Jason White Hits Lottery Again for Joe Denette Motorsports with Best Team Finish
With his Mega Millions lottery winnings in hand, Joe Denette has been living the NASCAR dream , creating his own Camping World Truck Series team, Joe Denette Motorsports, this season.
But Denette’s driver, Jason White, behind the wheel of the No. 23 BunBroker.com Chevrolet, hit the lottery again for him, scoring the team’s best finish ever at Kentucky Speedway this past weekend.
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[/media-credit]After battling eventual race winner Kyle Busch in the final restart, White was able to score his first top-5 finish in 2011 and a career best finish for Joe Denette Motorsports.
“It’s huge,” White said of his finish. “To drive for Joe Denette Motorsports is awesome.”
“The guy was a huge NASCAR fan and hit the lottery and now for his first season to be able to come out and be competitive and to have a chance to win a race was big for him and us,” White continued. “It’s exciting for the team.”
White credits the career best team finish with testing that he and his crew did at Rockingham the week before, along with fellow driver and competitor Ron Hornaday.
“We went testing the week before with Ron Hornaday and we learned a lot, what not to do and what to do,” White said. “I ended up being just as fast as him so the team was all excited about that.”
“We took what we learned there and took it to Kentucky,” White continued. “So, with the setup we came up with at Rockingham, we just fine tuned it.”
White practiced in the top-10 and told his team that he thought they had at least a top-five truck and potentially could win the race.
“I ended up qualifying ninth and even took the lead, going back and forth with Austin Dillon,” White said. “So, that was pretty exciting.”
Unfortunately, White and his team had a problem with the jack during one of the pit stops later in the race and came out in seventh. He was, however, able to charge back to the front of the field, before the caution flew yet again.
“That last restart, we were fourth and so basically went to second in the first turn and came up to Kyle (Busch) and was about to pass him for the lead with three to go and the caution came back out for that big wreck,” White said. “I was like ‘oh, man, I didn’t need that.’
White also knew that the bottom of the track had limited grip and was very slick. On the restart, the young driver spun his tires, allowing Kyle Busch to go on to win the race.
“I would have been OK but Elliott (Sadler) made it three wide and that really hurt us bad,” White said. “He was doing what he had to do, but looking back, if he would have just pushed me or stayed in line, we could have both had a chance on Kyle (Busch).”
“We ended up fifth but it was a great weekend for the entire team,” White continued. “To be able to compete for the win was definitely exciting and we will be able to continue that throughout the rest of the season.”
White was also pleased that he got to lead a few laps at Kentucky Speedway. And, although he has led before, particularly at Bristol, this meant a lot to the young driver.
“I’ve led laps the last couple of years here and there but this year, we’ve got better equipment and better stuff,” White said. “We’re trying to be able to continue on with that for the rest of the season.”
As for race winner and competitor Kyle Busch, White and his team are just a bit tired of continuing to run behind him.
“I learned from him, but I’m just ready to beat him,” White said. “I’m at the point now that I can beat him.”
“If we could have restarted the race the time before, I think we could have gotten him,” White continued. “We had a lot of fun and we learned what we did wrong and will fix it for next time.”
White is definitely looking forward to his next chance, which will come this weekend in the Camping World Truck Series Coca-Cola 200 presented by Hy-Vee at Iowa Speedway.
“I always liked the track,” White said. “We’ve always been fast there.”
“I think we’ll be top-five and contending for the win,” White continued. “If we’re not, I’ll be disappointed.”
“I really believe that with what we learned last week, we should be able to go out and continue to do what we did last week.”
While Joe Denette most definitely feels like he won the lottery twice now after the team’s best career finish, White has reserved his judgment.
“I don’t necessarily feel like I’ve won the lottery yet,” White said. “I need to win a race first.”
“This weekend was a great shot in the arm, it was great for me and it was great for the team,” White continued. “But I want to be able to win. We need to win.”
“This is the momentum we needed to continue for the next few races so we can prove we can go out there and do it,” White said. “Once I win a race, then I’ll say ‘I’ve won the lottery.’
Carl Edwards not ready to wonder if 2011 could be his year
With eight races left before the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup begins and with a firm grasp on the point lead until recently, Carl Edwards still doesn’t want to start thinking about what could be in terms of a championship.
“Man, this thing can change quickly,” said Edwards in Daytona. “You guys know how this works. Look at what Kurt’s [Busch] been doing. They’ve turned things around. They’ve been running spectacularly.”
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[/media-credit]While Busch might be one of the hottest drivers on the circuit, it’s Edwards who has been at the head of the class. He’s won both a point paying race, Las Vegas, and the non-point Sprint All-Star race. Had it not been for the likes of Trevor Bayne or Regan Smith, Edwards could have multiple victories and a bulls-eye on his back when it comes to the championship fight.
Instead, his Roush-Fenway Racing team is satisfied just taking it one week at time. Back running competitively after an ugly 2010 is all they wanted, having the point lead was a bonus considering when the Chase starts teams will be seeded by wins and the lead reset.
