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The Final Word – Memorial Day weekend was all about Happy endings

By
Ron Thornton
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Photo Credit: Brad Keppel

It is the biggest motor sport weekend, as they ran the 97th edition of the Indianapolis 500 and the World 600 in Charlotte. Oh, yes, they also ran the Monaco Grand Prix, but my bed won that race. It is not often that I will spend a day watching two races, but Memorial Sunday is different and usually well worth the time.

After the 29 men and four women raced around in those fast tubes, we switched to NASCAR. Then again, we had four drivers who made that switch years ago. Danica Patrick is only the latest who turned to driving stock. Tony Stewart won the 1996 Indy pole, claimed the series crown in 1997, and drove in both races the same day in 1999. Juan Montoya won the Indy 500 in 2000, a year after taking their series title. Maybe next year Sam Hornish Jr will be back in Cup. The Nationwide driver won the Indianapolis 500 in 2006, along with three series championships.

Patrick was the lone woman in Charlotte and though she did lead a lap, she was a non-factor. Well, except for her taking out Brad Keselowski. Dale Earnhardt Jr was no where to be seen, until his car blew up. Kasey Kahne had one of the three most dominant cars on the day, yet had to settle for second. Matt Kenseth had another, but Jimmie Johnson broke loose and created a dustup that included Matt. Kyle Busch had the third and to say his day was interesting would be something of an understatement.

A fibre rope used to pull FOX’s aerial camera over head broke lose to hang down at track level. Busch hit it and tore up a front fender. Marcos Ambrose ran over part of it and it got caught up under his car. There was rope everywhere, and NASCAR decided to hold things for over half an hour so the crews could take care of any problems they had, and some had. Meanwhile, ten fans got injured in the incident, with three needing some hospital attention. That bottle of the title sponsor’s product seen lying in the infield came from the stands, along with more such Coke product, as the crowd tried to alert NASCAR to the danger. If you can string cable, there might be a job opening coming up soon with a certain television network. As for Busch, he later blew up the same lap Junior went up in smoke.

With a dozen laps left, caution came out but Kahne’s crew chief Kenny Francis did not call his driver in. They thought at least two or three, with relatively fresh tires, would stay out to put some distance between the leader and the hard chargers. Instead, the entire lead lap contingent came in. Kevin Harvick got the jump on the re-start and sailed off to victory. Kurt Busch, who had led until a battery went dead on him during a red flag, managed to get back to third.

Rating the Indianapolis 500 – (10/10) – Damn but don’t those little darts fly around that track. 220 mph, without fenders, with the engines turning over 11,000 RPM. It was fun to watch those bullets, a first time winner in Tony Kanaan (after years of trying), and a nice storyline with the lucky medallion he gave a young girl nine years ago who returned it in time for the luck to rub off on him on Sunday. A joy to watch from start to finish, and that was all we can ask for.

Rating the World 600 – (8/10) – It was not all that exciting to start with, at least if one discounted the dangler from above. Then Kyle and Junior blew up, Danica took out Brad, Mark Martin took out Aric Almirola and Jeff Gordon, while Johnson did the job on Kenseth. Surely we could count on Kahne to walk away with it, or so we thought. At least someone went home Happy, or in Delana Harvick’s case, with Happy.

Next, we go over to Dover, where Jimmie Johnson has won four of the past eight run there, including last year’s spring race. As for the other four, Brad Keselowski won there in the fall, Matt Kenseth in 2011, and each Busch brother claimed one. It might be a good track to allow somebody to rebound from this past Sunday. Enjoy the week!

NASCAR BTS: Jason Trinchere’s Journey From Racer to Penske Engineer

By
SM Staff
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Many racers realize along the way that another career may be awaiting them other than being behind the wheel.  This week’s edition of NASCAR BTS goes behind the scenes with Jason Trinchere to learn more about his journey from short-track racer to design engineer at Penske Racing.

Trinchere started his racing journey early, in fact from the time of his birth. And, as with so many racers, his father also was involved in the sport.

“Ever since the time I was born, there was a race car or a go kart in our garage,” Trinchere said. “My dad started racing when he was in high school.”

“When I was born, he stopped driving and became a car owner,” Trinchere continued. “So, he always had cars around the whole time I was growing up.”

Trinchere caught the racing bug from his father and set off in go karts. Initially it was just for fun but the competition soon drew him in, hook, line and sinker.

“When I was about ten or eleven years old, he sold his modified team and we started racing go karts,” Trinchere said. “It was mainly just for fun but then we started racing competitively.”

“We had fun, raced dirt and had three championships,” Trinchere continued. “Then we started racing in the dirt asphalt division in the early ‘90s.”

“So, I started driving those and that was the whole time I was in high school,” Trinchere said. “I didn’t even have my driver’s license when I started racing.”

Although he loved being behind the wheel of a race car, Trinchere also enjoyed the mechanical and engineering side of the sport.

“My dad was an auto mechanic so I learned that side of the business from him,” Trinchere said. “When I was in high school, I took machine shop in Vo Tech so I could make a lot of the components for our race cars.”

“I wasn’t’ too sure of what I wanted to do and I was thinking of coming to the NASCAR Tech School but was concerned it was more for people not involved in racing,” Trinchere continued. “My dad talked me into studying engineering since I was the kid sitting at home playing with erector sets all the time.”

