Keeping it in the Family: Brent McLean wins OSCAAR Modified feature at Barrie Speedway

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June 16, 2013

brentmclean_modfeat — Photo Credit: Ashley McCubbin

Last year at Barrie Speedway and in the season opener at Sunset Speedway, it was Gary McLean picking up the victory. This weekend at Barrie Speedway, it was his nephew Brent McLean would picked up the victory.

Gary McLean started off the night in victory lane, though, as he won the first heat ahead of Matt Barton, Davey Terry, Branden Bullen and Mike Westwood.

In the second heat, there would be a series of incidents. The first incident would have Brian McLean and Brad Pearsall spin of turn four. Then on the restart, Dave Osbourne would spin, collecting Pearsall. On the second attempt at a restart, Osbourne would spin again with Bobby Tolton spinning behind him. Heading into the corner, Pearsall had tried to make it three-wide with Tolton and Brian McLean.

It’d be Brent McLean picking up the win ahead of Pearsall, Brian McLean, David McCullogh and Osbourne.

In the third heat, Terry would have a flat tire on lap one while Bullen would tag the inside wall and need to be toed off the track. Gary McLean would go for the daily double ahead of Barton, Bullen and Terry.

In the final heat, Brian McLean would have a spin midway through. Brent McLean would also for the daily double head of Pearsall, Osbourne and McCullogh.

When it came to feature time, it’d be Davey Terry on pole, followed by Brent McLean, Matt Barton, Brad Pearsall, Gary McLean, David McCullogh, Dave Osbourne, Mike Westwood and Bobby Tolton.

On lap one, Brent McLean would grab the lead ahead of Terry, Barton, Gary McLean and Pearsall.

Making his OSCAAR debut, Mike Westwood wouldn’t have a good night as he’d come down pit road on lap two.

The first and only caution would fly on lap six when Barton would get into Terry as they battled for second off of turn four. So with 24 laps to go, Brent McLean would lead ahead of Gary McLean, Pearsall, McCullogh, Osbourne, Brian McLean, Terry, Barton and Tolton.

On the restart, Brent McLean would pull ahead of the field. In the middle of the pack, both Terry and Barton would get by Osbourne, with Barton then passing Terry.

At the end of the 30 laps, it was Brent McLean picking up the win ahead of Gary McLean, Brad Pearsall, David McCullogh, Matt Barton, Davey Terry and Dave Osbourne.

The OSCAAR Modifieds will hit Delaware Speedway next Friday as they continue a stretch of four back-to-back events to complete the month of June.

Jason Leffler remembered and honored as racing goes on in Michigan

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SM Staff

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June 15, 2013

20120831184620-c810ee35-me — Photo Credit: Kyle Ocker

Tony Stewart has always had a way with words. Sometimes for the better, never shy about the worst.

Friday at the Michigan International Speedway however, Stewart was both poignant and powerful when talking about the sudden death of friend, former teammate and colleague Jason Leffler. Including the risks they all take with any form of racing, including sprint cars.

“He loved nothing more than being behind the wheel of a race car. I was just shocked to hear what had happened and obviously it’s just a reminder of how dangerous our sport is,” said Stewart, who also noted all the safety innovations NASCAR’s come upon in his 15 years in the sport.

“I am as careful as I am when I get in a car on a city street,” he continued about his and other NASCAR driver’s decisions to race sprint cars. “There will be more people that die in car crashes today than die in race cars today. It’s just part of it and I am one of those that believe when it’s your time, it’s your time.”

Leffler died on Wednesday night from what the Delaware Country (Pa.) medical examiner is calling blunt force trauma to the neck. Racing in a sprint car event at Bridgeport Speedway in New Jersey, witnesses say Leffler’s car slammed the wall in turn four and then started flipping. An investigation has been opened as to what may have caused the accident.

Racers from the around the NASCAR and IndyCar world are remembering the 37-year-old doting father fondly. Fans are mourning the loss of another hero, one taken too soon. Perhaps it’s the abruptness and shock that makes it all the more tragic, coming after what no one knew would be his final Sprint Cup Series race last Sunday in Pocono.

