Tag Archives: NASCAR News

Kurt Busch’s final race with Phoenix Racing ends with black flag at ‘Dega

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Kurt Busch, driver of the #51 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet, spins out after leading at Talladega Superspeedway. Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

Kurt Busch was leading the race at Talledga until lap 99, when apparently he had run out of gas. Going at those speeds, with the pack behind you, and you run out of gas could lead to terminal circumstances, as it did for Busch. Jamie McMurray hit the No. 51 Chevrolet from behind, sending him spinning and hitting the inside retaining wall.

Apparently, when the car came to a rest, Busch had taken off his helmet and climbed out to check the car and noticed he could continue to the garage for the team to repair it and get it back out.

However, in the meantime the safety crew had shown up, placed their gear on the back of the car and went to assist Busch for his mandatory ambulance ride to the infield care center. But Busch had something else on his mind… to get to the garage. So he took off. Apparently he wasn’t totally out of gas….

NASCAR and team GM Steve Barkdoll were yelling at him to stop – but without his helmet on – Busch didn’t hear the commands and was eventually black flagged by NASCAR for ignoring the request.

“I guess they were telling me to stop. That is the competitor, that is the desire I have to stay in the race and to keep going,” he said. “I got out of the car, I kept going and saw the car would roll and it didn’t have flat tires.

Credit: Sean Gardner/Getty Images

“I was hoping to get the car back to the garage to work on it and get back in this race. NASCAR was yelling at me to stop, I didn’t have my helmet on and I was in worse trouble. This is the story of my life. Kurt Busch. Leading the race, runs out of gas, tries to get back in the race with that competitive desire, gets yelled at by NASCAR and now I have a storm of media around me and I don’t know what to even say or what to do next.”

That’s his story, and he’s sticking to it.

This was the conclusion of the (team) relationship between Kurt Busch and Phoenix Racing with the results after 29 Cup races together only earning two top-10s and six DNFs. Busch will drive for Furniture Row Racing starting next weekend at Charlotte and for the 2013 season, while displaced Regan Smith will take over the No. 51 Chevrolet at Charlotte.

Good luck Furniture Row, you are going to need it!

Hamlin’s kept promise to win gives Joe Gibbs Racing 100th career victory

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Joe Gibbs talks to the media during the Charlotte Media Tour. Harold Hinson/HHP

With Denny Hamlin’s promised win via Twitter after running out of fuel in the first Chase race for the NASCAR Sprint Cup at Chicagoland, also let JGR grab a milestone at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) reached its 100th victory, becoming only the sixth team in NASCAR Sprint Cup history to do so.

Joe (Coach) Gibbs entered the series in 1992 as a one-car team with eventual series champion Dale Jarrett as his driver. Now, JGR exists as a three-car team with another possible championship this season with contender, Hamlin. JGRs first championship came in 2000 with Bobby Labonte. JGR would follow that up win two more titles, both with Tony Stewart (2002 and 2005).

Below is a timeline of Gibbs’ victories on its way to 100:

On Feb. 14, 1993, JGR won its first race – and it was on NASCAR’s biggest stage, the Daytona 500. With his father Ned urging him to victory while calling the race from the CBS broadcast booth, Dale Jarrett captured his second and Gibbs’ first win. JGR has won at least one race every season since.

JGR won its first Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, on May 28, 1995 with Bobby Labonte driving.

JGR won its first Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. On Aug. 5, 2000, during his championship campaign, Bobby Labonte led 21 laps prior to kissing the bricks. JGR would win two more Brickyard events, both with Indiana native Tony Stewart (2005 and 2007).

The team’s next win came in another of NASCAR’s crown jewels – the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Labonte picked up the win again, on Sept. 3, 2000.

JGR reached milestone victory No. 50 on July 1, 2006. Tony Stewart won the Daytona night race, starting second and leading 86 laps.

On June 28, 2009, in a rain-shortened event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, JGR driver Joey Logano became the youngest winner in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history at the age of 19 years, one month and four days.

