Posted on by Nascar

Bruce: Better to alter the qualifying format proactively

RELATED: NASCAR tweaks qualifying procedure | Official NASCAR press release

It happened sooner than expected. NASCAR on Tuesday announced changes to its 2014 qualifying format after barely three weeks of use.

The newness had yet to wear off.

It was an abrupt about-face for the sanctioning body, coming just days after officials stated there were no changes on the horizon. Give teams time, they said. Give the process time, they said. 

And then on Tuesday they said let’s change it.

Many teams were still trying to fully understand the process, how to possibly exploit it, expose and take advantage of any flaws that might be hidden somewhere within. 

Team Penske was ahead of the curve. 

Its drivers, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, were batting a collective .667 in qualifying trim through the first three races, sweeping front row spots at Phoenix and Las Vegas.

Either those folks had found a way to take advantage of the group qualifying format, or the two teams simply have fast drivers and faster cars. Perhaps it’s been a little bit of both. 

The format consists of two or three rounds, depending on the length of the track, and provides teams with a pre-determined window of time in each round in which to post a qualifying lap. The fastest from each round continue to advance. 

One of the unintended consequences of the format has been the combination of fast cars making qualifying runs while others, running at a greatly reduced speed, circled the track in an attempt to cool their cars’ engines by forcing air through the front grille and openings.

At Las Vegas Motor Speedway last week, where the three-stage process was used for the first time, drivers in the opening round were loggings laps of 190 mph or faster, often while slower cars idled their way around the bottom of the 1.5-mile track. 

It created, according to some drivers, a situation that was both unnecessary and dangerous.

This weekend, NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series travel to Bristol Motor Speedway, a tiny, tight, high-banked half-mile track.

Because the track falls into the "less than 1.25 miles in length" category (its racing surface measures 0.533 miles), only two rounds of qualifying will be used to determine the starting lineup for each race. 

But the number of cars looking for clean air and an uncluttered race track remain basically the same. 

In an attempt to eliminate the problem, drivers will no longer be allowed to return to the track for "cool-down" laps. Instead, teams will be permitted the use of a cool-down unit, located outside the car, to reduce heat in engines while on pit road. 

The move isn’t expected to alter the intensity of the new format, but it should make it safer.

NASCAR requires drivers to maintain a minimum speed during races as a safety precaution. Keeping slower cars off the track during qualifying is no different.

Maybe nothing would have happened had no changes been made. Maybe no one would have spun, no one would have cut a tire, no one would have suffered an unexpected parts failure and found themselves spinning, out of control, while coming up on a slower car. 

But what if that had not been the case? 

Too many opportunities for trouble still exist on the track today.

The addition of yet another was not only unwise, it was unnecessary as well.

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Posted on by Brad Norman

Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch among favorites; what about Junior?

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88)

Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet

Standing: Earnhardt Jr. leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings with 133 points.
Past three races: 2nd at Las Vegas, 2nd at Phoenix, 1st at Daytona.
Season stats: 1 win, 3 top-fives, 3 top-10s.
Track history: At Bristol, Earnhardt Jr.’s average finish is 9.7 and his average running position is 13.6 over the past nine years. In 28 career starts at Bristol, he has one win, seven top-fives and 14 top-10s.
Quick hit: Not only does Earnhardt love the beating and banging that comes on a short track, he’s improved his performance on them throughout his career. And with the way he’s running right now, why would anyone possibly bet against a top-five?

2. Brad Keselowski (No. 2)

Team Penske, Ford 

Standing: Keselowski is second in the standings with 132 points.
Past three races: 1st at Las Vegas, 3rd at Phoenix, 3rd at Daytona.
Season stats: 1 win, 3 top-fives, 3 top-10s, 1 pole.
Track history: At Bristol, Keselowski’s average finish is 14.4 and his average running position is 13.2 over the past nine years. In eight career starts at Bristol, he has two wins, three top-fives and three top-10s.
Quick hit: Keselowski once won consecutive races at Thunder Valley, but he’s finished exactly 30th in two of the past three events. Those were both night races though, and he’s coming off a momentum-building win in the desert. Think big.

3. Jimmie Johnson (No. 48)

Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet

Standing: Johnson is third in the standings with 117 points.
Past three races: 6th at Las Vegas, 6th at Phoenix, 5th at Daytona.
Season stats: 1 top-five, 3 top-10s.
Track history: At Bristol, Johnson’s average finish is 16.3 and his average running position is 13.2 over the past nine years. In 24 career starts at Bristol, he has one win, seven top-fives, 13 top-10s and one pole.
Quick hit: Bristol is one track where Johnson’s stats don’t dwarf all other drivers. Still, the 48 team has three top-fives and four top-10s in its past six races at the Last Great Colosseum. Combined with three efforts of sixth of better this year, Six-Time seems primed for another strong showing.

