Kasey Kahne had a hard time finding Victory Lane after winning Sunday’s Toyota/SaveMart 350 held at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. It has been awhile since the No. 9 Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge had to find its way to the winners circle and Kahne had to ask for directions to find the crowd of fans and industry professionals waiting to pay homage to the latest winner of the 2009 NASCAR season.

Sunday's Toyota/SaveMart 350

Kahne had to fight off early challenges by the field, but once he got up to speed the quality of his ride and driving skill started to take over. He had to fight-off a late charge by road-course guru Tony Stewart through a series of double-file restarts at the end of the race, the last time due to Scott Speed’s disastrous spin during Lap 108, and just beat Stewart to the line to take the win. This was just one of seven caution flags of the day that was filled with bangs and crashes on the track and a few off the track as well. This was Kasey’s first win of the 2009 Sprint Cup NASCAR season and the tenth in his short career, but certainly not his last.

Marcos Ambrose had a good run, he had difficulty in the opening laps, but after beginning at the rear due to the changing of an engine, he was able to chase down the leaders for third, and if the race had been a few more laps the ending might have been a little different.

Jimmie Johnson had a difficult day, he had to recover from a speeding penalty in pit lane that put him behind but after battling through to the end, he was able to take fourth place. Denny Hamlin lead in Sunday’s Toyota/SaveMart 350 for 33 laps of the race, which was second to Kasey Kahne’s 37 laps in the lead, but had a few problems near the end of the race and finished fifth. Juan Montoya had a difficult day but managed to finish sixth, A. J. Allmendinger ran at a steady speed to take seventh, Clint Bowyer managed eighth. Jeff Gordon had a few problems getting through the field and finished ninth, while Elliot Sadler finished up the top ten in the Toyota/SaveMart 350 held at Infineon Raceway on Sunday afternoon.

“Image: Zuma Press”

The sun finally shined on Tony Stewart’s dreams of a possible third Sprint Cup championship to go with his first two on Sunday afternoon as he came from behind to beat the field to the finish line and win the Pocono 500 in front of thousands of unbelieving fans. This victory along with his recent win in the All-Star Race last month certainly validates Stewart’s belief that he can still compete against the best and maybe even hang-in long enough to sneak around the corner at the end of the year and steal his third title.

Tony Stewart wins the Pocono 500

Stewart had to start at the back of the grid due to a practice accident that forced him to jump into his backup ride for the Pocono 500. He seemed to sense his situation and decided to drive safe and conservative until the final 40 laps, when he decided to take a chance that paid off for the veteran. Driving past the scheduled pit stop he gambled that he could manage his car and speed well enough to complete the final laps without the pit stop, and he won the bet.

Deciding that he doesn’t need a pit stop is a decision he can make as team owner but it’s certainly one he’s glad paid off. He still has to be accountable to himself and his team if his gamble doesn’t pay-off and thoughts of doubt must have been dancing through his mind at the time he made his decision.

Stewart is the first owner/driver to emerge victorious in a Sprint Cup race since Ricky Rudd did it at Martinsville in 1998; Stewart’s joy at his triumph was evident in his celebrations. Carl Edwards managed to drive clean and finished second, just ahead of David Reutimann in third, and Jeff Gordon, who battled through out the race. Ryan Newman didn’t have the fastest car of the day but he kept his line clean and finished fifth despite his problems. Marcos Ambrose had a pretty good showing and finished sixth, Jimmie Johnson had a frustrating day but still managed seventh, Juan Montoya grabbed eighth, Jeff Burton finished in ninth, and the top ten in the Pocono 500 was rounded out by Sam Hornish Jr.

The next venue for the Sprint Cup series is the LifeLock 400 being held at the Michigan International Speedway. If you want to watch or listen to the play-by-play of the LifeLock 400 tune into TNT at 12:30 or Radio MNR at 1:15 on Sunday afternoon, June 14^th.

“Image: Zuma Press”

Patience and consistency allowed Jimmie Johnson to stay close enough to the front runners to have a chance to win, but a great car and excellent driving skills allowed him to finally get his second win of the 2009 Sprint Cup season in the Autism Speaks 400 held at Dover International Speedway on Sunday.

Jimmie Johnson achieves 42nd career win in Autism Speaks 400

Jimmie Johnson started eighth after the tenth caution of the race due to a difficult crash by David Stemme but was able to overcome a slow pit stop and race to the front of the of the pack. On the way he was able to pass Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart, who started ahead of Johnson, but weren’t able to stay in front of the hard-charging racer. This win was Jimmie Johnson’s fourth victory at Dover International Speedway and the 42^nd victory-lap of his NASCAR career.

The majority of the laps belonged to Johnson, he led an amazing 298 laps of the Autism Speaks 400, and therefore it’s not a surprise that he won the race. Still you have to cross the finish line first and the driver who leads the majority of the laps doesn’t always win. Johnson scored a perfect Driver Rating of 150.00 during the race, with the best score in Average Running Position (2.0), Fastest Laps Run (127), and he spent all but five laps of the race in the top 15.

