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May 2nd, 2011
Volume V, Edition LXXVIII
Sprint Cup Race Recap: Kyle Busch Bests Hamlin In Richmond
by Jay Pennell
After laughing off a rumored crew chief swap earlier in the week, J.D. Gibbs was all smiles sitting in the Richmond International Raceway media center following Saturday night's race. The team president was sitting next to race winner Kyle Busch, who had just given Joe Gibbs Racing its fifth straight win at the track. "That wasn't that big a deal," said Gibbs. "I think anytime, we haven't been running like we're used to running, so that's a concern. It was nice to put it to bed. Our guys did get a kick out of it."
They got a kick out of it and then kicked the you-know-what out of the field. Not only were they able to save enough fuel for the end, they dominated with Busch leading 235 of the 40 laps and Hamlin out front three times for 38 more laps. There were other leaders throughout the night – seven drivers led more than 10 laps – but few had anything for the No. 18 and No. 11.
A string of late race cautions stacked the field up and put a number of drivers on varying pit strategies. That allowed Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Greg Biffle to start ahead of Busch and Hamlin on the final restart of the evening on Lap 315. Restarting on the outside in fourth, Busch made a strong move on the outside into Turn 1 to go three-wide and battle for the lead going into Turn 3.
Getting past Burton for the lead, Busch never looked back as he bobbed and weaved his way through traffic. But thanks to the quick restart, Hamlin was never able to catch his teammate and challenge for the win.
"Once you commit yourself to where you're going, you pretty much got to stick with your gut, do what you got to do to get through there," Busch explained.
"He was just so good on restarts," Hamlin said of his teammate. "He was making up a lot of ground and once he got out front, he kind of set his own pace and that's something that's very important on this race track. Once you get out front, you can set your pace and set how hard you want to run. Congratulations to them. They worked real hard on their short track program. Obviously, a one-two finish is good for everyone."
As Busch and Hamlin stole the show, Kasey Kahne sealed off a strong run by coming home in the third spot. Coming off knee surgery, Kahne earned his best finish of the 2011 season.
"The track was so slippery with this tire that we were all just babying the throttle throughout the race runs," Kahne said. "I thought that's when we were probably our best was on the longer runs. We weren't quite good enough for the Gibbs cars. They were really good tonight. It was still a good run. The guys did a great job and it was nice to get a top-5."
Staying quiet for much of the evening, David Ragan was once again to capitalize on a fast car and solid run to finish in the fourth position. Fast for much of the year, Ragan has struggled to finish well, with four finishes of 22nd or worse and two DNFs. Running outside the top-15 for the majority of the race, the Roush Fenway driver was able to pit late, catch a few breaks and be there at the end.
"We had a bad pit stop the first run and got behind a little bit," he said. "We had to fight and get the lucky dog. Our team never gave up. Our UPS Ford was fast. Fast cars can find their way to the front. We were fortunate not to have any yellows that last run because our car was really good on long runs. I am proud that we were able to get the finish that we needed."
Teammate Carl Edwards rounded out the top-5 and heads to Darlington with a nine point lead over Jimmie Johnson. Pitting with Ragan late in the going, Edwards was hoping the Gibbs teammates would run out of fuel and they would be sitting in the catbird seat.
"We were hoping we were in the right position there," Edwards said. "David Ragan took fuel, we had fuel. I thought those guys were going to run out. I didn't think they would be able to make it, but that is the way it goes. We are still leading the points and we have stretched it out a little bit, which is great. We will go to Darlington and race hard there for 500 miles. I think that feeling of fifth here tonight will be replaced with the points lead feeling in a little bit, and that will feel better. I had a fun night though."
Talladega winner Jimmie Johnson struggled the majority of Saturday night's race, running a lap down the majority of the race. However, thanks to a number of late-race cautions, Johnson was able to first get his lap with the free pass. When the cautions kept coming, varying pit strategies allowed the No. 48 to work their way back into the top-10 and finish the night eighth.