4. Joey Logano (No. 22)

Team Penske, Ford 

Standing: Logano is fourth in the standings with 116 points.
Past three races: 4th at Las Vegas, 4th at Phoenix, 11th at Daytona.
Season stats: 2 top-fives, 2 top-10s, 1 pole.
Track history: At Bristol, Logano’s average finish is 19.9 and his average running position is 18.5 over the past nine years. In 10 career starts at Bristol, he has one top-five, two top-10s and one pole.
Quick hit: Logano’s biggest Bristol moment came last year when he and former teammate Denny Hamlin tussled following the race. Team Penske has its two drivers in the top four of the points standings, so Logano has a shot to make his most memorable moment here something that actually happened on the track.

5. Jeff Gordon (No. 24)

Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet 

Standing: Gordon is fifth in the standings with 115 points.
Past three races: 9th at Las Vegas, 5th at Phoenix, 4th at Daytona.
Season stats: 2 top-fives, 3 top-10s.
Track history: At Bristol, Gordon’s average finish is 12.9 and his average running position is 9.5 over the past nine years. In 42 career starts at Bristol, he has five wins, 16 top-fives, 23 top-10s and five poles.
Quick hit: Gordon’s sterling Bristol record speaks for itself. Like so many of these tracks, though, it’s worth noting that most of Gordon’s outlandish success came during his prime — his last win here was 2002, and his other four wins all came before the turn of the century.

6. Carl Edwards (No. 99)

Roush Fenway Racing, Ford 

Standing: Edwards is sixth in the standings with 105 points.
Past three races: 5th at Las Vegas, 8th at Phoenix, 17th at Daytona.
Season stats: 1 top-five, 2 top-10s.
Track history: At Bristol, Edwards’ average finish is 14.9 and his average running position is 15.1 over the past nine years. In 19 career starts at Bristol, he has two wins, four top-fives, seven top-10s and two poles.
Quick hit: A pair of 39th-place finishes is among Edwards’ most recent four outings here, and the other two showings resulted in finishes outside the top 15. Edwards has started first, second and third in three of his past six Bristol races, but has had trouble finishing.

7. Matt Kenseth (No. 20)

Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 

Standing: Kenseth is seventh in the standings with 105 points.
Past three races: 10th at Las Vegas, 12th at Phoenix, 6th at Daytona.
Season stats: 2 top-10s.
Track history: At Bristol, Kenseth’s average finish is 12.3 and his average running position is 10.6 over the past nine years. In 28 career starts at Bristol, he has three wins, 11 top-fives, 18 top-10s and one pole.
Quick hit: Kenseth enters the Food City 500 as a race favorite. He won the night race last year, and he had been in position to perhaps win the spring race as well before Jeff Gordon blew a tire and inadvertently wrecked the No. 20. Combine that with three top-fives and eight top-10s in the 10 races from 2008-12, and you have a veteran totally comfortable on one of the circuit’s most intense tracks.

8. Denny Hamlin (No. 11)

Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 

Standing: Hamlin is eighth in the standings with 101 points.
Past three races: 12th at Las Vegas, 19th at Phoenix, 2nd at Daytona.
Season stats: 1 top-five, 1 top-10.
Track history: At Bristol, Hamlin’s average finish is 16.1 and his average running position is 14.9 over the past nine years. In 16 career starts at Bristol, he has one win, four top-fives, seven top-10s and one pole.
Quick hit: For all his success on one short track — Martinsville — Hamlin has been inconsistent on the other. Three of his past four finishes at Bristol have been 20th or worse, but he won during that timeframe, too. His Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch, are better Fantasy Live plays this week.

9. Ryan Newman (No. 31)

Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet 

Standing: Newman is ninth in the standings with 97 points.
Past three races: 7th at Las Vegas, 7th at Phoenix, 22nd at Daytona.
Season stats: 2 top-10s.
Track history: At Bristol, Newman’s average finish is 16.7 and his average running position is 15.1 over the past eight years. In 24 career starts at Bristol, he has one top-five, 13 top-10s and three poles.
Quick hit: Three of Newman’s 51 career Coors Light Pole Awards have come at Bristol, but he doesn’t have any wins here. In fact, he only has one career top-five in 24 starts and the Richard Childress Racing program is more suited for big and intermediate tracks.

10. Kyle Busch (No. 18)

Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 

Standing: Busch is 10th in the standings with 95 points.
Past three races: 11th at Las Vegas, 9th at Phoenix, 19th at Daytona
Season stats: 1 top-10.
Track history: At Bristol, Busch’s average finish is 9.9 and his average running position is 13.0 over the past nine years. In 18 career starts at Bristol, he has five wins, eight top-fives, 12 top-10s and one pole.
Quick hit: The ‘Bad Boy’ Kyle Busch persona just seems to fit rough-and-tumble Bristol, doesn’t it? ‘Rowdy’ once won four times in five races here, and was runner-up last year in this event to Kasey Kahne. He’s one of the favorites.

