Rain shortened race gives Stewart 2nd win

Photo courtesy; NASCAR.com

"Rain, Rain, go away!" was shouted from every NASCAR trailer this afternoon, minus one. Tony Stewart found himself leading the Auto Club 400 when a caution came out for rain on Lap 129. Stewart and Kyle Busch had fought back and forth for P1 for quite some time. Polesitter Denny Hamlin was the only other leader in the race at Fontana. Busch dominated the beginning of the race until Stewart suddenly crept to the front.

There was a record green flag run for Auto Club Speedway today. The fewest amount of cautions was 4 before today's 2 caution race. The first half of the race stayed green, also securing the race to finish on Sunday. The rain was able to hold off until the half way mark at Lap 100. 23 laps later the rain came down, soaking the track, with more rain on the way. A red flag came out on Lap 129. Stewart was in the key spot to win the race.

Jimmie Johnson's car had an oil leak causing his car to smoke from the back only 3 laps before the rain caution. He was able to enter the red flag in 10th place. What was thought to be a devastating day for the 48 team turned out okay after all, snagging a top-10 finish.
Busch, Hamlin, Earnhardt Jr., Harvick and Edwards rounded off the top-5. Yesterday's Nationwide race winner Joey Logano had a disappointing day after receiving a penalty on pit road. 

Tony Stewart now has 2 wins in the 2012 season after his victory in Las Vegas 2 weeks ago. Even after the crew chief change (Darian Grubb to Steve Addington) the 14 team is proving they can back up their 2011 Championship. Stewart sure has a lot more confidence early on in the season compared to last year. This Stewart-Haas Racing team is on fire in the start to 2012, and no doubt will continue their streak by the Chase in the summer.

Logano Captures Nationwide Win in Fontana

Photo courtesy; NASCAR on SPEED

Eight is great. Joey Logano dominated today's Nationwide race at Auto Club Speedway, winning from the pole. This marks Joe Gibbs Racing's 8th constructive win at the track in the Nationwide Series. Logano started on pole and led 90 of the 150 laps, obviously having the strongest car out of the 43. Joey is the first Sprint Cup regular to win a Nationwide race this season. JGR is looking for a Fontana sweep this weekend with Denny Hamlin on the pole for tomorrow's Cup race.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished 2nd and Brad Keselowski came home 3rd. Logano's teammate Brian Scott finished 4th and Austin Dillon rounded off the Top 5. Most of the race went caution free with a few debris yellows and some spins. Sam Hornish Jr. and Blake Koch were the two cars who spun, causing little damage. Danica Patrick had engine problems and a punctured radiator early on and was unable to finish, continuing the poor start to her full-time season in Nationwide.
Kyle Busch had to start from the back after missing the driver's meeting. He was able to race his way up to 5th and even led for a few laps. A bad pit stop during a caution caused him to restart 17th and finished in the top-10, a best finish for his rookie team. Brad Keselowski also had pit stop problems, but was able to recover and finish 3rd, leading a numerous amount of laps at the beginning and end of the race. JGR will be able to enter tomorrow's Cup race confident. Logano was able to win from the pole, so maybe Denny Hamlin can earn his 2nd win from the pole in tomorrow's Auto Club 500.

Hendrick Wins Second Appeal

A stunning decision to overturn the penalties of Chad Knaus and his No. 48 team came on Tuesday. The penalties of the Hendrick 48 team have been officially removed by NASCAR. For the second time Hendrick Motorsports scheduled an appeal (after losing the first) to hopefully demolish the penalties and suspension of the 48 team crew chief, Chad Knaus and car chief Ron Malac. Knaus and Malac were accused to having illegal C-Posts on the No. 48 Daytona car after inspection at the track. NASCAR suspended Knaus and Malac for 6 races, fined Knaus $100,000 and docked driver Jimmie Johnson 25 points. Owner, Rick Hendrick, scheduled an appeal to remove these penalties, but failed to convince the jury. Hendrick was not giving up there. He decided to try another appeal to hopefully rescind the sanctions.

Surprisingly, the 2nd time was successful. NASCAR Chief Appellate Officer John Middlebrook was the one to decide the 48 team's fate on Tuesday afternoon. Middlebrook did not remove the fine for Knaus though, but the points given back to their team is a boost after a disappointing beginning of the year, including a crash in the Daytona 500.

