May 2, 2009
- Kyle Busch wins at Richmond: #18-Kyle Busch won the Crown Royal Presents The Russ Friedman 400 at Richmond International Raceway for his 3rd win of 2009 and the 15th of his career. With the win on his 24th birthday, he is the youngest driver ever to reach 15 Cup wins. He also won the Nationwide Series race Friday night, making it is his second weekend sweep (he did it last year in Chicago). #14-Tony Stewart finished second, followed by #31-Burton, #39-Newman, #5-Martin, #77-Hornish, #26-McMurray, #24-Gordon, #07-Mears, and #42-Montoya. #88-Earnhard Jr. finished 27th. #48-Johnson battled brake problems all night and finished 36th. There were 15 cautions (which ties the record at Richmond) for 79 laps and 21 lead changes among 8 leaders.
For race results, awards and more on the Richmond Race Results Page.(5-2-2009) - UNOFFICAL Driver Points Standings [after Richmond, race 10 of 36]:
1) #24-Jeff Gordon 1441 [1 win]
2) #2-Kurt Busch 1431 -10 [1 win]
3) #14-Tony Stewart 1402 -39
4) #11-Denny Hamlin 1321 -120
5) #18-Kyle Busch 1314 -127 [3 wins]
6) #48-Jimmie Johnson 1290 -151 [1 win]
7) #31-Jeff Burton 1257 -184
8) #33-Clint Bowyer 1212 -229
9) #99-Carl Edwards 1204 -237
10) #39-Ryan Newman 1198 -243
11) #16-Greg Biffle 1193 -248
12) #17-Matt Kenseth 1187 -254 [2 wins]
Contenders for the top-12/chase:
13) #00-David Reutimann 1156, 31 points out of 12th
14) #42-Juan Montoya 1152, -35
15) #5-Mark Martin 1126, -61
16) #83-Brian Vickers 1118, -69
17) #9-Kasey Kahne 1106, -81
18) #88-Dale Earnhardt 1100, -87
For drivers and owners points standings, see the Drivers/Owners Points Standings.(5-2-2009) - Race Fast Facts – Richmond:
Kyle Busch won the CROWN ROYAL Presents The Russ Friedman 400, his 15th victory in 160 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
This is his third victory and fourth top-10 finish in 2009.
This is his first victory and seventh top-10 finish in nine races at Richmond International Raceway.
Tony Stewart (second) posted his 15th top-10 finish in 21 races at Richmond International Raceway. It is his seventh top-10 finish in 2009.
Jeff Burton (third) posted his 14th top-10 finish in 30 races at Richmond International Raceway.
Joey Logano (19th) was the highest finishing rookie.
Jeff Gordon leads the point standings by 10 points over Kurt Busch.(NASCAR Statistics)(5-2-2009) - Top-35 in Owner Points and guaranteed a starting spot at Darlington:
33) #98-Menard/Yates: 839, +140
35) #7-Gordon/Robby Gordon: 768, +69
34) #34-Andretti/Earnhart Ganassi: 743, 44 points ahead of 36th
these teams/ drivers must qualify by speed but are close to the top-35:
36) #82-Speed/Red Bull: 699, 44 points out of 35th
37) #71-Gilliland/TRG: 640, -103
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.(5-2-2009) - Penalty Report – Richmond
Car#, Lap, Reason, Penalty
#66, 9, Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
#41, 115, Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
#48, 116, Excessive speed ENTERING pits, tail end
#00, 116, Rolling a tire(s) beyond the center of pit road, tail end
#41, 171, Excessive speed EXITING the pits, tail end
#26, 171, Excessive speed EXITING the pits, tail end
#48, 192, Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
#98, 194, Outside half of the pit box tire violation/Team member not in contact with the outside tires, tail end
#48, 196, Disobeying a NASCAR request, pass thru
#12, 274, Removing equipment from assigned pit area, pit
#83, 287, Outside half of the pit box tire violation/Team member not in contact with the outside tires, tail end
