Matty’s Picks 2013 – Vol. 6 Richmond International Raceway – Toyota Owners 400 – April 27, 2013
It doesn’t get much better than short-track racing under the lights at one of NASCAR’s oldest tracks. Richmond International Raceway has been a part of the tour since Lee Petty won the first NASCAR Grand National Division race at then Atlantic Rural Exposition Fairgrounds back in 1953, and each year proves why it has occupied two spots on the series schedule since 1959. Chevrolet leads the series in wins at Richmond with 35 victories, followed closely by Ford with 28, but Toyota has won 7 of the last 8 races at the three-quarter mile oval in Virginia’s capital city.
The story of the week surrounds the team of Matt Kenseth as NASCAR passed down one of its stiffest penalties in history as it slapped the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team with a 50 point penalty, a $200,000 fine, and suspended Crew Chief Jason Ratcliff for the next seven races. NASCAR took everything away from the Dollar General team but the trophy from their win last week at Kansas. The garage was buzzing on Friday at RIR with responses to the penalty coming from Kenseth, Ratcliff, and team-owner, Joe Gibbs.
Kenseth said the penalties passed down from NASCAR were “grossly unfair” and expressed his concern for Ratcliff and Gibbs’ chances of winning the owner’s championship due to the penalties, “To crush Joe Gibbs like that and say he can’t win an owner’s championship with the 20 this year, I just can’t wrap my arms around that,” Kenseth said. “It just blows me away. The same for Jason Ratcliff. I don’t feel bad for myself at all, but for Jason and Joe, I couldn’t feel any worse. There are no more reputable, hard-working, honest guys than them two. I feel really bad for them.”
Well, the penalties haven’t slowed the pace of the No. 20 team, as Kenseth claimed his 10th career pole in 481 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. It’s his second of the season, first at Richmond International Raceway, and fifth top-10 start of 2013.
Richmond Picks
Nothing to recap from last week as I had an off week, so on to my picks for tonight’s Toyota Owners 400.
Winner Pick
On Wednesday, I joined Greg DePalma on the Prime Sports Network to preview tonight’s race from RIR. My pick before the cars unloaded and the starting lineup was set was Kyle Busch. He was the favorite on Wednesday going into the weekend, and with his 8th starting position, remains the favorite going into the race tonight. Busch lead late in the race last night in the NASCAR Nationwide Series’ Toyotacare 250, but was passed with 10 laps to go by eventual race-winner Brad Kesolowski.
Looking back at Kyle Busch’s stats in the Sprint Cup Series at Richmond, he’s won the past four spring races at Richmond, has finished in the top 5 in 12 of his 16 starts at the .75 mile short track, and out of the 23 tracks the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits each year, Richmond is his best. Kyle is the guy to beat this week.
Dark Horse Pick
The stand-in driver for the No. 11 FedEx Toyota team is Brian Vickers again this week. He has done a tremendous job in keeping the Joe Gibbs Racing team afloat in the absence of Denny Hamlin. Vickers qualified the No. 11 Toyota outside the front row for tonight’s Toyota Owners 400 and has shown a ton of speed in both the practice sessions on Friday, 5th fastest in first practice and 3rd in Happy Hour. Though Vickers has struggled throughout his career on the short tracks, he has finished in the top-10 in three of his last four short track starts, including a top-5 at Bristol last August.
I like the job Vickers has done so far in the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, and with a front-row starting position tonight, he’s put himself in position for a solid finish.
That’s all for this week, so until we strap on the restrictor plates….You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!
Two Individuals Arrested Following Post-Race Altercation after Nationwide Series Race
Following a post-race incident on track, things escalated in the driver motorcoach lot between Richard Childress Racing and Turner-Scott Motorsports, resulting in two individuals being arrested.
Police have released that Michael A. Scearce and Thomas F. Costello were taken into custody after the incident on charges of an alleged assault.
USA Today reports that both Scearce and Costello are members of Brian Scott’s No. 2 RCR team.
According to Henrico County Police Lt. Linda Toney, both men were charged with misdemeanors and released early Saturday morning. A court date for both will be determined at a later time.
Late in Toyota Car Care 250 at Richmond International Speedway, the pair made contact as Scott was trying to get a solid finish following an earlier race incident with teammate Austin Dillon and Justin Allgaier.
Scott said, “A part of me told me that he was going to hit me for 15th place, and then he did. I was just showing my displeasure with him after the race and then things escalated. I went to talk to him, I was a little heated and the camera probably shows it, but he kicks me right below the belt, which I think is a below-the-belt type of shot.”
“We both went sideways, I managed to pass and that was it. He was frustrated at the end of the race…I got frustrated, too,” Piquet Jr. said.
After the race, Scott would make contact with Nelson Piquet Jr., which would be followed by a confrontation on pit road. During that confrontation, Piquet Jr. kicked Scott below the belt in an effort to get Scott to back up.
