Race Review: Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500

Welcome, race fans to my version of the 35th race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season and the 9th race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 takes place at the Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, AZ. The race is 312 laps, for 500 kilometers. PIR is a one mile track called the “Jewel of the Desert”. It is also the penultimate race of the year.

Qualifying was on Friday, with Martin Truex, Jr. capturing the Coors Light Pole Award with a speed of 135.12. The great thing about it is that Kurt Busch starts second. This is the first time in NASCAR history that the #1 and #2 cars have started first and second. 71 is Bobby Labonte. He will be in that ride next year. 12 is Brad Keselowski in his new ride for 2010. 09 is David Gilliland, who is out of the 71 ride. 36 is Michael McDowell. 96 is Erik Darnell. Failing to qualify are 78 Regan Smith, 70 Kevin Conway (from the NASCAR Nationwide Series, who also raced in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Phoenix) and 02 Brandon Ash.

Three drivers were going for the trifecta at this track. Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Kevin Conway. Harvick won the Truck race, but Carl Edwards won the NNS race and Conway failed to qualify for the Sprint Cup race. Tyrese Gibson sang the National Anthem and Senator John McCain started the engines, as he was the Grand Marshall for the race. 14 Tony Stewart is the in-race reporter.

So, here we go. 2 Kurt Busch starts on the outside and leads the first lap. 07 Casey Mears locks up his breaks in front of 5 Mark Martin and gets into 14 Tony Stewart. 5 drives under 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. for seventh. 1 Truex, Jr. and 48 Jimmy Johnson battle for second, with 48 taking the spot. 5 gets by 24 Jeff Gordon for fifth. 2 starts lapping cars, and 48 catches him in traffic. 48 leads at the Line, but 2 stays ahead. 48 is persistent and takes the lead. 1 wiggles and 5 gets by for fourth. 24 gets by 1 for fifth.

16 Greg Biffle pits on lap 70 to start Green Flag Pitting. 77 gets into his pit stall sideways. 11 Denny Hamlin had a lug nut issue for a long pit stop. 39 Ryan Newman leads, then pits. 2 has a faster pit stop than 48 and leads after all the pitting. 48 takes the lead. 7 Robby Gordon and 20 Joey Logano aren’t making it easy for the leader to put them a lap down.

The first caution comes out on lap 116 for debris in turns one and two. 07 Casey Mears gets the free pass and is back on the lead lap. Everyone pits and 2 has a long stop, coming out fifth. The second caution comes out at the restart. 16 slowed down for 18 Kyle Busch spinning his tires and there is  chain reaction crashing. Involved are 96 Darnell, 55 Michael Waltrip, who got the worst of it, 7, 19 Elliott Sadler, 12, 6 David Ragan, 09 and 34 John Andretti.

For the restart, 48 chooses the outside, as there is speedy-dry on the track on the bottom. 48 pulls away. 11 drives on the outside past 5 for second. 18 gets into 24. 24 bumps 18 and gets by. 9 Kasey Kahne and 42 Juan Pablo Montoya battle for position, with 42 getting by. 44 A. J. Allmendinger and 00 David Reutimann battle side by side with 44 finally getting by. 31 Jeff Burton and 39 battle, with 31 taking the spot. 42 and 18 battle for eighth, with 42 sneaking by. 31 gets by 00. 14 Tony Stewart is very inconsistent. He started eighth and is back to 22nd.

The third caution comes out on lap 163 for debris in turn one. I think 7 Robby Gordon gets the free pass. 48 comes out of the pits first and chooses the outside. 33 Clint Bowyer is second, 11 is third. 2 takes over second. 11 gets by 33 for third. 24 and 18 battle again.

