Motorsports FanHouse http://motorsports.fanhouse.com Motorsports FanHouse http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/media/feedlogo.gif Motorsports FanHouse http://motorsports.fanhouse.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/Championship-Worthy Seasons Not Enough for Jeff Gordon, Mark Martinhttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/16/championship-worthy-seasons-again-not-enough-for-jeff-gordon-ma/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/16/championship-worthy-seasons-again-not-enough-for-jeff-gordon-ma/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/16/championship-worthy-seasons-again-not-enough-for-jeff-gordon-ma/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Jeff Gordon Mark Martin NASCAR Sprint Cup Phoenix Hendrick 2009 FanHouseThe cloudy white smoke from Jimmie Johnson's marathon victory burnout at Phoenix International Raceway Sunday seemed to have a double meaning.

On one hand, it was a celebration for all that Johnson has done right in the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup as he marches towards an improbable fourth straight Sprint Cup championship in the season's final race next weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

But on the other, it seemed to identify a brutal certainty for two of NASCAR's marquee drivers as once again Mark Martin's (2nd in points) and Jeff Gordon's (3rd) collective shots at NASCAR's biggest crown were figuratively going up in smoke.
More Coverage: Johnson in Cruise Control | Sprint Cup Standings

Gordon, of course, has somewhat of a "been-there-done-that" attitude towards championships thanks to the four he's collected in his Cup career, starting with his 1992 debut. Martin, though, appears to be heading towards his fifth career runner-up spot in the final season standings if he holds serve next Sunday at Homestead in relation to the competitors behind him.

Sure, it's imperative to mention in this column the fact that Johnson has yet to officially lay claim to the 2009 champion's trophy. His 108-point lead over Martin with one race remaining isn't a sure thing at Homestead, but it's the second-biggest lead Johnson has had going to Homestead as the championship leader.

Plus, he's yet to lose enough points at Homestead to lose the championship.

None of that makes it any easier for Martin to score the upset and win his first career Cup title.

Martin, though, has maintained all season that his 2009 campaign -- his first back from a few years of semi-retirement that saw him drive sparingly in the Cup series since departing Roush-Fenway Racing after 2006 -- hasn't been solely about winning the championship that has eluded him for so long.

Instead, Martin says, it's been about him learning to enjoy the sport of racing again and learning that every race is just a small part of the picture -- and that a bad finish or a bit of tough luck isn't a good reason to be mad for a week.

What's disappointing, though, is how the run that Martin has put together in the second part of the season -- and more notably the Chase -- will likely go for naught. Since an early crash at the July race in Daytona, Martin has tallied together two wins and 13 Top-10s in 17 races, and after the Chase began, Martin has finished out of the Top 10 just twice -- at Charlotte and after crashing at Talladega.


In total, Martin has earned the second-most number of wins in a season in his career (5) and that number is also good for second-most on the season behind teammate Johnson.

Like I said, Jeff Gordon is no newbie to the championship game. Gordon, though, hasn't taken home a title since 2001 (his fourth) and hasn't laid claim on the new Sprint Cup trophy since the Chase was instituted in 2004.

He's not even new to efforts of championship caliber failing to pan out. The most recent example was 2007 when Gordon earned a NASCAR-record 30 top-10s that season. He missed out on the title, though, thanks to Jimmie Johnson taking his second-career championship during a Chase system due to an abnormally strong final ten races.

This year wasn't as successful for Gordon. He lined up one win and 24 Top-10s in all (prior to Homestead, of course), which leaves him in third heading to the season's final race. Unfortunately for No. 24 fans with a fifth championship on their mind, Gordon's 169-point deficit to Johnson means that Johnson simply needs to take the green flag next week at Homestead for Gordon to be cut out of the picture once again (now the eighth straight year).

After Sunday's race, Gordon acknowledged that his team had improved significantly from a 2008 season without a win and less than 20 Top-10s. But trying to get even better (especially at the Chase tracks) would take a hard, hard response this offseason by the Steve Letarte-led team, if a title is to be reachable over No. 48 in 2010.

Fortunately, both Martin and Gordon won't need to look too far -- just across their team race shop, to be exact -- to measure their progress against the level Jimmie Johnson has set for what looks to be four straight years of NASCAR domination.

Championship-Worthy Seasons Not Enough for Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>jeff gordonmark martinPhoenix International RacewayGeoffrey MillerMon, 16 Nov 2009 02:20:00 EST FanHouse Warmup: Checker 500http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/14/fanhouse-warmup-checker-500/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/14/fanhouse-warmup-checker-500/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/14/fanhouse-warmup-checker-500/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

The Essentials
Race: Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500
Where: Phoenix Int'l Raceway
Time: Sunday 3:15 PM ET
TV/Radio: ABC, MRN Radio
Twitter: Updates @ FanHouseRacing
Forecast: Mostly sunny, High 60s
Distance: 312 laps (312 miles)
Pole Winner: Martin Truex Jr.
2008 Winner: Jimmie Johnson

 The Storylines

What makes any NASCAR finish exciting, and any sporting event for that matter, is when the unexpected happens. A last-second shot, a last-second touchdown, an underdog felling a Goliath and even a last lap pass -- yes, even Jimmie Johnson smacking the wall last week at Texas -- all create the unanticipated result that feeds into creating the rush of a sporting event.

Unfortunately, the most recent data we have from Phoenix International Raceway doesn't leave a lot of hope that we'll be seeing the unforeseen Sunday afternoon at the 1-miler.

Not to be a downer, but the three most eligible drivers to make history in 2009 with a a Sprint Cup title are the Hendrick Motorsports trio of Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon. Coincidentally, they are also the three drivers who have scored the most recent wins at PIR.

Gordon got the ball rolling with a win in 2007 until Johnson won three straight in '07 and 2008. Mark Martin capped the Hendrick ownership of Phoenix earlier this year when his No. 5 drove to victory in the April event.

So unless one of them, say, gets a nudge from Sam Hornish Jr. on or around lap 3 on Sunday, it seems like we'll be seeing more of the same: a Hendrick car out front.

So. Exciting.

Carl Edwards won Saturday's Nationwide Series race at PIR and in the process left Kyle Busch to wait until he makes the start at Homestead next week to clinch the series title.

That, though, wasn't the most exciting feature of the race -- and not the one that might carry over to Sunday's Cup action.

Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski, as we know, aren't exactly best friends after a string of on-track incidents. After Saturday's race, it didn't get any better.

Needless details aside, Hamlin bumped Keselowski for position during the race and Keselowski, in turn, spun Hamlin.

Denny wasn't so happy about it and promised to take the matters into his own hands after the incident. They even had a heated argument outside of the Nationwide Series hauler.

What does that mean? Well, I can't say we know when Keselowski will get the payback, but both he and Denny will be Sunday's race.

FanHouse Warmup: Checker 500 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:23:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Phoenix International RacewayGeoffrey MillerSat, 14 Nov 2009 22:23:00 EST Sprint Cup Crown Remains Jimmie Johnson's to Losehttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/12/2009-title-still-johnsons-to-lose/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/12/2009-title-still-johnsons-to-lose/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/12/2009-title-still-johnsons-to-lose/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Jimmie Johnson Sprint Cup NASCAR Phoenix 2009 Hendrick Jeff Gordon Jimmie Johnson Texas CrashThe chaos of Lap 3 last Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway certainly tossed the NASCAR world into a frenzy.

When the dust settled, version one of the No. 48 Texas Chevrolet became version two and both Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon failed to add the word "clutch" to their 2009 resumes, one point about NASCAR's most dominant driver became exceedingly clear.

Jimmie Johnson, point being, is still the de facto guy to beat for the 2009 Sprint Cup championship -- and it's going to take plenty more Texas-like highly unlikely events to keep three-time from becoming four-time.

Johnson, for the the under the rock crowd, was tapped by an out-of-control Sam Hornish Jr. off of turn two at Texas in a lap 3 incident. Johnson's car sidestepped into a glancing shot off the outside wall before spinning back across the track and slamming the inside wall.

An hour and eight minutes later, Johnson was back on track with a rebuilt race car that struggled around the track but did finish. Johnson earned a 38th-place finish and just 49 points towards his championship effort.

Mark Martin, second in points before Texas, was in the most prime of positions to capitalize but couldn't ever get over the the hump during the 500-miler. Martin's team, though, played the fuel mileage finish well and came across the start/finish line for a fourth-place finish and collected 160 points.

It was enough to gain 110 points on Johnson, but a win would have meant so much more.

Jeff Gordon, the leader at that point in the race of Johnson's crash, could have taken a huge pre-Texas deficit of 192 and sliced into a 46-point Johnson lead had he stayed out front and earned a sweep of the Sprint Cup trips to Texas in 2009. Instead, he faltered and wound up 13th, trailing Johnson by 112 points with two races left.

The 70-point jump was Gordon's biggest gain on Johnson in the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup, but it wasn't near enough to put him back in serious contention for a fifth Sprint Cup championship.

Serious contention, of course, doesn't factor in Johnson hitting any walls in the final two races or otherwise ending up stopped in the garage area long before the race is over. Why? Because it just doesn't happen.

If you want to find a race in Chase that Johnson finished worse than what he did Sunday, you'll look back to the first race of the 2006 Chase. Johnson finished 39th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but managed to still win his first Cup title.

Since then and until Texas, Johnson's worst finishes have been a 24th at Talladega in '06, two 15th-place finishes at Texas and Homestead last season and three 14th-place finishes with two in 2007 at Dover and Charlotte and the other at Kansas in 2006. He's also got a13th-place finish at Dover in 2006.

Aside from those and Sunday's race at Texas, Johnson has scored a 29 top-10s in 38 Chase races.

Then, there's the fact that Johnson is heading to a track that his No. 48 team has excelled at. Phoenix International Raceway has hosted a Jimmie Johnson victory lane celebration three times in his career and he's picked up 7 top-5s and 10 top-10s at the Arizona 1-miler.

Johnson's worst outings at Phoenix have been a pair of 15th-place finishes in 2002 and 2005. In the Chase races that have seen him go on to be champion, though, Johnson has averaged a gaudy finish of 1.3 with two wins and a second-place finish.

That can't be heartening for Martin and Gordon.

In terms of points, Johnson's critical number of the next two weeks is 318.

Mark Martin, if he won the next two races and lead the most laps, would earn 390 points. If Johnson earns the 318, there's nothing Martin could do to prevent the championship. Going to third in points with Jeff Gordon (and pending Martin has a mediocre run in the next two weeks) Johnson needs to score just 278 points to overcome a Gordon domination of the final two races.

The magic finishing position number for Johnson is 4th pending two Martin wins and 8th pending two Gordon wins.

As it turns out, Johnson's finish at Texas might have been comparable to watching an underdog football team run back the opening kickoff of the second half in a marginally close game with a top-ranked squad. Sure, the brief hope of an upset crosses everyone's minds. All too often, though, the expected becomes the reality -- with or without SEC football officials patrolling the sidelines.

