One Busch Wins, Another Fumes May 23, 2010
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Sparks were flying on track after Kyle Busch wrecked, but the sparks were flying even higher in the garage after the All Star race. Photo courtesy NASCAR.
Kurt Busch took home the checkered flag and a million dollar payday at NASCAR’s All-Star race, celebrating with his “unwind” victory lap. But it was his younger brother Kyle’s post-race antics garnering all the attention at Charlotte Motor Speedway Saturday night.
Kyle Busch and teammate Denny Hamlin restarted the final segment of the race side-by-side, ready to battle it out between them for the million dollar first place money. As Hamlin tried to keep his lead, he put a block on teammate Busch, cutting off the No. 18 car, who otherwise would have passed the No. 11 car on the outside. (more…)
Busch Capitalizes on Rare Johnson Mistake May 16, 2010
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Kyle Busch took advantage of a rare Jimmie Johnson mistake to win at Dover. Photo courtesy NASCAR.
If Kyle Busch edges out Jimmie Johnson for the 2010 Sprint Cup Championship, prognosticators will look at the spring Dover race as the beginning of the end of the No. 48 dynasty.
The hallmark of Johnson’s reign as four-time champion is consistent, mistake-free racing. But on lap 363 of the 400-lap event, Johnson was flagged for speeding at the one-mile, high-banked oval. The resulting penalty put Johnson, who led 225 laps, a lap down, and left him with a 16th-place finish. (more…)
Once, Twice, Three Times a Winner May 10, 2010
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Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 team had stiff competition from Jeff Burton, before a pit road penalty put the No. 31 team out of contention. Photo courtesy NASCAR.
Denny Hamlin made it a weekend sweep at the Lady in Black, becoming the first driver in 17 years to win both the Nationwide Series and Cup Series events at Darlington Raceway and winning his third race of the season.
Hamlin led 107 of 367 laps, holding off the “two Jeffs” – Burton and Gordon – to win at one of NASCAR’s most historic tracks.
But mistakes on pit road – Gordon’s bad timing coming in during green, but stuck when the caution came out, and Burton incurring a penalty after he accidentally drove over the air hose – put Hamlin’s two competition out of contention. (more…)
Kyle Busch is Back May 2, 2010
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Kyle Busch leads the field at Richmond International Raceway to win his first race of 2010. Photo courtesy NASCAR.
Kyle Busch made a triumphant return to victory lane Saturday, winning the pole and taking the checkered flag at Richmond International Raceway.
Busch held off Jeff Gordon, who’s been denied a win four times this season, to get his first victory in 21 races.
It’s the eighth time that Gordon’s finished second since tackling one of his worst tracks, Texas Motor Speedway, in April 2009.
“It stinks to not win every single weekend or not every 21 weekends or 21 races,” Busch said. “But it certainly feels nice to come out here with another good win and get another good finish.” (more…)
Harvick Edges out McMurray for Talladega Victory April 25, 2010
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Kevin Harvick crosses the finish line in his No. 29 Chevrolet, edging out Jamie McMurray driving the No. 1 Chevy at Talladega Superspeedway. Photo courtesy NASCAR.
One year ago, a horrific crash sent Carl Edwards’ car into the catch fence at Talladega Superspeedway, causing outcry in the NASCAR community. Sunday’s race at the Alabama track marked the fourth race that the rear spoiler was back on the car, replacing a wing that bared the brunt of the criticism for cars going airborne.
The result? A race with no major incidents, but by no means was it boring. The race set new records for the number of leaders and lead changes in a Cup Series event, and after three green-white-checker restarts, ended with Kevin Harvick making a breath-taking last-second pass on Jamie McMurray for the win. (more…)
Hamlin Wins Second Monday Race of 2010 April 19, 2010
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Denny Hamlin crosses the start/finish line to take the checkered flag and win the Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Photo courtesy NASCAR
In the second rained-delayed race of the year, Denny Hamlin – bum knee and all – took his team to Victory Lane at Texas Motor Speedway.
It’s only the second time a Cup race was run on a Monday at the Ft. Worth track and despite the delay, a significant number of fans still attended the event, which featured not only the Cup race, but also Saturday’s rain-delayed Nationwide Series race.
