Well… That was a pretty good hire… Don’t ya think?
Pretty much a no-brainer, really. He did win races last year including the Daytona 500. He did make the “Chase” last year…
So the jump to the #20 was a good one for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Not bad for Matt Kenseth, either. Even after talk of getting used to a new car, new team, new suit, new sponsors… All that “new” and Kenseth still pops to the top to win the third race of the season at Las Vegas. (more…)
Was it a plan to begin with or simply a result of experience on racing?
Yes… Jeff Gordon overtook Danica Patrick on lap one of the Daytona 500 to lead it for the opening laps. Patrick seemed all too happy to ride along in the 2 spot between Gordon and Kyle Busch.
That was the start of the Great American Race as they turned those opening laps over an obvious light spot on the front stretch. That spot was the remnant of an airborne blender from the Nationwide Series race the day before. That incident was on everyone’s mind all morning long not because of the track damage so much as race fans were involved and injured. Drivers spin and crash as almost a matter of course but fans involved casts a shadow over it all…
In-race reports kept updates on those fans which still listed a few in the hospital but recovering well. (more…)
Wow. That didn’t take long. The “big one” before the “big one” season starting Daytona 500 even got the green flag. The testing of the new Gen-6 car went wild during draft and group testing at speed…
Apparently, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. discovered a “draft fact”, that is if his post run comments were on the mark. Marcos Ambrose went loose setting off a chain of events that left a eleven cars in a state of insurance headache. Ambrose’s Ford went sideways after a rear clip from Earnhardt, Jr.’s Chevy which apparently lead to his comments. (more…)
Brad Keselowski.
Sprint Cup Champion for 2012.
It was close. Or rather, could have been.
The #2 Miller Lite Dodge team and Penske Racing ran a season that was consistent and put them into the position to be on the final podium for the Sprint Cup.
However, there was a hitch. The Lowe’s #48 team of Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Racing. They made a push. They got on top. They had problems. They fell back.
A crash, a mechanical, another mechanical… (more…)
Phoenix fans got a deal on their tickets.
One ticket gave access to a NASCAR race and a WWE event combined with championship drama and flying language suitable for an “R” rating if it were on the big screen at the cinema.
It was a mash-up of the bloopers from “Days of Thunder”, “Ricky Bobby” and “Last American Hero”…
Throw in the Nationwide Series race the day before and you have championship hopes dashed away by two.
Elliott Sadler in the Nationwide Series and Jimmie Johnson in Sprint Cup had practically the same scenario. Sadler had his hopes dashed away with a wall hit that took the #2 OneMain Financial Chevy out of the Great Clips 200 and left him 20 points out with only Homestead to go.
Jimmie Johnson also had a run with the retaining wall that took the #48 Lowe’s Chevy to the garage long enough to loose several laps and 20 points. Johnson also faces the prospect of one race remaining with the only hope of gaining resting on the potential bad luck of another.
On any race weekend fans would consider themselves lucky to have a seat while a game-changing scenario plays out on the track in front of them. (more…)
Jimmie Johnson. “J” X 2…
The #48. 4 X2 = 8.
Texas. Pole X 2. Johnson started on the pole two weeks in a row. This one at Texas and the week before at Martinsville.
Texas. Win X 2. Johnson wins from the pole for two straight weeks. Martinsville and again at Texas.
Also like Martinsville, the #2 Miller Lite Dodge of Brad Keselowski was there and in front of Johnson for the lead in the final laps but could not hold against the charging #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet.
Keselowski was up in the front more at Texas than back in Virginia but Johnson was, like Martinsville, holding the lead quite a bit as well and was at the front when it counted. (more…)
Martinsville. It can be a turn to turn slug-fest or a lap by lap run down trading positions. The classic scenario mixes the two for moves through the field and pushing the way to the front.
This weekend we got a bit of the classic Martinsville. Twenty-two lead changes, plenty of clashing bumpers with some spins and wall-hangers to an “anyone could take it” 20 lap final.
This was the Chase from Martinsville as the track celebrated 65 years of racing with Hall Of Famers, a showing of historic memorabilia at a local museum, a points grab on the line and a return to his car by one of the top stars of NASCAR.
If that wasn’t enough to make a full day throw in a constant threat of hurricane Sandy off the eastern coast and another front pumping through from the west. As the race ran through scheduled 500 laps it was raining 80 miles west and 100 miles east. Martinsville sat between the weather for racing but 15 minutes after the checkered flag the temperatures began to plummet and the wind was kicking it.
Martinsville fans are used to dealing with a little weird weather but this may have pushed it up a notch. (more…)