Nationwide Series rules and regulations are being implemented with full force this week against a few teams and individuals

This week NASCAR announced that two Nationwide Series teams have been discovered to have skirted the rules during last weekend’s Nationwide Series event at Memphis Motorsports Park and have been appropriately fined and penalized according to the rule book. Jay Robinson, the boss of Mark Green in the No. 49 Chevrolet, drew the attention of NASCAR officials, along with Chris Rice, the boss for the No. 70 Chevrolet with Shelby Howard at the wheel. Surprisingly, both teams were found to be in violation of the same rules in the rule book and were fined and penalized the same amounts of $2,500, 25 owner points and 25 driver points.

Also this week, NASCAR fined racer Steve Wallace in the No. 66 Chevrolet for the Nationwide Series for his actions after the race at Memphis Motorsports Park during last weekend’s event. Wallace was told he would have to pay $5,000 of his winnings and placed on probation to give him time to think about his actions. He was upset with something that Matt Kenseth had done on the track during the race and decided to use his car as a battering ram and ran into Kenseth’s car after the race. This is an unfortunate situation that Kenseth has placed himself in by letting his emotions control him after the race. He may have been right in being upset but this gives him no right to loose control and use his car in such away. It’s just a sporting event after all and controlling your emotions is a required skill of all competitors in a dangerous sport like racing.

It’s probably best this racer sits on the side lines and come to terms with his emotions and learns how to control them, no matter the outcome or events that occur on the track. After he comes back he’ll be a much better racer and a safer competitor than before and maybe this might keep him in racing.

“Image: Zuma Press”

Post from: EveryJoe

NASCAR Rules and Regulations

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

Jeff Gordon hasn’t won since winning the Sprint Cup Series Championship in 2001. He has had a good year and currently sits eighth in the Sprint Cup Series standings with just the last eight races left in the Chase. He still has a chance to win the 2009 Sprint Cup Series Championship, but he needs to really put the pedal to the medal in the last few races of the 2009 Sprint Cup season, if he wants to take his second Sprint Cup Series Championship of the decade.

Tony Stewart won two Sprint Cup Series Championships in the decade, in 2002 and 2005, but currently sits fifth in the Chase standings and has a little work to do if he wants to win in 2009. He has had a fast car all year, despite a few problems staying consistent and I expect the last eight races to bring out the best in him. He’s the only Sprint Cup Series competitor during the decade that’s even close to catching Johnson and he’s two championships away from matching Jimmie in the decade.

The only other Sprint Cup Series racer that has won during the decade is Matt Kenseth in 2003. Matt didn’t make it to the Chase this year and is watching as twelve racers he had hoped to beat this year are racing for the ultimate prize in NASCAR. This should fuel his fire for next year and give Matt a reason to come out and let it all hang loose on the track. He’s a long shot to be considered for the Sprint Cup Series racer of the decade but will certainly get a few votes.

Every Joe out there has their opinion about this subject and opinions will be flying around the paddock as always about who should be considered the best Sprint Cup Series racer of the decade. Let me know what you think?

“Image: Zuma Press”

Post from: EveryJoe

Sprint Cup Series Champion of the Decade

Kasey Kahne will need to have another good result in Richmond to make the Chase

Carl Edwards needs to finish at least 24^th at Richmond to make the Chase but he had a 216 point lead over 13^th place racer Brian Vickers three races ago and this has dwindled to 105 points. Kasey Kahne must finish at least 21^st Saturday night at Richmond or he’ll be watching from the stands. This is despite just winning his second race of the Sprint Cup Series season and jumping five spots in the race for the Chase. The rest are in similar positions, but they don’t need to finish as well as these two gentlemen, who are sitting on the edge, looking down at the rocks.

The last race before the Chase, the Chevy Rock and Roll 400, runs this Saturday night on the pavement of Richmond International Raceway (7 p.m. ET, ABC). This competition is going to be one of the most important and pivotal races of the 2009 Sprint Cup Series and will help determine all the stops as NASCAR gets ready for the Chase.

