Photo Credit: HHP/Christa L. Thomas

Posted by: Dave Thompson, follow @phillyfan17

May 18, 2013

Jimmie Johnson became NASCAR’s first four-time winner of the Sprint All-Star Race on Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Johnson needed just two laps to pass teammate Kasey Kahne after the restart for the final 10-lap shootout then coasted to victory for the second consecutive season and cool $1 million.

Johnson finished 1.722 seconds ahead of Joey Logano with Kyle Busch taking third. Kahne held on to finish fourth and Kurt Busch rounded out the top-five.

With the victory, Johnson broke a tie with Dale Earnhardt and teammate Jeff Gordon for the most All-Star Race wins.

The Busch brothers dominated the first four segments, with Kurt winning segments one and four and Kyle winning segments two and three.

Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jamie McMurray, Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards rounded out the top 10.

McMurray transferred into the All-Star Race after winning the Sprint Showdown earlier in the evening. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who finished second behind McMurray also transferred in finished 16th.

Danica Patrick made her All-Star Race debut, after she was voted in by the fans, finished 20th.

First four segments recap:

First segment (20 laps): Kurt Busch grabbed the lead from pole-sitter Edwards on the first lap and never looked back leading all 20 laps. Kyle Busch finished second, followed by Clint Bowyer, Edwards and Kahne. Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Hamlin, Logano and Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top-10.

Brad Keselowski had his evening cut short after transmission problems eliminated him from contention and sent him to the garage.

After earlier showers in the area had delayed the start of the event, the first segment was red-flagged for approximately 42 minutes for rain after just 12 laps completed.

Second segment (20 laps): Kyle Busch passed Bowyer after a restart on lap 29 and led the remainder of the segment. Bowyer held on and finished second, followed by Edwards, Kurt Busch and Johnson.

Kahne, Logano, McMurray, Hamlin and Earnhardt Jr. finished sixth through 10th, respectively.

Credit: HHP/Rusty Jarrett

Mark Martin brought out the first caution (second of the race) for a wreck when his No. 55 Aaron’s Toyota slid through the infield grass on the frontstretch after contact with Stenhouse Jr. Stenhouse was unable to stay off the way in Turn 4 and bounced his No. 17 Best Buy Ford into the wall then Martin.

Third segment (20 laps): Kyle Busch won his second segment of the night when he passed Bowyer and lead the final 17 laps. Bowyer had elected to stay out between segments, while Busch took advantage of fresher tires to quickly dispose of Bowyer. Kurt Busch finished another strong segment to take second, followed by Johnson, Earnhardt Jr., and Logano. Hamlin, McMurray, Kevin Harvick and Gordon rounded out the top-10 for segment.

Fourth segment (20 laps): Kurt Busch won his second segment and gained the top spot entering the pits for a mandatory four-tire stop before the final 10 lap shootout. Busch won the spot after winning the tiebreaker over younger brother Kyle for the best average finish in all four segments. Busch passed Kahne to take the lead after a restart and cruised the final nine laps of the segment.

Kahne finished second, followed by Johnson, Kyle Busch and Kenseth. Harvick, Stenhouse Jr., Logano, Edwards and Bowyer rounded out the top-10.

With various pit strategies, some two-tires and others four-tires, the restart to this segment was set to be a wild one. Despite a two-tire change, Kahne quickly pulled away from the field while things behind him became a little crazy. Kyle Busch was used as a pinball after Logano made contact from behind getting Busch a bit loose. As Busch tried to maintain control, Ryan Newman tried to “thread the needle” between Earnhardt Jr. and Busch and made contact with both. Newman suffered a left-rear tire rub, while Busch came out with minor damage to the right front of his car.

Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett MRD/CIA

Written by: Lauren Perkins-Follow @perkylauren

May 18, 2013

In 1985, NASCAR made the decision to join the ranks of other professional sports and implemented an “All-Star” race, which at the time was called The Winston. The race was to be held in Charlotte, the “home base” for most in the NASCAR world, and would take place the weekend preceding the Coca-Cola 600, also at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The format of the race has been changed numerous times, and in 2004 the name was also changed to the All-Star Challenge. Because the race has no bearing on the points standings, drivers are able to go hard for $1,000,000 in a virtual all-or-nothing scenario.