11. Jamie McMurray (No. 1)

Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, Chevrolet  

Standing: McMurray is 11th in the standings with 93 points.
Past three races: 15th at Las Vegas, 10th at Phoenix, 14th at Daytona.
Season stats: 1 top-10.
Track history: At Bristol, McMurray’s average finish is 19.0 and his average running position is 18.8 over the past nine years. In 22 career starts at Bristol, he has three top-fives and nine top-10s.
Quick hit: McMurray seems to have gotten over the Bristol bumps he experienced early in his career, and the Chip Ganassi Racing program showed speed at both Phoenix and Vegas. McMurray’s average finish here is 19.0 over the past nine years, a number he should improve on Sunday.

12. Greg Biffle (No. 16)

Roush Fenway Racing, Ford

Standing: Biffle is 12th in the standings with 86 points.
Past three races: 22nd at Las Vegas, 17th at Phoenix, 8th at Daytona.
Season stats: 1 top-10.
Track history: At Bristol, Biffle’s average finish is 11.9 and his average running position is 12.7 over the past nine years. In 22 career starts at Bristol, he has six top-fives, 12 top-10s and one pole.
Quick hit: Biffle’s ninth-place effort in last year’s fall race snapped a four-race stretch of finishing outside the top 10. Given Roush Fenway Racing’s struggles under the new rules package at 1.5-mile Las Vegas last week, Biffle and his team are probably thrilled to be at a short track.

13. Austin Dillon (No. 3)

Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet  

Standing: Dillon is 13th in the standings with 84 points.
Past three races: 16th at Las Vegas, 24th at Phoenix, 9th at Daytona.
Season stats: 1 top-10, 1 pole.
Track history: Dillon has never started a Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol.
Quick hit: In four Nationwide Series starts at Bristol, Dillon had two top-fives and finishes of 11th and 12th. He’d be thrilled with a similar performance in his first Cup race, but don’t expect that as he tangles with the sport’s veterans.

14. Kevin Harvick (No. 4)

Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet 

Standing: Harvick is 14th in the standings with 83 points.
Past three races: 41st at Las Vegas, 1st at Phoenix, 13th at Daytona.
Season stats: 1 win, 1 top-five, 1 top-10.
Track history: At Bristol, Harvick’s average finish is 15.1 and his average running position is 13.6 over the past nine years. In 26 career starts at Bristol, he has one win, nine top-fives and 12 top-10s.
Quick hit: Will Harvick’s hot stretch to open the season begin to cool in Bristol? It’s tough to bet against him and crew chief Rodney Childers. Then again, Harvick’s finished outside the top 10 here in nine of the past 10 races.

15. Kasey Kahne (No. 5)

Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet

Standing: Kahne is 15th in the standings with 83 points.
Past three races: 8th at Las Vegas, 11th at Phoenix, 31st at Daytona.
Season stats: 1 top-10.
Track history: At Bristol, Kahne’s average finish is 15.9 and his average running position is 17.2 over the past nine years. In 20 career starts at Bristol, he has one win, five top-fives, nine top-10s and one pole.
Quick hit: Kahne won last year’s spring race and finished second in the night race, easily the best year at Bristol of his career. He’s improved his finish in every race this year, too.

16. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (No. 17)

Roush Fenway Racing, Ford

Standing: Stenhouse Jr. is 16th in the standings with 80 points.
Past three races: 27th at Las Vegas, 18th at Phoenix, 7th at Daytona.
Season stats: 1 top-10.
Track history: At Bristol, Stenhouse Jr.’s average finish is 17.0 and his average running position is 17.7 over the past nine years. In two career starts at Bristol, his best finish is 16th in the spring 2013 race.
Quick hit: Stenhouse Jr. finished 997 of 1,000 laps at Bristol last year, an impressive slate for a rookie. His next goal should be his first top-15 — or perhaps top-10 — finish at the track.

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Logano, Hamlin fireworks in 2013 among most memorable battles at short track

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There were no lights, there were no high banks; there was, as yet, no need to blow the top off a nearby mountain to accommodate a seating expansion. What was then called Bristol International Speedway was very much a simple short track in 1961, when 17-year-old Brenda Lee sang the national anthem before the facility’s inaugural NASCAR premier-series race. But there were hints of the beast to come — credited winner Jack Smith was pulled from his car halfway through with heat blisters, and only 19 vehicles made it to the finish.

So yes, the unforgiving animal we know now as Bristol Motor Speedway has always been there, lurking amid those smoky hills. Eventually, the corner banking was raised to dizzying levels; lights were added to heighten the spectacle; speeds increased and concrete was put down and grandstands climbed toward the sky. It all combined to create the atmosphere and the phenomenon of Bristol — but it all began beneath the unflinching east Tennessee sun.

Indeed, Bristol’s day race has compiled a legacy that can stand up against that of any other event, including a certain August edition under the lights at the same venue. Bent sheet metal, hurt feelings, physical altercations, lingering disputes, gripping runs to the finish — they’ve all unfolded in the daytime, further crafting the character of a facility that adds to its reputation with every passing year. That was certainly the case last spring, when conflict on the track continued off it, and picked again seven days later, with season-altering results.

Another memorable episode could very well unfold Sunday, when the Sprint Cup Series takes to the high banks once again. Until then, here are the top 10 battles in the Bristol springtime.

