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Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Week 10 Preview

Talladega Superspeedway

Nascar is officially through a Quarter of the 2013 season! 9 races into the season and Nascar heads to Talladega for the first of two times (the next during the Chase). As Nascar left Richmond International Raceway Kevin Harvick finally got hot and into the top 5 for the first time this year with a late race Win.

Some bad luck and bad nights hit some drivers hard in Richmond which could end up being a huge misstep in a Chase spot run with Dega next on the list (known for getting into trouble). Last year's Talladega winners come into this week on different terms. In the Spring race Brad Keselowski got his second career win at Talladega (the other his first ever career win in 2009) and needs to bounce back after he lost a cylinder late in the race at Richmond. On the other hand, Matt Kenseth who was the winner at Dega during the Chase has been on a hot streak again.

Yet both drivers need a good finish this week because both have faced the wrath of Nascar and run into penalties that make every misstep even larger. Here is a look at the Spring race results at Talladega.


The Good:
  • Brad Keselowski- BK needs a good week that is mistake free to get past all the bad luck he has been through. Every since Nascar came down on Penske he has seemed to have some bad luck but for the most part fight through it. In his 8 starts he has a 12.2 average finish (best of current drivers), 2 wins, 3 top 5's, and 6 top 10's. Best Chance Forecast: BK has to run into some good luck some where right? Top 5 with a good shot at getting his first win of the season.
  • Clint Bowyer- In the last 10 races at Talladega Bowyer has not only the most top 10s (7) but the best average finish (10.5). Add in two wins in his last 5 and you have the ingredients for a good track. Best Chance Forecast: Another top 10 should be a no brainer, a chance at a win is possible.
  • Dale Earnhardt Jr- Even though his last 10 races have been just average at Talladega (4 top 10's and no wins) Jr has a long history of great driving here. If you add up the fact he knows the track well and he has a hot start to the 2013 season I think it is safe to say he should have a good weekend. Best Chance Forecast: I'm thinking he will find his way to the top 10, and may find a top 5.
The Middle:
  • Matt Kenseth: The guy I will go with this week out of the many drivers to choose from, Kenseth. In the last 10 he has led the second most laps, has a win and 2 top 5's (both last year) but his average finish over those 10 is 21st. 2 of the races he didn't finish because of a crash but something has to give. Best Chance Forecast: the fact that last year he had two top 5's including a win here, plus he has been hot this season, makes me think he can turn around his mediocrity at Talladega.
The Bad:
  • Marcus Ambrose- All the way down there at 25.1 average finish position in the last 10 races it Ambrose. In 8 races he has 1 top 5 and that is it (first career start at Dega). He had a rough week last week and Dega will do him no favors, he will have to earn it.
  • Jamie McMurray- One driver who has a career win at Dega (in the last 10) who hasn't done well most of the time here is McMurray. He has an average finish of 22.5 in the last 10 with only two top 5's (win and runner up). If you exclude those 2 good races, he has only finished inside the top 16 once in the 8 other races.
  • Tony Stewart-Smoke is another driver who has a win in his last 10 races at Dega but overall hasn't had much luck. Only 2 top 10's in that span and an average finish position of 21.4. It doesn't look good for him heading into Dega cold in 2013, but maybe this is the kind of spot where he will surprise?
Laying Low:
  • David Ragan- In the last 10 races at Talladega David Ragan had 5 top 10's, yes I said 5. His average finish of 14.1 is 6th best of current drivers in the last 10 (4th best if you take out 1 race drivers Mike Bliss (10) and Kenny Wallace (12). Last year his finishes were 7th in Spring and 4th in the Fall. Not too bad for a guy running on a small team.
  • Jeff Burton- Right behind Ragan in average finish in the last 10 is Burton (14.2). He has 6 top 10's and 3 top 5's in those 10 races. He also has posted 3 straight top 10's (3rd, 10th, and 10th).
  • Travis Kvapil- Big time sleeper alert. Last year with BK racing Kvapil finished 16th in the Spring and 8th in the Fall. In his 7 career starts at Dega he has 2 top 10's and a pole so anything is possible.
You can be good or bad, hot or cold and it could all change in one lap when Nascar heads to Talladega. When will the big one happen? Who will be a part of it? Dega brings hope to drivers who need to get on a roll because if they stay in one piece and away from the big crash they could have a chance.

Need more? Check out these links and articles:
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Sunday, April 28, 2013

Pit Road: Week 9

Richmond International Raceway

For the first time in 3 races Nascar has a first time winner on the 2013 season. After Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, and Matt Kenseth all notched there second win in the 2013 season Kevin Harvick finally got on a roll and won his first. (Also the first time in 3 weeks the Pole winner didn't win the race). Just like this early season, Harvick wasn't dominant all night but he had a good car and hung around. At the end of the night Harvick only led 3 laps but got the last one which is what mattered most.

The win for Harvick was much needed on the season. Not that he was struggling, but he only had one top 10 previous to Richmond. (He has finishes of 12, 13, 13, 13, 14, 13, and 42 on the year). So he has been hanging around but not dominate on the season but this could be what turns his season around.

Other story lines from Richmond: What else can happen to Brad Keselowski in one race? Struggles from Biffle all day long. Kurt and Stewart get heated. Stewart goes from a good day to a normal night in 2013 on the last lap, and Juan Pablo Montoya comes close but can not break his win less streak (now at 93). For full race results check out Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

Lets get onto the good stuff: Rising, Coasting, and Falling drivers after Richmond plus the Power Rankings after that.

