Denny Hamlin relaxes after figuring out part of the puzzle, now for Sunday's race

There was a bit of controversy on this day as David Reutimann’s second-best time was thrown-away after NASCAR found that something was amiss with the settings on his rear shock absorbers during the inspection that’s normally conducted after all NASCAR Sprint Cup Competitions. David Reutimann will start 42 in Sunday’s Pepsi 500. Apparently, NASCAR took his shock absorbers in for a careful inspection and we’ll have more on this later. These unfortunate circumstances did allow Greg Biffle to move into the front row, so it wasn’t all bad. Behind him and Hamlin will be Jimmie Johnson and Juan Montoya, just sitting there waiting for their chance. Would you rather be on the pole or coming from behind in the upcoming Pepsi 500?

Martin Truex Jr. will start fifth and next to him will be Joey Logano, who is going to be my surprise pick for a good finish in Sunday’s Pepsi 500. Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer will start in the row behind Logano and Truex Jr. Mark Martin qualified ninth for this race, he currently leads Jimmie Johnson by 18 points for the Sprint Cup Series Championship. Jeff Gordon qualified 10^th for Sunday’s race, Carl Edwards 11^th, Tony Stewart 20^th, Kurt Busch 24^th, Kasey Kahne 25^th, Brian Vickers 32^nd and Ryan Newman 36^th.

“Image: Zuma Press”

Post from: EveryJoe

Pepsi 500 is Set for Sunday

The Chase contenders are racing like champions

NASCAR’s playoff round, the Chase, has been a difficult time for racers outside the Chase, yet still on the track after a less than confident year. This isn’t a surprise considering the contender heavy field of the first three races of the Chase. Still racers like Kyle Busch, Elliot Sadler, Matt Kenseth and David Reutimann have had a difficult time finishing in the money in the first three competitions. The winners during the season have been racing faster, finishing better and will be taking home the majority of the year end money the drivers are looking at and dreaming of. The cars, teams and drivers of the Chase contenders have been better all year long and confidence breeds success on the track or any field of battle.

The only one of the non contenders that had a good showing in the third race Sunday was David Reutimann with an eighth place finish for Michael Waltrip Racing. He didn’t start the greatest but his car was fast and he probably left a bit on the track. He was racing against contenders who have a lot more to loose and gain than him if they win, so he might not have been as aggressive as he would have been if he had been more successful during the regular season and thus have more confidence and to gain going into the Chase. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the only other non contender who had a chance. He started second and was in the lead for 41 laps, before he had problems during a pit stop that ruined his chances for a top three finish.

“Image: Zuma Press”

Post from: EveryJoe

The Chase Contenders are Ruling the Track

Sunday on the New Hampshire International Speedway they were both racing for nothing but a win, pride and respect as the sixth-annual NASCAR playoff round, the Chase, kicked off with the Sylvania 300. Earnhardt and his team had finally gotten the car to the point where they thought they had a real chance for their first win this year, but it just wasn’t meant to be as Earnhardt was knocked into the outside wall by Reutimann’s loose car in Turn 3. Reutimann had the faster and more consistent car this day, but during the last hundred miles he had to deal with a race car that wasn’t handling as well as they wanted. They were running side by side in fifth and sixth with just 18 laps to go at the time they went into Turn 3 and both were certainly thinking they had a chance to win and certainly finish in the top five, if they could get past the car beside them and then the racing gods took over.

Earnhardt attempted to get back in the race but was forced to limp to his garage, his day over, Reutimann on the other hand was able to keep racing and ended up 12^th after he was able to make it through two more restarts. Reutimann understandably didn’t want to talk to any one about the incident after the crash and quickly exited stage left. Earnhardt on the other hand was visibly upset the events that occurred on the track and a seasons worth of frustration poured out of him.

Accidents are a normal occurrence during a NASCAR event. It’s just part of the business and while I understand Earnhardt’s emotions and the need to get them out of his system after a frustrating season, these kinds of events are going to happen.

The race cars in NASCAR generally run on a fine edge during the race and everybody on the track wants to win. Aggression is a normal thing for competitors whose only dream is to win and NASCAR competitors are just as hungry to win as any sports athlete.

