From the Crossville Chronicle - Crossville, TN Wed. Sept. 24, 2008
By Joe Dunn
As the Nascar Sprint Cup Series race number two of the Chase at Dover International Speedway in Dover, De. ended, it was Jack Roush teams 1-2-3. Last week’s winner Greg Biffle once again made a late race charge to the front with teammates Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards finishing second and third.
Kyle Busch, the hottest driver of the 2008 season has plummeted from first to last in the Chase in it’s first two weeks. At New Hampshire it was a broken sway bar and Sunday at Dover it was engine failure, leaving Busch 210 points behind the leader with 8 races left. Joining Busch in the Chase dive is Dale Earnhardt Jr. who spent the better part of the season in the top 5, his 24th place finish at Dover (3 laps) has relegated him to 9th place, 129 points behind Edwards.
Carl Edwards remains the leader going into the third race at Kansas Speedway, holding a 10 point advantage over Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle, both tied for second. Biffle who won last years race as Kansas is the favorite this week as he has come alive in the chase. Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer, all within 106 points of Edwards still have a realistic shot at being part of the mix. Matt Kenseth’s strong finish at Dover moved him up to 10th, but that still leaves him 167 points behind. He will need all top 3 finishes throughout with multiple drivers having some bad luck along the way, not a likely scenario.
A lawsuit announced a few weeks ago by Gillette-Evernham Motorsports against Robby Gordon was settled late last week. The lawsuit verified rumors earlier in the year that a merger was planned. Evernham strongly denied the rumors then, but with the Breach of Contract Lawsuit it became a public record. The plan was for Gordon to sell his entire operation at the end of the season and become a driver for GEM. It seems with the settlement that it was an avenue for GEM to back out of the deal. Robby Gordon Motorsports will be leasing engines from Penske Racing for the remainder of the season, this is a first for Penske. The strongest rumors have Gordon going back to Chevy for 2009 with a possible merger with DEI.
Rick Hendrick announced Monday that Brad Keselowski, driver of the #88 JR Motorsports, Navy Chevrolet in the Nationwide series will attempt to start two Sprint Cup races before the end of the season. Keselowski, of Rochester Hills, Mi. will drive the #25 GoDaddy.Com Chevrolet at Lowes Motor Speedway for the October 11 Bank of America 500 and the November 2, Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Kyle Busch led 157 of the 200 lap Camping World 200 Nascar Nationwide Series race Saturday at Dover with Mike Bliss finishing second followed by Brad Keselowski, Scott Wimmer and Carl Edwards. Clint Bowyer finished 10th but still holds a 186 point advantage over second place Edwards in the standings. Keselowski at third in the standings is the highest series Regular in the points.
The Nascar Craftsman Truck Series was at Las Vegas Saturday as Mike Skinner picked up his first win of the season. Points leader Johnny Benson’s day ended early with a wreck that left him 27th on the day. Benson still is the leader, but the bad finish leaves him only 1 point ahead of Ron Hornaday.
The Nascar Sprint Cup Series and the Nationwide Series both head to Kansas this week with the Kansas Lottery 300 NWS race Saturday on ESPN2 at 2pm (ct) and the Camping World 400 NSCS race Sunday on ABC at 12 noon (ct). The Craftsman truck series is off this week.
Monday, September 22, 2008
The Chase to the Sprint Cup Shakes Up the Standings
From the Crossville Chronicle - Crossville, TN Wed. Sept. 17, 2008
By Joe Dunn
What a difference the implementation of the ‘Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship’ makes after just one race. A single bad finish has dropped the leader, Kyle Busch seven places from first to eight.
Greg Biffle battled with Jimmie Johnson and managed to hold him off for the win Sunday, but can the ‘Bif’ pull off the big win this year? Biffle is a very soft-spoken driver hailing from the northwest, who has risen quietly among the leaders of the Cup series. By taking the win, he has climbed from 9th to 3rd in just one week, but this was his first win of the year. That climb, combined with the massive drop for Kyle Busch shows just how fast and drastic points can change from a single race in the Chase.
