Kenseth takes win as Bristol wreaks havoc on Chase picture
Bristol Motor Speedway lived up to its reputation in the Irwin Tools Night Race on Saturday. When the dust settled and the smoke cleared, the series points standings had been shaken up and drivers who maybe thought they were in a safe position found themselves on the outside looking in. Other drivers now feeling safer after great runs.
Kenseth fought off a hard charging Kasey Kahne in the closing in a fantastic battle reminiscent of the Bristol of the past. Kahne pushed hard and took a couple shots, but refused to wreck Kenseth to get the win. After the race, Kahne talked about the battle, “I just couldn’t clear him, there was a couple shots I took, and I had to have been close because I could feel him on the right side of my car, I just didn’t clear, couldn’t figure out how to get by him. It’s disappointing not to win here.”
The night turned bad for defending champion Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, and Martin Truex Jr. All three were involved in a late race crash when Brian Vickers and Denny Hamlin got together collecting the trio.
Thanks to the fact that the top four drivers in the standings had trouble, Harvick maintained his points position in fourth, currently 61 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson who also had trouble tonight finishing 36th after being involved in a crash and spending time behind the wall for repairs.
Keselowski finished 30th tonight and fell out of the top ten. His teammate Joey Logano, coming off a victory last week at Michigan had another solid effort finishing fifth. Logano is now tenth, just four points ahead of Keselowski. Keselowski commented about the chase, “If you’re not in right now, I don’t care if you’re running eighth or you’re running 13th, every team is worried – not just mine.”
Martin Truex Jr. came into tonight in 12th place in the standings. Truex finished 35th causing him to drop to 14th, but with Logano moving inside the top ten, Truex currently has the first wildcard spot four points ahead of Ryan Newman.
Second place, Clint Bowyer, was made contact with Travis Kvapil while leading and ended up 14th. Bowyer now sits 18 points behind Johnson.
Third place, Carl Edwards, also had bad luck tonight after having one of the best performances of the season. Edwards led 119 laps, but broke a valve spring on a restart that eventually led to engine failure. It was the first DNF for a Roush-Fenway Racing car all season. Edwards finished 39th. Edwards maintains third in the standings, 53 points out of the lead. “We had a great car, probably the best car we’ve had in a long time.” “The engine ran great until it blew up, so if we run like that the rest of the year, it’s gonna be awesome.” Carl said after falling out of the race.
Winner Matt Kenseth, with his win tonight clinched a guaranteed spot the Chase. Kenseth sits sixth in the standings 85 points out of the lead.
Kahne’s second place finish allowed him to pick up three spots in the standings and moved inside the top ten. Kahne is now eighth in the standings, however, he is only 20 points ahead of eleventh place Brad Keselowski.
Kurt Busch’s streak of three top ten finishes came to an end. Busch started second and led 54 laps, but a loose wheel led to wheel stud damage and sent Busch behind the wall for repairs. The Furniture Row Racing Team also had a loose wheel problem at Bristol in the spring. Mistakes have cost the team several chances at good finishes and possible wins throughout the season.
Busch has been offered a contract extension with the team for next season, but he is also in talks with Stewart-Hass Racing to drive a fourth car next year. A move to SHR could give him the consistency he needs to find his way to victory lane.
Kyle Busch came up short in his bid to sweep the weekend. Kyle started 43rd , and fought his way close to the front. Busch finished eleventh and maintains fifth in the standings 82 out of the lead.
Just two races to go before the Chase starts, the mile and a half in Atlanta and another short track at Richmond. With the competition we have seen this season and the tight points battle between eighth and 13th, the Chase is nowhere near being settled.
The series now visits Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday night, Sept 1st at 7:30pm for the Advocare 500.
As win slips away Kahne notes, ‘I just don’t wreck people’
Bristol Motor Speedway is known for a lot of things and the bump and run is something that’s become famous at the bullring.
Saturday night however, Kasey Kahne opted out of that option, as well as the option to wreck Matt Kenseth, while racing for the win. He had plenty of opportunities over the race’s final 20 laps in which he caught Kenseth with a faster car, but was unable to make the clean move he wanted. Kenseth took home another victory as Kahne earned a first and second place finish at the track on the season.
“Seems that way. I’ve always really raced that way,” a clearly dejected Kahne said afterwards on how he’s a notably clean racer.
“I don’t have any experience doing it for one [wrecking someone], and for two, that’s just kind of how I’ve always raced. I think more than anything it’s just discouraging when other guys, like Matt in his case at Watkins Glen, watching that afterwards, all he had to do was lift, and he didn’t because he didn’t want to get passed from behind or whatever the situation was.
