Six favorites crashed out just 26 laps into the race at Bristol Motor Speedway, but after that everybody played nice as Brad Keselowski picked up his second Bristol trophy. Overall, the fourth race of the season gets a 3 Star Rating.
Some people might go off the edge and say Sunday’s race was boring and lacked any kind of excitement, but the race wasn’t horrible. For those who like wrecks, hopefully they tuned in early. For others who like hard, clean racing, the final 450 laps were enjoyable.
Unless track owner Bruton Smith changes his mind and decides he doesn’t like the current style of racing, the old beat-and-bang racing is gone and it’s not coming back. The funny thing is the type of racing we saw Sunday would be considered intense and exciting at almost any other racetrack. People simply have different expectations for Bristol.
However, the race doesn’t get a rating higher than a three for a reason. Keselowski had the best car of the day and drove away for the win. Matt Kenseth tried hard to keep up, but he did not have a car that handled well enough at the end to really challenge for the win. The Keselowski-Kenseth battle was actually fairly similar to the Tony Stewart-Jimmie Johnson battle a week ago at Las Vegas.
Also, many of the promos for this week’s race included old footage of wrecks and overheated drivers getting angry at each other. But the only real angry battle between two drivers at Bristol since the reconfiguration in 2007 was Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards driving into each other after the checkered flag of the 2008 night race.
Other than Busch slamming the roof of his car as he got out after his early wreck, everybody else came back to the garage peaceful and ready to pack up and head home.
That has also been the case for the entire season to date. The drivers have been incredibly level-headed to open the season. Even after questionable incidents on the track such as when Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin bumped at Las Vegas, the drivers kind of shrugged their shoulders and moved on. The same could be said after all of the wrecks during Speedweeks, as well.
I’m not saying we need to have drivers angry at each other all the time. This is a sport that doesn’t need sideshow spectacles to be entertaining. The point is this is the quietest start to a season in regards to drivers’ emotions since the famous “Have at it, boys” edict before the start of the 2010 season.
One of the most surprising aspects of the race at Bristol was how well the three Michael Waltrip Racing cars of Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr. and Brian Vickers ran, particularly Vickers.
Vickers hadn’t been in a Sprint Cup Series car since the final race of 2011 at Homestead before his Red Bull Racing team shut down. He ruffled a lot of feathers late in the season with rough driving, but he sure made the most of his opportunity Sunday in the #55 car.
Vickers led 125 laps and dominated the first half of the event. If the race had been 250 laps, he may have shocked the world and ended up in Victory Lane.
It will be interesting to see where his career heads from here on out. He has five more races this season in the #55 car and might drive his way back into a full-time ride again sooner rather than later.
So, next week NASCAR heads out to everybody’s favorite race on the schedule: the Auto Club 400 in Fontana, Calif. Last year was probably the best race at the track when Kevin Harvick passed Jimmie Johnson for the win on the final lap.
However, considering we haven’t had more than a 3 Star race yet this season, the chances of busting out the first 4 or 5 Star race at California aren’t very good.
In any case, have a great week, everybody.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
Monday Morning Crew Chief Picks: Bristol
It's time for one of the most exciting races in NASCAR: Bristol. It's the one track on the circuit where a driver can get away with having both bumpers exposed and it wouldn't even matter. Patricia and Jacob extended their lead on Terrence as Greg Biffle finished third and Carl Edwards finished 5th at Vegas.
Monday Morning Crew Chief Picks: Bristol
Patricia (Monday Morning Driver): Dale Earnhardt Jr. is finally going to victory lane this weekend. Bristol Motor Speedway is one of Jr.'s favorite tracks. Combine that with the strong start the No. 88 team has had, and you'll hear a long sigh of relief from Jr. Nation on Sunday night.
Jacob: I’m going to go a bit off the beaten path this week and choose Jeff Burton. Burton has a history of running well at short tracks and Richard Childress Racing looked good at Phoenix led by Kevin Harvick’s second-place performance. Burton also needs a standout race to kick his season in gear. After a horrible 2011, Burton is currently 15th in the points standings and needs a strong run to remind everybody that he will be a factor for a Chase spot this season.
