Lap by Lap: Coca Cola 600 won by Kevin Harvick
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
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
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.
Busch Makes History in History 300
CONCORD, NC – If you were at Charlotte Motor Speedway this morning, you would have been tempted to check the calendar. Saturday morning started out feeling more like it should be October, than May, with local temperatures breaking all-time lows overnight.
However, Kyle Busch made sure that the day ended hot. Busch smoked the field in the 32nd History 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway to earn his 57th career Nationwide Series race – the most of any driver. Busch’s Monster Energy Toyota led 186 of the 200 laps and moved him ahead of Mark Martin as the all-time winningest driver at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Busch was really never challenged throughout the race. A series of late caution flags was the biggest challenge he had to overcome, each time, holding off race runner-up Kasey Kahne. It appeared that Kahne’s Great Clips Chevrolet got stronger as the race went on and appeared to be the only one had anything for Busch at the end. Sprint Cup regulars, Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick were third and fifth respectively.
Rookie Kyle Larson continued to show signs of his potential greatness, finishing third. Trevor Bayne was sixth, Justin Allgaier was seventh, Matt Kenseth, Parker Kligerman and points leader Regan Smith rounded out the top ten.
Allgaier was the only driver in the top five of points who was able to cut into Smith’s lead today. Smith increased his points lead over Sam Hornish Jr by one point and will head to Dover with a 29 point lead. Hornish finished twelfth. Elliot Sadler was 13th and Brian Vickers was eleventh and remains in fifth in points, 49 behind Smith.
| Unofficial Race Results | |||||
| History 300, Charlotte Motor Speeday | |||||
| http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/race.php?race=10 | |||||
| ========================================= | |||||
| Pos. | St. | No. | Driver | Make | Points |
| ========================================= | |||||
| 1 | 2 | 54 | Kyle Busch(i) | Toyota | 0 |
| 2 | 11 | 5 | Kasey Kahne(i) | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 3 | 6 | 22 | Joey Logano(i) | Ford | 0 |
| 4 | 18 | 32 | Kyle Larson # | Chevrolet | 40 |
| 5 | 16 | 33 | Kevin Harvick(i) | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 6 | 21 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | 38 |
| 7 | 14 | 31 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | 37 |
| 8 | 9 | 18 | Matt Kenseth(i) | Toyota | 0 |
| 9 | 5 | 77 | Parker Kligerman | Toyota | 35 |
| 10 | 10 | 7 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | 34 |
| 11 | 3 | 20 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | 34 |
| 12 | 7 | 12 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Ford | 33 |
| 13 | 20 | 11 | Elliott Sadler | Toyota | 31 |
| 14 | 1 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 31 |
| 15 | 4 | 2 | Brian Scott | Chevrolet | 29 |
| 16 | 13 | 30 | Nelson Piquet Jr. # | Chevrolet | 28 |
| 17 | 33 | 43 | Michael Annett | Ford | 27 |
| 18 | 17 | 98 | Kevin Swindell | Ford | 27 |
| 19 | 15 | 19 | Mike Bliss | Toyota | 25 |
| 20 | 8 | 99 | Alex Bowman # | Toyota | 24 |
| 21 | 24 | 4 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | 23 |
| 22 | 22 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Chevrolet | 22 |
| 23 | 36 | 44 | Hal Martin # | Toyota | 21 |
| 24 | 34 | 1 | Mike Wallace | Chevrolet | 20 |
| 25 | 40 | 66 | Steve Wallace | Ford | 19 |
| 26 | 30 | 79 | Kyle Fowler | Ford | 18 |
| 27 | 29 | 92 | Dexter Stacey # | Ford | 17 |
| 28 | 35 | 74 | Juan Carlos Blum # | Chevrolet | 16 |
| 29 | 27 | 29 | Kenny Wallace | Toyota | 15 |
| 30 | 32 | 14 | Eric McClure | Toyota | 14 |
| 31 | 19 | 21 | Dakoda Armstrong(i) | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 32 | 31 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | 12 |
| 33 | 25 | 60 | Travis Pastrana | Ford | 11 |
| 34 | 23 | 55 | Jamie Dick | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 35 | 26 | 25 | John Wes Townley(i) | Toyota | 0 |
| 36 | 28 | 70 | Johanna Long | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 37 | 38 | 40 | Reed Sorenson | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 38 | 12 | 16 | Chris Buescher | Ford | 6 |
| 39 | 37 | 24 | Jason White | Toyota | 5 |
| 40 | 39 | 23 | Robert Richardson Jr. | Chevrolet | 4 |
Busch wins the History 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Kyle Busch won the 32nd Annual History 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This is his sixth victory and eighth top-10 finish in 2013. Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano, Kyle Larson and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-5.