After high school graduation, Trinchere had to make a critical decision about going to college and also what to do about his racing career. Ironically, he initially wanted to follow the path of his now team owner at Penske Racing.

“When I came out of school, I wanted to go to Lehigh to follow in the footsteps of Roger Penske but the reality of how much college costs set in,” Trinchere said. “So, I went to community college to do my electives and take their associates classes in engineering.”

“Then I transferred to Penn State Harrisburg campus,” Trinchere continued. “It was far enough to experience college life but close enough to home to go there and race.”

Trinchere also happened to find his soul mate in the racing business.

“When I went to college, I didn’t have the time to race in one place, so I started going to upstate New York and raced at Oswego and all different kinds of tracks,” Trinchere said. “At that time, when I was finishing college, my girlfriend (who is my wife now) was also involved in racing as her dad raced at Selinsgrove Speedway in Pennsylvania.”

“So, imagine that, I met my wife through racing as well.”

Trinchere and his wife decided that they needed to consider heading south to Charlotte and the heart of racing country to make both of their dreams come true.

“I got a phone call from Dave McCarty, who at that time was the crew chief at Spears Motorsports for David Starr,” Trinchere said. “So, I followed up on that opportunity and he liked the fact that I was a racer with a degree in engineering.”

“Being a Truck team, they didn’t want to hire a Cup engineer because a kid coming out of college was much cheaper,” Trinchere continued with a chuckle. “We moved down, bought a house (the same one we are living in now) and went racing.”

“I worked at Spears and the next year Aric Almirola came in as the driver,” Trinchere continued. “I learned a lot there with David Starr, Aric Almirola and Dennis Setzer.”

“It was a very small team with about twelve employees,” Trinchere said. “It was a neat opportunity to go to a little team and run against the big boys and do well.”

“That made me feel good.”

Trinchere left Spears to go to CJN Racing with Jason Keller as the driver. But shortly thereafter, he headed to DEI where he stayed even through the merger with Chip Ganassi Racing.

“I went to DEI to be the Nationwide engineer when they ran a car, which was only part-time,” Trinchere said. “We had Trevor Bayne and Jesus Hernandez as the drivers.”

“I was also support engineer for the 01 Cup car when Regan Smith was driving it,” Trinchere continued. “Then I switched over to Martin Truex’s car.”

“It was a very busy year, going to a third of the Cup races and the rest of the East races.”

“At the end of the season, there were talks and then the merger with Chip Ganassi occurred,” Trinchere said. “Before Homestead they came around and told us what time the meeting was, all but me.”

“I didn’t know if that was good or bad,” Trinchere continued. “But I learned that people with meetings were let go and people who didn’t have a meeting were being kept.”

“That was a little bit of a hard time.”

Post-merger, Trinchere worked for both the 1 and 42 teams.

“It worked out pretty well working for Jamie McMurray and Juan Pablo Montoya,” Trinchere said. “I did a program called ‘Dart Fish’ at the track where I would record qualifying runs.”

“I did that for a year and at the end of the season, the engineering manager asked if I could do anything else to help the team and I was moved over to the design engineering team,” Trinchere continued. “It was fun to have the direct impact of what happened at the track.”

Trinchere had a very eventful New Year, however, as he was offered and accepted a job at Penske Racing.

“Within three days of sending my resume in, I had an interview,” Trinchere said. “I’m doing the same stuff as a design engineer.”

“Their group is a little larger and uses different software but I am working with the 2 and 22, “Trinchere continued. “It’s been exciting but scary changing jobs, especially after five years.”

“So, this is the next chapter for me.”

Kevin Harvick Closes Out Strange Coca Cola 600 With Second Season Win

By
SM Staff
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Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

From surviving two red flags, one for a bizarre camera cable snap that injured cars on the track as well as some fans in the stands, to the second red flag for a Talladega-style pile up, Kevin Harvick survived it all to live up to his moniker as the ‘Closer’, going to Victory Lane for the second time this season.

“Well first off, I want to say I hope everybody is okay from that cable,” the driver of the No. 29 RCR Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet said. “That was quite a weird incident there.”

“Second, I want to just say thank you to all the guys at Richard Childress Racing,” Harvick continued. “To win at Charlotte is something that we had to overcome for a long time.”

Harvick credited his victory to some old fashioned pit road tire strategy, a great restart against Kasey Kahne, and getting out in front in clean air.

“Clean air was really big,” Harvick said. “Obviously with him (Kahne) being on old tires, we knew that the restart was going to be important to be able to get that clear track.”

“And it paid off.”

One of the most disappointed drivers no doubt was Kasey Kahne, who after battling flu-like symptoms prior to the race and having such a strong car, still could not hold off Harvick for the win. Instead the driver of the No. 5 Time Warner Cable Chevrolet for Rick Hendrick Motorsports finished second yet again.

“Yeah, we ran second to Matt (Kenseth) at Vegas, second to Matt (Kenseth) again at Kansas and now second to Kevin (Harvick) here,” Kahne said. “We were the fastest car in all three of those.”

“We just didn’t win any of them,” Kahne continued. “I feel good about where we are and the team is doing an awesome job.”

“We just need to finish it off.”

There is no doubt that the third place finisher Kurt Busch felt a real kinship with the warriors that he supports through the Armed Forces Foundation. The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing/Sealy Chevrolet battled the cable hitting the car incident, a dead battery and keeping track position throughout the night to score the top-five finish.