On Nov. 7, 2010, Denny Hamlin won at Texas Motor Speedway for the team’s 11th victory of the year, making the 2010 season the most prolific in JGR’s history.

JGR Wins By Driver
Tony Stewart              33
Denny Hamlin             22
Bobby Labonte           21
Kyle Busch                 20
Dale Jarrett                  2
Joey Logano                2

JGR Wins By Crew Chief
Greg Zipadelli             34
James Makar             21
Mike Ford                  17
Steve Addington        12
Dave Rogers               8
Darian Grubb              5
Michael McSwain        2
Jason Ratcliff              1

JGR Wins By Track
Atlanta                       10
Pocono                     9
Richmond                  9
Martinsville                 7
Michigan                    7
Bristol                        6
Dover                         5
Watkins Glen              5
New Hampshire          5
Charlotte                    4
Daytona                     4
Homestead                4
Chicago                     3
Darlington                  3
Indianapolis                3
Sonoma                     3
Talladega                    3
Texas                          3
Kansas                       2
Phoenix                      2
Kentucky                    1
Las Vegas                   1
Rockingham                1

Stats via NASCAR Media

JR Motorsports names interim crew chief for Kentucky race

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JR Motorsports director of competition, Ryan Pemberton, will serve as interim crew chief for the No. 7 GoDaddy.com team and driver Danica Patrick this weekend in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Kentucky Speedway, general manager Kelley Earnhardt-Miller confirmed today. Earnhardt-Miller said a crew chief for the team beyond this weekend has not been determined.

Pemberton started at JR Motorsports this week, becoming only the second director of competition since the company opened the position in 2007. In that role, Pemberton oversees car development and personnel management for the No. 88 and No. 7 Nationwide Series teams.

Pemberton’s selection as interim crew chief for this weekend’s race comes on the heels of yesterday’s announcement that Tony Eury Jr., formerly crew chief for Patrick and the No. 7 team, is no longer with the company.

JR Motorsports PR

Statement from Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the departure of Tony Eury Jr.

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MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Sept. 17, 2012) – The following is a statement from Dale Earnhardt Jr., founder and owner of JR Motorsports, regarding the departure of crew chief Tony Eury Jr.:

“Unfortunately Tony Jr. is no longer with the company. I had hoped he would be here for a long time, but as we’ve discussed the direction of JR Motorsports moving forward, it was clear our differences in ideas were too vast to overcome. I love him like a brother, and you’ll never hear me say a bad thing about him. I know he’ll have much success in anything he does going forward. As for our No. 7 team, no decision has been made on who will crew chief that team this weekend at Kentucky Speedway. We will discuss our options and make a decision very soon.”

This news about Tony Eury Jr. being let go came 10 days after JR Motorsports and competition director Tony Eury Sr., also known as “Pops,” had parted ways.

General manager Kelley Earnhardt-Miller said the decision to split with Eury Sr. came during a hard conversation about team performance.

JR Motorsports PR

Seeded NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points standings

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Drivers pose after qualifying for the Chase for the Cup after the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway. (Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)

Clint Bowyer‘s victory last night came after a rain delayed Federated Auto Parts 400, which ran early into Sunday morning. This was Bowyer’s second of the season, second at Richmond International Raceway and seventh of his career. He and teammate Martin Truex Jr. are the first two Michael Waltrip Racing drivers to ever make the Chase.

So how are the points reset?

Each of the 12 qualifiers begins the 10-race competition with 2,000 points. The top-10 qualifiers are awarded three bonus points for each victory.

Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon earned the two Wild Card spots for the 2012 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. The two Wild Card qualifiers receive no bonus points regardless of how many times they have won during the regular season.

