"Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500”
MARTINSVILLE, VIRGINIA- Race seven of ten, the Chase is getting closer to the finally, and this short track will be a great test to the drivers ability to keep their cars and their attitudes in one piece. They will race 500 laps on the “Paperclip” they call Martinsville. During practice at Martinsville, both Danica Patrick and Boyfriend Ricky Stenhouse Jr. crashed their primary cars. The RPM famous 43 car will not be on the track for the first time since 2003. The car will be replaced with a commemorative car number 41 for engine builder Maurice Petty. In qualifying, Denny Hamlin (11) was able to take the Pole position ahead of Jimmie Johnson (48). Fireworks happened in the Truck Race on Saturday as Grandson of RCR Ty Dillon (3) decided to spin out Kevin Harvick (14) intentionally. Harvick voiced his distaste for the act, stating that was the reason he was leaving RCR, because the spoon fed kids did not care about the veterans in the sport. Dillon blames Harvick for the spin, claiming he brake checked him. On the other hand, Darrell Wallace Jr. (54) was able to get his first win in the Truck Series. He is only the second black driver to ever take a victory in the sport. Joe Gibbs Racing has three of the top four spots at the start of the race.
In other news this week, during testing at Texas, Points contender Matt Kenseth crashed his race car. Richard Petty Motorsports has more bad news to deal with, as NASCAR has forced one of their drivers to attend sensitivity training due to a tweet that was written. Corey Lajoie posted a comment, “TSA should do cavity searches on any man wearing a turban”
During the pre-race ceremonies, Mike Hatfield provided the Invocation. North Carolina University Marching Band played the National Anthem. Five CJ-6A’s Affordable Warbirds flew over the track in a V formation. The Grand Marshall for the race was Junior Johnson (winner of 50 races). The In-Race Reporter was Clint Bowyer (15).
On lap 7, Jeff Burton (31) was spun out by Carl Edwards (99). Dave Blaney (7) also received damage, dropping oil and headed to the garage. Travis Kvapil (93) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (17) as well had damages to them. The early laps were led by Hamlin, with Johnson taking the lead before the caution flew. A second caution happened when Edwards ran over Kvapil and spun him out.
Another caution came out on lap 140, when David Reutimann (83) pulled down in front of Bobby Labonte (47) and was not clear, so it spun him out.
On lap 170, Kyle Larson (51) had an engine failure that sent him spinning around. He did not hit anything, but his day was shortened. Everyone made stops except Burton, as he stayed out to take the lead.
During the restart, the fifth caution came out for a multi-car incident. Kasey Kahne (5), Denny Hamlin (11), Martin Truex Jr. (56), Aric Almirola (41), Ken Schrader (32) and Travis Kvapil (93) all received damage from the pile-up that was started back in sixteenth spot.
Caution number six flew on lap 204, for Kurt Busch (78) and Mark Martin (14) getting in a wreck. Busch was trying to get under and pass Jamie McMurray (1) who was falling back on the outside. The rear of Busch’s car got loose and he spun around, right in front of Mark Martin who ran into his ran. Only the top nine cars stayed on track, while the rest of the lead lap cars made stops under the caution.
Travis Kvapil spun out again near lap 220, bringing out the seventh caution. Kurt Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) were the only two cars that made a stop under this caution.
On lap 228, Truex Jr. struck the curb and slid up into Reutimann, causing Reutimann to spin out in front of the field. Earnhardt Jr. received damage to his front end, as he tried to get past the spinning car ahead of him.
At the midway part of the race, the top ten were: Bowyer (15), Burton (31), Gordon (24), Newman (39), Kenseth (20), Harvick (29), Lagono (20), Earnhardt Jr. (88), Hamlin (11) and Kyle Busch (18).
On lap 284, Reed Sorenson (95) stalled on the track to bring out the ninth caution. The way that Sorenson stopped on track when all tires were up could make it a little suspicious. The tenth caution came out on lap 297, when a piece of debris flew off the front of Earnhardt’s car. Truex Jr. also had a piece of someone’s car stuck on his hood. Twenty-six cars are on the lead lap at this point in the race, as Edwards just received the lucky dog.
On lap 309, Landon Cassill (40) was spun out by Kahne. Tempers are starting to show up more, and drivers not giving one another a little room, as in the beginning is really able to be seen more now. Ryan Newman (39) brought out the next caution on lap 318, when he tried moving over into a spot that already had a car, as he clipped his front end and spun. Kevin Harvick (29) was the car in the spot Newman tried to take. This was caution number twelve.
During the restart laps, Juan Montoya (42) ran hard into the corner, making it three wide and shoving Marcus Ambrose (9) up and into Truex Jr., causing Truex to spin out for the thirteenth caution. Caution fourteen was for debris on the front-stretch on lap 337. A Ford grill was laying on the track.
On lap 353, Danica Patrick (10) was running in tenth spot, having another great race. The all-time record for cautions in a race is twenty-one.
On lap 364, the fifteenth caution flew for Cole Whitt (30) spinning out, after having a tire blow out. Everyone except Elliott Sadler (55) made pit stops at this caution.
On lap 380, JJ Yeley (36) was spun out by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (17). There was plenty of contact between Yeley and Stenhouse Jr. before the car driven by Yeley was finally spun out. Greg Biffle (16) was intentionally trying to wreck Jimmie Johnson just before the caution flew for Yeley. Biffle was forced to make a pit stop to get the rear panel removed from his car, due to it flapping in the wind for numerous laps.
Another debris caution for crap out of the running lane was thrown on lap 415. There have been seventeen caution for 111 laps up to this point, with only four more needed for the record to be tied. Only four cars are out of the race due to engine issues.
With just twenty laps to go, Jeff Gordon (24) took the lead from Matt Kenseth, who led the most laps on the day with nearly 200 led.
Gordon was able to keep his car out front for the remainder of the race, to beat Kenseth for his eighth victory at Martinsville, and his eighty-eighth of his career.
The rest of the top ten were: Clint Bowyer (15), Brad Keselowski (2), Jimmie Johnson (48), Kevin Harvick (29), Denny Hamlin (11), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88), Greg Biffle (16) and Jamie McMurray (1). Danica Patrick finished in seventeenth spot.
Points now: Kenseth and Johnson are tied for the lead, Gordon (24) (-27), Harvick (29) (28), Busch (18) (-36), Bowyer (15) (-55), Earnhardt Jr. (88) (-56), Biffle (16) (-58), Busch (78) (-75), Edwards (99) (-76), Lagono (22) (-85), Newman (39) (- 106) and Kahne (5) (-124).
CHEVY won the Manufacturers Championship for the season with Gordon’s Win.
The next race will be on Saturday for the Nationwide Series at Texas on ESPN2 at 3:30 PM EST.
The next Cup race is at Texas on Sunday at 2 PM on ESPN.
Monday, October 28, 2013
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Talladega Wildcard
“Camping World RV Sales 500”
TALLADEGA, ALABAMA- As the “Biggest” wildcard of the Chase, the drivers showed up at the 2.66 mile Superspeedway to race 188 laps. Due to qualifying getting rained out, the field was set by Friday’s practice speeds. Aric Almirola (43) took the pole position ahead of Jeff Burton (31). Austin Dillon (14) replaced Tony Stewart for this race. In other racing news this week, Kevin Harvick was signed up by JR. Motorsports to drive in next year’s NNS for twelve races. Brian Vickers unfortunately did not have as good of news, as his Dr.’s found another blood clot in his leg. He will not drive anymore races this season in either series, just like in 2010, when he was sidelined for similar issues and heart surgery that he went through. Elliott Sadler will replace him for the remainder of 2013 in the Cup Series. A replacement driver for the NNS has not yet been set. Michael Waltrip Racing had a few things that came up this week with Vickers, and they’ve decided to shut down the 56 team all together for next season, releasing Martin Truex Jr. (56). Richard Petty Motorsports was in the news as well, when Crew Chief Todd Parrott failed the NASCAR Drug Testing. NASCAR has indefinitely suspended Parrott until he completes the “Road to Recovery Treatment Program” they have implemented for all employees.
In Opening Ceremonies, Chaplain Ken Farley provided the Invocation. Taylor Hicks, an American Idol winner, sang the National Anthem. Marcus Lemonis was the Grand Marshall, and Matt Kenseth (20) was the In-Race Reporter.
It took very little time for the first caution to come out, as Tony Raines (40) had an engine failure on lap 3. Many of the drivers chose this as the time to make a pit stop, and restart at the rear of the field, where they believe it is safer to run at the beginning of the race. Commentator/Ex-driver Dale Jarrett made a comment that was heard by many as a shot at a great driver of the past. He stated over the air, that “You never wanted to make a deal with Dale Earnhardt Sr., because he never kept them.”
During green flag pit stops near lap 42, Kyle Busch (18) missed his pit box and had to make a second trip onto pit road. The biggest issue this brought up, he lost the draft. His verbal response to missing his pit box was extreme, as every other word was swearing and he carried on for a very long rant. It would be surprising that NASCAR would not penalize him for “Actions detrimental to the sport”. It was very clear that he was mad at his own mistake, but he tried blaming anyone and everyone he could come up with. He fell to 42nd place, well away from the group. Brad Keselowski (2) and Bobby Labonte (47) were both penalized for speeding on pit road, and also fell well back of the pack. Both Keselowski and Labonte would fall a lap down to the lead pack on lap 62, and Busch fell a lap down on lap 67.
On lap 80, the second caution came out for Marcus Ambrose (9) and Juan Montoya (42) getting together. Ambrose was running high on the track, and as he came out of turn two, the rear of his car broke loose. He crossed the track and T-boned Montoya.
During the next green flag run, Kasey Kahne (5) lost the lead group and fell a long way back. Then when there were green flag stops on lap 125, Kahne was tagged for speeding on pit road. He fell two laps down at this point.
On lap 142, Denny Hamlin’s (11) day came to an end, with an engine failure. He was able to get off track before a caution would be required. Just about the same time, Kyle Busch was running his mouth about Brad Keselowski running so close to him. He made the claim that if Keselowski was stupid enough to retaliate against Busch, then he would have the majority of the garage pissed at him for wrecking their cars. Shortly there-after, Busch came very close to wrecking Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (17), when he tagged his rear corner of his race car in front of the majority of the field.
One big notable of the race, was that Danica Patrick (10) was clearly a top runner in the race, as she stayed in the top ten for a big part of the day. Near lap 158, the final round of pit stops began. Danica was entering pit road way too fast, running through the grass and missing her pit box. Her great day of racing went out the window, as she was penalized for speeding on pit road and she needed to make another stop on pit road for service. She finished the day in the thirties after being in the top ten most of the race.
On the final lap of the race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) was poised to make a final lap pass for the win, when NASCAR threw the yellow flag when the leaders were on the backstretch. This went against everything NASCAR has stated in the past about letting the driver’s race back to the checkered if a yellow came out on the white flag lap. This took the victory away from Jr. and gave it to the leader of the race at that point, Jamie McMurray (1). The caution was thrown for Austin Dillon (14), being spun out by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (17) on the backstretch. Dillon was running third when he was spun. His car went airborne and as he came down, he was run into by Casey Mears (13).
