Bleacher Report - Articles by Patti Rodisch

Wendell Scott Raced Into History 46 Years Ago

Patti Rodisch — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:40:44 -0500

In a NASCAR season, one race is just a snap shot of a season. In NASCAR's storied history, fans have watched thousands of races and seen hundreds of winners. Only this one winner is about one driver, who for a moment in time he was on top of the world.

For NASCAR driver Wendell Scott, 46 years ago on December 1, 1963 he won his first NASCAR race and his only.

The significance of this seems small to some today, but back then being an African American, it was a monumental moment in motorsports history.

Like in every race, there are storylines and Scott story goes much deeper. This story was rooted in a south festering with racial tensions and anger. In a time when African Americans were marching and fighting, Scott was racing.

Scott began racing in 1947 on local tracks in Virginia. Scott raced his way up eventually racing in the then Grand National Series (Now NASCAR Sprint Cup Series). In 1961 he bought a Chevrolet from Buck Baker and began his racing career in the GNS.

There were multiple times when due to lack of funds his racing career could have been over. In 1963 he bought a car from Ned Jarrett and ended up finishing 15th in the points.

Scott was not only racing with this sports biggest and best, he was beating them.

After winning the race by over two laps over Baker, officials claimed Baker won the race, they awarded him the trophy, and Scott was awarded the prize money. Scott was angry.

According to Legends of NASCAR, it was later admitted that NASCAR feared the backlash of an African American kissing the beauty queen, in front of an all white crowd.

Scott’s son, Franklin, recalled the story years later.

"My dad went off then," Scott said. "He said, 'Give me my damn money.' Buck got the real trophy. The thing we got was junk. They gave us a trophy about a month later at Savannah. But it wasn't the real thing."

"The opportunity for a black man to race just wasn't there. He overcame many hurdles and he never let it faze him to the point where it made him hostile. I don't know how he was able to do that. It was difficult for me when I would see a lot of the things I wouldn't understand why my daddy didn't put them in the wall. I thought he was afraid. He wasn't afraid...he was thinking about the next race."

The incident stayed with Scott. Every driver cannot wait to get to victory circle, to bask in the victory. That was taken away from Scott and he never went on to win again. His career was cut short after a life threatening accident at Talladega in 1973.

Scott finished his career with 147 top 10 finishes and 20 top five finishes in 495 races.

Scott passed away at 60 years old in 1990. He saw the best and the worse in this sport. He changed the landscape for other African American drivers.

Other drivers who may not have found the success that Scott earned but they are able to race not in fact of but because of Scott.

Forty-six years have passed and while our culture has changed and NASCAR has changed. We are still waiting for another African American or women to continue the legacy in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series.

Next May the NASCAR Hall of Fame will open and five very deserving members will be inducted. They represent different decades and periods in this sports history.

All of them are a foot print in NASCAR history and helped build, promote and improve the sport.

Scott is a part of that history; in fact his story is intertwined with every minority driver racing in any series.

His story is in the hopes and dreams and aspirations of every racer and of this writer. Who dreams of covering a sport that at one time was afraid of the backlash of an African American winning a race.

Now it is a sport that has not only changed with the culture around it, but has embraced and promoted diversity.

That being said there is still work to be done.

There was little to no mention of Scott on December 1 in the NASCAR community. This milestone deserves more than side note or a mention on social media sites. It deserves more than a quick mention.

Hopefully Scott will soon be inducted into NASCAR Hall of Fame. Not because he won a race, but because he was racing when they were rioting, he was standing up when everyone told him to sit down.

Special thanks to Legends of NASCAR for the background information, quotes and the photo.

Winners and Losers: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2009 Season

Patti Rodisch — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:18:02 -0500

The NASCAR season starts in February on the beaches of Daytona and ends on the beaches of South Florida in November. It’s a long, grueling season for every team. At the end of the season, only one team can be called the champion.

On Sunday, NASCAR Sprint Cup series crowned their champion under the lights.

Check out a special edition of the final winners and losers of the 2009 season.

Winners

Jimmie Johnson

It is incredible what Jimmie Johnson has done in NASCAR top touring series in the last four years. He has dominated when it counted and won when it mattered.

Jimmie Johnson and his team have done exactly what every team wants do, that is win races and you win championships.

Johnson will be a threat to win for years to come, the history he made on Sunday with his fourth championship in a row, many will never see again. So NASCAR fans need to embrace Johnson and what he has done.

It’s hard to root for a guy who dominates like he has, but you have to appreciate what he has done. What we witness is pure domination and a team that has no plans to slow down.

Congratulations Johnson on your fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.

Points: First

Michael Waltrip

No, Michael Waltrip has not won a championship and he does not win every week. What Waltrip has done for this sport cannot be overlooked. He is an ambassador for this sport, and his relationship with the fans is a testament to that.

On Sunday, Waltrip will take the checkered flag for the final time as a full-time driver. His career spans three decades of NASCAR racing.

Waltrip has been a very important voice in leading car manufacturer Toyota into a sport where the cars are American made.

Now Toyota has been widely accepted by NASCAR fans and is winning championships and NASCAR should thank Waltrip.

Waltrip numbers are not flashy and he would never have the win totals of a Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt Sr., or Jeff Gordon or even his brother, Darrell Waltrip. He will, though, have the respect of his fans and his peers.

2010 will be the first season of not having a Waltrip running full time, it is the end of an era in NASCAR.

Points: 33rd

Mark Martin

What a year it has been for Mark Martin. After coming out of semi-retirement, Martin signed on to drive the No. 5 for Hendrick Motorsports, his intentions were not to win a championship. He wanted to win races and see where you stack up.

Martin has exceeded his own expectations but to his fans and his peers, nobody ever counted Martin out of the championship.

Martin has shown age is just a number, winning five times and bringing life back into his career. You cannot be anything but a Martin fan. He is honest and accepts that he might never win a championship. but he loves what he does.

He might not have won the championship in 2009, but Martin heads into the off season one happy driver.

Points: Second

Joey Logano

There were so many expectations on Joey Logano coming into 2009, many expected to him right away; others did not buy the hype.

Logano had a slow start to the season. As they have returned to different tracks, Logano has slowly gotten better.

Logano became the youngest driver in NASCAR history to win a race when he pulled strategy in a rain-shortened race at Loudon in June.

Logano gained some confidence with these cars, and you saw that with how he ran on the race track.

Logano will win Rookie of the Year honors in 2009, the youngest to do so. The honor is well earned and well deserved. He might not have won multiple races but he certainly worked hard to live up to the expectations that were laid on him.

Points: 20th

Losers

Casey Mears

It has not been easy for Casey Mears, to find an organization where he can really settle in. He has driven for the best in this business, but yet Mears is heading into the offseason with a lot of uncertainty in his racing career.

He joined Richard Childress Racing in the offseason piloting the fourth car and carrying the Jack Daniels colors for sponsorship. Once again though Mears struggles with the new car and at times bad luck marred the first half of the season.

Then came the announcement that sponsor Jack Daniels would be pulling its support from NASCAR, leaving RCR and Mears searching for a sponsor for 2010. We have yet to hear of Mears plans or if RCR will continue to run the car in 2010.

A struggling economy though does not bode well for Mears and now once again he is auditioning for a ride not only for 2010, but for his career.

He has many opportunities but has been unable to capitalize, now he is hoping his late season surge will once again lead to an off season signing.

Points: 21st

Robby Gordon

Robby Gordon is one the few in a sport dominated by large organizations, with big names and big money behind them. Gordon has been doing it on his own and for a while he was able to hold his own, until the economy sank and sponsors pulled out of NASCAR.

Gordon acknowledged that he only has sponsorship for only eight races in 2010, after sponsor Jim Beam pulled its support. Now Gordon is hoping that another sponsor is willing to sign on; otherwise, he will be able to only run a limited schedule in 2009.

Gordon has always done it his way and never really conformed to what NASCAR has become but now if a sponsor does not sign Gordon will have to find another way to race on Sundays.

Points: 34th

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

It has been a rough year for Dale Earnhardt Jr.; his fans do not need to be told that. It was not easy from the start of the season, pit road mistakes and bad luck. While his teammates were running up front, Earnhardt was struggling to stay competitive.

The frustration boiled over after Coca-Cola 600 and owner Rick Hendrick made the crew chief change. The move seemed to help Earnhardt, and while his finishes did not show the results, this team began to run better.

Earnhardt will not lose sponsors, his ride, or his fans with his disappointing season. Even so 2010 is an important year for Earnhardt.

He needs to be a contender each week and that means running up front and avoiding both mental mistakes but physical mistakes.

He has the talent to do so and I think we saw late this season he has the equipment. That might be the only positives fans can take in what has been a long season.

Points: 25th

Lucky Dog…

Juan Pablo Montoya

If there was one driver who was the biggest surprise to make the Chase, it was not a surprise to Montoya and his team.

One of their goals was to make the Chase and win races. They were unable to win a race, but they made the Chase.

Montoya had great cars in the second half of the season. Montoya was aggressive was willing to lay it all on the line for wins. Sometimes that aggression has cost him chances at wins and cost them good finishes.

Montoya though has a lot to be proud of for what he has accomplished in 2009. He has proven he will be a contender for the championship in 2010.

Points: Eighth

Final Lap…

Well the final race of the season has come and went and now the changes will start on Monday. For some they will not return to the track at Daytona for other drivers they will have new teams.

It has been a good season for NASCAR. They have shown they are listening to the fans and the drivers. The implementing of the double file restarts at Pocono made the racing exciting. NASCAR and its tracks are lowering prices for tickets.

They are trying to help the struggling race fan, and you have to give NASCAR credit for that.

It has been a fun season watching first time winners and great finishes. We have seen teams falter when it counted and teams rise to the occasion. We watched the end of an era with Waltrip and the beginning of a new one with Logano.

We watched two former champions in Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon rebound from disappointing 2008 seasons. There have been ups and downs. We watched a sport adapt to a changing media and struggling economy.

Now fans have to wait until Speed weeks to see if any team can dethrone Johnson. It’s a long 84 days till the green flag of the 52nd annual Daytona 500.

Thanks for reading my weekly series. I am looking forward to bringing you all the winners and losers in 2010.

The Lugnut Report: Tony Stewart Caps Off Season With 22nd Place Finish

Patti Rodisch — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:12:41 -0500

For first-year owner and driver Tony Stewart, 2009 should be considered a success.

After turning a struggling organization into a championship contending organization in a year, Stewart has a lot to be proud of.

Both he and teammate Ryan Newman made the Chase for the championship and both finished in the top-10 of the standings.

Stewart led the championship standings since Dover in the spring, but has struggled in the Chase.

It all came to an end on Sunday with the Ford 400 in Homestead-Miami. Stewart was looking to end the year on a high note and carry momentum into the offseason.

Stewart has won at the South Florida race track twice before, so Stewart knew how to find victory lane.

On Friday during the first practice Stewart ran a total of 20 laps and his fastest lap was lap 20. A 31.4 second lap was good enough for sixth on speed charts. The team then started preparing for qualifying later in the afternoon.

Stewart was to go out 22^nd on Friday for qualifying, Stewart put up a great lap, 31.3 seconds around the mile-and-a-half track. That fast lap had him taking the green in fifth position.

On Saturday the teams were looking to tune up the race car and get the handling right for the 400 mile event on Sunday.

They struggled just a bit in this practice with the handling of the race car they ran a total of 19 laps. Their fastest lap was the first lap as it was with many teams. A 32.5 second lap was only good enough for 23^rd fastest on the speed charts.

The final practice of the weekend and of the season was crucial for teams to really dial in their race cars for race trim.

Stewart and his team ran a total of 38 laps in the final session. His fastest lap was his second. His fast lap of 32.8 seconds had him sitting 13^th on the speed charts.

Now the focus was race day and ending the season on high note.

Early on Stewart was moving up from his fifth place starting spot. By Lap 25 he was in second place and cutting into leader Jimmie Johnson lead. Stewart took the lead on Lap 33 and began to pull away from Johnson.

During the first round of pit stops Stewart lost the lead with a slower pit stop, but he retook the lead on Lap 64.

On the first caution for Marcos Ambrose's spin, Stewart won the race off of pit road, but was unable to hold the lead on the restart. He fell back but began to make up the lost ground.

On Lap 117, contact between himself and Juan Pablo Montoya sent Montoya to the wall and Stewart on pit road for fresh new tires. He was 29^th and sitting deep in traffic, the farthest back he had been all day long.

Stewart's car did not have a lot of damage so they were able to continue on. They were in the top 15 by Lap 148.

On Lap 156, Montoya and Stewart were running nose to tail, when Montoya came up behind and tagged Stewart. That sent Stewart spinning and caused slightly more damage than the last incident.

He ended up going a lap down after having a good car early in the race.

For Stewart his day was realistically over. The damage was done. They were able to get their lap back but it was too late. It was not the way they wanted to end the season as they finished 22^nd .

Even with a disappointing race, Stewart has a lot to be proud of. They have accomplished a lot in 2009 more than anyone even expected. The 2010 season is looking very bright for this organization.

Check out Jen Preston’s Lugnut Report on Mark Martin.

Thanks to everyone who followed Jen Preston and I on our Lugnut Reports. They will be back in 2010 tracking your favorite drivers from Daytona to Homestead.

The Lugnut Report: Denny Hamlin Finishes Third at Phoenix...Again

Patti Rodisch — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:52:43 -0500

In racing it is all about getting to the finish line. Everything before it, in actuality, does not matter. It’s about how you finish the race.

For Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, with the championship out of reach for 2009, the team is here to win.

The series was in Phoenix for the second-to-last race of the 2009 season. Hamlin has always run well on flat tracks and Phoenix is the perfect place for him to win his third this season.

On Sunday, Hamlin finished third at Phoenix.

Hamlin’s finish on Sunday is really a result of what happened on Friday.

On Friday during the first practice, Hamlin was focused on qualifying setup. The team ran a total of 36 laps and it was their 33rd that was their fastest.

A lap of 26.9 seconds was good enough to place them fifth on the speed charts. The team turned their focus to qualifying.

Hamlin had an early draw in qualifying, but a lap of 26.8 seconds had him starting fifth on Sunday.

On Saturday the first practice was cancelled due to a very uncommon rain shower in the desert. The team then only had final practice to focus on race trim.

They ran a total of 51 laps in the practice and the fastest was their third. With a lap time of 27.6 seconds, they sat at 25th on the speed charts.

Hamlin fans should not be worried by the speed charts; many teams ran their fastest laps early on in practice.

After the green flag dropped, Hamlin moved forward immediately, but struggled with the exit of the corners. The race started off with a long green flag run, so teams were making their first stops under the green.

During the green flag stops, Hamlin’s crew changed four tires and adjustment. The stop cost them on the track.

They missed a lug nut and were forced to spend an extra second on pit road to tighten it. That cost them a spot on the track as they dropped to fifth.

On the restart following the multi car wreck, Hamlin took advantage of cars around him who struggled on the restart and made his way to third. He was holding his own up front as Jimmie Johnson pulled away.

When the third caution waved, Hamlin told crew chief Mike Ford the exit was not better than the prior run. They went with four tires, wedge, and air pressure adjustments. Once again, they lost one position on pit road, falling to third.

They battled their way back to second.

On the final stop that was under green, they changed four tires and made another adjustment.

Prior to the stop, Hamlin rallied his crew to get it done on pit road.

His crew got it done; their spectacular stop cut the five-second lead Johnson had to less than two seconds.

Hamlin quickly ran down Johnson but came up short and Jeff Burton passed him late for second. Hamlin finished third, for the third time at PIR. He had a great car on Sunday, but Johnson was better when it counted.

This team has had the worst luck in the Chase. Had he not had the multiple DNF’s, Hamlin would be right in the mix.

The reason they finished where they did is because of the work they did on Friday and Saturday with a very good car in first place. The pit crew did a great job and Hamlin did everything he could to challenge Johnson.

Hamlin is looking to end the season on a strong note and head into the offseason with some momentum at Homestead.

Check out Jen Preston’s Lugnut Report on Jimmie Johnson .

Winners and Losers: Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500

Patti Rodisch — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:25:48 -0500

The Chase for the championship has tightened up. What looked to be all but locked up for Jimmie Johnson is suddenly open to the three drivers behind him, while the other 39 look to steal the spotlight...and a win.

Take a look at the winners and losers of the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500.

Winners

Jimmie Johnson: He and his team have been phenomenal in the final 10 races of the year. They are so good that many teams seem to be fighting for second on back. On Sunday, Johnson did exactly what he needed to do to secure his place in history.

Johnson started third and quickly came to the front; the team dominated by leading the most laps and building on their points lead.

Johnson had a strong car, the team got it done on pit road, and he was able to hold on for his third fall win in a row at Phoenix.

This team is poised to win their fourth in a row next Sunday. What Johnson has been doing is downright incredible.

Points: First

Jeff Burton: We are seeing a turnaround at Richard Childress Racing and Jeff Burton led the charge today. Qualifying was a struggle and the team climbed their way to the front.

Burton had a great car on Sunday and made his way into the top 15 early on. Halfway through, his pit crew had him in the top five.

He did the rest.