#29, 291, Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
#29, 309, Excessive speed EXITING the pits, tail end
#1, 327, Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
#9, 327, Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
#09, 329, Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
#41, 329, Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
#96, 346, Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
#96, 346, Excessive speed EXITING the pits, tail end
(NASCAR Statistics)(5-2-2009) - Lucky Dogs – Who got a lap back on each caution at Richmond: (and their finish)
Caution 1: no driver down a lap, race started under green/yellow
Caution 2: no driver down a lap
Caution 3: #42-Montoya, 10th
Caution 4: #26-McMurray, 7th
Caution 5: #16-Biffle, 17th
Caution 6: #7-Gordon, 16th
Caution 7: #07-Mears, 9th
Caution 8: #17-Kenseth, 13th
Caution 9: #26-McMurray (2), 7th
Caution 10: #99-Edwards, 26th
Caution 11: #6-Ragan, 23rd
Caution 12: #55-Waltrip, 24th
Caution 13: #19-Sadler, 25th
Caution 14: #83-Vickers, 15th
Caution 15: #44-Allmendinger, 21st
(5-2-2009) - Congrats – Marty Smith: ESPN’s Marty Smith, lovely wife Lainie and big brother Cambron welcomed Amelia Joy Smith to the world at 7:56pm/et on April 30th. “Mia” weighed in at 7 lbs 13 oz and is 21 inches long.(5-2-2009)
- Last time winning driver didn’t race the following race? With the last race winner, #09-Brad Keselowski, not running this weeks race at Richmond, who was the last driver to win and not run the next race? That would be Jamie McMurray, who won at Lowe;s Motor Speedway in Oct 2002 and didn’t race the following race at Martinsville Speedway. So who ran the #40 at Martinsville back in Oct 2002 in place of McMurray? Mike Bliss……the same driver who is racing the #09 car this week at Richmond in place of Keselowski.(5-2-2009)
- added images from Richmond: #06 Rockingham, #6 UPS Frieght, #7 Energizer, #12 Star Trek Movie, #18 Combos, #26 Crown Royal, #31 Prilosec OTC, #41 SmallSponsor.com, #43 McCafe, #44 PVA.org/Kings Cup, #47 Bushs Baked Beans, #55 NAPA Adaptive One Brake Pads, #88 National Guard “Drive the Guard”, #98 Menards/Nibco to the Paint Scheme Gallery.(5-2-2009)
- Crown Royal Presents the Russ Friedman 400: This weekend Russ Friedman will roll into Richmond International Raceway as an everyday race fan – and leave a hero. As the grand-prize winner of the Crown Royal “Your Name Here” contest, Friedman was awarded naming rights to the Sprint Cup Series race on Saturday, May 2. The race is officially titled “Crown Royal Presents The Russ Friedman 400.” However, when he accepted the prize during an elaborate ceremony earlier this year at Daytona International Speedway, the former Marine made it clear it would only be right if his fellow soldiers went along for the ride. In response, the makers of Crown Royal Canadian Whisky, along with the Jamie McMurray Foundation have been working to ensure Friedman’s race honors all the brave soldiers who serve our country. Throughout the last few weeks, The Crown Royal Company and McMurray – with Friedman’s input – have provided military personnel around the country with tickets to races, selected soldiers to serve as honorary pit crew members and made available giant “Thank you” cards for fans to sign and show their support for members of the military. One hundred NASCAR Day pins have been purchased for soldiers, the proceeds of which benefit the NASCAR Foundation and its associated charities. In addition, The