Darnell beats Benson by inches at MIS
Brooklyn. MI (Sports Network) - Youngster Erik Darnell got a great restart and held off a charging Johnny Benson to win Saturday's Cool City Customs 200 at the Michigan International Speedway. Darnell, in the No.99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, crossed the finish line just 0.005 seconds ahead of the Michigan native.
The finish was the second closest in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series history. The smallest margin of victory was a 0.001-second win by Butch Miller in July of 1995.
The victory was Darnell's first of the season and second of his Craftsman Truck Series career.
A caution flag on lap 94 set up a final four-lap shootout for the win. They would restart with Darnell, Scott Speed, Benson and Ron Hornaday Jr. holding down the top-four spots.
Darnell got a great restart and pulled out a four-length lead. Meanwhile, Benson and Speed went side-by-side for second. Benson got past Speed and went after Darnell. They saw the white flag and down the back stretch Hornaday Jr. spun. But on the final lap they race back to the checkered flag.
Benson got even with Darnell and stuck his nose ahead of him as they came out of Turn 4. They charged to the finish and Darnell came back on Benson. It was a "photo-finish" at the line and after a few moments Darnell was declared the winner.
"Johnny raced me real clean and that's what truck racing is all about, this is exciting stuff," said Darnell. "We've had some strong runs this year, been close a couple of times, but haven't been able to pull it off. To finally get that win is going to help the team out a lot."
Veteran Mike Skinner brought the 34-truck field to the green flag for 100 laps of racing over the fast two-mile MIS oval. But Skinner and Jack Sprague touched on the start cutting down Sprague's left-rear tire and allowing Todd Bodine to jump from third all the way to first.
Meanwhile, series champion Ron Hornaday Jr. started at the back of the field after a pre-race engine change. Following the first caution flag he was up to 28th.
Bodine and Speed quickly jumped out from the pack and had a one-second lead after the first dozen laps. The gap was four seconds by lap 18 as the two were clearly the quickest on the track. And Hornaday Jr. was up to 17th.
Speed finally got past Bodine on lap 23, but it was still a two-man race - their lead almost six seconds.
Meanwhile, Hornaday Jr. was about ready to crack the top-10 on lap 30. A debris caution flag on lap 45 came just after a round of green-flag stops to didn't disrupt the running order. although it did erase Speed and Bodine's big lead.
Most of the leaders debated coming in at that point.
Benson got the lead by taking fuel only. Bodine was second, but he had four new tires and Speed was third after taking right-side tires only. It wasn't long before the tires made the difference and Bodine re-took the lead.
Another caution flag (Justin Marks spin), sent everyone down pit lane with 40 laps to go. It meant that those who came in could all go the distance with just a little help.
Bodine, Kyle Busch and Mike Skinner were one-two-three as the green flag dropped and Busch didn't wait very long. He ducked to the inside and grabbed the lead. But back came Bodine and Skinner and they both got around Busch who got shuffled back to fourth behind Hornaday Jr.
Busch scraped the wall and began to fall back a little as the lead group began to slice and dice with each other. Meanwhile, Speed who had restarted in 10th, was making a move and up to fourth with 30 laps to go.
Speed was flying and with four fresh tires got past Skinner and Bodine for second place with plenty of time remaining in the 100-lap race. Speed went to the inside of Hornaday Jr., but his truck broke loose and while he gathered it back up, Erik Darnell slipped past him for second.
There were still 25 laps to go.
Darnell used the high line to charge past Hornaday Jr. for the lead as the defending champion slipped in behind him. Meanwhile, Benson joined the group to make it a four-way battle.
Benson got to second and seemed to settle in behind Darnell, just stalking him. By just following Darnell instead of racing him, the two pulled away to a one-second lead on third-place Speed.
With 10 laps to go Benson charged towards Darnell, got inside him, but couldn't hold the line and had to let off the gas pedal. That allowed Speed to catch up to the leaders, making it a three-man race and just nine laps to go.
But the late race caution flag changed everything and set up the final run to the checkered flag. Darnell did everything right and held on for his first win of the season.
The series will return to the track next Friday at the historic Milwaukee Mile.