“Image: Zuma Press”

Post from: EveryJoe

Race for the Chase is About to Boil Over

Lady Luck showed her ugly head to Kyle Busch with just two laps to go.

Matt finally achieved his first long sought after victory of the 2009 campaign at Darlington Raceway, which is his third at the historic venue that has seen its share of champions and his 25^th victory in the series, which leaves him fifth-best on the list of wins. Friday night probably couldn’t have gone much better for Matt, who has been suffering after a series of miscues and mishaps that left him in 12^th place in the standings after starting out the season by winning the first two cup races of the season.

Busch ended up finishing 16^th after leading for a race-high 143 laps and was only a few laps away from victory when he ended up running over debris from a crash between Scott Lagasse Jr. and Joe Nemechek and cutting his tire. The 16^th place finish did trim Joe Gibbs Racing team’s standings advantage to 37 points and tightened up the season standings heading into the heated part of the year.

Jason Leffler finished second in his Toyota, just ahead of Carl Edwards in third and Erik Darnell in fourth, both of which drive Fords.  Justin Allgaier managed to run consistently by staying out of the way and finished a competitive fifth, ahead of Ryan Newman in sixth, Mike Bliss in seventh place, Jeff Burton in eighth, Brian Vickers who managed to take ninth place and the final position in the top ten was taken by Scott Wimmer.

Image: Newscom

Post from: EveryJoe

Matt Kenseth Wins First Race of 2009

Kyle Busch beat Carl Edwards to the line again

The yearly competition to see which steed and driver combination is the fastest over a series of races which we call the Nationwide Series championship seems to be a two man race so far this season. Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards have both maneuvered back and forth into the over all championship at times like they were conducting their own personal two-man race.

While it’s certainly too early to hand either of them the trophy, Friday night at the Richmond International Raceway Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards continued their two-man race for the Nationwide Series championship.

Friday night in a five lap race to the line after the 10^th caution of the night, Busch managed to beat Edwards to the finish line by .584 seconds to take the Lipton Tea 250 and increase his points lead in the Nationwide Series by 82 points over his nemesis, Carl Edwards.

The win was Busch’s third of the year in the Nationwide Series, his third at Richmond International Raceway, 24^th victory in the illustrious Nationwide Series, and certainly one of many more to come for a racer who has shown outstanding driving skill and a love for the sport.

The difference in the race seemed to be the difference in the way each driver, car and team handled the restarts, and Busch, his team, and especially his car were just faster off the line. On this day Carl Edwards was just in the unfortunate position of having the second fastest car, but he still managed a pretty good points total and managed to keep Busch from extending his lead with skillful driving and car management.

The field was a few seconds behind the leaders, with Matt Kenseth taking third place, followed by Brad Keselowski in fourth, Kevin Harvick managed fifth, and Joey Logano out-raced Mark Martin for sixth. Rookie driver Michael McDowell had a good showing in eighth place, just ahead of Jason Keller who finished ninth, and Jason Leffler rounded out the top ten places.

The tenth caution of the night turned out to tell the difference, as Kenny Wallace’s unfortunate spin on Lap 243 resulted in a restart and a final race to the line, which Kyle Busch won.

Image: Newscom

Post from: EveryJoe

Kyle Busch Wins Lipton Tea 250

10. Matt Kenseth – 22 races – Last Win: Homestead-Miami Speedway, Fall 2007
9. Jeff Gordon – 27 races – Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Fall 2007
8. Greg Biffle – 29 races – Kansas Speedway, Fall 2007
7. Tony Stewart – 36 races – Watkins Glen International, Summer 2007
6. Jamie McMurray – 40 races – Daytona International Speedway, Summer 2007

5. Martin Truex Jr. – 45 races – Dover International Speedway, Spring 2007
4. Kevin Harvick – 57 races – Daytona International Speedway, Spring 2007
3. David Ragan – 60 races – No NSCS wins
2. Brian Vickers – 68 races – Talladega Superspeedway, Fall 2006
1. Elliott Sadler – 141 races – Auto Club Speedway, Fall 2004