Rising:
  • Juan Pablo Montoya: May not be a long climb up the Nascar Standings, but he had his best race of the season at Richmond. A late caution while he was in the lead made a win even tougher.
  • Kevin Harvick: He has been consistent this season, but it has been in the 12th-14th place range. That is enough to keep you around but after a night like Saturday his chances at the Chase look much better.
  • Jeff Burton: This maybe the same situation that Montoya is in, but Burton had his best race of the year Saturday night.
  • Joey Logano: Seems like a lot of guys got a much needed finish at Richmond. After week after week of bad luck JoLo finished 3rd
Coasting:
  • Clint Bowyer: 4 top 10's in 9 races and 5 top 10's, this has been a nice little season for Bowyer. After last years Chase run, I think Bowyer is a driver to keep and eye on.
Falling:
  • Brad Keselowski: This really was out of BK's hands. Another long night looked like he was going to salvage it into a top 10 until he went down a cylinder and it finished his night.
  • Marcus Ambrose: Ambrose just can't get anything going. Another tough week for him saw the #9 head behind the wall very early.
  • Brian Vickers: After filling in for Denny Hamlin and showing his ability to finish well he has had back to back poor weeks. His run in the #11 maybe coming to and end as well as long as DH can come back for Dega.
Pit Road (Week 9 Power Rankings)
  1. Jimmie Johnson (LW-1)- He didn't have the best of nights (no laps led, finishing 12th) but who was going to take his spot this week?
  2. Matt Kenseth (LW-5)- The climb continues his run to the top. Good night for the #20 team that could have been a long week after losing 50 points that had nothing to do with him or JGR.
  3. Brad Keselowski (LW-2)- Finishing 33rd and you only have him falling 1 spot?? "It's just because you like him." No, really its because he was still in the top 10 after hitting the wall early until a cylinder went down on the Red Deuce. Needs a clean race at Dega.
  4. Carl Edwards (LW-7)- Guess who is second in points right now? That's right Carl is. On top of that he has a very quiet 6th place finish at Richmond.
  5. Clint Bowyer (LW-8)- He moves up with Carl after continuing to finish in the top 5 week after week. Clint is the driver to watch in this top 5 and the biggest sleeper for a Sprint Cup Championship.
  6. Kasey Kahne (LW-3)- Richmond was the first time he finished higher then 11th since the second race of the year. Him and Mark Martin got into each other and ruined both of there nights.
  7. Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-9)- The bad luck avoided Jr for the most part on Saturday and he wound up finishing in tho top 10. Jr is still 3rd in points after a stretch of bad luck problems.
  8. Kyle Busch (LW-4)- Well it has been a rough two week fall for Kyle. Could not stay out of trouble at Richmond cost him his 5th straight win in the Spring race. He ended up 24th.
  9. Kevin Harvick (LW-NR)- His first win and his first appearance in my Power Rankings for 2013 (Started after week 2 at Phoenix). Harvick has been anything but bad, finishing just outside the top 10 most weeks, but this win was a break through he needed.
  10. Paul Menard (LW-10)- Menard is staying consistent in 2013. Who thought when the season started after 9 races (or 25% of the season, or 34% of the way til the Chase) that he would be tied for 9th in the Standings?
  11. Aric Almirola (LW-NR)- The standings are starting to get tough, and that means Greg Biffle gets the big fall of the week. (Biffle finished 19th and 36th back to back weeks) Mean while Almirola has a stretch of 7th, 8th, and 8th. Also he sits in a Chase spot for Richard Petty (11th).
  12. Greg Biffle (LW-6)- The Biff got really close to falling out of the Rankings, luckily for him this is the week I was planning on adding the 11th and 12th spots. He just had a rough night at Richmond.
**Now that we hit the Quarter season mark and the stretch run to the Chase I will be adding in the 11th and 12th place spots to the Rankings!**

Dropping Out: Greg Biffle (LW-6)
Just Missed: Jeff Gordon, Joey Logano, and Jamie McMurray.

The rankings really are over the place at this point in the season so bad luck maybe coming into play next Sunday at Talladega. Can guys like Kahne and Busch get it turned around? Will this win help Harvick get it going? Can't wait for Sunday! Check back this week for a a Quarter season review of the Nascar season focusing on drivers and story lines from the 2013 season!
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Friday, April 26, 2013

Tweets of the Week: Richmond

This week Tweets of the Week will focus on my stats for Richmond. Mixed in a few interesting Tweets from #NFB, Nascar drivers, and teams.

























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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Week 9 Preview

Richmond International Raceway


Nascar leaves Kansas behind in the wind (better yet leaves the wind in Kansas) until the Chase. Now we head to Richmond International Raceway for the second night race of the 2013 season. After the race at Richmond Nascar will officially be done with 25% of the season and we can take a look at early season standings. Until then lets focus on this Saturday!

Seven of the past eight winners have been driving Toyota when visiting Victory Lane, including Kyle Busch four times. The previous six races, all Chevy. Ford has not had a driver take there car to Victory Lane in 14 races, or since 2005 (Kurt Busch). Will car manufacturer have anything to do with Saturdays race or are these just fun facts? We will see, but Kyle Busch has won the Spring trip to Richmond four straight times. Here is a look at last years Spring race and last years Fall race.

So lets get on with the Good, Middle, and Bad drivers at Richmond International Raceway.

