1. Kyle Busch- Rowdy undeniably made the save of the race when teammate, Denny Hamlin, hooked him on lap 83 and shot the No. 18 Toyota straight across the track. Busch saved it on the apron but fell to 37th. No matter, with five laps to go Busch was back up front and held off Carl Edwards as the caution flew during the Green-White-Checkered finish on Saturday night. Nothing seems to faze Busch as he now has his largest points lead of the year (182 points).
2. Roush-Fenway Racing- Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth both raced stealthy and smart to get their second- and third-place finishes at Daytona. Edwards came from nowhere to nearly get the win and Kenseth got his best finish ever at the Superspeedway to jump four spots to ninth in the standings. David Ragan ran in the top 10 most of day and-- despite a mishap on pit road, causing a wreck, and being sideways on the Green-White-Checkered finish-- came home fifth. The Cat-in-the-Hat has to be pleased with the performance of these three Roushkateers.
3. Kurt Busch- The elder Busch had the fastest car in practice but it was totaled after he blew a right front tire and had to go to his backup car for the race. The Miller Lite Dodge started 36th and hung around in the back of the pack most of the race as the Brew Crew dialed the car in. He stayed out of the late race melee and it was February all over again as he was pushing the leaders to the finish. Busch is on a roll and his fourth-place finish puts him 191 points out of 12th place in the points.
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - The hand-painted No. 88 National Guard machine was in its familiar spot up front at Daytona as Earnhardt Jr. led the most laps and looked to be the one to beat. Alas, the pied piper no more, Junior reported a “whipping out” problem as no one would draft with him. His eighth-place finish was good enough to move him up to second place in the points as he continues to be Hendrick’s best shot at the championship this year.
5. The Substitute- On lap 72, JJ Yeley took over the Home Depot Toyota for an ailing Tony Stewart. Yeley restarted 33rd and was saddled with the job of salvaging points while racing in a tornado. He got into the top 10 but was so loose that he had to save the race car several times before getting involved in the wreck on the final lap. He ended up finishing 22nd but kept the No. 20 in the top 12 in the point standings. That has to make Smoke feel a little better.
NOT
1. Hendrick Motorsports “A” Team- Jimmie Johnson drove like a lunatic on pit road and wasn’t doing much better on the track as he insisted on running the middle line even as his crew chief begged him to run the top line to keep cars from blowing by. Johnson got into Kyle Busch and had to pit, putting him in the middle of the pack as he became the eye of the storm triggering the “big one” with three to go. He ultimately finished 23rd. On the other hand, Jeff Gordon drove a near perfect race as his No. 24 Chevrolet looked to be on rails until the final restart when he got turned by Carl Edwards when he missed the restart and tried to block. Angry only at himself, Gordon came home 30th.
2. Jeff Burton- For the first time this season, Burton has not finished the race in the top 15. The No. 31 Chevrolet was turned early and sent spinning through the grass. He got back up front just in time to get caught up in the chain reaction wreck with 20 to go. Burton finished 37th and slipped one spot in the standings to third. Not to worry—the cool-headed veteran has to have a bad race here and there.
3. Greg Biffle- On lap 70, The Biff needed too much track to save his No. 16 Ford as he came up across hood of Juan Pablo Montoya, smacked the wall and headed straight to the garage. Biffle did not return and finished 43rd, falling three spots to 11th in the standings--only 10 points inside the top 12. This team is still headed in the wrong direction.
4. Ryan Newman- The Daytona 500 winner was hoping for a repeat performance but was involved in one too many wrecks. Newman was clipped and spun but was still game as he worked his No. 12 Alltel Dodge all the way back up to third. Unfortunately, he was involved in two more wrecks before the finish and ended up 36th as he fell to 17th in the point standings. I think it is time to sign a contract and re-focus on the racing.
5. Denny Hamlin- The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota was a player in Coke Zero 400 as he led several times. However, he did “accidentally” punt his teammate and eventual race winner, Kyle Busch. He was looking good until he got punted himself by Martin Truex, Jr. and then wrecked in the “big one” at the end. Hamlin finished 26th but retains his 7th-place spot in the point standings—he needs to figure out how to tap into some of Kyle’s magic, though.
My weekly picks are dedicated to the memory of Cindi Redding who was respected and loved by all who knew her, especially her friends in the FOXSports.com community.
And finally, check out my latest behind the scenes exploits with the Miller Lite Racing team at www.millerliteracing.com in the Team Forum section.
During the race weekend at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA I was lucky enough to catch Pat Tryson, the crew chief of Penske Racing’s No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge for a little chat outside the team hauler. The Sonoma race marked Pat’s one year anniversary with the team and to date he has enjoyed three trips to Victory Lane (Pocono and Michigan in 2007; New Hampshire in 2008) with the Brew Crew. Pat is an intimidating guy around the garage, kind of the strong silent type, but really he is easy to talk to, has a great sense of humor and a lot of Pennsylvania pride!
Pat has been hanging around racing garages for a long time. At age 16, he got his first taste in the garage at the drag racing strips with his father, who was an engine builder. Pat didn’t only get his education in the garages though, he graduated from West Chester University of Pennsylvania with a B.A in Business Administration (but really he went there to play football!). He moved to North Carolina and worked with the Allison brothers building chassis and then landed a job as the car chief/mechanic on Kenny Bernstein’s top fuel dragster.
His first year as a NASCAR crew chief came in 1997 for Geoffrey Bodine and then in 1998, he was the crew chief for Geoff’s brother, Todd Bodine. In 1999, Pat was snatched up by the Roush organization where he started as Kevin Lepage’s crew chief. He left Roush in 2001 to work for the Wood Brother’s as the crew chief on the No. 21 car with Ricky Rudd and Elliott Sadler but returned to Roush in 2003 as the crew chief for the No. 6 team and Mark Martin and then for Greg Biffle before joining the Miller Lite team in June 2007.
Pat worked his way up through the ranks but it has come with some sacrifices. His schedule is grueling as he works at the Penske shop Monday through Thursday, when he gets the afternoon off and then leaves with the team on Thursday evening and is on the pit box until Sunday night. Pat admits the hardest part is not spending much time with his wife and seven year old daughter, but unfortunately, it comes with the territory of being a crew chief on a top team.
Pat’s experience has given him a wealth of knowledge but admits the new car (the “Car of Tomorrow” or COT) which was introduced full time this year by NASCAR means starting over with setups. He spoke candidly about the difficulty setting up the car since NASCAR regulates nearly everything it has taken away much of the crew chiefs’ creativity and tools to set up the car. Drivers who are used to setting up the car’s to their “liking” and who are used to a certain feel of the car through the turns seem to be struggling the most to adapt to the COT and there is not a happy crew chief in the garages as far as I can tell. The main problem for the No. 2 team has been getting the car to turn without blowing the right front tires out.
