Jimmie Johnson Wins Subway Fresh Fit 500 in Phoenix

The race in Phoenix was pretty good overall, ended up being Jimmie Johnsons and Hendrick Motorsports first win in 2008 and they won it on gas mileage, everyone else pitted and they used the big cushion they had to stay ahead of the ones who pitted for gas and tires. Denny Hamlin’s team made a good move, pitting before everyone else and taking four tires to finish third.

Johnson led the most laps, 120, and only three other drivers led laps in this race, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who led 87, Mark Martin leading 68 laps and pole sitter Ryan Newman who led 37 before a blown seal ended his day. Newman’s teammate, Elliot Sadler also had a blown motor. Jeff Gordon had a better finish than he has had of late, finishing 13th after going a lap down when he was in the pits and the caution came out, and it also put him 13th in points, just 8 points back of 12th position.

Sometimes the slowest car wins the race.

With crew chief Chad Knaus beseeching driver Jimmie Johnson to save fuel in the final seven laps of Saturday night’s Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway, the two-time defending Cup champion nursed the No. 48 Chevrolet across the finish line 7.002 seconds ahead of Clint Bowyer, who also gambled on fuel.

The victory returned Hendrick Motorsports to Victory Lane after an eight-race hiatus and gave the two-time defending Cup champion the 34th win of his career — and second consecutive at Phoenix. Denny Hamlin ran third, followed by Carl Edwards, who rallied from a pit road penalty to claim the fourth spot.

Mark Martin, who surrendered the lead to Johnson when he came to the pits for two tires and fuel on Lap 302, finished fifth, followed by points leader Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Martin Truex Jr., Greg Biffle and Kyle Busch. Source: Fuel gamble helps Johnson to first victory of season

I have often thought Gordon stays out too long when fuel mileage is involved, if you pit early and grab four tires, as Hamlin did, you can make up extra time because you will be faster on newer tires. But, there are reasons for everything these guys do, and past experiences play a big part in these races, I just wish they would try something different occasionally instead of staying out and hoping for a caution, etc.

Polesitter Newman had a seal in his engine fail on Lap 133, and the resulting explosion caused all kinds of havoc for all kinds of people. Burton was running behind the No. 12 car when it let go, and spun out in the fluid dropped on the racetrack. But he kept the car off the wall, and continued his march from his 39th-place starting position to his eventual sixth-place finish. He also kept the points lead for a third consecutive week, improving to 80 ahead of Kyle Busch.

“We were going to run 11th, 12th or something like that, but [crew chief] Scott [Miller] made a great call and got us a sixth. We will certainly take it,” Burton said. “I am disappointed in how we ran, I am disappointed in myself. We are just missing something. We had no damage to the car when we spun in the oil from the 12 when it blew up. We were probably pretty lucky there was no damage, we got a little dirt track racing in, but it worked out for us. There was a little bit of luck involved there.”

Gordon had no such luck. Like Edwards, he was sitting on pit road when Nemechek crashed, and fell a lap down. He received a free pass, took two tires during a pit stop to pick up track position, and was up to seventh place before having to make a late stop for fuel. His eventual 13th-place finish helped him improve one spot to 13th in series points.

“I was very proud of the fact that we were able to fight back and get our lap back and then battle with two tires up there,” said Gordon, the defending champion of the Phoenix spring race. “We were flirting with a top-10. And then of course we didn’t have the fuel mileage that some of those other guys did and so, you know, we didn’t stay out.” Source: Edwards among those to dodge trouble at Phoenix

Here’s how they finished:

1 7 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s 195/10 312 Running 262,111
2 24 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet DIRECTV 170/0 312 Running 170,350
3 16 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota March of Dimes / FedEx Kinko’s 165/0 312 Running 164,516
4 3 99 Carl Edwards Ford Aflac 160/0 312 Running 158,585
5 4 8 Mark Martin Chevrolet Army Reserve 100th Anniv. / U.S. Army 160/5 312 Running 150,258
6 39 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 150/0 312 Running 140,008
7 13 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet National Guard / AMP Energy 151/5 312 Running 99,125
8 9 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 142/0 312 Running 113,008
9 18 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M 138/0 312 Running 89,475
10 6 18 Kyle Busch Toyota Snickers 134/0 312 Running 95,925
11 30 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet CARQUEST / Kellogg’s 130/0 311 Running 90,875
12 34 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios / Betty Crocker 127/0 311 Running 112,511
13 11 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Nicorette / DuPont 124/0 311 Running 119,961
14 12 20 Tony Stewart Toyota Subway / Home Depot 121/0 311 Running 117,611
15 36 38 David Gilliland Ford Yates Racing 118/0 311 Running 91,658
16 15 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Wrigley’s Big Red 115/0 311 Running 98,933
17 8 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal 112/0 311 Running 79,125
18 26 44 David Reutimann Toyota UPS 109/0 311 Running 75,300
19 17 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Reese’s 106/0 311 Running 113,336
20 31 77 Sam Hornish Jr. * Dodge Mobil 1 103/0 311 Running 114,250
21 14 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet Johns Manville / Menards 100/0 311 Running 78,225
22 32 28 Travis Kvapil Ford Ford. Drive one. 97/0 310 Running 98,314
23 40 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 94/0 310 Running 65,875
24 28 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS 91/0 310 Running 82,833
25 33 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 88/0 310 Running 69,000
26 10 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet Haas Automation 85/0 310 Running 83,433
27 23 6 David Ragan Ford AAA Insurance 82/0 310 Running 76,550
28 25 84 Mike Skinner Toyota Red Bull 79/0 310 Running 65,225
29 35 7 Robby Gordon Dodge MAPEI / Menards 76/0 310 Running 87,858
30 19 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 73/0 309 Running 77,997
31 43 21 Bill Elliott Ford Motorcraft 70/0 309 Running 86,155
32 21 40 Dario Franchitti * Dodge Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit 67/0 309 Running 75,125
33 37 10 Patrick Carpentier * Dodge LifeLock 64/0 308 Running 65,450
34 29 00 Michael McDowell * Toyota Aaron’s Dream Machine 61/0 307 Running 64,375
35 38 01 Regan Smith * Chevrolet DEI / Principal Financial Group 58/0 298 Running 72,250
36 5 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser 55/0 273 Running 94,091
37 42 70 Johnny Sauter Chevrolet Haas Automation 52/0 271 Running 63,975
38 27 17 Matt Kenseth Ford DEWALT NANO Technology 49/0 269 Running 111,466
39 22 96 J.J. Yeley Toyota DLP HDTV 46/0 224 Running 71,700
40 41 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row / DenverMattress.com 43/0 208 Running 63,550
41 2 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Stanley Tools 40/0 161 Engine 90,250
42 20 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target / Glad 37/0 144 Accident 90,494
43 1 12 Ryan Newman Dodge Alltel 39/5 134 Engine 110,718