Burton is clearly pleased by the changes that are happening at RCR; his performance on track has shown that. He ran in the top 10 for most of the day even though they did not have a car for the win.

They finished second.

This team was hungry for a win and they were fast when it counted. This was the most competitive we have seen them all year long. A run like Sunday instills confidence in both the team and the organization that they are heading in the right direction.

Points: 17th

Marcos Ambrose: To me, Marcos Ambrose has been the most refreshing driver in NASCAR this year. He might not have made the Chase, but his team has proven that they can run with the top teams in the series.

Sunday was no different for them.

Ambrose quickly moved up soon after the race started; he was threatening in the top 15. Narrowly missing the "big one," he went on to finish 11th. The team did a great job on pit road and Ambrose got it done on the track.

If he can avoid the bad luck that hurt him early in the year, I think Ambrose can make the Chase. He is fully committed to NASCAR, and if the organization wants to become more global in their reach, his is the perfect face to sell it.

You can’t help but cheer for Ambrose; even when he has a poor finish, he finds something to smile about.

Points: 18th

Losers

Kevin Harvick: In recent weeks Kevin Harvick and his team have seen something of a "late-in-the-season" resurgence. On Friday he announced that all three of the cars (Truck, Nationwide, and Cup) he was running this weekend were fast.

On Friday night he won the Camping World Truck Series race and his driver Ron Hornaday won the Championship. On Saturday he finished second to Carl Edwards. Sunday was a different story; the team fought a very loose race car.

He pitted early on the first green flag stop, but the loose race car cost them on the track. They were a lap down early and were struggling to keep pace with race. They finished 24th.

It has been a challenging season for Harvick, and he has not hid the fact that he is looking forward to it being over. Harvick and his team are looking to Homestead to end the season on a strong note.

Points: 21st

Michael Waltrip: Michael Waltrip is a team player and promotes all his sponsors in every medium he has access to. He is a great ambassador for the sport.

However, the success he found early on in his career doesn't seem to be following him into his later years.

On Sunday he had a poor qualifying, but was still managing to have a decent run about mid-pack with a very loose race car. He had no power steering and on the restart following the first debris caution of the day, Waltrip was hanging back.

In doing so he took the brunt of the damage on a poor restart and found himself watching his crew make repairs on the car. He did get back out there, but was just running laps for points.

Waltrip finished 36th.

The last week had been going well for Waltrip and his company, having announced new sponsorships. He was probably hoping to cap it off with a solid finish.

Points: 33rd

Bobby Labonte: It has been an up and down weekend for Bobby Labonte. After climbing his way into the top 20 and moving forward, he got caught up in the Dale Earnhardt Jr. wreck and saw a promising day quickly turn.

Labonte was battling all day with a loose race car, but they were able to maintain track position and were getting it done on pit road. Instead of racing for a good finish, Labonte was packing up to head back home. They finished 39th.

Labonte has a lot to look forward to in 2010. They had a fairly competitive car today and that is a good sign for him and his team.

Labonte could have taken a shot at Earnhardt for the wreck, but instead he took the high road; something a few other drivers could learn from.

Points: 30th

Lucky Dog…

Carl Edwards: It was not pretty for Carl Edwards on Sunday. The team struggled and really were lucky to finish as the final car on the lead lap. It was just one race in what has been an overall disappointing season for this team.

They started deep in the pack and Edwards was not very happy with his race car. Even so, he continued to give feedback to his team, but a long green run had them down a lap early on. As they say, caution breeds caution and Edwards was able to earn his lap back.

Edwards was never able to get to the front and he battled back to 16th place for the remainder of the race. He has to be looking forward to 2010.

One year ago Edwards was battling for a championship; this year he has struggled to contend.

Points: 11th

Final lap…

What many people had predicted on Sunday came true. Johnson dominated the race and took home the checkered flag. He also expanded his point lead on and all he needs to do now is finish 25th or better at Homestead. Once again the Championship will be his.

Johnson's run is incredible and something to be applauded.

The race by itself was a little disappointing. It seemed that any passing would have to be done early in the run. With only a few cautions to bring the field back together, you had to get your track position on pit road.

Next weekend will be an exciting one. It's history in the making and no matter who you're rooting for, the race will be something to see.

The final race is Sunday, Nov. 22 at Homestead-Miami and starts at 2:30 ET.

Winners and Losers: Dickies 500

Patti Rodisch — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:54:11 -0500

You all know the phrase, "Everything's bigger in Texas."

Well, this weekend there could not be anything truer than that. With so much on the line, every lap and every position has never been more important.

Check out the winners and losers for Dickies 500.

Winners

Kurt Busch

The happiest person in Texas has to be Kurt Busch. Busch had the second best car out there all day long, and with $1 million on the line for a fan, Busch not only wanted to win, he needed to win. Busch won in a big way on Sunday.

Busch and his team were not the favorites on Sunday, but they certainly proved a lot of people wrong. Busch took the lead early and began to pull away even though he was struggling with grip. On their first pit stop, the team made adjustments, but lost the lead on pit road.

This would be a pattern that would continue all day long: losing positions on pit road. But Busch had another ace up his sleeve: a perfect pit strategy. On their final stop they ran two laps longer than everyone else and packed the car full of fuel.

While others had to pit for fuel, Busch stayed out and took over the lead when his brother, Kyle Busch, ran out.

Busch's win did not just allow him to gain in the standings; he earned one lucky fan $1 million dollars all in a day's work.

Points: Fourth

Mark Martin

Well, today could have been a lot worse for Mark Martin. After watching teammate Jimmie Johnson crash early, this was the first real opportunity for Martin to gain on Johnson. Martin did just that on Sunday.

After starting in the top 10, Martin fell back early but the team worked on the ill handling race car. The team had solid pit stops and were able to work their way back into the top 10. At one point they were faster than the leaders.

They were going to be a couple laps short, but unlike earlier this year, the team did not gamble with so many points on the line. They pitted and ended up finishing fourth. Martin and his team did exactly what they needed to do on Sunday.

Martin is sitting in the best position to win a championship if Johnson falters again. It will not be easy, but he got the job done this week.

Points: Second

Jeff Burton

What an eventful weekend for Jeff Burton. It did not start off very good his team. During the first practice Burton hit the wall hard. They were forced to go to a backup car and Burton had to sit out of the Nationwide race on Saturday.

On Sunday, after starting at the rear of the field, Burton’s team worked traffic perfectly. Burton had a loose race car early, but the team worked hard and made solid adjustments on the car. They found themselves in the top 15 by the halfway point.

Burton though never gave up, and while they were forced to pit at the end for fuel, they were able to work their way to a ninth place finish. This was an impressive run for this team after all they went through this weekend.

Give a lot of credit to Burton; it was a very painful and sore top 10 finish.

Points: 17th

Losers

Jimmie Johnson

Most people were talking about how Johnson could clinch the championship next week at Phoenix. Well all of those who were already buying the four-peat gear might want to hold on at least until Homestead.

It took to lap three for the Chase to completely change. Johnson and Sam Hornish Jr. got together after David Reutimann got into Hornish. Johnson nearly saved it, but came right back down in front of Hornish and hit the inside retaining wall. His car was destroyed and his point lead all but disappeared.

Johnson and his team went to work on repairing the car, basically rebuilding it in just over one hour. Johnson looked dejected as he sat in his car, helplessly waiting to get back on track. They did get back out there, but were simply running laps; they finished 38th.

Johnson blamed Hornish for the wreck but once he sees the replay, he might want to blame Reutimann.

Points: First

Sam Hornish Jr.

An already long day was even longer for Sam Hornish Jr. He was involved in the wreck with Johnson and Reutimann and a very loose race car had them spinning and bringing out the second caution of the night.

Hornish struggled all day long with a very poor handling race car. He could not get the handling on the car. The damage to his car was much more extensive then they originally thought after his second spin.

Hornish headed to the garage to make repairs on the car, but the damage was done and they were listed as "out of the race" by lap 125. They finished 40th.

I am not so sure what to say about Hornish. Some weeks he looks really good and shows a lot of progress; other weeks he looks like he rookie and can barely control the car.

Points: 30th

Carl Edwards

This weekend was supposed to be Carl Edwards’s first victory of the year. In the past Edwards has run well at the Texas track, including winning last year. They started the weekend off pretty well qualifying in the top 10.

They ran well all day long, and after falling outside the top 10 they were battling back. Things though turned for the worse when Juan Pablo Montoya got loose and took out Edwards. With severe damage to his car, their day was over. They finished 39th.

Not what they expected this weekend after having a lot of confidence that he could win. Edwards has got to be looking forward to 2010, hoping to rebound after a disappointing finish.

Edwards was first this weekend...the first to leave Texas.

Points: 11th

Lucky Dog

Kyle Busch

Well Busch nearly pulled off the weekend sweep, but running out of fuel robbed them of a win. Everything leading up to the final three laps, Busch had the field covered.

Busch started fifth on Sunday but quickly made his way to the front. The team made very little adjustments on the car, and they were consistently the fastest car on and off pit road. Busch was in prime position to win for the third time this weekend and make history.

They were pulling away from his brother, but his crew chief told him to conserve as much as possible. Busch backed off but that was not enough. A miscalculation cost them a chance at history. They finished 11th.

Busch did the Texas two step this weekend but came up one bullet short at the showdown.

Points: 13th

Final Lap

What we saw on Sunday is anything can happen in racing. At anytime you could be involved in a wreck and that can change the complexion of the standings. We saw that Sunday with Johnson's early wreck. Nothing is decided, and now you have to imagine Johnson is getting nervous. Instead of hoping to clinch next week, he is hoping to still be the point’s leader at the checkered flag.

Sunday's race was actually pretty entertaining. We got a lot more drama than we expected. The coverage at times left something to be desired, though I thought they did a nice job covering the final 30 laps. There was a lot going on and they really handled it well.

Phoenix should be an interesting race. The point battle has tightened up with Johnson's troubles. Now instead of a three man race, five guys are in the hunt.

I have said it all along: nothing is guaranteed in racing and we saw that on Sunday.

The Lugnut Report: Carl Edwards Crashes In Texas and Finishes 39th

Patti Rodisch — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:18:31 -0500

It is hard to believe that with three races left in the 2009 season Carl Edwards is winless. After winning a series-high nine races in 2008, Edwards is still searching for a win.

It was thought that there was no better place than Texas for Edwards to finally breakthrough.

On Friday, the weather was perfect and Edwards hit the track for first practice. They were fast off the truck. He ran a total of seven laps with his fastest lap being his seventh at 28.6 seconds. That time put him fifth on the speed charts.

Edwards had a late qualifying draw but was unable to earn the pole but would start sixth after a lap of 28.3 seconds.

On Saturday, two early morning practices would give teams the chance to work on race setup for Sunday. During the first practice, Edwards ran 20 laps, but his fastest lap was his first one.

During the final practice, Edwards found the speed he was struggling to find during the first practice. He finished practice second on the charts. After running a total of 34 laps his fastest lap was his first but the team was still working on the balance of the car.

Heading into Sunday’s race he needed to keep his car up front and he needed to eliminate his mistakes on pit road. Mishaps on pit road cost him the win in April.

Edwards started off the race struggling to find grip on the race track. Even though his car was much better on the short run, after green flag stops the No. 99 was still struggling with a loose race car.

Edwards though was running in the top 10 and was making ground on then leader Kyle Busch.

During the green flag stops Edwards would lose positions on pit road but the car was fast and he was able to run well within the top 10.

Edwards stopped on pit road midway through the race under caution and lost a few positions. He continued to struggle with lack of grip even with the changing track conditions.

Once again for this team they could not beat the bad luck. Juan Pablo Montoya got loose and took Edwards with him in a collision. Edwards suffered the most damage and was out of the race before the restart on lap 185.

He finished 39th and dropped to 11th in the standings.

This was Edwards' last real opportunity to win a race. He has always run well at Texas so this team was looking to have a strong finish, if not win the thing.

In recent weeks Edwards’ team has been able to really work on the handling of the race car. On Sunday they finally had the speed they struggled to find all year long.

Now they have to hope he can at least get a win at Homestead, where he won in 2008.

Check out Jen PReston Lugnut Report on Jeff Gordon .

The Lugnut Report: Brian Vickers Survives Talladega To Finish 13th

Patti Rodisch — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:31:46 -0500

When Brian Vickers made the Chase after driving the race of his year at Richmond in September, he was adamant that this team would be a factor in the Chase.

It has not gone as well as Vickers had hoped and it was not until last week that he finally got his first Top 10 finish in the Chase.

Now Vickers and his team heads to a track where Vickers won his first race in the Sprint Cup series with Hendrick Motorsports. Now he is hoping to pull off a victory and attempt to climb out of the basement of the standings.

It all started on Friday for the first practice of the day, Vickers ran a total of 17 laps, and his fastest lap was on lap 12. His time of 50.47 seconds had him sitting 33rd on the charts.

Just as reminder, your practice at Talladega is not like other tracks. There, you practice in large packs. Your qualifying runs do not really give you a good idea of how good your car is.

During the final practice on Friday and prior to qualifying on Saturday Vickers seemed to be focused on qualifying. They ran only two laps and their fastest lap (52.1 seconds) was their second lap which put them at the 28th spot.

On Saturday, rain cancelled qualifying and due to it being a restrictor plate race, NASCAR impounds the race cars and teams are not allowed to work on them until the green flag on Sunday. Vickers was going to roll off in 12th as the race was set by the standings.

As the green flag waved, Vickers quickly made his way up to the front. He was able to lead some laps but like most other leaders, he was not able to maintain.

Vickers came down on the first caution for a two tire change and fuel. He restarted deep in the pack but quickly moved right back up.

With NASCAR implementing a change in the rules before the race, the team strategy changed and we saw some single file racing. When they did start mixing it up, Vickers was moving to the front.

Vickers works really well in the draft here, he is able to drop back and work with others and get back up to the front of the pack. But unlike last year, Vickers was able to avoid any of the major wrecks and finish 13th.

Vickers and his team really called a great race both on track and on pit road. I was not surprised that they were running up near the front for most of the day.

I was surprised that in the end they were not able to really be a threat for the win.

Vickers has to be relieved he survived Talladega, although it did little to dig him out of the point cellar. He is still sitting 12th in the standings.

Vickers heads to Texas next week with some much needed momentum and is hoping to pull out a Texas-sized win.

Check out Jen Preston's Lugnut Report on Joey Logano.

Winners and Losers: Amp Energy 500

Patti Rodisch — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:50:02 -0500

If you are a fan of NASCAR in any way, Talladega is the two races you circle every year. This is the only true wildcard in NASCAR. You could be leading and wreck, you could be riding in the back of the pack and wreck. Either way not one of the 43 drivers on the track have any control in what the guy in front, behind, or to the side of you does.

Check out the winners and losers of the AMP Energy 500.

Winners

Jamie McMurray

In what is somewhat of a shocker, Jamie McMurray survived the late race carnage to win his second career race on Sunday afternoon. It was very impressive actually, McMurray was really there all day long, but you would have never known it.

When it mattered most he was able to conserve just enough fuel and avoid the troubles that ruined so many teams day. McMurray worked his back to the front after dropping back mid race. When it mattered most he was able to get up front.

McMurray is without a ride after Homestead and has yet to announce where he will go. That being said McMurray should have won a few races between now and his last win in 2007. Bad luck, mechanical issues have cost them those wins.

Seeing McMurray in victory lane was great, and refreshing in a sport dominated by certain drivers.

Points: 22nd

Michael Waltrip

We know Michael Waltrip can drive the wheels off a car, literally at times. When it comes to restrictor plate racing, Waltrip is considered one of the best on these tracks. He showed that on Sunday.

Waltrip quickly used the draft to his advantage and moved forward, he was in the Top 10 early and stayed there throughout the race. He really was able to work well with multiple drivers, and move his way from the front to the back.

Waltrip finished an impressive seventh on Sunday.

Waltrip is retiring from full time racing in three races, would have been cool to see him win as a thank you to his sponsors and his team. It was still a great job by Waltrip and his team on Sunday.

Points: 33rd

Bobby Labonte

In case you missed it Bobby Labonte finished 10th on Sunday. Labonte name was hardly mentioned throughout the race. He ran a smart race, and avoided both big wrecks.

Labonte was driving the No. 71 with the rainout for qualifying, and was starting deep in the pack. They had to work their way to the front. Labonte was able to work his through the draft. This team had great pit stops and did exactly what they needed to do.

Labonte has yet to announce his plans for 2010. Labonte should be in a ride for 2010; just a poor economy is dictating where he will end up.

I have talked to Labonte and he is a great ambassador for this sport, except he doesn’t get the recognition he is due.

Points: 30th

Losers

Paul Menard

Paul Menard who left Dale Earnhardt Incorporated last year to drive for Yates Racing in 2009, carries his families sponsorship with him. Menards has run well at Talladega in recent years. Today was not meant to be.

Menard had pulled to the back to just ride around for a while and avoid getting caught up in someone else’s wreck. Instead a tire going down sent him into Joe Nemechek and ended their day only five laps into the race.

Menards is merging with Richard Petty Motorsports and along comes his sponsorship. Menards was hoping to steal a win at Talladega, instead he finished 42nd.

