ARCA Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 150: Ty Dillon Wins and More
A day after graduating from high school, Ty Dillon won the Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 150 at Chicagoland Speedway for the fifth win of his ARCA career that is only eight starts old.
“That was our game plan, to stay patient all day,” Dillon said, as according to the ARCA Racing Network. “We came in that second or third stop, and we were really loose. Something was wrong with our left rear tire; it never gained any pressure or anything. I told (the crew) we were going to have to come in and pit, because we can’t win the race like this. Once we got fresh tires and got everything back to where it was supposed to, we came back through the field. By then, (Hackenbracht) was so far out front and it was his race.
“Unfortunately, that happened to him, but the caution helped us and put us where we needed to be. We had a really fast car.”
For crew chief Scott Naset, it was an early birthday present as he turns 40 on Tuesday, though no surprise as he won at Chicagoland with Kevin Harvick in 2001 and 2002.
“It’s Flash’s [Naset’s] birthday this week, so I’m just really happy for these guys,” Dillon said.
The race looked to be Chad Hackenbracht’s as he had a nine-second lead on Dillon, though he blew a tire with 15 laps to go ending his shot at the end.
“I told the guys probably 10 laps into us leading the race, ‘Thanks for this car. It’s a rocket ship,'” Hackenbracht, who would be scored 20th, said. “It really was. We had a nine-second lead when the tire blew, and I had no warning. I may have run over something. It sounded like it was in the center of the car so I didn’t think about it at all. I felt like we had it in the bag, almost.”
For the family owned team of CGH Motorsports, it could have been the story of the year as they were the quickest car in practice and looked to be a strong contender for the day.
Chris Buescher finished second, followed by two-time World of Outlaws Late Model Series champion Josh Richards, who was making his seventh start in the series with Venturini Motorsports.
“We struggled for raw speed all weekend, but Wayne Carroll – the crew chief – and all our guys worked so hard on this thing,” McCumbee said. “They weren’t the least bit concerned that we weren’t going to be good on a long run; we were. Our ModSpace Ford was good. I felt we were a race-winning contender, especially on the first green flag run. We adjusted on it a bit…but we just needed laps. Those short runs were not what our car wanted, but I’ll tell you what: two top-fives in a row. That’s big for our Andy Belmont Racing team.”
Chad McCumbee, meanwhile, kept up his consistency, as he has so far this season, with a fourth-place finish.
“We knew the track was going to change when the lights came on,” Richards said. “We were really free early. I had to run the top to just keep up as much as possible. We made some changes there and got definitely a lot better, but that’s the first time I’ve ever run the top at an asphalt track, so I got a lot of experience and got to feel the air a little bit. The Venturini (Motorsports) guys did an awesome job.”
Last week’s winner Andrew Ranger rounded out the top five, followed by Tom Hessert, Frank Kimmel, Grant Enfinger, Brent Brevak and Maryeve Dufault. Stefan Rzesnoiecky was 11th in his ARCA debut.
Next up for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is the first of two trips to Pocono Raceway for the running of the Pocono ARCA 200, round seven of 19 on the 2011 schedule.
Surprising and Not Surprising: Kansas STP 400
With emotional visits and relief efforts to the tornado-ravaged heartland of the country overshadowed by an altercation between team owner Richard Childress and driver Kyle Busch after the Kansas Truck Series race, the Cup drivers took to the unanimously proclaimed ‘hot and slick’ track in Kansas City.
Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the STP 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Surprising: In spite of all of the reports of Kyle Busch being ‘pummeled’ by Richard Childress after giving RCR’s truck driver Joey Coulter a nudge after the race, Busch arrived at the speedway for the race sans sun glasses and looking surprisingly unscathed.
It was also surprising to see Mike Helton address the media prior to the race, sharing that NASCAR had met with Busch and Childress, as well as Busch’s team owner Joe Gibbs. Helton advised that all were warned to get through the race before any further actions would be taken by the sanctioning body, which is expected on Monday.
“I met with NASCAR,” Busch said. “Whatever they feel best to protect their sport and to protect what we have going on here is to their best discretion. I’m all for whatever they decide to do.”
Not Surprising: It was not surprising that, in addition to the heat between Busch and Childress, the heat on the track, in the cars and in the grandstands was the other major topic of conversation.
“It’s hot today,” Dale Earnhardt, Jr., driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet said. “Did you notice that?”
“You sit in a sauna for four hours,” Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota, said. “That’s pretty much what you’ve got.”
The only one who found amusement in the heat was iron man driver of the No. 99 Aflac ‘Now Hiring’ Ford, Carl Edwards. During the race the driver quipped that he was a little chilly and would appreciate either some coffee or some hot chocolate.
Surprising: In spite of the heat for most everyone else other than Edwards, it was surprising how calm, cool and collected Brad Keselowski was behind the wheel of the Miller Lite Blue Deuce. With the threat of running out of fuel, Keselowski reduced his speed, stayed strategically ahead of his competitors, feathered his throttle, kicked in the clutch and coasted through the corners for most of the final laps of the race.
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[/media-credit]Keselowski, who started 25th, also coasted to the checkered flag, winning his first race of the season and giving his crew chief Paul Wolfe his first ever Cup Series victory. This was Keselowski’s first win since Talladega in April of 2009.
“You can only put yourself in that position so many times before you’re going to catch the right break,” Keselowski said. “We caught a great break today because of all the hard work by the Miller Lite team. We got great gas mileage and that didn’t hurt either.”
“It was because of the struggles and bad finishes that I really appreciate this.”
Not Surprising: Yet again, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was good in a fuel mileage race yet still came up short at the finish line. Junior, who came in second, posted his seventh top-10 finish in 2011 and his fifth top-10 finish in seven races at Kansas Speedway.