This weekend marks the 20^th anniversary of one of the most memorable races in its history; not so much because of the outcome of the race that night, but because of what happened the following weekend. On May 22, 1993 Dale Earnhardt overcame several obstacles to win The Winston. Despite battling a poor-handling car through the first two segments of the race, Earnhardt had positioned himself well for the final restart. However, he brought out the yellow flag for jumping the restart, and the field had to be reset for the final 10 laps.

Earnhardt only led two laps that night, but they were the two that mattered. He passed Mark Martin on the second to last lap, and won the race by only a .16 second margin. Although the winnings paled in comparison to today’s large purse, it was still a sweet victory for the No.3 GM Goodwrench Team. Earnhardt would go on the next weekend to come from a lap down and win the Coca-Cola 600. His sweep of the home stand at Charlotte was an impressive feat, and one that only few have accomplished.

Tonight we will once again have the opportunity to see the top drivers in the sport battle through several short segments and pit stops. Carl Edwards sits on the pole after an exciting day of qualifying with no pit road speeds, a new factor thrown into the mix this year. Can he stay out front all night and claim another All-Star victory? Can the Hendrick drivers come from the back after some mistakes during qualifying? Regardless, it will be fun to watch it all unfold as NASCAR names another All-Star for 2013.

Courtesty of NASCAR Media

Written by Stephen Conley

May 17th, 2013

Seven starts in a year and a half and you go winless? Not typically a big deal, unless your name is Kyle Busch and you typically win seven races in a week at times thru your career.

After four weeks off for the second time this season the Camping World Truck series returned to action at home in Charlotte and for the third time in 5 races rookie Jeb Burton showed he wasn’t afraid to go fast, starting on the pole at 181.372 MPH. Ty Dillon started second for the North Carolina Educationa Lottery 200.

It didn’t take Kyle Busch long moving to the top spot from his 4^th place qualifying effort, Leading on by lap 8. Busch would lead 80 of the 134 laps, but like many of Kyle’s races and wins, it wasn’t without it’s challenges. On lap 85 during a caution for the 02 spinning on the frontstretch the field came to pit road. When Busch sped away from his pit box he dragged the fuel can out of the pit box costing him a penalty and was forced to start at the rear of the field. By lap 125 Busch was back to the point and on his way to win number five at Charlotte and the 31st of his career in 107 starts.

“It was an eternity—the starts were spread over a year and half,” Busch said of his seven-race winless streak. “It certainly was frustrating last year that (crew chief) Eric (Phillips) and I weren’t able to get to Victory Lane. We only ran three starts, and in all of those three starts, we were a really good truck and had a shot to win in all three of those…

“We’ve been fast. These guys do a good job, (crew chief) Rudy (Fugle) here, taking over for my stuff on the No. 51with a smaller team—it’s only him and a couple of other guys that are full-time for it… These guys do a lot of work for being so small and just coming out here trying to knock out some wins.”

After winning the first 2 races of the season, Johnny Sauter has struggled. A points penalty took the No. 98 out of the points following Kansas they were hoping to have a strong run at home, but a run in with James Buescher late in the race that caused damage to the 31 of Buescher, What looked like retaliation on lap 120 Contact between Buescher and Sauter entering turn three sent Sauter hard into the outside wall and to the garage.

Busch used the opportunity to bring his KBM led team to pit road to take four fresh tires–Busch carved his way through the field and had just taken over the seventh position when hard contact between the trucks of Ron Hornaday Jr. and Jake Crum—after Hornaday cut his right front tire the yellow flew for the 5^th time on Lap 94.

Lap 122, the yellow flag came out for multiple crashes coming off turn 4, eliminating several trucks at the front of the field including that of Brian Scott, Justin Lofton, who was making a rare start after winning last years race and spending this season running off Road trucks. Also involved were Darrell “Bubba” Wallace and Scott Riggs.

This would set up a late race restart with Kyle Busch and Brendan Gaughan for an 8 lap run to the checkers. Busch would get a quick start and never look back beating Gaughan to the line by .468 seconds. The second place finish and third straight top five moved Gaughan into 4^th in the season points behind Ty Dillon, Jeb Burton and Matt Crafton. The victory was the first as a crew chief for Rudy Fugle…Busch now has 113 wins in NASCAR’s top three series combined. Crafton leads in the series standings by 22 points over polesitter Jeb Burton, who finished 13th. Sauter dropped 4 spots to 6^th after his crash. Next up for the Truck Series—The Monster Mile of Dover in two weeks.

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May 17, 2013

Welcome to the seventh edition of Katie’s Komment’s, a place to find the latest NASCAR news and my opinion on it! All comments are my views only but feel free to leave your own!