Post from: EveryJoe

List of the Week: Longest Winless Streaks Inside the Top 20

After rain canceled Friday’s qualifying session, the field lined up based on their order in the car owner’s points standings, setting Kyle Busch out on the pole position for the start of the race. Kyle led the first lap before handing it over to Dale Earnhardt Jr, who started on the outside of the front row. As Busch dropped back to third in the running order, Earnhardt gradually expanded his lead through the next 28 laps, but found himself in 6th after the field completed their first round of green flag pit stops.

Kyle Busch once again took the race lead on lap 30, and was still in charge when the first caution of the day came out on lap 47. NASCAR made the decision to waive the yellow due to debris on the track that was a result of some loose gravel that had been kicked up on the track. The caution was a huge break for Jimmie Johnson who had just pitted a few laps earlier when he had a rear left tire going down, but because he was running up in the top-five at the time, he was able to make his stop without losing a lap. Once pit road opened up, 14 cars remained on the track, including Johnson. Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart – running 1st and 2nd at the time – also elected to stay out.

Kyle Busch was still the race leader when the field went back to green, but the most impressive story to this point was Marcos Ambrose, who was driving the no. 21 Wood Brothers Ford. He was forced to start dead last due to the car’s position in owner points, but had worked his way all the way up inside the top-15 for the restart.

Kyle Busch moved to the side to allow his teammate, Tony Stewart, to lead a lap and pickup the 5 extra bonus points on lap 53, but Tony returned the favor and let Kyle go back by the following lap, and that was the only movement up front until the leaders again came into pit on lap 56. Juan Pablo Montoya and Jimmie Johnson each led a lap during the exchange of green flag stops. Johnson came into pit on lap 58, which handed the lead back over to Dale Earnhardt Jr.

With more than a 25 second lead, Earnhardt was the only car still out on the track that had not yet made his final pit stop. Despite continuing to lose a second per lap to the 2nd and 3rd place cars, Tony Eury Jr. – crew chief for the no. 88 team – elected to keep Earnhardt out on the track, but the call completely backfired when NASCAR waived the second caution flag on lap 64. The caution was again for loose gravel that Travis Kvapil kicked onto the track when he ran off the track. Earnhardt was forced to pit while the other race leaders remained out on the track, and with just 25 laps remaining, he lined up 37th for the restart.

Kyle Busch was once again deemed the race leader by virtue of Earnhardt’s misfortunes with Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman chasing him. With the laps dwindling down, it almost looked as though we might have another caution when Sam Hornish Jr. spun PJ Jones on lap 70, but both cars were able to get going again, and NASCAR saw no reason to bring out the yellow.

The complexity of the race changed on lap 77 when Ryan Newman got into the corner too hard, resulting in a single car spin in Turn 9. Unable to get his car restarted, he had several close cars as the rest of the field tried to avoid the stalled car as it rolled back out onto the track. NASCAR eventually brought out the third caution, and luckily, the entire field was able to get around Newman without hitting him.

The fourth and final caution came with just 8 laps to go when Michael McDowell spun David Gilliland, setting off a huge multi-car crash that involved 9 cars right near the pit road entrance. Michael Waltrip, Bobby LaBonte, Sam Hornish Jr, Reed Sorenson, Max Papis, Dave Blaney, and Joe Nemechek all got caught up in the mess, and LaBonte appeared to be mildly injured as he was seen limping back to the infield care center.

After NASCAR stopped the race under red flag conditions for more than 40 minutes, they finally got the race restarted with Kyle Busch still in the lead, and behind him were Tony Stewart, Marcos Ambrose, Juan Pablo Montoya, Martin Truex Jr, and Kevin Harvick. Busch took the green flag with just five laps to go with Stewart keeping within a couple car lengths for the first few laps. With about 2 to go, though, Busch started to pull away, and Stewart’s new task became keeping the no. 21 of Ambrose in his rearview mirror. Busch went onto take the checkers, and Stewart was able to fend off Ambrose to give Joe Gibbs Racing a 1-2 finish.