“I’m still shell shocked,” Busch said. “We picked up the lead and then the battery went dead.”

“I don’t know what to think of that,” Busch continued. “We battled back.”

“The guys changed it as fast as they could and we got third,” Busch said. “We had a good car.”

“You’ve got to be perfect to win these things and I was close.”

While Chevrolet dominated the first three positions, Denny Hamlin in his No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota and Joey Logano in his No. 22 Pennzoil Shell Ford, rounded out the remainder of the top five in the finishing order for the 54th annual Coca Cola 600.

“We need solid runs like this,” Hamlin said as he continues to recover from his back injury. “I feel good.”

“We didn’t have a winning car, but we had a fourth to sixth-place car and that’s where we ended up.”

While Hamlin was feeling good, fifth place finisher Logano was tired but pleased, especially with his team and crew.

“It was a long race,” Logano said. “Starting from 31st with the Shell/Pennzoil Ford, we had our work cut out for us, especially at a track that is so hard to pass.”

“That was a long race, a really long race, but I think my guys did an awesome job coming from 31st up to fifth,” Logano continued. “I’m super proud of them.”

The weirdest part of the race, and for many the scariest, was the network broadcast camera cable breaking, strewing wiring on the track and into the stands. The most damaged car on the track was the No. 18 M&M Red-White-Blue M-Prove America Toyota of Kyle Busch.

AT least ten fans were also injured in the stands, seven treated and released at the track and three sent to hospitals for further evaluation and treatment as needed.

“I didn’t see anything,” Busch said. “I just heard a big thunk on the right-front tire and thought the tire blew out.”

“That’s how hard it felt,” Busch continued. “I felt it like, ‘Whoa’, that’s weird.”

“Maybe now we can get rid of that thing.”

The second major incident occurred later in the race but also resulted in a red flag. Drivers affected in the Talladega-like wreck included Jeff Gordon, Aric Almirola, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Bobby Labonte.

“I got under Mark (Martin) and I was down next to the grass and he clipped me in the right rear corner panel,” Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 43 US Air Force Ford, said. “It kind of stinks.”

“I got squeezed in there trying to run the thing three-wide,” Mark Martin, driver of the Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, said. “And there wasn’t quite room there.”

“We were racing three-wide and that’s what’s going to happen,” Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, said. “We were going for the Lucky Dog and had to be real aggressive.”

“I hate we were back there,” Gordon continued. “We had an awesome Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet.”

Almirola, Martin and Gordon finished 33rd, 34th and 35th respectively.

In spite of a battery issue, a spin late in the race, and a 22nd place finish, five-time champ Jimmie Johnson maintained his points lead, in fact 32 points ahead of Carl Edwards.

“Yeah, we were like a fifth place car,” Johnson said. “But then we got pulled around in Turns 3 and 4 and spun.”

“We did have some issues with the charging system of the car with batteries dying and things like that throughout the race, which added more excitement for us,” Johnson continued. “It was a long night with a lot of issues.”

“All that did some damage to the car and that really affected our finish from that point.”

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will leave home and head next to compete at the Monster Mile in Delaware.

 

Honoring Heros in Charlotte

By
SM Staff
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Credit: Greg Arthur

CONCORD, NC –  This weekend marked the 54th running of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the longest race of the NASCAR season. However, it also marked the annual gathering and honoring of America’s true heroes. As Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North said, “America’s true heroes where helmets and combat boots”. Those in attendance Sunday were provided a moving salute to the men and women who serve our  great country.

North, a combat decorated U.S. Marine and host of ‘War Stories’ on Fox News Channel, said “what the NRA and NASCAR are doing at the Coca-Cola 600 should be replicated all across our land.” He was almost  right. I walked around the track and the infield all weekend meeting fans from across the country and as I reflected on North’s words, I decided that what the team at Charlotte Motor Speedway does on an annual basis shouldn’t be limited to the U.S. NASCAR truly is an example that we should replicate around the world.

Where else would you find people from such diverse backgrounds, both socially, economically and geographically gather together and within the infield become neighbors for a weekend. The relationships you find are ones that we could build a foundation on. After all, these are fans that will sit next to one another in the stands and pull against one another’s driver and then slap high fives with each  other when something exciting happens – and no one provides a reason to celebrate more than Charlotte Motor Speedway.

I met a fan on pit road this weekend who was attending the third race of her lifetime and the first since 1996, the last race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Having never been down to pit road, she was in awe, telling me that this was one of the most exciting things she had ever done. We arranged to speak to one another after the race to discuss her experience. When I talked to her after the event, the excitement hadn’t left her voice. She explained that she typically prefers to watch racing on TV, which allows better views. However, she loved seeing all that happens ‘behind the scenes’, including the pre-show, which she said moved her and the world’s largest TV allowed her to see the angles she has grown accustomed to. Her only disappointment was that she feared the night would be remembered for a failed camera rather than the racing on the track.

Some will argue that the Indianapolis 500 is the main event of the day, but I am a NASCAR fan and more importantly, I am an American. So, I can’t imagine a Memorial Day away from the Coca-Cola 600 and away from honoring so many of America’s finest. If only those that hate America would journey to Charlotte one May and see what America truly is about, perhaps this world would be a better place.

Do yourself a favor, take a minute to say thank you to someone who is wearing or has worn this country’s uniform, not just on Memorial Day, but every day and book a trip to Charlotte next year to take in what every fan of racing and every American should experience.