Kyle Busch RIR Win in Spring of 2012


The Good:
  • Kyle Busch- Kyle has 16 career starts at Richmond, he also has 13 career top 10's. Better yet, 13 of those top 10's were top 5 finishes! Boy oh boy has Kyle been good here. He has the most wins of current drivers (4) and best average finish (5.4). Best Chance Forecast: A hot start to 2013 and a hot track for Kyle, safe to predict a top 5.
  • Clint Bowyer- Two career wins at Richmond, including the last trip here, and 8 top 10's (14 career starts) has Bowyer looking good this weekend. Also think about this, he missed out on a top 10 four times while finishing 12th. Best Chance Forecast: Top 10 is defiantly in the future if he runs like he can at Richmond.
  • Tony Stewart- How this season has gone I don't think Smoke should be mentioned anywhere until he proves us wrong, but this is history. And Smoke has four straight top 10's including two top 5's last season. He also has won here in the past (3 times) but none since 2002. Best Chance Forecast: Danica and Ryan Newman finish ahead of him. Being serious, its too hard to predict Smoke this season. Look for a possible top 15.
The Middle:
  • Jimmie Johnson- Once again I will keep the middle ground drivers list short. JJ is good just about every where so it isn't a stretch to put him on this list. Hasn't won at Richmond since 2008 and has to 30+ finishes since then. Best Chance Forecast: Top 10 isn't out of the question for JJ.
The Bad:
  • Paul Menard- 12 starts, no top 10's and an average finish of 27.1 is not what Menard wants to see. He has been the surprise of the early 2013 season and will have to figure something out this time around to avoid a huge slip up.
  • Martin Truex Jr- Truex has 14 starts at Richmond with two top 10's and a top 5 but that seems like such a long time ago. Truex has had back to back good weeks, but his last five at Richmond look like this: 21st, 25th, 30th, 27th, and 22nd.
  • Joey Logano- 8 starts and JoLo has one top 10 (a top 5), everything else has been just plan bad at Richmond. He will have to do better then his 30th and 24th finishes last year to get out of the hole that has been created for him.
Laying Low:
  • Ryan Newman- The only Stewart Haas driver worth talking about right now, Newman has a career average finishing position of 11.6. He has 13 top 10's in 22 career starts at Richmond. Newman may go into the weekend quiet and finish is making up points on 12th position (24 behind right now).
  • Mark Martin- Mark has 30 career top 10s at Richmond, but he is not a young pup anymore. Yet he still has three straight top 10's and 7 in the last 10 races. Not too bad for an old guy. Look for him to make a good run Saturday, but most likely end up short of the win.

Lets get ready for an exciting weekend! Check back for new updates and for even more and a bunch of extra stats for the Richmond weekend follow me on Twitter.

Some extras so you get enough info through the week:
  • Yahoo article on Matt Kenseth and his Kansas issue: Here
  • Nascar.com Fantasy Preview for Richmond: Here
  • Get your Richmond car paint scheme's Here
  • Nascar.com Up to Date Standings (Since mine are not updated yet) Here
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Monday, April 22, 2013

Pit Road: Week 8

Kansas Speedway

This past Sunday Nascar visited Kansas Speedway for the first time this season. Kansas brought us our third two time winner of the season (Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch) and now Matt Kenseth. It was pretty much a Matt Kenseth kind of day. He lead early and often and found his way back up front at the end of the day.

Some other drivers made some noise, some for good others for bad. Kyle Busch was part of the latter after starting the day out early spinning and causing the first caution and then later loosing control and getting hit by Joey Logano (when he couldn't get out of the way) ending his day. On the other end, Brad Keselowski went through just about everything a driver could and found his way to a 6th place finish.

Anyways lets get on with it (chances are you watched the race). Here is the full results of the STP 400 at Kansas. Now the Rising, Coasting, and Falling Categories.

Rising:
  • Matt Kenseth- After back to back weeks of finishing just outside the top 10, Kenseth gets his second win of the season. Very strong race this past week for Kenseth
  • Jamie McMurray- McMurray finished up quietly in 7th place on Sunday and is still sitting 11th in the standings.
  • Aric Almirola- He just notched his second top 10 finish in a row (8th) and is still making a run at the Chase (13th).
Coasting:
  • Kasey Kahne- Set it on cruise control, Kahne made his way back into the top 5 again (4th time this season)
  • Clint Bowyer- Seems like every other week he is in the hunt for a top 5 (actually check out his finishes and other than a 6th at Phoenix its true.
Falling:
  • Kyle Busch- Kyle just had a rough weekend in Kansas. I don't think the stay in the falling category will last too long though.
  • Joey Logano- Wow has it been a long fall for JoLo. First he goes from in the Chase to 14th after the Penske penalties. Then he drops from 14th to 20th after he and his spotter made the wrong call on where Kyle's car would be. He needs a good finish to get going and save his hot start and chances at the Chase.


Pit Road (Week 8 Power Rankings)
  1. Jimmie Johnson (LW-2)- Not a long fall from the top spot for JJ. He Had his moments at Kansas but at the end of the day didn't have enough for Kenseth or Kahne, finishing 3rd.
  2. Brad Keselowski (LW-3)- Almost put Kahne here, but like I said about Kahne last week, this is the race that makes Champions. He started out 33rd and had early struggles that put him down laps, almost made it back just to stay a lap down, then made it back towards the front. Guess what happened next? Yeah part of his car ripped off. Well it didn't stop BK he made his way to a 6th place finish.
  3. Kasey Kahne (LW-4)- Kahne got back to his hot streak that was off set by a 11th at Texas. Kahne, just like last time Kenseth won, had a winning car but just didn't have enough. (Finishing 2nd)
  4. Kyle Busch (LW-1)- Rough, rough week for Kyle. But I can not look past his hot start to the 2013 season and drop him any farther. We will see how he handles this set back.
  5. Matt Kenseth (LW-8)- Kenseth make a big jump again this week after his second win (He made this jump last time too). Last time he won he followed by a 35th place finish that hampered his run up the Power Rankings, will he change it this time around?
  6. Greg Biffle (LW-5)- Not a great showing by the Biff at Kansas, he finished 19th, but that came after three straight top 10's. Needs to get back going to stay near the top 5.
  7. Carl Edwards (LW-7)- Carl not with the best finish at Kansas (17th) but he still sits 6th in the points and has a good chance at a Chase spot early in 2013.
  8. Clint Bowyer (LW-9)- Bowyer got his 3rd top 5 of the season at Kansas (Home) and will look to get some more consistency going.
  9. Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-6)- You can breathe Jr Nation. He is still 5th in the points, and sits great on the season, but this is about who is hot, and well, Jr hasn't been. He really has had some bad luck the past three weeks, but the tune of 24th, 29th, 16th just wont cut it too much longer.
  10. Paul Menard (LW-NR)- The 10th spot was a tough one, but I went with the guy who just finished 10th at Kansas. If you are counting that's four top 10's on the season. Menard is also 10th in points if you are wondering.
Dropping out- Joey Logano (LW-10)
Just Missed- Aric Almirola, Kevin Harvick, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, and Martin Truex Jr

Next week's Power Rankings should be interesting. So many drivers are right on the cusp of being in and guys like Jr and Edwards just need one great finish to jump back up to the top 5.
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Friday, April 19, 2013

Driver Spotlight: Kyle Busch

Nascar Behind the Wall Driver spotlight: Kyle Busch. This segment will be a short article about where each driver is right now during the 2013 season. At the end of the season I will review some of the more interesting stories from Driver Spotlight.


