Can Anyone Beat Jimmie and Chad?

From the Crossville Chronicle - Crossville, TN October 22, 2008

By Joe Dunn
With 4 races left in the Chase for the Sprint Cup second place Greg Biffle sit 149 points behind Johnson. Unless Jimmie finishes out of the top 20 in half of the remaining races, and Biffle wins a couple, the Title is all but determined.
If he does win the Championship, this will be three in a row for Johnson and again he has had a less than stellar first 26 races. It is apparent that Jimmie and crew chief Chad Knaus have got a handle on the Chase like no other team. Like last year, they did enough through the first 26 weeks to be in place to qualify for the Chase. But once the Chase begins, they seem to kick it into overdrive and excel at the very time that matters. Are they the only team to have this figured out? It appears so, even teammate Jeff Gordon seems to be faltering at the very time that he needs to pick up the pace.
The 2008 season began with a whirlwind as Ryan Newman quickly clinched his first Daytona 500 with fellow Penske driver Kurt Bush pushing him across the line. But the fire at Penske quickly flickered as both teams steadily fell in the standings. Next came Kyle Bush, the young hothead that Rick Hendrick discarded at the end of 2007 to make room for Dale Jr. Moving over to Joe Gibbs racing and taking the 18 car, which had slide to oblivion since Bobby Labonte left the team a few years back, Kyle was looking for redemption. His star was so bright that he quickly shadowed all of the Hendrick teams as well as his own teammates at JGR. Heading into the Chase, young Bush had such an insurmountable lead that he was quickly considered a shoe for the Championship.
But the race number 27 came, and the beginning of the 10 race shootout. The Kyle Bush star all but extinguished as mechanical failures quickly moved him from the lead, to the tail and at this point with zero chance of winning. Dale Jr., whose fans longed for his comeback, looked to 2008 and HMS as his chance for redemption. Surely with the best equipment in Nascar, and the full support of HMS, he was destined for his first championship. But as the season progressed, it appeared that although he was able to run steadily up front, maintaining third in the points for a majority of the season, he was never a serious threat.
Carl Edwards was a serious threat throughout the season remaining in the number two spot for many weeks. With the beginning of the Chase, Edwards fought a touch battle to stay up front with Johnson and after week 2 took over the lead. But three straight weeks of problems pushed Carl back to where he stand now, nearly 200 points out of the lead with only 4 races left.
Like him or not, it’s about all over but the shouting as it looks to be Championship number three for Jimmie Johnson. Always a fan of the underdog, I still hope for a big surprise that will give us a NEW Champion this year, but I sure won’t hold my breath.

Jeff Burton Vaults to Second in the Chase

From the Crossville Chronicle - Crossville, TN October 15, 2008

By Joe Dunn

With a strong run in the Bank of America 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, assisted by a daring choice to stay on old tires Jeff Burton claimed his second win of the season.. The win puts Burton only 69 points behind Jimmie Johnson, who finished sixth.
It was another bad day for Carl Edwards who had ignition problems and finished 33rd. Nascar’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. joined Edwards with another bad finish after a tire went down, slamming him into the wall, finishing 36th, 45 laps down.
The series heads next to Martinsville Speedway for the Tums QuickPack 500 on Sunday October 19. The race will be televised on ABC at 2:30 pm (CT).
On the local racing scene, Crossville Raceway reopened for a One Night event at Cook & Wyatt Promotions took over the track for the First Tennessee State Championship. A nearly packed house was on hand as Super Late Model, World One Hundred winner Shane Clanton of Locust Grove, GA led all 56 laps to the checkered flag and the $6,000.00 winner’s Check. Crossville’s own Randy Weaver was in a tight battle for second with Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, GA and Clint Smith of Senoia, GA. In the end, it was McDowell second, Weaver third and Smith finishing fourth and Mike Weeks of Friendsville, TN in fifth.
Thirty Four cars from six states showed up to vie for the 24 starting positions, sending 10 cars home. Clanton was the Fast Qualifier at 12:441 seconds, and the heat winners were Brandon Kinzer of Allen, KY., Eric Jacobsen of Sea Cliffe Beach, CA. and Jake Knowles of Tyrone, GA.
In the Limited Late Model Championship, it was Greg Martin of Oliver Springs, TN. Holding off Crossville Raceway’s 2008 Champion, Brandon Williams for the $1,000.00 win. Williams of Crossville, held on for second, followed by Crossville’s Robert Edwards, Scott Shelton of Cookeville and Mark Leach of Norris, TN.
In the Pure Mini/Front Wheel Drive $300.00 to win Championship, it was Crossville’s Jason Griffith battling all the way with Cookeville’s Cameron Wilson for a close finish. Jeff Lippre of Knoxville, finished third, with Debbie Singleton of Lenoir City, and Robert Stone of Crossville, rounding out the top five.
Crossville Raceway was sold recently to a couple of gentlemen from the Knoxville area. The plans as of now call for about 6 or 8 Special Event Races in 2009. I will be meeting with the new owners shortly and will give the Crossville race fans an update on the future of the track.

