He left the following year to try his hand in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series where he stayed for the majority of the next nine seasons. He returned to NASCAR Nationwide fulltime this season at the helm of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
"I don’t think it has actually," Vickers replied to a question last week about whether the news of his job driving for MWR in 2014 had yet sunk in.
In the meantime, he’s intent on bringing a NASCAR Nationwide title to JGR. He first, however, needs to finish Friday night’s Food City 250 (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Bristol in a good place.
"Our main focus is obviously on clinching a championship for Dollar General," Vickers said. "It was 10 years ago that I was fortunate enough to win the championship in this series. I’d love to do it again with JGR’s No. 20 team."
His schedule, however, got a little more hectic on Monday when it was announced that he would get a jump on his fulltime gig next year by driving the No. 55 MWR Toyota in 12 of the remaining 13 NASCAR Sprint Cup events left on the schedule.
With 11 races remaining in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, he sits fifth in the standings, only 18 markers behind points leader Sam Hornish Jr. He has put together a string of six consecutive top-five finishes and moved up two spots in the standings over the last seven races.
"The performance of our team throughout the last several weeks has been phenomenal," Vickers said. "The team has really clicked."
In seven series events at Bristol Motor Speedway, Vickers has never won, but has one top-five finish — a third-place showing earlier this year. In his last three NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at the short track, he’s placed fifth, fourth and eighth.
Another hurdle Vickers will have to overcome if he is to win a second title this season is that of the 11 tracks left on the schedule he’s only been to Victory Lane at Dover.
Wile immediately takes the reins of NASCAR’s oldest superspeedway from Chris Browning, who had overseen the track since May 2004.
Wile built upon an extensive background in public relations in the NASCAR industry, working with several drivers and sponsors. He joined Motor Racing Network in 2012 and most recently served as the company’s director of business development.
Wile also worked closely with ISC, which owns 12 tracks that together annually host a total of 19 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events.
“We were fortunate to have such a high-caliber individual to transition into a strategic position within our organization,” ISC president John Saunders said in a statement. “We congratulate Chip on his new position and look forward to his continued success within our organization. I would also like to thank Chris for his many years of service at Darlington. We wish him much success in his future endeavors.”
With three races remaining before the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field is set, Jimmie Johnson remains the only driver to have clinched a berth in the postseason.
Johnson did so after finishing eighth at Watkins Glen International on Aug. 11, so no matter where he finishes the rest of the season, he’s in. And given the fact that the field is reset based on number of wins, Johnson — who has visited Victory Lane four times this season — could earn the top seed.
No drivers clinched a Chase spot in a wild week at Michigan, although several drivers helped their causes. Kevin Harvick gained ground on those outside the top 10 in the standings by finishing second and Kurt Busch entered the top 10 with his third-place outing.
Below is a breakdown of who could qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Following Saturday night’s race at Bristol, any driver in the top 10 of the points standings with a 97-point lead over the 11th-place driver will automatically clinch a berth in the Chase. For perspective: Clint Bowyer (772 points, second place) currently leads Kasey Kahne (659 points, 11th place) by 113 points.
Eligible drivers
The top 10 drivers in the standings after the Sept. 7 race at Richmond receive an automatic entry into the NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup.
• Clint Bowyer. Bowyer is the driver most likely driver to clinch on Saturday night, thanks in part to his fifth-place effort at Michigan last week. Bowyer didn’t have his best car that day — and he actually spun out on Lap 1 — but rallied to gain points on nearly every driver below him.
So, what’s good enough to clinch a Chase berth at Bristol? If Bowyer finishes 12th or better, or 13th with at least one lap led (for one bonus point), or 14th with the most laps led (for two bonus points), he clinches a top-10 automatic spot.
Bowyer could still clinch a top-10 spot if he finishes worse than 14th, depending on where other drivers finish. Brad Keselowski (eighth place), Kurt Busch (ninth) and Greg Biffle (10th) don’t have that much ground on 11th-place Kahne. If one of them falters, it could knock them down to 11th and give Bowyer even more of a cushion.
• Carl Edwards. Like Bowyer, Edwards is in good shape to leave Bristol with a 97-point edge over the 11th-place driver. Edwards currently has a 103-point edge over 11th-place Kahne.
Edwards would clinch an automatic spot in the Chase with a victory, which would be his second of the season, or a runner-up showing. If he finishes third and leads at least one lap (for a bonus point), or finishes fourth and leads the most laps (for two bonus points), he also clinches a top-10 spot.
