[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”238″][/media-credit]1. Tony Stewart: Stewart zoomed past Clint Bowyer’s sputtering No. 33 Chevrolet with two laps to go at New Hampshire, capturing his second-straight win and moving to the top of the Sprint Cup point standings. Stewart is 2 for 2 in the Chase and now leads Kevin Harvick by seven points.

“I was past Bowyer in a flash,” Stewart said. “I saw ‘Cheerios’ then said my ‘bye bye’s.’ I left Bowyer faster than Richard Childress.

“As I cryptically stated before, we turned things around by unloading some ‘dead weight.’ A Stewart-Haas press release states that no further clarification of what or who ‘dead weight’ is or was is forthcoming. The ‘weight’ is over, and as soon as I have a bad finish and need a convenient scapegoat, the ‘wait’ will be over, and I’ll name names.”

2. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski charged late to finish second in theSylvania300, earning his fifth finish of third of better in the last eight races. He leaped three spots in the point standings to third, and now trails Tony Stewart by 11.

“I’m just curious,” Keselowski said. “If I win a race in the Chase, do I get credit for it?

“Anyway, for anyone who’s doubted my ability as a viable championship contender, this should prove once and for all that I can win it all. I’m no longer just a ‘Cinderella’ story, but I’ve ‘made believers’ out of many.”

3. Jeff Gordon: Gordon led a race-high 78 laps, and looked to be on his way to the win before a problem on a gas can exchange on his final pit stop dropped him back in the field. He finished third and vaulted six spots in the point standings to fifth, 23 out of first.

“If it’s not another team sabotaging a sure win,” Gordon said, “it’s my own. When you have a car as good as the No. 24 Chevy was on Sunday, you should ‘get more out’ of it than a third place. By that same token, my re-fuelers should ‘get more in.’”

4. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished eighth at New Hampshire, posting his series-best 19^th top-10 result of the year, and second of the Chase. He sits fourth in the point standings, 14 out of first.

“Tony Stewart and the No. 14 team are peaking at the right time,” Edwards said, “which happens to be six months later than I did.”

5. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished a disappointing12^th in the Sylvania 300, as a stop for fuel left him mired in traffic and unable to make a run towards the front. He dropped out of the lead in the point standings, but trails new leader Tony Stewart by only seven points.

“I really could have used a teammate’s spin,” Harvick said, “but I think it would have been too much to ask Clint Bowyer to spin while he was leading the race. Clint, understandably, isn’t willing to ‘take one for the team’ because Richard Childress is willing to ‘take one from the team.’”

6. Kyle Busch: Busch finished a lackluster 11^th at Loudon, as an ill-handling car left him frustrated. After entering the Chase For The Cup on top of the standings, he’s fallen into a tie for sixth, 26 out of first.

“I’m running myself right out of championship contention,” Busch said. “I ‘took a bow’ four times during the regular season. I think I’ve got one more in my. That would be my ‘final bow,’ because it’s ‘curtains’ for my title hopes.”

7. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished a solid sixth at Loudon as all four Roush Fenway cars cracked the top 10. Kenseth jumped four spots in the standings and is now tied for sixth, 26 behind Tony Stewart.

“Roush Fenway has two cars in the Chase,” Kenseth said, “and two cars out of the Chase. And four cars with no chance of winning the Sprint Cup.”

8. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson was competitive early in the Sylvania300, but faded late after contact with Kyle Busch. He finished 18^th and tumbled two places to tenth in the point standings. It’s the first time Johnson has ever been lower than ninth in the Chase standings.

“Most people are saying it’s time to show ‘what we’re made of,’” Johnson said. “That’s wrong. I know what we’re made of—five Cups of championship.”

9. Ryan Newman: Newman started from the pole and led the first 62 laps at Loudon, only to see a solid finish derailed by a loose right front wheel five laps from the end. He finished a lap down in 25^th and dropped five places in the points to 11^th.