Well as Kyle Busch himself said after Fontana about his win, "if that is even a story," I will make him proud by spotlighting him this week. Coming off his second win in the early 2013 season, we take a look back at how he has been on a long come back. He had a rough 2011 season but it looked like he would turn it around in 2012. On the stretch run toward the chase Kyle got caught up in some bad times and missed the Chase. Even though he missed the Chase he was one of the hottest drivers during the Chase and finished as the highest driver not in the Chase.

So onto this season, the real story on Kyle Busch. No one has been hotter on the 2013 season then Kyle. Kyle just hit my top spot in my Power Rankings located in Pit Row: Week 7 and for good reason. He has been on a a run that includes two wins, five top 5's, and 5 top 10's. He has an average start position 5.4 and an average finish of 10th in 7 Sprint Cup races. He also has swept two weekends (Fontana and Texas) on his way to 3rd in the Sprint Cup standings.

Sure Kyle has found his fair share of problems along the way in his career but this year he seems to be more in control of anything that comes his way. He may be fully maturing as a Nascar driver or it could be that so many other story lines are keeping the spotlight off of him (Rivals, Joey Logano, or fines). It maybe a bit of both, but one thing is for sure, Kyle Busch is back to his winning ways.

After finishing outside the Chase last year and finishing as the lowest driver in the Chase in 2011 (12th) will this be the year Kyle busts back out like he did in 2008 with 8 wins and 17 top 5's? Kyle Busch has yet to finish a season higher then 5th in the points standings (5th in 2007) so the real question is can he put it together when it counts, the Chase?

No question Busch is a driver to watch every week, but it will also be fun to watch as the season goes on to see if he can put it together in the Chase and become a true Champion. Hopefully for Kyle Busch fans, at the end of the 2013 year I am updating this article writing about how he became a Champion this season.

**4/28/13 Update: After getting his second Win of the 2013 season, and writing this article, Kyle has had back to back disappointing finishes. The weekend at Kansas was a disaster and he finished the day 38th. At Richmond he had a good car and ran up front for awhile but found trouble late in the race and finished 24th. Looks like Kyle in in need of a good finish going to Dega.**

**6/2/13 Update: Kyle has still had some bad luck following him this season but he has had cars to beat in many of the races. His problem still seems to be having the car to beat down the stretch. At Dover he had a great car to start the race but finished the race clinging to a 4th place finish. Including the ASR he has had 3 top 10's in his last 4 races (2 top 5's). The question from the original article still remains, will he be able to put it together when it all counts, down the stretch?**
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Thursday, April 18, 2013

Tweets of the Week: Kansas

This week Nascar heads to Kansas and a new Tweets of the Week is upon us. This week we mix in our usual Nascar Tweets with some hard hitting stuff from Boston. So while Keselowski made his way to the White House, a throw back Bowyer photo is found, Denny Hamlin gets his stand up career going, and Penske gets hit hard, we also keep Boston in our thoughts (as well as West, Texas).














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Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Step into the Ring: Nascar

Depending on how this season shakes up, Step Into the Ring will look into current rivalries shaping up in the Nascar Season.

Last time around in "Step into the Ring" I talked about Joey Logano and the mess he found himself in at the time. He was in the middle of a feud with Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart. Once again Stewart has been all Smoke and no fire (so far) and Denny Hamlin has been sidelined by the injury caused when he and JoLo got into a crash.

The past few weeks no driver has really stepped into the Nascar spotlight when it comes to new rivalries, but Nascar has started to bring up that "line" again.

After the race at Texas Motor Speedway Brad Keselowski came away furious. He claimed that he has
been "targeted" in the garage area. Many believe what he meant by that was that he was targeted by the Hendrick team. In the garage he was right next to the #48 crew (a crew that last year he pointed out that there rear end housings looked weird on the track, that they turned too well) and JoLo was right next to the #24 team. Nascar came down on the Penske Team and took their rear end housings before the race, leaving them to scramble to replace them. A big issue here for many fans (like or dislike BK) is that Nascar struck so quickly. Nascar didn't say they cheated but instead just that it was not in the spirit of the rule. When the Hendrick teams were called out for just about the same thing (being ahead of the learning curve) they got warnings and went 5 or 6 races before they had to change.

Here is the thing, everyone is chasing Hendrick. Everyone who knows Nascar knows that they have been ahead of the curve. Did it just happen that Penske had finally figure it out and found an edge? Maybe, we will know more when information comes out.

On the the important part here though, is this "line" that Nascar has created. Was that line crossed by Penske but somehow it wasn't by Hendrick last year? If so, how many turns and edge's does this line have?

Brad Keselowski vented his frustrations of the week after the race in Texas, ''There's so much stuff going on, you guys (reporters) have no idea - you have no (expletive) idea what's going on,'' he said. ''I can tell you there is no team in this garage with the integrity of the 2 team. The way we've been treated over the last seven days is absolutely shameful. I feel like we've been targeted over the last seven days more than I've ever seen a team targeted in my life.''

On Monday it was released that BK would not be fined for his post race rant. So, this little issue brings that "line" back again. I agree with the decision of not giving him a fine, but I also thought that Denny Hamlin should not have fined. That's where the line gets blurry (or winding).