Denny Hamlin’s Return: Denny Hamlin returned to the No.11 Fed-Ex Toyota full time this last weekend at Darlington Raceway and put on one heck of a show. Finishing second behind teammate Matt Kenseth, Hamlin showed us all that the weeks he spent up on top of the pit box were put to good use. Thanks to the points system put in place for the Chase, Hamlin still has a shot at making the Chase. He needs a few wins and needs to be in the top-20 in points. If he continues to run strong during the summer months, don’t be too surprised to see him grab one of the two wild card spots once the Chase starts in the fall.

Sprint All-Star Race: This race is probably one of the most exciting races of the season. There are no points awarded, there are some weird rules that the teams have to follow, he race is broken down into segments, and only the best of the best get to race. Last season, Jimmie Johnson took home the cash prize and all of the glory with Hendrick Motorsports. This season he is strong again, but he has some strong competition. Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch have been some of the strongest competitors this season and could very well get Toyota their first victory in the Sprint All-Star Race. Keep an eye on those two; they just might beat out last year’s winner and current point’s leader Jimmie Johnson for the Victory.

“Rule” Change Debate: There has been a lot of talk and a lot of not-so-nice articles that have been written in the last few days after NASCAR clarified some of the rules for the Sprint Showdown and Fan Vote. The clarification states that the Sprint Fan Vote winner has to have a car in raceable condition and does not have to finish on the lead lap of the Showdown. Most are calling this the “Danica Patrick Rule” because the fact of the matter is; she will be the winner of the fan vote. I find the name of this “rule” rude and unneeded. Last year was the first time it was stated that the fan vote winner had to finish on the lead lap, years prior, it was not the case. In the history of the Showdown and the All-Star Race, there have been less than 10 drivers who have not finished on the lead lap. Assuming Patrick won’t complete all of the laps scheduled is not really fair to her and her team. Let her race before judging her, she is doing a great job this season considering her team owner and boss Tony Stewart isn’t too far ahead of her in points.

Kurt Busch in IndyCar: Kurt Busch recently tested an IndyCar at Indianapolis and reached speeds over 218mph. Could Busch be working his way up to competing in the Indy500 next year and pulling the double? I think the answer to that is yes! I could see Busch competing in an IndyCar event this season, especially if it is an oval race like Texas, Pocono or Iowa. Busch could be really competitive in IndyCar and would bring a lot of new eyes to the sport. If he can pull the double next season, there is a possibility that we could see two other NASCAR starts take a step back into their roots and try the double as well. Tony Stewart was approached by Roger Penske who offered him a ride if he wanted it and Danica Patrick has said that if she can find a competitive ride, she would want to run the Indy 500 again. I think having three of the Sprint Cup Series competitors in the Indy 500 would be a real treat for race fans of both sports and it would definitely be history in the making.

That will be it for the seventh edition of Katie’s Komments and remember, if you don’t like mine, feel free to leave your own!

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Daytona International Speedway will offer a special ticket package for the upcoming NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event on Saturday night, July 6 at the “World Center of Racing”  that includes a question and answer session with No. 88 National Guard driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The No. 88 Package, available starting at $88 per ticket for adults and $35 for children 12 and under, includes:

·         A grandstand ticket to the 160-lap, 400-mile NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Saturday, July 6 at Daytona International Speedway

·         15-minute question-and-answer session with Dale Earnhardt Jr. inside an air-conditioned tent in the frontstretch hospitality village

·         $10 in Daytona Dollars that can be used for food and non-alcoholic beverages at any Daytona International Speedway concession stand

·         Special Daytona International Speedway giveaways

Tickets for No. 88 Package are available at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com/88 or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP.

Fans can follow NASCAR on Twitter (@NASCAR) and stay up to speed on the latest news by using hashtags #NASCAR. Fans can also stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest for the latest news all season long.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Nine-time GRAMMY winner  Sheryl Crow, whose long list of hits include “All I Wanna Do,” “Soak Up The Sun” and her latest single “Easy,” will perform a hour-long pre-race concert prior to the 55th annual Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Saturday, July 6 at Daytona International Speedway.

Through a special VIP Ticket Package, race fans can get unprecedented access to the 60-minute pre-race concert that will be staged on pit road in the tri-oval area of the “World Center of Racing.” With packages starting at $115, the VIP Ticket Package includes:

-  A reserved grandstand ticket for the Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola
-  Pre-Race/Sprint FANZONE access
-  Admission to the VIP viewing area in front of the stage for the pre-race concert by Crow.

