Race Review: The Coca-Cola 600

Welcome race fans to the longest race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season. It turned out to be a whole day longer than planned. And still ended because of rain before the 600 miles were completed! I call it the Coke 340.5 because only 227 laps were completed. Rain was on the Lowes Motor Speedway the whole weekend, including Memorial Day.

12 Ryan Newman started on the pole with a speed of 188.475. 18 Kyle Busch started second. The race was scheduled for 5:00 PM on Sunday to cap off a great day of racing. But Mother Nature didn’t want the race to be the last race of the day. It rained all night and the cars never did take to the track. It was postponed to Monday, Memorial Day at noon.

09  Mike Bliss, who won the rain-shortened NASCAR Nationwide race, qualified in the top ten. As did 21 former Champion Bill Elliott. 87 Joe Nemecheck starts eleventh. 66 Dave Blaney, 71 David Gilliland, 13 Max Papis and 36 Scott Riggs also made the race. 36 Riggs will start last. Failing to qualify were: 41 J. J. Yeley, 73 Mike Garvey, 64 Todd Bodine and 06 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver David Starr.

Rain is still in the area, so everyone is discussing whether or not the race will go all 600 miles. 39 Newman elects to start from the outside pole. 39 leads from the pole. And 18 takes the lead. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has an ill-handling car and drops back.

The first caution comes out while 20 Joey Logano and 87 Nemecheck battle for position for rain, on lap 8. The sun comes back out and they go back to Green on lap 12, with several drivers electing to pit first. 29 Kevin Harvick and 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. get together, causing damage to 29. The second caution comes out for the tire of 29 coming off the car. Kevin made it to the pits, but the tire didn’t.

The restart is on lap 20. 20 Joey Logano gets by 24 Jeff Gordon. 39 and 5 Mark Martin battle for second. 9 Kasey Kahne battle for position. 2 Kurt Busch battles with 20. The third caution is the “Competition Caution”, since it rained all day and night and some this morning. NASCAR decided it would come out on lap 40. 29 pits before pit road was opened so he could make some repairs. He will start from the rear. 39 Newman had to come back in for loose lug nuts. 34 Tony Raines, substituting for John Andretti, who was in the Indy 500 on Sunday, stays out to lead.

The Green Flag comes out on lap 45. 19 Elliott Sadler, 21 Elliott, 82 Scott Speed and 14 Tony Stewart are four-wide. We go to commercial with 18 and 5 catching the leader, 48 Jimmy Johnson. 18 gets by 48 and 5 gets by 48 during the commercial. 48 is loose and falls to sixth. 96 Bobby Labonte and 24 battle for fifteenth. 96 gets by. 48 gets loose. 83 Brian Vickers gets by 2 for third.

The fourth caution is for sprinkles. 18, 99 Carl Edwards, 00 David Reutimann and 26 Jamie McMurray come out of the pits first. A tire from 5 gets loose into the infield. And the race is Red Flagged for 56 minutes and 36 seconds. 7 Robby Gordon, 55 Michael Waltrip and 36 Riggs each led  laps. 83 Vickers leads and Green Flag Pitting begins. 34 may be out of gas. 20 Logano leads, 66 Blaney also leads before pitting. When it all cycles out, 18 is back in the lead. He had a better pit than 83. 9 drives by 48 for fourth. 83 catches up to leader 18, and takes the lead.

14 gets by 99 for ninth. 48 and 9 battle for fourth. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya and 18 battle for second. 42 gets by. They battle again, but 42 won’t let 18 by. The fifth caution comes out on lap 165. It is 3:00 and time to honor the Vets with a moment of silence.  God Bless America. 6 David Ragan is the Lucky Dog and gets his lap back. They all pit and stay under caution for rain. On lap 177 they go to the pits for the Red Flag because of rain. This Red Flag lasts 20 minutes and 30 seconds.