Both Pat and Kurt Busch believe there is an easy fix—raise the splitter 3 inches and eliminate the bump stops. However, NASCAR isn’t listening to the teams because Pat says, “they won’t admit they are wrong.” He said moving to the COT was not really about safety as NASCAR advertised, although safety improvements have been included in the new car, it was instead an attempt by NASCAR to get IROC-style (International Race of Champions-where the cars are set up exactly the same) racing results. But instead of side-by-side racing, NASCAR got a car that cannot pass.
According to Pat, NASCAR has been hearing the teams loud and clear, loud enough to call a halt to the complaints in a special drivers meeting several weeks ago. So look for NASCAR to make it seem like they didn’t make any mistakes with the car, but instead advertise only “improvements” like their newfound idea to give unlimited tests (read- the teams can’t figure out the set ups but NASCAR can’t be wrong so let’s just test more!).
Pat and the Brew Crew won’t stop trying to get creative with the setups and working hard to get Kurt the best car possible. I know they will be back in Victory Lane again very soon. Thanks for the inside scoop Pat!
Check out www.millerliteracing.com in the Team Forum to see my first behind the scene's video with the Miller Lite Crew.
1. Kurt Busch- Brilliant calls in the pits by Pat Tryson allowed Kurt Busch to stay out during the final caution and get the rain-shortened race win. It wasn’t all luck though, Kurt had raced his way up to 11th before the pit strategy came into play and then had to deal with an aggressive Robby Gordon at the end. The win was exactly what the No. 2 Miller Lite team needed. Good Call!
2. Tony Stewart- Smoke had arguably the most dominant car of the day as he led 132 laps on Sunday and was looking to sweep the weekend in Loudon. Unfortunately, the call for fuel and two tires dropped him too far back to recover in the rain shortened race. He finished a respectable 13th and moved up two spots in the point standings.
3. The Gamblers- Michael Waltrip and J.J. Yeley were able to gamble on gas and stayed out during the final caution to finish second and third respectively-- their best finishes of 2008. For once, they both managed to stay out of trouble; giving them a chance to be there at the end and it paid off big.
4. Casey Mears- Days after his first top five of the season, Mears found out that he was out of a ride after this season at New Hampshire. So what does he do? Mears goes out at Loudon, leads 53 laps and finishes seventh--the highest of all the Hendrick Motorsports drivers. I would say his job audition is going pretty well so far.
5. Kevin Harvick- Happy was very happy with his No. 29 Chevrolet all weekend long. He looked stout as he led the beginning of the race but then struggled with handling issues. Todd Berrier made the right calls and had Harvick back in the mix before the rain came. He finished 14th but it was good enough to regain the 12th spot in the point standings.
NOT
1. Jamie McMurray- The ire of Jr. Nation will be squarely on the driver of the No. 26 IRWIN Ford for plowing into the back of the No. 88 AMP Chevrolet as Dale Jr. was heading to pit road late in the race. McMurray claims he never saw Dale Jr. on the apron of the track, so there is proof not everyone watches Dale Jr. every minute of every race.
2. Kasey Kahne- The No. 9 Budweiser tire changers had to suck in bucketloads of brake dust during pit stops as they struggled to setup their Dodge. Kahne, in the meantime, decided to beat up on rookie Aric Almirola--who later gave him some payback as the No. 8 then spun Kasey into the wall. Kahne finished two laps down in 30th and fell to 10th in the points. Message to Kasey: Don’t mess with an Army of One.
3. Juan Pablo Montoya- Mr. Juanderful was in a foul mood on Sunday. First, he knocked his teammate Reed Sorenson out of the way early in the race. Then he took out Kyle Busch during the last caution. NASCAR penalized him two laps for rough driving and the No. 42 Texaco Dodge finished right where he started in 32nd. Temper, temper!
4. Kyle Busch –Rowdy admitted the No. 18 Toyota was not set up right on Sunday and he never cracked the top 10. Then, he forgot his patience, egged on Juan Pablo Montoya, and ended up wrecked during a late caution. He finished 25th and his points lead has been cut to only 64 points. To win the championship, Shrub is going to have to play it smarter than that.
5. NASCAR - Allowing a sponsor to change the number of laps in a race solely for marketing purposes is absolutely ridiculous. Brian France’s love of the all- mighty dollar is showing up just a little too much at the track. What’s next? The Mobil 1 one-mile shootout?
My weekly picks are dedicated to the memory of Cindi Redding who was respected and loved by all who knew her, especially her friends in the FOXSports.com community.
This edition of Hot or Not is coming to you live from the pits courtesy of the Miller Lite Race team! A special thank you goes out to the #2 Brew Crew for hosting me again this weekend. Please read my race reports from the garage for a play by play account of my weekend.
All the pictures in this blog were taken by me in the garages this weekend.
