Fast Facts NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Next Race: FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks The Place: Dover International Speedway The Date: Sunday, June 1 The Time: 1 p.m. (ET) TV: FOX, 12:30 p.m. (ET) Radio: MRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90 Distance: 400 miles (400 laps) NASCAR Nationwide Series Next Race: Buckle Up 200 presented by Click It or Ticket The Place: Dover International Speedway The Date: Saturday, May 31 The Time: 2:30 p.m. (ET) TV: ESPN, 2 p.m. (ET) Radio: MRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90 Distance: 200 miles (200 laps) NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Next Race: Lucas Oil 200 The Place: Dover International Speedway The Date: Friday, May 30 The Time: 5:30 p.m. (ET) TV: FOX Sports 1, 5 p.m. (ET) Radio: MRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90 Distance: 200 miles (200 laps) Winless Streak Snapped, Johnson Eyes Return To Championship Form Well, now that that’s out of the way, we can resume our regularly-scheduled regimen of highlighting races on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule without talking about Jimmie Johnson being winless in 2014. The six-time series champion became a first time 2014 winner this past Sunday night in the Coca-Cola 600. Off the schneid and into the Chase. Race winners are virtually assured of qualifying for NASCAR’s “playoffs,” the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, contested over the final 10 races of the season. And a Chase without Johnson? Unthinkable. And now, as if on cue, speculation has begun about a record-tying seventh championship for the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet. On a somewhat smaller scale, there also is speculation about the previously winless Johnson winning for the second week in a row, this weekend at Dover International Speedway. This makes sense, since Johnson already is the all-time race winner at the track called the “Monster Mile,” with eight victories over a relatively brief 11-year span. The first two Dover victories came in Johnson’s rookie season via a season sweep; the last came in 2013’s second Dover event. After the 600, Johnson joked about his team letting people know “the 48 is awake.” On second thought, he probably wasn’t joking. Win six championships and a “game face” is pretty much a permanent fixture. First things first, though. Johnson has won more times at Dover than any other track except Martinsville, where he also has eight victories. And over the next two months, he’ll travel to other friendly confines: Pocono Raceway (twice), Daytona International Speedway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway, having won three times at each; and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he has four victories, tied for the all-time lead with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon. “Were off to a good start,” said Johnson, a nod to his sixth-place standing in the series points. “If we can take advantage of the next few tracks that are great tracks for us, it would be great momentum. Ideally youd love to [get hot] before the Chase gets started and carry that right into the start of the Chase. But you never know when youre going to peak and when everythings going to be just right. Well hopefully peak at the right time.” Added crew chief Chad Knaus: “[Something] we have on our side – were going to Dover, which is by far one of Jimmies favorite race tracks. Then were going to Pocono, which is one of my favorite race tracks. Doesnt hurt. So I think over the next couple of weeks were going to be in pretty good shape.” Suddenly, “being winless” seems like so much ancient history. Kenseth Assumes Unwanted ‘Top’ Status on Winless List Matt Kenseth lost his partner in “winlessness” when Jimmie Johnson had his 2014 breakthrough victory this past Sunday in the Coca-Cola 600. Kenseth, the 2003 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and the championship runner-up last year to Johnson, thus became the highest-profile name on the list of drivers still looking for their first victory of the year. But Kenseth is not alone. Twelve races into the season – meaning there are 14 races remaining before the start of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup – a number of other Chase-worthy drivers are on the outside looking in, including three-time champion Tony Stewart (see page 2). Here’s an around-the-horn look at some others who are 0-for-12: • Brian Vickers: The 2003 NASCAR Nationwide series champion is, on the upside, eighth in points. • Ryan Newman: Newman is 10th in points, with no top-five finishes. • Greg Biffle: He won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title in 2000, the NASCAR Nationwide Series title in 2002 and was the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship runner-up in 2005. But he’s winless and in 11th place points-wise, with four top 10s and two top fives. • Kasey Kahne: Kahne is 17th in points with only one top five, surprising for a driver with 16 career victories. • Clint Bowyer: The 2008 NASCAR Nationwide