"We got a good finish out of it, but it was a long, long night," Johnson said. "Hats off to the team for not giving up, for sticking with it and staying after it. We got the car semi-competitive and then finally got some strategy and finally got back on the lead lap and we went from there. So frustrating night but a good points night."
Clint Bowyer, AJ Allmendinger, Johnson, Tony Stewart and Brian Vickers rounded out the top-10.
The night definitely had its share of highlights along with the strong Gibbs performance.
Ryan Newman and Juan Pablo Montoya continued a feud that seems to be dragging on since Montoya's Sprint Cup Series debut at Homestead in 2006. The two made contact exiting Turn 2 just over 100 laps into the race. Montoya was sent into the outside wall and suffered heavy damage to the rear of the car. After starting on the pole, Montoya's day was ruined and he made it a point to try and make Newman's just as bad.
Over 100 laps later, Newman – running eighth – moved past the lapped car of Montoya. As the pair headed into the third corner, Montoya drove into the back of the No. 39 and sent him spinning into the outside wall.
Clearly a retaliation move, Newman told his crew over the radio he would take care of Montoya after the race. However, following the race Montoya was quick to exit his car and leave the track before Newman even had a chance to park his ride. Instead of heading to the Ganassi hauler, Newman and crew chief Tony Gibson made a visit to the NASCAR hauler.
"We were running solidly in the top-10, but when Ryan got hit, that doomed any chance of a top-10 or top-5 finish," Gibson said. "It was an unnecessary hit and we're not happy about what happened. We will battle on and get the results that we deserve for our Army Strong Soldiers."
Exiting the hauler, Newman simply said, "I was intentionally crashed and it ruined our day."
With just under 100 laps remaining in the race, a number of strong cars were taken out when Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon got together on the backstretch. Running two and three wide, Kenseth was turned into the left rear of Gordon's No. 24. The contact sent Gordon sliding hard into the inside wall, in which he hit flush with the driver side. The wreck also collected David Reutimann, Jamie McMurray, Mark Martin, Kurt Busch, Paul Menard, Clint Bowyer and David Gilliland.
While it ended the day for Gordon, the hard hit also knocked the wind out of the veteran driver. The area of the wall the No. 24 made contact with had no SAFER barrier and was unforgiving to Gordon.
"I must have hit the corner of that inside wall. Again, I wish they had a SAFER barrier there. I seem to be able to find the ones without the SAFER barrier," Gordon said. "I know. I don't know what it is. I'm not trying to teach anybody anything. I really am not. I think it is pretty well known we need SAFER barriers everywhere. You think it is a short track and everything but man, I hit a ton and hit right on the corner where you don't want to hit. It definitely got my attention. That is for sure. It rang my bell."
Next weekend, the series heads to the Lady in Black, Darlington Raceway. Carl Edwards leads the standings by nine points over Jimmie Johnson, with Kyle Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman, Kenseth and Tony Stewart rounding out the top-10.
Tracking The Chase: Edwards Maintains His Advantage
by Phil Allaway
Points leader Carl Edwards had a good night at Richmond on Saturday. Despite an instance when he got caught in the third lane on a restart, Edwards brought his Scotts EZ-Seed Ford home in fifth. That finish allowed him to expand his lead to nine points over Jimmie Johnson. Johnson came back from a lap down to finish eighth on Saturday. As a result of his victory on Saturday night, Kyle Busch moved up three places to third. Kyle Busch displaced Dale Earnhardt, Jr. from the top three as a result. Earnhardt, Jr. struggled for much of the race Saturday night, finishing two laps down in 19th and dropping to fourth in the standings.
Kevin Harvick is down one place to fifth after a 12th-place finish on Saturday. However, he is just one point behind Earnhardt, Jr. Kurt Busch is down one place to sixth after a simply terrible weekend. To have finished 22nd was actually quite an accomplishment for the team, which spent much of the time hovering around 30th. Clint Bowyer is up three places to seventh after a sixth-place finish, while Ryan Newman is down one place to eighth after finishing 20th.