Depending on who wins, how the bonus points fall and how drivers on the bubble perform, Edwards still could clinch with a strong finish outside the top four.
At this time last year, Edwards was on the outside of the top 10 and had to have a win at Bristol. He stayed out when most of the field pitted for fuel, and although it put him in first place, he eventually had to go down pit road with a few laps left and lost all his ground.
• Kevin Harvick. Harvick isn’t quite as likely to clinch Saturday as Bowyer and Edwards, but he still has a mathematical chance. Currently, he leads the 11th-place Kahne by 90 points. He needs to improve his current cushion by seven points.
Harvick finished 14th in the first race at Thunder Valley this year, and he’s recorded a top-10 finish in 11 of the past 15 races. Another one of those would go a long way toward securing a postseason spot, especially at a place like Bristol, where tempers run as high as the banking and you never know who may end up in the wall.
Wild Card breakdown
Two drivers ranked 11th-20th will receive Wild Card berths into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. The drivers with the most wins are selected. If there’s a tie, the spot goes to the driver ranked higher.
• Matt Kenseth. Kenseth won’t be able to clinch an automatic spot. He’s just 29 points ahead of 11th-place Kahne. Even if you give Kenseth the maximum of 48 points earned at Bristol — which is anything but easy — he wouldn’t reach the 97-point cushion. But there’s another way for the No. 20.
He could win at Bristol. That would give him a series-high five wins with two races remaining and clinch a berth, because even back-to-back 43rd-place finishes to end the season would keep him in the top 20, a requirement for earning a Wild Card.
If he doesn’t win, Kenseth could run well and see how the points shake out. If it’s possible for him to not fall out of the top 20 after Bristol, he’ll clinch at least a Wild Card berth.
• Kasey Kahne. Kahne’s name is being tossed around a lot because he’s in that crucial 11th-place position. It’s a good thing he already has two wins.
His Chase chances are outstanding. If he wins at Bristol and gets some help based on where other drivers finish, he can clinch a Wild Card spot. Kahne’s season got on track earlier this year at Bristol, when he broke through for his first victory at the 0.533-mile oval. He’s attempting to become the first driver to sweep Bristol since Kyle Busch in 2009.
• Kyle Busch.Busch, currently fifth in the standings, can clinch at least a Wild Card spot with a victory and some help based on where other drivers finish.
What would a Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup look like without Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR’s most popular driver 10 years running?
A month ago, that question didn’t seem necessary because Junior was sitting firmly in fifth place and had a 55-point cushion between him and 10th-place Kasey Kahne. What has happened since then, however, has Junior in a tailspin.
Where did the cushion go? Well, it’s like two elephants sat on it, which is to say it’s not quite as cushiony anymore.
A mere 16 points separate Earnhardt Jr. in seventh place from Greg Biffle in 10th. And after that, it gets dicey, because without a win this season, Junior would be out of luck for a Wild Card spot.
How did it get this bad? It really hasn’t been until recently. But a pair of finishes in the 30s at Watkins Glen and Michigan the past two weekends has conspired to cut our hero down to size.
The wreck that caused Junior to finish 30th at The Glen was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. (See video.) Meanwhile, the 36th-place showing at Michigan was clearly because of frowning leprechauns as a tire went down and caused the No. 88 to smack the wall. (See video.)
Throw in engine failures earlier at Michigan and Charlotte and a couple of sub-par finishes at Martinsville and Texas and a dark cloud has managed to accumulate over the No. 88, threatening to rain on the popularity parade. And to think things looked vastly different when Junior began the season with five straight top-10 finishes.
But sooner or later one has to find Victory Lane, or else these situations will inevitably happen when the bad luck does kick in. Junior has come close to winning several times thanks to five top-fives this season, including second-place finishes at Daytona and Fontana very early on.
Can he finally finish?
My magic eight ball says: It is decidedly so.
Junior has had plenty of success on the three tracks that are up next: Bristol, Atlanta and Richmond. In fact, if you look at his average finishes in Cup races, his best mark is at Bristol, followed by Atlanta, with Richmond tied for fourth with Daytona. He has three wins at Richmond, one apiece at Atlanta and Bristol.
That means there’s still time for Junior to get his cushion back and enjoy a soft landing in the goose-down comforter that is the Chase.
Ready to pounce:Joey Logano is back in the Race for the Chase after scoring a victory last week at Michigan, the third win of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career. Logano won the Coors Light Pole in record speed and came on late to pull out the victory for Ford at a track that is important to their organization.