Logano sets Nationwide record with win
Sparta, KY (Sports Network) - Joey Logano, all of 18 years and 21 days old, won Saturday night's Meijer 300 at the Kentucky Speedway making him the youngest driver to win a Nationwide Series race. The old record was held by Casey Atwood at 18 years, 10 months when in won at Milwaukee in July 1999.
The No.20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota crossed the finish line 2.259 seconds ahead of Scott Wimmer. The victory came in his third start.
"This is unbelievable," said Logano. "How about this team. Couldn't ask for a better Father's Day gift. I was wondering what to get my dad, I think this will work."
Logano and Kyle Busch were battling for the lead for most of the evening, but when Busch's Toyota spun out late in the race, there was no one to challenge the rookie.
A ragged start interrupted what should be a great race with a couple of up and coming stars like Logano and Brad Keselowski up front and current stars like Busch and Carl Edwards starting near the back.
Busch didn't stay there long. Despite not practicing or qualifying in his car, Busch charged from last to 16th in the first 10 laps. By lap 23 Busch was knocking on the door of the top-five.
Meanwhile, Jason Keller, who started alongside Logano, got around the rookie on lap 18. Busch caught both Logano and Keller at lap 30. He slid under teammate Logano on lap 39 and was just four lengths behind Keller. One lap later he was the leader - from near last to first in 40 laps.
Just past the 50-lap mark, the leaders began green-flag pit stops. Busch made the stop on lap 54 with a three-second lead in hand. After the cycle of stops, Busch's lead was just under seven seconds.
At lap 80 Busch's lead was 7.866 seconds and he had just lapped the 16th-place car. Then a "debris" caution flag erased the lead in a heartbeat.
Scott Wimmer used a no-tire stop to get the lead, but was a sitting duck for Busch, who was in second place with four new tires. It took just two turns for Busch to regain the lead and off he went again. Logano, who also has new tires went with him.
At the halfway point Busch and Logano had built a five-second lead on third- place Scott Wimmer.
But even though Logano and Busch are teammates and have similar set ups, the rookie couldn't keep up with the Sprint Cup Series points leader. At lap 125 Busch held one second on Logano and almost nine seconds on third place.
Another "debris" caution erased the Busch lead with 65 laps to go. They came off pit road with Busch and Logano leading Wimmer and Keselowski and finally went back to green on lap 143.
The green flag dropped and Busch shot off the line. But Logano stayed right with him. Then on lap 146 Logano drove around the outside of Busch for the lead. Logano built his lead to half-a-second with 50 laps remaining.
Was Busch conserving fuel and tires for the finish?
The two teammates again built a big lead - with 40 laps to go they held 2.6 seconds on Wimmer. Then Busch got loose in Turn 2 and his race was done.
A couple of the lead-lap cars near the back pitted, but the leaders stayed out - they were done pitting for the evening.
The green flag dropped with 31 laps to go. Jason Leffler got around Wimmer for second coming out of Turn 2, but this was Logano's race. Logano's lead was 0.439 seconds with 30 remaining, 1.490 at lap 180 and 2.760 with five laps to go. From there he sailed to the checkered flag.
Clint Bowyer will take a 170-point championship lead over Keselowski to the next race, set for Saturday, June 21st at the historic Milwaukee Mile.
Earnhardt Jr. wins fuel mileage race at MIS
Brooklyn, MI (Sports Network) - Dale Earnhardt Jr. captured Sunday's LifeLock 400 Sprint Cup race at the Michigan International Speedway by making a long fuel run and outlasting Kasey Kahne in a green-white-checker finish. The No.88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet coasted across the finish line just ahead of Kahne and Matt Kenseth
The victory was Earnhardt Jr.'s first of the season and 18th of his "Cup" career. It was his first win since 2006 at Richmond.
"I didn't think we had enough fuel when the caution came out," said Earnhardt Jr. "We had it set up for the win if we didn't have a caution.
"Great job, I'm proud of you," said owner Rick Hendrick."
The race came down to saving fuel and Earnhardt Jr. did it better than anyone else.
After rain cancelled qualifying, points leader Kyle Busch brought the field to the green flag for 200 laps of high-speed racing. Busch had already said before the race that he would try to lead the first lap and then settle back until his Toyota got better.
