Race Review

Coca-Cola 600

Lowes Motor Speedway, Concord, NC

Welcome NASCAR race fans to the longest race of the schedule. This race is 400 laps and 600 miles. It starts in the evening and ends under the lights. It’s held at the NASCAR home track on Memorial Day weekend. Being that it’s so long, drivers have to stay focused and be there for the last 100 miles in order to win this race.
18 Kyle Busch is on the pole, with 9 Kasey Kahne right beside him. If you’ll recall, 9 won the last race here, the All-Star race, after being voted in by the fans. He’s looking to be the sixth driver ever to win both races in the same year. The others were Darryl Waltrip, Davey Allison, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon and Jimmy Johnson.
40 today is Sterling Marlin, filling in for the injured Dario Franchitti. 33 is a fourth RCR entry driven by Ken Schrader. 70 is again driven by Johnny Sauter. 66 Scott Riggs and 70 had illegal tear wing mounts and both cars were confiscated and sent to R&D headquarters. Failing to qualify are: 34 Jeff Green (John Andretti raced in the Indy 500 earlier in the day), 50 Stanton Barrett, 21 Jon Woods, 78 Joe Nemechek, and 08 Tony Raines.
The big news is that AJ “Humpy” Wheeler is retiring as CEO of Lowes Motor Speedway. He was great for the Sport and this track. The Keys for this race are 1. Make it to sundown, 2. Keep up with the ever-changing track, 3. Track position in the closing laps.
So, here we go. 18 takes off after snookering 9 at the start. 6 David Ragan gets by 9 for second. 83 Brian Vickers gets by 9 for third. 88 Dale Earnhardt gets by 9 for fourth. 6 and 9 battle for fifth, and 6 takes it. 07 Clint Bowyer is pitting. 2 Kurt Busch and 48 Jimmy Johnson get by 16 Greg Biffle. 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. gets into the wall, while battling 11 Denny Hamlin. 83 catches leader 18 and they battle for the lead. 83 takes the lead. 18 is having ignition problems. 48 gets by 2. 48 gets by 18. 2 and 18 battle. 2 gets by. 48 takes the lead.
Green Flag Pitting begins. 6 takes the lead. After all the pitting, 48 is back in the lead. The first caution comes out when 7 Robby Gordon brushes the wall on lap 83. 15 Paul Menard is the Lucky Dog and gets his lap back. They all pit, and it’s 48 and 2 out first and second. 2 takes the lead. 20 Tony Stewart complains that his car won’t turn. 88 and 18 battle for second. 18 takes the  position. 83 gets by 18 for third. 88 gets by 83 for second. And Green Flag Pitting begins once again.
88 has a very long pit. They couldn’t get the right front on and the tire carrier disappeared with the tire. 16 leads when 2 pits. 83 is leading after all the pitting. 2, leaving the pits, hits a lug nut that sparks a fire in the pit, but it is quickly extinguished. 2 gets by 83 during the commercial to take the lead. 16 has a tire going down or a loose wheel and pits. 83 takes the lead from 2. The wheel weight came off 16. That’s why he thought he had a flat or a loose tire. 18 is pitting. There are sixteen cars on the lead lap. 83 has a vibration. 1 Martin Truex, Jr. is loosing voltage. 8 Mark Martin has a broken header pipe.
The second caution comes out during the commercial. 2 got into the wall. 11 stays on the lead lap. 18, a lap down got by the leader to stay on the lead lap. 15 is once again the Lucky Dog. The third caution comes out when 42 Juan Pablo Montoya spins into the infield. 7 and 42 got together. 8 Mark Martin is the Lucky Dog. 48 takes the lead. 7 blows up and heads into the pits.The fourth caution comes out when 83 looses a tire and hits the wall. The tire smashes onto 38 David Gilliland and bounces off the track into the camping area, hitting an awning! 88 is leading. They have to replace the foam in the SAFER barrier where 83 hit it.
The fifth caution comes out when 00 Michael McDowell spins on lap193. 43 Bobby Labonte is the Lucky Dog. Something hits 17 Matt Kenseth, who is in a yellow and green R&L car today and he has a long pit. 44 David Reutimann and 22 Dave Blaney battle for position. 44 gets by. 88 and 9 battle for the lead. 9 takes the lead. 6 gets by his team mate 99 Carl Edwards. The sixth caution comes out for debris from 2. 24 Jeff Gordon is the Lucky Dog. 16 is overheating. 19 Elliott Sadler takes the lead. 19 and 88 battle for the lead. 88 takes the lead. 31 Jeff Burton gets by 9 for third.
The seventh caution comes out when 96 J. J. Yeley gets into the wall. Everyone pits. 12 Ryan Newman can’t get to his pit, and continues down pit road, to lead a lap before going back in to pit. 29 Kevin Harvick is the Lucky dog. 18 is back in the lead. 26 Jamie McMurray gets ahead of 18 to get his lap back. 20 and 31 battle for position. 88 gets by 31. 18 gets by 26 to put him back a lap down. 88 gets by 20. 6 gets by 44. 77 and 26 battle for the Lucky Dog position. 38 is back out after repairs from the tire hitting his car. 88 takes the lead. 43 gets by 16. 26 is smoking and pits. 18 is loosing volts and 9 gets by.
The eighth caution comes out when 88 gets into the wall and 96 gets into 88. 88 can’t get away from the wall, but manages to pit. 24 stays on the lead lap. 88 speeds down pit road and was almost held a lap for endangering emergency equipment on pit road, but the Officials decide he was only speeding, and didn’t endanger anyone. 20 pits. 18 takes the lead. 31 takes the lead when 18 pits.31 and 16 pit. And 17 takes the lead. 11 takes the lead, then pits. 22 leads when 11 pits. 20 leads when 22 pits. 20 has a tire going down and hits the wall. 9 takes the lead. 11 gets into the wall. 99 runs out of gas just before the finish, and ends up ninth.
9 Kasey Kahne wins the Coca-Cola 600 and becomes the sixth driver to win the All-Star race and the 600 a week later. This is his eighth win and his third at this track.

