Ottinger survives G-W-C finish to win at Kentucky

Posted on June 26, 2013December 17, 2017 by Jason Lofing

Alfalla gets the best of Ottinger at Pocono to score his first win of the season

After a late-race slide at Pocono cost Nick Ottinger a shot at the win, the hottest driver in the 2013 NASCAR iRacing Series World Championship season rebounded with an impressive victory at Kentucky Speedway. Ottinger took the lead for the first time on Lap 68 and led the rest of the way, barely holding-off polesitter Michael Conti on a Green-White-Checkered finish.

The duel for the win was set-up by the eighth caution of the race, which gave Conti one more chance to grab the victory from Ottinger. Conti timed the restart perfectly and ran side-by-side with Ottinger through Turns One and Two. Pocono winner Ray Alfalla also joined the fight as the leaders dove off into Turn Three, heading for the white flag. However, another crash in the back of the field brought out the ninth and final caution, freezing the field and securing Ottinger’s victory by less than a car length.

Conti was second and Alfalla was third. Byron Daley had one of his best runs of the season with a fourth place finish and Brian Schoenburg bounced back from a last lap crash at Pocono to grab fifth. Marcus Lindsey just missed-out on another top five, coming home sixth after running near the front most of the evening.

Ottinger started twelfth, not great by his standards, but quickly worked his way through the field. On the first two pit stops during early yellow flags, Ottinger chose to go the conservative route and took four tires on both trips down pit road. This turned out to be a great call as the online race went green for nearly 70 laps after the second pit stop, which had seen many drivers opt for just two tires in order to gain track position. Taking advantage of his four fresh tires, Ottinger quickly worked past the drivers who had only taken right sides on the previous stop. Although Conti was on the same strategy and had plenty of speed, Ottinger was never passed on the track again and went on to lead 96 of 167 laps.

In the early going it looked as if Conti was the favorite to win. He led 46 laps and was consistently the fastest car on the track. Unfortunately, when he and Ottinger found themselves back in traffic after a round of pit stops Ottinger got through the traffic better and Conti was left staring at the Rheem Chevy’s rear bumper the rest of the way.

Ottinger’s fourth win of the season also helped him gain ground in the championship standings. Tyler Hudson still holds the lead, but following his eight place run at Kentucky, his margin over Ottinger has dwindled to 11 points. Alfalla also gained some ground and is now third in the standings, 19 markers back. Schoenburg is fourth, just four points back of Alfalla and three points ahead of Lindsey, who is fifth.

As the first half of the season has come to a close, consistency has been the name of the game. Five drivers still have a legitimate shot at the championship at $10,500 prize, with Conti also may have an outside shot due to him currently having a zero as a drop week.

Hudson has been on another level of consistency thus far, which could be tough to beat. Despite no wins and only two top fives, his average finish is ninth and he always seems to be a factor at the end. The competition will be stiff though as the top five is chock full of NiSWC experience.

Hudson will try to keep his points lead as the second half of the season kicks off at the most unpredictable of race tracks: Talladega Superspeedway. It is the race that anyone can win, and nowhere on the track is safe. An early crash could take out any one of the championship front runners and put a major speed bump in their quest for the title, but a win could do wonders for their chances.

Could this be the week Hudson or Schoenburg finally reach victory lane in the NiSWC? Or will we see another surprise, first time winner in the series as we did when Adam Gilliland took the checkered flag at Daytona earlier this year? Tune into iRacing Live and MRN.com for thrilling superspeedway action from Talladega!

