NASCAR Racing Martinsville

Welcome to NASCAR’s shortest track on the circuit. This track is a classic paper clip. Long straightaways and short, tight corners. The average speed is quite slow. And it’s hard to get around someone on this track because there’s not much room to pass. You almost have to follow someone for quite awhile before you can “set them up” for the pass.

In my opinion, Martinsville Speedway is not my favorite short track. I prefer something more oval. The high banks of Bristol Motor Speedway or the d-shaped oval of Richmond International Raceway. Martinsville is flat with tight corners. So, it’s hard to complete a pass. However, I sure would hate it if this track was not on the schedule.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series just left Bristol Motor Speedway. This track has high banking and is wider, so there is more side by side racing and passing. There’s just more room at Bristol, even though Bristol is only slightly larger than Martinsville.

The third short track on the schedule is Richmond International Raceway. In my opinion, this track is the best short track. It’s more of an oval. And there is lots of room to race and pass. It’s about the right size in my opinion. 3/4ths of a mile, and a d-shaped oval. It’s also always run under the lights on Saturday nights. So it brings you back to memories of your local short tracks.

Okay, the good parts of Martinsville. It’s short track racing at it’s finest. Close quarters, so that if you want to get by, you almost have to move the car ahead out of the way to get by. None of this door-to-door racing for lap after lap like Bristol can be. And tight corners, unlike Richmond, where you can just keep on turning left. Martinsville is definately a track that is hard to get around. And, really, isn’t that what racing is all about?

However, this weekend the weather is not cooperating. Qualifying was rained out for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. They will line up according to owner points. That puts Jeff Gordon on the pole. He hasn’t won in quite a long time. And being on the pole is quite the advantage. Maybe he can finally break that loosing streak. Of course, just starting on the pole, doesn’t mean you will win. But just maybe…

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, scheduled for today was rained out. They will race on Monday at noon. (Isn’t that costing the teams a lot of money to stay for the whole weekend?) But I look forward to the Truck race on Monday.

I’ll be back tomarrow for the race review. That is, if the weather cooperates and there is a race.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

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Race Review: Food City 500

Welcome race fans to the fifth race of the season. The Food City 500 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor speedway. Also known as Thunder Valley and “The fastest half mile in the world”. #5 Mark Martin starts from the pole with a speed of 125.773 and #39 Ryan Newman starts second. 66 is again Dave Blaney. 71 again is David Gilliland. 64 is Todd Bodine from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. 87 is Joe Nemechek in his own car. 09 is veteran Sterling Marlin. Two teams failed to qualify. 36 Scott Riggs and 41 Jeremy Mayfield. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. had to change the transmission and will start from the rear. 11 Denny Hamlin is the in-car reporter.

So, here we go! 5 Martin leads from the pole. A few laps later 39 Newman takes the lead. 48 Jimmy Johnson gets by 5 for second. The first caution comes out during the commercial. 34 John Andretti looses it in the corner and spins, ending up in the pit barriers. 48 Johnson stays out to lead.

The second caution comes out when 34 Andretti  drives up into 66 Blaney and spins him out. 17 Matt Kenseth gets loose and hits the wall. The third caution comes out, again, during the commercial. 64 Bodine spins into the wall. 2 Kurt Busch gets into the rear of 47 Marcos Ambrose trying to slow down after the accident. 8 Aric Almirola is too fast exiting the pits. 48 Johnson stays out again. 18 Kyle Busch and 48 Johnson battle for the lead. 18 takes the lead. 16 Greg Biffle gets by 5 for fourth. 7 Robby Gordon and 29 Kevin Harvick battle. 29 finally gets by. 18 tries to lap 20 Joey Logano, and finally does it.

The fourth caution comes out when 26 Jamie McMurray and 42 Juan Pablo Montoya get together, and 42 spins 26. It looked to me like retaliation, and I thought that would not be allowed. 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. is the Lucky Dog.  Out of the pits, the top ten are: 18, 11, 48, 00 David Reutimann, 47, 24 Jeff Gordon, 39, 16, 42 and 9 Kasey Kahne. 14 Tony Stewart gets by 9 for tenth. 26 gets into the wall. 88 is up to eighteenth after starting in the rear. 26 battles with 18 to stay on the lead lap. 18 finally gets by. 18 finally laps 29.

