Keselowski wins at Bristol:#2-Brad Keselowski won the Food City 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway for his 1st win of the year, his 2nd win in a row at Bristol and 5th win of his career. Keselowski led the most laps with 215. It is the 10th win at Bristol for Penske Racing, all in the #2 car (7 by Rusty Wallace, 1 by Kurt Busch, 2 by Keselowski).
#17-Kenseth finished 2nd followed by #56-Truex Jr., #15-Bowyer, #55-Vickers [in his first start of the season, also led 125 laps], #31-Burton, #1-McMurray, #42-Montoya, #48-Johnson and #27-Menard. The pole sitter, #16-Billfe, led 41 laps and finished 13th.
Drivers caught up in wrecks included #5-Kahne, #99-Edwards, #18-Busch, #9-Ambrose and #24-Gordon, finished deep in the final results.
THere have been four different race winners in the first four races, four different pole sitters [and none have won] and a different manufacurer win in each of the first four races.
There were 5 cautions for 49 yellow flag laps. There were 13 lead changes among 7 drivers. The estimated attendence was only 102,000, down from 120,000 in 2011.
See race results, awards, money won, laps led, cautions and more on the Bristol Race Results page (pdf).(3-18-2012)
Race Fast Facts – Bristol:
#2-Brad Keselowski won the 52nd Annual Food City 500, his fifth victory in 93 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in 2012.
This is his second consecutive victory and second top-10 finish in five races at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Keselowski led a race-high 232 laps, a career high. His previous single-race high was 89 in his win at Bristol on Aug. 27, 2011.
Four different manufacturers (Ford, Toyota, Chevrolet, Dodge) won the first four races.
#17-Matt Kenseth (second) posted his 17th top-10 finish in 25 races at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is his second top-10 finish in 2012.
#56-Martin Truex Jr. (third) posted his second top-10 finish in 13 races at Bristol Motor Speedway.(NASCAR Statistics)(3-18-2012)
Bristol Notes-n-Nuggets:
” Brad Keselowski claimed his fifth career Cup Series victory in his 93rd start.
” Brad Keselowski’s win finished the third set of back-to-back Bristol victories in six of the past seven races – Kyle Busch won both in 2009, then 8/2010 and 3/11, and Keselowski won 8/11 and 3/12).
” This was the second top-five of the season for Brad Keselowski. He was fifth at Phoenix.
” Brad Keselowski led four times for 231 laps, including the final 111.
” It was the 72nd Cup victory for Penske Racing, which became the fourth team to win in four races in 2012.
” Matt Kenseth (second) posted his sixth consecutive top-10 finish at Bristol and is one of two drivers to lead in all four races in 2012.
” Martin Truex Jr. (third) scored his second top-10 finish of 2012. In 13 Bristol starts, Truex has just two top-10s; both have come in the past two races.
” Clint Bowyer (fourth) posted his best finish of 2012 and his second top-10 of the year (sixth at Las Vegas).
” Brian Vickers (fifth) earned his first career Bristol top-10 (15 starts) in his first race of 2012.
” Michael Waltrip Racing had three cars in the top five: Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer and Brian Vickers.
” Teammates Jamie McMurray (seventh) and Juan Montoya (eighth) scored their best finishes of the season.
” Jimmie Johnson (ninth) had his third consecutive top-10 finish since ending up 42nd at Daytona.
” Paul Menard (10th) posted his third top-10 in four races in 2012.
” Kevin Harvick (11th) was involved in the first caution but pitted eight times to repair the damage and rallied back to nearly enter the top 10.(Racing Recall/nascar.com)(3-18-2012)
NASCAR says Kenseth legally beat Keselowski to line on Bristol restart: Generally, there are two cardinal rules when it comes to NASCAR’s double-file restarts: don’t change lanes before you cross the start/finish line and if you’re in second, don’t beat the leader to the start/finish line. With 154 laps to go in Sunday’s Food City 500, #17-Matt Kenseth restarted second. The leader, #2-Brad Keselowski, was next to him on the inside line. It was the first time the leader had taken the inside line all day. Kenseth clearly beat Keselowski to the start/finish line as you can see in the video above, and the two entered turn one side-by-side before Kenseth prevailed and cleared Keselowski a few laps later. Kenseth never conceded the position to Keselowski, nor was he black-flagged by NASCAR. Why? Because according to NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp, race officials deemed that Keselowski hadn’t mashed the gas in the designated restart zone before the start/finish line, allowing the second-place driver – Kenseth – the right of way to accelerate on his own.(Yahoo Sports)(3-19-2012)
Dale Jr. takes responsibilty for wreck with Jeff Gordon: #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. talks about his incident with teammate #24-Jeff Gordon at Birstol Motor Speedway, from a Chevy Racing post race transcipt in part: Q: YOU SAID ON YOUR RADIO THAT YOU FELT RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT HAPPENED WITH JEFF GORDON BLOWING A TIRE. HE SAID IT WAS ONE OF THOSE RACING THINGS: Earmhardt Jr.: “I absolutely feel responsible. I got into his door a little bit. We were racing and having a good time, to be honest with you. I put the pipes up against the left rear tire of his car, and knocked the side wall out of it. I hate…I feel bad about that. I’m going to have to do some damage control this week. I know Jeff understands what was going on out there, but his boys work real hard on their car, and they had a good run going. They had a potential win, or good finish going too; and they deserve it. I hate what happened to Jeff (Gordon). We were racing really hard. It was fun. If there is a track where you can lean on each other a little bit then this ought to be the place. We just barely rubbed down the back straight-a-way.” Q: I HEARD YOU SAY (ON THE RADIO) ‘I DIDN’T GET INTO HIM MUCH’: Earmhardt Jr.:“Well you showed it on TV. I’m sure some people might have thought that was a hard hit. That to me was good hard racing. The (tail) pipes on my car cut the left-rear tire down. I feel terrible about that happening to my teammate. Those guys work really hard and they were running good and happy with their car I’m sure. But, there are four of us out there we are bound to race each other and run into each other every once in a while. Otherwise I’m just frustrated about the finish, but we did run good. We run better than we run here last year. We run really good pretty much everywhere except for Phoenix. Things are looking up for our team.” Q: HOW MUCH REPAIR WORK ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE TO DO WITH JEFF GORDON? Earmhardt Jr.: “I’ll just have to sit down and talk to him and see where he’s at. I’ve got to own up to my responsibility in the situation, which I will, and go from there.”
