Greg Biffle Snaps Winless Streak at Texas Motor Speedway
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[/media-credit]So far this year Greg Biffle had done everything right, except win. That all changed on Saturday night as he led 90 laps on his way to winning the Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
“I’ll tell you what, I could say it’s about time, but hard work pays off still today, and that’s what this is about,” Biffle says. “The team and Matt Puccia putting together the guys he has, the engine shop, how hard they’ve worked on the fuel injection and the engines and all that. I am just thankful to get the opportunity to drive these cars as fast as they are. We knew it was a matter of time we were going to win one of these things. We’ve been running so good. We had great pit stops, we’ve had good cars. Vegas we were off a little bit, and that ate at us a little bit because that’s a good track for us. So we came here and really focused on our car to get it driving the best we could.”
The 17th win of his career allowed Biffle to end a 49-race winless streak that dated back to October 3, 2010 when he won at Kansas Speedway.
With 30 laps to go, Biffle was able to catch Jimmie Johnson in traffic and pass him for the lead.
“I’ll tell you what, catching the 48 car at the end, I had to dig deep,” Biffle comments. “It was all I had to be able to get to him, and it seemed like when I got to him it was too easy. I don’t know if he used up his tires or the traffic — he had trouble, I think a little bit of trouble in traffic. That’s when I could close in on him. But over all it was a good night for us.”
Johnson would come home to finish second despite getting into the wall with 15 to go for his fifth top five of 2012 after leading 156 laps.
“I wish we could have won,” Johnson says. “We were in contention, had a great race car. Pit stops were just amazing all night long. Car was great. You know, at the end the 16 — really probably the last two or three runs the 16 and I were pretty equal, run pretty similar lap times, and right before the last pit stop I got caught in some traffic, he got to me and came out of the pits and was pacing him and had a second half lead and then we caught traffic, some guys were multiple laps down that didn’t show much respect to myself, the leader, and before I know it 16 was there on the side of me and got by.”
Mark Martin would finish third to continue the hot streak that Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) has been on early this season.
“I am just so proud of MWR and all the people there and the teamwork that they have shown there starting with Martin Truex, Jr., who has put so much work into getting the program where it was when we started the season and everybody combined,” he says. “They really have a lot of great people there with great attitude, great teamwork, and man, have I got one awesome crew chief in Rodney Childers. This is so much fun and such an incredible privilege to drive a race car at this point in my career, to be able to drive a race car for a team like that and in a hot rod like that.
“I could see the leader the whole race, and at times we could gain — when we were at our very best we were making some gains on the leaders, and when we were at our worst we were falling back some, and most of the time we could kind of maintain pace. We don’t have much more work to do, and we can get up there and be battling for the win. So I’m really proud of the guys. We’ve made improvements on our racer every race that we’ve got to run together, so Rodney and I are starting to figure some things out in the car that I like for the long haul. So it’s working well.”
Jeff Gordon would finish fourth followed by Matt Kenseth in fifth. Pole sitter Martin Truex Jr. finished sixth, followed by Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
The race was the quickest in Texas Motor Speedway history with an average speed of 160.577 and had the fewest cautions ever with two for 10 laps. The first was for Trevor Bayne getting into the wall, while the second was for debris.
Following the win, Biffle leads Kenseth and Earnhardt Jr. by 19 points in the Sprint Cup Series Points Standings heading into Kansas Speedway.
Full Rundown:
- Greg Biffle
- Jimmie Johnson
- Mark Martin
- Jeff Gordon
- Matt Kenseth
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Kasey Kahne
- Carl Edwards
- Kevin Harvick
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Kyle Busch
- Denny Hamlin
- Kurt Busch
- Jamie McMurray
- AJ Allmendinger
- Juan Pablo Montoya
- Clint Bowyer
- Paul Menard
- Joey Logano
- Marcos Ambrose
- Ryan Newman
- Aric Almirola
- Regan Smith
- Tony Stewart
- Casey Mears
- David Reutimann
- Bobby Labonte
- Trevor Bayne
- Jeff Burton
- Landon Cassill
- David Gilliland
- Reed Sorenson
- JJ Yeley
- Tony Raines
- David Ragan
- Brad Keselowski
- Dave Blaney
- Travis Kvapil
- Josh Wise
- Mike Bliss
- Michael McDowell
- Scott Riggs
- Scott Speed
Lap by Lap: Samsung Mobile 500 won by Greg Biffle
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[/media-credit]In the quickest race in Texas Motor Speedway history, Greg Biffle passed Jimmie Johnson with 30 laps to go and never looked back, snapping a 49-race winless streak.
Green Flag
Lap 1: Martin Truex Jr. leads the first lap
Lap 10: Truex leads Greg Biffle, Kasey Kahne, Marco Ambrose, Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin, Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard, Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman.
