By Joe Dunn
As the NASCAR Sprint Cup teams arrived for work Sunday morning at Phoenix International Raceway, for the Kobalt Tools 500, they were greeted by something familiar from home on the east coast. The garage opened this morning at 7AM local time as the sun was barely visible and the thermometer was hovering at the 40 degree mark. But by the time the green flag dropped at 2:18 PM we were all reminded that we are here in the desert with a bright sun and 70 degrees. This was ideal weather for the fans and the teams alike, except of course for the #71 team and driver Brendan Gaughan. On the second lap, Gaughan had a right front tire go down sending him into the outside wall with heavy damage. The TRG crew worked on the #71 car, but the front end damage was too severe for them to fix. The car was loaded up and readied to limp back home.
The angels were not looking over Brad Keselowski either as he cut down a right front tire on lap 58 sending the #12 Dodge into the outside wall resulting in heavy damage. After being treated and released from the infield care center, Brad headed to the garage to watch his crew working feverishly to rebuild the right front of his car.
On lap 101 with Denny Hamlin leading the race, the third caution of the day came out for debris. Seems that an errant water bottle splashed all over Jimmie Johnson’s windshield. As the field pitted the top 5 were Edwards, Hamlin, Kurt Busch, and Tony Stewart. It was speculated that Jamie McMurray was the guilty water bottle thrower, but he did get that needed lucky dog to put him back on the lead lap. Hamlin wasted no time retaking the lead from Edwards after the restart.
By lap 200 the #12 team had given up the battle and loaded up the car for the long ride home. The result for Brad Keselowski will be a 42nd place finish, heading into the final race. On the track, Denny Hamlin continued to pace the field under green until the caution flew one more time on lap 222 as Robby Gordon spun in turn three. In the ensuing pit stops, Kyle Busch and his crew outperformed the 11 crew and took over the lead. Harvick was forced to return to pit road for a missing lug nut which resulted in restarting 18th.
On the restart, Hamlin rocketed past Kyle to retake the lead. On lap 223 it was Hamlin, Edwards, Busch, Johnson and Newman rounding out the top five. The green flag run was short lived as Travis Kvapil spun out on the front stretch on lap 235. On lap 266 Carl Edwards squeezes past Hamlin to retake the lead, and two laps later Edwards has an 8/10th second lead over Hamlin. Montoya passes Jimmie Johnson for fourth and Ryan Newman joins in passing JJ for 5th place. By lap 278 Harvick had worked his way up to 12th and was threatening.
With 22 laps to go, Hamlin was looking for a caution, constantly telling his spotter there was debris. Obviously NASCAR and many of the other teams saw no debris, in addition Johnson was too short of fuel to make it. Meanwhile Gil Martin had told was Harvick he had just enough gas to finish the 312 laps. On lap 296 Chad Knaus was telling JJ to start conserving fuel. Jimmie asked how much and Chad told him that he would tell him how fast to drive.
On lap 300 Hamlin could wait no more and was forced to pit, barely able to return to the lead lap. Meanwhile Edwards continued his charge up front while Johnson was slowing and holding onto 5th place. Harvick moved up to 7th and Chad ordered JJ to cut all the fans and not use the brakes at all. With 5 laps to go Johnson was told to do whatever to keep Harvick behind him, as Johnson slipped to 6th with Harvick right behind him.
On the final lap, Montoya runs out of gas as Edwards wins the Kobalt Tools 500, with Ryan Newman 2nd , Logano 3rd with Johnson and Harvick finishing top 5. Denny Hamlin finished 12th while Montoya managed to finish on the lead lap in 16th place.
As the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to their final race at Homestead, Denny Hamlin leads the Championship points 15 points ahead of Johnson, with Harvick 3rd, 46 points behind Johnson.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Edwards victorious at Phoenix
By Joe Dunn
With two racing remaining in the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series some teams and drivers were searching for solution for 2011. Entering the Wypall 200 at Phoenix International Raceway Brad Keselowski and the Penske/ Discount Tire #22 team already have the driver’s championship locked up. The only other top fight is between that #22 team and the Joe Gibbs Racing #18 team for the owners championship. Gibbs was leading entering this race.
From the drop of the green flag, and even before, it was obvious that Carl Edwards wanted this win bad. He battled early in the race with Joey Logano, who led 23 laps early in the race. Up front for the first 100 laps it was Edwards, Kyle Bush, Kevin Harvick, Justin Allgaier and Logano.