Edwards though, who came into 2011 as the pre-season favorite, isn’t concerned about what’s down the road. As far as the Chase is concerned, he wouldn’t even say he thinks he’s locked in because “anything can happen.” Engine failures, wrecks or even getting injured are all reasons Edwards isn’t going to be relieved until the right time.
“Until this season is over, if I’m standing there with the [championship] trophy that would be great” he said. “But I’m going to just keep my head down and keep working because anything can happen, but we have had a very, very good year.”
Perhaps it’s because Edwards has been in this position before that he isn’t ready to take it for granted. In 2008 Edwards sat second in points heading into the Chase, having already won six races. He was going to be the man that dethroned Jimmie Johnson but Edwards, even after going on to win three more races came up 69 points short.
The following two seasons Edwards didn’t come close to contending for the title. The No. 99 team went winless in 2009 and not finding victory lane until the final two races of the 2010 season.
“It’s nice to be disappointed with second-place runs at a lot of these tracks,” Edwards said.
Yes, Edwards has been in this position before and he’s better for it. The last two years, a second place finish would have been like a win for Edwards’ team. While he remained competitive in the Nationwide Series, winning races and contending for a second championship, the Cup program lacked.
Yet, Edwards forged ahead. Grateful for the opportunities that he was given and knowing things would soon change. Away from the track he enjoyed other successes like getting married and having two children. To Edwards, he says he’s won the lottery and is the luckiest man in the world.
Not only does he get to travel to places like Daytona or Indianapolis and do what he loves, he’s become quite good at it. The 2011 season is shaping up to be one of his best, even though Edwards hasn’t been able to win since Las Vegas. But he knows they’re good enough to contend.
“I believe that as a team we’re running well, our cars are fast enough that we don’t have to go make these lunges for life and have crazy strategies, and I don’t have to do wild things on the race track to run well and have chance at winning, so it’s been really good.”
Kentucky Speedway’s inaugural race; Will fans return? Ask Bobby Farvour, he was there!
Kentucky Speedway hosted its inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup race Saturday night. To say that things did not go as planned might be the understatement of the year.
Kyle Busch’s third Cup win this season should have been the big story but all anyone can talk about is the traffic. Countless fans were stuck in traffic for hours as the race began without them. There are even reports of ticket holders who were turned away due to inadequate parking.
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[/media-credit]Everyone agrees that this is completely unacceptable and Kentucky Speedway issued a statement Sunday promising to make sure that “this never happens again.”
But the real question is this. Will fans give Kentucky Speedway a second chance?
I found my answer on Facebook as one of my friends shared his experience. He’s a long time NASCAR fan and always speaks his mind, so I knew he would “tell it like it is.”
This is his journey.
After dropping off the kids at his Mom’s house, he and his wife were on the road to the track a little before 3:00pm.
“We stopped for a sandwich and drink at the drive through and were on our way. We’re on I-65 about 2 hours south of Sparta, so leaving at that time should be fine, even for traffic. I’ve got Claire B. Lang (on the radio) keeping us posted on what’s going on at the track and the traffic.”
The problems began when he hit Louisville, KY and decided to drive straight through on I-65 to I-71 which would take them to Sparta and the Kentucky Speedway.
Unfortunately, the exit to I-71 was closed because a chemical truck had overturned and spilled its cargo all over the highway. After a detour that took them in the wrong direction, finding an exit to take them back in the right direction, a lot of wasted time and a few expletives later, they were finally heading towards the speedway again.
The anticipation was building as they were getting closer to the track when all of a sudden his wife’s smile was replaced by a frantic look as she screamed, “Noooo, you just passed our exit!”
After turning around again, finding the exit again and a few more expletives, they’re once again heading towards the speedway on I-71.
If only they had known that this was just the beginning of their traffic nightmare.
“Off to Sparta. We drove problem free for about the next hour. Claire B. is worrying me with all the traffic talk. I thought surely we’d still make it. Green flag isn’t for over two hours.”
“We hit the traffic 20 miles south of exit 55, the exit that leads to the track. Kentucky Speedway is right off of I-71. You can see it plainly from the Interstate. We’re now 19 miles south of that exit going between 3 and 10 mph. But as long as they keep it moving, we’ll still make it. We sat in this for about an hour, maybe a little more.”
At this point he decided to take a chance on an alternate route. He took exit 44 which took him down a two lane road to Carrollton.
“Excellent decision. It was problem free, 55mph. From Carrollton we took US 42 straight over to 1093, the road the Speedway is on. We turned onto it, drove about a mile down it and then hit the traffic again.”
“We know we’re close. We can’t see the speedway yet. But we’ve passed campgrounds full of NASCAR campers and now there is a scalper walking down the middle of the road. Excitement sets in.”
“Eventually, we start noticing people are parking on the side of the road and walking. We must be close. I say we’re gonna drive a little further and if we don’t see it, we’re parking and walking. The walkers are moving much faster than us.”
“So, off the side we go. Park the car along beside a highway and hope it doesn’t get towed or ticketed. We don’t worry much about theft around here.”
“Some lady in a car rolls her window down and says ‘Hey, you know you got 4 miles to go?’ Then some guys pull up in the ditch beside us and ask if we know how far it is. We say they told us 4 miles, he says ‘Yeah, our GPS says 5.’ So we look at each other and ponder if we want to walk that far.”
