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Ryan Briscoe juggles schedule heading into the Honda Indy Toronto

By
SM Staff
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Photo Credit: Tammyrae Benscoter

Imagine running a full racing schedule going for a championship. Not just any championship, but the American LeMans Series Championship.

Now imagine yourself doing that, while also running some IndyCar races for Panther Racing including the double header in Toronto this weekend.

This isn’t something that is hypothetical. This is what Ryan Briscoe, driver of the No. 4 National Guard IndyCar is doing this year.

“I’m multi-tasking still so it definitely makes it challenging,” Briscoe comments. “Just been hard, but the team has really looked after me and been able to acquire seats that I used last year so that was a big start with getting comfortable in the cockpit. Great groups of guys to work with, very professional.”

Briscoe joined up with Panther Racing mid-season this year, his first start with them coming at Detroit, and has been getting to know the guys a little more each week ever since. With the way his schedule has been, he finally got a chance to be able to see the guys at the shop during the week.

“I definitely am excited,” Briscoe says. “I feel like coming straight off racing Pocono, I was able to go to Indianapolis this week, go to the race shop and spend time with the guys, which is basically been our first time together since our first race at Detroit.

“I feel preparation coming into Toronto is good, just a lot more organized than it’s been for me the previous races we’ve done together, which I think is a confidence boost for me and the team.”

Briscoe has also experienced a change with Panther Racing versus his previous seasons at Penske Racing in that Panther Racing is a single-car operation. Briscoe comments that it makes it even harder because you don’t have a teammate to bounce information back and forth

While Briscoe is working through changes of his own, the IZOD IndyCar Series is throwing curveballs at the drivers with changes and tweaks for this year. Instead of a single-race on Sunday, the IZOD IndyCar Series is running back-to-back races this weekend in Toronto, with one on Saturday and one on Sunday.

“It makes for a really fast-paced weekend, one practice session only before going into qualifying,” Briscoe comments. “So preparation is so important. There’s not much time if you’re off your mark to begin with so you have to be on it. You need to have a good practice to know what you clearly need going into qualifying for race one. Then after that, you’re qualifying for race two and then racing. It all happens quickly.”

Briscoe welcomes the challenge that it brings, as double headers equal more racing for him.

With having the double headers, some would think that maybe drivers would be conservative in race one. However, Briscoe says he doesn’t think so.

“Speaking in general terms as a driver, I would say not,” he says. “But in Detroit, I would say for sure the first race was more conservative than the second race. The second race, pretty stupid actually; everyone was making a lot of boneheaded moves on the restarts, which we didn’t see in race one. So I don’t know why that is.

“In preparation for a race like this, you’d think it may be the same in both races. We may get a little more confident going into the second race and try to get a bit more out of it. I don’t know – we’ll see.”

Oh, and the double header isn’t the only challenge that the drivers are facing. INDYCAR has gone with “standing starts” for the first of the two races. Instead of the traditional rolling starts, the cars will be stopped on the front stretch and have the light countdown.

“That’s going to be interesting, I don’t know what to expect,” Briscoe says. “I hope it all goes well. I don’t see why it won’t, but certainly something new to adapt to.”

The Toronto circuit has thrown Briscoe a curveball in the past, as he has two top seven finishes, along with two finishes outside the top 15 in his four starts.

“I’d say the track is difficult because it’s quite bumpy and it’s got quite a few fast corners for a street course so that’s probably the hardest thing,” Briscoe says. “You’re switching tarmacs quite a bit around this circuit so you’re going from old concrete to new concrete to tarmac, and that’s make the set-up more challenging and adjusting your driving to it.

“It’s a good race track, it’s got lots of passing zones. The passing zones are always tempting; you see a lot of crashes here so something to be aware of during the race to watch out for accidents happening because this race always seems to breed accidents. So it’s something to keep on your mind especially with two races this weekend.”

With having a double-header this weekend and his jam-packed schedule, training is key for Briscoe in keeping him in shape for the season. Briscoe says for drivers, the core of their training comes during the off-season.

“The off-season is where I can take my fitness to another level, where I can improve where I feel I’ve been lacking and try to get my fitness to the next level,” he comments. “Once we get to the season and especially once the month of May begins, you flood out. All the way through May and June till July, and then you get a weekend here and there off. During that period, it’s more maintenance than keeping improving. You just need to try and maintain what you worked on during the off-season and certainly being in a racecar is huge. That keeps your maintenance up, but I just mostly try to keep cardio up during the season.”

James Hinchcliffe looks to make his own memories in Toronto

By
SM Staff
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Photo Credit: Ashley McCubbin

As James Hinchcliffe sits in Coronation Park on Thursday morning, hearing him recall memories of Toronto past, you can see the fan that he is of IndyCar racing. As a kid, Hinchcliffe came to the Honda Indy Toronto, having only grown up a half hour away from Toronto in Oakville, Ontario.

