April 12, 2014
- Harvick wins at Darlington: #4-Kevin Harvick won the Bojangles’ Southern 500 Sprint Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway for his 2nd win of 2014 and his 25th career win. Harvick is the first driver in 2014 to win two races. The race had two -green-white-checked attempts, running 7 extra laps. Harvick led the most laps with 238 of 374. Harvick is the first driver to win at Darlington from the pole since Dale Jarrett did it in March 1997 [400 miles] and the first driver to win the Southern 500 from the pole since Dale Earnhardt won in September 1990. Harvick has now won a Southern 500, Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 and Coca-Cola 600.
#88-Earnhardt Jr. finished 2nd followed by #48-Johnson, #20-Kenseth, #16-Biffle, #18-Busch, #24-Gordon, #42-Larson, #14-Stewart and #31-Newman.
#42-Lason was the rookie of the race, finishing 8th.
#24-Gordon, who came into the race as the points leader finished 7th and holds on to the points lead by 1 point over #20-Kenseth. #4-Harivick leads the Chase Seeding with two wins followed by #99-Edwards, who has a win and is 3rd in points.
There were 22 lead changes among 12 drivers and there were 11 cautions for 50 yellow flag laps.
The average speed was 131.211 mph.
See unofficial race results, awards, money won, laps led, cautions and more on the Unofficial Darlington Race Results page (pdf) and check out the Darlington Penalty Report (pdf).
(4-12-2014) - Race Fast Facts – Darlington Raceway:
#4-Kevin Harvick won the 65th Annual Bojangles’ Southern 500, his 25th victory in 474 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his second victory and third top-10 finish in 2014.
This is his first victory and seventh top-10 finish in 18 races at Darlington Raceway.
Harvick becomes the first driver to win from the pole at Darlington Raceway (not the Southern 500) since Dale Jarrett in 1997.
With two wins, Harvick is now guaranteed to be among the top 15 winners – virtually guaranteeing a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. (second) posted his ninth top-10 finish in 20 races at Darlington Raceway. It is his fifth top-10 finish in 2014.
Earnhardt’s runner-up finish is his career-best at Darlington Raceway. His previous best was fourth (March 17, 2002 and May 10, 2008)
#48-Jimmie Johnson (third) posted his 12th top-10 finish in 16 races at Darlington Raceway.
#42-Kyle Larson (eighth) was the highest finishing rookie.
#24-Jeff Gordon leads the point standings by 1 points over #20-Matt Kenseth.(NASCAR Integrated Sports Marketing)(4-12-2014) - 2014 Sprint Cup Driver Chase Championship Points Standings:
[after Darlington, race 8 of 36]
1) #24-Jeff Gordon, 297
2) #20-Matt Kenseth, 296, -1
3) #99-Carl Edwards [1 win], 278, -19
4) #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. [1 win], 271, -26
5) #48-Jimmie Johnson, 270, -27
6) #18-Kyle Busch [1 win], 269, -28
7) #2-Brad Keselowski [1 win], 246, -51
8) #22-Joey Logano [1 win], 245, -52
9) #31-Ryan Newman, 236, -61
10) #3-Austin Dillon, 235, -62
Other drivers with at least one win, should make the Chase:
22) #4-Kevin Harvick [2 wins], 186, -111
26) #41-Kurt Busch [1 win], 164, -133
See OFFICIAL race results & points standings on the Official Darlington Race & Points Report (pdf).(4-12-2014) - Current 2014 Sprint Cup Driver Chase Seedings:
[after Darlington, race 8 of 36 if Chase seeding started after this race]
1) #4-Kevin Harvick, 2 wins, 22nd in points
2) #99-Carl Edwards, 1 win, 3rd in points
3) #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr., 1 win, 4th
4) #18-Kyle Busch, 1 win, 6th
5) #2-Brad Keselowski, 1 win, 7th
6) #22-Joey Logano, 1 win, 8th
7) #41-Kurt Busch, 1 win, 26th
(no wins, in by points)
8) #24-Jeff Gordon, 1st
9) #20-Matt Kenseth, 2nd
10) #48-Jimmie Johnson, 5th
11) ##31-Ryan Newman, 9th
12) #3-Austin Dillon, 10th
13) #16-Greg Biffle, 11th
14) ##14-Stewart, 12th
15) #55-Brian Vickers, 13th
16) #42-Kyle Larson, 14th
(4-12-2014) - Darlington Sunoco Rookie of the Year Race Results & Points:
#42-Larson, finished 8th, 14 rookie points
#3-Dillon, 11th, 10
#51-Allgaier, 23rd, 9
#23-Bowman, 29th, 8
#30-Kligerman, 30th, 7
#26-Whitt, 38th, 6
#83-Truex, 40th, 5
#7-Annett, 42nd, 4
(4-12-2014) - Sad News – “Captain” Herb Emory: Longtime WSB Radio and Channel 2 Action News traffic reporter, “Captain” Herb Emory, passed away Saturday. According to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Emory stopped to help at a car accident on South Burnt Hickory Road when he suddenly fell ill. He was transported to WellStar Douglas Hospital where he later died. Emory had been with WSB Radio and Channel 2 Action News since 1991. Emory has served as an Atlanta traffic reporter since 1971. Emory watched over the interstates during the week and hosted special traffic and NASCAR broadcast programs with his wife, Karen Emory. He was inducted into the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame in 2008 and received the inaugural Excellence in Motorsports Journalism Award in 2012. Emory’s father was a volunteer pit crew member for Ralph Earnhardt, Dale Sr.’s dad, in the 1960s.(wsbradio.com)(4-12-2014)
