Watch Rusty Wallace win in the Blue Deuce
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Breaking down the STP Gas Booster 500
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The two drivers have differing views on what went down at Auto Club Speedway
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — As far as Denny Hamlin is concerned, it was no accident. It was intentional.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is expected to miss five more weeks with a compression fracture in a lumbar vertebra suffered March 24 at Auto Club Speedway, where he and Joey Logano crashed battling for the lead on the final lap. The incident continued a run of hostility between the two drivers that included contact the week before at Bristol, and in Southern California resulted in Hamlin’s car slamming head-on into an inside wall.
Hamlin doesn’t blame Logano for his injury, which he believes might have been prevented had the wall been protected by the SAFER barrier. But as for what was behind the contact on the track, he has little doubt.
“How is it not intentional, is my thing. It’s not like he got loose because I took air off him or anything like that. I saw him getting closer, I moved up the track. He kept getting closer, I moved up the track. He just was going to keep going until he ran into us,” Hamlin said Wednesday at the JGR shop.
"…as long as things stay the way they are, he’ll have a tough time passing us from here on out."
— Denny Hamlin on Joey Logano
“Whatever happened after that, I’m sure he didn’t mean for me to wreck and get hurt. But he meant to run into us, there’s no doubt. He didn’t get loose with the back, he drove into us with the front. That’s a guy seeing I was going to get the better of him that week, and he wasn’t going to let it happen, and he hit the gas until he hit something. That’s my opinion of what happened, because I was there and I was in the incident.”
Bad blood continues to flow between the former Gibbs teammates, who traded barbs via social media earlier in the season and shots on the race track at Bristol, where Hamlin intentionally bumped Logano in retaliation for earlier contact. Logano spun and backed into the wall at the short track, something Hamlin insists he didn’t mean to cause. Logano accosted Hamlin after that race before crewmen pulled him away.
After the accident at Auto Club Speedway, Hamlin said he received a text message from Logano wishing him a speedy recovery. As far as he was concerned, it didn’t go far enough.
“We really didn’t talk about wreck or anything of that nature,” Hamlin said. “From him it was, ‘Hope you get back in the car soon,’ not … ‘Sorry we got together, I made a mistake.’ … It wasn’t that. It was just, ‘Hope you feel better.’ My response is, ‘Why didn’t we just let things go? At Bristol you paid me back, you ruined my day. I finished 23rd, you finished 16th. Your day wasn’t ruined at Bristol by me. You came back, got back to the front, and then got in an incident with someone else, and that’s what ruined your day, but you’re still mad and got in my face.’
“He got the better end of Bristol. He obviously got the better end of California, finishing third. I finished 25th. So you tell me were the scales are tipped? Nothing’s ever fair, but I can assure you that as long as things stay the way they are, he’ll have a tough time passing us from here on out.”
Hamlin said it’s unlikely at this point that the two will talk, and the situation will just have to play itself out on the track. Although Logano said “that’s what he gets” immediately after the California crash and before he knew Hamlin was inured, the Penske Racing driver has insisted the contact was incidental.
“Did I remember who I was racing against? Yes,” Logano told ESPN. “Obviously I know who I’m racing against and what happened a week before, but going into Turn 3 on the last lap, I remember, ‘I’m going to win the race.’ My number one goal is to go win a race. So did I intentionally wreck him? No, I did not intentionally do that. If I was going to do that, I would have hit him in the left-rear tire. I hit him in the door. It’s hard racing at that point. I hate that he got hurt. I feel like the comments after the race that I made were taken way out of context. My mind wasn’t straight, and I didn’t know Denny was hurt. There was no way for me to know. And it got taken way out of context.”
Although Hamlin did not blame Logano for his injury, he said his rival acted “very careless” by taking him out on a fast 2-mile track, “not really caring about any repercussions, taking for granted how safe our cars have been the last few years.” Logano also angered Tony Stewart with what the three-time champion perceived as blocking, sparking a scuffle between the two on pit road after the race while Hamlin was being airlifted to a hospital.
“I think in my opinion he had the fastest car two weeks in a row, and instead of winning the races he got into incidents with drivers,” Hamlin said of Logano. “Because he’s just not patient enough. You’ve got to win with the cars you’ve got capable of winning. He hasn’t driven up at the front, in the top five, very often in his career. He did two weeks in a row, and he got in incidents both times. I don’t know. Maybe it’s a different culture up there (at Penske) that he’s not used to or what. But it’s not just me. I watched California, watched him cut off numerous guys throughout that race. This has all been about Joey standing up for himself. Well, it’s not that. It’s the drivers that he’s cutting off standing up for themselves. You’ve got to either change your driving style, or continue to get into incidents week after week.”
NASCAR did not penalize Logano for the incident at Auto Club Speedway, determining the contact that caused the crash to be a racing incident. Hamlin doesn’t disagree — but said Logano will ultimately be judged by his peers on the race track.