Without the chase, Busch would still be 103 points ahead of Edwards in the standings, even after the disastrous day at New Hampshire. The new system, which was the brain child of Brian France was not well received when it was introduced in 2005, but has since been accepted as ‘the way it is.’ With that acceptance, many of the old time Nascar fans are still not happy with the Chase and how it determines a champion.
Dale Earnhardt Jr managed to save the day Sunday after a bad set of tires midway through the race, but the credit must go to car owner Rick Hendrick. After the pit stop to change tires, Earnhardt quickly fell back and he echoed his displeasure to the crew via the radio. The tirade got so bad that Hendrick finally got on the radio to talk Jr down, and is credited for saving the day. This was the third race in a row that Hendrick intervened to settle down young Earnhardt and lead him to concentrate on the race rather than the problems.
As the series heads to Dover, Delaware and the monster Mile this week, the Joe Gibbs racing #18 team has it’s work ahead of them. With a 74 point deficit the team has to perform at their best level, which means they must look to lead the most laps and take the win. Even if they manage that, a strong finish for Edwards and Johnson, which should be expected, would leave the 18 team with a long road ahead. Carl Edwards is the new points leader which should surprise no one, however Jimmie Johnson is in an too familiar place tied for the lead as the Chase heads to week two. Edwards is the leader this week, but actually tied in points with Johnson, the tier breaker is the number of wins, 6 for Edwards and 4 for Johnson. This is the point where the importance of penalties rears it’s ugly head, as Carl Edwards lost that coveted 10 bonus points after the post race penalty following his win at Texas in the spring. The effects of that penalty were not as evident before as they are right now, and the chase is not where you want Jimmie Johnson breathing down your neck.
I-40 Dragway will conduct it’s weekly testing and tuning session Friday with Saturday being the Season’s Final Points race.
By Joe Dunn
What a difference the implementation of the ‘Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship’ makes after just one race. A single bad finish has dropped the leader, Kyle Busch seven places from first to eight.
Greg Biffle battled with Jimmie Johnson and managed to hold him off for the win Sunday, but can the ‘Bif’ pull off the big win this year? Biffle is a very soft-spoken driver hailing from the northwest, who has risen quietly among the leaders of the Cup series. By taking the win, he has climbed from 9th to 3rd in just one week, but this was his first win of the year. That climb, combined with the massive drop for Kyle Busch shows just how fast and drastic points can change from a single race in the Chase.
Without the chase, Busch would still be 103 points ahead of Edwards in the standings, even after the disastrous day at New Hampshire. The new system, which was the brain child of Brian France was not well received when it was introduced in 2005, but has since been accepted as ‘the way it is.’ With that acceptance, many of the old time Nascar fans are still not happy with the Chase and how it determines a champion.
Dale Earnhardt Jr managed to save the day Sunday after a bad set of tires midway through the race, but the credit must go to car owner Rick Hendrick. After the pit stop to change tires, Earnhardt quickly fell back and he echoed his displeasure to the crew via the radio. The tirade got so bad that Hendrick finally got on the radio to talk Jr down, and is credited for saving the day. This was the third race in a row that Hendrick intervened to settle down young Earnhardt and lead him to concentrate on the race rather than the problems.
As the series heads to Dover, Delaware and the monster Mile this week, the Joe Gibbs racing #18 team has it’s work ahead of them. With a 74 point deficit the team has to perform at their best level, which means they must look to lead the most laps and take the win. Even if they manage that, a strong finish for Edwards and Johnson, which should be expected, would leave the 18 team with a long road ahead. Carl Edwards is the new points leader which should surprise no one, however Jimmie Johnson is in an too familiar place tied for the lead as the Chase heads to week two. Edwards is the leader this week, but actually tied in points with Johnson, the tier breaker is the number of wins, 6 for Edwards and 4 for Johnson. This is the point where the importance of penalties rears it’s ugly head, as Carl Edwards lost that coveted 10 bonus points after the post race penalty following his win at Texas in the spring. The effects of that penalty were not as evident before as they are right now, and the chase is not where you want Jimmie Johnson breathing down your neck.