				Average Lap Time	Laps Completed	Cautions	Caution Laps	Lead Changes
				1:14.655	200	8	29	11
Fin Pos	Driver	Start Pos	Car #	Interval	Laps Led	Fast Lap Time	Fastest Lap Time	Fast Lap #	Laps Comp.	Pts	Status
1	Nick Ottinger	12	5	0	96	44.954	30.368	114	167	48	Running
2	Michael Conti	1	5	-0.161	46	44.964	30.37	2	167	43	Running
3	Ray Alfalla	2	2	-0.386	7	44.827	30.329	115	167	42	Running
4	Byron Daley	9	93	-0.954	0	44.962	30.558	61	167	40	Running
5	Brian Schoenburg	4	55	-1.346	0	44.968	30.449	114	167	39	Running
6	Marcus Lindsey	3	1	-1.929	0	44.972	30.387	115	167	38	Running
7	Carson Downs	16	97	-2.353	0	44.965	30.516	42	167	37	Running
8	Tyler D Hudson	19	1	-2.775	0	44.966	30.455	115	167	36	Running
9	Dylan Duval	17	42	-3.101	14	44.969	30.519	114	167	36	Running
10	Danny Hansen	41	20	-3.889	0	45.124	30.448	114	167	34	Running
11	Michael J Johnson	10	39	-4.262	0	44.981	30.51	115	167	33	Running
12	Bryan Blackford	33	33	-4.755	0	44.967	30.63	148	167	32	Running
13	Brad Davies	8	11	-5.138	1	44.988	30.495	42	167	32	Running
14	Thomas Lewandowski	27	16	-5.571	0	44.976	30.538	42	167	30	Running
15	Chad J Laughton	5	26	-6.673	0	44.998	30.483	42	167	29	Running
16	Casey Malone	29	92	-7.371	0	44.986	30.692	115	167	28	Running
17	Steve Sheehan	20	6	-8.159	0	44.719	30.422	114	167	27	Running
18	Matt Bussa	7	34	-8.726	0	45.168	30.471	115	167	26	Running
19	Adam Gilliland	21	81	-9.09	0	44.248	30.601	42	167	25	Running
20	Justin Trombley	24	17	-9.868	0	45.003	30.644	61	167	24	Running
21	Andrew Fayash III	32	157	-10.457	1	45.003	30.818	120	167	24	Running
22	Jake Stergios	39	41	-10.739	0	44.998	30.645	61	167	22	Running
23	Chad Coleman	34	28	-11.622	0	45.009	30.599	112	167	21	Running
24	Kevin King	15	29	-12.188	0	44.423	30.572	114	167	20	Running
25	Brandon Buie	31	54	-12.939	0	44.494	30.633	117	167	19	Running
26	Peter Bennett	35	69	-13.899	0	45.02	30.451	116	167	18	Running
27	Kevin Burris	23	45	-15.647	0	45.039	30.609	115	167	17	Running
28	Alex Warren	30	82	-16.195	0	45.038	30.582	115	167	16	Running
29	Jason Karlavige	18	60	-1 L	1	43.726	30.518	61	166	16	Running
30	Carson McClelland	11	24	-6 L	1	43.515	30.463	116	161	15	Disconnected
31	John Gorlinsky	28	21	-7 L	0	43.418	30.457	112	160	13	Disconnected
32	Brandon Kettelle	26	80	-7 L	0	43.496	30.595	2	160	12	Disconnected
33	Richard Dusett	6	96	-14 L	0	43.997	30.525	115	153	11	Running
34	Landon Harrison	38	89	-17 L	0	49.372	30.97	2	150	10	Running
35	Josh Berry	37	91	-26 L	0	41.256	30.426	114	141	9	Disconnected
36	Rob Ackley	22	22	-59 L	0	39.178	30.714	42	108	8	Disconnected
37	Paul Kusheba	42	32	-109 L	0	35.336	30.705	5	58	7	Running
38	Patrick Baldwin	14	52	-111 L	0	42.41	30.549	42	56	6	Running
39	Robert Hall	13	30	-112 L	0	41.475	30.786	2	55	5	Disconnected
40	Landon Huffman	25	75	-113 L	0	41.427	30.71	2	54	4	Disconnected
41	Tyler Laughlin	36	51	-113 L	0	41.408	30.798	3	54	3	Disconnected
42	Cyril Nousbaum	43	99	-113 L	0	41.41	30.754	2	54	2	Disconnected
43	Joey Brown	40	12	-118 L	0	36.931	30.707	2	49	1	Disconnected

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Staff Report

Vital stats for the Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts

Related: Coverage from Kentucky

Track: Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky., 1.5 miles, asphalt surface, 14-degree banking in all four tunes, 8-degree banking on frontstretch and backstretch.

Time/TV: Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts, 7:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, June 29. TV: TNT (coverage starts at 7 p.m. ET), Radio: PRN

Trailblazers: The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky was held July 9, 2011 — won by Kyle Busch. Busch, Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon lead the series with two top-five finishes.

0.179 seconds is the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Kentucky Speedway, when Kyle Busch beat second-place David Reutimann in 2012.

1 is the number of Coors Light Pole awards for Jimmie Johnson. He’s the only driver to win a pole at the Cup level; qualifying for the first race in 2011was rained out.

1.5 is the average starting position for Kyle Busch, the best in the Sprint Cup Series.

2 is the number of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races held at Kentucky Speedway. Kyle Busch won the inaugural event in 2011, and Brad Keselowski won last year.

4.0 is the average finishing position for Brad Keselowski, the best on the circuit.

10 different drivers have posted top-five finishes at Kentucky.

15 different drivers have posted top-10s at Kentucky.

30 NASCAR national series races have been held at Kentucky. Two in the Sprint Cup Series, 13 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and 15 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

100 career starts in the Nationwide Series for Trevor Bayne, assuming he makes the field at Kentucky.