“My 100 percent opinion is, he shouldn’t be penalized,” Hamlin said. “This is a self-policing sport, so from this point on he has to deal with all the repercussions of the way he’s raced guys over these last few weeks. That all comes back around. It always does. I remember my rookie season, this veteran driver was just irking my nerves at Martinsville. He eventually ran into the side of me and cut my tire down. I remember badmouthing him after the race. His name was Mark Martin.”
The same Martin who will substitute for Hamlin in the No. 11 car this weekend at Martinsville.
“At that point I was like, maybe I should just change the way I drive, because he knows a bit more than I do,” Hamlin added. “These guys can make your life hell if they want to. So trust me, the repercussions come from within the garage and on the race track. It doesn’t need to come from NASCAR. … When drivers take it upon themselves to take someone out, they know from that point on, they’ve got a huge bull’s-eye. He probably needs to switch sponsors with Juan Pablo (Montoya) for at least two months.”
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Driver feels ’80 percent’ better; eyes return at Richmond race
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — Denny Hamlin walked into the room looking like his usual self, wearing a black polo adorned with sponsor logos and a pair of blue jeans. When he sat down, though, he did so gingerly, bracing himself on the arm of the chair as he lowered himself into the seat. And then there was the brace wrapped around his midsection, the bulk of which was visible beneath his shirt.
At times during a conversation Wednesday with reporters he had to catch his breath, the result of the pressure of the brace and medication he’s taking for a fractured lumbar vertebra suffered March 24 in a crash at Auto Club Speedway. But those were the only outward signs of the injury, which doctors have said could keep Hamlin out of his No. 11 car for an estimated five more weeks.
No wonder the driver is hoping for an accelerated recovery timetable. “My goal, if somehow magically my body is strong and tough, personally I’d like to come back at Richmond,” he said, referring to the April 27 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at his hometown race track.
"They thought that six weeks was an aggressive comeback. But I think I’m going to be ready to go before that."
— Denny Hamlin
Hamlin won’t be allowed back in the race car until he’s cleared by a team of physicians that includes Indianapolis orthopedist Dr. Terry Trammell and Charlotte-area neurologist and spinal specialist Dr. Jerry Petty. His targeted return date is May 11 at Darlington Raceway, so a Richmond comeback would be two weeks ahead of schedule.
“I haven’t even discussed it with them, because I don’t want to freak out the doctors, trying to rush them, because I know they’ve got my best interests in mind,” Hamlin said at the Joe Gibbs Racing shop. “But ultimately, every doctor I’ve spoken to has left it as a possibility that you could heal quicker than six weeks. It’s possible. It’s absolutely possible. They thought that six weeks was an aggressive comeback. But I think I’m going to be ready to go before that.”
The fact that Hamlin is already walking around without a great deal of discomfort is impressive given where he was two weeks ago, after final-lap contact with Joey Logano on the 2-mile track sent him slamming into an inside wall not protected with the SAFER barrier. Hamlin was strapped to a backboard and airlifted to Southern California’s Loma Linda University Medical Center, where he was in “so much pain,” he said. “I thought it was never-ending pain and it would never go away. I thought that maybe I’m done forever.”
When he heard the eventual diagnosis — a compression fracture of his L1 vertebra — he knew he’d be out of the car for a while, even before Petty confirmed it at an office visit days later. For a driver with championship aspirations, it was a devastating moment, though one that also left Hamlin grateful the injury wasn’t worse.
“I’m thankful that my spine fractured where it did, and not up here,” he said, motioning to his neck area. “That could obviously be very bad. The bone of my spine, if it wouldn’t have sliced right though it, if it would have shifted and hit my spinal cord, you’ve got paralysis. And that’s real.”
Hamlin doesn’t remember much about the impact — he said he closed his eyes when he hit, and believes his injury occurred not when he struck the wall, but in a vicious recoil that lifted all four of the vehicle’s tires off the ground. Drivers pull down on their belts as a race goes on because they shrink down in the seat, and Hamlin said he can’t remember tightening his belts near the end of the race. Even so, he wondered if his injuries would have occurred had the wall been protected with the SAFER barrier.
“You really don’t appreciate the SAFER barriers as much until you don’t hit one,” he said. “I remember thinking as I was heading toward it — I’m going to hit it. It’s not going to be life-changing or anything, because I didn’t think I was going that fast. But I didn’t recognize that it was a non-SAFER barrier (wall) until watching it on TV, and then you realize, wow, now I know why it hurt so bad. So yeah, it’s definitely a must at every race track. … It would have probably changed my outcome had it been a SAFER barrier there.”
NASCAR consultants are expected to review the wall in the aftermath of the accident and potentially recommend changes. In the meantime, Hamlin is on medications that he said at times leave him a little woozy, and wearing the brace to ensure his spine stays aligned when he twists and turns going about daily activities. He’s going to rehabilitation three times a week, taking walks through the park and waiting on his next scan — scheduled in a few weeks’ time — which may give doctors an idea of how quickly he’s healing and the driver a firmer idea of when he might be able to return.
