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/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 Kurt Busch Wins at Texas, Wreck Cuts Jimmie Johnson's Leadhttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/08/kurt-busch-wins-at-texas-johnsons-wreck-cuts-lead/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/08/kurt-busch-wins-at-texas-johnsons-wreck-cuts-lead/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/08/kurt-busch-wins-at-texas-johnsons-wreck-cuts-lead/#commentsFiled under: , ,


FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- Jimmie Johnson's drive to history took a hard hit against the wall and Kyle Busch ran out of gas trying to complete an unprecedented NASCAR trifecta.

Kurt Busch won at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, taking over the lead with 2 1/2 laps left when his younger brother's car suddenly slowed on the backstretch after leading 232 of the 334 laps.

Johnson, the series points leader trying to become the first Sprint Cup driver to win four consecutive season championships, wrecked on the third lap.
More: Johnson Wrecks on Lap 3 | Results | Cup Standings

His crew needed more than an hour to repair and basically rebuild his No. 48 Chevrolet, but he returned to finish 38th -- 129 laps behind Kurt Busch. Johnson's points lead was cut from 184 to 73 over Hendrick teammate Mark Martin, who finished fourth, with two races left.

"It's still a respectable lead, 73 with two to go is a good position to be in," Johnson said. "I hate we gave up all these points. ... It's not as bad as it could have been, we could have finished 43rd."

Kyle Busch won the Nationwide and Camping World Truck races at Texas, and was trying to become the first driver to win in all three of NASCAR's national series on the same weekend. It was the 28th time he ran all three races the same weekend.

"This is the first time Kyle and I raced each other hard," said Kurt Busch, who ran second behind his brother much of the race. "It's bittersweet, I was rooting for him, but at the same time this is for us. "

Kurt Busch got his second victory of the season, and 20th of his career, with an average speed of 147.137 mph. Denny Hamlin finished second and Matt Kenseth third.

Jeff Gordon, another Hendrick driver who is third in points, finished 13th after avoiding serious problems of his own. Kyle Busch had trouble refiring his car after his splash and dash stop and wound up 11th.

Coming out of Turn 2 on the third lap, Sam Hornish got loose after apparently being tapped by David Reutimann. Hornish made contact with Johnson, who scraped the outside wall. It looked as if Johnson might save his car before he was hit again by Hornish, then slammed into the inside wall.

Johnson returned to the track on lap 115, the front and rear of his car solid black after all the repairs. The front and rear suspensions and the driveshaft had been replaced, along with other repairs. Crew members from the teams of Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. assisted in what looked like a makeshift body shop in the garage.

After finishing second at Texas in April, behind Gordon, Johnson had another disappointing fall race at Texas while trying to close out a championship.

Last November, Johnson struggled to 15th while Carl Edwards gambled on fuel and won by a wide margin. Johnson left Texas with a 106-point lead in the chase last year, and won by 69 over Edwards.

Gordon avoided serious trouble in the second turn on lap 175, spinning but not hitting anything after Juan Pablo Montoya and Edwards made contact and spun ahead of him going onto the backstretch.

When Gordon turned down to avoid the other cars, he spun himself. He ended up with flat tires and a broken brace and came into the pit before it was opened, incurring the penalty that made him restart at the back of the field. He was still in 18th place, where he was at the time of the accident, when the race restarted.

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.

Kurt Busch Wins at Texas, Wreck Cuts Jimmie Johnson's Lead originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:11:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>FanHouse NewswireSun, 08 Nov 2009 19:11:00 EST Sprint Cup N's & Q's: Banking 500http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/19/sprint-cup-ns-and-qs-banking-500/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/19/sprint-cup-ns-and-qs-banking-500/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/19/sprint-cup-ns-and-qs-banking-500/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Kasey Kahne might have had the only car to really challenge Jimmie Johnson on the longer runs Saturday night at Lowe's Motor Speedway, but a late pit stop and a bad set of tires didn't let that situation play out.

"The tires we took on the last stop shook and didn't turn," said Kahne after the race in which he led 67 laps. "I guess that was our bad set for the night."

That didn't mean that Kahne was making excuses for coming up short with a third-place finish -- his best result since a win at Atlanta in September. Instead, he was stating the obvious.

"We were the best car at times, but the final run when it counted, we weren't," said Kahne. "Jimmie [Johnson] showed up and beat us all."

It seems that a mention in last week's N's & Q's provided a nice boost of momentum to Casey Mears again this week. (OK, maybe not...)

Anyways, Mears followed up an 11th-place finish last weekend at Auto Club Speedway with a 7th-place effort at LMS on Saturday night. LMS, of course, is the site of Mears' only career win in 2007.

Mears, though, was feeling that the finishes were finally starting to back up some strong race cars that didn't finish where they should have over the past few races.

"We've had some really strong runs over the last six races and we finally have the finish we deserve," said Mears. "We're really starting to click as a team and we're looking forward to carrying this momentum over to the final five races of the season."

Mears' teammate Clint Bowyer had the best night of the oft-struggling Richard Childress Racing group with a 6th-place finish -- a sign that the team is starting to turn the corner in terms of competitiveness. Unfortunately for Casey, though, team owner Richard Childress acknowledged this weekend that his No. 07 car is having trouble attracting sponsorship -- leaving the door open to the chance that Mears won't have a ride with RCR in 2010.

Current sponsor Jack Daniel's announced last month that they'll be leaving the sport at the end of the season.

The official stated attendance for Saturday night's Sprint Cup action at LMS was 105,000 -- a number that is dwarfed by the nearly endless grandstands around the 1.5-mile speedway.

But when you stop to think about the situation, it's not a big surprise that LMS was having trouble getting tickets sold to near capacity for the fall race. Not only was the weekend a cloudy, cold and often rainy mess, but the NASCAR Banking 500 was the third Sprint Cup event at the track this season when you count the Coca-Cola 600 and the Sprint All-Star Challenge.

Toss in the big NHRA weekend at the track and you're looking at a bunch of racing options that you're trying to get local fans to throw hefty amounts of money at to attend. Let's face it: this economy just isn't going to support such spending.

I'm not saying that the Charlotte market is oversaturated with racing or that the quality isn't there on the race track -- the end of Saturday night's race had me on the edge of my seat -- but that it's understandable that tickets aren't easy to sell at the moment.

News flash: Joey Logano is still, in fact, a rookie and a 19-year-old kid.

Just look at what Logano had to say after finishing fifth on Saturday night after a late-race duel with Jeff Gordon.

"I had a blast," said Logano. "Racing a world class champion race car driver like that, running door to door for a fourth-place finish -- that was a bunch of fun. It's still really cool to me. I'm still a rookie on this whole deal. To be racing Jeff Gordon, I never thought that day would happen."

It's kind of refreshing to know that he's still getting a kick out of turning laps with the best of the best, huh?

The top-five was Logano's best finish in the Sprint Cup Series since his win at Loudon in May.

Kurt Busch, fresh off a 10th-place finish at LMS, is starting to see a trend develop in NASCAR -- particularly in the first five races of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

"You get into a marathon-type pace early on and then you have a 100-yard dash at the end," said Busch. "It's almost like clockwork."

Fortunately for NASCAR, they didn't have to endure any criticism for a phantom debris caution after Max Papis lost an engine latein Saturday night's race. That caution led to two more before a 20-or-so lap green flag stint to the finish.

Busch acknowledged that such a pattern makes it easier to know what a car will need to win at the end.

"The team that has the car to make that short run at the end is going to be successful," said Busch.

Based on their two Chase wins in 2009, it's apparent that Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus knew that beforehand.

Sprint Cup N's & Q's: Banking 500 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:38:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Geoffrey MillerMon, 19 Oct 2009 22:38:00 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 FanHouse Warmup: AAA 400 @ Doverhttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/27/fanhouse-warmup-aaa-400-dover/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/27/fanhouse-warmup-aaa-400-dover/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/27/fanhouse-warmup-aaa-400-dover/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

The Essentials
Race: AAA 400
Where: Dover Int'l Speedway
Time: Sunday 2 p.m./EDT
TV/Radio: ESPN, Motor Racing Network
Twitter: Updates @ FanHouseRacing
Forecast: Mid-70s, Partly Cloudy, 40% rain
Distance: 400 laps (400 miles)
Pole Winner: Jimmie Johnson
2008 Winner: Greg Biffle

The Storylines

If you've caught any coverage of Sprint Cup practice or qualifying this weekend from Dover, the chance you didn't hear a driver complain about the new Goodyear tire compound was razor thin.

The tire supplier tested at the mile-long concrete track in August and brought back a compound that is supposed to have more grip like a tire for Charlotte or Las Vegas. The right-side tires also feature compound elements learned from Indianapolis that Goodyear hopes will allow the rubber to adhere to the racing groove better.

Several teams were taken by surprise by the change this weekend and have noticed a tremendous difference in the tire's handling characteristics from the May race at Dover -- leaving many to ponder and criticize Goodyear's changes.

Denny Hamlin, qualified 13th for Sunday's race, was the most vocal of opponents on Friday in the garage area.

"There was a tire test here and, from what I hear, they didn't bring back the tire that everyone liked," Hamlin said. "They won't listen to us drivers, so I don't know why we even tire test these race tracks anymore.

"They'll take a lot of data from this tire or they'll piece together this tire and that tire and make a tire that no one has run on and it ends up being terrible."

Greg Biffle wasn't as critical of the process, but felt the changes were unnecessary.

"This tire is really proposing a lot of trouble for us, and we're just super-loose and having troubles getting a hold of the race track," said Biffle. "They should've left the tire alone. There was nothing wrong with the old one."

Of course, there were other drivers who felt that the complaining wasn't needed and that the tire would be fine. Kurt Busch's feelings about the tire were positive, feeling that the drivers just need to do their jobs.

"It's not driving very easy, but we're fast," said Busch, who paced the second practice session. "I think what the car is telling me is that this new tire is asking for the drivers to get up on the wheel and drive hard."

