No. 24 wins No. 84 at Pocono Raceway

In what was one of the calmest races in recent memory, Jeff Gordon drove his familiar DuPont Chevrolet into victory lane at Pocono Raceway. This was Gordon's fifth win at the "Tricky Triangle" and the 84th of his illustrious career, tying him with legends Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip for third (that's right, THIRD) on the all time wins list. Jeff Gordon has only been driving a Cup series car since 1992 and has been winning in them since 1994, but the things he has accomplished have been nothing short of astounding. I'm really not a Jeff Gordon fan, but the guy can wheel a race car and he proved that to us once again on Sunday.

The No. 24 started the race in third, right behind polesitter Kurt Busch. This was the second week in a row the No. 22 Dodge led the field to green, this time flanked by Paul Menard's No. 27 Chevy. But the race was at Pocono, so it didn't come as a surprise when Denny Hamlin's FedEx Toyota grabbed the lead and set sail. There were only four cautions over the 500 mile event, so there were very few opportunities for teams to regroup and make a charge at the No. 11 car. The only spin of the day came late in the event when Greg Biffle looped his 3M Ford off turn three, however the race remained under the green flag.

But just because there was very little on track action, that doesn't mean that the race was short on story lines. Probably the biggest one was the No. 18 and No. 29 cars getting into it again on the race track. Early on, fans saw Harvick run Busch's Toyota all the way down to the pit wall down the frontstrech and later falling in behind and pushing the younger Busch the length of that same straightaway. Busch and his crew chief Dave Rogers were not pleased, Busch later saying "It's not my fight. He's trying to turn it into one." Harvick saw things a little differently. "He knows he's got one coming" the RCR driver said. "I just wanted him to think about it." Harvick was also asked if he thought Busch got the message. "Of course he did" Harvick said. "It's all a free game now. Probation's over."

The race saw a few different leaders in Kurt Busch and Juan Montoya, but it looked as if Hamlin was going to run away with the victory. That is, however, until the field made some late race pit stops. Hamlin had the valve stem sheared off his left rear tire, causing the tire to immediately go flat. He rode around the 2.5 mile triangle back to pit road which caused some minor damage to his left rear quarter panel, but also allowed the rubber from the flat tire to wrap around the Toyota's rear end housing, knocking a brake line loose.

With the king of Pocono, Hamlin, down and out of contention, the door opened for the DuPont team to charge. Gordon had laid back in the weeds all day long and pounced when the right time came. Nobody is better at saving equipment and using it when it matters than Jeff Gordon. So when he took the checkers and pulled into victory lane for the 84th time, it wasn't a surprise to anyone. The No. 24 team will try and repeat in Michigan this weekend and keep Denny Hamlin from winning his second spring Michigan race in a row. It will also be interesting to see what happens between Busch and Harvick in the Irish Hills as well. Judging by how exciting this season has been so far, this weekends race in the Motor City should be a great one.

Childress Penalty Announced

Well Nascar announced Richard Childress' penalty yesterday. They will fine the team owner $150,000 and place him on probation until season's end. This was a very tough decision to make, I'm sure, because his actions can't be take too lightly.

Don't get me wrong, I stand behind Childress and I love the fact that he stood up for his team. But other's disagree. Most people accused Nascar of playing favorites, letting RC off easy, while another, lower profile owner would have been suspended from the sport. That may be true, but let's remember who we're talking about here. Like I said in my previous post regarding this matter, Richard Childress is about as redneck as you can get in the Nascar garage. He's extremely old school and doesn't take any crap from anybody. So he is going to settle a score like they did back in the good old days of stock car racing: Settle the score in the garage and let Nascar worry about it later. That's all that happened.

He is also the only owner like that in the Sprint Cup series. Could anyone really see businessmen like Rick Hendrick and Jack Roush fighting in the garage area? All Joe Gibbs would do is give a sermon about how violence is wrong and hide behind his Bible. Richard Childress is a good ol' boy and isn't afraid to get down and dirty when it comes to doing what he feels is right.

