Race Review

Lenox Industrial Tools 301

Lauden, NH

Welcome, race fans to today’s NASCAR Sprint Cup review. This is the seventeenth race of the season. 10 Patrick Carpentier is on the pole with the speed in qualifying of 129.776. He had to qualify on speed to get into the race, and was faster than anyone else. 43 Bobby Labonte starts second. 45 is Terry Labonte while Kyle Petty is in the booth. He got in on speed, instead of having to use his past Champion provisional. 70 is Johnny Sauter. 8 is Aric Almirola. 34 Tony Raines and 21 Marcos Ambrose didn’t make the race.
10 Patrick Carpentier leads from the pole. 29 Kevin Harvick takes the lead. 43 gets by 10. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. gets by 41 Reed Sorenson. 88 gets by 66 Scott Riggs for fourth. 11 Denny Hamlin gets by 17 Matt Kenseth. 66, 9 Kasey Kahne and 1 Martin Truex, Jr. battle. 41 and 1 battle for fifth. 1 takes the position. 12 Ryan Newman gets by 26 Jamie McMurray. 88 gets by 43 for second. 16 Greg Biffle is falling back. 11 gets by 84 A J Allmendinger. 88 catches leader 29 when 29 starts to lap traffic. 88 takes the lead.
20 Tony Stewart bumps 40 Dario Franchitti to take thirteenth. 1 gets by 43 for third. And we have Green flag Pitting begining with 9. 7 Robby  Gordon led in there somewhere. When it’s all over, 29 is back in the lead. The first caution comes out when 44 David Reutimann gets into 40 and sends him into the wall. 78 Joe Nemechek  is the Lucky dog and gets his lap back. 5 Casey Mears stays out to lead. 83 Brian Vickers also stays out. 29 and 20 take fuel only and come out of the pits first. 29 gets by 83 for second. 20 gets by 83 for third.
The second caution is for debris. 10 Patrick Carpentier is the Lucky Dog. Everyone pits. 20 comes out of the pits first to lead. 31 cars are on the lead lap. 29 and 24 Jeff Gordon battle for third. 24 gets by. 24 and 5 battle for second. The third caution comes out when 78 spins. 8 Aric Almirola is the Lucky Dog. The top seventeen stay on the track. 19 Elliot Sadler and 15 Paul Mennard battle for the Lucky Dog position. All forty-three cars are still on the track.
42 Juan Pablo Montoya gets into team mate 41, and 41 falls back. 07 Clint Bowyer and 29 battle for sixth. 07 gets by. 88 gets by 29. 31 Jeff Burton gets by 88 for eighth. The fourth caution comes out during the commercial. 84 blows up and catches fire. 41 Reed Sorenson is the Lucky Dog. 20 comes out of the pits first. 16 is too fast entering the pits. We go Green lap 211. 00 Michael McDowell blows up. He gets off the track and we stay green. 8 gets loose and saves it.
The fifth caution comes out when 9 wiggles into 8 in the corner and 8 couldn’t save it. 5 gets fuel only and 18 Kyle Busch takes two tires. 19 Elliott Sadler is the Lucky Dog. The top seventeen, except 5 stayed out. They are three-wide into turn three! 38 David Gilliland and 01 Regan Smith battle for the Luck Dog position. There is weather in the area. 9 spins and gets going, so we stay green.
24 and 48 Jimmy Johnson battle for second. They touch. 48 gets by. And they battle again. 48 stays ahead. 11 and 24 battle. 11 finally gets by. 07 and 24 battle. 07 wiggles and falls behind 24. 48 is closing in on leader 20. There are twenty-nine cars on the lead lap, and forty-one cars on the track. 48 gets loose.
The sixth caution comes out when 88 is trying to pit and 26 rams into him to spin him into the pits. 26 goes up the track, into the wall, off the wall and down into 6 David Ragan, who looses his tire! 24 gets fuel only, as does 11 and 48. 2 Kurt Busch, 55 Michael Waltrip, 96 J J Yeley, 1, 19, 41, 5 and 43 stay out.
The seventh caution comes out when 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. clips 07 and sends him into the wall. During the caution, 18 gets into 42 (he says he was trying to get around 40, but it was a caution and you can’t get around anyone). So, 42 puts his nose into 18 and 18 spins into 42! “Do unto Kyle Busch before he does unto you”. Way to go JP. It starts raining and the pace car brings everyone down pit road.
NASCAR calls the race and 2 Kurt Busch wins the race.

