Scott Steckly Wins Komatsu 300 at Riverside International Speedway, Extending Points Lead
After a fierce battle, it’d be Scott Steckly coming out on top in the Komatsu 300 presented by Wilson Equipment at Riverside International Speedway on Saturday to take the victory and extend his points lead.
“It was the best day possible,” the driver of the No. 22 Canadian Tire/MotoMaster Dodge said. “We were the fastest car in practice, won the pole and won the race. I can’t ask for much more than that.”
Steckly had a racecar driver’s dream day as he was the quickest car in practice and in qualifying.
“Last year, we came in here and were fastest in practice and qualifying, but came up a little short in the race and finished second,” he stated. “We came here to win the race and my crew came up with a little different pit strategy than what we did last year and it worked out for the best.”
The victory marks his third of the season and the 11th of his career as the 2008 series champion goes for his second championship. He now leads DJ Kennington by 94 points.
“We didn’t come here looking to protect the points lead,” Steckly commented. “We wanted to leave here with as big of a lead as possible going into Kawartha. Earlier this year, we lost 80 points at Saskatoon, so we came into the race looking to expand the lead, not protect it.”
The final 100 laps went green, which worked against Shepherd as he would’ve like to come down pit road for right-side tires.
“It would have been nice to get a caution there toward the end to get new right sides, but you never know how that might have worked out,” Shepherd, who scored his third top-five of the year in six starts, said.. “With the way it worked out, I could catch (Steckly), but I was never going to get around him. There just wasn’t enough left.”
Donald Chisholm would get a series best finish, racing on his home track, after passing Kennington for third.
“Obviously, I wanted to get around (Kennington), but tapping him like that was not intentional,” Chisholm commented. That’s not how I had it planned. It was great, though, to turn in a good performance here at home.”
Kennington would finish fourth with Kerry Micks in fifth. J.R. Fitzpatrick would get sixth, followed by Jason Hathaway, Ron Beauchamp Jr., Chris Raabe and Mark Dilley.
The race was slowed due to caution just two times for 32 laps while the lead changed hands eight times among four drivers with Steckly leading a race-high 194 laps.
The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series closes out the 2011 season on Saturday, Sept. 24 in the Kawartha 250 at Kawartha Speedway in Fraserville, Ont.
Geico 400 Postponed Until Monday 12:00 Noon Eastern
After a day of trying to dry the track NASCAR officials almost had the track ready to go when the rains came yet again about 6:30 Central Time so they finally called it day and rescheduled the race until Monday 12 noon eastern time, 11 AM local. Reports indicated that the race would be broadcast on ESPN.
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Brad Keselowski Says Cup Success Not Connected to Sitting Out of Nationwide Car
It’s been a popular topic of conversation for years. Lately though, it hasn’t been Kyle Busch or Carl Edwards name included in the discussion about whether Sprint Cup Series drivers should compete in the Nationwide Series.
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[/media-credit]The red-hot Brad Keselowski has been at the top of list after he stepped away from his NNS ride following a crash testing his Cup car last month. While Keselowski watched other drivers take turns behind the wheel of his No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge, he won two Cup races and skyrocketed to a wildcard position. Then he earned a spot in the Chase for the first time in only his second attempt.
Keselowski though, has returned to his NNS duties and he won for the first time since on Saturday in Chicago. It’s also the site of the first race in the 2011 Chase, which Keselowski starts from the 11th seeded position and sixth on the starting grid.
When asked about his time away from the NNS, Keselowski seemed taken aback by its implications. He too, has heard about Cup drivers ruining the lower series or how they should focus on Cup. In his case though, he says there has been no correlation.
“I don’t think it’s fair,” Keselowski said about him running well in Cup because he didn’t run Nationwide. “I don’t think it’s fair to a lot of different people or to reality. The reality of it is we have become more successful as a team as we’ve been able to execute the weekend on the Cup side. Part of the reasons why we’re executing the weekend better are just plain luck.”
Cautions flying at the wrong times or having flat tires didn’t have anything to do with him running the Nationwide car the day before says Keselowski. Because of such he says he doesn’t connect Cup and Nationwide performance but understands that it’s easy for others to. And that it’s easy to say that when he stopped running the NNS his average finish on the Cup side got better.
“Sometimes you have to look at it in a bigger picture than that,” said Keselowski. “Than a simple stat and I feel that I’ve been able to do that and I don’t see where the two are connected. And I see the bigger picture, which was the reason I cam into the Nationwide Series with Penske Racing to begin with, the bigger picture of training people and giving opportunities to future superstars in our sport and that doesn’t mean drivers.”
