Harvick, Hornaday home in on Martinsville
By Jared Turner
(March 31, 2011)
Kevin Harvick Inc. has been shut out of victory lane in the first three races of the 2011 Camping World Truck Series season.
With Martinsville Speedway up next, the gate to victory lane could be about to swing wide open.
KHI trucks have captured three of the past four Martinsville truck series events, with team co-owner/part-time truck series driver Kevin Harvick winning consecutive spring races and four-time truck series champion Ron Hornaday winning last fall.
Harvick is set to make his first truck start of 2011 this weekend in the familiar No. 2 Chevrolet that is fielded out of the shop he co-owns with wife DeLana.
That shop—in Kernersville, N.C.—is 45 minutes south of Martinsville Speedway.
Given the close proximity, KHI drivers and team members are prone to unload at the .526-mile oval with a little extra enthusiasm. And their trucks are usually fast, too.
“Kevin loves to run Martinsville,” said Hornaday, who followed Harvick to the finish line at Martinsville last spring. “It’s close, he calls it his home track now because it’s right next to Kernersville and not far from his house.”
Martinsville could be KHI’s house again in Saturday’s Kroger 250.
Hornaday is riding back-to-back top-three finishes in his No. 33 truck, and Harvick is fresh off a big win in last Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Auto Club Speedway.
Between the drivers’ momentum and KHI’s recent success at Martinsville, the organization could be primed for another big day.
“We swept both races last season,” Harvick said. “It’d be really cool to do that again this year.”
Hornaday’s victory last fall was his first in 17 tries at the paperclip-shaped oval. It also was one of the bright spots in an otherwise trying season that culminated in two wins and a seventh-place points finish that equaled Hornaday’s worst in 11 full truck seasons.
“That definitely was a booster for us because we’d run good there,” said Hornaday, who outdueled Kyle Busch for the victory. “We just hadn’t gotten the checkered flag and we finally got one of them, so I’m looking forward to going back.”
Hornaday will roll into Martinsville this time with Jeff Hensley as his crew chief. Hensley, a native of nearby Ridgeway, Va., and multiple winner at Martinsville as a crew chief, joined Hornaday’s No. 33 team in the offseason, and the new pairing has been productive.
If not for a crash in the season opener at Daytona, Hornaday could have the points lead. As it is, he’s sixth in the standings and 12 points behind leader Matt Crafton.
“Jeff brought some good guys in, a great team,” Hornaday said. “They really believe in me and I believe what Jeff says, so I’m really pleased with the way everything’s going right now. We did a couple tests to learn each other, and it’s paying off at the racetrack.”
For Hensley, Martinsville really is home.
“Martinsville is special,” he said. “Just driving 10 minutes to the house and getting to sleep in my own bed at the end of a busy day at the track is really nice. Walking into the track this week I definitely feel an extra bit of confidence being here with KHI and Ron Hornaday.”
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Many Exciting Moments Led Up To Martinsville’s 25th NCWTS Race
Many Exciting Moments Led Up To Martinsville’s 25th NCWTS Race
Going south – to the heart of NASCAR country – was among challenges facing the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 1995. How would the sport’s core fans accept pickup truck racing?
No need to worry. Fans packed the stands at Bristol, Tenn., Richmond, Va., North Wilkesboro, N.C. and Martinsville, Va. Martinsville remains one of the most popular stops, hosting its 25th event, the Kroger 250, on Saturday.
Here’s a look back at notable races held on the .526-mile oval:
• In 1995 champion-to-be Mike Skinner and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series giant Geoff Bodine ran ferocious literally down to the white flag. The pair tangled in the track’s fourth turn, handing the victory to Joe Ruttman.
• Jimmy Hensley grew up a few miles south of Martinsville Speedway and was a favorite son from the day he turned his first laps. Hensley appeared headed for a popular victory in 1998 – until being spun between Turns 1 and 2 by Ron Hornaday Jr. Hensley recovered, spun Hornaday and Jay Sauter got the victory. Patience was rewarded the following year as Hensley became the Kroger 250 winner.
• It’s rare any race is won from a provisional starting position especially on a track as tight as Martinsville. But Dennis Setzer, slotted 33rd in 2002 after his truck failed a post-qualifying inspection, became the first in series history to go from add-on to Victory Lane.
• There were doubts right up to race week whether Rick Crawford, his leg broken in a spectacular accident at Atlanta Motor Speedway several weeks before, would even start the 2004 Kroger 250. Tough-as-nails Crawford, however, qualified third, took the lead for the first time on lap 53 and edged Setzer by 0.365 second to claim his third series victory.
• Bobby Hamilton Racing moved its operations to Martinsville a season after the untimely passing of its founder and former series champion in 2007. In storybook fashion, Setzer won the 2008 Kroger 250 for Hamilton’s widow, Lori, posting the 20th and final victory for BHR.
• Timothy Peters, a hometown favorite like previous Martinsville winners Hensley and Jon Wood, won the 2009 Kroger 200, becoming the sixth driver to record a first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory at the speedway.
• Hornaday, the series’ most successful short-track driver, came up empty a record 16 times at Martinsville before winning the 2010 Kroger 200.
Kroger 250 Offers New Insights For Sunoco Rookie Contenders
Martinsville Speedway has a reputation for “schooling” rookie drivers, the majority of which, ironically, come to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series via short-track competition.
Increased weight and horsepower and radial tires make trucks considerably different from late model and modified cars, turning the venue into a completely different short-track equation that some have mastered and many – especially in the spring – have left shaking their heads.
Here’s a Martinsville Kroger 250 Sunoco Rookie of the Year snapshot over the past 10 seasons:
• Travis Kvapil matched a Martinsville rookie best with a second-place finish in 2001. Two seasons later Kvapil was the series champion.
• Since 2001, Carl Edwards has the only other top-five finish, a fourth in 2003.
• Two drivers, Aaron Fike and Tyler Walker, finished 7th and 8th in 2007 – the only time in the 10 races two rookies have had top-10 finishes.
• Austin Dillon (No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Remington/Tracker Boats Chevrolet) was 16th a year ago but went on to win two races and seven poles.
NCWTS Etc.
Green Light Racing has fielded at least one truck in 249 consecutive races. The Kroger 250 will mark No. 250. The streak began Feb. 16, 2001 when Bobby Dotter – who continues to hold a managerial position with the team – finished 14th at Daytona. … Other Martinsville milestones: Hornaday goes for his 136th top-five finish to match Jack Sprague’s NCWTS career record. Defending Kroger 250 winner Kevin Harvick (No. 2 Tide/Kroger Chevrolet) bids for his 50th series top 10. With a victory, Todd Bodine (No. 30 Germain.com Toyota) would match Setzer’s record for most consecutive seasons (eight) with at least one win. … Hornaday, age 52, has won 12 times since turning 50. A second consecutive Martinsville victory would match Ruttman’s career total – most in any NASCAR national series by a driver age 50 or older. Hornaday’s crew chief, Jeff Hensley, is a Martinsville-area native. His 10 series victories include Mike Skinner’s Martinsville sweep in 2007. … Kevin Harvick Inc. goes for a third consecutive Martinsville victory, unprecedented since the track scheduled a second race in 2003. … Turn One Racing’s crew chief Marcus Richmond (who backs Whitt) also calls Martinsville Speedway his home track hailing from nearby Leasburg, N.C.
Going south – to the heart of NASCAR country – was among challenges facing the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 1995. How would the sport’s core fans accept pickup truck racing?
No need to worry. Fans packed the stands at Bristol, Tenn., Richmond, Va., North Wilkesboro, N.C. and Martinsville, Va. Martinsville remains one of the most popular stops, hosting its 25th event, the Kroger 250, on Saturday.
Here’s a look back at notable races held on the .526-mile oval:
• In 1995 champion-to-be Mike Skinner and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series giant Geoff Bodine ran ferocious literally down to the white flag. The pair tangled in the track’s fourth turn, handing the victory to Joe Ruttman.
• Jimmy Hensley grew up a few miles south of Martinsville Speedway and was a favorite son from the day he turned his first laps. Hensley appeared headed for a popular victory in 1998 – until being spun between Turns 1 and 2 by Ron Hornaday Jr. Hensley recovered, spun Hornaday and Jay Sauter got the victory. Patience was rewarded the following year as Hensley became the Kroger 250 winner.
• It’s rare any race is won from a provisional starting position especially on a track as tight as Martinsville. But Dennis Setzer, slotted 33rd in 2002 after his truck failed a post-qualifying inspection, became the first in series history to go from add-on to Victory Lane.
• There were doubts right up to race week whether Rick Crawford, his leg broken in a spectacular accident at Atlanta Motor Speedway several weeks before, would even start the 2004 Kroger 250. Tough-as-nails Crawford, however, qualified third, took the lead for the first time on lap 53 and edged Setzer by 0.365 second to claim his third series victory.
• Bobby Hamilton Racing moved its operations to Martinsville a season after the untimely passing of its founder and former series champion in 2007. In storybook fashion, Setzer won the 2008 Kroger 250 for Hamilton’s widow, Lori, posting the 20th and final victory for BHR.
• Timothy Peters, a hometown favorite like previous Martinsville winners Hensley and Jon Wood, won the 2009 Kroger 200, becoming the sixth driver to record a first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory at the speedway.
• Hornaday, the series’ most successful short-track driver, came up empty a record 16 times at Martinsville before winning the 2010 Kroger 200.
Kroger 250 Offers New Insights For Sunoco Rookie Contenders
Martinsville Speedway has a reputation for “schooling” rookie drivers, the majority of which, ironically, come to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series via short-track competition.
Increased weight and horsepower and radial tires make trucks considerably different from late model and modified cars, turning the venue into a completely different short-track equation that some have mastered and many – especially in the spring – have left shaking their heads.
Here’s a Martinsville Kroger 250 Sunoco Rookie of the Year snapshot over the past 10 seasons:
• Travis Kvapil matched a Martinsville rookie best with a second-place finish in 2001. Two seasons later Kvapil was the series champion.
• Since 2001, Carl Edwards has the only other top-five finish, a fourth in 2003.
• Two drivers, Aaron Fike and Tyler Walker, finished 7th and 8th in 2007 – the only time in the 10 races two rookies have had top-10 finishes.
• Austin Dillon (No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Remington/Tracker Boats Chevrolet) was 16th a year ago but went on to win two races and seven poles.
NCWTS Etc.
Green Light Racing has fielded at least one truck in 249 consecutive races. The Kroger 250 will mark No. 250. The streak began Feb. 16, 2001 when Bobby Dotter – who continues to hold a managerial position with the team – finished 14th at Daytona. … Other Martinsville milestones: Hornaday goes for his 136th top-five finish to match Jack Sprague’s NCWTS career record. Defending Kroger 250 winner Kevin Harvick (No. 2 Tide/Kroger Chevrolet) bids for his 50th series top 10. With a victory, Todd Bodine (No. 30 Germain.com Toyota) would match Setzer’s record for most consecutive seasons (eight) with at least one win. … Hornaday, age 52, has won 12 times since turning 50. A second consecutive Martinsville victory would match Ruttman’s career total – most in any NASCAR national series by a driver age 50 or older. Hornaday’s crew chief, Jeff Hensley, is a Martinsville-area native. His 10 series victories include Mike Skinner’s Martinsville sweep in 2007. … Kevin Harvick Inc. goes for a third consecutive Martinsville victory, unprecedented since the track scheduled a second race in 2003. … Turn One Racing’s crew chief Marcus Richmond (who backs Whitt) also calls Martinsville Speedway his home track hailing from nearby Leasburg, N.C.
Nationwide Series Notebook
For the first five races of the NASCAR Nationwide Series season, owner points from 2010 were used to set the top 30 qualifiers. After the open week, the 2011 owner points standings will determine the top 30 automatic qualifiers for each race for the remainder of the season.
Following last Saturday’s race at Auto Club Speedway, two teams climbed into the top 30 and earned an automatic berth at Texas Motor Speedway on April 8. The No. 89 Faith Motorsports/Shepherd Racing Ventures team, owned/driven by Morgan Shepherd, along with the No. 01 JD-Motorsports team, owned by Lori Davis and driven by Mike Wallace, moved into the top 30. Although the No. 40 Key Motorsports team owned by Curtis Key Sr. and driven by Scott Wimmer, is in 31st, they’ll push up into at least 30th at Texas since the No. 5 JR Motorsports team has only two attempts. Both the No. 70 ML Motorsports team owned by Mary Louise Miller and driven by Shelby Howard and Dennis Setzer, and the No. 23 R3 Motorsports team owned by Robert Richardson and driven by his son, Robert Jr., dropped out by two points. Both have to qualify on time at Texas.
Only The Open Week Can Slow Kyle Busch
Simply stated, the performance of 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Kyle Busch is off the charts.
• He ranks first in the NASCAR Season-to-Date Loop Data with a Driver Rating of 134.4; which is 23.4 points better than second-place Carl Edwards (111.0).
• He has won three out of the first five races this season, including consecutive victories at Bristol Motor Speedway and Auto Club Speedway.
• He has 46 NASCAR Nationwide Series wins, three behind the series’ all-time wins leader Mark Martin (49).
• He has led 587 of 900 laps thus far this season, giving him a laps led percentage of 65.2%.
• He has won the last three spring races at Texas Motor Speedway, and five out of the last six overall at TMS.
NNS – Open Week
The NASCAR Nationwide Series’ new car will make its Texas Motor Speedway debut on April 7. Series teams will receive extra practice at the 1.5-mile speedway, one of four tracks they selected for extended practice time this season. … Kenny Wallace, who has been ranked in the top 10 in driver points for the last four weeks (currently eighth), is inching closer to becoming the second driver in series history to reach 500 starts. He’ll enter Texas having made 493. Jason Keller is the all-time series leader in starts with 519. … Aric Almirola and his wife, Janice, along with two crew members from the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet – Christopher Allen and Corey Shea – are participating in the Cooper River Bridge Run 10k in Charleston, S.C. this weekend. … As of April 1, ESPN2 – which serves as the main television home for NASCAR Nationwide Series races in 2011 – will reach more than 100 million homes. ESPN2 launched on Oct. 1, 1993 and has matched ESPN and its 14-year head start with a nine-digit universe – 100,004,000 homes – just two months after ESPN hit the milestone (now in 100,122,000 homes).
Following last Saturday’s race at Auto Club Speedway, two teams climbed into the top 30 and earned an automatic berth at Texas Motor Speedway on April 8. The No. 89 Faith Motorsports/Shepherd Racing Ventures team, owned/driven by Morgan Shepherd, along with the No. 01 JD-Motorsports team, owned by Lori Davis and driven by Mike Wallace, moved into the top 30. Although the No. 40 Key Motorsports team owned by Curtis Key Sr. and driven by Scott Wimmer, is in 31st, they’ll push up into at least 30th at Texas since the No. 5 JR Motorsports team has only two attempts. Both the No. 70 ML Motorsports team owned by Mary Louise Miller and driven by Shelby Howard and Dennis Setzer, and the No. 23 R3 Motorsports team owned by Robert Richardson and driven by his son, Robert Jr., dropped out by two points. Both have to qualify on time at Texas.
Only The Open Week Can Slow Kyle Busch
Simply stated, the performance of 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Kyle Busch is off the charts.
• He ranks first in the NASCAR Season-to-Date Loop Data with a Driver Rating of 134.4; which is 23.4 points better than second-place Carl Edwards (111.0).
• He has won three out of the first five races this season, including consecutive victories at Bristol Motor Speedway and Auto Club Speedway.
• He has 46 NASCAR Nationwide Series wins, three behind the series’ all-time wins leader Mark Martin (49).
• He has led 587 of 900 laps thus far this season, giving him a laps led percentage of 65.2%.
• He has won the last three spring races at Texas Motor Speedway, and five out of the last six overall at TMS.
NNS – Open Week
The NASCAR Nationwide Series’ new car will make its Texas Motor Speedway debut on April 7. Series teams will receive extra practice at the 1.5-mile speedway, one of four tracks they selected for extended practice time this season. … Kenny Wallace, who has been ranked in the top 10 in driver points for the last four weeks (currently eighth), is inching closer to becoming the second driver in series history to reach 500 starts. He’ll enter Texas having made 493. Jason Keller is the all-time series leader in starts with 519. … Aric Almirola and his wife, Janice, along with two crew members from the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet – Christopher Allen and Corey Shea – are participating in the Cooper River Bridge Run 10k in Charleston, S.C. this weekend. … As of April 1, ESPN2 – which serves as the main television home for NASCAR Nationwide Series races in 2011 – will reach more than 100 million homes. ESPN2 launched on Oct. 1, 1993 and has matched ESPN and its 14-year head start with a nine-digit universe – 100,004,000 homes – just two months after ESPN hit the milestone (now in 100,122,000 homes).
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Returns to Action At Martinsville
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
NCWTS Returns to Action At Martinsville; Can KHI Go For The Trifecta
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns to action this weekend at Martinsville Speedway following three open weeks on the schedule. The Kroger 250 will mark the 25th series race held at the famed short track and the 13th running of the spring event. In 24 previous events, 19 different drivers have visited Victory Lane, including defending race winner Kevin Harvick.
Harvick – fresh off his NASCAR Sprint Cup victory at Auto Club Speedway – will return to Martinsville to defend his victory in his Kevin Harvick Inc. No. 2 entry. Harvick led 187 laps last March beating fellow KHI teammate and short track guru Ron Hornaday Jr. for the victory.
Hornaday came back in the fall to lead 11 laps en route to his first Martinsville victory and became the first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competitor to take home the famed grandfather clock trophy.
If KHI returns to victory lane this Saturday at Martinsville, it will become the first organization in series history to claim three straight victories at the 0.526-mile oval.
A Martinsville Homecoming
Martinsville Speedway provides quite the homecoming for both competitors and crew members in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series garage.
· Danville, Va. native Timothy Peters captured his first career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory in October 2009. Peters currently sits third in the series standings after three races.
· KHI crew chief Jeff Hensley lives in Ridgeway, Va. located only 10 minutes from the track. Hensley has four wins at Martinsville from atop the pit box and currently calls the shots for Ron Hornaday Jr.
· TurnOne Racing team owner Stacey Compton and crew chief Marcus Richmond both call the Martinsville area home. Compton hails from Hurt, Va. located about an hour outside of Martinsville. Richmond is originally from Leasburg, N.C. – located just a few miles from the Virginia border. Richmond called the shots during Dennis Setzer’s popular Martinsville victory in 2008 for Bobby Hamilton Racing.
· Joe Denette Motorsports is the newest NCWTS team to join the Virginia homecoming. Team owner Joe Denette and driver Jason White are both Virginia natives. Denette, a Fredericksburg, Va. native still resides in "The Old Dominion State" while White, a Richmond, Va. Native, currently resides in Huntersville, N.C. near the team’s race shop.
Making Milestones at Martinsville
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team SS Green Light Racing will make its 250th consecutive start his weekend at Martinsville Speedway. The team currently ranks third in most consecutive starts behind ThorSport Racing and Randy Moss Motorsports.
The 2000 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion, Greg Biffle, will make his 300th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start at Martinsville. Biffle, who also captured the 1998 Rookie of the Year honors, has 81 series starts and 16 victories.
NCWTS Returns to Action At Martinsville; Can KHI Go For The Trifecta
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returns to action this weekend at Martinsville Speedway following three open weeks on the schedule. The Kroger 250 will mark the 25th series race held at the famed short track and the 13th running of the spring event. In 24 previous events, 19 different drivers have visited Victory Lane, including defending race winner Kevin Harvick.
Harvick – fresh off his NASCAR Sprint Cup victory at Auto Club Speedway – will return to Martinsville to defend his victory in his Kevin Harvick Inc. No. 2 entry. Harvick led 187 laps last March beating fellow KHI teammate and short track guru Ron Hornaday Jr. for the victory.
Hornaday came back in the fall to lead 11 laps en route to his first Martinsville victory and became the first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competitor to take home the famed grandfather clock trophy.
If KHI returns to victory lane this Saturday at Martinsville, it will become the first organization in series history to claim three straight victories at the 0.526-mile oval.
A Martinsville Homecoming
Martinsville Speedway provides quite the homecoming for both competitors and crew members in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series garage.
· Danville, Va. native Timothy Peters captured his first career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory in October 2009. Peters currently sits third in the series standings after three races.
· KHI crew chief Jeff Hensley lives in Ridgeway, Va. located only 10 minutes from the track. Hensley has four wins at Martinsville from atop the pit box and currently calls the shots for Ron Hornaday Jr.
· TurnOne Racing team owner Stacey Compton and crew chief Marcus Richmond both call the Martinsville area home. Compton hails from Hurt, Va. located about an hour outside of Martinsville. Richmond is originally from Leasburg, N.C. – located just a few miles from the Virginia border. Richmond called the shots during Dennis Setzer’s popular Martinsville victory in 2008 for Bobby Hamilton Racing.
· Joe Denette Motorsports is the newest NCWTS team to join the Virginia homecoming. Team owner Joe Denette and driver Jason White are both Virginia natives. Denette, a Fredericksburg, Va. native still resides in "The Old Dominion State" while White, a Richmond, Va. Native, currently resides in Huntersville, N.C. near the team’s race shop.
