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Hendrick Motorsports teammates face pressure after standings tumble

CONCORD, N.C. — Six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson says the plan is simple.

"Try and take the trophy out of here; really, that solves our problem in the points that we have right now," the Hendrick Motorsports driver said Thursday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Johnson and teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne, along with Team Penske driver Brad Keselowski, enter Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 (ABC, 7:30 p.m. ET) on the outside of the cutoff spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings. Only the top eight after next week’s race at Talladega Superspeedway will advance and remain eligible for this year’s championship.

Different incidents at Kansas Speedway last week put a kink in their title hopes. Charlotte is an opportunity to win, move on and put aside any concerns about next weekend’s trip to Talladega.

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"If we can’t (win), we still need to focus on finishing as high as we can," Johnson, 39, said. "The reason that leaves a little bit of hope is because if you miss the big (wrecks) in Talladega, you could assume some of the other Chasers will be involved in one or two of those and you might have another chance.

"It’s a fading chance, the position I’m in I believe, but it’s still an opportunity and something for us to consider."

Johnson won here in May, the first of three wins by the No. 48 team in the span of four weeks. Since then, wins have not materialized and a single mishap threatens to paint Johnson out of the title picture.

"We’re just not where we want to be, bottom line," he said. "This sport is not forgiving and what you’ve done in the past doesn’t buy you a damn thing for the present. You’ve got to go out there and earn it and make the most of it.

"We’ve been a third- to fifth-place car. We can finish there and run there but we haven’t been a dominant car. We’re certainly hoping that when we come to tracks that have been very good for the 48 that we’re able to find that little bit, that extra tenth and put us in that position and get our mojo going the right way."

Johnson is a seven-time winner at CMS and sports an average finish of 11.2.

Earnhardt Jr. is still searching for his first points win at the 1.5-mile facility. Charlotte has not been as kind to the sport’s most popular driver. He’s won here in 2000 in the series’ annual All-Star race and again in 2012 in the Sprint Showdown.

But that lack of success hasn’t dulled his outlook for racing his way back into contention.

"We obviously know what the situation is with the points and how important it is for us to come in here and win the race," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I have been winless at Charlotte in a points-paying race since I started my career, so it’s bound to happen sooner or later.

"I always win at the weirdest times in the oddest circumstances. So I feel like everything is lining up and I feel real good about this weekend."

Unlike Johnson, who had his hands full at Kansas, Earnhardt Jr. was enjoying a strong run last week before a tire problem sent his No. 88 Chevrolet to the garage. He had led 45 laps and was out front when the incident occurred.

That performance, he said, gives him confidence going into this weekend’s race.

"I feel less pressure now I think than I did before the race at Kansas," he said. "Even … if we had run in the top five last week, I think … under the circumstances now I still feel less pressure for some reason — it’s weird.

"I just think that we have a shot and I feel good about it. I think our team is good. I think we are good enough. I think we should go out there and win. I believe we will."

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Posted on by Nascar

Bruce: Driver readies for second chance with team on upswing

Sam Hornish Jr. will return to full-time competition in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2015 as driver of the No. 9 Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports.

Can Hornish, a former open-wheel champion with 131 starts in the series, contend for wins? Can he follow in teammate Aric Almirola‘s footsteps and earn a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup?

Does RPM have the tools and personnel to provide Hornish with the opportunity to accomplish either of those goals?

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Hornish, 35, obviously believes that’s the case. Although he hasn’t competed in a full-time capacity in the Sprint Cup Series since 2010, when he finished 29th in points with Team Penske, Hornish hasn’t exactly been sitting at home on the couch.

He finished out the year for Penske in 2012, running 20 races in the No. 22 entry after AJ Allmendinger was suspended. That same year, he finished fourth in the NASCAR Nationwide Series standings.

The following season, he finished second in the Nationwide Series, falling just three points short of the title won by Austin Dillon.

He’s made nine NASCAR starts this season, eight for Joe Gibbs Racing in Nationwide, winning at Iowa in the team’s No. 54 Toyota.

His lone Sprint Cup start came at Auto Club Speedway, a last-minute call putting him in the No. 11 of Denny Hamlin after Hamlin was sidelined for medical reasons.

Age isn’t an issue — six of this year’s 13 race winners are 35 or older, and they have combined for 15 wins in 30 races.