133.0 is Kyle Busch’s Driver Rating at Kentucky, the best on the circuit.

145.607 is the fastest speed for a race winner. Brad Keselowski set the mark in 2012.

243 laps led by Kyle Busch, the most among all drivers. There have been 534 laps run at Kentucky for the Cup Series.

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Posted on June 26, 2013 by Staff Report

Red Horse Racing signs nine-race deal with phone protection company

German Quiroga will drive nine races with a primary sponsor of OtterBox, Red Horse Racing announced Wednesday.

The OtterBox paint scheme will debut this weekend at Kentucky Speedway when the Camping World Truck Series hits the track for the UNOH 225. OtterBox, known for its protective cellphone cases, will make its first foray into NASCAR with the deal.

"OtterBox protective solutions are premium and engineered, which aligns perfectly with the Red Horse Racing team and Germán Quiroga," said OtterBox CEO Brian Thomas. "We’re excited to be a part of the team and of the sport."

Quiroga, a three-time Mexico Series champion and currently 19th in the Truck Series standings, will also drive with the company’s logo at Eldora Speedway, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Iowa Speedway, Pocono Raceway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway.

"It’s an honor for OtterBox to choose me to represent their brand in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series," Quiroga said. "As OtterBox looks to grow and expand their market in the Latin community, I am eager to share our experiences together on and off the race track. We share many things in common, the most important of which is a drive for success. We are looking forward to sharing the success together starting this weekend at Kentucky."

Quiroga had his best finish of the season in the most recent Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, taking third place. The UNOH 225 will air on Thursday, June 27 at 8 p.m. ET on SPEED.

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Posted on June 26, 2013 by Staff Report

Check out some new looks hitting the track for Kentucky’s triple-header weekend

Editor’s note: This story will be updated as additional paint schemes are revealed.

It’s a triple-header this weekend for NASCAR at Kentucky. The NASCAR Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck series will all hit the track for an action-packed weekend of night racing.

Here is a preview of some of the paint schemes you’ll see on the cars and trucks this weekend.

Jamie McMurray will drive the No. 1 Hellmann’s Chevrolet.

SHOP: Jamie McMurray die-casts

Kasey Kahne will drive the No. 5 Quaker State Chevrolet.

SHOP: Kasey Kahne die-casts

Casey Mears will drive the No. 13 Valvoline NextGen Ford Fusion Ford.

SHOP: Casey Mears die-casts

Tony Stewart will drive the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet.

SHOP: Tony Stewart die-casts

Clint Bowyer will drive the No. 15 30th Camry Anniversary Toyota.

SHOP: Clint Bowyer die-casts

Greg Biffle will drive the No. 16 3M National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Ford.

SHOP: Greg Biffle die-casts

Aric Almirola will drive the No. 43 Eckrich Ford.

SHOP: Aric Almirola die-casts

Brian Vickers will drive the No. 55 Aaron’s/University of Lousiville National Championship Toyota.

SHOP: Brian Vickers die-casts

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive the No. 88 National Guard Youth Foundation Chevrolet.

SHOP: Dale Earnhardt Jr. die-casts

Carl Edwards will drive the No. 99 UPS Ford. Read how the Gen-6 car is a game-changer for the Sprint Cup Series.

SHOP: Carl Edwards die-casts

The following special paint schemes will take the track in the Nationwide Series’ Feed the Children 300:

Trevor Bayne will drive the No. 6 Cargill-HelpAHero.com Ford.

SHOP: Trevor Bayne die-casts

Sam Hornish Jr. will drive the No. 12 Penske Truck Rental Ford.

SHOP: Sam Hornish Jr. die-casts

Johanna Long will drive the No. 70 Foretravel/Wish for our Heroes Chevrolet.

SHOP: NASCAR die-casts

Parker Kligerman will drive the No. 77 Camp Horsin Around Toyota.

SHOP: Parker Kligerman die-casts

Alex Bowman will drive the No. 99 St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Toyota.

SHOP: Alex Bowman die-casts

The following special paint schemes will take the track in the Camping World Truck Series’ UNOH 225:

Max Gresham will drive the No. 8 Made in the USA Chevrolet.

SHOP: NASCAR die-casts

Brett Moffitt will drive the No. 13 Aisin Toyota.

SHOP: NASCAR die-casts

Timothy Peters will drive the No. 17 Tire Discounters/Valvoline NextGen Toyota.

SHOP: NASCAR die-casts

Brennan Newberry will drive the No. 24 Qore-24 Chevrolet.

SHOP: NASCAR die-casts

Cale Gale will drive the No. 30 Rheem Chevrolet.

SHOP: NASCAR die-casts

James Buescher will drive the No. 31 FOE Chevrolet.

