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Chase Elliott Wins the ARCA 200 at Pocono
posted by Tony Lumbis
Saturday June 8, 2013
Chase Elliott became the youngest superspeedway winner in ARCA history when he took home the checkered flag at Pocono Raceway, the same track where his father, Bill, won 5 times in the Sprint Cup Series. Frank Kimmel, the early favorite, lead the first 22 laps from the pole as he looked to capture his 79th career ARCA win, which would have put him in a tie with Iggy Katona for all time wins in the series. However, Erik Jones took command of the leaderboard on lap 23 and stayed there for 20 circuits unitl his ToyotaCare Camry ran out of fuel. Elliott, who started 32nd as the field was set by owner’s points due to qualifying being rained out, wasted no time moving up through the field. He grabbed the lead on lap 60 and would never look back, fending off a hard charging Jones in the final laps. Kimmel finished third followed by Tom Hessert and Mason Mitchell.
Kurt Busch Wins Happy Hour at Pocono
posted by Tony Lumbis
Saturday June 8, 2013
Kurt Busch and his Furniture Row Racing team lead final practice at Pocono, followed by Jimmie Johnson who lead first practice, Carl Edwards, last week’s winner Tony Stewart and his SHR teammate Ryan Newman. Rounding out the top 10 were Kasey Kahne, Paul Menard, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Michael McDowell and Kyle Busch. Other notables: Kevin Harvick was 12th, Denny Hamlin was 13th, Brad Keselowski was 16th, Matt Kenseth was 18th, Jeff Gordon was 20th, Clint Bowyer was 23rd and Danica Patrick was 29th.
Rain Puts Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards on the Front Row at Pocono
posted by Tony Lumbis
Friday June 7, 2013
The remnants of topical storm Andrea has soaked Pocono Raceway on Friday. Not a single lap was turned at the Tricky Triangle due to the consistent wet weather which cancelled all on-track activities. As a result, the lineup for Sunday’s Party in the Poconos 400 will be set by owner’s points, putting Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards on the front row. Since only 43 cars entered the race, nobody went home.
Ten Fans Injured By Falling Rope at Charlotte
posted by Amy Henderson
Sunday May 26, 2013
Ten fans were injured during the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Guide ropes for a television camera fell onto the race track, damaging several cars and bringing out a lengthy red flag, and pieces of that rope also injured the fans, who were in the in the Turn 4 grandstand. The Speedway issued the following statement: “Ten fans were injured when a nylon rope fell over the grandstands in Turn 4 on lap 121 of tonight’s race. Seven fans were treated for minor cuts and scrapes at on-site care centers and released. Three people were transported to an area hospital for further evaluation. The rope was a guide for the network television CamCat overhead camera system.” We will update with more details as they become available. 10:00 PM UPDATE: So far, officials have not been able to determine the cause of the failure. According to an official release, the system consists of three ropes, including a drive rope which moves the camera back and forth, and two guide ropes. The drive rope failed and fell onto the racing surface. The camera itself did not fall. FOX plans to suspend use of this camera system, which was used during the Daytona 500 and All-Star race, until they complete an investigation of the failure. Fox issued the following in their statement: “We certainly regret that the system failure affected tonight’s event; we apologize to the racers whose cars were damaged, and our immediate concern is for the race fans. We also offer a sincere ‘thank you’ to the staff at CMS for attending to the injuries and keeping us informed on this developing situation.” 12:40 AM UPDATE: Though pravacy laws prevent officials from discussing the specific nature of any injuries, it was reported that the three fans who were transported to a local hospital have all been treated and released.
