Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud: Kobalt Tools 500 Edition
The Key Moment: As Carl Edwards coasted to the pits with his car spewing smoke, Kyle Busch reasserted himself as the leader in a race he’d dominated. Greg Biffle gave it a shot, but there was no catching the No. 18 car on this day.
In a Nutshell: It’s kind of sad when folks are going to remember more about what the second place finisher said after the race than the race itself.
Dramatic Moment: Edwards and Busch put on an intense — if brief — race on the restart after the seventh caution flag.
What They’ll Be Talking About Around the Water Cooler This Week
How will Toyota’s winning a Cup race have an effect on interest in the Cup series, a-hem, going forward? My guess is that ratings will spike briefly, as we now have a legitimate fight between the good guys (The Big Three) and the Bad Guys (Toyota). But long-term, I think Toyota beginning to dominate an American stock car racing series is going to start eroding the fan base. I never said a Toyota winning would be the end of the world — just the end of some folks’ interest in the sport.
Will there ever come a day when NASCAR officials think enough of the value of integrity in our sport that they’ll actually take away a win from a driver whose car is found illegal in post-race inspection? This whole song and dance about not wanting to surprise fans who thought they saw some driver win on Sunday is getting old. We’re all Big Boys and Girls; we’ve seen the results of Olympic events and bicycle races changed hours, days, and even months after the event. Whoever coined the term “Cheaters never win” apparently didn’t watch stock car racing.
Was Tony Stewart blocking for teammate Kyle Busch in the waning stages of the race to ensure a Toyota win? A Joe Gibbs win, perhaps… but not Toyota. As it is, I think Stewart is just riding out his contract with JGR; he sure doesn’t mention what sort of car he drives in many interviews.
What was the deal with Dale Jarrett blocking Kyle Busch there on the final lap of the race? Had Busch wrecked trying to get around Jarrett on that final lap, they’d have been falling on their swords in the boardroom back in Tokyo.
When Carl Edwards suggested everybody head back to Vegas Monday to restage the race, do you think the exhausted rig drivers began planning a blanket party for him?
Four races into the season, it’s hard to justify talk of a “Hendrick Slump” but the fact remains that Ford, Dodge, and Toyota have all won points races this season, while Chevy has not. If this keeps up, they’ll have to change the new slogan to “Built to finish last, built to lose.”
What is the deal with all the empty seats at Atlanta? Atlanta seldom sells out, but Sunday’s crowd looked particularly sparse. Today’s race isn’t going to help sell many tickets to future events, either.
What is it with Junior on restarts? He looks like he’s dragging an anchor.
Does it seem that Ryan Newman and Juan Pablo Montoya have had more than their fair share of run-ins together on the track?
Tony Stewart was none too happy after the Goodyear tire problems that plagued Atlanta Motor Speedway over the weekend.
Is Goodyear ever going to bring a tire the drivers are happy with to the track again? Tony Stewart surely doesn’t seem to think so. Given his physique as of late, you might call this feud “the Battle of the Blimps.”
Resolved: This whole Daylight Savings Time nonsense is a pain in the neck, but it sure is good to see a race start in the early afternoon again.
Resolved: In car camera shots should be used to show the on-track action, not to show who wrote FOX the big sponsorship checks.
The Hindenburg Award For Foul Fortune
Carl Edwards was leading and pulling away when his chances at the win went up in smoke, thus ending his shot at scoring a third consecutive win. The mechanical issue dropped Edwards to a 42nd place finish.
Elliott Sadler hit everything but the lottery Sunday afternoon. His spins were responsible for three of the day’s caution flags, and Sadler sounded relieved when he finally managed to finish off his ill-handling Dodge during the third wreck.
Ryan Newman was running fifth when a fender rubbing a tire — caused by an old friend, Montoya — forced him to the pits and off the lead lap. He finished 14th.
The Wood Brothers and Bill Elliott failed to qualify for another race when Dale Jarrett needed the previous champion’s provisional. The No. 21 car has now failed to make three of four races this season.