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Race Review

NASCAR Sprint Cup

All-Star Showdown and All-Star Races

Lowes Motor Speedway, Concord, NC

Each year NASCAR does an All-Star, no points race for the fans. It consists of two races. The first race is the showdown. Any driver in the top fifty in owner points can compete in this race, and qualifying is on speed. 19 Elliott Sadler got the pole position. The top two cars in the end will get to race in the All-Star race. Plus, the fans get to vote in a car that didn’t win, but whose car is able to compete in the race. The qualifying for the all-Star race is three laps instead of the usual two, and a pit stop must be included. Seconds are added for mistakes on pit road. 44 Dale Jarrett, who is retiring after this race and 99 Carl Edwards had lug nut issues in the pits. 11 Denny Hamlin was going too fast getting into the pits and slid down pit road. 48 Jimmy Johnson missed a lug nut, started pulling away, stopped and put it back on, but was out of the box when they put it back on. So his time was disallowed.18 Kyle Busch sits on the pole.
First comes the Showdown race to see who will transfer to the All-Star race. 19 leads from the pole. 49 Chad McCumbee gets into the wall. 83 Brian Vickers takes the lead. The first caution comes out when 10 Patrick Carpentier spins into the wall. 15 Paul Mennard and 66 Scot Riggs also get into the wall. 19 looses grip from sunshine to shade and falls back. The second caution comes out when 84 A. J. Allmendinger  gets into 19 and sends him into the wall. 34 Jeff Green is the Lucky Dog. Team mates 83 and 84 battle for the lead. 6 David Ragan battles for second, and 6 takes second. 7 Robby Gordon has something on his grill and is blowing water. 50 Stanton Barrett goes to the garage. 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. gets by 9 Kasey Kahne. This ends Segment 1.
In the pits, 7 goes to the garage. 8 cars stayed out. 9 comes out of the pits first in ninth. 6 is leading in the double-file restart. 77 spins his tires. 84 takes the lead. 22 Dave Blaney, 38 David Gilliland and 49 are three-wide. 41 Reed Sorenson gets by 70 Johnny Sauter. 83 gets by 9. The first caution of the second segment comes out when 70 gets into the wall in front of 83 and 9. 6 blocks 77 from second. So 77 goes to the bottom. 38 puts 41 into the wall. 77 finally gets by 6 on the bottom. 84 comes in first and 77 is second. Both advance to the All-Star Race. If 83 and 9 didn’t pit, they might have won. 9 gets the fan vote  and also will advance to the all-Star race.
There’s driver introductions for the All-Star Race and Dale Jarrett gets a standing ovation, this being his last race. 20 Tony Stewart changed the engine, and will start from the rear. The All-Star Race is in four segments, each twenty-five laps. 18 takes off from the pole. 77 gets into the wall. 2 Kurt Busch and 16 Greg Biffle battle for third. 31 Jeff Burton gets into the wall. 12 Ryan Newman and 24 Jeff Gordon battle. 77 is pitting and looses two laps. 24 bobbles. He’s way too loose. 48 is up to eleventh. 18 wins the first segment.
It’s 18, 16, 2, 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. for the start of Segment two. 88 takes third from 2. 48 gets by 2. 12 Ryan Newman and 17 Matt Kenseth battle. 18 sounds flat to the announcers. 99 Carl Edwards catches 18 and takes the lead. 88 gets by 18 for second. 17 gets by 18. 12 gets by 18. 16 gets by 18. 18 feels they can fix what is wrong with the car during the ten minute break between Segments two and three. 99 wins Segment two.
Segment three starts with 88 taking the lead. 48 kisses the wall. 17 gets by 99. 17 and 88 battle for the lead. 16 and 17 battle for second. 16 wins segment three. 48 takes no tires to lead segment four. 9 also took no tires. 17 finds himself in the middle and falls back. 11 Denny Hamlin takes the lead. 48 and 11 battle for the lead. 9 takes second from 48. 9 and 11 battle for the lead. 9 takes the lead. 11 blows an engine and is done. 17 gets by 48. 77 gets by 99. And 9 Kasey Kahne wins the All-Star race. This is the first time the fan favorite has won the All-Star race.