Menards has one thing many drivers will be looking for. and that is sponsorship, and that will guarantee him a ride.

Points: 32nd

AJ Allmendinger

AJ Allmendinger has had a tough few days and much of his own making. After getting pulled over and charged with DWI on Thursday night. Then Friday was placed on probation by both NASCAR and his organization.

Allmendinger probably could not wait to get in the race car.

Well I bet he is wishing he was leaving Talladega all together. This team struggled from the very beginning. They had tires issues that had them a lap and never really able to stay in contention. They were two laps down when Denny Hamlin engine blew late.

Never able to get all his laps back he finished 33rd.

Allmendinger was the subject of debate all weekend long, but there was no debate Sunday was a major disappointment.

Points: 26th

Kurt Busch

On Sunday we heard from some teams that Sunday one of the guys to watch was Kurt Busch. The race started off good for this team as they led laps early.

Then contact sent them spinning as green flag pit stops were going on. They fell down two laps, but were able to work on the car and then catch a break and get the lucky dog.

With laps winding down he found himself sitting in the Top 20 and getting ready to make his move. An impressive rebound for this team, Busch was vocally frustrated with how his day had been going, but this team rallied and rebounded.

He was running in the Top 10 when he got tagged from behind and spun in front of the field. He finished 30th.

Busch has to be happy with how this team rallied and at least got him back into contention, not so happy that he got wrecked late again.

Points: 6th

Lucky Dog…

Jimmie Johnson

All week long everyone was wondering how Jimmie Johnson would approach this race. They had a game plan and they stuck to it, they ran in the back all day long, and he was able to capitalize on other driver's misfortunes.

They finished sixth on Sunday without ever leading a lap, and expanded their points lead over Mark Martin. They avoided both big wrecks and kept their car in one piece. They did exactly what they were supposed to do.

Johnson has all but wrapped up this championship, and barring any mechanical issues, at the checkered flag in Homestead this team will be making history.

Points: First

Final Lap…

First off what a job by NASCAR and its safety crews, they worked fast to get Ryan Newman out of his destroyed race car. He took a vicious ride and the fact that he walked away from this is testament to how far NASCAR has come in its safety.

NASCAR does not always get it right with some things, but they did a good job in getting to Newman quickly and turning his car over. It’s not an easy job and they were under a lot of pressure and got the job done.

NASCAR's last minute rule change during the drivers meeting threw some drivers for a loop on how they would race on Sunday. The new rules essentially limited the teams to bump drafting on the straightaway.

Some drivers were vocally upset about the changes, others just went out there and drove, knowing there was nothing they could do about it.

NASCAR was trying to prevent another April finish, and a two car break away. By doing that they policed most of the action throughout the days and drivers were hesitant not to make mistake and get penalized.

NASCAR did what they thought was for the safety of the drivers.

Johnson expanded his points lead over Martin and Jeff Gordon, and unless he has multiple DNF’s in the final races the battle is on for second on back.

Next up is Texas for the Sprint Cup drivers.

Note: NASCAR was revising the running order for the end of the race. They will post official results on Monday.

Winners and Losers: Tums Fast Relief 500

Patti Rodisch — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:32:23 -0400

This weekend the final short track race of the season was at Virgina's Martinsville Speedway; a paperclip-shaped track that has the capability to make or break many team’s chances for victory and a championship.

With so many variables, every team knew going into the race that in an instant, you could be caught up in someone else’s problems.

Check out the winners and the losers for the Tums Fast Relief 500.

Winners

Denny Hamlin

Well Denny Hamlin has said in the past that winning at the two tracks he considers his home tracks, Richmond and Martinsville, would be bigger than winning at Daytona or Indianapolis. Well, Hamlin pulled off the fall sweep of the Virginia races.

Whenever Hamlin comes to Martinsville he runs up front. He is the only non-Hendrick Motorsports driver to challenge them when they come to the track and Sunday was no different. Hamlin had a great car and his pit crew got the job done on pit road.

Hamlin had to hold off Jimmie Johnson and Juan Pablo Montoya on the restarts, but he pulled away and won his third race of the season.

Last spring, the battle for the win came down to Hamlin and Johnson, with Johnson bumping Hamlin out of the win.

On Sunday Hamlin got the payback without having to bump Johnson out of the way and ultimately won the race.

Points: Ninth

David Reutimann

This week, in case you did not notice, my picks are some of the guys who don’t get the coverage very often and my second winner is David Reutimann. For the second week in a row, an ill Reutimann beat and banged his way to a solid finish.

He was still suffering from flu-like symptoms and hardly had a voice. Reutimann was running in the top 10 for most of the day but fell back when drivers with fresher tires were able to pass him late in the race.

Reutimann did take some damage battling for position and a cut tire had him hitting pit road. Reutimann had a strong run going until late contact set him back, and he ultimately finished 17th. It was not easy, nor was it pretty for this team when it all was said and done.

It is nice to see him running well every week. He is a talented driver and capable of winning races. With the equipment he is getting, I would not be surprised to see him steal a win down the stretch.

Points: 16th

Bobby Labonte

Sunday was the last race for Bobby Labonte to run the No. 96 car as the remaining races he will run in the No. 71. So what did Labonte do? He went out finished solidly in the top 15.

I was a little surprised by Labonte and his strong run on Sunday. It is not that he is not capable of his 13th-place finish. His team was able to make adjustments on the car and keep him in the top 10 for most of the race. This has been something that they have struggled with at times this season.

Labonte and his team put together some great pit stops and took advantage of the early cautions to work on his car. They had solid stops all day long and really worked traffic well.

It was surprising that he was replaced in the No. 96 in the first place, but you have to give him credit for not just riding around and battling for a strong finish on Sunday.

Points: 31st

Losers

Sam Hornish Jr .

If you are Sam Hornish Jr., you want to leave Martinsville as soon as possible. From the beginning on Friday, Hornish was forced to a backup car after crashing during the first and only practice for this team.

On Sunday things did not get any better. He and teammate David Stremme got into each other, and Hornish suffered the most damage to his car. On lap 194, Hornish spun again, this time the damage was worse and was headed to the garage.

I keep saying it all year: He has the talent to run up front, but he cannot seem to avoid on-track issues and mechanical problems. Hornish has to be frustrated with the weekend he has had. He wrecked two cars and has nothing to show for it.

Hornish ended up finishing 36th.

It is bad enough to wreck, but when you wreck because of your teammate, it will make for an interesting conversation after the race.

Points: 27th

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The weekend started off very well for Earnhardt's team. They were very fast in practice and they were fast during qualifying. After the green flag dropped they were in the top 10 before lap 25. Earnhardt was struggling coming off the corner, but he was holding position in the top 10.

On lap 89 Earnhardt blew a tire and was forced to pit. He was able to stay on the lead lap, however. The team changed tires and fixed the damage caused by the flat. Earnhardt was the last car one lap down, but tire troubles again forced another caution.

On lap 104 he shot up the race track with another tire issue. On the caution for Kasey Kahne, Earnhardt earned one of his laps back. They were the only driver down at least one lap but not more than two. On the next caution they earned their second lap back.

The team though suffered another cut tire during a long green flag run, but this time they were unable to rebound. They finished 29th.

Earnhardt fans, it will get better, this goes in cycles.

Points: 24th

Kurt Busch

Love him or hate him, Kurt Busch is passionate and he wants to win. In recent weeks we are seeing the effects on the track of a team in transition. With crew chief Pat Tryson leaving after the season, he has had limited availability with the team throughout the week. Cracks are showing on this team.

They qualified poorly at Martinsville this weekend, which even Busch admitted was not surprising. Starting deep in the pack meant their strategy had to change. They worked their way into the top 10, but an ill-handling race car and their pit strategy hurt them.

They were never able to rebound and had multiple issues on pit road. During one pit stop, he slid through his pit stop and when he backed up he ran over the tire changer's hose. It resulted in a very long and costly stop, topped with his tire changer throwing the air hose down in the pit stall as Busch pulled away in frustration.

Busch finished a disappointing 16th.

They can say that the lame duck crew chief is not hurting them in the Chase, but they are struggling to make the car better throughout the race. Because of this, they are unable to contend for wins in the Chase.

I do not buy the company line that Busch's performance is not impacted by the changes at Penske. Limiting Tryson access to the team during the most important stretch of the year has cost them a shot at a championship.

It makes all the work they did to make the Chase worthless.

Points: Sixth

Lucky Dog

Jamie McMurray

I am not surprised by Jamie McMurray's run on Sunday. He has always run well at the Virginia track. In fact McMurray has run well at many short tracks. The difference is today he didn’t get caught up in someone else’s wreck.

McMurray ran in the top 10 for most of the day and was one of the few cars to be able to pass cars on Sunday. They gambled late for fresh tires and were able to take advantage and finished sixth. A great run for this team and huge confidence boost.

McMurray and his team ran a great race Sunday. They were able to run their own race and save their equipment for when they needed it most.

A solid run for this team and they earn their best finish of the year in sixth.

Points: 22nd

Final Lap

For the second time this year during a green-white checker, a car spins and sits at the start/finish line. NASCAR did not throw a caution in hopes that John Andretti would be able to restart his car before the field reached him on a short track.

I understand on the bigger intermediate tracks there is more time for that vehicle to restart, but on a short track there is no excuse for not calling a caution. I know they want them to race to the finish, but not when a car is sitting in the middle of the start/finish line trying to re-fire his car.

There should have been a caution when Andretti spun in the first place. I don’t care what it does to the finish of the race, if safety is important they should have slowed the cars down when Andretti spun.

The racing was pretty good on the track, but that is the result on a short track. The TV coverage was okay, it was not great. At times they were so focused on the single file racing up front they missed some of the racing mid pack.

Now they head to the final real wildcard race off the Chase, Talladega. Surviving Talladega will be important if you still want to be a factor for the championship.

The Lugnut Report: Matt Kenseth Rebounds after Early Incident

Patti Rodisch — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:09:02 -0400

It has been an up and down year for Roush Fenway Racing driver Matt Kenseth. Winning the first two races of the year, including the rain shortened Daytona 500.

Since then he has seen his team struggle to contend each week.

Whether it was mechanical issues, or poor handling race cars, Kenseth saw his Chase hopes end in a disastrous final race before the Chase for the championship began in Richmond.

Now he sits on the outside looking in, as his team is focused on winning races and getting better for 2010.

The series heads into Martinsville, a track where Kenseth hasn’t always found success. After a strong second place finish at Lowes last week, Kenseth is hoping to win for the first time since California in February.

On Friday, the teams were focused on race trim, with Saturday practices threatened by rain and storms. Kenseth took the track and made 41 circuits, and his fastest lap was on lap 11.

His lap of 20.2 seconds put him 41st on the speed charts.

With so many teams working on a mixed bag on Friday, the team was focused on qualifying in the final minutes of practice.

Kenseth was going out 17th for qualifying, and during qualifying ran a lap of 19.8 seconds, which put him 32nd to start on Sunday.

Saturday all the practices were rained out.

Kenseth did risk the chance to get lapped early, starting so deep in the pack. So strategy and a good car to move through traffic would be important for this team to stay in contention.

After the fans waved the green flag, Kenseth was trying to move forward. Kesneth was trying to pass Marcos Ambrose, when he got into the back of Ambrose because his car was loose.

Kenseth admitted that it was his fault, and that he was sorry for the incident with Ambrose.

With some damage to the left front tire and bumper, the team made the repairs, changed the tires, and started at the back of the field.

Kenseth was sitting deep in traffic, and struggling to make passes.

On the competition yellow on lap 43, Kenseth was still struggling with a loose race car. They made adjustment and came out 25th.

The adjustment and four tires changed helped, and they were moving forward, but soon after the restart the ill handling race car had them going backwards again.

Kenseth was also battling the flu this weekend, and did have Nationwide driver Erik Darnell on standby in case he was going to get out of the race car.

On the third caution of the day, Kenseth continued to struggle, both on the track and on pit road. They came out 27th, but were still struggling to cure the handling issues with the car.

On the sixth caution for the Penske teammate’s incident, Kenseth said he was still loose. They pitted again to work on the car. They changed four tires and made another air pressure adjustment on the car.

They gambled and stayed out for track position, but were quickly overtaken when drivers with fresher tires quickly outran them.

They had to pit under green to take on four fresh tires and more adjustments on a very loose race car. Through the round of green flag pit stops, Kenseth was able to get his lap back that he lost pitting under green.

On the caution on lap 442 Kenseth pitted for fresh tires, merged back in traffic, and was careful not to get wrecked in traffic.

They never could get back up front with so many cars with different agendas. The much needed track position on Sunday they could not take advantage of.

They battled all day long, and on the final restart they were able to pick up positions and finished 14th. It was not easy for this team, but they persevered.

Now they head to Talladega, where anything, and everything can happen...

Check out the second half of this week's Roush Fenway Racing Lugnut Report on Carl Edwards .

Winners and Losers: NASCAR Banking 500

Patti Rodisch — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 01:56:05 -0400

In the final night race of the year, and the only night race, of the Chase the NASCAR Sprint Cup series drivers and crews got to play in their own backyard on Saturday night.

With the title far from decided six drivers are within 121 points for the trophy going into the race. 31 other drivers were looking to play spoiler and steal the Chase drivers thunder on Saturday night.

Check out the winners and losers of the NASCAR Banking 500.

Winners

Jimmie Johnson

What can you say; Jimmie Johnson can take a bad race car and pull out a win with it. Johnson once again showed why Lowes Motor Speedway is his house. He didn’t dominate today but he was able to maintain track position and pull away on a late restart.

Johnson was not very happy with his car early on, in fact he was struggling with the handling of the car. Once again they were able to work on the car and with the best pit stall more times than not they were able to win the race off of pit road.

Johnson expanded his point lead but he can not rest easy as his teammates are not just rolling over each week. Johnson wanted to win badly as Saturday marked the final time his primary sponsor Lowes Home Improvement would be the sponsor at the Charlotte race track.

Johnson is making it look easy, but that does not mean it will be.

Points: First

Kasey Kahne

After a rough ending in California that saw Kasey Kahne racing for a top 10 finish to crashing late in the race and collecting a DNF. Kahne headed to Lowes with some confidence as in recent years Kahne has found some success on this track.

Kahne started in the top five and never really ran outside of it. In fact he had one of the best cars all night long. Kahne was running one of Richard Petty Motorsports older engines, Kahne said early on he like this engine package and his lap times proved that.

Kahne had issues at times with a loose race early on in the race and then as the night wore on he would get tighter. The team worked on the car and was able to make solid adjustments on his car and keep the track position all night long.

Kahne finished third and could have challenged for the lead had it not been for a vibration on the final restart. Give this team and driver credit they clearly put California behind them and were ready to challenge for the win.

Kahne is out of the championship hunt, but he made it clear with his run on Saturday night, he will not go down easy.

Points: Ninth

Joey Logano

Sprint Cup rookie Joey Logano put on an impressive effort on Saturday night. His finish doesn’t tell the whole story and it wasn’t very easy for Logano.

Under the third caution for light rain, Logano came onto pit road after running in the top 10. He followed Kahne, whose pit stall was in front of Logano. Instead Logano slid past his pit and was forced to back up. This cost him a lot of time on pit road and he was restarting deep in the pack.

Logano though showed a lot of patience with traffic and worked his way back into the top 25. He was back in the top 15 after halfway and by the end of the race he was battling for a top five finish.

Logano finished fifth on Saturday night. He showed a lot of maturity for his mistake early on. His team on pit road also helped with great pit stops and made no mistakes, to aid in their comeback.

Logano at times looks like a rookie like that first pit stop and then other times he is racing seasoned veterans and making it look easy.

It is all about learning and Logano is doing just that, coming back to tracks for a second time Logano is improving each week.

Points: 20th

Losers

Sam Hornish Jr.

In recent weeks Sam Hornish Jr. had been running well. Coming into the race at Lowes Motor Speedway, Hornish was looking to continue his recent runs on Saturday night. It only took three laps into the 334 lap event; he was already in for a long night.

On lap three, Hornish got loose coming out of turn two and spun down in front of half the field. Luckily the only damage caused was to the back of his car and TV panel. They came down pit road and worked on repairing the damage.

A few laps later, Hornish brought out the next caution when he spun in turn four. This time the damage was a bit more severe. Hornish went to the garage to make repairs and hoping to get back out there and gain as many points as possible.

They came back on track but many laps down, they finished 40th, 36 laps off the pace.

Many drivers claim the three year rule for drivers is important. If they can run well at year three in their Sprint Cup career, then usually success comes with it.

Hornish is on year three in this sport and still not getting consistent results.

Points: 27th

Carl Edwards

If Carl Edwards was going to get back into the title hunt, Lowes would have to be the place he would do it. Edwards was the championship favorite by many in February, but tonight they looked as lost on the track as I think I have ever seen him on the track.

This team was not fast this weekend. They struggled in all three practices and in qualifying. They started 28th and were battling a very loose race car. They made whole sale changes on this car during their first pit stop and ended up going a lap down.

With so many cars going a lap down and a ill handling race car, Edwards was out of this race before it even started. On lap 304, Edwards’s engine expired and a dejected Edwards and his team headed to the garage.