Picture: “Zuma Press”

Post from: EveryJoe

Earnhardt Jr. Frustrated Again

The Coke Zero 400 will be run on the pavement of Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night

The Coke Zero 400 will be the 18^th race of the season for the racers and teams, in a season that has been exciting, and as we look ahead to Saturday night at one of the most recognized and popular race tracks in the world, this competition should be a real barn-burner.

Thursdays practice at Daytona International Speedway for the upcoming Coke Zero 400 was pretty scary for almost all the teams as they all had to deal with tire issues that have left some of the teams and drivers scratching their heads and wondering what will happen on Saturday night.

The action started early as with 10 minutes left in nighttime Happy Hour, which took place before the scheduled practice for Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400, Greg Biffle and Sam Hornish Jr. got involved in an accident that left them both planning on using their backup cars in the next race. This accident along with rain helped delay the running of the practice for Saturday’s race by 83 minutes and had the drivers sitting around.

David Ragan was fastest in the late-afternoon practice session with a lap time of 47.191 and an average speed of 190.174 mph in his no. 6 Roush Fenway Ford, but he ended in 32^nd place on the evening chart. The track seemed to be a little tighter when he was on the track and his team made a few adjustments that helped him record faster times.

David Reutimann spent most of the day atop the chart and afternoon practicing drafting off of his competitors, and finished best with a time of 46.842 and average speed of 192.135 in his No. 00 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota.

Casey Mears was pretty fast in his No 07 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, he finished second in both sessions, and he could definitely win if things go his way. Unfortunately, his history at Daytona isn’t very good, so he may not be feeling too confident despite his fast car. He has only managed two top ten finished in thirteen races at Daytona, which isn’t going to get him in the record books.

You can watch the Coke Zero 400 on TNT TV at 7:30 on Saturday night or listen to the race on MRN Radio at 7:15. Enjoy the race!

“Image: Zuma Press”

Post from: EveryJoe

Coke Zero 400 on Saturday at Daytona

The 11^th racer to run a qualifying lap, Reutimann ran his qualifying lap with an

Autism Speaks 400 on Sunday at 1:30 PM on FOX

average speed of 156.794 mph to just beat the 156.542 mph mark of Kasey Kahne for the pole position. Reutimann surprised the field with this result, especially since he was the 11^th racer to try to beat Kahne’s time, and Kahne was using the Dodge R6 powerplant in his car for the first time this season.

Juan Montoya will start third on the grid of the Autism Speaks 400 on Sunday, Montoya qualified with an average speed of 156.020 on a day when his car didn’t seem to be running its best. Kasey Kahne’s teammate at Richard Petty Motorsports Reed Sorenson had a good run, Sorenson qualified fourth on the grid with an average speed of 155.952. The last winner at Dover Greg Biffle had problems in the corners with traction but still managed to finish fifth on the grid with an average speed of 155.932.

Kyle Busch will start sixth, which shouldn’t matter much if he’s up to form, so expect him to be in front after a few laps. A.J. Allmendinger will start seventh, eighth will be filled by Jimmie Johnson, Brian Vickers starts ninth, and the tenth position on the grid is held by Elliot Sadler. This result means that all four RPM racers, Kahne, Sorenson, Allmendinger and Sadler are starting Sunday’s Autism Speaks 400 in one of the top ten starting positions.

You can watch the Autism Speaks 400 on Sunday, May 31 at 1:30 PM on FOX or listen to it on MRN Radio starting at 1:15 PM.

Image: Newscom

Post from: EveryJoe

Reutimann on Pole of Autism Speaks 400

Before I get into this week’s topic, I would like to point out that Bruce Simmons, who normally joins us here in our weekly “Loose in Turn 3″ segment representing Bruce’s NASCAR Bits ‘n’ Pieces, will to be joining us this week as he is off in San Diego on a separate venture at the moment. He will be returning with us next week, but in his place today is our guest blogger, one of DYN’s very own loyal readers, Rocky Akins. I’d like to give a special thanks to Roc for filling the gaps for us this week, and as a bonus, he even brought in this week’s topic of discussion for us.