20 and 42 battle for position, and 48 and 9 battle. 2 and 00 get together. 42 and 17 Matt Kenseth battle for sixth. 17 gets by. 14 gets by 83 for tenth. 99 gets by 9. 2 gets a vibration and pits for a loose wheel. 24 and 42 battle for seventh. And they make it to half-way. 9 gets by 48 for second. 99 gets by 48 for third. 20 gets by 48 for fourth.

9Kahne is catching 18 for the lead when the sixth caution comes out on lap 221 for rain. Before 9 could take the lead. 47 Marcos Ambrose is the Lucky Dog. 00 Reutimann stays out to lead. 39 Newman and 7 R. Gordon also stay out. 71 Gilliland  stays out to be on the tail end of the lead lap. The Red flag comes out on lap 227. And the rain just doesn’t let up. After 2 hours, 3 minutes and 44 seconds, NASCAR declares the race is over.

00 David Reutimann wins his first race, the Coca-Cola 600. He took a gamble that it would keep on raining, and it did. Mother Nature just didn’t want to cooperate.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

Hope you enjoyed  my review.

Race Review: NASCAR Nationwide Series @ LMS

The NASCAR Nationwide Series ran their race at Lowes Motor Speedway Saturday night. In the race were fifteen drivers doing the double-duty. That is, they raced on Saturday night and will race again on Sunday for the C0ca-Cola 600. So there were only 28 ragular Nationwide drivers in the race. That seams a little much, in my opinion.

Rain delayed the start. They had to dry off the track before the cars could race. They went around the track single-file for several laps to help with the drying. They were also under Green/Yellow for five laps before the race went Green. Kyle Busch changed an engine and had to start in the rear. But I also want to point out that Mike Bliss also had to start from the rear.

Carl Edwards (Cup) started from the pole position. There was a caution for 15 Michael Annett getting hard into the wall. Kyle Busch comes from behind to lead after less than 50 laps. The third caution is for 12 Justin Allgaier spinning, after Green Flag Pitting was completed.  42 David Gilliland is the Lucky Dog and gets his lap back.

32 Brian Vickers (Cup) takes the lead, but the announcers don’t show that. More Green Flag pitting happens and 38 Jason Leffler leads. The fourth caution comes out when 81 Kevin Harmon spins into the wall. Before Green Flag Pitting is complete, leaving 1 Mike Bliss in the lead and the only car on the lead lap. 62 Brendan Gaughan gets the Lucky Dog, leaving only two Nationwide drivers on the lead lap.

They restart with nine drivers ahead of the leader. Gaughan takes the lead. And Bliss takes it back. With 31 laps to go, rain stops the race. Those ahead of the leader stay on the lead lap. 5 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is the Lucky Dog and also is on the lead lap. They throw the Red Flag for rain and the race stops with 30 to go. The rain doesn’t stop.

And Nationwide driver, Mike Bliss wins the rain-shortened race. With Brendan Gaughan finishing second. A Nationwide driver finally wins a Nationwide race! And Kyle Busch doesn’t win this rain-shortened race.

In my opinion, this was the best NASCAR Nationwide Series race of the year. Because a Nationwide driver actually won a Nationwide race. Let’s see what happens on Sunday for the Coca-Cola 600, the longest race of the Season.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

Coca-Cola 600 Race Preview

Welcome, race fans, to the twelfth race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. This race is at Lowes Motor Speedway outside of Charlotte, NC. in Concord. It’s the longest race of the year, and caps off a day of racing. The Indy 500 comes on earlier in the day, so race fans can continue to watch racing into the night.

Qualifying for the race was Thursday evening. Rocket Man, Ryan Newman will start from the pole position with a speed of 188.475. It is his eighth pole at LMS and his 44th career pole. Kyle Busch, who came out last of the top 35, when the track was faster, will start second. The crowd cheered. Not because he will start second, but because he did not get the pole.