I-40 Dragway will conduct it’s weekly testing and tuning session Friday with Saturday being the Season’s Final Points race.
Monday, September 8, 2008
The Chase To The Sprint Cup Begins This Week
From the Crossville Chronicle - Crossville, TN. Wednesday Sept. 10, 2008
By Joe Dunn / joe@onpitroad.com
Jimmie Johnson wins again at Richmond and appears to be on a roll as the Chase begins this week at New Hampshire. Clint Bowyer edged out David Ragan and Kasey Kahne for the final spot in the Chase.
With the threat of Tropical Storm Hanna approaching the coast, officials at Richmond International Raceway scurried to save the race weekend. They postponed all activities from qualifying to the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races scheduled on Friday and Saturday. Instead the starting line ups were set by points with the Sprint Cup race on Sunday afternoon, followed by the Nationwide Series race.
In a 10 lap shootout at the end of the race it was Johnson inching by Tony Stewart for the win as he set the tone for his quest to claim a third Sprint Cup Championship. As expected, Dale Earnhardt Jr and Kyle Busch again raced each other hard, but this time it was Busch who spun out and took the damage, limping to a 15 place finish ahead of only one other chase contender, Matt Kenseth, who never recovered after tangling with teammate David Reagan early in the race. The debut of Joe Gibbs Racing phenom, Joey Logano slated for Richmond had to be delayed when qualifying was cancelled. One of the biggest surprises of the day was David Reutimann in the UPS car as he lead the most laps and finished 9th.
So as we head into the final ten races of 2008 here is how the field is set for The Chase:
1) #18-Kyle Busch 5080 [8 wins x 10 bonus pts]
2) #99-Carl Edwards 5050 [6 wins, 5 wins x 10 pts = 50pts*]
3) #48-Jimmie Johnson 5040 [4 wins]
4) #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. 5010 [1 win, 2nd, 3rd, 3-4ths]
5) #07-Clint Bowyer 5010 [1 win, 2nd, 3rd, 4th]
6) #11-Denny Hamlin 5010 [1 win, 7-3rds]
7) #31-Jeff Burton 5010 [1 win, 1-3rd]
8) #20-Tony Stewart 5000 [3-2nds]
9) #16-Greg Biffle 5000 [2-2nds]
10) #24-Jeff Gordon 5000 [1-2nd, 3-3rds]
11) #29-Kevin Harvick 5000 [1-2nd, 1-3rd]
12) #17-Matt Kenseth 5000 [2-3rds]
* lost the bonus for win at Las Vegas due to penalty
To start the Chase, all 12 drivers have their point totals reset to 5,000.
After the reset, Chase drivers get 10 bonus points for each victory thus far this season.
Those new totals produce the Chase seeding.
For drivers starting the Chase with identical point totals, their seeding are determined by the traditional tiebreaker of best finishes beyond race victories.
By Joe Dunn / joe@onpitroad.com
Jimmie Johnson wins again at Richmond and appears to be on a roll as the Chase begins this week at New Hampshire. Clint Bowyer edged out David Ragan and Kasey Kahne for the final spot in the Chase.
With the threat of Tropical Storm Hanna approaching the coast, officials at Richmond International Raceway scurried to save the race weekend. They postponed all activities from qualifying to the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races scheduled on Friday and Saturday. Instead the starting line ups were set by points with the Sprint Cup race on Sunday afternoon, followed by the Nationwide Series race.