Experience shouldn’t be a problem, although rule changes, the lack of testing opportunities and getting settled in with a new team will affect how quickly the team is able to get up to speed.

Why return to the series in a full-time capacity? Hornish said he’s yet to complete what he originally hoped to accomplish when he made the transition from IndyCar, where he won championships in 2001, 2002 and 2006.

"A lot of people want to ask me ‘why don’t you go back to IndyCar?’ " Hornish said Wednesday. "I never came over here because I wanted to have a little bit more fame or I felt like I was going to make any more money doing it. I came over here because I was intrigued by the competition side of it.

"I felt like I had accomplished what I wanted to in the IndyCar Series. Now I put myself back in position where I could continue to build on what I originally came over here for."

And RPM, he said, can help him accomplish that.

It won’t be easy. While the organization clearly has made gains in the past few seasons, its drivers have won only sporadically. Almirola’s victory this season, in July at Daytona, earned the driver a spot in this year’s Chase, but both he and Marcos Ambrose struggled to find the consistency necessary to be a factor on a weekly basis.

It’s been a year of slow improvement for the group. Although Almirola failed to advance out of the first round of the Chase, he earned his first career win, and his two top-five and seven top-10 finishes are career bests.

Ambrose, who will return to Australia after the 2014 season, failed to earn the victory that could have put his No. 9 team in the Chase. His three top-five and five top-10 finishes through 30 races this year are on par with previous years’ results.

While he says the organization is "not where we want to be yet," Sammy Johns, director of competition for RPM, said the gains the group has made this year helped attract a driver with the potential and talent of Hornish.

RPM could have gone the other way with its choice, opting for a young driver with less experience. But by choosing Hornish, the team clearly expects to continue to move forward without taking a step back.

Both driver and team have something to prove.

"It’s kind of like a small ship," Hornish said of the organization. "It’s a lot easier to turn, and they’ve got a lot of things heading in a really good direction."

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Posted on by Staff Report

See where every driver will pit Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC

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Kyle Busch won the Coors Light Pole Award for the Bank of America 500 (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC) at Charlotte Motor Speedway and chose the first pit stall at the exit of pit road, heading into Turn 1.

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Jeff Gordon qualified second and selected the 15th pit stall, the first with a front opening. Across the open stall is the third-fastest qualifier Denny Hamlin who will pit in the 11th box.

Tony Stewart was fourth in the final round of qualifying and selected the 22nd stall, three off of the start/finish line toward the Turn 4 side. Ryan Newman rounded out the top five and will pit in the 21st stall, across the opening from Stewart.

The rest of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Contender Round drivers will pit in the following spots:

Joey Logano, Second stall
Brad Keselowski, Ninth stall
Dale Earnhardt Jr., 12th stall
Jimmie Johnson, 24th stall
Kasey Kahne, 31st stall
Matt Kenseth, 38th stall
Carl Edwards, 41st stall
Kevin Harvick, 43rd stall

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Posted on by Staff Report

See the order the drivers will head off in Coors Light Pole Qualifying (Thursday, 7:20 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

# Car Driver Team
1 66 Brett Moffitt RoyalTeakCollection.com Toyota
2 9 Marcos Ambrose Stanley Ford
3 38 David Gilliland MDS Transport Ford
4 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet
5 24 Jeff Gordon Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet
6 5 Kasey Kahne Pepsi Chevrolet
7 43 Aric Almirola Smithfield/Waffle House Ford
8 2 Brad Keselowski Detroit Genuine Parts Ford
9 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota
10 95 Michael McDowell Pieters Pals/KLOVE Ford
11 98 Josh Wise Provident Metals Chevrolet
12 99 Carl Edwards Fastenal Ford
13 77 Corey LaJoie(i) Essex Homes Ford
14 36 Reed Sorenson Zing Zang Chevrolet
15 7 Michael Annett # Cypress HQ Chevrolet
16 51 Justin Allgaier # BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet
17 33 Timmy Hill Retroinfinity.com Chevrolet
18 23 Alex Bowman # Dr Pepper Toyota
19 26 Cole Whitt # Rinnai Toyota
20 34 David Ragan CSX – Play It Safe Ford
21 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Breast Cancer Awareness Chevrolet
22 14 Tony Stewart Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet
23 3 Austin Dillon # Dow Chevrolet
24 6 Trevor Bayne(i) AdvoCare Ford
25 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet
26 16 Greg Biffle 3M Bondo Ford
27 83 JJ Yeley(i) Painter’s Ice Cream Toyota
28 22 Joey Logano Pennzoil Platinum Ford
29 47 AJ Allmendinger Scott Products Chevrolet
30 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser Chevrolet
31 42 Kyle Larson # Target Chevrolet
32 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Chevrolet
33 41 Kurt Busch State Water Heaters Chevrolet
34 32 Blake Koch(i) Leaf Filter Ford
35 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet
36 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Zest Ford
37 40 Landon Cassill(i) Chevrolet
38 18 Kyle Busch Doublemint Toyota
39 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota
40 55 Brian Vickers Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota
41 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet
42 15 Clint Bowyer Pink Lemonade 5-Hour Energy benefitting LBBC Toyota
43 27 Paul Menard Schrock/Menards Chevrolet
44 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald’s Monopoly Chevrolet
Posted on by Staff Report

