Best Of... 2011 NASCAR Season

With the 2011 Season over, which is one of my favorite seasons in quite a while, I thought I might go over some of the best/worst moments of the 2011 Season. This is opinion based, others will have different opinions.

Favorite Quote of 2011:
- "God Bless America" Johnny Sauter, Winstar World Casino 400k after being black flagged for switching lanes before crossing the finish line coming to the green on the last restart of the evening.

Favorite Race of 2011:
- Ford 400, mainly because it would make history (a tie for 1st in the points and Stewart being the first owner/driver to win a Championship since 1992 when Alan Kulwicki won the Winston Cup Series Championship) and Tony Stewart making a charge from the back to the front, twice.

Best Save of 2011:
- Ryan Newman and Juan Pablo Montoya at Talladega for the Aaron's 499. When being drafted by Denny Hamlin, Newman got a bit loose and started to come straight down the track that looked like he was going to spin. Montoya was in his path of the car, when Newman hit the 42 with his car, he (and Montoya) were both able to save it and they kept going (despite both getting quite a bit of damage from the incident).

Worst Wreck of 2011:
- Would say Brad Keselowski's testing crash at Road Atlanta, but NASCAR weekend standards, it will go to David Reutimann and David Ragan on the last lap of the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen.

Not So Smart Moment of 2011:
Alex Kennedy  at the 5-Hour Energy 200. After the caution came out for Kennedy spinning in the backstretch, he came up in traffic in front of Kevin Swindell, leaving Swindell with no where to go, destroying both cars.

Favorite Paint Scheme of 2011:

Robby Gordon's "Mapei / Speed Energy" Dodge.
Driven at Napa Auto Parts 200

Least Favorite Paint Scheme of 2011:

Tony Stewart's "El Monterey" Chevy.  Driven at Good Sam Club 500

Trevor Bayne vs. Jeff Gordon Fans

(NOTE: This is an opinion article)

Coming to the last restart, the plan was for Trevor Bayne and Jeff Gordon to draft together to the finish. However, when the restart happened and into Turn 1, Matt Kenseth abandoned his drafting partner, David Ragan, and went behind Bayne. So Bayne had a decision to make while in the backstretch: Stay with his plan and continue drafting his childhood hero, or help his teammate gain some points in the Championship. His decision, however, didn't make many Jeff Gordon fans happy. Bayne and Kenseth ducked low and passed Gordon, making him a sitting duck. What could possibly been a Top 10 finish for Gordon came out to be a 27th place finish.

Bayne went on his Twitter account and tweeted that he was not happy with his decision he made. He felt sick about it, this alone didn't help the Jeff Gordon fans on their views on him now.

My view, I'm a fan of both drivers. And after what I heard what Ford's orders were before this race, I don't blame Bayne making his decision. Before this race, Ford gave the order to all Ford drivers that they have to pretty much draft only Ford drivers. This order is the reason why David Gilliland and Tony Stewart drafting together (which was planned during Friday practice). In this race, Trevor Bayne was driving a Ford and Jeff Gordon was in a Chevy. Matt Kenseth was driving a Ford, so Bayne pretty much came down with Kenseth to make Ford 'happy'.

If Ford never gave that order (which was not a smart order to begin with), I'm sure Bayne would've continued drafting with Gordon. Or if Kenseth didn't bail out Ragan, I'm pretty sure Bayne would continue drafting Gordon.

Another thing, what if Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson caught up to them? What will Jeff Gordon do? For all we know, Jeff could've done the same thing that Bayne did.

Remember folks, this is Talladega, drivers have to take risks during the last laps. What Bayne took was a huge risk to take. Is it something to be disappointed by if you are a Gordon fan? Yes. But is it something that fans should bash him for? No. Its just part of plate racing.

Is Jimmie Johnson Out of the Championship Hunt? Just Wait 'Til Martinsville

After Talladega, many NASCAR fans are saying Jimmie will not win this season. After 6 races from the Chase, Johnson is 50 points away from points leader, Carl Edwards.

Before the Talladega race, there was going to be two tracks that Johnson could make up ground after the Charlotte race. First race was going to be Talladega. He was only 35 points behind Edwards. Jimmie Johnson remained in the back of the field with his teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr., for most of the day. However, by the time it was time to "Let's go to the front"; late cautions came, and both Dale Jr. and Johnson struggled to make it up to the front on the last caution. Johnson came in 26th, while Edwards came in 11th. Johnson lost 15 points from the points leader, making it 50 now (which is now more than one race behind).

The next race for him to make ground in is Martinsville. Now, it is impossible for Jimmie to get the points lead after Martinsville, but he can gain a lot of ground on Edwards and the other Chase drivers. Jimmie Johnson has 19 starts at Martinsville, and it is perhaps his best track. Of all the races here, he failed to finish in the Top 10 twice (2002 and 2011 (both in the Spring races). He has an average finish of 5.6, and has led 1616 laps at this track, and has won 6 races here.

How about the other drivers?:

Carl Edwards: Carl Edwards at this track is not so good. Edwards has 14 starts at this track, only 4 of those where he finished in the Top 10. Best finish being 3rd in the 2008 fall race. Edwards has only led 3 laps here, all coming from the spring race earlier this season. Average finish at this track is 16.9.

Matt Kenseth: Like Edwards, Matt Kenseth hasn't really that much success at this track. Kenseth has 23 starts here, and he has finished in the Top 10 in 7 of those events. Best finish being 2nd in the 2002 spring race. He has only led 68 laps at this track, last time leading in the 2008 fall race (led 8 laps). Average finish at this track is 15.8.