Now, onto business. Earlier this week NASCAR announced that they would be implimenting new rules in the Nationwide Series that would restrict the horsepower that the engines can produce by limiting the airflow. The amendment they put in place states, verbatem:

“At all Events, unless otherwise specified, all engines with a cylinder bore spacing less than 4.470 inches must compete using a tapered spacer with four (4) 1.125-inch diameter holes. At all Events, unless otherwise specified, all engines with a cylinder bore spacing of 4.470 inches or more must compete using a tapered spacer with four (4) 1.100-inch diameter holes. Unless otherwise authorized, the carburetor restrictor will be issued by NASCAR.”

The change comes after several months of complaining from teams of other manufacturers, particularly Chevy and Ford, as well as from several conspiracy theorists that watch weekly from the grandstands or from the comfort of their living room. The complaints finally drove NASCAR to conduct two dyno tests on the engines, one following the race at the Milwuakee Mile, and the other after a couple weeks ago at Chicagoland. The Milwuakee tests revealed a significant horsepower advantage for Toyota, but after Chicago, NASCAR tested ten cars – 3 from Toyota, 3 from Chevy, 2 Ford’s, and 2 Dodge’s. David Reutimann’s car topped the testing charts, and Kyle Busch – the eventual race winner – tested second.

Q: NASCAR recently placed restrictions on the engines in the Nationwide Series, limiting the airflow, and therefore putting a restriction on the horesepower. Should we expect to see similar measures be implimented into the Sprint Cup Series, and if so, when?

TZ: I think it all depends on next year, to be honest. If the Toyotas – particularly Kyle Busch – start to run away with things again in 2009, then yeah, I think NASCAR will start considering such moves. But, to be honest, I think their decision for the Nationwide Series was purely a financial one. From everything (credible) that I’ve read, the only true advantage that Toyota has had is that they didn’t have to upgrade their long-term engine packages. They came into stock car racing with an idea of what they wanted to do, and it turned out to be much better than what the other manufacturers were running. Chevy and Ford started making gripes, but in reality, they are fully capable of putting out the same product, but they don’t want to put forth the extra buck for the sake of the NNS. Notice that it’s not Toyota’s running away by a mile in the Cup Series, just Kyle Busch. That tells me that they’ve put forth the effort to upgrade in Cup.

Roc: I agree T.Z. Kyle’s car is wicked fast on all restarts, and he is the guy to beat every week which we’re not really seeing from the other Gibbs cars. Toyota will spend a bunch of money to be at the top, and with all the other corporations really in finacial trouble, I look for nascar to find a way to even out the field in Cup, too. I haven’t seen the rating this year, but as you know I’m pretty die-hard. But, there were a couple races that I just couldn’t watch, having certain cars that dominate every week hurts the sport  a lot more than it helps it so I look at early next year a horsepower change to be in effect.

Charlie:  The Nationwide Series horsepower initiative was put in place  to help save the teams money. Toyota experimented – all on their own by the way – in 2007 with making engines for the Craftsman Truck Series that lasted for more than one race between rebuilds. Johnny Benson actually won races with those motors as I recall. It is not surprising that Toyota has an edge there. In Cup, NASCAR will always play with things to level the field. It might be carburetors or it might be spoilers or splitters. Ido not believe that NASCAR will limit engines in the Cup Series across the board.

the Rest of the Discussion:
Tony Stewart, currently tenth in Sprint Cup points, is 49 markers ahead of 13th place Clint Bowyer. Four drivers, icluding Denny Hamlin and Kasey Kahne, within 49 points of each other with only three spots up for grabs. Who doesn’t make it to the Chase?

Be sure to visit On Pit Row as the three of us wrap up this week’s conversation by debating amongst ourselves to answer the above question concerning the Chase. And, just because Bruce isn’t with us this week is no reason not to continue giving his site some love, so don’t forget to continue checking out his Bits ‘n’ Pieces to get the latest and greatest on all that is NASCAR. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Post from: EveryJoe

Toyota’s Horsepower Just Got Real Loose in Turn 3

Image details: Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 served by picapp.com

Even with the Sprint Cup Series taking the week off, it was still a busy weekend for Missouri native, Carl Edwards …. particularly because he decided to commit to a three-day bicycle trip from his hometown of Columbia, MO to the track that lies in Madison, IL – just outside of the St. Louis metro-area.

