Road Course Racing
“Johnsonville Sausage 200”
ELKHART LAKE, WI- Road America was the site for this week’s NNS race. A Four mile long twisted race track, with fourteen turns and an 830 foot long pit road, was scheduled to have 50 laps run. The drivers must go 40 mph or less while traveling on pit road. Roger Penske gave recently suspended driver AJ Almandinger a second chance in the sport, behind the wheel of his 22 Ford Mustang. AJ was able to take the pole position ahead of Owen Kelly (54). Elliott Sadler (11) has had a terrible weekend in WI, as he has broken the transmission in his race car two times, while incorrectly shifting the car from gear to gear. He would be forced to start at the rear of the field, and he was only able to get one lap of practice for the race, and that was his one lap of qualifying he accomplished before breaking a second transmission.
NASCAR has made a change to their qualifying rules for road courses this weekend. There will be five groups of eight cars sent out on track at a time. They will have seven minutes to post a fast lap as their qualifying attempt. The cars are released about eight seconds apart to keep them in clean air while making their qualifying runs. The fastest cars will be in the last group, while the slowest cars from practice will be sent out in the starting groups. This appeared to work pretty well, and it saved approximately 75% worth of televised airtime to complete qualifying. Five groups ran in seven minute increments, getting qualifying completed in just over 35 minutes. Normally it takes approx. three minutes per car for road course qualifying, which would make it over two hours time needed to get all 40 cars through.
In other racing news, 34 year old Allan Simonsen passed away after crashing on the fourth lap of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
In opening ceremonies, Lonnie Clouse provided the Invocation. Christi Sadlg sang the National Anthem. Ryan Clefke was the Grand Marshall, and the In-Race Reporter was Nelson Piquet Jr. (Last year’s winner). Three YAK 52’s flew over the race track during the ceremonies.
On lap 2, many drivers began making their pit stops in an attempt to make three stops for the race on fuel. The rest of the field will attempt to make only two stops for the entire 200 mile race. Those that made the early stop were: Bayne (6), Bowman (99), Gaughn (21), Annett (43), Ranger (53), Sadler (11) and Pastrana (60).
The first caution came out on lap 4, when Michael McDowell (18) stalled on the race track. A distributor breaking was the cause of his issues. He was running in second place at the time he broke down. Justin Allgaier (31) and Brian Vickers (20) made stops during this caution. Dexter Stacey (92) was replaced as driver in his car, due to still suffering affects from last week’s accident he had at Michigan.
On lap 14, many drivers began making their green flag stops. Austin Dillon (3) made his stop then he received a drive through penalty, for speeding on pit road exit.
The second caution came out on lap 15, when Andrew Ranger (53) broke down on track. During the pit stops, Billy Johnson (16) was in the wrong gear, and left pit road at 70 mph instead of the regulated 40 mph, sending him from second to thirty-second spot. Brian Vickers (20) also received a penalty for leaving his pit box without a lug on his front tire. This was captured easily with the camera being on the head gear of Mark “Hollywood” Armstrong. He was the unfortunate person that did not get the lug tightened before the car left the pit box. In the replay, he never even touched one lug with the air gun.
On lap 21, last year’s winner Nelson Piquet Jr. (30) ran into the back of Brian Scott’s (2) race car, damaging the front of his own car.
The third caution flew on lap 29, when Owen Kelly (54) intentionally stopped his car on track after running out of fuel. Instead of getting the car off track somewhere, his crew chief told him to stop on track. The tow truck then went out and pushed his car to pit road. This was a massive error on behalf of NASCAR. Kelly should have lost at least one lap for intentionally stopping on track, yet they allowed him to stay on the lead lap after doing this. Then the commentators told the viewers that he would be the last car on the lead lap in thirty-second position, yet he restarted in twenty-first. As a race fan, I felt this was a great failure by NASCAR allowing this driver to create the caution and get awarded for doing it. During the pit stops, Sam Hornish Jr. (12) was nailed for speeding on pit road exit.
The fourth caution came out on lap 36, when Kyle Larson (32) got into the back end of Johnny O’Connell (5), spinning him out. Owen Kelly (54) spun out Brandon Gaughn (21) to bring out the caution flag.
Another caution came out on lap 39, when a piece of a sign became lodged on the front of a race can, then was dropped off on the track at the start finish line during the restart. NASCAR did not throw the caution until three quarters of a lap later. When the caution was thrown, a few cars were damaged when other drivers checked up and they did not. Travis Pastrana (60) and Jeremy Clements (51) both damaged the front end of their race cars while running into the back of other cars. Clements ran into Austin Dillon (3) and Pastrana ran into teammate Trevor Bayne (6). Again, NASCAR failed to throw the caution at the proper time, and because they waited so long, it created damages to cars that should not have been involved in an incident, nearly three miles after the caution issue occurred.
On lap 42, the aggressive driving began to show up in many of the “ringers” brought into the race. Johnson (16) simply dumped Max Papis (33) to get past him. There was no caution thrown for this.
The sixth caution came out on lap 44, when Jeremy Clements (51) crashed into a tire boundary. After the restart, teammates Kligerman (77) and Kelly (54) tangled a second time in the race, causing Regan Smith (7) and Johnson (16) to be spun as well. Smith ran a great race, staying up front until other drivers took him out with their poor driving. Smith lost almost half of his 58 point lead in the series. The last ten laps, drivers started using their cars to ram others out of their way, instead of trying to race around and past them.