VIP Ticket Packages can be purchased online here.

“Sheryl Crow is one of the biggest names in music industry and we’re excited to celebrate the Independence Day holiday weekend with her,” Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III said. “Sheryl’s exhilarating performance will serve as a perfect prelude for the stars of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series to battle side-by-side for the checkered flag in the Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola.”

In addition to her nine Grammys, Crow has sold 35 million albums worldwide and earned three American Music Awards. Since the release of her seven-times Platinum, GRAMMY award-winning debut Tuesday Night Music Club, Sheryl Crow has performed duets with musical luminaries such as Sting and Mick Jagger, released seven studio albums (each charting Top 10, four of them platinum-plus), a quadruple-platinum greatest hits collection and a Christmas album.

She has also been nominated for an additional 27 GRAMMYs, her most recent for 2008’s critically acclaimed Detours. Crow launched her very own clothing line, Bootheel Trading Co., is a cancer survivor, has performed for President Obama and is a passionate supporter of a variety of environmental and health-related charities, including the NRDC, The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and The World Food Program.

The stars of NASCAR return to Daytona International Speedway on July 5-6. Tickets to the Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race and the Subway Firecracker 250 Powered By Coca-Cola NASCAR Nationwide Series race are available by calling 1-800-PITSHOP or online at http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com

You can also catch the Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola live from Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, July 6 at 6:30 p.m. ET on TNT.
Fans can follow NASCAR on Twitter (@NASCAR) and stay up to speed on the latest news by using hashtags #NASCAR and #COKEZERO400. Fans can also stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest for the latest news all season long.

Rusty Jarrett MRD/CIA

Posted By: David Morgan – Follow on Twitter at @damorgan86 

May 15, 2013

After tackling “The Lady in Black” at Darlington last weekend, NASCAR heads home for a two week homestand at Charlotte Motor Speedway, with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series taking center stage during All Star Weekend.

Sprint Cup Series

With 11 points paying races behind them, the Sprint Cup Series heads into one of the wildest races of the year as the Sprint All Star Race is upon us once again. The non-points race that is all for the trophy, bragging rights, and a nice payday of a possible two million dollars for the winner, leads to some brash moves by drivers to get to the front and take the checkers. Since the drivers don’t have to worry about points, the phrase “Bring me the trophy or bring me the steering wheel” perfectly explains a driver’s mindset heading into this race. To add to the drama, the race will have a new format that makes running up front an even more important factor and this race should be a great one not to be missed when these drivers strap in and go for the win on Saturday night.

Who To Watch: While any of the drivers who run the Sprint All Star Race have a chance to win, a few stick out above the rest and the driver with the highest average finish among All Star Race participants may surprise you. That driver is Joey Logano, who has an average finish of 5.5 in two starts. Following close in Logano’s steps are last weekend’s winner at Darlington, Matt Kenseth, and five time Sprint Cup champion, Jimmie Johnson. Kenseth has one win, five top fives, nine top tens, one pole, and an average finish of 6.3 in 12 starts. Johnson is close behind with three wins, seven top fives, seven top tens, one pole, and an average finish of 6.6 in 11 starts.

Although not in the top ten of drivers with the best average finish in the Sprint All Star Race, Kyle Busch is another driver to keep an eye on this weekend. Busch has two top fives, three top tens, three poles, and an average finish of 12.4 in seven starts. However, Busch does have four DNF’s in those seven starts. As long as Busch can keep his car in one piece, he could capture his first win in the Sprint All Star Race this weekend.

Camping World Truck Series

The Camping World Truck Series heads into Charlotte this weekend for Friday night’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200, ending a nearly month long hiatus in the schedule. Several Sprint Cup Series regulars will be running the race along with the Truck Series regulars, which driver will come out on top? After 200 miles, we’ll have our answer.

Who To Watch: Sprint Cup regular Kyle Busch could have another one of his weekend sweeps if the statistics are to be believed on his career in the Truck Series at Charlotte. In seven starts, Busch has four wins, five top fives, six top tens, two poles, 335 laps led, and an average finish of 3.6. Multi-time Truck Series champion, Ron Hornaday, falls in behind Busch with two wins, six top fives, six top tens, 170 laps led, and an average finish of 6.8 in eight starts. Others to keep an eye on include: Jeb Burton, making his second Charlotte start after finishing in the top ten in his first start last year; Justin Lofton, who has one win, one top five, one top ten, 44 laps led, and an average finish of 9.7 in three starts; and Matt Crafton, who won the last race in the Truck Series before this weekend and has an average finish of 9.8 and one win in 10 starts.

