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/Rejuvenated Mark Martin Remains NASCAR's Sentimental Favoritehttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/21/rejuvenated-mark-martin-remains-nascars-sentimental-favorite/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/21/rejuvenated-mark-martin-remains-nascars-sentimental-favorite/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/21/rejuvenated-mark-martin-remains-nascars-sentimental-favorite/#commentsFiled under: , ,

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Mark Martin winces, then breaks into a grin every time he hears the introduction.

"Ladies and gentlemen ... Mark Martin, who is attempting to become the oldest champion in NASCAR history."

The difference between this week and years ago is that Martin grinned. He's been doing that a lot lately.

Martin trails his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson by 108 points entering Sunday's Ford 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup season finale at Homestead Miami Speedway. Johnson, 34, only needs to finish 25th or better to clinch a historic fourth consecutive title.

Martin, 50, is still looking for his first.

"If I went from not winning in 70-some races to being close to winning a championship and having four or five wins, I would be smiling and very happy too and I think anyone in this garage would be," said Greg Biffle, Martin's former teammate at Roush Fenway Racing.

"Think about his career. He was all but done, right? He announced his retirement, 'I'm done, I'm leaving.' and a couple years later he's on the cusp of winning the title.

"You've got to feel like a new person when that happens in your life."

Martin has conceded as much. He announced his retirement in 2006 only to come back and race part-time the next two years. He signed a deal with the mighty Hendrick Motorsports organization last year to return full-time, humbly insisting he only wanted a shot to win a race.

"I went to the (Hendrick) shop quite a bit after we made this deal," Martin said. "My wife, I'd come in after being there, and she'd say, 'You're always smiling when you come back from that shop.' I said, 'Heck yeah, you would be too.'

"It makes you feel that way. I'd just come back from being there with a permanent smile on my face. It's good people with great attitudes. Everyone there has treated me, you know, like gold. It's been amazing, the respect that I've been shown there.

"It's very humbling."

The combination has also been magical for Martin. He's won five races and collected seven poles in the No. 5 Kelloggs Chevrolet and been ranked first or second in the points standings since September.

His first victory at Phoenix in the eighth race of the year was hugely popular; his contention for the championship, hugely sentimental.

It was his first win since 2005 during a 19-year tenure with Roush. It's the first time he's been a serious threat to the title since 2002, when he finished as championship runner-up for the fourth time in his career. Four other times he finished third in the standings.

Johnson (47 wins) and another Hendrick teammate, Jeff Gordon (82), are the only active drivers with more wins than Martin's 40. Martin has a record 48 in NASCAR's triple-A Nationwide Series and his five IROC (International Race of Champions) titles are unequalled.

But it's the Cup championship that has cruelly eluded Martin. He came up 26 points short of Dale Earnhardt in 1990 and lost the 2002 title to Tony Stewart by 38 points.

The result is that many regard Martin as "the greatest driver not to win a Cup championship." But Martin doesn't see it that way at all.

"My record does not stand up against the greats in this business," Martin said. "I just want to be a winner, just a winner, you know. That doesn't mean a career or at Monopoly or Scrabble. I just want to be a winner."

So why does he feel others hold him in such high regard?

"Because I'm the worker, I'm the guy that rolls up my sleeves, and I never put that mask on or pull the gun out. I work real hard and try to win the game, whatever it is, you know, fair and square."

Depending on who you speak to, what Martin is doing is nearly as impressive a feat as Johnson's dominant year.

"It's incredible, that's why we haven't seen it accomplished," said 1999 Cup champion Dale Jarrett, now an analyst for ESPN and ABC's NASCAR race broadcasts.

"A lot of it is his physical condition but I also believe it was good for him to take a couple years off. Mark's abilities have always been there, not taking away from Roush but he's always been a better driver than the equipment he's been in.

"There were times this sport would just eat at him," Jarrett continued. "Now you just see him having a blast. I think he's appreciating it more now."

And Martin would be the first to admit he is.

"This has been obviously the best year of my life professionally as well as personally," Martin said this week.

"The personal part comes from being happy. I was a very, very happy person in 2008. But that little bit of extra performance that we have been getting on the racetrack in 2009 even made it more awesome.

"The reason I took this deal is because I got close to winning a race or two in 2008, and I could just taste it. I really wanted a chance to try to win again before I wasn't able to ever experience that again. That was the motivation for me, taking this opportunity.

"It definitely has turned out to exceed my expectations. I knew that the race team would be awesome. I knew the car would be fast. I just hoped that I would be able to get the job done."

His boss, Rick Hendrick, certainly thinks he will. The two already brokered a two-year contract extension that will have Martin driving the No. 5 through 2011 -- through Martin's 52nd birthday, which essentially gives him two more chances to make history, two more seasons to enjoy the ride.

Rejuvenated Mark Martin Remains NASCAR's Sentimental Favorite originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:16:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Mark MartinMarkMartinNASCARHolly CainSat, 21 Nov 2009 18:16:00 EST Johnson Wins Pole for Homestead Finalehttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/20/johnson-wins-pole-for-homestead-finale/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/20/johnson-wins-pole-for-homestead-finale/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/20/johnson-wins-pole-for-homestead-finale/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Jimmie JohnsonHOMESTEAD, Fla. -- The hard-core conspirators will think NASCAR scripted it. The reality is Jimmie Johnson was the fastest driver of the day.

Johnson will start his No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet from the pole position in Sunday's Ford 400 at Homestead Miami Speedway -- the ultimate beginning to the last chapter in his quest to become the first driver to win four consecutive championships.

Of all things Johnson knocked his Hendrick Motorsports teammate -- and only title challenger left -- Mark Martin off the top spot on the qualifying speed chart. Johnson leads Martin by 108 points and needs only to finish 25th or better to clinch his historic championship.

Later Friday afternoon, rookies Scott Speed and Australian Marcos Ambrose bettered Martin's qualifying run, ultimately relegating the veteran to a fourth-place start.

"It is ironic and cool at the same time,'' Johnson said of knocking Martin off the pole. "It should be evident to all watching how hard both of us drivers are pushing.''

"I have to say, the car was better than I expected it to be,'' said Johnson who has collected four poles this season. "I'm definitely excited for track position and having the first pit stall. Being at the front is just the safest place to be.''

Typically that's a given, but Johnson finds himself surrounded by rookies in the biggest race of the year. His front row mate, Speed, in particular, has proven to be accident prone. The former Formula One driver insisted he didn't have a plan for the race start, but did say, "you don't want to be the idiot that wrecks the 48 either.''

Ambrose was more candid in his bid for situational awareness.

"Let's just say I'll be following him in line going into Turn One,'' Ambrose said. "He certainly knows his way around this place for sure. He's got like a halo around him.

"I won't be on his bumper though, I"ll be a little distance behind, let him do his own thing. He'll have a halo around him. It'll be like on the interstate, staying a car-length behind,'' Ambrose joked.

For his part, Johnson said he wasn't too worried about the starting grid.

"I'm not taking anything for granted,'' Johnson said. "But I'm happy to hear both Marcos and Scott know what's going on. They've both raced for championships before. They know.''