Points leader, Jeff Gordon, who had the pole until Ryan came along, will start third. Mark Martin qualified fourth. And Hendrick team mate to Mark and Jeff, Jimmy Johnson, will start fifth. Defending race Champion, Kasey Kahne, who brushed the wall while qualifying, will start sixth. Mike Bliss, not in the top 35 in owner points, qualified seventh, followed by Brian Vickers, Juan Pablo Montoya and former Champion, Bill Elliott, who did not have to use his Champion privisional.

Scott Riggs will start last. Tony Raines will be substituting for John Andretti in the #34 car. John is driving in the Indy 500 for Richard Petty. Joe Nemecheck, Rookie contender, Scott Speed, Dave Blaney, David Gilliland, part timer, Max Papis and A J Almendinger also made the race.

Those going home were JJ Yeley, in for Jeremy Mayfield, Mike Garvey and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers Todd Bodine and David Starr.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

I’ll see you all after the race.

Race Review: NASCAR All-Star Race

The NASCAR Sprint All-Star race starts out with the Sprint Showdown race. This is the 25th running of the All-Star race. The Sprint Showdown is two 20 lap segments with a competition caution in between segment. 20 Joey Logano gets into 83 Brian Vickers and Vickers blows a tire and is out. 12 David Stremme wins the first segment. The second 20 lap segment is Green only. There is a caution when 19 Elliott Sadler got into the wall. 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. wins the race with 26 Jamie McMurray finishing second. Both advance to the Sprint All-Star race. The fans vote puts 20 Joey Logano into the race. Last year the fan vote put Kasey Kahne into the race and he won!

48 Jimmy Johnson has the pole and picks the top side to start the race. The first segment is 50 laps with a Green Flag pitting for four tires after 25 laps. 48 leads from the pole. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and 2 Kurt Busch battle for second. 17 Matt Kenseth and 24 Jeff Gordon battle. 17 gets the spot. 48 runs away with the lead. 18 Kyle Busch gets by 88. 88 is loosing the handling. 24 is catching 2 Kurt Busch for second. 24 gets by. 2 and 24 again battle and 2 gets by.

On lap 26 they make their Green Flag pit stops. The pits are every other one. 18 Kyle Busch goes over the line and has to back up to be serviced. 99 Carl Edwards may have a loose lug nut. Something is broken on 39 Ryan Newman and he goes down a lap. 2 and 24 battle for a long time. And 48 wins the first segment. Jimmy managed to not put Newman two laps down and 39 Ryan Newman is the Lucky Dog and gets back onto the lead lap.

18 takes two tires to lead. 48 with 4 tires gets by 26  with two for third. 5 Mark Martin gets by 24 for fourth. 18 wins the second segment. And they all pit. 16 Greg Biffle was too fast. A tire got away from 11 Denny Hamlin, but they got it back before Denny left the pits. 17 Matt Kenseth stays out. And 18 looks like he’s going to pit, but stays out. 48 ends up pitting. 5 Mark Martin stays out. 48 gets into the wall.

In segment 3, lap 2 there is a caution when 16 and 77 get together, and they both get into the wall. 16 goes to the garage, as he cannot win from there. 5 gets loose. 24 goes by 17  for second. 24 drives past 18 for the lead. 11 and 88 get by 5. 5 gets into the wall. 17 and 18 battle for second. 17 finally gets by. 31 Jeff Burton goes to the garage. 2 and 18 battle for third. 2 gets by. 24 Jeff Gordon wins the third segment. And there is a ten minute break.

18 misses his pit stall when 48 wouldn’t let him by. But they come out the way they came in. At the restart, 18 goes outside, but 17 slams the door. There is a caution at the restart when 48 spins.  48 and 29 Kevin Harvick pit and will start from the rear. 18 makes it three-wide and takes the lead. 18 and 24 battle for the lead. 39, 18 and 24 make it three-wide and 18 wrecks 24. No one hits 24. At the restart 39 is smoking with a tire rub.