The seventh caution on lap 47, was for J. Young (26) stalling on track. The race would go into overtime. A Green-White-Checkered finish would be required to complete the race.
Another caution flew on lap 52, for Kelly (54) spinning out Michael Annett (43) sending him hard into the inside wall. Kelly and Johnson were both overly aggressive in this race and they simply punted people out of their way throughout the race. NASCAR could have done something, but they did nothing and a lot of cars lost plenty of points due to the poor driving habits by these two hired road course ringers. On the final restart, Trevor Bayne (6) had a transmission issue end his day on track.
AJ Almandinger (22) was the dominant car in the race, and was able to take the checkered flag ahead of Justin Allgaier (31). Almandinger led the majority of the laps, while winning the race for Roger Penske.
The rest of the top ten were: Parker Kligerman (77), Owen Kelly (54), Sam Hornish Jr. (12), Brian Vickers (20), Kyle Larson (32), Cole Whitt (44), Elliott Sadler (11) and Austin Dillon (3).
The next race is at Kentucky on Friday night at 7 PM EST on ESPN.
“Toyota SaveMart 350”
SONOMA, CA- The Sprint Cup Series ran this weekend’s race on a road course as well, but a few thousand miles away from Elkhart Lake, WI. Jamie McMurray (1) was able to beat Marcus Ambrose (9) for the pole position. The race was scheduled for 110 laps, equaling 219 miles on the 1.99 mile track. Danica Patrick (10) will be taking to the track, just as Patty Moise (89) did, back in 1987. She was the first female to drive on a NASCAR road course. Sonoma use to be called “Sears Point & Infineon” in the past. There are eleven turns to make on this course.
In other NASCAR news, NASCAR driver Mike Harmon has turned himself into authorities in Shelby, North Carolina, after warrants were put out on his business partner and Harmon both. The two men are charged with breaking and entering, and larceny after the fact. The men stole at least seven vehicles from racer Jennifer Jo Cobb last year. Harmon was Cobb’s team manager in the Nationwide Series. These vehicles were found after a search warrant was executed at Harmon’s shop in Mooresville on May 28, 2013. This story came from the Associated Press this past week.
In opening ceremonies, Tim Boeve provided the Invocation. James Burbin, from American Idol sang the National Anthem. (In my opinion, he really did a poor job trying to screech it out like it was a rock song.) Darryl Waltrip and Amber Spence, were the Grand Marshall’s. (2) Patriot Jet Demonstration Team did a fly-over of the track.
Before the “Green Flag” could fly, a crash on pit road happened when Paulie Harraka (52) ran into the rear end of Alex Kennedy (19). Bobby Labonte (47) also had issues, when his radiator over heated on pit road. He was forced to go to the garage to get repairs completed. Jacque Villeneuve (51) had radio issues and spent time on pit road also.
On lap 2, Labonte was off track with engine issues again troubling his race car.
On lap 3, David Ragan was spun out in turn eleven. On lap 4, Kyle Busch (18) was spun out by Juan Montoya (42). Busch fell from 8th to 27th.
The first caution came out on lap 6, when Paulie Harraka (52) broke down on track. The second caution came out on lap 25, for RAIN. The top nine cars stayed on track. Keselowski (2), Burton (31) and Almirola (43) pitted on lap 23 before the caution came out.
On lap 31, David Reutimann (83) was spun out after being tagged by Joey Lagono (22). Travis Kvapil (93) also received rear end damage in the incident.
On lap 32, Alex Kennedy (19) brought out the caution, being dead on track. During the pit stops, Denny Hamlin (11) and Kyle Busch (18) both were penalized for speeding on entry to pit road. Kurt Busch (78) did not make a pit stop as of yet. On lap 36, Busch was tagged for speeding on entry to pit road as well. While doing his drive through penalty, Busch was tagged speeding again on entry to pit road. He was forced to make a stop and go penalty for the second infraction on pit road. This put him one lap down in the race after leading fifteen laps.
By lap 47, Kurt Busch (78) had raced himself back onto the lead lap. At the half-way mark of the race on lap 55, Martin Truex Jr. (56) was the race leader.
Caution came out on lap 63, for Danica Patrick (10) spinning out. A tire failure caused her spin. Five cars stayed on track while the rest of the field made pit stops. (Truex Jr. (56), Kahne (5), Edwards (99), McMurray (1), and Burton (31).
On lap 68, Denny Hamlin (11) spun out after being tagged by Tony Stewart (14). During the restart, a few cars were damaged, as some did not get going as they needed to. Victor Gonzalez Jr. (36) crashed at the start/finish line.
On lap 83, Kyle Busch brought out another caution as he spun out after being tagged by Carl Edwards (99). The top fifteen cars stayed on track. A few laps later, Busch would spin out again.
On lap 90, Tony Stewart (14) and Jeff Burton (31) spun out after Stewart ran into the tires in turn eleven.
Martin Truex Jr. (56) was able to easily outrun Jeff Gordon (24) for his first road course victory. Juan Montoya was running second until the final lap, when he ran out of fuel and had to coast back to the finish line. Martin Truex Jr. led 51 laps. This was his first win since June 2007. That was 218 races without a victory in a point’s race.
The rest of the top ten were: Carl Edwards (99), Kurt Busch (78), Clint Bowyer (15), Kasey Kahne (5), Marcus Ambrose (9), Greg Biffle (16), Jimmie Johnson (48) and Kevin Harvick (29).