Leffler quietly finished last, heading to the garage early and without any of us really noticing that he had been there at all. Now, we long for him to come back. While he never made huge headlines around the garage, Leffler was hard to forget. It was the passion and dedication he brought to his dangerous lifestyle. Stewart would know he was there for most of it. Leffler lived with him years ago when he moved to the east coast and later became his teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, driving the No. 11 FedEx car before the NSCS arrival and stardom of Denny Hamlin.

It’s the likes of Stewart and Kyle Busch who are lauded for their talent and intentions to drive anything and everything. Leffler was right there with them, running races all around the country. It’s why he was at that small dirt track in NJ on a Wednesday night.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said on Friday he and Leffler didn’t have a friendship per say, but he knew enough about the California to know that he’d do anything to win. Noting the pass for the lead Leffler made at Indianapolis Raceway Park in 2007, which carried him to victory, his final NASCAR win.

It was Jason Leffler, not Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart or any other big name, who delivered Toyota their first national-series NASCAR victory.

Two years earlier, Earnhardt Jr. had a front row seat for the hunger to win that drove Leffler. It was the last lap and Earnhardt Jr. was charging hard on the outside in the July NNS race at Daytona and Leffler, who had just spun Michael Waltrip down the backstretch, blocked him all the way up into the wall. That was a distant memory for Earnhardt Jr. while looking back.

“When I think about him that is one of the memories that I appreciate the most; I think it said everything about him as a driver,” he said about Leffler’s IRP win. “He liked to race. You always heard about the guy running here and running there. He had up’s and down’s in the top tier series as far as the Truck Series and the Nationwide Series, but he didn’t seem to let that deter him from doing what he liked to do. If he could be racing somewhere he was there racing.”

Often with his infamous Mohawk and little smile. And sometimes, it was that smile or sideways smirk that could do the most damage. See, Leffler never outwardly seemed bothered by his competitor’s criticism or rough racing, often taking it with a shrug of the shoulders during interviews and a little smile or smirk. But he didn’t forget things, as was evidenced by his revenge move on James Buescher at Nashville in 2010 during an NNS race.

And Leffler wasn’t intimidated by anyone either. Not friends, teammates or Cup drivers as he tangled with Kyle Busch at Dover when the two were driving for Todd Braun. Busch had some harsh words for Leffler that day but in 2012 he hired him to run in the CWTS for Kyle Busch Motorsports. But after disappointing results Leffler was released and in 2013 had no full-time ride, leaving him to start and park on Sunday for Humphrey Smith Motorsports.

Leffler though, was a racer and he wanted to win. He was running second on Wednesday night before the accident. NASCAR hasn’t lost a driver on one of their tracks since Dale Earnhardt in 2001, but they’ve lost many greats over the last few years, seemingly one after the other.

From Cotton Owens to Dick Trickle even IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon two years ago, current drivers and teams have continually paid tribute to those lost throughout the season. One weekend after another, honoring and remembering a fallen hero or standing strong in the face of American tragedy, those from Newtown to Boston and Oklahoma.

Now another weekend in which racing goes on but not without a somber tone. With an unfamiliar, unwanted and out of place decal on the side posts of 43 racecars, this time carrying the name and face of Jason Leffler. A reminder of what’s been all too common this season: that of love, loss and the bond racing brings.

Jason Leffler will be remembered by all those who witnessed his hard charging driving style, the laid back personality and the love he had for the 5-year-old son, Charlie Dean, he leaves behind. It’s through Charlie that Jason will live on and through all of us, that Charlie will come to have a better understanding as he grows up of the father, man and racer that Jason Leffler was.

And so as another green flag gets ready to be waved, in which Leffler would have loved to be driving under, Godspeed friend. As NASCAR winds their way through the high-banked, fast paced Michigan it will be with a familiar friend guiding the way. Enjoying every minute in the passenger seat of 43 race cars with those he called friends.

Regan Smith in the midst of his best season

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SM Staff

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June 15, 2013

Regan Smith is having the best season of his NASCAR career. Smith started competing in the Nationwide Series in 2002. After competing in a few part time seasons, he competed full time in 2006 for Rensi Motorsports. He finished 20^th in the standings at the end of that season.

Smith then began competing in the Sprint Cup Series in 2007 driving the #01 US Army Chevrolet for Bobby Ginn. He only started seven races that season, only leading one lap, but perhaps more importantly at this stage of his career, he completed 99% of his laps.