They finished 39th on Saturday night.

The biggest disappointment in 2009 has to be Edwards’s subpar performance. His organization, Roush Fenway Racing as whole underperformed this year and that has hurt them in the Chase.

Edwards and his team have to be looking toward next year, and getting better.

Points: 10th

Juan Pablo Montoya

For the last four races in the Chase, Juan Pablo Montoya was sitting in position in the championship standings. They were the only driver coming into Saturday night’s race to finish in the top five in every Chase race.

Well that was going to change by the time they took the checkers on Saturday.

On a restart, after Kyle Busch spun, Montoya and Mark Martin ran into each other and both had damage to their car. Montoya received the worst damage to his right rear quarter panel. Montoya began to drop back, still crew chief Brian Pattie kept Montoya on track.

Montoya unable to drive the car spun out, a frustrated Montoya started to unravel on the radio. After a quick word from Pattie, Montoya began to refocus and they hit pit road and began to make repairs. The damage was already done, both for a win tonight and in the championship.

Montoya finished 35th and four laps off the pace.

Montoya impressive top five finish streak ended along with his championship hopes.

Points: Sixth

Lucky Dog…

Jeff Gordon

For Jeff Gordon and his team, somehow each week they find themselves up front when it matters the last month or so.

They didn’t start out with a great race car; they dropped back quickly with a very loose race car. After making an adjustment on the car they were unable to make up the loss ground to the leaders. Crew chief Steve LeTarte made a call on pit road that got them track position.

A two-tire stop put them out front from then on they did not run outside the top 10 again. They finished fourth on Saturday night.

They did lose ground to Johnson, but Gordon is still in this championship. A few weeks ago, nobody thought that Gordon had a real chance at the title, but they have gone from 10th to third in the standings in the last three weeks.

Tonight a great pit call by LeTarte gave Gordon hope in his bid for a fifth championship.

Points: Third

Final Lap…

Earlier in the week I said this weekend’s race at Lowes, would have a huge affect on the point’s standings. There is something about this track that affects the drivers, whether it is mistakes, poor handling race cars or a combination of the two.

Just like last year, the Chase drivers could not afford to make any mistakes and just like last year Chase drivers experienced many of the issues on Saturday night.

In this article multiple times I talked about track position, because quite frankly it was essential to having a good run and finish. The drivers who found it were able to capitalize, the drivers who did not struggled in in "dirty air".

It is looking more and more that the championship will come down to come down to a Hendrick Motorsports showdown.

No other organization is able to compete with them each week. Every race in the Chase has been won by HMS driver or a chassis supplied by HMS.

Next week they head to Martinsville, the only short track in the Chase.

The Lugnut Report: Ryan Newman Climbs Standings, Just Too Little Too Late

Patti Rodisch — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:28:59 -0400

Ryan Newman and his teams NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase hopes have not gone as he had planned. After making the Chase with a new team this year, Newman was hoping to be more of a factor each week.

Instead he has struggled each weekend to find the same success that earned their spot in the Chase.

This weekend Newman was hoping to climb his way back into the Chase with a good finish and quite frankly a much needed win.

It all began on Thursday for his team.But with a persistent rain around the Concord, North Carolina area the scheduled events got pushed late into the evening, once the weather had moved through.

Newman had a fast race car in an abbreviated practice, he only ran eight laps. His sixth lap was his fastest lap of 28.3 seconds. That time was good enough for sixth on the speed charts.

During qualifying Newman was scheduled to go out 16th and his 28.3 second lap had him starting sixth on Saturday night.

On Friday during the first of two practices, Newman once again had a fast race car and the team was working minor adjustments and finding speed.

Newman ran 28 laps and like many teams his first lap was his fastest, with 29.2 second lap. Good enough once again for sixth on the charts.

During the final practice Newman was just as consistent with his 45 laps run; his fastest lap was his first lap. He ran a 29.3 second lap that had him sitting sixth on the speed charts on the final tune up for Saturday night’s race.

After the green flag waved on Saturday night, Newman began charging to the front of the field. They got as high as fourth early on but they fell back to 10th. They hit pit road and changed four tires and made an adjustment on his car.

They gained four positions on pit road and came out in sixth for the restart.

On the next round of green flag pit stops Ryan Newman came in 10th position but a slow pit stop with a left front tire issue had them sitting in 18th position. This was a very slow and costly stop for this team, under green.

The team was able to rebound back into the top 10 with solid pits stops and great calls after that slow stop. In fact they were battled in the top ten for most of the night.

On lap 312 Newman was involved in a incident after going four wide with his teammate and owner, Tony Stewart, Roush Fenway driver Greg Biffle, and former teammate David Stremme.

Newman tapped Biffle loose and cause Biffle to get into Stremme, who then tagged the wall forcing Biffle to spin through the grass.

Newman suffered minimal damage and was able to continue.

Newman struggled with a tight handling race car late in the race, but the team was able to maintain track position.

On the restarts they struggled but on the longer runs they were able to make up ground. But when it comes down to the end of the race, short runs are more likely than long runs.

Newman finished 11th on a night that saw many of the Chase contenders struggle, he was able to pick up two positions in the standings to eighth.

Even though they moved up in the standings, they continued to lose ground to not only race leader Jimmie Johnson, but the three other Chase drivers who finished in front of them.

With their championship hopes all but over, they are searching for a victory and to continue to get better for 2010

Check out Jen Preston Lugnut Report for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The Lugnut Report: A.J. Allmendinger Wrecks Late In Pepsi 500

Patti Rodisch — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:11:59 -0400

One year ago at this time, AJ Allmendinger was searching for a ride for 2009. After not getting resigned by Red Bull Racing, Allmendinger's career was at a turning point.

In late December of 2008, it was announced that Allmendinger would take over Elliott Sadler's ride in 2009. The deal quickly fell through when Sadler threatened to take the newly merged Richard Petty Motorsports to court over his contract.

With limited sponsors for the year, Allmendinger signed a deal late in the offseason and drove the No. 44 in the Daytona 500.

With the organization struggling to find sponsors for his car, Allmendinger let his talent do the selling. In a deal that what was suppose to end early in the year when the sponsorship ended, Allmendinger is still racing in October.

His early season success has given sponsors a reason to sign on for the remainder of the year.

This weekend the team headed into California with some confidence. Allmendinger’s average starting position was ninth at the D-shaped track. His average finish though was 20th and on Sunday he was starting 12th.

During the first practice on Friday, Allmendinger ran a total of 18 laps. He ran his fastest lap 14, with a lap time of 39.8 seconds. That was good enough for 21st on the speed charts.

After qualifying on Friday, the teams looked toward Saturday and the two practices to work on the car.

Due to lingering fog, the first Cup practice was only 20 minutes. Allmendinger and his team used every minute to work on the handling of the car.

They ran a total of nine laps in the first practice; with fresh tires their first lap was their fastest, with a average time of 40.6 seconds, that time put them 30th on the speed charts.

With final practice around the corner and work to be done on the car, the team focused on the setup for Sunday.

In final practice they began to make some ground on the car, they ran a total of 21 laps and their fastest lap was their first lap once again with a lap time of 40.7 seconds.

That lap time had them sitting 22nd on the charts for the final practice. The team still had work to do though heading to the green on Sunday.

After the first round of green flag pit stops Allmendinger was fighting a tight race car. They came out of the pits in 21st. They were struggling with radio issues, unable to hear Allmendinger.

Before the first caution on lap 59, Allmendinger was still struggling with a tight race car but then word came that his engine was overheating, his crew chief made him aware they missed some tape on the first stop.

Allmendinger was continuing to struggle with the handling of the car and heating issues. They were mired back in traffic on lap 91 running in 25th.

On the next caution for debris on lap 116, he was way too loose off the turns and tight in the center of the car. The team made a track bar adjustment, a wedge adjustment, and took four fresh tires.

They entered pit road in the 22nd position and didn’t lose any positions, but also didn’t gain any on pit road.

Allmendinger was mired back in traffic all day long and because of where he was running he got caught up in the multi-car wreck late in the race.

Along with Allmendinger, his teammates were collected in the wreck. It capped what was a very frustrating day for this organization and this team.

They hoped for a better finish but instead ended in 33rd.

One thing that should be noted were the issues with the radio communication. They struggled to hear each other throughout the race.

The team stayed 24th in the standings as they head back east to Charlotte.

Check out Jen Preston's Lugnut Report on Greg Biffle.

Winners and Losers: Pepsi 500

Patti Rodisch — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 20:37:24 -0400

For the first time in the Chase the NASCAR Sprint Cup series heads to Auto Club Speedway, for a date in the Chase. With the standings the closest they have ever been in this Chase format California takes center stage with storylines abound for Chaser and racers alike.

Check out the winners and losers for the Pepsi 500.

Winners

Jimmie Johnson

Mark Martin called Jimmie Johnson superman a few weeks back and he is just that. Johnson dominated once again on Sunday, leading the most laps.

Johnson had a fast car in practice and had an even faster car for the race.They did struggle on pit road, losing multiple positions on multiple stops. Crew chief Chad Knaus though rallied the team and on the final stops they had no issues.

It came down to a battle of the teammates between Johnson and Jeff Gordon. Johnson had a better final restart, after the long red flag for a multi-car wreck. Johnson was able to pull away.

Once again Johnson wins at California and takes over the championship lead by just 12 points over teammate Martin.

Johnson heads to what use to be his house. Can he regain his dominance in Charlotte and pad the point lead?

Points:First

Jeff Gordon

You know the saying always the bridesmaid never the bride. For second consecutive week and the eighth time this year, Jeff Gordon comes home in second place. Once again though they took a tough handling race car and were able to work on it and were there when it counted.

Gordon started in 10th position but quickly moved forward, he was battling in the top five early in the race. The team had solid pit stops and never dropped outside the top 10 on Sunday.

Gordon got the lead late in the race but multiple cautions and a red flag had Gordon on the defensive against his teammate Johnson. Unable to take the lead Gordon came home with another solid finish in the Chase.

After finishing in 14th at New Hampshire the team has steadily climbed back into the championship picture.

Gordon and his team are running like they did earlier in the year, but are still without a victory to complete the charge for the championship.

Points: Fifth

Juan Pablo Montoya

This week I am adding one more additional winner to my list. I have to give credit to Juan Pablo Montoya. He is the only Chase driver to finish in the top five in every race so far. It’s because of that they are in the hunt for a championship.

Montoya had a strong car all day long, leading laps and staying up front battling Johnson and Gordon for the lead late. But on the final restarts they struggled and were unable to make a charge for lead.

Montoya though is thinking big picture and another strong run.Montoya is doing everything he has to, to win the championship, except the problem is all the drivers around him are Chase drivers.

Even so Montoya’s third place finish is impressive for this dark horse.

Points: Third

Casey Mears

In recent weeks Casey Mears has had some strong runs and some good finishes. He seems to really heat up late in the year. There are so many questions about his future next year, so he needs to run well. It couldn’t have happened at a better track than his home track this weekend.

Mears had a solid qualifying lap and ran no worse than 16thall day long. They were as high as sixth late in the race. Mears was giving great feedback and compared to other drivers, Mears was pretty happy with his car on Sunday.

Mears was sitting in seventh after a long red flag stop; Mears was in prime position for his best finish of the year. On the final restart though Mears slipped back and finished 11th on Sunday.

I am impressed with Mears, he once again does not get the TV coverage but has a great run. RCR as a whole ran well this weekend, which is a good sign for this organization.

Now Mears needs to hope that a sponsor were impressed and signs on for this team for 2010.

Points: 19th

Losers

David Gilliland

It’s not easy for a driver to get into a car after not practicing in all weekend. The communication between the team and the driver is different. With Kyle Busch sick, Gilliland was on standby to get into the car after he parked his ride in the No. 71.

Gilliland was able to stay on the lead lap with the driver change and charge up to 23rd before the caution for Ryan Newman's tire going down. They pitted and were able to gain three spots on the stop.

The team really struggled with the handling of the car, and Gilliland was never able to get to the front of the pack. After a green flag stop they got caught a lap down and with long green runs they could not get the lap back.

They finished 24th.

What hurt Gilliland was not having any seat time this weekend. Unlike in the Nationwide race on Saturday, Hamlin was able to practice in the car. For Gilliland, maybe not getting him in the car at some point on Saturday hurt them on Sunday.

Points: 13th

Denny Hamlin

Denny Hamlin had a fast car all weekend long. He won the pole and was hoping to continue his climb up the standings with a win today.

Hamlin had a great car early and ran in the top five all race long. On multiple pit stops he won the race off of pit road and was swapping the lead throughout the day.

On the restart on lap 191 Hamlin tried to block a run from the inside line lead by Montoya, but got clipped and he went spinning through the grass. He was almost able to avoid major damage but hit the pit road retaining wall causing severe nose damage to his car.

Hamlin admitted that the accident was his fault and the team was able to make some repairs but the damaged Toyota was unable to reach NASCAR minimum speed they were black flagged and went to the garage.

They finished 37th.

This was not what they needed with the Chase so close; Hamlin mistake might have just cost him a shot at the championship.

Points: 10th

Kasey Kahne

After a rough start to the Chase in New Hampshire, Kahne had been putting together some strong runs trying to get back into the Chase picture. On Sunday he was doing just that.

Kahne struggled early in the race, with the handling of his car. The sun came out the handling on the car improved. The team got to work and steadily moved forward through the field. Kahne was running in the top ten late in the race when troubled happened.

Kurt Busch got loose and smacked the wall and then came down on Kahne. Kahne spun down on Greg Biffle both went into the infield.

The worst was yet to come when a late race chain reaction crash sent Kahne hard into Jeff Burton. Kahne day was over and so are his Chase hopes.

Kahne used his mulligan at New Hampshire and now they have to focus not on the Chase but the transition for next year.

Points: 11th

Lucky Dog…

Tony Stewart

It was an interesting day for Tony Stewart. After starting mid pack, Stewart struggled with traffic and a ill handling race car. They were never able to get track position. To make matters worse Stewart was caught speeding on pit road and force to serve a penalty under green.

One lap down the team gambled when caution came out after those green flag stops, for a quick caution. After taking the wave around, they got that quick caution and were back on the lead lap. Through all the gambling they were in the top five battling for the win late in the race.

Stewart did not have a good car but was able to take advantage of the breaks and get a solid finish on Sunday in fifth.

Points: Fourth

Final lap…

Well we know what the story will be about the race on Sunday empty stands and the single file racing. I want to give a heads up to the fans that did show up to cheer on their favorite drivers. California fans take a lot from the media and also other fans, for when they don’t show up.

But an estimated 60,000 fans were there, spending a Sunday afternoon at the track. Any football, baseball or basketball team would love 60,000 fans in the stands every event.

If you saw the race today there was long green runs and the cars were spread out, so the racing wasn't the best we have seen this year.

The day nobody shows up in the stands then NASCAR needs to worry.

The series heads to Charlotte for a Saturday night race, under the lights.

Winners and Losers: Price Chopper 400

Patti Rodisch — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:45:45 -0400

Heading into Kansas, most of the drivers who are not battling for a championship want to spoil the Chase drivers' party and steal a win. Would it happen at Kansas?

Check out which drivers were the winners and which were the losers.

Winners

Tony Stewart

It has been a rough start to the Chase for Tony Stewart. Stewart had not had a top five finish since his win at Watkins Glen. This was a much-needed win for a team that had been in a slump for the last month.

Stewart started this race fifth and seemed to struggle early in the race with the handling in the car. He knew though that the track conditions would suit him when it counted late in the race.

The team was able to make good adjustments throughout the race and gambled late on two tires and the gamble paid off. Stewart was not up front all day, and it took a good call for them to pull off the win.

Stewart was never out of the Chase, but he was struggling to contend and run up front the last couple weeks. Sunday, though, Stewart proved they will be a factor.

Don’t look now, but Stewart is climbing up the standings.

Points: Fourth

Jeff Gordon

It was not pretty for Jeff Gordon and his team on Sunday, the team needed a solid finish. They also needed to gain ground on the leaders. The team did just that on Sunday and then some.

It wasn’t easy for them; the team struggled with a very tight race car throughout the race. On their first few pit stops, they did not want to over adjust on the car. When the handling did not improve, they made drastic adjustments to the car.

Crew chief Steve LeTarte made good adjustments on the car and really kept them in the race. The pit crew had solid pit stops and were able to maintain track position late. A good call for four tires late and a solid second place finish.

The team knew that if they were going to have a shot at the championship, Kansas would be where it started. Gordon is still in this Championship run, but he needs to win races.

On Sunday, he was one spot short.

Points: Seventh

David Reutimann

What a season David Reutimann has had. Reutimann won at Lowe's in May for his first career win. He nearly made the Chase this year and was the class of that organization throughout 2009.

Reutimann started 13th today and quickly began to move forward. He was running in the top five for most of the day. Reutimann was struggling with a very loose race car and the team was trying not to over adjust on the car.

They had solid pit stops throughout the day and were able to gain positions on pit road.

With a solid car, they were able to maintain track position throughout the day. They ran around 10th for most of the day, and with solid stops they finished eighth.

Reutimann is by far Michael Waltrip Racing's best driver each week, and next year look out for this driver to make the Chase.

