Bleacher Report - Articles by Jen Preston

The Lugnut Report: Martin Comes Up Short Again In Homestead

Jen Preston — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:06:01 -0500

“Martin may be the bridesmaid once more, but he is anything but bitter.” -Examiner

“Mark Martin is NASCAR's king of close calls.” -Orlando Sentinel

“Fryer's Five: Martin is a true champion.” -Yahoo! Sports

All in all in 2009, Mark Martin was just happy to be there.

Entering the Ford 400 at Homestead Miami Speedway, Martin was 108 points behind championship leader and teammate Jimmie Johnson. Clinching his first Sprint Cup title was possible, but highly unlikely.

The team led by Alan Gustafson practiced well throughout the weekend, even winning the second practice session. He was also able to put his Chevrolet fourth on the board during Friday's qualifying. Unfortunately, Johnson qualified on pole, allowing them to pick the first pit stall, and give them a huge advantage going into Sunday's season finale.

Martin started fourth on the field, but struggled earlier on with a loose No. 5 Kellogg's/Carquest. Falling out of Top-10 at lap 116, Martin and company continued working on their Chevrolet, but it was to no avail.

On the lap 121, Johnson and Martin restarted 23rd and 25th, respectively. While his teammate was able to make his way back into the Top Five at a blistering pace, Martin struggled in traffic and was never able to get back to the Top 10, despite hoping pre-race that his car would improve as the sun went down.

Martin's car took several laps to start moving up through the pack, while Johnson continued to push his way to the front.

More than a hundred laps after falling into the clutches of traffic, Martin was challenging for a top 15 spot, and ended the night 12th. He remained second in points behind Johnson, 141 points behind his teammate.

"There's no frustration, man. I know you'd love it. I know all y'all would love it. But there's no frustration."

Martin will get another chance at Johnson and the Sprint Cup Championship, though. After coming out of retirement to sign with Hendrick for this season, Martin signed an extension that will keep him at HMS through 2011.

For Tony Stewart's Lugnut Report, click here .

The Lugnut Report: Jimmie Johnson Shows Why He's a Champion in Phoenix

Jen Preston — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:17:09 -0500

Can anything stop Jimmie Johnson? Apparently, the answer is an astounding no.

After losing 111 points to championship challenger and teammate Mark Martin after his Lap Three crash at the Texas Motor Speedway, a flame of hope was briefly lit for those hoping anyone but Johnson would win the 2009 Chase to the Sprint Cup title.

But Johnson was anything but dead in the water, and if there was any track Johnson could rebound at, Phoenix International Raceway was it.

With three wins, seven top fives and seven top tens, the No. 48 Lowe's crew led by Chad Knaus had every reason to be confident.

They ran seventh in the first practice of the weekend, and rocked Happy Hour by laying down the session's fastest speeds. The team would start third on the field for Sunday's Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500.

Once he took the green flag, Johnson began complaining a loose race car, turning off the fans on his tires to create more grip.

It seemed to work; Johnson would overtake pole sitter Martin Truex Jr. for second on Lap 35, and instantly set his sights on leader Kurt Busch.

On lap 53, Johnson was able to just edge by the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge to get those valuable five bonus points toward the championship thanks to lap traffic, but Busch was quick to take the lead back.

"Good job, you led that lap, you got your five points," crew chief Knaus said.

It wouldn't be last time Johnson would earn his points.

Johnson was able to take the lead from Busch for the second time on lap 57. Despite complaints that his Chevrolet continued to be loose, his crew continued to work on the car, and got the No. 48 off pit road first time and time again.

After retaking the lead on lap 90 thanks to more lapped traffic (something the dominant leaders would battle all day), Johnson never looked back.

By the end of the day, Johnson would lead 76 percent of the 312 lap event, clearly clinching the five extra bonus points for leading the most laps, for his seventh win of 2009.

He leaves PIR with an 108-point lead over teammate Mark Martin. Other teammate Jeff Gordon will officially be eliminated from the Chase once the green flag is taken for next week's Ford 400 with an 169-point deficit.

"We just put a butt-kicking on everybody today," Johnson said in Victory Lane.

Next week at Homestead Miami Speedway, Johnson and Co. need to finish 25th or better to officially clinch their fourth Sprint Cup Championship.

For Denny Hamlin's Lugnut Report, click here.

The Lugnut Report: Jeff Gordon Unable To Exploit Texas-Size Opportunity

Jen Preston — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:25:14 -0500

It took Jeff Gordon 12 years and 17 attempts to win at Texas Motor Speedway, the sight of his only win in 2009.

Sitting 192 points behind teammate Jimmie Johnson in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Gordon's drive for five looked virtually dead in the water before he even took the green flag for the Dickies 500.

The weekend, though, started off to a promising start for Gordon. He and the DuPont No. 24 team were solid in practice and on Friday he was able to win the pole for Sunday's race—the 17th straight year he's done so.

Sitting on his 67^th career pole, Gordon led the field to the green flag at 2:34 local time, as he and Kasey Kahne raced side by side all the way around the 1.5 mile track for the lead. Neither driver backed down but Gordon just barely passed the No. 9 to take the lead lap.

After he was able to clear both Kahne and the No. 2 of Kurt Busch he was able to pull away from the field. On lap 12, though, Busch was able to pass the No. 24 for the lead. Eight laps later, the younger Busch passed Gordon, sending his DuPont Chevrolet to third.

Battling a loose car, Gordon continued to fall back. He had fallen back to fifth by the time he came on pit road on lap 56, making a track bar adjustment. After a dropped lugnut on the right rear, Gordon fell back into the teens once pit stops cycled around, but was 11^th by lap 74.

Continuing to struggle with his Hendrick Motorsports machine, Gordon brought his car down pit road along with the other leaders on lap 87. They decided to go back on their earlier track bar adjustment, and gained two spots to take the green flag on lap 91 in ninth.

Despite the No. 48 having early struggles, Gordon failed to capitalize and, by lap 128, had fallen back to 14^th .

When he made his third pit stop of the day he complained of the car “plowing”, so along with four tires and fuel, the DuPont crew gave the car a wedge adjustment. Once stops cycled around, Gordon was 15^th , but was quickly passed by Newman on lap 152 to lose yet another spot.

Things were going from bad to worse for the No. 24—156 laps in, Gordon was on the verge of going a lap down as he continued to lose track position.

The third caution of the day on lap 167 was another break for Gordon, who was just half a car length away from being lapped by leader Kyle Busch.

Near disaster came on lap 174. Juan Pablo Montoya got loose and tapped fellow Chaser Carl Edwards, causing a big wreck that involved Gordon and Keselowski. Luckily for the No. 24, he didn't hit anything, but did have to go to the back of the pack after pitting for tires before pit road opened. He restarted 18^th .

Gordon would stay in 18^th for the rest of the race, and dropped a lap to the leader with 29 laps remaining.

Thanks to fuel mileage, though, Gordon was able to make up spots and ended his night in 13th. With two races left in this 2009 season, Gordon is 112 points out of the championship lead in third.

"I think more than anything it was a missed opportunity," Gordon said after the race. "I'm just terrible at this place. I can qualify, but I just don't really have a feel for this place."

For Carl Edwards' Texas Lugnut Report, click here.

The Lugnut Report: Joey Logano Gets "Raw," then Wrestles with Talladega

Jen Preston — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:23:15 -0500

He's described his 2009 season as a "rollercoaster", but luckily for 19-year-old Joey Logano, his rookie year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has seen far more ups than it has downs.

Despite three DNFs, Logano has had 17 top 20 finishes and collected his first win at his home track of New Hampshire Motor Speedway earlier in the year.

His Nationwide Series season has also been a success, with five wins and 15 top-ten finishes in his 20 starts.

Talladega Superspeedway was the sight of the young driver's first Sprint Cup Top Ten, and he looked to repeat—and better—his performance in April.

Before he looked to conquer Talladega, though, he and teammate Kyle Busch headed to Buffalo, New York to host WWE's Monday Night RAW .

It wasn't Logano's first exposure to the world of wrestling; when he was voted in by the fans to the Sprint All-Star Race, 16 time world champion Ric Flair introduced him to the fans.

"He kept shouting, 'Woo! Joey Logano, woo! Woo!' And then he gave me the microphone, and I didn't know what to say," said Logano. "So I threw a 'Woo!' out there that didn't have the same oomph. I don't have as deep a voice as he does. At least it didn't crack when I did that, though it would have been pretty funny."

Despite being nervous, Logano and Busch entered the HSBC Arena in their No. 20 and No. 18 Nationwide Series cars, respectively, which will be raced in the O'Reilly Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway.

“This was way, way, way outside my box,” Logano said after the show went off air. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Not too many people get to do this.”

With their hosting duties complete, Logano and Busch joined the other 41 competitors on their way to Alabama.

On Friday, Logano ended the first practice of the weekend fifth on the charts.

Qualifying the following day was canceled due to rain, meaning Logano and the Home Depot Toyota would start 20th once the field took the green flag for the Amp Energy 500.

Once the green flag dropped at 1:22 ET, it was a mostly quiet day not only for Logano but the field overall. By lap eight he'd made his way into the top ten, but under green flag pit stops he lost a lap to then leader Casey Mears. Kurt Busch's lap 50 spin gave the rookie the lucky dog.

While the ABC crew focused on the potential of a big wreck and championship leader Jimmie Johnson's charge to the front, Logano steadily—and silently—worked his way back to the top. Just 50 laps after getting back on the lead lap, Logano ran second to teammate Denny Hamlin, and took the lead on lap 114.

Despite the racing getting dicier and drivers jockeying for position, Logano was able to hold his own until the end of the race, running well ahead of both "big ones" to finish third in just his second run at Talladega.

"It was exciting for me at least, but you have to expect that in a green-white-checker at Talladega," said Logano. "It was a good run for us. One more lap, I don’t know what would have happened. It was fun to be up there racing for the win with those guys so it was a good run for the Home Depot Toyota."

With his third place effort, Logano scored his third Top Five finish of the season, and his second Top Ten finish at Talladega in 2009. He continues to pace the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings ahead of Scott Speed and "Mad" Max Papis.

Thanks to USA Today, NASCAR Scene Daily, Racing Reference and NASCAR.com for the information and quotes used in this article.

For Patti Rodisch's Lugnut Report for Chaser Brian Vickers, click here .

The Lugnut Report: Carl Edwards Battles Frustration in Martinsville

Jen Preston — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:16:19 -0400

After winning nine Sprint Cup Series races last season, Carl Edwards came into 2009 expecting bigger and better things.

Expectations have fallen short for the No. 99 Aflac Ford team, to say the least. Despite having seven top fives and 13 top tens this season, Cousin Carl is without a win and out of contention for this years Chase.

And if there was a place for the Roush-Fenway group to rebound, Martinsville wouldn't be at the top of their list. Edwards finished 26th the last time the series visited the track, and has an average finish of 18th.

Things were tough on Friday, when Edwards finished the one practice of the weekend 34th on the speed charts.

Edwards also made the trip to Memphis Motorsports Park for the Kroger On Track For The Cure 250. He started in the back after having Auggie Vidovich qualify his No. 60 Save-A-Lot Ford earlier in the day.

He was involved in two incidents on the day—the first coming on lap 25 when he was spun by Tony Raines which also collected several other cars.

With just 20 laps to go, Edwards was running fourth when eventual winner Brad Keselowski also sent the No. 60 spinning into the field, collecting rookie Matt DiBenedetto, Brian Ickler, and Justin Allgaier. Cousin Carl was able to rally back and finish sixth.

“I hope it was just a racin' deal. I like Brad, I like him a lot. He probably didn't go out there and think 'hey, I'm gonna wreck him', but he probably didn't give me any space either.”

With three races left on the Nationwide schedule, Edwards is 215 points behind leader Kyle Busch.

Edwards was one of five Chasers that qualified 20th or worse, including teammates Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle, with his 29th place starting spot in the Tums Fast Relief 500.

Cousin Carl took his time, steadily working his way up through the field. By lap 200, he had finally made it into the top five. It didn't last long, though, as Jimmie Johnson, who was on a charge all day, passed him just three laps later.

Edwards would remain in the top 20 for the rest of the race, eventually making his way back inside the top 15 with the green white checkered approaching.

However, Edwards' disappointment of the weekend continued, as he spun out with just a lap remaining in the race. Instead of restarting his car and going across the start finish line, a visibly frustrated driver jumped out of his car and walked away.

With a 20th place finish, Edwards remained 10th in points, and is now 413 points behind Jimmie Johnson.

Dennysville: Denny Hamlin Wins Tums Fast Relief 500

Jen Preston — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:38:59 -0400

Heading into the Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway, there was one thing many NASCAR fans and Chase drivers all needed relief from: Jimmie Johnson.

After dominating last week's NASCAR Banking 500 at "his house," Lowe's Motor Speedway, Johnson extended his championship lead over teammate Mark Martin to 90 points.

Unfortunately for the field, Martinsville happens to be Johnson's personal playground—in 15 career starts at the track, Johnson and company have six wins, 11 top fives, and hasn't finished in the top ten since his first race there back in 2002.

Mark Martin was fastest in the weekend's lone practice session, followed by teammate Jeff Gordon and Juan Pablo Montoya, who was looking to rebound after his disappointing 36th-place finish last weekend.

Ryan Newman tied Buck Baker with career poles, winning his 45th on Friday.

With the fans giving the command to start engines, the “Rocket Man” led the 43-car field to the green flag at 1:47 local time.

It quickly fell to single file up front as Newman led Gordon, Truex, Jr., Martin, and Reutimann rounded out the top five. Chasers Johnson, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Denny Hamlin were stuck back in traffic, battling within the first five laps for 15th and back.

Trouble occurred on lap eight as Matt Kenseth got into the No. 47 of Marcos Ambrose, collecting Robby Gordon and Derrick Cope along with him. They would all beat leader Newman back to the start/finish line, remaining on the lead lap.

Choosing the inside lane, Newman led the field to the green on lap 13, quickly taking the lead and leaving Truex, Jr. to battle side-by-side with Gordon. The two battled hard, with Truex getting loose and nearly running the No. 24 into the wall.

Gordon took the lead from Newman on lap 23 as they went into turn four, while his teammate Johnson continued to pick up spots, moving up to sixth after starting 15th. Kyle Busch was also making strides, and ran 29th after starting all the way back in 41st.

On lap 43, Michael Waltrip—with a flat left rear tire—spun right in front of third place Johnson, but missed the championship leader. His spin would be the second caution of the day, and NASCAR used the yellow as their planned lap 50 competition caution.

At 30 miles per hour, Gordon led the field down pit road, and while the No. 24 took just two right side tires, his teammates Martin and Johnson took four, along with the majority of the lead lap cars. Hamlin nailed the back of the No. 88 of Earnhardt, Jr., giving both cars damage as they exited pit road.

Side-by-side, Gordon and Truex, Jr. led the field to the green on lap 51, with Gordon quickly taking the lead while Johnson stole second from the No. 1 Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet a lap later. Further back, Montoya, Earnhardt, Jr., Harvick, and Bowyer all battled for seventh through 10th, with Bowyer getting loose on the inside of his teammate, slipping back.

After starting 15th, it took Johnson just 60 laps to take the lead. By lap 61, all four Hendrick drivers ran in the top five. Gordon, though, would continue to fall back after losing the lead after taking two tires.

“We need to tighten this thing up,” Gordon said as he continued to lose spots. “Oh, and we need tires.”

Approaching 90 laps into the race, it was Johnson leading Newman, Martin, Montoya, and Hamlin as caution came out for Earnhardt, Jr. loosing a tire and hitting the wall. Johnson led the field down pit road, with everyone taking four tires.

On lap 94 Johnson was quick, as all the leaders had been on restarts, to jump out ahead of the field and leave his competitors in the dust. Newman and Martin and Gordon and Montoya all had great side-by-side battles for second through fifth, ending with Newman regaining the spot he'd lost on pit road.

Montoya and Gordon had a great side-by-side battle, trading fourth and fifth back and forth before JPM managed to get Gordon going into the turn and taking the position.

“I don't know what's wrong with him,” Gordon said over the radio after the contact. “But I'm [expletive] pissed!”

Meanwhile, Johnson continued to dominate 113 laps in, leading Newman by just over a second.

Truex, Jr. brought his No. 1 Chevrolet down pit road on lap 126, telling his crew he felt the right rear tire was coming off his car. He would lose two laps. Just as Truex came back onto pit road, Earnhardt, Jr., who would have been the lucky dog, brought out the day's fourth caution by once again making contact with the wall.

Johnson once again won the race off pit road, and restarted on lap 137 with an aggressive Montoya, who was able to clear the No. 39 to charge toward the lead.

Side-by-side, the pair ran and Montoya charged to the lead as they entered turn three on lap 141.

The fifth caution of the day came out on lap 157 for a large piece of debris. Chaser Greg Biffle was the lucky dog. Sixth place Denny Hamlin was the first car down pit road, leading most of the drivers behind him. Most of those who hit pit road chose to take two tires.

Montoya refused to give up the lead as the race went back to green on lap 164. Johnson and Gordon battled for half a lap before Johnson took second place back.

Kurt Busch, who started 37th , ran in 11th place; just ahead of Hamlin, who restarted 12th after pitting under the last caution.

Penske teammates Sam Hornish, Jr. and David Stremme found themselves after contact with Truex, Jr., bringing out the sixth caution of the race. Despite causing the caution after getting into the back of the No. 12, Truex was the lucky dog.

While Denny Hamlin stayed out, Montoya led the top 11 down pit road, and most of those who stopped chose to take four tires. Johnson, though, managed to beat the No. 42 off pit road.

It was Jeff Burton who led the field to the green flag on lap 183, as he'd stayed out under both cautions, but quickly lost the lead to the No. 11.

Meanwhile, Johnson was stuck in a cluster of traffic, restarting 18th, but immediately jumped up to 12th after the restart.

Hornish, Jr. found himself in trouble again as, on lap 195, he brought out the seventh caution on the day after contact with the No. 55 of Waltrip. Under the caution, Burton, Kurt Busch, Logano, and others hit pit road.

Hamlin and Busch raced side-by-side on the lap 202 restart, with Rowdy taking the lead just as the pair hit the start-finish line. Harvick restarted right behind them in third, and didn't let the leaders out of his sight.

On lap 205, Hamlin retook the lead from his teammate, as fourth place Johnson closed in on the leaders. Moving up from his 29th starting spot was Carl Edwards, who battled Montoya for sixth.

A pleasant surprise in the top five, making his last appearance in the No. 96 was Bobby Labonte, who ran fifth. Just ahead of him, Harvick lost third to the No. 48 of Kasey Kahne at the entrance of pit road. Much to the pleasure of Junior Nation, the No. 88 was the lucky dog.

Again it was Hamlin and Busch battling on the lap 216 restart, with Harvick on the outside stealing third from Johnson. Montoya lurked in sixth, just behind them, as the No. 29 fell back to fifth.

Johnson and Rowdy battled for second, but Busch's persistence was to no avail, and he was quickly passed by both the No. 48 and 42.

By lap 234, the three leaders had put a second between themselves and the rest of the field, led by fourth place Martin. A strong run for three of the four Richard Childress Racing drivers, as Harvick, Burton, and Bowyer all ran in the top ten.

A.J. Allmendinger ended his intense side-by-side battle with Joey Logano in the wall, bringing out the race's ninth caution. Earnhardt, Jr. was the only car a single lap down.

Hamlin brought the field once again down pit road, but lost the lead to Johnson. Montoya also lost a spot to Martin and fell to fourth.

Greg Biffle, who had been a lap down earlier in the race, led the field to the lap 260 restart, but was quickly passed by Johnson and eventually Martin. While the No. 48 and No. 5 were spread apart by several car lengths, Montoya was attached to Hamlin's FedEx Toyota, and made the pass on lap 267.

Sterling Marlin and John Andretti found themselves in trouble after Kahne spun Andretti's No. 34, bringing out the tenth caution. Kahne would have been the free pass, but because he was the cause of the caution, no lucky dog was given.

On lap 280, Johnson led the field to the restart, slowing up before taking off, costing his teammate Martin a position to Montoya.

Montoya didn't waste much time, challenging Johnson once again for the lead on lap 284, remaining on his bumper.

“To be the champ, you've got to beat the champ!” crew chief Brian Pattie told Montoya.

After falling two laps down, Earnhardt, Jr. had rebounded and on lap 299 was up to 17th.

Once again, Kahne was the reason behind the 11th caution of the day, after losing a tire and slamming into the wall on lap 303.

Johnson would again beat the field off pit road, and Montoya lost two spots during his stop. Earnhardt, Jr., who was 15th before the pit stop, dropped 15 spots on pit road and restarted 30th after missing his pit.

Reutimann, Stewart, and Elliott Sadler all stayed on track and led the field to the green. The No. 14 had a rough restart, allowed the No. 00 to take the lead. Johnson raced the No. 17 of Kenseth for fifth and sixth as Truex, Jr. was sent spinning, but no caution. Stremme, who got into the back of the No. 1, was warned by NASCAR about the contact.

On lap 319, Stewart battled side-by-side with former teammate Hamlin after losing a spot to Johnson, who was riding the bumper of the No. 00. Johnson completed the pass on lap 322.

Johnson paced the field until lap 358, when, thanks to lap traffic, Hamlin was able to catch the No. 48. Meanwhile, Earnhardt, Jr. again had a flat tire, but was able to make it down pit road and the race stayed green.

Three wide with Hamlin and Biffle on either side of Johnson, but neither the No. 11 or No. 48 gave up, continuing to run side-by-side as Hamlin challenged the points leader for the lead. Hamlin nudged ahead of the Lowe's Chevrolet, who tapped Hamlin just before the FedEx Toyota began to pull away.

Chaser Kurt Busch went a lap down with a little over 100 left in the Tums Fast Relief 500, and Jeff Gordon continued to battle up in the top ten. But up front it was all Hamlin and lap traffic as the field neared their final scheduled pit stop.

With 78 laps to go, just 14 cars sat on the lead lap, as Hamlin continued to dominate. He held a three-second lead over Johnson. Truex, Jr. and Stremme continued their beef with one another, nearly bringing out another caution as they battled for position.

Montoya came down pit road with 67 laps to go, taking four tires, fuel, and getting a chassis adjustment, with Johnson following with a 17.1-second stop after making both a chassis and air pressure change.

Hamlin gave up the lead three laps later, taking four tires and fuel and pulling off pit road with a 13.7-second stop.

Andretti once again was sent spinning in turn two, bringing out caution for the 12th time.

With 53 laps to go, Hamlin led the field to the green, and while the leaders ran single file, Edwards and Martin raced side-by-side for sixth, Martin taking the spot. Johnson began making a run at Hamlin, with Montoya closely following in third.

While Hamlin maintained the lead, Tony Stewart began charging toward the top five, and on lap 468 Gordon began battling the No. 42 of Montoya for third, taking the spot.

Debris off the No. 44 brought out caution with just 17 laps remaining. Kurt Busch was the free pass.

On the inside, Hamlin was able to pull away from the field with 12 laps to go. Montoya stayed to the outside of Gordon, beating and banging his way past the No. 24, before jumping to the bumper of Johnson.

An extremely loose Mears got bent out of shape, nearly hitting the wall, but was able to save it. Scott Speed, though, wasn't so lucky when he made heavy, heavy impact with six laps to go. He brought out the 14th caution of the day, and Bowyer was the lucky dog.

A green-white-checkered resulted as once again, Hamlin was able to take the lead with Johnson on his bumper and Montoya right on Johnson's. One lap remained when Andretti was sent spinning, but no caution was brought out and Denny Hamlin took the checkered flag to win the Tums Fast Relief 500.

"Hey, we don't need that car, buddy so you can burn it down," crew chief Mike Ford told Hamlin. And that's exactly what he did, celebrating another win in his home state with a huge burnout before parking his No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota at the start/finish line.

"It's good, it's good to bounce back. I just gotta thank all my fans who stuck with me, on Twitter, giving me hope!" Hamlin said with a grin on his face.

Jimmie Johnson, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kyle Busch, and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top five. A nice run for Jamie McMurray, who came home sixth, Ryan Newman seventh, and a bad points day for Mark Martin, who ended his day eighth. Tony Stewart and RCR's Kevin Harvick rounded out the top ten.

Johnson is now 118 points ahead of second place Martin, with four races remaining in in the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup. Montoya, Newman, and Hamlin each gained spots in points while Busch, Biffle, and Kahne all fell positions.

Next week is the ultimate wildcard weekend in the Chase as the Sprint Cup Series heads into Talladega Superspeedway for the Amp Energy 500. Coverage begins at noon eastern time on ABC.

