Hot 20 over the past 10 – It is all business at Stewart-Haas, Godfather style

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August 21, 2013

Stewart_MattLaFair — Photo Credit: Matt LaFair

Some watch soap operas, but I once watched wrestling. I understood a rewritten biblical verse because Stone Cold said so, I smelled what the Rock was cooking, and Mick Foley had multiple personalities while making a star out of a sock puppet. While I loved the comedy of their sports entertainment, I loved the behind the scenes stories even more. Who got pushed to be a star, who got screwed, who was doing what to whom? I gave it all up for NASCAR and now I have come full circle.

Instead of talking about Junior’s great run that went for not, or Jimmie’s car that would not go, or Joey’s big win, we got ourselves a full blown soap opera brewing. Coming out of the 2008 season, Tony Stewart got part-ownership of Gene Haas’ race team. He hired his buddy Ryan Newman to join him, and placed Darian Grubb on top of his pit box and a front line operation was born. Both teams made the Chase in 2009, with Stewart picking up four wins that season. In 2010, Newman won once but missed the post-season, while Stewart won two and made the Chase again. Both were in the hunt in 2011, with Newman adding yet another win before Tony claimed a pair to begin the Chase. Then, with six races to go, the soap opera began.

Stewart likes his buddies, but only those buddies know how much they like Smoke in return. Grubb had guided his boss to three Chase appearances and eight wins in 102 starts. Yet, sitting seventh in the Chase, 19 points out, Grubb got notice that he would be gone at the end of the season, to be replaced by Steve Addington. Grubb responded by aiding his soon to be former boss to six straight Top Tens, including three victories in the final four contests, and the 2011 Sprint Cup title.

According to Stewart, the decision had actually been made before the Chase had began, when the team limped into the hunt ninth overall. It was decided at that time that “we needed to go in a different direction.” In fact, even with the five Chase wins, the eight Top Tens, and the great calls from the pit box in the season finale were not going to change things. “When we decided to make the change, we stuck with what our decision was,” said Stewart. In short, thanks for all you have done to make me a champion, now goodbye and good luck.

Move ahead two years. Danica Patrick comes in with her looks, her gender, her single F-1 victory, and her sponsorship. She claims the Daytona 500 pole, she finishes in the top ten that race, and has done precious little since. Kevin Harvick becomes available, he gets the 2014 ride in the car Newman had been driving. Too bad, as even winning the Brickyard 400 the next race after getting his notice, there was no room at the inn. If only there had been available sponsorship for a fourth car, Newman would have been in it, we were told. He was told.

Unless Kurt Busch wants to join, then word is that Stewart’s partner Gene Haas would magically be able to come up with the sponsorship himself. In house sponsorship for Busch, jack squat for Newman. Maybe Tony likes Ryan, but Gene sees Kurt as the guy he would prefer to spend his own money on. Maybe Tony was being honest with Newman, but more room at the inn comes available only if Gene builds a new wing for Busch. Maybe.

Maybe Steve Austin was the original, but maybe it is Tony Stewart who has gone stone cold, if you smell what ole Smoke is cooking. Maybe, to paraphrase a quote from the Godfather, “Tell Darian and Ryan it was only business, I always liked them.”

Ironically, Newman remains among our hottest drivers but so are Logano and Martin Truex Jr as the trio battle for the final wild card Chase berth. Newman is ten behind Logano, with Truex in command by 17. None have won at Bristol before, but both Kyle and Kurt Busch have won there five times, along with Jeff Gordon. One doesn’t need the win, but one could come in handy for the other two and Gordon needs to turn up the heat.

