Posted on by NASCAR Wire Service

Struggling former champion has enjoyed previous success at Kansas Speedway

Only four. 

In the 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races that Kansas Speedway has hosted over the past 12 years only four drivers have ever visited Victory Lane there twice. No driver has ever won there thrice. 

And what an impressive foursome it is: Greg Biffle (2007, 2010), Jeff Gordon (2001, 2002), Jimmie Johnson (2008, fall 2011) and Tony Stewart (2006, 2009).

This Sunday during the STP 400 (1 p.m. ET, FOX), will one of these four drivers break through and become the first three-time winner in the track’s history? Will one of the five past winners currently entered in the race (Ryan Newman, Joe Nemechek, Mark Martin, Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth) come out on top? Or will Kansas welcome a first-time winner to Victory Lane? Denny Hamlin won the spring 2012 event, but will miss this year’s spring event after injuring his back in the race at Auto Club Speedway.

Biffle, Gordon, Johnson and Stewart would all like to become the first driver with three victories at the 1.5-mile track in Kansas City, but none could use the victory more than Stewart.

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After seven races, Stewart, who co-owns Stewart-Haas Racing and owns Eldora Speedway in Ohio, sits in an uncharacteristic 22nd place in the standings, 111 points behind leader Johnson. Biffle is currently third, 30 points back, while Gordon (-98) is 15th. 

Stewart is one of only nine drivers who have started all 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Kansas. Outside of two back-of-the-pack finishes in 2007 and 2009 he has never finished lower than 15th. He has six top-five and nine top-10 finishes.

The three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion has had a rough start to the 2013 season with four finishes 21st or lower. His best finish so far came in the second race when he placed eighth. 

A strong showing at Kansas could provide the spark to ignite Stewart’s season, and nothing would do that more than a dominating performance that lands him in Victory Lane. Stewart, however, usually starts seasons off slowly — though, usually not this slow — only to get rolling during the summer months and on into the fall.

Competing in NASCAR, however, isn’t Stewart’s only outlet for motorsports competition. He’s very active in other series, including Sprint Cars and World of Outlaws, and by the end of the year he could race in nearly 100 events.

In fact, he feels running Sprint Cars helps him in NASCAR.

"I think [running Spring Cars] helps on the restarts, for sure," said Stewart, who will head to Paducah (Ky.) International Raceway — a track he co-owns with two others — Friday night after NASCAR Sprint Cup practice and qualifying to race in the World of Outlaws feature event. "I’m definitely more aggressive on the restarts. 

"In Sprint Car racing, you have to get a lot done at the start and on restarts, and I think that part has really been a positive and really been a help in making me more aggressive."

Perhaps all the time spent in the seat of race cars in other series will indeed pay off for Stewart and help him adjust quicker to the new Gen-6 car. He believes the biggest challenge that he and his team have faced so far this season is just learning about the new car and finding a setup that works.

Once that happens, hold on to your hat as Stewart could quite literally be off to the races — and planning a visit to Victory Lane in the near future.

That visit could happen this weekend. He definitely needs it to get back on more familiar ground in the standings.

Fantasy Focus: Of course, the four drivers that have won twice at Kansas are good, solid bets for your NASCAR fantasy team this weekend, but there are two other candidates that also might be advantageous. Matt Kenseth, who won this race last season, has a driver rating of 106.4 (third highest among active drivers) at Kansas to go along with five top-fives, eight top-10s and one pole. After six races, Brad Keselowski has an average finishing position of 9.8, one win, two top-fives and three top-10s. The NASCAR Sprint Cup reigning champion, who finished 11th and eighth in last season’s two races in Kansas, has a driver rating of 90.1.


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Posted on by Staff Report

Michael Waltrip Racing, Roush Fenway Racing cars will pay tribute to victims of Boston Marathon bombings

The events of this week’s attack on the Boston Marathon hit especially close to Michael Waltrip Racing founder and co-owner Michael Waltrip. As the only NASCAR Sprint Cup driver or car owner to have run the Boston Marathon, Waltrip will honor the victims of the marathon tragedy by running special door numbers on his three NASCAR Sprint Cup entries this weekend at Kansas Speedway.

The door numbers on the No. 15, 55 and 56 MWR Toyota Camrys will replicate the 2013 Boston Marathon runner “bib” numbers, which are pinned on each of the nearly 30,000 runners. Waltrip posted a time of 4 hours, 33 minutes in the 2000 event.