Making Milestones at Martinsville
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team SS Green Light Racing will make its 250th consecutive start his weekend at Martinsville Speedway. The team currently ranks third in most consecutive starts behind ThorSport Racing and Randy Moss Motorsports.
The 2000 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion, Greg Biffle, will make his 300th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start at Martinsville. Biffle, who also captured the 1998 Rookie of the Year honors, has 81 series starts and 16 victories.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
NASCAR Nationwide Series
NASCAR Nationwide Series
Stenhouse Takes Points Lead Into Open Week
Talk about full circle. Last year at this time, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was mired in an early-season slump that could have been incredibly costly – to the point of losing his ride. After five races in 2010, he’d had an average finish of 32.2, two DNFs (did not finish) and his No. 6 team had fallen out of the top 30 in owner points, meaning he’d have to qualify on time to make the race. Matter of fact, he didn’t qualify for race No. 6, at Nashville. He did rebound, however, to have a strong second half and also earned Rookie of the Year honors.
And he’s continued to improve.
After five races in 2011, Stenhouse, 23, is leading the driver standings, has an average finish of 8.2, has captured one pole, led 38 laps – most recently last Saturday at Auto Club Speedway where he was challenging for the win late – and has completed all but two laps.
He’s finished out of the top 10 only once (14th at Bristol) and earned his first top-five finish (fourth) at Auto Club. He’s got the best average finish among the trio of Roush Fenway drivers that include 2007 series champion Carl Edwards (9.2) and Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne (14.2).
He’s the fourth different driver standings leader this season, joining Landon Cassill, Reed Sorenson and Jason Leffler; he leads Leffler by six points. The top 10 heading into the open week: Stenhouse, Leffler, Justin Allgaier, Aric Almirola, Sorenson, Bayne, Elliott Sadler, Kenny Wallace, Brian Scott and Mike Bliss.
Belated Happy New Year For 2011 Top 30
Now that the first five races of 2011 are in the books, the owner points revert to their current 2011 rankings to determine the top 30 automatic qualifiers for each race for the remainder of the season.
For the first five events, owner points from 2010 were used to set the top 30 qualifiers.
Following last Saturday’s race at Auto Club, three teams climbed into the top 30 and earned an automatic berth at Texas Motor Speedway on April 8. The No. 89 Faith Motorsports/Shepherd Racing Ventures team, along with the No. 01 JD-Motorsports team and the No. 23 R3 Motorsports team moved into the top 30. On the flip side, the No. 40 Key Motorsports team fell out by a scant one point and will have to qualify on time at Texas.
Teeing Up Texas
The NASCAR Nationwide Series new car will be making its Texas track debut as part of its full integration this season. Series teams will receive extra practice at TMS, one of four tracks they selected, for extended practice time this season. … Kenny Wallace, whose been ranked in the top 10 in driver points for the last four weeks (currently eighth), is inching closer to becoming the second driver in series history to reach 500 starts. He’ll enter Texas having made 493 starts. Jason Keller is the all-time leader with 519. … Kyle Busch, the 2009 series champion, has won the last three spring races at Texas and five out of the last six overall at TMS. He’s coming off consecutive victories – Auto Club and Bristol. He also won at Phoenix.
Stenhouse Takes Points Lead Into Open Week
Talk about full circle. Last year at this time, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was mired in an early-season slump that could have been incredibly costly – to the point of losing his ride. After five races in 2010, he’d had an average finish of 32.2, two DNFs (did not finish) and his No. 6 team had fallen out of the top 30 in owner points, meaning he’d have to qualify on time to make the race. Matter of fact, he didn’t qualify for race No. 6, at Nashville. He did rebound, however, to have a strong second half and also earned Rookie of the Year honors.
And he’s continued to improve.
After five races in 2011, Stenhouse, 23, is leading the driver standings, has an average finish of 8.2, has captured one pole, led 38 laps – most recently last Saturday at Auto Club Speedway where he was challenging for the win late – and has completed all but two laps.
He’s finished out of the top 10 only once (14th at Bristol) and earned his first top-five finish (fourth) at Auto Club. He’s got the best average finish among the trio of Roush Fenway drivers that include 2007 series champion Carl Edwards (9.2) and Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne (14.2).
He’s the fourth different driver standings leader this season, joining Landon Cassill, Reed Sorenson and Jason Leffler; he leads Leffler by six points. The top 10 heading into the open week: Stenhouse, Leffler, Justin Allgaier, Aric Almirola, Sorenson, Bayne, Elliott Sadler, Kenny Wallace, Brian Scott and Mike Bliss.
Belated Happy New Year For 2011 Top 30
Now that the first five races of 2011 are in the books, the owner points revert to their current 2011 rankings to determine the top 30 automatic qualifiers for each race for the remainder of the season.
For the first five events, owner points from 2010 were used to set the top 30 qualifiers.
Following last Saturday’s race at Auto Club, three teams climbed into the top 30 and earned an automatic berth at Texas Motor Speedway on April 8. The No. 89 Faith Motorsports/Shepherd Racing Ventures team, along with the No. 01 JD-Motorsports team and the No. 23 R3 Motorsports team moved into the top 30. On the flip side, the No. 40 Key Motorsports team fell out by a scant one point and will have to qualify on time at Texas.
Teeing Up Texas
The NASCAR Nationwide Series new car will be making its Texas track debut as part of its full integration this season. Series teams will receive extra practice at TMS, one of four tracks they selected, for extended practice time this season. … Kenny Wallace, whose been ranked in the top 10 in driver points for the last four weeks (currently eighth), is inching closer to becoming the second driver in series history to reach 500 starts. He’ll enter Texas having made 493 starts. Jason Keller is the all-time leader with 519. … Kyle Busch, the 2009 series champion, has won the last three spring races at Texas and five out of the last six overall at TMS. He’s coming off consecutive victories – Auto Club and Bristol. He also won at Phoenix.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Kyle Busch steals a win at Fontana
Kyle Busch steals a win at Fontana
FONTANA, Calif.—Kyle Busch drove it like he stole it over the final 13 Laps at Auto Club Speedway, because that’s exactly what happened in Saturday’s Royal Purple 300 Nationwide Series race.
About the only thing he didn’t get was a grand larceny charge.
Thanks to a two-tire call with 13 laps left, Busch exited the pits with a five-second lead over runner-up Carl Edwards and won a race in a No. 18 Toyota that was, at best, a third-place car.
Busch’s victory kept a litany of streaks intact. Busch won his third straight event in NASCAR’s top two national series, his third straight Nationwide Series race at Auto Club Speedway and the seventh straight Nationwide race at the 2-mile track for Joe Gibbs Racing, dating to Tony Stewart’s victory in 2008.
The win, Busch’s fourth in the past five races at Fontana, gave him 46 career wins in the series, three short of the series record of Mark Martin, who finished eighth Saturday.
“I think it’s pretty satisfying when you can win one like that,” Busch said. “I mean, it’s great to go out there and kick everybody’s butt and win the race and just come to the media center and go home. But today, it’s a little bit more fun.
“I don’t know why, but it’s like you’re working your butt off all day long, and it’s like ‘Aw, man, it’s going to be a third today. That kind of stings, but it’s still decent.’ And then you end up making a pit call like that, where nobody else does it, and you’re like, ‘Damn, we’re going to win this thing,’ and you get all jacked up.”
Busch took the lead during an exchange of late-race pit stops and expanded it with the two-tire call on Lap 137 of 150. When Busch exited the pits with new right-side tires, he had the five-second lead over Edwards.
Though Edwards and third-place Kevin Harvick closed fast on four new tires during the final 12 laps, they ran out of time. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ran fourth and took the lead in the series standings by six points over Jason Leffler (11th Saturday). Elliott Sadler came home fifth.
Harvick, who pitted on Lap 134, said he never considered a two-tire call.
“Two tires never even crossed my mind,” Harvick said. “If I had to do it again, I’d probably pit earlier and probably get on pit road a little harder. Whether it would have changed the outcome or not, I don’t know. Still a good day for us.”
Edwards, who came to the pits on Lap 132, wondered whether someone might try two tires but not in time to do anything about it.
“I did not think of two tires until we were jacked up on the left side of the car,” Edwards said. “I thought, ‘Man, this is kind of close to the end. I wonder if somebody will take two, but I didn’t really think about it more than that.
“I guess it’s a little bit of shame that it didn’t come down to a real battle at the end, but it very well could have. A little bit of a slower stop on Kyle’s car or a caution or something like that, and it was going to be an insane finish.”
Harvick was first off pit road during the fifth caution—caused by Jeremy Clements’ spin in Turn 2—and took the green flag for a Lap 98 restart. Stenhouse, however, surged from fourth to the top spot on Lap 99.
Stenhouse, who had perhaps the best short-run car in the field, held the lead until Edwards regained it on Lap 109. But Harvick began to show his strength as the green-flag run progressed, and the driver of the No. 33 Chevrolet made short work of Edwards on Lap 115 to pace the field.
By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(March 26, 2011)
FONTANA, Calif.—Kyle Busch drove it like he stole it over the final 13 Laps at Auto Club Speedway, because that’s exactly what happened in Saturday’s Royal Purple 300 Nationwide Series race.
About the only thing he didn’t get was a grand larceny charge.
Thanks to a two-tire call with 13 laps left, Busch exited the pits with a five-second lead over runner-up Carl Edwards and won a race in a No. 18 Toyota that was, at best, a third-place car.
Busch’s victory kept a litany of streaks intact. Busch won his third straight event in NASCAR’s top two national series, his third straight Nationwide Series race at Auto Club Speedway and the seventh straight Nationwide race at the 2-mile track for Joe Gibbs Racing, dating to Tony Stewart’s victory in 2008.
The win, Busch’s fourth in the past five races at Fontana, gave him 46 career wins in the series, three short of the series record of Mark Martin, who finished eighth Saturday.
“I think it’s pretty satisfying when you can win one like that,” Busch said. “I mean, it’s great to go out there and kick everybody’s butt and win the race and just come to the media center and go home. But today, it’s a little bit more fun.
“I don’t know why, but it’s like you’re working your butt off all day long, and it’s like ‘Aw, man, it’s going to be a third today. That kind of stings, but it’s still decent.’ And then you end up making a pit call like that, where nobody else does it, and you’re like, ‘Damn, we’re going to win this thing,’ and you get all jacked up.”
Busch took the lead during an exchange of late-race pit stops and expanded it with the two-tire call on Lap 137 of 150. When Busch exited the pits with new right-side tires, he had the five-second lead over Edwards.
Though Edwards and third-place Kevin Harvick closed fast on four new tires during the final 12 laps, they ran out of time. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ran fourth and took the lead in the series standings by six points over Jason Leffler (11th Saturday). Elliott Sadler came home fifth.
Harvick, who pitted on Lap 134, said he never considered a two-tire call.
“Two tires never even crossed my mind,” Harvick said. “If I had to do it again, I’d probably pit earlier and probably get on pit road a little harder. Whether it would have changed the outcome or not, I don’t know. Still a good day for us.”
Edwards, who came to the pits on Lap 132, wondered whether someone might try two tires but not in time to do anything about it.
“I did not think of two tires until we were jacked up on the left side of the car,” Edwards said. “I thought, ‘Man, this is kind of close to the end. I wonder if somebody will take two, but I didn’t really think about it more than that.
“I guess it’s a little bit of shame that it didn’t come down to a real battle at the end, but it very well could have. A little bit of a slower stop on Kyle’s car or a caution or something like that, and it was going to be an insane finish.”
Harvick was first off pit road during the fifth caution—caused by Jeremy Clements’ spin in Turn 2—and took the green flag for a Lap 98 restart. Stenhouse, however, surged from fourth to the top spot on Lap 99.
Stenhouse, who had perhaps the best short-run car in the field, held the lead until Edwards regained it on Lap 109. But Harvick began to show his strength as the green-flag run progressed, and the driver of the No. 33 Chevrolet made short work of Edwards on Lap 115 to pace the field.
By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(March 26, 2011)
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Kyle Busch keeps streaks intact with Fontana win
Kyle Busch keeps streaks intact with Fontana win
FONTANA, Calif.—Kyle Busch used pit strategy to keep a litany of streaks intact Saturday at Auto Club Speedway.
In winning the Royal Purple 300, Busch won his third straight event in NASCAR’s top two national series, his third straight Nationwide Series race at Auto Club Speedway and the seventh straight Nationwide race at the 2-mile track for Joe Gibbs Racing, dating to Tony Stewart’s victory in 2008.
The win, Busch’s fourth in the past five races at Fontana, gave him 46 career wins in the series, three short of the series record of Mark Martin, who finished eighth Saturday.
Busch took the lead during an exchange of late-race pit stops and expanded it with a two-tire call on Lap 137 of 150. When Busch exited the pits with new right-side tires, he had a five-second lead over runner-up Carl Edwards.
Though Edwards and third-place Kevin Harvick closed fast on four new tires during the final 12 laps, they ran out of time. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ran fourth, and Elliott Sadler came home fifth.
Harvick was first off pit road during the fifth caution—caused by Jeremy Clements’ spin in Turn 2—and took the green flag for a Lap 98 restart. Stenhouse, however, surged from fourth to the top spot on Lap 99.
Stenhouse, who had perhaps the best short-run car in the field, held the lead until Edwards regained it on Lap 109. But Harvick began to show his strength as the green-flag run progressed, and the driver of the No. 33 Chevrolet made short work of Edwards on Lap 115 to pace the field.
By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(March 26, 2011)
FONTANA, Calif.—Kyle Busch used pit strategy to keep a litany of streaks intact Saturday at Auto Club Speedway.
In winning the Royal Purple 300, Busch won his third straight event in NASCAR’s top two national series, his third straight Nationwide Series race at Auto Club Speedway and the seventh straight Nationwide race at the 2-mile track for Joe Gibbs Racing, dating to Tony Stewart’s victory in 2008.
The win, Busch’s fourth in the past five races at Fontana, gave him 46 career wins in the series, three short of the series record of Mark Martin, who finished eighth Saturday.
Busch took the lead during an exchange of late-race pit stops and expanded it with a two-tire call on Lap 137 of 150. When Busch exited the pits with new right-side tires, he had a five-second lead over runner-up Carl Edwards.
Though Edwards and third-place Kevin Harvick closed fast on four new tires during the final 12 laps, they ran out of time. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ran fourth, and Elliott Sadler came home fifth.
Harvick was first off pit road during the fifth caution—caused by Jeremy Clements’ spin in Turn 2—and took the green flag for a Lap 98 restart. Stenhouse, however, surged from fourth to the top spot on Lap 99.
Stenhouse, who had perhaps the best short-run car in the field, held the lead until Edwards regained it on Lap 109. But Harvick began to show his strength as the green-flag run progressed, and the driver of the No. 33 Chevrolet made short work of Edwards on Lap 115 to pace the field.
By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(March 26, 2011)
KYKE BUSH WINS 13th Annual Royal Purple 300
Race Fast Facts
Auto Club Speedway
13th Annual Royal Purple 300
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Sat, March 26, 2011 @ 08:06 PM Eastern
Race Winner: Kyle Busch
Age: 25
Team : No. 18 - Z-Line Designs Toyota
Owner: Joe Gibbs
Crew Chief: Jason Ratcliff
Kyle Busch(i) won the 13th Annual Royal Purple 300, his 46th victory in 207 NASCAR Nationwide Series races.
This is his third victory and fourth top-10 finish in 2011. He has now won 91 times in NASCAR national series competition.
This is his fifth victory and 10th top-10 finish in 13 races at Auto Club Speedway. He has won three consecutive races and five of his last six starts.
Carl Edwards(i) (second) posted his 11th top-10 finish in 13 races at Auto Club Speedway. It is his fourth top-10 finish in 2011.
Kevin Harvick(i) (third) posted his 14th top-10 finish in 17 races at Auto Club Speedway.
Ryan Truex (17th) was the highest finishing rookie.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. leads the point standings by 6 points over Jason Leffler.
Joe Gibbs Racing has now won seven consecutive races at Auto Club Speedway - five by Busch, one each by Tony Stewart and Joey Logano. This is the most consecutive wins by a Nationwide Series owner at a currently scheduled track.
Auto Club Speedway
13th Annual Royal Purple 300
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Sat, March 26, 2011 @ 08:06 PM Eastern
Race Winner: Kyle Busch
Age: 25
Team : No. 18 - Z-Line Designs Toyota
Owner: Joe Gibbs
Crew Chief: Jason Ratcliff
Kyle Busch(i) won the 13th Annual Royal Purple 300, his 46th victory in 207 NASCAR Nationwide Series races.
This is his third victory and fourth top-10 finish in 2011. He has now won 91 times in NASCAR national series competition.
This is his fifth victory and 10th top-10 finish in 13 races at Auto Club Speedway. He has won three consecutive races and five of his last six starts.
Carl Edwards(i) (second) posted his 11th top-10 finish in 13 races at Auto Club Speedway. It is his fourth top-10 finish in 2011.
Kevin Harvick(i) (third) posted his 14th top-10 finish in 17 races at Auto Club Speedway.
Ryan Truex (17th) was the highest finishing rookie.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. leads the point standings by 6 points over Jason Leffler.
Joe Gibbs Racing has now won seven consecutive races at Auto Club Speedway - five by Busch, one each by Tony Stewart and Joey Logano. This is the most consecutive wins by a Nationwide Series owner at a currently scheduled track.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Cobb focused on business, can't wait for Bristol drama to subside
Cobb focused on business, can't wait for Bristol drama to subside
By Lee Montgomery
Special to Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(March 24, 2011)
Jennifer Jo Cobb lost her Nationwide Series ride moments before last weekend's race at Bristol Motor Speedway. But in the days since, she's been overwhelmed with encouragement and support and has turned something negative into something positive.
The biggest Nationwide story out of Bristol last weekend wasn't Kyle Busch's victory. It was the brouhaha between Cobb and her former car owner, Rick Russell, over Cobb's refusal to start-and-park the 2nd Chance Motorsports Ford.
Accusations flew back and forth—and continue to—but Cobb has come out smelling like a rose. For starters, Rick Ware Racing hired her to run the team's No. 41 in this Saturday's Royal Purple 300 at Auto Club Speedway.
"I've got a ride for California , my T-shirt sales have quadrupled this week, I've got fans who are sending in donations to make sure that I have the money to go racing with other teams, I've got people calling me to give speeches because I give speeches about perseverance and determination and reaching your goals," Cobb said. "I want to stick up for my integrity and reputation, (and) the best thing for me right now is just to focus on the business side of it."
Cobb said she is simply trying to focus on getting rides for the rest of the season, instead of trying to defend herself from Russell's various accusations.
"This is a business," Cobb said. "There's a Jen Cobb behind the scenes who sat with her mom and went and saw her dad and hung out with friends. Then there's Jennifer Jo Cobb the racecar driver who is in this for business. It's Jen's dream to go race, so Jennifer Jo Cobb has to work on making that happen.
"It's silly to refer to yourself in the third person, but that's just what it boils down to."
Cobb's dream is to race full time, and she insists the best way to do that is to treat her dream professionally.
"I can't wait for all the drama to be over," Cobb said. "It's like, 'Are we trying to race or are we trying to be dramatic?' It's just ridiculous."
And while the Rick Ware Racing ride, for now, is just for the weekend, Cobb said it is "looking highly likely that I will race the rest of this season," with three teams.
"What that would do is enable me to gain experience in different cars with different teams and different crew chiefs," Cobb said. "It wouldn't put the financial burden of my racing full time on any one team. That's the scenario I'd like to work out. But day-to-day things change, and anything could pop up along the way."
She's certainly learned that this week.
By Lee Montgomery
Special to Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(March 24, 2011)
Jennifer Jo Cobb lost her Nationwide Series ride moments before last weekend's race at Bristol Motor Speedway. But in the days since, she's been overwhelmed with encouragement and support and has turned something negative into something positive.
The biggest Nationwide story out of Bristol last weekend wasn't Kyle Busch's victory. It was the brouhaha between Cobb and her former car owner, Rick Russell, over Cobb's refusal to start-and-park the 2nd Chance Motorsports Ford.
Accusations flew back and forth—and continue to—but Cobb has come out smelling like a rose. For starters, Rick Ware Racing hired her to run the team's No. 41 in this Saturday's Royal Purple 300 at Auto Club Speedway.
"I've got a ride for California , my T-shirt sales have quadrupled this week, I've got fans who are sending in donations to make sure that I have the money to go racing with other teams, I've got people calling me to give speeches because I give speeches about perseverance and determination and reaching your goals," Cobb said. "I want to stick up for my integrity and reputation, (and) the best thing for me right now is just to focus on the business side of it."
Cobb said she is simply trying to focus on getting rides for the rest of the season, instead of trying to defend herself from Russell's various accusations.
"This is a business," Cobb said. "There's a Jen Cobb behind the scenes who sat with her mom and went and saw her dad and hung out with friends. Then there's Jennifer Jo Cobb the racecar driver who is in this for business. It's Jen's dream to go race, so Jennifer Jo Cobb has to work on making that happen.
