April 30, 2010
- Kyle Busch wins pole at Richmond: #18-Kyle Busch won the Coors Pole for the Crown Royal Presents The Heath Calhoun 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway with a speed of 127.077mph for his 1st pole of 2010, 1st at Richmond and 6th of his career. #00-Reutimann will start 2nd followed by #48-Johnson, #24-Gordon, #39-Newman, #12-Keselowski, #29-Harvick, #1-McMurray, #83-Vickers and #33-Bowyer.
The go-or-go homers who made the race (8): #87-Nemecehk, #36-Mears, #32-Soresnon, #09-Bliss, #26-Stremme, #37-Gilliland, #46-Cook and #64-Raines.
The go-or-go homers who failed to qualify for the race (3): #55-McDowell, #13-Papis, #66-Blaney
See the starting lineup, qualifying speeds and notes on my Richmond Starting Lineup/Qualifying Results page.(4-30-2010) - Qualifying Fast Facts – Richmond:
#18-Kyle Busch won the Coors Light Pole Award for the CROWN ROYAL Presents The Heath Calhoun 400 with a lap of 21.247 seconds, 127.077 mph.
This is his sixth pole in 196 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his first pole and eighth top-10 start in 2010.
This is his first pole in 11 races at Richmond International Raceway.
#00-David Reutimann (second) posted his third top-10 start of 2010 and his second in seven races at Richmond International Raceway.
#48-Jimmie Johnson (third) posted his 10th top-10 start at Richmond International Raceway. It is his seventh in ten races this season.
#46-Terry Cook (41st) was the fastest qualifying rookie.(NASCAR Statistics)(4-30-2010) - Coverage of Qualifying for the Crown Royal Presents The Heath Calhoun 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway is scheduled for Friday, April 30, 2010 at 5:40pm/et.
TV: SPEED – 5:30pm/et
Radio: MRN Radio ONLY thru NASCAR.com
Jayski.com: Jayski’s Semi-Live Qualifying Page
Qualifying Re-Air: on SPEED at 1:30am/et - Qualifying Order for the Crown Royal Presents The Heath Calhoun 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway is posted. 46 cars/drivers are listed. Go-or-go homers will qualify at the end of the session, once the top-35 drivers are done.
The first of the top-35 drivers scheduled to go out is #43-Allmendinger.
The final top-35 driver scheduled to go out is #33-Bowyer.
The first go-or-go homer scheduled to qualify [36th] is #26-Stremme with the final driver scheduled to qualify being #36-Mears.
See the full qualifying order on the Richmond Qualifying Page.(4-30-2010) - Happy Hour (final) practice: for the Crown Royal Presents The Heath Calhoun 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway is over, after 90 scheduled minutes, the top 5 and some notes:
#18-Busch 124.395
#00-Reutimann 124.007
#20-Logano 123.916
#42-Montoya 123.876
#24-Gordon 123.615
slowest: #38-Conway 118.457 & #55-McDowell 120.235
incident: #43-Allmendinger scraped the right side of the car early in practice, doesn’t look like major damage.(4-30-2010) - Happy Hour practice rank for the non top-35 drivers ar Richmond:
if things stay the same, these eight drivers would make the race:
#87-Joe Nemechek, 25th fastest
#13-Max Papis, 27th
#36-Casey Mears, 28th
#32-Reed Sorenson, 31st
#46-Terry Cook, 36th
#09-Mike Bliss, 37th
#26-David Stremme, 39th
#66-Dave Blaney, 40th
these drivers would miss the race if the order stayed the same:
#64-Tony Raines, 42nd
#37-David Gilliland, 44th
#55-Michael McDowell, 45th
(4-30-2010) - Friday’s first practice: for the Crown Royal Presents The Heath Calhoun 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway is over, after 90 scheduled minutes, the top 5 and some notes:
#1-McMurray 122.466
#33-Bowyer 122.427
#20-Logano 122.283
#88-Earnhardt Jr. 121.984
#18-Busch 121.929
slowest: #38-Conway 116.919 and #64-Raines 117.678
See fastest spees, laps run, average speeds on my Practice Speeds Page.(4-30-2010) - Good News 0% chance of rain for Friday at Richmond International Raceway and 10% for the race on Saturday night but it’s gonna be warm/hot with a forecast temps in the mid to high 80’s on Friday and mid 80’s for Saturday at race time, approx 7:46pm/et.