HOT
1. Kyle Busch- Rowdy wasn’t on anyone’s radar to win at Sonoma on Sunday with his reputation for aggressive driving and the fact he started 30th. But when the checkers flew, it was the points leader that led the most laps and was one of the few who raced clean and hit his marks on every turn of every lap. To top it off, that was the best combo of doughnuts and M&M’s I have ever seen. Smokin’!2.David Gilliland- Gilly earned high praise from his competitors on Sunday after posting an impressive second-place finish in his Yates Ford. It was no fluke, as he showed off his road racing skills learned from his dad by staying in the top five most of the day. His Free Credit Report probably looks a lot better after that payday!3. Jeff Gordon – I hope Ella does not listen to her dad’s radio yet, because early in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 Gordon went on a cursing tirade and the best he could say about his car was that it was the worst one on the track. His crew jumped to action and changed everything but the driver. And with the benefit of some cautions, the No. 24 Dupont team came back to finish third. No matter whether it was hometrack advantage or champion expertise, either way, Gordon is up to sixth in the points.4. Tony Stewart- Smoke had a rough weekend at Infineon. His qualifying effort left him starting 39th , but some well-timed cautions put him in the lead pack mid-race. He was making his patented march to the front when he got tagged from behind with only 5 laps to go. He restarted 19th and was a bull in a china shop as he picked up nine spots in four laps to finish 10th. That is impressive on a road course. He gets a ‘not’ however, for diss’ing me when I asked for an autograph…5. Marcos Ambrose- Racing in his first Sprint Cup race in the No. 21 Wood Brother’s Ford, this Aussie rookie put on quite a show. He laid down a stellar qualifying lap and was fastest in practice too. During the race, Ambrose was entertaining to watch as he raced with his idols up front. Unfortunately, he didn’t impress Juan Pablo Montoya and then got wrecked by Elliott Sadler--which broke his transmission and ended his day early. His 42nd place finish misrepresents his race because those ‘Honey Buns’ were hot!NOT
1. Kasey Kahne- The polesitter didn’t enjoy the view up front very long as he radioed in on the pace laps that he had no clutch. He managed to lead for the first time on a road course but was never a factor as he quickly dropped through the field and limped to a 33rd-place finish. The driver of the No. 9 Budweiser Dodge dropped two spots in the Cup standings to ninth. He may be down this week, but don’t count him out.2. Kevin Harvick- Happy was on the move, charging from 32nd all the way to fifth on lap 104 before all heck broke loose. The No. 29 Shell Chevy came into turn 4 way too hot and locked up his tires in a power slide as he spun and took out Jamie McMurray, Tony Stewart and Ron Fellows--all top cars. His spotter was priceless, “left side…left side…ew!” Un-happily, Harvick finished 30th and dropped to 13th in the standing, outside of Chase contention.3. David Reutimann- The driver of the No. 44 UPS Toyota was very frank about his lack of confidence on the road courses. It showed. Not only did he wipe out his primary car on Saturday but he took a big hit into the tire barrier in his back-up car on Sunday relegating him to a 40th-place finish. I bet the car felt like the big brown truck around some of those turns.4. Kurt Busch- Despite braking issues, Busch starting third and racing up front until Scott Pruett got into the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge--causing a bad tire rub on the right rear. Busch was forced to pit and went a lap down in the process, his great day ended with a 32nd-place finish. The Brew Crew can’t seem to catch a break, and apparently, I am not their lucky charm. 5. The Road Ringers- Road racing strikes fear in the hearts of NASCAR drivers and owners, as they often turn to the road ringers to help salvage points. This year, they weren’t much help and a few actually hurt as they had run-ins with several Cup regulars. Brian Simo (43rd), Boris Said (41st), Scott Pruett (38th), Max Papis (35th), and Ron Fellows (29th) all finished at the back of the pack. Perhaps its time to rethink this strategy and just stick with your driver.
My weekly picks are dedicated to the memory of Cindi Redding who was respected and loved by all who knew her, especially her friends in the FOXSports.com community.
Ok, I am finally recovered from my 5am to 9pm day at the track on Sunday enough to relive it! Honestly, I do not know how the teams keep these schedules but they claim it becomes routine. So here is the report from the garage on Sunday!
When I arrived, I first checked in at the garage. The crew was going over the car with a fine tooth comb and doing their individual checklists before final inspection. It took them about 2.5 hours to work over the car. While they were doing that I sauntered out to our excellent pit stall (the Miller Lite pit was the last pit by the main grandstands, right in front of Victory Lane with a huge opening next to it so I could get up nice and close as you will see...).
I don't get to spend as much time with the over-the-wall guys as I do with the mechanics, so I reintroduced msyelf to the ones I knew and got to know the few I had not yet met. They are also a great bunch of guys and were very entertaining in their answers to my questions for the website. They are pretty stoked we are focusing on them for the new Miller Lite Racing.com website. We also got a great video with Larry, the rear tire carrier, who walks us through everything they do to get the tires set up on race day. He sounded like he had done it on tape a million times...several of the guys put a sign "Pit Tours By Larry" up during our filming so unfortunately you can hear me laughing on tape but Larry was most impressed by the fact he didn't cuss once.
We had to book it back to the garage to meet up with the crew so we could finish the rest of the video about the shocks. The inspectors remembered us from yesterday (in fact the inspector giving Luke bunny ears in the picture from the blog from yesterday worked the Miller Lite pit during the race). They guys continued on through inspection and I went off in search of a few more interviews. I was lucky to catch Pat Tryson, Kurt's crew chief, hanging outside the hauler (he is rarely outside) and he was kind enough to spend 15 minutes talking with me. Look for a blog about that conversation where he was very candid about the car. I also did an interview with the only female mechanic at Penske, Andrea Mueller. She told me how she got started in motorsports and some reactions to women in NASCAR. Of course I will have an entire blog on that as well.
I also had the pleasure of finally meeting one of our own...RA6AN was in the garages on Sunday and she took a minute to peel herself off Carl Edwards to take this picture with me:
Yea!! FOXSports Bloggers Unite!! It was an absolute pleasure to meet her finally.
My "boss" had a friend with him who loves NASCAR and got to be in the garage for the first time so she and I stalked out a spot right by the gate that the drivers had to walk through to go to driver introductions and we just stood there and watched the parade. She is a big Tony Stewart fan but I swear Tony recognized me and definitely gave us the stink eye to not ask him for an autograph...the people behind us didn't get the message and got turned down. Jeff Gordon had the perfect body guard, his daughter in his arms, and no one went near him! Dale Jr and Schrub both bolted, literally ran from their haulers out the gate so no good pictures of them today...Jr must have known I was out there stalking! Some of the pictures I took from intro's will be up in my Hot or Not blog tomorrow.
Just before the race started I got the best porta - potty shot yet! LOL
The race started off very promising with Kurt running up front for the first third of the race. He was locking up the right front every time he had to stand on the brakes and was sliding around the turns with no grip but he thought if they took the bump stops out they might have a good setup. Unfortunately, after the first caution, he got shuffled back to mid pack and ended up getting hit by Scott Pruett and it created a bad tire rub. They had to bring the car in to fix it and Kurt went a lap down and never recovered. It was very disappointing for the entire team. Knowing how hard they work on the car all weekend and the tough luck this team has had this year, it was just a heart breaker. I did however, get some great shots of the pit crew in action. Here is just one of many that will be up on the website:
I am pretty much right there in the middle of all the action! After the race, I remained in the middle of it all as the top 10 cars pulled onto pit road for post race inspection, guess who stopped right in front of me. My buddy Tony!
He and Juan Pablo Montoya were commiserating about being wrecked and not being able to win. I thought for sure Tony would be going after Harvick but he seemed incredibly restrained...I moved up the row of cars to where they were interviewing Jeff Gordon, Casey Mears and Clint Bowyer. I heard a rumor that you could see me on TV in Gordon's post race interview! On my way back towards Victory Lane, I stopped and grabbed as many lugnuts as I could fit in my pockets, ya never know when you'll need a stocking stuffer! I managed to get close enough to get this shot of Kyle and crew:
It was very funny to see them all drinking wine. I was completely sunburnt and exhausted by this time and at least 5 pounds heavier from all the lugnuts in my pockets, so I headed home. Words can barely describe what it is like to be in the garages with hot pass access and I cannot thank Miller Lite and the #2 enough for being so good to me. The next race I will be "working" is the August race at Michigan so I hope to keep us entertained with some more detailed blogs from my adventures in the garage. Also, if there are particular driver pictures you would like to see just let me know in the comments and if I have them I will post them. As always, thanks for reading!