“He kicked me below the belt, which I think is just a chicken move,” Scott said.
“Him getting pissed off at me again, I’m not going to take it,” Piquet Jr. said. “I wanted to move him away. I didn’t look where I was going to kick.”
The pit crews also scuffled on pit road before NASCAR separated them.
The pair did meet in the NASCAR hauler, in which Piquet Jr. released an apology after that meeting.
“When you get a temper at the end of the race and everybody is tired and frustrated, you do things you don’t mean to,” Piquet Jr. said. “I’m sorry for everything that happened.”
NASCAR and Richmond International Raceway have stated they cannot comment on a police investigation, while RCR released this statement early Saturday morning:
“We are aware an incident took place outside of the track’s infield following Friday night’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Richmond International Raceway involving members of our team; and others from another team. We are cooperating with the local authorities in this matter.”
Stay tuned to Speedway Media as we will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.
Breaking News : Post Race Incident at RIR between Nelson Piqet and Brian Scott and Crews Investigated by Police
The post-race incident between Turner Motorsports’ Nelson Piquet Jr., Richard Childress Racing’s Brian Scott and their crews apparently escalated into an alleged physical altercation in or near the driver motorhome lot at Richmond International Raceway late Friday night, according to the Henrico Police Department.
A statement from Lt. Linda N. Toney said, “Henrico Police are investigating a verbal argument that started in the infield area of RIR that escalated into a physical altercation near the Driver/Owner Lot. The assault occurred at approximately 11:15 p.m. Two adult males are in custody as a result of the ongoing investigation. One of the two adult male victims has a shoulder injury. Further information is not likely to be available while the investigation continues. We will provide updates when information is available.”
Reports indicated that the individuals taken into custody were from Richard Childress Racing who Scott drives for. RCR released a statement, “We are aware an incident took place outside of the track’s infield following Friday night’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Richmond International Raceway involving members of our team; and others from another team. We are cooperating with the local authorities in this matter”
Scott was involved in a late crash with team mate Austin Dillon and Justin Allgaier that sent those two in for repairs and Scott limping home. Apparently he and Piquet Jr. had issues in the closing laps and Piquet nudged Scott up the track dropping him from 15th to 20th. Scott gave Piquet a nudge during the cool down lap and Piquet retaliated by spinning Scott around. When the two got to pit road they quickly exited their cars and fists started flying and Piquet kicked Scott in the groin area.
Scott said, “A part of me told me that he was going to hit me for 15th place, and then he did. I was just showing my displeasure with him after the race and then things escalated. I went to talk to him, I was a little heated and the camera probably shows it, but he kicks me right below the belt, which I think is a below-the-belt type of shot.”
Piquet defended himself during television interviews but also used some profanity which could cost him later next week since NASCAR has fined others for such actions in the past.
Speedway Media will provide updates throughout the day as the news develops
Keselowski wins at Richmond!
Brad Keselowski won the 26th Annual ToyotaCare 250, his 21st victory in 196 NASCAR Nationwide Series races and his first victory of the season. Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Brian Vickers and Regan Smith rounded out the top 5.
Keselowski started from the pole and cleared Busch into 2 but Busch did not let him go to far. Busch tried to get a slide job on Bad Brad but Sam Hornish Jr decided to make it 3 wide at the start finish line. Hornish cleared Busch going into one and led the race.
The first caution waved when the No. 92 of Dexter Stacey went way too fast into turn 1 and had a pretty hard wreck into the safety barriers. He was okay but it was a lengthy clean up. They had a 5 minute red flag because of the fluid from the No. 92 but when they got that cleaned up, it was time for pit stops! The top 10 did not pit but Smith, Kenny Wallace, Elliott Sadler and others came in for fuel and tires.
The race went back to green on lap 41 with Hornish Jr leading. Harvick was aggressive and got 2nd over Keselowski. Harvick closed in when Hornish got slowed up by lapped traffic on lap 70. Harvick took the lead on lap 87 but on lap 88, Sadler was on a mission and took the lead one lap later.
The 2nd caution came out when the No. 99 of Alex Bowman cut a right front tire on the backstretch. Most everyone came in for the 1st time of the day and got 4 tires and fuel and Sadler led them out of pit road.
The green flag waved on lap 107 with Sadler leading them to the green. Sadler held them off but Harvick took the lead on the backstretch and pulled away. On lap 144, Mike Wallace was spewing blue smoke out of the back of the car and he went to the pits and lost multiple laps.
Caution waved for the 3rd time with 101 to go because of the No 74 of Juan Carlos Blum smacked the wall coming off turn 4. The leaders came in to pit and Harvick led them off pit road with Vickers gaining 3 spots and Reed Sorenson losing 4 spots.
Green flag waved once again and Keselowski took over the lead from Harvick! Busch was 3rd but Harvick was closing on Keselowski with 86 to go. Harvick took over the lead with 80 to go but got caught up in lap traffic.