10. Kyle Busch vs. Jeff Burton, 2007

The vehicle then known as the Car of Tomorrow may have had its detractors, but it certainly helped put on a thrilling finish to its inaugural event. Kyle Busch led the final 20 laps, but he had to withstand a green-white-checkered finish after David Ragan spun on the backstretch. In an era of single-file restarts, Jeff Burton surged past Jeff Gordon on the outside to take second, got to Busch’s rear bumper, applied a few bumps — but was unable to get past. "All I know is, Kyle Busch better be glad that’s Jeff Burton behind him," Darrell Waltrip opined on Fox television. It was one of those rare days at Bristol when sportsmanship reigned.

9. Jeff Gordon vs. Tony Stewart, 2001

Sportsmanship? Forget about it. Elliott Sadler may have ultimately won the day, stretching his tires to the limit to claim his first premier-series victory, and deliver Wood Brothers Racing its first triumph in eight years. But Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart stole the show as they battled for fourth on the final lap. Stewart moved down the track, Gordon didn’t budge, and the orange No. 20 car went spinning as a result. "I don’t see anything wrong with what I did," Gordon said afterward. Stewart got in one retaliatory shot, turning the No. 24 on pit road following the checkered flag. "Doesn’t surprise me at all," Gordon added with a laugh.

8. Kevin Harvick vs. Greg Biffle, 2002

Not even what is now known as the Nationwide Series was immune from the madness at Bristol. After being punted into the wall by Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick nonchalantly walked across the track and took a seat in the garage area. "I’ll be waiting when he comes in here," he told reporters, and indeed he was — Harvick went right after Biffle following the race, grabbing his collar and going to nose-to-nose in a heated exchange with his rival until the two were pulled apart. "Just a racing deal," Biffle called the latest in a series of run-ins between two drivers who seemed to respect one another, but nonetheless had their differences.

7. Mark Martin vs. himself, 1994

There was no fight, no crash, no argument — just one of the more boggling mistakes in NASCAR history. Leading the field under caution in the era before the green-white-checkered, Mark Martin was coasting to yet another win in what is now known as the Nationwide Series. So he pulled off the track and headed toward Victory Lane — one lap short of the finish. His radio had been on the fritz, and spotter Jack Roush had been making his way down to the infield, but Martin took all the blame himself. "Stupidest thing I’ve ever done," he said. David Green proved the beneficiary, claiming the lone race win of his championship season. "Tough way to win one," Green said.

6. Jeff Gordon vs. Matt Kenseth, 2006

Otherwise mild-mannered Jeff Gordon has been in the middle of the maelstrom more than a few times at Bristol, and that was certainly the case in 2006. Battling with Matt Kenseth for top-five position late in the race, things got physical — Gordon moved Kenseth out of the way, and the then-Roush driver responded later with a bump that sent Gordon spinning to 21st place. An incensed Gordon climbed out of his car on pit road and, helmet still on, delivered the now-famous two-handed shove.  A stunned Kenseth took all the blame, but it was too late. "I left my car to go apologize," he said. "I probably should have waited a little bit longer."

5. Davey Allison vs. Mark Martin, 1990

Before the track was changed to concrete, Bristol’s asphalt would often crack at a rate that frustrated general manager Larry Carrier to no end, and required a new coating every few races to keep the surface intact. That certainly didn’t impact the racing, though — which was evident in 1990, when Davey Allison led a line of cars to the while flag, setting up one of the track’s most dramatic finishes. Sterling Marlin spun, and Mark Martin charged into the low lane to pull almost even with the leader exiting Turn 4. Allison claimed the victory by eight inches, in one of NASCAR’s closest margins before the introduction of electronic scoring.

4. Denny Hamlin vs. Joey Logano, 2013

There was no question where Joey Logano was headed after the race last spring — right to the car of Denny Hamlin. Logano stuck his head into the window and was pulled away by crewmen, but hard feelings lingered over on-track contact between the two drivers. Upset over an earlier incident, Hamlin spun Logano down the track late in the race when the Penske driver was in contention for the victory. "I will race him the same way he races me," Logano promised, words that took on an ominous tone a week later when the two crashed going for the victory in Fontana — a wreck that broke a bone in Hamlin’s back, forcing him to miss four races.

3. Kurt Busch vs. Jimmy Spencer, 2002

The feud between Kurt Busch and Jimmy Spencer reached a fever pitch at Bristol, when the upstart bumped the veteran out of the way to take the lead and run away to his first victory at NASCAR’s top level. "We won’t forget what happened today," an angry Spencer told his team over the radio, which was made clear when his disdain turned physical a year later. The undercard pitted Robby Gordon against Dale Earnhardt Jr., who felt he was held up by the lap-down Gordon, and the two banged fenders after the race. "That’s why it took three or four times for him to finally get into the Cup Series," Earnhardt said, "because he doesn’t know what he’s doing."