Here are the top 12 in points after Phoenix:

1 — Jeff Burton 1215 Leader 8 0 1 3 6 1,464,500
2 +1 Kyle Busch 1135 -80 8 1 1 4 5 1,668,660
3 +1 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 1129 -86 8 1 0 3 6 1,494,270
4 +2 Jimmie Johnson 1116 -99 8 1 1 4 4 1,819,660
5 -3 Kevin Harvick 1112 -103 8 0 0 2 4 1,266,430
6 +1 Denny Hamlin 1078 -137 8 0 1 3 5 1,461,180
7 -2 Tony Stewart 1078 -137 8 0 0 3 5 2,008,830
8 +3 Clint Bowyer 1044 -171 8 0 0 2 5 1,179,990
9 — Carl Edwards 1041 -174 8 0 3 4 5 2,202,720
10 -2 Greg Biffle 1039 -176 8 0 0 3 5 1,152,960
11 +1 Kasey Kahne 929 -286 8 0 0 0 4 1,285,670
12 -2 Ryan Newman 915 -300 8 1 1 2 3 2,536,310

April 19, 2008 By webmaster Comments (0)

Carl Edwards Wins in Texas

You know, sometimes the commentators say some of the dumbest stuff I’ve ever heard, like today, DW said he bets that the complexion of the race will change after every pit stop and drivers and crew chiefs make adjustments to their cars.

Duh huh. Doesn’t that happen every week? Then you wonder if they are actually watching the same race you are when they say stuff like such and such is moving up, when they have actually already been moving up and are now falling back again. Ahh, Nascar, I swear that My Uncle and I could do a much better job and make it a lot more entertaining, although we’d probably get fined for cussing.

Anyway, Carl Edwards has shown once again how well he runs on the intermediate tracks, 8 of his 9 wins have been on intermediate tracks and he has 32 top fives, right at 25% of his total career starts. So, no real surprise here, and no real surprise that Gordon ran poorly here, but, this was only his second career finish in 43rd position.

I have a few friends complaining how poorly he has done compared to last year, etc, etc, but that isn’t the point anymore, as Jimmie Johnson has proven twice and Kurt Busch once, all you have to do is be in the top 12 at the end and then do good in the last ten races. Nascar isn’t about kicking ass all year long anymore, that’s what Gordon did last year and he didn’t win the title, Nascar is about being consistent and that is it, and then the last ten races are the ones you worry about. But I digress….

Carl Edwards’ signature back flip marked more than his third dominating performance of the 2008 Sprint Cup season.

In a green-white-checkered-flag finish that took Sunday’s Samsung 500 five laps beyond its scheduled distance of 334 laps, Edwards held off Jimmie Johnson at Texas Motor Speedway to win his third race of the season and the 10th of his career (watch video).

Edwards, who led a race-high 123 laps, crossed the finish line .399 seconds ahead of the two-time defending Cup champion. Kyle Busch ran third, followed by Ryan Newman and Denny Hamlin. Point’s leader Jeff Burton, Tony Stewart, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth and Clint Bowyer completed the top 10. Source: Edwards cruises at Texas with third win of season

Here is how they finished:

1 2 99 Carl Edwards Ford Aflac 195/10 339 Running
2 5 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s 175/5 339 Running
3 3 18 Kyle Busch Toyota Interstate Batteries 170/5 339 Running
4 4 12 Ryan Newman Dodge Samsung HDTV / ALLTEL 160/0 339 Running
5 14 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Ground 155/0 339 Running
6 35 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Prilosec OTC 150/0 339 Running
7 24 20 Tony Stewart Toyota The Home Depot 146/0 339 Running
8 31 8 Mark Martin Chevrolet U.S. Army 142/0 339 Running
9 8 17 Matt Kenseth Ford DEWALT 143/5 339 Running
10 25 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Jack Daniel’s 134/0 339 Running
11 21 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 130/0 338 Running
12 1 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet National Guard / AMP Energy 132/5 338 Running
13 7 6 David Ragan Ford AAA Insurance 124/0 338 Running
14 32 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal Cask No. 16 121/0 338 Running
15 41 38 David Gilliland Ford Yates Racing 118/0 338 Running
16 36 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 115/0 338 Running
17 19 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet Quaker State / Menards 112/0 338 Running
18 38 28 Travis Kvapil Ford Yates Racing 109/0 338 Running
19 11 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Texaco / Havoline 106/0 337 Running
20 30 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios Racing / Sam’s Club 103/0 337 Running
21 29 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 100/0 337 Running
22 22 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet Cheez-It / CARQUEST 97/0 337 Running
23 23 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 94/0 337 Running
24 42 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target 91/0 337 Running
25 10 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser 88/0 336 Running
26 26 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Best Buy / Garmin 85/0 336 Running
27 13 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet State Water Heaters 82/0 336 Running
28 27 10 Patrick Carpentier * Dodge Valvoline 79/0 335 Running
29 9 84 Mike Skinner Toyota Red Bull 76/0 334 Running
30 15 7 Robby Gordon Dodge Jim Beam 73/0 334 Running
31 20 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS 70/0 333 Running
32 17 77 Sam Hornish Jr. * Dodge Mobil 1 67/0 333 Running
33 40 00 Michael McDowell * Toyota Aaron’s Dream Machine 64/0 332 Running
34 28 21 Bill Elliott Ford Motorcraft 61/0 332 Running
35 34 01 Regan Smith * Chevrolet DEI / Principal Financial Group 58/0 331 Running
36 12 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 60/5 330 Off Track
37 43 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row / DenverMattress.com 52/0 330 Running
38 39 70 Jeremy Mayfield Chevrolet Haas Automation 49/0 329 Running
39 16 16 Greg Biffle Ford DISH Network / DishDVRs 46/0 312 Running
40 37 34 John Andretti Chevrolet Front Row Motorsports 43/0 263 Off Track
41 6 44 David Reutimann Toyota UPS 40/0 253 Out of Race
42 33 96 J.J. Yeley Toyota DLP HDTV 37/0 173 Out of Race
43 18 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 34/0 124 Out of Race

Here are the top 12 standings:

1 — Jeff Burton 1065 Leader 7 0 1 3 5
2 — Kevin Harvick 1006 -59 7 0 0 2 4
3 +2 Kyle Busch 1001 -64 7 1 1 4 4
4 — Dale Earnhardt Jr. 978 -87 7 1 0 3 5
5 +1 Tony Stewart 957 -108 7 0 0 3 5
6 +4 Jimmie Johnson 921 -144 7 1 0 3 3
7 +1 Denny Hamlin 913 -152 7 0 1 2 4
8 +3 Ryan Newman 901 -164 7 0 1 2 3
9 -6 Greg Biffle 901 -164 7 0 0 3 4
10 +4 Carl Edwards 881 -184 7 0 3 3 4
11 +1 Clint Bowyer 874 -191 7 0 0 1 4
12 -5 Kasey Kahne 874 -191 7 0 0 0 4

April 6, 2008 By webmaster Comments (1)

Michael McDowell Crash at Texas Motor Speedway

Sorry I haven’t posted much this year, I hate to give an opinion on something I didn’t get to see, but this is one hell of a crash. During qualifying today at Texas Motor Speedway, Michael McDowell hit the wall HARD and walked away from it, this one looked a LOT harder than Dale Earnhardt’s, I have no idea if it really was or not, but just looking at the video, it sure looks like it.