In a 10 lap shootout at the end of the race it was Johnson inching by Tony Stewart for the win as he set the tone for his quest to claim a third Sprint Cup Championship. As expected, Dale Earnhardt Jr and Kyle Busch again raced each other hard, but this time it was Busch who spun out and took the damage, limping to a 15 place finish ahead of only one other chase contender, Matt Kenseth, who never recovered after tangling with teammate David Reagan early in the race. The debut of Joe Gibbs Racing phenom, Joey Logano slated for Richmond had to be delayed when qualifying was cancelled. One of the biggest surprises of the day was David Reutimann in the UPS car as he lead the most laps and finished 9th.
So as we head into the final ten races of 2008 here is how the field is set for The Chase:
1) #18-Kyle Busch 5080 [8 wins x 10 bonus pts]
2) #99-Carl Edwards 5050 [6 wins, 5 wins x 10 pts = 50pts*]
3) #48-Jimmie Johnson 5040 [4 wins]
4) #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. 5010 [1 win, 2nd, 3rd, 3-4ths]
5) #07-Clint Bowyer 5010 [1 win, 2nd, 3rd, 4th]
6) #11-Denny Hamlin 5010 [1 win, 7-3rds]
7) #31-Jeff Burton 5010 [1 win, 1-3rd]
8) #20-Tony Stewart 5000 [3-2nds]
9) #16-Greg Biffle 5000 [2-2nds]
10) #24-Jeff Gordon 5000 [1-2nd, 3-3rds]
11) #29-Kevin Harvick 5000 [1-2nd, 1-3rd]
12) #17-Matt Kenseth 5000 [2-3rds]
* lost the bonus for win at Las Vegas due to penalty
To start the Chase, all 12 drivers have their point totals reset to 5,000.
After the reset, Chase drivers get 10 bonus points for each victory thus far this season.
Those new totals produce the Chase seeding.
For drivers starting the Chase with identical point totals, their seeding are determined by the traditional tiebreaker of best finishes beyond race victories.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Jimmie Johnson Dominates at California
From the Crossville Chronicle - Crossville, TN. Wednesday Sept. 3, 2008
By Joe Dunn / joe@onpitroad.com
Heading west for the Pepsi 500 at California it looked like a two driver battle for the Championship between Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards. That attention changed as Johnson claimed victory Sunday night and moved up to third in the points.
Starting from the pole and leading 228 of the 250 laps, Johnson enjoyed huge leads throughout the race with Greg Biffle mounting the only serious challenge. On lap 163 five teams gambled on a 2 tire change which left Johnson back in 6th place. But with 4 fresh tires Johnson made quick work of them and retook the lead in two laps. The win locked Johnson into the Chase for the Nascar Sprint Cup with one race remaining before the chase begins in two weeks in New Hampshire. Also sealing berths in the Chase Sunday were Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Burton.
On Saturday night at California it was Kyle Busch dominating the Camping World RV Service 300, Nascar Nationwide race. Leading 144 of the 150 laps Busch was in command all night. Carl Edwards provided the only serious challenge but had to settle for second. Joey Logano, the youngster announced last week as next year’s replacement for Tony Stewart in the Joe Gibbs Racing Home Depot Toyota, had another strong showing finishing 6th in only his 11th start in the series.
A couple of weeks ago, I reported about Ryan Newman signing to drive for Stewart Haas Racing next year. At that time it was announced that Newman would be in the #4 car for 2009, however, Morgan McClure Racing of Abingdon, Va. Complained to Nascar that they still held rights to the number and intended to field a team again next year. Newman is now slated to be in the #39 next year. Although no official announcement has been made yet, it appears that David Stremme will replace Newman in the #12 car for Penske Racing. Nascar’s top three series head to Richmond, Va. This weekend with the Emerson Radio 250 Nascar Nationwide race Friday at 6:30pm (CT) on (SPEED TV), the Camping World 200, Craftsman Truck series race on Saturday at 1PM (ESPN2) and the Chevy Rock & Roll 400, Nascar Sprint Cup race at 6pm. (ABC)
LOCAL RACING
Crossville Raceway’s final points events of the season took place on Friday August 29th, where the 2008 Season Champions were determined as follows:
Late Model Sportsman- Brandon Williams, UMP Open Wheel Modifieds- Billy Palmer, Pro Street- Jessie Lowe, Mini Stock- Bradley Hamilton, Pure Mini- JD Rector and Cruisers- Hannah Proffitt
The first members of the Upper Cumberland Dirt Racing Hall of Fame were also inducted at a special ceremony during Friday’s intermission. Inductees are, J Paul Smith, Lloyd ’Red’ Williams, Venable Tabor and Dave Bilbrey.