Below are the points reset for the Chase, which begins next week, Sept. 16th, at Chicagoland Speedway:

Seeded Points Report

1 Denny Hamlin        2012
2 Jimmie Johnson    2009
3 Tony Stewart         2009
4 Brad Keselowski   2009
5 Greg Biffle             2006
6 Clint Bowyer         2006
7 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2003
8 Matt Kenseth        2003
9 Kevin Harvick        2000
10 Martin Truex Jr.   2000
11 Kasey Kahne      2000
12 Jeff Gordon        2000

Provided by NASCAR Statistics

 

NASCAR Technical Bulletin Update: limits to rear-end suspension

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NASCAR issued a technical bulletin Thursday, Sept. 6 that reconfirms the limits NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams can go in setting up their rear end suspensions in their race cars. Effective Sept. 12, the truck trailing arm front mounting bushing assemblies may be built to allow a maximum of ¼ inch of total movement in one direction only. Truck trailing arm front mounting bushings must be designed to move freely throughout the ¼ inch of approved travel. Previously approved front truck trailing arm bushing assemblies which allow more than ¼ inch of movement or that do not move freely throughout the ¼ inch travel will no longer be permitted for use in competition. Approved front truck trailing arm bushing assemblies must not be altered after being approved. Wheelbase, rear axle location (parallel), offset and rear axle housing alignment will be inspected both pre-race and post-race.

“This doesn’t change any rules that we’ve already had,” said John Darby, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Director. “It reconfirms how far teams can go with their rear suspension setups. Teams have found that with a car’s rear axle steer more is better as it helps with aero and gets the cars through the corners faster. We are just reminding the teams what the limitations are and that they cannot go past these limitations. We will likely address this further in our 2013 rule book.”

Clinch scenarios heading to Richmond – anything can, will happen

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Denny Hamlin became the season’s first four-time winner in Atlanta and holds the provisional top Chase seeding with 12 bonus points. Hamlin, teammate Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing have won six of the past seven races at Richmond International Raceway. Busch won at the 0.75-mile track in April.

RIR NSCS Practice 04/27/12 MWR No 55 and 15 Photo credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR

Congratulations to Michael Waltrip Racing as they will have a presence in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup for the first time as Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer were among six drivers clinching berths in the post season Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Truex made the Chase just once, in 2007, while Bowyer’s last of three previous appearances was in 2010. MWR became one of Toyota’s charter teams in 2007.

Below are the 2012 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup clinch scenarios for Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway, the final race before the Chase field is set.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Jimmie Johnson – the only driver with all nine Chase appearances – qualified for NASCAR’s second season the previous weekend in Bristol.

Nine drivers have clinched top-10 spots in the Chase:

Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick. Tony Stewart, currently 10th, has clinched at least a Wild Card spot.

TONY STEWART: Needs a top-10 position with a finish of 14th or better, 15th and at least one lap led or 16th and the most laps led to clinch in the Chase.

KASEY KAHNE: A win would clinch a Chase berth. If Stewart stays in the top 10, Kahne clinches a Chase spot. If Stewart falls out of the top 10, Kahne will clinch a spot if a one-win driver outside the top 10 does not win. If Kyle Busch replaces Stewart in the top 10, and Jeff Gordon wins, Kahne clinches a spot by finishing 13th or better, 14th with at least one lap led or 15th with the most laps led.

If one of those one-win drivers wins at Richmond AND Stewart remains in the top 10 (or Kasey Kahne removes Stewart in the top 10), that one-win driver would have two wins, and clinch a Chase spot.

The following scenarios are if a one-win driver DOES NOT win at Richmond…

KYLE BUSCH: If Stewart remains in the top 10 or if Kahne supplants Stewart in the top 10, Busch will clinch a Chase spot by losing 12 or fewer points to Jeff Gordon AND by losing 40 or fewer points to Marcos Ambrose. A win would guarantee Busch a Chase berth.

JEFF GORDON: If Stewart remains in the top 10 or if Kahne replaces Stewart in the top 10, Gordon will clinch by finishing 13 points ahead of Buschat Richmond AND by losing 28 or fewer points to Ambrose AND by losing 37 or fewer points to Ryan Newman. If Busch supplants Stewart in the top 10, Gordon would clinch a Chase berth with a win AND finishing 18 points ahead of Kahne at Richmond.

