Race Review

Ford 400

Homestead-Miami Speedway

Welcome race fans to the 36th and final race of the season and the 10th and final race of the Chase. I didn’t get to catch qualifying on Friday, but 44 David Reutimann claimed the pole with a speed of 171.636. 83 Scott Speed was second. 84 Brian Vickers and 83 Speed traded cars for this race so Vickers could get the 84 into the race and, hopefully into the top 35. 09 is Sterling Marlin. 45 is Chad McCumbee from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. 25 is Brad Keselowski, from the NASCAR Nationwide Series. 70 is again Tony Raines. 8 is Aric Almirola. (3)47 is Marcos Ambrose, also from NNS. He got in on Owner Points. Let’s see if he can keep the car there for Daytona. 10 is again AJ Allmendinger. The Points Leader 48 Jimmy Johnson starts 30th. 99 Carl Edwards, the only Title contender left will start 4th. 96 Ken Schrader, (2)13 Max Papis and 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. failed to qualify. 267 laps around this 1.5 mile track is 400 miles. The 2010 hybrid Ford Fusion is the Pace car. There will be a battle for 10th place and a spot in New York City, as there are only eleven points separating 8th – 11th. There is also the battle to end up in the top 35 in Owner Points to start next year.
So, here we go! 17 Matt Kenseth jumps to second. 44 leads from the pole. 44 and 17 battle for the lead. 17 takes the lead. 99 gets by 44 for second. 29 Kevin Harvick battles 44 for third. 29 takes the spot. 99 catches 17. 99 can’t get by 17 for the lead. 48 is up to 20th from starting 30th. 99 finally takes the lead during the commercial, and gave it back to 17 after leading three laps. 99 takes the lead. 29 gets by 17 for second. 48 battles 41 Reed Sorenson for seventeenth. 48 gets by. This is the last race for Tony Stewart in the 20. He will have his own Team next year. 11 Denny Hamlin gets by 18 Kyle Busch for thirteenth. 41 gets back by 48. Green Flag Pitting begins with 7 Robby Gordon, 48 and 2 Kurt Busch. 29 takes the lead when 99 pits. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has trouble in the pits. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya leads when 29 pits. 16 Greg Biffle was too fast entering pit road and 2 also. 17 can’t see his pit and has to back up. 99 is back in the lead after the pitting.
17 and 1 Martin Truex, Jr. battle for sixth. 5 Casey Mears and 20 battle for eighth. The first caution comes out on lap 70 for 8 spinning across the track. The sun setting is making it really hard to see. (Isn’t it great to start these races so late that the sun is a factor?) 16 is the first car a lap down. 16 gets ahead of leader 99 to get his lap back. 07 Clint Bowyer took two tires to come out third. 99 puts 16 back a lap down. 88 gets by 42. 88 gets by 48 for eighth. 48 gets by 17 for eleventh. Green Flag Pitting begins again with 20 and 18. 99 finally pits. 70 got into the grass trying to get to pit road. 84 was too fast getting into the pits. 48 is up to ninth.
The second caution comes out on lap 140 for debris. 21 Bill Elliott is the Lucky Dog. Twenty-one cars are on the lead lap. 99 takes two tires and is out first. 88 stalls in the pits. He thought they would take four tires, and wasn’t ready after taking just two. 26 Jamie McMurray gets by 6 David Ragan for third. 2 has a tire rub. The second caution comes out when 2 gets a flat and gets into the wall so he wouldn’t go down the track. He heads for the pits. He was in too early, while the pits were closed, he was too fast entering the pits, he was too fast exiting the pits and he had a cone violation! Four violations in one pit stop! 6 and 18 battle for fourth. 41 and 15 Paul Menard get together. 47, 42 and 44 are three-wide. 42 and 44 battle for position. 20 gets back by 29 for sixth.
The third caution comes out when 47 gets into the wall. 41 was up on top and 47 didn’t know he was there. 41 got into 47 and pushed him into the wall. 16 Greg Biffle is the Lucky Dog. 47 is the only car not on the track. 24 Jeff Gordon stays out to lead. 17 and 44 take two tires to come out second and third. The fourth caution comes out with 89 laps to go. 78 Joe Nemechek hung a left into 31 Jeff Burton, who spins out. 66 Scott Riggs is the Lucky Dog. 48 pits because he didn’t like the last set of tires. He changed the tires in 12.8 seconds! Back to Green, they are three and four wide all over the track. 17 and 24 battle for the lead. 17 takes the lead.
48 gets by 1 for fourteenth. 11 and 24 battle for second. 11 gets by 24. 11 and 24 battle for second. 24 keeps second. 99 catches up with 24 and 11. The fifth caution comes out during the commercial. 41 got into the wall. 48 comes out of the pits leading. 17 and 48 battle for the lead. 2 gets into the wall again and again. The sixth caution comes out for debris from 2. 24 and 29 pit for fuel only. 2 had too many over the wall and gets another pit road penalty. We go Green with 56 to go. 47 is back on the track. 42 gets by 07. 2 heads for the garage. Forty-two cars are on the track. 6 and 44 battle for tenth. 6 gets by. 99 gets by 48 for third. 11 and 99 battle for second. 20 gets by 48 and 99. 11 and 20 battle for second. 20 is catching 17, leading. 20 takes the lead. 88 is pitting. He can’t drive the car. 44 pits for two tires. 88 comes back into the pits. Something is wrong with the car. 16 pits for two tires and fuel. 88 has a broken caliper and goes to the garage. 42 pits from sixth for two tires and fuel. 48 pits for two tires and fuel. 20 and 11 pit for fuel only. 17 is back in the lead. 17 runs out of fuel. 99 runs out of fuel as he crosses the Finish line to win the Ford 400. He won’t have fuel to do a burn out, but he does his back flip. 48 Jimmy Johnson wins the Championship by 69 points over 99 Carl Edwards. He becomes only the second driver to get three in a row. Cale Yarborough accomplished the fete ‘76, ‘77 and ‘78. Jimmy Johnson does it ‘06, ‘07 and ‘08. It took thirty years for someone to do that again.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