Now, about the penalty. Many members of the Nascar media have said RC should have been fined and suspended, it was a tough call for Nascar to make. "Boys, have at it" is all well an good between drivers, but when team owners get involved, that's a totally different story.

Like I said, Childress is the only owner who would be likely to do something like this and he probably won't do it again. Yes, a fine is great, but I still feel something more than just "probation" should go along with it. $150,000 to an owner of Childress' magnitude is mere pocket change. With the money he makes off winnings from four Cup series teams and two Truck series teams (not to mention the money he makes from teams that lease chassis and engines from him), I think he'll be just fine financially after he cuts that big check. And all Nascar fans know what a joke "probation" is so that won't amount to much as far as teaching him a lesson. Suspending him for a race or two would definitely have sent the message home that this type of behavior won't be tolerated among Nascar owners.

You can't please everyone. Some say Nascar hit the nail on the head, and some say they didn't penalize RC near enough. I stand behind what Childress did because he was just standing up for his team and what he felt was right. But I also understand that we can't have team owners going around knocking out drivers in the garage after races either. A one or two race suspension and a fine would have driven that point home a bit more clearly. But, this was a one time thing with the only owner who would do something of this nature. Good call or bad, it's time to move on to racing at Pocono and to leave "boys, have at it" to the drivers.

It's Miller TIme for Keselowski and Blue Deuce Team in Kansas

For the second week in a row, a Nascar Sprint Cup Series race came down to fuel mileage. For the second week in a row, Dale Earnhardt, Jr came within laps of snapping his 105 race winless drought. And for the second week in a row, a totally unexpected team pulled into victory lane.

After a very mild, uneventful STP 400, Brad Keselowski stretched his fuel mileage and pulled the Miller Lite "Blue Deuce" into victory lane for the first time since teammate Kurt Busch won last seasons Coke 600. But to do it, Keselowski had to beat former teammate and owner Dale Earnhadt, Jr. This is also Brad's first win for Penske Racing.

Brad's teammate, Kurt Busch brought the field to the green flag and dominated most of the race. This was a far cry from the Kurt Busch who has struggled mostly all of this season, cussing out his pit crew and calling out and insulting members of the Penske Racing management team by name and yelling about how none of the aforementioned team members can do their jobs right. But the #22 AAA Dodge led several laps and looked to be on track to turn the Penske organization's nightmare season around.

As the race progressed, there were very few wrecks and even fewer passes. The race was also beginning to look more like a fuel mileage race than a regular dash to the checkered flag. That's exactly how it worked out. The teams that had been out front, like Busch's #22, Tony Stewart's #14 and Carl Edward's #99 were all forced to pit road, while Keselowski, Dale Jr and Denny Hamlin were trying to stretch the Sunoco E-85 ethanol in their tanks to lap 267.

Junior's crew chief Steve Letarte instructed his driver to just pass Hamlin and race him. Keselowski was going to run out anyway. Right? What the #88's head wrench didn't know was that Brad's #2 Dodge was only about 3/4 of a lap short on gas. So saving that little amount of fuel was easy. Then, with about five laps to go, Junior was told to start saving again, eliminating any chance he had at catching the #2. This pretty much sealed the deal and netted Brad Keselowski his second Sprint Cup win. While the Miller Lite team celebrated in victory lane, Earnhardt, Jr walked down pit road, looking a lot more peeved than he did last weekend. It was almost as if he knew he should have won this race. Second place is, after all, just the first loser.

Keselowski and Junior will both get another shot to win this weekend as the Sprint Cup action heads to the "Tricky Triangle" of Pocono Raceway. Denny Hamlin has been untouchable there for several years now. Will Brad Keselowski repeat? Will Junior finally score his first win in over 100 races? Or will Denny Hamlin continue his stranglehold on the field at Pocono? We'll have to wait until 400 miles of racing around the tri corner racetrack in the Poconos to find out.