“The news coming out of Boston this week was very personal to me,” said Waltrip. “When I ran the Boston Marathon in 2000, I remember thinking about what a privilege it was to be able to participate and all the hard work it took to be there. When you can see those international flags flying in Copley Square, you know you are about to complete your journey. I know the joy those runners were feeling at that moment when their worlds changed."  

Roush Fenway Racing (RFR) will show its support for the city of Boston with a “B-Strong” tribute. All three Roush Fenway Ford Fusions will carry “B-Strong” decals during this weekend’s NASCAR event and RFR team owner Jack Roush has pledged to donate $100 for every lap the team leads during Sunday’s Sprint Cup race.

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“When events occur such as what happened earlier this week in Boston, it is our nature to be overwhelmed with a variety of emotions,” said Roush. “To have to withstand an act of such senselessness and cowardice against innocent people is disheartening to us all. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families, as well as the entire city of Boston.

“As Americans we can all be proud of the way the city of Boston — and the entire nation — has banded together in the wake of this tragedy. We are proud of our Boston connections and feel privileged to be able to play a very small part in supporting the ‘B-Strong’ effort.”  

Roush Fenway is half owned by Boston’s Fenway Sports Group; the same company that owns and operates the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park as well as a majority stake in the region’s premier sports network, NESN.  In support of its sister team, RFR will carry the “B-Strong” decal that the Red Sox organization has used as a rallying point for Bostonians since the  events that tragically took the lives of three people, while wounding well over 100 others.

“It was a great moment of pride when they pinned the Boston Marathon bib on me, so I thought it would be great to pin bib numbers on our race cars this week in Kansas," said Waltrip. "I want to thank our sponsors, NAPA Auto Parts, 5-Hour Energy and Aaron’s, as well as NASCAR, for giving us permission to show our support. We just want the victims of the attack, the brave men and women who helped after the explosions and the city of Boston to know that we are thinking of them and we will support them anyway we can.”

In addition, Roush Fenway will distribute “B-Strong” decals at the race track this weekend that pays tribute to the ‘617’ Boston area code, the “B-Strong” program and provides information on how to support the “The One Fund Boston”, an initiative formed by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Tom Menino to help the people most affected by the tragic events.

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Keselowski still trying to process penalties following race at Texas Motor Speedway

OLATHE, Kan. — This time, defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski did not say he felt his team was unfairly targeted last week at Texas Motor Speedway. 

But the Penske Racing driver didn’t exactly back down either. 

Moments after taking part in an April 18 fan appearance at a Wal-Mart south of Kansas Speedway, the 29-year-old said he believes “there are several other teams working in the same area who didn’t have an issue, and I feel like the precedents from last year has steered the course to where we got last week.”

The cars of Keselowski and Penske Racing teammate Joey Logano did not pass muster during pre-race inspecting at Texas, and the respective teams were required to change rear-end housings before finally passing safely through the inspection line.

Four days later, NASCAR docked both drivers 25 points each; crew chiefs Paul Wolfe (Keselowski) and Todd Gordon (Logano) were fined $100,000 each; crew chiefs, car chiefs, lead engineers and team manager Travis Geisler were suspended for six races.

"Losing 25 points is not what you want to do by any means, but again it’s not over yet."

— Brad Keselowski

“With those precedents and the actions not taken over the period of time beforehand, that does make me not feel very comfortable about the situation,” Keselowski said.

While Penske Racing begins its journey through the appeals process, Keselowski said that his No. 2 team will go forward, unaffected by the charges.

“As of now, the way the process works with the appeals and so forth, any affect it has on us will be … commented on after the appeals process has happened,” Keselowski said. “Because as of right now, all of our people are still at the race track and it hasn’t affected us.”

Until the appeal is heard and ruled on, those suspended will be allowed to attend races and perform their various at-track duties. 

Keselowski, second in points after his ninth-place finish at Texas, fell to fourth in the standings with the 25-point penalty while Logano, who finished fifth, dropped from ninth to 14th in points.

“Losing 25 points is not what you want to do by any means, but again it’s not over yet, there are still a lot of processes to go through,” Keselowski said. “I’m not putting any thought into that until those processes have run their course.”

He said he stands by his post-race comments, in which he expressed tremendous anger and disappointment over what he said was his team being unfairly “targeted.” 

