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.

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This Weekend In NASCAR Racing

This weekend is somewhat different than other weekends in NASCAR racing. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series had their Friday night race in Texas. It was a great race with 33 Truck drivers in the field. The dominant truck of #33 Ron Hornaday had a misque in the pits and lost a lap late in the race. In my opinion, it was a great race. #30 Todd Bodine won his record-setting fifth race at Texas Motor Speedway. And #88 Matt Crafton, who finished second took over the Points lead. He has never been in the lead in points.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series is at the Nashville Superspeedway this weekend, while the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is in Pocono, PA. That means there will be only two Cup drivers in the field for qualifying and racing tonight. I like that. So many up-and-coming drivers are going to be racing tonight.

Rain was in PA. all day Friday, so the two Cup drivers in Nationwide flew to Nashville to practice their Nationwide cars. Qualifying for the Pocono 500 was washed out, and the field will start using Owner points. That puts #14 Tony Stewart on the pole. He is the first Driver/Owner to lead the points since Allen Kulwicki did it in 1992. But that also means the Cup drivers in the Nationwide race will want to stay in PA. to practice their Cup cars instead of going to Nashville to qualify their Nationwide cars. I like that. They will have to start the race from the rear. In my opinion, that’s just how it should be. It’ll give the Nationwide drivers a chance to show their stuff. And some excitement watching the two Cup guys racing through the field. It should be an exciting race tonight.

It’s a beautiful sunny day here in southern New York, so it should be good to go in PA. Too bad Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch will be in Nashville to spoil all the fun of the Nationwide race. It would have been all Nationwide drivers racing in their own Series. Personally, I think those two should skip this race and bring the points closer. And let the Nationwide Series regulars catch up in the points. Shame on Kyle and Carl for going for two Titles! I hope the travel makes them do poorly in both Series. But that’s just my opinion.

Brought to you by Sheila Hawley. I’ll see you after the races.

Race Review: Texas Motor Spedway

Welcome race fans to the seventh race of 2009, taking place at Texas Motor Speedway in Ft. Worth, Texas. This is a fast 1.5 mile speedway. Qualifying took place on friday and 00 David Reutimann claimed the pole with a speed of 190.517. 24 Jeff Gordon will start second. Jeff has not won a race in only two tracks. Texas and Miami-Homestead. This is his seventeenth try today.

Today 09 is Mike Bliss from the NASCAR Nationwide series. 78 is last year’s Rookie of the year, Regan Smith. He is in a part time team, so has to qualify on time for all the races he is entered into. In 46 Cup races, he has not a single DNF (Did Not Finish). He finished every single race he has entered. Pretty good, if you ask me. Also in on speed is 21 Bill Elliott, who is also racing only part time. He didn’t need his Champion provisional. 13 is Max Papis, in his second oval race. 25 is Brad Keselowski, also from the Nationwide series. He finished third in the Nationwide race on Saturday after starting 42nd in a back-up car because he crashed in qualifying.

Those failing to qualify are: 87 Joe Nemechek, 41 Jeremy Mayfield, 64 Todd Bodine (from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series) and 36 Scott Riggs.

So, here we go! 24 and 00 are side by side all the way around the track, with 24 J. Gordon finally taking the lead and running away. 7 Robby Gordon slides up the track. 2 Kurt Busch and 7 get together. 99 Carl Edwards and 16 Greg Biffle battle. The announcers declare “16 is on the move” as he is up to thirteenth from starting fourteenth! 00 and 24 battle for the lead. 00 takes the lead. 17 Matt Kenseth gets by 24 for second.

24 is extremely loose. 16 gets by 48 Jimmy Johnson. 42 Juan Pablo Montoya gets by 48. 11 Denny Hamlin gets by 29 Kevin Harvick, who is loose. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. gets by 48 for twelfth. 17 and 00 battle for the lead. 17 Kenseth takes the lead. 47  Rookie Marcos Ambrose gets by 24 for sixth. 42 pits, along with 17 to start Green Flag Pitting on lap 51. 14 Tony Stewart and 18 Kyle Busch lead and then pit. 5 Mark Martin is the last to lead and pit. Lap 54 finds 17 back in the lead. 14 and 00 battle for second. 14 is catching 17. 00 and 16 battle for third. 29 has an “evil” car.

14 Stewart takes the lead during the commercial. 18, 9 Kasey Kahne and 31 Jeff Burton battle for eleventh. 9 takes eleventh. 31 and 11 Denny Hamlin get by 18. The first caution comes out on lap 97 for debris. 44 AJ Allmendinger is the Lucky Dog and gets his lap back, making it 24 cars on the lead lap. The top ten out of the pits are: 17, 16, 14, 00, 99, 6 David Ragan, 24, 98 Paul Menard, 47 and 31. 18 Kyle Busch had a lug nut hung up on a wheel. He is in 20th for the green.