Edwards made the trip and got to the track in time to qualify third for the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 at Gateway International Raceway, and then passed Jason Leffler with 48 laps remaining en route to picking up the win Saturday night. The win gave Edwards his second Nationwide Series win of the season, and the second of his career at Gateway.

Driving the dominant no. 20 car for Joe Gibbs Racing in just his fifth NNS start, Joey Logano started the race fourth and finished second, as he was unable to track down Edwards in the closing laps of the race. Jason Keller, Jason Leffler, and Brad Keselowski completed the top-five finishers, with rookie driver, Landon Cassill, running in 6th.

An incident involving David Reutimann and Brad Keselowski brought out the final caution of the day. The restart came on lap 146 with Edwards running third behined Jason Leffler and eventual 7th place finisher, James Buescher. The top two cars, however, took only two tires under the caution period, with Edwards taking four, which ultimately made all the difference in the world, passing Leffler for the lead just six laps later.

Earlier on a lap 116 restart, Landon Cassill got into the back of Scott Wimmer, setting off a chain reaction that eliminated the cars of Mike Bliss, Steve Wallace, and defending race winner, Reed Sorenson. Polesitter, Jamie McMurray, was in the lead at the time, but later retired with engine problems after lap 152.

Points leader, Clint Bowyer, finished 8th; David Ragan was 10th; and Marcos Ambrose ran in 15th. The hometown favorites of Mike, Kenny, and Steve Wallace finished 11th, 18th, and 26th respectively. Kenny was the only one of the three to lead any laps during the race.

Clint Bowyer and Brad Keselowski maintained the top two spots in the Nationwide standings, while Carl Edwards jumped up a spot to #3, where he now sits 201 points out of first.

Complete Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 Results.

Nationwide Series Standings (from nascar.com):

Post from: EveryJoe

Edwards the Hometown Victor at Gateway

*Credit photo to Sporting News 

Kyle Busch won his sixth race of the Sprint Cup season and picked up the second Cup restrictor plate win of his career, much to the dismay of the crowd on-hand at Daytona International Speedway for Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400. But, whether or not you like Kyle Busch is irrelevent – what you cannot deny is that the action at Daytona was exciting once again and should be considered another victory for the Car of Tomorrow.

Paul Menard led the field to green after winning the Coors Lite Pole Award during Friday’s qualifying session, and he held onto the position for the first 19 laps of the race, before finally surrendering it over to former DEI teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr. The lead for Junior was short-lived, however, as AJ Allmendinger brought out the first caution of the evening on lap 20 after he cut down a right-side tire and smacked the wall, and it was Kyle Busch leading the field off of pit road. Earnhardt and Busch then swapped the lead back-and-forth a few more times and controlled the position between them until Jimmie Johnson finally took over on lap 75, and then Jeff Gordon moved to the front on lap 79.

Tony Stewart had been moving towards the front and easily had one of the best cars in the field, but some flu-like symptoms finally caught up with Smoke, and after a lap 71 caution involving Greg Biffle and Juan Pablo Montoya, Stewart called upon his former Joe Gibbs Racing ‘mate, JJ Yeley, who failed to qualify for the race and was standing by in the no. 20 pits as a relief driver. It took the team two pit stops, but they made the driver change and got Yeley out on the track at the tail end of the field. For Stewart, this was the second time he needed a mid-race substitute in his career, the last time coming at Dover in 2006 when the team used Ricky Rudd to relieve Stewart, who was recovering from a shoulder injury.

Matters then appeared to be getting worse for the Gibbs camp when Denny Hamlin got Kyle Busch loose on lap 82. Busch got so loose, in fact, that he was forced down onto the apron and sank all the way back to 37th place, near his new teammate, JJ Yeley. A caution on lap 110 helped Busch make up some ground, though, after Elliott Sadler hit the wall and bunched the field back up. Busch was amongst a handful of cars charging up to the front of the field, in a group that included Yeley, Martin Truex Jr. and Kasey Kahne who started in the back of the field, and Daytona 500 winner, Ryan Newman, who was recovering from an earlier spin with Jamie McMurray back on lap 44.

