An Up-And-Down Weekend For Matt Crafton

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May 16, 2011

They always say that you’ll have ups and downs in racing, but most times they don’t come in the same weekend. However, for Matt Crafton who competed in both the Lucas Oil 200 and the Menards 200 this weekend, that was the case.

[media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]On Friday afternoon, Crafton drove his No. 88 Menards/Chevrolet to a third place finish in the Lucas Oil 200 at Dover International Speedway in the Camping World Truck Series.

“At the beginning of the race, I couldn’t fire off and I was really, really loose,” Crafton said. “But at the end of the run, we’d be one of the best trucks on the race track.”

Crafton qualified 10th, worked his way through the field fighting loose conditions to his sixth top-10 in 11 races at Dover to take over the points lead.

“It’s great to be the points leader,” Crafton continued. “We just need to keeping doing what we’re doing and running top five every week and having these top three finishes and throw a couple of wins off and see where we are at Homestead.”

Then on Sunday, Crafton competed in the ARCA Series Menards 200 at Toledo Speedway, where he finished 17th after having a left front tire blow.

“I joked with Bud at the end of the race that maybe we’ve gotten all of our bad luck out of the way for the year with this race,” Crafton said with a smile. “This was a pretty good car, it was tight in the middle, but nothing to worry me about the tires. The irony is, that car was running fantastic after the tire blew and I came in. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough cautions to give us the Lucky Dog twice to put us back on the lead lap.”

Crafton started the day 24th after the field was lined up based on owner points, though worked his way to the top five by lap 63. At that time, he chose to pit for tires, which set him back to the 20th position. Crafton, however, worked his way back to the lead in 14 laps before the left front blew at lap 135.

“It’s fun to get a chance to come back and race in the ARCA Racing Series as part of my partnership with Menards,” he continued. “I would have loved to pull out a win for my sponsor today. We had the strategy and team to do it. The Menards 200 is a great celebration of what Menards does with their stores in this area. It was great to see Frank Kimmel running well in his Menards car as well for a while there. We’re looking forward to racing again in Indianapolis at the ARCA Racing Series. Thanks also to Frank and his team for fielding this car for us.”

The next Camping World Truck Series race for Crafton is next Friday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200. Crafton’s had success at Charlotte as he won the race in 2008.

The next ARCA Racing Series race for Crafton is the Ansell Protective Gloves 200 at Lucas Oil Speedway on July 28th.

Disappointing Early End to Johanna Long’s Strong Da y at Dover

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May 16, 2011

Cope Twins to Try and Make NASCAR History Again in 2011; Will Attempt First Nationwide Series Starts at Iowa Speedway

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May 16, 2011

Ed Carpenter Leads Opening Weekend of Practice for Indianapolis 500

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SM Staff

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May 16, 2011

While Sunday was a wash out due to rain, practice for the Indianapolis 500 did begin on Saturday.

The day was cut short by 45 minutes due to showers, but it was Ed Carpenter who topped the chart at a lap of 224.786 mph (40.0380 seconds) for Sarah Fisher Racing.

“It’s only day one, but it’s really exciting to see hard work pay off and see progress,” he said. “We’re going to have to keep up the effort because it’s a long week heading into qualifying, but I definitely like the start that we’re off to.”

The Indianapolis 500 will mark Carpenter’s first event of the season, and also the first event for Sarah Fisher Racing with the No. 67.

“I was really proud of the boys for starting the month off with little to no error,” Fisher said. “It was a bonus for Ed to top the charts, but we know we still have a lot more work to accomplish. For this being our first race of the season, we know we have to hit the ground running, and to see the team gelling already is a great testament to our people.”

Fisher announced her retirement last November as she wants to start a family with her husband, Andy O’Gara. Their first child is due September 29th.

“I’m out of racing shape, that’s for sure,” she said, “I had to stop working out in October, and they don’t make maternity seat belts. But I’m very happy. It is an exciting time, especially to have Ed Carpenter driving for us because he is the perfect fit. He matches the brand, and no doubt that he has a strong performance record here at Indy. So I’m excited about the Race Day and the 100th Anniversary in general.”

