Crafton nudges Dillon for second career win
[/media-credit]Matt Crafton broke a 79 race winless streak and recorded his second win at Iowa Speedway on Saturday, nudging defending race winner Austin Dillon by two car lengths at the stripe.
Crafton’s last win came at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 16, 2008. His victory also broke the streak of pole winners going on to win the race at Iowa Speedway’s two races.
“It’s a huge momentum builder. It was awesome. It was a long time since 2008.” Crafton said.
Dillon dominated for most of the night until a bad late pit stop placed him back in eight place on the restart.
“I don’t know what happened. I saw they stumbled in the front, lost a tire. Never got an explanation. My guys do a great job on pit row, and (Saturday) night wasn’t their night.” Dillon said.
Pole sitter David Mayhew led a few laps at the beginning of the race, finishing third. Johnny Sauter and Joey Coulter rounded out the top five finishers.
Dillon fell short of making it a Dillon family sweep after his brother Ty Dillon won the ARCA Series race held before the Truck Series event.
Dillon now trails Sauter by 22 points in the Camping World Truck Series driver standings.
“I’m really proud of Matt tonight, he earned this win. ThorSport Racing just moved all its racing operations this week into the new shop, and the guys are all working overtime. To come out here and get a win and a top five finish after a really long week in the shop, that’s pretty amazing. We had more in us on the No. 13 Safe Auto/Karl Chevrolet team tonight, but we’ll take a top five after all that happened to us in this race. It’s a solid finish, and we’ll build on that into Nashville.” Sauter said.
| Unofficial Race Results | |||||
| Coca-Cola 200 presented by Hy-Vee, Iowa Speedway | |||||
| http://www.speedwaymedia.com/truckseries/race.php?race=11 | |||||
| ============================================== | |||||
| Pos. | St. | No. | Driver | Make | Points |
| ============================================== | |||||
| 1 | 11 | 88 | Matt Crafton | Chevrolet | 47 |
| 2 | 5 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Chevrolet | 44 |
| 3 | 1 | 2 | David Mayhew | Chevrolet | 42 |
| 4 | 6 | 13 | Johnny Sauter | Chevrolet | 41 |
| 5 | 2 | 22 | Joey Coulter * | Chevrolet | 39 |
| 6 | 14 | 60 | Cole Whitt * | Chevrolet | 38 |
| 7 | 3 | 31 | James Buescher | Chevrolet | 37 |
| 8 | 10 | 8 | Nelson Piquet Jr. * | Chevrolet | 36 |
| 9 | 32 | 81 | David Starr | Toyota | 35 |
| 10 | 21 | 5 | Todd Bodine | Toyota | 35 |
| 11 | 4 | 17 | Timothy Peters | Toyota | 33 |
| 12 | 9 | 46 | Justin Lofton | Toyota | 32 |
| 13 | 13 | 32 | Steve Arpin | Chevrolet | 31 |
| 14 | 7 | 18 | Brian Ickler | Toyota | 30 |
| 15 | 12 | 7 | Miguel Paludo * | Toyota | 29 |
| 16 | 19 | 62 | Brendan Gaughan | Toyota | 28 |
| 17 | 20 | 92 | Clay Rogers | Chevrolet | 27 |
| 18 | 23 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | Chevrolet | 26 |
| 19 | 18 | 33 | Ron Hornaday | Chevrolet | 25 |
| 20 | 17 | 9 | Max Papis | Toyota | 24 |
| 21 | 25 | 98 | Dakoda Armstrong | Chevrolet | 23 |
| 22 | 8 | 29 | Parker Kligerman * | Dodge | 22 |
| 23 | 27 | 102 | Jamie Dick | Chevrolet | 21 |
| 24 | 28 | 7 | Caleb Roark | Chevrolet | 20 |
| 25 | 16 | 23 | Jason White | Chevrolet | 19 |
| 26 | 30 | 57 | Norm Benning | Chevrolet | 18 |
| 27 | 22 | 4 | Ricky Carmichael | Chevrolet | 17 |
| 28 | 15 | 66 | Justin Marks | Chevrolet | 15 |
| 29 | 24 | 63 | Jack Smith | Ford | 0 |
| 30 | 26 | 93 | Mike Garvey | Chevrolet | 14 |
| 31 | 29 | 296 | Todd Peck | Chevrolet | 13 |
| 32 | 31 | 175 | Greg Seevers | Chevrolet | 0 |
Kyle Busch Marks 100th Victory in All Three Series With 49th Nationwide Win
Kyle Busch not only won the New England 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but he also tied Mark Martin as the record holder for Nationwide wins at 49. And for good measure, Busch became just the third driver to score 100 NASCAR national series victories.
