Mark Martin to fill in for Denny Hamlin at Joe Gibbs Racing
Joe Gibbs Racing has announced that Mark Martin will fill in for the injured Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 FedEx Camry.
“Obviously we’re not exactly sure how long that is going to take, but Mark’s career speaks for itself and our team knows it will have the opportunity to compete for a win every week,” J.D. Gibbs said.
In 858 starts, Martin has 40 wins, 271 top fives and 449 top 10s while finishing second in points multiple times. Martin has been running a limited schedule as of late for Michael Waltrip Racing.
“Hopefully I can keep those guys up front and compete for wins while Denny heals up,” Martin said.
In speaking of the decision process, J.D Gibbs said that he wanted to have just one person do all the races, rather than flipping it up, as the consistency would be helpful for the team. He also wanted to continue to show FedEx the team’s strength.
“Our goal is each and every week, whether it’s Denny or somebody else in there, we want to encourage FedEx and say this is why this program is valuable for their team,” Gibbs said. “We’re going to do whatever we can to make sure they have good experience week in and week out.”
While there is a Chase for the driver’s championship, there is also one for the owner’s championship, too.
It is expected that Brian Vickers will run the No. 55 for MWR in the races that Martin had been scheduled for. Martin was slated to run Texas, Kansas and Richmond in the No. 55 with Vickers slated for Martinsville and Michael Waltrip slatted for Talladega.
Martin had stated in the beginning of the year that the No. 55 would be a one-driver car next year with him not as the driver. With Vickers running a limited schedule for MWR and the success there, it looks like the ride will most likely be his in 2014.
Denny Hamlin will miss six weeks due to a L1 Compression Fracture to his back following his crash on the last lap at Auto Club Speedway. The compression fracture is located in his lower back and occurs when a vertebrae in the spine collapses. It is an injury that can occur in people who are healthy when they suffer a vertical shock to the area.
“I just hate not being able to be in the car right now, but I really appreciate Mark being able to fill in for me,” Hamlin said in a statement. “Like everyone in NASCAR, I have a tremendous amount of respect for Mark and I know he will keep that FedEx Camry up front until I get back behind the wheel.”
Hamlin and Joey Logano were running against each other for the lead in the final laps when Kyle Busch would sneak past them and take the win. However behind Busch, the pair continued to battle and made contact off of turn four. The resulting contact caused Logano to bounce off the wall and Hamlin to go flying into the inside wall. The wall that Hamlin hit had no safer barrier and caused the car to come up off the ground. Hamlin was credited with a 25th with Logano got third.
“He probably shouldn’t have done what he did last week, so that’s what he gets,” Logano said after the race, unaware that Hamlin had been injured. Logano told USA Today later that he didn’t mean to hurt Hamlin and hoped that he’d feel better soon.
“When he realized Denny was hurt, it took a whole new turn,” Gibbs said. “He’s really, from what I’ve seen, hurt by that as well.”
J.D. Gibbs spoke with the media via a teleconference on Thursday morning, where he said Hamlin is “handling it well but I know he’s just frustrated.”
In speaking of the wreck, J.D. Gibbs said he felt Logano was just pushing it, trying to make a point. Gibbs added that they were just racing for the win and he didn’t feel that Logano meant to do it on purpose.
“He’s had some fast cars both those last couple of races,” Gibbs added. “I don’t know how much the week before played into it. … My guess, whoever it was [next to him], he was going to try to win that thing.”
NASCAR opted not to issue any penalties stemming from the race, and Gibbs said, “We’re comfortable in their decisions.”
The feud originally started at Bristol Motor Speedway when Hamlin made contact with Logano while battling for second, causing Logano to hit the wall. Logano, after the race, displayed his displeasure with Hamlin. The pair then continued their feud on twitter, sending messages back and forth.
Some have thought that the feud stemmed from when they were teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing. J.D. Gibbs was questioned about that, saying that there were some tense moments, but nothing major.
“There were a few things that popped up, like a Nationwide race here or there. There was some frustration,” Gibbs said. “I didn’t see anything major.
“I wasn’t in the middle of it. I think what we were hoping for, if Joey had that breakout streak, I think that would have all gone away for Denny. I don’t have direct knowledge to say what exactly was there. There was some tension at times, but overall nothing major.”
The pair have texted each other since, however Hamlin told the Associated Press that nothing was accomplished there.