Johnson was able to get in front of Tony Stewart through Turns 3 and 4 of Lap 398 and then slowly pull away from him to beat him to the line by .861 seconds. Stewart knew he lacked rubber; he had only taken two tires to Johnson’s four during the pit stop, so he made sure to stay near the top of the track to block Johnson’s line through the corners and so stayed in front of him. Johnson was able to finally pass Stewart on the outside of the final two corners and stay in front to take the win.

This win vaults Jimmie Johnson, who led 298 laps of the scheduled 400, into third on the Sprint Cup series driver points’ standings.

Greg Biffle finished third, Matt Kenseth took fourth place, Kurt Busch finished in fifth, and Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman, Casey Mears, and Mark Martin rounded out the top ten places.

“Image: Newscom”

Practice and patience breeds success in life and NASCAR, it seems as a team that often talked a big game during the preseason, hasn’t been exactly the new kids on the block and has recently achieved a level of success that many thought they would be hard pressed to achieve. Stewart-Haas racing struggled to stay competitive last year, but Saturday night at the Richmond International Raceway it took a big step toward making this level of success a reality.

Stewart-Haas racing has it way through the pack to pull up behind the leaders, now can they take the next step

Tony Stewart combined fresh tires with great driving skills, crossed the finish line in second place, while his teammate Ryan Newman bounced back from an early encounter with Mark Martin to finish fourth for Stewart-Haas racing on a short .75 mile oval track. This marks the dawning of a new day for Stewart-Haas racing and is the first time since becoming teammates, the two have both finished in the top five in the same race. This result also places both Stewart-Haas drivers in the top 12 in championship points, with only 15 Sprint Cup races before NASCAR’s premier series pulls into Richmond again to determine this year’s championship field. Not bad for an organization that often had difficulty being organized, until Tony Stewart took the reigns in his hands and tightened-up the team’s technical relationship with Hendrick Motorsports.

Stewart and Newman have both shown obvious progress since the beginning of the season.  Newman moving from failed to finish better than 2oth place in the first four races of the season, but has steadily climbed since then and currently sits 10^th in the standings. Stewart has been more consistent since the start and has had his issues, but despite his problems, sits in third in points.

Stewart-Haas racing’s relationship with Hendrick Motorsports has supplied the team with chassis and engines, obviously two important aspects of any NASCAR team. The lack of success last year lead to Stewart being given a half-share in the team, who went to work and hired a group of top-notch industry professionals and attracted top sponsors, where the team would have been laughed at in previous years. Months later, the results of Stewart’s magic are becoming more and more visible on the race track, it will be fun, engaging and entertaining to watch and see what tricks he can pull off, both on and off the race track, to move his team up in the Sprint Cup series.

“Images: Newscom”

Good news for those involved in the Chase. Saturday’s practice times/speeds were faster for most than qualifying. Three of the top six times were the likes of Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle - the top three in the Chase standings.

Biffle’s No. 16 car posted the fastest time during the practice round, cutting up the Kansas Speedway at 167.385 MPH. Biffle is tied for second in the Chase standings, along with Johnson, who finished the practice round with a top speed of 166.528. Edwards posted the third-best top speed in the No. 99 car at 167.271.

So what are we looking at this afternoon? Well, the Kansas Speedway has been notorious for being extremely hard to win for those 12 drivers involved in the Chase. It’s all been almost expected to see a wreck that will impact the race standings. So, here’s my prediction. With the history of the track hard to ignore, I’m staying on the side of caution. Both Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart looked impressive in practice Saturday, however both are starting near the back of the pack. With so much to make up, I don’t feel comfortable choosing either as a hands-down winner. But I do feel comfortable picking either Mark Martin or Jeff Gordon.

Martin starts alongside Johnson on the front row after Montoya was disqualified. Gordon will start in the 13th position. Yet, it’s hard to ignore Biffle and his chase for a third-straight win. So, here are my top three finishers for today’s race. Gordon will win, followed by Martin and Biffle fighting for second.

Now, time to sit back and wait for that green flag.

Getting this page back in the groove begins now. As NASCAR heads to Kansas this weekend, we will take a quick trip around some other sites to get some insight on what is going on right now.

Tony Stewart says “Sliced Bread” is a good replacement for him.

Jeff Foxworthy is coming out with a new animated show about a NASCAR family. We can only hope it doesn’t bomb like “The Jeff Foxworthy Show” did.

Bruce’s NASCAR Bits and Pieces wonders where A.J. Allmendinger will be ending up after being let go by Red Bull.

From the Marbles compares Jimmie Johnson to some other great sports dynasties of the past.

The NASCAR Insiders talk about what the Chase for the Cup has done to the sport. I have to agree with them. I was worried what the Chase would do to the sport, however, it seems it is working out just fine.