Logano zoomed past Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman and Jeff Gordon in the standings and is just seven points out of the final NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup Wild Card spot. Logano has four straight top-10 finishes, but before that streak there were back-to-back 40th-place finishes, reminding folks that anything is possible.
In spring at Bristol, Logano finished 17th after Denny Hamlin spun him and an altercation ensued. The next week at Fontana, Logano and Hamlin tangled again with Hamlin hitting an inner wall at the track, fracturing his back and in essence ending his Chase hopes.
We’re sure to see plenty of videos of all that leading up to this week’s race. How will Logano handle the added attention amid the pressure of a possible Wild Card? Getting the answer could be fun to watch. Logano has just one top-10 finish in nine races at Bristol, but he has started from the pole once there (spring, 2010).
In danger of falling out: It has been a rough week for Ryan Newman both on the track and off of it. Logano’s win last week at Michigan pushed Newman even farther out onto the fringes of the Wild Card race. Now Newman, who is in 15th place, not only has 17 points between him and the final Chase qualifier (Martin Truex Jr.), but also Logano, who, like Newman, has one victory this season.
Plus, with reports out that Stewart-Haas Racing has offered Kurt Busch a ride in a fourth car next season, it has to be at least somewhat awkward for Newman, who was not invited back to SHR next year, to be carrying the team’s Chase hopes through the next three races. The good feelings of winning at Indianapolis seem like eons ago.
As for Newman’s outlook this week at Bristol, he has a driver rating of 86.7 there, according to NASCAR Statistical Services, which ranks 12th among active drivers. He finished seventh at Bristol in the spring, but crashed in the night race last season and finished 36th. In 23 career Cup races at Bristol, Newman has 13 top-10s and has started from the pole three times.
BRISTOL, Tenn. — About to be lapped 20 laps from the finish, Kyle Busch took advantage of a late caution to regroup and charge back to his fourth NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory at Bristol Motor Speedway on Wednesday night.
Busch’s deciding pass of Ryan Blaney came on the 195th of 200 laps around the .533-mile track, but he was challenged at the checkered flag by defending UNOH 200 winner Timothy Peters.
The pair of Toyota Tundras crossed the start-finish stripe literally side-by-side with Peters – who had held a two-second advantage when the night’s fourth caution waved on lap 179 – crashing into the inside barrier.
"I knew I had it; I just had the momentum," said Busch. "Timothy just tried to throw the Hail Mary there I guess and wrecked a pretty good race truck. I hated it for him in doing that."
Blaney finished third in a Ford with Johnny Sauter and Chase Elliott fourth and fifth. Elliott earlier became the series youngest pole winner at age 17 and led the race’s first 62 laps before giving way to Peters.
Ty Dillon, James Buescher, Ron Hornaday Jr., Brad Keselowski and Matt Crafton took sixth through 10th.
Crafton retained his championship lead of 47 points over Buescher, the 2012 series champion.
Peters, who led all 204 laps in winning the race a year ago, appeared to have the race won after dispatching Elliott and holding off a mid-race challenge from Blaney. Blaney, who started second, ran down Peters in lapped traffic and attempted an outside pass — which the leader blocked, causing Blaney’s truck to lose momentum and fall back to third.
Blaney and owner Keselowski were just over two seconds back — and not gaining ground — when Jeff Agnew crashed on the track’s frontstretch.
Blaney, Keselowski, Busch and most of the other lead lap trucks pitted for fuel and tires. Peters did not and his Toyota lost power when the race restarted, handing the lead to Blaney. So did Crafton’s Toyota, which caused Keselowski to spin and trigger another quick yellow flag.
That brought Busch back into contention although Peters was able to make an interesting finish of it.
"I wouldn’t have done nothing differently," he said of staying on track when his rivals pitted. "On the restart, it stumbled with the fuel. I didn’t’ know we were that close (to running out)."
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race – UNOH 200
Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol, Tennessee
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Average Speed of Race Winner: 85.394 mph.
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 14 Mins, 54 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.050 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 5 for 32 laps.
Lead Changes: 7 among 4 drivers.
Lap Leaders: C. Elliott 1-62; T. Peters 63-71; C. Elliott 72; T. Peters 73-188; R. Blaney # 189-192; K. Busch(i) 193; R. Blaney # 194; K. Busch(i) 195-200.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): T. Peters 2 times for 125 laps; C. Elliott 2 times for 63 laps; K. Busch(i) 2 times for 7 laps; R. Blaney # 2 times for 5 laps.
