Kurt Busch fined and placed on probation, Tony Gibson receives probation, crew members fined as well.

posted by Mike Neff

Tuesday May 15, 2012

Following the dustup on pit lane after the Bojangles Southern 500 Kurt Busch has been fined $50,000 and placed on probation until July 25th. Busch was fined for violating Section 12-1 (Actions detrimental to stock car racing; reckless driving on pit road during the race; involved in an altercation with another competitor after the completion of the race) of the 2012 NASCAR Rule Book.

Busch’s crew member, Craig Strickler, has been fined $5,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31 for violating Section 12-1 (Actions detrimental to stock car racing; interfering with a member of the broadcast media).

Tony Gibson, Ryan Newman’s crew chief, has also been placed on probation until June 27th due to the actions of one of his crew members. Gibson was cited for violating Section 12-1 and Sections 12-4G and 9-4A (Crew chief assumes responsibility for the actions of his team members). Andrew Rueger, the gas man on the No. 39 car, has been fined $5,000 and placed on probation until June 27th as well. Rueger, like the others, was in violation of Section 12-1 (Actions detrimental to stock car racing; failure to comply with a directive from a NASCAR official).

New Sponsor For Kenseth, But No Number Change

posted by Thomas Bowles

Monday May 14, 2012

Matt Kenseth has a new backer for Saturday night’s All-Star Race at Charlotte. Fifth Third Bank announced a sponsorship deal with the No. 17 Ford on Monday, becoming the primary sponsor for NASCAR’s primary exhibition race and three additional Sprint Cup events this season: Kentucky, Indianapolis, and the August Michigan race. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the new “numbers” sponsoring the car will not cause a number change as had been previously rumored.

The organization remains hopeful that with another part-time primary stepping up to the plate, one of these companies will step up and expand their support to the majority of Kenseth’s 36 races in 2013. So far this season, the No. 17 has had a plethora of primaries since losing Crown Royal for good at the end of the 2011 season. Best Buy, Zest, Ford Ecoboost and even the Gary Sinise / Tunnel To Towers Project have all shared support on the car. The inability to find a financial backer has been surprising, considering Kenseth is this year’s Daytona 500 winner and sits second in the standings, just two points behind teammate Greg Biffle.

2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Results: Southern 500

posted by Thomas Bowles

Monday May 14, 2012

Eleven down, 25 to go. Here’s the Cup Series order of finish from Saturday night’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 in Darlington, South Carolina:

KEY: *- Led The Most Laps
® = Rookie of the Year Candidate
(I) = Ineligible to earn points

Editor’s Note: Remember, some drivers will score zero points as they’re only allowed to accumulate them in one of NASCAR’s top three series: Sprint Cup, Nationwide, or Camping World Trucks.

Sprint Cup Series Finishing Order
Bojangles’ Southern 500 – Darlington
Pos	Car No.	Driver	Manufacturer	Laps	Status	Points	Laps Led
1	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevy	368	Running*	48	134*
2	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	368	Running	43	56
3	14	Tony Stewart	Chevy	368	Running	41	0
4	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	368	Running	41	44
5	56	Martin Truex, Jr.	Toyota	368	Running	40	25
6	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	368	Running	38	0
7	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	368	Running	37	0
8	5	Kasey Kahne	Chevy	368	Running	37	33
9	9	Marcos Ambrose	Ford	368	Running	35	0
10	20	Joey Logano	Toyota	368	Running	34	0
11	15	Clint Bowyer	Toyota	368	Running	33	0
12	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	368	Running	33	74
13	27	Paul Menard	Chevy	368	Running	31	0
14	78	Regan Smith	Chevy	368	Running	30	0
15	2	Brad Keselowski	Dodge	368	Running	29	0
16	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevy	368	Running	28	0
17	88	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	Chevy	368	Running	28	1
18	31	Jeff Burton	Chevy	368	Running	26	0
19	43	Aric Almirola	Ford	368	Running	25	0
20	55	Mark Martin	Toyota	368	Running	24	0
21	51	Kurt Busch	Chevy	368	Running	23	0
22	13	Casey Mears	Ford	367	Running	22	0
23	39	Ryan Newman	Chevy	367	Running	21	0
24	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Chevy	366	Running	20	0
25	38	David Gilliland	Ford	366	Running	19	0
26	83	Landon Cassill	Toyota	366	Running	19	1
27	36	Dave Blaney	Chevy	365	Running	17	0
28	34	David Ragan	Ford	364	Running	16	0
29	47	Bobby Labonte	Toyota	364	Running	15	0
30	32	Reed Sorenson (I)	Ford	363	Running	0	0
31	10	Danica Patrick (I)	Chevy	362	Running	0	0
32	73	Travis Kvapil	Toyota	362	Running	PE	0
33	22	A.J. Allmendinger	Dodge	357	Running	11	0
34	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevy	345	Running	10	0
35	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevy	339	Running	9	0
36	93	David Reutimann	Toyota	314	Running	8	0
37	49	J.J. Yeley	Toyota	132	Clutch	7	0
38	74	Cole Whitt (I)	Chevy	35	Vibration	0	0
39	30	David Stremme	Toyota	32	Overheating	5	0
40	87	Joe Nemechek (I)	Toyota	27	Power	0	0
41	52	Mike Skinner (I)	Toyota	20	Electrical	0	0
42	79	Scott Speed	Ford	20	Overheating	2	0
43	26	Josh Wise ®	Ford	19	Vibration	1	0