And Michael Waltrip Racing's David Reutimann was quite gung-ho about the grip level of the tire -- something Goodyear probably liked to hear.

"I think Goodyear has got a very good tire," said Reutimann. "It seems like it has a lot of grip and a lot of good drive. The tire has a little more stagger and a couple of subtle things."

Hamlin's irritation didn't stop with the tires after getting booted late out of Saturday's Nationwide race at Dover.

Brad Keselowski made a move underneath Hamlin on lap 189 of the 200 lap event in turn two. Hamlin, who admitted his spotter told him that the No. 88 was down low, tried to cut down to stop Keselowski off the corner. Contact ensued and Hamlin spun lazily across the track before clipping the nose of his car against the inside wall.

Hamlin would pull directly to the garage and finish 27th while Keselowski finished third. The controversy didn't stop there, though.

When the 25-year-old Keselowski pulled into the pits after the race, 29-year-old Hamlin greeted him at his car and exchanged a few words with him. Later, Hamlin said he wanted to offer Keselowski "guidance".

The pair exchanged a shoves with Keselowski's PR rep handling Hamlin for the driver from Michigan.

Don't worry, we've got the Youtube of the whole discussion -- and a little bit of background from a tangle between these two at Charlotte last season -- right here.




 Elliott Sadler, fresh off his 8th-place finish last week, suffered the same problem that his Richard Petty Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne had a week ago during qualifying for Sunday's race.

Sadler's No. 19 broke a crankshaft his R6 Dodge engine -- the same ill that knocked Kasey Kahne out of the race at New Hampshire last week. Unlike Kahne, though, Sadler will be biting the bullet on Sunday with the same model of engine because of problems with motor mounts.

Kahne is planning to race the R5 engine -- an older, but more reliable generation of the Dodge motor -- for the rest of the season. Sadler, meanwhile, will have to put a new R6 in for Sunday because the motor mounts on his car at Dover don't align with the R5, and the chassis work to make it fit is too much to handle away from the shop.

Rain is a possibility today at Dover, but the chances seem to be tapering off as the day moves on.

The National Weather Service has the threat of isolated showers at 40 percent through 3pm local time today and otherwise partly cloudy.

Here's to hoping we can get a full race in.

The Prediction

Greg Biffle has scored 108 more points in the last 10 races at Dover than Jimmie Johnson to lead all active drivers in that category. However, Johnson does have four wins at the track compared to Biffle's two.

Johnson is the most recent winner at Dover, but Biffle won last season's fall race at the one-mile concrete oval.

Those two seem like obvious favorites at the fast track in Delaware, but there's just one more stat you should know. Carl Edwards has the best average finish of them all -- he's normally 7th -- and has failed to complete just 5 laps in his career at the track.

Who's your favorite today? Me, I'll take Jimmie Johnson.

FanHouse Warmup: AAA 400 @ Dover originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 27 Sep 2009 11:18:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Geoffrey MillerSun, 27 Sep 2009 11:18:00 EST FanHouse Warmup: Pep Boys 500http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/06/fanhouse-warmup-pep-boys-500/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/06/fanhouse-warmup-pep-boys-500/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/06/fanhouse-warmup-pep-boys-500/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

The Essentials
Race: Pep Boys 500
Where: Atlanta Motor Speedway
Time: Sunday 7:47pm/EDT
TV/Radio: ESPN, PRN Radio
Twitter: Updates @ FanHouseRacing
Forecast: High 60s, Mostly Cloudy
Distance: 325 laps (500.5 miles)
Pole Winner: Martin Truex Jr.
2008 Winner: Carl Edwards

The Storylines

Sunday night's race might be a last ditch effort to ensure Atlanta Motor Speedway has a spot on the NASCAR schedule, much less two.

And judging by the optimism of AMS track president Ed Clark, the expected attendance is working in his favor.


Clark said earlier this week that the track ticket office set a single-day record for ticket sales on Monday with 2,400 seats being ordered. It was a number that will cost Clark in the coming weeks after he made a bet with the ticket office staff that he'd make lunch if they could sell 1,700 tickets in a day.

Lemon pepper chicken it is.

AMS has been on the rumored NASCAR chopping block thanks to a recent purchase of Kentucky Speedway by the AMS parent company Speedway Motorsports Inc., and SMI head Bruton Smith's desire to have to two races at a track in Las Vegas.

Kurt Busch, the winner dominator of the spring race at Atlanta Motor Speedway will be racing the very same chassis -- 'Hot Rod' -- that won in March at AMS. Crew chief Pat Tryson said that if the car had three-forths of its gusto from the previous AMS race, they'd be in good shape.

Such a fast piece, though, didn't leave driver Kurt Busch wanting to get too deep in offering advice to Erik Darnell for this weekend. Darnell is making his first career Sprint Cup start for Yates Racing.

"My first race was at Dover many years ago it seems like," said Busch. "When they dropped the green flag, everybody was going so fast I didn't know what to do. I just backed out of the gas, went to 43rd and I started over. I ended up finishing 18th that day, but I couldn't believe the pace that everybody wanted to run every lap. That's some of the advice I'd give him."

It's kind of hard to believe that Busch refers to his first race in a sense of "many years ago", eh?

Bobby Labonte was unseated by Darnell for Atlanta and the next seven races thanks to sponsorship issues on that Yates Racing No. 96 car.

The problem was simple: Labonte didn't have sponsorship, but Darnell did. The timing, though, more complex.

Atlanta might as well be Labonte's middle name, as the Texan has six career wins at the 1.54-mile speedway. He'd be on just about anybody's fantasy race team for this weekend.

Fortunately, Labonte managed to find a deal with TRG Motorsports to drive the No. 71 this weekend and the next six races. The deal helped preserve a streak of 569 consecutive Cup races that Bobby has been a part of, just one shy of Jeff Gordon's streak of 570 straight races.

Sunday night's race has been billed as the first Sprint Cup night race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but I don't think I can let that slide. It's not the first night race, but rather, the first scheduled night race.

In November of 1998, the final race of the NASCAR season was scheduled for a Sunday afternoon at AMS, but rain had other plans. The race finally got underway in earnest around 9pm/ET time, meaning the newly-installed lights had truly paid off.

Jeff Gordon led 113 of the 221 laps completed (race was shortened due to time) to score his 13th win of 1998 en route to dominating the championship by some 364 points. The 13 wins is still a modern era record (tied with Richard Petty) and included a mid-season stretch where he won seven of nine races, four of which were won consecutively.

And you thought Kyle Busch's winning habits were bad.

Carl Edwards will be racing with a broken foot in tonight's race, as a result of a frisbee injury this week.

The injury may hurt, but competitor Jeff Gordon doesn't expect it to be a distraction for Edwards on the track.

"You would be surprised when you are in the race car, the engine is loud, there's a lot of vibration and your focus on driving the car can really eliminate a lot of pain and discomforts that are going on and take your mind off of it," said Gordon. "It truly is the perfect example of mind over matter."

It didn't seem to be a problem on Saturday night, as Edwards completed the whole Nationwide Series event and finished 7th.
The Prediction

ESPN's Ed Hinton made note of this in a column this week, and it's hard not to believe the logic. Simply, if you want to know who will prosper when the Chase starts after Richmond next week, just look at who runs well tonight.

Multiple tracks in the Chase fall at 1.5-mile venues, and the format has shown to benefit drivers who can handle those the best. In other words, it's not a surprise that Jimmie Johnson is your three-time defending Cup champ.

He also makes my prediction easy tonight.

Geoffrey Miller: Jimmie Johnson

FanHouse Warmup: Pep Boys 500 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 06 Sep 2009 14:37:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Atlanta Motor SpeedwayCarl EdwardsErik DarnellJeff GordonJimmie JohnsonKurt BuschSprint CupYates RacingGeoffrey MillerSun, 06 Sep 2009 14:37:00 EST FanHouse Warmup: Allstate 400http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/07/26/fanhouse-warmup-allstate-400/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/07/26/fanhouse-warmup-allstate-400/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/07/26/fanhouse-warmup-allstate-400/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

The Essentials
Brickyard Indianapolis Motor Speedway Ryan Newman Allstate 400 NASCAR Sprint CupRace: Allstate 400 @ the Brickyard
Where: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Time: Sunday 2:00pm/EDT
TV/Radio: ESPN, IMS Radio Network
Twitter: Updates @ FanHouseRacing
Forecast: 82 degrees, Partly Cloudy
Distance: 160 laps (400 miles)
Pole Winner: Mark Martin
2008 Winner: Jimmie Johnson

The Storylines

Bill Elliott was probably the happiest guy in Indianapolis Saturday afternoon when the skies cleared and, most importantly, NASCAR chose to avoid canceling qualifying.


Elliott put his No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford fourth on the starting grid for Sunday's race at the Brickyard with a lap of 180.357 mph. Had NASCAR chose to allow the rain to cancel qualifying and set the grid by points, Elliott and his part-time team would have packed up and gone home because they wouldn't have been one of the eight cars eligible per the rule book.

Instead, the 53-year-old former Brickyard winner is in the race and is hoping to make headlines as the 'other' graybeard in the field.

"I'm gonna give it my best shot," said Elliott. "If a 50-year-old can win, I think a few more years ain't gonna hurt a thing."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. may have been battling a nasty case of the stomach flu on Friday, but his hopes for Sunday's race seem to be raised thanks to the confidence he's seen this weekend in crew chief Lance McGrew. Sunday's 400-miler will mark the first race for the No. 88 team with a car that was prepared completely by McGrew.

"He seemed real excited the last couple of weeks talking about the car, some of the advantages the car seemed to have over what we've been using," Earnhardt Jr. said Saturday after qualifying 3rd -- his first Top-10 start of the entire 2009 season. "I guess I like it because if he feels this way or feels that much confidence and he knows the car as well as he does, then I have the ability to feel a little more confident in his decisions during practice and during the race on what to change, what's he's trying to do to improve the car.