Temperatures Not The Only Thing Hot In Kansas

The talk so far this week at the Kansas Speedway has been about a slick racetrack ad high temperatures. But the mercury wasn't the only thing boiling over Saturday afternoon. After the Camping World Truck Series race, won by Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch drove his #18 truck into the side of Joey Coulter's #22 Richard Childress Racing Silverado to express his displeasure with a move Coulter put on Busch to grab fifth from him off turn four on the last lap.

It was later reported that about a half hour after the race, Coulter's owner Richard Childress removed his wristwatch and approached Busch in the Truck Series garage. Childress then put Busch in a headlock and punched him two or three times. Busch fell to the ground, got back up and then Childress took another swing at him.

Now, this wasn't all because Kyle put a little dent in the side of Coulter's Childress-owned Chevy. These two do have a history. Most recently, Busch and RCR driver Jeff Burton got into a heated confrontation after the fall Charlotte race last season following an on track scuffle. Kevin Harvick and Busch also got into it at Homestead last season, as well as after the Darlignton race earlier this season (I think we all know what happened there). This truck incident was merely the straw that broke the camel's back. Busch had reportedly told Kyle a while ago to stop wrecking his cars or he would take care of Kyle himself. So the writing was definitely on the wall.

Childress is a 65 year old man and Busch, a 26 year old kid. How would it look if Busch gave a 65 year old man a black eye? With a sponsor like M&M's, a favorite among kids, Kyle can't exactly go around fighting a Nascar legend like Childress. But on the flip side, Kyle never would anyway. He talks big and acts tough, but when the time comes to make good on his threats, he turns tail and runs. Richard Childress is about as old school as you can get. He's a tough ol' redneck and isn't going to take any crap from a young punk like Kyle Busch. Kyle can't exactly earn respect by running away with his tail between his legs when the time comes to stand up for himself either. (Especially in this case, where a 65 year old man dropped him like a bag of dirt).

I don't think we'll ever really know what happened. Speed channel's Nascar Racday talked to Kyle Sunday (after the choirboy got out of church. Gimmie a break) and he didn't offer many details. Only that he wanted to move on. Nascar also advised Childress to not talk about the situation to the media. So, for the time being, Childress has been sworn to secrecy and Kyle (along with his Cup owner Joe Gibbs) will continue to talk big and hide behind his Bible when it comes time to throw down.

Personally, my hat goes off to Mr. Childress. This is how things were settled back in the day. Let the boys settle it first and let Nascar settle it later. There's a reason why his RCR team earned the nickname "The Junkyard Dogs" back in the day. There's a reason why he picked guys like Dale Earnhardt, Sr, Mike Skinner and Kevin Harvck to drive his cars over the years. This team is, and has always been, made up of good ol' boys that will race you hard and knock you on your ass if you do something they don't like. Yes, what R.C. did is a PR nightmare, but sometimes it is about principles and standing up for whats right. That's what Richard Childress did and I applaud him for that.

Nascar Drivers Show Support For Tornado Ravaged Joplin

There are several reasons why Nascar is different than conventional stick and ball sports, but one of the biggest is that they are always ready and willing to give back. During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, all the drivers ran special decals and raised money and supplies for those affected. They also support our military in all that they do for our country. So with the recent tornadoes in Joplin, Missouri, several teams, drivers and sponsors jumped at the chance to lend a helping hand to those affected.

Jamie McMurray, driver of the #1 Bass Pro Shops Chevy, is a native of Joplin and still calls that city home, despite living in North Carolina. This past weekend in the Coke 600, while many drivers were sporting red, white and blue paint schemes, McMurray's was the same orange, black and camo Impala that he runs every week. But it did have one major difference.

Johnny Morris, owner of Bass Pro Shops and close friend of McMurray, took Tracker Boats off the side of the #1 car for the weekend and replaced it with the phrase "Hope Joplin, Mo." along with the website convoyofhope.org. But the race quickly turned to heartbreak for this team because as Jamie ran second, fighting for the lead, his engine let go and sent him out of the race. Jamie is a guy who flies under the radar a lot and is a hell of a race car driver. He is also a really great, genuine guy and seeing that Hope for Joplin car heading to the garage was disappointing not only for him, but for the fans as well. That would have been a really great feel good win and a great boost of moral for that city.

