We have all heard about Michael Waltrip and how he is negative in the point standings and how he currently sits in 46th place. Yes, Mike is in deep doo doo. But all that talk got me to thinking. Who else is in line for a turn to clean the outhouse?
The most surprising name is Paul Menard. Menard is currently 43rd in the points. Who would have thought this rookie in a Dale Earnhardt Incorporated (DEI) car would be on this path? I mean, I thought anyone in a DEI car should be pretty much a shoo in to make the top 35 after 5 races. Right?
Apparently not.
Paul failed to qualify for the Daytona 500 putting himself in a deep hole. After the No. 15 Peak/Menards Chevrolet took the Green Flag for the second Duel race in 15th position, his dreams of racing in this year’s Daytona 500 ended when he finished fourth among 13 teams vying for two transfer positions. “It’s really frustrating,” Menard said. “There weren’t a whole lot of friends (out there), but we were in a good enough place to do it. We stayed out and we probably shouldn’t have but I got just really tight and didn’t really do anything.”
In Fontana, Menard finished a lap down, in 20th place, but at least his motor didn't blow up before the end of the race. That is another cause for concern. DEI team mates Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Martin Truex Jr. weren't as fortunate.
Speculation is that the engines blew as teams struggled with tuning them for the first use of unleaded fuel in Nextel Cup competition. Spark plugs are a concern. Teams may have ran their fuel too rich. Whatever, the problem DEI needs to correct it for all three of their drivers sakes.
But it will be especially critical for Menard who is a go or go home car for three more races. If he misses another race, he most assuredly will not be in the top 35 in owner points after the first five races. That could result in him struggling as a go or go home car all year. And Menard does not want to have to put up with that. Neither does DEI or PEAK or Q.
Jeff Gordon won the pole for Sunday's race in Friday's qualifying. During practice on Saturday, however, the No. 24 Chevrolet was too loose for Gordon's liking. Consequently, the team adjusted the car's suspension setup.
But the weather changed. Cloudy skies greeted fans and racers in Fontana. It was cooler Sunday. Consequently Gordon's adjustments went too far.
The mood appeared light as drivers headed into the first turn with Gordon on the pole and Kasey Kahne in second. By the time they reach Turn 2, Kahne left Gordon behind.
Jimmie Johnson started in the middle of the pack, but quickly moved up and ran his No. 48 Chevy in the top 10 most of the day.
On lap 19, David Ragan spun out, which brought out the third caution in less than 20 laps. Kahne, Kevin Harvick and Gordon were among those who pitted, giving the lead to Kyle Busch, followed by Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth. Gordon adjusted the track bar and air pressure in the tires to get the setup right, and fell as far back as 33rd place.
Kenseth, who won last year's race for owner Jack Roush, led after 125 laps, leading Gordon to the start line on the restart following a yellow flag.
Kenseth and Gordon actually touched side by side about lap 136. They've had issues before. Gordon, after getting spun out by Kenseth last year at Bristol, shoved Kenseth after the race. A few weeks later, Gordon spun out Kenseth at Chicago.
Tony Stewart had a memorable lap 144, when he was third, behind Kenseth and Gordon. Gordon went low to attempt to pass Kenseth, and Stewart went even lower to pick off Gordon in the backstretch. He then passed Kenseth before reaching the start-finish line.
At the stripe on lap 175, Kenseth remained the leader in a Ford owned by Jack Roush. Gordon was running second.
Kenseth led 133 of 250 laps, but after making a green-flag stop on Lap 196 he found himself about two seconds behind Jimmie Johnson, an El Cajon native. He might have bettered his third-place finish if not for a bit of bad luck. Johnson built a 2.6-second lead over Kenseth at the 225-lap mark, then out came a yellow flag and misfortune for the defending series champion. The reason for the yellow: Debris.
“We had a nice lead there,” Johnson said. “And then, the wonderful debris caution came out. I think we all saw it coming.”
Was Johnson questioning the validity of that yellow? You bet. “If anyone has seen the debris, I would like to know what it was,” he said. “I think they had five trucks looking for it.” It looked like a show caution to me.
All of the leaders would have had to make pit stops anyway. Now, they would all come under yellow and at the same time. Johnson took four tires, and so did Kenseth. Kenseth’s crew got it done while Johnson’s had a slight misstep and got their driver back out in the fifth spot.
When they excited the pits on lap 228, Kenseth was the new leader, followed by Jeff Burton, Harvick, Gordon and Johnson.
Harvick’s charge was blunted when David Reutimann’s crash on Lap 243 brought out a yellow and then a red flag. After a delay of just more than 15 minutes, as the field lined up for a four-lap race to the finish, Harvick had a flat left-front tire and had to pit.
That left Burton in second as the green flew, but he spun his tires on the restart and got passed by Gordon for second and Johnson for third.
Gordon finished a second ahead of teammate Johnson. Kenseth's Ford finished 0.679 of a second ahead of Gordon's Chevrolet.