Top 10 in Points: M. Crafton – 498; J. Buescher – 449; J. Burton # – 445; T. Dillon – 440; T. Peters – 426; M. Paludo – 422; R. Blaney # – 421; B. Gaughan – 418; J. Sauter – 409; J. Coulter – 399.
From Denny Hamlin vs. Joey Logano to Dale Earnhardt vs. Terry Labonte, watch, read and remember Thunder Valley’s best
There is just something about Bristol Motor Speedway — the tight confines, the coliseum setting, the lights blazing and camera flashes popping after dark. Few tracks ignite anger and aggravation more regularly than the World’s Fastest Half-Mile, where high speeds and close quarters can combine to create chaos.
The place just has an atmosphere about it, one that seems to heighten tension as easily as the fog rolls in from the Great Smoky Mountains. That’s especially true when darkness falls, and sparks — both real and metaphorical — fly during the facility’s night race, an annual fiesta of tempers and torn sheet metal that can test a competitor’s mettle as much as his machine.
On Saturday night, the curtain will be drawn back once again. Drivers will be introduced to clips from their favorite songs, engines will be fired and possibilities will swirl. And by the end of the evening, perhaps another item will be added to the ever-expanding list of indelible Bristol memories, those wins, losses, scuffles and skirmishes that have made the track what it is.
For the moment, though, the past provides plenty to work with. Entering this year’s edition of the Irwin Tools Night Race, here are the top 10 moments in Bristol Motor Speedway history.
10. Hamlin vs. Logano, 2013 spring race. By Bristol standards, it wasn’t the most combustible of encounters, but it certainly set the stage for a larger confrontation to come. Unhappy with the way Logano was racing him, Denny Hamlin resorted to the bumper and sent the No. 22 car spinning. “I meant to run into him, didn’t mean to spin him out,” Hamlin said. Afterward Joey Logano stormed over to the No. 11 and stuck his head inside the car before crewmen pulled him away. “He said he was coming for me,” Hamlin said, words that took on a more serious context one week later — when final-lap contact between the same two drivers resulted in a crash and a back injury that would sideline Hamlin for a month.
9. Keselowski vs. Busch, 2010 night race.Brad Keselowski certainly set the tone for the night when he grabbed the microphone to introduce himself, and then slammed someone else. “Kyle Busch is an ass!” he said, still stinging from what he thought was a deliberate takeout on Busch’s part in the Nationwide Series race one night earlier. Unsurprisingly, the crowd ate it up. But Busch got the last laugh, outrunning David Reutimann to win the race and finish off the first — and still only — tripleheader sweep in NASCAR history. Keselowski, meanwhile, finished 19th.
8. Edwards vs. Busch, 2008 night race. What started on the race track carried over to the cool-down lap, and the public-address system after the event. Carl Edwards bumped Busch out of the way to grab the lead with 30 laps remaining, and Busch bumped Edwards after the race. Edwards then spun Busch, did his trademark victory backflip, and after exiting their cars, the two drivers proceeded to trade verbal shots in interviews. Busch called Edwards “Mr. Ed,” Edwards called it payback for a Nationwide race at Richmond, and the crowd ate it up.
7. Gordon vs. Kenseth, 2006 spring race. What is it about Bristol that can turn even the most mild-mannered of drivers into raving lunatics? That certainly seemed the case in 2006. Jeff Gordon had just passed Matt Kenseth for third place on the final lap when contact from the No. 17 car sent his No. 24 spinning. They had also made contact earlier in the race, and afterward, two of the nicest guys in the sport went at it. Gordon exited his car on pit road, and with his helmet still on, went right at Kenseth and delivered a two-handed shove. Officials stepped in as the two drivers barked at one another. “I wasn’t happy about it,” Gordon said later, “and I showed him after the race.”
6. Harvick vs. Biffle, 2002 spring Nationwide Series race. The craziness at Bristol isn’t confined to Sprint Cup Series events. Two of NASCAR’s best went at one another following a Nationwide event in 2002, sparked when contact from Greg Biffle sent Kevin Harvick hard into the wall. Harvick got out of his car and went to Biffle’s pit stall. “I’ll be waiting when he comes in here,” he said, and he was, and the result was a nose-to-nose exchange that led to Harvick getting summoned to the series hauler “I didn’t do it on purpose. That’s just racing at Bristol,” Biffle said. “Biffle’s an idiot,” Harvick replied.
