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Week of 9/10/06
Letterman has top 10 drivers do top 10 list
10. Kasey Kahne: “Anyone know how to drive a stick?”
9. Jeff Gordon: “Does this gas taste funny to you?”
8. Jeff Burton: “I don’t care much for country music or beer.”
7. Mark Martin: “Switch the ‘R’ and the ‘C’ in ‘racing’ and you get ‘caring.’”
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: “Wow, Letterman looks so young in person.”
5. Denny Hamlin: “You’re looking at a guy who can drive 500 miles without taking a leak.”
4. Kyle Busch: “A truly great driver doesn’t mind asking for directions, am I right, ladies?”
3. Kevin Harvick: “It would be nice if the guys in the pits occasionally surprised me with a piece of carrot cake or something.”
2. Jimmie Johnson: “The Nextel Cup is great, but what I’m really excited for is the LATE SHOW Ventriloquist Week.”
1. Matt Kenseth: “If you think I’m fast in my car, you should see me in the bedroom.” September 14, 2006
Rudd test COT in Oct.
Ricky Rudd will take part in NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow test on October 9th at Talladega Superspeedway. Rudd will take the wheel of a Wyler Racing Toyota Camry, they field trucks for Jack Sprague in the CTS. Ricky said "This will be my first time testing the COT so I'm really looking forward to the test and giving as much feedback to the team as possible." September 14, 2006
Who's hot going into this weekend?
Basically the entire top 10 will be riding the wave of momentum for just getting into the Chase, but more specifically:
-Kyle Busch has 3 straight top 10's
-Matt Kenseth has 4 straight
-Kevin Harvick swept the weekend last week, and is just on fire right now September 14, 2006
TRACK STATS | NEW HAMPSHIRE
It's a brand new season now, race #1 in the Chase for the Championship
Distance: 1.058-mile oval
Banking/Turns 1-4: 12
Banking/Straights: 2
Length/Frontstretch: 1,500 ft.
Length/Backstretch: 1,500 ft.
Miles/laps: 317.4 miles, 300 laps
Last year's poll sitter: Tony Stewart
Last year's winner: Ryan Newman
Up for grabs: $5.2 million September 14, 2006
Earnhardt's do business together, build track
The Earnhardt's, Kelley, Kerry, and Dale Jr. along with an investment group plan to build a motorsports park in southern Alabama to be called the "Alabama Motorsports Park, A Dale Earnhardt Jr. Speedway" The complex will feature an oval, drap strip, and a dirt track, and will be the first time the siblings will join forces on a business venture. September 13, 2006
NASCAR in Canada in 2007
NASCAR has announced a new series in Canada, called the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and will start up in May of next year. The 10-12 race schedule will run from May to October and use drivers and teams from the former CASCAR Series. September 13, 2006
Homestead-Miami adds temp stands
Homestead-Miami Speedway will be adding temporary seating in turn 4 in anticipation of the season ending events in November. That race has been sold out for 5 months already, the earliest sell out ever for the track. Tickets go on sale on Saturday at 9am...go to our website for the rest of the details.
To purchase tickets to events at HMS, or for more information, log onto http://www.homesteadmiamispeedway.com or call the HMS ticket hotline at 1-866-409-RACE. September 13, 2006
TV Schedule - New Hampshire
The Busch Series has the weekend off, so here's a look at Trucks and Cup...
Cup Series Qualifying @ 3pm Friday on Speed
Cup Series Final Practice @ 11am Saturday on Speed
Truck Series Racing @ 2pm Saturday on Speed
Cup Series Racing from Louden New Hampshire @ 12:30pm Sunday on TNT
All times are eastern September 13, 2006
Grubb suspended indefinitely
Kevin Grubb has been suspended by NASCAR indefinitely for violating their substance abuse policy. Grubb was just reinstated in June after testing positive for a banned substance back in 2004. This is the second offense, the next time he could see Shane Hmiels fate...banned for life. September 12, 2006
Chief Changes @ Petty
Petty Enterprises have announced some crew chief changes, Billy Wilburn will now handle duties for Kyle Petty's #45 car, and Paul Andrews takes the reins of the #43 of Bobby Labonte September 12, 2006
POINT STANDINGS | BUSCH & TRUCK
BUSCH SERIES
5 J.J. Yeley
4 Clint Bowyer
3 Denny Hamlin
2 Carl Edwards
1 Kevin Harvick has checked out, he's up by 619
TRUCK SERIES
Heading into Louden this weekend
5 Rick Crawford
4 Ted Musgrave
3 David Reutimann
2 Johnny Benson
1 Todd Bodine leads by 154 September 12, 2006
Chase drivers rundown
As we take a look at the top 10 who are now the locked in 'Chasers', the obvious story is the fact that defending champion Tony Stewart is out sitting 11th, but here are some other things to note.
-In 5th, rookie Denny Hamlin represents Joe Gibbs Racing
-Richard Childress Racing makes the Chase for the first time with Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton
-Hendrick Motorsports has 3 cars with Johnson, Gordon, and Busch
-Roush 2 cars with Kenseth and Martin
-And DEI with Dale Jr., and Evernham with Kahne. September 11, 2006
Solid runs for Schrader and Blaney
Did you happen to notice a couple of the top 10 finishers were drivers we rarely see there? First Ken Schrader's #21 took home 7th, his best finish since March 2004, and Dave Blaney grabbed 4th and says it's a sign of things to come for Bill Davis Racing. September 11, 2006
Quick Cap - Richmond - Chase
RACE RECAP | RICHMOND
10 Scott Riggs
9 Jeff Burton
8 Matt Kenseth
7 Ken Schrader
6 Greg Biffle
5 Mark Martin
4 Dave Blaney
3 Kasey Kahne
2 Kyle Busch dominates the race leading the most laps, but came up just short
VICTORY LANE
1 Kevin Harvick makes a clean pass in the closing laps to take the win away, and complete his weekend sweep at Richmond.
OTHER STORIES ON THE DAY
-Defending Champion Tony Stewart has not made the chase by 16 points, he now sits 11th with no chance of doing any better this season.