Bobby Tolton embarks on a new challenge for the 2013 Season
With eight years of racing experience, Bobby Tolton is embarking on a new challenge for the 2013 race season. With experience in both the Mini Stock division and the Limited Late Model division, Tolton is making the move to the OSCAAR Modified ranks for 2013.
“I’m extremely excited heading into this season, with all the time and effort the crew and myself have put into getting the car all geared up we have nothing but high hopes,” he said. “We’re new to the series and we just have to go out and keep our nose clean and earn respect.”
Tolton said the decision came together after crewing for Steve Smith for the first half of the season and Brandon Crumbie the rest of the season.
“With the interest in the series rapidly growing and the factor of it being relatively affordable, combined with the reputation OSCAAR already holds, it was not a hard decision for me to make,” he comments.
With it being his rookie season in the OSCAAR ranks, Tolton is keeping his goals basic – wanting to be in the hunt all year long.
“I would love to go out and win races, but I’m sticking with more realistic plans for our team,” he said. “I want to be competitive on a nightly basis and earn the respect of the rest of the drivers.”
Tolton adds that he is looking forward to competing for Rookie of the Year as the roster of rookies continues to grow.
Last year marked the first season for the OSCAAR Modifieds and all across the province, they impressed many fans and drivers with the side-by-side, competitive racing that they put on. As a result, many drivers, like Tolton, have made the choice to step up to the Modifieds.
“There is an outstanding amount of talent in the OSCAAR modified lineup, it is a very competitive group of people yet a very respectable atmosphere,” he commented. “The modified division seems to have a mainly young group of drivers, which I believe is a good thing. Everyone seems to get along both on and off the track. It puts the fun back into racing because it’s like your racing with a bunch of your buddies. And that’s what racing is all about to me is having fun.”
When the season gets going, Tolton is looking forward to the diversity of tracks that the series visits.
“In the past I have raced mainly on Peterborough and Varney and I love how they both have their unique shape and features,” he said. “I’m looking forward to Delaware because it’s a lot bigger than anything I have raced on, but mainly I’m just looking forward to changing it up each and every week!”
Beyond competing on track, Tolton is also hoping to win the Best Appearing Award after getting the car recently wrapped courtesy of Knightworks Design.
“The car is looking pretty stout and we plan to keep it that way!” He said.
Tolton got started in racing at a young age through his father and has always had a passion for racing.
“I would go to the track with my dad each and every week and watch him race at Varney,” he said. “I would always go out to the shop and help him with the car any chance I had throughout the week.”
Tolton’s first chance behind the wheel was in 2005 at Varney Motor Speedway, winning Rookie of the Year that season while finishing third in points.
For their support, Tolton would like to thanks his family and sponsors…..
“I’d like to thank my entire family, they are my entire support system,” he said. “If it wasn’t for them is probably be collecting stamp or something for a hobby. I’d also like to thank my sponsors Engines From Hal, Eloquip, Knightworks Design, Bolton Performance, and At A Glance.”
For more information on Bobby Tolton, check out his website at http://bit.ly/bobbytolton.
Surprising and Not Surprising: Fontana Auto Club 400
From three-wide racing to the splitter-challenging bumps, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 17th annual Auto Club 400 in Fontana, California.
Surprising: While the Busch brothers are more often than not in the spotlight for disagreements on and off the track, this past weekend the younger Busch sailed past the trouble right into victory lane while the older brother also snagged a top-five finish.
This was Kyle Busch’s first victory of the year, his 25th Cup win, and the first victory for Joe Gibbs Racing at Auto Club Speedway. He is now tied with Matt Kenseth, Jim Paschal and Joe Weatherly for 24th in all-time victories.
“What a great day,” Kyle Busch said. “It’s been three years in the making.”
“Being right here in California, we finally get the win for Toyota and Joe Gibbs at a track where he has never won at,” Busch continued. “Coach, I drove my butt off for you.”
Brother Kurt Busch overcame an incident of slipping in oil early in the race and a pit road speeding penalty to score a fifth place finish, the first time ever that Furniture Row Racing has scored back to back top-five finishes.
“Just real ecstatic,” Kurt Busch said. “Persevering, digging hard, and bringing it right back up to the front when it counts, that is what it’s all about.”
Not Surprising: Crew chief Steve Letarte continued to live up to his moniker as ‘Magic Man’ and his driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr. continued to be ‘Mr. Consistent’, overcoming their own pit road struggles to finish second. This was Junior’s sixth top-10 finish at Auto Club and his fifth top-10 finish in 2013.
And much to the delight of NASCAR Junior nation, their driver now also leads the point standings.