"It’s over with," Chad Knaus said, "It’s time to move on. … I was pretty torn up because I felt we did everything in our power to build the best race car we could for the Daytona 500 and take it down there without any problems.”

Rick Hendrick also spoke on the repeal of the penalties, “I’m glad this is over. I appreciate the fact that we had the opportunity to present all the facts. I’m happy with the outcome to see the points reinstated and Chad reinstated."

The Five-Time champion, Johnson, went from 17th in points to 11th. 2 points outside the Top 10. They now have their confidence back to continue the season and reach for a 6th Sprint Cup championship. The 48 team is back!

Brad Wins Big at Bristol

Photo courtesy; Yahoo! Sports

The Twitter King was crowned his first win of the season at Bristol Motor Speedway, Sunday. Brad Keselowski was able to hold off Matt Kenseth for the final 25 laps of the Food City 500 at Bristol. He had a strong car all day and dominated the last quarter of the race. He snatched Penske's first victory since announcing they will switch to Ford in 2013. It also marked the first win for a Dodge in 2012. Keselowski won the Bristol last Fall after having an advantage in the pits due to timing-line spacing.
Brad Keselowski dodged a multi-car wreck early on in the race involving Kasey Kahne, Regan Smith, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, and Kevin Harvick. The Blue Deuce was able to swerve around the damage in one piece. Kahne had slid up in front of Regan Smith causing Kahne to spin and collected the other 3 cars.
One of the most suspicious incidents happened between Hendrick teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon. Both Chevrolets were racing hard side by side causing the right side of Jr's car punctured Gordon's left rear tire. Gordon went for a ride and smashed into the wall, ruining his chances of winning the race. Gordon was upset, but admitted that it was just a racing accident.  

“I think we bumped more than we should have,” Gordon said. “We definitely didn’t hit in the right location. We didn’t hit that hard. We were a little too tight, and he was pretty good on the restart. I know it wasn’t intentional, but it certainly ruined our day.”
 Dale Jr. was quick to admit he caused the wreck in a post-race interview. In the end it was just a racing accident.
Vickers showed an impressive comeback, leading a significant amount of laps in the No. 55 car for Michael Waltrip Racing. He came home 5th along with teammates Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr. finishing 4th and 3rd, respectively.
By lap 500 it was the No. 2 Penske Dodge of Brad Keselowski out in front with Roush driver Matt Kenseth trailing behind him. Greg Biffle still leads the points going into next weekend's race in California. Brad was obviously the fastest car to beat today at Bristol Motor Speedway and no doubt he will have a lot to tweet about tonight.

Ryan Truex returns to JGR at Bristol

 The last name Truex may sound familiar to most NASCAR fans. The Truex brothers, Ryan and Martin Jr., have have been in the sport for a few years now. Ryan Truex's older brother Martin Truex Jr. currently drives for Michael Waltrip Racing at the Sprint Cup level. Ryan is not that far behind him. He drove for JGR many times last season in the Nationwide Series and started his NASCAR career in the K&N Pro Series. 2011 gave him a ride with one of the most successful teams in the sport, Joe Gibbs Racing. Ryan went on to finish all 5 starts inside the top-15 with numerous chances to win the race. Truex, along with his brother, come from a racing family and grew up in the sport. They both have a raw talent that will sprout a new family tie in NASCAR for years to come.
Ryan Truex recently found himself in a sponsorship crisis, along with many of his fellow Nationwide drivers. He finished 2011 with no full-time ride for 2012. A disappointed Truex had to wait all off-season for an opportunity to get back in the race car. He was able to sign a one-race Nationwide deal with Tommy Baldwin Jr.'s new racing team at Daytona with the company Grime Boss as a sponsor. Truex was not able to run competitively at Daytona, considering the equipment he was in, but it was enough to show Grime Boss what the kid is all about. They were willing to sponsor him in 7 events this season starting with this weekend's race at Bristol. JGR completed the rest of the deal, asking him to return to their No. 20 Nationwide ride for all 7 races. He is not quite at a full-time schedule, but will continue to show Grime Boss how well he can run in top notch equipment with the small part-time schedule in 2012.