Scott Dixon, 2008 race winner, was second with a lap of 224.491 mph (40.0907 seconds).

“Today was short and sweet, as we only turned four laps at speed,” he said. “Always great to be back at IMS. Team Target prepped the cars to their usual high standard. Early days, but I can’t wait to get back in the car tomorrow.”

JR Hildebrand, who topped the Rookie Orientation Program on May 12th, was third.

“We’re really happy with how the day went,” Hildebrand said. “I probably could have pulled off an even better lap there, but for me it’s still a matter of understanding what I’m expecting to happen compared to what is actually going to happen when I’m out there. The National Guard car felt good, and we didn’t have anything out of the ordinary, and we understand it’s going to be a whole different gig when there are a bunch of different cars out there, as that creates a lot more turbulent air.

“Thankfully, through Rookie Orientation and again today we’ve been able to make positive steps every time by making small steps every time. If we can keep up the pace of what we’re doing, then it should be positive as we continue to move forward.”

Last year’s winner Dario Franchitti was fourth while 2006 race runner-up Marco Andretti was fifth.

“It was a good shakedown of the No. 10t Target car,” Franchitti said. “Both Scott Dixon and I seemed to have good speed right away, but the real work starts on Monday.”

“It felt really good to get back in the car here in Indy,” Andretti said. “We focused today on getting a few laps in the T car, and tomorrow we’ll move to our primary car. Hopefully we won’t need the T car again, but it’s nice to know where it stands, just in case. I think the Venom team has potential to be strong this month. We’ve typically run well here and have come close to winning a couple times. This would be a great year to get the job done.”

2009 runner-up Victor Meira was seventh quickest on the speed chart.

“I think we are cautiously excited,” Meira said. “There’s still a lot to do. We’re still slower than what it will take in qualifying, but the car is good, it’s fast. We did get a draft, but even without the draft, we’re pretty competitive in our times, so we’re excited. It’s the first day, but I think we started the right way and we just have to maintain and improve on what we had today.”

Other notables include Paul Tracy, who was 11th, and Danica Patrick, who was12th.

“I thought we had a solid run today,” Patrick said. “The ‘T’ car did great today, so we hope the primary car will run just as well. The Go Daddy team is off to a positive start for May.”

2004 race winner Buddy Rice was 14th quickest. This is the first time Rice has hit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 2008.

“I feel good, and I’m happy to be back. Everything is going pretty well,” Rice said. “I’m excited to be back here. I wanted to make sure I’d be in good equipment, and the Panther crew has run really well here recently. It’s a great opportunity for me. I’m excited for the centennial. The centennial only comes around once, and there won’t be anything like this for quite a long time, so I’m glad to be a part of it.”

Dropping the green on practice for Saturday was Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard.

“They were side by side by side by side like a front row coming down the straightaway,” Ballard said. “It was a lot of fun. I will leave Race Day (start) in the hands of the professionals.

“We’re very lucky to be here for the 100th anniversary because a lot of people are going to be reminiscing about all the events that have gone on before here. Also we have the new chassis to look forward to. And there is a lot of excitement as to what the new cars will look like.

“This is a great time to celebrate the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the longevity of this race going forward. I always tell people around the world that there is nothing like the month of May in Indianapolis, and I mean that. This is an unbelievable month that really brings the city together. Everybody enjoys it. It’s a great event on Race Day, and they memorialize those veterans who did not come back from serving this county. Obviously, the Speedway does it right.”

Meanwhile, Sunday consisted of drivers speaking of Indianapolis 500 memories among other topics.

“It’s unfortunate for us and for the fans that the rain kept us from getting on track today,” Points Leader Will Power said. “The No. 12 Verizon Team Penske guys worked a bit late yesterday afternoon taking the engine out of our T car and putting it in our race car. We were planning on shaking that car down today and then getting started on our process. We will be ready to go tomorrow, and I am excited to get on track and get the Verizon car up to speed.”

ARCA: Ty Dillon Spins Frank Kimmel For Win in Menards 200

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SM Staff

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May 16, 2011

Frank Kimmel looked to have the win in hand in the Menards 200 at Toledo Speedway, though it all got thrown away as Ty Dillon spun Kimmel on the last lap to take the win.