- Richmond schemes: added to my Paint Scheme Gallery, including: #19 Reynolds Wrap, #39 U.S. Army Medicine, #9 Reto Budweiser, #37 Taco Bell, #38 Extenze, #7 VIP / Warner Music, #99 Scott]s Ez Seed and #47 Bush’s Beans / Kingsford.(4-30-2010)
- Sad News – Al Allen: #05-Willie Allen is driving with a heavy heart Friday at Richmond International Raceway. His father, Al, passed away Thursday after battling complications from Lou Gehrig’s disease. Al Allen, 55, was a big supporter of Willie’s career, and that’s why Willie decided to drive all night to race in Richmond. “Tough week. After Talladega, as soon as I got home and laid in the bed, my mom called and said he was having trouble breathing, so we rushed him to the hospital,” Willie said. “He actually walked in the hospital. Just thought he was having a rough time, pneumonia or something.” But Al didn’t get any better, and doctors put him on a bi-pap breathing machine. Willie said the decision was made Thursday to take him off the machine. “Man, I wouldn’t be racing if it wasn’t for him, 100 percent,” Willie said. “Countless hours at the shop. There wouldn’t even be a chance of me being here (without him).” Willie wondered whether he should race Friday at Richmond, but he said he knew what his dad would want “I kind of questioned myself: What should I do?’ Willie said. “I know 100 percent what he’d want me to do. That’s all he worked for, for me to do this. It’s been tough today. It’s been super tough, just focusing. I ain’t going to lie. Trying to work through it.” Willie and his wife Kristen drove all night Thursday and got to Richmond about five minutes before practice began at 9 a.m. Eastern.(NNS Racing)(4-30-2010)
- Hendrick close to re-signing crew chiefs UPDATE: team owner Rick Hendrick said he is days from announcing contract extensions for crew chiefs #5-Alan Gustafson and #48-Chad Knaus. Hendrick has been working on an extension with Knaus since late last season, when driver Jimmie Johnson agreed to a deal to drive at Hendrick Motorsports through 2015. The driver and crew chief have won a NASCAR record four consecutive championships together. Gustafson is currently crew chief for Martin in the #5 Chevy. Kahne has already agreed to drive that car in 2012, but Hendrick says he has not yet determined his crew chief lineup. The owner did say, though, that the #5 team belongs to Gustafson, the first indication that he could be paired with Kahne.(ESPN.com)(4-25-2010)
UPDATE: Hendrick Motorsports has extended the contracts of crew chiefs #5-Alan Gustafson and #48-Chad Knaus. NASCAR’s top team announced the multiyear extensions on Friday. Gustafson is currently crew chief for the #5 Chevy driven by Mark Martin. The extension likely means Gustafson will be paired with Kasey Kahne when he joins the team. Knaus has guided Jimmie Johnson to the last four NASCAR championships as crew chief of the #48.(Associated Press), during SPEED’s practice cover at Richmond, the length of the extensions are for 4 years.(4-30-2010) - Johnson takes blame for incident with Gordon UPDATE: #48-Jimmie Johnson took the blame for making a mistake that ultimately led to teammate #24-Jeff Gordon’s wreck at Talladega Superspeedway. Johnson said he was trying to slide in front of Gordon late in Sunday’s race so the two Hendrick Motorsports drivers could draft together toward the front. But, he said Gordon was coming too fast. Johnson’s move instead had the effect of a block, and Gordon was forced off the apron in a defensive move. His momentum gone, Gordon slide back in traffic and was caught moments later in a multi-car crash. “I misjudged the closing rate,” Johnson said. “We all make mistakes, I am no different. Certainly, that was my fault. I made the mistake there.” Gordon, who drove his damaged car to a 22nd-place finish, was furious with his teammate after the race. “The 48 is testing my patience, I can tell you that,” Gordon said Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway. “It takes a lot to make me mad.” Johnson was involved in his own accident later and finished 31st. Johnson had already left the track when Gordon, also a four-time series champion, talked of his frustration with his teammate. “I would have stuck around if I knew what was waiting for me,” Johnson said. But Johnson again dismissed any notion of a rift with Gordon. The two tangled a week ago at Texas Motor Speedway, but downplayed any potential tensions. “There’s no doubt after the fact that frustrations are high, the wreck just compounded it,” Johnson said. “I think he was speaking out of frustration.(Associated Press)(4-27-2010)
UPDATE: Behind the scenes at Hendrick [Motorsports], the four-time Cup champions [Johnson & Gordon] needed a second straight week of talks after curt words followed incidents on the track. Johnson said on Thursday team owner Rick Hendrick told him and Gordon not to let their bubbling feud start “breaking apart the organization.” Johnson, Gordon and Hendrick spoke together on the phone this week to smooth over a rough patch in the relationship between the drivers. The championship teammates tangled on the track in successive weeks, leading Gordon to lash out at Johnson after Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway.