This article also appears on SoCalSportsHub.com .

The Lugnut Report: Bad Luck Continues to Follow Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Jen Preston — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:37:01 -0400

It's home sweet home for the drivers of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but for Dale Earnhardt, Jr., this is going down as “the most frustrating season of my career.”

With 66 starts for Hendrick Motorsports under his belt since joining the team in 2008, Earnhardt, Jr. has an average finish of 18.25, seven DNFs, and just one victory. The No. 88 AMP Energy Chevrolet also failed to make the Chase this season, and sat 22nd in points before the start of the NASCAR Banking 500.

In the first two practices of the weekend, Earnhardt, Jr. put up solid practice speeds, finishing the sessions before qualifying in 13th and 16th—and then going out to qualify a dismal 39th, while his three other HMS teammates qualified in the top ten.

“Last night we were top-15 in practice, and we went out to try to qualify, and we were one of the worst cars here,” he said. “We don’t know why or have any answer for it. All the other [Hendrick] cars qualified fine and did well, backed their times up from practice, and we didn’t even get close.

We looked ridiculous last night. It’s like really encouraging one day, and then the next day it’s equally discouraging, and that gets really old. I’m about to the end of my rope on it.”

Earnhardt, Jr. struggled early on with the handling on his car, complaining of handling problems as he and the No. 88 AMP Energy Chevrolet ran near the back of the pack.

Battling up and down the top 30 all night long, the communication between Earnhardt, Jr. and his crew chief—or lack there of—didn't help matters much.

“It has nothing to do with touching the gas, get that out of your mind. When I get down in the corner, it's feeling free, but it's very tolerable,” a disgruntled driver yelled over the radio under the night's third caution.

The No. 88 crew would make adjustments to their Chevrolet all night long, but it was to no avail. Earnhardt, Jr. continued to run in the back of the pack, and on lap 107 was lapped by leader Denny Hamlin.

On lap 125 Earnhardt, Jr. was sent to the garage after his car couldn't hold fourth gear, and remained there until lap 155—29 laps down.

The bad luck just will not leave Earnhardt, Jr., with questions surrounding his crew chief's status-- and questions of his long term future at Hendrick Motorsports.

He ended his disappointing night in 38th place, 30 laps behind the leaders.

Earnhardt, Jr.'s other three teammates finished first, fourth and 16th. Earnhardt, Jr. is still 22nd in points.

For Ryan Newman's Lugnut Report, click here . For last week's Lugnut Reports from California, click here for Greg Biffle, and for A.J. Allmendinger, click here .

His House: Jimmie Johnson Wins (Again) at Lowe's Motor Speedway

Jen Preston — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:43:22 -0400

After German and Scots-Irish settlers found themselves in disagreement over where to settle their city, Concord, North Carolina was settled in 1796. One hundred and sixty four years later, what is now known as Lowe's Motor Speedway was built, and the city has since become the hub of NASCAR racing-- and the track itself has become Jimmie Johnson's personal playground.

Of his 16 career starts at the track, the points leader coming into Saturday night's NASCAR Banking 500 has five wins, eight top fives and 12 top tens, and has an average top ten finish (9.1).

With his qualifying lap of 192.376 mph, not only did the defending champion win his third pole of the season, he also set one of the fastest laps in the COT.

Johnson and teammate Mark Martin shared the front row, and led the field to the green flag under the lights-- and under a threat of showers-- at 7:49 p.m. Eastern time.

The front four cars immediately pulled away from the rest of the field, with Martin passing his teammate to take over the lead. Kasey Kahne never let the leaders out of his sight, running side by side with Johnson and taking second.

Trouble early for Sam Hornish, Jr. who spun off turn two to bring out the night's first caution. There was no lucky dog.

On the outside, Martin lost the lead upon the restart on lap seven to his teammate, who in a repeat of his dominating performance last week pulled away from the No. 5's side by side battle with Kahne.

Near the entrance of pit road on lap 10, the No. 77 of Hornish, Jr. once again found himself around. He would go a lap down making repairs to his Dodge.

On lap 14 Johnson was able to pull away from the mostly single file field. Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano ran side by side for sixth and seventh, with Logano taking the spot. Meanwhile, Juan Pablo Montoya ran eighth, 10 spots up from his 18^th starting position on lap 20.

Chaser and former champion Tony Stewart, though, was going the other way. By lap 23 his No. 14 Old Spice Chevrolet was back to third.

While Johnson paced the field, Kahne began catching Friday night's Nationwide Series race winner Kyle Busch for third, and on lap 34 Denny Hamlin passed Ryan Newman for sixth.

Johnson's over two second lead was erased on lap 35 as caution came out for the third time during the NASCAR Banking 500 for light sprinkles. The field would come down pit road.

Picking up seven spots by taking just two tires, Matt Kenseth won the race off pit road, followed by Johnson, Busch, Martin, Newman and Hamlin. Also taking two tires were teammate Casey Mears and Harvick. Trouble for rookie Logano, who slid through his pit and fell all the way back to 38^th . Keselowski also had problems on pit road, in the form of speeding. He was forced to start at the tail end of the field.

Choosing the outside, Kenseth was able to hold the lead on lap 43, but remained in a side by side battle with the No. 48. As they continued to race side by side, making slight contact as Johnson got loose, Kenseth was able to clear the points leader as Martin fell back to fourth.

Chasers Kahne and Brian Vickers ran side by side for blank, nearly colliding on lap 47 before the No. 9 Dodge, running the new R6 engine, was able to take the spot and pull away.

Stewart, meanwhile, continued to lose spots, running 17^th on lap 52 as Johnson took the lead-- and pulled away-- from Kenseth. Stewart would drop two more spots by lap 56.

Former back, it was Megatron vs. Optimus Prime, and evil prevailed as Gordon took the ninth spot from the No. 39 of Newman.

After running through his pit box earlier, Logano had made strides on track and ran in 25^th after passing Elliott Sadler and his pink machine on lap 57.

Twentieth place Mike Bliss made contact with the wall on lap 62, but was able to continue. Hamlin, with four tires, overtook the No. 17 with just two for second. He was able to pass Johnson and take the lead on lap 71.

Chaser and expectant father Carl Edwards fell a lap down on lap 83 while his teammate Kenseth passed Johnson for second.

On lap 87 Kyle Busch passed Johnson for third, but the fastest car on the track was Juan Pablo Montoya, and passed both Busch and Johnson at a lightning fast pace, moving into third. As Busch made it three wide with Johnson and Mears to gain positions back, communication between Knaus and his driver seemed to break down.

“I'm going to come down pit road and strangle you if you're going to be like this,” Johnson snapped at his crew chief.

Kenseth hit pit road on lap 90, taking four tires and fuel, as did Edwards, saying “I don't know what (the car) is going to do.”

Johnson came down pit road on lap 92 as did teammate Martin. The team made major adjustments, including air pressure, and had trouble on the left rear costing those positions.

Newman, Kahne and several others made their way down pit road for four tires. Both Busch brothers, Stewart, Menard, Sadler and several others hit pit road on lap 94, with Montoya and Hamlin pitting the following lap.

Kenseth, Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Mears and Johnson were the top five as green flag stops cycled around. Hamlin, though, took the lead as the field reached the 100 lap mark.

Kahne, Martin and Clint Bowyer made it three wide on lap 107, as the No. 9 and No. 33 split the second place car in points for positions seventh and eighth. In fifth, Montoya continued to run the fastest laps on track, helped by Johnson and Kyle Busch racing side by side for third and fourth.

With blank laps complete, Hamlin's nearly five second lead was erased as Kyle Busch's No. 18 M&M's Toyota snapped loose and spun in turn four, bringing out the fourth caution and barely missing Kahne and Scott Speed. Robby Gordon was the lucky dog.

Two tires for Gordon, Biffle, and Newman all took two tires and came off pit road in the top three positions, with former leader Hamlin in fourth. He was the first car with four tires as the field took the green on lap 125.

Gordon immediately jumped out to the lead as Earnhardt, Jr. fell off the pace. It had been a mess of a restart, with Montoya even receiving damage after running into the back of Bowyer.

“It won't stay in fourth (gear). It just grinds away,” Earnhardt, Jr. told his crew before heading to the garage.

Hamlin and Biffle began running side by side for second, with the No. 11 FedEx Express on the bottom and the No. 16 on top, with Biffle prevailing on lap 129. On lap 131, Montoya continued to drop positions left and right with his damage, running blank as fellow Chaser Vickers, who also had damage, came down pit road for repairs. Montoya ran 25^th on lap 133 and continued to fall back.

“When we get this fixed it's going to be better than it was before,” crew chief Brian Pattie assured this driver.

Johnson completed his pass on Biffle for third as the pair hit the start finish to complete lap 136. Meanwhile just up ahead, Hamlin looked to be eating away at the lead of Gordon.

Contact between the No. 43 of Sorenson and No. 18 of Busch as the two battled for 21^st and 22^nd , Busch getting into the back of Sorenson to take position, but Sorenson was able to save the car. Continuing to struggle, 30^th place Montoya fell a lap to leader Gordon on lap 149.

Twenty laps before he was due on pit road, Paul Menard and his No. 98 Menard's Chevrolet came down pit road for a four tire stop. Meanwhile, on lap 155 Earnhardt, Jr., 29 laps down and in 41^st came back on track.

On lap 163, Montoya was just hanging on, waiting for a caution-- and he was it. On lap 164 Montoya, who was wicked loose in the laps leading up to the caution, spun through the infield and on pit road. Because he pit with the leaders and came in double file, Montoya was forced to start at the tail end of the field. They would make multiple pit stops.

Hamlin won the battle off pit road, followed by Gordon, Kenseth, Johnson, Biffle, Kahne, Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Newman and Truex, Jr. rounded out the top ten. Montoya would restart 37^th , two laps down.

Spinning the tires, Hamlin on the outside ran side by side with Gordon, with Johnson and Kenseth just behind. Three wide further back with Logano, Mears and Allmendinger, and a gaggle of cars behind them. Meanwhile, Gordon was able to take the lead on the bottom from Hamlin on lap 171. Stremme scraped the wall and fell off the pace but was able to continue, and Kenseth took second from Hamlin.

Closing up on the leader, Kenseth jumped to the high line in an effort to pass the No. 24. Further back in the top ten, Bowyer and Jeff Burton ran eighth and ninth before Burton was passed by Newman and the No. 14 of Stewart, who ran quietly in tenth.

Three wide was David Ragan, Mears and Marcos Ambrose, as Ambrose continued to fall back to 23^rd with damage on the front of his car as the field reached 179 of 334 total laps. Sick with the flu, Reutimann, who had driver Dave Blaney on standby, ran 12^th .

Kahne passed Johnson for fourth on lap 180, and caution came out for debris on lap 189 for debris. And Target marked the spot, as it was part of the rear end from the No. 42 of Montoya. David Gilliland in a fourth Joe Gibbs Racing entry was the lucky dog, and the leaders came down pit road, mostly for two tires. It was the sixth caution of the night.

Kenseth led the way off pit road, followed by Johnson, Gordon, Kurt Busch Hamlin, Kahne, Bowyer, Stewart, Newman and Truex, Jr. Martin stayed on pit road to fix the nose of his car, after earlier contact with Montoya. Another Chaser had woes, as Hamlin came down under the caution with a valve problem, but went back on track.

“I'm wide open. I don't think we're going to make it,” Hamlin told his crew, and his team ordered him behind the wall to repair the car.

On the inside, Kenseth led the field to the green flag on lap 195, getting a push from Johnson's teammate Gordon, but was able to pull away, leaving Gordon and Johnson to battle side by side for second. Bowyer, meanwhile, took to the top side to pass both Kahne and Kurt Busch, moving his No. 33 Chevrolet into third.

A lap later, though, Busch and Kahne split him, passing him and allowed Newman to pass him as well. Behind Bowyer, Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart battled for ninth and 10^th , Smoke prevailing.

On lap 201, struggling Chaser Edwards came down pit road. Side by side, Kahne passed Gordon for third on lap 204, and was able to run anywhere on the track, while Stewart and Bowyer continued traded eighth and ninth place before Stewart was able to clear the RCR Chevrolet.

On lap 211, Hamlin was declared out of the race with his valve issue. He would take a major hit in points, losing two positions and falling from ninth to 11th with his 42^nd place finish.

“It looked it dropped a valve or something. Just a tough night. We've had a rough couple of weeks,” Hamlin said. “This is the best we've run at this track. We had a chance of winning it.”

On lap 218, a blistering fast Kahne made his way past Johnson. The No. 48 had hoped by letting Kahne by he could get behind the No. 9 and suck off some debris on the grill, but Kahne simply drove away.

And it wouldn't take him long to take that lead from Kenseth.

Kahne was able to drive by the No. 17 DeWalt Ford on lap 222, and immediately set off to lap cars and build a substantial lead. On lap 230, Montoya came down pit road, after not pitting the last caution due to being a wave around car.

Kyle Busch scraped the wall on lap 232 but was able to continue on. Reutimann started green flag pit stops on lap 236, a tad earlier because of a vibration. Meanwhile Newman was able to take fifth from Kurt Busch, and Martin continued to struggle from that previous contact with Montoya and ran in 17^th .

On lap 244 Kyle Busch replaced four tires during his pit stop, getting a wedge adjustment as well. Truex, Jr., who was running in the top ten, also made his stop. The following lap, Sorenson and Johnson made their way down pit road.

On lap 246 pit road swelled with takers, including Stewart, Gordon, Kahne, Logano and others. Harvick came down the following lap, along with Kurt Busch. Along with various adjustments, the leaders chose four tires.

Gordon began complaining to his crew of a vibration after his stop, asking his crew to make sure they hit all the lug nuts.

Once stops cycled back Kahne resumed the lead, followed by Kenseth, Johnson, Bowyer and Gordon with 252 laps completed. With 74 laps remaining, Kahne held a three second lead over second place Kenseth.

Johnson made a pass for second on lap 268, and began chasing down the leader, who extended his lead to over five seconds. Meanwhile, continuing to struggle with a vibration, Gordon had fallen back to seventh by lap 285, and Kahne extended his lead to nearly seven seconds. But could he hang on?

Mark Martin fell a lap down on lap 290, and Kahne had an intense side by side battle with Greg Biffle, trying to put him a lap down. A caution, however, for Max Papis blowing an engine came out just as Biffle edged ahead of the No. 9. David Gilliland had just passed Martin, and was the lucky dog as the leaders hit pit road.

Jeff Gordon was the only car to take two tires, and came out third behind Johnson and Kahne, who had an extremely close battle off pit road. Kenseth, Mears, Bowyer, Truex, Jr., Keselowski, Logano and Kurt Busch rounded out the top ten.

Johnson got off to a huge jump on the lap 296 restart, immediately pulling ahead of Kahne. Gordon and Kenseth raced side by side for third and fourth with the RCR teammates of Bowyer and Mears, and a very loose No. 25 of Keselowski behind them. Making it three wide, Logano dove to the inside of Truex and Keselowski, but it was the No. 25 who came out on top.

Brotherly love as Kurt and Kyle Busch battled alongside one another for tenth and eleventh on track, with younger brother Kyle coming out on top. Caution came out with 35 to go for the eighth time for Gilliland hitting the wall, evaporating the dominant lead of Johnson. His teammate, Martin, was the lucky dog.

A push from teammate Gordon once again saw Johnson jump out to a substantial lead, but it immediately went away when Carl Edwards, who had struggled all night long and was laps down, lost an engine. The ninth caution of the night came out with 30 laps remaining, and once again stress lined the face of No. 48 crew chief Chad Knaus.

In light of his DNF, Edwards fell from eighth to 10 ^th in points, and called his engine failure a “mercy killing.”

Twenty-six laps remained as they took the green flag, with Johnson again jumping out ahead of the field. Gordon and Kenseth were both quick to clear Kahne, as they were single file until Logano and Keselowski, who battled side by side for seventh and eighth just in front of Logano's teammate Busch. The No. 25 was able to clear Logano with 24 laps to go.

Tony Stewart dove to the bottom of Stremme, Biffle and Newman, making it FOUR wide and taking the position! But Stremme got loose, clipping the wall and tagging Biffle, sending the No. 16 spinning into the infield. The amazing thing-- Biffle had very minimal rear damage on his Ford. The incident also sent Bliss into the grass to avoid contact, but he was okay.

It was the night's 10 ^th caution of the night, and saw the No. 43 of Sorenson get back on the lead lap.

With 17 to go Gordon was able to hang with the No. 48, racing him side by side, Gordon on the outside, and Johson to the bottom. Off the corner, the No. 24 had the advantage but it was Johnson who held the lead. With 16 to go Johnson got loose, handing the lead to Gordon.

But Johnson was persistent, running up to the side of Gordon. Getting loose again, Gordon was able to clear the No. 48. Behind them, Kahne and Kenseth raced side by side for third and fourth, trading the position with cross over moves.

Johnson continued to try and make a run on his teammate with 14 to go, making a run to the bottom, and door to door it was Johnson who led with 13 to go. But Gordon pulled out to half a car length, and Kahne looked to make a run with 12 to go, Johnson took the lead and Gordon fell into the clutches of Kahne, with Kenseth in toe.

Kahne ran in second, and with 11 to go and Kenseth on his bumper he began trying to run down the leader. It was heavy racing all around Lowe's Motor Speedway as 10 laps remained.

Johnson extended his lead to a second with nine laps remaining, as Logano and Bowyer battled further in the pack for fifth and sixth. Six laps remained, and Kenseth jumped to the inside of Kahne. The two ran door to door, side by side, but getting loose Kenseth relinquished the spot to the No. 9.

But he wouldn't give up, and passed Kahne with five laps remaining in the NASCAR Banking 500. With three to go, Gordon and Logano were inseparable, not letting one another by as they battled for fourth.

Despite Kahne's strong run, it was Jimmie Johnson who went to Victory Lane in the NASCAR Banking 500.

Your top ten : Johnson, Kenseth, Kahne, Gordon, Logano, Bowyer, Mears, Busch, Truex, Jr. and Kurt Busch.

Your Chasers : Johnson 1 ^st , Kahne 3 ^rd , Gordon 4 ^th , Ku. Busch 10 ^th , Stewart 13 ^th , Biffle 16 ^th , Martin 17 ^th , Vickers 34 ^th , Montoya 35 ^th , Edwards 39 ^th , and Hamlin 42 ^nd .

Chase for the Sprint Cup Standings heading into Martinsville

Jimmie Johnson
Mark Martin -90
Jeff Gordon -135 (up two spots)
Tony Stewart -155
Kurt Busch -77 (up one spot)
Juan Pablo Montoya -195 (down three spots)
Greg Biffle -268
Ryan Newman -288 (up two spots)
Kasey Kahne -331 (up two spots)
Carl Edwards -341 (down two spots)
Denny Hamlin -372 (down two spots
Brian Vickers -485

Thanks to NASCAR.com, Racing Reference, and Jeff Gluck of Scene Daily for the information and quotes used in this piece.

This article also appears on SoCalSportsHub.com .

The Lugnut Report: Greg Biffle Has California Nightmares

Jen Preston — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 22:09:11 -0400

The Beach Boys sang of "California Dreamin".

For Greg Biffle, his trip to the sunshine state was more of a living nightmare.

Despite winning at the now Auto Club Speedway in 2005, The Biff had an average of 17.1, and has finished 15th or lower in five of his starts since. Coming in eighth in points, Biffle also entered his double header weekend, looking to end his 37 race winless streak.

Friday practice for the No. 16 3M Scotch-Blue Ford saw them end up 23rd on the speed charts, but qualified second for Sunday's race.

Biffle would also compete in Copart 300, and qualified 14th for that race on Saturday morning, after a slight delay for fog.

The No. 16 CitiFinancial Ford battled into the top five by lap 18, and would stay in the top ten for most of the day. Fifty laps into the event, Biffle was battling for the lead with the No. 20 of Joey Logano.

Laps of hard racing resulted in Biffle running Logano into the wall on lap 49, with Biffle taking the lead.

The Biff would remain, for the rest of the day, in the Top 15, often times racing two, and sometimes, three wide with the likes of Kevin Harvick and Brian Vickers.

His late race charge with nine laps to go saw Biffle challenging leaders Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski, when he went to the outside of the two cars. As the No. 88 of Keselowski backed off as Hamlin and Biffle made contact. Hamlin would finish 31st. Biffle ended the day 14th.

After the race was over, the war of words between Logano and Biffle continued, with the 19 year old—who would go on to win the race—said wrecking him "was the only way he thought he could beat us." Tom Logano, Joey's father, also confronted the driver of the No. 16, and had his hard card taken away.

"Oh, yeah, I saw him flip me off, yeah," Biffle said after the incident. "They've got short memories, you know? They don't remember last week [at Kansas] when they smashed my left front fender in. See? It's all about theirselves -- and it's not always about you.

"He was lucky that he had time to fix it. I got mine smashed in on the last run of the day. I didn't have time to fix mine. I fell back and finished wherever I did."

Biffle would suffer a case of deja vu the next day during the Sprint Cup Series race.

Despite running, again, in the Top 15 throughout the day, The Biff struggled with the tight condition that plagued the team in their final two practice sessions, where the team finished 31st and 34th on the speed charts. His pit crew, though, made strides for their driver all day—virtually mistake free, Biffle was able to pick up spots left and right on the day when his car hit pit road for service.

And then the bad luck that has plagued Roush-Fenway Racing for most of the season reared its ugly head.

Eleven laps remained when the No. 2 Dodge of Kurt Busch and No. 9 of Kasey Kahne collided. Kahne turned into Biffle, sending both cars spinning into the infield grass. Biffle would restart 27th, but a late race caution including all four Richard Petty Motorsports cars, and others, would help Biffle drive back to a 20th place finish.

The finish helped lift Biffle to seventh in points, and with six races remaining in the chase for the Sprint Cup, The Biff is 188 points behind new leader, Jimmie Johnson.

Thanks to NASCAR.com and Racing Reference for the quotes and information used in this article. For this weeks Lugnut Report on A.J. Allmendinger, click here. For Jimmie Johnson's Lugnut Report from Kansas Speedway, click here.

The Lugnut Report: Kyle Busch Fights Tires, Struggles In Dover

Jen Preston — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:26:18 -0400

It's been a tough last couple of weeks for the Shrub.

After missing the Chase for the Sprint Cup by just eight points back in Richmond, the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota was penalized 25 owner and driver points, and crew chief Steve Addington was placed on probation for the rest of year and fined $25,000.

“The situation was caused when the left front spring became dislodged," Joe Gibbs Racing said in a statement. "This resulted in the left front corner of the car to be lower and resulted in a change to the car’s handling which had to be compensated for during the race. Consequently, the car measured low during post race inspection.’’

Looking to put all the trouble behind him, Busch and the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota headed into Dover International Speedway... and if Busch was looking to rebound, Dover wasn't the ideal place to do it.

While Shrub does have a Dover victory under his belt, his average Cup finish was 15.3 coming into the weekend.

“I'm always confident we have the car capable of going to Victory Lane,” Busch said before the green flag of the Dover 200 Nationwide race. The No. 18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota practiced in the top ten in both practice sessions, and qualified on pole.

There was no doubt Busch had a right to be confident—he finished the Nationwide Series practice sessions fifth and eighth, respectively. But could he get the car into Victory Lane?

With storms brewing just a few miles away, Rowdy led the field to the green of the Dover 200...with no ability to talk to his crew.

“The radio may not work, but Kyle has been shot out of cannon,” ESPN announcer Marty Reid said, as Busch shot ahead of the pack. Within six laps Busch had built a second lead of second place car Carl Edwards.

Busch hit lap traffic early, jumping to the high side or diving low to put cars down a lap, and by lap 20 laps just 24 cars sat on the lead lap. By lap 42, the Nationwide Series points leader had padded his lead to nearly four seconds.

On lap 56, Busch became just the second driver in Nationwide history to lead 2,000 laps in a season, the first of course being Series great Sam Ard, who did it in 1984 by leading 2,127.

Sixty three laps into the Dover 200 just 15 cars sat on the lead lap as Busch continued on his blistering pace. Erasing the five second lead on lap 82, Busch came down pit road for a 14.1 second four tire stop stop before heading back on track.

Busch cycled back to the lead on lap 91, and would continue to lead—and put cars laps down—by the time the field hit the halfway mark on lap 100.

Caution came out for the first time on lap 109 for debris, with the leaders again hitting pit road with a 12.9. Once again his crew kept him atop the scoring tower ahead of Edwards, Scott Speed, Clint Bowyer and Ryan Newman.