PHOTO CREDIT: MotorRacingDigest.com

Written By: Brian Eberly, @beberly18

May 14, 2013

Winners

Joe Gibbs Racing – The three Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota’s finished first, second, and sixth in Saturday night’s Bojangles’ Southern 500.  Matt Kenseth brought the No. 20 Home Depot/Husky machine to the checkered flag first, taking the lead from teammate Kyle Busch and pulling away to the victory by more than three seconds.  The victory was Kenseth’s first at “The Track Too Tough To Tame”, setting a new track record for race speed at 141.386 mph.  Kenseth’s win was a true team effort, especially since crew chief Jason Ratcliff was serving his one race suspension and interim Wally Brown was at the helm for the victory.  Denny Hamlin came home second in his No. 11 SportClips Toyota, an impressive performance in his first race since he was injured at Auto Club Speedway earlier this season.  Kyle Busch dominated most of the night in his No. 18 Doublemint ride, leading four times for 265 laps.  He was hindered in the end by a flat right rear, but was able to wheel that car home in sixth position.  JGR has won every race this year at a non-restrictor plate track greater than one mile (Vegas, Auto Club, Texas, Kansas, and Darlington).

Jeff Gordon – Gordon was making his 700th career Sprint Cup Series start, and he came home with a solid third place result in the No. 24 Cromax Pro Chevrolet.  It was his 22nd top 10 finish in 33 races at “The Lady in Black”.  By recording his 300th top five, Gordon became the fourth driver to accomplish this feat, joining David Pearson, Bobby Allison, and Richard Petty.  He has finished in the top five 42.8 percent of the time in his career and in the top ten 59.5 percent, both impressive statistics.

Ryan Newman – In what has been a disappointing season all around for the entire Stewart-Haas team, Newman was able to record his 10th top ten finish in 15 career starts at Darlington.  The team battled handling issues all night but were able to keep pace and finish on the lead lap, bringing the No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet home in 10th position.  “That was a really good comeback by our Quicken Loans team.  I’m just really proud of how hard these guys battled tonight,” said Newman.

Losers

Kasey Kahne – Kahne was battling Kyle Busch for the lead in what looked like was going to be an amazing finish.  With 34 laps to go, they headed to turn one side by side and Kahne had cleared Busch but the No. 5 car got loose and slammed the wall.  It didn’t appear that the two made contact, but Kahne was not pleased as this is the third time this season he has had an issue with Busch.  “I don’t know if he actually touched me or not.  If he would have just entered normal like he entered the whole race there would have been no issues and I would have been leading off two.  He just didn’t want that to happen, so he blew turn one, Kahne said after finishing 17th in the No. 5 Time Warner Cable Chevrolet.

Brad Keselowski – The defending series champion had a night to forget in the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford, finishing in 32nd position.  Early on his car had a wheel vibration and he pitted for four tires, fixing the problem but losing two laps during the stop.  Later in the race, he was caught up in an accident with Casey Mears and Paul Menard, which resulted in several trips down pit road for repairs and the loss of several laps.  The finish dropped Keselowski to seventh in the series standings.  “It was definitely a race we would like to forget.  From overheating issues to getting cut up in a wreck when I had nowhere to go, it was just one of those nights.”

Mark Martin – The No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine was anything but a dream for Martin on Saturday night, as he came home in the 25th position.  Martin fought handling issues early on and with the first caution flag not flying until lap 124, fell two laps down before having the chance to correct the handling.  Martin said, “That was a tough night for us.  The Aaron’s Dream Machine was pretty loose so I needed the whole race track to drive it.  I couldn’t get near anyone on the track.  Because of those long green runs we didn’t get a lot of chances to work on it.”

Photo Credit: MotorRacingDigest.com

Written by Stephen Conley

May 13th, 2013

When you look to dance with the Lady In Black on Mother’s Day weekend, you better bring your “A” game and prepare for a fight. A lot of guys want that illustrious honor and it’s not one that is given lightly by this Lady.

Record speeds and a track that is regaining character that would make it the lead in any action flick awaited the NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint Cup stars when they rolled into Darlington this weekend.