The rest of the top ten were: Stenhouse Jr. (17), Paul Menard (27), Kyle Busch (18), David Regan (34), David Gilliland (38), Martin Truex Jr. (56), Ryan Newman (39) and Clint Bowyer (15). Jimmie Johnson led the most laps with 47 led. There were a total of 52 lead changes among 20 drivers.
The point standings are: Johnson (48), Kenseth (20) (-4), Harvick (29) and Busch (18) (-26), Gordon (24) (-34), Earnhardt Jr. (88) (-52), Biffle (16) (-53), Bowyer (15) (-57), Kurt Busch (78) (-61), Edwards (99) (-68), Newman (39) (-72), Lagono (22) (-75) and Kahne (5) (-101).
The next race is at Martinsville on Sunday at 1 PM EST on ESPN.
TALLADEGA, ALABAMA- As the “Biggest” wildcard of the Chase, the drivers showed up at the 2.66 mile Superspeedway to race 188 laps. Due to qualifying getting rained out, the field was set by Friday’s practice speeds. Aric Almirola (43) took the pole position ahead of Jeff Burton (31). Austin Dillon (14) replaced Tony Stewart for this race. In other racing news this week, Kevin Harvick was signed up by JR. Motorsports to drive in next year’s NNS for twelve races. Brian Vickers unfortunately did not have as good of news, as his Dr.’s found another blood clot in his leg. He will not drive anymore races this season in either series, just like in 2010, when he was sidelined for similar issues and heart surgery that he went through. Elliott Sadler will replace him for the remainder of 2013 in the Cup Series. A replacement driver for the NNS has not yet been set. Michael Waltrip Racing had a few things that came up this week with Vickers, and they’ve decided to shut down the 56 team all together for next season, releasing Martin Truex Jr. (56). Richard Petty Motorsports was in the news as well, when Crew Chief Todd Parrott failed the NASCAR Drug Testing. NASCAR has indefinitely suspended Parrott until he completes the “Road to Recovery Treatment Program” they have implemented for all employees.
In Opening Ceremonies, Chaplain Ken Farley provided the Invocation. Taylor Hicks, an American Idol winner, sang the National Anthem. Marcus Lemonis was the Grand Marshall, and Matt Kenseth (20) was the In-Race Reporter.
It took very little time for the first caution to come out, as Tony Raines (40) had an engine failure on lap 3. Many of the drivers chose this as the time to make a pit stop, and restart at the rear of the field, where they believe it is safer to run at the beginning of the race. Commentator/Ex-driver Dale Jarrett made a comment that was heard by many as a shot at a great driver of the past. He stated over the air, that “You never wanted to make a deal with Dale Earnhardt Sr., because he never kept them.”
During green flag pit stops near lap 42, Kyle Busch (18) missed his pit box and had to make a second trip onto pit road. The biggest issue this brought up, he lost the draft. His verbal response to missing his pit box was extreme, as every other word was swearing and he carried on for a very long rant. It would be surprising that NASCAR would not penalize him for “Actions detrimental to the sport”. It was very clear that he was mad at his own mistake, but he tried blaming anyone and everyone he could come up with. He fell to 42nd place, well away from the group. Brad Keselowski (2) and Bobby Labonte (47) were both penalized for speeding on pit road, and also fell well back of the pack. Both Keselowski and Labonte would fall a lap down to the lead pack on lap 62, and Busch fell a lap down on lap 67.
On lap 80, the second caution came out for Marcus Ambrose (9) and Juan Montoya (42) getting together. Ambrose was running high on the track, and as he came out of turn two, the rear of his car broke loose. He crossed the track and T-boned Montoya.
During the next green flag run, Kasey Kahne (5) lost the lead group and fell a long way back. Then when there were green flag stops on lap 125, Kahne was tagged for speeding on pit road. He fell two laps down at this point.
On lap 142, Denny Hamlin’s (11) day came to an end, with an engine failure. He was able to get off track before a caution would be required. Just about the same time, Kyle Busch was running his mouth about Brad Keselowski running so close to him. He made the claim that if Keselowski was stupid enough to retaliate against Busch, then he would have the majority of the garage pissed at him for wrecking their cars. Shortly there-after, Busch came very close to wrecking Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (17), when he tagged his rear corner of his race car in front of the majority of the field.
One big notable of the race, was that Danica Patrick (10) was clearly a top runner in the race, as she stayed in the top ten for a big part of the day. Near lap 158, the final round of pit stops began. Danica was entering pit road way too fast, running through the grass and missing her pit box. Her great day of racing went out the window, as she was penalized for speeding on pit road and she needed to make another stop on pit road for service. She finished the day in the thirties after being in the top ten most of the race.
On the final lap of the race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) was poised to make a final lap pass for the win, when NASCAR threw the yellow flag when the leaders were on the backstretch. This went against everything NASCAR has stated in the past about letting the driver’s race back to the checkered if a yellow came out on the white flag lap. This took the victory away from Jr. and gave it to the leader of the race at that point, Jamie McMurray (1). The caution was thrown for Austin Dillon (14), being spun out by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (17) on the backstretch. Dillon was running third when he was spun. His car went airborne and as he came down, he was run into by Casey Mears (13).
The rest of the top ten were: Stenhouse Jr. (17), Paul Menard (27), Kyle Busch (18), David Regan (34), David Gilliland (38), Martin Truex Jr. (56), Ryan Newman (39) and Clint Bowyer (15). Jimmie Johnson led the most laps with 47 led. There were a total of 52 lead changes among 20 drivers.
The point standings are: Johnson (48), Kenseth (20) (-4), Harvick (29) and Busch (18) (-26), Gordon (24) (-34), Earnhardt Jr. (88) (-52), Biffle (16) (-53), Bowyer (15) (-57), Kurt Busch (78) (-61), Edwards (99) (-68), Newman (39) (-72), Lagono (22) (-75) and Kahne (5) (-101).
The next race is at Martinsville on Sunday at 1 PM EST on ESPN.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Kansas - Charlotte Recap
“KANSAS”
KANSAS- The Nationwide Series entered October with a race in the Midwest. Austin Dillon (3) was able to take another Pole Position for the last race of the year in Kansas. Justin Allgaier (31) started beside Dillon on the front row. During this past week, Nelson Piquet Jr. (30) was fined $10,000 and is being forced to attend sensitivity training for a anti-gay slur that he posted on Instagram. Another driver that had some issues after Dover was Joey Lagono (22) who was docket 6 points for his car failing post-race inspection. The front of his race car was found to be too low.
During the race, there were eleven cautions that occurred on laps (4, 27, 38, 45, 53, 91, 118, 123, 133, 146 and 189). Regan Smith (7) led the most laps (87).
During the race, Kyle Busch (54) intentionally wrecked Brad Keselowski (22), causing Keselowski to spin and hit the wall hard. The damage to his car sent him off track for several laps to get repairs. With this intentional wrecking, Busch closed up the 34 point gap in the Owners Championship. During the multiple replays of this incident, it was very clear that Busch never let off the throttle, nor did he attempt to steer away from Keselowski while wrecking him. With a poor finish by the 22 team, the 54 team was able to close the gap to single digits. The excuse used by Busch for this intentional wreck was as follows: “He wrecked me at Walkins Glen last year”. Busch was parked for a race two years ago by NASCAR for intentionally wrecking Ron Hornaday in a truck race, during a caution. This is not uncommon for this driver, but the fact that NASCAR allowed this, is very troubling. After all was said and done, Busch made another statement that was clearly a “LIE”. He told reporters, “I have yet to wreck a person on purpose”.
Matt Kenseth (20) was not the dominant car in the race, but was able to pull off the win over Paul Menard (33).
The rest of the top ten were: Regan Smith (7), Kyle Busch (54), Justin Allgaier (31), Brian Vickers (20), Austin Dillon (3), Parker Kligerman (77), Brad Sweet (5), Trevor Bayne (6) and Elliott Sadler (11).
The Championship Points Leader changed hands in this race, as Austin Dillon (3) took over the lead by Eight points, over Sam Hornish Jr. (12).
The rest of the top ten are: Regan Smith (7) (-35), Elliott Sadler (11) (-43), Justin Allgaier (31) (-65), Brian Vickers (20) (-67), Trevor Bayne (6) (-85), Kyle Larsen (32) (-146) and Parker Kligerman (77) (-166).
The next race will be at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday night at 7 PM EST, on ESPN.
“Hollywood Casino 400”
KANSAS- The Sprint Cup Series showed up in Kansas for round number four of the Championship Chase. Kevin Harvick (29) was able to take the Pole over Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (17). During the week, Penske resigned Brad Keselowski (2) and Miller to another contract extending their partnership through the 2017 season.
There was a record 15 cautions for 71 laps throughout the race, on laps (2, 43, 88, 119, 137, 148, 156, 171, 181, 188, 197, 201, 229 and 244). Four of these cautions happened on restarts. One of the cautions was even for a grass fire in turn one. The caution on lap 137 was for Ryan Newman (39) and Justin Allgaier getting into a wreck. The caution on lap 201 was Kyle Busch (18) and Carl Edwards (99) getting together.
Busch wrecked his car in the first practice on the very first lap. During the weekend, Busch wrecked three times. The final wreck hurt his chances for any Title hopes, as he fell nearly a race behind in points. Brother
Kurt Busch (78) did not have a much better weekend, as he wrecked his primary car in practice as well.
Kevin Harvick (29) was a dominant car in the race, as he led 138 laps. This was the most by all drivers. He was able to beat Kurt Busch for his third win of the season and his first win of the Chase.
The rest of the top ten were: Jeff Gordon (24), Joey Lagono (22), Carl Edwards (99), Jimmie Johnson (48), Paul Menard (27), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88), Marcus Ambrose (9) and Aric Almirola (43).
The points standings did not change much, but Matt Kenseth (20) is still the leader over Jimmie Johnson (48) (-3), Kevin Harvick (29) (-25), Jeff Gordon (24) (-32), Kyle Busch (18) (-35), Greg Biffle (16) (-44), Kurt Busch (78) (-47), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) (-54), Clint Bowyer (15) (-55), Joey Lagono (22) (-59), Carl Edwards (99) (-60), Ryan Newman (39) (-73) and Kasey Kahne (5) (-83).
The next race will be at Charlotte on Saturday night at 7 PM EST on ABC, for the Bank of America 500.
“Dollar General 300”
CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA- The Nationwide Series showed up in Charlotte ready to put on a show, and provide lots of PINK to promote Breast Cancer Awareness. The race was scheduled for 200 laps, 300 miles. Four cup drivers attended this race in the NNS, Kyle Busch (54), Joey Lagono (22), Matt Kenseth (20) and Kevin Harvick (33) ran double duty on the weekend. Kyle Busch was able to take the Pole over Joey Lagono.