Austin Dillon led the field to green for the first time this year but did not last long as Busch took over the lead and drove away like he has been doing for the past 3-4 races this season.
First caution waved when there was debris spotted in turn 3. Everybody came in but Busch got out in front and will lead them to the green.
Green flag waved but did not last long as the caution waved again when the No.23 of Robert Richardson Jr spun and hit the wall and collected Johanna Long in the process. Both of them went to the garage. Nobody pitted due to coming in during the last stop.
The third yellow waved when the No.25 of John Wes Townley was trying to find grip and he found the wall instead. Busch had a huge lead and lapped all but 25 cars. He has led 80 of the 88 laps before this caution. Everybody came in and got four tires but Vickers took over the top sport and beat his JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) teammate out of pit road.
Green flag pit stops starting to occur on lap 146 with Sam Hornish Jr coming in. He came in for four tires and was out. Trevor Bayne, Justin Allgaier, Parker Killgerman, Vickers and others came in as well and got their stops completed. Juan Carlos Blum and Allgaier will have a pass-through penalties due to being too fast entering. Busch went in for his stop and came out with the lead as they had a solid stop with no hiccups.
Right after the pit stops, Kyle Busch 3.8 second lead was gone. Debris was the cause to Vickers gave up 4th position to come in.
We went back to green with 43 to go and wow! Larson found something with his car and drove all the way up to 3rd with 39 to go and set his sights on the 54.
A nasty wreck including the #60 of Travis Pastrana and No.87 of Joe Nemechek as well as the No.25 of Townley. Pastrana hit the inside wall really hard and came out the track and almost got away but Nemechek hit the back of Pastrana’s car. Busch and six others cars did not pit but Busch was the only one of the leaders that stayed out.
Green waved and it was wild! three wide in the middle of the pack and a very nice save from Hornish Jr and Michael Annett. Couple laps later, the caution waved for the 40 car of Reed Sorenson. Sorenson told his crew, on his radio, that the motor blew up before he spun.
They tried to go back to green but it did not last as the No.21 of Dakota Armstrong spun off the backstretch while going three wild. He was okay but was visibly upset.
Regan Smith leads the point standings by 29 points over Sam Hornish Jr.
| Unofficial Race Results | |||||
| History 300, Charlotte Motor Speeday | |||||
| http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/race.php?race=10 | |||||
| ========================================= | |||||
| Pos. | St. | No. | Driver | Make | Points |
| ========================================= | |||||
| 1 | 2 | 54 | Kyle Busch(i) | Toyota | 0 |
| 2 | 11 | 5 | Kasey Kahne(i) | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 3 | 6 | 22 | Joey Logano(i) | Ford | 0 |
| 4 | 18 | 32 | Kyle Larson # | Chevrolet | 40 |
| 5 | 16 | 33 | Kevin Harvick(i) | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 6 | 21 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | 38 |
| 7 | 14 | 31 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | 37 |
| 8 | 9 | 18 | Matt Kenseth(i) | Toyota | 0 |
| 9 | 5 | 77 | Parker Kligerman | Toyota | 35 |
| 10 | 10 | 7 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | 34 |
| 11 | 3 | 20 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | 34 |
| 12 | 7 | 12 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Ford | 33 |
| 13 | 20 | 11 | Elliott Sadler | Toyota | 31 |
| 14 | 1 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 31 |
| 15 | 4 | 2 | Brian Scott | Chevrolet | 29 |
| 16 | 13 | 30 | Nelson Piquet Jr. # | Chevrolet | 28 |
| 17 | 33 | 43 | Michael Annett | Ford | 27 |
| 18 | 17 | 98 | Kevin Swindell | Ford | 27 |
| 19 | 15 | 19 | Mike Bliss | Toyota | 25 |
| 20 | 8 | 99 | Alex Bowman # | Toyota | 24 |
| 21 | 24 | 4 | Landon Cassill | Chevrolet | 23 |
| 22 | 22 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Chevrolet | 22 |
| 23 | 36 | 44 | Hal Martin # | Toyota | 21 |
| 24 | 34 | 1 | Mike Wallace | Chevrolet | 20 |
| 25 | 40 | 66 | Steve Wallace | Ford | 19 |
| 26 | 30 | 79 | Kyle Fowler | Ford | 18 |
| 27 | 29 | 92 | Dexter Stacey # | Ford | 17 |
| 28 | 35 | 74 | Juan Carlos Blum # | Chevrolet | 16 |
| 29 | 27 | 29 | Kenny Wallace | Toyota | 15 |
| 30 | 32 | 14 | Eric McClure | Toyota | 14 |
| 31 | 19 | 21 | Dakoda Armstrong(i) | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 32 | 31 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | 12 |
| 33 | 25 | 60 | Travis Pastrana | Ford | 11 |
| 34 | 23 | 55 | Jamie Dick | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 35 | 26 | 25 | John Wes Townley(i) | Toyota | 0 |
| 36 | 28 | 70 | Johanna Long | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 37 | 38 | 40 | Reed Sorenson | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 38 | 12 | 16 | Chris Buescher | Ford | 6 |
| 39 | 37 | 24 | Jason White | Toyota | 5 |
| 40 | 39 | 23 | Robert Richardson Jr. | Chevrolet | 4 |
Erin Crocker Back in Racing Saddle With Team WIX
With the admission of “racing is in my DNA,” Erin Crocker announced her return to the track, with WIX® Filters as her sponsor. Team WIX will sponsor Crocker in seven POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series races in 2013, as well as the 2014 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals.