"It's silly to refer to yourself in the third person, but that's just what it boils down to."
Cobb's dream is to race full time, and she insists the best way to do that is to treat her dream professionally.
"I can't wait for all the drama to be over," Cobb said. "It's like, 'Are we trying to race or are we trying to be dramatic?' It's just ridiculous."
And while the Rick Ware Racing ride, for now, is just for the weekend, Cobb said it is "looking highly likely that I will race the rest of this season," with three teams.
"What that would do is enable me to gain experience in different cars with different teams and different crew chiefs," Cobb said. "It wouldn't put the financial burden of my racing full time on any one team. That's the scenario I'd like to work out. But day-to-day things change, and anything could pop up along the way."
She's certainly learned that this week.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
NATIONWIDE SERIES AT AUTO CLUB
NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES
Worth The Wait
Talk about a homecoming. After 262 career starts in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, Jason Leffler, a native of Long Beach, returns to his part of the country as the standings leader. It’s the first time he’s been at the top in his 11-year series career.
His lead came at the expense of his Turner Motorsports teammate, Reed Sorenson, who had led the points following the last two races. But a blown engine at Bristol KO’d Sorenson, who’s now fourth in the standings, 21 points behind Leffler.
Turner Motorsports will be a strong contingent at Auto Club Speedway with the addition of Mark Martin. The series’ all-time leader in wins (49) and poles (30) will run the second of his four 2011 races for the team on Saturday. He won his first outing this year at Las Vegas.
The man chasing Martin’s record, Kyle Busch, now has 45 series wins following his victory at Bristol. He’s also entered at ACS. Busch, the 2009 series champion, is the flagship driver for Joe Gibbs Racing. JGR, the current leader in the series owner standings and winner of the last three owner titles, has won four of the last five races at ACS and swept last year’s events at the track. Martin has one win and one third-place finish in his two series starts there.
Nice Rebound By Former Hoop Star Sadler
The season may only be four races old, but for Elliott Sadler, it has seemed like an eternity. The media’s preseason pick to unify the driver and owner titles had terrible luck to start the year at Daytona, but the former basketball player (who received a scholarship to play basketball at James Madison before a knee injury ended his career) rebounded somewhat with consecutive 12th-place finishes at Phoenix and Las Vegas. But his average finish was still just 20.7.
It looked to be more of the same at Bristol, where he was forced to a backup car after an accident in practice. But he managed to get his mojo back and pushed through to a fourth-place finish.
He’s improved from 27th to eighth in the points over the last three races. He hasn’t raced at Auto Club in the series since 2008, when he finished 27th.
Auto Club Last Opportunity For 2010 Top 30
Saturday’s race will be the last where 2010 owner points are used to set the top 30 automatic qualifiers. And the stakes are high early for numerous teams with an opportunity to hold their spots or forfeit their automatic bids to newcomers. There are three teams within nine points of the 30th-place cutoff position and six teams eight points or fewer above the top 30 Mendoza Line. All but one is entered at ACS – the No. 14 of owner Mark Smith.
Like the driver standings, where the top two are separated by only two points and have had three different leaders through the first four races, the owner standings are just as close – and just as jumbled. The No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota leads its sister car, the No. 20, by two points. Two Turner Motorsports Chevrolets – the No. 30 and No.38 are three and six points behind the leader, respectively. And, three different teams have held the lead at least once after the first four races
Worth The Wait
Talk about a homecoming. After 262 career starts in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, Jason Leffler, a native of Long Beach, returns to his part of the country as the standings leader. It’s the first time he’s been at the top in his 11-year series career.
His lead came at the expense of his Turner Motorsports teammate, Reed Sorenson, who had led the points following the last two races. But a blown engine at Bristol KO’d Sorenson, who’s now fourth in the standings, 21 points behind Leffler.
Turner Motorsports will be a strong contingent at Auto Club Speedway with the addition of Mark Martin. The series’ all-time leader in wins (49) and poles (30) will run the second of his four 2011 races for the team on Saturday. He won his first outing this year at Las Vegas.
The man chasing Martin’s record, Kyle Busch, now has 45 series wins following his victory at Bristol. He’s also entered at ACS. Busch, the 2009 series champion, is the flagship driver for Joe Gibbs Racing. JGR, the current leader in the series owner standings and winner of the last three owner titles, has won four of the last five races at ACS and swept last year’s events at the track. Martin has one win and one third-place finish in his two series starts there.
Nice Rebound By Former Hoop Star Sadler
The season may only be four races old, but for Elliott Sadler, it has seemed like an eternity. The media’s preseason pick to unify the driver and owner titles had terrible luck to start the year at Daytona, but the former basketball player (who received a scholarship to play basketball at James Madison before a knee injury ended his career) rebounded somewhat with consecutive 12th-place finishes at Phoenix and Las Vegas. But his average finish was still just 20.7.
It looked to be more of the same at Bristol, where he was forced to a backup car after an accident in practice. But he managed to get his mojo back and pushed through to a fourth-place finish.
He’s improved from 27th to eighth in the points over the last three races. He hasn’t raced at Auto Club in the series since 2008, when he finished 27th.
Auto Club Last Opportunity For 2010 Top 30
Saturday’s race will be the last where 2010 owner points are used to set the top 30 automatic qualifiers. And the stakes are high early for numerous teams with an opportunity to hold their spots or forfeit their automatic bids to newcomers. There are three teams within nine points of the 30th-place cutoff position and six teams eight points or fewer above the top 30 Mendoza Line. All but one is entered at ACS – the No. 14 of owner Mark Smith.
Like the driver standings, where the top two are separated by only two points and have had three different leaders through the first four races, the owner standings are just as close – and just as jumbled. The No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota leads its sister car, the No. 20, by two points. Two Turner Motorsports Chevrolets – the No. 30 and No.38 are three and six points behind the leader, respectively. And, three different teams have held the lead at least once after the first four races
NATIONWIDE NOTES:Points Leader Leffler Finally On Top
Points Leader Leffler Finally On Top
The Long Beach, Calif. native and series standings leader, Jason Leffler, goes home for the NASCAR Nationwide Series Royal Purple 300 at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday, Mar. 26.
“I always look forward to the chance to get back to the West Coast,” Leffler said. “To win at this track would be a huge deal for me. Of course, you want to win every race, but you especially want that win in front of the home crowd with your family and friends cheering you on.”
Leffler assumed the standings lead by two points over Ricky Stenhouse Jr. after posting his third top 10 of the season last weekend at Bristol. This is the first time in his 11-year series career that he has led the driver standings.
Click here to listen to Leffler talk about taking the points lead.
Leffler joined Turner Motorsports at the beginning of this season when team owner Steve Turner acquired select assets from Braun Racing during the offseason. Now all three series-only Turner Motorsports members are in the top five in the standings – Justin Allgaier (third) and Reed Sorenson (fourth).
Leffler’s career-high final standings finish was third in 2007. Leffler has made 14 starts at Auto Club Speedway, posting two top 10s and a pole. He has an average finish of 22.6 at Auto Club Speedway and ranks 22nd in the series with a Driver Rating of 74.1.
Martin And Busch Race To Be The First To 50 … Wins That Is
The playful trash talk has started, with wins volleying between the two NASCAR Nationwide Series behemoths.
Mark Martin is the leader; Kyle Busch the follower. But for how much longer?
Martin and Busch have set themselves apart from the rest, and it will be interesting to see who can get to 50 series wins first.
Martin leads the series in all-time wins with 49, increasing his lead with a victory at Las Vegas two races ago. But Busch caught up quickly, and is just four wins back after posting his 45th series victory this last weekend at Bristol. With 232 series starts, Martin’s winning percentage is 21.1%. Busch has made 206 – a 21.8% win clip. Listen to Kyle Busch talk about catching Mark Martin.
Martin has made two series starts at Auto Club Speedway posting a win and a third-place finish. Busch has made 12 starts at Auto Club Speedway posting four wins, seven top fives, nine top 10s and two poles. They are the only drivers to have won across all three NASCAR national series at ACS.
Martin and Busch are also ranked 1-2 in the pre-race Driver Rating, with 146.3 and 122.4 respectively. They both also scored perfect Driver Ratings of 150.0 at ASC – Martin in 2005 and Busch in 2008-09.
Auto Club Speedway The Final Opportunity For 2010 Top 30
This weekend’s race will be the last event where 2010 owner points are used to set the top 30 automatic qualifiers in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Only three points separate 27th to 31st position in the owner standings, with the 28th-30th positions all tied at 70 points. The 30th-position is held by Pat MacDonald and the No. 81 car with Blake Koch.
There are six teams within eight points of the cutoff position. Owner/driver Morgan Shepherd is two points back from 30th in 31st with his No. 89 car, and the No. 01 car, owned by Lori Davis with Mike Wallace behind the wheel, is nine points back in 32nd. Nine points out of the top 30 is the No. 23 car owned by Robert Richardson Sr. with son/driver Robert Richardson Jr. Of the three just outside the top 30, Mike Wallace has had the most success at Auto Club Speedway, posting a career best finish (12th) at the 2-mile track last season.
NNS Etc.
Riverside, Calif. native, Josh Wise, will be taking over the reins from Danica Patrick this weekend in the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. Patrick will return to the NASCAR Nationwide Series June 4 at Chicagoland Speedway. Wise has made two starts at Auto Club Speedway, posting a best finish of 22nd in 2008. … Kenny Wallace’s countdown to 500 starts continues. Only seven starts shy of joining Jason Keller as the only two series drivers with 500 starts. Wallace is currently seventh in the points and has 15 career series starts at Auto Club Speedway with a best finish of eighth in 2005. … Alex Kennedy, a 19-year-old Aztec, N.M. native, will make his first race since last fall at Phoenix. His first six starts came last year with a best finish of 15th in his series debut at Road America. Kennedy is a product of the NASCAR ladder system, working his way up the ranks of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East & West.
The Long Beach, Calif. native and series standings leader, Jason Leffler, goes home for the NASCAR Nationwide Series Royal Purple 300 at Auto Club Speedway on Saturday, Mar. 26.
“I always look forward to the chance to get back to the West Coast,” Leffler said. “To win at this track would be a huge deal for me. Of course, you want to win every race, but you especially want that win in front of the home crowd with your family and friends cheering you on.”
Leffler assumed the standings lead by two points over Ricky Stenhouse Jr. after posting his third top 10 of the season last weekend at Bristol. This is the first time in his 11-year series career that he has led the driver standings.
Click here to listen to Leffler talk about taking the points lead.
Leffler joined Turner Motorsports at the beginning of this season when team owner Steve Turner acquired select assets from Braun Racing during the offseason. Now all three series-only Turner Motorsports members are in the top five in the standings – Justin Allgaier (third) and Reed Sorenson (fourth).
Leffler’s career-high final standings finish was third in 2007. Leffler has made 14 starts at Auto Club Speedway, posting two top 10s and a pole. He has an average finish of 22.6 at Auto Club Speedway and ranks 22nd in the series with a Driver Rating of 74.1.
Martin And Busch Race To Be The First To 50 … Wins That Is
The playful trash talk has started, with wins volleying between the two NASCAR Nationwide Series behemoths.
Mark Martin is the leader; Kyle Busch the follower. But for how much longer?
Martin and Busch have set themselves apart from the rest, and it will be interesting to see who can get to 50 series wins first.
Martin leads the series in all-time wins with 49, increasing his lead with a victory at Las Vegas two races ago. But Busch caught up quickly, and is just four wins back after posting his 45th series victory this last weekend at Bristol. With 232 series starts, Martin’s winning percentage is 21.1%. Busch has made 206 – a 21.8% win clip. Listen to Kyle Busch talk about catching Mark Martin.
Martin has made two series starts at Auto Club Speedway posting a win and a third-place finish. Busch has made 12 starts at Auto Club Speedway posting four wins, seven top fives, nine top 10s and two poles. They are the only drivers to have won across all three NASCAR national series at ACS.
Martin and Busch are also ranked 1-2 in the pre-race Driver Rating, with 146.3 and 122.4 respectively. They both also scored perfect Driver Ratings of 150.0 at ASC – Martin in 2005 and Busch in 2008-09.
Auto Club Speedway The Final Opportunity For 2010 Top 30
This weekend’s race will be the last event where 2010 owner points are used to set the top 30 automatic qualifiers in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Only three points separate 27th to 31st position in the owner standings, with the 28th-30th positions all tied at 70 points. The 30th-position is held by Pat MacDonald and the No. 81 car with Blake Koch.
There are six teams within eight points of the cutoff position. Owner/driver Morgan Shepherd is two points back from 30th in 31st with his No. 89 car, and the No. 01 car, owned by Lori Davis with Mike Wallace behind the wheel, is nine points back in 32nd. Nine points out of the top 30 is the No. 23 car owned by Robert Richardson Sr. with son/driver Robert Richardson Jr. Of the three just outside the top 30, Mike Wallace has had the most success at Auto Club Speedway, posting a career best finish (12th) at the 2-mile track last season.
NNS Etc.
Riverside, Calif. native, Josh Wise, will be taking over the reins from Danica Patrick this weekend in the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. Patrick will return to the NASCAR Nationwide Series June 4 at Chicagoland Speedway. Wise has made two starts at Auto Club Speedway, posting a best finish of 22nd in 2008. … Kenny Wallace’s countdown to 500 starts continues. Only seven starts shy of joining Jason Keller as the only two series drivers with 500 starts. Wallace is currently seventh in the points and has 15 career series starts at Auto Club Speedway with a best finish of eighth in 2005. … Alex Kennedy, a 19-year-old Aztec, N.M. native, will make his first race since last fall at Phoenix. His first six starts came last year with a best finish of 15th in his series debut at Road America. Kennedy is a product of the NASCAR ladder system, working his way up the ranks of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East & West.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
International Flavor In 2011 For NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
International Flavor In 2011 For NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series racing has gone international in 2011, boasting a trio of foreign-born competitors who are competing full time.
Italy’s Max Papis and Brazil’s Miguel Paludo and Nelson Piquet Jr. continue a tradition that dates to the series’ very first race in 1995 at Phoenix International Raceway.
Canada’s Jerry Churchill was the first foreign-born competitor to take a NCWTS green flag, finishing 23rd in the inaugural race. The Churchill family, Jerry and Randy, made history several months later at Bristol Motor Speedway, becoming the first father and son to compete in the same race.
• More than 30 different foreign-born drivers have competed in NASCAR Camping World Truck races. Not surprisingly, the majority hail from Canada.
• Thirteen different countries are represented on the driver roster including Chile, India and Japan.
• The most successful foreign-born driver is Canada’s Ron Fellows, a two-time winner at Watkins Glen International, most recently in 1999. Fellows and current NASCAR Sprint Cup competitor Marcos Ambrose are the only non-U.S. born drivers to win a series pole.
• Canadian Randy MacDonald, who currently fields a NASCAR Nationwide Series team, has competed in the most NCWTS races – 94. MacDonald and his sister, Teri, are the only brother and sister to compete in the same event, at Memphis in 2002.
Papis, who has competed fulltime in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, is off to the best start, ranking ninth in the standings after three races. Paludo owns the best finish – fourth in the season opener at Daytona. Piquet’s best finish, sixth, came in his series debut at Daytona in 2010.
"I took a lot gambles to come over and race NASCAR,” said Papis. “I made a promise to my father that I would do this, become the first ever Italian racer besides Mario Andretti to race and win in NASCAR. I am a determined guy and I will make this happen this year.”
Martinsville: First Of Season’s Five Short Track Races
Martinsville Speedway’s 25th running of one of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ longest-standing events on April 2 marks a return to the series’ roots. Martinsville is one of only four tracks on the 2011 schedule that were part of the series’ inaugural season in which 15 of 20 races were contested on tracks of less than one mile in length.
Five short track races are scheduled in 2011, the first being next week’s Kroger 250.
How challenging is Martinsville? Consider:
• Ron Hornaday Jr. has won the most short track races in series history – 22 – but needed 17 tries to finally conquer Martinsville last fall.
• Kyle Busch has won three consecutive NCWTS races at Bristol but is 0-for-7 at Martinsville. Busch finished second in October.
• Todd Bodine has started 14 NCWTS races at Martinsville without a victory. Five former series champions have won at Martinsville. Five have not.
• Joe Ruttman, age 50 when he won the inaugural Kroger 250 in 1995, didn’t know it at the time but he was a trend-setter. Hornaday, Jimmy Hensley and Mike Skinner also are post-50 Martinsville winners. Conversely, Jon Wood, Jamie McMurray and Timothy Peters are the only drivers under the age of 30 to post a Martinsville victory.
NCWTS Etc.
With a victory, Hornaday can match Joe Ruttman’s NCWTS record for most wins by a driver 50 years and older (13). That’s the most wins by any over-50 driver in a NASCAR national series. … Johnny Sauter and his wife Cortney are expecting their second child, due the Monday following Martinsville. … Johanna Long recently helped celebrate Women’s History Week at Naval Air Station Pensacola. Her fellow panel members included a NASA astronaut. … Dakoda Armstrong, a 19-year-old, fourth generation farmer from New Castle, Ind., will join ThorSport Racing as teammate to Crafton and Sauter. Armstrong and his family are one of the Midwest’s largest producers of corn for ethanol – 700,000 bushels equaling 1.9 million gallons annually. The 2010 ARCA rookie of the year expects to make his debut on July 16 at Iowa Speedway. NASCAR introduced Sunoco Green E15 fuel across all three national series in 2011. … Joey Coulter is spending the back-to-back open weeks on the schedule focusing on his classes at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He’s a mechanical engineering student and says his courses are helping him in his racing and his relationship with his crew chief and engineer.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series racing has gone international in 2011, boasting a trio of foreign-born competitors who are competing full time.
Italy’s Max Papis and Brazil’s Miguel Paludo and Nelson Piquet Jr. continue a tradition that dates to the series’ very first race in 1995 at Phoenix International Raceway.
Canada’s Jerry Churchill was the first foreign-born competitor to take a NCWTS green flag, finishing 23rd in the inaugural race. The Churchill family, Jerry and Randy, made history several months later at Bristol Motor Speedway, becoming the first father and son to compete in the same race.
• More than 30 different foreign-born drivers have competed in NASCAR Camping World Truck races. Not surprisingly, the majority hail from Canada.
• Thirteen different countries are represented on the driver roster including Chile, India and Japan.
• The most successful foreign-born driver is Canada’s Ron Fellows, a two-time winner at Watkins Glen International, most recently in 1999. Fellows and current NASCAR Sprint Cup competitor Marcos Ambrose are the only non-U.S. born drivers to win a series pole.
• Canadian Randy MacDonald, who currently fields a NASCAR Nationwide Series team, has competed in the most NCWTS races – 94. MacDonald and his sister, Teri, are the only brother and sister to compete in the same event, at Memphis in 2002.
Papis, who has competed fulltime in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, is off to the best start, ranking ninth in the standings after three races. Paludo owns the best finish – fourth in the season opener at Daytona. Piquet’s best finish, sixth, came in his series debut at Daytona in 2010.
"I took a lot gambles to come over and race NASCAR,” said Papis. “I made a promise to my father that I would do this, become the first ever Italian racer besides Mario Andretti to race and win in NASCAR. I am a determined guy and I will make this happen this year.”
Martinsville: First Of Season’s Five Short Track Races
Martinsville Speedway’s 25th running of one of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ longest-standing events on April 2 marks a return to the series’ roots. Martinsville is one of only four tracks on the 2011 schedule that were part of the series’ inaugural season in which 15 of 20 races were contested on tracks of less than one mile in length.
Five short track races are scheduled in 2011, the first being next week’s Kroger 250.
How challenging is Martinsville? Consider:
• Ron Hornaday Jr. has won the most short track races in series history – 22 – but needed 17 tries to finally conquer Martinsville last fall.
• Kyle Busch has won three consecutive NCWTS races at Bristol but is 0-for-7 at Martinsville. Busch finished second in October.
• Todd Bodine has started 14 NCWTS races at Martinsville without a victory. Five former series champions have won at Martinsville. Five have not.
• Joe Ruttman, age 50 when he won the inaugural Kroger 250 in 1995, didn’t know it at the time but he was a trend-setter. Hornaday, Jimmy Hensley and Mike Skinner also are post-50 Martinsville winners. Conversely, Jon Wood, Jamie McMurray and Timothy Peters are the only drivers under the age of 30 to post a Martinsville victory.
NCWTS Etc.