SHOP: NASCAR die-casts

German Quiroga Jr. will drive the No. 77 OtterBox Toyota.

SHOP: NASCAR die-casts

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Posted on June 26, 2013 by Zack Albert

NASCAR.com sits down with former NFL linebacker turned team co-owner

Former NFL defensive standout Bill Romanowski’s playing days may be behind him, but he’s still running fast — only in different circles.

Romanowski, the only linebacker to start in five Super Bowl games over the course of a 16-year pro career, joined the NASCAR circuit before the season as a minority owner with the No. 30 Swan Racing team and driver David Stremme.

Since his retirement after the 2003 NFL season, Romanowski formed his own nutrition company, Nutrition53. His Lean1weight-loss protein shake was the title sponsor of last Saturday’s pole day activity at Sonoma Raceway, where he honored Coors Light Pole Award winner Jamie McMurray with his trophy in Victory Lane.

Romanowski took time out from the festivities to speak with NASCAR.com.

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Have you had many in-person experiences so far with NASCAR?

Absolutely. I became a part owner in Swan Racing this past year so this is kind of my first experience with NASCAR. I’ve been to an Indianapolis 500, I’ve been to some Trans-Am Series races with Greg Pickett and the Pickett racing team, but this year has been mind-blowing for me, getting involved with NASCAR, being a sponsor with our Lean1 product with Nutrition 53. It’s been exciting, awesome. I think what makes this special is the fans. This really is about the fans and David Stremme, our driver, is a great guy. I really enjoy making a difference in the fans’ lives.

I know there’s a lot of fitness and nutrition involved in drivers and teams and their regimens. Is this sort of a natural fit for you?

It is, and we just started working with David and he’s been losing weight and lean-ing down. We’re getting product to some of the other teams little by little, but there’s a part of David that doesn’t want to share his secret.

Speaking of the fan atmosphere, did you see a comparable one when you were playing football?

I tell you what, at Daytona (earlier this season), it was unbelievable. And when they say, ‘Gentlemen, start your engines’ and they start that first lap, the butterflies come back and they’re very similar to game day. When you’re singing the National Anthem, ready to run down on kickoff, it’s very much the same.

Do you see a lot of the same team concept with NASCAR and football, a lot of parallels?

Absolutely. I mean, from the pit crew to the mechanics to the guys who are spotting up above, everybody has to work together and it has to be a team. The ones that win are the ones with the best teams.

Have you angled in on David to say, ‘hey, if you’d like to give me a turn … ?’

You know what? Not yet. I was going to be in the car a few months ago when they were in North Carolina and had a practice day, but I wasn’t able to get on because there was rain. It cleared up in the afternoon, but I had left.

Do you miss football, looking back at your career?

I miss Sundays. I don’t miss Monday mornings — they were brutal. I miss my teammates, of course. That camaraderie, there’s nothing like it. I miss the locker room. But getting involved in NASCAR, it’s different but similar and still gives you that team spirit.

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Posted on June 26, 2013 by George Winkler

The new car brings exciting finishes to the sport and makes room at the top for smaller teams

Back in January during the Sprint Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway, NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France said officials would measure the success of the new Generation-6 car by examining lead changes, driver feedback and how the car races on various tracks.

It was a matter-of-fact statement but seemed like a fairly bold one at the time considering most of us hadn’t seen the new vehicle in competition. But those in the know must have felt confident about the car, and, as it turns out, with good reason. So far the Gen-6 car is living up to its preseason billing, and its implementation is becoming a game-changing moment in the sport.

Now that the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is coming off its first road course race of the season, fans and officials have gotten to see the vehicle perform on all the different styles of tracks that the series has to offer. And while most people who follow the sport on a weekly basis probably would agree there has been more drama this season, it’s good to have the numbers to back it up.

Mike Forde, NASCAR’s Senior Manager of Content Communications, shared some of the data he and his team have collected through the first part of the season. And as you will see, the numbers are strikingly in favor of the Gen-6 car.

Starting out with passing, we’ve seen records set or tied this season in races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (31 green-flag passes for the lead), Auto Club Speedway (41 green-flag passes for the lead), Charlotte Motor Speedway (35 passes for the lead for the Coca-Cola 600) and Dover International Speedway (25 passes for the lead). All four of those tracks are intermediate in size.

That’s not to say the Gen-6 car hasn’t had its moments on short tracks and superspeedways as well. Richmond International Raceway, a short track, saw one of the season’s most exciting finishes when Kevin Harvick passed four cars in the final three laps to win.

Close finishes, in fact, have been a hallmark of the new car, with the margin of victory through 15 races (1.066 seconds) at its lowest point since 2002.

