Ryan Blaney, 18, sets truck series youth mark with Iowa win

Credit: Sean Gardner/Getty Images for NASCAR

Sept. 15, 2012

NASCAR Wire Service

NEWTON, Iowa -- Ryan Blaney, 18, withstood a series of late-race restarts to become the youngest winner in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, prevailing in Saturday night's American Ethanol 200 Presented by Hy-Vee at Iowa Speedway.

Blaney, making just his third truck series start, held off a final charge by Ty Dillon, who snared the points lead with a runner-up finish. The youngster, who drove a Brad Keselowski-owned truck to Ram's first win in the series since 2008, celebrated in Victory Lane with his father, Sprint Cup series driver Dave Blaney.

"This is pretty incredible," said the younger Blaney. ". . . It's unbelievable -- hopefully, we can get us a few more here."

Said Dave Blaney: "He does so good and catches on so quick. It's fun to watch."

The 20-year-old Dillon, who closed to finish .168 seconds behind Blaney at the checkered flag, lauded the teenager's poise in the frantic final stretch.

"I wanted it bad there at the end," Dillon said. "We were coming, but Ryan Blaney, he's an amazing driver. I'm glad we didn't have to race against him all year this year. He's a great guy and he really deserves this."

Todd Bodine, who also praised the younger Blaney as "a chip off the old block," finished third for his first top-five finish since his victory at Dover International Speedway on June 1. Johnny Sauter and Cale Gale completed the top five.

Dillon started the night third in the standings, but capitalized on rough nights by his closest rivals. Timothy Peters, who won the truck series' first event of the season at Iowa in July, fell from the points lead after a crash in the 34th lap. Peters squeezed Matt Crafton on the exit of turn four, forcing both trucks into the wall.

Peters remained on the lead lap despite several stops for repairs, but faded further after a late stop to replace a faulty battery and cool an overheating engine. He salvaged a 19th-place finish, two laps down.

James Buescher was in line to snatch the points lead from Peters until his spin with six laps to go brought out the last of nine caution periods. He finished 17th, one lap off the pace.

The standings shuffle put Dillon atop the heap by eight points over Peters with Buescher 11 points off the top.

First-time pole starter Parker Kligerman led 107 of the 200 laps, but was bitten by pit strategy that forced him to stop for service during the race's longest green-flag stretch. Kligerman rallied to as high as fourth place in the running order before spinning with 21 laps left. He wound up 23rd, three laps down.

RACE RESULTS

 1.  (2) Ryan Blaney, RAM, 200, $37600.
 2.  (9) Ty Dillon #, Chevrolet, 200, $25,065.
 3. (15) Todd Bodine, Toyota, 200, $21,710.
 4.  (4) Johnny Sauter, Toyota, 200, $16,200.
 5.  (6) Cale Gale #, Chevrolet, 200, $13,975.
 6.  (3) Nelson Piquet Jr., Chevrolet, 200, $11,650.
 7. (17) Drew Herring(i), Toyota, 200, $11,150.
 8. (18) Jeff Choquette, Chevrolet, 200, $8,675.
 9. (12) Matt Crafton, Toyota, 200, $10,875.
10.  (8) Miguel Paludo, Chevrolet, 200, $12,100.
11. (22) Ross Chastain #, Toyota, 200, $10,775.
12. (19) Jason White, Ford, 200, $10,650.
13. (14) Joey Coulter, Chevrolet, 199, $10,600.
14. (21) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 199, $10,550.
15. (16) John Wes Townley #, Toyota, 199, $11,275.
16. (11) David Mayhew(i), RAM, 199, $10,550.
17.  (5) James Buescher, Chevrolet, 199, $10,225.
18. (24) Bryan Silas #, Ford, 198, $10,100.
19. (10) Timothy Peters, Toyota, 198, $10,000.
20. (26) Justin Jennings, Ford, 198, $8,325.
21. (23) Brennan Newberry, Chevrolet, 198, $7,550.
22. (25) Tim George Jr., Chevrolet, 197, $8,450.
23.  (1) Parker Kligerman, Toyota, 197, $10,625.
24. (32) Wayne Edwards, Chevrolet, 196, $7,250.
25. (34) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, 194, $7,375.
26. (35) Benjamin Reynolds, Chevrolet, 194, $7,200.
27. (20) August Grill, Chevrolet, Battery, 188, $7,150.
28. (33) Todd Peck, Chevrolet, Oil Leak, 179, $7,125.
29. (27) Ryan Lynch, Chevrolet, 173, $7,100.
30. (31) Jennifer Jo Cobb, RAM, Radiator, 171, $7,575.
31. (13) Justin Lofton, Chevrolet, Accident, 94, $7,050.
32. (28) Caleb Roark, Chevrolet, Accident, 94, $7,025.
33.  (7) Ron Hornaday Jr., Chevrolet, Accident, 68, $7,000.
34. (30) Chris Jones, Chevrolet, Brakes, 5, $6,975.
35. (36) Chris Lafferty, Ford, Transmission, 3, $6,950.
36. (29) Dennis Setzer, Chevrolet, Overheating, 2, $6,909.

RACE STATISTICS

   Average Speed of Race Winner: 88.285 mph.
   Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 58 Mins, 56 Secs.
   Margin of Victory: 0.168 Seconds.
   Caution Flags: 9 for 54 laps.
   Lead Changes: 7 among 6 drivers.
   Lap Leaders: P. Kligerman 1-28; J. Buescher 29-35; P. Kligerman 36; D. Herring(i) 37-55; J. Lofton 56-60; P. Kligerman 61-138; J. Sauter 139-150; R. Blaney 151-200.
   Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): P. Kligerman 3 times for 107 laps; R. Blaney 1 time for 50 laps; D. Herring(i) 1 time for 19 laps; J. Sauter 1 time for 12 laps; J. Buescher 1 time for 7 laps; J. Lofton 1 time for 5 laps.
   Top 10 in Points: T. Dillon # - 561; T. Peters - 553; J. Buescher - 550; P. Kligerman - 530; M. Crafton - 518; J. Coulter - 515; J. Lofton - 511; N. Piquet Jr. - 492; J. White - 448; R. Hornaday Jr. - 447.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wins at Chicagoland, assumes Nationwide points lead

Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR

  
Sept. 15, 2012 (EDITORS: Updates with quotes, results)

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

JOLIET, Ill. -- It was a statement victory for defending NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who won Saturday’s Dollar General 300 Powered by Coca-Cola at Chicagoland Speedway and simultaneously wrested the series lead from Elliott Sadler.

The victory was Stenhouse’s fifth of the season and the seventh of his career. He crossed the finish line 2.402 seconds ahead of Kyle Busch, who fell one spot short of posting his first victory in the Nationwide car he owns.

Austin Dillon ran third, followed by Brad Keselowski and Paul Menard. Sadler finished eighth and fell from the top spot in the standings after holding it for a total of 21 weeks in two different stretches this season, including the last 14. With seven races left, Stenhouse leads Sadler by nine points.

Stenhouse’s No. 6 Ford came to life over the final 29-lap green-flag run, giving team owner Jack Roush his first victory at the 1.5-mile track in any of NASCAR’s top three touring series. In winning the race, Stenhouse overcame two mistakes: stalling the car on pit road and an adjustment that adversely affected the handling.

Stenhouse, however, was cautious in claiming the upper hand toward a second straight title.

“The last four races, I think, we’ve finished second, first, second and first, so I think we’ve got good momentum,” Stenhouse said. “But in this business, in this sport, anything can change at any time. You’ve got to keep your guard up, and you’ve got to keep not making mistakes.

“We’re very fortunate that we overcame the mistakes that we had today, both on pit road -- a wrong adjustment and a stalled car. We overcame that today, and that’s what we need to keep doing. But as we keep going, we’ve got to make sure we don’t make those mistakes. I feel like the 2 car (Sadler) is not done winning, and I don’t feel like we’re done winning either. We’re just going to have to stay on our ‘A’ game.” 

Ninth-place finisher and polesitter Joey Logano took the lead under caution on Lap 124 for Benny Gordon’s accident in Turn 3. Logano beat Dillon off pit road by six inches and led the field to a restart.

Stenhouse lost seven spots when his car stalled in the pits and took the green flag in the 11th position but gradually worked his way back through the field. By the time the race reached Lap 150, Stenhouse had passed Sadler for the third position.

Busch grabbed the top spot shortly after the restart on Lap 130 and pulled away to a lead of 1.5 seconds as Logano faded. Busch, Dillon and Stenhouse staged a three-car breakaway during that green-flag run, but a caution for Jason Bowles’ spin in Turn 3 on Lap 167 shuffled the running order.