FOX’s overhead cable camera snaps cable at Fans

By
SM Staff
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Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

10 fans hurt along with several NASCAR Sprint Cup cars damaged on track.

A full moon in the air usually means that strange and crazy things can happen during the race event. Today was no different than expected. In fact in F1, the Indy 500 and at today’s Coca Cola 600 we were spectators to unusual crashes and door banging style battles for the lead.

At Charlotte Motor Speedway the full moon effect struck on lap 121 as the FOX’s overhead cable camera’s drive cable (A nylon pull rope) snapped over the turn four track breaking over the head of fans and coming apart, hitting ten fans sending the fans to the care center at the speedway.

After a short period of time seven of the ten fans were released with the remaining three fans being sent for follow up at a local Charlotte Hospital. Word from Charlotte Motor Speedway is that none of the fans suffered any major injuries. Most of the fans had received cuts and bruises.

On the track the cable had hooked onto the catch fence, dangling onto the track where Kyle Busch’s car hooked into the cable pulling a long section onto the track. The cable ripped into the #18 Toyota’s right front quarter panel sending the cable into cars following Busch.

The cable bounced off of the rear deck lid of Mark Martin’s car throwing the cable into Marcos Ambrose’s car where it sucked under the car, snapping the break line of Ambrose’s car. The cable then wrapped itself around the rear end’s drive shaft.

Debris also hit Jamie McMurray’s car with possible damage to Clint Bowyer’s car as well.

The cable stretched from end to end of the track which left several 30 to 40 foot sections on the track and hundreds of feet strewn through the infield.

NASCAR red flagged the race for about forty minutes to position the camera in a safe location and retrieve the cabling on the track. The cable was cut away from the cable cam to where it dangled thirty feet from the unit above the track.

NASCAR also allowed the teams that were damaged from the cable to repair the cars during the red flag. Most of the drivers interviewed were positive that NASCAR made the correct call.

In a release from FOX Sports,

“At this time, we do not have a cause for the failure of the camera drive line that interrupted tonight’s Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and our immediate concern is with the injured fans. The camera system consists of three ropes — a drive rope which moves the camera back and forth, and two guide ropes on either side. The drive rope failed near the Turn 1 connection and fell to the track. The camera itself did not come down because guide ropes acted as designed. A full investigation is planned, and use of the camera is suspended indefinitely.

This camera system had been used successfully at this year’s Daytona 500, last week’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race and other major events around the world. We certainly regret that the system failure affected tonight’s event, we apologize to the racers whose cars were damaged, and our immediate concern is for the race fans. We also offer a sincere ‘thank you’ to the staff at CMS for attending to the injuries and keeping us informed on this developing situation. When we have more information on the cause of the equipment failure, we will share it with you immediately.”

CHEVY NSCS AT CHARLOTTE ONE: Post Race Notes and Quotes

By
SM Archive
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CHEVY NSCS AT CHARLOTTE ONE: Chevy Takes Top Three – Transcripts

By
SM Archive
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Lap by Lap: Coca Cola 600 won by Kevin Harvick

By
SM Staff
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A two tire pit stop with a couple laps left would pay off for Kevin Harvick as he would take the lead on the restart and go on to win the Coca Cola 60o.

 

Lap 1 Hamlin leads ahead of Kenseth

Lap 3 Hamlin leads Kenseth, Ku Busch, Kahne, Bowyer, Ky Busch, Martin, Biffle, McMurray, Earnhardt Jr.

Lap 6 Kenseth and Hamlin side-by-side for the lead while Ku Busch and Kahne are side-by-side for third. Hamlin clears Kenseth off of turn four ahead of Kahne and Ku Busch

Lap 7 Kenseth and Hamlin side-by-side again for the lead and Kenseth grabs the lead off of turn four

Lap 8 Kahne passes Hamlin for second

Lap 10 McMurray passes Biffle for eighth

Lap 16 Kenseth leads Kahne Bowyer Hamlin KuBusch KyBusch Martin McMurray Biffle Johnson

Lap 18 KyBusch passes KuBusch for fifth

Lap 20 KyBusch passes Hamlin for fourth

Lap 22 KuBusch passes Hamlin for fifth

Lap 23 Martin passes Hamlin for sixth

Lap 25 Kahne takes the lead from Kenseth

Lap 33 Kahne leads Kenseth Bowyer KyBusch KuBusch Martin Hamlin McMurray Biffle Johnson

Green flag pit stops start on lap 42.

Lap 46 Kahne pits, handing the lead over to McMurray

Lap 47 McMurray pits, handing the lead over to Keselowski

Lap 48 Keselowski pits with Stewart, handing the lead back to Kahne. Casey Mears was too fast on pit road.

Lap 50 Kahne leads Kenseth KyBusch Bowyer KuBusch Hamlin Martin Biffle Johnson Truex

Lap 60 Kahne leads KyBusch Kenseth Bowyer KuBusch Hamlin Martin Johnson Truex Gordon

Caution lap 67 debris. Almirola gets the lucky dog. Leaders hit pit road. Kahne leads KyBusch Hamlin Kenseth KuBusch Johnson Bowyer off pit road.

