Matty’s Picks 2012 – Vol. 10 Talladega Superspeedway – Aaron’s 499 – May 6, 2012
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[/media-credit]499 or so miles will make up the Aaron’s 499 tomorrow afternoon, and all 499 miles will surely be filled with chaos throughout the 43-car field. A slue of rule changes has been passed down by NASCAR officials to break up the two car tango, which we saw last season. The racing during first and only restrictor plate race of the season at Daytona was a mix of the two car tango and pack drafting. Throw out the jet-dryer fiasco and you still had a fantastic kickoff to the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Tomorrows race in Alabama should be no different.
Richmond Recap
I am not one to brag, but when you perfect something, its worth talking about… As today is the day of the 138th Kentucky Derby, I will claim to have hit the exacta last weekend in Richmond.
My winner pick last week ended up in Victory Lane at the end of the night, my first win of the season. Kyle Busch did not completely dominate the race last weekend, and if it wasn’t for a late-race caution, defending Sprint Cup Series Champion Tony Stewart would have went on to win the Capitol 400. In the end, it was the pit crew of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota that boosted Busch to victory in Old Dominion. Knowing the last stop of the night was the most important, the No. 18 team put together a stop that allowed Busch to win the race off pit road and hold off the field for the remaining 12 or so laps. It was Rowdy’s fourth consecutive win in the spring race at Richmond, and my first win of the season.
My dark horse impressed many with his performance last weekend at RIR, but the winless streak stands at 138 races for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Although he failed to reach the point last week, Jr had the best shot he’s had all year to snap the winless streak. Jr Nation had a glimpse of hope on the final restart, but Dale Jr was not quick enough to reach the bumper of the No. 18. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second, completing my exacta for last weekend.
Talladega Picks
Much like my Daytona picks earlier this season, my Talladega picks will be a craps shoot. Practice speeds, starting spots, and historical data all go out the window when the green flag flies at Talladega. Being built on a Native American burial ground, Talladega Superspeedway has a history of wild races.
Winner Pick
My winner pick this week is the pilot of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge. My first trip to Talladega was marked by Brad Keselowski’s pass on Carl Edwards on the final lap for his first win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. His stats are decent at Talladega, unlike his record at Daytona. 4 of his 5 top-10’s, both his top-5’s, and his only win on superspeedways have come at Talladega. Keselowski looked good in today’s Aaron’s 312 until the big one with three laps to go. He’s looking to balance his misfortune at Daytona earlier this year and claim his second victory of 2012.
Dark Horse Pick
A guy that seems to fly under the radar each week is Joey Logano. He might have stole my thunder today however, when he passed Kyle Busch for the win in today’s Aaron’s 312. Logano is a B-list starter for me on my fantasy team this week, and much like Keselowski performs a bit better at Talladega than Daytona. He has two top-5’s and four top-10’s at the superspeedway, and a respectable average finish of 14.5 at the 2.66-mile speedway. Watch for Logano to find help early in the race and finish the race towards the top of the leader board tomorrow.
That’s all for this week so until we head to Darlington…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!
Green-White-Checkered Needs To Go
Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCARWhen I worked in the backroom of a grocery store in high school, there was horsing around to be had. One of my former managers offered this sage advice: “It’s all fun and games until somebody gets hurt”. I scoffed at his suggestion at the time—no one had ever gotten hurt stocking canned corn. However, the advice he gave has some very real-world applications.
When Eric McClure hit the wall during the first green-white-checkered finish, I gasped out loud. The last time I remember doing that was when Jeff Fuller crashed at Kentucky in 2006. McClure’s car appeared to hit the inside SAFER barrier full throttle. After a lengthy extraction process, McClure was transported by helicopter to a local hospital. NASCAR later reported McClure was conscious, alert, and talking to attendants en route to the hospital.
For all the safety advances NASCAR has made in the past decade, whether it is mandated usage of the HANS device, the COT, or improved headrests, it puzzles me as to why NASCAR is favor of a two-lap banzai run to the finish, especially at a track such as Talladega. A large wreck is almost guaranteed. At the speeds run at Talladega, this would seem like a far from ideal situation.
This is the same sanctioning body that throw caution flags for bottles of water and refuses to let cars race back to the caution flag, even the cautions for a one-car spin in which the car that drew the caution is already moving again. The inconsistency in safety decisions is something that needs to be discussed.
NASCAR has acquiesced to the fans’ wishes too often over the last ten years and its time for this concept to die. With McClure’s serious crash at the end of this race, the fun and games are over. NASCAR needs to end the G-W-C finishes.
Hornish, Patrick Clash
As the cars came to the checkered flag, Sam Hornish Jr. moved up the track due to a tire problem and put Danica Patrick in the wall. In an apparent fit of retaliation, Patrick rear-ended Hornish after the race and put him nose-first into the turn one wall. Patrick doubted this version of events, telling Hornish “Yeah right”. A close inspection of the replay does indeed show Hornish with a tire down.
After the race, Hornish said “Coming off four, the tire went flat. The 2 (Elliott Sadler) was pushing me which I appreciate, but at that time I didn’t need it. I was trying to get out from in front of him, but the car wouldn’t turn anymore. Then after the race was over, we got right-reared by the 7 car. I don’t know what she had in her head, but she decided to right-rear us, wreck the car after the race was over. That’s really frustrating.”
This is NASCAR officiating at its finest. Patrick has a long history of incidents with other drivers on the track and has never been reprimanded for any of them. If Kyle Busch was the one that turned Hornish, he would have been ejected from the track and slapped with a fine. Patrick intentionally wrecked Hornish and won’t be receiving as much as a wrist slap. NASCAR needs to take a good, hard look at this incident and see what they might be setting themselves up for down the road if this act goes without penalty. If NASCAR penalizes anyone else for a similar move, NASCAR will once again be accused of favoritism.