For a second straight week, Jimmie Johnson and team appeared to have shown up poorly prepared for a race. It’s not often you’ll see Johnson getting lapped in an undamaged car; but the No. 48 needed the help of not one, but two Lucky Dogs before finishing as the last car on the lead lap in 13th.
Jacques Villenueve will have a buddy to help with yard work next weekend. A.J. Allmendinger was “temporarily” relieved of his ride in the No. 84 this week; substitute Mike Skinner brought the car home 27th.
The “Seven Come Fore Eleven” Award For Fine Fortune
Kyle Busch and the No. 18 team seemed to have thrown away a win when he didn’t stop during the sixth caution period. Cars on four fresh tires quickly dispatched Busch, but a quick caution allowed him to get fresh rubber and fix a possible mistake. Busch also survived a pit road bumping incident with the No. 88 and numerous close calls to score his win. Combined with his Truck Series victory on Friday and a dominant performance in Saturday’s Nationwide race, it was a pretty decent weekend for the young man.
Matt Kenseth had to start out back after an unapproved transmission change prior to the race. He went a lap down early, but managed to get back on the lead lap and drive to a Top 10 finish (8th). Combined with his win Saturday, it was also a pretty good weekend for Kenseth.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. had an eventful day on pit road. Tony Stewart ran into the back of the No. 88, putting Earnhardt sideways into his pit. Then, Kyle Busch and Earnhardt rubbed fenders battling off pit road, and it’s amazing the No. 88’s front fender wasn’t knocked into the tire. At another point in the event, Junior was ready to pit thinking he had a flat tire, but was eventually saved by the yellow flag. Considering all that, a third place finish was a pretty decent result.
A year ago, Brian Vickers was struggling to qualify for races. This year, he’s finished twelfth or better in three of four Cup points races run to date.
It looks like the majority of the Cup team’s bodymen have a light work week ahead of them, unusual after Atlanta. Those guys ought to be hard at work after Bristol, though…
Worth Noting
* Six drivers: Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Tony Stewart have three Top 10 finishes in this year’s four races. Busch is the only driver with Top 5 finishes in three of those four races.
* The Top 10 finishers drove three Toyotas, five Chevys, and two Fords. Kurt Busch in eleventh was the best finishing Dodge driver.
* Sam Hornish, Jr.’s 25th place finish was the best by a rookie.
* Clint Bowyer scored his first Top 10 finish since Atlanta last fall.
* Brian Vickers (9th) drove to his best finish since Fontana last September.
* Drivers still looking for their first Top 5 result in 2008 include Denny Hamlin, Mark Martin, Kasey Kahne, Martin Truex, Jr., Clint Bowyer, Bobby Labonte, and Elliott Sadler.
What’s the Points?
Kyle Busch retook the points lead from Carl Edwards midweek when the No. 99 team’s penalties were announced. He opened that lead up to 73 points over Greg Biffle, who moved up four spots to second in the standings.
Brian Vickers and Matt Kenseth both advanced four spots in the points to ninth and 12th, respectively. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Tony Stewart each advanced three spots to eighth and ninth, while Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton ahead of them moved up one spot to third and fifth.
On the down side, Carl Edwards tumbled ten spots to 17th after his mechanical problem. Kasey Kahne fell three spots to sixth, while Martin Truex also fell three spots to 11th. Ryan Newman dropped a spot to fourth.
OK, I get it with the penalty and all, but how is it a driver who has won two of four races this season is 17th in the standings and Kevin Harvick, who is third in the points, has just one Top 5 result in those four events? In most racing series, a win counts for a lot more than it does in NASCAR.
If the Chase were to start next week (which I am reasonably certain it will not), among the big name drivers currently outside the Top 12 in points are Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer, and Carl Edwards.
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 it two cans of rice beer. There was damn little passing, not much action, and a runaway victory unlike the Atlanta of old. The CoT flunked its first test on the high banked superspeedways.
Next Up: It’s off to Thunder Valley of Bristol, TN, for the first short track race of the season.