series champion and the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup championship runner-up is 20th in points. • Jamie McMurray: His emotional – and financially rewarding – victory in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race notwithstanding, he needs a points-paying series victory. McMurray is 23rd in points. • Martin Truex Jr.: The NASCAR Nationwide champion in 2004 and ’05 is way back in 26th place, still looking not only for a victory but his first top-five finish of the year. Stewart Returning To Scene Of His Last NSCS Victory Pardon the cliché but in the case of Tony Stewart (No. 14 Code 3-Mobil 1 Chevrolet) … what a difference a year makes. On June 2, 2013, Stewart won the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway. He hasn’t won since. Of course, after last year’s Dover victory, most of 2013 had another, much more important focus – Stewart’s well-being. On Aug. 6 of last year he suffered a broken leg in a Sprint Car racing accident, which led to surgeries, extensive rehabilitation – and considerable concern regarding the competitive future of the three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion who also won the 1997 IndyCar Series championship before coming to NASCAR. Amid the rehab, Stewart stayed busy managing Stewart-Haas Racing, adding a team and another former champion, Kurt Busch to the organization. And this year, his return to competition has been relatively seamless – with one exception: he has yet to win a race. He comes into Dover 22nd in points, meaning with no victories and an-outside-the-top-16 standing, his chances of making the Chase are narrowing as the season approaches its halfway point. Dover, then, comes at a fine time. Stewart has three victories overall at the Monster Mile. And in his one IndyCar race there in 1998, he sat on the pole and finished eighth. “Dover is a track that is kind of a two-phase ‘deal,’” Stewart said. “It’s easy to get your car too tight in the center [of the corner] trying to get it to drive up off the corner nice, and it seems like if you get it to rotate through the corner, then it’s way loose off. Those are the two things that you really battle there. It’s the sacrifice of where do you want to be a little bit off to accomplish having a balanced car.” Stewart finished 13th last week in the Coca-Cola 600, illustrating solid staying power for both the man and his machine. “We’re making steady progress,” Stewart said. “We’re 1,000 percent better than we were a week ago [in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race].” An even further boost could be imminent. After all, the Monster Mile has never seemed all that scary to Stewart. Third In The Hand: A NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Review The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has run 12 races, a third of its 36-race schedule. At this milestone marker, we felt it fitting to delve into some of the competition statistics at this juncture – many of which provide some hard proof of what many drivers have suggested: It’s been an ultra-competitive start to the 2014 season. - 10 different race winners through the first 12 races, the most since 2003, when there were 11. And there are only two multiple winners (Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick), adding drama to an already intriguing new Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup format. - 10 different Coors Light Pole winners through the first 12 races, most since 1991, when there were also 10. - Average of 12.2 leaders per race through 12 races, compared to 9.1 at this point last year. - Average of 27.7 lead changes per race, compared to 17.7 at this point last year last year. - 36 different drivers have led at least one lap. - Average margin of victory is .651 seconds, the lowest through 12 races since the inception of electronic timing and scoring in 1993. - 7 of the 12 races have had a margin of victory under one second. - 56,657 green flag passes through the first 12 races, the most since the inception of loop data in 2005. - 603 green flag passes for the lead through the first 12 races, the most since the inception of loop data in 2005. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Etc. Kyle Busch needs to lead 28 laps to become the 15th driver in NASCAR Sprint Cup history with 10,000 laps led. He’s led 28 or more laps in seven of his 18 Dover starts. … NASCAR has announced “NASCAR with DAD,” a Father’s Day platform built around memorable NASCAR moments with Dad. As part of the platform, NASCAR and its Official Partners Goodyear, 3M and Ford have teamed up to create the #NASCARwithDAD Sweepstakes. Fans entering have a chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime Goodyear Blimp Ride for two high above Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Fans can enter the #NASCARwithDAD Sweepstakes by going to nascar/NASCARwithDadbeginning through 11:59 p.m. on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 15. JR Motorsports Continues Hold On Standings Lead JR Motorsport’s (JRM) drivers Regan Smith and Chase Elliott are the 1-2 punch combo that has much