Lap 14 Amborse, Kenseth and Martin pass Kahne; Denny Hamlin passes Newman
Lap 27 Truex leads Biffle, Kenseth, Ambrose, Martin, Johnson, McMurray, Kevin Harvick, Menard, Carl Edwards
Lap 36 Biffle leads Truex, Kenseth, Ambrose, Martin, Harvick, Johnson, Edwards, Keselowski, Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Lap 37 Kenseth passes Truex for second
Lap 39 Harvick passes Martin for fifth
Lap 41 Harvick passes Ambrose for fourth
Lap 45 to 48 the leaders pit
Lap 49 Biffle now leads
Lap 52 Biffle leads Harvick, Truex, Kenseth, Martin, Ambrose, Keselowski, Johnson, Edwards, McMurray
Lap 64 Biffle leads Harvick, Truex, Kenseth, Martin, Ambrose, Johnson, Keselowski, McMurray and Edwards
Caution Lap 67 Debris…….The leaders go down pit road…….Truex leads Biffle, Martin, Johnson, Ambrose, Edwards, Keselowski, Harvick, Earnhardt Jr., McMurray, Kyle Busch, Menard, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Jeff Burton
Restart Lap 72
Lap 73 Truex and Biffle are side-by-side for the lead
Lap 75 Biffle clears Truex for the lead
Lap 76 McMurray passes Earnhardt Jr.
Lap 77 Biffle leads Truex, Kenseth, Johnson, Martin, Ambrose, Edwards, Keselowski, McMurray and Harvick
Lap 79 Kenseth passes Truex
Lap 82 Kenseth to the lead past Biffle
Lap 86 Kenseth, Biffle, Martin, Johnson, Truex, Ambrose, Edwards, Keselowski, McMurray and Gordon
Lap 88 McMurray passes Keselowski for eighth
Caution Lap 95 Trevor Bayne gets into the wall……Leaders head down pit road…..
Restart Lap 101
Lap 102 Biffle now leads the field.
Lap 105 Biffle leads Johnson, Truex, Kenseth, Ambrose, Martin, Keselowski, Allmendinger, Gordon and Kyle Busch
Lap 111 Earnhardt Jr. passes Busch for 10th
Lap 114 Johnson passes Biffle for the lead
Lap 115 Gordon passes Allmendinger for eighth
Lap 117 Earnhardt Jr. passes Gordon for ninth
Lap 118 Johnson leads Biffle, Truex, Kenseth, Ambrose, Martin, Keselowski, Gordon, Earnhardt Jr., Allmemdinger
Lap 123 Kenseth passes Truex for third
Lap 125 Earnhardt Jr. passes Gordon for eighth
Lap 127 Johnson leads Biffle, Kenseth, Truex, Ambrose, Martin, Keselowski, Earnhardt Jr., Gordon, Harvick
Lap 139 Johnson leads Biffle, Kenseth, Truex, Ambrose, Keselowski, Martin, Earnhardt Jr., Gordon, Harvick
Lap 141 Juan Pablo Montoya hits pit road as the leaders begin hitting pit road.
Lap 147 Leaders Johnson and Biffle pit, handing the lead to Truex
Lap 148 Truex leads Kenseth, Martin, Johnson and Earnhardt Jr.
Lap 156 Keselowski is having motor problems
Lap 159 Truex leads Kenseth, Johnson, Martin, Biffle, Earnhardt Jr., Harvick, Gordon, Allmendinger, Denny Hamlin
Lap 160 Johnson passes Kenseth for second; Gordon passes Harvick for seventh
Lap 180 Truex leads Johnson, Kenseth, Martin, Biffle, Gordon, Earnhardt Jr., Harvick, Ambrose, Allmendinger
Lap 181 Johnson takes the lead
Lap 184 Pit stops begin……
Lap 186 Leader Johnson hits pit road
Lap 189 Pit cycle complete. Johnson is the leader once again.
Lap 197 Johnson leads Martin, Biffle, Kenseth, Truex, Harvick, Earnhardt Jr., Gordon, Ambrose and Allmendinger
Lap 200 Gordon passes Earnhardt Jr. for seventh
Lap 203 Hamlin passes Allmendinger for 10th
Lap 214 Johnson leads Biffle, Martin, Kenseth, Truex, Gordon, Harvick, Earnhardt Jr., Ambrose and Hamlin
Lap 228 Johnson leads Biffle, Martin, Kenesth, Truex, Gordon, Earnhardt Jr., Ambrose, Harvick, Hamlin, Kahne
Lap 229 Harvick comes down pit road so Hamlin and Kahne both pass him
Lap 230 Martin comes down pit road from third position
Lap 231 Trevor Bayne and Juan Pablo Montoya pit along with Jeff Burton, Denny Hamlin
Lap 232 Marco Ambrose, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr. pit
Lap 233 Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Newman pit
Lap 234 Jimmie Johnson pits from the lead, followed by Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth. Pit cycle complete, handing the lead to Johnson over Biffle.