Name	Points	Pos.	LW	Rank	W	T5	T10
Kevin Harvick	350	1	4	(4)	0	3	7
Clint Bowyer	349	2	3	(2)	0	4	6
Jimmie Johnson	340	3	1	(1)	2	3	7
Kyle Busch	332	4	2	(5)	1	4	7
Kurt Busch	328	5	5	(9)	0	3	7
Carl Edwards	319	6	6	(3)	0	2	5
Ryan Newman	313	7	12	(15)	1	3	4
Joey Logano	311	8	10	(13)	1	2	7
Martin Truex, Jr.	310	9	14	(12)	1	3	4
Greg Biffle	310	10	9	(10)	1	2	5
Brad Keselowski	298	11	11	(8)	0	2	3
Jamie McMurray	290	12	15	(16)	0	1	2
Matt Kenseth	289	13	16	(6)	1	2	4
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	281	14	7	(7)	0	2	4
Jeff Gordon	276	15	13	(14)	0	2	5
Kasey Kahne	267	16	17	(11)	1	2	4
Marcos Ambrose	260	17	19	(22)	0	0	2
Tony Stewart	256	18	8	(18)	0	4	5
Juan Pablo Montoya	242	19	18	(23)	0	1	2
Jeff Burton	238	20	21	(20)	0	1	3
Aric Almirola	233	21	22	(19)_	0	1	1
Casey Mears	233	22	20	(24)	0	0	1
Paul Menard	228	23	24	(17)	0	1	1

Crunching The Numbers: Bristol

By

SM Staff

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August 21, 2013

fc500_bms1_scearce — Photo Credit: David Scearce

It’s that time of year again. The weekend in late August that race fans circle on their calendars every year, the Bristol night race. Bristol Motor Speedway always produces great racing, but once night falls and the lights come on at the half-mile bullring, the intensity and action jumps up tenfold. That is also a big reason why Bristol is called “The Last Great Coliseum”. The Camping World Truck Series kicks off the racing at Bristol with their race on Wednesday night, followed by the Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series on Friday and Saturday night, respectively.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series – Irwin Tools Night Race

With only three races remaining until the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins, the Sprint Cup Series heads into one of the most treacherous races of the season with the points standings extremely tight in the bottom half of the top ten. Only 29 points separate Matt Kenseth in sixth place with Kasey Kahne in 11th place and any kind of issues by those fighting for a Chase spot and the points standings could have another big shakeup after this weekend. On the opposite side of the spectrum, there are a few drivers who could leave Bristol with a locked in spot in the Chase based on points if they are 97 points ahead of 11th and the drivers in second, third, and fourth in the points (Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards, and Kevin Harvick) are the most likely candidates to accomplish that.

Driver	Races	Win	Top 5	Top 10	Pole	Laps Led	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
Kyle Busch	17	5	8	12	1	1431	18.2	9.8
Dale Earnhardt Jr.	27	1	7	13	0	758	21.7	11.6
Brad Keselowski	7	2	3	3	0	409	13.7	12.1
Greg Biffle	21	0	6	11	1	438	13.4	12.1
Jeff Gordon	41	5	16	22	5	2713	6.9	12.4
Kevin Harvick	25	1	9	12	0	427	17.8	12.6
Matt Kenseth	27	2	10	17	1	1007	16.8	12.9
Kurt Busch	25	5	7	14	1	841	19.2	13.4
Mark Martin	46	2	16	23	9	1200	10.3	13.7
Jimmie Johnson	23	1	7	13	1	789	15.7	14.3

Who To Watch: As the only driver to sweep the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, and Camping World Truck Series races at Bristol in one weekend, it is no surprise that Kyle Busch finds himself at the top of the heap statistically at Bristol. In 17 races, Busch has five wins, eight top fives, 12 top tens, one pole, 1431 laps led, and an average finish of 9.8. Busch is also coming off of a second place finish in the last race at Bristol in March.

Next up is Dale Earnhardt Jr., who has one win, seven top fives, 13 top tens, 758 laps led, and an average finish of 11.6 in 27 races at the track. Earnhardt finished in sixth in the March Bristol race.

Others to keep an eye on during the madness Saturday night include: Brad Keselowski, who has two wins, three top fives, three top tens, 409 laps led, and an average finish of 12.1 in seven starts; Greg Biffle, the only driver in the top ten statistically without a win, but with six top fives, 11 top tens, one pole, 438 laps led, and an average finish of 12.1 in 21 starts; and Jeff Gordon, with five wins, 16 top fives, 22 top tens, five poles, 2713 laps led, and an average finish of 12.4 in 41 starts.