With a 12.5-second stop for four tires and fuel, Sadler was first off pit road on Lap 168 and led Busch to a restart on Lap 172. Busch quickly reassumed the lead while Sadler dropped back to sixth by Lap 177. 

Stenhouse, however, moved past Busch on Lap 180 and quickly established an advantage of more than a second.

The racing action aside, the real drama surrounded the Richard Childress Racing teams of Dillon and Sadler. Though he has been in or near the championship lead for the entire season, Sadler announced recently that he will leave RCR at the end of the season.

As Sadler and Dillon raced hard in traffic, Dillon’s crew chief, Danny Stockman, radioed to Dillon, “You will not help the 2 car tonight.” Dillon is third in points, 34 behind Stenhouse and still a contender for the championship, but the emphatic nature of Stockman’s admonition was surprising. 

“We were just racing hard for the championship right there,” Dillon said. “We were racing hard by Sam (Hornish Jr.), or whoever it was, and the 2 went with the other guy when we could have used a push. That’s all it is, racing hard for a championship…

“Everybody’s worked up about it, RCR as a group working for a championship. We’re both wanting to win. We had to beat the 6 (Stenhouse), so we couldn’t help each other at all today. Did it hurt us? Not much, because the 6 was that much faster. It’s just racing hard. I don’t know what else to say--just part of the game, I guess.”

After the race, Sadler was mystified.

“I don’t know what that means, ‘Do not help the 2,’” he said when told of the exchange between Stockman and Dillon. “We share really good notes, and we always have, so I don’t know.”

RACE RESULTS

  1. (3) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 200, $92143.
  2. (6) Kyle Busch(i), Toyota, 200, $54750.
  3. (2) Austin Dillon #, Chevrolet, 200, $55093.
  4. (16) Brad Keselowski(i), Dodge, 200, $31265.
  5. (7) Paul Menard(i), Chevrolet, 200, $27790.
  6. (4) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 200, $31408.
  7. (8) Michael Annett, Ford, 200, $29608.
  8. (5) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 200, $28958.
  9. (1) Joey Logano(i), Toyota, 200, $29950.
10. (42) Brian Scott, Toyota, 200, $31083.
11. (10) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 200, $26258.
12. (12) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 200, $25508.
13. (9) Mike Bliss, Toyota, 200, $24958.
14. (13) Cole Whitt #, Chevrolet, 200, $24448.
15. (18) Brad Sweet #, Chevrolet, 199, $24488.
16. (25) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 199, $24178.
17. (20) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 199, $23493.
18. (19) Tayler Malsam, Toyota, 198, $23233.
19. (21) Mike Wallace, Chevrolet, 198, $23223.
20. (11) Kenny Wallace, Toyota, 196, $23488.
21. (17) Johanna Long #, Chevrolet, 196, $22703.
22. (34) Erik Darnell, Chevrolet, 195, $22593.
23. (22) Jamie Dick, Chevrolet, 195, $15990.
24. (24) Dexter Stacey, Ford, 194, $22343.
25. (30) Eric McClure, Toyota, 194, $22683.
26. (37) Juan Carlos Blum, Chevrolet, 193, $22098.
27. (35) Danny Efland, Chevrolet, 192, $21988.
28. (15) Jason Bowles #, Toyota, Engine, 153, $21868.
29. (14) Benny Gordon, Toyota, Suspension, 122, $21718.
30. (31) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, Oil Leak, 68, $21908.
31. (27) Jeff Green, Toyota, Vibration, 30, $15005.
32. (39) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Engine, 30, $14895.
33. (36) Timmy Hill, Ford, Vibration, 28, $14785.
34. (38) Tony Raines(i), Chevrolet, Electrical, 26, $14675.
35. (40) Joey Gase #, Chevrolet, Handling, 23, $14565.
36. (29) Blake Koch, Toyota, Vibration, 19, $14455.
37. (33) Scott Riggs(i), Chevrolet, Ignition, 19, $14335.
38. (32) Matt Carter, Chevrolet, Rear Gear, 15, $14275.
39. (41) Mike Harmon, Chevrolet, Overheating, 12, $13940.
40. (28) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, Vibration, 11, $13830.
41. (23) Josh Wise(i), Chevrolet, Electrical, 10, $13725.
42. (26) Chase Miller, Chevrolet, Overheating, 9, $13520.
43. (43) Tim Andrews, Ford, Ignition, 9, $13413.

RACE STATISTICS

Average Speed of Race Winner:  138.373 mph.
Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 10 Mins, 05 Secs. Margin of Victory:  2.402 Seconds.
Caution Flags:  5 for 20 laps.
Lead Changes:  17 among 9 drivers.
Lap Leaders:   J. Logano(i) 1-7; S. Hornish Jr. 8; J. Logano(i) 9-59; A. Dillon # 60; K. Busch(i) 61-62; A. Dillon # 63; K. Busch(i) 64-69; A. Dillon # 70-95; R. Stenhouse Jr. 96; M. Annett 97; J. Allgaier 98-100; J. Nemechek 101; A. Dillon # 102-125; J. Logano(i) 126-134; K. Busch(i) 135-168; E. Sadler 169-171; K. Busch(i) 172-179; R. Stenhouse Jr. 180-200.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  J. Logano(i) 3 times for 67 laps; A. Dillon # 4 times for 52 laps; K. Busch(i) 4 times for 50 laps; R. Stenhouse Jr. 2 times for 22 laps; J. Allgaier 1 time for 3 laps; E. Sadler 1 time for 3 laps; M. Annett 1 time for 1 lap; J. Nemechek 1 time for 1 lap; S. Hornish Jr. 1 time for 1 lap.
Top 10 in Points: R. Stenhouse Jr. - 982; E. Sadler - 973; A. Dillon # - 948; S. Hornish Jr. - 925; J. Allgaier - 875; M. Annett - 837; C. Whitt # - 767; M. Bliss - 722; J. Nemechek - 634; B. Scott - 633.

--30--

 

AN EXPERT’S OPINION: FOCUSING ON WHAT’S CONTROLLABLE KEY FOR TITLE CONTENDERS

N EXPERT'S OPINION: FOCUSING ON WHAT'S CONTROLLABLE KEY FOR TITLE CONTENDERS

FONTANA, Calif. (Tuesday, September 11, 2012) - Amid the weeklong distractions of the MAV TV 500 INDYCAR World Championships at Auto Club Speedway - the media questions, photo sessions, public and sponsor events - which IZOD IndyCar Series championship contender is the best mentally prepared?

Both Will Power and Ryan Hunter-Reay are physically primed for the grueling 250-lap race on the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway oval Sept. 15. How they mentally approach the title-deciding test will play a key role in their on-track performance, which likely will decide who will raise the Astor Cup in Victory Circle.

"The distractions increase because there are a lot of people talking about the event, what the performance means and all of those dynamics when in reality the drivers just have to focus on what they have control over," said Dr. Chris Carr, the Sport and Performance Psychologist and Coordinator for Sport and Performance Psychology at St. Vincent Sports Performance in Indianapolis.

"In motorsports in particular, that's not just true for the drivers. It's true for everybody - the pit crew, the engineers, the set-up you have on the car -- everyone making sure their execution is on those controllables."

This is Power's third consecutive season in which he's been involved in the title-deciding race, while Hunter-Reay has compiled a breakout season with a series-leading four victories to contend for his first championship.

"When I talk to athletes at a very high level and ask them what percent of their sport is mental they're saying 90 percent or more because you haven't advanced to this level without the physical talents and the cognitive talents and equipment abilities," Carr said.

"The key is it will depend on what type of mental training and preparation these drivers have. If you've done a lot of good cardiovascular and muscular skill development, have good stretching, you've got your body fine-tuned based upon a plan you've worked on through the whole season. The mental part - dealing with confidence, composure and focus - that's no different. If you're working a plan, you go to a big event like this and you're plan is prepared for it.

"When it comes to competition, there are a lot of uncontrollable factors - weather, mechanical issues and accidents. The athlete that uses the same pre-race mental routine, that makes adjustments during the race and adapts, they're the one that mentally has the best plan."

Carr, who has worked with medalists from the recent London Olympics among other high school, collegiate and professional athletes, developed five strategies that can help any athlete improve performance by concentrating on confidence, focus, and composure:

• Set goals wisely: Choose a reachable goal, and then plan out what has to happen each day for you to achieve it.

