Sprint Cup Results 2012

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Tony is sitting today.

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Tony Stewart Hits and Kills Driver on New York Dirt Track

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSAUG. 10, 2014, 7:54 A.M. E.D

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2014/08/10/us/ap-us-tony-stewart-crash.html?ref=sports

Nascar should park him for today's race.

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Penske's No. 22 Nationwide team penalized

NASCAR handed down penalties Tuesday to Penske Racing's No. 22 team in the Nationwide Series after Joey Logano's race-winning Ford failed a post-race inspection last weekend at Dover International Speedway.

NASCAR docked the No. 22 team six points in the team owner standings, narrowing its lead to 28 points over the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing team in the season-long championship fight. Additionally, crew chief Jeremy Bullins was fined $10,000.


In response to the penalties, Penske Racing issued the following statement on Tuesday:

"The Penske Racing No. 22 Ford Mustang had a spring retaining screw back out during Saturday's Nationwide Series Race which resulted in the car's front end being too low by 1/16 of an inch when presented for post-race inspection. The problem is being addressed internally to prevent it from happening again and the team is not planning to appeal the penalty."


Logano dominated last Saturday's 5-hour Energy 200, leading 106 of 200 laps for his fourth straight Nationwide win at the mile-long track, but his car failed to meet the minimum height requirement in the front end on both sides after a post-race inspection.


The victory was Logano's third of the season and 21st of his career in the Nationwide Series. As a championship-eligible regular in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, he does not earn points for his Nationwide performance and therefore was not penalized.

The No. 22 Penske Racing team has won 11 times in 28 races this season, with victories spread among four drivers. Brad Keselowski has five Nationwide wins with the team this year, AJ Allmendinger has two and Ryan Blaney has one.

MORE:

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Citing Sport’s Integrity, Nascar Adds Gordon as 13th Chase Driver

By VIV BERNSTEIN


Cheating accusations, an unprecedented penalty to a race team and a reshuffling of the field for Nascar’s Sprint Cup playoff turned the past week into one of the most bizarre in the sport’s history.

And that was before Friday, when Nascar added Jeff Gordon to the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship two days before the playoff was to begin at Chicagoland Speedway. Three teams may have manipulated the finish at Richmond International Raceway on Sept. 7, the final race of the regular season, and Gordon appeared to be a victim.

“There were too many things that altered the event and gave an unfair disadvantage to Jeff,” said Brian France, the Nascar chairman, in announcing the decision to add a 13th car to the Chase. “We believe this was the right outcome to protect the integrity, which is our No. 1 goal, of Nascar.”

Gordon said he was “very thankful to be in.” He added, “And I know it’s under the most unbelievable circumstances I’ve ever been a part of in my racing career.”

Gordon wrote on Twitter: “Wow, we just gained 1250 points!”

With seven laps left at Richmond and Ryan Newman on his way to a victory that would have qualified him for the playoff, Clint Bowyer’s car inexplicably spun and caused a caution.

Newman wound up third and out of the playoff field. The spin also affected Gordon, who would have made the Chase in the 10th spot in points but ultimately finished 11th.

After the spin, Bowyer and his teammate Brian Vickers made unusual pit stops in the closing laps, allowing Joey Logano to pass them. That helped Logano finish 10th in the standings and automatically qualify for the playoff.

Logano’s move up in the standings bumped Gordon out of the field and allowed a teammate, Martin Truex Jr., to clinch the final wild-card playoff berth.

On Monday, Nascar fined Michael Waltrip Racing $300,000 and penalized Bowyer and two other drivers 50 points. That took Truex out of the playoff field and gave the berth to Newman.

“Do I think it’s fair?” Truex said Friday. “You know, I don’t know. I don’t run the sport, so we’ll just have to deal with it.”

An Associated Press review of communications during the Richmond race determined that there was collusion between Logano’s Penske Racing team and Front Row Motorsports to allow Logano to pass David Gilliland and gain another point.

It was that report that led Nascar to revisit the Richmond finish and add Gordon to the Chase. Nascar officials made clear they did not believe that Logano worked with Gilliland, only that their teams discussed it. Penske Racing and Front Row Motorsports were placed on probation for the rest of the season.

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NASCAR adds Gordon to Chase field amid controversy
JENNA FRYER (AP Auto Racing Writer) 56 minutes ago AP - Sports

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) -- Jeff Gordon was added to the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship Friday when NASCAR chairman Brian France used his power to make an unprecedented expansion to the field after two separate investigations into radio chatter revealed numerous instances of race manipulation.

France determined Gordon did not have a fair chance to race his way into the 12-driver field last Saturday night at Richmond because of the actions of at least three organizations over the closing laps at Richmond.

The four-time NASCAR champion was bumped from eligibility by Joey Logano, who unknowingly received assistance from two Michael Waltrip Racing drivers trying to aid their teammate. Logano also picked up another track position when David Gilliland apparently moved aside when Gilliland's team tried to bargain with Penske Racing over the radio.

''Too many things altered the event and gave an unfair disadvantage to Jeff and his team,'' France said. ''More than anything it's just the right thing to do. There were just too many things that went on Saturday night.''

It was a stunning conclusion to a surreal week for NASCAR, which should have been celebrating Sunday's start of the Chase at Chicagoland Speedway.

Instead, the sanctioning body has been scrambling to uncover who did what and why since Clint Bowyer spun his car with seven laps remaining at Richmond as 10 drivers jockeyed for the five available spots in the Chase.

NASCAR acted quickly in disciplining MWR on Monday night, then learned Wednesday of a second apparent problem involving Penske and Front Row Motorsports, which appeared to ask for a deal if Gilliland moved over for Logano.

Logano did get by Gilliland, who then seemed to slow down by at least 1 mph, according to an Associated Press review of radio communications and data.