With a victory, Hornaday can match Joe Ruttman’s NCWTS record for most wins by a driver 50 years and older (13). That’s the most wins by any over-50 driver in a NASCAR national series. … Johnny Sauter and his wife Cortney are expecting their second child, due the Monday following Martinsville. … Johanna Long recently helped celebrate Women’s History Week at Naval Air Station Pensacola. Her fellow panel members included a NASA astronaut. … Dakoda Armstrong, a 19-year-old, fourth generation farmer from New Castle, Ind., will join ThorSport Racing as teammate to Crafton and Sauter. Armstrong and his family are one of the Midwest’s largest producers of corn for ethanol – 700,000 bushels equaling 1.9 million gallons annually. The 2010 ARCA rookie of the year expects to make his debut on July 16 at Iowa Speedway. NASCAR introduced Sunoco Green E15 fuel across all three national series in 2011. … Joey Coulter is spending the back-to-back open weeks on the schedule focusing on his classes at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He’s a mechanical engineering student and says his courses are helping him in his racing and his relationship with his crew chief and engineer.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
KYLE BUSCH OWNS BRISTOL
Bt Reid Spencer
BRISTOL, Tenn.—So what else is new? Kyle Busch hit another milestone in Saturday’s Scotts EZ Seed 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Yes, he won the race. That’s almost a given in the Nationwide Series these days. The victory was Busch’s second of the year and the 45th of his career, leaving him four behind Mark Martin (idle Saturday) for the career lead.
Kyle Busch led his 10,000th lap on Saturday in the Nationwide Series. (AP Photo)
Perhaps even more impressive was what Busch accomplished on Lap 265 of 300. In his 206th start, Busch led his 10,000th lap in the series. No one else is close. Busch, who swept the Bristol weekend in August, is the first back-to-back winner at the track since Steve Grissom in 1995.
Fast-closing Kasey Kahne finished second, .524 seconds behind Busch, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Elliott Sadler and Joey Logano. Danica Patrick finished 33rd after wrecking late in her Bristol debut.
Busch took the lead from Earnhardt moments after a restart on Lap 32 and held it the rest of the way, with the exception of one lap led by Kahne under caution and two led by Brad Keselowski.
Nevertheless, Saturday’s win wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. Under a competition caution called after Lap 25, teams were required to replace their right-side tires with a new construction rushed to the track by Goodyear after tire wear issues plagued Friday’s practice sessions.
The new tires affected the handling of Busch’s No. 18 Toyota.
“It changed the dynamic of the car quite a bit,” Busch said. “We had to compensate for that driving-style-wise and with some changes to the car, but (crew chief) Jason (Ratcliffe) and these guys did such a great job.
“We played a lot (Friday) with different setups and what we wanted to do and how we wanted to do it and what exactly we were looking for. I know the feel that I need, but it’s just hard to get it sometimes.”
On Lap 248 Danica Patrick’s Chevrolet tangled with the Toyota of Ryan Truex, spun and slammed nose-first into the Turn 1 wall. Patrick, who was running two laps down in 17th at the time, thought Truex moved off the frontstretch wall into her racing line.
“It felt like to me that I came out of the corner, and I was running down the straight, and I felt like he came off the wall. … I know I was running him early, and he just runs hard. He’s run hard every time I’ve been around him, and it just seems like overkill.”
Jason Leffler finished eighth and took over the points lead by two over polesitter Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who finished 14th.
BRISTOL, Tenn.—So what else is new? Kyle Busch hit another milestone in Saturday’s Scotts EZ Seed 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Yes, he won the race. That’s almost a given in the Nationwide Series these days. The victory was Busch’s second of the year and the 45th of his career, leaving him four behind Mark Martin (idle Saturday) for the career lead.
Kyle Busch led his 10,000th lap on Saturday in the Nationwide Series. (AP Photo)
Perhaps even more impressive was what Busch accomplished on Lap 265 of 300. In his 206th start, Busch led his 10,000th lap in the series. No one else is close. Busch, who swept the Bristol weekend in August, is the first back-to-back winner at the track since Steve Grissom in 1995.
Fast-closing Kasey Kahne finished second, .524 seconds behind Busch, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Elliott Sadler and Joey Logano. Danica Patrick finished 33rd after wrecking late in her Bristol debut.
Busch took the lead from Earnhardt moments after a restart on Lap 32 and held it the rest of the way, with the exception of one lap led by Kahne under caution and two led by Brad Keselowski.
Nevertheless, Saturday’s win wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. Under a competition caution called after Lap 25, teams were required to replace their right-side tires with a new construction rushed to the track by Goodyear after tire wear issues plagued Friday’s practice sessions.
The new tires affected the handling of Busch’s No. 18 Toyota.
“It changed the dynamic of the car quite a bit,” Busch said. “We had to compensate for that driving-style-wise and with some changes to the car, but (crew chief) Jason (Ratcliffe) and these guys did such a great job.
“We played a lot (Friday) with different setups and what we wanted to do and how we wanted to do it and what exactly we were looking for. I know the feel that I need, but it’s just hard to get it sometimes.”
On Lap 248 Danica Patrick’s Chevrolet tangled with the Toyota of Ryan Truex, spun and slammed nose-first into the Turn 1 wall. Patrick, who was running two laps down in 17th at the time, thought Truex moved off the frontstretch wall into her racing line.
“It felt like to me that I came out of the corner, and I was running down the straight, and I felt like he came off the wall. … I know I was running him early, and he just runs hard. He’s run hard every time I’ve been around him, and it just seems like overkill.”
Jason Leffler finished eighth and took over the points lead by two over polesitter Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who finished 14th.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
CAMPING WORLD TRUCK TO BRISTOL
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES
New Names Flank Series Standings
Fresh off an exciting showdown at Darlington Raceway the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has two weeks to regroup before heading to the famed Martinsville Speedway on April 2nd.
With a fourth place finish at the Lady in Black series veteran Matt Crafton is off to the best start of his career – scoring three consecutive top-10 finishes in the first three events. However, defending series champion Todd Bodine finds himself climbing out of unfamiliar territory and off to the worst start of his storied career - earning his first top-10 of 2011 in the third race of the season.
Just three races into the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season the results at the top of the standings display fresh names:
2010 Top 3 After 3 Races Finishes Avg. Finish (Points Behind Leader)
1. Timothy Peters 1st/7th/4th 4.0
2. Aric Almirola 12th/3rd/6th 7.0 (-59)
3. Todd Bodine 2nd/5th/30th 12.3 (-88)
2011 Top 3 After 3 Races Finishes Avg. Finish (Points Behind Leader)
1. Matt Crafton 10th/7th/4th 7.0
2. Cole Whitt 14th/6th/8th 9.3(-6)
3. Timothy Peters 11th/12th/6th 13.0(-7)
Timothy Peters is the only driver to earn a top three spot in the series standings after three events in both 2010 and 2011.
Buescher Rebounds After Missing the Show in Phoenix
James Buescher failed to qualify for the second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event of the season – at Phoenix International Raceway – appearing to extinguish any hopes of a run at the series championship trophy.
Don’t count him out just yet.
Buescher qualified seventh and finished fifth at Darlington Raceway and jumped 13th spots in the standings to 11th, only 34 points out of the lead.
And coming from the back is something he has proven he can do. Last season Buescher did not attempt the first three truck series events of the season, but rallied back to finish 11th in the series standings after competing in the final 22 races.
He will attempt to compete in this weekend’s NASCAR Nationwide race at Bristol Motor Speedway for Turner Motorsports.
New Names Flank Series Standings
Fresh off an exciting showdown at Darlington Raceway the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has two weeks to regroup before heading to the famed Martinsville Speedway on April 2nd.
With a fourth place finish at the Lady in Black series veteran Matt Crafton is off to the best start of his career – scoring three consecutive top-10 finishes in the first three events. However, defending series champion Todd Bodine finds himself climbing out of unfamiliar territory and off to the worst start of his storied career - earning his first top-10 of 2011 in the third race of the season.
Just three races into the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season the results at the top of the standings display fresh names:
2010 Top 3 After 3 Races Finishes Avg. Finish (Points Behind Leader)
1. Timothy Peters 1st/7th/4th 4.0
2. Aric Almirola 12th/3rd/6th 7.0 (-59)
3. Todd Bodine 2nd/5th/30th 12.3 (-88)
2011 Top 3 After 3 Races Finishes Avg. Finish (Points Behind Leader)
1. Matt Crafton 10th/7th/4th 7.0
2. Cole Whitt 14th/6th/8th 9.3(-6)
3. Timothy Peters 11th/12th/6th 13.0(-7)
Timothy Peters is the only driver to earn a top three spot in the series standings after three events in both 2010 and 2011.
Buescher Rebounds After Missing the Show in Phoenix
James Buescher failed to qualify for the second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event of the season – at Phoenix International Raceway – appearing to extinguish any hopes of a run at the series championship trophy.
Don’t count him out just yet.
Buescher qualified seventh and finished fifth at Darlington Raceway and jumped 13th spots in the standings to 11th, only 34 points out of the lead.
And coming from the back is something he has proven he can do. Last season Buescher did not attempt the first three truck series events of the season, but rallied back to finish 11th in the series standings after competing in the final 22 races.
He will attempt to compete in this weekend’s NASCAR Nationwide race at Bristol Motor Speedway for Turner Motorsports.
NATIONWIDE SERIES TO BRISTOL
NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES
Back To Work
Following its first open week of the season, the NASCAR Nationwide Series returns, bringing its highlight-reel start to the season – and its new car – to Bristol. Saturday’s race will be the first true short-track test for the new car in 2011, which made its debut on a track less than a mile in length last year at Richmond. Thus far in 2011, the new car has races on tracks of varying distances – Daytona (2.5-mile), Phoenix (1-mile) and Las Vegas (1.5-mile).
Teamwork on Display at Bristol
Turner Motorsports has each of its three full-time drivers ranked in the top five, including points leader Reed Sorenson and Justin Allgaier (fifth), the defending Bristol winner. Jason Leffler is ranked third. The team has bolstered its roster for Bristol with the addition of past Bristol champion Kasey Kahne (fresh off his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win at Darlington) and NASCAR Camping World Truck driver James Buescher. Turner, with driver Mark, Martin earned the organization’s first series win March 5 at Las Vegas.
But Turner’s quintet will have formidable challenges. JR Motorsports will bring a three-car team to Bristol led by … not two-time series champion Dale Jr., not Aric Almirola, a pre-season media favorite to win the driver title, but … by Danica Patrick, ranked fourth in the standings. She seems to have adapted well to the new car, and gets her first test at Bristol, her last series race until returning June 4 at Chicagoland Speedway. She’ll start her IndyCar season March 27 in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Roush Fenway Racing’s trio is led by surprising Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who’s second in the driver standings. Knoxville’s own Trevor Bayne, still riding high after his electric Daytona 500 win, is sixth in the points. Former Bristol winner and 2007 series champion Carl Edwards – although not competing for driver points in the series – has one top-five in 2011.
And beware of Kevin Harvick Inc., especially with the boss back in the No. 33 Chevrolet. Two-time series champion Kevin Harvick, the all-time series wins leader at Bristol with five, is joined by teammate Elliott Sadler. Chosen by the media to unify the driver and owner title this year, Sadler is off to a slow start, currently ranked 12th. He won at Bristol in 1998. And don’t forget the Joe Gibbs Racing duo of 2009 series champion Kyle Busch – who won at Bristol last fall – and Joey Logano.
Back To Work
Following its first open week of the season, the NASCAR Nationwide Series returns, bringing its highlight-reel start to the season – and its new car – to Bristol. Saturday’s race will be the first true short-track test for the new car in 2011, which made its debut on a track less than a mile in length last year at Richmond. Thus far in 2011, the new car has races on tracks of varying distances – Daytona (2.5-mile), Phoenix (1-mile) and Las Vegas (1.5-mile).
Teamwork on Display at Bristol
Turner Motorsports has each of its three full-time drivers ranked in the top five, including points leader Reed Sorenson and Justin Allgaier (fifth), the defending Bristol winner. Jason Leffler is ranked third. The team has bolstered its roster for Bristol with the addition of past Bristol champion Kasey Kahne (fresh off his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win at Darlington) and NASCAR Camping World Truck driver James Buescher. Turner, with driver Mark, Martin earned the organization’s first series win March 5 at Las Vegas.
But Turner’s quintet will have formidable challenges. JR Motorsports will bring a three-car team to Bristol led by … not two-time series champion Dale Jr., not Aric Almirola, a pre-season media favorite to win the driver title, but … by Danica Patrick, ranked fourth in the standings. She seems to have adapted well to the new car, and gets her first test at Bristol, her last series race until returning June 4 at Chicagoland Speedway. She’ll start her IndyCar season March 27 in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Roush Fenway Racing’s trio is led by surprising Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who’s second in the driver standings. Knoxville’s own Trevor Bayne, still riding high after his electric Daytona 500 win, is sixth in the points. Former Bristol winner and 2007 series champion Carl Edwards – although not competing for driver points in the series – has one top-five in 2011.
And beware of Kevin Harvick Inc., especially with the boss back in the No. 33 Chevrolet. Two-time series champion Kevin Harvick, the all-time series wins leader at Bristol with five, is joined by teammate Elliott Sadler. Chosen by the media to unify the driver and owner title this year, Sadler is off to a slow start, currently ranked 12th. He won at Bristol in 1998. And don’t forget the Joe Gibbs Racing duo of 2009 series champion Kyle Busch – who won at Bristol last fall – and Joey Logano.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
NASCAR SERIES NEWS AND NOTES
Turner Motorsports Loads Up For Bristol
For the past three seasons Joe Gibbs Racing has had a firm grip on the owner standings, but this season Turner Motorsports sits 1-2 in the owner standings, with Gibbs just 16 points back in third. Turner continues to ride momentum from its first series win, by series wins leader Mark Martin at Las Vegas.
Coming back from the off-week with an all-star cast of talent, picking a clear favorite at Bristol is difficult with the Turner Motorsports line-up. Three of Turner Motorsports full-time drivers are in the top five in the driver standings, including standings leader Reed Sorenson, Jason Leffler (third) and the defending Bristol race winner Justin Allgaier (fifth). The team also loaded its roster this weekend by adding Kasey Kahne, fresh off his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win at Darlington, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver James Buescher.
• Reed Sorenson is the driver standings leader, two points ahead of second-place Ricky Stenhouse Jr. In three starts this season Sorenson has posted two top fives. He has made nine career series starts at Bristol, posting one top five and three top 10s. His pre-race Driver Rating is 81.1. He is back in the No. 32 car this week, which is also leading the owner standings.
• Jason Leffler is third in the driver standings, five points behind Sorenson. He has posted two top 10s in three starts this season. He has made 15 starts at Bristol posting three top fives, seven top 10s and a pole. His Driver Rating at Bristol is 94.9.
• Justin Allgaier is fifth in the driver standings, 16 points behind Sorenson, in three starts this season he has posted one top five and two top 10s. Allgaier became the only series-regular to post a victory last season when he grabbed his first career series win at Bristol. He has made four starts at Bristol, posting the win and two top fives. His Driver Rating is 98.3.
• Kasey Kahne is not competing for the series driver standings championship but is contributing to the No. 38 team’s prospects at an owner championship, as they sit seventh. Kahne has made 13 series starts at Bristol posting one win (2007) and three top fives, with a Driver Rating of 92.7.
• James Buescher will be attempting to make his second career NASCAR Nationwide Series start for Turner Motorsports this weekend. Buescher has elected to compete for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver standings championship this season. He has made one series start at Bristol, last season for James Finch, where he started 36th and drove to a 12th-place finish.
Marquee Names Hit High Banks of Bristol
Previous champions and fresh faces pack the field this weekend at Bristol.
Danica Patrick leads the JR Motorsports contingent, making her fourth start in her limited schedule in the NASCAR Nationwide Series before heading full-time to the IndyCar Series. Patrick will return to NASCAR competition June 4 at Chicagoland Speedway. This will be her first time competing at Bristol.
• Patrick is fourth in the driver standings, coming off her series career best finish (fourth) at Las Vegas. Her season-to-date Driver Rating of 83.7 nearly doubles her rating of 43.1 after the first three races last season.
• Aric Almirola is seventh in the driver standings, 26 points behind Sorenson. In the first three races of the season, he has posted two top-15 finishes. He has made three series starts at Bristol, posting one top-10 finish.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be making his second series start of the season at Bristol this weekend. He has nine starts at Bristol, posting one win (2004), five top fives, seven top 10s and two poles.
Two-time series champion Kevin Harvick returns to the series, with Kevin Harvick Inc. teammate Elliott Sadler.
• Harvick is the all-time series wins leader at Bristol (five). In 20 Bristol starts, he has the five wins (2000, ’01, ’03, ’05, ’09), 13 top fives and 16 top 10s.
• Elliott Sadler is currently 12th in the driver standings, 41 points behind Sorenson. Sadler has had a slow start, but could rebound this weekend with a good finish. Sadler has made eight starts at Bristol, posting a win (1998), two top fives and a pole.
NNS Etc. – Bristol Motor Speedway
Four different manufacturers have won the last four races at Bristol. All but Ford have a win in the series’ new car through its first seven races (Chevrolet-4, Dodge-2, Toyota-1). Ford’s last win at Bristol was by David Ragan in the 2009 fall race. Its best new car finish was second by Carl Edwards – last August at Michigan and at Phoenix this season. … The last three series races to end under green at Bristol had a margin of victory less than one second. … Sunoco Rookie of the Year Update: Ryan Truex leads with 22 points after the first three races. He has a four-point lead over second-place Timmy Hill. Truex will be celebrating his 19th birthday this Friday, Mar. 18. .. Kenny Wallace countdown to 500 continues – a start at Bristol will be his 492nd, leaving him eight starts shy of becoming the second driver to reach 500 career starts. … Eric McClure will race at Bristol with a cast on his right hand after suffering a fracture last week in his home. McClure, from Chilhowie, Va., has been medically cleared to race. He posted on his Facebook page that he incurred the injury while trying to catch himself after stumbling over some party supplies that were being readied for daughter Mabreigh’s birthday. Jeff Green, the 2000 series champion, will be on stand-by as a substitute driver for McClure if needed.
Buescher Buries Phoenix Disappointment With Solid Darlington Finish
James Buescher was down, but assuredly is not out, following his fifth-place finish in last Saturday’s race at Darlington Raceway.
Buescher’s failure to qualify at Phoenix International Raceway lit a fire under the 20-year-old Texan, who went to last weekend’s third of 25 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races with more than a little to prove. And prove it he did.
• As at Daytona International Speedway, Buescher put his truck at the head of the field, leading six laps. He’s now led 61 laps over his two starts.
• Buescher’s Darlington finish enabled him to gain 13 spots in the championship standings. He stands 11th, 44 points behind leader Matt Crafton.
• Rebounding is nothing new for Buescher, who wasn’t slated to run the full schedule in 2010. He spotted his rivals three early races then came within 37 points of cracking the top 10 on the strength of six top-five and 10 top-10 finishes.
Buescher, who turns 21 a week before the April 2 Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway, is on the cusp of claiming his first NASCAR Camping World Truck victory, having finished second twice, including a heart-breaking, quarter-second loss to Kyle Busch (No. 18 Toyota), who made the winning pass on the final restart last fall at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Whitt Bests Illustrious Company With Flashy Rookie Start
Cole Whitt has gone where no Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender has gone before.
The Californian ranks second in the championship standings following Darlington Raceway’s Too Tough To Tame 200 – the highest ever by a freshman after the season’s first three races. The previous best ranking was third by five rookies including current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competitors Kurt Busch and David Reutimann.
The 19-year-old Whitt certainly has turned heads in just four NASCAR Camping World Truck Series appearances capped by a pole position performance and eighth-place finish at Darlington. Whitt headed the field twice, marking the first laps he’s led in the series.
Whitt was the only rookie to record a top-10 finish at Darlington, backing up a run of sixth at Phoenix International Raceway.
• “As a person, he’s just a racer,” says Turn One Racing owner Stacy Compton. “That’s what I really like about him. He just wants to eat, sleep, and breathe racing. It translates on the race track. He doesn’t worry about the trivial things. It’s ‘what can we do to go faster?’”
The 2008 U.S. Auto Club national midget champion isn’t the only competitor who continues to exceed pre-season expectations.
Clay Rogers remains among the top five in the points standings. Rogers and his lightly sponsored team ranked first after the Daytona season opener and currently hold third. Max Papis is ninth following his third consecutive lead lap finish. Jeffrey Earnhardt is the second rookie to rank among the top 10 in the No. 10 position.
Forget Champions’ Slow Start Because Here They Come
After slow starts, it looks like runner-up finisher at Darlington Ron Hornaday Jr. and third-place Todd Bodine have rebounded.
• For Hornaday, the series’ only four-time champion, the finish was his second consecutive top five. He placed third at Phoenix.
• Bodine, stung by a pair of season-opening finishes outside the top 10, posted his best run since last fall at Martinsville, six races ago.
• Both beat points leader Crafton, who finished fourth. Hornaday moved from 10th to fifth in the standings; defending champion Bodine from 12th to seventh.
NCWTS Etc.
Turner Motorsports has signed Exide Technologies as primary sponsor for 10 races. James Buescher will carry the company’s colors in eight events; Mark Martin in two at Michigan and Pocono. Buescher is entered in Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series Scotts EZ Seed 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway. … Mike Skinner and his wife Angie will present their Fifth Annual Toyota Skinner Roundup in Daytona Beach March 16-17 at Daytona International Speedway and Spruce Creek Country Club. The event has raised more the $500,000 for various Volusia County charities. … Ron Hornaday Jr.’s 193rd top-10 finish eclipsed the record he shared with Jack Sprague. He needs three more top fives to break Sprague’s mark of 135. … Timothy Peters is the only driver after three races to rank among the top three in 2010 and 2011. Peters was first a year ago and currently is third.