“I remember being five, six years old and climbing under the grandstands, meeting Mario Andretti and getting his autograph,” Hinchcliffe recalls. “When the cars were at the fuel tank, a little more open and exposed, I’d go stand there. One of the mechanics let me hold a steering wheel – it was one of the coolest things ever.”

Flashforward to 2013, Hinhcliffe is looking to make his third Toronto start in the IZOD IndyCar Series, driving the No. 27 Go Daddy car for Andretti Autosport.

“It’s one of my favourite weekends of the year getting to come home,” Hinchcliffe says. “This is what started my passion and got me interested in the sport.”

Even though he is back home, it doesn’t give him a ton of time with family due to the commitments.

“It’s part of it,” he says. “I’m here to do a job this weekend. Next weekend we have off so I have taken all of the next week off to stay here in Canada, visit some friends, visit some family.”

Focusing on the weekend ahead, Hinchcliffe is looking for better luck than he has had in the past. In his previous two starts, he has finished 14th and 22nd. He did have some success in Toronto in the past though, finishing third in the Firestone Indy Lights division in 2009.

“The track hasn’t been real good to me,” he says. “We’ve been competitive and I’ve led laps in a different series. But whether it has been mechanical or just being out thought of by guys, I just haven’t had that luck here at all.”

With that in mind, Hinchcliffe is coming into the weekend “with the feeling that everything is going to go wrong”.

It sort of falls along Hinchcliffe’s season so far as he has been fast every week, picking up three race wins, but hasn’t had the consistency with wrecks and mechanical problems taking him out of contention some weeks.

“It’s been way less consistent than it needs to be said,” he says. “I can’t say it’s been a bad year with three wins. I mean, that’s such a huge accomplishment for the team. But we need to have top 10s in between those wins.”

Last year, it was Hinchcliffe’s teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay picking up the win in Toronto.

“He did a great job last year,” Hinchcliffe comments. “Ryan is such a tough competitor and really good on the street circuits. I actually learned a lot from him last year. It’s great to have a teammate like that where you can work together.”

Hinchcliffe says looking back at Hunter-Reay’s win, he remembers the restart before Hinch had the mechanical problems that took him out of the running.

“I was starting right beside him so I know I was in position to win,” Hinchcliffe comments. “So hopefully we’ll have all four cars up there and get one of them to victory lane.”

There’s also the joke that whenever Hunter-Reay comes to Canada, the California native calls himself “Canadian” because his mom was born in Hamilton, Ontario.

“It’s special for him to win here,” Hinchcliffe adds. “If I can’t win and its an Andretti-Autosport driver that is half-Canadian, that’s not a bad guy.”

If Hinchcliffe wants to have success this weekend, he’ll have the master the corner that he calls the toughest for him: turn one.

“Turn one is everything challenging,” Hinchcliffe says. “First you got bumps on the entry, which hurt braking. You have the concrete patch in hte middle of the corner which affects your balance in the middle of the corner, which then leads to a nice long straight. You have to have a good exit or we’re losing time all the way down to turn three. To set up for that, whether set-up of your car or how you plan your way to get through it, it can be a challenge.”

If all that is not enough, just imagine having to do it back-to-back days as for the first time in series history, the IZOD IndyCar Series is running back-to-back races in Toronto with one on Saturday and one on Sunday. The first time IndyCar did that format this year was in Detroit, where it seemed race one was calm while race two had a bunch of incidents throughout.

“We learned a lot in Detroit, but the way the weather unfolded Saturday and all the rest of it, we have a lot to learn,” Hinchcliffe says. “Engineers hate change and rely on 10 years of data and say, ‘We’ll have a caution at this lap’. This is how those guys operate. It’s going to be challenging with strategy and what tires. Those are the things we have to learn.”

Hinchcliffe adds that you will probably see different tire strategies throughout the weekend and there may be a big difference between those who hit the right combination and those who don’t.

Managing the two races, along with the sponsor and media commitments, it’s a challenge that the driver are being faced with.

“All the drivers have upped their physical,” Hinchcliffe says as per the preparation for this weekend. “You have to be conscious about nutrition, hydration over the weekend. Most drivers have physios with them so they can deal with what comes up.”

Hinchcliffe adds that the schedule adds another challenge by the practice time being minimized.

“So if you’re not unrolling with a good car, you’re essentially penalized and it makes it frustrating,” Hinchcliffe says.

If having double races is not enough of a challenge, IndyCar has gone with “standing starts” for the first of the two races. Instead of the traditional rolling starts, the cars will be stopped on the front stretch and have the light countdown.