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Nationwide Series Breakdown: Nicorette 300
In a Nutshell: Until Kyle Busch blew a right front tire with less than 30 laps to go, Matt Kenseth and the rest of the Nationwide Series field were racing for second place behind Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 Chevrolet. But Busch, who led over 150 laps, suffered his second tire failure in as many weeks — setting the stage for a late race shootout among several other Cup drivers moonlighting in the series. In the end, Kenseth was able to hold off a hard-charging Kevin Harvick through a green/white/checker finish at Atlanta to score his 24th career Nationwide Series win.
“Most of the day, it was a little struggle,” said Kenseth of his winning car. “We were a little bit off, and struggled with it a little bit yesterday. Today, we had to make a lot of changes and Drew made some good changes overnight, and made [the car] drive a lot better than what it was driving yesterday. We still could have been better, but it was good enough to get up through there.”
Harvick settled for a runner-up finish in his self-owned No. 33. Harvick was running down Kenseth in the final laps, but a late-race caution for debris derailed his charge to the lead.
“I think we were better than the No. 17,” Harvick said, “but he was better than we were for a couple of laps.”
Behind the top two, Nationwide Series regulars scored three finishes in the Top 10 for the second consecutive week. But it wasn’t enough for them to overcome the Cup onslaught, as Harvick unofficially took the Nationwide Series points lead. Fellow Sprint Cup veteran Carl Edwards is second in the standings, but first among those drivers intending to run for the Nationwide Series championship this season.
Who Should Have Won: Kyle Busch. Joe Gibbs’ No. 20 car has been on a rail since the Nationwide Series season began, and Kyle Busch’s performance was more of the same. Nobody in the field could touch the 22-year-old, who led 153 of the race’s first 170 laps. It took a broken shock mount on Lap 171 to derail Busch’s trip to Victory Lane; that caused Busch to lose control and send his dominant Camry into the Turn 1 wall.
“Obviously, we had the dominant car,” said Busch. “Farm Bureau Insurance and Toyota should be real proud. These guys on the No. 20 team have had four winning cars this year, but only have two trophies to show for it. I’m just sorry about the fact that we blew another right front tire.”
Worth Noting:
Brad Keselowski has had the No. 88 at the front of the field all season, and finally scored a Top 10 to show for it. Keselowski ran with the leaders all day at Atlanta and matched his career-best finish, bringing the car home sixth. In the process, he became the best finishing Nationwide Series regular.
Mike Bliss was another Nationwide Series regular who had a strong showing, scoring a convincing seventh place finish. The finish was Bliss’ first Top-10 of the year, and propelled his No. 22 into eighth in the Nationwide Series standings. Bliss is currently first in points among Nationwide Series regulars.
Jason Keller and his underdog CJM Racing team came into the weekend “motivated because they had paint on the car” (they were sponsored this week by America’s Incredible Pizza) and scored a lead lap finish of 14th. Since a crash at Daytona not of their making, Keller and his No. 11 team have scored three consecutive Top 20 finishes… potential sponsors out there, take note!
Better Luck Next Time:
Kyle Busch. Despite his mishap, Busch remained third in the season standings, trailing only Harvick and Edwards heading to Bristol.
Chip Ganassi Racing saw both of its teams struggle at Atlanta. Dario Franchitti spun early in the No. 40 and finished a distant 28th, five laps down. Meanwhile, the No. 41 team’s painful season continued. Since Bryan Clauson’s sixth place run at Daytona, Clauson has been caught in two accidents caused by other drivers, while Kyle Krisiloff also destroyed one of the team’s cars at Las Vegas. Saturday, Clauson was running midpack at Atlanta before backmarker Eric McClure spun in front of him, destroying his Dodge and leaving the team with a disappointing 29th place finish.
Underdog Performer of the Race:
Jason Keller. The series veteran is now 17th in the standings following his latest strong run.
“Nation Whacker” Watch
15 of 43 starting positions in the Nicorette 300 went to Sprint Cup regulars.
58 of the 172 starting positions in the Nationwide Series have gone to Sprint Cup regulars this season.
7 Sprint Cup drivers finished in the Top 10 of the Nicorette 300.
4 of 4 Nationwide Series races have been won by Sprint Cup regulars.