Choosing the outside line, Busch led the field to the restart on lap 116, again vaulting to the lead. However, a fast No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet of Bowyer caught the No. 18 Toyota, passing him just two laps later.

Busch was unable to capitalize on the lap 125 restart, with Bowyer on the inside pulling away from Busch's Toyota. He and Nationwide points rival Edwards battled nose to tail for second and third before Edwards made the pass on lap 129—Busch attempted the crossover, diving low to the side of the No. 60, but it was to no avail.

“We've got a little bit of radio com on a back up channel. He's a little loose and we made some adjustments on the last stop. If we can get one more stop I think we can get it fixed up,” crew chief Jason Radcliff said as his driver took second place back from Edwards on lap 139.

Lap 150 posed another chance for Busch to take advantage of Bowyer-- the two raced side by side into turn two before the No. 29 cleared Busch, but both had pulled away from the field. He lost second to Mike Bliss with 44 to go.

Busch rested in third until Brad Keselowski passed him on the restart with seven laps to go-- a restart just after Keselowski spun Rowdy's Sprint Cup teammate, Denny Hamlin. After leading 109 laps on the day, just 18 laps from tying Sam Ard's record of laps led in a year, Busch came home fourth.

"(The radio communication hurt) probably a little bit. We gave it all we had today and Jason gave it all he had with the information he had today,” Busch said, going on to say his car got looser and looser throughout the race.

With the fourth place finish, Busch is now 211 points ahead of Carl Edwards.

After that dominant performance in the Dover 200, Busch looked to repeat when he took the green flag for the AAA 400 in the 15^th position.

By the competition caution on lap 25, the No. 18 had picked up just two spots to 13th when they hit pit road. In the midst of two and four tire strategies, Busch took the lap 31 restart in 20th.

After a lengthy red flag after a four car wreck, Busch didn't hesitate on the lap 37 restart, jumping to the outside line, going three wide and ultimately passing eight cars, including David Reutimann and Clint Bowyer, before getting into a side by side battle with Jimmie Johnson for eight, completing the pass as they hit the start finish line to complete 42 laps. Passing Kasey Kahne on lap 65 would send him to sixth.

Rowdy accompanied the leaders onto pit road when the fourth caution of the day came out on lap 86. He gained an impressive four spots on pit road to come out fourth after losing two spots before the caution.

Busch blasted by the No. 16 of Greg Biffle on lap 95 for third, continuing his strong run on the outside. He held his spot in the top five, but began to tighten up and had fallen to seventh on lap 153. He told his crew he was lacking overall grip and wanted an air pressure adjustment in all four tires when the team came in for their next stop.

It wouldn't be soon enough, as Rowdy lost a tire and made contact with the wall, and made his way into the pits as caution came out on lap 163 for his debris. He would restart 21st on the lap 169 restart, one lap behind the leader.

“Don't be surprised if (the tire) blows again,” Busch told his crew. “(Expletive)'s bent.”

And he was right.

Continuing to fight no grip, Busch again made hard contact with the wall on lap 207, and made contact with the wall again as he brought the caution out. Taking off his gloves and putting the window net down, Shrub drove his No. 18 Toyota to the garage. It was, for the second time for Busch in the race, a right front tire.

He had failed to finish two of the last three fall Dover races, and was in position to get his lap back when he brought the fifth caution of the day out. Fifty three laps down in 32nd, Busch returned to the track on lap 263.

With 72 laps to go Busch's woes got worse-- as he continued to run in 32nd, he was caught speeding on pit road and had to make a drive through penalty.

A disappointing day would end for Busch as he finished 31st, 58 laps behind. He would also fall a position in points to 14th, 29 points behind Matt Kenseth.

Thanks to Boston.com, Racing Reference, Jeff Gluck of NASCAR Scene and NASCAR.com for the stats and quotes used in this piece.

For Mark Martin's Lugnut Report, click here. For the Lugnut Reports from Loudon, click here for Kurt Busch and here for Michael Waltrip.

The Lugnut Report: Kurt Busch Solidifies Chase Spot with Loudon Top 10

Jen Preston — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:01:28 -0400

Something old. Something new. Something borrowed. Something blue.

No, Kurt Busch wasn't getting married this weekend in Loudon, but the 30 year old Las Vegas was looking for a new beginning. The first ever winner of the Chase in 2004, Busch's best finish in his other two attempts has been a disappointing seventh.

That was then, and New Hampshire was now.

It was a busy week for Busch and the other 11 NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase drivers, spreading the Chase word up and down New York.

Busch entered New Hampshire sitting seventh in Chase standings after they were reset after Richmond, thanks to his victory in Atlanta early in the season. He also entered the track with the news that his crew chief Pat Tryson, who is leaving at the end of the season to join Michael Waltrip Racing and Martin Truex, Jr., will only be allowed at the Penske shop on Tuesdays to debrief with his team.

"They want me to focus on this year's stuff and they've got stuff going on at the shop for next year, so they're going to work on that," Tryson told the Associated Press. "I'll be communicating by e-mail and phones, and I'll be in there for driver debrief on Tuesdays.

"Tuesday is the only day I'm welcome."

Busch ran the first 37 minutes of Friday practice in race trim, finishing that run ninth before switching to qualifying trim, and finished the session sixth on the speed charts.

"It feels completely different than what we normal run," Busch said of the new setup his team was running. "It's a little strange, but I actually like it.”

He would end the second practice seventh, and qualified for the race third. The brand new setup that teammate David Stremme borrowed from the No. 2 crew also put Busch second fastest in final practice.

Busch ran in the top five for much of the first third of the race, taking second from Denny Hamlin on lap 92 after he and Tony Stewart made contact.

It wouldn't take Busch long to catch the dominate No. 42 of Montoya, running less than a second behind him on lap 111 and running up to the back bumper of him just seven laps later.

A relentless pursuit, the blue deuce stalked Montoya and his Target Chevrolet, getting him loose and passing him on lap 123.

He would build a two second lead over the field before caution on lap 141 for debris sent the leaders down pit road. Busch's crew would cost him two spots on pit road, allowing Montoya to retake the lead and Hamlin to take over second place.

The No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge would continue running in the top twelve for the rest of the day, despite receiving damage on lap 161 pit stops when he spun out the No. 6 of David Ragan.

On lap 283 Busch ran door to door with Mark Martin, the race's eventual winner, on the restart. Martin was pushed on the restart by teammate Jimmie Johnson, allowing him to take the lead.

Busch would continue to fall back, becoming one of the many victims of Montoya as he began his charge to finish second place to a dominant No. 5 Kellogg's Chevrolet.

Despite running in the top five for most of the Sylvania 300, Busch was passed late by younger brother Kyle Busch and ended his day in New Hampshire sixth. With the finish, the blue deuce goes into Dover Delaware having gained two points positions to fifth, and sits just 65 points out of first place.

For Patti Rodisch's Lugnut Report on Michael Waltrip, click here. If you'd like to read last week's Lugnut Reports from Richmond, click here for Tony Stewart and here for Kevin Harvick.

"Pinch Me, I'm Dreaming": Mark Martin Wins Sylvania 300 at Loudon

Jen Preston — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 17:41:18 -0400

Whether you're racing to win a championship, racing for the win, preparing for next season, racing for a job, or trying to keep your car in the top 35, all 43 drivers in the field were racing for something as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series entered New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

After a busy week in New York for the Chasers that included, among other things, a pie fight and a shock machine. Just another day in the life of a Chase driver.

Juan Pablo Montoya has never finished in the top ten in his five starts at Loudon, but he didn't let that stop him from getting his Chase off to a dominating start, topping the charts in all three practices and leading the field to the start of the Sylvania 300 from the pole position.

It was second place Tony Stewart who pulled away early, but Montoya looked to the inside of the No. 14, passing him going into two on the second lap.

Montoya jumped out to an early, 1.5-second lead over new second-place driver Denny Hamlin, while the top ten fell into single file. Non Chasers Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch battled side by side for 11th, with Harvick taking the spot.

Stewart and Hamlin continued battling for second, swapping the position several times before Stewart was able to clear his former teammate by lap 14. Jimmie Johnson, who started 16^th on the day, had made his way to 11^th by lap 17.

Kurt Busch was finally able to clear Hamlin after the two raced bumper to bumper for third and fourth on lap 20. Meanwhile, the Target Chevrolet of Montoya continued to drive away from the field, putting more than two seconds between he and Stewart.

Eight of the top ten drivers by lap 29 were Chasers, while Stewart began eating away at Montoya's lead as the No. 42 began catching lap traffic. Montoya was also complaining of a tight race car.

Third place driver Busch was also using the lapped cars to his advantage, and despite continuing to struggle with the loose condition he fought during practice began gaining on Stewart and Montoya.

With the blue deuce approaching, Stewart dove to the inside of Montoya to take the lead. Not ready to give up his position, Montoya made it three wide with a lap car but was unable to take back the spot.

It was Stewart's turn to pull away from the field. David Stremme, meanwhile, was the highest running non-Chase driver. Despite being tight Stremme, who qualified sixth, was able to hold a position in the top ten, falling to eighth on lap 51 after being passed by Chasers Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson.

As Busch continued to put the pressure on Montoya for second, Jeff Gordon continued to pick up spots. The No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet started 10th, and passed Hamlin for fourth going into four on lap 54.

On lap 65, green flag pit stops began with A.J. Allmendinger coming down pit road for his four tires and adjustments. His teammate, Reed Sorenson, would come down the following lap.

Chaser Kasey Kahne brought out caution just before green flag pit stops on lap 68 when his engine let go. Because of the misfortune, Kahne would end the race 38th, and fall from fifth to 12th in points.

“I felt it down the backstretch and it began shaking a little bit. It just didn't feel good,” Kahne said when he got out of his No. 9 machine. David Ragan was the lucky dog.

Leader Stewart lost the battle off of pit road as Montoya and Hamlin both came out in front of him. Busch gained a spot to move up to fourth.

Montoya took the green on lap 75 on the high line, getting a push from Kurt Busch while Hamlin raced to the inside of the leader. Stewart also made a look to the inside of both cars, and passed the No. 11 Toyota.

Greg Biffle, who came into the race 12th in points, was happy for the pit stops, as he told his team the car was “junk” when the race started. Biffle was in 19th and ran the lowest of the Chasers on track.

For seventh, it was a three-way Hendrick battle as Gordon held off teammates Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

A close call for former Cup champion Matt Kenseth who got loose and nearly hit the wall on lap 83. Up front, birthday boy Montoya again put over a second and a half over second-place Stewart.

Caution for the second time came out on lap 85 for debris in turn three. It erased the nearly two-second lead Montoya had built over the field, and put John Andretti back on the lead lap.

Eighteenth place and back, including Harvick, Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray and several others, hit pit road.

Choosing the inside on the lap 92 restart, Montoya had a run off two and kept the lead from Stewart, while Hamlin makes contact with Stewart. Busch takes advantage, driving on the outside to second.

The No. 14 of Stewart was passed on the outside by Johnson to fall to fifth. Hamlin was able to continue in third.

Chase rookie Brian Vickers, who started 26th, was able to make it up to 12th by lap 116.

By lap 118, Busch was running on the bumper of Montoya, riding right on the back of the No. 42 as he pursued the lead. Busch was able to take the lead on lap 123 as Montoya slipped up just before the entrance of pit road, letting Busch complete the pass.

In true COT fashion, the leader was able to pull out to a substantial lead as Busch held over a two-second lead before it was erased on lap 141 by another debris caution, this time in turn three.

Both Montoya and Hamlin would beat the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge off of pit road.

Trouble for Vickers on the pit stop, as a dropped lug nut dropped him to 30^th on the lap 148 restart. Montoya again started on the inside, but a three wide battle with Hamlin and Busch saw Hamlin take the lead.

Out of turn four, Montoya made contact with Hamlin, continuing to race side by side as Earnhardt, Jr. and Busch took a look on the No. 42. Montoya continued to make a run on the FedEx Toyota while Busch and Earnhardt, Jr. raced side by side going into four for third and fourth. This helped Stewart, Martin and Johnson catch up to them.

Hamlin cleared Montoya just for a second as they hit the start finish line on lap 152, but Montoya again got back in the throttle and made a side by side charge for the lead. But Hamlin battled back on the outside, just keeping his nose ahead of Montoya before the No. 42 cleared him three laps later.

Despite a cross over attempt, Hamlin relinquished the lead and began falling back.

Erik Darnell hit the wall on lap 161, bringing out yet another caution and again bringing down the leaders on pit road. It was a strategy smorgasbord, with two tires, four tires and fuel only on the menu.

Busch, who took gas only, received damage after spinning the UPS Ford of David Ragan, spinning the No. 6 right into his pit stop.

Stewart and Johnson were among those who didn't pit, and Stewart took the lead on the lap 166 restart.

A big wreck on lap 169 as Logano got into the back of the No. 19 of Elliott Sadler, sending him spinning and collecting Andretti, Michael Waltrip, Paul Menard, Scott Speed, Reed Sorenson and Robby Gordon. Speed was the lucky dog.

Stewart jumped out to a great lead on the lap 175 restart, but an axle cap . Montoya made it three wide jumping to the inside of Labonte and Gordon, completing the pass and moving to seventh.

Jeff Burton's turn two spin on lap 176, bringing out the race's fifth caution. Speed was again the lucky dog. The leaders again stay on track.

Stewart and Johnson raced side by side on the lap 181 restart, Johnson taking the lead on the outside just before the pair hit the start finish line. Johnson's teammate Earnhardt, Jr. then began putting pressure on the No. 14.

Montoya again began picking off spots, clearing Ryan Newman before jumping to the inside of Hamlin, clearing him on lap 187.

As Johnson pulled away to nearly a three-second lead, Jamie McMurray began gaining on the side by side battle of Earnhardt Jr. and Stewart before being caught by Montoya, losing the spot on lap 189 and falling to fifth. Montoya continued his strong run, passing Stewart just two laps later for third.

A.J. Allmendinger spun David Stremme in turn two, which brought out the seventh caution of the day. The caution put Michael Waltrip back on the lead lap.

Third place Stewart stayed on pit road to replace his axle cap. He would restart all the way back in 36th.

The top seven cars stayed on the lead lap, with Busch leading the field to the green on lap 198. Martin was right on his bumper as the two began pulling away from the rest of the field.

Hendrick teammates Johnson and Gordon would make contact racing side by side as Burton closed up on the side by side battle of Martin and Busch.

Martin continued digging on the inside of Busch before falling back in line behind him in turn two. He made another run as the two hit the start finish line, and with 96 laps to go he took the lead.

A mad fast Montoya restarted 15th, but by lap 206 was already up to eighth. Meanwhile, Stewart had made his way up to 20th with just 86 remaining in the race.

With 77 laps to go and pit stops looming, Martin held a 1.82-second lead over Busch. Montoya had made his way back into the top five.

On lap 236, Johnson passed Montoya for fifth as Martin extended his lead over Busch to 2.3 seconds. Martin came down pit road with just 57 laps to go for four tires and fuel, handing the lead back to Busch, who still had to make his final stop.

He made his pit stop four laps later, taking four tires and fuel as well, getting a track bar adjustment. Hamlin began the leader as Busch pitted. Elliott Sadler and David Reutimann, who were on the same strategy as the No. 2 and No. 5, also made their final stops.

Gordon came in on lap 250, asking more chassis and air pressure adjustments as well as four tires and fuel. Mears and Burton also made four tire stops on their stops.

Defending champion Johnson made his stop with 40 laps remaining, with his teammate Earnhardt, Jr. came down for his final four tire stop.

Montoya, Biffle and Hamlin all made their stop with just 37 laps to go. McMurray also made his stop as Newman took the lead for the first time today.

When he came down the following lap, he became the first car to take two tires after much debate with his crew.

Edwards would take the lead and pit with 33 laps to go. He took four tires, and gave the lead to Marcos Ambrose. He, Labonte and Stewart were the last three cars needing to pit with 30 laps remaining in the Sylvania 300.

Stewart would take two tires on his final pit stop, while the No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil team of Harvick had the hood up on their machine. Ambrose and Labonte came down pit road the following lap.

On lap 273, Hamlin made a pass on Johnson for third, and with 24 laps debris brought out caution for the eighth time. Stewart, Biffle, Edwards, Vickers, Labonte, McMurray and Gordon all came down pit road.

Just before the caution Montoya and Burton, who were racing side by side for sixth, nearly spun, allowing Earnhardt, Jr. to pass both of them.

Both would continue, but Burton would nudge Montoya under caution to show his displeasure with the No. 42.

Side by side, Busch and Martin led the field to the green flag, Martin on the outside but able to clear Busch thanks to help from his teammate Johnson. Busch made it three wide with Johnson and Hamlin, causing Hamlin to smoke his tires.

Lap 283, the same lap as the green flag waved, Earnhardt Jr. made hard contact with the wall to bring out the ninth caution of the race.

The incident was caused after contact with the No. 00 of Reutimann. Logano was the lucky dog. Earnhardt, Jr. would finish 35th.

Five laps later, it was Martin on the outside, Busch to the inside, and Johnson right behind his teammate to restart the race.

Johnson on the bumper of Martin, Hamlin on the bumper of Busch, the momentum of both the No. 11 and No. 48 were shot by a three wide move from Montoya.

Montoya was quick to clear the No. 2 of Busch and begin his pursuit of Martin. Meanwhile, Busch and Hamlin raced side by side for third, with the Miller Lite Dodge losing the spot. Vickers, Biffle and Mears, meanwhile, raced three wide for the 11th spot with just 10 laps remaining.

As Montoya mirrored the lap times of the leader, Busch and Johnson raced side by side for fourth. They continued to run side by side, with Johnson taking the spot away with seven to go.

Allmendinger spun with six laps to go after contact with the No. 47 of Amborse.

With four laps to go, it was Martin on the inside leading the field to the green as Montoya jumped to the inside of him, racing door to door, but Martin would have the advantage as they hit the start finish.

Again Montoya made a run, but Hamlin got a run on the No. 42, helping Martin build over a five-car length advantage over Montoya and building. Allmendinger spun just at the start finish line, but still not caution.

Montoya continued to race side by side, and as they headed to the start finish line, Allmendinger sitting in the middle of the track, and with cars scurrying everywhere it was Mark Martin who took

Montoya said after the race that he was not happy with the way Martin raced him on the final restart, saying he would be sure to race the points leader hard next time but “won't wreck him.”

“Well it's pretty darn good. Alan won the race. Alan's the man. This is a dream come true,” Martin said. “This is just incredible. Pinch me...I'm sure I'm dreaming.

“We still have the lotto, Talladega, but this is my hardest place. It's these guys. It's Alan, and the guys that back him up and the guys who surround him.”

Martin remains in the points lead, 35 points ahead of Jimmie Johnson. Juan Pablo Montoya jumps seven spots to fourth, 50 points out of the lead.

The big loser in points for the day was Kasey Kahne, who with an engine failure is 12th and 161 points back. Jeff Gordon dropped four spots to four spots to 10th in points.

Next week, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Dover, Del. for the AAA 400. Catch all the action on ABC at 1 p.m. Eastern time.

This article also appears on SoCalSportsHub.com.

The Lugnut Report: Kevin Harvick Stays Happy, Takes Top 10

Jen Preston — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 01:04:22 -0400

To say that 2009 has been a struggle for Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil team would be a severe understatement.

Winless since the '07 Daytona 500, Harvick currently has an average finish on the year of 22nd, two DNFs and currently sits 23rd in the points standings.

The good news? This week, the NASCAR Sprint cup Series races into Richmond, a track Harvick is very good at.

“All the flat tracks have been out strong point through the years. As we go to the flatter race tracks during this point in the season, it's always something we look forward to. I grew up (racing) at Phoenix on the flat tracks.

Most everything we raced out there was pretty flat and kind of worn out, so that's the kind of technique I grew up racing with. That's just something we've put a lot of effort into and we've always been kind of good at it.”

Between his Nationwide and Cup career, Harvick has 36 starts, five win, 16 top fives and 25 top 10s.

The racing got off to an early start when Happy took 11th in Tony Stewart's fifth annual Prelude to the Dream on Wednesday night.

It was an even busier weekend for Harvick once he reached Richmond International Raceway, with a long all-in-one Nationwide Series practice, followed by Sprint Cup practice and qualifying for both events.

Harvick finished practice and Happy Hour 18th and 19th on the speed chart, respectively, and qualified later that day for the Cup race in the 19th position.

“I think our Jimmy John's Chevrolet was pretty good,” Harvick told Andy Petree during Nationwide Series practice. “The hard thing to tell is the tires fall off so much we don't want to dial ourself out to a tire that's fallin' off.”

Unhappy with his qualifying lap, Harvick took the green flag for the Virginia 529 College Savings 250. But don't think he let that stop him--by the lap nine restart Harvick was up to 14th and continued to work his way through the field.

By lap 19, Harvick had ended heated side by side battles with David Reutimann and Jason Leffler, and passed 10th place car Brendan Gaughan to enter the top ten.

The No. 33 Jimmy John's Chevrolet was eighth when the second caution of the night came out on lap 41, when the leaders came down pit road a lap later. Harvick was complaining to his crew about needing more forward bite. A slow stop by the team sent the owner driver back five spots, and he restarted 13th.

“Four freakin' spots...five freakin' spots. We can't have fast cars every week, every week on pit road. Telling you, the wheel's loose too.”

Despite the poor stop, Harvick was back in eighth by lap 56 after passing his Cup teammate, Clint Bowyer. He and rookie Trevor Bayne had a great side by side battle for fifth, with Harvick coming out on top by lap 80.

On lap 124 Harvick was in fourth when, under caution, he brought his No. 33 Chevrolet down pit road for the second time of the night. The team had a 15.8 second stop and lost just one stop, slipping to fifth.

Harvick stayed consistently in the top five, running third on lap 179, and thanks to lap traffic began making headway on the leaders thirteen laps later. Running on the outside, he blew by second place Carl Edwards on lap 196, and closed in on leader Denny Hamlin.

The two began to run side by side on lap 199, but Hamlin prevailed. Harvick, though, wasn't ready to give up and made another run the following lap, and stayed on the inside of Hamlin when the two approached lap traffic.

Harvick did clear Hamlin, but the No. 20 Z-Line Toyota came back on the outside and maintained his lead.

On lap 203 Hamlin got loose before hitting the start finish line on lap 203, clipping the No. 33 and causing damage to the right rear. Hamlin managed to save his car and the race stayed clean, with Harvick gaining the lead.

As Edwards began gaining on the leader, Harvick was told he was five laps short and told to conserve.

Debris brought caution on lap 227, bringing the leaders down pit road for their final pit stop of the night. Again, the No. 33 pit crew lost a spot on pit road, allowing Edwards to beat Harvick off pit lane.

Harvick made a run on Edwards on the restart with 20 to go, but it was to no avail. Edwards was able to extend a second lead over the No. 33 and take the victory, broken foot and all. Happy came home second.

“We were there at the end, just came up a little short,” Harvick said, thanking his pit crew and calling the contact between he and Hamlin “typical here a Richmond.”

Though he wasn't looking to qualify for the Race to the Chase, Richmond was an important race for the No. 29 Richard Childress Racing team. After their second place finish last week in Atlanta, Happy and the crew looked to continue to build momentum for 2010.

Starting 14th, Harvick was happy as he took the green flag for the Chevy Rock 'n' Roll 400, telling crew chief Gil Martin "I'm just riding...that's the scary thing."

Harvick ran consistently in the top fifteen all night long, battling side by side with David Stremme for 11th earlier in the event. He and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. would also have a heated battle as Harvick entered the top 10 going into four on lap 36.

From the lap 64 restart, Harvick continued his strong run, hovering around seventh after a fourteen laps of battling Kyle Busch and Earnhardt, Jr. With a hundred laps in the books, Happy had made his way to fifth and looked to be backing up his second place finish last week in Atlanta.

Harvick became disgruntled after the lap 207, telling his crew they "absolutely ruined" his No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet, and fell to sixth after being passed by Sam Hornish, Jr. on lap 251. After teammate Clint Bowyer and Kurt Busch passed him, Harvick ran eighth by the following lap.

"I'm doing all I can to hang on," Harvick said on lap 277, continuing to struggle with the chasis changes his crew made. This grew worse on lap 282, when the crew had a dismal stop on pit road.

"I don't even know why we race," the driver snapped. "I can't remember the last time we gained on a pit stop. We've taken ourselves completely out (of contention in the pits) tonight."

He would restart on lap 288 in 11th, and was quick to re-enter the top ten just seven laps later. Harvick continued working his way back up through the field, racing bumper to bumper for three laps with Brian Vickers, making a move to the inside on lap 309 to capture the eighth position.