As things progressed, Smith eventually found himself driving for Barney Visser and his Furniture Row Race team. After a part time first season in 2009, the team went full time in 2010. After, somewhat of a lackluster year finishing 28^th in the points with no top ten finishes, 2011 improved. Smith actually led 36 laps, and had five top tens, with his first Sprint Cup victory coming at Darlington. Smith’s win at the legendary track earned him a ton of attention. He seemed to be on his way to the next level.

2012 did not bring the success that everyone expected. Late in the season, the team decided to release Smith in favor of former series champion Kurt Busch. As they say, when one door closes, another opens. The release from Furniture Row Racing could be the best thing that ever happened to Smith. That very weekend, Hendrick Motorsports driver Dale Earnhardt Jr was diagnosed with a concussion after a wreck at Talladega. Smith was pegged to fill in for the series’ most popular driver in the #88 Amp Energy Chevrolet.

Smith suffered an engine failure in his first start. However, he turned in an impressive seventh place finish at Kansas a week later. In the season ending race at Homestead, Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Nationwide Series team, JR Motorsports, decided to give Smith a chance in their Hendrick Cars.com Chevy. Smith immediately found success, winning his only Nationwide start of the season.

Smith’s performance earned him the chance to replace driver Danica Patrick, who was headed to the Sprint Cup series, in the team’s #7 Chevy Camaro. The partnership between Smith and JR Motorsports has been an instant success. After a 14^th and 11^th place finish in the first two races of the season, Smith has been on a tear, stringing together ten straight top ten finishes. Included in the string of top tens is a fascinating win in almost dark conditions at Talladega Superspeedway. Smith has an average finish of 7.2, not bad considering the number of Cup regulars that seem to infiltrate the series on a regular basis.

This amazing string of finishes has accomplished another feat for Smith. He is the first JR Motorsports driver to lead the series points. Heading into the race at Michigan, Smith has a strong 23 point lead. Smith commented on his season Friday saying, “It’s been a good start to the season for us with the TaxSlayer Chevy. We certainly want to keep our momentum up. Ideally, we can build on our points lead this weekend.”

Smith also contributed a lot of the team’s success this season to crew chief, Greg Ives, stating, “I’ve enjoyed working with Greg a lot this year. He is as even keeled as they come. Nothing seems to faze this guy. If we’re having a bad day on the racetrack, he is the same tone as if we just won the race. He doesn’t let anything get to him, which in turn helps me because I have a tendency to get wound up very easily. He does a good job of keeping me focused and calm.”

Though, his record at MIS is not that great, he has an average finish position of 25.5 and a best finish of 20^th, Smith started off the weekend at MIS by posting the eleventh fastest lap in final practice. The team was a little off in qualifying. The #7 TaxSlayer Chevy Camaro will take the green in 20^th place on Saturday. Given his strong performance this season and the confidence he obviously has in his team, Smith should be able to find his way to the front, and protect his points lead.

Newlywed Bayne hoping to carry momentum to Michigan

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SM Staff

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June 15, 2013

Roush-Fenway Racing driver, and Ashton Bayne’s husband, Trevor, is coming fresh off what was probably the greatest week of his life.

On Tuesday June 4^th, Trevor and Ashton had a fantastic wedding ceremony in beautiful Asheville, NC. Just a few days later, the couple were at Iowa Speedway for Dupont Pioneer 250 Nationwide Series race. Ashton told her new husband to make sure he won the race so he would not fit the stereotype people have that drivers slow down when they get married.

Trevor obliged his new bride by driving his #6 Ford Ecoboost Mustang to victory lane in an exciting door handle to door handle battle with Austin Dillon. The two raced side by side and banged quarter panels several time in the closing laps, with Bayne finalizing the pass with just a few laps to go. It was truly one of the most exciting finishes of the Nationwide season.

Bayne now follows the series to the Irish Hills of Michigan to compete in the Alliance Truck Parts 250 at Michigan International Speedway. Bayne seems upbeat and excited as his team has definite momentum, after struggling earlier in the season. Coming off three straight top six finishes, and a wedding to his high school sweetheart, Bayne’s swagger is back.

Bayne’s positive, upbeat attitude coupled with his confidence should give him what he needs to finally start living up to the expectations placed upon him. The high expectations he has are due to stepping into the seat of the car that won the series championship the last two seasons running.

