The Dillon Brothers

The future has a lot in store for Richard Childress' grandsons Austin and Ty Dillon. Throughout the history of NASCAR racing family members have often competed against each other. We've seen father and son, brothers on seperate racing teams, you name it. In the years past we have witnessed duos like the Burton brothers, the Waltrip brothers, the Labonte brothers, the Wallace brothers, and the Busch brothers battling amongst the best stock car drivers in the world. Now it is time to introduce the Dillon boys.

We have approached a period in NASCAR where Richard Childress has a difficult time staying on top of his competition. When you have power house teams like Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing assembling 4-car teams, adding on sponsors, and working daily with thousands of employees on their race cars your luck is eventually going to run out. Then along came Austin Dillon.



Austin displayed a tremendous amount of talent and determination in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driving the #3 truck for Childress Racing and winning the Championship in his second Truck series season in 2011. The plan for Austin's NASCAR career appeared to be two years in the trucks, two years in the Xfinity Series, and then on to the big stage with the big boys. After finally earning that elusive first Xfinity Series Championship in 2013 Austin was all signed up and ready to go drive the #3 Chevy for his grandfather. However making the transition from the Xfinity Series to the Sprint Cup Series has been known to be extremely difficult. For Austin it was no different. After finishing 20th in the final standings in Sprint Cup competition in 2014 in his heart-pumping rookie year, Austin has elected to participate in more of the Xfinity Series events to help provide him with a better understanding on how his Sprint Cup series car will feel during the Sprint Cup race. Keep in mind the Xfinity series race is always held one day before the Sprint Cup race unless mother nature steps in and forces everyone to wait until Monday.



Kyle Larson was involved in the majority of the Xfinity Series events last season and getting that extra experience in another race car at the track over the weekend certainly gave him the edge he needed to win 2014 Rookie of the Year. Now that Austin is attempting the same task this season look for him to climb his way into the Top 10 more than he has before and make a run at the Chase for the Sprint Cup. He currently sits 27th in the standings but a couple top 5 finishes will absolutely change that for the better. I think the confidence and momentum for Austin after winning the Xfinity series Las Vegas event and snagging his first Top 10 finish on the Sprint Cup side of things at Bristol will only increase and keep us on our toes.


After an exciting battle right down to the wire for last year's NASCAR Xfinity series championship and finishing fourth in the standings respectively, Ty Dillon has proved to us once again that he is getting better and better after every race. I would like to take this time to point out that Ty has never had such a successful beginning to an Xfinity series season than he has in 2015. After finishing 3rd in the Xfinity Series' version of the Daytona 500, one spot in front of older brother Austin, Ty has continued to put himself in position to win races and as a result has walked away with 3 Top 5 finishes in the first 8 Xfinity Series races. With an average finish of 7.6 he has shown major improvement at a very young age.

I have a feeling that Ty Dillon is sick of being the Dillon brother that is yet to win a Championship in one of the three main series' in NASCAR. Just like his older brother Austin, it appears the career plan for Ty is two years of racing the trucks and two years or more in the Xfinity series. Ty has been fortunate to receive the "hand-me-downs" from Richard Childress that Austin once piloted. Despite being in a fast truck, Ty failed to capture the Camping World Truck series championship in both of his full-time seasons. Now that his older brother has made it to the big stage in the Sprint Cup series, Ty is in his second full-time Xfinity series season and has shown tremendous racing abilities each and every week so far. Because of his consistent top 10 finishes, Ty finds himself the current points leader and has realized the only two drivers that might catch him are Chase Elliott and Chris Buescher.



Ty has the talent and the ambition, but it will simply take time. Championships do not develop over night. Halfway through the 2014 Xfinity series season Ty Dillon made history when he won the Xfinity series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and got to kiss the bricks on the same weekend as Jeff Gordon. Indianapolis opened in 1909 and has an incredible legacy behind it. What a moment that was for this young man. It is spectacular moments like that where you find that extra boost of courage and determination which leads you towards only bettering yourself as a driver. We are 8 races deep into the 2015 NASCAR Xfinity series season. My prediction is Ty Dillon will do the impossible and hold off Chase Elliott, Chris Buescher, Darrell Wallace Jr, and Regan Smith to capture the Championship. Look out Busch brothers! There is a new brothers duo coming your way.