As for superspeedways, Talladega produced a 1-2 finish by David Ragan and David Gilliland of Front Row Motorsports, an example of the parity that the Gen-6 car has helped to create. Another smaller team, Furniture Row Racing, has already led more laps than ever. An element of unpredictability has reigned, as well, such as Martin Truex Jr. snapping his 218-winless streak on the road course at Sonoma.

“It has been a little equalizer, absolutely, because it forced teams like us that generally don’t go through our complete inventory over the off-season, it forces us to really go through,” Ragan said after Talladega.

There are other impressive numbers, too, including a higher percentage of cars (81.7 percent) finishing races compared with last year (76.1), and more cars (49.2 percent to 39.4 percent last year) finishing on the lead lap, too. It is all adding up to better racing, and the numbers are helping to tell that story.

Still, some of us prefer the human element, and Clint Bowyer provided us with one of the more memorable driver quotes about the Gen-6 car after the Richmond race.

“Whoever designed this new car, we should kiss ’em every weekend,” Bowyer said. “It’s (Gen-6) creating drama. We haven’t seen racing like this in years, since I first started in this sport (in 2004). When you can leave a race track and there’s people in tears because they won, and in tears because they got crashed, that’s what brings us to the race track, that kind of racing and determination and passion."

Others have given positive reviews, too, marveling at the grip and speed that the car has shown, especially in the corners. Said Carl Edwards to SCNow.com in May at Darlington, "I glanced down and saw 193 (mph) headed into Turn 3 before I had to turn my attention back to the track. This car is fast.”

Your next chance to see Edwards go fast will be this weekend at Kentucky Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, TNT) driving the No. 99 UPS Ford. And whether or not he wins he’ll still be a game-changer simply by driving the Gen-6 car.

Posted on June 26, 2013 by George Winkler

Keselowski has cooled after hot start

RELATED: Sprint Cup Series standings

The defending champ must be champing at the bit for a victory this season. Among the drivers currently in the 10 guaranteed Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup spots, Clint Bowyer and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are the only ones other than Brad Keselowski who have not made a trip to Victory Lane in 2013.

The advantage for Bowyer and Earnhardt Jr., though, is that they have 75- and 26-point cushions, respectively, between themselves and Martin Truex Jr., who is in 10^th place (up three spots from last week) after his victory on Sunday at Sonoma Raceway in the Toyota/Save Mart 350.

Meanwhile, Keselowski’s lead over Truex Jr. is as slim as it gets at one point. One more big slip like he had in the Coca-Cola 600 when a late-race wreck with Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. led to a 36^th-place finish and Keselowski, who is ninth in the standings, could be on the outside looking in when it comes to the Chase — even for a Wild Card berth.

Some might say Keselowski has a built-in excuse for his standing because he’d have 31 more points were it not for a pair of penalties. However, those are points he’s obviously never going to get back, so there’s no sense crying about them now.

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What it could say, though, is that Keselowski has been a little bit better than his point total might indicate and that there is potential for him to make a charge toward the Chase. He certainly showed tenacity early in the season by piloting even damaged cars at times during seven top-10 finishes in the season’s first eight races.

But since then he has just one top-10 finish in nine races — that being his fifth-place showing nearly four weeks ago at Dover. After that, he placed 16^th at Pocono, 12^th at Michigan and 21^st at Sonoma. And on top of that, Keselowski got into a well-publicized verbal dust-up with Rick Hendrick and Joe Gibbs over hiring practices.

Keselowski summed things up best when after qualifying at Sonoma he said, “We’ve got some work to do because I don’t think we’re all that great right now.”

However, there is a chance to recapture some of that greatness this week at Kentucky Speedway, where the defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champ also happens to be the defending race champ. He won there in June of 2012 and placed seventh in 2011, the only two years the Cup has run races at Kentucky Speedway.

Plus, keep in mind that this was the point last season when Keselowski turned things around. He entered Kentucky with seven top-10s in 2012, but the win in the Bluegrass State got the Blue Deuce off and running toward a string of 17 top-10s in the last 20 races, ending with that big beer in Miami.

Can he do it again? Can he just get back on track? We shall soon find out, and remember, Keselowski plans to drive in all three events this weekend at Kentucky, so he’ll get plenty of testing time.

Ready to pounce: Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports; Kurt Busch, Furniture Row Racing. It has to be a tad bit concerning for those on the fringe of the Chase to know that they are in a fight with these two veterans and former series champions. Both moved up the standings three spots this week, with Gordon jumping to 13^th thanks to his second-place finish at Sonoma and Busch climbing to 17^th after a fourth-place showing in Wine Country.

The scary part is neither driver has achieved the consistency this season that he had during the title runs, but we’ve seen what they are capable of when their teams are running on all cylinders. However, like Keselowski, neither Gordon nor Busch has a victory this season to help in the Wild Card race.