We had a bit of a cooling trend today out at Infineon, it was only 98 degrees this afternoon! Luckily both Cup practices were run before noon today so the drivers and crews missed the worst of it but it made for an early start today.
I made it to the track at 7a but then walked the 30 min to the garages and arrived just about the same time the drivers were pulling into the garage in their rental cars. Jeff Burton was stylin in a giant white Caddy! Also, in early was Ryan Newman who had three Make-A-Wish sponsored kids visiting with him. The kids were having a blast in the garages with big smiles all around. I headed over to the Miller Lite garage stall to find the crew already at work. They finished the tear down and rebuild of the car last night and were pretty much set to go for practice.
During the first practice, the Miller Lite team worked to fine tune the shock package that they hit upon yesterday for qualifying. We watched with the crew near turn 12 (the 180 degree turn) and held our breath as several cars got squirrelly and almost hit the outside wall, while many others were locking ‘em up and sliding through the entire turn. The most notable accident was by David Reutimann, I didn’t see where he wrecked or how but I have pictures of them pulling out the back up car. The nose on his primary car was punched in and the splitter completely gone.
Unfortunately, Kurt’s teammate, Sam Hornish, Jr. also took a wild ride and ripped his splitter off. Most of the mechanics on Kurt’s team and Ryan Newman’s team headed over to the 77 garage stall and the entire Penske team worked to get that splitter back on so he didn’t have to go to a back up car.
With the two practices so close together (9:30a to 10:30a and then 11:00a to 12p) the drivers were milling about the garage like I have never seen before. It was like a photo/autograph bonanza! I basically ran up and down garage row for that 30 min sneaking in with the pro photographers and darting back out before security saw me. I was in fan heaven. I think I have shots of everyone’s favorites! As I said in the last blog, I will post all the good driver pics soon but here are a couple teaser shots…
Time was flying by and Happy Hour came quickly. The Miller Lite crew was working on fuel mileage as were most of the teams. Lots of crews pushing their cars through the garages and a few didn’t make it all the way around the track. Early in the first run, Pat Tryson (Kurt’s crew chief) radio’ed him to come on in for some changes and Kurt radio’ed back saying he was feeling “pretty sporty” out there and stayed out longer. It is a further reminder that we can’t always make conclusions about practice times, especially when we don’t know what the crews are working on each run. Here he is getting some data from the team about his runs during Happy Hour. Let’s hope Kurt and the #2 car is ‘sporty’ tomorrow!
After practice there were more driver encounters as most of them walked back to their haulers from the Sunoco station at the very far end of the garages. I did my very best to get an autograph from Mr. Stewart as he walked by. I said “Hi Tony, can I get an autograph please” flashing my best smile and he said “I haven’t even spoken with my crew chief yet!” I said “ok, sorry” and off he went…I tried for all you Smoke fans on FOXSports but my only conclusion was he wasn’t signing anything for someone dressed head to toe in Miller Lite gear.
Immediately after Happy Hour ended the engines cut and the BBQ’s fired up. The entire garage basically took a lunch break and boy did it smell good in there. The Miller Lite crew grabbed some chicken wings off the grill and headed in for a team debriefing inside the air conditioned hauler. The three Penske drivers, crew chiefs and team engineers all meet in one of the team haulers and went over what they learned and help each other out with setups.
I was on “special assignment” immediately after Happy Hour. I followed Luke, the shock specialist, from the moment he removed the shocks from the car until he turned them into NASCAR. We got the whole process on video and it will go up on the new and improved Miller Lite Racing website as our first behind the scenes feature.
As many of you know, NASCAR confiscates the rear shocks from all the teams after Happy Hour and returns them before the teams go through inspection on Sunday before the race. NASCAR does this because they found teams pushing the limits with the pounds per square inch. Before NASCAR takes the shocks, Luke has to put them on the shock dyno to test to make sure the shocks are working properly. Then he takes out all of the pressure from the shock and then walks them over to the inspectors. Luke has to fill the shocks to whatever the team decided between 25 psi to 75 psi as NASCAR rules dictate (today Luke filled them to 75 psi) in front of the inspectors. The inspectors then test the pressures, if they pass, they put a yellow tag on them and put them on a cart that they keep locked up. I will be back first thing in the morning when Luke gets the Miller Lite shocks back from the inspectors and gets them back in the car to complete the process. I must say, these inspectors were very cool to let us film this and Luke knows his stuff! Here is my favorite shot...
The Cup garage closed at 2p today and the crew was excited to get an entire afternoon free to go have some fun. The pit crew was flying in this afternoon, which they do for races on the West Coast, otherwise they just fly in the morning of the race. Several of the crew were going golfing and one was going sailing on the Bay. Still others were looking forward to a nice dinner and getting some rest for a busy day tomorrow. The hauler drivers, Stump and Cindy for example will be in the garages when it opens at 7am, will work all day (Cindy is also the team’s official scorer), pack the hauler after the race and are planning on driving all night with the hopes of getting to New Mexico for breakfast on Monday. I am exhausted from being in the garages for 2 days, I can’t imagine doing their job every weekend!
Tomorrow will be another hot, busy day at the track. I hope to get a garage report up tomorrow night but will also have to work on Hot or Not from pit road so everyone hope my laptop doesn’t overheat! If Kurt wins, I have been told by the crew I will be in there so keep your fingers crossed!!
Greetings from the garage at Infineon Raceway! As many of you know, Miller Lite has secured hot passes for me to attend some races this year and this is one of them!
My day started off with the traditional long dusty walk through the cow pastures to get to the track. I made it inside the garage just as the Miller Lite team was pushing their car through inspection. Thankfully, the Brew Crew were all happy to see me and I met the new spotter for the team, Chris Osborne. I told them we were hoping to get some good video and interviews with them for the new and improved Miller Lite Racing website and warned them I would be bugging them all weekend for the inside scoop.
Security was pretty aggressive in the garage and they were keeping everyone, even photographers (!) behind a line about 10 feet back from the garage stalls. Eric, one of the mechanics, saw that they weren’t letting me up to the garage, so he went over and told the guard to let me go by the car and like magic I was in! It was pretty cool I must say…I feel like I have 10 big brothers now!