MARCOS AMBROSE: If Stewart remains in the top 10 or if Kahne supplants Stewart in the top 10, Ambrose will clinch by finishing 41 points ahead of Busch AND 29 points ahead of Gordon.

RYAN NEWMAN & JOEY LOGANO: Newman and Logano can only clinch a Chase berth with a win. If either Busch or Gordon removes Stewart in the top 10, Newman/Logano will be eliminated.

Two winless drivers outside the top 10 can clinch: Carl Edwards and Paul Menard.

CARL EDWARDS: Edwards needs to win (47-point win) AND Busch has to finish 24th or worse (with no laps led) at Richmond AND Gordon has to finish 12th or worse at Richmond. If Busch or Gordon supplant Tony Stewart in the top 10, Edwards will be eliminated. Back in April, Carl Edwards led 206 laps and finished 10th, his hopes for victory pulled away by a restart penalty.

PAUL MENARD: Menard needs to win (47-point win) AND Kyle Busch has to finish 34th or worse (with no laps led) AND Gordon has to finish 22nd or worst (with no laps led) at Richmond. If Busch or Gordon supplant Tony Stewart in the top 10, Menard will be eliminated.

Four drivers in the history of the Chase have come from outside for the NASCAR Sprint Cup cut-off to make the Chase at Richmond:

o    Jeremy Mayfield in 2004 made up a 55-point deficit

o    Ryan Newman in 2005 made up a one-point deficit

o    Kasey Kahne in 2006 made up a 30-point deficit

o    Brian Vickers in 2009 made up a 20-point deficit

The points will reset for the start of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup next week, Sept. 16 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Each of the 12 qualifiers begins the 10-race competition with 2,000 points. The top-10 qualifiers then are awarded three bonus points for each victory.

The two Wild Card qualifiers receive no bonus points regardless of how many times they have won during the regular season.

Source: THANK GOODNESS for NASCAR Media (LOL!)

SMOKE DETECTOR: Tony Stewart autograph session Thursday!

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Autograph session w/Tony Stewart:

Thursday, September 6, 2012

4:45 – 5:45 p.m.
Office Depot
1591 Carl D. Silver Pkwy.
Fredericksburg, VA

NOTES: Stewart will sign autographs for 300 fans at the event. Wristbands are required for the autograph session (limit one per person) and will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis at the 1591 Carl D. Silver Parkway Office Depot store beginning at 8 a.m. local time on the day of the event only (Thursday, September 6). Fans with a wristband must be in line no later than 5:15 p.m. local time to receive an autograph. Limit one autograph per wristband.

The No. 14 Office Depot show car will also be on location.

MWR 5-Hour Energy team featured behind-the-scenes in ABC special

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2012 Watkins Glenn NSCS qualifying – MWR No. 15 Clint Bowyer
8/11/2012 | By Jeff Zelevansky, Getty Images

The No. 15 5-hour ENERGY team will be featured in the ABC television special Catching Speed presented by John Deere that airs at 2 p.m. ET Sunday, September 2, 2012. The show features the Michael Waltrip Racing team as it prepares for The Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway—one of NASCAR’s most prestigious races.

“The opportunity for the Catching Speed program came along and it was just too good to pass up for our team and our sponsors,” said Ty Norris, MWR executive vice president business development. “The No. 15 team is all-new this year—a new driver, crew chief, crew, sponsor—and they along with the NAPA team are combining to make this the best year in Michael Waltrip Racing’s brief history.

“The No. 15 team is a group of great guys that has a ton of characters—they know how to have fun better than most of the teams in the garage, so it should be a very entertaining hour of television.”

The show features the 5-hour ENERGY team’s race preparation and execution from several different perspectives including the crew chief, driver, crew and marketing team.

Catching Speed even ventured away from the racetrack to follow the No. 15 team as it visited the high school of crew mechanic and Indiana native Travis Stock as the team went to play basketball after the garage closed.

