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Edwards Placed On Probation For Three Races
posted by Jay Pennell
Tuesday March 9, 2010
NASCAR President Mike Helton addressed the media Tuesday afternoon following Sunday’s late-race incident between Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Well over 100 laps down, Edwards intentionally spun Keselowski through the tri-oval while Keselowski was running sixth. The No. 12 car lifted in the air and slammed the outside wall with the driver’s side window. NASCAR parked Edwards for his actions and ordered him to the NASCAR hauler for further discussion on the matter. Tuesday, Helton explained Edwards would be placed on probation for the next three races and the drivers and their teams would meet with NASCAR about the situation. “Following that incident we asked the driver of the 99 to visit us in the hauler, and we made it very clear to him that these actions were not acceptable and did go beyond what we said back in January about putting the driving back in the hands of the drivers,” Helton said. “We believe the driver of the 99 understands our position at this point.” For NASCAR, the biggest issue emerging from Sunday’s incident was the fact the No. 12 car lifted into the air. “But the bigger topic is the 12 car getting airborne at a mile-and-a-half track which we typically don’t see,” Helton said. “It’s been years since we’ve seen that. So a lot of our effort yesterday, today and until we find resolve to it is figuring out how it happened, why it happened and what we can do to prevent it from happening in the future.”
Keyed Up and Key Motorsports split
posted by Doug Turnbull
Saturday March 6, 2010
If missing the first three races to date was not enough drama for the No. 90 Keyed Up Motorsports Chevy team and Casey Mears, organizational upheaval may tip the scales. A member with the team tells Frontstretch.com that Raymond Key’s Cup operation, originally formed with ties to Curtis Key’s teams in the Nationwide and Truck Series, has become its own entity. As of Monday, the team began a move into Tommy Baldwin Racing’s old shop while planning to continue trying to qualify on Cup races. However, if sponsorship for the team fails to pan out, Keyed-Up may vie for a partial schedule similar to that of the Wood Brothers and only run about 12 races the rest of the year.
Wood Brothers running FR9 for now, Roush says no big problems with new motor
posted by Doug Turnbull
Saturday March 6, 2010
Ford’s new FR9 motor has not made a speedy entrance to the Sprint Cup Series, mainly because the Ford teams need adequate supplies from the engine parts vendors and not because of performance problems, says team owner Jack Roush. Claiming the engine will perform well over the long-term, he still expects the new design to be “the Ford engine of the future” and fully in use by the end of 2010. While his four Ford teams are not running the revamped engine, Roush revealed that the Wood Brothers Ford team will run the FR9 this weekend at Atlanta and in April at Texas. Beyond that, either Roush nor Ford officials have announced a set schedule for full or future implementation of the power plants.
Crawford says truck team is 'close' on sponsorship
posted by Doug Turnbull
Saturday March 6, 2010
While never a standout in the Camping World Truck Series, Rick Crawford has experienced moderate success over his long career in NASCAR’s third-tier. After losing sponsorship at the end of 2009, his Circle Bar Racing team finds itself on the ropes, wondering how many races the future may hold. The veteran Crawford, though, remains optimistic a deal is imminent. “I would say we’re pretty close on signing a sponsor for the 2010 season and 2011 and beyond. [Not starting 2010 with a sponsor] was a matter of losing a sponsor late last year and [the prospective sponsor] getting its marketing efforts done. We’ve got the contracts ready; we’re waiting to get that signed.” Crawford started 2010 with a DNF at Daytona, placing 28th.
Justin Marks Wins The ARCA Race!
posted by Thomas Bowles
Saturday February 27, 2010
Justin Marks won a rain-shortened event at Palm Beach Saturday, collecting his first ever win in the series. Robb Brent, Blake Koch, Tom Hessert III, and Steve Arpin rounds out the top 5. Stay tuned to Frontstretch.com for plenty of post-race coverage on both the website and our Newsletter.