Jimmie Johnson showed he's just as vulnerable to misfortune as any other driver in the field at Texas, but just as good, dominant football teams do -- he and the rest of the No. 48 team are highly, highly unlikely to let the losses keep mounting.

Sprint Cup Crown Remains Jimmie Johnson's to Lose originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:55:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Phoenix International RacewayTexas Motor SpeedwayGeoffrey MillerThu, 12 Nov 2009 12:55:00 EST Sprint Cup N's & Q's: Dickies 500http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/09/sprint-cup-ns-and-qs-dickies-500/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/09/sprint-cup-ns-and-qs-dickies-500/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/09/sprint-cup-ns-and-qs-dickies-500/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Notes, quotes and a dash of commentary from a NASCAR weekend in Texas.

Kurt Busch Texas Motor Speedway NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase Penske RacingWhat a difference a crew chief makes.

Kyle Busch, a Sprint Cup nobody in the last few weeks, rocketed back to his expected form with new team leader Dave Rogers calling the shots Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. Busch had the dominant car and led 232 of 334 laps before a fuel miscalculation or a blind shot at a win kept him from making history by being the first driver to win three races in one weekend.

And strangely, Busch's old form of letting his crew chief do the post-race talking returned, too.

Busch, credited with an 11th-place finish after running out of fuel with 2.5 laps left, skirted all media on his quick dash out from Texas -- leaving Rogers to stand in the garage area and try to explain what happened on his end.

But what about Kyle? Was he disappointed to miss out on doing a NASCAR first? Or was he late to a race somewhere else?

Kyle Busch fans, I guess you'll never know.

Sunday's margin of victory for Kurt Busch was a whopping 25.686 seconds, thanks to him stretching the fuel mileage game in his No. 2 Dodge.

Since NASCAR's inception of electronic timing in 1993, Kurt Busch's winning margin at Texas was the largest of any race in that time period. That 1993 season featured another fuel mileage race with a large margin of victory as Morgan Shepherd took the win -- his last career Sprint Cup win -- at Atlanta Motor Speedway by some 17 seconds in the Wood Brothers No. 21 car.

Of all the work Jimmie Johnson's crew performed on what was otherwise a completely trashed race car after his lap 3 crash, it's surprising they left out one huge detail: a massive Lowe's decal on the new hood.

NASCAR has long been the sport with sponsors and logos in every imaginable spot, so you'd think the team would just naturally have a replacement nose at least covered with a Lowe's decal -- or even just have a big one ready to peel and stick on the hood.

After all, think about all of the cool marketing approaches Lowe's could use had the No. 48 donned a logo. I'm thinking about pitches involving teamwork, quality repair and, of course, the Lowe's motto of "Let's Build Something Together."

Why do I have a feeling that's something Hendrick Motorsports will have figured out for next weekend -- just in case?

You've got to be happy for Michael McGee, the agriculture education teacher from Broken Bow, Okla.

McGee randomly chose Kurt Busch to take Sunday's race win after the 23-year-old advanced through race sponsor Dickies' American Worker of the Year contest. As a result, he won a cool million bucks.

As a guy who has spent more than my fair share of time in the agriculture education world, it was a cool moment to see a person in a profession that can make a big difference on the lives of his students thanks to a real world education that ag ed can offer. As with so many thankless jobs, the pay is very often not that great.

How does McGee plan to spend the money? He told ESPN after the race that he'd like to pay off his house and maybe build a covered horse barn because he raises horses on the side. There's something to like about a guy who wins money and plans to spend it in a responsible fashion, I say.

On Twitter during Sunday's race, a lot was made about the teamwork amongst Hendrick Motorsports teams to get Jimmie Johnson's car back on the track -- despite teammates Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon being the closest contenders to taking advantage of Johnson's misfortune.

HMS team members wearing colors from all four teams were shown helping with different parts of Johnson's mangled race car.

Sure, there's some element of cooperation going on there, but people should remember that the paychecks at Hendrick Motorsports come from Hendrick Motorsports -- not Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson or Mark Martin. As a result, those crew guys are going to work on anything under the Hendrick Motorsports banner -- not just one car or another.

Sprint Cup N's & Q's: Dickies 500 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:24:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Texas Motor SpeedwayGeoffrey MillerMon, 09 Nov 2009 18:24:00 EST FanHouse Warmup: Dickies 500http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/08/fanhouse-warmup-dickies-500/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/08/fanhouse-warmup-dickies-500/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/08/fanhouse-warmup-dickies-500/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

The Essentials
Carl Edwards Texas Motor Speedway Dickies 500 Roush Fenway Racing 2009 Sprint Cup NASCAR NovemberRace: Dickies 500
Where: Texas Motor Speedway
Time: Sunday 3:15 p.m. EST
TV/Radio: ABC, PRN Radio
Twitter: @FanHouseRacing
Forecast: Mostly cloudy, Low 70s
Distance: 334 laps (501 miles)
Pole Winner: Jeff Gordon
2008 Winner: Carl Edwards

The Storylines

Ladies and gentleman, there was nothing wrong with last week's race at Talladega -- if you ask Tony Stewart or NASCAR.

This week, each of them blamed the fan uproar solely on the media (mainly ESPN) for ultimately putting such ideas about the bad racing at Talladega into the heads of fans. Race fans, Stewart and NASCAR feel, were induced with propaganda by television to believe that they were getting shafted by NASCAR.

So, what to make of that?

I'll agree -- ESPN's Talladega broadcast was probably over the top with its insinuations that drivers were staging a boycott of some sort by running single file. That had more to dothough with drivers not wanting to wreck more than wanting to make a statement to the NASCAR brass in the control tower.

But the fact remains: problems are evident with Talladega and they need a solution -- and that's not just another media type trying to influence an dose of fans against NASCAR.

In this new era of the Budweiser Shootout field not being determined by pole winners, the fact that Jeff Gordon has yet to win a pole before this weekend at Texas in 2009 has gone a bit unnoticed.

To be fair, Gordon -- by virtue of the old rules related to past winners of the Shootout and what not -- would have been qualified for the exhibition season-opener already in the old format, but had he gone all of 2009 without starting on the pole it would have stopped a streak previously tallying 16-straight seasons of qualifying at least once on the pole.

Yes, Gordon started up front a few times early in the season when he was the point leader and rain washed out qualifying, but it only counts officially when NASCAR allows teams to take laps. So, thanks to Texas, Gordon makes it 17-straight seasons in winning a pole.

Carl Edwards won eight times in 2008, and two of those came during his season sweep of the '08 Sprint Cup races at Texas Motor Speedway.

You can bet that he'd like to get back in the winning column -- he's yet to find victory lane in 2009 after just missing out on the 2008 title -- and there's no better place to do it for Edwards than Texas.

Kyle Busch could make history on Sunday if he's the one to take the checkered flag.

He'd be the first driver in NASCAR history to win three races during the same race weekend. Busch took the 1st-place honors during Friday night's Camping World Truck Series race and in Saturday's Nationwide Series race at TMS.

Also, it would make a crew chief a winner during his first race on the pit box for the second time in 2009. Dave Rogers assumed duties as Busch's crew chief this week after Steve Addington was removed from the position.

Earlier this season, Drew Blickensderfer -- say that fast, like, twice -- was leading Matt Kenseth during his first race as crew chief when Kenseth won the season-opening Daytona 500. Kenseth then won the second race of the year at California, leaving Blickensderfer batting 2 for 2 in his career.

FanHouse Warmup: Dickies 500 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Texas Motor SpeedwayGeoffrey MillerSun, 08 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST Sprint Cup N's & Q's: AMP Energy 500http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/04/sprint-cup-ns-and-qs-amp-energy-500/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/04/sprint-cup-ns-and-qs-amp-energy-500/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/04/sprint-cup-ns-and-qs-amp-energy-500/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

Notes, quotes & commentary from a NASCAR weekend at Talladega.

What a weekend it was, huh? Yes, I do have some comments and ideas about the overall product at Talladega this week. I'm going to wait, though, until the end of this post. First, the finer notes on Sunday.

Can anyone make sense of NASCAR's pit road penalties? Had Sunday's race been at another track where track position isn't so easily gained like it is at Talladega, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart and eventual race winner Jamie McMurray would have been downright hosed.

And good or bad as it relates to your particular driver, the rule that nabbed them just isn't fair.

The four drivers ended up in a sticky situation when they dropped from 190-plus mph to Talladega's pit road speed of 65 mph on lap 50 to make a pit stop. As they did so, Kurt Busch blew a tire and murdered the pit road commitment cone just in front of them before spinning through the grass.

Jeff Gordon, originally with the aforementioned drivers, swerved back on track and didn't pit after worrying that the caution flag would negatively affect his team's decision to pit. But the other drivers, yards from the pit road commitment line when Busch spun, continued down pit road and some made their pit stops.

Upon further review, NASCAR determined that the four had entered pit road while it was closed -- replays showed the red light activated before they crossed the pit road commitment line, meaning they had indeed done so. The penalty was to restart at the tail-end of the field.

But come on, had those guys made aggressive maneuvers to stay off pit road as Gordon had, they would have all piled up in a hot mess of bent metal. How is it smart for NASCAR to think that the drivers should have made such an ill-advised maneuver?

It's not, frankly, and someone will soon get burned on the rule at a track where it matters like, say, Texas Motor Speedway, the site of this weekend's race.

You've got to feel bad for Joe Nemechek after he was a part of Sunday's first caution.

Nemechek, who is trying to keep his race team afloat this season by pulling the start-and-park pattern, was intending to run his Nemco Motorsports car the distance on Sunday and maybe squeeze out a decent finish to earn some more cash for his generally unsponsored team to keep it racing.

But Paul Menard's tire had another idea as it exploded in turn two on lap 6, shooting Menard into the side of Nemechek and both into the wall. Nemechek wound up 43rd and went home with a destroyed race car.

Do you want to accuse Jamie McMurray of winning a fluky race? Go ahead, but not only does he not care, the stats from the race don't back it up. McMurray led 32 laps Sunday to take home five extra points for leading the most.

Mark Martin came with a completely different attitude to Talladega than his normal "I hate this place" shtick. It worked so well that Martin completed all but one lap and spent time sliding on his roof.

Dude can't catch a break at these restrictor plate joints, I suppose. He did, though, reason on why Talladega has reared into a big, ugly monster that fans love or hate (and from the sound of those comments, its mostly hate right now).

"It used to be we'd come here and it'd be all about speed and power," said Martin, talking about the difference between then and today's uniform set of rules designed with mostly safety in mind, before he identified what's to blame for Talladega's controversies. "Technology has brought us to this."

Very true. And sadly, technology doesn't exactly allow us too many things to fix it.

As promised, some ramblings and questions about Talladega, as a whole. Agree or disagree as you wish.