“That’s going to be a big challenge for us,” Hinchcliffe comments. “We haven’t had a chance to practice that. A lot of guys haven’t done it in years so hopefully we get through it catastrophe free cause we got a race the next to run.”

If you’re not already pumped to come down to the Honda Indy Toronto this weekend with all the new things instore, Hinchcliffe says that you should give it a chance as TV can’t do it justice.

“You have to be here to see it, hear it and smell it,” Hinhcliffe says.

Hot 20 over the past 10 – Harvick has to be happy heading to New Hampshire, a place where Kurt faces a test

By
Ron Thornton
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Photo Credit: Brad Keppel

He is fourth in the standings, second on these charts, but Kevin Harvick is the epitome of hot right now as the boys and girl head to New Hampshire for Sunday. In the last ten events, the only race Happy failed to record a top ten finish was Talladega, where he crashed out early. In fact, had he finished 38th instead of 40th that day, he still would have managed to be our hot man.

Once again, Harvick joins Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards (despite a 29th place finish at Daytona), Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart, and Matt Kenseth (33rd on Sunday) among those showing the way.  While a bad day can juggle these standings and one’s Chase hopes, and even some can withstand that, these boys are definitely doing the right things at the right time. While both Stewart and Busch are still vulnerable should the furnace go out, the others are pretty safe bets to be running for the title come the fall.

Not so for Kasey Kahne and Brad Keselowski. Kahne has the second wildcard spot in his hand, but he had better have a firm grip on it. Despite decent showings at Sonoma and Kentucky, Kahne has been outside the top thirty in three of the past five races. Keselowski has not been in the top twenty in any race since Michigan and has had but one top ten result (Dover) over the past ten. Hot he is not.

If last year can be used as an indication, Kahne (win in the summer, 5th in the fall) and Keselowski (5th and 6th) could find some heat to turn things around. If they turn up cold even in New Hampshire, they both truly could be in real trouble. Stewart won there in 2011 and finished no worse than 12th last season, but in 2012 Kurt Busch could not crack the top twenty in either attempt. While Daytona is a bit of a wild card where even the weak can have a strong day (Casey Mears was 9th), Loudon may give us a sign as to whether the Colorado-based outfit has truly arrived or if they are still on the outside knocking on the door.

 

Name Points POS. LW Rank W T5 T10
  Clint Bowyer  362 1 1 (2) 0 4 7
  Kevin Harvick  361 2 2 (4) 2 5 9
  Jimmie Johnson  347 3 3 (1) 2 4 6
  Carl Edwards  325 4 4 (3) 0 2 5
  Kurt Busch  321 5 7 (9) 0 2 6
  Tony Stewart  318 6 9 (10) 1 4 5
  Matt Kenseth  300 7 6 (6) 2 2 5
  Joey Logano  296 8 10 (14) 0 3 6
  Martin Truex, Jr.  289 9 5 (11) 1 2 5
  Dale Earnhardt, Jr.  285 11 12 (5) 0 1 5
  Jeff Gordon  285 10 8 (13) 0 3 4
  Ryan Newman  282 12 11 (15) 0 1 4
  Jeff Burton  279 13 13 (21) 0 1 2
  Kyle Busch  276 14 19 (7) 0 3 5
  Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.  270 15 16 (17) 0 0 0
  Juan Pablo Montoya  262 16 14 (23) 0 2 3
  Greg Biffle  252 17 18 (8) 1 2 3
  Jamie McMurray  248 18 20 (16) 0 1 2
  Aric Almirola  241 19 15 (19) 0 0 2
  Marcos Ambrose  236 20 22 (22) 0 0 2
  Paul Menard  220 22 17 (20) 0 0 0
  Kasey Kahne  216 23 21 (12) 0 1 2
  Brad Keselowski  215 24 23 (13) 0 1 1

KEVIN HARVICK INC. SIGNS TWO-YEAR AGREEMENT WITH MORTON BUILDINGS

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SM Archive
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Chase Elliott looks to repeat Iowa success this weekend

By
SM Staff
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Photo Credit: Brad Keppel

As Chase Elliott is set to make his fourth Camping World Truck Series start this weekend, he heads to a track where he has had success before. Last year in the NASCAR K&N Pro East Series, Elliott picked up a win at Iowa Speedway. This weekend, he hopes to repeat that success in a truck.

“I think this racetrack is a lot of fun,” Elliott said. “I think it puts on some great racing, and the place is known for that in the past.  I feel like if we can get up there and just put together a mistake-free weekend and just have everything go our way, I think we’ll be just fine.”

While most rookies are focused on solid finishes, Elliott is ready to step up to that next step and put a truck in victory lane.