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Race Review

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

North Carolina Education Lottery 200

Lowes Motor Speedway, Concord, NC

I don’t usually do a review of the Truck Series. But I couldn’t help myself, since one of my favorite drivers won his first race after 178 tries. It took a lot of luck and circumstances, as well as driving skills to get the win. As is the case in a lot of first-time wins. In keeping with my other reviews, I must address some of the drivers and trucks. 09 this race is Travis Kvapil. He is a former Truck Champion, now in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series. 15 is Marc Mitchel. 46 is young Landon Cassil. 91 is J. C. Stout. 6 is young Collin Braun. 09 is in a back-up truck and will start from the rear. Kyle Busch in the 51 starts on the pole.
51 leads from the pole. The first caution comes out right away when 71 Donnie Lia and 16 Brian Scott go spinning into the infield. 21 Jon Woods was sliding back and got into 71 who got into 76. As we resume, 99 Eric Darnell goes by 2 Jack Sprague. 11 David Starr gets loose. The second caution comes out for 9 Justin Marks, who blows a tire. While the leaders pit, 8 Chad McCumbee stays out to lead, then pits. 59 Ted Musgrave stays out to lead. 08 Jason White and 07 John Mikel also stay out.
As we resume, 51 takes the lead with fresh tires. My 88 Matt Crafton gets by 33 Ron Hornaday. And 33 gets back by 88. 33 and 6 battle for position. 6 gets by 5 Mike Skinner. 23 Johnny Benson (my other favorite) races past 09. 30 Todd Bodine, 11 and 54 Brian Sockwell are three-wide. 33 gets by 5. There is green flag pitting. 18 Dennis Setzer has trouble lapping 09, but he finally gets by. The third caution comes out for debris.
The fourth caution comes out when 51 has trouble getting by 30 and 33 gets 51 into the wall. 51 has a broken splitter. 6 got into the infield. The top four are 99, 30, 23, 88. 23 gets by 30 for second. 88 and 8 battle for position. The fifth caution comes out during the commercial. 18 spins, and 07 and 9 get together trying to avoid 18. 52 Ken Schrader is the Lucky Dog. 33 and 10 Brendan Gaughan battle. The sixth caution comes out, but I’m not exactly sure what it was for. At the restart, 99 doesn’t get up to speed and 23 goes high to take the lead. Which is where you are supposed to pass on the restart. But Johnny gets black flagged for jumping the restart. The announcers were all in agreement that 99 didn’t get up to speed and that 23 made the pass, rather than getting into 99.
88 takes the lead. 88 and 30 battle for the lead, and here comes 33. 33 passes 30 and slides ahead of him. Only inches behind 33, 30 pushes 33 in the turn, into the grass, causing the seventh caution. Bodine gets sent to the rear for rough driving and causing the caution. So, with the contenders all way behind the leader 88, we get a Green, White Checker finish. 8 who has also never won, can’t get by 88 without taking him out. And 88 Matt Crafton finally wins a race.
His win wasn’t purely luck. He’s been so close so many times. But in this race luck gave him the opportunity to finally get his win. Kyle Busch was the favorite to win. But the trucks “don’t play nice” and he got taken out of contention. Todd Bodine and Ron Hornaday were also likely to win, but they took themselves out. Johnny Benson really should have won, and might have if NASCAR had listened to the announcers. I think it would have been a better race if Matt could have battled Johnny for the win. Johnny finished eleventh, by the way.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

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In My Opinion

In today’s post I’d like to address Kyle Busch. The fans hate him. The Media loves him. One comment was that he “can go three-wide all by himself.” Why they admire that is beyond me. In my opinion, he’s a menace to racing. If he can go three-wide by himself, what does that leave for the rest of the field? You can’t get by him because he’ll go three-wide by himself and crash you out of the race. If you don’t let him by, again, he’ll crash you out. Is that what racing is really about?