2012 Championship Standings – With One Race Complete
1) Greg Biffle: 411
2) Matt Kenseth: 409 (-2)
3) Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: 397 (-14)
4) Denny Hamlin: 394 (-17)
T5) Jimmie Johnson: 372 (-39)
T5) Martin Truex, Jr.: 372 (-39)
7) Tony Stewart: 369 (-42)
8) Kevin Harvick: 361 (-50)
9) Kyle Busch: 349 (-62)
10) Carl Edwards: 337 (-74)
11) Clint Bowyer: 335 (-76)
12) Brad Keselowski: 328 (-83)

NOTE: Wild Cards are currently Keselowski (12th) and Ryan Newman (13th). Keselowski has two wins this season while Newman has one.

Race Awards
3M Lap Leader: Jimmie Johnson, 134 Laps
Coors Light Pole Award: Greg Biffle (180.257 MPH)
Mahle Clevite Engine Builder Of The Race: Hendrick Engines (No. 48 car)
Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver Of The Race: Steve Addington (Tony Stewart’s crew chief)
American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award: Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 car
DirecTV Crew Chief Of The Race: Dave Rogers (Kyle Busch’s crew chief)
Mobil1 Oil Driver Of The Race: Denny Hamlin, No. 11 car
USG Improving The Finish Award: Marcos Ambrose, +19 Spots
Sunoco Rookie Of The Race: Josh Wise, No. 26 car

Hendrick Motorsports scores 200th win in Bojangle's Southern 500

posted by Mike Neff

Sunday May 13, 2012

It took 17 races after they won their 199th race to finally make it happen but Jimmie Johnson led the most laps during the race and scored the 200th win in the history of Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson held off Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart on a green-white-checkered finish to score the historic win, which is also the 56th of his career, putting him in sole possession of eighth on the all-time Cup Series win list. Kyle Busch ran in the top 10 all night and spent most of it in the top five, ultimately coming home in fourth place. Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top five.

After the race there was an altercation on pit road for the second year in a row, this time between the pit crews of Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman. The final caution of the night was brought out by a spin by Busch off of turn two that also resulted in Newman being spun into the inside back straight wall. Both cars came into pit lane to the attention of their pit crews and as Busch was leaving his stall he did a rev-limiter testing burnout through Newman’s pit while some of his crew members were still in the box. After the race ended, Newman and Busch ended up tangled up together on pit lane. When Newman’s crew arrived on the scene, after Busch’s crew was already there, some pushing and shoving ensued which resulted in a NASCAR official ending up on the hood of Busch’s car. There will certainly be some punishments handed down in the week to come.