Busch Dominates, Wins History 300 at Charlotte
posted by Amy Henderson
Saturday May 25, 2013
Kyle Busch led 186 laps en route to a dominating victory in the History 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday. It was a record seventh CMS win for Busch and his overall in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Busch’s victory was the most dominant in a 200-lap Nationwide Series race at Charlotte since 1986, when Dale Earnhardt led 194 laps en route to the win. Kasey Kahne looked like he might have something for Busch after a series of late cautions set up a dash to the finish, but the No. 5 faded in the final alps while the No. 54 rolled to the win. Joey Logano, rookie Kyle Larson, and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top 5, with Larson the highest finishing Nationwide Series regular in the race. Larson’s charge through the field in the second half of the race, using the high groove to pass several cars, had the young driver closing on the leaders before a string of cautions shuffled the field. The first half of the race was a test of patience for race teams. Austin Dillon started from the pole but quickly faded, leading just one lap and finishing 14th. The caution didn’t fly for the first 39 laps, until debris in turn three brought the yellow flag out of hiding. Close racing on the restart led to a second yellow flag at lap 47 as Robert Richardson, Johanna Long and Reed Sorenson were all involved in a crash that ended Richardson’s day and caused damage to both Long’s and Sorenson’s machines. The third of seven cautions, for debris, flew at lap 88. The field would not see another caution until lap 154. That yellow flag came out on that lap for debris once again. The final 43 laps were punctuated by three more caution periods, starting at lap 166 with a spin by Travis Pastrana, who hit the inside wall on the backstretch hard enough to lift all four wheels off the ground, reminiscent of Denny Hamlin’s hit at Fontana that sidelined Hamlin for more than a month, but unlike that crash, there was a SAFER barrier where Pastrana slammed the wall, and the driver walked away unhurt. John Wes Townley and Joe Nemechek also sustained damage trying to avoid Pastrana and the cars checking up around him. Just seven laps after the race went back to green, Sorenson spun in Turn 2 for caution number six, and the field went back to green for just two laps before the final caution came out on lap 185 for a crash between Dakoda Armstrong and Michael Annett, who was making his first series start since being injured in a crash at Daytona. That incident set up the 13-lap shootout between Busch and Kahne before Busch pulled away for the win, leaving Logano and Larson to duke it out with Harvick for the rest of the top 5. Trevor Bayne finished sixth, and Justin Allgaier, Matt Kenseth, Parker Kligerman, and Regan Smith rounded out the top 10. Busch was quick to credit his team after the victory. “It was a really great race for us,” said Busch in the media center at Charlotte after the race. “We’ve had a lot of fast race cars this year, and it’s a testament to our team and (crew chief) Adam Stevens and the work that the guys put in. They do such a great job for me, and being able to go out there with some good-driving cars and lead a lot of laps and put them in Victory Lane, I think it’s just a true testament to how good our organization is and how hard these guys work. They never forget what they’re supposed to do. We have to have good race cars from practice and qualifying and into the race, and so having those adjustments all set and having things ready to go is what makes us look so good. “ Smith leaves Charlotte with a 29-point advantage over Hornish in Nationwide Series standings. Allgaier moves into third, 40 back of Smith, and Elliott Sadler dropped to fourth after finishing 13th. Sadler’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Brian Vickers, holds on to fifth spot after a pit gamble didn’t pay off, leaving Vickers, who had been racing with the leaders, with an 11th-place result. Kligerman, Dillon, Brian Scott, Larson, and Alex Bowman finish off the top 10 in points.
Hamlin Snags Coca-Cola 600 Pole With Track Record Time
posted by Amy Henderson
Thursday May 23, 2013
Denny Hamlin shattered the track qualifying record at Charlotte Motor Speedway as he rocketed to the pole for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600. Hamlin had a lap time of 27.604 seconds, or 195.624 miles per hour. Several drivers drove past the old record, set by Greg Biffle in 2012, but it was Hamlin who came out at the top of the heap and holds the new record. Kurt Busch will start on the outside of the front row. Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin, and Clint Bowyer round out the top 5. Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray, and Ryan Newman hold down sixth through tenth places. The pole is Hamlin’s second of 2013; he also started in front at Fontana before an injury in that race sidelined him for over a month. Hamlin says that his back feels “nearly 100%” and that it doesn’t cause him pain while driving. He added that winning the pole helped solidify for him that he is back at a competitive level, but he wants one more thing before he’ll be satisfied. “I think winning would do that. I think ultimately getting the big trophy on Sunday is the validation that you’re truly back,” said Hamlin after his lap. “For me, it’s going to take some wins and some really good consistency throughout these summer months to put ourselves in position to have a chance at a championship. That’s what we’re here for. Even these small victories though give me that confidence that I’m still capable, and I’m still able to do the job at 100 percent like I should be. Any kind of confidence booster for me — it’s always a plus on Sunday.” The Cup teams are next on track Saturday at 10 AM for the weekend’s second practice. Final practice for Sunday’s race is Saturday afternoon at one o’clock. The Coca-Cola 600 is scheduled to start at 6 PM on Sunday and will air on FOX.
