Hey Race Fans!

As many of you know, I will be in the garages again for the Talladega race weekend courtesy of Miller Lite Racing.   I am there representing the fans and this is your chance to send me any questions you have about the No. 2 team or NASCAR in general.     Ask your question in the comments below and I will do my best to get you the answers here in this blog next week.

A few topics to consider...

Last weekend at Kansas, the Miller Lite Dodge was the first to try out Dodge's new engine.   Here is a portion of the Dodge PR statement:

The Dodge R6P8 engine made its Sprint Cup Series debut this weekend at Kansas Speedway. Has it been a normal evolution process?
Delahanty: “Our teams started working with the new engine early in the calendar year (2008). It started with engines on the dynamometer followed by mid-week testing with the engines in actual racecars. This weekend marks the first time that a Dodge team (#2 Kurt Busch/ Miller Lite Dodge from Penske Racing) has rolled it out for Sprint Cup competition. It’s the normal evolution, not just an engine, of any type of new part or technology we introduce into the sport.

How long has the engine been used in cars for mid-week testing?
Delahanty: “Penske Racing has actually been running the engine in cars in mid-week testing for several months. They have done the development, the durability testing and are now confident the new R6 is reay for racetrack competition on Sunday.              

What is the status of the progress by other teams with the R6P8 engine?
Delahanty: "Our other teams are following a parallel course with Penske. They have the R6 engines in the development phase building power and also out in the mid-week test vehicles running durability laps. It’s not clear yet how soon the other teams will roll the new engine out in competition. As we’ve said in the past, it’s quiet. That’s a good sign. It will be a period time before the engine is fully phased in because of the number of engines required. Another factor, the R5 (current engine) is a proven durable piece. The new motor is good. The current motor is still good too.”

What is your assessment of the debut of the new engine?
Delahanty: “We are pleased with the initial on-track performance of the new engine. This is another step in the development process toward full implementation during the 2009 season, well ahead of the 2010 mandate from NASCAR.”  (Dodge Motorsports PR--9-29-2008)

Also, there appears to be a rumor flying around NASCAR that Rusty Wallace, who retired in the No. 2 car in 2005, may return to racing...

Finally, check out my latest article interviewing the Car Chief, Corey Tucker on the Miller Lite Racing team here:  http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/8627428a>

Let me know if you have any questions and look for reports from the garages to start on Friday.  

Welcome to the Miller Lite Racing More 2 It Debate Blog!

We all know there has been a lot of debate whether the "classic" points system or the new "chase" points system is better for crowning the NASCAR Champ.    Take a look at the stats below, courtesy of Jayski.com, comparing the '2' systems and tell us which one you prefer and why.  

UNOFFICAL Classic Drivers Points Standings [after Dover race 28 of 36]:
1) #99-Carl Edwards 3978 [6 wins]
2) #18-Kyle Busch 3978 -33 [8 wins]
3) #48-Jimmie Johnson 3916 -95 [4 wins]
4) #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. 3739 -272 [1 win]
5) #31-Jeff Burton 3682 -329 [1 win]
6) #16-Greg Biffle 3660 -351 [2 wins]
7) #29-Kevin Harvick 3572 -439
8) #20-Tony Stewart 3562 -449
9) #24-Jeff Gordon 3493 -518
10) #11-Denny Hamlin 3422 -589 [1 win]
11) #07-Clint Bowyer 3390 -621 [1 win]
12) #17-Matt Kenseth 3355 -656
13) #9-Kasey Kahne 3262 -749 [2 wins]
14) #6-David Ragan 3227 -784

UNOFFICIAL Chase Drivers Points Standings [after Dover race 28 of 36]:
1) #99-Carl Edwards 5390 [6 wins]
2) #48-Jimmie Johnson 5380 -10 [4 wins]
3) #16-Greg Biffle 5380 -10 [2 wins]
4) #31-Jeff Burton 5308 -82 [1 win]
5) #29-Kevin Harvick 5289 -101
6) #07-Clint Bowyer 5284 -106 [1 win]
7) #20-Tony Stewart 5277 -113
8) #24-Jeff Gordon 5272 -118
9) #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. 5261 -129 [1 win]
10) #17-Matt Kenseth 5223 -167
11) #11-Denny Hamlin 5197 -193[1 win]
12) #18-Kyle Busch 5180 -210 [8 wins]

Also be sure to check out my latest Miller Lite Racing behind the scenes article here:

http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/8595666

Hey Race Fans!