After the incident, Sprint Cup driver David Stremme tweeted “Maybe it’s just girls can have at it”. That might just be the case, as reportedly Patrick nor Hornish were called to the NASCAR hauler after the race.
Looking back…
Last week at Richmond, Morgan Shepherd, driver of the no. 89 Racing with Jesus Chevrolet extended his record as the oldest driver to lead a lap in the Nationwide series. Shepherd actually led a total of three laps. On leading the lap, Shepherd said “When the opportunity was there, we decided to stay out for the extra bonus point”. Unfortunately, Shepherd’s luck wasn’t as fortuitous at Talladega, as he was swept up in the first multi-car crash, ending up with a 35th place finish.
And looking forward…
The Nationwide Series heads to Darlington next week for the VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200. Denny Hamlin has won three of the last six races at Darlington and will figure to be a prominent player in this years’ race as well. The other three drivers to score victories in the last six are Sprint Cup drivers as well: Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, and Tony Stewart each have one victory as well.
Mark can be found on Twitter @ SpdwyMediaModor.
Logano wins the NNS Aaron’s 312 at Talladega Superspeedway
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[/media-credit]Joey Logano passed Kyle Busch in the last turn on Saturday in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) Aaron’s 312 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Logano waited to the last possible second to make his move to the outside as they came to the green-white-checkered finish.
“I haven’t seen one yet that’s predictable at Talladega. I just got him right at the line. I was super pumped.” Logano said.
This was Logano’s second NNS win of the season and the 11th of his career.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished third, Cole Whitt fourth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished fifth.
“Coming to the line I tried to swing out to get third. It was the best day for us here at Talladega and the Cargill Beef guys are here and everyone that helps us out. It was a fun race. I think the fans should have enjoyed that one.” Stenhouse Jr. said.
Stenhouse Jr. came into the race trailing Elliott Sadler by two points in the series standings. Sadler’s 10th place finish allowed Stenhouse Jr. to take over the lead by 5 points over Sadler.
“When it got a little dicey we rolled back to the back and made sure we got to the finish. Luckily we missed those big wrecks and that helped us out.” Stenhouse Jr. added.
On lap 116, Kevin Harvick, Danica Patrick, Robert Richardson Jr., Jeffrey Earnhardt, Brad Keselowski, Eric McClure, Taylor Malsam, Michael Annett and several others were caught up in the “big one” after the No. 43 of Michael Annett made contact with Harvick.
McClure slammed the inside wall of Turn 3. The race was red-flagged to cleanup the track and to fix the SAFER barrier.
Safety crew removed the roof of McClure’s No. 14 Toyota to get him out. He was airlifted to UAB Medical Center. According to televised reports, he was alert and speaking.
| Unofficial Race Results | |||||
| Aaron’s 312, Talladega Superspeedway | |||||
| http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/race.php?race=8 | |||||
| ========================================= | |||||
| Pos. | St. | No. | Driver | Make | Points |
| ========================================= | |||||
| 1 | – | 18 | Joey Logano | Toyota | 0 |
| 2 | – | 54 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 0 |
| 3 | – | 6 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Ford | 42 |
| 4 | – | 88 | Cole Whitt * | Chevrolet | 41 |
| 5 | – | 5 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 6 | – | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 7 | – | 30 | James Buescher | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 8 | – | 31 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | 36 |
| 9 | – | 199 | Kenny Wallace | Toyota | 36 |
| 10 | – | 2 | Elliott Sadler | Chevrolet | 35 |
| 11 | – | 20 | Ryan Truex | Toyota | 34 |
| 12 | – | 12 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Dodge | 33 |
| 13 | – | 7 | Danica Patrick | Chevrolet | 32 |
| 14 | – | 40 | Erik Darnell | Chevrolet | 30 |
| 15 | – | 124 | John Wes Townley | Toyota | 0 |
| 16 | – | 4 | Danny Efland | Chevrolet | 28 |
| 17 | – | 3 | Austin Dillon * | Chevrolet | 28 |
| 18 | – | 44 | Mike Bliss | Toyota | 27 |
| 19 | – | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | 26 |
| 20 | – | 22 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | 0 |
| 21 | – | 41 | Timmy Hill | Ford | 0 |
| 22 | – | 33 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 23 | – | 43 | Michael Annett | Ford | 21 |
| 24 | – | 19 | Tayler Malsam | Toyota | 20 |
| 25 | – | 15 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Ford | 19 |
| 26 | – | 23 | Robert Richardson Jr. | Chevrolet | 18 |
| 27 | – | 14 | Eric McClure | Toyota | 17 |
| 28 | – | 1 | Mike Wallace | Chevrolet | 17 |
| 29 | – | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Chevrolet | 15 |
| 30 | – | 39 | Josh Richards | Ford | 14 |
| 31 | – | 50 | T.J. Bell | Chevrolet | 13 |
| 32 | – | 108 | Tim Andrews | Ford | 13 |
| 33 | – | 38 | Brad Sweet * | Chevrolet | 11 |
| 34 | – | 81 | Jason Bowles * | Toyota | 10 |
| 35 | – | 89 | Morgan Shepherd | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 36 | – | 11 | Brian Scott | Toyota | 8 |
| 37 | – | 70 | Johanna Long * | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 38 | – | 174 | Mike Harmon | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 39 | – | 10 | Jeff Green | Toyota | 5 |
| 40 | – | 42 | Josh Wise | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 41 | – | 46 | Chase Miller | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 42 | – | 47 | Scott Speed | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 43 | – | 52 | Kevin Lepage | Chevrolet | 1 |