- Sad News – Billy Standridge: former NASCAR driver Billy Standridge passed away of cancer at 1:30am/et on Saturday, April 12, 2014. Standridge made 23 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts from 1993-1999 with a best finish of 14th in the 1995 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. For services and visitation info or leave a comment at the blog set up by Billy’s family, go to: Billy’s Battle, a site for posting and sharing information for Billy Standridge.
Jayski.com was the listed sponsor of the #47 Ford at Talladega in October 1997. I made a page back in 1997 with some notes and images of the #47 Jayski.com Ford at Jayski’s Talladega Experience page.
Three cars entered by the JD Motorsports with Gary Keller team in Friday’s VFW Sport Clips Help A Hero 200 Nationwide Series race at Darlington Raceway carried decals honoring Billy Standridge. Standridge also raced in the Nationwide Series from 1986 to 1993. JD Motorsports owner Johnny Davis formerly worked for Standridge as a crew chief, engine builder, truck driver and all-around mechanic. The Standridge decal was carried on the C post of JDM Chevrolet’s driven by #01-Landon Cassill who finished 12th, #4-Jeffrey Earnhardt (20th) and #87-Kevin Lepage (19th) at Darlington and will run in other races this year.(4-12-2014) - Kyle Petty says The King adjusting to life alone: Richard Petty is spending his weekends at home mourning the death of his wife instead of his familiar spot at the racetrack. Lynda Petty died last month after battling cancer for several years. She was 72. “He’s doing pretty good, he’s used to going to the racetracks and being at the racetracks alone, but he’s not used to being at home and being alone,” said his son, NASCAR announcer Kyle Petty. “So I’ve stayed with him some, and my sisters have stayed some. It’s just going to take time. They were together 57 years and even though he spent 50 of those 57 years on the road, according to him, at race tracks, it’s been a lot harder and a lot tougher (than he thought).” Kyle Petty said his mother’s death has been tough on the family. “My mother had been really sick for 4½, almost five years, so she fought pretty hard,” he said Friday at the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race “He’s doing pretty good.” Kyle Petty won the pole for the celebrity race in Long Beach. He will start about 40 seconds behind the rest of the field in Saturday’s race because he’s a professional, even though he has been retired since 2008.(Associated Press)(4-12-2014)
- Ragan and CSX Go Green at Darlington: David Ragan, driver of the #34 CSX “Play It Safe” Ford, comments on CSX’s “green” efforts and racing at Darlington Raceway: “We’re happy to have CSX back on our Ford Fusion at Darlington this week. They’re embracing the NASCAR Green program. We’re going to be out and about on Friday morning handing out recycle bags and and encouraging fans to take part in green initiatives in their communities. CSX already had an environmental program in place where they pledged to plant one tree for every mile of railroad track they had, and they actually surpassed their goal, which is impressive. Now we’re encouraging our fans to follow their lead and plant some trees, too, by donating dollars to plant trees at NASCAR.com/Green. I think Darlington is one of the tougher racetracks for sure. Five hundred miles at Darlington, for me, seems like forever. Your Bristol races are long, your Martinsville races are long, the Coke 600 is a long race, but for me Darlington is the longest night of the year. You are on the verge of wrecking your car every lap it seems like. And it’s warm and humid down in South Carolina. So, moving the race up a couple weeks like they did this year might help make it a little cooler for the fans and for the drivers. But mentally it’s still going to be tough. But, it’s a great racetrack with a lot of history and we look forward to it every year.”(Front Row Motorsports), see images of the scheme on the #34 Team Schemes page.(4-12-2014)
- Larson & Dillon discuss practice incidents: from a Team Chevy transcript after both rookies #3-Austin Dillon & #42-Kyle Larson hit the Darlington Raceway wall and gained a Darlington Stripe. Larson’s car was damage so bad that the team pulled out the backup car. Comments from both drivers:
AUSTIN DILLON, #3 DOW CHEVROLET SS – HIT THE WALL DURING THE FIRST PRACTICE SESSION AND EARNED HIS FIRST NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES DARLINGTON STRIPE:
Dillon: “Well, Kyle (Larson) came over and asked, ‘where did you hit’? I said off Turn 2. He said, me too. I said did you try you try to come off the wall and make it turn? He said exact same thing. So we are just learning, I guess. You get really tight. I felt good into (Turn) 1, and then through the middle, I get tight late around the corner, it just carries speed. Just hit the wall, but I learned a lot right there. Hopefully it doesn’t happen again.”