100 to go Johnson leads Biffle, Martin, Kenseth and Truex
96 to go Johnson leads Biffle, Martin, Kenseth, Truex, Gordon, Harvick, Ambrose, Earnhardt Jr., and Kahne
71 to go Gordon passes Truex for fifth; Kahne passes Earnhardt Jr. for ninth
67 to go Gordon passes Kenseth for fourth
59 to go Ambrose passes Harvick for seventh
58 to go Johnson leads Biffle, Martin, Gordon, Kenseth, Truex, Ambrose, Harvick, Kahne, Earnhardt Jr.
55 to go Kahne passes Harvick for eighth as Joey Logano pits. Harvick joins Logano on pit road.
54 to go Regan Smith pits
53 to go Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Allmendinger, Bowyer, Mears pit
52 to go Almirola, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, Kasey Kahne, Martin Truex Jr. pit
51 to go Greg Biffle, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Marco Ambrose, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jamie McMurray pit.
50 to go Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon pits handing the lead back to Jimmie Johnson
49 to go Johnson leads Biffle, Martin, Kenseth, Gordon, Truex, Harvick, Ambrose, Kahne and Hamlin
46 to go Ambrose passes Harvick for seventh
44 to go Earnhardt Jr. passes Hamlin for 10th
41 to go Kahne passes Harvick for eighth
40 to go Johnson leads Biffle, Martin, Kenseth, Gordon, Truex, Ambrose, Kahne, Harvick and Earnhardt Jr.
37 to go Gordon passes Kenseth for fourth
30 to go Biffle takes the lead from Johnson
24 to go Biffle leads Johnson, Martin, Gordon, Kenseth, Truex, Ambrose, Kahne, Harvick, Earnhardt Jr.
21 to go Trevor Bayne got into the wall but no caution
17 to go Kahne passes Ambrose for seventh
15 to go Johnson gets into the wall
13 to go Edwards passes Earnhardt Jr. for 10th
6 to go Edwards passes Harvick for ninth
Final Lap – Marco Ambose is slow and out of gas.
Greg Biffle wins followed by Johnson, Martin, Gordon, Kenseth, Truex, Kahne, Edwards, Harvick, Earnhardt Jr.
Ryan Reed works hard to promote JDRF and Ryan’s Mission
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[/media-credit]In February 2011, Ryan Reed was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and was told that he would never be able to race again. However, after getting in contact with a doctor through IndyCar driver Charlie Kimball, he was told that it was possible.
Now a year and three months later, Reed finds himself behind the wheel of the No. 15 JDRF car for Venturini Motorsports in the ARCA Racing Series. After two races this season, he sits sixth in points after finishing 12th at Daytona and Mobile.
When he’s not behind the wheel of a racecar, Reed is spreading word about JDRF and Ryan’sMission. JDRF is the world’s largest funding provider for research towards curing, treating and preventing T1D and its complications. Ryan’s Mission is a non-profit organization that Reed formed to help build awareness, become a role model and positively touch the lives of others.
Reed spoke of both JDRF and Ryan’sMission, talking about events that he has taken part of so far this year and some future events…..
Ashley McCubbin: How has it been for you working with JDRF?
Ryan Reed: JDRF has been unbelievable to work with. We’ve done so many incredible events so far this year and the relationship couldn’t anymore organic and we’ve just both have enjoyed all the great things we’ve done together. I mean, I really feel like we not only have been achieved great things so far, but the things we’ll be able to do in the future are even better.
AM: Why did you want to get behind JDRF to begin with?
RR: It kind of really happen organically. We were testing for the ARCA race in Daytona in December, Advanced Auto Parts contacted us and said we have a little girl named Makayla who wants to meet you and just figure out how you’ve compete with the disease. I said absolutely, and we were trying talking about JDRF. I had been talking about it for 10 minutes and I wanted to figure out how to get involved. I had my foundation and all, but we weren’t getting far. So when I got the chance to meet this little girl, I thought it was great.
So when we talked about JDRF, I thought it was pretty cool and wanted to learn more about them. Their headquarters are inNew Yorkand my dad was inNew Yorkin December and he said he’d stop in there and drop off my portfolio and see if they want to do anything with me. They were like so excited and ever since, it’s just been an amazing relationship and everything has been good and had good intentions.
AM: If you could, talk about why it is important for you to spread the word about JDRF.
RR: Well, I mean being a T1D (Type 1 Diabetic), it obviously hits close to home. It’s important to me because they’ve done amazing things up to this point – obviously there’s no cure yet, but the medical advances they’ve participated in are just unreal.
AM: How did Ryan’s Mission come about?