Points: 15th

Losers

David Ragan

Well, a year ago everyone predicted that David Ragan would make the Chase in 2009. Here we are and Ragan is barely in the top 30 in the standings.

He hasn’t qualified very well this year and Sunday was no different. They started 25th and were starting to move forward. When Paul Menard spun in front of them, they were collected in the wreck.

With major damage to the front of his car, the team headed to pit road, made some repairs, and changed tires. They were forced on pit road under green to make more repairs to the car. They finished 36th on Sunday.

They were out of it before they even could get started today. We know how the Fords have run this year, and Ragan has struggled the most from the beginning of the season.

Ragan did not meet expectations in 2009, but he has the talent and should be running up front in 2010.

Points: 31st

Bobby Labonte

This was not exactly the type of day that Bobby Labonte had hoped for. He started 26th deep in the pack, and track conditions were very different from what the drivers had early in the weekend. Early on in the race, drivers were sliding around the top of the track.

Labonte was moving forward but got caught up in Menard's spin across the track. He suffered the most damage and was forced to the garage to make repairs on the car. Labonte was never able to get back on track and finished 43rd.

Labonte whose deal with Ask.com and Yates Racing was only for a year, is one of many drivers still trying to lock down a ride. Labonte did not need another disappointing finish, with no guaranteed ride in 2010.

Labonte is fighting for a ride but seems to keep getting caught up in other driver’s mistakes.

Points: 30th

Brian Vickers

Well, if Brian Vickers wanted to be a factor in the Chase, he is going to have to wait until next year. Vickers has not run as well as he was before the Chase, but since the Chase has started, they have been mediocre at best.

They started today in 12th position, which did give them good track position, if the car was handling better.

They quickly dropped back after the green was waved. Under the second caution, the team came down pit road to make adjustments on the car.

Those adjustments had them continuing to drop back in the field. The issues with the car turned out to be an engine issue. They spun out on lap 126 and effectively their day was over. Vickers finished 37th.

I thought Vickers would have run well in the Chase. As many of the tracks in the Chase, Vickers has run well this season.

Vickers will have to play spoiler the rest of the Chase.

Points: 12th

Lucky Dog…

Joey Logano

After winning the Nationwide race on Saturday, the attention that Logano obviously did not want was right back on him. On Sunday, Logano started 18th but brought out the early caution when he got loose when he went high on the track.

This time, Logano spun into the grass and was able to continue, they put four new tires on the car worked on the damage from the spin.

They were able to stay on the lead lap, but they struggled with a very ill-handling car and went a lap down to finish 28th.

The media just will not let Logano put behind him the flip at Dover. Logano is ready to move on and he has said that throughout the weekend.

There were some doubts that incident at Dover had scared the teen-age driver, but no, he was right back in there this weekend. That is why he is this week’s lucky dog, for getting right back in the seat.

Points: 20th

Final Lap…

I am not a fan of hour-long pre-race shows. Sometimes the pieces they air seem pointless and are time fillers. Not today, ABC aired a special piece about Kyle and Patty Petty’s Victory Junction Gang Camp.

The original camp is in North Carolina and a second camp will be just five miles from Kansas Speedway.

It was a moving piece that aired clips of their late son Adam Petty and his dream. We often criticize the quality of the race coverage, but ABC got it right with this one.

Kansas is a track that can come down to fuel mileage and pit strategies, which makes the last 50 laps always interesting. The race today was pretty good.

There was some great racing all around the track. We saw Chase drivers really pushing the envelope for every position.

Stewart's win and the gap closing on the leaders is proving that this Chase is far from decided. What is clear is that you are going to have to beat Hendrick Motorsports, who have swept the first three races thus far.

Next week is California, where the talk will be more about the lack of fans in the stands than the racing on the track.

The Lugnut Report: Jimmie Johnson Struggles Late for Top 10 Finish

Patti Rodisch — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:14:46 -0400

It has been an interesting weekend for reigning Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. On Friday news circulated around the garage and the media that post race inspections after Dover last week showed Johnson and teammate Mark Martin passed inspection but just barely.

No penalties were issued to either team. Johnson and his crew chief spent most of Friday answering questions and defending each other. Once Johnson got back in the race car he was fast.

In the first practice on Friday he ran 11 laps. Johnson ran a fast lap on lap nine. He ran a 31.1 second lap, that was good enough for second on the speed charts. Although they were mostly in qualifying set up.

In qualifying they had a late draw but they could not get the speed out of the car during the qualifying lap and ended up starting 11th.

On Saturday the conditions were similar to Friday, and once again Johnson was up at the top of the Charts.

He ran 23 laps total in the first practice. His fastest lap of 31.1 seconds was his first lap run but remained on the top of the charts the entire session.

During final practice session it was all about tweaking the setup. Johnson was not completely happy with the handling of the car. The team got to work, by the end of practice Johnson was a bit more comfortable with the car.

He ran a total of 47 laps and his fastest was once his first lap, with a speed of 31.2 seconds.

Johnson moved forward early and was quickly in the top 10 and was moving forward. After two early cautions he said told crew chief Knaus on Lap Seven he was tight on the bottom. You would not have known this as he was moving forward.

He needed to run the bottom late in the run to pass cars during at the begining of the race. Johnson was in the top three before lap 50.

Johnson took the lead on lap 63 from teammate Brad Keselowski who had cycled through as the leader after green flag pit stops.

When caution waved for Reed Sorenson they came in leading the race but left in sixth after a slow pit stop.

On the restart Johnson began to run down the leader Greg Biffle. Less than 25 laps later he passed Biffle for the lead.

During another caution pit stop, while the other leaders took only two tires, Johnson took on four tires and was mired back in traffic.

During the final caution they took two tires to get themselves back up in the top three, but the two tires hurt them late when others had four tires.

They slid backwards on the restart and finished ninth after having a dominating car throughout the race. They were not able to rebound and regain the lost positions.

Rarely do we see Johnson and his team struggle late in a race like they did. Knaus did take responsibilty for the call that might have cost them the win.

Don’t expect them to struggle and don’t be fooled Johnson ensured they will figure out what went wrong on the car on Sunday.

The finish did cost them in the standings they are now sitting 18 points behind Martin who finished in seventh.

Next week Jen Preston will be back with her Lugnut Report!

Kansas Lottery 300: Winners and Losers

Patti Rodisch — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 19:14:36 -0400

The Nationwide series headed into Kansas. Kansas is a big, wide track, and the teams were dealing with Mother Nature, and windy conditions. Those conditions had the teams struggling to find the balance on their cars.

See below, who has beat the wicked winds of Kansas.

Winners

Joey Logano

What a week it has been for Joey Logano. After flipping last week at Dover in the Sprint Cup race, Logano made a late race pass on teammate Kyle Busch and took the win.

Logano had a good car. He qualified seventh and quickly began moving forward, running in the top five for most of the day. He did not have as strong of a car as Busch, but he was able to keep in touch with him.

Logano and his crew made good adjustments on the car, and were able to hold off Brad Keselowski for second late in the race, and to charge to the front. Logano even seemed surprised he was able to drive right past Busch.

Logano is as ready as anyone to put the Dover flip behind him, and he proved that this weekend with this win.

I think it’s time to stop replaying the Dover flip, I think we get it.

Points: 14th

Greg Biffle

Saturday didn’t start as Greg Biffle had hoped. He ran his first qualifying lap that had him sitting in the top five. Trouble happened on his second when the car got away from him, and he hit the wall hard.

The team had to go to a backup car, which was actually the car they were taking to California.

However, Biffle did not need pit road strategies to make his way through the field. He drove his way from the back of the pack all the way to the front. He got a break when a caution came out, because John Wes Townley had blown a tire.

That caution came during the green flag stops. Biffle had the chance to make a stop under caution, and make slight adjustments. Biffle had a great car today, and they were able to stay on top of the conditions and kept track position which is always important on these big mile and a half tracks.

They finished fifth after slight damage to the car on a restart.

Points: 22nd

Parker Kligerman

What a weekend for Parker Kilgerman. He won the ARCA race earlier this weekend, then Saturday morning he snagged the Nationwide pole from series leader Kyle Busch.

Kligerman did talk to Busch about the start of the race. He is a racer, and starting on the pole, and leading races is not something new for him.

Kligerman led the first seven laps, but began to battle a tight race car that cost them some positions on the track. During their first pit stop they lost time on pit road with a tire issue. They lost a lap on pit road but did get the lucky dog for a debris caution.

Kligerman did a great job for his first race in this series, finishing 16th. He did exactly what he needed to do and that was log laps, and finish the race.

Kligerman had a solid run on Saturday. He might be someone to watch down the road.

Points: N/A

Losers

Mike Bliss

After a second place finish last week at Dover, Mike Bliss was struggling at Kansas. Bliss had hoped to continue the momentum he had from Dover. With potential rides for the remainder of the season dwindling, every lap is important for Bliss who still does not have a ride for 2010.

Bliss really struggled with this race car, after starting 36th. The team could not get a handle on the car, and went down a lap early. Bliss struggled on long runs when the tires and fuel had burned off and the handling went away.

They did get the lucky dog on one of the cautions, but they were never able to get up to the lead pack and battle for a win. They finished 21st.

Bliss is really racing for his career at this point. In this series, the number of solid rides is at a minimum and there are more drivers than there are rides.

Points: Eighth

Steve Wallace

After moving into the fifth position in the standings, after a strong run at Dover, Wallace was hoping to build on the point’s separation between himself and Justin Alllgaier. Wallace started 27th and was able to move forward early.

Wallace and his team once again struggled with adjusting the car throughout the race. Wallace fell a lap down early, and was forced to battle back before half way. With less than 50 laps to go Wallace had a tire rub from earlier contact.

They stayed on track instead of pitting, and changing the tires, and finished 15th.

Wallace is one of those drivers, who at times this season has had a great car. Rookie mistakes, and not being able to adjust on the car has cost them good finishes.

Points: Sixth

Brian Vickers

It seems that lately when Brian Vickers drives in the Nationwide series he usually finds his way up front at one point or another. Today was no different, but the circumstances were different.

Vickers started fourth and was battling in the Top 10, but a mistake on pit road had them battling just to get back into contention. A fast two tire stops had them up front, but everyone behind them had four tires, and he quickly dropped back.

He got into it with Carl Edwards, and spun through the grass, and was back in traffic. Vickers late in the race was trying to battle back when he went into the wall after Brendan Gaughan got loose, and took Vickers out.

He went to the garage and finished 28th, a disappointing finish after what looked promising early on.

Points: 21st

Lucky Dog…

Kyle Busch

Kyle Busch had the dominant car for the race on Saturday, and he still didn’t win the race. For the fourth time this season Busch finished second to his teammate Logano. Logano led the most laps today, but also broke another record in 2009.

Busch passed Sam Ard for most laps led in a season, 2,229 laps. This was a record that goes back to 1984. Adding to what has been a very impressive season for an impressive driver.

Say what you want about Busch, and his antics, but he hates losing. Does not matter if it is a teammate or not. It’s that type of passion that is refreshing to see in NASCAR.

Points: First

Final lap…

Kansas is a good track. There are multiple grooves that give drivers the chance to use the entire track to pass cars. Saturday afternoon was no different, we saw that tires were important early in the run.

We saw some good racing today. Some drivers, who needed a strong run, got just that today. Even though rain was not a threat all weekend, the wind and mixes of sun and cloud did affect how some crews made adjustments on the car.

The coverage of ESPN was decent. The Nationwide team does a decent job of full field run down throughout the race.

On to California for the series as the season winds down, and the storylines begin to shift towards not only the end of this year but next year.

Bobby Labonte Special Breast Cancer Paint Scheme for Lowe's

Patti Rodisch — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 10:39:13 -0400

With the chilly weather of fall approaching us, we are reminded that October is breast cancer awareness month. NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Bobby Labonte and his sponsor Ask.com have teamed up with Susan G. Komen, to promote awareness and raise money to find a cure.

Just like in NASCAR, the numbers do not lie. Breast cancer is fatal, but if caught in the early stages, there is still hope.

Statistics state that one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Within a year, 40,170 women will die, making breast cancer the second leading killer among women.

Men can also be diagnosed with breast cancer. This year alone 1,910 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 440 of those men will die.

To honor all the those who have been affected by cancer, on Oct. 1 NASCAR fans can log on to Ask.com and register a woman’s or a man's name to be put on Labonte’s car.

You can also submit a tribute to your loved one in the process. The paint scheme will debut for the upcoming race at Lowe's Motorspeedway in October.

It is a free tribute to honor survivors, those living with breast cancer or in memoriam of those who lost the battle against breast cancer.

Ask.com has committed that $1 million of the money raised will go towards finding a cure.

The sooner a cure is found, the sooner one less daughter loses a mother one less mother loses a sister, and one less wife loses a husband to breast cancer.

No matter what number your favorite driver is, one less victim of breast cancer is a number we all should be rooting for.

Please, log on to Ask.com on Oct. 1 and submit your loved ones’ names to honor them.

The Lugnut Report:Mark Martin Battles For Second Place Finish In Dover

Patti Rodisch — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 19:31:20 -0400

For Mark Martin 2009 has been a great year, no matter what the outcome is in November.

The numbers don’t lie he, started the season off with three of four races with finishes of 30th or worse. He was climbing out of a hole that saw him threatening to not make the top 35 in owner’s points a guaranteed starting position for each race.

Martin's season started to turn around at Bristol where he scored his first top 10 of the year. Slowly he began to climb out of the basement in the points standings and rattled off wins at Phoenix and Darlington.

His position in the points was never secure even with all the wins. He had just as many poor finishes as there were wins.

Heading into the Chase, Martin sat atop the standings with a series leading four victories. Martin has had fast racecars both for qualifying and the race.

Last Sunday he won his fifth race of the year with strong strategy and solid pit stops. He retained his lead in the standings heading into Dover.

On Friday Mark Martin sat atop the speed charts for most of the practice but fell back late. He ran 11 laps and his fastest lap was his final lap where he ran a lap in 23.1 seconds. He was ninth fastest in practice.

For qualifying he had a late draw but still couldn’t find the speed and settled for a 14th place starting position.

They had to get to work in the first practice if they wanted to find the speed and the set up for the race on Sunday.

Martin struggled a bit with the tire compound and ran a fast lap on his first lap of 23.9 seconds.

He ran 28 laps total during that practice and his speed put him 12th on the speed charts.

Heading into final practice they were working on race trim and they seemed to find something late in practice. He ran 49 laps total and his fastest lap was lap 32. A fast lap of 23.8 seconds had him sitting fourth on the speed charts.

The final practice gave them something to build on heading into the race.

The race track though was very different from the conditions they practiced in. The heavy rains washed off the rubber that had been laid on the track on Saturday.

Martin quickly began to fall back to 18th but as the run stayed green he began to move forward. He was still a half a lap behind then leader Jimmie Johnson.

The competition caution came out on lap 25 and Martin came in 15th position. Martin and his team did four tires and air pressure adjustments.

He came out in 16th. Martin knew that on the long run they should be better.

By lap 75 he was in the top 10, but was really free in clean air but was also loose in. When Michael Waltrip hit the wall on lap 85 they were going for one round in the left rear and four tires and fuel. They came in 10th but went out ninth after a solid stop.

Martin moved forward after the restart and was in the top five, on their next stop they were going to take a wedge out of the left rear.

Martin struggled on the restart and fell back, on the next stop they decided to put a pound back into the left rear, as he was struggling with the handling. He told his crew he was really tight in the corners.

On restarts Martin really did struggle, he would consistently lose positions, so late restarts would hurt Martin but as they got going they would pick up positions but at this point it was too late.

Martin finished second but ran a smart race and earned this finish after he struggled throughout this race with a car that had no grip.

His finish kept him as the point’s leader over Johnson by just 10 points.

Martin shrugs off all the hype about his possible championship but the talk is real and Martin could make history come November.

Check out Jen Preston's Lugnut Report on Kyle Busch.

Winners and Losers: AAA 400

Patti Rodisch — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 19:13:23 -0400

NASCAR rolled into Dover with tons of storylines and a lot of drama for the 12 Chase drivers. Some drivers need to change momentum after last week’s race at New Hampshire.

Other drivers are hoping to ride that momentum to victory lane. Dover, though, can take a good race car and eat it up and spit you out. See which drivers survived the Monster.

Check out the winners and the losers.

Winners

Jimmie Johnson

Well, I can’t say it wasn’t expected, Jimmie Johnson dominates the race and goes on to win. This team had this race really won on Friday when they won the pole. They were involved in the tire test at Dover so they had notes to go off of that other teams didn’t.

For Johnson, the Chase is his time, and he proved that with the performance he had today. They were solid on the track and on pit road. Johnson gave great feedback to his team.

Even when the car was not up front, he was able to work traffic well. Johnson was great on restarts; he was able to pull away from the field.

Johnson gets hot late in the season, and his win at Dover could be the foundation for their run for a fourth consecutive championship. Johnson and his team have a lot of momentum going into Kansas, where he won last year.

It’s only the second race, but the Chase but once again it is looking like Johnson’s to lose.