The fourth caution comes out when 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. gets sideways and they all stack up behind him. He had an oil leak that got onto his tires. Those involved are 14, 12, 20, 83 Brian Vickers, 71, 39, 17 Matt Kenseth, 82 Scott Speed and 77. 07 slides by and 29 Kevin Harvick stops. 48 chooses the outside again. 31 shuts the door on 5. 24 gets by 1. 18, 42 and 1 battle for seventh. 88 goes to the garage to see what happened. 5 finally gets by 31. 42 gets by 18. 55 is back out in a modified car. 33 and 11 battle for third. 5 catches them and drives under 33. 11 and 5 get by 2. 47 Marcos Ambrose gets by 18. 31 gets by 2 for fourth.

29 Kevin Harvick starts Green Flag Pitting once again. 17 leads, then pits. When it’s all over, 48 is back in the lead. 18 and 00 battle for eleventh, with 00 getting by. 11 is catching 48 in traffic. 31 gets by 11 for second. 16 and 9 battle for fourteenth, with 16 getting by. 1 and 33 battle for fifth, with 1 taking the position. 47 and 00 battle for tenth, with 00 taking the spot.

And points leader, 48 Jimmy Johnson wins the Checker O’Reilley Auto Parts 500. If you’ll recall, the last race in Texas saw Jimmy loose a lot of points in the Chase by being taken out on the third lap. The points leader is back in contention. He leads Mark Martin by 108 points going into the final race at Homestead-Miami next weekend. Johnson is looking to be the first driver to win four Championships in a row.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

NASCAR Racing: History Made

Welcome, race fans. This weekend NASCAR is at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. This is the penultimate race of all three series. And history was made on Friday. Twice.

Coors Light Pole qualifying took place for the Camping World Truck Series, with Johnny Sauter in the 13 truck capturing the pole with a speed of 131.019. Kevin Harvick, a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular and truck and NASCAR Nationwide Series owner started second in his own #4 truck. Mike Bliss, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch have a chance to win in all three series this weekend.

The Lucas Oil 150 took place Friday night. Kevin Harvick won the race in his own #4 truck. His driver, Ron Hornaday in the #33 only had to finish ahead of #88 Matt Crafton in this race to become the Series Champion. And he did that. Hornaday becomes the oldest champion and one of only a few to win more than three championships. This was his fourth Truck championship. The others who have four or more are Richard Petty (7), Dale Earnhardt (7) and Jeff Gordon (4). So, Harvick wins the race and his driver Hornaday wins the championship on the same night. They did simultaneous burn outs.

The Coors Light qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series also took place on Friday, with Martin Truex, Jr. capturing the pole award with a speed of 135.120. The historic part of it is that Kurt Busch starts second, making it the first time in NASCAR history that the numbers 1 and 2 start first and second.

Qualifying and racing for the NASCAR Nationwide Series takes place on Saturday. If nothing goes wrong for Kyle Busch, he will clinch the Nationwide title in the race. Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski are 20 points apart for second place. We’ll see what happens.

In the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the race on Sunday will be the penultimate race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. But the Championship will not be decided in Phoenix. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion will be crowned in the final race at Homestead-Miami.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

 

Race Review: Dickies 500

Welcome race fans to the Dickies 500 coming to you from the Texas Motor Speedway in Ft. Worth, Texas. This race is the 34th race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season and the 8th race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Texas Motor Speedway was busy this weekend, with races on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. On Thursday there was a tragedy at nearby Fort Hood. The flag is at half-mast and prayers are said for the victims and their families.

The Coors Lite Pole Award for qualifying took place on Friday, with Jeff Gordon grabbing the pole with a speed of 191.117. 02 David Gilliland made the race in the JGR fourth car. 71 is Bobby Labonte. 70 is Mike Skinner from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. 12 is Brad Keselowski in his new ride for 2010. He will be in his new ride for the last three races. 36 is Michael McDowell. 96 is Erik Darnell. 21 Bill Elliott got into the race with his former champion provisional. Not making the race are: 37 Tony Raines, 66 Dave Blaney, 13 Max Papis and 09 Mike Bliss from the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

On Friday night, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series raced. 51 Kyle Busch won that race, with 88 Matt Crafton coming in  second. Saturday, the NASCAR Nationwide Series raced, with Kyle Busch winning that race also. He’s going for the trifecta, hoping to win all three races in a weekend at one track. He tried it at Auto Club Speedway in California earlier this year, but fell short on Sunday, finishing third. He will be the first one to do so, if he can pull it off. Jeff Gordon won at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this year. Can he make a sweep?