Happy would pass Jimmie Johnson on lap 313, but pit stops again cost him a spot as he fell back to eighth after stops nine laps later.

Harvick resumed his battled with the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet, as the two ran side by side and eventually retained his eighth place position from him before final pit stops came on lap 383.

"We absolutely suck on pit road," Harvick complained to his crew, who cost him two spots on pit road. "It's not fair to sit in this thing and know you've gotta pit like that. How many weeks are you gonna let it go?" Happy also had issues with his Nationwide Series pit crew the night before, as they lost several spots on pit road throughout the night.

On the lap 387 restart, Harvick stalked Bubble driver Brian Vickers, who was battling Hornish, Jr. in the No. 77 to gain the necessary points to guarntee him a Chase spot. He would remain behind Hornish, Jr. and brought the No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet home ninth. Teammate Clint Bowyer also ended up with a top ten on the night, finishing sixth.

It was Harvick's fifth top 10 on the season.

Thanks to NASCAR.com and Harvick's official website for the quotes used in the articlek, and thanks to Racing Reference for the stats used. For Tony Stewart's Lugnut Report, click here. For Richmond's Lugnut Reports, click here for Jeff Burton and here for Denny Hamlin.

Hometown Hero: Denny Hamlin Captures Win, Brian Vickers Enters Chase

Jen Preston — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 23:42:10 -0400

Thanks to Kelly Crandall for the introduction to this piece.

Prior to 2004 and the creation of the Chase for the Championship, no one would have said the fall race at Richmond was one of the most important races on the schedule.

But here we are on a Saturday night in September and all eyes will not only be on who takes home the checkered flag in the 26th event of the season, but on 11 drivers who are fighting for the final eight spots in the 2009 Chase field.

Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch sat 13th and 14th respectively, and were the only two sitting on the outside looking in that are still eligible to bump their way in tonight with solid performances. They'd start 6th and 8th in the line-up.

In order to do so, they'd need Matt Kenseth who was sitting 12th and his teammate Greg Biffle, sitting 11th, to have trouble. Biffle will have to battle from 26th while Kenseth will be behind him in 28th at the green flag.

Hometown favorite Denny Hamlin, who locked in his Chase spot last week in Richmond, would start in the third spot. Current points leader Tony Stewart would be buried in 29th.

Mark Martin, who could possibly be the points leader if the younger Busch brother fails to make the Chase, led the field to the green flag after taking the pole position on Friday night.

After the All-American Rejects rocked out the crowd, Martin and his No. 5 Kellogg's Chevrolet got the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 started at 8:12 local time under the lights.

Martin pulled out to an early lead as the field began to line up single file. Hometown hero Hamlin took the lead easily on lap four, before the first caution of the night came out a lap later.

Scott Speed was clipped by Jeff Burton while they and Tony Stewart went three-wide in turn two. Seven cars, including the No. 17 of Matt Kenseth, made a pitstop under that caution. He restarted back in 37th.

Hamlin jumped to the restart on lap ten as Reed Sorenson got wicked loose going into turn two, but managed to save his No. 43 Dodge and fell back in line.

Teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon raced hard side-by-side for fourth with defending champion Johnson giving up the spot and falling into the clutches of Kasey Kahne.

Just behind them, Chase hopeful Kyle Busch hoped to rein them in and gain those vital points. Kahne was able to complete the pass four laps later on lap 23.

Up front, Hamlin extended his lead over Martin to over a second while last year's rookie of the year, Regan Smith, took his No. 78 behind the wall.

Carl Edwards told his crew his car was "snappy loose," causing him to drop from 10th to 30th by lap 40. He was just five cars ahead of the end of the lead lap, as Hamlin began lapping cars.

"It was my fault, guys," Tony Stewart said as the second caution of the night came out. On lap 45 he and Reed Sorenson made it three wide with David Stremme for 14th, 15th, and 16th, sending the No. 14 and No. 43 spinning. Both received minimal damage and were able to drive away, but were lapped.

Hamlin led the field down pit road and barely beat the No. 24 of Gordon off pit road. Dale Earnhardt Jr. managed to gain three spots on pit road and seventh blank on lap 51.

Hamlin once again had an impressive restart and jumped out to a dominant lead over Gordon. Just as Gordon was making an attempt to pass Hamlin, the night's third caution came out for more problems for Regan Smith. Sorenson was the lucky dog.

The leaders turned down the opportunity to pit on lap 59 while the tail end of the field, including Chase hopefuls Kenseth, Biffle and Brian Vickers, among others, made stops.

On lap 64 Hamlin, on the outside this time, took the green flag and still cleared Gordon to maintain his lead. The two ran side by side on lap 67, with Gordon prevailing.

Back in the pack, teammates Burton and Clint Bowyer split the No. 77 of Sam Hornish Jr. just in front of Kenseth while Martin Truex Jr. made a charge toward the leaders as they ran side by side.

Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch had a heated side-by-side battle not only for 13th but a Chase spot, and the two are not strangers to one another. Vickers was able to complete the pass as the younger Busch complained about his rear-end housing.

Kevin Harvick continued to creep steadily into the top five as he passed Truex Jr. for the fifth spot while Gordon continued to pull away from the field. Rebounding from his earlier accident, Sorenson ran 21st on lap 89.

Meanwhile, Kenseth continued to struggle in the back of the pack, running 29th and continuing to lose ground. He told crew chief Drew Blickensderfer he had no grip. At lap 97, Kenseth was 14 in points standings and out of the Chase.

On lap 107 debris brought out the night's fourth caution, saving Kenseth from being put a lap down. Tony Stewart was the lucky dog.

Gordon brought the field down pit road the lap following, but Waltrip was shown the leader after Kenseth drove into the No. 55 pit stall instead of his own, causing Waltrip to miss his pit as well. He would come back in and make his stop, putting Gordon back in the lead.

"My fault. I heard three (to go to stall) and I was already past it," Kenseth told his crew.

Gordon led the field to the restart on lap 114, with the top cars spreading out to run single file why 10th place and back ran consistently double file.

A good run for Casey Mears in the No. 07 Jack Daniel's Chevrolet, running 15th on lap 120 after staring 38th. Just in front of him, Vickers and the No. 9 of Kahne made contact but were able to continue without incident.

A side-by-side battle between Kurt Busch and Mark Martin helped Harvick catch the No. 2 and pass him for fifth place. While Harvick complained of a loose car to crew chief Gil Martin, Busch told his crew he was experiencing a vibration with his brakes.

A.J. Allmendinger and Sam Hornish Jr. were both having strong runs at lap 140, running 8th and 13th, respectively as leader Gordon began slapping cars. His teammates Martin and Johnson, meanwhile, swapped third and fourth place on lap 143.

Lapped traffic helped Hamlin once again pass the No. 24, riding right on the rear of the National Guard/Dupont Chevrolet as he tried to retake the lead.

Hamlin was relentless in his six-lap pursuit, and was running on the inside of Gordon on lap 151, completing the pass entering turn four.

With Kenseth struggling in 25th, Vickers and the younger Busch brother were left to swap 12th and 13th in points, with Busch taking the spot as he ran 7th on track on lap 164.

Debris once again brought out caution on lap 170, and again it saved Kenseth from going a lap down. David Gilliland, filling in for Robby Gordon in the No. 7 Jim Beam Toyota, was the lucky dog.

Hamlin brought the field down pit road and was beaten off pit road by Gordon by a nose. Brad Keselowski made his pit stop backwards after contact with the No. 6 of David Ragan. Montoya lost eight spots on pit road after an 18-second pit stop.

"Hey Bob, the motor just missed. The motor just missed one time," Chase hopeful Edwards told his crew under caution. He hoped the back up ignition box would keep his Chase hopes alive as they restarted on lap 181.

Hamlin again made a charge on leader Gordon, completing his pass on lap 184 while further in the pack a knot of cars battled for 10th and back.

Gordon never let the No. 11 out of his sight, and took the position on lap 189 before Hamlin began a charge on the outside before the door was slammed by the No. 24.

Again, Hamlin dove to the inside of Gordon, running side by side as third place Martin began to close in, along with fourth-place Johnson. Hamlin led lap 194 and began to pull, if ever so slightly, in front of the Hendrick brigade.

Halfway through the Chevy Rock n' Roll 400, it was Vickers with a one-point advantage in the Chase as he ran 11th on track. Meanwhile, the race between Hamlin and Gordon would not settle down, with Gordon taking the advantage as they passed halfway.

Caution came out on lap 205 for Regan Smith, who made heavy impact with the turn two wall after losing a tire. While David Stremme was the lucky dog, it was Kenseth who was once again the real winner, being saved from losing a lap.

Another close battle put Hamlin back in the lead, with Bowyer jumping into the top ten after gaining three spots on pit road. That put three Childress cars in the top ten, as Harvick ran seventh and Burton was ninth.

Hamlin was able to pull away on the lap 211 restart, while a gaggle of cars fought further back in the pack, including a heated side-by-side battle between Harvick and Kyle Busch and Kenseth and Earnhardt, Jr.

On lap 216, the No. 88 of Earnhardt Jr. got extremely loose on the outside of Kenseth ande began falling back, settling into 26th. Johnson and Kurt Busch battled up front for fourth place, with Busch taking the spot just as they hit the start/finish line.

By lap 241, Hamlin held a second lead over Gordon, as the battles came further in the pack. Hornish Jr. continued his strong run in seventh, up 27 spots from where he started in 33rd.

Earnhardt Jr. was put a lap down by Hamlin on lap 260 as they continued under the green flag. Vickers, Truex Jr. and Papis made it three-wide further in the pack as the No. 18 of Busch passed a falling Johnson, putting himself two points ahead of Vickers, who was in 13th place in points. Meanwhile, Kenseth was put a lap down on lap 268.

On lap 279, Truex Jr. and the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevy brought out the night's seventh caution after losing a tire and making hard contact with the wall. Gilliland was the lucky dog.

Hamlin was unchallenged as he beat Gordon off pit road. Hornish, Jr. was the big loser, dropping three spots while Johnson gained two and Montoya moved up a spot to blank.

The green flag came out on lap 288. Vickers made a pass on Harvick for 10th on lap 290, putting him back into the Chase. Former Indy stars Montoya and Hornish, Jr. raced side by side for eighth and ninth, with Hornish, Jr. maintaining the spot.

The quiet, single-file top ten was disrupted by a Kyle Busch pass on Johnson for blank as Montoya dropped a spot to Vickers.

Three wide as Stewart tries to pass Logano and Burton. He lost eight positions on the previous pit stop, leaving him battling just inside the top 20 since the restart. Meanwhile, Bowyer continued his consistent Richmond run, as he ran fifth with just 84 laps to go.

From 18th to 21st was a gaggle of cars, as Sorenson and Earnhardt Jr. drove by the No. 31 of Burton, who lost a tire after contact with Stremme on lap 319. Because the caution was for called for the debris, Burton received the lucky dog.

Hamlin, who got no changes on his No. 11 FedEx Toyota was again unchallenged off of pit road, but it was Vickers who was the real winner, gaining three spots and coming out of the pits in front of Kyle Busch.

With 75 laps to go Bowyer and Gordon both challenged Hamlin, but contact between the No. 33 and No. 24 sent Gordon falling back in the pack to sixth.

Just a lap after the restart, a spin in the front stretch grass by Michael Waltrip brought out the ninth caution of the night. He was able to continue, and Earnhardt Jr. was the lucky dog.

Also on the restart, Vickers fell back to seventh, but maintained an eight-point lead over Kyle Busch for the final Chase spot with less than 70 laps to go.

Hamlin pulled away as they restarted on lap 333, and Bowyer lost a spot to Martin as the younger Busch challenged him for third.

Bowyer though, prevailed, and Kurt Busch also passed his younger brother. That put Rowdy and Vickers nose to bumper with 63 to go.

Busch continued to slip back, losing positions to Gordon and Johnson as the laps dwindled down and Vickers continued to run in fifth.

With 50 laps to go, pole sitter Martin began eating away at the No. 11's lead as the leaders ran single file.

Trying to make up spots, Kyle Busch raced Johnson for seventh, and despite gaining the position on a loose No. 48, Busch was still unhappy with his No. 18 Toyota as they neared 40 laps remaining.

Hamlin entered heavy lap traffic with 26 laps remaining, but his dominant car and daring moves around them kept second-place Martin at bay as he continued to lead.

Lap 380 saw the No. 09 of Keselowski lose an engine, thus bringing out the 10th caution and the leaders down pit road.

It was Busch who came out just ahead of Vickers as they came off pit road, as Hamlin again won the race out. Marcos Ambrose was the lucky dog.

Lap 386 saw Hamlin jump pull away from Martin as the No. 5 spun his tires, allowing Kurt Busch to run nose to tail with the leader.

Racing side by side just behind Martin was the younger Busch and former teammate Gordon. Beating the No. 24 to the line, he took back the 12th spot in the Chase ahead of Vickers, who was battling Hornish Jr. for seventh.

Vickers and Hornish Jr. continued to race hard as Harvick looked to pass the No. 83.

With three laps to go Vickers finally made his way around the No. 77, taking the final Chase spot from the No. 18. Meanwhile, Hamlin began putting a gap between he and Kurt Busch with a lap remaining.

Finishing fifth, Kyle Busch missed the Chase by just eight points.

"We didn't have the best of years to be consistent, but we can still look to go the rest of year to win some races and go on to next year. Let's talk about the top five finish! It was fun to race all these guys and Vickers put up a whale of a fight," Busch said.

"It was team determination. This is one race, one race of many. We picked a good night to figure this place out," an elated Vickers told ESPN. "We never would've imagined being this far along (two and a half years in)."

"I can't say enough. First of all, I'd like to thank the fans. These are the times that I get so excited! I made sure I did everything I did at Pocono. I've only worn this hat two time, I made sure I had my gold heat shields on, I had my Grandma's St. Jude key chain in there," a superstitious Hamlin said. "Just making sure I covered all bases before we raced here."

"It's gonna be a big boost for us," Hamlin said of the win going into the Chase. "They better watch us. I'm telling you, this team is dangerous."

Strong finishes for Bowyer and Hornish, Jr. who finished sixth and eighth respectively. Pole sitter Martin finished fourth, and goes into the Chase with the points lead. After their early race spin, Sorenson and Stewart finished 16th and 17th.

Your points standings going into New Hampshire next weekend:

1. Mark Martin 5040

2. Tony Stewart 5030

3. Jimmie Johnson 5030

4. Denny Hamlin 5020

5. Kasey Kahne 5020

6. Jeff Gordon 5010

7. Kurt Busch 5010

8. Brian Vickers 5010

9. Carl Edwards 5000

10. Ryan Newman 5000

11. Juan Pablo Montoya 5000

12. Greg Biffle 5000

This article also appears on SoCalSportsHub.com.

Petty, Yates 2010 Merger Proves Importance of Sponsorship

Jen Preston — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:16:57 -0400

So...I bet you didn't see that coming.

As if silly season couldn't get any sillier than last year's Jeff Gordon retirement rumors or those silly rumblings about Tony Stewart starting his own team, 2009 is proving anything really is possible in NASCAR.

Richard Petty Motorsports and Yates Racing, two of NASCAR's famous families, will be joining forces for 2010, running Yates-powered Fords.

“This is a pretty big deal for us,” Richard Petty said. “We’re thrilled to partner with Ford. We’ve talked with a lot of folks, but in the end it came down to the success the Gilletts and I think we can achieve with Ford Racing. Right now this deal is real new. There are lots of details still left to be ironed out so we don’t have a lot of answers for anyone right now.

“We’ll be working on all that in the coming days, weeks and months, but we do intend to have everything in place before the start of next season. I’ve won races with Ford and plan to again.”

The merger kills rumors that Roush Fenway would be sending a fifth car, the No. 26 of Jamie McMurray, to Yates and run it as a satellite team.

“This is certainly a great opportunity for both Yates Racing as well as Ford Racing,” Yates Racing co-owner Max Jones said. “I have had a long-term relationship with Ford and look forward to continuing that relationship at Richard Petty Motorsports.

“Over the coming weeks we will continue to work with Ford and Richard Petty to lay out the best plan for Paul Menard and all of the employees at Yates Racing.”

Not only does the merger kill rumors that Jamie McMurray's No. 26 will move to Yates and be run as a Roush-Fenway "satellite team," it will also leave dozens of Petty Motorsports and Yates employees—along with one driver—out of work.

RPM drivers A.J. Allmendinger and Chase contender Kasey Kahne will be returning to the team's lineup in 2010. Also returning will be driver Elliott Sadler, who had a contract controversy earlier this season to retain his ride.

Paul Menard currently sits 32nd in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver points. In his three full years in Cup, Menard has yet to win, and has finished in the top ten just once in his career when he finished second in the October '08 Talladega race.

Reed Sorenson is just four spots ahead of Menard in points, holding his 28th points position for most of the season. His lone top ten this season came in the Daytona 500 when he finished ninth. Having just one more year in Cup under his belt, Sorenson has also yet to win, but has five career top fives and 13 other top tens.

With this gap in performance, why was Menard chosen as the fourth driver for the new Petty-Yates venture? In these rough economic times, it simply comes down to sponsorship.

Menard is guaranteed sponsorship from his father's company, Menards, which has sponsored him since he entered NASCAR's highest level full time in 2007. Despite having over a handful of sponsors appear on his No. 43 Dodge this season, Sorenson doesn't carry this same guarantee. In this rough economy, Menards' sponsorship appeal proved influential.

“There has been some conversation in the past few weeks, you know, discussing next year. I've kinda known for a few weeks now that I'm looking for a job next year. I think everything for the rest of this year is set as far as what our plans are,” Sorenson told NASCAR Today.

The next move for the 23-year-old Georgia native may be to return to the NASCAR Nationwide Series. A slight possibility could be the No. 1 Chevrolet partially owned by his former owner, Chip Ganassi, or the No. 7 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, though driver Casey Mears is signed through 2011.

Thanks to Scene Daily, Yahoo! Sports, NASCAR.com and Racing Reference for the quotes used in this article.

The Lugnut Report: Denny Hamlin Makes Noise, Solidifies Chase Spot

Jen Preston — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 01:53:07 -0400

With his top five finish last week in Bristol and just two races before the race to the Chase begins, Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin was looking to solidify his fourth-place points position entering Atlanta Motor Speedway.

With a victory at Pocono earlier in the year, eight top fives and 12 top 10s, Hamlin is having a quiet, successful 2009. The same can't be said for AMS, where despite a third-place finish in 2008, the driver of the No. 11 Farm Bureau Insurance Toyota held an average finish of just 16.5 coming into the first ever night race held at the track.

The first practice for Hamlin got off to a good start; he was third on the charts throughout, but struggled with comfort issues on what he called a "twitchy" car. The Joe Gibbs Racing team ran just 16 laps in Happy Hour on Saturday, where they ended the session 31st on the charts.

“We've got six or seven top fives the last ten races," Hamlin told Hermie Sadler during Race Day Built by the Home Depot. "We're coming on strong, we've just got to be a little bit better in a few more areas to be winners on a week in, week out basis.

“You're going to have to have a car that is adjustable. This race track does change quite a bit. Myself, Kurt, Jamie and Tony all tire-tested here and they came back with a tire none of us ran on. So it's tough to say what to expect, but I'm sure you're going to have to have a car that's adjustable.”

Hamlin started the Pep Boys Auto Parts 500 in 10th, and once the green flag flew he quickly found a home on the top lane and began picking up positions. Ten laps into the event, Hamlin was running eighth and steadily making his way threw the field.

The first pit stop for the leaders came on lap 37 for the first of two spins by Sam Hornish, Jr. Throughout the night the leaders, including Hamlin, took four tires and fuel, and Hamlin carried on in the top 10, coming off pit road in sixth.

Quietly, Hamlin gained a spot in the top five and another solid stop by his pit crew helped him retain it after the second set of stops on the night, coming on lap 60.

By the time the third caution of the race came out for oil on the track, Hamlin and his crew kept the No. 11 Farm Bureau Insurance Toyota in the top five, running fourth at the time.

Lap 110 was when Hamlin started making noise, roaring past Jeff Gordon in second and shooting toward his teammate, leader Kyle Busch.

Hamlin was quick to make work of his lead, but was passed by the No. 48 of Jimmie Johnson on lap 128.

Retaining his second-place stop once Johnson's substantial lead was erased by caution, and stalked new leader Jeff Gordon upon the restart on lap 140.

He took the lead again lap 164, but it was short lived when a charging Kevin Harvick immediately took the lead from him.

Once green flag pit stops cycled out on lap 192, Hamlin made quick work of second-place Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and began a charge to erase the nearly six-second lead of Harvick. He was helped in his pursuit by the sixth caution of the night, and was barely beaten off pit road by the No. 29.

Spinning his tires on the lap 207 restart, Hamlin kept his No. 11 Toyota in the top three, holding third before being passed by Mark Martin to slip back to fourth on lap 278.

After Kurt Busch and Reed Sorenson caused the seventh caution of the night, Hamlin once again hit pit road with the leaders for another track bar adjustment, fuel and those all important fresh Goodyear tires. His crew also made an air pressure adjustment, and he restarted fifth on lap 273.

Even though Hamlin made it up to fourth after the restart, he would eventually fall back to sixth after Harvick and Martin passed him for fourth and fifth.

Hamlin would battle in and out of the top five, ultimately finishing sixth after he and Martin battled in the 11 lap shoot out that saw Kasey Kahne reach victory lane over Kevin Harvick.

"It was difficult, that’s for sure. It just seemed like the track had stages it went through. I’ve never seen a track change so much during the course of the race. We were the only team that maintained up front from the beginning to the end of the race. I don’t know what it was. The track changed, and it seemed like every set of tires we put on were different. It was a challenge today to just get the balance," Hamlin said after the race.

With his sixth-place finish, Hamlin goes into the Chevy Rock 'n Roll 400 at Richmond knowing he's locked in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

"It’s great for our whole FedEx team and Farm Bureau Insurance for coming on this weekend. It’s a pretty good accomplishment to make it four years in a row, every year that we’ve tried. I just can’t say enough for this team. If we keep running the next 11 (races) like we have these last 10 or 11, they’re going to have to watch out for us," Hamlin said.

For more information on Denny Hamlin, be sure to check out this official web site. For Jeff Burton's Lugnut Report, click here. If you'd like to read the Lugnut Report's from Bristol, click here for Jeff Gordon's and here for Reed Sorenson's.

Thanks to Paddocktalk.com for the quotes used in this article.

Southern Showdown: Kasey Kahne Wins at Atlanta Motor Speedway

Jen Preston — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 23:51:24 -0400

With just 89 points separating seventh through 14th in the points and two races remaining before the Chase field is set, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' 43 best drivers prepared for a clash in Atlanta for the Pep Boys Auto Parts 500.

Martin Truex, Jr. won his second pole of 2009 with a speed of 184.149 and Kasey Kahne led the field to the green flag at 7:49 local time.

Truex, Jr. jumped out to an early lead while Kahne battled side by side with Johnson before pulling away. On the outside, the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge of Kurt Busch tried to make a move on the No. 48.

Juan Pablo Montoya, who started 22nd, wasted little time in his quest to pick up positions, making it three wide on lap four with Kevin Harvick and Michael Waltrip. Four laps later he split the cars of David Gilliland and David Ragan to move to the 17th position.

The No. 44 of A.J. Allmendinger was also making headway threw the pack, gaining ten spots to 25th in the first 10 laps of the race.

By lap 21, the leader Truex, Jr. began looking like Kevin Harvick did in Saturday night's Nationwide event, pulling out to an over eight second lead over second place Kahne.

"Whatever you've done, you've flipped the switch to pull away, nice job," he told crew chief Kevin Manion.

Clint Bowyer was on the other end of the spectrum; the No. 33 Cheerios Chevrolet dropped from it's 20th place starting spot to 37th and off the lead lap in 32 laps.

The day's first caution came out on lap 37 when Sam Hornish, Jr. went sliding into the infield. Chase hopeful Matt Kenseth was the recipient of the lucky dog after being lapped just before Hornish's spin.

"On lap five or six, I drove into (turn) one, and that time it didn't hit the splitter. Frickin turned sideways & pasted fence," Kenseth told his crew. The damage to the side of his car caused him to lose a lap.

The leaders hit pit road a lap later, with Kahne beating Truex, Jr. off pit road. Gordon, Johnson, Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Vickers, Martin, Kurt Busch, and Montoya rounded out the top ten.

On lap 42 Kahne, choosing the outside lane, led the field to the green but was quickly passed by Truex as Johnson and Busch battled two behind him for position. Kahne's own side by side battle with Gordon, which he lost on lap 43, allowed Truex, Jr. to pull out to a substantial lead once again.