France said NASCAR could not determine there was ever a deal between Front Row and Penske, but that putting Gordon in the Chase and placing Penske and Front Row on probation for the rest of the season was necessary to protect the integrity of the series.

Gordon, the four-time champion, now joins Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson, the five-time champion, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne in the Chase.

''It's been a roller coaster ride of emotions this week. Unprecedented set of circumstances,'' Gordon said. ''I'm extremely happy for this. We're proud to be in it. An incredible set of opportunities now lie on our shoulders to show we belong in the Chase.''

Gordon goes into the Chase as the 13th seed, 15 points behind leader Matt Kenseth.

Owner Rick Hendrick was pleased with the ruling.

''I applaud NASCAR for taking the time for a full review,'' he said in a statement. ''We're extremely proud to have all four cars in the Chase for the second consecutive season. Jeff and the No. 24 team earned this spot.''

Johnson was happy for his teammate but not thrilled to have an additional driver to race for the title.

''I believe there should be 12 cars. One in and one out should be the deal,'' he said.

Trading favors on and off the track is common in NASCAR, but the series had to investigate the Penske and Front Row bargaining allegation following the embarrassment of Michael Waltrip Racing's attempt to manipulate the outcome of the race to benefit Martin Truex Jr. NASCAR on Monday punished the MWR organization for its shenanigans over the final seven laps and pulled Truex out of the Chase in favor of Ryan Newman.

Truex, in his first comments since he was knocked out of the Chase on Monday, said it's been a surreal week. An unwitting victim of his teammates' efforts to help him, he lost his Chase bid after driving the last two weeks with two broken bones in his wrist and a cast on his right arm.

''All I did the last two weeks was drive my heart out,'' he said Friday. ''I went from feeling like I really climbed a mountain in that race at Richmond to going to be knocked out of the Chase.''

Truex wasn't pleased with NASCAR's decision to add Gordon to the Chase.

''I'm not even sure what to say at this point. I'm kind of at a loss for words,'' Truex said. ''How they make a spot for somebody - they kick me out to make a spot for somebody and then they don't do the same for the other guys? It's just unfair and nothing I can do about it.''

Truex is out as punishment for his teammates' working so hard to help him get in, and NASCAR will hold a mandatory team and driver meeting Saturday to clarify ''the rules of the road'' moving forward. France would not specify what won't be tolerated going forward.

''Obviously we drew a line with the penalties with Michael Waltrip Racing,'' France said. ''We're going to make sure that we have the right rules going forward, so that the integrity of the competitive landscape of the events are not altered in a way or manipulated.''

The entire mess began a mere seven laps from the finish Saturday night with Newman en route to a victory that would have given him the final spot in the Chase. MWR driver Clint Bowyer spun, bringing out a caution and setting in motion a chain of events that cost Newman the win and a Chase berth.

It also cost Gordon a Chase berth and put Truex and Logano into the final two spots.

It later became clear that Bowyer's spin was deliberate - although NASCAR has said it can't prove that - and that Bowyer and teammate Brian Vickers allowed Logano to gain late finishing positions to bump Gordon out of the Chase to aid Truex.

Among the penalties levied against MWR was a $300,000 fine and the indefinite suspension of general manager Ty Norris. Bowyer, Truex and Brian Vickers were docked 50 points each, and their crew chiefs were placed on probation through the end of the year.

Bowyer has denied the spin was deliberate. NASCAR could only prove one action - radio communication between Norris and Vickers in which a confused Vickers was told to pit as the field went green with three laps to go.

Once NASCAR singled out that action, a Pandora's box was opened and the apparent bargaining between Penske and Front Row became dicey.

And Gordon's anger began to grow. Gordon said he felt that Bowyer also deserved to be punished for giving up late track position, just as Vickers did, and he called NASCAR's penalties ''half right.''

And now he's in the Chase with Bowyer - but only after the second controversy.
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Imagine that Roger Penske caught cheating.

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NASCAR looking into scanner traffic asking David Gilliland to move over for Joey Logano

NASCAR issued a statement on Wednesday saying that it was looking into scanner traffic on David Gilliland's radio that included a purported request from Penske Racing to have Gilliland move over for him in the closing laps of the race.

Per Gilliland's scanner and audio broadcast on Fox Sports 1's RaceHub, the idea of Gilliland moving back for Logano was broached with nine laps to go in the race; before Clint Bowyer spun to bring out the race's final caution. At that time, Logano would have missed the Chase assuming that Ryan Newman would win the race. He was outside the top 10 with one win to Newman's two and Kasey Kahne's two.

Gilliland was 24th at the time and Logano was 25th. However, nothing was able to happen before the caution flag. The chatter reignited on the restart with three laps to go, and soon after the green flag fell, Logano was around Gilliland.

Logano finished 22nd and Gilliland finished 23rd.

"NASCAR is aware of reports about the #22 and #38 radio communications at Richmond International Raceway and is looking into it, but has yet to see anything in full context that requires any action," it said in a statement.

It's important to note that nowhere is there collusion from both parties active on the scanner feed broadcasted. While Penske Racing is mentioned, there's no direct communication from the team on Gilliland's radio. It's simply employees of Front Row and the No. 38 team.

After the race, Logano was 10th in the standings, one point ahead of Jeff Gordon.

On its own, the Logano-Gilliland matter ultimately is inconsequential to the Chase because the one point exchanged between the two drivers would have still left Logano in the Chase by virtue of his tiebreaker over the winless Gordon. (Logano won at Michigan.) In that case, it's just like a driver letting a teammate lead a lap. It's for a single point, and the cases of the latter -- and there have been MANY cases of it -- it's an accepted, if not even harmonious practice.

Though when combined with the penalties that Michael Waltrip Racing received for its actions at Richmond, it's seen differently. NASCAR penalized the three MWR teams 50 points apiece, which removed Martin Truex from the Chase. After his spin, Bowyer meandered around until the finish of the race and Brian Vickers was ordered to pit road.