Actually Busch led the first five laps before Jimmie Johnson went past the points leader. Two men on the move were Brian Vickers and Kahne. They both cracked the top-five before lap 16. Vickers, who started 18th, moved past Busch for second place on lap 24.
Vickers was gaining on Johnson and cut a three-second lead to under half-a- second after 32 laps and then slid around Johnson on the next lap. But both of them were more than five seconds ahead of Busch.
The leaders started green-flag pit stops on lap 39 and everyone followed on the next few laps. Vickers was still the leader after everyone had cycled through the first stop.
After the stop, Vickers built the lead two almost two seconds over Johnson. Then Matt Kenseth's No.17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford came to life and he sliced through the field. He passed Johnson and began to cut into Vickers' lead.
As they passed the 75-lap mark the field was spread out all over the track with just four cars within 10 seconds of Vickers (Kenseth, Busch, Johnson, Carl Edwards).
Kenseth caught Vickers on lap 78 just as the field began another round of green-flag pit stops. After the stops were completed, Kenseth's No.17 Ford was the new leader. The early stop and a great "in" lap by Kenseth had worked to his advantage and the gap back to Vickers was now more than five seconds.
A debris caution on lap 92 erased Kenseth's big lead. Johnson, Vickers and Kenseth's pace was so quick that there were just 22 cars on the lead lap and they were still not at the halfway point yet.
A quick stop and just two right-side tires by the No.99 Edwards team, jumped him four spots to the lead as they went back to green on lap 96. Edwards was also the leader at the midpoint of the race.
After a Kurt Busch spin brought out a caution flag, pit strategies varied. The top-seven cars, led by Edwards stayed out, while the remainder of the field pitted for fuel and tires.
Kenseth and Edwards were the leaders, exchanging the lead at lap 113. Edwards, who didn't stop on the last caution and took just two tires the time before, began to fade allowing Johnson to slid into second place. But Johnson was more than one second behind Kenseth. Edwards continued to slip against Kenseth's pace - he needed a caution flag soon.
The leaders began green flag stops on lap 138 and after cycling through it was Kenseth, Johnson, Vickers, Edwards and Kyle Busch making up the top-five. A couple of laps after the stops, Bobby Labonte spun to bring out the caution flag.
It left the crew chiefs with a decision - to pit or not to pit?
Most cars could only go 40-45 green flag laps without pitting and the green flag would drop with 49 laps to go.
Johnson and Sam Hornish Jr. stayed out, while everyone else decided to pit. Would they try to go the final 49 laps without stopping? Would they take four tires now and two tires on a final splash and go?
When the green flag dropped on lap 151 it was Johnson, Hornish Jr., Kyle Busch, Edwards and Kenseth. But the race lasted just two turns before someone knocked Robby Gordon into the wall.
Jeff Gordon, Kahne, Jamie McMurray and Kevin Harvick used the caution flag to top off their tanks, but Johnson and Hornish Jr. stayed out. The other news was that Johnson was reporting the loss of first gear.
The race would restart on lap 156. Hornish Jr. caught him at the stripe, but settled in behind him with 37 laps to go. Behind them were battles for third between Kyle Busch and Kenseth and a three-way battle between Vickers, Greg Biffle and Stewart for sixth through eighth.
Hornish Jr. pitted on lap 178 and took right-side tires. Johnson would have to pit soon too. Four laps later Johnson came in for four tires and a splash of fuel.
It left Vickers, Kenseth, Biffle and Edwards in the lead, but none of them could make it to the finish either. Kahne was up to 10th and his crew thought he could make it. McMurray and Harvick were 11th and 12th, respectively and also pitted when Kahne did.
David Ragan, A.J. Allmendinger and Earnhardt Jr. led, but they pitted at lap 148. Kahne was fourth and probably could make it.
Allmendinger pitted from the lead on lap 193 and Ragan pitted on lap 194.
Earnhardt Jr. was now the leader, but on lap 194 McMurray pulled even with "Junior." Kahne was third. McMurray slid underneath Earnhardt Jr. for the lead, but Earnhardt Jr. came right back. Then Hornish Jr. spun on lap 197.
