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Jeff Burton, Kurt Busch on hand to honor troops in Washington

WASHINGTON — They came together for a chance to honor and to celebrate with those who have made a difference and those who have given of themselves both at home and abroad.
 
Members of Congress and the Senate, high-ranking military officials, corporate CEOs and athletes from various professional sports were in attendance Tuesday at the Ronald Reagan Building for the ninth annual Armed Forces Foundation Congressional Gala.
 
It was a powerful group. But the stars of the program were the approximately 250 service members and their families.

"Tonight really symbolizes what the AFF program is about, and it’s a chance to honor and thank everyone involved."

—Kurt Busch

“You won’t see this many important people together in one place for one cause; to be able to talk about your message with this many people, that’s a big deal,” said Patricia Driscoll, President and Executive Director of the AFF.
 
“I grew up in a military family and everyone in my family has served. I grew up in a military town. I’ve spent a lot of time overseas deployed with my company. … This (program) means a lot to me and I feel we need to give back. These service members do so much to protect our freedom, give so much of themselves; we owe it to them to give them a healthy life.”
 
The AFF provides assistance to active duty and retired military personnel and their families through a number of initiatives including financial assistance, therapy and outreach programs and national educational initiatives.
 
NASCAR is heavily involved through its Troops to the Track partnership, a program that brings wounded or disabled active or retired military personnel to NASCAR events.
 
“NASCAR is one of the most patriotic sports,” Driscoll said, “and its fans are incredibly patriotic. The (Troops to the Track) program is a great way for our guys with PTSD or other issues to realize there’s a lot to look forward to, that there are a lot of people that love you and care about you. And it’s a good reason to continue to work hard, change your life and live life.”
 
Kurt Busch, NASCAR’s 2004 Cup champion, said it’s easy for Americans to “take our freedom for granted.
 
“It’s an everyday way of life for the majority of us, to wake up and go do the things we get to do,” he said. “It’s a privilege and it comes at a sacrifice.
 
“The way that it affects me when I see these guys at the track … some might be missing a (limb), some might have scar tissue … they will deal with the rest of their lives. And they’re kids, from 18 to 25, that we’re seeing with these wounds. What they’ve done to give us the opportunity to live a free life came at a cost. It’s up to the AFF to give back and help tie loose ends up and to help ease that transition.”
 
Busch spent Tuesday morning swapping rides with Australian VA Supercar driver James Courtney at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. By Tuesday evening, he was in Washington taking part in the AFF event.
 
“A very busy day,” he said. “But I wouldn’t miss this. Tonight really symbolizes what the AFF program is about, and it’s a chance to honor and thank everyone involved.”
 
Fellow NASCAR driver Jeff Burton is a member of the AFF’s board of directors, although he said, “I don’t think I’ve been a particularly good board member. I’m new and not real good at it.”
 
He’s willing, he said, to participate in a program that he feels very strongly about. Taking “10 or 15 minutes” to speak with members of the military or their families at the track “is not a big deal” when they deserve so much more.
 
During the drivers’ meeting at Kansas a few days earlier, Burton said he saw the parents of a fallen soldier in attendance.
 
“I always try to go search those people out and shake their hand and tell them I’m sorry for their loss,” he said. “You look in their eyes and you think … it’s an overwhelming experience. Those kinds of things are sobering.
 
“We finished 18th, we thought we ran well (but) we finished poorly,” he said of his Richard Childress Racing team’s Kansas effort. “You’re mad and you think the world’s coming to an end; we’ve run bad for two, two and a half years, you know.
 
“Then you step back and you realize how lucky you are. These things are humbling and help me put things in perspective. It doesn’t mean we don’t want to win. It does mean when we don’t have success, there are bigger things in the world and this is a good example of it.”

Marcus Jadotte, Kim Burton and Jeff Burton were at the festivities in Washington.


Kurt Busch was at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, before heading to Washington to honor those who serve.


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Three-time champ at the forefront of Stewart-Haas Racing struggles

Tony Stewart finished third a year ago at Richmond International Raceway, extending a string of solid efforts that dated back to his epic championship run the season before. Fresh off his first title, he was showing early-season strength unusual for a driver whose best didn’t typically kick in until the summer and fall. With two victories already, his berth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup was effectively secured. After leading 118 laps on the Virginia short track, there seemed the potential for many more to come.

What a contrast that time feels like to now, when Stewart limps back to Richmond in the midst of the worst start of his proud and illustrious career. It has become painful to watch, a driver of Stewart’s caliber riding around every week in the middle of the pack. His 21st-place finish at Kansas continued a five-week slog since Stewart’s last competitive run, 11th at Las Vegas. He’s 21st in the standings, the lowest he has ever been through eight races, and his slowest start since he was 14th at this point in 2005.

Of course, Stewart rebounded to win his second premier-series championship that year, when he used a furious summertime spurt to effectively distance himself from the field. Is he capable of that this season? It’s the same driver behind the wheel, so it would be foolish to sell Smoke short. But eight years ago, an early engine failure played a key role in his slow start. This time around, a wreck at Daytona — where he seemed the man to beat entering the 500 — certainly hasn’t helped. But the more this year goes on, the more it seems something else is missing.