With 50 laps remaining in the race the top 5 battling were Edwards, Bush, Harvick, Keselowski and Logano. With 30 laps to go Bush was forced to pit for a cut rear tire change, no caution came out and he went down a lap to the leaders. Although he fought hard to regain ground and made his way to the first cart none lap down, the needed caution was not forthcoming. Kyle did manage to get past the leader to finish on the lead lap, but at 16th place, the last car on the lead lap, the hopes of the owners championship for Joe Gibbs Racing is all but a memory.
In the closing laps it was Edwards out front with a commanding 4.5 second lead over second place Kevin Harvick. Carl would come home the winner once again, followed across the line by Harvick, Logano, Keselowski and Sorenson in fifth. Rounding out the top 10 were Almirola, Stenhouse Jr., Allgaier, Braun and Steven Wallace 10th.
Trevor Bayne, who had to qualify on speed in the RFR unsponsored #17 car started 9th and remained in the top 15 most of the day. His intention is to turn laps as he hopes to maintain his championship points position after being released by Diamond-Waltrip Racing. Racing smart, with no real points battle in sight, Bayne brought the #17 home in 14th place, giving Roush Fenway racing five cars in the top 15 for the day.
The fight on the other end of the spectrum included a few teams with their eyes on the top 30 points position. That’s the elusive number to get your car locked into the first five races of 2011. Those teams in the battle include the #70 of ML Motorsports and driver’s Shelby Howard and Mark Green. Howard only runs a 22 race schedule, but a partnership agreement between ML Motorsports and Jay Robinson Racing provides the 70 car with more equipment and a second driver in David Green. It’s a strange situation since Howard replaced Green as the primary driver for ML after 4 races in 2009. The 70 came to PIR in 30th, 101 points ahead of the 81 team. The 35 of Mark Smith and the 23 of Robert Richardson were only 41 points ahead of the 70.
The tension for that coveted 30 spot heated up on lap 20 of this race as Mark Green and the #70 car headed for the garage with a ‘blowed up’ transmission and engine. The folks back at ML Motorsports got a sigh of relief as the #81 car finished 26th keeping the #70 locked in the field going into the final race at Homestead.
For Indycar star, Danica Patrick this was another day of over exaggerated media coverage, a bit of almost racing, a bit of beating and banging and of course the obligatory whining. The final result for Danica was in line with her previous 10 races, finishing seven laps down in 32nd place.
With two racing remaining in the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series some teams and drivers were searching for solution for 2011. Entering the Wypall 200 at Phoenix International Raceway Brad Keselowski and the Penske/ Discount Tire #22 team already have the driver’s championship locked up. The only other top fight is between that #22 team and the Joe Gibbs Racing #18 team for the owners championship. Gibbs was leading entering this race.
From the drop of the green flag, and even before, it was obvious that Carl Edwards wanted this win bad. He battled early in the race with Joey Logano, who led 23 laps early in the race. Up front for the first 100 laps it was Edwards, Kyle Bush, Kevin Harvick, Justin Allgaier and Logano.
With 50 laps remaining in the race the top 5 battling were Edwards, Bush, Harvick, Keselowski and Logano. With 30 laps to go Bush was forced to pit for a cut rear tire change, no caution came out and he went down a lap to the leaders. Although he fought hard to regain ground and made his way to the first cart none lap down, the needed caution was not forthcoming. Kyle did manage to get past the leader to finish on the lead lap, but at 16th place, the last car on the lead lap, the hopes of the owners championship for Joe Gibbs Racing is all but a memory.
In the closing laps it was Edwards out front with a commanding 4.5 second lead over second place Kevin Harvick. Carl would come home the winner once again, followed across the line by Harvick, Logano, Keselowski and Sorenson in fifth. Rounding out the top 10 were Almirola, Stenhouse Jr., Allgaier, Braun and Steven Wallace 10th.
Trevor Bayne, who had to qualify on speed in the RFR unsponsored #17 car started 9th and remained in the top 15 most of the day. His intention is to turn laps as he hopes to maintain his championship points position after being released by Diamond-Waltrip Racing. Racing smart, with no real points battle in sight, Bayne brought the #17 home in 14th place, giving Roush Fenway racing five cars in the top 15 for the day.
The fight on the other end of the spectrum included a few teams with their eyes on the top 30 points position. That’s the elusive number to get your car locked into the first five races of 2011. Those teams in the battle include the #70 of ML Motorsports and driver’s Shelby Howard and Mark Green. Howard only runs a 22 race schedule, but a partnership agreement between ML Motorsports and Jay Robinson Racing provides the 70 car with more equipment and a second driver in David Green. It’s a strange situation since Howard replaced Green as the primary driver for ML after 4 races in 2009. The 70 came to PIR in 30th, 101 points ahead of the 81 team. The 35 of Mark Smith and the 23 of Robert Richardson were only 41 points ahead of the 70.