“I feel like everything is where it needs to be to have success,” he said. “I feel like our trucks are fast and all the guys do a really good job.  I feel like if we can just get to Iowa this weekend and I can do my job and know what I want when we unload and just put together a mistake-free race, I think we are right there, man.”

In his three starts so far this year, Elliott has finished sixth, fifth and fourth. He looked to have the truck to win in his last start at Dover International Speedway, however a pair of pit road speeding penalties took him out of contention for the win.

“The biggest thing is just me learning,” Elliott added. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes these past three races, and if I can just put a mistake-free race on my end and if the guys can do their job, I think we are right there.”

Elliott went on to say that the biggest challenge he has faced so far is green flag pit stops and to get back at it, you just have to practice more.

“You watch guys do it on Sundays, and it doesn’t do it justice,” he commented. “It’s just such a different feel, and there’s so much time to be gained getting on and off pit road, making sure you slow down to pit road speed; that that’s a big piece of the race.

“Nowadays where we don’t see a lot of cautions like we have in the past, green flag stops are very, very important.  You see guys like Kyle Busch do such a good job and gain a lot of time on guys on pit road; you can gain half a second on a guy in front of you on pit road, that’s huge.  That’s hard to get on the racetrack.  So there’s a lot to be gained or last.”

Elliott said that he was trying to get too much coming on to pit road at Dover, wanting to be aggressive and not lose time to others.

“It is tough to weigh the cost and benefits, and you’ve just got to really be careful there, but at the same time, you’ve got to be aggressive, too,” he said.

If Elliott can win this weekend at Iowa Speedway, he will become the youngest series winner at the age of 17 under the new rule that allows 16 and 17 year old drivers to compete on tracks a mile and a smaller.

“For me we are just there to win like everybody else is and try to do a better job than the next guy,” he commented on the age question. “So haven’t really put a whole lot into my age and how old I am and how old the rest of these guys are.  Just more so our personal program and what we need to do to be a little bit better.”

A win would definately put more eyes on the young driver, however there are eyes already watching as Rick Hendrick has commented that he would like to put Elliott in a Nationwide Series car next year.

“I feel like I’m ready for it personally,” Elliott said. “I think given the right opportunity, I feel like I can do a good enough job behind the wheel to be competitive at that level, and hopefully that’s what works out.”

OSCAAR Modifieds Take Their Battle to the Beach

By
SM Staff
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This weekend, the OSCAAR Modifieds will take their battle to the beach….Sauble beach that is as they take on Sauble Speedway. With action that has impressed fans so far this year, it is no doubt that Sauble will just add to that.

In the series’ inaugural visit to Sauble Speedway, it was Steve Smith taking the victory. Smith did attempt to make a start at Delaware Speedway earlier this year, however did not start the feature due to mechanical problems. Whether Smith will have those problems fixed and be at Sauble is yet to be seen.

Coming into the season, the question was whether anybody could beat Gary McLean. Well, so far, Brent McLean has accomplished that feat.

Brent McLean has won two features (Barrie June 15th, Sunset June 29th) and leads the points, seven ahead of Gary. In the three races that Brent hasn’t won, he has finished second twice and eighth. Sauble was good for Brent last year as he finished second behind Smith.

Gary, meanwhile, didn’t have the best run at Sauble last year as he finished 13th out of 14 cars after being involved in an incident on lap 21 on the backstretch. Gary is having a solid season so far, finishing first, second, second and fourth in the first four races. However, he did run into problems at Sunset on June 30th after suffering damage on the first lap in an incident that involved Davey Terry and Brian McLean.

Speaking of Davey Terry, despite making heavy contact with the inside front stretch wall on Sunday June 30th, Terry has announced that he will have his modified back together in one piece and ready to go for Sauble. After having a solid rookie season last year that included a fourth place finish at Sauble, Terry came into the year as one of the favorites to possibly grab his first feature victory.

Terry started off the year well with a fourth and a sixth, however has come across some problems in the three features that followed. At Delaware Speedway, Terry had an eventful evening that included a fire at one point, before bringing home a 10th place finish in the feature. At Sunset Speedway, Terry ran into mechanical problems, cutting his feature short on Saturday, followed by the wreck on Sunday on the opening lap. Will he be able to turn the season around at Sauble? That’s what the Erin, Ontario native is hoping.

Matt Barton had a solid run last year at Sauble Speedway as came home with a fifth place feature finish. Barton has ran strong so far this year up front each week, currently sitting fourth in points. That is also with missing an event this year as he missed the Sunday June 30th Sunset Speedway feature due to the damage done to his modified on Saturday’s feature (ninth place finish).

Rookie Branden Bullen will be looking for his second straight top five after finishing fourth at Sunset Speedway on June 30th. The fourth place finish for Bullen marked a solid finish after some struggles to start the season.

