Denny Hamlin Hospitalized Overnight and Released After Hard Crash
Oct 7, 2008 NASCAR
NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Denny Hamlin was taken to the infield care center and then to the University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital following a hard crash at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday.
On lap 99, Hamlin was leading the Amp Energy 500 when the right front tire on his No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota violently exploded. His the car shot up the racetrack and into the outside wall.
Crew Chief Mike Ford said it was unclear if the tire failure was caused by debris or a deficiency in the Goodyear product.
When Hamlin said nothing over his in-car radio after the impact, his spotter, Curtis Markham, was heard asking if he was okay then telling him to just catch his breath.
Hamlin climbed from the car slowly under his own power, but was then assisted to a stretcher by emergency personnel.
He was complaining of a headache and thought to have a concussion. He was also favoring his right foot as he walked away from his severely damaged car.
Hamlin was described as “alert and awake” as he was transported to the hospital by ambulance. As a precaution, Hamlin was kept overnight for further observation.
J.D. Gibbs, President of Joe Gibbs Racing, issued a comment after the incident:
“Denny’s alert and doing well. He’s got a little headache so they’re going to take him to Birmingham just to keep an eye on him. The tire went down and it was quite a shot he took when he hit the wall. The good news is that he feels pretty good, but we’re just going to take every precaution to make sure he’s okay.”
On Monday, Hamlin was released from the hospital with no reports of any serious injuries.
JGR spokesman Jon Mason said Hamlin returned to his home where he is expected to rest a sore foot.
Mason stated that doctors are likely to give Hamlin the go-ahead to compete in both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races this weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.
Mason added, “as it stands, [Hamlin] is likely to be in the car on Thursday” for practice.
Hamlin was scored in the 39th position after the race and fell two spots to the 12th and final slot amongst the Chasers in the point standings, 335 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.
Tony Stewart vs. Regan Smith: Who Was Right?
Oct 7, 2008 NASCAR
I saw the race at Talladega Speedway. I was watching remains of the last race. At first, I thought that Tony Stewart was going to win. But somehow, Regan Smith attempted to pass Tony Stewart. However, his pass came below the yellow line, making it illegal.
Tony Stewart was announced as the winner, while Regan Smith was placed in 18th, the end of the lead lap, an equivalent of a drive-through penalty.
Then, I watched the interview of Regan Smith. He said that he was forced down by Tony Stewart.
I disagree with Regan Smith because Tony had the right to block everyone behind him to protect his lead. I have seen a lot of race. I have seen many NASCAR drivers block others to protect their position. It is part of the game in NASCAR where they can be allowing to block.
I believe that Tony Stewart did win the race, not Regan Smith. Smith is rookie driver and he needs to know and understand the rules; he made an illegal pass, even though Stewart did “force” him down.
You can tell me your opinion of your thoughts that who should win the Talladega Speedway.
NASCAR clarifies yellow line rule
Oct 7, 2008 NASCAR
NASCAR has issued clarification on their ruling about driving below the yellow line at restrictor-plate races, following Sunday’s controversial finish at Talladega.
Di Resta gets extensive McLaren test
Oct 7, 2008 Formula One
The McLaren Mercedes team will run British driver Paul di Resta during four days of testing later in October.
Ferrari revert to ‘lollipop’ system
Oct 7, 2008 Formula One
Ferrari will go back to using the traditional “lollipop” system in the Japanese Grand Prix following the problems they had in Singapore.
Wreck Fest Seperated The Contenders From The Pretenders
Oct 7, 2008 NASCAR
What a wild card race. Talladega did what most expected it to do. Separate the leaders (Jimmie Johnson,Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle) and put the other 10 out of reach.
For Denny Hamlin I don’t think it matters that he lead part of the race or that he dropped back into 12th in the standings. But in this case he is 335 points behind the leader and with less than six races to go, it will be to difficult to climb. Sunday was really his chance to take advantage of other chasers issues.
But effectively a blown tire ended his hunt for a championship. Now don’t expect him just to ride around a take laps. Hamlin will be a factor for wins especially at the Martinsville and Phoenix. Thank goodness for the safety in these cars, he could have been injured more severely than he was.
Denny Hamlin: Eliminated
Kyle Busch had a great run going and had moved up in the points. He was being smart on Sunday staying out of trouble and avoiding the first big one, only to be involved in the chaser’s big one.I eliminated him last week; and that won’t change this week. He is too far behind to really have an impact.
And unless Jimmie Johnson has a complete breakdown, Kyle doesn’t have much of shot. I expect him to be just as aggressive as he was in the “regular season.” We are coming up to tracks where he has ran well.This driver is looking to improve his postion in the standings.
Kyle Busch: Eliminated
For Dale Earnhardt Jr. Talladega was suppose to be his chance to make a real run at the top three. For most of the day he ran up front, gaining drafting buddies in guys like Juan Pablo Montoya and his teammates Casey Mears and Jimmie Johnson. But with less than 20 to go, it was time to go for broke. And he got swept up in someone else’s mistake. This was huge for Junior.
Last week he already on the edge of elimination and now this week, I have to eliminate him. He has lost four positions in the last two weeks and it will be too difficult to gain any ground on the leaders. You might see Jr. and company start to look toward next year as the weeks wind down. Don’t expect him to just play dead. He will race for wins but it is a little to late.
Jr: Sorry Jr. nation, Eliminated
Matt Kenseth was minding his own business for most of the day drafting with the leaders and being patient. He expected the big one. But what he didn’t expect was he would be taken out by his own teammate.
After consecutive weeks of strong runs and strong finishes Kenseth watched his title hopes fade quickly as the Alabama summer. Sitting ninth in points while is improvement from where he started will mean nothing when one of the top three hoist the trophy.
He can make ground on the guys in front of him but it’s a little to late for this team as they sit 245 points out of the lead. I won’t eliminate them quite yet. I think he has a couple tracks coming up where he can make some ground. But he has no more mulligans left and if after Charlotte he has gained nothing on the leaders his title hopes are over.
Matt Kenseth: Just hanging on…
For Jeff Gordon this year is one to forget. Not only has he yet to win, he has more bad luck than necessary. But the good thing is he is competitive on the track for the first time all year. A little too late yes, but it’s good to see him coming to the track with good cars and translating that on the track.