This delayed qualifying for almost an hour and a half, as they made repairs to the steel barrier. Michael made an impressive start last week, running up front near the end of the race, and now has probably the hardest looking hit in Nascar history, probably not how he wanted to start, but I bet it helped him gain a few fans.

Here’s what Michael had to say about it:

“I came off of [Turn 4] on that last lap and it just felt a little bit off,” McDowell said. “I went down into [Turn] 1 and I don’t know if it was the oil dry or something happened, but it was real unfortunate for those guys. I hate to make a lot of work for the guys back in the shop.

“That’s one of the worst wrecks I’ve seen, for sure, in a while and I’m not excited I had to participate in it.”

Seeing the accident on television replay, McDowell himself seemed awed and impressed by his escape — and used the word “mad” to describe his emotions while the crash was unfolding.

“I told the guys, ‘Man, this thing feels really tight. I’m going to run another lap,’” he said. “Then I got down in there and it just started to pull right on me. I tried to gather it up and as soon as I turned back to the right, the front tires hooked up and it started rolling down from there. I didn’t lose consciousness, so I felt every roll down the hill.

“I thank the guys back in the shop. They make these cars extremely safe. They spend the extra time padding everything. For me to walk away from that wreck, right there, is unbelievable.” Source: McDowell OK after near head-on crash in qualifying

Here is how they qualified:

1 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet National Guard / AMP Energy 190.907 28.286 Leader
2 99 Carl Edwards Ford Aflac 189.487 28.498 -0.212
3 18 Kyle Busch Toyota Interstate Batteries 189.069 28.561 -0.275
4 12 Ryan Newman Dodge Samsung HDTV / ALLTEL 189.042 28.565 -0.279
5 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s 188.772 28.606 -0.320
6 44 David Reutimann Toyota UPS 188.732 28.612 -0.326
7 6 David Ragan Ford AAA Insurance 188.534 28.642 -0.356
8 17 Matt Kenseth Ford DEWALT 188.475 28.651 -0.365
9 84 Mike Skinner Toyota Red Bull 188.390 28.664 -0.378
10 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser 188.245 28.686 -0.400
11 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Texaco / Havoline 188.160 28.699 -0.413
12 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 188.140 28.702 -0.416
13 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet State Water Heaters 188.009 28.722 -0.436
14 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Ground 187.990 28.725 -0.439
15 7 Robby Gordon Dodge Jim Beam 187.931 28.734 -0.448
16 16 Greg Biffle Ford DISH Network 187.865 28.744 -0.458
17 77 Sam Hornish Jr.* Dodge Mobil 1 187.741 28.763 -0.477
18 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 187.611 28.783 -0.497
19 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet Quaker State / Menards 187.598 28.785 -0.499
20 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS 187.591 28.786 -0.500
21 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 187.493 28.801 -0.515
22 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet Cheez-It / CARQUEST 187.474 28.804 -0.518
23 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 187.311 28.829 -0.543
24 20 Tony Stewart Toyota The Home Depot 187.195 28.847 -0.561
25 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Jack Daniel’s 187.156 28.853 -0.567
26 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Best Buy / Garmin 187.007 28.876 -0.590
27 10 Patrick Carpentier* Dodge Valvoline 186.981 28.880 -0.594
28 21 Bill Elliott Ford Motorcraft 186.974 28.881 -0.595
29 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 186.948 28.885 -0.599
30 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios Racing / Sam’s Club 186.935 28.887 -0.601
31 8 Mark Martin Chevrolet U.S. Army 186.793 28.909 -0.623
32 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal Cask No. 16 186.645 28.932 -0.646
33 96 J.J. Yeley Toyota DLP HDTV 186.220 28.998 -0.712
34 01 Regan Smith* Chevrolet DEI / Principal Financial Group 186.046 29.025 -0.739
35 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Prilosec OTC 185.995 29.033 -0.747
36 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 185.752 29.071 -0.785
37 34 John Andretti Chevrolet Front Row Motorsports 185.669 29.084 -0.798
38 28 Travis Kvapil Ford Yates Racing 185.631 29.090 -0.804
39 70 Jeremy Mayfield Chevrolet Haas Automation 185.350 29.134 -0.848
40 00 Michael McDowell+* Toyota Aaron’s Dream Machine 182.933 29.519 -1.233
41 38 David Gilliland+ Ford Yates Racing - - -
42 41 Reed Sorenson+ Dodge Target - - -
43 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row
/ DenverMattress.com 185.191 29.159 -0.873

Did Not Qualify
44 40 Dario Franchitti* Dodge Kennametal 185.122 29.170 -0.884
45 45 Chad McCumbee Dodge Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil 183.736 29.390 -1.104
46 08 Burney Lamar Dodge rhino’s energy drink 181.996 29.671 -1.385

April 5, 2008 By webmaster Comments (0)

Will Roush-Fenway Racing Sue Michael Waltrip Racing over Partgate?

Apparently this weekend Michael Waltrip Racing ended up with a sway bar from Roush-Fenway Racing, and while Michael says it was an accident because of so many parts being strewn around the area, Roush-Fenway is considering legal action because they fell the Michael Waltrip racing went behind their toolbox and took the bar out of their inventory and took it home with them. They also say that the appearance of the bar had been altered when returned from Waltrip Racing and are looking at the incident as not being resolved and are considering legal action.

Michael Waltrip says Jeff Gordon is his spokesman, how the hell could that happen? Apparently Jeff said, “I think we should investigate more. I think we should get the FBI involved.”

Both Gordon and Waltrip said that after post-race inspections parts are left lying around and at times get picked up or even mixed up. Mistakes are made and Waltrip said the part was returned to Roush without dramatics or under any threat from the Roush organization.