Rookie Bobby Tolton has been hard at work on fixing his modified after being involved in a last lap crash at Sunset Speedway that caused heavy damage to the side of his modified. The Tolton Motorsports driver hopes to be out at Sauble Speedway.

Rookie Shane Stickle made his OSCAAR Modified debut at Sunset Speedway last month, where he finished seventh and fifth across the two days. He will look to continue his string of success this weekend.

Brad Pearsall was quick both days at Sunset Speedway, finishing second on night one while finding trouble on night two. Pearsall has three top fives in four OSCAAR starts so look for him to run upfront. Pearsall finished seventh at Sauble last year.

Barry Newman has also been fast this year, finishing third on night one at Sunset while like Pearsall, finding trouble on night two. Newman has two top fives in three OSCAAR starts so he is another one to watch.

If the No. 34 team brings their modified to Sauble Speedway, look for Brandon Watson to once again be behind the wheel, looking for another top 10 finish to go with his seventh and third at Sunset Speedway.

David Mccullogh missed Sunset Speedway on June 29th and 30th, but did finish seventh at Delaware Speedway last month to go with a fourth at Barrie Speedway and fifth at Sunset in May. If he makes it to Sauble Speedway, look for him to challenge for a top five finish.

Dave Osbourne continues to learn his new modified with each week and hasn’t missed a week yet so he will be another one that will be attendance this weekend.

Brian McLean has struggled so far this year, running upfront at times but struggling other times, so it’ll be interesting to see whether he can work out the corks with his ride. He finished sixth last year at Sauble.

With regardless of who shows up and the details written here, it promises to be a good show as the modifieds never disappoint with their 30 lap features. Make sure to join us at Sauble Speedway for racing at 7pm, with a 6:20pm autograph session.

Marco Andretti looks to end winless drought in Toronto

By
SM Staff
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Photo Credit: Tammyrae Benscoter

So far this year, Marco Andretti has been fast and has run upfront each week leading laps. However, there’s something missing so far this year – a win.

Despite sitting third in points and having led 244 laps so far this year, Andretti heads to the Honda Indy Toronto, looking to end a winless drought and pick up his first win of the season.  Andretti’s last win came in 2011 at Iowa Speedway. Since then, Andretti has finished on the podium four times, but hasn’t found himself on the top step.

Everybody has noticed that Andretti has been running stronger this year than past years, whether oval, street course or road course. In the 11 races run so far this year, he has finished in the top five in four of those races.

He looked like he could possibly win the Indianapolis 500 after starting third and leading 31 laps, however would finish fourth in the final dash to the checkered with a caution coming out late. The three oval races that followed, Andretti was one of the quickest cars each week, however came up short each time. Last weekend at Pocono, he dominated, though had to conserve the fuel the final stint resulting in a 10th place finish.

Now will that win come this weekend at the Honda Indy Toronto?

His father and team owner Michael Andretti was successful on the temporary street course in the past, winning a record seven times. Now will that success pass down to his son?

So far this year on the road courses, Andretti has been consistant, finishing in the top 10 in each of them except for one where he finished 20th after some problems. In four past starts in Toronto, Andretti has finished eighth, eighth, fourth and 16th.

There’s something that has happened since a year ago, though – Andretti has learned more about his driving style.

Over the off-season, he spent some time with a driving coach to make himself a better driver. Andretti mentioned that from that experience, there’s a new word that’s part of his vocabulary as a driver – finesse.

“I think that was costing me,” he commented earlier this year. “I think that could have helped me at Indy just be a little more patient. Having looked back at it now I would have probably went for the most laps led, but we were just kind of watching fuel and being more patient than I probably would have been in the past at Indy. That is probably the only difference.”

The change in Andretti’s attitude is noticed by others, including his grandfather Mario.

“You can see obviously that I think he has buckled down and I think focused a little more on somewhat he really needs to work on,” Mario Andretti said. “Again, now of course by having the responsibility to be up there in the points… what they gone six races or so in the series a long way to go for sure, but at least right now he has something to protect and go for. He has got the team behind him and he has the experience now I think to carry it.”

So will he win this weekend? That’s the million dollar question that everybody is asking. It seems that Andretti is the driver behind the wheel to do it, Andretti Autosport has good cars. Now it’s about whether the team can put the package together.

Newly acquired Maple Leafs players Dave Bolland and David Clarkson announced as Grand Marshals for 2013 Honda Indy Toronto

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SM Archive
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Surprising and Not Surprising: Coke Zero 400

By
SM Staff
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Photo Credit: David Yeazell

In addition to a dose of roof flap drama, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 55th annual Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

Surprising:  Who knew that the magic between driver Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus, leading to their record-setting night of sweeping both the 500 and 400 at Daytona in the same year, all started over a beer and a game of horseshoes?

