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Top five remains same; Stewart, Gordon surge; Keselowski tumbles

                                   

1. Jimmie Johnson        

Outlook: Johnson didn’t get his record-tying fifth Brickyard victory, but with his second-place finish, it certainly didn’t look like he was missing any sort of “edge” that he was supposedly looking to regain with the Gen-6 car.
Standings: 1st, 740 points

2. Matt Kenseth           

Outlook: At this level, barring an accident or malfunction, most drivers can take a great car and get a great finish. And then there are drivers like Matt Kenseth.
Standings: 6th, 615 points

3. Clint Bowyer           

Outlook: With his top-20 finish at Indy, Bowyer came nowhere close to earning his first victory of 2013, but he might not even need to. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver so consistently finishes in the top five, he’s still in excellent position. Besides, at this point last year he only had one victory, so he’s barely off his runner-up pace.
Standings: 2nd, 665 points

4. Kevin Harvick          

Outlook: With Indianapolis being one of his better tracks, Harvick missed an opportunity to close in on Bowyer and Carl Edwards in the standings, especially with Bowyer’s mediocre finish. Neither driver is spectacular at Pocono, so he could make up some ground there, however.
Standings: 4th, 648 points

5. Carl Edwards         

Outlook: Chances are, Edwards probably won’t remember the glory of his 13th-place finish at Indy, but trust me. He won’t forget about this any time soon.
Standings: 3rd, 655 points

6. Dale Earnhardt Jr.  

Outlook: Give some credit to Earnhardt. The guy drove his tail off Sunday under some pretty tough circumstances.
Standings: 5th, 616 points

7. Kyle Busch             

Outlook: Busch’s two wins in three weeks feel like a distant memory. Probably because it’s been 13 races since he’s hit Victory Lane. Well, the Sprint Cup version, anyway.
Standings: 7th, 610 points

8. Kasey Kahne            

Outlook: It was an overall ‘great’ weekend for Kahne. He finished third at Indy and he has a sponsor secured for at least 10 races per season through 2016. See what I did there?
Standings: 9th, 564 points

9. Tony Stewart           

Outlook: After the crazy busy week that he had, Stewart could have struggled at Indy, despite it being one of his better tracks. Smoke extended his good times through Sunday, though, vaulting himself back into the top 10 in points and Power Rankings with a top-five finish.
Standings: 11th, 558 points

10. Jeff Gordon            

Outlook: Ryan Newman’s victory certainly makes the Chase picture for drivers like Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch a little cloudier, but at least out of the three, Gordon was able to position himself into the top 10 with a strong showing at Indy, just like he needed to do.
Standings: 10th, 559 points

11. Greg Biffle            

Outlook: Yikes. Sorry, Greg Biffle, but a flop at one of your best tracks earned you a nod as this week’s biggest fantasy bust. He doesn’t exactly set the world on fire at Pocono, but he does have a win there so a rebound is possible.
Standings: 8th, 565 points

12. Martin Truex Jr.     

Outlook: Truex’s 11th-place finish at Indy dropped him a spot in the standings, but don’t be mistaken. He’s in excellent shape to make the Chase, despite currently holding onto the very last spot. Plus, he does awesome stuff with Ryan Seacrest.
Standings: 12th, 554 points

13. Kurt Busch             

Outlook: Sure, Busch can dream about jumping in an IndyCar all he wants, but he should really focus on his current endeavors. You know, the ones that include trying to sneak into the Chase with six races before the cutoff.
Standings: 14th, 546 points

14. Brad Keselowski     

Outlook: After an excellent New Hampshire race, things finally looked like they were about to turn the corner for Keselowski. And then they didn’t. Now, he’s got plenty of work to do with just a handful of races left. The champ may not get a chance to defend his title in the Chase, but hey. He’s got a killer "SportsCenter" commercial.
Standings: 13th, 553 points

15. Ryan Newman            

Outlook: What a day for the Indiana native, winning his first Brickyard 400. The fact that the victory only brought him up to 16th in the standings is telling of his season, though. It’s going to take some effort for him to keep this up, but maybe it’ll get the ball rolling.
Standings: 16th, 534 points

16. Joey Logano            

Outlook: Don’t close the book on Logano just yet.  He brought at least his “B+” game to Indy, which resulted in a much-needed top-10 finish and could add another win to his Pocono resume this weekend.
Standings: 18th, 524 points

17. Jamie McMurray         

Outlook: Currently in 15th place, McMurray has had a decent season, but with just one top-five through 20 races, it’s hard to picture him breaking through at this point and getting over the hump into serious Chase contention.
Standings: 15th, 537 points

18. Aric Almirola          

Outlook: (See McMurray, Jamie).