9 gets by 48. 34 John Andretti and 18 tangle. Andretti didn’t want Kyle to get by and Kyle didn’t like that. So 18 gets into 34 and cuts his tire. He has to pit under green and speeds out of the pits, thus loosing two laps. 2 and 88 battle for thirteenth. 16 Biffle takes the lead during the commercial. 2 gets by 20 Rookie Joey Logano. 26 Jamie McMurray and 88 battle. 88 drives by Team Mate 5 for 14th. 24 and 00 battle for fourth. 24 gets by. 5 gets back by 88. 17 pits to start Green Flag Pitting, once again. 24 leads. 29 was too fast entering the pits and 18 was too fast exiting. 2 leads and 5 leads.

The second caution comes out when 19 Elliott Sadler gets loose and slides into the infield grass. 26 goes to the garage. 00 went over the front pit line. The Officials point this out, but they service the car anyway. He will get a drive-through penalty and loose a lap. The throttle is sticking on the 47 of Ambrose. 48 pitted three times to make corrections.

They go Green on lap 162. 55 Michael Waltrip wasn’t in line and slowed to get behind 21 Elliott. 1 Martin Truex, Jr. gets into 96 Bobby Labonte, who gets into 55. 6 Ragan and 44 Allmendinger battle for position. 16 Biffle is leading. 48 is up eight spots to eighth. 43 Reed Sorenson goes to the garage with fuel pressure issues. 14 gets by 17. 47 has carborator issues.  1, 17 and 55 pit to start Green flag Pitting again. 6 and 2 battle for fourth. 14 Stewart takes the lead. 44 is stalled on pit road. 24 leads, then pits. 88 and 5 lead and pit. 48 and 98 lead, then pit. 16 is back in the lead after all the pitting.

The third caution comes out during the commercial. 47 Ambrose lost the engine. 88 had a missing lug nut, comes back in to put it back on, misses his stall, and has to come back in. 24 and 5 stay out. 17 is first out of the pits. 99 and 14 get loose. 18 is trying to catch 24 to get a lap back. 20 gets into the wall.

The fourth caution comes out when 77 Hornish, Jr. and 33 Bowyer battle. 77 spins and 96 gets into the wall trying to avoid 77. 17 got by 5. 26 changed the transmission and is back on the track 79 laps down. 6 and 2 battle for position. 16 gets by 14 for fourth.

The fifth caution comes out during the commercial. 7 Robby Gordon blows up. 00 David Reutimann is the Lucky Dog and is now on the lead lap. 17 looses a lug nut and looses spots out of the pits. 88 Earnhardt, Jr. leads out of the pits by taking only two tires. They go Green with 76 to go. 24 takes the lead. 88 gets loose. 88 and 48 battle again. 17 gets by 83 Brian Vickers for thirteenth. 16 and 88 battle. 12 David stremme and 17 battle for twelfth. 6 is on pit road, overheating. His grill was covered with trash. 88 and 16 battle. 88 gets into the wall and has to make a Green Flag pit stop.

99 and 24 battle for the lead. And here comes 14 into the mix. 99 takes the lead when 20 gets in the way. 6 goes to the garage. 14 and 24 battle for second. 17 gets by 12 for tenth. 77 gets into the concrete wall. 12 gets  into the wall.

The sixth caution comes out when 12 gets into the wall, flattens a tire and then spins. 39 Ryan Newman is the Lucky Dog. The right tire changer for 99 is slow and he looses spots. 24 leads out of the pits. They go Green with 26 to go. It’s four-wide in turn three! 14 and 48 battle for second. 48 gets by. 17 and 16 battle around 88 for fourth. 17 finally gets by. 17 and 16 battle again. This time 16 gets by. 9 almost gets into the wall. 48 is catching 24 with four to go. 16 gets by 14 for third.

And 24 Jeff Gordon wins the Samsung 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway. This is his 82nd career win. And his first at Texas in seventeen tries. It also breaks his 47 race loosing streak. And secures himself in the top of the standings, 162 points ahead of 48 Jimmy Johnson. Hendrick Motor Sports is one and two in the race as well as in the Standings.