"I feel like he'll know the car better."

As for Earnhardt Jr.'s health, it's apparently improved considerably from Friday as the team won't have Brad Keselowski or any other driver standing by in the pits during Sunday's race for relief.

NASCAR, and more narrowly, Goodyear need to be commended for the fantastic work they've done to make the tire right for racing Sunday at Allstate 400.

Words like debacle, disaster and anything else to describe the ugliness of last year's Allstate 400 Miles of 10-lap Feature Sprints have been completely erased from the stories of the media pool, and instead Sunday's race is promising to be a darn good show. The tires have rubbered in the track very well and most importantly, they are showing signs of wearing evenly throughout a run.

In fact, the tires have been so good that drivers have commented about being able drive more aggressively in the corners than in previous years and the possibility of making two-tire stops.

Anybody that's planning the build a new race track doesn't need to look at Richmond International Raceway as the ideal layout for stock car racing. Instead, they need to look no further than the .686-mile track just down the road from IMS at O'Reilly Raceway Park.

Both the Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series competed at the mostly flat but variably-banked on Friday and Saturday night and the racing was just fantastic. ORP is different than any other short track because the fastest groove is often up top, which opens the inside lane for passing.

The only problem? It's not too easy to make a move on the low, flat part of the track and that creates a side effect that every race fan loves -- side-by-side racing nearly all night long.

ORP proves that flat tracks can be fun to watch, and before we get another 1.5-miler added to any NASCAR series, the brain trust of track designers need to take a good hard look at what their doing out at ORP. It's one heckuva show, every single year.

Kurt Busch's car bumped and bucked like a bronco Saturday afternoon during his qualifying run, and it was feat in itself that the backup wasn't rolling off of the No. 2 hauler to replace the primary machine. There was an obvious problem with the car's suspension, but the team wasn't saying much.

Busch surmised after his lap that it was an issue with the shocks or bump stops, but when his crew chief Pat Tryson was asked later about the issue, he declined to specify what the problem was. Team owner Roger Penske appeared on Sunday morning's ESPN NASCAR NOW and mentioned that the team had "tried" something in qualifying that didn't work, but didn't elaborate.

Generally, if the issue was a problem, a team will divulge the information, but it seems that Busch's team was trying something from way out in left field and didn't want the rest of the competition to know about it. Busch lines up 40th for Sunday's race.

There's plenty of storylines for Sunday's 400-miler, and each of those are making this race an appealing one to watch.

Does Juan Pablo Montoya or Sam Hornish Jr. have a chance to be the first crossover winner in Speedway history? Can Jeff Gordon become a 5-time winner at IMS? Is there a driver lurking the shadows that we haven't talked about ready to make a run at history? And -- gasp -- does Dale Earnhardt Jr. really have a car that can compete for a win today?

We'll know in just 160 laps. Until then, enjoy the race and we'll see you right here after the race for extensive post-race coverage, live from Brickyard.

FanHouse Warmup: Allstate 400 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 26 Jul 2009 10:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Allstate 400bill elliottBrickyardFanhouse WarmupOReilly Raceway ParkGeoffrey MillerSun, 26 Jul 2009 10:10:00 EST Kasey Kahne Deserves Morehttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/05/13/kasey-kahne-deserves-more/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/05/13/kasey-kahne-deserves-more/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/05/13/kasey-kahne-deserves-more/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Fans have just voted Kasey Kahne's win in last year's Sprint All-Star Race the greatest moment in Lowe's Motor Speedway's storied history. After failing to qualify for the race, Kahne lined up on the starting grid thanks to the fans' popular vote, then promptly went out and snapped a 19-month winless streak.

Kahne's amazing effort that night, followed by a win a week later in the Coca-Cola 600, marked one of the best weeks of his Sprint Cup Series career.

The highlight reel has been considerably shorter for him since.

As the All-Star race win demonstrates, Kahne, 29, is incredibly popular and massively talented. Unfortunately he's driving for a newly merged, newly named, old-school team, Richard Petty Motorsports, that appears to be going nowhere fast.

Literally.

After a promising start, Kahne has slowly and painfully slipped out of Top 12 Chase contention. He's had only two top-10 finishes through 11 races -- although he did lead laps at Darlington last Saturday and ranks 17th in the championship. He hasn't won since last June and his fellow RPM drivers are faring even worse.

This is not what Kahne signed up for when he was tabbed by then team owner Ray Evernham to succeed champion Bill Elliott behind the wheel of the No. 9 Dodge in 2004. Kahne, a USAC star, was widely considered one of the best young talents NASCAR had lured away from open-wheel.

And Evernham, a three-time Cup champion crew chief for Jeff Gordon, was Dodge's NASCAR Alpha Dog, its flagship operation. The potential of the highly motivated combination of Evernham, Kahne and Dodge made for one of the freshest success stories in Cup racing.

Kahne delivered the 2004 Rookie of the Year title, won four pole positions and finished a respectful 13th in points.

Latest NASCAR Images

    ** AUTO RACING PACKAGE FOR MAY 13 OR THEREAFTER ** In this photograph taken on Saturday, May 9, 2009, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Marcos Ambrose gets out into a car for driver introductions before the start of the Southern 500 auto race at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, S.C. The 32-year-old Australian has been steadily rising in his first full Sprint Cup season. He's had five top-15 finishes in his past seven races and is 20th in the points standings. (AP Photo/Brett Flashnick)

    AP

    ** AUTO RACING PACKAGE FOR MAY 13 OR THEREAFTER ** In this photograph taken on Friday, May 8, 2009, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Marcos Ambrose smiles as he walks in the garage area to practice for the Southern 500 auto race at Darlington Racewayin Darlington, S.C. The 32-year-old Australian has been steadily rising in his first full Sprint Cup season. He's had five top-15 finishes in his past seven races and is 20th in the points standings. (AP Photo/Brett Flashnick)

    AP

    ** AUTO RACING PACKAGE FOR MAY 13 OR THEREAFTER ** In this photograph taken on Saturday, May 9, 2009, pit crew members for Marcos Ambrose service the car of during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Southern 500 auto race at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, S.C. The 32-year-old Australian has been steadily rising in his first full Sprint Cup season. He's had five top-15 finishes in his past seven races and is 20th in the points standings. (AP Photo/CJ Driggers)

    AP

    ** AUTO RACING PACKAGE FOR MAY 13 OR THEREAFTER ** In this photograph taken on Friday, May 8, 2009, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Marcos Ambrose takes his car out duing practice for the Southern 500 auto race at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, S.C The 32-year-old Australian has been steadily rising in his first full Sprint Cup season. He's had five top-15 finishes in his past seven races and is 20th in the points standings. (AP Photo/Brett Flashnick)

    AP

    In this screen image released by EA Sports, a scene is shown from "NASCAR Kart Racing." (AP Photo/EA Sports) ** NO SALES **

    AP

    Michael Waltrip (55) catches fire as his engine blows in turn three during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Southern 500 auto race at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, S.C., Saturday, May 9, 2009.

    Richard Shiro, AP

    FILE - In this Feb. 12, 2009 file photo, Joey Logano is shown before the first of two NASCAR Gatorade Duel 150 qualifying auto races at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Logano, who turns 19 on May 24, led 19 laps of the Southern 500 on Saturday, May 9, 2009, nearly four times as many he had this season, and was out front with fewer than 100 miles left. He ended ninth, matching his best-ever NASCAR finish at a track known for sending rookies into the wall and then laughing in their faces. (AP Photo/Terry Renna, File)

    AP

    FILE - In this Feb. 12, 2009 file photo, Joey Logano is shown before the first of two NASCAR Gatorade Duel 150 qualifying auto races at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Logano, who turns 19 on May 24, led 19 laps of the Southern 500 on Saturday, May 9, 2009, nearly four times as many he had this season, and was out front with fewer than 100 miles left. He ended ninth, matching his best-ever NASCAR finish at a track known for sending rookies into the wall and then laughing in their faces. (AP Photo/Terry Renna, File)

    AP

    DARLINGTON, SC - MAY 09: Mark Martin, driver of the #5 Cheez-It/CARQUEST Chevrolet, sits next to his car on the grid prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Southern 500 on May 9, 2009 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by John Harrelson/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Mark Martin

    Getty Images

    DARLINGTON, SC - MAY 09: Mark Martin, driver of the #5 Cheez-It/CARQUEST Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Southern 500 on May 9, 2009 at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by John Harrelson/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Mark Martin

    Getty Images



Kahne scored his maiden Cup win in 2005 and answered with a series high six wins the next season and a career-best eighth place ranking in the championship.

By then, the handsome, personable Kahne had also made a name for himself as one of NASCAR's most marketable drivers. He was chosen as one of People Magazine's "Hottest" Bachelors. He starred in popular and entertaining television commercials and his souvenirs were selling off shelves.

Men loved the way he raced. Women loved the way he raced. And everything else about him.

Kahne was one of NASCAR's rock stars. And that is fine. But what he has always been more interested in winning races and that seems to be a losing proposition with his current situation.

Today's Richard Petty Motorsports hardly resembles the original Evernham Motorsports -- most obviously because Evernham has sold his majority interest to Canadian George Gillett and remains with the team only as a "consultant."

In the off season, Gillett-Evernham merged with Petty Enterprises, which, frankly hasn't fielded a championship contender since Richard Petty drove for the team in the 1970s.

Far from being a mega-merger, the result is a mega-mediocre four-car team. And it shouldn't be that way. The lineup, including veteran Elliott Sadler, journeyman Reed Sorenson and newcomer A.J. Allmendinger is capable of winning races.

And it's not Dodge, which unveiled an improved engine this year that RPM inexplicably STILL isn't using.

Kurt Busch, who drives a Dodge for Penske Racing, has won a race and led the championship this season under the new power.

How much difference could the new engine package make? Three words: Sam Hornish Junior.

It makes you wonder if racing is merely a business proposition to RPM owners. It is certainly more than that for Kahne. It's about winning, which is something Kahne has done since he was teenager racing sprint cars in the Northwest.

