Fast Facts ….Sunday’s Race at Talladega

Johnson wins at Talladega: #48-Jimmie Johnson won the Aaron’s 499 Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway for his 1st win of 2011, and the 54th of his career. Johnson, #33-Bowyer, and #24-Gordon came across the finish line 3 wide, with Johnson .002 seconds ahead of Bowyer and .039 second ahead of Gordon. The finish ties Ricky Craven’s 2003 Darlington win as the closest finish since electronic timing was implemented.
#88-Earnhardt, Jr. finished 4th, #29-Harvick, #99-Edwards, #16-Biffle, #5-Martin, #34-Gilliland, and #20-Logano.
There were 88 lead changes among 26 drivers; 6 cautions for 24 yellow flag laps.
The attendance is listed as 115,000, down from last years 123,500.
**Scheduled Race Re-Air: SPEED, Wednesday, April 20 at 12:00pm/et

Race Fast Facts – Talladega:
Jimmie Johnson won the 42nd Annual Aaron’s 499 , his 54th victory in 335 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his first victory and fifth top-10 finish in 2011.
This is his second victory and ninth top-10 finish in 19 races at Talladega Superspeedway.
Clint Bowyer (second) posted his fifth top-10 finish in 11 races at Talladega Superspeedway. It is his fourth top-10 finish in 2011.
Jeff Gordon (third) posted his 18th top-10 finish in 37 races at Talladega Superspeedway.
Andy Lally (19th) was the highest finishing rookie.
Carl Edwards leads the point standings by 5 points over Jimmie Johnson.
The margin of victory of 0.002 ties the closest margin of victory (Darlington – 3/16/2003) since the advent of electronic scoring in 1993.
The 88 lead changes ties the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series all-time record of lead changes set at Talladega (4/25/2010).

Two records tied at Talladega: Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway tied two Sprint Cup Series records – number of lead changes and closest margin of victory. There were 88 lead changes at the start/finish line, tying an all-time NASCAR record set in last season’s April event at Talladega. The final lead change occurred on the last lap – eight of the last 12 Talladega races featured a last-lap lead change. Jimmie Johnson edged Clint Bowyer by .002 seconds, which matches the closest margin of victory since the inception of electronic scoring in May 1993. That mark was originally set at Darlington Raceway on March 16, 2003, with Ricky Craven beating Kurt Busch. Since 1993, every race at Talladega finishing under green – 29 in all – has had a MOV under .400 seconds. Passing numbers – for the lead and otherwise – also were high. There were 159 green flag passes for the lead all around the race track, with a total of 11,025 green flag passes throughout the field.

How easily they forget…..

Yesterday (Thurs. Dec. 3rd) was the NASCAR Partners Awards Day. It’s where NASCAR sponsor and partners hand out various performance based awards.  Sometimes I think it’s more about their favorite drivers than performance.

Here’s the List of Thursdays Award Winners

* Buddy Shuman Award Dale Inman
* NASCAR Home Depot Humanitarian Award Michigan International Speedway
* NMPA Myers Brothers Award Barney Hall
* Chex Cereals Most Popular Driver Award Dale Earnhardt Jr.
* Raybestos Rookie of the Year Award Joey Logano
* DirecTV Crew Chief of the Year Award Darian Grubb
* Dow Automotive Strategic Call of the Race Award Jimmie Johnson
* Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Year Award Drew Blickensderfer
* MAHLE Clevite Engine Builder of the Year Award Hendrick Motorsports
* Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Award #42 team
* Mobil 1 Command Performance Award Juan Pablo Montoya
* O’Reilly Parts People, Services and Performance Award Denny Hamlin
* Goodyear Gatorback Fastest Lap Award Jimmie Johnson
* Tissot Pit Road Precision Award #16 team
* WIX Filters Lap Leader Award Tony Stewart
* Coors Light Pole Award Mark Martin
* Sunoco Diamond Performance Award Jimmie Johnson
* Goodyear Award Jimmie Johnson
* Championship Sponsor Award Lowe’s
* Champion Crew Chief Award Chad Knaus

There’s a few here that I think they missed the mark on or they have very short memories. Here’s the mistakes I think they made, I really think most of you will agree.