Brad Keselowski: Brad Keselowski has only been here 3 times, so his stats don't tell that much. He has finished in the Top 10 only once, coming last year's fall race here. He has led 0 laps. He has an average finish at this track of 13.7.

Tony Stewart: Tony Stewart has 25 starts at this track. He has 2 wins at this track, and has 13 Top 10's here too. Stewart has led 1194, last coming last year's fall race were he led only one lap. Average finish at this  track is 13.9. HOWEVER, his last three starts here have not been so good. Best finish being 24th in the fall race last year, and he hasn't finished on the led lap at this track since the 2009 fall race here, which was also his last Top 10 at this track.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin Harvick has 20 starts here. The thing about Harvick at this track, however, is that he is one of those drivers that is mixed at this track. He will have a great race one time, and have a streak of bad races at this track. He has one win here, of course coming from the spring race here earlier this year. He has 9 Top 10 finishes here, and has led 307 laps at this track. Average finish here is 16.5.

Kyle Busch: Kyle Busch has 13 starts here, and he finished in the Top 10 in seven of them (six of which were Top 5's). Kyle Busch has yet to get a win at this track. He has led 271 laps at this track. Average finish for Busch is 15.6.

Of the drivers in the Top 7 in points, Jimmie has the best records in this list of drivers. Where Edwards has the worst average finish and Brad Keselowski has the lowest laps led. If Jimmie has a bad race here, it could be a great chance that we will have a new Champion this year.

NASCAR Community on the Passing Of Dan Wheldon

On a sunny, Sunday afternoon, IZOD IndyCar Nation was set to run the final race of the 2011 Season at Las Vegas. It was suppose to be a day where excitement and joy was going to happen, but it would end in tragedy early in the race. Just 11 laps of the 200 lap event, a horrific multi-car crash occurred in Turn 1, taking out several cars in the field. Dan Wheldon made contact with another car and flew straight into the catchfence. At 1:19pm local time, Wheldon was airlifted to a nearby hospital. Sadly, roughly two hours after he was airlifted, it was announced that Wheldon did not survive the crash, he was only 33. The remainder of the race was cancelled and the rest of the field did a 5 lap tribute to their fellow driver.

The passing hit the NASCAR Community pretty good. Not every driver, team, etc. could be listed here (via Twitter):

- Rick Allen: "Sports are entertaining because they spark emotions... this is the one emotion you never want to feel. God Bless Dan Wheldon's family"

- Aric Almirola: "Very sad to watch the salute of Dan Wheldon. Thoughts and prayers are with his family. My God be with them!"

- Marcos Ambrose: "Our thoughts & prayers go out to Dan Wheldon's family & all those in Las Vegas. Very sad day."

- Tim Andrews: "Racing is family no matter what series it hurts to lose a champion. Praying for the Wheldons and the Indy car families."

- Trevor Bayne: "I'm sick to my stomach now over Dan Wheldon. I just hung out w. him a month ago and he was such an awesome guy with so much life in him"

- T.J. Bell: "My heart hurts so bad right now. Dan was a great teammate and will never be forgotten"

- Todd Bodine: "Our thoughts and prayers go out Dan Wheldon his family and friends. We will say a prayer for all of you."

- Jason Bowles: "I'm sick to my stomach think about what a sad day this is for motorsports. My thoughts go out to Dan's family"

- Colin Braun: "Very sad to hear the news about Dan. Was so happy for him to win Indy. Thoughts are with his family."

- Kurt Busch: "Our prayers are with the Dan Wheldon family. This is a terrible day in racing"

- Kyle Busch: "The loss of Dan Wheldon affects the whole racing community. May all our thoughts and prayers be with his family. He will be missed!"

- Samantha Busch (Kyle Busch's wife): "No words to even explain this moment. My heart goes out to all of Dan Wheldon's family, friends, and everyone in the racing community."

- Ricky Carmichael: "So unfair. Godspeed Dan Wheldon"

- Landon Cassill: "This is tragic"

- Bryan Clauson: "Tough to hear the news my stomach knew 2hrs ago he was a champion not only in motorsport but in life a great driver and a better guy. RIP Dan"

- Brad Coleman: "I can't believe it. Sick to my stomach right now. My deepest prayers and thoughts are with Dan's family."

- Joey Coulter: "I want to send my thoughts and prayers out to Dan Wheldon, his family & friends. He was an amazing racer & person, taken too soon."

- Matt Crafton: "My thoughts are with the family and friends of Dan Wheldon tonight. He will be missed."

- Austin Dillon: "My prayers are with the Wheldon family. When a tragedy like this happens, it really shows what matters in life."

- Chad Finley: "As racecar drivers, we know the risk, but love for the sport overpowers that risk. We're all one family, and today we lost a member"

- J.R. Fitzpatrick: "Those IndyCar that did those 5 laps in honor of Dan Wheldon are my heroes.. That must have been tough for everyone"

- Brendan Gaughan: "Had lunch with him (Wheldon) on Wednesday. What we choose to do is dangerous. Everyone give your family a hug today and tell them you love them"

- David Gilliland: "Our prayers are with Dan's family. So sad"

- Jeff Gordon: "Spent a little time with Dan Wheldon several years ago in Paris for Race of Champions. Great guy, great driver. Will certainly be missed"

- Robby Gordon: "Very very sad. Have no words"

- Denny Hamlin: "Today was a reminder to all of us what can happen every time we strap in behind the wheel. At times, I think we all take things for granted. Life shouldn't be one of those things. We lost a great driver in motorsports and he will not be forgotten. Rest in Peace Dan Wheldon"

- Kevin Hamlin: "Crossed paths w/ Dan a few times when we were both at Ganassi. Great guy. Another soul taken too soon, Rest in Peace..