And why should he lower the expectations?

"What gets to me,'' Kahne said, "is when you start getting happy running 12th or 14th. That's not where I want to be. At times right now, I leave the track after I finish 13th and I'm a little upset but that's better than it could have been. I don't really like that attitude but that's kind of what it's been the last couple of years.

"I like to win, I know that much. I want to have the opportunity to win each week.''

Give Kahne credit. He has taken the high road and remained loyal to RPM, but even he has a certain threshold of what he can tolerate.

In remarks to reporters last week at Darlington, S.C., Kahne indicated he was hopeful the team would turn things around but was clearly frustrated.

"They're starting to listen, but my concerns have been the same for a while,'' Kahne told The Charlotte Observer. "Sometimes, early in the year and the end of last year, I'd tell them my concerns and they'd look at you. It would go in one ear and out the other and they'd go about their day.

"In the last three weeks they have really started to think about it and said, 'Our cars are really heavy and our engines don't run' and they're starting to work on it.

"It's not like all this just happened.''

With the right equipment and support there is absolutely no reason why Kahne shouldn't be in the Chase for the Championship this year and every year.

If RPM can't give him the commitment to make that happen, the team should let Kahne out of the final year of his contract, 2010, so he can drive for a team that is as interested in winning as he is.

Imagine what it must be like for Kahne to watch those (who shall remain nameless) in superior equipment squander opportunity.

The driving talent is still there. The support is not. And it's time for Kahne to move on.

Kasey Kahne Deserves More originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Wed, 13 May 2009 14:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Kasey KahneKaseyKahneSprint All-Star RaceSprintAll-starRaceHolly CainWed, 13 May 2009 14:30:00 EST Talladega Marred by Early 13-Car Wreckhttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/04/26/talladega-marred-by-early-13-car-wreck/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/04/26/talladega-marred-by-early-13-car-wreck/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/04/26/talladega-marred-by-early-13-car-wreck/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) --The "Big One" hit early at Talladega Superspeedway.

A massive 13-car accident just seven laps into Sunday's race at Talladega Superspeedway took out race favorites and left it open for an unlikely winner to emerge from the field.

The accident started just seven laps into the race near the front of the field when Matt Kenseth appeared to make contact with series points leader Jeff Gordon.

The bump made Gordon's car slide toward the top of the track, and the drivers running around them couldn't avoid the wreck.


"It was a little bit of aggressive driving, but everybody's jockeying for position here in the early laps," Gordon said. "I got squeezed and didn't have anywhere else to go. I saw an opening, went for it, and it closed up in a hurry."

Six of the drivers caught up in the wreck are Chase for the championship contenders. They are Gordon, Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne, Clint Bowyer and Mark Martin, winner of last week's race at Phoenix.

"It's Talladega. You expect it," Gordon said. "You just hope to survive it."

Kevin Harvick, Casey Mears, Jamie McMurray, Scott Riggs, AJ Allmendinger, David Gilliland, and Brian Vickers were also involved.

"How could it not happen," Martin said. "It's not guys losing control of their cars. It's so many in such a wad that you can't help but move up or down on each other and it starts a wreck."

DYST V3 test

    LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers watches as Mo Williams #2 takes a shoe to the face by Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers after a steal in the closing seconds of the first half at The Quicken Loans Arena on February 8, 2009 in Cleveland, Ohio. (David Liam Kyle, NBAE/Getty Images)

    David Liam Kyle, NBAE/Getty Images

    Brazil's Diogo (L) vies for the ball with Paraguay's Hernan Perez during their U-20 South American Championship football match in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela on February 8, 2009.(Juan Barreto, AFP/Getty Images )

    Juan Barreto, AFP/Getty Images

    A Dalmatian looks at its handler as a judge goes to touch the dog during the first day of the 2009 Westminster Dog Show in New York February 9, 2009.(Lucas Jackson, Reuters)

    Lucas Jackson, Reuters

    Denver Nuggets forward Chris Anderson touches his head during a time out in the first half of their NBA basketball game with the New Jersey Nets in East Rutherford, New Jersey February 7, 2009. (Ray Stubblebine, Reuters)

    Ray Stubblebine, Reuters

    Margarita Marbler, of Austria, skis to a bronze medal finish the ladies moguls freestyle FIS World Cupskiing qualification at Cypress mountain in West Vancouver, British Columbia, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009. (Jonathan Hayward, The Canadian Press/AP)

    Jonathan Hayward, The Canadian Press/AP

    West Virginia guard Darryl Bryant (25) is fouled by Providence guard Jeff Xavier (1) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Morgantown, W.Va. Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009. West Virginia won 86-59. (Don Wright, AP)

    Don Wright, AP

    Missouri's DeMarre Carroll, top, celebrates the Tigers' 62-60 win over Kansas in Columbia, Missouri, Monday, February 9, 2009. (Rich Sugg, Kansas City Star/MCT)

    Rich Sugg, Kansas City Star/MCT

    David Clarkson #23 of the New Jersey Devils fights Erik Reitz #4 of the New York Rangers during their game on February 9, 2009 at The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey (Al Bello, Getty Images)

    Al Bello, Getty Images

    Driver Patrick Sheltra (60) begins to spin coming out of the fourth turn during the ARCA 200 auto race in Daytona Beach, Fla. Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009.

    Darryl Graham, AP

    Spain's Nuria Llagostera Vives serves the ball, in this multiple exposure, to Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic during their Fed Cup tennis match in Brno February 7, 2009.

    Petr Josek, Reuters



NASCAR issued a stern warning before the race, telling the drivers to avoid aggressive driving, which is common at Talladega but policed heavily for safety precautions.

Race director David Hoots warned drivers at the prerace meeting to show caution on the track.

"If you're thinking you're getting ready to get too close to crossing over this line then draw back," he said.

Several teams were in the garage trying to repair the cars and get them back on the track and get in more laps in the 500-miles race. Others, like Martin, had already called it a day.

Harvick returned about 50 laps later. Gordon, the points leader, and Kahne also returned.

"Everyone's trying to position themselves," Harvick said. "I don't think it's anybody's fault."

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.

Talladega Marred by Early 13-Car Wreck originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 26 Apr 2009 16:57:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>a.j. allmendingerA.j.Allmendingerbrian vickersBrianVickerscasey mearsCaseyMearsclint bowyerClintBowyerjamie mcmurrayJamieMcmurrayjeff gordonJeffGordonkasey kahneKaseyKahnekurt buschKurtBuschmark martinMarkMartinmatt kensethMattKensethscott riggsScottRiggsFanHouse NewswireSun, 26 Apr 2009 16:57:00 EST Mark Martin Races to Phoenix Victoryhttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/04/18/mark-martin-races-to-phoenix-victory-lane/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/04/18/mark-martin-races-to-phoenix-victory-lane/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/04/18/mark-martin-races-to-phoenix-victory-lane/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

It took 97 races, nearly four years and lot of decision-making but 50-year-old Mark Martin is back in NASCAR Sprint Cup victory lane.

Martin led the most laps of the Subway Fresh Fit 500k -- he also started from the pole position -- to win Saturday night's 312-miler at Phoenix International Raceway during his first season back as a full-time driver with Hendrick Motorsports.

Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle rounded out Top-5 of the afternoon-to-evening event.

"He makes dreams come true," said Martin in victory lane, talking about team owner Rick Hendrick before giving a nod to his wife. "Arlene, thanks for letting me come back."

The past four races have been exactly what Martin thought he could do when he signed with Hendrick during the summer of 2008 with four straight Top-10 finishes. The pole Martin won before Saturday night's race was his third of the 2009 season, but his finishes haven't been all roses.

In fact, a string of three finishes 31st or worse nearly left Martin on the outside of the Top-35 line that guarantees teams high enough in the point standings a spot in each race.

With the win, however, Martin jumped five spots in the season standings to 13th.

Tony Stewart was happy to see Martin back in victory lane, if only for the prospects of his own career.

"It makes this generation where everyone is supposed to retire a lot earlier make the longevity a lot more realistic now," said Stewart.

Numerous drivers and team members greeted Martin in victory lane, including his former Roush Fenway Racing teammates Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth as well team owner Jack Roush.

Latest NASCAR Images

    Drivers take turn one on lap one during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Subway Fresh Fit 500 auto race at Phoenix International Raceway Saturday, April 18, 2009 in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ken Sklute)

    AP

    The green flag is lowered for the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Subway Fresh Fit 500 auto race at Phoenix International Raceway Saturday, April 18, 2009 in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ken Sklute)

    AP

    AVONDALE, AZ - APRIL: Mark Martin, driver of the #5 CARQUEST/Kellogg's Chevrolet, leads Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on April 18, 2009 in Avondale, AZ. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Mark Martin;Tony Stewart

    Getty Images for NASCAR

    AVONDALE, AZ - APRIL 18: Kasey Kahne, driver of the #9 Budweiser Dodge, races during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on April 18, 2009 in Avondale, AZ. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Kasey Kahne

    Getty Images for NASCAR

    AVONDALE, AZ - APRIL 18: Mark Martin, driver of the #5 CARQUEST/Kellogg's Chevrolet, leads a group of cars during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on April 18, 2009 in Avondale, AZ. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Mark Martin

    Getty Images for NASCAR

    AVONDALE, AZ - APRIL 18: Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet, leads a group of cars during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on April 18, 2009 in Avondale, AZ. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Tony Stewart

    Getty Images for NASCAR

    AVONDALE, AZ - APRIL 18: Juan Pablo Montoya, driver of the #42 Target Chevrolet, pits during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on April 18, 2009 in Avondale, AZ. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Juan Pablo Montoya

    Getty Images for NASCAR

    AVONDALE, AZ - APRIL 18: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, races during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on April 18, 2009 in Avondale, AZ. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Jimmie Johnson

    Getty Images for NASCAR

    Drivers round turn three during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Subway Fresh Fit 500 auto race at Phoenix International Raceway Saturday, April 18, 2009 in Avondale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Jason Babyak)

    AP

    AVONDALE, AZ - APRIL 18: Bobby Labonte, driver of the #96 Ask.com Ford, races during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on April 18, 2009 in Avondale, AZ. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Bobby Labonte

    Getty Images for NASCAR



A late caution waved when Casey Mears bumped Dale Earnhardt Jr. in turn 2 to spin the No. 88 into the wall -- the two exchanged bumps following the race with Earnhardt Jr. spinning Mears while coming back to pit road -- and left just a six lap shootout to solve things after the race leaders hit pit road for fresh tires.