♦ Single-file lines are not new at Talladega. If you remember back to the fall of 2007 with the same car, Jeff Gordon led all of one lap that day after the race got crazy near the end. But before that, there was plenty of guys (i.e. Gordon) riding in the back to stay out of trouble and single-file lines in the middle of the race.

Heck, I even posted about it on Oct. 8, 2007:
For much too long Sunday, it was obvious drivers were scared to be aggressive or dice for the lead. Single-file packs and drivers purposely staying at the back of the pack to avoid trouble just doesn't cut it at this level.

Jeff Gordon managed to pull off the race win by sailing through the draft after a restart with eight laps to go but for a large majority of Sunday's race, Gordon rode around at times five to seven seconds behind the leader with teammate Jimmie Johnson and other Chase contenders.

That's not racing. That's riding.
Sounds eerily familiar to Sunday, doesn't? Like I said, single-file lines aren't new at Talladega, and we really can't blame NASCAR's no bump drafting in the corners edict for it.

♦ Do you think the fact that Jimmie Johnson skirted through the messes of Talladega and came out with what is really an insurmountable point lead had any factor on fan frustration?

I really think that's part of the case. Had Jimmie wrecked, it might have changed the whole rest of the season. You get the feeling people were banking on that.

♦ Ryan Newman is right. NASCAR Sprint Cup cars don't need to be taking off on their own. Something needs to be engineered -- bigger roof flaps? -- to keep them on the ground.

♦ People that think racing at Talladega without restrictor plates would solve everything couldn't be further from the truth. Going faster means race cars fly better. And when cars fly, they don't have control. And when you don't have control, you don't know where they'll land.

Therein lies the complete problem with going faster at Talladega.

♦ After much thinking about the subject, I think I've nailed down the frustration I felt after Sunday's race. It's simple: Talladega is too predictable in its unpredictability.

Other race tracks have different types of races nearly every visit and there's often quirks that are completely unexpected. NASCAR fans like quirks and the unexpected -- it makes things exciting and fresh to watch.

But at Talladega (I'm not lumping Daytona into this) the formula is simple: Ride, ride, pass, ride, ride, crash, race, crash, checkered flag.

We've gotten so used to the "Big One" and extraordinary crashes that they've become just ordinary and an off-shoot winner -- we should have had three in-a-row going to back to last season's terrible call to rob Regan Smith of the win -- happens more often than not now.

Simply, we've seen three-wide racing so much that we expect it and its not massively thrilling to the longtime viewer. And for the drivers, they've reached the point where they realize that nothing counts until the checked flag waves. Why, then, would they want to ride in peril for three hours?

Can you blame them? I can't.

It's not a good show for the fans, and there's no incentive for the drivers. That leaves one variable on the table: NASCAR.

Love it or hate it, Talladega has reached an interesting point with problems -- not the safety ones -- that really have no clear cut answer.

Sprint Cup N's & Q's: AMP Energy 500 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:14:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Geoffrey MillerWed, 04 Nov 2009 11:14:00 EST FanHouse Warmup: AMP Energy 500http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/01/fanhouse-warmup-amp-energy-500/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/01/fanhouse-warmup-amp-energy-500/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/01/fanhouse-warmup-amp-energy-500/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

The Essentials
Race: AMP Energy 500
Where: Talladega Superspeedway
Time: Sunday 1:00 p.m. EST
TV/Radio: ABC, MRN Radio
Twitter: Updates @ FanHouseRacing
Forecast: Sunny, High 60s
Distance: 188 laps (500 miles)
Pole Winner: Jimmie Johnson
2008 Winner: Tony Stewart
The Storylines

Consider this as NASCAR's version of laying down the law, but with one problem -- will they actually enforce it?

NASCAR made big noise Sunday morning at Talladega when they told drivers in the pre-race meeting that bump drafting in today's race while racing through the corners would not be permitted. And to back up the rule, they promised to even swipe a victory away if a driver was found to be in violation.

It's a tough rhetoric that we've heard before from NASCAR, but this time it seems like they mean business.


NASCAR is trying to avoid, ultimately, what happened at Talladega back in April when Carl Edwards' No. 99 turned into a 3,200-pound pinball on the final lap. Some catchfencing along the frontstretch was the only thing that kept Edwards from sailing into the packed grandstands -- though parts and pieces did injure fans.

NASCAR wants to eliminate the phenomenon that has creeped up with the Car of Tomorrow platform that allows two drivers to pair up -- one pushing the other -- and fly hundreds of yards ahead of the competition. That's what happened with Edwards' situation after Edwards was pushed to the lead and then Brad Keselowski tried to pass him.

I do get what NASCAR is trying to do, but come on -- do they think such rules will prevent a wreck? I don't see it making much of a difference in the probability of a nasty crash today at the 2.66-mile behemoth of a race track but I do foresee one problem: the potential for a huge controversy at the end of the day thanks to NASCAR's judgment call.

We'll see how it works.

We know exactly what you're rooting for in the 2009 championship if you're not so much of a Jimmie Johnson fan, and Talladega might just provide the necessary ingredients to make the 2009's recipe a little better for you.

Jimmie knows it, his competitors know it, you know it and I know it: Talladega is the biggest of wildcards in the Chase for the Sprint Cup and more than likely the last best shot for anyone to come within striking distance of three-time.

Of course, Jimmie Johnson fans hate the talk of people wanting him to fall back to the competition and that's certainly something you can't blame them for. They want their boy to win. The good news for the No. 48 supporters? Just walk on nails for three or so hours Sunday and if Johnson makes it to the end in respectable position -- pull out those credit cards for some championship gear.

The Talladega weather already showed some love to Johnson after qualifying on Saturday morning was rained out.

Johnson, by nature of leading the points, will get to start from the pole on Sunday and had the number one choice of a pit stall. He took pit stall number one -- the last one on pit road towards turn one.

Teammates Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon (No.'s 2 & 3 in points) both opted for a garage opening in front of their stall for an easy exit from a stop and an easy place to pull in and fix a damaged race car.

Enjoy the race.

FanHouse Warmup: AMP Energy 500 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 11:36:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Talladega+SuperspeedwayGeoffrey MillerSun, 01 Nov 2009 11:36:00 EST Sprint Cup N's & Q's: Tums 500http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/27/sprint-cup-ns-and-qs-tums-500/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/27/sprint-cup-ns-and-qs-tums-500/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/27/sprint-cup-ns-and-qs-tums-500/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Notes, quotes & commentary after 501 laps around a Virginian paperclip.

I get what NASCAR is trying do, I really do.

They want these races to be dramatic, to make good television and perhaps provide a sense of danger to fans like ESPN's Ed Hinton believes they crave. It's no different than any other sport, movie or story -- dramatic moments bring eyeballs.

But at some point, NASCAR needs to get a whole lot better at not allowing a stalled race car to sit in peril at the start/finish line in the name of a dramatic finish.

That's what happened Sunday when John Andretti spun and couldn't get his No. 34 re-fired along the frontstretch at Martinsville Speedway on the final lap. It's also what happened just over a month ago with A.J. Allmendinger at New Hampshire.

Neither incident resulted in the hapless drivers being hit by the oncoming race cars, but the law of averages doesn't seem to bode well for their safety if these incidents turn into a regular thing. It's just easy to see how a driver back in the pack may misjudge a move, not hear a spotter or get turned while slowing down into the stopped race car.

NASCAR's right to allow a finish to play out as much as possible, but I just think they are taking "as much as possible" a little too far.

Jeff Gordon's crew chief Steve Letarte tried an 'experiment' early in Sunday's race that I'm still undecided about.

Gordon came to the pits on lap 46 under caution while leading and took on just two tires. He emerged from pit road still leading, but soon fell back in the leaderboard after the advantage of four fresh tires was immediately apparent and didn't start to make ground again until a lap 90 caution brought the field back to pit road.

Letarte, we can assume, was looking to find out if a two-tire pit stop would be a good tool to use later in the race for track position if necessary and found that its benefits would last all of about two laps if cars directly behind had four fresh Goodyears. After the call, Gordon led just eight more laps on the day and never led again except for a lap under green flag pit stops.

Should Letarte have made the move? In hindsight -- which we know is always 20/20 -- it's easy to say no because Gordon never really competed for the lead again.

But on the same note, the information turned out to be extremely valuable in determining if a two-tire pit stop could be a valuable asset for track position. It wasn't.

Live and learn, I suppose.

Surprisingly, Kyle Busch's fourth-place finish on Sunday was his best appearance at Martinsville since 2007.

Since that point, Busch has had three finishes at the short track of 24th or worse -- an anomaly for Busch considering his two best tracks over his career in terms of finishing position are the other short tracks on NASCAR's schedule, Bristol and Richmond.

The finish likely had no bearing, however, on crew chief Steve Addington's future with Joe Gibbs Racing in a role other than crew chief.

Did you catch Denny Hamlin's Twitter shout-out in the post-race interview?

Hamlin mentioned the fans of his Twitter account -- look him under http://www.twitter.com/DennyHamlin -- in his victory celebration and later tweeted "That's what I'm talking about!!! Whooo!! I told ya we would win another!"

Hamlin rolled out his official Twitter page a few weeks ago and has already surged to over 5,000 fans. Now if only the FanHouseRacing Twitter could get as much love...

Because I've yet to include a quote in this edition -- unless quotes from Twitter count -- of "N's & Q's", I'll leave you with my favorite driver saying of the Martinsville weekend, courtesy of Mr. Matt Kenseth.

"I thought I did a bad job and thought I ran into about everything," said Kenseth. "I had some issues on a couple of restarts and we struggled on our last pit stop, so all of those things considered, to finish 14th is really good."

Hey Matt: talk to Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Kasey Kahne -- I'll bet they feel the same way. A walk in the park 500 laps at Martinsville is not.

Sprint Cup N's & Q's: Tums 500 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:21:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Martinsville+SpeedwayGeoffrey MillerTue, 27 Oct 2009 13:21:00 EST FanHouse Warmup: Tums 500http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/25/fanhouse-warmup-tums-500/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/25/fanhouse-warmup-tums-500/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/25/fanhouse-warmup-tums-500/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

The Essentials
Race: Tums 500
Where: Martinsville Speedway
Time: Sunday 1:30 p.m. EST
TV/Radio: ABC, MRN Radio
Twitter: Updates @ FanHouseRacing
Forecast: Mostly sunny, High 60s
Distance: 500 laps (263 miles)
Pole Winner: Ryan Newman
2008 Winner: Jimmie Johnson
The Storyline

Jeff Gordon's last, best hope to stay in Jimmie Johnson's zip code for the 2009 championship might just be Sunday at Martinsville Speedway for two reasons -- the perks from his second-place qualifying run and Jimmie Johnson's mediocre starting spot.

And for their teammate Mark Martin splitting the point difference between Johnson and Gordon in the standings, a fourth-place starting effort might also be critical to bridging the 90-point gap between the No. 48 and No. 5.


