Tag: Brad Keselowski

They waited until the white flag. It was as if someone said “last chance to smack it all silly!”

There were some close calls earlier in the race at Talladega. A touch, a spin, a slide up the track or down to the infield but somehow most checked or got by…

Until the last lap.

The racing had gotten hot. Gordon had made a run up. Earnhardt, Jr. had a run. Johnson was there at some point. Kahne started on pole and ran with it. Kenseth was there at the end but it looked like Stewart could make a run and go.

It was Tony Stewart, he had gone up the track a bit and was coming back towards the inside on the white flag lap. It was a green-white-checkered run following a touch-up with Jamie McMurray being tagged by Harvick.

Stewart, on a dive back to the inside, did not catch the speed that Michael Waltrip had worked up. The left rear of the #14 tagged the right front of the #55… (more…)

How about that? Brad Keseowski won at Dover.

Or rather, his fuel tank won at Dover…

The push for position in the latter half of the race combined with pit stop strategy from other teams not quite working to the end put Keselowski in the front spot at the checkers.

A win is a win, right…? Yes… Fans want to see the drag race finish but it doesn’t always work that way. Hamlin and Busch had good cars and were in position but the fuel wasn’t. Rather than push and risk an empty tank and possible fall back deeper in points they went in for a “splash and dash” allowing others to take the front.

This win for the #2 Miller Lite Dodge is the second in the “Chase” and fifth for the entire season. Ironic that a Dodge is running well while making a manufacturer exit for the next season(s)… (more…)

Rain… It is as necesary as air…

However, on race day for NASCAR Sprint Cup, it is as unwelcome as a Bud hat in a Miller campsite…

The entire season blew the storm of the Chase into Richmond with wildcards and points on the line. That storm was put off as another storm blew in and kept the race in the garage for almost two hours. NASCAR and RIR staff kept things tight as the rain moved out. After all, the plan was to run under the lights. The weather was watched and the decision was held. Jet dryers and utility vehicles did a number on the track to dry it out but even then they ran the first few laps under caution.

Finally they went green on a green track with any rubber from qualifying and the Nationwide race the day before  thrown to the inner wall. The crowd braved the rain to watch Jeff Gordon blow by pole sitter Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Dale, Jr. to regain the lead shortly after. (more…)

We missed some racing.

But then… We missed a lot of things…  Air conditioning, refrigeration, lights, computer, internet, television…

We were luckier than many as we had hot and cold running water. Natural gas for the water heater…  Some had no running water at all.

Yes. The storm along the eastern United States got us. The last thing on the television was qualifying from Sparta, KY. High winds shut it down. Bits of pop-up tents were flying around the infield and garage area sweeping up setup notes, driver caps and SPEED personality scripts. At the time that seemed a bit unusual. Unusual to the point that we checked online for the weather in the area of Sparta. It was a storm with an arc of color indicating heavy rain moving across Ohio and northern Kentucky.

“Hmmm – That is interesting” and “Wow” and “Sucks for them” were pretty much the thoughts at the time. (more…)

Sunday racing was a full day. A wake up with Formula 1 followed by the showcase Indy 500 and close it down with NASCAR at the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte.

F1 gave us a spin or two and a Kobayashi bunny hop at Monaco. A good start to the day. From Monaco to Indianapolis the racing went up a notch and was matched up in Charlotte with the Coca-Cola 600.

There might have been a phone call. “I’ll do it if you do it!”

We’re referring to Dario Franchitti and Tony Stewart. It is odd that on the same day two defending champions encounter the same incident, and relatively speaking, at the same location. Coming into the pits at Indy, Franchitti is clipped by E.J. Viso and is spun sideways in the pit stall. The extra time and damage check put him to the back of the field. Skip ahead to the Coca-Cola 600 and here comes Tony Stewart to the pit stall only to have Brad Keselowski make the bump sending “Smoke” around facing traffic. (more…)

The AARON’S 499 at Talladega set a winning scenerio for some big names to present themselves in the final laps and the finish. Brad Keselowski and A.J. Allmendinger. Big, long names…

Four laps to go at Talladega and an impulse move takes out a chunk of the top challengers. It also set up a restart scenario that left the door open for the BK/KB train to rail to the front.

Denny Hamlin was crunched into a spot on the outside and when the two lines separated enough to make hole in the middle, he went for it. A.J. Allmendinger made an impulse move to keep the 11 behind him but he went without looking and Hamlin’s FedEx #11 was already nose in. The #22 of A.J. clipped and slid in front of Hamlin’s nose and dipped into the low row. The #22 straightened with contact on the inside row but the chain was off at that point putting the field on the brakes and into the wall and each other. (more…)

Coming away from Daytona it was difficult enough to determine who is driving what but now you have to take into account what day it is. Yes… Cup drivers have been running in the Nationwide Series for some time but it seems to be even more so. However, NASCAR has a rule about declaring which series a driver is running for a potential championship so why all the crossover? (more…)