time I really felt like we’ve got a car that’s fast enough that we can win this thing, so we made a pact with our teammate Matt Kenseth that we were gonna work together through thick or thin.”

    “I just tried to not make any mistakes, tried to put ourselves in good position and we wound up obviously being in the lead on the last restart and that was the winning moment for us,” Ragan said. “I’m happy about the win.”

    Surprising:  While this year has been one of change on pit road, particularly for the over the wall gang with the new fueling system and the elimination of the catch can man, there was another surprising change on pit road during this race. The gas can man became the grease man as well.

    From rags covered in lard to cans of Pam, greasing the bumpers became a part of the pit crew dance. And another pit road command from atop the boxes became “Right side tires and grease the bumpers.”

    Not Surprising:  With the new style of tandem racing, it was not surprising to see a race record high of 57 lead changes. There was also a track record broken for 25 different leaders, with the previous record being 22 set in this year’s Daytona 500.

    It was also not surprising that after all of the racing, the finale came down to the second attempt at a green, white, checkered finish.

    Clint Bowyer, who had been at the front of the pack in his No. 33 Wheaties Fuel Chevrolet, ended up finishing 36th, thanks to that final green, white, checker attempt.

    “We got some damage in the beginning of the race and laid back in the field with our RCR teammate Jeff Burton until about 30 to go,” Bowyer said. “That last caution came out at the wrong time as we were making a run at the leaders.”

    “Nothing we could have done there at the end,” Bowyer concluded. “That’s just restrictor plate racing for you I guess.”

    Surprising: The surprising tandem dubbed ‘Harvard’, comprised of Kevin Harvick, driving the No. 29 Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet, and Paul Menard, behind the wheel of the No. 27 Quaker State/Menards Chevrolet, finished strong.

    In fact, Harvick’s finish was strong enough to catapult him over Edwards to lead the point standings by five.

    “We had a plan to stick with the No. 27 (Menard) all night and I think we ran every lap with him,” Harvick said. “The first green-white-checkered, we had a great run and the timing was perfect.”

    “The second one, we just didn’t have quite the timing and got a couple of guys underneath us and then we just got a little bit too far behind,” Harvick continued. “But still, everything worked pretty good.”

    Not Surprising: In contrast to the relief of the ‘Harvard’ tandem, it was not surprising to see equal if not more amounts of frustration boil over for many of the traditionally good plate race drivers who did not have the finish they, or their fans, envisioned.

    In addition to Jimmie Johnson, who finished 20th in his No. 48 Lowes Summer Salute, fan favorite Dale Earnhardt, Jr. also struggled late in the race, finishing 19th in his camouflaged No. 88 National Guard Heritage/Amp Energy Chevrolet.

    “Oh man, I don’t know,” Junior said after the race. “I’m really ticked off. Damnit. I was just trying to get to the finish line.”

    “What kind of move can you make in racing like this?” Junior continued. “There ain’t no move you can make.”

    “You just hold it on the mat and try not to wreck into each other,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “You see how good we are at that.”

    Surprising: In addition to his appearance in the movie ‘Cars 2’, it was a bit surprising to see Jeff Gordon, this week piloting the No. 24 Pepsi Max Chevrolet, starring as the race’s Lucky Dog. Gordon used his veteran skills for an incredible save after a wild spin on lap 157 to finish sixth.

    “Somebody got in the back of the No. 4 (Kasey Kahne) and pushed him up into me and I had nowhere to go,” Gordon said. “Then the car came around and luckily I straightened it out somehow and came back and fixed it.”

    “Miraculously there on those last two restarts we avoided more wrecks,” Gordon continued. “It was awesome and how we finished sixth is unbelievable.”

    Not Surprising:  One other driver benefitted greatly from the Lucky Dog phenomenon. AJ Allmendinger, driver of the No. 43 Air Force Ford Fusion for Richard Petty Motorsports, got the distinction after the first green, white, checkered attempt and went on to power his way to a top-10 finish.

    “I felt kind of bad because Marcos (Ambrose) and I were racing for the lucky dog, but I was happy the yellow came out twice so we both got our laps back,” Allmendinger said. “After that, it was just trying to miss the wreck.”

    “We didn’t quite miss it but I stayed wide open and kind of bulled my way through there and finished 10th.”

  • David Ragan – Another Freak Winner at Daytona?

    David Ragan – Another Freak Winner at Daytona?

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”226″][/media-credit]At Daytona in February, Trevor Bayne, barely out of his teens won NASCAR’s biggest race, the Daytona 500. As the circuit moved back there just last night, it was another surprise winner, David Ragan. Or was it such a big surprise?