The fifth caution comes out again during the commercial. 26 got into the wall again. The top ten are 18, 48, 11, 24, 47, 42, 00, 9, 39 and 16. 18 tries to lap 14. 24 has a tire going down. 71 Gilliland slides on the track, then pits. They stay Green. 11 bounces off the lapped 17 Kenseth car to challenge for the lead. 11 takes the lead. The sixth caution comes out again during the commercial. Someone cut a tire. Out of the pits, it’s 48, 11, 18, 47, 9, 5, 24, 42, 00 and 39. 18 and 11 battle for second. 18 finally gets by. 16 Biffle goes to the garage. 18 catches leader 48 and 48 lets 18 by to take the lead. 9 and 5 get by 47. 88 fights to stay on the lead lap.

The sixth caution comes out when 29 Harvick cuts a tire and gets into the wall. Out of the pits, it’s 18, 11, 9, 5, 48, 24, 31, 47, 39. The seventh caution comes out when 12 David Stremme gets loose,  88 touches 12 and 12 spins. After the Green Flag comes back out 48, 9 and 24 battle for third. The eighth caution comes out when 20 Rookie Joey Logano blows up. His team mates 18 and 11 are running first and second. 33 Clint Bowyer bumps 00 Reutimann.

18 Kyle Busch wins the Food City 500 after a Green, White, Checker restart. They ran a total of 503 laps.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Racing

The NASCAR Sprint Cup series arrives in “Thunder Valley” this week. That is, Bristol Motor Speedway. This short track in the hills of Tennessee is labeled “the fastest short track in the world!” Today starts practice. The drivers have this one practice session before qualifying later on this afternoon (3:00 EST).

While on the track, Michael Waltrip, in his own #55 NAPA car got loose and spun into the inside wall. He was trying to go as fast as his team mates, #47 Marcos Ambrose and #00 David Reutimann. Now he will be qualifying in a backup car.

For those of you out there who are unfamiliar with NASCAR rules, I’d like to explain what this means. Everyone brings two cars in their haulers to every track every weekend. One of them is a backup car. Just in case something like this happens. The car is ready to go, just like the primary car.

In Michael’s case, they will unload the backup and replace certain parts that made the primary car fast, or improve on the overall performance of the backup car. As long as they do this before qualifying, and don’t touch the engine, Michael keeps his qualifying position.

What would happen if someone crashes after qualifying? If the team can repair the car, that car keeps the qualifying position. However, if the team has to go to the back up car after qualifying, the car will have to go to the rear for the start of the race.

Michael didn’t change engines with the switch in cars. If he had changed engines, he would have had to start from the rear. Even if he changed the engine before qualifying. That’s what happened to pole sitter #18 Kyle Busch at Las Vegas. There is a one engine rule, for the weekend. Any change in engine results in starting from the rear.

The backup car is different. Officials consider the backup car as one engine, as long as the change was done before qualifying. And Michael was able to get onto the track and practice the backup car. The officials decided not to penalize cars that go to backups because they feel that just using a backup car is penalty enough.

So, let’s review. If you crash during practice, before qualifying, and have to go to a backup car, NASCAR considers this backup car to be your primary car. And you qualify with it and start from that position. If you have to replace an engine at any time during the weekend, your car will start from the rear. If you crash after qualifying, and have to go to a backup car, you will start from the rear.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley. See you after the race.

Race Review: Atlanta Motor Speedway

Hello race fans. Welcome to my review of the Kobalt Tools 500 from Atlanta Motor Speedway. 5 Mark Martin starts from the pole, and second place is 2 Kurt Busch. 87 Joe Nemecheck was eighth fastest in qualifying. 28 Travis Kvapil got in on speed. 66 Dave Blaney also got in on speed. 21 is Bill Elliott who did not need his past Champion provisional. 09 is Mike Bliss. Those who failed to qualify are: 35 Todd Bodine from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, 36 Scott Riggs, 41 driver/car owner Jeremy Mayfield and 64 Geoff Bodine. Atlanta Motor Speedway is a 1.54 mile track. 325 laps will be 500.5 miles.

So, here we go! 5 Martin leads from the pole. The first caution comes out on lap three. Something breaks in the 43 car of Reed Sorenson and he slides into the wall. After the restart, 2 Kurt Busch takes the lead. 83 Brian Vickers gets by 19 Elliott Sadler. And the second caution comes out when 96 Bobby Labonte gets loose and spins. 66 Blaney narrowly misses him. Bobby has six wins at Atlanta, the most of all active drivers. He won’t get his seventh win today. Everyone comes down pit road.