From Hendrick Media Information:

MILESTONE WINS: Hendrick Motorsports’ first win came April 29, 1984, at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway with Geoff Bodine at the wheel. Jeff Gordon notched the team’s 50th on March 24, 1996, at Darlington Raceway and its 100th on June 10, 2001, at Michigan International Speedway. Jimmie Johnson scored the 150th Cup win for Hendrick Motorsports on March 11, 2007, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

FIRST-TIME WINNERS: Eight drivers recorded their first career Cup wins while driving for car owner Rick Hendrick: Bodine, Kyle Busch, Gordon, Johnson, Casey Mears, Jerry Nadeau, Ken Schrader and Brian Vickers. Gordon and Johnson have raced for Hendrick for their entire Cup careers.

DRIVERS AND TRACKS: Since being founded in 1984, Hendrick Motorsports has sent 15 Cup drivers to Victory Lane at 25 different racetracks. The organization has scored double-digit Cup wins at nine tracks, including a team record 18 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Hendrick has won at four inactive Cup racetracks: Nashville, Tenn., North Wilkesboro, N.C., Riverside, Calif., and Rockingham, N.C.

Greg Biffle on the pole for Bojangle's Southern 500

posted by Mike Neff

Friday May 11, 2012

Greg Biffle was the second fastest car in both practices on Friday before qualifying for the Bojangle’s Southern 500. When the timed laps counted he put his Ford on top of the charts with a lap of 27.281 seconds at a speed of 180.257 mph. Biffle was the only driver to cross the 180 mph banner. Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne both turned in 27.386 second laps for speeds of 179.566 mph. Johnson will start on the outside of the front row by virtue of the first tie-breaker which is higher position in points. On the outside of row two will be Ryan Newman, who logged a 27.402 second lap for a speed of 179.461 mph. Kyle Busch rounded out the top five with a 27.404 second lap which translates to a speed of 179.448 mph. Martin Truex Jr. will be on the outside of the third row after timing in at 27.424 seconds at a speed of 179.317 mph.

This is Biffle’s 11th pole in 341 career Cup starts. Biffle has won two poles in 2012. This is also Biffle’s second pole at Darlington in 12 career races. The last time Biffle started on the pole at Darlington was 2008. He led 95 laps but had an engine failure and finished 43rd. Josh Wise was the fastest qualifying rookie.

Stenhouse Jr. captures the pole for the VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200

posted by Mike Neff

Friday May 11, 2012

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was only the ninth fastest driver during the practice session for the Nationwide cars at Darlington but when the money was on the line for the fast lap he shot to the top of the scoring pylon and fended off the next eight drivers who attempted to assail his position. Stenhouse turned a 28.336 second lap for a speed of 173.546 mph. Stenhouse was the only driver to break into the 173 mph bracket. Denny Hamlin will start on the outside of the front row after clocking a lap at 28.461 seconds for a speed of 172.784 mph. On the inside of the second row will be Austin Dillon, who qualified for his first race at Darlington with a lap of 28.483 seconds at a speed of 172.650 mph. To Dillon’s outside will be Kurt Busch who posted a lap of 28.528 seconds which works out to a speed of 172.378 mph. Joey Logano rounded out the top five speeds with a 28.532 second lap for a 172.354 mph. Elliott Sadler, who is currently second in points to Stenhouse Jr., will start outside row three with a qualifying lap of 28.604 seconds which equates to 171.920 mph.

This is Stenhouses fifth pole of his 82 race Nationwide career. It is his first pole qualifying effort of 2012. Stenhouse has run three races at Darlington and this is his first pole position. His previous best start was eighth in 2011. Austin Dillon was the fastest rookie and has also qualified in the top 10 in all nine races this season.

AJ Allmendinger atop the pylon for second/final practice

posted by Mike Neff

Friday May 11, 2012

The second and final practice for the Sprint Cup cars hit the track at 2:15 and ran until 3:00 pm. When the red and black flags flew it was AJ Allmendinger sitting on the top of the scoring monitor with a 28.097 second lap for a speed of 175.022. Allmendinger was the only driver to top 175 mph. Greg Biffle finished second for the second practice in a row, turning a lap in 28.144 seconds for a speed of 174.730 mph. Carl Edwards improved his lot in the practice by one, moving from fourth to third on the pylon with a lap of 28.246 seconds and a speed of 174.099 mph. Jimmie Johnson barely missed out on the top three by notching a lap at 28.248 seconds and a speed of 174.067 mph. Finishing off the top five in speeds for the final practice was Travis Kvapil, who crossed the line in 28.323 seconds at a speed of 173.626 mph. Qualifying will be held at 5:10 pm Eastern time.