In Opening Ceremonies, Nik Wallenda provided the Invocation, Shannon Magrane sang the National Anthem. The Grand Marshall was the Senior Vice President of Dollar General Rhonda Taylor. Trevor Bayne (6) was the In-race reporter.
The first caution came out on lap 53, when Reed Sorenson (95) and Eric McClure (14) got together. Brian Vickers (20) tried to avoid the sliding cars in front of him, and ran into the rear of his teammate Elliott Sadler (11), who was exiting pit road. Three of the four cars involved in this incident had “PINK” paint schemes.
On lap 65, Elliott Sadler (11) brought out the second caution when he lost the rear of his car and crashed again. He already had a majority of the rear of the car missing, so he did not have any downforce left in the back of the car.
On lap 88, Jamie Dick (55) crashed his car for the third caution of the race.
On lap 113, the fourth caution came out for Eric McClure (14) wrecking, by backing into the outside wall.
The fifth and final caution came out on lap 156 for Jeffrey Earnhardt (79).
Kyle Busch (54) was able to beat a charging Austin Dillon (3) for the victory. The rest of the top ten were: Sam Hornish Jr. (12), Kevin Harvick (33), Matt Kenseth (18), Justin Allgaier (31), Joey Lagono (22), Trevor Bayne (6), Parker Kligerman (77) and Michael Annett (43). Hornish Jr. led the most laps of the race with 76.
The Championship Points standing are as follows: Austin Dillon (3), Sam Hornish Jr. (12) (-8), Regan Smith (7) (-52), Justin Allgaier (31) (-70), Elliott Sadler (11) (-78), Trevor Bayne (6) (-91), Brian Scott (2) (-93), Brian Vickers (20) (-97), Kyle Larsen (-157) and Parker Kligerman (77) (-174).
The Owners Championship lead changed teams as the 54 team now has a 4 point lead over the 22 team after NASCAR failed to penalize the 54 team for the intentional wrecking of the 22 team in Kansas. This was and is a huge failure by NASCAR allowing that to happen, then allowing the points to be swung from the 22 team having a 34 point lead, to now being 4 points behind.
The next race will be at Texas on November 2nd, ESPN at PM EST.
“Bank of America 500”
CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA – The Sprint Cup Series season is getting closer to the finally in Homestead. Jeff Gordon (24) was able to run a fast lap, to take the Pole for this race ahead of last week’s winner Kevin Harvick (29). Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) will start his 500th race at Charlotte, making his career one to remember for sure. He also celebrated his 39th Birthday this past week. During the Opening Ceremonies, Jim Daley provided the Invocation, Francessca Battisteli sang the National Anthem while Team Aerodynamics flew over the track in a v formation. Military members, Calvin James and Carl Boon were the Grand Marshall’s. Kurt Busch (78) was the In-Race Reporter. Some activities before the race included, family members Nik and Lijana Wallenda walking a 500 foot tight-rope across the track. They started on opposite ends, and met in the middle, where they passed one another by Nik stepping over the top of a squatting Lijana to complete the walk to opposite ends that they began at. Two first time starters will begin this race. Kyle Larsen (51) and Brian Scott (33) will have their hands full in the 500 mile race for their very first Sprint Cup Race. 334 laps will make up the 500 mile distance. In other news this week, driver Travis Kvapil (93) was arrested and charged with an assault and false imprisonment. He has stated that he is embarrassed for this, but was allowed to race.
The first caution flew on lap 25, when JJ Yeley (36) slapped the wall. During the stops, Kyle Busch (18) began to leave his pit box and the front tire changer had already started removing lug nuts from the tire. He ran around the track and back onto pit road to have the lugs re-tightened. He fell from 6th to 35th at the restart.
On lap 62, Mark Martin (14) was down a cylinder on the engine. This is one of the Hendrick Engines and the engine in Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) car has already had temps reach 260, due to a piece of paper. Near lap 75, green flag stops began for all the leaders. At this point, the four Hendrick cars have all led laps.
On lap 84, the engine blew on Martin’s car, bringing out the second caution. During the stops, Brad Keselowski (2) left his pit box dragging the jack. He had to return to his pit stall to get it out from under the car. Joey Lagono (22) had to return to the pit road, for missing lug nuts. Unfortunately, both Penske cars had issues at the same time.
At the restart on lap 91, all four Hendrick cars were in the top four positions. On lap 127, another round of green flag stops began with Denny Hamlin (11) being the first to stop.
At the halfway point in the race, the top ten were: Kahne, Johnson, Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Gordon, Edwards, Busch, Newman, Kenseth, and Hamlin.
On lap 173, a caution flew and brought all the leaders to pit road. Kasey Kahne stayed the leader, as he was the dominant car in the first half with ease.
On lap 224, Kevin Harvick (29) began a round of green flag stops by the lead lap cars. Only 15 cars left on the lead lap after all the stops were made, with first time Cup driver Kyle Larsen being the first car one lap down in 16 spot. Johnson and Kahne have been the two fastest cars, with Gordon and Earnhardt Jr. both falling back, almost out of the top ten. On lap 253 or so, Kyle Larsen lost an engine, the second Hendrick engine to fail in this race. For his very first race in Cup, Larsen was driving a great race and will definitely be a contender in years to come. Near lap 300, Kyle Busch began complaining that he had troubles with his race car. He stated that the engine was starting to lay over (fail). The exact reason for him claiming this was never discovered, as he did not lose any speed throughout the rest of the race.
The race ran green most of the night, with the final caution coming out for unseen debris on lap 304. Most of the leaders only took a splash of fuel and two tires, while a handful took four tires. The race appeared to be well in the hands of a Hendrick driver, but the difference in tires took the win away from the team, as Brad Keselowski (2) was able to outrun the Hendrick cars for the victory over Kasey Kahne (5). This was the first time since Charlotte in 2010, when Jamie McMurray won, that a non-Chase driver won a race in the Chase. This was Keselowski’s tenth Cup Win of his career.
After the race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. spoke to the media, stating he did not understand what happened to his car. He was strong in the first half, then, the car changed severely. His crew Chief Letarte also made errors in judgment that hurt his chances at a victory at Charlotte. Four Chase drivers finished outside the top ten. (Biffle, Earnhardt Jr., Bowyer and Busch)
The rest of the top ten were: Matt Kenseth (20), Jimmie Johnson (48), Kyle Busch (18), Kevin Harvick (29), Jeff Gordon (24), Ryan Newman (39), Denny Hamlin (11) and Carl Edwards (99). Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) finished P15, Danica Patrick (10) finished P20. Kasey Kahne (5) led the most laps in the race with 138.
The points did not change much with this race, as the leaders all finished in the top ten spots over all. There are still four drivers within one race of the leader in points. They are: Johnson (48) (-4), Harvick (29) (-29), Gordon (24) (-36) and Busch (18) (-37)
The next race will be at Talladega next Sunday at 1 PM EST on ESPN
KANSAS- The Nationwide Series entered October with a race in the Midwest. Austin Dillon (3) was able to take another Pole Position for the last race of the year in Kansas. Justin Allgaier (31) started beside Dillon on the front row. During this past week, Nelson Piquet Jr. (30) was fined $10,000 and is being forced to attend sensitivity training for a anti-gay slur that he posted on Instagram. Another driver that had some issues after Dover was Joey Lagono (22) who was docket 6 points for his car failing post-race inspection. The front of his race car was found to be too low.
During the race, there were eleven cautions that occurred on laps (4, 27, 38, 45, 53, 91, 118, 123, 133, 146 and 189). Regan Smith (7) led the most laps (87).
During the race, Kyle Busch (54) intentionally wrecked Brad Keselowski (22), causing Keselowski to spin and hit the wall hard. The damage to his car sent him off track for several laps to get repairs. With this intentional wrecking, Busch closed up the 34 point gap in the Owners Championship. During the multiple replays of this incident, it was very clear that Busch never let off the throttle, nor did he attempt to steer away from Keselowski while wrecking him. With a poor finish by the 22 team, the 54 team was able to close the gap to single digits. The excuse used by Busch for this intentional wreck was as follows: “He wrecked me at Walkins Glen last year”. Busch was parked for a race two years ago by NASCAR for intentionally wrecking Ron Hornaday in a truck race, during a caution. This is not uncommon for this driver, but the fact that NASCAR allowed this, is very troubling. After all was said and done, Busch made another statement that was clearly a “LIE”. He told reporters, “I have yet to wreck a person on purpose”.
Matt Kenseth (20) was not the dominant car in the race, but was able to pull off the win over Paul Menard (33).
The rest of the top ten were: Regan Smith (7), Kyle Busch (54), Justin Allgaier (31), Brian Vickers (20), Austin Dillon (3), Parker Kligerman (77), Brad Sweet (5), Trevor Bayne (6) and Elliott Sadler (11).
The Championship Points Leader changed hands in this race, as Austin Dillon (3) took over the lead by Eight points, over Sam Hornish Jr. (12).
The rest of the top ten are: Regan Smith (7) (-35), Elliott Sadler (11) (-43), Justin Allgaier (31) (-65), Brian Vickers (20) (-67), Trevor Bayne (6) (-85), Kyle Larsen (32) (-146) and Parker Kligerman (77) (-166).
The next race will be at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Friday night at 7 PM EST, on ESPN.
“Hollywood Casino 400”
KANSAS- The Sprint Cup Series showed up in Kansas for round number four of the Championship Chase. Kevin Harvick (29) was able to take the Pole over Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (17). During the week, Penske resigned Brad Keselowski (2) and Miller to another contract extending their partnership through the 2017 season.
There was a record 15 cautions for 71 laps throughout the race, on laps (2, 43, 88, 119, 137, 148, 156, 171, 181, 188, 197, 201, 229 and 244). Four of these cautions happened on restarts. One of the cautions was even for a grass fire in turn one. The caution on lap 137 was for Ryan Newman (39) and Justin Allgaier getting into a wreck. The caution on lap 201 was Kyle Busch (18) and Carl Edwards (99) getting together.
Busch wrecked his car in the first practice on the very first lap. During the weekend, Busch wrecked three times. The final wreck hurt his chances for any Title hopes, as he fell nearly a race behind in points. Brother
Kurt Busch (78) did not have a much better weekend, as he wrecked his primary car in practice as well.
Kevin Harvick (29) was a dominant car in the race, as he led 138 laps. This was the most by all drivers. He was able to beat Kurt Busch for his third win of the season and his first win of the Chase.
The rest of the top ten were: Jeff Gordon (24), Joey Lagono (22), Carl Edwards (99), Jimmie Johnson (48), Paul Menard (27), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88), Marcus Ambrose (9) and Aric Almirola (43).
The points standings did not change much, but Matt Kenseth (20) is still the leader over Jimmie Johnson (48) (-3), Kevin Harvick (29) (-25), Jeff Gordon (24) (-32), Kyle Busch (18) (-35), Greg Biffle (16) (-44), Kurt Busch (78) (-47), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) (-54), Clint Bowyer (15) (-55), Joey Lagono (22) (-59), Carl Edwards (99) (-60), Ryan Newman (39) (-73) and Kasey Kahne (5) (-83).