The next race is at Kentucky on TNT at 6:30 PM EST on Saturday night.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Monday, June 17, 2013
Father's Day weekend at Michigan
“Alliance Truck Auto Parts 250”
BROOKLYN, MICHIGAN- The NASCAR Nationwide Series brought the drivers to Michigan International Speedway, One of the fastest tracks in the circuit. The race was scheduled for 125 laps, 250 miles. Austin Dillon (3) was able to take the Pole in his fourth consecutive race, creating a new record for NNS. Six drivers had done three in a row in the past. Teammate Paul Menard (33) would start beside him on the front row. Another teammate Brian Scott (2) started third. This was the first one-two-three start for RCR.
In other news this week, Jason Leffler passed away after an accident in Sprint Series race on June 12, 2013. He was 37 years old, and drove anything and everything he could throughout his career. Numerous drivers have special stickers and hats to memorialize Leffler, as they have made stickers of “Lefturn” as this was his nickname in the driver’s camp.
In opening ceremonies, Father Goeff Rose provided the Invocation. Calynn Green sang the National Anthem, and Sabastian Baumann was the Grand Marshall. Austin Dillon was the In-Race Reporter.
Kyle Busch (54) and Joey Lagono (22) were the only two Cup Drivers in the race. Ford will be trying to get their 1000th win in NASCAR in this race.
The first caution came out on lap 1, when Brian Vickers (20), Travis Pastrana (60), Alex Bowman (99) and Jeffrey Earnhardt (79) were involved in a spin out. Vickers and Earnhardt both went behind the wall for repairs. Brian Scott and Kyle Busch both had minor damages from the incident. Pastrana had severe damage as he hit the wall, and Vickers had plenty of front end damage from going through the grass.
The second caution flew on lap 8, when Dexter Stacey (92) had a tire failure and he ran into the outside wall.
On lap 64, a debris caution came out for parts coming off Justin Allgaier’s (31) race car. During the caution, the top four cars stayed on track, due to rain being in the area. Dillon had led every lap to this point, and took the bonus for leading the most laps in the race. During the restart, Dillon had a tire start to go down, and he was forced to pit and lose a lap. Richard Childress was not real happy with the decision of the crew chief, keeping Dillon on the track.
The fourth caution flew at lap 80, for debris falling off of Brian Scott’s race car. At the same time, Sam Hornish Jr.(12) had an engine issue begin. His car began smoking heavily and he went to the garage. His day ended as the engine was done. Again, the top four cars stayed out, due to the threat of rain in the area.
The fifth and final caution came out on lap 98, when debris was seen on the track once again. Dillon finally was able to get back on the lead lap at this time. With only four laps remaining, Dillon had a tire failure that sent him to the pits again, dropping him out of the top ten for the race. He had worked his way back to a top ten position before the tire failed.
Point’s leader Regan Smith (7) was able to hold off a hard charging Rookie Kyle Larson (32) for the win at Michigan.
The rest of the top ten were: Paul Menard (33), Kyle Busch (54), Trevor Bayne (6), Brad Sweet (5), Chris Buescher (16), Elliott Sadler (11), Nelson Piquet Jr. (30) and Brian Scott (2).
The next race will be at Road America (Elk Hart Lake, WI) on Saturday at 5 PM EST on ESPN.
“Quicken Loans 400”
BROOKLYN, MICHIGAN- The Sprint Cup Series also ran their race for “Father’s Day” weekend, at the Michigan Track. The Pole Sitter was Carl Edwards (99), with Kurt Busch (78) starting second. A 400 mile race was scheduled with 200 laps being completed. This is the second of six races televised by TNT. They have labeled this six race session as the “Summer Series.” They stated that pit stops will be made every 34-38 laps.
In opening ceremonies, a moment of silence was held for Jason Leffler. Father Goeff Rose provided the Invocation. Larry Gallahan and a selected choir sang the National Anthem. The “Screamin Rebels” T-6 Texans did a fly over of the track. The Grand Marshall was Niklas Kronwall, and the In-Race Reporter was Matt Kenseth (20). A “Competition Caution” due to rain overnight, was scheduled for lap 20.
On lap 5, Jeff Gordon (24) and Bobby Labonte (51) crashed after Labonte lost the rear end coming through the corner. Gordon had nowhere he could go, as Labonte came across in front of him, sending him hard into the outside wall. Both cars were heavily damaged. When the green flag came out to start the race, Clint Bowyer (15) got into the back of Trevor Bayne (21) causing damage to the front of Bowyers car. Edwards was also tagged lightly by Busch on the start, and listening to the radio, he has stated plans on returning the hit to Busch when he gets the chance.
The “Competition Caution” came out on lap 21. David Gilliland received the “Lucky Dog” to get back on the lead lap. Kyle Busch (18) was penalized for passing on pit road. He was sent back to thirty-fourth from ninth place.
On lap 29, the third caution flew for Kurt Busch (78), who spun and hit the wall. He stated over the radio that the car simply snapped lose on him.
On lap 43, the fourth caution came out for debris on track. The top five cars did not make a pit stop. (McMurray, Dillon, Patrick, Martin and Ambrose). On lap 66, Mark Martin (55) made a green flag pit stop. McMurray, Patrick and Dillon all made their stops near lap 75. At this point in the race, Team Hendrick held the top three spots.