Hamlin held off a charging Jimmie Johnson to take the checkered flag for his second Monday win of the year, the first after having surgery on his left knee to repair a torn ACL. (more…)
In the Desert, Newman Ends Win Drought April 18, 2010
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Ryan Newman, driving the No. 39 Chevrolet, leads Jeff Gordon in the Dupont No. 24 and Mark Martin in the No. 5 Chevy during the green-white-checker finish at Phoenix International Raceway. Photo courtesy NASCAR.
In the seventh race of his second season driving for Stewart-Haas Racing, Ryan Newman returned to Victory Lane, taking the checkered flag at Subway Fresh Fit 600k.
The victory ends a 77-race winless streak for Newman, dating back to his 2008 Daytona 500 win, back when he was behind the wheel of Penske’s No. 12 Dodge.
Newman, who shares the second place spot for most number of poles in a single season (11), held off Jeff Gordon to a two-lap shootout and won at the track where he got his start in the Cup Series.
Kyle Busch dominated the race, leading 113 of 378 laps, tied for the most with Jimmie Johnson. But when the caution came out on lap 372 or the 375 scheduled laps, the field came to the pits for tires. Busch and Johnson came in first and second, respectively, but after both teams took four tires, Johnson came out seventh and Busch eighth. The six cars in front, led by Newman and Gordon, all took two tires. (more…)
Rain, Rain, Go Away… March 29, 2010
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Denny Hamlin celebrates his win at his home track, taking the checkered flag at Martinsville in the first race with the return of the spoiler. Photo courtesy NASCAR.
It may have taken an extra day for the track to be dry after Sunday’s crazy rainstorms, but Martinsville Speedway ushered in the spoiler era of the Car of Tomorrow. And in its debut race, Virginia native Denny Hamlin took the checkered flag home.
After dominating the rain-postponed race for hundreds of laps, Hamlin and crew chief Mike Ford had a difficult decision when the caution came out with eight laps to go, come in and pit, and risk losing track position, or stay out and be a sitting duck, hoping to hold off the field, many of whom would inevitably come to pit road for tires.
Ford elected to bring his driver in, and Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Joey Logano and Kyle Busch followed suit. But that put Hamlin in ninth place on the restart, and he had to muscle his way through the field to get back to the front. With the help from a caution brought out by teammate Busch, Hamlin was able to keep Jeff Gordon from taking the white flag, just a few hundred feet from the finish line.
On the ensuing green-white-checker restart, Hamlin, with four fresh tires, powered by Gordon, who was in his own battle with Matt Kenseth, as well as Ryan Newman, to take the first place. Logano, in his second year as a Cup Series driver, finished second. (more…)
Johnson Makes it 50 Wins, Ends Bristol Drought March 22, 2010
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Last week's winner, Kurt Busch, tried valiantly to stop the Jimmie Johnson's No. 48 team from taking the checkered flag in the final race of the winged car era. Photo courtesy NASCAR.
Jimmie Johnson’s done a lot in his career as a Sprint Cup driver, right? Everything but win at Bristol. Heck, even in the throughs of what would become his second consecutive Cup championship, Johnson made his debut as a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series rookie at Bristol, driving a truck owned by Randy Moss just to get some more seat time at the half-mile, high-banked oval.
Well, for anyone who thought 2010 was going to be the year Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus weren’t going to compete for a championship, the No. 48 team went out and did one of the few, if only things, Johnson & Co. hasn’t accomplished — winning at Bristol.
It seems only fitting that in the final race that NASCAR’s ill-fated wing experiment would end with a win by the Lowe’s team. After all, not only has Johnson won four consecutive championships, spanning from the era of the old car to the new, Car of Tomorrow, but he’s also the winningest driver in the wing era, taking home 22 checkered flags. It was only March 25, 2007 that the COT made its debut…at Bristol. (more…)
Tale of Two Teammates – Kurt Wins, Brad Wrecks March 8, 2010
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Kurt Busch does a burnout after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Photo courtesy NASCAR.
While Penske Racing’s Kurt Busch was celebrating in Victory Lane, his new teammate, Brad Keselowski, was busy in the NASCAR hauler while his team loaded his wrecked race car back on the truck.
Carl Edwards wrecked Keselowski, sending his car airborn before it landed on its roof with just three laps to go. The drive of the No. 12 car was ok, but NASCAR parked Edwards for the remainder of the race. It’s a shame, as leader Busch was facing intense pressure from Juan Pablo Montoya, and had nearly caught up to the Penske No. 2. (more…)