The only difference is that Almirola actually hovered around the top 10 for a good chunk of the season before significantly dropping off once the summer hit. There was a glimmer of hope with his top-five at New Hampshire, but it’s pretty clear Almirola already hit his ceiling.
Standings: 17th, 529 points

19. Denny Hamlin           

Outlook: Let’s just say for a minute that Hamlin never got injured and didn’t miss those four races. Let’s also say he averaged 35 points per race over that span. That would put him at 528 total points, in 18th-place behind Aric Almirola. He’s shown flashes of his old self at times, but if he remains adamant that the injury is no longer bothering him, he may have to start answering questions as to why he’s been so mediocre if it isn’t.
Standings: 25th, 388 points

20. Juan Pablo Montoya  

Outlook: It was just about a foregone conclusion that the former Indy 500 winner Montoya, who always seems to do well at the Brickyard, would keep his success at the track going after he practiced so well. He didn’t disappoint, earning his fourth top-10 finish of the year, but it’ll take a win (probably at Watkins Glen) and a few top-fives to put his name back toward the ranks of contenders.
Standings: 23rd, 460 points

In the rearview

Note: These rankings have been determined by a poll that included writers Kenny Bruce, Holly Cain, David Caraviello and Zack Albert, and video host Alan Cavanna.

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All three national series on the track this weekend

Check out below for the latest news, videos to recap the Pocono, Iowa weekend.

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Sprint Cup Series

GoBowling.com 400, Pocono Raceway, 1 p.m. ET, Sunday, ESPN | ENTRY LIST | WEEKEND SCHEDULE | LINEUP | RESULTS

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Kahne squeaks past Gordon

Kasey Kahne passes Jeff Gordon with two laps to go to win at Pocono. Read about what was a dramatic finish that had major Chase implications. | Read the full story

More news:

— Johnson rallies despite tire problems
— Gordon continues to move up standings
— Junior not satisfied with fifth place
— Standings Shuffle: Minor moves as Chase looms
— Video highlights from Pocono
— Johnson speeds to Coors Light Pole; Ky. Busch chimes in
— Newman has support, but no job offers yet
— For drivers like Stewart, 38 races not enough
— Stenhouse slaps wall in practice
— Video: Hot Lap — Take a trip around the Triangle
— Wild Card Watch: Tight turns ahead
— By the Numbers: Pocono
— Paint Scheme Preview: Pocono, Iowa
— Power Rankings: Veterans surge as Chase looms
— Driver Reports: Through turbulence, Junior shines

Nationwide Series

U.S. Cellular 250 presented by Enlist Weed Control System, Iowa Speedway, 8 p.m. ET, Saturday, ESPN | ENTRY LIST | WEEKEND SCHEDULE | LINEUP | RESULTS

Featured Story

Keselowski wins three in a row

Sprint Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski was the lone driver to attempt racing in both the Nationwide Series race in Iowa and the Cup race in Pocono. The first part of his double-booked weekend ended with a trip to Victory Lane. | Read the full story

More news:
— Travis Pastrana reacts to disappointing finish
— Gifford nabs top-10 finish in Nationwide debut
— Herring wins first career Coors Light Pole
— At Iowa, it’s all about recovering
— Gifford comfortable, confident for debut
— Nationwide Series qualifying order
— Blog: Kenny Wallace revs up Iowa fans
— Scott still wants a win
— Dillon takes the points lead

Camping World Truck Series

Pocono Mountains 125, Pocono Raceway, 1 p.m. ET, Saturday, SPEED | ENTRY LIST | WEEKEND SCHEDULE | LINEUP | RESULTS

Featured Story

Blaney wins wild one

Ryan Blaney wins the Pocono Mountains 125 after a wild finish that featured two wrecks in the last four laps. Find out how Blaney, 19, got his second career Truck victory. | Read the story

More news:
— Video: Watch Final Laps at Pocono
— Video: Bodine slide | Sauter, Dillon contact
— Committed crewman has run all 450 Truck races
— Paludo paces lone practice at Pocono
— New ride for Bodine at Pocono
— Coulter to drive the No. 18 Fox Sports 1 Toyota

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WATCH: Final Laps:
Kahne edges Gordon

WATCH: Victory Lane:
Kahne celebrates

WATCH: Johnson hits
wall at Pocono

WATCH: Danica involved in
four-car wreck
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Ahead of his Nationwide debut on Saturday, Drive for Diversity grad Ryan Gifford touched on his relationships with Austin, Ty Dillon

There are worse people to be in close company with than Austin and Ty Dillon, both winners on NASCAR’s national stage. Ryan Gifford knows this quite well.

Last week, Gifford was soaking in the scene on the frontstretch dirt of Eldora Speedway after Austin’s historic Camping World Truck Series victory on the tacky Ohio clay. This weekend, Gifford will be enjoying a landmark start of his own, making his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut with Richard Childress Racing in Saturday night’s U.S. Cellular 250 (8 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

“For me, I’m looking forward to it probably more than anything I’ve looked forward to in years,” Gifford said Tuesday during a NASCAR Cam teleconference. “I’m really, really excited. I’m confident that I think I can get a good run. Just waiting on it to get here. It’s kind of like the last day of school — it doesn’t get here soon enough.”