[media-credit name=”Kirk Schroll” align=”alignright” width=”227″]
[/media-credit]The 26 year old driver from Las Vegas, Nevada has won 22 times in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, 49 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and 29 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Busch is now third in the ranking of NASCAR National Series wins, behind Richard Petty, with 200, and David Person with 106.
Busch has won at 25 different tracks, including achieving an historic first three-race weekend sweep at Bristol. He is ranked 28th with Terry Labonte in NASCAR Sprint Cup victories.
“It certainly feels good and it means a lot,” Busch said. “To come out here and win for Z-Line Designs and get the 49th win in their car, we couldn’t do it without their support.”
“To tie Mark Martin’s win is pretty awesome as well.”
Speaking of Mark Martin, he was one of the first to find Busch in Victory Lane and congratulate him.
“It’s just incredible,” Martin said of Busch tying his record. “Everybody forgets that he’s 26 years old. There’s so many more out there for him.”
Busch had to do battle with his nemesis and probation partner Kevin Harvick, behind the wheel of the No. 33 Rheem Heating, Cooling and Water Heating Chevrolet, at the end of the race. Harvick finished in the runner up position and attributed his not winning the race to being warned by NASCAR.
“I was told a few weeks ago that if we touched the 18 car, we’d be parked,” Harvick said. “I just had to be really careful and that’s just the way NASCAR put it to me.”
“It would have been a lot easier to win if you didn’t have handcuffs put on you.”
Even though Harvick did not win the race, he, like Busch, achieved his own record when the checkered flag flew. Harvick scored his 199th top-10 finish, which is an all-time record in the Nationwide Series.
“We’ve been fortunate to have a lot of fun in this Series since it first started,” Harvick said. “I just came up one short.”
Kasey Kahne, driving the No. 7 GoDaddy.com/Verisign Chevrolet, followed closely behind Harvick, coming in third. This was Kahne’s third top-10 finish in four races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
“We were a seventh or eighth place car,” Kahne said. “My car was bouncing pretty bad throughout the race. But we were able to miss some of those wrecks and got up to third.”
“It ended up being a pretty good result.”
After spinning on Lap 33, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. recovered to come in fourth. The driver of the No. 6 Fenway Park 100 Years Ford admitted to having a pretty good run after his early error.
“I made a mistake there early trying to get by the 31,” Stenhouse, Jr. said. “He was holding everybody up and I tried to push the issue too hard.”
“We got in there and got too tight and spun the car around there,” Stenhouse, Jr. continued. “This Red Sox Fenway Park 100 Year’s edition is a cool looking car and I wish we could have gotten it into victory lane.”
Aric Almirola, behind the wheel of No. 88 Grand Touring Vodka Chevrolet, rounded out the top five.
“We were a top ten car off the truck so to come out with a top five has been good,” Almirola said. “Everybody at JR Motorsports has been working their guts out.”
“So, it’s fun to come and have a good weekend and put it all together and show off some of the hard work the guys have been doing back at the shop.”
There was plenty of action throughout the race, from Carl Edwards blowing an engine and returning to his seat in the broadcast booth to several on-track altercations involving Rusty Wallace’s son and driver Steve Wallace.
The driver of the No. 60 Fastenal Ford Mustang blamed a broken value or broken valve spring on his falling out of the race.
“Something just broke,” Edwards said. “You don’t really know until you get it apart but I did shut it off early so we should be able to troubleshoot and look at it to see what was actually broken.”
Steve Wallace, driver of the No. 66 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry, also had an eventful race, but in a different way than Edwards. He was at the heart of several racing incidents and eventually spun out and wrecked at the end.
“I really like Jason Leffler a lot – I get along with him really, really well,” Wallace said of one of his altercations. “He hit me about five or six different times today and he cut up in front of me and spun himself out.”
“It’s as simple as that,” Wallace continued. “Got in the back of the 20 (Joey Logano) there and just a lot of things happened today – some were my fault and some were not.”
Joey Logano, one of those who was caught up with Wallace in one of the incidents, had his own take on the on-track tussle.
“The 66 (Steve Wallace) just drove in there a little too high and got us,” Logano said. “That was the end of our day.