Gordon is 12 points behind Truex Jr. for the final non-Wild Card spot in the Chase while Busch is 28 points back, so a win at Kentucky would be particularly important for Busch, while it would vault Gordon right into contention. Gordon finished fifth at Kentucky last year and 10^th the year before. Busch was 19^th and ninth, respectively.

In danger of falling out: Paul Menard, Richard Childress Racing. Menard has been teetering on the fringe of the Chase for the past three weeks after spending most of his time in the top 10 early in the season thanks to some solid runs, highlighted by an eighth-place finish in Fontana. But he hasn’t had a top-10 since Kansas, and one wonders how long he can continue to be a legit competitor without grabbing a victory.

Trouble is he only has one win in 10 seasons on the Sprint Cup circuit, and that came in 2011 at Indianapolis. It happens to be a venue that is coming up soon at the end of July, but can he hold on for a month without top-10s and still be in this thing by then? Probably not, so Menard has to step up at a track in Kentucky where he has finished 12th and 24th the past two years.

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Posted on June 25, 2013 by

No. 7 driver says team was prepared for bout of bad luck

In the immediate aftermath, Regan Smith was fuming. A few days later, he’s able to take a more constructive view of the incident that sheared his 58-point lead in the Nationwide Series almost by half.

Smith’s 11-race streak of top-10 finishes ended Saturday at Road America in a 32nd-place result — his worst of the season. That wasn’t due to the JR Motorsports driver’s lack of experience on the 4-mile road course — he was running in the top five late in the event when he was the victim of a chain-reaction accident that involved Parker Kligerman banging into Owen Kelly, who in turn sent the points leader spinning out.

Smith was clearly unhappy after the race, and with good reason. What had been a 58-point series lead with the potential to become even bigger had instead been whittled down to 28 over new points runner-up Justin Allgaier, who finished second to race-winner AJ Allmendinger. On Tuesday, Smith tried to take a wider view of the situation, particularly given how rough road course events have become at NASCAR’s national division.

“I think it’s a fine line. You’re certainly not happy about it. You’re certainly not happy about the way things went down towards the end of the race and the way that the driving turned into more slamming instead of actual racing,” Smith said on a conference call with reporters.

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“With that said, it’s in the rearview mirror, and you can’t change that it took place the way that it did. All you can do is focus on going forward. One of the reasons that we’ve worked as hard as we have this year, to not only get the points lead, but to try to have the points lead be as large as it was, (was) in case something like that did happen somewhere and we crossed bad luck.”

The solace, he said, is that the No. 7 car showed plenty of speed, even on a road course — which isn’t Smith’s specialty. The findings from Road America may pay dividends with road course events at Watkins Glen International and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course looming in consecutive weeks in August.

“That was an area where people have maybe highlighted, thinking that the 7 car wouldn’t have speed, and we were contending for top-five and even passing for the lead at one point in the race,” Smith said. “I would then just say, going to Mid‑Ohio and going to Watkins Glen, that guys aren’t going to take that for granted anymore that they can make points up on us. Instead, that’s going to be an area where we’re going to be looking to gain points further on down the road.”

Smith has won twice this season, at Talladega and Michigan, and has held the series lead for seven consecutive race weekends. He now ventures back into more familiar territory — an intermediate layout Friday night at Kentucky, followed by a race at 2.5-mile Daytona, where he was going for the lead on the final lap before being involved in a multi-car accident.

“We’ve got a very confident group here, and that includes myself as a driver in not only what my capabilities are, but also what the capabilities of this race team are. We’re to the point now that the cars they’ve been putting under me this year, I know what to expect,” he said.

“I know what’s going to happen week in and week out with how they’re going to feel right off the truck, and how our weekend is going to flow and how we’re going to adjust and what kind of speed we’re going to have in the race. With that said, I think that confidence is almost as important as the momentum. I feel like we can make up for any up or down momentum swings because we’re that confident as a race team, and we believe that much in what we’re doing at JR Motorsports.”

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Posted on June 25, 2013 by

Veteran’s run of 704 in a row was second-longest among active Sprint Cup drivers

When the Sprint Cup Series takes the green flag Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway, the starting field will be missing someone who’s been a fixture on the circuit since 1993.

Bobby Labonte confirmed Tuesday that he will not race this weekend, and therefore end a streak of 704 consecutive premier-series starts that stands as the third-longest in history. Ricky Rudd owns the longest ever at 788 starts, while Jeff Gordon holds the longest active streak at 705.

“It is disappointing the way it is happening,” Labonte wrote in a chat with fans on the website of his JTG Daugherty Racing team. “I have had a couple of offers this morning, but I have declined them because I don’t want anybody else that has an opportunity to do what I do, what they love, to have to sit on the sideline for my sake.”