Sunday for him was one he’d like to forget. He tried going back in the pack after being shuffled out on a restart to his teammates but when that wasn’t working he started toward the front. A cut tire from David Reutimann and Gordon’s day was over.
His finish like the rest of the chasers involved in accidents wasn’t indicative of how strong his car was. But due to the melee late in the race Gordon only lost two positions in the standings. His title hopes are probably over, but like Kenseth his better tracks are still to come.
For the DuPont team they are looking to next year and working on the 1.5 tracks but they still can play spoiler.Like Kenseth looking for there first win, Gordon and company could be eliminated by next week from the list if they have another problem at Charlotte or gain little to no ground on the leaders.
Jeff Gordon: Has a little hope (and I mean little)
Tony Stewart, now I effectively eliminated him last week. And I wasn’t wrong. I miscalculated; Talladega. While Smoke did improve four spots in the standings he still sits 203 points out. And he gained ground on the leaders after the chaser big one.
Possibly if not for Carl Edwards mistake Tony would be sitting in 10th instead of seventh. But I am not going to eliminate him this week. Like Gordon, Kenseth he still has a little hope of making a run.
He has no room for error at this point and he can’t afford to lose any more ground to the leaders. After Charlotte will be key. If he has lost any more points his run might be over for good. Look for Stewart though to carry there momentum from Talladega to Lowe’s.
Tony Stewart: Reborn, for now.
The dark horse of the Chase might just have lost his chance. Kevin Harvick was pretty consistent throughout the day, good pit stops, and a strong car. But towards the end at Talladega anything is possible.
He lost one position in the standings and still sits within one race of the leaders. It’s difficult to gain ground on the top three when you are involved in track incidents. He needs to start gaining points and leading laps and winning, if he wants any chance at a title.
Kevin Harvick: Still alive
For Clint Bowyer (fifth) and Jeff Burton (fourth) they have done something nobody else has been able to do; gain ground on Jimmie Johnson. Taking advantage of other chasers problems these two drivers avoided both big ones and came out with strong finishes.
They did exactly what they hoped to do just survive Talladega. While they did gain ground on the leader they also need to win a races and lead laps something neither have done much of in the chase.
While they are still very much in this title chase, they need to have strong runs here on out and avoid any issues. They can’t afford to have any issues the rest of the way if they want to to make a run at that title.
Clint Bowyer: Staying within touch
Jeff Burton: Consistently consistent
For Greg Biffle he wasn’t worried about winning all to much just finishing. He was well on his way until his teammate who he was drafting with got a little to greedy and turned Biffle in front of the field.
He sits 77 points out of Jimmie Johnson, and with upcoming tracks where he ran well at Biffle will be a factor in deciding this cup. For Biffle Sunday was about surviving and hoping to avoid the big one. And while he didn’t avoid the big one, he didn’t lose touch with the leader.
Greg Bifle: Staying relevant
Carl Edwards quickly became the villain on Sunday. He apologized and apologized to anyone who would listen but the for the guys he knocked out of contention for a win and possibly the title didn’t want to hear. At least not right then.
He was genuinely sorry for his mistake and didn’t blame another driver, he admitted that he pushed to hard. but it all was a little to late. We all know it wasn’t on purpose.That doesn’t sour the blow to those guys who cars were wrecked.
He lost some ground on Jimmie Johnson but he still very much alive.He needs to avoid rookie mistakes and stay focus at this point he needs every point he can get.
Carl Edwards: Contender
Jimmie Johnson. What can you say goes a lap down early struggles to stay in the draft, avoids the two big ones and come out with a top 15 finish, and increases his lead. We all want to say “it’s over” just hand the trophy to him, but there is still more racing to go and anything can happen.
Lowe’s is Jimmie’s house but last time there he struggled with the car. Jimmie can’t make a mistake at all. he can’t afford to fall a lap down or get caught up in someone else’s mess. But after Lowe’s some definite test are ahead in places like Martinsville and Texas. So staying consistent is key.
Jimmie Johnson: Being Jimmie Johnson
Talladega was the real wild card and we have tracks like Martinsville which will play a factor in this chase. The eliminated can change from week to week depending on how much ground lost or gained except for 11th and 12th place(Busch and Hamlin). Guys who are not within a race can play spoiler. While the guys ahead of them can’t afford any mistakes and guys like Tony, Jeff and Jr. can go for broke and see where they end up.
Wait until next year when this race isn’t until November only three weeks before the end of the season. See how the points are affected come next November. On to Lowe’s expect to see the usual suspects Jimmie and Carl and Jr.
But I think guys like Jeff Gordon who has recently been making ground on the 1.5 tracks and running well and Matt Kenseth leave nothing on the track. See you in Charlotte.
Bernie Ecclestone Sells Out North America
Oct 7, 2008 Formula One
On Tuesday Formula One racing’s governing body, the FIA, released an amended calendar for the 2009 world championship. The big surprises Bernie sells out Canada by taking away their race and give the last race to Abu Dhabi.
This is a shock to anyone who does not know Bernie Ecclestone. It would appear that once again he has taken the route that best feathers his nest. North America deserves a race; it is ludicrous that his friend gets a race in a worthless market (for global penetration) in Australia, while the worlds largest Auto market is ignored.
One could write an article about the huge impact on the city of Montreal and North American fans, however this is about the person who actually sold them out. For my money, North America has the best fans and produced some fantastic racers and races over the years, while those in Abu Dhabi have spent their time riding camels and drilling for oil.
Interesting that a race that is considered the most boring on the calender is still run, could it be that it is close to where his in-laws live? Abu Dhabi, with a population of around 850,000, it would be a safe bet to say that 849,000 would have no idea what a F1 car is.
To give a new site the last and what has been the best event on many occasions, is just not the actions of a person who has the sports best interest first. The current calender has 5 races that cannot produce a racer in any series of not. How do these places warrant a Grand Prix, if they do not pay a bribe? If paying a bribe, who is it getting paid?