For the past three seasons Joe Gibbs Racing has had a firm grip on the owner standings, but this season Turner Motorsports sits 1-2 in the owner standings, with Gibbs just 16 points back in third. Turner continues to ride momentum from its first series win, by series wins leader Mark Martin at Las Vegas.
Coming back from the off-week with an all-star cast of talent, picking a clear favorite at Bristol is difficult with the Turner Motorsports line-up. Three of Turner Motorsports full-time drivers are in the top five in the driver standings, including standings leader Reed Sorenson, Jason Leffler (third) and the defending Bristol race winner Justin Allgaier (fifth). The team also loaded its roster this weekend by adding Kasey Kahne, fresh off his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win at Darlington, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver James Buescher.
• Reed Sorenson is the driver standings leader, two points ahead of second-place Ricky Stenhouse Jr. In three starts this season Sorenson has posted two top fives. He has made nine career series starts at Bristol, posting one top five and three top 10s. His pre-race Driver Rating is 81.1. He is back in the No. 32 car this week, which is also leading the owner standings.
• Jason Leffler is third in the driver standings, five points behind Sorenson. He has posted two top 10s in three starts this season. He has made 15 starts at Bristol posting three top fives, seven top 10s and a pole. His Driver Rating at Bristol is 94.9.
• Justin Allgaier is fifth in the driver standings, 16 points behind Sorenson, in three starts this season he has posted one top five and two top 10s. Allgaier became the only series-regular to post a victory last season when he grabbed his first career series win at Bristol. He has made four starts at Bristol, posting the win and two top fives. His Driver Rating is 98.3.
• Kasey Kahne is not competing for the series driver standings championship but is contributing to the No. 38 team’s prospects at an owner championship, as they sit seventh. Kahne has made 13 series starts at Bristol posting one win (2007) and three top fives, with a Driver Rating of 92.7.
• James Buescher will be attempting to make his second career NASCAR Nationwide Series start for Turner Motorsports this weekend. Buescher has elected to compete for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver standings championship this season. He has made one series start at Bristol, last season for James Finch, where he started 36th and drove to a 12th-place finish.
Marquee Names Hit High Banks of Bristol
Previous champions and fresh faces pack the field this weekend at Bristol.
Danica Patrick leads the JR Motorsports contingent, making her fourth start in her limited schedule in the NASCAR Nationwide Series before heading full-time to the IndyCar Series. Patrick will return to NASCAR competition June 4 at Chicagoland Speedway. This will be her first time competing at Bristol.
• Patrick is fourth in the driver standings, coming off her series career best finish (fourth) at Las Vegas. Her season-to-date Driver Rating of 83.7 nearly doubles her rating of 43.1 after the first three races last season.
• Aric Almirola is seventh in the driver standings, 26 points behind Sorenson. In the first three races of the season, he has posted two top-15 finishes. He has made three series starts at Bristol, posting one top-10 finish.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be making his second series start of the season at Bristol this weekend. He has nine starts at Bristol, posting one win (2004), five top fives, seven top 10s and two poles.
Two-time series champion Kevin Harvick returns to the series, with Kevin Harvick Inc. teammate Elliott Sadler.
• Harvick is the all-time series wins leader at Bristol (five). In 20 Bristol starts, he has the five wins (2000, ’01, ’03, ’05, ’09), 13 top fives and 16 top 10s.
• Elliott Sadler is currently 12th in the driver standings, 41 points behind Sorenson. Sadler has had a slow start, but could rebound this weekend with a good finish. Sadler has made eight starts at Bristol, posting a win (1998), two top fives and a pole.
NNS Etc. – Bristol Motor Speedway
Four different manufacturers have won the last four races at Bristol. All but Ford have a win in the series’ new car through its first seven races (Chevrolet-4, Dodge-2, Toyota-1). Ford’s last win at Bristol was by David Ragan in the 2009 fall race. Its best new car finish was second by Carl Edwards – last August at Michigan and at Phoenix this season. … The last three series races to end under green at Bristol had a margin of victory less than one second. … Sunoco Rookie of the Year Update: Ryan Truex leads with 22 points after the first three races. He has a four-point lead over second-place Timmy Hill. Truex will be celebrating his 19th birthday this Friday, Mar. 18. .. Kenny Wallace countdown to 500 continues – a start at Bristol will be his 492nd, leaving him eight starts shy of becoming the second driver to reach 500 career starts. … Eric McClure will race at Bristol with a cast on his right hand after suffering a fracture last week in his home. McClure, from Chilhowie, Va., has been medically cleared to race. He posted on his Facebook page that he incurred the injury while trying to catch himself after stumbling over some party supplies that were being readied for daughter Mabreigh’s birthday. Jeff Green, the 2000 series champion, will be on stand-by as a substitute driver for McClure if needed.
Buescher Buries Phoenix Disappointment With Solid Darlington Finish
James Buescher was down, but assuredly is not out, following his fifth-place finish in last Saturday’s race at Darlington Raceway.
Buescher’s failure to qualify at Phoenix International Raceway lit a fire under the 20-year-old Texan, who went to last weekend’s third of 25 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races with more than a little to prove. And prove it he did.
• As at Daytona International Speedway, Buescher put his truck at the head of the field, leading six laps. He’s now led 61 laps over his two starts.
• Buescher’s Darlington finish enabled him to gain 13 spots in the championship standings. He stands 11th, 44 points behind leader Matt Crafton.
• Rebounding is nothing new for Buescher, who wasn’t slated to run the full schedule in 2010. He spotted his rivals three early races then came within 37 points of cracking the top 10 on the strength of six top-five and 10 top-10 finishes.
Buescher, who turns 21 a week before the April 2 Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway, is on the cusp of claiming his first NASCAR Camping World Truck victory, having finished second twice, including a heart-breaking, quarter-second loss to Kyle Busch (No. 18 Toyota), who made the winning pass on the final restart last fall at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Whitt Bests Illustrious Company With Flashy Rookie Start
Cole Whitt has gone where no Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender has gone before.
The Californian ranks second in the championship standings following Darlington Raceway’s Too Tough To Tame 200 – the highest ever by a freshman after the season’s first three races. The previous best ranking was third by five rookies including current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competitors Kurt Busch and David Reutimann.
The 19-year-old Whitt certainly has turned heads in just four NASCAR Camping World Truck Series appearances capped by a pole position performance and eighth-place finish at Darlington. Whitt headed the field twice, marking the first laps he’s led in the series.
Whitt was the only rookie to record a top-10 finish at Darlington, backing up a run of sixth at Phoenix International Raceway.
• “As a person, he’s just a racer,” says Turn One Racing owner Stacy Compton. “That’s what I really like about him. He just wants to eat, sleep, and breathe racing. It translates on the race track. He doesn’t worry about the trivial things. It’s ‘what can we do to go faster?’”
The 2008 U.S. Auto Club national midget champion isn’t the only competitor who continues to exceed pre-season expectations.
Clay Rogers remains among the top five in the points standings. Rogers and his lightly sponsored team ranked first after the Daytona season opener and currently hold third. Max Papis is ninth following his third consecutive lead lap finish. Jeffrey Earnhardt is the second rookie to rank among the top 10 in the No. 10 position.
Forget Champions’ Slow Start Because Here They Come
After slow starts, it looks like runner-up finisher at Darlington Ron Hornaday Jr. and third-place Todd Bodine have rebounded.
• For Hornaday, the series’ only four-time champion, the finish was his second consecutive top five. He placed third at Phoenix.
• Bodine, stung by a pair of season-opening finishes outside the top 10, posted his best run since last fall at Martinsville, six races ago.
• Both beat points leader Crafton, who finished fourth. Hornaday moved from 10th to fifth in the standings; defending champion Bodine from 12th to seventh.
NCWTS Etc.
Turner Motorsports has signed Exide Technologies as primary sponsor for 10 races. James Buescher will carry the company’s colors in eight events; Mark Martin in two at Michigan and Pocono. Buescher is entered in Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series Scotts EZ Seed 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway. … Mike Skinner and his wife Angie will present their Fifth Annual Toyota Skinner Roundup in Daytona Beach March 16-17 at Daytona International Speedway and Spruce Creek Country Club. The event has raised more the $500,000 for various Volusia County charities. … Ron Hornaday Jr.’s 193rd top-10 finish eclipsed the record he shared with Jack Sprague. He needs three more top fives to break Sprague’s mark of 135. … Timothy Peters is the only driver after three races to rank among the top three in 2010 and 2011. Peters was first a year ago and currently is third.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Whelen Southern Modified Statistical Advance: Spring Classic 150
Statistical Advance: Spring Classic 150
Analyzing the Whelen Southern Modified Tour at Caraway
By Tim Southers, NASCAR
March 2011
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The seventh season of the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour will begin at Caraway Speedway with the Spring Classic 150 on Sunday, March 13. The race will be contested on the historic .455-mile track located in the Piedmont Triad region near Asheboro, N.C.
Caraway Speedway Data
Race: #1 of 14 (3-13-11)
Track Layout: .455-mile paved oval
Banking: variable
Race Length: 150 laps/68.25 miles
Qualifying/Race Data
2010 pole winner: Burt Myers (16.005 seconds, 102.343 mph)
2010 race winner: Andy Seuss (78.876 mph, 51:55)
Track qualifying record: George Brunnhoelzl III (102.844 mph, 15.752 seconds, 4/11/09)
Track race record (150 L): Tim Brown (90.977 mph, 44:31 min., 9-9-06)
NWSMT All-Time Win Leaders At Caraway Speedway
1. Brian Loftin 7
1. L.W. Miller 6
3. Junior Miller 5
4. Andy Seuss 4
5. George Brunnhoelzl III 3
6. Ted Christopher 3
7. Tim Brown 2
9. Burt Myers 1
10. John Smith 1
NWSMT All-Time Win Leaders Overall
1. Brian Loftin 11
1. L.W. Miller 11
3. Junior Miller 10
4. Andy Seuss 8
5. Burt Myers. 7
6. George Brunnhoelzl III 6
6. Tim Brown 6
8. Ted Christopher 4
9. James Civali 2
10. John Smith, Jason Myers and three others tied 1
At Caraway Speedway:
• This will be the 33rd NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour race at Caraway Speedway, the unofficial home track of the tour, and the first of six visits to the track this season. Caraway will also host the NWSMT on March 26, April 23, July 1, Aug. 26 and Sept. 27.
• The track was built in 1966, initially with a dirt surface, and was later paved and configured to its current size of .455-miles in length.
• The track has been owned and operated by Russell & Valastra Hackett and their family since 1977, however this season, Russell’s son Darren and his wife Renee will take over day-to-day operations.
• A total of four drivers who have visited Victory Lane in the NWSMT races at Caraway will compete this weekend. Leading the group will be Brian Loftin, who holds the record for most wins at the track with seven.
• Burt Myers holds the career record for the most Coors Light Pole awards at the track with 12 and won the pole for this race at Caraway last spring.
• A total of eight drivers who have visited Victory Lane in the NWSMT will compete this weekend. Leading the group will be Loftin and Miller, who share the record for most wins with 11.
Up To Speed:
• Since the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour formed in 2005, there have been 72 races in the history of the series.
• Burt Myers is the reigning NWSMT champion while Andy Seuss is the defending winner of the Spring Classic 150.
• The NWSMT has crowned five different champions: Junior Miller (2005, 2006), L.W. Miller (2007), Brian Loftin (2008), George Brunnhoelzl III (2009) and Myers (2010) during its previous six years of competition.
Analyzing the Whelen Southern Modified Tour at Caraway
By Tim Southers, NASCAR
March 2011
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The seventh season of the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour will begin at Caraway Speedway with the Spring Classic 150 on Sunday, March 13. The race will be contested on the historic .455-mile track located in the Piedmont Triad region near Asheboro, N.C.
Caraway Speedway Data
Race: #1 of 14 (3-13-11)
Track Layout: .455-mile paved oval
Banking: variable
Race Length: 150 laps/68.25 miles
Qualifying/Race Data
2010 pole winner: Burt Myers (16.005 seconds, 102.343 mph)
2010 race winner: Andy Seuss (78.876 mph, 51:55)
Track qualifying record: George Brunnhoelzl III (102.844 mph, 15.752 seconds, 4/11/09)
Track race record (150 L): Tim Brown (90.977 mph, 44:31 min., 9-9-06)
NWSMT All-Time Win Leaders At Caraway Speedway
1. Brian Loftin 7
1. L.W. Miller 6
3. Junior Miller 5
4. Andy Seuss 4
5. George Brunnhoelzl III 3
6. Ted Christopher 3
7. Tim Brown 2
9. Burt Myers 1
10. John Smith 1
NWSMT All-Time Win Leaders Overall
1. Brian Loftin 11
1. L.W. Miller 11
3. Junior Miller 10
4. Andy Seuss 8
5. Burt Myers. 7
6. George Brunnhoelzl III 6
6. Tim Brown 6
8. Ted Christopher 4
9. James Civali 2
10. John Smith, Jason Myers and three others tied 1
At Caraway Speedway:
• This will be the 33rd NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour race at Caraway Speedway, the unofficial home track of the tour, and the first of six visits to the track this season. Caraway will also host the NWSMT on March 26, April 23, July 1, Aug. 26 and Sept. 27.
• The track was built in 1966, initially with a dirt surface, and was later paved and configured to its current size of .455-miles in length.
• The track has been owned and operated by Russell & Valastra Hackett and their family since 1977, however this season, Russell’s son Darren and his wife Renee will take over day-to-day operations.
• A total of four drivers who have visited Victory Lane in the NWSMT races at Caraway will compete this weekend. Leading the group will be Brian Loftin, who holds the record for most wins at the track with seven.
• Burt Myers holds the career record for the most Coors Light Pole awards at the track with 12 and won the pole for this race at Caraway last spring.
• A total of eight drivers who have visited Victory Lane in the NWSMT will compete this weekend. Leading the group will be Loftin and Miller, who share the record for most wins with 11.
Up To Speed:
• Since the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour formed in 2005, there have been 72 races in the history of the series.
• Burt Myers is the reigning NWSMT champion while Andy Seuss is the defending winner of the Spring Classic 150.
• The NWSMT has crowned five different champions: Junior Miller (2005, 2006), L.W. Miller (2007), Brian Loftin (2008), George Brunnhoelzl III (2009) and Myers (2010) during its previous six years of competition.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Truck master Kahne wins at Darlington
Truck master Kahne wins at Darlington
(March 12, 2011)
DARLINGTON, S.C.—Kasey Kahne did it again.
Making his first and possibly only Camping World Truck Series start of the year, Kahne cruised to a relatively comfortable win in Saturday’s Too Tough To Tame 200 at Darlington Raceway.
The victory made Kahne the first driver in the truck series to win three of his first four starts.
Second alongside Elliott Sadler on a restart with 53 laps to go, Kahne immediately dispatched of Sadler—who had taken two tires under the previous caution—and never trailed again.
Kahne held on through three more restarts, including a final one with three laps to go, to take the checkered flag ahead of four-time series champion Ron Hornaday Jr. and 2010 Darlington winner Todd Bodine. Matt Crafton and James Buescher completed the top five.
Kahne’s stiffest challenge over the final laps came from Bodine, who once moved alongside before getting loose and falling into the clutches of Hornaday.
“I gave it a shot and got sucked around and got loose and all that and finished third,” Bodine said.
Kahne, a full-time driver in the Sprint Cup Series since, scored truck wins at Darlington and Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2004 and finished second last year at Pocono Raceway.
Saturday marked Kahne’s second appearance in the Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota normally driven by team owner Kyle Busch, who was vacationing in Cancun.
“This is one of my favorite racetracks,” said Kahne, who qualified second and led four times for 95 of the 147 laps. “I’m really glad I came. I really enjoy driving this thing.”
Matt Crafton remained the series leader, stretching his advantage to six points on rookie Cole Whitt, who moved into second after three races. Whitt finished an impressive eighth after starting from the pole and leading twice for 30 laps before dropping back with a pit-road mistake and engine issue.
Whitt, 19, was making his fourth career truck series start, his first at Darlington.
“The track just kind of suited my driving style, and from the get-go we just kind of fell into the rhythm,” Whitt said.
The race was slowed by 10 cautions, including one for a three-truck wreck involving Johanna Long, Ricky Carmichael and Nelson Piquet Jr. that brought out the red flag for 7 minutes, 37 seconds.
Notes: Kahne’s margin of victory was 1.116 seconds. … Kahne, who started second, became the fourth winner to start inside the top five. Bodine started eighth last year, and Bobby Hamilton started 14th when he won in 2003. … Kahne’s three wins tie Rich Bickle, Andy Houston and Dave Rezendes for 27th on the all-time win list.
By Jared Turner
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(March 12, 2011)
DARLINGTON, S.C.—Kasey Kahne did it again.
Making his first and possibly only Camping World Truck Series start of the year, Kahne cruised to a relatively comfortable win in Saturday’s Too Tough To Tame 200 at Darlington Raceway.
The victory made Kahne the first driver in the truck series to win three of his first four starts.
Second alongside Elliott Sadler on a restart with 53 laps to go, Kahne immediately dispatched of Sadler—who had taken two tires under the previous caution—and never trailed again.
Kahne held on through three more restarts, including a final one with three laps to go, to take the checkered flag ahead of four-time series champion Ron Hornaday Jr. and 2010 Darlington winner Todd Bodine. Matt Crafton and James Buescher completed the top five.
Kahne’s stiffest challenge over the final laps came from Bodine, who once moved alongside before getting loose and falling into the clutches of Hornaday.
“I gave it a shot and got sucked around and got loose and all that and finished third,” Bodine said.
Kahne, a full-time driver in the Sprint Cup Series since, scored truck wins at Darlington and Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2004 and finished second last year at Pocono Raceway.
Saturday marked Kahne’s second appearance in the Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota normally driven by team owner Kyle Busch, who was vacationing in Cancun.
“This is one of my favorite racetracks,” said Kahne, who qualified second and led four times for 95 of the 147 laps. “I’m really glad I came. I really enjoy driving this thing.”
Matt Crafton remained the series leader, stretching his advantage to six points on rookie Cole Whitt, who moved into second after three races. Whitt finished an impressive eighth after starting from the pole and leading twice for 30 laps before dropping back with a pit-road mistake and engine issue.
Whitt, 19, was making his fourth career truck series start, his first at Darlington.
“The track just kind of suited my driving style, and from the get-go we just kind of fell into the rhythm,” Whitt said.
The race was slowed by 10 cautions, including one for a three-truck wreck involving Johanna Long, Ricky Carmichael and Nelson Piquet Jr. that brought out the red flag for 7 minutes, 37 seconds.
Notes: Kahne’s margin of victory was 1.116 seconds. … Kahne, who started second, became the fourth winner to start inside the top five. Bodine started eighth last year, and Bobby Hamilton started 14th when he won in 2003. … Kahne’s three wins tie Rich Bickle, Andy Houston and Dave Rezendes for 27th on the all-time win list.
By Jared Turner
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Kahne wins Darlington truck race
Kahne wins Darlington truck race
(March 12, 2011)
DARLINGTON, S.C.—Kasey Kahne did it again.
Making his first and possibly only start of the year in the Camping World Truck Series, Kahne cruised to a relatively comfortable victory in Saturday’s Too Tough To Tame 200 at Darlington Raceway.
The victory made Kahne the first driver in the truck series to win three of his first four starts.
Second alongside Elliott Sadler on a restart with 53 laps to go, Kahne immediately dispatched of Sadler—who had taken two tires under the previous caution—and held on through a final restart with three laps left to score the win.
Four-time truck champion Ron Hornaday Jr. finished second, followed by defending series champion and 2010 Darlington winner Todd Bodine. Matt Crafton and James Buescher completed the top five.
The victory was Kahne’s second at Darlington. Kahne, who has been full time in the Cup series since 2004, also has a victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Both came in 2004. He finished second last year at Pocono Raceway.
Saturday marked Kahne’s second appearance in the Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota normally driven by team owner Kyle Busch, who was vacationing in Cancun.
The race was slowed by 10 cautions, including one for a three-truck wreck involving Johanna Long, Ricky Carmichael and Nelson Piquet Jr. that brought out the red flag for 7 minutes, 37 seconds.
By Jared Turner
Special to the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(March 12, 2011)
DARLINGTON, S.C.—Kasey Kahne did it again.
Making his first and possibly only start of the year in the Camping World Truck Series, Kahne cruised to a relatively comfortable victory in Saturday’s Too Tough To Tame 200 at Darlington Raceway.
The victory made Kahne the first driver in the truck series to win three of his first four starts.
Second alongside Elliott Sadler on a restart with 53 laps to go, Kahne immediately dispatched of Sadler—who had taken two tires under the previous caution—and held on through a final restart with three laps left to score the win.
Four-time truck champion Ron Hornaday Jr. finished second, followed by defending series champion and 2010 Darlington winner Todd Bodine. Matt Crafton and James Buescher completed the top five.