“People make the difference,” five-time champ Johnson said. “Chad and I have a relationship since the first time we drank beer in my backyard throwing horseshoes.”

“It was the start of many good things to come,” Johnson continued. “The relationships, the people make the difference.”

“That’s where the magic lies.”

Johnson also gave Team Hendrick its first sweep at Daytona since 1986 when Geoff Bodine and Tim Richmond accomplished the same feat. This was Johnson’s 64th career Cup Series win and his fourth victory of the season, tying competitor Matt Kenseth in the win column.

Not Surprising:  While Tony Stewart finished runner up in his No. 14 Bass Pro Shops Ducks Unlimited Chevrolet, regaining the six spots in the point standings to the tenth position, he finished off the night ‘testy’ in the media center after the checkered flag flew.

When asked whether or not his retreat to the rear of the field for much of the race was pre-planned, Stewart showed his dismay for what he considered perhaps not the best question of the evening.

“You guys act like you’ve never seen me do that before,” Smoke answered. “I’ve been doing that for 15 years and we’ve had good results on it.”

When next asked about whether or not he liked this type of racing at this stage in his career, Stewart again reverted to past practice.

“Go back to your old notes,” Smoke said. “My opinion hasn’t changed in 15 years.”

“If you don’t have them, somebody else in the room will have them, you know that.”

Surprising:  Rookie of the Year contender Ricky Stenhouse Jr. thought that he had successfully broken a barrier in his 2013 career. Unfortunately he was unpleasantly surprised after NASCAR showed him the photo finish, realizing that he still had more work to do.

“We’ve been working all year long and we’ve got a couple of 11ths, 12ths, and it’s good to break that barrier of top ten,” Stenhouse Jr. said, before learning that he had really finished in the 11th spot.  There is no doubt that he will be aiming for that barrier again at New Hampshire and with a vengeance.

Not Surprising:  Kevin Harvick was not happy in spite of being the third place finisher in his No. 29 Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet.

“Yeah, we didn’t win,” Harvick said. “That was our expectation coming here.”

“I felt like we were in the right position,” Harvick continued. “We couldn’t get everything lined up to get going.”

Surprising:  Probably the most surprised driver at Daytona was Paul Menard, who lost an engine with absolutely no warning in the early going on Lap 22.

“Something just let go,” the driver of the No. 27 Rheem/Menards Chevrolet said. “I felt the heat come up.”

“It gave no indication,” Menard continued. “I haven’t had a motor failure in forever.”

“Just unfortunate.”

Not Surprising:   NASCAR’s biggest loser in addition to Menard was Joey Logano, who brought out the second caution of the race with a tire failure and a crash into the wall. The driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford fell hard in the point standings, losing five positions and dropping from the 10th to the 15th position.

“It was a big hit,” Logano said of his trip into the wall. “But it was a bigger hit in the points really.”

“We’ve lost a lot but we’re not out of it by any means.”

Surprising:  While Daytona is known for its share of ‘big ones’, there were some particularly hard hits in this version of the Coke Zero 400, including crashes for Denny Hamlin, A.J. Allmendinger, and Kasey Kahne.

Hamlin was involved in two crashes, the second just a few laps away from the checkered flag.  The two wrecks added insult to his already injured back, as well as a sore knee and head from a crash just last week at Kentucky.

Allmendinger, in the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet for James Finch, described his wreck as a ‘Days of Thunder’ moment, one that injured him in his ‘man parts’ and sent him stumbling out of his car in pain.

“Everybody moved down and Denny (Hamlin) appeared right in front of me,” Allmendinger said. “I just hit him as hard as I could unfortunately.”

One of the most bizarre but hard wrecks occurred at the end of the race, knocking a strong player out of contention. On Lap 155, Kasey Kahne got slammed while running at the front of the field, crashing hard into the inner wall.

“I got slammed and shot to the left,” Kahne said. “It’s kind of how these races go.”

“You don’t have a lot of control over what happens.”

Not Surprising:  Michael Waltrip, behind the wheel of the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota often driven by Mark Martin, scored a top-five finish. Waltrip, who has a stellar resume on plate tracks, pulled off another good finish in spite of being a bit rusty behind the wheel and having some struggles in the pits.

“We were just really fortunate after getting into a wreck on pit road,” Waltrip said. “I’m just happy for the team because it was a well-deserved finish.”

Surprising:  MWR teammate Clint Bowyer also had such a surprisingly good run, finishing fourth in his No. 15 Blue DEF Diesel Exhaust Fluid Toyota. And with that finish, he ousted Carl Edwards from second place in the point standings, sitting 49 points behind leader Johnson.

“I was pushing Michael and got him passed,” Bowyer said. “I looked in the mirror and all hell broke loose.”