The revised calendar sees the Turkish Grand Prix changing from its original August slot to a June date, while the Canadian race has been dropped. In another revision, the Italian and Belgian races have swapped positions, with the Spa event now taking place on August 30, a fortnight before the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on September 13.
The 2009 calendar in full:
29 March Australia
5 April Malaysia
19 April Bahrain
10 May Spain
24 May Monaco
7 June Turkey
21 June Great Britain
28 June France
12 July Germany
26 July Hungary
23 August Europe (Valencia)
30 August Belgium
13 September Italy
27 September Singapore
11 October Japan
18 October China
1 November Brazil
15 November Abu Dhabi
NASCAR’s Controversial Calls
Oct 7, 2008 NASCAR
After Sunday’s Amp Energy 500 at Talladega in which the car that crossed the finish line first didn’t win the race, it immediately sparked controversy and outrage.
It wouldn’t be NASCAR’s style to not have some form of controversial call or fans doing everything they can to get their voice heard about how much NASCAR screwed up.
This week is no different and it brings up the issue of some of NASCAR’s other calls “that could/should have been,” depending on how you personally view them.
Talladega and Daytona always seem to offer up fantastic finishes and also seem to offer up the most drama.
In April of 2004 Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were side-by-side when the caution came out. Brian Vickers had spun behind them and NASCAR needed to decide who was the race winner since they had not yet implemented the Green-White-Checkered finish.
When Gordon was declared the victor, a war broke out between the people in Talladega, Alabama and NASCAR. Jeff Gordon took the brunt of it, anything that could be picked up was hurled at the 24 car.
Even Dale Earnhardt Jr., who felt he was ahead of Gordon, handled it better than some of his fans, saying to his team on the radio “No matter what happens (the result) we handle it with class.”
So, move ahead to last season when in the Craftsman Truck Series, Travis Kvapil, Jack Sprague, and Johnny Benson finished three wide at Daytona. Many cried foul because it appeared Benson had gone below the yellow line to pass Kvapil for second position.
However, when looking at the replays it seems that only two of Benson’s four tires were below the line. Now, I’m by no means and official and certainly don’t have a rulebook (one could only hope that NASCAR will publicly sell them so we can all see the rules in black and white). But I would say that two tires are testy and four is foul.
NASCAR must have heard me because Benson wasn’t penalized.
That would become an afterthought when two days later at the end of the Daytona 500 Mark Martin and Kevin Harvick were door-to-door heading for the finish line when chaos occurred behind them.
NASCAR chose not to throw the caution, since fans seem to like a race to the finish, and Harvck beat Martin to the line. Fans felt that NASCAR had robbed Martin, like Smith, by not throwing the flag. NASCAR’s response was that the accident was behind the leaders and wouldn’t have affected the outcome.
So to end the year the rulebook would be brought out again, this time at Kansas.
NASCAR would end the race early due to darkness and lights not being installed at the track. As the cars came back to the line, leader Greg Biffle slowed down and coasted below the yellow line.
In the process of what he said was taking off his helmet and gloves, Clint Bowyer and Jimmie Johnson passed and beat Biffle to the flag. Biffle was declared the winner even though Bowyer, Johnson and the people of Kansas demanded that Bowyer be given the win.
Then again, Bowyer is from Kansas.
NASCAR never really had a clear cut response other than that Biffle needed to maintain caution speed.
A book could be written about all the times NASCAR found themselves knee deep in muddy waters. Like Dale Earnhardt Jr. passing the pace car at Michigan. Like Brian Vickers restart at Texas in the Nationwide Series in 2003 that cost him his first win.
There was Denny Hamlin vs. Brad Keselowski at Charlotte and penalties were only handed down to Keselowksi.
NASCAR wants everyone to play fair and follow the rules. However, that doesn’t seem possible when no one (Regan Smith) really know what rules apply and when. Sure they have drivers meetings but it appears that everyone comes away with a different interpretation.
NASCAR-please publish the rulebook. Why are you hiding it? Let the fans, media, drivers and teams all finally see what is really in there, so that no one is explaining their “interpretation” of the rule.
Then maybe you won’t have to always explain yourself. Although I highly doubt that.
Abu Dhabi blows by Montreal: FIA Dumps the Canadian Grand Prix
Oct 7, 2008 Formula One
Montreal is at its best when the Grand Prix comes to town.
The streets are alive with the sound of 750hp and 20,000 rpm, not to mention the massive street festivals, overflowing bars and restaurants along Crescent St., and the overall party atmosphere that blows in to town along with Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa, et al.
Come 2009, however, those four days in June that officially kick off summer in Montreal will now be like any other June day. The Dom Perignon will remain behind the bar, the strippers will make fewer tips and the city just won’t be as enthusiastic as it could be, unless the Canadiens are vying for their 25th Stanley Cup.
FIA has announced it is dropping the Canadian Grand Prix which, from a marketing standpoint, is not the smartest move. Montreal has always been a big draw for F1 and if it’s hoping to further increase its presence in North America, dropping Canada from the sched will all but make the sport obsolete on this continent, allowing NASCAR to further gain a stranglehold on racing fans here.
Taking that June weekend from Montreal is Turkey which allows the teams maintain its summer break. In the meantime, Abu-Dhabi—the new kid on the block—rounds out the 2009 racing season.
From the city’s standpoint, this is devastating news. It’s estimated the Grand Prix plunks nearly $80-million in to city coffers and that’s not chump change. Sure, NASCAR has got a toe-hold in the Montreal market but by no means is it as a big of a draw here. Circuit Gilles Villenueve just isn’t a NASCAR-friendly track and that probably does keep some away.
This isn’t the first time Montreal has dropped off the calendar. In 2003, Bernie Eccelstone announced Canada had been bumped from the 2004 calendar because of tobacco advertising ban that was being implemented. A massive campaign from all three levels of government, plus additional funding from merchants and hotels in Montreal, allowed the race to go ahead. In 1987, another sponsorship issue resulted in its cancellation outright.
It’s unknown what FIA’s beef with Montreal might be this time around but already, merchants and hotels are vowing to join any coalition that would campaign to keep Montreal on the F1 sched.
What may eventually save the race is a contract, signed by the city and the promoter with F1 which keeps the race in Montreal up until 2011. Breaching that contract could cost the F1 or FIA a lot of money if Canada’s Grand Prix team lawyers up.