The next race will be at Charlotte on Saturday night at 7 PM EST on ABC, for the Bank of America 500.
“Dollar General 300”
CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA- The Nationwide Series showed up in Charlotte ready to put on a show, and provide lots of PINK to promote Breast Cancer Awareness. The race was scheduled for 200 laps, 300 miles. Four cup drivers attended this race in the NNS, Kyle Busch (54), Joey Lagono (22), Matt Kenseth (20) and Kevin Harvick (33) ran double duty on the weekend. Kyle Busch was able to take the Pole over Joey Lagono.
In Opening Ceremonies, Nik Wallenda provided the Invocation, Shannon Magrane sang the National Anthem. The Grand Marshall was the Senior Vice President of Dollar General Rhonda Taylor. Trevor Bayne (6) was the In-race reporter.
The first caution came out on lap 53, when Reed Sorenson (95) and Eric McClure (14) got together. Brian Vickers (20) tried to avoid the sliding cars in front of him, and ran into the rear of his teammate Elliott Sadler (11), who was exiting pit road. Three of the four cars involved in this incident had “PINK” paint schemes.
On lap 65, Elliott Sadler (11) brought out the second caution when he lost the rear of his car and crashed again. He already had a majority of the rear of the car missing, so he did not have any downforce left in the back of the car.
On lap 88, Jamie Dick (55) crashed his car for the third caution of the race.
On lap 113, the fourth caution came out for Eric McClure (14) wrecking, by backing into the outside wall.
The fifth and final caution came out on lap 156 for Jeffrey Earnhardt (79).
Kyle Busch (54) was able to beat a charging Austin Dillon (3) for the victory. The rest of the top ten were: Sam Hornish Jr. (12), Kevin Harvick (33), Matt Kenseth (18), Justin Allgaier (31), Joey Lagono (22), Trevor Bayne (6), Parker Kligerman (77) and Michael Annett (43). Hornish Jr. led the most laps of the race with 76.
The Championship Points standing are as follows: Austin Dillon (3), Sam Hornish Jr. (12) (-8), Regan Smith (7) (-52), Justin Allgaier (31) (-70), Elliott Sadler (11) (-78), Trevor Bayne (6) (-91), Brian Scott (2) (-93), Brian Vickers (20) (-97), Kyle Larsen (-157) and Parker Kligerman (77) (-174).
The Owners Championship lead changed teams as the 54 team now has a 4 point lead over the 22 team after NASCAR failed to penalize the 54 team for the intentional wrecking of the 22 team in Kansas. This was and is a huge failure by NASCAR allowing that to happen, then allowing the points to be swung from the 22 team having a 34 point lead, to now being 4 points behind.
The next race will be at Texas on November 2nd, ESPN at PM EST.
“Bank of America 500”
CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA – The Sprint Cup Series season is getting closer to the finally in Homestead. Jeff Gordon (24) was able to run a fast lap, to take the Pole for this race ahead of last week’s winner Kevin Harvick (29). Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) will start his 500th race at Charlotte, making his career one to remember for sure. He also celebrated his 39th Birthday this past week. During the Opening Ceremonies, Jim Daley provided the Invocation, Francessca Battisteli sang the National Anthem while Team Aerodynamics flew over the track in a v formation. Military members, Calvin James and Carl Boon were the Grand Marshall’s. Kurt Busch (78) was the In-Race Reporter. Some activities before the race included, family members Nik and Lijana Wallenda walking a 500 foot tight-rope across the track. They started on opposite ends, and met in the middle, where they passed one another by Nik stepping over the top of a squatting Lijana to complete the walk to opposite ends that they began at. Two first time starters will begin this race. Kyle Larsen (51) and Brian Scott (33) will have their hands full in the 500 mile race for their very first Sprint Cup Race. 334 laps will make up the 500 mile distance. In other news this week, driver Travis Kvapil (93) was arrested and charged with an assault and false imprisonment. He has stated that he is embarrassed for this, but was allowed to race.
The first caution flew on lap 25, when JJ Yeley (36) slapped the wall. During the stops, Kyle Busch (18) began to leave his pit box and the front tire changer had already started removing lug nuts from the tire. He ran around the track and back onto pit road to have the lugs re-tightened. He fell from 6th to 35th at the restart.
On lap 62, Mark Martin (14) was down a cylinder on the engine. This is one of the Hendrick Engines and the engine in Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) car has already had temps reach 260, due to a piece of paper. Near lap 75, green flag stops began for all the leaders. At this point, the four Hendrick cars have all led laps.
On lap 84, the engine blew on Martin’s car, bringing out the second caution. During the stops, Brad Keselowski (2) left his pit box dragging the jack. He had to return to his pit stall to get it out from under the car. Joey Lagono (22) had to return to the pit road, for missing lug nuts. Unfortunately, both Penske cars had issues at the same time.
At the restart on lap 91, all four Hendrick cars were in the top four positions. On lap 127, another round of green flag stops began with Denny Hamlin (11) being the first to stop.
At the halfway point in the race, the top ten were: Kahne, Johnson, Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Gordon, Edwards, Busch, Newman, Kenseth, and Hamlin.
On lap 173, a caution flew and brought all the leaders to pit road. Kasey Kahne stayed the leader, as he was the dominant car in the first half with ease.
On lap 224, Kevin Harvick (29) began a round of green flag stops by the lead lap cars. Only 15 cars left on the lead lap after all the stops were made, with first time Cup driver Kyle Larsen being the first car one lap down in 16 spot. Johnson and Kahne have been the two fastest cars, with Gordon and Earnhardt Jr. both falling back, almost out of the top ten. On lap 253 or so, Kyle Larsen lost an engine, the second Hendrick engine to fail in this race. For his very first race in Cup, Larsen was driving a great race and will definitely be a contender in years to come. Near lap 300, Kyle Busch began complaining that he had troubles with his race car. He stated that the engine was starting to lay over (fail). The exact reason for him claiming this was never discovered, as he did not lose any speed throughout the rest of the race.
The race ran green most of the night, with the final caution coming out for unseen debris on lap 304. Most of the leaders only took a splash of fuel and two tires, while a handful took four tires. The race appeared to be well in the hands of a Hendrick driver, but the difference in tires took the win away from the team, as Brad Keselowski (2) was able to outrun the Hendrick cars for the victory over Kasey Kahne (5). This was the first time since Charlotte in 2010, when Jamie McMurray won, that a non-Chase driver won a race in the Chase. This was Keselowski’s tenth Cup Win of his career.
After the race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. spoke to the media, stating he did not understand what happened to his car. He was strong in the first half, then, the car changed severely. His crew Chief Letarte also made errors in judgment that hurt his chances at a victory at Charlotte. Four Chase drivers finished outside the top ten. (Biffle, Earnhardt Jr., Bowyer and Busch)
The rest of the top ten were: Matt Kenseth (20), Jimmie Johnson (48), Kyle Busch (18), Kevin Harvick (29), Jeff Gordon (24), Ryan Newman (39), Denny Hamlin (11) and Carl Edwards (99). Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) finished P15, Danica Patrick (10) finished P20. Kasey Kahne (5) led the most laps in the race with 138.
The points did not change much with this race, as the leaders all finished in the top ten spots over all. There are still four drivers within one race of the leader in points. They are: Johnson (48) (-4), Harvick (29) (-29), Gordon (24) (-36) and Busch (18) (-37)
The next race will be at Talladega next Sunday at 1 PM EST on ESPN
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Kentucky-New Hampshire weekend
"Kentucky 300”
SPARTA, KENTUCKY – The Nationwide Series is getting down to their final seven races of the 2013 season. Sam Hornish Jr. (12) holds a 17 point lead over Austin Dillon (3) at this point. Third place is 36 points behind the leader, which is nearly a full race out of the lead. Both drivers have been doing well in recent weeks, as they both will need to keep this going to take the title at the season’s end. Sam Hornish Jr. was able to take the Pole position for this race over 19 year old Ryan Blaney (22). This gave Roger Penske the front row for only the second time in history. A new rule was established this week, as now the second place car is able to beat the leader, if the leader does not take the opportunity to start the race in the “Starter’s Box.” This is an area in which the leader can start the race, prior to the green flag being dropped. If the driver decides not to start before the green flag is thrown, then the second place car does have the right to beat the leader to the start/finish line. If this happened in the past, the second place car would receive a “Black Flag” which was a penalty for beating the leader to the start/finish line. The penalty forced that driver to make a run down pit road under green conditions.
In Opening Ceremonies, there was a minute of silence held for the victims of the Navy Yard killings in Washington, DC. 12 people lost their lives, along with the shooter. Pastor Larry Campbell provided the Invocation. Jamison Road sang the National Anthem. Frank Kimmel was the Grand Marshall.
There were “NO” Cup drivers in this race. One issue the drivers will deal with in the race, being the track was washed off by rain, and the ARCA Series ran, laying down some “Hoosier” rubber. Justin Allgaier (31), Matt Crafton (33) and Joey Coulter (18) will start from the rear for changes they made to their race cars. A “Competition Caution” was scheduled for lap 25, due to the rain that fell in the morning and overnight as well.
On lap 4, Nelson Piquet Jr. (30) tagged the wall and did not make a pit stop, nor did NASCAR throw a caution flag. He was running eleventh at the time of this incident. The “Competition Caution” flew on lap 26.
On lap 35, Travis Pastrana (60) was spun out after contact with Austin Dillon (3). Then again on lap 61, Pastrana crashed hard into the outside wall for the third caution of the race.
On lap 101, Rookie Kyle Larsen (32) started having issues. He took his car to pit road, after having fuel, vibration and brake issues in the early laps of the race.
On lap 107, Harrison Rhodes (23) brought out the fourth caution when he tagged the wall. During the restart, Brad Sweet (5) spun out. That brought out another caution right away.
While racing hard, Justin Allgaier (31) tried to slide down in front of Matt Crafton (33) when he bobbled and slid up the track and touching the wall. He did lose many positions.
On lap 162, Brad Sweet was the cause of another caution, when his car started on fire on track. He was turned into the outside wall by Jeb Burton (34), son of Ward Burton. Brian Scott (2) also was tagged with a penalty for speeding on entry to pit road. A few cars were on pit road when the caution flew, so they will need to take the wave around, to get back on the lead lap. Brian Scott and Trevor Bayne were two of those cars.
The seventh caution flew on lap 173 for Jeffrey Earnhardt (79) spinning out on track. Johanna Long (70) received the “Lucky Dog” to get back on the lead lap. NASCAR also warned Sam Hornish Jr. (12) about his restarts on the rules.
On lap 181, Regan Smith brought out the eighth caution for a spin on track. The ninth and final caution flew just laps later on lap 188, when Parker Kligerman (77) attempted to pull down in front of Cole Whitt (44) and was not in the right place, as he tagged the front of Whitt’s car and that sent him into the outside wall. This ended his race, and he was not happy when he spoke to media after being let out of the medical shack. He did run his mouth about Cole Whitt being at fault, when it was his own fault for the wreck.