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Because it’s not just Stewart — it’s all of Stewart-Haas Racing that appears to be behind in its development of the new Generation-6 car that debuted on the Sprint Cup tour this season. SHR may get its chassis from Hendrick Motorsports, but it’s still ultimately up to SHR personnel to prepare and tune the vehicles. And judging from the results turned in by Stewart, Ryan Newman and Danica Patrick much of this season, the entire organization seems to be searching.

No question, the implementation of a new car with a completely redesigned body style and increased mechanical grip presented a challenge for every team in NASCAR’s top series, and entering the season there seemed to be a consensus — whoever hit on something quickest would have an advantage. Look at the start Joe Gibbs Racing is off to, particularly on intermediate tracks, and it’s easy to believe that’s the case. But eight races in, equally as important seems to be what teams have missed it, or at least struggled to adapt as quickly.

SHR is clearly foremost among that group, but it’s not alone there. Richard Childress Racing has endured its growing pains with the new car, and although RCR hasn’t really been a threat to win a race, Paul Menard and Kevin Harvick each seem to have found a degree of consistency that’s keeping them at least on the fringes of Chase contention. There’s plenty of work still to be done, of course, but last week at Kansas — where Menard was 10th and Harvick 12th — could be viewed as forward progress.

Harvick’s future car owner, meanwhile, was back there with Regan Smith and David Gilliland, drivers at a vast disadvantage to Stewart in terms of money and manpower. We’re not exactly early in the season, either — it’s nearly May, long enough for teams to determine the difference between bad luck and something more systemic. Other drivers who have endured poor starts, like Jeff Gordon and Martin Truex Jr., have been able to hang their helmets on runs that represent what they might be capable of. For Stewart, every week now is a grind.

Given how beloved Stewart is by much of the fan base, and how much more interesting things are when he’s in contention — who can forget the “he’s not going to sleep for three weeks” challenge to Carl Edwards two years ago? — none of this is good news. But it might have been predictable, given that this year SHR as an organization is clearly in flux, with one driver coming in, another potentially going out, and plenty of infrastructure shuffles needed to accommodate both of them.

Never has Stewart carried more on his shoulders, given that Patrick is a work in progress, and Newman is in the midst of a one-year deal. No question, it seemed necessary to pair Patrick with crew chief Tony Gibson and what used to be the No. 39 crew, given how well the personalities involved meshed together, and how much a rookie driver needed a veteran on the pit box. But Patrick’s development is ongoing, and despite runs like those at Daytona and Martinsville, she isn’t going to transform into a Chase contender overnight.

In short, you have a lot of resources dedicated to a longer-term goal, and any immediate success is a bonus. And then there’s Newman, who doesn’t have the likes of a GoDaddy — SHR’s biggest sponsor at the moment — behind him, and signed a one-year extension with Harvick ostensibly waiting in the wings. Stewart and his management team have done a fine job cobbling together a sponsorship package for the No. 39 car, but at the start of the season Newman’s crew was still a relatively new group, and crew chief Matt Borland hadn’t worked a full campaign in seven years.

Given all that, Newman’s 17th-place position in the points — and top-10 finishes in two of his last three races — is probably more impressive than it gets credit for. Particularly in light of the struggles endured so far this season by Stewart, whose No. 14 team entered the year as the one ready-made title contender in the SHR stable. Yes, the cars have been a work in progress. Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that a rookie driver, or even a more experienced one with a relatively green crew, would wrestle with them. But a three-time champion who seems capable of winning in any kind of vehicle on the planet? That’s something very different.

Granted, there’s a lot of season to go. Of Stewart’s 47 victories at the premier level, only four have come before May. His strength is the summer, when tracks get hot and slick, and all that car control honed in his sprint-car days comes into play. Earlier this year at Las Vegas, Stewart started with a car that was wrecking loose and wrung an 11th-place finish out of it, in as vivid a display of his driving prowess as we’ve seen all season. The dude can still wheel it. Underestimate him at your own risk.

But as recent weeks have shown, not even a driver of Stewart’s caliber can do it all by himself. Eventually the cars have to get better, and the team has to progress from scrambling to building. Richmond, a track where Stewart has won three times and is riding a streak of four consecutive top-10 finishes, seems as good a place as any to begin a turnaround. But it would still be quite a surprise to see him lead 118 laps and finish third Saturday night, even if it all seemed so natural just a year ago.


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Young driver says he’ll rely on team depth in worst-case scenario

Related video: Logano speaks up on recent events

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Joey Logano knows he’ll have his regular crew chief and support personnel at the track this weekend when he competes at Richmond International Raceway. Whether he’ll still be surrounded by the same faces after that will hinge on an appeal filed by his Penske Racing team in the wake of severe NASCAR penalties.

NASCAR on Tuesday announced that Penske’s appeal of penalties levied against the teams of Logano and Brad Keselowski will be heard May 1 at the NASCAR Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C. The crew chiefs for each program, as well as their respective car chiefs, race engineers and the team competition director, were all suspended by NASCAR for six weeks after the rear ends of both cars failed pre-race inspection two weeks ago at Texas Motor Speedway.

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The suspended personnel are able to work pending the appeal, although 25 points docked from Keselowski and Logano went into effect immediately. Three members from the National Stock Car Racing Appeals Panel will hear the Penske appeal. If the sanctions are upheld, Penske has the option of a final plea to Chief Appellate Officer John Middlebrook, who last year overturned suspensions and a 25-point deduction originally levied against Jimmie Johnson’s team.

“We need to prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” Logano said at the Carolinas Aviation Museum during an event promoting the upcoming Coca-Cola 600. “So we will prepare for the worst. We’ll obviously bring some extra people to try to have some overlap within our team to prepare for if the appeal doesn’t go the way we expect it to. So we need to always do that. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best, and we’ll get through this. Penske Racing has a lot of depth in the company. They’re very strong, and we will get through this.”

The penalties stem from rear-end housing pieces that NASCAR confiscated before the Texas race, forcing both Penske teams to change out the parts and rush the vehicles back through inspection during pre-race festivities. NASCAR deemed that Logano didn’t make it to the starting grid on time, and made him start at the rear. He still managed a top-five finish, continuing a strong early season that at one point saw him rise as high as ninth in the standings.

After incurring the 25-point penalty and finishing 39th at Kansas Speedway after being involved in a crash with Kyle Busch, Logano has slipped to 20th. But he believes he can still rally to challenge for his first berth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

“If we don’t have issues, we can get top-10s every week. I feel that confident,” he said. “No matter what, we can always get a top-10 …. And even if we don’t start very well, we’ve been able to get our cars good. We proved that at Texas. We didn’t start the race very well, and we had a lot of issues leading up to the start of the race, and we were able to tune our car in and … finish fifth. A top-five after that is awesome. So yes, we know we can do it. We know we can win races. We’ve been in contention to win races this year. It’s just become that much more important this year in the position we’re at.”

Logano said Penske was still working through a plan in case it has to compete without the suspended personnel. No. 22 crew chief Todd Gordon faces six weeks out, as does car chief Raymond Fox III and engineer Samuel Stanley. On Keselowski’s team, crew chief Paul Wolfe, car chief Jerry Kelley and engineer Brian Wilson all face the same fate, as does Penske competition director Travis Geisler. Both crew chiefs were also fined $100,000. If the penalties are upheld and Penske does not appeal further, the suspended personnel would be out until the June 16 event at Michigan.

“I think the teams are really dealing with it well,” Logano said. “We understand we want to win races and we’re going to push as hard as we can to win races, just like every other team does. I think everyone’s been very supportive, throughout all of Penske Racing, from the top to the bottom, and I’m glad to see that. Glad to see no one rolling over, and everyone working hard and still wanting those wins. That’s what makes a strong organization in my eyes.”

According to NASCAR, the Penske teams violated the sections of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series Rule Book which state that approved parts cannot be used after NASCAR deems them ineligible for competition, that stipulate what suspension parts and hardware must be made of, and outline the correct size of round mounting holes, and limitations on movement or realignment of suspension parts beyond normal rotation or travel. Some of those regulations are specific to the Generation-6 car, which debuted this season on NASCAR’s premier series.

“It’s teams pushing everything to the edge and trying to interpret the rules the right way,” Logano said. “And sometimes that becomes a challenge, I believe. It happens. It’s part of our sport. We want to win races as bad as anybody. And everyone’s going to do that, everyone’s going to try to find … a competitive advantage within the rules.”

Logano appeared Tuesday at an event promoting next month’s races at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which will once again have a military theme. The flyover prior to the May 26 Coca-Cola 600 will feature 10 vintage military aircraft, including two P-51 Mustangs owned by Jack Roush. Goodyear will continue its annual military appreciation campaign, using tires with “Support our Troops” stenciled on the sidewalls for all events during both Coca-Cola 600 and Sprint All-Star Race weekends.

The speedway has also launched a program in which sponsored buses will carry service members from Fort Bragg in North Carolina, and South Carolina’s Fort Jackson and Shaw Air Force Base to the Coca-Cola 600. The track is providing 3,000 tickets for military distribution through the USO. Logano symbolically kicked off the program Tuesday by driving a motorcoach carrying some military personnel.

“It puts everything in perspective for sure,” he said. “Yes, a tough day at the race track is hard, but it’s nothing compared to what these guys are doing out there. It does put it in perspective. You get frustrated racing because it’s your job and it’s your passion, but what I’m doing compared to what all these military guys are doing — I’m not really doing much at all, if you look at it that way.”

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Sprint Cup Series: Toyota Owners 400 results

Nationwide Series: ToyotaCare 250 results

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series both traveled to Richmond International Raceway this week for a pair of night races, won by Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski, respectively.

Check back for the latest coverage from NASCAR.com.

In The Rearview

It was another wild weekend in NASCAR, and what better way to catch up on the action than with our new column, In the Rearview? Check out all the interesting tidbits from Kenny Bruce, including how Aric Almirola is on the move, insightful stats on green-white-checkered dominance and the week’s best quotes. | Read the full story

Harvick wins thriller

Kevin Harvick went from seventh place to first on a restart to take a dramatic green-white-checkered finish and win the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Harvick spoiled Juan Pablo Montoya‘s bid for his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory on an oval track. | Read the full story

Busch’s eventful night

After tangling with three different drivers — including one (Tony Stewart) on the cool-down lap — Kurt Busch was more interested in talking about results. He finished ninth Saturday, and took an interesting road into the top 10. | Read the full story

No win, no problem

Juan Pablo Montoya led 67 laps and was in position to win Saturday night’s Toyota Owners 400. Then came a late caution. While that ruined his chances of winning, it didn’t ruin his night — the No. 42 team was thrilled with a top-five. | Read the full story

Patience pays off

Jamie McMurray and his No. 1 team didn’t get the results they wanted last year, but for the greater good, they spent time experimenting late in 2012. That’s paid off in 2013, with McMurray at 10th in the standings. | Read the full story

Engine caution

Given the penalties to Matt Kenseth’s team earlier in the week, Clint Bowyer’s team has erred on the side of caution. The No. 15 crew swapped out engines before Richmond because one connecting rod was too close to the legal minimum. | Read the full story

Scott, Piquet fight

Brian Scott and Nelson Piquet Jr. fight after Friday’s race at Richmond International Raceway. Scott accuses Piquet of a low blow, and both drivers are summoned to the series hauler to talk things out. Watch the video | Read the full story

Kes cashes in

Brad Keselowski outdueled a pair of fellow NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regulars to win his first Nationwide Series race of the year Friday. Keselowski’s win ended Kyle Busch’s three-race series winning streak. | Read the full story

Annett may be out until Charlotte

Michael Annett, out of the No. 43 Nationwide Series car since a crash in the season-opening race at Daytona, will be sidelined a little longer as he continues to recover from a sternum injury. | Read the full story

Police: RCR crew members charged

Two Richard Childress Racing crew members were charged and released early Saturday morning by the Henrico County (Va.) Police after a post-race altercation on the grounds of Richmond International Raceway. | Read the full story

A well-earned pole

It’s been a difficult week for Matt Kenseth, but the driver drove through the adversity to claim the pole for the second consecutive week. His pace at Richmond International Raceway set a new track record. | Read the full story

Gibbs gives take

Joe Gibbs agrees his No. 20 team should be penalized for having a light rod in Matt Kenseth’s car. Where the JGR owners disagrees, though, is with the penalty’s severity. He spoke Friday at Richmond. | Read the full story

Disagreement discussed

Danica Patrick chided David Gilliland over her radio during last week’s race, and Gilliland responded with a tersely worded reply later that night. The two seem to be on the same page after talking at Richmond, though. | Read the full story

No. 20 team keeps eye on Chase

After being hit hard with a penalty for an underweight engine part at Kansas Speedway, Matt Kenseth and team are insisting their win was fair — especially crew chief Jason Ratcliff, who spoke to the media Friday afternoon. The team will look to prove that this weekend at Richmond. | Read the full story

Pemberton chimes in on penalties

Robin Pemberton, NASCAR’s vice president of competition, spoke out Friday to outline the sanctioning body’s approach to Matt Kenseth‘s penalty, one of the most severe in the sport’s history, illustrating what care was taken with the case of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ most recent winning car and what areas of the rule book are strict no-nos. | Read the full story

Busch wins Showdown

Kyle Busch is coming off a rough week at Kansas Speedway, but things sure are looking promising this time around. Busch started the weekend by winning Denny Hamlin’s Short Track Showdown at nearby Southside Speedway. Can he keep the momentum for a Richmond sweep? | Read the full story

Kenseth responds to penalty

Matt Kenseth sounded off on penalties handed down Wednesday by NASCAR, saying that his team’s engine violations were an honest mistake and did not enhance the performance of the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota that carried him to victory the previous weekend at Kansas Speedway. | Read the full story

Kenseth’s crew chief’s take

Jason Ratcliff said members of Joe Gibbs Racing expected NASCAR to come down hard on the team for an engine infraction discovered two days after Matt Kenseth’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory in Kansas, but admitted that “some of those penalties were quite surprising, were quite shocking.” | Read the full story

Hamlin not cleared to race

Denny Hamlin won’t be able to race in the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway. After checking his latest round of scans, doctors told Hamlin he had not healed enough to get back in his No. 11. | Read the full story

Danica, Comedy Central team up

The orange-haired cartoon face on Danica Patrick‘s No. 10 GoDaddy.com car won’t be the only man smiling at the Sprint Cup Series driver this weekend. During an appearance on Comedy Central’s "The Colbert Report," host Stephen Colbert offered Patrick a sticker of his face bearing a goofy grin for placement on her car at Richmond International Raceway. | Read the full story

Earnhardt’s effort pays off

When JR Motorsports had an open seat in its No. 5 car for Saturday night’s Nationwide Series event at Richmond International Raceway, the call ultimately went to Jeffrey Earnhardt — who was working on a boat and getting ready to go out fishing when the phone rang. | Read the full story

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Keselowski, Logano teams were fined, docked points after Texas race

Related: Driver reports | Paint scheme preview | Recapping Kansas

NASCAR officials announced Tuesday that an appeal from Penske Racing regarding penalties issued after the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway will be heard Wednesday, May 1, at the organization’s research and development center in Concord, N.C.

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The National Stock Car Racing Commission, a three-member panel, will hear the organization’s appeal beginning at 9 a.m. ET.

The Nos. 2 and 22 Penske Racing Fords of defending series champion Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano failed a pre-race inspection at Texas on April 13. NASCAR officials confiscated unapproved parts from the rear end housing, forcing both teams to scramble to make the starting grid.

On April 17, NASCAR issued penalties to both teams, docking both drivers 25 championship points. Crew chief Paul Wolfe, car chief Jerry Kelley and engineer Brian Wilson of Keselowski’s team, plus crew chief Todd Gordon, car chief Raymond Fox III and engineer Samuel Stanley of Logano’s team were handed six-week suspensions. Wolfe and Gordon were also fined $100,000. Penske competition director Travis Geisler was also banned for six weeks.

All penalized Penske personnel, who were also placed on probation until Dec. 31, were on duty last weekend pending the appeal.

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Check out which new colors will fly at the Virginia short track

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

This weekend’s races at Richmond International Raceway will put drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series under the lights on this .75-mile aslphalt track.

Below are some of the special paint schemes you’ll see at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota Owners 400.

RELATED: Purchase die-casts of favorite driver | Classic die-casts

Brad Keselowski will drive the No. 2 Redd’s Apple Ale Ford.

SHOP: Brad Keselowski die-casts

Brian Vickers will drive the No. 11 FedEx Delivery Manager Toyota.

SHOP: Brian Vickers die-casts

Clint Bowyer will drive the No. 15 Let’s Go Places Toyota.

SHOP: Clint Bowyer die-casts

Greg Biffle will drive the No. 16 American Red Cross Ford.

SHOP: Greg Biffle die-casts

Kevin Harvick will drive the No. 29 Bell Helicopters Chevrolet.

SHOP: Kevin Harvick die-casts

Jeff Burton will drive the No. 31 Airgas/Bulwark Chevrolet.

SHOP: Jeff Burton die-casts

David Ragan will drive the No. 34 CSX-Play It Safe Ford.

SHOP: David Ragan die-casts


JJ Yeley will drive the No. 36 NASCAR Day Chevrolet.

SHOP: JJ Yeley die-casts

Ryan Newman will drive the No. 39 Outback Steakhouse Chevrolet.

SHOP: Ryan Newman die-casts

Juan Pablo Montoya  will drive the No. 42 Depend Chevrolet.

SHOP: Juan Pablo Montoya die-casts

Martin Truex Jr. will drive the No. 56 NAPA Brakes Toyota.

SHOP: Martin Truex Jr. die-casts

Travis Kvapil will drive the No. 93 Dominion Raceway Ford.

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Below are some of the special paint schemes you’ll see at the NASCAR Nationwide Series ToyotaCare 250.

Elliott Sadler will drive the No. 11 SportClips Toyota.

SHOP: Elliott Sadler die-casts

Nelson Piquet Jr. will drive the No. 30 Delavaco Chevrolet.

Kyle Larson will drive the No. 32 Cessna Chevrolet.

Kevin Harvick will drive the No. 33 Hungry-Man Chevrolet.

SHOP: Kevin Harvick die-casts

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MWR star finds comfort zone, aims for Richmond success

Clint Bowyer has one of the quirkier personalities in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The driver of the No. 15 Toyota always has a zinger ready, a comeback planned, a retort prepared.

He’s joked about the top speeds capable from the Generation-6 car — “I’m thinking somewhere in the 300s.” — earlier this year during testing. He’s playfully analyzed why five-time series champion Jimmie Johnson won’t fly in U.S. Air Force Thunderbird jets — “Jimmie Johnson won’t ride in the Thunderbirds because he don’t want to get sick and be made fun of. … I’m just going to go ahead and call him out. He’s scared.”

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That kind of sarcasm, those bits of humor, have long been Bowyer’s preferred manner of communication. His personality hasn’t changed over the years. What has changed are his results on the race track and the team with which he is associated.

“I’ve been able to kind of come into my own and be my own self a little bit more since going to (Michael Waltrip Racing),” Bowyer said Tuesday on NASCAR’s weekly teleconference with reporters. “Just all of my surroundings kind of enabled me to be who I am, so it probably comes out a little bit more.

“But more importantly, probably just running better. … It’s gone (from) just kind of being one of the boys to one of the elite, and it’s because of making the change to MWR. I think you just see more of me.”

The NASCAR world has seen a lot of Bowyer recently following the driver’s breakout 2012 in which he won three races and finished second in the points standings. It was Bowyer’s first year with MWR, and he was the organization’s first driver to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup — teammate Martin Truex Jr. also qualified for the Chase as the 10th entrant.

Their spots in the 12-driver field that comprises NASCAR’s 10-week sprint for the title were secured at Richmond International Raceway in the final race before the Chase last September. Bowyer won that event, leading the final 88 laps in a performance that gave his team a jolt that lasted the rest of the season.

The Sprint Cup Series returns to Richmond this Saturday for the Toyota Owners 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, FOX). In addition to winning the most recent race at the .75-mile track, Bowyer has eight top-10s in 14 career starts there, including four of the past five races.

“Richmond is one of the coolest race tracks on the circuit,” Bowyer said. “I think it’s a perfect blend of speed — as a fan you get that sensation of speed — but it’s also short-track racing at its best. A fan can see us rooting and gouging and beating and banging on each other and really putting on a good show. I wish there was five more of them across the country, but obviously, selfishly, that’s because I run well there.

“Once you win at a race track, every time you go back there after that, there’s always something you can carry in, and that’s confidence.”

Short tracks are Bowyer’s specialty, considering the Emporia, Kan., native grew up racing on the small ovals dotted throughout the Midwest. In his eighth season on the Sprint Cup tour, though, the 33-year-old has become comfortable on all types of tracks. While two of his three top-fives this year have come on the series’ shortest ovals — Bristol Motor Speedway and Martinsville Speedway — Bowyer is coming off a fifth-place finish Sunday at Kansas Speedway, a 1.5-mile intermediate track.

At ninth place in the Sprint Cup Series standings and heading to his self-professed favorite track, Bowyer appears to be avoiding the hangover that seemingly plagues those who finish second in the standings. Most recently, Carl Edwards barely lost out to Tony Stewart for the 2011 title. In 2012, Edwards didn’t make the Chase.

“Obviously everybody talks about that (second-place) jinx and everything else. It just wasn’t the case with us,” Bowyer said. “The reason I didn’t think so is everybody else that had finished second ‑‑ looking at Carl in particular, he lost by a point … just the devastation from that can carry over not just within a driver, but everybody across the board on the race team.

“That being said, we were the first year in with a brand-new team, we finished second in the championship, won three races. There was absolutely nothing to be hanging your head on, holding your head down. We were all super pumped up and couldn’t wait to get started in 2013.”

That preseason feeling reached far beyond Bowyer. It came from the top, with Michael Waltrip setting the tone and saying he wanted his drivers to win more in 2013. Bowyer’s crew got swept up in the momentum, too.

Crew chief Brian Pattie learned quickly the best way to communicate with Bowyer, whose mind tends to wander in the race car at times. Pattie has endeared himself to the driver so much that, while discussing the No. 15 team, another of Bowyer’s personal attributes shone through — humbleness.

“It’s all about the people you have around you,” Bowyer said. “Brian Pattie, everybody on our (team) is just really, really on. I’ve got an awesome group, from the crew chief like I said, to engineers, the over‑the‑wall crew has really turned the corner and gotten a lot better this year. We just keep perfecting what we’ve got. (It’s) a great program that I’m a part of, and I think the results are kind of speaking for themselves.”

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A look back at a wild weekend at Kansas and a peek ahead to Richmond

In more ways than one, NASCAR is a circular sport. Drivers roar around ovals, strength and weakness are often cyclical, and teams aren’t shy about jumping on board with any trends that work. Put most simply, what goes around, comes around — sometimes quite literally.

That was certainly the case Sunday, when a scrape on the first lap at Kansas Speedway had huge implications for the end of the race. When Brad Keselowski’s car suffered damage to its left-rear in contact back in the pack during the opening laps of the event, it seemed the only driver affected would be the reigning Sprint Cup Series champion, who fell a lap down while his crew repaired the damage on the afternoon’s first round of pit stops.

And that indeed was the case — until the patched-up piece of quarterpanel tore away from the vehicle with 50 laps remaining, bringing out a debris caution that trapped four contenders a lap down on pit road. While the yellow flag likely didn’t impact the race winner given that Matt Kenseth was the class of the entire weekend, it certainly shuffled the top 10. Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had all been near the front for much of the race, the latter three combining to lead 46 laps.

But once the caution came out, they were up against it. They took the wave-around to get back on the lead lap, yet none of those drivers proved a factor in the event again. Stenhouse rebounded to finish 11th, his best of the season. But the handling in Edwards’ car went away, and being back in traffic exacerbated issues with Biffle’s vehicle, and Earnhardt couldn’t mount another closing charge as he’s done so many times already this year. Jamie McMurray, Aric Almirola and Paul Menard took advantage, translating their late track position into top-10s.

The biggest winner in that late-race shuffle? Probably Keselowski himself, given that he improved 10 spots over that final green-flag run, his car the strongest it had been the entire race with that flapping piece of sheet metal finally removed. His sixth-place finish seemed a gift, given all it had taken to get there. In this day and age of NASCAR, every position counts. Every point matters. And sometimes, things that happen on the first lap play a role in the end.

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On the rebound: Of course, it should come as no surprise that Keselowski rebounded, given what we’ve seen from him this season. This is, after all, the same group that nearly stole the Daytona 500 with a car that had been involved in two wrecks. This is the same driver who managed a top-10 at Texas despite his car rolling through inspection only moments before the race, and losing a lap early. Few teams respond better to adversity than Keselowski’s, a fact on display again at Kansas. Just imagine what he might be capable of if he stays on the lead lap the whole race.

Intermediate success: Think Joe Gibbs Racing has something figured out on intermediate tracks? Four races, and now four wins, two each by Kenseth (Las Vegas and Kansas) and Kyle Busch (Fontana and Texas). As an organization JGR had a few setup issues Sunday, as evidenced by three of its cars — those of Busch, No. 11 fill-in Brian Vickers and Nationwide regular Elliott Sadler — spinning out. But right now, no team is better on intermediates. Watch out for Kenseth, a two-time winner at Charlotte, in the Coca-Cola 600.

Outside contender: Although he isn’t as heralded as his Ford stable mates at Roush Fenway, Almirola continues to turn in solid results at Richard Petty Motorsports. His eighth-place result at Kansas gives him consecutive top-10s for the first time in his Sprint Cup career, and he’s placed inside the top 20 in every event this season save one he was wrecked out of at Bristol. Given how deep we are in the season, he and crew chief Todd Parrott clearly have something working that make them an outside contender for the Chase.


Biggest gainers: Kasey Kahne and Martin Truex Jr., who each picked up five spots. Thanks to his runner-up finish, Kahne moved up to second behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson. Truex has now gained 14 positions in the last two weeks, and is up to 14th after Sunday’s fourth-place result. Truex is historically good on 1.5-milers, and his quest to get back in Chase contention now continues on more traditional layouts like Richmond and Darlington.

Biggest loser: Joey Logano, who dropped six positions after his early crash with Busch, who lost five spots. Busch, though, still stands seventh, and more importantly has a pair of race wins to fall back on. Logano has no wins and is 20th in points, the Kansas crash coming on the heels of a 25-point NASCAR penalty his Penske Racing team plans to appeal.

Lofty lead: By the way, have you noticed Johnson’s lead atop the standings is now a rather comfortable 37 points? Last year at this time, the gap between first and second was 15. Keselowski’s crisis management hasn’t really allowed him to chase race wins, and Earnhardt’s strong start is quickly becoming a memory after three tough finishes in a row. Meanwhile Five-Time quietly keeps chugging on, with five top-10s and two wins in eight starts.


Look who’s there: The battle for the No. 1 overall Chase seed continues to get more interesting, given that Johnson, Kenseth and Busch now have two wins apiece. Kenseth may be eighth in the standings, but a lot of that goes back to his engine failure in the Daytona 500. In terms of overall performance, perhaps only Johnson has run better this season.

Break on through: Race wins to this point are evenly distributed among the top Chase contenders, keeping a lot of drivers in play for potential wild card spots. McMurray continues to show signs of life for an Earnhardt-Ganassi team that’s been stuck in neutral the past two years, while Menard has set the pace for a Richard Childress Racing operation that’s been underwhelming to this point. But race wins may ultimately determine who gets in, and toward that end we’re still waiting for someone in that group to break through.

Talladega nights?: Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin remains very much a factor even though he’s still out of the car recovering from the broken neck vertebra suffered at Fontana. He’s 42 points behind 20th-place Logano, and told FOX during Sunday’s race that he might start next week’s event at Talladega before turning the No. 11 back over to Vickers. The longer those wild card hopefuls jostle for position, the greater the chances of Hamlin becoming a factor when he returns for good.


The big payoff: No. 2 crew chief Paul Wolfe’s decision to keep Keselowski out of the pits during the caution that followed the accident involving Busch and Logano on lap 104. That move allowed Keselowski to make up the lap he lost because of the early pit stop required to fix opening-lap damage to his race car, and ultimately paid off in a sixth-place finish.

Quote of week: “Who cares how you get caught? If you’re cheating, if you’re doing wrong, it doesn’t matter what you’re doing — it’s wrong.” Clint Bowyer, on whether Michael Waltrip Racing would turn in another team for bending the rules.

Runner-up: “Oh, really? Oh, that makes me feel bad.” Danica Patrick, when reminded it’s been five years since her breakthrough victory in Japan in the IndyCar Series.

Honorable mention: “I didn’t talk to anybody about it except for (wife) Katie. … I didn’t really tell anybody else about it. I really didn’t need to. It wasn’t really a hard decision, believe it or not.” Kansas winner Kenseth, on leaving Roush for JGR.


On the docket: Saturday night’s event at Richmond International Raceway, where Busch is defending champion. Can the JGR guys keep it going? Or can Earnhardt get back on course in an event where he finished second last season? The 2012 race is best known for the travails of Edwards, who led 206 laps but finished 10th after being black-flagged for jumping the start on a late restart.

 

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The sport and stakeholders work together to give back to the environment

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – While the rest of the world officially celebrates Earth Day on Monday, NASCAR prefers to operate as if every day is Earth Day. This month just happens to be particularly green.

Toyota drivers Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr. joined local youth to plant trees and spread recycled rubber mulch on Friday just outside the gates of this past weekend’s NASCAR venue, Kansas Speedway. 

"It’s neat that (NASCAR Chairman) Brian France had that vision because we were faced with an opportunity that was huge — being green, being environmentally friendly and being able to get that message to fans."

—Greg Biffle

“This is the first time I’ve autographed a shovel,’’ Bowyer joked of the checkered flag painted tools.

Greg Biffle debuted a commercial recognizing NASCAR’s Race to Green initiative during Sunday’s NASCAR on FOX race broadcast. The Kansas Speedway finish line was painted in green and white — a nod to the effort.

And Earth Day Monday morning at a Kansas City-area state park, The NASCAR Foundation hosted UPS and Sprint employees along with a large group of Missouri children to restore and refresh a park and bike trail. The 90 trees they plant will offset the carbon emissions of Sunday’s STP 400 race.

These high-profile events are just the latest efforts when it comes to NASCAR’s comprehensive Green Initiative, widely considered the most ambitious and successful among professional sports leagues.

Beyond the Sunoco Green E15 ethanol-infused fuel, the largest recycling program in sports and track initiatives such as Pocono Raceway’s solar farm, NASCAR is celebrating Earth Day all month in a big way.

“You know we take care of each other; we do so much with charitable work, but the ground itself is overlooked and this is a neat opportunity to take care of both,’’ said Bowyer. “I’m proud to be in a sport that does so much for charity and to take care of the earth.’’

This month, NASCAR’s Clean Air Tree Planting Program delivered by UPS will plant enough trees to offset the carbon emissions produced by all three NASCAR national series this season.

Sponsors such as UPS, Sprint, 3M, Ford, Toyota and Freightliner, plus ongoing support from The NASCAR Foundation, have made substantial commitments to the tree platform.

UPS, for example is partnering with the Arbor Day Foundation to plant 8,000 trees — a minimum of 90 in each racing market. Ford is planting trees based on the number of laps led by Ford drivers this month — another 45 just from Sunday. Toyota is planting trees based on the number of competition laps. And 3M is similarly donating trees for every lap of Sprint Cup and Nationwide competition — a total of 2,350 laps. 

NASCAR’s Race to Green also asks the sports loyal fan base to participate by donating trees — www.NASCAR.com/green — that will be planted in areas decimated by natural disasters.

For example, NASCAR, Pocono Raceway and UPS participated in a tree-planting event at the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, Pa., where UPS is donating 35,000 trees to this one site.

Biffle, whose No. 16 Ford is sponsored by 3M, says being environmentally aware has always been a part of his life and these latest initiatives — part of the five-year old NASCAR Green program — make him proud to be a competitor.  

He takes great pride in the way he runs his 1,000-acre ranch in North Carolina. Construction work is done with “blow-down” timber — trees that have naturally fallen from wind or weather. He pays for in-home recycling pick-up even though he could just get regular trash pick-up for free.

“Ever since I can remember, I’ve been earth-conscious,’’ Biffle said. “I grew up in the Northwest and learned at a young age to catch and release fish, don’t cut trees down if you don’t have to and I’ve been that way.

“And we are a perfect candidate for a sport because we use a lot of consumable goods, meaning you go to a baseball game or football game, and there’s not sheet metal, gas and tires,’’ he explained. “We have a great opportunity to recycle and Jack (Roush) is very big on recycling. We have a guy on staff where that’s his whole job to oversee that program.

“Jack likes to brag that we recycle 97 percent of every race car. The steel, the mechanical parts, all of it and sell the parts that can be used over again to other divisions (in racing).

“It’s neat that (NASCAR Chairman) Brian France had that vision because we were faced with an opportunity that was huge — being green, being environmentally friendly and being able to get that message to fans.

“It’s a huge deal and a lot of people take pride in it.”

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Sonoma, Watkins Glen to use new format, starting this season

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR announced Monday that the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will implement the group-based road course qualifying procedure used in NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Touring Series competition during its road-course events at Sonoma Raceway and Watkins Glen International. Under the new procedure, cars will qualify in groups instead of the traditional single-car qualifying runs held on oval race tracks.

“The change will add an exciting element to road-course qualifying,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. “Fans will be treated to new strategy and increased competition with several cars on track at once.”

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The new qualifying rules for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at road courses are as follows:

•  Cars attempting to qualify will be divided into groups. The number of groups, and amount of cars in each, will depend on the number of cars that practice for the event.

•  Group assignments will be based on final practice times.

•  Each qualifying group will be on-track for a set period of time, determined by the Series Director.

•  A car’s best lap time during the group session will be the qualifying lap time of record.

•  A group’s time begins when the first car receives the green flag at the start/finish line.

“This is going to be a terrific new format for our NASCAR weekend,” said Steve Page, president and general manager of Sonoma Raceway. “It will intensify the action, with multiple cars on the track at the same time. It’s a very positive development for our fans.”

“The new format of qualifying at Watkins Glen International enhances the fan experience which is our top priority,” said Michael Printup, president of Watkins Glen. “Qualifying on Saturday for our Cheez-It 355 at The Glen is even more of a not-to-be missed aspect of a weekend of high-quality racing.”

The new format will debut with the Toyota Save-Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 23 and will return at Watkins Glen for the Cheez-It 355 at the Glen on August 11.

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