Two opinions are being exchanged around the NASCAR garage this weekend in Martinsville. On one hand, some are of the opinion Roush, a Ford-supported operation, is being over-dramatic while others feel the allegation is substantial and when a noted team owner talks of a lawsuit, it should be taken seriously.

Waltrip said, “He [Roush] feels like he was wronged and that is his prerogative and I respect that man,” said Waltrip, before adding, “I hope we don’t dignify this with a whole lot of time and effort … this is not intellectual espionage.” Source:
Waltrip had Roush part, refutes notion it was stolen

While it would be easy to believe that someone would take a part from another team that runs better than them, not to sure if someone from Michael Waltrip Racing would try it, as it would be easy to figure out who has it and whether they are trying to use it or not. In the overall scheme of things, who cares, there’s not much Michael Waltrip Racing can do to improve their racing positions without hiring some competent drivers, IMHO.

Joe Menzer says Jack Roush needs to lighten up and Gordon is still laughing.

“A number of the teams had a number of proprietary parts in our car as we attempt to work within NASCAR’s bounds and do things uniquely for our car that are within the rules that will allow us to get an advantage,” Roush said. “One of the challenges this car has is it’s heavy in the front end. It’s hard to achieve the balance you’d like to have and get enough nose weight off the car to let it balance properly from a weight and balance point of view.

“One of the areas that we’ve worked in is the front sway bar. It’s not subject to a NASCAR teardown inspection. It was not a part that would have been mixed up with other Toyota parts — a front anti-roll sway bar. And within the confines — the package that NASCAR gives you, the material, the dimension, all those things — we designed our own part and we did an analysis of it. We optimized the torsional effect of it with minimizing the weight of it through heat treating and material selection and the way the components were machined and the way it was assembled. …”

Roush rightly was furious. It’s wrong. There’s no doubt about that.

He also mentioned that the part was missing for months before anyone at Roush Fenway Racing realized it, including himself. Source: ‘Partgate’ proves Roush needs to lighten up a bit

Roush says it’s intellectual espionage, the other team has now had an opportunity to see what it does and they have been damaged. Saying, they have been harmed by this theft.

March 29, 2008 By webmaster Comments (0)

Gordon on Pole for Martinsville, 7th of His Career There

Hendrick Motorsports continues it’s dominance at Martinsville Speedway with Gordon claiming his 7th pole there, 65th all time. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have won 8 of the last 10 races at Martinsville, winning 4 each, while Jimmie has won the last three there, I think it’s Gordon’s turn to put his name on the trophy, as he has 7 total wins athe the short track. In fact, check out his overall stats, tops for this track:
Driver Starts Wins Top-5 Top-10

Jeff Gordon 30 7 18 24

Gordon toured the .526-mile short track in 19.666 seconds (96.288 mph) to claim the pole for Sunday’s Goody’s Cool Orange 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race. It was the 65th career pole for Gordon, who has won seven times at Martinsville, twice from the pole.

Denny Hamlin (95.757 mph) qualified second, followed by rookie Aric Almirola (95.733 mph), David Ragan (95.569 mph) and Jamie McMurray (95.492 mph). Almirola will make his second Cup start of the year Sunday, and McMurray had to make the race on speed, having dropped out of the top 35 in owner points.

Kasey Kahne, Ken Schrader, Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson will start from positions six through 10. Johnson has won the last three races at Martinsville, and Johnson and Gordon together have won eight of the last 10 (four each). Source: Gordon wins his seventh career pole at Martinsville

Kyle Petty barely missed the race when he and Dario Franchitti ran the same time and Dario is ahead of Kyle in owner’s points.

Denny Hamlin has been running great there as well, but has been coming up short behind Jimmie and Jeff at the finish line. “”I’m usually the guy that runs right behind them,” said Hamlin, who finished third behind the Hendrick teammates last spring. “I think we’re maybe more prepared for those guys this year. Typically, when we come here, we know we can run top-three, and those two cars are the ones you have to beat.”

I think it will be a great race, as the short tracks always make for some great racing. My predictions for the top five:

1. Jeff Gordon (of course)
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr
4. Kyle Busch
5. Jimmie Johnson

Here is how they qualified:

1 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 96.288 19.666 Leader
2 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Freight 95.757 19.775 -0.109
3 8 Aric Almirola Chevrolet U.S. Army 95.733 19.780 -0.114
4 6 David Ragan Ford AAA Insurance 95.569 19.814 -0.148
5 26 Jamie McMurray Ford IRWIN Industrial Tools 95.492 19.830 -0.164
6 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser 95.487 19.831 -0.165
7 49 Ken Schrader Toyota Microsoft Small Business 95.463 19.836 -0.170
8 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M’s 95.347 19.860 -0.194
9 20 Tony Stewart Toyota The Home Depot 95.271 19.876 -0.210
10 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s 95.213 19.888 -0.222
11 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 95.208 19.889 -0.223
12 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet BB&T 95.208 19.889 -0.223
13 12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 95.079 19.916 -0.250
14 28 Travis Kvapil Ford Yates Racing 95.060 19.920 -0.254
15 44 David Reutimann Toyota UPS 95.036 19.925 -0.259
16 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS 95.032 19.926 -0.260
17 21 Bill Elliott Ford Little Debbie 94.951 19.943 -0.277
18 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 94.874 19.959 -0.293
19 16 Greg Biffle Ford Jackson Hewitt 94.870 19.960 -0.294
20 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 94.832 19.968 -0.302
21 38 David Gilliland Ford FreeCreditReport.com 94.832 19.968 -0.302
22 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet AMP Energy / National Guard 94.770 19.981 -0.315
23 96 J.J. Yeley Toyota DLP HDTV 94.713 19.993 -0.327
24 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 94.637 20.009 -0.343
25 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge McDonald’s 94.637 20.009 -0.343
26 77 Sam Hornish Jr.* Dodge Mobil 1 94.637 20.009 -0.343
27 99 Carl Edwards Ford Claritin 94.600 20.017 -0.351
28 17 Matt Kenseth Ford DEWALT 94.595 20.018 -0.352
29 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Wrigley’s Big Red 94.595 20.018 -0.352
30 84 Mike Skinner Toyota Red Bull 94.562 20.025 -0.359
31 70 Jeremy Mayfield Chevrolet Haas Automation 94.543 20.029 -0.363
32 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios / Betty Crocker 94.538 20.030 -0.364
33 01 Regan Smith* Chevrolet DEI / Principal Financial Group 94.486 20.041 -0.375
34 00 Michael McDowell Toyota Aaron’s Dream Machine 94.406 20.058 -0.392
35 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet Pittsburgh Paints / Menards 94.369 20.066 -0.400
36 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet State Water Heaters 94.312 20.078 -0.412
37 10 Patrick Carpentier* Dodge Charter Comm. 94.298 20.081 -0.415
38 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target 94.139 20.115 -0.449
39 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet Kellogg’s / CARQUEST 93.966 20.152 -0.486
40 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 93.664 20.217 -0.551
41 7 Robby Gordon+ Dodge Charter Comm. 93.641 20.222 -0.556
42 1 Martin Truex Jr.+ Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 93.627 20.225 -0.559
43 40 Dario Franchitti* Dodge Kennametal 94.078 20.128 -0.462