Of course that's not to say Johnson will be getting any free passes.

"It's a fine line between looking out for yourself and looking at the big picture,'' Ambrose said.

In other qualifying notes, Tony Stewart was fifth fastest, Jeff Gordon was 20th quickest and Juan Pablo Montoya, 23rd. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start 32nd.

Johnson Wins Pole for Homestead Finale originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>JimmieJohnsonMark MartinMarkMartinnascarHolly CainFri, 20 Nov 2009 20:25:00 EST Everything's Gravy in Hendrick Universehttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/19/any-way-you-look-at-it-nascar-finale-will-make-history/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/19/any-way-you-look-at-it-nascar-finale-will-make-history/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/19/any-way-you-look-at-it-nascar-finale-will-make-history/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

MIAMI -- NASCAR's Championship Weekend officially kicked off Thursday during a contenders press conference that couldn't have been less like boxing's version of a pre-bout showdown. This was more meet-and-greet than stare-and-glare.

The players here -- three-time defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Mark Martin -- like each other, so much so it was difficult to remember that they are actually competing against one another.

Johnson gushed about what a great driver Martin is. And Martin humbly insisted he was just happy to be in position to challenge Johnson. And their team owner Rick Hendrick maintained, "I'm just living the dream."
Whitley: Johnson the Great Unknown

Of course, that's understandable when you're either on the verge of a historic fourth consecutive title, as Johnson is, or stand a mathematical chance to win your first at the age of 50, as Martin is.

And either way, Hendrick is assured of his ninth Cup championship as an owner, which ties him with the great Petty Enterprises operation which won seven with NASCAR's "King" Richard Petty.

Reporters couldn't even get Johnson and the famously-buffed Martin to predict a winner if the drivers arm-wrestled.

"I don't know,'' Johnson laughed, "have you seen his arms, he's pretty ripped. ... But remember, he only weighs about 125 pounds.''

Flanked by his two drivers Thursday in Miami, Hendrick clearly basked in his win-win situation. Johnson holds a 108-point advantage over Martin entering Sunday's Ford 400 season finale at Homestead Miami Speedway and only needs to finish 25th or better to become the first driver in NASCAR's 61-year history to win four straight championships.

Hendrick Motorsports's first four-time champ, Jeff Gordon, is third in the standings.

"To be able to look back and see what we've been able to accomplish, I've just been really fortunate to be around a lot of great people,'' said Hendrick.

"It's hard for me to believe that we're sitting here tied with Richard Petty. I don't feel worthy of that. I don't know how to explain that, because when I was nominated for the Hall of Fame, I don't think I'm even in that category in my mind with a Bobby Allison, a Richard Petty, that group.

"I hope one day when we look back that we can say we've accomplished some pretty neat things. So I'm just very fortunate to be at this place in my life with this organization. I owe it all to the people. I really can't explain how it happened, it just did."

And while he and Martin, who has finished runner-up in the championship four other times, conceded they're able to enjoy the ride more this weekend, Johnson is languishing somewhere between the confidence his three previous titles have given him and the anxiety that his fourth is not a gimme. The pressure is on him.

He said he hasn't read any newspaper stories about the Chase for the Championship since his win last Sunday in Phoenix, even confessing to changing the television channel should ESPN's SportsCenter mention NASCAR or tease to a race highlight.

It's worth noting that Martin made up 111 points when Johnson wrecked in Texas and has out-scored Johnson by at least 109 points nine times in the last five seasons.

"For me personally, I left Talladega with emotion and felt very good about things, that we missed the big one,'' Johnson said. "Damn if we weren't in the first caution on the third lap at the [next] race in Texas. So I am out of emotion. There is no emotion. It's all business.

"It's about showing up tomorrow, putting in the best [qualifying] lap I can, driving the car as hard as I can on Saturday, making sure the car is set up right, and doing my job on Sunday.''



Regardless of which driver hoists the trophy Sunday night at Homestead, Hendrick said he has to consider this the best year in his team's history. It will be the first time in NASCAR history one organization has finished 1-2-3 in the standings and Hendrick drivers have won 13 of the season's 35 races. Johnson owns a series-high seven victories.

"The thing that I'm probably going to be the proudest of is that what got us here is the fact that Alan [Martin's crew chief, Alan Gustafson] and Chad [Johnson's crew chief, Chad Knaus] will talk on Saturday and Saturday night and they will share information,'' Hendrick said. "Jimmie and Mark will talk on Saturday and Saturday night, and they will share information.

"They'll go out and compete against each other. That won't change. At the end of the race, they know that what they've done all year has got us here.

"That's the part that I'm so proud of, that Chad in a meeting at Hendrick Motorsports on Tuesday will give Alan credit that he got the setup on Saturday from Alan, went out and won the race, when Alan will give Chad the credit.

"When you've got everybody working together, it makes a big difference."

Everything's Gravy in Hendrick Universe originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:35:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>JimmieJohnsonMark MartinHolly CainThu, 19 Nov 2009 18:35:00 EST Championship-Worthy Seasons Not Enough for Jeff Gordon, Mark Martinhttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/16/championship-worthy-seasons-again-not-enough-for-jeff-gordon-ma/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/16/championship-worthy-seasons-again-not-enough-for-jeff-gordon-ma/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/16/championship-worthy-seasons-again-not-enough-for-jeff-gordon-ma/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

 The Storylines

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

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

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

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

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

So. Exciting.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

That can't be heartening for Martin and Gordon.

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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]]>Texas Motor SpeedwayGeoffrey MillerMon, 09 Nov 2009 18:24:00 EST Sprint Cup N's & Q's: AMP Energy 500http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/04/sprint-cup-ns-and-qs-amp-energy-500/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/04/sprint-cup-ns-and-qs-amp-energy-500/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/11/04/sprint-cup-ns-and-qs-amp-energy-500/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Therein lies the complete problem with going faster at Talladega.

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

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

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

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

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

Can you blame them? I can't.

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

We'll see how it works.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Enjoy the race.

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

 

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]]>Talladega+SuperspeedwayGeoffrey MillerSun, 01 Nov 2009 11:36:00 EST What's the Knock on Johnson? Nonehttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/25/whats-the-knock-on-johnson-none/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/25/whats-the-knock-on-johnson-none/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/25/whats-the-knock-on-johnson-none/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Jimmie JohnsonIs there another sport that turns on its winners so?

And cheering against the New York Yankees doesn't count.

Another superb run in NASCAR's Chase for the Championship has put Jimmie Johnson in position for a historic fourth consecutive Sprint Cup title. He's on the verge of accomplishing something Richard Petty, the late Dale Earnhardt, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Gordon never did.

And for all his hard work and performance under pressure here's the thanks he gets: people are accusing him of stinking up the show.
More Coverage: Hamlin Triumphs | Tums 500 Results | Sprint Cup Standings

Do we say that when Tiger Woods has 10 shots on the field in the final round of The Masters? No, we tune in and soak it up.