Here are the last three pictures for you to Guess the Car Part/Equipment....personally, I think your creative answers are WAY better than what these actually are, so have fun with it!  These are probably the easiest of the bunch.

1.  Yes, I know this is a BRUSH...what is it for?

2.  A rare shot...

3.  "2" in every car!

And for the bonus..."Caption This!"   Here you see Kurt reading a yellow slip of paper during Happy Hour--Oh the things it could say! 

Finally, be sure to check out the Miller Lite Racing Ultimate Race Town Map for more of my behind-the-scene's articles with the Miller Lite team!  You will find race day reports up there, in-depth articles with Kurt's crew and other interesting tidbits I learn in the garages.

http://msn.foxsports.com/millerlitemapp>

 

Hey Race Fans...

Back by popular demand...Here are some more car parts or pieces of equipment from the Miller Lite Dodge.   Can you figure out what they ARE and what they DO?  

(BTW- You can still "cheat" by clicking on the picture and getting the name of the photo...SO DON'T!!!)

1. 

2. 

3.  What is JP looking at and what is he doing?

4. 

GOOD LUCK!

Hi Race Fans!

As many of you know I was in the garage at the Fontana race with our favorite Brew Crew!  I was able to get a few answers to your questions so let's get to those.

First, from HOTFOOTLORI- who asked how long it took to build an engine and how it is tested before it gets to the track.    JP, the Miller Lite Engine Tuner answered:  The engines are built in 3 days from absolute beginning to end.  In a smaller shop, you could build an engine in about 8 hours but because Penske has the resources, they test every part and really take their time.   The engine parts are tested thoroughly before the engine is assembled.  Once the engine is assembled the engine is dyno tested only.    The Penske Dodge engines go through about 50 "cycles" on the engine dyno and then another 25 cycles on a chassis dyno before the engine is put in the Miller Lite machine and they head to a racetrack near you...

I asked Stump, the hauler driver about the accident the Penske IRL hauler had coming out to Infineion two weeks ago.  He said:  They think a wheel bearing broke and got too hot. Apparently, it was too dark for the drivers to see the smoke coming from the wheel, then the seal broke and they lost all the grease, then the tire caught on fire.  Once the tire caught, it is very diifcult to put out burning rubber and the entire hauler started up in flames.  It melted the race cars inside, because they are made with a lot of plastic.   It was a total loss."    Stump and his wife and partner in crime were making their last trip out West for this year and were not looking forward to a LONG 42 hour drive back to North Carolina after the late ending to the race on Sunday.  They were hoping to miss the hurricane to get back to the shop in time to get the cars loaded and off to Richmond on Thursday. 

And finally, lets get to something fun...here are a few more pictures of the Miller Lite Brew Crew just begging to be captioned! 

"Guess the Car Part" will return next time...

Hey Race Fans,

I will be in the garage again this weekend at Fontana with the Miller Lite team so if you have any questions for them or about NASCAR in general put them in the comments and check back here for the answers!

Also be sure to check out my weekly insider articles on the Miller Lite Map:    http://msn.foxsports.com/millerlitemap

Ok, onto some more car parts/equipment to guess...Try these!

1.

2.

3.

4.

 

Tell me what these parts or equipment are and/or what they are used for!  #2 is really difficult--I want what the wood is used for not the jack...

Hey Race Fans!

Sorry for the lag in blog posts, as most of you know I was at the Michigan race and was able to get some of your questions answered.    I wasn’t able to get any time with Kurt so those questions will have to wait until this weekend when I am back in the garage at California.    Here are some of the answers:

Photogr asked:  On the heads combustion chambers. Do they still grove the heads to get a better fuel air ratio mixture. The rougher the cut, the more the turbulence. The denser the mixture, the hotter the combustion. Thus more power from the engine.  JP, the Miller Lite engine tuner, said no, this is old technology now.