I-40 Dragway will hold it’s ever popular Bounty Races to Saturday September 6 as VP Racing Fuels will guarantee a $1500 first place award. Other classes will include a $2,000 1st place for the Pro Torque Converters 4.90 index, $1,000 for the PRC Race Cars - Real Street, and $700 each for the Holeshot Wheels 6.0 Index, Mondello Tech Center 7.0 Index and the HVH Cylinder Head 8.5 Outlaw.
By Joe Dunn / joe@onpitroad.com
Heading west for the Pepsi 500 at California it looked like a two driver battle for the Championship between Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards. That attention changed as Johnson claimed victory Sunday night and moved up to third in the points.
Starting from the pole and leading 228 of the 250 laps, Johnson enjoyed huge leads throughout the race with Greg Biffle mounting the only serious challenge. On lap 163 five teams gambled on a 2 tire change which left Johnson back in 6th place. But with 4 fresh tires Johnson made quick work of them and retook the lead in two laps. The win locked Johnson into the Chase for the Nascar Sprint Cup with one race remaining before the chase begins in two weeks in New Hampshire. Also sealing berths in the Chase Sunday were Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Burton.
On Saturday night at California it was Kyle Busch dominating the Camping World RV Service 300, Nascar Nationwide race. Leading 144 of the 150 laps Busch was in command all night. Carl Edwards provided the only serious challenge but had to settle for second. Joey Logano, the youngster announced last week as next year’s replacement for Tony Stewart in the Joe Gibbs Racing Home Depot Toyota, had another strong showing finishing 6th in only his 11th start in the series.
A couple of weeks ago, I reported about Ryan Newman signing to drive for Stewart Haas Racing next year. At that time it was announced that Newman would be in the #4 car for 2009, however, Morgan McClure Racing of Abingdon, Va. Complained to Nascar that they still held rights to the number and intended to field a team again next year. Newman is now slated to be in the #39 next year. Although no official announcement has been made yet, it appears that David Stremme will replace Newman in the #12 car for Penske Racing. Nascar’s top three series head to Richmond, Va. This weekend with the Emerson Radio 250 Nascar Nationwide race Friday at 6:30pm (CT) on (SPEED TV), the Camping World 200, Craftsman Truck series race on Saturday at 1PM (ESPN2) and the Chevy Rock & Roll 400, Nascar Sprint Cup race at 6pm. (ABC)
LOCAL RACING
Crossville Raceway’s final points events of the season took place on Friday August 29th, where the 2008 Season Champions were determined as follows:
Late Model Sportsman- Brandon Williams, UMP Open Wheel Modifieds- Billy Palmer, Pro Street- Jessie Lowe, Mini Stock- Bradley Hamilton, Pure Mini- JD Rector and Cruisers- Hannah Proffitt
The first members of the Upper Cumberland Dirt Racing Hall of Fame were also inducted at a special ceremony during Friday’s intermission. Inductees are, J Paul Smith, Lloyd ’Red’ Williams, Venable Tabor and Dave Bilbrey.
I-40 Dragway will hold it’s ever popular Bounty Races to Saturday September 6 as VP Racing Fuels will guarantee a $1500 first place award. Other classes will include a $2,000 1st place for the Pro Torque Converters 4.90 index, $1,000 for the PRC Race Cars - Real Street, and $700 each for the Holeshot Wheels 6.0 Index, Mondello Tech Center 7.0 Index and the HVH Cylinder Head 8.5 Outlaw.
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