“It wasn’t a mistake like he got loose or anything, he just didn’t lift and wiped us out and those kind of things are discouraging because that’s not how I race, but at the same time, more times than not, Matt races me clean.
“I don’t know – I think at the end of the day I just don’t wreck people.”
Two weeks at Watkins Glen Brad Keselowski fought the internal battle of wrecking Kyle Busch for the win. It was also in that race that Kenseth got into Kahne, igniting the Hendrick Motorsports driver’s fire again about the way the Joe Gibbs Racing team has raced him this season.
Which is why no one would have thought any different – besides Kenseth followers – if Kahne was to take this opportunity to get one back. After all, he’s finished second to Kenseth twice prior to Bristol. He’s been wrecked four times by JGR cars.
His attempt to sweep the BMS races for 2013 came up short, but Kahne moved back up three spots in the points to eighth. Two races remain before the Chase starts and he would love to have more bonus points for seeding. Except he was unwilling to earn those Saturday by going against his own personal code, even if he might have fought the decision afterwards.
“I had already tried to clear him on a slide job and he just didn’t brake and stayed in the gas and we were going to hit each other,” Kahne said about the exciting side-by-side battle with Kenseth.
“I don’t know how all that was going to work out. I needed a win bad, but I also needed a finish, and I just didn’t do anything crazy. I just basically ran as hard as I could, tried to pass him two different times and ran on his bumper and hoped he’d screw up, and he really never did.”
The late battle was an instant classic as the two fought hard for what would have been a big win. Kahne had the better car and the strategy to have gotten into the position, charging when it mattered most. But in the end, it was more of the same in the Kenseth versus Kahne battle.
“It was a great night for us, good points and things,” Kahne noted, “but yeah, I wish I could have figured out how to get by him.”
Best run of season for Labonte comes up short at Bristol
Bobby Labonte and the JTG/Daugherty team have been in the news a little more than usual lately. The team owners came under fire from fans in June when they sat former series champion, Labonte out of the car for the race at Michigan in favor of journeyman driver, AJ Allmendinger.
The reason the team cited for the change was their lack of performance and the need to get another perspective from a driver that has proven himself to be fast in several different cars. Though the team stressed the fact that Labonte was their driver and that he was not being permanently replaced, the fans still felt Labonte had been done a dis-service.
Labonte started the Michigan race driving the No. 51 for Phoenix Racing. He crashed out on lap one, however, when he collided with Jeff Gordon. To make matters worse, in the eyes of the fans, two weeks later the team put Allmendinger back in the car again at Kentucky. This time Labonte did not enter the event, thus ending the second longest start streak in NASCAR’s top series.
The team’s decision, though not a popular with fans, seems to have paid off. Allmendinger performed well in the car, scoring a 19th, a 22nd, and managed a top-10 at Watkins Glen, a feat the team had not achieved in some time.
The team put the information gathered from the experiment with Allmendinger to work. Labonte has ran better than his average in several races. Labonte qualified 23rd for the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol, which was close to his best starting position of the season, 20th at Sonoma.
Labonte worked his way toward the front and with the help of some pit strategy, made it to the top-5 and stayed there for over 80 laps. Bad luck strikes the No. 47 on lap 176, however, when leader Clint Bowyer got together with Travis Kvapil and spun on the frontstretch. Labonte had nowhere to go and slid into the side of the No. 15. After spending 53 laps behind the wall, Labonte made it back out to earn valuable series points. Labonte finished 38th.
One thing was evident, however, the team has heart and is still putting forth an effort to improve and do as well as possible in a tough sport. They could have easily given up, packed up and beat the traffic out of Bristol, Tennessee, but they chose not to do that. I believe the top-20 finishes that team owner Brad Daugherty indicated they were looking for are just around the corner.
Could Kurt prevent Kyle from sweeping Bristol?
The Busch brothers have both been very successful at Bristol Motor Speedway. Kurt was always a threat during the early 2000’s. In recent years, Kyle has taken the reigns and been very dominate. In fact, with his dominating win Friday night in the Food City 250, Kyle became the winningest driver at Bristol in the three national series combined.
During a six race stretch from 2002-2004, Kurt piled up four wins, and sixth place and an eighth place. Kurt has a career total of 25 starts, five wins, seven top-5’s, and 14 top-10’s.