The Media also says he’s matured. At twenty-three years of age, he’s still young. They say he doesn’t fly off the handle like he used to. I have to disagree. Case in point. The Nationwide race at Richmond. Steven Wallace was racing just as hard as Kyle was. Steven got into Kyle. Kyle then ran up to Steven and Steven moved over so Kyle wouldn’t crash him out. After the race, Kyle went to Steven’s car and stuck his head in the window. I guess to tell Steven he was unhappy that Steven got into him. Steven grabbed Kyle’s helmet and Kyle nearly fell over trying to get away. Now if he was more mature, Kyle wouldn’t have felt the need to discuss what happened on the track while Steven was still in his car.

Here Kyle is, beating up on the little guys in the second tier in NASCAR, and gets upset because someone got into him instead of the other way around. In my opinion, Kyle needs to grow up. The world doesn’t revolve around him. And I applaud Steven for sticking up for himself. Who does Kyle think he is, anyway? If he gets into someone, it’s “a racing incident” and there should have been more give and take. Only Kyle does all the taking, and none of the giving.

At Richmond in the Sprint Cup race, he took out Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Just a racing incident. Yet if you watch the replay, Kyle’s wheels were turning right, not left. Jr. didn’t turn down into Kyle. Kyle turned into Jr. When he starts to give instead of insisting on taking, then I’ll concede that he has matured.

As it stands, in my opinion, he’s a punk on an ego trip. And a menace to racing. Not the next great racer. I will not boo a racer, but I will cheer when anyone takes while Kyle doesn’t give and takes him out. In my opinion, he needs to grow up. The Nationwide drivers are just learning. And if he wants to race with them, he’ll have to accept that one or more of them will get into him. He’s not the only driver who wants to win. They all do. In my opinion he has to learn to give, like he wants everyone else to do.