Through the first six races of the 10-race playoff, Johnson has three wins and scored a runner-up Sunday at Martinsville, Va., which extended his advantage over his Hendrick Motorsports teammate and second-place driver Mark Martin by 118 points.

It's Johnson's championship to lose and his pursuit is something that should be celebrated and embraced. In this ultra-competitive era of NASCAR there will never be another driver in position to win four straight again.

With the odds stacked against such an accomplishment, Johnson wasn't even considered the championship favorite by most of the voting media in a preseason NASCAR poll.

We hear so much about how "hungry" the 50-year-old, four-time championship runner-up Martin is to finally earn his first title. Imagine Johnson's motivation. His quest isn't just personal. It's historic.

For goodness sakes, what's it take to give the guy his due?

He now leads his other teammate, four-time champ Jeff Gordon by 150 points. Regular season points leader and two-time champ Tony Stewart is now 192 points back in fourth place.

Johnson's best competition is turning in top-five and top-10 runs every week and they can't catch him.

It's becoming less about what they can do. The hard fact is it's looking more like Johnson's going to have to endure some tough luck or the engraving may as well begin.

"That is what everybody in the whole series is thinking right now,'' said Darien Grubb, crew chief on Stewart's No. 14 Chevy and a former Hendrick Motorsports engineer. "He [Johnson] has got that dominant performance going and he is out there pulling away from everybody. You have a good strong run and you still lose points. That is a hard day to swallow.''


Other winners and losers this weekend at Martinsville, Va. ....

o. Juan Pablo Montoya returned to form with a third-place run, moving him into fifth place in the points. He had been one of the best stories of the year before his title bid was derailed last week with a 35th-place run in Charlotte. He said then, no one will have 10 clean races and that's about all the hope he and the rest of Johnson's pursuers are clutching to as the series heads to the most unpredictable venue on the circuit, Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

To Montoya's credit, he's taken the high road regarding an uncalled-for remark made at his expense by ESPN's Bob Griese during a college football telecast Saturday night. A graphic promoting the race showed only the top-five drivers and Griese commented that sixth place, Colombian-born Montoya must have been "out getting a taco.'' Griese apologized for the comment.

Although he didn't directly address his reaction to Griese's comment, Montoya told reporters following Sunday's race that, "I could say I spent the last three hours eating tacos, but I was actually driving the car.''

o. Mark Martin isn't exactly flashy, but he's at least keeping Johnson honest. The veteran would have us think he's just trying to win races with a great team and that all this championship talk is purely bonus. But he sure isn't driving that way. Every time you think he's "just glad to be here" he turns in another top-10 run.

o. Denny Hamlin the hard luck kid finally finished one out. His win in his home state Virginia on Sunday stopped a two-race DNF skid and restored his confidence. Give the 28-year old credit, he's qualified for every Chase since he joined the Cup ranks full-time in 2006.

o. Ryan Newman improved one position in the standings to seventh place, and in winning his second pole position of the year, is holding up his end of the bargain in the Stewart-Haas Racing storybook season. Now for a win. He and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are the only drivers in Hendrick equipment that haven't reached victory circle yet. The big difference being Newman is a Chase driver and on track for his best season since 2005.

o. Kyle Busch's fourth-place finish Sunday was his first top-five in over a month and looked a whole lot more like the four-time winner he is than the hard-luck driver he became the latter half of the regular season.

o. On the other end of the scale is Earnhardt Jr. His down-and-out demeanor in Charlotte last weekend was troublesome. He claimed to be "near the end of my rope" suffering through one of the toughest seasons in his career. And that was before a mechanical failure relegated him to 38th place at Charlotte and tire problems contributed to a 29th-place finish Sunday at Martinsville. He fell two more spots in the standings and is now 24th and on pace for his career-worst finish in the championship.

o. Carl Edwards' crash with a lap to go Sunday kind of summed his season, at least the frustrating Chase portion. He kept his No. 99 Ford rolling to secure a 20th place spot, but has had only two top-10 runs since August and yet somehow managed to be 10th in points.

o. Suspended driver Jeremy Mayfield didn't say anything he hasn't already said in a one-on-one interview on ESPN's "Outside the Lines" program Sunday. He insists he's innocent, that he is NASCAR's designated example and that his career is over. The latter, we know at least, is true.
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What's the Knock on Johnson? None originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:28:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Jimmie JohnsonJimmieJohnsonNASCARHolly CainSun, 25 Oct 2009 20:28:00 EST FanHouse Warmup: Tums 500http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/25/fanhouse-warmup-tums-500/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/25/fanhouse-warmup-tums-500/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/25/fanhouse-warmup-tums-500/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Need you know more?

Enjoy the race.

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

 

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]]>Jeff GordonJimmie JohnsonMark MartinMartinsville SpeedwayGeoffrey MillerSun, 25 Oct 2009 09:57:00 EST FanHouse Trackside at the Banking 500http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/15/fanhouse-trackside-at-the-banking-500/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/15/fanhouse-trackside-at-the-banking-500/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/15/fanhouse-trackside-at-the-banking-500/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As for what's newsy and noteworthy:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gordon shook his head, grimaced and paused.

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

Talk about sounding defeated.

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

Juan Pablo Montoya shared Gordon's frustration.

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

Incredible, indeed.

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

It's almost unfair.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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]]>Auto Club SpeedwayGeoffrey MillerSun, 11 Oct 2009 20:40:00 EST Stewart Bolsters Title Chances With Winhttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/04/stewart-bolsters-title-chances-with-win/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/04/stewart-bolsters-title-chances-with-win/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/04/stewart-bolsters-title-chances-with-win/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Tony StewartKANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) -- Tony Stewart didn't have time for a debate. He had one last chance to grab the win at Kansas Speedway, and it came down to one critical decision.

Two tires, or four?

The two-time series champion asked for two on the final pit stop Sunday, and crew chief Darian Grubb immediately agreed with the strategy. The rapid thinking got Stewart the race lead, and he held on over the final 26 laps for his fourth win of the season.
More Coverage: Check Sprint Cup Standings | View Full Race Results

``He asked me what I thought, I kind of put my vote in, and he said it was exactly what he was thinking,'' Stewart said. ``It made me feel good that we both agreed on the same thing that quick. It was like, to both of us, it wasn't even an option. We pretty much knew what we both needed.''

What he needed was a win.

After a rocky start to the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, Stewart found himself in danger of allowing Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson to pull the title out of his reach in just the third of 10 races. Stewart went into the race fifth in the standings, 106 points behind leader Martin, and in a slump of five of six finishes outside the top 10.

Grubb knew they needed to turn it up, and soon, to stay in title contention.

``We knew going into the Chase it was a must-win situation,'' Grubb said. ``You're going to have to win races against these competitors. You have to go in with the mindset you have to win races.''

The victory at Kansas moved Stewart up one spot in the standings to fourth, and his deficit was cut from 106 points to 67 behind Martin.

Stewart then raced through his celebration to fly off to Iowa, to compete with teammate Ryan Newman in the Knoxville Dirt Late Model Nationals, which were rained out Saturday night.