Looking For ARCA Coverage? We Got It!
posted by Thomas Bowles
Saturday February 27, 2010
While the ARCA race at Palm Beach may not be televised … we’ve got you covered. Our own Bryan Davis Keith is at Palm Beach all weekend and will be posting news, commentary, and features from the Florida road course both on the website and in our newsletter. Don’t miss out! And don’t forget, our own Tom Bowles is spending the weekend in Vegas, too … so we’ve got you covered from all angles. Just another reason why we’re the best seat at the track and the best view on the ‘net!
Carter Simo still plans 2010 Cup races
posted by Doug Turnbull
Friday February 19, 2010
One story lost in the shadow of Speedweeks in Daytona was the absence of Carter Simo Racing’s No. 08 car. Much of the team’s equipment was put up for auction Tuesday; however, a source tells Frontstretch.com the operation still plans to field a car in 2010, with a limited schedule of races TBD. CSR may also try and field a car for the Talladega ARCA race in April; until then, most of the team’s employees have been temporarily released and are working for other teams in the sport. In mid-2009, team owner John Carter bought the assets of beleaguered owner/driver Jeremy Mayfield, using the newly purchased equipment and Toyotas to field entries in five races with two-time champion driver Terry Labonte. Equipment issues kept the team from cracking the top 30 in those races. Road course ringer Boris Said also wielded No. 08 Fords last year at both road course races, scoring the team’s season-best finish of 24th at Infineon. Later on that season, Said and longtime partner Mark Simo split, creating the newly-named Carter Simo racing with Labonte behind the wheel. On Tuesday, CSR only placed the equipment purchased from Mayfield on the block, including five Toyotas, a race hauler, and other pit equipment and tools. However, the source says that the team still owns three old Yates chassis and an old Ganassi piece (all of which they converted to Dodges last year) in the shop, with plans on returning to the track midseason pending sponsorship. The move is similar to what happened with Carter Simo last year, in which they took a four-month break between Daytona and Infineon while preparing to race at specific tracks. CSR, which still splits its time between its shops in Charlotte and in Toccoa, Georgia, just has to modify the top of the noses on their cars before returning to the track, due to a minor, lightly-discussed rules change before the season. As for CSR’s 2009 drivers and whether they will return to the team, Boris Said currently is driving the No. 26 for Bill Jenkins’ Latitude 43 Motorsports, and is working on a long-term deal that should remove him as an option. Terry Labonte is also out of the running; he and former owner Bill Stavola formed Stavola Labonte Racing in 2009, but are currently sidelined due to a lack of sponsorship. According to sources, Labonte was offered but initially turned down a return to the No. 08. A John Carter-owned car did participate in the ARCA race at Daytona on February 6th. Former CSR driver James Hylton borrowed a car from Carter, then leased it to driver Jill George for the race. But George infamously crashed the No. 48 roof-first into the wall just 25 laps into the 80-lap Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200, finishing 31st in the 43 car field.
Parrott In As Crew Chief For Kenseth
posted by Jay Pennell
Wednesday February 17, 2010
Less than a week into the 2010 season and Roush Fenway Racing has already made a switch at the crew chief position. News broke on Wednesday that Todd Parrott would take over atop the pit box for the No. 17 team with driver Matt Kenseth, replacing Drew Blickensderfer. The Kenseth-Blickensderfer combination won last year’s Daytona 500 and backed it up by winning the next weekend at the Auto Club Speedway. Despite their strong start out of the box, the No. 17 team failed to live up to expectations in 2009, scoring seven top-5s, 12 top-10s and failing to make, along with missing the Chase. Now after an 8th place finish in Sunday’s Daytona 500, Blickensderfer is headed to the Roush Fenway Racing R&D Department and Parrott is taking over as crew chief.
Danica Out in Daytona
posted by Mike Lovecchio
Saturday February 13, 2010
A lap 79 crash abruptly ended Danica Patrick’s first career NASCAR start Saturday in Daytona. Patrick went a lap down early in the race and later got back on the lead lap on lap 55 via the “Lucky Dog” rule. As she began moving through the field, she was collected in an incident that involved 12 cars. “I’m just going to take away the fact that I know what it’s going to be like out there come next year,” she said. “I felt we would’ve finished strong if we would’ve finished, but as you can see it’s easier said than done.”
