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.
[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”237″]
[/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?
[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”232″]
[/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.
Another Fuel Mileage Finish = More Excitement; Jr. Wins Coming Soon
[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”243″]
[/media-credit]Fans were once again treated to another exciting finish as Brad Keselowski broke through to end his 60-race winless streak after conserving just enough fuel to hold off Dale Earnhardt Jr. by just over 2.5 seconds. For some Jr. fans this may appear as just another disappointing finish, but I see most of Jr Nation looking forward after the amazing progress that has been made since 2009 when the struggles began. With his second-place finish today, Jr. is now just 41 points out of first place and is in real contention for a championship run for the first time since 2004. I see Jr. finishing in the Top 5 this year in the championship. I don’t see a championship just yet, but still give major credit to Jr. and Steve Letarte.
The race on the other hand was very exciting in my view. Kurt Busch had the dominant race car as he sat on the pole, but like last week when Jr. looked like he was going to secure the victory, Busch was forced to pit for fuel with a handful of laps to go and wound up in ninth place. Denny Hamlin recovered from last weekend’s sputter to finish in third while Jeff Gordon finished fourth after announcing his ‘Go For Broke’ strategy, but he wound up just a little short. Gordon was my pick to win this weekend based off how he did in practice. Carl Edwards rounded out the Top 5.
Greg Biffle was the biggest surprise of the race. Biffle was my second pick to win this race along with teammate Carl Edwards as my third. Biffle dominated at Kansas last season for his second victory of 2010 and was the fastest during the first session of practice, but just what happened? Biffle finished in tenth, but this is a track where Roush Fenway Racing is usually top dog. Yes, this race did come down to fuel mileage, but Carl Edwards was the only Roush car in the field who actually led a lap and that is a shock for a lot of people, including me.
Fuel mileage races add more excitement to the overall atmosphere of the racing when it comes down to that. I was asked earlier today, “Are there too many fuel mileage races?” Well…you can’t really answer a yes or no to that because you really never know when that is going to happen. I didn’t see the Coca Cola 600 coming down to fuel until the final 30-40 laps and the same with the race today. I love fuel mileage races because the suspense really shakes you and the result makes the feeling even better.
Now, for next week we are at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania for the Pocono 500 and this will be the first race for TNT in 2011 as FOX says goodbye until 2012 and TNT takes over for the summer. Most people in the reporting business I know will pick Denny Hamlin because they just seem to follow what everyone else does, but I’m not going to do that. Hamlin actually didn’t have the best average finish at Pocono last season unlike what most people have heard. Tony Stewart actually did. Hamlin won the June event and Greg Biffle won the August event. Hamlin finished 1st and 5th at Pocono for the season while Stewart finished 3rd and 2nd.
I’m afraid on picking any Joe Gibbs Racing car at the same time because of the engine problems they have been having this season and Stewart and his Stewart-Haas Racing team in general have had their fair share of bad races. However; I’m still going out on a limb and saying Tony Stewart will break through for his first win of 2011. Expect Roush Fenway to be a threat still for the win.
Any questions or comments, you can leave them below, or email me at therhino.ryan@gmail.com or the twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ryan__ohara
Rest in peace Grandpa.
Fuel Mileage In America’s Heartland, The STP 400 at Kansas
[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”248″]
[/media-credit]For the second straight week, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series saw a race come down to fuel mileage once again involving Dale Earnhardt Jr. Like last week, Earnhardt came up short as it was Michigan’s Brad Keselowski taking the blue deuce back to victory lane in the inaugural STP 400 at the Kansas Speedway. Brad was able to stretch his fuel for the final 57 lap run to earn his second career victory. Keselowski said, “I didn’t even realize I was in the lead until two to go when I looked at the pylon.” It was the first victory for Keselowski since Talladega in the spring of 2009, and the first win for both Dodge and Penske for the 2011 season.
So much for Kurt Busch having “undriveable” cars this season. Kurt took the lead on lap 18 from Juan Pablo Montoya and began to pull away. The elder Busch lead 152 laps. That’s quite a feet considering that prior to Sunday’s race, Kurt had only lead 123 through the first 12 races of this season. It wasn’t until lap 258 when the day went wrong for Kurt when he was forced to pit for fuel. Then, just one lap later, he struggled getting the car going as the fuel was not picking up to the motor. Kurt was still able to salvage a ninth place finish on the day catapulting him to sixth in the point standings
Tony Stewart was another driver that got a much deserved good day. Kansas has always been a great track for Smoke as he is a two time winner in America’s Heartland( 2006 and 2009 respectively). Stewart ran up towards the front just about all race long and looked like he may challenge for his first win in 2011. That all came to and end when he like most drivers, had to pit for fuel late in the race. It wasn’t all for nothing though, Tony got an eighth place finish and moved up one spot to eighth in the points. Just the day Smoke needed to kick off the summer stretch of the season.
As always, there were some notable performances from Sunday’s STP 400 that had an overall good day.
Remember how everyone pretty much wrote off Denny Hamlin about five weeks ago? Well, don’t look now, but Denny is back. Hamlin had a very strong showing on Sunday once again. Hamlin was able to get out front, lead some laps, battle in the top five and ultimately came home in the third spot. Hamlin now sits eleventh in the Sprint Cup points which currently qualifies him for the wild card spot.
Denny’s arch enemy from last year, Jimmie Johnson, also had a strong showing on Sunday. The five time champ battled his way up from the thirty-first starting position to finish a respectable seventh on the day. This shows that the 48 team does not need a good qualifying run in order to run well and get a good finish. They showed preserverance and determination as they took to the slick Kansas Speedway. Johnson now sits third in the points, 40 markers out of the lead. That’s nearly a whole race out. The 48 team will have to have runs just like this one, and better if they want a shot at Carl Edwards in the chase.
Sunday also brings the NASCAR on FOX portion of the season to a close. 2011 marks the 11th season of the combination and arguably the best one of the relationship. The entire crew from the booth to the Hollywood Hotel and pit road stepped up to the plate and delivered a terrific presentation to the viewers at home. The coverage now switches to TNT and they kick off their fifth annual “TNT Summer Six Pack” which includes the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona and the inaugural Quaker State 400 at the Kentucky Speedway.
Sunday’s race provided everything we normally see when we go to a 1.5 mile track. Side by side racing, long green flag runs, pit strategy and the occasional fuel mileage duel. We saw that many races may come down to fuel mileage which will create many tense moments in races to come. I personally can not wait to see whats to come next weekend in the Poconos.
Next Race- Pocono 500 on TNT
