Race Review: Ford 400

Welcome, race fans to the final race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway is the final race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Jimmy Johnson is going for four Championships in a row. Mark Martin is looking to capture his first Championship after finishing the points in second four times. He would be the oldest Cup Champion. He also is the only driver still in contention to do so.

Eight drivers have won consecutive titles, but none of them have four in a row. Two drivers now have three consecutive titles. Jimmy is a three time Chase winner and in reality, the only Sprint Cup Champion. Johnson has never won at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Traditionally, the track is a Roush track. Can Carl Edwards or Greg Biffle win this one and get one win this year?

Mike Rowe, Ford spokesperson, and Dirty Job host starts the engines. 99 Carl Edwards is the in-race reporter. Robby Gordon is back in his 7 car for the race, starting from the rear, after racing and winning the Baha Championship.

So, here we go! 48 Jimmy Johnson takes off from the pole. 82, started second, but falls way back. 29 Kevin Harvick gets by 5 Mark Martin for third. 47 Marcos Ambrose catches 48. 2 Kurt Busch gets by 44 A. J. Allmendinger for tenth. 47 and 48 battle for the lead. 48 holds him off. 47 finally takes the lead. 47 gets a flat tire and pits. 29 and 14 Tony Stewart battle for second. 29 lets him by. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is up nineteen position, racing along the outside. 47 is back in the pits and they are changing batteries. 39 Ryan Newman and 2 battle for sixth.

14 takes the lead. 1 Martin Truex, Jr. challenges 42 Juan Pablo Montoya for position. 33 Clint Bowyer gets by 5 for third.  Leader 14 is lapping the field. 88, after starting 32nd, rides the rim into ninth. 2 is now third in points and can spoil the Hendrick 1-2-3. 29 and 33 catch 48 in traffic. 33 and 29 battle for third. 17 Matt Kenseth pits to start Green Flag Pitting. 2 leads a lap, then pits. 33 leads after it all. 29 and 33 battle for the lead. 29 takes the lead. 14 and 33 battle for second, with 14 taking the spot. 48 and 5 battle for fourth. 48 finally gets by. 14 takes the lead on the outside. 5 wiggles on the top. 2 gets by 39 Ryan Newman for ninth. 1 gets by 24 Jeff Gordon on the outside.

The first caution comes out when 47 gets sideways. He doesn’t hit anything, and pits. The officials signal that an extra person is allowed over the wall to work on the windshields. Everyone pits. 82 Scott Speed is the Lucky Dog, and gets his lap back, putting 31 cars on the lead lap. 14 comes out of the pits first and chooses the outside. 29 takes the lead. 33 and 14 battle for second. 42 drives under 14, then under 2 for fourth. 48 and 33 battle for second. 24 is holding up a pack of cars. 42 and 48 battle for third, with 42 getting by. 31 Jeff Burton and 2 get by 48. 42 and 31 battle for second.  11 Denny Hamlin gets by 48 and 33. 88 gets into the wall again.

The second caution comes out when 34 John Andretti gets into the wall. Everyone pits. 29 comes out first and chooses the inside. Six cars take the wave around before the Green Flag. The third caution comes out when 47 gets into the wall. 43 Reed Sorenson is the Lucky Dog and is back on the lead lap. On the restart, 31 spins the tires and 29 takes off. 29 is warned to maintain speed before coming to the Green Flag. 14 and 42 get together.

The fourth caution comes out when 42 gets into the wall after a tire goes down from contact with 14. 48 leads a group including 5 into the pits, but 20 cars stay on the track. There’s a big back up in the pits when 96 Erik Darnell attempts to go to the garage. 7 gets into 96, 98 Paul Menard into 7, 43 into 98, 19 Elliott Sadler into 43, 55 Michael Waltrip into 19. 19 is on fire and 43 has lots of damage. Rookie mistake by 96, I guess. 42 is in the garage for repairs.

39 and 24 battle for sixth. 39, 9 Kasey Kahne and 24 battle three wide with 9 pulling ahead. 2 and 11 battle for second, with 2 getting by. 2 and 29 battle for the lead. 2 takes the lead. 88 runs over something, gets a flat and pits. 5 gets loose in all the traffic around him. 42 is back on the track, 29 laps down.