RR: That was actually very near after I was diagnosed – well, I was first told I wasn’t going to be able to race, but then was told I’d be able to. Right after that, I knew I wanted to do this. I know other kids are being told that they won’t be able to do things and only some are lucky enough to find doctors that are as supportive as mine and able to still chase their dreams. So Ryan’s Mission was formed almost immediately and I just wanted to show kids and spread that message and not be held back.
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[/media-credit]AM: I know you’ve been to some Checkers Hockey Games and some games in Bakersfield, California over the past couple of months. How has that experience been for you spreading word about Ryan’s Mission and JDRF?
RR: That’s been so much fun. I was a hockey fan growing up, played road hockey growing up, and followed the local hockey teams. I’ve always been a fan of the sport so to combine the two, fan of one sport, passion for the other, it’s just really a lot of fun just to be there. Then to be able to have all these kids come up to me and tell them how I inspire them and how much whenever they don’t want to take their shot and their parents tell them but, ‘Ryan takes his shots. If he can do it, then you can’ and they say okay. It’s unbelievable to hear and such a motivation on-and-off the track to keep doing my part in my career not just for myself, but for those kids to continue watch and get inspired.
AM: I noticed lots of kids wanted to come by, meet you, get your autograph. How is it for you talking to the kids?
RR: Any time a driver has fans, it means a lot to them. Any driver will tell you how much the fans mean to them and how fortunate they feel to have fans. Espically with my group of fans, they’re so loyal. They have unconditional ties to me, whether I win, lose or draw, with the T1D and they’re so supportive and all they want to do is help and they want to learn. Anytime a little kid comes up to me to get an autograph, I have a connection with them, so I think in my case, it’s a little bit different. Whether it’s a Type 1 Diabetic fan or not, it means a lot to me.
AM: Last month, I know you met with Congressman Kevin McCarthy. Talk about that experience, but also how important it is to have his support with the Special Diabetes Program.
RR: That was really cool. That was the first time I had done anything with the Remember Me Campaign. So when I got the call to do that, I was really excited. When I showed up there, Kevin was a great guy, really down to earth. First thing we do when I walked in, we talked about racing. So we talked about racing for a bit and then I started telling him all the great things that JDRF has done. He was so supportive; he really a great guy. It was a lot of fun and a good experience.
I think there was three or four of us, myself included, kids with Type 1 Diabetes from all ages. There was a little girl, a little eight years old boy – it was great to watch the whole Diabetic community come together and raise awareness and hopefully find a cure. The funding from that is crucial to JDRF so we all felt it was a obligation to go there and perform and show Kevin why it is important.
AM: This weekend, I know that the showcar will be at the Long Beach Grand Prix. It may seem odd to some to have it at an IndyCar event, but maybe talk why you would want to have it there.
RR: Long Beach isn’t a NASCAR event, but it’s a beautiful car that gets a lot of attention and it’s just another tool to raise awareness for JDRF. That’s kind of one of my goals is to just to raise awareness for JDRF. It’s a cool looking racecar, they look at it, do a little research on JDRF and learn more about diabetes, it’s for the better.
A lot about what Ryan’s Mission is about is I really want diabetes to not be taboo. It does have a stigma about it and I don’t want that. I want people to be educated; I want people to understand it. A kid reaches to try and take a shot at the dinner table, people want to freak out. It’s just something that you have to deal with; it’s not a big deal. I think any kid that they don’t want to be treated weird or different because of it. A kid has asthma – people don’t freak out when he pulls out his inhaler. I want it to be accepted and like I said, I don’t want it to have a stigma.
[media-credit name=”Ryan Reed Racing” align=”alignright” width=”255″]
[/media-credit]AM: I know the LA. Car Connection Cool and Classic Car Show is coming up later this month. Talk about being involved with that and helping Alec Buckner with his quest to raise money.
RR: That is going to be really fun. L.A. Car Connection is a really great group of people with some cool cars. I actually got to drive a Ferrari when I was hanging out with them in L.A. when I was hanging out with them in L.A. one day. So that’s going to be a lot of fun, as well as raising money for JDRF. Like I said, it’s going to be a fun and great all the way around. It’ll be great to have people come out, have fun and look at some cool cars.
AM: While you’re in Salem, I know the Walk JDRF Charlotte RIC Walk to Cure Diabetes will be going on. Talk about how important it is for you to have Ryan’sMissioninvolved with that.
RR: The walks are great; they have all them all over the country. The walks are a great awareness tool, as well as a way to raise some funding to help find a cure. That’s always a fun experience. To have the Ryan’s Mission team involved with that, it’s going to be great. It’s really important to have Ryan’s Mission out there and show our support and how dedicated we are to JDRF.
AM: Looking at the schedule with you racing and the appearances, it seems it never stops. How do you keep it all balanced?