Under the caution, Carl Edwards stayed out on the track to collect 5 bonus points for leading a lap, and then it was Earnhardt Jr. and Denny Hamlin swapping the lead back and forth for several laps. Busch had worked his way back into the top-ten by lap 110, and it’s a good thing for him, because the final 40 laps of the race brought out seven more cautions.

The fifth caution of the evening came with just 37 to go when David Gilliland got loose and hit the wall, bringing Ryan Newman with him and setting off a chain reaction behind them which also resulted with Jeff Burton in the wall. Gilliland had been running inside the top-five for most of the race until a pit road misque during the previous caution shuffled him back to 14th and in what would become the danger zone.

The mele’ continued just 7 laps later when Jamie McMurray couldn’t clear the no. 83 car of Brian Vickers and got spun out as a result, and then five laps after that, Ryan Newman was involved in his third accident of the day, this time spinning along with Denny Hamlin. Then, on lap 139, JJ Yeley – who had been making steady progress working his way up inside the top-15 and flirting with the top-ten – got turned sideways by David Ragan, and Jeff Burton and Casey Mears ended up in the wall behind them.

The 9th caution of the race came on lap 149 when Boris Said was spun by Joe Nemechek, and with the field bunched up together, Kyle Busch re-assumed the lead when he passed Jeff Gordon on lap 155. Another caution came out a lap later with a big spill involving Dave Blaney, Jimmie Johnson, Paul Menard, Regan Smith, JJ Yeley, David Reutimann, and Denny Hamlin, amongst others.

The field lined up for the sixth green-white-checkered finish of the season. Kyle Busch was out front, followed by Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards. A slow restart caused Edwards to get into the back of the no. 24, turning Gordon around onto the apron, but NASCAR chose not to waive the caution flag. Then, Edwards and Matt Kenseth ducked out of line and pulled up next to the race leader, but Kenseth’s car “couldn’t hold it down” on the high line.

In an unlikely turn of events, the race turned into Carl Edwards running side-by-side with Kyle Busch, but Carl’s teammate – Matt Kenseth – was pushing Kyle, and Kyle’s brother – Kurt Busch – was pushing the no. 99. As the two cars took turns pulling their nose ahead of the other, the cars started piling up behind them, and NASCAR finally brought out the caution. Officials then turned to video replay to decide who was in front when the caution flag actually came out, and it was determined that Kyle did in fact pull ahead of Edwards right at the last moment, naming him the winner.

Edwards went onto finish 2nd – his best Daytona finish – with his Roush teammate, Matt Kenseth in third, and Kurt Busch in 4th, despite starting all the way back in the 36th position. David Ragan recovered nicely from a pit road penalty that put him at the end of the field on lap 113, and he went onto finish 5th. Robby Gordon had a very solid race and even led a lap at one point, and he finished 6th. Kasey Kahne appeared to be headed for disaster when he was forced to pit with less than 10 to go due to a right fender rub, but he rebounded into the 7th position. After leading the most laps in the race, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s car faded in the latter stages, as he settled for 8th. 9th place went to Clint Bowyer, who had a very quiet day as he worked his way up from 25th. And, Mark Martin rounded out the top-ten finishers after starting from the outside pole. There was also a point in the race where Mark got the opportunity to run up front with his three Hendrick teammates for next season.

Other Notables: Kevin Harvick finished the race in 12th, but it wasn’t enough to keep him in the top-12 in points, as he now sits 13th in the standings ….. Polesitter, Paul Menard, finished 15th ….. Driving in relief of Tony Stewart, JJ Yeley finished 20th, which was just enough to keep Stewart two points in front of Harvick ….. Jimmie Johnson finished 23rd ….. After appearing as though he might be in line for the victory on the final restart, Jeff Gordon plummeted to a 30th place finish ….. Last year’s race winner, Jamie McMurray, finished 32nd ….. Daytona 500 winner, Ryan Newman, finished 36th ….. Jeff Burton wound up 37th, ending his 23-race streak of top-15 finishes.