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Gifford, 24, currently ranks fourth in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East standings in his fourth season with the Max Siegel-owned Rev Racing team. But the Tennessee native works just as closely with the Dillon brothers’ dirt late model operation, both in the driver’s seat and back at the race shop in Welcome, N.C.

A race-driving instructor pointed Gifford in the direction of Mike Dillon, Austin and Ty’s father, and longtime team owner Richard Childress six years ago. Gifford’s been connected with the team ever since.

Austin Dillon, 23, is in the midst of his second full season on the Nationwide Tour, two years removed from his truck series championship campaign in 2011. Ty Dillon, 21, is also a sophomore, already with two wins to his credit in just a season and a half of Camping World Truck Series competition. Working so closely with two friends and contemporaries has given Gifford a wealth of experience to tap into as he climbs the stock-car ladder.

“They’re definitely full of energy,” Gifford said. “It’s always cool to be able to hang out with them, see them go through the start of their career, how it all works. For me, I’ve got to learn a lot from them. They definitely do a lot to try and help me out.  Every now and then they let me get in the dirt cars and things like that.

“It’s been a fun journey throughout my career to be able to see them go, and go through their career. It’s taught me a lot. Hopefully I can apply a lot of those things as things maybe get going for me.”

Being so hands-on with two of NASCAR’s rising stars has also given him a pair of driving styles to emulate. Though he leans more toward Austin than Ty in the driving department, he’s also tried to forge his own identity behind the wheel.

“Austin and Ty both are really, really good drivers,” said Gifford, a member of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity initiative. “I try to learn as much as I can from both of them. They’re almost like complete opposites. But a guy right in the middle would be about perfect. They’re both guys that I try and learn a lot from. That’s one of the things that I do a lot, is watch their races, just try and pick out things that they do that make them better than other guys. It seems to help me.”

Gifford’s path to a national series debut has been a steady progression rather than a meteoric rise. He admits as much, calling his four-season run in K&N competition a “long road” to this weekend’s opportunity at Iowa.

Patience paid off for Gifford in April at Richmond International Raceway, where he finally snared his first K&N victory in 44 starts, helping erase the sour memories of near-misses and on-track heartache.

“That definitely helped my confidence a lot. Made me feel like I can do it, I can go out there and win on a regular basis,” said Gifford, who will pull a K&N/Nationwide doubleheader at Iowa. “You’re in position to win a lot of times, and things go wrong. You’re like, ‘Man, am I ever going to be able to get this done?’ To go out there and get my first win was big. It helped the momentum of our team so much and morale.”

Saturday night, Gifford will be flying the banner for RCR at Iowa, making him the eighth driver this season to pilot the No. 33 Chevrolet. He joins — in order of appearance —Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Ty Dillon, Dakoda Armstrong, Max Papis, Paul Menard and Matt Crafton among the varied group with a turn behind the wheel.

With solid equipment under him, Gifford says he knows he has a chance to be competitive. But the goals for his maiden voyage in a Nationwide car may be more modest.

“Well, my goal is definitely a win, but realistically if I can go out there and finish all the laps is my first goal,” Gifford said. “Then from there, if you do that, you stay on the lead lap, you should end up somewhere between the top five, top 10, something like that. … It’s one of those things where it will be getting me comfortable, getting me up to speed. From there we’ll just have to see how it goes.”

 

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Former GM exec named organization’s executive VP and GM

The most successful race team of NASCAR’s modern era has created a new position to oversee its racing operations — and promoted a familiar name to fill it.

Doug Duchardt, the longtime General Motors executive who joined Hendrick Motorsports in 2005, was named Tuesday as the organization’s executive vice president and general manager. The new role puts the 49-year-old Duchardt in charge of all Hendrick’s racing activities — a spectrum that includes teams, engines, car construction, research and development, pit crews and engineering.

“Doug has led by example from his first day with us,” team owner Rick Hendrick said in a statement. “We’re in a competitive and ever-changing industry, and he brings a global view that will be critical to our long-term success. Doug shares the organization’s values, understands the importance of relationships and has helped promote a culture of teamwork and communication. We know those are things he will lean on and grow in the years to come.”

A native of Morton, Ill., Duchardt joined Hendrick as vice president of development. In that position, he directed engine, vehicle engineering, chassis and body operation. In addition to overseeing competition, his new role will also include managing technical relationships such as engine leases and chassis purchases, as well as serving as primary liaison between Hendrick and NASCAR’s competition group.

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Hendrick is the most successful race team in modern NASCAR history, having won 214 races and 10 championships in the Sprint Cup Series since being founded as All-Star Racing in 1984. Ken Howes, Hendrick’s vice president of competition, will remain in that role and report to Duchardt, who in turn will report to Hendrick and company president Marshall Carlson. Duchardt, Howes and Carlson formed the team’s management core after president John Hendrick was among 10 people killed in the crash of a company plane en route to Martinsville Speedway in late 2004.