Did Not Qualify
44 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil 94.078 20.128 -0.462
45 34 John Andretti Chevrolet Front Row Motorsports 93.507 20.251 -0.585
46 08 Tony Raines Dodge rhino’s energy drink 93.460 20.261 -0.595
47 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row/ DenverMattress.com 93.230 20.311 -0.645

By webmaster Comments (0)

Kyle Busch Gets First Toyota Win in Atlanta

I’ll admit, I thought Tony Stewart would have the first cup win in a Toyota, but I’m not surprised it was Kyle Busch who actually got it. If Kurt Busch can LUCK into a cup championship, then Kyle should be able to dominate a couple championships and luck into a couple more before he retires. Talk about having a pretty good weekend, Kyle started out by winning the Craftsman Truck Series race, dominated the Nationwide series race until he blew a tire and then won the cup race by a couple seconds at least over his teammate, Tony Stewart. Besides being the first win for Toyota, this was also the first time someone has won a truck race and a cup race in the same weekend.

In what was tantalizingly close to a three-race weekend sweep, Kyle Busch won Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, after the winner of the previous two Sprint Cup races, Carl Edwards, fell out with transmission trouble after 274 of the 325 laps.

In posting the fifth victory of his career, by 2.066 seconds over Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Tony Stewart, Busch took Toyota to Victory Lane for the first time in a Cup points race (read more). It was the first triumph in NASCAR’s top series for a foreign manufacturer since Al Keller won at the airport road course in Linden, N.J., in a Jaguar in 1954.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished third, followed by Greg Biffle and pole-sitter Jeff Gordon. Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Brian Vickers and Jeff Burton completed the top 10.

“The 18! The 18! The 18 is back at Atlanta!” Busch exulted on his radio after crossing the finish line, referring to the six wins at Atlanta of one of his predecessors in Joe Gibbs’ No. 18 car, Bobby Labonte. Source: Busch returns 18 to Victory Lane, gives Toyota first win

Tony Stewart being Tony Stewart, when they interviewed him , he immediately dogged Goodyear and their tires, as did Earnhardt and Gordon, they were just a little more diplomatic about it.

Tony Stewart: “That was the most pathetic racing tire that I’ve ever been on in my professional career,” Stewart said. “… Goodyear can’t build a tire that is worth a crap. If I were Goodyear, I would be really embarrassed about this weekend and what they brought here. It didn’t keep us from winning the race and how we got to second, I don’t know.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: “I’ll say that Goodyear Tire Company makes good racing tires, makes a safe tire,” Junior said. “There’s a lot of technology that goes into making the tires and I give them a lot of credit. It’s a reputation-risk, just to be in this sport for a company like that, especially … as far as criticism goes. They do a good job. This is just a bad combination. This tire at this track, it was just a poor combination

Jeff Gordon: “I felt like I was going to crash every single lap,” Gordon said. “I’m exhausted right now. I feel like I’ve run a thousand miles here. That was the hardest day I have ever had at Atlanta, especially for a top-five finish. This car, this tire, at this track was just terrible.” Source: Stewart, Earnhardt think bad of Goodyear’s tires

Here is how they finished:

1 6 18 Kyle Busch Toyota Snickers 195/10 325 Running 185,375
2 32 20 Tony Stewart Toyota Home Depot “10 Years Strong” 170/0 325 Running 162,886
3 2 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet AMP Energy / National Guard 170/5 325 Running 121,000
4 13 16 Greg Biffle Ford Jackson Hewitt 165/5 325 Running 107,375
5 1 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 160/5 325 Running 138,186
6 7 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet DIRECTV 155/5 325 Running 94,850
7 8 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 146/0 325 Running 124,086
8 38 17 Matt Kenseth Ford DEWALT 142/0 325 Running 124,341
9 35 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 143/5 325 Running 79,300
10 15 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 134/0 325 Running 123,958
11 29 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 130/0 325 Running 79,325
12 5 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios / Betty Crocker 132/5 325 Running 114,536
13 11 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s / Kobalt Tools 124/0 325 Running 127,786
14 12 12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 121/0 324 Running 115,075
15 22 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Ground 118/0 324 Running 112,791
16 19 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Wrigley’s Big Red 115/0 324 Running 104,158
17 39 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet Kellogg’s / CARQUEST 112/0 324 Running 89,850
18 28 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet State Water Heaters 109/0 324 Running 93,908
19 20 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet Energizer / Menards 106/0 324 Running 83,425
20 30 00 David Reutimann Toyota Aaron’s Dream Machine 103/0 323 Running 92,908
21 3 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 100/0 323 Running 106,233
22 10 8 Mark Martin Chevrolet U.S. Army 97/0 323 Running 108,558
23 14 6 David Ragan Ford AAA 94/0 323 Running 83,950
24 26 7 Robby Gordon Dodge Valvoline / Jim Beam 91/0 323 Running 95,958
25 33 77 Sam Hornish Jr. * Dodge Penske Truck Rental 88/0 323 Running 117,550
26 43 44 Dale Jarrett Toyota UPS 85/0 322 Running 73,825
27 34 84 Mike Skinner Toyota Red Bull 82/0 322 Running 69,800
28 9 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser 84/5 322 Running 107,141
29 42 28 Travis Kvapil Ford Zaxby’s 76/0 322 Running 99,789
30 27 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS 73/0 321 Running 81,508
31 25 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target 70/0 321 Running 99,489
32 31 38 David Gilliland Ford FreeCreditRep
ort.com 67/0 321 Running 81,722
33 23 40 Dario Franchitti * Dodge Fastenal 64/0 321 Running 80,550
34 16 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 61/0 321 Running 69,025
35 21 10 Patrick Carpentier * Dodge Cintas 58/0 320 Running 68,990
36 17 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row Racing 55/0 320 Running 68,955
37 37 96 J.J. Yeley Toyota DLP HDTV 52/0 320 Running 76,920
38 41 01 Regan Smith * Chevrolet DEI / Principal Financial Group 49/0 320 Running 76,885
39 36 70 Jeremy Mayfield Chevrolet Haas Automation 46/0 318 Running 68,850
40 24 26 Jamie McMurray Ford IRWIN Industrial Tools 43/0 317 Running 76,810
41 40 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Paralyzed Veterans of America 40/0 313 Running 68,765
42 4 99 Carl Edwards Ford Aflac 42/5 274 Engine 116,395
43 18 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Best Buy / Garmin 34/0 257 Accident 94,518

Kyle leads the cup points by 73, he leads the truck series by 72 and, had he not had the flat tire, he would be leading the Nationwide series as well. Quite a good start to the year and I bet Rick Hendrick is thinking right now, “What was I thinking?” Definitely should’ve kept Busch and let Mears go.