Photos by: LAT Photographic
Written by: Tyler McMurter

Drivers Turning Up The Heat in 2015

#4 Kevin Harvick


Driver of the #4 Stewart/Haas Chevy Kevin Harvick celebrates.

    If you want to talk about a driver with "destiny" written all over him look no further than the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup series Champion Kevin Harvick. Lets take a stroll down memory lane. Harvick made a big splash in the late 1990's in what is now known as the NASCAR Xfinity series driving for Richard Childress Racing, which at the time had Dale Earnhardt driving the #3 Goodwrench Chevrolet in the Sprint Cup series.

Before long it became clear this young man had the talent, the patience, and the resourceful information from experienced teammates to succeed and win races. After the traggic passing of the legendary Dale Earnhardt in the 2001 Daytona 500 it was Kevin Harvick that was given the call to drive the #29 car in Sprint Cup competition. Dale's car and team, but a fresh number. The number 3 from then on wasn't used by any driver in the Sprint Cup series until Richard Childress' grandson and 2013 Xfinity series Champion Austin Dillon made his full-time Sprint Cup debut last year in 2014. This is the most prestigious car to be sitting in on race day back in this day. I can only imagine how overwhelming the pressure could have been for Harvick. After all those are big shoes to fill and on very unfortunate circumstances.


A heart-warming gift from the heavens came on Sunday March 11, 2001 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. After a side-by-side, bumper to bumper finish Kevin Harvick edged 4-time Champion Jeff Gordon to win the 500 mile event. It just so happens that this race was the third Sprint Cup race Kevin participated in. Number 3. Many loyal NASCAR fans believe that it was meant to be. Some say it was a sign from Mr. Earnhardt himself letting everyone know that he is alright and that his spiritual presence may forever be at Daytona International Speedway.

   To avoid getting into a very complicated topic I would just like to say if this is somehow the case me and i'm fairly certain millions of others wouldn't have it any other way. The memories that Earnhardt has made at that facility have helped shape NASCAR racing into what it is today. That elusive Daytona 500 victory finally came in 1998 in his 21st attempt. The fans in attendance for the Daytona 500 every year since 2001 go completely silent and hold up their hand with three fingers up in respect for Earnhardt. It's amazing.


   After years of success in both the Xfinity series and Sprint Cup series with Richard Childress Racing including several wins and consistent Top-10 finishes Kevin Harvick made a bold decision that would drastically affect the rest of his career forever. Haas Automation founder Gene Haas merged his team and resources with 3-time Sprint Cup Series Champion Tony Stewart and formed a team called Stewart/Haas Racing in 2009. Kevin Harvick decided to "jump ships" to Stewart/Haas last year for the beginning of the 2014 Sprint Cup season. After minor mechanical issues or part failures placed Harvick towards the bottom of the Standings early in 2014, "Happy" Harvick eventually earned himself multiple wins in the Xfinity Series and winning five races in Sprint Cup action on his way to winning his first Sprint Cup Series Championship. He is a force to be reckoned with. Get used to seeing the #4 car in the lead pack. After the first 9 races of 2015 Kevin has 2 victories (Las Vegas & Phoenix), 7 Top 5 finishes, 8 Top 10 finishes, and finds himself on top of the Sprint Cup series standings with a 33 point gap on Penske Racing driver Joey Logano. Just like what his car says, Kevin Harvick has been "Freaky Fast" not only since joining Stewart/Haas Racing, but also since arriving in NASCAR. This is the point in his career where his legendary status can only be heightened.

#10 Danica Patrick

#10 Danica Patrick and #5 Kasey Kahne.