• Visualize your performance: If your goal is a 25-minute 5K, imagine yourself relaxing before the gun despite all the potential distractions, running comfortably, hanging tough and kicking to a fabulous, 24:59 finish. Watch this mini-movie in your head over and over, day after day, so that it becomes ingrained. Success will seem more possible.

• Create a pre-event mental routine: Ask yourself what you need to do before you perform your best. An established routine will become partially subconscious and will help you focus without wasting energy.

• Learn how to manage butterflies: Practice relaxing, whether by meditating, deep breathing, listening to low-key music or some other method. Surges of adrenaline before events can trigger anxiety, which sets off all kinds of chaos in the central nervous system. The key is to prepare for the surge and channel that excitement into greater focus.

• Talk to yourself: Call it a mantra or a cue. Basically, you want to come up with a couple of words or a phrase that you will conjure up during your performance. It can be anything that cuts through the distractions and focuses your mind.

 

Clint Bowyer wins Richmond as Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon make Chase

Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

 
Sept. 8, 2012

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

RICHMOND, Va. -- Clint Bowyer had a gulp of gas just big enough to win the race. Rick Hendrick had Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon as a pair of Chasers.

In a rain-interrupted race of accumulating tension, Bowyer made it to the finish line 1.198 seconds ahead of Gordon, who knocked Kyle Busch out of the final wild-card spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup in the closing laps of Saturday night's Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

The victory was Bowyer's second of the season, his second at Richmond and the seventh of his career. He and teammate Martin Truex Jr. are the first two Michael Waltrip Racing drivers to make the 12-driver Chase field.

MWR teammate Mark Martin ran third Saturday, followed by Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth, but the big story was Gordon's miracle comeback that put all four Hendrick Motorsports cars in the Chase. Gordon joined Kahne, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in NASCAR's 10-race playoff.

For Busch, it was a failed pit strategy that led to his ouster from the second wild-card spot, a position he held entering the race and for the vast majority of Saturday night's event. When a light rain caused the sixth caution on Lap 275, Busch stayed out while others came to pit road for fuel. A slow pit stop under green on Lap 334, thanks to a dropped lug nut on the right-rear wheel, did further damage to his chances and allowed Gordon to sneak into the Chase by a three-point margin.

Several times in the last 11 laps, the second provisional wild-card spot changed hands between Gordon and Busch, who entered the race with a 12-point lead over Gordon. When Busch passed Martin Truex Jr. for the 15th position on Lap 390 of 400, he had the berth. When Gordon passed Mark Martin on Lap 394, he took it back.

Ultimately, Busch dropped positions to Marcos Ambrose and Hendrick driver and pole-sitter Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was on a late-race mission to help his teammate make the Chase.

"We missed," Busch said tersely after the race was over. "Plain and simple."

Team owner Joe Gibbs advised his mercurial driver to handle his disappointment the right way.

"There's no right way to handle this situation," was Busch's rejoinder.

Gordon started second but quickly faded. By the time rain halted the race on Lap 152, he was a lap down and going nowhere. Under the caution that preceded the red flag, however, his crew cut the chain to the rear sway bar to disconnect it, and the handling of the No. 24 Chevrolet improved dramatically.

"I felt like I won the race tonight," Gordon said. "When that was over, when they told me I was in the Chase, we made it -- I mean, I was ecstatic. I was going nuts. To me, after you have that kind of effort, fall back, then come up there and finish second, almost win the race, make it by (three points), man, I don't see any reason why we can't go over these next 10 races and be a real threat for the championship."

Bowyer recovered from a spin just past the midpoint of the race and rallied for the win. On Lap 234, contact with Juan Pablo Montoya's Chevrolet deflated Bowyer's left-rear tire. Fighting for control, Bowyer looped his car near the start/finish line.

"Thank you, Juan Pablo, for wrecking me and then winning me the race--thank you!" quipped Bowyer, who was then in position to gamble on fuel mileage. "We had a bad race last weekend (at Atlanta) and had a lot of adversity we had to bounce through, were kind of bummed out as a team, as a whole, coming into this race.

"It's a good way to get things bounced back headed into this Chase. You can't ask for a better race team, my teammates, MWR, everybody that's a part of this. It's just unbelievable."

The consolation for Joe Gibbs Racing is that Denny Hamlin begins the Chase as the No. 1 seed on the strength of four victories in the first 26 races. But that provides little solace for Busch's crew chief Dave Rogers, who made the decision to keep his driver on the track when a pit stop would have been the safe play.

"We missed it -- my fault," Rogers radioed to Busch. "One hundred percent my fault."

RACE RESULTS

 1.  (4) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 400, $226,114.
 2.  (2) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 400, $203,546.
 3.  (6) Mark Martin, Toyota, 400, $128,785.
 4. (28) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 400, $174,685.
 5. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 400, $152,221.
 6. (20) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 400, $135,335.
 7. (10) Brad Keselowski, Dodge, 400, $125,530.
 8. (14) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 400, $126,218.
 9. (23) Greg Biffle, Ford, 400, $93,885.
10. (13) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 400, $135,096.
11. (11) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 400, $122,210.
12. (21) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 399, $89,035.
13.  (5) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 399, $122,296.
14.  (1) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 399, $92,435.
15. (22) Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 399, $106,593.
16. (15) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 399, $120,118.
17. (16) Carl Edwards, Ford, 399, $119,301.
18.  (7) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 399, $122,951.
19. (12) Landon Cassill, Toyota, 399, $102,880.
20. (24) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 399, $107,476.
21.  (9) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 399, $103,174.
22. (26) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 398, $106,693.
23. (25) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 398, $83,385.
24.  (3) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 398, $101,293.
25. (29) Bobby Labonte, Toyota, 397, $99,568.
26. (18) Aric Almirola, Ford, 397, $111,571.
27. (32) Travis Kvapil, Toyota, 397, $96,568.
28. (30) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 396, $93,843.
29. (42) Casey Mears, Ford, 396, $83,507.
30.  (8) Joey Logano, Toyota, 396, $83,335.
31. (35) David Gilliland, Ford, 395, $73,210.
32. (27) David Ragan, Ford, 395, $70,560.
33. (33) Dave Blaney, Chevrolet, 395, $70,435.
34. (37) David Reutimann, Chevrolet, 393, $70,310.
35. (39) Ken Schrader, Ford, 393, $78,160.
36. (36) Stephen Leicht, Chevrolet, 390, $79,510.
37. (31) David Stremme, Chevrolet, Brakes, 127, $69,880.
38. (34) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, Brakes, 90, $69,728.
39. (38) Scott Riggs, Chevrolet, Brakes, 78, $66,900.
40. (40) Mike Bliss, Toyota, Wheel Bearing, 70, $66,775.
41. (19) Michael McDowell, Ford, Brakes, 63, $66,625.
42. (41) Josh Wise, Ford, Brakes, 57, $66,500.
43. (43) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, Power Steering, 57, $66,860.

RACE STATISTICS

   Average Speed of Race Winner: 100.019 mph.
   Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 59 Mins, 58 Secs.
   Margin of Victory: 1.198 Seconds.
   Caution Flags: 6 for 41 laps.
   Lead Changes: 17 among 10 drivers.
   Lap Leaders: D. Earnhardt Jr. 1-6; J. Gordon 7-8; D. Earnhardt Jr. 9-47; M. McDowell 48; D. Earnhardt Jr. 49-58; D. Hamlin 59-84; D. Earnhardt Jr. 85-93; D. Hamlin 94-155; D. Earnhardt Jr. 156-158; D. Hamlin 159-231; J. Johnson 232-233; D. Hamlin 234-241; M. Truex Jr. 242-248; D. Hamlin 249-281; K. Kahne 282-284; T. Stewart 285-299; R. Newman 300-312; C. Bowyer 313-400.
   Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): D. Hamlin 5 times for 202 laps; C. Bowyer 1 time for 88 laps; D. Earnhardt Jr. 5 times for 67 laps; T. Stewart 1 time for 15 laps; R. Newman 1 time for 13 laps; M. Truex Jr. 1 time for 7 laps; K. Kahne 1 time for 3 laps; J. Johnson 1 time for 2 laps; J. Gordon 1 time for 2 laps; M. McDowell 1 time for 1 lap.
   Top 12 in Points: G. Biffle - 914; D. Earnhardt Jr. - 902; M. Kenseth - 897; J. Johnson - 880; B. Keselowski - 868; M. Truex Jr. - 862; C. Bowyer - 858; D. Hamlin - 850; K. Harvick - 841; T. Stewart - 810; K. Kahne - 784; J. Gordon - 777.