Johnson, by his standards, had a rough day at Martinsville on Friday. The team never found speed in the car despite otherwise good handling and he wound up 15th in qualifying -- edging out a particular advantage for Gordon and Martin at the small, half-mile paperclip that is Martinsville Speedway.

Martinsviille's pit road ends off of turn two and oftentimes the shape leads to an advantage for pit stalls with an opening behind or in front of it. Otherwise, drivers can get blocked in and just a few lost seconds can translate into bunches of lost spots on pit road.

Ryan Newman, the polesitter, took the last and best stall on pit road while Gordon opted to move back to pit stall No. 11 due to the front edge of the pit stall bordered by the garage access lane. Martin, qualified fourth, chose pit stall No. 8 without any openings around it while Johnson took a stall before the start/finish line.

Most accounts would put Johnson's pit selection as a bad one, but the car in front of him is a card-carrying member of the start-and-park club in NASCAR -- meaning there's a good possibility that Johnson won't be dealing with any traffic in front of his pit stall on Martinsville's tight pit lane. His biggest problems, though, will come when he's trying to exit pit road and evade cars swinging out in front of him.

Another problem Johnson might find on Sunday -- above I'm just assuming he'll move up from 15th and be in contention for the win at some point (a risky proposition, I know) -- is the rain Martinsville had on Saturday. Not once did the No. 48 -- or any other Sprint Cup team -- get on the track for any practice on Saturday, meaning there might be some concern in Johnson's camp based on the qualifying run and him being stumped about why the car didn't run faster.

Unfortunately for the rest of the field, Chad Knaus is stll Johnson's crew chief. He's in good hands.

Johnson's lead in the points at the moment is steep -- the 90 ahead of Martin, 135 ahead of Gordon and 155 to Tony Stewart (he starts 13th) -- and there is a lot of risk for Johnson at Martinsville thanks to silly, mundane things like flat tires or brake failures. But such risk has been successfully avoided by Johnson on the way this three-straight titles.

Take, for instance, that Sunday's starting spot is Johnson's worst since April 2007 when he started 20th. That day? Johnson first sniffed the lead on lap 405 of 500 before grabbing it for good with 60 to go to take one of his many wins at Martinsville.

Need you know more?

Enjoy the race.

FanHouse Warmup: Tums 500 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 25 Oct 2009 09:57:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Jeff GordonJimmie JohnsonMark MartinMartinsville SpeedwayGeoffrey MillerSun, 25 Oct 2009 09:57:00 EST Dominance: Hendrick at Martinsvillehttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/22/dominance-hendrick-at-martinsville/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/22/dominance-hendrick-at-martinsville/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/22/dominance-hendrick-at-martinsville/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Predictable.

That's what attitude the 2009 version of the NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup Season has seemed to take on after Jimmie Johnson's win last Saturday night at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Fans keep wondering: Will Johnson ever screw up? Was the 'winning robot' nickname given to Matt Kenseth a few years ago a little premature?

If the past is any indication -- as it has seemed to be for Johnson & Co. -- then Sunday's race at Martinsville Speedway won't be giving fans a dose of the change in championship outcome that many of them so crave.

Hendrick Motorsports may have a shop in Harrisburg, N.C., within earshot of Lowe's Motor Speedway, but they might as well have set up a satellite operation on the grounds of NASCAR's oldest track in south central Virginia. The half-mile paperclip? A whipping post for any competition that deems it worthy to show up.

The current string of success started in the spring of 2003 when Jeff Gordon took his fourth career win at the short track. Since that point, Rick Hendrick has failed to add a Martinsville trophy to his collection just three times in 12 races -- bringing his 2003-present Martinsville batting average to an oh-so-slim .769.

Gordon has gone to victory lane four times in that period, while Johnson has visited six times.

The numbers get even worse, too.

Gordon has tallied up 13 straight top-10s at the track (he's finished out of the top-10 in just six of his 27 visits to Martinsville) -- which puts him just slightly behind Johnson's streak of 15 straight top-10s. Johnson's lone finish that wasn't a top-10 came in his first career race at Martinsville.

That day, Johnson finished 35th -- recording the only Did Not Finish result ever between he and teammate Gordon at Martinsville.

That's not promising for a fan base that's cheering more actively each week against Johnson for no other reason than his endless domination of big time NASCAR racing.

Also not promising is the most recent history left by Hendrick Motorsports at Martinsville back in April. Those looking to a spot a trend of downward dominance in Hendrick's Martinsville reign will need to skew the facts in an impossibly accurate manner to find signs that Hendrick machines won't be pacing the field this weekend thanks to the gaudy numbers from this season's sixth race.

Simply, all four Hendrick cars -- including some guy named Earnhardt -- finished 8th or better. To make matters concerning the competition worse, the two primary satellite cars from Hendrick's operation -- the Stewart-Haas Racing teammates of Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman -- finished third and sixth, respectively.

And that Johnson guy? He snuck into the lead late and led 42 laps total to steal yet another win away from Denny Hamlin. The win was Johnson's sixth at Martinsville, just one shy of Gordon's career total of 7.

The Hendrick stats are ugly for the rest of the competition at Martinsville, and as of yet no team has been able to stifle the dominance. We'll see what happens Sunday -- but I wouldn't be holding your breath for something dramatic.

Dominance: Hendrick at Martinsville originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Martinsville+SpeedwayGeoffrey MillerThu, 22 Oct 2009 06:00:00 EST Jeff Gordon Just Misses Late Winhttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/18/jeff-gordon-just-misses-late-win/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/18/jeff-gordon-just-misses-late-win/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/18/jeff-gordon-just-misses-late-win/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

The Jeff Gordon of old was back for a few laps Saturday night at Lowe's Motor Speedway -- but even that wasn't enough to stop the competition's worst nightmare.

Lined up side-by-side coming off of turn four, Gordon sat to the outside of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson as the field took its final restart of the night with 17 laps to go. As was the case with the previous two restarts that had quickly turned to cautions in the back of the pack, nearly everyone expected Johnson to have the advantage as made the left-hand arc into turn 1.

But the No. 24, with a full head of a steam, wasn't ready to let Johnson take the lead so easily.

Gordon ran side-by-side with Johnson for the next lap and at the flagstand, Johnson narrowly held the lead. Gordon wasn't done.

Circling through turn 3, Gordon, on the outside, pinched Johnson down low just enough for Johnson's rear end to wiggle up the track -- shooting Gordon to the top spot again as they passed the start/finish line with 15 to go with Johnson in close pursuit.

Gordon, who had already led twice earlier in the evening and finished with a 3rd-most total of 64 laps led, proceeded to hold the lead after another circuit around the 1.5-mile track was complete. It was becoming evident, though, that Gordon was going to need some incredible luck or other intervention to keep the lead as Johnson began to line up again right on Gordon's bumper.

Not only was Johnson's car dominant compared to Gordon's, but crew chief Steve Letarte put just two fresh tires on Gordon's car during the final pit stop in an effort to gain track position. The goal succeeded as Gordon came in to the pits fading to the back of the top-10 and came out third.

Johnson, though, had four fresh tires and the difference in grip between the two Hendrick cars was evident as Gordon turned into turn 3 on lap 320. Gordon's car slid towards the wall while Johnson stuck to the bottom and motored by to take the lead for the fifth and final time.

Gordon's chances at winning -- something that would have brought Gordon closer to Johnson by at least 15 points in the Chase for the Sprint Cup -- were gone as he continued a slide to an eventual fourth-place finish. Such a finish is likely better than one he would have garnered by grabbing four tires on the last pit stop instead.

"We put two tires on and that was a great call by Steve (Letarte)," said Gordon. "I think Steve called this race perfectly tonight and we gave it a shot."

But Gordon didn't think a "shot" meant contending for a race win -- or making a pass of Johnson in the late stages.

"I couldn't even believe I got the lead on the restart and was able to get by Jimmie when he got loose and we were racing really hard," said Gordon.

The moment turning out to be to good to be true wasn't surprising, though.

"I knew it was just a matter of time before my two tires would give up and it did," said Gordon, referring to when he slid up the track as Johnson went by.

Despite Johnson's complete domination, Gordon's team has easily been one of the best in the past few weeks. After a disappointing 15th-place run at Loudon, Gordon has carried an average finish of 3.5 in the last four races -- just off Johnson's astounding 3rd-place average in that same span. The big difference, though, has been race wins.

Gordon did all he could to grab one of those away from Johnson on Saturday at LMS, but Johnson still reigned when the burnout smoke cleared. Sure, it was impressive to see Gordon fighting for yet another win, but you get the picture that even that won't be enough -- yet again.

Jeff Gordon Just Misses Late Win originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 18 Oct 2009 23:41:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Hendrick+MotorsportsJeff+GordonJimmie+JohnsonLowes+Motor+SpeedwayGeoffrey MillerSun, 18 Oct 2009 23:41:00 EST FanHouse Trackside at the Banking 500http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/15/fanhouse-trackside-at-the-banking-500/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/15/fanhouse-trackside-at-the-banking-500/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/15/fanhouse-trackside-at-the-banking-500/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Banking 500CONCORD, N.C. -- Steady rain kept cars off the track for most of the day at Lowe's Motor Speedway but there was plenty going on in the garage area prior to a scheduled rain-delayed, late-night qualifying session Thursday.

FanHouse is trackside this weekend for the Banking 500, race 5 of the 10-week Chase for the Championship, and caught up with the Chase drivers as they waited out the weather.

Jeff Gordon talked about his back, Carl Edwards announced he's going to be a father and Greg Biffle updated us on his Logano family feud and what he thinks of Michael Vick's return to the NFL.

All the drivers had opinions on Wednesday's NASCAR Hall of Fame inaugural class announcement and to a man, thought it was a fair and representative first class. Bill France Sr., Bill France Jr., Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Junior Johnson will be inducted May 23, 2010.

"I think those five really stand out as making their mark in our sport getting it where it it is today,'' said four-time NASCAR Cup champion Jeff Gordon. "It's just so hard to narrow it down to five.''

Several of the drivers wondered if maybe the first class should have been larger with so many important positions to fill. It might surprise fans, who seem to want a more driver-centric list of inductees, that the current drivers felt strongly that NASCAR executives, engine builders, team owners, crew chiefs and key marketing people should also be included throughout the years.

And they all said Thursday that both Frances were rightly on the list.

"I would have liked to seen them induct a lot more than five the first year because we really needed this thing many, many years ago,'' said veteran Mark Martin. "The old-timers and the founders and all that, they need to be in there, but there are so many people that need to be in that hall of fame that I hope that some of my current buddies are still alive when they get inducted. I'm serious.''

As for what's newsy and noteworthy:

Jeff Gordon-- Gordon, who is currently fifth in the championship, reported his aching back isn't currently aching.