Those moves ensured that Logano would be ahead of both drivers, and locked into the top 10 ahead of Gordon. While Logano would have still made the Chase had he finished behind Bowyer and Vickers, he would have done so via the Wild Card, which would have knocked Martin Truex Jr. out of the Chase altogether. But since Logano was in the top 10, Truex was the second Wild Card. (After the penalty, which was applied to his pre-Chase points total, Truex fell behind Ryan Newman and Newman was given the second Wild Card.)

While the moves that MWR made and the move that Logano made around Gilliland are part of the collective whole that was Saturday night's race at Richmond, they're independent of each other and should be judged as such. Neither team was operating in cahoots with each other and were looking out for its own best interests. It just so happened that MWR's best interests were also the best interests of Penske's.

However, when Logano made the pass on Gilliland, the complexion of the race had already changed. Newman was out of the lead. Logano was in the Chase, and he would have been in the Chase had Gilliland stay in front of him. And given that Logano was right behind Gilliland on the restart, there's no guarantee that he would have passed him, purported team orders or not.

NASCAR put everything under the microscope with its penalty of Michael Waltrip Racing, and the chatter on Gilliland's scanner has the same odor. However, given that there's no communication from Penske, nor did Logano's pass of Gilliland -- ordered or not -- affect the outcome of the Chase, a Penske penalty at this point isn't a scrupulous option.

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‘No Ordinary Passenger’

By CABELL HOPKINS


This Op-Doc tells the story of Stan Dibben, a fascinating British man who won the World Sidecar Championship in 1953. Sidecar racing is an extremely dangerous, three-wheeled motor sport that was particularly popular in postwar Europe. Now, at age 87, Mr. Dibben recounts the thrills and perils of his profession, and we see that he is so much more than a mere “passenger.”

In Mr. Dibben’s heyday, sidecars were one-wheeled devices that were bolted onto motorcycles, with top speeds reaching around 95 miles per hour. Riding a racing sidecar requires great physical fitness and stamina, an accurate sense of timing and remarkable self-discipline. The sidecar racer and motorcycle driver work together as a team to keep the machine balanced and control traction, performing tight turns at astonishing speeds.

A world championship has been held each year since 1949. (Sidecars were widely used by militaries during World War II; until the 1950s, they were also a popular form of civilian transportation, as an alternative to passenger cars.) Today, the sport still has devotees in Europe, and a smaller fan base in the United States, but the modern version of the sport has never achieved the popularity of its traditional counterpart. The latest machines typically fuse the motorcycle and sidecar into one unit, made out of carbon fiber, which can reach speeds of 190 miles per hour. But these new high-tech vehicles still need the services of a skilled sidecar rider.

Ultimately, my film is more than a look at a bygone era of motor racing. I have found great inspiration in Mr. Dibben, who has approached life with an understated spirit of bravery, adventure and humor (as chronicled further in his autobiography, “Hold On”). He is a testament to how a daredevil attitude can propel an individual to great heights.


Cabell Hopkins is a London-based filmmaker and producer of television commercials. “No Ordinary Passenger” is his directorial debut.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/03/opinion/no-ordinary-passenger.html?hp&pagewanted=print

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Brad Keselowski’s repeat-championship hopes dwindle after meltdown in Atlanta

The math doesn't work in his favor now; he sits in 15th place, with obstacles the size of Atlanta Motor Speedway's looming grandstands between him and the Chase. Even a win doesn't guarantee entry into the Chase; he needs Ryan Newman to place 9th or worse and Martin Truex Jr. to place 14th or worse. And to get in without a win, he'll need to close the 28-point gap between himself and 10th-place Kurt Busch, while hoping fellow non-win driver Jeff Gordon finishes 23 places below him.

Looks like Penske bet on the wrong horse.

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Kurt Busch joining Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014
By JENNA FRYER (AP Auto Racing Writer) | The Associated Press – 1 hour 33 minutes ago

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Kurt Busch said Monday he has signed with Stewart-Haas Racing, which is rapidly developing into a super-team and will have four cars next season with the addition of the 2004 NASCAR champion.

''This is the kind of situation every driver wants to be in and I'm grateful to Gene Haas and Haas Automation for providing me this opportunity,'' Busch told The Associated Press. ''Gene wants to win, and wants me to go out there and perform to the best of my abilities.''

The deal was first reported by Fox Sports and ESPN. A news conference was scheduled for Tuesday by SHR.

Busch recently received an offer from SHR co-owner Haas to leave Furniture Row Racing to join a team that will now expand next season to four cars. He'll be teammates with co-owner Tony Stewart, who is out the rest of this year with a broken leg, Danica Patrick and Kevin Harvick, who is leaving Richard Childress Racing to join SHR.

Once Stewart returns - the team has said he'll be back in time for next year's Daytona 500 - SHR will have three drivers with a combined 96 Cup victories and four championships. They also have a combined 675 top-10 finishes. Patrick is in her first full season of Cup.

Harvick is replacing Ryan Newman in the lineup, and Stewart said last month that Newman was being let go because SHR did not have the capability to expand to four cars. But Haas stepped in and courted Busch on his own, and will fund Busch's ride out of his own pocket with sponsorship from his CNC machine company.

Furniture Row tried desperately to keep Busch, who joined the team with six races remaining last year and has the No. 78 Chevrolet in contention for a berth in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship for the first time in team history.

Furniture Row had just one win, three top-five finishes, eight top-10s and 48 laps led in almost 200 races before Busch. Since Busch came aboard, the car has six top-five finishes, 14 top-10s, 368 laps led and has qualified on the front row seven times.

''It was always our intention to extend Kurt's contract with Furniture Row Racing,'' general manager Joe Garone said. ''We made him an offer last week. Though he did not accept our offer we respect his decision and wish him future success. His driving skill and being a dedicated team player will always be appreciated at Furniture Row Racing. But for right now the main focus for Kurt and the team is to qualify for the Chase and contend for the 2013 Sprint Cup Series championship.''