“I think I could have had a little calmer tone,” Keselowski said of his diatribe. “I was in my seven stages of acceptance; I was in my angry stage. I’m in a lot calmer stage right now.”

Still, he said, “Our team operates with a continuous chip on their shoulder. Maybe it’s a little bigger (now).

“I view challenge as an opportunity. It’s an opportunity to prove your strength and prove yourself to those that don’t believe in you. This is certainly a very challenging time and I’m looking at it as an opportunity.”

The STP 400 is scheduled for April 21. It is the eighth of 36 points races for 2013. 



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Posted on by Staff Report

Enter Article Subhead

In the aftermath of the tragic events that occurred during Monday’s Boston Marathon, Roush Fenway Racing (RFR) will show its support for the city of Boston with a “B-Strong” tribute this weekend at Kansas Speedway.  All three Roush Fenway Ford Fusions will carry “B-Strong” decals during this weekend’s NASCAR event and RFR team owner Jack Roush has pledged to donate $100 for every lap the team leads during Sunday’s Sprint Cup race.

“When events occur such as what happened earlier this week in Boston, it is our nature to be overwhelmed with a variety of emotions,” said Roush. “To have to withstand an act of such senselessness and cowardice against innocent people is disheartening to us all. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families, as well as the entire city of Boston.

“As Americans we can all be proud of the way the city of Boston – and the entire nation – has banded together in the wake of this tragedy.  We are proud of our Boston connections and feel privileged to be able to play a very small part in supporting the ‘B-Strong’ effort.”

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Only four. 

In the 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races that Kansas Speedway has hosted over the past 12 years only four drivers have ever visited Victory Lane there twice. No driver has ever won there thrice.

And what an impressive foursome it is: Greg Biffle (2007, 2010), Jeff Gordon (2001, 2002), Jimmie Johnson (2008, fall 2011) and Tony Stewart (2006, 2009).

This Sunday during the STP 400 (1:00 p.m. ET, FOX), will one of these four drivers breakthrough and become the first three-time winner in the track’s history or will one of the five past winners currently entered in the race (Ryan Newman, Joe Nemechek, Mark Martin, Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth) come out on top or will Kansas welcome a first-time winner to Victory Lane? Denny Hamlin won the spring 2012 event, but will miss this year’s spring event after injuring his back in the race at Auto Club Speedway 

Biffle, Gordon, Johnson and Stewart would all like to become the first driver with three victories at the 1.5-mile track in Kansas City, but none could use the victory more than Stewart. 

After seven races, Stewart, who co-owns Stewart-Haas Racing and owns Eldora Speedway in Ohio, sits in an uncharacteristic 22nd place in the standings, 111 points behind leader Johnson. Biffle is currently third, 30 points back, while Gordon (-98) is 15th.

Stewart is one of only nine drivers who have started all 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Kansas. Outside of two back-of-the-pack finishes in 2007 and 2009 he has never finished lower than 15th. He has six top-five and nine top-10 finishes.

The three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion has had a rough start to the 2013 season with four finishes 21st or lower. His best finish so far came in the second race when he placed eighth.

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Keselowski, Logano each lose 25 points; MWR’s Truex docked six points

Read more: Official Release | Hornaday penalty | Up to Speed

What a contrast the last 24 hours have been for Brad Keselowski. One day after being honored by the president for winning the Sprint Cup championship, he was slammed with a penalty that may jeopardize his ability to defend it.

NASCAR on Wednesday came down hard on Keselowski and Penske Racing teammate Joey Logano for technical violations discovered before last Saturday night’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, docking each driver 25 championship points and unleashing a flurry of suspensions that includes both crew chiefs.

As a result, Keselowski’s crew chief Paul Wolfe has been fined $100,000 and suspended for the next six Sprint Cup events — including the non-points Sprint All-Star Race. Car chief Jerry Kelley, team engineer Brian Wilson and Penske competition director Travis Geisler have been suspended for the same duration. Logano’s crew chief Todd Gordon was also fined $100,000 and suspended six weeks. Car chief Raymond Fox and team engineer Samuel Stanley were suspended for the same length of time as well.

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All the penalized Penske personnel are also on probation until Dec. 31. Keselowski and Logano were among three drivers penalized Wednesday for violations from Texas. Martin Truex Jr. was docked six championships points for his car being too low after last week’s event, while crew chief Chad Johnston was fined $25,000 and placed on probation through June 5.