Restart lap 75 as Kahne and KyBusch are side-by-side for the lead

Lap 76 KyBusch takes the lead from Kahne off of turn two

Lap 77 KyBusch leads Kahne Kenseth Hamlin KuBusch Johnson Bowyer Gordon Edwards and Earnhardt

Lap 78 Johnson passes KuBusch for fifth

Lap 80 KyBusch and Kahne are side-by-side for the lead

Lap 81 Kahne takes the lead across the start-finish line from KyBusch

Lap 90 Kenseth passes KyBusch for second

Lap 100 Kahne leads Kenseth KyBusch Hamlin KuBusch Johnson Bowyer Gordon Edwards and Earnhardt

Lap 110 KuBusch passes Hamlin for fourth

Lap 113 McMurray passes Earnhardt for 10th

Caution lap 114 Casey Mears pancakes the wall. Newman is the lucky dog. Leaders head down pit road. KyBusch leads Kenseth Hamlin Kahne Johnson Edwards Bowyer Earnhardt McMurray KuBusch off pit road.

Restart lap 120 KyBusch escapes with the lead ahead of Kahne Kenseth and Hamlin

Caution lap 122 debris on the track by the entrance to pit road. So the FOX overhead cable for their camera broke. Part of it is stuck on Ambrose’s car. Busch hit the cable and has damage. NASCAR has said Ambrose can make repairs and get their spot back. Busch will have to pit to fix damage, but will have to restart at rear. NASCAR will throw the red flag to take down the cable and make repairs. Beyond the cable issue, there was a water bottle on track that came from Kenseth’s car, per Gordon radio. So because of #cablegate #debrisgate, #NASCAR is going to give teams 15 minutes to fix damage, as well as take four tires and fuel.

Restart lap 131 KyBusch (with bandaid) leads as KuBusch passes Hamlin for second

Lap 134 KyBusch leads KuBusch Hamlin Kahne Kenseth Johnson Edwards Harvick McMurray Earnhardt

Lap 150 KyBusch leads KuBusch Kahne Kenseth Hamlin Johnson Edwards Harvick McMurray Earnhardt

Lap 156 Johnson passes Hamlin

Lap 158 Kenseth passes Kahne

Lap 168 KyBusch leads Kenseth KuBusch Kahne Hamlin Johnson Edwards Harvick McMurray and Bowyer

Lap 172 Kahne passes KuBusch for third

Lap 174 Hamlin pits.

Lap 175 Earnhardt and Johnson pits

Lap 176 Kenseth pits…..Busch pits out of the lead, followed by Kahne and Edwards. Keselowski to the lead.

Lap 177 Keselowski pits, handing the lead over to Danica Patrick

Lap 180 Pit cycle completes and Kenseth to the lead ahead of KyBusch

Lap 181 Kenseth leads KyBusch Hamlin Kahne KuBusch Johnson Edwards McMurray Harvick Gordon

Lap 190 Kenseth leads KyBusch Kahne Hamlin KuBusch Johnson Edwards McMurray Harvick Gordon

Lap 193 KuBusch alongside Hamlin for position…..completes the pass off of turn four

Lap 203 Kenseth leads KyBusch Kahne KuBusch Hamlin Johnson Edwards Gordon Harvick and McMurray

Lap 213 Kenseth leads Kahne KyBusch KuBusch Hamlin Johnson Edwards Gordon Harvick McMurrray

Lap 217 Stewart, Biffle, Almirola and Earnhardt pit

Lap 218 Menard, Montoya, Keselowski, Martin pit

Lap 219 McMurray and Newman pit

Lap 220 Johnson, Havick, Truex and Bowyer pit

Lap 221 Kahne, KyBusch, KuBusch, Hamlin and Gordon pit…..Kenseth pits out of the lead, along with Edwards and Logano

Lap 222 Ambrose pits

Lap 223 Burton pits, handing the lead back to Kenseth.

Lap 233 Kenseth leads Kahne KyBusch KuBusch Hamlin Johnson Gordon Edwards Harvick McMurray

Lap 238 Gordon passes Johnson

Caution out on Lap 242 for debris. Montoya gets the lucky dog. Leaders head down pit road

Kenseth leads ahead of Kahne KyBusch Hamlin KuBusch Gordon Johnson Harvick Edwards Logano Bowyer McMurray Menard Truex Newan Montoya

Restart lap 249 as Kenseth and Kahne side-by-side for the lead as Kenseth clears Kahne into turn three

Lap 251 Kenseth Kahne KyBusch KuBusch Hamlin Gordon Harvick Logano Johnson Bowyer

Lap 254 Gordon and Harvick pass Hamlin

Lap 255 Johnson passes Logano back

Lap 256 KuBusch passes KyBusch for position. KyBusch says it’s blowing up

Caution lap 257 Earnhardt Jr. starts smoking, Biffle slides up into the wall. Behind that, Kvapil and Blaney wreck. Kenseth stays out while everyone else pit. Kahne first off pit road ahead of Gordon KuBusch Johnson Newman Truex Hamlin. Montoya free pass.