Visit my site: http:www.ilovemynascar.com

Also visit www.blitzcorner.com

Race Review

Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500K

Phoenix International Raceway

Avondale, Arizona

Welcome race fans to the thirty-fifth race of the season and the ninth race of The Chase. Only one more to go. This track is a mile in length. 312 laps equals 500 Kilometers. Nothing but sunshine in Arizona, so there was qualifying on Friday. 48 Jimmy Johnson, the Points leader starts on the pole with a speed of 134.725. Beside him is 26 Jamie McMurray. 10 is again AJ Allmendinger. 96 is again Ken Schrader. Kyle Petty is back in his 45 car. 09 is veteran Sterling Marlin. 84 is in his ride for next year #84. 21 is again Bill Elliott. 70 is Johnny Sauter. Marcos Ambrose, from the NASCAR Nationwide Series is in his new ride for 2009, the 47 car. 78 Joe Nemecheck is the only team that had to go home. In my opinion, they could have filled the final row, instead of sending just one team home. 99 Carl Edwards is the in-car reporter. Weather is moving in and it is quite windy. Pit road speed is 45 MPH. 16 Greg Biffle had to change the transmission and will start from the rear.
So, here we go. 26 leads the first lap. 11 Denny Hamlin and 44 David Reutimann battle for seventh. 44 keeps the spot. 24 Jeff Gordon gets by 12 Ryan Newman. 10, 41 Reed Sorenson and 9 Kasey Kahne are three-wide. 9 gets by. 99 Carl Edwards and 18 Kyle Busch battle. The first caution comes out on lap 20. 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. gets loose and gets into 19 Elliott Sadler. They both spin. 1 Martin Truex, Jr. is overheating. Steam, instead of water is coming out the side. That’s not a good sign. 26 brings the leaders down pit road. 2 Kurt Busch, 12, 41 and 8 Mark Martin take two tires and come out first. 48 takes four tires and is the first out of those taking four tires. 77 gets turned by 9 on pit road.
48 gets by 8 and 41 for third. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. gets by 41 for fourth. 5 Casey Mears gets into the wall. 26 and 11 get by 41. 48 gets by 12 for second. 1 heads to the garage with no water in the car. A plastic bag got stuck on the front of the car, causing it to overheat. The second caution comes out on lap 31 when 83 Brian Vickers is hard in the wall. His tire came apart when something broke under the car. The third caution comes out on lap 37, on the restart for rain! Finally NASCAR decides to throw the Red Flag to wait for the rain to stop. They drove around for six laps before the Red Flag flew. 17 Matt Kenseth has a flat tire and will have to pit when the race gets going again.
The sun comes back out and caution is resumed. 17 and 44 pit even though pit road is still closed. 44 forgot to take a cover off the engine while it was raining and had to pit to get it off. 17 had to change the flat tire. 19 Elliott Sadler was the Lucky Dog. 44 comes back in for tires. We go back to Green on lap 48. 18 goes way up on the track and gets by 41. 24 and 41 battle for eighth. 24 finally gets by. 8 and 41 battle for ninth. 8 gets by. 12 and 88 battle for fourth. 12 keeps the spot. 11 and 88 battle for fifth. 12, 88 and 11 are three-wide. 88 gets by. 99 and 29 Kevin Harvick battle. 29 gets by. 20 Tony Stewart and 99 battle. 20 gets by. 9 gets by 41. 5 and 41 battle.