After running near the front of the field the majority of the race, #88-Dale Earnhardt, Jr., had to settle for the 15th finishing position when a late-race pit road speeding penalty put him deep in the running order.(Chevy Racing)(3-19-2012)
Irwin Tools Bristol night race pre-sale tickets now available: Fans at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend may purchase IRWIN Tools Night Race tickets during an exclusive pre-sale event. Guests with tickets to today’s Ford Fan Friday, Saturday’s Ford EcoBoost 300/Widow Wax 125 or Sunday’s Food City 500 can purchase 2012 IRWIN Tools Night Race tickets before they go on sale to the general public March 18 at 2 pm/et. The pre-sale tickets are available at any ticket booth or via telephone at 423-BRISTOL (274-4785). An August race weekend package, which includes the IRWIN Tools Night Race, as well as the Food City 250 Nationwide Series race, is available for $99. IRWIN Tools Night Race Tickets start at $75, Food City 250 pricing begins at $45 and the Camping World Truck Series race tickets are $30. Season tickets are still available through this weekend for the best savings of 25% off.(BMS)(3-18-2012)
Reserved Camping for The Glen is Sold Out but: Fans of Watkins Glen International find that camping at the premier road course is an indescribable experience and as a result it is always in demand. For the past few years the popularity of spending NASCAR Weekend at The Glen on track has been evident as the GEICO Caveman reserved campground routinely sells out early in the year. As of Tuesday, fans seeking a GEICO Caveman reserved camping spot need to expand their search to other locations, as it is SOLD OUT. Family Camping, located just outside the East Tunnel, remains an excellent option. Fans who elect to camp there will experience stricter enforcement of the standard quiet hours (11 p.m. – 6 a.m.) and increased patrols by WGI staff and security. With close to 2,000 acres of land, The Glen offers a variety of camping options throughout race weekends, including the GEICO Caveman Unreserved Campground located along The Boot through Gate 7 and along the backstretch in Gate 1. Space is still available in both Gate 1 and Gate 7 areas. Tickets and camping for the 2012 race season at Watkins Glen International are on sale now! Fans may purchase their tickets and camping by contacting the WGI ticket office at 866.461.RACE(7223) or by logging on to the official website, www.TheGlen.com.(WGI)(3-18-2012)
Richmond names fan advisory board: Last season, Richmond International Raceway assembled its inaugural Fan Advisory Board, compiled of 21 guests who expressed an interest in representing the best fans in all of motorsports. After earning their rookie stripe in the 2011 season, the Fan Advisory Board is back in 2012 for its first full season to assist Richmond International Raceway officials by providing input, advice and feedback on a wide range of topics. With conference calls and meetings throughout the year, the Fan Advisory Board serves as a sounding board for RIR President Dennis Bickmeier. But the communication goes both ways, as the fans are the eyes and ears, relaying information to further enhance Richmond International Raceway’s operations. Fan Advisory Board members will be active throughout race weekends at RIR, talking with fellow fans and taking notes about their experience to relay back to track officials. Each member accepted their role because they have a passion for Richmond International Raceway a place they call home twice a year on NASCAR weekends. The Fan Advisory Board members are: Joshua Grim, John Moon, Robert Rightmyer, Larry Curtis, Maryellen Davison, Lee Allan, Jeff Crowder, Lee-An Felkins, Gerry Allen, Amy Sylvia, Robert Ellis, Kevin Van Asdalan, Kamele Schwab, Frank Decker, Kendall Humphries, Brian Johnson, Joy Metzger, Steven Wilson and Vishal Aswani. Members will serve at least two full seasons, with new applications accepted next year for those whose term is complete. For tickets and information, click here or call 866-455-7223.(RIR)(3-18-2012)