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Race Review

Toyota/Save Mart 350

Infinion Raceway

Sonoma, CA

Welcome race fans. This is the sixteenth race of the season. In the wine country of Sonoma. This is the first of two road courses. 21 is Marcos Ambrose, from the Nationwide Series. 45 is again Terry Labonte, while Kyle Petty is announcing for TNT. 60 is Boris Said, racing in the Sprint Cup Series part time. 01 today is Ron Fellows, a road racer in for Regan Smith. 41 today is Scott Pruett in for Reed Sorenson, hopefully to get him some extra owner points. 66 is Max Papis hopefully to get Scott Riggs some extra owner points.8 today is Aric Almirola, sharing the ride with Mark Martin who chose not to race this race. 34 is Brian Simo, another road racer. Those who failed to qualify are 96 J.J. Yeley, 70 Scott Riggs, 40 Dario Franchitti, and 02 Brandon Ash.
9 Kasey Kahne leads from the pole. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya gets by 22 Dave Blaney. 43 Bobby Labonte spins on turn 11. He rights himself and there is no caution. 48 Jimmy Johnson, who started second, takes the lead. 2 Kurt Busch gets by 9 for second. 7 Robby Gordon gets by 9 for third. 24 Jeff Gordon gets by 9 for fourth. 21 gets by 12 Ryan Newman. 12 gets back by 21. 99 gets by 21. 18 Kyle Busch gets by 31 Jeff Burton for nineteenth. 21 and 12 battle. 21 gets by. 21 gets by 24. 42 gets by 16 Greg Biffle for ninth. 99 Carl Edwards gets by 7 and 2 for second during the commercial. 24 is falling back. His tires are gone. 2 keeps locking up the tires. 19 Elliott Sadler gets by 24. 07 Clint Bowyer gets by 24.
99 Carl Edwards is catching 48, leading. The first caution comes out during the commercial. 6 David Ragan gets into the tires. 78 Joe Nemecheck is also involved. 8 Aric Almirola is the Lucky Dog, and gets his lap back. 84 AJ Almindinger is pushed back into the pits. 60 is in the pits with the hood up. 16 is leading. He spins into the dirt. 18 takes the lead. 60 was too fast exiting the pits. 84 has to be pushed out of the pits, and they can only push him three stalls away before backing him up and starting over. They do this several times before they succeed in getting him out of the pits. 24 falls to twentieth.
2 and 41 get together and 01 gets by. 11 Denny Hamlin wheel-hops into 12. With forty-three to go 31 Jeff Burton, 29 Kevin Harvick and 07 pit. 31 is caught speeding. 99 takes the lead during Green Flag Pitting. 20 Tony Stewart stalls in the pits. 7 and 2 spin, and 66 gets into 7, which brings out the second caution. 11 Denny Hamlin is the Lucky dog. 9 is being held at the end of pit road for traffic to get by. 7 is being pushed into the pits. 10 Patrick Carpentier and 78 are in front of the leader 18 at the restart. 18 gets by 10.
The third caution comes out when 21 gets into 42 and spins him. 78 Joe Nemechik is the Lucky dog. 26 Jamie McMurray gets by 21. 38 David Gilliland bumps 21 to get by. 20 and 21 battle. 20 takes the spot. 21 spins during the commercial, and pits. 19 spun 21.  29 gets by 19. 16 gets into 48 to spin him. The fourth caution comes out when 44 looses his left front tire and goes straight into the tires instead of turning. 26 gets into the dirt, and 20 gets by. The fifth caution comes out when 29 gets loose and can’t stop, and gets into 26, 20 and 1 Martin Truex, Jr., trying to get by 38. 11 spins into the dirt. The sixth caution comes out when everyone gets jammed up and 20 gets into 41. 1 and 11 get into it.
There will be a Green, White, Checker finish. 19 has a flat tire, but doesn’t pit. He looses the tire, but ends up fourteenth instead of thirty-second, if he had pitted. 18 Kyle Busch wins the race. His fifth of the season. And he adds to his lead in points.