Truck Series Race Postponed Until 7:00 PM Saturday
posted by Thomas Bowles
Friday February 12, 2010
It’s official – Friday track activities were washed out by the weather. Not only was Nationwide qualifying pushed back, but the Truck race was postponed, too – they’ll run at 7:00 PM Saturday night. Be sure to come back tomorrow for the latest news ‘n’ notes from the track! |
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The Bubble Breakdown: Blaney Rides Momentum into the Top 35
Tracking Sprint Cup Owner Points · Mike Ravesi · Monday May 12, 2008
NASCAR’S Sprint Cup teams raced under the lights Saturday night at one of the crown jewel of the series: Darlington Raceway. The track labeled as “Too Tough to Tame” looked quite timid during qualifying for several of the bubble teams as five drivers managed to qualify their cars in the Top 18 during Friday evening’s qualifying session. But Saturday night, the Lady in Black showed her true self, as only two of those bubble teams were able to manage Top 20 finishes, and left us wondering why the others even bothered to paint the right sides of their cars. As the checkered flag waved, one team raced its way into the Top 35, one wrecked its way out, and the rest were just happy to get out in one piece. With that, here’s your break down of the bubble teams this week for the Dodge Challenger 500.
Biggest Winners:
Apparently missing Talladega may not have been such a bad thing. Since missing the Aarons 499, Dave Blaney finished 18th at Richmond and a season’s best ninth at Darlington. Not since Ward Burton put Bill Davis’s No.22 Caterpillar machine in victory lane twice at Darlington has that team looked this good at the Lady in Black. Blaney qualified the car in the 13th position, ran in the Top 15 all night, got great pit stops from his Caterpillar team, kept it off the wall, and brought home a rare Top 10 finish for BDR. For their efforts, the team is rewarded by getting the car back into the Top 35 in owner’s points, (35th) thus having one of the coveted guaranteed starting spots heading into the Coca Cola 600 in two weeks at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
Missing the race at Talladega could have ruined Dave Blaney’s season. Instead, Blaney and the No. 22 have used it as a wakeup call to finish better; including a season best ninth at Darlington.
David Reutimann continues to show improvement in NASCAR’s top series, posting a 19th place finish in a race that got the better of a lot of drivers. While his 30th place qualifying run was rather unspectacular, the Florida native improved upon his 33rd place finish in this event last year. The solid run moves the No. 44 car up one spot in car owner points to 31st place and builds his cushion to 49 points over the No. 22 BDR Caterpillar Toyota, which currently sits on the bubble. If the car continues to stay in one piece for the duration of the races, I think we’ll see young David continue to distance himself from the bubble.
Normally, a 28th place finish, three laps down to the leader wouldn’t qualify you as one of my big winners, but to be honest, this week this pickin’s are a little slim. So Michael McDowell rounds out this week’s winners. To McDowell’s credit, he did qualify the double zero car in the 18th position. He was also the highest finishing rookie in the race. Most importantly, he put a little more distance between himself and the bubble position. While Michael McDowell, the driver sits 43rd in driver points, the Michael Waltrip Racing team he drives for moves up one spot to 30th in owner’s points; and when it comes time to qualify, the owner’s standings are the only ones that matter.
Biggest Losers:
For the first time this year, Gene Haas won’t be able to point to the television and brag to all the other guys on his cell block that he owns one of the cars on television. While Johnny Sauter turned a lap at 174.789, a full mile than hour faster than Ward Burton’s track record, it wasn’t good enough to make the field of 43. The No. 70 Haas Automation Chevrolet falls two spots to 39th in owner’s points, 145 markers behind the 35th position, a position that is beginning to look more and more unattainable with each poor showing by the No. 70 team.
Sam Hornish Jr. now joins his fellow rookie open wheelers outside the Top 35 in the owner’s standings. Roger Penske’s No. 77 car smacked the wall hard on lap 11 and had to go to the garage for repairs. The Mobil 1 Dodge did return to action, but 86 laps down to the leader. By the time the race mercifully ended for the Penske boys, Hornish was 97 laps down, mired in 38th position. The dismal showing drops the team from 35th to 36th in the owner’s standings, 18 points behind the last guaranteed spot. One can only imagine, with the team performing as poorly as it is, that Hornish must wondering why he was struggling in Darlington instead of running for the pole at Indy.
