Race Review: Pepsi 500

Welcome race fans to the 30th race of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, and the 4th race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The Pepsi 500 takes place at the 2 mile track now known as the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana California. Denny Hamlin in his #11 FedEx car is on the pole with a speed of 183.870. 00 David Reutimann qualified his Aaron’s Dream Machine second, but the shocks were found to be low, and will start the race in 42nd. That moves the whole outside line up, and puts #16 Greg Biffle into the second starting position. 09 is Mike Bliss, who also raced in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race on Saturday. 36 is Michael McDowell. 64 Mike Wallace and 37 Tony Raines failed to make the race. Actor Kelsie Grammer gave the command to start the engines. (This is Hollywood, after all.)

This is the first year Auto Club Speedway has been in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. They switched places in the schedule with Atlanta Motor Speedway. Atlanta gets Labor Day weekend. And the fans will not be subjected to the high heat. Hopefully, they will get a bigger crowd without the heat and in The Chase. 5 Mark Martin will be the in-race reporter. Kyle Busch, the media darling, isn’t feeling well this weekend, with flu-like symptoms. Denny got into his #18 car at the first caution in the NASCAR Nationwide race. And David Gilliland will drive his #71 car a number of laps before parking it and getting into the 18 at the first caution. 250 laps on this 2 mile track will be 500 miles.

So, here we go! 11 Denny Hamlin chooses the outside to start the race. 16 Greg Biffle battles with 11 for the lead, but 11 pulls ahead to lead from the pole. 16 Biffle and 48 Jimmy Johnson battle for second, with 48 taking the spot. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya pushes 16 to get him into the wall. 99 Carl Edwards bumps 5 Mark Martin. 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. gets loose and brushes the wall. 71 Gilliland goes to the garage so he can get out of his car and wait to get into 18. 42 goes low to get by 16. 2 Kurt Busch bounces off the wall. 48 is catching leader 11. 11 and 48 battle for the lead. 48 takes the lead. 42 gets by 11 for second. 11 and 29 Kevin Harvick battle for third. 24 and 11 battle for fourth. 7 Robby Gordon heads to his pits with his exhaust pipe hanging out. 5 and 99 battle for sixth with 5 taking the spot.

The first caution comes out during the commercial. 26 Jamie McMurray gets into the wall. He was the first car a lap down, so there is no free pass. 24 finally got around 11 for fourth. In the pits, 48 drops a lug nut and looses six spots. Kyle Busch gets out and David Gilliland gets into 18. They change tires with one to go and exit the pits in front of the pace car. 42 chooses the outside for the restart. 29 takes the lead. 11 takes the lead. 29 and 11 battle for the lead. 11 keeps the lead. 5 goes around 29 for second. 42 gets by 29 for third. 24 gets by 29. 5 and 11 battle for the lead. 5 leads that lap. 11 fights back. 5 takes the lead. 42 takes the lead during the commercial. He drove by on top. 29 and 24 battle for fifth. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is in tenth.

The second caution comes out for the right front tire blown out on 39 Ryan Newman. 1 takes two tires to lead and chooses the outside. 42 takes the lead. 11 and 5 get by 1. 88 gets by 2 for tenth. 2 and 88 battle for tenth. 2 gets back by 88. 42 is running away with the lead. 2 and 99 get together. 14 Tony Stewart gets by 99. 48 is catching the leader, 42. 42 and 48 battle for the lead. 42 keeps the lead. 42 and 48 battle side by side for the lead. 48 goes low to take the lead.

The third caution comes out during the commercial, again for debris. 82 Scott Speed is the Lucky Dog and gets back on the lead lap. 17 is too fast exiting the pits. 11 comes out first and chooses the outside. 24 takes the lead, but 11 takes it back before the Start/Finish line. 42, 5, 16 battle for position. 9 Kasey Kahne gets by 14 for thirteenth.  48 goes by 11 to take the lead. 44 A. J. Allmendinger gets loose into 98 Paul Menard. 88 started 37th and is up to sixth. 42 and 24 battle for third. 42 gets by. 43 Reed Sorenson gets by Chase contender 83 Brian Vickers. 11 and 42 battle for second. 42 finally takes second. 88 gets by 2.