Just one point behind Newman is Matt Kenseth in ninth. Kenseth lost a place in the standings after a 21st-place finish. Tony Stewart moves up two places into a guaranteed Chase spot after a decent run up to ninth at the finish.
The Chase wild cards at the moment are AJ Allmendinger and Jeff Gordon. Allmendinger gained four places after finishing seventh Saturday night. Jeff Gordon, despite his crash and 39th-place finish, still holds on to the last Chase slot by virtue of his victory at Phoenix in February. He is currently 16th in points.
Points:
1) Carl Edwards 335. 2) Jimmie Johnson -9, 3) Kyle Busch -30, 4) Dale Earnhardt, Jr. -34, 5) Kevin Harvick -35, 6) Kurt Busch -46, 7) Clint Bowyer -51, 8) Ryan Newman -58, 9) Matt Kenseth -59, 10) Tony Stewart -60.
Wild Cards: AJ Allmendinger (11th in points, zero wins), Jeff Gordon (16th, Phoenix victory)
Tracking The Top 35: Best Unrestricted Finish Puts Baldwin In Top-35
On Wednesday, Tommy Baldwin Racing announced 24 races' worth of primary sponsorship (via Golden Corral and Big Red) that will allow the team to complete the remainder of the season without having to start-and-park. On Saturday night, the team took full advantage of their support.
Despite getting lapped early in the race, the No. 36 team was able to take advantage of good fuel mileage and some timely cautions to bring home a 13th-place finish, tied for the best finish ever for the team and best-ever at an unrestricted track. The finish boosts the No. 36 up three places to 34th in owners' points and locks the team into Darlington. It will definitely be a relief for the small operation to not have to worry about getting into the race on speed for the first time ever.
The Tommy Baldwin Racing No. 36 locked into the field at the expense of the TRG Motorsports No. 71 and driver Andy Lally. Lally's No. 71 was 36th in owners' points entering Richmond, but was locked into the field by virtue of the Wood Brothers Racing No. 21, which was 32nd in owners' points entering the weekend, not attempting the race. In the race, Lally advanced from his 41st starting spot to finish 26th, three laps down. That finish was good enough to put the No. 71 in a three-way tie for 35th with the FAS Lane Racing No. 32 and the Germain Racing No. 13. Unfortunately, both the Nos. 13 and 32 have best finishes of 15th this season. Meanwhile, Lally's best run in the No. 71 was a 19th at Talladega. As a result, TRG Motorsports will have to qualify on speed at Darlington.
TRG Motorsports lost the tiebreaker to two other teams. The No. 32, driven by Ken Schrader on Saturday, was not all that competitive. After qualifying in 38th, Schrader ran around near the back of the pack and finished 32nd, six laps down. Casey Mears qualified the No. 13 much better in 15th, but the GEICO Toyota dropped back through the field pretty fast. Mears was complaining of a lack of grip and such a condition made it very difficult to race around other drivers. Mears eventually brought the No. 13 home in 28th, four laps down.
Bubble Standings Through Richmond:
31) Phoenix Racing (No. 09 – Landon Cassill), +23 ahead of 35th place.
32) Wood Brothers Racing (No. 21 – Trevor Bayne), +8.*
33) Robby Gordon Motorsports (No. 7 – Robby Gordon), +5.
34) Tommy Baldwin Racing (No. 36 – Dave Blaney), +4.
t-35) FAS Lane Racing (No. 32 – Ken Schrader), +0 ahead of 36th place.
t-35) Germain Racing (No. 13 – Casey Mears), -0 behind 35th place.
t-35) TRG Motorsports (No. 71 – Andy Lally), -0 behind 35th place. (Lost tiebreaker)
38) Front Row/MaxQ Hybrid Team (No. 37 – Tony Raines), -34.
39) Front Row Motorsports (No. 38 – Travis Kvapil), -41.
*- Wood Brothers Racing's No. 21 is still 32nd in owners' points despite not attempting Richmond. The team is now ineligible to be locked into the field for the rest of the season.
