Racing Roundup April 26 - 27

Kyle Busch wins under caution at Talladega
April 27, 2008

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) -Kyle Busch fell a lap down midway through the race, and after racing his way back into contention, needed an awesome save to keep himself from triggering a massive crash.

``Typical Talladega,'' he thought.

Only this time, the crash happened behind Busch. Instead of leaving Talladega Superspeedway with a smashed-up car, he drove into Victory Lane. The kid who couldn't conquer Talladega finally won at the harrowing track Sunday, and in this breakout season for Busch, it was only fitting that he coasted to the victory.

``I'd like to say that I'm smarter than I look, but that's certainly not the case,'' Busch said. ``Today was just due to having a great car. Getting a lap down, that was like, `Oh, typical Talladega' there. But I didn't wreck today and I was definitely happy of that, and I was greatly appreciative that I was able to win today because it's certainly been a struggle for several years.

``I don't think I've ever finished one here yet without some sort of damage. We still had damage, but it wasn't enough to keep us from Victory Lane.''

Busch came back from a lap down, then survived a near wreck with Jamie McMurray for his first win at Talladega. It was won under caution when a 12-car accident brought out the yellow flag on the final lap, freezing the field and allowing Busch to slowly make his way across the finish line - a rare completion considering his history at the track.

In six previous Cup races, Busch failed to finish four times and wrecked out of both events last season. His accident in last spring's Cup race was so hard, he cracked his head-and-neck restraint while finishing 37th. And his wreck in the fall officially ended his championship hopes.

But this year, he can't seem to do anything wrong. His victory was his second Sprint Cup win of the year, seventh spanning all three of NASCAR's top series, and gave him wins four weekends in a row dating to a Nationwide Series victory in Texas earlier this month.

He has victories this season on a road course, an intermediate track, a pseudo-short track and a superspeedway.

It's made for an incredible start to the season for the sometimes bratty Busch, who was fired from Hendrick Motorsports last year despite his immense talent because the team couldn't tolerate his often irrational temperament.

So Joe Gibbs Racing snatched him up, and the team couldn't be more thrilled with its find. Busch, who turns 23 next week, has given the organization assurance it has a strong future even if two-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart opts to leave the team when his contract expires.

Although this hot start has solidified the decision to sign him, team president J.D. Gibbs said the team knew it had a superstar on its hands after watching him pace last October's test at Atlanta in his very first time working with JGR and crew chief Steve Addington.

``The first time we got a glimpse of it was that test at Atlanta in the fall, we realized we had something very special,'' Gibbs said. ``You could see it in Steve's eyes. I just think there's a lot of things that really fit in the package, and first and foremost, you need to have that guy behind the wheel. And he just has a natural talent.

``We're blessed to be a part of it, to see it. And the exciting thing is you forget how young he is. So how many years do we have left to grow together is really encouraging.''

This season is so perfect, it didn't even matter that Busch fell a lap down midway through the race when he missed his pit during a stop and had to circle back to try again on the next lap. But he got the lap back as the ``lucky dog'' on the next caution, and it put him in position to drive back to the front in his Toyota.

During that charge back to the front, he nearly turned sideways after contact with McMurray. Both drivers had to work to stave off wrecking the field.

``The save, I didn't know what was happening,'' Busch said. ``I thought I was going out of the park. Luckily, somehow, we got off each other and kept it straight.''

Then Juan Pablo Montoya hooked up behind him, pushing Busch to the front, where he was able to race for the win.

Montoya finished second to match his career best on an oval since moving to NASCAR midway through 2006. He also was second at Indy last July.

``I didn't want to finish second,'' Montoya said. ``It's hard. I would think I would have tried to make a move coming out of four.''

Denny Hamlin, Busch's teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, finished third.

``The whole race was crazy,'' Hamlin said. ``Everyone got antsy.''

That showed in the waning laps, which were marked by three separate accidents. The first came with 14 laps to go when Stewart, the third Joe Gibbs Racing driver, was stuck in the middle of a huge pack of cars. Bobby Labonte got forced to the bottom of the track by another car, and it set in motion a six-car accident that ended Stewart's day.

Despite leading a race-high 61 laps, he dropped to 0-for-20 in Talladega Cup races.

``That's what happens late in these races,'' Stewart said as he surveyed his damaged car. ``If it was my fault, I'm sorry. But by looking at the video, I don't think I did anything wrong.''

Labonte wrecked again shortly after the restart for another caution, setting up a final re-start with five laps to go and Michael Waltrip leading.

But Jimmie Johnson moved Waltrip out of the way, briefly giving Johnson the lead before he lost his momentum and a Busch-led train raced past him on the outside. Busch had Jeff Gordon on his bumper, and the ending was shaping up for another last-lap duel: Four of the past six Talladega races ended with a last-lap pass.

Montoya, with a huge push from temporary teammate David Stremme - he was filling in for Dario Franchitti, who broke his ankle in Saturday's Nationwide Series race - moved past Gordon and onto Busch's bumper with Hamlin behind him.

Knowing Hamlin was likely to work with Busch if he couldn't win the race himself, Montoya bided his time as he considered how to make a run on Busch. But it never came into play, as Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jamie McMurray made contact, McMurray hit the wall and a ton of other cars piled up around them.

Montoya and Hamlin didn't fret over what could have been.

Asked what he could have done, Montoya said to ask Hamlin.

``Ask Denny, he was the guy behind me,'' he said.

``Yeah, I was going to dictate the winner,'' Hamlin joked.

``He's right,'' Montoya replied.