2. Jeff Gordon vs. Rusty Wallace, 1997

It is the signature move of Bristol, the bump-and-run, and no one has executed it better than Jeff Gordon. His masterpiece came in 1997, when Gordon spent the latter stages of the event hunting down leader Rusty Wallace. The Penske driver had a dominant car, leading 240 laps before Gordon put the bumper to him in Turn 3 on the final circuit of the race. Using lapped traffic to close the gap on the leader, Gordon’s bump was just enough to cause Wallace to bobble up the track and allow the No. 24 car to slip by. This was less a cage-rattling, a more a surgical strike — Wallace still hung on for second place, not that it was much solace at the time.

1. Rusty Wallace vs. Ernie Irvan, 1991

No crashes, no tempers, no controversy — just mesmerizing short-track racing at its absolute best, as Rusty Wallace and Ernie Irvan spent the final 20 laps pursuing one another on the half-mile oval. On a surface that was still asphalt, the leaders worked every inch of the track as they swung high and low to pass lapped cars, almost in tandem and never more than a few feet apart. Off the final turn, Irvan delivered a healthy shove to Wallace, pulled down low, and got beside the leader — but Wallace held on by half a car length to win one of the greatest duels the track has ever seen. The event still stands as proof that drivers don’t need to wreck one another to put on a great Bristol race. 

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Close ties between both drivers go back to Keselowski’s days at JR Motorsports

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The kid was a menace.

He would show up at the shop and linger for hours, to the point where crewmen would give him grief about needing a girlfriend or having nothing else better to do. He’d get shooed away in the garage area for sticking his head under an opponent’s hood, or in his more brazen moments even crawling underneath the chassis itself. He’d badger or harass his own team to try new things, or to give him exactly what he wanted out of his race car. And through it all, these older and more experienced motorsports men would look at one another and wonder — who does this guy think he is?

Now, everyone knows. Brad Keselowski was about as unheralded as unheralded can get when he arrived at JR Motorsports in 2007 to drive a Nationwide Series car for Dale Earnhardt Jr. It started as a three-race tryout, nothing more, yet it blossomed into a career springboard that ultimately launched the current Team Penske standard bearer to the top of the sport’s premier circuit. The characteristic that got him there — his ability to be an absolute pest — was the same one which helped him break through at JRM all those years ago, and the same one which helped the 2012 champion win Sunday to essentially lock up a return trip to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Paul Wolfe certainly knows it. The crew chief of Penske’s No. 2 car spent this past offseason watching his driver walk in and out of his office, with one question after another in the wake of a campaign in which Keselowski became only the second reigning champion to miss the Chase. In some ways it was certainly reminiscent of the way Keselowski pushed and pulled to get JRM on a surer footing back in his Nationwide days, or how he brought lists of potential improvements to team owner Roger Penske after first making the step up to the big leagues.

"There’s been plenty of days when Brad has come into my office and bugged me if we were working hard enough, or if we needed to be testing or what, and I just told him — ‘Just hang in there, we’re working hard,’" Wolfe remembered Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. "That’s just Brad’s style. That’s why we love him. I mean, he’s dedicated. He wants to be the best out there, and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to do that. Sometimes it can wear you down, there’s no doubt about that, and like I said, he was on me hard over the offseason. But I know that he’s just passionate about the sport and being the best."

Earnhardt certainly knows it. It was at JRM — Keselowski’s first real shot at a full-time, fully-sponsored ride after clawing his way up through family-owned or lesser-funded vehicles — where the Michigan native’s indefatigable persistence initially became evident at a national level. It was at JRM when everyone began to realize that this 23-year-old kid was going to give them all hell until he got what he wanted out of his race car. It was at JRM when crew chief Tony "Pops" Eury Sr. had to kick his driver out of the shop on occasion, Keselowski was becoming so annoyingly insistent. It was at JRM where the kid first really started to win, and everyone began to realize they might want to listen to him after all.

"He studies his team, studies the sport, studies the cars, and him and his crew chief work really hard. He overthinks everything, and he comes up with 20 ideas and 18 of them are crazy, but two of them are great. You know, that’s the way he always was with us," Earnhardt remembered after finishing second to Keselowski this past Sunday in Las Vegas.

"Pops has had to run him out of the shop, because he’s just nitpicking everything on the car — ‘Why is that like that? Why don’t we turn this this way, and do it like this?’ A lot of the stuff, Pops would have to explain it to him, but hell, a couple ideas would be pretty good. Brad does that with everything, and that’s why he’s successful. He’s obviously a very talented driver, just raw talent. You don’t learn that, you’re kind of born with some of those things, some of those traits. But his work ethic, I think his dedication to his craft, and he thinks about it every day. I think that’s why he’s so successful. He’s plugged in, real plugged into what he’s doing."

Keselowski’s time with Earnhardt’s team left a real impression — Keselowski bunked with Earnhardt for a while, and NASCAR’s most popular driver can recall taking the future champion to buy new clothes, he was so raw at the time. Keselowski also moved his sister down from Michigan at one point to help with his business affairs, an arrangement inspired by Kelley Earnhardt Miller’s stewardship of JRM. It all came full circle this past Sunday, when Earnhardt ran out of fuel on the final lap and Keselowski charged past, en route to a victory which virtually assured that the former employer and employee will both be in the mix for this season’s Sprint Cup Series title.