The 4th caution waved with No. 17 of Tanner Berryhill spinning in the middle of turn 1. All of the leaders came in for what could be their last stop. Harvick went out of pit road first and lead them to the green followed by Sadler, Busch and Keselowski.
Green was waved once again with 54 to go and Harvick pulled away from Busch and Keselowski. Trevor Bayne got a penalty for changing lanes but before he could serve that, the caution came out for the #98 of Kevin Swindell who had a flat left rear tire and spun it off of 2.
Green flag waved with 41 to go and Keselowski and Harvick were beating and banging but Keselowski took over the lead right when a big wreck caused the caution flag to wave! Austin Dillon went hard into turn 4 and collected Justin Allgaier. Scott was able to drive away while Allgaier was getting repairs on pit road. Dillon saw his car get taken off the track by the tow truck.
34 laps to go was when the green flag waved and Harvick and Keselowski were battling with Busch right behind them. Harvick and Keselowski were battling and Busch just went to the high side and took over Keselowski and Harvick at once, to take the lead! Mike Wallace was having smoke come from his car and was ordered to come to pit road. He did but then went back out and was still smoking which made NASCAR put out the caution.
Green was waved with 16 to go and Busch just shot out of there like a cannon! It did not last long because Mike Wallace was smoking again from his No. 01 machine. Keselowski retook the lead with 10 to go and Harvick took 2nd away with 9 to go and put his sites on the No. 22. Harvick is to his bumper with 4 to go but could not get past him and Keselowski broke Busch’s streak of 3 in a row!
After the race, Brian Scott and Nelson Piquet Jr got into a altercation which Piquet kicked Scott in the groin before getting separated by their crew members.
| Unofficial Race Results | |||||
| ToyotaCare 250, Richmond Int’l Raceway | |||||
| http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/race.php?race=7 | |||||
| ========================================= | |||||
| Pos. | St. | No. | Driver | Make | Points |
| ========================================= | |||||
| 1 | 1 | 22 | Brad Keselowski(i) | Ford | 0 |
| 2 | 4 | 33 | Kevin Harvick(i) | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 3 | 2 | 54 | Kyle Busch(i) | Toyota | 0 |
| 4 | 9 | 20 | Brian Vickers | Toyota | 40 |
| 5 | 16 | 7 | Regan Smith | Chevrolet | 39 |
| 6 | 14 | 11 | Elliott Sadler | Toyota | 39 |
| 7 | 3 | 12 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Ford | 38 |
| 8 | 18 | 32 | Kyle Larson # | Chevrolet | 36 |
| 9 | 17 | 60 | Travis Pastrana | Ford | 35 |
| 10 | 10 | 43 | Reed Sorenson | Ford | 34 |
| 11 | 30 | 77 | Parker Kligerman | Toyota | 33 |
| 12 | 7 | 6 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | 32 |
| 13 | 20 | 19 | Mike Bliss | Toyota | 31 |
| 14 | 23 | 30 | Nelson Piquet Jr. # | Chevrolet | 30 |
| 15 | 13 | 70 | Johanna Long | Chevrolet | 29 |
| 16 | 15 | 16 | Ryan Reed | Ford | 28 |
| 17 | 22 | 5 | Jeffrey Earnhardt # | Chevrolet | 27 |
| 18 | 21 | 98 | Kevin Swindell # | Ford | 26 |
| 19 | 19 | 4 | Landon Cassill(i) | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 20 | 8 | 2 | Brian Scott | Chevrolet | 24 |
| 21 | 27 | 8 | Scott Lagasse Jr. | Chevrolet | 23 |
| 22 | 26 | 0 | Michael McDowell(i) | Toyota | 0 |
| 23 | 25 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | 21 |
| 24 | 28 | 44 | Hal Martin # | Toyota | 20 |
| 25 | 31 | 24 | Blake Koch | Toyota | 19 |
| 26 | 37 | 14 | Eric McClure | Toyota | 18 |
| 27 | 12 | 99 | Alex Bowman # | Toyota | 17 |
| 28 | 40 | 17 | Tanner Berryhill | Chevrolet | 16 |
| 29 | 39 | 74 | Juan Carlos Blum # | Chevrolet | 15 |
| 30 | 33 | 79 | Joey Gase | Ford | 14 |
| 31 | 11 | 31 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | 13 |
| 32 | 38 | 23 | Robert Richardson Jr. | Chevrolet | 12 |
| 33 | 36 | 1 | Mike Wallace | Chevrolet | 11 |
| 34 | 35 | 40 | Josh Wise | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 35 | 6 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 36 | 5 | 29 | Kenny Wallace | Toyota | 8 |
| 37 | 32 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 38 | 34 | 92 | Dexter Stacey # | Ford | 6 |
| 39 | 29 | 42 | JJ Yeley(i) | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 40 | 24 | 10 | Jeff Green | Toyota | 4 |
Ford Richmond NNS Post Race – Keselowski Scores His First Victory in a Ford