The tension for that coveted 30 spot heated up on lap 20 of this race as Mark Green and the #70 car headed for the garage with a ‘blowed up’ transmission and engine. The folks back at ML Motorsports got a sigh of relief as the #81 car finished 26th keeping the #70 locked in the field going into the final race at Homestead.
For Indycar star, Danica Patrick this was another day of over exaggerated media coverage, a bit of almost racing, a bit of beating and banging and of course the obligatory whining. The final result for Danica was in line with her previous 10 races, finishing seven laps down in 32nd place.
Friday, November 12, 2010
2010 winding down looking gloomy
By Joe Dunn
As teams and driver’s in NASCAR’s number two and three series arrive at Phoenix looking past the final two races, things are not looking rosy.
I caught up with some of the players in the garage at PIR to ask how they see 2011 shaping up. In the NASCAR Nationwide Series there is a lot of uncertainty for sure. Kenny Wallace announced earlier in the year that depending on how he performs in 2011, it may be his final curtain for NASCAR as a driver. I had heard earlier in the month of changes coming to Jay Robinson Racing for next year, including the possible shuttering of the #28 team. When I spoke with Kenny at PIR he was pretty blunt. “ I am embarrassed, I can’t run another season in cars with no power. I don’t know right now what the answer is, but we can’t keep doing this.”
If Kenny is looking for another ride for 2011, the pickings are slim. RCR announced earlier that they will not return to the series in 2011 and have an arrangement to turn the #21 over to Morgan Shepherd. But folks inside the Shepherd camp admit that it is getting harder and harder to keep showing up at the track week in and week out with little to no sponsorship money. Add that sponsor problem to the cost of building all new cars for next year, combined with the ‘purse’ cuts in 2010 and more cuts in line for 2011, and it spells more doom and gloom. The day of the single car teams is looking dim and could provide little more than start and park teams.
While the larger operations, such as Roush Fenway, Joe Gibbs, and Hendrick/JR Motorsports have room to work with Cup revenue and sponsor exposure with their Cup drivers, these smaller one and two car teams are in a real bind. ML Motorsports, out of Indiana is another single car team that could be promising with driver Shelby Howard. For 2010, they teamed up in a partnership with Jay Robinson Racing and driver Mark Green to fill in for the races other than the 22 Howard runs. This effort has pushed the #70 team into the top 30 and a guaranteed starting spot each week, and will lock them in for the first five races of 2011. But the uncertainty at Jay Robinson Racing may put that program in jeopardy for next year.
A few weeks back Diamond Waltrip Racing released promising developmental driver Trevor Bayne. Wasting no time, RFR signed the talented young Knoxville, TN driver and placed him in a spare car in the NNS for the final races. In a surprise move, RFR made a deal to put Bayne in the legendary Wood Brothers #21 Sprint Cup car at Texas Motor Speedway. An impressive Bayne finished on the lead lap consistently running along side seasoned veterans in the series. That race earned Bayne NASCAR’s approval to attempt the 2011 Daytona 500. Now NS or will this signal the release of Ricky Stenhouse of Colin Braun?
At about the same time, leading rookie of the year contender Brian Scott was released from his ride after Braun Racing sold out to Turner Racing. Scott managed to stay running and continue to compete for the ROTY honors. He is driving in the 09 RAB racing car now but has signed on with Joe Gibbs Racing for 2011. When Scott moved into the 09 car the team had gone through a myriad of drivers and musical crew members. With Scott came the switch to Toyota and the question now becomes, will the 09 team become part of JGR, with RAB leaving the series?
The Nationwide teams are not alone as the Camping World Truck Series also has a lot of teams in financial straights. Danny Gill, who started to the season with two trucks in the opening race at Daytona, both finishing in the top 10. He had kept both teams in the top 25 in points until the lack of sponsorship forced him to pull the #95 truck from contention. Struggling each week, Gill managed to keep his #46 team locked in, but he was running out of money. A few weeks ago Eddie Sharp Racing made a deal for the #46 team for some of their developmental drivers. The Sharp deal brought in new Toyota Trucks to use. NASCAR veteran Steve Park took the wheel of the #46 truck at PIR.
When I spoke with Gill On Pit Road at Phoenix, he confided that he simply ran out of money. He has sold the #46 ‘team’ to ESR who be buying all new Toyota trucks from Kyle Bush Motorsports in 2011. The physical assets of the #46 team have been sold to another individual and the Gill Motosports shop in Murfreesboro, TN will be closed by the end of November.