``As soon as I get done with this stimulating conversation that we're having here ... then I'm going to get to Knoxville as quickly as I can,'' he said in his post-race news conference. ``That's my goal, to get out of here soon. Just a hint.''

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Martin, the pole-sitter, finished seventh and maintained his lead in the standings. He's up 18 points over three-time defending series champion Johnson, who finished ninth after a bad pit call put him in traffic that he couldn't overcome.

``We'll have to get home and look at the car and see what is going on there,'' Johnson said. ``So many guys took two, and we took four. There at the end, we were just trying to get some track position back and I just didn't have the speed that I had the start of the race and had lost a couple of more spots.

``At the end of the day, we finished ninth and that isn't too bad. We hate to see guys we are racing in points ahead of us.''

Martin wasn't in a celebratory mood despite maintaining his lead: There were only three drivers within 100 points of him at the start of the race, now the field has seven within 103.

``Look at it however you want,'' Martin said. ``What is there, seven more to go? I don't think we should be getting all hyped up about the tally right now, you know? We've got a lot of racing to go.''

The final outcome came down to strategy, and it started to shape as a race that would be decided on fuel mileage. Then Dale Earnhardt Jr., who led 41 laps early before bad breaks ruined his day, brought out the final caution of the race when an engine problem spilled oil on the track.

The leaders went to pit road debating with their crew chiefs whether to take two or four tires on what was likely going to be the final chance to gain track position.

Greg Biffle went to pit road as the leader, while Stewart was second. Biffle and his crew still didn't seem sure of what to do as he pulled into his spot, but Stewart and Grubb were certain. Stewart raced off pit road into the lead, with Kasey Kahne and Johnson in pursuit. Both also took two tires.

Biffle, the first driver to take four tires, restarted in fourth and admitted to overruling crew chief Greg Erwin, who only wanted to take two tires.

``I feel bad. Probably the wrong thing to do,'' said Biffle.

Stewart took off on the restart with 26 laps to go, and all the drivers on four tires quickly sliced through the field. But it was Jeff Gordon who made up the most ground. He was closing in on Stewart but simply ran out laps to catch him and settled for second.

Gordon, who battled a poorly handling car at the start of the race, was thrilled with the final outcome - until a NASCAR official informed him he'd only gained one spot in the standings to seventh.

``That's it? Can't you read it different? Just tell me I'm fifth,'' he said.

He still cut his deficit from 122 points to 103.

Stewart said Gordon was coming fast in his rearview mirror.

``He was getting bigger,'' Stewart said. ``The big thing was not to drive the tires off. We had a little left, but we didn't leave too much out there.''

Biffle was third, followed by Juan Pablo Montoya, Denny Hamlin, Kahne and Martin.

David Reutimann was the only non-Chase driver in the top 11 with an eighth-place finish and was followed by Johnson, Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch.

Only two Chase drivers finished outside the top 11: Newman, was penalized for speeding off pit road midway through the race, was 22nd and Brian Vickers finished 37th after blowing his motor.

By JENNA FRYER, AP Sports Writer

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

Stewart Bolsters Title Chances With Win originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 04 Oct 2009 19:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>tony stewartFanHouse NewswireSun, 04 Oct 2009 19:25:00 EST NASCAR 'Warns' Johnson, Martin Teamshttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/02/nascar-warns-johnson-martin-teams/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/02/nascar-warns-johnson-martin-teams/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/10/02/nascar-warns-johnson-martin-teams/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

NASCAR has warned the teams of championship leaders Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson that their Chevrolets were dangerously close to failing post-race inspection last week at Dover, Del., where the three-time defending series champion Johnson won the race and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Martin finished runner-up.

Johnson's crew chief Chad Knaus cautioned that there was no wrong-doing, no intent to do wrong and that the attention this is receiving is mostly media sensationalism.

"The cars were legal, that's the thing everybody has to understand,'' Knaus said Friday from this week's Sprint Cup Series venue, Kansas Speedway. "It's turned into a bigger issue than what it really should."

"There's a tolerance for everything and as long as you're within the tolerance that's fine, but when you start getting close to that line you've got to make sure that we understand why, and that's what we're trying to do."

Johnson also deflected the situation during his weekly news conference with the racing press on Friday.

"Well we weren't cheating,'' Johnson said. "The cars were not found illegal. It's not uncommon for cars to stick around at the tech center to be measured. The tech center has ways to measure the vehicle that teams don't have. So they're doing their work and doing their data and collecting all that stuff and the cars were there being inspected.

"Believe me if they weren't legal they wouldn't have been released. So it is what it is and I hate that it's drawing speculation and concern but the cars passed tech and here we are."

It may be much ado about nothing this time. But once again it has raised NASCAR's eternal $10 million question: when is pushing the limit being innovative? When is it cheating?

Certainly when you factor in the history of Knaus, who has been suspended before for technical violations, along with the fact these two teams have already set the bar for the 10-race Chase for the Championship, it's easy to understand why this courtesy "warning" from NASCAR is generating big buzz around the garage.

Johnson has won the past three championships and 10 points separate him from Martin in a push for an unprecedented fourth consecutive Cup title.

"First off if we were cheating I wouldn't be standing here, I'd back in Charlotte, so obviously that's not the case,'' Knaus said.

"It's a situation that we do a good job of building very, very good race cars and we take pride in that. We really do. We've always taken it to what we thought were the tolerances, but we never crossed that line and we don't cross that line.''

NASCAR inspectors said Martin's No. 5 Chevy and Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet were within an inch of not conforming to the body specifications following Sunday's race. Close, but not illegal, so obviously there were no penalties issued.

"They (NASCAR) said, 'look, you're a little close on the tolerance,' '' Knaus explained. "But ... they wanted to make sure it was the damage (during the race), it wasn't something that was built in intentionally because, like I've said, we've had so many cars there that have been within the tolerances and are acceptable and these were just a little bit off.

"It's just preventive maintenance more than anything, just to make sure that we don't have a situation.''

Fairly or not, this is receiving attention because of Knaus' past suspensions for pushing the envelope. In the past four seasons years, Knaus has been suspended for technical violations twice -- for a total of 10 races. The first of those was a four-race punishment after Johnson's car failed post-qualifying inspection for the season-opening Daytona 500, which Johnson went on to win.

Knaus' supporters will remind you, however, that you don't win three consecutive championships in NASCAR's most competitive era without successfully pushing the envelope.

Believe it or not, most of the competing teams -- even those directly racing Johnson for the championship -- are siding with Knaus on this one. At least publicly.

"Part of racing, part of this type of sport is that you have to push those boundaries and take it as far as you can,'' said Dodge driver Kasey Kahne, who is ranked 12th in the Chase standings.

"The Car of Tomorrow, since we've had it, is real cut and dry and you don't cross those boundaries. You stay on one side or another and if you cross them, you get hit pretty hard. That's how it's been with the Car of Tomorrow and (NASCAR) has shown it a few times.

"It's pretty black and white. You're either cheating or you're not, and if you're not, you're not."