The Official Beer of NASCAR looks to fans to help find its next spokeswoman

RELATED: Vote for the new Miss Coors Light

Coors Light, the official beer of NASCAR, is giving race fans nationwide a chance to select the next Miss Coors Light from a "six pack" of candidates.

"If I have said it once, I have said it a million times; being Miss Coors Light has been the greatest job in the world."

—Rachel Rupert

Hundreds of candidates were interviewed for the position and the final six candidates were announced today at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The final phase of the search will take place on NASCAR.com/MissCoorsLight and legal-drinking-age fans will have until November 16 to vote. The new Miss Coors Light will be announced December 4 during NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion’s Week™ in Las Vegas.

The World’s Most Refreshing Beer officially launched the Miss Coors Light program in 2010 with the selection of Rachel Rupert during the "Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™." After more than four years as the face of the brand’s partnership with NASCAR, Rupert will hang up her fire suit and prep the next Miss Coors Light for the position.

"If I have said it once, I have said it a million times; being Miss Coors Light has been the greatest job in the world," said Rupert. "It’s been an unbelievable experience to be the voice of the fans every week for Coors Light. For me, it’s not race day without a crisp, refreshing Coors Light, and no matter where I am in the world, that won’t change."

Although there will be a new face and fire suit walking pit road, fans can expect the next Miss Coors Light to uphold the traditions of the program.

Miss Coors Light will continue to wave the green flag during qualifying and present the Coors Light Pole Award in Victory Lane. Along with at-track activities, Miss Coors Light will continue to post unique content to Facebook.com/MissCoorsLight and NASCAR.com’s "Out Front with Miss Coors Light," a weekly video series with each weekend’s pole winner.

Fans across the country can meet Miss Coors Light at grocery stores, convenience stores, bars and restaurants prior to every race. Follow the search for the next Miss Coors Light by heading to Facebook.com/MissCoorsLight and following @MissCoorsLight on Twitter.

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Win in Bank of America 500 put ‘Awesome Bill’ on track

RELATED: Happy birthday, Bill! Plus other October birthdays

Editor’s note: On Bill Elliott‘s 59th birthday, Charlotte Motor Speedway takes a look back at a critical win in the career of "Awesome Bill."

Thirty years ago, three brothers from the tiny north Georgia mountain town of Dawsonville began their meteoric rise from obscurity to international stardom with their victory in the 1984 Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The win was the second of three that year for Bill Elliott — who will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in January — and his older brothers Ernie and Dan; and it helped set the stage for an unbelievable 1985 season that produced 11 victories.

"The things we were able to do and the things we did at the time we did it, I think, was a total miracle," the now 59-year-old Bill Elliott said when recalling the Charlotte victory that was his first on a southern track. "Back then you could work hard, put your stuff together and you could figure stuff out, and you could be good. Today, it’s’ just so much money. If you’re not connected in some way, you just can’t put it all together anymore."

In October 1984, the Elliotts headed to Charlotte Motor Speedway with only two victories in their pocket — the 1983 season finale on the road course in Riverside, California, and the following year at the 2-mile Michigan International Speedway.

When the October 1984 race began, weather conditions were sunny, making the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway hot and slick. Conditions the potent Elliott Ford Thunderbird didn’t like.

"We weren’t worth a crap," Dan Elliott recalled. "We almost got lapped."