Hendrick has since grown into an organization comprised of several hundred employees based on a sprawling campus north of Charlotte. In addition to its own four-car race operations with drivers Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne, it also builds its own engines in-house, and supplies engines and chassis to other teams such as Stewart-Haas Racing.

“I think with that scope, I think it makes it a little easier to manage with one focal point,” Duchardt said by telephone. “A little over eight years ago, Marshall and Ken Howes and I were put together to manage the company … in a difficult transition after Martinsville. And we worked very closely together through the years in doing that. This allows Marshall to free up and go manage the business side of our company. And Ken and I have had and will continue to have a very close relationship in managing the competition side of the company.”

Duchardt said he was told of the move about three weeks ago, while Hendrick employees were informed Tuesday in one of the company’s quarterly meetings. “I think it’s just the natural evolution of our leadership,” Duchardt said. He will also be the conduit to Gene Stefanyshyn, NASCAR’s vice president for innovation and racing design, who will take on an increased role as the sanctioning body modernizes its competition department. Duchardt oversaw Hendrick’s development of the past two versions of Sprint Cup car, including the Generation-6 implemented this year.

“There were some times when NASCAR personnel would talk to me about something, and I wasn’t totally familiar with it because it was in Ken’s area, or vice versa,” Duchardt said.  “… So when there’s a meeting called on the next step on cars or engines, it allows one person from our company to go represent us.”

Duchardt is a fixture at the race track who has been on board for 84 race wins and five championships at Hendrick, helping the team owner to delegate day-to-day responsibilities in the area of competition.

“The way the sport’s evolved, Rick has an interest in some of the development items we’re working on. I think it’s his interest because he loves cars, and loves to hear about new engine items or new specifications coming together, or new ideas as to how we’re improving our cars,” Duchardt said. “But from a day-to-day standpoint, he has empowered Ken and myself to manage that. He’s not in the middle of that at all, other than a very keen interest if we aren’t performing well.”


Addressing Indy

Duchardt added that crew chief Steve Letarte “has addressed” the loose wheel that forced Earnhardt to make an unscheduled pit stop in the opening laps Sunday at Indianapolis. He also said the No. 88 car did not suffer from an engine issue late in the event, as the driver hypothesized when he struggled to hold on to sixth place at the end.

“The engine is fine,” Duchardt said. “We’re looking through some car things right now to try and understand what Dale was feeling. We think what he was feeling was real, and we have to look through our car situation. But the engine was fine. We took it out and re-ran it, and it was every bit as good if not a little better than what it was.”

 

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Live, 2 p.m. ET: Ryan Gifford on NASCAR Cam. Listen and watch here.

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From Eldora to Indy, NASCAR fans were treated to a plethora of racing

It was a contrast worthy of Charles Dickens.

This historic week in NASCAR racing truly was a tale of two cities — or, more accurately, a tale of one city in the middle of Indiana and one whistle-stop town in the middle of nowhere.

It was a tale of Indianapolis, the state capital, home to upscale hotels and restaurants of renown.

It was a tale of Rossburg, Ohio, where, if you want a place to sleep, you drive it there, and if you want food to eat, you bring it.

It was a tale of two speedways. It was a tale of the Brickyard, a 2.5-mile colossus where every crevice in the well-worn asphalt oozes history.

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It was a tale of Eldora, an alien footprint in the corn country of northwestern Ohio, a half-mile oval — smaller than Bristol, smaller than Martinsville — that each year crowns the royalty of dirt-track racing.

Amid the striking contrasts, though, were common threads. First, and most obvious, NASCAR raced on both.

Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway marked the 20th renewal of one of NASCAR’s most prestigious races, the continuation of an experiment that has become an institution.

Wednesday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Eldora, which has its own storied history, was an experiment, too. For the first time in 43 years, one of NASCAR’s national series raced on dirt.

For the first time in almost two decades, one of NASCAR’s national series raced on bias ply tires, which had been phased out in favor of radials by the mid-1990s.

It took courage to try something that far out of the box — courage on the part of the sanctioning body and courage on the part of track owner Tony Stewart, who risked sullying Eldora’s reputation if the event didn’t come off as envisioned.

To the credit of all who worked tirelessly to stage the inaugural Mudsummer Classic, the race, which played to a packed house, was an unqualified success. Whether it was Norm Benning stalwartly refusing to give up the final transfer spot in the last-chance heat or Kyle Larson using up the left side of Ryan Newman‘s truck in the main event, the drama was palpable.

It worked, and in doing so, threw temptation at the feet of those who reveled in the first blush of dirt-track racing success.