Whether or not they will be successful in keeping the race in Montreal reains to be seen but they better hope it does otherwise it may be some time before we see another Grand-Prix race here in Montreal and the city, its merchants, restaurants, bars, and strippers can’t afford to lose that kind of revenue.
FIA delays decision on WRC promoter
Oct 7, 2008 WRC
The FIA has postponed the appointment of a global promoter for the World Rally Championship until the start of next season.
Piccinini to step down in November
Oct 7, 2008 Formula One
FIA Deputy President for Sport Marco Piccinini will leave his position at the end of his term, the governing body announced on Tuesday.
Canadian GP dropped from 2009 calendar
Oct 7, 2008 Formula One
The Canadian Grand Prix has been dropped from the 2009 Formula One calendar, leaving North America with no grands prix next season.
Montanari, Biagi lose podium
Oct 7, 2008 FIA GT
AF Corse drivers Christian Montanari and Thomas Biagi have been stripped of their FIA GT2 podium spot at Nogaro in France following a controversial late incident in Sunday’s race.
Relevant Racecars and Tire Wars: Necessity or Hazard?
Oct 7, 2008 NASCAR
(Multimatic MDP1 image courtesy of Racingsportscars.com)
In this world, there are several types of racing. Some have cars which bear relevance to road cars. Most do not. Some have tire wars. Most do not.
Historically, racing has brought change and advancement to our road cars, resulting from people trying to get the upper hand over their opponents, then big car companies latching onto those ideas.
But all this seemed to come to a crashing halt with the advent of Traction Control in Formula One. Since then, no major racing series has given us a significant boost in automotive technology.
We’re seeing signs of such advancements rising again in Le Mans racing. The American Le Mans Series was recently rated as the worldwide leader in alternate fuel technology, something that will very soon trickle down to our road cars.
But is relevance really what racing is all about? I’ve never really considered the matter myself, but thinking on it now I have to say relevance has ALWAYS taken a back seat to competition.
Relevance was just a bonus that let the automakers get something back from investing big money in racing.
If relevance was so important, NASCAR would’ve died out ages ago. Formula One would be struggling right now. The IRL/CART war would’ve ended with the death of both sides.
If relevance was important, everyone in the world would know what the 24 Hours of Le Mans is—even people who don’t follow racing.
Right now, Le Mans racing is the only form of racing that has any actual relevance to road cars.
I already talked about how innovation at Indy is dead. I’ve made mention that it’s dead in F1 in past articles. We all know innovation was never the point of NASCAR. But there’s a good reason for this…
F1, Indy, NASCAR…they all use formulas that make it difficult to make technologies relevant to road cars. NASCAR’s too low-tech, while F1 and Indy have design limitations.
But Le Mans racing has always been about relevancy. For a long time, pure-stock cars used to run at Le Mans amongst the purpose-built beasts. Even today, many of the GT2 entries are actually BUILT from a road car.
Even the prototypes are more relevant in that simply by having covered wheels, their creators learn aerodynamic details that can help them in designing better road cars.
Right now the ACO is using their influence with Le Mans to push green racing tech. And it’s the first time in over a decade that a racing series has had serious relevance to the automotive industry.
And yet, NASCAR and F1 are still top dogs in this world.
Clearly, nobody is concerned with relevance these days.
But there is something people DO get concerned about: Tire competition. And for once, I’m touching on a subject on which I’m actively involved in the debate over.
As a driver myself, my feelings are quite simple: Anything that compromises the safety of my car is a Very Bad Thing. The end.
Do tire wars compromise safety? Well, NASCAR ended two tire wars on account of compromised safety. The second one is widely believed to have claimed the life of Neil Bonnet, as well as causing several other severe injuries.
IRL and Champ Car both put a stop to tire wars on account of safety.
F1 recently ended a tire war between Michelin and Bridgestone.
The F1 tire war is a PERFECT example of their dangers. In order to outdo the other guy, one company can easily, and without realizing it, push their tires too far and make them unsafe to run. This is EXACTLY what happened in the 2005 United States Grand Prix.
Sure, the FIA’s behavior made a bad situation worse. Much, MUCH worse. So much so that the core of the problem was almost completely overlooked: Michelin brought a DANGEROUS TIRE to the race.
You can try to blame the track, but remember that Michelin had been racing there since 2001. They knew what to expect. There’s no more excuse for it than there is for Goodyear’s clusterfuck at Indy this year in NASCAR.
But at least NASCAR handled the situation better than the FIA handled the USGP disaster.
In my observation, the potential benefits of advancement in tire technology are far outweighed by the dangers of tire wars.
Bridgestone actually claims that by not having to focus on competition, they’ve been able to advance their tire technology even FASTER than during the tire war—and without compromising safety. There’s something to think about.
As a driver, you will never see me support a tire war. Nor will you ever see me support one as a fan.
I just hope that the ALMS ends their tire wars before it kills someone. Of course, in their case the Michelins are so dominant that the other suppliers have almost given up, which is obviously reducing the dangers.
But it still worried me. I would never get into a car in a professional racing series in the midst of a tire war.
There’s a lot of stuff I’d rather do than race in a tire war. And most of its not appropriate to mention here.
Tony Stewart: How to Win and What Not to Wear!
Oct 7, 2008 NASCAR
Tony Stewart: you broke your 43 race losing streak by finally winning at Talladega and I couldn’t be happier! Seriously, I was on the edge of my seat. I loved every minute of the race, but you taking the checkered flag was the icing on my cake.
While I am a NASCAR fan, I am also a fashion conscious girl. I am accustomed to seeing you in the Home Depot black and orange. I must admit, the yellow was a bit distracting to me.
I know, I know, Subway is one of your sponsors and, from time to time, you have to dust off the canary fire suit. But, I’ve got to say you looked like a giant marshmallow peep crawling out of that window in Victory Lane!
I’m sorry, but it just wasn’t a good look for you.
So, while you’re planning out your color schemes with your new sponsors for next year, stick with the achromatic. I recommend the darker hues for you: they’re slimming, fashion forward, and they really bring out your eyes.