Physically, Hamlin said he feels “80 percent better” now than in the days immediately after the accident. “I feel like I can win Martinsville right now,” he added, referring to this weekend’s event, the first one he’ll miss because of the injury. He said he’ll likely wear a different kind of brace more conducive to driving when he does return to the vehicle. But he can’t get in the car now because of the danger of his back withstanding another hit.
“The way I understand it is, the reason you can’t get in is, if you take another hit, your spine is already unstable because it’s fractured,” he said. “So if for some reason you take a hit and pieces start flying, then it gets in your spinal cord and you’ve got a big, big problem. That’s the reason ultimately why. I’m going to feel fine these next five weeks or four weeks. But I guess you have to look at the bigger picture. It’s tough for me to look at that, but we have to make sure I’m able to sustain another hit.”
Hamlin said he’ll likely attend Sunday’s event at Martinsville and watch from the pit box as Mark Martin wheels his No. 11 car. After that, Joe Gibbs Racing NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Brian Vickers will pilot the vehicle until Hamlin returns. The hope now is Richmond, given that the track also hosts Hamlin’s annual Short Track Showdown charity race.
“If you ask him if he could get in a car tomorrow with just a little bit of pain relief, then he’d get there and suffer through the pain and get in it,” crew chief Darian Grubb said. “But it’s all going to be the doctors’ orders. Of course Richmond is going to be where he wants to get back in …. Especially with his charity event going on at Richmond, he wants to be there at full strength and be a big part of that, too. That’s something he works all year for.”
Everyone involved understands that target is an ambitious one. And Hamlin — who also has a hereditary heart murmur, doctors discovered after the accident — seems content to remain patient, despite his hopes of a hometown comeback. Should he return at Darlington, he’d likely need to average top-10s the rest of the way to have a chance of extending his perfect record of qualifying for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. But any expectations of getting back into the championship hunt are on hold until his return.
“I think it all depends on when I come back,” Hamlin said. “If it’s within the time that we hope, sure there is mathematics that make it possible. It’s not going to be easy. I’d like to cross that bridge when I get there as far as that’s concerned. I don’t want the chance at a championship to decide when I get back in the car. I want to do it when it’s most safe. I want to do it when NASCAR, doctors, everyone is comfortable with me getting back in the car. Not just, OK, if we don’t get in this week, your season is done, and then you rush into something you shouldn’t. But I can be certain to tell you that if it is at all possible when I get back in, I will be on a mission to make it.”
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Earnhardt Jr. recalls past struggles; Danica, Stenhouse Jr. face same issues
If it was there, he hit it. Other race cars. Walls. Pace vehicles. Even an ambulance on an access road.
“The ambulance wouldn’t move,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. remembered, “so I had to give him a bit of the bumper.”
A blown tire, three spins, a car pieced together with duct tape after hitting just about everything in the vicinity — that afternoon in the fall of 2000 proved a rough orientation to Martinsville Speedway for one rookie driver on NASCAR’s top circuit. It got so bad that car owner Dale Earnhardt ordered the No. 8 team to pack it up early, a fact his son learned on the helicopter ride home.
“It’s a funny story, thinking back on it now,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “But yeah, those first few trips were a real eye-opener. The racing there is nothing what you imagine, even coming up through those style of race tracks. It’s just really tough and hard racing, and you’ve got to pick your battles. But it’s a long race, and you can really just take yourself out of it early if you’re not careful.”
"The racing there is nothing what you imagine. … It’s just really tough and hard racing."
— Dale Earnhardt Jr.
The speeds may be relatively low and the setting may be downright quaint, but beneath that charming exterior sits a short track capable of devouring drivers not familiar with it. Earnhardt had one (albeit arduous) previous start there and even came up on late model short tracks not unlike the flat half-mile oval, and was still chewed up and spit out. It all stands as a cautionary tale for the handful of drivers who this weekend are heading to the facility for the first time.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookies Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. have never turned a lap at Martinsville in a national-series event. Neither have Camping World Truck Series drivers Darrell Wallace Jr., Jonathan Davenport, Grant Galloway, Devin Jones, Chase Elliott and Erik Jones — the latter four of whom are teenagers. If history is any indication, all of them could be in for a rude introduction to a raw-knuckled short track that demands patience, but doesn’t do much to promote it.
Earnhardt knows that firsthand. Like many drivers who came up racing late models on short tracks, he thought skills sharpened at places like Myrtle Beach Speedway would translate to Martinsville. And today, they do — statistically, it’s one of his best tracks, even if he has yet to win there. But back in his rookie season, the place seemed more like an alien landscape, and acted equally as inhospitable.
“I remember the first several races I ran there, I ran into everything. I ran into other race cars, walls, pace cars. Just about everything that could be ran into, I found it,” Earnhardt said. “And you know, it was real frustrating, because I had thought of myself as a short-track driver, and I thought that I had honed these skills on these short tracks in the Southeast, and this should be where I excel the most.