"It would be fun to go to some of the fairgrounds race tracks, the mile race tracks, Springfield, DuQuoin (both in Illinois), Indy Fairgrounds, places like that," said Newman, who figured prominently at both speedways, winning Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at the Brickyard after running third at Eldora.

"There’s other dirt tracks that we could go to that I think would be fun as well."

To those who might find the siren song of other dirt venues irresistible, please reconsider. The atmosphere at Eldora isn’t something that can be bottled and moved from place to place. Stewart called it "magical," and it was.

It was also unique, and that’s what made the contrast with NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR Nationwide weekend at the Brickyard so compelling.

It would behoove all of us to keep it that way.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

 

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Posted on by Holly Cain

With win, Newman 20 points out of final Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup berth

Related: Race results | Updated standings | Full coverage

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — “It sure didn’t hurt.”

That sentence — or rather understatement — was Ryan Newman’s refrain, his mantra and his reality this weekend from his native Indiana.

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WILD CARD STANDINGS

Pos Driver Wins Pts Pos Pts from 10th
1. Tony Stewart     1 11th      —
2. Martin Truex     1 12th      -5
3. Ryan Newman     1 16th      -25
4. Brad Keselowski     0 13th      -6
5. Kurt Busch     0 14th      -13
6. Jamie McMurray     0 15th      -22
7. Aric Almirola     0 17th      -30
8. Joey Logano     0 18th      -35
9. Paul Menard     0 19th      -39
10. Jeff Burton     0 20th      -60
11. David Ragan     1 28th      -207

It’s what he said after winning the Coors Light Pole Award for Sunday’s Crown Royal presents the Samuel Deeds 400 at the Brickyard powered by BigMachineRecords.com at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series record qualifying effort. And it’s what he repeated late Sunday afternoon after scoring one of the most popular victories ever in one of NASCAR’s biggest races.

It was a huge two-week turnaround for Newman, who found out by phone on July 10 that he needed to find a new job for 2014. That weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, team owner and good friend Tony Stewart announced Newman wouldn’t be returning to Stewart-Haas Racing and then Newman was crashed out of the Camping World RV Sales 301, inciting a short-lived but public war of words with Kyle Busch.

“The emotions have been an absolute roller coaster,’’ Newman said shortly after joining his family in the traditional kissing of the bricks at the fabled track’s finish line.

“Loudon was a disaster. We got crashed out, everything that was said. We got through all that stuff.

“The weekend off (last week) was good timing to be able to hit control-alt-delete. And (crew chief) Matt (Borland) did an amazing job to come here with a fast race car and give me what I needed.’’

The victory Sunday in his No. 39 Quicken Loans/Smurfs Chevy made Newman the biggest winner of the day in the championship standings, moving him up three positions to 16th with six races remaining in the Race to the Chase that sets the 12-driver Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field.

Newman is now only 25 points from a guaranteed top-10 position and back in the running for a wildcard, 20 points behind 12th place Martin Truex Jr. Importantly, he now possesses a win that no one ranked between him and Truex owns.

“We’re not out of this Chase, we’re not out of this chance for a championship,’’ Newman said. “We’ve just got to keep our nose to the grindstone. There’s still a ton of racing left.

“Another three wins before the Chase starts would be great,’’ he added with a laugh.

Of course that would be the ultimate audition tape for a 2014 ride.

But Newman has maintained that his mindset and motivation remain unchanged from even before finding out he needed to find a new team for next year.

He has steadfastly maintained that his desire to win was just as intense prior to the news as it’s been since, that there is no sense of urgency.

Joking after winning the pole Saturday — his 50th but first in two years — he said he simply had waited for “a special moment.’’

Newman said he’s always had confidence his team was behind him.

“I got fired a couple weeks ago, come back here, win the pole and win the race,’’ Newman said. “It’s all because of hard effort. It’s all because they haven’t given up. They want to win just as bad as I do.’’

Echoed his crew chief Matt Borland, “There’s not one person on that team that doesn’t try to win every week and make that car better every week. No one expects him to quit (on the season), no one expects me to quit, no one expects anyone on the team to quit.

“They all do a fantastic job.’’

And while Newman, who concedes he’s not the most emotional guy in the NASCAR garage, didn’t want to overstate what the victory Sunday meant. His team owner and fellow Hoosier Stewart was more than willing to.

“Even before Ryan came and drove for us, we were friends,’’ a heartfelt Stewart said. “So that made that decision (not to retain him in 2014) and that made that phone call of telling him that much harder.

“It’s not just winning with a driver that drives for us, it’s my friend out there that won the race today, too. That’s what makes this more gratifying at the same time.

“I guess it’s extreme to extreme. I mean, it’s on the good end of the extreme this week.

“It’s a dream. It’s a dream to be where he’s standing right now at the end of the race. We know the history of this place. Ryan can tell you more stats about here than I can, but we know, we understand, we appreciate the history of this sport, the great drivers and teams that have raced and won here.
“That’s a big deal to us being from here.”