Here are the top 12 in the Chase for the Cup:

1 — Kyle Busch 665 Leader 4 1 1 3 3 1,123,940
2 +3 Greg Biffle 592 -73 4 0 0 2 3 764,188
3 +1 Kevin Harvick 574 -91 4 0 0 1 3 795,707
4 -2 Ryan Newman 571 -94 4 0 1 1 2 1,946,140
5 +1 Jeff Burton 555 -110 4 0 0 1 2 767,795
6 +4 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 531 -134 4 0 0 2 3 1,029,250
7 -4 Kasey Kahne 528 -137 4 0 0 0 3 832,577
8 +3 Tony Stewart 525 -140 4 0 0 2 3 1,435,830
9 +4 Brian Vickers 491 -174 4 0 0 0 1 553,095
10 +2 Kurt Busch 478 -187 4 0 0 1 1 1,352,620
11 -3 Martin Truex Jr. 471 -194 4 0 0 0 1 717,545
12 +4 Matt Kenseth 470 -195 4 0 0 1 2 743,477

March 12, 2008 By webmaster Comments (1)

Carl Edwards Wins In Las Vegas

I’m not talking about black jack either. Carl Edwards held off Dale Earnhardt Jr. at the end to win the UAW-Dodge 400 in Las Vegas. It looked like it was going to get really interesting there at the end, until Jeff Gordon got tight and drifted up into Matt Kenseth, and hit the inside wall HARD, very, very hard to take himself out. He said afterwards that it was the hardest hit he’s ever taken, and this is in the COT, the safest car Nascar has ever used. Jeff said had he been in an older car, he might not be here right now and he definitely wants to talk to the track owners about it, hoping to get the safer barriers on all of the inside walls as well as the one around the track.

With the help of a judgment call from NASCAR, which opted not to penalize Edwards after a tire rolled away on pit road, Edwards streaked to victory in the UAW-Dodge 400 Sprint Cup race Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

In a two-lap dash after NASCAR stopped the race for nearly 18 minutes to clean the track in the wake of a wreck that wiped out contenders Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon, Edwards pulled away from Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win by .504 seconds.

The victory gave Edwards the series points lead for the first time in his career, by 21 points over Las Vegas pole-sitter Kyle Busch (11th Sunday) and by 41 over Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman (14th). If Edwards remains atop the standings before the next race remains to be seen after NASCAR found an “issue” with the 99 car in post-race inspection. Source: Edwards pulls away from Junior to win at Las Vegas

The issue with the 99 car was the lid on the oil reservoir encasement, or the oil tank box, was off, while similar to an issue at Daytona with the Nationwide series cars, the lids on their cars were just loose while Carl’s was completely off. Those five cars were penalized 25 driver and owners points for the infraction.

Jimmie Johnson, the race favorite going in, finished 29th, Tony Stewart finished 43, Jeff Gordon had his second DNF so far this year, compared to only one of all last season. AJ Allmendinger could be out of a ride, temporarily at least, as they have failed to make any of the three races so far this season.

Here is how they finished:
1 2 99 Carl Edwards Ford Dish Network 195/10 267 Running 425,675
2 8 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet National Guard / AMP Energy 175/5 267 Running 252,000
3 6 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M 165/0 267 Running 205,800
4 17 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 160/0 267 Running 200,636
5 24 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 160/5 267 Running 178,083
6 37 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser 150/0 267 Running 157,616
7 38 6 David Ragan Ford AAA Insurance 146/0 267 Running 124,450
8 29 28 Travis Kvapil Ford Yates Racing 142/0 267 Running 140,264
9 27 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Kinko’s 138/0 267 Running 144,441
10 3 8 Mark Martin Chevrolet U.S. Army 139/5 267 Running 140,983
11 1 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M’s 135/5 267 Running 131,575
12 10 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Stanley Tools 127/0 267 Running 129,170
13 11 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet Pop-Tarts / CARQUEST 124/0 267 Running 116,975
14 15 12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 121/0 267 Running 144,400
15 18 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 118/0 267 Running 131,208
16 23 70 Jeremy Mayfield Chevrolet Haas Automation 115/0 267 Running 99,175
17 39 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios “Circle of Helping Hearts” 112/0 267 Running 134,311
18 35 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target 109/0 267 Running 123,489
19 31 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Texaco / Havoline 106/0 267 Running 123,083
20 13 17 Matt Kenseth Ford USG Sheetrock 108/5 267 Running 141,166
21 19 49 Ken Schrader Dodge Qtrax.com 100/0 267 Running 108,033
22 40 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet Johns Manville / Menards 97/0 266 Running 100,075
23 34 38 David Gilliland Ford FreeCreditReport.com 94/0 266 Running 108,083
24 43 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 91/0 266 Running 89,850
25 36 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal 88/0 266 Running 97,350
26 26 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 85/0 266 Running 101,508
27 30 96 J.J. Yeley Toyota DLP HDTV 82/0 266 Running 91,850
28 21 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Jack Daniel’s 79/0 265 Running 100,850
29 33 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s 76/0 265 Running 136,786
30 5 27 Mike Skinner Toyota Bad Boy Mowers 73/0 265 Running 82,875
31 22 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS 70/0 265 Running 93,833
32 41 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Wells Fargo 67/0 265 Running 91,522
33 42 40 Dario Franchitti * Dodge Target 64/0 265 Running 92,225
34 28 01 Regan Smith * Chevrolet Coors Light 61/0 264 Running 89,575
35 4 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Nicorette / DuPont 63/5 262 Accident 130,286
36 7 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet State Water Heaters 60/5 260 Running 81,150
37 14 00 David Reutimann Toyota Aaron’s Dream Machine 52/0 258 Running 80,925
38 9 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 49/0 255 Accident 80,725
39 16 44 Dale Jarrett Toyota UPS 46/0 231 Accident 80,525
40 12 10 Patrick Carpentier * Dodge Valvoline 43/0 182 Accident 80,275
41 20 77 Sam Hornish Jr. * Dodge Mobil 1 40/0 152 Running 125,650
42 32 7 Robby Gordon Dodge Jim Beam 37/0 142 Accident 87,930
43 25 20 Tony Stewart Toyota The Home Depot 39/5 107 Accident 128,839

