NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Bristol
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[/media-credit]Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.
1. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth doggedly chased Brad Keselowski to the finish at Bristol, but could never catch the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge. The runner-up result gave Kenseth his second top-5 finish of the year, and boosted him two places in the Sprint Cup point standings to third.
“As his number of followers would suggest,” Kenseth said, “Keselowski is fast becoming America’s ‘Tweet-heart.’ And, no, that’s not my Ward Button impression. Keselowski even Tweeted a photo from victory lane. That’s impressive. He may be the only NASCAR driver who can ‘phone it in’ and still be successful.
“Contrary to popular belief, I didn’t jump a restart midway through the race to get in front of Keselowski. Oh no. I was trying to get as far away from Brian Vickers as possible.”
2. Greg Biffle: Biffle started on the pole at Bristol and led 41 early laps before handling issues stymied his efforts to stay out front. He finished 12th and remained atop the Sprint Cup point standings, with a nine-point lead over Kevin Harvick.
“That breaks my string of third-place finishes,” Biffle said. “Still, my average finish is sixth. And let’s be honest, nothing says ‘average’ quite like ‘Greg Biffle.’”
3. Kevin Harvick: Harvick was caught up in a lap 24 spin between Regan Smith and Kasey Kahne that collected seven cars, including Harvick’s No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet. Despite extensive damage, Harvick salvaged an 11th at Bristol, and remained second in the point standings, nine behind Greg Biffle.
“Say what you will about Kahne,” Harvick said, “but he was the only Hendrick Motorsports driver who was a factor in the race. Just a few months ago, he was apologizing to breastfeeding mothers. Now, he’s apologizing to expectant fathers. No wonder he’s the ‘red-headed stepchild’ of HMS.”
4. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished ninth at Bristol, scoring his third-straight top-10 finish. It was likely Johnson’s last race with crew chief Chad Knaus before Knaus serves his six race suspension
“NASCAR seems to be unusually vigilant where Knaus is concerned,” Johnson said. “Call it an episode of ‘Queer Eye For The Not-So-Straight Guy,’ if you will. This being March, I’m surprised NASCAR didn’t accuse Chad of having an illegal ‘bracket’ of some sort.
“But I’ll manage without Chad. He’ll return in six weeks rejuvenated. I hear he’s taking a vacation to a mysterious locale. If NASCAR officials ask us where he is,Chad’s instructed us to wink and simply say ‘parts unknown.’”
5. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex finished third at Bristol, leading a parade of Michael Waltrip Racing cars in the top 5. Teammates Clint Bowyer and Brian Vickers came home fourth and fifth, respectively, and Truex jumped four places in the point standings to fourth, 18 out of first.
“Michael Waltrip has assembled quite an organization here,” Truex said. “And, he’s quite entertaining on Showtime’s ‘Inside NASCAR.’ So, that’s at least two things that Michael’s better at being behind than a steering wheel: a desk and a microphone.”
6. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski dominated at Thunder Valley, leading 231 laps and holding off Matt Kenseth to win the Food City 500 at Bristol. The young Penske Racing driver proved that last fall’s Bristol win was no fluke, and gave Dodge its first win of the year.
“The Sprint Cup championship is obviously a goal,” Keselowski said. “But that goal is secondary to reaching 1,000,000 followers on Twitter. As a social media hound, I want to get social medieval on the web’s behinds.
“Of course, there are those that say my penchant for social media interaction can only spell my downfall where the Cup is concerned. Those people are on Facebook, and they believe the writing is on the ‘wall.’”
7. Tony Stewart: Stewart had a top-10 Bristol finish in sight until he was punted into the wall on lap 479 when Brendan Gaughan’s brakes failed. Stewart limped home in 14th, and remained seventh in the point standings, 27 out of first.
“If he continues to wreck superstars like me,” Stewart said, “Gaughan will be out of NASCAR before long. That’s why he’s earned the nickname ‘Going, Going’ Gaughan.”
8. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt survived a run-in with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon to post a 15th-place finish in the Food City 500. Earnhardt was nabbed for speeding on pit road late in the race, an infraction that likely cost him a top-10 finish. He is now tied for fifth in the point standings, 20 out of first.
“What’s Gordon’s biggest complaint about Diet Mountain Dew?” Earnhardt said. “It tastes ‘flat.’”
9. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin started 20th at Bristol and finished in the same position, victimized by handling issues and long green runs that left little opportunities for adjustments. He dropped two spots in the point standings to fifth, and trails Greg Biffle by 20 points.
“I’m tied in the point standings with Dale Earnhardt, Jr.,” Hamlin said. “I made a race out of going nowhere fast; Junior’s made a career of it.”
10. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer, in the 5-Hour Energy No. 15Toyota, finished fourth at Bristol, joining Michael Waltrip Racing teammates Martin Truex, Jr. and Brian Vickers in the top 5. Bowyer improved five places in the point standings to eighth and is 31 out of first.
“I’m confident this car will soon be in Victory Lane,” Bowyer said. “When that happens, I promise to douse everyone there with 5-Hour Energy drink, which may, in fact, take five hours.”
Danica Patrick to take on Prelude to the Dream
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[/media-credit]Danica Patrick announced that she would be running in this year’s prelude to the dream. A lot of people were concerned about her running it, however her Sprint Cup Series car owner Tony Stewart says he’s excited about it.
“I told her ‘don’t feel like you have to come do this,” he says. “She said ‘No, I really want to do this.’ I’m excited for her. I don’t think it’s something that she has had a chance to do very much. It will be fun to get her in an environment that is definitely new to her for sure.”
The Prelude to the Dream is an event which takes professional stock car drivers from different forms of racing and puts them on the Eldora Speedway dirt track in late models. Te event is also used to raise money for charity.
Stewart, who runs Eldora Speedway, has already said that he will give her some lessons before he lets her loose on the dirt track.
Jeff Gordon is also looking forward to seeing her on the dirt as he says, “It’s a fun event. Those cars are a blast to drive.”
This event will mark her first time racing on a dirt track so many are curious to see how she will do in comparison to what she’s done in IndyCar and NASCAR.
Well it may be nice to have her out there to help raise money for charity, it may hurt her learning curve in NASCAR. So far this season, her best finish is a 12th at Las Vegas while her other three finishes have been outside of the top 15. Is spending the time to learn a new form of racing taking away from learning in a stock car? Should she focus on honing her skills?
However, considered how she has handled a loose race car, the hopes don’t look like high for her as an early wreck is predicted. In that respect, it may be a good learning experience as drivers have said that they’ve learned how to drive a loose race car via their dirt background.
While the future may look daunting, she will have the best of the best in the form of the tack owner teaching her so anything is possible.
The eighth annual Prelude to the Dream is schedule for Wednesday June 6th. Fans can buy tickets or watch the race live on HBO Pay-Per-View at 8pm EST.
NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: CALIFORNIA HERE I COME
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[/media-credit]The original title of this article was scheduled to be: CALIFORNIA HERE I COME (NOT !!!!!!)
That’s because it was truly believed by every NASCAR observer on the planet that the proposed penalties against Hendrick Motorsports’ #48 team were going to be upheld following a failed technical inspection prior to the Daytona 500. That meant that crew chief Chad Knaus and car chief Ron Malec were indeed going to be under suspension for six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events and would not be on duty, business as usual, this weekend at the southern California based Auto Club Speedway.
Their presence in California this weekend stems from a stunning decision made March 20th by Chief Appellate Officer John Middlebrook who overturned the decision, made just one week prior, by the National Stock Car Racing Commission. That three member commission upheld NASCAR’s original penalties that included loss of driver and owner’s championship points, the six event suspension for Knaus and Malec, plus a $100,000 fine levied on Knaus.
The latest Chad Knaus related drama for Hendrick Motorsports stems from a February 17th technical inspection, prior to the the initial practice session for the Daytona 500, when it was discovered that the car’s C posts, sheet metal strips that connects the roof to the rear quarter panels, did not appear to be within the measurement tolerance.