5. Stewart vs. Kenseth, 2012 night race. Once more, it’s Kenseth in the middle of the maelstrom, this time as he and Tony Stewart battle for the lead a year ago. The cars raced wheel-to-wheel, then touched, then turned sideways and began a long slide into the wall. Stewart exited his car on pit road, where he waited … and waited … and waited for Kenseth to come down before launching his helmet in a two-handed sling that bonked the No. 17 car square on the nose. The crowd went nuts, which Stewart recognized by whipping his fist into the air. “I’m going to run over him every chance I get for the rest of the year,” Stewart says. Get well soon, Tony. We miss you.
4. Gordon vs. Wallace, 1997 spring race. In the first of a number of memorable Bristol confrontations between the two champions, Wallace led 240 laps at his best track — but not the last one. Gordon patiently stalked Wallace, tried several times to get around, and then finally did by using the bump-and-run on the final lap, as Wallace drifted up the track slightly due to lapped traffic. It was an epic two-man battle that left Gordon pumping his fist in Victory Lane. “Got one of those love taps,” said Wallace, who’d have to wait until Richmond to exact a measure of revenge.
3. Everybody vs. Everybody, 2002 night race. Oh, goodness. Where to begin? If there was one night that summed up everything Bristol was about, it was this one. There must have been something in the water. How else to explain Mr. Cool, Jimmie Johnson, getting so mad at Robby Gordon that he unleashed a single-digit salute? Or Ward Burton getting so agitated at Dale Earnhardt Jr. that he threw his shoe heat shields at NASCAR’s most popular driver? Or Elliott Sadler getting so angry over an accident that he punched the side of an ambulance? This was theatre on a grand scale, topped by — what else — Gordon once again bumping Wallace out of the way to win.
2. Earnhardt vs. Labonte vs. Wallace, 1995 night race. In a precursor to a more famous showdown between the two yet to come, Dale Earnhardt hunted down Terry Labonte, narrowing a gap of over a second to just a few feet by the final lap. Earnhardt tried the bump-and-run, but tried it too late — Labonte’s car slid across the finish line sideways, and slammed head-on into the wall just past the flag stand. While Labonte drove his wrecked and smoking No. 5 to Victory Lane, Earnhardt exited the No. 3 to find an angry Rusty Wallace waiting on him. Earnhardt had dumped Wallace 30 laps into the event, and the two got into a heated exchange that included Wallace tossing a water bottle at the Intimidator. Just another night at Bristol.
1. Earnhardt vs. Labonte, 1999 night race. The scene: Earnhardt, in the lead and on old tires. Labonte, in fifth and with fresh rubber. The stage was set for Bristol’s most iconic moment, which unfolded after Labonte charged to the lead and squeezed low past Earnhardt at the white flag. Two corners later, chaos — Earnhardt used the bumper to turn the No. 5 car, which spun into traffic and collected several other vehicles in its wake. Earnhardt recorded a victory that was one of his most memorable, but also most unpopular. “Listen to the crowd,” a TV commentator says, “140,000 people booing him and giving him the bird. They weren’t happy with that one, and they weren’t the only ones.”
Labonte finished eighth, and Earnhardt was almost sheepish in Victory Lane — where he uttered the most famous words ever spoken at Bristol. “I didn’t mean to turn him around,” the Intimidator said. “I meant to rattle his cage."
With Montoya’s stock car racing career possibly nearing an end, one can only wonder what could have been
When Juan Pablo Montoya left Formula One for NASCAR in late 2006, the move created shock waves on both sides of the Atlantic — in Europe, where it seemed unthinkable that an F1 driver would leave for stock cars, and in North America, where it raised global awareness of what was already the most competitive major form of auto racing in the world. It was an unprecedented event, a driver trading Monaco and Spa for Martinsville and Sonoma. Montoya arrived in the Sprint Cup Series with all the buzz of an international rock star.
Seven years later, it’s easy to forget what a watershed moment that was. Montoya’s long career with car owner Chip Ganassi — and potentially in NASCAR — is ending with a whimper, a simple non-renewed contract at the end of a lost season, and with us having witnessed only a fraction of what he might have been capable of in a stock car. Yes, he lived in Miami rather than North Carolina, and often spent his weekdays windsurfing rather than at the shop, but Montoya fully embraced the openness of the NASCAR garage area, and fully appreciated how hard Sprint Cup cars are to drive.