Busch was ninth in points before Saturday night's 31st-place finish dropped him to 12th in the standings with two races remaining to set the Chase field.

Stewart left Joe Gibbs Racing to become co-owner of Haas' lowly team in 2009, bringing Newman with him and immediately making it a legitimate and winning organization. Stewart won the championship in 2011, and brought Patrick aboard in 2012 for 10 Sprint Cup races in preparation for her full-time addition this season.

Harvick was signed in November of last year, a full season before he'd join the team, and now Busch is inked, giving SHR an aggressive driver lineup and doubling its car count in just two seasons.

As for Furniture Row, Garone said progress this season has been shown by the ''consistently fast race cars that we have brought to the track week in and week out.''

''We, along with our technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing, are deeply committed to continuing the work in progress,'' he said. ''We are currently in a search process for a new driver in 2014, one who shares the same commitment and winning attitude that we all do at Furniture Row Racing.''

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Third place at Michigan puts Kurt Busch in the top 10
By Nick Bromberg | From The Marbles – 14 hours ago

At this rate, Kurt Busch isn't going to need a win to get into the Chase.

After falling outside of the top 10 because of a slow pit stop, Busch charged back through the field to finish third during Sunday's race at Michigan and is now 9th in the points standings.

"We stuck with our game plan," Busch said, about the team's pit strategy. "At one point we were buried deep, 14th on one of the restarts. I was a little frustrated at that point, knowing we had a much better car. But our weaknesses were restarts today, trying to maneuver in traffic."

"But lo and behold, got fired up, sometimes I get lucky, and opening opened up on the outside. I think I came on that restart from 14th to sixth. It was a game-changer. That one moment was our race."

Since Busch doesn't have a win this season, being in the top 10 is vital, especially after Joey Logano's win Sunday, which added another driver to the now-cavalcade of drivers with wins below Busch.

8. Brad Keselowski (667 points): Keselowski wanted to try to stretch his fuel to the end, but crew chief Paul Wolfe and owner Roger Penske wanted him to pit. Keselowski pitted under caution and finished 12th. Had he run out of gas, he would have ended up in Mark Martin territory. (27th)

9. Busch (-2 points to Keselowski): One of the favorites at Bristol?

10. Greg Biffle (-4 points): The name of the game for Biffle is to now stay ahead of all of the one-win drivers below him. Barring a second win by any of them, that gets him in. Biffle finished ninth.

11. Kasey Kahne (-8 points): Right now, the four point difference between Kahne and Biffle is a six point difference in the Chase. Kahne was seventh.

12. Martin Truex Jr. (-14 points): That Logano win has him looking over his shoulder at a different driver following his 16th place finish.

13. Joey Logano (-21 points): I apologize for writing you off, Joey.

14. Jeff Gordon (-30 points): After a 17th place finish, things are really, really dicey for Gordon.

15. Ryan Newman (-31 points): It's 17 points to Truex and 10 to Logano. That's simple math an engineer can understand, right? Newman was 13th.

16. Jamie McMurray (-45 points): At almost a race's worth of points outside of the top 10 and without a win, this may be McMurray's last appearance here.

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A third of the way through the qualifying session, the track record fell. Kurt Busch, the 15th of 44 drivers to make an attempt, covered the two-mile distance in 35.347 seconds (203.695 mph) to eclipse Marcos Ambrose's mark of 203.241 mph, set in June 2012.
Busch's tenure at the top of the chart was short-lived. Logano, the next driver out, topped him with a lap that threatened 204 mph before falling just short.
Busch felt he might have been a trifle too cautious entering Turn 3.
"The pace today was just quick," Busch said. "I shot for a 35.35 (seconds) in my mind for a lap time, and then (I ran) 35.347. I thought it would be good enough for the pole, but Logano hit it perfect. If I had to say where we lost a little bit of speed was maybe my entry to Turn 3, just a little conservative, making sure I didn't overdrive it."
Busch will start from the front row for the sixth time this season. He won the pole at Darlington in May and now has five second-place qualifying efforts to his credit.

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HOT/NOT: Brad Keselowski Comes Off Sour in Post-race Twitter Rant
2012 Champion was Irritated About David Ragan's Restart Procedure
Yahoo! Contributor Network
By Geoffrey Miller | Yahoo! Contributor Network – 6 hours ago

Brad Keselowski's iPhone wasn't far away when he pulled his No. 2 to the Talladega Superspeedway garage as darkness set in Sunday night. It was just a matter of minutes from when David Ragan surprisingly took the checkered flag before Keselowski was doing what he does best: Twitter.



"Me thinks if someone looked at what happened on that restart they might feel differently about that finish," Keselowski first wrote on his @Keselowski account, taking the first ankle kick at NASCAR's most feelgood story of the season.



Keselowski fan @BraKez2 quickly asked what the issue was, with Keselowski answering the question of "what was the deal on that restart? you were P10?" by suggesting Regan swapped lanes before the restart.



The tweets kept firing off quickly as Keselowski was leaving the track, each seeming a bit more hollow and unnecessary than the rest. They also tried to clarify his issue with NASCAR scoring and, apparently, Ragan's late race move that "cheats the game."



"I'm happy as hell a small team won," Keselowski tweeted. "Doesn't change the fact that the restart was blatantly wrong."



Keselowski's beef with the restart seems to come with how the field was lined up for the race's final restart after the harrowing late-race crash that saw Kurt Busch flip on to Ryan Newman's windshield among the 12-car incident. A review of that incident seemed to show Keselowski emerging as the 10th-place car through the crash following Ragan in eighth and Scott Speed in ninth.



Sure enough, that order stuck as the field circled under caution as the mess was cleaned up. Sometimes NASCAR, when reverting to scoring loops when the yellow flag waves, can make adjustments. They didn't appear to make any before the field was formed for that final restart Sunday.