But once it became cloudy "we were Jack the bear" Dan Elliott recalled. It was the team’s most convincing victory to date as Bill Elliott dominated the race’s second half. He was virtually unchallenged over the final 167 laps. When the checkered flag waved, Bill Elliott led runner-up and pole starter Benny Parsons by 14.5 seconds.

The now 67-year-old Ernie Elliott said the victory "solidified the fact that we could win races on a regular basis."

"If you don’t let it get you down, nothing will prepare you better than defeat. If you’re competitively driven, you will continue to work to make your program better," Ernie Elliott noted. "That’s basically what we did in ’84. We ran good in ’84. That (Charlotte win) just sort of capped everything off and gave us the momentum when we needed the momentum."

Two weeks after the Charlotte win, Bill Elliott rolled into Victory Lane at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina. For the 30-race 1984 season, Bill Elliott‘s statistics showed three victories, four poles, 13 top-five and 24 top-10 finishes. His average finish was 8.6, which led to a third-place finish in the standings.

When talking about the 1984 season, Dan Elliott fondly recalls how their parents attended the races and the family was a cohesive unit. He describes it as "absolutely a momentum, team building, couldn’t believe what we were doing" year.

"We were a little team out of Dawsonville," Dan Elliott said. "The town was behind you, the people were behind you, the papers; everybody couldn’t get enough of you. All of that hype, bandwagon stuff, everybody was on it. It was almost like you could do no wrong. This is where I attribute the glory of God in all this stuff because if it were not, I know we wouldn’t be where we are today. It’s not until everything goes away and the problems come that you realize how truly blessed you were."

Text goes here

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Our experts address this week’s hot topics in NASCAR

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1. Richard Petty Motorsports has announced that Sam Hornish Jr. will drive the team’s No. 9 Ford beginning in 2015. What can we expect from the team?

Alan Cavanna: I think "outside chance at making the Chase" will be the category the team and organization remain in. The No. 9 car specifically was right on that bubble, even if you take away the road-course skills of Marcos Ambrose. Just like this year, the team will need a little more next year

Zack Albert: Hornish has done plenty to earn a return trip to Sprint Cup full-time, and the extra seasoning in the Nationwide Series has served him well. Liked Ambrose a lot, and he was always the scourge of the road courses, but Hornish — though ovals were always his IndyCar strong suit — has some road savvy about him as well.

Kenny Bruce: For starters, I think it’s a tremendous move for the Petty organization. Hornish brings no baggage with him and has experience in the series. I’m not sure we can grade his previous results without considering how competitive the Penske organization was overall during his tenure there. But if you believe that RPM is on the upswing, signing Hornish should keep the group headed in the right direction. Can they win? Sure, anyone can. Can they be competitive on a weekly basis? That’s the question.

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Cavanna: RPM needs oval winning ability. Hornish has shown he has that in Nationwide, and I think Almirola is right on the cusp. Now it’s time for the cars to improve. We’re seeing that in the latter half of this season. If Hornish can help the team, both will compete for surprise victories next season.

Zack Albert: Surprises, yes, but I think any sort of RPM victory would be classified as mild upset more than a complete shocker. The timing and connections seem to fit. RPM honcho Sammy Johns touched on it in the Wednesday announcement — he believes Hornish’s personality will mesh well with Aric Almirola‘s. It’s always good to have a couple of even-keel guys in the fold. We’ll see if it translates to competitive hunger come February. The team still has a ways to go, but this is a great step.

Bruce: I’ll halfway agree with you Alan. I think the cars need to be better, but you’ve also got to have drivers behind the wheel that can tell the team what’s lacking. How many times have we seen lower-tier or new teams switch drivers to see if their struggles are a result of the equipment or the driver’s inexperience?


2. Let’s talk Chase. Do the three drivers currently residing at the bottom of the Chase standings — Brad Keselowski, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson — HAVE to win one of the next two races to advance to the Eliminator Round?

Cavanna: Absolutely. And I’m basing it simply on math (WARNING: journalist is about to do math!). Take Jimmie Johnson for example. Even if he finishes second in the next two races, his average finish for the three races will be 14.7. I don’t believe that will be enough to make the top eight.

Zack Albert: Must-win? I’m not so sure. But I’ll say all three really need top-fives or top-10s to stay alive. A Kansas repeat would be disaster. Talladega will be a grinder either way. I’m not sure Alan’s abacus will be able to handle it.