Stewart Takes First Win at Talladega

From the Crossville Chronicle - Crossville, TN October 8, 2008

By Joe Dunn

Tony Stewart has finished second at Talladega six times, but6 never won there, until Sunday. But the win came amid a flurry of controversy over a last lap pass below the yellow.
As many of the Chase contenders ended their day early after the big wreck started with Carl Edwards getting loose and turning teammate Greg Biffle. When the carnage came to stop, it was all over for Edwards, Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. With his 9th place finish, Jimmie Johnson secured a 68 point lead over Carl Edwards.
But the biggest story Sunday was about who Nascar declared the winner, after Regan Smith beat Stewart to the Finish Line. On the last lap Smith was pressing on the back bumper of Stewart’s Toyota, looking for a chance to get by. Coming to the front stretch, Smith faked high and Stewart bit, moving up. Smith then shot low, got his bumper under Stewart, but as Tony dove back down to block he clearly forced Smith below the yellow line. Being already there, Smith powered on by Stewart and crossed the line first. It was a short lived celebration as NASCAR ruled that Smith passed illegally below the Yellow Line. The win was awarded to Stewart and Smith issued a penalty that resulted in an 18th place finish.
Interviewed after the race, Smith explained that his understanding from the pre race Driver’s meeting was that on the last lap, with the Checkered Flag in sight, “Anything goes”. Nascar disagreed. According to the rules, a driver at Daytona and Talladega, cannot go below the yellow line and advance his position. It is further understood that if a driver is ‘Forced’ below the line, the pass is legal. All replays of the race show that Stewart clearly did force Smith below the line, but Nascar’s Jim Hunter insisted that Smith was NOT forced down. This will go down in history as a ‘tainted’ win for Stewart.
Nascar heads home to Charlotte this week for the Bank of America 500 Nascar Sprint Cup race on Saturday night, 6 PM on ABC and the Nascar Nationwide Series, Dollar General 300, Friday night at 6:30PM on ESPN2.

Wyatt Builders Racing Inc. is joining forces with Ray Cook Racing LLC to host the Tennessee State Championship for Super Late Model Dirt Racing. The $6,000.00 to win ($530.00 to start) event will be held on Saturday October 11 at Crossville Raceway.
In addition to the Super Late Model race, they plan to run the Limited Late Model/Sportsman/Crate cars for a $1,000.00 to win race. A $300.00 to win Pure Mini/Front Wheel Drive will complete the show. Gates will open at 2:00 pm with hot laps at 6:00 pm.

Edwards Provides the Most Exciting Finish of the Year

From the Crossville Chronicle - Crossville, TN October 1, 2008

By Joe Dunn

In a desperate move to take the win from Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards had the fans on their feet as he swept low into turn three on the final lap and blasted past leader Johnson.
The pass was amazing, except for the fact that he ran out of race track as his momentum slammed his Ford into the outside wall. Carl recovered, but not before Johnson squeezed by. Not about to give up, Carl again dove low attempting to catch Jimmie before the finish line, but came up short.
The pass will no doubt be seen as a highlight addition to racing shows for years to come. The last lap made this the most exciting race of the year for the Nascar Sprint cup series. The pass that didn’t follow through was joined on that last lap as Greg Biffle seemed to come out of nowhere to take third place away from Jeff Gordon at the line.
Johnson’s win, along with leading the most laps, pushed him past leader Edwards to take a 10 point advantage over Carl. Biffle remains in third, 30 points behind the leader. The points difference jumps to 121 for 4th place Jeff Burton. Another bad finish for Kyle Busch leaves the Hot Shoe of the regular season in the Chase basement in 12th place, 311 points behinds Johnson. That places the expected front runner all but eliminated from any chance for the championship. Busch is not alone as it seems that all of the Joe Gibbs cars are suffering in the chase. Another lack luster finish for Nascar’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. leaves him in 8th place 190 points behind.
The Cup series heads to Talladega this week for the AMP Energy 500, Sunday at Noon (ct) on ABC. The Nascar Nationwide Series is off this week as the Nascar Craftsman Truck Series joins the Cup teams at Talladega for the Mountain Dew 250 Saturday at 2:30 Pm (ct) on Speed.

An announcement was made this week by Ronnie Wyatt of Wyatt Builders of Crossville. Wyatt Builders Racing Inc. is joining forces with Ray Cook Racing LLC to host the Tennessee State Championship for Super Late Model Dirt Racing. The $6,000.00 to win ($530.00 to start) event will be held on Saturday October 11 at Crossville Raceway.
In speaking of the event, Wyatt stated “Having been involved in dirt racing since 1986 and enjoying the sport as I do, I have for some time wanted the opportunity to promote a racing event, I guess that time has come. I have asked our good friend Ray Cook to join Brett and I in bringing the largest Super Late Model show to Crossville Raceway since late 2006.”
Wyatt and Cook are leasing the track for this one time event, with hopes of making it an annual event. In addition to the Super Late Model race, the plan to run the Limited Late Model/Sportsman/Crate cars for a $1,000.00 to win race. A $300.00 to win Pure mini/Front wheel drive will complete the show. Gates will open at 2:00 pm with hot laps at 6:00 pm. I will have more information next week, as well as news of a possible sale of the local track.