Points: Second

Jeff Gordon

I debated on my second pick it came down to three drivers. I chose Jeff Gordon because after his less than stellar run last week at New Hampshire, he came back to Dover and ran a smart race and earned a solid finish.

Gordon struggled for most of the weekend in practice. They couldn’t find the speed in the race car with this tire combination.

He started seventh and moved forward early. He was as high as second, but a broken air hose on a pit stop hurt their track position.

They were forced to rebound from seventh position. They lost ground but played strategy and took fresh tires.

They made up some ground with those tires but were never able to get up front. They finished sixth.

Of the teams that needed a good run, Gordon was one of them. It wasn’t what they wanted but now they are heading to tracks where Gordon has run well this year, those being mile and a half.

The time is now for Gordon to make his charge if he wants this championship that bad.

Points: Eighth

Casey Mears

This week Casey Mears lost his primary sponsor and then came out to Dover and ran in the top 15 for most of the day. Mears needed this run as bad as anyone and he did get it done.

Mears and his crew struggled with grip all day long, but Mears was able to give good feedback to the crew and they got it done on pit road. Mears gained the most time on pit road with his crew.

When Mears was running in the top 10, his car was just as fast if not faster than the guys he was racing. He did lose positions on the final restart because they didn’t have fresher tires. The gamble though for this team was worth it.

Mears finished 17th. He needed a run like this just to gain some momentum going into Kansas. Mears has shown in past season that he runs well late in the season which will be exactly what this team will have to do.

With talk of the team closing up because of lack of sponsorship Mears is auditioning for sponsors and possibly for a ride.

Points: 19th

Losers

Reed Sorenson

You know 2009 has not been as good as Sorenson had hoped. He moved over to Richard Petty Motorsports with the merger. The organization was struggling with retaining sponsors but Sorenson was signed to drive the No. 43.

Sunday’s race at Dover was just another example of a bad year getting worse. Sorenson had a decent car; he was running well and was moving forward.

After the competition caution on lap 25, Sorenson was caught up in the multi car wreck that destroyed the front of his car.

Their day was over, the team though made repairs and did come back on track but he finished 35th.

Recently the announcement that he be losing his ride. RPM had agreed to another merger deal with Yates Racing. Then we learned he has been driving for no salary for the last couple months. Doing so kept his team employed for the remainder of the year.

Sorenson is in search of another ride for 2010, might not be in the Cup series and could be in the Nationwide series. Either way consistency for Sorenson has been hard to find in his racing career.

In recent weeks this team had been running better, but they keep getting caught up in other peoples mess.

Points: 28th

Carl Edwards

It has not been an easy year for Carl Edwards. He has yet to win a race after leading the series in 2008 with nine wins. In 2009, he along with his organization has struggled with the setups on the cars.

He came into Dover on Sunday sitting 11th in the standings, desperately needing a solid run and finish to get back in the hunt.

He didn’t help himself with a poor qualifying effort that had him back in heavy traffic from the drop of the green in 30th.

He was struggling with a tight race car throughout the day. Edwards suffered some minor damage in the multi-car wreck but pitted before pit road was open, and was at the back of the pack.

What positions he gained were on pit road which finally got him into the top 15. Even so the team was unable to gamble enough on pit road to make any headway into the top 10.

While Edwards ended up finishing 11th this was not the type of run they expected at Dover.

Edwards was a factor last year in the championship this year he is an afterthought, they need to start focusing on next year.

Points: 11th

Kyle Busch

Well, Kyle Busch will win a championship in 2009, just not in the series he was expecting it to be. Busch, who is not in the Chase this year, was looking to play spoiler in the final 10 races.

So far, it hasn’t happened for Busch.

Busch had a strong car early on but brake problems and a bad adjustment had this team going backward. They hit the wall when he blew a tire.

After changing tires and losing a lap, he was complaining of brake issues. Soon after Busch hit the wall again and that sent him to the garage.

He finished 31st. Busch did return but was well off the pace and was just running laps. The year following up his best year statistically has been such a struggle for consistency.

The team fell behind coming into this year and now they are paying for it.

Points: 14th

Lucky dog…

Joey Logano

You might think I am crazy, he wrecked and was out of it before lap 50. When you see the wreck he had, then you too will say he is lucky.

Logano had a decent car and was moving forward early in the race. At the competition caution on lap 25 the team made some minor adjustments on the car.

They restarted mid-pack after losing position on pit road but that’s where trouble began. Logano checked up and then was tapped from behind and spun through the grass. He slid right back on track and collected Sorenson and Martin Truex Jr. and Robby Gordon.

Logano continued to flip back down the track seven times, and still walked away.

Logano was shaken up more than anything; he finished 42nd. The car did exactly what it was supposed to do and protected Logano head and neck as he flipped.

This won’t be the last wreck for Logano in his career, but this might have been his scariest wreck.

Thankfully, he walked away.

Points: 20th

Final lap…

This race wasn’t awful but it wasn’t great. The passing on track was little to none with the tire combination used. The only way to make up positions was on pit road. For some drivers it proved costly for others it saved their race.

Getting four tires didn’t exactly give an advantage to one driver. If you were going to win this race you had to make up ground on pit road and beat Johnson off pit road.

I do wonder why they do tire tests, but don’t use the combination that the drivers involved recommend. I think that is what set so many drivers behind from the get-go on Friday for some the notes they thought would work, hurt the handling on some cars.

Now that we are heading to a bigger track, I think we will see some different players. Drivers who haven’t run well on the short tracks but run better on the big tracks could be up front.

ESPN coverage was okay. It was not spectacular, but just okay. They did a nice job running through the field this week and really keeping us on top of the racing.

Could improvements be made? Of course! Will there be any? Probably not. So fans will have bear it for the next eight races and look forward to Fox again in February.

Kansas should be interesting as the points continue to shuffle and change each week.

See you all in Kansas.

Winners and Losers: Dover 200

Patti Rodisch — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:44:47 -0400

The season is winding down and the obvious statement is the Nationwide champion will be Kyle Busch if he doesn’t have a complete collapse in the final races.

Nothing though is guaranteed in racing so until the checkered flag at Homestead, nothing is determined. Following the last off weekend of the season, the series heads to Dover.

Check out the winners and losers.

Winners:

Clint Bowyer

This deal with Clint Bowyer's driving this weekend wasn’t decided until earlier this week. This team hadn’t won since July at Daytona and they admittedly had fallen behind since that win. They picked Bowyer and quite frankly he is their best driver for that team right now.

Bowyer had an early qualifying run he started 16th. It was only because of his starting position that he was not leading sooner.

Bowyer was in the top five before half way and was cutting into Busch lead, but still needed a caution to challenge Busch for the lead.

He was in the best car in the second half of the race and put on a show.

I was not surprised to see Bowyer not in the car more in recent months, with focus on the Chase in the Sprint Cup series. In case you forgot, Bowyer is the defending series champion, but decided to focus on the Sprint Cup championship instead.

Whenever he runs in the Nationwide series he is a contender, no matter how many weeks in between.

Points: 31st

Mike Bliss

Well, if you are looking for a veteran driver who can run in the top 10, and given good equipment contend, then Mike Bliss might be the driver you are looking for. Bliss who has been able to maintain his position in the standings in the top 10 had a great run going today.

He was released from his contract with James Finch early this summer. Oddly, he has been driving Finch owned cars in recent months.

Bliss had a great car on Saturday and he backed that up with a solid qualifying run of third. When the green flag waved, Bliss was battling in the top five for most of the race.

Bliss said they had a solid car and expected to contend for a win on Saturday. After slipping back on the final restart of the race, Bliss quickly rebounded and moved forward passing Kyle Busch for second and set sail for Bowyer.

With teams racing the rain more than each other, solid pit stops and track position important to have a chance at winning this race. Bliss and his team were able to accomplish both and were challenging for a win.

They finished second on Saturday.

With many drivers scrambling for rides, including Bliss having runs like this only help his search for a ride.

Points: Eighth

Michael Annett

Before the race, it didn’t seem like a top-15 run would even be a possibility for Michael Annett. They started last after having to go to a backup car, after wrecking coming to the green for qualifying. Even so they quickly moved through the field.

Before the first caution most of the field was a lap down Annett and his team continued to relay information to each other on what the car was doing. Annett ended up one lap down, but had a good race car and was able to capitalize on the cautions.

Annett was able to make good adjustments on the car and got his lap back and moved forward. He finished 13th. This was just the type of run he needed, after struggling at Richmond with a 25th place finish.

Annett though did a great job of giving feedback to his team and working to stay on the lead lap.

TV didn’t give him much credit or coverage for his run but as a strictly Nationwide series driver he had a good day.

Points: 11th

Losers:

Justin Allgaier

I picked Justin Allgaier for the win today; I thought he would be a factor today. He has had some success on concrete tracks this year. Well things did not go as planned on Saturday.

A long green run had Allgaier getting lapped early and really his day was over from there.

The first round of pit stops was under green, and Allgaier stayed out as long as possible to catch a caution. They stayed out just a bit too long, and when they tried to re-fire the car, there was no pickup.

They lost multiple laps on pit road when the team was forced to push the car three stalls to get it re-fired. After numerous attempts and a penalty for pushing his car too far down pit road Allagier was six laps down.

They ended up finishing 25th.

Allgaier is not battling for a championship, but he is battling for a top five finish in the championship standings. Finishing in the top five is crucial as only the top five in the series go to the banquet. This finish knocked him out of the top five.

Allgaier has a handful of races left to get back into the top five, just can’t afford no more mistakes.

Points: Sixth

Matt Kenseth

Matt Kenseth had a lot of hope for this race starting just outside the top 10 in 11th. Kenseth was driving today, but would not be driving the next two races. He will be back in this ride for the remaining races.

Kenseth was moving forward early he had a decent car, but was struggling as the run went on. After the green flag pit stop he was moving forward again, but the quick fall off of the tires meant getting as many positions as possible.

After a pit stop under caution they made an adjustment for a loose race car. He was battling Ryan Newman for position when the two got together. Newman went hard into the wall; Kenseth was forced to pit to repair damage to the car.

They were never able to recover and finished they finished 11th but he should have had a better finish.

Points: 27th

Brendan Gaughan

I am not even sure what happened to this team. They started the year very strongly and were contenders each week. Then one bad race for Brendan Gaughan a combination of accidents and poor handling cars he has quickly became an afterthought.

So much so that owner Rusty Wallace changed his crew chief hoping to change the momentum for this team. Well, on Saturday it didn’t get any better. Gaughan was forced to make an early pit stop and was lapped. He finished 19th with two laps off the pace.

RWR wants to be a championship-contending organization they need to minimize the mistakes by each driver. The crews need to improve the race cars during the race so they are there at the end.

Points: Ninth

Lucky Dog..

Brad Keselowski

It seems that the post race incident between Brad Keselowski‘s team and Denny Hamlin that became the story. The day though started off a bit rough for the driver and his crew.

While Busch was pulling away Keselowski and his team gambled and tried to catch a caution during green flag pit stops.

Keselowski though had to stop under green but sped on pit road. He was forced to serve a penalty under green and went a lap down.

Soon after a caution came out and Keselowski and his team stayed out while everyone else pitted. He got his lap back and from then on marched through the field.

Keselowski and Denny Hamlin were battling for position when he tagged Hamlin’s bumper and sent Hamlin into inside wall. Keselowski finished third and gained little ground on the championship leader.

Points: Third

Final Lap…

For all purpose the Nationwide championship is Busch’s to lose. But that doesn’t mean the racing isn’t good. There were some great battles throughout the field today even though there were not many battles for the lead.

The coverage was good today; better than the last couple weeks. ESPN did a good job covering the field and keeping us aware of the action going on around the track.

I like the Nationwide series—I think it gives many drivers a opportunity to show what they can do. The cost though to run a team and travel hurts this series and with sponsors dropping each week, this series needs a lifeline.

Cutting crew guys and testing helps but there has to be some influx of revenue to the struggling teams.

As many of you know not a fan of “start and parks” but I understand the reasoning behind it, they are trying to survive race to race. NASCAR needs to step in and do something or next year the field will not even have “start and parks” they just won’t show up.

Next week they head to Kansas.

Winners and Losers: Sylvania 300

Patti Rodisch — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:13:22 -0400

All the talk of championships and pressure and strategy is put to the side at least for the drivers.They get to work and do what they do best: Race to win.

Finally it was time to race.

With all the anticipation and the buzz surrounding what is a wide open Chase, see which drivers were the winners and which were the losers in Sunday's Sylvania 300 in Loudon, NH.

Winners

Mark Martin

Leading the points in the first race of the Chase is not always the best position to be in. For Mark Martin though, he was relaxed and wasn’t worrying about points. He was focused on the race.

Martin started 14th after a disappointing qualifying. The No. 5 obviously wasn’t the best car early in the race. Martin dropped back early to as far back as 16th but a stellar first pit stop put them into the top-10. After that stop, they never ran outside the top-10 again.

Martin gave feedback when needed and worked traffic perfectly. He survived the multiple late race cautions and a hard charging Juan Pablo Montoya.

The win secured him the top position in the Chase and only lost him five points from where his lead started on Sunday.

Martin gives credit to everyone around him, but face it, he is one of NASCAR's greats and the favorite for the Championship right now.

That is all that matters.

Points: First

Clint Bowyer

For Clint Bowyer, not making the Chase was a tough blow to a driver who had made NASCAR's playoff system the two previous seasons. This year he can play spoiler without the pressure the Chase brings. On Sunday Bowyer quietly ran a great race, and grabbed a top-10 finish to show for it.

Bowyer started a little off on their setup. They struggled with a loose race car early but Bowyer was able to give good information on what he needed in his car to make it more comfortable.

On top of the good adjustments, he was also helped by some solid pit stops that gave him great track position.

At one point he was running in the top three, battling for the lead. He fell back in the end to 10th but let it be known, he won’t go down quietly even if he won’t win a championship.

His impressive day should only fuel this team not only for the remainder of this year, but to get them back into the Chase next year.

Points: 15th

Elliott Sadler

What a run for Elliott Sadler. We know he can run well on the restrictor plate tracks. But Sadler hasn’t shown strength on intermediate and short tracks. Today he struggled with his race car early but was able to give solid feedback to his crew.

They battled track position all day long but when it counted and mattered most they were able to hold position through the late restarts. An eighth place finish is exactly what this team needed to change momentum.

Sadler has a lot riding on the final 10 races and even though he has a ride secured, he has never been a contender for a championship.

To contend next year preparation starts right now for Sadler.

Points: 24th

Losers

Kasey Kahne

Let's be honest, the engine failure that knocked the No. 9 car out of the race should make Kahne nervous going forward.

What momentum they had coming into today has all but disappeared.

Early on, Kahne was moving forward but sensed there was an issue on the backstretch when he could hear the engine missing. Seconds later, the engine blew and their day was over.

They dropped all the way to 12th in the standings after finishing 38th.

Kahne was asked who he considers to be the leader at Richard Petty Motorsports and he wasn't even sure. He said he does look to crew chief Kenny Francis for leadership and that he really depends on Francis.

That being said Kahne needs leadership at his newly shaken-up team if he wants to have success in the Chase. It can't be all Kahne, there needs to be a man pulling the strings from behind the curtain.

Otherwise the No. 9 might be an afterthought in the Chase.

Points: 12th

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

With all the focus on the Chase drivers, there are a few drivers that are already looking to improve for next year. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is one of those drivers who in recent weeks, has been showing improvement on the track.

Earnhardt started mid pack but quickly was moving forward. In 50 laps he was in the top 10. He was running in the top five before the halfway point of the race.

This team has seen a turnaround after their early to mid-season woes and they are running better. Earnhardt had flawless pit stops and the feedback to the team allowed them to keep up on the car.

Earnhardt and his team are communicating the best he has all year long with Lance McGrew his crew chief.

The results, though, don't show that. On Sunday, Junior's strong finish was ruined by a someone else's mistake.Trouble on a late restart when David Reutimann got into Earnhardt, who went hard into the wall.

What should have been a solid top-10 finish turned into a 27th place finish.

Earnhardt fans should start to feel better progress is being made, albeit too late for 2009.

Points: 21st

David Stremme

As we took the green flag on Sunday the top-10 was covered with Chase drivers but a couple drivers had surprising qualifying laps and one of them was David Stremme.

They were using the same setup that Kurt Busch had in his car, and the speed proved that. They were top-five in practice, and were looking forward to racing on Sunday.

He ran up front for the first 100 laps but soon began to fall backwards. The handling on this car was going away and the adjustments on pit road were sending them backward.

Then on lap 193, contact with AJ Allmendinger sent him spinning. He ended up two laps down and finished 28th.

Stremme is out of a ride at the end of this year and is auditioning for his future in this sport.

Points: 31st

Lucky Dog…

Bobby Labonte

When the weekend began, Bobby Labonte was fighting to get into the race. After a stellar qualifying lap that put him eighth, Labonte was in.

The question that remained was would he race all 300 laps? With limited sponsorship, they didn’t have enough money for pit crew or tires.

Labonte a former champion went to work and through negotiations he was able to secure enough money to complete the race.

It paid off as he ended up leading the race at one point.

You know it’s a tough economy when a former champion is struggling to run a full race.