Jimmie Johnson wins the Sprint All-Star race.....again
posted by Mike Neff
Sunday May 19, 2013
Five-time is now four-time when it comes to the Sprint All-Star race. Coming into Saturday night’s race, Johnson was tied with Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt for most wins in the annual event with three wins. Johnson bided his time, restarted the last segment in the second spot, dueled Kasey Kahne for two laps to secure the lead and pulled away to a convincing win. Joey Logano started the last segment in the seventh position, took advantage of a slip up by Kyle Busch on the start of the final segment, and ultimately came home in the runner-up spot. Kyle Busch rebounded from his slip up to muscle his way back to third. Kahne started the final segment on the pole but couldn’t hold off Johnson on the first few laps of the restart and ended up fourth. Kurt Busch won two segments, was the first on pit road for the money pit stop, but finished the event in fifth place. Jimmie Johnson summed up his results in two words, “we’re lucky”. It was tongue in cheek but Johnson was poking fun at the people who continue to accuse the No. 48 of preferential treatment, fixed races, and a blind eye to cheating. Johnson has one of the highest winning percentages in NASCAR history and it comes from natural talent and chemistry with his crew. This race also now ties Johnson with Davey Allison as the only two drivers to win the race in back-to-back years. Logano and Busch visited with the media after the race to speak about their runs. Logano was understandably upbeat about his second while Busch was quite dejected, having another All-Star race slip out of his grasp. Kahne spoke about the elephant in the room that is the length of the segments in the race during his post race availability on pit road. He noted that the inherent problem with the format is that the car is designed with downforce, on a track that is cool and has a bunch of grip. The only way to make the races exciting after the first couple of laps of racing would be to extend the segments to the The first 20 lap segment was won by Kurt Busch. Segment two went to his brother Kyle. That segment win allowed Bruton Smith to breathe more easily since he put up a $1,000,000 bonus to anyone who won all four of the segments. Segment three also went to the younger Busch, while the fourth segment win was tallied in brother Kurt’ s account.
Kyle Busch wins the North Carolina Education Lottery 200
posted by Mike Neff
Friday May 17, 2013
‘Rowdy’ Busch was back in his familiar No. 51 truck at his favorite track on the Truck schedule. Busch led 80 laps and thought he should have led more but had a fuel issue on pit road that resulted in him having to battle back through the field. The race was slowed by eight cautions that helped him work his way back through the field. Busch beat Brendan Gaughan to the finish by .488 seconds, while Max Gresham chased them both to the line for his first top three finish of his Truck career. Matt Crafton came home in fourth place after having to battle through a couple of tire mishaps during the event. Ty Dillon rounded out the top 5 for his first finish that high this season. Busch led the race three times for his 80 laps. Miguel Paludo was second on the laps led board with 33. Gaughan, Gresham and Dillon also scored bonus points for leading laps. There were two cautions in the first 72 laps of the race while 29 of the last 62 laps were completed under the yellow flag. Jeb Burton started the race on the pole but did not lead a lap. He did however end the race as the Rookie of the Race for his 13th place finish. Matt Crafton leads Burton by 22 points in the season standings after five races this season.
Matt Kenseth Snatches Victory from the Jaws of Defeat at Darlington
posted by Mike Neff
Sunday May 12, 2013
Kyle Busch appeared to be headed for another weekend sweep after winning the Nationwide race at Darlington on Friday night. However, a funny thing happened as they were bringing out the dustpan. Matt Kenseth chased down the dominant car of the night, passed him with relative ease and then strolled away to a 3.165 second victory. Kenseth led the final 13 laps after Busch had held the point for 265 of the 354 laps leading up to Kenseth’s race winning pass. After Kenseth worked around Busch, the No. 18 slid rapidly backwards over the final eight laps to fall from second to sixth place. Joe Gibbs Racing did manage a 1-2 finish after sweeping the podium in Friday night’s Nationwide tilt. Denny Hamlin, in his first full race back in the car since his vertebrae fracture at California, soldiered through the pain of his arms, neck and shoulders more than his recovered back to wrestle a second place finish away from the Lady in Black. Coming home in third was Jeff Gordon, who turned his 700th career start into a top 3 finish. Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top 5 in the Bojangles Southern 500. Kurt Busch started the race on the pole and led the first 51 laps before coming to the pits for a green flag stop. After the stops cycled through Busch was back at the point for 18 more laps before his brother began his domination. The race went green for the first 302 laps save a seven lap caution stint from lap 125 to lap 131. The final 65 laps saw four more cautions that flew for accidents involving Regan Smith, Brad Keselowski, Casey Mears, Kurt Busch, Josh Wise, David Reutimann and Kasey Kahne. The race saw four leaders including Jeff Gordon in addition to the Busch brothers and Kenseth. The win is Kenseth’s 27th of his career and breaks a tie between himself and his teammate Kyle Busch. The win is Kenseth’s third this season which is the most among all of the competitors in the Cup series. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was the Rookie of the Race. Jeff Gordon’s top 5 finish was his 300th of his career. He joins Richard Petty, David Pearson and Bobby Allison as the only four drivers in the history of the sport to accomplish such a feat.