Cavanna: For perspective, the 8th-best average finish in the first round was 12.3, by Dale Jr.

Bruce: I think one of them has to win. With two races remaining, Charlotte and Talladega, there’s time for a driver or two to have a bad race, much like those three did at Kansas. If that’s the case, the points picture could change once again. From a numbers standpoint, obviously all three can’t win to advance. It might be the end of the line for one of the Chase favorites.

Cavanna: Keselowski predicted a big name would fall in this round, and he looks to be spot-on. Without wins, there is a very real scenario the 2, 88 and 48 are all out after Talladega.

Bruce: I guess the better question would be does one of the three have to win? But I think Zack’s right; with the necessary finishes, a win isn’t required. But if I’m one of the three, I’d rather have a win to guarantee it.

Albert: Almost every driver publicly says they don’t want to wish bad luck on their competition, but secretly, don’t they need some of that voodoo on their rivals? A win fits the "control your own destiny" mantra, but some of those drivers are going to need some help.

Cavanna: The only way it can happen without wins is if the other drivers find tremendous bad luck. It’s certainly possible, but without wins, those three teams do no control their own fates.

Bruce: It reminds me of a Saturday night local event, with the field inverted. What’s the "Smokey & The Bandit" line? A long way to go and a short time to get there?


3. Meanwhile, up in front of the pack: After two wins in the first four races, can we stop calling Joey Logano a championship dark horse?

Albert: Absolutely. The driver formerly known as "Sliced Bread" belongs among the elite, having taken that step from not-quite-realized-potential to a proven winner (over and over) this season.

Cavanna: Anyone who’s been sleeping on Joey Logano has been doing it wrong. He was in championship-caliber form in the back half of 2013. And he’s only improved from there.

Bruce: Boy, I’ll have to admit I didn’t see that one coming. Logano winning two of the first four? I knew heading into the Chase that the No. 22 team had enjoyed a really good season, and I figured he’d be in the picture. But right now, he and his team are the picture.

Cavanna: Well-said, Kenny. The strongest part of Logano’s resume this year is his ability to win. It’s the best and easiest way to advance in this new format. It’s why I put him in my final four for Homestead. I believe he’ll win one of the Eliminator Round races.

Albert: The change of venue has certainly served Logano well since moving over from Joe Gibbs Racing, but the dramatic rise in Team Penske performance hasn’t hurt either. Best bet for an Eliminator Round win from the No. 22 camp? I’m looking at Texas.

Cavanna: Bulls-eye, Zack.

Bruce: At the rate those guys are winning, I’m not sure I’d overlook Martinsville or Phoenix either, Zack. A couple of things to note: Logano has finished inside the top 10 in 10 of the last 11 races. And when the team has had a bad race, they’ve typically come back strong: 39th at Fontana, wins two weeks later; 35th at Darlington, wins the following week. It seems as if nothing knocks this team off its game. So is he the title favorite, or just the most likely to be in the final four?

Albert: Both?

Cavanna: I believe those are two totally different things, Kenny. The title favorite is the best driver at Homestead. I’m still not picking against Jeff Gordon.

Albert: Gordon remains my championship pick as well, but I’m not going to take the Penske team’s efforts on 1.5-mile tracks this year out of the equation, either.

Bruce: I think so, Zack. But one "average" race for someone that’s run as well as Gordon certainly doesn’t mean he’s out of the hunt, Alan, so keep that "Drive For Five" t-shirt in your luggage.

Albert: Cavanna Nation!

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Posted on by Holly Cain

Holly Cain reminisces on her interactions with NASCAR’s most popular driver over the years

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So often, our strongest connections to a person lean on a first impression, an early interaction.

I first met Dale Earnhardt Jr. when he was still "Dale," not "Juuuuuuuunior;" before he’d collected the Daytona 500 trophies and the NASCAR Nationwide Series championships, before Junior Nation rivaled the size of some small countries and boasted a frenzied fandom like no other in racing.

And when I realized Earnhardt Jr. was turning 40 this week, it seemed implausible. The number sounds so officially adult. Listening to him recently reflect on the past, appreciate the present and size up the future makes you wonder: Can you even imagine walking in his shoes during the last 15 years?

A pedigreed son full of promise and pressure was suddenly left to graciously handle unimaginable tragedy; to please and manage a massive fan base with soaring hopes, and then to shoulder the weight of unattainable expectations.