Crown Royal Company and McMurray have created a replica racecar hood with the official Crown Royal The Russ Friedman 400 race logo for all the Cup Series drivers to sign prior to the race this weekend. After the race in Richmond, the cards, hood and pins will be sent to soldiers serving overseas on behalf of a grateful NASCAR nation. Friedman, a Huntington Station, N.Y., native was selected from a pool of nearly 5,000 entrants in the Crown Royal “Your Name Here” contest. His winning entry referenced his experience in Iraq receiving two Purple Hearts. Friedman enlisted in the Marines in 2001 and served two tours in Iraq, in 2003 and then again in 2004 when he was injured. In honor of Russ Friedman and in celebration of the race in Richmond, Governor Timothy M. Kaine of Virginia has issued a proclamation declaring the month of May 2009 Crown Royal 400 Month, urging all citizens to keep our soldiers in their prayers and thank them for their service to our country. Friedman will receive the royal treatment throughout the weekend. His name will be incorporated into the race broadcast and has been included on all the race tickets and merchandise. Some of his duties include serving as Grand Marshal, participating in pace-car laps, watching the race from the #26 pit box and delivering the trophy – emblazoned with his name – to the race winner in Victory Lane. Friedman will be joined by his fiancée April Willmott and several other close friends and family members.(Crown Royal PR)(5-2-2009)
- Why no Keselowski in RIR Cup race? Brad Keselowski, met with media. Some highlights from the transcript:
IS IT FRUSTRATING SITTING HERE KNOWING AFTER YOU WON LAST WEEK YOU’RE NOT GOING TO BE RUNNING IN THE CUP RACE ON SATURDAY? “Frustrating as far as not running, it really hasn’t soaked in that I won. It’s hard to get frustrated when you don’t even picture yourself as a winner yet. I feel like I can run over there right now and be competitive but the opportunity isn’t there and until the opportunity is there it is what it is. There’s a lot of talent over there and you can’t take that away from those drivers that run over there every weekend. I’d love to be running over there. I’ve raced against 15 or 20 of the same guys over here on the Nationwide side so it’s very similar and I think I could run competitively but the opportunity is not there so I’m not really thinking about it. I’m thinking about the Nationwide car.“
I UNDERSTAND NOW YOU ARE GOING TO BE RUNNING THE ALL-STAR RACE WHICH CAR ARE YOU GOING TO DRIVE? “At this time we haven’t got the All-Star situation figured out as far as what I’m driving and so forth. At this point I haven’t figured out which car I’m driving or how that situation is going to work. I shouldn’t say that I haven’t figured it out I should said that the two teams that I drive for on the Cup side haven’t figured it out.
WHAT IS YOUR SCHEDULE FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR, HAS IT CHANGED AT ALL? “You know that schedule was changing every week before I won so it’s still changing every week. Originally we were going to run here at Richmond and that didn’t work out. A couple of weeks ago that actually got cancelled. As far as knowing locked in what all the rest of my races are I do not know. There’s a couple that I would like to run that we just haven’t figured out how to run them. I’m trying to run Watkins Glen but we don’t have that figured out. So there’s a couple of races like that we just don’t have figured out but I’m trying to run them.”