On his way to Kansas for this weekend's race, Jamie also stopped to tour the devastation around his hometown. He stayed pretty calm during the majority of the trip, until he arrived at East 25th Street and saw where house number 4471 once stood. That is when McMurray let his emotions show.

Jamie Mac walked through the rubble that was childhood home and managed to talk through his tears about remembering Christmas as a child and how he now had a greater appreciation for what those affected are going through now. He also saw what remained of Joplin High School, from which he is a graduate. This site was one of the few places left where clean up had not yet begun, so it really gave the Earnhardt-Gannasi Racing driver some perspective about the damage that was actually done.

You can watch McMurray's reaction in his interview with ESPN reporter Marty Smith by visiting http://www.sbnation.com/nascar/2011/6/3/2204586/nascar-jamie-mcmurray-joplin-tornado-damage-2011. You can also access this link by clicking on the above picture of McMurray's car. The video was posted on the SB Nation website by writer Jeff Gluck and really helps to paint a vivid picture of McMurray's emotions. Just being able to hear Jamie's voice and see his reaction, just breaks your heart and really puts things into perspective. It's impossible to imagine being in that situation.

Another team doing some fundraising this weekend was Michael Waltrip Racing. MWR drivers David Reutimann, Martin Truex, Jr and Bobby Labonte, as well as the teams sponsors Aaron's Rent and Bass Pro Shops held autograph sessions and collections for the folks in Joplin. Reutimann and Labonte signed autographs for fans at an Aaron's store in Kansas and Truex did the same at a Kansas area Bass Pro Shops. (They are only an associate sponsor on Truex's #56 car. Most of their sponsorship dollars go towards Jamie Mac's car). The team's #00 and #56 pit crews were also on hand to load tons of supplies onto trucks bound for Missouri.

That is what makes Nascar different. The drivers that we see race every Sunday are not big time celebrities like Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and LeBron James. They are real people and they have not forgotten where they came from. From big time drivers like Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, to those that fly under the radar like Jamie Mac and Reutimann, they all do great things from setting up foundations for different causes, to visiting disaster areas and collecting supplies for disaster relief. It's great to see that McMurray, Reutimann, Truex and Waltrip care about what their fellow Americans are going through and that they are there for them, using their "celebrity" statuses for good. Please keep those affected by the tornadoes in Joplin, Tuscaloosa, Mississippi and Massachusetts in your thoughts and prayers as they rebuild their homes and their lives.

After 600 Miles of Racing, Harvick Wins on Fuel Gamble

Well, this Memorial Day weekend produced some of the strangest racing and bizarre finishes that I can remember. On the last lap of the centennial Indianapolis 500, rookie JR Hildebrand was leading with just laps to go. The rest of the leaders were slowed trying to conserve fuel, which Hildebrand did at the beginning of the run so he could race at the end. That is what enabled him to grab the lead as Danica Patrick and Dario Franchitti slowed and pitted for gas. It looked as if the Panther Racing National Guard team that finished second the previous three years would finally be able take the traditional drink of milk in victory lane. But on the final lap, in the final turn, Hildebrand did what so many cars had done earlier in the event. His car pushed up the track off tun four, sending his car hard into the outside wall. His car did coast across the finish line, but not before Dan Weldon could score the win. Hildebrand was forced to finish second. Would the Coca Cola 600 be able to compete with this thrilling finish?

Nascar's longest night began with a somber, solemn tribute to our military men and women who paid the ultimate in service to this nation. Pre race ceremonies began with a bagpipe band playing Amazing Grace, a 21-gun salute and a lone bugle playing taps. A prayer was give for the safety of the drivers, fans, crews and military and Darius Rucker performed the national anthem. Then the engines fired and 43 of Nascar's finest embarked on their longest night of the season.