RR: That’s definitely tough – I’ve got my family, my girlfriend – I feel it’s such an opportunity and obligation to raise awareness and use the gift that God’s given me to do some good. I find time for it all, epically trying to work out and stay mentally right for the racecar. It’s just one of my challenges. I don’t have to wake up and go to an eight-to-five job. When I’m not traveling, I get to go to the gym in the morning and have a different lifestyle. I can deal with the bad – I’m not saying its bad at all, but it can be draining with all the travel, but it’s definitely so rewarding and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
AM: Mid May, there’s the JDRF Celebrity Golf Tournament. Talk about the event and what fans can expect.
RR: I got the call to do that and I was really excited. I had never picked up a golf club before so I was a little nervous. I actually found a new passion. I went down and got a lesson in golf and have been playing the past couple of weeks so hopefully I’ll be ready. It’s going to be a ton of fun playing on a beautiful golf course.
AM: Thoughts going into Salem…..
RR: I’m really excited. We had a couple weeks to prepare and I’ve been in the gym everyday getting myself ready. Everyone’s hungry – we’ve had a break these past five weeks. Everyone’s going to be hungry when we get out there to perform and no one wants to have this race and go there and struggle. I feel everybody at Venturini Motorsports, myself included, has worked hard over this break and we’re all going to go there with our guns loaded. If we can stay on all eight cylinders, we’re going to be tough to beat.
Some of the future events:
- The showcar will be on display at the Long Beach Grand Prix IndyCar event this weekend (April 14/15th)
- April 22nd: L.A. Connection Cool and Classis Car Show
- April 28th: JDRF Charlotte RIC Walk to Cure Diabetes
- April 29th: JDRF Promotion at Salem Speedway Fan Zone
- May 1st: JDRF Promotion at Birmingham Baron’s Baseball Game
- May 16th: JDRF Celebrity Golf Tournament
- June 14th: Ford-JDRF Promotion at Michgan Int’l Speedway
- June 16th: JDRF 24 Hour Hockey Game – Skating for a Cure
- July 21st: JDRF Music Concert Series Promotion – Chicago
- July 26th: JDRF Indianapolis Promotion
- August 4th: JDRF Promotion at Pocono Raceway Fan Zone
To learn more about Venturini Motorsports, check out http://www.venturinimotorsports.com.
To learn more about Ryan Reed, check out http://www.ryanreedracing.com.
To learn more about JDRF, check out http://www.jdrf.org.
To learn more about Ryan’s Mission, check out http://www.ryansmission.org.
Nelson Piquet Jr. Wins the Camping World Truck Series Pole at Rockingham Speedway
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[/media-credit]After four practice sessions, the trucks took to the track Saturday afternoon to qualify at ‘The Rock.’ Nelson Piquet Jr. captured the pole driving his No. 30 Chevrolet Silverado. It was his first pole in 33 career starts.
He described the track as difficult and said the last couple of days have been tough. He doesn’t necessarily expect the pole position to translate into a win because of the unpredictability of tire wear at the track.
Paulie Harraka qualified in the second position, calling it a “solid” run. Timothy Peters will start the race in third position after fighting “a tight condition.”
Jason Leffler and Brad Sweet (qualifying for Kasey Kahne) round out the top five. Kahne, who will compete in the Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway Saturday, will start the truck race from the back of the field Sunday afternoon.
The Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200 begins at 1:00 pm Sunday and will be televised live on Speed. Speed coverage will begin at 12:30pm with ‘NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Setup.’ It will mark NASCAR’s first return to the track since 2004.