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Two-time Camping World Truck Series champ brings wealth of experience to Tricky Triangle

Two-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Todd Bodine will make his debut for Turner Scott Motorsports at Saturday’s Pocono Mountain 125 (1 p.m. ET, SPEED) at Pocono Raceway. Bodine, who captured both the 2006 and 2010 NCWTS titles, will pilot TSM’s No. 30 entry, the same truck number he drove to both championships. The No. 30 Chevrolet Silverado will be crew-chiefed by Jimmy Villeneuve and sponsored by Whelen Engineering/Team Fox for the one-race deal.

“I am very excited to have the opportunity to drive for Turner Scott Motorsports," said Bodine. "It’s not very often that you have the opportunity in a one-off race situation to drive for an organization and team that has continued to have such great success.”

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Bodine, who will be making his 220th NCWTS start this weekend in Pocono, has tallied 22 wins, seven poles, 92 top-fives and 124 top-10s in his illustrious career. The Chemung, N.Y., native made his first NCWTS start in the series’ debut season in 1995, running his first full-time season in 2005. Bodine has three previous NCWTS starts at Pocono, with two top-10 starts and two top-15 finishes to his credit. The 49-year-old also has 15 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at the Tricky Triangle, where he’s earned one pole and two top-10 finishes.

"We’re very happy to have two-time champion Todd Bodine behind the wheel of one of our trucks," said team co-owner Harry Scott Jr. "Todd has been one of the strongest competitors the Truck Series has ever seen, and he is a true example of a series veteran. This is a big weekend for Todd with Pocono being the home of the Onion Slice Open, and we’re proud to be a part of it."

The No. 30 truck has competed in five previous events this season. Kyle Larson drove the No. 30 Chevrolet Silverado to TSM’s first win of the season at Rockingham Speedway in April, in addition to earning the team a runner-up finish last week at Eldora Speedway. Ryan Truex, Nelson Piquet Jr. and Cale Gale have also been behind the wheel for one event each in 2013.

"Owner Sonny Whelen has been a family friend for a long time and has been a big supporter of the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project and the Onion Slice Open since day one,” said Bodine. “He knows how important the race at Pocono is to me, and when he found out we didn’t have a ride for that event, he stepped up to make it happen. Unfortunately, he has recently developed Parkinson’s disease, and has become very involved in Team Fox for Parkinson’s Research. We’re very proud to have both organizations on the truck, and I’m also very excited to be returning to the No. 30, which has meant a lot to my career."

 

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Posted on by Staff Report

Newman wins at the Brickyard; Stewart, Logano also excel

At one of the most historic tracks on the NASCAR circuit, the Coca-Cola Racing Family had one of its best collective showings of the season.

At the forefront was Ryan Newman, collecting his first victory of the season and 17th of his career in his hometown state. His Stewart-Haas Racing teammate (and owner), Tony Stewart, himself finished fourth while Joey Logano rallied from two poor outings to take 15th.

All in all, it was a great day for the group, which now heads to Pocono Raceway.

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

Ryan Newman (No. 39)

Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet 

Recap: Newman’s win was emotional in many ways. It came in his home state, at a historic track, for one. And it came weeks after Stewart-Haas Racing announced Newman would not return for the 2014 season. For a guy without a job right now, Sunday’s win goes a long way to ensuring Newman’s Cup career will continue somewhere. He won the 50th Coors Light Pole of his career the day before the race and asserted himself as a legitimate contender for Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
Quotable: “I know it’s an amazing feeling. I was more emotional (Saturday) after winning the pole than I was two laps after doing my donuts and everything else today. I’m not sure why. I took an emotional hit. Just an awesome day. … Probably the best racecar I have ever driven in my entire life. I watched Jimmie (Johnson), kept quiet. I wanted to see who I was placing. Thank Quicken Loans, Chevrolet, Sprint, all the sponsors we have. Tony Stewart, Stewart Haas Racing, they gave us all the tools we needed all weekend and all year.”
His standing: Newman is 16th in the standings with 534 points.
Outlook: There’s a few different ways Newman can get into the postseason. The practically guaranteed way is to win another race, which would give him two for the season and vault him to the top of the Wild Card standings. If Jeff Gordon (currently in 10th) slips out of the top 10 and either Tony Stewart or Martin Truex Jr. climb into that spot, then Newman would also be in the postseason — provided no one ranked higher than him outside the top 10 steals a victory.