In a tire test earlier in the season teams saw speeds entering turn three of 203 MPH. “We Couldn’t imagine speeds that high back in my” Said Hall of Famer David Pearson in the Darlington Media Center on Friday, Curtis Turner won that very first pole position at Darlington in 1950 at a blazing speed of 82.034 MPH. In comparison, Kurt Busch posted a record breaking speed of 27.032 seconds at 181.918 MPH in his No. 78 Furniture Row/Serta Chevrolet SS.

The Busch Brothers swept the pole weekend as Kyle grabbed the Pole for Fridays VFW Sports Clips Help a Hero 200 at a speed of 28.494 seconds/172.584 MPH. This was Kyle’s 29^th pole in 252 Nationwide starts.

When Kyle starts up front the rest of the field has to decide who is racing for second. Friday in Darlington was no exception. Leading a race high 107 of the 147 laps, and his team mate Matt Kenseth leading 28, there wasn’t much left for the rest of the field. Joe Gibbs Racing has had a recent strangle hold on victory lane at the famed race track that is uniquely called “too tough to tame”, JGR has gone to the wip and certainly has found a handle of this beast and tamed her quit nicely.

The state sheet will show 10 lead changes, but looking closely, five of those were drivers deep in the field staying out to lead one lap under caution, this really was not a closely contested battle. JGR Drivers qualified in the top 4 spots and ran that way most of the race. Elliott Sadler with all of his laps around Darlington found out she plays no favorites, when your focus slips for the slightest moment, you find yourself in the wall or spinning out on the apron. On lap 51 Sadler running all by himself in 2^nd position clipped the apron in turn one by what he called “just misjudged it, I was going for it trying to get up to the 54” and went for a long slide. He managed to not hit anything but the mistake cost forced him to the rear of the field and having to pass on a track that doesn’t allow for much passing.

Our team has really come around the past couple of weeks. We really needed this run to build momentum going into an off week, Sadler added. It seemed to be a perfect weekend all around, but one misstep can cost you,  The evening was not flawless for the JGR stable as both Busch and Vickers needed to rebound from pit road mishaps. During a pit stop under caution Busch’s jackman slipped and fell costing the No. 54 team five spots with a slightly longer than normal pit stop.

Just an impressive weekend overall for Joe Gibbs racing so far Crew Chief Adam Stevens said following the race.

Regan Smith holds a 28 point edge over Sam Hornish Jr. in the Nationwide Series Championship battle.

That impressiveness rolled right into Saturday for the Bojangles Southern 500. Kyle Busch sat on the outside of the front alongside his brother and thru 125 laps of green flag racing to open the 500 mile event stayed right up there in the front, thru two cycles of green flag pit stops and an ever changing race track, Kurt Busch and his No. 78 Furniture Row team began to struggle with the handle on their Chevrolet once the sun went down and the track began to take rubber.

One unique feature of Darlington has always been the racing line. Just a few inchs off of the wall, the low line has never been a place to race, it’s typically the line where lap cars try to stay out of the way. As Saturdays race wore on we started to see drivers working that low line in turns 3 and 4, Jeff Gordon was asked following the race what he thought about drivers using the low line and it paying off, “Yeah, its called the apron” Gordon laughed. Yeah, Yeah, I mean, early on in the race, Harvick went by me down there and I tried it and it didn’t work that well for me. Later in the run it started working for me. I started using it a lot more throughout the night.

Kevin Harvick added about the low line (apron) working for them as well, “It worked here last time. Probably not as good as it did here tonight. But, it’s nice when you have some options and my car was just too loose to run really up in the fence. I did at the end, but the low line was fast enough to where you could conserve the car and still make decent lap times.”

On lap 74 Kyle began to show his strength and that if you wanted to win the Southern 500, the path led right thru the No. 18 Doublemint Toyota, the only thing Kyle didn’t seem to count on was his Joe Gibbs Racing team mate of Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin would also show strength running 1-2-3 at one point in the race. A feat JGR has never had before in the history of the organization.

Denny Hamlin after his recent injury and time out of the car made his first full race and wound up finishing 2^nd. A strong showing and a much needed boost as he and his Fed-Ex team look to dig out of the 31^st position trying to make a spot in the 2013 chase for the Championship. Hamlin was very encouraged by the performance and how he felt saying He felt good, more mentally worn out than physically. He also added that the time sitting on the pit box watching the team over the last several weeks was a learning experience. “There was a lot that I saw and picked up on the handle of the car and adjustments that we are actually implementing here in Darlington.” It seemed to worked as Hamlin picked up for spots to 27^th in the points heading to Charlotte.

