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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NASCAR Comment Matt Kenseth

Hello, race fans! I thought I try something today. Make a comment. And I’m starting with Matt Kenseth. Matt started the Season off with a win at the Daytona 500. He then went on to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Ca. And won there! Winning the first two races of the Season has not been done since Jeff Gordon did it in 1997, when he won the Daytona 500, and then the race at Rocknigham, NC.

What I find interresting is that on the cover of NASCAR Scene was a photo of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. with the caption “Coming Clean”. That he regains respect because he admitted he was at least partially responsible for the big crash at Daytona, when Brian Vickers dove down to block Jr. and put them both below the out of bounds line. Jr. then drove back onto the tack and got into Vickers to spin him into oncoming traffic. Not the photo of Matt winning the first two races of the Season.

Last year, if you’ll recall, Matt didn’t have that good of a Season. He was without his long-time Crew Chief Robby Reiser for the first time since 1998. And he went winnless. Not like the Mr. Consistency he normally is. He even finished in eleventh place. He has not been out of the Top Ten since 2002.

In 2003 Matt won his first Championship. He was the model of consistancy all Season, but had only one win. In my opinion, that was why now NASCAR CEO, Brian France, started the Chase format for winning the Championship. He clinched the Title before the last race, despite having only one win. Now you are only crowned Champion if you do well in the last ten races. And the top 12 after 26 races are seeded in the Chase according to how many wins they had during the first 26 races. So Matt finished in eleventh place with no wins in 2008.

But this is 2009. A new year. At the Daytona 500, Matt started near the rear in his gold and black DEWALT Ford. And won the race! They went on to the Auto Club 500, and Matt won that in his black Carhart Ford, after starting in the rear. This week they go to the UAW Dodge 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, NV. He will be driving a red, white and blue USG Sheetrock Ford.

To sum up, Matt Kenseth has won the first two races of the 2009 Season with two different Sponsors. No one has ever won the first three races of a Season. And if he does, it will be with three different Sponsors. With his new Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer. (They call him the Blick. I guess the announcers have trouble pronouncing the name.) I can hardly wait for the race to start. Can he do what no one has ever done? And will he be on the cover?

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Race Review: Auto Club 500

Today’s Race Review is of the Auto Club 500 held at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Ca. This is a two mile track and they will race 250 laps. It starts at 4:00 PM Pacific time so they can start the race in the sunshine and finish it under the lights. Not the best strategy, in my opinion. 66 is now Dave Blaney. 71 last week was Mike Wallace, who didn’t make the Daytona 500. This week it is California native, David Gilliland. Five cars failed to qualify: #64 Todd Bodine, from the Camping World Truck Series, #37 Tony Raines, #51 David Starr, also from the Trucks, #73 Mike Garvey, who also failed to qualify for the Daytona 500, and #09 veteran Sterling Marlin.

The pole sitter is #83 Brian Vickers with a speed of 183.164. However, he changed his engine, and will start from the rear. Also starting from the rear with engine trouble are: 00 David Reutimann, 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and 55 Michael Waltrip. 43 Reed Sorenson crashed in practice and starts his back-up car from the rear. That puts third place 26 Jamie McMurray on the pole. The weather is overcast and it looks like rain may be a factor. In my opinion, if they started the race earlier, rain would not be a factor. Actor Hugh Laurie gives the command to start the engines.

So, here we go. 48 Jimmy Johnson leads the first lap from starting second. They are four-wide back there in the field. 18 Kyle Busch gets by 16 Greg Biffle. 2 Kurt Busch holds off brother 18 Kyle for fourth. The first caution comes out on lap 5, with 7 Robby Gordon getting into the wall. But the caution is for sprinkles. 39 Ryan Newman has lost his transponder, so he pits to get a new one, and will get his spot back. He lost his end plate on the spoiler, so he has to go back in to get a new one.

Twenty-one cars stay out on the track. The other twenty-two pit. 17 Matt Kenseth comes out of the pits first in 22nd. Several cars come back to the pits for fuel, as the dryers are still on the track. They go Green on lap 23, with 48 still leading. 29 Kevin Harvick and 42 Juan Pablo Montoya battle. 29 gets by. 2 and 18 battle some more. 24 Jeff Gordon gets by 18. 16 Greg Biffle gets by 18. 2 gets by 26 for second. 24 gets by 26 for third. 11 Denny Hamlin and 29 battle. 11 gets by. 29 and 17 battle for eleventh. 16 gets by 26. 87 Joe Nemechek is being pushed to the garage. 83 Vickers gets by 12 David Stremme for 21st.