You might want to ask them about dialing in the cams to get more or less timing for the higher RPMS. Do they have any secrets on that set up.   JP said “no, they run a machine ground strap now…”

Another question is can they use any electrical set ups to re*tard the timing at Top RPMs to pick up more speed. Now this one has a lot to do with the cam profile so it might be a mute point.   JP said “we don’t but you could do that.”

Hanahan asked:  My question would be for the over the wall guys...Is it that big of a deal? Did you practice pitting the car like that last week before the race? Have you ever made any mistakes because of pitting in the opposite direction?   Larry Robinett, the rear tire carrier, said they only practiced for 3 days at the shop because they didn’t really want to get out of their regular rhythm too much just for one race.  Despite not having any problems pitting the car, the change slowed their stops by several seconds.  The biggest problem was for the rear tire changer Travis, and Larry to avoid the gas man and catch can man.  They were definitely happy to be back to pitting “normally” again.  

 

Tyler asked: Last year you brought a dominant car to Michigan, but that was the Car of Yesterday. Is there any way you can transfer that success from the Car of Yesterday to the Car of Today?   Corey Tucker, the car chief said one of the main problems with the COT setup is that the COT has a much higher center of gravity and the car is very top heavy now making it very difficult to turn.  The other main problem is that the teams are limited by how much they can "travel" the front end suspension.  On the old car they could move it 6.5 inches and now they can only move it 3.5 inches.  So no, they cannot take any successes from the old car setups and transfer it to the COT.

 

Dwindy asked:  With NASCAR's stringent rules and enforcement, do the technical people think they are holding back new research?   Corey said yes, innovations are harder to come by because they just don’t have as many areas on the car that they can adjust.  However, teams will get more creative as they have more time with the COT.   He did note that Mr. Penske does not tolerate “cheating” of any kind and they know they can win by playing within the rules, it just might take some time.     

If you have more questions for the Miller Lite team please leave them in the comments on this blog and I will do my best to get the answers for you!

 

I also got some interesting pictures and thought we could play a little “GUESS THIS CAR PART”???!!!!    So tell me what you think these are…(some will be easier than others!)

 1.

2.

3.

4.

Ok!  What are those things??!!

 

Hey Race Fans!

As many of you know, Miller Lite has sent me to the race this weekend in Michigan and I will be in the garages starting tomorrow (Friday) for qualifying.   I know I am one of the luckiest fans alive to get this kind of access and want to share as much of it as I can with you...so I know you all might have questions for the Miller Lite Road Crew, the Pit Crew, Kurt or even other questions I might be able to ask around in the garage or the NASCAR officials. 

Use this blog to leave any and all questions you might have and I will do my absolute best to ask them for you!  I can't promise anything, but let me know what you want to know!

One last thing...if you have it in you, root for Kurt and the Miller Lite team this weekend because I would LOVE to give you all a report from Victory Lane!!

Look for my race reports from the garage and the answers to your questions on the blog and on the Miller Lite Racing Map next week: http://msn.foxsports.com/millerlitemap

-klvalus

 

Hey Race Fans!

I wanted to take a minute to familiarize you with a few of the features of the Miller Lite "More 2 It" campaign here on FOXSports.com.    First, be sure to check out the FOX Funhouse usually found on the Home page for a link to the Miller Lite Cut-Away Car.   It is a pretty sweet mock up of the car and has some great information in there as well.                                   (http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/841890
6/FUNHOUSE:-M.J.-vs.-Kobe)

Also, by clicking on any of the Miller Lite ads you can get to the Race Town Map.  From there you can enter the sweepstakes to go to Homestead this year with the Miller Lite team.  Trust me, you will have an amazing time!   