When you have tight confines a prestigious trophy and 30 laps left you may have controversy, for the second straight race and third time this season Kyle Busch and Kasey Kahne made contact and the No. 5 Chevy ended up on the short end of the stick.

Racing into turn one Kasey was able to close in on the back bumper and battle for the lead, something we had not seen all night. Kyle seemed to be struggling in traffic and once clear Kahne made his move to the high side of the track, Kyle never to be outdone drove his Toyota deep into turn one, slid up the track and made the slightest of contact sending Kahne into a slide and ultimately into the outside safer barrier. “It was just close racing really. He messed his entry up; he entered early and then couldn’t turn once he did that. So he was just kind of going straight across the track. When asked if there was actually contact, Kasey said “It was very close. I could see him and I was like ‘oh shoot, oh shoot’ and then the car moved and just spun out. I don’t know if he actually touched me or what, but his angle into the corner. If he would have just entered like normal, the way he has entered the whole race it would have been no issues and I would have been leading off (turn) two and he just didn’t want that to happen so he blew turn one.”

Once the cars lined back up and went back green Kyle seemed to be having a problem, Handling was going away quickly and didn’t seem to have the speed he had most of the night. On lap 354 Matt Kenseth took his Husky Toyota to the point and would not look back. Kyle slid back to a 6^th place finish. In the garage Crew Chief Dave Rogers said there was 12 pounds of air left in the right rear tire, which caused the handling issue. Kyle did not comment on the race, but changed and left the race track. A decision that has gotten him criticized by some fans and media alike, but in the past Kyle would have said something on the microphone that would have brought about scrutiny for “poor” comments.

But, who would have been happy leading a race high 265 laps and losing the race with 13 to go.

I’ve only ever dreamed of winning the Southern 500 I don’t know that I’ve had a win that feels bigger than this at this moment,  Kenseth said when talking about how excited he was to win Saturday night and how it compares to wins in his past.

After a week of penalties and appeals JGR brought Wally Brown out of “retirement” as J.D. Gibbs called it. “I’ll be back to my regular job on Monday on the shop floor, I was just here to help out” Rogers said.

He also added that Jason was pivotal to this win. We were in constant communication at all times. This win is because of him and his guys, how prepared they are. It’s amazing.

Kenseth now sits ^third in points 59 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson, but with 3 wins holds the edge currently when the seeding takes place following Richmond. Even with nearly a full race lead Johnson has to be looking over his shoulder, not as much at Carl Edwards who sits second, but at the No. 20 Toyota. This summer stretch could be hotter than ever as both of these drivers have large amounts of success at the races coming up.

One concern has to be—Is the Kenseth team peaking to Early? Is Matt and his team concerned with that?

I’m not a big believer in that. I think the goal of a race team and an organization is to never peak, I think it’s to continue to keep getting better. That’s one thing I’ve seen over there pretty much from day one. They’re not standing still.

If that team is only to get better, you may want to just call the engraver and get the cup ready. The 2013 Championship might just go right thru Joe Gibbs Racing and getting a steak away from a starving Wolf might be easier than the task of beating this race team.

Darlington was just proof that JGR can win anywhere at any time.

Notes:
*The average race speed of 141.386 mph is a track record. The previous record was 140.350 mph, setby Kyle Busch in May 2008.

* Jeff Gordon (third) posted his 22nd top-10 finish in 33 races at Darlington Raceway. This was his 300^th top-five finish in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series becoming only the fourth driver to accomplish this feat, joining David Pearson, Bobby Allison and Richard Petty. His next top five will tie him with David Pearson.

*Kenseth won his 3^rd race of the season, 27^th of his career and first win at Darlington Raceway.

Darlington has been tamed for one more year, The historic race track now sits in our rear view mirror as the Nationwide series takes a week off, The truck series comes back from a month off and the Sprint Cup Series drivers head for the All-Star weekend where one driver has the chance to roll thru a perfect weekend and could end up 2 million dollars richer. Why do they race so hard at the All-Star race, well I don’t care how much money you have in your pocket, an additional 2 million will make any driver happy, especially if he has a wife or girlfriend that hasn’t been shopping in a while. Pull those gloves up and those belts tight, the wildest weekend of racing is dead ahead.