“We just stick together,” Junior said. “We were pretty good at closing races, something I never really was good at for years, and now we’re doing it as good as anybody.”
“Just riding the wave,” Dale Junior continued. “Just real happy with how things are going for our team.”
Surprising: For a two-mile oval track, Auto Club Speedway generated just as much, if not more, drama than its short-track counterparts, from the Logano versus Hamlin feud to the Logano versus Stewart post race tussle.
Unfortunately, the short-track racing on the final laps led to not only heated tempers but also a significant injury to Denny Hamlin, who ended up with a fractured back after a hard hit into the wall.
“He shouldn’t have done what he did last week,” Logano said of his incident with Hamlin after the race. “So, that’s what he gets.”
“I had to throw the block there,” Logano said of his tussle with Tony Stewart that led to a confrontation, some punches and some expletive-laced comments from Smoke after the race. “That was a race for the lead.”
“So I was just trying to protect the spot I had.”
Logano finished the race in the third position after adjustments were made to the finishing order. Stewart finished in 22nd and Hamlin finished 25th.
Not Surprising: It seems, unfortunately, that these race cars just find those non-SAFER barrier protected walls at so many different tracks on the circuit. It happened previously at Watkins Glen to Jeff Gordon, resulting in a back injury, and again this weekend at Auto Club Speedway for Denny Hamlin, resulting in another back injury.
As soon as he hit the non-SAFER barrier wall, Hamlin knew he was ‘in trouble.’
“The position I was in, I couldn’t breathe at all,” Hamlin said. “Literally, when I felt a pop, I couldn’t move at all.”
“That’s why I rushed out and just laid flat on the ground to start breathing again.”
Surprising: Brad Keselowski, who had been riding a streak of consecutive top-five finishes, looked to be in the position to continue it, however, fell victim to a pit road speeding penalty and then to overheating issues late in the race.
The reigning champ had to drive from the back of the field several times, including at the beginning of the race due to an engine change and on lap 92 after the speeding violation. He finished a disappointing 23rd and fell to second in the point standings.
“I think we went from the back to the front three times today, which really showed the speed we had in the Miller Lite Ford,” Keselowski said. “We’re still good in points position after a tough day though.”
Not Surprising: Roush Fenway Racing had a pretty good day in California, with both Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards finishing in the top-five in the race and in the point standings. Even rookie Ricky Stenhouse Jr. logged all of the laps and had his fifth finish of 20th or better for the season.
“Man that was just an unbelievable race,” Edwards said. “It was a really good show.”
“We were pretty good at the end,” Biffle said. “Overall, a top-five finish for us is a great day.”
This was Edwards’ third top-five finish and Biffle’s second top-10 finish in five starts in 2013.
Surprising: Although both were able to rebound, it was a bit surprising to see how mightily California natives and teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson struggled on their home turf. Both were mired back in the pack for much of the race but managed in the end to finish 11th and 12th respectively.
The bright spot for four-time champion Jeff Gordon is that it was the first time in the 2013 season that he finished higher than his starting spot.
Not Surprising: At a track where she had never been in a Cup car before, Danica Patrick remained in learning mode, struggling in qualifying and for most of the weekend but completing all the laps for a 26th place finish.
“We just had a tough Friday and Saturday and we regrouped for Sunday and put a new setup on the Go Daddy Chevrolet and stayed optimistic,” Patrick said. “The car started off a bit loose, but once we dialed that in, it was decent.”
“So I felt better at the end of the race than I did in qualifying,” Patrick continued. “We all want better than 26th and that’s what we had today and it will be better next time.”
Surprising: After team owner Tony Stewart’s incident with Joey Logano in the waning laps, Stewart Haas racer Ryan Newman became the star of the team, finishing with a top-ten at Auto Club Speedway. But he too had to overcome some adversity in the form of a pit road violation to score that 10th place finish.
“The guys on this WIX Filters team did a great job today,” Newman said. “They kept making the adjustments we needed.”
“I put us in a bad spot at the end with the speeding penalty,” Newman continued. “But fortunately we were able to rally back from that to finish 10th.”
“I can’t say enough about everyone on this team.”
This was Newman’s third top-10 finish, much to the delight of all Outback Bloomin’ Onion fans.
Not Surprising: The ‘quiet man’ Paul Menard continued his stealth moves on the track, finishing eighth in his No. 27 Menards/Certainteed Chevrolet.
Menard is also in the eighth place in the point standings, again quietly representing Richard Childress Racing as the lone ranger in the top twelve at present.