And we get Green Flag Pitting once again with 48 leading. 42 leads when 48 pits. 99 leads when 42 pits. 24 leads when 99 pits. 14 leads when 24 pits. 88 comes out ahead of 2. And 48 is back into the lead. 14 is caught speeding in three spots and has to make a pass-through. 48 puts 18, now Gilliland, a lap down. 88 and 2 battle for seventh.

The fourth caution comes out during the commercial. Again for debris. 17 Matt Kenseth is the Lucky Dog and is back on the lead lap. 11 chooses the outside and blocks and spins into the infield at the restart, bringing out the fifth caution. He tried to get in front of 42, but 42 was already there. He hits the inside wall. The crew goes to work on 11. 42 chooses the inside for the restart. 48 sails by 42 on top to take the lead. 9 and 17 battle for ninth. 31 Jeff Burton, 16 and 1 are three wide. 16, 31 and 33 Bowyer are three wide. 88 and 9 battle for eighth, with 9 getting by. 47 Marcos Ambrose gets by 17 for tenth. 77 gets sideways. 14, 31, 99 battle for position. A modified 11 is back on the track. 16 gets by 17 for eleventh.

Another round of Green Flag Pitting starts with 24 laps to go. 2 leads when 48 pits. 14 leads when 2 pits. 14 finally pits with 16 laps to go. And the sixth caution comes out for debris as 14 is exiting the pits. 34 John Andretti hasn’t pitted yet and leads the race. 1 with Guitar Hero 5 on his car is in the pits with the hood up, as the car is missing and they’re trying to figure out why. 48 chooses the outside. That puts 24 on the inside, where he likes it. 24 takes the lead. They battle on the track four wide.

The seventh caution comes out with eleven to go. 2 gets into the wall, into 9. 9 spins taking 16 with him into the infield. 20 Joey Logano is the Lucky Dog, and back on the lad lap. 24 chooses the outside. 24 and 48 battle for the lead, with 48 taking the lead. 2 is smoking with a tire rub. The eighth caution comes out for many cars. And there is a Red Flag for clean up with six laps to go. 31, 44, 88, 9, 19 Elliott Sadler, 47, 83, 43 Reed Sorenson are all involved. 19 turned 88 to start it. All four Richard Petty Motorsports cars are involved. When they get going again, there will be a Green, White Checker finish.

48 chooses the inside this time, and pulls away. 2 is still smoking. 24 and 42 battle for second, with 24 keeping the spot. And 48 Jimmy Johnson wins the Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA. For a track where nothing usually happens, things sure did happen. Jimmy Johnson takes the lead in points with the win, leaving Martin 12 behind.

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Race Review: Pep Boys Auto 500

Welcome NASCAR Sprint Cup Series fans. The 25th race of the season takes place at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, GA. There is only one more race before the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins. All the drivers on the bubble to making it in will have to perform these last two races.

This race is the first one at Atlanta to be run the whole time at night. Some races here have gone on into the night because of rain. But this one is scheduled for night racing. And it should prove to be an exciting race. Atlanta Motor Speedway is 1.54 miles long and very fast.

Qualifying was on Friday, with 1 Martin Truex, Jr. grabbing the pole with a speed of 184.149. Starting on the front row is 9 Kasey Kahne. Earlier in the week, the sponsor of the 96 car decided they wanted to sponsor Erik Darnell. That left driver Bobby Labonte without a ride. But the 71 team put Bobby into their car for the seven races that Erik will be in the 96. At the same time, Bill Elliott, driver of the 21 car cracked some ribs in a dirt bike accident. So, David Gilliland, regular driver of the 71 car, will drive the 21 car. 09 is Mike Bliss. 08 is former Champion Terry Labonte, who had to use his Champion provisional to get into the race. 78 Regan Smith failed to qualify for the first race this year that he has entered. Which is a shame because 08 will start and park. 36 Patrick Carpentier and 37 Tony Raines also failed to qualify.