But in all seriousness, Hamlin said he was going to be a player. In his mind, he planned to push Montoya alongside Busch then go three-wide in a race to the finish line. Joe Gibbs Racing, they would have frowned upon me pushing somebody else past Kyle,'' Hamlin said. ``But I was going to go for it myself.''

All that planning was for naught as Busch continued his white-hot start to his first season with JGR.

Stewart wins Nationwide Series race for 1st Talladega win
April 26, 2008

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) -Tony Stewart held off Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s last-lap charge to win the Nationwide Series race Saturday for his first career victory at Talladega Superspeedway.

``This is not like winning a regular Nationwide race,'' he said. ``To me this is the biggest one I've had. To finally win at Talladega, it's more than I can put into words.''

Stewart started from the pole, led 81 of the 117 laps, and sat comfortably out front in the waning laps with Earnhardt on his rear bumper just biding his time to make a move. Caution came out with five laps to go for debris, setting up a two-lap sprint to the finish.

They raced nose-to-tail for the first lap, then Earnhardt pulled out of line to make his charge. But Earnhardt didn't have enough momentum and didn't get the help he needed to race past Stewart. It allowed Stewart to go virtually unchallenged for the final lap, as Earnhardt faded to sixth.

``Me and Tony worked great together the entire race and if I could help it, I wanted it to come down between me and him because we worked together the whole race and it was down to the last lap,'' Earnhardt said. ``I backed off trying to get the rear bumper to (Greg Biffle) and some of the others to get a run. I thought we had it timed good, but our run wasn't as good as it could have been, and Tony's car was just that strong.''

It was Stewart's first win in any series at Talladega, where he has finished second in six Cup Series races. His previous best finish in a Nationwide race at the track was second last year. That race was just the first time he'd made it to the finish line in five starts, with four DNFs before it.

And even though he dominated the race, he wasn't comfortable as the leader on the final restart.

``With the momentum of these cars, I knew I probably needed to get back to (Earnhardt) and not get too far out front,'' he said. ``You don't know what to do. I didn't think leading was the place to be, and I still don't think that, even after winning the race, that being the leader with two laps to go was the right place to be.

``He did what he had to do, they just got spread out behind us and we got a push that we needed.''

David Stremme finished second, his best result since he finished second in Milwaukee in 2004. Bobby Hamilton Jr. was third, and both agreed nobody had a car strong enough to challenge Stewart or Earnhardt.

``They were in their own deal,'' Stremme said. ``The rest of us were just trying to run together and make our own moves.''

Stewart celebrated in Victory Lane with a young girl from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and dedicated the win to her. He said he told her before the race he'd try to win for her so she could celebrate after the race.

``I told her we'd try extra hard to get her in Victory Lane today, and I'm glad we got you here,'' he told her. ``Now we're going to have to take her on the road the rest of the year.''

The race was slowed by eight cautions for 27 laps, including a 12-car accident that brought a red flag stoppage of 25 minutes.

The accident happened when Kevin Lepage pitted for a loose wheel under green and blended back onto the track right ahead of the field as the pack headed into the first turn. He wasn't at the same speed, and the cars couldn't avoid running over him.

Carl Edwards was the first to his Lepage, with contact that lifted Edward's car off the track.

``In my mind it just looks like somebody just pulled up right in front of the field,'' Edwards said as he watched the replay. ``I'm driving around, minding my own business, and good afternoon. I'm just glad I didn't get hurt there.''

But Lepage was adamant he did nothing wrong, and said he followed NASCAR's rules for returning to the track when he blended back in. He also fiercely defended his spotter, wife Donna.

``As I was leaving pit road, the spotter says `Pack coming' and I stayed down until I got in turn 1. The first half a dozen cars or so passed me, and the next thing you know I got rear-ended,'' Lepage said. ``Everybody is mad at me for pulling up onto the race track, but you go to the driver meeting and they say stay low until you get to turn 1 and then pull up on the race track.

``My spotter has been spotting for me for a number of years and I think she did a great job. There's 40 other guys out there trying to spot these things, and if they couldn't see me coming out of the pits, then maybe they need to get new spotters.''

The first wreck occurred 10 laps into the race when Dario Franchitti lost his right rear tire, hit the wall and spiraled down the track. He was down on the apron when his car was T-boned by Larry Gunselman. Both drivers were transported to a hospital for observation, and X-rays showed Franchitti broke his left ankle.

It was unclear whether Franchitti, the reigning IndyCar Series champion and Indianapolis 500 winner, would race in the Sprint Cup Series on Sunday. Stremme, who drove the car for two seasons before Franchitti replaced him this year, said Chip Ganassi Racing had approached him about filling in for Franchitti but he wasn't sure he was contractually allowed.

Wheldon strategy beats Dixon

Kansas City, KS (Sports Network) - Dan Wheldon wasn't as fast as his teammate Scott Dixon, but he saved fuel by following his Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate for most of the day and it paid off with a win.

The key point of the race came when Dixon pitted from the lead on lap 152. Wheldon stayed out because he had more fuel and when Dixon got caught on pit lane by a caution flag, his chance to win was essentially over.

Wheldon captured Sunday afternoon's Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 at the Kansas Speedway crossing the finish line 2.1778 seconds ahead of Tony Kanaan.

The victory was Wheldon's first of the season and 14th of his IndyCar career. Dixon, Helio Castroneves and Marco Andretti completed the top-five.

This one started out like it was going to be a Dixon romp. He led 94 of the first 100 laps. Just before the mid-point of the 200-lap event it was teammates Dixon and Wheldon dominating. They were just four lengths apart, but more than eight seconds ahead of third place Ed Carpenter.

But an Ernesto Viso-Tomas Scheckter accident brought out the caution flag and erased the big lead.

