Posted on by Staff Report

Veteran driver will be back after missing three races due to a rib injury

After missing three races due to a bicycle accident that resulted in three broken ribs, Bobby Labonte will be back for Sunday’s Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Labonte will be behind the wheel of the No. 47 BUSH’s Beans Toyota Camry for JTG Daugherty Racing.

In a release from JTG Daugherty, Labonte said he is ready to get back to racing.

"Having a few weeks off was not what I planned on doing, but I have healed up well," Labonte said. "I am still sore in some places, but it could be a lot worse. I sat in the seat to feel comfortable. It seemed like everything went good."

Labonte, who is 36th in the Sprint Cup points standings, has run well at New Hampshire. In 37 starts there, he has five top-five finishes and 11 top-10 finishes.

Mike Bliss filled in for Labonte at Atlanta, while AJ Allmendinger filled in at Richmond and Chicagoland. Allmendinger will ride full time for JTG Daugherty next season.

MORE:

READ: Kenseth wins at rainy Chicagoland

READ: Engine failure halts Logano’s fast Chase start

WATCH: Post-Race Reactions GEICO 400

WATCH: Final Laps: Kenseth takes Chicagoland
Posted on by Zack Albert

NASCAR K&N Pro Series star could move to Nationwide or Truck Series in 2014

Editor’s note: Watch ‘Flat Out’ series here

CHICAGO — It would be easy to look at Dylan Kwasniewski’s five-win season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and call it a seamless ride. That would be oversimplifying some very complex matters that reach outside the cockpit.

In truth, the season has been a major time of transition for Kwasniewski, who’s moved across the country to further his racing career, all while adjusting to the coming of age typical of an 18-year-old.

The drama behind the young driver’s on-track success is masterfully captured in a new, unscripted online documentary series called “Flat Out,” which premieres Tuesday on the AOL On video channel. The 10 episodes, produced by NASCAR Productions and Vuguru, detail Kwasniewski’s balancing act of family, racing, friends and impending adulthood as he tries to climb the NASCAR ladder.

“There’s nothing but good coming from this show,” Kwasniewski said last Thursday at the series’ first screening at the trendy Venue SIX10 on Chicago’s famous Michigan Avenue. “It was a blast doing it, and I had a ton of fun. I think it’s going to be great for the sport and great for NASCAR.” 

While racing footage illustrates Kwasniewski’s on-track progress, the series is as much about his growth as a person as his growth as a driver. Accordingly, the most important relationship in the series isn’t driver-crew chief, but mother-son.

Jen Kwasniewski has taken care of her son and his racing career since her husband, Randy, died in 2010. Life as a single parent is hard enough, but keeping tabs on the racing business, moving the family from Las Vegas to North Carolina to be closer to the majority of NASCAR teams, and managing the free-spirited personal life of a teenager is a monumental task. It’s one she handles with aplomb, and one that the cameras zero in on in a genuine manner. 

“For sure, they captured our relationship, and it was authentic,” Jen Kwasniewski said. “He’s really responsible and I think after his dad passed, he really had to grow up sort of fast. Trying to teach him how to be a responsible adult is just what you do as a mother.”

Even though the on-camera skirmishes between the two play out with a certain mix of seriousness and humor, the younger Kwasniewski said he’s a better person for having a strong parental figure guiding him.

“She’s a tough cookie, but she’s got to be like that,” Kwasniewski said. “She’s being a mom. She’s got to make sure I’m doing what I need to do. It may be overbearing sometimes, but I’m glad that she’s so hard on me. I get to have a stern talking-to and I’ll make sure I’m well-disciplined, too.

“It’s tough mixing business and a personal relationship at the same time, but we find a way to do it without ripping each other’s hair out all the time. I absolutely love my mom to death. She’s the one that took my racing under her wing when my dad died and she did a great job. Now she can kind of relax, be herself and just take it all in while I go up through the ranks.”