Through all this heaped upon him, Earnhardt won two NASCAR national series championships, hoisted not just one but two Daytona 500 trophies and will now celebrate this milestone birthday on Friday as a legitimate and absolutely hard-earned contender for his first Cup title.

It’s been one helluva ride for Junior.

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My first handshake and interview with Earnhardt came in a setting that couldn’t have more of a contrast to the high-wattage existence NASCAR’s mega-star and 11-time Most Popular Driver leads now.

It came in the small conference room of a Charlotte chain hotel in 1998 during the traditional preseason NASCAR Media Tour. And the 23-year-old Earnhardt wasn’t even the primary focus of the interview session, scheduled to promote the upcoming Busch Grand National season, as the Nationwide Series was then known.

Looking a little overwhelmed by his first "media tour," Earnhardt sat quietly at a table by himself, waiting patiently in case any of the handful of reporters wanted a one-on-one interview when the formal portion of the event was over. After nine mostly unremarkable part-time starts, he was set to make his full-time debut in NASCAR’s Busch Series driving for his dad. Many of the NASCAR beat writers were in another room interviewing Cup drivers and it seemed like a great opportunity, so one other reporter and I grabbed our tape recorders and notebooks and joined Earnhardt Jr. at a table.

I remember him being so thoughtful in his answers and very candid about his life as the son of a sports legend. His father was bigger than life, yet Earnhardt Jr. was quiet, reflecting and shy.

In particular, I recall how his face lit up when he spoke about the misnomer that he grew up with a silver spoon.

"More like a plastic fork,” he joked with a huge grin.

He spoke fondly about his tough-love childhood — some time at a military school and days sweeping the floors at his dad’s dealership, not test-driving new Corvettes. And you got the idea he was a little rebellious, but absolutely good-hearted.

Having covered his father, I figured, "a chip off the ol’ block," actually.

A couple years later, I remember Earnhardt Jr. showing up for a news conference alongside his dad in Daytona. He was the last to arrive and dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, his baseball cap on backward. Not two minutes after he sat down, his father good-naturedly, but deliberately got up and turned the cap around and gave him a little grief for not wearing a collared shirt.

I recall that moment so vividly because it was such a touching father and son moment — not for the cameras. It was the "Intimidator" just being "dad."

Another moment like that occurred high atop Daytona International Speedway. Earnhardt Sr. had just won a race during Speedweeks — one of the qualifying races he so dominated. Back then, the race winners came into the press box for their interview session, not into the infield media center as they do today.

That afternoon, reporters often had to repeat questions to Earnhardt because he was constantly turning around behind him and looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows. He was much more interested in watching his son turn practice laps on the superspeedway below than re-living another win at Daytona, a place where victory seemed routine for him. Earnhardt would talk out loud toward the track, coaching his son each time he whizzed by the start/finish line. And Earnhardt was clearly impressed with what he saw — flashing a grin so big it made his famous moustache turn up.

Two other times I remember a similar expression of pure joy: When Earnhardt finally won the Daytona 500 in 1998, and when he joined his son in Texas Motor Speedway Victory Lane when Earnhardt Jr. got his first Cup win in 2000.

I’ve spent a few significant moments with Earnhardt Jr. since and it is striking the way he seems to stay as grounded as ever, while impressively balancing the adoration and critiques. Among a handful of journalists that landed on the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier with Earnhardt Jr. (and his then-Nationwide Series driver Brad Keselowski) several years ago, it was striking to see the servicemen and women’s awe and excitement that this NASCAR star would travel mid-week to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean to sign autographs and shake hands.

Earnhardt Jr. was the one, however, offering the thanks.

More recently, I spent some time back in Texas Motor Speedway‘s Victory Lane with Earnhardt Jr. This time, he was standing off to the side watching another son of a legend, his Nationwide Series driver Chase Elliott, celebrate his first ever big-time NASCAR win.

There was a lot of pride and personal connection in Earnhardt Jr.’s eyes as he watched the fireworks go off and the 18-year-old do interviews and the hat-swap victory photos.

Afterward, Earnhardt Jr.’s advice to Elliott was to take it all in, and to make sure he enjoyed the moment.

This is something Earnhardt Jr. knows about.