“Me and Tony finished 1-2 here back in July,” Newman said. “I guess I didn’t hold up my end of the bargain this time. I felt like the ‘third wheel’ this time, thanks to my fourth wheel.”

10. Kurt Busch: Busch’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge failed pre-race inspection and was late to pit road before the start of the Sylvania300. He finished 22^nd and dropped five places to ninth in the point standings.

“You heard right,” Busch said. “The ‘F’ word was uttered on live television—the ‘fail’ word. NASCAR said the car’s rear-end housing didn’t fit the templates. It was too high. I’ll tell what’s not too high—my opinion of this team.”

HOORAHS AND WAZZUPS: A ‘FUELISH’ SUNDAY AFTERNOON IN LOUDON, NEW HAMPSHIRE

By

SM Staff

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September 27, 2011

During the previous NASCAR weekend at New Hampshire we witnessed yet another race that was impacted by fuel mileage. We pondered the theory of how losing “dead weight” could lead to two, consecutive, Chase wins. We were surprised to learn that a championship crew chief is actually a lousy cheerleader and we learned the importance of punctuality on race day morning. With those thoughts in mind, let’s begin with:

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”241″][/media-credit]HOORAH to Tony Stewart, and everyone from Stewart-Haas Racing, for winning the Sylvania 300 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The event marked Stewart’s second, consecutive, win in six days. Of equal importance is the fact that Stewart is now on top of the Chase standings with a seven point lead over Kevin Harvick.

WAZZUP with the Sylvania 300 becoming another NASCAR fuel mileage race? Stewart claimed the win after race leader Clint Bowyer ran out of gas with two laps remaining. The ending of this race was a simple case of reversal of fortune. Last year it was Stewart who ran out of gas at the end the race and handed the win to Bowyer.

HOORAH to Bowyer for meeting Stewart, at the entry road to victory lane, to shake his hand and congratulate him. It was a very classy thing to do.

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WAZZUP with that odd comment the race winner made but refused to explain? In a post race television interview Stewart announced that he had managed to recently ‘get rid of some dead weight” and that was a factor in his New Hampshire win. Later, during the post race press conference in the media center, Stewart refused to explain what the comment meant and made it clear he had nothing further to say on the issue. Afterwards there was some speculation that he may have been referring to a personal matter. If that’s the case then the media should drop it and move on. However, if it’s indeed a personal matter then WAZZUP with those personal comments being made on live television? Stewart surely must have known that a comment like that was going to raise the curiosity of the media.

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On the topic of curious comments, WAZZUP with that in car radio comment by Jimmie Johnson when he told crew chief Chad Knaus that his efforts at cheer leading were “terrible” and “annoying”? Despite being heavily favored to win this race,Johnson and company had a less than stellar day with a car that just wouldn’t handle properly. A late race fender collision with Kyle Busch’s car didn’t help the matter either. The team finished 18th and dropped to tenth in the Chase standings.

WAZZUP with all of that post race speculation that claims Chase tension has now created a riff between the dynamic duo of Johnson and Knaus? WAZZUP with speculation that claims their drive for a sixth, consecutive, championship has been derailed? Does anyone really believe that at this early point in time? I don’t.

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WAZZUP with that eyebrow raising pre race inspection scenario involving Kurt Busch’s Penske Racing Dodge? During a final pre race inspection, NASCAR tech officials determined that the rear end housing was out of line and required an adjustment. This was a relatively quick fix but, much to the amazement of the team, NASCAR held the car at the tech center until approximately ten minutes prior to the time to start the engines for the race.

HOORAH to NASCAR for making that call. It seems that the Penske #22 team recently has developed a bad habit of showing up late for inspections with a car that sometimes requires time consuming adjustments. NASCAR decided it was time to teach this team a lesson. There will be no penaltys regarding this matter according to NASCAR officials. The embarrassment of the incident was plenty and team owner Roger Penske has already said it won’t happen again.

WAZZUP with the #22 team literally having to push their car to the pit road starting grid at a full running gallop? Talk about speeding on pit road.