--30--

Kevin Harvick asserts superiority in Nationwide win at Richmond

Credit: Patrick Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

 

Sept. 7, 2012

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

RICHMOND, Va. -- Assuming the lead on a late restart in Friday night's Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at Richmond International Raceway, Kevin Harvick ended a 30-race NASCAR Nationwide Series drought dating to the fall race at Richmond in 2010.

Harvick beat Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to the finish line by 1.944 seconds to win for the fifth time at the .75-mile short track and for the 38th time in the series, tying Carl Edwards for third on the all-time victory list.

Kurt Busch ran third, followed by Denny Hamlin and Michael Annett.

"It's been a great year in this Nationwide car," said Harvick, who led a race-high 141 laps. "I know we haven't won the races that we needed to, but, man, we've led a ton of laps and been in contention to win just about every race I've been in this car this year.

"Sometimes you go through slumps like that, and when you break 'em, it just makes it that much sweeter."

Busch lost the lead on Lap 226 after he tapped the rear bumper of Dexter Stacey, causing Stacey to spin off Turn 4. Harvick nosed ahead as Busch avoided the spinning car and had the lead when NASCAR threw the seventh caution on Lap 227.

"We had a brake vibration that wouldn't allow me to get to the bottom of the corner easily," said Busch, who had grabbed the top spot on lap 202. "I could get there, but a lot of feedback in the pedal and a vibration made it tough to get down to the bottom of the corner.

"When you have that, it's tough to race guys exactly clean, and you're right on the ragged edge the whole moment. When I had Harvick behind us, when we were leading, if I could hit it perfect, we were going to hold him off. If I was off just a fraction, he was right there. When I drove down into (Turn 3), and the lapped car (Stacey) chose inside, I chose inside, and I was like, 'This isn't going to be good.' "

After the caution for Stacey's spin, Harvick pulled away on the ensuing restart on Lap 234, with Stenhouse taking second from Busch.

The championship battle took a sudden turn on Lap 186, with Stenhouse and Elliott Sadler racing side-by-side through Turn 3 and 4. Sadler, on the inside during a sustained fight for the second position that already had lasted seven laps, broke loose beneath Stenhouse and backed his Chevrolet into the outside wall, crushing the rear deck.

Sadler lost a lap and restarted 28th on Lap 193. He rallied to finish 12th and retained the championship lead by one point over Stenhouse, the defending champion.

Sam Hornish Jr.'s waning championship hopes suffered a serious blow on Lap 156. Maneuvering to avoid the No. 51 Chevrolet of Ty Dillon, Hornish took a shot from the No. 22 Dodge of his Penske Racing teammate Ryan Blaney.

After cutting his left-rear tire, Hornish spun into the outside wall in Turn 1 and slid back down the track into the path of the No. 41 Ford of Timmy Hill. The collision tore the rear deck off Hornish's car and scattered debris through Turns 1 and 2.

NASCAR red-flagged the race for four minutes to clean the track, and when the field restarted on Lap 164, Harvick assumed his customary position at the front of the pack, before Busch took a turn at the point.

Hornish finished 30th and is fourth in the series standings, 50 points behind Sadler.

RACE RESULTS

 1.  (3) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 250, $41,325.
 2.  (1) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 250, $44,843.
 3. (17) Kurt Busch, Toyota, 250, $21,200.
 4.  (6) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 250, $18,600.
 5. (13) Michael Annett, Ford, 250, $24,043.
 6.  (2) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 250, $25,143.
 7. (11) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 250, $21,853.
 8. (14) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 250, $21,613.
 9. (27) Ryan Blaney, Dodge, 250, $21,393.
10. (20) Darrell Wallace Jr., Toyota, 250, $22,168.
11. (15) James Buescher, Chevrolet, 250, $23,868.
12. (12) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 250, $20,993.
13. (10) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 250, $20,943.
14. (19) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 250, $20,893.
15.  (9) Mike Bliss, Toyota, 250, $21,818.
16. (33) Ryan Truex, Toyota, 250, $20,968.
17.  (5) Travis Pastrana, Ford, 250, $14,225.
18. (28) Erik Darnell, Chevrolet, 250, $14,175.
19. (30) Tayler Malsam, Toyota, 250, $20,593.
20. (23) Brad Sweet, Chevrolet, 250, $21,218.
21. (31) Mike Wallace, Chevrolet, 250, $20,493.
22. (39) Robert Richardson Jr., Chevrolet, 250, $13,925.
23. (21) Jason Bowles, Dodge, 250, $20,308.
24. (22) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 249, $20,193.
25. (26) Paulie Harraka, Ford, 249, $14,150.
26. (41) Eric McClure, Toyota, 249, $20,043.
27. (40) Dexter Stacey, Ford, 248, $13,525.
28.  (7) Brian Scott, Toyota, 246, $19,843.
29. (24) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 218, $19,793.
30.  (4) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 162, $19,993.
31. (32) Timmy Hill, Ford, Accident, 153, $19,638.
32.  (8) Johanna Long, Chevrolet, Accident, 109, $19,553.
33. (35) Kevin Lepage, Ford, Power Steering, 51, $13,025.
34. (42) Derek White, Toyota, Battery, 45, $19,458.
35. (34) Tanner Berryhill, Toyota, Accident, 35, $12,940.
36. (37) Scott Riggs, Chevrolet, Overheating, 28, $12,880.
37. (43) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, Brakes, 18, $12,820.
38. (38) Carl Long, Chevrolet, Rear Gear, 15, $12,741.
39. (36) Matt Carter, Chevrolet, Clutch, 11, $12,620.
40. (29) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, Brakes, 7, $12,580.
41. (25) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, Brakes, 7, $12,515.
42. (16) Chase Miller, Chevrolet, Overheating, 6, $12,470.
43. (18) Jeff Green, Toyota, Vibration, 3, $12,409.

RACE STATISTICS

   Average Speed of Race Winner: 91.724 mph.
   Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 02 Mins, 39 Secs.
   Margin of Victory: 1.944 Seconds.
   Caution Flags: 7 for 45 laps.
   Lead Changes: 8 among 6 drivers.
   Lap Leaders: R. Stenhouse Jr. 0; A. Dillon 1-14; R. Stenhouse Jr. 15-70; K. Harvick 71-187; M. Wallace 188-189; J. Buescher 190-192; R. Stenhouse Jr. 193-201; K. Busch 202-226; K. Harvick 227-250.
   Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): K. Harvick 2 times for 141 laps; R. Stenhouse Jr. 2 times for 65 laps; K. Busch 1 time for 25 laps; A. Dillon 1 time for 14 laps; J. Buescher 1 time for 3 laps; M. Wallace 1 time for 2 laps.
   Top 10 in Points: E. Sadler - 936; R. Stenhouse Jr. - 935; A. Dillon - 906; S. Hornish Jr. - 886; J. Allgaier - 841; M. Annett - 799; C. Whitt - 737; M. Bliss - 691; J. Nemechek - 605; B. Scott - 599.

--30--

No Slowing Down for Grissom as he Wins His Fifth PASS South Series Event This Season Making History Along the Way

 

No Slowing Down for Grissom as he Wins His Fifth PASS South Series Event This Season Making History Along the Way

 

Charlotte, NC 9/3/12- It’s hard to believe that a driver in his rookie season in a series as tough as the PASS South super late model series would be rewriting history books, but that’s exactly what Kyle Grissom has done so far in 2012. Grissom, from nearby Concord, North Carolina, made it three wins in a row Saturday night at the Caraway Speedway in Sophia, North Carolina. Grissom’s win was his fifth of the year, breaking the record for most wins in a single season by a PASS South Series driver previously held by Ben Rowe who won four events in 2009 in route to the series championship that same season.

“This one wasn’t easy tonight. Jay Fogleman did everything he could except wreck me to try to get the win tonight, I was just fortunate to get a good jump on that final restart and bring it back around to the finish,” stated Grissom in victory lane. “If it had been anyone else racing me that hard other than Jay I would have probably ended up with a wrecked racecar.”

“Greg (Marlowe) and the guys gave me another great car that handled through the turns which allowed us to jump out front to the lead and stay out of some of the wild stuff that happened behind us tonight. I have to thank Harrison’s Workwear, without their support we couldn’t do this, and all my crew guys that work hard to keep us up front,” added Grissom.

Fogleman managed the second place finish despite starting a little deeper in the field than Grissom, who took the green from the outside of the front row. The veteran driver from Durham, NC was behind the wheel of Dick Woodman’s machine for this event due to the fact that his fleet of racecars were north of the border in preparation for several PASS National events. The transition to Woodman’s machine didn’t faze Fogleman one bit, in fact he made the mention of learning quite a bit of information during his runner-up run over the 125 lap event.