| Starting Lineup | |||||
| Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200, Rockingham Speedway | |||||
| http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=3 | |||||
| =========================================== | |||||
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Make | Speed | Time |
| =========================================== | |||||
| 1 | 30 | Nelson Piquet Jr. | Chevrolet | 144.387 | 24.933 |
| 2 | 5 | Paulie Harraka* | Ford | 144.381 | 24.934 |
| 3 | 17 | Timothy Peters | Toyota | 143.937 | 25.011 |
| 4 | 18 | Jason Leffler | Toyota | 143.73 | 25.047 |
| 5 | 4 | Brad Sweet | Chevrolet | 143.392 | 25.106 |
| 6 | 29 | Parker Kligerman | Ram | 143.147 | 25.149 |
| 7 | 11 | Todd Bodine | Toyota | 143.033 | 25.169 |
| 8 | 88 | Matt Crafton | Toyota | 142.976 | 25.179 |
| 9 | 60 | Grant Enfinger | Chevrolet | 142.885 | 25.195 |
| 10 | 13 | Johnny Sauter | Toyota | 142.693 | 25.229 |
| 11 | 98 | Dakoda Armstrong* | Toyota | 142.642 | 25.238 |
| 12 | 3 | Ty Dillon* | Chevrolet | 142.535 | 25.257 |
| 13 | 33 | Cale Gale* | Chevrolet | 142.349 | 25.29 |
| 14 | 8 | Ross Chastain* | Toyota | 142.298 | 25.299 |
| 15 | 24 | Max Gresham* | Chevrolet | 142.259 | 25.306 |
| 16 | 31 | James Buescher | Chevrolet | 142.158 | 25.324 |
| 17 | 22 | Joey Coulter | Chevrolet | 142.034 | 25.346 |
| 18 | 92 | Chad McCumbee | Chevrolet | 141.989 | 25.354 |
| 19 | 6 | Justin Lofton | Chevrolet | 141.766 | 25.394 |
| 20 | 9 | John Wes Townley* | Toyota | 141.682 | 25.409 |
| 21 | 81 | David Starr | Toyota | 141.06 | 25.521 |
| 22 | 9 | Ron Hornaday | Chevrolet | 140.658 | 25.594 |
| 23 | 32 | Miguel Paludo | Chevrolet | 140.488 | 25.625 |
| 24 | 275 | Caleb Holman* | Chevrolet | 140.455 | 25.631 |
| 25 | 7 | John King* | Toyota | 140.384 | 25.644 |
| 26 | 202 | Tyler Young | Chevrolet | 140.362 | 25.648 |
| 27 | 27 | Jeb Burton* | Chevrolet | 140.203 | 25.677 |
| 28 | 23 | Jason White | Ford | 139.969 | 25.72 |
| 29 | 2 | Tim George Jr. | Chevrolet | 139.654 | 25.778 |
| 30 | 214 | Brennan Newberry | Chevrolet | 139.373 | 25.83 |
| 31 | 99 | Bryan Silas* | Ford | 138.648 | 25.965 |
| 32 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | Chevrolet | 138.206 | 26.048 |
| 33 | 93 | Chris Cockrum+ | Chevrolet | 134.133 | 26.839 |
| 34 | 7 | Johnny Chapman+ | Toyota | 131.536 | 27.369 |
| 35 | 57 | Norm Benning+ | Chevrolet | 131.411 | 27.395 |
| 36 | 170 | Jeff Agnew | Chevrolet | 139.346 | 25.835 |
Matty’s Picks 2012 – Vol. 8 Texas Motor Speedway – Samsung Mobile 500 – April 14, 2012
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[/media-credit]We head to the Lone Star State for tonight’s Samsung Mobile 500 for the first scheduled race under the lights during this 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Its wide, its fast, and there will be plenty of drama when the green flag flies later this evening. This is just the second mile-and-a-half track of the season, and is guaranteed to pull me away from the NHL playoffs tonight.
Texas has been one of my favorite tracks for a while now, I’m not sure if its the speed, the flames and six-shooters in Victory Lane, the simple thought that ‘Everything’s Bigger in Texas’ – (a track that comfortably seats over 190,000). If you recall last fall’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway , the race was promoted as a old west showdown between Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart. This weekend will not be much different except that it will be a duel between two teams, Roush Fenway Racing (8 wins in 22 Cup races at Texas) and Michael Waltrip Racing.
Last Week’s Recap
I had a great time celebrating Easter back in Syracuse, Mom made some great ham, showed my brothers and SpeedwayMedia.com editor Ed Coombs how to catch fish…
Back to racing.
It was two-weeks ago that we visited Martinsville Speedway for the Goody’s Fast Relief 500, and it was a dandy of a race on April Fools Day. My Dark Horse pick two weeks ago was a long shot after NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying, but Kurt Busch was up for the challenge of winning the race from 40th. Well, Busch’s day ended after a slue of problems with the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Services Chevrolet including a pair of blown right-front tires. Busch’s No. 51 was shown way down towards the bottom of the scoring pylon in 33rd, netting me yet another finish outside the top 30.
It was a much better day for my Winner Pick two weeks ago, leading a race-high 328 laps and completely dominating the 500-lap battle at Martinsville Speedway. It was David Reutimann that squashed my hope of picking up my first win of the season two weeks ago at Martinsville. When his car came to rest on the backstretch with just three laps to go, he brought out the caution that would make the final restart of the race a five-car fiasco. My Winner Pick had the lead on the final restart, partly because him and his teammate Jimmie Johnson opted not to come to pit road under the final caution for fresh tires. Jeff Gordon had dominated all day, and when the field took the green flag on the race’s final restart, he was punted by Clint Bowyer, who was shoved by race-winner Ryan Newman. It was a result of fresh tires vs. old tires, and the old tires lost. Gordon finished 14th.
Texas Picks
Besides a couple Hendrick chassis, its a MWR versus Roush Fenway battle this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. Roush Fenway drivers Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle are sandwiched between pole-sitter Martin Truex and Mark Martin in the top-4 starting spots, setting the stage for the two-team battle under the lights tonight.