As the crew was prepping the car for practice I asked them details about several incidents that plagued the Miller Lite team in recent weeks. If you recall at Pocono two weeks ago, the Miller Lite crew expertly fixed the splitter after Kurt spun and took a wild ride through the grass. I asked Bill, one of the mechanics, to show me how they re-attached the splitter arms to the front bumper so quickly. At Dover, both the #2 and #12 teams had problems with their fueling system. Steve, the “Underneath Mechanic” opened up the deck lid and showed me exactly what went wrong. He also gave me his first hand account of what was going through his mind when the pit caught on fire at Lowes after a lugnut got run over as Kurt was leaving the pit and ignited some spilt fuel. Steve is the catch can man on Sundays (his son, Chris is the gas man) so he was extra concerned as he was stuck holding a can full of fuel. He also said he got hit in the leg by the red hot lug nut so he was 2 for 2 that day…I will post a blog with pictures and more details about these mishaps.
I watched the team setup the Miller Lite Dodge for practice. I was a little concerned that there was something wrong with the car because they were shaking it violently on the jack stands but Darin, the engine tuner said “not to worry” that whenever they lowered the track bar they had to “shake” the car until it “settles in to place”. Did you know that there are 3 antennae on the roof of the cars? One of them is for the team radio and the other two are for NASCAR timing and scoring. Every car also has a round hockey puck looking camera in the front on the roof. Only a few of them are actually cameras, the others are “false cameras” so every car has the same aerodynamic "disadvantage." Back to practice…Kurt ran most of it in race trim and made only two qualifying runs. After practice the crew set the car up for qualifying and grabbed some grub.
In the long inspection line before qualifying, I had a chance to ask the crew some questions for the new website. They are going to be featured so I got some info on their favorite food to wash down with a Miller Lite, their favorite track and their best memory with the Miller Lite team and more. The new website should be up soon so you can read all their answers…like who eats “sweaty and sweet” chicken wings?!
I sauntered back to the hauler and who is there talking to Kurt’s PR guy…the one and only Mike Helton. We were introduced and you KNOW I had to ask Mr. Helton why there were no psychologists on NASCAR’s staff. He didn’t respond right away and then said they have plenty of amateur shrinks on staff, they are called crew chiefs. I pressed on and said I have to be believe having an in-house Anger Management course would be cost and time effective and that I would be happy to consult but he wasn’t biting…ah well…I tried!
For qualifying, I just acted like I belonged with the crew and joined them right out by the car on pit road. I have some great shots of Kurt getting in as well as many of the other drivers, esp. the road course ringers, as they came out of the garages and got into their race cars and even one of Brian Vickers coming out of a portapotty. Look for a pictures blog soon! (Tez- I have some amazing shots of Marcos for you!) Kurt missed his mark in Turn 2 but laid down a great lap and qualified 3rd for the race on Sunday. The crew was stoked and I am hopeful for a trip to Victory Lane!
I sauntered around the garages snapping pictures of the drivers who were now in street clothes and heading out. I must say, if you ever get garage passes, hot or cold, be sure to be able to recognize the drivers in street clothes! It was really funny to watch them just walk through the garages with no one recognizing them. I also stopped and snapped a picture of the fuel prices at the Sunoco pump. For the 116 octane leaded fuel that the Cup teams use, the going rate was $9.99 per gallon! Yikes! When you figure a team uses about 115 gallons of fuel for the race here and another 50 or so gallons for practice and qualifying it adds up to a pretty penny. Sunoco does not charge the Cup teams but the SW touring series and the other teams racing this weekend do get billed. Ouch!
I walked around and finally found the Miller Lite crew near the inspection area all laid out (literally on the ground lying in the shade under the tent) waiting for qualifying to be over.
As most of you know, the first three qualifiers and all of the Go or Go Homers must go through inspection again after qualifying. They were exhausted after the long hot day (it was 99 degrees this afternoon) but still had to clear inspection and then tear the car down like normal afterwards. They were hoping to leave the track by 7pm and will have to be back at 7 am tomorrow. I left the crew to finish their work and headed back to the Miller Lite hauler. I had just walked up when out of the mirrored doors walks Jamie McMurray and Kurt both in street clothes snacking on Twizzlers…for some reason that just cracked me up.
I headed out and made the long (30 min) walk back through the cow pastures to the car and made it to my hotel by about 7:30p. I was checking in right along side AJ Allmendinger…ah, I just love it when NASCAR is in town. Off to bed for me, its an early day tomorrow with practice and Happy Hour all before noon. Look for another report from the garage on Saturday night!
1. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.- The No. 88 team took a huge gamble not pitting for fuel late in the LifeLock 400 on Sunday and then sweated bullets while Junior babied his AMP Chevrolet around the track during a caution with only two laps to go. The fan favorite benefited from a wreck on the final lap and Junebug coasted right into Victory Lane, snapping his 76-race winless streak. What a perfect Father’s Day gift for Dale Sr. and Mr. Hendrick.
2.Kasey Kahne- The No. 9 Dodge spent much of the race in the top 10 and saved fuel for the last 50 laps to grab a second-place finish at Michigan. He would have won (again) had the caution not flown during the Green-White-Checker finish, and climbs two spots to seventh in the championship standings. A nod to his teammate, Elliott Sadler, who finished ninth. At least one Dodge team is hot, hot, hot!
3. Matt Kenseth- Kenseth was back to his patented racing style as he stalked quietly until he got the lead. Even with a mishap in the pits hitting an official and then later with uncharacteristic trouble on a tire change, the No. 17 Ford finished a strong third and is effectively back in the Chase hunt only 14 points out of 12th. Another nod goes to his Roush-Fenway teammates: Carl Edwards (seventh), David Ragan (eighth) and Jamie McMurray (10th).
4. Brian Vickers- Vickers started 18th and came flying to the lead 33 laps later, showing that the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota was the car to beat on long runs. He kept it up front and finished fourth and is sitting only 97 points out of 12th in the standings. Vickers had the conspiracy theorists licking their chops during his post race interview by saying NASCAR told him to let Mark Martin go by or get black flagged with two to go. The truth is out there…
5. Tony Stewart- Smoke battled a tight Home Depot Toyota for much of the race but he stayed persistent and used good pit strategy to finally get a top 5 finish moving up one spot in the standings to 11th. Even better, Stewart donated his earnings to the American Red Cross for the Midwest flood victims. If that isn’t hot, I don’t know what is.
NOT
1. Penske Racing- The Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman broke his drive train on lap 76 and went on to finish 42nd, 68 laps down. The No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge was junk coming off the hauler and so scary loose that Kurt Busch spun out mid-race but managed to hold on for a 21st place finish. Sam Hornish, Jr. was a bright spot as he led some green flag laps late in the race until he spun off turn 4 causing the caution with two laps to go. This Dodge team is still struggling.