Busch Dominates at Darlington as JGR Sets Nationwide Series Record
posted by Amy Henderson
Friday May 10, 2013
Kyle Busch dominated the VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 on Friday night en route to his 56th career Nationwide Series victory and fifth series win of 2013. Joe Gibbs Racing in general was the class of the field all night at Darlington Raceway, claiming four of the top 5 finishing spots, with only fourth-place Joey Logano keeping them from sweeping the top four spots. It was a historic night for JGR, as no team has ever before placed four cars in the top 5. Elliott Sadler finished second to Busch and Brian Vickers third, with Logano and Matt Kenseth rounding out the top 5. Busch led 107 of 147 laps on the way to the win. Sadler was the best among the Nationwide Regulars, finishing second despite an early spin in Turn 2, and gained points on leader Regan Smith, who finished seventh. Kyle Larson continued to impress at the Lady in Black, posting a sixth-place finish in his first Darlington start as he runs for rookie honors. Sam Hornish, Jr., who remained second in points, finished eighth while Kasey Kahne and Justin Allgaier filled the top 10. Smith now leads Nationwide Series points by 28 over Hornish. Sadler jumps two spots to third on his second-place run as Justin Allgaier fell one place to fourth. Vickers gained three sports and is now fifth, 49 behind Smith. Austin Dillon, Parker Kligerman, Brian Scott, Alex Bowman, and Kyle Larson round out the top 10. |
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Matt McLaughlin · Sunday June 24, 2007
The Key Moment - Waiting to see if the No. 42 car crossed the line still under power, which was in doubt right up to the very last moment.
In a Nutshell - Anyone know what the Spanish for "possum" is? I ask because Juan Montoya and the No. 42 team played it, making others think they were short of fuel before going on to win the race anyway.
Dramatic Moment - There was some good racing between Robby Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. early and Jamie McMurray and Montoya late. But there were hours long stretches of drudgery in between.
What They'll Be Talking About Around the Water Cooler This Week
Wow, the TNT folks sure seemed a lot more impressed that Juan Pablo Montoya won than the victor himself. To an extent, there's a certain class to acting like you belong in Winner's Circle, and Montoya has won at every level of racing he's competed in…but my guess is the Havoline folks would have liked to have seen a bit more emotion; what we heard instead was the Hispanic equivalent of Ryan Newman. Oh, and c'mon TNT, no postrace scroll with the finishing order? Especially with a race that difficult to follow for fans at home with all the different fuel strategies and a big shakeup in the running order on the final lap?
Fuel economy races are boring and NASCAR road course races are boring. Throw them together and you have the perfect storm, a tempest of mind-numbing tedium that's tougher to sort out than cricket rules.
You think Official NASCAR fuel supplier Sunoco was thrilled to see cars with Texaco and Shell emblems finish 1-2 in the race? NASCAR might have to file a one hundred million dollar lawsuit for them, too.
When is NASCAR going to learn how to flag a road course race? Mild single car incidents don't warrant full course cautions, just local cautions like they have in Champ Car racing and F-1. Watching caution laps unfold at a road course has got to be the most boring part of this sport.
OK, so what are the fines and points penalties going to be for Johnson and Gordon and their teams this week after they got caught with illegal cars prior to Sonoma? Is it going to be $100,000 dollars, 100 owner and driver points, and a six week crew chief suspension again? Maybe. But NASCAR had warned that that the fines and penalties were going to keep escalating until they found a way to get the drivers' and teams' attention. And lately, it seems Chad Knaus is a habitual offender.