The 2000 champion of NASCAR’s premier division, Labonte has not missed a start since the beginning of his full-time career in 1993. AJ Allmendinger is in Labonte’s usual No. 47 car for Saturday night’s event at Kentucky. JTG Daugherty announced three weeks ago that Allmendinger would pilot the No. 47 for five races as a comparative measure to help a team that ranked 27th in the Sprint Cup standings at that point.

"We probably need an alliance with another team or a teammate. That would be the start."
— Bobby Labonte

Allmendinger also drove the No. 47 at Michigan, but Labonte landed a ride for that event in Phoenix Racing’s No. 51 car to keep his streak alive. Austin Dillon is competing in the No. 51 in this Saturday night’s Quaker State 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT) at Kentucky.

“Bobby is our guy for this season and we are focusing on making the car better for this season,” team co-owner Brad Daugherty wrote in the chat. “That is our focus. We don’t look to next year until the end of this year, so right now we are doing everything we can to help Bobby Labonte do as best as he can this season.”

The 49-year-old Labonte was in the No. 47 this past weekend at Sonoma, and Daugherty confirmed the former champion would be back in the vehicle for next week’s event at Daytona. Allmendinger — winner of the Nationwide Series race Saturday at Road America — is expected to pilot the car for the Aug. 11 road course race at Watkins Glen, as well as two other races where the team is looking for sponsorship.

“I feel like AJ is a hell of a driver, I also know that what I feel in a race car is right,” Labonte wrote. “We had a great test in Kentucky and I am disappointed that I am not going. But as you move forward, you need to support our race team. Even though I might not agree, it is still going to benefit us to keep moving forward in a positive way.”

JTG Daugherty operated for several years as a satellite team to Toyota brethren Michael Waltrip Racing, but severed that relationship and moved into its own shop prior to last season. But life as a single-car team has been a struggle — the No. 47 car placed 26th in owners’ points after last season, and currently sits 30th. Meanwhile, MWR placed two cars in the Chase last season, and won Sunday’s event with Martin Truex Jr.

“We have had conversations and we are trying to figure out what would be the best move for us going forward,” Daugherty said. “We came out of the MWR situation simply because we were all struggling. Obviously, they have fixed a lot over at MWR so someone like that may be a suitable partner again. We will have to see.”

Daugherty added the team is considering an alliance similar to the one it had before. “We moved out of MWR because it wasn’t working,” he wrote. “But as we step back, we are competitive people, we want to race and run up front. The way this sport is going, you have to align yourself. So it is a great option going forward and we are looking at it very seriously.”

Labonte agreed. “We probably need an alliance with another team or a teammate,” he wrote. “That would be the start."

Labonte said he inquired about JTG Daugherty running a second car at Kentucky, but added the organization wouldn’t be able to do it. “One car is the limit of our capacity at this time,” he wrote. As a result, the 21-time race winner doesn’t plan on being at the track at all this weekend.

“Thanks for all of the support,” Labonte added. “We all have a passion for what we are doing, we all believe (in) what we are doing with the program, and we want to make sure we continue to represent all of the sponsors the right way.”

The goal, Daugherty said, is for Labonte to hopefully reap the benefits of whatever Allmendinger might discover by having a fresh opinion on the car. But what the future may hold for Labonte and the No. 47 remains unclear.

“We have not discussed 2014,” Daugherty wrote. “I am hoping we get this thing turned around and Bobby drives this car for a long time.”

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Road America

Posted on June 25, 2013 by

After weak Sonoma showing, Kyle Busch drops four spots

1. Jimmie Johnson

Outlook: A ninth-place finish isn’t a huge victory for Johnson, but it’s enough to hold on to most of his points lead. After a rough go of it at Michigan, all four Hendrick cars rebounded at Sonoma.
Standings: 1st, 573 points

2. Carl Edwards

Outlook: Edwards has held onto second place in the standings for quit some time now — since Richmond, in fact — and is slowly starting to chip away at Johnson’s points lead. Will he catch him? Not unless something crazy happens.
Standings: 2nd, 548 points
RELATED: Edwards post-race reaction

3. Clint Bowyer

Outlook: Heading into the race, Bowyer (and Danica Patrick) hoped to receive the respect he felt he deserved from Jacques Villeneuve. After finishing 5^th to Villeneuve’s 41^st, the French Canadian will have no choice but to do so.
Standings: 3rd, 528 points
RELATED: Bowyer post-race reaction

4. Matt Kenseth

Outlook: Kenseth knew going in that he hasn’t fared well at Sonoma in the past, but was determined to improve this time around. He still finished 19^th, but at a track where he’s failed to crack the top 20 five times, he’ll take it.
Standings: 5th, 481 points