On the restart, Dixon and Wheldon's plan was to keep the lead, but try to stretch their fuel so that they would only need one more stop to reach the checkered flag. The only problem with the strategy was that third place Tony Kanaan wanted no part of it and immediately pressured the two leaders.

The No.11 AGR driver was just half-a-second behind the leaders with 80 laps remaining. The trio was still one-two-three with 50 laps to go. Then Dixon caught the bad break while refueling.

Buddy Rice spun and crashed bringing out a caution flag. Kanaan and Wheldon were able to pit under caution while Dixon's stop had come under green flag conditions. The Penske cars of Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe also pitted with Wheldon. Patrick pitted too, but they found the right-rear suspension bent and her chance to win back-to-back races was over.

Having gotten caught on pit lane when the caution flag came out, left Dixon in seventh place on the restart, with 27 laps to go. He was fifth with 20 laps to go, but was almost four seconds behind his teammate. One more lap and he caught both Briscoe and Castroneves - he was third.

Up front Wheldon was still leading Kanaan by 0.350 seconds and it was apparent that Dixon could not catch the leaders. After dominating, Dixon would have to settle for third place.

Ten laps remained and Wheldon was holding off Kanaan. The margin was staying the same, not shrinking, not growing. Then Wheldon lapped Jay Howard, but Kanaan was caught behind him and Wheldon's lead jumped to almost two seconds.

From there the No.10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver cruised to his first win of the season.

Castroneves' fourth place finish keeps him at the top of the standings, but the margin to second place Dixon has been cut to six points. Wheldon also cut into the lead as is third overall, just nine points back.

The IndyCar Series moves to Indianapolis for the month of May ending with the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 25th.

Hornaday Jr. dominates Kansas

Kansas City, KS (Sports Network) - Ron Hornaday Jr. led five different times for a total of 136 laps, including the final 54, en route to capturing Saturday evening's O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 at the Kansas Speedway. The No.33 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet crossed the finish line three lengths ahead of teammate Jack Sprague.

The victory was Hornaday Jr.'s first of the season and 34th of his Craftsman Truck Series career.

"I have to thank all the guys, this is fun," said Hornaday Jr.

Hornaday Jr. was in charge for most of the day, but needed to stay out front while conserving fuel over the final third of the race to preserve the win. He is the first driver to win a Craftsman race at Kansas from the pole.

Hornaday Jr. had a chance to top off with 40 laps to go, but didn't want to give up the track position. He stayed on the track and was determined to stretch his final tank to 60 laps. Meanwhile, Mike Skinner who pitted on lap 110, had more than enough fuel to go the distance.

So it looked like it would be a battle of who was right in estimating fuel mileage and saving fuel mileage. Skinner would restart in 13th. None of the top-12 trucks stopped.

Then with 12 laps to go, Todd Bodine slammed the outside wall after trying to pass a lapped truck and it ended most everyone's fuel concerns. The race restarted with nine laps to go. But lasted just three laps before Terry Cook began to smoke and leave fluid on the track. Brian Scott spun and out came a record 12th caution flag. If anyone had still been worried about fuel, they weren't now.

Hornaday Jr. made the final restart with two laps to go and Sprague just behind him. Sprague went high down the backstretch and got close, but could never get the clean air and Hornaday Jr. had enough fuel to not only reach the checkered flag, but take on his victory lap.

Colin Braun, Johnny Benson and Skinner completed the top-five.

"We didn't have near as good a truck as the No.33," said Skinner.

The win also gives Hornaday Jr. the series points lead with 775 points, 61 more than Rick Crawford and 71 more than Bodine. The next race is scheduled for Friday, May 16th at the Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud: Aaron's 499

The Key Moment: A ten car wreck on the white flag lap drew a caution and sealed the win for Kyle Busch just as the outside line was mounting a challenge.

In a Nutshell: It’s contrived excitement but you just can’t look away.

Dramatic Moment: The last thirty laps of the race were all nailbiters.

The 20 and 88 car tangled to set off the customary Talladega smoking pig pile of a wreck on lap 173.

Had Tony Stewart not been able to keep his car up against the wall after cutting down a tire on lap 143 while leading he almost certainly would have triggered a wreck that would have eliminated most of the field.

What They’ll Be Talking About Around the Water Cooler This Week

Was Kyle Busch’s winning pass made with two tires beneath the yellow line? If so, was he forced out of bounds?

Dario Franchitti’s fractured ankle once again highlights the other side of the equation for the Buschwhackers. It’s tough to explain to your Cup sponsors why you can’t race on Sunday after getting hurt in the Little League race on Saturday. In Franchitti’s case, while he can use all the laps he can get in a stock car trying to hasten his learning curve, the two plate tracks shouldn’t be part of his schedule on Saturdays.

With three Cup wins this season Carl Edwards has become NASCAR’s head cheerleader for the new Fat Car. But other drivers are seemingly far less enamored of these pigs. Ryan Newman speculated this weekend that Micheal McDowell’s barrel roll crash at Texas was a result of the new car’s higher center of gravity. When asked why he chose to run in the Nationwide Series races, Tony Stewart was typically blunt. “They’re designed to handle good, so for at least for 50 percent of the weekend you get to drive a car that feels like a race car instead of a car that feels like a dump truck. “

If you want some clue as to why Tony Stewart is posturing as if getting ready to leave Joe Gibbs racing, review the video of Stewart in victory lane. While he thanked the Old Spice people he once again failed to mention Toyota. And yes, Tony Stewart fans, I too was touched by his interaction with that Make-A-Wish child. He isn’t all bad.

With Stewart, Newman, Biffle, Truex, and Edwards all considering their options it looks like this year’s Silly Season game of musical chairs could get as interesting as last year’s Battle of the Earnhardts.