    The big money was on Dale, Jr. this weekend. We’ve been told by every media outlet and anyone who follows this series that Junior was going to win soon. His record at Daytona and Talladega bear this out. Nowhere is Junior better than at the restrictor plate races. Call it inherited from the family. Yet, I didn’t feel that way. Somehow, it always seems to be a surprise. Oh, I could go into details of all the surprises at those two tracks, but you all know that . Many of us saw David Ragan’s rise from bumbling kid to someone who could drive a racecar. I’ll still remember that debut at Martinsville when he hit everything but the pace car. Jack Roush had faith in him, though, and gave his a primo ride in the fabled No. 6. That was Jack’s first car he seriously ran in the Cup series and the former ride of Mark Martin, Roush’s most successful driver.

    Many thought Roush was crazy. The skinny kid from Georgia and the son of Ken Ragan, just didn’t have it. The statistics proved it out. He had only won one Nationwide Series race and had never won a Cup race. He nearly won the Daytona 500 this year, but jumping the start proved to be his downfall and the guy who was pushing him in that weird two-car tandem nonsense went on to win.

    UPS is a big sponsor in this series and the talk was Ragan was in trouble. He just hadn’t done the job and UPS was going to demand another driver for 2012 if they were to stay with Roush-Fenway. The pressure was on and Ragan knew it. After the debacle that was the Daytona 500, he looked forward to this race more than any other. He had to win.

    There is an opinion that what happens at Daytona and Talladega has little to do with the worth of a driver. Many consider restrictor plate racing a freak of nature in NASCAR terms. Drivers have won here that have won nowhere else in cars that can’t compete in “normal” races. Since the 1987 regulation that required restrictor plates, we’ve seen drivers like Derrike Cope, john Andretti, Michael Waltrip, and Jamie McMurray win. Not that this is a bad list, but they were all surprises. In fact, may drivers have lived on wins at Daytona and Talladega. All four of his victories have been at those two race tracks. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has won 18 times, but 7 of those have come at Daytona and Talladega. Some drivers and teams are just better at those races, but the record shows that a large number of long-time stars have won, not only at the restrictor plates tracks, but lots of other places, too.

    So, what does this all mean? Should David Ragan now be considered as a driver who has “made it’ and continue a staple of the Roush-Fenway stable? I do not know. I do know that RFR is in frantic negotiations with Carlo Edwards and Matt Kenseth’s sponsor just announced they were not coming back. Couple that with rising drivers like Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. and Trevor Bayne and Ragan’s mid=pack finishes most everywhere else, and his job security is less than optimistic. Time will tell, but they can’t take the thrill of a Daytona win away from him. Just like Trevor Bayne, he is king for a day, but will it last?

  • NASCAR Issues Probation and Financial Punch to Richard Childress

    NASCAR Issues Probation and Financial Punch to Richard Childress

    [media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]
    Permanent Press
    NASCAR announced season long probation and a fine of $150,000 against Sprint Cup team owner Richard Childress for an altercation involving Kyle Busch Saturday night at Kansas Speedway.

    It was reported that Childress grabbed Kyle Busch, administered a headlock and punched him several times about the face. The attack took place in the garage after Saturday’s Camping World Series Truck race.

    Shortly after publishing its findings, NASCAR released a statement.

    “The penalty we have announced today for Richard Childress reflects NASCAR’s response to the incident at Kansas Speedway on Saturday. We feel this action is appropriate and are confident all parties involved understand our position on this matter and will move forward appropriately.”

    Speculation about what provoked the incident centers around Busch and his recent on track aggression towards Childress drivers and equipment.

    Busch, already on probation for incidents at Darlington Raceway, was cleared of any wrong doing in the most recent altercation.

    Childress, owner of Richard Childress Racing, also released a statement about the altercation.

    “First of all, I’m responsible for my actions, plain and simple. As you know, I am a very principled person and have a passion for what we do at Richard Childress Racing. I believe passionately in defending my race teams and my sponsor partners.”

    “In this instance, I let that passion and my emotions get the best of me. I accept the penalty NASCAR announced today and, as a company, we will now focus on this week’s races at Pocono Raceway and Texas Motor Speedway.”

    Speculation about what provoked the incident centers around Busch and his recent on track aggression towards Childress drivers and equipment.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Charlotte Coca Cola 600

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Charlotte Coca Cola 600

    After exceptionally exciting finishes in the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500 earlier in the day, all signs pointed to a stellar finish in one of NASCAR’s biggest races of the season. Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”260″][/media-credit]Surprising: With several of the sport’s biggest races won by first-timers this season, including Trevor Bayne’s story book win at the Daytona 500 and Regan Smith’s unpredicted win at Darlington, it was a bit surprising that no first time winner stood in Victory Lane after the Coke 600.

    One driver, however, came mighty close. David Ragan, who had snagged the Showdown win to make it into the All-Star Race the weekend before, almost pulled off his own Cinderella-like story, falling short of the win by just one position.

    Ragan, in his No. 6 UPS “We Love Logistics” Ford, finished second, scoring his highest career finish in the Coca Cola 600.

    “We had a strong car all day,” Ragan said. “That’s a finish that we deserved, but we just went about doing it the hard way.”

    Not Surprising:  After all those laps and all those miles, it was not surprising to see the Coca Cola 600 come down to a green, white checkered finish. And it was equally unsurprising to see one driver that is becoming well-known for his stealth finishes to come from nowhere and snag another victory.

    Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Armed Forces Tribute Chevrolet, did just that to lead the last 400 feet of the race and take the checkered flag for his fifth top 10 and second top five in 21 starts at Charlotte.

    “We were lucky,” Harvick said. “It’s nothing against the race track, I just don’t like racing here. But to be in Victory Lane, it says a lot about this Budweiser team.”

    “This is a huge accomplishment for us,” Harvick continued, admitting that he had struggled with his car and team throughout the race. “This is a hell of a race to win. We’re going to celebrate it like it’s our last one.”

    Surprising:  After leading the race on the final lap, seeing the checkered flag, and then running out of gas, it was surprising how positive Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was after the race. Junior limped to the finish line on fumes to finish seventh in his No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet.

    Echoing his ever upbeat crew chief Steve Letarte, Earnhardt, Jr. said, “I’m disappointed we didn’t win, but if we would’ve won, it would have been a gift.”

    “We ran good tonight,” Junior continued. “I’m proud.”

    Not Surprising: In contrast to the positive, proud vibes in the Dale Jr. camp, it was not surprising that there was a whole lot of swearing going on in his teammate Jimmie Johnson’s camp. In fact, crew chief Chad Knaus dropped the F-bomb on national television when Johnson’s engine expired with just five laps to go in the race.

    This was the first engine failure for Hendrick Motorsports this season and it forced Johnson to a 28th place finish in his No. 48 Lowes Summer Salutes Chevrolet. Johnson also fell one spot, from second to third, in the point standings.

    Surprising:  Although the Coca Cola 600 is the longest race of the season, it was surprising to see the number of engine failures that occurred. In addition to Jimmie Johnson, Jamie McMurray, Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart all experienced engine issues.

    For Jamie McMurray, behind the wheel of the No. 1 Bass Pro Shop/Convoy of Hope for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, this engine failure signified the sixth of the season for the ECR engine builders.

    “It started shaking and one second later, it was ‘boom,’” McMurray said.

    Hamlin, on the other hand, was able to recover after his engine issues, with his No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota team doing a yeoman’s job of changing out the carburetor. Hamlin managed a top ten finish, which boosted him into the top twelve Chase contenders.

    Stewart also suffered engine woes in the waning laps of the race, radioing crew chief Darian Grubb that something was amiss with less than 20 laps to go. Stewart, in his No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, finished 17th, scoring his 10th top-20 finish to date.

    Not Surprising:  In addition to engine woes, it was not surprising that many other teams were plagued with other types of mechanical problems, from overheating to radio problems.

    Greg Biffle, behind the wheel of the No. 16 3M Ford, seemed ready to implode from overheating issues in his car early in the race. Biffle was, however, able to overcome, rallying back to lead laps at the end. Unfortunately, he too succumbed to not having enough gas, having to make a splash and go stop at the end, which relegated him to a 13th place finish.

    Jeff Gordon, piloting the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, also struggled and battled radio issues early in the race. Gordon too looked strong at the end of the show, only to have to pit for gas as well. Gordon finished 20th, falling two positions to 16th in the point standings.

    Surprising:  Serving as a substitute driver for Trevor Bayne and making his Cup debut, it was surprising how well Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. did in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford. Stenhouse, Jr. managed to bring his car home in the 11th position even after having several close encounters with the wall.

    “That was interesting,” Stenhouse, Jr. said. “I hit the wall a couple of times, the caution came back out and it worked great for us.”

    “I’m just glad I got this opportunity.”

    Not Surprising:  It was not surprising that after Stenhouse, Jr. and Bayne prayed together before the race, Bayne playfully pushed his friend out of the way and tried to get behind the wheel of his race car. After five weeks of being out of his car due to a mystery illness, Bayne was most certainly chomping at the bit to get back to racing.

    Bayne reinforced that desire by tweeting after the race, “This was by far the hardest weekend to sit back and watch! Can’t wait to be back in action!!”

    Surprising:  In the battle of the Busch brothers, it was surprising that this weekend Kurt Busch prevailed, finishing fourth in his Shell/Pennzoil No. 22 Dodge, while baby brother Kyle took a wild ride through the grass and then another spin, finishing 32nd in his No. 18 M&Ms Toyota.

    “The race was 600 miles and it felt like 800,” Dave Rogers, Busch’s crew chief, said. “Kyle was trying to make something out of nothing and it got away from him. We ended our day a little early.”

    Not Surprising:  Not surprisingly, one driver who never expected to even make the show captured the true spirit of the Memorial Day race weekend. David Starr, behind the wheel of the No. 95 Jordan Truck Sales.com Ford Fusion crashed early in the race, finishing 36th. Yet this is what he had to say.

    “This was a great weekend,” Starr said. “I’m just honored and blessed to be driving this Ford Fusion.”

    “It was awesome out there,” Starr continued. “It was a big honor to race in the Coca Cola 600 even though it ended up like this. I’m really blessed.”