2. Chip Ganassi Racing – Dario Franchitti was off the pace on lap 25 with a broken valve spring and was soon black flagged and out of race, finishing 43rd. Juan Pablo Montoya was lapped early and often as the No. 42 Big Red Dodge was not set up right and finished 38th. ReedSorenson was never a factor and as usual, finished in the back of the pack in 34th. This Dodge team is toast.
3. Jeff Gordon – Big Daddy did not have a good Father’s Day as the No. 24 Dupont team is still searching for the right setup. With water gauge problems, being way too tight, an ill-advised pit strategy, and a pit road speeding penalty, the best Gordon could do was an 18th place finish sliding him to ninth in the point standings. Thank goodness the road course is up next!
4. The No. 16 Pit Crew- Greg Biffle was having another stellar run but on the last pit stop, his crew chief, Greg Erwin, made the call to “go on the drop of the jack.” Well, the Biff did as he was told, but the front tire changer wasn’t clear and got the air hose caught in the splitter. Biffle ran over the hose, the crewman hit the deck, and it resulted in a penalty that dropped the No. 16 Roush- Fenway Ford to a 20th place finish. Hexed, I tell you, hexed…
5. Debris- I do not understand why debris, specifically hot dog wrappers, is such a constant problem at Michigan. It is ridiculous that trash on the speedway greatly affects the outcome of the race by altering when cars have to pit to avoid overheating. I don’t know what the answer is but NASCAR has plenty of power to wield to fix this and they should…what Mr. Helton? No complaining? Oh, ok, I will just shut up and write…
My weekly picks are dedicated to the memory of Cindi Redding who was respected and loved by all who knew her, especially her friends in the FOXSports.com community.
1. Kasey Kahne- The Pocono 500 polesitter led early but looked to be in big trouble after a pit road mistake on lap 57 knocked him back to 38th. Kahne picked his way through the field, making 88 passes under green flag conditions, until he got the lead back and the victory. The dominant No. 9 Budweiser Dodge continued the trend as five of the last six races at Pocono have been won from the front row. Kahne is up three spots to ninth in the Sprint Cup Standings.
2.Team Red Bull - The No. 83 Red Bull team made wholesale changes to their car to get Brian Vickers a second-place finish on Sunday at Pocono, a track where he has three career top five finishes. Teammate A.J.Allmendinger started eighth and had great pit stops all day from his No. 84 Red Bull crew as he came home a career best 12th. More evidence Team Toyota has gained across the board.
3. Denny Hamlin- With two wins at the triangle track, Hamlin came into the race as a favorite. He, too, had problems on pit road as he ran into the No. 70 car which caved in his right front fender. The No. 11 FedEx team used the red flag restart to fix the damage sending Denny all the way back to 42nd. They used good pit strategy to get back up to the lead… but couldn’t quite catch eventual race winner Kasey Kahne. Hamlin finished third and climbed four spots to fifth in the points.
4. Half of Hendrick- Dale Earnhardt Jr. accused his cousin and crew chief, Tony Eury, Jr. of using adjustments from the 90’s” as they struggled to get the No. 88 to turn. With creative pit strategy, Junior climbed to second but had to settle for fourth at the end. He remains third in the points. Teammate Jimmie Johnson led at the start and looked strong in the beginning of the race but crew chief, Chad Knaus called for a completely different pit cycle than the rest of the field which would have been brilliant had a late caution not happened. Nonetheless, the No. 48 Lowe’s team finished a solid sixth and climbed a spot to sixth in the point standings.
5. Kurt Busch- On lap 39, KB took a spin and caught some air as he went flying through the grass breaking all the splitter struts. The Pat Tryson led No. 2 Miller Lite crew stayed calm, cool, and collected as they expertly fixed the splitter and Kurt did his job working his way back into the top 10. He finished eighth and is up to 20th in the points. Finally, this team gets a good finish despite trouble.
NOT
1. Kyle Busch – Rowdy wrecked his primary Sprint Cup car and started at rear of the field in a backup car Sunday. On lap 46, he tried to squeeze into a spot in front of Jamie McMurray but didn’t make it and smacked the wall. The crew had to take off the entire front nose and rear housing just to get the No. 18 M&M’s machine back out to log laps. Just like Big Brown, the heavy favorite finished dead last –but Busch at least maintained his points lead by only 21 points. Perhaps running three races in three states in three days is not such a good idea.
2. GregBiffle- The Biff had no cooling box for the second week in a row and a disastrous pit stop where he hit is own crew member and then was hit by the No. 00. He soldiered on and was looking good as he led late in the race. Unfortunately, he was too fast exiting pit road on his last stop, got black flagged and went one lap down. He finished 15th but fell two spots in the points to seventh. The No. 16 team seems hexed.
3. Tony Stewart- Smoke and Zippy were on a road course pit schedule and had executed it perfectly. The No. 20 Home Depot Toyota was out front and looking good until the last pit stop. But, you guessed it, he got caught speeding off pit road. Stewart went one lap down with the penalty and finished 35th knocking him down to 12th in the points--only ten points ahead of 14th. Ouch! I bet those cabinets in his hauler were taking a beating again after the race.
4. Clint Bowyer- Driving too aggressively, Bowyer got loose under the No. 15 and lost his No. 07 Jack Daniels Chevrolet on lap 80. He got tagged by Juan PabloMontoya, who had no where to go, and slammed into the inside wall. Bowyer finished 39th and fell three spots in the points to 11th. I have a bad feeling the only thing he is going to be “chasing” this year is Jack Daniel's.
5. Open Wheelers- PatrickCarpantier and SamHornish, Jr. practiced beautifully choreographed spins together as they took turns knocking each other around, bringing out two separate cautions in the process. Dario Franchitti, who returned to Cup competition after breaking his ankle at Talladega, fought for “the patch” with David Gilliland, lost and then backed it into the wall on lap 130, racking up his own two cautions. Too many spins on the triangle left our open wheel friends 32nd, 42nd, 41st respectively.
My weekly picks are dedicated to the memory of Cindi Redding who was respected and loved by all who knew her, especially her friends in the FOXSports.com community.
A big welcome to all 102, 000 race fans at Infineon Raceway in the beautiful Sonoma Wine Country near San Francisco, CA. We are in for a treat today as the GGW “Show Your Moon” Open Late Model Tour sponsored by “Hooters” and “Show Your Moon Moonshine” are here to put on a show…and what a show it will be with all 21 superstar GGW racers on the track. The Miller Lite 150 is almost set to go green. But first lets pause for our National Anthem sung local rockers GREEN DAY!
Ok, now that we are ready to have the time of our lives, lets take a look at the early favorites. Tez99gm driving his No. 99 Jasper Racing Engines Late Model and jbroomy in his No. 76 Marlboro Late Model have the most extensive knowledge of road racing and look to capitalize on their V8 and F1 knowledge all race long. The wildcard pick of the race is probably Frank driving her No.69 Union 76 machine because she very well might be the only one able to afford enough gas if it comes down to a fuel mileage race. Don’t expect a boring race, as we have learned, anything and everything can happen during these GGW races.
