You Did Your Daddy Proud Dale! Jr. Ends the Drought on Father’s Day in Michigan

By Sherri Breaton

It's been 4 yrs since Jr. Nation witnessed a burnout in Victory Lane.
Four years, same place.
Michigan International Speedway
Photo Courtesy of Nascar.com

 Well it goes without saying that the fans of Junior Nation are celebrating loud and proud tonight. And rightly so! It has been four years ago and 143 races since, at this very same track, Jr. fans celebrated in Victory Lane. How fitting for this to happen on Father’s Day yet again. Today, June 17^th, 2012, Dale Earnhardt Jr. took home the rain delayed checkered flag at the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn Michigan.  

Jr. crosses the finish line at the 2012 Quicken Loans 400 at MIS
Photo courtesy of Nascar.com

Leave it to NASCAR’s current reigning champion and resident mouthpiece to chime in: "Dale had the fastest car all day. It's not a national holiday, guys. This morning they were celebrating his fourth anniversary of his last win, so I guess we're all in a state of mourning now, because he's broke that string now, so I don't know what we're all supposed to think."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads the charge to the finish line
Photo courtesy of Nascar.com

Tony....come on, suck it up buttercup. So you didn’t win this one. You had a beyond respectable second place finish. Even if you had, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s hauler STILL would have outsold yours in merchandise!

How can you not get caught up in the royalty and the loyalty that surrounds Dale Earnhardt Jr?  Following the death of his father Dale Sr. at the Daytona 500 in 2001, I had to pick a new driver to follow. I chose Jimmie Johnson. He was new, he was young and most of all, like Dale Sr., he was fearless and could drive the crap out anything he got behind the wheel of. However, like every other fan in NASCAR, no matter whom you threw your support and loyalty behind, you still your heart, hoped for Jr. to win.

After his ordeal with his Step-Monster Teresa Earnhardt and subsequent departure for DEI,  I could not have been more thrilled to see him hop on board the Hendrick’s Motor Sports Team. Like everyone else I expected great things to happen for him, but they just never seemed to pan out. Dale Jr. to this day, regardless if he were to ever win another race, would still be ranked as NASCAR’s most popular driver. He is the Crown Prince. He can do no wrong. You have to be at a race, live, whenever Jr. takes the lead. The thunderous roar and eruption of cheering is mind blowing in the least, deafing at best. Remember, these are people sporting numbers of every other driver as well as Jr. fans. It’s NASCAR, its family.

Team Earnhardt and the Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard #88 Chevrolet celebrate.
Dale Jr.'s girlfriend Amy Reimann pictured above.
Photo courtesy of Nascar.com 

When he makes mistakes and cause wrecks, it’s okay, “it’s just Dale”. You have to love a sport and a fan base that still supports and cheers on a driver that has not won in four years. He sells more merchandise than any other driver – ever-except for his Dad. We have all known that he has the talent, the God given gift of driving. It was nice to finally see him shake those demons and bring it home for his long suffering team, sponsors, owners but more importantly, his FANS.

Champagne toast for Jr.!
Photo courtesy of Nascar.com 

Top ten results are as follows:

Jr. followed by Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer, Juan Montoya, Marcos Ambrose and Kevin Harvick.

Jr. Nation is celebrating tonight!
Photo courtesy of Nascar.com

Overall Sprint Cup current standings are found here:

http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2012/data/standings_unofficial.html

 Next week is the road course at Infineon where the likes of Marcos Ambrose and Tony Stewart always shine. However this is also a place where Jimmie Johnson has conquered. Who is it gonna be?

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Brad Keselowski Gets By With a Little Help From a Friend

By Sherri Breaton

Brad Kesolowski wins the 2012 Aaron's 400
at Talladega Super Speedway
Photo courtesy of Nascar.com

Everybody knows that the guy usually running second at Talladega Super Speedway normally wins. It’s rare for the leader on the last lap to take the checkered flag. However, Brad Keselowski once again proved that he is an unpredictable force to be reckoned with at the Aaron’s 400 yesterday. He could not have envisioned that ending any better had he not already had a dream about it. Hmmmmm calling Brad on the psychic hotline tomorrow.....