“I went to the Chili Bowl in Tulsa, Oklahoma in January of this year,” Crocker said. “As soon as I was at the race with all of the excitement, I immediately wanted to be a part of it again.”
Although she was attending the race as a spectator, Crocker was convinced by a few compatriots to just sit in one of the race cars. And that was all it took for her passion to reignite.
“Once I did that, it was over,” Crocker said. “As soon as I got back from the race I started making plans to get back in racing.”
Crocker most definitely has the dates of January 14th to January 18th, 2014 circled on next year’s calendar when she will race in the Chili Bowl herself with WIX as primary sponsor.
“I love being at the Chili Bowl,” Crocker said. “It is one of the best events for short-track racing and it is at a perfect time of year – in January – when most racing is in the offseason.”
“I’m really excited to race in the next Chili Bowl,” Crocker continued. “I ran it once about ten years ago and it was the only time I’ve raced a dirt midget.”
“It was the Saturday night, local track atmosphere that I’ve been around for so long and I feel like the people are my family,” Crocker said. “I will have great equipment and sponsorship behind me so I will have a full team of support.”
Before the Chili Bowl, however, Crocker will be perfecting her craft by racing her No. 98 WIX Filters midget in POWRi races all over the mid-west for the rest of the year.
“I am thrilled to get back in the driver’s seat with the Team WIX program that embraces the American tradition of grassroots racing,” Crocker said. “When I spend time at the race track, my passion for racing is renewed.”
“Partnering with Team WIX allows me to focus on my racing roots and get back to what I love.”
WIX® Filters is also thrilled to have Erin Crocker back in the sport representing their brand.
“WIX has a deep heritage with hometown racers, teams and local tracks as part of Team WIX program,” Mike Harvey, brand manager for WIX Filters, said. “Erin embodies what a true, grassroots racer is through her childhood, passion and love for racing.”
“We are proud to partner with her as she makes her comeback behind the wheel and fuels her passion as part of Team WIX.”
Although Crocker is thrilled to return to her place behind the wheel, her husband, former crew chief now ESPN analyst Ray Evernham, has expressed his own reservations.
“Ray is a little nervous about me racing again,” Crocker admitted. “We’ve been around midgets and sprint cars a lot and I think he would feel better if I was in a stock car with more body around me.”
“I took a bad tumble a few years ago in Knoxville and went over the guardrail and Ray was about 30 feet from it and he didn’t like that too much,” Crocker continued. “But he supports what I want to do and is letting me take the lead.”
Although Crocker has earned many awards throughout her career, from Female Driver of the Year awards from 1993 to 1995, as well as being the first woman to qualify for the Knoxville Nationals in 2003, she acknowledged that she will face challenges as she returns to the track.
“I don’t have a ton of experience racing midgets,” Crocker said. “I have a lot of dirt, sprint car experience with a wing on the top so it will take time getting used to driving without a wing on the car.”
“The horsepower won’t be anything too crazy for me because it is a little less than the sprint cars.”
Although Crocker is competitive and, of course, wants to win, she is also trying to manage her own expectations as she returns to racing.
“I’m a race car driver so I can’t help but have expectations,” Crocker said. “I’m sure I’ll adjust my expectations as I go.”
“I don’t’ know what to expect, but I always expect to win,” Crocker continued. “If you go to the track thinking anything else, you won’t be successful.”