Fox 4 news station in Kansas City is covering this weekend’s race.

EA Sports revealed its Fall lineup for mobile games and it includes NASCAR 09.

Marcos Ambrose took the lead with just three laps to go in Saturday’s Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen to secure his first career Nationwide Series victory in 59 starts. He received the lead by virtue of Jeff Burton and Jimmie Johnson running out of fuel in the closing laps in an episode of bitter-sweet redemption after all the tough luck he’s suffered in NASCAR road course racing in 2008. He came close, but eventually took a back seat to Kyle Busch in Mexico City … mechanical issues ended his day in Sonoma when he made his Sprint Cup debut … and, a pit road speeding penalty robbed him in Montreal. But, none of that mattered on Saturday when Ambrose finally stood in a NASCAR victory lane for the first time in his life.

“I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “I literally could not believe it. I was just praying the car was gonna hold together and I wasn’t gonna get a late caution. But, we got the job done. I feel really good about it, and it’s just a big lift for our team and it feels like everything’s worth it today.”

Marcos didn’t have much time for celebration, though, because the following day served an even much taller task for the Australian native. He was to return once again to Watkins Glen and step behind the wheel of the Wood Brothers Racing no. 21 Ford to make his third Cup Series start, but after qualifying was washed out on Friday, Ambrose would have to start all the way in the back of the field in 43rd at a track where no driver had ever come from deeper than a 16th starting position to win.

Ambrose quickly made people forget that the team he was driving for on Sunday was a team on the verge of obscurity as he climbed his way into the top-15 by the halfway point. Then, with one of the fastest cars on the track, he dashed up inside the top-5 and was sitting in 3rd after Ryan Newman spun with just 13 laps to go. Even with two restarts to try and get it done, though, Ambrose was never able to get around the 2nd place car of Tony Stewart to try and press Kyle Busch for the lead, but if you ask Marcos, he’ll take his top-five Cup finish anyday of the week.

“It’s a big, bad world out here in NASCAR world, and I’m just pleased that I’m able to have a weekend like this to remember,” said Ambrose. “When it’s all said and done, I’ll be able to go home back to Tasmania and tell them how good I was at Watkins Glen on one year.”

It was certainly a well deserved weekend for Ambrose and his team(s). Ambrose has 5 more races remaining on his schedule driving the no. 21 Wood Bros. car before he competes full-time in the Cup Series next year with JTG Dougherty Racing.

The winless streaks by drivers such as Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick have ranked amongst some of the biggest stories so far this season. They came into this week’s race at Watkins Glen as some of the odds-on-favorite to win, but alas, Kyle Busch shut the door on those plans yet again. This week’s “List of the Week” will feature the 10 longest winless droughts amongst the drivers inside the top-20 in points.

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

Kyle Busch made perfect on his efforts to sweep the road course races in the Sprint Cup Series this season as he nabbed his first career victory at Watkins Glen International on Sunday. He led four times for a race high 52 laps, giving him his 8th win of the season and making him the first driver to win the races at both Infineon and Watkins Glen in the same year since his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Tony Stewart, did it back in 2005. He also won the Nationwide Series race in Mexico City earlier in the year, making him the only driver in NASCAR history to win three road course races in the same season.

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):

TZ’s Picks (Watkins Glen):
1. Tony Stewart - 2nd - 42.5 points
2. Robby Gordon - 27th - No points
3. Marcos Ambrose - 3rd - 41 points
4. Kyle Busch - 1st - 41.5 points
5. Carl Edwards - 10th - 36.5 points
6. Kevin Harvick - 6th - 38 points

Lock of the Week - Tony Stewart - Top Five - 10 points
Sleeper Pick - Marcos Ambrose - Top Five - 10 points
Steer Clear of - Greg Biffle - Outside Top Fifteen - No points lost

Roc’s Picks (Watkins Glen):
1. Kyle Busch - 1st - 43 points
2. Tony Stewart - 2nd - 42 points
3. Denny Hamlin - 7th - 39 points
4. Carl Edwards - 10th - 37 points
5. Jeff Gordon - 25th - No points
6. Robby Gordon - 27th - No points

Lock of the Week - Jeff Gordon - Outside Top Fifteen - No points
Sleeper Pick - Robby Gordon - Outside Top Fifteen - No points
Steer Clear of - Kasey Kahne - Top Fifteen - (Minus) 10 points

Head-to-Head:
TZ - 219.5 points (3,597.5 cumulative)
Roc - 151 points (3,476 cumulative)

Do You NASCAR Fantasy League
Standings After Watkins Glen:
1. Dalli’s Mom
2. Vanilla Thrillaz
3. Bruce’s Team of Bits
4. TMAX Racing
5. Super Smokers
6. Team Legacy
7. raracing
8. AlexRyan
9. Jimmie’s Rockets
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