With a green-white-checker finish looming, Earnhardt Jr. was seemingly in trouble on fuel.
McMurray pitted for fuel on lap 198 as did Harvick. The running order was now Earnhardt Jr., Kahne and Vickers.
The green flag dropped and Earnhardt Jr. took off. He had a five-length lead when the saw the white flag. Then a spin, a crash and the caution flag. All Earnhardt Jr. had to do was make it to the finish line. He did and collected his first win in 76 races (not including non-points events).
"We run out coming to the white (flag), it stumbled off of the straightaway," said Earnhardt Jr. "We were going to stumble to the finish and not win the race (if the caution flag hadn't come out)."
Earnhardt Jr. stalled just past the checkered flag and needed a push to get to Victory Lane.
Kyle Busch will take a 32-point lead over Jeff Burton and an 84-point lead over Earnhardt Jr. to the next race - scheduled for Sunday, June 22nd at the Infineon Raceway.
Tracking the Trucks: Cool City Customs 200
Beth Lunkenheimer
In a Nutshell: Erik Darnell took the checkered flag 0.005 seconds ahead of Johnny Benson to win the Cool City Customs 200 Saturday afternoon. Darnell survived a late race restart and a photo finish with Benson to score his first win since Kansas last April. Scott Speed narrowly beat Todd Bodine to finish third; Brendan Gaughan rounded out the Top 5.
Who Should Have Won: Todd Bodine. Bodine ran second in the first practice and led the final practice before qualifying third in his No. 30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota Tundra. Early in the race, Bodine was in place to become the beneficiary of contact between Mike Skinner and Jack Sprague and went on to lead 39 of the 100 laps run; Bodine finished fourth.
Questions You Should Be Asking After the Race:
1. Why didn’t NASCAR throw the caution on the last lap?
On the last lap, Kyle Busch and Ron Hornaday, Jr. made contact, and the driver of the No. 33 Chevrolet went spinning while Busch drove on to a seventh place finish. Though Hornaday, Jr. spun a second time, NASCAR still opted not to throw the caution flag.
While there’s some dignity in giving the fans a green flag finish, the dangers on the track outweigh a green flag finish any day. The first spin was understandable; Ron Hornaday, Jr. was able to right his truck only to find himself spinning again. Once the second spin happened, there was no reason for NASCAR not to throw the yellow.
It’s certainly possible Erik Darnell let off of the gas and helped to create the photo finish because his spotter told him Ron Hornaday, Jr. had spun. Had the incident occurred at any other time in the race, NASCAR most likely would have thrown the caution flag. The powers that be at NASCAR messed this one up, but don’t expect any kind of explanation for their actions.
2. Should Ron Hornaday, Jr. be upset with Kyle Busch?
On the last lap of the Cool City Customs 200, Kyle Busch drove up into the No. 33 of Ron Hornaday, Jr. and sent him spinning. Following the checkered flag, Ron Hornaday, Jr. and owner Kevin Harvick looked for Kyle Busch in the garage where there was some yelling and finger pointing. Hornaday, Jr. tried to explain what had happened on the track and in the garage.
“He just drove into me because he got mad because I took us four wide and passed him cleanly,” Hornaday said. “Halfway through the race, he showed me he was upset because he lifted the back of the truck up. If he is going to race that way, that is pretty chicken. He doesn’t deserve to be a racer.”
Clearly, Ron Hornaday, Jr. had every right to be upset with Kyle Busch. The driver of the No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet held his line while the Kyle Busch drove his No. 51 up the track and right in Hornaday, Jr. When asked about the incident prior to the Nationwide race in Kentucky, Busch shrugged it off but not before he got in a little name-calling.
“I just got into him. Sorry about that,” Busch said before Saturday night’s Nationwide Series race at Kentucky Speedway. “But remarks from Harvick and Hornaday are what they’re going to be. They’re big mouths anyway and so we’ll take it and get on with it and hopefully beat them out for this championship.”