Kevin Harvick fastest in first Sprint Cup practice

posted by Mike Neff

Friday May 11, 2012

The Sprint Cup cars took to the track at 11:30 for their first of two practice sessions Kevin Harvick was the fastest among the 47 cars to post times. Harvick turned a lap of 27.769 seconds for a speed of 177.090 mph. Harvick was the only driver to log a speed over 171 mph. Greg Biffle was second fastest in the session with a 27.895 second lap for a speed of 176.290 mph. Third quick in the first practice was Kurt Busch who clocked in at 27.942 seconds which equates to a speed of 175.993 mph. Carl Edwards was fourth on the speed chart with a 175.780 second lap that lasted 27.979 seconds. Rounding out the top five in the first session was Tony Stewart who toured the egg shaped oval at 27.997 seconds for a speed of 175.647 mph. The second practice session runs from 2:15 – 3:00 with qualifying at 5:10 pm Eastern time.

Kurt Busch fastest in Nationwide Practice

posted by Mike Neff

Friday May 11, 2012

Kurt Busch turned the fastest lap among the Nationwide drivers at Darlington Friday with a lap of 28.634 seconds for a speed of 171.740 mph. Busch’s time bested Austin Dillon who was second fastest during the practice with a 28.690 second lap at a speed of 171.405 mph. Dillon and Busch were the only two drivers to exceend the 171 mph barrier. Third quickest was Brian Scott who clocked a lap at 28.771 seconds that equates to a speed of 170.922 mph. The second place driver in the point standings, Elliott Sadler, was the fourth fastest in the practice and the last driver in the 170 mph range, with a 28.845 second lap for a speed of 170.484 mph. The final driver in the top five was Denny Hamlin who turned in a 28.940 second lap which is a 169.924 mph. Qualifiying will take place at 3:35 Eastern time.

RPM Makes Crew Chief Change - Mike Ford Returns To NASCAR

posted by Thomas Bowles

Monday April 30, 2012

Young Aric Almirola is getting a fresh face to help him man Richard Petty’s famed No. 43. RPM announced a crew chief change Monday, releasing Greg Erwin nine races into 2012 and replacing him with Mike Ford. Ford, the former head wrench for Denny Hamlin at Joe Gibbs Racing has been seeking that level of job since being released by that team at the end of last season.

For Almirola, it’s a clear change of pace after a difficult start to 2012. 26th at Richmond Saturday night, he sits 23rd in the series standings with only one top-10 result, an eighth at Martinsville. That race is also the only one where he’s spent time up front, leading only three laps in total all season. Overall, RPM has struggled with teammate Marcos Ambrose failing to record a top-10 finish; it’s a shocking series of results considering Ford’s top team, Roush Fenway Racing is leading the point standings with Greg Biffle.

Mike Ford brings that type of championship-level experience to the table. In six full seasons with Hamlin, he made the Chase each year and never finished lower than 12th in points. Collecting 17 victories, 66 top-5 finishes and 111 top 10s for Joe Gibbs Racing, his calm demeanor typically filtered down to those he worked with.

“Mike Ford is an elite crew chief who knows what it takes to be a winner at this level,” confirmed team owner Richard Petty in a press release announcing the move. “We’re fortunate that he was available and that we could reach a deal to bring him over to our place. We’ve taken a lot of big steps at Richard Petty Motorsports in the past year and I think this might be that one piece of the puzzle we were missing.”

Now, it’ll be on the 27-year-old Almirola to produce; he has one top-5 result and three top-10 finishes in 44 career Cup Series starts. The move leaves Erwin, once one of the top crew chiefs in the industry looking for work; after pairing with Greg Biffle for four seasons, he partnered with the No. 43 and A.J. Allmendinger last July. The team had a strong finish to that season, surging to 15th in points but he was unable to parlay the momentum to his work with Almirola.