39 Ryan Newman takes two tires to lead the pack out of the pits. 87 Nemechek, 66 Blaney and 09 Bliss stay out, then pit the second time around. It’s a single file restart with 39 Newman leading. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. gets by 19 Sadler. 39 and 2 battle for the lead. 2 Ku. Busch takes the lead. 39 and 11 Denny Hamlin battle for second. 5 and 16 Greg Biffle battle for fourth. 5 and 39 battle for third. 26 Jamie McMurray, 48 Jimmy Johnson and 18 Kyle Busch are three-wide. 28 Travis Kvapil is pitting, and they get the hood up. 9 Kasey Kahne, 83 Brian Vickers, 39 Newman, 99 Carl Edwards, and 24 Jeff Gordon get by 18 Ky. Busch. 96 Labonte and 7 Robby Gordon battle for thirty-third. 99 and16 battle. 99 takes the spot. 99 gets by 24. 66 is two laps down. 18 and 39 battle. 18 gets by 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. for tenth. 09 Bliss is out of the race with overheating issues. 28 is down a cylinder.

33 Clint Bowyer gets by 88. 33 and 18 battle. 33 gets by. 18 and 88 battle. 88 gets by. 96 gets by 07 Casey Mears for twenty-seventh. 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. pits after going down a lap. 43 Sorenson is back on the track fifty some laps behind. Green Flag Pitting begins. 47 Marcos Ambrose pits and looses a tire. The tire rolls off pit road and into the infield.A crew man goes out to retrieve it, and the third caution comes out. With all the Green Flag Pitting, there are only six cars on the lead lap. 11 Denny Hamlin is the Lucky Dog. Those on the lead lap are 2, 48, 33, 99, 1 Martin Truex, Jr. 9 and now 11. 99 was on pit road when the caution came out and drove through to stay on the lead lap.

There are eight cars in front of the leader 48 at the restart. They are three-wide. 55 Michael Waltrip gets loose, almost getting into 98 Paul Menard. 99 Edwards takes the lead. 2 gets by 48 for third. 96 thinks he’s blowing up. The fourth caution comes out during the commercial. 96 spins into the grass. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya, with new tires got him loose. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is the Lucky Dog. A crew member from 7 Robby Gordon runs after the car to retrieve the gas can. Robby will have to come back  in. 18 is not taking fuel like it should. After the restart, 42 gets caught in the middle, and falls back. 87 is back on the track after brake trouble. 44 A. J. Almendinger is in eighteenth, two laps down! 77 gets loose again. 24 and 5 battle. It’s a great battle for fifth. 7 gets loose in front of the leader.

The fifth caution comes out for debris in turn 2. There are nine cars on the lead lap. 88 Earnhardt, Jr. is again the Lucky Dog. They restart with 163 to go. 24 gets by 33 for second. 48 and 99 get by 33. 48 and 99 battle for third. 33 and 5 battle for fifth. 5 gets by. 83 and 33 battle for sixth. 2 and 24 battle for the lead. 24 gets loose.  2 gets loose. 47 is smoking. And the sixth caution comes out for oil from 47 on the track. 9 Kasey Kahne is the Lucky Dog.  1 Truex, Jr. stays out to lead before pitting himself. 17 Matt Kenseth is in twelfth place, the first car a lap down.

99 gets by 83 for fifth. 16 Biffle tries to slide in front of 6 David Ragan. 6 slides into the wall. 16 gets sideways. They both recover. 24 Jeff Gordon takes the lead when 2 gets into the wall. The seventh caution comes out when 77 gets loose and slides and 21 Elliott can’t avoid him. They both pit. 14 Tony Stewart stays ahead of the leader and stays on the lead lap. 17 Matt Kenseth is the Lucky Dog. Coming out of the pits, they are three-wide. 24, 2, 48. 5 and 31 Jeff Burton finish the top five. The eighth caution  comes out when 5 Martin gets into the wall. 29 Kevin Harvick is the Lucky Dog. 9 and 99 battle. 2 catches leader 24, and takes the lead.