99 Carl Edwards broke two bones in his foot earlier, playing frisbee, so Travis Kvapil will be on stand-by, in case Carl cannot make it to the end. 99 has the Aflac Cancer Center as the sponsor with cancer victim Jamie designing the paint scheme. If Carl wins, he won’t be doing his trademark flip off his car. Carl is the in-car reporter.

So, here we go! 98 Paul Menard makes a pit stop as they go Green, with the hood up. 1 Truex, Jr. leads from the pole. 2 Kurt Busch is fast on the outside. 18 Kyle Busch gets by 24 Jeff Gordon for fifth. 18 gets by 2 for fourth. 83 Brian Vickers gets by 2. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya goes between 21 Gilliland and 99 Edwards to take the position. 55 Michael Waltrip scrapes the wall. 24 gets by 18. 17 Matt Kenseth gets into the wall. 42 and 14 Tony Stewart battle for twelfth, with 42 getting by. 24 passes 48 Jimmy Johnson for third when 48 gets loose. 83 gets by 18. They are both trying to get into The Chase.

The first caution comes out when 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. spins into the infield. 17 Matt Kenseth is the Lucky Dog and gets back on the lead lap. 9 comes out of the pits first and chooses the outside for the restart. 1 takes the lead back. 9 and 24 battle for second. 18, 24 and 48 are three-wide, with 18 taking the position. 11 Denny Hamlin gets by 24. 5 Mark Martin and 24 battle, with 5 getting by. 24 is falling back.

The second caution comes out again for 77 sliding sideways into the infield, with a flat tire. 18 comes out of the pits first and chooses the inside. 17 is making repairs. 82 Scott Speed is the Lucky Dog, and back on the lead lap. 48 is passing cars on the outside. 11 and 9 battle for position, with 9 getting by. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and 24 battle and 88 gets loose. 48 catches 18. They battle for the lead, and 48 takes the lead.

The third caution comes out for 99 smoking. Debris got onto his oil pan and he is leaking oil. They go to the garage, leaking oil, to make repairs to the radiator and oil pan. 33 Clint Bowyer gets the free pass. 17 stays out to lead a lap, then pits. 18 again comes out of the pits first. 20 Joey Logano gets by 6 David Ragan. 12 David Stremme and 00 David Reutimann battle for eleventh. 1 takes the lead. 48 and 18 battle for second. On the track, 2, 42, 43 Reed Sorenson, 29 Kevin Harvick and 83 battle each other for position.

The fourth caution comes out when something breaks in the front of 13 Max Papis and he gets into the wall hard. 18 comes out of the pits first and chooses the outside. 11 races into second place. 11 and 18 battle for the lead, and 11 takes the lead. 48 goes around 24 for third. 33 heads for the pits with a loose wheel. 48 takes the lead. 99 comes back out after repairs, 23 laps down.

The fifth caution comes out for debris. 31 Jeff Burton has a vibration and pits. 7 Robby Gordon gets the free pass. 24 comes out of the pits first and chooses the outside. 11 takes the lead. 48 gets by 18 for fourth. 24 and 11 battle for the lead. 24 takes the lead, and they battle some more. 88 is out of control. 83 passes 18 for seventh. 88 gets by 5 and 42 on the outside for fourth. 11 and 24 again battle for the lead, and 11 takes it. 24 and 29 battle for second. 29 and 11 battle for the lead. And 29 Harvick takes the lead. 83 gets by 24 for second. 17 gets by 18 for thirteenth.

29 laps pole sitter, 1. 16 Greg Biffle short pits to set in motion Green Flag Pitting. 83 leads when 29 pits. 6 is too fast. 31 is too fast. They will get a pass-through penalty. After all the pitting, 29 is back in the lead. The sixth caution caution comes out for spinning 48. 14 misses a lug nut and has to come back in. 29 comes out first and chooses the outside for the restart. 11 spins his tires, in second. 9 and 29 battle for the lead. 83 makes it three-wide to get by 17 and 18. 9 takes the lead. 9 and 29 battle again for the lead, and 29 takes it. 29 laps points leader 14.