The second caution comes out on lap 40, again for rain. This time everyone pits. Out of the pits, it’s 2 Ku. Busch, 48 Johnson, 24 J. Gordon, 16 Biffle, 6 David Ragan, 17 Kenseth, 18 Ky. Busch, 14 Tony Stewart, 26 McMurray and 11 Hamlin as the top ten.The Green Flag comes out on lap 46. 48 and 2 battle for the lead. 48 finally takes the lead. 2, 24 and 16 battle for second. 99 Carl Edwards gets 28 Travis Kvapil sideways. 00 Reutimann gets by 5 Mark Martin. 29 and 99 battle. 2 and 24 battle for second. 36 Scott Riggs, 66 Blaney and 87 Nemachek are in the garage.

24 goes to the apron to get in front of 2 for second. 14 gets by 18. 24 catches Leader 48. 20 Rookie Joey Logano, 82 Rookie Scott Speed, 71 Gilliland and 41 Jeremy Mayfield are a lap down. 16 gets by 2 for third. 48 and 24 battle for the lead. 07 Casey Mears, a lap down gets in the way, but 24 takes the lead. And now after lap 83 we get Green Flag pitting. 16 Biffle and 99 Edwards lead during the pitting. And 24 is back in the lead after everyone pits.

16 gets by 48 for second. 17 and 2 battle for fourth. 6 Ragan gets into the wall. 29 and 6 battle. 18 and 99 battle. 18 scrapes the wall. 36 Riggs is back on the track, 9 laps down. 99 and 18 battle for seventh. 99 finally gets by 18. And there is more Green Flag pitting with 130 laps or so to go. 16 beats 24 out of the pits. 24 catches 16 while 16 is in traffic. And the third caution comes out again for rain. 88 Earnhardt, Jr. stays on the lead lap and 55 Michael Waltrip gets the Lucky Dog free pass. The announcers declare 48 has lost the handle on that car. He’s all the way back to third! 42 Montoya stayed out to lead a lap. 17 Kenseth is out of the pits first to lead. They ran 96 Green Flag laps. It will be a double-file restart with 99 laps to go.

24 gets by 16 for second. 48 and 16 battle for third. 48 gets by. 48 and 24 battle for second. 48 takes second from 24. 6 Ragan is overheating. Probably trash on the grill. 48 is falling back. He popped out of gear. The fourth caution is again for rain. 5 Martin’s engine is heading south. 17, the leader pulls up to the Pace car to get rid of debris on the grill. 14 Tony stewart stays out to lead. In fact, 42, 5, 12 David Stremme, 00 and 55 all stay out because they figure the race will be called. 88 lost a cylinder. The Flag man signals two to go and those who stayed out, now pit. 83 Brian Vickers is the Lucky Dog.

They go Green with 72 laps to go. 18, 2, 6 are three-wide. 5 Martin is up in smoke. But he is on the apron and out of harm’s way, so they stay Green. 2 and 16 get by 18. 2 and16 battle for fourth. 16 gets the spot. 24 and 48 battle for second. 24 gets by. Seventeen cars are on the lead lap. 14 gets by 26 for tenth. 42 and 26 get by 29. 18 gets by 2 for fifth. 24 catches leader 17. 24 J. Gordon takes the lead. 16 gets by 17 for second. 18 and 48 battle for fourth. 48 cuts 18 off. 18 finally gets by 48 for fourth.

The fifth caution comes out during the commercial. 29 Harvick blew a right front tire and got hard into the wall. 12 David Stremme stays out to lead. Everyone else pits. 29 lost the engine before he blew the tire. 16 overshoots his pit and runs over his air hose. He has to back up before they can service him. The crew adds brake fluid to 26. Sixteen cars are on the lead lap.

They go Green with thirty-five to go. 17 Kenseth is leading. 2 gets “push loose”. 20 and 55 battle. 99 gets by 48 for sixth. 24 is catching 17, the leader. 16 gets by 48 for seventh. 16 gets by 99 for sixth. 11 gets by 2 for fourth. 8 Aric Almirola has engine trouble. 16 gets by 11 and 2 for fourth. 17 and 24 leave third place 18 seven seconds behind. 24 is smoking his tires, trying to get to 17.

17 Matt Kenseth wins the Auto Club 500. This is only the fourth time in NASCAR history that a driver won the first two races. And it was accomplished last in 1997 by Jeff Gordon, who went on to win the Championship. Also notable, Kyle Busch won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the NASCAR Nationwide Series, both on the same day, the day before. However, he fell short of all three on the same track. And Jeff Gordon is still winless. Kenseth could go on to win the first three races in Las Vegas, something that has never been accomplished.

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Race Review

Pepsi 500

Auto Club Speedway

Fontana, CA.

Welcome race fans to the twenty-fifth race of the season. 48 Jimmy Johnson starts on the pole with a speed of 180.397. 84 AJ Almendinger will start second. 8 is Aric Almirola, 96 is Ken Schrader, 00 is Mike Skinner from the Craftsman Trucks, 21 is Marcos Ambrose from the Nationwide Series and 08 is Johnny Sauter. 70 Tony Raines had to go home. That seems a little pathetic to me, as this is a two mile track and NASCAR certainly could have filled the final row. 17 Matt Kenseth is in a gold and green R&L Carriers car. 20 Tony Stewart is in a yellow and green Subway car. 99 Carl Edwards will be the in-car reporter.

