Phoneix a Success For Cale Gale But What’s Next?
Cale Gale made just his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start of 2013 in the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix International Raceway on Friday.
Gale, from Mobile, Alabama, was at the exhausting 1.0 mile short track in the desert. In that one prior start, Gale started fourth and finished seventh after a hard fought race.
The 28-year-olds debut in 2013 came at Kentucky Speedway in June where he started from the 18th position and battled with late race restarts before verifying a 13th place finish.
Gale’s return to the NCWTS entered with Turner Scott Motorsports No. 33 Rudd entry. The Rudd company, part of the Rheem family, provides heating, cooling and water heating products for residential and light commercial use.
Nevertheless, Gale had a clash to compete in at PIR.
Rolling off fourth showed the field the No. 33 was going to be a legitimate contender. Fourth is exactly the position Cale would remain until the second caution, right on the outskirts of pit stops. Crew chief Chris Carrier called Gale down for a two tire pit stop during the caution and added fuel to the No. 33 Rudd Chevrolet.
Differing pit strategies allowed Gale to advance forward and earn the third position. Then, the Lucas Oil 150 hit its green flag stride and the No. 33 kept trucking on right inside the top five.
Although, cautions are still bond to happen at any time during a NASCAR event, and the third one on the day took place at lap 87. Once again, Carrier brought Gale to the attention of the Turner Scott crew where they placed four Goodyear tires on the vehicle as well as Sunoco fuel and a track bar adjustment.
The ensuing restart Cale became mired back in traffic after teams made various pit tactics. Nevertheless, Gale fought back disallowing the tough traffic to be an issue and eventually made it to caution five without any harm.
Carrier then made a sketchy call to keep the No. 33 on the racetrack and explaining to his driver that it would be a 40 lap shootout.
Carrier’s call played out perfectly for the team as they’d battle for a top five position and come up just short of that with a sixth place finish.
Expectations were reached by Carrier and Gale in just their second appearance of the 2013 season. Without plans of a ride for next year Gale’s making a statement into why he should possibly receive a contract.
Also, the series is headed to Homestead Miami Speedway where Cale Gale defeated Kyle Busch in an all-out last lap brawl last season. Turner Scott Motorsports haven’t shown any signs of putting Gale in the truck to defend his Homestead victory next weekend, but it wouldn’t be silly if they did.
Regardless, Gale still remains hopeful of a 2014 full-time ride in the NCWTS whether it’d be with Turner Scott Motorsports or another top notch team. Recently playing into Gale’s favor was the controversy with Ron Hornaday.
Hornaday recently was confirmed the driver of Turner Scott Motorsports truck in Homestead following drama in Phoenix where he was abolished from his NTS Motorsports contract. Even though Gale’s No. 33 will be filled with Hornaday in Homestead, there’s been no official announcement from NTS about a replacement of Hornaday after Homestead.
Therefore, there’s always the possibility of Gale driving for NTS Motorsports in 2014 as a full-time NCWTS regular.
Kyle Busch wins 12th NNS race of season
Kyle Busch has won the most NASCAR Nationwide Series races in history and further extended his legacy with another dominant showing at the ServiceMaster 200. Busch edged Austin Dillon for the pole earlier in the morning and didn’t hesitate to get off to a good start, leading the first 79 laps of the event.
Busch was entirely in a different class today. Green flag pit stops prevented Kyle Busch from leading more of the first-half. Trevor Bayne led two laps during the initial set of green flag stops. Kyle Busch cycled back to lead the next 29 laps before the first debris caution came out on Lap 106, and subsequently lost the lead on the following restart to Brad Keselowski.
Keselowski did a slide job on Kyle Busch to take the lead, causing Busch to lose several positions as he checked up, but Busch was able to recover to overtake Keselowski on Lap 120. Busch said, “It was definitely different being in third because of the flat aero deficiencies here in Phoenix, but I knew we had a really good car.” Busch also noted that the frequent amount of cautions after the first-half made it difficult to pass, despite leading 84.5% of the race. “We would pick off one or two cars and then a yellow, then we would pick off another two cars and another yellow.”