Got NASCAR-related questions or comments about 2011? John's got answers!
A new year means a new columnist to answer all your pressing questions about the sport! Our legendary flagman John Potts is taking over our Fan Q & A, so be sure to stack his inbox with plenty of queries and comments for the New Year! Send them his way at
john.potts@frontstretch.com; and if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print when he does his weekly column answering back to you – the fans!
Secret Star of the Race: The Race You Never Saw All right, so maybe Dave Blaney's story has been well documented already. The Ohio native, just a year removed from start-and-parking for a living has been topping the NASCAR news cycle after nearly taking his single-car, Tommy Baldwin Racing ride to victory at Talladega. The strong performance was enough to woo one-time sponsor Golden Corral, signing on as primary for 19 of the final 28 races this season during the off week. Still, after working parity to his advantage at a plate track, Blaney couldn't possibly compete with his rich, multi-car competitors once NASCAR came off those superspeedways… right? Right?
Wrong. Blaney was simply masterful on Saturday night, using a Lucky Dog and strong fuel mileage to his advantage but also improving the handling on his Chevrolet with every stop. Consider that the team he was driving for, TBR, had only two other top-20 finishes in its short history on the circuit… and each of those were at Daytona and Talladega, respectively, where forced parity takes center stage. In fact, the previous high for this operation at a non-plate track was 22nd, scored by Mike Bliss at Fontana last February; Blaney obliterated that mark with a 13th-place, one-lap down run that shows just how well these single-car teams can do with proper funding.
"It was really interesting that the harder I was on the equipment, the better the car handled," explained the driver afterwards. "We were really fast the second half of the race and worked our way through the field. It was really fun out there. This team has worked really hard. I am just thankful that Golden Corral came on board with us for 19 races."
"Their support will help us try to run like this every week."
As explained above by Phil Allaway, the run puts Blaney's team inside the top-35 for the first time in their short history. And if Saturday night's performance is any indication, expect them to stay there for some time to come. – Tom Bowles
STAT OF THE WEEK: 4.9. That's the career average finish for Kyle Busch in 13 starts at Richmond International Raceway. He's got 11 top-5 results, has a worst performance of 20th and has led 461 of the last 1,200 laps run at the facility. Is it safe to say he's got a handle on this racetrack? Good thing for his competitors the fall event is the last one before the Chase… not inside it. – Tom Bowles
Big Six: Crown Royal Presents the Matthew & Daniel Hansen 400
by Amy Henderson
Who… gets my shoutout of the race?
Not only did Richard Petty Motorsports come roaring back from the brink of extinction at the end of 2010, the organization just keeps betting better. A.J. Allmendinger finished seventh at Richmond, besting Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart in the closing laps and climbing to eleventh in points in the process. And that wasn't even the best news. Allmendinger sported a brand-new sponsor at Richmond in Nautica. It was a single-race deal, but a new-to-the-sport sponsor is a rarity these days, especially for a smaller team - and Allmendinger certainly gave them their money's worth.
What… was THAT?
While it doesn't have much to do with this weekend's race, it has everything to do with NASCAR history. It was sad enough to hear that a piece of history; Smokey Yunick's Daytona Beach garage, was lost in a fire, but it's heartbreaking to hear that that fire was intentionally set. With one act of selfishness, the Best Damn Garage in Town stands no more. Luckily, its legacy will stand for much longer.
Where…did the polesitter wind up?
After a couple of tangles with Ryan Newman, Juan Pablo Montoya's racecar was definitely worse for the wear, and Montoya limped home in 29th place, five laps down. Montoya also drew a warning from NASCAR to stay away from Newman during the race and a comment from Newman that he'd "settle it after the race." Friday was definitely Montoya's best day of the weekend.
When…will I be loved?