Johnson said Hendrick understood they are competitive drivers who just want to win. But Hendrick didn’t want the rivalry to split apart the race teams that work so closely together. Johnson said Hendrick told him, “You guys need to voice your opinions, handle things on the track as you see fit, but let’s not let this carry on too far and affect the race shop.” Johnson made a mistake that ultimately led to Gordon’s wreck at Talladega. That came a week after the two had a run-in at Texas Motor Speedway.(Full story and more quotes at the Associated Press)(4-30-2010) - Richmond Rookie Notes: #38-Kevin Conway was the Raybestos® Rookie of the Race in the April 25 Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway, posting a 30th-place finish. Conway has been running at the finish in each of his eight starts this season. Conway leads #46-Terry Cook by 61 points (88-27) in the Raybestos Rookie standings entering the May 1 Crown Royal Presents the Heath Calhoun 400 at Richmond International Raceway. Since 1975 Brian Vickers (2004) and Morgan Shepherd (1981) are the only Raybestos Rookies to win a pole for the spring race at Richmond. Since 1975, only one Raybestos Rookie has won the spring race at Richmond: Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2000. Only once since 1975 have TWO or more Raybestos Rookies finished in the top-10 in the Crown Royal 400. In 1979, Joe Millikan finished sixth followed by Terry Labonte, who claimed an eighth place finish. The most recent Raybestos Rookie to win a pole position in the Sprint Cup Series is Patrick Carpentier. Carpentier captured the top starting spot for the 2008 LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (64 races). See Rookie standings, history and more on my 2010 Rookies page.(4-30-2010)
- NASCAR Media Group Receives Emmy Award: NASCAR Media Group, the creative, media, and production services company of NASCAR, has received an Emmy Award for “Inside the Headsets,” a television program which aired following the 25th annual NASCAR Sprint Cup All-Star Race last May. NASCAR Media Group and its broadcast partner SPEED were presented the award in the “Live Event Turnaround” category at the 31st Annual Sport Emmy Awards on April 26, 2010 at Lincoln Center in New York. This is the third time in the past four years NASCAR Media Group has won the Emmy Award in the “Live Event Turnaround” category. Other NASCAR-related programming was also recognized at television’s most prestigious awards ceremony. FOX Sports won for Live Event Audio/Sound for its NASCAR broadcasts and HBO’s “24/7 Jimmie Johnson Race To Daytona” was recognized for Outstanding Sports Promotional Announcement – Episodic.(NASCAR)(4-30-2010)
- Fox Philly to join NASCAR live in progress: Arlen Spector and Joseph Sestak [Democratic primary for U.S. Senate] debate live from Fox 29 [Philadelphia, PA area], 7:00pm/et. Saturday, May 1st. The two candidates will debate at Fox 29 studios live. This is their only scheduled debate. Fox 29 will join NASCAR live in progress following the debate.(Fox 29)(4-30-2010)
- Atlanta Motor Speedway Adds New Campground for Labor Day Weekend: In an effort to provide fans with more convenient camping options and meet demand surrounding the track’s Labor Day NASCAR weekend, Atlanta Motor Speedway has created a new RV campground providing fans some of the closest access to the track’s frontstretch grandstands. The Legends Premium campground is nestled along Atlanta Motor Speedway’s Perimeter Road near the Speedway’s main entrance. In addition to frontstretch grandstand proximity, the north end of the Legends Premium campground sits directly across from the Speedway’s Display Lot that plays host to concerts, fan activities and driver appearances on race weekend. Legends Premium camp sites are 45-feet long by 25-feet wide and do not include RV hook ups. Each Legends Premium space costs $250 for the Labor Day NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race weekend. For more information on the Legends Premium campground or to purchase tickets to Atlanta Motor Speedway Labor Day NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race weekend, contact the Atlanta Motor Speedway Ticket Office at (770) 946-3917, (877) 9-AMS-TIX, or visit www.atlantamotorspeedway.com.(AMS)(4-30-2010)