Indeed, the champion driver who held up that oversized wrench of a trophy in Las Vegas has come a very long way from the nosy kid the folks at JRM were first introduced to in 2007. And yet, in some ways, Keselowski hasn’t changed at all. He pushed and argued and pestered until Earnhardt’s Nationwide program reached the level where it could consistently contend for race wins. Then he moved to Penske and did the same thing, using his powers of persuasion to help deliver the Captain’s first premier-series championship. And now he’s doing it once more, in an effort to get his No. 2 team back to the level where it can vie for the title once again.

Turns out there’s a method to this menace, after all. And from Earnhardt’s team to Penske’s, that internal drive has always served Keselowski well — even if it’s occasionally gotten him booted out of shops or offices along the way.

"I knew Paul has kicked me out a few times, and I know Roger has given me a couple of sideways looks, but that’s part of it," Keselowski said in Las Vegas. "You know, you find one that sticks every once in a while, and that’s part of the fun of the sport. … Probably the (most fun) moments in racing are when you’ve done something no one else has done, because they’re a significant accomplishment that no one else can really own. We’ve done a few of them there, and I know we’ve got a few more to come, but they come from all those crazy ideas. Every once in a while, there’s a good one."

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Posted on by Jason Lofing

Once again, Stergios played his cards exactly right in Vegas.

Jake Stergios has something figured out at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, something that is leaving the rest of the field collectively scratching their heads. For the second time in three years Stergios played the fuel mileage game just right at Vegas and scored his second career victory in the NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series Powered by iRacing.

“(I) still can’t believe it,” said Stergios. “Even if it was on fuel strategy again it is amazing to pick up another win in this series.”

“Even if it was on fuel strategy again it is amazing to pick up another win in this series.” — Jake Stergios

Stergios’ victory is proof positive that the first driver across the finish line is not necessarily the fastest; rather it’s the one who puts together the most complete race. Although he only led 14 of 167 laps, Stergios made the winning move with 116 laps remaining when he started conserving fuel in hopes of making it to the end on one more stop if the race went green.

Peter Bennett also stretched his fuel to come home second, but he was more than 11 seconds behind Stergios. “I was really happy with second place but I feel like I could have competed with Jake for the win if I had restarted closer to him,” said Bennett. Bennett’s inability to get close enough to Stergios goes to show how important track position can be, even in the first half of the online race. 

Thomas Lewandowski and Chris Overland went the distance on one stop as well, finishing third and fourth respectively. While Overland was 17 seconds behind at the checkers, he was actually much closer to victory than it appears. If Overland had not been caught speeding on pit road during his green flag stop, he likely would have been right with Stergios in a battle for the win.

Defending NPAS champion Tyler Hudson came home fifth and was the highest finishing driver who chose a two-stop strategy during the last run. Hudson and Daytona winner Kenny Humpe had the two fastest cars for most of the race but could not make up the time they lost by pitting one more time than Stergios.

It was also a tough night for polesitter Alex Warren, who looked strong in the early going. Warren was undone by connection issues and finished three laps down in fortieth after leading the first eight circuits.

With a strong seventh place result at Vegas, Humpe keeps the point lead and holds a four point advantage over Lewandowski, the only driver to finish in the top five at both Vegas and Daytona. Brandon Kettelle also backed up his strong run at Daytona with a top ten finish at Vegas and sits third in the standings, seven points back of the lead. Stergios’ win vaulted him all the way to fourth, where he is tied with Chad Laughton.

Next up is the series’ inaugural visit to Auto Club Speedway for Week Three of the season. Look for Hudson and Humpe to be near the front, as ACS uses the same tire as LVMS, but another fuel mileage race would not surprise anyone. Qualifying and pit strategy figure to be important as the race will likely run much like a Michigan race; as in few cautions and a race track that makes passing difficult. Can Hudson close the deal for his first win of 2014, or can Stergios hit the jackpot in back-to-back races? With this being the series’ first visit to ACS, no one has any experience to draw from which could level the playing field, perhaps resulting in a dark horse winner.

Be sure to catch all the action from ACS as the NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze Series returns to action in two weeks’ time on iRacingLive.com!

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AMA Pro, IMSA & NASCAR team to launch live streaming site

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Motorcycle races at Daytona. Sports cars at Watkins Glen. Modifieds at Langley.

For race fans, if they couldn’t make it to the track and the event didn’t have television coverage, there hasn’t been an option to watch all the action. Until now.

AMA Pro Racing, IMSA and NASCAR announced today the launch of FansChoice.tv, a ground-breaking collaborative digital platform that will live stream various races not covered by broadcast television, giving fans new opportunities to follow their favorite series. It also will enhance fans viewing experience at the track with the ability to watch multiple cameras on their tablet or mobile device, and access archived broadcasts on demand.