   Another Stewart/Haas Racing driver in the Sprint Cup Series making an impact on the 2015 season is Danica Patrick. Showing significant improvement after last year's disappointing outcome in the final standings, Danica has earned herself 2 Top 10 finishes and has found a way to be consistent as her worst finish is 27th at Las Vegas. It may be early, but it appears that Danica is still in contention for a spot in this year's Chase for the Sprint Cup. In the standings she currently sits 16th and is continuing to show us the positive things that she learned from her previous years here in NASCAR competition. Having powerful resources, fast cars, and being shared valuable information from top notch teammates like Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, and Tony Stewart has only made Danica's transition from an Indy racer to a NASCAR driver faster.

   Don't get me wrong Danica Patrick still makes the odd error or mis-calculation on the track and either loses a handful of positions or makes minor contact with another car, but her consistency and driving ability in these 400 to 500 mile races has really impressed me. While other drivers are slowly getting frustrated and slowly wearing their cars out Danica appears to be calmly keeping a quick pace sitting mid-pack and on a bad day pulling off a 21st to 27th place finish. This is a huge improvement for that #10 GoDaddy.com racing team. 2015 just might be the year where Danica Patrick makes a big charge up the standings, maybe a win, and maybe securing a spot in the Chase. It's clear she has tracks like Daytona, Talladega, Martinsville, and Bristol figured out. To her advantage if she's a Chase contender later this season two of those four tracks are in the Chase. To be a safe bet on being involved in the Chase she needs to win a race or advance herself up to roughly the top 12 in the standings before the 27th race of the year. All eyes are on the new and improved Danica Patrick.

#78 Martin Truex Jr


Door to door racing at Texas Motor Speedway.

   If I had to announce one driver that I have been the most impressed with so far this season I would tell you without hesitation that it's 2-time Xfinity series champion Martin Truex Jr in the #78 Furniture Row Chevrolet. To open off the 2015 Sprint Cup Series season Truex Jr earned himself 7 straight Top 10 finishes, including a 2nd place finish at Las Vegas, and added a 10th place finish this past weekend at Richmond International Raceway. The Furniture Row Racing team means business this year. They have been competitive in every race so far and as a result they find themselves 3rd in the Sprint Cup standings after the first 9 races. What a remarkable performance.

   

#78 Martin Truex Jr, #14 Tony Stewart, and #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.

   When you put an A-class driver like Martin Truex Jr into a car that is backed up by underfunded resources and B-class parts it's going to take some time for things to start working. And the fact that Truex has worked for multiple teams like JR Motorsports, Richard Childress Racing, and Michael Waltrip Racing only increases the knowledge that he brings to the table to any team he signs with. Truex Jr has shown us, in the #56 MWR Toyota in particular, that when placed in a contending car that he's not shy with Top 5 finishes.


  Well, in 2011 Furniture Row Racing stamped their name down in NASCAR history when rookie driver Regan Smith held off a hard-charging Carl Edwards to tame the "lady in black" and win at Darlington. This proved to everyone that without a shadow of a doubt the #78 car can make it to Victory Lane if they have the right combination between the driver and handling setup. After Regan Smith left Furniture Row Racing Kurt Busch climbed aboard and only further proved that statement. Now fast forward to where we are today and we have Martin Truex Jr. Though it is slightly a different format, Martin's Chase experience from 2012 will only beneit him in his quest for the Sprint Cup. While driving the #56 NAPA Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing in 2012 he finished 11th in the final standings. In 2013 Truex Jr missed the Chase and finished 16th in the final standings. And last year was only worse for the 2-time Xfinity series Champion. A successful 2015 season is exactly what this Furniture Row Racing team needs and they are on the right track.