Today’s obscene gas prices seem to be cutting into ticket sales at most tracks. Perhaps that explains the up tick in the TV ratings this year? NASCAR’s not alone facing the challenge of rising fuel prices. Despite spectacular weather, the crowd at the Carlisle Swap meet was the thinnest I recall in decades. Friday and Saturday’s crowds seemed about the same as last year in part due to the auction, but the number of RVs parked in and around the fairgrounds also seemed to have declined dramatically.

For those of you keeping score at home, Joe Gibbs prepared Toyotas have now won six of the ten Nationwide series events this season including the last four consecutive races. There is no challenge so large that throwing cubic acres of cash at it can’t solve.

Is Jeff Gordon ever going to win one of these things again? Think Rick Hendrick is beginning to think a Busch in hand is worth two in the bird?

What was the point of FOX’s “All You Can Eat” segment with one of their production assistants? Was anybody else waiting to see the fat man hurl? FOX with an extra half-hour to fill in a pre-race program is more dangerous than a toddler with an automatic weapon.

The Hindenburg Award For Foul Fortune

Dale Earnhardt Jr. looked poised to finally win a race again until he got run over from behind.

Michael Waltrip went from leading the race with four to go to a 27th place finish.

Carl Edwards was plagued by right front tire issues all day and finally managed to hit the wall. Combined with his hard crash on Saturday, it was a pretty lousy weekend for the young man.

Matt Kenseth’s race had barely begun before a tire problem put him into the wall.

Tony Stewart cut down a tire, triggered the big wreck, and ended the day in the garage.

Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon lost seemingly solid shots at a top 10 finish in the final laps of the race.

The “Seven Come Fore Eleven” Award For Fine Fortune

Winner Kyle Busch had an eventful day, losing a lap after problems getting to his pit and barely hanging onto his car after hard contact with the 26 car got both of them sideways.

Travis Kvapil showed up at Talladega with a new sponsor and managed a decent sixth place finish.

Casey Mears got off to a rough start this season but managed a decent seventh place finish Sunday ahead of all three of his teammates who had been considered among the favorites going into the race.

Last year Brian Vickers was struggling just to qualify for races. Sunday he might have had a shot at a win had the race ended under the green flag.

While the weather forecast looked pretty dire on Friday, NASCAR managed to get both races in at Talladega with no delays or interruptions.

When Juan Pablo Montoya tangled with Paul Mernard, sending the 15 car spinning, he was able to drive on with only a stern warning from NASCAR to a second place finish.

Worth Noting

(Editor’s note: As this is written the changes in the unofficial finishing order are still coming fast and furious as NASCAR tries to sort out who was running where when the final yellow flew.)

* Kyle Busch scored his seventh win in NASCAR’s top three touring divisions this year.

* Juan Pablo Montoya’s second place finish matches his best Cup result on an oval course. Montoya also finished second in last year’s Brickyard 400.

* Denny Hamlin has now strung together five consecutive top 10 finishes. He’s averaging a 3.6th place finish in those five races.

* David Ragan scored the second best finish of his brief Cup career.

* Brian Vickers scored his first top 5 finish since last year’s Coca Cola 600.

* Travis Kvapil managed his best Cup finish of 2008.

* Casey Mear’s seventh place finish matches his best of this year.

* Jeff Gordon has gone three straight races without posting a top 10 finish. That hasn’t happened to Gordon since Michigan, Bristol and Fontana last summer.

* Paul Menard enjoyed his best Cup finish of 2008.So did Scott Riggs.

* Greg Biffle has finished 20th or worse in three of the last four Cup races. Matt Kenseth is in an even worse slump with three finishes of 30th or worse in those same four races. For Kenseth, it was his first DNF since Charlotte last fall.

* The top 10 finishers at Talladega drove three Toyotas, two Fords, two Dodges and three Chevys.

* Regan Smith in 19th posted the best finish by a rookie at Talladega.

* Sunday’s race was only the second time since 1999 a Chevrolet driver failed to win a Cup event at Talladega.

What’s the Points?

As noted above, NASCAR is still sorting out finishing positions after that final lap brouhaha as this is written. I’ve already deleted and redone this section three times, but eventually I have to turn it in to meet a deadline commitment.

Jeff Burton maintains the points lead but Kyle Busch has narrowed the gap to seven points. Dale Earnhardt Jr. remains third, 64 points out of the lead while Jimmie Johnson remains fourth, 81 points out of the lead.

Kasey Kahne had the worst day in the points falling three positions out of the top 12 to 14th.

Five drivers in the top 12 advanced a spot today; Denny Hamlin (now fifth), Clint Bowyer (now seventh) Greg Biffle (now ninth) Ryan Newman (now eleventh) and Jeff Gordon (now twelfth).

Three drivers in the top 12 lost a spot today; Kevin Harvick (now sixth) Tony Stewart (now eighth) and Carl Edwards (now tenth)

Drivers of note making progress in the points include Juan Pablo Montoya (up four spots to 13th and just ten points out of the top 10), David Ragan (up three spots to 15th) Brian Vickers (up three spots to 16th) and David Gilliland (up three spots to 18th).

Drivers riding the downbound train after Talladega include Matt Kenseth (down four more spots to 19th) Kurt Busch (down four spots to 20th) and Martin Truex Jr. (down a further three spots to 17th)

Overall Rating (On a scale of one to six beer cans with one being a stinker and a six pack an instant classic) We’ll give this one four well dented and worn out cans of generic stuff with a flaming Jack chaser. At least no one got hurt on Sunday.

Next Up: It’s Saturday night under the lights at Richmond, the first of four straight night races on the Cup schedule.