“We shouldn’t have run second today but we have fast cars,” Junior said. “I had a good car, you know.”
Surprising: It was a bit surprising that the Roush Fenway Racing bunch were not quite as stellar as expected, particularly given the driver ratings headed into the race. It was also surprising that Missouri native Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth, with his new sponsor Affliction Clothing on his No. 17 Ford, topped the RFR camp, with fifth and sixth place finishes respectively.
Greg Biffle, behind the wheel of the No. 16 3M Walgreen’s Ford, who was expected to take home a victory, finished tenth instead, and the driver of the No. 6 UPS Ford David Ragan finished 13th. In spite of not bringing home the trophy, all four of the Roush Fenway Racing team members finished in the top 15.
Edwards managed to lead 29 laps of the race and his finish ratcheted his points lead to 40 over second place Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowes/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet, who finished seventh. Kenseth held serve as seventh in points, Biffle lost one position to 12th and Ragan moved up one place to the 17th spot.
“I really wanted to win,” Edwards said, most likely speaking for the entire Roush Fenway Racing crew. “I had a good time though and it is my new favorite race track.”
Not Surprising: With the season officially at halfway to the Chase, it was not surprising that two drivers, Denny Hamlin and Jeff Gordon, this week behind the wheel of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, were determined to have good days at the track that would move them back into Chase contention.
Hamlin, who came in third, moved up to 11th in points.
“I’m proud of our whole FedEx Freight team,” Hamlin said. “We’re battling back and getting ourselves back into position.”
Jeff Gordon brought his car to the checkered flag in the fourth position, moving him up to 13th in the points as the only driver with a win eligible for the wild card at present.
“Well, it was an awesome run for our Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet,” Gordon said. “We had a great race car all weekend long. All in all, a great top-five.”
Surprising: It was also a bit surprising that pole sitter Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 22 AAA Dodge for Penske Racing who dominated much of the race, and outside pole sitter Juan Pablo Montoya, behind the wheel of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet, did not have better finishes.
After some fuel mileage struggles, Busch was able to bring his car home in the ninth position. JPM, on the other hand, hit one of the seams in the track and then the wall, relegating him to a 17th place finish.
“To have a car to lead laps today and be very competitive, I was all smiles,” Busch said. “It’s just one of those days where you’re on the right side and sometimes you’re not. For all my guys, we’ll take this one.”
Not Surprising: After a hot and sticky day on the track, it was not surprising that one driver in particular was still smoking, at least in a positive way. Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 The Glades/Office Depot Chevrolet, not only secured a top ten finish but now has his eyes and his heart set on The Prelude to the Dream at his race track, Eldora Speedway.
“Our guys did a great job and we really had a good car today,” Smoke said. “The good news is we get to get out of here and go work at Eldora tomorrow.”
Why is mean old Richard Childress picking on an angel such as Kyle Busch?
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[/media-credit]You would think the story of the week would have something to do with Dale Earnhardt Jr finishing second for a second straight week. Maybe the big item would be Brad Keselowski taking the second Cup victory of his career. Nope to both. Instead, it is all about the second Busch brother getting a beat down from a guy old enough to be his dad…or maybe grandpa, in the latest case.
It would seem Kyle brushed up against the truck owned by Richard Childress, driven by Joey Coulter, on the cool down lap at the end of the Craftsman series event at Kansas over the weekend. Childress approached Rowdy in the garage area, punched him, the two got to jawing as they were separated, then the 65-year old put the 26-year in a headlock and nailed him again. Why does Nolan Ryan come to mind?
Of course, we can’t have senior citizens kicking the crap out of one of NASCAR’s brightest stars. Well, bright as in he wins a lot, not bright as in how he thinks things through, like when he test drives a car for example. You know Childress was going to get slapped by the sanctioning body (that being NASCAR, not the WBA, WBC, or WWE) for beating on the poor, young, defenceless driver for no good reason. No, just because the boy is one irritating little a**hole does not give one the right to tune him in. It didn’t work for Jimmy Spencer, it won’t work for Richard Childress. In fact, it just cost Childress $150,000 for the privilege.
If you remember, Kurt and his boss, at the time, Jack Roush missed some key points in relating the course of events that led to the altercation with Mr. Spencer a few years back. That, more than anything else, caused the public to react rather unfavorably to the whiney little twerp, prompting his eventual rehabilitation and personality overhaul. Kyle seems to be now displaying some similar traits. If he had commented afterwards that “it appears I must have upset Mr. Childress” and smiled, we might have all smiled along with him. Instead, he talked about how he was just minding his own business, heading to his camper, feeding the hungry, taking in the homeless, and doing the things saints such as Kyle would have been doing before being mysteriously attacked. He gave us the same line last month when Childress driver Kevin Harvick tried to introduce his fist to Busch’s head after a race.
To be honest, Coulter did not seem in the least upset with Busch after the race, but he doesn’t have to pay for the repairs to the truck. The fact Childress, or anyone else for that matter, wants to take a swing at Busch isn’t really all that mysterious. When you rattle someone’s cage, sometimes they reach out to grab you. Guys like Dale Earnhardt, and Harvick today, have been known to upset a few folks along the way, even talked about their innocence, but the grins on their faces let us know that they already knew what we also knew. It might have been bull crap, but it was entertaining bull crap.
All of us have at some time met a Kyle Busch out on the playground, the fellow who stirs up trouble but goes running off to seek sympathy to the injustice of it all when the manure finally hits the ventilator. Sure, the chap who takes the poke winds up in the principal’s office, but he is the one who winds up with the sympathy and the understanding. If Kyle does not believe that, all he has to do is ask his brother.