- Baker Curb losing RedMan sponsorship: Allen Bestwick reported during ESPN2’s coverage of the Nationwide Series race that RedMan, the sponsor of the #27-Baker Curb Racing team, would have to be off the car by the end of June due to new federal regulations on smokeless tobacco products.(4-30-2010)
- Fellows in the #88 at road courses: Kelly Earnhardt said on the April 28th ampupthe88.com chat that Ron Fellows will be the driver of the #88 in all three Nationwide Series road course races this season.(4-30-2010)
- Earnhardt says no plans to move team to Cup: JR Motorsports, Earnhardt Jr.’s Nationwide Series team, has been rumored to be a candidate for expansion into a Sprint Cup operation as early as next year, especially with Rick Hendrick, who co-owns JR Motorsports, looking to find a ride for Kasey Kahne for 2011. But Earnhardt Jr. said his team would not expand and would stay in the Nationwide Series next year. “That’s probably not even worth talking about,” Earnhardt Jr. said following practice for the Crown Royal 400. “That’s not going to happen. That’s a good story, a good rumor, whatever. But in reality, I don’t think we would do that.”(Scene Daily)(4-30-2010)
- Sad News – Al Allen: #05-Willie Allen is driving with a heavy heart Friday at Richmond International Raceway. His father, Al, passed away Thursday after battling complications from Lou Gehrig’s disease. Al Allen, 55, was a big supporter of Willie’s career, and that’s why Willie decided to drive all night to race in Richmond. “Tough week. After Talladega, as soon as I got home and laid in the bed, my mom called and said he was having trouble breathing, so we rushed him to the hospital,” Willie said. “He actually walked in the hospital. Just thought he was having a rough time, pneumonia or something.” But Al didn’t get any better, and doctors put him on a bi-pap breathing machine. Willie said the decision was made Thursday to take him off the machine. “Man, I wouldn’t be racing if it wasn’t for him, 100 percent,” Willie said. “Countless hours at the shop. There wouldn’t even be a chance of me being here (without him).” Willie wondered whether he should race Friday at Richmond, but he said he knew what his dad would want “I kind of questioned myself: What should I do?’ Willie said. “I know 100 percent what he’d want me to do. That’s all he worked for, for me to do this. It’s been tough today. It’s been super tough, just focusing. I ain’t going to lie. Trying to work through it.” Willie and his wife Kristen drove all night Thursday and got to Richmond about five minutes before practice began at 9 a.m. Eastern.(NNS Racing)(4-30-2010)
- Goodyear Tire Notes – Kansas: This is the first time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams will have run either of these two tire codes . . . compared to the tire set-up run at Kansas last season, Goodyear has brought a new left-side construction and a new right-side compound to help the trucks have more grip . . . this is the same combination of left- and right-side tires that NASCAR Nationwide Series teams ran at California earlier this season . . . as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one mile in length, teams are required to run inner liners in all four tire positions at Kansas . . . air pressure in those liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.(Goodyear PR) [Complete tire specs are posted on the Kansas Race Page.] (4-30-2010)
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