Most fans are familiar with Infineon Raceway from watching the NASCAR race every June, but today the GGW Late Model drivers will be competing on the original 2.52 mile track configuration. There will be no “chute” to bypass turns 5 and 6 so expect a lot of action and wrecks out there today as these drivers have to negotiate all 12 turns and lots of elevation changes.
To help us understand what the GGW drivers will be up against, Michael Skeen, a local racer, described how to run each turn at Infineon Raceway on www.trackpedia.com :
Turn 1
“Past the Start/Finish line, stay track right before turn-in. Leave a little bit of room at the first apex at the pit wall, and drift back out towards the outside of the corner. Going under the bridge, you should be under the FRAM sign (a car width or two from the left side). Brake in a straight line over the curbs on the left.”
Expect Moseby in his No. 75 Steelers Ford Fusion to get distracted in Turn 1 by the shiny steel the Fram bridge is made of. He will have to really focus to keep up with the pack. Perhaps he will keep his eyes on the rear bumper of California beauty, LisaH in her No. 9 USC Dodge.
Turn 2
“Turn-in at the end of the left-side curb and use the flatter part of the apex curb. Track all the way out to the left. “
Turn 2 involves cresting the first hill and turning, and we all know HootfootLori in her No. 20 Monte Carlo SS has trouble doing two things at once, so look for her to run klvalus in her UR8UP#8 machine through the dirt as the No. 20 likes to do to the No. 8 just for kicks on this part of the track.
Turn 3
“Meet the right side of the track at the kink and turn in for a late apex. DO NOT use the inside curb. Apex at the end of the curb and quickly (but smoothly) turn in for Turn 3A. Use the flatter part of the apex curb at 3A and look ahead, visualizing the blind track out. “
The elevation changes and turns around turn 3 are quite challenging, we might be asking “Oh Brother Where Art Thou” if Hanahan in his No 18 Late Model misses his marks and uses that inside curb. Expect Gerrel in her No.14 Penguin Lumina to stay cool and smooth through this stretch.
Turn 4
“Pretty standard turn in for Turn 4, apex on the first few feet of the inside curb. If you can't get to the apex, back up your turn-in mark 1 foot at a time. Track out onto the exit curbing. “
Here is where the track will start to get tricky, as the GGW drivers head into the section of track not run by the NASCAR stars. Expect Photogr in his No. 13 Monroe Ford Thunderbird to miss this turn as he is distracted by the Hooters hospitality tent at the apex of the corner. Hey, isn’t that long lost GGW racer TexasCudaGuy in the tent covered with Hooters Girls?
Turn 5
“Stay tight to the inside and track out on the center line to crest the hill for Turn 6.”
The elevation changes will cause problems as the GGW superstars will have to power up and over these hills. Sweetkena in her No 44 Late Model will have to have her engine purring like a kitten as she tries to keep up with the field but rumor has it she has some extra special ponies under the hood.
Turn 6
“Enter center track and be very patient. Slowly feed in the power and apex at the curb down the hill. Be sure to keep "maintenance throttle" throughout to keep the rear end planted. Track out all the way across the dragstrip.”
Notice Michael gives the advice to be very patient as the GGW racers head into the 180 onto the drag strip. We know it is not possible for Frevr3fan in his No. 3 Chevy Wranger to be patient, so watch for him to punt Charrit in his No. 22 Gatorade car out of the way, just for old time sake…
Turn 7
“Enter track left. Do not use the inside curb at either apex in Turn 7. Get on the power as soon as you can. If you're using the NASCAR extension, get out over the yellow line and try to avoid the bump at turn-in.”
It will be a drag race to get to Turn 7. Look for the big cats to be clawing this one out with YeeMum in her No. 12 Detroit Lions machine and the first race winner, Jon464 in his No. 464 Carolina Panthers car go head to head until they hit the “Budweiser Bottleneck” where they will have to get single file to avoid the sand pit.
Turn 8
“At the entry, straddle the yellow line that marks off the cutoff road, but miss both curbs. Keep maintenance throttle all the way through the esses. Use a little curb in the left hander. Stay in the gas and look for the blind track out in 8A.”
Look for 24x2’s No. 48 Peafowl Roadrunner to make a move as she gets some clear running room down hill through the esses.
Turn 9
“Let the car drift a little to the outside mid-corner so that you can be back on the left-hand curb for the entry to Turn 10.”
Look for rookie Meandovine to try to flex his muscles on the fastest part of the track in his No. 37 Under-Armor Lumina but watch for Tsfanpc in her No. 33 Bad ####e machine to try to raise a stink ‘under that armor’ as they move through the esses.
Turn 10
“Use all of the left-side curbing on entry. Brush the brakes/downshift as necessary for your car and immediately go back to maintenance throttle. Turn in smoothly and feed in the power as you approach the apex. Look way ahead and make sure you're on your marks for the track out. Use curb at the exit if you have to; do not try to pinch the car back onto the track. Straighten it up and put two wheels in the dirt if necessary.”
Here is where we find out who has the brakes working (ahem, Denny) as the drivers speed down from the esses into turn 10. Look for JokersWild in is No. 10 machine and Forensic2 in his No. 02 car to be laughing maniacally and monkeying around as they try to get their cars whoa’ed up in time for the tight turn 11.
Turn 11
“Stay right next to the separator line for the pits. Turn in a little bit late so that you can get on the power hard on the exit. Straddle the painted curb on the inside and don't be afraid of the wall at the exit. Drift back to center-track and turn in for the kink on the pit straight.”
Turn 11 is the slowest, tightest turn on the track as the drivers pull a tough 180 near the pits but it is one of the best places on the track to pass. Look for da’ kid, Tylerhead24 in his No. 24 Green Bay Packers car to run hard and out brake rookie Dwindy1 in his No. 1 Seattle Seahawks machine and get under him to make the pass.
Turn 12
The GGW drivers will all be working back up through the gears to get to full speed as they come towards the start finish line and back up the hill.
Like I said folks, it will be a challenging and exciting race today for the GGW Late Model drivers who will have to work their gear boxes, finesse their pedals and turn both left and right to make it to the checkers. Looks like we are ready to go green, may the best mon.key win!
1. Kyle Busch – Rowdy was the first non-Roush-Fenway driver to lead multiple green flag laps at Dover and when he did on lap 236 he said “buh-bye” to the rest of the field and cruised again into Victory Lane. He continues to be the most exciting driver on the track and showed he is listening to feedback--his post race interview was polished. Take another bow, Kyle!