Brad Keselowski led the field to the green flag. But he didn't last long as Carl Edwards grabbed the lead and checked out. It looked like this was going to be a repeat of the All Star race. But as with every race that transitions into night, if you're good early, you probably aren't going to be the one in victory lane. Richard Petty Motorsports drivers AJ Allmendinger and Marcos Ambrose also continued their string of strong runs, leading several laps and contending for the victory. The other car that showed some muscle early on and into the darkness, much to delight of about 95% of Nascar Nation, was the #88 of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Would stock car racing's favorite son finally snap his 100-plus race loosing streak?

The marathon race continued into night with very few incidents. But when the sunwent down and the race wore on, the drivers tired and started to make some mistakes. The first major wreck happened when Paul Menard spun. His #27 car drove off unscathed, but some cars behind were not so lucky. Mark Martin drilled Martn Truex, Jr, sending his #56 NAPA Toyota into the wall with Brian Vicker's #83 car. Martin also wrecked David Gilliland and Ryan Newman later in the race. But the real action came late in the event when the four letter F-word started being tossed around.

No, not that F-word. (You'd need a radio scanner to hear that). Fuel. It's just so strange how after more than 500 miles of good, hard racing, the end of this 600 mile marathon can come down to who can save the most gas. The top three cars were Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne and Dale Jr. David Ragan and the rest of the top six or seven cars had slowed to save fuel. It looked as if the race was the Biff's to lose. Maybe Kasey would manage to steal one. But maybe, just maybe, they'd run out of gas racing each other and Junior would speed past both of them and net a victory in one of the sport's crown jewel events. When Junior asked if he should be saving more gas, crew chief Steve Letarte had a very simple response: "NO. GO."

Just a few laps shy of the finish, Jimmie Johnson nuked an engine, sending his chances for a good finish and his Lowe's Chevy, to the garage in a cloud of smoke. This meant that the race would finish under a green, white, checker finish (there can be as many as three attempts at a green, white, checker) and that if you were close on gas before, you are in some serious trouble now. Greg Biffle was the only one of the leaders to blink and surrendered the lead to pit for fuel. Junior, Denny Hamlin and several other cars were running on the apron in the corners to keep fuel in their pickup valves. Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton both got a push from their team mate Menard under this yellow. The pace car pulled down pit road and it was time to see if anyone would stumble or if all the cars would go.

The latter turned out to be the case as Khane, along with several other drivers stalled out on the restart, which allowed Dale Jr to grab a commanding lead. Denny Hamlin ran second and Harvick rode in third. It stayed that way through the white flag lap, but as the field came around turn two to the backstretch, Junior's car slowed going into turn three. It looked as if he would have enough speed to coast to the finish line since Hamlin's tank ran dry shortly after. But it was not to be, as Kevin Harvick (running a fitting military stealth paint scheme) snuck up from third and scored the win. Mr. "Where did he come from?" lived up to his nickname once again. Earnhardt and Hamlin finished seventh and tenth respectively.

Earnhardt, Jr and Letarte both said after the race that they were disappointed, but they only showed up for one reason. Letarte said that all teams need to ask themselves: "Did you come to run up front or did you come to win?" Junior echoed his crew chief's sentiment. "We had to try" he said. "Think about it man- winning the 600! That'd be awesome. I had to try. Had to try." Even though they came up short, the #88 team remains optimistic. Letarte said his trophy case "isn't full enough" to not go for the victory. "We come to get trophies" he said. "That's two races this year- Martinsville and here- that we had a shot to win in the last 25 laps." This team has run well all season long, save for a race or two, and they will get a win. It's just a matter of when.

So this week, the teams head from the Queen City to Kansas City and the Kansas Speedway. Nascar will be heading to "The Sunflower State" twice for the first time this season, which is great. The way the track has worn, it really promotes side by side racing and drivers can use multiple grooves to make their better. That's what makes the Kansas Speedway so much fun. Will Kevin Harvick win two in a row for the second time this season? Will Dale Junior finally win a race after coming so close last weekend? Or will another driver drive into victory lane this weekend? We'll have to wait 400 miles around the Kansas Speedway to see which driver will take home the trophy. Should be an awesome race!