Restart lap 267 as Kenseth pulls ahead

Lap 272 Kenseth Kahne KuBusch Gordon Newman Johnson Truex Hamlin Harvick Logano

Lap 284 Kahne passes Kenseth for the lead

113 to go Kahne leads Kenseth KuBusch Gordon Newman Truex Johnson Harvick Hamlin Logano

110 to go Truex passes Newman

107 to go Harvick passes Johnson

99 to go Kenseth pits

98 to go Bowyer and Johnson pit

97 to go Keselowski and Gordon pit…..caution for debris. Johnson gets the lucky dog. Other cars will take the wavearound to get back on the lead lap. Leaders head down pit road. Johnson changes battery

Restart 91 to go KuBusch and Kahne are side-by-side for the lead

90 to go Kahne clears KuBusch and is back in the lead

89 to go Caution for debris at the bottom of turn four. Ambrose gets the lucky dog. Cassill has problems

Restart 82 to go three-wide for the lead – Kahne, KuBusch, Truex………KuBusch and Kahne side-by-side…..Caution Patrick and Keselowski. Danica got loose and took Keselowski with her to the wall. Danica got sideways after contact from Stenhouse.

Restart 76 to go Kahne doesn’t get a good restart and KuBusch pulls out ahead of Johnson and Newman.

Huge wreck….caution is back out with 75 to go. Almirola, Gordon, Mark Martin……red flag. Gordon, Mark and Almirola are three-wide and Mark comes down into Almirola, collecting Stenhouse, Gordon, Mears, Labonte. Kurt Busch can’t get refired after red flag is lifted. He will be pushed to pit road to the attention of his team. Kurt Busch’s problems will hand the lead over to Kevin Harvick. 71 laps to go .. Harvick Newman Kahne Logano Truex Hamlin Montoya Bowyer Kenseth Johnson KuBusch.

Restart 69 to go Harvick pulls ahead of the field, as Newman and Logano battle for second

Caution 67 to go Johnson sideways off of turn four, Kenseth into wall behind while Montoya spins, also. Johnson spun while underneath Truex….Montoya hit Kenseth, Menard into Montoya.

Restart 62 to go as Harvick pulls ahead as Logano and Kahne are side-by-side for second

61 to go Kahne clears Logano (easily) and has tracked down Harvick for the lead

60 to go Kahne passes Harvick for the lead off of turn four

58 to go Kahne leads Harvick Logano Newman KuBusch Bowyer Hamlin Edwards…..Johnson pits with a flat tire

56 to go Kahne leads Harvick Logano Newman KuBusch Bowyer Hamlin Edwards Stewart Truex

36 to go Kahne, Hamlin, Logano and Bowyer pit. Harvick to the lead.

35 to go Ambrose pits

34 to go Harvick pits, handing the lead to Newman. Patrick tags the wall in turn four, but makes it to pit road

33 to go Newman and KuBusch pit, handing the lead over to Stewart

31 to go Kenseth pits

26 to go Stewart pits, handing the lead to Edwards

20 to go Edwards leads Menard Kahne Harvick Newman Logano Bowyer KuBusch

19 to go Edwards pits, handing the lead to Menard ahead of Kahne Harvick Newman Logano Bowyer KuBusch

18 to go Menard pits, handing the lead over to Kahne

17 to go Kahne leads Harvick Newman Logano Bowyer KuBusch Hamlin Stewart Truex Edwards

16 to go caution for debris on front straightaway. Menard gets the lucky dog. 13 cars are on the lead lap. Kahne stays out, the rest of the lead lap cars pit. Harvick leads Hamlin Newman Bowyer KuBusch Truex off pit road

Restart 11 to go Harvick and Kahne side-by-side for the lead as Harvick grabs the lead down the back from Kahne ahead of KuBusch and Denny.

8 to go Harvick leads Kahne KuBusch Hamlin Newman Logano Stewart Bowyer

6 to go Newman passes Logano

 

Kevin Harvick wins the Coca Cola 600!! Kahne KuBusch Hamlin Logano Newman Stewart Bowyer Truex Ambrose

Tony Kanaan finally becomes an Indianapolis 500 winner with three-wide pass

By
SM Staff
-
Photo Credit: Bret Kelley/IndyCar.com

In a race that saw a record 68 lead changes amongst 14 leaders, the race would end under caution and see an emotional driver Tony Kanaan go to victory lane. After suffering defeat many years in a row, Kanaan’s move on the restart with three to go would pan off to be the move of the race.

“We finally got lucky,” Kanaan said. “I won it. I’m here.”

After seeing a mostly caution free race, the caution would come out with seven laps to go for Graham Rahal hitting the wall.

On the restart, Ryan Hunter-Reay would be the leader, and Kanaan would dive low while rookie Carlos Munoz went high. Going into turn one, Kanaan would have the lead ahead of Munoz, Hunter-Reay and Andretti. As they entered turn two, the caution would fly for Dario Franchitti hitting the wall.

“I couldn’t believe it and then I’m like how many to go and they’re like 2 to go,” Kanaan said. “The last lap was the longest lap of my life. I wanted to tell the pace car to hurry up so bad.”

Kanaan’s five year old son Leo lives in Brazil and has asked when his daddy could come home. Kanaan told him that he could after he won the Indianapolis 500

“We’re going to be busy, but I promised him a trophy and we’re bringing him a good one,” Kanaan commented.

Kanaan also had a lucky charm on board his IndyCar on Sunday afternoon. Nine years ago, he gave a little girl who was having brain surgery his lucky metal to help her through. The girl, now 24 years old, returned the metal to Kanaan and told him he needed it for good luck.

After shocking many in qualifying, Carlos Munoz would continue his success on Sunday as he would finish second after qualifying second.