NASCAR Nationwide Series – Food City 250

Just like the Sprint Cup Series, the Nationwide Series has a close points battle on their hands heading into Bristol this weekend. The top five in Nationwide Series points are only separated by 18 points and with that close of a points race, there is no margin for error for points leader Sam Hornish Jr, and the rest of the top five: Elliott Sadler, Regan Smith, Austin Dillon, and Brian Vickers. Given the history of the action at Bristol, the points standings could be jumbled up again after this weekend.

Driver	Races	Win	Top 5	Top 10	Pole	Laps Led	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
Kyle Larson	1	0	1	1	0	0	12.0	2.0
Parker Kligerman	3	0	0	3	0	0	23.7	9.0
Austin Dillon	3	0	1	1	0	0	5.0	9.0
Kyle Busch	18	5	11	14	2	1170	9.3	9.4
Sam Hornish Jr	4	0	1	2	0	0	13.8	10.2
Cole Whitt	2	0	0	1	0	0	16.5	11.0
Brad Keselowski	12	1	5	7	2	227	12.1	11.9
Alex Bowman	1	0	0	0	0	0	15.0	14.0
Michael Annett	8	0	0	3	0	1	21.6	14.4
Elliott Sadler	13	2	5	6	1	172	13.1	15.6

Who To Watch: Rookie Kyle Larson has been the talk of the sport with his impressive runs this season, especially at Bristol back in March when Larson and Kyle Busch finished side by side, beating and banging all the way to the line. Busch narrowly beat Larson, but everyone knew that Larson would be a contender week in and week out after battling one of the best for the win.

Parker Kligerman is another young talent who has run well at Bristol. In three starts, Kligerman has three top ten finishes and an average finish 9.3.

Others to watch on Friday night are: Austin Dillon, with one top five, one top ten, and an average finish of 9.0 in three starts; Kyle Busch, with five wins, 11 top fives, 14 top tens, two poles, 1170 laps led, and an average finish of 9.4 in 18 starts; and points leader Sam Hornish Jr., with one top five, two top tens, and an average finish of 10.2 in four starts.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – UNOH 200

For only the second time this season, the Camping World Truck Series will be racing on a Wednesday night with the other time being at Eldora last month. The Truck Series has always been known for its rough and tumble style of racing and the high banks of Bristol make the Truck Series race at Bristol one of the can’t miss races of the year. The points aren’t really a factor for the Trucks with points leader Matt Crafton leading by a whopping 51 points with 10 races left in the Truck Series schedule.

Driver	Races	Win	Top 5	Top 10	Pole	Laps Led	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
Joey Coulter	2	0	1	2	0	0	9.0	5.0
Ryan Blaney	1	0	0	1	0	0	5.0	6.0
Justin Lofton	3	0	1	3	0	0	25.3	7.3
Kyle Busch	7	3	4	5	1	343	6.0	8.4
Matt Crafton	10	0	2	5	0	0	18.3	10.8
Ron Hornaday Jr	13	2	4	8	2	388	10.9	11.2
Johnny Sauter	5	0	1	1	0	0	14.8	13.4
Brendan Gaughan	7	0	3	3	0	39	9.9	13.9
James Buescher	4	0	1	2	0	0	14.2	14.2
David Starr	11	0	1	4	0	0	15.8	14.3

Who To Watch: Joey Coulter tops the list statistically at Bristol with one top five, two top tens, and an average finish of 5.0 in two starts at the track.

Rookie Ryan Blaney also has had a good track record at Bristol with a sixth place finish in one start at the track.

Others to watch are: Justin Lofton, with one top five, three top tens, and an average finish of 7.3 in three starts; Kyle Busch, with three wins, four top fives, five top tens, one pole, 343 laps led, and an average finish of 8.4 in seven starts; and points leader Matt Crafton, with two top fives, five top tens, and an average finish of 10.8 in 10 starts.

NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Michigan

By

Jeffrey Boswell

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August 21, 2013

field_mis_getty — Credit: Todd Warshaw/NASCAR via Getty Images

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson’s day ended when his engine blew on lap 55 and he eventually finished 40th, but still maintained a healthy lead in the Sprint Cup point standings. He leads Clint Bowyer by 41.

“We’re not sure what broke,” Johnson said, “but we tried to repair it. With a nod to all the conspiracy theorists who think NASCAR has handed me five Cups, you could say the ‘fix’ was on.’”

2. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer finished 5th in the Pure Michigan 400, posting his seventh top-5 result of the year. He trails Jimmie Johnson by 41 in the points standings.

“How anxious am I to do a victory burnout?” Bowyer asked. “So anxious, I spun on the first lap.”

3. Kyle Busch: One week after winning at Watkins Glen, Busch finished 31st, three laps down, at Michigan, ending a run of six consecutive races with finishes of 12th or better. He remained fifth in the point standings, and now trails Jimmie Johnson by 107.

“The handling of the No. 18 Toyota was off all day,” Busch said. “Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 FedEx car were not much better. For those two Joe Gibbs Racing cars, you could say ‘shipping and handling’ was an issue.

“It’s off to Bristol now, where I’ve won five times. I love Bristol, and not just because the tracks suits my style. It’s the one place where people call me their ‘favorite’ and mean it.”

4. Kevin Harvick: Harvick took the runner-up spot at Michigan, recording his best finish since a third at Charlotte in May. He is now fourth in the points standings, 64 behind Jimmie Johnson.

“Is Kurt Busch joining Stewart-Haas Racing?” Harvick said. “If he does, the SHR team will consist of Tony Stewart, Danica Patrick, Busch, and myself. I like the makeup of that team, especially the gender balance.”

5. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished 15th in the Pure Michigan 400, posting the best finish among Joe Gibbs Racing cars. Since winning his fourth race at Kentucky in late June, Kenseth has only two top-10 results.

“NASCAR’s Facebook page directed viewers to the wrong channel for the race,” Kenseth said. “It appears the rule book isn’t the only thing of NASCAR giving mixed signals.

“And speaking of Facebook, Carl Edwards is a very active user. It’s just like old times for me, because that son of a gun won’t stop ‘poking’ me.”

6. Carl Edwards: Edwards posted his 12th top-10 finish of the year with a tenth at Michigan, joining teammate Greg Biffle, who finished ninth, in the top 10. Edwards is now 51 behind Jimmie Johnson in the Sprint Cup points standings.

“Roush Fenway Racing could very well have two drivers in the Chase,” Edwards said. “That’s got to make Jack Roush happy. They call Jack “The Cat In The Hat” because he’s always wearing his trademark Panama hat. And when the Chase For The Cup is all said and done, we might all be wearing some form of headgear. Chances are, though, it won’t be a crown.”

7. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: While leading on lap 136, Earnhardt blew his right front tire and slammed the wall, severely damaging his No. 88 Chevrolet. He eventually finished 36th, 29 laps down, and is now seventh in the points standings, 134 out of first.

“My car took a hard turn right, directly into the wall,” Earnhardt said. “Usually, the fans of Junior Nation and their conservative political views love anything that’s to the ‘extreme right.’ And my fans, much like my car after the wreck, won’t ‘turn left’ for anything.”

8. Kasey Kahne: Kahne was the top finisher for Hendrick Motorsports, piloting the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet to seventh at Michigan while Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished 40th and 36th, respectively.

“Who would have though Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch would be teammates?” Kahne said. “That could happen in 2014, and lead to an interesting situation: Stewart is Busch’s car owner, responsible for getting Busch from race to race. Tony’s never been accused of being slow, but in this case, he’ll really have to haul ‘ass.’”