On-track coverage for AMA Pro Flat Track racing will begin on Thursday from the quarter-mile dirt oval at Daytona International Speedway (opening ceremonies begin at 7:30 p.m. ET). Coverage of DAYTONA 200 Week will continue with both AMA Pro Flat Track and AMA Pro Road Racing Divisions on Friday, and will conclude with the 73rd running of Daytona 200 for AMA Pro Road Racing set for Saturday at 1 p.m.

FansChoice.tv will be the official home for AMA Pro Road Racing and AMA Pro Flat Track events in 2014. The site also will provide coverage of selected IMSA and NASCAR’s touring and weekly series events.

“This is a great opportunity to bring all the action from the track right to the fans,” said Michael Gentry, chief operating officer for AMA Pro Racing. “FansChoice.tv is a revolutionary platform that gives race fans all over the world unprecedented access to watch their favorite series wherever we race. This is fantastic news for all of our AMA Pro Road Racing and AMA Pro Flat Track fans.”

FansChoice.tv is a free site that puts fans in the director’s chair, allowing them to choose from multiple viewpoints alongside Live Timing & Scoring data and audio commentary from the track’s PA system. During selected AMA Pro events, produced streaming coverage of race sessions will be offered as an added bonus to the fans.

IMSA coverage will include streaming of its developmental and single-make series, as well as selected practice and qualifying sessions for the two IMSA national sports car series, TUDOR United SportsCar Championship and Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge that are part of the recently-announced five-year agreement with FOX Sports.

“FansChoice.tv will be a good additional resource, and possibly home, for some of our series,” said David Pettit, IMSA vice president, marketing.  “We’re looking forward to exploring the platform this week during our Sebring event and ultimately this site will serve as a diverse home for motorsports.”

Several NASCAR Whelen All-American Series tracks already have committed to live streaming their weekly events, including Langley Speedway in Hampton, Va., Lake County Speedway in Painesville, Ohio, and Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Wash. Fans will have the ability to select from multiple cameras positioned around the tracks during these events.

“This really is going to be ‘Fan’s Choice,’” said George Silbermann, NASCAR vice president of regional and touring series. “The partnership between AMA Pro, IMSA and NASCAR means the fans will have access to more racing than ever before. They will be able to choose from a variety of series and tracks, and be able to follow their favorite drivers virtually wherever they race.”

FansChoice.tv will also carry select NASCAR K&N Pro Series, NASCAR Whelen and Whelen Southern Modified Tour races, as well as off-track events such as the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards and NASCAR Night of Champions Touring Series Awards in December.

More tracks and events are expected to be announced at a later date.

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NASCAR fans can now nominate an outstanding volunteer for the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award by going to www.NASCAR.com/award

VOTE: Betty Jane France Humanitarian Awards nominations

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The NASCAR Foundation will kick off the Fourth Annual Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award nomination process with a call for applicants whose generosity and compassion have positively impacted the lives of children in racing communities throughout the country.

Since the award was created, The NASCAR Foundation has utilized the award to donate a combined $525,000 to charities reflecting the commitment Betty Jane France, The NASCAR Foundation chairwoman, has demonstrated with her charitable works and community efforts.

With the annual award presentation — which takes place during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards in Las Vegas — The NASCAR Foundation honors passionate volunteers and NASCAR fans who work tirelessly to turn kids into winners, no matter the challenges they face. More than 50,000 children have been helped through the combined efforts of finalists over the first three years the award has been presented.

“The nomination process, in and of itself, is very inspiring, as we are introduced to the good works of so many individuals who personify what the foundation — and the award — are all about,” said The NASCAR Foundation Chairwoman Betty Jane France.

“This process leads to a challenging next step: determining the four finalists for the award. And that should be a challenge, as that reflects the fact there are many, many NASCAR fans doing some great things in their respective communities.”

Last year, The NASCAR Foundation announced Don Post, event chairman of the March of Dimes Kansas City chapter’s “Bikers for Babies” motorcycle ride, as the winner of the Third Annual Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award.

Post’s $100,000 donation was used to help grow and develop existing March of Dimes programs, including research on how to improve the health of newborns, funding for educational initiatives and community programs such as support groups that help parents cope with their baby’s hospitalization, transition home and even death. Building on the momentum of community support surrounding Post’s win, Kansas Speedway matched the donation with a $100,000 contribution.

 

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P3 penalty for No. 11 team; P2 penalties for No. 9, No. 22 teams

Daytona Beach, Fla. — Three NASCAR Nationwide Series teams have been penalized as a result of rules violations committed at the recently completed event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

During opening day inspection on March 6, the No. 11 car violated Sections 12-4.3 (P3 penalty) and 20A-2.3A (weight attached in unapproved location) of the 2014 NASCAR rule book. As a result, crew chief Chris Gayle has been fined $10,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31. In addition, car chief Todd Brewer has also been placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31.

The No. 9 car violated Sections 12-4.2 (P2 penalty) and 20A-12.8.1B (car exceeded minimum front height). This violation was discovered during post-race inspection on March 8 and crew chief Greg Ives has been placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31.