KYLE LARSON, #42 TARGET CHEVROLET SS – HIT THE WALL DURING THE FIRST PRACTICE SESSION, WILL GO TO A BACK-UP CAR; IT LOOKS LIKE YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO GO TO A BACK-UP:
Larson: “Yeah I mean we (Austin Dillon) were talking and it sounded like the exact same thing that we were describing. Difference is I have to get a back-up out. Our back-up they said is just as good as our primary so we had a really good run before we I hit the wall. Just learning, I’m mostly ever in the wall in (Turns) 3 and 4 and never hit off (Turn) 2. I killed the wall in (Turn) 2. We will get back out here soon and I’m sure be fine.”(Team Chevy)(4-12-2014) - Childress Testifies for Biofuels: The Senate Agriculture Committee held a hearing this week on advanced biofuels. Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow of Michigan says advanced biofuels are here now, and they are an important part of the energy title in the recently passed farm bill. One of the witnesses at the hearing was NASCAR team owner Richard Childress who talked about the many benefits of corn-based biofuels, such as the higher fuel performance he has seen in more than five million miles of racing since the E15 ethanol blend was introduced in the 2011 racing season. “When they decided to go with an ethanol-blend of fuel, in 2010, NASCAR started looking at what was the correct blend to use. After many tests, they came up with E15,” Childress said, pointing out that his own racing team tested up to E30 blends, which he believes would be even better. “Nothing but positive results came out of our tests. Engines ran cooler, ethanol makes more octane so it makes more horsepower, less carbon buildup, better emissions, and our parts when we tore the engines down looked much better.”(Domestic Fuel)(4-12-2014)
- Darlington Notes and Facts – Saturday: race:
· 702 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway; 426 in more than one.
· Eight of the 110 races at Darlington Raceway have been shortened due to weather conditions; the most recent was the fall race of 2000.
· Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Darlington Raceway was the (03/16/2003) race won by Ricky Craven with a MOV of 0.002 second – the MOV is tied with the 2011 Talladega race as the closest finishes in the NSCS using electronic scoring.
· There have been three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races resulting with a green-white-checkered finish at Darlington Raceway: 2005 (367/370), 2011 (367/370) and 2012 (367/368).
· 46 different drivers have won at Darlington Raceway, led by David Pearson with 10. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with seven.
· Hendrick Motorsports has the most wins at Darlington in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with 14.
· 11 different manufacturers have won in the NSCS at Darlington; led by Chevrolet with 40 victories; followed by Ford with 28.
· The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Darlington was 43rd by Johnny Mantz in 1950 – the inaugural NSCS event.
(NASCAR)(4-12-2014) - Target CGR Partners With the Oscar Mayer: Target Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (TCGRFS) has partnered with the Oscar Mayer brand to help introduce P3 Portable Protein Pack to the NASCAR community. The packs of meat, cheese and nuts are designed for active consumers looking for a snack to help keep them going throughout the day. It is a perfect fit with the on-the-go lifestyle of NASCAR drivers and crews. Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 Target Chevy, and his pit crew will be carrying the P3 Portable Protein Pack branding on their familiar Target uniforms and car throughout the Southern 500 weekend in Darlington, SC, while Oscar Mayer P3 Portable Protein Pack will use the backdrop of a NASCAR race weekend to teach fans the virtues of the P3 Portable Protein Pack product.(CGR)(4-12-2014)
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