I have no problem with Nacar drawing a line on some issues, every sport does. I hope that line lets drivers speak their mind though because as fans we love getting to know the drivers we follow. But right now Nascar has a problem with consistancy on the rules and needs to figure it out.

Much scrutiny is coming upon Nascar for many issues outside of racing (NRA 500) so the issue of what you can and can't say needs to be taking care of.

So step into the ring Nascar, you have a target on you to draw a straight line. Between a 3 year old and you, I will take the 3 year old every time to draw straighter.

**Edit note: Penalties were assessed for the Penske team after I finished this article. So here it is: each team loses 25 points, Crew Chiefs, Car Engineer, and Team Manager for 6 races. Also Crew Chiefs fined $100,000 each. BK moves from 2nd to 4th and JoLo moves from 9th to 14th in points standings. Penske will appeal. Ryan Truex was docked 6 points and will not appeal. (Side note, Ron Hornaday gets a $25,000 fine and 25 points docked while on probation).**

As you took the time to read about Nascar like me, to take your mind elsewhere just for a moment, we still pray for Boston and all of us as a Nation to back our fellow people.

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Week 8 Preview

Kansas Speedway

So Nascar leaves Texas after its first night race of the season but no fire works went off (at least because of the racing).  The race may have been long and not as entertaining as the rest of 2013 has given us, but the story lines have not stoped. The Penske team was apparently "targeted" in the garage according Brad Keselowski. Some think this could be straight from the #48 team and Chad Knaus, but the ruling is still out. Also my thoughts and prayers go out to those who were effected by the Suicide in the Texas Motor Speedway infield but that has also caused a storyline. Unfortunately it somehow changed from a suicide story into hot bed story on the NRA and sponsorship (Nothing that had to do with what happened). Oh, and Kyle Busch won the race.

So moving onward to our first trip to Kansas Speedway in 2013.  Only time will tell how the Penske team will handle themselves after Texas and how the other stories shake out, but maybe this week we will get back to storylines that happen on the track.

Kansas Speedway has had a short 14 race Nascar history that has produced 10 different winners, the most recent being Matt Kenseth.  Four drivers have two Win's at Kansas and no driver has more then that (Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and Greg Biffle). Kansas is a 400 mile race that has made two stops every year since 2011 (one now, and one later in the year that is a Chase race). The past four races have resulted in a different car manufacturer winning each and Chevrolet has won the most (7 times).
Matt Kenseth at Kansas in Fall race 2012

Take a look at last years Spring race results, that had Denny Hamlin finishing in Victory Lane. Now lest get on to the Good, Middle, and Bad Categories at Kansas Speedway.

The Good:
  • Jimmie Johnson- Another track and another JJ spotting on the "good" list. He can not be left off the list considering he is one of 4 drivers with a track record two wins. He also has the best average finishing position (8), best average starting position (10.6), most laps lead (547), most top 10's (11), and tied for the most poles (3). Best Chance Forecast: 11 top 10's in 13 career starts, I would say top 10 is a safe bet.
  • Jeff Gordon- The second Hendrick driver on the "good" list, Gordon holds on record at Kansas that JJ doesn't have, top 5's. Gordon has 8 top 5's in 14 career starts here, but none in his last three. Best Chance Forecast: History says Gordon normally only has a bad day at Kansas if he has car problems. This Sunday their is a good chance Gordon gets back on track after late race troubles last week and gets a top 10.
  • Tony Stewart- Now I could have picked Biffle (2 wins), Keselowski (avg finish of 9.8), or Matt Kenseth (win last year) for this spot, but I will give it to Smoke. Stewart is tied for the track record in wins (2) and has an average finish of 11.7. He also has finished in the top 10 9 out of 14 times, but I give him the nod because no one in Nascar needs a good finish more than him. Best Chance Forecast: Well given his bad start you can say anywhere. I will be bold, he will get his first top 5 of the year.
The Middle:
  • Kasey Kahne- I will keep the middle short. Many drivers can fit in this spot each week so I will just spotlight Kahne. Kahne has been hot as of late, even salvaging a mediocre race at Texas for a top 15. Kahne is tied with JJ for 3 poles, so if he wasn't already fast on the 2013 season, this track will bring out the best. What I am saying is, he could get another pole. Best Chance Forecast: I like Kahne to get into the top 5. (His last three here: 4,8, and 2).
The Bad:
  • Aric Almirola- This is all out of sample size, but Almirola hasn't been very good at Kansas in his two career starts. Finishes of 23rd and 29th leave a lot to be desired. He did qualify 5th in his last start here (Fall of last year).
  • Casey Mears- Mears has 3 top 10's and 2 top 5's in 12 career starts, so what is so bad? Well his last 5 at Kansas look like this (37, 26, 42, 37, and 24). All of these 5 were with Germain Racing and it doesnt look like Mears will find his way out this time around.
  • Joey Logano- JoLo keeps finding himself on this list, but he ahas also been rewriting this list. This season it seems like things are coming together for him and he is learning new tracks. That doesn't mean I will leave him off the list, facts are facts. In 7 career starts at Kansas JoLo has 1 top 15. The plus side, that was in this race last year. Another plus, JoLo has started in the top 10 4 of his 7 races so he knows how to be fast.
Laying Low:
  • Martin Truex Jr- Guess who was runner up in both races at Kansas Speedway last year? You guess it, Martin Truex Jr. Last year he just could not snap his win less streak but came oh so close at Kansas. Last week he made a strong run (and then failed post race inspection) for a win, can he do it this week?
  • Kevin Harvick- He has yet to really break out in the 2013 season, so maybe a trip on the "laying low" list will get him going. 6 is the magic number. In 14 career starts here, Harvick has finished 6th 5 times. He also has a top 5 and two 11th place finishes. Kind of like this season, Harvick just cant break into the top 10, this week might be the week.
  • Paul Menard- Laying low is something he has done this whole season. Menard is still in the Chase hunt and in the top 12. Last time around Menard finished 3rd, 18th in the Spring race. Menard does seem to qualify well at Kansas with 4 top 10 starts in 8 career starts.