For Labonte, if he had a great ride, who knows what the results would be. But at this point in his career, that might be one too many "ifs."

Points: 29th

Final Lap…

The first race is over and the standings had a major shakeup, but this won’t be the last time this happens.

We saw what was expected as the Chase drivers dominated both the good and the bad stories on Sunday.

The coverage though, was less than impressive. ESPN seemed to be struggling with covering not only the Chasers but everyone else.

Sometimes they were so focused on the Chasers they were missing the good racing back in the pack.

And the post-race coverage by ESPN was pitiful.

I know it is football season but if you want to make the Chase relevant, the TV coverage needs to improve.

NASCAR fans want to hear from their drivers. The least they could do is talk to the Chase drivers if nothing else.

If they didn't want to miss football coverage, then cut the pre-race show down. That way NASCAR fans get everything they want. For fans, it's a bit more important to hear from drivers after the race than it is to hear speculation before it.

Next up is Dover, who will rebound? Who will play spoiler? Who will take the checkered?

See you next Sunday.

The Lugnut Report: Different Track, Same Results for Michael Waltrip

Patti Rodisch — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 18:09:48 -0400

For Michael Waltrip, the final 10 races are the final act, as he prepares for a part-time ride in 2010.

Waltrip is handing over not only a full-time ride but a sponsor in NAPA that has been loyal to not only Waltrip but to the organization as a whole.

NAPA moved from a well-established Dale Earnhardt Inc. to Waltrip and his struggling, young organization that was started from the ground up.

NAPA watched the organization struggle and now as they build toward the future.

The future really does start this week, as this team prepares for not only the rest of 2009 but next year.

Sunday marked Waltrip's 750th career start, a incredible accomplishment in a sport where you can be the "It" driver one year and without a ride the next.

On Friday, Waltrip struggled in qualifying trim; he ran a fast lap of 20.2 seconds. Running 24 laps he was sitting 31st on the speed charts.

Waltrip had an early draw for qualifying going out fifth. He had a decent qualifying that scored them 21st in the lineup.

A decent starting position should have given them something to build off.

In the second practice of the weekend, the team was working on race trim and finding the handling and setup for the car.

They ran 26 laps and their fastest lap was on lap 16. They ran 20.5 second lap was good enough for 19th on the charts. Signs of improvement as the practice wore on.

With final practice coming up like everyone else, it’s all about race trim and getting a game plan. Waltrip, though, struggled in final practice.

They ran only 22 laps and their fastest lap was his second lap of the final practice. With a time of 29.8 seconds, Waltrip was only 38th fastest at the end of the hour.

Not a good way to head to the green on Sunday, struggling with the handling of the car late in practice.

After the green flag waved on Sunday the car quickly started slipping backwards.

On Lap 23, Waltrip told his crew chief the “car is as bad as it could possibly handle.” He was loose in, chattering in the center, and too much air in the front tires.

On Lap 34, Waltrip was 33rd and was in danger of going a lap down.

Just a handflul of laps later, he was one lap down.

When the first caution came out, he was 33rd and one lap down; after air pressure adjustments he came out exactly in the same position.

On the second caution for debris, the car was still loose, but it had good drive off and better in the center.

Waltrip was frustrated but they were the first car one lap down and were hoping for a quick caution to get them back on the lead lap and back in the hunt.

The cars’ handling, though, had them going backwards, and they went down two laps.

On lap 168, Waltrip got caught up in a chain-reaction wreck with Joey Logano and Elliott Sadler causing slight damage to the car. Waltrip was able to change tires make repairs and stay just two laps down.

With no other cars one lap down, they were in line to get one of the laps back if a caution came out. When caution came out, they got the lucky dog and were the second car one lap down, behind Scott Speed.

They soon fell back down two laps; effectively their day was over.

Waltrip was never able to get back on the lead lap, and with a poor handling race car, the results were a 27th-place finish and the first car two laps down.

It has been a long time since we have seen Waltrip run up front consistently and contend for wins.

Sunday’s like this have come too often for Waltrip and has made his choice to go into semi-retirement a little bit easier.

Waltrip is looking ahead to Dover and rebounding from another poor finish.

Check out Jen Preston's Lugnut Report on Kurt Busch.

Chevy Rock and Roll 400: Winners and Losers Chase Edition

Patti Rodisch — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 02:16:18 -0400

Well, 26 races and it all came down to one lap and two drivers battling for one position. For 12 drivers, the season continues with more on the line than in the last 26 races.

For the rest of the field they want to play spoiler. First you have to make it in and at the green flag, eight spots up for grabs and 11 drivers battling to get in.

Winners

Denny Hamlin

Denny Hamlin has called Richmond his Daytona and he owned it Saturday night. With a Chase berth secured, Hamlin was going for a win.

Hamlin, since his win at Pocono, has been on a tear, with strong top 10 finishes. He is showing the rest of the field he will be a contender.

Hamlin is Joe Gibbs Racing's only hope for a championship, and he looked like a champion the way he ran on Saturday night.

Points: Fourth

Mark Martin

From 10th to first: not a bad deal for a guy who insisted he was not worried about points for most of the season. After starting on the pole and running in the top five for most of the night, Martin came home fourth.

Martin has the point lead to the green flag in Loudon, when it could all change. Many drivers are saying to keep an eye on Martin for the championship; those drivers are the ones not in the Chase.

Points: First

Brian Vickers

What a night for Brian Vickers, racing at one of his worst tracks, average finish wise. Vickers needed to finish and it had to be in the top 10. He was racing not only Kyle Busch but also Matt Kenseth.

Vickers ran a perfect race and the car was at its best when it mattered. He finished seventh and raced his way into the Chase.

It shouldn’t be surprising that Vickers made the also isn't so surprising after all.

Points: Eighth

Jeff Gordon

Looks like Jeff Gordon got his rhythm back just in time for the Chase. After hard wrecks at Watkins Glen and a poor finish at Bristol, Gordon is looking a lot like he did early this season.

Gordon had the second-best car for most of the night and ran up front. After a restart mix up with Clint Bowyer, he rebounded to finish third.

Gordon is as optimistic and as relaxed going into the Chase as we have ever seen him. His experience will be important, and Gordon is banking on riding this momentum through the Chase.

Points: Sixth

Stewart Haas Racing

Well for a first year owner and driver Tony Stewart has accomplished some big time goals. Nobody expected them to come out of the gate the way they did, and Stewart led the standings for the last few months.

Stewart though is not taking for granted the success they have found this year, and he is hoping to make some history himself come November.

Points: Second

Ryan Newman made a risky move from as well established organization at Penske to a struggling organization that had never won before. His goal going into the season was to finish in the top 15; well, making the Chase has exceeded that.

Newman while he doesn’t have a win, is always a threat, and if they can get on a roll, this team could be the one to watch.

Points: 10th

Juan Pablo Montoya

It took three years but Juan Pablo Montoya finally has made the Chase and he has been close numerous times to winning his second race.

Montoya, who has admitted he has been points racing since Dover in the spring, did exactly what he needed to get himself in position for the Chase.

If you are looking for the guy to watch and want a dark horse, Montoya might be the one. He has a good poker face and still hasn’t shown his hand yet.

Points: 11th

Kasey Kahne

Well this time Kasey Kahne did not need to race his way into the Chase. After a thrilling win in Atlanta, Kahne came in here a lock to make the Chase and just needed to avoid trouble.

With two wins this season, he is in the best position he has been in the Chase in a long time.

Kahne was in Busch''s position last year, outside looking in. It wouldn’t be crazy to think he could win a few races in the Chase this year.

Points: Fifth

Kurt Busch

Been a rough few weeks for this team, after back-to-back poor finishes, Busch was suddenly in the danger zone of not making the Chase. With a lot on the line, they played it safe and ran well on Saturday and secured a Chase berth.

After missing it last year, Busch has the most improved race team, and deserves to be in the Chase with how they have run in 2009.

Points: Seventh

Jimmie Johnson

Well you can’t bet against this team ever. They were the favorite coming into the season by many and will be the favorite in the Chase. With three wins so far this year, they haven’t really hit their peak.

They have been struggling lately, with some handling issues and some tough luck that have cost them not only wins but top 10 and top five finishes.

Look for them to get it together by Sunday and be ready to defend the title. Johnson is the favorite until one of the 11 other drivers prove otherwise. Period.

Points: Third

Losers

Matt Kenseth

Kenseth needed to run his best race of the season tonight. Coming into the race he held a slim lead over Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch for the final spot in the standings. The weekend though didn't go as planned when he qualified 28th.

This team completely missed the setup and as the green flag waved Kenseth quickly began to drop back. During the first caution, a miscommunication had Kenseth pitting when he should have stayed out and he was marred back in traffic in 37th.

The night did not get any better for Kenseth as he ended up a lap down after halfway and was never able to race in the top 20 all night long.

He has never missed the Chase since its inception, and his disappointing 25th place finish all but assured that.

Points: 14th

Kyle Busch

You know it was hard to put Busch on this list, because four wins and not in the Chase is a hard pill to swallow. With Kenseth's struggles, though, getting into the Chase had one less hurdle to overcome.

The other one was Vickers.

Busch battled a very loose race car for most of the day. He had one really good run just in the middle of the race. The team had solid pit stops but with a ill handling car Busch was never able to lead a lap. When it was all over Vickers was eight points better. Busch finished fifth.

While the Chase berth came down to eight points tonight, Busch lost the Chase berth four months ago with consecutive finishes outside the top 20 and poor handling cars.

Now Busch gets to play spoiler, which should make the rest of the field nervous.

Points: 13th

David Reutimann

Had you told me at the beginning of the year that David Reutimann had a shot at the Chase, I would have said you were crazy. A win maybe, but a Chase berth not in the cards, well Reutimann nearly proved me wrong.

Reutimann had a strong start to the season, and found himself firmly in the top 12, until a string of poor finishes after his win at Lowes.

They were a long shot after Atlanta, with Clint Bowyer struggles and eliminating himself from contention, Reutimann suddenly ended up being the guy who could spoil the party if anyone 10-14th ran into any issues.

While it never played out Reutimann ran well enough and finished 20th.

Reutimann had an outside shot to make the Chase and nobody expected him to make the Chase.

Then again no one expected him to win a race and he did that.

Points: 16th

Lucky Dog…

Roush Fenway Racing

Greg Biffle will start 12th in the Chase on Sunday. Biffle though has not looked like a championship contender this year. He has had some decent runs, Biffle and his crew have a lot of work to do. This organization as a whole is behind, and it is showing with the results on the track.

Tonight, Biffle was just as close to being knocked out of the Chase as his teammate Kenseth was. Biffle and the team struggled with the race car and they struggled in traffic. Unable to get track position, they finished 13th.

Biffle will need to do what he did last year and that is win in the Chase if he wants to have a shot at the top drivers.

Points: 12th

Carl Edwards who last year going into the Chase had six victories, this year he is entering with zero. A lot has changed since last year, Edwards doesn’t seem to have the same equipment he had last year.

He has had some tough luck and really has struggled with this race car. He was never was a factor for the win on Saturday. He finished 15th, but really the finish doesn’t tell the whole story. They struggled with the handling on this race car more so than expected.

I am not shocked that he has not won so far in 2009. I am more disappointed in the results. Some not of their making,other races he should have won had it not been for driver mistakes or crew issues.

Edwards needs the Chase to turn momentum hopefully for the better.

Points: Ninth

Final Lap…

While every driver who made the Chase is technically a winner tonight, a few drivers are carrying a ton of momentum going into Loudon next Sunday.

This field is one of the best Chase fields we have ever had. With only 40 points separating Martin and Biffle, the championship really is up for grabs.

A few drivers really need to get to work particularly the Roush Fenway organization, while they have two drivers in the Chase they are not running well when it matters the most.

On the other hand, a few other drivers are running the best they have all season, and the results are showing that. Drivers like Gordon and Hamlin and Vickers seem to be building momentum at the right time.

Now we’re going to read that the Chase needs to be changed, a wildcard for the driver with the most wins. While it came down to just a handful of points for the Chase, running well the whole year is and should be what gets you in the Chase; consistency is key.

Wins are important, but they shouldn’t and can’t decide a championship. If that’s the case then Edwards would be the defending series champion, not Jimmie Johnson.

NASCAR got exactly what they had hoped when they first started this format, a real battle down to the end.

Next up is Loudon, the first test for these drivers and the first chance for the rest of the field to play spoiler.

Jeff Gordon: "I've Always Enjoyed Racing Here"

Patti Rodisch — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 23:48:29 -0400

For Jeff Gordon Richmond represents his team’s last chance to score 10 bonus points for the Chase for the championship.

Next week the points will reset and Gordon whose last win came at Texas in the spring is looking to start the Chase off with a little momentum.

This weekend is the first of back to back weekends carrying the National Guard colors this weekend they are running the Dupont/National Guard Wounded Warrior program.

Next weekend at Loudon he will be running the Guard colors.

"I'm proud to honor all the Wounded Warriors out there on our DuPont/National Guard Chevy this weekend at Richmond. It's great knowing the National Guard has a program in place that provides an injured or ill soldier with the proper medical and personal assistance they need to return to their families." Gordon said.

In May at Richmond when Gordon ran this same paint scheme he led 96 laps and finished eighth.

Richmond has been a good track for Gordon where he has an average start of 7.7, which is exactly where he will start on Saturday night, seventh.

Gordon has posted two wins, and 12 top five’s and 21 top 10’s in 33 starts at the .75 mile track. In his career has led over 1100 laps at this track. So Gordon knows his way around this track and knows how to get it done.

The National Guard car has brought Gordon some great finishes; he hasn’t finished outside the top five including his Texas win in April.

Gordon ran this same chassis at Martinsville, where he led 146 laps.

This weekend all the focus will be on the 10 drivers vying for the final spots in the Chase. Gordon who is locked into the Chase is focused on winning and that’s all.

“For us, it's about going after the win and the 10 bonus points that go along with it." Gordon said.

The benefit of being locked into the chase means they are not looking over there shoulder and not only can be focused on Richmond, they can also look forward in the chase and start game planning.

First thing first the team will be looking back at notes from Loudon in the summer. Gordon finished second in the rain suspended race.

Crew Chief Steve LeTarte thinks that Loudon could be a part of their success this weekend at Richmond and of course at Loudon next weekend.

“What we learned at Loudon should help us this weekend," said Letarte, referring to the rain-shortened New Hampshire Motor Speedway event won by Joey Logano. "We led laps and I thought we were real competitive.

"In turn, I hope what we learn this weekend carries over to the first race of the 'Chase' at Loudon." LeTarte added.

How you run at Richmond can equate to not only Loudon but tracks like Phoenix. The 24 team struggled at Phoenix earlier this year, but they have made gains on that program since they last ran there.

"Turns 1 and 2 at Phoenix are a lot like Richmond, and we struggled pretty severely at Phoenix earlier this year. Mark (Martin) won. He had a very good car. Jimmie (Johnson) had a very good car. We were OK, but we weren't as good as we expected to be. But from Phoenix to Richmond, we improved a great deal so we think we've learned some stuff from Richmond, and we're excited to apply that stuff to see if hopefully we can improve upon Phoenix." LeTarte said.

Gordon has had a decent car all weekend long he was in the top 10 in practice speeds for both practices. His fastest lap came in his final lap, of happy hour practice.

Gordon likes racing at Richmond and expects the racing to be at its best, especially with so much on the line.

"I've always enjoyed racing here, and I think the teams and fans love it, as well," said Gordon. "It's such a great short track event 'under the lights,' and the track has multiple grooves.

"It always seems to be a very competitive race with a lot of action and a few surprises. When you throw in so many guys battling for 'Chase' spots, there's going to be a lot of exciting things to watch."

It all starts this weekend and Gordon is hoping to be celebrating more than just a Chase berth on Saturday night.

Virginia 529 College Savings 250: Nationwide Winners and Losers

Patti Rodisch — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 23:04:50 -0400

The Nationwide series heads to the short track in Richmond, Virginia for a Friday night show under the lights.

With the races winding down and the Championship still in reach for the top drivers, every race is important and everything is on the line.

Check out this week’s winner and the losers.

Winners

Carl Edwards

Carl Edwards started at the back of the field, after an unapproved adjustment on the car he was forced to the back. Even being at the back of the pack, Edwards was able to move forward and quickly. He was in the top 10 just after half way.

Edwards was in the top five with less than 100 to go.With a fast car and great stops. He was able to work traffic to perfection and take advantage of the cautions to work on the car and gain positions on pit road.

Edwards who is fighting for a championship couldn’t get caught up in a Richmond wreck and he couldn’t afford to injure his foot more in case of an accident. Edwards is determined to run every race even with a broken foot.

Edwards might be walking with a limp for a while, but he has a little swagger with that limp.

Points: Second

Trevor Bayne

You know something Trevor Bayne quietly had a solid race. He started the race in ninth and never left the top 10. At one point he was racing in the top five.

The team had solid pit stops and while they struggled with the handling they were able to maintain position and work on the car, giving Bayne exactly what he needed to bring that car home with a solid finish.

Bayne was impressive tonight; he was running well and with the top drivers in this sport. He ran a smart race and this will certainly be something not only to build on but to continue to build up his confidence.