As his budding racing career has taken off, so have the demands on his personal time. That balance is a focal point of the series, which shows Kwasniewski celebrating his 18th birthday with a cake and candles at the track on one race weekend, and receiving his high school diploma during driver introductions at another race while his classmates graduate back in Las Vegas.

Zane Stoddard, NASCAR’s vice president of entertainment marketing and business development, said that documenting all of the personal and racing travel was a difficult, “all hands on deck” dance, but that the payoff was bringing Kwasniewski’s charisma to the screen.

“I would say, for a professional athlete who’s used to giving interviews and being on camera, he probably has an edge, but the challenge is to get the driver out of the mode of post-race,” Stoddard said. “They recap a race strategically, throw in their sponsors, and the interview is over. Great content is about access, not just the physical access with what’s happening in their lives, but emotional access. People need to know how you feel about things in order to care about them.

“That’s one of the things we realized about Dylan right away is that he’s an emotional kid, in a good way.”

Despite having a production crew following his every move, Kwasniewski said the adjustment period once filming began was a short one.

“Once the cameras were on, like I said a million times before, those guys were so comfortable to work with that I just forgot about the cameras being there,” Kwasniewski said. “I was really nervous coming into it. I didn’t know how it was going to come off on camera. One episode into it, I started laughing at myself and at what was going on. I thought it was really cool.”

As for the racing side, Kwasniewski holds a 40-point lead in the K&N East tour with three races left and is working hard to secure plans for 2014, potentially in the NASCAR Nationwide or Camping World Truck Series. With his life getting a taste of the Hollywood treatment, he’ll do so with a little extra star power on his side.

“In these next two months, I think we’ll definitely have our plan,” Kwasniewski said. “We’ll figure out which teams we want to go with, what we want to do with our sponsors, whether it’s Truck or Nationwide, but we’re definitely stepping up. That’s the plan, and I’m excited to see what the future holds for me.”

MORE:

READ: Kenseth wins at rainy Chicagoland

READ: Engine failure halts Logano’s fast Chase start

WATCH: Post-Race Reactions GEICO 400

WATCH: Final Laps: Kenseth takes Chicagoland
Posted on by Nascar

Points leader, six-time winner in 2013 says there is plenty of racing left

MORE: Full coverage of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Matt Kenseth knows he is the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader.

He may or may not know that the gap between himself and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch is eight points.

With nine races remaining in this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, point differentials are, well, pointless as far as Kenseth is concerned.

"You’re not going to buy this, but I don’t really think about the point lead that much," Kenseth said Tuesday during an appearance at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. "Yeah, I know we’re leading but with nine weeks to go, that is just an incredible amount of racing.

"Now, if we were still leading … had a decent lead and you’re 2-3 races from the end … maybe you start thinking about that. … But right now I really don’t even think about it. I’m totally focused on the next race, trying to get the best finish we can get every week."

The series’ most recent winner, Kenseth, 41, logged a career-best and series’ leading sixth victory Sunday night at Chicagoland Speedway. Four of his wins have come on 1.5-mile tracks, which make up the bulk of the Chase schedule. Additional wins came on two of the series’ more demanding tracks — Darlington Raceway and Bristol Motor Speedway.

Busch scored wins at Texas and Atlanta, giving JGR six wins in seven races on the mile-and-a-halves this year.

"No matter what happens the last nine (races), it has been an incredible season," said Kenseth. "Yeah, if the wheels fell off the last nine weeks you’d be disappointed … but when you look back at it, it has been a pretty magical season with some of the things we’ve been able to do."

He and crew chief Jason Ratcliff aren’t so close that they can complete each other’s sentences, but it’s obvious that the two are working off the same page. Early in the season, Ratcliff often commended Kenseth for his ability to provide excellent feedback on the No. 20 Toyota and what changes might help improve the performance of the car.