"Definitely accomplished more than I thought I would when I was younger,” he said last weekend when asked about his upcoming birthday. "I just wanted to make it and being the son of a guy that was so successful, the more success he had it seemed like the harder it would be for me to make it. I would just be sort of a chapter in that whole thing, but I’m real happy with what I’ve been able to accomplish and who I have been able to work with and the friends I’ve been able to make."

He continued, "The accomplishments as far as just the statistics, it’s definitely exceeded my expectations. We are still winning races and running good so maybe we can get a few more wins and have some more fun before it’s over.

"Definitely having this birthday come up makes you reflect quite a bit back on not so much the decisions or any regrets you have, just the fun stuff you have done and is the next 40 years going to be just as good, because the first 40 were pretty great."

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Posted on by Holly Cain

Former Indy 500 champ will replace Marcos Ambrose in the No. 9

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Richard Petty Motorsports announced Wednesday it has tabbed veteran Sam Hornish Jr. to succeed Marcos Ambrose as driver of its No. 9 Ford Fusion for the 2015 Sprint Cup Series season and beyond.

The pairing brings together the 2006 Indianapolis 500 champ Hornish with one of stock car racing’s legends and lands the former open-wheel champion his first full-time ride at the Sprint Cup Series level since 2010.

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"This is a great opportunity to join Richard Petty Motorsports and the No. 9 Ford team in the Sprint Cup Series," Hornish said. "Owners Richard Petty, Andrew Murstein and Doug Bergeron have built this organization into a championship-contending team with world-class sponsors and partners.

"Many people have noticed the progress being made here and I’m ready to build off this momentum."

Hornish, 35, repeatedly mentioned his belief in the team’s upturn during a teleconference with the national racing media Wednesday morning. This year RPM put its other driver, Aric Almirola, in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, and Hornish said the combination of working for "The King" along with the team’s revived potential was a deal too good to pass up.

While the small two-car Petty team is making strides to consistently contend with the mega-teams such as Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing, Hornish said he still felt like he had a lot to prove, personally, as well. He struggled in his first full-time Cup tenure with Penske Racing from 2008-10 when he had only two top-five finishes coming directly from a three-championship career in IndyCar with little stock car experience to prepare him for the Cup level.

"I feel like I’m a lot better prepared. I feel like I’m more ready to go full-time than with my first go-around with only about 12-15 stock car races under my belt,” Hornish said, adding that he felt much more comfortable with the cars this go-round and able to offer and receive technical communication better.

"This is a different opportunity for sure than the one I had previously."

And, he added, "But if everything had gone perfectly the first go-around I probably wouldn’t have had the opportunity to work for Richard Petty so I’m thankful."

After finishing runner-up in the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship driving for Penske Racing, Hornish purposely did not compete in NASCAR full-time this year despite having offers.

When he found out he would not be retained by Penske at the end of 2013, Hornish said he would rather wait out a good, competitive situation than rush to take just any job.

Instead, he has driven part-time in the Nationwide Series this season making eight starts for Joe Gibbs racing, winning at Iowa Speedway in May and earning the pole position at Talladega, Alabama and his hometown Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Hornish ran one Sprint Cup Series race, finishing 17th at Auto Club Speedway in March as a final-minute substitute in for an injured Denny Hamlin, extending his streak of Cup competition.

He has started at least one Cup race every year since 2007 with three top-fives and nine top-10s in 131 race starts. He has a best-ever finish of fourth place at Pocono, Pennsylvania in 2009.

"Sam is a really good fit for RPM and will be a great addition to the team," Petty said. "He’s a family man who fits well with our core values and he will be a great ambassador for our partners.

"Sam’s also proven that he can win races and compete for a championship. He came into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with a steep learning curve from open wheel racing, but has shown in the Nationwide Series that he is a winner. We feel that he can get the No. 9 team to Victory Lane and compete in ‘The Chase’ for us."

RPM Director of Operations Sammy Johns said this will be a multi-year deal and that Hornish will be paired with chief Drew Blickensderfer, who has three Sprint Cup Series victories atop the pit box.

"Sam is a really good fit for RPM and will be a great addition to the team," Petty said. "He’s a family man who fits well with our core values and he will be a great ambassador for our partners.

"Sam’s also proven that he can win races and compete for a championship. He came into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with a steep learning curve from open wheel racing, but has shown in the Nationwide Series that he is a winner. We feel that he can get the No. 9 team to Victory Lane and compete in ‘The Chase’ for us."