Need more?
Check out this weeks paint scheme's at Kansas: Here
Check up on Brad Keselowski's trip to the White House: Here from Nascar.com
Don't know who is running this weekend? Check out the Entry List for Kansas
Check out my Twitter for more stats from Kansas Speedway and Nascar Updates.

**Edit note: Penalties were assessed for the Penske team after I finished this article. So here it is: each team loses 25 points, Crew Chiefs, Car Engineer, and Team Manager for 6 races. Also Crew Chiefs fined $100,000 each. BK moves from 2nd to 4th and JoLo moves from 9th to 14th in points standings. Penske will appeal. Ryan Truex was docked 6 points and will not appeal. (Side note, Ron Hornaday gets a $25,000 fine and 25 points docked while on probation).**

Also, as you have taken a moment to follow a sport we love, don't forget about those affected in Boston.




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Monday, April 15, 2013

Pit Road: Week 7

Texas Motor Speedway

500 miles. Nascar's first night race of the season was at Texas Motor Speedway and was 500 miles. That is one of my first thoughts after this race. I am not the only one who thinks this past Saturday's race should have been 400 miles not 500. The race was just drawn out throughout the night and would have been more exciting if it was 100 miles shorter.

Now on to the important stuff, the actual product on the track, or the stuff Denny Hamlin gets fined for talking about. The race didn't bring too much excitement on the night, but that happens at Texas when it gets drawn out with minimal cautions. Martin Truex Jr had one heck of a night. He has been on quite the win less streak (check out "We're Going Streaking) and it looked like Saturday night might be the night. A late caution came out for debris while Truex was leading and it was a race off pit road. That race resulted in Kyle Busch and his first pit box stall getting the win after a fast stop and Truex coming out second. On the restart Kyle pulled away like he had a few other times during the race and never looked back. If you are counting, that is another weekend sweep for Kyle, the second time he did that this season.

If you missed it, or need a refresher, check out the full race results here. Now lets just get into the Rising, Coasting, and Falling drivers after Nascar's trip to Fort Worth.

Rising, Coasting, and Falling Drivers after Texas Motor Speedway (The NRA didn't pay me to use their name in this article, sorry guys).

Rising:
  • Martin Truex Jr- Now, Truex had his car fail a post race inspection, which I am sure we will hear more about on Tuesday, but that will not take my opinion away about the fact that he had a great race. He came away from Texas 2nd after leading 142 laps and having a great shot of breaking his win less streak. Maybe this will get him fired up to get the win this year?
  • Kyle Busch- Its hard to say his stock can rise any more, but a win and a weekend sweep will get you on this list anyways. He led the most laps on the night and really couldn't be touched after his pit crew got him back out in first after a late race restart. Also, he now notched his second win on the season after JJ did so last week at Martinsville
  • Carl Edwards- What a ride of emotions for fans of back flip Carl. Almost the whole race it seemed like Carl was having some kind of engine problem. This problem looked like it would get in his way of a quality finish, but then the race had 22 laps left and he was in the top 5. Carl ended his long day with a hard earned 3rd.
  • Honorable Mention: Ryan Newman, Aric Almirola, and Brian Vickers
Coasting:
  • Kasey Kahne- This is the kind of finish that keeps you in a title chase. Kahne did not have a great day, a few times he was seen slipping farther back. At the end of the race he finished up 11th which is his worst finish in the last 5 races.
  • Matt Kenseth- See Kasey Kahne. He fought on the day to finish 12th and keep a good run towards a Chase spot going. He still sits in 11th place in points but has been very strong this year.
  • Honorable Mention- Kevin Harvick (Always seems to be in this spot this year, that's three 13th place finishes in a row. Good or Bad luck??) and Clint Bowyer.
Falling:
  • Juan Pablo Montoya- JPM had a good spot to start on Saturday, but never seemed to figure out the car when it mattered. Sadly, the 20th place finish was his best in 4 races but he started top 10. The previous three starts were 14th, 12th, and 17th. JPM can find a decent starting position but cant seem to race to the front.
  • Tony Stewart- Well, another race, and another sighting of Smoke on the Falling list. I'm not sure how much farther he can fall but he will find himself on this list each week if he can not figure out what to do. Each week it is less likely he will find his way out of the hole, so he better get it going soon.
  • Dishonorable Mention: Dale Earnhardt Jr, Casey Mears, and Kurt Busch.
Pit Road (Week 7 Power Rankings)
  1. Kyle Busch (LW-2)- Up to 3rd in the season standings and notching his 2nd win of the season Kyle is the hottest driver right now hands down. In his last 5 he has finished in the top 5 each time. Also note, he hasn't qualified higher then 13th all year (only 2 times has he qualified higher then 4th in 7 races).
  2. Jimmie Johnson (LW-1)- JJ had a tough day at Texas. At the end of the race he just didn't have the car figured out which is unlike the #48 team. JJ still managed a 6th place finish which is a tribute to that team and driver.
  3. Brad Keselowski (LW- 4)- Well BK was heated after the race. Last week's pit stall incident and now this week feeling like the Penske team is being "targeted." BK and Logano had rear housings taken from them and had to scramble to replace them. BK then scrambled from a harsh start of the night to a 9th place finish. He is still 2nd in points, but news will come out around Tue about potential penalties.
  4. Kasey Kahne (LW-3)- Not the best day for Kahne and yet he finished 11th. That is the kind of fight needed in a Championship run.
  5. Greg Biffle (LW-6)- Biffle had a long night in the middle of the pack, but as the race closed down Biffle dialed it in and made a run to the front. Too bad it was too late, Biffle still finished 4th.
  6. Dale Earnhardt Jr (LW-5)- Jr hit a speed bump after Martinsville and how did he handle it? Well with more bad luck. A rough day after a low battery and bad pit call left Jr behind picking up the pieces and getting all he could out of it. Jr finished 29th and could use a strong finish next week at Kansas.
  7. Carl Edwards (LW-9)- Who sits 5th in points? Most fans wouldn't answer Carl Edwards. He has been quiet ever since his streak breaking win at Phoenix. Since then he has 3 top 5's and his lowest finish was 18th at Bristol. Carl had a long day at Texas yet finished Saturdays race in 3rd place.
  8. Matt Kenseth (LW-8)- Kenseth had a strong run at Martinsville considering he never runs well there, this week he salvaged a 12th place finish on a mediocre night. This kind of finish maybe the thing he needs down the stretch if he wants to make a run.
  9. Clint Bowyer (LW-7)- Flipping spots with Kenseth and losing ground on Carl, Bowyer still makes the rankings. Bowyer had a slip up at Texas and finished 15th. Bowyer is still 8th in the standings but has had troubles with consistency early on.
  10. Joey Logano (LW-NR)- Logano is the lone new driver to the rankings this week, this coming after dropping out last week after Martinsville. JoLo started the night at the back of the field and fought his way to the front. JoLo sitting 9th in points, finished with his second top 5 of the season on Saturday (5th).
Dropping out: Jeff Gordon
Just Missed: Kevin Harvick (Just can not get over the hump), Jamie McMurray, and Brian Vickers