Sheila Hawley

Race Review

Dodge Challenger 500

Darlington, SC

Welcome race fans to the eleventh race of the season. This track is the oldest one NASCAR goes to. They call Darlington “The Lady in Black” and “The Track too tough to Tame”. Darlington Raceway is a 1.366 mile egg-shaped oval and tough on drivers and cars. Most everyone in the race tonight, 05/10/08 will acquire a “Darlington stripe”. In fact, the 48 of Jimmy Johnson hit the wall so hard, he had to go to a back-up car. And got another stripe before qualifying. And he’s the reigning Champion! This week, only forty-five cars are entered, so only two will not make the race. Those two are Johnny Sauter in the #70, and Jeff Green in the #34. Bill Elliott in the 21 didn’t have to use his Champion provisional, as he got in on speed. Tonight the 40 is Sterling Marlin filling in for injured Dario Francitti, in his own former car. 7 Robby Gordon and 9 Kasey Kahne both had an engine change and will start from the rear.
So, here we go. 16 Greg Biffle is on the pole with a time of 179.442. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. starts second. Forty-two drivers broke the track record! That’s how much faster they will be going tonight. 16 and 88 pull away from everyone else. 16 leads the first lap. 88 takes the lead on the second lap. The first caution comes out on lap two. 19 Elliott Sadler and 20 Tony Stewart get into each other and the wall. 19 goes to the garage. 20 goes on. 2 Kurt Busch and 18 Kyle Busch go by 48. 44 David Reutimann gets a Darlington stripe. 6 David Ragan gets his own Stripe. 45 Kyle Petty gets hard into the wall and goes into the pits. 18 gets by 2. The second caution comes out when 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. gets into the wall.
They restart on lap sixteen. 18 takes the lead. 16 and 2 get by 88. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya gets into the wall. 1 Martin Truex, Jr. gets by 22 Dave Blaney. 42 won’t let 18 leading put him a lap down. 18 gets his Darlington stripe. 16 takes the lead. 48 gets by 88. 16 drives by 42 putting him a lap down. But 18 still can’t get by 42. Green Flag Pitting starts with 31 Jeff Burton and 01 Regan Smith on lap 59. 2 leads when 16 pits. 28 Travis Kvapil leads when 2 pits. 17 Matt Kenseth leads when 28 pits. 9 leads when 17 pits. 96 J.J. Yeley leads when 9 pits. 10 Patrick Carpentier leads when 96 pits. 12 Ryan Newman has a tire violation, then missed the entrance on the drive-through. He goes two laps down. 38 David Gilliland leads when 10 pits. 41 Reed Sorenson leads when 38 pits. After all the pitting, 18 is back in the lead.
55 Michael Waltrip won’t let the leader 18 put him a lap down. 66 Scott Riggs and 5 Casey Mears battle for thirteenth. 16 takes the lead when 40 wouldn’t let 18 by. 1 gets by 24 Jeff Gordon. 7 is having trouble and pits. Green Flag Pitting begins once again with 55 and 83 Brian Vickers. 24 leads when 16 pits. 11 Denny Hamlin leads when 24 pits. 10 leads when 11 pits. 20 misses the pit entrance. 18 gets into 16 to take the lead. 16 makes a great save to keep going. 18 is complaining about his brakes. 18 can’t get by 9.
The third caution is for debris. 9 stays on the lead lap. 07 Clint Bowyer is the Lucky Dog, and gets his lap back. There were one hundred and twenty-six laps of Green Flag racing! 88 takes two tires and gets out of the pits first. It’s 88, 16, 18, 24 and 1 as the top five. 18 had a loose lug nut and must pit to get it tightened. 66 and 40 are caught speeding and will serve a drive-through  penalty. 29 Kevin Harvick gets hard into the wall and limps to the pits. They finally have to throw a caution for his debris. 12  is in front of the leader and gets one of his two laps back. 15 Paul Menard is the Lucky dog. 16 takes the lead from 88. 1 gets by 88. 48 is having alternator problems. 88 gets his Darlington stripe, and 24 gets by. There are now twenty cars with a Darlington stripe. 16 has a bad vibration. 16 puts 9 a lap down. 16 thinks he broke a gear and pits. 1 takes the lead. 28 gets into the wall. 1 tries to lap 9 who got his lap back when 16 pitted.
Green flag Pitting begins again with leader 1. 88 takes the lead. 6 leads when 88 pits, then misses the commitment cone and has to go back around. 10 gets a tire penalty. 26 Jamie McMurray takes the lead. 77 gets into the wall again. 16 leads when 26 pits. 18 gets into the wall. 17 is falling back. 15 goes to the garage. Greg Biffle in the 16 tells his crew “we’re never going to make it”, with 145 to go. 31 goes a lap down. The fifth caution comes out during the commercial. It’s for debris from the 16. 43 Bobby Labonte is the Lucky Dog. 16 goes to the garage. The top ten are: 11, 1, 24, 88, 2, 48, 17, 22, 99, 6. 12 and 83 collide entering pit road. The Green Flag comes out with 127 to go. The sixth caution comes out when 83 gets into the wall with 118 to go. 24, 88, 48, 22 , 18, 99 Carl Edwards and 28 stay out. 2 gets fuel only.
The Green Flag comes back out with 115 to go. 18 takes second from 88. 38 gets a Darlington stripe. Thirty-four cars now have a Darlington stripe. 99 feels like he has a loose tire. 18 takes the lead during the commercial. 5 gets into the wall when his right front tire went down and he couldn’t turn. No caution. 22 is up to fourth. 6 goes by 48. The seventh caution comes out for debris from 84 A. J. Allmendinger who got into the wall. Nineteen cars are on the lead lap. 9 Kasey Kahne is the Lucky Dog. The top ten are 24, 18, 88, 99, 22, 11, 07, 1 and 48. 20 pulls out in front of the leader to get back on the lead lap. 24 falls back to fourth. 18 takes the lead. 6 bounces off the wall. 18 gets into the wall. And again.
The eighth caution comes out with sixty-six to go. 1 runs over 11, spinning 11. 9 stays on the lead lap. 38 David Gilliland is the Lucky dog. 20 stayed ahead of the leader to stay on the lead lap. The top ten are 18, 99, 24, 6, 88, 22, 43, 1, 48 and 17. The green Flag comes out with sixty to go. 6 has a vibration. 22 gets by 6. 1 and 48 battle for seventh. 9 looses it, then saves it. 10 goes out with engine failure. 16 is out with mechanical problems. 07 gets into the wall. 11 gets by 48 for eighth. 1 gets into the wall. 26 and 38 get by 1. 00 Michael McDowell brushes the wall. 26 gets by 48 for tenth. And Kyle Busch in the #18 wins the race. He also led the most laps.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

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