of the NASCAR Nationwide Series reeling. Smith and Elliott have held the series standings lead the whole season, swapping the points lead twice through 11 races. Call it what you will, but these two have Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s organization on the path to its first series title. However, Elliott felt the sting of a poor finish (37th) which dropped him from first to third in the standings. He is now 28-points off the points lead held by his teammate (Smith). “I can tell you one thing, we have some work to do before heading to Dover,” said Elliott. “Anything short of winning is just not good enough. This team can get the job done, so we’ll prepare to rebound next weekend.” While Elliott rebounds, Smith continues to be unrelenting with his consistency. He posted a series leading 11th top-10 finish of the season last weekend at Charlotte. The JRM duo heads to Dover with quite different agendas. Smith is looking to improve on his recent performances (average finish of 20.1) at Dover and hold on to the points lead; while Elliott is making a series track debut and attempting to make up the points he lost last weekend. That may mean the time to capitalize is now for Elliott Sadler, currently second in the standings, five points off the lead. Of the top three drivers in points, Sadler has the best pre-race Driver Rating (90.0) and Average Running Position (12.8) at Dover. Also Trevor Bayne, fourth in the standings 35 points behind Smith, will take a crack at closing the gap in the points this weekend. In five starts, Bayne has an average finish of 10.8 and a pre-race Driver Rating of 94.9 (7th-best) at Dover. In other good news, Bayne signed a full-time deal to drive the Roush Fenway Racing No. 6 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2015. Logano’s Dover Dominance Could Land Him In Record Books Much of a driver’s success is attributed to his team, but Joey Logano has been able to find Victory Lane the last four consecutive series races at Dover for two different organizations. Logano began his winning spree at Dover the spring of 2012 while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. He swept both races that season then backed it up last season with Team Penske again sweeping both events. A fifth straight victory on Saturday would tie a record for consecutive wins at a track, currently held by NASCAR Hall of Famers Jack Ingram (South Boston) and Dale Earnhardt (Daytona), and Kyle Busch (Texas). Supremacy is an understatement when referring to Logano at Dover. He leads the series in pre-race Driver Rating (124.9) and Average Running Position (5.4). In 10 starts he has posted four wins, six top fives, seven top 10s and three Coors Light poles at the one-mile track. Logano could be the catalyst to close the points deficit between first and second in the owner standings. Roger Penske’s No. 22 team is currently second in the owner standings, 42 points behind Joe Gibbs’ No. 54 team. But Logano will have work cut out for him; Kyle Busch is slated to drive the No. 54 this week. Busch swept both series races at Dover in 2010. Larson, Kwasniewski Products Of NASCAR Ladder System NASCAR’s ladder system continues to produce winners like Kyle Larson who not only made his full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career debut this season, but also posted his second NASCAR Nationwide Series career win this past weekend at Charlotte. NASCAR provides a ladder system through several regional and international sanctioned series for drivers to learn what it takes to be a successful stock-car driver and move up the ranks into the national level of competition. Like Joey Logano a few years back, Larson is the latest benefactor of the NASCAR ladder system, but he is not alone. Larson, a former NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion, is joined by several K&N Pro Series ‘graduates’ this weekend at Dover, including his Turner Scott Motorsports teammate and fellow K&N Pro Series champ Dylan Kwasniewski. Deemed as a ‘one to watch’ at the beginning of the season, Kwasniewski, a K&N Pro Series East and West champion, is currently 10th in NNS standings having posted an average finish of 18.1 through the first 11 races of the NNS season. Though Kwasniewski will be making his series track debut this weekend, he has logged laps at Dover in the K&N Pro Series East last season where he started 11th but finished 29th due mechanical issues. Larson and Kwasniewski will also be joined by former K&N Pro Series race winners Ty Dillon, Trevor Bayne, Cale Conley, Matt DiBenedetto, Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott this weekend. NASCAR Nationwide Series Etc. The Delaware Office of Highway Safety will be at Dover International Speedway May 30-June 1, race weekend to promote and educate fans on the importance of wearing a seat belt on every trip and the ramifications that come with failing to do so as part of their title sponsorship of the NNS race. … Two-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Todd Bodine will be making his second series start of the season for car owner Jimmy Dick this