Brown comes up clutch in first NiSWC victory

Posted on May 29, 2013December 17, 2017 by Jason Lofing

Brown (No. 12) outdueled Lindsey to score a dramatic win at Charlotte

Heading into Week 7 of the 2013 NASCAR iRacing.com Series World Championship season Joey Brown found himself outside the top 25 in points despite some promising runs. The NiSWC rookie had shown flashes of brilliance through the first six races, but had his good runs undone by mistakes largely of his own making. That all changed at Charlotte Motor Speedway as Brown broke through for his first NiSWC victory, outdueling Marcus Lindsey in a fantastic battle for the win.

"Those last 10 laps seemed to take forever, by far the most fun I’ve had in a race."

— Joey Brown

Brown, who started from the pole but lost ground to Lindsey during the first round of green flag pit stops, erased more than a two second gap during the second half of the race. With ten laps to go, Brown was right on Lindsey’s bumper and made a move for the lead on the inside entering Turn 3 and cleared Lindsey off Turn 4.

Brown was not in the clear yet, though. Lindsey fought back off of Turn Four when Brown got a bit loose on exit and the two were side-by-side yet again into Turn One. For the next two laps they battled door-to-door, neither wanting to back down. Finally, with seven laps remaining, Lindsey got tight in the middle of Turns One and Two, giving Brown the opening he needed to take the lead for good.

“Oh man I’m speechless after that race,” said Brown, relieved he held on for his first victory. “Those last 10 laps seemed to take forever, by far the most fun I’ve had in a race.”

The victory moved Brown into the top 25 in points, though he still has work to do if he wants to crack one of the top twelve paid positions.

Even though he was passed for the lead with the checkered flag in his sights after leading the most laps, Lindsey was pleased with his runner-up position.

“Solid race overall, happy with a second place,” explained Lindsey. “(I) tried to defend as long as possible, but I think we all knew what the outcome was going to be.”

“I think we all knew what the outcome was going to be.” — Marcus Lindsey

Jason Karlavige was strong all day and finished third, but did not have the pace of the top two. Brandon Kettelle was fourth and Tyler Hudson held-off Michael Conti and Thomas Lewandowski in a tightly contested battle for fifth.

Only three yellows, all before Lap 50, slowed the field for 12 laps. The first caution flew on Lap Nine when Nick Ottinger, winner of the last three NiSWC races, and Landon Huffman made contact entering Turn One. The contact sent Ottinger spinning up the track and into the outside wall, inflicting serious damage to the #05 Chevy SS. Ottinger pitted for repairs, but lost several laps in the process. He limped around the rest of the night and finished thirty-sixth.

The biggest incident of the evening developed on Lap 38 when Landon Harrison got into the wall on the backstretch and lost control. John Gorlinsky had nowhere to go and slammed into Harrison’s crippled car, sparking a melee into Turn Three. Other drivers involved in the aftermath included Josh Berry and Jake Stergios.

With Husdon’s fifth place run and Ottinger’s crash, Hudson extended his points lead to nine over Brian Schoenburg, who suffered early damage but rebounded for an eleventh place run. Lindsey climbed to third with Ottinger slipping to fourth, now 33 points behind Hudson. Ray Alfalla is fifth in the standings, but lost positional points when he sped down pit road on his last stop of the day, relegating him to a seventeenth place finish.

Next up for the NiSWC is the yearly visit to Pocono Raceway. The Tricky Triangle, as it is often called, is made of three unique corners, providing a challenge for rookies and seasoned veterans alike. Brown will be looking to start a winning streak of his own as the rest of the field looks to position themselves in the standings as the 2013 season closes in on the midway point.

Can Brown make it two in a row? Or will Ottinger or Lindsey make another visit to victory lane? With Pocono’s unpredictably, it could even be time for another first time winner. In any case, be sure to catch the action from Pocono on iRacing Live and MRN.com in two weeks!

				Average Lap Time	Laps Completed	Cautions	Caution Laps	Lead Changes
				32.756	200	3	12	16
Fin Pos	Driver	Start Pos	Car #	Status	Interval	Laps Led	Average Lap Time	Fastest Lap Time	Fast Lap #	Laps Comp	Pts
1	Joey Brown	1	12	0	49	32.756	27.834	15	200	47	Running
2	Marcus Lindsey	2	1	-0.152	137	32.756	27.812	2	200	44	Running
3	Jason Karlavige	3	60	-6.071	0	32.785	27.812	2	200	41	Running
4	Brandon Kettelle	10	80	-8.016	0	32.791	27.838	2	200	40	Running
5	Tyler D Hudson	14	1	-9.408	1	32.796	27.82	153	200	40	Running
6	Michael Conti	12	5	-9.622	0	32.798	27.895	100	200	38	Running
7	Thomas Lewandowski	30	16	-9.743	0	32.788	27.937	2	200	37	Running
8	Danny Hansen	16	20	-11.391	0	32.805	27.941	149	200	36	Running
9	Dustin Montgomery	9	8	-13.524	0	32.515	27.812	2	200	35	Running
10	Patrick Baldwin	6	52	-13.622	0	32.821	27.827	2	200	34	Running
11	Brian Schoenburg	8	55	-16.375	0	32.61	27.864	149	200	33	Running
12	Peter Bennett	7	69	-16.571	8	32.835	27.834	103	200	33	Running
13	Carson McClelland	5	24	-17.549	0	32.841	27.815	101	200	31	Running
14	Carson Downs	41	97	-17.846	0	32.819	27.963	101	200	30	Running
15	Alex Warren	43	82	-24.452	0	32.85	27.921	102	200	29	Running
16	Adam Gilliland	20	81	-26.528	0	32.838	27.941	149	200	28	Running
17	Ray Alfalla	15	2	-28.882	5	32.819	27.896	49	200	28	Running
18	Robert Hall	18	30	-1 L	0	32.922	27.964	101	199	26	Running
19	Matt Bussa	32	34	-1 L	0	32.915	28.042	100	199	25	Running
20	Michael J Johnson	36	39	-1 L	0	32.999	27.907	97	199	24	Running
21	Paul Kusheba	31	32	-1 L	0	32.605	28.115	2	199	23	Running
22	Bryan Blackford	34	33	-1 L	0	32.998	28.017	148	199	22	Running
23	Chad Coleman	42	28	-1 L	0	32.999	28.209	2	199	21	Running
24	Kevin King	19	29	-1 L	0	33.038	27.968	2	199	20	Running
25	Chad J Laughton	26	26	-2 L	0	33.091	28.018	49	198	19	Running
26	Dylan Duval	29	42	-2 L	0	33.108	27.946	149	198	18	Running
27	Jake Stergios	13	41	-2 L	0	33.13	28.073	2	198	17	Running
28	Landon Huffman	17	75	-2 L	0	33.139	28.157	102	198	16	Running
29	Brandon Schmidt	4	3	-2 L	0	33.161	27.848	2	198	15	Running
30	Brad Davies	21	11	-2 L	0	33.178	27.922	159	198	14	Running
31	Rob Ackley	38	22	-3 L	0	33.25	28.189	87	197	13	Running
32	Andrew Fayash III	35	157	-3 L	0	32.332	28.094	160	197	12	Running
33	Jon Adams	22	40	-7 L	0	34.025	28.189	2	193	11	Running
34	Casey Malone	25	92	-7 L	0	33.149	28.071	101	193	10	Running
35	Cyril Nousbaum	33	99	-13 L	0	32.957	28.082	2	187	9	Running
36	Nick Ottinger	23	5	-15 L	0	34.571	27.981	87	185	8	Running
37	Steve Sheehan	24	6	-27 L	0	33.718	28.057	49	173	7	Running
38	Byron Daley	28	93	-34 L	0	36.739	28.07	2	166	6	Disconnected
39	Landon Harrison	39	89	-39 L	0	32.202	28.348	4	161	5	Running
40	John Gorlinsky	27	21	-160 L	0	35.265	28.056	2	40	4	Running
41	Josh Berry	37	91	-162 L	0	35.036	28.045	2	38	3	Running
42	Derek Crone	40	7	-163 L	0	35.049	28.059	2	37	2	Running
43	Richard Dusett	11	96	-168 L	0	35.137	27.773	2	32	1	Running

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Staff Report

Vital stats for Dover FedEx 400 weekend

Related: Complete Dover coverage

Track: Dover International Speedway in Dover, Del., one mile, concrete surface, 24-degree banking in all four turns. Nine-degree banking in front and backstretches. Frontstretch and backstretch are both 1,076 feet.
Time/TV: The FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks (400 laps), 1 p.m. ET, Sunday, June 2. TV: FOX (coverage starts at 12:30 p.m. ET), Radio: MRN

Trailblazers: The first Sprint Cup Series race at Dover was held on July 6, 1969 and won by Richard Petty. Mark Martin leads the series with 24 top-five finishes at Dover.

0 races at Dover International Speedway have been shortened due to weather conditions.

1 active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver has posted his first career win at Dover International Speedway: Martin Truex Jr. (6/4/07).

2 active drivers have posted their first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Award at Dover International Speedway: Matt Kenseth (6/2/02) and Michael Waltrip (6/3/1991).

4 of the 86 (4.6%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Dover have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.

5 career poles at Dover have gone to Mark Martin, who leads all active drivers. Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman each have four.

8 drivers have won consecutive Coors Light poles at Dover. David Pearson holds the record for most consecutive poles at Dover with three; from 1973 to the spring race of 1974.

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8.294 is the average finishing position of Carl Edwards, to lead all active drivers. Jimmie Johnson (8.636) is the only other active driver with an average finish in the top 10.

9 different manufacturers have won in the NSCS at Dover; led by Chevrolet with 32 victories; followed by Ford with 25.

9.5 is the average starting position for Ryan Newman at Dover, to lead all active drivers.

12 drivers have posted consecutive wins at Dover International Speedway, including three consecutive by David Pearson (fall 1972 and 1973 sweep), Rusty Wallace (fall 1993 and 1994 sweep) and Jeff Gordon (fall 1995 and 1996 sweep).

13 of the 86 (15.1%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Dover have been won from the pole position; the two most recent were Jimmie Johnson in 2009 and 2010.

14 Sprint Cup wins for Hendrick Motorsports at Dover, the most of any team.

15 of the 16 active NASCAR Sprint Cup winners at Dover International Speedway participated in at least one or more races before visiting Victory Lane. Jimmie Johnson won at Dover in his first two appearances.

23 was the age of Kyle Busch when he became the youngest Dover winner at 23 years, zero months, and 30 days in 2008.

24 races at Dover without a victory for Kevin Harvick, trailing just Joe Nemechek who leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Dover without visiting Victory Lane at 37.

25 races at Dover before Jeff Burton earned his first victory in the fall of 2006, the longest span of any the 16 active NASCAR Sprint Cup winners.
28 of the 86 (32.5%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Dover have been won from the front row: 13 from the pole and 15 from second place.

34 different drivers have won at Dover International Speedway, led by Richard Petty, Bobby Allison and Jimmie Johnson with seven wins each.

37th was the starting position of Kyle Petty when he won from the deepest starting spot in the spring of 1995.

52 was the age of Harry Gant when he became the oldest Dover winner at 52 years, four months, and 29 days in 1992.

53 Sprint Cup starts for Mark Martin at Dover to lead all active drivers.

56 starts by NASCAR Hall of Famer Ricky Rudd at Dover to lead the series all-time.

68 of the 86 (79.0%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Dover have been won from a top-10 starting position.

86 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races have taken place at Dover International Speedway, one race in 1969 and 1970, and two races per year since 1971.

130.430 mph was the speed of David Pearson’s inaugural Coors Light pole at Dover in 1969.

268 drivers have competed in more than one NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Dover International Speedway.

371 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Dover International Speedway.

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Posted on May 29, 2013 by Staff Report

NFL star joins forces with Juan Pablo Montoya in fight against prostate cancer

Dallas Cowboys star DeMarcus Ware has made his mark in the National Football League as a seven-time Pro Bowler and one of the most feared pass rushers in the sport. On April 27, Ware ran in some faster circles as a guest of Earnhardt Ganassi Racing driver Juan Pablo Montoya at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Ware participated with Montoya in pre-race ceremonies as the two teamed up with sponsor Depend to help raise awareness in the fight against prostate cancer. Ware met with the media, including NASCAR.com, before the night’s event.

What brings you out to the race track this weekend?

You know, I’m a big NASCAR fan and here supporting Juan Montoya. He’s out here driving the Depend car and we’re really just campaigning for prostate cancer awareness. Being able to be a part of that and looking at some fast cars drive around the track, it’s just a great opportunity.

Is this your first NASCAR race?

No, I’ve been to two of them at the Texas Motor Speedway, so I’ve seen a lot of adrenaline and thrills out there, so now I’m in Virginia just trying to do the same thing.

How did you become a NASCAR fan?

I mean, really, you have no choice. If you’re in Texas, you’ve got to go to the Texas Motor Speedway. I’m a big car advocate. I like fast cars, so why not go to Texas Motor Speedway and check out what it’s about. I’ve been part of it every once in a while when they have the NASCAR races down there. I go and attend and just do what I can do in the community and helping out.

As a car advocate, do you have a favorite car?

The thing is with me, all of my own cars are my favorites, to be honest with you. Every year, I always build fast cars. Just having the opportunity to go out here and learn about fast cars and engines and learn about the drivers. Now being close with Depend and with Juan Montoya, this is like my first driver to where you’re like, "I know that guy." It’s just a great opportunity to team up with him and see how he’s driving and how he’s doing.

Have you ever tried to race?

No, I’ve never tried to race before. I’ve gone around the track in pace cars, but every once in a while, I’ll get my (Nissan) GT-R out — it’s like a thousand horsepower — and I’ll take it down the track sometimes. I don’t really race too much; I just like the adrenaline rush of going from 0-to-60 as fast as I can.

Do you ever take it on the highway and count on being DeMarcus Ware keeping you out of trouble?

You know I do have a radar detector on it, so I haven’t gotten caught yet. But no, it’s all about being safe. You learn from the guys who do it professionally, like Juan. They know what they’re doing, just being able to watch them do their deal.

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Posted on May 29, 2013 by Staff Report

Former NHRA champion may consider future in stock car racing

Antron Brown’s first test in a stock car left the drag racing champion interested in doing even more — perhaps even a race in a late model.

The NHRA’s reigning Top Fuel champion, Brown tested a K&N Pro Series car Tuesday with NASCAR’s Rev Racing team at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Va. It was a first experience making left turns for a driver more accustomed to going fast in a straight line down a quarter-mile track.

“I started off easy at the beginning just getting my feet wet — not really worried about times,” Brown said. “ When the track got hot, I was pretty much running what some of the other drivers were running. I was right in the ballpark. Just worked at getting more consistent with it where I could duplicate each lap, and run on the marks, and stuff like that.”

Rev Racing driver Ryan Gifford was on the radio helping Brown hit his marks on the race track. Brown said he did about 100 laps — and got into the throttle a little too early on the last one, and spun out exiting a turn.

“All in all, I had a little bit of everything,” said Brown, a 37-year-old native of Chesterfield, N.J. “I even learned about spinning out, and learned about going around the track, learned about corner speed, learned about lines and being smooth. It was a lot to take in … but we made some really big, big strides, and it was a lot of fun.”

Brown said he had plenty running through his head early in the test, when he tried to get comfortable thinking about getting on and off the gas and how much to carry into a corner — factors very different from the ones he’s accustomed to in drag racing. “What was big was building your confidence up enough to trust yourself that you could drive the car in deeper, and be smooth and fluent with it,” he said.

The adjustments were physical as well as tactical. “I think the biggest thing is just getting into the shape to drive the car,” Brown said. “Not physical shape, but just driving shape, is what you would call it. The only way you get in driving shape is by driving the car. With your neck, that was the biggest deal there, was that it was actually taxing on your neck because you have to keep up with the Gs and stuff when you’re turning and holding your neck right.”

It all left Brown ready to try some more — and perhaps try his hand at a late model race.

“The next step is just that we’re going to be back in contact and try to come out and maybe do some testing in a late model car,” he said. “Go do some testing in a late model car, and then actually maybe that same week we can make a race with it. And that’s the next step. That’s our next step that we’re going to talk about, and that we have to plan and we have to do when the schedule’s got an opening, but I definitely want to get back and try to do it some more.”

Antron Brown is the reigning NHRA Top Fuel champion, but he’s becoming interested in stock car racing. (Photos courtesy of JW Martin)

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Posted on May 29, 2013 by Staff Report

Vote for a deserving hero

Select a story below to learn more about these heroes who REIGN ON. Vote for the hero you’d like to honor with naming rights to the Brickyard 400. Voting is allowed once per day and ends June 9.

Deputy Marshal Stephen Brady

Brady, 48, of Pleasant Lake, Ind., has humbly served the state as an EMT, firefighter and police dispatcher and is currently a deputy marshal of the Waterloo Police Department. In December 2011, while responding to an early morning call about a couple in need of help, Brady spotted a man and woman walking and called out to them. As he was standing next to his patrol car trying to converse with the couple, the man pulled out a gun and shot Brady in the face. The bullet entered the left side of his face between his eye and ear, it and exited behind his right ear. After miraculously surviving the gunshot wound, Brady was back on the streets serving his community just 11 months later and received a Purple Heart from the Police Officers Hall of Fame. Brady says of the program, “Just to be affiliated is a prestigious honor,” and looks forward to attending his home state’s NASCAR race. | Click here to vote

American Widow Project Founder Taryn Davis

Davis, 27, of San Marcos, Texas, is founder and executive director of the American Widow Project. Davis was nominated by a friend for her support and encouragement for women and men who have lost loved ones through military combat and non-combat. At the age of 21, she lost her husband of just over a year during his deployment in Iraq, leaving Davis to go on living her life without him. After months of grieving, she contacted other military widows and widowers to learn how they continued living their lives while honoring their husbands’ or wives’ legacies. This began what is now the American Widow Project, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 2007 to provide military widows support by empowering, inspiring and assisting in rebuilding their lives in the face of tragedy through their peer-to-peer and educational programs. Since its founding, Davis and her team have supported more than 1,500 widows on their journeys to carry on the legacy of those they love and reclaim their own lives. Excited to share her first NASCAR experience in Indianapolis with the thousands of military widows across the country, Davis views this nomination as a true honor. | Click here to vote

Gunnery Sergeant Samuel Deeds

Deeds, 35, of Independence, Ky., is a retired Marine whose selfless actions saved the lives of many fellow Marines in Iraq. During his deployment in 2005, Deeds came across an improvised explosive device (IED) while setting up a vehicle checkpoint on Khandari Market Road near Abu Ghraib Prison. When he saw two of his fellow Marines approaching the area, Deeds exposed himself to the IED to warn them of danger. He was severely injured by the blast, undergoing 30-plus surgeries and procedures since then, and has received awards which include a Navy and Marine Corps Medal, Purple Heart, two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, Combat Action Ribbon and Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal. In 2008, Deeds’ heroic instinct again kicked in when his actions saved the lives of three individuals who were caught in a rip tide off the shore of North Carolina. Deeds has been a NASCAR fan his whole life and, when he was younger, dreamed of someday working in the sport. He enjoys sharing his passion for NASCAR with his sons, two-year-old Myles and six-year-old, Micah, who goes to every race with Deeds. He is excited to experience the race weekend in Indianapolis with his wife, April, who he calls his hero for staying by his side throughout everything, and is most looking forward to taking in the rich history of the track. Deeds’ grandfather used to tell him stories about his first race, the Indianapolis 500, so to have his name on that venue would mean the world to him. | Click here to vote

LAPD Officer Deon Joseph

Joseph, 40, of Los Angeles, Calif., is a Senior Lead Officer for the Los Angeles Police Department. With 17 years of experience at the LAPD, Joseph has spent the past 14 serving as a liaison between the LAPD and the people who make up the community in the Central City East area of downtown LA, commonly referred to as Skid Row. Joseph has assisted over 150 homeless citizens and has launched a hygiene initiative to help aide those still on the streets. Additionally, he has created programs including ‘Just Like You,’ which mentors the youth of Skid Row to become more than a product of their environment and ‘Ladies Night,’ a program that has reached over 800 women, which teaches self-defense and encourages them to report acts of violence. As part of his commitment to the community and dedication to creating an environment conducive to change, Joseph recently aided in removing 80 drug dealers from the streets of Southern California. If he receives the grand prize, Joseph says, “not only would it put a smile on my face, but I would be able to show my father how he raised me has allowed me to do incredible things. This would be more for him than for me, to thank him for being my hero.” | Click here to vote

Firefighter & EMT Kenneth Kurth

Kurth, 26, of Debary, Fla., is a firefighter and paramedic for the Kissimmee Fire Department. An avid NASCAR fan, Kurth works as an EMT for every race held at Daytona International Speedway and was one of the first medical responders to report to the scene of the crash that took place at the end of the NASCAR Nationwide Series Race on February 23, 2013. After crawling through the wrecked fence, Kurth began initiating patient care by identifying those who were injured in the grandstands, assessing their needs and helping to transport them to nearby medical facilities. During his childhood, Kurth visited the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum with his grandfather, who he considers his hero and looks forward to returning to the famed track in his honor. | Click here to vote

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Zack Albert

Series points leader set for 300th career start at Dover

The milestones just keep coming for Matt Crafton, who has proven his longevity in his 13th full season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. But the 36-year-old veteran isn’t merely coasting on his way to lifetime achievement awards, he’s setting the pace for the series’ up-and-comers to follow.

Crafton is scheduled to make his 300th career start in the series in Friday afternoon’s Lucas Oil 200 (5 p.m. ET, SPEED) at Dover International Speedway, a track that he’s increasingly found favor with during his truck tour tenure. He’ll carry a 22-point lead in the standings over rookie Jeb Burton into the series’ sixth of 22 races this season.

On April 14 at Rockingham Speedway, Crafton set the record for consecutive starts in the series with his 297th race in a row. But more pressing in regards to the current championship battle is his steady performance, highlighted by a victory April 20 at Kansas Speedway.

Crafton stands as the only driver in the series with top-five finishes in all five events this season, but the grittiest showing may have come in the series’ most recent race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The No. 88 ThorSport Racing team, led by crew chief Carl “Junior” Joiner, twice rallied from a lap down to notch a fourth-place finish and retain the top spot in the points.

"You can move around wherever you need to. So now I think concrete is pretty cool. "

— Matt Crafton

“Charlotte was the kind of night where, if we’re lucky enough and good enough to be in position to win this championship at the end of the season, we’ll absolutely look back and say that was a championship effort," Crafton said. "That night just showed how good of a race team ThorSport is and how great of a race team that 88 team is.”

Crafton will try to keep his top-five streak intact on a treacherous concrete layout where he’s posted top-10 runs in the past five Dover races. Despite the Monster Mile’s sometimes fickle nature, Crafton has taken a liking to the Delaware track and how multiple-groove racing develops as rubber builds into the surface.

“I was always leery of concrete, but Dover is an awesome racetrack and Bristol is the same way,” he said. “You can move around wherever you need to. So now I think concrete is pretty cool.”

His two ThorSport teammates — Johnny Sauter and Todd Bodine — will be aiming for a much-needed boost in the truck standings.

Sauter won the first two races of the season, but fell from the points lead April 24 after NASCAR officials docked him 25 championship points for an unapproved fuel cell on his No. 98 Toyota. He dropped four more positions to sixth in the standings after a late-race crash saddled him with a 28th-place finish at Charlotte.

Bodine will be chasing his first top-10 finish of the season at Dover, the site of his most recent victory in the series. The two-time series champion currently ranks 14th in the standings, the same position he finished in the championship hunt in 2012.

READ MORE:

READ: Harvick’s late charge
leads to 600 win

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Driver Reports

READ: Kenseth, Johnson hopes
wrecked in 600

READ: Pit crew key as
Hamlin claws back

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Posted on May 29, 2013 by Zack Albert

No. 43 driver pleased with 17th-place results

Most 17th-place finishes in the NASCAR Nationwide Series are generally met with a nod and passing acknowledgement. But Michael Annett’s most recent effort with a nearly mid-pack result was more momentous than most.

Annett was left managing a smile as he crawled out of his No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford on Saturday afternoon at Charlotte Motor Speedway, completing a long road to recovery back to the track. The History 300 marked the driver’s first race since suffering a fractured and dislocated sternum in a late-race crash in the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 23.

“I feel great, honestly,” Annett told the media in post-race interviews on pit road. “I was telling someone else that the only thing I really felt was my neck. You definitely realize there are muscles you only use when you’re in a race car and you can’t really train for it. My neck was a little bit sore, but if that’s the only things that’s sore, it’s an easy fix.”

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Annett may have benefitted from the unique Charlotte race week schedule as a means of easing back into the cockpit after missing the series’ last eight races. After receiving medical clearance from NASCAR officials on May 21, the 26-year-old driver turned 45 laps in a four-hour test session last Wednesday on the 1.5-mile track, then turned 53 more over two practices Thursday. All the while, he consulted with doctors and team officials who helped him find a level of comfort as he strapped in for practice.

Once there Saturday, he worked his way up from a 33rd-place starting position, but a pit-road speeding infraction and the gridlock from a handful of late-race restarts kept him from further forward progress. Still, he saved his car from catastrophe when Matt Kenseth and Sam Hornish Jr. collided to the inside of him, forcing Hornish to wash up the track and taking Annett with him near the outside retaining wall.

Both continued without further contact. While the finish could have been better, it also could have been much worse.

“It was definitely an adventurous race back,” Annett said. “I got out and looked at the car and it seems like every corner of it is hit. I got in a three-wide situation there with Sam and lost quite a few spots. I had to overcome a speeding penalty early on, which is my fault, and that just made our day long with where we qualified, so I didn’t do anything to help myself today.

“But the car came home in one piece. We ran all the laps and got a top-20. It’s not what we wanted, but something we can go off of.”

Annett’s eagerness to return to the track was countered by the extensive time it took for his injury to heal. He said that he wasn’t allowed to work out with weights until about two weeks before race day, but once cleared, he ventured into physical therapy by making baby steps instead of big strides.

“I’m used to going and maxing out on the bench press, and they went over to the weight rack and grabbed the little girl pink weights that are like two pounds and brought them over,” Annett said. “I was like, ‘What are we even doing here?’ But you do 30 reps of those and you’re tired, so it was stuff like that and working my way up. Today, I felt like I just got out of the car after Homestead last year.”

Continued time in the gym should help Annett stay on the mend for this Saturday’s 5-Hour Energy 200 (2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Dover International Raceway. Though the event is 100 miles shorter than his first race back, the demanding nature of the high-speed concrete bowl known as the Monster Mile should provide at least an equal challenge.

“I figured sitting on the couch for six months, (coming back) wasn’t going to be a magic snap of the fingers,” Annett said. “Still, I’m happy with our run today and, like I said, able to roll in here and take the checkered and go on to Dover.”

READ MORE:

READ: Harvick’s late charge
leads to 600 win

READ: Post-Coca-Cola 600
Driver Reports

READ: Kenseth, Johnson hopes
wrecked in 600

READ: Pit crew key as
Hamlin claws back

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Posted on May 28, 2013 by

Driver will race in all three national series this weekend at Dover

Break out the broom?

That certainly looms as a possibility this weekend, as Kyle Busch participates in all three NASCAR national series events at Dover International Speedway. It’s the same facility where Busch nearly pulled off an unprecedented tripleheader sweep three years ago, before doing just that later in the same season at Bristol, another concrete oval.

That triumph in the late summer of 2010 marked the first and only time a driver has swept three races since NASCAR’s national division was expanded to a third series in 1995. And this tripleheader comes as Busch is running roughshod over the competition on the Nationwide and Camping World Truck tours, and showing renewed strength in the sport’s premier division after missing the Chase for the Sprint Cup a season ago.