Jimmy Johnson leads Mark Martin by 181 points heading into this race. This is the last 500 mile race of the year. The Texas Christian University marching band did an excellent job with the National Anthem. 29 Kevin Harvick is the in-race reporter. 9 Kasey Kahne starts second.

So, here we go. 24 Jeff Gordon and 9 Kahne are side by side at the start of the race. 24 leads the first lap from the pole. 2 Kurt Busch gets by 9 for second. 2 takes the lead.

The first caution comes out on lap three. 00 David Reutimann, 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. and 48 Jimmy Johnson were three wide. 00 bumped 77, which got him loose. He went up the track, into 48. 48 gets into the outside wall, down the track, into 77, spinning him, and then into the inside wall. 48 has massive damage and heads to the garage, where they will rebuild the car. The crowd cheers because the points leader is no longer invincible.

18 Kyle Busch gets by 9 for third. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. gets by 9 for fourth. 14 Tony Stewart gets by 9 for fifth. 16 Greg Biffle gets by 9 for sixth. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya drives around on the top of the track around 5 Mark Martin and they continue to battle. 5 gets back by 42. 6 David Ragan and 9 battle for thirteenth. 6 and 47 Marcos Ambrose battle side by side. 99 Carl Edwards gets by team mate 16. The leader 2 is lapping cars.

00 David Reutimann and 24 battle for third, with 00 taking the spot. 14 gets by 24 for fourth. 33 Clint Bowyer, 5 and 11 Denny Hamlin get by 16. 16 and 47 battle. 19 Elliott Sadler gets lapped and pits, starting Green Flag Pitting. 2 stays out the longest on old tires, and 18 leads after all the pitting is done. 77 gets sideways, but catches it. In the pits, 24 dropped a lug nut and had a long pit. 12 tries to stay on the lead lap, racing leader 18.

The second caution comes out on lap 87 when 77 spins out. 12 Brad Keselowski is the Lucky Dog and gets back on the lead lap. 18 chooses the outside for the restart. 14 and 2 battle for second. 26 Jamie McMurray gets loose, almost into 6. 5 and 17 Matt Kenseth battle. 42 and 24 battle for ninth, with 42 getting by. 00 and 47 battle for fourth, with 47  getting by. 5, 44 A. J. Allmendinger and 9 are three-wide. They end up 5, 44, 9. 17 gets by 9. 17 and 44 battle. 42 gets by 33 for eighth. 5 gets by 24.

48 is back on the track after one hour and eight minutes in the garage, 114 laps down. They rebuilt the car. He comes back into the pits to correct a tire rub. 47 catches second place, 2. And there is Green Flag Pitting once again. 11 leads when 18 pits. After it all, 18 is back in the lead. 24 and 99 battle. 24 and 1 Martin Truex, Jr. battle.

The third caution comes out as 1 and 24 were about to be lapped, for debris. 31 Jeff Burton gets the free pass. 47 had to back up in his pit stall to get by 39 Ryan Newman, who was gone by the time 47 backed up. The fourth caution comes out just past halfway, when 42 gets loose into 99. 99 gets into the wall. 24 gets loose and slides, trying to avoid them. 12 got into 42 to get him loose. 24 heads to the pits before they are open to fix the splitter brace.