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Posted on by Jason Lofing

Conti delivered a championship drive at Homestead.

Michael Conti captured the 2014 NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series Powered by iRacing.com and the $10,000 champion’s purse last night at Homestead-Miami Speedway, holding off Ray Alfalla’s late-season charge and capping a tremendous season in which he notched a series-leading three wins and 10 top-five finishes in 16 races. Remarkably, at just 17 years of age, Conti is on top of the oval sim racing world and has put his name alongside the greats like former champions Alfalla, Richard Towler and Tyler Hudson.

Conti won the pole and hung around the front all race long despite not having the fastest car. Alfalla, who began the night 13 points out the series lead, was about the same speed as Conti for much of the race. But with Conti never falling more than a position behind him, the two time champion had little hope of gaining ground in the title chase.

Neither championship contender had anything for Kenny Humpe, who dominated the season finale. Humpe started third and quickly moved to the lead on his way to pacing the field for 124 of 167 laps. Conti later regained the lead during a pit stop sequence, the only other driver to lead, but even the soon-to-be champion had nothing for Humpe.

Humpe became the fourth driver to win multiple races in the 2014 NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series after winning the season opener at Daytona. Chad Laughton came home in the runner-up position with Conti and Alfalla following in third and fourth. Kevin King made a surprise return to the series after several weeks off and rounded-out the top five.

Going into the race Conti’s game plan was to simply keep Alfalla in sight, knowing his 13 point margin gave him some wiggle room if needed. With fuel mileage taken out of the picture by yellows, Conti looked to have everything wrapped-up before a caution with just 11 laps remaining provided one last plot twist to the season.

Conti had a decision to make: Stay out on old tires and hope many cars behind him choose to do the same, or pit for fresh rubber and hope to drag most of the field in with him. This decision was even more difficult since Alfalla was behind him in the running order, meaning he could not simply adhere to the conservative strategy of mirroring his rival’s move.

Conti chose to stay out and keep his track position. Most of the top 15 runners (including Alfalla) followed suit, which looked to seal Conti’s fate barring a disaster on the restart.

The green flew with eight laps to go and Conti quickly found a safe place to run as the field battled behind him. Of course, Conti was hoping to go green to the finish but he would have no such luck as a crash near the back of the field brought out the yellow just three laps later and set up a one lap dash for the finish.

The two championship leaders came to the final restart of the season nose-to-tail with Conti third and Alfalla fifth. When the green flew Conti played it ultra-conservative, trying to avoid wheelspin, and succeeded in making a clean start which carried him around the final lap to the checkers.

The final margin of victory in the championship was 15 points, which has to be disappointing for Alfalla after gaining so much ground on Conti in the second half of the season. That said, with two titles and two runner-up finishes in five seasons, the Floridian could surely hold his head high following last night’s race.

Nick Ottinger, who came to Homestead with an outside chance at the series title, finished third in the points, dropping to 41 points back of the lead after a subpar stretch run exemplified by last night’s subdued eighth place finish. Laughton took home $1000 for fourth in the standings while Jake Stergios capped-off a solid season with a fifth in the championship, beating Chris Overland by just two points for the last spot in the money. The rest of the series top ten finishers included Matt Bussa, Cody Byus, Adam Gilliland and Justin Bolton. None of these four made a visit to victory lane in 2014 but all drove smartly, kept their noses clean, and were rewarded with solid results.

As for the battle for last of the automatic berths in the 2015 NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series, Michael Johnson beat Peter Bennett by two points to secure the twentieth and final transfer position. Everyone below this mark, including former series front-runners Brian Schoenburg, Brad Davies, King and more will have to race their way back into the series next year through the NASCAR iRacing Pro Series.

These drivers will have their opportunity to shine but, for now, the spotlight focuses on Michael Conti. All of the statistics point to his dominance of the 2014 season: 601 laps led, 238 more than any other driver. Most wins (three), most top fives (10) and tied for most poles (four) . . . the list goes on. He runs well on every type of race track and considering his age, one could say he has not even entered his prime yet . . . a scary thought for the rest of the field.

Winning iRacing’s pinnacle stock car title is a tremendous accomplishment but, if history is any guide, successfully defending that title is an even greater challenge. If anyone is up to that challenge it is Michael Conti, your 2014 NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series champion.