"I'm happy to report nothing - everything is good, I haven't had any issues," said Gordon, whose No. 24 Chevrolet is carrying the logo for the upcoming movie, "Transformers - Revenge of the Fallen."

Gordon said his current back treatment is primarily a weekly trip to the chiropractor.

"The last little scare was Watkins Glen and I didn't know how long that would take to recover from from that, and I feel like I'm fully recovered.

"It's still there, but I haven't had pain or anything that's been too uncomfortable or any distraction in the car, so I"m happy about that.''

-- Edwards, who got married in January, said his wife Kate is pregnant and that the couple will be having a little girl in mid-February.

"Perfect timing, right,'' Edwards joked. "We'll call her 'Daytona.' "

-- Biffle tried to defuse the situation about his run-in with Tom Logano, whose son Joey was involved in a race tangle with Biffle in last weekend's Nationwide Series race in California. Tom Logano confronted Biffle on pit road after the race and NASCAR confiscated Logano's all-access hard-card.

But Biffle said more was made out of the situation than needed to be and indicated it's not Tom Logano that needs to change his ways as much as Joey Logano.

Biffle said Tom Logano was running down pit road to congratulate his son in victory circle and simply took a brief detour to Biffle's car, "gave me the sign I was number one" and continued on.

"No, he (Tom) hasn't apologized,'' Biffle said. "And I have to say that it really got taken out of context. People blew it up and said there was a fight on pit road and the he was in my window. I don't know that it was that big of deal.''

As for the younger Logano, Biffle conceded he should have given him more racing room but pointed out at least three other incidents where Logano didn't race Biffle and others with the kind of give-and-take respect the sport demands -- certainly what's expected of a young, inexperienced driver.

"I told him, he needs to pay a little more respect to the veterans in the sport,'' said Biffle, who added that Logano still hasn't been receptive to friendly words of advice.

"That's pretty disappointing because I got talked to by Sterling Marlin and a few other guys when I started out and I learned a lot from it. We've all been there and all made mistakes and we all try and look to be better in the future.''

Biffle was also asked during his weekly press conference what he thought about Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick's reinstatement in the NFL. Biffle has a foundation that raises and donates money to animal shelters and animal causes.

"I guess people in this world get second chances, but I guess it's unfortunate that all those animals didn't get a second chance,'' Biffle said.

-- Jeff Burton essentially confirmed that his Richard Childress Racing teammate Kevin Harvick would be leaving the team following the 2010 season. Harvick told ESPN last week that it was time to "close the book" on his Daytona 500-winning tenure at RCR. Burton said he didn't expect the impending departure to be a negative in the present, however.

"I think everyone has to be professional enough that it doesn't matter,'' Burton said. "It is a stressful situation for he and Richard to deal with and for he and the his team to deal with, no question about it.

"At the same time, I think the hard part is over. ... Sometimes you are just better off going to the dentist and getting it over with. Everybody is understanding that Kevin still has a year left on his contract and he's going to do everything in his power to do the best job for RCR. And RCR is going to do everything in their power to do the best job for Kevin Harvick.

"The reality of it is, if you lose a driver the caliber of Kevin Harvick, we have to have a seat available that a Kevin Harvick-caliber driver wants. The only way we're going to do that is to put a race out there that's highly competitive and shows the people that are looking for rides that you need to come here.''

-- Juan Pablo Montoya was asked about his often heated exchanges with crew chief Brian Pattie during the race.

"We have a very good relationship and it is very open,'' said Montoya, who's ranked third in the championship, just 58 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.

"We understand each other and we all have good days and bad days. He tells me, 'sometimes you should shout and then press the button (to talk)' and I told him, 'then what's the point,' '' Montoya laughed.

-- Ryan Newman remained firm in his stance that NASCAR should be more proactive in safety innovations for the restrictor plate race at Talladega Superspeedway. He took some heat last weekend for publicly questioning NASCAR's delayed reaction to a scary, airborne crash on the last lap that sent Carl Edwards' car into the front stretch catchfence and left seven fans injured.

NASCAR will issue smaller restrictor plates for cars at the Nov. 1 Talladega race - reducing engine power by about 10-15 horsepower.

"I didn't get in any trouble (from NASCAR); I would tell you if I did,'' Newman said. "I don't mind being in trouble once in a while as long as it is for the right reason and that is talking about safety.''

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Jeff Burton waits in the garage area before practice for Saturday's NASCAR Banking 500 auto race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)
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    Jeff Burton waits in the garage area before practice for Saturday's NASCAR Banking 500 auto race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)

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    Juan Pablo Montoya, top center, of Colombia, examines his car with crew members during practice for Saturday's NASCAR Banking 500 auto race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)

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    Jimmie Johnson climbs into his car before practice for Saturday's NASCAR Banking 500 auto race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

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    Jeff Gordon climbs into his car before practice for Saturday's NASCAR Banking 500 auto race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)

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    Tony Stewart smiles in the garage area before practice for Saturday's NASCAR Banking 500 auto race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)

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    Mark Martin climbs into his car before practice for Saturday's NASCAR Banking 500 auto race at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)

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    UNC-Charlotte chancellor Philip Dubois, left, speaks during a news conference at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. The family of late NASCAR champion Alan Kulwicki is donating $1.9 million to the motorsports engineering program at UNC-Charlotte. The trust fund, established by Kulwicki's stepmother, Thelma, was announced Thursday and is the largest gift ever made to the engineering school. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

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    Carl Edwards speaks during a news conference at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. The NASCAR Banking 500 auto race is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 17. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)

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    Tony Stewart pauses during a news conference at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. The NASCAR Banking 500 auto race isscheduled for Saturday, Oct. 17. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)

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    Kurt Busch pauses during a news conference at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. The NASCAR Banking 500 auto race is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 17. (AP Photo/Mike McCarn)

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FanHouse Trackside at the Banking 500 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Dale EarnhardtJeff GordonJoey LoganoHolly CainThu, 15 Oct 2009 20:20:00 EST Let's Face It: Johnson Is Unstoppablehttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/11/lets-face-it-johnson-is-unstoppable/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/11/lets-face-it-johnson-is-unstoppable/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/11/lets-face-it-johnson-is-unstoppable/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Jeff Gordon gave Jimmie Johnson a handshake in victory lane to congratulate his teammate on yet another win, but really, it just symbolized what most NASCAR fans have to be fearing -- it's time to throw in the towel yet again at the feet of King Jimmie.

Johnson led 126 of 250 laps in Sunday's Pepsi 500 in Fontana, Calif., and overcame a dramatic final 20 laps that saw him bounced from the lead by Gordon. No matter. Johnson shot back by just a few laps later and then ran away from the field for the win.

It wasn't a surprise, really, that Johnson won. But it's a surprise to realize that pending crazy circumstances, there's not a team in NASCAR that can top the No. 48.
More Coverage: Pepsi 500 Results | Sprint Cup Series Standings

Need proof? Just go through the list of guys who were chasing Johnson, and trying to stop his pursuit of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, during Sunday's race outside of Los Angeles.

Gordon, the second-place finisher, was quite straight to the point after the race.

"We finished second," Gordon said,"but I feel like we were in a second-class category. We're good, but we're not good enough."

His final question in his post-race conference, though, really left an idea of what Gordon will be gnawing on during his long flight back home on the East Coast. What exactly, a reporter asked, is the difference between the No. 24 and No. 48, knowing the fact that they are based out of the same garage?

Gordon shook his head, grimaced and paused.

"Ask the tech center," said Gordon in a low voice. "I don't know. I really have no idea."

Talk about sounding defeated.

Gordon, though, did gain two spots in the Chase standings and now sits 105 points behind Johnson in first.

Juan Pablo Montoya shared Gordon's frustration.

"It's incredible," said Montoya. "I have four top-5's in a row, and I'm losing ground to the leader."

Incredible, indeed.

Montoya's worst finish in the Chase is fourth -- something he's done three times including Sunday's race. Yet, he's 58 points behind Johnson in third.

It's almost unfair.

"It'd be nice if we could get a freakin' win soon," said Montoya.

It seems that Jimmie Johnson has other plans. He is, after all, batting .500 in the win column in this season's Chase.

Mark Martin finished fourth Sunday and fell from the Chase lead for the first time. He's now a mere 12 points behind Johnson -- though you get that feeling that its more like 1,200.

Tony Stewart finished fifth after a day that saw him a lap down and as low as 30th at one point. The finish certainly staved off his elimination, but he's fourth in points and 84 markers back of the No. 48. Not that the team owner is giving up.

"This team never quits," said Stewart after his comeback day. "Never has, never will."

Certainly, Stewart's attitude is nothing short of noble. There's still opportunities for Johnson to have troubles -- for reference, see Denny Hamlin's mistake Sunday at ACS that left him with a 37th-place finish -- in the final six races. But after watching this story unfold for three straight years, can we really expect anything different to happen?

I certainly don't think so, but more importantly, it seems like some of the drivers don't think so.

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Jimmie Johnson's crew celebrates after Johnson won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' Pepsi 500 auto race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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    Jimmie Johnson, center, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' Pepsi 500 auto race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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    Jimmie Johnson's crew celebrates after Johnson won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' Pepsi 500 auto race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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    Jimmie Johnson kisses his wife, Chandra, as they celebrate his victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' Pepsi 500 auto race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

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    FONTANA, CA - OCTOBER 11: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway on October 11, 2009 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Jimmie Johnson

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    FONTANA, CA - OCTOBER 11: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway on October 11, 2009 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Jimmie Johnson

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    FONTANA, CA - OCTOBER 11: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet, crosses the finsih line to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway on October 11, 2009 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Jimmie Johnson

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    FONTANA, CA - OCTOBER 11: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, races during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway on October 11, 2009 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Dale Earnhardt Jr.

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    FONTANA, CA - OCTOBER 11: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, races during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway on October 11, 2009 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jimmie Johnson

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    FONTANA, CA - OCTOBER 11: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, races during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway on October 11, 2009 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jimmie Johnson

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    FONTANA, CA - OCTOBER 11: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway on October 11, 2009 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Jimmie Johnson

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Let's Face It: Johnson Is Unstoppable originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 11 Oct 2009 20:40:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Auto Club SpeedwayGeoffrey MillerSun, 11 Oct 2009 20:40:00 EST Guess Who? Jimmie Johnson Wins at Fontana to Surge Into Points Leadhttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/11/guess-who-jimmie-johnson-wins-at-fontana-to-surge-into-points-l/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/11/guess-who-jimmie-johnson-wins-at-fontana-to-surge-into-points-l/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/11/guess-who-jimmie-johnson-wins-at-fontana-to-surge-into-points-l/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Jimmie JohnsonFONTANA, Calif. (AP) -- Jimmie Johnson is back in control of NASCAR's Chase for the Championship.

The three-time defending Sprint Cup champion easily pulled away from Jeff Gordon following a restart with three laps left to win the Pepsi 500 on Sunday at Auto Club Speedway for his fifth victory of the year and 45th overall.