Third, fourth and fifth went three wide as Busch passed the Hendrick teammates of Gordon and Johnson on lap 44.

On lap 60, Gordon had slipped back to 15th saying he couldn't "believe it can be this bad."

The No. 77 Mobil One Dodge of Hornish, Jr. once again spun in the infield bringing out the day's second caution on lap 61. Part of his tire was also on track. Scott Speed was the lucky dog.

The leaders once again came down pit road the following lap, with Kyle Busch winning that battle off of pit road. Truex, Kahne, Johnson, Hamlin, Martin, Kurt Busch, Reed Sorenson, and Carl Edwards made up the top ten.

Choosing the inside lane, Busch led the field to the restart on lap 65. While Hamlin, Kahne and Johnson went three wide behind him, Busch was able to pull away from Truex, Jr. and the rest of the field.

Johnson made a challenge for the lead on lap 72, trying to make a move to the outside. He was able to lead lap 73, and completed the pass as the two entered turn two.

On lap 83 the night's third caution came out when the No. 99 of Edwards had a hole in the oil pan, dropping oil on track and on pit road. Edwards, who broke his foot Wednesday playing Frisbee, was running a special paint scheme created by a 13 year old cancer patient.

Clint Bowyer was the recipient of the lucky dog, and the leaders came down pit road on lap 84. Another lead change as Kyle Busch once again won the race off pit road. Johnson, Truex, Hamlin, Stewart, Kahne, Busch, Montoya, and Gordon won the race off pit road. During the caution, Kenseth stayed out an extra lap to gain five bonus points.

Again on the inside, Busch led the field to the green on lap 87. Johnson began falling back as Truex made a pass for second. His teammate Gordon, meanwhile, made a pass for fith on lap 90, working his way back up.

In his first Atlanta start, rookie Joey Logano was having a strong top twenty run, running 18th on lap 92. The last caution's lucky dog Bowyer ran 29th.

Truex, Jr. once again took the lead on lap 98, when he dove to the inside of the Kyle Busch. Meanwhile, Johnson made a challenge for second.

Sorenson, Montoya, Harvick, Kurt Busch, and Brian Vickers had their own battled, all racing for spots ninth threw 12th. On lap 104 Montoya made it three wide, passing Harvick and Vickers in the middle.

Caution came out that same night for Max Papis in the No. 13 Geico Toyota, who made heavy contact with the wall. Kyle Busch once again won the race off pit road, leading Truex, Johnson, Hamlin, and Stewart. Gordon, Kurt Busch, Martin, Vickers, and David Stremme rounded out that round's top ten. Robby Gordon was awarded the free pass.

Michael Waltrip stayed out to lead a lap, but it was Busch who once again led the field to the green flag on lap 110. He chose the outside line, and teammate Hamlin rocketed past Truex, Jr. to get on the rear bumper of his teammate.

Getting the No. 18 loose, Hamlin made a pass for the lead as the two entered turn four, and completed the pass before they hit the start finish line.

Truex continued to lose spots, being passed by the Hendrick cars of Gordon and Johnson on lap 116. After making the pass on Truex, Jr., Johnson passed the No. 24 and began to pull away.

On lap 117 the No. 33 of Bowyer reported a loose wheel to his team and came down pit road. He would lose a lap to the leaders.

Johnson began looking to challenge for the lead, taking the lead on lap 128. He was quick to pull out to over a second lead.

The lead quickly evaporated, though, when a debris caution came out on lap 131. Jeff Burton, who had fallen back to 29th also had problems and made a pit stop.

Gordon was the winner on pit road followed by Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Johnson, Stewart, Montoya, Kurt Busch, Logano, Vickers, Martin. Elliot Sadler was the lucky dog.

On the outside, Gordon led the field to the restart on lap 136, but was met with a side by side battle with Hamlin before Hamlin took the lead. The top 10 became single file until rookie Logano and Montoya began racing side by side for sixth.

Gordon made a pass for the lead on lap 140, but Hamlin wasn't far behind.

Harvick, meanwhile, had an angry exchange with his pit crew after losing six spots on pit road as he raced Newman for 14th.

"I can't even get excited about coming on pit road. Definitely can't win a race like this. I guess I'm talking to myself!" he screamed over his radio. He was calmed by crew chief Gil Martin, who told him the team would "get our (expletive) together."

Martin's driver wasted little time on track, racing his way to 10th by lap 154 after the lap 136 restart.

The No. 42 of Montoya also continued making up ground, as he ran fourth on lap 149. The EGR Chevrolet was the same car the team ran in their dominant Brickyard 400 performance in July.

While Earnhardt, Jr. made a pass on teammate Johnson up ahead, Harvick blazed past cars left and right, running third and quickly gaining on second place Hamlin on lap 164. Both Hamlin and Harvick were both making their way toward the leader Gordon.

Hamlin took the lead on lap 167 but Harvick never let the No. 11 or No. 24 out of his sight, racing Gordon side by side before pulling out alongside Hamlin.

Harvick took the lead and instantly pulled away from the field on lap 169, leaving Gordon and Hamlin to battled for second. Brian Vickers advanced to second on lap 171.

Sideways, defending points leader Johnson struggled to hold on to his car, losing tenth place to Stremme on lap 172.

Green flag pit stops began on lap 185 when Sorenson and the No. 16 of Greg Biffle came in. A struggling Truex, Jr. came in on the following lap along with Logano, Kenseth and Stewart.

Kyle Busch came in on lap 188. Newman and Kahne also made their pit stops. The following lap teammates Gordon, Johnson and Martin came in. Smoking his tires, the leader Harvick pitted on lap 190 along with Hamlin, Ragan and Gilliland. That handed the lead to Vickers, who made his stop on lap 191.

Stops cycled through on lap 192, with Harvick leading Earnhardt, Jr., Hamlin, Vickers, and Kahne. Ragan and Burton both served pit road penalties.

Hamlin quickly made his way past the No. 88 and began hunting down the No. 29. However, Harvick had a 5.6 second lead, and showed no signs of slowing down.

The sixth caution of the night came out for the No. 48 of Johnson, who had battled loose conditions throughout the race. He spun all by himself and avoided contact. Chase hopeful Greg Biffle was the lucky dog.

Harvick just barely won the race off pit road, followed by Hamlin, Earnhardt, Jr. , Kahne, Vickers, Gordon, Martin, Kenseth, and Stremme.

Points leader Tony Stewart had problems on his pit stop, leaving a lugnut off. He restarted 20th.

Newman stayed out to lead a lap under that caution, but it Harvick who led the field to the green on the outside on lap 208. Hamlin spun the tires and fell into a side by side battle with Kahne, who jumped the lead after going on the outside of Harvick.

Harvick fell to third on lap 209 when Gordon passed him, while Kyle Busch, Kenseth, Vickers and Martin battled for sixth through ninth.

The No. 29 Shell Penzoil Chevrolet continued his decline, falling to fifth by lap 212. However, by 218 he made his way back up to third, and passed Hamlin for second two laps later.

Kahne had built his lead to over two seconds while the Hendrick teammates of Earnhardt, Jr., Martin and Gordon battled for fourth, fifth and sixth.

On lap 225 Harvick caught Kahne was hot on his trail, racing him side by side for the lead to no avail. Happy Harvick was able to complete the pass on lap 231.

Tony Stewart was put a lap down on lap 240 after his pit road misfortune. Harvick led Kahne by nearly two seconds, while a fast No 42 Target Chevrolet continued making strides in third place, three seconds back.

Caution once again came out on lap 245, when Kurt Busch made heavy contact with the wall, collecting the No. 43 of Sorenson as he spun.

"Tore up the entire car," Sorenson told his crew as he came down pit road.

Harvick lost three spots on pit road after left rear tire problems, with Kahne winning the race off pit road. Biffle stayed out under that caution to lead a lap before coming down pit road.

Defending points champion Johnson also had problems, breaking an axel on pit road and went to the garage. Bubble driver Vickers also had axel issues, but managed to stay on the lead lap.

Kahne on the outside led the field to the green with 73 laps to go, as Montoya and Harvick challenged him for the lead. Kenseth, on the outside, passed martin and then Gordon to enter the top five. At his lowest point, he was 31st and even received the lucky dog earlier in the race.

Robby Gordon, Logano and Stewart raced three wide for 13th. Behind them, Bobby Labonte ran in 15th after losing his No. 96 ride for seven races to Erik Darnell. Up front, Montoya passed Harvick for second.

Johnson, who thought his axel problem was fixed, returned to the garage to change the gear in his Lowe's Chevrolet.

With 87 laps to go Logano went spinning after losing a tire, bringing out the night's ninth caution and putting Tony Stewart back on the lead lap. Twenty cars sat on the lead lap.

Kahne led the leaders down pit road, and won the race off pit road leading Harvick, Martin, Montoya, Hamlin, Reutimann, Busch, Stremme Kenseth and Labonte. Johnson also returned to the track after fixing his gear issue, 22 laps down. He would end the day 36th.

The green flag waved on lap 273 with Kahne leading the way as Montoya and Harvick battled behind him for second. After Montoya cleared the No. 29, Harvick began slipping back. Labonte and Stremme got extremely loose battling for eighth.

With 50 laps to go Montoya powered by Kahne for the lead, taking the lead for the first time.

After having axel problems on pit road, Vickers ran 12th with 46 laps to go, keeping his Chase dreams alive.

Harvick began challenging Hamlin for fourth on lap 288 after passing Martin while Montoya, who was good to go on fuel, padded his two second lead over Kahne. The No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet was keeping a close eye on his temperature as he passed Hamlin.

With just under thirty laps to go Harvick passed Kahne for second, beating Montoya by seven tenths as he made his way back toward the lead. Further back, Martin passed Hamlin for fifth and Robby Gordon battled back and forth with Biffle for 11th.

With 22 laps to go Harvick began a hard charge for the lead, running right on Montoya's back bumper. The two ran side by side with 21 to go, clearing him and began building a large lead over Montoya.

Bowyer's struggles continued as he spun into the infield grass after losing a tire. It brought out the night's ninth caution of the night, and erasing the 1.6 second lead his teammate held over the field. Kyle Busch, who had just been lapped by Harvick, was put back on the lead lap.

Harvick led the leaders down pit road, as he won the race off pit road leading Kahne, Reutimann, Montoya, Hamlin, Martin, Kenseth, Biffle, Vickers and Earnhardt, Jr.

Just eleven laps remained when Harvick led the field on the outside to the green, battling side by side with Kahne as they headed toward the start finish line, with Kahne taking the lead.

Martin and Kenseth, meanwhile, battled for sixth side by side while Hamlin and Reutimann battled just in front of them. For ninth, Jeff Gordon battled to keep Biffle behind him while chasing down Kenseth.

Kahne put a second and a half between he and Harvick as he hit the start finish line with six laps to go. Three wide for position as Kyle Busch took 13th from Stremme and Earnhardt, Jr.

After breaking a 73 race winless streak earlier this season in Sonoma, Kasey Kahne won the first Labor Day weekend race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Harvick, Montoya, Reutimann, Martin, Hamlin, Vickers, Gordon, Newman and Biffle rounded out the top ten. Stewart rebounded from his earlier pit road issues to finish 11th.

"Well this is a big win, we thank the Lord for making us smart enough to make the right decisions," team director Kenny Francis said. "It was just the perfect night for us."

"This is big for everyone on our Shell Pennzoil Chevrolet," second place Harvick said. "Were were good on long runs but, congratulations to Kasey, they were a lot better on short runs and it just came down to a short run tonight."

"It was awesome, I thought I was going to get him but I just got freakin' sideways down in three," Montoya, who finished third, said. "Everyone on the Target Chevrolet did good today. Everyone's working so hard to make this happen. And with this third place, it makes it a little closer to this Chase."

For the second time this season, Kasey Kahne put The King's car in Victory Lane.

"We had an unbelievable car throughout the race. This pit crew did a phenomenal job this whole night," Kahne said. "This team did a great job. I knew Harvick and Montoya were going to be though there at the end, but we just got them there... we just had a little better car for ten laps."

Kahne gained five spots in points to sixth while Denny Hamlin locked himself into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Next week it's Saturday night racing under the lights as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads into Richmond International Raceway for the Chevy Rock 'n Roll 400. The race begins at 7 p.m. ET on ABC.

This article also appears on SoCalSportsHub.com.

Thanks to @NateRyan, @Jeff_Gluck and @NASCAR_RealTime for Tweeting the quotes used in this article during the event.

Utter Domination: Mike Skinner Wins Inaugural Iowa Event

Jen Preston — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 00:26:17 -0400

After a marathon weekend of five practice sessions and a beautiful full moon in the sky, the Camping World Truck Series was set and ready for the inaugural Lucas Oil 200 at Iowa Speedway.

The green flag flew at about 9:10 local time, with polesitter Mike Skinner leading the field. It was Skinner's first pole of the year.

Second place in the points Matt Crafton, though, wasted little time, taking the lead from Skinner as they headed into turn three. Caution came out on lap four when the No. 92 truck of John Jackson spun out in turn four.

Crafton would lead the field to the green on lap six, but upon the restart the No. 08 Chevrolet of Jamie Dick made contact with the wall.

He and polesitter Skinner would battle after the restart on lap 11, while further back in the pack Johnny Sauter, Aric Almirola and Tayler Malsam battled for a top five spot. Meanwhile, Skinner was able to retake the lead from Crafton.

Sauter, who finally made it out of the three way battle for fifth, continued making progress, passing T.J. Bell for third place on lap 45. The No. 13 Chevrolet of Sauter started sixth.

Past the 50 lap mark of the event, Crafton made another run at Skinner's lead, and the pair battled side by side by NASCAR officials threw the caution, this time for debris. By the time both pit stops were done, Skinner had maintained his lead while Crafton fell back to fifth. T.J. Bell, Colin Braun and Ron Hornaday made up the other top five spots.

Skinner led the trucks to the restart on lap 64, and by the lead lap both Sauter and Crafton were challenging the No. 33 of Hornaday for this fourth position. After a three wide battle between them, in which the leaders were able to pull away, Hornaday maintained the spot.

Austin Dillon, the grandson of Richard Childress, and his No. 3 Bad Boy Mowers Chevrolet found trouble after getting loose in turn two. It would be the fourth caution of the night, and see Todd Bodine back on the lead lap.

Once again Skinner led the field to the green on lap 81, leading uncontested while Hornaday and Bell battled for second, Hornaday ultimately taking the spot on lap 84.

On lap 110, Stacy Compton and David Starr brought out the night's fifth caution after making contact in turn blank. Compton was able to continue after the spin, but Starr made heavy contact with the wall. He was treated and released from the infield care center. Mario Gosselin was the lucky dog.

It was a perfect scenario for the leaders, who entered their fuel window. Two laps after the caution the leaders came down pit road, first for tires and the following time for fuel. Getting their truck full of fuel, Almirola beat the field off pit road leading Skinner, Braun, Cook and Hornaday. Crafton came out in the sixth spot.

Upon the restart with 84 to go, Skinner went side by side with Almirola. Behind them, Hornaday and Cook battled for third, with Hornaday putting a slide mode on the blank truck to take the spot.

Skinner was able to take the lead as he and Almirola continued their side by side battle across the start finish line.

Brian Scott, who continues to drive with a broken right wrist, battled a race long ill handling truck, barely hit the wall on lap 121.

Big trouble on lap 126 brought out the sixth caution. Battling for 16th place, Bodine and Jason White collided, spinning into the infield. Bodine escaped with minimal damage to his front end, while White's Dodge lost a right front and was forced to the garage.

The green flag flew on lap blank, Hornaday immediately passing and slamming the door on fourth place Braun, setting his sights on the leaders. Further back in the pack his teammate Ricky Carmichael battled to maintain his 11th position over Tayler Malsam.

Despite bringing out an earlier caution in the night, Austin Dillon worked his way up to 14th with 60 laps remaining. Up front, Skinner continued pacing the field, holding a second lead over second place Aric Almirola.

With 50 laps remaining the field began to settle down as Skinner expanded his lead over Almirola to 2.8 seconds.

Johnny Sauter and T.J. Bell battled side by side for sixth and seventh while the leaders maintained their positions ahead.

Eighteen laps remained when Skinner had expanded his lead to well over four seconds over Almirola, as the leaders began to battle lap traffic. The No. 6 Conway Ford of Braun caught Hornaday two laps later, running all across his back bumper, stalking the No. 33 for fourth. Braun passed him with ten laps to go.

With just nine laps remaining, the one thing Skinner did not want to see occurred-- a caution, completely erasing his over five second lead.

Just four laps remained when the green flag came out, Skinner instantly jumping out to a two, then three truck length lead. The driver of the No. 5 then told his team he thought he was out of fuel, but continued on and expanded his lead.

A great side by side battle for third saw Braun hold off Hornaday, but it was Mike Skinner winning for the seventh time in an inaugural race. It was his second victory of the season.

"I've been about ready to throw up most of the day," crew chief Eric Phillips said. "It's not very often you have as good a truck as we had tonight."

This Tundra, man...(this team did) such a fantastic job. It was just awesome," Skinner said before thanking his sponsors. "It's awesome.

"The motor died coming off of four, I don't know if it was a pick up thing or vapor lock thing or what. But it just quit. But this thing was so fast threw the corners it didn't matter what it did on the straightaway."

With the victory, Skinner gained 25 points on leader Hornaday but remains 281 points behind. Eight races remain before the season ends at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Next Saturday it'll be an afternoon brawl as the Camping World Truck Series races into Gateway International Raceway for the Copart 200, where points leader Ron Hornaday dominated last season. Be sure to catch all the action at 2 p.m. on SPEED.

The Lugnut Report: Reed Sorenson Battles Back for Top 20 Finish in Bristol

Jen Preston — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 23:17:03 -0400

Sitting 28th in points after a 29th place finish at Michigan International Raceway, it almost seems that 23-year-old Reed Sorenson is racing for his job. One week after a crew, crew chief and car switch between he and teammate A.J. Allmendinger, Sorenson was looking to turn his luck around.

"I'm still enjoying myself and doing the best I can," the Georgia native told The Canadian Press. "I've just got to keep digging."

The weekend for Sorenson and new crew chief Sammy Johns immediately got off to a strong start when the No. 43 Dodge ended the first practice sixth on the podium and ran in the top five for most of Happy Hour before ending the session 13th.

Their good times would keep rolling in qualifying, when Sorenson laid down a 123.610 mph lap to qualify 10th.

In an effort to grasp the often treacherous Bristol Motor Speedway, Sorenson would also pilot the No. 1 Miccosukee Resort & Gaming Chevrolet for James Finch in the Nationwide Series.

Sorenson, who started 12th, was led to the green flag of the Food City 250 by polesitter Brad Keselowski, and ran in the top 15 for most of the night

On lap 52 Sorenson was racing for ninth with Stephen Wallace when Kyle Busch made a pass for the lead and was subsequently wrecked by the lap car of Chase Austin, who suffered a flat tire.

“(I) Actually came off the corner and hadn't used much break in this car; seems like I touched the break and I was sideways. And I was going down the straightaway sideways and headed straight for the inside wall and was trying to hold on to it. The (No.) 07 (Austin)...it's pretty ridiculous what he did to the (No.) 18 there.

“It's fun, I enjoy running in the Nationwide Series and stuff like this happens here. I just hate it for these guys.”

The Finch team was unable to get the battered car back on track, and Sorenson finished 35th.

Polesitter Mark Martin led the field to the green flag after an absolutely electrifying pre-race show at 7:49 Easter time.

Sorenson started on the outside, the preferred line in the Nationwide event and raced side by side with Juan Pablo Montoya to keep his position. On lap four Dave Blaney nearly made contact with the No. 43 as he began to fall through the pack.

On lap 10 Sorenson tapped the No. 20 of rookie Joey Logano, sending him into the wall and bringing out the day's first caution. He had fallen back to 11th.

Green flag on lap 16. Two laps later Sorenson, complaining of a tight car, fell back to 13th. The tight condition would keep him falling, as he ran 19th and continued to slip back 27 laps in the race.

On lap 46 Sorenson, on the outside, battled side by side with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. for the 20th spot before being passed. Hanging on in the upper groove, Sorenson trudged on in his tight race car.

For 24th to 30th a heavy battled with the likes of Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne and several others raged on, chasing down the No. 43 until, on lap 64, when Hamlin had a tire go down.

After the No. 18 of Kyle Busch made contact with one of the tire carriers, Sorenson fell 13 spots on pit road to 35th for the restart on lap 70.

Battling his way back up front—and out of the clutches of an approaching leader Martin—Sorenson battled side by side with Edwards before moving on to his teammate, Elliot Sadler. Making it up to 28th, the Valvoline Dodge lost a lap on lap 133.

Three laps later another Richard Petty Motorsports car, the No. 44 of A.J. Allmendinger, lost a brake rotor to bring out the race's third caution. Sadler would get the free pass, and Sorenson was shown back on the lead lap.

Sorenson silently raced in the early twenties, making a pit stop on lap blank. After the restarts blank laps later, the No. 43 crew again cost their driver positions, sending Sorenson back to 26th.

Going three wide with Jeff Burton and Kasey Kahne on the lap 170 restart, he once again begins racing his way towards the top 20, jumping to 21st and continuing to drive hard. He again made it three wide Earnhardt, Jr. and 83 of Brian Vickers to finally re-enter the top 20.

Pit stops came on lap 258 when John Andretti brought out caution. Again, Sorenson fell back to 25th because of the stop.

From there, Sorenson seemed to be stalemated in the early twenties, until, around lap 310, he began gaining momentum and chasing down cars, re-entering the top twenty and sitting 19th.

After the pit stops on lap 356, the No. 43 Valvoline Dodge took four tires and an air pressure adjustment, just losing one position. Their driver continued gaining momentum on the restart, passing David Ragan and Kevin Harvick to rocket to 16th place.

By passing Jamie McMurray with 120 laps to go, Sorenson re-entered the top 15 for the first time since lap 18. A heated battle between he and Harvick, however sent him back to 16th.

Sorenson narrowly escaped a big disaster; running 14th, he barely missed the colliding teammates Harvick and Bowyer. Casey Mears, Sam Hornish, Jr., Jimmie Johnson, and Brian Vickers were also collected in the incident that brought out the seventh caution of the night.

On lap 459. the No. 43 team once again made a pit stop under caution, taking just two tires and restarting 16th-- just three spots from where he was running under green. However, despite the new tires Sorenson began to slip back, settling in 18^th on lap 471.

Prior to the restart on lap 486, Sorenson began complaining, yet again, of a tight condition on his car. Once the field went back to green he did begin to pick up positions again, gaining momentum as he improved to 17th.

Sorenson would end the day 19th after getting passed late by Jeff Burton. It was his 11th top 20 of the year, including one top 10 that came in the season opening Daytona.

In two weeks the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Atlanta to race under the lights for the Pep Boys Auto 500; it'll be ESPN's last Cup race before switching things over to sister station ABC.

On September fourth Sorenson will be hosting his annual charity golf tournament at the Eagles Landing Country Club in Stockbridge, Georgia to raise money for Speedway Children's Charities. For more information visit Magnolia Golf Group, Speedway Children's Charities, or Reed Sorenson's website. To get updates on Sorenson during the race, head to Twitter and follow @rpmotorosports.

For Jeff Gordon's Lugnut Report, click here. If you'd like to read the Michigan Lugnut Reports, click here for Juan Pablo Montoya and here for Casey Mears.

The Lugnut Report: Juan Pablo Montoya Rides Michigan Rollercoaster

Jen Preston — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 19:38:11 -0400

Whether it's a driver in the top 12 trying to win a championship, a rookie trying to prove himself or a go or go home car just fighting to get back in the top 35, every weekend NASCAR provides 43 unique story lines for the fans to follow. He did, however, win the 2000 CART race there.

From Michigan to Miami, Patti Rodisch and I will be bringing you “The Lugnut Report”, a special look into the weekends of two different drivers—whether it's the conservative Chase driver racing for points or a non-Chaser putting it all on the line to win, you'll follow their weekend from qualifying to race day.

This weekend's driver lineup: Juan Pablo Montoya and Casey Mears.

“Our real goal this year was making The Chase. When we sat down with Brian (Patti, crew chief) a year ago, we said next year we need to make sure to make The Chase and if we don't, we have to be a contender for it. We can't run 20^th every week. We did that. We've been working, we are getting better every week and we just have to keep doing the same thing. By the time The Chase stars, we will see. I think you can start taking some more risks and see what happens.”