"I'm very happy with that second-place finish," Gordon said. "We started on the pole and we faded early. We just overtightened the car from practice. I think the overcast really hurt us more than we thought it was going to. It took a while for us to make those adjustments, and once we did, we were a top-three or four car all day."
Gordon's finish left him third in points. "I think it's extremely important (to get off to a good start)," Gordon said. "I know it's early in the season, but we're trying to build a championship right now, not just with points, but with the team."
"It wasn't a bad day," Johnson said. "The mysterious debris caution cost us, and then we had some issues on pit road. But it was solid. We had the speed. We just had that stop at the end that kind of hurt us."
The top-five finish came at a good time for Johnson. After finishing 39th in the season-opening Daytona 500 last week, the reigning Nextel Cup champion vaulted into 15th place in the points standings with Sunday's third-place finish. "It's good to get some points back and get back going in the right direction," Johnson said.
Jack Roush was on the dais with his victorious driver, Kenseth, after Sunday's Auto Club (AAA) 500 at California Speedway, but Hendrick Motorsports had an equally successful day.
Mark Martin, who drives with Hendrick power for Ginn Racing moved to the top of the 2007 NEXTEL Cup point standings after the February 25th Auto Club 500 at California Speedway. Martin, driver of the #01 U.S. Army Chevrolet, finished 4th in the race and moved up one spot to lead the standings by 5 points over Burton. Harvick, who led the standings after last week's race, finished 17th in the race and dropped three spots to 4th in the points.
Kyle Busch finished ninth.
Oh yeah, don't forget. The fries are free at Arby's today. Just show the results of the race and thank Matt.
FONTANA, Calif. (Feb. 23, 2007) - Driving a No. 24 DuPont Cromax Pro Chevrolet, Jeff Gordon, captured his career-second pole position at California Speedway on Friday. He will lead the field to the green flag in Sunday's Auto Club 500. "This DuPont Cromax Pro Chevrolet has been awesome ever since we unloaded off the truck," Gordon said. "We do that because of a lot of hard work by the guys at the shop on this race car, from the aerodynamics to the geometry, and of course under the hood with this Hendrick Motorsports horsepower.
Riding a wave of momentum from last week's Daytona 500 runner-up finish, Mark Martin and the U.S. Army team will start Sunday's Auto Club 500 on the inside of the second row. Martin's 01 Chevrolet laid down the third fastest lap in Friday's qualifying session at California Speedway. Kasey Kahne was second at 185.519.
For a while, the accomplishments of Kyle Bush were attributed to precocious driving. His mistakes? Simply youthful error. Now, starting his third Nextel Cup season and approaching 22, Bush is ready to be judged strictly on his merits. Bush had a good week at Daytona, but a rookie-like miscue on the last lap of Sunday's Daytona 500 ruined everything he had built to that point. Bush will start 12th on Sunday and looks to have a better finish in Fontana.
Any way he slices it, life in NASCAR's fast lane can't get much better for former Riversider David Gilliland. First Gilliland, the 30-year-old who cut his racing teeth at Perris Auto Speedway and other California short tracks, outraced more veteran drivers and finished runner-up to Tony Stewart in the Bud Shootout exhibition race at Daytona International Speedway. Then he put the Robert Yates Racing M& M Ford on the pole for the Daytona 500 with a qualifying speed of 186.320 mph. In his first Great American Race, Gilliland overcame a pit-road accident and was among the leaders until the very end, when he got caught up in the multi-car pileup on the last lap. Still, he finished eighth behind Kevin Harvick.
"I thought we had it," Gilliland said after the Daytona 500. "Guys started wrecking and it kind of came away and we were going through the middle. I was in front of Harvick, and it just kind of closed in on me at the end. But an eighth-place finish after all we went through, we'll take it. We had a great car.
Now it's a homecoming of sorts for Gilliland as he prepares to run his second Nextel Cup Series race Sunday at California Speedway in Fontana. "There is no other feeling in the world like this," Gilliland said of his early-season performance. "I'm loving every minute of it."
Gilliland will also drive the No. 25 FreeCreditReport.com Ford Fusion for Team Rensi Motorsports in the Busch race this weekend. This event marks Gilliland’s first NASCAR Busch Series race at the California Speedway. “Any time I go to California Speedway it’s like going home,"Gilliland said.
"But all this must be suffered by those who profess the stern order of chivalry" Most Interesting Blog, June 16, 2008 and six other occasions. Lisa awarded him Best "breaking news" blogger March 31, 2008. Blog of The Day, Christmas Day, 2007. edhardiman wrote, "Falco's tribute to Rocket Richard reminds us all the stars of today stand on the shoulders of giants..." October 23, 2007. Three Golden Swirrly p00p Awards (Hockey, NASCAR and Use of Graphics), FlyingPig, July 18, 2007. 2007 Memorial Day Weekend Trifecta sponsored by williamwilman . Featured on WFORacingFans April, 2007. "Stylin'" award, Dusty, February 07. "One of ten new bloggers to watch" Dudski, January 2007.