Ryan Newman stayed on-track, leaving Martin in second place when the green flag waved. By the time the leaders reached turn two, Martin had dispatched of Newman and left Tony Stewart nearly five car lengths back. Martin stretched the lead to nearly one second on the final lap before grabbing the checkered flag.

The win was the 5th-straight for HMS at the Phoenix-area track.

Kyle Busch looked to be in contention for the race win until NASCAR nabbed the driver for speeding on pit road during the final caution. The penalty forced Busch to restart at the end of the pack after leaving the pits just behind Martin.

Point leader Jeff Gordon had his worst race of the season after tire rubs and pit road issues left him with a 25th-place finish.

Mark Martin Races to Phoenix Victory originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 18 Apr 2009 23:40:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Greg BiffleGregBiffleHendrick MotorsportsHendrickMotorsportsJimmie JohnsonJimmieJohnsonKurt BuschKurtBuschMark MartinMarkMartinPhoenix International RacewayPhoenixInternationalRacewaySprint CupSprintCupSubway Fresh Fit 500kSubwayFreshFit500kTony StewartTonyStewartGeoffrey MillerSat, 18 Apr 2009 23:40:00 EST Busch Bond Can Lead to Broken Recordshttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/03/24/busch-bond-can-break-records/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/03/24/busch-bond-can-break-records/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/03/24/busch-bond-can-break-records/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Gaye Busch has a very reasonable explanation for the simultaneous success of both her sons -- NASCAR's reigning super siblings Kurt and Kyle.

"We did everything as a family when they were growing up," Gaye Busch. "We just did things together."

And they still are. Only now the Busch family gatherings are happening every week in victory lane.

With his dominating performance Sunday at Bristol, Tenn., Kyle Busch (pictured above left) has now visited victory lane every week of the season with wins in each of NASCAR's three premier series.

He and older brother Kurt (above right) have won the last three Sprint Cup races. And NASCAR old-schoolers, you better sit down for this: If this pace keeps up, the Busch brothers could challenge the Allisons (94 wins) and the Waltrips (88) to become the winningest sibling combination in NASCAR history.

It's not as far-fetched as it may seem. They're already two-thirds of the way there in only five years of trying together.

Unlike the top of the win list with brothers Bobby (84 wins) and Donnie Allison (11 wins) or Darrell (88 wins) and Michael Waltrip (four wins), the Busch brothers results are more evenly distributed. Kurt, the 2004 Cup champion, has 19, while Kyle added his 14th Sunday at Bristol.

Kurt, who drives the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, joked after winning at Atlanta earlier this month that he was finally "holding up his end" of the brotherly bargain. He may need to crank it up another notch to match his brother's winning tear. But if they can both maintain multiple win seasons, they have a great shot at re-writing the record book.

This is the fifth year both Buschs have been competing in the Sprint Cup Series, and they've won 21 races in that time (Kurt had 12 victories before Kyle's rookie year). Even using conservative projections, if they combined for an average of five wins a year for the next 15 years they'd be within one victory of the Allisons' mark.

They've both won races every year they've been competing together.

Factor in Kyle's current winning pace in the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota and it becomes a realistic expectation.

And remember, Kurt is only 30 years old. Kyle is 23.

"I'm just pinching myself," Gaye Busch said by telephone from her home outside Charlotte, N.C. "I told Kyle last year, let's just not wake up. It is so special and I hope they con continue what they're doing. I don't know how any parent could be prouder."

These family ties are strong, competition-tested as kids playing Candyland, baseball and then as precocious teenagers behind the wheel of race cars. When one does well, the other answers and it's always been like that.

They were both standout baseball players growing up in Las Vegas and played the same position: catcher, both highly-regarded for a rocket arm to second base. In high school they both got their best grades in science, and both considered physics their favorite subject.

When it came to careers, they have enjoyed similarly successful paths, winning early and often.

Latest NASCAR Images

    ** FILE ** In this Sept. 19, 2008, file photo, Denny Hamlin, left, and teammate Kyle Busch talk in the garage during practice for a NASCAR auto race at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Del. Busch had to settle for second place, behind Busch, on Sunday, March 22, at Bristol. (AP Photo/Russ Hamilton Jr., File)

    AP

    BRISTOL, TN - MARCH 22: Jeff Gordon, driver of the #24 DuPont Chevrolet, leads Martin Truex Jr., driver of the Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet and Scott Speed, driver of the #82 Red Bull Toyota, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 22, 2009 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Jeff Gordon;Martin Truex Jr.;Scott Speed

    Getty Images for NASCAR

    Kyle Busch (18) leads Kevin Harvick (29) during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Food City 500 auto race in Bristol, Tenn., Sunday, March 22, 2009. Busch won the race. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

    AP

    Kyle Busch leads the field just after taking the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Food City 500 auto race in Bristol, Tenn., Sunday, March 22, 2009. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

    AP

    BRISTOL, TN - MARCH 22: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Snickers Toyota, celebrates winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 22, 2009 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Kyle Busch

    Getty Images for NASCAR

    BRISTOL, TN - MARCH 22: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Snickers Toyota, does a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 22, 2009 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Kyle Busch

    Getty Images for NASCAR

    BRISTOL, TN - MARCH 22: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Snickers Toyota, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 22, 2009 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Kyle Busch

    Getty Images for NASCAR

    BRISTOL, TN - MARCH 22: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Snickers Toyota, races Joey Logano, driver of the #20 Home Depot Toyota, during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 22, 2009 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Kyle Busch;Joey Logano

    Getty Images for NASCAR

    BRISTOL, TN - MARCH 22: Kyle Busch (2L), driver of the #18 Snickers Toyota, poses with his girlfriend Samantha Sarcinella (3L) and crew in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 22, 2009 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Kyle Busch;Samantha Sarcinella

    Getty Images for NASCAR

    BRISTOL, TN - MARCH 22: Kyle Busch (L), driver of the #18 Snickers Toyota, celebrates with his crew in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 22, 2009 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Kyle Busch

    Getty Images for NASCAR


This month at Las Vegas, they became the first brother combination to sweep the front row in qualifying since 2000. Twice they've won back-to-back races.

They're on a string of three consecutive wins right now, in alternating order, which means Kurt's due next -- and he is a former winner at Sunday's stop, Martinsville, Va.

Only one set of brothers, Terry (1984, 1996) and Bobby (2000) Labonte, have won Cup championships.

Kyle was well on his way to making the tandem a two-title clan when he was derailed during the Chase last year -- his eight wins still a series best. Conversely, 2008 was Kurt's worst championship showing (18th) since his rookie year and he still won a race.

Both are early championship contenders this year -- accounting for more than half the wins through five races. Kurt is second to Jeff Gordon in the championship standings, 76 points back. Kyle is fourth, 85 points out.
And with the exception of a dust-up in the All-Star race at Chalotte two years ago, the Buschs have been good sports on-track and genuinely pleased for one another's success.

Kyle was the first to his big brother's car with congratulations when Kurt clinched the 2004 championship. Kurt's been especially busy stopping by victory lane to pat Kyle's back.

And for now, at least, they are both each other's greatest cheerleader. And keenest competition.

Busch Bond Can Lead to Broken Records originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:40:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Holly CainTue, 24 Mar 2009 14:40:00 EST Busch's Reverse Victory Lap Gets Namehttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/03/20/buschs-reverse-victory-lap-gets-name/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/03/20/buschs-reverse-victory-lap-gets-name/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/03/20/buschs-reverse-victory-lap-gets-name/#commentsFiled under: , ,

It wasn't a great week and change to be the assistant of Sprint Cup Series driver Kurt Busch after the Las Vegas native won the series' last outing two weeks ago at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Thanks to a nameless, peculiar victory lap Busch unveiled after the win by driving his No. 2 Penske Racing Dodge in reverse in the correct counter-clockwise fashion for a full lap, ideas poured from all corners of the NASCAR world on what the lap should be called.

And because, you know, that's what people in NASCAR do, Busch announced Friday that the lap's official title will be the "Unwind Lap".

The name, Busch said, came after some 61 of over 10,000 entries via phone and e-mail included the word "unwind" in some fashion. Fan Andy Kane -- Busch only knows his e-mail and little else -- was the first to send in the complete title last week on March 12 at 9:41 a.m.

"We had more than 10,000 individual suggestions received all through kurtbusch.com," said Busch. "With all the phone calls into the office, my assistant was throwing things at me when she first saw me because she didn't realize how much response we would get."

Naturally, Busch tied in the moment to his primary sponsor, Miller Brewing Company.

"It's fun to be able to win these races, but at the same time, the 'Unwind Lap' stands for a day when you had a great day at the office, you're looking to unwind, kick your feet up and have a beer," said Busch.

I'd have to say I agree with Busch on the beer-drinking, kick-up-your-feet thing, but as for the lap, I was a big fan of "Kurt-ain Call".

What say you? Think Busch is on the money with his "Unwind Lap" title?

Busch's Reverse Victory Lap Gets Name originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 20 Mar 2009 18:07:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Atlanta Motor SpeedwayAtlantaMotorSpeedwayBirstolKobalt Tools 500KobaltTools500Kurt BuschKurtBuschPenske RacingPenskeRacingGeoffrey MillerFri, 20 Mar 2009 18:07:00 EST Kurt Busch's Reversal of Fortunehttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/03/18/kurt-buschs-reversal-of-fortune/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/03/18/kurt-buschs-reversal-of-fortune/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/03/18/kurt-buschs-reversal-of-fortune/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Ladies and gentlemen, join me in welcoming back ... Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge.