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—replaced by Scott Speed at Kansas)
Brian Scott (No. 16)
No. of Rookies in the Race: 6
No. of Rookies to Finish in the Top 10: 2; Scott Speed, finished third and Colin Braun, finished 6th
Rookie Of The Race: Scott Speed
Worth Noting / Points Shuffle:
Erik Darnell’s margin of victory, 0.005 seconds, was the closest finish since electronic scoring has been used and the second closest in series history. Butch Miller edged Mike Skinner by 0.001 seconds at Colorado National Speedway in July, 1995.
For the first time in his Craftsman Truck Series career, Johnny Benson sits atop the points standings. Todd Bodine moved up two spots and sits just 15 points behind Benson in second. Ron Hornaday, Jr. and Matt Crafton each dropped two spots to third and fourth respectively. Rick Crawford moved up one spot to round out the Top 5.
Mike Skinner moved up one spot to sixth and sits just 73 points behind leader Johnny Benson. Chad McCumbee also moved up one spot to seventh. Jack Sprague, who had problems after contact with Mike Skinner on the first lap, dropped three spots to eighth. Terry Cook remains in ninth, and Erik Darnell moved up two spots to 10th, only 152 points out of the lead.
Quotable:
“That’s what truck racing is all about. We’ve had some strong runs this year, but we couldn’t pull it off. I just hope this helps us get our season turned around. I think the finish was a little more exciting than I wanted it to be.” Erik Darnell
“Just look at the TV there. That just hurts, bad. I could say that’s probably the first time I’ve been on the losing end of something like that. I don’t know what I’d do if I had to do it again.” Johnny Benson
Up Next:
The Craftsman Truck Series heads the Milwaukee Mile for the Camping World RV Sales 200 Friday night. Last season, Johnny Benson won this race after leading 96 laps; the win was his first of four in 2007. Coverage begins at 8:30 pm EST on SPEED; the race can also be heard on your local MRN affiliate.
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Nationwide Series Breakdown: Meijer 300
Bryan Davis Keith
In a Nutshell: Joe Gibbs Racing scored its tenth win in 16 Nationwide Series races on Saturday night, and this time added a fourth winning driver to its roster. Joey Logano, after scoring his second consecutive pole award, scored his first career Nationwide Series win in convincing fashion, leading five times for 76 laps including the final 54. Logano took the lead for the final time on Lap 147 when he passed teammate Kyle Busch. Busch, who started at the rear of the field after missing qualifying due to running the Truck race at Michigan, rocketed to the front of the field and led 85 laps before wrecking himself late in the running in a single car incident.
The win marked the seventh of the season for the No. 20 team and crew chief Dave Rogers. When asked about the talent of his new protege, Rogers said of Logano’s talent “Three starts, two poles, one win. He’s okay.”
Scott Wimmer, Mike Wallace, Brad Keselowski and David Ragan rounded out the Top 5. Clint Bowyer scored a ninth place finish and maintained his lead in the Nationwide Series points standings. When interviewed after his accident, Kyle Busch announced that he would not attempt the Nationwide Series race at Milwaukee, abandoning his pursuit of the Nationwide Series title.
Who Should Have Won: Joey Logano Kyle Busch certainly had a dominant car with the No. 18 on Saturday night, and in clean air he was difficult to pass for anyone. Logano, blasted by Busch and drove away from him and the rest of the field. Everyone who follows the Nationwide Series knew that Logano’s first win was a matter of when, not if, and his performance at Kentucky spoke volumes as to the talent of this 18 year old. Watch out NASCAR, this kid is for real.
Worth Noting:
It was very very cool to see an STP car back on the track this weekend. And, considering how many drivers have done nothing but whine and complain about their lives as racers recently, it was also very refreshing to see Marcos Ambrose wheel his STP Ford to an impressive, and season-best, sixth place finish. Ambrose qualified third and ran with the leaders all night, but most importantly was genuinely excited to be out there in the famous Petty Blue and Red colors. To see Ambrose not only run well, but take pride in being in NASCAR and being able to drive a famous paint scheme was a great counter-example to so many marquee drivers of late. A well-deserved pat on the back goes to the No. 59 team for working as hard as they are to have fun and turn their season around.