The seventh caution comes out during the commercial. 2 gets loose into 43. 48 backs into the garage to repair an axle that broke. 83 broke his axle, but they repair it without loosing a lap. 5 gets loose in front of 88 and nearly gets into 11. 42 drives by 29. The eighth caution comes out when 20 Joey Logano gets sideways. 14 Tony Stewart gets his lap back.

9 comes out of the pits first and chooses the outside. Twenty cars are on the lead lap. Several cars get waved around before the restart. 9 and 42 battle for the lead. 42 takes the lead. 88 and 18 battle for eighth. 88 slides in front of 18. 83 gets by 18 for tenth. 18 scrapes the wall.12 and 39 Ryan Newman get by 18. 83 and 24 battle for ninth, with 83 taking the spot. 29 gets by 9 for second. 7 and 16 battle for eleventh. 16 gets loose and 7 gets by. 71 gets by 18. 29 catches leader 42. They battle for the lead, and 29 takes the lead.

6 gets sideways, but makes a nice save. 29 laps 18. The ninth caution comes out for 33 spinning into the infield. 18 Kyle Busch gets the free pass. The top five are 29, 9, 00, 42 and 11. Many cars get waved around. 29 and 9 battle for the lead. 9 takes the lead. 16 and 24 battle for eighth, with 24 getting by.

And 9 Kasey Kahne wins the Pep Boys Auto 500. This is his second win this year and it moves him up five spots into sixth. Denny Hamlin is locked into the Chase, behind Stewart, J. Gordon and Johnson. Kenseth remains in twelfth and Vickers moves into thirteenth, ahead of Ky. Busch. There were twelve different leaders.

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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.

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NASCAR’s Top 12

Finishing the NASCAR sprint Cup series in fourth place is Richard Childress Racing’s #29 Kevin Harvick. Kevin finished ahead of team mates, #07 Clint Bowyer and #31 Jeff Burton. Kevin missed the Chase in 2004 and 2005. But this was his third straight year in the Chase.

Kevin won the 2007 Daytona 500 in 2007, but hasn’t won a race since then. He was second twice in 2008 at Bristol and Miami-Homestead. Homestead being in the Chase. He had six straight top 10 finishes to climb from 13th in the points to seventh, securing himself a spot in the Chase. This is Kevin’s third straight Chase appearance.

Kevin started the Chase in eleventh place. He had three top tens in a row to start the Chase. And he never did worse than 20th at Talladega. He finished 13th twice at Lowes and Atlanta. And had seven top 10 finishes in the chase. Not bad, but not enough to win the Championship.

Kevin needs more wins all year long to be a contender in 2009. RCR is not quite there. The teams perform well, but winning takes them to the top and all three teams don’t have enough wins. Look for Kevin again in 2009. If he can win, he’ll be a challenge.

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NASCAR’s Top 12

Finishing the 2008 season in fifth place, is Richard Childress Racing’s #07  Clint Bowyer. Clint had only one win in 2008. That was the first race at Richmond. In 2007, he made it into the Chase and promptly got his first win in the first race of the Chase. Not so in 2008. Clint started the season slowly, but rallied ahead with seven straight top-10 finishes in the Spring. That put him into the top ten, but he struggled just to stay in the top twelve. Clint started and finished The Chase in Fifth place.

Clint finished all thirty-six races, completing 98.1% of the laps. During The Chase for the Sprint cup, his worse finish was 20th at Atlanta. Not bad, but not great. He finished 12th four times, and had five top ten finishes, with three top five finishes.

In 2009, Clint will move into the new RCR #33 car with sponsorship from Betty Crocker.

Clint also ran all the races in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, winning the Championship for RCR. Perhaps if concentrates on Sprint Cup in 2009, and not run all the Nationwide races, he will be a contender for the Championship. He wasn’t a threat in 2008.

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