Ultimately, that might be Montoya’s legacy — underscoring just how difficult it is to succeed at NASCAR’s premier level, even for someone who has won an Indianapolis 500 and seven career events in F1. This was a guy who had all the tools, who entered NASCAR with an established record of success, who won a major oval race, who was known for having an aggressive and physical style that would appear to translate perfectly to cars with fenders. And for a while, it did. In his third season, Montoya was a factor in the title race until a poor finish at Charlotte midway through the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
That was the high point. The seasons since have been slog, dismal campaigns that have eroded memories of just how electrifying Montoya can be behind the wheel. His decline has coincided with a makeover of his race team, which last year included a purge top executives at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. Given that teammate Jamie McMurray has fared little better — save for his magical three-win season of 2010 — it seems clear some of the issues Montoya has fought are organizational in nature, making it difficult to lay all this solely at the foot of the driver.
“He should have won a bunch of races, so he’s certainly capable,” Martin Truex Jr., teammate to Montoya at EGR in 2009, said last week at Michigan. “It’s all about team chemistry and getting with the right people that all believe in each other, and all kind of work together well and push for that common goal. Maybe they just don’t have that right now. I don’t know. It’s hard to comment. It’s hard to speculate because I don’t know the details.”
At least on the outside, the changes seemed ineffective, even though Montoya and McMurray have both raved about an improved working atmosphere within the organization. Still, in a performance-based sport, results ultimately tell the tale. Montoya has showed some flashes this season — most notably at Richmond, where he nearly won — with crew chief Chris Heroy, a former engineer at Hendrick Motorsports who came aboard last year. And in truth, the No. 42 team is enjoying a nice stretch now, finishing 11th or better in three of its last four starts.
But it’s all too little, too late.
“They were sort of on decline,” Kyle Busch said. “… I think that had a little bit to do with bringing in a lot of new people. They pretty much cleaned house and brought in a lot of new people. They got rid of [Tony] Glover, they got rid of Steve Hmiel, and they brought in some new blood. Chris Heroy — I’m a huge fan. I love him. I think he’s a great crew chief and knows a lot and is very smart. I think he knows a lot about race cars. Last year I think was his learning year. Being a crew chief, he never was a crew chief in Nationwide, nothing. He jumped to a Cup crew chief, and I think there’s the same to be said of the driver. The Cup Series is so different that there’s a lot to learn there.”
Seven years is a long time, though. In the Sprint Cup ranks, only seven other drivers have been with their current teams as long as Montoya has been with EGR — Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle. No shortage of success there, Ganassi and Montoya are close. Going back to their first stint together in open-wheel, and it’s unlikely Montoya would have jumped to NASCAR had Ganassi not been the one to reach out. As with any relationship, things can grow stagnant over time. Would Montoya have been better served leaving for another team that turned out more competitive cars? Perhaps. But given his loyalty to Ganassi, it’s hard to imagine he ever really considered it.
So now what? Montoya becomes the latest player in a free-agent drama that developed a curious subplot in recent days, when it became evident that Stewart-Haas Racing was targeting Kurt Busch for a potential fourth car in 2014. That seems an out of character move for SHR, which has always been conservative on the idea of expansion, waiting for sponsor and driver to align rather than risk overextending its reach. Then again, Busch is a special talent who has a good relationship with Stewart dating back to the Prelude to the Dream, and surely the hottest commodity on the market given the wonders he’s worked carrying single-car Furniture Row Racing to the brink of the Chase.
Then there’s Ryan Newman, in his last days with SHR — because, we thought, the team didn’t want to accommodate a fourth car with Kevin Harvick coming aboard — and still looking for a ride for 2014. AJ Allmendinger has surely enhanced his status with two Nationwide Series victories this season for Penske Racing, which also has a decision to make on Nationwide points leader Sam Hornish Jr. And is Ganassi really prepared to put developmental driver Kyle Larson in the No. 42 car, despite his relative lack of experience at the national level?
The only certainty seems that those drivers will all be racing in NASCAR next year in some capacity — something that can’t necessarily be said about Montoya, whose breadth of open-wheel experience surely opens other doors. The Associated Press has reported that Michael Andretti’s IndyCar team is courting Montoya heavily for next season, and the Colombian may have offered a clue to his destination in his media session at Michigan last week.
“My heart,” he said, “always has been in open wheel.”
It would be a sad thing indeed if these final weeks of the 2013 season are Montoya’s last in a stock car. Forget what he did off the track, where his role in raising NASCAR’s profile in Spanish-speaking markets cannot be overstated. The true wistfulness lies in that we so rarely were able to witness Montoya at his best — the brazen driver who took on Michael Schumacher in F1 and took on Stewart in the 2009 Chase, who competed with such tenacity and abandon, who could be mesmerizing and infuriating all at the same time. Whether that’s because the driver stagnated or the team regressed, it doesn’t really matter. We all lost as a result.