* Dow Automotive Strategic Call of the Race Award Jimmie Johnson
This one to me is a No Brainer-Should have Been  David Ruetimann I beleive it was the Coke 600 the call was to stay out instead of pit then the race was called for rain and David got his 1st Cup Victory.

* Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Year Award Drew Blickensderfer
Again this ones a No Brainer, I’d have to say Frank Kerr of the #83 Red Bull Team deserved this one. Remember during the Pep Boys 500 in Atlanta when Brian Vickers broke an axle, 99%of the time teams don’t even pull a wheel off on pit road they just take it to the garage to replace the axle but Kerr had the team do it there on Pit Road and luckily they were able to fish out both pieces on the axle and slide a new one in that decision allowed Vickers to make the Chase. That’s solving a Problem!!!!

* Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Award #42 team
This one should go to the #83 Team for the broken axle repair at Atlanta’s Pep Boys 500. That repair allowed Vickers to make the Chase. (Explanation under the above Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Year Award)

* Tissot Pit Road Precision Award #16 team
This one Again should go to the #83 Team for the broken axle repair at Atlanta’s Pep Boys 500. That repair allowed Vickers to make the Chase. (Explanation under the above Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Year Award)
This is an amazing repair to be done on Pit Road, Luck has to be on your side because first of all when the axle breaks it usually breaks into a few pieces because of that usually you have to remove the gears from the rear end to get all the pieces.  So o.k. you get lucky and it’s only 2 pieces, you still have to get those 2 out and then slide the axle in place and get it to seat right but really where all the difficulty comes in is because your on pit road with the pace car coming around in about 30 seconds, so hurry get it in and tires back on to get him back out so he can come around and get 4 fresh tires , fuel and any other adjustments. Tough call to attempt on pit road and even tougher to get it done!!!!

DAM !!!!!

UNOFFICIAL Sprint Cup CHASE Standings
[after Talladega, Chase race 7 of 10; Season race 33 of 36]:
pos, car#, driver, points, behind, [wins]

1) #48-Jimmie Johnson [6 wins], 6248,
2) #5-Mark Martin [5 wins], 6064, -184
3) #24-Jeff Gordon [1 win], 6056, -192
4) #42-Juan Montoya, 6009, -239
5) #14-Tony Stewart [4 wins], 5969, -279
6) #2-Kurt Busch [1 win], 5936, -312
7) #16-Greg Biffle, 5908, -340
8} #39-Ryan Newman, 5846, -402
9) #9-Kasey Kahne [2 wins], 5834, -414
10) #99-Carl Edwards, 5811, -437
11) #11-Denny Hamlin [3 wins], 5800, -448
12) #83-Brian Vickers [1 win], 5692, –556

It looks like Johnson’s going to get his 4th Sprint Cup Championship, it’ s not a lock yet but it’s gone from drivers needing to consistently perform well to beat him to Johnson has to have some bad luck. If Johnson has a DNF and Martin wins then there’s a chance Martin could win the Championship but it would be a slim chance because let’s say Johnson does have a DNF the #48 team usually rebounds well and he’ll probably win the next one. Johnson needs a DNF then a 20th place finish followed up by a 15th place finish while Martin posts top 5 in the next three events. But back to reality because one thing that won’t happen is for Johnson to run poorly in the last 3 races. Just not gonna happen.

This is from Jayskis

If #5-Martin wins the final three Sprint Cup races [Texas, Phoenix & Homestead] and leads the most laps, he would score 585 points [195×3] for a total of 6649 points. #48-Johnson has 6248, so Johnson needs to score 402 points in the final three race, IF Martin were to win all three. Which is an average of 134 points a race for the three remaining races. Finishing 10th is 134 points. So Johnson needs to finish 10th or better in the three remaining races [or total 402 points], and nothing Martin or any other driver can do to overtake Johnson.

Shock, Dis-belief, Sadness, Anger, Did I say Shocked…….