On lap 77, another debris caution (5) flew. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) was able to get off pit road first. Earnhardt Jr.’s last win was one year ago at this track, when he sported a special scheme on his car for the “Batman” movie that premiered that week. This year, he is sporting a “Superman” scheme on his car.
At the halfway mark, Kasey Kahne (5) had the lead. Earnhardt Jr. (88), Johnson (48), Kenseth (20), Harvick (29), Biffle (16), Lagono (20), Almirola (43), Stewart (14) and Truex Jr. (56) were the top ten cars.
The sixth caution flew just after half way, for Kahne blowing a tire and slamming the wall. He had over a three second lead when his wreck happened. Earnhardt Jr. was able to come off pit road first again. Thirty-one cars remain on the lead lap. By lap 125, Earnhardt’s engine began to fail, as one cylinder was gone in the car. Teammate Jimmie Johnson took over the lead.
On lap 131, Earnhardt Jr.’s car blew the engine to bring out the seventh caution. During the pit stop Johnson took four tires, while the rest of the field only took two. He fell from the lead back to nineteenth. On lap 150, Greg Biffle took the lead away from his teammate Carl Edwards and Joey Lagono. At this point, three fords led the field.
On lap 165, Carl Edwards and teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (17) made their final pit stops. On lap 167, Jamie McMurray blew a right front tire, to bring out the eighth caution. He was running seventh when his tire blew. That jumbled the running order once again, making some teams only take two tires when they wanted/needed four on their final stops. Edwards was caught a lap down by the caution, but received the “lucky dog” to be placed back on the lead lap. There were nearly thirty cars on the lead lap though, costing him all that ground. He would restart in twenty-fourth spot after pitting in second.
The fastest car on track today was Aric Almirola (43) at 219mph. Greg Biffle led the most laps with 48 laps. With just three laps left, Johnson had a tire failure that sent him to pit road. On the final lap, Brad Keselowski (2) fell from fifth to twelfth, due to running out of fuel. Greg Biffle was able to hold on for his fourth win at Michigan. He also got “FORD,” their 1000th win in NASCAR.
The rest of the top ten are: Kevin Harvick (29), Martin Truex Jr. (56), Kyle Busch (18), Tony Stewart (14), Matt Kenseth (20), Clint Bowyer (15), Carl Edwards (99), Joey Lagono (22) and Jeff Burton (31). Other notables, Rookie Austin Dillon (33) finished eleventh and Danica Patrick (10) finished thirteenth. Johnson finished thirty-eighth.
The next race is on Sunday at a Road Course in Sonoma, CA at 2PM EST on TNT, for the Save Mart 350.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Iowa-Pocono Weekend
“Pioneer 250”
NEWTON, IOWA- The nationwide Series was scheduled to run 250 laps/miles on the 7/8 mile track on Saturday Night, but “Mother Nature” had a different idea in mind. Rain washed out the race, just a half-hour before the scheduled start time. Austin Dillon (3) won his third consecutive pole start, with Sam Hornish Jr. (12) starting beside him. In other racing news, Trevor Bayne (6) was married this week on Tuesday. The In-Race Reporter was Kyle Larson (32), a rookie that has done very well so far this season. The pre-race ceremonies were not televised. Joey Lagono (22) and Joe Nemecheck (87) were replaced by Ryan Blaney and Kevin Lepage, as they were scheduled to race at Pocono today also. A “Competition Caution” was set up for lap 50, due to all the rain.
Caution came out early on lap 3, when Cole Whitt (44), tagged Brad Sweet (5) spinning him into the wall, and tearing up the rear of the car. Kevin Swindell (98) was also spun in the incident. Swindell would go to the garage for repairs to the front end of his car.
On lap 38, Brad Sweet was given the “Black Flag” for smoke coming from his damaged race car. He would be forced to get off track to get the issue dealt with. There began to be seen, raindrops on the cameras on lap 47.
On lap 51, Brian Vickers (20) was spun out by Trevor Bayne running him three-wide. Vickers fell from fourth to seventeenth. Sam Hornish Jr., Justin Allgaier and Paul Menard (27) only took two tires on the pit stop, while the rest of the field took four.
At the halfway mark, Dillon was the leader by over four seconds. After the pit stops were made, Dillon had close to a six second lead.
On lap 149, the third caution came out for debris. During the pit stop, Dillon lost the lead because he took on four new tires and three cars behind him only took two.
On lap 155, Brian Vickers (20), (30), Max Papis (33), Alex Bowman (99), and Travis Pastrana (60) were all involved in a wreck. The wreck started when Bowman slid up and into Vickers. Pastrana T-boned Papis, sending the 33 car into the air sideways. Before they could restart, rain began falling at the track. A “Red Flag” was thrown for the heavy rain that was falling. Dillon had just re-taken the lead before the wreck happened.
While the red flag came out with 86 laps left, the fields top ten were: A. Dillon (3), T. Bayne (6), B. Scott (2), S. Hornish (12), R. Smith (7), R. Blaney (22), M. Annett (43), K. Larson (32) and P. Kligerman (77).
The race began again after a lengthy rain delay. Another caution came out near lap 175, when Drew Herring (54) ran into, and spun out Michael Annett (43). After dominating the day, Austin Dillon was forced to let Trevor Bayne past him, as Bayne attempted to wreck Dillon numerous times in the late laps. Dillon had better than a two second lead, and lap cars held him up to the point, Bayne was able to catch up with less than twenty laps to go. Once Bayne caught him, he kept trying to spin him out. I counted at least four attempts to spin him out, and NASCAR allowed it. Bayne was involved in a couple incidents in today’s race that could have been looked at, as excessive antics. Bayne won the race over Dillon.