Maybe something unforeseen will happen yet this season to cap Montoya’s NASCAR adventure, or maybe some ride will materialize to extend it. Barring all that, what are we left with after nearly seven years? Two victories on road courses, two likely Brickyard triumphs given away by mistakes, one Chase berth, a few memorable tussles on the race track — and plenty of questions about what might have been.
With just three races left before Chase roster locks, Earnhardt Jr. has work to do
“The confidence is there, but the stress is there, too.”
That’s how Dale Earnhardt Jr. described his emotions heading into the final three races before the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup cutoff while addressing media on Wednesday during a test session at Richmond International Raceway.
Not exactly what we thought we’d be hearing from one of NASCAR’s elite this late in the season, is it?
Richmond, of course, is the third of those final three — a race that’s lining up to be a make-or-break event for a driver who is in realistic danger of missing the Chase for the first time since 2010.
Coming off a pair of races at Watkins Glen (one of his worst tracks) and Michigan (one of his best) in which he totaled just 23 points combined, Earnhardt’s stock is trending downward, while that of those behind him in the standings is skyrocketing.
Hendrick Motorsports teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne addressed the media on Wednesday at a test session at Richmond International Raceway. Photo courtesy of @Hendrick88Team Twitter.
With 679 points and no wins to his credit — and just one victory since 2008 — Junior is forced to face the ugly truth that he could very easily lose his Chase spot to the likes of current Wild Card holders Kasey Kahne (659 points, two wins) or Martin Truex Jr. (653 points, one win). This wouldn’t be as much of a concern for Earnhardt if Joey Logano (646 points) and Ryan Newman (636 points) — both of whom have picked up a win in the past month — weren’t primed to slide right into those Wild Card spots should Kahne or Truex move up. Throw in teammate Jeff Gordon (637, no wins), who still has a chance and has made the Chase in all but one season since it began in 2004 — and Earnhardt’s playoff picture gets cloudier each week.
“You definitely don’t like to be in this situation,” said Earnhardt. “I don’t think anybody wants to be on the bubble or be even worried or concerned about points leading up to Richmond, so we hope to have a couple of good weeks and really put ourselves in a pretty comfortable situation before we even come into Richmond.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his Hendrick Motorsports teammates took part in a test at Richmond International Raceway on Wednesday. Earnhardt, looking for his first win of 2013, is hopeful that the test will help him in the Federated Auto Parts 400 (Sept. 7, ABC). Photo courtesy of @Hendrick88Team Twitter.
To be fair, reigning Sprint Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski and former champion Kurt Busch are in similar positions, sitting in eighth and ninth, respectively, with no wins. But both have been on fire lately and appear to be standing on much firmer ground, with some of their best tracks on the docket.
Earnhardt does have a total of five wins at the remaining courses, and his average finishing positions are encouraging for Bristol (11.6), Atlanta (12.5) and Richmond (13.8), but his most recent victory was over seven years ago (Richmond, spring 2006).
“From my standpoint, this test could have been used at a Chase track,” said teammate Jimmie Johnson. “Junior’s been pretty comfortable — well, I guess he’s had some issues here recently that maybe make him a little less comfortable, but this track’s tough.”
Needless to say, Earnhardt agreed.
“I think it’s a tough track. Just looking at everybody as a whole, nobody really comes here and is just great every time,” said Earnhardt, who did earn the pole at this race last year before finishing 14th. “It’s not a track that you see one team consistently dominate, and we’ve had good cars here and brought back the same setup and it just doesn’t work. So you’re never really sure when you show up, you just have to get here and do your best and hope that it’s going to be a good car and hope the car is fast off the trailer, but sometimes it’s not and sometimes it makes for a long night here. This place is so slick and just a little bit off, it’s a battle just with yourself and the car all night.”
Earnhardt will attempt to get back on track this weekend at Bristol in the Irwin Tools Night Race (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC), which could certainly offer his best remaining chance at a victory. Even though his last win at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile” came in 2004, he finished sixth there in March after starting 32nd and hasn’t finished worse than 18th since 2001, with seven top-fives and 13 top-10s since.
Regardless, he’s running out of time to earn his crucial first victory of the season, and he knows it. If Earnhardt plans on holding onto his Chase spot, he’ll need brush those stressful feelings off and just stick with the confident side of his emotions.
Alfalla is poised for a NiSWC hat trick after his win at Michigan.