19 year old Ryan Blaney (22) took the lead on the restart, and did not look back. He beat Austin Dillon (3). This was the tenth victory with the fourth driver in the 22 car this season. The “Owners Points” is now led by the 22 Roger Penske Ford car by 23 points over the 54 Joe Gibbs Toyota.
The rest of the top ten were: Matt Crafton (33), Sam Hornish Jr. (12), Alex Bowman (99), Drew Herring (54), Brian Vickers (20), Jeb Burton (34), Cole Whitt (44) and Michael Annett (43). The Championship is now down to 15 points between first and second place drivers, Hornish Jr. and Dillon.
The next race will be at Dover on Saturday at 3:30 PM EST on ESPN.
“Sylvania 300”
LOUDON, NEW HAMPSHIRE- The Sprint Cup Series showed up for their second race of the Chase at the 1.5 mile high-speed, short track. Ryan Newman (39) was able to set a new track record for the Pole position. He ran a 27.904/136.497 mph lap. Kasey Kahne (5) also broke the track record with a 27.989/136.082 mph lap. Gretchen Wilson was singing at the start of the pre-race ceremonies. Matt Kenseth (20) started his 500th start in a silver/black race car. The In-Race Reporter was Kevin Harvick (29). There was a “Competition Caution” scheduled for lap 30, due to overnight rain at the track. Just as last night’s race in the NNS Series, this race was scheduled for 200 laps, 300 miles.
In Opening Ceremonies, Pastor Landon Clouse provided the Invocation after a “Moment of Silence” was held for the victims of the Navy Yard killings in Washington, DC. A pre-teen, young girl Caroline Burns sang the National Anthem, while a B-17 Flying Fortress flew over the track.
Josh Wise (35) brought out the caution on lap 30, just as the Competition Caution was ready to be thrown. Michael McDowell (51) helped Wise spin out, as he tagged him coming through the corner. Jeff Gordon (24) was hit by (34) on pit road as the 34 was making his pit stop, Gordon was inside of him. There was minor damage to Gordon’s fender. During the pit stops, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s (88) team dropped his car down, with lugs still lose. He had to make an additional stop on pit road to tighten the lugs and take on left side tires as well. He fell from the teens to thirtieth place.
On lap 38, Jamie McMurray (1) was tagged by teammate Juan Montoya (42) and spun out. Kevin Swindell (30) also spun and hit the outside wall hard.
On lap 52, Bobby Labonte (47) had a spin after a rear tire blew out. David Gilliland (38) also ran into Labonte, creating damage to his race car.
There was a caution for a spin on lap 164, and a debris caution on lap 200. The leader Jeff Gordon brought everyone down pit road. Gordon would slide thru his box and have to back up, after the team started to jack his car up. He fell from the lead back to twenty-second place.
On lap 245, David Gilliland (38) brought out the caution once again after his oil cooler broke on his race car.
Kasey Kahne (5) snapped loose on lap 252, crashing hard into the inside wall, ending his day. He was running in the eighth position when this happened. This was the seventh and final caution of the race.
On the restart, Matt Kenseth (20) was able to outrun his teammate Kyle Busch (18) for the second week in a row for another victory, starting the Chase off with two wins back to back. This made it his seventh win of the season as well. Kenseth holds a 14 point lead of Busch now in the Championship run. Kenseth joins Richard Petty (43) with winning on his 500th start.
The rest of the top ten were: Greg Biffle (16), Jimmie Johnson (48), Jamie McMurray (1), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88), Brian Vickers (55), Jeff Burton (31), Carl Edwards (99) and Martin Truex Jr. (56). Truex Jr. led the most laps in the race with 98.
The points are as follows: Kenseth (20) leader, Kyle Busch (18) (-14), Johnson (48) (-18), Edwards (99) (-36), Biffle (16) (-38), Harvick (29) (-39), Kurt Busch (78) (-40), Gordon (24) (-42), Newman (39) (-47), Bowyer (15) (-48), Earnhardt Jr. (88) (-62), Lagono (22) (-69) and Kahne (5) (-71).
The next race will be on Sunday at Dover on ESPN at 1 PM EST.
SPARTA, KENTUCKY – The Nationwide Series is getting down to their final seven races of the 2013 season. Sam Hornish Jr. (12) holds a 17 point lead over Austin Dillon (3) at this point. Third place is 36 points behind the leader, which is nearly a full race out of the lead. Both drivers have been doing well in recent weeks, as they both will need to keep this going to take the title at the season’s end. Sam Hornish Jr. was able to take the Pole position for this race over 19 year old Ryan Blaney (22). This gave Roger Penske the front row for only the second time in history. A new rule was established this week, as now the second place car is able to beat the leader, if the leader does not take the opportunity to start the race in the “Starter’s Box.” This is an area in which the leader can start the race, prior to the green flag being dropped. If the driver decides not to start before the green flag is thrown, then the second place car does have the right to beat the leader to the start/finish line. If this happened in the past, the second place car would receive a “Black Flag” which was a penalty for beating the leader to the start/finish line. The penalty forced that driver to make a run down pit road under green conditions.
In Opening Ceremonies, there was a minute of silence held for the victims of the Navy Yard killings in Washington, DC. 12 people lost their lives, along with the shooter. Pastor Larry Campbell provided the Invocation. Jamison Road sang the National Anthem. Frank Kimmel was the Grand Marshall.
There were “NO” Cup drivers in this race. One issue the drivers will deal with in the race, being the track was washed off by rain, and the ARCA Series ran, laying down some “Hoosier” rubber. Justin Allgaier (31), Matt Crafton (33) and Joey Coulter (18) will start from the rear for changes they made to their race cars. A “Competition Caution” was scheduled for lap 25, due to the rain that fell in the morning and overnight as well.
On lap 4, Nelson Piquet Jr. (30) tagged the wall and did not make a pit stop, nor did NASCAR throw a caution flag. He was running eleventh at the time of this incident. The “Competition Caution” flew on lap 26.
On lap 35, Travis Pastrana (60) was spun out after contact with Austin Dillon (3). Then again on lap 61, Pastrana crashed hard into the outside wall for the third caution of the race.
On lap 101, Rookie Kyle Larsen (32) started having issues. He took his car to pit road, after having fuel, vibration and brake issues in the early laps of the race.
On lap 107, Harrison Rhodes (23) brought out the fourth caution when he tagged the wall. During the restart, Brad Sweet (5) spun out. That brought out another caution right away.
While racing hard, Justin Allgaier (31) tried to slide down in front of Matt Crafton (33) when he bobbled and slid up the track and touching the wall. He did lose many positions.
On lap 162, Brad Sweet was the cause of another caution, when his car started on fire on track. He was turned into the outside wall by Jeb Burton (34), son of Ward Burton. Brian Scott (2) also was tagged with a penalty for speeding on entry to pit road. A few cars were on pit road when the caution flew, so they will need to take the wave around, to get back on the lead lap. Brian Scott and Trevor Bayne were two of those cars.
The seventh caution flew on lap 173 for Jeffrey Earnhardt (79) spinning out on track. Johanna Long (70) received the “Lucky Dog” to get back on the lead lap. NASCAR also warned Sam Hornish Jr. (12) about his restarts on the rules.
On lap 181, Regan Smith brought out the eighth caution for a spin on track. The ninth and final caution flew just laps later on lap 188, when Parker Kligerman (77) attempted to pull down in front of Cole Whitt (44) and was not in the right place, as he tagged the front of Whitt’s car and that sent him into the outside wall. This ended his race, and he was not happy when he spoke to media after being let out of the medical shack. He did run his mouth about Cole Whitt being at fault, when it was his own fault for the wreck.
19 year old Ryan Blaney (22) took the lead on the restart, and did not look back. He beat Austin Dillon (3). This was the tenth victory with the fourth driver in the 22 car this season. The “Owners Points” is now led by the 22 Roger Penske Ford car by 23 points over the 54 Joe Gibbs Toyota.
The rest of the top ten were: Matt Crafton (33), Sam Hornish Jr. (12), Alex Bowman (99), Drew Herring (54), Brian Vickers (20), Jeb Burton (34), Cole Whitt (44) and Michael Annett (43). The Championship is now down to 15 points between first and second place drivers, Hornish Jr. and Dillon.
The next race will be at Dover on Saturday at 3:30 PM EST on ESPN.
“Sylvania 300”
LOUDON, NEW HAMPSHIRE- The Sprint Cup Series showed up for their second race of the Chase at the 1.5 mile high-speed, short track. Ryan Newman (39) was able to set a new track record for the Pole position. He ran a 27.904/136.497 mph lap. Kasey Kahne (5) also broke the track record with a 27.989/136.082 mph lap. Gretchen Wilson was singing at the start of the pre-race ceremonies. Matt Kenseth (20) started his 500th start in a silver/black race car. The In-Race Reporter was Kevin Harvick (29). There was a “Competition Caution” scheduled for lap 30, due to overnight rain at the track. Just as last night’s race in the NNS Series, this race was scheduled for 200 laps, 300 miles.
In Opening Ceremonies, Pastor Landon Clouse provided the Invocation after a “Moment of Silence” was held for the victims of the Navy Yard killings in Washington, DC. A pre-teen, young girl Caroline Burns sang the National Anthem, while a B-17 Flying Fortress flew over the track.
Josh Wise (35) brought out the caution on lap 30, just as the Competition Caution was ready to be thrown. Michael McDowell (51) helped Wise spin out, as he tagged him coming through the corner. Jeff Gordon (24) was hit by (34) on pit road as the 34 was making his pit stop, Gordon was inside of him. There was minor damage to Gordon’s fender. During the pit stops, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s (88) team dropped his car down, with lugs still lose. He had to make an additional stop on pit road to tighten the lugs and take on left side tires as well. He fell from the teens to thirtieth place.
On lap 38, Jamie McMurray (1) was tagged by teammate Juan Montoya (42) and spun out. Kevin Swindell (30) also spun and hit the outside wall hard.
On lap 52, Bobby Labonte (47) had a spin after a rear tire blew out. David Gilliland (38) also ran into Labonte, creating damage to his race car.
There was a caution for a spin on lap 164, and a debris caution on lap 200. The leader Jeff Gordon brought everyone down pit road. Gordon would slide thru his box and have to back up, after the team started to jack his car up. He fell from the lead back to twenty-second place.
On lap 245, David Gilliland (38) brought out the caution once again after his oil cooler broke on his race car.
Kasey Kahne (5) snapped loose on lap 252, crashing hard into the inside wall, ending his day. He was running in the eighth position when this happened. This was the seventh and final caution of the race.
On the restart, Matt Kenseth (20) was able to outrun his teammate Kyle Busch (18) for the second week in a row for another victory, starting the Chase off with two wins back to back. This made it his seventh win of the season as well. Kenseth holds a 14 point lead of Busch now in the Championship run. Kenseth joins Richard Petty (43) with winning on his 500th start.