2015 Sprint Cup Series Standings after Race 9 of 36 (Richmond)
1. #4 Kevin Harvick           357 pts 2 wins 8 Top 10's
2. #22 Joey Logano             -33       1 win  8 Top 10's
3. #78 Martin Truex Jr        -42                  8 Top 10's
4. #48 Jimmie Johnson        -58      2 wins 7 Top 10's
5. #2 Brad Keselowski        -74      1 win 6 Top 10's
6. #5 Kasey Kahne              -82                 3 Top 10's
7. #20 Matt Kenseth            -84      1 win 5 Top 10's
8. #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.     -86               5 Top 10's
9. #1 Jamie McMurray         -93               4 Top 10's
10. #24 Jeff Gordon              -94               6 Top 10's
11. #43 Aric Almirola
12. #11 Denny Hamlin                     1 win
13. #27 Paul Menard
14. #15 Clint Bowyer
15. #31 Ryan Newman
16. #10 Danica Patrick
17. #19 Carl Edwards
18. #41 Kurt Busch     1 win
19. #34 & #18 David Ragan
20. #42 Kyle Larson
21. #16 Greg Biffle
22. #47 AJ Allmendinger
23. #13 Casey Mears
24. #3 Austin Dillon
25. #17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

All photos taken by LAT Photographic.
Written by Tyler McMurter.  

The Michigan Mission

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers were in Michigan for the 23rd race of the 36 events on the schedule. The goal was to simply win the Pure Michigan 400!

Dale Earnhardt Jr. came into this race sitting 9th in the standings and just 36 points ahead of Clint Bowyer who arrived at Michigan 11th in the standings. Remember the top ten drivers in the standings at the end of 26 events will be entered into the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship. Followed by the two drivers outside the top 10 in points with the most victories, if drivers are tied with victories the driver in the best points position is chosen. So it's crucial to notice that Earnhardt Jr qualified eighth and Bowyer qualified 35th.

A victory for the pole sitter Greg Biffle would put him in contention with Denny Hamlin and Paul Menard to be one of the two drivers outside the top ten in points allowed into the Chase. However Denny Hamlin would start fourth and Paul Menard would start 11th, so the pressure was certainly on. Either way Jack Roush must have had spectacular confidence. They have been fast all weekend long and his drivers qualified 1st, 2nd, 7th, and 22nd. I was very surprised to see Carl Edwards being the driver who struggled during the qualifying and practice sessions.

There was a point during the Pure Michigan 400 where 4-time Champion Jeff Gordon began to show dominance on the track. An incredible statistic was pointed out while Gordon was leading... he led his 22,000th career lap in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. That in my eyes is a number I never thought a NASCAR driver would reach in terms of career laps led. However it would be debris on the grill that cost Gordon from having a flawless finish, even a small hot dog rapper would cause the #24 car to have a loose handling condition and begin to overheat. He would go on to finish in sixth.

It would be Kyle Busch who would go on to earn the victory at Michigan for his fourth win of the season, which is now the most wins in the series this season. Kyle qualified that #18 Toyota Camry in 17th, but he was second fastest of the 43 cars in the final practice session (after qualifying session). So we all had a hunch "Rowdy" Busch would be quick on race day as always. This is the 100th victory for Toyota in NASCAR. Instead of the Roush drivers earning the wins at Michigan, a Toyota driver has won four of the last five races at Michigan.

Clint Bowyer and that #33 Cheerios Chevrolet team struggled throughout the entire weekend... except when it came to race day. Clint started 35th but there was a bit more confidence in that team's garage area after being 13th fastest in the final practice. After some patience and handling adjustments Bowyer managed to earn an eighth place finish. In his interview during the post-race show Clint explained the standings situation. He is aware that he didn't gain enough points on the driver in the 10th place spot, but he feels he has the ability to earn a few top 10's before the Chase begins. We might see him in the battle for the Championship.

Michigan Results:

1. Kyle Busch

2. Jimmie Johnson

3. Brad Keselowski

4. Mark Martin

5. Ryan Newman

6. Jeff Gordon

7. Kasey Kahne

8. Clint Bowyer

9. Tony Stewart

10. Matt Kenseth

14. Dale Earnhardt Jr

20. Greg Biffle

22. Kevin Harvick

36. Carl Edwards

Images from: http://galleries.nascar.com/gallery/2011_Pure_Michigan_400

Written by: Tyler McMurter

Five To Go!

