“Smoke” takes Daytona and Allmendinger Takes Drugs??

By Sherri Breaton

 Tony Stewart picked up his 47^th win in 482 starts following a wild night at the Coca Zero 400 at the Daytona International Speedway July 8, 2012. It was his fourth Sprint Cup victory at the track yet the “big prize” – the Daytona 500 has continued to elude him.

Crew chief Steve Addington gets ready to soak Tony Stewart
with champagne in Victory Lane
Photo courtesy of NASCAR.com



"I don't know, but I'll trade 'em all in for just one Daytona 500," Stewart said of his four summertime wins. "This is 18 wins at Daytona -- we just haven't got the right one yet. But all of 'em are special, and it's cool to do this."

As per usual in Daytona, just as Tony was crossing the finish line, total mayhem was occurring in his rear view mirror. A previous wreck caused by Denny Hamlin had already taken out quite a few in the field. Two out of three of Michael Waltrip’s cars were out, as was all of Joe Gibbs’ Racing Team. On the restart, Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle were side by side by and somehow Tony Stewart side-drafted the two of them and pulled ahead for the victory.

Carnage outside of Turn 4
Photo courtesy of NASCAR.com

Jeff Burton came second followed by Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Stewart’s team mate Ryan Newman, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, Brad Kesolowski, Michael Waltrip and one of my favourite drivers, Bobby Labonte rounded out the top ten.

On a side note, Joey Logano’s Nationwide car failed inspection following the Subway Jalapeno 250 Friday night. Penalties are expected to be levied on Tuesday.

I am not really a fan of watching restrictor plate racing on TV. Having not yet experienced it in person at a track, I can’t speak to what it’s like to watch live. If you are not normally a NASCAR viewer and/or are one of those people with the skewed ideal that “all they do is drive around in a circle”, you should probably not watch restrictor plate tracks. Yes it is exciting to see the cars quite literally stuck to each other’s bumpers at ridiculously high speeds, but unless there is a wreck, that’s all you are going to see.

Can you just scootch over a bit please?
Photo courtesy of NASCAR.com

The sideshow of the Allmendinger drama made for some interesting moments off and on track. A.J. Allmendinger, the driver of the #22 car for Penske, had been informed only two and a half hours prior to the green flag start that he failed his random drug test performed last week in Kentucky.

NASCAR announced that he was temporarily suspended for failing to pass his “A” sample which included a banned substance. Allmendinger as the option to ask for his “B” sample to be tested within 24 hours.

If his “B” sample comes back positive, he will be indefinitely suspended and will not be allowed to drive until he completes a recovery program prescribed by NASCAR. He would be evaluated by a substance abuse professional and subsequently be required to enter a rehabilitation program would be tailored specifically for him. He is only the second Sprint Cup driver to be suspended since NASCAR began random testing in 2009.  Jeremy Mayfield shared the honour in 2009.

Sam Hornish Jr., literally turned into a superhero and bolted into action to take over driving duties for Penske. Kenny Wallace was on standby (poor guy was on standby for Kevin Harvick too in case his wife Delana went into labour...sigh..I love Kenny!), just in case Hornish could not get to the track in time. He was literally doing a live, in-studio race interview for Speed in Charlotte, NC when his phone went off in his pocket. He ignored the call but checked soon after the taping and sprung into action.

Penske arranged for him to hop a flight to Daytona and once he landed there was a caravan of police cars waiting to escort him to the track. "It's kind of a weird thing when you land in an airplane and you see cop lights that are out there for you," he said.

Sam Hornish Jr. gets a quick pre-race talking to with
fellow Penske driver Brad Kesolowski
Photo courtesy of NASCAR.com

He arrived at 7:30 pm just as the invocation had begun. I swear Robin Meade (yes THAT Robin Meade from the CNN Morning Express show! Who knew she could sing??), really milked that national anthem to give them time to get Hornish into the car! He managed a 33^rd place finish for Penske.

It should be noted that NASCAR senior vice president of racing operations Steve O’Donnell, who announced the suspension but did not field any questions and did not elaborate on what drug was found in Allmendinger’s system. It could be something as simple as an over the counter medication or something as severe as a narcotic. We will have to wait and see what unfolds.

Next week we head over to Louden in New Hampshire for the LENOX Industrial Tools 301.

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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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The Biff Brings it Home In Texas!

Greg Biffle wins the Samsung Mobile 500
at Texas Motor Speedway Saturday night.
Photo Courtesy of Nascar.com

 Greg Biffle robbed Rick Hendrick once again of his 200^th   career Cup win at Texas Motor Speedway Saturday night to end a winless streak of 49 races as he drove past Jimmie Johnson (who only lead 156 of 334 laps), with 30 laps remaining to capture the checkered flag at the Samsung Mobile 500. Poor Rick. That box of "200th victory hats" still awaits, yet second place is nothing to sneeze at and Jimmie and the rest of the Hendrick stable are holding their own so far this season! While as a die hard Hendrick Fan, it's hard to feel bitter about Greg Biffle winning the race. He is the younger generation of Nascar's Mark Martin. Plain and simple, he is a nice guy. He loves puppies. He puts out an annual calendar of Nascar drivers and their respective dogs; many of them rescues. He is an avid animal lover and he and his wife Nicole are huge supporters of local shelters and the need to find homes for strays. How can you not love them?

There were only two cautions for 10 slowed-down laps, both for debris, and the race finished with a record 234 consecutive laps of green-flag racing.

At the end of the race Biffle said his hands were hurting from fighting the wheel through the wind. He expressed that there were no major incidents because every driver was dealing with the same conditions and maybe more cautious because of the.

The aforementioned Mark Martin finished third in a Michael Waltrip-owned Toyota, followed by Jeff Gordon, then Roush driver Matt Kenseth. Polesitter Martin Truex Jr., another Waltrip car, was sixth after leading 69 . Kasey Kahne, the first-year Hendrick driver, finished seventh ahead of another Roush driver, Carl Edwards. Harvick and Earnhardt rounded out the top 10.

Kasey Kahne winner of the Camping World Truck Series Race
At Rockingham
photo courtesy of Nascar.com

Incidentally, Kasey Kahne had an even more impressive weekend aside from his finish at Texas last night. Kasey climbed through the field after starting in the back to win Sunday's Camping World Truck Series race at Rockingham Speedway, the first NASCAR race at the track since 2004. I feel very confident that Kasey will continue to shine once again on the track. He has had a rough few years but change is about to come for the young gun! My friend Patti lights candles every Sunday I swear!

Next week, Kansas Motor Speedway! Another track on my bucket list!

By Sherri Breaton

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