The fifth caution comes out when 42 bumps 14 hard enough to wrinkle his hood and spins 14. 42 gets Black Flagged with a two lap penalty for rough driving. That will put him 31 laps down. Everyone pits. 11 leads out of the pits, after starting 38th, and chooses the outside. 9 and 48 battle and 99 Carl Edwards makes it three wide. 48 backs out. 99 and 9 battle. 48 gets by 99. 48 and 9 battle for seventh. 31 and 2 battle for second. 48 finally gets by 9. 31 can’t get by 2. 2 catches leader 11. 11 and 2 battle for the lead. 2 can’t get by. 24 and 48 battle, and 48 finally gets by.

2 takes the lead during the commercial. A brake rotor from 42 hit the roof of 9 and made a hole. 31 gets by 11 for second. The sixth caution comes out when 7 gets into the wall. He lost it in the high groove. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. gets the free pass. Everyone pits. 11 comes out first and chooses the outside. 31 takes the lead. 18 moves into second. 48, 24 and 1 are three wide. 48 gets by 24 and 1. 18 and 2 battle for second, with 2 getting by.

The seventh caution comes out and 14 Tony Stewart gets the free pass. 2 takes two tires and comes out first. 55 stays out to lead a lap, and then pits. 2 chooses the outside. 18 pulls away. 11 and 18  battle for the lead. 9 and 99 battle. 24 and 48 battle, with 24 getting by. They battle some more, but 48 can’t get by. 99, 1 and 26 Jamie McMurray battle three wide. 24 gets by 33 for sixth. 5 can’t get by 1.

44 and 33 battle for eighth, with 44 getting by. 33 and 99 battle for ninth. 48 gets by 24 for seventh. 99 finally gets by 33. 31 and 18 battle for second, with 31 getting by. 2 and 18 battle for third, and 2 gets by. 18 brushes the wall. 29 drives by 18 for fourth. 5 is still trying to get by 1. 48 gets by 18 for fifth.

And 11 Denny Hamlin wins the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Jimmy Johnson becomes the only driver to win four consecutive Championships. He equals team mate Jeff Gordon with four. And Hendrick Motor sports becomes the first owner in the history of NASCAR to have his teams finish 1-2-3. This is also the last year a Waltrip will be racing full time in NASCAR’s top series. Mark Martin finishes second for the fifth time. Lots of history today at this track. A great ending to the NASCAR 2009 Season.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

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NASCAR: Last Race Of The Season

Welcome race fans. This Ford Champion weekend closes the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. That means there will be no more racing this year. And I, for one am truly saddened. The Ford 400 today will be the last race.

So, before I get into the race itself, let’s see what else happened this last weekend. Jimmy Johnson captured the Coors Light pole with a speed of 173.919. That is the first step to getting his unprecedented fourth Title in a row. Rookie Scott Speed starts next to him in second. 36 is Michael McDowell. 71 is Bobby Labonte. He will be in this TRG (The Racing Group) car next year, hoping to help them get better. 12 is Brad Keselowski in his new ride for next year with Penske Racing. Brad finished the NASCAR Nationwide Series  third in points racing for JR Motorsports. 37 this week is Travis Kvapil. 7 is Matt Crafton, who finished the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season in second. He practiced and qualified the Robby Gordon car while Robby was off racing off-road. He is leading in the points there. He may race the car today from the rear if he gets back to Homestead.

Michael Waltrip is making his last race in his #55 car for full time racing. He will compete in several races in 2010. Martin Truex, Jr. will take over for him in the #56 car.

Kevin Harvick won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, the Ford 200 on Friday, with his driver Ron Hornaday capturing his fourth Series Championship. Saturday, in the Ford 300 Nationwide race, Kyle Busch won the race and the Championship.

08 is Terry Labonte in the Ford 400. He had to use his past Champion provisional to get into the race. Failing to qualify were, 87 Joe Nemecheck, 66 Dave Blaney, 70 Mike Skinner (he finished third in points in the Camping World Truck series.), 13 Max Papis and 09 David Stremme.

There was a bit of excitement in the Ford 300 Nationwide race last night. Denny Hamlin vowed to take out Brad Keselowski, a Nationwide regular, because he felt Brad was taking out many Nationwide cars. Brad stayed away from Denny and gave him room, but Denny deliberately spun Brad out during the race. Brad didn’t hit anything, but did a 360 and had some fun with the spin. So, Denny didn’t actually take him out. He just made him spin. Brad’s contention is when Denny spins him, he can continue, but when Brad spins Denny, Denny doesn’t recover. NASCAR held Denny for a lap for rough driving. In a past race, Jason Leffler was held five laps for rough driving, when NASCAR felt he did it on purpose. Denny announced he was going to do it, but NASCAR only held him one lap. He got a Lucky Dog free pass and went on to finish fifth.