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Race Review

Dickies 500

Texas Motor Speedway

Ft. Worth, Texas

Welcome race fans to the thirty-fourth race of the season and the eighth race of the Chase. We finally had qualifying on Friday, and 24 Jeff Gordon starts from the pole with a speed of 188.469. This is his first pole at this track. 1 Martin Truex, Jr. starts from the outside pole. 47 is Marcos Ambrose from the NASCAR Nationwide Series driving again the car he will be in next year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. 96 is again Ken Schrader. 84 is Scott Speed again and for the rest of the season and next year. 10 is again AJ Allmendinger. 25 is Brad Keselowski also from the NASCAR Nationwide Series in a fifth Hendrick car. 21 is again Bill Elliott, who got in on speed and will not have to start last. (2)02 is Joey Logano in a fourth Joe Gibbs car. 20 Tony Stewart and 02 have reverse Home Depot paint schemes. Joey will be a Rookie in the 20 car next year.
Those that failed to qualify were: 40 Bryan Clauson, who finally got to qualify in the Guitar World Tour/Target car, 70 Tony Raines in the iQ Drive car, 45 Chad McCumbee from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in the Richard Petty Driving Experience car, (2)13 Max Papis in the Geico Toyota and 08 Johnny Sauter in the FUBAR All Natural Drink Dodge. The Texas Christian University band does a wonderful job with the National Anthem. 20 and 7 Robby Gordon are in back up cars and will start from the rear. 88 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is the in car reporter. There will be 334 laps for 500 miles.
So, here we go. 24 leads from the pole. 17 Matt Kenseth gets by 26 Jamie McMurray. 88 gets by 17 and 1. 25 scrapes the wall. 26 and 48 Jimmy Johnson battle. 07 Clint Bowyer takes the lead during the commercial. 88 gets by 24. 99 Carl Edwards and 26 battle. 26 lets 99 by and they both continue to race. 26 gets by 24. 02 is a lap down in 43rd. 26 gets by 88. 16 Greg Biffle and 42 Juan Pablo Montoya get by 48. 7 pits on lap 49 starting the first set of Green Flag Pitting. 44 David Reutimann takes the lead. 88 takes the lead, then pits. 07 is back in the lead after the pitting. 99 takes the lead.
The first caution comes out when 41 Reed Sorenson blows up on lap 57. 25 Brad Keselowski is the Lucky Dog. There are twenty-nine cars on the lead lap. The top eleven stay out. 88 had a loose wheel and needed the caution. Others follow him down pit road. 26 flies by 07. 48 is struggling for grip and is falling back. 96 in 36th battles 48 in 25th. 99 is ahead of 26 in second by 4.73 seconds. 99 puts 48 a lap down. 7 gets into the wall. 88 gets by 31 Jeff Burton. 18 Kyle Busch short pits. 8 follows and Green Flag pitting begins again. 44 leads when 99 pits. 83 Brian Vickers leads when 44 pits. 19 Elliott Sadler gets Black Flagged for a run away tire. When all stops are complete, 99 is back in the lead. There are twenty-three cars on the lead lap. 1 and 83 battle for ninth. 83 gets by. 48 gets by 01 Regan Smith.
99 having trouble lapping 2 Kurt Busch. 99 battles with 20 to put 20 a lap down, but finally gets by. The second caution is for debris. 20 Tony Stewart is the Lucky Dog. 2 and 10 get ahead of the leader, 99. 25, 38 David Gilliland and 48 are three wide. 25 gets loose and scrapes the wall. 16 and 26 battle for second. 99 puts 2 back a lap down. 31 and 8 Mark Martin battle. 8 finally gets by 31 for 15th. 83 pits and looses a lap. 6 David Ragan and 17 battle. 77 Sam Hornish, Jr. starts Green Flag pitting again on lap 199. 44 and 26 battle for third. 44 gets by 26. 16 misses pit road and has to come around again to pit. 17 gets by 6. 99 is ahead of second place by over 6 seconds. 31 races 99 to stay on the lead lap. 31 goes a lap down. 41 gets by 02 for 42nd.
The third caution comes out with 94 to go for debris. 31 Jeff Burton is the Lucky Dog. There are thirteen cars on the lead lap. 9 Kasey Kahne jumps ahead of leader 99 at the restart. You can’t do that before the line from the inside. Passing must be done from the outside. 44 and 18 battle for second. The fourth caution comes out with 88 to go when 28 Travis Kvapil spins. 25, 28 and 19 got together and spun 28. 8 Mark Martin is the Lucky Dog. There are fifteen cars on the lead lap. 88 stayed ahead of the leader and stays on the lead lap. 20 gets loose and his splitter hits the track.
The fifth caution comes out during the commercial. 42 and 38 get together several times and 38 smashes 42 into the wall. 38 and his Crew Chief get invited to the NASCAR Trailer. NASCAR is holding 38 five laps for rough driving. 2 is down a couple of cylinders. NASCAR parks 38. 6 and 17 battle for eighth. 26 took two tires and is leading. 99 gets by 1 for fourth. 10 hits the commitment cone starting Green Flag Pitting with about twenty laps to go. 16 takes the lead when 26 pits. 99 leads when 16 pits. 99, 24, 88 are one, two and three, all watching their fuel gages. 88 runs out of fuel and has to pit, and can’t get it fired up.
99 is so far ahead of second place 24 that he can coast to the finish line and many cars pass him by to get their laps back. 99 Carl Edwards wins the Dickies 500 on fuel mileage. The top twelve cars are on the lead lap. 99, 24, 26, 07, 16, 18, 29, 1, 17, 44, 6 and 8.
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