weekend at Dover. Bodine’s last full-time NNS season was in 2000. He has made 21 series starts at Dover posting three wins and an average finish of 13.3. Aims To Match Personal Win Streak Mark Although Kyle Busch hasn’t competed in every NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race this season, the Las Vegas native is three-for-three in his starts with wins at Daytona, Kansas and Charlotte. If Busch can go four-for-four this Friday afternoon at Dover, he will equal a career best mark of five consecutive wins (Busch also won last seasons finale at Homestead-Miami). Busch last won five starts in a row in 2009. If Busch can pick up the win at Dover, he would also become the first driver to win back-to-back races at the track in last 14 events. Busch has also moved to within 13 wins of Ron Hornaday Jr.’s record of all-time wins in the series (51-38) and the 29-year-old driver is on a pace to break that record in just a few years as he is averaging a win in every three starts he makes in his No. 51 Toyota Tundra. Busch, who competes fulltime in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, fields two full-time trucks in the series splitting time this year in the No. 51 truck with Erik Jones, while Darrell Wallace Jr. competes fulltime in the No. 54 Toyota Tundra. Busch has 73 top five finishes in the trucks and is just two short of tying Rick Crawford for seventh place in the all-time standings. After he competes at Dover on Friday, Busch will make his next start in the No. 51 truck at Kentucky Speedway in late June. He will drive in a total of 10 events this season with Jones making 12 starts for the team. ThorSport, Red Horse Drivers Reside In Top 5 Though Kyle Busch Motorsports might have the most wins so far this season, a pair of teams are off to good starts with each team having two drivers in the top five in driver’s standings. Defending series champion Matt Crafton has used a win at Martinsville and a consistent start to lead the points, while teammate Johnny Sauter is fifth. Timothy Peters is second in the standings highlighted by his runner-up finish at Daytona and his Red Horse Racing teammate German Quiroga is third overall. Quiroga is also the only driver to finish in the top-10 in every race so far this season. Finishing in the top of the standings is nothing new to ThorSport Racing, as the duo of Crafton and Sauter have ended the season in the top-10 in driver’s standings for four consecutive season. While veteran team owners Duke and Rhonda Thorson scored their first NCWTS championship last season, could this be the year another veteran owner, Red Horse Racing’s Tom DeLoach picks up his first title? Judging by the way two of his trucks have started the season – this might be the year. NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Etc. Former NASCAR Next driver Jeb Burton announced this week he will drive the No. 13 Toyota Tundra from Thorsport Racing for the remainder of the season after signing Estes Trucking as sponsor for the remaining 18 races on the 2014 schedule. ... Kyle Busch Motorsports will feature a special logo on the hood of the No. 51 Toyota Tundra promoting the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award presented by The NASCAR Foundation. The award honors the unwavering commitment that The NASCAR Foundation Chairwoman Betty Jane France has demonstrated with her philanthropic and community efforts. K&N East Returns To Historic Bowman Gray Stadium The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East heads to historic Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Saturday, May 31 for the NASCAR Hall of Fame 150. It will be the fourth NASCAR K&N Pro Series East event at “The Stadium,” which hosted 29 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races from 1958-71. NASCAR Next drivers and alumni won the first three series’ events at the .25-mile asphalt oval, a trend that is likely to continue with six members of the current class and three alumni entered in the event. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour will make its second attempt at the TSI Harley-Davidson 125 at Stafford (Conn.) Motor Speedway when it heads to the half-mile asphalt oval on Friday, May 30. Rain washed out the tour’s first attempt last Friday, but not before Bobby Santos captured the Coors Light Pole Award in qualifying, his fourth in the last six qualifying attempts at Stafford. The veteran driver won this race during his 2010 championship season. Friday night’s event will be the second of four at Stafford this season, and the first of two under the lights. In NASCAR Touring Series action last weekend, Greg Pursley captured his 19th career NASCAR K&N Pro Series West checkered flag and Rubén Pardo earned his first NASCAR Mexico Toyota Series victory since 2012 and fifth of his career. Pursley outdueled David Mayhew in the closing laps of the Armed Forces 150 at Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield, Calif., while Pardo overcame an early spin to claim victory over series veteran Patrick Goeters and NASCAR Next alum Daniel Suárez.
Posted on: Wed, 28 May 2014 22:28:14 +0000