- DeLana Harvick (Kevin Harvick's wife): "Its chilling to watch the salute to Dan Wheldon by his IndyCar competitors."

- Kevin Harvick: "Terrible day in racing... RIP Dan Wheldon"

- Hendrick Motorsports: "Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dan Wheldon's family at this time. Tragic news."

- Ron Hornaday Jr.: "Just landed in Charlotte and and heard the bad news about Dan Wheldon. Our prayers go out to his family"

- Brian Ickler: "Horrible day in racing. Thoughts and prayers be with the Wheldon family"

- Jimmie Johnson: "My thoughts and prayers go out to the Wheldon family... My heart hurts for all the IRL community."

- Mike Joy: "Such great accomplishment... such enthusiasm... such talent... such a great smile... such a tragic loss. Such overwhelming sadness"

- Kasey Kahne: "All I can think about is Dan Wheldon. A great person and a great race car driver. We're all going to miss you Dan. Such a talent!"

- Brad Keselowski: "Nice touch with the 5 lap salute. Kudos to IndyCar, and most importantly, the Wheldon family"

- Parker Kligerman: "Thoughts and prayers are with the Wheldon family. Met Dan earlier this year, one of the nicest race car drivers ever. Devastated over this"

- Andy Lally: "Reminiscing: I think the rest of the night will be looking at old pictures, even watchin some old VHS tapes. So sorry for Dan & his family"

- Charles Lewandowski: "Prayers are with frirnds and family of Dan Wheldon. Classy move by IRL and its teams with the laps in his honor."

- Jamie Little: " We lost a great one today... Dan Wheldon, we love you.

- Justin Lofton: "My thoughts and prayers to Dan Wheldon's family, friends, and team. Godspeed. Enjoyed our talks. You will be missed."


- Joey Logano: "Thoughts and prayers go out to Dan Wheldon's family and friends"

- Jason Leffler: "God speed, Dan Wheldon!"

- Justin Marks: "Rest in peace my friend"

- Eric McClure: "My heart aches for the Wheldon family"

- Michael Waltrip Racing: "Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dan Wheldon's family and the entire IndyCar Community"

- Miss Sprint Cup: "Our deepest thoughts and prayers go to Dan Wheldon's family and friends and the entire racing community tonight"

- Juan Pablo Montoya: "Life is not fair... we are gonna miss a really great guy. Dan, we are gonna miss you."

- Joe Nemechek: "A sad day for racing, we lost Dan Wheldon today, Our prayers are with your family"

- Ryan Newman: "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Dan Wheldon. He will truly be missed throughout the racing community"

- Max Papis: "I will miss you forever Dan Wheldon, forever"

- Chris Myers: "Sad loss... Dan Wheldon... rest in peace... a special driver"

- Miguel Paludo: "Really sad day!"

- Danica Patrick: "There are no words for today. Myself and so many others are devastated. I pray for Suzi and the kids that God will give them strength"

- Timothy Peters: "Thoughts and prayers to Wheldon's family"

- Kyle Petty: "My prayers are with Dan Wheldon's family, friends, and team... my hearts breaks all over again each and everytime our sport loses someone"

- Nelson Piquet Jr.: "Can't believe the news of Dan Wheldon. My prayers for his family and closer friends"

- Richard Childress Racing: "Rest in Peace, Dan"

- Elliott Sadler: "Thoughts and prayers to his family"

- Brian Scott: "Completely heartbroken by the loss of Dan Wheldon... I watched the coverage until I couldn't take it because of the fear of what had happened"

- Marty Smith: "There are no words. R.I.P Dan. Fantastic person"

- Regan Smith: "I have no words, R.I.P. Dan Wheldon, sad day for all motorsports"

- Amanda Speed (Scott Speed's wife): "Such a sad day... prayers to Dan's family and friends... My heart goes out to his wife and children."

- Scott Speed: "All I keep thinking about is how we can help his family! It's impossible to imagine what they must be going through right now. So damn sad"

- Stewart-Haas Racing: "Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dan Wheldon's family and friends"

- ThorSport Racing: "Godspeed Dan Wheldon - an amazing friend to TSR & "brother" to the 13 team as a Curb Records teammate. Rest in peace, prayers to your family, we mourn your loss & celebrate your life today."

- TRG Motorsports: "Rest in peace Dan Wheldon"

- Ryan Truex: "Sad day... R.I.P Dan Wheldon"

- Kenny Wallace: "I am watching ABC with you all, all i can think of is Dan Wheldon has a family. My prayers to his family."

- Steve Wallace: "I am devastated, thoughts and prayers go to his family"

- Darrell Waltrip: "With tears in my eyes and a sadness I can not describe, I pray for Dan, his sweet wife and children and his family, Stevie and I are so sorry"

- Michael Waltrip: "Sad day..."

- Cole Whitt: "R.I.P. Dan Wheldon. So sad to lose someone with so much talent"

- Rutledge Wood: "So sad. Praying for his family & friends & thinking of all his fans.