Team owner Rick Hendrick immediately filed an appeal and, when the penalties were upheld by the commission panel, he then exercised his right to present his case in front of the appellate officer. From a prepared statement, Middlebrook released the following findings:
1. Rescinding the loss of 25 Sprint Cup Series championship car points for Jeff Gordon.
By the way, Gordon is officially listed as the owner of record of the Hendrick Motorsports #48 team. The decision to reinstate the owner’s points moves the #48 team from 17th to 12th in the owner’s championship standings.
2. Rescinding the loss of 25 Sprint Cup championship points for Jimmie Johnson.
This particular portion of the Middlebrook decision is huge for Johnson and his team. Between a lap two crash in the Daytona 500, combined with the loss of the 25 points from the penalty, Johnson began the 2012 championship run at the bottom of list posting negative points numbers. Three consecutive top ten finishes improved his ranking to 17th. The reinstatement of the 25 championship points moves him to 11th in the standings and once again places him in contention to make the Chase.
3. Rescinding the six Sprint Cup Series championship events suspension for the crew chief, Chad Knaus, and car chief, Ron Malec, however both will remain on NASCAR probation until May 9th.
Obviously this is also huge for Knaus and Malec. They get to remain with their team and do their jobs completely free of the distraction of potential penalties. This is a far better situation that spending the next six races monitoring the #48 team’s progress via computer while telephoning instructions to their substitute counterparts. You really didn’t think they were going to just sit home and relax did you?
4. $100,000 fine remains in place for the crew chief Chad Knaus.
If the first three Middlebrook decisions were regarded as being stunning, then this fourth edict, was, at the very least, perplexing. To many observers it seemed unusual that all of these penalties would be rescinded except this one. Perhaps it’s a warning to Knaus to refrain from the temptations of seeking some sort of competitive advantage for his race car anytime in the near future. After all, it’s not exactly his first time sitting in the NASCAR hot seat. In the past he has managed to compile nine penalties and has been suspended three times. March 20th was actually the second time hes successfully won an appeal.
So what was so different, between two appeals hearings one week apart, that led to this stunning reversal of fortune for Hendrick Motorsports? Unless somewhat makes public statements regarding the closed door hearing we may never know the true answer to that question.
However, you can’t help but wonder if a major factor was the strong defense, and the preparation behind it, presented by Rick Hendrick. All along Hendrick has contended that this was the same race car that ran all four restrictor plate races at Talladega and Daytona last year. It was the same car that won the spring race at Talladega. He also pointed out that, between initial presentations at the NASCAR garage tech center to post race inspections, this same car had been examined at least 19 times. Hendrick reportedly arrived at the final appeals hearing loaded with administrative evidence to support that claim that included 15 pages of documentation, approximately 20 photographs and three official affidavits.
Yet another aspect was the fact that the car’s questionable C posts were discovered by NASCAR officials via a visual inspection while it was parked in the tech line. The posts were removed and confiscated by officials. Hendrick had to contact their shop in Charlotte-North Carolina, order another set of C posts and have them flown to Daytona via a private plane.
The fact that the car was never rolled into the technical center was another major point in Hendrick’s defense presentation. It’s already being suggested that NASCAR officials perhaps made a tactical error at this point by not completing the full inspection procedures. Inside of the tech center officials could have used a special template device, often referred to as “the claw,” that could have been implemented to determine if the posts were indeed a violation of the rules.
So, is this controversial issue finally over? Not quite. There will be a lot of back and forth debate from the media and the fans that will last probably until next Saturday. That’s when it will likely start to fade away.
Hendrick said “it’s been a long 30 days and I’m glad it’s over.” Driver Jimmie Johnson probably put it best, in a “Twitter” message when he wrote: “I’m glad this is over, now it’s on to Cali.” This “Tweet” was responded to by a fan who wrote: “whoo hoo ! I got 25 fantasy points back.”