WOULD YOU FORGO YOUR ROOKIE STATUS FOR NEXT YEAR IF THE RIGHT OPPORTUNITY CAME ALONG? “I think I already have or I’m intending to. I haven’t because I haven’t ran enough races but the way we’re trying to schedule it out we’re going through that process. When it comes to the rookie situation, I knew at the start of the year we were going to run somewhere around 16 races and the maximum I think is seven or eight, I can’t remember specifically. I didn’t file for rookie of the year because the last thing I wanted to see was my name at the bottom of that list knowing that you probably couldn’t win it unless you ran the whole deal.”(GM Racing)(5-2-2009) - Chase Notes and Stats: #39-Ryan Newman ‘s podium finish with a wrecked race car at Talladega catapulted him four more spots in The Race to the Chase, to within 30 points of 12th. Newman has gained 19 spots over the last five races. #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s strong second also moved him up four spots and now he’s risen nine notches in the standings over the last five. Dale Jr. now sits only 45 points out of the Top 12, with Junior-friendly Richmond awaiting Saturday night. #29-Kevin Harvick was caught up in a wreck at ‘Dega and dropped four spots further back outside the Top 12. Now mired in 20th, Harvick is still only 145 points away from the Top 12. Through nine races, the #29 team is 14 spots off last year’s pace. See more on my Chase Stats Page.(5-2-2009)
- added images from Talladega: #4 Hefty-Walmart, #24 Pepsi Challenger, #34 Taco Bell, #39 Prelude to the Dream, #41 Big Red, #42 Tums, #43 Air Force, #77 Penske Trucking #78 National Day of Prayer, #87 Maui, #96 Ask.com – black, #99 Claritin, to the Paint Scheme Gallery.(5-2-2009)
- Keselowski negotiating with Hendrick: Brad Keselowski is exclusively negotiating with Hendrick Motorsports on a long-term contract. NASCAR’s newest Sprint Cup Series winner has no ride lined up for next season. Rick Hendrick has considered him as an eventual replacement for #5-Mark Martin, but it’s not clear when Martin will stop driving. Keselowski’s surprise victory at Talladega Superspeedway last week has increased interest in the 25-year-old driver. Keselowski drives full-time in the Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports, and has a developmental deal with Hendrick. He’s slated to run seven Cup races for Hendrick this year, but the 2010 season has not been determined. Keselowski’s win last weekend was in a car owned by James Finch.(Associated Press/ESPN)
UPDATE: From a press conference Friday at Richmond:
Q: WHAT ARE YOUR POSSIBILITIES FOR A CUP RIDE NEXT YEAR, AND WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’LL END UP?
A: “Well, I’d like to be in Cup full time next year. I sat out this year because I didn’t think that the timing was right and I didn’t think I was ready for a full schedule. And I wanted to do this right as far as the Cup level goes. I wanted to come into it as someone who could run competitively and I kind of even shocked myself on how competitive I could run. The other ways of doing it last year was not the situation, so I didn’t take them. I know that to make that next step, I need to run full time. I need to have a full time ride at the Cup level to be a guy who can run for the Chase or take wins. So it’s a matter of making that line up. Opportunities or situations to make that work? I don’t think you guys have time to hear them all. I’ve put some thought into it, but not a lot. The basics of it are that we still have a few months to work some other things out. Specifically I’m working with Hendrick Motorsports and owe it to them to see what they can work out. I think the key part about this whole situation of where I’m at with contracts and next year is that you stick with what got you to where you’re at. Having competitive cars and having support from HMS and being able to look at their data and talk to their drivers is what got me into victory lane on Sunday. It’s hard to run from that, you know. But at the same time, at this point and at this time, there isn’t a clear opportunity there. So we’ll have to see how that plays out.” (Chevy PR)
AND: In order to drive for Hendrick, Keselowski initially might have to drive for a team with Hendrick support. One possibility is having JR Motorsports — the Nationwide Series team co-owned by Hendrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. that Keselowski drives for — move up to Cup. Earnhardt has mentioned on several occasions the possibility of making the jump. Another possibility might be Stewart-Haas Racing, which has Hendrick support.(ESPN.com)(5-2-2009) - Chrysler (Dodge) to file for bankruptcy UPDATE 2: Chrysler will file for bankruptcy after talks with a small group of creditors crumbled just a day before a government deadline for the automaker to come up with a restructuring plan, two administration officials said Thursday. The Obama administration had long hoped to stave off bankruptcy for Chrysler LLC, but it became clear that a holdout group wouldn’t budge on proposals to reduce Chrysler’s $6.9 billion in secured debt, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the filing plans are not public. Clearing those debts was a needed step for Chrysler restructure by the Thursday night deadline. Bankruptcy doesn’t mean the nation’s third largest automaker will shut down. And the privately-held Chrysler is expected to sign a partnership agreement with the Italian company Fiat as early as Thursday as part of its restructuring plan. A Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing would allow a judge to decide how much the company’s creditors would get.(ABC News), NO word how or if this will effect Dodge’s involvement in NASCAR.(4-30-2009)