2 chooses the outside for the restart. 18 spins the tires. 29 Kevin Harvick gets by 44. 31 gets by 16. The fifth caution comes out on lap 207. A tire goes down on 43 Reed Sorenson and he gets into the outside wall and down the track, into the inside wall. 43 heads for the garage. 6 David Ragan gets the free pass. Everyone comes to pit road. Smoke is coming from 02. 18 comes out first and chooses the inside. 47 gets by 33 for ninth. 42 is back on the track, smoking.

Once again, there is Green Flag Pitting. 18 pits and 2 leads. 2 stays out two more laps before he pits. After all the pitting, 18 is back in the lead. 18 laps 24, but 24 drives back by. 2 gets by 00 for second. Fuel is a factor in this race, with the leaders saving fuel, and not really racing, but just driving. 24 pits for fuel. 88 pits for fuel and stalls the car, loosing two laps. 18 runs out of fuel… 47 runs out of fuel.

And 2 Kurt Busch wins the Dickies 500 on fuel mileage. Kyle didn’t win the trifecta again. Kurt drives the car around the track in reverse. A lucky fan wins $1M as a result of 2 winning the race. There were only four different leaders this race.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

For NASCAR gear, see my estore

Race Review: Amp Energy 500

Welcome race fans to my NASCAR race review. The Amp Energy 500 takes place at the Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, AL. The race here is the wild card of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. At this 2.66 mile track, anything can happen, and usually does. In the drivers meeting before the race, the drivers were warned not to get too close to the car ahead in the corners. They could draft on the straight aways, but no in any of the corners. So one will no longer be allowed to push a car all the way around the track. NASCAR wants to “see daylight between the cars in all corners”. I guess so two cars working together cannot race up to the front through the pack. It made for long periods of single file racing. I don’t see what is so great about that.

Qualifying was rained out on Saturday, so they line up according to owner points. This is the 33rd race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season and the 7th race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. 96 is Erik Darnell. 09 is Brad Keselowski from the NASCAR Nationwide Series. 71 is Bobby Labonte. 36 is Robert Richardson also from the NASCAR Nationwide Series. 44 teams showed up for qualifying, but only 43 could make it. Which annoys me. Certainly at a track that is 2.66 miles long, there should be room for two in the 22nd row. Tony Raines in the 37 car bowed out of the race so that 78 Regan Smith could get that position. Regan has not entered all the races, being on a limited schedule. It was the sixth time this year that qualifying was rained out, and the second time at Talladega. 48 Jimmy Johnson has never won this race in the Fall. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is the in-race reporter.

So, here we go 48 leads from the pole. 14 Tony Stewart pushes 5 Mark Martin on the inside into the lead. 26 Jamie McMurray is on the high side, falling back. 17 Matt Kenseth leads the outside line. 31 Jeff Burton pulls in front of 17. 2 Kurt Busch takes the lead. 9 Kasey Kahne, who had to start the race from the rear after changing the engine is loosing the draft. They are three wide with 07 Casey Mears on the outside.

The first caution comes out on lap 5, when 98 Paul Menard blows a tire and gets into the wall, with 87 Joe Nemecheck getting collected. Twenty cars pit. 2 leading, chooses the inside. 99 Carl Edwards is on the outside. 99 takes the lead. 16 Greg Biffle pushes 00 David Reutimann into the lead. 2 takes the lead back. They are three wide, eight deep. 99 leads. 00 leads from the middle. 9 got back into the draft. 16 pushes 24 Jeff Gordon into the lead. 07 takes the lead on top. 39 Ryan Newman has trash on his grill, but can’t catch anyone to get it off.

They are single file all around the track. (Great idea, NASCAR, make it a parade.) 07 has trash on his grill and is starting to overheat. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya, 20 Joey Logano and 83 Brian Vickers start Green Flag Pitting. 1 Martin Truex, Jr. is too fast entering the pits. 07 is too fast exiting. They will both have to make a pass through the pits. 19 Elliott Sadler leads. 96 was too fast. 43 Reed Sorenson is pitting by himself. 31 leads. 44 A. J. Allmendinger spins into the pits. 39 leads. 14 leads. 2 spins going into the pits and causes the second caution. He slides along the infield. As the caution comes out, 48, 39, 14 and 24 are about to pit. 24 sees the light go red to close pit road and stays on the track. 48 comes in and pits. 39 and 14 go through pit road, but do not stop to pit. 2 goes two laps down, trying to repair the damage.