Born to Race

RaceHub made this great video of various drivers talking about being born with the talent to race.

via RaceHub's Facebook page

Hendrick Appeal Denied by NASCAR

Hendrick Motorsports attempt to appeal the penalties on Jimmie Johnson's crew chief and car chief, Chad Knaus and Ron Malec, failed this afternoon by NASCAR this afternoon. The No. 48 team did not pass NASCAR inpection at Daytona when illegal C-posts were found on the car. Car chief, Ron Malec, will be sitting out for the next 6 races and Knaus was fined $100,000. It also cost Hendrick driver Jimmie Johnson 25 points in the Sprint Cup Series. The appeal panel consisted of John Capels, Leo Mehl and Dale Pinilis who decided to reject Hendrick's appeal.
Team owner Rick Hendrick will not stop here though. He plans to go to the next level of appeals and continue to fight until the penalty is gone. He said, "Because I don't accept it. Period." when asked why he will continue with the appeals. Knaus will be at Bristol this week and will not sit out of any races until the final appeal is heard (no date is set for the appeal yet). Hendrick will back up the whole 48 team and believes firmly in the Hendrick personnel and equipment. This penalty will not go down without a fight.

Bayne added to Bristol race

It looks like Trevor Bayne will race at his hometrack in Tennessee after all! Bayne has faced a sponsorship crisis all year resulting in the team to be pulled from the full Nationwide schedule. The first 3 races of the season were the only ones signed for Trevor to race. Now, a few days after the 3rd race in Vegas Bayne has landed sponsorship for 1 race only. It happens to be his hometrack, Bristol Motor Speedway. Lally Horse Stables has signed a one race deal with Bayne and the No. 60 team. They entered the Bristol entry list just before the deadline, meaning Bayne will get all the points he earns. He currently sits 4th in points after a 4th place finish at Las Vegas last Saturday. If he was able to get the sponsorship needed to finish the season, he would have a potential of winning the championship. He has had solid finishes in the 3 races this season. Bayne isn't the only Roush Fenway driver to have sponsor problems. Teammates Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Matt Kenseth only have partial season sponsors for Nationwide and Cup.

Stewart earns first win at Las Vegas

 

Tony Stewart is now only 2 wins away from having a victory at every track on the circuit. He added a Las Vegas win to the list today in the Kobalt 400. Just like yesterday's Nationwide race, the eventual winner came out strong during the final 30 laps. Dale Earnhardt Jr. led a surprising 70 laps early on in the race along with Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson leading a significant amount of laps.
Tony Stewart was able to hold off 5-time champ Jimmie Johnson for the final 20 laps. By taking fuel only on the final pit stop Stewart was able to beat Johnson off pit road. During the restart he launched to the lead creating a huge gap between the 2 cars.
A clash of the teammates broke through after Matt Kenseth, running in the top-5, got into the back of Edwards causing Kenseth to get caught in the side draft of Kasey Kahne. Kenseth brushed the wall and fell back to 22nd. 
The rest of the top-5 consisted of Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman and Carl Edwards. Jamie McMurray and Trevor Bayne had great finishes coming home 8th and 9th respectively. Tony Stewart's early win today with new crew chief Steve Addington will add to the championship momentum from last season.

Stenhouse holds off Martin at Vegas

Reigning Nationwide Series champion, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was able to outrun NASCAR veteran Mark Martin in Saturday's race at Las Vegas. Stenhouse didn't make much noise in the beginning laps of the race. He was running top ten for most of the race, but made a key change to his Ford and was able to dominate the last 50 laps. Stenhouse pulled away for 2nd place No. 18 car Mark Martin for a 39 lap run.
This marks Stenhouse's third career Nationwide win. He won twice at Iowa last year and of course the victory yesterday. Points leader Elliott Sadler came home 3rd with Trevor Bayne, Brendan Gaughan, Cole Witt, Austin Dillon, Justin Allgaier, Sam Hornish Jr., and Kasey Kahne completing the top-10.
A pit stop on lap 146 gave Stenhouse the momentum to take the lead from Martin. He continued the race up front leading up to the win. He cruised to the checkered flag with 4 seconds between him and the #18 car. During post-race interviews Mark told the interviewer that we could not pass the 6 car no matter how hard he tried.
"That was one serious beat-down he put on me that last run," Martin said. "I mean just a beat-down. I kept up with him for a while and about wrecked five times, and that's it."
Stenhouse and his team had a lot of confidence that they had the car to win this race. It was a special moment for Ricky to win his first mile and 1/2 race. 
"To win on a mile-and-a-half [race track] is big for me," Stenhouse said. "I feel like our cars are better than I am at some mile-and-a-halfs, and I feel like I drive really hard at the short tracks. I think we've got a really good package going now, and to get that win on a mile-and-a-half feels good."
Danica Patrick finished 12th after qualifying 12th and Kyle Busch had a hard day after hitting the wall toward the end of a race.
A win for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. gives the team a lot of confidence to defend their series championship.