Michigan International Speedway hasn't been kind to Juan Pablo Montoya. On the verge of a Chase berth, Montoya has an average finish at MIS of 27.6, thanks to four straight finishes outside the top 20.

The bright spot? Montoya finished 6^th in his last visit to the track, and has experienced Victory Lane—in CART.

Montoya was also riding the wave of momentum—his sixth place finish last Monday at Watkins Glen continued his streak of nine finishes in the top 12, and no DNFs. Oh, and the car he'd brought to MIS? His dominant Brickyard car, which led 116 laps in June.

The Colombia native, though, wasn't getting his hopes up.

“Normally, we really suck here,’’ Montoya told the media on Friday. “We really do!’’

And despite sucking, Friday's on track activities shined a bright light on was hopefully a good weekend to come for the No. 42 Target Chevrolet team. Montoya qualified third for Sunday's Carfax 400 after ending the weekend's first practice in the same position.

Saturday's morning pratice continued the momentum, as again Montoya put his car third on the charts. Happy Hour, however, wasn't so happy for the former Indianapolis 500 winner, as his car ended practice 20th.

Up and down pratice sessions would be a precurser of what was to come.

Taking the green flag shortly after 2:20 p.m. Eastern time, Montoya began falling back early after giving polesitter and eventual winner Brian Vickers a push. After being passed by the likes of Jimmie Johnson and Joey Logano, the No. 42 EGR Chevrolet settled into sixth when the first caution for rain came out.

ESPN's Jamie Little interview his crew chief, Brian Pattie, during the caution. Pattie told Little he didn't plan to pit the car when the cars restarted 18 minutes later. A smile on his face, he told Little he plays poker "every Sunday."

After the restart, Montoya began to charge back to the front, passing Vickers back for position. Five laps after the restart on lap 19, Montoya had worked his way back into the top five, but constantly battled the No. 83, and would fall back to 8th by lap 35.

Green flag stops were a blessing for the loose Montoya, and once the cycle was done Montoya continued to run in the top ten.

Battling his racecar, JPM struggled to keep his car inside the top ten. After the restart for Robby Gordon's flat tire, Montoya seemed to be stuck around the 10th and 11th position after restarting 16th.

On lap 76 Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards made it three wide with Montoya for position, Montoya retaining a top ten spot. Ten laps later he was caught in another battled with David Reutimann in the No. 00, losing the ninth position.

"We're just making it worse. Look at where the (expletive) (No.) two is!" Montoya shouted into his radio. Frustration was mounting at lap 113 as wedge and air pressure changes failed to fix his loose car.

Just after pit stops on lap 117, where Montoya retained his 12th place position, the No. 42 narrowly escaped trouble between David Ragan and frontrunner Kurt Busch.

Despite working his way up to ninth, on lap 134 Montoya was less than happy with the continued adjustments his Target crew continued to make.

"Everything you've done to this car today has made it worse," JPM told them.

And things were about to get a whole lot worse for the seventh place man in the championship.

On lap 142, the little luck Montoya had ran out when he and the No. 9 of Kahne had contact, causing the left rear tire to go flat. The brake line also broke on the car, causing Montoya to lose a lap and fall back to 34th after the incident didn't bring out a caution.

"That (expletive) (No.) nine has run over us twice in the last three weeks!" Montoya's spotter angerly said.

It would take 18 laps, but with just 40 laps to go Montoya rebounded, getting the lucky dog award after Daivd Stremme spun for the second week in a row.

The No. 42 Chevrolet would take the restart on lap 161 in 34th. Two laps later, Montoya had already worked his way to 27th, and ran 23rd with just 12 laps to go in the event.

Montoya would finish the day in 19th, retaining his seventh place spot in the Chase. He is now 613 points out of first.

However, the hot tempered Colombian voiced his displeasure via his Twitter page:

"Had a rough day we had an ok car just couldn't get a good balance and the freaking 9 car ruin a 2nd race for us..... We move on to bristol!!"

Click here for Casey Mears' Lugnut Report.

Thanks to Detnews.com, NASCAR.com, JPMontoya.com, Racing Reference and EarnhardtGanassi.com for the information used in this piece. Thanks to Nate Ryan and Jeff Gluck for the quotes used in this piece.

No Bull: Brian Vickers Wins Carfax 400 at Michigan

Jen Preston — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 18:02:39 -0400

Blue skies, no rain and hard racing were the forecast for the Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway. It was the first time since the Brickyard 400 that the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was able to escape rain showers and race on a clear Sunday afternoon.

For the sixth time this season Brian Vickers led the field to the start, running alongside 50 year old Mark Martin.

Fuel mileage was on every drivers mind when the field took the green around 2:20 Eastern time. By taking the green, points leader Tony Stewart officially locked himself into the Chase.

Past the start finish line the third place car of Montoya was all over the back of Vickers as Martin jumped out to an early lead. Kurt Busch, who's team owner Roger Penske built this track, passed Vickers for third.

Kyle Busch, who started 39th, was hurriedly trying to gain positions, running 31st after just two laps.

Vickers fell back to fourth by lap four after Jimmie Johnson also got by him. The No. 83 would pass him the following lap, and start his pursuit of the No. 2 of Busch.

A light mist began falling as, further back in the pack, Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer had a heated side by side battle.

Kasey Kahne ran 29th, after starting in the rear for an engine change, as the first caution of the day came out on lap seven. Despite their being just a 10 percent chance of rain, rain drops caused NASCAR to throw the yellow flag.

A red flag was thrown shortly afterward, halting the cars on pit road. Kyle Busch reported to his crew "Uh, they lost the track, man. Torrential downpour in turn one."

"It cam in quick. We had some dribbles here and there before the race started, but I didn't think it was a problem," Vickers said. "Then the bottom just fell out of the sky and NASCAR threw the caution."

"Well we had a pretty decent car all weekend, so I think we should've gotten by a few of those cars," Kahne, who had moved up 11 spots in the first eight laps, said. "(Kyle Busch and I are) both going to get better after we pit."

After the 18 minute red flag NASCAR put the caution flag back out. Bobby Labonte, who believed he had a cylinder down shortly before the red flag, stayed on pit road after the cars re-fired. He would eventually go to the garage.

Twelfth place driver and Saturday's Nationwide Series winner Brad Keselowski led much of the back half of the field onto pit road.

Mark Martin chose the outside line as he and second place car Kurt Busch led the field to the green on lap 11. Martin immediately jumped out to a lead as Johnson raced Busch side by side.

The No. 11 of Hamlin and No. 42 of Montoya made their way past Vickers for fifth and sixth as Johnson made a move on Busch for second.

A cluster of cars including Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski and Reed Sorenson battled back and fourth in the middle of the pack.

On lap 17 Johnson was right on the bumper of Martin, stalking the No. 5 Kellogg's Chevrolet before attempting a pass on the bottom. Martin closed the door, keeping his teammate at bay.

Johnson made it by his teammate on lap 24, passing him to the inside before moving back up the track. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch ran 23rd after starting the race in 39th.

A side by side battle between the No. 2 of Busch and Hamlin nearly sent Busch into the wall, and cost him two spots to Hamlin and Vickers. He settled behind them in fifth.

On lap 28 Vickers took third from Hamlin.

Back in the top ten, Matt Kenseth told his grew he believed his engine was missing and his car drove "like a tractor". Despite this, he passed Montoya for seventh on the inside.

As Johnson extended his lead to over a second over Martin, who battled and lost his side by side battle with Vickers, green flag pit stops began as Sorenson Ryan Newman came down pit road on lap 38. Sorenson thought he had a tire going down.

Vickers and Biffle hit pit road on lap 42 along with Hamlin, Busch, Montoya and several others. A lap later leader Johnson came down pit road with Martin and Harvick, handing the lead to Matt Kenseth. He would come down on lap 44 with Earnhardt, Jr. and several others, with Gordon taking the lead.

Gordon led a handful of cars down pit road on lap 45 as Clint Bowyer took the lead. Bowyer got five bonus points and made his stop on lap 46 with Jamie McMurray as David Ragan assessed the lead.

Teammates Ragan and a very loose Carl Edwards made stops on lap 47, ending the green flag pit stops. Denny Hamlin cycled back to the lead, but had a heated side by side battle with Johnson before being passed on alp 48. Martin also got by Hamlin for second.

Robby Gordon brought out the second caution of the day on lap 52 after losing a tire and hitting the wall in Turn one. Mike Bliss was the lucky dog.

Despite just pitting, nearly all 36 lead lap cars came down pit road. Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon won the race off pit road followed by Ragan, Reutimann, Vickers, Johnson, Edwards, Martin, Bowyer, and Hamlin. Edwards and Reutimann picked up 15 spots a piece while Hamlin lost seven after his four tire stop.

Paul Menard stayed out and led the field to the green flag on lap 58. With a push from Gordon, though, Kenseth quickly took the lead. Menard fellow into the clutches of the pack, losing multiple positions as they Johnson and Ragan battled for fourth as they hit the start finish line.

Further back, Earnhardt, Jr., Harvick and Busch raced three wide for 17th as Ragan attempted to pass Gordon.

Four wide with Earnhardt, Jr., Stewart, Busch and Keselowski as Harvick cleared the pack. Back up front Johnson made his way past both Ragan and Gordon.

Greg Biffle and A.J. Allmendinger battled for 29th with Biffle clearing the No. 44 thanks to drafting help from Marcos Ambrose. A pass for the lead on lap 65 as Johnson took the lead for the third time.

On lap 66 Kurt Busch began reporting he was having an electrical problem and wasn't able to find pit road speed. He also lost two positions to former teammate Edwards and Bowyer, settling back in ninth.

Running in 22nd, a disgruntled Kevin Harvick—coming off a disappointing 35th finish at Watkins Glen—told his crew "(this is) exactly what we deserve. Back in the bullsh*t. Absolutely ridiculous." He, Kyle Busch and teammate Jeff Burton had been battling for 19th.

Meanwhile, Johnson extended his lead to over two and a half seconds over Kenseth, who had Martin right on his right bumper. On lap 75, Juan Pablo Montoya in 12th began running up on Hamlin and Edwards, who ran side by side past the start finish line. On the bottom, the No. 11 was able to take the spot.

By lap 84 Kenseth trailed Johnson by over three seconds. Meanwhile, up 17 spots from his 23rd starting spot was Clint Bowyer running in the top ten. He told his crew his car was "hauling through the center" in his battle to enter the Chase.

On lap 88 Earnhardt, Jr. brought his No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet down pit road for an unscheduled stop for a vibration. He was ten laps away from scheduled green flag pit stops.

Vickers and Bowyer battled side by side for fifth, with Vickers taking the spot and eventually passing Ragan for fourth. By lap 95 Martin had erased Johnson's three second lead while Vickers, right up against the wall, passed Kenseth, who hit pit road along with Kyle Busch on.

As Truex, Jr., Newman, Keselowski and others hit pit road Martint ook over the lead on lap 96. Logano also came down pit road to change four tires.

Johnson hit pit road on lap 97, getting an air pressure adjustment with his four tires and fuel. Leader Martin and teammate Gordon also made pit stops, handing the lead to Vickers. Hamlin, Vickers and Ragan also made their stops.

On lap 98 the green flag stops cycled through with Vickers and Montoya among the leaders making their stops. Stewart, Edwards and Earnhardt, Jr. battled for 13th, 14th and 15th. Thanks to their fresh tires the No. 14 and No. 99 blew by the National Guard Chevrolet.

Robby Gordon, who brought out the day's second caution, took his No. 7 to the garage just after reaching the halfway point.

Martin continued to eat at the lead of Johnson, running just half a second behind the leader. Their teammate, Jeff Gordon, who started 21st ran third, but had the No. 33 of Bowyer chasing him down.

Third place car Kenseth started 25th and said his car was in need of a trackbar and wedge adjust because his car "rotated back". Back in 12th, Reutimann and Montoya, still battling a loose car, battled side by side on lap 113. Montoya told his crew they were "making (the car) worse."

Caution for debris on the backstretch on lap 115 erased Johnson's on second lead and gave Sam Hornish, Jr. the free pass. The caution allowed the leaders to hit pit road.

Tony Stewart gained 10 spots by taking just two tires and wont he race off pit road. Everyone else—Johnson, Vickers, Martin, Kenseth, Bowyer, Gordon, Ragan, Kurt Busch, and Hamlin—took four.

"Tell me why we did that," Stewart said.

"Because your lap times were right there with second and third," crew chief Darian Grubb said, also telling his driver—and boss—that it was a track position move.

Stewart's teammate made several pit stops trying to improve hi

On lap 120 Stewart led the field to the green, but couldn't hold off Johnson. Further back big trouble for Kurt Busch and David Ragan as, in the middle of the field, they were sent spinning. Edwards alo had slight damage but was able to continue.

"I was just a little loose and the (No.) two just finished me off." Ragan told his crew. With little damage the No. 6 team made a pit stop to change tires and went back on track. Menard was the lucky dog. Hornish, Jr. was penalized for refueling and did not received the free pass.

Busch got the most damage, and after a lengthy stop in the garage ended up 36th on the day.

Elliott Sadler, Reed Sorenson, Ryan Newman and John Andretti made pit stops under the caution as Johnson led the field to the green on lap 125. Stewart beat the No. 48 going into two as Kenseth and Martin ran side by side for third.

Johnson took the high line and passed Stewart just before the two reached the start finish line. Vickers and Edwards raced side by side fifth as Martin and Kenseth passed Stewart.

On lap 132 Johnson once again had more than a second lead over Martin as Edwards began another charge toward Vickers as eighth place Bowyer passed Stewart. That same lap David Ragan was sent spinning after contact with the No. 77, bring out the day's fifth caution.

Reed Sorenson was the free pass car, but the real lucky dog was the No. 11 of Hamlin, who was about to pit due to a vibration.

The leaders stayed on pit road while 10th place and back came onto pit road to make changes. Edwards was penalized a spot after NASCAR told him he didn't maintain speed under caution when he faked onto pit road. His crew chief Scott Osborne called it a "bad call".

After a light sprinkle caused NASCAR to hold off on the restart, Johnson led the field on the outside to the green on lap 141. Martin, though, jumped out to challenge his teammate before falling back behind the No. 48 and No. 17.

Kyle Busch and Kenseth raced side by side as further in the back Montoya quickly began falling back, making it three wide in the middle. It was confirmed that he lost a left rear tire after contact with the No. 9 of Kahne. His brake line was also knocked loose.

On lap 145 Gordon and Martin both made their way past Kenseth.

"It's braking pretty damn good," Gordon told crew chief Steve Letarte.

A small rain shower once again brought out the caution on lap 146. Hornish, Jr. was again the lucky dog.

The leaders hit pit road a lap later as Vickers led the field off pit road. McMurray, Harvick, Stewart (who took no tires), Johnson, Kenseth, Busch, Newman, Martin, and Gordon followed.

"We're gonna damn roll the dice. That's why we're here," Steve Letarte told driver Jeff Gordon.

With 47 laps to go Reutimann led the field to the green as Earnhardt, Jr. shot around Logano and eventually to the lead. Teammates Logano and hamlin battled for third and fourth.

Three wide with Hamlin, Reutimann and Logano for a brief time as Logano began a charge to the leader. Further back Kenseth made a move to the inside of Hamlin, bringing Harvick along with him.

Caution with 42 laps to go for the seventh time when David Stremme gets into the back of the No. 31, getting lose and spinning across the hood of the No. 33 of Bowyer. No one else received damage, and Montoya was the lucky dog.

Johnson stayed on pit road while Earnhardt, Jr. and several of the leaders hit pit road.

A crazy restart with 40 laps to go, Johnson beating Vickers to the line as further back in the pack they race four wide. Vickers does get by the No. 48.

Harvick and Martin split Kenseth as they race for third. Further back Harvick's teammate Bowyer and Gordon race for sixth.

Gordon passes Kenseth for fifth as Vickers and Johnson trade the lead back and forth, Johnson taking it on lap 165. Continuing to move up, Bowyer runs Kenseth right next tot he wall as he attempts to make the pass. The battle allows Kenseth's teammate Edwards to catch the pair.

The three go three wide past the start finish line with Hornish, Jr. behind them. Edwards takes the position, followed by Kenseth. Bowyer would fall back to 10th.

"Take care of it man, you're doing awesome," Lance McCrew told Earnhardt, Jr. While most of the drivers in the top ten needed to conserve fuel, the No. 88 was running wide open and picking off drivers.

With 23 laps to go Johnson held nearly a second lead over Vickers and Gordon, who ran nose to tail.

Side by side Logano and Biffle battled for 12th, Logano prevailing as they fall back into line. The No. 20 then sets his site on Kenseth.

Earnhardt, Jr. continued picking off drivers, entering the top five with a pass on Martin. In 12th, Kenseth, Biffle and Reutimann battle for position.

"Keep on saving for me, keep on saving," Chad Knaus told leader Jimmie Johnson with 14 laps to go.

Vickers began closing in on Johnson with 13 laps to go, as a ridin' high Earnhardt, Jr. continued to chase down the top five.

"I'm lifting big time, trying to save you all I can," Johnson told his crew as the laps continued to wind down.

Earnhardt, Jr. blew by Edwards with ten to go as Vickers was hot on the tail of the leader. Going to the outside, Vickers ran right up against the wall before Johnson slammed the door closed.

With nine to go, Vickers once again went to the outside, but again the door was closed as the two hit the start finish line. The No. 83 Toyota didn't lose sight of the leader.

"Oh there we go," Gordon said of the two front cars running side by side. "That's what we need."

"Watch your mirror—the (No.) 88 is my concern, not the 99! He's coming like a bat out of hell!" Letarte radioed back.

Drama filled MIS with six laps to go as Vickers continued to race the No. 48 and Earnhardt, Jr. closed in on his teammate Gordon.

Running in sixth, Hornish, Jr. tried to hold up the highest running Childress car, the No. 07 of Casey Mears.

"You've got enough car to stay in front of him," Knaus told the leader. "It's just a question of if we have enough."

With three to go Vickers once again began running next to the wall, hoping to go by Johnson buy without success.

As they hit the start finish Johnson hit pit road to get fuel and Vickers took the lead, a half second ahead of Gordon.

The white flag came out as Johnson exited pit road. Vickers ran alongside the wall, knowing he hadn't won since 2006 in Talladega.

"That's what I"m talking about! Great call guys! Hell yeah!" Vickers yelled as he crossed the start finish line. Kenseth and Martin both coasted to the finish.

"I think that shows it right there, he still has enough (for a burnout). That's way cool, man. I can't say enough about this team," crew chief Ryan Pemberton said.

"It was good, we made some good changes at the end that helped the car a lot," Earnhardt, Jr. who finished third, said. "Hopefully we can keep it going."

"Certainly frustrated, but we've one race on fuel mileage ever, and we're obviously not good at it," Johnson said. He ended the day 33rd. With the finish Johnson falls to third in the Chase.

"(Pemberton) made the call and it was a great call," Vickers said. "Oh man, I don't now what to say. I'm so proud of this group."

Vickers gets Red Bull Racing their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win, and the first win at Michigan for Toyota. He's also just 12 points out of the Chase, sitting in 13th. Clint Bowyer, who finished eighth, also gained a points position to 14th.

Great runs for Sam Hornish, Jr. and Casey Mears who finished 5th and 6th. Mears was the highest finishing RCR car. Mark Martin, who ran out of fuel just before the checkers, ended the day 31st, and lost a spot to Matt Kenseth in the Chase.

Carl Edwards finished fourth and gained two spots to fourth in the Chase while both Busch brothers lost two spots—Kurt falling to sixth and Kyle falling further out in 15th.

Next week it's Saturday night racing at Bristol as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series enters Bristol Motor Speedway for the Sharpie 500.

This article also appears on SoCalSportsHub.com and FanZoneSports.net.

All Fizzed Up: Ambrose Makes It Two In a Row at Watkins Glen

Jen Preston — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 18:06:54 -0400

Weather was to the west and rain tires were at the ready as the Nationwide Series prepared to start the Zippo 200 at the Glen.

Seventeen drivers in the 43 car field were Sprint Cup Series regulars, including polesitter Kevin Harvick, who set a new track record in qualifying. The higest starting Nationwide only driver was the No. 10 of Justin Marks, who started 13th.

The green flag flew at roughly 3:20 p.m. eastern time with Harvick jumping to the lead over Marcos Ambrose, who had his hands full keeping Scott Speed and Robby Gordon behind him. Speed, though, would prevail in making the pass.

Further in the pack, second place in the points Carl Edwards and road ringer Antonio Perez battled for 11th and 12th, with Perez passing Edwards in turn nine as Brad Keselowski went to make a move on the No. 60 of Edwards.

On lap five, the No. 61 of Matt Carter briefly got off track but recovered, and no caution flag was needed. Which was good for Harvick; he'd checked out on the field, holding a nearly three and a half second lead over new second place driver Ambrose.

Speed began slipping back in the field, being passed by the No. 55 of Gordon before slipping into the clutches of one Kyle Busch.

On lap eight, caution flew for the first time. The No. 32 of Vickers, who started eighth, told his team his transmission locked up, causing Sprint Cup rookie Joey Logano to get into the back of him. Despite the hard contact, Vickers was okay.

"Frustrated is not the word for it. It just hasn't been our weekend," Vickers said after coming out of the in field car center. He said it was the same problem the team had experienced in practice.

Fuel strategy was already coming in to play as David Ragan hit pit road before the Vickers incident, allowing them to complete their stop.

Gordon was the only of the top nine drivers to hit pit road after leaders Harvick and Ambrose flirted with coming down. Edwards, Keselowski, Burton and several others further back in the pack also came on pit road.

On lap 13 Harvick, who chose the inside line for the double file restart, charged to the lead on the restart. Ambrose and Speed once again battled side by side for second, Ambrose taking second and settling in single file

Which didn't last too long.

Ambrose wasted no time as he made a charge for the lead, making it look easy as he passed Harvick. Further back in the pack, the No. 55 of Gordon made contact with the No. 61 of Matt Carter. Both recovered and the field stayed green.

Boris Said brought his No. 9 down pit road on lap 15 for his pit stop. A lap later the No. 18 of Kyle Busch came down for his stop.

Second place driver Hamlin ran more than two seconds behind Ambrose and Harvick, who ran nose to tail on lap 17. Pit stops continued as Joey Logano brought his Toyota down pit lane.

Paul Menard proved you can pass on a road course, passing 20 cars in 18 laps. Troubles in qualifying forced him to start 39th.

On lap 19, the No. 5 of Ron Fellows and Hamlin made their scheduled pit stops as Ambrose and Harvick continued to pace the field with an over seven second lead. Stephen Wallace, Burton and Newman also came in. Brendon Gaughan made his top on lap 20.

Ambrose and Harvick finally came down pit road on lap 21. The pit stops came as a blessing for Joey Logano, who had to make a pass threw penalty because his crew came over the wall too early. He would stay on the lead lap.

Scott Speed became the new leader before coming in for four tires and fuel on lap 22. Edwards then took the lead, followed by Menard, Biffle, Keselowski and Ragan. The top four were gambling on having to make just one more stop, having made their stops on lap 10.

Front row starters Ambrose and Harvick were stuck in traffic, running 14th and 16th respectively.

On lap 27, the Hendrick pit crew for Fellows prepared to bring their driver down pit road after he made contact with the No. 29 of Burton and began having temperature problems.

With championship rival Kyle Busch running in 13th, Edwards continued to build on his more than four second lead over the field.

Eighth place Ambrose was another driver complaining of temperature issues on lap 30, but was told not to come in "unless there's water coming out of it."

Problems for the No. 1 car of Newman on lap 34, as he fell to two laps down when he came on pit road telling his crew he had no fuel pressure. He stayed on pit road for nearly two minutes before getting back on track.

"It stopped," Newman told his crew after leaving pit road. Newman's issues brought out the second caution of the day on lap 34. The caution ensured that the drivers who pitted on lap 10, including the leader Edwards, could make it on just one more stop.

Danny O'Quinn was the first lucky dog of the day. Pit road opened on lap 35, with all of the leaders electing to stay on track.

The green flag flew on lap 38, with Edwards quickly jumping out to a lead over Menard and Keselowski.

Ambrose passed Biffle in turn 11 and began pulling away, continuing his charge from sixth back to the lead.

Kenny Wallace was among the three cars who had to charge down pit road to avoid contact with the something as Menard began his own charge for the lead.

On lap 41 Menard made another push for the lead, racing side by side with Edwards as they made their way to the start finish. Third place Keselowski made his way passed Menard, who fell back to fourth. Once things began to settle down, Edwards once again started adding to his lead, putting half a second between himself and the No. 88.