Let's hear it for Kurt.

It's been a while since he was a regular atop NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series leaderboard, but Busch is making an early-season case as a viable Hendrick-Roush-Childress buster -- a compelling alternative to the recent cast of championship characters.

Like his one-of-a-kind reverse victory lap at Atlanta two weeks ago, Busch and his Penske Racing team seem to be turning things around from a frustrating 2008 and what some consider an under-achieving tenure at the high profile team.

"You got to bang your head against a wall every now and then if you want to figure out what you need to do," Busch said Tuesday about his recent resurgence.

At Atlanta, it was actually Busch's race car that was banging against the wall, "too many times to count on both hands," he conceded. Busch manhandled his Dodge Charger as if he was willing the car and himself to a higher level of performance.

He led 234 of 330 laps -- more than he led in all of last season -- and held off an equally motivated Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards on a late-race re-start to record one of the more dominating victories of Busch's 19-win Cup career.

And with an off-week to savor the win followed by a trip to one of Busch's strongest venues this weekend, Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, the timing couldn't be better.

Sure it's early in the season. But I believe Busch is for real.

The effort at Atlanta moved him into third place in the standings, pulling within 46 points of leader Gordon.

A victory Sunday would put him ahead of the four-time champ Gordon in all-time wins at the half-mile Bristol bullring -- with six. Busch has won NASCAR's ultimate short track show in five of the last seven seasons.

It would also prove him competitive on three of the four types of tracks NASCAR uses -- superspeedways (Daytona), mid-size tracks (Atlanta) and short tracks -- and he's generally regarded as a good road course racer too.

The uncharacteristic 18th place showing in the final 2008 standings -- the worst ranking since his 2001 rookie year -- along with a tortuous 21.8 place average finish, including a mere five top-5 efforts last season, have made it feel a lot longer than five years since Busch's impressive 2004 Cup title season with Roush Racing.

His only win last year was a rain-shortened strategy play. But that was one more win than Gordon.

"We're definitely pumped up with how our season has started," Busch said Tuesday. "Daytona is one thing. Then to evaluate where you are in the mile-and-halfs is another. The third step for the season to get under our belt is short tracks. ... But we feel like we've got our homework done."

Perhaps more than any other team. And it has clearly revitalized the 30-year old Las Vegas native.

After missing the 2008 Chase playoff run -- the second time he's missed the Chase in four years at Penske Racing -- the team seized the opportunity to shift focus and essentially used the last 10 races as real time tests.

Of course Busch's ultimate trump card is driving for the legendary Penske Racing team, where mediocrity isn't an option.

The massive operation -- headed by iconic Indianapolis 500 team owner Roger Penske -- didn't have turnover per se, but did made some big organizational changes during the offseason including moving key engineers and managers from the IndyCar and sports car teams to focus on the NASCAR side of operations.



Equally encouraging for Busch and the rest of the presumed-underdog Dodge drivers was the performance of the make's new R6 engine. Dodge's other team, the four-car Richard Petty Motorsports organization (a merger between Petty Enterprises and Gillett Evernham Motorsports) is expected to switch to the new engine too by late Spring.

The best part of having Busch back in the championship mix is that he will challenge the status quo, which includes his 23-year-old brother Kyle Busch, who was the winningest driver in all of NASCAR last year and already has a Cup victory and two Truck series trophies in four weeks of racing this year.

Together they've won 32 races and Kurt's win at Atlanta, which followed Kyle's Cup win in Las Vegas, marked the second time they've celebrated in back-to-back weeks.

"I've got to hold my end of the bargain because Kyle is on the gas right now," said Busch, who said he doesn't begrudge his kid brother's success at all.

"I think the kid has been dominant. When you're good, you're good; things are going your way. We hope we've turned a good corner to be able to compete with the Miller Lite Dodge week in and week out."

Busch said the team's received more than 10,000 e-mails since his win, suggesting names for his backwards victory lap. That means people expect him to use it again. He certainly does.

Busch re-establishing himself as a weekly contender would be a welcome and fresh storyline: two brothers gutting it out each week; a wild card former champ in the playoffs competing for an iconic team.

"We're back in business," Penske said.

And it's one of the best stories of the early season.

Kurt Busch's Reversal of Fortune originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:08:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>kurt buschKurtBuschkyle buschKyleBuschHolly CainWed, 18 Mar 2009 13:08:00 EST NASCAR Off-Week Check-Uphttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/03/13/nascar-off-week-check-up/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/03/13/nascar-off-week-check-up/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/03/13/nascar-off-week-check-up/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , ,

During one of only four off-weeks all season, it's a good time to breathe and check out the early-season statistics. It's way to early to come to any conclusions, but it's been an interesting few weeks of haves and have-nots.

Here's a look at who's getting the thumbs-up or thumbs-down as we prepare for one of the best shows NASCAR has to offer -- 500 laps at the half-mile Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway next Sunday afternoon.

Jeff Gordon: Thumbs Up
This is an obvious and, let's face it, sentimental selection for the points leader. Gordon never fell off the championship wagon, but his first winless season last year convinced the non-believers that he was somehow on his way out. Come on, this is Jeff Gordon.

The four-time champ has returned to form with two runner-up finishes in the last three races -- and his 13th place in the roll-of-the-dice Daytona 500 is his only effort worse than sixth. Get used to seeing his name atop the leaderboard and soon his car in victory lane over and over.

Clint Bowyer: Thumbs Up
This is not only because Bowyer is ranked second, only 43 points behind Gordon, but because of the fact that Bowyer is the best-performing driver most of the country still doesn't know about. The quiet, personable Kansas native is proving you don't have to have a household name to consistently better the household names. Last year he qualified for the Chase and won the Nationwide Series title. This year he's right back in the thick of the Sprint Cup Series championship -- with three top-six finishes -- even after having his former car, sponsor, and crew uprooted at Richard Childress Racing. That's C-L-I-N-T B-O-W-Y-E-R.

Mark Martin: Thumbs Down
This is not of his own doing, unless you count that dark cloud of so-close that has followed Martin throughout his career. After coming out of retirement for a fulltime ride with NASCAR's most dominant Hendrick Motorsports team, even the typically cautious Martin got caught up in high expectations. That's what makes his 34th place ranking so disheartening. He's started from the front row twice -- won the pole last week at Atlanta -- but had two DNFs (engine failures). The 50-year-old's only finish higher than 30th came in the Daytona 500. Even Martin admitted last week, "I do have a history of not being the luckiest guy in the world."

Latest NASCAR Images

    In a photo provided by the NHRA through Auto Imagery Inc., NHRA Funny Car driver Scott Kalitta is seen in an undated photo. Much like NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt's racing death in February of 2001, the deaths of the 33-year-old Eric Medlen and the 46-year-old Kalitta have been a catalyst for major safety changes in the sport. (AP Photo/NHRA, via Auto Imagery Inc.) ** NO SALES **

    AP

    In this Oct. 15, 2006 photo provided by RacersEdgePhotography, Eric Medlen celebrates winning a Funny Car race at the TORCO RACING FUELS NHRA Nationals at Virginia Motorsports Park in Dinwiddie, Va. Much like NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt's racing death in February of 2001, the deaths of the 33-year-old Medlen and 46-year-old Scott Kalitta have been a catalyst for major safety changes in the sport. (AP Photo/RacersEdgePhotography, Ken Sklute) ** NO SALES **

    AP

    ** FILE ** This is a Feb. 5, 2009, file photo showing NASCAR driver David Reutimann at media day at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Reutimann is proving that nice guys don't always finish last. The polite-almost-to-a-fault driver for Michael Waltrip Racing is off to a decent start in 2009, good news for his boss' struggling franchise. (AP Photo/Reinhold Matay, File)

    AP

    ** FILE ** This is a Feb. 5, 2009 file photo showing NASCAR driver Mark Martin at media day at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. This was supposed to be Mark Martin's best shot at a championship. Instead, two motors and a tire failed him the past three weeks, leaving the Hendrick Motorsports driver 34th in the Sprint Cup Series standings. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

    AP

    ** FILE ** This is a March 8, 2009, file photo showing Mark Martin sliding across the infield grass during the NASCAR Kobalt Tools 500 auto race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga. This was supposed to be Mark Martin's best shot at a championship. Instead, two motors and a tire failed him the past three weeks, leaving the Hendrick Motorsports driver 34th in the Sprint Cup Series standings. (AP Photo/Mark Young, File)

    AP

    Kurt Busch (2) leads a pack of cars into Turn One during the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Atlanta, Georgia, on Sunday, March 8, 2009. (Johnny Crawford/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/MCT)

    MCT

    ATLANTA - MARCH 08: Fans watch action during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 8, 2009 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

    Getty Images

    HAMPTON, GA - MARCH 08: Kurt Busch, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 8, 2009 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Kurt Busch

    Getty Images for NASCAR

    HAMPTON, GA - MARCH 08: Kurt Busch, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 8, 2009 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Kurt Busch

    Getty Images for NASCAR

    ATLANTA - MARCH 08: Fans watch during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 8, 2009 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

    Getty Images


Rookie Class: Thumbs Down
Come on guys, even without the testing we expected more. And that's the irony. Australian Marcos Ambrose is schooling the marquee wonderkids Joey Logano and Scott Speed thus far. With three top-22 finishes, Ambrose was ranked 20th until a DNF at Atlanta Sunday dropped him to 28th. Still that's better than "Sliced Bread" Logano, who is 33rd in points without a single finish better than 32nd in the famously strong No. 20 Home Depot Toyota vacated by Tony Stewart. Former F1 driver Scott Speed is also looking for his first top-30 run and is ranked even worse -- 37th. We're not expecting a victory, but how about a glimpse of competitiveness.