Marcos Ambrose fought off Juan Pablo Montoya to hang onto third, and JPM finished 4th. Martin Truex Jr. held onto 5th to earn his first-ever top-five finish at Watkins Glen. He was followed by the 2006 winner of this event, Kevin Harvick, in 6th. 7th place went to Denny Hamlin, who capped off a solid run inside the top-ten for most of the day. Jimmie Johnson rebounded from his cut tire earlier in the race to finish in 8th. AJ Allmendinger walked away with the best NSCS finish of his career in 9th, also giving him his second top-ten in the last 3 races. Carl Edwards completed the top-ten.

Other Notables:
Matt Kenseth had a pretty quiet day, but finished 12th ….. Kasey Kahne matched his best Watkins Glen finish with a 14th place run ….. Dale Earnhardt Jr. wound up 22nd after his team’s race strategy put him in the back of the field with just over 20 laps to go ….. Jeff Gordon had an eventful day. His team had to have NASCAR black flag him to get him into the pits for the first round of stops after the team’s radio became disconnected. Gordon’s car, unfortunately, handled much like the radio, as his struggles throughout the day led to a 25th place finish ….. Robby Gordon started near the back of the pack and never was able to find his way to the front, finishing with a very disappointing 27th place finish ….. Ryan Newman’s spin on lap 77 led to a 28th place effort, as that team continues to watch their Chase hopes keep slipping away.

Kyle Busch now holds a 242 point lead on 1st in the standings, while Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson both moved past Earnhardt Jr. to take over the 2nd and 3rd spots. Tony Stewart’s back-to-back 2nd place efforts have also moved him up to 7th overall, and he now has a 138 point cushion in the Chase standings. Matt Kenseth also moved up a spot to take over the 12th and final spot in the Chase, moving Clint Bowyer back down to 13th. He’s now 22 points out of the Chase.

Grades:
the Race: 75%
Drama: 74%
Coverage: 90%
Pre-Race: 81%

Overall Grade: 78.4%

Complete Results (from nascar.com):

Sprint Cup Series Standings (from nascar.com):

Post from: EveryJoe

Rating the Race: Centurion Boats at the Glen at Watkins Glen

Some would say that it’s been a trying season for Goodyear in 2008 as they continue to work on developing new tires to coincide with NASCAR’s latest project, the Car of Tomorrow. Things got heated early in the season between Goodyear’s racing group and some of the drivers in the garage area, particularly after Atlanta when several of the drivers bashed the tire in public forums. You might recall one man inparticular’s rants regarding the tires as they made headlines for several weeks. Yes, I’m referring of course to Tony Stewart.

It seemed as though things had finally cooled off between all parties involved until just a couple of weeks ago at Indianapolis. It was the first time NASCAR had ever taken the COT to Indy, and the tires that Goodyear brought to the track were inadequate to say the least. The end result was NASCAR waiving a competition caution about every 10 laps and the reviews for the event were terrible.

After a week long of apologies from both NASCAR and Goodyear, both parties were presented with a golden opportunity to redeem themselves during the Nationwide race in Montreal. With bad weather on the horizon, NASCAR decided to break out their inventory of “grooved” Goodyear tires, marking the first time grooved tires had ever been run in a NASCAR points race. The experiment was a tremendous success, and talk about the Indy tire fiasco has been slim to none ever since.

This week, the “Loose in Turn 3″ trio will take a look at the situation and decide the overwhelming success of the rain tires and a solid week at Pocono does in fact take Goodyear off the hook, or if they feel that there are still too many unanswered questions to make that call just yet.

Q: Did Goodyear finally clear their name in NASCAR with the success of their rain tires in Montreal?