The victory was the 12th victory of the season for Kyle Busch, and it marked a season sweep at Phoenix International Raceway. Busch has a busy weekend ahead of him as teammate Matt Kenseth possibly could win the Sprint Cup Series championship as long as he beats Jimmie Johnson, and Busch could win the owners title for Joe Gibbs if he can hold off Roger Penske’s entourage. With Kyle Busch’s track record in the Nationwide Series, it will be difficult for the Penske clan to hold off Kyle Busch, but anything can happen in NASCAR.
The surface at Phoenix has come under scrutiny. Denny Hamlin suggested on Twitter that the surface should be grinded, but Kyle Busch disagreed saying, “I don’t think we should grind it. Jeff Gordon said that it takes about 8 years of the track weathering to see good racing.” Phoenix was repaved following the spring race in 2011 and we are still seeing mixed reactions. I asked Busch about his initial reaction. Busch replied, “I came here for the tire test.” “Our initial reaction was literally omg and wtf.” Busch noted that that tends to happen when you are used to one thing and it all of a sudden changes. “It’s hard to get used to, but it is what it is.”
Mark Martin To Retire Following 2013
Mark Martin released to the public on Saturday at Phoenix Raceway that he will no longer be behind the wheel of a racecar. Martin will formally retire from the act of racing at the conclusion of the 2013 season.
The 54-year-old didn’t express to the media that he’d be leaving the NASCAR world, he explained that he’d be a mentor at Stewart-Haas Racing.
“The garage is full of drivers who are on their game, and I’ve gotten all the good out of mine. I’ve squeezed every ounce of it out, and no one can say that I didn’t,” Martin said. “I worked really, really hard the last 10 years to continue to be a formidable opponent in the garage, and from time to time when stuff was right, I was able to do it. And I’m proud of that. But it’s time for me to open a new chapter and do some other things.”
“Father Time does take its toll on every single sense you have,” Martin said. “Your hand-eye coordination, everything is affected as you get older. And at some point in time, that decline becomes a detriment to you. You can work as hard as you want, you can maybe run well, but you’re fighting Father Time. That’s different for anyone. I feel I can still drive a race car pretty fast, but I’m not the driver I was at my peak. And I know it. Maybe for a while I didn’t, but I know it. … I’m not saying I can’t run good, but I can feel it in everything I do. Every time I get up and walk across the room, I can tell that I’m not 35. And anybody that says they can’t, I don’t know. I’d like to be sipping off their juice.”
Mark recently took over for Tony Stewart while he’s been out with an injury to his leg. The No. 14 ride might have just been Mark’s way of leaving with authority.
“I was trying to go out with some dignity,” Martin said. “The last two months have not been pretty. But everybody in the garage suffers through times when they can’t get their cars to do what they need them to do. I’m not the only one.”
Matty’s Picks 2013 – Race 35 AdvoCare 500 – Phoenix International Raceway – November 10, 2013
The West Coast swing of the 2013 Chase for the Sprint Cup is on this weekend as we head for the one-miler in the desert. This thing is coming down to the wire between five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion, Jimmie Johnson, and seven-time 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race-winner Matt Kenseth. Just seven points separate the two heading into this weekend’s AdvoCare 500, and ironically, this was the same margin Jimmie Johnson had over 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion, Brad Keselowski heading into the 9th race of the Chase last season.
Phoenix has been an important race since the series swapped to the Chase setup, as the worst finish in a Chase race by the eventual series champion at Phoenix International Raceway is 10th, by Kurt Busch in 2004. Adding to the importance this weekend is the fact that the average Chase race finish by the eventual series champion at Phoenix International Raceway is 3.7! The catalyst in all of this is the fact that in each of previous three seasons, the eventual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion was sitting second in the points standings following the 8th Chase Race. Jimmie Johnson erased a 33 point deficit over the final two Chase races in 2010 to score his fifth and most recent NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship. Tony Stewart was three points behind Carl Edwards in 2011 and erased the deficit in the final race at Homestead-Miami to capture his second Chase Championship, and as mentioned previously, Brad Keselowski sat seven points behind Jimmie Johnson entering this race last season. So, will it be Jimmie Johnson flipping the trend over the last three seasons to exit the 8th Chase race and not look back, or will it be Matt Kenseth keeping the streak alive to take the trophy next weekend and erasing the seven-point deficit over the next two weeks?
