Gambling in Vegas: Mark Martin Wins the Sam’s Town 300
Most people on the street are worried about saving gas so they do not spend a lot of money, considering the price of fuel. During today’s Sam Town’s 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Mark Martin saved his fuel the best to get his 49th career Nationwide Series win.
“Well, Trent Owens deserves that one – all the credit for it,” Martin said in victory lane. “He made the right calls and the only chance we had was to save, save and I just decided that I wasn’t going to run out of gas. With 2 to go, I decided to step on it as I figured I was close enough to be able to do it.
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[/media-credit]”I can’t believe it. I don’t care how hard you try, you can’t win this things.Then when its time, it just happens.”
Coming the white flag, it looked as if Brad Keselowski would be able to make on fuel. However, he had a flat tire and ended up in the wall.
“He was slowling quite a bit so I knew he was having fuel trouble or something so I stepped on it and tried to catch him.” Martin said.
The win marked the first ever win for Steve Turner and Turner Motorsports, as Turner bought Braun Racing from Todd Braun last year. They were able to play the strategy card after they pitted with 62 to go to check the tires after being in the middle of a wreck.
“We know we got in the wall so we needed to pit and look at our tires,” crew chief Trent Owen said. “Mark did a great job saving the fuel there.”
Mark Martin’s teammate Justin Allgaier finished second.
“I can’t say enough about everybody at Turner Motorsports and the Hendrick power under the hood,” Allgaier said. “These Chevys are running strong. I can’t say enough for what these guys are building. This is the most fun series that I’ve ever been around. Congratulations to Mark. That guy has got a lot of knowledge and is really helping our team.”
Brad Keselowski, after getting into the wall, finished third.
“We were about four to five laps good for fuel and he came on the radio and asked if he needed to save and I said he was good,” Todd Gordon, crew chief for Keselowski. “We must have just run something over as we’d run two fuel runs in the right sides before. He came on the radio and said he had a flat as we came across the finish line.”
Finishing fourth was Danica Patrick, becoming the highest finishing women in NASCAR Nationwide Series history. She topped her best career finish of 17th that she got last week at Phoenix.
“Just we worked so hard on the car this weekend,” Patrick said. “Went from loose to tight to loose to tight with the same set-up at times. We had a lot of practice time, which was good, but kind of confused us along the way. Missed those lucky dogs and finally got one. I asked Tony Jr to take a big swing at it to make it tight, not a small one but a swing at it, and it wasn’t good at the beginning, but it was good at the end.”
After starting 17th, she worked her way to just outside the top 10, and then into the top 10, before employing the fuel strategy to seal a top five finish.
“Qualifying wasn’t perfect, practice was up and down,” she said. “I was like, okay, we got a new car. Hopefully we can learn something so that way me and Aric (Almirola) can run up front at the next mile and a half.”
“I mean, we’ve been really consistant – the finishes haven’t shown it,” crew chief Tony Eury Jr. said. “Its really easy for her to run in the top 15. If we can get everything right, we can run in the top 10 with this girl. Luckily we got luck with fuel milage and got a top five out of this.”
Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne finished fifth using the same strategy, after finding trouble earlier. Bayne’s teammate and pole sitter Carl Edwards finished sixth after running in the top five most of the day.
“For Mark to win on fuel milage, its real frustrating for Mike Beam and I,” Edwards said. “It’s just frustrating as we’re trying to find marketing partners for all three cars.”
Denny Hamlin finished seventh, after also running up front all day.
“Its tough,” Hamlin said. “Once I saw we weren’t going to win the race, I backed off incase a caution came to save the tires. We were so equal in the long run, but thats part of racing. You have the right fuel milage, the right everything to be able to win.”
Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Jason Leftler and Kenny Wallace rounded out the top 10.
It looked to be another Kyle Busch show at the beginning as he led the majorty of the first half, though wrecked on lap 71 after getting stuck back in traffic.
“I had a really big run off the top,” Busch said. “I didn’t want to go to the outside. I came down to the white line as I wanted to be there going into turn 1 and never got there. The 22 came down to block and I went down to the grass to try to avoid hitting him and I looked pretty stupid going down there. I made a mistake. That’s why I run these races. I take what I learn here and carry it forward.”