The race's third caution came on lap 43 after Menard got caught in gravel after racing side by side with Keselowski. He'd just raced for the lead a few laps earlier. They did get the No. 98 pulled out of gravel and back on track. Once again the No. 6 of Ragan managed to beat the caution when he made his stop on pit road.

With 37 laps to go and pit stops looming, everyone would be on the edge of their fuel window.

Kyle Busch won the race on pit road, leading Nemecheck, who took no tires, Edwards, Ambrose, Hamlin, Keselowski, Said, and Annett as a long jam ensued. Gordon, who's team had to fix the hood of his car, which was flapping during the previous green flag run, lost several positions because of the congestion.

The No. 16 of Biffle was tagged on pit road by the No. 12 of Allgaier on pit road. The pair restarted

The No. 5 of Fellows was penalized during their pit stop for having an uncontrolled tire.

Teammates Steven Wallace and Brendan Gaughan stayed out to lead the field to the green flag on lap blank, and both Ragan and Busch wasted no time in trying to make a move on the leaders. Ragan took the lead, sending the Rusty Wallace Racing

Ambrose gained two spots on the restart, thanks in part to Edwards going wide before the field entered the chicane after the two made contact.

On lap 47, Busch took the lead from Ragan, leading his 19th race in a row, tying Sam Ard's record. Trouble for the third time in the race for Matt Carter, who spun into the grass. No caution came out as Carter got his car back on track.

Coming out of the chicane Ambrose began putting the pressure on the No. 18.

Menard once again found himself in trouble with 31 laps to go, spinning on track before his car stopped. The incident would bring out the fourth caution of the day. It also means the leaders can make it the rest of the way on fuel from here.

"We can make it, if we had to," leader Kyle Busch's crew chief told him before taking the green on lap . Ambrose kept his nose under the No. 18 as contact in the S's between Speed and Nemecheck, who began rapidly falling back as they entered the chicane.

Allgaier was sent spinning with 27 laps to go, but kept it off the wall and continued on.

Ambrose began putting pressure on the No. 18, making contact as the pair entered turn nine. The contact helped third place Hamlin make up ground on the two leaders, as he began putting pressure on the No. 47 Toyota.

With 25 laps to go the top three began checking out on the field, as the field had two seconds on fourth place Ragan.

"Keeping putting pressure on Busch and he'll fold," Ambrose's crew chief told him. And that's exactly what the defending winner of the race was going to do.

Ambrose and Busch ran toe to toe two seconds ahead of third place Hamlin with 20 laps to go.

Ambrose finally made his move a lap later, forcing Busch to continue straight as they entered the chicane. Because Busch continued going straight, Busch was forced to stop, losing three seconds to the leader and falling to third.

On lap 65 the caution flew for Robby Gordon, who left from the S's to turn ten littered with debris after he made contact with Joey Logano and cut a tire. The two had been in a heated battle for tenth for several laps.

Busch, meanwhile, had just made a pass on second place Hamlin, meaning he would start side by side with less than 15 laps to go.

Hamlin, who was running third when the caution came out, brought his car on pit road thinking he had a loose wheel. He fell back to 26^th, and would end up finishing 34^th.

"We're stupid close on fuel," fourth place Harvick was told by his crew.

The restart comes with 13 laps to go, Ambrose jumping to an earlier lead as Busch, Edwards and Speed make it three wide behind the leader.

An intense battle between Edwards and Speed continues before they cross the start finish line, but Edwards slams the door on the No. 99.

Trouble for Tony Raines on lap 70 in turn nine as he spins, but recovers. Joey Logano, though, was not so lucky. His car was a fiery mess after continued contact with Robby Gordon sent him into the turn something wall. Logano did get out of the car and was okay. Gordon was the beneficiary of the free pass, despite causing the caution.

"He decided to wreck me under caution, which I don't think is real cool. And then he gets the lucky dog after it," Logano said. "You can't fix stupid, it's forever."

Just six laps remained as Ambrose once again led the field to the green flag. Edwards took second from Busch as, further back in the pack, the No. 12 of Allgaier got bent out of shape but continued on.

Edwards was on the defensive as Busch was all over the back of that car. Heading through the S's they were side by side before Busch took the position back. All the while, Ambrose's lead jumped to nearly a second.

Gaughan in the No. 62 and the No. 26 of McDowell made contact, sending them both spinning, but again continued and there was no caution. Meanwhile, fourth place Speed put pressure on Edwards but was unable to make a move.

With three laps to go a second separated first and second and second and third, but Busch was chipping away at the lead as they entered turn 11.

"Woo hoo!" Ambrose called over his radio. "We got this one guys!"

A Nemecheck spin didn't bring out the caution on the final lap, allowing Marcos Ambrose in the STP No. 47 Toyota to drive to Victory Lane.

But not without asking his crew chief to do a celebratory burn out, first.

"I think it was a little aggressive getting into the bus stop, but you have to do what you have to do to win," Busch said after the race.

"That was wild. I was just fighting (Busch) off. My guys did a great job with strategy off pit road, we just weren't fast," third place Carl Edwards said.

Victory Lane erupted into celebration as Ambrose excited his car, throwing his arms in the air and hugging his daughters and wife.

"I knew I had to dive under him to pass and I knew if I waited until the final ten he would've passed me. This is just fantastic. It's just a special time in my life.

"It's all I could if I was going to win the race, I had to surprise him."

Brad Keselowski was the highest finishing Nationwide only driver, finishing eighth.

Kyle Busch gained just five points on championship rival Carl Edwards, and had a 207 point lead as the series heads to Michigan International Speedway for the CARFAX 250 on ESPN on Saturday, Aug. 15 at 3 p.m. Eastern time.

Redemption Song: Emotional Denny Hamlin Wins at Pocono

Jen Preston — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:35:31 -0400

"It feels like we've been here a month," Dale Earnhardt, Jr. said before the start of the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway.

While it hadn't been a month, rain put a damper on nearly the entire race weekend, pushing the race from Sunday to a cloudless Monday afternoon.

Last week's winner Jimmie Johnson and teammate Jeff Gordon led the field to the green flag. A drag race for the lead between them instantly ensued, with Johnson getting out to an early lead.

By lap three, points leader Tony Stewart, who had to start in the back due to a practice crash, had made his way to 34th. Side by racing occurred throughout the field, the outside line prevailing during battles between Hamlin and Kurt Busch, and Biffle and the younger Busch brother, Kyle. Johnson had stretched his lead to nearly two seconds over Gordon.

However, on lap 12 Stewart began losing spots and made a pit stop thinking he had a tire going down. The No. 14 Old Spice crew found that all four tires on the car were up.

Johnson's two second lead dissolved when NASCAR threw a competition caution on lap 21. It was Denny Hamlin, though, with a 13.5 second pit stop who won the race off of pit road. The No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet fell to third.

On the outside, Hamlin led the field to the green flag on lap 26 and began pulling away fromt he field.

Bump drafting at Pocono? It was in full effect in the heated battle for ninth between the No. 18 of Kyle Busch and the No. 5 of Mark Martin; Busch passed Martin with help from Juan Pablo Montoya.

On lap 30 teammates Gordon and Johnson battled side by side for second, with Johnson passing Gordon on the inside. Further in the pack Tony Stewart was busy battling back from his lap 12 pit stop, running 33rd in the midst of traffic.

Ten laps later the field began to spread out, with Hamlin extending his lead over the No. 48 to over a second.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. pits on lap 53 after dropping six spots to 19th. He believed he had a tire going down, and lost a lap right as the caution came out for Paul Menard's tire issues the following lap. The Richard Childress Racing cars of Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer, who were both running in the top 15, also hit pit road under green.

The leaders once again hit pit road on lap 55 at 55 miles per hour, with Hamlin and the No. 11 Fed Ex team retained their lead. Stewart, who had stayed in 32nd spot since the previous set of stops, stayed on pit road unhooking the sway bar, among other changes, to fix his ill handling race car.

Hamlin leads them to the green flag after John Andretti pits on lap 57, but Johnson begins to close up on him while Montoya, Kahne and Kyle Busch jockey for position further back in the top ten.

Two laps after the restart, NASCAR warned Hamlin to stay in line until the green flag is thrown.

A caution light coming off caused the third caution of the day on lap 62, and Menard, who brought out the second caution was named the lucky dog.

The leaders opted to stay on track while several drivers 17th place and back, like Earnhardt, Jr., Reutimann, and a still struggling Stewart came in and made pit stops. The No. 31 of Burton was the first of the cars that pitted off of pit road.

"This race is too long," second place Johnson told his crew chief.

"Yeah, but that's good for guys like you," Chad Knaus told Johnson. He also told Johnson to start thinking about fuel.

Hamlin, staying in his outside line, took the green flag on lap 67, and a drag race started between the top two, Gordon pushing his teammate to no avail. The No. 24 would lose six spots on the restart and fall back to sixth.

Greg Biffle running 11th tagged the wall before making it three wide at the start finish line with Newman and the No. 83 of Vickers. Initially falling back, Biffle would go on to pass Vickers.

Once again the cars become spread out on lap 80. Stewart, though, had started to make up positions and found himself in 28th. While it looked as if Johnson was making ground on the leader, he fell back to a 1.4 second deficit.

The No. 24 began made a four tire stop and made a track bar adjustment. Truex, Jr. also made a stop.

On lap 89 Hamlin, Johnson and Edwards made their pit stops. The cars that pit on the earlier caution-- Reutimann, Ambrose, Kenseth, and David Ragan—all led laps before making pit stops. By lap 96 Hamlin retook the lead ahead of Johnson, Edwards and Stewart, who had yet to pit. Kahne rounded out the top five.

The fourth caution of the day came out on lap 96 for the No. 96 of Bobby Labonte; Stewart was on pit road, took four tires, and restarted in seventh.

Kasey Kahne didn't pit, along with the six cars behind him (Stewart didn't pit with the leaders), and took the leader when they went green on lap 102. Hamlin, Gordon, and Edwards made it three wide for position.

The running order as it shakes out is Kahne, Reutimann, and Kenseth as the top three. Johnson restarted 18th, and gained a couple of spots when he made it three wide with rookie Joey Logano and teammate Mark Martin.

An absolutely crazy couple of laps after the restart as drivers went two and three wide for position.

Former leader Johnson falls back from 18th to 26th, bringing his car down on pit road on lap 106. He then told the crew "I'm starting to blow the engine right now." His crew opened the hood but sent the car back out on track. The No. 48 stayed in front of Kahne, though, remaining on the lead lap.

He was lapped on lap 110, and continued to lose speed. Johnson told his crew he believed something was wrong with the carburetor.

Kahne meanwhile had a 1.5 second lead over second place Reutimann; because of pit strategy Amrbose and David Ragan cracked the top ten. The Stewart Haas Racing teammates of Newman and Stewart ran ninth and tenth.

NASCAR warned Johnson and the No. 48 team that he needed to pick up speed or he would be black flagged.

Things were quiet up front, but anything but for the No. 18 of Busch, who dropped three positions to Harvick, Montoya and David Stremme.

Hamlin passed Reutimann for second on lap 121, and began a charge to become the race leader for the the third time.

On lap 127 Jamie McMurray began green flag pit stops with a four time stop. Leader Kahne and Reutimann also made his pit stops. That put Hamlin back into the lead.

On lap 132 Ambrose, Kyle Busch, Stewart, Earnhardt, Jr. and Newman pit. The following lap Hamlin, Gordon and Edwards were among the leaders that pit.

After leader Harvick made a pit stop on lap 133, Kahne retook the lead ahead of Hamlin, Reutimann, Kurt Busch and Kenseth.

On lap 138 Hamlin began a charge for the lead, passing him after a side by side battle on lap 139.

The fifth caution of the race came out on lap 142 when the No. 6 UPS Ford of David Ragan made contact with the wall. Paul Menard received the lucky dog for the third time.

Before pit road opened, Johnson came in so his crew could go under the hood of his car. The No. 48 was already two laps down.

Tire strategy came into play when the leaders hit pit road; Hamlin, Edwards, Kurt Busch, Gordon, Biffle, Kenseth, Harvick and Kyle Busch elected to take just two tires while Kahne took four. He fell nine spots because of the decision.

Johnson came in for a second time to change the carburetor. Martin, Vickers, Jeff Burton and Sam Hornish, Jr. all stayed on track.

Martin, who started on the outside, took the green flag on lap on lap 146.

Another crazy restart as drivers like Montoya, Newman and Allmendinger make the racing three wide. Kenseth, Earnhardt, Jr. and Kyle Busch also made things three wide for the twelth position.

Threading the needle, Kahne, who restarted 13th, passed Harvick and Hornish, Jr. in the middle for eighth.

On lap 148 Robby Gordon spins and brings out the sixth caution. The No. 12 of Stremme also made contact with Gordon.

With fifty laps left in the race the leaders elected to stay out. Johnson made two pit stops; one to change several plugs in the engine, and another for forgetting a hood pin. Because of that, Johnson wasn't awarded the lucky dog.

Leader Martin took the green flag on lap 153. A lap later Kurt Busch took the lead for the first time during the race, and began jumping out to a substantial lead.

Robby Gordon, who blamed David Stremme for his earlier incident, was spun out by the No. 12 to bring out the day's seventh caution on lap 157.

"Hm... that might get a trip to the truck," commentator Dale Jarrett said. And he was close; both cars involved were given a five lap penalty for their actions.

Earnhardt, Jr., Logano and Stewart were among the twenty cars to hit pit road under the caution. On lap 162 Busch took the green flag on yet another crazy restart. Hamlin, who ran sixth on the restart, was going to come in on that past caution; he felt he had a problem.

On lap 166 caution came out again for debris in turn three. Earnhardt, Jr. and Stewart came off pit road first by taking fuel only, but several cars, including Montoya and Bowyer, pit before the caution came out, and it was Bowyer who stayed out and took the lead. Hamlin lost four spots on pit road by taking four tires.

Bowyer and second place Scott Speed took the green flag with thirty laps to go. Montoya began his charge to take the lead as the No. 20 of Logano pits for a flat tire.

On lap 173 Kyle Busch got all bent out of shape and hit the wall, but kept going. Gordon and Edwards, 12th and 13th, continued to trade barbs.

Big trouble on lap 174 when Reutimann and Ambrose, who was running in the top ten, crash. Hamlin got into the back of Reutimann, who collected an innocent Ambrose. A ton of debris was left on the track.

Oh, and the lucky dog? Jimmie Johnson, which put him back on the lead lap.

Bowyer was told he would be good to go on fuel, while several cars in the back of the pack, including Kyle Busch who had damage on the right side of his No. 18 Toyota, pit for tires.

On lap 179 Bowyer took the green flag, and an absolutely drag race between he and Montoya followed. The two ran side by side, but a bump from Hornish pushed Bowyer ot the lead.

Montoya fell to fifth after going three wide with Kenseth and Kahne.

Pocono had it's version of the "Big One"; with just 20 laps to go when the No. 6 car of Ragan rammed into the back of Bobby Labonte. The cars of Sorenson, Waltrip and Logano were also collected in the melee, the hardest hit being Labonte but he was okay.

Sorenson and Labonte both went to the garage, while Logano stayed on track and made several pit stops for repairs.

"I know we can win the freakin' race, but if it means wrecking the car, it's not gonna happen," Montoya told crew chief Brian Patti under caution. Montoya got a tire rub and damage on the front of his car while he raced with Bowyer on the previous pit stop.

Bowyer chose once again to start on the outside as the cars came to the green with thirteen laps to go.

An absolutely crazy restart ensues; as Bowyer pulls out Kenseth made it three wide on the inside of Kahne, who makes contact with Montoya.

The No. 42 saves his car though, and the racing somewhat settles down. Johnson, who had engine problems early in the race and got two lucky dog awards, passed Kyle Busch for 19th.

With eleven laps to go Hamlin closed in on Bowyer with Montoya in toe while Kurt Busch and Gordon continue to battle for eleventh.

Hamlin went to the inside of Bowyer, making contact before taking the lead, but Montoya stayed within reach of both cars.

Montoya then took second from Bowyer with nine laps to go after Bowyer got loose, and set his sites on the leader.

Despite his hard charging, there was nothing Montoya could do as Hamlin put a second distance between the two of them with just four laps to go.

The last time Hamlin was in Pocono, he had trouble on the very first lap, and finished 22 laps down in 38th. Today, redemption as Hamlin took the checkered flag.

"We come close in a lot of races this year and came up short. Definitely had some angels with us today," a tearful Hamlin said. Hamlin, visibly emotional lost his grandmother earlier in the week.

"I'm just thinking of my mom right now," he said, before burying his face into a towel.

Juan Pablo Montoya, who finished 11th after dominating last week at the Brickyard, came home second. Bowyer came home third, and is now 115 points out of making the Chase.

A nice surprise was Sam Hornish, Jr. who ended the race fourth. Another was Jimmie Johnson, who went from three laps down to finishing 13th, and Stewart, who ran in the thirties for much of the afternoon, finished top ten.

Tony Stewart gained five points on Johnson, leading him by 197 points. Fifth through 12th changed hands; Hamlin, Kenseth, Montoya and Kahne all gained spots while Martin, Biffle, and Kenseth lost spots. Kyle Busch remains out of the Chase, and is 101 points out of the final Chase spot.

This article also appears on SoCalSportsHub.com and FanZoneSports.net.

As Good As He Once Was: Ron Hornaday Wins Historic Fifth Race In a Row

Jen Preston — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 22:39:17 -0400

On the wall in the Kevin Harvick, Motorsports shop in Kernersville, NC, there is a saying: "I hate to lose more than I love to win."

For driver Ron Hornaday, it's been more than a month since he's lost. And he's loving every minute of it.

After a slight delay due to the rain, the Toyota Tundra 200 got under way under the lights in Nashville, TN.

It was pole sitter Timothy Peters who jumped out to an early lead, but Hornaday and his drive for five in a row wasted no time in passing second place truck Colin Braun. The No. 6 truck of Braun seemed to be struggling, falling five positions in the first six laps.

Just a lap before the competition caution came out on lap 35, Ron Hornaday used the lap truck of Stacy Compton to take the lead from Peters, who had built over a second lead over the field.

Hornaday retained his lead after pit stops were completed, while Mike Skinner and Travis Kvapil were among the trucks to gamble and take just two right side tires.

Lap 42 saw the trucks go back to green, and Hornaday jumped out to a substantial lead. A lap later, the No. 51 of Kvapil got loose and nearly hit the wall, but saved the truck and kept on racing.

Two laps after the green flag, J.R. Fitzpatrick, driving the KHI No. 4 Chevrolet normally piloted by Ricky Carmichael, brought out the second caution of the night after slamming into the wall.

The pace truck once again pealed off the track at lap 50, with "the king of restarts" once again jumping out to a commanding lead. A battle between Todd Bodine and the pole sitter ensued.

Lap 51 saw Tommy Joe Martins and Mario Gosselin, who had just been the lucky dog, tangled and brought out the night's third caution. Blake Feese, piloting the No. 15 Toyota, also received damage but continued on track. The incident started when Martins tagged Feese, and then collected Gosselin. Both he and the No. 22 of Feese went behind the wall.

Along with the competition caution, NASCAR gave each team two extra sets of right side tires. Under the caution, Taylor Malsam and Stacy Compton took the opportunity to get off sequence fuel wise, hoping for a long green flag run.

The green flag once again came out on lap 58. Peters in the runner up position was the one to capitalize on the restart, steadily gaining on leader Hornaday.

While things remained relatively quiet up front, with Hornaday getting out to a second lead, the real racing occurred further back in the pack, with T.J. Bell and Matt Crafton making it interesting, and sometimes three wide, in their quest to gain positions. Skinner, who took three tires during the lap 37 pit stops, struggled back in 13th, saying his truck drove "like a dump truck."

By the time the trucks reached halfway, the '07 Truck champ pulled out to more than a two second lead over Peters as the field began to spread out. A few laps later, on lap 84, a debris caution caused the pace car to take the lead for the fourth time, but rain was also coming down, throwing a wrench in the crew chiefs strategies.

Despite the rain drops, all of the leaders came down pit road; Peters took two tires and took the lead from Hornaday, who came out fifth when both pit stops were said and down. Brian Scott, who won on another concrete track (Dover), came off pit road in second.

On lap 90 the green came out, and wasting no time, Hornaday, Peters, and Scott made it three wide for second, third and fourth. Hornaday would the lead once again not much longer, when he, leader Jason White, and Brian Scott again made it three wide.

With Brian Scott running behind in second, Hornaday began pulling out to a substantial lead as the rain began coming down harder. The leader radioed to NASCAR asking for a caution, but was told "we're thinking about it."

"Thinking about it?" Hornaday replied. "They're going to wait until somebody wrecks!"

With less than 50 laps to go, the fifth caution of the night came out due to—what else?— rain. However, NASCAR determined there wasn't enough water on track to bring the trucks down pit road and threw the green flag on lap 106.

Not allowing Hornaday to get away, Scott stayed on the bumper of the No. 33 while Crafton and Bodine began a hard battle for fourth, remaining side by side for two laps before Bodine cleared Crafton to keep his spot.

Terry Cook and T.J. Bell then made it three wide with Crafton for fifth, as the desperation to gain spots before the rain became heavier set in.

Hornaday began pulling away from Scott three laps into the green flag run, building a nearly second lead ahead of the No. 16, who then had pole-sitter Peters to contend with.

With 30 laps to go, Hornaday stretched his lead to over a second while the battle between Scott and Peters began to heat up as the lap count went down. Bodine in the No. 30 Toyota also made his presence known as he began gaining on the second and third place trucks.

On lap 135 the No. 6 Conway Ford of Colin Braun really began to show life, passing Crafton for fifth. Hornaday, meanwhile, pulled out to a 2.2 second lead over second place Scott.

Rick Crawford, who hasn't finished in the top 10 since the June race in Texas, reported a problem with his right front tire, telling his crew he "hoped to nurse this thing home" with just twelve laps to go.

With five laps to go, fourth place Todd Bodine also reported a right rear tire problem. However, a caution came out with two laps to go meaning Hornaday's lead would be erased and a green—white checkered would decide the winner.

The caution was for Terry Cook, who lost a right rear tire and made contact with the wall. Bodine, who's tire was indeed down, came down pit road. He would end up finished 13th.

With two laps of racing, Hornaday jumped out to a substantial lead thanks to Scott bobbling on the restart.

"I don't know what to say," an emotional Hornaday said. "Five... can you believe that?"

"(I was) real concerned," he said about the green white checkered. "First, Rick said 'save fuel' and I was like 'how do I save fuel? The throttle's sticking!' I didn't think I could get more grey hair."

He then wished his son a happy birthday.

With his win, Hornaday becomes the first driver in NASCAR to win five races in a row since Bobby Allison and Richard Petty did it in 1971. This was also his first win at Nashville, and extended his points lead to the biggest lead after fourteen races. He leads Crafton by 216 points.

Crew chief Rick Ren made some history of his own, becoming the winningest crew chief in Truck Series history.

"It's not much better than this! I don't even know what to say," he said after thanking team owners Kevin and Delana Harvick.

Broken wrist and all, Brian Scott came home second.

"You know, we took a run at it, we just weren't good enough," Scott said. "But I'm really proud of my guys. I'm really happy about second, that was a good run. But man, everyone wants that Les Paul guitar."

"Ron, he's a legend and he's the man. Congratulations to him."

The Camping World Truck Series has a couple weeks off before heading to Bristol Motor Speedway, where they'll be racing on Wednesday, August 19th.

This article also appears on FanZoneSports.net.

Driving Through the Glass Ceiling: Forces To Be Reckoned with

Jen Preston — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:14:39 -0400

“I know it's scary, but that's how you have to learn.” -John Force, talking to daughter Brittany after a wreck in 2006.

John Force has more than cemented his legacy in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). With more than thirty-years of experience under his belt, Force has more wins (1,000) and more championships (14) than any other driver in the sport.

He's also made strides off the track, becoming instrumental in making NHRA safer after Scott Kalitta in 2008.

While he continues to drive, the second coming of the Force legacy has already begun to take drag racing by storm. Call it the ABC's of the new generation, because Ashley, Brittany, and Courtney Force are here to stay.

Courtney Force

Currently balancing classes at California State University-Fullterton and her up and coming drag racing career, Courtney is the youngest daughter of John Force and his wife, Laurie. She became licensed to drive in the NHRA four years ago at the tender age of 17, and hasn't disappointed.

On July 19th, a day before her 21st birthday, Courtney got her first win in Top Alcohol Dragster in Seattle.

"So now I can really go celebrate," she said after he win. "When I saw the win light I didn't believe it at first."