Now, Kenseth says much of the team’s strength lies in the crew chief, who he said "had done a really good job of no only calling the race, putting me in front and giving me an opportunity, but also making the right adjustments for when we’re up there."

It hasn’t been a dominating season for the team — Kenseth didn’t rise to the top of the points standings until the Chase field was seeded based on bonus points for wins. But it’s been more than solid enough to make him a threat to overpower the field down the stretch. Problems that have occasionally surfaced were dealt with and corrected. Issues haven’t lingered.

"I do think that’s one of the keys, when things are going bad not to get too far down in the ditch, and when they’re going great, try not to get to high up in the clouds either," he said. "Try to find a happy medium there somewhere so you don’t get distracted, good or bad, from what your goals are and what you have to accomplish next week.

"The sport moves so incredibly fast and believe me I enjoy the wins more than I have ever enjoyed them in my life. As I get older, you might not ever win a race or championship … so you have to learn to enjoy them."

With two wins and four consecutive finishes of 12th or better in its last four starts, Kenseth and his team appear to be back on an even keel. Steady and consistent.

Nine races remain, and the series is back in action this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. A lot can, and no doubt will, happen in the coming weeks.

"I feel like we’re certainly capable (of winning the title)," he said. "Whether we do or not remains to be seen.

"Just take it one week at a time, put forth our best effort and hope to get the finishes. … I feel like I have the best team in the garage and obviously we have very fast race cars. But being capable and … actually getting the numbers are two different things."

MORE:

READ: Kenseth wins at rainy Chicagoland

READ: Engine failure halts Logano’s fast Chase start

WATCH: Post-Race Reactions GEICO 400

WATCH: Final Laps: Kenseth takes Chicagoland
Posted on by Staff Report

Victory was also the first of Logano’s Sprint Cup career

Joey Logano became the youngest driver to win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2009. Logano’s victory, which was the first of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career, came at the track on June 28, 2009. Logano was just 19 years, 1 month and 4 days old at the time. Will a return to the site of his first victory help Logano move up from his 12th place position in the Chase standings?

 

Posted on by Staff Report

 

Click here for live streaming of today’s Chase Chat; Kurt Busch (2:45 p.m. ET) and Matt Kenseth (3:15 p.m. ET)

MORE:

READ: Kenseth wins at rainy Chicagoland

READ: Engine failure halts Logano’s fast Chase start

WATCH: Post-Race Reactions GEICO 400

WATCH: Final Laps: Kenseth takes Chicagoland
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Busch, Kenseth propel organization to new Chase heights

Related: Kenseth wins at Chicagoland | Results | Standings

JOLIET, Ill. — Matt Kenseth says he’s the same driver he’s always been.

It certainly seems that way — same Wisconsin accent, same wonderfully dry sense of humor, same allegiance to the Green Bay Packers football team. But something has clearly changed, given that a driver who always lurked in the shadows and stole a win here or there is now dominating races and recording victories in bunches.

That much was clearly evident Saturday night at Chicagoland Speedway, when the driver from just up the road in Cambridge, Wis., led 89 laps to claim the opener in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, and set a new personal record with his sixth victory of the season in the process.

"It’s been a record season for me. I’m obviously the same guy, the same driver," Kenseth said early Sunday morning, after a long event that totaled more than six hours in rain delays. "It’s obviously about Joe Gibbs Racing, the guys working there, (crew chief) Jason (Ratcliff) and the group and everything."

It’s clearly been a mutually beneficial relationship. The 41-year-old Kenseth has thrived in JGR cars, showing the kind of ruthless efficiency that’s more often associated with five-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson. And JGR has thrived with 2003 champion Kenseth under its roof, becoming an organization that feasts on intermediate tracks like Chicagoland, and now boasts a pair of potent championship threats in Kenseth and Kyle Busch.