The ninth caution comes out for debris from 7 who got into the wall. 14 Tony Stewart is the Lucky Dog. 48 came out of the pits in second, but was too fast and will go to the end of the longest line. 99 gets into 24’s way in the pits and 24 looses spots. 55 is falling back. The tenth caution comes out with 59 to go. 82 Rookie Scott Speed, trying to get by 6 Ragan, slides in front of him and 6 clips 82 to get him into the wall. 16 and 31 make contact, and 31 plows through the infield, taking grass with him. Sixth on back pit. 26 McMurray is in sixteenth, two laps down. And no one is one lap down. 88 gets into 8 Aric Almirola. They both save it. 44 Allmindinger gets loose, 20 slows to avoid 44 and 14 runs into 20, getting him into the wall. 12 David Stremme also gets into the wall. They both pit and the race goes on with no caution. 9 and 17 battle for fifth. 29 gets by 17 for sixth. 83 is catching leader 2 with fifteen to go. Fourteenth place 11 goes a lap down. 33 gets by 14.

The eleventh caution is for debris from 7 again, with four to go. 99 takes two tires to lead. 2 takes the lead. 99 and 24 battle for second, but 24 gets it with his four tires. And 2 Kurt Busch wins the Kobalt 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. There were eight leaders. 2 Kurt Busch led, by far, the most laps. The other leaders were 24, 99, 48, 1, 39, 5 and 87. Kurt gets the checkerd flag and does the “Polish Victory Lap” in reverse! That is, going in reverse around the track.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

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Race Review: Shelby 427

Hello race fans! Today’s race review is the Shelby 427 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. That is the Carroll Shelby Cobra Mustang. And it is the pace car for today’s race. Normally, the race at Las Vegas is a 400 mile race. But the engine in the Shelby Cobra is a 427. Hence the distance. Here’s today’s line up. The Busch brothers are on the front row, with 18 Kyle on the pole and 2 Kurt in second. However, Kyle changed his engine and will start from the rear. That puts 48 Jimmy Johnson on the pole.

25 is Brad Keselowski from the NASCAR Nationwide Series in the fifth Hendrick Motorsports car. 78 is Regan Smith, who got in on speed. (1)87 is Joe Nemecheck, who also got in on speed. (1)13 is Max Papis, the Italian racer on his first oval race. Again, (1)71 is David Gilliland. 64 is NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Todd Bodine. Fifty-one cars showed up to qualify for the race. The eight who had to go home are: 51 Dexter Bean from the ARCA (Auto Racing Club of America) Series, 41 Jeremy Mayfield, in his own car, 73 Mike Garvey, 09 veteran Sterling Marlin, 36 Scott Riggs, with the new Tommy Baldwin Team, 66 Dave Blaney, 28 Travis Kvapil, and 37 Tony Raines.

The TRD (Toyota Research and Development) engines are having oil issues, so 00 David Reutimann will start from the rear in his Toyota. 13 Papis and 47 Marcos Ambrose have their first start here in Las Vegas. Toyotas also starting from the rear are Team mates 82 Scott Speed and 83 Brian Vickers and 47 Ambrose.

On the pace laps, the track is awfully dirty. 48 Johnson leads from the pole. 25 Keselowski gets loose. And we have our first caution. 25 gets out of control, gets into the wall and spins. They finally throw the caution. 11 Denny Hamlin got into 87 Nemecheck, so they pit for repairs. 47 Ambrose also makes a pit Stop. And 17 Matt Kenseth, winner of the first two races pits with a plug wire issue.

When we go back to Green, 17 is slow on the track. And blows up. The second caution comes out on lap six. 11 Hamlin gets into 64 Bodine, getting him loose and he spins. 17 with smoke trailing, heads for the garage. 1 Martin Truex, Jr. comes out of the pits with his axil shaft hanging out! 64 got into 47 and 19 Elliott Sadler in the pits.

They go Green on lap eleven. 96 Bobby Labonte gets by 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. 48 is running away from the field. 00 Reutimann slides into the wall, trying to pass 34 John Andretti. 99 Carl Edwards and 12 David Stremme battle for fourth. 99 takes it. 07 Casey Mears pits after getting lapped and is too fast. 55 Michael Waltrip gets by 96 Labonte. Green Flag Pitting begins. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is too fast. 99 Edwards leads. 20 Joey Logano leads, then pits. 18 Kyle Busch leads, then pits. 78 Regan Smith is too fast, 87 Nemecheck has a lug nut issue. 7 Robby Gordon leads before pitting. After all the pitting is completed, 48 Johnson is back in the lead.