Bayne, driving the Roush Clean Tech Mustang, was 12^th fastest in practice on Friday. “I haven’t been in a Nationwide car there since they repaved it, but the Sprint Cup cars are unbelievably fast.” Bayne commented in the media center.

Bayne has a decent record at MIS. In three starts, he has qualified in the top ten each time, and finished fifth in this race last season. He also one of the strongest passers here averaging 40 quality passes based on loop data.

In addition to his start in the Nationwide Series on Saturday, Bayne will also drive the #21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford for the legendary Wood Brothers in the Quicken Loans 400 on Sunday.

Bayne has seemingly gotten the monkey off his back, and is focused on attaining the Nationwide Series championship. What an awesome wedding gift that would be!

Marco Andretti wins Verizon P1 Award for the Milwaukee IndyFest

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SM Staff

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June 14, 2013

04CJ4956 — Photo Credit: Chris Jones/IndyCar.com

After leading a chunk of last week’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, Marco Andretti is off to a good start this weekend. Andretti earned the Verizon P1 Award for the Milwaukee IndyFest with a two-lap average speed of 170.515 mph. It marks a new track record as Franchitti held it after last year’s qualifying session at 168.737 mph. It marks Andretti’s first pole since 2008.

“So far, that was about as good as we could run, so I’m pleased,” Andretti said. “I think the RC Cola car will be tough to beat. A win would be huge. I told Dad that hopefully (the pole) is only half of his Father’s Day gift.”

The pole for the driver of the No. 25 RC Cola car also allows him to trim Castroneves’ points lead to only one point. Castroneves qualified 18th.

Andretti’s teammate James Hinchcliffe will start alongside of him on the front row as Hinhcliffe recorded a fast lap of 170.868 mph in qualifying behind the wheel of his No. 27 GoDaddy.com car.

“Don’t tell Marco, but the outside is way better on the start,” Hinchcliffe said. “That is what I was going for.

“It was a hell of a team effort, look at that 4 out of the Top 5 guys. Will ruined the Andretti Autosport Parade and everybody on the team deserves such credit after the practice that we had. Man, the third time starting second, I mean like it’s always the bridesmaid, never the bride. I mean I won that pole so bad. For where we were especially at practice, the front row, I will take it! ”

Penske Racing’s Will Power would qualify third.

“We’ve had a good Verizon car all day,” Power said. “I thought we might have enough for pole today but I made a little mistake on the last lap and we just missed it. Starting third is a good position for us tomorrow. I think the Verizon Chevy will be pretty good in the race. We’re not sure what the weather will be – we hope the rain stays away, especially for the fans – but it should be a good race.”

He was followed by Ryan Hunter-Reay and E.J. Viso, giving Andretti Autosport four of the top five starting spots.

“We had a great car, and we just got a little carried away with trying to help the car turn – that’s what beats a lap time here,” Hunter-Reay said. “We missed the pole by just a little bit last year, so we felt we needed to go get it today. We just over-stepped it today. It’s easy to do here at Milwaukee, but we’ll have a good No. 1 DHL Chevrolet for tomorrow, I promise you that.”

Sebastian Saavedra qualified a career-best sixth in the No. 6 Dragon Racing car, while Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan qualified seventh, followed by Josef Newgarden in eighth.

1. (25) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Chevy, 170.515

2. (27) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Chevy, 170.418

3. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Chevy, 170.212

4. (1) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Chevy, 170.100

5. (5) EJ Viso, Dallara-Chevy, 169.828

6. (6) Sebastian Saavedra, Dallara-Chevy, 169.732

7. (11) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Chevy, 169.482

8. (67) Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Honda, 169.462

9. (77) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Honda, 169.311

10. (55) Tristan Vautier, Dallara-Honda, 169.215

11. (9) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 168.820

12. (16) James Jakes, Dallara-Honda, 168.470

13. (19) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 168.412

14. (7) Sebastien Bourdais, Dallara-Chevy, 168.141

15. (14) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 168.023

16. (98) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 167.512

17. (10) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 167.263

18. (3) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Chevy, 167.169

19. (4) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Chevy, 165.765

20. (18) Ana Beatriz, Dallara-Honda, 165.364

21. (20) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Chevy, 164.797

22. (83) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Honda, 164.124

23. (15) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 163.230

24. (78) Simona De Silvestro, Dallara-Chevy, 162.886

Will Earnhardt Jr.’s Superman Paint Scheme Give Him Super Powers in Michigan?