That was all on display Sunday in Joliet, as the Chase opener boiled down to a duel between two JGR drivers who finished 1-2 in the race and now occupy those same positions in the standings. That’s no small feat for an organization that’s all too often stumbled early in the playoff, falling victim to mechanical breakdowns or other problems that have taken them out of the running in the initial stages of a 10-race stretch where any miscue is magnified.

Not so at Chicagoland, where Kenseth earned the organization’s sixth victory this year on a mile-and-a-half track. JGR’s Denny Hamlin may be playing out the string in a lost season defined by a back injury that knocked him out for most of five races, but his teammates have the organization off to an uncharacteristically strong Chase start as they pursue JGR’s first Sprint Cup title since Tony Stewart‘s last one there in 2005.

"I think we got great news. We won the race tonight," Gibbs said. "We were one and two there. The reality is, tomorrow morning it starts all over again. We’re going to be worried. We got nine races. You see those competitors out there. You could see … it could have been almost the top six, seven, eight could have been up there, got out front, it would have been a different story. I think this is going to be very, very competitive. But … getting off to a good start, we’ve struggled some doing that. I thought it was a good feeling tonight to get off to a good start with both of our cars there. … That’s a big deal for us. It’s a good start. But the reality is tomorrow morning, it’s nine more to go."

Next week brings the flat mile layout in New Hampshire, where Hamlin has won twice and may prove a valuable asset to his teammates in championship contention. Next comes the concrete mile in Dover, where Johnson is king. But after that are back-to-back 1.5-milers in Kansas and Charlotte, with intermediates in Texas and Homestead looming further down the line. "We’re excited about that," Ratcliff admitted.

Sunday in Joliet offered a snapshot of what’s possible. Although Busch didn’t get his second career tripleheader sweep, and was left still seeking his first victory in a Chase event since 2005, in the bigger picture the significance of a 1-2 Gibbs finish in the opening playoff race was evident.

"I think having the 18 and the 20 (cars) running up front like that shows that we’re capable of doing that," he said. "Matt, I tell you, Matt is really, really good at mile‑and‑a‑half racing. He is fast. He’s won a lot of them this year. I typically in the past haven’t been great at it, but certainly this year have been better at it. It’s a testament to us all learning, sharing information, getting better. I think Denny had a good run tonight going, too. It’s a process. Our program seems to be working well with these mile‑and‑a‑half tracks, but also Kenseth has won on a short track as well with Bristol. (There’s) optimism in the final 10, which half of them are mile‑and‑a‑halfs."

Dave Rogers, Busch’s crew chief, said Sunday’s result sent a message — not necessarily to the competition, but to the employees who work at JGR headquarters in Huntersville, N.C.

"I think it’s the first race of the Chase, but it certainly sends a message to everyone back at the shop that their race teams are ready to race," Rogers said. "… To come here and represent them with a 1-2 finish, we’ll go back to the shop and rib each other. My buddy (No. 18 team mechanic) Jeff Chandler will probably tell me the 20 car is the house car. Hopefully next weekend we can remind him the 18 car is the house car. But we’ll have a lot of fun with it. That’s a great way to start the Chase."

Particularly since the last two winners of the opening race at Chicagoland — Stewart and Brad Keselowski — have gone on to win the championship. Nine races remain and anything certainly can happen, but for Joe Gibbs Racing one long day-into-night on the fringe of the Windy City may have represented a step forward in more ways than one.

"It’s certainly a great feeling," Rogers said. "But what we told ourselves going into the Chase is to level out the roller coaster. This is the most humbling sport in the world, so we don’t want to get too excited and think we have this thing won by any stretch of the imagination. We want to stay humble and keep digging and keep performing. But certainly the 1-2 finish is a great way to start the Chase."

MORE:

READ: Kenseth wins at rainy Chicagoland

READ: Engine failure halts Logano’s fast Chase start

WATCH: Post-Race Reactions GEICO 400

WATCH: Final Laps: Kenseth takes Chicagoland
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Newman finishes 10th, while first-time Chase contender, Logano, comes in 37th

With Chicagoland Speedway kicking off the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, drivers gave it their all to start the postseason properly.