Grades:
the Racing - 95%
the Drama – 96%
Coverage – 92%
Pre-Race – 89%

Overall Grade: 94%

Recommended Reads:
- Kyle Busch Captures Win in Exciting Finish at Daytona International Speedway – (Racing for the Win)
- Live on Type Delay: Firecracker (Coke Zero) 400 – (RevJim’s Rans ‘n’ Raves)

Complete Results (from nascar.com):

Sprint Cup Series Standings (from nascar.com):

Post from: EveryJoe

Rating the Race: Daytona – Coke Zero 400

Image details: LENOX Industrial Tools 301 served by picapp.com

They added an extra scheduled lap this year to the Lenox Industrial Tools 301, but it was all for naught as the race was halted for rain on lap 284 of the scheduled 301-lap event, and in the end, it was surprise-winner Kurt Busch standing in Victory Lane to get his first victory of the season, and the second of 2008 for car owner, Roger Penske. Busch was far from the dominant car at any point throughout the day, but some pit strategy and a little bit of luck went a long way in getting the “Blue Deuce” up to the front of the pack after 8 cars stayed on the track during a caution on lap 271.

The race started out with a green flag look to it with Kevin Harvick taking the lead away from polesitter, Patrick Carpentier, just four laps into it. Harvick then dominated the first leg of the race until he surrendered the lead to Dale Earnhardt Jr. on lap 44, but regained the lead after a round of green flag stops brough Harvick back out in front, and shuffled Junior back to fourth.

The first caution flag came out when David Reutimann spun the no. 40 Dodge of Dario Franchitti on lap 88, and that’s when teams first started rolling the dice, as the cars of Casey Mears and Brian Vickers stayed out on the track, pushing Mears out to the front of the field. With the running order mixed up at this points, fans were treated to a little bit of excitement as the Hendrick cars of Earnhardt Jr, Jeff Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson all raced each other hard for position for the 7th through 9th spots, with Jr. getting loose on lap 94 and nearly taking out all three of the team cars.

The next caution waived for debris on lap 140, putting all of the drivers back onto the same pit cycle. This time it was Tony Stewart winning the race off of pit road after starting all the way back in the 28th position. Stewart maintained the position for the next 132 laps, giving him an extra five bonus points for leading the most laps.

Perhaps the key moment of the race came on lap 217 when Kasey Kahne spun Aric Almirola as the two raced each other hard for position. Almirola nearly made a great save to keep his no. 8 DEI car off the wall – just moments after making another great save – but, he eventually turned all the way around and clipped the wall, bringing out the fifth yellow on the day. With most teams feeling that the caution came just outside their established pit window and that they would still have to stop again later in the race, only a handful of cars came down pit road, to include Kurt Busch.

After watching a great side-by-side battle between Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson at the beginning of the next run, the race fell a little stagnant for the next 40 laps. Then, on lap 271, Jamie McMurray got into Earnhardt as the no. 88 car tried to get onto pit road. Both cars spun hard, also picking up the no. 6 of David Ragan in the process.

The majority of the field came into pit, with Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer, and Jeff Burton all beating Stewart off of pit road with fuel-only stops. Stewart made a 2-tire stop and was the sixth car off of pit road, but unfortunately for the no. 20 Home Depot team, eight other cars that stopped on the lap 217 caution all stayed out on the track, and Smoke was stuck way back in 14th for the restart.

Kurt Busch took the green flag on the restart and held onto the lead until the seventh caution flag waived on lap 279 when Clint Bowyer and Sam Hornish Jr. got tangled up in a spin. The track then got a little bit messier when Kyle Busch and Juan Pablo Montoya started playing bumper cars under the yellow, which eventually led to Montoya making a left turn into the rear end of the points leader, which ultimately sent both cars spinning.