9. Joey Logano: Starting from the pole, Logano led 51 laps at Michigan and assumed the lead when Mark Martin ran out of gas with three laps to go. Logano’s win in the Pure Michigan 400 was his first win of the season, and moved him to 13th in the points standings, in sound position to challenge for a wildcard Chase spot.

“There are some who think Martin will never run out of gas,” Logano said. “So it was a surprise when he did.

“Martin got the call to drive the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Chevy for Tony Stewart for the remainder of the year. It makes sense that Martin is there for the reinvention of “Smoke;” after all, he was there for the invention of fire.”

10. Kurt Busch: Busch overcame a loose lug nut issue that cost him track position before a late dash moved him up to his sixth top-5 finish of the year. He is ninth in the Sprint Cup points standings, two points ahead of Greg Biffle in tenth.

“This was huge for my Chase hopes,” Busch said. “I’m in the top 10 now. There’s a good chance there will be two Busch brothers in the Chase. That’s good news for television ratings, and even better news for the other ten Chasers.

“There are reports that I have a formal offer to drive a fourth car for Stewart-Haas Racing next year. Tony and I have had our differences over the years, but with this contract, I guess we’ll finally be ‘on the same page.’”

Chase Elliott captures the UNOH 200 pole at Bristol

By

SM Staff

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August 21, 2013

chaselliott_bradkeppel — Photo Credit: Brad Keppel

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie driver, Chase Elliott, paces the field in qualifying for the UNOH 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Elliot in just his fifth career truck series start became the youngest pole winner in the history of the series turning a lap of 125.183 mph around the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile”

Elliott, son of former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Bill Elliott, has scored four top-10 finishes in his first four starts. A very impressive record for a driver who is still young to compete on some of the series faster speedways.

Another second generation driver, Ryan Blaney, will start second turning a lap of 125.028 mph. The past few weeks for Blaney have been an emotional roller coaster after winning the Pocono Mountains 125 at Pocono Raceway, then crashing on lap 1. A week later in the National Guard 200 at Michigan International Speedway. Blaney currently sits eighth in the series standings, 85 points out of first.

Driver of the No.3 Bass Pro Shops Chevy, Ty Dillon will take the green in third, with Timothy Peters and German Quiroga rounding out the top-5

The green flag will fall on the UNOH 200 at 7:30pm EST at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Ryan Truex makes Sprint Cup Debut at “World’s Fastest Half-Mile”

By

SM Staff

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August 21, 2013

With the support of Richard Petty Motorsports and Phoenix Racing, the Richard Petty Motorsports development driver, Ryan Truex, will make his first Sprint Cup series start this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Truex, a Mayetta New Jersey native, comments on his upcoming debut, “I’m excited to make my NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut at Bristol. It has been tough waiting on the sidelines while I healed from my collarbone injury, but now I am ready to go…It’s pretty awesome that it’s coming at Bristol at the night race. This is a premier race on the Sprint Cup circuit.”

Truex will be driving the No. 51 car for Phoenix Racing. Phoenix Racing is notorious for giving young drivers opportunities to drive for their team. Ryan’s older brother Martin is also a former Phoenix Racing driver.

Truex is no stranger to the NASCAR Nationwide Series, Camping World Truck Series, and the K&N Pro Series East with thirty-five Nationwide Series starts, three Camping World Truck Series Starts, and twenty-two K&N Pro Series East starts. During his three years in the K&N Pro Series East, Truex claimed five victories, seventeen top-ten finishes, and won the championship in back-to-back seasons in 2009 and 2010.

Truex signed a multi-year development contract with Richard Petty Motorsports earlier this year, and Richard Petty commented on Ryan’s Bristol debut. He said, “It will be a big night for Ryan. He is a talented driver, and we look forward to his future with our team. We are working hard to find funding support to give him more opportunities behind the wheel.”

Sprint Cup practice at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile” will begin Friday at noon, with final practice and qualifying following. The Irwin Tools Night Race will be Saturday August 24^th at 7:30 pm EST.