Ryan Newman, a Chase contender, led the Coca-Cola Racing Family with a 10th-place finish at Chicagoland, leaving him eighth in the Chase standings.

Greg Biffle, another Chase contender, finished 16th after having a rough time in the pits. He currently sits 11th in the standings, right in front of Joey Logano, who also struggled at Chicago.

Being the youngest driver in the Chase, as well as the Coors Light Pole winner, Logano wanted to make a good first impression in the postseason. Instead, he started experiencing engine issues around Lap 176 and eventually had to head to the garage. He finished 37th and now stands 12th in Chase points.

A roundup on the Coca-Cola Racing Family in order of how they finished at Chicagoland:

Ryan Newman (No. 39)

Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet 

Recap: Coming off what was one of Newman’s best finishes this season at Richmond, his time at Chicagoland was not wasted. Bouncing back from the recent penalty drama with Michael Waltrip Racing, Newman gave it all he had at Chicago to prove that he belongs in the Chase. Starting 20th in the 43-car field, Newman worked his way through the crowd, leading for one lap, and eventually finishing 10th. This marks Newman’s 13th top-10 finish this season. Before the rain fell, Newman started off with a tight-handling condition. After the five-hour rain delay, Newman’s handling conditions did a 180 and he struggled with being loose off the exit of corners. He currently sits eighth in the Chase standings after jumping up four spots.
Quotable: “I’m happy to come out of here with a top-10 finish tonight. Track position was really important. We were stuck in the back of the pack for a while and couldn’t really get going. Every time I got up behind someone, I’d just get so tight I couldn’t do anything with it. Matt (Borland, crew chief) got us position with a couple of two-tire stops, and once we were up front, we were able to make a little more of it. Our Quicken Loans Chevrolet was definitely better on the long runs."
His standing: Newman is eighth in the standings with 2,035 points.
Outlook: Newman heads into New Hampshire knowing that he did well at Chicago, but there is still room for improvement if he wants a shot at the championship. In his last go-round with Stewart-Haas Racing, Newman entered the first race of the 10-race Chase seeded 12th among the 13 Chase drivers, 15 points behind No. 1 seed Kenseth. Newman leaves Chicagoland in eighth, 28 points behind Chase leader Kenseth.


Greg Biffle (No. 16)

Roush Fenway Racing, Ford 

Recap: After taking 12th at Richmond and qualifying for the Chase, Biffle struggled at Chicagoland. Starting out in seventh, he quickly experienced problems on restarts and pit road. Eventually finishing 16th, Biffle dropped back four spots in Chase standings and now sits 11th, behind Kasey Kahne.
Quotable: “That was a rough night. We had major issues in the pits. I don’t know what happened. We started from the back a few times and it is really hard to get track position to pass. Our car was pretty good but every time we got ourselves worked up there, something happened. Something broke. I thought the motor broke but it must have been something on the exhaust system. We were down quite a bit of power the last 100 laps. We just tried to keep our momentum up. The restarts just killed me. I just didn’t have the power on the restarts. Once it stretched out a little we were pretty good and could keep up. It was really tough. We were hit and miss a little bit tonight. This wasn’t our best night but we pulled off a 16th place finish. Everybody kept working hard. That isn’t the way we wanted to start but we had a pretty fast car at times.”
His standing: Biffle is 11th in the standings with 2,032 points.
Outlook: With one win under his belt at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2008, Biffle knows he needs to finish in the top 10 to show any positive movement in the Chase standings. He currently sits 31 points behind leader Matt Kenseth. With nine races left in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Biffle still has a chance to make an impact in the standings. 

