March 18, 2007
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- Montoya allowed to test at Darlington Tire test: As if the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. needed any more headaches after 39 spins and accidents last week at Las Vegas, the company got even more criticism this week when Juan Pablo Montoya was allowed to do a tire test at the Darlington Raceway. Goodyear routinely conducts tire tests. It randomly invites drivers, but Montoya was allowed to drive although he wasn’t on Goodyear’s list. The test at Darlington was important because that race will feature the new Car of Tomorrow. Goodyear invited #24-Jeff Gordon, #22-Dave Blaney, #41-Reed Sorenson and #16-Greg Biffle, but Montoya showed up and was allowed to drive Sorenson’s car. Goodyear said Montoya had NASCAR’s blessing. NASCAR vice president Jim Hunter said NASCAR allowed Montoya, a rookie, to drive because he’s never been at Darlington. Montoya’s appearance at Darlington may prove to be a one-time exception. NASCAR said invited drivers are the only people who will be allowed to test in the future.(Savannah Morning News)(3-18-2007)
- Sunoco still not happy: Sunoco is still upset about Shell’s move into this sport (in which Sunoco is paying NASCAR for “official fuel” sponsorship rights) and is considering legal action against Shell to force it to take down all those Kevin Harvick banners at its 15,000 service stations.(Winston Salem Journal), Pennzoil/Shell sponsor’s Harvick’s #29 Richard Childress Chevy.(3-18-2007)
- Johnson wins at Atlanta: #48-Jimmie Johnson won the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway for his 2nd win of the 2007 season, 25th career win and 2nd in a row. The win was also the 151st for Hendrick Motorsports. #20-Stewart finished 2nd, followed by #17-Kenseth, #31-Burton, #42-Montoya, #07-Bowyer, #99-Edwards, #1-Truex Jr., #41-Sorenson and #01-Martin. Pole sitter #12-Newman, after going to the rear at the start of the race, never ran up front and finished 23rd, down 1 lap. #8-Earnhardt Jr finished 14th; #9-Kahne crashed late in the race and finished 39th and is now 36th in drivers points. #01-Martin has an 8 point lead over #24-Jeff Gordon after 4 races. There were 6 cautions for 27 laps and 13 drivers lead the race with 31 lead changes.
Race Results on my Atlanta Race Results/Awards Page.
Points Standings on my Drivers/Owners Points after Atlanta page
Race Rundown: see my Atlanta Race Info/Rundown Page for my race rundown page, laps led, top 10, race notes, lucky dogs and more.(3-18-2007)
- Unofficial Driver Points Top-12 Standing after Atlanta [4 of 36 races]:
#01-Mark Martin 629
#24-Jeff Gordon 621 -8
#31-Jeff Burton 618 -11
#48-Jimmie Johnson 601 -28
#17-Matt Kenseth 567 -62
#20-Tony Stewart 507 -122
#29-Kevin Harvick 482 -147
#11-Denny Hamlin 480 -149
#07-Clint Bowyer 471 -158
#40-David Stremme 463 -166
#18-J.J. Yeley 462 -167
some noteables:
#8-Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 26th
#9-Kasey Kahne is 36th
For drivers/owners points, see my Jayski’s Drivers/Owners Points Page.(3-18-2007)
- Daytona Penalty Report:
Car#, Penalty, Reason, Issued
1 #21 PT Excessive Speed-Entering pits 131
2 #96 PT Excessive Speed-Entering pits 193
3 #44 PT Excessive speed – Exiting pits 193
4 #44 TE Excessive Speed-Entering pits 197
5 #2 TE Excessive speed – Exiting pits 224
6 #21 MCI Pitting before Pit Road is Open 224
7 #18 TE Lug nut(s) not installed 225
8 #9 TE Pitting before Pit Road is Open 230
9 #00 TE Pitting before Pit Road is Open 230
10 #12 TE Pitting before Pit Road is Open 231
11 #14 TE Pitting before Pit Road is Open 231
12 #24 TE Excessive speed – Exiting pits 233
13 #12 TE Excessive Speed-Entering pits 233
PT – Pass through
TE – Tail end of the longest line
SG – Stop and Go
OL – One lap
ND – NASCAR discretion
MCI – Must come into pits
(Provided by NASCAR Statistics)(3-18-2007)
- Rumblings – Atlanta Race Notes: Jimmie Johnson passed Tony Stewart (and crowded him a bit) with three to go today at Atlanta Motor Speedway and went on to win the Kobalt Tools 500. Coming from third on the final restart with 11 laps remaining, Johnson captured his second win in a row, his 2nd at Atlanta, and the 25th Nextel Cup victory of his career (he’s now tied with Jim Paschal & Joe Weathersley for 23rd on the all-time win list). This was win #151 for Hendrick Motorsports, it was their 9th at Atlanta, and it was worth $233,261 from the over $4.9M in posted awards.