NASCAR 'Warns' Johnson, Martin Teams originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:34:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Chad KnausChadKnausJimmie JohnsonJimmieJohnsonHolly CainFri, 02 Oct 2009 15:34:00 EST Johnson Serves Title Notice at Doverhttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/27/johnson-serves-title-notice-at-dover/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/27/johnson-serves-title-notice-at-dover/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/27/johnson-serves-title-notice-at-dover/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

It took just 3 hours, 24 minutes and 20 seconds of racing action Sunday at Dover International Speedway to allow "Superman" to reassert his dominance over NASCAR Sprint Cup racing.

Jimmie Johnson pounded the field around the concrete one-mile oval for his fifth career win at Dover and fourth of the season to take home the AAA 400 trophy. Johnson led some 271 laps and never looked back despite late cautions that brought the competition back to his bumper three times in final 100 laps.

In doing so, Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus served notice that they don't expect a change from recent years at the celebration following the season's final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
More Coverage: Check AAA 400 Results | Sprint Cup Standings

"New leader: the forty-eight," said someone on Johnson's in-car radio as Johnson flashed past Kurt Busch on lap 176, mimicking what NASCAR race control says each time a new driver takes the lead of a race.

It was probably the worst news any of Johnson's competitors had heard all day.

Johnson wouldn't look back from that point, never relinquishing the lead en route to sweeping the two-race series at Dover for 2009. Johnson's win also tied him with David Pearson for the third-most wins ever by a single driver in NASCAR history at the Delaware track.

"I'm pretty sure that dude is Superman," said runner-up Mark Martin, re-issuing the nickname he's used for Johnson at different points in 2009.

The win allowed Johnson to chop 25 points off the lead held by Martin, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, putting the No. 48 within striking distance to not only overcome the 10-point deficit to the No. 5 car, but also jump to a big lead if Martin stumbles next week at Kansas Speedway.

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DOVER, DE - SEPTEMBER 27: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, celebrates with the trophy in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 27, 2009 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Jimmie Johnson
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    DOVER, DE - SEPTEMBER 27: A detail of the signature of Jimmie Johnson is seen on the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet in victory lane as Johnson celebrated his win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 27, 2009 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Jimmie Johnson

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    DOVER, DE - SEPTEMBER 27: Jimmie Johnson (L of trophy), driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, celebrates with his crew including crew chief Chad Knaus (R of trophy) in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 27, 2009 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Jimmie Johnson;Chad Knaus

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    DOVER, DE - SEPTEMBER 27: Jimmie Johnson (L of trophy), driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, celebrates with his crew including crew chief Chad Knaus (R of trophy) in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 27, 2009 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Jimmie Johnson;Chad Knaus

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    DOVER, DE - SEPTEMBER 27: Jimmie Johnson (L) driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, celebrates with a crew member in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 27, 2009 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Jimmie Johnson

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    DOVER, DE - SEPTEMBER 27: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, celebrates with the trophy in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 27, 2009 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Jimmie Johnson

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    DOVER, DE - SEPTEMBER 27: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, celebrates with the trophy in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 27, 2009 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Jimmie Johnson

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    DOVER, DE - SEPTEMBER 27: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 27, 2009 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Jimmie Johnson

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    DOVER, DE - SEPTEMBER 27: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 27, 2009 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Jimmie Johnson

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    DOVER, DE - SEPTEMBER 27: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on September 27, 2009 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Jimmie Johnson

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    NASCAR drivers race during the AAA 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup auto race, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009, at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Del. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

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"I'm excited to see that we've gapped some of the other Chase contenders," said Johnson.

Gapped, indeed.

Johnson, second in the standings, now has a 55-point advantage on Juan Pablo Montoya in third, 65 on Kurt Busch in fourth and 96 points on Tony Stewart in 5th.

And while 2009 is starting to show signs of Johnson circa his three straight Sprint Cup titles in 2006, 2007 and 2008, the California driver isn't ready to count out Martin quite yet.

"It's going to be difficult to shake Martin," Johnson said. "There's no free lunch in this sport -- especially racing Mark Martin."

The free lunch for Johnson, though, might come this week as teams start to realize that the No. 48, which has been unstoppable in the past three seasons, is back for more.

"All of these people can get wound up about stuff that really doesn't matter," Johnson said, referring to those who think he might have had an advantage at Dover thanks to a tire test he was involved with back in August. "At the end of the day, all of the talk means nothing. We still have to show up at Kansas and run that race."

If history shows us anything about "that race," Johnson & Co. won't have any troubles maintaining at Kansas. He's got a win at the track and has an average finish of 10.4 -- third-best among drivers who raced there seven or more times.

Sure, there's always the possibility that Johnson could face some unseen trouble. But after seeing the past three seasons and seeing the performance from Sunday at Dover, the reality of such trouble seems quite unrealistic.
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Johnson Serves Title Notice at Dover originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:02:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Chase for the Sprint CupDoverHendrick MotorsportsJimmie JohnsonMark MartinSprint CupGeoffrey MillerSun, 27 Sep 2009 20:02:00 EST Jimmie Johnson Dominates at Doverhttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/27/superman-flies-past-contenders-at-dover/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/27/superman-flies-past-contenders-at-dover/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/27/superman-flies-past-contenders-at-dover/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Jimmie JohnsonDOVER, Del. (AP) -- Jimmie Johnson dominated again in a Chase race, sweeping the season races at Dover International Speedway to accelerate his bid for an unprecedented fourth straight Sprint Cup title.

Johnson cut Hendrick Motorsports teammate Mark Martin's points lead Sunday with the victory -- his fourth of the year and 44th overall -- in the second of 10 races in the Chase for the championship.

"I'm pretty sure that dude is Superman,'' Martin said. "I've seen that dude up close and I see why he's so successful. He works harder at it than anybody else, I think, on the circuit.''
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No winner of the second Dover race has ever gone on to win the Cup championship. If any driver can reverse that trend, it's Johnson. Much as he did in May, Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet was out in front for the majority of the 400-mile race.

"I certainly hope that our performance today scares some people and affects them in a way that benefits us,'' Johnson said.

Chase drivers took nine of the first 11 spots. Martin followed last week's win at New Hampshire with a second-place finish. Juan Pablo Montoya was fourth and Kurt Busch fifth.

Matt Kenseth was the highest non-Chase driver at third.

Martin holds a 10-point lead over Johnson heading into next week at Kansas Speedway.

"This team is really on a roll right now,'' Martin said.

Other Chase driver results saw Jeff Gordon finish sixth, Kasey Kahne was eighth, Tony Stewart ninth and Ryan Newman 10th. Carl Edwards was 11th, Greg Biffle 13th, Brian Vickers 18th and Denny Hamlin 22nd.

"It's just two races,'' Martin said. "I still say that there's 12 in and 12 can win. It might be a challenge for a couple of the ones toward the end of the back.''

Johnson, who tire-tested in August at Dover, won from the pole. He led 298 laps when he won at Dover in May and added another 271 on the 1-mile concrete track Sunday. Johnson won for the fifth time at Dover.

"That's right boys, maximum points! Thank you!'' Johnson said over the radio.

Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus also won their 15th Chase race. No one is better down the stretch and it's the main reason why the No. 48 team is going for their record fourth straight title.

"Our team is pretty easily motivated,'' Knaus said.

Easy to see why. Cale Yarborough is the only other driver to win three straight championships and Johnson can move past him with more dominating performances like this one over the final eight races.

Johnson, who won for the first time since July at Indianapolis, crushed Kenseth and the rest of the contenders off the double-file restarts and was never seriously challenged.

He's in great position, but he's still not in first. Even with the 10 bonus points for winning, Martin still holds a slim lead.

The 50-year-old Martin is the sentimental favorite for his first Cup championship and he's in no rush to yield his spot atop the standings. His 1-2 finish in the first two Chase races proved he'll be a major factor in the No. 5.

"I'm happy with the result,'' Martin said. "We just missed it a little bit.''

It's way too early in the Chase to rule out any driver as a contender for the championship, but the Hendrick powerhouse sure looks like it fields the teams to beat.

"They're strong everywhere,'' Hamlin said. "There's no weakness to their race team at all.''

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.

Jimmie Johnson Dominates at Dover originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 27 Sep 2009 19:44:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>FanHouse NewswireSun, 27 Sep 2009 19:44:00 EST Mark Martin Racing Time, Chasing Historyhttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/22/mark-martin-racing-time-chasing-history/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/22/mark-martin-racing-time-chasing-history/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/22/mark-martin-racing-time-chasing-history/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Mark MartinMark Martin leaned into the microphone at Richmond International Raceway two weeks ago and, as if daring you to think otherwise, proclaimed his season already "icing on the cake," and any future success "overwhelming."

A day later the 50-year-old clinched a spot in NASCAR's Chase for the Championship.

He scored a Sprint Cup Series best fifth victory in New Hampshire on Sunday, extending his championship lead to 35 points over three-time reigning champ Jimmie Johnson with nine races remaining in stock car's version of the playoffs.

Overwhelmed it is.

Martin has returned from a part-time sabbatical -- he insists he never "retired" -- to equal his entire win total from 1999-2008. Only Johnson has led more races or more laps than Martin this season. And just last week, Martin signed a contract extension keeping him behind the wheel of the Hendrick Motorsports' No. 5 Chevy through his 52rd birthday.

Yet, if reverse psychology were a field of study, Martin would hold a doctorate. He is the professor of carpe diem, a case study in conservative expectations yielding high reward.

No one wants to win more. No one expects it less.

"He knows now there is a really good chance he can be a champion and he's doing everything he can not to think about it," teammate Johnson said with a laugh on Tuesday.

Too late.

The glass is half full.

"At the start of the season, he was putting realistic expectations on his goals and we all know Mark undersells that, anyone that knows Mark, knows that," Johnson said.

"At the end of the day, he's convinced himself his happiness cannot be affected by whether he wins a championship or not. But I do see his attitude change as the races are going on."

It is easier to understand why Martin brings this mindset to the table than to pinpoint what exactly it is that has propelled him to a career year at an age when most professional athletes have moved to the announcing booth or living room sofa.

Martin is all about guarded confidence -- it's a game of emotional tug-of-war he's played throughout his career, darting between hope and disappointment.

The confidence comes from 40 Cup Series wins spanning three decades, against two seven-time champions in two different championship formats.

The confidence comes from a record five International Race of Champions (IROC) championships. The now-defunct series featured the best of the best in identical cars and Martin beat the sport's greatest, such as Al Unser Jr., the late Dale Earnhardt, Steve Kinser and Tony Stewart, for those titles.

The confidence comes from a record 48 Nationwide Series wins and from a 2006 stint in the Camping World Truck Series, where he won six times in 14 starts.

The caution comes courtesy of four second-place finishes in the Cup championship and the 0-for-25 in NASCAR's Super Bowl, the Daytona 500, that have simultaneously haunted Martin and turned him into one of the most overwhelming sentimental title favorites in recent memory.

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LOUDON, NH - SEPTEMBER 20: Mark Martin, driver of the #5 CARQUEST/Kellogg's Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag as he heads across the start/finish line to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sylvania 300 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 20, 2009 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Gregg Ellman/Pool-GettyImages) *** Local Caption *** Mark Martin
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    FILE -- This is a June 28, 2009, file photo showing Casey Mears (07) racing during the NASCAR Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H. The maker of Jim Beam Bourbon will stop sponsoring Robby Gordon's Sprint Cup team next season, sending another liquor company to the NASCAR sidelines. A day after Jack Daniels announced it would stop supporting Casey Mears' No. 07 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, Beam Global Spirits & Wine Inc. said Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009, it was shifting sponsorship dollars to areas outside NASCAR. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm, File)

    AP

    FILE -- This is a Feb. 8, 2009, file photo showing NASCAR driver Robby Gordon preparing for the Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, in Daytona Beach, Fla. The maker of Jim Beam Bourbon will stop sponsoring Robby Gordon's Sprint Cup team next season, sending another liquor company to the NASCAR sidelines. A day after Jack Daniels announced it would stop supporting Casey Mears' No. 07 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, Beam Global Spirits & Wine Inc. said Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009, it was shifting sponsorship dollars to areas outside NASCAR. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter, File)

    AP

    FILE -- This is a Feb. 22, 2008, file photo showing Robby Gordon talking with a crew member before practice and qualifying for the NASCAR Auto Club 500 race at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif. The maker of Jim Beam Bourbon will stop sponsoring Robby Gordon's Sprint Cup team next season, sending another liquor company to the NASCAR sidelines. A day after Jack Daniels announced it would stop supporting Casey Mears' No. 07 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, Beam Global Spirits & Wine Inc. said Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009, it was shifting sponsorship dollars to areas outside NASCAR. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

    AP

    LOUDON, NH - SEPTEMBER 20: Mark Martin, driver of the #5 CARQUEST/Kellogg's Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag as he heads across the start/finish line to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sylvania 300 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 20, 2009 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Gregg Ellman/Pool-GettyImages) *** Local Caption *** Mark Martin

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    Kyle Busch (18) drives through a corner during the the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' Sylvania 300 auto race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009. Busch, who missed making the Chase by just eight points, finished in fifth place. But the left front of his car was too low in post-race inspection, and he could be penalized this week. (AP Photo/Josh Gibney)

    AP

    Mark Martin (5) leads drivers out of the pits during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' Sylvania 300 auto race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009. Martin won the race. Juan Pablo Montoya, right front, finished in third. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

    AP

    LOUDON, NH - SEPTEMBER 20: Kyle Busch (C), driver of the #18 M&M's Toyota, drives in a pack of cars during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sylvania 300 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 20, 2009 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Kyle Busch

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    LOUDON, NH - SEPTEMBER 20: Kyle Busch (C), driver of the #18 M&M's Toyota, drives in a pack of cars during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sylvania 300 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 20, 2009 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Kyle Busch

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    Fans cheer as Mark Martin takes the lead near the end of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' Sylvania 300 auto race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009. Martin went on to win. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

    AP

    Several drivers wreck during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' Sylvania 300 auto race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009. Mark Martin went on to win. (AP Photo/Gil Talbot)

    AP

A no-nonsense, no-one-to-blame-but-me racer's racer, Martin has always enjoyed a large following and the unwavering respect of his competition.