I just picked myself up off the floor in dis-belief. Get this, the rumor is Danica Patrick is asking for 8 million dollars to run 8 Nationwide races. That’s right 8 MILLION for 8 races, that’s 1 MILLION dollars to just start the race. That’s so absurd if it is true I’ll have to seriously think about turning in my NASCAR fan membership because that will mean they are just like the stick and ball athletes that are essentially robbing the fans. When these athletes ask for ridiculous salaries they know that ultimately the fans pay the price and they don’t care. They could careless if a family can go to a sporting event without risking the family car. But that’s another post another day.

Right now it’s just a rumor, I can’t believe it would be true. Danica would have to do a hell of alot more than drive a car to get 8 MILLION dollars. Many Nationwide teams don’t even spend 8 million to run the entire season.  

I’m not an IRL fan but I am a Danica Patrick fan, I’ve watched IRL races just to see how Danica runs. If this rumor ends up being fact Danica’s dead to me. (like it matters)

In Shock and Dis-appointment………

SHOCK !!……………

WOW, I can’t beleive Kyle went out like that. Does he have a chance ?? I really thought that if Kyle didn’t win the chase it would have been because he was driving to aggressive and crashed in a few chase races to get the DNF’s that knock him out of contention. I would have never guessed that equipment failures would be the cause. I would have bet money that equiptment won’t be the problem. He ran 26 races with very little or no equiptment failures then the first two chase races and it’s over, maybe. Is it karma, bad luck, or both.  Can he pull out of this, I haven’t check yet but is it mathematically possible for him to bounce back ?? I sure hope so, he and his team preformed better than any other driver/team for the first 26 races. I think they deserve it.

DIS-APPOINTMENT !!………

I am really dis-appointed in Red Bull decision to release A.J. Almendinger for Scott Speed. It’s going to be another 2 years now before the no.# 84 Toyota will be competitive. I believe its going to take Scott Speed the same season and a half it took A.J. to get comfortable, is Red Bull going to change again because they don’t understand they’re competing against team that have been around for 10 + years and it takes years to gain the respect and knowledge it takes just to be a weekly top 10 team. Drivers respected A.J. he was starting to come into his own veteran status. It looks like Ganassi is going to be the beneficary of Red Bull’s hard knocks. Red Bull made a mistake and I can’t believe Jay Frye was part of that decision, I know the big wheels in Austraila don’t have a clue but I really thought Jaye knew better.

The Chase for the Cup Contenders are Set

               2008 Chase Contenders

1) #18-Kyle Busch 5080 [8 wins x 10 bonus pts]
2) #99-Carl Edwards 5050 [6 wins, 5 wins x 10 pts = 50pts*]
3) #48-Jimmie Johnson 5040 [4 wins]
4) #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. 5010 [1 win, 2nd, 3rd, 3-4ths]
5) #07-Clint Bowyer 5010 [1 win, 2nd, 3rd, 4th]
6) #11-Denny Hamlin 5010 [1 win, 7-3rds]
7) #31-Jeff Burton 5010 [1 win, 1-3rd]
8) #20-Tony Stewart 5000 [3-2nds]
9) #16-Greg Biffle 5000 [2-2nds]
10) #24-Jeff Gordon 5000 [1-2nd, 3-3rds]
11) #29-Kevin Harvick 5000 [1-2nd, 1-3rd]
12) #17-Matt Kenseth 5000 [2-3rds]

* lost the bonus for win at Las Vegas due to penalty
• To start the Chase, all 12 drivers have their point totals reset to 5,000.
• After the reset, Chase drivers get 10 bonus points for each victory thus far this season.
• Those new totals produce the Chase seedings.
• For drivers starting the Chase with identical point totals, their seedings are determined by the traditional tiebreaker of best finishes beyond race victories.
Courtesy Jayski’s

 

Who do you think will win the Championship ?? 

Post your Choice. Document it Now…. 

Carl’s Mistake……Kyle’s Motivation……

 

    The August night race at Bristol is one of my favorite races of the year. I’m not sure from a fan standpoint if the racing is better or worse since the new pavement. In the past it was a 1 and a half groove race track now its pretty much a 2 racing groove track, in the past to get around someone you had to move them out of the way and that was the cause of alot of fights now with the new pavement and 2 racing grooves you can race around them.