Bryan Clauson is living, walking proof of the old adage that consistent seat-time is the key to improved performance. Clauson’s season started with a bang as he finished sixth at Daytona, but his results quickly tapered as he was forced to share time with Dario Franchitti and Kyle Krisiloff. Clauson, however, has gotten more seat time of late thanks to Franchitti’s injury and Krisiloff’s latest failures, and Saturday night his improvement showed vividly. Clauson scored his first career Top 5 after a strong run, also the first Top 5 finish of the season for Ganassi Racing’s No. 40 team. Clauson, who will be in the No. 40 car at Milwaukee, has come a long way as Ganassi’s primary Nationwide Series driver. Here’s hoping he doesn’t get lost in the shuffle when Franchitti returns to run Cup companion races.
Jason Keller had his pit crew and 70,000 fans at Kentucky on their feet when on Lap 18 he passed Joey Logano under green for the lead. For Keller, who led 22 laps and finished tenth on Saturday, the race marked just how far his CJM Racing team has come since last year. Keller, who joined the No. 11 team when it was an unsponsored, part-time effort, has since led the team into the Top-15 in the series standings, with a full-time sponsor and, as he showed on Saturday, competitive race cars. Seeing the No. 11 pit crew high-fiving on pit road when Keller took the lead was one of the coolest moments of the race.
Better Luck Next Time:
Chase Miller did exactly what a development driver shouldn’t do on Saturday afternoon, he wrecked his primary car. But, even worse, Miller wrecked his back-up car only 11 laps into the race. Miller’s struggles at Kentucky Speedway were surprising, given that the Gillett-Evernham Motorsports team is well-known for their intermediate track prowess. Miller, a former ARCA Re/Max standout, has had strong runs in the No. 9 throughout the season and should be in the car for Milwaukee. He will be eager to show that his performance at Kentucky was the exception rather than the norm.
Kenny Wallace’s night ended before it began on Saturday, as his No. 28 car failed to complete even one lap before heading behind the wall because of mechanical issues. Wallace, driving for an extremely underfunded team in Jay Robinson Racing, managed to get on track later in the race, finishing 56 laps down in the 29th position. The signing of Kenny Wallace has resulted in much-improved performance from the No. 28 car, but for this improvement to continue Wallace has got to be able to start races knowing the car will fire.
Underdog Performer of the Race:
While he certainly wasn’t driving for an underdog race team, Jeremy Clements deserves a shout-out for a job well done in his first Nationwide Series effort of the season. Clements, who has performed exceptionally well in a limited ARCA Re/Max campaign over the last few seasons, has been unable to find a NASCAR ride because of a lack of sponsorship. This weekend, however, Joe Gibbs Racing signed Clements to practice and qualify Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Toyota, and Clements performed admirably. After posting the second fastest lap in practice, Clements qualified the No. 18 in the seventh position, locking the part-time team into the race. Busch’s car was a rocket ship in race trim, proof positive Clements did his job in setting the car up. Hey JGR, now that Busch isn’t going for the Nationwide title, how about giving Jeremy Clements a well-deserved race or two?
Quotables:
“This team is amazing. I can’t thank GameStop and Toyota enough. It’s just amazing. We unloaded not where we wanted to, but no one gave up. This team worked really hard and got the win out of this thing. It’s pretty awesome to get my first win.” – Joey Logano on his first of what will be many Nationwide Series wins
“That’s it. I’m done.” – Kyle Busch, after a self-induced crash, announces that he will skip next weekend’s Nationwide Series race at Milwaukee
“It was a rough night. We battled motor stuff all day long. And having to make up for that so much through the corner that you can’t and then your car gets way off and the chassis gets way off. We’re trying to correct something we can’t fix because we don’t build them.” – Bobby Hamilton Jr. on his team’s struggles at Kentucky
Up Next: The Nationwide Series next heads to Milwaukee for the Camping World RV Rental 250 this Saturday night. Coverage from the Milwaukee Mile begins at 8 PM on ESPN2 and 830 PM on MRN.
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Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud: LifeLock 400
Matt McLaughlin
The Key Moment: Patrick Carpentier’s last lap spin and the resultant caution sealed the win for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and the No. 88 bunch.
In a Nutshell: His fans might have preferred Junior barreling around the Nos. 18 and 48 on the outside — drag racing to the finish line with tires smoking and paint being swapped — but after 76 long races, Junior and his fans will take a win anyway they can get one.