“In my mind, I’d like to make the A-main, which is hard to do and an accomplishment itself,” Crocker said. “I’m the only woman who has qualified for the Knoxville Nationals A-main, which is the biggest event for winged sprint cars, and I’d like to have a similar accomplishment in midget racing.”
In spite of needing to knock the rust off, Crocker is very much looking forward to all of the sights, sounds and smells of the racing environment.
“I’m looking forward to the feeling back behind the wheel with the pedal to the floor and the smell of methanol fumes and just the adrenaline of the racing competition,” Crocker said. “It almost doesn’t feel right when I’m not racing, which is why I’ve come in and out of retirement a few times.”
“There is no better accomplishment than coming off a feature event knowing you’ve driven the wheels off the car.”
Crocker also admits that she will enjoy adding another female back into the ranks of racing, particularly since she was one of the initial women drivers in the NASCAR arena.
“I’m always flattered when people say I helped pioneer women in racing because it was never really my intention,” Crocker said. “I just grew up around it and it is something I love.”
“To know that I’ve helped other females is an honor, and it is also an honor if I can be a role model or an example for a young girl coming up in racing.”
“I grew up with a lot of females that raced quarter midgets,” Crocker said. “As we got older, most girls weren’t pushed into racing and went off to college.”
“In the higher levels of racing, I’ve seen the numbers change and it is more acceptable and there are more women in racing,” Crocker continued. “But there is also still a lot of room for improvement.”
“There is always interest and attention on women drivers but you need to attract people who truly believe in you to be successful,” Crocker said. “Danica Patrick is the best example now of having that support but I’d like to see more women get that chance as well.”
Crocker will indeed get her chance as a female driver back at the track and behind the wheel. Her first race with Team WIX will be in the POWRi races in Bloomington, Indiana on June 28th.
Brian France on criticism: ‘You can’t cross a line into the product’
Brian France loves when NASCAR’s getting talked about and with new and many different changes on the agenda entering the 2013 season there’s been a ton of talk.
Speaking to the media Saturday at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, France provided insight on ratings, the Gen6 car and the new Air Titan, which he said made it possible for the races at Talladega Superspeedway to be completed. Weather moved in on both races and the new track drying system NASCAR developed was able to at one point, have the track dry in 61 minutes.
That’s been the attention France’s looking for as opinions have raged all season about the racing, cars and tracks. So much so, NASCAR fine Sprint Cup driver Denny Hamlin after Phoenix for his comments about the new car. Hamlin saying it was going to take time for the Gen6 cars to drive like the old cars had. Saturday France said that NASCAR stuck to their guns on what is and isn’t acceptable.
“Our policy is our policy. You can say rowdy things. You can say things that we don’t like at all,” France noted.
“You can criticize us, and it happens quite a bit. That policy goes further than any other sport, major sport, in this country. What you can’t do is you can’t cross a line into the product, in any way talking about our racing product. We’re very clear.”
Hamlin talked about the product and was hit for it. It wasn’t the first time either; Ryan Newman and Brad Keselowski have both been fine in the past for their comments NASCAR deemed detrimental to the sport. After Hamlin’s fine, which at first said he refused to pay and would appeal before eventually backing down, drivers seemed more tightlipped when asked about the new car.
France however, insists NASCAR wants drivers to show their personalities and voice their opinions. But he revealed, sometimes that opinion isn’t always popular with your peers.
“I can’t tell you how many drivers came up to me after the Denny Hamlin comment and said, ‘You got to do that or we won’t be able to help ourselves from time to time, I’m glad you did that,’” said France.
“They all know the line. They all know exactly where it is, because we talk about it. I talk about it directly with every one of the drivers, every one of the owners. No disputing that. But it shouldn’t be confused, and it never should have been confused, as a policy to stifle the drivers’ personalities. It’s quite the opposite.
“We want them to have emotion, even if we don’t like to hear it, one thing or another. That’s the emotional part of sports and NASCAR that we would never want to take away from.”
From Hamlin to Keselowski and other penalties and appeals, NASCAR’s been plenty busy this season. There hasn’t been a week gone by that there wasn’t a major headline from one of the three National Series. France is aware of that and whether it’s good or bad, the attention can’t be avoided. Thus far though, there’s been a lot of positives about the season.
“We always want it to be on the racing action and the drivers and the teams. When things are a distraction that are unavoidable, like a fine or whatever else, we would prefer that no one tried to game the system, that nobody made a mistake, we never had a fine at all,” said France.
“I think we have had great storylines if you look throughout the first part of the year with different rivalries popping up, very, very close racing action at a number of venues. California in particular was just a spectacularly good event for us. That would be our preference, would be to have all of the events focus on that.”