Roger Penske wasn’t the only NASCAR owner getting bad news at Indy on Saturday night. The Chip Ganassi-owned No. 41 Dodge came back to earth at Darlington, qualifying a miserable 39th and finishing 32nd. The crew chief swap certainly hasn’t brought consistency to the No. 41 Target Dodge driven by Reed Sorenson, who’s posted finishes of 43rd, 12th, and 32nd since the swap. After the Dodge Challenger 500, the Ganassi team drops ever closer to the bubble, now sitting in the 32nd spot, 48 points ahead of the bubble. The good news for Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi is, at least they’re not Gene Haas.
A Look Ahead:
The Coca Cola 600 is a tough one to make predictions for. Some late race shenanigans last year led to a Top five finishing order of Casey Mears, J.J. Yeley, Kyle Petty, Reed Sorenson, and Brian Vickers, and I guarantee you nobody called that before the race. But we’re gonna give it a shot anyways. I like momentum, and right now Dave Blaney has it. He’s posted his two best finishes of the year the last two races. Last year he started eighth and finished 18th in the 600. Combined with his career average finish of 24th on intermediate tracks and I like him to finish Top 20 and keep BDR’s hold on the 35th spot.
J.J. Yeley doesn’t have momentum, but I like him anyway, mainly because I also like history. In 2007, Yeley started 12th and finished second, and in 2006 he started fourth and finished 20th. Going with the history, I also like Reed Sorenson. In the last two 600’s he hasn’t qualified well but finished fourth and tenth, and he’s still got a guaranteed starting spot. The crystal ball says Top 25 runs by both Reed and J.J.
On the flip side, Michael Waltrip has neither momentum nor history on his side at Lowe’s. He missed the race in ’07 and started 43rd in ’06, not finishing much better, bringing it home in 41st position. I see him maybe cracking the Top 35, but definitely not the Top 30. After the Coca-Cola 600, Kyle Petty begins his seven-race summer hiatus, with Terry Labonte stepping in for five races and Chad McCumbee getting the other two. I’m thinking neither the focus, nor the horsepower will be there to get him in the show. So there’s your bubble breakdown for this week, we’ll see you in two weeks after the Coca Cola 600. Until then, so long from the bubble…
Breaking Down the Bubble
| Pos | Owner | Car # | Driver | Points | Points +/- of 35th Place |
| 31 | Michael Waltrip Racing | 44 | David Reutimann | 873 | +49 |
| 32 | Chip Ganassi Racing | 41 | Reed Sorenson | 872 | +48 |
| 33 | Michael Waltrip Racing | 55 | Michael Waltrip | 851 | +27 |
| 34 | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | 01 | Regan Smith | 835 | +11 |
| 35 | Bill Davis Racing | 22 | Dave Blaney | 824 | 0 |
| 36 | Penske Racing | 77 | Sam Hornish, Jr. | 806 | -18 |
| 37 | Hall of Fame Racing | 96 | J.J. Yeley | 730 | -94 |
| 38 | Chip Ganassi Racing | 40 | Sterling Marlin / Dario Franchitti | 690 | -134 |
| 39 | Haas CNC Racing | 70 | Johnny Sauter / Ken Schrader | 679 | -145 |
| 40 | Team Red Bull | 84 | A.J. Allmendinger | 654 | -170 |
| 41 | Furniture Row Racing | 78 | Joe Nemechek | 593 | -231 |
| 42 | Petty Enterprises | 45 | Kyle Petty | 575 | -249 |
| 43 | Gillett Evernham Motorsports | 10 | Patrick Carpentier | 541 | -283 |
| 44 | Wood Brothers | 21 | Various Drivers | 536 | -288 |
| 45 | Front Row Motorsports | 34 | Jeff Green | 355 | -469 |
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