Brian Vickers: Thumbs Up
If not for a melee in Daytona, Vickers would be ranked even higher than the 11th place position he finds himself in. That Daytona DNF -- on the frustrated bumper of Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- is his only finish outside of the top-10. Few people predicted this one-time Cup winner would be hanging with the big boys even this early on. And while Vickers infuriated the Junior Nation by calling Earnhardt out on national television for their Daytona dust-up, he's having the last laugh. For now. Earnhardt is ranked 24th -- 80 points behind.

The Rest of Hendrick Motorsports: Thumbs Down
Of course three-time defending Sprint Cup Series champ Jimmie Johnson will make the Chase and so will his teammate Earnhardt. But if people are surprised that second-year driver David Reutimann and Vickers are ranked among the top-12, they are even more surprised that Johnson and Earnhardt aren't. It's way early and both have had their best results in the past two weeks, but it's time to go. Johnson has spotted Gordon 177 points already, but is less than 20 points behind 12th place Reutimann in the Chase cut-off position. He made up six positions last week alone. Earnhardt is 237 behind Gordon, but only 78 points out of 12th place.

The Busch Brothers: Two Thumbs Up
Older brother Kurt -- you know, the guy who won the 2004 Cup championship -- says he's beginning to hold up his end of the family bargain. His win Sunday at Atlanta moved him up four positions in the rankings to third -- right by younger brother Kyle -- and marked his third top-10 of the year. It was a big victory for Dodge, which has struggled in the past year, and a redemption for Kurt and the once perennial favorite Penske Racing team. Kyle, meanwhile, has a victory at hometown Las Vegas, is ranked seventh and has already earned a pair of Camping World Truck Series wins in his spare time. As NASCAR's winningest driver in 2008, everyone expected to see Kyle out front. It's his big brother's resurgence that has people talking and the rest of the garage on its toes.

Stewart-Haas Racing: Thumbs Up and Down, A Push
Team owner-driver Tony Stewart admitted to surprising himself with a tremendous outing right out of the box at Daytona. He's had three eighth-place finishes in four races and is ranked solidly among the early Chase contenders. All's well on the owner-driver double. It's the owner-only hat that's struggling. His teammate Ryan Newman is ranked 32nd and doesn't have a top-20 yet. He trails 12th place Reutimann by 151 points. Newman has only 48 points more than David Gilliland -- and Gilliland's only competed in three of the four races.

Drug Testing: Thumbs Up
Two crew members -- one from the Sprint Cup Series and one from the Nationwide Series -- have tested positive for illegal substances and have been suspended indefinitely by NASCAR. It's a small percentage of the thousands who took the mandatory test in the preseason. But it makes you wonder. If two people have been suspended in as many months knowing that they were subject to testing, what was going on before NASCAR modified its policy for 2009? Random tests continue at every race venue (about a dozen per week) and hopefully that will be a successful deterrent. There's no gray area in a life-and-death sport.

Attendance: Thumbs Down
This is a glass-half-full or glass-half-empty situation. Attendance has been down, but the television ratings are up and the camera operators have taken creativity to new heights with their crowd shots.

Tires: Thumbs Down
We're tired of having to hear about them. Let's get it right.

NASCAR Off-Week Check-Up originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 13 Mar 2009 20:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>brian vickersclint bowyerdale earnhardt jrdavid gillilanddavid reutimannjeff gordonjimmie johnsonjoey loganomarcos_ambrosemark martinryan newmanscott speedtony stewartHolly CainFri, 13 Mar 2009 20:00:00 EST Kurt Busch Finds Victory Lane in Atlantahttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/03/08/kurt-busch-finds-victory-lane-in-atlanta/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/03/08/kurt-busch-finds-victory-lane-in-atlanta/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/03/08/kurt-busch-finds-victory-lane-in-atlanta/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


He may have ended the day going backwards, but Kurt Busch did just about everything right to stay up front Sunday.

As a result, Busch earned his first victory of 2009 in the Sprint Cup Series' Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Kobalt Tools 500 Roundup: Complete Results | Sprint Cup Standings | Schedule


A brush with the wall, potential fuel issues and a two-lap green flag dash to the finish all posed threats to Busch's nearly impeccable day. But in the end, he was left standing in Victory Lane after overcoming Carl Edwards' rush and a hard-charging Jeff Gordon as the checkered flag lifted from the flag stand.

To celebrate? Busch grabbed the checkered flag and proceeded to do a full lap around the Atlanta's tri-oval by driving through his rear-view mirror -- in reverse.

It wasn't a full day of celebrations for Busch, though, despite leading 234 laps of the 330 run at the 1.5-mile track.

When the yellow flag waved on Lap 320 of 325 scheduled laps thanks to a Robby Gordon flat tire, Busch's steady half-second lead over Brian Vickers evaporated. Each of the 12 cars on the lead lap opted to hit pit road for fresh tires and a splash of fuel after the previous green flag run of 53 laps left nearly every car sliding with a lack of grip.

Edwards, fourth at the time of caution, took a gamble for two tires and got off pit road first with Busch and Gordon just behind with four.

When the green flag waved, Edwards tried to jump away as Gordon got a run to the outside of Busch, but Busch closed the door, caught Edwards and completed the pass on the backstretch. On the final lap, Gordon drove deep into turn three hoping to slingshot past Busch, but the Penske Racing No. 2 was simply too good for Gordon to snap his 45-race winless streak.

Latest NASCAR Images

    ATLANTA - MARCH 08: Fans watch action during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 8, 2009 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

    Getty Images

    HAMPTON, GA - MARCH 08: Kurt Busch, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 8, 2009 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Kurt Busch

    Getty Images for NASCAR

    HAMPTON, GA - MARCH 08: Kurt Busch, driver of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 8, 2009 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Kurt Busch

    Getty Images for NASCAR

    ATLANTA - MARCH 08: Fans watch during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 8, 2009 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

    Getty Images

    ATLANTA - MARCH 08: Fans watch during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 8, 2009 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

    Getty Images

    ATLANTA - MARCH 08: Brian Vickers, driver of the #83 Red Bull Toyota leads a pack of cars during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 8, 2009 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Brian Vickers

    Getty Images

    ATLANTA - MARCH 08: Fans watch during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 8, 2009 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

    Getty Images

    A large number of seats remained empty in the Grandstand during the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Atlanta, Georgia, on Sunday, March 8, 2009. (Johnny Crawford/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/MCT)

    MCT

    A large number of seats remained empty in the Grandstand during the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Atlanta, Georgia, on Sunday, March 8, 2009. (Johnny Crawford/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/MCT)

    MCT

    A large number of seats remained empty in the Grandstand during the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Atlanta, Georgia, on Sunday, March 8, 2009. (Johnny Crawford/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/MCT)

    MCT


With Gordon finishing second and Edwards third, Kevin Harvick jumped to a fourth-place finish and Vickers -- who had a tough time on pit road during the final stop -- came in fifth.

Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the Top 10.

Kyle Busch, winner a week ago at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the defending winner of Sunday's race from a year ago, never was a factor and wound up three laps down in 18th.

Pole-sitter Mark Martin desperately needed a dose of good luck after two straight engine failures dropped him to 34th in points, but a blown right rear tire sent to the No. 5 into the turn two wall and left him 14 laps off the pace in 31st.

Kurt Busch Finds Victory Lane in Atlanta originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 08 Mar 2009 18:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Atlanta Motor SpeedwayAtlantaMotorSpeedwayBrian VickersBrianVickersCarl EdwardsCarlEdwardsJeff GordonJeffGordonJimmie JohnsonJimmieJohnsonKevin HarvickKevinHarvickKobalt Tools 500KobaltTools500Kurt BuschKurtBuschMark MartinMarkMartinMartinTruexJrPenske RacingPenskeRacingRobby GordonRobbyGordonSprint CupSprintCupTony StewartTonyStewartGeoffrey MillerSun, 08 Mar 2009 18:10:00 EST 'Rookie' Martin Grabs First Pole Since '01http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/03/06/rookie-martin-grabs-first-pole-since-01/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/03/06/rookie-martin-grabs-first-pole-since-01/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/03/06/rookie-martin-grabs-first-pole-since-01/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

After two consecutive 40th-place finishes, Mark Martin desperately needs a rebound this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Lucky for him, thanks to a qualifying lap that made the driver "feel like a rookie," Martin will start Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 from the pole with Penske Racing's Kurt Busch alongside. Not bad for a driver that became the second-oldest pole winner in NASCAR Sprint Cup history.

It's been a long drought since Martin has started from the point of a Sprint Cup race -- you'd have to look back some eight years to May of 2001 at Richmond International Raceway -- and the 2009 season has looked much the same way for the rejuvenated Arkansas driver.

After floating around with a part-time schedule for the past few years, the 50-year-old Martin returned in 2009 as part of the same Hendrick Motorsports operation that has seen Jimmie Johnson win the last three Sprint Cup titles. Needless to say, the expectations for Martin were high.

He started the season well at Daytona by earning his 16th starting spot on the outside of the front row since winning that pole in 2001. The season-opener saw Martin wind up 16th before disaster struck his No. 5 team in the next two races.

A pair of engine failures at Auto Club Speedway and last week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway dropped Martin to 34th in the point standings, and a long way from where many feel he could wind up at the end of 2009 -- on top of the Sprint Cup standings. That lack of consistency would make any driver feel like a rookie, but for Martin, his Atlanta qualifying lap alone left him with that taste of being a newcomer to a sport he has some 35 career wins in.

"I feel like a rookie. I really, really do," said Martin. "Not only did the lap scare me and I felt like I ran out of talent up off of turn four -- there was no possible way I could hold my foot on the floor and not hit the wall with the back end first. But it was really fun.

"I live to scare myself like that."