When Kevin Harvick won the 2007 Daytona 500, nosing ahead of Martin at the checkered flag by .02 seconds, he was almost apologetic in the victor's news conference.

Ask any of the current 12 Chase drivers who they'd pick to win the title if it weren't them.

"As a Mark Martin fan since I was a little kid, if he won it, I'd be happy for him," Johnson allowed, "but I try not to go into that place."

Martin is genuinely humbled when he hears the kind words from competitors. He's just afraid to buy into his own season's success yet. He doesn't want to get too greedy.

Heartache and tough life lessons have made him that way.

The four championship runner-up finishes -- including a 26-point loss to Earnhardt in 1990 that included a controversial penalty to Martin's team, along with a 38-point loss to Stewart in 2002 -- were difficult, but nothing compared to the loss of his father Julian Martin, who was killed in a plane crash during the 1998 season.

It was Julian Martin, the doting dad who modified his only son's first race cars so that the steering wheel and drivers seat were more safely positioned in the middle of car. It was Julian that cajoled, urged and encouraged Martin as he established himself around the Midwest, eventually winning three American Speed Association (ASA) titles.

They are the experiences that have formed Mark Martin's famous, "let's-not-get-ahead-of-ourselves" mindset, his feeling that opportunity and disappointment are behind every door.

It has also had the unexpected consequence of helping Martin appreciate and enjoy this season's success like no other - even if he still insists on deferring the credit.

Here's a guy who races door-to-door to the finish line with Kyle Busch -- an extremely aggressive driver, half Martin's age -- and after holding him off for victory, Martin's first words in victory circle were to thank Busch for the clean and spirited battle.

When Martin held off Indy 500 champ Juan Pablo Montoya and Denny Hamlin on three consecutive, race-deciding re-starts Sunday, Martin climbed out of his car and gave all the credit to his crew chief Alan Gustafson.

It's always his crew chief, or the engine shop, or his pit crew or his team owner.

Hey, Mark: it's you, too.

"I think he's the most dangerous guy,'' Montoya said. "He's the guy with the most experience. He hasn't won a championship and he wants one pretty bad.

"I know the 48 (Johnson) is going to be there every week, same as always, but if somebody wants it really bad, it's that 5 guy."

Whether he admits it.

"I didn't take this job to win the championship,'' Martin said. "I took this job to drive a fast race car and hopefully win a race. "I don't think you can will your way to scoring points. I tried that for 19 years. I tried to will my way, and it never worked. And it was frustrating.

"So what we will do, and what I will do, is do my very best, I'm a really intense person, I'm really competitive and I will give every ounce that I have at it just like I do every time.

"And we'll see how it turns out."

Mark Martin Racing Time, Chasing History originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>Holly CainTue, 22 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EST NASCAR Makes Risky Late Caution Callhttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/20/nascar-makes-risky-late-caution-call/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/20/nascar-makes-risky-late-caution-call/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/20/nascar-makes-risky-late-caution-call/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

A.J. Allmendinger's car sat quiet across the frontstretch of New Hampshire Motor Speedway with the white flag waving as he flipped the car's starter, trying to crank the engine.

Meanwhile, leaders Mark Martin, Denny Hamlin and Juan Pablo Montoya scrambled for position on the final lap through turns 3 and 4 as the flagman prepared to wave the checkered flag. In a flash, it looked like the finish of the first race of the Chase was going to end in a crushing fashion as Allmendinger sat helplessly in peril.

At the last possible second, NASCAR threw the caution to avoid the collision but also provoked a new topic of discussion for the coming week: when exactly is the best -- and safest -- time to put out the yellow flag on a race's final lap?
Drivers were certainly a confused over the matter, but NASCAR stood firm behind their call. According to the NASCAR Scene, the policy observed by the sanctioning body has the objective of allowing the finish to transpire normally as long as they can safely avoid or will not catch the potentially caution-causing danger.
NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton indicated that NASCAR did everything it could to finish Sunday's Sprint Cup race under green-flag conditions.

"We were waiting to see if the 44 car [of Allmendinger] could get going and get out of the way, and we realized there was a potential blocking of part of the race track," Pemberton said. "You know when the cars are going to get there, and you wait as long as you can to try to not affect the outcome of a race. We felt like we had adequate time when we threw the caution."

Pemberton said NASCAR often waits as long as possible throughout a race.

"We don't like the race to end under caution," Pemberton said. "We felt like we gave enough time for safety's sake, and it is what it is. I believe we wait as long as we can. There are times during the middle of the race when a car will turn around and we bide some time to see if it gets going. It happens quite a bit. It just gets more noticed when it's the last lap of the race."
Jeff Gordon probably summed it up best when he described the communication between himself and his spotter -- generally the person who relays information over the radio when a caution waves. Confusion was the name of the game.

"All I know is my spotter was saying there was a car down low on the front straightaway stopped, and I never heard them say, 'Caution,'" said Gordon after his 15th-place finish. "So everybody was still going, and I saw the caution out of the corner of my eye. I said, 'I never heard the caution' and he said, 'That's because it didn't come out until just now' and I was surprised by that."

Interestingly enough, a very similar situation at New Hampshire in 2003 was the last domino to fall in NASCAR's former policy to allow all-out racing back to the start/finish line when the caution waves. In that instance, Dale Jarrett spun in a very similar fashion on the frontstretch and barely avoided a broadside impact as the field raced for position back to the line.

Just weeks later, NASCAR adopted the current policy that freezes scoring at the point of caution and penalizes drivers who didn't slow to a cautious pace.

The idea of letting drivers race back to the checkered flag is certainly one that needs to take precedence in this discussion. And with that in mind, making the decision from the control tower on when to throw a caution flagis a tough one to make.

Most folks would have guessed Allmendinger would have gotten his car at least cranked and rolling down the frontstretch by the time the leaders were crossing the finish line. But sometimes, a hot race car doesn't start immediately after going for a spin -- something that isn't the fault of a driver.

Knowing that, and seeing that the field was bearing down on turn 3 while Allmendinger, NASCAR probably should have thrown the caution a few seconds earlier. Armchair race director decisions are much easier, though, after seeing how the original played out.

Racing to checkered flag makes the headlines, but Sunday's finish was probably a bit too close for comfort for everyone -- especially Allmendinger.

NASCAR Makes Risky Late Caution Call originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 20 Sep 2009 23:36:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>A.J. AllmendingerSprint CupGeoffrey MillerSun, 20 Sep 2009 23:36:00 EST Martin Holds Off Montoya, Takes First Step Toward Title in Chase Openerhttp://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/20/martin-holds-off-montoya-takes-first-step-toward-title-in-chase/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/20/martin-holds-off-montoya-takes-first-step-toward-title-in-chase/http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2009/09/20/martin-holds-off-montoya-takes-first-step-toward-title-in-chase/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Mark MartinLOUDON, N.H. (AP) -- When a young driver isn't sure how to approach an on-track situation, they often ask themselves "What would Mark Martin do?''