“I thought we had a chance at the win tonight because we had such a good car throughout the race. Kyle (Grissom) just got away from us there at the end and I wasn’t going to wreck him to win because that’s not how I race,” said Fogleman. “Dickey Woodman really helped us out this weekend letting us run his car here tonight. I really learned a lot too because my cars have a little bit more motor than most guys, so I normally really have to save twice as hard as the next guy but with Dickey’s car we could go to the front early and stay there. It might be something we look at going forward.”

Brandon Ward recovered nicely from an early race pit stop that forced his #62 machine to come from the back of the pack to finish third. Alex Fleming turned some heads with an impressive fourth place finish after battling back from being two laps down due to electrical problems forcing his motor to shut on and off throughout the mid portion of the event. Preston Peltier rounded out the top five passing the most cars along the way after multiple pit stops throughout the event putting his #26 Johnson Motorsports owned machine to the rear of the field on no less than five different occasions.

Next up for the “BIG BOYS WITH THE BAD FAST TOYS” PASS South Super Late Model Series will be Over the Mountain 150 at the Hickory Motor Speedway on Saturday night September 22^nd; the final tune up for the All American 400 event at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway in October. For more information on the PASS South Series or any of the PASS sanctioned series visit http://www.proallstarsseries.com/.

PASS South-Labor Day Classic 125

Caraway Speedway-Sophia, North Carolina

Official Results

 

1)      #31 Kyle Grissom

2)      #4 Jay Fogleman

3)      #62 Brandon Ward

4)      #05 Alex Fleming

5)      #26 Preston Peltier

6)      #74 Chrissy Wallace

7)      #48 John Batten

8)      #19a Jordan Anderson

9)      #18 Bill Catania

10)   #09 Randy Gentry

11)  #19 Nate Caruth

12)  #84 Tyler Audie

13)  #29l Andy Loden

14)   #2 Gray Gaulding

15)  #115 Jody Lavender

16)  #71 Jimmy Doyle

17)  #50 Karl Weber

18)  #118 Bradley McCaskill

19)  #29 Landon Cling

20)  #12 Scott Hensley

 

Chris Ragle
TEX Motorsports Marketing/Pro Photo Productions
www.texmotorsports.com
www.prophotoproductions.com
 

Denny Hamlin repeats, edges Jeff Gordon for Atlanta victory

 
Credit: Brian Lawdermilk-Pool/Getty Images

Sept. 2, 2012

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

HAMPTON, Ga. -- Denny Hamlin did himself a favor -- and one for Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch in the process.

Outrunning Jeff Gordon on a two-lap dash to the finish in Sunday night's AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hamlin scored his second straight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory, his series-best fourth of the season and the 21st of his career.

Hamlin also preserved Busch's status as the second provisional wild card in the Chase for the Sprint Cup by keeping Gordon out of Victory Lane.

Hamlin beat Gordon to the finish line by .378 seconds after a caution spoiled a probable victory for Martin Truex Jr., who was leading by two seconds when Jamie McMurray wrecked on the frontstretch on Lap 320 of 327.

Brad Keselowski ran third, followed by Truex and Kevin Harvick.

Matt Kenseth (ninth Sunday), Truex, Keselowski, Hamlin, Clint Bowyer (27th) and Harvick all clinched top-10 spots in the Chase, joining series leader Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson. Defending Cup champion and pole-sitter Tony Stewart fought an ill-handling car all night and finished 22nd but clinched at least a wild-card spot.

"This is one I wanted real bad," Hamlin said. "Last week was a big one (at Bristol) -- no doubt about it -- but I've been really good here the last few years and not won."

Hamlin's crew got him off pit road in the lead when all the contending cars stopped under the final caution, which extended the race two laps past its scheduled lap count of 325.

"The pit crew won me the race," Hamlin said. "That's what a championship team is all about, to have all the pieces of the puzzle put together, and this year I think we have it all."

Gordon, who celebrated his 41st birthday last month, allowed that he must be getting soft in his old age.

"He (Hamlin) made a mistake off of (Turn) 2 (after the final restart), and I got a run on him, and I made a bad decision," Gordon said. "All night I was able to get to guys' quarter panels and get to the outside and stay there. I should have just run into the back of him going into (Turn) 3 and moved him up the race track.

"We'd be sitting in Victory lane right now counting another win. This Chase is too important to be in it for me not to make a move like that. I wouldn't have wanted to wreck him, but I would have liked to have that one over again."

Gordon trails Busch by 12 points with one race left before the Chase field is set next Saturday night at Richmond. A race win there would guarantee either driver a wild-card berth.

After the midpoint of the race, Harvick and Hamlin established themselves as the class of the field, running away from the pack after a restart on Lap 135. Hamlin's team opted to stretch fuel mileage, intending to finish the race on one more stop after coming to pit road under green on Lap 221.

Harvick had pitted for fuel and four tires on Lap 216 and would have needed two more stops to make it to the end of the race. The tradeoff was that the extra five laps on new tires had given Harvick an 8.4-second lead over Hamlin after the cycle of stops.

Hamlin, however, trimmed a second per lap from Harvick's advantage and had pulled up to the bumper of the No. 29 Chevrolet when caution for Juan Pablo Montoya's brush with the outside wall on Lap 241 made all the fuel calculations moot.

Hamlin beat Harvick off pit road under the yellow and held the top spot after a restart on Lap 248. Truex moved past Harvick into the second position one lap later and kept Hamlin in his sights during the ensuing green flag run.

Running a higher line than Hamlin, Truex was moments away from taking the lead when the engine in Carl Edwards' No. 99 Ford blew on Lap 264, causing the fourth caution of the night. The early end to Edwards' night forces last year's Chase runner-up, who finished 36th, to win next Saturday at Richmond to have even a remote chance at a wild-card spot in the Chase.

Pit stops on Lap 266 put fuel strategy back into play. Hamlin, for instance, left pit road needing to save four laps worth of fuel to get to the checkered flag. On the restart on Lap 270, though, the entire tenor of the race changed when Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman and Sam Hornish Jr. wrecked on the backstretch.

His car destroyed, Newman was credited with a 35th-place finish. His only realistic avenue into the Chase is a victory at Richmond.

RACE RESULTS

 1.  (7) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 327, $355,716.
 2.  (5) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 327, $245,976.
 3. (21) Brad Keselowski, Dodge, 327, $197,435.
 4. (28) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 327, $173,354.
 5. (24) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 327, $172,101.
 6.  (3) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 327, $162,398.
 7. (35) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 327, $127,490.
 8. (18) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 327, $120,390.
 9.  (4) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 327, $153,801.
10.  (6) Mark Martin, Toyota, 327, $107,790.
11. (15) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 327, $145,730.
12. (26) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 327, $142,255.
13. (16) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 327, $129,638.
14. (27) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 327, $126,638.
15.  (2) Greg Biffle, Ford, 327, $112,205.
16. (32) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 327, $100,305.
17. (10) Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 327, $127,488.
18.  (9) Joey Logano, Toyota, 327, $106,680.
19. (25) Bobby Labonte, Toyota, 327, $120,013.
20. (40) Landon Cassill, Toyota, 326, $124,475.
21. (33) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 326, $126,146.
22.  (1) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 326, $156,380.
23. (11) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 325, $102,555.
24. (20) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 325, $124,763.
25. (22) Dave Blaney, Chevrolet, 324, $93,180.
26. (41) Travis Kvapil, Toyota, 324, $111,888.
27. (30) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 324, $118,844.
28. (14) David Ragan, Ford, 323, $99,777.
29. (23) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 321, $87,555.
30. (42) TJ Bell, Ford, 319, $97,180.
31. (29) David Gilliland, Ford, 298, $87,255.
32. (13) Aric Almirola, Ford, 297, $124,291.
33. (19) Casey Mears, Ford, Engine, 291, $86,905.
34.  (8) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, Accident, 269, $133,966.
35. (17) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, Accident, 268, $131,013.
36. (12) Carl Edwards, Ford, Engine, 264, $132,946.
37. (36) Scott Speed, Ford, Suspension, 196, $86,280.
38. (34) Jason Leffler, Toyota, Vibration, 77, $86,157.
39. (31) David Stremme, Toyota, Suspension, 54, $82,700.
40. (39) Scott Riggs, Chevrolet, Vibration, 43, $82,550.
41. (43) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, Brakes, 32, $82,375.
42. (38) Reed Sorenson, Toyota, Overheating, 24, $82,280.
43. (37) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, Rear Gear, 22, $82,641.