Juan Pablo Montoya (5th) had his career-best finish today. His previous best was 19th at Daytona last month.
Reed Sorenson (9th) had his best finish since he was 8th at Michigan last August.
Mike Bliss (21st) had his best finish since he was 12th at Homestead in November of 2005 (only seven races).
STREAKIN….Jimmie Johnson has 9 Top-10’s in the last 10 races.
Mark Martin has 5 Top-10’s in the last 6 races. Matt Kenseth has 4 Top-10’s in the last 5 races.
This Week’s Elevator….UP: Operator of the Week is Jeff Burton (+28 ), followed by Jamie McMurray (+22). DOWN: The Big Dropper was Scott Riggs (-33), followed by Kasey Kahne (-27), Kyle Busch (-24), and Ryan Newman (-22). A relatively quiet “Shaft” today.
Next week will be crucial as far as the Top-35 in Owner Points (and the qualifying exemption it carries with it) is concerned. No team from 29th on back can breathe easy right now, and we’ve got some well-funded teams on the outside looking in at the present. Paul Menard (#15) is 36th on the list, just 9 points back….and teams like Kasey Kahne’s, the Wood Brothers, Dave Blaney’s, Brian Vickers’, and Scott Riggs’ need to run good seven days hence. The best move forward today came from Clint Bowyer (17th to 9th), while Greg Biffle (15th to 26th) fell the most spots.(Stock Car Fans)(3-18-2007)
- Race Notes – Atlanta:
.. Jimmie Johnson won the Kobalt Tools 500, his 25th victory in 187 Nextel Cup Series races.
.. This is his second victory and third top-10 finish in 2007 – all top-threes and all in the past three races.
.. This is his second victory and eighth top-10 finish in 12 races at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
.. Tony Stewart finished second as Johnson and Stewart reversed their finishes at Atlanta last fall. Stewart has posted 11 top-10 finishes in 17 races at Atlanta, all in the past 12 races here.
.. Matt Kenseth finished third, this third top-five finish in his last four races at Atlanta.
.. Brian Vickers led laps 89 through 91, the first laps led by a Toyota in a Nextel Cup Series race.(NASCAR Statistics)(3-18-2007)
- Rex White to drive at Atlanta and a Book: Rex White is driving a car in NASCAR’s premier series once more. Before the start of today’s Kobalt Tools 500 Nextel Cup race, White will drive a 1962 Chevy Impala race car identical to the one he drove to victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway that year. The 1960 NASCAR Grand National champion’s laps kick off the return of the model, this time as the Impala SS, in next weekend’s car of tomorrow race at Bristol Motor Speedway.(SceneDaily.com).
BOOK: also the follow-up book to “Gold Thunder” will be hitting the book stores and news stands in May 2007. The new book, “All Around the Track: Oral Histories of Drivers, Mechanics, Officials, Owners, Journalists and Others in Motorsports Past and Present” written by Anne B. Jones and Rex White with a foreword by Ed Clark. More info on the book on my Bookstore page.(3-18-2007)
- Ricky Carmichael to make stock car debut Saturday MORE:Supercross legend, Ricky Carmichael, is scheduled to make his first start as a stock car professional at Columbia Motorsports Park [not North Florida Speedway] in Lake City, FL. Mark Martin plans to skip the Nextel Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway to act as Carmichael’s crew chief. The link between Martin and Carmichael is Bobby Ginn, who calls Palm Coast home. Carmichael was signed by Ginn to a driver development deal. Martin left Roush Fenway Racing to drive a Chevrolet for Ginn in Cup this season.(source: Daytona Beach News Journal)
AND/MORE How do you say goodbye to an outgoing champion? Ricky Carmichael found out Saturday night when a rowdy crowd cheered his every move on the tight and twisting Supercross course carved into the turf of the Citrus Bowl. There was a video presentation, fire, lights, ear-blistering music and bucket loads of adulation for the Panhandle rider who turned pro at age 16. “It’s been an amazing ride,” he told the motorcycle mob in pre-race ceremonies. Then he played to the crowd. “I’m glad to finish my career, right here, in Florida.” Cheers of thunder. After a runner-up finish to his young nemesis James Stewart last weekend at Daytona International Speedway, the 27-year-old Carmichael ended his 10-year Supercross with the same result, a second place after a spirited battle with the sport’s next great star. Carmichael showed his skill behind the wheel Friday evening when he zoomed from Orlando back home to Tallahassee in 3 1/2 hours. Why the rush? His wife Ursula went into labor and gave birth to twins, Kadin and Elise, around 3:30 Saturday morning. Carmichael made it back in time. The scene will be much different next Saturday night when Carmichael makes his professional stock car debut when he races a Late Model at Columbia Motorsports Park [not North Florida Speedway] in Lake City, FL. Ginn Racing is prepping Carmichael for a NASCAR career, and no offense to NFS, but he’s beginning the journey on one of racing’s lowest rungs. Carmichael’s debut in the racing shadows — far, far away from the media’s glare — was Mark Martin’s call. Martin will skip the Nextel Cup race at Bristol to act as Carmichael’s crew chief. “Mark told me, ‘I don’t want to throw you in a hornet’s nest right off the bat,’ ” Carmichael said.(Daytona Beach News Journal)(3-18-2007)