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Nationwide Series Breakdown : Aaron's 312
Bryan Davis Keith

In a Nutshell: Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 team continued its utter dominance of the Nationwide Series in 2008 with Tony Stewart behind the wheel, staying out of trouble and holding off Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win the Aaron’s 312 at Talladega. The win is Stewart’s third of the season and the fourth for the No. 20 team. Stewart was the fastest car all race long, leading five times for 81 laps. Dale Earnhardt Jr., in his own No. 5 Chevrolet, was the only car able to seriously challenge Stewart, but could never get a good enough run on Stewart to pass him in the closing laps. Earnhardt finished sixth.

The race was marred by the “big one” on Lap 72, a wreck involving at least 15 drivers. The wreck started when No. 61 of Kevin Lepage merged onto the race track in Turn One before being up to speed. The first few cars in the lead pack missed him, but a trapped Carl Edwards barreled into the back of Lepage, sparking the wreck. Lepage refused to acknowledge full responsibility for the wreck during the broadcast, but issued an apology Sunday for not following NASCAR’s blend rule.

An earlier two car wreck was also notable. No. 40 Dario Franchitti lost a tire going into Turn Four and spun to the bottom of the track before being slammed driver-side by No. 91 Larry Gunselman well after the caution flag waved. Franchitti was taken to a local hospital and treated for a fractured ankle. Because of his injuries, Franchitti was unable to race his No. 40 car in the Sprint Cup Series; he was replaced by David Stremme.

Who Should Have Won: Tony Stewart Stewart was the class of the field for the entire race and had little trouble maintaining the lead. Stewart managed to score the win despite precariously leading the race during its final restart late in the running. With the win, Stewart has the opportunity to become the first driver since Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2003 to sweep all three Nationwide Series restrictor plate races should he run in the series at Daytona in July.

Worth Noting:

David Stremme scored his fifth Top-10 of the season at Talladega, a season best second place finish. Stremme ran with the leaders for the entire race on Saturday, moving the No. 64 team back into the Top-15 in owners’ points (13th). Stremme’s stellar run caught the eye of his former team with Chip Ganassi Racing, and as a result Stremme was selected to fill-in for the injured Dario Franchitti in Sunday’s Cup race. Stremme had a tremendous run in the Cup race, leading laps and challenging for the win before being shuffled back to a 14th place finish, the best run for Ganassi’s No. 40 car all season.

Nationwide Series regulars chalked up their best collective performance of the season, taking four spots in the Top-5 and seven in the Top-10. David Stremme finished second, Bobby Hamilton Jr. third (his career-best at Talladega), Jason Leffler fourth, Mark Green fifth (the best ever finish for ML Motorsports), Mike Bliss seventh, Scott Wimmer ninth (with a damaged race car), and Mike Wallace tenth. Kertus Davis also scored a twelfth place finish, his best run in the series since finishing tenth at Talladega in 2005.

Better Luck Next Time:

The victims of Kevin Lepage’s mistake were numerous, but there were several real heartbreakers in the melee. ST Motorsports’ teammates Marcos Ambrose and Kelly Bires both were taken out in the wreck while enjoying strong runs. Kenny Wallace and his underdog Jay Robinson Racing team was running in the top-20 with a large contingent from sponsor US Border Patrol on hand before being heavily damaged (Wallace finished 30th). The biggest loser from the wreck was Steven Wallace, who was running in the top-10 and challenging for the lead. Despite the poor finish though, Wallace is showing a tremendous improvement in patience and intelligence on the race track.

DJ Kennington was a surprise in practice and qualifying, posting a Top-10 practice run and a career-best 17th place qualifying effort. Kennington was running strong in the race, and moved into the Top-10 after dodging the big one. A good finish was not to be for Kennington and his No. 81 team however, as Kennington lost a tire in Turn One and spun into the wall, also collecting fellow underdog Brett Rowe.

Underdog Performer of the Race:

A few weeks back I wrote a column about the re-emergence of field filling in the Nationwide Series. This weekend at Talladega, three of these teams ran the Aaron’s 312 in its entirety, posted stellar finishes, and deserve a shout out. Morgan Shepherd ran in the Top-10 for a number of laps and finished on the lead lap in 13th. Plate-racing veteran Donnie Neuenberger finished 14th in the Means Racing No. 52, and Mike Harmon scored the best Nationwide Series finish for Elite-2 Racing to date with a 17th place run. Of particular note was Shepherd’s strong performance; even before the field was thinned out by the big wreck he was a Top-20 car and running competitively in the draft. Well done guys, keep it up.

“Purse Snatcher” Watch

11 of 43 starting positions in the Aaron’s 312 went to Sprint Cup regulars.

121 of the 430 starting positions in Nationwide Series races this season have gone to Sprint Cup regulars.

3 Sprint Cup regulars finished in the Top-10 of the Aaron’s 312.

9 of 10 Nationwide Series races have been won by Sprint Cup regulars this season.

5 of the Top 10 in Nationwide Series points are Sprint Cup regulars.