With a championship on the line, Martin fooled the competition and won.

The 50-year-old driver held off Juan Pablo Montoya on a three-lap sprint to the finish Sunday to win the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship opener at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. After, Montoya accused Martin of holding him up at the start of the second lap.

"What he did, not cool at all,'' Montoya radioed his crew. "I could have wrecked him.''
Sylvania 300 Results | Standings | Engine Problem Sidelines Kahne

But Martin insisted the move, which clearly surprised Montoya, was within bounds.

"I fought for that race,'' Martin said. "But I wouldn't do anything. I still won't.''

Whether Martin did anything wrong at all will be debated by many, but it won't change the record books: Martin won his Sprint Cup Series-best fifth race of the season and extended his lead in the standings to 35 points over runner-up Denny Hamlin and three-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson.

"Pinch me. I am sure I'm sleeping. I am sure I am dreaming,'' Martin said.

Martin crew chief Alan Gustafson used mid-race pit strategy to get the No. 5 into contention. He didn't bring Martin in for a pit stop under yellow that was outside their fuel window, knowing they'd get a chance to stop later in the race.

It put Martin out front at the end, in position to spoil what was shaping up to be a blockbuster day for Montoya.

"Pinch me. I am sure I'm sleeping. I am sure I am dreaming."
-- Mark Martin Making his 100th career start on his 34th birthday, Montoya won the pole in record-breaking speed and led every practice session while setting the stage for just his second career Sprint Cup Series victory.

Instead, he found himself slicing through the field at the end of the race. He went from fifth to second on a restart with 13 laps to go, and was on the inside of Martin on the restart with three laps to go.

They battled door-to-door for the first lap, and Martin finally slid in front of Montoya as they crossed the start-finish line. They ran bumper-to-bumper through the first turn, and Martin appeared to slow just a bit as they headed for Turn 2.

It caused Montoya to roll out of the gas - and lose considerable momentum - as Martin pulled away to a sizable lead.

"I didn't expect that,'' Montoya said. "I was expecting him to run pretty hard. He just ran very defensively, and I just got caught by surprise. I think if I would have would have been prepared I probably would have jumped to the outside.

"You've got to learn from it. I haven't fought for enough wins.''

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NASCAR driver Mark Martin relaxes before the Sylvania 300 auto race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Cheryl Senter)
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    NASCAR driver Mark Martin relaxes before the Sylvania 300 auto race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Cheryl Senter)

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    Mark Martin (5) crosses the finish line ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya (42), of Colombia, to win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' Sylvania 300 auto race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Sandy Macys)

    AP

    LOUDON, NH - SEPTEMBER 20: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, comes in for a pit stop during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sylvania 300 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 20, 2009 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Jimmie Johnson

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    LOUDON, NH - SEPTEMBER 20: Mark Martin (C), driver of the #5 CARQUEST/Kellogg's Chevrolet, and Juan Pablo Montoya (R), driver of the #42 Target Chevrolet, lead the field late in the race during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sylvania 300 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 20, 2009 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Mark Martin

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    LOUDON, NH - SEPTEMBER 20: Mark Martin, driver of the #5 CARQUEST/Kellogg's Chevrolet, leads the field late in the race during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sylvania 300 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 20, 2009 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Mark Martin

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    Mark Martin takes a victory lab after winning the NASCAR Sylvania 300 Sprint Cup auto race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

    AP

    LOUDON, NH - SEPTEMBER 20: Mark Martin, driver of the #5 CARQUEST/Kellogg's Chevrolet, leads the field late in the race during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sylvania 300 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 20, 2009 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Mark Martin

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    LOUDON, NH - SEPTEMBER 20: Ryan Newman, driver of the #39 US Army Chevrolet, comes in for a pit stop during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sylvania 300 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 20, 2009 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Ryan Newman

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    LOUDON, NH - SEPTEMBER 20: Mark Martin, driver of the #5 CARQUEST/Kellogg's Chevrolet, crosses the finish line in front of Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Freight Toyota, on his way to victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sylvania 300 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 20, 2009 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Mark Martin;Denny Hamlin

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    LOUDON, NH - SEPTEMBER 20: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, comes in for a pit stop during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sylvania 300 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 20, 2009 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR) *** Local Caption *** Dale Earnhardt Jr.

    Getty Images for NASCAR


Although Montoya said Martin "stopped,'' in front of him, Martin didn't think he had done anything wrong.

"My first instinct to answer that question would be, 'Yeah, I stopped - compared to how fast his car was going,' '' Martin said. "I don't think I stopped, stopped. Maybe it looked to him like I stopped based on how fast he had been.

The race ended under caution when AJ Allmendinger spun on the frontstretch as the leaders began their final lap. NASCAR waited for Allmendinger to get his car off the track and was slow to throw the yellow flag because officials were hoping to let the finish play out.

Instead, Martin, Montoya and Hamlin closed quickly on Allmendinger's disabled vehicle, making for a chaotic final moment that could have led to wrecked race cars.

Hamlin slipped past Montoya for second-place as the three cars split Allmendinger on the way to the finish line.

"I think they should have waited until they did to throw the yellow because it could have cleared itself, and then they wouldn't have spoiled the finish,'' Martin said, defending NASAR's delay in calling caution. "They do the best they can, and they're really strong and pro fan.''

Johnson finished fourth and was followed by Kyle Busch, who missed making the Chase by just eight points. Afterward, NASCAR said the left front of his car was too low in post-race inspection, and he could be penalized this week.

Kurt Busch was sixth and followed by Ryan Newman, Elliott Sadler, defending race winner Greg Biffle and Clint Bowyer.

It was a decent day for almost all the Chase drivers, who need a strong race in the 10-race title hunt to set the pace for the championship battle. Since its 2004 inception, only one driver, Johnson in 2006, finished lower than sixth at New Hampshire and still won the title.

That's bad news for Kasey Kahne, who lost his motor early and finished 39th. He was posting to his Twitter account about his crummy day from his airplane as he prepared to head home before the halfway point of the race.

After just one race, Kahne is last in the 12-driver field and 161 points behind Martin, the leader.

Considered the best driver in NASCAR without a championship, the 50-year-old is poised to finally grab one.

Martin, who announced a contract extension Friday that keeps him with Hendrick Motorsports through 2011, started the Chase as the points leader because of his four "regular season'' victories. Now he's got another win and a 35-point cushion over the competition.

Although he's consistently said that Montoya, the former Formula One driver, is the dark horse of this championship hunt, Montoya believes Martin is the man to beat.

"I think he's the most dangerous guy,'' Montoya said. "He's the guy with the most experience. He hasn't won a championship, and he wants one, pretty bad.''

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.

Martin Holds Off Montoya, Takes First Step Toward Title in Chase Opener originally appeared on Motorsports FanHouse on Sun, 20 Sep 2009 18:55:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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]]>juan pablo montoyamark martinFanHouse NewswireSun, 20 Sep 2009 18:55:00 EST