“That’s Daytona,’ Bowyer continued. “But I’ll take a top-five anytime in one of these races.”

This was Bowyer’s third top-five finish in a row.

Not Surprising:  With team owner and driver Tony Stewart setting the bar in the runner up spot, the rest of the Stewart-Haas Racing team also finished well at Daytona, in spite of final lap mishaps.

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Outback Steakhouse Chevrolet, scored bloomin’ onions for all with a top-ten finish. This was Newman’s sixth top-ten at Daytona and his eighth of the season

“I’m glad we got a top-10 for Outback Steakhouse, but I hate that we destroyed another race car on the final lap,” Newman lamented. “That just seems to be the norm for us when it comes to restrictor-plate racing.”

SHR teammate Danica Patrick was also involved in the multi-car melee at the end of the race, finishing 14th in her No.  10 GGoDaddy.com Chevrolet.

This was her fourth top-15 finish of the 2013 season.

“Well a green-white-checkered finish is always exciting,” Patrick said. “All in all, it was a solid day.”

Surprising:  Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet, continues to amaze with his performance, finishing sixth and putting himself in Chase contention with a five spot move up in the point standings to ninth.

This is the highest in the point standings that Kurt has been so far in the 2013 season. This was also his third straight top-ten finish and his eighth top-10 finish of the season.

“We stayed out of trouble, had smooth pit stops and had a big points night for our Furniture Row team,” Busch said. “These guys are working hard and it’s paying off.”

Not Surprising:  Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished top-ten at Daytona, in spite of some challenges with his race car.

“I had fun,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet said. “We just didn’t make our way to the front.”

“We had a problem with the car,” Junior continued. “Something broke and we could hardy steer it coming into the pits.”

The eighth place finish at Daytona moved Earnhardt Jr. up one position in the points standings to fifth.

 

Crunching The Numbers: New Hampshire & Iowa

By
SM Staff
-
Credit: Robert Laberge/Getty Images

After celebrating the Fourth of July weekend on the high banks of Daytona International Speedway, the three national NASCAR series head to short, flat tracks in separate parts of the country this weekend. New Hampshire Motor Speedway will host the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series, while the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to Iowa for a standalone weekend of their own.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series – Camping World RV Sales 301 at New Hampshire

For the first time this season, the Sprint Cup Series makes its way to the flat one mile oval in Loudon, N.H., the eighth of eight tracks that the series has already visited this year that will also be in the Chase for the Sprint Cup that starts in September. Drivers that have won the July race here have gone on to win the championship four times, with success in this race carrying over to the track’s Chase date in September. The track has also featured 10 different winners since 2008, so will we finally see a repeat winner or will this mark 11 different winners?

Driver Races Wins Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
Denny Hamlin 14 2 7 10 0 417 13.6 7.9
Jimmie Johnson 22 3 8 15 0 321 11.1 9.5
Jeff Gordon 36 3 16 21 4 1316 9.9 10.5
Tony Stewart 28 3 14 17 1 1218 11.2 11.4
Ryan Newman 22 3 6 15 6 720 8.0 12.7
Kevin Harvick 24 1 5 12 1 319 14.1 13.7
Jeff Burton 36 4 8 13 0 783 19.4 13.8
Matt Kenseth 26 0 5 12 0 89 21.1 14.0
Brad Keselowski 7 0 2 4 1 10 15.6 14.0
Carl Edwards 17 0 2 3 0 70 15.2 14.5

Who To Watch: As he mounts what may be his last stand to make the Chase, and his Chase hopes rapidly dwindling thanks to some unfortunate circumstances that have befallen him this season, Denny Hamlin has to be happy to be heading to a track where he tops the list statistically. Hamlin’s New Hampshire career has featured two wins, seven top fives, 10 top tens, 417 laps led, and an average finish of 7.9 in 14 races. Hamlin is also coming off of a stellar 2012 campaign at the track with a second place finish in the July race and a win in the September race.

Winner of last weekend’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona and four-time winner on the season, Jimmie Johnson, comes in just behind Hamlin with three wins, eight top fives, 15 top tens, 321 laps led, and an average finish of 9.5 in 22 starts.

Others who run well in the Granite State include: Jeff Gordon, with three wins, 16 top fives, 21 top tens, four poles, 1316 laps led, and an average finish of 10.5 in 36 starts; Tony Stewart, with three wins, 14 top fives, 17 top tens, one pole, 1218 laps led, and an average finish of 11.4 in 28 starts; Ryan Newman, with three wins, six top fives, 15 top tens, six poles, 720 laps led, and an average finish of 12.7 in 22 starts; and Kevin Harvick, who has one win, five top fives, 12 top tens, one pole, 319 laps led, and an average finish of 13.7 in 24 starts.