"I had this whole plan if I ever got in that situation where I was leading; I thought about it and thought about it, dreamed about what to do, and sure enough, going into (turn) three, it was just me and Kyle," Keselowski said. "I knew the move I wanted to pull. It worked because the guy running second should have the advantage, but I had this move all worked up in my mind."

The Super Speedway at Talladega
Photo courtesy of Nascar.com

 That little move gave him his second career win at Talladega as well as his second win of the 2012 Cup race season. Had it not been for the unlikely drafting partner of Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth was set to win. Kyle gave a huge push to Keselowski enabling the victory and leaving the Daytona 500 winner to watch from behind. Following the race Busch had nothing but praise for the winner’s driving ability.

"He's no dummy, that's for sure," said Busch, for the second time in as many days ended up the ugly stepsister. Kyle was the leader on the last lap of Saturday's Nationwide Series race, and was schooled by the kid Logano, who beat him to the finish line.

Matt Kenseth was more involved in his self imposed pity party after literally handing the win to Keselowski.

"I think we had the winning car, really just didn't have the winning driver," Kenseth said and continued, "I wasn't too fast. I was just too stupid I guess at the end to keep a win." Poor guy.

Kasey Kahne finished fourth and was followed by Biffle, Clint Bowyer and David Ragan. Trevor Bayne was eighth, Dale Earnhardt Jr. ninth and Jeff Burton rounded out the top 10.

I am really starting to think this cloud of “200^th win” is hanging heavy over the Hendrick’s teams. Not that two top ten finishers is anything to scoff at but I just wish ONE of them would get Mr. Hendrick the win and get on with it.  The other two Hendrick drivers had a dismal weekend once again. Jeff Gordon got caught up on a wreck and Jimmie Johnson had engine failure this week.

Bump drafting at its finest
Photo courtesy of Tyler Barrick Getty Images 

Bump drafting and tandem racing is always nerve racking to watch. To see these drivers practically hooked onto each others bumpers in a chain like a locomotive going around the track at speeds up to 200 MPH is restrictor plate mayhem at it’s finest.

For those fans who love to see them wreck the Aaron’s 400 ended a three race drought of multi- car wrecks. The last multi-car wreck was in Martinsville when Clint Bowyer took out Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson in the final ten laps. For the record I am not one of them. It is potentially life threatening for any one of these drivers involved in a wreck as witnessed in Saturday’s Nationwide race. Fans watched in horror as driver Eric McClure was airlifted unresponsive to a local hospital for treatment following a hard hit to the “soft wall” that sent the wall flying back three feet. He has since been listed in stable condition.

With 45 laps to go Aric Almirola ran out of gas and the cars following close behind were not able to clear in time. The chain-reaction crash involved Jeff Gordon, Carlo Edwards, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, J.P. Montoya, Terry Labonte, Landon Cassill and Dave Blaney. This was only the first of four multi-car wrecks in the final laps, including another nine-car crash that involved Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Logano (Again), Paul Menard, Michael Waltrip, A.J. Allmendinger, Robert Richardson Jr. and Denny Hamelin. 


You have to hand it to defending champion Tony Stewart for his commentary on the recently clean races and those fans who crave “more action”. Tony had this to say following the race.

"Honestly, I think if we haven't crashed at least 50 percent of the field by the end of the race, we need to extend the race until we crash at least 50 percent of the cars. It's not fair to these fans to see any more wrecks than that, any more torn-up cars. I mean, we still had over half the cars running at the end, and it shouldn't be that way. I'm upset that we didn't crash more cars. That's what we're here for. I feel bad if I don't spend at least $150,000 in torn-up race cars going back to the shop. We've definitely got to do a better job at that." He finished 24^th following a wreck.

Ouch!
Photo courtesy of Getty Images 

Love him or hate him, there is no “grey area” with Tony. Mr. Stewart, please do not ever change.

