April 18, 2009
- Mark Martin wins at Phoenix: #5-Mark Martin won the Subway Fresh Fit 500k at Phoenix International Raceway for his first win in 97 races [Kansas in 2005] for his first win in 2009 and 36th win of his career [16th all-time]. Former owner Jack Roush came to victory lane to shake Martin’s hand along with many other drivers. #14-Stewart finished 2nd, followed by #2-Busch, #48-Johnson, #16-Biffle, #11-Hamlin, #1-Truex Jr., #00-Reutimann, #77-Hornish Jr. [career best finish] and #99-Edwards. Points leader, #24-Jeff Gordon had a bad pitstop late and finished 25th and his point lead dwindles to 85 over #48-Johnson. There were 6 cautions for 29 laps and there were 14 lead changes among 10 drivers.
For race results, awards and more on the Phoenix Race Results Page.(4-18-2009) - UNOFFICAL Driver Points Standings [after Phoenix, race 8 of 36]:
1) #24-Jeff Gordon, 1242 [1 win]
2) #48-Jimmie Johnson, 1157, -85 [1 win]
3) #2-Kurt Busch, 1144, -98 [1 win]
4) #14-Tony Stewart, 1138, -104
5) #11-Denny Hamlin, 1088, -154
6) #33-Clint Bowyer, 1052, -190
7) #18-Kyle Busch, 1026,-216 [2 wins]
8) #99-Carl Edwards, 1023, -219
9) #00-David Reutimann, 992, -250
10) #9-Kasey Kahne, 975, -267
11) #31-Jeff Burton, 953, -289
12) #17-Matt Kenseth, 946, -296 [2 wins]
Contenders for the top-12/chase:
13) #5-Mark Martin, 9 points out of 12th [1 win]
14) #16-Greg Biffle, -16
15) #42-Juan Montoya, -36
For drivers and owners points standings, see the Drivers/Owners Points Standings.(4-18-2009) - Top-35 in Owner Points and guaranteed a starting spot at Talladega:
no changes in who is in and who is out, #71-Gilliland dropped 3 more points behind 35th
32) #98-Menard/Yates: 637, +86
33) #20-Logano/Gibbs: 610, +59
34) #34-Andretti/Earnhart Ganassi: 589, +38
35) #7-Gordon/Robby Gordon: 577, 26 points ahead of 36th
these teams/ drivers must qualify by speed but are close to the top-35:
36) #71-Gilliland/TRG: 551, 26 points out of 35th
37) #82-Speed/Red Bull: 475, -102
The teams are NOT locked in past the next race as the owners points change after each race.
For the owner points standings, see my Drivers/Owners Points Standings page.(4-18-2009) - Race Fast Facts – Phoenix International Raceway
Mark Martin won the SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500, his 36th victory in 730 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races. The last over-50 driver to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup race was Morgan Shepherd, 51, March 20, 1993 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Martin becomes the fourth different over-50 driver to win a NSCS event.
This is his first victory and fourth top-10 finish in 2009.
This is his second victory and 16th top-10 finish in 25 races at Phoenix International Raceway.
Tony Stewart (second) posted his ninth top-10 finish in 15 races at Phoenix International Raceway. It is his sixth top-10 finish in 2009.
Kurt Busch (third) posted his seventh top-10 finish in 13 races at Phoenix International Raceway.
Joey Logano (21st) was the highest finishing rookie.