The rest of the top ten were: Elliott Sadler (11), Sam Hornish Jr. (12), Kyle Larson (32), Brian Scott (2), Regan Smith (7), Justin Allgaier (31), Ryan Blaney (22) and Mike Bliss (19). Johanna Long (70) tied a career best twelfth place finish on the lead lap.
The next race will be at Michigan, next Saturday at 2 PM EST.
“Party in the Poconos 400”
LONG POND, PENNSYLVANIA- Rain washed out qualifying for the fourteenth race of the season for the Sprint Cup Series. Jimmie Johnson (48) received the Pole position by points. Carl Edwards (99) started second. A 400 mile race was scheduled to be run on the “Tricky Triangle.” 160 laps were scheduled, for the race to be complete, unless weather or a caution changes the length. Pit stops will be made just about every thirty laps.
In opening ceremonies, Father Mike Coughlin provided the Invocation. Staff Sgt. Naomi Scott sang the National Anthem. The Grand Marshall was Brian Hendricks, a Director of Marketing for Wal-mart.
On lap 2, Kasey Kahne (5) was off-pace and went into the pits. He reported a violent shaking in the car. While in the pits, a crew member was under the car and they dropped the car back on the ground. The crew member was not hurt, but it did surprise me, that there was enough room under the car for a person to lay down when the car was dropped.
On lap 69, the first caution came out for someone throwing a blanket of some sort onto the track. Jimmie Johnson had dominated the race to this point. He led 72 of the first 88 laps.
Near lap 100, Kevin Harvick (29) was penalized for speeding on exit of pit road, after his green flag stop. Harvick had been in the top five most of the race.
Another caution flew on lap 126, for fluid on the track. It was reported the fluid came from the car of Ryan Truex Jr. (56).
On lap 133, Juan Montoya (42) and Matt Kenseth (20) spun, coming through the “Tunnel Turn”. Another caution came out on lap 138, when Dave Blaney (7) spun out, after being tagged by Aric Almirola (43). Another caution fell when AJ Allmendinger had a tire failure on lap 147. He was able to get the car down and out of the way, but NASCAR threw the caution anyways.
On lap 153, Dave Blaney brought out the sixth caution, as he slapped the outside wall. There were five cautions in the last twenty-eight laps, after having only one in the first hundred and twenty-five laps.
Jimmie Johnson (48) was able to hold off Greg Biffle (16) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) on the restart to take the win. This was his third victory of the season, after he dominated this race. Johnson led 128 of the 160 laps. This was his 64th win of his career in the Sprint Cup Series. Johnson now holds a fifty-one point lead in the series.
The rest of the top ten were: Tony Stewart (14), Ryan Newman (39), Kyle Busch (18), Kurt Busch (78), Denny Hamlin (11), Kevin Harvick (29) and Joey Lagono (22).
The next race will be at Michigan next Sunday at 12 PM EST.
NEWTON, IOWA- The nationwide Series was scheduled to run 250 laps/miles on the 7/8 mile track on Saturday Night, but “Mother Nature” had a different idea in mind. Rain washed out the race, just a half-hour before the scheduled start time. Austin Dillon (3) won his third consecutive pole start, with Sam Hornish Jr. (12) starting beside him. In other racing news, Trevor Bayne (6) was married this week on Tuesday. The In-Race Reporter was Kyle Larson (32), a rookie that has done very well so far this season. The pre-race ceremonies were not televised. Joey Lagono (22) and Joe Nemecheck (87) were replaced by Ryan Blaney and Kevin Lepage, as they were scheduled to race at Pocono today also. A “Competition Caution” was set up for lap 50, due to all the rain.
Caution came out early on lap 3, when Cole Whitt (44), tagged Brad Sweet (5) spinning him into the wall, and tearing up the rear of the car. Kevin Swindell (98) was also spun in the incident. Swindell would go to the garage for repairs to the front end of his car.
On lap 38, Brad Sweet was given the “Black Flag” for smoke coming from his damaged race car. He would be forced to get off track to get the issue dealt with. There began to be seen, raindrops on the cameras on lap 47.
On lap 51, Brian Vickers (20) was spun out by Trevor Bayne running him three-wide. Vickers fell from fourth to seventeenth. Sam Hornish Jr., Justin Allgaier and Paul Menard (27) only took two tires on the pit stop, while the rest of the field took four.
At the halfway mark, Dillon was the leader by over four seconds. After the pit stops were made, Dillon had close to a six second lead.
On lap 149, the third caution came out for debris. During the pit stop, Dillon lost the lead because he took on four new tires and three cars behind him only took two.
On lap 155, Brian Vickers (20), (30), Max Papis (33), Alex Bowman (99), and Travis Pastrana (60) were all involved in a wreck. The wreck started when Bowman slid up and into Vickers. Pastrana T-boned Papis, sending the 33 car into the air sideways. Before they could restart, rain began falling at the track. A “Red Flag” was thrown for the heavy rain that was falling. Dillon had just re-taken the lead before the wreck happened.