Related to the above, I suppose the only penalty that really is going to get folks' attention is suspending a driver and team. $100,000 is chump change to most drivers, many of whom own several street cars that cost more than that. With the Chase, the loss of 100 points is almost immaterial to a driver and team running near the top of the standings. Apparently, the penalty for the No. 8 team didn't deter the No. 24 and No. 48 bunches from trying to "mine the gray areas." Also, apparently Kurt Busch's latest penalty didn't keep Ted Musgrave from slamming another driver under caution at Milwaukee on Friday. Of course, there is only one clear-headed punishment for Musgrave's infraction: Ban all Toyota teams from all three series for the rest of the season.
Is Kyle Petty's penalty for dropping the "f bomb" on TV going to rival Gordon's and Johnson's? In other news, this now officially concludes our failed test of the “In-Car Commentator” experiment. Now, can we end the bigger experiment known as TNT? They’re clearly not ready for the big leagues. They have constant audio problems (over and above Larry Mac's failing voice) and let that delightful little tidbit air during a replay. NASCAR, fine the producer…not Kyle.
Were the Hendrick cars that won the other CoT races legal or doctored? Team officials claim each of the winning cars was taken back to NASCAR's R and D lab and gone over under a microscope, with no faults or even concerns noted by Robin Pemberton…but this latest bit of ugliness is going to besmirch those previous winning efforts.
Some folks can come up with even wilder conspiracy theories than me. There's some internet buzz claiming NASCAR only called the violations on the No. 24 team and No. 48 team to light and disqualified them from Friday's activities because A) Gordon is stinking up the points battle and B) NASCAR is sending a less than subtle message they don't like the new balance of power with Hendrick ready to add yet another marquee driver, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., to his team.
Is it just me, or does there seem to more support annually for the notion of dropping the road courses from the Cup schedule? Some people who recently began championing the idea had gone on record not long ago as wanting a road race in the Chase. But if you want to see how fans feel, look at the ratings. Watkins Glen and Sonoma are the two least watched races just about every season. In fact, under the old NASCAR TV contracts, a network had to agree to show one of the road course races in order to gain rights to one of the more popular events.
Wow, it looks like Joe Gibbs is seriously considering a move from Chevy to Toyota. (Either that, or he's using the rumor to get the Bow Tie Brigade to up the ante.) If he does actually switch to Camrys, would Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin be wise to start pursuing rides elsewhere? A switch to Toyota likely won't do good things to a driver's results, income, popularity or souvenir sales.
C'mon. They know drivers are rushing to make the start of the race from Sonoma, and Busch series officials have cars parked on the helipad? Sounds like they were sampling some of that stuff that made Milwaukee famous, and I ain't talking about Harleys. Who ultimately made the call to have Hamlin replace Almirola in the car? It wasn't popular with the fans.
I've heard of races being determined by fuel strategy, but I've never seen a driver almost miss qualifying because his pilot gambled on a short load of fuel flying him to the event. Carl Edwards had to make an extra pit stop aboard his jet to get to Milwaukee and once he finally landed, he had to sprint to make it to his car just as it was pushed to the line.
The Hindenburg Award For Foul Fortune
Nobody appeared to have a car that could handle Robby Gordon's Ford (with the possible exception of the No. 20). Well, poor pit strategy in the No. 7 pits saw to it nobody had to.
Jamie McMurray wasn't as lucky as Montoya. He ran out of gas prior to the final lap. Kyle Petty also had a strong run spoiled by running out of gas on the last lap.
How bad must it feel for Aric Almirola to get credited with his first Busch series victory after earning the pole and dominating the early stages of the race only to have to get out of the car? Denny Hamlin drove the car to victory despite losing a lap making the driver change. Something tells me we haven't heard the end of this story; in a way, it's a perfect microcosm of what's wrong with the Busch series, with a Busch regular denied a win by a top tier Cup driver.
Boris Said's chances at a win went out the window when he stalled on pit and had to be pushed by his crew to restart his car. (If having the team push the car down pit road under caution while other cars are entering and exiting the pits isn't illegal, it ought to be. That was a near catastrophe.)