Sure, you can expect plenty of beating and banging on a short track. If everybody who caused a spin was the villain, there wouldn't be very many good guys left. Sometimes it's not simply causing an incident, but causing the most spectacular one that garners that dubious recognition, and that honor this week goes to Clint Bowyer who got into Matt Kenseth with 100 laps remaining, triggering a multi-car melee that caught Jeff Gordon, Paul Menard, Jamie McMurray, Joey Logano, Mark Martin, and others in the fray. Bowyer is usually pretty mild-mannered, but he's got a lot of fans angry at him after Richmond.
Why…no SAFER barrier on Richmond's backstretch?
That's a good question after Jeff Gordon slammed into the inside wall, driver's side first, on Saturday night. There is no grass in front of the wall to slow a car down, leaving a driver vulnerable as Gordon showed. Gordon had the wind knocked out of him, and while it could have been much worse, there's really no reason to have that wall - or any other - exposed when the technology is available to make it SAFER.
How…many of my preseason top 12 picks are in the top 12 with the "regular season" hitting the 1/3 mark?
After a somewhat surprising start to the season, I've got eight of the top 12 right so far, including the top two. I even have those two in the correct order so far. After that, though, it's a mixed bag. Behind Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson, I also have Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, the Busch brothers, Tony Stewart and perpetual Chaser Matt Kenseth on my list. My other picks…well they aren't faring too well. Greg Biuffle's 14th, only a dozen points out of the top-12, but Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, and Jamie McMurray sit 16th, 17th, and 24th respectively. Lucky for me there are the wild card spots, I guess. Seriously, though, there's so much racing left it's pretty hard to call anyone a lock, in or out-but next time we see Richmond, it will all be on the line.
Amy Henderson is a Senior Writer for Frontstretch.com. She can be reached via e-mail at amy.henderson@frontstretch.com.
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud: Richmond-1 Race Recap by Matt McLaughlin
by Dave Thompson
by Brody Jones
FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: The Southern 500 has been the site of some unusual instances in the past. The 1986 Southern 500 was no exception. What happened in that race that has almost no parallel in recent times?
Check back Tuesday for the answer, here in the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Friday's Answer:
Q: If you've been reading either Frontstretch, or the Frontstretch Newsletter this week, then you've noticed a lot of articles about Cup drivers in the Nationwide Series. It was generally viewed as a positive move designed to get more track time. However, some drivers have paid the price for their double-dipping in the past. Examples of this include Ernie Irvan suffering what amounted to a career-ending injury in his own Busch car at Michigan in August 1999, and Steve Park's infamous injury at Darlington in September 2001.
At Richmond, Johnny Benson suffered an injury that put him out of the car for a few races while driving in the Busch race in 2002. What happened?
A: Benson, driving the No. 31 Whelen Chevrolet for Marsh Racing, spun and hit the outside wall hard in Turn 4 very early in the race. In the crash, Benson suffered injuries to his ribs that forced him to sit out the next three Cup races. Joe Nemechek was tapped to substitute for Benson in the Cup race at Richmond the next night, while Jerry Nadeau filled in for the subsequent two weeks after that.
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Coming Tuesday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
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Top News from TBA
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Sitting In The Stands: A Fans' View by S.D. Grady -- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
The Yellow Stripe by Danny Peters
Danny is back with another captivating commentary. This week, he talks about how NASCAR and patriotism are tied together in the wake of Osama Bin Laden's death.
What's Hot / What's Not in Sprint Cup: Richmond-Darlington Edition by Summer Dreyer
Summer takes a look at post-Richmond numbers to see who's got the most momentum heading into Darlington... and beyond.
Five Points To Ponder by Bryan Davis Keith
Bryan's back with his weekly edition of talking points to get you set for the Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
Talking NASCAR TV by Phil Allaway
Last weekend, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series raced at Richmond International Raceway. Meanwhile, the Izod IndyCar Series made their annual trip to Sao Paulo, Brazil. Were these telecasts up to snuff, or did they leave something to be desired? Check out our weekly TV critique to find out.
Fact or Fiction by Tom Bowles
Tom looks at some conclusions that could be made after the off week and determines whether they're true or not.
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