“But short-track racing can really allow you to get carried away with yourself, and you forget ‑‑ even now, even last year, we would run 100 laps and I’d have the car torn all to hell down both sides and have to remind myself, this is a longer event than you realize, and you’ve really got to preach patience to yourself and really rein in your emotions and your excitement, because you just really want to get in there and gouge every corner. But there’s just not enough race car to do that for 500 miles.”
In time, Earnhardt discovered that the get-to-the-front tactics that worked in shorter late model events didn’t necessarily carry over, even if the venues shared many of the same characteristics. Martinsville also demands a level of car management — staying off the brakes, keeping fenders clean — that isn’t necessarily a priority at lower levels.
“We’ve all grown up racing short tracks, half mile or less, and I don’t think that that’s so much the challenge as it is just managing your brakes, your car and putting yourself in position for the end of the race,” said Ryan Newman, who won last year’s spring race at Martinsville, and placed 41st there in his 2002 debut. “This I think is the toughest part. The toughest part for me was mostly adapting to using that middle pedal the least.”
Rookies today, Newman said, may have a slight benefit in that the Generation-6 Sprint Cup car cools more effectively than its predecessors. But a driver like Patrick — who will become the first woman to start a premier-series race at the facility — may still be in for a wake-up call, particularly given that Martinsville hasn’t hosted the Nationwide Series since 2006.
Patrick is optimistic after a recent test on the short track at Rockingham Speedway. “I thought we actually made some really big gains that day,” she said. “It was fun.” Patrick is even open to trying one of Martinsville’s famous hot dogs — a half of one, at least. But her crew chief knows that once the race begins, she’ll be in for a totally different experience.
“It’s a tough place,” Tony Gibson said. “It’s a tough place for any veteran to go, let alone a rookie. It’s going to be a big challenge for her. It’s worse than Bristol, because you’re constantly in traffic and guys are constantly bumping into you and into the side of you. Martinsville will be her biggest challenge, for sure, and the focus will be just on finishing clean and learning as much as she can so we can prepare for the second time she goes to Martinsville in the fall. If she can do that, she’ll be in good shape.”
Martinsville has seen double-digit caution flags in 25 of its last 26 Sprint Cup events. Three-time series champion Tony Stewart, who owns Patrick’s car, said he’s never finished a race there without making contact with another car at some point. He wants to tell his driver everything he knows about the place — but also realizes she’s going to have to discover it all for herself.
“I’m sure there will be some things happen in the race that she’s not ready for,” said Stewart, who won the pole for his first Martinsville race before finishing 20th. “Ninety percent of the time it’s accidental and doesn’t lead to a wreck, but you get bumped, and that’s something that she’s not really used to yet. … Just like anybody else’s first trip to Martinsville, it’s definitely a learning experience, and you can definitely leave (there) with a headache trying to figure out what you needed to do differently.”
It’s a timeless struggle, and one befitting the oldest facility on NASCAR’s top circuit. Driving in, “nothing has changed,” Earnhardt said. “You park your car in the driveway of the first house on the corner. That house has been there for I don’t know how many years.” The track’s entrance, he added, brings him back to the 1970s. Without the souvenir rigs and the cars in the parking lots, you’d be hard-pressed to tell what decade it was.
“I love race tracks like that,” he said. He even found something to love about that rotten Martinsville race he suffered through during his rookie season. At one point he restarted on the inside a lap down, and roared off to a straightaway-length advantage over the leaders. It was a sign of things to come at a track where Earnhardt now owns more top-five finishes and more laps led than anywhere else. And 13 years ago, it was a small bright spot in what would become a 36th-place finish.
“I was so proud of myself, and that’s the only thing I took away from the race, and I kept trying to talk about that on the way home,” Earnhardt said. “But all Dad wanted to talk about was how much I ran over, and how I needed to really learn how to run better on the short tracks.”
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Reigning champion looks forward to getting back on the track and resuming the Truck season
In the five weeks since NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series season opener in Daytona, James Buescher has celebrated his grandfather’s 90th birthday, gone to work with his wife Kris at their newly opened Texas gym — Buescher Bootcamp — pressure-washed his driveway, scored his all-time high on Ms. Pac Man and, best of all, received final approval for the couple to adopt a baby.
He tested his Turner Scott Motorsports Chevy Silverado once but only occasionally during the past month and a half break in the Truck Series schedule did Buescher, the reigning series champion, even allow himself to watch racing on television.
Like a lot of drivers, he finds that watching everyone else race is a bit tortuous.
“I’m a pretty patient guy and (I’m) able to find ways to keep busy and keep my mind off things,’’ Buescher said, taking a break from a March afternoon tackling the “Honey-do” list.
“I try not to watch too much of the racing because it makes you want to get out there even more.’’
Finally, this week, he gets that opportunity as the truck series resumes its 2013 schedule at the always action-packed Martinsville, Va., short track.
"I’m ready to go."
— James Buescher
For Buescher, it feels like a season reset.
“It’s been hard not racing, but at the same time, I’ve found plenty of ways to keep busy and have a lot of things going on with the adoption so the break (is) not at a terrible time with everything that’s going on in my life,’’ Buescher explained. “It’s been kinda nice not to have to travel every week right now.’’
“But, I am looking forward to getting back to Martinsville and get the season kicked off.’’
After all, Buescher’s got history to make.
The 23-year-old Texan is trying to become the first driver in history to win back-to-back Camping World Truck Series titles.
He drove his No. 31 Rheem Chevrolet to a 13th-place finish — and picked up a bonus point for leading one lap — in a typically wild-and-wooly Feb. 22 opener on the Daytona high banks. And now he’s ready to get back to business.
Because of the nature of superspeedway pack racing, Buescher has learned not to get overly excited or massively worried based on the outcome of that one particular race.
“It’s hard to build momentum off just Daytona,’’ Buescher allowed. “It’s such a different animal from all the other races besides Talladega that to really say your season started … that’s just hard to say.
“It’s just a different style of race. If the five-week break has to be anywhere in the schedule, I think it’s in the right spot because of that reason. Once we get to Martinsville, then we really get the season started.
“Yes, 13th (place) was less than satisfactory for our team, but it’s better than we finished last year at Daytona. I don’t remember the position we finished (17th), but I know we were the highlight reel on SPEED every week when they showed commercials for the Daytona race and Joey Coulter landing on top of me.’’
It’s a different brand of highlight reel he’d like for this season. And as far as he’s concerned, he’s already a leg up in the pursuit.
Buescher’s record at the next three stops is both encouraging and impressive. At Martinsville, he has six finishes of 12th or better in seven starts, including third- and sixth-place finishes in two races there in 2012.
He answered his third-place showing last year at Martinsville with a second place at the next venue, Rockingham, and then his first of four season victories at Kansas.
“I’m ready to go,’’ he said.
And at last, he can.
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Conti celebrates his first win of the season and his re-emergence as a NiSWC title contender.
Michael Conti’s first two NASCAR iRacing.com Series World Championship races had all the makings of a sophomore slump. Shockingly, he failed to qualify for the season opener at Daytona, then could not crack the top 20 the following week at Las Vegas. Mired deep in the standings, Conti needed a breakthrough . . . and he got one in a big way last night by leading 70 of 156 laps and winning at Phoenix International Raceway.
On a track that is among the most difficult to pass on the entire NiSWC circuit, Conti’s pit crew kept him in the fight, knocking-off quick pit stops every time the Main Performance Chevy needed service. Once the crew did their job, the driver did the rest en route to the victory.
“I didn’t expect this one! I had a great car this week thanks to all of the guys at JScho and Drill Aisle. This is so cool; the first win was great, but this one is absolutely amazing,” said Conti, a winner at New Hampshire in his rookie season.
Jake Stergios continued his strong start to the season with a second place finish. Brian Schoenburg was third, Vegas winner Marcus Lindsey finished fourth with Paul Kusheba rounding out the top five.
Conti started fifth, but quickly made his way up to third and began to run down polesitter Steve Sheehan and Joey Brown. When the first yellow flew on Lap 24, Conti’s pit crew went to work, giving him the lead for the first time.
"This is so cool; the first win was great, but this one is absolutely amazing."
— Michael Conti
He held the lead until the next round of pit stops under the yellow. This time, Joshua Laughton had a slightly better stop and beat Conti off pit road. When the race restarted, Conti clearly had the faster car but was unable to find a way around Laughton. The two battled side-by-side for many laps with Conti even lightly putting the bumper to Laughton on more than one occasion.
On Lap 102 and still stuck behind Laughton, Conti got the break he needed. Once again a yellow slowed the field and all the leaders came down pit road for fresh tires. This time it was Conti passing Laughton and Lindsey to be the first car off pit road with four fresh tires. Once the online race restarted, Conti made quick work of teammate Schoenburg, who was only took two tires, and set sail.
From there, the race turned into a series of short runs due to several crashes. Defending champion Ray Alfalla saw his day come to an end when Sheehan made contact with series points leader Tyler Hudson, sparking a massive crash which sent Alfalla flying over the wall separating the race track and pit road. Alfalla wound up thirty-sixth.
Through all the chaos, Conti remained cool and collected up front and kept getting such good restarts that no one could challenge him for the lead. Schoenburg held his own on two tires for much of the last 50 laps, but finally yielded the runner-up spot to Stergios. It appeared the Stergios might have been a little faster than Conti on a long run, but could not keep pace the first few laps after a restart, allowing Conti to build a comfortable cushion.
Despite some crash damage, Hudson held on for eleventh and by doing so, kept the championship lead. He now leads by nine points over Peter Bennett, who has quietly put together an impressive first three races including top ten finishes at Daytona and PIR. Lindsey is third in the standings, one point behind Bennett. Adam Gilliland and Schoenburg are currently tied for fourth, a dozen markers back of the lead and 14 up on Brandon Kettelle, who slipped to sixth.
With three winners in the first three races, including two drivers who scored their first NiSWC career victories, this season has had an unpredictable start, to say the least. Week Four takes the series to Texas Motor Speedway, and with defending champ Alfalla and 2012 runner-up Conti sitting thirty-second and seventeenth respectively in the championship, a couple more bad races could put them out of the hunt before the season hits the one-third mark.
Conti, fresh off his PIR win, looks to be in better shape of the two. Meanwhile, Alfalla keeps finding himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, something which simply has not happened the past two seasons. He still has plenty of time to turn it around, but he needs some consistent finishes to build some positive momentum.
| Averarge Lap Time | Laps Completed | Cautions | Caution Laps | Lead Changes | |||||||
| 35.835 | 156 | 9 | 37 | 8 | |||||||
| Fin Pos | Driver | Start Pos | Car # | Interval | Laps Led | Average Lap Time | Fastest Lap Time | Fast Lap # | Laps Comp | Pts | Status |
| 1 | Michael Conti | 5 | 5 | 0 | 70 | 35.835 | 26.768 | 29 | 156 | 48 | Running |
| 2 | Jake Stergios | 15 | 41 | -0.528 | 0 | 35.942 | 26.917 | 86 | 156 | 42 | Running |
| 3 | Brian Schoenburg | 4 | 55 | -0.896 | 4 | 35.841 | 26.83 |
29 |
156 | 42 | Running |
| 4 | Marcus Lindsey | 9 | 1 | -1.083 | 20 | 35.838 | 26.769 | 29 | 156 | 41 | Running |
| 5 | Paul Kusheba | 27 | 32 | -1.764 | 0 | 35.829 | 27.005 | 106 | 156 | 39 | Running |
| 6 | Joshua Laughton | 7 | 40 | -1.99 | 34 | 35.845 | 26.812 | 86 | 156 | 39 | Running |
| 7 | Nick Ottinger | 20 | 5 | -2.118 | 0 | 35.743 | 26.992 | 86 | 156 | 37 | Running |
| 8 | Jason Karlavige | 12 | 60 | -2.27 | 0 | 35.844 | 26.928 | 48 | 156 | 36 | Running |
| 9 | Peter Bennett | 25 | 69 | -2.553 | 0 | 35.835 | 27.13 | 145 | 156 | 35 | Running |
| 10 | John Gorlinksy | 29 | 21 | -3.185 | 0 | 35.836 | 26.883 | 126 | 156 | 34 | Running |
| 11 | Tyler D Hudson | 26 | 1 | -4.112 | 0 | 35.843 | 27.021 | 107 | 156 | 33 | Running |
| 12 | Adam Gilliland | 13 | 81 | -4.946 | 0 | 35.67 | 27.04 | 3 | 156 | 32 | Running |
| 13 | Chris Main | 36 | 38 | -4.988 | 0 | 35.841 | 27.134 | 86 | 156 | 31 | Running |
| 14 | Chad Coleman | 42 | 28 | -5.494 | 0 | 35.838 | 27.058 | 86 | 156 | 30 | Running |
| 15 | Bryan Blackford | 40 | 33 | -5.711 | 0 | 35.841 | 27.009 | 145 | 156 | 29 | Running |
| 16 | Andrew Fayash III | 43 | 77 | -6.128 | 0 | 35.84 | 27.121 | 4 | 156 | 28 | Running |
| 17 | Brandon Schmidt | 28 | 3 | -6.963 | 0 | 35.859 | 27.149 | 106 | 156 | 27 | Running |
| 18 | Richard Dusett | 19 | 96 | -7.266 | 0 | 35.869 | 27.205 | 4 | 156 | 26 | Running |
| 19 | Cody Byus | 39 | 27 | -7.517 | 0 | 35.855 | 27.081 | 2 | 156 | 25 | Running |
| 20 | Byron Daley | 17 | 93 | -7.581 | 3 | 35.783 | 27.038 | 48 | 156 | 25 | Running |
| 21 | Robert Hall | 37 | 30 | -7.829 | 0 | 35.858 | 26.975 | 115 | 156 | 23 | Running |
| 22 | Cyril Nousbaum | 11 | 99 | -9.393 | 0 | 35.889 | 27.081 | 2 | 156 | 22 | Running |
| 23 | Patrick Baldwin | 8 | 52 | -10.537 | 0 | 35.952 | 26.968 | 2 | 156 | 21 | Running |
| 24 | Michael J Johnson | 34 | 39 | -12.744 | 0 | 35.892 | 27.18 | 1 | 156 | 20 | Running |
| 25 | Alex Warren | 38 | 82 | -14.688 | 0 | 35.9 | 27.121 | 106 | 156 | 19 | Running |
| 26 | Thomas Lewandowski | 6 | 16 | -15.738 | 0 | 35.978 | 26.934 | 2 | 156 | 18 | Running |
| 27 | Casey Malone | 22 | 92 | -18.393 | 0 | 35.937 | 27.15 | 48 | 156 | 17 | Running |
| 28 | Steve Sheehan | 1 | 6 | -22.237 | 25 | 36.038 | 26.82 | 2 | 156 | 17 | Running |
| 29 | Brandon Kettelle | 24 | 80 | -1L | 0 | 36.134 | 27.114 | 106 | 155 | 15 | Running |
| 30 | Landon Harrison | 31 | 89 | -1L | 0 | 36.01 | 27.104 | 86 | 155 | 14 | Running |
| 31 | Kevin King | 21 | 29 | -2L | 0 | 35.147 | 27.034 | 111 | 154 | 13 | Running |
| 32 | Landon Huffman | 35 | 75 | -6L | 0 | 37.283 | 27.092 | 86 | 150 | 12 | Running |
| 33 | Brad Davies | 18 | 11 | -6L | 0 | 35.361 | 26.985 | 87 | 150 | 11 | Running |
| 34 | Jared Crawford | 2 | 83 | -7L | 0 | 37.575 | 26.835 | 29 | 149 | 10 | Running |
| 35 | Carson McClelland | 33 | 24 | -17L | 0 | 36.284 | 27.068 | 3 | 139 | 9 | Running |
| 36 | Ray Alfalla | 14 | 2 | -17L | 0 | 36.817 | 26.866 | 29 | 139 | 8 | Running |
| 37 | Matt Bussa | 41 | 34 | -23L | 0 | 34.999 | 27.112 | 30 | 133 | 7 | Disconnected |
| 38 | Philipp Geiss | 23 | 66 | -28L | 0 | 34.345 | 26.967 | 86 | 128 | 6 | Disconnected |
| 39 | Dustin Mongtomery | 16 | 8 | -36L | 0 | 38.836 | 26.879 | 29 | 120 | 5 | Disconnected |
| 40 | Joey Brown | 3 | 12 | -47L | 0 | 35.15 | 26.957 | 2 | 109 | 4 | Disconnected |
| 41 | Carson Downs | 10 | 97 | -56L | 0 | 31.439 | 26.808 | 29 | 100 | 3 | Running |
| 42 | Chad J Laughton | 30 | 26 | -113L | 0 | 29.95 | 27.17 | 30 | 43 | 2 | Running |
| 43 | Danny Hansen | 32 | 30 | -114L | 0 | 29.967 | 27.182 | 1 | 42 | 1 | Running |
___________________________________________________________________________________________
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“Ten Days Of Giving” tour and Camping World add luster to this year’s NASCAR Day
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The NASCAR Foundation and many throughout the NASCAR industry will come together on Friday, May 17 at Charlotte Motor Speedway to celebrate the 10th Annual NASCAR Day. This special day is an unprecedented celebration of drivers, corporate partners, media and the sport’s millions of fans uniting with The NASCAR Foundation to support a range of charitable causes relevant and meaningful to those within the NASCAR family.
Over the past 10 years, the annual celebration has grown substantially in its outreach efforts and impact on communities throughout the country. NASCAR Day, first held in August 2004, initially consisted of supporters making financial donations and showing support by wearing a NASCAR Day pin at their place of business.
Today, it involves so much more.
"I’m pumped to join Camping World and NASCAR to help promote this year’s NASCAR Day program."
— Darrell Wallace Jr.
For the first time, The NASCAR Foundation will be launching a “Ten Days of Giving” tour that will include philanthropic activities in several markets across the country. At each stop on the tour, beginning May 8 in Atlanta, Ga., and culminating on NASCAR Day in Charlotte, N.C., the foundation will partner with various organizations to deliver surprise acts of kindness. In addition to Atlanta and Charlotte, the tour will make stops in Winston-Salem, N.C.; Brooklyn, Mich.; Darlington, S.C.; Kansas City, Kan.; New York, N.Y.; and Daytona Beach, Fla.
“This exciting Ten Days of Giving tour reflects an overall expansion of the NASCAR Day initiative, which is perfectly aligned with our original ambition for The NASCAR Foundation,” said Betty Jane France, chairwoman of The NASCAR Foundation. “Through the years, the growth of NASCAR Day has paralleled the growth of the foundation. That has increasingly enabled us to do more to help communities throughout the U.S.”
Camping World, the Official Outdoor and RV Retailer of NASCAR, has joined the cause this year and will make the limited edition pin, designed by NASCAR’s first officially licensed artist Sam Bass, available now until May 17 at Camping World SuperCenters nationwide for a $10 donation to The NASCAR Foundation. Go online to CampingWorld.com/stores to find a location near you. NASCAR fans and supporters can also pick up their collectible pins at track during select race weekends or online at NASCAR.com/foundation. NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Darrell Wallace Jr. is among the drivers helping to promote NASCAR Day activities.
“I’m pumped to join Camping World and NASCAR to help promote this year’s NASCAR Day program,” said Wallace Jr. “The NASCAR Foundation supports many great causes and has proven its ability to make a difference every year. I encourage fans to stop by Camping World to get their NASCAR Day pins and join me in supporting the NASCAR Foundation by wearing their pins on May 17.”
To date, NASCAR Day fundraising efforts has raised nearly $12 million for various charities supported by The NASCAR Foundation with an emphasis on children’s causes.
NASCAR Day at-track activations will include commemorative B-post decals on all trucks running in that day’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race and on all cars participating in the next day’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, a special pre-race check presentation and many others.
Fans and supporters are encouraged to join the conversation on Facebook at facebook.com/NASCARFoundation and Twitter using hashtag #NASCARDay and share in the celebration of the sport’s long history of philanthropy.
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JD Motorsports joins forces with 23-year-old Cassill
JD Motorsports with Gary Keller has inked a deal with Landon Cassill to be the primary driver of the No. 4 Flex Seal Chevrolet for the remainder of the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series season. The agreement covers all the companion events on the Nationwide schedule, beginning next week at Texas Motor Speedway.
Cassill, 23, comes to the team with a vast amount of racing experience over the past five years that includes winning the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year. He began his racing career when he first entered a quad race at the tender age of three-years-old, progressing to karting where he won two Kart Series National Championships and four International Kart Federation (IKF) Championships.
“JD Motorsports is pleased to announce the addition of Landon Cassill to our team. His experience in both the Nationwide Series and the Sprint Cup Series will help to improve our entire program,” stated Johnny Davis, owner and CEO of JD Motorsports.
Quickly adapting, Cassill became the youngest winner in the ASA Late Model Series in 2003 by winning a North Series event at Lake Erie Speedway at age 14, his first foray into stock car racing. Cassill began his NASCAR career through the GM Racing Development competition and was signed by NASCAR powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports in December of 2006. He was then tasked with testing the team’s Car of Tomorrow program as the lead driver in their research and development department, which accumulated 13 of the first 16 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series COT race wins.
In 2008, Cassill began a stint at JR Motorsports where he ended the season with 19 starts, five top-10s, one pole and the NASCAR Nationwide Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year honor. Cassill continued testing with Hendrick Motorsports and completed one start in Phoenix Racing’s No. 1 Miccosukee Chevrolet at Memphis Motorsports Park in 2009, where he finished 10th.
The year 2009 saw Cassill take on the challenge of qualifying for his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events. Three years later marked Cassill’s first full-time season on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Cassill drove the No. 83 Burger King Toyota to seven top-20 finishes for start-up team BK Racing. For 2013, Landon will also be competing in the Sprint Cup Series, racing the No. 33 Circle Sport Chevrolet.
“I am really happy to be joining JD Motorsports and racing the No. 4 Flex Seal Chevrolet in the NASCAR Nationwide Series,” said Cassill. “I went down to the shop and met with Johnny (Davis) and the guys, and I am excited for the opportunity. I look forward to helping them improve over the course of the season, and I believe we can race competitively starting at Texas.”
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Turner Scott Motorsports, JR Motorsports test at Texas Motor Speedway
Making the most of an off week, Turner Scott Motorsports’ and JR Motorsports’ NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers took an early run at Texas Motor Speedway to prepare for next weekend’s race. Series rookie Kyle Larson ran his first laps around the 1.5-mile track, while Turner Scott teammates Nelson Piquet Jr. and Justin Allgaier and JRM drivers Kasey Kahne, Regan Smith and Brad Sweet got a better feel for how their cars would handle at the Fort Worth track.
"It means a lot because this is my first time here," Larson said. "When we come back next week I will have already had laps on the track so I should be able to start off practice a little better. Most places that I haven’t gone to before, I spend the first two or three runs trying to get used to the track. When I come back we will start off right away working on the car rather than me working on how to get around the track."
Larson has already raced on multiple tracks for the first time this year, finishing in the top 10 at both Auto Club Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway. He is currently seventh in the standings, seven spots ahead of Piquet Jr., who has never been to Texas in a Nationwide car.
"We are trying to test as much as we can and try to learn as much as we can because it is very important for us," Piquet Jr. said. "Coming over here one or two days before the race gets us closer to big teams like Roush (Fenway Racing), (Joe) Gibbs (Racing), RCR (Richard Childress Racing), which have a lot of information. This for sure helps us a lot and is very beneficial for us. When we get these days we have to make the most out of them."
While the track may be more familiar to their teammate, Allgaier still had plenty to think about during his time on the track.
"The biggest thing we’ve looked at is how the tires match up to the race track," he said. "How our cars are going to run. We have the new Camaro. This is the first time that Turner Scott has come here with the new Camaro and obviously Texas is fast. It is one of the fastest mile-and-a-halves that we go to. It’s fun, but we are just trying to get a good balance of the car and see how the car changes throughout the day."
Texas will host the first night race of the Nationwide Series season Friday, April 12 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
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