- J.J. Yeley: "This is the darkside of our sport. Prayers to the Wheldon family. A true loss to the sport of IndyCar and racing. R.I.P"

- Matt Yocum: "True champion and super nice guy"

Cup Regulars in the Nationwide/Busch Series: 2004 vs. 2010 Season

On Twitter, pretty much after every Nationwide race, I tweet "Remember when Nationwide-regulars dominated this season?". Well, with the 2011 Nationwide Regulars laps leaders in the works this season, I thought why not go back to the previous seasons to see how the non-Cup regulars have done in the Nationwide/Busch Grand National Series in the past. Some of the stats might be a surprise to some people.

To count as a Cup regular in these stats, any driver that made more than 20 Cup races will be counted as a Cup regular, will not count towards attempts. For example, if a driver made 22 attempts and missed 5 of them, they won't be counted as a Cup regular. Don't worry, it wouldn't have changed the stats that much, not many NNS/BGN regulars made that that many Cup attempts to count as a Cup regular in the season.

Lets look at the 2004 season (was called the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series back then), in which most people, including me, say is one of the last best Nationwide seasons. And you'll see why. This was the season where future Cup stars Kyle Busch (driving for Hendrick Motorsports) and Martin Truex Jr. (driving for JR Motorsports) were involved in. This was a 34 race season, and included a good hand full of race-alone events (such as Nashville, Gateway, Nazareth, and more). There were a total of 6684 laps that were completed in this season. Surprisingly, non-Cup regulars led 4028 of the 6684 laps, or about 60% of the season. Cup regulars led the other 2656 laps. On average, that was about 118 laps led per race for non-Cup regulars, the Cup regulars had 78. To add to the laps led dominance, each race this season had at least non-Cup regular led at least one lap. The amount of wins non-Cup regulars had were pretty amazing too, getting 16 wins out of the 34 races. Out of all the races this season, we had a non-cup regular finishing in the Top 3 in all but one race. That race was the Target House 300 at California Speedway (now called Auto Club Speedway), the best finishing non-Cup driver was Martin Truex Jr., who came in 6th that day.

Now lets look at the 2010 season, this was a 35 race season. This one compared to the 2004 season is very disappointing. With three road courses in the season, the amount of laps in this season dropped slightly to 6489 laps, but it didn't matter that much anyway. This was a Cup regulars season, they led 5849 of the 6489 laps that season (which is about 90% of the season), leaving just 650 laps led by the non-Cup regulars. How much did this change to the average laps led per race for non-Cup regulars? They dropped from 118 laps in 2004 to an average of a dreadful 18 laps per race in 2010. Cup regulars went up from 78 to an average of 167 laps per race.

How about the races? In 2004, at least one non-Cup regular led at one lap in a race. In 2010, a non-Cup regular failed to led a single lap in nine events. The most laps non-Cup regulars were able to led in was the 5-Hour Energy 250 at Gateway, which was 117 laps. This race, and a few other stand-alone events, pretty much saved the non-Cup regulars' average laps led in a race from being any lower. Out of the 650 laps non-Cup regulars led this season, only 410 came came Nationwide stand-alone events, leaving 240 laps led at the same track the Cup series were at the same weekend. Taking stand-alone events out of the equation this season, there were 4861 laps completed at tracks the Cup Series were at the same weekend. Non-Cup regulars led 240, which means they only led about 5% of all these laps in the 25 races. All this adds up to a very dreadful average of 9 to 10 laps a race. The other 10 races were at stand-alone events (where in 2004 had pretty much no Cup regulars in). There were 1628 laps completed in stand-alone events, with 410 led by non-Cup regulars. With usually just two to three Cup-regulars in these races, non-Cup regulars were able to get an average of 41 laps led per race, and were able to led about 25% of the stand-alone events.

Wins by non-Cup regulars didn't happen that much. We only saw just two non-Cup regulars win in the 2010 season, and both were their first career win in this series. First one being Justin Allgaier at Bristol in the Spring and Boris Said edging out Max Papis at Montreal much later in the season. In 2004, only once was the best-finishing non-Cup regular outside the Top 3. In 2010, it happened 21 times, with 10 of those races having a driver finishing in 4th.

Should Cup regulars be limited on their Nationwide rides? Depending on the circumstance, I think they should, but not to the point where they should be banned. Full-time Cup drivers that run competitively every week, such as Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch, should be limited to at least 5 to 10 races a year in the Nationwide Series. Drivers that are rookies in the Cup Series, such as Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Trevor Bayne, or drivers with limited funding in the Cup Series, such as Joe Nemechek, can run the entire Nationwide season if they want. This way some young drivers can show their talent in the field without any Cup guys spoiling the show for them.

The 2011 Nationwide is slightly better than the 2010 season, but it is pretty much hopeless that we will never see that perfect Nationwide season again, where the series regulars are the ones to beat, and not the ones to beat. And with Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards ending their full-time Nationwide ride next year, we might see that 2004 Season again, but only at stand alone events.

(Will add the laps led, best finishing non-Cup driver in a race, and extra statistics in a separate post later this week.)

Harvick Wins Caution Filled Race

Kevin Harvick won the Wonderful Pistachios 400 at a very unusual caution filled race. Tied the record for most cautions at Richmond (15).

All the incidents were crashes, no debris cautions. Some of which were those "Temper, temper" moments. We had Brian Vickers vs. Marcos Ambrose, Travis Kvapil vs. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch vs. Jimmie Johnson.