Terrence: I'm going to go with a car that has consistently performed well at Bristol no matter the driver. That is the Blue Deuce of Brad Keselowski. Keselowski has had a solid start to the season and will have another top 10 run at the half-mile, and maybe I'll make up some ground in this thing.
Standings
1. Patricia, 9
2. Jacob, 20
3. Terrence, 39
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Chad Knaus’ suspension again delayed, but why doesn’t Jimmie Johnson still have his 25 points?
Hendrick Motorsports got the expected answer from a three-person appeals board Tuesday over its appeal of NASCAR’s penalties on the #48 team from Daytona: The penalties won’t be changed.
NASCAR had penalized the team 25 driver and owner points, fined crew chief Chad Knaus $100,000, and suspended Knaus and car chief Ron Malec for illegal C-posts on the back of the #48 car that were found during the opening inspection for Speedweeks.
Owner Rick Hendrick then filed an appeal that was finally shot down Tuesday.
But that’s not all. Hendrick has one more option, and he will use it. He will file an appeal of the appeal one level higher with the final judge on this case, John Middlebrook.
Although the next appeal doesn’t appear to be any more successful than this last one, Knaus and Malec will both still be at Bristol Motor Speedway this coming weekend. They won’t officially serve their suspensions until the horse has been beaten, buried, exhumed and buried again.
However, there is one part of the penalty that has already been enforced: the 25 points. Sure, it is easy to reverse that on the standings sheet if the next appeal is successful, but it doesn’t make sense to take away Jimmie Johnson’s points when Knaus hasn’t paid his fine or served his suspension.
Let’s say the #48 team crashed early at Bristol this week and was on the bubble of the top 35 in points that guarantee a car a spot in the race. Those 25 points could potentially make a huge difference in whether or not the team had a guaranteed spot in two weeks at Martinsville, which is when the top 35 rule goes into effect for this year’s points standings.
If the appeal isn’t heard by the April 1 race at Martinsville, Johnson could be outside the top 35 in points. But, if the appeal is later overturned, Johnson could’ve been cheated out of a spot in the Martinsville race because of points he never should’ve been docked until the final appeal was heard.
That means Johnson could miss a race because only part of the penalties were enforced after Daytona. If Knaus and Malec aren’t required to sit out races immediately following NASCAR’s announcement of the penalties, Johnson shouldn’t officially lose those 25 points until all of the appeals have been heard.
Johnson would currently be tied for 13th in the standings without the penalties, but instead he sits 23rd.
Penalties similar to this situation could also really mess up the Chase if NASCAR penalizes a team near the cutoff race in September at Richmond. If a team misses the Chase by less than 25 points but then has the appeal overturned after the Chase starts, would they be given back a Chase spot and somebody else kicked out?
There have been controversies in NASCAR before, but imagine how large this one would be.
Even though these are very hypothetical situations that are unlikely to happen this time, crazy things happen in NASCAR and one day this one could jump up and bite NASCAR pretty hard.
NASCAR had penalized the team 25 driver and owner points, fined crew chief Chad Knaus $100,000, and suspended Knaus and car chief Ron Malec for illegal C-posts on the back of the #48 car that were found during the opening inspection for Speedweeks.
Owner Rick Hendrick then filed an appeal that was finally shot down Tuesday.
But that’s not all. Hendrick has one more option, and he will use it. He will file an appeal of the appeal one level higher with the final judge on this case, John Middlebrook.
Although the next appeal doesn’t appear to be any more successful than this last one, Knaus and Malec will both still be at Bristol Motor Speedway this coming weekend. They won’t officially serve their suspensions until the horse has been beaten, buried, exhumed and buried again.
However, there is one part of the penalty that has already been enforced: the 25 points. Sure, it is easy to reverse that on the standings sheet if the next appeal is successful, but it doesn’t make sense to take away Jimmie Johnson’s points when Knaus hasn’t paid his fine or served his suspension.