NASCAR Notes: ATLANTA

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So the jig is up. What did you think of the “new” old Bristol?

To me, I believe the track itself was pretty much the same with the top groove taken away – the difference to me – was just night and day. I think the night race at Bristol is always more exciting than the day race in March anyways. Maybe Bruton Smith ought to think about dropping it’s March race and focus on the summer night race.

But think about it. How about NASCAR cutting it’s schedule by dropping the NASCAR sanctioned tracks 2nd dates, this would shorten the season (which many drivers complain it’s too long anyways), and have fans develop that “Geez, I really miss NASCAR” feeling… you know, like the one you get when it’s the off season heading into Daytona in February, or when your favorite TV show goes off the air for summer break and the excitement builds up for the Fall TV viewing?

Ticket sales would certainly improve… also would give the teams a break…financially speaking, that is.

Anyways, that’s a whole other topic for discussion… moving on…..

So, once again for the second week in a row, all three NASCAR series are heading to Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend.

Only four among the current top-10 drivers have victories: No. 48 Johnson, No. 14 Stewart, No. 88 Earnhardt Jr. and No. 29 Harvick. Manufacturer wise, each of the four manufacturers (Dodge, Ford, Chevy & Toyota) hold an Atlanta victory – Dodge has the most wins – three straight in 2009-10.

Last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, three competitors have clinched seeded spots in this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Current points leader Greg Biffle, five-time champion Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. all received their striped “clinched hat” that they will wear, recognizing them as being in the Chase. Earnhardt Jr. is in the Chase for the second straight year and fifth time overall. For Biffle, it’s redemption after failing to qualify a year ago. As for Biffle’s teammate – 2003 champion Matt Kenseth – he moves into the post season with at least a “wild card” entry.

Mathematically, every top-10 Chase spot could be clinched as well as the possibility that 11 of the 12 Chase spots could be clinched at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

A win would lock up at least a Wild Card spot for Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart. Depending on the final results from Sunday evening, Bowyer, Keselowski, Hamlin, Stewart, Kasey Kahne and Kyle Busch could clinch a Wild Card spot. It’s certainly something to watch for.

Reigning champion Tony Stewart is on the bubble after his 27th-place finish at Bristol. Kyle Busch moved ahead of Ryan Newman to claim rights to the second provisional Wild Card entry. He’s followed by Jeff Gordon, Newman, Marcos Ambrose and Joey Logano. Carl Edwards, 12th in the standings and 34 points out of 10th, is in must-win territory with two races remaining until the Chase field is set.

Elliott Sadler holds a 19-point lead over Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the championship standings. Danica Patrick it marks the final tracks on the current schedule she has not competed at – as well as No. 99 Boost Mobile driver Travis Pastrana upon his final of eight 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series races. Patrick has raced at all 22 active NASCAR Nationwide Series tracks – a total of 23. Fresh off a ninth-place finish at Bristol, Patrick sits 10th in the series championship standings.

Kurt and Kyle Busch will face off for the first time in Friday night’s Jeff Foxworthy’s Grit Chips 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The elder Busch will be driving the No. 51 Chevrolet owned by Billy Ballew, who last competed full-time in the series in 2010. Ironically, Kyle Busch won 16 times in Ballew’s equipment – four of them coming at Atlanta in 2005 and 2007-09. Kyle Busch will drive his own No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota.

James Buescher has collected three wins this season, all on a 1.5-mile track. Timothy Peters, the most recent truck series winner, has yet to collect a 1.5-mile victory in his career. Peters holds a 17-point lead over Buescher after leading all 200 laps at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Nelson Piquet Jr. and Justin Lofton both collected their first truck series win at Michigan and Charlotte, respectively. But what about Red Horse Racing’s newest member, Parker Kligerman? Kligerman has posted two top-five finishes in the past two races, moving up two positions in the championship points standings, tied for fourth.

With 10 different winners in 13 races, the field might be looking at yet, another new contender in Victory Lane.

 Source: NASCAR Media