Ray Alfalla played his strategy just right after a flurry of early yellows and found victory lane at Michigan International Speedway for his second win of the 2013 NASCAR iRacing.com Series World Championship. Alfalla made the winning move on Lap 37 when he pitted out of the lead during the sixth caution of the online race. The move put Alfalla deep in the field, but he knew if the race went green to the end he would be able to make it on just one more stop. It turned-out to be the winning call as the last 85 laps ran without a single yellow flag.
Alfalla’s teammates Thomas Lewandowski and Brad Davies finished second and third. Peter Bennett finished fourth for his second straight top five run, while Rob Ackley crossed the line fifth for his first top five of the season.
“I didn’t get to run this race last year, so the track made it up to me, how nice.” — Ray Alfalla
After last year’s disappointment at Michigan which saw him finish dead last as the result of Internet issues, Alfalla was pleased with his complete reversal of fortune. “(I) pitted when we knew we could make it on one stop, and few others did,” said Alfalla. “That was that! I didn’t get to run this race last year, so the track made it up to me, how nice.”
The beginning of the race was filled with cautions, a stark contrast from last year’s caution-free race. However, after the field thinned and settled down the racing was much cleaner the rest of the way. This hurt drivers who had been banking on more cautions for their strategies to be effective.
Among those hoping for more yellows were Joey Brown, Kevin King and Nick Ottinger. They had the fastest cars on the track for most of the race but their strategy, which saw them pit twice under green, put them out of contention for the victory. Brown still finished sixth, a decent result, but disappointing considering how strong of a car he had. King started on pole and also appeared to be a threat for the win, but found trouble when he bounced off the wall and damaged his suspension, while Ottinger ran into major trouble exiting pit road.
Despite not having a blazingly fast car, Alfalla is now in firm control of the championship after Ottinger and Tyler Hudson both failed to finish in the Top 25. Hudson, who led the NiSWC standings much of the season, started deep in the field and was involved in a crash early, leaving him with a damaged car for the remainder of the race. He limped home twenty-seventh.
Ottinger’s championship hopes were dealt an even bigger blow when he lost control of his car while getting up to speed after his final pit stop of the race. He slammed into the inside wall, causing major damage to the front and rear of his car, relegating him to thirty-fifth place at the finish. “I do not know what to say. I honestly do not,” said a dejected Ottinger. “Can’t believe our luck tonight; however we ran really strong but it just was not meant to be.”
Alfalla now leads Brian Schoenburg, who was bit by pit strategy as well and finished fourteenth, by 31 points. Marcus Lindsey is now third after his eleventh place run at MIS, 42 points behind. Hudson fell to fourth and Ottinger slipped back to fifth, 58 and 63 points back respectively. Ottinger is in danger of slipping even farther back as Michael Conti (P15 at MIS) and Bennett are both only three points further back.
With only five races remaining, Alfalla is now in the driver’s seat as he seeks an unprecedented third straight NiSWC crown. With a 31 point lead, the championship is his to lose. The rest of the top five will have their work cut out for them as the series moves to Atlanta Motor Speedway for Week 14. Atlanta is yet another track where Alfalla excels. He finished second there in 2012, while only one of his four closest competitors could manage a top ten result.
With Ottinger and Hudson faltering, Alfalla is showing why he is the two-time defending series champion. Will he keep riding his wave of success in Atlanta? Tune into iRacing Live and MRN.com in two weeks’ time to find out!
Roush Fenway Racing announced Wednesday that AdvoCare will become the full-time partner on Trevor Bayne’s No. 6 Ford Mustang in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Bayne will return to the ride for a second consecutive year with crew chief Mike Kelley, who won the 2011 and 2012 Nationwide titles with Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
“AdvoCare has always valued its relationship with the motorsports community, and as we began thinking about our vision for 2014 we knew this would be a winning combination,” said AdvoCare President and CEO Richard Wright. “Trevor embodies the spirit of AdvoCare through his values and integrity.
“He’s a true champion. We feel the Nationwide Series is our home, and that’s why we’re excited to team up with Roush Fenway Racing, Nationwide driver Trevor Bayne and the No. 6 car.”
AdvoCare has sponsored the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet of Austin Dillon the past two seasons. According to the Roush Fenway Racing release, “With Dillon making the move to full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing in 2014, the organization began the process of diligently seeking out its best option moving forward.”
“AdvoCare values Austin and his team and are so grateful for the relationship we’ve built over the past few years,” said Wright. “We are proud of the success we’ve had together and are looking forward to Austin and the No. 3 team running for the 2013 NNS Championship.”