The third caution comes out during the commercial for debris. 39 Ryan Newman is the Lucky Dog and gets his lap back. 2 gets by 99 at the restart. 20 gets into 26 Jamie McMurray and sends him sliding sideways down the track. 29 Kevin Harvick and 16 Greg Biffle get by 99. 16 gets by 29. 99 gets by 29.

The fourth caution comes out when 6 David Ragan blows an engine. That’s the second Roush Fenway engine to blow. 33 Clint Bowyer is the Lucky Dog. 29 Harvick and 14 Tony Stewart take fuel only and lead out of the pits. 9 Kasey Kahne makes three pit stops. Going Green, 1 Truex, Jr., 42 Juan Pablo Montoya and 48 Johnson are three-wide. 16 gets by 14 for second. 16 Biffle takes the lead. 24 Jeff Gordon and 26 Harvick battle for second. 24 gets it. 14 and 48 battle. 24 takes sixth. 25 Keselowski is back on the track, down 54 laps.

The fifth caution comes out when 9 Kahne gets into 12 Stremme and he spins and can’t save it. 16 and 5 Mark Martin stay out. 42 and 33 get together. 48 drives by 5. 48, 2 and 24 are three-wide for second. 24 takes second. 48 and 2 battle for third. 18 and 14 battle for ninth. 2 is having problems and falls back. 5 comes out of gear, and on lap 126 the 5 engine blows up, for the sixth caution. 1 Martin Truex, Jr. is the Lucky Dog. 9 Kahne stays on the lead lap. 96 pits to repair damage. 18 and 31 Jeff Burton battle for sixth. 78 Smith scrapes the wall. 98 Paul Menard and 33 Bowyer get together.

The seventh caution comes out when 43 Reed Sorenson spins into the wall. 9 gets by. 7 Robby Gordon is the Lucky Dog. The top five are 48, 24, 16, 14 and 18. The eighth caution comes out when 8 Aric Almirola gets into the wall. This time 9 doesn’t get by, but spins,and recovers. 82 Scott Speed is the Lucky Dog. 24 J. Gordon takes the lead. This was his 20,000th lap led! 99 and 31 battle.

The ninth caution comes out when 55 Waltrip gets too high and backs up into the wall. 19 Sadler is involved. 71 David Gilliland is the Lucky Dog. 31 Burton takes two tires and comes out of the pits first. The tenth caution comes out when 11 Hamlin gets too high, gets loose and spins up into the wall, then down into traffic. 18 gets loose and saves it. 34 John Andretti is the Lucky Dog. And it is a ragged restart.

99 gets by 14 for eighth. 96 and 48 battle for second. 48 moves to second place. 1 goes to the pits with a vibration. 39 goes to the pits with a vibration. 48 is catching leader 31. 31 and 48 battle for the lead. 82 Speed holds up 48 and 31 keeps the lead. 88 and 18 battle. 88 keeps the position. 39 and 16 battle. 12, 48 and 29 are pitting. 24 tries to pit, but misses pit road, and locks the brakes.

The eleventh caution comes out for 24. When he missed the pits, he locked the tire and it blew. 48 overshot his pit when the caution came out. He looses a lap. 29 and 14 were too fast. 99 misses a lug nut and has to come back in to put it back on. 24 comes back in for repairs. 71 David Gilliland is again the Lucky Dog. Since some cars had already pitted under Green before the Caution came out, they are ahead of the leader on the track, at the tail end of the lead lap. 16, 77 and 88 are ahead of leader 31.

18 pulls up to second. 18 and 31 battle for the lead. 18 takes the lead. 96 goes by 31 for second. 48 races past 18 to get his lap back. 31 is plowing. The twelfth caution is for debris. In the pits, 96 is coming out and 48 is going in. 96 drives through 48’s pit and 48 has to stop so that he doesn’t miss his pit. 33 Bowyer stays out to lead. 18 gets by 24 for third. 31 and 18 battle for second. 77 gets into the wall. 18 takes the lead by bumping 33 out of the way.

The thirteenth caution comes out with fifteen to go, when 98 Paul Menard gets hard into the wall. 98 and 16 got together and 98 cut a tire and hit the wall. 29 Kevin Harvick is the Lucky Dog. The fourteenth caution comes out with five to go. 48 gets loose and spins into the wall. 77 also spins. 16 gets by 83. 99 is smoking and blows up on the last lap. (Another Roush Fenway car) And 18 Kyle Busch wins the Shelby 427 for the first time at his Home Track , Las Vegas.

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