Things are beginning to get even more exciting in the fast-paced world of NASCAR racing. Now there is only five races remaining on the schedule until the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins. It's starting to become very crucial for drivers outside the top ten in the standings to win a race.

The Chase for the Sprint Cup series championship was introduced about seven years ago in an attempt to create NASCAR's version of the playoffs. Over the years the rules have been slightly adjusted to the liking of the fans and drivers. This season the top ten in the standings will be automatically eligible for the Championship, but there will be two other drivers eligible as well. The two drivers with the most victories that are sitting outside the top ten in the standings will also become Chase contenders.

NASCAR has seen three different drivers win their first career Sprint Cup series victory this season. All three times this happened, it took place on a legendary auto racing circuit. Trevor Bayne won the Daytona 500, Regan Smith held off Carl Edwards to win at Darlington, and Paul Menard held off Jeff Gordon to win at Indianapolis. These first-time winners and other unlikely winners have prevented any drivers from dominating when it comes to having the most wins this season.

Brad Keselowski suffered a broken left ankle and damaged his right foot in the process. This happened when Brad was racing on Wednesday August 3rd while test driving a race car, he hit a wall that was not protected with the "safer barrier" material that is used at most NASCAR circuits to prevent injury. However, Keselowski managed to pull off an incredible victory at Pocono this past weekend. Both cars owned my Roger Penske elected to pit under green flag racing conditions before the rain began, knowing the track is too big for them to go a lap down from pitting while everyone is racing. The rest of the drivers pit under the caution for rain which gave the Penske cars amazing track position.

Brad Keselowski managed to take the lead on a restart with just 16 laps to go. The "blue deuce" driven by Keselowski was fast enough to hold off his successful nemesis Kyle Busch for his second victory of the season and third of his career in the Sprint Cup series. Kurt Busch earned an impressive third place finish after trading paint with Jimmie Johnson on the final lap. Johnson claims he didn't cut off Kurt Busch coming out of turn two, but it's clear as day on the replay that's exactly what happened. Both drivers exchanged words after the race on pit road, but pit crew members of the #48 team separated the furious NASCAR warriors.

Watkins Glen is the next track these talented drivers will compete on. It's the second of the two road course events that NASCAR travels to for the Sprint Cup series drivers to race. NASCAR has been coming to Watkins Glen International once every year since 1986. Most auto racing experts know Jeff Gordon is the most successful driver at the road course Infineon Raceway, however Tony Stewart is the master of Watkins Glen. Tony has six victories at "The Glen" and they have all been within the last ten years.


Juan-Pablo Montoya emerged victorious in last season's race at Watkins Glen International, Kyle Busch won the event in 2008, and Jeff Gordon has four wins at this particular road course... any of these three drivers could be the one to take the victory away from Tony Stewart. Kurt Busch won the race at Infineon Raceway earlier this season by using a strategy which involved only pitting on two occasions instead of three. Jeff Gordon finished second, Carl Edwards finished third, Clint Bowyer finished fourth, and Marcos Ambrose finished fifth. Make sure you tune in this Sunday!



Current Standings... ON THE BUBBLE:
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr -79
--------------------------------
11. Denny Hamlin -102
12. Clint Bowyer -120
13. Greg Biffle -123
14. Paul Menard -133
15. Mark Martin -153

Written by: Tyler McMurter

Halfway Home

It's been an eventful first half of the 2011 Sprint Cup Series season. In the first eighteen races we experienced exciting finishes, drama with rivalries, and first-time winners. It is no surprise to me of how popular and respected NASCAR racing truly is. The fans certainly enjoy the boys have at it, the grand stands have been full almost everywhere the drivers travel to compete.