19 leads, with 09 beside him. 11 Denny Hamlin leads on the outside. 88 pushes 19 back into the lead, and then takes the lead. 24 takes the lead. 11 pushes 29 Kevin Harvick, then moves up ahead of 24 to take the lead. 88 pushes 29 into the lead. The announcers exclaim what a great race it is, and go to commercials. 44 and 9 get together and 9 goes down the track. 44 had to pit for trash and lost a lap.  17 leads 24 on the bottom. 44 gets a flat, maybe from contact with 9. 88 takes the lead, and they are back to three wide racing. 1 pits. 42 takes the lead. 11 pushes 29 into the lead. 42 pushes 5 into the lead.

And there is Green Flag Pitting once again. 16 has a tire unattended and must come back in. 24 gets into 07 as 07 tries to get to his first pit stall. 47 Marcos Ambrose leads. After the pit stops, 11 is back into the lead. 42 knocks 5 below the double yellow line, but 5 slows to get behind 42, and thus, no penalty.

The third caution is for debris. 16 Greg Biffle gets the free pass and is back on the lead lap. The leaders all pit. 11 takes fuel only and is out of the pits first. 00 and 47 are back in repairing damage. 11 chooses the outside. 7 Robby Gordon takes the lead. 24 pushes 31 into the lead, 31 goes high and 24 takes the lead. 11 pushes 20 Joey Logano into the lead. 88 takes the lead on top. 11 gets warned not to stay on 20’s bumper. 11, behind leader 88 pulls low and then ahead of 88 to take the lead. 24 pulls in front of 11 to take the lead.

11 pushes 18 Kyle Busch into the lead. 18 moves high. 24 pushes 31 into the lead on the bottom. 12 David Stremme leads the middle line. 31 moves high and 24 takes the lead. 2 pushes 88 up the middle. 33 Clint Bowyer gets in front of 31 on top. 29 leads. 12 leads. 07 drives low to take the lead. 88 pushes 09 into the lead.

11 is blowing up and the caution comes out for the fourth time. 2 Kurt Busch gets the free pass and is back on the lead lap. Everyone pits when 11 finally makes it to the garage. Some of the leaders come back in for more fuel. They restart with 47 to go, with 09 on the outside. 12 pushes 24 into the lead. 88 goes to the middle line. 24 on the outside, falls back.  1 takes the lead, but gets into the middle line and falls back. 9 takes the lead on the bottom, then falls back. 19 takes the lead. 42 takes the lead. They are four wide on the track. 29 pushes 31 into the lead. 26 takes the lead on the bottom. They are single file with 26 leading and 29 to go. 88 and 5 move to the bottom. 26 and 17 move to the bottom. 07 pushes 88 into the lead. 88 moves to the top in front of 26. 26 drops below in front of 88 to lead. 12 takes the lead on top. 88 gets stuck on the bottom with everyone going around him on top. 26 takes the lead.

And we get “the big one” with five to go for the fifth caution. 14 and 39 get together. 14 gets into the wall. 39 gets airborne and lands his back end upside down on the hood of 29. 47 and 19 get collected. 39 then slides on his roof up the track into the wall, and back down the track, rolls into the infield the whole time on his roof. They have to turn the car over to get Ryan out. And there is a 12:35 Red Flag for clean up. When the Red Flag is lifted, 14 pits for repairs. Many cars are running out of fuel, and they can’t go Green with all that happening. 24 gets pushed into his pit.