The victory was Kahne’s second at Darlington. Kahne, who has been full time in the Cup series since 2004, also has a victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Both came in 2004. He finished second last year at Pocono Raceway.
Saturday marked Kahne’s second appearance in the Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota normally driven by team owner Kyle Busch, who was vacationing in Cancun.
The race was slowed by 10 cautions, including one for a three-truck wreck involving Johanna Long, Ricky Carmichael and Nelson Piquet Jr. that brought out the red flag for 7 minutes, 37 seconds.
By Jared Turner
Special to the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
TOO TOUGH TO TAME 200 Pole Winner: Cole Whitt
Qualifying Fast Facts
Darlington Raceway
6th Annual TOO TOUGH TO TAME 200
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Sat, March 12, 2011 @ 04:16 PM Eastern
Pole Winner: Cole Whitt
Age: 19
Team : No. 60 - Red Bull Chevrolet
Owner: Vickie Compton
Crew Chief: Marcus Richmond, II
Cole Whitt won the Pole Award for the 6th Annual TOO TOUGH TO TAME 200 with a lap of 28.273 seconds, 173.933 mph a new track record. The previous track record was held by Timothy Peters at 170.845 mph (8/14/10).
This is his first pole in four NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races.
This is his first pole and second top-10 start in 2011.
This is his first pole in one races at Darlington Raceway.
Kasey Kahne(i) (second) posted his first top-10 start of 2011 and his second in two races at Darlington Raceway.
Johnny Sauter (third) posted his first top-10 start at Darlington Raceway. It is his third in three races this season.
Cole Whitt (first) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
Darlington Raceway
6th Annual TOO TOUGH TO TAME 200
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Sat, March 12, 2011 @ 04:16 PM Eastern
Pole Winner: Cole Whitt
Age: 19
Team : No. 60 - Red Bull Chevrolet
Owner: Vickie Compton
Crew Chief: Marcus Richmond, II
Cole Whitt won the Pole Award for the 6th Annual TOO TOUGH TO TAME 200 with a lap of 28.273 seconds, 173.933 mph a new track record. The previous track record was held by Timothy Peters at 170.845 mph (8/14/10).
This is his first pole in four NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races.
This is his first pole and second top-10 start in 2011.
This is his first pole in one races at Darlington Raceway.
Kasey Kahne(i) (second) posted his first top-10 start of 2011 and his second in two races at Darlington Raceway.
Johnny Sauter (third) posted his first top-10 start at Darlington Raceway. It is his third in three races this season.
Cole Whitt (first) was the fastest qualifying rookie.
DARLINGTON DATA
TRACK RECORDS
Most Wins: 2 – Bobby Hamilton
Most Poles: 1 – 4 drivers
Most Top Fives: 3 – Bobby Hamilton, Ted Musgrave
Most Top 10s: 4 – Ken Schrader
Most Lead Changes: 13 – 11/13/04
Fewest Lead Changes: 4 – 8/14/10
Most Leaders: 7 – 3/14/03
Fewest Leaders: 3 – 5/12/01
Most Cautions: 10 – 11/13/04
Fewest Cautions: 2 – 3/14/03
Most Caution Laps: 39 – 11/13/04
Fewest Caution Laps: 10 – 3/14/03
Most Finishers on Lead Lap: 23 – 11/13/04
Fewest Finishers on Lead Lap: 8 – 3/14/03
Most Running at Finish: 32 – 5/12/01
Fewest Running at Finish: 20 – 3/14/03
Most Laps Led by a Race Winner: 125 – 5/12/01
Fewest Laps Led by a Race Winner: 16 – 3/14/03
Most Wins by a Manufacturer: 4 – Dodge
Closest Margin of Victory: 0.531 seconds – 8/14/10
Greatest Margin of Victory: 0.139 seconds – 3/14/03
Margins of Victory under electronic timing since 1993
---------------------
STARTING POSITION OF RACE WINNERS
Races won from Pos. No. 2 .............. 1
Races won from Pos. No. 3 .............. 1
Races won from Pos. No. 4 .............. 1
Races won from Pos. No. 8 .............. 1
Races won from Pos. No. 14 ............ 1
Races won from Pole: 0 of 5
------------------
Year Event Race Winner Make Pos. Truck Owner Winner
2001 Darlington 200 Bobby Hamilton Dodge 3 Bobby Hamilton Jack Sprague
2002 Craftsman Anniversary 200 Ted Musgrave Dodge 2 Jim Smith Jason Leffler
2003 Craftsman 200 Bobby Hamilton Dodge 14 Bobby Hamilton None (weather)
2004 Darlington 200 Kasey Kahne Dodge 4 Jim Smith Carl Edwards
2010 Too Tough To Tame 200 Todd Bodine Toyota 8 Stephen Germain Timothy Peters
Most Wins: 2 – Bobby Hamilton
Most Poles: 1 – 4 drivers
Most Top Fives: 3 – Bobby Hamilton, Ted Musgrave
Most Top 10s: 4 – Ken Schrader
Most Lead Changes: 13 – 11/13/04
Fewest Lead Changes: 4 – 8/14/10
Most Leaders: 7 – 3/14/03
Fewest Leaders: 3 – 5/12/01
Most Cautions: 10 – 11/13/04
Fewest Cautions: 2 – 3/14/03
Most Caution Laps: 39 – 11/13/04
Fewest Caution Laps: 10 – 3/14/03
Most Finishers on Lead Lap: 23 – 11/13/04
Fewest Finishers on Lead Lap: 8 – 3/14/03
Most Running at Finish: 32 – 5/12/01
Fewest Running at Finish: 20 – 3/14/03
Most Laps Led by a Race Winner: 125 – 5/12/01
Fewest Laps Led by a Race Winner: 16 – 3/14/03
Most Wins by a Manufacturer: 4 – Dodge
Closest Margin of Victory: 0.531 seconds – 8/14/10
Greatest Margin of Victory: 0.139 seconds – 3/14/03
Margins of Victory under electronic timing since 1993
---------------------
STARTING POSITION OF RACE WINNERS
Races won from Pos. No. 2 .............. 1
Races won from Pos. No. 3 .............. 1
Races won from Pos. No. 4 .............. 1
Races won from Pos. No. 8 .............. 1
Races won from Pos. No. 14 ............ 1
Races won from Pole: 0 of 5
------------------
Year Event Race Winner Make Pos. Truck Owner Winner
2001 Darlington 200 Bobby Hamilton Dodge 3 Bobby Hamilton Jack Sprague
2002 Craftsman Anniversary 200 Ted Musgrave Dodge 2 Jim Smith Jason Leffler
2003 Craftsman 200 Bobby Hamilton Dodge 14 Bobby Hamilton None (weather)
2004 Darlington 200 Kasey Kahne Dodge 4 Jim Smith Carl Edwards
2010 Too Tough To Tame 200 Todd Bodine Toyota 8 Stephen Germain Timothy Peters
Friday, March 11, 2011
The Trucks Too Tough To Tame
The Trucks Too Tough To Tame: Darlington Back On Track With NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Print Page Email Page
March 11, 2011
Guest Column By Cathy Elliott
A rare weekend off for both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series in mid-March provided the perfect opportunity to focus the spotlight on the third member of NASCAR’s elite trifecta, the Camping World Truck Series.
Compared to its two older siblings, the NCWTS, which celebrated its inaugural “SuperTruck” season in 1995, is the new kid on the block. Although like that kid, the trucks came to town with something to prove, and they found their reception to be hospitable rather than hostile.
There’s just no denying that the trucks are cool. They have attitude. Toyota Camrys, Dodge Chargers, Chevrolet Impalas and Ford Fusions mix it up every weekend in NASCAR events at America’s most famous speedways, but they can also be seen daily at schools and supermarkets, routinely hauling kids and groceries around instead of hauling buggy around the track. They go about their business maturely and professionally.
Trucks have a somewhat different vibe. If you believe everything you hear on TV (and don’t we all?), trucks are hard-working, dependable and tough. They get the job done, but they have managed to maintain their swagger. “Real rides for real people,” could be their official slogan. So when I first heard that NASCAR was launching a truck racing series, I couldn’t help but picture my dad, who was known to have quite the heavy right foot in his day, careening through a tight turn in his silver ’83 Nissan. Not the most aggressive vehicle on the road, but still, it made me smile to think NASCAR was launching a racing series that seemed so relatable to almost everyone.
I was working as the editor of the local newspaper in Darlington at the time, and within just a few months of NASCAR’s announcement, one question kept popping up at every media event hosted by the ‘local track’ – “When are the trucks coming to Darlington?”
In early 2001, we got the answer. I was working as the director of public relations at the track by then, when word came down that those tough trucks would race at the track “Too Tough To Tame” in May. In an odd foreshadowing of things to come, that race would be held on the Saturday of Mother’s Day weekend.
The late Jim Hunter, president of the speedway at the time, surely had some vaudevillians in his family tree. He never booked one act if he could get three instead, and on this particular weekend, he assembled a doozy of a playbill. The race-day slate of events included the Pabst Blue Ribbon 100, a Goody’s Dash Series race; the Too Tough To Tame 200 NCWTS race; and TRUXPO, a monster truck show.
At the time, I felt like someone had dropped me into the middle of a “Tron” movie, with no script to guide me. What the heck was going on here? Cocky me thought I was pretty well up to speed on NASCAR, but this day was something different. It was crazy, non-stop activity everywhere you looked. One particularly popular man was barreling over piles of dirt in a truck called Bigfoot, which had tires taller than my house. Other guys in trucks with equally tall tires were doing the same thing. It was confusing, but there was a lot of cheering going on and everyone seemed to like it.
Then there was a fight in the Goody’s Dash garage that somehow involved syndicated radio personalities John Boy and Billy. After that was all settled down, Shane Hmiel went out and surprised everyone by winning the Dash race. He came up to the press box looking every day of 14, but in fact, it was his 21st birthday, and his dad was there with him to celebrate.
The trucks never disappoint, and they did not disappoint at Darlington, knocking each other all over the place like socks in a dryer for the full 200 miles. NCWTS competitors resemble those lions who battle it out in the jungle for control of their domain; they don’t back down until faced with definitive defeat. Even then, they’re not happy about it. They skulk around and wait for another opportunity to present itself, and then they go right back at it. There’s a reason it’s called a “pride,” you know.
The late Bobby Hamilton won that inaugural race. I remember how we all laughed at the time and thought it was so charming when that bear of a guy brought his son’s extremely small dog with him to Victory Lane to pose for photos. Hamilton, a two-time Truck Series winner at Darlington, came back in 2003 to run the very first exhibition laps under the lights. When those 10 laps were complete, his burnout was the best I have ever seen, period. “Cool” doesn’t even begin describe it.
Looking back, that weekend was actually quite epic, and also bittersweet in many ways. Maybe that’s a big part of the series’ appeal. As we grow older and more successful, still there are those Bruce Springsteen “Glory Days” moments when we remember those crazy road trips to out-of-town football games in high school, or that time in college when you dared your buddy to pick up a snake, which promptly bit him. We were trucks on days like that, and as I believe you already know, the trucks are cool.
Many Sprint Cup Series superstars got their start in the trucks. They are the faces of NASCAR now, but back then, they were just working to make a name for themselves, like everybody else. There were fewer obligations and demands on their time, and more time to focus on the job, and the joy, of racing. Some of them, like Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch, love it so much they now own their own truck teams, and even compete in Truck Series events on a semi-regular basis.
If you haven’t watched a truck race in a while, take a couple of hours one of these weekends to check it out. You’ll see some talented drivers you may not have heard of – yet – and some others you haven’t seen in a while, driving like it’s their very last race.
You’ll be hooked. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is an exciting combination of strategy, action, plenty of beating and banging, colorful and interesting personalities, and of course, a great deal of spectacular passing. Every day is a glory day. What a shame if we let it pass us by.
March 11, 2011
Guest Column By Cathy Elliott
A rare weekend off for both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series in mid-March provided the perfect opportunity to focus the spotlight on the third member of NASCAR’s elite trifecta, the Camping World Truck Series.
Compared to its two older siblings, the NCWTS, which celebrated its inaugural “SuperTruck” season in 1995, is the new kid on the block. Although like that kid, the trucks came to town with something to prove, and they found their reception to be hospitable rather than hostile.
There’s just no denying that the trucks are cool. They have attitude. Toyota Camrys, Dodge Chargers, Chevrolet Impalas and Ford Fusions mix it up every weekend in NASCAR events at America’s most famous speedways, but they can also be seen daily at schools and supermarkets, routinely hauling kids and groceries around instead of hauling buggy around the track. They go about their business maturely and professionally.
Trucks have a somewhat different vibe. If you believe everything you hear on TV (and don’t we all?), trucks are hard-working, dependable and tough. They get the job done, but they have managed to maintain their swagger. “Real rides for real people,” could be their official slogan. So when I first heard that NASCAR was launching a truck racing series, I couldn’t help but picture my dad, who was known to have quite the heavy right foot in his day, careening through a tight turn in his silver ’83 Nissan. Not the most aggressive vehicle on the road, but still, it made me smile to think NASCAR was launching a racing series that seemed so relatable to almost everyone.
I was working as the editor of the local newspaper in Darlington at the time, and within just a few months of NASCAR’s announcement, one question kept popping up at every media event hosted by the ‘local track’ – “When are the trucks coming to Darlington?”
In early 2001, we got the answer. I was working as the director of public relations at the track by then, when word came down that those tough trucks would race at the track “Too Tough To Tame” in May. In an odd foreshadowing of things to come, that race would be held on the Saturday of Mother’s Day weekend.
The late Jim Hunter, president of the speedway at the time, surely had some vaudevillians in his family tree. He never booked one act if he could get three instead, and on this particular weekend, he assembled a doozy of a playbill. The race-day slate of events included the Pabst Blue Ribbon 100, a Goody’s Dash Series race; the Too Tough To Tame 200 NCWTS race; and TRUXPO, a monster truck show.
At the time, I felt like someone had dropped me into the middle of a “Tron” movie, with no script to guide me. What the heck was going on here? Cocky me thought I was pretty well up to speed on NASCAR, but this day was something different. It was crazy, non-stop activity everywhere you looked. One particularly popular man was barreling over piles of dirt in a truck called Bigfoot, which had tires taller than my house. Other guys in trucks with equally tall tires were doing the same thing. It was confusing, but there was a lot of cheering going on and everyone seemed to like it.
Then there was a fight in the Goody’s Dash garage that somehow involved syndicated radio personalities John Boy and Billy. After that was all settled down, Shane Hmiel went out and surprised everyone by winning the Dash race. He came up to the press box looking every day of 14, but in fact, it was his 21st birthday, and his dad was there with him to celebrate.
The trucks never disappoint, and they did not disappoint at Darlington, knocking each other all over the place like socks in a dryer for the full 200 miles. NCWTS competitors resemble those lions who battle it out in the jungle for control of their domain; they don’t back down until faced with definitive defeat. Even then, they’re not happy about it. They skulk around and wait for another opportunity to present itself, and then they go right back at it. There’s a reason it’s called a “pride,” you know.
The late Bobby Hamilton won that inaugural race. I remember how we all laughed at the time and thought it was so charming when that bear of a guy brought his son’s extremely small dog with him to Victory Lane to pose for photos. Hamilton, a two-time Truck Series winner at Darlington, came back in 2003 to run the very first exhibition laps under the lights. When those 10 laps were complete, his burnout was the best I have ever seen, period. “Cool” doesn’t even begin describe it.
Looking back, that weekend was actually quite epic, and also bittersweet in many ways. Maybe that’s a big part of the series’ appeal. As we grow older and more successful, still there are those Bruce Springsteen “Glory Days” moments when we remember those crazy road trips to out-of-town football games in high school, or that time in college when you dared your buddy to pick up a snake, which promptly bit him. We were trucks on days like that, and as I believe you already know, the trucks are cool.
Many Sprint Cup Series superstars got their start in the trucks. They are the faces of NASCAR now, but back then, they were just working to make a name for themselves, like everybody else. There were fewer obligations and demands on their time, and more time to focus on the job, and the joy, of racing. Some of them, like Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch, love it so much they now own their own truck teams, and even compete in Truck Series events on a semi-regular basis.
If you haven’t watched a truck race in a while, take a couple of hours one of these weekends to check it out. You’ll see some talented drivers you may not have heard of – yet – and some others you haven’t seen in a while, driving like it’s their very last race.
You’ll be hooked. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is an exciting combination of strategy, action, plenty of beating and banging, colorful and interesting personalities, and of course, a great deal of spectacular passing. Every day is a glory day. What a shame if we let it pass us by.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Consistent Crafton not getting worked up about holding trucks points lead
Consistent Crafton not getting worked up about holding trucks points lead
By Jared Turner
Special to Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(March 10, 2011)
Always in the hunt but rarely in front, Matt Crafton finds himself in a pretty unusual spot two races into the 2011 Camping World Truck Series season.
Crafton, or "Mr. Consistency" as he could be appropriately called, is atop the series standings.
Not that he's exactly ready to revel in his newfound position.
"I don't put a whole lot into it," Crafton said as he prepares for Saturday's Too Tough To Tame 200 at Darlington Raceway.
"It's our second race into it, but what I've been saying is that with 10 to go, five races to go, then we'll talk about it if we're leading the points at that point."
One of the reasons Crafton isn't celebrating his fast start is the fact that he's been good but not great in the first two races of 2011.
He finished 10th at Daytona and seventh two weeks ago in Phoenix but failed to lead a lap in either event. His series lead is just one point over second-place Clay Rogers and five points over fifth-place Timothy Peters.
Crafton, a veteran of 249 truck starts, knows it's too early to get too confident with or without a big cushion. At the same time, he's thankful to be where he is—especially after an uncharacteristically slow start to 2010 that all but eliminated him from title contention early on. Nine races into that campaign, he was 10th in points with an average finish of 14.8.
"At least we aren't digging ourselves out of a hole after two races in," said Crafton, in his 11th full season in the truck series, including 10 with Sandusky, Ohio-based ThorSport Racing. "That's one of the big positives.
"It's definitely nice to be chased instead of chasing, for sure."
Crafton has ranked among the top 10 in points for a remarkable 74 consecutive races, and finished outside the top 10 in points only once since 2004. However, he has just one victory—at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May 2008—along the way.
While returning to victory lane is a priority this year, he makes no apologies for an approach that some observers might deem as too conservative.
"There's nobody more hungry than me, I feel, to win races," Crafton said. "But at the same time I try to pride myself in not tearing up the equipment. I've known what it's like to have to work on it, to rebuild it, and at the end of the day I've always said if you can't win that battle, let's win the war. The points, we've got to think of that."Crafton would seem to have at least a decent shot of leaving Darlington with his series lead intact. He finished sixth last year at the 1.366-mile venue, and likely would have come out better had it not been for a pit stop that dropped him in the running order.
Slow pit stops also proved to be a problem at Phoenix last time out.
"Track position is everything," Crafton said. "There's no reason why we can't contend for wins every week and contend for the championship."
So far, so good—at least on the championship-contending part.
Fast facts
What: Too Tough To Tame 200
Where: Darlington Raceway
When: Saturday, 5 p.m. ET
TV: Speed, 4:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN/Sirius Satellite Ch. 128
Track layout: 1.366-mile oval
Race distance: 147 laps/200.8 miles
Qualifying: Saturday, 3:15 p.m. ET
2010 winner: Todd Bodine
2010 polesitter: Timothy Peters
By Jared Turner
Special to Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(March 10, 2011)
Always in the hunt but rarely in front, Matt Crafton finds himself in a pretty unusual spot two races into the 2011 Camping World Truck Series season.
Crafton, or "Mr. Consistency" as he could be appropriately called, is atop the series standings.
Not that he's exactly ready to revel in his newfound position.
"I don't put a whole lot into it," Crafton said as he prepares for Saturday's Too Tough To Tame 200 at Darlington Raceway.
"It's our second race into it, but what I've been saying is that with 10 to go, five races to go, then we'll talk about it if we're leading the points at that point."
One of the reasons Crafton isn't celebrating his fast start is the fact that he's been good but not great in the first two races of 2011.
He finished 10th at Daytona and seventh two weeks ago in Phoenix but failed to lead a lap in either event. His series lead is just one point over second-place Clay Rogers and five points over fifth-place Timothy Peters.
Crafton, a veteran of 249 truck starts, knows it's too early to get too confident with or without a big cushion. At the same time, he's thankful to be where he is—especially after an uncharacteristically slow start to 2010 that all but eliminated him from title contention early on. Nine races into that campaign, he was 10th in points with an average finish of 14.8.
"At least we aren't digging ourselves out of a hole after two races in," said Crafton, in his 11th full season in the truck series, including 10 with Sandusky, Ohio-based ThorSport Racing. "That's one of the big positives.
"It's definitely nice to be chased instead of chasing, for sure."
Crafton has ranked among the top 10 in points for a remarkable 74 consecutive races, and finished outside the top 10 in points only once since 2004. However, he has just one victory—at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May 2008—along the way.