While the red flag came out with 86 laps left, the fields top ten were: A. Dillon (3), T. Bayne (6), B. Scott (2), S. Hornish (12), R. Smith (7), R. Blaney (22), M. Annett (43), K. Larson (32) and P. Kligerman (77).
The race began again after a lengthy rain delay. Another caution came out near lap 175, when Drew Herring (54) ran into, and spun out Michael Annett (43). After dominating the day, Austin Dillon was forced to let Trevor Bayne past him, as Bayne attempted to wreck Dillon numerous times in the late laps. Dillon had better than a two second lead, and lap cars held him up to the point, Bayne was able to catch up with less than twenty laps to go. Once Bayne caught him, he kept trying to spin him out. I counted at least four attempts to spin him out, and NASCAR allowed it. Bayne was involved in a couple incidents in today’s race that could have been looked at, as excessive antics. Bayne won the race over Dillon.
The rest of the top ten were: Elliott Sadler (11), Sam Hornish Jr. (12), Kyle Larson (32), Brian Scott (2), Regan Smith (7), Justin Allgaier (31), Ryan Blaney (22) and Mike Bliss (19). Johanna Long (70) tied a career best twelfth place finish on the lead lap.
The next race will be at Michigan, next Saturday at 2 PM EST.
“Party in the Poconos 400”
LONG POND, PENNSYLVANIA- Rain washed out qualifying for the fourteenth race of the season for the Sprint Cup Series. Jimmie Johnson (48) received the Pole position by points. Carl Edwards (99) started second. A 400 mile race was scheduled to be run on the “Tricky Triangle.” 160 laps were scheduled, for the race to be complete, unless weather or a caution changes the length. Pit stops will be made just about every thirty laps.
In opening ceremonies, Father Mike Coughlin provided the Invocation. Staff Sgt. Naomi Scott sang the National Anthem. The Grand Marshall was Brian Hendricks, a Director of Marketing for Wal-mart.
On lap 2, Kasey Kahne (5) was off-pace and went into the pits. He reported a violent shaking in the car. While in the pits, a crew member was under the car and they dropped the car back on the ground. The crew member was not hurt, but it did surprise me, that there was enough room under the car for a person to lay down when the car was dropped.
On lap 69, the first caution came out for someone throwing a blanket of some sort onto the track. Jimmie Johnson had dominated the race to this point. He led 72 of the first 88 laps.
Near lap 100, Kevin Harvick (29) was penalized for speeding on exit of pit road, after his green flag stop. Harvick had been in the top five most of the race.
Another caution flew on lap 126, for fluid on the track. It was reported the fluid came from the car of Ryan Truex Jr. (56).
On lap 133, Juan Montoya (42) and Matt Kenseth (20) spun, coming through the “Tunnel Turn”. Another caution came out on lap 138, when Dave Blaney (7) spun out, after being tagged by Aric Almirola (43). Another caution fell when AJ Allmendinger had a tire failure on lap 147. He was able to get the car down and out of the way, but NASCAR threw the caution anyways.
On lap 153, Dave Blaney brought out the sixth caution, as he slapped the outside wall. There were five cautions in the last twenty-eight laps, after having only one in the first hundred and twenty-five laps.
Jimmie Johnson (48) was able to hold off Greg Biffle (16) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) on the restart to take the win. This was his third victory of the season, after he dominated this race. Johnson led 128 of the 160 laps. This was his 64th win of his career in the Sprint Cup Series. Johnson now holds a fifty-one point lead in the series.
The rest of the top ten were: Tony Stewart (14), Ryan Newman (39), Kyle Busch (18), Kurt Busch (78), Denny Hamlin (11), Kevin Harvick (29) and Joey Lagono (22).
The next race will be at Michigan next Sunday at 12 PM EST.
Monday, June 3, 2013
Monster Mile Weekend
Dover “The Monster Mile”
5 Hour Energy 200
DOVER, DELEWARE- The Nationwide Series ran their race this weekend at one of the tougher tracks on the circuit. The race is run on a one-mile concrete track. One of the biggest issues the drivers face, is a loose condition were the cars will not stick to the track. The rubber that gets put down by the cars, makes the track slippery. I was not able to watch the entire race, as I was attending a 50th Wedding Anniversary Party at a Sports Bar in Minnesota. I did however catch the last laps of the race as Lagono took the win. I can imagine the first couple cautions were most likely debris cautions. This happens on a regular basis in all races.
There were only five cautions during the race. Kasey Kahne (5) was attempting to get past Mike Wallace (01) and apparently became tired of Wallace blocking him, so he punted him out of his way, causing Wallace to crash and a caution to come out near lap 113.
The fourth caution came out for Reed Sorenson’s car stalling on pit road exit. The fifth caution flew for Dexter Stacey spinning out.
After being the dominant car in the race, Kyle Busch (54) would come up short once again as Joey Lagono (22) won his 3rd straight race in the NNS at Dover. On the final pit stop, Busch told his crew chief he wanted four new tires, when the rest of the field only took two. He lost several spots on pit road, and was not able to get back to the front. Busch did have a five second lead before the final caution was thrown.
The rest of the top ten were: Brian Vickers (20), Matt Kenseth (18), Trevor Bayne (6), Kyle Busch (54), Kasey Kahne (5), Sam Hornish Jr. (12), Austin Dillon (3), Regan Smith (7) and Kyle Larson (32).
The next race will be at Iowa Raceway next Saturday on ESPN at 8 PM.