Biggest story was the race to the Chase. Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr., both of which had no wins, had to secure their positions with decent runs. Tony Stewart had no issues with this, however Earnhardt Jr.'s run was going to be a long day. Dale Jr. was involved in a early Big One that happened in the opening laps, which involved Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer (also Race for the Chase contenders) where involved in. Dale Earnhardt Jr. had to battle his car throughout the day, getting a 18th place finish. But it was enough to secure him into the Chase.

CHASE:
1st. Kyle Busch
2nd. Kevin Harvick (-0)
3rd. Jeff Gordon (-3)
4th. Matt Kenseth (-6)
5th. Carl Edwards (-9)
6th. Jimmie Johnson (-9)
7th. Kurt Busch (-9)
8th. Ryan Newman (-9)
9th. Tony Stewart (-12)
10th. Dale Earnhardt Jr.(-12)
11th. Brad Keselowski (-12)
12th. Denny Hamlin (-12)

Ambrose Finally Gets First Win w/ Scary Wrecks

Ambrose finally made his way to Victory Lane for the 2011 Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen. It was his first NASCAR Sprint Cup win.

This race had its moments of hard wrecks. The first hard wreck had Kurt Busch. It wasn't violent, but it killed the car. The second hard wreck was Denny Hamlin. he slammed into the Turn 1 tire barrier, which somewhat looked like Jimmie Johnson's 2000 Lysol 200 crash at the same turn. He was shaken up, but walked away under his own power. The next big wreck was Paul Menard. He cut a tire and slammed into the wall pretty hard.  Moments later, under the car, it caught on fire, it later went out itself. Menard later got out of the car after NASCAR forced him.

The last big wreck, and the biggest out of all of them was for David Ragan and David Reutimann. Boris Said spun Ragan hard into the wall just after Turn 1. Ragan bounced off the wall and came down to Reutimann's car. Reutimann's car hit the ARMCO so hard it ricocheted and flipped the car. Amazingly, both Ragan and Reutimann walked out with their own power.

The Cup guys head to Michigan next week.

Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen: Preview/Predictions

Small Preview: This is race #22 of the 36 race season for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. We go to the second road course of the season, Watkins Glen International Speedway.

This race with its tricky right and left turns, racing here will bring us a great show.

Qualifying: With no practice so far, its hard to pick one driver that'll get the pole. One driver I have in mind that can get the pole will be Kurt Busch. His Nationwide qualifying run will help him find the perfect line for the Cup Series qualifying run. But like the Nationwide Series qualifying can bring us, don't surprised if we get a surprise Pole winner. Qualifying for this race is on Saturday at 11:30 am EST on SPEED.

Race: Two drivers will be listed as the dark horse, Juan Pablo Montoya (who won the 2010 race here) and Marcos Ambrose. Juan Pablo Montoya can get around road courses very well, so if he races cleanly and stays out of trouble, he will be a key factor in the closing laps. The other driver to watch is Marcos Ambrose. This track is his best track to run at. First race here, started 43rd (qualifying was rained out), and came out with a 3rd place finish. The next year, he started 4th, ended up finishing 2nd (led 9 laps). And last year, he started 11th, ended up finishing 3rd (he led 8 laps in this race). If you want to see off-sequence pit stops, Ambrose will be one of few drivers doing that, and it could all pay off at the end. Robby Gordon is another one that could play a key factor, and he plans to run the entire race with one of his best cars, but like Indy (his last race where he planned to run the entire race), his car can give up at anytime.

Unlike the Nationwide race, the road-course ringers is a bit small in the entry list. Most of which will probably might not play a key factor in the race. Other than Montoya and Ambrose (which fans call road course ringers because of their history at road courses in other racing series), the only two driver that might be the ringers to beat is Boris Said (driving the #51 Phoenix Construction / Thank a Teacher Today Chevy) and Ron Fellows (driving the #36 Golden Corral Chevy (Dave Blaney will be in the #35 Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevy)). Unless it becomes a fuel mileage race or a GWC, I don't see these being a factor for the win, a Top-10 or 15 run will be best for these two drivers.

The driver to beat, a tie between Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart. Both know how to get around this road course really well, both will be key factors from start to finish of this race.

There is rain in the forecast on Sunday, and unlike the Nationwide Series, the Cup Series will not race on rain-tires.

Brad Keselowski Wins With Injury

On Wednesday, Brad Keselowski had a horrible crash while testing at Road Atlanta. He pretty much broke his ankle from the crash.

Skipping the Nationwide race, Keselowski decided to move on and compete in the Good Sam RV Insurance 500 at Pocono. It was going to be a race where they had to battle the weather.

On lap 125 the red flag came out because of rain. With Joey Logano with the lead, and more cells coming, everyone thought he would've picked up his second career Cup win. But the rain went away and they dried up the track good enough to continue the race. Logano, who had a Top 5 car all day, however, will fall back and ending up finishing 26th.

On the last restart, Brad Keselowski was able to past Kyle Busch for the lead and he kept the lead for the rest of the race. It was Brad's 3rd career Cup win (2nd of 2011) and is one step closer making the wild card sport for the 2011 Chase (that is if he can stay in the Top 20 in Driver Points).

Another story in this race was the Jimmie Johnson vs. Kurt Busch 'fight' on the last lap. Johnson and Kurt Busch got together and both got into a heated argument after the race was over. It wasn't a Harvick/Kyle Busch type fight, it was more of a Ron Hornaday Jr./Johnny Sauter type fight.

The Cup guys head to Watkins Glen next week.