Danica Patrick (No. 10)

Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet 

Recap: Danica Patrick finished 20th at Chicagoland after starting off in 23rd. Patrick drove a smooth race and sat as high as 16th at one point. Patrick, who is competing for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors against Ricky Stenhouse Jr., finished 12 spots behind Stenhouse. She moved up one spot in the standings and has 497 points.
Quotable: “I thought it was all right. We weren’t the fastest car out there, but we were decent and relatively consistent. At the beginning of the year, top-20s were the goal based on last year and we had to readjust that a bit, but now that’s kind of where we’re falling in with things. The cars are getting better, and I’m learning things. It’s going in the right direction. I’d like it to go further, but I’ll take any progress."
Her standing: Patrick is 26th in the standings with 497 points. 
Outlook: The Last time Patrick was at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, she didn’t finish. It could be a challenge for Patrick to hold onto her momentum from Chicagoland and finish in the top 20 again. 

Denny Hamlin (No. 11)

Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 

Recap: Hamlin just can’t seem to catch a break. Finishing 33rd at Chicago, and 21st at Richmond a week prior, the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Office Camry is starting to get frustrated with his outcomes.
Quotable: “Just can’t finish a race. Motor ran terrible all day and then blew up at the end. Hard two months, I mean it’s just unbelievable, even when we have a decent run going, just can’t finish.”
His standing: Hamlin is 27th in the standings with 496 points.
Outlook: Obviously, Hamlin would rather be in the Chase than out of it. But the lone positive to not qualifying for the postseason is that the No. 11 team can try some new, out-of-the-box setups in the final 10 races. The Generation-6 car has been a difficult adjustment for Hamlin, so the lessened implications down the home stretch may be a blessing in disguise. 

Joey Logano (No. 22)

Penske Racing, Ford

Recap: Logano wanted to start off on the right foot in his first ever Chase. Being a first-timer in the postseason, Logano sealed his lead position by winning the Coors Light Pole and even led 32 laps. That was until the five-hour rain delay, and after that, it was all downhill for Logano. After dramatically falling back in positions, Logano eventually had to head to the garage after his engine blew up. He ended up finishing 37th in his first Chase race and dropped six spots in the standings to 12th.
Quotable: “I am pretty angry. That was such as fast race car we had. After the rain delay we came in and put on four tires and lost some track position but we were going to take two on the next one, kind of like the 24 (of Jeff Gordon) did and he cycled out to the lead there. Unfortunately the motor blew up. You have these every once in awhile. It is a bummer to have it in the Chase when you are running for a championship. I feel like Chicago was one of those tracks we could win at. Everyone was doing the right thing. We have a really fast race car and we put it on the pole and led laps today, it just wasn’t our day I guess.” 
His standing: Logano is 12th in the standings with 2,011 points.
Outlook: Logano can’t let this setback crush his Chase dreams. As he heads into New Hampshire, he should feel confident knowing that he’s already won once at this track in 2009 after starting 24th. Although Logano dropped significantly in the Chase standings this week, he still has nine races to make up for the challenges that he faced at Chicagoland.




Tony Stewart (No. 14)

Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet 

Recap: Stewart missed his sixth consecutive race this past weekend and watched Mark Martin pilot his No. 14 Chevrolet to a 17th-place finish after starting in the 29th position. Stewart is still nursing his broken leg and won’t return in 2013.
His standing: Stewart is 23rd in the standings with 594 points.

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Posted on by Holly Cain

Driver is heading back to IndyCar after seven-year NASCAR career

Despite discussions with several NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams, an offer to drive for IndyCar’s most successful team, Penske Racing, proved irresistible to former open-wheel champion Juan Pablo Montoya, who announced Monday he will drive a third car for the organization in 2014.

“If you really dream of an ideal position for a driver, and say you can race for Penske, that would be number one,’’ Montoya, 37, told reporters Monday. “When it was announced I wouldn’t be in the (Earnhardt Ganassi Racing) 42 (Sprint Cup car), my number one choice was to be in a winning car. … You didn’t even have to think about it.’’