- MWR hires Finley from BDR: Sitting in his motorcoach at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday Michael Waltrip could hear the roar of Nextel Cup cars participating in the first practice. “It’s just really tough … to hear those cars roll off pit road and know they were getting ready to win this Atlanta race [Sunday] and me not be a part of it,” said Waltrip, who failed to qualify for his third straight Nextel Cup event Friday. “It’s sad.” But Waltrip wasn’t sleeping in on this unusually cool morning. He was meeting with Toyota Racing Development officials to find a way to integrate their people and resources more into his struggling organization. He hopes to have that plan in place this week and present it to restless sponsors such as NAPA — his own car’s sponsor — that haven’t gotten the race-day exposure it paid for. “They gave us credibility and wind tunnel time and technical support,” Waltrip said of Toyota. “Now we’re stepping back and saying we need some help to implement the assets you’re bringing to our team. We don’t think we’re doing a good job of implementing and taking advantage of all the wonderful technological help [they] can offer us. They’re reassessing how that will go forward.” Waltrip would like to see a few key engineers move from TRD’s Concord, N.C., office to his new shop in Cornelius, NC. Waltrip isn’t standing still. He hired Derrick Finley, who had been the crew chief for #36-Jeremy Mayfield at Bill Davis Racing, to serve as project manager and part-time crew chief while the suspended David Hyder sits at home [Jayski Note: Hyder was reported last week to be back at the shop, but cannot go to the track].(in part from: ESPN.com)(3-18-2007)
- Yates still sees challenges in Unleaded Fuel usage: Doug Yates [#38, #88 Roberts Yates Racing Fords] has had a chance to pull apart and examine the engines from the first two races in the unleaded era, and he sees some challenges ahead. In fact, Yates said, his engines came within, say, 10 laps of wholesale failure in unleaded’s debut at California. “We came back from Fontana and every engine we had was almost broken,” said Yates, chief of Roush-Yates Engines, which produces all motors for Ford’s NASCAR fleet. “Some were broken and just didn’t fail on the track. The 21 car [Ken Schrader/Wood Brothers] broke. #99-Carl Edwards’s engine was broken and he didn’t even know it. It must have broken coming to the checkered flag or on the way to the garage. “I’ve talked to the other engine builders in the garage, and they say this is a way bigger challenge than we all thought it was going to be.” NASCAR has used unleaded gas in the Craftsman Truck and Busch Series for a few years [actually started in 2006]. It decreed last year that unleaded would become the mandate beginning at California this year. The California and Las Vegas races were the laboratories. Yates said he saw few problems with valves and valve seats, which had been thought to be most vulnerable with the new fuel. Lead has lubricating properties, and unleaded fuel deprives the engine of much of that inherent lubricity. But it goes much deeper than that. “What people don’t understand is anything you change in these engines is a big deal,” Yates explained. “I’m getting tired of hearing people on TV saying, ‘Oh, it’s just unleaded fuel.’ It’s a very hard change for the engine guys. The initial thing was valves and valve seats; that continues to be a problem. But what people don’t understand is they reduced the octane from 112 to 98. Whenever you reduce octane, the fuel burns faster, so now you’re microwelding rings, breaking pistons, having [fuel] distribution issues. It used to be when you lowered the octane, you lowered the compression. Well, obviously in racing, you’re not going to lower the compression, so the tuning of the engine is probably the toughest thing.” Doug, son of legendary team owner Robert Yates, studied engineering at North Carolina State, and he admits the change to unleaded has been a major mental puzzle. “I should have gone for my master’s,” he said with a smile.(source: Ford Racing site)(3-18-2007)