“I’m feeling a bit sad right now,” he admitted. “I should be happy but I had a shot to win this win. I think I did a great job I have nothing to be ashamed of. The team gave me a great car and did great pit stops……maybe next year I will win it.”

He’d be followed by his Andretti Autosport teammates Ryan Hunter-Reay and Marco Andretti.

“That’s just the way it works out,” Hunter-Reay said. “I knew I was a sitting duck and I wasn’t too bummed about it because I knew we had enough laps to get it going again and have a pass back and maybe I would be third on the last lap, which is where I wanted to be and it didn’t work out that way.

“Big congratulations to Tony Kanaan, though. He has been there so many times, had bad luck and for whatever reason the race has alluded him. Great champion, certainly deserves it. But man am I disappointed.”

Justin Wilson would round out the top five.

Helio Castroneves would finish sixth, followed by AJ Allmendinger, Simon Pagenaud, Charlie Kimball and Ed Carpenter.

There’d be three cautions in the first 60 laps of the race before the race went green all through the middle of the race. JR Hildebrand would bring out the first caution after getting loose and hitting the wall on lap three.

“I was going by Hinch and maybe was a little off line on entry, but where the cars had been working fine so far, but it just got loose and it just snapped around,” he said. “We had been pretty aggressive with the downforce level and even now, looking at the race, I don’t think it was too much.”

The second caution came out for someone driving Sebastian Saavedra down into the grass on lap 35, and then Saavedra hitting the wall.

The third caution came out on lap 58 for Takuma Sato having a solo spin. Sato, who came in as the points leader, finished 13th, which allowed Andretti to take over the points lead.

Brazil winner James Hinchcliffe would struggle throughout the day, finishing 21st.

Lap by Lap: 97th Indianapolis 500 won by Tony Kanaan

By
SM Staff
-
Photo Credit: Forrest Mellott/IndyCar.com

With a three-wide move for the lead past Carlo Munoz and Ryan Hunter-Reay, Tony Kanaan would take the lead and hold on to it till a caution came out with three laps to go. That caution would result in the race ending under caution.

 

Lap 1 Ed Carpenter grabs the early lead ahead of Marco Andretti and Carlos Munoz

Lap 2 Carpenter leads Andretti Viso Munoz Power

Caution lap 3 Hildebrand got into the wall after getting loose

Restart lap 7 Carpenter leads while Kanaan grabs second from Andretti

Lap 8 Kanaan passes Carpenter for the lead ahead of Andretti Viso

Lap 10 Carpenter grabs the lead back

Lap 12 Andretti passes Kanaan for second

Lap 13 Andretti passes Carpenter for the lead

Lap 14 Kanaan back to the lead by Andretti. Carpenter is third followed by Viso and Munoz

Lap 16 Andretti back to the lead by Kanaan. Andretti leads Kanaan Carpenter Viso and Munoz

Lap 20 Andretti and Kanaan continuing to swap back and forth the lead ahead of Carpenter

Lap 26 Andretti leads Kanaan Carpenter Munoz Hunter-Reay

Lap 27 Kanaan to the lead

Lap 28 Andretti back to the lead

Lap 29 Kanaan takes the lead, then pits. hands the lead back to Andretti

Lap 30 Andretti, Carpenter, Munoz pit, handing the lead to Hunter-Reay

Lap 31 Hunter-Reay pits, handing the lead to Power

Lap 32 Castroneves pits

Lap 33 Power pits, handing the lead to James Jakes

Lap 34 Kimball pits.

Caution lap 35 Sebastian Saavedra makes contact with the wall.  Saavedra got driven down into the grass by someone else, and then went up into the wall. Rest of cars pit, handing the lead back to Carpenter. Carpenter gets into the grass while cleaning tires, keeps going.

Restart Carpenter leads

Lap 53 Andretti to the lead

Lap 54 Carpenter back to the lead

Lap 57 Carpenter leads Andretti Hunter-Reay Castroneves Kanaan

Caution lap 58 Sato goes for a spin after getting loose off of turn two. Leaders hit pit road. Hunter-Reay leads Andretti Carpenter Kanaan off pit road

Restart lap 62 Andretti passes Hunter-Reay for the lead before they get to turn on

Lap 63 Hunter-Reay passes Andretti back for the lead ahead of Kanaan and Carpenter

Lap 64 Carpenter passes Andretti for second behind Hunter-Reay. Carpenter passes Hunter-Reay for the lead into turn three

Lap 65 Carpenter leads Hunter-Reay Andretti Kanaan and Power

Lap 68 Kanaan and Power pass Andretti

Lap 76 Kanaan climbs from fourth to the lead. He is then passed by Power for the lead

Lap 77 Power leads Kanaan Hunter-Reay Andretti and Viso. Carpenter has fallen back to seventh

Lap 84 Power leads Kanaan Hunter-Reay Andretti Allmendinger

Lap 86 Allmendinger passes Andretti for fourth

Lap 89 Power and Vautier pit. Kanaan takes the lead

Lap 90 Kanaan and Hunter-Reay lead a group of cars down pit road. Viso to the lead.

Lap 92 Viso and Dixon, Andretti pit. Munoz takes the lead.

Lap 93 Munoz and Castroneves pit. Kanaan goes to the lead as cycle completes.

Lap 94 Kanaan leads Hunter-Reay Viso Allmendinger and Andretti

Lap 98 Kanaan leads Allmendinger….Allmendinger grabs the lead from Kanaan. Hunter-Reay runs third ahead of Viso and Andretti.