“It was an awesome day,” Dillon said. “As soon as we unloaded, I felt like we had the fastest car for sure. We even cut short our practice, and I don’t like to do that, but we knew we had the fastest car. Our pit crew did awesome. I went in fifth and came out second. We came in, tightened up, and she took off.”

Dillon was met in victory lane by Kimmel, who expressed his displeasure in taking the checkered flag from Dillon’s hand and throwing it to the ground.

“I was approaching behind him for a long time there, probably 40 or 50 laps,” Dillon said. “I was being as patient as I can. We came up on some lapped cars, and he was starting to get loose; I was getting in deeper and deeper. My car was getting better and better.

“I hate that it happened that way. I wrecked him. It was my fault, but it’s racing. Stuff like that happens. I really look up to Frank and he’s helped me out a lot this year. Hopefully, we can get over this and everything will be alright.”

Dillon got the fourth win of his career while the spin resulted in Kimmel finishing ninth.

“I wasn’t blocking or doing anything; I was just running my lap,” Kimmel said. “He just hit me wherever he could and then he got me in the left rear corner and ran me around. It’s just frustrating as heck. You race so hard, and you race clean, and we didn’t have a scratch on the car all day.

“I just asked him, ‘How can you celebrate a win like that?’ It’ll come back. It’s a long season, and we have to race all year.”

In the aftermath, Enfinger finished second.

“We had a great car all weekend,” Enfinger said. “(Car chief) Kelly Kovski and (team owner) Mike Allgaier, I can’t thank those guys enough for letting me drive their car. It’s definitely one of the best cars I’ve driven. It was a great run. The pit crew’s been great all year; that’s definitely not been our weak point, but they just happened to leave a lug nut loose and we had to come back down pit road and that hurt us a little bit.

Matt Merrell finished third, followed by Tim George Jr., Chris Buescher, John Stancil, CHad McCumbee, Armstrong, Kimmel and Kenzi Ruston.

With qualifying rained out, Milka Duno was able to start on the pole as she holds the points in the owner’s standings from Patrick Sheltra’s championship run last year.

The race started with 20 laps under caution due to rain before the race and impending rain coming. Duno dropped back at the start, giving the lead to Kimmel.

Once the green flag was shown on lap 21, Kimmel held for a lap before Kenzi Ruston, who was making her first ARCA start with Venturini Motorsports, took the lead.

The first caution came at lap 26 for Todd Bowsher’s spin, who was subbing for Bryan Silas.

The second caution came out on lap 37 for a multi-car crash which started when Ruston spun out of the lead in turn two. Behind her while trying to slow down and avoid, Tom Hessert, Tim George Jr. and Chris Buescher made contact. With Ruston spinning, Kimmel took the lead back.

The third caution came out at lap 58, when Buescher and Maryeve Dufault made contact with Tim Cowen hitting Dufault. At this time, Ruston and Matt Crafton pitted to try to get a jump on strategy.

The restart came on lap 67, and then 11 laps later, Enfinger took the lead while Dillon cracked the top five for the first time.

On lap 110, the caution came out as Cowen spun, which promoted another round of pit stops. The leaders pitted, while Crafton and Ruston stayed out to take positions first and second. Kimmel and Dillon came off pit road first so they restarted third and fourth.

On lap 120, the fifth caution came out when Levi Youster spun, in which on the restart, Kimmel was able to take the lead from Crafton. Crafton had to make an unscheduled pit stop at lap 135 due to a left front tre, while Enfinger also made an unscheduled stop for a loose lugnut. The unscheduled pit stop for Crafton relegated him to an 18th place finish.

Milka Duno spun on lap 180, setting up a 20-lap race to the finish. On the restart, Kimmel got the advantage on the field, though Dillon slowly chipped back into the lead, making the final lap bump-and-run.

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards returns to action Sunday, May 22, in the ModSpace 150 at New Jersey Motorsports Park. The race is the only road course event of the season for the ARCA Racing Series.