Thursday, June 27, 2013

Tweets of the Week Kentucky

It's been awhile for Tweets of the week. Lets take a look at a few Tweets from Sonoma, Kevin Harvick at Yankee Stadium, Keselowski on TV, Kentucky weather outlook, a few leading up to Kentucky and some driver Tweets you may have missed (plus an old Hamlin/BK tweet where they get into a "measuring" battle).
















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Michael Waltrip Racing: Creating a Contender

The Nascar world runs around Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing, mix in a little Roush Fenway and Richard Childress Racing, and then you are left with Penske, Stewart-Haas, and Michael Waltrip Racing picking up the scraps. That isn't even mentioning Richard Petty Motorsports, Furniture Row, or any other small team trying to just get a mention.

I bring this up because one team really seems to be making strides and could possibly start to push towards the top in the next few years. That team is the before mentioned Michael Waltrip Racing. MWR has come a long way from their start and it has shown the past few seasons.

Last season MWR finally got a driver into the Sprint Cup Chase for the first time and it happened to be a case of the doubles. That's because after Clint Bowyer clinched MWR's first berth Martin Truex Jr ended up also getting in. It seems like last year was a huge coming out party at MWR. This coming out party was largely due to the season its drivers had.

Last season was Clint Bowyers first season with Michael Waltrip and he had the best season of his career thus far. In 2012 Bowyer finished the season runner up to first time Champion Brad Keselowski. Roger Penske has been a long time owner who has paid his dues and 2012 was his first ever Sprint Cup Championship, proving how hard it is to establish a team in Nascar. In 2012 Bowyer also posted 3 Wins, 10 Top 5's, and 23 Top 10's which were all career best for him. This season Bowyer has gotten off to a hot start and sits 3rd in the standings yet he has not found a win in 16 races.

In 2007 Martin Truex Jr won the first race of his career and this past weekend at Sonoma he finally notched his second. Also in 2007, MWR started to really get the ball rolling. MWR was one of the first 3 car teams to adapt to the new Toyota cars and have stuck with them since. Not only is Truex the latest winner this season but he also is sitting in an alright position to make his second straight Chase appearance. Matter of fact, Truex may not have the points that Bowyer has but he has an important win so far in 2013. Truex is sitting 10th in points through 16 races and is also coming off his best season in his career much like Bowyer.  He may not have posted a win last year but he tied his career high of Top 5's (7) and notched a career best 19 Top 10's on his way to a 12.1 average finish position. He didn't fair too well in the Chase where he finished 11th overall but it was his first taste of the big show.

Truex has long been regarded as a driver with tons of potential but just hadn't quiet tapped into it yet, but last season he showed a glimpse of it. After the win at Sonoma some people now think he could make a run while he is in the peak of his career. 

MWR has Truex and Bowyer who both could be hitting hot stretches in there careers behind the wheels of there Toyota Camry's so Michael has got to be happy. The question is, can MWR take the next step and become a title contender in the near future or even as early as this season?

Last year Roger Penske finally got his long awaited title, and in 2011 driver/partial owner Tony Stewart broke an 11 year streak of Hendrick, Gibbs, or Childress Champions with a Stewart-Haas Championship. From 1993-2010 only Robert Yates fielded a driver (Dale Jarrett) to beat one of the big three. (A look at the History of Sprint Cup Champions and Team Owners)

No one who knows Nascar will argue money wins races in Nascar (Which has lead to many years of research, development, and learning curves), and with that statement that Hendrick and Gibbs are tier one on that list (Childress riding shotgun) but with recent success of two non big three teams could MWR's time be now to break through? When thinking about that, also take this into account, those big three have owner's who are not getting any younger. To take a longer look into that check out this Fox Sports article that takes a look at the new demographic of Nascar and its owners. In my opinion I think that Michael Waltrip Racing is starting to turn a corner and will start to be a force for the next decade. Who else will step up as owners start to age and the cost of getting into Nascar keeps getting steeper and steeper?


  • Martin Truex Jr- Sign's with MWR in 2010
    • 124 Races. 1 Win. 15 top 5's. 45 top 10's. (With MWR)
  • Clint Bowyer- Sign's with MWR in 2012
    • 52 Races 3 Win's. 15 top 5's. 32 top 10's. (With MWR)
**I do realize MWR also fields the #55 (Mark Martin) every week but he is just coasting through his time at MWR anyways**

Take a look at this weeks Driver Spotlight that happens to be on Martin Truex Jr
Also take a peak at last weeks Power Rankings and this Weeks Kentucky Preview!
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Driver Spotlight: Martin Truex Jr

Nascar Behind the Wall Driver spotlight: Martin Truex Jr. 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

Last time we took a look at a Nascar driver it happened to be the other Jr, Dale Earnhardt Jr that is (Check out Driver Spotlight: Dale Earnhardt Jr). This time around we will take a look at Nascar's most recent winner.