7 of the Top 10 drivers in Nationwide Series points are Sprint Cup regulars.
Quotables:
“Well, were out of the bad points (Top 30 Owner Points) deal. Today was about walking into this race where we are secure in the points going into Bristol, because it it’s a bit of a lottery. Now, we’re fairly safe in points, and we’ll be going there knowing after the fifth race we’re in the Top 30, which means a lot when you get rainouts and such.” – Marcos Ambrose after an 11th place finish, his best run of the season
“My teammate spun out in front of me. I got into him. There was nothing I could do. He went low, I went high. He came back high, I went low, and we were in a wreck. It was a bit of an interesting day. After that, we were just trying to survive, and we survived to a 31st-place finish, which isn’t great; but for how bad the car is, it’s really not that bad.” – Brian Keselowski
Next Up: The Nationwide Series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for the Sharpie Mini 300. Coverage at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile” begins Saturday at 2:00 PM on ABC and 2:30 PM on PRN.
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Tracking the Trucks : American Commercial Lines 200
In a Nutshell: Kyle Busch took the checkered flag 1.116 seconds ahead of Ron Hornaday, Jr. Friday night in Atlanta to win the American Commercial Lines 200. Busch restarted in the lead with just four laps remaining after a short rain delay and promptly ran away from the field, scoring his second consecutive win in the Truck Series. Mike Skinner, Matt Crafton and Chad McCumbee rounded out the Top 5 finishers.
Who Should Have Won: Ron Hornaday, Jr. The defending Truck Series champion started from the pole Friday night and led 81 of 130 laps. The series veteran clearly had the fastest truck on the track most of the night; however, rain at the wrong times hampered his run for the win.
After pitting with just 16 laps remaining after the caution flew for precipitation, the driver of the No. 33 Camping World Chevy found himself stuck in traffic that allowed Kyle Busch to not only pass him, but take a nearly two second lead. A four lap sprint to the finish then turned out to be too much for Hornaday, Jr., whose Truck was best on long runs.
Questions You Should Be Asking After the Race:
1. Can anyone stop Kyle Busch?
Busch has come out of the gate this season strong. With two wins and a second place finish in the first three races, it’s hard not to notice the 22-year-old’s success in the series. But can anyone stop his early domination?
It’s apparent Busch is a great driver, especially when he can race four wide on the apron and still hold onto his truck (as he did en route to charging through the pack). Ron Hornaday, Jr. nearly had something for Busch this time around, but he just couldn’t quite get it done. Since Busch plans to run the majority of the Truck Series races this season, get used to seeing him in Victory Lane — because that’s not going to change. One good thing does come out of Busch running all over the field, though: he donates all of his winnings to team owner Billy Ballew, which helps the two Truck operation stay in business.
2. Is the Truck Series in trouble?
With the exception of the season opener at Daytona International Speedway, the Craftsman Truck Series has seen dwindling numbers each week on their entry list. Only 35 teams and drivers were on hand for the San Bernardino County 200, and just 33 were on the entry list for Atlanta until the No. 29 Dodge of Scott Lynch withdrew — amidst rumors his full-time team has closed shop for good. Is this a signal of major trouble brewing in the series?
It’s too early to say the shrinking fields are a huge problem … yet. But in a series that produces some of the best racing on the track, the big problem is getting low-budget teams to come to the races. The closing of teams such as Lynch’s No. 29 could be cause for concern moving forward; teams like the No. 31 of Brevak Racing and the No. 63 of MB Motorsports have been missing from racing action since Daytona. I’m confident that once we get to traditionally high entry list tracks such as Martinsville, some of the low-budget teams should show up and there will be nothing to worry about; but the trend of low numbers on the entry list each week is definitely something to keep an eye on.
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: 7
No. of Rookies to Finish in the Top 10: 0
Rookie Of The Race: Justin Marks, finished 14th
Worth Noting / Points Shuffle:
Kyle Busch continues to have a perfect record at Atlanta Motor Speedway, having won the three races he has entered there in a Truck.