Greg Biffle still sits on top of the overall leader board followed by Matt Kenseth and OH WOW Dale Earnhardt Jr. in third place!


Next week we are onto Darlington for a Mother’s Day showdown.

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Denny Does It Again in KC

By Sherri Breaton


In a race that was full of engine problems, gas consumption issues and whining about the track’s service, Denny Hamelin led by crew chief Darian Grubb managed to stay alive and take home his second win in less than a month, his 19th of his career. Mother Nature was none too cooperative for the STP 400 held at the Kansas City Speedway. Sunday was cloudy, windy and unseasonably cold. 

Denny Hamelin wins the STP 400 in Kansas City
Photo courtesy of Nascar.com

 Kansas City is a fast track at the best of times and Sunday was no different even with the weather wreaking havoc on the engines of many. The average speed for Denny Hamelin was 144.122 mph, breaking the track record of 138.077 mph set by Greg Biffle in 2010. The cold conditions "likely played a factor," added Scott Maxim, director of track support for Hendrick Motorsports' engine program. "The average lap time was fast, so that's a contributing factor. It would be too early right now to speculate on the reason and the cause, but they're possibilities."



Kansas City Speedway
Photo Courtesy Nascar.com

I felt bad for Martin Truex Jr. When the race concluded he radioed to his crew "Sorry I let that one get away," after leading the race for 173 laps he wound up second. No wonder Sunday's result hurt so badly. At one point in the race he led by as many as 9 seconds. Jimmie Johnson gave him a run for his money but he still managed to stay in first when cars made their final round of pit stops under green. His final pit stop was a clean but it became evident that something wasn't right when he got back out on the track. He was radioing into his Crew chief Chad Johnston, who had made no adjustments on the car that he “couldn’t do anything”. That’s when Hamlin jumped out in front. Truex in his Michael Waltrip Racing Team Toyota did try a few daring moves to challenge Denny for the win but it wasn’t enough. Just as the sun began to shine, so did Denny Hamelin. Hamlin, joins defending Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart as the only drivers with two wins this season.

Final restart of the STP 400
Photo courtesy of Nascar.com

Jimmie Johnson failed to post a win yet again in 14 starts this season. Mr Hendrick is still dragging his box of hats around eagerly awaiting that 200^th win. “I was just watching from the third spot, hoping those guys would give me an opportunity," Johnson said. "I just wish I was closer to those guys to race for it”. The drought for Hendrick Motorsports is the longest since going 15 races without a win during the 2002 and 2003.

Matt Kenseth finished fourth and Greg Biffle, who holds the top stop on the leader board followed up his victory last week with a fifth-place run. Kevin Harvick was sixth, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne, giving Hendrick Motorsports at least three cars in the top-10 for the second straight week. Jeff Gordon had engine trouble late in the race and finished 21st. Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch rounded out the top ten finishers.

Worth mentioning is that for the second year in a row, Forbes magazine has ranked five-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson the Most Influential Athlete in America.

Forbes determined its annual rankings by polling 1,100 adults about dozens of well-known athletes to measure the athletes' overall likeability as well as their appeal to marketers. Johnson was joined on the 2012 list by fellow Cup driver and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. and a third Hendrick driver, Jeff Gordon disappeared from the list altogether.

Jimmie Johnson
Photo credit Getty Images 2012

"It's just a huge honor," Johnson said. "Not only is it very good for me in my career and for what I do in my race car, but I think it's very good for NASCAR as well. Of all the athletes in America, to be ranked most influential, I'm very proud of the award and happy to receive it."

I am probably going to take some heat for saying this but am I the only who is ready to mute their televisions so I do not have to endure another moment of listening to Michael Waltrip? I don’t mind his brother at all. He get can a little boisterous here and there and does yammer on quite a bit but putting the two of them in the booth was a dumb idea. Personally I don’t think they should allow and driver/owner in the booth for commentary let alone this wind bag. To me this is the most blatant form of BIAS.