Look back at the Texas Preview: Here
Tweets of the Week, get'em Here
Top 15 for the Driver Spotlight driver, Mark Martin. Check out last weeks article: Here

Let's get ready for a Sunday race at Kansas!

**Edit: Brad Keselowski has not been penalized for his post race comments after Texas. More to come about rear housing that was taken from the #2 and #22. Also, Truex assesed a 6 point deduction for failing post race inspection.**
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Thursday, April 11, 2013

March Madness Nascar Style: Championship

Well Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardnials are your NCAA Men's Basketball DI 2013 Champions. The game was possibly the most fast paced championship game in recent history. But guess what, our Championship game will be even faster! Nascars Final Four kicked off at Martinsville Speedway with match ups of Kyle Busch v Kasey Kahne and Brad Keselowski v Kurt Busch. Once again we had one match up that went the distance and the other was just a blow out.

Lets start with the blow out. BK faced off against #8 seeded Kurt Busch who used his strong run to get to the Final Four but at Martinsville it wasn't even close, as Kurt struggled all day and ended up not finishing the race (Engine fire). BK had a good day but only had a top 10 car on the day and finished 6th.

As for the slug fest. Both Kyle and Kasey left Martinsville with 40 points, but the edge goes to Kasey who finished 4th, one spot ahead of Kyle in 5th. Both has fast cars on Sunday and fought down to the end. Kyle Busch even lead 56 laps on the day but it wasn't enough to get past Kahne.

So now Nascar is down to two drivers, Brad Keselowski (#1 seed) and Kasey Kahne (#4 seed) just like Louisville and Michigan, except the pace will be at 190 mph. Both drivers are sitting in the top 5 in points heading to Texas Motor Speedway and have had a great start to 2013.

The Match Up:
Brad Keselowski (Career at Texas Motor Speedway)
  • 9 Starts
  • 0 Wins
  • 1 Top 5
  • 1 Top 10
  • Average Start 26.2
  • Average Finish 22.7



Kasey Kahne (Career at Texas Motor Speedway)
  • 17 Starts
  • 1 Win
  • 4 Top 5's
  • 5Top 10's
  • Average Start 11.8
  • Average Finish 19.2


Who is going to win?

Well looking at the stats it is hard not to say Kasey Kahne. Kahen has not only a win at Texas, but 3 more top 5 finishes then BK. BK also has almost half as many starts at the track then Kahne does. The last 3 starts at Texas BK has started 8th each time, the winner at Texas normally comes from the top 10, and he also finished 2nd last time around. Kasey on the other hand has finished 25th, 7th, and 3rd in his last three at Texas. Kahne also has a win on the season and seems to run well at tracks like Texas. I think BK is hungry to get in the Win column for 2013 but I don't think it will be this Saturday at Texas.

Championship Winner(My Pick): Kasey Kahne

I think Kahne has a shot at winning on Saturday and will continue his hot run. BK may still finish top 10 but I'm not sure it will be enough.

A look at the past Articles:

**Edit: Brad Keselowski outlasted Kasey Kahne at Texas Motor Speedway in Nascar's first Night race of the 2013 season. BK finished Top 10 and Kahne just missed the Top 10 so it was a close battle but the defending Sprint Cup Champion comes out on top of this years March Tourney.**
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Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Tweets of the Week: Week 7 Texas Motor Speedway

All the good stuff you may have missed leading up to Texas Motor Speedway. Clint's dirty words to Jimmie, Harvick has a family week, no pit crew competition, Kasey Kahne's birthday, and Brad Keselowski goes to ATL to watch Michigan (lose) in the National Championship. Updates added throughout the week/weekend.
















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Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Week 7 Preview

Texas Motor Speedway
 
No week off! Nascar took its annual early season week off before heading to Martinsville and after Fontana it may have been needed (even though most of us loved the entertainment). Martinsville didn't quite live up to the hype after the Fontana drama but none the less we got a pretty good race. Jimmie Johnson came up with the win and took home his 8th Grandfather clock after dominating most of the day.
 
Enough about Martinsville (if you want a recap check out my Nascar Pit Road) because it is on to Texas and a few other drivers may have their say in who wins. This week it shouldn't all be about Jimmie Johnson, even though he was the last winner at Texas.  The past five races at Texas have brought us five different winners (Johnson, Biffle, Stewart, Kenseth, and Hamlin). In fact, only one current driver has more then 2 Win's at Texas Motor Speedway, Carl Edwards (3).
 