Reutimann Team Looks to Prove '09 600 Victory No Fluke

When David Reutimann won the 2009 Coca-Cola 600, it was the first time I have ever heard of anyone having to apologize for winning a race. The race had been postponed from Sunday to Monday due to rain showers. When the green flag fell, all the crews knew that rain could still be an issue and it could possibly be a race to halfway. It turned out that this was the case and a little after halfway, the heavens and pit road opened. Many of the lead cars came down pit road, but Rodney Childers made the call to leave Reutimann out in case the race ended. Ryan Newman and Robby Gordon followed suit.


Nascar brought the drivers down pit road and parked them as they began their track drying efforts. They always try their darnedest to get the advertised distance in so the fans can see a show. But the more it rained, the more it seemed like the race was over. It looked as if Reutimann, Childers and Michael Waltrip Racing had all netted their first victory in the same race. But Nascar continued to prolong the inevitable and kept trying to dry the track. Periodically, the FOX cameras would catch a shot of Reutimann sitting next to his covered race car, by himself, with a very serious look on his face. Almost waiting for the other shoe to drop and Nascar to call the drivers back to their cars to finish their longest race.
Eventually, after several hours of track drying (I think the jet dryers may have made 600 miles even if the race cars didn't. At least that's what it felt like), the race was called and Reutimann was declared the winner of the 50th annual Coca-Cola 600. Even David's father, dirt racing legend "Buzzie" Reutimann was on hand for this happy occasion. However, the win was not without it's controversy.


A Nascar driver never wants to win a rain shortened race, especially not their first win. But like Reutimann said in victory lane, "It certainly wasn't the prettiest win, but somebody's gotta win these things." No matter if the race goes the whole distance, if it's rain shortened or if a driver wins on fuel mileage, a win is a win is a win. There isn't an asterisk in the record books that this race was rain shortened. They will just say that Reutimann and his team won the race. But still, fans and reporters alike only talked about how Reutimann's win was a fluke, how he and his team backed into the victory and how they didn't earn it or deserve it. Later in the season, Joey Logano also won his first race in a rain shortened event at New Hampshire. The track drying took about a quarter of the eternity it did at the 600 and everyone seemed so happy and excited that the rookie, known as "Sliced Bread" (as in, the greatest thing since) had finally won wheeling Tony Stewart's old ride.


All season long, while Logano was lauded as the youngest driver to win a Sprint Cup race since Kyle Busch in 2005, Reutimann and his team almost had to apologise for winning a rain shortened race. They took so much garbage about how they won that race, but hadn't yet won a race that finished under green yet. That became this team's mission for the rest of the season. They put everything they had into contending for a Chase spot and winning another race. Both of which almost happened.


The next year, in 2010, Reutimann and his team returned to Charlotte for the Coke 600 and tried to win it again. This year, they were even more impressive, never leaving the top ten all night, fighting for the lead and eventually finishing fifth. Later that season, at Chicagoland Speedway, the #00 Tums team finally shut up all the haters, crybabies and trash talkers and won a race that went the full distance. They proved that they could do it. Like Reutimann said in his victory lane interview "I don't know what they can say about this one." When you race guys like Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards fro the victory and come out on top, that is a hard earned, well deserved victory (And just FYI, Logano still has yet to win a race the old fashioned way).


This weekend, Reutimann and his Aaron's Dream Machine team return for the 52nd Coke 600 and, in my opinion, should be heavily favored to win the darn thing. They are bringing back the car they ran third with in the All Star race one week ago so they will be a team to deal with as the race winds down. But whether they win their second Coke 6o0 this weekend or not, they have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are a team that can run up front and win a lot more races. But no matter what, a win is a win. Any driver will tell you how hard a cup series win is to come by these days, so every one is deserved no matter how you get it.