So, here we go. At the start 48 and 84 are side by side around the track, with 84 leading the first lap by just a little bit. 48 takes the lead by lap two. 26 Jamie McMurray has a left front tire going down, which brings out the first caution on lap five. We go back to green on lap eight. 44 David Reutimann and 22 Dave Blaney battle for ninth. 16 Greg Biffle and 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. battle for position.    The second caution comes out when the caution lights come off the pole! Someone had gotten into the wall, and with the speeds they were going, and the wind, the lights ended up on the track. I have to wonder what kind of set-up Auto Club Speedway has for these lights if they fall off onto the track. 26 Jamie McMurray is the Lucky Dog and gets back the lap he lost with the flat tire. Everyone comes into the pits. It’s light out in California with blue skies and dark here on the East Coast, so this race feels like it was previously taped.    19 Elliott Sadler and 6 David Ragan battle for position. 84 gets by 9 Kasey Kahne for second. 9 and 83 Brian Vickers battle for third. 11 Denny Hamlin and 18 Kyle Busch battle. 11 gets by. 29 Kevin Harvick gets by 18. 11 and 29 get by 88. 88 gets back by 29 by going way up high. 83 gets by Team mate 84 for second. 84 gets back by 83. 16 gets by 83 for third.

The second caution comes out when 2 Kurt Busch blows a tire. The tire cap comes off and onto the track and 12 Ryan Newman runs into it. 2 had gotten into 1 Martin Truex, Jr. to cause the tire cap to come off.  The top ten are 48, 16, 84, 83, 88, 9, 29, 11, 17, and 20. 17 Kenseth started  in thirty-seventh. 55 Michael Waltrip and 96 were caught speeding on pit road. 29 and 84 battle for fourth. 44 gets by 18. 18 and 88 fall back to thirteenth and fourteenth. 88 gets by 18 for thirteenth. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya, 20 and 31 Jeff Burton get by 18.    The fourth caution comes out on lap 69 when 78 Joe Nemechek gets loose, tries to save it and ends up into the wall.Out of the pits, it’s 48, 16, 11, 29, 17, 99, 44, 9, 88, and 84. 19 is repairing the car. 83 had a lug nut issue. 16 and 48 battle for the lead. 08 Johnny Sauter was the Lucky Dog. 88 and 24 Jeff Gordon battle. 17 gets by 9. 20 and 31 get by 18. 83 gets by 9 for fifth. 44 and 42 battle. Lots of drivers are getting sideways, nearly into the wall. Green Flag Pitting begins with 26 and 7 Robby Gordon on lap 110. 16 leads when 48 pits. 17 leads when 16 pits. 24 leads when 17 pits. After all the Green Flag stops, 48 is back into the lead. 1 has to go back into the pits with a loose wheel. 84 is wabbling all over.    6 brushes the wall.

The fifth caution comes out during the commercial for debris. 12 Ryan Newman is the Lucky Dog, and is back on the lead lap. The race is restarted with ninety-eight to go. The sixth caution is also for debris. 16 and 99 take two tires. 12 takes two tires and gains fourteen spots. 48 gets by 83 and 22 at the restart. 48 catches the leader 16, and takes the lead.

The seventh caution is for  7. He spins out onto the grass and there is turf all over the track and on his splitter. In the pits, the jack man for the 48 gets tangled in the air hose. 44, 16, 99 and 29 take two tires to come out ahead of 48 who takes four tires. 83 looses control of a tire in the pits. 43 Bobby Labonte is the Lucky Dog. 16 takes the lead from 44. 48 takes the lead. 44 and 99 battle for fourth. 99 gets by 44. 9 gets by 18. 18 battles back. 83 and 31 battle for position.

The eighth caution comes out when they were needing to make pit stops under green, for debris from 21 when he got into the wall. 1 Martin Truex, Jr. is the Lucky Dog. 16 is leading, followed by 48, 11, 99, 29, 17, 18, 9, 44 and 07 Clint Bowyer. 48 takes the lead. 99 is falling back. 29 and 17 get by him. 99 and 17 battle. 42, 24 and 84 are three wide. 24 backs out of it. 88 gets by 12. 83 gets by 88 and 12. 16 has trash on the grill and it seems to be making him go faster, getting closer to the leader 48. But the trash falls off, and so does 16. 84 gets by 6 for thirteenth. 18 gets by 9 at the line. 48 Jimmy Johnson wins the race after leading the most laps, from the pole. This has never happened in the sixteen years NASCAR has been coming to Southern California.

Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Jimmy Johnson, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Jeff Burton and Greg Biffle are all locked in The Chase. The remainder of the twelve will be locked in at Richmond, the final race of the regular season. Kasey Kahne deserves to be in the Chase with his three wins, but is 48 points out of it. Richmond, under the lights should be an exciting race.

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