Texas Chase Race finish 2012. Johnson holds of BK
Also to note, in the past 10 Texas races the winner has started in the top 5 all but three times. Denny Hamlin did it both times in 2010 (starting 3oth and 29th) and Carl Edwards did it in 2008 starting 16th. The last four winners started 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 4th. (So watch all week who is fast during practice and who qualifies well to get an idea who has a good chance to win). So lets get into the drivers Good, Middle, Bad, and Laying Low categories. Check out last years Spring Results here.
 
 
The Good:
  • Matt Kenseth- In 21 career races at Texas Kenseth has 15 top 10's, 12 top 5's, and 2 wins. He has lead the most laps at Texas in the last 10 races (772) and also has the best average finish at 8.3. Also, in his last 7 races at Texas he has finished outside the top 5 once and in his last 13 races has only two finishes outside the top 10. Best Chance Forecast: With stats like that its hard not to say a top 5 looks likely.
  • Greg Biffle- The Biff has been good at Texas, I mean really good. Biffle has notched a top 10 9 times in his last 9 races here! That includes a win at Texas last year and 6 top 5's. Best Chance Forecast- If he qualifies in the top 10 he has a great shot at winning on Saturday night.
  • Jimmie Johnson- Well Johnson finds himself on the "Good" drivers list once again, surprised? The last winner here at Texas last fall, JJ has 14 top 10's, 9 top 5's, and 2 Win's in his career. He holds the best active starting position average (8.8) which is key because 18 of the past 24 winners have started in the top 10 (11 of the last 14). JJ also has the second highest active finish average at 9.3. Best Chance Forecast: JJ can continue his run from Martinsville right into Texas, chance at winning with a high probability of a top 5.
The Middle:
  • Dale Earnhardt Jr- Ok Jr Nation, who has 4 straight top 10's at Texas without getting a top 5? That's right its Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr has been good at Texas in his last 4, but just cant crack the top 5. Jr will be a contender on Saturday if he can bolster a better starting position the he has averaged in his career here, 11.6 (19.75 in his last four). Best Chance Forecast: If he can get a top ten start, add into the mix that he has had a hot start to 2012, and Jr could contend for a win at Texas, if not look for another top 10.
  • Ryan Newman- In the last four Texas races who has had an average finish of 15.8 (good for 12th best among active drivers) but has not a single top 10? That is right, Ryan Newman. Newman is on the edge of Middle and Bad class for this Saturday's race, but I gave the edge to the past four races (His career avg finish at Texas is 20.3). If anything, Newman just needs this race to get back on track (Or find the track) because he has struggled with just about everything this season. Best Chance Forecast: It might be just another day in the top 15 for Newman, but he has the upside to put it together.
  • Clint Bowyer- Clint has three top 10's in the last four races at Texas including 1 top 5, but in 14 career starts has yet to win here. He still has a career finish average of 12.8 so it is hard to say he wont finish well, he just may not be a contender to win. Best Chance Forecast: Top 15. If he qualifies strong top 10.
The Bad:
  • Joey Logano- 9 career starts at Texas with an average finish of 23.6 is not something you brag about to your friends (Or Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin). JoLo has one top 5 in his 9 races at Texas and 5 24th or higher. Texas just hasn't been his track. On a side note, last race here he did qualify 6th and finish 11th so maybe JoLo will figure it out this time around.
  • Juan Pablo Montoya- Just above JoLo in average finish position? JPM with a career average of 23.5.  He does have two career top 10's in 12 starts but none since 2009. Last year he finished 34th ans 16th at Texas. JPM has been a non factor this year in pretty much every race so he needs a strong showing at Texas this week to turn it around.
  • Jamie McMurray- In the last 8 trips to Texas McMurray has managed just one top 15 finish, ONE! All but two of those 8 races were in a Earnhardt Ganassi ride. Before being with Earnhardt Ganassi he had 7 top 10's (3 with Chip Ganassi). Something just hasn't been working in his most recent ride and I don't know if that will change this Saturday.
Laying Low:
  • Martin Truex Jr- Trues has finished in the top 10 almost half of the time in his career at Texas (7 of 15 races). He is also part a select group of current drivers to have 2 career poles here (5 total drivers). He has yet to win at Texas but his last three have resulted in 13th, 6th, and 8th place finishes. A good starting spot and maybe he can break his win less streak and get his first at Texas in the same race.
  • Kurt Busch- 9th best active average finish (14.1), check. A career win at Texas Motor Speedway, check. 12 career top 10's at Texas, check. A 13th and 8th place finish with two different small car team's, check. Everyone talking about how your car was burning up on Sunday and not that you have two top 5's on the season, check. Kurt Busch is coming into this race after a horrible day at Martinsville, but that doesn't mean he can't produce a top 10 this Saturday.
  • Marcus Ambrose- This is the first of back to back long shots, but Ambrose sure has qualified pretty well here in his last four trips (15th, 7th, 12th, 7th). Last time around he was involved in a crash, but the previous 3 to that he finished in the top 20 all three times, including a 11th and 6th in 2011. Starting up front will be huge for Ambrose if he wants to break out of his season long slump at Texas Saturday.
  • David Ragan- This is a long shot, a huge dark horse, but if that's what you are looking for look no further. In 12 races he has a pole and 2 top 10's, but he is surrounded by big names when you check out his career average start position of 14.4. As mentioned before, starting position is huge at Texas considering most winners come out of the top 10 in qualifying. Only problem here, since departing from Roush his last two starts have produced a 35th and 28th place finish and both times he qualified poorly. Only look Ragan's way if he can find a way to qualify fast, otherwise this is just another Cinderella that never gets a slipper. 

Entry list for Texas Motor Speedway: Here
Want to check out some paint scheme's for Saturday? Here
Article after last years Chase Race at Texas: Here

 Some extra Tweets from me this week with some quick stats:





Need more stats? Get what you need at Racing-Reference.info
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