Bayne might have been the biggest surprise in the top 10, but you shouldn’t be too surprised Bayne needs the laps more than anything and he would continue to have finishes like this. Tonight Bayne tied his season best finish of seventh.

Bayne brought home his car in one piece and one heckuva a run.

Points: 33rd

Justin Allgaier

After a rough couple weeks of finishes outside the top 20, Justin Allgaier rebounded with a top 10 finish in eighth. This was a much needed run and way to turn the momentum a bit.

Allgaier started the race in 19th and very nearly went a lap down. They were struggling with changing track and really tight conditions at times.

Allgaier gave solid feedback on the car and the adjustments had this car moving forward and battling for a top 10 finish.

Allgaier has been struggling lately and the success he found early on in the season, he just can't find in the second half. Allgaier will benefit from Brad Keselwoski as his teammate, gives him another person to bounce information off of.

Allgaier was just biding his time it seems until the last 50 laps and he made his charge.

Points: Fifth

Losers

Denny Hamlin

Once again Denny Hamlin leads a lot of laps but is unable to close the deal at his home track of Richmond. Hamlin though made the save of the night possibly the season late in the race.

Hamlin started on the pole and ran in the top five all night long. He was swapping the lead back with his teammate Kyle Busch and Keselowski in the first half of the night.

Hamlin fought a loose condition for most of the night and that came to a head while battling with Kevin Harvick late for the lead.

Harvick was underneath Hamlin and as Hamlin all but spun out, Harvick and Hamlin made great saves. While Harvick didn’t sustain too much damage, Hamlin watched his chance at a win disappear and was forced to battle back to get on the lead lap.

Hamlin has little consolation for starting on the pole and leading the most laps but not having anything to show for it. He finished 17th.

Hamlin dominates but once again has to watch someone else celebrate at his home track.

Oh home sweet home.

Points: 14th (OP)

Paul Menard

Well Paul Menard started in the top five, after a stellar qualifying lap. It looks like they missed the setup, the actual race setup.

Menard was looking to build on recent strong finishes, and it started out well. They had a fast car in practice and that equated to the qualifying setup. The team was unable though to make adjustments on the car, so that Menard could contend.

Menard team seemed to struggle a bit in the pits tonight and unable to make up ground on the track, the team came home with a 13th place finish.

A good rebound for a team that at one point could have went a lap down had it not been for a debris caution.

Menard is quietly having a solid season in the Nationwide series.

Points: 23rd

Lucky Dog…

Kenny Wallace

For Kenny Wallace Friday's race is particularly special. Wallace is starting his 800 career start tonight. A feat that ranks him 17th on the all time list, a list that has over 3,000 drivers.

A humbled Wallace who has been racing for over 20 years, once drove a car for the late Dale Earnhardt.

Wallace started tonight 29th tonight and was able to work his way up to 20th both on the track and on pit road. Wallace was dealing with similar issues that everyone else, tight early on.

He struggled with this car though and the handling, ended up going a lap down before the 100 lap mark. He ended up finishing 26th.

Wallace is a great ambassador for this sport, and 800 starts later he is not looking to slow down just yet.

Points:12th

Final lap…

This one will be short and sweet.

Friday was a day of remembrance for the attacks on our country eight years ago. We cannot forget the sacrifices of not only the men and women who lost their lives that day in Washington D.C., New York, and Pennsylvania.

But also the families who lost loved ones but must move forward and the soldiers who are fighting for our freedoms every day.

We are lucky and blessed to live in the United States of America.

2009 NASCAR Chase for the Championship Full of Drama

Patti Rodisch — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:39:30 -0400

For the last couple years the Chase has, to put it nicely, been lackluster. With no drama leading up to the Chase and the fleeting drama during the first few races, the Chase has been far from exciting.

In recent years, two drivers end up pulling away from the rest of the field. In 2007 Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson battled the entire season and in the Chase, Johnson won it all.

In 2008 it was all about Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards until the Chase. When it came down to the final races of the year, Busch struggled and Edwards and Johnson were battling for the championship. Johnson won again but Edwards did not go down easy.

The Chase field is 12 drivers; the very best of this sport battling it out for the championship.

The result is through bad luck or poor runs, week by week the championship comes down to one or two drivers.

2009 will be different. I believe what we have been seeing is the buildup for one of the best Chase series since its inception in 2004.

So far in 2009 the competition has been at its best, with 13 different winners. 35 different drivers have scored top 10 finishes.

When the Chase starts in a week, seven different organizations will be represented in the Chase, an increase from the four organizations that were represented in 2008.

The struggling car manufacturers in 2009 are all well represented with every manufacturer having a car in the playoffs. In 2008 Dodge was the only manufacturer to not have a car represented.

Unlike years past, only 40 points could separate the first place seeded driver and the last place driver. That could change if Busch makes the Chase and wins at Richmond, or if Mark Martin wins then it will be 50.

With the possibility that only 50 points separate the Chase drivers at New Hampshire, every race in the Chase will be critical. Minimizing mistakes will be crucial for the contenders to keep in touch with the leader.

Now usually the point spread has been as large if not larger of a gap. The difference this year is the competition is at its best.

Last year after the point reset, five of the 12 drivers had not won a race.

Meanwhile, Kasey Kahne was on the outside looking in with two wins and still missed the Chase. This year Busch could be the driver looking in with four wins.

We will still run into the same issues that we have seen in past Chases For instance, one bad race can knock a driver out of contention, but one good race can put a driver back into contention.

Take the Atlanta race; if you look at the top 10, most of the drivers were Chase contenders, often including David Reutimann, Busch or Brian Vickers who all still have a shot at making the Chase.

The close competition also plays a lot into the fact of this new car, lack of testing and strict rules that put both the driver and the crew chief in a box. Because of that the speeds and times are so close no team has an advantage.

Last year Edwards won the most races during the season and the Chase, but Johnson won the trophy. In 2007 Gordon was one of the most consistent drivers all year long, but in the Chase Johnson won the most races and won the trophy.

In 2009 to win the championship, a driver has to be both consistent and win a fair amount of races. For the first time in the Chase though, consistency might be the deciding factor.

With only two drivers having the possibility of not winning, the points spread is close and the 12th place driver coming in could be leading the standings by the checkered flag at Loudon.

This weekend’s race at Richmond will be the most important race of the year, for 15 drivers. Some drivers will be fighting for bonus points, while others will be fighting for their season.

History could be made this year.

Can Johnson win four in a row?

Will Tony Stewart be the first owner/driver since Alan Kulwicki to win the championship?

Can Gordon finally win his fifth title, in a hall of fame career?

Can Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman or Juan Pablo Montoya pull out an upset and win their first title?Can Kyle Busch race his way in? Or will Vickers?

These questions will have to be answered. Richmond this weekend begins to answer some of these questions.

Even so there will the critics who still are not happy with the current system.

Think about it without the Chase, Stewart has this title run all but finished.

Where is the drama in that?

There is no excitment when your driver is 400 points out of first and they are sitting in fourth, fifth, or sixth place.

Why tune in and watch, when it was over in September?

Criticizing the Chase has increased in popularity over the years for good reason. It’s not perfect and changes could be made, but this year the Chase might take us by surprise.

As far as competition goes, it can make or break the success of the Chase, but in 2009, it could be the best we have seen yet.

The Chase brings drama and this year the drama has been building for the last two months. Now fans can sit back and cheer on their favorite drivers as they battle for our sports biggest prize.

The Lugnut Report: Jeff Burton's Disappointing Season Continues in Atlanta

Patti Rodisch — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 02:11:14 -0400

2009 has not gone well for Jeff Burton.

During a resurgence in the last couple years, Burton has been a contender for the Championship. So far, though, 2009 has been a struggle not only for Burton but for his whole organization at Richard Childress Racing.

With making the Chase out of the picture, it’s time to start looking forward to next year and building some momentum.

Saturday was a very busy day for Burton—not only was he preparing for the Cup race on Sunday, he was preparing for the Nationwide race Saturday night. With Nationwide being a one day show, Burton was non-stop all day long.

On the Cup side of things, the team struggled with a loose race car due to weather conditions which included a red flag for rain. The track is so weather-sensitive that brief cloud cover can throw off the handling of the car.

Burton ran a total of 48 laps in the practice. His fastest lap was his first lap, a time of 31.2 seconds. The team ended up 26th on the charts heading into the final practice.

Burton and his team went to work and ran a fast lap of 31.1 seconds on lap 29 of the 33 he had run. Late in the practice many teams were focusing on qualifying and making short runs to find the right set up.

Burton and his crew drew an early draw for qualifying in going out fifth—which for many was a disadvantage.

Burton would end up starting 24th.

As the race went green, Burton was battling a very loose race car; he started to drop back a bit and reported to the team that he had no rear grip and that he needed to turn better in the corners.

That was lap 11; by lap 22 he was still needing rear grip under throttle, but he didn’t want to hurt his entrance and exit off the corners.

Sam Hornish Jr. brought out the first caution and the call was for four tires, air pressure adjustment, and a track bar adjustment; he cycled through to 19th. Burton started moving forward but still was complaining about being way to lose.

By lap 100 he had worked his way up to 15th. Just a few laps later he reported a being loose getting on, tight in the middle, and that he couldn’t run the bottom. The team talked about a wedge adjustment on the next stop.

By lap 117 he was dropping in the field, reporting an issue on the No. 31. A vibration forced them onto pit road under green and dropped them a lap down; the caution waved while they were on pit road.

Burton drove through instead of pitting and NASCAR caught him speeding.

From here on the rest of the night for Burton would be one to forget.

On lap 200, Burton had already been lapped again; he pitted but once again got caught speeding. At this point the frustration had begun to show.

Burton was adamant that he was not speeding, and NASCAR black flagged him for not serving the penalty.

By lap 268 he was running in 35th and still three laps down—and was still pleading his case that he did not speed. They continued to struggle with an ill-handling race car.

On a late caution they took advantage of the wave around and did not pit getting one of their laps back to finish 34th and two laps down.

This was not the night that Burton had hoped for. Sitting 18th in the standings, the team is focused on getting better for the remainder of the year and for next year.

Burton and teammate Kevin Harvick are examples of how the year has gone for the Richard Childress Racing stable: Either they are right on with the setups and they have strong runs and finishes like Harvick’s second tonight...or they are just a bit off and a already long night is even longer.

Burton was expected to be a threat for the championship this year; instead he is trying to salvage a season that has gone in the wrong direction.

Check out Denny Hamlin Lugnut Report by Jen Preston.

Pep Boys Auto 500: Winners and Losers

Patti Rodisch — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 01:28:24 -0400

Well the drivers headed to Atlanta to race under the lights, where the speeds are quicker and the drama is heightened. Racing is back on Labor Day weekend in the south, and the Sprint Cup boys rolled into Atlanta with a lot on the line.

Check out this week’s winners and losers.

Winners

Kasey Kahne

Kasey Kahne has been in this position before. Two races before the Chase starts and he is just hanging on, just on the outside. Last year Kahne failed to make the Chase after a string of bad races made him the first driver with multiple wins looking in on the Chase last year.

This year Kahne is sitting in a better position than last, but the standings are so close he needed to come home with a solid finish just to keep pace. He had a good car, started on the outside pole and stayed near the front all night long.

They struggled with the handling but Kahne was good on the short runs. He could pull away for 10-15 laps and that’s exactly what it came down to after a late caution. Kahne took the lead and never gave it back earning his second victory of the year.

This win catapulted him in the standings as his fellow contenders for a Chase spot struggled. Kahne now just needs to survive at Richmond and he will be there.

Strange stat: Kahne has won more races in the last two seasons than Jeff Gordon; four to one.

Points: Fifth

Kevin Harvick

Kevin Harvick must love Atlanta. After dominating the Nationwide race, Saturday night, Harvick came out and almost stole the show. This following a dismal year in 2009.

Starting in 18th on Sunday night, the team struggled early with the handling and pit stops. Harvick though, was able to run the bottom better than anyone out there. He made most of his time up on the bottom of the track, while others searched around the top.

Harvick was good on the long runs. It was evident when he would fall back early on in the run, but charge back up to the front. He had the lead and his sights on the win before a late caution, as teammate Clint Bowyer spun out.

Harvick's engine was overheating. A caution was the last thing he needed. Kahne was able to pass him on the restart and Harvick had to settle for second. Overall though this was a solid run and a positive sign for this team.

This is the first time in a long time that they were competitive start to finish in a race and the most laps Harvick had led for since Las Vegas in the spring.

Points: 23rd

David Reutimann

A year ago a finish like this would have been surprising, but David Reutimann had a strong car on Sunday night. The only surprise is that mathematically he could make the Chase.

Reutimann's night was a bit of a roller coaster, having more ups than downs though. He like a lot of other teams struggled with a finicky race car. The team made good adjustments to the race car and they were able to take advantage of solid pit stops and good track position.

Reutimann's late charge earned him a fourth place finish after starting in 28th. The speed was there for the team. They were able to work on the car and get it better as the night wore on.

Reutimann still has a fighting chance to make the chase, should the drivers in front of him struggle. If he has a repeat performace, or better, he could make the chase.

Nicknamed “The Franchise,” Reutimann was looking like it tonight, driving his way to the front.

Points: 15th

Losers

Carl Edwards

For Carl Edwards tonight didn’t go as planned, he hoped to be pulling into victory lane for Jody—a young girl battling cancer who won a contest to design Edward’s car for the race.

Edwards also could have clinched it, but now has to be worried heading into Richmond.

The night started off well as Edwards moved forward, running in the top 10. They were having solid pit stops until smoke started coming from under the hood. The liquid they were dropping brought out the caution and forced them to pit.

The team lifted the hood and a piece of debris that punctured a hole in the radiator meant they returned 20 laps down after heading to the garage. Edwards finished 37th.

Edwards needs a win, but should make the chase. Going in without a win will hurt this team when it comes to seeding.

Atlanta was one of his best chances to finally notch that win and instead he was logging laps and trying to collect as many points as possible.

The story leading up to the green flag was Edwards' broken foot. Edwards was hoping the story would be a win.

Points: Fifth

Kurt Busch

It has been a rough couple weeks for Kurt Busch. Busch downright dominated the race here in the spring leading over 250 laps. Surprisingly the team used the same setups from spring, although the conditions were drastically different.

Busch was never a factor. He started from sixth, but the team was unable to adjust the car and make it better. He fell back early. He was on the lead lap until he and Reed Sorenson tagged. Busch hit the wall hard, sending him to the garage and out contention. He finished 38th.

Busch had already slipped back in the standings in recent weeks. He was sitting fourth in the standings just one month ago. Now he is sitting just over 100 points in front of 13th which means Busch can’t have any issues coming into Richmond.

Maybe Busch is getting the bad luck out of the way, two races before the Chase. Yep that’s what he's doing.

Points: Seventh

Clint Bowyer

Bowyer had an outside chance of making the chase, but his run at Bristol really hurt his chances. He slipped further behind Kyle Busch and Brian Vickers and more importantly Matt Kenseth in 12th.

He needed a strong finish just to even have a chance at Richmond. It didn’t happen.

After a poor qualifying lap he sat at the back of the pack and were lapped early. The setup was completely wrong. The team were unable to make the adjustments on the car. While long green runs meant many cars went a lap down, Bowyer never made up any ground.

They finished 29th.

Bowyer spun out late and caused the final caution of the race, systematically bringing teammate Harvick back to the field after he had pulled away. Bowyer though was RCR's only hope to make the chase. They now have to wait until next year.

No need for the media to hunt Bowyer down, Bowyer had left the building, quickly.

Points: 16th

Lucky Dog…

Matt Kenseth

Kenseth was sitting 12th in the standings and barely hanging on to the final position for the playoffs.

Early on it didn’t look good as the car was wicked loose, hitting the wall hard and causing damage to the quarter panel.

The team needed a caution to come in and fix the damage to the car. They got a break with early cautions and were able to tape the car back together.

Slowly but surely the team made up ground and positions. They found themselves racing in the top before the day was over. They finished 12th. Kenseth could not afford to have a poor finish and he was able to rebound from a rough start.

If they make the Chase, Atlanta will be the race they look back on and realize just how close they came to missing it.

Points: 12th

Final lap…

That was a pretty good race out there on Sunday. We saw tons of passing and great battles all the way to the checkered flag. Drivers were able to use the pit road to their advantage and take the lead while others lost the lead because of the pit road. Overall it was a great race, one of the better races this year.

It was also nice to see the stands packed. It wasn’t a sell out, but pretty close. NASCAR fans love racing on Labor Day weekend and they love racing in the south on Labor Day weekend.

It didn’t hurt that for the first time since the inception of the Chase only three drivers were locked in going into Atlanta.

The standings are the closest they have ever been at this point. Atlanta paved the way for what is guaranteed to be a showdown next weekend at Richmond.

Richmond is shaping up to come down to the checker for the setup for the Chase this year. This is exactly what NASCAR needs to help promote the chase during the kickoff weekend of football.

Richmond has turned out to be the most important race of the year for every driver first through 15th. Some drivers will be fighting for wins and bonus points. Others will be fighting for the season.

See you in Richmond.