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Rookie Sensation Wins

Joey Logano, the Nationwide Rookie sensation wins the race at Kentucky Speedway Saturday in just his third race. His first race was at Dover Downs on May 31, just days after he turned 18. He finished sixth that race with all the Sprint Cup drivers in it. The next race was at Nashville Super Speedway, where he started on the Pole. He got caught up in a wreck where Cup driver Greg Biffle should have let up, and didn’t. But in his third outing in Kentucky, he won from the pole.

Part of why he won, was the fact that Cup doesn’t go to Kentucky, and the Nationwide drivers get to battle amongst themselves for the win. Personally, I just love those races. It’s what the Nationwide Series is all about. Brad Keselowski won his first race at Nashville. And Joey got to win his first race at Kentucky. He was 18 years, 21 days old. The youngest driver to win in the Nationwide Series. Joe Gibbs Racing have him in their 20 car. And I only wish more owners put young drivers into their Nationwide cars.

Much has been said about Kyle Busch and all his success in all three Series this year. But Kyle crashes out the competition. And calls it racing. Joey is a good, clean driver. He knows how to race without taking himself, or anyone else out to do it. Kyle is cocky and believes he has the right to win. Joey doesn’t feel he has to win them all. He just races. And races fast. Kyle runs over whoever he has to, to get a win. Kyle won’t be in Madison, WI. That’s the next Nationwide race. Let’s see how the Nationwide drivers do in that race. I’ll be rooting for the Nationwide Series drivers. Good luck to Joey Logano and the other Nationwide Series drivers. The best part is that Cup drivers don’t get any practice time at these races. So it levels the playing field.

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Race Review

Lifelock 400

Michigan International Speedway

Hello race fans! This is the fifteenth race of the season, being held in Brooklyn, Michigan. This is a D-shaped two mile oval. I love this track. It is very wide and you can race three and even four wide with little problem. On the straight away the drivers all fan out on the track before getting back in line at the turn. And it’s so wide, you can drive the car wherever the car wants to go without worrying about getting into anyone. There are very few cautions here. Probably because there is enough room for everyone. One problem here, though. Rain is usually an issue at some point during the weekend. This weekend qualifying got rained out on friday. So they line up according to Owner points for this race. 45 today is Terry Labonte, filling in for Kyle Petty, who is in the Booth, helping with announcing the race. Terry got in with a past Champion provisional. 21 is Bill Elliott, who also got in on a past Champion provisional. The 70 car didn’t make it in. The car has no regular driver. The 34 car of Tony Raines also had to go home.

18 Kyle Busch leads the race from the points pole. 48 Jimmy Johnson gets by 31 Jeff Burton for second. The first caution comes out on lap three when 22 Dave Blaney spins. He broke an axle. 48 takes the lead after the restart. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. gets by 31 for third. They are four wide and a little contact was made, but everyone goes on. 83 Brian Vickers is up to fourth, after starting eighteenth. 31 has fallen to tenth after starting second. 83 gets by 18 for second. 17 Matt Kenseth gets by 99 Carl Edwards for fourth. 83 catches 48, then takes the lead. 48 takes the lead back. 17 gets by 18 for third. 83 takes the lead. 12 Ryan Newman has debris on the grill, which is making his car overheat, and spit water.

83 gives up the lead to start Green Flag Pitting. 88 takes the lead. 55 Michael Waltrip leads when 88 pits. After all the pit stops, 83 is back in the lead. 22 is twenty-two laps down but back on the track. 40 Dario Franchitti is out. 19 Elliott Sadler gets by 31 for seventeenth. 12 is in the pits with the hood up. He had a severe vibration. 9 Kasey Kahne pits to start Green Flag Pitting again. 17 is in the lead after the pit stops. The second caution comes out for debris. 26 Jamie McMurray is the Lucky Dog, and gets his lap back. Everyone pits. Out of the pits, it’s 99, 17, 18, 83 and 48, the top five. There are twenty-two cars on the lead lap.