Significant Events

Twenty year old Trevor Bayne made his first Cup start at Daytona and his first Daytona 500 start this year, and Trevor surprisingly would hold off Carl Edwards and David Gilliland for his first Sprint Cup Series victory. It's unbelievable to see someone win the biggest event on the schedule with the little experience that Trevor had heading into this race. In just his second career Cup series start, he walks away victorious. Jeff Gordon did an incredible job at snapping his long winless streak in just the second race of the year. Right after Bayne won the Daytona 500, Jeff Gordon shocks the world by winning his 83rd career race and his second win at Phoenix. It's shocking because before this it was over two seasons since we've seen the 4-time champ earn a victory. Jeff would later win his fifth career race at Pocono Raceway which was his 84th career race. Jeff tied Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison for third on the All-time wins list.

Kevin Harvick won back to back races... events five and six. He won at Fontana and he earned his first career victory at Martinsville the next week. Harvick became the first driver to earn multiple wins in 2011. Kyle Busch finished third in both of these races. Jimmie Johnson won the closest and most exciting race so far in 2011 at Talladega. However it still remains as the only win Jimmie has this season. The new drafting methods at the restrictor plate tracks allow two cars to be faster than a long line of cars. So Earnhardt Jr was pushing Johnson, Mark Martin was pushing Jeff Gordon, and Kevin Harvick was pushing Clint Bowyer. The pack of cars were three-wide at the finish line. Congratulations Jimmie Johnson.

Regan Smith won his first career Sprint Cup series race at a very historic and prestigious track... Darlington. Regan managed to hold off Carl Edwards in a two lap shootout to the finish. These were some of Regan's words with tears of joy in victory lane; "I'm not supposed to win this race, legends are supposed to win this race". Matt Kenseth wins his second race of 2011 at Dover. His first win of the season came at Texas, a track Matt and his teammates at Roush Racing are very good at. In fact Edwards finished third and Biffle finished fourth in the Texas race. Expect Kenseth and Edwards to be contenders in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Brad Keselowski won his second career Sprint Cup series race at Kansas Speedway. Brad held off drivers who were fast like Dale Earnhardt Jr, Denny Hamlin, and Jeff Gordon. That blue deuce has been near the front of the pack lots for the final laps. Denny Hamlin won the most Sprint Cup series events last year in 2010, but it took him 16 races to win his first of the year in 2011. Hamlin tallied eight wins last season, so far this year his only win came at Michigan. That #11 team could be a factor if they make the Chase for the Sprint Cup, after all they almost won at Richmond and Kansas Speedway. It will be interesting to see how successful Denny will be in the final 18 races.

Kurt Busch displayed dominance and a flawless pit stradegy going on to easily win the race at Infineon. Jeff Gordon struggled all race long, but he would improve his car slowly throughout the race to finish second. If there were another ten laps Kurt Busch would have had the #24 car challenging him for the race lead. This would be marked as the first road course victory for Kurt in NASCAR competition. Carl Edwards finished third, Clint Bowyer finished fourth, and Marcos Ambrose finished in fifth. Both events at Daytona have ended with two first time winners! David Ragan won the Coke Zero 400 event. However unlike the incredible accomplishments Trevor Bayne accomplished with his win... it took David over 160 races to finally win in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series. Roush Racing teammate Matt Kenseth pushed Ragan's #6 UPS Ford to the finish line for the victory.

*Facts and Stats*

Marcos Ambrose has really shown us this year how impressive he can be on these oval circuits. He finished third at Dover, fourth at Las Vegas, and fifth at the road course Infineon. Not a bad first half for Marcos. It's strange to see Marcos racing well and Jeff Burton struggling worse than he ever has. Burton has no top 5 or top 10 finishes in 2011 so far. Burton must realize by now while he sits in the twenties in the standings that it's a little too late to attempt to squeeze into the Chase.

Dale Earnhardt Jr and Ryan Newman both started off 2011 displaying spectacular skill behind the wheel. Earnhardt Jr was sitting in the top five in the Standings for several weeks trying to remain consistent, and Newman earned three top 5 finishes in the first five events of the season. However both drivers slowly faded as the season continued. Now they find themselves 8th and 9th in the standings. Over the last 13 races Ryan Newman has earned only two top 5 finishes. Earnhardt Jr came so close to having a victory this season at Charlotte, but he ran out of fuel on the final turn of the final lap to surrender the lead to Kevin Harvick. Harvick would win his third race of the year.