11 can’t get by 12. 12, 11 and 24 are three-wide. 10, 41, 20, 99 and 31 Jeff Burton battle. 99 is smoking his brakes. 99 and 41 battle. 12 had tire issues during the commercial and broke the sway bar when the tire went down. 48 catches 2. 48 and 2 battle for the lead. 48 takes the lead. 26 and 2 battle for second. 16 gets by 31 for sixteenth. 29 gets by 18 for tenth. 88 gets by 2 for third.11 and 38 David Gililand start Green flag pitting. 2 leads when 48 pits. 8 gets Black Flagged for a lug nut issue. 16 leads. He pitted a couple of cautions ago, when everyone else stayed out. But cars are passing him to get their laps back, so he finally pits. 48 is back in the lead. 48 puts 07 Clint Bowyer (leading the Nationwide Series) a lap down. Twenty-one cars are on the lead lap. 9 is falling behind.
The fourth caution on lap 140 is for debris. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya is the Lucky Dog. Twenty cars are now on the lead lap. The top five are 48, 88, 24, 26 and 2. 99 and 18 battle for ninth. 18 gets by. 9 gets into the wall trying to get by 44. 18 and 99 battle again. 24 is sliding back. He’s lost a cylinder. 16 and 18 battle for ninth. 18 keeps ninth. 20 gets by 18. 48 laps 24. 26 gets by 88 for second. 5 gets behind 96 to get trash off the grill. 99 gets by 29.
The fifth caution comes out on lap 211 for debris. 9 Kasey Kahne is the Lucky Dog. The leaders all pit. 48 has trouble getting tape on the grill and comes out second, behind 26. The sun is in the drivers’ eyes. (Is that exciting, where they can’t see? Is that why they start the race so late? Just an observation.) 48 takes the lead. 10 and 42 battle for thirteenth. 2 gets by 26 for second. 26 and 88 battle for third. 88 finally gets by. The sixth caution comes out with 51 to go for debris. 70 Johnny Sauter is the Lucky Dog. The leaders all pit. Out of the pits, the top ten are 48, 2, 26, 99, 29, 88, 11, 16, 5 and 18. 5 gets sideways, but gathers it up. Great save! 24 blows up.
The seventh caution comes out with thirty-nine to go and it’s the big one! They have to throw the Red Flag for clean up. 42 spins 5. 66 Scott Riggs gets hit from behind, trying to slow down. 47, 77 and 43 Bobby Labonte get collected. And 38 ends up on top of 84! When they clean it all up, 20 and 70 can’t get started. 12 pushes 20, who will be team mates next year. The tow truck gets 70 going. They both resume their spots. 18 and 31 pit. 18 gets into 41, and that brings out the eighth caution when 41 blows a tire and spins into the wall. 17 Matt Kenseth is the Lucky Dog.
38 is back on the track with no hood. We go Green with twenty-four to go. 88 and 11 battle for fifth. The ninth caution comes out with twenty-one to go for debris. The back of 41 came off. 20 gets into 16 as the caution comes out. 8 Mark Martin is the Lucky Dog. 15 Paul Menard got into 31 when 31 tried to get between 29 and 15. We go Green with sixteen to go. 88 and 11 battle for fifth. 11 takes the spot. 16 is moving up with fresh tires. 29 and 88 battle for sixth.
The tenth caution comes out with seven to go when 20 spins and can’t get going. 20 and 17 got together with 10 on the bottom. They collect 7. 20 looses a lap. It will be a Green, White Checker finish. 2 is catching 48, the leader. 42 and 10 get together at the finish with 96, 21 and 7. 17 nudged 10 and 10 got into 42. 48 Jimmy Johnson wins the race. Third through twelfth are out of the Chase. The battle will be between Jimmy Johnson and Carl Edwards (141 behind) at Homestead-Miami next week for the finale.
Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