Winner Pick
I think its Matt Kenseth who will fire the six-shooters tonight in Fort Worth. He is the defending winner of the Samsung Mobile 500, his second Cup win at Texas coming this time last year. His average finish of 8.7 at Texas is the best out of all the drivers taking the green tonight, and he’s also got two NASCAR Nationwide Series victories under his belt at Texas.
Kenseth will start on the outside of the front row tonight, and is excited for his chances of putting the cowboy hat on in Victory Lane, “I don’t really know why, but it has been a pretty good track for us in the past. We have had a lot of good runs and finishes here. Whenever you come back to a track you’ve had success at, then I think you probably always look forward to coming back to it maybe a little bit more. As far as mile-and-a-half tracks, we have only been to Vegas (this season) and I thought we performed really well there.“
Dark Horse Pick
Since Roush Fenway claimed my Winner Pick this week, Michael Waltrip Racing will take my Dark Horse this week, although this pick is a stretch of a Dark Horse.
He’s starting 4th tonight in just his 5th start of the 2012 season, but he will be piloting a rocket ship in the form of a Toyota Camry. Mark Martin is running a limited schedule this season in the No. 55 Aaron’s Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, so when he does make it behind the wheel, he’s got to make the most out of it.
He fired the six-shooters in Victory Lane at Texas back in 1998, but struggled severely in the two races in the Lone Star State last year with 36th and 19th place finishes. Texas has been fairly kind to him with 7 top-5’s and 12 top-10’s, and enjoys the ‘Hometown’ feel Texas has for him, “Texas Motor Speedway is about 450 miles from my hometown of Batesville, Arkansas. I’ve had a stronger fan following there than anywhere else. Sure I listen in driver introductions when the fans cheer or boo, but I really notice the fans in general throughout the weekend. They are pretty vocal. Since it isn’t that far from Batesville it’s one of the places where my fans go. Texas and Kansas are probably the two places where I see or hear from most of my fans. That’s always a great feeling.”
Tonight will be fun and I look forward to what the Lone Start State’s first race of 2012 has to offer. Until Next Time…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!
Stenhouse strikes again, captures second win in Texas
[media-credit name=”Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”255″]
[/media-credit]Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won for the second time in 2012 on Friday night in Texas but in doing so he had to overcome everything Friday the 13th could throw at him.
From radio problems, to his tachometer acting up, even the lights going out on multiple occasions. Yet it wasn’t enough to slow him from leading 69 laps and capturing a cowboy hat to go with the cowboy personality, and boots, that he already has.
“It was back and forth,” said Stenhouse of his night. “The race started we were very strong, our Pure Michigan Mustang was doing everything that I needed it to do. Then we lost a little track position there on that restart and seemed like we really struggled, wasn’t sure if it wanted to be loose, tight, we were battling with it.”
Stenhouse credited crew chief Mike Kelley for making all the right changes, as well as keeping him calm. Knowing they had a fast car but unable to overtake Paul Menard during a stint of the race, Stenhouse was told to relax and they would continue working on it.
“Mike decided to go with no changes on that last pit stop, which I wasn’t fond of. But he knows what he’s doing, that’s why he gets paid to do that. That last restart, it was crazy man. I think I spent the whole five laps we had under caution just praying for a good restart and everything worked out for us.
“It was fun racing those guys. I had to drive in to turn three wide open Denny [Hamlin] was on the left rear of us and got us a little bit loose but we managed to hang on and pull it off.”
It’s the first win for Stenhouse at Texas, his fourth career and the ninth win for Roush Fenway at Texas. He’s only won at three tracks: sweeping Iowa last season, Las Vegas earlier this season and now Texas. He only won twice all of 2011.
Team owner Jack Roush said he felt it was harder to defend the championship than it was to win it for the first time. But the defending champions continue to improve and have become a force to be reckoned with at every track on any given weekend.
Friday night Stenhouse showed everyone that all the talk about Elliott Sadler being in the drivers seat for the championship was premature. And he did so by also showing everyone that even his weakest link, restarts, wasn’t enough to keep him down.
On nearly every restart Stenhouse started off slow, seemingly spinning the tires. But then after a lap or two he had his No. 6 wound up on the high side and he quickly reeled the leaders back in.
On the race’s last restart with six laps to go, Stenhouse was able to keep Hamlin side-by-side with him before once again pulling away as his car came to life. He went on to win by 1.4 seconds over Paul Menard.
“I feel like we have,” said Stenhouse about improving his restarts. “I think a big thing last year was confidence in restarts. If I had a bad one I would spend whole run and the whole next caution trying to think about what I needed to do different.
“I just go into it with a little bit more confidence this year about it. They seem to be a lot better. There’s still some things I need to work on as a racecar driver and I think restarts, the initial takeoff can be improved on. Once we get going I don’t know if there’s anybody that drives it harder than we do. So getting up through the gears, we’re getting a lot better at it.”