RACE STATISTICS

   Average Speed of Race Winner: 142.02 mph.
   Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 32 Mins, 45 Secs.
   Margin of Victory: 0.378 Seconds.
   Caution Flags: 6 for 31 laps.
   Lead Changes: 18 among 7 drivers.
   Lap Leaders: T. Stewart 0; G. Biffle 1; T. Stewart 2-9; J. Gordon 10-15; Kyle Busch 16-34; D. Hamlin 35-40; Kyle Busch 41-81; D. Hamlin 82; K. Harvick 83-84; Kyle Busch 85-90; D. Hamlin 91-134; K. Harvick 135-173; D. Hamlin 174-176; K. Harvick 177-215; D. Hamlin 216-221; K. Harvick 222-242; D. Hamlin 243-281; M. Truex Jr. 282-321; D. Hamlin 322-327.
   Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): D. Hamlin 7 times for 105 laps; K. Harvick 4 times for 101 laps; Kyle Busch 3 times for 66 laps; M. Truex Jr. 1 time for 40 laps; T. Stewart 1 time for 8 laps; J. Gordon 1 time for 6 laps; G. Biffle 1 time for 1 lap.
   Top 12 in Points: G. Biffle - 879; D. Earnhardt Jr. - 871; M. Kenseth - 858; J. Johnson - 848; M. Truex Jr. - 838; B. Keselowski - 831; D. Hamlin - 822; C. Bowyer - 811; K. Harvick - 807; T. Stewart - 769; K. Kahne - 751; Kyle Busch - 746.

--30--

Last-lap surge propels Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to Nationwide win at Atlanta

 
Credit: Wesley Hitt/Getty Images for NASCAR

Sept. 1, 2012

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

HAMPTON, Ga. -- There's an arrest warrant out for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -- or perhaps there should be -- after the defending NASCAR Nationwide Series champion stole Saturday night's NRA American Warrior 300 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Indeed, Kevin Harvick left the 1.54-mile track feeling robbed -- but not by Stenhouse, who grabbed the lead from Harvick on the final lap, after a restart with three laps remaining, but by race runner-up Brad Keselowski.

In an awkward post-race press conference with the protagonists seated side-by-side, Harvick accused Keselowski of highway robbery for throwing a water bottle out of his car late in the race. Harvick, who saw the replay of the water bottle toss on the Sprint Vision screen as he circled the track under caution, believed that was the cause of the seventh caution, which allowed Keselowski and Justin Allgaier to pit for fresh tires.

It was contact between the cars of Danica Patrick and James Buescher, however, that ignited a four-car wreck on Lap 188 that caused the eighth and final caution and gave Stenhouse the chance to win.

"Heck, yeah, we stole it," Stenhouse said. "We've had a few stolen from us. You go out and get as many as you can, any way you can. It was good, hard, clean racing. I'm glad we could put on a show for the fans, because it really wasn't a show up to that point."

Keselowski, on fresh tires, passed Harvick for the second spot after Stenhouse grabbed the lead. Harvick ran third, followed by Elliott Sadler and Allgaier.

Though it was Stenhouse who prevailed on the track, it was Keselowski's water bottle that stuck in Harvick's craw.

"It's pretty obvious," said Harvick, who had confronted Keselowski on pit road after the race. "They put it on TV and showed when the caution came out on the same lap. . . . He told me it was intentional, so it is what it is."

Turning to Keselowski, Harvick added, "Sleep good tonight."

Keselowski said throwing a water bottle from the car is nothing unusual and that many drivers follow the same practice. Keselowski also disagreed with Harvick on the timing of the incident.

"It went out of my car 15 to 20 laps before the yellow came out," Keselowski asserted. "I guess that's why I was caught off guard with the comment that the water bottle caused the yellow.

"Everybody throws water bottles out of the car. . . . That's how racing works. If you go around the infield at these tracks, I'm sure after the race you'll find 20 water bottles."

NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton said that a piece of aluminum in Turn 1 was the cause of the caution. He added that the jettisoning of water bottles is a common practice with some drivers.

"We don't think it's out of hand," Pemberton said.

An ESPN spokesperson said the network had taped the water bottle toss earlier and showed it during the caution as a possible cause of the yellow, a set of facts which supports Keselowski's version of events.

Perhaps a portion of Harvick's frustration can be attributed to his failure to win the race with the fastest car, one that led 157 of 195 laps before Stenhouse grabbed the lead on the final circuit. Before the last restart, Harvick appeared to have the race in hand, having opened an advantage that exceeded 16 seconds at one point.

Emblematic of Harvick's dominance was a restart on Lap 127. Travis Pastrana had stayed out under caution for Eric McClure's brush with the Turn 2 wall and led the first six laps of his Nationwide career under yellow.

Under green? Another matter. Pastrana led the field to the restart, but before the field cleared Turn 2, Harvick had powered from fifth to first, as Stenhouse tried in vain to keep pace.

Harvick lost the lead briefly during a cycle of green-flag pit stops late in the race, but he was back in front for a restart on Lap 188, after NASCAR called the seventh caution of the night -- the source of the controversy between Harvick and Keselowski -- on Lap 182 for the debris in Turn 1.

Stenhouse narrowed Sadler's lead in the Nationwide standings to 12 points, as the same two drivers who battled for last year's title have begun to separate themselves from their pursuers. Sam Hornish Jr. finished ninth Saturday and is third in points, 32 behind Sadler.

RACE RESULTS

 1.  (2) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 195, $63,793.
 2.  (8) Brad Keselowski, Dodge, 195, $29,200.
 3.  (3) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 195, $28,575.
 4.  (7) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 195, $27,743.
 5. (13) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 195, $27,768.
 6.  (9) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 195, $23,368.
 7.  (1) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 195, $19,210.
 8. (12) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 195, $21,238.
 9.  (6) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 195, $20,818.
10. (14) Michael Annett, Ford, 195, $21,168.
11. (15) Brian Scott, Toyota, 193, $19,393.
12.  (5) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 193, $12,875.
13. (17) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 193, $18,318.
14. (18) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 193, $17,768.
15. (25) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 191, $18,768.
16. (20) Jason Bowles, Toyota, 191, $17,518.
17. (27) Mike Wallace, Chevrolet, 191, $17,443.
18. (38) Tayler Malsam, Toyota, 189, $17,343.
19. (36) Danny Efland, Chevrolet, 187, $17,268.
20. (28) Erik Darnell, Chevrolet, 187, $17,668.
21. (30) Eric McClure, Toyota, 187, $17,268.
22. (10) Mike Bliss, Toyota, Accident, 186, $17,018.
23. (23) James Buescher, Chevrolet, Accident, 185, $16,943.
24. (35) Benny Gordon, Toyota, 184, $16,868.
25. (24) Kyle Fowler, Ford, Accident, 183, $17,293.
26. (16) Travis Pastrana, Toyota, 173, $16,768.
27. (19) David Starr, Chevrolet, Engine, 130, $10,250.
28.  (4) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, Accident, 128, $10,425.
29. (40) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, Brakes, 105, $16,593.
30. (26) Matt Carter, Ford, Ignition, 101, $16,793.
31. (41) Robert Richardson Jr., Chevrolet, Accident, 68, $16,438.
32. (11) Reed Sorenson, Ford, Accident, 63, $9,910.
33. (33) Timmy Hill, Ford, Electrical, 42, $9,875.
34. (37) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Handling, 35, $9,840.
35. (21) Jeff Green, Toyota, Vibration, 25, $9,810.
36. (22) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, Ignition, 14, $9,750.
37. (42) Fain Skinner, Ford, Engine, 8, $9,715.
38. (31) Chase Miller, Chevrolet, Vibration, 7, $9,661.
39. (39) Mike Harmon, Chevrolet, Overheating, 6, $9,545.
40. (29) Josh Wise, Chevrolet, Electrical, 5, $9,480.
41. (32) Carl Long, Chevrolet, Fuel Pressure, 4, $9,415.
42. (34) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, Overheating, 3, $9,365.
43. (43) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, Accident, 2, $9,286.