- Petty Driving Experience teams up with Clemson for Safe Driving Program: Richard Petty Driving Experience (RPDE), in partnership with Clemson University’s Automotive Safety Research Institute (ASRI) announced the launch of its national Safe Driving Program. The program is intended to prevent or reduce highway crashes by high-risk adolescent and young adult participants by measurably improving driver skills, attitudes, knowledge and behavior. The research-based Safe Driving Program, initially designed for high-risk drivers aged 16 to 25, will teach safe driving skills and safety education to participants through a classroom setting and on-track experiences by placing students in hazardous driving situations in a controlled and safe environment. Professional driving instructors will coach the students through corrective responses during each stage of the safe driving modules. RPDE and Clemson will develop a unique safe driving program based on best practices for both classroom instruction and on-track laboratory experiences targeting the acquisition of safe driving skills, knowledge, attitudes and behaviors. Kyle Petty, a long-time advocate of driver safety for young adults, will serve as the spokesman for this initiative, and Kim Alexander, executive director of ASRI, will lead the research team and serve as Clemson’s spokesperson. The safe driving programs, which start at $329 per person, will be held in Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Los Angeles and Orlando initially and are expected to expand to more markets in the future. Young drivers can reserve their place in the Safe Driving Program by calling 1-800-BE-PETTY. For more information, call 1-800-BE-PETTY or visit www.1800bepetty.com. For more information on the Richard Petty Driving Experience/Clemson University Automotive Safety Research Institute collaboration, please visit clemson.edu/autoresearch/ASRI.(PR)(3-18-2007)
- Sad News – Comerford: Thomas F. Comerford, Sr., 70 of Fort Lauderdale, Fl. formerly of Neptune, NJ, suddenly passed away on Thursday, March 15, 2007. Comerford was a modified race car driver for many years retiring from driving in 1987. He was an avid race fan and loved boating. Comerford enjoyed of his retirement in Fort Lauderdale, entertaining family and friends. Surviving is his loving wife, Laraine; three sons, Thomas Comerford Jr., Robert and his wife Diana Comerford and Keith and his wife Kimberlee Robinson; three daughters, Carolyn and her husband Leonard Valente, Shari and her husband Gil Steever, Kelly and her husband Michael Matthews; eleven grandchildren; Danielle, Dylan, Tiffany, Dalton, Chelsea, Justin, Morgan, Natalie, Rita, Bailee and Chase; and a brother Ronnie and his wife Louanne Comerford; a sister-in-law Kim Wooten, and several cousins, nieces, and nephews. Visitation will take place at the John E. Daly Funeral Home, 85 Riverside Avenue, Red Bank, NJ, 07701 on Monday, March 19, from 2-4 and 7-9. A Mass of Christian Burial will begin on Tuesday at 9:00 am at St. James RC Church in Red Bank, NJ. Internment will be private.(3-18-2007)
- Tires to be watched at Atlanta: The tire story began to develop in the Craftsman Truck race Friday night, when many tires showed signs of blistering and chunking. The problem, if anything, became more pronounced during the Busch race, which puzzled some of the veterans. It rained here [Atlanta Motor Speedway] into Friday afternoon, leaving a green track. Normally, however, a race and a few practice sessions lay rubber in the track, making the asphalt more accommodating to the tires. Not so Saturday, some said. “We’d wear the right rears to the cords, and 10 laps at the end of the race—the tire wear kept getting worse as the race went on, which is unusual because it usually gets better,” #17-Matt Kenseth said.” Equally odd was that Goodyear beefed up the right-side tires in Trucks and Busch. It also will run a different, presumably harder, set on the Cup side Sunday. NASCAR anticipated the trouble, allowing Busch teams to purchase an extra, seventh set of tires and ordering a caution around lap 35 so teams could have a look. Throughout the race, however, teams pulled off tires worn to the nylon, especially on the outside shoulders. Cup teams, which made final practice before the Busch race, made long runs and noticed serious wear as well. “I’m nervous about tomorrow,” #99-Carl Edwards said. “Our tires weren’t holding up as well on the Cup car as they were on the Busch car today.” Goodyear officials, who took much criticism for their Flintstone [Hard Tires….like rock] tires last week at Las Vegas, were ready with a defense Saturday, noting that Truck and Busch teams lost practice time to the rain Friday. “They has limited practice time, and a few didn’t get dialed in,” Goodyear rep Carole Swartz said after consulting with company engineers. “[Plus] the track was greener up high, and if they got high on the race track, the wear got higher.” It’s likely NASCAR will order some kind of stop for tire examination early in Sunday’s race.(source: Ford Racing)(3-18-2007)
- Officials check trucks at Atlanta: UPDATE: Also Rick Crawford’s #14: NASCAR officials tested the horsepower of five Craftsman Truck Series entries following the American Commercial Lines 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway Friday night. Brendan Gaughan’s #77-South Point Racing Chevy, Ken Schrader’s #18-Bobby Hamilton Racing Dodge, Todd Bodine’s #30-Germain Racing Toyota, Matt Crafton’s #88-ThorSport Racing Chevy and #13-Willie Allen’s ThorSport Racing Chevy were tested on the chassis dyno machine in the garage immediately after the race.(Scene Daily)(3-18-2007)
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