Save Big Fuel For Menard

We had Trevor Bayne winning the Daytona 500, we had Regan Smith winning the Showtime Southern 500, we had David Ragan winning the Coke Zero 400. All those have two things in common, all were first-time winners and all were huge upsets.

Today, we can add Paul Menard winning the Brickyard 400 to that list.

Paul Menard was on a fuel strategy pitting on Lap 125. Some drivers that didn't pit came down pit road to top off some fuel and take some fresh tires. One driver that had to take that route was Jeff Gordon, and he was the fastest driver on the track coming down to the closing laps. Menard had to save some fuel with a charging Jeff Gordon coming his way. Surprisingly enough, Menard save enough fuel to go on to win his first NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

The Cup guys head on off to Pocono next week.

Scott Speed to Run Brickyard 400?

On Twitter today, former Red Bull Racing driver, Scott Speed, tweeted: "So now I'm on my way to make a seat for Indy."

At this moment, he is holding a contest for the first person to correctly guess the team and car number for this race. So, as of 4:00 pm EST, it is unknown who he's driving for, what the car number is, and what his sponsor will be.

Speed will also be racing for Kevin Harvick Inc. for the Nationwide races at Iowa and Montreal later this year.

This won't be the first time he's been at this track during the 2011 season, Scott Speed attempted, but missed, the Indianapolis 500 back in May.

Newman's Magic "Fuel" Mile (Plus a Bonus Video)

Ryan Newman, who looked like was going to be short on fuel, came out with the win for the 2011 LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. His teammate, and car owner, Tony Stewart, was coming quick, but it was not enough to get pass Newman.

It was Newman's first win since the 2010 Subway Fresh Fit 600(k). This was also the first 1-2 finish for Stewart-Haas Racing.

Points leader at the beginning of the race, Kyle Busch, had a tire go down and he slammed into the wall just past 50 laps into the race. He was able to get back out, but he ended up finishing 36th and lost the points lead after the race concluded.

The Cup guys have no race next week. They will be at the Brickyard in two weeks.





By the way, here's a bonus video to the end of a embarrassing and dreadful 2011 NASCAR on TNT season:

Kyle Busch Wins First Kentucky Race

Kyle Busch won a somewhat quiet Quaker State 400. It was the first race at Kentucky for the Cup Series, and the traffic was the story of the race. Some fans that were on their way to the track were unable to make it due to heavy traffic

The Cup guys go to New Hampshire next, and even better next week, the last race with TNT for the 2011 season.

Cup Guys in Nationwide Series and Truck Series

In mid-May, I posted an article on Cup guys in the Nationwide Series. Now its time to update it. Like the past one, we are going to look at the best finish by a Nationwide regular and how many laps a Nationwide regular led. Anyone that takes Nationwide points I count as a Nationwide regular, so drivers like Joe Nemechek, Trevor Bayne, and a few others will be shown. Very good chance that I will post a final Nationwide/Truck Regular stats after this season is over

Best finish by a Nationwide Series regular in 2011 Season:

Daytona: Landon Cassill - 3rd

Phoenix: Reed Sorenson - 5th

Las Vegas: Justin Allgaier - 2nd

Bristol: Elliott Sadler - 4th

Auto Club Speedway: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. - 4th

Texas: Elliott Sadler - 5th

Talladega: Joe Nemechek - 3rd

Nashville: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. - 5th

Richmond: Justin Allgaier - 3rd

Darlington: Elliott Sadler - 3rd

Dover: Reed Sorenson - 3rd

Iowa: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. - 1st

Charlotte: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. - 4th

Chicagoland: Justin Allgaier - 1st

Michigan: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. - 2nd

Road America: Reed Sorenson - 1st

Daytona: Jason Leffler - 2nd

Kentucky: Elliott Sadler - 5th

Laps led by Nationwide Series regulars in 2011 Season:

Daytona: Trevor Bayne (9), Danica Patrick (1), Mike Wallace (1) TOTAL: 11

Phoenix: none

Las Vegas: none

Bristol: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (28)  TOTAL: 28

Auto Club Speedway: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (10), Aric Almirola (2), Charles Lewandowski (2), Kevin Lepage (1) TOTAL: 15

Texas: Michael Annett (8), Ricky Stenhouse Jr (6), Brian Scott (2) TOTAL: 16

Talladega: Trevor Bayne (23), Elliott Sadler (8), Reed Sorenson (6), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (6), Mike Wallace (6), Joe Nemechek (4), Aric Almorola (2), Sam Hornish Jr. (2), Kenny Wallace (2), Derrike Cope (1), Robert Richardson Jr. (1) TOTAL: 61

Nashville: Josh Wise (5), Aric Almirola (1), Trevor Bayne (1) TOTAL: 7

Richmond: Aric Almirola (7), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2) TOTAL: 9

Darlington: Elliott Sadler (23), Justin Allgaier (13) TOTAL: 36

Dover: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (33), Josh Wise (5), Scott Wimmer (2) TOTAL: 40

Iowa: (Reed Sorenson (77), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (41), Drew Herring (39), Justin Allgaier (11) TOTAL: 168

Charlotte: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (12), Justin Allgaier (5), Michael Annett (1), Sam Hornish Jr. (1) TOTAL: 19

Chicagoland: Elliott Sadler (29), Aric Almirola (9), Kenny Wallace (2), Kelly Bires (2), Steve Wallace (2), Justin Allgaier (1), Ricky Stenhouse Jr (1) TOTAL: 46