Jeff Gordon leads the point standings by 85 points over Jimmie Johnson.(NASCAR Statistics)(4-18-2009) - Infraction Sheet – Phoenix International Raceway
Car#, Lap, Reason, Penalty
#09 55, Pitting before pit road is open, Tail End
#88 55, Lug nut(s) not installed, Must Come In
#7 166, Pitting before pit road is open, Tail End
#55 166, Pitting before pit road is open, Tail End
#09 166, Pitting before pit road is open, Tail End
#44 167, Pitting before pit road is open, Tail End
#36 227, Lug nut(s) not installed, Must Come In
#24 233, Lug nut(s) not installed, Must Come In
#83 244, Excessive speed ENTERING pits, Pass Thru
#42 244, Excessive speed ENTERING pits, Pass Thru
#71 302, Pitting before pit road is open, Tail End
#18 302, Excessive speed EXITING the pits, Tail End
(NASCAR Statistics)(4-18-2009) - Lucky Dogs – Who got a lap back on each caution at Phoenix: (and their finish)
Caution 1: #36-Riggs,36th
Caution 2: #98-Menard, 23rd
Caution 3: #20-Logano, 21st
Caution 4: #29-Harvick, 30th
Caution 5: #19-Sadler, 32nd
Caution 6: NONE awarded when there are 10 laps or less left
(4-18-2009) - Did Not Finish Streak and stats: #33-Bowyer has been running at the finish in 81 consecutive races, the longest current streak, and now tied the modern era record of #29-Harvick who had 81 until DNFing at California in Feb 2009, next up is #78-Regan Smith at 45 [but has not run all the races] and then #48-Johnson at 32 consecutive races. The all-time record for the longest streak of NOT having an DNF is 84 races held by Herman Beam from April 30, 1961 thru March 10, 1963 [Beam didn’t run all the races, but didn’t DNF in 84 straight consecutive races that he ran]. Kevin Harvick holds the modern era (1972-present) record at 81 [he also has the 3rd longest at 58], then Jeff Gordon at 56 and Dale Earnhardt at 53 [Indy in 1996 thru Martinsville in the spring of 1998.(4-18-2009)
- Oldest Sprint Cup Race Winners
Driver, Date, Track, Age
1) Harry Gant, 8/6/1992, Michigan, 52 years, 7 months, 6 days
(Gant won 8 races after turning 50, and his last pole was at 54 years old, Bristol 1994)
2) Morgan Shepherd, 3/20/1993, Atlanta, 51 years, 4 months, 27 days
3) Mark Martin, 4/18/2009, Phoenix, 50 years, 3 months, 9 days
4) Bobby Allison, 2/14/1988, Daytona, 50 years, 2 months, 11 days
5) Dale Earnhardt, 10/15/2000, Talladega, 49 years, 5 months, 16 days
6) Dale Jarrett, 10/2/2005, Talladega, 48 years, 10 months, 6 days
7) Bill Elliott, 11/9/2003, Rockingham, 48 years, 1 month, 1 day
8) Rusty Wallace, 4/18/2004, Martinsville, 47 years, 8 months, 4 days
9) Geoffrey Bodine, 8/11/1996, Watkins Glen, 47 years, 3 months, 24 days
10) Richard Petty, 7/4/1984, Daytona, 47 years, 2 days
11) Terry Labonte, 8/31/2003, Darlington, 46 years, 9 months, 15 days - Schrader on the ARCA pole at the Rock, LaJoie wins UARA race: Veteran Ken Schrader added another Rockingham Speedway pole to his resume Saturday, claiming the top starting position for this weekend’s Carolina 200 ARCA/REMAX Series event. Schrader, who earned a NASCAR Winston Cup Series pole at the 1-mile track in 1990, recorded a lap of 145.761 mph, 24.698 seconds, in a Chevrolet to reap the Menards Pole Award presented by Ansell. In addition to Schrader walking off with Rockingham’s R.A. Jeffreys Distributing Co. Pole Award, Donnie Richeson received the NASCAR Technical Institute Crew Chief Award. Richeson, a former NASCAR crew chief, now serves in that capacity with Schrader. Ricky Carmichael, making his Rockingham debut in a Chevrolet owned by Kevin Harvick Racing, earned the fourth starting position. Sunday’s race will be televised live on SPEED beginning at 1 p.m. For more information about the Carolina 200 or to order tickets, please contact the speedway at (910) 205-8800 or visit www.rockinghamspeedway.com.
AND LaJoie wins Corey LaJoie followed in his father’s tread marks Saturday at Rockingham Speedway, snaring his first-ever UARA victory at the track where father Randy LaJoie clinched one of his two NASCAR Busch Series championships in the late 1990s. Other drivers with Father’s who raced in NASCAR Cup who ran the race included Kyle Grissom [Steve] finished 4th and Coleman Pressley [Robert], finished 7th. Brandon McReynolds, son of FOX analyst and former NASCAR crew chief Larry McReynolds, finished 19th.(4-18-2009) - Pit Stall Selections – Phoenix: The selections for pit stalls of the Subway Fresh Fit 500k at Phoenix International Raceway have been made. Pole sitter #5-Mark Martin chose pit stall 1 [as do most pole sitters], while outside pole sitter #18-Busch took pit stall 13, the next with an opening in front of it and #2-Busch, who starts 3rd, took pit stall 21, which is the next stall with an opening in front of it. #78-Smith who starts 9th, chose the final pit stall. See the pit selection chart on the Phoenix International Raceway Pit Stall Selection chart.(4-18-2009)
- Dale Jr. comments on the demise of the #8: from a team Chevy Dale Earnhardt Jr. press conference Transcript:
IS IT SAD THAT THERE IS NO NUMBER EIGHT AT THE TRACK THIS WEEKEND? “I’m pretty sad, but I don’t think it will be gone for long. I read a lot of the input that you guys (media) had all week and sort of got the temperature of what the press was thinking and what the fans were thinking. The one thing that I kept thinking about when I was reading those articles was how glad I was that Robert (Yates) and Doug (Yates) and everybody at Yates — that they were willing to work with me on the 88 because I don’t have any malice about what Teresa’s (Earnhardt) decision was on keeping that number.
