"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
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