Michigan: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (38), Elliott Sadler (6), Trevor Bayne (1), Sam Hornish Jr. (1) TOTAL: 46

Road America: Ron Fellows (6), Brian Scott (5), Jacques Villenueve (5), Justin Allgaier (4), Steve Wallace (4), Mike Wallace (2), Reed Sorenson (1) TOTAL: 27

Daytona: Elliott Sadler (31), Danica Patrick (13), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (5), Aric Almirola (1), Reed Sorenson (1), Derrike Cope (1), Timmy Hill (1) TOTAL: 53

Kentucky: Elliott Sadler (8), Joe Nemechek (2), Mike Wallace (1) TOTAL: 11

593 of 3258 Laps were led by a Nationwide Regular

Now let's look at the Truck Series. Like the Nationwide, drivers that take points for the Truck Series will count.

Best Finish by a Truck Regular in 2011 Season:

Daytona: Clay Rogers - 3rd

Phoenix: Ron Hornaday Jr. - 3rd

Darlington: Ron Hornaday Jr. - 2nd

Martinsville: Johnny Sauter - 1st

Nashville: Nelson Piquet Jr. - 2nd

Dover: Cole Whitt - 2nd

Charlotte: Cole Whitt - 3rd

Kansas: Johnny Sauter - 2nd

Texas: Ron Hornaday Jr. - 1st

Kentucky: Parker Kligerman - 2nd

Laps Led by a Truck Series regular  in 2011 Season:

Daytona: James Buescher (55), Timothy Peters (12), Clay Rogers (2), Ricky Carmichael (1), Juston Lofton (1). TOTAL: 71

Phoenix: none

Darlington: Cole Whitt (30), James Buescher (6). TOTAL: 36

Martinsville: Johnny Sauter (71), Austin Dillon (37), Ricky Carmichael (36), Ron Hornaday Jr. (29), Brendan Gaughan (7), Miquel Paludo (5), Matt Crafton (1) TOTAL: 186

Nashville: Ron Hornaday Jr. (6), Justin Johnson (2), Todd Bodine (2) TOTAL: 10

Dover: Cole Whitt (23), Matt Crafton (13), David Starr (11), Jason White (4), Johanna Long (2), Timothy Peters (1) TOTAL: 54

Charlotte: Timothy Peters (30), James Buescher (16), Ron Hornaday Jr. (13), Johnny Sauter (9), Cole Whitt (5) TOTAL: 73

Kansas: Johnny Sauter (11), Todd Bodine (9), Cole Whitt (7), Justin Lofton (7), Brad Sweet (3), Matt Crafton (3), Miquel Paludo (1), James Buescher (1), Joey Coulter (1) TOTAL: 43

Texas: Johnny Sauter (56), Austin Dillon (46), Ron Hornaday Jr. (18), Miquel Paludo (10), Joey Coulter (9), Ryan Sieg (8), James Buescher (8), Steve Arpin (6), Nelson Piquet Jr (5), Shane Seig (1), Timothy  Peters (1) TOTAL: 168

Kentucky: Johnny Sauter (24), Joey Coulter (8),  Austin Dillon (4), Nelson Piquet Jr. (2), James Buescher (2), Brendan Gaughan (2), Jason White (2) TOTAL: 44

685 of 1621 Laps were led by a Truck Series Regular

David Ragan Captures First Win at Daytona

The "NASCAR 2011 Season of First Time Winners" continues with another driver people predicted will get a win, David Ragan.

On February 20, 2011, David Ragan made a costly mistake by switching lanes before the line for at a restart at the Daytona 500 that probably costed him the race. Today, he pulled off the win with the help with his teammate Matt Kenseth. And this was a race where it was anyone's race. We even saw drivers like Joe Nemechek, Travis Kvapil, Andy Lally, Terry Labonte, Landon Cassill, and Casey Mears that we saw up in front at some point of the race, but green flag pit stops hurt them to get a much needed finish.

They're were some incidents in this race, but much less cautions than the Daytona 500. First caution was for the Daytona 500 winner, Trevor Bayne, who was spun out by Brad Keselowski really early in the race. Second caution was points leader, Carl Edwards, who got spun out by his teammate, Greg Biffle. Third caution, was caused by Dave Blaney, which by the looks of it was bumped by his teammate, Geoffrey Bodine. Fourth caution happened in the closing laps where Jeff Gordon started to spin out and NASCAR quickly threw the caution for safety since a bigger pack of cars was coming.

That incident then caused a green-white-checkered. The first restart caused a multi-car crash when Joey Logano got into Mark Martin. As Martin spun, a handful of drivers had no where to go. The next restart will be the final restart of the night. Kasey Kahne was pushing Logano to the lead, while Matt Kenseth was pushing David Ragan. Another pairing of this race, Ryan Newman and Denny Hamlin, lost the draft and fell back quickly. On Turn 3 of the last lap, the next multi-car happened when Marcos Ambrose spun out, and once Ragan came closer to the finish line, and bigger wreck happened leaving several cars damaged, which caused some scary moments when some drivers barely missed Ryan Newman. All the drivers from those incidents were okay.

After all that, David Ragan came out with the win, his first in his career in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Next week, we head to a new track for the Sprint Cup Series, Kentucky Speedway for the Quaker State 400.

Kurt Busch Wins a Tempered Filled Race

Kurt Busch finally got his first win of the 2011 season, which was his first at a road course. Kurt Busch dominated the race, leading 75 of the 110 laps.