   So I was thinking as we near the end of the race “is this going to finish without somebody getting pissed off” just about the time I thought that with 30 laps to go Carl Edwards didn’t use the 2nd groove to get around race leader Kyle Busch he moved him out of the way just like the olds days(last year).

   In my opinion Carl made a huge mistake, it wasn’t when he moved Kyle out of the way it was on the cool down lap when Kyle came along side Carl and bumped him and Carl retaliated by spinning Kyle out. Don’t get me wrong I think Carl was right in his actions and I would have probably done the same thing it just wasn’t smart. The reason I think it was a huge mistake is Kyle is motivated when he’s been poked with a stick, when he’s poked he usually feels like he’s got something to prove and he usually does prove it. He runs best when he thinks he’s getting the raw end of the deal or when he’s mad.

   Just a couple races until the start of the Chase for the Cup and Carl lit the fuse hanging out of Kyles butt so now Kyle is going to show Carl that 2nd is just the first loser.

Yea Right !!!

A Statement From Joe Gibbs Owner of Joe Gibbs Racing

  First, we want to apologize to NASCAR, all of our partners, all of our families at JGR, and all of our fans for the unfortunate incident that took place this past weekend in Michigan with our two Nationwide teams. A poor decision was made by some key members of our organization, and 100 percent of the blame rests with us.

   “In 17 years we have never had any representative of Joe Gibbs Racing knowingly act outside of NASCAR’s rules, and that is something we consider essential to how we operate on a daily basis. What we have determined is that these individuals involved used extremely poor judgment in attempting to alter the results of NASCAR’s dyno test following Saturday’s Nationwide Series race in Michigan. Although in no way was anything done that might have altered the race outcome, these JGR employees attempted to circumvent the NASCAR rule book and that is unacceptable.

    “We take full responsibility and accept the penalties NASCAR has levied against us today. We had come to the conclusion that we would add to any NASCAR imposed penalties with the minimum being suspension for the remainder of the season for those involved, including our two Nationwide Series crew chiefs. There will also be an additional monetary fine beyond the amount announced by NASCAR earlier today, which will be the responsibility of those involved.

   “We are, however, disappointed that NASCAR chose to place our drivers on probation, as they had no knowledge or involvement of this incident.

   “On behalf of everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing, we apologize again for this most unfortunate situation.”(Joe Gibbs Racing PR)(8-20-2008)

The Garage Area Comment:

I think we all expected better from Joe Gibbs and Joe Gibbs Racing but one of his first comments in his statement was a crock….Gibbs said “In 17 years we have never had any representative of Joe Gibbs Racing knowingly act outside of NASCAR’s rules” there is no way he can make that claim and be truthful. We know teams skirt the rules thats no secret so his comment just makes him look like a liar.    One of the last comments in his statement was…. “We are, however, disappointed that NASCAR chose to place our drivers on probation, as they had no knowledge or involvement of this incident.
It is my understanding that the NASCAR officials took control of the cars when the drivers exited them, so the drivers were the last JGR employees to have access to the gas pedals thats why they were part of the penalty, the six NASCAR officials that impounded the cars did in fact state the drivers were the last to have access to the cars. You don’t have to be a crime scene specialist to figure it out. Most drivers take the heat shields off their shoes before exiting the car, so while doing that you could easily slip a magnet under the pedal without creating suspicion, another blatant lie by Gibbs.
  The smartest thing Gibbs could have done is just say…We’re sorry, I’m sorry, we accept NASCAR’s penaltys we too will investigate and JGR will also penalize those involved. Again I apologize.  Thats it, don’t say anything more. Walk away.

The whole thing was really an ignorant move. Most owners, crew chiefs, and drivers will tell you when luck is on your side and your running as well as the Gibbs teams were you don’t cheat because your being watched, everybody in the garage area is watching you to find out what your doing and half the people in the garage area  think your cheating anyway when your racking up the wins the way Gibbs is. If you do get caught then you’ll really be scrutinized.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Busted and disgusted………..