Visit my site: http://www.ilovemynascar.com

Also see Blitz Corner for NASCAR news http://www.blitzcorner.com

Race Review

Dickies 500

Texas Motor Speedway

Ft. Worth, Texas

Welcome race fans to the thirty-fourth race of the season and the eighth race of the Chase. We finally had qualifying on Friday, and 24 Jeff Gordon starts from the pole with a speed of 188.469. This is his first pole at this track. 1 Martin Truex, Jr. starts from the outside pole. 47 is Marcos Ambrose from the NASCAR Nationwide Series driving again the car he will be in next year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. 96 is again Ken Schrader. 84 is Scott Speed again and for the rest of the season and next year. 10 is again AJ Allmendinger. 25 is Brad Keselowski also from the NASCAR Nationwide Series in a fifth Hendrick car. 21 is again Bill Elliott, who got in on speed and will not have to start last. (2)02 is Joey Logano in a fourth Joe Gibbs car. 20 Tony Stewart and 02 have reverse Home Depot paint schemes. Joey will be a Rookie in the 20 car next year.
Those that failed to qualify were: 40 Bryan Clauson, who finally got to qualify in the Guitar World Tour/Target car, 70 Tony Raines in the iQ Drive car, 45 Chad McCumbee from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in the Richard Petty Driving Experience car, (2)13 Max Papis in the Geico Toyota and 08 Johnny Sauter in the FUBAR All Natural Drink Dodge. The Texas Christian University band does a wonderful job with the National Anthem. 20 and 7 Robby Gordon are in back up cars and will start from the rear. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is the in car reporter. There will be 334 laps for 500 miles.
So, here we go. 24 leads from the pole. 17 Matt Kenseth gets by 26 Jamie McMurray. 88 gets by 17 and 1. 25 scrapes the wall. 26 and 48 Jimmy Johnson battle. 07 Clint Bowyer takes the lead during the commercial. 88 gets by 24. 99 Carl Edwards and 26 battle. 26 lets 99 by and they both continue to race. 26 gets by 24. 02 is a lap down in 43rd. 26 gets by 88. 16 Greg Biffle and 42 Juan Pablo Montoya get by 48. 7 pits on lap 49 starting the first set of Green Flag Pitting. 44 David Reutimann takes the lead. 88 takes the lead, then pits. 07 is back in the lead after the pitting. 99 takes the lead.
The first caution comes out when 41 Reed Sorenson blows up on lap 57. 25 Brad Keselowski is the Lucky Dog. There are twenty-nine cars on the lead lap. The top eleven stay out. 88 had a loose wheel and needed the caution. Others follow him down pit road. 26 flies by 07. 48 is struggling for grip and is falling back. 96 in 36th battles 48 in 25th. 99 is ahead of 26 in second by 4.73 seconds. 99 puts 48 a lap down. 7 gets into the wall. 88 gets by 31 Jeff Burton. 18 Kyle Busch short pits. 8 follows and Green Flag pitting begins again. 44 leads when 99 pits. 83 Brian Vickers leads when 44 pits. 19 Elliott Sadler gets Black Flagged for a run away tire. When all stops are complete, 99 is back in the lead. There are twenty-three cars on the lead lap. 1 and 83 battle for ninth. 83 gets by. 48 gets by 01 Regan Smith.
99 having trouble lapping 2 Kurt Busch. 99 battles with 20 to put 20 a lap down, but finally gets by. The second caution is for debris. 20 Tony Stewart is the Lucky Dog. 2 and 10 get ahead of the leader, 99. 25, 38 David Gilliland and 48 are three wide. 25 gets loose and scrapes the wall. 16 and 26 battle for second. 99 puts 2 back a lap down. 31 and 8 Mark Martin battle. 8 finally gets by 31 for 15th. 83 pits and looses a lap. 6 David Ragan and 17 battle. 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. starts Green Flag pitting again on lap 199. 44 and 26 battle for third. 44 gets by 26. 16 misses pit road and has to come around again to pit. 17 gets by 6. 99 is ahead of second place by over 6 seconds. 31 races 99 to stay on the lead lap. 31 goes a lap down. 41 gets by 02 for 42nd.
The third caution comes out with 94 to go for debris. 31 Jeff Burton is the Lucky Dog. There are thirteen cars on the lead lap. 9 Kasey Kahne jumps ahead of leader 99 at the restart. You can’t do that before the line from the inside. Passing must be done from the outside. 44 and 18 battle for second. The fourth caution comes out with 88 to go when 28 Travis Kvapil spins. 25, 28 and 19 got together and spun 28. 8 Mark Martin is the Lucky Dog. There are fifteen cars on the lead lap. 88 stayed ahead of the leader and stays on the lead lap. 20 gets loose and his splitter hits the track.
The fifth caution comes out during the commercial. 42 and 38 get together several times and 38 smashes 42 into the wall. 38 and his Crew Chief get invited to the NASCAR Trailer. NASCAR is holding 38 five laps for rough driving. 2 is down a couple of cylinders. NASCAR parks 38. 6 and 17 battle for eighth. 26 took two tires and is leading. 99 gets by 1 for fourth. 10 hits the commitment cone starting Green Flag Pitting with about twenty laps to go. 16 takes the lead when 26 pits. 99 leads when 16 pits. 99, 24, 88 are one, two and three, all watching their fuel gages. 88 runs out of fuel and has to pit, and can’t get it fired up.
99 is so far ahead of second place 24 that he can coast to the finish line and many cars pass him by to get their laps back. 99 Carl Edwards wins the Dickies 500 on fuel mileage. The top twelve cars are on the lead lap. 99, 24, 26, 07, 16, 18, 29, 1, 17, 44, 6 and 8.
Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

Visit my site: http://www.ilovemynascar.com

www.blitzcorner.com

To get your NASCAR News