Dramatic Moment: Waiting to see if the No. 88 car could complete that final lap, even under caution as it ran on fumes.
What They’ll Be Talking About Around the Water Cooler This Week
On a weekend that featured closed door machinations and serious bias allegations, can even a win by the sport’s most popular driver restore order to the universe?
What’s the typical penalty for passing the pace car under caution?
Mike Helton called a closed door meeting Friday to tell drivers and team owners it was time to shut up and race. Their complaints about the new car and the quality of racing lately might be affecting ticket sales. Here’s what I find curious: most fans have already figured out that both the new car and the racing lately sucks based on what they’ve observed, not on what Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (or Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart or Kyle Busch or Carl Edwards) had to say on the matter. I mean, for any fan who watched the tedium at Dover a couple weeks back to its conclusion, it was fairly obvious it wasn’t a very good race. NASCAR’s contention seems to be that the new car is a work in progress, it is not fatally flawed, and eventually we’ll see some good racing again. I guess meanwhile they’ll start charging half price for tickets to races, seeing as how fans are watching a developmental series and not top-notch automobile racing. NASCAR is sick of the complaints? Hey, for 225 million, I’ll shut up and go away too. Until then, they’re fair game.
Yeah, it would be easy to point out the huge tracts of empty seats at Michigan, but given the obscene price of gas and the horrific condition of the Michigan economy, one is amazed anyone at all showed up. Here’s to the ninety thousand some odd fans who made the trip.
In an ironic twist, on the same weekend they were called on the carpet and told to always look on the bright side of life, several drivers seemed to be damning the current state of affairs in Cup racing with faint praise. Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards pretty much admitted that while they enjoy winning races, winning is secondary to making sure that they are in the Chase come September. What that amounts to is an admission that none of the races this summer really matter to drivers who are currently in the Top 12, and they’re willing to stroke to be sure that they don’t lose hold on one of those twelve spots by throwing caution to the wind and gunning for a race win. So to sum up, NASCAR faces two major hurdles in making races more exciting; the new car and the new points system, both of which can be classified as self-inflicted injuries with Brian France’s fingerprints all over them.
OK, it’s no longer bashing. What in heck is wrong with the No. 24 team and its driver?
Seriously, I was going to give NASCAR the benefit of the doubt on this whole sexual-racial discrimination lawsuit filed by a former Nationwide Series race official. Anytime somebody drags lawyers into a situation and starts asking for hundreds of millions of dollars, it raises red flags in my mind. But then I watched Brian France’s news conference and I changed my mind. Grant is telling the truth. Write her a big check and make this go away. What she alleges happened happened. It seems Brian France can’t open his mouth without lying, and unfortunately for him, he’s the worst liar since Richard Nixon. That “deer in the headlights of an oncoming semi” look on his face when he knows he’s lying has got to be the most awkward thing I’ve watched since Mary Tyler Moore’s performance at Chuckle the Clown’s funeral. As a side note, France says his email address is readily available to all of his employees and they can contact him at any time. I’d sure like him to publish that email address, because I know a lot of fans would like a chance to pass along their thoughts to Brian these days.
Add Kevin Harvick and Ron Hornaday to the rapidly expanding Kyle Busch non-fan club. Hornaday hinted he was so upset with the younger Busch brother, he might throw away a chance at a championship to teach Busch a lesson. As my niece might say, “Dude, that’s just harsh.”
Saturday racing phenom Joey Logano won the Nationwide series race from the pole, proving all the accolades claiming that he’s the next big thing might just be true. By winning the race, Logano became the youngest winner ever in NASCAR’s AAA series. But on a cautionary note, the previous youngest winner in the Saturday series was Casey Atwood, who was once “the next big thing” himself. The fact a lot of you are asking yourselves “Casey Who?” should serve as a warning to Logano and other young developmental drivers. Play the cards you’re dealt carefully, or risk going from shooting star to asterisk. Cue up the Bad Company. (Yeah, yeah, kids, ‘Who?‘”)
The Hindenburg Award For Foul Fortune
Matt Kenseth saw his chances at a win evaporate when a portly NASCAR official got in the way of the No. 17 car as it tried to exit the pits. You know, maybe it’s not just the drivers who need a more regimented fitness routine?