Tony Stewart (No. 14)

Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet 

Recap: Stewart didn’t capture his third career win at the Brickyard, but he did finish fourth to creep closer to the top 10 in the standings. Perhaps more than that, ‘Smoke’ watched good friend Ryan Newman celebrate in Victory Lane. The two remain close, even though Newman won’t be retained by the team Stewart owns.
Quotable: “Oh my God, what a dream. I’ve been waiting for the day we could get Ryan in victory lane at a big one like this. Man, it’s just awesome. Ryan did an awesome job getting on the pole and an awesome job all day. He and Matt Borland (crew chief) and everyone on the Quicken Loans team executed perfectly. I’m proud of all of our guys because we had a solid day too. Our Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevy was quick. We had great Hendrick horsepower. You look up at the board there and see six cars in the top-seven that are Hendrick engines. That pretty much tells you where the power is.”
His standing: Stewart is 11th in the standings with 558 points.
Outlook: As new drivers continue to win, it might behoove Stewart to get into the top 10 in the standings. Certainly, that’s the goal — along with picking up another win or two. Maybe it’ll come this week. Stewart typically does well at Pocono and has three consecutive top-fives at the Tricky Triangle. You can, at the least, expect a good finish. In his 29 starts, Stewart has 21 top-10s.

Joey Logano (No. 22)

Penske Racing, Ford

Recap: No pesky tire issues for Joey Logano this week. As a result, the young driver finished eighth at Indianapolis after consecutive 40th-place finishes due to blowing tires in consecutive races. He needs to continue to gain points, and almost certainly needs to win. He has a win at Pocono, where the Cup Series heads this week.
Quotable: “We just weren’t quite as fast as we needed to be. We led some laps but the 48 (Jimmie Johnson) was just so fast plus he had new tires. We lost a little there and then we had some issues on pit road today that cost us about three or four spots. I feel like we could have finished in the top five and am proud of the effort the guys put into this car. We weren’t really sure how we were going to be. I am glad we got a decent finish again and hopefully we get these troubles out of the way and get back on a top-10 streak and make up the points we’ve lost the last two weeks.”
His standing: Logano is 18th in the standings with 524 points.
Outlook: Yes, Logano is 18th in the standings right now. The standings are tight, though. He’s less than 40 points behind 10th-place Jeff Gordon and just 10 points behind 16th-place Ryan Newman. A win, and Logano is right back in this thing.

Denny Hamlin (No. 11)

Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota 

Recap: Hamlin can’t catch a break. He finished 18th at Indianapolis despite starting fourth and having what appeared to be a quick No. 11 Toyota. But it didn’t take long for Hamlin to slide back through the field. On a positive note, the finish was Hamlin’s best in the past six races. Then again, that’s not very good at all.
Quotable: Hamlin was unavailable for comment.
His standing: Hamlin is 25th in the standings with 388 points.
Outlook: Hamlin has repeatedly said he won’t have season-ending back surgery. Expect the No. 11 team to try and grind out this season, and perhaps steal a win along the way.

Greg Biffle (No. 16)

Roush Fenway Racing, Ford 

Recap: The Biff has a win in his back pocket, but he still can’t slide too far down the standings. He remained eighth place in the overall points race following a 24th-place effort, but many thought this could be a race where Biffle moved up in the standings. He usually runs well at Indianapolis, but his team just missed it this week. While Biffle didn’t lose ground in his position, he’s only seven points ahead of 11th-place Tony Stewart, his Coca-Cola Racing Family teammate.
Quotable: Biffle was not available for comment.
His standing: Biffle is eighth in the standings with 565 points.
Outlook: The No. 16 team should welcome the circuit’s return to Pocono. Biffle’s runner-up finish at the Tricky Triangle halted a six-race skid, and he followed that up by winning at Michigan.

Danica Patrick (No. 10)

Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet 

Recap: Patrick had great success at Indianapolis while driving for IndyCar, but that didn’t translate over to Cup competition — at least not on her first attempt. Danica finished 30th and was never really in the race.
Quotable: “I just kind of kept with it and hoped to catch a break somewhere, or that the car would get a lot better, and it just kind of stayed real steady. We took two tires on one of the stops and we got track position out of it but, unfortunately, it just didn’t run very well. So, we tried something, it just didn’t work, and that’s that. It just was what it was. When we came into this weekend, I said ‘OK, I’m not going to try to take anything from the car that it doesn’t really have’ and, unfortunately, that’s what we had today. Or, that’s what I had today. I said it all week, that this is a special place and always will be. It would have been nice to have a better day than this and be able to march forward. We just didn’t. And that’s just all there is to it. Sometimes, these are just the days you have. So, that’s all right. We’ll roll on to Pocono and hope for better.”
Her standing: Patrick is 26th in the standings with 364 points.
Outlook: Danica returns to Pocono with a notebook full of information from her first trip there, where she finished 29th.

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Posted on by Zack Albert

Celebration goes from dirt to asphalt; plus Chase breakdown, quotes and video

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Tony Stewart finally took a breather late Sunday afternoon at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, capping a whirlwind week of playing the roles of track promoter, race-car driver and team owner. Remarkably, he was able to claim success on all three fronts.

Stewart was buoyant at the Brickyard with good reason, watching Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Ryan Newman prevail in the Crown Royal presents the Samuel Deeds 400 at the Brickyard, notching his first victory at the historic 2.5-mile track in his home state. The win came one day after Newman scored the 50th Coors Light Pole Award of his career, making it two straight days that he got the better of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader Jimmie Johnson.