 NASCAR officials found magnets placed under the gas pedals on cars out of the Joe Gibbs Racing stables prior to a Dyno test after this weekends race the Carfax 250. By placing a quarter inch thick magnet under the gas pedal it will limit the throttle/carburator from being opened 100% in turn causing lower overall horespower on a Dyno test. Both the #18 and the
#20 Nationwide teams  will be penalized for attempting to manipulate the throttle so NASCAR would not get a true horsepower reading when putting their cars on the chassis dynamometer after the race NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said Saturday night. Both the #18 and #20 teams face penalties for what was a blatant attempt to interfere with the inspection process, Hunter also said.

the garage area: So what do you think the penalty should Be ?? Me personally think it should be very harsh….

  It was Nationwide Series teams but they(nationwide and cup) come from under one umdrella Joe Gibbs Racing. Does that taint Kyle success this season, does this taint Tony Stewart titles and for that matter any of Bobby Labonte’s success. This cast a shadow on their success because you have to wonder how many times have they cheated ?? How many times have they manipulated testing info ?? You just don’t know but what we do know is they(employees of Joe Gibbs Racing) are capable of cheating.

 

Also
 
   Did you hear Deny Hamlins comments after Sundays race at Michigan International Raceway ?? He stated several times to a few different media outlets that he’s frustrated because Gibbs and Toyota are so far behind on their engine program. Is he on the same team as Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart ?? How can you say that when one of your teammates is leading the points and has won 8 races and the other teammate is 6th in the points. After Michigan all 3 Gibbs cars are in the top 12 that doesn’t look like a team thats behind in anything. He hasn’t stuck his foot that far in his mouth since a Natiomwide driver (Keslowski) raced him too hard so he made the comment that Nationwide driver should give cup drivers automatic respect.

  A good driver can take the car the crew gives him and with good communication can make adjustments compatible with conditions on raceday and finish the race a few spots better than the car was capable of. Most drivers can take the fastest, best handling car and get a good finish, but what car owners need and what makes a driver great is for a driver to be able use his talent take up the slack for the short comings of the car. Deny can’t do that yet, he does show spurts of talent when condition are perfect.

  Is Deny right are they behind in the engine program but cheating has made the others on the team successful and Deny just wasn’t included in on their rain deer games ??

Tell me what you think…….

Top and Bottom of Drivers Points Chart after the Glen

Sprint Cup Standings after Sunday Race at

Watkins Glen International Raceway

Driver Standings 1st thru 14th

UNOFFICAL Drivers Points Standings [after Watkins race 22 of 36]:
1) #18-Kyle Busch 3254 [8 wins]
2) #99-Carl Edwards 3012 -242 [4 wins]
3) #48-Jimmie Johnson 3010 -244 [2 wins]
4) #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2985 -269 [1 win]
5) #31-Jeff Burton 2945 -309 [1 win]
6) #24-Jeff Gordon 2754 -500
7) #20-Tony Stewart 2744 -510
8) #9-Kasey Kahne 2713 -541 [+107 pts ahead of 13th]
9) #11-Denny Hamlin 2689 -565 [+87]
10) #16-Greg Biffle 2689 -565 [+83]
11) #29-Kevin Harvick 2670 -584 [+64]
12) #17-Matt Kenseth 2628 -626 [+22]
CHASE contenders
13) #07-Clint Bowyer 2606 -648 [1 win] [22 pts out of 12th]
14) #6-David Ragan 2539 -715 [-89]

Driver Standings 31st thru 38th

Top-35 in Owner Points and guaranteed a starting spot at Michigan:
#84-Allmendinger is in top 35 first time ever; #66-Riggs falls back out and down to 37th
The teams are NOT locked in past the next race as the owners points change after each race.
31) #7-Gordon/RGM: 1770 +109
32) #22-Blaney/Bill Davis Racing: 1767, +106
33) #55-Waltrip/Waltrip Racing: 1682 +21
34) #77-Hornish/Penske Racing: 1674 +13
35) #84-Allmendinger/Red Bull Racing: 1669 8 points ahead of 36th
these teams/ drivers must qualify by speed but are close to the top-35:
36) #00-McDowell/Waltrip Racing: 1661 8 points out of 35th
37) #66-Riggs/Haas CNC Racing: 1616 -53
38) #10-Carpentier/GEM: 1469 -200