2. Roush Fenway Racing – Had all five drivers finish in the top 15 and had several moments of the most domination during the race on Sunday. Greg Biffle led the most laps of the race, but had an alternator problem that left him third. However, he made the biggest jump in points to sixth. Carl Edwards dominated the middle of the race, and despite some entertaining hand gestures, he couldn’t quite catch Rowdy at the end. Matt Kenseth had hisbest run of the year as he finished fourth and is up to 16th in points. JamieMcMurray qualified fifth and kept his car up front most of the day to finish 10th. David Ragan rounded out the bunch,continuing his solid string of finishes as he came home 15th.
3. Jeff Gordon- Team DuPont showed why they are champions as they made big changes and dialed in the No. 24 Chevrolet to finish a solid fifth. Big Daddy had the most consistent Hendrick Motorsports car on Sunday and made the smart call to stay out on track to get those 5 bonus points for leading a lap when they knew they had nothing for the race leaders. Gordon vaults up four spots to sixth in the points.
4. Martin Truex, Jr. – The reigning race winner started 20th and fought an ill-handling race car much of the race. He managed to stay on the lead lap and was the only Dale Earnhardt, Inc. driver to finish in the top 20. Truex was the last car on lead lap as he finished sixth and is only 83 points out of 12th.
5. Dave Blaney- The driver of the No.22 Caterpillar Toyota was in the top 10 all day long and kept it there to finish ninth. Blaney moved up four spots to 31st in the point standings and is now solidly in the show without having to qualify on time. I will say it again--a Toyota other than Gibbs will get to Victory Lane this year.
NOT
1. The Race – Half of the top 12 drivers in the championship were wrecked on lap 17, leaving Roush and Rowdy to battle it out up front without any drama whatsoever. Long green flag racing and dominant cars left only six cars on the lead lap at the finish. Worse, most of the passing that took place up front was the leader putting cars a lap down and not cars battling for position. BORING!! NASCAR had better do something to help this car get racy and adjustable because it has become a game of track position and follow the leader—and that is not racing.
2. Elliott Sadler – The driver of the No. 19 Best Buy Dodge came down on David Gilliland on lap 17, spinning himself into the wall and caused Dover’s “big one” that ended up involving a total of 11 cars. Sadler got T-boned by Tony Stewart and hit hard from behind by Denny Hamlin. Three wrecks in four weeks, for Sadler’s sake, lets hope bad things come in threes.
3. Denny Hamlin- Apparently Denny forgot where the brake pedal was on the No. 11 FedEx Toyota as he came flying around turn 2 and drove right into the back of Elliott Sadler without slowing during the lap 17 wreck. Hamlin said he couldn’t get the car to stop, but I am not sure he even tried. Hamlin finished 43rd and took a huge hit in points falling five spots from fourth to eighth.
4. The Demolished - Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Kevin Harvick, all had major damage from the lap 17 wreck and drove around the rest of the race with beat-up race cars logging laps for points. They all finished in the back of the pack and only Junebug kept his spot in the point standings (third). Smoke and Happy both dropped three spots to 11th and 10th respectively.
5. Clint Bowyer- Was involved in the lap 17 wreck and had brake problems, yet he was able to make it all the way back up into the top 10 before he cut a tire and then he went several laps down with a broken right front shock absorber. His 36th place finish dropped him three places in the point standings to eighth. That is two bad races in a row—time to step it up.
My weekly picks are dedicated to the memory of Cindi Redding who was respected and loved by all who knew her, especially her friends in the FOXSports.com community.
2. David Gilliland- Gilly earned high praise from his competitors on Sunday after posting an impressive second-place finish in his Yates Ford. It was no fluke, as he showed off his road racing skills learned from his dad by staying in the top five most of the day. His Free Credit Report probably looks a lot better after that payday!
3. Jeff Gordon – I hope Ella does not listen to her dad’s radio yet, because early in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 Gordon went on a cursing tirade and the best he could say about his car was that it was the worst one on the track. His crew jumped to action and changed everything but the driver. And with the benefit of some cautions, the No. 24 Dupont team came back to finish third. No matter whether it was hometrack advantage or champion expertise, either way, Gordon is up to sixth in the points.
4. Tony Stewart- Smoke had a rough weekend at Infineon. His qualifying effort left him starting 39th , but some well-timed cautions put him in the lead pack mid-race. He was making his patented march to the front when he got tagged from behind with only 5 laps to go. He restarted 19th and was a bull in a china shop as he picked up nine spots in four laps to finish 10th. That is impressive on a road course. He gets a ‘not’ however, for diss’ing me when I asked for an autograph…
5. Marcos Ambrose- Racing in his first Sprint Cup race in the No. 21 Wood Brother’s Ford, this Aussie rookie put on quite a show. He laid down a stellar qualifying lap and was fastest in practice too. During the race, Ambrose was entertaining to watch as he raced with his idols up front. Unfortunately, he didn’t impress Juan Pablo Montoya and then got wrecked by Elliott Sadler--which broke his transmission and ended his day early. His 42nd place finish misrepresents his race because those ‘Honey Buns’ were hot!
NOT 
2. Kevin Harvick- Happy was on the move, charging from 32nd all the way to fifth on lap 104 before all heck broke loose. The No. 29 Shell Chevy came into turn 4 way too hot and locked up his tires in a power slide as he spun and took out Jamie McMurray, Tony Stewart and Ron Fellows--all top cars. His spotter was priceless, “left side…left side…ew!” Un-happily, Harvick finished 30th and dropped to 13th in the standing, outside of Chase contention.
3. David Reutimann- The driver of the No. 44 UPS Toyota was very frank about his lack of confidence on the road courses. It showed. Not only did he wipe out his primary car on Saturday but he took a big hit into the tire barrier in his back-up car on Sunday relegating him to a 40th-place finish. I bet the car felt like the big brown truck around some of those turns.
4. Kurt Busch- Despite braking issues, Busch starting third and racing up front until Scott Pruett got into the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge--causing a bad tire rub on the right rear. Busch was forced to pit and went a lap down in the process, his great day ended with a 32nd-place finish. The Brew Crew can’t seem to catch a break, and apparently, I am not their lucky charm. 
5. The Road Ringers- Road racing strikes fear in the hearts of NASCAR drivers and owners, as they often turn to the road ringers to help salvage points. This year, they weren’t much help and a few actually hurt as they had run-ins with several Cup regulars. Brian Simo (43rd), Boris Said (41st), Scott Pruett (38th), Max Papis (35th), and Ron Fellows (29th) all finished at the back of the pack. Perhaps its time to rethink this strategy and just stick with your driver.