IN THE CHASE FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP
10 Kasey Kahne
9 Jeff Gordon
8 Jeff Burton
7 Mark Martin
6 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
5 Denny Hamlin
4 Kyle Busch
3 Kevin Harvick
2 Jimmie Johnson
1 Matt Kenseth September 10, 2006
Harvick sweeps weekend, 3rd in Chase
RICHMOND, VA. -- Kevin Harvick won the race and Tony Stewart lost the battle in the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup at Richmond International Raceway Saturday night before a packed house of close to 120,000 screaming spectators.
Stewart, who had to race a backup car after wrecking during practice, battled all night to get in a position to make the 10-car Chase field but finished, 16 points behind Kasey Kahne.
Harvick passed Busch on the last lap to nip runner-up Kyle Busch, who finished ahead of third-place Kahne, who needed an outstanding run to make the Chase field.
NASCAR runs the first 26 races of the season to determine the top 10 drivers who fill the re-formatted Chase showdown, which consists of the last 10 races on the schedule. Those drivers in the top 10 will now race for the championship beginning next weekend at New Hampshire.
The victory was a double for Harvick, who also won the Busch race Friday night. Trailing the top three finishers in the race were Dave Blaney, Greg Biffle, Martin, Jeff Burton, Ken Schrader, Matt Kenseth and Scott Riggs.
Kenseth still leads the points standings and the list of drivers in the Chase. Jimmie Johnson is second, just five points behind. Harvick is third, Busch fourth, Denny Hamlin fifth, the only rookie to make the Chase. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who missed the Chase last year, is sixth in the points but was not a factor on this particular night, finishing 16th. Veteran Mark Martin finished sixth in the race and is seventh in the points. Jeff Burton holds the eighth spot after a seventh-place finish.
Four-time champion Jeff Gordon, who also missed the Chase a year ago, squeezed into this year's Chase in ninth position but he was never in the chase for the checkered flag during this 400-lap event. He finished in 31st position. Kahne fills the 10th spot after finishing third.
The first half of the race was dominated by drivers trying to clinch their way into the Chase for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup championship.
Kevin Harvick, who has already virtually clinched the NASCAR Busch Series Title with a 600-plus point lead after Friday night's win here, led the race, as did his Richard Childress Racing teammate Jeff Burton, former champion Matt Kenseth and sophomore sensation Kyle Busch, last year's Raybestos Rookie of the Year.
Jimmie Johnson, already guaranteed a spot in the Chase, tangled with Carl Edwards on lap 81 and had to go to the rear of the field. Edwards was not a factor in the Chase.
Stewart, battling an ill-handling backup car after crashing his good car in practice, drove steadily towards the front and was running in the top 15 at the halfway point.
Four caution flags had waved for incidents, twice for Martin Truex when tire problems scattered debris on the track. Sterling Marlin spun to bring out another and the Johnson-Edwards caution was the most serious mishap through 200 laps.
At the halfway point, Kenseth, Johnson, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Hamlin, Earnhardt, Gordon, Burton, Kahne and Stewart were in the 10 spots for the Chase.
Mark Martin, however, was running hard trying to make his way into a top 10 spot. September 10, 2006
Defending Champ Stewart NOT in the Chase
Everyone knew that it could happen, but no one really believed that it would happen. But with an 18th place finish in Saturday night's Chevy Rock & Roll 400 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, Tony Stewart missed the cut in the 10-driver Chase for the Championship.
The two-time and reigning Nextel Cup champion had an inauspicious start to the weekend, as his primary No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet was no more after crashing in the opening laps of Friday's practice session. For just the fourth time in the team's seven-and-three-quarter-year history, the backup car was brought out from the transporter to finish practice and qualify for the 400-lap race.
A 40th place qualifying effort only added to the team's woes, but spirits remained high due to the No. 20 team's success at the .75-mile oval - three Nextel Cup wins, five top-fives and 10 top-10s. And the backup car was no slouch, having finished seventh in last year's September race at Richmond and winning earlier this year at Martinsville (Va.) in just its second career start.
Despite the past success of team and driver, there was little rock or roll for the No. 20 team in Saturday night's Chevy Rock & Roll 400.
"We just missed it tonight," said a cool and collected Stewart, who showed his championship form outside the race car despite the disappointing result. "We couldn't get the car to turn in the center (of the corner) and all we did was make it loose in and on the exit.
"It's been an up-and-down year, and the day we needed to be on, we just couldn't get on.
"It's not for a lack of effort. Zippy (Greg Zipadelli, crew chief) and all the guys on The Home Depot team, they worked their rear ends off. I did everything I could do behind the steering wheel. It wasn't one night that got us in this situation. It took 26 weeks to get here. We did the best we could, we just came up short."
Stewart entered Richmond with just a 45-point buffer over 11th place Kasey Kahne, the only driver capable of knocking a top-10 driver like Stewart out of the top-10. But Stewart's 18th place finish combined with Kahne's third-place result meant that Stewart's spot in the 10-race, playoff-style Chase for the Championship was gone.
September 10, 2006
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