The rest of the top ten were: Greg Biffle (16), Jimmie Johnson (48), Jamie McMurray (1), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88), Brian Vickers (55), Jeff Burton (31), Carl Edwards (99) and Martin Truex Jr. (56). Truex Jr. led the most laps in the race with 98.
The points are as follows: Kenseth (20) leader, Kyle Busch (18) (-14), Johnson (48) (-18), Edwards (99) (-36), Biffle (16) (-38), Harvick (29) (-39), Kurt Busch (78) (-40), Gordon (24) (-42), Newman (39) (-47), Bowyer (15) (-48), Earnhardt Jr. (88) (-62), Lagono (22) (-69) and Kahne (5) (-71).
The next race will be on Sunday at Dover on ESPN at 1 PM EST.
Friday, September 20, 2013
Elmwood Board Report for September 2013
“Elmwood Village considering cutting down Historical Tree”
Submitted by Rick A. Talford
Citizen Journalist
ELMWOOD, WI- The Elmwood Board met on Monday September 9, 2013 in the Village Auditorium. The meeting began at 6:55 PM. Trustee Delorse Radtke was absent from this month’s meeting. In Public Input, Keith and Linda Bernhardt spoke to the board in regards of the huge “White Pine” that sits in the roadway at the intersection of Scott and May Ave., near the school. Upon contacting the village clerk about the possible demolition of this tree that has been under attack, numerous times in the past sixty-plus years, I was sent an email back that stated “Village Public Works Director (Jamie Reitz) has determined that this tree is in serious decline and it needs to be looked more closely and probably removed. This meeting was properly and correctly posted but there was not one person from the public who attended this meeting to express any concerns. It has mushrooms growing from the tree not on the tree that it indicative of decay/disease and Jamie has a suspicion the base is hollow. Jamie is worried that this tree will do more damage if left to further decay and possibly injure life and property. We need to look at all angles of this tree not just some people’s personal feelings about this tree. Unfortunately we are in a position with this tree that will make no one happy, we are either upsetting the people who feel this tree is a landmark and needs to be preserved or will be held responsible/condemned if this tree is left to further decay and then causes injuries or God forbid a death when it comes down in a storm or unexpectedly!! Also it should be noted that this tree is in the ROW (Right of Way) and our responsible to maintain or remove if necessary. (Note- The agenda for this meeting did not specifically list this tree as a problem being looked into.) ” Mr. Bernhardt explained to the Board, that he has requested a second opinion in writing to them, and was wondering if that has been received. Village Clerk Amy Wayne stated “None has been found yet, so we are in limbo.” Village President Bill Stewart agreed with Mr. Bernhardt that if the historic tree is ok (healthy), then it would be saved, as it has been a few times in recent years. Stewart added, “It would be neat if we could do something, and it’s on hold.” Trustee Brian Buck then stated “You can check the minutes to see if anything has been done.” Stewart then spoke to Bernhardt, stating “I am compelled to tell you that it’s in the roadway, and we can do what we want with it. There are safety and liability reasons.” Bernhardt listened to what was being stated, and replied that he would, as the property owner, at least like to be contacted if anything was going to be done. He was never informed about this action, and felt the Village could have at least gave him a courtesy call, when they started the talk about it being removed. Stewart agreed, “A courtesy call could have been made.” If the tree is diseased or failing in a way that it needs to be removed, Bernhardt has no argument about it, but would like the chance at getting the wood, being he has been paying the taxes for the property that it stands on. If the tree is healthy however, he would ask that the village leave it standing, as it does have an historical value to the community. (Note- you can read up on this tree in the 2005 Centennial Book that was created and released “Life in the Valley, Elmwood’s First 100 years” by the Elmwood Historical Book Committee. There has been talk of a petition being started to save the tree from destruction, just like in the past when the village targeted the tree with the same claims back in 1986. At that time, the tree was listed by the DNR as the 10th Largest tree in Wisconsin, in an article by the Milwaukee Journal. In the centennial book, it adds that a recent book through the DNR still listed the “Famous” tree as a “Champion”, in a book called Wisconsin’s Champion Trees, by Bruce Allison. This information was submitted by Joanne Baier of Elmwood, for the book.
The board then approved the Elmwood Rod and Gun Picnic License request, as well as their temporary Operator’s License for an event being held on September 21, 2013. They then moved onto the changes that have been made with the Personnel Policy. Trustee Susan Dzubay stated “We cleaned up the policy, as there was language that was contradictory and for liability reasons, we wanted to make the changes. Spring Valley sent their policy over to us, so we could use theirs as a guide. The bottom line for the board is, we can do whatever we want.” (Note: upon asking for some clarity on exactly what changes were made, I was responded to by email. “There were numerous and various changes, additions and deletions regarding the policy, too many to list. Like Susan Dzubay stated it really was just cleaning up and tailoring the policy to fit the Village of Elmwood.” A couple of Operator’s licenses were then approved for the Cenex.
Next on the agenda, were the possible talks of opening an ATV Trail through the Village. Greg Olson from the Wilson Club, and the Director for the NW Region, spoke to the Board. Larry Johnson from the Pierce County ATV Association was in attendance as well. They attended the meeting, to bring forward information on assisting the village in getting a trail through the community, as they would provide all signage required for the trail. Trustee Brian Buck spoke to everyone, stating that a meeting was held in regards to this subject, and they have considered opening up the talks with the board, as a committee. The possible roads to enter the village are 110th and 50th on the north side of the village. They are also looking at County Road P, near the quarry on the south end of the village. “This would be for the Eau Galle Club,” he added. Other streets that may be looked at opening for ATV travel would be, Winter Ave., Clark St. and Omaha Ave. Buck believes that this will bring more people to the community. Greg Olson then told the board they should look at ATV and side by side UTV’s. His belief is that the majority of riders that use the trails are local residents. He also provided information on new changes to rider laws. There is a “Grandparents Law” now that forces any riders 12-16 years in age, to have an adult with them while riding, they can no longer ride alone. Larry Johnson then provided some contacts on where the village could obtain liability issue information. The ability for riders to get food and fuel is the main areas for this planned trail. There are a few areas, that the trail could be much harder to get approval on, as with any roads that may be State or County Highways. The approval must be received from them before a trail can be completed. Johnson then told the board they could go to the ATV Association website to get ordinance suggestions for the Village. Stewart then stated, “We will get community input on this.”
The Resolution 2013-07 was then discussed. Authorizing Signature on the Safe Deposit Box was then discussed, and newly hired Office Assistant Angie Fisher has had her name added to the list.
Committee and Board Reports followed on the agenda, with Trustee Dzubay speaking on behalf of the Parks and Buildings Committee first. There is a need for repairs in the women’s bathroom, as some plaster has started falling off. The lathe will need to be removed and repairs completed to the area. She then brought up the roof repairs, which are scheduled for September yet. Village Clerk Amy Wayne then added, “We are still waiting on White City Glass to get the door fixed, then we can contact Nevins to complete the linoleum repairs that are needed.” Trustee Buck then spoke for the Personnel and Finance Committee, stating “We received information from the Insurance manager, and he believes we are looking at Wisconsin rates going way up. WI Dept. of Insurers, as of 2014 will no longer take in claims data. They will be using your age, gender and where you live to figure out your costs. We are looking at anywhere from 30-40 percent increases. We had a 23 percent increase last year. That is over 50 percent in two years, which is criminal in my mind. Our employee’s have not even hit their deductible limits.” Buck then spoke on behalf of the Police Committee for Trustee Radtke. “We sold the old squad car for $1,700 and we purchased some items that were wanted for the Police Dept. A new brush guard and spot light have been purchased for the truck. We have also purchased a new vest for the officer to wear, instead of holding all the equipment on a belt as in the past. He will also be wearing a body camera for his safety now. A grant is also getting approved to upgrade the computer system. This will be completely funded by the grant. There was approximately $400 left from the sale of the car, that was placed into the maintenance budget for the truck.
At this meeting, I was able to see the Hi-backed Executive style chairs the Village paid $2,000 on, for the first time. The UFO Days Community Club did not receive any funds for a fireworks display at the end of the event, yet this tax payer money was used to buy these extravagant chairs, for meetings that take an average of a half-hour a month. This is one area that I believe the tax payers could have provided some serious input, on whether this was a real need for the community.
The payment of bills was then discussed, as Clerk Wayne explained that the Cenex bills had not been received, and it was figured they would be near $500 as was the range usually. The meeting then adjourned at 7:35 PM.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Chicago weekend
“Dollar General 300”
JOLIET, ILLINOIS- The race season is coming close to its end, and the Nationwide drivers came to Chicago to race 200 laps on the 1.5 mile track. Kyle Busch (54) was able to take the pole position. Kenny Wallace started his 900th start in the series on this day as well. There were a handful of Cup drivers entered into this race, as Busch, Kenseth, Harvick, Earnhardt Jr. and Lagono all had double duty on their minds. In
Opening Ceremonies, Jim Cornelison, from the Chicago Blackhawks, sang the National Anthem. Mary Winn Pilkington, of the Dollar General Corp. gave the command to start engines.
On lap 24, Joe Nemechek (87) stalled on the race track to bring out the first caution. A Debris caution was the reason for the second caution of the race. On lap 148, Travis Patrana (60) made a pit stop under green, and was penalized for speeding on exit.
The third caution came on lap 158, when Elliott Sadler (11) was ran into by Brett Butler (24) as he was attempting to make a stop on pit road. While slowing down to get on pit road, his car was run into the back end by Butler, creating severe damage to Butler’s car and plenty of damage to the rear of Elliott’s car.
Another Debris caution flew on lap 166. On lap 175, Rookie Kyle Larson (32) had his day go sour, when a tire failure sent him hard into the outside wall.
On lap 182, the sixth and final caution flew for Regan Smith (7) tagging and spinning Justin Allgaier (31).
After the final restart, Kyle Busch was able to pull away and win the race, after leading 195 of the 200 laps.
The rest of the top ten were: Joey Lagono (22), Sam Hornish Jr. (12), Austin Dillon (3), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88), Brian Vickers (20), Matt Kenseth (18), Parker Kligerman (77), Kevin Harvick (33) and Nelson Piquet Jr. (30).
The next race is on Saturday at Kentucky at 8 PM EST on ESPNEWS. The “Kentucky 300” is the next race.
“Geico 400”
JOLIET, ILLINOIS- The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series began their “Chase for the Championship” at Chicago for their tenth season under this configuration for the title. Team Penske was able to take the front row, as Joey Lagono (22) took the Pole, with teammate Brad Keselowski (2) starting second. In Opening Ceremonies, Glenn Spoolstra provided the Invocation, and Danielle Bradley sang the National Anthem. The Grand Marshall’s for the race were actors/actresses of NBC “Chicago Fire”: Jesse Spenser, Taylor Kinney, Eammon Walker, David Eigenberg, Lauren German and Randy Flagler. Chicago Police Dept. Chief John Escante, Joliet Police Dept. Chief Brian Benton and Joliet Fire Dept. Chief Joe Formhals. A “Competition Caution” was scheduled due to the rain that was in the area throughout the day on lap 30.