In similar fashion, during a six race stretch for Kyle, from 2009-2011, he also scored four wins, a second and a ninth. Kyle has a career total of 17 starts, five wins, eight top-5’s, and 12 top-10’s.
The one advantage Kyle has over his brother is Camping World Truck and Nationwide Series experience. Kyle has scored four wins in Camping World Trucks and six wins in Nationwide. Many of these wins coming in dominating fashion.
In 2010, Kyle completed the weekend sweep at Bristol winning all three races. This weekend he has the opportunity to do so again. Kyle came from being almost a lap down on Wednesday night to win the UNOH 200. He then proceeded to take the entire field to school on Friday on the Food City 250 leading 228 of 250 laps.
Kyle has two hurdles to overcome – first, he tagged the wall in qualifying and will start 43rd. No one has ever won at Bristol starting from the 43rd spot. Second, his brother Kurt. Kurt has been on a roll of late. Kurt’s Furniture Row Racing Team has been making strides in becoming faster and more consistent each week.
The team’s alliance with Richard Childress Racing gave them access to the information and technology they needed to become a front runner. Then you add in Kurt, who fell from grace a few years ago, and has been on a mission to prove himself worthy of a top notch ride in NASCAR’s premier series.
Personality issues were Kurt’s downfall. A confrontation with respected ESPN reporter, Jerry Punch, was the final straw. Kurt found himself looking for a job. He landed with Phoenix Racing, a team that was extremely underfunded compared to the mega teams Kurt had been used to driving for.
After a period of time with that team, he found himself at Furniture Row Racing. FRR is a self-sponsored, independent team based in Denver, Colorado. Kurt brought experience, talent, and determination to the organization. It is a recipe that has worked well, and now they have results to show for it.
The brothers are now in a position to go head to head with their Bristol experience. Kurt will be starting second on Saturday night, and will be attempting to prevent Kyle from sweeping the weekend. Kurt has been on the verge of winning his first race since 2011.
At one time, there seemed to be a family feud between the two. Once in 2007 during an All-Star race at Charlotte they got together and took each other out. In recent years, however, they seem to be getting along very well. Kurt even drove for his brother in a few Nationwide races last season.
With the feud over, Kurt and Kyle both seemingly more mature with an eye on the bog picture, it would make for a fantastic show, if it were to come down to Kurt and Kyle battling each other for the win in the Irwin Tools Night Race. The green flag falls at 7:44pm local time.
Canadian Heroes Racing honor fallen soldiers with each lap
For many of us, it’s all about the racing. Everybody goes to the race track because they’re race fans and it’s something fun to do, whether behind the wheel or not. Though for Canadian Heroes Racing, it’s more than that.
While competiting for race wins, they’re also remembering the soldiers that have died. The drivers carry the colors, paying tribute to those soldiers and encouraging others to do with each lap that they make on track.
The idea came about by Chris Ecklund to remember the soldiers at the track.
“When a soldier is killed in action, they are repatriated via the Highway of Heroes where civilians can pay their respects,” Ray Keeso, the National Team Manager for Canadian Heroes Racing, says. “The racing element was started to allow those regions that cannot make the journey to the overpasses, the opportunity to pay their respects to the fallen hero and the family at the track.”
By doing this, Kesso says that it shows that the sacrifice the person made in the military is not forgotten.
“It is emotional, proud, stressful and satisfying,” Kesso says. “Racing awards trophies for winning and only those who do well receive that. Well we award a trophy at every race, our hood to the family. That is a sense of pride in country, of respect to the fallen soldier and to their family.”
On top of having cars carry their cars, Canadian Heroes Racing, sponsored by Lincoln Electric, runs races some events in memory of a fallen soldier. This weekend, the Canadian Heroes Lucas Oil Sportsman Series car driven by Kevin Trevellin will be racing at Flamboro Speedway in honor of Sgt. Shawn Allen Eades. Born in 1975 in Hamilton Ontario, Eades served with the Canadian Military Engineers 12th Field Squadron, 1 Combat Engineer Regiment, 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI). Sadly, Eades was killed in action on August 20, 2008 in Afghanistan.
“Sgt. Eades was respected for his outstanding professionalism and remembered as a devoted father who liked to share stories with his children with colleagues and friends,” the Canadian Heroes press release stated. “Sgt. Eades, who was on his third tour of Afghanistan, was remembered by family and colleagues as a dedicated soldier and devoted father. Shawn has worn a uniform almost his whole life. He joined Cadets at 12, then he served in the Reserve Force and he joined the Regular Force when he turned 18. As dedicated as Shawn was to his job, he was even more dedicated to his family. He always had strong family values and it was difficult for him to be away, but he always knew that his family would receive great care from his extended family and from the military’s services.”