Here are the top 12 points positions as of right now:
1 +4 Carl Edwards 491 Leader
2 -1 Kyle Busch 470 -21
3 -1 Ryan Newman 450 -41
4 +2 Kasey Kahne 444 -47
5 +2 Kevin Harvick 428 -63
6 +3 Greg Biffle 427 -64
7 +3 Jeff Burton 421 -70
8 +4 Martin Truex Jr. 371 -120
9 +4 Elliott Sadler 368 -123
10 +13 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 361 -130
11 -8 Tony Stewart 355 -136
12 -8 Kurt Busch 348 -143

March 3, 2008 By webmaster Comments (0)

Carl Edwards Wins in California

Slow posting this I know, but I didn’t get to watch hardly any of it, so, I’m in no rush, even with Gordon finishing third. With all of the delays for weepers, rain, etc, I think I only saw about 20 laps of this race, I changed channels after they quit covering it, so I missed whatever laps they ran Sunday evening, and work knocked me out of seeing it on Monday as well. Apparently, Carl Edwards ran well, as did Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.

The difference was night and day.

Under blue skies Monday, some 21 hours after the race had started, Carl Edwards put the finishing touches on the rain-delayed Auto Club 500 at beleaguered Auto Club Speedway.

After caution flew on the final lap for Dale Jarrett’s spin, Edwards crossed the finish ahead of runner-up Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon, who atoned for disappointing finishes in the Feb. 17 Daytona 500.

Kyle Busch claimed the Sprint Cup points lead with a fourth-place finish in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, and Matt Kenseth, who had won the previous two February races at the 2-mile track, ran fifth. Martin Truex Jr., Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne and Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman completed the top 10. Source: Edwards wins at Fontana on a sunny California day

Kyle Busch claimed the points lead, I don’t think this is his first time leading the points, but I’m not sure off the top of my big melon head. Gordon said his car blew in turn 2 of the final lap, so, thanks to Dale Jarrett for bringing out the caution on the final lap to freeze the field.

Here is how they finished:

1 9 99 Carl Edwards Ford Dish Network 190/5 250 Running 340,500
2 1 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s 180/10 250 Running 252,336
3 2 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont Cromax Pro 170/5 250 Running 214,186
4 22 18 Kyle Busch Toyota Interstate Batteries 165/5 250 Running 154,050
5 4 17 Matt Kenseth Ford Carhartt 160/5 250 Running 169,841
6 11 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 150/0 250 Running 144,308
7 6 20 Tony Stewart Toyota The Home Depot 146/0 250 Running 158,061
8 10 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 147/5 250 Running 148,761
9 20 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser 143/5 250 Running 133,616
10 13 12 Ryan Newman Dodge Samsung HDTV / ALLTEL 139/5 250 Running 143,625
11 39 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 130/0 250 Running 98,700
12 8 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 132/5 250 Running 142,258
13 36 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 124/0 250 Running 92,800
14 24 6 David Ragan Ford AAA Insurance So. Cal. 121/0 250 Running 104,850
15 14 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M 123/5 250 Running 104,350
16 16 8 Mark Martin Chevrolet Principal Financial Group / Mark Martin’s 700th start 115/0 250 Running 128,208
17 32 38 David Gilliland Ford FreeCreditRep
ort.com 112/0 250 Running 111,508
18 28 7 Robby Gordon Dodge Jim Beam 114/5 250 Running 116,708
19 3 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet DIRECTV 106/0 250 Running 106,150
20 21 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit 103/0 250 Running 121,508
21 31 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet Haas Automation 100/0 250 Running 104,708
22 18 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal 102/5 250 Running 97,850
23 40 00 David Reutimann Toyota Aaron’s Dream Machine 94/0 249 Running 101,758
24 27 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge U2 3D / Best Buy 91/0 249 Running 114,770
25 19 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Hamburger Helper “My Hometown Helper” 88/0 249 Running 125,136
26 38 21 Bill Elliott Ford Little Debbie 85/0 249 Running 105,345
27 29 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet Quaker State / Menards 82/0 248 Running 94,300
28 41 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS 79/0 248 Running 92,247
29 25 96 J.J. Yeley Toyota DLP HDTV 76/0 248 Running 93,500
30 34 22 Dave Blaney Toyota CAT Paving Products 73/0 248 Running 85,250
31 17 01 Regan Smith * Chevrolet Coors Light 70/0 248 Running 91,575
32 26 40 Dario Franchitti * Dodge Target 72/5 248 Running 89,875
33 37 44 Dale Jarrett Toyota UPS 69/5 247 Running 82,600
34 43 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row
/ DenverMattress.com 61/0 246 Running 81,450
35 42 34 John Andretti Chevrolet Front Row Motorsports 63/5 245 Running 81,225
36 30 28 Travis Kvapil Ford Yates Racing 55/0 242 Running 108,289
37 23 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Energizer e2 Lithium 52/0 240 Running 108,064
38 35 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Wells Fargo 49/0 236 Running 80,600
39 33 70 Jeremy Mayfield Chevrolet Haas Automation 46/0 231 Running 80,480
40 15 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet AMP Energy / National Guard 43/0 203 Running 88,325
41 12 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Freight 40/0 193 Running 115,191
42 5 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet CARQUEST / Kellogg’s 37/0 20 Accident 98,110
43 7 77 Sam Hornish Jr. * Dodge Mobil 1 34/0 20 Accident 125,539

Here are the top 12 in points so far this year:
1 +3 Kyle Busch 335 Leader 2 0 0 2 2
2 -1 Ryan Newman 329 -6 2 0 1 1 2
3 — Tony Stewart 316 -19 2 0 0 1 2
4 -2 Kurt Busch 299 -36 2 0 0 1 1
5 +13 Carl Edwards 296 -39 2 0 1 1 1
6 — Kasey Kahne 294 -41 2 0 0 0 2
7 +6 Kevin Harvick 268 -67 2 0 0 0 1
8 +17 Jimmie Johnson 267 -68 2 1 0 1 1
9 — Greg Biffle 262 -73 2 0 0 0 1
10 +1 Jeff Burton 261 -74 2 0 0 0 0
11 +1 Brian Vickers 257 -78 2 0 0 0 0
12 +7 Martin Truex Jr. 253 -82 2 0 0 0 1

That top 12 is pretty solid, it’s only missing Jeff Gordon, who is in 14th, Denny Hamlin, who is in 31st, and possibly Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is in 23rd.