Reed Sorenson, who finished 11th, leads the Nationwide standings now, 2 points over Ricky Stenhouse Jr. They are followed by Leftler (-5), Patrick (-13), Allgaier (-16), Bayne (-24), and Almirola (-26).
Unofficial Race Results
Sam’s Town 300, Las Vegas Motor Speedway
March 5, 2011 – Race 3 of 34
Pos. St. No. Driver Make Pts. Bon. Laps Status
1 – 32 Mark Martin Chevrolet 0 0 200 Running
2 – 31 Justin Allgaier Chevrolet 42 0 200 Running
3 – 22 Brad Keselowski Dodge 0 0 200 Running
4 – 7 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 40 0 200 Running
5 – 16 Trevor Bayne Ford 39 0 200 Running
6 – 60 Carl Edwards Ford 0 0 200 Running
7 – 20 Denny Hamlin Toyota 0 0 200 Running
8 – 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 36 0 200 Running
9 – 38 Jason Leffler Chevrolet 35 0 200 Running
10 – 9 Kenny Wallace Toyota 34 0 200 Running
11 – 30 Reed Sorenson Chevrolet 33 0 200 Running
12 – 2 Elliott Sadler Chevrolet 32 0 200 Running
13 – 62 Michael Annett Toyota 31 0 200 Running
14 – 11 Brian Scott Toyota 30 0 200 Running
15 – 88 Aric Almirola Chevrolet 29 0 198 Running
16 – 66 Steve Wallace Toyota 28 0 198 Running
17 – 19 Mike Bliss Chevrolet 27 0 197 Running
18 – 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 26 0 196 Running
19 – 99 Ryan Truex * Toyota 25 0 195 Running
20 – 14 Eric McClure Chevrolet 24 0 194 Running
21 – 1 Mike Wallace Chevrolet 23 0 193 Running
22 – 23 Robert Richardson Jr. Dodge 22 0 193 Running
23 – 97 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 21 0 193 Running
24 – 15 Timmy Hill * Ford 20 0 193 Running
25 – 28 Derrike Cope Chevrolet 19 0 190 Running
26 – 81 Donnie Neuenberger Dodge 18 0 189 Running
27 – 51 Jeremy Clements Chevrolet 17 0 181 In Pit
28 – 33 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 0 0 168 Running
29 – 70 Shelby Howard Chevrolet 15 0 165 Running
30 – 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 0 0 130 In Pit
31 – 79 Jennifer Jo Cobb * Ford 13 0 127 Running
32 – 141 Carl Long Ford 12 0 83 In Pit
33 – 40 Scott Wimmer Chevrolet 11 0 72 Out
34 – 27 J.J. Yeley Ford 0 0 25 Out
35 – 25 Kelly Bires Ford 9 0 14 In Pit
36 – 55 Brett Rowe Chevrolet 8 0 12 In Pit
37 – 24 Kevin Lepage Ford 7 0 11 In Pit
38 – 39 Josh Wise Ford 6 0 10 In Pit
39 – 52 Daryl Harr Chevrolet 0 0 8 In Pit
40 – 103 Charles Lewandoski * Dodge 4 0 6 In Pit
41 – 168 Tim Andrews Ford 0 0 4 In Pit
42 – 44 Jeff Green Chevrolet 2 0 2 In Pit
43 – 87 Kevin Conway Chevrolet 0 0 2 In Pit
Jeff Gordon’s Win At Phoenix Spurs A Dream Week For One Lucky Fan
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[/media-credit]Not long after Jeff Gordon’s landmark win at Phoenix last weekend, the social media website Twitter was buzzing with news of the “hiccups girl”- a devoted fan who predicted the driver’s win just hours before when she got hiccups- quickly becoming Jeff Gordon’s lucky charm.
Gordon was quick to take notice of his lucky charm, Courtniee, who has been getting the lucky hiccups since Darlington in 2007. “I just thought it was a one time thing, then I had them the hiccups) again the day of Pocono 2007, and the next two races and realized that maybe they were lucky,” said Courtniee.