“The wife says ‘No.’ I say we ain’t gonna make it in time if we stay in the car. We have a chance if we walk. So off we go walking.”
So they walked and walked and walked some more in over 90 degree temperatures with the bright sun blazing overhead. An hour later, they hear the cars racing.
After about three miles, some farm boy on a four-wheeler comes by and they offer him ten bucks to take them to the gate.
“That air felt great on that four- wheeler. That boy made a killing I bet because there were lots of people walking. There were cars parked all over the side of the road. As late as we are, there are thousands still behind us.”
Tired, hot, thirsty, blistered and angry, they arrive at the gate. But then they look at the track and realize, they’re not there yet.
“Standing at the gate, we see the track, still a mile away, a mile away up a hill! The race is 30 laps old and we hear them stop for the competition caution. Thousands of people are still flowing into the gate.”
“We finally get to the top of the hill, get on the tram and ride the last 200 yards to the ticket gate.”
After all this you might think they would be too tired and too mad to enjoy the race. But like most NASCAR fans, they don’t mind putting up with a few inconveniences to see a good race. Granted, these circumstances were extreme and certainly not the norm for most NASCAR races.
But things could have been worse. They could still be stranded in traffic or worse, sit in traffic all day and then get turned away because there wasn’t enough parking. So with all they went through, they were luckier than some.
“We had a little trouble finding our seats because they aren’t labeled very good, but we found them. They were excellent seats but from the looks of things, every seat is an excellent seat. Pit road is right in front of us and the start/finish line is about 100 yards to the right. You can see the whole track from anywhere.”
“The race was exactly what I expected from a mile and a half oval. Long leads, little passing, stretched out fields, and most cars a lap down. Why anyone wanted to build another mile and a half oval is beyond me. But its racing, NASCAR style. It’s loud, fast, and all the super stars are out there, so I’m cool with it.”
After the race, they began the long walk back to the car. A man stopped and offered them a ride so they hopped up onto the tailgate. They were soon joined by some fellow walkers who also hitched a ride. They sat together, talked racing and in just a few minutes were back at their car.
Right about now you’re probably asking yourself, “Will they go back next year?” The answer might surprise you.
“Overall, the experience was less than stellar. Too much time spent getting in and not enough time spent enjoying the race experience but the facility is good.”
“NASCAR is as much about the camaraderie as it is the racing. To be fully enjoyed, and I knew this before hand, one has to go set up camp and stay a few days. Traffic sucks at all of them, though not at this level. Driving in, watching a race, and going home isn’t the way to enjoy NASCAR. But, it wasn’t in the cards to do that this year, and I wasn’t missing the inaugural.”
“Many people said they won’t return. I will.”
Thanks to Bobby and Kim Farvour for sharing their story.
*Monday, Kentucky Speedway issued an apology and outlined a ticket exchange program. For more details please click on the link below. http://www.kentuckyspeedway.com/newsline/news.aspx?newsID=1038
The Final Word – Raise your hands if you loved Kentucky…anyone?
What excitement Kentucky brought us last Saturday night. Let me see if I have it right. Kurt led, then Kyle, Brad for a while, before Kyle did it in style as few can do for career Cup win #22. Oh, Jamie blew up, Junior came in for two when he needed at least three, and after a pair of late cautions, Reutimann, Johnson, Newman and Edwards came out of no where for Top Fives. That pretty much sums it up. Did I mention that the televised version was boring as hell?
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[/media-credit]Okay, so Bruton Smith, who owns pretty much everything the France family hasn’t already tied down, promises that Kentucky will soon become THE place to go to watch a NASCAR race. Maybe he is right. I heard him talk about how they needed to fix the terrible interstate feeding into the facility, how he planned another 150 acres for parking. Maybe somewhere in there he promised to bulldoze the place and start anew and I just missed it.
That isn’t to say that the 107,000 fans who took up the challenge to fight their way to the facility did not get their money’s worth. The televised version is nothing like the real deal. You might see some things better or closer up from the couch, but you not only hear the roar of the engines, you feel them when you are there, and there is nothing better than to watch it all under the lights. However, the best way to watch this from home was with the PVR, with all those commercials a lot easier on the conscience to flip by than the so-called action. Kentucky provided a race, not a broadcast spectacular. Heck, due to rain, it didn’t even give us a Waltrip as Michael’s qualifying run in that car saluting his Hall of Fame brother got washed out.
Daytona and Infineon gave us something to watch, If Loudon doesn’t do the same this weekend, I’m sure Indianapolis will in a couple of weeks. What Kentucky did was it moved Kyle Busch into a first place tie with Kevin Harvick, with 3 wins apiece, with Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon each with a pair. Thanks to his win at Daytona, David Ragan has one wild card spot, with Tony Stewart currently holding down the last one. Brad Keselowski has a win but remains three points shy of the 20th place spot that would give him that final place in the Chase. Once again you have proof that you don’t need exciting racing to provide interesting statistics.
I just would rather have both. Enjoy your week.