From the Race Town Map you can also get to my weekly "insider articles" by clicking on the red stars on the map.  For Indy, I introduced you to the Miller Lite mechanics and this week you'll meet the seven guys that make up Kurt's pit crew. (http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/8418828
)

Now that you know the entire team--Which job would you want?  Do you want the fame (good and bad!) of being the driver?  The pressure of calling the shots as the crew chief?  To get your hands dirty and be one of the specialists setting up the car?  Or one of the adrenaline junkies pitting the car on race day?

Who would YOU be? 

Hey Race Fans!

Welcome to the second installment of Miller Lite Racing’s "More 2 It" blog where I hope you will join me (klvalus) and the FOXSports.com staff debating hot topics in NASCAR each week!

This week the fans have sounded off loud and clear about the pathetic racing we all endured at Indy this past weekend, and it made me wonder….

Was the 2008 Allstate 400 the worst NASCAR race you have ever seen (on TV or in person)?  If not, which NASCAR race do you think was the absolute worst?   Why?

But let’s not only dwell on the negative, I also want to hear which NASCAR race you thought was the best ever and why.

There is going to be More 2 this blog than just hot topics to debate.  We were all disappointed with the race on Sunday and unfortunately, the Miller Lite team had a pretty tough time out on the track too.   But I know the Miller Lite Racing team pretty well now and they always use their humor to get them through the hard times. In honor of the Brew Crew, use your wit to caption these pictures and get us all smiling again!

 

To learn more about the Miller Lite Racing team be sure to watch for my article introducing you to the crew members here:http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/8392846

Also, for more on Luke and the shocks…go to www.millerliteracing.com in the Team Forum section to watch my video blog (no laughing!). 

Ok, NASCAR Fans-- Let's hear from you!

Hey Race Fans!

Welcome to Miller Lite’s More-2-It Blog!

Over the next 17 weeks, I hope you will join me and the FOXSports.com staff debating “hot topics” in NASCAR brought to us by Miller Lite.  There is a lot more “2” our favorite sport and we know you all have plenty of opinions! 

Besides weekly topics to debate, I will also be posting some fun extras here with the Miller Lite racing team as I join them in the garages at Michigan, California, Talladega, and Phoenix later this season.   Look for pictures for you to “caption” and a new feature “Guess That Car Part” too! 

Without further ado, let’s get to our first topic… Kristen (aka. klvalus)  

Last year, Kurt Busch and the Miller Lite team made a late-summer run that featured nine straight races finishing 11th or better--including two victories—that propelled the No. 2 team into the Chase.  With a win three weeks ago at New Hampshire, a fourth-place finish at Daytona two weeks ago but a disappointing 28th-place finish last weekend at Chicagoland, can Kurt and the Brew Crew put together another successful run at the Chase this year?

With seven races (Indy, Pocono, Watkins Glen, Michigan, Bristol, California and Richmond) left before The Chase begins, here are your current top 20 drivers:

1.         --         Kyle Busch                          2881               -

2.         --          Dale Earnhardt Jr.              2619               -262

3.         --          Jeff Burton                           2590               -291

4.         --          Carl Edwards                      2509               -372

5.         --          Jimmie Johnson                 2494               -387

6.         --          Jeff Gordon                          2384               -497

7.         +4        Greg Biffle                            2318               -563

8.         +1        Matt Kenseth                       2317               -564

9.         +4        Kevin Harvick                      2308               -573

10.       +2        Tony Stewart                       2305               -576

11.       -3         Kasey Kahne                       2295               -586

12.       -5         Denny Hamlin                     2283               -598

13.       -3         Clint Bowyer                        2256               -625

14.       +1        Brian Vickers                       2188               -693

15.       -1         David Ragan                        2185               -696

16.       --          Ryan Newman                    2094               -787

17.       +1        Martin Truex Jr.                  2050               -831

18.       -1         Kurt Busch                          2038               -843

19.       --          Bobby Labonte                   1905               -976

20.       +1        Juan Pablo Montoya         1863               -1018

Who will make the most out of these seven races and get into the Top 12 to make The Chase and which drivers currently in the Top 12 will fall out and miss The Chase?   Who will be the two or three drivers that will be “on the bubble” fighting for a spot in The Chase at Richmond?