Quotables:

“As a child my dreams had always been to race on Superspeedways. Racing in NASCAR has allowed this to happen and I have a career that I love. However, on Saturday afternoon every racer’s concern was realized, as I caused “The Big One”. After reviewing the tapes of the accident I realize I need to apologize to NASCAR, the car owners, my fellow competitors and most importantly the fans. I made a huge driver error by blending onto the racetrack in the wrong area. This caused a multi-car accident and changed the outcome of the race for many teams. I’m so thankful that no one was hurt considering the number of cars involved. In over 25 years of racing this was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made behind the wheel of a stock car and I promise that it will not happen again. It is such a terrible feeling knowing that NASCAR, the car owners, fellow competitors and NASCAR fans think this was a “bonehead” move and I certainly don’t want anyone thinking of me in these terms. Speaking yesterday before reviewing the tapes of the accident made me look like a “heel” and there is not a single person to blame for this huge mistake except myself. I have worked very hard over the years to gain the respect of NASCAR, the owners, competitors and the fans and it will take a long time to gain it back after what happened. Once again I want to apologize to everyone involved. If I could replay the race, I would have used better judgment and let the pack go by before blending onto the racetrack.” – A statement from Specialty Racing driver Kevin Lepage on his involvement in Saturday’s “big one”

Up Next: The NASCAR Nationwide Series heads to the Richmond International Raceway for short-tracking under the lights this Friday, May 2. Coverage of the Lipton Tea 250 begins on ESPN2 at 7 PM and 730 on MRN.

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Tracking the Trucks : O'Reilly Auto Parts 250
Beth Lunkenheimer

In a Nutshell: Ron Hornaday, Jr. took the checkered flag ahead of Jack Sprague to win the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas Speedway Saturday evening. The defending series winner led the final 55 laps in a caution filled race. Colin Braun, Johnny Benson and Mike Skinner rounded out the Top 5.

Who Should Have Won: Ron Hornaday, Jr. Hornaday, Jr. and teammate Jack Sprague were fast straight off of their haulers. The driver of the No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet led the first practice and followed up with a third fastest lap in final practice. Starting on the pole, Hornaday, Jr. led 136 of the scheduled 167 laps.

Questions You Should Be Asking After the Race:

1. How did Jennifer Jo Cobb and Michelle Theriault fare in their Craftsman Truck Series debuts?

Jennifer Jo Cobb and Michelle Theriault each made their Craftsman Truck Series debuts with Derrike Cope, Inc. Saturday evening. Cobb in the No. 74 Providence Medical Center Dodge and Theriault in the No. 73 Derrike Cope, Inc. / RMR Dodge missed the first practice.

Jennifer Jo Cobb qualified her No. 74 an abysmal 36th. Final practice didn’t show much promise either for Jennifer. Her fastest lap of 151.248 mph (35.703 seconds) was 35th quickest and more than fifteen miles per hour slower than the leaders.

Like her teammate, Theriault struggled in qualifying, posting a 34th quickest lap. In final practice, Michelle ran 36th quickest at 149.460 mph (36.130 seconds).

Neither Jennifer Jo Cobb or Michelle Theriault lasted very long once the green flag flew over the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250. Theriault’s No. 73 Dodge lasted just 16 laps before electrical problems proved terminal, and Cobb’s No. 74 Dodge ran only 31 laps before engine failure ended her hopes of a decent finish. The two finished 35th and 33rd respectively.

While their debuts were definitely something to forget, it’s never easy to start up in a new series, and it’s even harder when you have a brand new team under you. All Jennifer Jo Cobb and Michelle Theriault can do is take the little bit of track time and experience they did get and build on it.

2. Should Colin Braun be showing more respect to series veterans?

On lap 83, rookie of the year contender Colin Braun ran into the back of Matt Crafton’s No. 88 Menards / McGuire-Nicholas Chevrolet sending him into the Turn 4 wall. Crafton went on to finish the race three laps down in 21st. Following the race, Matt Crafton confronted Braun on pit road where Braun admitted fault and apologized.

“First off, I want to apologize to Matt Crafton, I did not mean to get in the back of him there,” Braun said in his post-race press conference. “We were just having a tough, tight race there and me being a rookie, unfortunately, I got in the back of him and I feel real bad that we wrecked his day. He had a fast truck and I didn’t mean to do that, that’s for sure.

Later, Jack Sprague and Colin Braun were in a three-way battle for third with Johnny Benson when Braun moved low on the track forcing Sprague to take the high line

“He came down on me and I could have let him crash,” Sprague said. “I went around him on the outside. I told him, ‘That was a gift, but don’t mess with me again.’ He has to stop running into people. If he wants to win, he has to have respect.”

While being a rookie is no excuse to make poor decisions on the track, Braun proved he’s a rookie learning the fine art of racing in one of NASCAR’s top three series.’ Sure he didn’t win any friends when he got into Crafton, but the ability of a rookie to take responsibility when he knows he did something wrong is commendable.

Jack Sprague has a little more reason to be upset with the driver of the No. 6 Con-way Freight Ford. If Braun expects to succeed in the Craftsman Truck Series and eventually move to the Nationwide or Sprint Cup Series, he’s going to have to learn to make friends on the track. If the rookie learns to respect the veterans on the track, he’ll find he has more friends when he needs help on the track, but if he keeps running the veterans around, his time in NASCAR is sure to be tumultuous.

3. How did Shane Sieg run in Kyle Busch’s place?

For the first time this season, points leader Kyle Busch stepped out of the No. 51 Miccosukee Resorts Toyota Tundra because of schedule conflicts with the Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. In his place, Billy Ballew Motorsports brought in Shane Sieg.

Sieg ran ninth quickest in the first practice and fourteenth quickest in the final practice. Shane started his No. 51 in 16th and finished 18th on the lead lap. On lap 52, he got loose and tapped Brendan Gaughan’s No. 10 Ford before hitting the Turn 4 wall.

Shane Sieg’s run certainly wasn’t nearly as exciting as Kyle Busch’s runs usually are, but it’s a cinch Sieg made more friends on the track Saturday evening than Busch normally does. Look for Busch to be back in the No. 51 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in a few weeks.