The No. 22 car violated Sections 12-4.2 (P2 penalty) and 20A-12.3S (shock absorber exceeded maximum gas pressure). The violation was discovered during post-race inspection on March 8 and crew chief Jeremy Bullins has been fined $5,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31.

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Qualifying modifications go into effect this weekend at Bristol

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Some crew chiefs are breathing a sigh of relief, knowing they won’t have to worry about fast and slow cars on the track together during what promises to be a crowded NASCAR Sprint Cup Series group qualifying session Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

NASCAR on Tuesday made changes to its group qualifying procedure, banning the cool-down laps many teams had been using to try and cool their engines before making another pole run in the session. That practice had led to full-speed cars buzzing by other vehicles that were coasting at the bottom of the race track, a situation some drivers cited as a safety hazard during the first two weeks group qualifying has been used at NASCAR’s highest level.

Now cool-down laps are no longer allowed, and NASCAR will grant the use of a cool-down unit — connected through either the left or right side of the hood, which must remain closed — beginning this weekend at Bristol, the first short track to host the group qualifying format. Matt Puccia, crew chief for Roush Fenway Racing driver Greg Biffle, is among those happy to see the change.

"It’s something I really wanted to see happen, because I don’t think you’re going to have the problem of cars running up in front of you when you’re trying to do your fast lap," Puccia said. "The chances of somebody running up in front of you when they’re out there doing their mock run is a lot less than somebody running up in front of you just trying to cool their engine down. That’s been a concern. You’re out there trying to run your qualifying lap, and there are guys out there trying to cool their car down on the bottom of the race track. It’s less likely for that to happen now. You can go out there and do your business, and it’s less likely you have to worry about somebody cutting you off. There’s still a chance it could happen, but it’s just far less now."

Puccia said teams will link the cool-down units to the cars by running hoses to quick-disconnect hookups through the cowl flap doors. Plugging in generators will not be allowed, and two crewmen will be permitted over the wall to support the car and driver. The modifications apply to all three national series, as well as all parts of group qualifying including the breaks between sessions.

"I think as a whole, the addition of the cool-down units to allow the teams to cool down and make proper on-track qualifying efforts is a step in the right direction," said Todd Gordon, crew chief for Joey Logano, a Coors Light Pole Award winner last week at Las Vegas. "I think NASCAR did a good job in reacting to what they saw. The new qualifying format is a really cool format, and it brings a lot more action and suspense to qualifying. By allowing the cool-down units, now we give teams the opportunity to make multiple attempts at qualifying efforts, and I think it will actually put more on-track activity of trying to bump cars off, instead of spending the time trying to cool yourself back down."

Puccia said that at Las Vegas, cars making qualifying runs at 180 mph were blowing past other vehicles cooling their engines at 30 mph at the bottom of the track. "It became a safety issue, and NASCAR did a good job reacting to it," he said. "I think the new qualifying format offers a lot of excitement, and this is just a little bit of tweaking they’re doing. I’m sure there will still be more tweaking as it goes, and we learn more about what we’ve got to do."

The prospect of fast and slow cars mixing on a half-mile track like Bristol didn’t sit well with some. "You’ve heard the old adage that Bristol is like flying fighter jets in a gymnasium, so there’s not a lot of room and time for reaction," Gordon said. "It will be good not to have people that aren’t at race speed on there this weekend."

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Kyle Busch returns as only three-time event winner

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Kyle Busch is returning to the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown in 2014, aiming to add a fourth title in the charity exhibition event hosted by his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate.

JGR’s Matt Kenseth and 2013 Talladega winner David Ragan have also committed to the event, as well as national-series NASCAR drivers Elliott Sadler, Timothy Peters, Jeb Burton, Drew Herring and former racer and current television analyst Hermie Sadler. Several top area late model drivers will also compete in the race, which will benefit the Denny Hamlin Cystic Fibrosis Research Lab at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU.

The April 24 race, held the Thursday night before the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Richmond International Raceway, moves this year to South Boston Speedway in South Boston, Va., which hosts NASCAR Whelen All-American Weekly Series events, and where Elliott Sadler, Peters and Herring have won track championships. The race began in 2008 at Southside Speedway, a short track near Hamlin’s hometown of Chesterfield, Va., before moving to RIR for the past three years.

In 2012, Hamlin’s foundation committed a $150,000 grant to the Denny Hamlin Cystic Fibrosis Lab, with funds raised through events like the Short Track Showdown. Hamlin hopes to encourage more of his fellow NASCAR drivers to take part in the race. Busch is the defending champion and only three-time winner of the event.

"The Short Track Showdown driver lineup is really coming together," Hamlin said. "Kyle and Matt are uber-competitive and, like me, don’t like to lose. However, it may be more challenging beating Elliott, Hermie, Timothy, Jeb and Drew and a heap of late model drivers that know how to get around (South Boston). It may be the best racing we’ve seen in this series yet."

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