According to Keselowski his involvement is to help find the next great mechanic, tire changer, crew chief or any other individual who needs and is looking for a shot. He wants to be apart of what takes place and in order to do so he must work alongside them by driving the car. If not that, Keselowski sees other positives to his double duties.
“Maybe it’s as simple as putting a part on the Nationwide car that we’ve been running on the Cup car and it breaks and we take it off before the Chase starts,” he said. “Maybe it’s that simple but there’s so many ways that I think it helps. I want to be a part of it. I was a part of getting the sponsor in here, Discount Tire, to run the Nationwide program and without them this program wouldn’t be possible.”
If Keselowski was to turn around and change his mind about running the NNS, he said it would be hurting a lot of people. After coming to Penske and winning the 2010 championship he wasn’t about to act like he got what he wanted and then didn’t have need for them. Instead, he’s perfectly happy where he’s at, what he’s done and what he continues to do.
“The last thing I was going to do was stab them in the back and leave the Nationwide car just because of a stat that I don’t believe to begin with,” Keselowski said. “Without them quite honestly I don’t feel like I could be where I’m at right now and I wasn’t going to leave and stab them in the back just because it wasn’t convenient for me.”
While some would say that it would be convenient for Keselowski to focus solely on Cup now that the Chase is starting, he’s still running Nationwide and winning. Saturday was his third victory of the season and it came in dominating fashion after starting second and leading 158 of 200 laps. He posted a perfect driver rating of 150 on his way to a seven second win margin.
Time will tell if his continued NNS succeeds leads Keselowski toward putting up a good challenge for the Cup title. Crew chief Todd Gordon though, agrees with Keselowski running both series, saying he has a ton of talent that helps out the Penske organization.
In going along with his driver’s point about finding new stars, he revealed that an engineer the No. 22 team started with at the beginning of the year has since moved up to the Cup Series. To Gordon his driver is the whole package.
“To speak of his double duty, his passion and desire for racecars is 24/7,” said Gordon. “It was 10:40 [Friday night], I was frankly asleep but my phone goes off and what is it? It’s Brad because he’s got some questions about some things we can do to make our racecars better. He eats, sleeps, breathes racecars and with that I think he does a very good job of handling the two.”
The Chase is On – Here’s What the Drivers are Saying
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase field has been set and the contenders have been all over the country in a media blitz. Each of the 10 tracks that are included in the Chase hosted one of the 12 Chase drivers. They participated in everything from go-kart races to pep rallies to golfing and more.
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[/media-credit]The media has made their picks and the fans have weighed in.
Now it’s time to hear from the drivers.
It’s no surprise that five-time champ Jimmie Johnson is on everyone’s mind.
Although some have suggested that he may be more vulnerable this year, Kevin Harvick is not buying it.
“I heard the same conversation last year. They’re still the team to beat. They’ve won it so many different ways.”
But the other drivers are still hoping that Johnson will falter. Brad Keselowski quipped, “He is human, right?”
Jeff Gordon is looking forward to the Chase and thinks this could be the year he captures his fifth championship.
“I’m excited about going to the race track every weekend,” said Gordon. When I won my four championships, it was under the old format. You had to be consistent, and yeah, you had to win, but at the end you were trying to beat two or three guys. With this format you’re going up against 11 other guys. But I do think this is the best chance we’ve ever had at winning the championship [in the Chase].”
And while many consider Dale Earnhardt Jr. an underdog going into the Chase, he feels like he has a shot.
“I’m going in with the attitude that we have as good a chance as anybody. The opportunity is on the table. We’re going to make the most of it.”
One sentiment echoed by many of the drivers is that there is nothing to lose and everything to gain. This is what they have been working toward all season long and each race will bring them one step closer to their goal.
Kurt Busch, who has been in the spotlight lately because of his rivalry with Johnson, is ready to leave the past behind and focus on winning a second championship.
“The Chase is intense. Every year you have your rivalries. I have a sibling rivalry with my brother Kyle, too. But you have to put that stuff away.”
Tony Stewart thinks this is the toughest group of drivers we’ve ever seen in the Chase.
Stewart went on to add that “Realistically, there’s seven guys who really have a shot at winning this thing.”
In no particular order, Stewart’s top seven picks include Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman and Brad Keselowski.
It should be noted that he doesn’t include his name on the list of potential championship winners and says “I feel like we’re the underdog right now.”
The reigning champ, Jimmie Johnson, heads into the Chase feeling confident that the possibility of a sixth consecutive championship is within his grasp.
“We’re in a good spot,” said Johnson. “Our win total isn’t what it’s been in the past, but we’ve had opportunities.”
As the first race approaches this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway, it’s time to get down to business.
Stay tuned for Round One of the Chase. The real fun is about to begin.