'Rookie' Martin Grabs First Pole Since '01 originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 06 Mar 2009 21:17:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Atlanta Motor SpeedwayHendrick Motorsportskobalt tools 500kurt buschmark martinMarkMartinGeoffrey MillerFri, 06 Mar 2009 21:17:00 EST Tire Grip Again an Issue at Atlantahttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/03/06/tire-grip-again-an-issue-at-atlanta/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/03/06/tire-grip-again-an-issue-at-atlanta/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/03/06/tire-grip-again-an-issue-at-atlanta/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

NASCAR's tire supplier Goodyear better hope Sprint Cup driver Tony Stewart loses his voice this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, otherwise they might be for yet another public relations nightmare.

A year removed from a post-race tirade that saw Stewart tell the world he would dispose of any Goodyear product he owned because the tires created virtually no grip for the heavy stock cars, the problem appears to be creeping up again.

To make matters worse, even the driver of the best car on Friday at the 1.5-mile track talked about the lack of control he felt while making laps at NASCAR's fastest track.

"With the sun out, for this speed on a race track, I don't know what words to use," said Sunday's pole winner Mark Martin. "Under the best conditions I think it is very treacherous. The thing you have to do is have the best race car on the track and then you don't have to drive it as hard. If you have to drive it as hard as it can go the car would be all over the track. You're not going to be able to make the car comfortable."

Stewart, meanwhile, acknowledged that the tire supplier had made strides over a year ago.

"We don't have a ton of grip," Stewart said. "In race trim I think it'll be better, but we don't have quite as much grip as we've had in past."

Outside pole sitter Kurt Busch, however, easily had the best description of his Friday practice at AMS with the lack of grip.

"After 10 laps you want to pull in and say 'Uncle!' " said Busch. "It's driving that bad. Everybody was holding his breath for the 30 seconds you were out there. Whoever could slide his car the fastest was going to wind up the quickest."

Current Sprint Cup point leader Jeff Gordon acknowledged the limited grip, but that he understood the problems Goodyear faced when they come to tire test at the track.

"I believe this track, and this car, especially with these temperatures, could possibly be the most difficult track in the world to build a tire for; it's almost beyond what they can do," Gordon said. "We have our hands full; it's gonna be a white-knuckle survival kind of race. I'm actually kind of excited about it.

That's not to say that practice on Friday wasn't a challenge.

"They did these tire tests here in (January) when the track temp was 50 degrees; it's 90 out here today," Gordon said. "There's not much grip at all. It's not wearing crazy or anything, but we've only been making one lap at a time. Thank goodness, that's about all I can handle."

Hopefully, for Goodyear's sake, a few more drivers will be able to handle the tire package when the green flag waves on Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500.

Tire Grip Again an Issue at Atlanta originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:56:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Atlanta Motor SpeedwayAtlantaMotorSpeedwayGoodyearJeff GordonJeffGordonKurt BuschKurtBuschMark MartinMarkMartinSprint CupSprintCupTony StewartTonyStewartGeoffrey MillerFri, 06 Mar 2009 20:56:00 EST Kyle, Kurt Busch Top Hometown Qualshttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/02/28/kyle-kurt-busch-top-hometown-quals-amid-several-toyota-engine-i/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/02/28/kyle-kurt-busch-top-hometown-quals-amid-several-toyota-engine-i/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/02/28/kyle-kurt-busch-top-hometown-quals-amid-several-toyota-engine-i/#commentsFiled under: , ,

For the second week in a row, the Sprint Cup pole winner will start in the back.

Last week in California, Brian Vickers' engine change sent him to the back, and this week in Sin City, Kyle Busch will follow suit.

And Busch's Camry engine wasn't the only of the Toyota camp to go sour on Friday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, either.

Four other cars -- including Brian Vickers, Scott Speed, David Reutimann and Marcos Ambrose -- all suffered similar engine issues related to a lifter problem in the motor that was also the cause of Vickers' problems last week at Auto Club Speedway.

As a result, the two-by-two starting formation at the green flag will see Jimmie Johnson and Kyle's brother Kurt lead the 43-car field to the checkered flag because NASCAR rules state that cars who must revert to the rear of the field for the start force their respective line (inside or outside) to fill that spot, rather than shuffling the whole field.

Regardless, by qualifying 1-2 on Friday, the Busch brothers (who, conventiently enough, are both from Las Vegas) became the first brother duo to take a race's top qualifying spots since Rusty and Kenny Wallace did so back in 2000. Kyle Busch's lap of 185.995 mph with his new engine (they changed the original during the first practice) set a new track record at the 1.5-miler that was configured with more banking for the 2007 edition.

Jimmie Johnson, looking to return to form after winning the past three Sprint Cup titles, took the third spot with David Reutimann and Marcos Ambrose rounding out the Top-5. As a result, just two of the fastest five cars will be at the front for the start of Sunday's race.

Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart rounded out the Top-10 for the Shelby 427.

The only driver to win a Sprint Cup points race in 2009 -- Roush Fenway's Matt Kenseth -- will line up 40th while second in points and the second-place finish a week ago Jeff Gordon will start 28th.

Two of the season's biggest underdog stories of Scott Riggs and Jeremy Mayfield both failed to make the third race of 2009 along with Travis Kvapil, Dave Blaney, Mike Garvey, Sterling Marlin, Tony Raines and Dexter Bean.

Kyle, Kurt Busch Top Hometown Quals originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 11:41:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>JimmieJohnsonKurtBuschKyleBuschLasVegasLasVegasMotorSpeedwayShelby427ToyotaGeoffrey MillerSat, 28 Feb 2009 11:41:00 EST '08 Rear-View Mirror: Kurt Buschhttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2008/12/16/08-rear-view-mirror-kurt-busch/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2008/12/16/08-rear-view-mirror-kurt-busch/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2008/12/16/08-rear-view-mirror-kurt-busch/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Warning: Objects in this post may be the only way to successfully live through the NASCAR off-season. For best results, read rearview mirror early and often.

Driver: Kurt Busch
Team: No. 2 Penske Racing Dodge
'08 Final Standing: 18th (-3049)
Best Race: Lenox 301 at New Hampshire (1st-place)
Worst Race: Ford 400 at Homestead (43rd-place)

Season in a box: The 2008 season started off so well for Kurt at Daytona that casual observers who watched that race and then only stat lines for the rest of the season may have thought the "K Busch" winning all of those races was the older of the Sprint Cup brothers. That wasn't nearly the case, however.

Busch's 2nd-place finish in that season-opening race truly gave the team a huge dose of momentum -- remember he did finish just behind teammate Ryan Newman -- as the season started, but he "Big Mo" certainly didn't last long, nor did it ever really regain its early season fashion for the No. 2 bunch. In six of the nine races that followed Daytona, Busch finished 23rd or worse.

The season's biggest bright spot came with a win thanks to the well-timed rain shower at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. To put it in perspective, Michael Waltrip finished second. Nonetheless, it was still a win for Busch.

Later in the season, Busch's No. 2 was tapped to be the test car for the Dodge engine program that saw the No. 2 battle for a win at Phoenix but also have some significant struggles such as a 39th at California and a 30th at Kansas.

Through the crystal windshield: With news this week that both the newly-merged Chip Ganassi operation and Robby Gordon would be switching to Chevrolet and Toyota, respectively, the number of teams in the Dodge camp is decreasing pretty noticably. The lower amount of teams may temporarily help Penske with the engine program because of the resources won't be stretched as far, but the amount of research on engine packages will also be diminished.

Additionally, Penske hasn't been able to keep pace and win consistently since Ryan Newman's impressive season in 2004, meaning that 2009 doesn't seem to hold a bunch of promise for the No. 2 team. Newman's departure combined with David Stremme taking over the No. 12 duties might provide a nice change of pace for Busch and Co., but don't look for a championship-winning 2009 effort.

Next up: Ryan Newman

'08 Rear-View Mirror: Kurt Busch originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:36:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>DodgeFord400KurtBuschPenskeRacingRearViewMirrorSprintCupGeoffrey MillerTue, 16 Dec 2008 16:36:00 EST Kurt Busch: Right Place, Right Time at NHMShttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2008/06/29/kurt-busch-right-place-right-time-at-nhms/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2008/06/29/kurt-busch-right-place-right-time-at-nhms/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2008/06/29/kurt-busch-right-place-right-time-at-nhms/#commentsFiled under: , ,



Kurt Busch was lucky when it mattered Sunday afternoon at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

The Penske Racing driver scored his first win of his horrible 2008 season by staying out during a late caution as rain approached late in the going in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301. When the rain finally came, Busch had held the top spot for just 10 laps and after a brief red flag period, NASCAR finally called the race after 284 of 301 laps.

The win elevated Busch four spots in the point standings to 18th-place.

Many more of the Top-10 finishers definitely lucked into their positions because of the rain including Michael Waltrip (2nd) and J.J. Yeley (3rd). For those two, it might be the only time in 2008 that they finish in the Top-5.

Tony Stewart was again snake-bitten by bad luck -- just as he has been in several races this season including Bristol, Charlotte, and Infineon. The No. 20 showed the way for 132 laps, including dominating towards the end of the event despite a charge by Jimmie Johnson.

In an interview during the red flag, you could see the pure disappointment on Stewart's face.

Hendrick Motorsports by and far had one of its best days from a team aspect all season Sunday. At one point, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the departing Casey Mears were in the Top-5. Mears took advantage of pit strategy and led 53 laps early in the event.

The results, thanks to the rain and a bizarre pit road incident between Earnhardt Jr. and Jamie McMurray left the results a little skewed for HMS. Mears took 7th, Johnson 9th, Gordon 11th, and Dale Jr. 23rd.

Point leader Kyle Busch had his worst-performing day of the season and that combined with a on-track bumping match with Juan Pablo Montoya, he finished 24th.

Stay tuned to the FanHouse for more on that and other happenings later.

Kurt Busch: Right Place, Right Time at NHMS originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 29 Jun 2008 17:59:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>JJYeleyKurtBuschLenoxIndustrialTools301MichaelWaltripPenskeRacingSprintCupGeoffrey MillerSun, 29 Jun 2008 17:59:00 EST