As far as Phoenix, specifically, its 100% advantage Jimmie Johnson this week if you’re looking at the career histories at Phoenix. Johnson leads the series in six loop stats, (Average Running Position, Driver Rating, Fastest Laps Run, Average Green Flag Speed, and Quality Passes) he’s had top-five finishes in 12 of the last 14 races at Phoenix International Raceway, and far and away owns the better record than Matt Kenseth in career victories, top-fives, top-tens, average finish, and laps led. Also keep in mind, Matt Kenseth’s last top five finish at the desert one-miler was all the way back in 2007, his one and only win (three less than Jimmie Johnson) at PIR came in 2002, and his average finish is 17.2, so not only is Kenseth battling the Goliath named Jimmie Johnson this week, but he’s battling an Achilles heel of his own this weekend.
Enough about the points battle, on to my picks this week…
Winner Pick
I may be completely out of material for my winner pick this week, outside of practice and qualifying…you guessed it, tough not to like Jimmie Johnson this week. He was fastest in practice on Friday, broke the track record in qualifying to capture the pole for Sunday’s AdvoCare 500, and carries the momentum of last week’s perfect win. Seriously, Johnson scored a perfect 150 Driver Rating in his dominating win last week at Texas Motor Speedway, the fourth ever perfect Driver Rating in Chase history.
Denny Hamlin commented on the state of the No.48 team following Friday’s qualifying session, “I think everyone in the garage kind of knew (the No.48 team) could turn it up at will”. Joey Logano also commented on how the Hedrick Motorsports team is in “kill mode”, Logano says “(Johnson) has that next notch and extra speed that nobody else can find. His intensity level picks up.”
Well boys, I’m right there with you this week and even though I didn’t find a header in the stats column entitled “kill mode”, I’m going with the overwhelming favorite, and now pole-sitter Jimmie Johnson this week. One piece of history besides Johnson’s impressive history at PIR that I do have to help my cause this week is the fact that seven of the 34 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Phoenix have been won from starting positions on the front row….not that I need any help in making my point this week.
Dark Horse Pick
Now, if you’ve been listening to my preview of the race each week with Greg on the Prime Sports Network, you may have noticed an ongoing trend since mid-June or so. Each time when we reach the time to talk about Denny Hamlin, you’ve probably heard me laugh or say “steer clear of Denny this week”. Well, this week I have a bit different take on Denny Hamlin for a few reasons.
Number one, Denny Hamlin has been coming around down the stretch here in the Chase, and is certainly a far cry away from where he was at a couple months back. Three top 5’s in the last four races mark’s Hamlin’s best stretch of runs since he ran second at Darlington, finished fourth in the Coke 600, and finished eighth in the June Pocono race. He’s climbing back to relevancy in the latter stages of this year’s Chase, and will use these remaining two races this season to springboard his team into the 2014 season.
The number two reason for picking Denny Hamlin is his career history, not only at Phoenix but as a top tier driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Since his first full season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2006, Denny Hamlin has managed to find Victory Lane at least once in each of his seven full seasons in the Cup series. Out of the two remaining racetracks this season, Phoenix is certainly the better chance for Hamlin to keep his streak alive. He’s got an average finish of 5.8 in the last five races at PIR, including a win in 2012, three additional top 5’s, 116 total laps led, and an average driver rating of 104.2 over that same five-race stretch, so Hamlin has the recent stats worth a look this week.
Adding to my statement this week is the stat I mentioned above….over 20% of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at PIR have been won from starting spots on the front row, and Denny Hamlin just happens to be starting second on Sunday. Not only did Denny qualify well, but he also practiced well on Friday to earn my nod as the Dark Horse play of the week.
That’s all for this week, so until we head to South Florida for the 2013 Grand Finale….You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!