Truck Series Rookie contender Jennifer Jo Cobb who entered the series this year with financing from her own clothing line told me that she is uncertain at this point what the future holds. She attempted a handful of Nationwide races this year with the intention to go full time in 2011 in that series, but wrecked cars and no sponsor money ended that quest. “ There will be no idea of a full time Nationwide run next year” she told me Friday night before her truck race. “ At this point, I don’t know what we will be doing next year, except that I will tell you that I will be at Daytona. After that, it depends on sponsorship.”
As teams and driver’s in NASCAR’s number two and three series arrive at Phoenix looking past the final two races, things are not looking rosy.
I caught up with some of the players in the garage at PIR to ask how they see 2011 shaping up. In the NASCAR Nationwide Series there is a lot of uncertainty for sure. Kenny Wallace announced earlier in the year that depending on how he performs in 2011, it may be his final curtain for NASCAR as a driver. I had heard earlier in the month of changes coming to Jay Robinson Racing for next year, including the possible shuttering of the #28 team. When I spoke with Kenny at PIR he was pretty blunt. “ I am embarrassed, I can’t run another season in cars with no power. I don’t know right now what the answer is, but we can’t keep doing this.”
If Kenny is looking for another ride for 2011, the pickings are slim. RCR announced earlier that they will not return to the series in 2011 and have an arrangement to turn the #21 over to Morgan Shepherd. But folks inside the Shepherd camp admit that it is getting harder and harder to keep showing up at the track week in and week out with little to no sponsorship money. Add that sponsor problem to the cost of building all new cars for next year, combined with the ‘purse’ cuts in 2010 and more cuts in line for 2011, and it spells more doom and gloom. The day of the single car teams is looking dim and could provide little more than start and park teams.
While the larger operations, such as Roush Fenway, Joe Gibbs, and Hendrick/JR Motorsports have room to work with Cup revenue and sponsor exposure with their Cup drivers, these smaller one and two car teams are in a real bind. ML Motorsports, out of Indiana is another single car team that could be promising with driver Shelby Howard. For 2010, they teamed up in a partnership with Jay Robinson Racing and driver Mark Green to fill in for the races other than the 22 Howard runs. This effort has pushed the #70 team into the top 30 and a guaranteed starting spot each week, and will lock them in for the first five races of 2011. But the uncertainty at Jay Robinson Racing may put that program in jeopardy for next year.
A few weeks back Diamond Waltrip Racing released promising developmental driver Trevor Bayne. Wasting no time, RFR signed the talented young Knoxville, TN driver and placed him in a spare car in the NNS for the final races. In a surprise move, RFR made a deal to put Bayne in the legendary Wood Brothers #21 Sprint Cup car at Texas Motor Speedway. An impressive Bayne finished on the lead lap consistently running along side seasoned veterans in the series. That race earned Bayne NASCAR’s approval to attempt the 2011 Daytona 500. Now NS or will this signal the release of Ricky Stenhouse of Colin Braun?
At about the same time, leading rookie of the year contender Brian Scott was released from his ride after Braun Racing sold out to Turner Racing. Scott managed to stay running and continue to compete for the ROTY honors. He is driving in the 09 RAB racing car now but has signed on with Joe Gibbs Racing for 2011. When Scott moved into the 09 car the team had gone through a myriad of drivers and musical crew members. With Scott came the switch to Toyota and the question now becomes, will the 09 team become part of JGR, with RAB leaving the series?
The Nationwide teams are not alone as the Camping World Truck Series also has a lot of teams in financial straights. Danny Gill, who started to the season with two trucks in the opening race at Daytona, both finishing in the top 10. He had kept both teams in the top 25 in points until the lack of sponsorship forced him to pull the #95 truck from contention. Struggling each week, Gill managed to keep his #46 team locked in, but he was running out of money. A few weeks ago Eddie Sharp Racing made a deal for the #46 team for some of their developmental drivers. The Sharp deal brought in new Toyota Trucks to use. NASCAR veteran Steve Park took the wheel of the #46 truck at PIR.
When I spoke with Gill On Pit Road at Phoenix, he confided that he simply ran out of money. He has sold the #46 ‘team’ to ESR who be buying all new Toyota trucks from Kyle Bush Motorsports in 2011. The physical assets of the #46 team have been sold to another individual and the Gill Motosports shop in Murfreesboro, TN will be closed by the end of November.
Truck Series Rookie contender Jennifer Jo Cobb who entered the series this year with financing from her own clothing line told me that she is uncertain at this point what the future holds. She attempted a handful of Nationwide races this year with the intention to go full time in 2011 in that series, but wrecked cars and no sponsor money ended that quest. “ There will be no idea of a full time Nationwide run next year” she told me Friday night before her truck race. “ At this point, I don’t know what we will be doing next year, except that I will tell you that I will be at Daytona. After that, it depends on sponsorship.”
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