Let’s say the #48 team crashed early at Bristol this week and was on the bubble of the top 35 in points that guarantee a car a spot in the race. Those 25 points could potentially make a huge difference in whether or not the team had a guaranteed spot in two weeks at Martinsville, which is when the top 35 rule goes into effect for this year’s points standings.
If the appeal isn’t heard by the April 1 race at Martinsville, Johnson could be outside the top 35 in points. But, if the appeal is later overturned, Johnson could’ve been cheated out of a spot in the Martinsville race because of points he never should’ve been docked until the final appeal was heard.
That means Johnson could miss a race because only part of the penalties were enforced after Daytona. If Knaus and Malec aren’t required to sit out races immediately following NASCAR’s announcement of the penalties, Johnson shouldn’t officially lose those 25 points until all of the appeals have been heard.
Johnson would currently be tied for 13th in the standings without the penalties, but instead he sits 23rd.
Penalties similar to this situation could also really mess up the Chase if NASCAR penalizes a team near the cutoff race in September at Richmond. If a team misses the Chase by less than 25 points but then has the appeal overturned after the Chase starts, would they be given back a Chase spot and somebody else kicked out?
There have been controversies in NASCAR before, but imagine how large this one would be.
Even though these are very hypothetical situations that are unlikely to happen this time, crazy things happen in NASCAR and one day this one could jump up and bite NASCAR pretty hard.
Monday, March 12, 2012
MMCC Power Rankings: Week 3
What a race! I think the fearless leader at the site got it wrong; that was better than 3 Stars. Anytime you get two all-time greats battling for the win is awesome.
Though you won't find a single championship among the top five in this week's POWER RANKINGS.
1. Greg Biffle (Last Week 1) – Biffle flopped a set of threes on the poker table after yet another third-place effort at Las Vegas.
2. Kevin Harvick (3) –Rode around all day at or near the top 10, finished 11th. It may not be closer-like but hey, he's second in points ... can't argue with that.
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (7) – You would have thought the leader of the most laps got a Diet Dew at the end of the race by the way Junior jumped out to that lead.
4. Denny Hamlin (1) – Text from Stewart: "Anything you can do, I can do better".
5. Carl Edwards (11) – What a terrible run for the #99 team, but a heck of a finish. Keep that up and another title chase will be likely.
6. Tony Stewart (15) – Really wanted him to say, "Here, kitty kitty kitty" again after getting to second and going for the lead.
7. Jimmie Johnson (12) – Looks like old five-time is back to his old self, now to see how the appeal turns out.
8. Matt Kenseth (3) – Should have used a bit more Zest on the outside of that car to be able to make that pass work, from fourth to 22nd in a matter of laps.
9. Jeff Gordon (12) – Had a horrible car for most of the day, but actually made it better as the day went on. That's a lot more than the Gordon-Letarte team ever did.
10. Martin Truex Jr. (7) – Starting to believe Truex Jr. when he sings about idiotic announcers in the commercial. I can't count how many times the announcers screwed up Sunday.
11. Mark Martin (5) – There is only one driver in NASCAR that could make Martin look like the villain, and that's Dale Earnhardt Jr.
12. Paul Menard (20) – Another solid run for Menard, seems to be feast or famine for the third Richard Childress Racing driver.
13. Kyle Busch (6) – Never made much noise at his hometown track. His brother, however, smacked the inside wall so hard the brother's old dirt track could feel it.
14. Joey Logano (14) – It's tough not to pull for a guy like Logano, always smiling, unlike his teammates.
15. Jeff Burton (16) – The Mayor of NASCAR was the worst of the RCR bunch and still finished 16th, those Childress cars look tough.
16. Ryan Newman (NR) – Didn't hear much about Newman all day. Then you look at the finishing order and ol' rocket man ended up fourth.
17. Regan Smith (19) – If Smith can sneak another surprising win this season, this team could sneak into the Chase.
18. Brad Keselowski (9) – Tough day for both of the Penske Racing Dodges. The 2013 season can't come soon enough.
19. Clint Bowyer (NR) – New "drinking game." Have a 5-hour energy shot every time Bowyer's commercials run during a race broadcast. #wired
20. Trevor Bayne (NR) – GET THIS MAN A SPONSOR! The 2011 Daytona 500 champion won't be racing at Bristol in either series. What a shame.