WAZZUP with the frequently tempestuous Kurt Busch, lighting up his famous short fuse, while waiting for his car to arrive? When approached by a pit road ESPN camera crew and reporter for a comment, Busch waved them off and followed that up with a rude tirade that found its way to a live television microphone. Busch’s tirade reportedly contained a certain word that begins with the letter F. That led to a public apology, rendered by Alan Beswick from the ESPN broadcast booth, for offensive language that went out over the air. But, WAZZUP with the strange timing of that apology? From the time the words were said to the time of the apology a full three hours had gone by.

WAZZUP with a still angry Busch performing his usual live on the air show, via his in car radio system, where once again he began verbally abusing his team about the state of his car? He finished 22nd and dropped to ninth in the Chase standings. I can’t imagine what it must be like at times working for this driver.

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On a much brighter note for Penske Racing, HOORAH to Brad Keselowski, and his Paul Wolfe led Miller Lite team, for their second place finish at New Hampshire. The combination of good calls from the pit box, good pit stops and even better fuel mileage led to that finish. A team that was never expected to make the Chase line up at all is now third in the standings and only 11 points from the top. Do you think that Keselowski’s hot summer streak is perhaps sticking in team mate Kurt Busch’s craw just a little? Yeah, I do too.

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HOORAH to Chase contender Jeff Gordon for a fourth place finish that came following trying circumstances. At lap 70 Gordon came down pit road rolling silent and completely out of gas. The lengthy pit stop cost him a ton of track position. With 35 laps remaining, Gordon was told he had to conserve fuel reportedly because the exchange of the team’s gas cans didn’t quite fill the car’s gas tank during the previous pit stop. Despite those distractions, Gordon still managed to finish fourth and elevate himself to fifth in the Chase standings. It appears that the four time Sprint Cup champion’s drive for five is still strong.

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WAZZUP with the performances of the two Chase contenders from Joe Gibbs Racing? Both Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin were considered to be pre race favorites to take the win at New Hampshire. Busch’s Toyota was never really a factor and finished 11th without so much as leading a single lap. In the two Chase races, Busch has now dropped from first to sixth in the standings. The speculation regarding this team’s tendency to choke during the Chase has already begun.

After a devastating finish last week in Chicago, Hamlin seriously needed a good run in New Hampshire to reaffirm his Chase hopes. He had one in the making and was running in the top ten when he had to come to pit road out of gas with only five laps in the race. He remains last in the 12 man Chase standings and any hopes for a championship are virtually gone.

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HOORAH to Kyle Busch for a stunning win in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at New Hampshire. Busch led 165 laps, of the F W Webb 175, in a dominant performance that literally stunk up the live SPEED Channel broadcast. The win was his sixth of the season and 30th in his truck career.

HOORAH to Austin Dillon whose second place finish in this race allowed him to take over the lead in the series’ point standings. Dillon holds a very slim three point advantage over James Buescher in a championship run that is expected to go down to the final race of the season.

WAZZUP with the pit road woes of Joey Coulter during the New Hampshire truck race? The young development driver, for Richard Childress Racing, was running third when he came down pit road for his final stop. Unfortunately he was caught speeding on pit road and had to come back to serve a penalty. Then he was penalized again for, you guessed it, speeding while exiting pit road. You live and learn.

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In some final thoughts, HOORAH to Mother Nature for allowing us to return to NASCAR Sprint Cup racing on Sundays again. We were beginning to wonder if we were ever going to see that again.

HOORAH to NASCAR’s Whelen Modified Racing Series for an outstanding race on Saturday morning which was won by Ronnie Silk. This event was, hands down, the class act of the entire New Hampshire racing weekend. I’d really like to see more of this series on national television.

The final WAZZUP goes the stressed out Sprint Cup crew chiefs who found themselves, once again, having to deal with the massive tension that comes with a fuel mileage race. Judging from the video shots of them sitting on their pit boxes, it appeared that they were suffering from the pain of constipation. That’s yet another reason why fuel mileage races are a bad situation.