Steve Saquella: My Career in the Fastlane, Part VII
Oct 7, 2008 NASCAR
First off I would like to announce that the Williams Grove National Open that was rained out last weekend has been rescheduled for October 11th, but will not be a World Of Outlaws event. This weekend I raced at Williams Grove on Friday in the 410 and the 358 and at Lincoln on Saturday in the 410 for the 12th Annual Kenny Weld Memorial.
In 358 action I would start sixth in my heat and quickly get up to second. I closed in on leader Nicole Bower with two laps to go. I had a good run coming off of turn four on the last lap and was able to get right alongside her, but she ended up beating me by about two feet.
Then in the A Main I would start 12th and would have to get by Pat Cannon who had been the fastest car all night long. During the 20 lap A Main I worked my way up to fifth with three laps to go. I was able to pass Aaron Ott with two laps to go and then I would get by Derek Locke for third coming to white flag. I would not be able to catch Cannon who ended up winning or Kyle Pruitt who finished second.
In 410 action I would start sixth in my heat and I got by two cars on the start. I was able to work my way into the lead on lap nine and would hold onto to win the heat. Then in the A Main I would start eighth. By lap 12 I was up to fifth. Then in the next three laps I passed Fred Rahmer, Todd Shaffer, and Chad Layton which moved me up to second.
I would catch leader Lance Dewease with three laps to go and we swapped the lead about five times in those last three laps. I had the lead coming to get the white flag when my car started to overheat and it started to smoke. Fortunately for me there was only one lap to go and I was able to hold Dewease off to win my 12th 410 A Main of the year.
My team put a new motor in for Lincoln. Brian did not attend the Williams Grove race, but was back in action at Lincoln.
The event would start out with time trials. I timed third out of 42 cars and Brian timed 11th. We would both be in the same heat. He would start third and I would start sixth. I was able to get up to fourth right behind Brian, but could not get by him and I finished fourth.
In the 40 lap A Main I would start second and would lead the first 19 laps before Dewease drove around me. Brian started sixth and was up to third by lap 26 when a lapped car brought out the caution.
The red flag was displayed due to damage to the catch fence. It would last for over 30 minutes, so drivers were allowed to get out of their cars. I went and talked to Brian and told him to go to the inside on the restart and I would got to the outside, so that we could try to split Dewease to try to get a 1-2 finish.
Well on the start he went to the inside, but he did it too early and slid up and lost three spots. He would gain those three spots back in the next few laps. Meanwhile I was able to get around Dewease on the outside and would lead until a lap 36 caution.
On the restart Dewease ran into the back of me and almost spun me out but I was able to continue, but in second. Another caution would come out on lap 37. On the restart I retaliated by running into the back of Dewease and he spun out causing a caution. Brian capitalized and got the lead.
Unfortunately for me I was black flagged for aggressive driving and I was sent back to fourth and Dewease got his second spot back. On the restart third place runner Alan Krimes got loose and I drove to the inside of him to make the pass to get back up to third.
I would run down the Dewease with one lap to go and got right on his bumper and went to the inside of him and got loose and slid up into him. I was able to get by him, but Brian had already taken the checkered flag. We ended up getting a one-two finish just like we wanted.
I will be back in action at the Williams Grove National Open on Saturday October 11th. Then I will finish out my 2008 Central PA season on Saturday October 18th at Lincoln. Then I will be racing at Hagerstown Speedway in Maryland on October 25th and 26th. I will finish my 2008 racing season in a wingless 600 race at the PA Farm Show Complex and Expo Center, which is an indoor clay oval on November 28th and 29th.
Nascar Still Laying Eggs In 2008
Oct 7, 2008 NASCAR
Is there consistency in Nascar’s rule enforcement? Sometimes, they do things that make me go “Huh?”
In Talladega’s April race, Kyle Busch was forced out below the yellow line by Mr. Jimmie Johnson. Kyle actually passed him and eventually won the race. Easy enough, no controversy there; Kyle was forced out so no penalty was needed.
I saw the same thing happen today.
Tony Stewart forced Regan Smith bellow the yellow line. Actually, it was a block dressed in “Oops, sorry” clothing. It was just and old dog doing in a rookie. Welcome to the big time son.
At that point, Smith only had two choices. One was to race, which is what he did, or lean a hard door on Tony. If they both wrecked, so what? At least you give yourself the opportunity to win, if i were Smith’s crew chief the door thing would of been my choice .
The rule is, supposedly, that you can’t pass bellow the yellow line. Understood, but this incident opens a whole new can of worms.
It would be very easy to use the yellow line as a big part of a bumper car strategy if you’re side by side on the outside, running two-wide. All you’d have to do is bump that other car below the yellow line, making him no longer able to complete the pass. And you wouldn’t even get a rough driving call.
Most drivers are being very corporate by saying “it’s a judgement call by Nascar.” That it was: a judgement call…that was wrong.
Todd Bodine Wins a Four-Wide Finish at Talladega
Oct 7, 2008 NASCAR
Todd Bodine went from bump drafting Kyle Busch to victory, to winning the Mountain Dew 250 Talladega Super Speedway, on Saturday afternoon and a amazing four-wide finish.
Bodine would record his second win of 2008, sweeping both restrictor plate races this year and repeating as a winner at Talladega.
Erik Darnell, in the No. 99 Northern Tools Ford F-150 truck, was the pole sitter, with teammates John Wesley Townley in the No. 09 Zaxby Ford F-150 truck started on the outside pole position and Colin Braun in the No. 6 Con-Way Freight Ford F-150 truck started third.
Roush-Fenway Racing truck teams held the top three starting positions, and it’s nice to see Ford have four trucks in the top five.
Jon Wood in the No. 21 Air Force Ford F-150 truck was to start fourth. But due to having to change the truck starter, he had to start from the back.
You had three wide racing already on the opening lap, and not surprisingly, the first caution came out on Lap 2 for debris on the track.
On the Lap 4 restart, Erik Darnell took the green leading, with Colin Braun in second, followed by Todd Bodine in the No. 3 Lumber Liquidator Toyota Tundra truck in third and Ron Hornaday in the No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet Silverado truck in fourth on a single file restart with the trucks driving along the yellow line.