Until last Sunday, it had been nearly two years and 66 races since the lucky hiccups surfaced. “I just would try not to think about having them or not and just enjoy watching the race,” said Courtniee. “When Jeff would have those good runs, I was hoping he would win. When he did not win, I felt just like every other fan would, but kept saying there’s always next week.”
Rooting for Jeff Gordon is not a new phenomenon for the Pennsylvania native, but a 17 year journey that has seen both wins and heartbreak. “I saw his rainbow car and thought it was the coolest thing and have been a fan since,” said Courtniee, who has an entire corner of her room dedicated to Jeff Gordon collectibles. “It’s actually the only part of my room that I keep clean.”
With all the buzz surrounding Courtniee and her lucky hiccups, it wasn’t long before Jeff Gordon took notice of her. During all of Gordon’s appearances and interviews following the win, he has mentioned Courtniee by name, calling her his lucky charm. Appearances including radio interviews, newspaper columns, and spots on NASCAR Race Hub and Jay Leno were just a few of the places where Courtniee has received publicity.
Aside from the shoutouts, Courtniee has also appeared on Sirius NASCAR Radio this past week and has been asked for multiple interviews. “This week has been one of the best weeks of my life,” said Courtniee. “It’s not every day that someone you look up to will mention your name.”
Among all the publicity she has received, Courtniee says that Jay Leno was her favorite part. “I was not expecting him to bring me up at all on the show and when I heard it, I was in shock,” she replied. “All my friends and family members are still surprised that a girl from a small town in Pennsylvania was mentioned on Leno.”
Through all of the hype and excitement of this week, Courtniee remains determined to have the opportunity to meet Gordon in person.” I would first tell him that I have been trying to meet him for 17 years. Then I would tell him that he has been an inspriration to me for most of my life,” she said. “He has taught me to never give up and to chase my dreams.”
With the 2011 season just beginning, it will be interesting to see how many more times Courtniee gets her lucky hiccups, pushing Jeff Gordon to victory. In the meantime, Courtniee will continue to bask in the glory of all the media attention, dreaming for the chance to finally meet her favorite driver.
Regan Smith Thinks His Team is Best Kept Secret in NASCAR
Regan Smith has been described by Mark McCardle, managing director of competition for Furniture Row Racing, as one of the best-kept secrets in the garage area. But Smith puts the credit solely on his team, crowning them the true best kept secrets in NASCAR.
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[/media-credit]Smith and his No. 78 Chevrolet Furniture Row Racing team have indeed had an eventful start to their 2011 racing season. Right out of the box, the young driver led several laps of the Daytona 500 before being caught up in a late race crash, yet still managing to finish seventh.
“It felt great to lead,” Smith said. “I think more importantly than that, it felt great to lead with five to go.”
“And how good that felt went downhill pretty quick from there,” Smith continued. “We had a strong car and we were in a position where we wanted to be.”
Smith had been working with Kurt Busch at the time and the two were committed to each other since their cars were so good together. Busch unfortunately got separated from Smith, then got an unexpected push from Tony Stewart, and the wreck was on.
In spite of the melee on the track, Smith still counted his Daytona experience as a “really good day.” He was also most pleased that he and his team were able to rebound from the accident to salvage a good finish.
“To be honest, I was surprised that the car was able to finish,” Smith said. “Usually when you wreck at Daytona, there are two options, one being that you are t-boned and the other that you are airborne. I never thought option three would be that we drove off and finished the race.”
“Just that quick I had to switch my brain off from trying to win the 500 to realizing that this is a 36 race season and we need points right now,” Smith said. “As soon as I finished spinning on the back stretch, that was my mindset.”
Smith admitted that he was definitely angry after the race and “pretty bummed out.” As he was riding to the airport with his fiance after the race, it hit him just how close he had come to winning the Great American Race.
“That’s when it sunk in,” Smith said. “I realized how close we were to this deal. But we recovered well as a team.”
Smith credits his Daytona recovery full to his team, who he says has worked hard to calm him down and keep his head in the game.
“Last year, I would have imploded,” Smith said. “That goes a long way to say how good of a team I’ve got around me.”
After putting Daytona in his rear view mirror, Smith turned his attention to discussing his Phoenix race. He qualified fifth for the second race of the season, but again got caught up in a big wreck that relegated him to finishing 34th, dropping him to the 19th position in the point standings.
