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Tag: Tums 500

  • Johnson secures victory and series points lead at Martinsville

    Johnson secures victory and series points lead at Martinsville

    [media-credit id=100 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Jimmie Johnson continues his dominance at Martinsville winning from the pole position in the Tums 500. Johnson led 193 laps en route to his seventh win and 19th top ten finish in just 22 starts at the legendary track. More importantly, he leaves Martinsville with a two point lead over Brad Keselowski.

    “We just had a great race car. And I think we’ve also learned our lesson here in the past in not pitting late and that certainly came into play and we made the right decision there. I’m so torn with emotion right now with winning here; and I’m so happy to be in the point lead.” Johnson said.

    Keselowski minimized the expected damage in the points standings today with a fantastic run from the 32nd starting spot. The Miller Lite driver worked his way through the field and was leading on restart near the end of the race but had to settle for a sixth place finish. The Penske team seemed pleased to come away with minimal loss considering Johnson’s amazing stats at this track.

    Kyle Busch ends up with a hard fought second place, with Hendrick driver Kasey Kahne , who ran consistently in the top ten all day, taking the checkered in third spot.

    Richard Petty Motorsports driver Aric Almirola drove his No. 43 Gwaltney Ford to a solid fourth place finish, . Aric said after the race, “That was a good run for us. Todd Parrott made a gutsy call there. We were horrible at the beginning of this race, I mean horrible. I don’t know how we didn’t go several laps down, but we fought hard all day.” The Richard Petty team recently swapped personnel between the No.43 of Almirloa, and the No.9 driven by Marcos Ambrose. The move seems to be paying off for Almirola, as he has consistently ran stronger than before the switch.

    Chase contender Clint Bowyer shows that he is in this until the end with another strong effort in his No.15 Micheal Waltirp Racing Toyota. Bowyer led four times today for a total of 151 laps and wound up a respectable fifth at the end of the day. Bowyer leaves Martinsville with a 26 point deficit to leader Johnson.

    The big loser today was Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin. Hamlin overcame a early penalty and fought his way back toward the front, but an electrical problem that caused the car to shut down and bring out a yellow on lap 393, sent him to the garage area for repairs where he lost 33 laps. Hamlin ended the day 34 laps off the pace and finished a dismal 33rd. Hamlin now trails Johnson by 49 points and would appear that once again late in the season, his championship hopes have ended.

    It would appear we now have a two man race for the championship. Johnson and Keselowski have been the most consistent competitors in the seven Chase races so far. Bowyer and Kahne still have an outside chance, but will need the two leaders to stumble in the final three races. Based on the results this season that is not likely to happen.

    Unofficial Race Results
    Tums Fast Relief 500, Martinsville Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=33
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 – 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 48
    2 – 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 42
    3 – 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 42
    4 – 43 Aric Almirola Ford 40
    5 – 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 40
    6 – 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 39
    7 – 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 38
    8 – 55 Brian Vickers Toyota 37
    9 – 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 35
    10 – 16 Greg Biffle Ford 34
    11 – 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 33
    12 – 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 32
    13 – 22 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 0
    14 – 78 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 30
    15 – 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 30
    16 – 20 Joey Logano Toyota 28
    17 – 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 27
    18 – 99 Carl Edwards Ford 26
    19 – 83 Landon Cassill Toyota 25
    20 – 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 24
    21 – 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 23
    22 – 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 22
    23 – 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 21
    24 – 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 20
    25 – 13 Casey Mears Ford 19
    26 – 34 David Ragan Ford 19
    27 – 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 17
    28 – 51 AJ Allmendinger Chevrolet 16
    29 – 32 Ken Schrader Ford 15
    30 – 38 David Gilliland Ford 14
    31 – 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 14
    32 – 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 12
    33 – 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 12
    34 – 33 Stephen Leicht * Chevrolet 10
    35 – 36 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 9
    36 – 10 David Reutimann Chevrolet 8
    37 – 195 Scott Speed Ford 7
    38 – 26 Josh Wise * Ford 6
    39 – 98 Michael McDowell Ford 5
    40 – 30 David Stremme Toyota 4
    41 – 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0
    42 – 23 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 2
    43 – 191 Reed Sorenson Toyota 0
  • Business as usual for Keselowski at Martinsville

    Business as usual for Keselowski at Martinsville

    [media-credit id=100 align=”alignright” width=”224″][/media-credit]Since the end of Tums 500 qualifying session at Martinsville Speedway, media reports, social media and television have been buzzing about series points leader Brad Keselowski’s 32nd place starting spot. Making matters worse, Keselowski’s closest competitor, Jimmie Johnson, put his No.48 Lowes Chevy on the pole. Instantly there was a buzz through the garage area. Given Johnson’s amazing record at the flat half mile track, the question being asked is not whether he will takeover the points lead, but rather by how much.

    While Johnson’s record is phenomenal, six wins in 21 starts, Keselowski has five starts and just two top ten finishes. Keselowski, however, has ran extremely well this season and did finish a respectable ninth in the spring Martinsville event.

    Another interesting fact is that due to the poor qualifying effort, the team’s choice of pit spot is less than optimal. They did choose a spot immediately behind a team that was likely to be a start and park team. This morning however, the No.32 Ford of Ken Schrader had purchased a supply of tires from the Mike Bliss No.19 car that did not make the field, so it would now seem they are going to attempt to run the entire race. That makes one wonder who may have paid the bill on those tires.

    In garage area however, the team seemed relaxed and not bothered by the enormous amount of media hype. I spoke with a team representative and asked if there was a different strategy planned given the circumstances. He responded, “Just try to get some track position early, and once we get there stay out front as long as we can.” he also pointed out that they aren’t using anything different in chassis setup and, “It sorta simplifies things for us, we know we just have to go to the front.”

    Given the relaxed, business as usual attitude of the Penske team, they may leave Martinsville in the same position they arrived with, in the drivers seat of the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship!