SM Staff

When Ryan Newman first came on to the NASCAR scene in 2002, we all saw Newman as a shining light in the sport. Newman was a kid who had the potential to be a champion in the sport.

“This is a weekend that to me helps define what our program is about and what our organization’s about.”

Pit crews go through all sorts of training and recently Speedway Media was invited to see how the Stewart- Haas NASCAR over the wall teams train for their pit stops. They use what’s called a VertiMax system (www.vertimax.com) which they describe as “an innovative training system that allows pit crew members to simultaneously strengthen arm swing velocity and leg drive for maximum explosive speed, which is crucial when every millisecond counts.”

With the temperatures soaring and the ‘monster’ on the prowl, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 44th annual FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway.

The small snippet on the scanner conversation between Jimmie Johnson, who had just blown a sure win by jumping the start in Sunday’s Fed Ex 400, spotter Earl Barban, and crew chief Chad Knaus. I thought I heard the quote, but having it replayed today on SiriusXM’s NASCAR Radio channel proved I did hear that. My only question is who is “they” and why do they not want Johnson to win?

From what I saw, NASCAR made the right call at Dover black flagging Jimmie Johnson but if you step back and take a look at how restarts are policed; you would agree that NASCAR needs to overhaul the entire process.

When it comes to fast single car operations, everyone thinks of Kurt Busch and Furniture Row Racing but there is another single car team out there that is just a couple steps behind the No.78 performance wise.

At the end the second race of the weekend in Detroit, it’d be Simon Pagenaud picking up his first career victory. The victory for Pagenaud in the Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans Race 2 marks the sixth different winner in seven races this season.

Tony Stewart defied all odds, coming from a 22nd starting position at the Monster Mile, to battle Juan Pablo Montoya to win the 44th Annual FedEx benefiting Autism Speaks race. This was Smoke’s first victory of the season and only his third top-10 finish in 2013.

While Joey Logano’s victory in the Nationwide race at Dover was his third straight Dover win, the driver of the No. 22 Hertz Ford for Penske Racing was fixated on firsts instead.