17 and 18 battle for the lead. 17 takes the lead. 14 gets by 18 for second. 2 gets by 18. There is a caution for debris with five to go. 48, 9 and 09 Brad Keselowski pit. They line up where they were the last lap. 14 and 18 battle and 14 gets by. 14 and 17 battle for the lead. 14 gets loose. 2 gets by 18. 14 takes the lead. 18 fades to seventh.

And 14 Tony Stewart wins his first race in his own car, even though it wasn’t a points race. It was his first All-star win. Tony normally climbs the fence when he wins, but this time his crew climbs it for him.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

Leave a comment if you liked my review.

Sprint All-Star Weekend

Welcome race fans. This is the All-Star weekend. A No Points race  for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The winners race this weekend in an all-out, no points dash for one million dollars. The winners from last year and any winners this year will compete. But first the non-winners will race each other to get into the Sprint All-Star race in the Sprint Showdown. The top two in that race will get into the Sprint All-Star race. And the fans will vote in another driver. Last year the fans voted in Kasey Kahne and he went on to win the Sprint All-Star race.

The festivities began on Thursday with the Pit Crew Challenge. Jeff Burton’s #31 team won, with Reed Sorenson’s #43 team second. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is also here at Lowes Motor Speedway. So there are three short races this weekend. The Trucks got to practice for their Friday night race. And the winners and non-winners each got in a practice session. But weather was a factor in the festivities.

The Camping World Trucks started qualifying and got half-way through before the rain came and washed it out. So they lined up according to owner points for their race. Next came the non-winners to qualify. The race they are in is the Sprint Showdown. But the rain was still there, so they will line up according to how they drew for qualifying. See, they pick a ping-pong ball with a number on it. And that decides what order they will qualify. In this case they will line up according to their draw.

Qualifying for The All-Star Race is different than regular qualifying. Normally they run two laps around the track and line up according to speed. But since this is the Sprint All-Star race, they do things different. Qualifying is three laps with a pit stop in there for four tires. This challenges the pit crew as well as the driver. There is a 20 second penalty for speeding into the pits, but none out of the pits. After the qualifying run, Officials check lug nuts to make sure they are on tight. If they aren’t, they get a 5 second penalty.

Also included in the Sprint All-Star race, are past Champions in the last ten years who did not win, and past Sprint All-Star winners from the last ten years. Bobby Labonte is the 2000 Cup Champion and qualifies for the Sprint All-Star race in his #96 car.

16 Greg Biffle had loose lug nuts and was penalized. 11 Denny Hamlin broke a drive shaft exiting the pits and posted no time. 14 Tony Stewart left the pits after changing only two tires and had to back up into the pit stall to get the other two tires on. 5 Mark Martin got loose out of the pits from the transition between concrete in the pits and asphalt on pit road. 99 Carl Edwards had loose lug nuts, as did 18 Kyle Busch. 31 Jeff Burton was caught for speeding into the pits.

After all was said and done, 48 Jimmy Johnson will sit on the pole for the Sprint All-Star race. He completed three laps and a four-tire pit stop in just over two minutes. 2:01.41, to be exact. 31 Burton, winner of the Pit Crew Challenge had the fastest pit. Too bad he was caught speeding.

Last night the Camping World Trucks competed in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200. There was a spectacular crash with 5 Mike Skinner colliding with the SAFER barrier and 11 T. J. Bell at the same time. That vaulted him onto his side and he slid like that across the track. He did land on the tires. Mike was the Points leader heading into the race. Officials had to repair the SAFER barrier. 51 Cup driver Kyle Busch knocked the leader 6 Colin Braun out of the way to send him spinning and was penalized for rough driving. Last year’s winner of this race 88 Matt Crafton took the lead after 51 was penalized. But 33 Ron Hornaday won the race. Kyle, in a Toyota, later said he couldn’t win because Chevys had more power than Toyotas. But at least he didn’t storm off this time because he didn’t win.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley. I’ll see you after the Sprint All-Star race.