The steep penalties levied against the Penske organization stem from rear-end housings in the Nos. 2 and 22 cars that failed pre-race inspection. NASCAR confiscated the parts in question, forcing a frantic changeover that had the Penske crews rushing to get the vehicles through inspection before the race began. They made it, although Logano had to start at the rear of the field because NASCAR determined his car was not on the starting grid in time.

According to NASCAR, both Penske cars were found to be in violation of rule book sections 12-1, 12-4J and 20-12, which mandate that all suspension systems and components must be approved by NASCAR. Those sections also state that approval parts cannot be used after NASCAR deems them ineligible for competition, and also stipulate what suspension parts and hardware must be made of (solid magnetic steel), the correct size of round mounting holes, and limitations on movement or realignment of suspension parts beyond normal rotation or travel.

“Our guys are innovative, we’re looking at the rules, looking at areas where maybe we can get an edge like everybody else is," team owner Roger Penske said following the Texas race. “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."

Keselowski vented following the race, saying his team had been “targeted” by the sanctioning body. “The way we’ve been treated the last seven days is absolutely shameful,” he added. Emotions had cooled considerably by Tuesday, when Keselowski was honored by President Barack Obama at the White House in a ceremony attended by several NASCAR executives, including chairman Brian France.

After the ceremony, Keselowski was asked if there had been any dialogue with NASCAR officials since Texas. “I’ve had some contact,” he said, “and it’s all been a really great conversation.”

The penalties mean both Penske drivers will take a serious hit in the Sprint Cup standings.  Keselowski left Texas second in the Sprint Cup standings, nine points behind leader Jimmie Johnson. After the 25-point penalty, he drops to fifth, 34 behind the leader. Logano departed Fort Worth in ninth place, 62 behind Johnson. With the penalty, he now stands 15th, 87 points behind the leader.

Penske Racing released a statement saying the team would appeal the penalties, which would allow the suspended crew members to work at the track while the appeals are being heard. The point deductions, though, go into effect immediately.

The team said, "Penske Racing received communication today from NASCAR regarding penalties they have issued against the No. 2 and No. 22 teams. Penske Racing will appeal utilizing the appropriate NASCAR process. We have no further comment at this time."

Fellow Sprint Cup Series driver Jamie McMurray reacted to the penalties while testing at Daytona International Speedway.

"I would say my reaction is that’s what I expected," McMurray said. "… But the points are the hardest thing — maybe not so much for Brad, but the 22-car is kinda on the bubble and 25 points can be the difference in making the Chase or not."

Meanwhile, Truex’s penalty comes on the heels of his best race of the season, a runner-up appearance at Texas in which he led 142 laps before finishing second to Kyle Busch. After that event, NASCAR determined the front of the No. 56 car was too low in post-race inspection.

The penalty steepens an already uphill climb for Truex, who has been saddled by several poor finishes this season and is trying to qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup for the third time in his career. He left Texas 18th in the standings, 100 points behind leader Johnson. Following the penalty, he dropped one spot to 19th, 106 behind Johnson.

Truex’s team will not appeal the penalty, Michael Waltrip Racing said in a statement.

“Michael Waltrip Racing is sensitive to working within the guidelines of NASCAR policy,” Waltrip said. “This infraction clearly occurred as a result of a malfunction caused by race conditions. Therefore, we will not appeal. We thank NASCAR for providing a fair and equitable platform for all of its competitors and respect its decisions.”

In the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, the sanctioning body also docked Ron Hornaday Jr. 25 driver points and fined him $25,000.

Hornaday’s penalty stems from an incident under caution with seven laps remaining in Sunday’s Truck Series event at Rockingham. The four-time champion bumped Wallace to show his unhappiness with how he had been raced, and turned the 19-year-old into the wall — a result Hornaday later said was unintentional.
 
The all-time Truck Series victory leader with 51 race wins, Hornaday was sent to the rear of the field by NASCAR for aggressive driving. He finished 15th and left Rockingham fourth in the series standings, 30 points behind leader Johnny Sauter. With the penalty, he drops to 13th, 55 points back.

In a statement, Hornaday’s team said, "NTS Motorsports received notification of NASCAR’s penalties assessed for the incident involving Ron Hornaday Jr., occurring at Rockingham Speedway. NTS supports NASCAR’s rulings and penalties, will not appeal and has no further comments."

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Posted on by Holly Cain

Rookie takes advantage of test time at Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — OK, Danica Patrick sheepishly admitted Wednesday, the task of several-day, single car test runs can get monotonous. But with all eyes on her stock car progress, NASCAR’s high-wattage Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate is more than willing to log as many test laps as she can.

Patrick and eight other Cup drivers took to the Daytona International Speedway high banks this week for a Goodyear tire test of the new Generation-6 cars in advance of the July 6 Coke Zero 400 at the track.

No matter how much the extra track time means to an already busy schedule, Patrick is convinced it will pay off. And already has.

"…Anytime there’s a test available, we’re going."

—Danica Patrick

“It’s a little boring at Daytona at least as far as single car runs,’’ Patrick said Wednesday during a lunch break at the test. “But I learned this from my IndyCar days at Indianapolis. They put all the down force on the car and made it easy to drive — especially the first couple years I was there — and I always knew, while it does feel easy, you still have to respect the machine and the speed and the track and know that something could still go wrong and you need to be ready.

“But anytime there’s a test available, we’re going,’’ Patrick explained. "Anytime I’m able to, I do, although I still have a lot of stuff to do outside the car.

“Whenever you test, if you don’t learn what’s better you learn what’s worse, which is sometimes just as helpful. I felt like we had a really good test at Little Rock (N.C.) and brought that set-up to Martinsville (Va.) and we had a really good car in the race. That’s what we worked on. It reminds you to stay and work it out."

Unfortunately for Patrick, though testing at Rockingham’s Little Rock netted an impressive performance and a good result — a 12th place debut — she and her entire Stewart-Haas Racing team has struggled elsewhere.

Patrick enters Sunday’s STP 400 at Kansas Speedway ranked 26th in points. Except for an eighth place finish in the season-opening Daytona 500 — where she made history as the first woman pole-sitter — her Martinsville performance has been a rare highlight.

Her teammates haven’t fared much better. Ryan Newman leads the trio in the Sprint Cup Series championship standings (16th place) and he’s the only one with a top-five finish (fifth place at Daytona).

Team owner-driver Tony Stewart is 22nd in points with no top-fives and only a single top-10 (eighth place at Phoenix). The three-time Cup champion has two wins at Kansas in 2006 and 2009, but has finishes of 11th and 21st at the other two 1.5-mile tracks the series has visited this season.

So while Patrick’s slow start has been both disappointing and aggravating, it’s endemic of the whole organization right now.

Newman paced the team last week at the fast Texas 1.5-miler with a very hard-earned 10th place finish. At one point all three cars were a lap down to the leaders. Stewart finished 21st in the No. 14 Chevrolet and Patrick was 28th in the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevy. This will mark the first time the series has back-to-back races at the 1.5-mile circuits.

“I think there’s a certain amount of healthy frustration that gets people motivated and gets people working,’’ Patrick allowed. “But there was no need for me at Texas to drive it home how uncomfortable and miserable it was to drive a car that was either loose in, loose off or so tight in the middle you couldn’t do anything and …. at some point in time with the frustration you don’t need to show it anymore.

“I think as a team we’re struggling,’’ Patrick said. “Tony and I had the same comments from Texas about how the car felt and… we need to work it out, go through a process of elimination what it could be… just start crossing things off the list that are not the issue or go testing to try to work on some platforms to see what we need to do to make the car faster and feel better. I think we’re lacking speed and comfort out there."

The Kansas 1.5-mile oval was repaved last year resulting in super speed in the first race on the new surface last October. The entire field bettered the previous track record.

Jamie McMurray and Greg Biffle, who were also testing at Daytona this week, said to expect more of the same with this new car at Kansas thanks to the new pavement and different aerodynamic characteristics of the Gen-6 car.

Kyle Busch won the pole last week at Texas with a track record speed. Patrick’s Daytona 500 pole-winning mark was among the fastest in the last 20 years.

“Kansas will be extremely fast without a doubt,’’ McMurray said without hesitation. “At Texas we had really good weather, cool temperatures which made the track have a lot of grip. I know the Roush cars did a team test at Kansas and I quizzed them a bit and they said the track had a crazy amount of grip. It’s supposed to be cold again this weekend so I expect to see track records again this week.’’

Biffle cautioned that the speed of the car isn’t necessarily having a direct effect on the quality of the racing.

“This car has several hundred pounds more down force and a lot more grip which makes speed,’’ Biffle said. “The better racing is coming from the car being better handling, better mechanical grip. The two are sorta related, but not really.

“I like the car and feel like there’s still a ton to learn, we’re going to be learning for the next year. We’ll continue to learn and discover things.

“There will be times when we bump up against the speed where we’ll wonder if we’re getting too fast at some places. But at Texas and other tracks like it, it’s not an issue. This weekend you can go fast the whole time.’’

“It’s kind of odd because you associate fast with good racing and a lot of times that’s not the case, it’s about good grip and a speed you can go side-by-side.’’

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Posted on by Jason Lofing

Nick Ottinger was in dominant form at Texas Motor Speedway

Nick Ottinger dominated Round Four of the NASCAR iRacing.com Series World Championship from start to finish at Texas Motor Speedway Tuesday night, cruising to a comfortable victory over two time champion Ray Alfalla.

Ottinger, who started from the pole, led 128 of 167 laps and was only passed for position once on the track as the race went caution-free. Ottinger’s victory makes it four different winners thus far in the 2013 NiSWC season.

“Feels great to break through and get a win! Starting up front helped, however, we knew the car was stout and had a blast going caution-free,” said Ottinger after picking up his third career NiSWC win.

Ottinger beat Alfalla to the checkers by 3.4 seconds, with Marcus Lindsey finishing third, six seconds behind. Teammates Chad Laughton and Dustin Montgomery rounded-out the top five finishers.

"We knew the car was stout and had a blast going caution-free."

— Nick Ottinger

Despite not getting the victory, runner-up Alfalla was pleased with his result, “That was awesome. It was nice to see the whole race go green, as it makes it quite interesting seeing what people’s cars do and how pit strategy plays out.”

Alfalla was the only driver who could keep up with Ottinger’s blistering pace, but even he fell short in the end. At the start, Alfalla looked to move up from his seventh place starting position and found it slow going as most of the field was running laps within a tenth of a second of each other. With passing being extremely difficult, Alfalla tried to use pit strategy to his advantage.

Instead of pitting with Ottinger, Alfalla stayed out on the track for three extra laps before making his stop. This put him behind initially as other drivers had two or three laps on fresher tires, but Alfalla’s slightly newer tires started to pay off as he sliced back through the field.

As the race approached the halfway point, Alfalla was in pursuit of Ottinger and slowly started to reel him in thanks to his slightly fresher tires. Finally on Lap 80, Alfalla took the lead from Ottinger and it looked as if the tide had turned. There was, however, still one more pit stop left in the race.

Ottinger once again pitted three laps before Alfalla, giving him a chance to overtake the defending champ with fresh tires. When Alfalla hit pit road for the final time, his crew let him down with a slow stop, dropping him far behind Ottinger with no chance to catch him without the help of a caution flag. Alfalla clawed his way back to second, but could not reel-in the leader.

“Unfortunately my final pit stop was slow, and I lost a ton of time,” explained Alfalla. “I managed to get back to second, but Nick was four seconds ahead. I just rode the rest of the way.”

While good finishes helped Alfalla and Ottinger gain in the points standings, Tyler Hudson still leads the way after another solid run. The points leader finished seventh at Texas and holds a slim six point lead over Lindsey. Despite finishing 20th last night, Brian Schoenburg now sits third in points, 25 points back. Peter Bennett is another two points behind in fourth while Jason Karlavige rounds-out the top five after four online races.

For Week Five, the NiSWC heads to Richmond International Raceway for the second short track race of the season. Richmond has been one of the most unpredictable tracks on the schedule in recent years and usually has its fair share of carnage. Qualifying will be of upmost importance as drivers will try to position themselves to be in front of the trouble.

Steve Sheehan was the winner at RIR last year and has looked strong in recent weeks, but he will have his work cut out for him if he hopes to repeat under the lights. Ottinger and Hudson were also stout last year and are off to a great start in 2013, so look for them to be the favorites. As always when it comes to Richmond, expect the unexpected. Remember that last year’s Pro Series race went caution free; something no one thought was possible.

With such a competitive and close start to the season, this might be the week someone makes a big step toward taking control of the championship. Be sure to tune into iRacingLive and MRN to catch all the action from Week Five of the NiSWC from Richmond!

            Average Lap Time Laps Completed Cautions Caution Laps Lead Changes         
            30.028 167 0 0 7         
Fin Pos Driver Start Pos Car # Status Interval
Laps Led
Average Lap Time
Fastest Lap Time Fast Lap #
Laps Comp
Pts
1 Nick Ottinger 1 5 Running 0 128 30.028 28.556 116 167 48
2 Ray Alfalla 7 2 Running -3.4 38 30.042 28.558 2 167 43
3 Marcus Lindsey 2 1 Running -6.007 0 30.062 28.584 2 167 41
4 Chad J Laughton 17 26 Running -6.115 0 30.052 28.734 59 167 40
5 Dustin Montgomery 16 8 Running -6.343 0 30.057 28.613 2 167 39
6 Steve Sheehan 13 6 Running -6.415 0 30.081 28.658 58 167 38
7 Tyler D Hudson 12 1 Running -8.164 0 30.07 28.584 2 167 37
8 Patrick Baldwin 4 52 Running -10.824 0 30.09 28.665 60 167 36
9 Jared Crawford 20 83 Running -14.309 0 30.1 28.648 59 167 35
10 Kevin King 5 29 Running -14.823 0 30.113 28.62 2 167 34
11 Jason Karlavige 15 60 Running -15.744 0 30.11 28.829 3 167 33
12 Carson Downs 32 97 Running -15.829 0 30.1 28.927 2 167 32
13 John Gorlinsky 24 21 Running -16.685 0 30.11 28.717 114 167 31
14 Thomas Lewandowski 35 16 Running -16.804 0 30.102 28.72 114 167 30
15 Michael Conti 19 5 Running -18.537 0 30.125 28.771 112 167 29
16 Matt Bussa 9 34 Running -21.089 0 30.146 28.623 60 167 28
17 Joey Brown 3 12 Running -21.271 0 30.153 28.59 2 167 27
18 Richard Dusett 10 96 Running -25.54 0 30.175 28.829 3 167 26
19 Cody Byus 11 27 Running -26.501 0 30.177 28.776 113 167 25
20 Brian Schoenburg 28 55 Running -29.598 0 30.185 28.62 116 167 24
21 Carson McClelland 34 24 Running -29.749 0 30.179 28.774 58 167 23
22 Derek Crone 30 7 Running -1 L 0 30.207 28.682 2 166 22
23 Casey Malone 8 92 Running -1 L 0 30.234 28.642 2 166 21
24 Michael J Johnson 25 39 Running -1 L 0 30.223 28.833 58 166 20
25 Peter Bennett 29 69 Running -1 L 0 30.235 28.743 61 166 19
26 Jake Stergios 40 41 Running -1 L 1 30.226 28.809 2 166 19
27 Cyril Nousbaum 37 99 Running -1 L 0 30.234 28.784 61 166 17
28 Byron Daley 27 93 Running -1 L 0 30.243 28.858 112 166 16
29 Matt Whitten 18 18 Running -1 L 0 30.295 28.791 117 166 15
30 Alex Warren 22 82 Running -1 L 0 30.291 28.701 61 166 14
31 Landon Huffman 39 75 Running -1 L 0 30.281 28.624 116 166 13
32 Landon Harrison 38 89 Running -1 L 0 30.295 28.804 2 166 12
33 Chris Main 41 38 Running -1 L 0 30.344 28.838 60 166 11
34 Danny Hansen 21 20 Running -2 L 0 30.383 28.715 60 165 10
35 Chad Coleman 42 28 Running -2 L 0 30.432 29.007 119 165 9
36 Andrew Fayash III 43 77 Running -2 L 0 30.465 28.936 2 165 8
37 Adam Gilliland 36 81 Running -4 L 0 30.918 28.801 47 163 7
38 Jon Adams 26 84 Running -5 L 0 30.994 28.79 138 162 6
39 Rob Ackley 33 22 Running -9 L 0 31.79 28.798 41 158 5
40 Joshua Laughton 23 40 Running -11 L 0 32.139 29.091 110 156 4
41 Brandon Schmidt 14 3 Disconnected -43 L 0 35.823 28.893 3 124 3
42 Paul Kusheba 31 32 Running -57 L 0 37.352 28.733 2 110 2
43 Brandon Kettelle 6 80 Disconnected -137 L 0 30.101 29.269 3 30 1


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Three Sprint Cup Series teams penalized following race at Texas Motor Speedway

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Penalties have been handed down to three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams following last Saturday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway.

The No. 56 car was found to have violated Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4J (any determination by NASCAR officials that the race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20-12.8.1B (the car failed to meet the minimum front car heights during post-race inspection) of the 2013 rule book.

As a result of this violation, crew chief Chad Johnston has been fined $25,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until June 5. The team has also been docked six championship driver (Martin Truex Jr.) and six championship owner (Michael Waltrip) points.

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The No. 2 and No. 22 cars have also been penalized. Both cars were found to be in violation of Sections 12-1; 12-4J and 20-12 (all suspension systems and components must be approved by NASCAR. Prior to being used in competition, all suspension systems and components must be submitted, in a completed form/assembly, to the office of the NASCAR Competition Administrator for consideration of approval and approved by NASCAR. Each such part may thereafter be used until NASCAR determines that such part is no longer eligible. All suspension fasteners and mounting hardware must be made of solid magnetic steel. All front end and rear end suspension mounts with mounting hardware assembled must have single round mounting holes that are the correct size for the fastener being used. All front end and rear end suspension mounts and mounting hardware must not allow movement or realignment of any suspension component beyond normal rotation or suspension travel.)

As a result of this violation and as it pertains to the No. 2 car the following penalties have been assessed:

•    Crew chief Paul Wolfe has been fined $100,000 and suspended from NASCAR until the completion of the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship points events (including the non-points Sprint All-Star Race) and placed on probation until Dec. 31.

•    Car chief Jerry Kelley, team engineer Brian Wilson and team manager Travis Geisler (serves as team manager for both the No. 2 and No. 22 cars) have been suspended from NASCAR until the completion of the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship points events (including the non-points Sprint All-Star Race) and placed on probation until Dec. 31.

•    The loss of 25 championship driver (Brad Keselowski) and 25 championship owner (Roger Penske) points.

As it pertains to the No. 22 car the following penalties have been assessed:

•    Crew chief Todd Gordon has been fined $100,000 and suspended from NASCAR until the completion of the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship points events (including the non-points Sprint All-Star Race) and placed on probation until Dec. 31.

•    Car chief Raymond Fox and team engineer Samuel Stanley have been suspended from NASCAR until the completion of the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship points events (including the non-points Sprint All-Star Race) and placed on probation until Dec. 31.

•    The loss of 25 championship driver (Joey Logano) and 25 championship owner (Walt Czarnecki) points.

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Former champion docked 25 driver points, fined $25,000

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Ron Hornaday Jr. has been penalized by NASCAR following his involvement in an on-track incident last Sunday at Rockingham Speedway.

Hornaday Jr., driver of the No. 9 truck, was found to have violated Section 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing. Altercation with another competitor on the race track during a caution period) of the 2013 rule book.

As a result of this violation, Hornaday Jr. has been fined $25,000, docked 25 championship driver points and placed on NASCAR probation until June 12.

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Jimmie Johnson holds several records at Kansas Speedway

2  NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Kansas Speedway won from the pole: Joe Nemechek (2004) and Jimmie Johnson (2008).
4  wins Roush Fenway Racing and Hendrick Motorsports have at the speedway, tied for the most, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing and Penske Racing with two each.

7  Chevrolet leads the series in wins at Kansas with seven victories; followed by Ford with four wins.

8  Number of Sprint Cup races at Kansas Speedway have been won from a top-10 starting position.

9  Drivers that have made all 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Kansas Speedway: Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte, Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart.

10  Drivers have Coors Light poles at Kansas, led by Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne with three each.

10.615  The best average starting position among active drivers at Kansas Speedway, held by Jimmie Johnson

11 The most top-10 finishes at Kansas Speedway, a record held by Jimmie Johnson, followed by Jeff Gordon with 10.

13  Number of races Matt Kenseth ran at Kansas Speedway before winning last fall; the longest span of any of the 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners at Kansas.

14  Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Kurt Busch and Bobby Labonte lead the series with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Kansas Speedway without visiting Victory Lane at 14.

25  The starting position of Brad Keselowski in 2001, the deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Kansas Speedway, in the spring of 2011.

108  Drivers who have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas; 79 in more than one.

176.499 mph  the speed at which Jason Leffler won the inaugural Coors Light Pole Award at Kansas Speedway in 2001.

272  The number of laps in the only NSCS race resulting with a green-white-checkered finish at Kansas Speedway: fall of 2011 (267 scheduled laps).

547  Number of laps led at Kansas by Jimmie Johnson, who leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps led at Kansas Speedway with 547 laps led in 13 starts.

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