While returning to victory lane is a priority this year, he makes no apologies for an approach that some observers might deem as too conservative.
"There's nobody more hungry than me, I feel, to win races," Crafton said. "But at the same time I try to pride myself in not tearing up the equipment. I've known what it's like to have to work on it, to rebuild it, and at the end of the day I've always said if you can't win that battle, let's win the war. The points, we've got to think of that."Crafton would seem to have at least a decent shot of leaving Darlington with his series lead intact. He finished sixth last year at the 1.366-mile venue, and likely would have come out better had it not been for a pit stop that dropped him in the running order.
Slow pit stops also proved to be a problem at Phoenix last time out.
"Track position is everything," Crafton said. "There's no reason why we can't contend for wins every week and contend for the championship."
So far, so good—at least on the championship-contending part.
Fast facts
What: Too Tough To Tame 200
Where: Darlington Raceway
When: Saturday, 5 p.m. ET
TV: Speed, 4:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN/Sirius Satellite Ch. 128
Track layout: 1.366-mile oval
Race distance: 147 laps/200.8 miles
Qualifying: Saturday, 3:15 p.m. ET
2010 winner: Todd Bodine
2010 polesitter: Timothy Peters
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
NASCAR CAMPINGWORLD NOTEBOOK
3/2011
Elliott Sadler will be driving the No. 2 Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick Inc. in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Darlington this weekend. … Last year’s NASCAR Nationwide Series driver standings champion Brad Keselowski will be fielding his No. 29 Dodge with driver, Parker Kligerman, at Darlington this weekend. … Justin Allgaier will be spending his off-week watching the AMA Supercross Series race on Saturday at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. … Kenny Wallace is just nine starts away from 500 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. After his first three races of the season he has posted a Driver Rating of 71.5, up 28.0 points over his 2010 rating of 43.5. It is the third-highest driver rating improvement over last season behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (up 42.0 points from 60.7 to 102.7) and Danica Patrick.
Bodine Hoping Experience Pays Off At Darlington Raceway
Make no mistake, Darlington Raceway is a driver’s track – and a place where experience pays dividends and champions thrive.
Saturday’s Too Tough To Tame 200 may produce a few surprises but don’t expect an influx of newcomers atop the finishing order when the checkered flies.
Four of the five Darlington race-winners were past NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championships. Bobby Hamilton won twice, Ted Musgrave once and Todd Bodine is the defending race winner.
“It’s a driver’s track that’s a lot of fun,” said Bodine, who also owns a NASCAR Nationwide Series victory at the 1.366-mile layout – NASCAR’s oldest superspeedway. “I’ve always run well at Darlington in everything I’ve driven there, ever.”
Saturday’s race is only the third stop on a 2011 calendar of 25 races but it’s becoming pivotal to Bodine’s bid to become the series’ first back-to-back champion.
• From Aug. 2005, Bodine ranked among the top 10 in points for 135 consecutive races – a streak that ended with a 23rd-place finish in Daytona.
• Bodine also was an accident victim in Phoenix and despite recovering to finish eighth, the 2006 and 2010 champion still has yet to crack the top 10. He’s 12th, 20 points behind leader Matt Crafton.
• To win that elusive consecutive title, Bodine will have to duplicate Mike Bliss’ run to the 2002 championship. Bliss rebounded from a 131-point deficit after two races to take a lead he wouldn’t relinquish, in just three more starts.
• Bodine may be in rebound mode, but Timothy Peters is close to becoming the championship leader. Peters, who finished second in last year’s Too Tough To Tame 200, is just five points behind Crafton after a 12th-place finish at Phoenix.
• Austin Dillon was fifth at Darlington in 2010 – the only rookie finisher among a top 10 featuring veterans Ron Hornaday Jr., Stacy Compton and Ken Schrader. Cole Whitt, who was on the weekly NASCAR teleconference, will look to match Dillon’s run.
Trio Of Teams Chasing Wins In Pair Of NASCAR National Series
Call it a race within a race.
Three non-NASCAR Sprint Cup-running teams are competing head-to-head in the NASCAR Camping World Truck and NASCAR Nationwide Series.
The question is which – Kevin Harvick Inc., Rick Ware Racing or Turner Motorsports – will be the first to tally a victory in each series. Only KHI had wins in both divisions in 2010, four in Nationwide and seven in trucks.
• KHI got an early jump as Tony Stewart raced to victory in the 2011 Nationwide opener at Daytona International Speedway.
• Mark Martin evened the score last weekend in Las Vegas, driving a Turner Motorsports entry to his 49th Nationwide victory.
• RWR remains winless but showed promise in trucks as Jeffrey Earnhardt posted a seventh-place finish in Daytona. Bodine, Carl Long and Timmy Hill have competed in RWR-prepared cars in NASCAR Nationwide competition.
• KHI has a pair of series winners in the lineup for Saturday – Ron Hornaday Jr. and Elliott Sadler. Turner counters with a trio of entries Ricky Carmichael, James Buescher and Brad Sweet. Earnhardt carries the RWR banner.
• Sweet’s crew chief Trent Owens bids to become the first of 2011 to back winners in both divisions. He was atop Martin’s pit box in Las Vegas.
NCWTS
Kasey Kahne, who scored his first of two consecutive NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victories at Darlington in 2004, will drive Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 18 Toyota this week. KBM leads the series owner championship standings over KHI by one point. … KHI will make its 300th series start at Darlington, a week after hitting the same milestone in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in Las Vegas. … Martin, who’ll return to NASCAR Camping World Trucks later this season, can become the first driver over the age of 50 to win in all three national series. … Series points leader Crafton will make his 250th truck start at Darlington. Crafton is the only entered driver to compete in all five previous Darlington races. He has three top-10 finishes including a sixth a year ago. … James Buescher will make his 50th series start. … Travis Kvapil started from the pole in 2003 as the series points leader when qualifying was washed out. He finished fourth. … Four of the five previous Darlington races had margins of victory of 0.531 seconds or less.
Elliott Sadler will be driving the No. 2 Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick Inc. in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Darlington this weekend. … Last year’s NASCAR Nationwide Series driver standings champion Brad Keselowski will be fielding his No. 29 Dodge with driver, Parker Kligerman, at Darlington this weekend. … Justin Allgaier will be spending his off-week watching the AMA Supercross Series race on Saturday at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. … Kenny Wallace is just nine starts away from 500 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. After his first three races of the season he has posted a Driver Rating of 71.5, up 28.0 points over his 2010 rating of 43.5. It is the third-highest driver rating improvement over last season behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (up 42.0 points from 60.7 to 102.7) and Danica Patrick.
Bodine Hoping Experience Pays Off At Darlington Raceway
Make no mistake, Darlington Raceway is a driver’s track – and a place where experience pays dividends and champions thrive.
Saturday’s Too Tough To Tame 200 may produce a few surprises but don’t expect an influx of newcomers atop the finishing order when the checkered flies.
Four of the five Darlington race-winners were past NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championships. Bobby Hamilton won twice, Ted Musgrave once and Todd Bodine is the defending race winner.
“It’s a driver’s track that’s a lot of fun,” said Bodine, who also owns a NASCAR Nationwide Series victory at the 1.366-mile layout – NASCAR’s oldest superspeedway. “I’ve always run well at Darlington in everything I’ve driven there, ever.”
Saturday’s race is only the third stop on a 2011 calendar of 25 races but it’s becoming pivotal to Bodine’s bid to become the series’ first back-to-back champion.
• From Aug. 2005, Bodine ranked among the top 10 in points for 135 consecutive races – a streak that ended with a 23rd-place finish in Daytona.
• Bodine also was an accident victim in Phoenix and despite recovering to finish eighth, the 2006 and 2010 champion still has yet to crack the top 10. He’s 12th, 20 points behind leader Matt Crafton.
• To win that elusive consecutive title, Bodine will have to duplicate Mike Bliss’ run to the 2002 championship. Bliss rebounded from a 131-point deficit after two races to take a lead he wouldn’t relinquish, in just three more starts.
• Bodine may be in rebound mode, but Timothy Peters is close to becoming the championship leader. Peters, who finished second in last year’s Too Tough To Tame 200, is just five points behind Crafton after a 12th-place finish at Phoenix.
• Austin Dillon was fifth at Darlington in 2010 – the only rookie finisher among a top 10 featuring veterans Ron Hornaday Jr., Stacy Compton and Ken Schrader. Cole Whitt, who was on the weekly NASCAR teleconference, will look to match Dillon’s run.
Trio Of Teams Chasing Wins In Pair Of NASCAR National Series
Call it a race within a race.
Three non-NASCAR Sprint Cup-running teams are competing head-to-head in the NASCAR Camping World Truck and NASCAR Nationwide Series.
The question is which – Kevin Harvick Inc., Rick Ware Racing or Turner Motorsports – will be the first to tally a victory in each series. Only KHI had wins in both divisions in 2010, four in Nationwide and seven in trucks.
• KHI got an early jump as Tony Stewart raced to victory in the 2011 Nationwide opener at Daytona International Speedway.
• Mark Martin evened the score last weekend in Las Vegas, driving a Turner Motorsports entry to his 49th Nationwide victory.
• RWR remains winless but showed promise in trucks as Jeffrey Earnhardt posted a seventh-place finish in Daytona. Bodine, Carl Long and Timmy Hill have competed in RWR-prepared cars in NASCAR Nationwide competition.
• KHI has a pair of series winners in the lineup for Saturday – Ron Hornaday Jr. and Elliott Sadler. Turner counters with a trio of entries Ricky Carmichael, James Buescher and Brad Sweet. Earnhardt carries the RWR banner.
• Sweet’s crew chief Trent Owens bids to become the first of 2011 to back winners in both divisions. He was atop Martin’s pit box in Las Vegas.
NCWTS
Kasey Kahne, who scored his first of two consecutive NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victories at Darlington in 2004, will drive Kyle Busch Motorsports’ No. 18 Toyota this week. KBM leads the series owner championship standings over KHI by one point. … KHI will make its 300th series start at Darlington, a week after hitting the same milestone in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in Las Vegas. … Martin, who’ll return to NASCAR Camping World Trucks later this season, can become the first driver over the age of 50 to win in all three national series. … Series points leader Crafton will make his 250th truck start at Darlington. Crafton is the only entered driver to compete in all five previous Darlington races. He has three top-10 finishes including a sixth a year ago. … James Buescher will make his 50th series start. … Travis Kvapil started from the pole in 2003 as the series points leader when qualifying was washed out. He finished fourth. … Four of the five previous Darlington races had margins of victory of 0.531 seconds or less.
Surprising Success and Slow Starts
3/2011
Surprising Success and Slow Starts
Building a list of surprise starts? Look no further than Danica Patrick , who weekly seems to add her name to the list of “firsts” and “bests.” Last weekend she became the highest finishing woman in NASCAR national series history when she drove her JR Motorsports No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet to a fourth-place finish. The previous highest finish was a fifth by Sara Christian in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 1949.
For the last two weeks Patrick has been fourth in the series driver standings, now sitting just 13 points behind series standings leader Reed Sorenson. Patrick is averaging an 11.7 finish this season and is ranked ninth in the NASCAR season-to-date Driver Rating with an 83.7. She has nearly doubled her driver rating this season compared to last season after the first three races. After three starts last year, Patrick ranked 30th with a 43.1 Driver Rating. Listen to audio from Patrick regarding her racing outlook.
On the other end of the spectrum lies Elliott Sadler, the NASCAR pre-season media poll favorite. Sadler finished 38th at Daytona and since then he has posted back-to-back 12th-place finishes at Phoenix and Las Vegas. He currently is 12th in the standings, 41 points back from Reed Sorenson. Sadler ranks 10th in Driver Rating with a 75.7.
Turner Motorsports Sit 1-2 In Owner Points
As far as surprise teams go, Turner Motorsports – owned by Steve Turner – leads the pack. In 2010 Turner Motorsports acquired select assets of Braun Racing, deciding to run four NASCAR Nationwide Series teams and three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams in 2011.
The NASCAR Nationwide Series all-time wins leader, Mark Martin, drove the No. 32 Dollar General Chevrolet to the team’s first career series victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last weekend. With the win, Turner Motorsports now holds both the points lead and second place in the series owner series. All four of its cars are in the top 10.
The team’s series regulars Reed Sorenson (first), Jason Leffler (third) and Justin Allgaier (fifth) are in the top five of the driver standings as well.
Turner Motorsports momentum could carry into next weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. Allgaier posted his first series victory last season at the famed half mile.
NNS ETC.
Elliott Sadler will be driving the No. 2 Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick Inc. in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Darlington this weekend. … Last year’s NASCAR Nationwide Series driver standings champion Brad Keselowski will be fielding his No. 29 Dodge with driver, Parker Kligerman, at Darlington this weekend. … Justin Allgaier will be spending his off-week watching the AMA Supercross Series race on Saturday at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. … Kenny Wallace is just nine starts away from 500 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. After his first three races of the season he has posted a Driver Rating of 71.5, up 28.0 points over his 2010 rating of 43.5. It is the third-highest driver rating improvement over last season behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (up 42.0 points from 60.7 to 102.7) and Danica Patrick.
Bodine Hoping Experience Pays Off At Darlington Raceway
Make no mistake, Darlington Raceway is a driver’s track – and a place where experience pays dividends and champions thrive.
Saturday’s Too Tough To Tame 200 may produce a few surprises but don’t expect an influx of newcomers atop the finishing order when the checkered flies.
Four of the five Darlington race-winners were past NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championships. Bobby Hamilton won twice, Ted Musgrave once and Todd Bodine is the defending race winner.
“It’s a driver’s track that’s a lot of fun,” said Bodine, who also owns a NASCAR Nationwide Series victory at the 1.366-mile layout – NASCAR’s oldest superspeedway. “I’ve always run well at Darlington in everything I’ve driven there, ever.”
Saturday’s race is only the third stop on a 2011 calendar of 25 races but it’s becoming pivotal to Bodine’s bid to become the series’ first back-to-back champion.
• From Aug. 2005, Bodine ranked among the top 10 in points for 135 consecutive races – a streak that ended with a 23rd-place finish in Daytona.
• Bodine also was an accident victim in Phoenix and despite recovering to finish eighth, the 2006 and 2010 champion still has yet to crack the top 10. He’s 12th, 20 points behind leader Matt Crafton.
• To win that elusive consecutive title, Bodine will have to duplicate Mike Bliss’ run to the 2002 championship. Bliss rebounded from a 131-point deficit after two races to take a lead he wouldn’t relinquish, in just three more starts.
• Bodine may be in rebound mode, but Timothy Peters is close to becoming the championship leader. Peters, who finished second in last year’s Too Tough To Tame 200, is just five points behind Crafton after a 12th-place finish at Phoenix.
• Austin Dillon was fifth at Darlington in 2010 – the only rookie finisher among a top 10 featuring veterans Ron Hornaday Jr., Stacy Compton and Ken Schrader. Cole Whitt, who was on the weekly NASCAR teleconference, will look to match Dillon’s run.
Surprising Success and Slow Starts
Building a list of surprise starts? Look no further than Danica Patrick , who weekly seems to add her name to the list of “firsts” and “bests.” Last weekend she became the highest finishing woman in NASCAR national series history when she drove her JR Motorsports No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet to a fourth-place finish. The previous highest finish was a fifth by Sara Christian in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 1949.
For the last two weeks Patrick has been fourth in the series driver standings, now sitting just 13 points behind series standings leader Reed Sorenson. Patrick is averaging an 11.7 finish this season and is ranked ninth in the NASCAR season-to-date Driver Rating with an 83.7. She has nearly doubled her driver rating this season compared to last season after the first three races. After three starts last year, Patrick ranked 30th with a 43.1 Driver Rating. Listen to audio from Patrick regarding her racing outlook.
On the other end of the spectrum lies Elliott Sadler, the NASCAR pre-season media poll favorite. Sadler finished 38th at Daytona and since then he has posted back-to-back 12th-place finishes at Phoenix and Las Vegas. He currently is 12th in the standings, 41 points back from Reed Sorenson. Sadler ranks 10th in Driver Rating with a 75.7.
Turner Motorsports Sit 1-2 In Owner Points
As far as surprise teams go, Turner Motorsports – owned by Steve Turner – leads the pack. In 2010 Turner Motorsports acquired select assets of Braun Racing, deciding to run four NASCAR Nationwide Series teams and three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams in 2011.
The NASCAR Nationwide Series all-time wins leader, Mark Martin, drove the No. 32 Dollar General Chevrolet to the team’s first career series victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last weekend. With the win, Turner Motorsports now holds both the points lead and second place in the series owner series. All four of its cars are in the top 10.
The team’s series regulars Reed Sorenson (first), Jason Leffler (third) and Justin Allgaier (fifth) are in the top five of the driver standings as well.
Turner Motorsports momentum could carry into next weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. Allgaier posted his first series victory last season at the famed half mile.
NNS ETC.
Elliott Sadler will be driving the No. 2 Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick Inc. in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Darlington this weekend. … Last year’s NASCAR Nationwide Series driver standings champion Brad Keselowski will be fielding his No. 29 Dodge with driver, Parker Kligerman, at Darlington this weekend. … Justin Allgaier will be spending his off-week watching the AMA Supercross Series race on Saturday at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. … Kenny Wallace is just nine starts away from 500 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. After his first three races of the season he has posted a Driver Rating of 71.5, up 28.0 points over his 2010 rating of 43.5. It is the third-highest driver rating improvement over last season behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (up 42.0 points from 60.7 to 102.7) and Danica Patrick.
Bodine Hoping Experience Pays Off At Darlington Raceway
Make no mistake, Darlington Raceway is a driver’s track – and a place where experience pays dividends and champions thrive.
Saturday’s Too Tough To Tame 200 may produce a few surprises but don’t expect an influx of newcomers atop the finishing order when the checkered flies.
Four of the five Darlington race-winners were past NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championships. Bobby Hamilton won twice, Ted Musgrave once and Todd Bodine is the defending race winner.
“It’s a driver’s track that’s a lot of fun,” said Bodine, who also owns a NASCAR Nationwide Series victory at the 1.366-mile layout – NASCAR’s oldest superspeedway. “I’ve always run well at Darlington in everything I’ve driven there, ever.”
Saturday’s race is only the third stop on a 2011 calendar of 25 races but it’s becoming pivotal to Bodine’s bid to become the series’ first back-to-back champion.
• From Aug. 2005, Bodine ranked among the top 10 in points for 135 consecutive races – a streak that ended with a 23rd-place finish in Daytona.
• Bodine also was an accident victim in Phoenix and despite recovering to finish eighth, the 2006 and 2010 champion still has yet to crack the top 10. He’s 12th, 20 points behind leader Matt Crafton.
• To win that elusive consecutive title, Bodine will have to duplicate Mike Bliss’ run to the 2002 championship. Bliss rebounded from a 131-point deficit after two races to take a lead he wouldn’t relinquish, in just three more starts.
• Bodine may be in rebound mode, but Timothy Peters is close to becoming the championship leader. Peters, who finished second in last year’s Too Tough To Tame 200, is just five points behind Crafton after a 12th-place finish at Phoenix.
• Austin Dillon was fifth at Darlington in 2010 – the only rookie finisher among a top 10 featuring veterans Ron Hornaday Jr., Stacy Compton and Ken Schrader. Cole Whitt, who was on the weekly NASCAR teleconference, will look to match Dillon’s run.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
NASCAR NATIONWIDE NOTEBOOK
The first open week of the season gives drivers a chance to cool off. Some will. Some won’t. … Kasey Kahne and Travis Kvapil will both run in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Darlington on Saturday. … Kurt Busch will be attempting to make the field for the GatorNationals NHRA race in Gainesville, Fla. Busch will be out to snare one of the 16 qualifying spots in the Pro Stock class. He will have four qualifying passes to break into the field. … Marcos Ambrose started his own late model team and this weekend will be the first race in which that team competes, at Hickory Motor Speedway. He will also spend some time in the next week panning for gold, a hobby of his. … AJ Allmendinger will be traveling to a karting event this weekend at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, S.C. … Juan Pablo Montoya and his wife, Connie, traveled to his native Colombia. … Kevin Harvick will use this weekend as an opportunity to get stronger: “I think for us, it is more about just looking at the Cup teams and the Nationwide teams and all the parts and pieces that go with it and making sure they are all headed in the right direction. We will use [the open weeks] as wisely as we can. No big plans, just making sure all the racing stuff is heading in the right direction.” Click here for audio from Harvick, regarding the open week. … Dave Blaney will head to Anderson, S.C. to watch his son, Ryan, race in a super late model race. … David Reutimann will help rebuild dirt cars with his father Buzzie.
Storyline Logjam To Open 2011
Heading into the first open week of the season, the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver standings continue to be tight after the first three races. The series standings leader, Reed Sorenson is just two points ahead of 2010 Sunoco Rookie of the Year winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and five points ahead of third-place Jason Leffler.
A mere 32 points separate the top 10 in the driver standings.
Last season, under the “old” points distribution, first to third was separated by 48 points after three races, and first to 10th separated by 146 points.