The win was Johnson's fourth at the 2-mile oval and sent a message to the rest of the contenders he has no plans of giving up his spot atop the series easily.
More Coverage: Pepsi 500 Results | Sprint Cup Series Standings

"What else can you say? They're the best out there," Gordon said. "They've won the last three championships. They're going to be hard to beat for this one. Really, unless they make a mistake, I don't see how they lose it."

Johnson, who led 126 laps, dominated the second half of the race but had to sweat out a series of double-file restarts following a number of late-race collisions, including an eight-car pileup that forced a 22-minute red flag with six laps remaining.

Waiting out the delay, Johnson worried he didn't have enough car to hold off Gordon. He shouldn't have. His No. 48 Chevrolet roared away from his Hendrick Motorsports teammate on the restart as he quickly put the rest of the field in his rearview mirror to vault him into the points lead for the first time all season.

"That's it, that's what we want," Johnson said. "We've just got to keep chipping away."

Juan Pablo Montoya was third, his fourth straight top-five finish. Mark Martin, who started the day with an 18-point lead over Johnson, was fourth and now trails Johnson by 12 points heading into Saturday night's race at Charlotte.

Tony Stewart rallied from an early pit-road speeding penalty to finish fifth.

Gordon briefly slipped by Johnson in the later stages but held out no real hope of catching him.

"He's unbelievable out there," Gordon said. "From where I was at, he ran away with it today."

Johnson, however, wasn't ready to proclaim the Chase over with six weeks left.

"We got maximum points today ... but I don't want to think about it," he said.

While Johnson surged, several Chase contenders stumbled. Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle and Brian Vickers all saw their Chase hopes likely evaporate for good.

Hamlin was leading with 60 laps to go when he collided with Montoya on a restart. Hamlin spun into a barrier at the end of pit road and quickly drove his No. 11 Toyota back to the garage. He attempted to get back on the track after missing 25 laps but was black-flagged for not reaching minimum speed.

"I made a rookie mistake," said Hamlin, who finished 37th. "I thought I was clear and I misjudged it. I got to apologize to the team. They deserve better than that."

Kahne and Biffle didn't fare much better. The two got together with about 15 laps to go when fellow Chaser Kurt Busch got loose, sending Biffle into Kahne. The two slid across the infield grass. Biffle ended up 20th while Kahne slid to 34th.

"NASCAR threw a debris caution for no debris," the frustrated Kahne said. "We had a bad race to get a caution to put a show on for the fans."

Stewart, who vaulted back into the thick of the title hunt with a win at Kansas last week, started 20th but steadily moved into the top 10 before being penalized for going too fast while exiting the pits, sending him a lap down. Stewart apologized over the radio to crew chief Darian Grubb before scrambling to fifth.

"We were lucky," Stewart said.

They needed to be more than that to catch Johnson, who admitted that he was frustrated by an inability in recent weeks to close out races. He finished ninth last week at Kansas despite having arguably the best car on the track at times.

There were no such troubles this time. He didn't panic when a couple of slow pit stops cost him track position early, letting crew chief Chad Knauss make sure he got the car right.

Once Johnson did, he wasted little time taking control. He led by as much as eight seconds at one point before the cautions bunched up the field.

Montoya brought the car he used at Indianapolis in July, hoping to duplicate the dominance he showed at the Brickyard before giving the victory away with a careless pit road speeding penalty, a mistake that opened the door for Johnson.

Johnson didn't need the handout on Sunday.

By WILL GRAVES, AP Sports Writer

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

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Jimmie Johnson's crew celebrates after Johnson won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' Pepsi 500 auto race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
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    Jimmie Johnson, center, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' Pepsi 500 auto race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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    Jimmie Johnson's crew celebrates after Johnson won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' Pepsi 500 auto race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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    Jimmie Johnson kisses his wife, Chandra, as they celebrate his victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' Pepsi 500 auto race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

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    FONTANA, CA - OCTOBER 11: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway on October 11, 2009 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Jimmie Johnson

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    FONTANA, CA - OCTOBER 11: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway on October 11, 2009 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Jimmie Johnson

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    FONTANA, CA - OCTOBER 11: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet, crosses the finsih line to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway on October 11, 2009 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Jimmie Johnson

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    FONTANA, CA - OCTOBER 11: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, races during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway on October 11, 2009 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Dale Earnhardt Jr.

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    FONTANA, CA - OCTOBER 11: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, races during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway on October 11, 2009 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jimmie Johnson

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    FONTANA, CA - OCTOBER 11: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, races during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway on October 11, 2009 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jimmie Johnson

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    FONTANA, CA - OCTOBER 11: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway on October 11, 2009 in Fontana, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Jimmie Johnson

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Guess Who? Jimmie Johnson Wins at Fontana to Surge Into Points Lead originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 11 Oct 2009 19:38:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>FanHouse NewswireSun, 11 Oct 2009 19:38:00 EST Sprint Cup N's & Q's: Kansas 400http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/06/sprint-cup-ns-and-qs-kansas-400/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/06/sprint-cup-ns-and-qs-kansas-400/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/06/sprint-cup-ns-and-qs-kansas-400/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

If there was any doubt about the impact of clean air in NASCAR, Kansas Speedway pretty much cleared it up.

Simply, the undisturbed air that the leader has on the front nose of his race car gives a decided handling advantage. And don't just ask Tony Stewart, but ask the two other drivers that took two tires during the race's final pit stop on lap 239 -- Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson.

Stewart, who got a jump on the lap 241 restart, got the clean air and held off Jeff Gordon and his four new tires while Kahne and Johnson fell to sixth and ninth respectively.

Gordon tried to claw back to Stewart's bumper after working his way past Greg Biffle for second, and appeared to be pulling closer and closer to Stewart. But Gordon reached a point -- at just over a half second behind Stewart -- that he could just go no further. A factor at that point could have been Gordon's tires wearing away due to his hard driving effort, but Stewart's two tires should have equalized out that effect.

Drivers have noted time and time again -- both with the old and new car -- that closing behind another car often causes a dramatic handling shift. A lot of the change has to do with the decreased air on the nose of the trailing race car, causing the tires to have less force pressed into the track.

The lower pressure on the front end can cause the car to feel tight and not want to turn as well with the front tires.

The Kansas Speedway media center is apparently a chair lighter today after a humorous exchange between Stewart and the assembled post-race media.

Prior to Stewart's post-race press conference, Jeff Gordon had answered a question about the championship format and mentioned something along the lines of Stewart having a big lead had the Chase not reset the field.

Well, NASCAR.com's Joe Menzer wanted to ask a question to Stewart related to the topic, and it set off one of Stewart's infamous sarcastic banters with the NASCAR media.

Here's a little bit of the transcript:

Joe Menzer, NASCAR.com: "Jeff Gordon was in here and mentioned--"
Tony Stewart: "He came in here? Jeff Gordon came in here?"
JM: "Yeah."
TS: "Wow."
JM: "I know, you're amazed."
TS: "That's awesome man. I never would have thought Jeff Gordon would have come in here."
JM: "He was sitting right there, I believe."
TS: "He was sitting right here?" (as Stewart pointed to the chair he was sitting in)
JM: "Yeah, man."
TS: "Oh my God, I'm sitting in the seat Jeff Gordon sat in. That's awesome. Can I take this home? I mean I won the race. Can I take this chair home? Alright. I'll send somebody back for it after I leave. Go ahead, I'm trying to contain myself."

Stewart didn't have to send anyone back, as he wheeled the chair off the stage himself after making another comment that he wants Gordon to sign the chair. All reports say that it made its way into the No. 14 hauler and didn't return from it.

So goes the story of Tony & the Chair.

Roush-Fenway Racing has to be walking a little taller after Sunday's race.

Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards, the only two RFR drivers in the Chase, wound up 3rd and 10th, respectively. Late pit calls probably took Biffle from the race win, but he's certainly got to be happy with the results.

Edwards wasn't pleased with his car for much of the day, but still salvaged a decent finish at a track that he certainly expects to do better at. Remember, one year ago Edwards made the bonzai move into turn three on the last lap and came up just short of beating Jimmie Johnson for the win.

While those two may be somewhat pleased with their results after a season of struggles -- the team hasn't won a race since Fontana in February -- Matt Kenseth's No. 17 is actually showing life. Kenseth was a contender up front for the second race in a row and looked to be a contender through the stretch until his engine went south.

Jamie McMurray got lapped and David Ragan got caught up in an early wreck, so not all was good for Roush. But baby steps for the team in the right direction are still steps in the right direction.

After receiving an unusual warning about car measurement tolerances from NASCAR last week, the cars of Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin were once again transported back to the NASCAR research and development center following the race at Kansas.

And there's a possibility that will be a norm for those two cars for the rest of the season.

NASCAR warned those teams that they were within thousandths of an inch of the maximum allowed body measurements after Dover, and has decided that make sure both the No. 5 and No. 48 stay in conformity. Hence the reason both cars were taken back to the R&D center, which is above and beyond what NASCAR normally takes back.

NASCAR is fully in its right to take any car it wants back for inspection, and if it wanted, it could take every car back to the R&D center for testing after race -- though that's highly impractical.

Normally, the sanctioning body takes just the winner's car and a car drawn randomly back to the R&D center for a tight inspection. Sunday, those cars included Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch.

Lots of folks have wondered if NASCAR is trying to sweep something under the rug with Johnson and Martin, but honestly, look at the bigger picture. Think about how tight the Chase would come if both teams would have been penalized with points after Dover.

Think Jimmie Johnson & Mark Martin being reeled back to the pack would draw some interest? I'd say so -- and that would be in NASCAR's favor.

Sprint Cup N's & Q's: Kansas 400 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:57:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Geoffrey MillerTue, 06 Oct 2009 08:57:00 EST Gordon, Stewart Make Gains in Chasehttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/04/gordon-stewart-make-gains-in-chase/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/04/gordon-stewart-make-gains-in-chase/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/04/gordon-stewart-make-gains-in-chase/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Tony Stewart / Jeff GordonThey aren't in great shape yet, but they certainly put themselves in position to compete.

Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon finished 1-2 Sunday at Kansas Speedway, showing a rebound for both teams after less-than-desirable results in the first two races of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship format. For Stewart, it was his fourth win of the season and drew him within 67 points of the Chase lead while Gordon trimmed a spot and 19 points off of his own Chase deficit.

For both, it also marked the first time either had gained ground on Chase leader Mark Martin in three races.
More: Stewart Bolsters Chances | Sprint Cup Standings | Full Race Results

Stewart's win vaulted some confidence back into the No. 14 team at a time when they especially needed it. After leading the points into the final regular-season race at Richmond, Stewart watched as not only did his significant point lead get wiped from the slate, but also his team saw uncharacteristic struggles and finishes.

It appeared the wheels had started to fall off at the least opportune time.