My question is, did they penalize Jason more because he was a Nationwide driver who took someone out? Or did they penalize Denny less because he’s a Sprint Cup regular?  Jason didn’t announce he was taking anyone out, yet he got a much bigger penalty. NASCAR needs to be more consistent in their penalties. Denny shouldn’t have been allowed to get that good of a finish. That’s just my opinion. The two of them will race each other in the Ford 400 today.

I’ll see you after the race and let you know what happened. It should be a great race. If only because it is the last one.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

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NASCAR Championship Weekend

Welcome, race fans to Ford Champion weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida. These are the final races of the NASCAR season. NASCAR Camping World Series Champion Ron Hornaday clinched his Trophy last week at Phoenix, with Owner Kevin Harvick winning that race.

On Friday, the trucks raced the Ford 200, with Kevin again winning the race in his new 2010 truck. Ron Hornaday in his KHI truck was racing against Kyle Busch in his Billy Ballew Toyota truck for the Owner Championship. Ron finished in the top 10, but Kyle didn’t have a very good night. KHI wins the owner championship, and Chevrolet wins the manufacture championship. Harvick and Hornaday did side by side burn-outs again, with Harvick turning his into donuts and smoke. A great ending to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season.

On Saturday, in the Ford 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race, Kyle Busch needs only to start the car to win his first NASCAR Championship. Carl Edwards will start on the pole, with Ryan Newman starting second in the KHI #33 car. 52 cars and teams showed up for this last race. Sadly, nine teams went home.

On Sunday, Jimmy Johnson hopes to make history by being the only driver in NASCAR history to win four Championships in a row. Johnson starts the Ford 400 from the pole, starting first with a speed of 173.919. Rookies, Scott Speed and Marcos Ambrose are starting second and third. But don’t look for them to interfere with Johnson’s bid on history making. The Chase for the Sprint Cup is twelve drivers in the last ten races, that have a shot at the Championship. In this final race, only Johnson and Mark Martin have a shot at the trophy. Jeff Gordon, in third will be officially eliminated as soon as Johnson starts the race. But it will be a Hendrick Championship, as his three drivers are first, second and third in points. This will be his eighth championship.

I’m looking forward to this rest of the Ford Champion Weekend with the Ford 300 on Saturday and the Ford 400 on Sunday. I’ll see you later, dear NASCAR fans.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

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Race Review: Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500

Welcome, race fans to my version of the 35th race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season and the 9th race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 takes place at the Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, AZ. The race is 312 laps, for 500 kilometers. PIR is a one mile track called the “Jewel of the Desert”. It is also the penultimate race of the year.

Qualifying was on Friday, with Martin Truex, Jr. capturing the Coors Light Pole Award with a speed of 135.12. The great thing about it is that Kurt Busch starts second. This is the first time in NASCAR history that the #1 and #2 cars have started first and second. 71 is Bobby Labonte. He will be in that ride next year. 12 is Brad Keselowski in his new ride for 2010. 09 is David Gilliland, who is out of the 71 ride. 36 is Michael McDowell. 96 is Erik Darnell. Failing to qualify are 78 Regan Smith, 70 Kevin Conway (from the NASCAR Nationwide Series, who also raced in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Phoenix) and 02 Brandon Ash.

Three drivers were going for the trifecta at this track. Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Kevin Conway. Harvick won the Truck race, but Carl Edwards won the NNS race and Conway failed to qualify for the Sprint Cup race. Tyrese Gibson sang the National Anthem and Senator John McCain started the engines, as he was the Grand Marshall for the race. 14 Tony Stewart is the in-race reporter.

So, here we go. 2 Kurt Busch starts on the outside and leads the first lap. 07 Casey Mears locks up his breaks in front of 5 Mark Martin and gets into 14 Tony Stewart. 5 drives under 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. for seventh. 1 Truex, Jr. and 48 Jimmy Johnson battle for second, with 48 taking the spot. 5 gets by 24 Jeff Gordon for fifth. 2 starts lapping cars, and 48 catches him in traffic. 48 leads at the Line, but 2 stays ahead. 48 is persistent and takes the lead. 1 wiggles and 5 gets by for fourth. 24 gets by 1 for fifth.

16 Greg Biffle pits on lap 70 to start Green Flag Pitting. 77 gets into his pit stall sideways. 11 Denny Hamlin had a lug nut issue for a long pit stop. 39 Ryan Newman leads, then pits. 2 has a faster pit stop than 48 and leads after all the pitting. 48 takes the lead. 7 Robby Gordon and 20 Joey Logano aren’t making it easy for the leader to put them a lap down.