“Fed Ex 400”
Benefitting Autism Speaks
DOVER, DELEWARE- The Sprint Cup Series also ran this weekend’s race at Dover. The twelfth race of the season was run at a track that Jimmie Johnson could almost have his name placed upon. Johnson has won at this track seven times in his short career. He has won the last five straight. He also is running a special paint scheme, the new Monsters University movie was released recently. Last week, a FOX camera caused a “Red Flag” and 10 fans received injuries. A rope that controlled the cameras movements broke and fell onto the track. The cars were damaged by it, as well as fans. The Pole Winner is Denny Hamlin (11) in a special paint scheme for Autism Awareness. Martin Truex Jr. (56) will start second. This was the final race of the season for FOX. The race was scheduled for 400 miles/laps on this concrete track.
In Opening Ceremonies, Dan Schafer provided the Invocation. The Group Gloriana sang the National Anthem. The Grand Marshall was Laurie Tucker, Vice President of Marketing for FedEx. The In-Race Reporter was Denny Hamlin.
Hamlin led the first 23 laps, before “Cockroach” Kyle Busch (18) took the lead away from his teammate. Matt Kenseth (20) ran third at this point. On lap 72, green flag pit stops began. Denny Hamlin attempted to go down pit road, and was too fast, as he missed the entry to pit road and had to go around the track again. Only 22 cars are left on the lead lap.
On lap 81, the first caution came out for debris. Tony Stewart received the “Lucky Dog” The top nine cars stayed on track. Only 20 cars remain on the lead lap after the first round of stop are made.
Another Caution for debris flew on lap 128. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (17) received the “Lucky Dog” 21 cars remain on the lead lap, with Matt Kenseth being the leader at the restart.
On lap 158, Joey Lagono had a tire go down on him, so he went to pit road. At the same time Leader Matt Kenseth reported his engine was expiring. The caution came out for oil on the track, as Kenseth did not get off the track before the engine let go. The top four cars only took two tires, as the rest of the lead lap cars all took four. Jeff Burton (31) was the “Lucky Dog.” 21 cars left on the lead lap.
During the race, they reported that Jimmie Johnson gave his winnings from Coca Cola 600 to the Moore, OK fund. He gave them roughly $150K to the area for helping all those affected by the EF5 Tornado that devastated the area, killing 24 people. This past week, the area was struck by numerous tornados again, killing another 13 people. Three of those that died were storm chasers for the weather channel network. At the halfway mark, Kyle Busch was the leader. On lap 206, Jimmie Johnson (48) took the lead away from Busch.
On lap 275, Landon Cassill (33) had a flat left rear tire and was able to get it off track without any caution. On lap 279, Martin Truex Jr. (56) had an engine failure that ended his day. This brought out the fourth caution. Carl Edwards (99) was able to get the “Lucky Dog” on this caution in 15th position. Ryan Newman (39) and Carl Edwards were both penalized for speeding.
On lap 300, Newman dumped David Gilliland (38) and brought out the fifth caution. Newman was trying to get Gilliland to move out of his way as he tagged him numerous times in a few laps, before he wrecked both of their cars. Both cars were one lap down at the time of the crash. A handful of cars did not make stops and another group decided to only take two tires. This scrambled the front runners a bit with less than 100 laps remaining.
On lap 316, Kasey Kahne (5) spun out of eighth place. The field all pitted and changed just two tires. After this stop, just sixteen cars are on the lead lap. With seventy five laps remaining, Johnson re-took the lead. A broken radiator sent Jamie McMurray (1) to the garage with only 68 laps remaining. He was a lead lap car when the radiator broke. With only fifty laps to go, the top five spots were held by Chevrolets.
On lap 376, Denny Hamlin ran up the track and into the wall to bring out the seventh caution. Jeff Burton received the “Lucky Dog” The top five cars only took two tires and the rest took four. This incident for Hamlin has hurt his chances to make the chase now. Juan Montoya (42) was able to get off pit road first. On the restart, Johnson was charged with jumping the start. He went from second place to seventeenth, one lap down. He would have clearly won the race if he had just given the spot back to Montoya after he jumped out ahead of him. He lost the race due to this penalty by NASCAR.
Juan Montoya did not restart properly, and that is why they black flagged Johnson. Tony Stewart (14) was able to get past Montoya with two laps remaining to win the race.
The rest of the top ten were: Jeff Gordon (24), Kyle Busch (18), Brad Keselowski (2), Clint Bowyer (15), Joey Lagono (22), Kevin Harvick (29), Mark Martin (55) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88).
The next race will be Sunday at 1PM at Pocono Raceway on TNT.
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5 Hour Energy 200
DOVER, DELEWARE- The Nationwide Series ran their race this weekend at one of the tougher tracks on the circuit. The race is run on a one-mile concrete track. One of the biggest issues the drivers face, is a loose condition were the cars will not stick to the track. The rubber that gets put down by the cars, makes the track slippery. I was not able to watch the entire race, as I was attending a 50th Wedding Anniversary Party at a Sports Bar in Minnesota. I did however catch the last laps of the race as Lagono took the win. I can imagine the first couple cautions were most likely debris cautions. This happens on a regular basis in all races.
There were only five cautions during the race. Kasey Kahne (5) was attempting to get past Mike Wallace (01) and apparently became tired of Wallace blocking him, so he punted him out of his way, causing Wallace to crash and a caution to come out near lap 113.