Life didn't get a whole lot better when the Chase started at Loudon. A missed component of the team's pre-race checklist allowed an axle cap to come loose. In-race repairs dropped Stewart to the back before he rallied to a 14th-place finish. The Chase damage was deep, though, as he sat 74 points back of Martin after just one race.

Then, last week at Dover, Stewart's bumper unintentionally sent Joey Logano into his crazy rollover wreck. The contact put a hole in the front end of Stewart's Chevrolet that required an unscheduled pit stop. He rebounded to a ninth-place finish, but dropped to 106 points out of contention.

"At the end of the day, no matter what the circumstance was that got us behind, we were able to rebound from it," Stewart said after Sunday's win. "The outcomes (in the first two races) weren't what we wanted but it just shows this team doesn't have quit in them."

Darian GrubbHis crew chief, Darian Grubb, agreed, but said the approach to each race weekend hasn't changed thanks to the team's Chase deficit.

"We still approach every race the same," Grubb said. "We're going for wins every week. We know we have to win to win the Chase for the championship. Today was just a good example of how hard you have to fight."

Such a fight is something that Gordon, who still faces a sizable but manageable deficit to teammate Mark Martin, knows will last throughout the Chase.

"You don't expect to go from where we were in points all the way up to first," said Gordon. "You're kind of hoping for the best that you made a big jump.

"That's what happens when you get off to the start like we did at New Hampshire, when you finish 15th and all the guys you're racing in the championship finish ahead of you, even a day like today isn't going to put you in the top 2 or 3."

Gordon did move up a spot in the standings to 7th, but he's certainly got a tough road ahead of him if he wants to be in contention for the postseason hardware. Perfection, he thinks, will be the name of the game.

"We've got to capitalize on the tracks that are good for us," said Gordon. "We got a little bit behind at New Hampshire. We have to make that our worst finish in the Chase."

Certainly, he's not counting himself out of the championship race.

"Even though the Hendrick cars started off strong the first two races and we were strong today, that doesn't mean this thing is over," Gordon said. "There's a lot of racing left to go."

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Tony Stewart crosses the finish line to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' Price Chopper 400 auto race at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009, in Kansas City. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)
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    KANSAS CITY, KS - OCTOBER 04: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 National Guard / AMP Energy Chevrolet, leads a pack of cars during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Price Chopper 400 presented by Kraft Foods at the Kansas Speedway on October 4, 2009 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Dale Earnhardt Jr.

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    KANSAS CITY, KS - OCTOBER 04: Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane with the trophy after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Price Chopper 400 presented by Kraft Foods at the Kansas Speedway on October 4, 2009 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Tony Stewart

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    KANSAS CITY, KS - OCTOBER 04: Actress January Jones greets Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 DuPont Chevrolet, prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Price Chopper 400 presented by Kraft Foods at the Kansas Speedway on October 4, 2009 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** January Jones;Jeff Gordon

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    KANSAS CITY, KS - OCTOBER 04: Crew chief Darian Grubb (C) of the #14 Office Depot / Old Spice Chevrolet has ice dumped on him by his crew members in victory lane as they celebrate driver Tony Stewart's (R), victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Price Chopper 400 presented by Kraft Foods at the Kansas Speedway on October 4, 2009 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Darian Grubb;Tony Stewart

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    Greg Biffle leaves the pit area during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' Price Chopper 400 auto race, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009, at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan. Biffle finished in third place. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

    AP

    Tony Stewart, right, looks to pass Greg Biffle during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' Price Chopper 400 auto race, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009, at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan. Stewart won the race and Biffle finished in third place. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

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    Pit crew members work on Tony Stewart's car during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' Price Chopper 400 auto race, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009, at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan. Stewart won the race. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

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    KANSAS CITY, KS - OCTOBER 04: Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Price Chopper 400 presented by Kraft Foods at the Kansas Speedway on October 4, 2009 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Tony Stewart

    Getty Images for NASCAR

    KANSAS CITY, KS - OCTOBER 04: Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Price Chopper 400 presented by Kraft Foods at the Kansas Speedway on October 4, 2009 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Tony Stewart

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    KANSAS CITY, KS - OCTOBER 04: Actress January Jones is seen on the stage prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Price Chopper 400 presented by Kraft Foods at the Kansas Speedway on October 4, 2009 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** January Jones

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Gordon, Stewart Make Gains in Chase originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 04 Oct 2009 19:55:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>jeff gordontony stewartGeoffrey MillerSun, 04 Oct 2009 19:55:00 EST FanHouse Warmup: Kansas 400http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/04/fanhouse-warmup-kansas-400/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/04/fanhouse-warmup-kansas-400/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/04/fanhouse-warmup-kansas-400/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

The Essentials
Race: Price Chopper 400
Where: Kansas Speedway
Time: Sunday 2:00 p.m./EDT
TV/Radio: ABC, MRN Radio
Twitter: Updates @ FanHouseRacing
Forecast: Mid-60s, Mostly Sunny
Distance: 267 laps (400.5 miles)
Pole Winner: Mark Martin
2008 Winner: Jimmie Johnson

The Storylines

Beware of the tar of death Sunday at Kansas Speedway.

No, it's not a pit behind turn three that's swallowing up race fans or an obstacle on the track (think Mario Kart), but rather, the 'tar of death' is what Kurt Busch has coined the asphalt sealant used on the seams of the race track in Kansas.
Obviously, his No. 2 machine isn't exactly getting along with aforementioned tar.

"It's definitely challenging." Busch said, "Last year I had a hard time here at Kansas. I don't know when they put that tar sealant down to help with drainage, water getting into the cracks and pot holes developing or big bumps. I couldn't go from the second lane to the third lane or the second lane back to the first lane without crossing the 'tar of death'. It was tough."

So tough, in fact, that it appeared that Busch's team didn't come close to getting a handle on the seams in qualifying. He'll start 39th, the lowest starting position of any Chase driver.

Jeff Gordon confirmed Busch's notion of some issues with with the transitions between pavement strips in the corners.

"You either got to go above them, straddle them or somehow get below them," said Gordon. "It's definitely challenging."

Gordon also discussed another track issue -- namely Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.

The Los Angeles Times reported this week that the track had been denied a chance to increase corner banking of the 2-mile D-shaped oval to above 20 degrees in an attempt to make the track a better venue for passing and close racing. Gordon, the winner of the inaugural race at the track, said the issue isn't really the track.

"I think it's a great track," said Gordon. "Is it our most exciting one? Maybe not our most exciting one, but I still think it's a great track, a great facility, and if they're not packing the stands, that's not it. It's something else."

What, then, does Gordon think that something else is? Well, he doesn't have an answer, but he's got a theory.

"NFL is a great game and it is the most popular sport in our country," said Gordon. "And they cannot make an NFL franchise work in Los Angeles. Why is that?"

Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski aren't following the conventional rules of fighting in the NASCAR world.

Why? Well, it's simple: they haven't made up.

Nope, there's been no reach out, no mid-week calls and no joint statements of love and compassion for each other this week as we've seen all-too-often when drivers spar on track. Hamlin and Keselowski had a bit of a scuffle following last week's Nationwide Series race at Dover following Keselowski making contact with Hamlin, causing him to spin.

Hamlin wasn't making any bones about his lack of good feelings towards Keselowski Friday at Kansas.

"I still don't agree with him and he hasn't called me to reach out to say he's sorry so as far as I'm concerned, he needs to be worried whenever I'm around," said Hamlin.

Such a warning didn't exactly send Keselowski running for cover.

"Mentally, I'm tough enough that whatever words he has to say, it doesn't bother me -- doesn't faze me," said Keselowski.

Hand it to Joe Nemechek and his strong qualifying run this weekend.

Nemechek, who could be lumped in with the "start and parks" that do little more than make a qualifying attempt and start the race before making a left hand turn into the garage area shortly after starting the race, will start 7th on Sunday. His No. 87 team is trying to get by with extremely limited sponsorship and a short staff.

Kansas Speedway, though, was the last place of Nemechek's biggest NASCAR success. In 2004, he won both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races at Kansas in addition to winning the pole for the Cup race.

Jamie McMurray, unsure of plans for 2010, lines up fourth for Sunday's race.

The top-five start is his best qualifying effort since a pair of third-place starts at Fontana and Atlanta back at the start of 2009 campaign. McMurray is 23rd in points after what could only be described as an extremely disappointing season for the Missori driver.

FanHouse Warmup: Kansas 400 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 04 Oct 2009 12:49:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Brad KeselowskiKansas SpeedwayGeoffrey MillerSun, 04 Oct 2009 12:49:00 EST Sprint Cup N's & Q's: AAA 400 @ Doverhttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/29/sprint-cup-ns-and-qs-aaa-400-dover/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/29/sprint-cup-ns-and-qs-aaa-400-dover/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/29/sprint-cup-ns-and-qs-aaa-400-dover/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Please follow Joey Logano's actions and keep your hands and feet inside this ride we call Sprint Cup Notes & Quotes at all times.

Michael Waltrip's crash on lap 86 didn't look too vicious compared to Joey Logano's tumbling crash on lap 31, but when you take into account the angle of impact and sudden stop Waltrip's No. 55 experienced, it would easily be the most dangerous of the two.

His Toyota suffered a blown right front tire that uncontrollably rocketed Waltrip into the outside wall. After getting out of his damaged machine, Waltrip was feeling awful thankful for the safety improvements NASCAR has implemented in the past few years.



"I've been racing for a long time and I don't ever take the softer walls for granted," said Waltrip after the hit that left him with a 36th-place finish. "But, at Dover, when you blow a right front -- that's career-ending. We've seen people just not be able to race again because of it. And here I stand talking to you. Dr. Melvin, Dean Sicking, NASCAR, Tony George -- from the bottom of my heart, a guy who has hit real walls before -- I thank you."

Those guys he mentioned were instrumental in getting the SAFER barrier system invented and implemented initially at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and later at every track the Sprint Cup Series races at.

Waltrip's a guy that has turned a lap or two in his career -- over 750 starts, actually -- and for him to acknowledge how much of a difference a safety device made has some significant credence.

For Denny Hamlin and Greg Biffle, the Goodyear tires each raced on didn't suffer any problems like Waltrip -- but the two drivers weren't happy with the results.

NASCAR allowed eight drivers to test at Dover in August with the tire supplier because Goodyear was hoping to find a better compound for last Sunday's race. Goodyear had learned several new technologies in its extensive testing at other tracks this season and felt that they could bring a better tire to produce racing.

Denny Hamlin wasn't happy with the tires before the race and the mood didn't change afterwards, either.

"We definitely came out here thinking we could win the race just like any other weekend, but as soon as the green flag fell, I knew we were in trouble," said Hamlin. "It was just a bad day. The tire that we had was so loose that you had to overcompensate so much with the chassis that it just didn't make for good racing, at least from my standpoint."

Hamlin finished 22nd after never contending all day and is 108 points out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup lead.