Vickers is Back in Action!

The Sheriff is in town! Brian Vickers, former Red Bull Racing driver, has reeled in a 6-race deal with Michael Waltrip Racing. Elliott Sadler was going to run this minor schedule prior to his Nationwide win at Phoenix, but his boss Richard Childress pulled him out. Sadler's goal is to win a Nationwide championship and Childress thought the Cup schedule would get in the way of it. So, with that said Michael Waltrip needed a driver to fill the 5 race gap in the 55 car. Mark Martin is signed for the bulk of the schedule with 24 races. Waltrip himself will be in the Toyota for 4 races.

Brian Vickers ended the 2011 season sour. After causing 5 cautions at Martinsville, including a intentional "bump" to Matt Kenseth, no team wanted him to pilot their race car. This caused a disappointing off-season as he entered 2012 without a ride. Fortunately, MWR needed a driver and was willing to give the 28-year-old a second chance.

"I believe in second chances, and this is great opportunity for us and Brian," Michael Waltrip said. "He wants to show the world how good he really is and we believe in the equipment and people we're putting him with in 2012."

"I am thrilled to get back behind the wheel of not just a race car, but a very fast race car," Vickers said. "I'm lucky to find a ride of this quality so early in the season."

Vickers will compete in 6 races throughout the 2012 season, even taking over the second race at New Hampshire that was scheduled for veteran driver, Mark Martin. Vickers schedule includes; 2 Bristol, 2 New Hampshire and 2 Martinsville races. A road course experienced driver, yet to be announced, will run the No. 55 car at Sonoma and Watkins Glen.

Regan Smith and Paul Menard uninjured in crash

While cruising down the roads of Colorado Sprint Cup drivers Regan Smith and Paul Menard were involved in a minor road crash. Both drivers and the other passengers are okay. At 8:30 A.M on Wednesday, Smith lost control of his Silverado after hitting a patch of ice. The truck slid off the road into a collection of trees. He was traveling with wife Megan, a family friend and RCR driver Paul Menard. All of them escaped the mangled vehicle safely. Smith and Menard will still contend in Sunday's Kobolt 500 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. 

Hamlin Comes Out Strong

2010 was probably the most bittersweet season Denny Hamlin has ever had. He had the strongest season in his career, but made a terrible mistake at Phoenix that cost him the championship. Today in the hot temperatures of Arizona, Denny Hamlin had a strong car with a skillful crew chief. Darian Grubb, 2011 champion winning crew chief for Tony Stewart, was hired to be Hamlin's crew chief for 2012. Stewart-Haas Racing released Grubb just before the start of the 2011 Chase. As we all know, the 14 team went on to win the championship thanks to the heroic strategy of Grubb that saved Stewart from running out of fuel.

With the combination of JGR engines, Grubb and a talented driver the 11 team was able to get the job done. Hamlin ran strong for most of the race. He led a few laps toward the start of the race, but after a crucial chassis adjustment halfway through the race, his car improved tremendously. With less than 50 to go Hamlin found himself up front leading the pack. Fuel was the only wall between Hamlin and Victory Lane. Harvick was inching behind him with 10 to go and it looked like a great battle was brewing. 3 to go and Harvick's car had a fuel pressure failure. Harvick slowed down increasing the distance between him and Hamlin. Denny Hamlin had just enough fuel to make it to the end. He came across the line first earning his 18th career win and getting pay-back for his 2010 disappointment.

Sadler's Sweet Redemption

Not winning a Nationwide race since 1998 can really put a driver down. Elliott Sadler has been trying for 13 seasons to win another Nationwide race. Breaking his winless streak came on Saturday afternoon when he won the 2nd Nationwide race of 2012 at Phoenix International Speedway. Sadler ran in mid-pack for most of the race avoiding wrecks and slowly gaining track position. This win extends Sadler 10 points over Austin Dillon in the championship standings. After his 3rd place finish at Daytona he was leading the points leaving Daytona and now he's in the same spot leaving Phoenix. From now on wins and staying consistent can easily help him win the championship. He is on a good start so far. Last year in 2011 Sadler was caught up in a late race wreck at this same track. That one mistake ruined his championship hopes. Now in a new season, with a new team Richard Childress Racing, he is getting back his redemption.