Robby Gordon took the hardest hit of the day off the bumper of David Ragan’s Ford.
Ryan Newman’s blown engine left him 42nd in the final rundown.
Jeff Gordon’s penalty for speeding on pit road just put the icing on the cake of a disastrous afternoon.
Greg Biffle watched his pit crew throw another good finish away.
The “Seven Come Fore Eleven” Award For Fine Fortune
Earnhardt had just enough fuel to coast over the start finish line.
He won’t generate the headlines that Kyle Busch or the Junior get, but Brian Vickers posted his second consecutive Top 5 finish. Last year, he struggled just to qualify for two consecutive races.
Jimmie Johnson thought he had a gearbox blowing up, but it held together well enough to power the No. 48 car to a sixth place finish.
Worth Noting
* The Top 10 finishers at Michigan drove two Chevys, four Fords, two Dodges, and a pair of Toyotas. It was the third time this season all four brands had a car finish in the top four. (The other events were Texas and Charlotte)
* Sam Hornish in 22nd was the top finishing rookie of the race, just one position ahead of fellow ROTY candidate Patrick Carpentier.
* The “glass half empty” types will note this win was the first points paying victory for Earnhardt in over two years. The “glass half full” types will note Earnhardt has Top 10 finishes in eleven of sixteen races this year and is averaging better than an eleventh place finish in those sixteen races.
* Kasey Kahne (second) has put together back-to-back Top 5 finishes for the first time this season. The last time Kahne scored back-to-back Top 5s was at Talladega and Charlotte in the Fall of 2006.
* Matt Kenseth (third) posted his best finish of 2008 and his fifth consecutive Top 10 finish.
* Brian Vickers (fourth) scored back-to-back Top 5 finishes for the first time in his Cup career.
* Tony Stewart (fifth) managed his first Top 5 finish since Richmond.
* Jimmie Johnson (sixth) scored his third consecutive Top 10 finish.
* Carl Edwards (seventh) posted his sixth consecutive Top 10 finish. I don’t know, must have been the koises.
* Elliott Sadler (ninth) scored his first Top 10 finish since Charlotte and just his second since the Daytona 500.
* Paul Menard (eleventh) earned his best finish since Atlanta in the spring of 2006.
* Ready to play Jeopardy? Kevin Harvick for $100. Who hasn’t managed a Top 10 finish in the last five races, Alex?
* Jeff Burton (fifteenth) endured his worst finish of the 2008 Cup season.
What’s the Points?
Kyle Busch remains atop the points table and opened his lead over second place Jeff Burton to 32 points. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. remains third, but closed the gap to Busch down to 84 points. Carl Edwards remains fourth in the standings.
Kasey Kahne continued his climb up the ladder, advancing two more spots to seventh. He’s the only Dodge pilot currently in the Top 12. Jimmie Johnson advanced a spot to fifth, while Tony Stewart also moved up one position to 11th.
Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon and Greg Biffle all lost a spot in the standings Sunday. They are currently sixth, eighth and ninth, respectively. Clint Bowyer also fell a spot to 12th in points, just ten ahead of David Ragan in 13th and fourteen points ahead of Matt Kenseth in 14th.
The fortunes of Penske Racing were mixed. Ryan Newman fell three spots to 17th in the standings, a daunting 173 points out of twelfth; but Kurt Busch continues his Quixotic quest to make the chase, rising two spots in the standings to 19th.
Overall Rating (On a scale of one to six beer cans, with one being a stinker and a six pack an instant classic) – Truth be told, it wasn’t a very good race, but the result ensures it will be a very popular one. We’ll give it two cold cans of Bud, then step back and allow the Green Nation to celebrate all week long.
Next Up: The Cup series heads off to Granola-ville, California, the land of fruits, flakes, and nuts. Enjoy it, loyal readers. My distaste for taxi cab racing on road courses has risen to such a level that I’ve decided to take the weekend off to do two local car shows debuting the Bandit car. See you in two weeks for… New Hampshire? Color me thrilled… with a big damned gold screaming chicken on the hood. (Oh, and my nephew Shane is going to be fine. Thanks for your prayers and well wishes).
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