DNF: NASCAR on FOX – FOX needs to realize that social media makes broadcasting delayed. Pit stops after they happened, along with everything else, under commercial look bush league.
Though you won't find a single championship among the top five in this week's POWER RANKINGS.
1. Greg Biffle (Last Week 1) – Biffle flopped a set of threes on the poker table after yet another third-place effort at Las Vegas.
2. Kevin Harvick (3) –Rode around all day at or near the top 10, finished 11th. It may not be closer-like but hey, he's second in points ... can't argue with that.
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (7) – You would have thought the leader of the most laps got a Diet Dew at the end of the race by the way Junior jumped out to that lead.
4. Denny Hamlin (1) – Text from Stewart: "Anything you can do, I can do better".
5. Carl Edwards (11) – What a terrible run for the #99 team, but a heck of a finish. Keep that up and another title chase will be likely.
6. Tony Stewart (15) – Really wanted him to say, "Here, kitty kitty kitty" again after getting to second and going for the lead.
7. Jimmie Johnson (12) – Looks like old five-time is back to his old self, now to see how the appeal turns out.
8. Matt Kenseth (3) – Should have used a bit more Zest on the outside of that car to be able to make that pass work, from fourth to 22nd in a matter of laps.
9. Jeff Gordon (12) – Had a horrible car for most of the day, but actually made it better as the day went on. That's a lot more than the Gordon-Letarte team ever did.
10. Martin Truex Jr. (7) – Starting to believe Truex Jr. when he sings about idiotic announcers in the commercial. I can't count how many times the announcers screwed up Sunday.
11. Mark Martin (5) – There is only one driver in NASCAR that could make Martin look like the villain, and that's Dale Earnhardt Jr.
12. Paul Menard (20) – Another solid run for Menard, seems to be feast or famine for the third Richard Childress Racing driver.
13. Kyle Busch (6) – Never made much noise at his hometown track. His brother, however, smacked the inside wall so hard the brother's old dirt track could feel it.
14. Joey Logano (14) – It's tough not to pull for a guy like Logano, always smiling, unlike his teammates.
15. Jeff Burton (16) – The Mayor of NASCAR was the worst of the RCR bunch and still finished 16th, those Childress cars look tough.
16. Ryan Newman (NR) – Didn't hear much about Newman all day. Then you look at the finishing order and ol' rocket man ended up fourth.
17. Regan Smith (19) – If Smith can sneak another surprising win this season, this team could sneak into the Chase.
18. Brad Keselowski (9) – Tough day for both of the Penske Racing Dodges. The 2013 season can't come soon enough.
19. Clint Bowyer (NR) – New "drinking game." Have a 5-hour energy shot every time Bowyer's commercials run during a race broadcast. #wired
20. Trevor Bayne (NR) – GET THIS MAN A SPONSOR! The 2011 Daytona 500 champion won't be racing at Bristol in either series. What a shame.
DNF: NASCAR on FOX – FOX needs to realize that social media makes broadcasting delayed. Pit stops after they happened, along with everything else, under commercial look bush league.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Rating the Kobalt Tools 400: 3 Stars ***
Sprint Cup Series defending champion Tony Stewart capitalized on several late restarts to seal the deal in Las Vegas and assure everybody he will be a major factor in the championship again this year. Although he had a great battle with Jimmie Johnson at the end, the entire race wasn’t nearly exciting and gets a 3 Star Rating.
With so many quality teams in the sport, it is relatively rare to see two of the all-time greats get the chance to compete head-to-head on the track the way Stewart and Johnson did Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. With eight championships between them, the winner was going to know he beat the best competition on the track.
Other drivers tried to keep up throughout the race, but Stewart was solid as a rock and steadily moved to the front, while Johnson made his way to the front after starting 40th.
Johnson was actually involved in the two best battles on the track all day. He and Matt Kenseth had a terrific run in the first half of the race that usually isn’t seen at mile-and-a-half tracks until late in the race. Both battles were reminiscent of the Stewart and Carl Edwards battles at the end of last season.