Truck Rookie Report

2008 Rookie of the Year Candidates:
Colin Braun (No. 6)
Andy Lally (No. 7)
Donny Lia (No. 71)
Justin Marks (No. 9)
Marc Mitchell (No. 15)
Phillip McGilton (No. 22)
Brian Scott (No. 16)

No. of Rookies in the Race: 6
No. of Rookies to Finish in the Top 10: 1, Colin Braun finished 3rd

Rookie Of The Race: Colin Braun

Worth Noting / Points Shuffle:

The O’Reilly 250 set a record for most cautions in a Craftsman Truck Series race at twelve. The previous record of ten was set July 3, 2004.

During the pre-race show at Kansas Speedway, Rick Allen reported that Randy Moss of the New England Patriots plans to start a truck team and hopes to race toward the end of the year. While nothing is “official” yet, a formal announcement is expected this week.

Ron Hornaday, Jr’s win combined with Kyle Busch missing the race gave Hornaday, Jr. the points lead. He leads Rick Crawford, who moved up three spots this week, by 61 points. Todd Bodine dropped one spot to third, and Dennis Setzer remains in fourth. Johnny Benson moved up four spots into the fifth position.

Kyle Busch dropped five spots to the sixth position, 130 points back from Ron Hornaday, Jr, and Matt Crafton dropped one spot to seventh. Chad McCumbee and Jack Sprague jumped five and six spots respectively to eighth and ninth. Ted Musgrave moved up one spot and rounds out the Top 10.

Quotable:

“This thing was just a rocket ship. It’s a brand-new truck. You don’t have trucks like that, it was awesome.” Ron Hornaday, Jr.

“We didn’t pit when everybody else did, and we used our stuff up getting back to the front. We wanted it bad.” Jack Sprague

Up Next:

The Craftsman Truck Series takes three more weeks off and heads to Lowe’s Motor Speedway for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 on Friday, May 16th. Ron Hornaday, Jr. won this race in 2007. Coverage begins at 7:30 pm EST on SPEED, and the race can also be heard on your local MRN affiliate.

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Gibbs has another franchise player
April 28, 2008

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) -Maybe Joe Gibbs can afford to let Tony Stewart go.

The ol' coach already seems to have NASCAR's next star on his roster.

Kyle Busch did it again Sunday, this time conquering a track that had always given him fits. As he pulled into Victory Lane at Talladega Superspeedway, there appeared to be nothing this 22-year-old phenom can't do - even it means filling the shoes of his teammate Stewart, a two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion.

Busch has already won twice in nine races on the Cup circuit, trailing leader Jeff Burton by just 22 points. He's third on the second-tier Nationwide Series, right on the tail of Clint Bowyer and Carl Edwards, and was leading the Craftsman Truck Series until he missed a conflicting race in Kansas City, dropping him to sixth in the points.

In all, Busch has won seven races in the three series on tracks of all varieties - a road course, an intermediate track, a pseudo-short track and now a superspeedway.

``He's red hot,'' Gibbs said.

The Super Bowl-winning coach has put together a race team that rivals his glory years with the Washington Redskins. Busch, Stewart and Denny Hamlin are all in the top 10 a quarter of the way through the season.

But the Talladega weekend began with reports that Stewart wanted out, possibly as part of a deal to run his own team. Naturally, Gibbs wants to keep his dream team together - and his senior driver is under contract through 2009 - but he may face some hard financial decisions.

Just like he did when running an NFL team.

To borrow a football phrase, Gibbs would probably feel inclined to put the franchise tag on Busch instead of Stewart if forced to make a choice. Busch is 14 years younger than Smoke, and he's already shown himself to be a talented, fearless racer who'll mix it up with anyone.

``The thing about Tony is we have been together for 10 years,'' Gibbs said. ``It's been a great ride, and that's why we don't want it to stop. We would love to have it work out pretty much the way it did the last time'' Stewart signed a new deal with Gibbs.

But, if Stewart decides to bolt, Busch would be a worthy successor.

Heck, he already looks like the team's No. 1 driver.

``I am fortunate to be hooked up with this bunch,'' said Busch, who turns 23 next week. ``I guess I'm a decent enough driver, and when you give me a good enough car, we can do something with it and put it in the right position and we're able to run up front and do well.''

As good as Busch has been, he could have been even better. He was leading at Bristol when his power steering broke. Mechnical problems also plagued him at his hometown race in Las Vegas, where he started from the pole, and on the fender-banging short track at Martinsville.

But, as he showed at Talladega, a harrowing track where he had failed to finish four of his last six races, Busch is racing in a different gear than most of his rivals.

He fought his way back from a lap down after missing his pit box and having to go around again without any drafting help, benefitting from the ``lucky dog'' rule. Then, with just 18 laps to go, Busch tangled with Jamie McMurray coming through the trival, the No. 18 car nearly going sideways before he managed to save it.

Busch claimed the lead with five laps to go, blocked a couple of passing attempts and coasted to the checkered flag when a massive crash took out a dozen cars behind him, bringing out the yellow.

``We're blessed to be a part of it, to see it,'' said J.D. Gibbs, the ex-coach's son and team president. ``And the exciting thing is you forget how young he is. How many years we have left to grow together is really encouraging.''

And to think, this guy was fired from his last gig.

Busch was dumped by Hendrick Motorsports after last season, the powerful team deciding to go with fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. While no one doubted Busch's potential, he was known for being reckless and impatient, as likely to wreck his car as get to the finish. Plus, he was a bit of a brat, rubbing plenty of folks the wrong way with his irrational behavior.

Busch still operates with a bit of an edge, but he's definitely grown up on the track.

``I learned years ago that first you must finish to finish first,'' he said. ``I let that slip my mind for a little while and became an idiot for a bit. I sort of remembered someone telling me that again, and it's sort of worked out.''