The first caution comes out on lap 116 for debris in turns one and two. 07 Casey Mears gets the free pass and is back on the lead lap. Everyone pits and 2 has a long stop, coming out fifth. The second caution comes out at the restart. 16 slowed down for 18 Kyle Busch spinning his tires and there is  chain reaction crashing. Involved are 96 Darnell, 55 Michael Waltrip, who got the worst of it, 7, 19 Elliott Sadler, 12, 6 David Ragan, 09 and 34 John Andretti.

For the restart, 48 chooses the outside, as there is speedy-dry on the track on the bottom. 48 pulls away. 11 drives on the outside past 5 for second. 18 gets into 24. 24 bumps 18 and gets by. 9 Kasey Kahne and 42 Juan Pablo Montoya battle for position, with 42 getting by. 44 A. J. Allmendinger and 00 David Reutimann battle side by side with 44 finally getting by. 31 Jeff Burton and 39 battle, with 31 taking the spot. 42 and 18 battle for eighth, with 42 sneaking by. 31 gets by 00. 14 Tony Stewart is very inconsistent. He started eighth and is back to 22nd.

The third caution comes out on lap 163 for debris in turn one. I think 7 Robby Gordon gets the free pass. 48 comes out of the pits first and chooses the outside. 33 Clint Bowyer is second, 11 is third. 2 takes over second. 11 gets by 33 for third. 24 and 18 battle again.

The fourth caution comes out when 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. gets sideways and they all stack up behind him. He had an oil leak that got onto his tires. Those involved are 14, 12, 20, 83 Brian Vickers, 71, 39, 17 Matt Kenseth, 82 Scott Speed and 77. 07 slides by and 29 Kevin Harvick stops. 48 chooses the outside again. 31 shuts the door on 5. 24 gets by 1. 18, 42 and 1 battle for seventh. 88 goes to the garage to see what happened. 5 finally gets by 31. 42 gets by 18. 55 is back out in a modified car. 33 and 11 battle for third. 5 catches them and drives under 33. 11 and 5 get by 2. 47 Marcos Ambrose gets by 18. 31 gets by 2 for fourth.

29 Kevin Harvick starts Green Flag Pitting once again. 17 leads, then pits. When it’s all over, 48 is back in the lead. 18 and 00 battle for eleventh, with 00 getting by. 11 is catching 48 in traffic. 31 gets by 11 for second. 16 and 9 battle for fourteenth, with 16 getting by. 1 and 33 battle for fifth, with 1 taking the position. 47 and 00 battle for tenth, with 00 taking the spot.

And points leader, 48 Jimmy Johnson wins the Checker O’Reilley Auto Parts 500. If you’ll recall, the last race in Texas saw Jimmy loose a lot of points in the Chase by being taken out on the third lap. The points leader is back in contention. He leads Mark Martin by 108 points going into the final race at Homestead-Miami next weekend. Johnson is looking to be the first driver to win four Championships in a row.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

NASCAR Racing: History Made

Welcome, race fans. This weekend NASCAR is at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. This is the penultimate race of all three series. And history was made on Friday. Twice.

Coors Light Pole qualifying took place for the Camping World Truck Series, with Johnny Sauter in the 13 truck capturing the pole with a speed of 131.019. Kevin Harvick, a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular and truck and NASCAR Nationwide Series owner started second in his own #4 truck. Mike Bliss, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch have a chance to win in all three series this weekend.

The Lucas Oil 150 took place Friday night. Kevin Harvick won the race in his own #4 truck. His driver, Ron Hornaday in the #33 only had to finish ahead of #88 Matt Crafton in this race to become the Series Champion. And he did that. Hornaday becomes the oldest champion and one of only a few to win more than three championships. This was his fourth Truck championship. The others who have four or more are Richard Petty (7), Dale Earnhardt (7) and Jeff Gordon (4). So, Harvick wins the race and his driver Hornaday wins the championship on the same night. They did simultaneous burn outs.

The Coors Light qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series also took place on Friday, with Martin Truex, Jr. capturing the pole award with a speed of 135.120. The historic part of it is that Kurt Busch starts second, making it the first time in NASCAR history that the numbers 1 and 2 start first and second.

Qualifying and racing for the NASCAR Nationwide Series takes place on Saturday. If nothing goes wrong for Kyle Busch, he will clinch the Nationwide title in the race. Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski are 20 points apart for second place. We’ll see what happens.

In the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the race on Sunday will be the penultimate race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. But the Championship will not be decided in Phoenix. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion will be crowned in the final race at Homestead-Miami.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley