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Last-minute scramble sends Logano to back as he fails to get to grid on time

Post-race reaction: Keselowski, Penske

FORT WORTH, Texas — As driver introductions wound down at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday evening, two cars remained in the garage area because NASCAR had confiscated some of their parts.

The Penske Racing teams of Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano face potential penalties in the coming week after parts of the vehicles’ rear-end housings were taken in pre-race inspection. The late inspection hang-up prompted a rush to get the cars through inspection before the race started, and Logano had to move to the rear of the field because NASCAR ruled his vehicle didn’t get to the starting grid on time.

Keselowski was able to keep his 16th-place starting spot. But both teams might be in for penalties due to parts that Robin Pemberton, NASCAR’s vice president for competition, told reporters were “not in the spirit of the rule.”

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“In pre-race inspection they felt like there was something that was a questionable item that they wanted replaced,” said Travis Geisler, Penske’s director of competition. “We replaced all the parts in question. They have them all. We’re working through the process here as it goes to get through inspection. Unfortunately a little tighter timeline here than we’d like to be on, but I certainly understand their position and don’t disagree with where they are.”

A rear-end housing is a casing that contains the gears and axels in the back of the vehicle. Teams began to get creative in that area last season, with the yawed setups sometimes employed on the previous generation of Sprint Cup car. Saturday, Geisler said the Penske teams weren’t trying anything particularly unorthodox in that area of the vehicles.

“There isn’t anything in there that’s groundbreaking as far as new pieces and parts,” he said. “But it’s a sport that moves all the time. (NASCAR is) doing what they need to do to ensure an even playing field, which I certainly agree with and expect them to do week in and week out. If there’s a question in their mind, we’d much rather put it out of their mind by changing the parts and making sure that they’re comfortable that we’re all on an even playing field. And I feel confident that we are all here tonight.”

Getting there, though, was a scramble. The Penske vehicles were the last two vehicles in the garage area, and Keselowski’s car successfully cleared the laser inspection platform as driver introductions wound down. Crewmen continued to scramble under the rear of the No. 22 car, which needed three passes to get though the laser platform, and passed the final stages of inspection just as the command to start engines was given.

“That’s what these guys do for a living, so it’s not really a crisis,” Geisler said of the 11th-hour changeover. “We do those kinds of things during practice at times. Everybody’s set up for it. It’s obviously not expected at this point in the day, but that’s racing. You have to expect the unexpected, and that’s the way it goes.”

Having gotten the cars on track in time for the start of the race, the Penske team now faces the prospect of penalties from NASCAR. “We always have a good, open dialogue with them. They’ll keep us in the loop about how they feel about what’s going on there,” Geisler said. “I’m sure well all discuss that in the upcoming days.”


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Driver touches on dilemma between testing at strong, weak tracks

FORT WORTH, Tex. — With each NASCAR Sprint Cup organization getting four private tests throughout the course of the season, Carl Edwards believes it’s important to maximize the choices of venues the teams choose to visit.

But do you test at tracks that play to your strengths, or do you pick tests designed to improve your weaknesses?

The Roush Fenway Racing teams tested at Kansas recently because they thought a test there would have applications that could apply to other tracks.

"We went through the whole decision-making process earlier in the year… and we had a voting process," Edwards told the NASCAR Wire Service. "They said, ‘Hey, where do you want to test, and why do you want to test there?’ So everybody had input. We want to make the most of our tests, so that it benefits you more than just at that track.

"…you also have to weigh your weaknesses and strengths."

— Carl Edwards

"That’s why we picked the tracks that we picked, and I think everybody in the sport did that. And you also have to weigh your weaknesses and strengths. That’s one of the questions I think everyone battles with. Do you work really hard on your strengths because you know you can achieve there? Or do you work hard on your weaknesses and try to raise them — but it was a big decision-making process at RFR for us."

 

Striking a balance

Substituting for another driver may be more difficult than driving your own car, simply because of the variables involved.

Take Brian Vickers, whose first stint in Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota is this weekend at Texas. Vickers will drive the car until Hamlin returns from a compression fracture in his first lumbar vertebra, and the relief driver has other things to consider beyond winning races.

Yes, Vickers wants to showcase his talents, in hopes of landing a full-time Sprint Cup ride next year, but he also has to be mindful of the No. 11’s position in owner points. The car can qualify for the owners’ Chase, even if Hamlin doesn’t make the cut for the drivers’ championship.

So does Vickers have to temper his desire to charge to the front with thoughts of keeping the fenders on the car? 

"I really feel like that’s always the balance we strive for in this series," Vickers told the NASCAR Wire Service. "Even though I might not be racing for the championship in this car, this car is still racing for a championship. They’re still in the hunt for an owner’s championship and we have to treat it as such.

 "Granted you get the most points by winning and I think nothing would make me happier and this team happier than to win, nothing would help in the points more than to win and nothing would help March of Dimes more than a win for the FedEx team. Does that mean we’re going to take unnecessary risk — probably not. I think a good solid day would be good for us and good for everyone." 



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Busch wins for first time as Sprint Cup Series driver at Texas

Results | Video: Post-race reactions | Victory Lane

FORT WORTH, Tex. — The record book will say that Kyle Busch won the NRA 500 on Saturday night.

If truth be known, Busch started the process on Friday afternoon and applied the coup de grace with 20 laps left on Saturday evening.

Yes, Busch capped a perfect weekend when he took the checkered flag .508 seconds ahead of runner-up Martin Truex Jr. But Busch’s first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory at Texas, his second of the season and the 26th of his career started with a pole-winning run on Friday that afforded him the luxury of picking the No. 1 pit stall.

At the race’s crucial juncture, under the final caution for debris in Turn 4, Busch used a lightning-fast pit stop and the pit stall position closest to the exit from pit road to grab the top spot for the final restart. Truex restarted on the outside and struggled to maintain contact with the race winner.

Though he gained ground in the closing laps, Truex ran out of time.

During post-race inspection, Truex’s No. 56 Toyota failed the height-stick test and was deemed too low in the front. The car will be taken to NASCAR’s research-and-development center in Concord, N.C. for further examination.

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Carl Edwards was third, followed by Greg Biffle and Joey Logano, who barely made the starting grid and rallied for an unexpected top five.

Busch, who won Friday night’s Nationwide Series race after claiming the pole, finished off the seventh Nationwide/Cup sweep of his career, a NASCAR record — and all because of the final pit stop.

"It feels good — oh, man," Busch exulted after climbing from his car. "(Crew chief) Dave Rogers and these guys gave me a great piece today. We ran up front all day long. But if it wasn’t for my pit crew, the most awesome group ever — since 2008 we’ve been together, haven’t had any changeover — man, those guys are just awesome. 

"They pulled out one heck of a stop right there at the end to put us up front, to give us that lead, and we were able to bring it home."

Busch led a race-high 171 laps to 142 for Truex, who was beyond disappointed with the second-place result.

"We started near the front and had a decent car at the beginning, but not great," Truex said. "We worked on it all night and got it to where it was the best car out there. The last caution came out, and we got beat out of the pits, and that was the race. It was pretty frustrating to run second again. I feel like we’ve been in this boat and this position a bunch of times.

"Nothing about it is much fun. At the same time, it was a good run for us. We had a great weekend. Had a good race car all weekend long, and we learned a lot about things we can use in the future. Just running second sucks, especially when you’re that fast. So (I’m) a little bit frustrated right now."

Nor would Truex use Busch’s No. 1 pit stall as an excuse.

"We came in with the lead," Truex said. "I still feel like we should have been able to beat him out. I don’t know what happened there, but it wasn’t even close. I was three (car-lengths) behind, so it wasn’t all pit position, it was other things on our end…

"It’s so hard to get in position to win these races. It is so hard to make your car good enough to beat Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch and all these guys; and we had that tonight. We’ve got to get better at taking advantage of that. That’s where we’re missing, and that’s what we need to work on. So that’s why I’m upset. Second is a great accomplishment, but it’s not what we’re here for."

Truex streaked away from the field after a restart on Lap 229 and opened a lead of more than 2.5 seconds over Busch. That advantage grew to more than four seconds before a worn-out right front tire threatened Truex’s winning chances. 

As Truex brought his No. 56 Toyota to pit road under green on Lap 280, however, David Gilliland turned Marcos Ambrose’s Ford on the backstretch to cause the sixth caution of the night. As the yellow flew, Jeff Burton ran into the back of Mark Martin’s Toyota and spun into the inside wall.

Since both Truex and Busch were already on pit road when NASCAR called the caution, they remained in the lead for a restart on Lap 291. Truex opened a lead once again before a Lap 314 caution for debris in Turn 4 slowed the field again and allowed the lead-lap cars to pit for four tires.

Busch won the race off pit road, and that proved decisive, as he sped away after a restart on Lap 319 and made a bridesmaid of Truex for the sixth time since his only Sprint Cup victory on June 4, 2007.

Trouble started early for the Penske Racing Fords of reigning series champion Brad Keselowski and Logano. NASCAR confiscated the rear-end housings of the cars, forcing the teams to make a change before the race.

Keselowski made it to the grid in time for the start, but Logano’s car was late presenting itself on pit road and had to start from the rear.

"It is just something that is not in the spirit of the rules," NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton told the Sporting News in explaining the violation. If penalties are forthcoming, they will be announced next week. 

Nevertheless, both drivers rallied from a lap to down to post top-10 finishes. Keselowski came home ninth and remained second in the Cup standings, nine points behind Johnson, who ran sixth on Saturday.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race – NRA 500
Texas Motor Speedway
Fort Worth, Texas

               1. (1) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 334, $550858.

               2. (5) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 334, $346555.

               3. (9) Carl Edwards, Ford, 334, $268605.

               4. (35) Greg Biffle, Ford, 334, $214855.

               5. (18) Joey Logano, Ford, 334, $204713.

               6. (7) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 334, $203341.

               7. (3) Aric Almirola, Ford, 334, $182841.

               8. (15) Brian Vickers(i), Toyota, 334, $153305.

               9. (16) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 334, $183746.

               10. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 334, $167288.

               11. (14) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 334, $144395.

               12. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 334, $165006.

               13. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 334, $170701.

               14. (23) Mark Martin, Toyota, 334, $134315.

               15. (26) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 334, $164648.

               16. (11) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 334, $149455.

               17. (19) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 334, $151751.

               18. (22) Trevor Bayne(i), Ford, 334, $119810.

               19. (4) Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 333, $145424.

               20. (10) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 333, $145024.

               21. (13) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 333, $158435.

               22. (32) Travis Kvapil, Toyota, 332, $139668.

               23. (21) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 332, $119910.

               24. (38) David Reutimann, Toyota, 332, $126468.

               25. (28) Dave Blaney, Chevrolet, 332, $123418.

               26. (25) David Ragan, Ford, 331, $126768.

               27. (33) David Stremme, Toyota, 331, $115132.

               28. (42) Danica Patrick #, Chevrolet, 331, $102585.

               29. (6) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 330, $117985.

               30. (40) Josh Wise(i), Ford, 330, $102835.

               31. (24) Casey Mears, Ford, 330, $104910.

               32. (27) David Gilliland, Ford, 329, $95810.

               33. (12) Austin Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 326, $102710.

               34. (39) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 326, $93610.

               35. (41) Joe Nemechek(i), Toyota, 324, $92485.

               36. (43) Timmy Hill #, Ford, 322, $91360.

               37. (2) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 316, $117603.

               38. (8) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, Front Suspension, 306, $130196.

               39. (36) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, Rear Axle, 293, $79260.

               40. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #, Ford, 290, $123596.

               41. (34) Mike Bliss(i), Toyota, Brakes, 140, $71260.

               42. (30) Bobby Labonte, Toyota, Engine, 138, $75260.

               43. (37) Michael McDowell, Ford, Overheating, 44, $63760.

 

Average Speed of Race Winner:  144.751 mph.

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 27 Mins, 40 Secs. Margin of Victory:  .508 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  7 for 36 laps.

Lead Changes:  18 among 7 drivers.

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Posted on by Holly Cain

Cars of Keselowski, Logano both failed pre-race inspection

Race results | Video: Logano late to start | Standings

FORT WORTH, Texas — Judging by the grin on Joey Logano’s face after he climbed out of his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford following Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 500-miler at Texas Motor Speedway, you would have thought the 22-year-old had just won the race.

He actually finished fifth, but considering he wasn’t even inside his race car when the rest of the 43-car field rolled off the starting grid, it was quite an impressive comeback.

“If you would have told me I would finish fifth today, I would have given you a hug,’’ Logano said smiling.

"I don’t even know what happened, I was focused in on driving my race car."

— Joey Logano

Both Logano’s car and Penske Racing teammate Brad Keselowski’s No. 2 Ford failed pre-race inspection, and while the drivers were participating in driver introductions in front of a large Texas crowd, their teams were furiously switching rear-end housings on the cars.

NASCAR confiscated parts, and penalties may be forthcoming. NASCAR Vice President for Competition Robin Pemberton cautioned before the race that the parts were “not in the spirit of the rule.”

Even with the last-minute changes to the cars, Keselowski was able to keep the 16th-place starting spot he earned in qualifying. Logano’s car, however, still did not meet weight requirements during the final inspection, and the extra delay sent him to the rear of the starting field for not making it to the grid in a timely manner.

While Keselowski also put on a highly motivated driving display and rallied for a ninth-place finish after going down a lap early in the event, he was much angrier than Logano following the race and told reporters he felt the team had been highly scrutinized, even “targeted” over the last week by NASCAR officials.

“I have one good thing to say and that’s about my team and the effort they put in today,’’ Keselowski said, speaking to reporters briefly. “ … I can tell you there’s no team in this garage with the integrity of the 2 team and the way we’ve been treated over the last seven days is absolutely shameful. But my guys keep their heads on straight and showcased why they are a championship team. ‘’

Their team owner, the legendary Roger Penske, solidly defended his organization following the race.

“Our guys are innovative, we’re looking at the rules, looking at areas where maybe we can get an edge on like everybody else is,’’ Penske said. “I don’t think we did anything wrong, obviously it’s a judgment and we’ll deal with it with NASCAR. But we’re going to move on to the next race.’’

Logano, however, may still be thinking about Saturday. Not only did he overcome unforeseen obstacles for a top-five finish, it was even his best showing in the last five trips to an intermediate track. He was running third before a pit stop during the race’s final caution with 19 laps remaining.

“It was one of the toughest races we’ve ever been dealt with and to come home with a top-five out of something like that we couldn’t be more excited about that — almost a third-place finish if the last caution hadn’t come out,’’ Logano said. “These guys worked so hard on this Shell/Pennzoil Ford getting us out at least and we dug our way up there a little bit, then had a bad stop and went down a lap … and slowly, methodically worked our way up.’’

In fact, Logano insisted that he was never particularly worried despite the harried start to his race day.

“I go minute by minute, so for me it’s not a big deal,’’ Logano said of the pre-race problems. “I strap in and I go. Having to go to the rear was a little bit of a bummer especially not knowing what your car’s going to be like. But I tell you what, these guys knew exactly what to do to get us out on time — barely on time, but out there — get some laps, make adjustments, keep up with the race track as the sun went down.

“At first I wasn’t (worried) but then we got to the scales and happened to be 10 pounds light and had to put weight in the car too, and at that point I got a little nervous.

“They’re running back to the truck to put some weight in the thing, man, it was hectic there for a little bit. I don’t want to ever cut it that close again.’’

As for the potential penalties his team is facing, Logano said he wasn’t worried about that.

“I don’t even know what happened, I was focused in on driving my race car and what was going on out there, trying to take care of my own thing and trying to drive my race car fast,’’ Logano said.

“At one point, I was thinking maybe we can get a top-10, maybe. Then it kind of cycled out and we were fourth, and I was like, ‘Cool,’ maybe we can get third.

“Never quit, never die. We’ll definitely take this.’’

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Posted on by Holly Cain

Heading into an off-week, Hornish’s point lead shrinks to two

MORE: RESULTS

FORT WORTH, Texas — For all intents and purposes, Sam Hornish Jr.’s rather comfy lead in the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship went up in sparks in the Turn 4 wall of Texas Motor Speedway on Friday night.

A collision with Jeremy Clements with 57 laps remaining sent Hornish’s dinged up No. 12 Ford down pit road for repairs four times and then ultimately for the garage for a lengthy lookover. Hornish’s Penske Racing team still managed to return him to competition in time to salvage a two-point advantage over seventh-place finisher Regan Smith as the circuit heads into an off-week.

But it was a tough lesson and a championship equalizer.

“I guess I could have given the 51 (Clements) more room, but I figured he knew I was out there, that his spotter would tell him,’’ Hornish said on pit road watching the replay during an ESPN post-race interview. “It was one of those deals where we had fresher tires and a lot of those guys were out there sliding around. I just hate it for our whole Alliance Truck team. I’d like to play it over again but I can’t.

“It was frustrating for sure, but at the end of the day, the guys worked hard to get the car back out there.

“The car was good, we just didn’t have the right strategy and it kind of put us in the back and things happen.

“We’re up by two (points) and it’s better than being behind by 28, so we’ll just keep our heads up and move forward.’’

"I’d like to play it over again but I can’t."

— Sam Hornish Jr. on his wreck with Jeremy Clements

His 34th place showing marked the first time this season the three-time IndyCar champion finished worse than seventh place. He scored his second career Nationwide Series win at Las Vegas in March and has a pair of runner-up efforts and a season best four top-fives in what is widely considered his best opportunity to add a stock car title to his decorated open-wheel career.

He has led the championship since the opening week of the season — holding a 28-point edge on Smith coming into Texas. And only Friday’s winner Kyle Busch has led more laps.

Understandably with a start like that, Hornish would rather there not be any off-weeks. The Texas race came after an off-week and instead of taking a break next week, Hornish and his full Nationwide team will be attempting to run the Sprint Cup race at Kansas.

“We didn’t want to take a couple weeks off there, we were pretty happy with how we were running,’’ Hornish said with a smile.

“I like that we’ll still all be working together (at Kansas) and all the guys that work on this car will be at that race so it will give us an opportunity to work on our communication in a longer race where some of these other guys are going to be off for a weekend. We’ll look at it like a big practice event.

“The good thing is there won’t be any cooling off, we’ll actually be out there working together so I’m looking forward to that then on to Richmond which is one of my favorite tracks.

“It was a frustrating night and we wished we would have done better but we had a good car and things just didn’t work out our way. As long as we keep putting together cars like this we’re going to have more wins, more top-three finishes.

“We’ve just got to try to build the points back up.’’

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Kennedy grabs first career K&N Pro Series East win in home state of Florida

Ben Kennedy captured his first career win in dominant fashion — leading the NAPA Auto Parts 150 wire-to-wire as the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East made its inaugural visit to Five Flags Speedway on Saturday.

"It’s so cool to come here to Pensacola and win. This is a track with so much prestige."

—Ben Kennedy

Earlier in the day, Kennedy established himself as the one to beat at the half-mile track in his home state — topping the speed chart in practice and winning the Coors Light Pole Award in qualifying.

The 21-year-old from Daytona Beach held off multiple challenges throughout the 150-lap event and maintained command even after his sizeable lead was erased by a late-race caution.

"It’s so cool to come here to Pensacola and win," said Kennedy. "This is a track with so much prestige, and this is phenomenal."

Fifteen-year-old series rookie Gray Gaulding had to settle for second, with John Van Doorn third. Brett Moffitt came home fourth, followed by Kenzie Ruston. Bryon Ortiz, Dylan Kwasniewski, Sergio Pena, Ryan Gifford and Brandon Gdovic completed the top 10.

Kennedy, the great grandson of NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., got his first NASCAR win last year in the Euro-Racecar Series in Tours, France. This was his first win in the U.S. and came in his 30th NASCAR K&N Pro Series East start. His previous best finish was third (twice).

Kennedy was one of five drivers in the field with previous experience at the Pensacola track. He has twice competed in Super Late Models at Five Flags.

The NAPA Auto Parts 150 will be televised on SPEED on May 2 at 3 p.m. ET.

The next event on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule is the Blue Ox 100 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway on April 25.

For more results, audio, photos and information, go to hometracks.nascar.com.

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Larson takes fastest speed earlier practice

Full practice results

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. — Rookie Chase Elliott shot to the top of the speed charts in final NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice Saturday afternoon at Rockingham Speedway.

Elliott — driving the No. 94 Chevrolet owned by his father, NASCAR legend Bill Elliott — turned a lap at 142.813 mph around the mile-long oval ahead of Sunday’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 (2 p.m. ET on SPEED). The 17-year-old driver finished sixth last weekend in his Truck Series debut at Martinsville Speedway.

Veteran David Starr was second-fastest at 141.282, more than a quarter of a second off Elliott’s time in Bobby Dotter’s Toyota. Series points leader Johnny Sauter, who will vie for his third straight win to open the season in Sunday’s 200-miler, was third-fastest at 140.961 in a ThorSport Racing Toyota.

Rookie Ryan Blaney, second-fastest in the opening session, was fourth-best in final practice. Matt Crafton, Sauter’s ThorSport teammate, completed the top five.

Kyle Larson, another rookie, led the first practice, but tailed off to ninth-fastest in the final 60-minute session. Coleman Pressley, subbing for Sprint Cup driver Joey Logano while he drives a Sprint Cup car at Texas Motor Speedway, was 18th-best on the practice chart.

The session was slowed once by a piece of debris with 15 minutes remaining.

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Rookie Kyle Larson proved to be a quick study on a track more that twice as old as he is, setting the fastest lap in opening practice for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Rockingham Speedway.

Larson, 20, registered a speed of 144.341 mph on his second lap around the 48-year-old track in a Turner Scott Motorsports Chevrolet. He was just ahead of 19-year-old Ryan Blaney, who was second-fastest at 144.127 mph in a Ford owned by reigning Sprint Cup champ Brad Keselowski.

Ty Dillon, driving for grandfather Richard Childress, was third-best at 142.540 mph. Timothy Peters and Ron Hornaday Jr. completed the top five.

Series points leader Johnny Sauter, bidding for a third straight victory to open the season in Sunday’s 200-mile race, was ninth-fastest of the 36 trucks to record a lap in the opening 90-minute session.

Coleman Pressley drove in relief of Joey Logano, who is scheduled to participate in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series action Saturday night at Texas Motor Speedway. Pressley, who will help set up the truck for Logano, set the 12th-fastest time.

Opening practice was slowed once for debris 15 minutes into the session.

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Posted on by Zack Albert

No. 98 driver doesn’t believe superstitions hampered his 2012 season

Read more: Lineup | Burton wins pole

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. — There’s no apparent triskaidekaphobia — fear of the number 13 — as the reason why Johnny Sauter’s truck number changed before the start of the season. Whether it’s luck, omens or mere coincidence, good things have followed Sauter since he shed the No. 13.

Sauter will bid for a third straight victory to start the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season in Sunday’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Rockingham Speedway. As with his wins at Daytona and Martinsville, he’ll continue the numeric change of pace by carrying the No. 98 for ThorSport Racing.

Sauter enjoyed plenty of success in ThorSport’s No. 13, winning at least one race in each of the four years he campaigned the unlucky number for team owner Mike Curb. The team also tempted fate in recent seasons with sponsorships from peanut brands; the snack has long been viewed as a source of sour luck in stock-car racing circles.

"I believe in giving 100 percent, and whatever happens, happens."

— Johnny Sauter

"I’m not superstitious at all," said Sauter, who leads rookie Jeb Burton by 12 points in the Truck standings. "I believe in giving 100 percent, and whatever happens, happens. But that seems to be the hot topic, people pointing to the number change. Then a lot of people said I had the double whammy — I had peanuts on the truck and I was 13. So whatever.

"The number’s cool. I actually like the look of the truck and the number 98, so to me, it’s a win-win. I can’t honestly give any feedback on that. If there is luck or superstition, then I’m way off base. Whatever it is, it’s working so I just want to leave it alone."

No driver has ever started the season with a three-race win streak since the Truck series began in 1995, something Sauter hopes to achieve at Rockingham. Even with the modest string of victories, it’s difficult to say if momentum is on his side. Shortly after his victory in the season opener at Daytona, the truck tour took a five-week layoff.

The break may not have allowed Sauter to build up a head of steam, but he quickly regained stride at Martinsville.

"I think some people think that momentum exists and some people maybe don’t completely believe in that," Sauter said. "I think you give 100 percent no matter what and at the end of the day, you get what you get — not just the driver, the whole team, everybody. Momentum is cool and I think it sounds cool, but I’ve been racing in the Truck series long enough to know there’s a big break after Daytona and the first year or two that I ran the trucks, it was kind of hard to get used to. Now I’ve kind of gotten accustomed to it, and it’s actually kind of nice, especially when you have a good run at Daytona."

Based on his efforts last season, Sauter has a fighting chance at Rockingham this weekend. In 2012 on the historic mile track, he led 40 of 200 laps before finishing fourth behind race winner Kasey Kahne.

Besides his past performance, Sauter has savored the history, the variety of racing grooves and the premium on tire management that The Rock offers.

"You’ve also got options. You can run the bottom, run the middle, run the top … you don’t have a lot of race tracks like that," Sauter said. "This place here, you feel like Superman on sticker tires and 10 laps into the run, you’re slipping and sliding. I think this is great. I couldn’t be happier. It’s like driving back in time coming back this morning."

If Sauter can realize his goal of a 3-for-3 start, then the number change success theory may gain more traction … unless ThorSport teammate Matt Crafton follows through on a playful pre-race threat.

"He’s gonna have a 13 on his truck if he keeps this streak alive," Crafton said. "It’s going to be under his seat, under the truck somewhere. I’m going to put it on there and he’s not going to know about it. The 13 will be planted on Johnny somewhere."

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Maurice Petty the latest member of NASCAR’s royal family to be up for the Hall of Fame

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FORT WORTH, Texas — The King is going to bat for the Chief.

Seven-time premier-series champion Richard Petty is a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, and he believes his brother should join him. Maurice Petty, who built the engines that powered Petty Enterprises to most of its record 268 victories, was among five new nominees chosen for the shrine’s 2014 class, which will be selected in May.

Maurice Petty joined driving champions Dale Jarrett and Rex White, weekly series legend Larry Phillips, and promoter Bruton Smith as newcomers on the 25-person list from which the five 2014 enshinees will be chosen. As far as the King is concerned, his brother — known in the family as “Chief” — was as integral to the success of Petty Enterprises as himself, father and team patriarch Lee Petty, or longtime crew chief Dale Inman.

Richard Petty was part of the Hall’s inaugural class in 2010. Lee Petty was inducted a year later, and Inman in 2012. As far as Richard and Inman are concerned, Maurice belongs right there beside the rest of them.

"Each one of us had a position, and his position was to make the car go. And he did a pretty good job with it."

— Richard Petty on brother Maurice

“When you look at Daddy and me and Dale, without a motor we wouldn’t have been nowhere,” Richard said Friday at Texas Motor Speedway. “And (Maurice) was the motor. Dale was the chassis, Daddy owned the car, I drove it. Each one of us had a position, and his position was to make the car go. And he did a pretty good job with it.”

And he did it at a time when engine construction wasn’t nearly as sophisticated as it is now. There were no grinding machines, no dynamometers until the late 1960s. Maurice built each engine by hand, a painstaking process that began with only a raw engine head.

“When he came along and started doing the engine stuff, there was no such things as CNC machines. We didn’t have a dyno,” Richard said. “And he built one engine at a time, individually, did all the grinding … all that kind of stuff. You put it together, you didn’t know if it had horsepower or not. You thought it did. And undoubtedly, they must have.”

Inman said Maurice Petty was instrumental in developing the Hemi engine in 1964. He also changed tires on the car, but motors were his specialty. “If we thought we needed extra RPMs, he’d dig into his motors making them,” the eight-time champion crew chief said. “I can say that for him.”

Richard, Maurice and Inman basically grew up together, and “were like one person with three heads,” the King said. Maurice even drove for a time, starting 26 races at the premier level, with a best finish of third at Spartanburg (S.C.) Interstate Fairgrounds in 1961. But while his older brother became the face of the sport, Maurice maintained a low profile. He didn’t receive much publicity, perhaps because he didn’t actively seek it.

“That was not his job, and he was not looking for that,” Richard said. “It was one of those deals where people accomplish something for their own satisfaction. … A bunch of reporters come up, he’d take off. He’d say, ‘That’s your job. You do it.’”

Stricken with polio as a child, Maurice overcame the disease to play high school football and become one of the top engine builders of all time. His business, Maurice Petty and Associates, operated from the Petty Enterprises shop and built engines as late as the 1990s for Petty entries on the Camping World Truck Series. As he aged, polio once again began to affect him, and today he is retired and gets around with the use of a scooter.

But in the eyes of men who raced alongside him, time doesn’t dampen Maurice’s contributions to building the best NASCAR organization of all time. Three key members of that team have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. As far as they’re concerned, there’s still one left.

“Richard got in, Lee got in, I’m very fortunate that I got in, and I’m very humbled by it,” Inman said. “And then to get the fourth member in out of the same era would be another big feat.”

Inman isn’t a voter on the Hall of Fame election panel. But Richard is — and at least one of the names that will appear on his ballot in May is fairly obvious.

“I guess I’m prejudiced, but if it hadn’t been for him, us three might not have made it. Or we would have made it at a different level,” Richard said. “It was a four-person team, and he was as big part of it.”


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Five months ago, the two drivers were fighting for the Sprint Cup championship

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FORT WORTH, Texas — Their haulers may be parked alongside one another in the garage area at Texas Motor Speedway, but away from the race track, Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski live very different lives. The former is a family man who recently announced that he and his wife are expecting a second child. The latter is a young, first-time champion who recently bought a van he plans to get painted like the one in the television show “The A-Team.”

“It will be a replica van,” Keselowski, the reigning champion of the Sprint Cup Series, explained. “I am going to paint it ‘A-Team’ colors and put the spoiler on it, and I will use it to drive to races at Martinsville and Bristol, someplace short. Charlotte, Darlington. It isn’t built yet, so I won’t have it ’til the late fall, but I think that will be really neat. I like stuff that is kind of quirky.”

This is the same guy, after all, who on Wednesday met the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders (“I was a good boy,” he promised) and is still looking to buy a tank. (“Until it’s done, I don’t want to say anything,” he added on that front.) And yet, the current and five-time champion are linked at Texas by more than just transporter proximity, given that it was here five months ago where their battle for the 2012 title crystalized into a head-to-head matchup that left race cars wiggling and spectators on the edge of their seats.

What we know today is Jimmie vs. Brad really took root here in Texas, with a slam-bang finish to the track’s fall race. Johnson won it, taking advantage of a late restart and weathering wheel-to-wheel contact to pull away from Keselowski at the end. That event established a rivalry which has transcended last season, and finds Johnson and Keselowski once again first and second in points as the series returns to Fort Worth.

Johnson’s victory here last fall gave him a seven-point lead entering the season’s final two races, but a blown tire the next week at Phoenix opened the door enough for Keselowski to barge through and secure his first crown. Over the early stages of this year, Keselowski and Johnson have often found themselves dicing it up again, particularly in a Daytona 500 where a wounded No. 2 car was the final obstacle the victorious No. 48 team had to overcome. Coming out of Martinsville, Johnson and Keselowski found themselves again 1-2 in the standings, with six points between them, almost exactly how they left here last fall.

"I knew that we were strong and I think as a team we carry a lot of confidence coming here."

— Brad Keseowski on returning to Texas

Over the past several races dating back to last season, it sometimes seemed like the two drivers are racing each other as much as they are everybody else.

“It feels that way sometimes doesn’t it?” Keselowski conceded. “Yeah, believe me, I know where he is at, and he knows where I am at. … You can never just focus on one guy solely, but that doesn’t mean you can’t lend a stronger eye to one guy over the others.”

Johnson, who assumed the points lead after winning last week at Martinsville, isn’t ready to proclaim this season a head-to-head face-off with Keselowski, not with so many other drivers vying to keep him from a sixth title. But he looks at the relationship between Keselowski and crew chief Paul Wolfe, and he sees a lot of similarities between himself and crew chief Chad Knaus. And in the No. 2 team, he sees an operation that isn’t fading anytime soon.

“It’s not really fair to say it’s just a 2 and 48 thing,” he said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if it does — I expect a lot out of that 2 car. They proved it last year. They’re only getting smarter, and the more time they spend together, the more experience they have. They’re only getting stronger. It’s evident that the relationship that Paul and Brad have is something like Chad and I have had, and Ray Evernham and Jeff Gordon had. You can go down through the list of the great pairings of drivers and crew chiefs. I absolutely expect him to be there in it. But the garage area is full of a lot of competitive drivers and crew chiefs. It wouldn’t necessarily be fair to say it’s a 48-2 thing, but it wouldn’t necessarily surprise me if that’s what it came down to.”

Returning to Texas refreshes memories of last year’s finish, as memorable as any in the 2012 campaign. With eight laps remaining, Johnson and Keselowski clanged off one another, but both drivers kept their cars pointed straight. An accident involving Mark Martin set up a final restart with two to go and the contenders on the front row. More contact ensued, but Johnson managed to edge ahead of Keselowski and hold on for the victory.

“It was awesome,” Johnson remembered. “I enjoyed it in the car. I thought I was going to get turned around in (turns) 1 and 2 on one of the restarts we had, but we didn’t. We raced right to that ragged edge and pulled it off. Of course I had a good perspective of it after the race. When I watched the video, I smiled. That was good, hard racing.”

Keselowski watched the replay as recently as Wednesday. What did he think?

“I wish there weren’t so many damn yellows. That’s what I think,” he said. And yet, that runner-up result last fall was by far Keselowski’s best finish in Texas, and he’s optimistic that success will carry over even though he’s driving a redesigned car made by a different manufacturer.

“I knew that we were strong,” he said, “and I think as a team we carry a lot of confidence coming here.”

Certainly, Johnson feels the same way. And if another Texas race produces another showdown between last year’s top title contenders, he’s confident they’ll again be able to race one another with equal degrees of tenacity and respect. Despite all they had at stake last year, despite the likelihood of both drivers being in the championship cauldron again this season, Keselowski and Johnson have maintained the best kind of rivalry — one where they try to beat the heck out of each other, and then shake hands afterward.

“I have this relationship with a lot of guys where, we’re going to race hard. I think Brad and I, what we showed here in the fall showed that,” Johnson said. “We’re going to race hard and get right to that line. But there’s nothing malicious involved in it. Absolutely, I want to crush him. I want to lap him every race. And I know he wants to do the same to me, and I feel that way about others. But I’ll get out, I’ll have a beer with him, I’ll get out and shake his hand and congratulate him on a win. But in the heat of that moment, I want to crush him. I mean, I don’t want bad things to happen to him. But absolutely, I have that competitive spirit and I want to crush him.”

There’s no better place for another shootout than Texas, where the Brad vs. Jimmie rivalry reached its crescendo five months ago. And the way they were able to race one another here last fall — hard, but within limits — only makes Johnson and Keselowski more comfortable with the idea of mixing it up again.

“For sure,” Johnson said. “I have that great relationship with quite a few guys. There are others you get around, maybe they don’t have that much experience racing for a win, so you’re not sure how they’re going to handle it. Or maybe they’re in a position where they’re very hungry and aggressive, and you have to weigh those things out. But I put Brad in that category racing Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, and guys I really trust and don’t even think about it. Just racing for the win.”

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