Stewart wound up fourth in Sunday’s 400-miler, marking his sixth straight top-10 finish at Indianapolis. By moving up two spots to 11th in the standings, he also heads to next week’s event at Pocono Raceway at the top of the class in the race for the two Wild Card berths in the 12-driver Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup postseason.

“I think we still have some work to do. It’s proof that we can do it,” Stewart said after posting his fifth top-five finish in 20 races this season. “Ryan is proof that our organization can do it. We’ve just got to hit on it. Even though we ran fourth today, it’s a confidence boost for us on the 14 team, as well, to know we have the tools in place of accomplishing the goal. It’s just a matter of getting there.”

Stewart’s weekend at Indy began with a head of steam after his overwhelmingly raved-about hosting of the first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on dirt, held Wednesday at Eldora Speedway, a half-mile track he owns just two hours from Indianapolis in Rossburg, Ohio.

Sunday’s race was the final Brickyard for Stewart and Newman as teammates, a hard decision the team owner announced two weeks ago at New Hampshire. Although Stewart wasn’t able to convert his Sunday drive into a third Brickyard victory, watching fellow Hoosier and longtime friend Newman enjoy his first Indy triumph was a true prize without a consolation.

“I didn’t think it would feel this good as an owner,” Stewart said. “Because it’s Ryan and a good friend of mine, that’s the gratifying part.”

Tear down

Dramatic drop: Clint Bowyer was barely a factor in Sunday’s 400 at the Brickyard, leading a single lap and coming home 20th as one of the last cars on the lead lap. While he kept his second-place ranking in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings, his deficit to race runner-up Jimmie Johnson grew from 56 to 75 points. If Johnson is able to add 21 points to his advantage next week, he’d be able to take two races off and still retain at least a share of the points lead.

Pendulum swing: Jeff Burton’s third-place finish in the series’ most recent race at New Hampshire left him recharged and announcing his long-shot candidacy for a Chase berth. Sunday at Indy, the wind fell from Burton’s sails after he slowed with a mechanical failure in the drivetrain, relegating him to last in the 43-car field.

Big mover: Martin Truex Jr. claimed one special distinction Sunday at Indianapolis as the biggest gainer from qualifying on race day. He started 38th and drove all the way to an 11th-place finish, a feat made even more noteworthy by the lack of opportunities to gain track position through caution periods.

Inside the numbers

49: The number of consecutive races without a Sprint Cup victory for Ryan Newman before Sunday’s win in the Samuel Deeds 400. Newman was also stuck on 49 career poles before collecting his 50th Coors Light Pole Award in Saturday’s qualifying.

3: The number of drivers who have won NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races from the pole position at Indianapolis. Newman added his name to a list that includes Kevin Harvick (2003) and Jimmie Johnson (2008).

4: The number of top-10 finishes this season for Juan Pablo Montoya, who drove to a ninth-place effort Sunday. The quartet of top-10s is double the total that Montoya scored all last season in the No. 42 Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.

They said it

“It’s a dream come true. It won’t hit you in five minutes, it won’t hit you in five hours, but maybe in five days come back to me.” — Ryan Newman

“Second is never fun, especially at the Brickyard. Bummed out with that, but stuff happens.” — Jimmie Johnson

“If you want to see passing, we can go out on (Interstate) 465 and pass all you want. If you can tell me that’s more exciting than what you see at IMS, the great race-car drivers that have competed here … this is about racing. This is about cars being fast. It doesn’t have to be two‑ and three‑wide racing all day long to be good racing.” — Tony Stewart

Chase watch

Two-car push: As if aerodynamically linked, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart each made a synchronized two-position leap in the Sprint Cup points standings to 10th and 11th respectively. Gordon now holds the final berth for the 10 automatic qualifiers for NASCAR’s playoffs; Stewart holds the top Wild Card spot, with a win in hand from Dover earlier this year helping his cause.

Hello, Newman: The victory did more for Ryan Newman than provide boosts in prestige, bragging rights and emotion. It also helped him gain three positions in the Sprint Cup standings up to 16th place. Further, Newman also jumped to third in the Wild Card race, behind leader Stewart and second-place Martin Truex Jr., a winner earlier this season at Sonoma Raceway.

Coming up

NASCAR’s premier series makes its second trip this season to Pocono Raceway, where Jimmie Johnson dominated the first time around, leading 128 of 160 laps to win from the pole position. The Nationwide Series will make its second trip of the year to Iowa Speedway on Saturday night, while the Camping World Truck Series will hold its only race of the season on the triangular Pocono layout Saturday afternoon.

READ MORE:

READ: Full coverage
from Indianapolis

READ: Junior grieves
uncle’s death

READ: Gordon among
top 10 in standings

WATCH: Newman
in Victory Lane