| Unofficial Race Results | |||||
| New England 200, New Hampshire Motor Speedway | |||||
| http://www.speedwaymedia.com/n2s/race.php?race=19 | |||||
| ========================================= | |||||
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Make | Points | |
| ========================================= | |||||
| 1 | 5 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Toyota | 0 |
| 2 | 2 | 33 | Kevin Harvick | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 3 | 12 | 7 | Kasey Kahne | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 4 | 14 | 6 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Ford | 41 |
| 5 | 4 | 88 | Aric Almirola | Chevrolet | 39 |
| 6 | 13 | 9 | Kenny Wallace | Toyota | 39 |
| 7 | 18 | 62 | Michael Annett | Toyota | 37 |
| 8 | 1 | 22 | Brad Keselowski | Dodge | 0 |
| 9 | 17 | 66 | Steve Wallace | Toyota | 35 |
| 10 | 8 | 31 | Justin Allgaier | Chevrolet | 34 |
| 11 | 16 | 87 | Joe Nemechek | Toyota | 33 |
| 12 | 15 | 2 | Elliott Sadler | Chevrolet | 32 |
| 13 | 7 | 16 | Trevor Bayne | Ford | 32 |
| 14 | 20 | 19 | Mike Bliss | Chevrolet | 30 |
| 15 | 6 | 32 | Reed Sorenson | Chevrolet | 29 |
| 16 | 19 | 30 | Mikey Kile | Chevrolet | 28 |
| 17 | 9 | 11 | Brian Scott | Toyota | 27 |
| 18 | 25 | 81 | Blake Koch * | Dodge | 26 |
| 19 | 26 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Chevrolet | 25 |
| 20 | 23 | 14 | Eric McClure | Chevrolet | 24 |
| 21 | 27 | 89 | Morgan Shepherd | Chevrolet | 23 |
| 22 | 28 | 40 | Charles Lewandoski * | Chevrolet | 22 |
| 23 | 24 | 15 | Timmy Hill * | Ford | 21 |
| 24 | 36 | 52 | Kevin Lepage | Chevrolet | 20 |
| 25 | 39 | 44 | Angela Cope | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 26 | 35 | 39 | Matt Frahm | Ford | 18 |
| 27 | 22 | 1 | Mike Wallace | Chevrolet | 17 |
| 28 | 21 | 167 | Andrew Ranger | Ford | 0 |
| 29 | 3 | 20 | Joey Logano | Toyota | 0 |
| 30 | 11 | 38 | Jason Leffler | Chevrolet | 14 |
| 31 | 31 | 28 | Derrike Cope | Chevrolet | 13 |
| 32 | 34 | 70 | Dennis Setzer | Dodge | 12 |
| 33 | 30 | 23 | David Green | Chevrolet | 11 |
| 34 | 10 | 60 | Carl Edwards | Ford | 0 |
| 35 | 42 | 113 | Jennifer Jo Cobb * | Dodge | 9 |
| 36 | 40 | 141 | Carl Long | Ford | 8 |
| 37 | 29 | 174 | Mike Harmon | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 38 | 38 | 175 | Johnny Chapman | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 39 | 33 | 146 | Chase Miller | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 40 | 41 | 104 | Danny Efland | Ford | 4 |
| 41 | 32 | 142 | Tim Andrews | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 42 | 37 | 147 | Scott Wimmer | Chevrolet | 2 |
Smith responds….. ‘Las Vegas, Baby!’
Just after it had appeared that the animosity from the traffic debacle at Kentucky Speedway had somewhat subsided, Bruton Smith, who is Speedway Motorsports, opened up another can of hard feelings on Friday. He should have hidden from the media.
[media-credit id=24 align=”alignright” width=”229″]
[/media-credit]After saying he was sorry that he was sorry that fans had to endure the mess that was created when over 100,000 fans tried to enter the speedway, he let loose with some inflammatory comments that may have made things worse. He got some things right and some things terribly wrong, but those of us who admire Smith for his expertise in putting on good shows at his tracks and the general convenience of his properties, had to pause as he made his comments.
Bruton got some things right. Two two-car drafting at Daytona and Talladega is an abomination. This Restrictor Plate Two-Step is simply not racing. It puts a driver in an unnatural position of settling for second place—pushing the car—instead of racing. It should be fixed. Smith’s comments that he would fix Kentucky’s traffic problems before NASCAR fixed that particular problem at those two tracks were probably spot-on.
He’s also right about the highway system that goes into the track, but this is a problem at other SMI tracks like Bristol, Atlanta, Las Vegas, and others including the crown jewel, Charlotte Motor Speedway. Put that many people in one area and you will have problems. He has somewhat alleviated the problems at Bristol and Charlotte, two tracks I regularly attend. The secret there is to go early and stay late. It works. Oh yeah, and find a back road. The difference there is a very organized parking and camping situation—something Kentucky did not have.
What he missed on were his comments about building infrastructure. Sparta, Kentucky has a grand total of 235 residents (according to a 2007 estimate). It is only 42 miles from Cincinnati, OH in the north and about 60 miles from other population centers in the state, Louisville and Lexington. It’s not Charlotte where affluence is noted everywhere. While Smith was able to strong-arm officials in Charlotte, he may have a tough time with Kentucky officials. Building an extra 40,000 seats didn’t help any either.