Former F-1 driver Scott Speed finished three laps down in 27th in his first ever Truck Series race. Look for him to return to the No. 46 truck again in a few weeks at Martinsville.
In the point standings, Kyle Busch remains the championship leader by 72 over Todd Bodine. Ron Hornaday, Jr. jumped six spots up to third, while Chad McCumbee jumped three spots to fourth. Johnny Benson rounded out the Top 5 finishers.
Rick Crawford dropped one position to sixth, while Mike Skinner jumped nine spots to seventh. David Starr dropped four spots to eighth, while Dennis Setzer and rookie Phillip McGilton rounded out the Top 10.
Quotable:
“That baby was evil-loose — it was all over the place. But we got it handling really well on that last pit stop, and from that point on, it was a rocket ship.” Kyle Busch
“I’ll tell you in one word, ‘Second stinks.’ I don’t know how he [Busch] can drive that thing that far out of control. I knew if we had a short run, he was going to get me. But we’ll take second. It was a good points day, but it’s a shame — this thing was fast.” Ron Hornaday, Jr.
Up Next:
The Craftsman Truck Series takes two weeks off before heading to the short track of Martinsville, Virginia on Saturday, March 29th. Mike Skinner swept both races at the track in 2007. Coverage of the event begins at 3:00 PM EST on SPEED, and the race can also be heard on your local MRN affiliate.
frontstretch.com
Stewart leads criticism of Goodyear tire choice
Hampton, GA (Sports Network) - NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Tony Stewart's post- race interview was a tirade against Goodyear tires. He was not alone in his criticism of the choice of tires for Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500.
"That's the worse tire I've been on in my life in any professional form of racing," said Stewart, who finished second. "Look at when they exited Formula One and the IRL and CART and World of Outlaws, USAC, you name it, because they can't compete, they can't keep up, they don't have the technology and they don't have the people smart enough to build a tire. This was pathetic today."
Stewart wasn't a "lone wolf" in this area.
"Goodyear doesn't like to hear drivers bash them and I don't like to do it," said Dale Earnhardt Jr. "But I am not going to just sit here and take this.
"The tire we used to run here ran into the cords, but you could still run on it. With these tires, I could still see the center mold line on my tire after 30 laps. There has to be several steps between that."
Teams tested for two days last October at Atlanta, but then Goodyear brought a different right-side tire for Sunday's race, making everything learned during the test useless.
"No amount of time would have prepared us for that," Earnhardt Jr. added.
Four-time series champion Jeff Gordon put it in even simpler terms - "This car, this tire, at this racetrack was just terrible."
Even the race winner, who obviously adapted better than anyone else, didn't have anything good to say about the tires.
"It feels like you're driving on ice," Busch said. "That's the worst I've ever felt in a race car. You're on such an edge."
"I am pleading with Goodyear to do something about this," Stewart said. "Take some of the money they give NASCAR and put it into a research and development program. Do something...They have been in the sport a long time. They need to figure it out."
RacingOne Rewind: Atlanta
RacingOne.com
A look back at Kyle Busch's historic fifth career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win in Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, including news, notes and observations from the RacingOne staff
Inside Line
Busch cruised to Toyota's historic first Cup victory and led Joe Gibbs racing to a 1-2 finish.
Key to Victory Lane
After bouncing off the wall in the early going, Busch was able to reel his Camry back in and drove to the front in dominating fashion.
Zero to Hero
Tony Stewart came from the 32nd position, racing on what he called "bad" quality Goodyear tires, to finish second in the Home Depot Toyota.
Hero to Zero
Carl Edwards looked like he was on his way to a third straight Cup Series win until a blown engine knocked him out on lap 274.
Rookie of the Race
Another tough outing for the rookie class with Sam Hornish Jr.'s 25th-place finish the best of the bunch.
Notables
Stewart charged from the 32nd starting spot to a runner-up finish. Matt Kenseth started from the rear after a mechanical change and came home eighth. Brian Vickers began the day 35th, but he brought the Team Red Bull Toyota home in ninth place.