That's the moment, though, that seemed to have Keselowski riled up. Race protocol has drivers form the two-by-two rows for the coming restart as they get the one lap to green signal on the frontstretch. A wide camera angle showed some discrepancy as Keselowski, Ragan and Speed tried to get in line. Ultimately, Keselowski passed Ragan and then tried to line up behind Speed.



Ragan, though, was told by his team to stay high and start in the top groove. The controversy lasted until the backstretch where Keselowski was told by NASCAR to move low and effectively start ninth. When the field took the green flag one-half lap later, Speed was in the high line in eighth, Keselowski was in the low line in ninth and Ragan was behind Speed up high in 10th.



That was different than the original scoring that had Ragan eighth, Speed ninth and Keselowski 10th.



Keselowski was peeved afterward - he finished 15th - that he didn't start in the high line that had been faster much of the day. His anger focused on Ragan.



"We were suppose to line up 10th when the 34 switched lanes entering 3 before green," Keselowski tweeted. "That lane won."



Ultimately, it seems like Keselowski's anger was misguided at Ragan and instead should've been reserved for where Speed lined up. Ragan, after all, appeared to actually start two spots worse than he should have. For its part, NASCAR issued a statement that absolved blame of Ragan but didn't mention Speed.



"The No. 2 car was not in the proper lane for the final restart," the sanctioning body said in the statement. "So NASCAR had the No. 2 car move into the proper lane - the No. 34 car was lined up properly all along.''



All told, Keselowski issued 14 tweets post-race about the scoring disagreement before signing off in a haste saying that "some people just can't handle facts." It was a diatribe that had some merit, but also seemed to push a little too far. As far as we know, Keselowski never approached NASCAR about the issue after the race as is often done.



He also issued an edict that he'd try to exploit NASCAR's restart order in the future to gain advantage - a public move that's not exactly becoming of a sport's champion.



Keselowski's frustration is fully understandable after a trying race that took almost seven hours to fully complete with Sunday's rain delay. His team is also on the brink of losing substantial points, money and team members if it loses a final appeal Tuesday in its case over suspension parts found by NASCAR at Texas Motor Speedway last month.



But understandable is a lot different than acceptable, and Sunday night Keselowski's public ranting seemed to be both misguided and not completely necessary. Sour grapes is a overused cliché for times like this, but it sure seemed like Keselowski found a bunch in Talladega.

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Craziest Moment: Major Talladega wreck sends Kurt Busch flipping onto Ryan Newman
By Jay Busbee | From The Marbles – 10 hours ago

TALLADEGA, Ala. - Pack racing is a thrilling spectacle because the threat of a catastrophic wreck is present on every inch of the track. And it doesn't take much to turn pack racing into pack wrecking.

With only a half-dozen laps remaining, the front of the field was tighter than a white-knuckle fist. At that speed, with such little distance between cars, the tiniest mistakes magnify. And that's exactly what happened. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. appeared to bounce off the wall, sending J.J. Yeley right into Kurt Busch. Busch vaulted into the air and began flipping, and only stopped when he landed atop the hood of Ryan Newman.

That set off a cascade of wrecks; Terry Labonte and Danica Patrick sustained enough damage to go to the garage. And, naturally, it also set off the drivers involved.

“My mom doesn’t come to four races a year — Daytona and Talladega. Wonder why," said Kurt Busch, in a postrace interview that lasted all of about eight seconds. When told he still had a good race, he replied, "Good races don't matter if you leave on a hook. We'll end up only getting about seven points out of this." (He actually got 15, for what it's worth.)

Ryan Newman was even more pointed in his criticism. "They can build safer race cars, they can build safer walls, but they can't get their heads out of their asses far enough to keep them on the race track, and that's pretty disappointing," Newman said. "I wanted to make sure I get that point across, and y'all can figure out who 'they' is." (Spoiler: "They" is NASCAR.)

David Ragan would go on to win the race, but less than half the field would finish on the lead lap. And Talladega would once again live up to its reputation as the most dangerous, and controversial, track on the circuit.

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Kyle Busch goes for ‘Anger Management’ with Charlie Sheen … on TV, at least

By Jay Busbee | From The Marbles – 21 hours ago.. .

NASCAR fans have long said that noted temperamental driver Kyle Busch could use some anger management. Now — heads up, terrible pun coming out of Turn 4 — he's about to get some, courtesy of FX and Charlie Sheen.

Yes, the NASCAR driver everyone loves to hate is headed for Sheen's FX show "Anger Management," according to TMZ. No info yet on a date or plotline, but we'd bet it has something to do with either driving or those little dogs hanging around the hauler. You never know.

And hey, if this works out for Kyle, maybe Sheen could work his mojo on Tony Stewart ... or Joey Logano ... or Kyle's brother Kurt ... or pretty much every NASCAR fan ...

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No NASCAR penalties issued after California race
By JENNA FRYER (AP Auto Racing Writer) | The Associated Press – 9 hours ago

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- NASCAR Chairman Brian France said Tuesday the contact between Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin as they battled for the win at California over the weekend was just the kind of throwback racing he expects out of his drivers and the new Gen-6 car.

''I have said repeatedly, every minute, that contact, especially late in the race when you are going for a win, that's not only going to happen - that's expected,'' France said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. ''Both of them did exactly what I think you would do when you really, really want to win. Getting some contact, trying to race extra hard to win the race, that's what we're about.''

Hamlin suffered a compressed fracture of the L1 vertebra in his lower back, and Joe Gibbs Racing said Tuesday night he'll be out a minimum of six weeks.

France, who spoke to AP hours before JGR announced Hamlin would not require surgery but needed time to heal, did not think anything was done intentionally by Logano to harm Hamlin.

''Injuries can happen throughout any race on any lap, and fortunately they are seldom,'' France said. ''That's just part of racing.''