However, the major story of the race were all the "Vs." Moments. Brian Vickers was mad at Tony Stewart (he later took out Stewart late in the race), Robby Gordon was mad at Joey Logano, Kasey Kahne was mad at Juan Pablo Montoya, Michael McDowell was mad at Bobby Labonte. It was a heated race and pretty much the entire field looked like it came from a Martinsville race. Pretty much the only driver that didn't have any damage on the car was Kurt Busch.

The Cup guys go to Daytona next week for the Coke Zero 400, with wide open coverage.

Silly Season 2012 is Under Way

Like the other NASCAR Seasons, this is about the time Silly Season starts.

Red Bull Racing was in the news today, where they plan to leave NASCAR after the 2011 NASCAR Season is over. This won't hurt Kasey Kahne, since he'll be driving for Hendrick Motorsports next year in the 5 car. The driver that this hurts most is Brian Vickers, who's contract was going to end after the 2011 too. And as of now, Brian Vickers is listed as a free agent

And not to long ago, Carl Edwards is rumored to take over the #20 Home Depot car for the 2012 Cup season, and the current driver, Joey Logano, will end up driving the 4th Joe Gibbs Racing car, most likely will be the #02 car, as they used it for the 2008 and 2009 season for Joey Logano and David Gilliland for a small handful of races.

Now some of my predictions of what might happen (will feature drivers who's contracts end after 2011 season):

Mark Martin: With Kasey Kahne moving to the 5, this will make Mark Martin a free agent. There's a good chance that Martin will move to the Nationwide Series for Turner Motorsports, and it is rumored that Turner is prepping up a Cup car for the 2012 Season, so I wouldn't be surprised if Martin ends up being the driver for that ride if it happens.

Brian Vickers: Most probably have him going to the 99, but I have other predictions on who will fill the 99 if the Carl Edwards to Joe Gibbs Racing is true. For Vickers, like Martin, I see him going back to the Nationwide Series. Don't know what team though, could be a part-time driver if he can find a one-ride deal for Daytona NNS 300.

Carl Edwards: Carl Edwards is one of the biggest names out there that could be a free agent if his contract doesn't get extended. There's a chance he'll move to the 20, or could be the 4th JGR car, according to the rumor. Let's say this is true, I see his Nationwide teammate, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. taking over the 99 ride if Edwards heads over to JGR. But we still have half a season left, things can change in the RFR group.

Ryan Newman: Ryan Newman's contract, and U.S. Army, for Stewart-Haas ends after the 2011 Season. I see Newman getting a contract extension before this season is over, probably in the next couple months we'll know about this.

Juan Pablo Montoya: Like Newman, I see Montoya getting a extension in the next couple months, but if he is unable to get a extension, expect a surprise taking over the ride.

Joey Logano: With the rumors of Carl Edwards moving to the 20, where will this lead for Joey Logano. I expect him to stay in the Nationwide Series in the #20 car. For the Cup Series, I see him staying with Joe Gibbs Racing, but will be in the #02 car, but that will depend on sponsorship.

(UPDATE 6/21/11: Red Bull GM, Jay Frye, says he expects to have a two car team next year. If he does have the two cars, I wouldn't be surprised if Brian Vickers is one of the drivers.)

Hamlin Wins Michigan

On the last restart, Denny Hamlin took the lead with 5 to go. But it wasn't going to be easy, a charging Matt Kenseth was coming quick and the two were going to battle it out for the win. On the last lap, Kenseth gave it everything he had and nearly spun out coming to the checkered flag, but it wasn't enough, Hamlin ended up getting his first Cup win for the 2011 Season.

The Cup guys head to Infineon Raceway next week for the Toyota / Savemart 350, the first of two road courses the Cup guys go to.

(Also, TNT loves the NBC method for races. NBC = Nothing But Commercials)

Harvick vs. Busch: Will It Continue?

With the probations coming to a close (both ending on Wednesday), Kevin Harvick made it clear at Pocono Raceway that his feud is not over with Kyle Busch. During the 5-Hour Energy 500, Harvick forced Busch down the track early when the two drivers were fighting for position.

After the race, Kevin Harvick said, "He knows he's got one coming, I just wanted him to think about it". Kyle Busch says that he is done and has forgiven the incident, he wants to move on.

Kevin Harvick, as of now, is not scheduled to run the Nationwide race at Michigan, while Kyle Busch, most likely, will. Even though NASCAR will warn these drivers behavior for the race (probably for safety reasons), will the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips on Sunday be one to watch this weekend? We'll have to wait and see.

Source: ESPN

Jeff Gordon Wins at Pocono

Jeff Gordon dominated the final portion of the 5-Hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway, getting his 2nd win this year, 84th in his Cup career, and his 5th career at Pocono Raceway (which ties Bill Elliott for wins at this track).

This was a VERY quiet race, as expected at Pocono. There were only 4 cautions, all for debris. Greg Biffle spun exiting Turn 3 and into pit road, but no caution was thrown. Denny Hamlin, who dominated the first half, had brake issues in the second half of the race. Points leader, Carl Edwards, had issues early, but made it back out of the track in the final laps, finishing 37th.

There's really nothing much to say about the rest of the race. Pocono, not being one of my favorite tracks, has been known for its quiet races.

The Cup guys head for Michigan for the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400.

(Not counting the Gatorade Duels, this is the first time Jeff Gordon brought the DuPont car to Victory Lane since the 2007 Charlotte race in October)