For Stewart, Sunday’s win proves that he has certainly carried the momentum from winning the 2011 championship into 2012. With Steve Addington on top of the pit box this #14 team could have quite a run throughout the entire season, not just in the Chase.
The bulk of the race played out pretty much as expected. The big guns stayed at the front of the field throughout the day. However, most of the race was cleaner than expected. Minus two debris cautions and the two BK Racing engines overcooking their burgers, the Busch brothers had the only true incidents on the day. Kyle spun off of Turn 4 and Kurt wrecked coming out of Turn 2.
Other than the craziness at Daytona, the races at Phoenix and Las Vegas have been noticeably calmer than normal. Both races had large, multicar incidents last year as it seemed like drivers got acclimated to racing again for the new season. This year drivers have raced hard, but they’ve kept it clean. Nobody has even attempted a verbal throwdown in a post-race interview.
As far as the points standings are concerned, Greg Biffle took over the lead from Denny Hamlin, who had an awful day and finished 20th. This is the point in the season where the standings start to shake out and morph into how they will look for the majority of the season. Except for Mark Martin in 10th and Paul Menard in 11th, the Chase would be considered fairly normal with everybody who would receive a Chase berth.
Both Martin Truex Jr. and Joey Logano may be somewhat of a surprise sitting eighth and ninth, respectively, but these are two drivers who have run with a fully sponsored team in a large organization for several years now, and it is about time for them to consistently run near the front or go find another ride.
In any case, next week is Bristol and that is sure to stir everything up. Nothing cures a quiet start the season like a trip to Thunder Valley where a clean car at the end of the day probably means you didn’t drive it hard enough.
Have a great week, everybody.
With so many quality teams in the sport, it is relatively rare to see two of the all-time greats get the chance to compete head-to-head on the track the way Stewart and Johnson did Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. With eight championships between them, the winner was going to know he beat the best competition on the track.
Other drivers tried to keep up throughout the race, but Stewart was solid as a rock and steadily moved to the front, while Johnson made his way to the front after starting 40th.
Johnson was actually involved in the two best battles on the track all day. He and Matt Kenseth had a terrific run in the first half of the race that usually isn’t seen at mile-and-a-half tracks until late in the race. Both battles were reminiscent of the Stewart and Carl Edwards battles at the end of last season.
For Stewart, Sunday’s win proves that he has certainly carried the momentum from winning the 2011 championship into 2012. With Steve Addington on top of the pit box this #14 team could have quite a run throughout the entire season, not just in the Chase.
The bulk of the race played out pretty much as expected. The big guns stayed at the front of the field throughout the day. However, most of the race was cleaner than expected. Minus two debris cautions and the two BK Racing engines overcooking their burgers, the Busch brothers had the only true incidents on the day. Kyle spun off of Turn 4 and Kurt wrecked coming out of Turn 2.
Other than the craziness at Daytona, the races at Phoenix and Las Vegas have been noticeably calmer than normal. Both races had large, multicar incidents last year as it seemed like drivers got acclimated to racing again for the new season. This year drivers have raced hard, but they’ve kept it clean. Nobody has even attempted a verbal throwdown in a post-race interview.
As far as the points standings are concerned, Greg Biffle took over the lead from Denny Hamlin, who had an awful day and finished 20th. This is the point in the season where the standings start to shake out and morph into how they will look for the majority of the season. Except for Mark Martin in 10th and Paul Menard in 11th, the Chase would be considered fairly normal with everybody who would receive a Chase berth.
Both Martin Truex Jr. and Joey Logano may be somewhat of a surprise sitting eighth and ninth, respectively, but these are two drivers who have run with a fully sponsored team in a large organization for several years now, and it is about time for them to consistently run near the front or go find another ride.
In any case, next week is Bristol and that is sure to stir everything up. Nothing cures a quiet start the season like a trip to Thunder Valley where a clean car at the end of the day probably means you didn’t drive it hard enough.
Have a great week, everybody.
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