On Lap 5, Darnell led by 0.122 seconds over Braun in second with the outside line still about 20 trucks back.
On Lap 6, Joey Logano in the No. 59 Team ASE/Harris Trucking Toyota Tundra truck goes from the bottom line to the outside line in front of Johnny Benson in the No. 23 Toyota Certified Toyota Tundra truck, which was the first truck leading the outside line.
Coming off of turn three, Benson would have none of Logano’s move, repassing him and bring the outside line with him, making “Sliced Bread” the meat in the middle.
On Lap 8, it’s still Erik Darnell leading, Colin Braun in second, Todd Bodine in third, followed by Ron Hornaday in fourth and Scott Speed in the No. 22 Red Bull Toyota Tundra truck rounding out the top five.
On Lap 9, the outside line starts to lose momentum and is falling apart with some drivers going back down to the bottom. Mike Skinner in the No. 5 Tundra sponsored Toyota Tundra along with his teammate Johnny Benson stick with the outside line and a few drivers catch up to regroup the outside line.
On Lap 10, in a team deal, Mike Skinner would get out of the outside line, let his teammate Johnny Benson by, along with the rest of the outside line. Skinner was unable to duck back behind Benson and would drop back to the back of the field.
It’s still early, having great three wide racing all over the track, some bump drafting by both teammates and fellow drivers and a lot of give and take.
On Lap 15, Jack Sprague in the No. 2 American Commercial Lines Chevrolet Silverado would slow on the track, getting shuffled out of the draft and pit to check the engine.
Sprague slowed due to his engine stopping. He would switch ignition boxes and lost a cylinder in his engine.
Ron Hornaday’s team was concerned, sending a crew member to the No. 2’s pit stall to see what the problem was and could be prepared should Hornaday have similar problems.
On Lap 17, Erik Darnell’s still leading, Colin Braun’s running in second, Todd Bodine’s running in third, Ron Hornaday’s running in fourth and Scott Speed in fifth.
Todd Bodine would let his crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. know, he had nothing for either Erik Darnell leading or Colin Braun in second. They would need to adjust the truck on their pit stop, so he could challenge them for the lead.
On Lap 19, according to Speed TV commentators, NASCAR was trying to find out which truck lost a passenger side window, reports that one did.
On Lap 20, the second caution flag flew for debris on the track, as a piece of sheet metal came off of one of the trucks and also for the window.
All the drivers would pit, Joey Logano was the truck that lost the window. They would pit and then go behind the wall to replace the window. They couldn’t just slide a new one in and lost laps while pop riveting it into place.
Joey Lagano would end the night in 26th, five laps down and would also be involved in a last lap multi-truck wreck.
The top five coming off of pit road was Erik Darnell leading, with Colin Braun in second, Todd Bodine in third, Ron Hornaday in fourth and John Wesley Townley in fifth.
But Hornaday would get caught speeding off of pit road, coming back for his drive-through penalty would stop for left-side tires and restart in 26th place.
On the Lap 23 restart, Erik Darnell took the green flag, followed by Colin Braun, Todd Bodine, John Wesley Townley and Johnny Benson rounding out the top five.
Speed would let everyone know that Ron Hornaday has led 30 percent of the laps this year.
On Lap 24, Joey Logano is back on track, four laps down to the leaders.
On Lap 26, Kyle Busch is running in ninth, Johnny Benson dropped back to 11th, Ron Hornaday is running in 20th and Scott Speed is running in 26th place.
On Lap 28, Colin Braun is in second, his truck starts to overheat and worries his crew. But it would amount to nothing; he probably had paper on his grill.
On Lap 29, Johnny Benson gets help from his teammate Mike Wallace in the No. 9 Geico Toyota Tundra in the outside line and catching up to Rick Crawford in the No. 14 Circle Bar/Power Stroke Diesel Ford F-150 in fifth.
On Lap 32, Bodine will move to the outside line from third, right in front of Johnny Benson. He would pass Colin Braun for second and start battling Darnell for the lead.
On Lap 34, Bodine would receive a push from Johnny Benson getting past Darnell and get credit for leading one lap.
But Bodine on the very next lap was repassed by Darnell for the lead, running three wide with Kyle Busch in the No. 51 Miccosukee Resort Toyota Tundra up top, Bodine the first truck in the center line and Darnell the first truck on the bottom.
On Lap 38, Hornaday would tell his spotter Rick Carelli, you need to get me away from Mike Wallace. He’s changed his line six times in two laps and he’ll cause a wreck doing that.
On Lap 40, there is great three wide action with big packs of trucks battling for position.
Erik Darnell is still leading; he’s led 60 percent of the laps on Super Speedways this year.
At the halfway point on Lap 47, it’s still the three Roush-Fenway trucks up front, with Erik Darnell leading, Colin Braun in second, John Wesley Townley in third, followed by Todd Bodine in fourth and Rick Crawford in fifth, rounding out the top five.
Ron Hornaday would be running in 26th, having problems passing trucks after his speeding penalty.
On Lap 48, Scott Speed’s running in 15th, Ron Hornaday’s starting to work his way to the front running in 19th now and switch to the outside line to do it.
On Lap 49, Johnny Benson would be running in 18th, with Ron Hornaday running in 20th and it’s 11 points separating the two.
Green flag pit stops started on Lap 50, with all three Roush-Fenway Racing trucks pitting together with Rick Crawford, Todd Bodine, and a few other drivers.
Coming into the pits, Todd Bodine had contact with John Wesley Townley. Spinning Townley out, he would recover and not hit anything.
However, Rick Crawford got pass-through penalties for speeding on pit road.
On Lap 52, Brandan Gaughan in the No. 10 Maxx Force International Diesel Ford F-150 would be leading, as other trucks made their green flag pit stops.
David Starr in the No. 11 Zachery Toyota Tundra and Terry Cook in the No. 60 Toyota Tundra, would get caught speeding off pit road and would have to make a pass-through penalty.
On Lap 53, green flag pit stops continue, with Johnny Benson getting only fuel, while others got two/four tires, adjustments and fuel.
On Lap 54, Ron Hornaday and Kyle Busch are in a large third group of trucks making green flag pit stops.