Carl Edwards led the series standings after the first three races in 2010 and he had posted an average finish of 3.0 and a season-to-date Driver Rating of 111.1. This season, Sorenson holds the top spot with an average finish of 7.0 and season-to-date Driver Rating of 106.1.
Aside from the tight competition in the standings, the 2011 season has yielded three different winners and some spectacular performances thus far. Tony Stewart made a last lap pass at Daytona International Speedway for the closest finish in series history at the historic track. Kyle Busch led all 200 laps at Phoenix, scoring his 13th series perfect Driver Rating (150.0). Mark Martin made his series return last weekend at Las Vegas and padded his all-time series wins total to 49.
Surprising Success and Slow Starts
Building a list of surprise starts? Look no further than Danica Patrick , who weekly seems to add her name to the list of “firsts” and “bests.” Last weekend she became the highest finishing woman in NASCAR national series history when she drove her JR Motorsports No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet to a fourth-place finish. The previous highest finish was a fifth by Sara Christian in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 1949.
For the last two weeks Patrick has been fourth in the series driver standings, now sitting just 13 points behind series standings leader Reed Sorenson. Patrick is averaging an 11.7 finish this season and is ranked ninth in the NASCAR season-to-date Driver Rating with an 83.7. She has nearly doubled her driver rating this season compared to last season after the first three races. After three starts last year, Patrick ranked 30th with a 43.1 Driver Rating. Listen to audio from Patrick regarding her racing outlook.
On the other end of the spectrum lies Elliott Sadler, the NASCAR pre-season media poll favorite. Sadler finished 38th at Daytona and since then he has posted back-to-back 12th-place finishes at Phoenix and Las Vegas. He currently is 12th in the standings, 41 points back from Reed Sorenson. Sadler ranks 10th in Driver Rating with a 75.7.
Turner Motorsports Sit 1-2 In Owner Points
As far as surprise teams go, Turner Motorsports – owned by Steve Turner – leads the pack. In 2010 Turner Motorsports acquired select assets of Braun Racing, deciding to run four NASCAR Nationwide Series teams and three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams in 2011.
The NASCAR Nationwide Series all-time wins leader, Mark Martin, drove the No. 32 Dollar General Chevrolet to the team’s first career series victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last weekend. With the win, Turner Motorsports now holds both the points lead and second place in the series owner series. All four of its cars are in the top 10.
The team’s series regulars Reed Sorenson (first), Jason Leffler (third) and Justin Allgaier (fifth) are in the top five of the driver standings as well.
Turner Motorsports momentum could carry into next weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. Allgaier posted his first series victory last season at the famed half mile.
Storyline Logjam To Open 2011
Heading into the first open week of the season, the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver standings continue to be tight after the first three races. The series standings leader, Reed Sorenson is just two points ahead of 2010 Sunoco Rookie of the Year winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and five points ahead of third-place Jason Leffler.
A mere 32 points separate the top 10 in the driver standings.
Last season, under the “old” points distribution, first to third was separated by 48 points after three races, and first to 10th separated by 146 points.
Carl Edwards led the series standings after the first three races in 2010 and he had posted an average finish of 3.0 and a season-to-date Driver Rating of 111.1. This season, Sorenson holds the top spot with an average finish of 7.0 and season-to-date Driver Rating of 106.1.
Aside from the tight competition in the standings, the 2011 season has yielded three different winners and some spectacular performances thus far. Tony Stewart made a last lap pass at Daytona International Speedway for the closest finish in series history at the historic track. Kyle Busch led all 200 laps at Phoenix, scoring his 13th series perfect Driver Rating (150.0). Mark Martin made his series return last weekend at Las Vegas and padded his all-time series wins total to 49.
Surprising Success and Slow Starts
Building a list of surprise starts? Look no further than Danica Patrick , who weekly seems to add her name to the list of “firsts” and “bests.” Last weekend she became the highest finishing woman in NASCAR national series history when she drove her JR Motorsports No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet to a fourth-place finish. The previous highest finish was a fifth by Sara Christian in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 1949.
For the last two weeks Patrick has been fourth in the series driver standings, now sitting just 13 points behind series standings leader Reed Sorenson. Patrick is averaging an 11.7 finish this season and is ranked ninth in the NASCAR season-to-date Driver Rating with an 83.7. She has nearly doubled her driver rating this season compared to last season after the first three races. After three starts last year, Patrick ranked 30th with a 43.1 Driver Rating. Listen to audio from Patrick regarding her racing outlook.
On the other end of the spectrum lies Elliott Sadler, the NASCAR pre-season media poll favorite. Sadler finished 38th at Daytona and since then he has posted back-to-back 12th-place finishes at Phoenix and Las Vegas. He currently is 12th in the standings, 41 points back from Reed Sorenson. Sadler ranks 10th in Driver Rating with a 75.7.
Turner Motorsports Sit 1-2 In Owner Points
As far as surprise teams go, Turner Motorsports – owned by Steve Turner – leads the pack. In 2010 Turner Motorsports acquired select assets of Braun Racing, deciding to run four NASCAR Nationwide Series teams and three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams in 2011.
The NASCAR Nationwide Series all-time wins leader, Mark Martin, drove the No. 32 Dollar General Chevrolet to the team’s first career series victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last weekend. With the win, Turner Motorsports now holds both the points lead and second place in the series owner series. All four of its cars are in the top 10.
The team’s series regulars Reed Sorenson (first), Jason Leffler (third) and Justin Allgaier (fifth) are in the top five of the driver standings as well.
Turner Motorsports momentum could carry into next weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. Allgaier posted his first series victory last season at the famed half mile.
Monday, March 7, 2011
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES NEWS
3/2011
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES
Only Show In Town
Saturday’s race at Darlington will mark the sixth NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Darlington Raceway.
The series returned to the famed venue last season after a five year absence.
The 36-truck field will feature two past winners including defending winner Todd Bodine and Kasey Kahne, who will pilot the No. 18 for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Kahne visited victory lane in his first series start at Darlington in 2004. In three series starts Kahne has two wins and one second place finish.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Darlington will be the only NASCAR national series on track this weekend.
Crafton Set To Make 250th Start As Series Standings Leader
Series veteran Matt Crafton will make his 250th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start this weekend in the Too Tough To Tame 200 at Darlington.
And he will do it as the series standings leader. Not a bad place to be considering the last time Crafton held the top spot was June of 2009.
Crafton has competed in the series since 2001 and driven for only two owners, Kevin Harvick and current owner Duke Thorson.
He has run all five previous NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events at Darlington with an average finish of 9.4. His best finish – sixth place – came last season.
In 10 full seasons of competition Crafton has never finished outside the top-15 in the series standings.
NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES
Only Show In Town
Saturday’s race at Darlington will mark the sixth NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Darlington Raceway.
The series returned to the famed venue last season after a five year absence.
The 36-truck field will feature two past winners including defending winner Todd Bodine and Kasey Kahne, who will pilot the No. 18 for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Kahne visited victory lane in his first series start at Darlington in 2004. In three series starts Kahne has two wins and one second place finish.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Darlington will be the only NASCAR national series on track this weekend.
Crafton Set To Make 250th Start As Series Standings Leader
Series veteran Matt Crafton will make his 250th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start this weekend in the Too Tough To Tame 200 at Darlington.
And he will do it as the series standings leader. Not a bad place to be considering the last time Crafton held the top spot was June of 2009.
Crafton has competed in the series since 2001 and driven for only two owners, Kevin Harvick and current owner Duke Thorson.
He has run all five previous NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events at Darlington with an average finish of 9.4. His best finish – sixth place – came last season.
In 10 full seasons of competition Crafton has never finished outside the top-15 in the series standings.
NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES EWS
3/7/2011
NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES
A Breather Before Bristol
After an exciting start to a season that has included two west coast races, the NASCAR Nationwide Series has a week off to regroup before heading to Bristol.
Despite finishing 11th at Las Vegas – his first finish out of the top five in 2011 – Reed Sorenson continues to lead the driver standings, a position he has held all year. Only 32 points separate Sorenson from 10th-place Joe Nemechek. There’s not a lot of breathing room for Sorenson at the top of the rankings, where second-place Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is just two points behind and third-place Jason Leffler is only five points out.
After three races, the results of the top three drivers in the points standings not only are comparable to one year ago, but highlight the new 1-43 point system and the “pick-a-series” revision brings the results of NASCAR Nationwide Series driver-championship contenders to light:
2010 Top 3 After 3 Races Finishes Avg. Finish (Points Behind Leader)
1. Carl Edwards 2nd/4th/3rd 3.0
2. Brad Keselowski 13th/3rd/4th 6.7 (-41)
3. Brian Vickers 5th/8th/5th 6.0 (-48)
Top 3 After 3 Races Finishes Avg. Finish (Points Behind Leader)
1. Reed Sorenson 5th/5th/11th 7.0
2. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 7th/8th/8th 7.7 (-2)
3. Jason Leffler 11th/6th/9th 8.7 (-5)
Surprising Early-Season Results
The season may only be three races old, but the headlines that have come out of Daytona, Phoenix and Las Vegas have created a storyline logjam. Consider:
· Trevor Bayne, who declared to earn his championship points for Roush Fenway Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, won the Daytona 500.
· Danica Patrick, fourth points, has made history in two of the first three races: The first woman to lead a lap in a NASCAR national series race at Daytona and the highest-finishing female in a NASCAR national series race following her fourth-place at Las Vegas.
· Turner Motorsports is the class of the early-season field with all three of its full-time drivers ranked in the top 10 in driver points (Reed Sorenson, first; Justin Allgaier, fifth; Jason Leffler, ninth). The organization also holds the first two places in the owner standings – the No. 32 Chevrolet is first followed by the No. 30;
· Ricky Stenhouse Jr., nearly out of a ride after three races last year only to rally and win the Sunoco Rookie of the Year title, has top-10 finishes in the first three races and is second in the standings. Kenny Wallace, eight starts shy of 500 for his series career, has two top-10 results in the first three races and is ranked eighth.
· Elliott Sadler, the pre-season media choice to win the driver championship, is 12th in the standings after three races and is seeking his first top-10 finish. He’ll stay race-sharp this week by running in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Darlington.
Up Next: Bristol
The first time its new car will be on a track less than .75-mile in length comes March 19 at Bristol. Last year, Justin Allgaier became a household name after winning his first series race in Thunder Valley among a field of 10 double-duty drivers.
NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES
A Breather Before Bristol
After an exciting start to a season that has included two west coast races, the NASCAR Nationwide Series has a week off to regroup before heading to Bristol.
Despite finishing 11th at Las Vegas – his first finish out of the top five in 2011 – Reed Sorenson continues to lead the driver standings, a position he has held all year. Only 32 points separate Sorenson from 10th-place Joe Nemechek. There’s not a lot of breathing room for Sorenson at the top of the rankings, where second-place Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is just two points behind and third-place Jason Leffler is only five points out.
After three races, the results of the top three drivers in the points standings not only are comparable to one year ago, but highlight the new 1-43 point system and the “pick-a-series” revision brings the results of NASCAR Nationwide Series driver-championship contenders to light:
2010 Top 3 After 3 Races Finishes Avg. Finish (Points Behind Leader)
1. Carl Edwards 2nd/4th/3rd 3.0
2. Brad Keselowski 13th/3rd/4th 6.7 (-41)
3. Brian Vickers 5th/8th/5th 6.0 (-48)
Top 3 After 3 Races Finishes Avg. Finish (Points Behind Leader)
1. Reed Sorenson 5th/5th/11th 7.0
2. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 7th/8th/8th 7.7 (-2)
3. Jason Leffler 11th/6th/9th 8.7 (-5)
Surprising Early-Season Results
The season may only be three races old, but the headlines that have come out of Daytona, Phoenix and Las Vegas have created a storyline logjam. Consider:
· Trevor Bayne, who declared to earn his championship points for Roush Fenway Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, won the Daytona 500.
· Danica Patrick, fourth points, has made history in two of the first three races: The first woman to lead a lap in a NASCAR national series race at Daytona and the highest-finishing female in a NASCAR national series race following her fourth-place at Las Vegas.
· Turner Motorsports is the class of the early-season field with all three of its full-time drivers ranked in the top 10 in driver points (Reed Sorenson, first; Justin Allgaier, fifth; Jason Leffler, ninth). The organization also holds the first two places in the owner standings – the No. 32 Chevrolet is first followed by the No. 30;
· Ricky Stenhouse Jr., nearly out of a ride after three races last year only to rally and win the Sunoco Rookie of the Year title, has top-10 finishes in the first three races and is second in the standings. Kenny Wallace, eight starts shy of 500 for his series career, has two top-10 results in the first three races and is ranked eighth.
· Elliott Sadler, the pre-season media choice to win the driver championship, is 12th in the standings after three races and is seeking his first top-10 finish. He’ll stay race-sharp this week by running in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Darlington.
Up Next: Bristol
The first time its new car will be on a track less than .75-mile in length comes March 19 at Bristol. Last year, Justin Allgaier became a household name after winning his first series race in Thunder Valley among a field of 10 double-duty drivers.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Notebook: Patrick perseveres to first career top five
Notebook: Patrick perseveres to first career top five
By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(March 5, 2011)
LAS VEGAS—There was no reason to expect a top-five finish from Danica Patrick in Saturday’s Sam’s Town 300 Nationwide Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
There was nothing to indicate Patrick would post the best finish for a female driver in one of NASCAR’s top three national series, nothing to suggest she would lose two laps and recover to finish fourth against a top-flight field of Nationwide and Sprint Cup drivers.
But she did.
After inconsistent practice sessions Thursday and Friday, Patrick qualified 22nd Saturday morning, hardly a harbinger for a career-best result.
For much of the race, Patrick struggled to stay on or near the lead lap. Kyle Busch passed her on Lap 47 to put Patrick one lap down. She subsequently took a wave-around but fell two laps down when she was forced to pit under green for fuel on Lap 96.
On three occasions she missed the “lucky dog,” the free pass to the lead lap NASCAR affords to the highest-running lapped car after a caution. Patrick bewailed her bad luck on the radio.
“I know we missed the lucky dog a few times, and I got mad on the radio a little bit,” she said. “I felt like between Phoenix (last week) and here, I missed about six lucky dogs, because I was lucky-dog-plus-one (position).
“It was frustrating. It’s not one position—it’s a whole lap, and that’s a lot. I guess it’s an appropriate name, because you sure as heck feel like a lucky dog when you get it.”
Patrick supplanted Sara Christian, who ran fifth at Pittsburgh in 1949, as the highest-finishing female in NASCAR history.
Patrick, however, is more interested in making her own history.
“I don’t think about trying to achieve the highest-finishing position for a female,” she said. “I think about trying to win the race, and if I make history, then so be it.”
Bumps give Vegas character but give drivers fits
Drivers at Las Vegas are learning to beware of things that go bump in the sunlight.
The 1.5-mile racetrack was repaved before the start of the 2007 season, but the speedway has quickly developed character in the form of pronounced bumps near the transition from Turn 1 to Turn 2.
Carl Edwards, for one, likes the bumps as one of many variables that can make racing at Vegas intense.
“The bumps are a little bit bigger, which I think is good,” Edwards said. “Character in the racetrack is great. I think you’ll see guys—hopefully—being patient with one another enough. I think you will see guys right on the edge and racing really hard. The wind is a factor, too, and if that stays up, it will throw a little more chaos into the mix.”
For the engineers, however, the bumps present a problem. The trick is to find a line over or around them, one that doesn’t disrupt the handling of the racecar.
“The bumps in Turns 1 and 2 have gotten worse,” said Travis Geisler, director of competition for Penske Racing. “Every year they get a little bit bigger, and the affect is greater because we’re trying to control our car’s attitude more. It’s a moving target for us, because nobody has been able to test here for a few years.”
Robby Gordon on probation after incident with Conway
NASCAR placed Sprint Cup driver Robby Gordon on indefinite probation after an “incident” Friday in the Cup garage, the sanctioning body announced Saturday.
The alleged incident was a heated confrontation between Gordon and 2010 Cup rookie of the Kevin Conway, who competed in seven races for Gordon last year after leaving Front Row Motorsports.
The Associated Press reported that Conway filed a misdemeanor battery complaint with the Las Vegas Police Department after the incident, which occurred at approximately 5 p.m. Friday. Conway acknowledged Saturday he had filed the police report but deferred all additional comment to NASCAR and the police department.
Gordon told Foxsports.com Friday night that no punches were thrown during the confrontation.
In December, Gordon filed suit against Extenze, Conway’s sponsor, for $690,000 allegedly not paid to Robby Gordon Motorsports. Conway recently filed suit against Gordon in North Carolina for $27,000, reportedly the unpaid portion of money that was paid to RGM for the rookie-of-the-year award.
Gordon told SceneDaily.com on Saturday he would pay Conway his rookie money when Extenze paid him the funds he says are owed for sponsorship. Extenze disputes Gordon’s claim, alleging Gordon breached his contract with the company by pulling Conway from the car and driving it himself.
Gordon contends he had prior permission from Extenze to do so per a request granted when the No. 7 car Conway was driving was in danger of falling out of the top 35 in owner points.
By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
(March 5, 2011)
LAS VEGAS—There was no reason to expect a top-five finish from Danica Patrick in Saturday’s Sam’s Town 300 Nationwide Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
There was nothing to indicate Patrick would post the best finish for a female driver in one of NASCAR’s top three national series, nothing to suggest she would lose two laps and recover to finish fourth against a top-flight field of Nationwide and Sprint Cup drivers.
But she did.
After inconsistent practice sessions Thursday and Friday, Patrick qualified 22nd Saturday morning, hardly a harbinger for a career-best result.
For much of the race, Patrick struggled to stay on or near the lead lap. Kyle Busch passed her on Lap 47 to put Patrick one lap down. She subsequently took a wave-around but fell two laps down when she was forced to pit under green for fuel on Lap 96.
On three occasions she missed the “lucky dog,” the free pass to the lead lap NASCAR affords to the highest-running lapped car after a caution. Patrick bewailed her bad luck on the radio.
“I know we missed the lucky dog a few times, and I got mad on the radio a little bit,” she said. “I felt like between Phoenix (last week) and here, I missed about six lucky dogs, because I was lucky-dog-plus-one (position).
“It was frustrating. It’s not one position—it’s a whole lap, and that’s a lot. I guess it’s an appropriate name, because you sure as heck feel like a lucky dog when you get it.”
Patrick supplanted Sara Christian, who ran fifth at Pittsburgh in 1949, as the highest-finishing female in NASCAR history.
Patrick, however, is more interested in making her own history.
“I don’t think about trying to achieve the highest-finishing position for a female,” she said. “I think about trying to win the race, and if I make history, then so be it.”
Bumps give Vegas character but give drivers fits
Drivers at Las Vegas are learning to beware of things that go bump in the sunlight.
The 1.5-mile racetrack was repaved before the start of the 2007 season, but the speedway has quickly developed character in the form of pronounced bumps near the transition from Turn 1 to Turn 2.
Carl Edwards, for one, likes the bumps as one of many variables that can make racing at Vegas intense.
“The bumps are a little bit bigger, which I think is good,” Edwards said. “Character in the racetrack is great. I think you’ll see guys—hopefully—being patient with one another enough. I think you will see guys right on the edge and racing really hard. The wind is a factor, too, and if that stays up, it will throw a little more chaos into the mix.”
For the engineers, however, the bumps present a problem. The trick is to find a line over or around them, one that doesn’t disrupt the handling of the racecar.
“The bumps in Turns 1 and 2 have gotten worse,” said Travis Geisler, director of competition for Penske Racing. “Every year they get a little bit bigger, and the affect is greater because we’re trying to control our car’s attitude more. It’s a moving target for us, because nobody has been able to test here for a few years.”
Robby Gordon on probation after incident with Conway
NASCAR placed Sprint Cup driver Robby Gordon on indefinite probation after an “incident” Friday in the Cup garage, the sanctioning body announced Saturday.
The alleged incident was a heated confrontation between Gordon and 2010 Cup rookie of the Kevin Conway, who competed in seven races for Gordon last year after leaving Front Row Motorsports.
The Associated Press reported that Conway filed a misdemeanor battery complaint with the Las Vegas Police Department after the incident, which occurred at approximately 5 p.m. Friday. Conway acknowledged Saturday he had filed the police report but deferred all additional comment to NASCAR and the police department.
Gordon told Foxsports.com Friday night that no punches were thrown during the confrontation.
In December, Gordon filed suit against Extenze, Conway’s sponsor, for $690,000 allegedly not paid to Robby Gordon Motorsports. Conway recently filed suit against Gordon in North Carolina for $27,000, reportedly the unpaid portion of money that was paid to RGM for the rookie-of-the-year award.
Gordon told SceneDaily.com on Saturday he would pay Conway his rookie money when Extenze paid him the funds he says are owed for sponsorship. Extenze disputes Gordon’s claim, alleging Gordon breached his contract with the company by pulling Conway from the car and driving it himself.
Gordon contends he had prior permission from Extenze to do so per a request granted when the No. 7 car Conway was driving was in danger of falling out of the top 35 in owner points.
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