Kobalt Tools 500 Loop Data Leaders
# Average Running Position: Kyle Busch - 1.7
# Fastest Early In a Run: Kyle Busch - 175.337 mph
# Fastest Late In a Run: Clint Bowyer - 166.310 mph
# Fastest Laps Run: Carl Edwards - 66
# Fastest on Restarts: Kyle Busch - 177.311 mph
# Most Passes During Green Flag Conditions: Kurt Busch - 75
Pit Stops
# Kyle Busch captured his fifthth career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win in his 118th start. Detailed Active Driver Wins
# Busch won the 59th race for car owner Joe Gibbs. Detailed Active Car Owner Wins
# Busch became the fourth driver to win at Atlanta from the sixth position. He also became the 90th driver overall to win a race from that position. Starting Position Facts
# Busch won the first Cup Series race for Toyota. All-Time Manufacturer Wins
# Stewart's second-place finish was his second top-five finish of the season.
# Dale Earnhardt Jr. scored his eighth top-five at Atlanta after finishing third.
# Greg Biffle moved into second-place in the standings after finishing fourth.
# Jeff Gordon's fifth-place finish was his 13th top-five at Atlanta.
# Clint Bowyer's sixth-place run was his first top-10 of the season.
# Kevin Harvick captured his first top-10 at Atlanta since 2001 with a seventh-place finish.
# Matt Kenseth (eighth) has now finshed in the top-10 at Atlanta in the last four races.
# Brian Vickers' ninth-place run was his first top-10 of 2008.
# Jeff Burton (10th) now has three-straight top-10s at Atlanta with RCR.
# The 325-lap race saw 26 lead changes among nine drivers and an average speed of 140.975 mph.
# Eight caution flags were thrown for 35 laps.
# The Kobalt Tools 400 lasted 3 hours, 33 minutes, 10 seconds.
Lug Nuts
# That sound you heard was Joe Gibbs' heart skipping a beat when Shrubby nearly ran over Dale Jarrett on the final lap.
# Mike Helton will be a guest on Tony Stewart's Sirius radio show this week. Wonder if we'll hear the first live penalty and fine on-the-air?
# Wonder if Bridgstone/Firestone officials are looking for the NASCAR phone number?
# Move this race back four weeks for heaven's sake and give the brave Atlanta fans a fighting chance for better weather.
# Which would you have not believed more on February 1st? Jimmie Johnson 13th in the point standings or Chevy without a win after four races?
Garage Talk
# "I just went out there and we all had the same tire. They're going to pay somebody to win the race. And so that's what I focused on, was just trying to go out there and be the one that they were going to pay to win the race. I just drove the thing to the best my ability. - Kyle Busch
# "Steve Addington, that 18 car, they've been through some, you know, real tough hard couple of years. I really appreciate those guys hanging tough, too." - Joe Gibbs
# "This was just a bad combination, this tire at this track." - Dale Earnhardt Jr.
# "I guess I can't say it's surprising because, I mean, they (Goodyear) got run out of Formula One, they got run out of CART, the IRL, they got run out of World Outlaw Sprint cars, they got run out of USAC divisions because they couldn't keep up and make a quality enough product." - Tony Stewart
# "(Juan) Montoya couldn’t hold the steering wheel straight going down the back straightaway and drove up into me and knocked my fender in." - Ryan Newman
# "That felt like the longest race of my life." - Mark Martin
# “I don’t know what happened, but the oil tank lid was on. I just appreciate my fans for sticking with us this week. It’s been a long week with a lot of stuff said, but I think we showed them here today, other than something coming apart in the engine. - Carl Edwards
RacingOne Rating
On a scale of 1 to 10 Giant Kobalt Wrenches, like the one Kyle received in Victory Lane, we'll give Sunday's Kobalt Tools a six. You probably heard about the tire problems that made passing a premium, but we kind of liked the way the drivers had to wrestle the loose cars. As long as it's not a safety issue, driving cars that slide around a little should be part of the game and the new Sprint Cup car certainly was a handful in its Atlanta debut. Speaking of a handful, next stop Bristol. Say no more.