The race never did get restarted, as rain eventually found its way to the track as the field turned laps under the yellow. NASCAR brought out the red flag, and it was only a matter of minutes before officials made the call, handing Kurt Busch his first victory of the season. Behind him were the cars of Michael Waltrip, JJ Yeley, Martin Truex Jr, Elliott Sadler, Reed Sorenson, and Casey Mears, all of whom pitted on lap 217. Denny Hamlin was the first car in the running order that came down pit road on lap 271, as he finished in 8th, and right behind him was Jimmie Johnson in 9th. Bobby LaBonte completed the top-ten, also making his final stop on lap 217.

Other Notables: Jeff Gordon finished 11th … Jeff Burton continued his streak as the only driver to finish in the top-15 of every race this season. He finished 12th after starting in 31st … Tony Stewart was relegated to a disappointing 13th place run after leading a race-high 132 laps. He also became only the 13th driver in NASCAR history to lead more than 10,000 laps in his career … Kevin Harvick led the second-most laps in the race, but wound up 14th … Carl Edwards was the highest running Roush-Fenway car in the race in 17th, and right behind him was teammate, Matt Kenseth, in 18th. The race marked the end of Kenseth’s run of six consecutive finishes of 8th or better … Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 24th after the accident ended a good run for his team … Points leader, Kyle Busch, suffered a 25th place finish … Polesitter, Patrick Carpentier, led three laps on the day and wound up 31st.

The distorted running order at the end of the race shook up the points standings as one might expect. Kyle Busch held onto the top spot, but saw his lead over 2nd place, Jeff Burton, shrink to just 64 points. 1st through 6th remained unchanged, but Denny Hamlin and Greg Biffle swapped spots in 7th and 8th. Behind them, Tony Stewart moved up two spots to 9th, while Kasey Kahne and Clint Bowyer each dropped a position and moved down to 10th and 11th. Kevin Harvick made his way back into the top-12, where he now holds a 15-point lead over 13th place, Matt Kenseth.

Grades:
the Race – 92%
the Drama – 96%
Coverage – 92%
Pre-Race – 88%

Overall Grade: 92.4%

Complete Results (from nascar.com):

Sprint Cup Series Standings (from nascar.com)

Recommended Reads:
- Kurt Busch Sees Rain, Red and NHMS Win – (Full Throttle)
- Busch (the Other One) Wins at New Hampshire – (Bruce’s Bits & Pieces)
- McMurray Takes the Blame for Wrecking Dale Jr. – (Captain Thunder Racing)

Post from: EveryJoe

Rating the Race: New Hampshire – Lenox Industrial Tools 301

Image details: RVs.com 200 served by picapp.com

Tony Stewart has given the media something else to talk about for a day, as he conquered Camping World RV Sales 200 on Saturday, to become the Nationwide Series’ 22nd winner at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in just as many races. With Joey Logano sitting out of the no. 20 Joe Gibbs Toyota for the next few weeks, Stewart answered the call this weekend and led his JGR teammates to the finish line.

After leading the most laps on the afternoon, Stewart took the white flag as he tried to hold off teammates, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch. (Hamlin was actually racing the no. 32 car for Braun Racing, which included an all-black paint scheme in mourning of the loss of Todd Braun’s mother, Linda Braun). Shortly after taking the white flag on the final lap of the race, Greg Biffle crashed while racing Brad Keselowski for position, ending the race and giving Stewart his fifth Nationwide victory of the season.

Hamlin, who had pulled to within a half a second of the leader, wound up finishing in 2nd, with Kyle Busch in third. Kevin Harvick ended a solid day in 4th with his self-owned Kevin Harvick Inc. no. 33 Chevy. And, Carl Edwards finished 5th, after using some pit strategy with a no-tire stop during the final caution to gain track position with a little more than 30 laps remaining. David Ragan, David Reutimann, Mike Bliss, Clint Bowyer, and Brad Keselowski completed the top-ten.

David Reutimann and Carl Edwards each leap-frogged Brad Keselowski for position to take over 2nd and 3rd in the points standings. Clint Bowyer still holds a 182 point lead in first, though. Check here for the Camping World RV Sales 200 complete results.

Nationwide Series Standings (from nascar.com):

Post from: EveryJoe

Tony Stewart Becomes 22nd Different Winner at New Hampshire