At events like this, the Canadian Heroes Racing team brings the family of the fallen solider out to the race and at the end of the night, the family gets to take home the hood that has a picture of the solider out.
He adds events like this mean a lot to the family because “they physically see fans wearing red to show support, they meet people who come up and thank them for their son or daughter’s service. One only has to sit in the grandstand during a race and see the family. Their smiles, their laughter but their tears. We have been told, ‘Thank you for a great night. We really enjoyed ourselves it’s too bad that it was for this reason’.”
Also at the event, they ask the family to provide something that belonged to the fallen solider to have it in the car during the race so the fallen
hero can ride with them.
“At Peterborough the driver was given the Military Medal of Valour (MMV),” Kesso says. “The family told us that the medal had never been taken out of its case, only this one time. Words cannot accurately explain how we feel or what this means to us. We truly beliive that ‘Freedom is Never Free’.”
On top of the Lucas Oil Sportsman Series car, Canadian Heroes Racing has four other cars in action.
Lucas Lubin (military reserve) completes weekly in the Mini Stock division at Ohsweken Speedway, driving the No. 29 sponsored by Eggz Custom Fab and Lincoln Eletric. The hood is wrapped in memory of Captain Richard Steven Leary and Trooper Larry John Zuidema Rudd.
Chad Strawn drives the No. 77 Canadian Heroes OSCAAR Open Wheel Modified to honor all fallen soldiers. Recently, Strawn picked up a heat win at Kawartha Speedway a couple weeks ago.
The No. 74 Canadian Heroes CASC-OR Trans Am is not racing this year, but was driven last year by Ian Michael Patterson.
Lastly, they have a No. 33 Junior Late Model with Canadian Heroes Development driver Austin Fisher behind the wheel. The 11-year-old has impressed already, picking up some impressive finishes in his career.
Some people race for the pure joy. Others race together because that’s what they do as a family. For Canadian Heroes Racing, it’s something totally different. It’s to remember the fallen soldiers, while reminding people that ‘Freedom is Never Free’.
Kyle Busch makes it 2 for 2 at Bristol winning the Food City 250
Kyle Busch is one step closer to sweeping the weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. After having to come from behind and almost a lap down on Wednesday night in the Camping World Truck Series race, Busch dominated the Food City 250 on Friday night leading 228 lap of the 250 lap race. In victory lane, sounding confident Kyle said, “You gotta win two to win three.” Tonight’s win also gave Kyle the most national series wins at Bristol with a total of fifteen.
Busch jumped out front at the drop of the green and didn’t look back. In the early stages of the race, began lapping cars quickly. A yellow flew on lap 65, Busch stayed out and did not pit. It did not seem to make much difference, Busch still had the dominant car.
Pit strategy put Kyle Larson in the lead at lap 109, but it did not take long for Busch to find his way back to the front. Larson led 22 laps before relinquishing the top spot back to Busch.
Drew Herring hits the wall hard in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing entry after contact with Mike Bliss. Herring stays on track and gestures to Bliss during caution laps. Later in the garage, Herring said, “I don’t know what the 19 was thinking. He wrecked us for no reason.”
Just a few short laps later, a major crash with huge points implications. Regan Smith, who came into the race tied for third in the standings with Austin Dillon, gets into the wall. Smith would end up four laps off the pace, finishing 21st. He is now 24 points behind the leader, after leading by 58 points just a few weeks ago.
Brian Vickers and Parker Kligerman suffered a similar fate just a few laps later, with both drivers crashing hard on the front stretch. Vickers and Kligerman ended up 34th and 35th respectively.
Behind the domination of Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski comes home second. Austin Dillon had a solid points night finishing third and moves into second spot in the series standings just six points behind the leader Sam Hornish who finished 12th after suffering a broken spark plug wire.
Justin Allgaier finishes fourth in the Brandt Chevrolet, with rookie Kyle Larson taking fifth in his No. 32 Cottonelle Chevrolet.
Other notables: championship contender, Elliott Sadler had a solid night finishing tenth. Travis Pastrana with a good effort in 13th. Jeff Green, subbing for Eric McClure, had an impressive run finishing 16th.
We will now see if Kyle Busch can pull off a second weekend sweep at The Last Great Colosseum, Bristol Motor Speedway tomorrow night in the Irwin Tools Night Race.