Greg Biffle had troubles getting a handle on the new tire as well, but was more concerned with an advantage he felt was given to Jimmie Johnson and Juan Pablo Montoya. They were two of the test drivers from August.

"It was a frustrating day," said Biffle. "What's probably most frustrating about the whole thing, and I hate to beat a dead horse, is that the 42 and the 48 and I don't know who else came up here and tire tested, and when we came back, look at the guys that didn't tire test, we ran terrible. It was a completely different tire, it had us off our game right when we unloaded off the truck, we couldn't even make a lap on the track. We got going there toward the end, but not like the guys that tested. That's the whole deal. We had a decent car, but we're not going to beat guys that came here and tested."

Biffle finished 13th.

Another Chase competitor -- Jeff Gordon -- left Sunday's race quite disappointed as well, but it had nothing to do with the tires.

Gordon was upset with finishing sixth, a position much lower than he ran for parts of the race.

"I'm really disappointed," said Gordon. "I feel like we had a second-place car and when you have a second-place car you've got to finish second or contend for the win. We had a problem with a gun on pit road and I don't know what you do about that but we'll try to fix it for the next time. It's just nice to run good. The No. 48 was in a league of their own but I felt like we were second best."

Gordon's title hopes for 2009 are still intact, though the deficit of 122 points he faces is tough road climb in 8 races when the Chase leaders are looking nearly bulletproof. He'll need to make up ground and not lose it this weekend at Kansas.

Did you catch the in-car camera of Kyle Busch when he hit the wall on lap 207? Something wasn't quite right with the whole ordeal.

Busch first hit the turn one wall with his No. 18 before also impacting the turn two wall. Nothing strange there, right?

Busch then accelerated down the back straightaway with obvious tire and suspension damage and made more contact with the turn three wall before turning on to pit road. Generally, a slow and cautious approach is used to get a car back on pit road in such an instance.

For a guy that is known to have some tremendous car control, it was interesting to see Busch stuff it in the fence three times in one lap. Was he doing it intentionally to finish off a car that had already been wrecked?

I suppose that's something only he knows.

Sprint Cup N's & Q's: AAA 400 @ Dover originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Geoffrey MillerTue, 29 Sep 2009 13:30:00 EST 10 Years After Evernham's Hendrick Exit, Jeff Gordon Still a Force in NASCARhttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/26/10-years-after-ray-evernhams-departure-jeff-gordon-still-a-for/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/26/10-years-after-ray-evernhams-departure-jeff-gordon-still-a-for/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/26/10-years-after-ray-evernhams-departure-jeff-gordon-still-a-for/#commentsFiled under: , ,

10 years ago Saturday -- Sept. 26, 1999 -- was the end of an era for Jeff Gordon.

For as long as Gordon had been a NASCAR Sprint Cup driver, Ray Evernham had been his crew chief. The run produced three championships and 47 wins but came to end when Evernham decided to start his own venture into Sprint Cup ownership. The questions came quickly.

Would Jeff Gordon have the same success? Or would the loss of Evernham spell the end of Gordon's reign in NASCAR?

10 years later, Gordon's success has proved that Gordon could go it alone just fine, but also leaves the question of what could have been.
Starting with the final race of the 1992 season, Evernham and Gordon would join forces in the Sprint Cup Series for some 216 races, ending after the second Dover race of 1999. They earned their first win together in 1994 in Charlotte while their 47th and final together came on the road course in Watkins Glen, N.Y.

The driver-crew chief duo amassed a winning percentage of 21.76% -- winning one of every five races they competed in -- en route to making Gordon the youngest three-time champion in NASCAR history.

Since Evernham left, Gordon has hardly fallen off the map.

In fact, Gordon won the first two races immediately after Evernham left the team in 1999. He's tacked on 33 more wins to that number since 1999 -- a win total that by itself would put Gordon tied for 20th on NASCAR's all-time win list. Instead, his 82 career wins heading into Sunday's race at Dover leave him sixth on the all-time list, highest among active drivers.

The biggest number that seems to have fallen off since Gordon's days with Evernham is the championship count. In his post-Evernham career, Gordon has finished just one season -- the 2001 campaign -- at the head of the pack. That's not to say Gordon has lost his knack for consistency and performance, though.

NASCAR's switch to the Chase for the Championship in 2004 drastically changed what it takes to win the Sprint Cup title. Gordon's four titles came under a season-long cumulative points effort, which the Chase involves the points earned in the final ten races.
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Had NASCAR not changed the point system for determining the championship, Gordon's point totals in 2004 and 2007 would have earned him two championships -- equaling the title production of the Evernham days.

Several of Gordon's stats have dropped in the 356 races he competed in since Evernham's departure, but their level is still high enough to be envied by most drivers in the garage area. The winning percentage has some dropped some 8 points, but his career percentage still sits above 14.

Gordon's average finish of 12.7 has dropped about a single position in 10 years, while he averages a start 2.5 spots back from the Evernham days.The number of lead lap finishes however has increased in Gordon's era after Evernham by some 10 percent to 73.31 percent.

A telling stat, though, for why Gordon hasn't won as often since Evernham left might have to do with his percentage of laps led. With Ray, Gordon led 16.48 percent of the time, but since then he's led 10.29 percent of the laps he's competed in. The percentage of top-five finishes has also dropped 13 percent, with Gordon finishing the top-five 40.17 percent of the time since Evernham's departure.

Look at Gordon's performance in two of NASCAR's crown jewels, though, and the difference isn't very big. Gordon won two Daytona 500s and two Brickyard 400s with Evernham, and since then he's picked up one more 500 and two more 400s.

Despite several of Gordon's statistical categories dropping since Evernham left, not all of it could be directly heaped on the crew chief change. NASCAR, as a whole, has gotten drastically more competitive since Gordon started his run to win all of those races.

Ask just about any driver in the garage area and you'll find that what used to a be sport that saw between 5 and 10 cars in position to win each week has become one where 15 drivers might have a car good enough to win today.

10 years ago, there were a lot of doubters of Jeff Gordon. They wondered if "Wonder Boy" could keep it up without arguably one of NASCAR's best ever crew chiefs, or if he'd fall back to the pack. And while his statistics aren't as gawdy or impressive as they used to be, it's a safe bet that Gordon is a safe bet for most races -- Evernham or not.

10 Years After Evernham's Hendrick Exit, Jeff Gordon Still a Force in NASCAR originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 26 Sep 2009 21:59:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Hendrick MotorsportsJeff GordonRay EvernhamSprint CupGeoffrey MillerSat, 26 Sep 2009 21:59:00 EST Sprint Cup N's & Q's: Sylvania 300http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/22/sprint-cup-ns-and-qs-sylvania-300/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/22/sprint-cup-ns-and-qs-sylvania-300/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/22/sprint-cup-ns-and-qs-sylvania-300/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Juan Pablo Montoya NASCAR Chase New Hampshire Chip Ganassi 2009 Pole Sprint CupWe promise to throw a caution with ample time to slow down in the event of a spinning car on this Chase edition of Notes & Quotes.

Pressure? What pressure? Juan Pablo Montoya's run into the Chase for the Sprint Cup is quite the enviable position for most other drivers simply because of the expectations that the former Formula 1 driver has on his back.

Or, make that the lack of expectations.

"I mean, what's the pressure? We made the Chase," said Montoya after his third-place finish. "From now on, anything about that, it's a balance. Come here, first Chase race, put on the pole, finish second. Can I ask for anything else? Not really. A win would be nice, but that will come."

Sure, a win would be nice for Montoya, but you can bet that's a little less important for the Columbian driver than, say, a championship. A title isn't completely a completely off-the-wall possibility for the No. 42 car, based on his slim 55 point deficit to leader Mark Martin and the consistency the team put together in regular season's closing races.

There was plenty of three-wide and otherwise risky maneuvers during Sunday's race -- and not just between drivers with nothing on the line except winning. The Chase drivers were fully involved with the good show we had for several laps.

Denny Hamlin surmised that it had a lot to do with track position and little to do recklessness.

"I think everyone is just -- I think everyone panics," Hamlin said after coming out unscathed in second-place. "When you see at the beginning of the race the top 10 and they're all Chase guys, you're like, man, I've got to fight for every position I can, and track position means so much that I think every hole that you see on the racetrack you immediately go for because it doesn't matter if your car is two tenths faster than the car in front of you. If he runs your line, you're not going to get around him.
"So I think everyone is just jumping to every opportunity that they can, and that's why you see the three wide is everyone is just trying to make up all the spots they can, and a lot of it has to do with the excitement of the start of the Chase."

Restarts played a big role in how two Chase drivers didn't perform as expected on Sunday, and left them both disappointed with their first of ten rounds of NASCAR's championship system.

Jeff Gordon, who looked strong early, ran 15th while Carl Edwards trailed him as the second-worst finishing Chase driver in 17th.

"If you're on the front row, you can get away with it a little bit but being fifth or sixth we just really struggled with the grip on the restarts," said Gordon. "We'd lose three or four spots every restart and then we'd start not being able to gain it back. It just wasn't a good day for us. It's one we've just got to put behind us and go on."

Edwards echoed Gordon's sentiments that the restarts -- especially on the low air pressures of new tires after a pit stops -- really hurt his march to the front.

"Our car just struggled all day and I couldn't go fast," said Edwards. "Once I got strung out I could hold my own and I could run well, but on those restarts I just got killed on the short run."

Thanks to their finishes, each driver has a pretty big hole to dig out of if a run at the championship is a possibility. Edwards sits 11th in points 113 back of leader Martin while Gordon is 10th, 102 back.

Brian Vickers managed an 11th-place finish, but felt like he could have gotten even more had the team not struggled through multiple problems throughout the weekend.

"We're not making it any easier on ourselves as a team," Vickers said. We started the weekend off and had a lot of engine problems in the first practice that put us about an hour and a half behind the competition. Then in the race, we had a lot of problems in the pits and some other problems that I think cost us an opportunity at a top-five."

Otherwise, Vickers called his 11th-place run a "solid finish" to his first ever race as a Chase competitor that leaves him 90 points from the top spot in the point standings.

Give some props to Elliott Sadler for his strong run Sunday at New Hampshire.

The Virginia-native is driving for the same team as Kasey Kahne and has certainly felt the setbacks and growing pains of the various mergers of Richard Petty Motorsports. His 8th-place finish was the best for No. 19 since his 5th-place run at Daytona in February and marked just his fourth Top-10 of 2009.

Remember, just a few years ago Sadler was a contender in the Chase with Yates Racing. His infectious down-home personality would only do good things for the sport if he could get back to being competitive again.

Sprint Cup N's & Q's: Sylvania 300 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:58:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Brian VickersCarl EdwardsDenny HamlinElliott SadlerJeff GordonJuan Pablo MontoyaNew Hampshire Motor SpeedwayGeoffrey MillerTue, 22 Sep 2009 12:58:00 EST