He also stated emphatically that there would be no cash refunds because people couldn’t park, and were actually turned away from the track, because, “we don’t want to.” That’s a pretty arrogant statement. The ticket exchange is nice, but how many people can just pick up and go to Charlotte, Bristol, or Atlanta because they missed a race they paid for and sat in traffic for hours waiting to get into the facility.
More alarming were the stories of poor camping conditions (which are the lifeblood of most SMI tracks. These die-hard race fans are always there) and parking seem to indicate poor planning for the part of the speedway. Clearly as the head of the corporation, these maladies fall right on his shoulders—something he refuses to admit.
The final insult was the questions asked by Dustin Long, a reporter for Landmark Newspapers and Smith’s answers. When asked what he would discuss with the Kentucky governor next week about improvements to the infrastructure around the track, Smith responded, “Las Vegas, baby.” It was an apparent veiled threat to move the Kentucky date to his track in Nevada, giving that facility two dates. It’s something Smith has wanted for awhile and leaves the impression that the Kentucky debacle was a planned event for that end. Never mind the comments referring to the ISC track in Homestead, Florida, as being in “North Cuba.” Smith would like the season finale to be in Las Vegas instead of Homestead.
So, what will happen? Your guess is as good as mine. Kentucky officials might give in to Smith, but I doubt it. The track might be better managed next time, but it probably will get better, especially if folks just stay away, which I expect. I only know that Smith will eventually get his way. He always has been able to get things done, but this one will be a little tougher.
It wouldn’t surprise me to see another date at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in a couple of years. Then the good folks of Kentucky will know how fans in Rockingham and North Wilkesboro felt. That’s not good.
Rachel Gilbert, 100 Year Old NASCAR Fan, Fulfills 100th Birthday Destiny at the Magic Mile
First it was a party, cake and a fast lap around the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, where Rachel Gilbert drove the pace car.
[media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”231″]
[/media-credit]Now, for this race weekend, Gilbert has continued to fulfill her 100th birthday destiny by serving as grand marshal for the Whelen Modified Series race.
Gilbert’s adventure started several months ago when her daughter emailed the race track, asking if any accommodations could be made for her mother’s 100th birthday, particularly as she could not sit in the grandstands comfortably.
Jerry Gappens, New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s executive vice president and general manager, and his staff were intrigued by the request. Not only did they accommodate this family’s wish, but also helped Gilbert fulfill her NASCAR destiny, naming her the Speedway’s oldest fan.
For her 100th celebration, Gappens provided a race car birthday cake at the track, an official LENOX Industrial Tools 301 hat, a NHMS jacket and a birthday card. The Speedway even made arrangements for her to take a few fast laps around the track.
“Rachel is a true pace setter,” Gappens said. “We wanted to take the opportunity and celebrate this special occasion.
But Gappens had even more in store for Gilbert. She also got an official crew shirt from her favorite driver Carl Edwards, as well as tickets to Sunday’s Cup race.
“This all started from the email,” Marie Ann Mills, Gilbert’s daughter said. “It started by having her go around the track and then providing her with tickets to Sunday’s race.”
“And I also got to drive the car,” Gilbert reminded her daughter. This was especially a treat for Gilbert as she gave up her car once she moved into an independent living facility for seniors.
And celebrate she has. One of the biggest highlights for her has been serving as the Grand Marshal for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Series race and giving the command to start engines.
Gilbert admitted she was slightly nervous prior to giving the command. But armed with a note that read “Drivers Start Your Engines” and surrounded by her family, she delivered the most famous words in motorsports beautifully.
“I was nervous at the very beginning,” Gilbert said. “But it was a dream come true. This was great.”
“That was unbelievable,” Gilbert’s daughter shared. “We were so proud of her.”
Gilbert is a true NASCAR fan and has been for many years, starting in the 1960s when she followed her husband and some of their friends to races at Bryar Motorsports Park in Loudon, New Hampshire. She has also attended the Daytona 500, where she saw legends like Richard Petty and Bobby Allison race.
Since that time, Gilbert has been hooked, never missing a race on television according to her family. In fact, residents of the facility where she lives have affectionately nicknamed her “Speedy” because of her affection for the sport.
“I’ve been a fan for so long,” Gilbert said. “I have friends that we would go to the races with and we kept it up every year.”
Gilbert’s favorite driver during that period of her life was Dale Earnhardt, Sr. She still struggles when she talks about him and cannot believe he has been gone that long.
Not only has Gilbert been a race fan forever, but she also has a few other secrets to her achieving her centennial birthday. What are her keys to her longevity?
“Good exercise,” Gilbert said simply. “That and a good gin and tonic when I go out.”
Gilbert’s other key to her success has been her family, their love as well as their support of her NASCAR dream.
“She always has a smile on her face,” Gilbert’s daughter shared. “If I could be half the woman that she is, I will be a hell of a woman.”