NASCAR announced Tuesday no penalties were warranted after California - not against Tony Stewart for scuffling with Logano after the race, and series officials saw nothing to indicate Logano or Hamlin were trying to intentionally wreck each other as they raced for the win. In addition, NASCAR officials have given no thought to policing blocking, which is what Logano did to Stewart on the final restart to trigger the post-race confrontation.

''There are no conversations internally inside of NASCAR to look at blocking as a violation or a penalty as some other forms of motorsports do,'' Sprint Cup Series director John Darby said. ''As good as the racing has been, as exciting as it's been, I don't know that we need to jump in the middle and screw it up.''

Stewart parked his car near Logano's and angrily approached him after Sunday's race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. There was some shoving, but crew members intervened before any punches landed. Logano threw a water bottle at Stewart.

Darby said the incident didn't escalate to a level where NASCAR had to take action.

''A few years ago we backed away from micromanaging drivers' emotions, you would hope in today's world that if somebody didn't win a race, they would be upset about it,'' Darby said. ''I don't know that we've actually got a rule book that describes every push in the chest or kick in the shin. If two guys get into a hell of a fight, we're going to have to react. But a couple of guys blowing off some steam and slapping at the air is not going to get anybody in a whole lot of trouble.''

France noted that drivers are encouraged to show their emotion and settle disputes - which is all Stewart was doing on Sunday.

''We have no problem, and frankly encourage drivers to go up to one another to discuss whatever they think they need to that happened in the race,'' France said. ''And then every once in a while there will be some emotions, and that's what happened Sunday and crews stepped in between them and we don't think it rose to some level of anything.''

France said NASCAR will intervene when feuds go too far and when emotions run too high.

''We're not going to allow a boxing match to take place every time they have a disagreement,'' France said. ''But on the other hand, we're not going to prevent the emotional exchanges that occur after a race. Everyone has the right to walk up to someone and say, 'What the? What happened there? What did you do that for?' And they explain themselves and usually work it out.''

It remains to be seen where the Logano and Hamlin feud goes from here, although Sunday was viewed as a racing incident.

The two former teammates have feuded since the closing laps of the season-opening Daytona 500 and it escalated after contact from Hamlin sent Logano spinning into the wall two races ago at Bristol. Logano angrily confronted Hamlin after the race before being pulled away by crew members.

The two moved their feud to Twitter for at least the second time this season and then came Sunday's race.

They were racing side-by-side on the last lap for the win when they banged into each other. Both cars spun and Hamlin's hit head-on into an inside wall not protected with energy-absorbing SAFER barriers.

He spent Sunday night in a Southern California hospital, where he was diagnosed with an L1 compression fracture in his lower back. He saw Dr. Jerry Petty of Carolina Neurosurgery and Spine Associates on Tuesday, and Petty determined the driver will not need surgery but needed a minimum of six weeks to heal.

NASCAR is off this weekend, so Hamlin could miss only five races if the healing process meets Petty's estimate. But the next five weeks include stops at Martinsville Speedway and Richmond International Raceway, where the Virginia-raised driver has a combined six Sprint Cup victories.

Hamlin also races in his annual charity event at RIR, and will now have to sit that out, too.

Darby did not think Logano intentionally wrecked Hamlin.

''It was the last lap of the race, and the last time they were both going to see turns three and four. They were side-by-side. If somebody was of the mindset to retaliate, they probably would have been lined up nose-to-tail and somebody would have drove into the other car and spun him around,'' Darby said. ''In this case, that is so far from the opposite, that it never even crossed anybody's mind that I'm aware of that paid attention to the race.''

Meanwhile, NASCAR is still going over data from Hamlin's accident and will need to meet with officials from the University of Nebraska, home to the engineering school's Midwest Roadside Safety experts, and IndyCar before making any recommendations on whether a SAFER barrier should be installed where Hamlin hit.

When NASCAR first began installing SAFER barriers following the 2001 death of Dale Earnhardt, the priority were locations where cars frequently hit the wall. Officials at Nebraska also make recommendations not to install the barriers at certain points at a facility because of various issues, including the potential for a car to sling-shot back into traffic after impact.

Track officials usually follow the recommendations.

Tom Gideon, senior director of safety research and development at NASCAR, said where Hamlin hit was not an area that cars frequently make impact.

''Each point on the track we look at the application and you don't want to put (barriers) in places where the angle of impact may not be appropriate for a SAFER barrier,'' Gideon said. ''We also look at the possibility of impact and the frequency of impact, and when you look at the frequency of impact, especially at oval tracks, it's reasonable to think they are going to be with outside walls.''

NASCAR doesn't race at Auto Club Speedway again this season, but IndyCar's October finale is scheduled at the track. IndyCar officials said the series is working with NASCAR, Nebraska and the Fontana track officials to study the accident and see if ''any changes need be addressed prior to our race at Fontana.''

[BullNBear52]

Denny Hamlin stands up to NASCAR’s fine, defends his criticism of new cars
By Jay Busbee | From The Marbles – Fri, Mar 8, 2013 11:16 AM EST

NASCAR has a lot riding on the 2013 season, and in particular its new "Generation 6" car. Dwindling attendance, sliding TV ratings, vanishing sponsors and new safety concerns have shaken the sport. So you can understand why NASCAR brass might be a bit sensitive to criticism of their newest showpiece vehicle.

How sensitive? Denny Hamlin found out this week when he was fined $25,000 for what appeared at the time to be relatively innocuous thoughts on a still-new car. Speaking after last Sunday's Phoenix race, which was for the most part a long parade of cars, Hamlin said, "I don't want to be the pessimist, but it did not race as good as our Generation 5 cars [a.k.a. "Car of Tomorrow"]. This is more like what the Generation 5 was at the beginning. The teams hadn't figured out how to get the aero balance right. Right now, you just run single-file and you cannot get around the guy in front of you."