Lap 103 Andretti and Castroneves pass Viso.

Belts coming undone drops Allmendinger to 25th, one lap down. Kanaan to the lead. Lap 117 Andretti up to second, ahead of Hunter-Reay, Viso and Castroneves.

Lap 118 Viso moves up to second, past Andreti and Hunter-Reay

Lap 120 Andretti and Hunter-Reay pass Viso, Munoz takes fifth from Castroneves

Lap 121 Andretti to the lead….then pits. Kanaan follows him on pit road so Hunter-Reay goes to the lead

Lap 123 Hunter-Reay and Viso pit, handing the lead over to Munoz

Lap 124 Munoz and Castroneves pit, handing the lead over to Tagliani

Lap 125 Tagliani pits, handing the lead over to Townsend Bell

Lap 126 Bell pits, handing the lead to James Hinchcliffe. Hinchcliffe pits, handing the lead to Hunter-Reay ahead of Andretti

Lap 128 Andretti goes back to the front, passing Hunter-Reay

Lap 131 Hunter-Reay grabs the lead back from Andretti, ahead of Viso, Kanaan

Lap 133 Viso passes Hunter-Reay for the lead as Andretti drops back to third. Kanaan and Castroneves round out the top five.

Lap 134 Viso leads Andretti, Hunter-Reay, Kanaan and Allmendinger

Lap 136 Hunter-Reay passes both Viso and Andretti….Allmendinger passes Andretti for third

Lap 137 Kanaan passes Andretti……Allmendinger passes Viso

Lap 138 Allmendinger grabs the lead ahead of Hunter-Reay, Kanaan, Andretti and Viso

Lap 142 Allmendinger leads Hunter-Reay, Andretti, Kanaan and Castroneves

Lap 143 Allmendinger pits, handing the lead over to Hunter-Reay

Lap 146 Three-wide battle for the lead as Castroneves grabs the lead ahead of Andretti and Hunter-Reay. Andretti grabs the lead from Castroneves ahead of Hunter-Reay, Kanaan and Munoz

Lap 151 Andretti hits pit road, handing the lead over to Hunter-Reay

Lap 152 Hunter-Reay pits, handing the lead to Munoz

Lap 153 Carpenter pits

Lap 154 Viso has stalled on pit road

Lap 155 Power and Castroneves pit

Lap 156 Munoz pits, handing the lead over to Dixon. Dixon and Tagliani pit, handing the lead over to Hinchcliffe

Lap 157 Hinchcliffe pits, handing the lead over to Hunter-Reay

Lap 158 Andretti passes Hunter-Reay for the lead

Lap 160 Hunter-Reay passes Andretti back for the lead

Lap 163 Hunter-Reay leads Andretti, Allmendinger, Munoz and Kanaan

Lap 165 Allmendinger passes Andretti for second

Lap 166 Allmendinger and Andretti pass Hunter-Reay for position. Allmendinger to the lead. Kanaan passes Munoz for fourth. Castroneves passes Munoz for fifth.

Lap 168 Andretti passes Allmendinger for the lead….Hunter-Reay grabs second from Allmendinger. Munoz passes Castroneves back for fifth

Lap 169 Hunter-Reay grabs the lead back from Andretti. Tagliani makes an unscheduled pit stop after brushing the wall. Bell makes an unscheduled pit stop for getting into the wall.

Lap 170 Andretti grabs the lead back from Hunter-Reay ahead of Allmendinger, Kanaan and Munoz

Lap 176 Andretti leads Kanaan, Hunter-Reay, Munoz and Castroneves

Lap 177 Kanaan grabs the lead, Andretti grabs the lead back

Lap 178 Kanaan and Munoz pass Andretti ahead of Hunter-Reay and Castroneves. Kanaan pits, handing the lead to Munoz.

Lap 179 Carpenter pits while Sebastian Bourdais crashes on his way in pit road, but keeps going. Andretti passes Munoz for the lead.

Lap 180 Andretti pits, handing the lead to Munoz.

Lap 181 Hunter-Reay pits

Lap 182 Pagenaud pits

Lap 183 Dixon and Wilson pit

Lap 185 Castroneves, Power, Munoz pit, handing the lead to Hinchcliffe

Lap 188 Hinchcliffe and Franchitti pit. Hunter-Reay grabs the lead

12 laps to go Kanaan passes Hunter-Reay in turn four ahead of Andretti

11 laps to go Hunter-Reay passes Kanaan in turn three ahead of Andretti and Munoz

10 laps to go Kanaan passes Hunter-Reay back for the lead in turn four.

9 laps to go Hunter-Reay passes Kanaan down the frontstretch. Munoz passes Andretti for third.

8 laps to go Kanaan passes Hunter-Reay down the fronstretch.

7 laps to go Hunter-Reay passes Kanaan on the front stretch. Caution as Graham Rahal gets into the turn two wall.

Under caution with 5 to go Hunter-Reay leads Kanaan Munoz Andretti Wilson Castroneves Allmendinger Pagenaud

3 to go three-wide for the lead between Munoz, Kanaan and Hunter-Reay as Kanaan grabs the lead ahead of Munoz, Hunter-Reay and Andretti. Caution as Franchitti gets into the wall.

This will end the Indy 500 as they won’t be able to get it restarted. Tony Kanaan will be your 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner.

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