In other news this week, NASCAR levied some hefty fines and sanction against Michael Waltrip Racing. It was decided by NASCAR after last week’s race that the MWR team intentionally caused the late race caution that enabled Martin Truex Jr. (56) to make it into the Chase. Truex Jr. was disqualified from the Chase and Ryan Newman (39) was placed into the Chase. All three MWR teams were docked 50 points, and Ty Norris was fined $300,000.00. He was also indefinitely suspended from NASCAR for his part in having his team fake a problem, sending Brian Vickers (55) to pit road, giving the points and position to Martin Truex Jr. That is why Truex Jr. made the Chase over Ryan Newman in a tie-breaker.
Jeff Gordon also lost out by one point in making the Chase. After further reviewing of the situation, NASCAR put Jeff Gordon (24) into the Chase as a thirteenth entry, making this year’s Chase one to remember for all that occurred in the final race at Richmond, setting the field for the final ten races of the year. NASCAR chairman Brian France said he had the authority to expand the field to 13 drivers for the first time since the format was implemented 10 years ago. Front Row Motorsports asked for a deal from Penske Racing in the closing laps of at Richmond and then helped make sure Penske's Joey Logano made the Chase field by having one of its drivers, David Gilliland, slow down, according to an Associated Press review of radio communications. France said NASCAR could not determine there was a bargain between Front Row and Penske, but still believed the move was necessary to protect the "integrity" of the series. He said both teams had been placed on probation for the rest of the season. "Too many things altered the event and gave an unfair disadvantage to Jeff and his team," France said. "More than anything it's just the right thing to do. There were just too many things that went on Saturday night." This was reported by NASCAR.
NASCAR also claimed that Clint Bowyer (15) intentionally spun out, while Ryan Newman was leading the race. After the pit stops were made, Newman was no longer the race leader, nor did he win the race. After the race ended, the fans spoke up and out very strongly to NASCAR. Everyone spoke loudly about the removal of all MWR cars from the Chase, putting Gordon and Newman into the Chase in their spots. Near the end of the week, there was even more suspicions that Joey Lagono’s team may have also taken actions to get Lagono into the Chase for the first time in his career. It was speculated that team owner Roger Penske had made a deal with Furniture Row’s team Kurt Busch to help get Lagono into the Chase. This was never proven, but NASCAR made no decisions to dock the team or remove Lagono from the Chase. Manipulating the outcome of a pivotal race was NASCAR’s reason for taking such dramatic actions against the teams involved, as they stated they would not accept this form of cheating in the sport. NASCAR officials had warned in the pre-race driver meeting against competitors attempting to influence the outcome of the race as 10 drivers began Saturday night competing for five available spots in the Chase — "We knew there was potential for this going into this race ... it's like we saw there was potential for fire, but nobody grabbed the extinguisher," Newman said — so Newman said he's eagerly awaiting the results of NASCAR's investigation. This was also reported by NASCAR. Ryan Newman also has some press release this week, as he will drive for RCR next season. Penske and Front Row got a slap on the wrist with probation and a new rule banning digital radios and anyone but the spotter from the roof.
On lap 31, the Competition Caution was thrown. On lap 78, Kurt Busch (78) was penalized for speeding on pit road, and he was forced to make a drive through penalty.
The second caution came out on lap 108, when Cole Whitt (30) spun out, due to a wet race track. The rain began to fall, and a “Red Flag” was thrown on lap 110. Some five hours later, the race would get the restart once again. In the first segment of the race, Joey Lagono (22) and Jimmie Johnson (48) had led the majority of laps. Lagono led 32 and Johnson led 40 laps.
After the restart, on lap 121, the third caution came out for Juan Montoya having a tire failure, that tore the rear corner panel off of the car. There was plenty of debris to get cleaned up, as the rear corner exploded from the tire falling apart.
At the mid-point of the race, the top ten were: Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Johnson, Almirola, Vickers, Gordon, Kahne, Harvick, Earnhardt Jr. and Lagono.
The fourth caution came on lap 149, when Joey Lagono apparently had an engine starting to smoke. Justin Allgaier (51) was then spun out by Landon Cassill (40) to bring the caution out.
On lap 154, Cole Whitt (30) had a bigger problem, as his car started on fire on the race track. Another caution fell near lap 169, and Earnhardt Jr. ended up with front end damage after cars stopped on pit road, creating a jam up. Jr. would need many stops to tape up the nose of his car. His night only went downhill from there. Shortly after the restart, Brian Vickers (55) had an engine failure.
Near lap 177, Joey Lagono’s night ended with another engine failure. Less than twenty laps later, David Reutimann (83) also had an engine failure. The fact that the race ran over one hundred laps before the rain caution sat all the cars for over five hours, could be the cause of the engines failing later in the race.
On lap 224, Earnhardt Jr.’s night ended with an engine failure as well. Jr. had just taken the lead on lap 221, when his engine failed yet again this season. On lap 225, Timmy Hill (32) also retired after an engine failure. There was a caution thrown on lap 227.
The final caution came on lap 241, when Cole Whitt had an engine failure. Denny Hamlin (11) also had his night shortened with an engine failure. (NOTE- I missed the end of the race, and found it strange that Cole Whitt would have returned to the race, after his car was on fire at one point. Maybe NASCAR reported this wrong, but that is what was written in the race outline I read)
On the final restart of the race, Matt Kenseth (20) received a “Great” push from Kevin Harvick (29) that launched him out front, where he never looked back and won the race over teammate Kyle Busch (18). This was Kenseth’s sixth win of the season, and a great start for the chase. Kenseth made the statement after the race, that he owes Harvick for the great push he gave him at the last restart. Kenseth led the most laps as well with 89 led.
The rest of the top ten were: Kevin Harvick (29), Kurt Busch (78), Jimmie Johnson (48), Jeff Gordon (24), Brad Keselowski (2), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (17), Clint Bowyer (15) and Ryan Newman (39). Other notables were: Danica Patrick (10) finished on the lead lap in 20th spot. Hamlin was 33rd, Earnhardt Jr. was 35th and Lagono was 37th.
The point standings are as follows: Kenseth (leader), Busch (-8), Johnson (-11), Harvick (-15), Edwards (-23), Busch (-23), Gordon (-24), Newman (-28), Bowyer (-28), Kahne (-31), Biffle (-31), Lagono (-52) and Earnhardt Jr. (-53).
The next race will be on Sunday at New Hampshire at 3 PM EST on ESPN. The “Sylvania 300” is the next race.
JOLIET, ILLINOIS- The race season is coming close to its end, and the Nationwide drivers came to Chicago to race 200 laps on the 1.5 mile track. Kyle Busch (54) was able to take the pole position. Kenny Wallace started his 900th start in the series on this day as well. There were a handful of Cup drivers entered into this race, as Busch, Kenseth, Harvick, Earnhardt Jr. and Lagono all had double duty on their minds. In
Opening Ceremonies, Jim Cornelison, from the Chicago Blackhawks, sang the National Anthem. Mary Winn Pilkington, of the Dollar General Corp. gave the command to start engines.
On lap 24, Joe Nemechek (87) stalled on the race track to bring out the first caution. A Debris caution was the reason for the second caution of the race. On lap 148, Travis Patrana (60) made a pit stop under green, and was penalized for speeding on exit.
The third caution came on lap 158, when Elliott Sadler (11) was ran into by Brett Butler (24) as he was attempting to make a stop on pit road. While slowing down to get on pit road, his car was run into the back end by Butler, creating severe damage to Butler’s car and plenty of damage to the rear of Elliott’s car.
Another Debris caution flew on lap 166. On lap 175, Rookie Kyle Larson (32) had his day go sour, when a tire failure sent him hard into the outside wall.
On lap 182, the sixth and final caution flew for Regan Smith (7) tagging and spinning Justin Allgaier (31).
After the final restart, Kyle Busch was able to pull away and win the race, after leading 195 of the 200 laps.
The rest of the top ten were: Joey Lagono (22), Sam Hornish Jr. (12), Austin Dillon (3), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88), Brian Vickers (20), Matt Kenseth (18), Parker Kligerman (77), Kevin Harvick (33) and Nelson Piquet Jr. (30).
The next race is on Saturday at Kentucky at 8 PM EST on ESPNEWS. The “Kentucky 300” is the next race.
“Geico 400”
JOLIET, ILLINOIS- The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series began their “Chase for the Championship” at Chicago for their tenth season under this configuration for the title. Team Penske was able to take the front row, as Joey Lagono (22) took the Pole, with teammate Brad Keselowski (2) starting second. In Opening Ceremonies, Glenn Spoolstra provided the Invocation, and Danielle Bradley sang the National Anthem. The Grand Marshall’s for the race were actors/actresses of NBC “Chicago Fire”: Jesse Spenser, Taylor Kinney, Eammon Walker, David Eigenberg, Lauren German and Randy Flagler. Chicago Police Dept. Chief John Escante, Joliet Police Dept. Chief Brian Benton and Joliet Fire Dept. Chief Joe Formhals. A “Competition Caution” was scheduled due to the rain that was in the area throughout the day on lap 30.
In other news this week, NASCAR levied some hefty fines and sanction against Michael Waltrip Racing. It was decided by NASCAR after last week’s race that the MWR team intentionally caused the late race caution that enabled Martin Truex Jr. (56) to make it into the Chase. Truex Jr. was disqualified from the Chase and Ryan Newman (39) was placed into the Chase. All three MWR teams were docked 50 points, and Ty Norris was fined $300,000.00. He was also indefinitely suspended from NASCAR for his part in having his team fake a problem, sending Brian Vickers (55) to pit road, giving the points and position to Martin Truex Jr. That is why Truex Jr. made the Chase over Ryan Newman in a tie-breaker.
Jeff Gordon also lost out by one point in making the Chase. After further reviewing of the situation, NASCAR put Jeff Gordon (24) into the Chase as a thirteenth entry, making this year’s Chase one to remember for all that occurred in the final race at Richmond, setting the field for the final ten races of the year. NASCAR chairman Brian France said he had the authority to expand the field to 13 drivers for the first time since the format was implemented 10 years ago. Front Row Motorsports asked for a deal from Penske Racing in the closing laps of at Richmond and then helped make sure Penske's Joey Logano made the Chase field by having one of its drivers, David Gilliland, slow down, according to an Associated Press review of radio communications. France said NASCAR could not determine there was a bargain between Front Row and Penske, but still believed the move was necessary to protect the "integrity" of the series. He said both teams had been placed on probation for the rest of the season. "Too many things altered the event and gave an unfair disadvantage to Jeff and his team," France said. "More than anything it's just the right thing to do. There were just too many things that went on Saturday night." This was reported by NASCAR.