Penske Racing President Tim Cindric said the deal to sign Montoya was completed quickly — so fast, in fact, the team doesn’t have a single sponsor lined up yet for Montoya’s No. 2 Chevrolet.

“Juan and I ran into each other on the (NASCAR) grid at Michigan (Aug. 18),’’ Cindric explained, “I said, ‘We ought to put you in that IndyCar’ and he said, ‘Let’s talk about it.’ Casual conversation kind of turned in to the real deal and that’s how we ended up here today.’’

As for the lack of sponsorship, Cindric laughed and said, “We put the competitive element in play first and then we’ll sort everything else out.’’

Montoya — the only driver with wins in the 24 Hours of Daytona, the Indianapolis 500 and Formula One’s Grand Prix of Monaco — became a high-profile free agent last month when his Sprint Cup team owner Chip Ganassi announced that 21-year-old Kyle Larson would drive the No. 42 Target Chevrolet in 2014, becoming the first of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity graduates to secure a full-time ride in the sport’s premier Sprint Cup level.

Some were under the impression Montoya would stay in NASCAR and sign with Furniture Row Racing, which qualified for its first Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with driver Kurt Busch. But although Montoya was impressed during a visit to the team’s shop and facilities in Denver recently, he said he felt it just came down to having a better chance at winning, driving for Penske’s IndyCar operation.

In seven NASCAR seasons driving for the Earnhardt Ganassi team, Montoya won the 2007 Rookie of the Year award in addition to nine Coors Light Poles wards and two races — on both of NASCAR’s road courses, Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen International.

He qualified for the 2009 Chase field and reminded reporters Monday that he is still the only Ganassi driver to make the Chase.

Montoya was adamant he doesn’t leave his NASCAR tenure with regrets but perhaps some unfinished business, reiterating his desire to win on an oval on one of the remaining nine tracks this season.

“I don’t feel like I wasted my years in NASCAR,’’ Montoya said. “It made me a lot better driver. . … I learned a lot, I became a lot smarter driver.

“We did win races and we did make the Chase. . … Did I want more success? Of course, yes. The reason we’re here today is because I want more success.’’

Montoya joked and ultimately conceded it could be a bit awkward in the upcoming months considering his current team owner Chip Ganassi has long been the Penske team’s primary rival in IndyCar. In fact, Montoya won the 1999 IndyCar championship and 2000 Indianapolis 500 for Ganassi.

Montoya said he tried to call Ganassi on Monday before the announcement, but that Ganassi was in Europe. The two did exchange text messages.

“He was very excited for me,’’ Montoya said. “We are good friends. … he had to make a decision this year [to replace Montoya] and I had the great chance to go with Roger Penske.”

As for his mixed loyalties in the next few months, Montoya laughed.

“I will have a little white flag, be very neutral there,’’ Montoya said. “I’m committed to Chip for the next nine races and working really hard to get that oval win before the end of the year.’’

With his success in both IndyCar and NASCAR, Montoya becomes a natural candidate to attempt the Memorial Day “Double” competing in both the Indy 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600.

“I’ve learned never to say never,’’ Cindric said. “We certainly haven’t had any of those discussions, but if something makes sense out there we certainly wouldn’t close the door on it. But certainly with us, IndyCar racing will be his focus.’’ 

On Sept. 5, Montoya received a Hispanic Heritage Award for sports, an honor bestowed upon him by the Hispanic Heritage Foundation during its annual meeting in Washington, D.C., as part of Hispanic Heritage Month.