TZ: They’re not completely out of the woods just yet, but for the most part, I would say yes. I was pretty upset with the fiasco that took place at Indy, and there’ve been a few other times this season I wasn’t thrilled with their output, but running in the rain at Motreal without any tire issues was a huge plus, and then they were able to follow it up with a successful day in Pocono as well. There are obviously a few tracks that they still need to get some things figured out, but all in all, they’ve rebounded quite nicely.

Bruce:  I’d expect more from a division of a tire company that is supposed to be making racing tires and not rubber confetti at Indianapolis.  Indy was a phenomenal waste of time and they should have tried something else rather than let NASCAR dole out a series of 10-lap trophy dashes, but without the trophy.  I don’t see this weekend as a rebound as much as it is, a “It’s about time they got it back on track.  Now let’s keep it there!”

Charlie:  Goodyear didn’t need to “clear their name”. In fact, NASCAR once
again put Goodyear’s good name at risk by using six year old rubber in a
featured race. They lucked out that the tires didn’t fail. NASCAR flipped
a coin again, just as they did at Indy. Goodyear makes tens of thousands
of race tires that are used at hundreds of races every week. A couple of
high profile failures should be expected when the company is trying to
make a NASCAR work in progress – the vaunted CoT – look better than it is.

the Rest of the Discussion:
There’s still plenty more to read this week from the “Loose in Turn 3″ guys. Make sure you take a trip over to On Pit Row where Charlie asks the question, “Who is the Best Crew Chief in the Sprint Cup Garage Right Now?“, and then head over to Bruce’s NASCAR Bits ‘n’ Pieces where we debate the motive behind Martin Truex Jr.’s Decision to Remain at DEI.

Post from: EveryJoe

Goodyear Was Starting to Get Loose in Turn 3 … But, They’re Straight Now

With the cutoff for the Chase quickly approaching, a mere 5 races now separates us from the beginning of NASCAR’s playoff season. Yet, still, there is quite a bit of uncertainty in the air as to whom will be competing for a championship in the final 10 races and who will be racing to build momentum for the 2009 season. Only 80 points separates 7th place Kasey Kahne from 12th place Clint Bowyer, and only 46 points from Bowyer back to 14th place David Ragan. Even Brian Vickers all the way back in 16th still has a shot at this thing as he lingers 203 points out from the final Chase cutoff spot.

So, with 8 drivers still caught up in a tight race for those final 6 positions in the Chase, and 2 others still holding out hope, this week’s “List of the Week” is a look at each of the ten drivers’ average finish throughout races 22 to 26 on the Schedule – or, the final 5 races leading into the Chase, rather – since the inception of the Chase back in 2004. It should be noted, however, that of these 10 drivers, three of them – Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, and David Ragan – have not been full-time drivers through all four seasons that carried the Chase format, and these numbers reflect only race results from which the drivers were competing full-time.

10. Brian Vickers – 16th in pts – 21.5
9. David Ragan – 14th in pts – 21.2
8. Ryan Newman – 15th in pts – 17.9
7. Clint Bowyer – 12th in pts – 16.8
6. Greg Biffle – 8th in pts – 16.6

5. Kevin Harvick – 11th in pts – 15.6
4. Kasey Kahne – 7th in pts – 14.4
3. Denny Hamlin – 10th in pts – 12.1
2. Matt Kenseth – 13th in pts – 11.1
1. Tony Stewart – 9th in pts – 8.8

Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart also lead these drivers with the most wins during those races with 3 apiece; Harvick has 2 wins in the final 5 races leading to the Chase since 2004; and Kasey Kahne and Greg Biffle each have a win to their credit as well.

Best Single Season Average Run Through Final 5 Races Leading to the Chase:
5. Kevin Harvick – 7.8 (2006)
4. Matt Kenseth – 7.6 (2006)
3. Matt Kenseth – 6.2 (2005)
2. Tony Stewart – 6.0 (2007)
1. Tony Stewart – 5.2 (2005)

Post from: EveryJoe

List of the Week: Bubble Drivers Race to the Chase