The fourth caution came out for Reed Sorenson’s car stalling on pit road exit. The fifth caution flew for Dexter Stacey spinning out.
After being the dominant car in the race, Kyle Busch (54) would come up short once again as Joey Lagono (22) won his 3rd straight race in the NNS at Dover. On the final pit stop, Busch told his crew chief he wanted four new tires, when the rest of the field only took two. He lost several spots on pit road, and was not able to get back to the front. Busch did have a five second lead before the final caution was thrown.
The rest of the top ten were: Brian Vickers (20), Matt Kenseth (18), Trevor Bayne (6), Kyle Busch (54), Kasey Kahne (5), Sam Hornish Jr. (12), Austin Dillon (3), Regan Smith (7) and Kyle Larson (32).
The next race will be at Iowa Raceway next Saturday on ESPN at 8 PM.
“Fed Ex 400”
Benefitting Autism Speaks
DOVER, DELEWARE- The Sprint Cup Series also ran this weekend’s race at Dover. The twelfth race of the season was run at a track that Jimmie Johnson could almost have his name placed upon. Johnson has won at this track seven times in his short career. He has won the last five straight. He also is running a special paint scheme, the new Monsters University movie was released recently. Last week, a FOX camera caused a “Red Flag” and 10 fans received injuries. A rope that controlled the cameras movements broke and fell onto the track. The cars were damaged by it, as well as fans. The Pole Winner is Denny Hamlin (11) in a special paint scheme for Autism Awareness. Martin Truex Jr. (56) will start second. This was the final race of the season for FOX. The race was scheduled for 400 miles/laps on this concrete track.
In Opening Ceremonies, Dan Schafer provided the Invocation. The Group Gloriana sang the National Anthem. The Grand Marshall was Laurie Tucker, Vice President of Marketing for FedEx. The In-Race Reporter was Denny Hamlin.
Hamlin led the first 23 laps, before “Cockroach” Kyle Busch (18) took the lead away from his teammate. Matt Kenseth (20) ran third at this point. On lap 72, green flag pit stops began. Denny Hamlin attempted to go down pit road, and was too fast, as he missed the entry to pit road and had to go around the track again. Only 22 cars are left on the lead lap.
On lap 81, the first caution came out for debris. Tony Stewart received the “Lucky Dog” The top nine cars stayed on track. Only 20 cars remain on the lead lap after the first round of stop are made.
Another Caution for debris flew on lap 128. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (17) received the “Lucky Dog” 21 cars remain on the lead lap, with Matt Kenseth being the leader at the restart.
On lap 158, Joey Lagono had a tire go down on him, so he went to pit road. At the same time Leader Matt Kenseth reported his engine was expiring. The caution came out for oil on the track, as Kenseth did not get off the track before the engine let go. The top four cars only took two tires, as the rest of the lead lap cars all took four. Jeff Burton (31) was the “Lucky Dog.” 21 cars left on the lead lap.
During the race, they reported that Jimmie Johnson gave his winnings from Coca Cola 600 to the Moore, OK fund. He gave them roughly $150K to the area for helping all those affected by the EF5 Tornado that devastated the area, killing 24 people. This past week, the area was struck by numerous tornados again, killing another 13 people. Three of those that died were storm chasers for the weather channel network. At the halfway mark, Kyle Busch was the leader. On lap 206, Jimmie Johnson (48) took the lead away from Busch.
On lap 275, Landon Cassill (33) had a flat left rear tire and was able to get it off track without any caution. On lap 279, Martin Truex Jr. (56) had an engine failure that ended his day. This brought out the fourth caution. Carl Edwards (99) was able to get the “Lucky Dog” on this caution in 15th position. Ryan Newman (39) and Carl Edwards were both penalized for speeding.
On lap 300, Newman dumped David Gilliland (38) and brought out the fifth caution. Newman was trying to get Gilliland to move out of his way as he tagged him numerous times in a few laps, before he wrecked both of their cars. Both cars were one lap down at the time of the crash. A handful of cars did not make stops and another group decided to only take two tires. This scrambled the front runners a bit with less than 100 laps remaining.
On lap 316, Kasey Kahne (5) spun out of eighth place. The field all pitted and changed just two tires. After this stop, just sixteen cars are on the lead lap. With seventy five laps remaining, Johnson re-took the lead. A broken radiator sent Jamie McMurray (1) to the garage with only 68 laps remaining. He was a lead lap car when the radiator broke. With only fifty laps to go, the top five spots were held by Chevrolets.
On lap 376, Denny Hamlin ran up the track and into the wall to bring out the seventh caution. Jeff Burton received the “Lucky Dog” The top five cars only took two tires and the rest took four. This incident for Hamlin has hurt his chances to make the chase now. Juan Montoya (42) was able to get off pit road first. On the restart, Johnson was charged with jumping the start. He went from second place to seventeenth, one lap down. He would have clearly won the race if he had just given the spot back to Montoya after he jumped out ahead of him. He lost the race due to this penalty by NASCAR.
Juan Montoya did not restart properly, and that is why they black flagged Johnson. Tony Stewart (14) was able to get past Montoya with two laps remaining to win the race.
The rest of the top ten were: Jeff Gordon (24), Kyle Busch (18), Brad Keselowski (2), Clint Bowyer (15), Joey Lagono (22), Kevin Harvick (29), Mark Martin (55) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88).
The next race will be Sunday at 1PM at Pocono Raceway on TNT.
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