Clint Bowyer remains winless in 2011. Which has surprised me and millions of fans around the world after seeing him have the potential to win every now and then. Clint finished fourth at Infineon, second at Talladega, and second at Texas. I predict he will end off 2011 with one solo win, but I will be shocked if he improves his consistency and makes the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Keep in mind Bowyer might win this upcoming weekend at Loudon, New Hampshire. He has won at Loudon two times, including last year's second of two races here at Loudon. That #33 Chevrolet just might be in victory lane this Sunday.

Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch each have ten top 5 finishes in the first half of the 2011 season. No other driver comes close to that number, in fact four drivers have six top 5 finishes this season. Edwards was the points leader until Kevin Harvick passed him after the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. Now at the halfway point Kyle Busch is the points leader and Carl Edwards sits second just four points behind Busch. Maybe Kyle's number of victories just eventually overtook Edwards for the points lead, despite both of their consistency. "Rowdy" Busch won at Bristol, Richmond, and last week's race at Kentucky. Carl Edwards has only one win and it came early in the season at Las Vegas. It will be interesting to see who continues to win and show consistency.

I talked about this towards the start of the season... Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin needed to start earning consistent finishes to get safely inside the top 10 in the standings. Now you will find Jeff Gordon 7th in the standings 26 points ahead of the driver 11th in the standings. Denny Hamlin sits 10th in the standings just two points ahead of the driver behind him... Tony Stewart. Denny doesn't have as many top 5 or top 10 finishes as Jeff Gordon does, so it's time for him to step it up a notch. After all there is only eight races until the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins!

Conclusion
I predict that Carl Edwards will win his second race this season before the Chase begins. If this does happen I feel like it will boost up Carl's confidence and allow him to make bold gambles to win more races. Whether this happens or not it will be either Edwards, Kyle Busch, or Harvick that wins the 2011 Sprint Cup Series Championship. Keep in mind Jeff Gordon or Kurt Busch could surprise the world by winning the Championship. It's absolutely still possible when you consider how strong both these teams have been performing over the last six races. If drivers like Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman or Greg Biffle make the Chase they will struggle compared to the other Chase contenders.

Thank you for reading, enjoy this Sunday's race!

Written by: Tyler McMurter

Rowdy in Kentucky

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series made it's way to the Kentucky Speedway for race 18 of the 2011 season, which means after this race the season is officially 50% in the history books. Kyle Busch would be on the pole for the event with Juan-Pablo Montoya on the outside of the front row. Older brother Kurt Busch lines up on the inside of row two... right behind Kyle.

Kyle Busch would fail to lead any of the first 31 laps after his brother Kurt passed Kyle and Montoya to assume the race lead on the opening lap. A caution on lap 31 is how Kurt Busch in that #22 car lost the lead. After the restart on lap 36 Kasey Kahne would lead one single lap before Rowdy Busch made the clean pass for the lead. After this short green flag run it was easy to notice that Montoya, Gordon, Burton, Bowyer, Hamlin, and Smith were struggling with the handling on their race cars. I guarantee they were ecstatic about the caution coming out so they could make the adjustments necessary to improve their cars.

Throughout the first half of the race it was David Reutimann who was making the most progress on track position. David started in the 17th position and found himself running in 4th place on lap 87 of 267. At this point Kasey Kahne and the Busch brothers have been in the top five positions all race long. Jimmie Johnson would once again crack the top 5 by passing Reutimann around lap 111. While these respectful drivers compete for respectful positions, Kyle Busch is increasing his race lead with every green flag lap. Experts like myself automatically know that nobody can beat that #18 Toyota, unless further handling adjustments are made to the rest of the drivers.