“I think we had a bigger wreck at Phoenix than we did at Daytona,” Smith said ruefully. “Last week was just circumstances. We had a fast race car and I was fast all weekend. It was just bad luck.”
While Smith acknowledged that there were many different strategies playing out in the race, with varying tire and pit sequences in play, he also admitted surprise at just how racy many of his fellow competitors were.
“The whole race was like that and I wondered why they were so aggressive so early on,” Smith said. “I don’t know if that all caused the wreck. I think it was just ignorance.”
This weekend, Smith is ready to tackle Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He practiced well and qualified 12th for the Kobalt Tools 400.
“Off the truck, the car was good,” Smith said. “We have some ideas for what we want to change in race trim. But overall, we had another solid day with our Furniture Row Chevrolet.”
“I feel strong about this weekend,” Smith said. “We’re looking at this weekend just like we did Daytona and Phoenix. We’re here to get top tens now.”
“That’s our goal and there will come a point when we get top fives,” Smith continued. “That will be cool.”
Smith admits that he and his team are focused but also have a bit of a chip on their shoulders, especially since they are the only team based out of Denver, Colorado, not Charlotte, North Carolina.
“We’ve all got a little chip on our shoulder being from Denver,” Smith said. “We want to prove that we can not only run good from Denver but we can run as good as these big super teams.”
“I don’t think anybody in this trailer or on this team is surprised about how we are starting this year off,” Smith continued. “We’re kind of off the radar. But I know this is what I expected and this is what all these guys expected.”
“I look at it as I’m with a team that’s the best kept secret in the garage,” Smith said. “I know the people that I get to work with and I wouldn’t trade it for any other team in this garage.”
Robby Gordon Slapped with Probation for Kevin Conway Altercation
Robby Gordon, driver of the No. 7 Speed Energy Dodge for the team that bears his name, was placed on immediate and indefinite probation today by NASCAR. Gordon apparently had an altercation in the garage area Friday evening with Kevin Conway, another Cup driver with whom Gordon had prior business dealings that went south.
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[/media-credit]In fact, Robby Gordon Motorsports had filed a lawsuit against Extenze, Conway’s primary sponsor, for $690,000 in damages based on the failure to pay their portion of the sponsorship to Gordon after Conway came to race with him to continue his Rookie of the Year run in 2010.
The disagreement stemmed from the fact that Gordon replaced Conway in the car in order to keep it in the top 35 in the point standings and Extenze refused sponsorship payment based on their contention that they did not approve the driver change.
While Conway was not named in the lawsuit by Robby Gordon Motorsports, Conway did have a financial stake in the deal. Conway reaped approximately $116,000 in a percentage of the purse as well as his Rookie of the Year winnings.
In the midst of Nationwide qualifying and the start of Cup practice, Kerry Tharp of NASCAR made the surprising announcing about Gordon’s probation in the media center this afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“We met about the situation this morning and reacted accordingly,” Tharp said. “We will continue to look at this situation involving Robby Gordon.”
“We took emergency action that is stipulated in the rule book for us to be able to react this way and place him on probation.”
Tharp announced that although Gordon would still be able to compete in this weekend’s race, his probation was indeed indefinite.
“There is no time frame on it right now,” Tharp said. “It could be revised as we move along but the action we took today, we just placed him on probation, period.”
Tharp advised that he did not witness the incident so felt that he could not elaborate on it.
“It was an incident in the garage between him and another driver that took place,” was all that Tharp would confirm.
Gordon qualified 38th for the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
NASCAR: Incident Between Gordon and Conway Results in Immediate Probation
NASCAR has placed Robby Gordon on immediate probation after an incident involving he and Kevin Conway occurred Friday following Sprint Cup qualifying.
Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton described the episode as a “heated debate,” but would not confirm whether or not it was a physical confrontation.
Conway stated he had filed a police report regarding the incident, but offered no more information.
Conway drove for Gordon in six races last year, and the two are currently involved in a legal battle over disputed money.
NASCAR officials said Gordon will be allowed to race in tomorrow’s Kobalt Tools 400 and that his probation may be revised as more information becomes available.
Neither driver could be reached for immediate comment.