That was enough to tick off NASCAR, which took offense at the "disparaging" remarks Hamlin made against the car and determined that Hamlin had run afoul of Rule 12-1, "actions detrimental to stock car racing."

"While NASCAR gives its competitors ample leeway in voicing their opinions when it comes to a wide range of aspects about the sport," NASCAR said in a statement, "the sanctioning body will not tolerate publicly made comments by its drivers that denigrate the racing product."

NASCAR and its drivers exist in a mutually beneficial partnership; each side needs the other. And despite some occasional public spats, they tend to coexist in harmony. Except when they don't. This is one of those times.

[Also: 'First African-American female licensed by NASCAR' overstating claims]

Hamlin has been fined by NASCAR before; in 2010, he received a "secret fine" (believed to be about $50,000) for suggesting that NASCAR seems to throw caution flags to tighten up races that are too spread out. That one, he accepted with a minimum of grumbling and some jokes about needing to play the Lotto.

This time around, he wasn't so conciliatory. He immediately fought back, using the court of public opinion on Twitter (entire paragraph sic'd):

"The short of the long of it is I believe I was severely disrespected by NASCAR by getting fined," he wrote. "I believe that the simple fact of us not even having a conversation about this issue before I was hit with a fine has something to say about our relationship. What I said was 1 sentence taken completely out of context. Most drivers will tell you that we constantly have our AND nascars best interest in mind when speaking. On the other hand I am a person that worked very hard from the BOTTOM to get where I am today and someone telling me that I can give my 100 percent honest opinion really bothers me. Since being fined in 2010 I have been a lot more careful about what I say to media and I felt this past weekend felt completely in my rights to give a assessment of the question asked. I feel as if today NASCAR lost one of its biggest supporters vocally of where our sport is headed. So in the end there are no winners. I said today I would not pay the fine. I stand by that and will go through the process of appealing. Trust me, this is not about the money.. It's much deeper. I will now shift my focus on giving FedEx and my team what they deserve this weekend, a win."

It's worth noting that when Kyle Busch won the first race with the Car of Tomorrow back in 2007, he blasted the car's handling in victory lane. Some observers have raised the possibility that NASCAR believes the Car of Tomorrow never had a chance because of Busch's comments, and the sport is trying to head off a similar problem with the Gen6 car.

[Also: Will publicity from NRA 500 be detriment or benefit to NASCAR?]

Of course, "heading off a problem" is another way of saying "stifling dissent," and there are already signs that drivers have gotten the message. Asked about the Gen 6 car on Thursday, Clint Bowyer smiled and said, "It's good. The car is good. Everything is very, very good."

"I'm not going to say anything for the rest of the year, as long as it relates to competition," Hamlin said on Thursday. "I mean, you can ask me how my daughter is, talk to me after wins about what have you, but as long as it relates to competition, I'm out from here on out. The down part is I feel like I've been a pretty good spokesman for them, and being positive when things aren't always positive. They just lost one small spokesman today, that's all."

NASCAR faces a raft of difficulties going forward. But muzzling its most charismatic drivers, which are one of the sport's great assets, is a strategy that will do little to address the sport's many problems.

[BullNBear52]

So an MTV blogger plays tattle tale to Nascar and gets the kid suspended.

Clements to see diversity expert after remark
By JOHN MARSHALL (AP Sports Writer) | The Associated Press – 11 hours ago...

AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- NASCAR is sending suspended Nationwide Series driver Jeremy Clements to a sports diversity expert after he made insensitive remarks during an interview.

NASCAR officials are hoping to get Clements back on the track soon, but the 28-year-old will have to work with Dr. Richard Lapchick, director of the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports at the University of Central Florida, before he'll be allowed back in his car.

''No secret we did suspend Jeremy. We believe strongly that we made the right move,'' NASCAR Senior Vice President of Racing Operations Steve O'Donnell said Saturday from Phoenix International Raceway. ''Our go-forward plan with Jeremy is to quickly engage Dr. Richard Lapchick to work with Jeremy as soon as possible and get Jeremy back in the race car as soon as possible and as soon as we deem fit.''

Clements was suspended indefinitely on Wednesday for violating the sanctioning body's code of conduct for making what O'Donnell said was an ''intolerable and insensitive remark'' during the course of an interview before last weekend's Nationwide race at Daytona.

MTV News reported that Clements made a racially insensitive remark to one of MTV's bloggers during the interview.

Clements issued an apology for his remarks on Facebook earlier this week.

''It's really unfortunate that he chose to make that decision at that time to use that language,'' Sprint Cup driver Dale Earnhardt said. ''I don't like it and there's no room for that in my life. It's just unfortunate that had to happen to him. I hope he can get that sorted out. It just looks bad on the sport. One person's mistake looks bad on a lot of people and looks bad on the sport.''

[BullNBear52]

Clements confirms remark that resulted in NASCAR suspension was racial
By Jay Busbee | From The Marbles – Thu, Feb 28, 2013 2:28 PM EST.. .

On Tuesday, NASCAR suspended Nationwide driver Jeremy Clements for what it termed an "intolerable and insensitive remark." On Thursday, Clements gave ESPN's Marty Smith the broad outlines of the remark, without explicitly repeating it.

Apparently Clements was walking through the garage with an MTV reporter and a representative from NASCAR. According to Clements, he was escorting them to Johanna Long's hauler and was not in a specific interview situation. During the walk, he was talking with the reporter and made the remark. The remark was not recorded, and conversation continued afterward.

So what exactly did he say? He would not disclose the exact word or phrase. Here's the breakdown:


In a one-on-one interview with ESPN, Clements would not verbalize the specific comments he made, but when pressed for clarity about whether or not it was racial, he paused. Asked again, "Was it racial or not? Maybe not in context, but in term?" Clements replied: "Correct."