RACE STATISTICS

   Average Speed of Race Winner: 117.880 mph.
   Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 32 Mins, 51 Secs.
   Margin of Victory: 0.157 Seconds.
   Caution Flags: 8 for 43 laps.
   Lead Changes: 9 among 6 drivers.
   Lap Leaders: K. Busch 1-2; R. Stenhouse Jr. 3-17; K. Harvick 18-49; S. Hornish Jr. 50; K. Harvick 51-120; T. Pastrana 121-126; K. Harvick 127-170; J. Allgaier 171-183; K. Harvick 184-194; R. Stenhouse Jr. 195;.
   Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): K. Harvick 4 times for 157 laps; R. Stenhouse Jr. 2 times for 16 laps; J. Allgaier 1 time for 13 laps; T. Pastrana 1 time for 6 laps; K. Busch 1 time for 2 laps; S. Hornish Jr. 1 time for 1 lap.
   Top 10 in Points: E. Sadler - 904; R. Stenhouse Jr. - 892; S. Hornish Jr. - 872; A. Dillon - 867; J. Allgaier - 810; M. Annett - 760; C. Whitt - 707; M. Bliss - 662; B. Scott - 583; D. Patrick - 570.

Ty Dillon notches first truck series victory at Atlanta

 Ty Dillon notches first truck series victory at Atlanta

Aug. 31, 2012

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

HAMPTON, Ga. -- On Friday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Ty Dillon took a giant stride in the footsteps of his brother.

Taking advantage of Kyle Busch's brush with the wall in the late going, pole-sitter Ty Dillon won going away in Friday night's Jeff Foxworthy's Grit Chips 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the first victory for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series rookie.

Busch ran second, 3.227 seconds behind the race winner. James Buescher finished third, followed by Parker Kligerman and Aric Almirola. Series leader Timothy Peters came home 13th.

Dillon, 20, grandson of team owner Richard Childress, is third in the standings, nine points behind Peters, as he tries to duplicate the NCWTS championship won by 22-year-old brother Austin Dillon last year.

"I'm just so happy for how hard we've worked," said Ty Dillon. "It's our rookie year, and we're battling for the championship. My team doesn't give up.

"Man, I'm just so happy and so excited. I finally won a NASCAR race. It's been my whole life, and to finally do it means so much. Man, it's awesome."

Busch, Buescher (second in the standings, six points back) and Dillon swapped the lead between them eight times in a 25-lap stretch before Busch began to pull away. After a cycle of green-flag stops that started with Dillon's trip down pit road on lap 82, Busch held a five-second lead, but a caution for debris on the backstretch on Lap 105 slowed the race and bunched the field.

Lead-lap trucks came to pit road on Lap 106, eliminating the need for fuel conservation the rest of the way. After a restart on Lap 110, Busch pulled away to a one-second lead as Dillon and Buescher battled for second behind him.

But Busch scraped the wall on the final run and damaged his truck, allowing Dillon to overtake him for the lead on Lap 125 of 130.

Busch said Dillon's truck was simply better.

"He had a lot better handle on the bottom of the race track than we did, especially throughout the longer run," Busch said. "He could hold the bottom better than I could. There, when it's time to race, when a guy catches you, you've got to go somewhere else.

"You've got to go to the top, and you try to push and get sideways and hit the fence. There's no room to catch it up there. It was all I could do to push it as hard as I could."

Bad luck continued to haunt four-time champion Ron Hornaday Jr., still seeking his first victory since joining Joe Denette Motorsports at the end of the season. On Lap 37, contact from the truck of Tim George Jr. trapped Hornaday against the outside wall in a wreck that also collected Jason White's Ford.

RACE RESULTS

 1.  (1) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 130, $45,885.
 2.  (4) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 130, $25,925.
 3.  (3) James Buescher, Chevrolet, 130, $21,620.
 4.  (9) Parker Kligerman, Toyota, 130, $15,435.
 5. (13) Aric Almirola, Ford, 130, $12,185.
 6. (17) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 130, $9,810.
 7. (14) Joey Coulter, Chevrolet, 130, $11,540.
 8.  (5) Nelson Piquet Jr., Chevrolet, 130, $11,440.
 9. (10) Matt Crafton, Toyota, 130, $11,310.
10. (15) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 130, $10,235.
11. (12) Ryan Blaney, RAM, 130, $10,785.
12.  (6) Johnny Sauter, Toyota, 130, $11,585.
13.  (8) Timothy Peters, Toyota, 130, $10,485.
14. (20) Justin Lofton, Chevrolet, 130, $10,385.
15. (18) Cale Gale, Chevrolet, 130, $11,360.
16.  (7) Miguel Paludo, Chevrolet, 130, $10,185.
17. (23) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 130, $10,130.
18. (24) David Starr, Toyota, 130, $10,005.
19. (22) John Wes Townley, Toyota, 129, $9,955.
20. (16) Ross Chastain, Toyota, 129, $10,530.
21. (21) Todd Bodine, Toyota, 129, $9,855.
22. (30) Max Gresham, Chevrolet, 129, $7,555.
23. (29) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 128, $9,755.
24. (28) Bryan Silas, Ford, 127, $8,480.
25. (26) Chad McCumbee, Chevrolet, 127, $7,605.
26. (33) Chris Fontaine, Chevrolet, 126, $8,405.
27. (31) Caleb Holman, Chevrolet, Engine, 74, $7,380.
28.  (2) Tim George Jr., Chevrolet, Accident, 63, $7,350.
29. (11) Jason White, Ford, Accident, 45, $7,325.
30. (19) Ron Hornaday Jr., Chevrolet, Accident, 43, $7,300.
31. (35) Chris Jones, Chevrolet, Transmission, 25, $7,775.
32. (25) Johnny Chapman, Toyota, Radiator, 17, $7,250.
33. (27) Scott Riggs, Chevrolet, Ignition, 11, $7,225.
34. (34) Stephen Leicht, Chevrolet, Engine, 4, $7,175.
35. (32) Blake Koch, Ford, Overheating, 2, $7,145.
36. (36) Dennis Setzer, Chevrolet, Rear Gear, 2, $7,106.

RACE STATISTICS

   Average Speed of Race Winner: 136.733 mph.
   Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 27 Mins, 51 Secs.
   Margin of Victory: 3.227 Seconds.
   Caution Flags: 3 for 16 laps.
   Lead Changes: 20 among 8 drivers.
   Lap Leaders: T. Dillon 0; Kyle Busch 1-9; T. Dillon 10-35; P. Kligerman 36; Kyle Busch 37-45; J. Buescher 46-49; Kyle Busch 50-53; J. Buescher 54-55; Kyle Busch 56-57; T. Dillon 58-60; Kyle Busch 61-65; T. Dillon 66; Kyle Busch 67-83; A. Almirola 84; J. Coulter 85; J. Lofton 86-90; C. Gale 91; Kyle Busch 92-105; T. Dillon 106-109; Kyle Busch 110-124; T. Dillon 125-130.
   Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Kyle Busch 8 times for 75 laps; T. Dillon 5 times for 40 laps; J. Buescher 2 times for 6 laps; J. Lofton 1 time for 5 laps; P. Kligerman 1 time for 1 lap; J. Coulter 1 time for 1 lap; C. Gale 1 time for 1 lap; A. Almirola 1 time for 1 lap.
   Top 10 in Points: T. Peters - 528; J. Buescher - 522; T. Dillon - 519; P. Kligerman - 507; J. Lofton - 497; J. Coulter - 484; M. Crafton - 483; N. Piquet Jr. - 454; R. Hornaday Jr. - 436; J. White - 416.

--30--

INDYCAR NEWS AND NOTES – Aug. 29, 2012

 

INDYCAR NEWS AND NOTES - Aug. 29, 2012

Today's IZOD IndyCar Series, Firestone Indy Lights and Mazda Road to Indy headlines:

1.      Sonoma technical penalty update

2.      If you missed it - Alex Tagliani conference call

3.      THE INSIDE TRACK - Grand Prix of Baltimore

4.      Power is focus of latest episode of "INDYCAR 36"

5.      Ed Carpenter Racing seeks to continue streak

6.      Chinese driver Fong joins Firestone Indy Lights

7.      Of note

 

1. Sonoma technical penalty update: There were no technical penalties issued following the IZOD IndyCar Series race at the raceway at Sonoma on Aug. 26.

2. If you missed it - Alex Tagliani conference call: Earlier today, IZOD IndyCar Series driver Alex Tagliani participated in an INDYCAR conference call to preview the Grand Prix of Baltimore.

Tagliani, driver of the No. 98 Barracuda Racing Honda, is 17th in the IZOD IndyCar Series standings despite missing a race earlier this year. Tagliani has advanced to all but one of the Firestone Fast Six qualifying sessions since his team moved to Honda, and has recorded seven top-10 finishes in the past eight races. Tagliani will be looking to get his first podium finish of 2012 at the Grand Prix of Baltimore, where he was seventh a year ago.