5. Kevin Harvick

Outlook: With six straight top-10 finishes, Kevin Harvick should keep doing whatever he’s doing. Quick, have his PR team get the 29 other MLB teams on the phone to see if he can throw out the first pitch.
Standings: 4th, 510 points

6. Greg Biffle

Outlook: Sitting in 13^th place and out of a Chase spot just three weeks ago, Biffle has turned on the jets with an average finish of 3.67 since then to put his name firmly in championship talks. Kentucky should be interesting, where he’s finished 21^st in both Sprint Cup races at the track.
Standings: 6th, 479 points

7. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Outlook: Not the biggest fan of Sonoma, for Earnhardt to finish 12^th at the road course is huge. Even still, he wasn’t the only Earnhardt making headlines this week.
Standings: 7th, 479 points
RELATED: Junior takes road less traveled

8. Brad Keselowski

Outlook: Keselowski did have the lead at one point on Sunday. And then Martin Truex Jr. took it from him. At this point though, it has to be a little concerning that Keselowski seems to get further and further from Victory Lane each week.
Standings: 9th, 454 points

9. Kasey Kahne

Outlook: Potential winner of the Quaker State 400? Kasey Kahne. The driver needs a win badly, placed second in the race last year, and, oh yeah, he’s sponsored by Quaker State.
Standings: 11th, 445 points

10. Kyle Busch

Outlook: It’s hard to believe a driver with two wins (Busch) can be lower in the standings than two without them (Bowyer, Earnhardt), but it’s the truth. His DNFs don’t help that cause, as he’s one of just four in the top 20 to have more than two.
Standings: 8th, 461 points
RELATED: Busch, Edwards wreck

11. Martin Truex Jr.

Outlook: You all had Martin Truex Jr. ending his 218-race winless streak at one of the toughest races of the season, right? Truex’s victory was exciting and inspiring, but he can’t celebrate his victory and entrance into Chase contention for too long. There are plenty waiting right behind him.
Standings: 10th, 453 points
RELATED: Truex Victory Lane 1-on-1 | Final Laps

12. Jeff Gordon

Outlook: Gordon needed another dominant day at Sonoma and he did get that, but that one extra spot could make a difference. Without that tally in the ‘W’ column, Gordon’s Chase chances are significantly lowered.
Standings: 13th, 405 points
RELATED: Gordon post-race reaction

13. Tony Stewart

Outlook: His four-race top-10 finish streak ended at Sonoma, a track he generally runs well at. The history at Kentucky is too short to get a great idea of how he’ll run, but he’s made enough progress over the past month to put himself back into contention.
Standings: 15th, 433 points
RELATED: Stewart hits Hamlin

14. Kurt Busch

Outlook: Another race, another bonus point for leading a lap for Kurt Busch. You’ve got to figure he’ll be breaking through for a win before the Chase starts. Otherwise he has little shot of making it.
Standings: 17th, 425 points
RELATED: Busch post-race reaction

15. Paul Menard

Outlook: The curve seems to be adjusting for Menard, who hung around the top 10 in the standings for most of the year but hasn’t actually finished a race better than 10^th since Fontana.
Standings: 12th, 445 points

16. Joey Logano

Outlook: After two miserable finishes at Talladega and Darlington, Logano is on a bit of a roll since, averaging a finish of 8.4 over five races. The streak has helped him regain some position in the standings, but, like nearly every other driver, he needs a victory to really feel some stability.

17. Aric Almirola

Outlook: In the same category of Menard, Almirola’s early season success seems to be leveling out a bit as he adjusts to being in the 11-20 range in the standings. He hasn’t shown much reason to believe he’ll snap out of it, but it’s already been a season full of surprises, so who knows?
Standings: 16th, 428 points

18. Ryan Newman

Outlook: Newman and Gordon make an unlucky pair as the only two drivers in the top 20 with four DNFs. Because of this, despite two top-five and seven top-10 finishes, he’s below someone like Almirola — who has no top-fives and just four top-10s — in the standings.
Standings: 18th, 418 points

19. Marcos Ambrose

Outlook: Ambrose really had a shot to do some serious damage in the standings with a victory at Sonoma, one of his best tracks. He still finished seventh, which is fantastic for most drivers at a road course, but it wasn’t nearly enough.
Standings: 22nd, 380 points
RELATED: Ambrose post-race reaction

20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Outlook: Stenhouse has really impressed in his first year on the circuit. His 27^th-place finish at Sonoma isn’t great by any means, but he still managed to beat big names Tony Stewart, Jeff Burton, and Kyle Busch. This year wasn’t about making the Chase; it was about the experience. He’s getting plenty of it.
Standings: 19th, 406 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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