I don't always like to spotlight the driver that just won, but in this case when you go 218 straight races without a win you deserve to get a mention. The last time Truex won I had just finished my first year of College, the 35W bridge collapsed (I live in MN so this was very very sad and hit home), the Mitchell Report was released, and the SA Spurs defeated the Clevlend Cav's and Lebron James. His streak was so bad that at the beginning of this season he made the top spot in my "We're Going Streaking" article.

That man has some patients, but oh how sweet that win at Sonoma must have been. Last season it really looked like Truex was settling back in having his best season of his career. He finished 2012 with 7 top 5's and 19 top 10's and had an average finish of 12.1. He also made the Sprint Cup Chase for the first time since 2007 when he had his last win.

Truex finally got that monkey off of his back at Sonoma which comes as a big relief. Now he can
focus on closing out another run at a Chase berth. The win at Sonoma will go a long way in helping him get into the Chase. That all important win could come handy if he needs it but, but as of now he also sits in 10th in the standings.

What I think will be interesting to watch the rest of the way is not only if he can close out a Chase spot but if he can find a way to have his first season with multiple wins? He has had so many races already just this season where he has been a contender that it is possible he notches another one. Maybe at the end of this season I will take a look back at this article and not only find that he made the Chase but got an extra win or two along the way.

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Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Week 17 Preview

Kentucky Speedway

Well Nascar is going back to a track where drivers will only make left turns, a place where Nascar has only ran two times at, Kentucky. Well there is little data this week on this track as we have only had two winners, Brad Keselowski last year and Kyle Busch in Kentuckys inaugural race.

A few quick notes on Kentucky Speedway. In the two years since the Sprint Cup series started running here no driver has posted two top 5's and only 5 drivers have posted two top 10's (Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, and Jeff Gordon). Also only 5 guys have led double digit laps total in two races (Kyle, Keselowski, Johnson, Hamlin, and Kurt).  Well lets get into it and take everything with a grain of salt (Leaving out Best Chance Forecast this week with little data). Here is a look at 2012 and 2011 race results at Kentucky Speedway.

2012 winner Brad Keselowski

The Good:
  • Brad Keselowski- BK not only one here last year but in the 2 year history he has the best average finish of 4.0. BK has also lead 147 of 535 laps which is second only to Kyle. This is a track that really helped him get going for the Chase last year. Also note, he has won here in Nationwide with a 3.6 average finish in 5 races.
  • Kyle Busch- The only other winner at Kentucky also gets the second spot this week. Not just because he has won here but he has lead 243 of 535 laps here which is 45.5% of the career laps here.
  • Kasey Kahne- Lots of other guys can be listed on here, but my last guy I will highlight it Kahne because he loves tracks like this. He has been fast this year and I think he has a chance at a win this Saturday. He did finish 13th in 2011 and 2nd last year so he also has a good track record here as well.
The Middle:
  • Carl Edwards- Well with only two races here a lot of guy fit the mold of being in the middle, but I like Carl to stay on his good pace this season with another strong finish at Kentucky. He has only posted a 5th and 20th place finish (last year) so his two races were up and down.
The Bad:
  • Clint Bowyer- Do I think he will finish poor this Saturday? No. But in the only two races here has he had a top 15? No. I think he will improve his bad runs here but the fact is in little data he has a 25.5 average finish. I think top 12 is right where he will find a home.
  • Jamie McMurray- Same average finish as Bowyer but I think he could again finish outside the top 15. He has struggled to find consistency so it could be another rough day for Jamie.
Kyle Busch win's first Sprint Cup race at Kentucky in 2011
Its a short article with little stats so I will add in some thoughts:
  • Who I like for the win the weekend?
    • Kasey Kahne
  • Dark Horse who I like for the win?
    • Joey Logano- He has a good track record in Nationwide and is having a nice 2013.
  • Other top contenders?
    • Kyle Busch-If he can keep the car from spinning he should be up front
    • Brad Keselowski- Won here in both series.
    • Jimmie Johnson- Every week he can contend
  • Who needs it most?
    • Brad Keselowski- Needs his season to turn around, almost out of a Chase spot with no win.
    • Denny Hamlin- Honorable mention. DH needs a win this week otherwise he may pack it in soon so he doesn't risk it.
  • What big name guy do I think will struggle?
    • Tony Stewart- I don't know why, I just have a gut feeling he will struggle this week after a frustrating Sonoma race.
  • My top 5 in no order:
    • BK, Kyle, Kahne, Kenseth, and Kurt Busch
  • Rounding out the to 10:
    • Jimmie Johnson, Hamlin, Logano, Gordon, and Edwards
Alright folks that's it for this weeks Kentucky Speedway preview! Check back for updates on other articles and new posts. If I find time either this week or next week I will be writing a "halfway" article that will look at the last 9 or 10 races before we reach the Chase. Have a great week guys.
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