A full transcript and a broadcast-quality MP3 are available at media.indycar.com. Selected quotes from the interview are below.

Q. I was wondering if you had a chance to talk to Ryan Hunter-Reay and what is your side of Sunday's incident.

ALEX TAGLIANI: Yeah, I spoke with him after the race. I stopped by in the pit lane. I apologized to him again about the incident. I wanted him to take a few minutes just to hear my side of the story because when I first got with him it was basically his side of the story, and I accepted it. I also accepted the fact he had the right to be upset.

The incident, obviously Barracuda Racing and myself as a driver, we earned the right to race against anybody out there. We have our own little championship going on. We need to be in the Leaders' Circle for next year, so it's very important that we grab as many points as possible.

I don't think it would be fair for my team if I know that I have a car to pass Dario (Franchitti) and I just lay back. I don't think Bryan (Herta) would be very happy with me if I do that. If you decide to make a move on someone, you might make a mistake. That's accident happened. I went into the corner, side-by-side with Dario. I locked the brakes. I missed the apex by a foot. I hit Ryan's bumper and made him spin.

For my defense, it's not the first time it happened with drivers in that corner with the race. It happened to him. It happened to other people. Also (it was) my first drive-through penalty in a long time.

If he has a short memory, it's not fair, because he's been called for drive-through by hitting Scotty (Dixon) in Toronto and Ryan Briscoe in Barber and this year as well.

Everybody is exposed to making a mistake once in a while when you're fighting for the same piece of real estate in IndyCar. Unfortunately, that day it was him.

I will apologize every day I see him until you know that you can move on and understand. That's the only thing I can do. I'm not going to hide behind my mistake. Other than that, I can't do anything else.

 

Q. What has been the biggest change at Barracuda Racing this year? 

ALEX TAGLIANI: I'm very, very surprised. Obviously it's our first year together as a group, first year for BHA. Overall, the big change was switching to Honda. It was a pretty big decision from the team. But (co-owner) Bryan (Herta) and the Barracuda Racing people decided it was the best thing we could do for the future and we felt that our team was at a level where we deserved to have the proper engine manufacturer with us, to showcase what we were capable of.

On the first four races of the championship, we had a lot of DNFs, a lot of problems. We missed one. So our championship really began at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Since then we've been regular, pretty consistent. Qualifying has been our highlight. We were very, very quick in qualifying.

I think overall we're looking forward to a strong 2013 season and hopefully finishing 2012 strong, as well.

Q. You mentioned there are two races to go. You sat on the pole at Texas, so you know the car can be fast on an oval. There's one street course left at Baltimore. Do you think you can compete for wins at Baltimore and Fontana? 

ALEX TAGLIANI: Yeah, our first street course after we switched to Honda after the Speedway was Detroit. We were third on the grid there. We didn't have the chance to really capitalize on a great qualifying because we had to start from the pit lane. Overall, we had a strong race, made it back all the way to top five, then had an issue and we got cycled back to 21st.

I think our car has been pretty strong on street courses. Toronto we qualified fast. There's been a couple of races where we didn't have a chance to show the speed or pace we had in the race. Edmonton was a good example where we were good, not good on old tires, but good on new tires. Overall, I don't expect anything different. I really hope that we'll be able to get right in the range of where we need to be with the setup and work our weekend through that.

Q. Talk about Baltimore a little bit, changes in the course. The key change is the elimination of the chicane on the front. Do you think those changes will affect the racing this weekend? 

ALEX TAGLIANI: I think so, definitely. Without the chicane in the middle, it will allow for more passing, especially with the 'push to pass.' There's been a heavy braking zone down the end. It opens up the door.

I think it has the possibility to put on a pretty good show. I think they're just going to be like a step up regarding safety, also for the drivers to put on a better show for the fans, to get the Indy cars to stretch their legs with the turbo engine.

On paper, it looks really good. I'm really looking forward to see the changes.

3. THE INSIDE TRACK - Grand Prix of Baltimore: Click HERE to access the Inside Track, an interactive graphic previewing the Grand Prix of Baltimore, the IZOD IndyCar Series' event on the streets of Baltimore this weekend.

The graphic contains links to videos featuring highlights of last year's race won by Will Power, and a driver preview featuring Scott Dixon, Oriol Servia and Simona de Silvestro. The entry lists and fast facts for the Grand Prix of Baltimore's IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights races are also available on the graphic.

We hope you find this a valuable asset in your coverage of the IZOD IndyCar Series. We appreciate your coverage of the league, its teams and drivers.

4. Power is focus of latest episode of "INDYCAR 36": IZOD IndyCar Series championship points leader Will Power is the focus of this week's "INDYCAR 36," which will air at noon (ET) Sept. 2 to kick off a five-hour block of IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights race day coverage on NBC Sports Network from Baltimore.

Power, the defending race winner on the streets of Baltimore, is coming off a runner-up finish to Team Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe at Sonoma on Aug. 26.

The IMS Productions crew went behind the scenes during a strategy meeting and sponsor commitments, and rode to the venue on Brasil IT+ Pole Day with Power and his wife, Elizabeth, who is the publicist for Panther/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.

"That was a nice perspective," said Dan Huber, the show's producer. "We got to hear the story of how they first got together back when they were both working for Derrick Walker in Champ Car in 2006. We got to see more of Will's personality."

The crew also interviewed Penske Racing president Tim Cindric and Helio Castroneves.

Power, who started from the pole at Sonoma, was aiming to win at the track for the third year in a row. The second-place finish, combined with Ryan Hunter-Reay's 18th place in the 85-lap race on the 2.385-mile, 12-turn road course, allowed Power to increase his championship points lead from 5 to 36 over Hunter-Reay.

"He was conflicted after the race in that he had a good points day but didn't win the race," Huber said. "He's a very focused and competitive individual."

5. Ed Carpenter Racing seeks to continue streak: Team owner/driver Ed Carpenter is the only driver to have been running at the finish in all 13 races this season. The team began operation less than 10 months ago.

"It is very difficult to construct a team in just a few months and try to compete against the likes of Penske, Ganassi and Andretti," said Carpenter, driver of the No. 20 Fuzzy's Ultra Premium Vodka car. "We have a solid team with (general manager) Derrick (Walker) and (team manager) Tim Broyles leading the way. I have been able to concentrate on the driving side as well. I am proud of the way the team has come together and finishing every race this year shows the effort the Fuzzy's Vodka team has produced this season."

 

6. Chinese driver Fong joins Firestone Indy Lights: Brooks Associates Racing will rejoin Firestone Indy Lights, fielding its No. 8 car for Hong Kong driver Adderly Fong in this weekend's Grand Prix of Baltimore.

Fong, a veteran of British Formula 3, Auto GP and sports car racing, will make his U.S. racing debut with the team in hopes of racing in Firestone Indy Lights full time in 2013.

"My team and I remain dedicated to helping drivers compete in the U.S. and I'm thrilled that Adderly has joined us for this race," said team owner John Brooks. "He did really well in the test, and is a strong competitor for the series."

 

Fong will be paired with veteran engineer Lee Dykstra, who has worked with drivers such as Raphael Matos, James Davison and James Hinchcliffe.  

Brooks' team has raced a limited campaign in 2012, fielding a car for England's Alex Jones at Long Beach. But Brooks hopes to maintain his team's presence in the series to provide opportunities for drivers chasing their dreams of becoming an IZOD IndyCar Series driver.

"At the end of the day, we have always been in the racing industry for the long haul, and we look forward to a competitive race this weekend," Brooks said. "I love what I do and our track record - literally - speaks for itself.  My drivers have gone on to do well in the larger series - Andreas Wirth, Ronnie Bremer, etc. - and we do this to make that difference in their careers." 

7. Of note: Ryan Homes will be an associate sponsor on the No. 14 ABC Supply car of A.J. Foyt Racing for the weekend. … Verizon Wireless, the Official Wireless Sponsor of the IZOD IndyCar Series, has extended its official designation to the Grand Prix of Baltimore. … Baltimore native and Grammy Award-nominated Mario will sing the national anthem before the start of the IZOD IndyCar Series race.

***

The next IZOD IndyCar Series race is the Grand Prix of Baltimore on Sept. 2 on the streets of Baltimore. The race will be televised live at 2 p.m. (ET) by NBC Sports Network and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network on SiriusXM (Sirius 212 and XM 94). The next Firestone Indy Lights race is the Grand Prix of Baltimore on Sept. 2 on the streets of Baltimore. It will be televised live by NBC Sports Network at 12:30 p.m.