J.D. Gibbs knew he had a superstar on its hands after watching Busch's test at Atlanta Motor Speedway last October, his very first time working with JGR and crew chief Steve Addington.

``We realized we had something very special,'' Gibbs said. ``You could see it in Steve's eyes. I just think there's a lot of things that really fit in the package, and first and foremost, you need to have that guy behind the wheel. And he just has a natural talent.

That was never more evident than when Busch somehow kept his car between the lines while jostling with McMurray.

``The save, I didn't know what was happening,'' Busch said. ``I thought I was going out of the park. Luckily, somehow, we got off each other and kept it straight.''

Then Juan Pablo Montoya hooked up behind Busch, pushing him to the front, where he was able to race for the win.

Montoya finished second to match his career best on an oval since moving to NASCAR midway through 2006. Hamlin was third.

``The whole race was crazy,'' Hamlin said. ``Everyone got antsy.''

That showed in the waning laps, which were marked by three separate accidents. The first came with 14 laps to go when Stewart was stuck in the middle of a huge pack of cars. Bobby Labonte got forced to the bottom of the track, and it set in motion a six-car accident that ended Stewart's day.

Despite leading a race-high 61 laps, he dropped to 0-for-20 in Talladega Cup races.

``That's what happens late in these races,'' Stewart said as he surveyed his damaged car. ``If it was my fault, I'm sorry. But by looking at the video, I don't think I did anything wrong.''

Busch certainly isn't doing anything wrong.

He looks like a franchise player.

Aaron’s 499 Recap

As always, the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway did not disappoint. The race featured 52 lead changes among 20 drivers. Ultimately, Kyle Busch took the checked flag under caution after a last lap multi-car crash preserved the win for the #18 M&M’s Toyota. “About ten to go, things got crazy,” Busch said. “I was running fourth or fifth and got a bump draft and got a huge line, shot me on the line and got into (Jamie) McMurray there. And I don't know what happened with that scenario and we were able to straighten up and get going, #42 was myself, pushed me all the way to the front. (Juan Pablo) Montoya, gave me a great shock, got us both up to the front two spots and rode up there and stayed together.” The win kept Busch in 2nd place in the Sprint Cup standings, but is now only 22 points behind point’s leader Jeff Burton.

Not a bad day
If the season ended today, Juan Pablo Montoya would surprisingly be among the 12 drivers in the Chase for the Championship. We predicted that he would have a breakout season and it looks he’s finally ready to step up to the plate. His 2nd place finish on Sunday was his first top 10 of the year. He has finished no worse than 20th in the last eight races. After the race, he said he has a lot to learn about restrictor plate racing. “You depend so much on what people behind do,” Montoya said. “Once people get around behind you, you either stay in your lane or go pick up the other lane in the front and if you pick it up. It's they are going to drop you, and it's just pretty tough. You've just got to learn. I screwed up a couple of times today, and I just couldn't do it because it was just too tight.”

Denny Hamlin is the hottest driver on the circuit right now. His 3rd place finish at ‘Dega is his fourth consecutive top 5. “Every time you come to super speedway racing, it seems like it's with 25 to go, just really kind of busting loose and it gets kind of crazy,” Hamlin said. “I thought the race was still really good up to that point. “I really commend NASCAR with all of the adjustments they made to this car for super speedway racing.” This recent hot streak has moved Hamlin all the way up to 4th place in the Sprint Cup standings.

Young David Ragan grabbed his second top 10 of the season with a 4th place finish. "I was probably being as conservative as anybody out there, because I probably didn’t have that many friends that would go with me,” Ragan said. “So I had to do what I could to take of myself and then really couldn’t worry about everybody else. It would’ve been nice to have some teammates up there." Ragan currently sits 15th in the Sprint Cup standings and is a dark horse contender to make the Chase.

Not a good day
Tony Stewart looked like the car to beat early. He led the most laps throughout the event (61) and was in great position to make a final charge for the win. Unfortunately for Smoke, he got caught up in a multi-car crash with only 15 laps remaining. "I just went to the second lane there and was there for a short amount of time,” Stewart said. “I thought we were alright and the closer we got to turn one the smaller that whole got so I was as close to Bobby (Labonte) as I could get right there and the hole closed up. If it was my fault, I’m sorry. By looking at the video, though, I don’t feel like I did anything wrong, really." Stewart finished in 38th place, and is now 9th in the Sprint Cup standings.

Matt Kenseth is becoming a regular in this section. He and teammate Carl Edwards both had tire issues, finishing 41st and 40th respectively. "We can’t get anything to go our way,” Kenseth said. “We just blew the right-front tire. It amazes me that you can blow a tire at Talladega, but I guess you can. We had a tire problem, for some reason. We just can’t seem to get anything to go our way, so far." The poor showing drops the team to 19th in the Sprint Cup standings.

The next turn
The Sprint Cup series is headed 650 miles east to Richmond International Raceway for the Crown Royal Presents The Dan Lowry 400. I’m a big fan of that marketing promotion. How cool would it be to have a Sprint Cup event named after you? Jimmie Johnson should be your early pick for next week. The defending champion won four out of the six short track events last year, including both races at Richmond. In the last four years, Johnson has twice as many short track wins than any other driver. In total, he has finished in the top 10 in 14 of the last 24 short track races.

How’d we do?
I feel about the same as Tony Stewart. We were doing good, headed for a solid finish, and then the “big one” took us out. We hit on a solid eight of the top 15, but it went downhill from there. We only correctly projected three of the top 10, and one of the top 5. Our two worst weeks have been on restrictor plate tracks. You can never predict when about six of your cars are going to be taken out in one fell swoop. We’ll turn things around next week at Richmond.

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