On Lap 55, only leader Dennis Setzer in the No. 18 Bessemer City Dodge Dodge Ram and John Andretti in the No. 15 Hyprone Ergon Toyota Tundra in second, haven’t made their pit stops yet.
On Lap 56, Terry Cook would make his pass-through penalties and get caught entering and exiting for speeding on pit road and would have to make another pass through.
On Lap 57, both Setzer and Andretti would make their pit stops under green. Todd Bodine would be back up front leading, with Erik Darnell in second, Matt Crafton in the No. 99 Menard’s Chevrolet Silverado truck is in third, followed by Mike Wallace in fourth and Johnny Benson in fifth, rounding out the top five.
Joey Logano would have to make a pass-through penalty for getting caught speeding leaving pit road.
Erik Darnell has led 48 of the 57 laps run so far and is currently running in second.
On Lap 64, Ron Hornaday’s running in seventh, Scott Speed’s running in 11th and Kyle Busch’s running in 14th.
On Lap 65, Todd Bodine leads, with Erik Darnell running in second, Matt Crafton running in third, Mike Wallace running in fourth and Johnny Benson in fifth rounding out the top five.
On Lap 67, Colin Braun would move to the outside line, would pass Todd Bodine for the lead and drop back to the bottom line. Hanging the outside line out to dry.
Moments after Colin Braun took the lead, the third caution flag flew for Jack Sprague who would get loose make contact with Kyle Busch and bounce his truck off of the wall.
Everybody pits, majority of the trucks got just two tires and fuel. The top five off of pit road was as follows: Dennis Setzer in first, John Andretti in second, Colin Braun in third, Brian Scott in fourth and Scott Speed in fifth.
Mike Skinner would have contact with Landon Cassill in the No. 81 National Guard Chevrolet Silverado leaving pit road. Skinner would come back to pit road, get the sheet metal pull off the right front tire, change right side tires and add a couple of 200mph tape on that right front fender.
Ron Hornaday on the last pit stop got left side tires and fuel, currently running in 11th and Johnny Benson would be 10th. The points right now between the two are just five points in Benson’s favor.
On the Lap 76 restart, the green flag flew for Dennis Setzer leading, with John Andretti in second, Colin Braun running in third, who would switch to the outside line. Brian Scott in the No. 16 Albertson’s Toyota Tundra in fourth and Scott Speed running in fifth.
For a couple of laps, you had Dennis Setzer on the bottom line, with Colin Braun in the outside line battling for the lead and further back trucks are racing four wide.
On Lap 78, Colin Braun would finally get the lead passing Dennis Setzer and dropping back down to the bottom line. Twice, he’s hung the outside line to dry.
Then it just goes crazy on the track at Talladega, with some great three-wide and four-wide racing all over the track.
On Lap 79, Brian Scott would lead the lap getting it off a four-wide battle to the line.
On Lap 80, it’s still a four-wide battle for the lead, at the line Kyle Busch would be leading at the line, getting help from Todd Bodine in second and Ron Hornaday in third.
On Lap 83, Scott Speed’s dropped back to 11th, Johnny Benson’s running back in 13th. Right now, Ron Hornaday is leading the points by 49 points over Johnny Benson.
On the same lap coming off of turn four, the fourth caution flag flew. When Colin Braun blew a left rear tire, miraculously he spun out onto the pit road entrance and the “big one” was avoided.
John Andretti would spin resulting from Braun’s problem and several trucks dodge it by going onto pit road.
With ten laps left on Lap 84, it’s going to be a great single file restart, everybody will be caught up with everybody and it will make for a awesome finish.
Kyle Busch is leading, Todd Bodine is in second, Hornaday running in third, Brian Scott running in fourth and Chad McCumbee in the No. 8 Malcolmson Construction Chevrolet Silverado truck running in fifth, rounds out the top five under caution.
On the Lap 86 restart, Kyle Busch takes the green, has a great restart keeping everyone together and leaves no gaps.
The top five would stay the same running on the bottom. The outside line starts to assemble, with Erik Darnell running as the first truck. When his teammate John Wesley Townley would leave the bottom line moving to the outside line right in front of Erik Darnell.
On Lap 89, Kyle Busch is still leading, with Todd Bodine right on his bumper pushing him. While the outside line still isn’t going anywhere with John Wesley Townley leading the line and Erik Darnell would pass him.
On Lap 90, Colin Braun would jump to the outside line, in front of his teammate Erik Darnell and results with the outside line catching up to the leader Kyle Busch down on the bottom.
Amazing when you consider Colin Braun on lap 84, he blew a tire and here he’s back up front battling for the lead.
On Lap 91, Kyle Busch on the bottom, with Colin Braun on the outside, both are the first trucks in either line, battle around Talladega for the lead and win.
As the field comes to line for Lap 92, the racing goes to three wide with four wide further back. Both Colin Braun and Kyle Busch are still the front two trucks battling for the lead and Busch lead the lap by .002 seconds at the line over Colin Braun in second.
Colin Braun with help from T. J. Bell in the No. 7 Home For The Holidays/Heathhcliff’s Chevrolet Silverado pushing him would take the lead on the white flag lap.
On the final lap, Todd Bodine would try to push Kyle Busch to victory, but contact gets Busch loose. Meanwhile the big one happens well behind the leaders involving multiple trucks and no caution flag came out.
Todd Bodine moves outside of Kyle Busch, with Ron Hornaday right behind him pushing him, Colin Braun besides Hornaday on the high side, while Mike Wallace is on his other side and Kyle Busch recovers leads the bottom line.
This resulted in a amazing four-wide finish, with Todd Bodine getting the win, by a margin of .075 seconds over Ron Hornaday who finished in second.
Todd Bodine would get his second win of the season, would sweep both restrictor plate races in trucks and would repeat as the Talladega race winner.
Todd Bodine would do the victory burnouts, take the checkers flag and make his way to victory lane. Thanking his team, gave his crew chief Mike Hillman, Jr. a big hug, thanked his sponsors and got congratulated in victory lane by Ron Hornaday. Giving him a hug and thanking him for pushing him to the win.