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SM Staff

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June 14, 2013

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., will be driving the National Guard “Man of Steel” Chevrolet in the Quicken Loans 400 on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway. Earnhardt Jr. is currently fourth in the points although he has been winless since claiming victory of the 2012 Quicken Loans 400 last year in Michigan.

Could the Superman themed paint scheme on the No. 88 Chevrolet give Earnhardt Jr. the edge he needs to repeat his victory at Michigan International Speedway?

When asked about last year’s win and this paint scheme, Earnhardt Jr. commented, “We are excited about the car. The car looks great. It’s not difficult to come up with a cool paint scheme when you are working with Superman and like we did last year with Batman and all that. It’s pretty simple to come up with something really cool and fun. Definitely makes that kind of job easier. I think the care does look good. Hopefully it’s as fast as it looks good. That is going to be more important to be able to repeat and get the win this weekend. We feel pretty good coming in to this race. We had a great run last week that sort of hopefully got us back in the right direction. We talked about it last week after the race, but we kind of had some misses here lately and not many hits. As far as showing up to the race track and being competitive and getting the job done putting together a full weekend. We haven’t been able to do that. We started the season off so promising the best that I had ever started a season. It just seemed like things were going so perfectly and it’s the way it is in this sport. You will think you have everything going in the right direction and then odds and fate and everything else get in the way.”

Rick Hendrick commented that Earnhardt Jr. and his team are performing better coming into this race than they were one year ago when they ended up winning.

In response Earnhardt Jr. said, “Well it’s probably better to see the truth from his position on the other side of the fence so to speak. It’s more difficult to see growth and improvement within the team when you are a part of the team. It’s kind of like when you are a kid and you are getting taller. You are 10, 11, 12 years old and you are wanting to be six foot three (inches) one day you can’t tell you are getting taller unless you are marking the door jam. Otherwise you wouldn’t notice any change of height. That is kind of what it feels like when you are part of the team. You don’t really notice when things get a little bit better or things get a little bit worse.”

Although Dale Earnhardt Jr. has an impressive nine top 10 finishes this season, he has only led 48 laps. Hopefully, his strong history here at Michigan coupled with the momentum from last week’s third place finish and the upbeat attitude associated with this week’s sponsor will create the recipe for success Sunday in the Quicken Loans 400.

Biffle Races to “Give Kids a Smile” in Michigan

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SM Staff

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June 14, 2013

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver, Greg Biffle, has teamed up with the American Dental Association to raise dental awareness this weekend at Michigan International Speedway. The Give Kids a Smile campaign is a dental education program that is currently in its 11^th year. The program provides dental services to more than 400,000 underserved children.

Driver of the No.16 3M Ford Fusion, Greg Biffle, first teamed up with 3M ESPE Dental, the ADA Foundation, and Henry Schein in 2011 to spread the Give Kids a Smile message to the NASCAR audience. Biffle’s support includes a public service announcement featuring himself and ongoing outreach to parents and children through dental offices, community events, and media.

The American Dental Association president, Dr. Robert Faiella, comented on their organization’s partnership with Biffle. He said, “Greg Biffle’s support of Give Kids A Smile will help us get the prevention message out to more families. We applaud his generous efforts, as well as those of the program sponsors.”

When asked about having dental health on his car this weekend for kids, Biffle commented, “Yeah, it’s a great thing that 3M does with the American Dental Association with the Give Kids A Smile program. A lot of children go with less than a satisfactory level of dental care and this is a good way to build awareness for that. They do a tremendous amount of screenings here at the race track for kids and build awareness around the country about how important it is to have proper dental health, so we’re excited to have them on the car. I think this is the third or fourth year and we’ve done it at different race tracks. Last year it was Richmond and this year it’s here at Michigan, so we’re certainly excited about the program. 3M does a lot to build awareness for a lot of different causes and this is a good one.”

Biffle’s No. 16 Ford Fusion will feature a Give Kids A Smile logo on the hood, roof and bumper, along with the logos for 3M ESPE and Henry Schein Cares on the bumper to spread the important dental health message. Race fans can also visit the 3M display in the midway for healthy dental tips, fun family activities, prizes, and meet Greg Biffle on Saturday morning in the Kids Zone Area.