February 26, 2008 By webmaster Comments (0)

Ryan Newman Wins the 50th Daytona 500

It seemed like they came out of nowhere, a bright blue freight train, the 12 and the 2 cars, with Kurt Busch giving Ryan Newman a BIG push in the final laps to win the 50th running of the Daytona 500. This was the first time Penske Racing has ever finished 1-2 and not only Roger Penske’s first Daytona 500 win, but his first restrictor plate win as well.

After watching it live and reading some of the comments they made afterwards, if they continue running and working together like they did Sunday, then they could be pretty hard to beat this year.

“Just to be part of the 50th running of the Daytona 500 … 15 years ago I was sitting in the grandstands in the Seagrave Tower,” Newman said. “Obviously, [I want to thank] Kurt Busch. Without a doubt, he could have easily gone three-wide and split us through the center and made one heck of a mess going into [Turn] 3.

“But he chose to be a teammate, and that’s the most honorable thing that he could be — and I would have done the same thing for him.”

“For us to come home and push Ryan Newman to victory, I feel like I’ve got a small bit of that victory within me,” Busch said. “I was emotional pushing him across the line. It felt incredible to have a Penske 1-2 finish [Sunday]. To have Newman jump up in front of me, I thought that was the most beautiful thing in the world because I knew one of us Penske cars was going to win at that point.” Source: Newman gets last-lap push from teammate to win 500

Dale Jr. led for 12 laps, Tony Stewart 16, Ryan Newman 8, Kurt Busch 9, Denny Hamlin had 32 and Kyle Busch led the most laps at 86, among others. There were a lot more lead changes this year, the viewer ship increased by 1% over last year, and, even though Gordon wasn’t there at the finish, it was a pretty good ending too.

Here is how they finished:

1 7 12 Ryan Newman Dodge ALLTEL 190/5 200 Running 1,506,040
2 43 2 Kurt Busch Dodge Miller Lite 175/5 200 Running 1,063,870
3 6 20 Tony Stewart Toyota The Home Depot 170/5 200 Running 871,049
4 24 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M’s 170/10 200 Running 652,938
5 5 41 Reed Sorenson Dodge Target 160/5 200 Running 545,959
6 35 19 Elliott Sadler Dodge Best Buy 150/0 200 Running 430,015
7 10 9 Kasey Kahne Dodge Budweiser 151/5 200 Running 389,204
8 26 7 Robby Gordon Dodge Jim Beam 142/0 200 Running 352,921
9 3 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet AMP Energy / National Guard 143/5 200 Running 352,920
10 18 16 Greg Biffle Ford 3M 139/5 200 Running 313,763
11 13 43 Bobby Labonte Dodge Cheerios / Betty Crocker 130/0 200 Running 329,756
12 23 83 Brian Vickers Toyota Red Bull 127/0 200 Running 285,245
13 36 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet AT&T Mobility 129/5 200 Running 323,496
14 16 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Shell / Pennzoil 121/0 200 Running 322,224
15 19 77 Sam Hornish Jr. * Dodge Mobil 1 118/0 200 Running 319,845
16 20 44 Dale Jarrett Toyota UPS 115/0 200 Running 277,213
17 4 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota FedEx Express 117/5 200 Running 341,416
18 42 00 David Reutimann Toyota Aaron’s Dream Machine 109/0 200 Running 291,221
19 11 99 Carl Edwards Ford Office Depot 106/0 200 Running 321,520
20 25 1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet Bass Pro Shops / Tracker 103/0 200 Running 303,978
21 27 66 Scott Riggs Chevrolet State Water Heaters 100/0 200 Running 287,928
22 21 15 Paul Menard Chevrolet PEAK / Menards 97/0 200 Running 279,295
23 33 70 Jeremy Mayfield Chevrolet Junior Johnson’s Midnight Moon 94/0 200 Running 271,220
24 31 07 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet Jack Daniel’s 96/5 200 Running 284,545
25 37 96 J.J. Yeley Toyota DLP HDTV 88/0 200 Running 277,095
26 38 26 Jamie McMurray Ford Crown Royal Cask No. 16 85/0 200 Running 276,888
27 1 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe’s 87/5 200 Running 329,606
28 32 38 David Gilliland Ford FreeCreditReport.com 79/0 200 Running 278,746
29 2 55 Michael Waltrip Toyota NAPA AUTO PARTS 81/5 200 Running 275,135
30 30 28 Travis Kvapil Ford K&N Filters 73/0 200 Running 291,202
31 12 8 Mark Martin Chevrolet U.S. Army 70/0 200 Running 301,846
32 15 42 Juan Montoya Dodge Texaco / Havoline 67/0 200 Running 290,753
33 40 40 Dario Franchitti * Dodge Dodge Journey 64/0 199 Running 270,613
34 39 45 Kyle Petty Dodge Wells Fargo 61/0 197 Running 260,320
35 9 5 Casey Mears Chevrolet Kellogg’s / CARQUEST 58/0 194 Accident 284,945
36 28 17 Matt Kenseth Ford DEWALT 60/5 194 Running 308,129
37 29 01 Regan Smith * Chevrolet Principal Financial Group 52/0 194 Running 267,095
38 34 22 Dave Blaney Toyota Caterpillar 54/5 189 Accident 259,563
39 8 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet DuPont 51/5 186 Susp. 319,599
40 22 34 John Andretti Chevrolet Makoto 43/0 184 Running 258,613
41 41 78 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet Furniture Row Racing 40/0 171 Running 258,470
42 14 6 David Ragan Ford AAA 37/0 161 Accident 267,763
43 17 187 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet Furniture Row/DenverMattress.com 34/0 141 Engine 256,735

February 19, 2008 By webmaster Comments (1)

2008 Daytona 500 Predictions

Sometimes races aren’t hard to pick, a driver gets on a roll at a particular track and they can dominate there for quite awhile, look at what Dale Jr. has done at Daytona, what his father has done there, look at what Jimmie Johnson has done in Charlotte, and Jeff Gordon on several tracks at several different times. But, this year in Daytona, I think there are several drivers who could win, a few have already been dominate, Dale Jr., Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, a few have ran up front after coming from the back, a few are always good picks in Daytona, Gordon, Earnhardt, and Johnson. Throw in a big wreck that can take out all or none of the top drivers, the car of tomorrow and tempers, and this is going to be one tough race to predict.

The drivers that I think are capable of winning tomorrow are, in no particular order, the standbys: Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, and others who have shown the potential or have the equipment, Casey Mears, a Hendricks Car, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Mark Martin and Bobby Labonte.

So, I’m just going to pick:

1. Jeff Gordon, of course
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
3. Kyle Busch
4. Tony Stewart
5. Casey Mears

February 17, 2008 By webmaster Comments (0)