It will be a Green, White, Checker Finish. But as they get to the White Flag, mayhem breaks out. 83 shoves 09 into 2. 2 spins into 82 Scott Speed, 00 and 6 David Ragan. 1 clips 5 and flips him. 48 manages to get by. 26 Jamie McMurray wins the Amp Energy 500 under caution. The top ten ended up being 26, 9, 20, 16, 31, 55 Michael Waltrip, who led a lap, 19, 48(!), 09 and 88. Racing is usually crazy at Talladega, and this one was no exception. Jimmy Johnson stays in the chase lead, now 181 points ahead of Mark Martin, and 195 ahead of Jeff Gordon.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

Visit my site

NASCAR Racing:Talladega

Welcome race fans to my blog. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, AL. this weekend. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is also there this weekend. On Friday, there were two practice sessions for the Sprint Cup drivers. The Talladega race is an impound race. That means that there will be no practice after qualifying. But, instead, the cars will be impounded after qualifying and no work will be done on the cars. What they have is what they race with. But maybe they should look at this again. The trucks also qualified on Friday.

On Saturday, it is raining. So Coors Lite Pole qualifying was canceled. This means they will line up according to owner points, putting 48 Jimmy Johnson on the pole, as he is leading in the points. In my opinion, it might have been better to have had qualifying on Friday and skip Happy Hour on Saturday. But that’s just my opinion.

44 teams showed up to qualify at Talladega. But only 43 will be able to race. Seams rather silly to me, as this race track is 2.66 miles long and there is room for one more car filling the 22nd row. But I don’t make the rules. As it is, with qualifying rained out, those not locked into the top 35 in owner points get in on attempts made. Regan Smith in the 78 car is on a limited schedule and has not attempted all the races. That would put him out of this race. However, lucky for Regan, 37 Tony Raines decided to bow out of the race. Letting Regan get the final spot.

Talladega Superspeedway gives the fans a great race every time. The engines are restricted with a plate to give less horsepower and thus slow the cars down. As a result, all the cars drive at about the same speed, putting them into one big pack. To me, this is exciting. Watching them race three wide, twelve rows deep is exciting. The only problem is that when one driver makes a mistake, the whole field gets involved. As a result, there are some spectacular crashes here. I personally like the three wide racing, but don’t like to see the crashes. Many fans watch the race to see the crashes.

After Carl Edwards flew into the catch fence in the spring race, just before the Finish Line, they made the catch fence eight feet taller. So that debris wouldn’t get into the stands.

There is also a rule here and at Daytona, the other plate race, that you can’t drive below the double yellow line to make a pass. However, in my opinion, this rule needs to be tweaked. Last year Tony Stewart bumped Regan Smith below the line. Regan was supposed to give the spot back. But the Finish Line was right there. And if he had done so, he would have caused a big wreck. As it was, he didn’t win the race and was put back to the 18th position. In the Spring race this year, Dale Earnheardt, Jr. got a run on the bottom, and Brian Vickers dove down to block him, putting Jr. below the line. Jr. moved up to get back on the track and got into Brian, who got into the rest of the pack. At the end of the race, Brad Keselowski pushed Carl Edwards into the lead. When the Checkers were in sight, Brad let Carl go, to try to win the race. Carl blocked, Brad stood his ground, and Carl flew into the catch fence.

In my opinion, the double yellow line rule should not be in effect on the last lap. What a great ending it would be with the cars racing 4 or 5 wide going for the Checkers! Regan would have won his first race.  Brad could have gone below the line to avoid contact with Carl. And they could have raced to the line. Although, it seems to me that blocking is the problem, not the line. If Brian hadn’t blocked, Jr. wouldn’t have had to get back on the track. If Tony hadn’t blocked, Regan wouldn’t have been below the line and could have won. If Kyle Busch hadn’t blocked Tony, Kyle wouldn’t have crashed near the Finish line. It’s blocking that causes the crashes. In my opinion.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley

Visit my site. I’ll be back after the race.