Matt Kenseth, who is tied with Jimmie Johnson for most wins on the year, doesn’t have a stellar career at New Hampshire (0 wins, five top fives, 12 top tens, 89 laps led, and 14.0 average finish in 26 starts), but with the success that he has had in his first season with Joe Gibbs Racing, Kenseth would be another to keep an eye on this weekend.

NASCAR Nationwide Series – CNBC Prime’s “The Profit” 200 at New Hampshire

As the Nationwide Series heads to New Hampshire to share in the companion weekend with the Sprint Cup Series, we have a couple of storylines that will be playing out this weekend. First, New Hampshire marks the second leg of the Nationwide Insurance “Dash 4 Cash”, in which the highest finisher out of eligible drivers will be able to win a $100,000 bonus. The eligible drivers for this weekend are Daytona “Dash 4 Cash” bonus winner Elliott Sadler, Austin Dillon, Kyle Larson, and Sam Hornish, Jr. The other storyline will be the Cup regulars who will be running on Saturday and when looking at the statistics for this track are evenly distributed among the Nationwide regulars. As is the case anytime there is a Sprint Cup/Nationwide companion weekend, it is the battle between the Cup regulars and the Nationwide regulars, who will come out on top this week?

Driver Races Wins Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
Sam Hornish, Jr. 1 0 1 1 0 0 6.0 4.0
Kasey Kahne 5 0 2 4 0 53 9.6 6.8
Brian Vickers 2 0 1 1 0 0 7.0 8.0
Trevor Bayne 2 0 1 1 0 58 12.5 9.0
Justin Allgaier 4 0 0 3 0 0 9.8 9.2
Kyle Busch 7 3 4 4 1 273 5.4 10.7
Matt Kenseth 7 1 3 5 0 55 17.9 11.4
Joey Logano 3 0 2 2 1 111 3.7 11.7
Reed Sorenson 5 0 0 2 0 0 10.8 12.6
Austin Dillon 2 0 1 1 0 1 10.0 14.0

Who To Watch: Currently sitting second in points, Sam Hornish, Jr., is tops statistically at New Hampshire with a sixth place start and a fourth place finish in his lone start at the track last year.

Cup regular Kasey Kahne comes in right behind Hornish with two top fives, four top tens, 53 laps led, and an average finish of 6.8 in five starts. Nationwide regulars Brian Vickers, Trevor Bayne, and Justin Allgaier are next with average finishes of 8.0, 9.0, and 9.2 respectively.

Cup regulars and Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth, are the only two in the top ten statistically at New Hampshire with a win. Busch has three wins, four top fives, four top tens, one pole, 273 laps led, and an average finish of 10.7 in seven starts. Kenseth, winner of last weekend’s race at Daytona, has one win, three top fives, five top tens, 55 laps led, and an average finish of 11.4 in seven starts

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – American Ethanol 200 at Iowa

While the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series are enjoying New England this weekend, the young guns of the Camping World Truck Series will be in America’s Heartland taking on Iowa Speedway in a Saturday night showdown that is sure to be full of great racing, as the racing always is at this short track.

Driver Races Wins Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
Ryan Blaney 1 1 1 1 0 50 2.0 1.0
Johnny Sauter 5 0 5 5 0 24 5.2 3.8
Matt Crafton 5 1 3 5 0 56 8.6 4.4
Ty Dillon 2 0 1 2 0 0 12.0 4.5
Joey Coulter 3 0 1 2 0 0 9.3 8.7
Miguel Paludo 3 0 0 1 0 0 10.0 12.7
Timothy Peters 5 1 1 2 1 87 7.0 13.2
Ross Chastain 2 0 0 0 0 0 21.0 13.5
James Buescher 5 0 1 2 0 98 10.2 14.6
Brendan Gaughan 1 0 0 0 0 0 19.0 16.0

Who To Watch: Ryan Blaney surprised everyone last year at Iowa Speedway when he became the youngest winner in series history in only his third career start. Blaney, who now has a full time ride with Brad Keselowski Racing could very well make it two in a row this weekend and give Ford their first win of the season and first win since pulling factory support from the series some years back.

Others who run well at Iowa are Johnny Sauter, with five top fives, five top tens, 24 laps led, and an average finish of 3.8 in five starts; Matt Crafton, with one win, three top fives, five top tens, 56 laps led and an average finish of 4.4 in five starts; Ty Dillon, with one top five, two top tens, and an average finish of 4.5 in two starts; and Joey Coulter, with one top five, two top tens, and an average finish of 8.7 in three starts.

Of course, the rookies of the series Jeb Burton, Darrell Wallace, Jr., and Chase Elliott will be strong this weekend, as they have been all season long.

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