The third caution comes out for spinning 2 Kurt Busch. Wally says he’s been “off the pace and scaring himself all race.” 15 Paul Menard is the Lucky Dog. The top seven cars stay on the track. 17 takes the lead from 99. 96 J. J. Yeley has gone to the garage. 24 Jeff Gordon has fallen back to twentieth. 88 gets by 20 Tony Stewart for sixth. 88 catches 18. Green Flag Pitting begins once again. 20 leads. 84 A. J. Allmendinger leads, then pits. He comes into his pit too fast and overshoots it. And has to back up. 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. leads. After the Green Flag Pitting is complete, 17 is back in the lead.

The fourth caution comes out during the commercial. 43 Bobby Labonte spins. 2 Kurt Busch is the Lucky Dog. 66 Scott Riggs is caught speeding entering pit road. 48 stays out to lead. 77 stayed out with 48. 17 nearly ran over an official who got into the way when he was trying to leave the pits. The fifth caution comes out when 6 David Ragan turns 7 Bobby Gordon into the wall. Robby blows a tire and gets back into the wall. 10 Patrick Carpentier is the Lucky Dog. 24 was too fast exiting the pits. 99 gets by 83 for sixth. 77 and 48 battle for the lead. 17 gets by 18 for third. 83 gets by 99 for fifth. 77 is pitting. 48 is pitting. 18 is pitting. 20 is pitting. 16 is pitting. They don’t think they’ll be able to make it to the end on fuel. 16 runs over his air hose as he leaves the pits. 6 leads, then pits. 88 and 26 battle for the lead. 26 takes the lead. 88 and 26 battle again.

The sixth caution comes out when 77 spins himself into the infield. 88 doesn’t have much gas, but there’s not many laps left, so he stays out. He’s driving on the apron, and keeps turning the engine on to get going, and then off again to coast. 8 Mark Martin is out of fuel. The Green Flag comes out with three to go, and just after the White Flag comes out signaling the final lap, caution comes out for spinning 10. The race ends under caution with 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. winning his first points race of the season. It has been seventy-six races since he’s been to Victory Lane. This is his first win at Michigan. He runs out of gas just past the Finish Line, and is pushed to Victory Lane. I thought it was a pretty good gas mileage race once again here in Michigan.

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Race Review

This is a race review, but also an In My Opinion. I’m talking about the Nationwide Series race at Kentucky. I just love races where NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers are at a different track than the NASCAR Nationwide Series are. These races are all about Nationwide drivers. And this one was all about Nationwide cars. The Sprint Cup drivers didn’t have any practice in Kentucky, as they were practicing at Michigan. They all had someone practice in their cars. Most of them got to the track in time for qualifying. Kyle Busch was in the Craftsman Truck Series race at Michigan, and didn’t arrive at Kentucky in time to qualify his # 18 car. Jeremy Clements qualified the car, which means that Kyle Busch will have to start at the rear of the field because of a driver change. All of the cup drivers in this Nationwide Series race didn’t qualify very well, as they didn’t have any practice.

That’s what I like about these stand-alone races. The Nationwide drivers actually have an advantage over the regular Sprint Cup drivers. Because they got to practice. And this race was better than most of the stand-alone races. Cup drivers qualified poorly. And Kyle Busch had to start from the rear. So Nationwide drivers got to start up front and show their stuff. 20 Joey Logano started on the pole. And seven out of the eight  top qualifying have never won a race. In my opinion, this is how all Nationwide races should be. All Cup drivers start near the end and get to race to the front. Let’s see how they can do.

Kyle Busch made his way to the front. And overtook the 20 of Logano. But most of the top ten was regular Nationwide Series drivers. In the end, Kyle  Busch  took himself out by getting loose and getting into the wall. Joey Lagano won the race for the first time in only his third appearance in the Nationwide Series. And NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers did really well. All of the Nationwide Series races should be more like this race. With Nationwide drivers starting in front and Cup drivers having a disadvantage. I loved this race. Because a Nationwide driver won the race.

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