“If I was in her shoes I probably would have done the exact same thing and that has been the case with every other owner in the past. That’s what the understanding is that the number belongs to them and I understood that. I really wasn’t as upset about it as a lot of people probably thought I was and it wasn’t as ugly of a situation as a lot of people felt like it was. I was glad that I found Robert (Yates) and the guys willing to talk about the 88 because that was a number with a ton of history and something that I could really wrap my hands around and get excited about. The eight will be back and someone else will add to it and do something great with it and hopefully it’s Ganassi and Teresa (Earnhardt). Hopefully they can get it back on the race track and I wouldn’t ever count them out. It’s a tough economy. I just wish them all the success and I wish that they will get that car funded to where Aric (Almirola) can get back on the race track, he’s a super guy and needs to be out on the race track with us and I think it’s small pieces to the puzzle really. I don’t think it’s something that’s going to be permanent, hopefully.”
DO YOU THINK YOUR GRANDMA (MARTHA EARNHARDT) IS UPSET ABOUT THE NUMBER NOT BEING HERE? “No, not at all. She especially, we have been around this sport for a long time and you have to get used to change and I’ve worked with a lot of different people. Some I wish today I was still working with, but circumstances prevented that and you have to be able to let go of that and move on and try to do the best you can. That’s the same way in every situation in this sport. Yes I wish I would have never had to have changed numbers — I had to under the circumstances and I am happy to have the opportunity to use the 88 and I hope I do a good job with it for all the guys that have used it in the past. That’s really the only thing that I think about right now. Having that number there’s a little bit of responsibility with it because it was pretty historic so I must concentrate on that, you know?”(Chevy/GM PR)(4-18-2009) - Castroneves and Motorsports agent aquitted: Brazilian race car driver and “Dancing With The Stars” champ Helio Castroneves was acquitted Friday of most charges that he worked with his sister and lawyer to evade more than $2.3 million in U.S. income taxes. A federal jury acquitted Castroneves on six counts of tax evasion but was hung on one count of conspiracy. When the sentence was read, Castroneves broke into sobs and leaned against his attorneys for support. The jury also acquitted Katiucia Castroneves, 35, who is her 33-year-old brother’s business manager, on the tax evasion counts but also hung on the conspiracy charge. Michigan motorsports attorney Alan Miller, 71, was acquitted on all three counts of tax evasion and one count of conspiracy. The deliberations took six days after a six-week trial.(ESPN/AP)(4-18-2009)
- Online Voting Open for Talladega-Texaco Walk of Fame: Online voting for the 2009 Talladega-Texaco Walk of Fame is currently underway. On Saturday, Oct. 31, two new names will be added to the Talladega-Texaco Walk of Fame – which two drivers will receive this honor however, is something the fans will have to decide. The Talladega-Texaco Walk of Fame located in the Davey Allison Memorial Park in downtown Talladega is both a focal point saluting NASCAR’s greatest names and a tribute to one of racing’s brightest stars – the late Davey Allison. Developed in 1994, the Talladega-Texaco Walk of Fame has inducted one active driver and up to two inactive drivers since 1995 based on the fans’ vote chosen from a ballot of nominees selected by strict guidelines. Fans may vote for their driver of choice through July 15 by visiting talladegawalk.com. Voting is limited to one vote per day.
Active driver nominees for 2009 include: Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Robby Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman, Elliott Sadler, Morgan Shepherd and Michael Waltrip.
Inactive driver nominees for 2009 include: Jim Paschal, Bill Rexford, Jack Smith and Speedy Thompson.
In the park, Davey Allison is remembered with a large marble monument, while drivers inducted into the Talladega-Texaco Walk of Fame have bronze plaques placed around the park, accessible by walkways that form the shape of Talladega Superspeedway. For additional information, visit talladegawalk.com. For tickets, visit talladegasuperspeedway.com or call 1-877-Go2-DEGA.(TSS PR)(4-18-2009) - Ward Burton to serve as grand marshal of festival: former Sprint Cup driver, Ward Burton, winner of five Nextel Cup races, is scheduled to be the grand marshal of the 2009 Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival and appear in many functions of the festival May 1-2. More info at thebloom.com.(4-18-2009)
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