MORE:

READ: Kenseth wins at rainy Chicagoland

READ: Engine failure halts Logano’s fast Chase start

WATCH: Post-Race Reactions GEICO 400

WATCH: Final Laps: Kenseth takes Chicagoland
Posted on by Nascar

In the hunt for the Chase, mid-race recoveries are key

JOLIET, Ill. — Their title hopes began to unravel due to different circumstances on different occasions. Both, however, were able to recover and exit with only minimal damage in this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

For Kurt Busch, the issue was speeding on pit road, an early-race mistake that put the Furniture Row Racing driver a lap down to the leader barely 75 laps into Sunday’s rain-hampered Geico 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

For Jeff Gordon, it was a flat left rear tire that sent the Hendrick Motorsports driver to the pits under green some 100 laps later. He, too, fell off the lead lap, and seemingly out of the picture.

Both were able to regain the lost laps. Both were able to race their way back into the top five. Impressive runs are necessary to maintain title hopes, and in the opener, both Busch and Gordon — and their respective teams — delivered.

Busch finished fourth, his best result at the 1.5-mile track just southwest of Chicago, and jumped four spots in the points battle. With race No. 1 of this year’s 10-race playoff out of the way, the 2004 champion now sits sixth in the standings.

Gordon lost his bid for a top-five only after dropping a position in the closing laps to teammate Jimmie Johnson and finished sixth.

Last in the 13-car field hours earlier, the four-time champion departed with a six-spot gain and seventh-place points position.

“To think how far down we were with 40 laps to go … we were like 18th on one of those last restarts,” Gordon said. “To be able to come up through there and get sixth with a shot at a top five was a lot of fun. That’s what we needed to get this thing started off right.”

Gordon led three times for 22 laps in the 267-lap event, which was run under the lights for the first time thanks to a rain delay of more than five hours. Only 109 laps had been completed when showers halted action on the track.

Leading when the night’s sixth caution — the result of debris — came out, Gordon restarted third. But the cut tire quickly sent him back to pit road, and by the time he made it back out on the track, he was one lap down.

“When we had the flat tire and had to stop and got a lap down, we were at the mercy of the caution,” crew chief Alan Gustafson said. “Then there was another quick caution and we were able to come and get four tires and put fuel in; we were still a lap down.

“I thought it was probably going to go green and we were either going to have to get it by going fast enough on the track to gain spots or have an advantageous caution and we did both. I was amazed how fast our car was. He made up a ton of time on the leader and pretty much everybody on the track. We had about 10 more laps of (fuel and tire) range on those guys and we used it to our advantage. Then after about seven laps we got the caution (we needed).”

Busch’s first setback came on lap 77 — giving him a bit more of a window of opportunity to overcome the miscue. Still, it was tough sledding on a night when speeds and emotions ran high.

Busch took the wave-around shortly after the lengthy red-flag period when the leaders hit pit road for tires and fuel. When the caution appeared several laps later after Juan Pablo Montoya’s Chevrolet shredded a rear tire, Busch was able to pit and cycle back with the leaders.

When he pitted for the final time on Lap 220, it was with a tire already going down.

“We had some adversity to overcome,” he said. “Just a genuine battle all night with Chase guys.

"Once we got up into the top 10, we held our own. Those restarts, it’s crazy how aggressive everybody is … it’s just the name of the game right now. Overall, though, these guys found a way to get back on the lead lap, found solid pit stops tonight. Bringing home a top-five to start it off, that’s what it’s all about."

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Matt Kenseth collected the win with teammate Kyle Busch finishing second. And "those two Gibbs cars were just fast," Busch aptly noted.

"We were, tonight, I think third at best."

MORE:

READ: Kenseth wins at rainy Chicagoland

READ: Engine failure halts Logano’s fast Chase start

WATCH: Post-Race Reactions GEICO 400

WATCH: Final Laps: Kenseth takes Chicagoland
Posted on by Staff Report

Field includes 43 drivers in second race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup

Click here to see the entry list for this week’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

MORE:

READ: Kenseth wins at rainy Chicagoland

READ: Engine failure halts Logano’s fast Chase start

WATCH: Post-Race Reactions GEICO 400

WATCH: Final Laps: Kenseth takes Chicagoland