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Written by Stephen Conley
May 11th, 2013

Busch—that was the name for nearly all of the weekend here in Darlington. A win and pole in the Nationwide series for Kyle, A pole for the Bojangles Southern 500 for Kurt and the most laps led for Kyle, but with an ever changing race track, a long green flag run to the checkers and contact for the 3^rd time this season between Kyle and Kasey Kahne on lap 334 that caused Kahne to spin and cause slight damage to the No. 18 DoubleMint Toyota.

The first 125 laps went caution free until NASCAR spotted debris in turn 2. All the leaders would come to pit road for their 3^rd stop of the evening after two green flag stops thru the first 125 laps. The Busch brothers would lead 121 of those 125 laps. Matt Kenseth would lead the other four.

Darian Grubb would try some strategy at that first caution taking two tires for track position, It didn’t take long to see that the old Lady In Black was back to her old self and four fresh tires was the way to go. Hamlin came in running tenth but would drop back to 8^th spot in just a matter of a few laps.

Very few drivers had comfortable cars tonight, struggling with handling, long green flag runs, adjustments came at a premium. Under the setting sun some drivers struggled with a tight car, so once adjustments were made to free them up. The rubber began to build up on the track and everyone started screaming loose. Jeff Gordon said his No. 24 Cromax Pro team adjusted for a slightly tight car. But it was the wrong thing as they went from tight to real bad loose and the adjustments Alan and the team made were big ones.

Kyle Busch told Dave Rogers on several occasions tonight that his car was good but he really struggled with traffic, Denny Hamlin said it didn’t matter if it was a lap car or a position car, when you got within 5 or 6 car lengths of someone you really struggled to make the pass. Gordon joked in the media center about the low line being used so often in turns three and four and asked if it worked for him, Yeah, that’s called the apron, Harvick went blowing by me down there early, so I tried it and it didn’t work out to well for me until later in the night. It depended on how my car was handling.

After leading 265 laps handling problems and the damage from the contact with the 5 the dominant car was no more, with 31 laps to go the field went back green and Matt Kenseth began to challenge, with 25 to go he took his No. 20 Toyota to the point and wouldn’t relinquish the top spot or be challenged to the end. Matt told his crew chief Wally Brown after they went green on the final restart, “If we go green we’ll have a good chance.”

Kenseth said that final run was the fastest the car had been all night.

Tonight’s average race speed of 141.386 mph was a new track record for the Southern 500, oddly enough the Kyle Busch who led most of this race and helped build that record was also the driver of record for the previous mark set at 140.350 mph in 2008.

Darlington typically will have one sizeable crash, this would be no different. After going green for the first 125 laps until we got our first caution, it would take till lap 303 to get our second one. Then four more in the last 59 laps.

On lap 313 racing off of turn four, Casey Mears was side by side with Kurt Busch when Mears broke loose off the corner and Paul Menard was full throttle right on his bumper. Menard would make contact turning Mears down the track into the side of Kurt Busch cause heavy damage to the side of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevy. Mears would slam back into the outside wall before sliding down the track and having getting hit again by Brad Keselowski. Mears would go to the garage for repairs, Busch would stay out and Keselowski would end up making repairs on pit road and finish 32^nd 8 laps down.

This was Kenseth’s first win at Darlington, his third in 11 races in 2013 and his 27^th career win overall.
Denny Hamlin posted his Seventh top 10 finish in eight races at Darlington Raceway as he came in runner up to his teammate.
Jeff Gordon posted his 22^nd top-10 finish in 33 races at Darlington, along with making his 700^th consecutive start, Gordon posted his 300^th top five finish in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series becoming only the fourth driver to accomplish this feat, joining David Pearson, Bobby Allison and Richard Petty.

With his fourth place run tonight Jimmie Johnson picked up three more points on the field tonight, increasing his lead to 44 over Carl Edwards.

Denny Hamlin made the biggest jump in points tonight gaining four spots up 27^th, Paul Menard dropped two spots tonight falling to 11^th.

This was a statement win for Joe Gibbs Racing in the face of the penalties and appeals this past week, Having wally Brown on the pit box, “Coming out of retirement” as JGR President JD Gibbs joked, but Wally will return to the shop floor on Monday as the teams prepare for the 2013 All-Star race back in Charlotte Next Saturday Night.
Domination comes up short for one driver, but continues for an overall Team. Matt Kenseth took the Lady In Black and danced his way to Victory Lane and made a statement in this Championship chase.