NASCAR also claimed that Clint Bowyer (15) intentionally spun out, while Ryan Newman was leading the race. After the pit stops were made, Newman was no longer the race leader, nor did he win the race. After the race ended, the fans spoke up and out very strongly to NASCAR. Everyone spoke loudly about the removal of all MWR cars from the Chase, putting Gordon and Newman into the Chase in their spots. Near the end of the week, there was even more suspicions that Joey Lagono’s team may have also taken actions to get Lagono into the Chase for the first time in his career. It was speculated that team owner Roger Penske had made a deal with Furniture Row’s team Kurt Busch to help get Lagono into the Chase. This was never proven, but NASCAR made no decisions to dock the team or remove Lagono from the Chase. Manipulating the outcome of a pivotal race was NASCAR’s reason for taking such dramatic actions against the teams involved, as they stated they would not accept this form of cheating in the sport. NASCAR officials had warned in the pre-race driver meeting against competitors attempting to influence the outcome of the race as 10 drivers began Saturday night competing for five available spots in the Chase — "We knew there was potential for this going into this race ... it's like we saw there was potential for fire, but nobody grabbed the extinguisher," Newman said — so Newman said he's eagerly awaiting the results of NASCAR's investigation. This was also reported by NASCAR. Ryan Newman also has some press release this week, as he will drive for RCR next season. Penske and Front Row got a slap on the wrist with probation and a new rule banning digital radios and anyone but the spotter from the roof.
On lap 31, the Competition Caution was thrown. On lap 78, Kurt Busch (78) was penalized for speeding on pit road, and he was forced to make a drive through penalty.
The second caution came out on lap 108, when Cole Whitt (30) spun out, due to a wet race track. The rain began to fall, and a “Red Flag” was thrown on lap 110. Some five hours later, the race would get the restart once again. In the first segment of the race, Joey Lagono (22) and Jimmie Johnson (48) had led the majority of laps. Lagono led 32 and Johnson led 40 laps.
After the restart, on lap 121, the third caution came out for Juan Montoya having a tire failure, that tore the rear corner panel off of the car. There was plenty of debris to get cleaned up, as the rear corner exploded from the tire falling apart.
At the mid-point of the race, the top ten were: Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Johnson, Almirola, Vickers, Gordon, Kahne, Harvick, Earnhardt Jr. and Lagono.
The fourth caution came on lap 149, when Joey Lagono apparently had an engine starting to smoke. Justin Allgaier (51) was then spun out by Landon Cassill (40) to bring the caution out.
On lap 154, Cole Whitt (30) had a bigger problem, as his car started on fire on the race track. Another caution fell near lap 169, and Earnhardt Jr. ended up with front end damage after cars stopped on pit road, creating a jam up. Jr. would need many stops to tape up the nose of his car. His night only went downhill from there. Shortly after the restart, Brian Vickers (55) had an engine failure.
Near lap 177, Joey Lagono’s night ended with another engine failure. Less than twenty laps later, David Reutimann (83) also had an engine failure. The fact that the race ran over one hundred laps before the rain caution sat all the cars for over five hours, could be the cause of the engines failing later in the race.
On lap 224, Earnhardt Jr.’s night ended with an engine failure as well. Jr. had just taken the lead on lap 221, when his engine failed yet again this season. On lap 225, Timmy Hill (32) also retired after an engine failure. There was a caution thrown on lap 227.
The final caution came on lap 241, when Cole Whitt had an engine failure. Denny Hamlin (11) also had his night shortened with an engine failure. (NOTE- I missed the end of the race, and found it strange that Cole Whitt would have returned to the race, after his car was on fire at one point. Maybe NASCAR reported this wrong, but that is what was written in the race outline I read)
On the final restart of the race, Matt Kenseth (20) received a “Great” push from Kevin Harvick (29) that launched him out front, where he never looked back and won the race over teammate Kyle Busch (18). This was Kenseth’s sixth win of the season, and a great start for the chase. Kenseth made the statement after the race, that he owes Harvick for the great push he gave him at the last restart. Kenseth led the most laps as well with 89 led.
The rest of the top ten were: Kevin Harvick (29), Kurt Busch (78), Jimmie Johnson (48), Jeff Gordon (24), Brad Keselowski (2), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (17), Clint Bowyer (15) and Ryan Newman (39). Other notables were: Danica Patrick (10) finished on the lead lap in 20th spot. Hamlin was 33rd, Earnhardt Jr. was 35th and Lagono was 37th.
The point standings are as follows: Kenseth (leader), Busch (-8), Johnson (-11), Harvick (-15), Edwards (-23), Busch (-23), Gordon (-24), Newman (-28), Bowyer (-28), Kahne (-31), Biffle (-31), Lagono (-52) and Earnhardt Jr. (-53).
The next race will be on Sunday at New Hampshire at 3 PM EST on ESPN. The “Sylvania 300” is the next race.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Richmond weekend
“Virginia
529 College Savings 250”
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA- The
Nationwide Series have started to wind down their season. This race marked the
1000th NNS race. Brian Scott (2) took the Pole ahead of Matt Kenseth
(18). Due to a medical emergency with my wife, I missed the race. I have looked
up and reviewed as much information as I could to do a report on the race.
There were seven
cautions in the race, with them falling on laps: 16, 68, 134, 173, 231, 236 and
241. On lap 236, Matt Kenseth was involved in an accident that took his chances
at a victory away. The final caution had Travis Pastrana (60) and Landon
Cassill (4) getting together on track.
There was only one lead
change in the entire race, as Brian Scott dominated all but eleven laps. Scott
led the first 239 laps of the 250 lap race, as Brad Keselowski (22) was able to
beat Scott on the final two restarts to take the victory away from a dominant driver
and car. This marked Keselowski’s fifth win in the series this season.
Scott’s team made a
plea to NASCAR on the final two restarts, that Keselowski jumped the restarts
both times. The first one appeared to be spinning of the tires by Scott, and
the second one was led by Keselowski.
The rest of the top ten
were: Brian Scott (2), Regan Smith (7), Kyle Busch (54), Trevor Bayne (6), Sam
Hornish Jr. (12), Brian Vickers (20), Elliott Sadler (11), Ryan Reed (16) and
Jamie McMurray (5).
The next race will be
at Chicago on Saturday on ESPN2 at 3:30 PM EST.
“Federated
Auto Parts 400”
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA- The
final race of the regular season was in Richmond. The end result of this race,
sets the “Chase for the Championship 2013” Jeff Gordon (24) needed to have
another performance like last year, to get into the Chase. He started the
weekend off in a great manner, as he set a new track record taking the Pole
Position. Kurt Busch (78) is another driver trying to get his team into the
Chase, as a single car team from Denver, CO. 400 laps on the ¾ mile track was
scheduled as the regular season finale.
In other news this
week, Jimmie Johnson and his wife celebrated the birth of another daughter.
Johnson will need to start at the rear of the field, as he has not drove one
lap in this car in preparing for this weekend’s race. Jeff Burton (31) has
reported that he will not return to the RCR team next season. There are rumors
that Ryan Newman may take his spot next season. Tony Stewart made his
attendance at Richmond with a fancy new scooter to get him around the race
track.
In Opening Ceremonies,
Rev. DR. Michael Fitzgerald provided the Invocation. The 29th
Division Army Band played the National Anthem. The Grand Marshall was Frank
Mazzoli Jr. from Federated Auto Parts. The In-race Reporter was Martin Truex
Jr., another driver that needs good things to happen to make the Chase.
The first 49 laps of
the race were controlled by Jeff Gordon, before he gave up the lead to Brad
Keselowski (2). Kurt Busch (78) then took the lead away near lap 70. A round of
“Green Flag” stops began around lap 95, with Jimmie Johnson (48) being tagged
for speeding on pit road. He had just fell one lap down on track, and lost an
additional lap from the penalty. Johnson had a 77 point lead just five races
ago, and that has been completely deleted by Clint Bowyer (15), as Johnson has
had really bad luck.
A “Caution” for debris
came out on lap 136, for debris that was never shown to viewers. The claim was
debris in turn three. They took five laps to get restarted.
On lap 208, the second
caution came out for a spin by David Stremme (30). On lap 218, Johnson’s night
went downhill more. He started smelling something burning in his car, and took
his car to pit road. They stated the battery was the issue. Just five laps
later, teammate Jeff Gordon entered pit road for a loose wheel. Gordon fell
back two laps because a tire was not secured correctly. This was a mistake the
team could not have, if they had any expectations of making the Chase.
On lap 268, the third
caution flew for debris again on track. This was never shown to the viewers
again. Juan Montoya (42) was caught speeding on pit road, and did not return
for a drive through penalty. NASCAR forced him to do so, after the race went
back to green.
On lap 342, Johnson’s
night got even worse, as a tire blew, sending him into the outside wall. NASCAR
did not throw the caution when this happened. They waited for Johnson to go all
the way around the track for a lap, then they threw it. There were many cars
that were making green flag stop’s, and if the caution would have been thrown
when he hit the wall (as they normally do), many of these drivers would have
driven straight through the pits to stay on the lead lap. Instead many cars
were forced to take a wave around, placing many leaders to the rear of the
field. This changed the race conclusion dramatically.
The fifth and final
caution came on lap 393, when Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) got Clint Bowyer (15) loose,
to where Bowyer spun out. This brought the races conclusion to a three lap shoot-out.
On the restart, after
making pit stops, Paul Menard (27) came out as the leader. Carl Edwards (99)
jumped the restart and beat Menard to the start/finish line, which NASCAR
should have penalized him for. NASCAR failed to do so, and Edwards took the
victory over Kurt Busch (78). This was very clear to see during the replay,
that Edwards jumped the start and beat the leader of the race to the
start/finish line. The failures of NASCAR in their calls, has become a serious
issue this season. The fact that they waited to call the caution with Jimmie
Johnson issues, dramatically changed who was up front, and sent some of the
best cars to the rear of the field. Then allowing Edwards to jump the start,
took the victory away from drivers that performed well.
The rest of the top
ten: Ryan Newman (39), Jamie McMurray (1), Paul Menard (27), Matt Kenseth (20),
Martin Truex Jr. (56), Jeff Gordon (24), Mark Martin (14) and Ricky Stenhouse
Jr. (17). Gordon missed the Chase by one point, and Newman missed the Chase by
a tie-breaker.
The Chase is set as
follows: Matt Kenseth (20) (leader with 5 wins), Jimmie Johnson (48) (4 wins)
-3, Kyle Busch (18) (4 wins) -3, Kevin Harvick (29) (2 wins) -9, Carl Edwards
(99) (2 wins) -9, Joey Lagono (22) (1 win) -12, Greg Biffle (16) (1 win) -12,
Clint Bowyer (15) (no wins) -15, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) (no wins) -15, Kurt
Busch (78) (no wins) -15, Kasey Kahne (5) (wild card with 2 wins) -15 and Martin
Truex Jr. (56) (wild card with 1 win) -15.
The next race will be
at Chicago on ESPN next Sunday at 1 PM EST. This will be race number one of the
ten race, “Chase to the Championship”
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