Rounding off the top 5 were Brad Keselowski, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Austin Dillon and Kevin Harvick. Austin Dillon has had an impressive rookie start to the season with 2 top tens. He sits 2nd in points and is in contention for Rookie of the Year.

Carl Edwards' absent in this series has helped 2 lower class drivers to score wins. One being a rookie in James Buecsher and the other a veteran in Elliott Sadler. So far the season has offered both surprise wins and a hopeful look into what may come in this 2012 Nationwide Series season.

Ty Dillon: A Rising Star With a Famous Family

Some say Ty Dillon has had everything handed to him, his grandfather being Richard Childress and all, but he has had to work extremely hard to get where he is today. Being in the shadow of his older brother Austin doesn't discourage him at all, in fact it inspires him. Seeing his brother win the Camping World Truck Series Championship last year made him believe he can accomplish that too. Starting his rookie Truck series season in 2012 doesn't stop him from keeping his trend of winning races every week. He goes into every race with the same passion as he did in late models and the ARCA series. The thing is Ty Dillon has pure talent, and that can sometimes be hard to find in our sport today.

Ty Dillon started his racing career in the K & N Pro East series and the ARCA series. He started K & N  Pro in 2009 where he competed in 8 of the 10 races. Winning 1 race he finished 13th in points. In 2011 he started a full time ARCA schedule after winning 2 races in 3 starts. During 2011 he snatched an impressive 7 wins and won the 2011 ARCA championship over Chris Buescher by 340 points. Ty made his Camping World Truck Series debut in 2011 at Kentucky Motor Speedway also. Dillon was starting to prepare for the full time 2012 Truck series deal with grandfather Richard Childress' team. He finished 18th, excellent for a rookie debut. You thought that was amazing, wait until you read this. In only his 2nd Truck Series start he finished 3rd at Texas Motor Speedway! He went on to finish 9th at the finale in Homestead where brother Austin won the series championship. He recently finished 9th at Daytona this year for the first time in the #3 truck. He made veteran like passes and dodged wrecks like it was nothing.

Ty Dillon has had to work to get where he is today. He went through many small divisions to build up skill. Even though his grandfather had the equipment he never rushed into things. Yeah, he may have the equipment and sponsorship (not to mention the famous #3) of RCR, but he has the talent to stay in NASCAR for a long time. I say he will win a Truck Series championship in the next few years before moving to Nationwide and Cup, which I think he will eventually get to and be successful along with his brother Austin Dillon, a few years down the road. With 3 top tens in 4 starts Ty will have a successful year in trucks. Obviously when your grandfather is Richard Childress and your brother is reigning Camping World Truck Series Champion who have some confidence. Ty is in it to win it and in the right place to make things happen. He will shine in NASCAR for a long time, I just know it.

Penske Switches to Ford in 2013

NASCAR's most dominate manufacturer will gain one more team in 2013. Penske Racing announced this afternoon that they will be returning to Ford in 2013. Not too long ago Ford released the Fusion 2013 chassis design, far different than the other manufacturers. Penske Racing has raced Fords before from 1994-2002 before they switched to Dodge in 2003 and have constructed Dodges every since. Dodge is at a crossroads because Penske was the only successful team in NASCAR that fielded Dodges. "Penske Racing has had and continues to have a terrific relationship with Dodge, and we thank them for their partnership and their support over the past 10 years," Roger Penske [owner] said. "Our organizations have experienced many great memories together, and our teams are committed to produce wins and championships with Dodge this season." The team owner is also looking forward to their partnership with Ford next season.
The Penske deal covers both Nationwide and Cup teams. The source of engines for Penske is still undetermined. Roush Yates usually supply Ford engines in NASCAR, but Penske does have their own engine shop.
The deal with Ford was quick and easy. Penske wanted it said and done as soon as possible. Ford will gain 2 up and coming drivers in Brad Keselowski and AJ Allmendinger, who is looking for his first Cup win this season. Sam Hornish Jr. drives for Penske on the Nationwide side. Dodge will need to decide what they will do in 2013 as they finish their last season with Penske Racing in 2012.