Long periods of time while under green-flag racing conditions at a 1.5 mile oval can cause large amounts of cars to be put one or more laps down. 4-time Champion Jeff Gordon was running in 23rd place on lap 107 when Kyle Busch put him a lap down. Jamie McMurray struggled all race long, he would fall a lap down to the leader on lap 114. After green flag pit stops (which began around lap 118) concluded, a couple more drivers like Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr found themselves a lap down as well. For a while it looked like a lot of drivers had a long race ahead of them.

The second caution of the day came out on lap 140. I was surprised to see both Busch brothers elect to take fuel only on their pit stops despite them running 1st and 2nd. I always thought that the tires were much more important than that. All of the drivers I named in the previous paragraph that went a lap down during green-flag racing took the "Wave Around" rule to get back on the lead lap. The "Wave Around" rule gives the drivers one lap down a choice... pit to get required service or elect not to pit to be placed back on the lead lap. Brad Keselowski and Tony Stewart both elected not to pit so they would lead the field to the green flag for the restart on lap 147. Although they don't have fresh tires Keselowski keeps the lead and Stewart only slips back to 3rd place.

Could you imagine if you were competing in the Sprint Cup Series, your in the race lead, but you're having major communication problems with your crew chief and spotter. While under caution on lap 152 NASCAR listened in on Brad Keselowski's radio communications. You can hear all three of them talking, but Brad cannot hear anything either of them says. If I was in this situation I would assume the spotter can still communicate with my crew chief. The next opportunity I have I would make a pit stop and trust him to notify my crew chief and my crew that i'm coming down pit road. While i'm on pit road I would let them know certain hand signals to be more accurate with adjustments. I would also have to watch the mirrors more often since I have nobody warning me of potential contact.

After a long race full of struggles for Jamie McMurray he brings out the fourth caution of the race on lap 200 with an engine failure. When this took place the field was in the middle of a green-flag pit stops sequence. David Ragan, Ryan Newman, Martin Truex Jr, and Jeff Gordon were the only four drivers on the lead lap that didn't pit before the incident occured. These drivers had to surrender the top four spots to pit for fuel and tires. Drivers like Reutimann, Edwards, Biffle, Ambrose, Harvick, Menard, Burton, Smith, Logano, Earnhardt Jr, Kahne, and Martin had made pit stops but were pinned a lap down from the caution. They would all take advantage of the "Wave Around" rule.

Just when you think it's all over there was still one final set of pit stops that these drivers had to complete. Once again a caution would interrupt the cycle of pit stops. Dale Earnhardt Jr would cut a tire down not even a complete lap after changing four tires during his pit stop. This happened on lap 254... 14 laps to go. This time it was Reutimann, Kyle Busch, Johnson, Keselowski, Kenseth, and Kurt Busch that were yet to pit, and over 13 drivers had to again take advantage of the "wave around" rule to once again be on the lead lap. This was certainly an event where nobody knew where their driver would finish on the "Results" paper.

In the end, Kyle Busch would hold off a hard-charging David Reutimann to win his 22nd career Sprint Cup series race. That #18 M&M's Toyota was the class of the competition in the Quaker State 400. He led 125 laps in the Quaker State 400, Keselowski led 79 laps. "Rowdy" Busch has passed Kevin Harvick as the new points leader and now sits four points ahead of Carl Edwards. David Reutimann (2nd) and Ryan Newman (4th) both earned their best finishes of 2011. After seeing Reutimann be so strong at Kentucky on Saturday night, it's surprising to know he only has two top 10 finishes in the 18 races completed this year.

Quaker State 400 Results:

1. Kyle Busch

2. David Reutimann

3. Jimmie Johnson

4. Ryan Newman

5. Carl Edwards

6. Matt Kenseth

7. Brad Keselowski

8. David Ragan

9. Kurt Busch
10. Jeff Gordon
12. Tony Stewart
13. Kasey Kahne
16. Kevin Harvick

Images from: http://www.nascar.com/news/110709/kybusch-win-kentucky/index.html
Written by: Tyler McMurter