For the life of me I do not understand the logic in why Nascar is allowing a cup owner who operates 3 Toyota cars to be calling any cup race. It’s bad enough that we are subjected to his endless babbling, but wait let’s cut to a commercial that has Michael Waltrip in it!  How fortunate for Toyota or any of his sponsors to have him cheering their products and his drivers from the broadcast booth for the entire race. It’s like a 3 hour Michael Waltrip Infommercial. For the love of NASCAR, Fox Sports would you please put Jeff Hammond back in his seat at the Hollywood Hotel???

Next week we are off to Richmond Virginia for the Capital City 400.



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Newman Wins, Hendrick Team Has Disappointing Day

Ryan Newman Wins the Goody's Fast Relief 500
Photo via Nascar.com 

All of the puzzle pieces were intact for a spectacular historic 200th NASCAR Sprint Cup victory for Hendrick Motorsports in Sunday's Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. The team won its very first race in 1984 here and were looking to capitalize on this beautiful sunny day in Virginia. Mr. Hendrick was all smiles watching his stable of drivers have a great run. Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon already have 13 Martinsville victories between them.  The duo was a force to be reckoned with again today leading 440 of the scheduled 500 laps.

Then the proverbial bottom fell out.

The beginning of the end for this race for the Hendrick
Team
Photo courtesy of Nascar.com

A late race caution came just as Gordon had taken over the lead from Johnson. On the green-white-checkered restart, Johnson was on the outside and Gordon on the inside with Clint Bowyer behind who got shoved by Ryan Newman. Bowyer made the “wtf” move of the race deciding to go three-wide under Gordon in Turn 1. Johnson inevitably squished into Gordon, who in turn got into Bowyer. Goodbye victory lane for all three of them as they could not recover from the resulting wreck. Ryan Newman, in the Outback Steakhouse Chevrolet came out of virtually nowhere and held off Dale Earnhardt Jr. and AJ Allmendinger on the next and final restart. Gordon, who had led 328 laps, finished the race 14th, two positions behind Johnson, who led 112 laps. Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamelin, Matt Kenseth, Eric Almirola, Newman’s team mate/owner Tony Stewart rounded out the top ten.

Although Jr. had a fantastic showing once again, karma does not seem to be on Kasey Kahne’s side! Kahne, who had been racing in the top five, drove into the garage during the caution and later parked his car with engine failure, continuing what has been a gut wrenching season for the Hendrick driver.

Needless to say as a Team Hendrick fan this was not a good race. Martinsville has always been a sentimental place as this was the track that Rick Hendrick’s son Ricky, along with his brother John and his twin daughters along with 6 others died in a plane crash enroute to the track. The team always tries to pull together a win here in honour of all those lost. Today was not the day.

While many were angry with Bowyer’s bonehead move, many more were angry with the #10 driver David Reutimann. Following several laps of him hobbling around at ridiculously low speeds, he inexplicably drove past pit road and stalled on the front stretch. It was this move that caused the chain reaction mentioned early that took out the race leaders - all in the name of points.

Reutimann himself was genuinely unimpressed with his actions stating, “I don't even know how the race ended up finishing, but I just hate that I was involved in anything that changed the complexion of the race so I got to apologize to the guys that it affected.” He should have gotten out of the way and pitted. If nothing else, safety of all things comes to mind!

All that aside, congratulations to Ryan Newman on his 16th victory in 374 career race starts. The last time Ryan won was in New Hampshire July 2011. Tony Stewart probably has a smile a mile wide tonight and rightfully so!! 

Greg Biffle is still sitting on top of the leader board with, *GASP* Dale Earnhardt Jr. in SECOND place! I cannot believe my eyes! It’s about time we see him start to shine again!

Next week is an off week so that the teams may celebrate Easter with their families, then its on to the land of ten gallon hands and lots of bull (well riding anyway)...TEXAS!!! 

Ryan Newman does a victory burnout in the
#39 Outback Steakhouse Chevy
Photo via Nascar.com

Ryan Newman winner of the
Goody's Fast Relief 500
Photo via Nascar.com

By Sherri Breaton

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