It wasn’t all hard work for Stenhouse and company on Friday. There were plenty of light moments on the radio as they battled with the likes of Menard and Hamlin. Spotter Mike Calinoff had Stenhouse look to the right during one caution period and wave because he was watching him on NASCAR’s FanVision.
Throughout the course of the event he and Calinoff also traded barbs about Sadler constantly being on the track’s big screen TV.
Stenhouse joking, “They must love Elliott Sadler, he’s always on that big screen over there. I hate looking at that.” Later on saying Sadler should have a desk set up in his car so he can be a TV analysis or a permanent in-race reporter.
Then after taking the lead for the final time with less than 20 laps to go Calinoff told Stenhouse, “clear by six [car lengths] and the 2 [Sadler], is not on TV.”
It was all in good fun though. Sadler and Stenhouse have set themselves up for a great championship battle over the course of the season. Each have won twice in the seasons first six races and sit first and second in points heading to Richmond in two weeks.
“I think we look at it,” said Stenhouse of the points. “Obviously ours was a very close race up until Phoenix there last year. We sat down this offseason and looked at how many points we gave up at the beginning of the year not finishing off the races as strong as we should. Or some pit calls that didn’t go our way and things like that.
“So we definitely have started looking at it and you just need to try to stay consistent. When you have those bad days at this point you got to keep the 2 [Sadler] in sight as much as you can and try to give up minimal points to him.
“We definitely look at it. That’s our main goal this year, to go back and defend that championship and I think you got to start looking at it as early as the first race.”
| Unofficial Race Results | |||||
| O’Reilly Auto Parts 300, Texas Motor Speedway | |||||
| http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=6 | |||||
| ========================================= | |||||
| Pos. | St. | No. | Driver | Make | Points |
| ========================================= | |||||
| 1 | 3 | 6 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Ford | 47 |
| 2 | 1 | 33 | Paul Menard | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 3 | 8 | 38 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 4 | 2 | 18 | Denny Hamlin | Toyota | 0 |
| 5 | 4 | 3 | Austin Dillon * | Chevrolet | 40 |
| 6 | 30 | 27 | David Ragan | Ford | 0 |
| 7 | 16 | 31 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | 37 |
| 8 | 17 | 7 | Danica Patrick | Chevrolet | 36 |
| 9 | 18 | 43 | Michael Annett | Ford | 35 |
| 10 | 9 | 30 | Steve Arpin | Chevrolet | 34 |
| 11 | 14 | 12 | Sam Hornish Jr. | Dodge | 33 |
| 12 | 5 | 2 | Elliott Sadler | Chevrolet | 33 |
| 13 | 7 | 88 | Cole Whitt * | Chevrolet | 31 |
| 14 | 20 | 5 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 15 | 12 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | 0 |
| 16 | 10 | 44 | Mike Bliss | Toyota | 28 |
| 17 | 33 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | 27 |
| 18 | 23 | 81 | Jason Bowles * | Toyota | 26 |
| 19 | 24 | 1 | Mike Wallace | Chevrolet | 25 |
| 20 | 15 | 70 | Johanna Long * | Chevrolet | 24 |
| 21 | 21 | 108 | Kyle Fowler | Ford | 23 |
| 22 | 31 | 39 | Kelly Bires | Ford | 22 |
| 23 | 27 | 40 | Erik Darnell | Chevrolet | 21 |
| 24 | 42 | 14 | Eric McClure | Toyota | 20 |
| 25 | 28 | 19 | Tayler Malsam | Toyota | 19 |
| 26 | 40 | 50 | T.J. Bell | Ford | 18 |
| 27 | 38 | 52 | Tim Schendel | Chevrolet | 17 |
| 28 | 26 | 41 | Timmy Hill | Ford | 16 |
| 29 | 37 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Chevrolet | 15 |
| 30 | 6 | 54 | Kurt Busch | Toyota | 0 |
| 31 | 25 | 4 | Danny Efland | Chevrolet | 13 |
| 32 | 19 | 9 | Ryan Truex | Toyota | 12 |
| 33 | 41 | 124 | Benny Gordon * | Chevrolet | 11 |
| 34 | 39 | 23 | Robert Richardson Jr. | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 35 | 13 | 22 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | 0 |
| 36 | 29 | 15 | Blake Koch | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 37 | 11 | 11 | Brian Scott | Toyota | 7 |
| 38 | 34 | 175 | Scott Riggs | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 39 | 36 | 46 | Chase Miller | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 40 | 32 | 42 | Josh Wise | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 41 | 35 | 47 | Scott Speed | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 42 | 43 | 174 | Kevin Lepage | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 43 | 22 | 10 | Jeff Green | Toyota | 1 |