Matt Kenseth looked like he's accidentally entered a demolition derby on Sunday.
The "Seven Come Fore Eleven" Award For Fine Fortune
Somehow, Montoya pitted on Lap 68 and made the final 42 laps on a tank of fuel despite the new smaller fuel tank…and a thirsty Dodge engine under the hood, no less!
After missing practice and qualifying on Friday and starting out back on Sunday, a seventh place finish was a stellar result for Jeff Gordon. Too bad he'll lose most of those points this week. Add in the fact Gordon welcomed his first child into the world earlier this week with both baby and mom doing fine, Gordon was clearly more elated than Montoya.
Jeff Burton's team found a broken suspension piece after final practice yesterday, which could have ended his day on Sunday. Instead, he went on to finish third.
An off track excursion on the first lap could have ended Tony Stewart's day, but he soldiered back to a sixth place finish and didn't even blame one of the Busch brothers for his excursion into the dirt.
It was a pretty good day for Richard Childress Racing with their drivers finishing 2-3-4 due to solid fuel mileage.
Worth Noting
- The win was the first for a Dodge this season and only the third for a non-Chevy team. It was the first CoT race not won by a Chevy, and the first victory for Chip Ganassi's team since McMurray won at Charlotte in 2002. It was also the first win for any Dodge since Charlotte last Fall (Kasey Kahne).
- The Top 10 finishers drove a Dodge, seven Chevys, and two Fords. The top finishing Toyota pilot was P.J. Jones in twelfth.
- The top finishing road course ringer was Boris Said in ninth. The top finishing rookie was obviously Montoya.
- We've now seen first time winners in three of the last five Cup races and in both of the last two Busch races if you count Amirola's win Saturday … which is debatable.
- Kevin Harvick managed his best finish since the Daytona 500 and his third Top 5 finish of the season.
- Jeff Burton managed his first Top 5 finish since he won at Texas.
- Clint Bowyer earned his best finish since Fontana last September and the second best finish of his Cup career…on a road course, no less. Hey, Alice, what was in that tea the Mad-Hatter gave me?
- Greg Biffle's fifth place result matched his best of the season.
- Jeff Gordon scored his fourth straight Top 10 finish. He's missed the Top 10 in just two of this season's sixteen races.
- Denny Hamlin has Top 10 finishes in six of the last seven races.
- Ricky Rudd scored his second best finish of the season after ending up 11th. Rudd finished seventh at Charlotte in May.
- P.J. Jones drove to his best finish since Watkins Glen in 2002 (12th).
- Elliott Sadler had his best finish since Las Vegas (14th).
- Jimmie Johnson missed The top 10 for the fourth consecutive time (17th), so it might become Denny Hamlin's job to keep Jeff Gordon honest in the title chase. If it is, Hamlin better start winning some races.
What's the Points?
Jeff Gordon opened up his points lead over Denny Hamlin to 271. The Top 5 drivers, Gordon, Hamlin, Johnson, Kenseth, and Jeff Burton hold serve pending penalties later this week.
For the third consecutive week, Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards swapped sixth and seventh place, with Stewart now having the advantage.
Further back, Kyle Busch muscled Martin Truex, Jr. out of the Top 10. Truex is now eleventh and Busch tenth.
Notable drivers moving forward include Robby Gordon (up five spots to 24th), Ricky Rudd (up four spots to 29th), Greg Biffle (up three spots to seventeenth), and Ryan Newman (up two spots to thirteenth).
On the downward side of things, Bobby Labonte fell two spots to nineteenth, while Reed Sorenson dropped three spots to 23rd.
Overall Rating (On a scale of one to six beer cans with one being a stinker and a six pack an instant classic) – We'll give this one two glasses of screw top wine with a vinegary aftertaste. It's not real Cup racing, I don't care who says otherwise.
Next Up - NASCAR's summer doldrums hit low gear with a trip to New Hampshire International Speedway, a race best known as a good nap spoiled.
Wednesday on the Frontstretch:
Did You Notice? … NASCAR’s Gamble, New Talent And Drivers To Watch
Happiness Is…Some Personality
Side By Side: Can A Road Course Ringer Really Win?
Top Ten Thoughts Drivers Are Thinking on a Road Course
NASCAR Writer Power Rankings: Top 15 After Michigan-I
Open-Wheel Wednesday: What’s Missing?
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