"When you say 'racial' remark, it wasn't used to describe anybody or anything," Clements said. "So that's all I'm going to say to that. And it really wasn't. I was describing racing, and the word I used was incorrect and I shouldn't have said it. It shouldn't be used at all."

Clements owned up to making the comment. He will be suspended for a minimum of two races, and will need to undergo an as-yet-undetermined form of speech advisement. He expressed surprise that he was suspended.

Although there have been questions about Clements' rights of free speech, this is a private situation with a private organization. The constitutional right of free speech does not apply in this situation. More specifically, Clements is free to say whatever he wishes, but not free from consequence for those words if they reflect badly on himself, his team or his organization.

And given that this is a racially charged word, even if not used directly in regard to an individual, you can understand why NASCAR is so interested in keeping a lid on this one. The sport has more than enough problems appealing to races other than whites without its own drivers adding to the problem.

[BullNBear52]

It’s Her Day, but His Victory
By VIV BERNSTEIN
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A day after a horrific crash took the focus away from racing and threatened to turn Nascar’s season-opening showcase, the Daytona 500, into an afterthought, Danica Patrick did what she does best. She put the focus right back on her.

While Jimmie Johnson made a statement with a victory in the 55th Daytona 500, Patrick made history by becoming the first woman to lead a lap in a race in Nascar’s top series. Johnson, who outraced the field in his No. 48 Chevrolet after a late caution, showed he could be the driver to beat for the Sprint Cup title this year. And Dale Earnhardt Jr. left a similar impression, finishing a strong second.

Johnson collected $1.585 million for winning his second Daytona 500 title.

“It is just awesome, there’s no other way to describe it,” he said. “Just a strong racecar. I feel like the speed our car had in it allowed me to really have control of the race there late. I felt like I was sitting on something all day and was just ready to have some fun when it counted, and it did.”

Johnson’s crew chief, Chad Knaus, got his first Daytona 500 win; he had been suspended by Nascar in 2006 and was not at the track when Johnson won the race the first time.

“To finally be able to come down here and be a part of this is definitely a huge dream come true,” Knaus said.

Sunday might have been Johnson’s day, but this was surely Patrick’s week. She had created headlines all week after becoming the first woman to start from the pole in the Sprint Cup series, and she recorded another milestone when she led twice for a total of five laps in the 200-lap race on the way to finishing eighth, another record for a woman.

Not that Patrick seemed overly impressed.

“I think a stat that I found more interesting is only 13 people, including me now, have led Indy and Daytona,” said Patrick, who became the first woman to lead the Indianapolis 500, in 2005. “I thought that was a much cooler stat for me.

“I’m honored. But, again, these are things that just happen along the way. I’m on the quest to be the best driver, run up front, get to victory lane. These things happen, and I’m proud, but they’re not the ultimate goal.”

Indeed, it is perhaps more significant that Patrick showed Sunday that she could race with the best in Nascar, lap for lap. She was in the top 10 all day.

“She’s going to make a lot of history all year long,” Earnhardt said.

Patrick said she was actually disappointed with the finish; she was third going into the last lap but was shuffled back in the final dash to the checkered flag.

Earlier Sunday, the talk was still focused on a last-lap crash in the Nationwide Series race on Saturday, when Kyle Larson’s racecar went airborne and crashed into the catch-fence, sending debris into the stands. There were 28 injuries, but only two people remained hospitalized Sunday. Both were in stable condition.

That promising medical report allowed racing, and Patrick, to once again become the story. Patrick even succeeded in taking some of the focus off what was largely a questionable debut by the new Gen-6 racecars. The cars were designed to look more like showroom models, but there was very little green-flag passing for the lead as most drivers were content to drive in single file for much of the race. That led to some uneventful racing.

Even though the drivers were unwilling to gamble and risk getting into a wrecks, there were a few multicar crashes that helped thin the field of contenders.

Patrick fell to ninth after pitting during an early caution, but she moved back among the leaders at the right time, avoiding a major crash behind her that ended the hopes of two of the favorites in the race: Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart. Both were collected in a nine-car crash when Kasey Kahne’s No. 5 Chevrolet was tapped from behind by Kyle Busch as the cars raced in a pack.

The 2012 Cup champion, Brad Keselowski, was also caught in the crash, but he was able to get back out and remain on the lead lap. Keselowski nearly came back to win the race before being passed by Johnson moments before a caution in the final laps. That turned out to be the most important pass of the race. Keselowski finished fourth.

As for Stewart, he won the Nationwide Series race Saturday and entered the 500 as one of a handful of top contenders. It remains the only major race he has never won.

“If I didn’t tell you I was heartbroken and disappointed, I’d be lying to you,” Stewart said.

The early crash was the first of two major wrecks in the race. Nine more cars were part of a crash with 63 laps to go, including that of Carl Edwards, who has had perhaps the worst start to the season of any Nascar driver in recent memory. Including test sessions at Daytona, Edwards has been involved in five crashes already.

The two-time Daytona 500 champion Matt Kenseth had what appeared to be the car to beat before engine trouble forced him out well before the finish. Shortly after that, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch, who was running second at the time, went out because of an engine failure.

As it turned out, Patrick was one of only three drivers to stay with the leaders all race long, joining Johnson and Greg Biffle, who finished sixth. And she proved at least one person wrong with the effort. The actor James Franco perhaps inadvertently knocked Patrick when he gave the famous call to start engines, saying, “Drivers and Danica, start your engines.”

But as Patrick demonstrated Sunday, she is a driver. And when the spotlight is at its brightest, Patrick shines just a little bit more. She showed that in the IndyCar Series. And now she is showing it in Nascar.

NOTES

Families of victims of the December shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., along with first responders and town leaders, attended the Daytona 500 and were given a standing ovation when introduced at a driver’s meeting before Sunday’s race. Michael Waltrip drove a specially numbered No. 26 Toyota with a green bow on the front to honor the 26 victims. ... The honorary starter was Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, who waved the green flag to begin the race.