Ron Hornaday would finish second, over come the speeding penalty, he ran a beautiful race and was their in the end getting a great finish. He also would re-take the points lead from Johnny Benson.
Speed TV, interviewed Hornaday post race, here’s the quote of the race from him. “We’ll take second, it’s like winning at Talladega.”
Kyle Busch would finish third, he ran really well and just didn’t have the truck to finish as the winner.
Colin Braun would finish in fourth and was happy after the tire issue to get a top five finish.
Mike Wallace would finish in fifth, he was all over the place making multiple lane switches each lap, some that took your breath away, thinking he’s going to wreck and cause a very big wreck. But he didn’t, which was good and had a great finish.
Was happy to see the truck race, other than Colin Braun’s blown tire didn’t have the same tire problem’s that the ARCA Re/Max race had with tires and that the big one didn’t happen till the final lap.
The wreck resulted in no getting hurt, just a bunch of torn up trucks.
Other notable drivers had the following finishes:
Johnny Benson would end up finishing in 11th, he ran pretty well, but didn’t have the drafting help some of the other top ten drivers had and would lose the points lead to Hornaday.
Erik Darnell who led 48 laps dominated the first half of the race , had no drafting help and would finish in 12th.
Scott Speed would finish in 15th, he looked good for his first truck race at Talladega, got as high as fifth and just didn’t have the tires to get a higher finish.
Matt Crafton would finish in 16th, he ran well early, was affected by no drafting help and old tires.
Joey Logano the overhyped 18-year-old making his NCTS debut would finish in twenty-sixth place, five laps down and was one of the trucks involved in the last lap wreck. He had problems with his passenger side window, never recovered from the problem.
I wasn’t impressed with how he drove the first 20 laps, and HT Motorsports No. 59 truck’s has been one of the top teams in the series. Just seems like if the kid’s not in a JGR equipment he can’t do anything and doesn’t make all those exciting moves neither.
Now I’m more impressed with John Wesley Townley who finished in 18th place, he’s also 18, he looks really good throughtout the race and being under the guidance of Jack Roush. Give the kid a year or two to develop, he’s going to be a really great driver.
The top ten drivers at the Mountain Dew 250 are as follows:
1. Todd Bodine
2. Ron Hornaday
3. Kyle Busch
4. Colin Braun
5. Mike Wallace
6. Landon Cassill
7. Brian Scott
8. T. J. Bell
9. Mike Skinner
10. Chad McCumbee
The points battle now has Ron Hornaday leading by a 39-point margin over Johnny Benson and 218 points over Matt Crafton in third.
The next truck race is at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, Oct. 18.
Talladega Turmoil: Another Rough Day for Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Oct 7, 2008 NASCAR
The Amp Energy 500, a Sunday marked on every member of Junior Nation’s calendar.
It was supposed to mark the series of butt-whoopings that were to occur at the hands of Dale Jr. throughout the Chase of the Sprint Cup.
An Earnhardt at Talladega, he was driving the “Amp Ride with Dale Jr./National Guard” Impala SS at the Amp Energy 500, it was a day set by God for him to win, right?
Apparently not.
Junior had a rough day at practice when his tire exploded, forcing him to go to a back-up name drenched car. This led to him starting dead last.
Junior shot from 43rd to first in 26 laps and stayed within the front few spots for most of the day. While Carl Edwards on the other hand, decided to hang towards the back.
Throughout the race, many experienced the same fate Junior did in practice. Tires were blowing left and right, as Goodwrench scrambled to find an answer as to why.
Denny Hamlin was sent to the hospital after his tire exploded while he was in the lead, and he slammed into the wall.
After a record-setting day in leaders and lead changes, Carl Edwards decided to start making a charge with just under 30 laps to go.
The same man who hung in the back all day, for the sole purpose of avoiding “The Big One,” caused “The Big One 2″. Carl Edwards was drafting teammate Greg Biffle into the corner, and gave him a little too much chrome horn, causing him, Biffle, and six other Chase contenders to wreck with just a handful of laps to go. One of them was Little E, who ended up with a disappointing 28th.
More Talladega racing continued, and with four laps to go, a caution drew a green-white-checkered finish. Tony Stewart led the DEI cars of Regan Smith, Paul Menard, and Aric Amirola in second, third, and fourth place.
The green flag dropped, and Amirola quickly fell to the back while Smith and Menard drafted behind Stewart. Smith on the last lap made his move underneath Tony Stewart who then forced Smith beyond the yellow line. Smith passed Stewart and appeared to have won the race.
However, NASCAR issued a ludicrous call, stating Stewart scored his first Talladega win.
NASCAR has a rule saying that racers cannot advance underneath the yellow line, and if a racer forces a racer underneath the line, they will be penalized.
During the drivers meeting, competitors were told if forced below the line, with the checkers in sight, keep moving.
However, NASCAR ignored its own statement and gave Smith a pass-through penalty, making him finish 18th, and awarding Stewart the unjust win.
Tony Stewart Wins: Controversy At ‘Dega
Oct 7, 2008 NASCAR
So I know I haven’t written in a while and I also know that I don’t have the power to appeal or change NASCAR decisions but the call that was made about Regan Smith earlier today was unfair.
In the green-white-checkered finish today during the Amp Energy 500 at the Talledega Superspeedway, Tony Stewart was named the winner although Regan Smith crossed the line first. Stewart was named the winner because Smith made his pass below the yellow line on the last lap but the NASCAR rules state that it is legal to pass below the line if forced under the line as is what happened.
Coming into the tri-oval, Stewart had the lead but Smith gained a run on Stewart and went for the pass but Stewart was trying to block Smith and ended up pushing Smith below the line and wouldn’t allow him to come back on to the racing surface. After the checkered flag, NASCAR declared Stewart the winner because Smith went below the line.
In a post-race interview Smith stated that in the drivers’ meeting they say that on the last lap anything goes and also mentioned the rule about being forced below the line and closed by saying, “second place sucks.”
Which was after NASCAR’s decision left Paul Menard in the second position and Regan Smith in the 18th spot which was the last car on the lead lap.
So I’m just guessing here but I’m expecting DEI inc. to appeal NASCAR’s decision within the next few days.
(3.5 out of 5)