The youngest Force had to defeat her sister Brittany in an earlier race, and while she said it was fun racing against her big sis "she'll probably kick my butt next time."

Brittany Force

Known as the "rebel middle sis," the 23-year-old, is also a college student at CSUF, and said in 2006 she would like to become a teacher. In the meantime, Brittany is making waves racing in Top Alcohol Dragster, driving solo after sharing the ride with younger sister Courtney in 2008.

“She’s tough when she’s in the car,” her father said, “but she’s got to learn to do everything else, like giving enough time to the sponsors and the media and the fans. She’s always gone her own way, but if she wants to race, I’ll do all I can to give her a chance (to succeed).”

Ashley Force Hood

The oldest daughter of John and Laurie, Ashley has been racing since she was 21-years-old, beginning in 2004 when she was named the top rookie in the Alcohol class.

There was no doubt that Ashley would make her famous father proud, and she's done much more than that, breaking new ground for women in drag racing with each passing year.

By the time AOL users named her 2007's "Hottest Athlete," beating out New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, Ashley had placed tenth in Funny Car series points, the best ever by a female driver.

The following year, the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation named her the "Female Athlete of the Year," and she became the first woman to ever make it to the finals in a Funny Car event.

There was more history to be made by this Force.

It was just a week after IndyCar driver Danica Patrick made history by becoming the first woman to win in an open wheel car when Ashley herself made history, becoming the first woman to ever win in an NHRA Funny Car.

Who did she beat to go to victory lane? Her father, John.

"I'm proud of her. She did her job. She didn't do anything stupid at the starting line. ...I love her."

Thanks to ESPN, the Associated Press and the drivers web sites for the quotes used in this piece. For more information, visit the team and driver web sites: John Force Racing, Ashley Force Hood, Brittany Force and Courtney Force. Be sure to check out their web site blogs, where you can find their Twitter, Myspace and Facebook URLs. The family was also featured on their A&E show 'Driving Force' for two years. You can see a promo for the show here.

Kasey Kahne To Make 200th Career Start at Indy

Jen Preston — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 10:33:31 -0400

Six years ago, a blue eyed 24 year old from a small time in Washington burst onto the then NEXTEL Cup Series scene. The incoming Kasey Kahne had enormous shoes to fill—"Awesome" Bill Elliot was stepping out of his No. 9 Dodge, leaving the reins to the young driver.

Kahne got off to a rough start in his debut, finishing 41st due to an engine failure. However, in an event that would occur throughout his career, Kahne bounced back, finishing runner up in the next two events.

Despite not winning, Enumclaw, Washington's favorite son finished second five times, finished in the top 10 14 times, and ended the year 13th in points with Rookie of the Year honors.

His sophomore season came with hits and misses; he scored his first win 11 races into the season at Richmond International Raceway, where he led over half the laps.

"We waited longer than I would have thought to win," Kahne said after the race.

"We started out last year good and had a lot of seconds and thirds and ran up front. We thought we could win races, but we weren't able to do it. We had to wait a long time, but at least we finally won one and hopefully we'll get more now. I was nervous on those last restarts."

However, nine DNFs adding to his 18 finishes off the lead lap saw Kahne finish 10 spots lower in points than his previous season.

Off the track, Kahne's popularity was skyrocketing. He was named one of People Magazine's 50 Hottest Bachelors.

"I never knew so many people read that magazine! Since it came out [last June], I get recognized a ton more. I was in Washington, D.C. walking to a restaurant by myself, when a woman pulls up in her car and yells, 'Good job at Richmond!'"

Kahne's third full season in Cup would see him find success he hasn't found since. He won a resounding six races—Atlanta, Fort Worth, Michigan, Fontana and swept both events at Charlotte—finished in the top 10 19 times, and led over 700 laps. The season would also see Kahne finish the highest in points of his career, eighth.

The next two years, 2007 and 2008, saw Kahne fail to qualify for the Chase both years, winning just two races and collecting ten DNFs.

"I've been here before, and I'll probably be here again," he said. "That's the way it goes."

It was also a transition period, with Ray Evernham slowly backing away from the sport while new owner began George Gillett taking over majority control.

Which brings us to this year, where once again Kahne found himself adjusting to a new merger—this time with The King Richard Petty at the helm of the new Richard Petty Motorsports. He and teammate Elliot Sadler joined Reed Sorenson and A.J. Allmendinger.

Kahne once again had a rough Daytona; while his teammates finished in the top ten, he finished 29th. In the first 15 races, his average finish was 16.8, and had just four top 10 finishes.

Then came Sonoma.

He led twice on the day including the last 33 laps—33 laps that would include four cautions, and four restarts with Tony Stewart, who Kahne said was "as good as it gets out here."

But on that Sunday, Smoke wasn't as good as Kahne, who eventually pulled out to a substantial lead before winning the race.

"It feels great. I can't believe it," Kahne said.

The last time Petty had visited Victory Lane, it was 10 years earlier—when a 19 year old Kahne was paving his way in the World of Outlaws.

Now, Kahne's season has turned around for the better. His average finish since the win is ninth, and he's currently eighth in points standings—staying in the top 12 will qualify the now 29 year old for the Chase for the first time since 2006, and only the second time in his career.

Heading into the Brickyard this weekend, Kahne has an average finish of 17th, and one DNF. However, he also has three top 10s and has yet to start worse than 12th.

Thanks to the Enumclaw Courier-Herald, Sports Illustrated, Scene Daily, ESPN and Racing Reference for the information and quotes used in this article. For more information on Kasey Kahne, you can check out his web site.

This article also appears on FanZone Sports.

Remembering Peach Fuzz, Davey Allison

Jen Preston — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 19:47:16 -0400

“Back in the late 60’s, '67 and '68, they used to have dirt track racing in Kansas City. And the Allisons and the Yarboroughs would come to Kansas City and race. And my aunt and uncle had a race car," she told me as we sat on the couch.

“Wait a minute!” I said, my fingers flying over the keyboard as I tried to consume every word. “Your aunt owned a race car?”

“Oh yeah, Jen,” my mom said. “And a pink one at that! So, Friday nights, we would go to the dirt track and I played with Davey Allison.”

“What?!” I said astonished. “You really knew Davey?”

“Yeah,” she sighed. “And you know, when you’re kids… you never think when you’re playing in the dirt with someone 20‘oh, they’re going to grow up and be famous.”

“Yeah”, I thought as I continued typing. “And you never think you’re going to lose them, either.”

David “Davey” Allison was introduced as the newest Alabama Gang member on February 25, 1961. A stick and ball athlete growing up, Davey was destined to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father, Bobby Allison, and his uncle, Bobby’s brother Donnie.

The younger Allison began his racing career in Birmingham, before making his ARCA Series debut in 1983. He won the Rookie of the Year award the following year. He would win eight races the year after that.

His storybook career in the Winston Cup Series began at his beloved track of Talladega Superspeedway, filling in for Neil Bonnett. He finished seventh that day, and Allison never looked back.

Davey’s Winston Cup Rookie of the Year campaign began in 1987, when the 26 year old impressed with two victories in Harry Rainer's No. 28 Havoline Ford.

Allison also became the first rookie to ever sit on the front row of the Daytona 500.

Allison stayed with team in '88, winning two more races. However, the most memorable moment came not with Allison's victory, but with a second place finish to his father, Bobby in just his second 500.

Havoline and their star driver began their tenure with Robert Yates Racing in 1989, and the kid raised in Hueytown, Alabama continued his storybook career.

The pair won thirteen races together; two in their rookie reason as owner and driver and, after adding Larry McReynolds in 1991, won five races in '91 and '92.

Four years after Allison finished runner up to his father, McReynolds helped Allison win the 1992 Daytona 500 in dominating fashion, leading 127 laps on his way to Victory Lane.

Oh, and did I mention Allison and McReynolds won The Winston (now NASCAR Sprint All Star race) in those years as well?

They were a tandem to be reckoned with, and after finishing third in the championship both years, were poised for a title run in 1993.

By July 12 of the next year, Allison had become an avid pilot, and was flying to his beloved home track of Talladega Superspeedway, where his racing career began just ten years earlier. The helicopter he was flying crashed in the infield.

Neil Bonnett, who Davey and family friend Red Farmer were flying to Talladega to see, freed Farmer from the aircraft. He could not reach Allison, who was suffering from serious head injuries.

Davey Allison died the next morning, July 13, 1993 at a local hospital, just thirteen weeks after his 19th and final career win in Richmond. His daughter, Krista, was three, and his son Robbie was just one year old.

My life was torn into a million pieces," Liz said recalling those days. "It was like somebody threw it out with the 50 mile-an-hour wind and said, 'Here, here's your life. Do something with it. I didn't know what to do. I think the natural thing for me was get grounded in a home somewhere, get planted and make it home for the children."

Davey Allison raced in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series for nine years. He won 19 races, 14 poles and lead over 56,000 laps. He was soft spoken, and warm hearted. Allison loved his family, his friends, and the sport that brought them all together.

Allison's career hit its stride in the late 80s and early 90s, but thanks to his upbringing Allison was an old school racer all the way. "I liked his style of racing," my mom told me. "I liked that he was a family man. He was just so great to his fans."

Even though my mom stopped watching racing with the passion she did when Davey was alive, his image still remained in our house—pictures, books, shirts, and even a can of Chili with his picture on it.

In 1994, another piece, and arguably the most important, of the Allison collection was added to the Preston family—my brother, Davey Allen.

Sixteen years after his death, race fans young and old can still tell you Davey Allison stories—whether you were lucky enough to witness him, revisit them on ESPN Classic or hear the stories his former crew chief and friend, Larry Mac, tells during broadcasts. Sixteen years ago, NASCAR lost one of its brightest stars.

This was in honor of him.

Chaos in Chicagoland: Mark Martin Dominates Lifelock.com 400

Jen Preston — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 01:04:30 -0400

"That's what life is all about right there.."

For Mark Martin, post-partial retirement life simply couldn't be better, as he and the No. 5 Hendrick group collected their fourth win of the season in Chicagoland.

It was the Red Bull Racing team of Brian Vickers and rookie Scott Speed led us to the start of the Lifelock.com 400.

By the second lap, Vickers already had a large lead, and the field seemed to be fit as to whether they were "too tight" or "too loose." The constantly changing conditions, however, couldn't stop the No. 48 of Jimmie Johnson, who took the lead on lap 10.

The first caution on lap 39 for debris erased Johnson's five-second lead, and would end up costing him the lead when teammate Mark Martin won the lead off of pit road.

After the restart five laps later, outside pole sitter Scott Speed fell from his sixth-place position at the restart all the way back to 19th, and continued falling; he would be 29th by lap 54, and dropped a lap 30 laps later.

Martin left the antics up to the drivers behind him, pacing the field until the second caution 87 laps later. Kyle Busch smacked the wall on lap 63, after "going ballistic" on the radio about how loose his car was. He would continue on, but would fall off the lead on lap 92.

It wouldn't be the end of his struggles, nor the end of Martin's absolute annihilation of the field.

Another round of green flag pit stops saw Reed Sorenson, who was running in the top 15, penalized for passing Marcos Ambrose on pit road.

Once green flag stops cycled through, Martin retook the lead and started lapping the field. By lap 112, just 22 drivers were on the lead lap. Passing for position, however, occurred far behind the No. 5 car, with Kevin Harvick rebounding to run 15th and Kahne taking second from Johnson.

The second caution of the day, again for debris, came out on lap 131. Juan Pablo Montoya, who had made it up to 18th, was the lucky dog.

Martin's crew made sure their driver stayed in the lead, as he beat Johnson, Kahne, and Tony Stewart off pit road.

While Johnson looked to give his teammate a run for his money on the restart, Martin once again pulled away, leaving the rest of the field to fight for second.

Stewart had worked his way up to third, twenty nine spots from where he started, but was constantly challenged by the No. 9 Dodge of Kahne.

A surprise of the night was Paul Menard, who before having his tire cut by Dale Earnhardt Jr. on lap 226, was running 10th on lap 157.

More trouble for then 32nd-place runner Sorenson; NASCAR threatened to pull his scoring card after he refused to come into the pits for a penalty.

His crew chief, Mike Shiplett, was said to be arguing the call. For refusing to come in, NASCAR took a lap from the No. 43 McDonald's McCafe Dodge, sending them three laps down.

Stewart and Kahne continued their battle for third, while Martin continue to pace the field, leading over 100 laps when yet another round of green flag pit stops began again around lap 193.

And once again, Martin would be the driver who came out on top when all was said and done.

On lap 211 a third debris caution was called by NASCAR, once again bringing the leaders to pit road, allowing Martin's crew to show their utter dominance of pit road by sending their driver out first once again.

The next green-flag run would only last three laps, when on lap 218, rookie Joey Logano got under the No. 77 of Sam Hornish, Jr. sending him spinning and eventually hitting the inside wall.

He would be okay, and the caution helped the 12 wave-around cars, including Jeff Burton and the embattled Sorenson.

Lap 223 saw Martin lead the familiar crew of Johnson, Vickers, and Hamlin to the green flag, only to be passed by Johnson the following lap. During the three green flag laps, Clint Bowyer also took fifth from Kasey Kahne.

Paul Menard's strong run of the night ended when Dale Earnhardt, Jr. cut his tire down in a wreck that also collected Speed, Burton and Jamie McMurray, all of whom were running a lap down. Menard ended the night in 35th.

The next 14 flaps of green-flag racing saw Johnson jump out for a 1.2 second lead while teammate Martin and former teammate Vickers fought side by side for second. Farther back in fifth place, Kahne regained the spot from Bowyer.

David Reutimann brought out the night's sixth caution on lap 246. The top eight drivers stayed on track while Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, Stewart, and Kevin Harvick were among drivers ninth or back who made stops.

And here's where things were about to get very interesting.

Denny Hamlin, who restarted behind leader Johnson on lap 250, gave the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet a huge push before making a pass for the lead. Getting together with leader Brian Vickers, Martin pounced on the opportunity and took the lead from the two.

Johnson fell back to fifth, making contact with the No. 2 of Kurt Busch when Hendrick teammate Jeff Gordon, who was on fresh tires thanks to his earlier pit stop, made it three wide.

Busch would fall back because of the contact, finishing 17th. Johnson finished eighth.

Kyle Busch's miserable day finally came to an end with seven laps to go, when his engine blew; he had lost a cylinder earlier in the race.

Gordon's poor restart with just three laps to go helped Martin pull out to a strong lead, leaving the rest of the field to battle for first loser again.

And battle they did, as Gordon and Kahne battled to the stripe to finish second and third, respectively.

Martin was pull of pride in Victory Lane.

"I've been watching (Ron) Hornaday! I had some nice restarts tonight; I just knew these double file restarts were going to cost us! That was fun," he said.

"Luckily, we pulled it off."

"I had no idea it could be like this," he added in the media center. "I had no idea it could be this much fun."

Gordon was also pleased with his second-place finish.

"We had our struggles, we were just a little too tight there and we were making adjustments and then Edwards and I got to racing and then we got wrecked," Gordon said. "But what an incredible job by crew chief." he said, complimenting Steve Letarte for bringing him onto pit road.

Denny Hamlin, who ended his night rounding out the top five, wasn't too pleased with the No. 48 car.

"I was pushing the 48 getting into turn one and I let go of him once we got to the corner but I got so close to him we got loose. It's just everyone going for a win, and the last time I checked, he got up under me at Martinsville.

Either way, everyone was going for a win right there. He's had his fair share and I was going for a win." It was Hamlin's fourth top-five finish in his last five starts.

Adding to the drivers unhappy with defending champion Johnson was Kurt Busch.

Busch said he was "losing confidence" in the 48 team; the pair
also had contact, which resulted in Busch spinning out, at Infineon just a
few weeks ago.

A pleasant surprise in the chaotic Chicagoland event was Marcos Ambrose, who impressed with his 11th place effort.

"It was great. We battled back from two laps down, just a strong night for us.
We didn't expect much coming here, being our first try. But we got a finish out of it. We're excited about how we're running. We're overachieving."

The double file restarts were on the mind of several drivers, including Joey Logano, who battled back from the "loosest race car I've ever had in my life" to finish 18th.

"It was out of control out there. It was really fun, though; I was having fun out there.
This is a real fun place to race at."

A sister track to Chase race Kansas Speedway, Chicagoland shook up the points heading into the off weekend; Hamlin and Edwards traded fifth and sixth, while Kahne jumped up four spots to to eighth.

Martin's fourth win of the season, and his bonus points for leading 195 of the event's 267 laps rocketed him back into the Chase in 11th.

Former teammate and new father Matt Kenseth currently sits in the 12th and final Chase place, ten points ahead of fellow Roush Fenway Ford Greg Biffle.

The drivers of the Sprint Cup Series head into a well deserved week off before going to the historic Indianapolis Motorspeedway for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

This article also appears on SoCalSportsHub.com.

Richie Evans: NASCAR's Other "King"

Jen Preston — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:45:43 -0400

Earnhardt. Petty. France. Waltrip. These names are synonymous with NASCAR history, and rightfully nominees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame, set to open in 2010.

However, NASCAR's history was built on more names than Allison and Jarrett. Some of them, while just as or more successful, are relatively unknown among modern NASCAR fans.

One of those people is Richie Evans.

Born on July 23, 1941 in Rome, New York, Evans racing career spanned 28 years. It began when, at age 16, Evans left home to begin working in a garage.

While his racing career began in drag racing, Evans found his niche racing modifieds at his hometown track, Utica Rome Speedway.

It was at Utica that Evans ran his Ford Hobby Stock for three years, moving to the premier Modified division.

Utica saw Evans run his Ford Hobby Stock for three years, moving up to the premier Modified division in 1965. His first feature win came during the last race of the '65 season.

The "Rapid Roman," though, didn't count on a team of engineers and crew members to build his legacy in modified racing. Instead, Evans put in over 100 hours each week into his car.

"Working with the car and working on it in the garage every week is an advantage," Evans once said. "While I'm working on the car, I'm thinking about every lap I rode in that thing. It's not like the mechanic who stood and watched it during the feature and then has to make some decisions."

His hard work would begin paying off eight years after his premier modified debut when, in 1973, Evans won his first modified championship.

Five years later, Evans won his second title, and made sure he didn't have to wait that long for the next one.

He didn't.

From 1978 until his final year in racing, 1985, the "Rapid Roman" never relinquished his modified title. Along the way, he collected over 400 feature victories—including 37 in 1979 alone. He also won the first championship for what is now known as the Whelen Modified Series, to accompany his 30-plus track titles.

That resume solidified Evans' legacy in NASCAR, and he showed no signs of slowing down when the 1985 season rolled around.

However, with one race remaining in the '85 season, Evans was killed in a practice crash at the historic Martinsville Speedway.

Eighteen years after Evans' death, a young New Jersey up start in the Busch Series named Martin Truex, Jr. paid homage to the famed modified legend, replicating his famous orange paint scheme.

He had more wins and championships than NASCAR's other king, Richard Petty. In 1996, Richie Evans was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, and two years later NASCAR named him one of their 50 Greatest Drivers of All Time.

Thanks to allthatmatters.org, LegendsofNASCAR.com, and Circletrack.com for the information and quotes used in this article.

Up in Smoke: Kyle Busch Spins as Tony Stewart Wins in Daytona

Jen Preston — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 01:52:24 -0400

Race No. 18 of the 2009 Sprint Cup Series schedule brought the world’s 43 best drivers back to where it all began six months ago: Daytona, the epicenter of stockcar racing.

Nine races to go before the Chase to the Cup Championship, and 25 years after “The King” Richard Petty’s historic 200th career victory, nothing less than fireworks would be accepted from the fans in attendance for the Coke Zero 400.

Rain on Friday rained out qualifying, so points leader Tony Stewart started on pole for the third time this season.

Greg Biffle and Sam Hornish, Jr. started in the back thanks to a wreck during Thursday night’s practice. The No. 00 of David Reutimann also went to the back because of an engine change.

Three lead changes occurred in the first four laps; second place starter Jeff Gordon led the first lap, Stewart the second, and Denny Hamlin, who started sixth, took the lead on lap four. Gordon would fall back to 26th after losing the lead.

Mark Martin brought out the first caution when, on lap 13, he slid across the nose of former teammate Matt Kenseth's No. 17 DeWalt Ford. Juan Pablo Montoya also received minimal damage.

It wouldn't be the last time former teammates got together.

The first pit stops of the day saw the No. 14 Burger King crew put their driver back into the lead. They would have phenomenal pit stops throughout the event.

With Stewart remaining in the lead, the second yellow flag of the day came out when David Stremme and Casey Mears got together.

After the leaders hit pit road, Stewart maintained the lead over former teammate Hamlin, Kenseth, Robby Gordon, and Richard Petty Motorsports' Elliot Sadler. However, a lap after they took the green, Hamlin passed Stewart for the lead. He would lead a total of 62 laps but would be passed by Stewart on lap 38 when he became the lone car in the outside lane.

Debris from Hornish, Jr., who cut a right rear tire, brought out the third caution. Ryan Newman stayed out to lead a lap, but it was Kenseth who would lead them to the green on lap 62.

Going back to the outside, Hamlin would retake the lead thanks to drafting help from Kyle Busch, who was followed by Stewart. Kenseth fell back to seventh during the 15-lap run.

Daytona's infamous "Big One" struck on lap 75 when David Stremme again found himself crashing into the wall. Thirteen cars (Stremme, Kasey Kahne, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Reed Sorenson, David Reutimann, Clint Bowyer, David Gilliland, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Brian Vickers, Ryan Newman, and Jamie McMurray) were involved in the incident.

Harvick and Gordon made repairs on pit road. Earnhardt, Jr. was forced to take his No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet to the garage.

“Couple of guys got together, and I just tried to stay high. The (No.) 00 was crossed up and tore the upper A frame up. It was a tough race for us,” Earnhardt, Jr. said. He would end up finishing 39th.

Eight laps of cleanup saw the leaders pit, and Stewart once again assumed the lead after John Andretti (who had stayed out to lead a lap) pitted. Hamlin, though, would once again take advantage of the high line and take the lead.

On lap 102, after a 19-lap green flag run, Reutimann brought out the race's fifth caution. Robby Gordon would stay out to lead a lap, but thanks to another great pit stop, Stewart would take the lead for the sixth time.

Stewart, Hamlin, and Busch ran in the top five nearly the entire race.

Once again trying to pass on the high side would come back to bite Hamlin, who ended up falling all the way to 10th.

Kurt Busch and David Ragan made contact to bring out caution on lap 121. Once again Stewart kept the lead.

Carl Edwards and Jeff Burton would each take a turn at the lead before ultimately relinquishing it to Stewart. Burton lost a tire shortly after losing the lead.

After being involved in the first caution on lap 13, the No. 42 of Montoya rebounded and was running in the top five. Kahne, who was caught up in Daytona's "Big One," ran 15th. It was a strong run for the Petty cars, two of whom finished in the top 15. A.J. Allmendinger finished 16th.

Debris brought out caution on lap 145, allowing the No. 14 crew to once again show their stuff and keep their driver in the lead.

Three laps after the green flag waved, the yellow flag came back out after Scott Speed hit the wall. The incident also collected Allmendinger and McMurray, who both received minimal damage. It would also set up a four-lap dash to the finish.

And a dash—and crash—it would prove to be.

With one lap to go, Kyle Busch, with help from teammate Hamlin, took the lead from Stewart. However, after being dumped by drafting partner Jimmie Johnson, Hamlin fell back behind Busch and Stewart.

As the checkered flag was about to be raised, Johnson bump-drafted Stewart, sending him to the bumper of the No. 18.

Stewart went for the cross over, and after Busch tried to block him, he was clipped by the No. 14, sending him spinning into the wall.

Busch then slammed into the hood of the No. 9 Budweiser Dodge of Kahne, who pushed the Interstate Batteries Toyota to its 14th place finish. The wreck also collected Allmendinger, Burton, and Joey Logano.

"The fireworks are going off in the sky, but the fireworks on the racetrack are even bigger," commentator Ralph Sheheen said as Busch climbed from his car.

Busch, who declined to talk to the media after the race, was released from the infield care center despite rumors he would be held overnight for observation.

"I don't know that I was real proud of that, but I don't know what else I could've done," Stewart said in Victory Lane. "I don't like winning like that. If I did something wrong, I'm sorry. But I don't think I did."

The only change in Chase positions were Juan Pablo Montoya, thanks to a ninth place finish, who moved up to 11th, and Kahne, who moved into the Chase in 12th. Mark Martin is now 65 points out of the Chase with eight races remaining until the cutoff in Richmond.

This article also appears on SoCalSportsHub.com