"I’ve been very successful in all three series at Dover, so this spring race is one that I look at as a possible triple-win weekend," Busch said. "The concrete surface is very slick and some drivers don’t like the concrete feel one bit, while other drivers like it. For me, I enjoy going to Dover and Bristol. They are fun places to race because they are challenging and other drivers don’t necessarily get it."

"It’s a lot of fun to go out there and lead that many laps."

— Kyle Busch

After Busch swept all three races at Bristol in 2010, he celebrated the accomplishment by raising a broom in Victory Lane. He might want to pack a similar accessory this week, given how good he’s been historically in all kinds of vehicles on the Monster Mile, and how he very nearly pulled off a three-race sweep at the track in the spring of 2010.

It was a fuel pump problem in the Truck Series event that thwarted the effort, relegating him to a 16th-place finish after he had led 172 laps. He made up for it in the Nationwide event, where he led 191 of 205 laps, and then led the final 35 circuits to take the next day’s Sprint Cup race.

There’s certainly the potential for more of the same this year, given that Busch has two Truck Series victories at Dover, the most recent in the spring of 2011 when he led 128 of 200 laps. He also has three Nationwide Series wins at the facility, where he hasn’t finished worse than fifth since 2009. And in the Sprint Cup ranks he has two career victories at Dover, where he’s finished worse than seventh just once in his last six starts, and led 302 laps last fall until he was forced to pit late for fuel.

He’s running just as well now, particularly in the Nationwide Series, where Busch has won six times in nine starts this season. Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway brought another dominant effort, one in which Busch led 186 laps, the most there in a Nationwide race since Dale Earnhardt led 194 in 1986. Busch became the track’s all-time Nationwide winner with his seventh victory at the facility, accumulating his 17th perfect Driver Rating of 150.0 in the process.

“It’s a lot of fun to go out there and lead that many laps and run up front and just see all the people in the grandstands telling you that you’re No. 1 every lap,” Busch said after the victory, “and then to take home the checkered flag at the end of the day, and put it right back at them.”

Busch always has NASCAR tripleheaders on his radar, as evidenced by the fact that seven of his 10 scheduled Truck Series starts this season are on weekends where the other two national circuits are also competing. Before finally doing the Bristol sweep in August of 2010, he had come within one race victory of a trifecta five times — Phoenix in the fall of 2007, Atlanta in spring 2008, Fontana in spring 2009, Bristol in summer 2009, Texas in fall 2009, and his near miss at Dover in spring 2010.

Busch has also won in the Truck Series this season, leading 80 of 134 laps to prevail May 17 at Charlotte, which was just his third start of the year on that circuit. His success in those events comes as he’s hit a speed bump in his Sprint Cup campaign, where he’s won twice but finished better than 24th just once since his most recent victory at Texas. Sunday night in the Coca-Cola 600, it was engine failure that ultimately doomed an effort that saw Busch lead 65 laps.

“Catastrophic engine failure — it seems to be that time of year again,” said Busch, who suffered a run of blowups early last summer. “I hate it for all my guys. They worked too hard and they always do, but (crew chief) Dave Rogers and these guys, they pour their hearts and souls into this deal, and it’s just so frustrating to see it end on a short note like that and not getting he finish that we needed. Now we go to Dover.”

READ MORE:

READ: Harvick’s late charge
leads to 600 win

READ: Post-Coca-Cola 600
Driver Reports

READ: Kenseth, Johnson hopes
wrecked in 600

READ: Pit crew key as
Hamlin clawsback

___________________________________________________________________________________________

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Posted on May 28, 2013 by NASCAR Official Release

Beau Wilkes suspended for violating the sanctioning body’s Substance Abuse Policy

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 28, 2013) — Beaugard M. (Beau) Wilkes, a crew member in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, has been indefinitely suspended from NASCAR for violating the sanctioning body’s Substance Abuse Policy.

On May 23, Wilkes was found to have violated Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing) and 19 (violation of the NASCAR Substance Abuse Policy) of the 2013 NASCAR Rule Book.

READ MORE:

READ: Harvick’s late charge
leads to 600 win

READ: Post-Coca-Cola 600
Driver Reports

READ: Kenseth, Johnson hopes
wrecked in 600

READ: Pit crew key as
Hamlin clawsback

___________________________________________________________________________________________

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Posted on May 28, 2013 by

Keselowski continues to struggle; Harvick, Ambrose on the rise

The return of crew chief Paul Wolfe can’t come soon enough for Brad Keselowski, who finds himself in the danger zone after an unfortunate outing in Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

It’s not that Kevin Buskirk did a less-than-stellar job subbing for Wolfe, who saw a six-race suspension reduced to two races on appeal after NASCAR confiscated unapproved rear end housing assemblies from the Penske Racing teams Apr. 13 at Texas.

It’s simply that Keselowski and Wolfe have a special chemistry, one that carried them to the Cup championship last season. Keselowski is brash, intense, driven and supremely talented behind the wheel.

Wolfe, a master race strategist, exudes calm confidence. Together they reach a critical mass where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

And right now they need each other — desperately.

The victim of a three-wide wreck late in Sunday’s race at Charlotte, Keselowski suffered his first DNF (did not finish) since the 2012 Daytona 500. Worse, he dropped to 10th in the Cup standings, a precarious perch for a driver without a victory this year.

Only 20 points separate Keselowski from 16th place Ryan Newman, and with 14 races left before the Chase field is set, Keselowski needs to solidify his points position, or better still, to win a race or two as insurance against the sort of random accident that took him out at Charlotte.

Only one Cup champion has missed the Chase the year after winning the title — Tony Stewart in 2006. Keselowski is loath to become the second.

That’s why Wolfe’s return this week at Dover couldn’t come at a better time.

"Whatever happens in the future, we’ll work on some other time. Right now we’re working on winning next week’s race."

— Kevin Harvick

Harvick rising

If Keselowski’s fortunes took a body blow on Sunday, the Chase chances of race winner Kevin Harvick made a meteoric move in the opposite direction. In fact, it’s safe to say that Harvick punched his ticket to NASCAR’s playoff with his second victory of the season.

In fact, Harvick’s performance was so strong that, in the post-race news conference, one reporter questioned the wisdom of his announced plan to leave Richard Childress Racing for Stewart-Haas Racing next year, given that the overall performance of the Stewart-Haas cars hasn’t been up to par this season.

"You look at what we’re doing, and we’re focused on this year," Harvick replied. "We go out and race week to week, do the things that we do to try to win races, win a championship. Whatever happens in the future, we’ll work on some other time. Right now we’re working on winning next week’s race."

For his part, Childress believes that the team can win a championship, something his organization hasn’t done since Dale Earnhardt claimed the last of his record-tying seven titles in 1994.

"I honestly think RCR is ready to contend for a championship," said Childress, who currently has two drivers in the top 10, with Harvick in seventh and Paul Menard in eighth.

It’s a long shot to think that Harvick might be the one to deliver a title. Lame-duck drivers simply don’t win championships, no matter how righteous the intentions of the soon-to-be-parted owner and driver might be.

On the other hand, Harvick just might be the exception that proves the rule. He has the grit and the talent to be that guy.

Ambrose awakening

Don’t look now, but driver Marcos Ambrose and crew chief Drew Blickensderfer have found some much-needed speed.

How much speed? Enough to overcome the effects of a broken TV camera drive line that fell across the track Sunday and attacked the undercarriage of Ambrose’s No. 9 Ford, severing a brake line.

Other cars were damaged by the freak incident, and NASCAR found an equitable solution in giving teams 15 minutes to effect repairs of damage that was extraneous to the competition on the track. NASCAR also reinstated the running order prior to the cable breaking.

Ambrose regained the four laps he had lost on pit road after the incident and parlayed the reprieve into a 10th-place result.

"It was like getting attacked by a giant squid," Ambrose said of his run-in with the cable. "It was just flapping, and I didn’t know what was going on. I thought it was cords coming out of maybe one of the 55’s (Mark Martin‘s) tires or something, but I could just hear it flapping.

"And then it got caught up in the rear end and I lost my brakes, so it was a nightmare, but we got through it. NASCAR did a great job of actually handling a crisis there, because we were hard-done-by, and they gave us our laps back, and we were able to stay in the race and duke it out."

The top 10 was Ambrose’s second in what has been a miserable season so far. After Sunday’s race, the affable Australian driver is 22nd in the standings, 22 points behind Tony Stewart in 20th.

But don’t dismiss Ambrose’s chances of making the Chase just yet. Two of the next 14 races will be contested on the road courses at Sonoma and Watkins Glen, where Ambrose is in his element. A win at either track — or both — would put him in the Wild Card conversation.

The introduction of NASCAR’s Gen-6 car this year also plays in his favor. As was the case with its Gen-5 predecessor, victories in the early life of a new car tend to concentrate in the hands of a few organizations that have the resources to find the setup secrets more rapidly.

If Ambrose can win a race and crack the top 20, he has a legitimate shot at qualifying for his first Chase, provided the uptick in performance the No. 9 Richard Petty Motorsports team showed Sunday isn’t just a one-night stand.

"We had a real good, hard look at ourselves, and we’ve come back with a better package and a stronger team because of it," Ambrose said after the race. "We’re proud of our top 10. We’re closer to getting back to the front, and it was a good night for us, a crazy night.

"We missed about three crashes, so I’m pleased. I enjoyed the night, and I’m looking forward to next week."

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