UPDATE: Chrysler remains committed to the Sprint Cup series despite Thursday’s announcement it will file for bankruptcy protection and form a partnership with Italian automaker Fiat SpA. “The partnership not only will transform Chrysler into a new, stronger car company with many strategic advantages, it will enable the company to better serve our customers with a broader and more comprehensive lineup of vehicles,” said Mike Accavitti, Chrysler’s director of brand marketing and strategy for Dodge Motorsports. “NASCAR is a strategic part of our marketing plan and the Dodge brand. We plan to continue our Dodge sponsorship and relationship into the foreseeable future.” The bankruptcy filing was the first step in wiping Chrysler’s balance sheet clean and beginning the automaker’s rebuilding process. The White House forced the move after talks between the company’s creditors and the Treasury Department failed to reach an agreement.(ESPN)(4-30-2009)
UPDATE 2: At first blush, it doesn’t look like Chrysler’s filing for bankruptcy protection on Thursday will have any immediate effect on the seven Sprint Cup teams backed by Dodge. Chrysler was quick to issue a statement on Thursday reaffirming their commitment to NASCAR. But how long, exactly, is the foreseeable future? Several people I [Lars Anderson] talked to involved with NASCAR on Friday morning, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, strongly believed that Chrysler would pull its NASCAR funding in 2010. (The company already slashed its motor sports budget by 30 percent this year.) Then the question would become this: What would happen to the seven teams that Dodge supports? That is the great unknown.(Sports Illustrated)(5-2-2009) - Edwards meets with NASCAR about Talladega accident: #99-Carl Edwards and team owner Jack Roush have met with NASCAR officials in Daytona Beach, Fla., to discuss how to prevent another incident such as the one that sent Edwards’ car flying into the catch fence at Talladega Superspeedway. “I’m not an engineer so I didn’t tell them, ‘This is how it has to be,’ ” Edwards said on Friday at Richmond International Raceway. “But the bottom line is unless you take the banking out of that racetrack or we don’t go race there you’ve got this big problem trying to keep the cars apart, keep them slow, and that’s the battle.” Edwards hopes the Thursday meeting leads to a solution, although NASCAR and track officials have said they have no plans to reconfigure the track. “They said they would talk to some other drivers, which, that would be really good,” Edwards said.(ESPN.com)(5-2-2009)
- Gordon’s back still hurtin’: from a GM Racing Jeff Gordon Press Conference Transcript:
LAST WEEK YOU WEREN’T FEELING THAT GREAT AND YOUR BACK WAS HURTING YOU, IS IT BETTER NOW? “There are certainly tracks that are definitely harder on my back and Phoenix is one of them. Richmond coming up will be another one. Martinsville, Bristol and road courses. The pain has not subsided any, the way that the muscle reacts and spasms is not getting any better but I’m getting stronger and I don’t expect it to happen overnight and go away. It’s going to take time. Last week my back wasn’t what was preventing us from being more competitive, I think it was a combination of things. I was sick. I didn’t feel like I gave good feedback to the team throughout the whole weekend. We qualified good and we picked the number two pit stall and it didn’t seem to work out as good for us as it had. We had some trouble there. All the way around it seemed like we under-performed and it’s a good wake-up call for us. I mean this is a totally different type of race this weekend but I expect us to be strong and have fun this weekend especially with the Pepsi throw back paint scheme. We’re looking forward to going to Richmond next weekend and getting our short-track program where it can be.”(GM Racing PR)(4-25-2009)
UPDATE: from Friday’s press conference: “”I had another MRI, one that was more detailed this week and I’ve got some information that I’m just not ready to release yet or admit to yeah we found some things and have a better diagnosis of it. When I know how I’m going to treat it I’ll let you guys know. I don’t believe it’s anything serious. It’s just something that’s causing the pain. There’s a little bit of arthritis which is not totally unnatural but there’s also some other things that come from what they can understand from trauma or a crash or maybe just years of beating it up. Heck I don’t know I might have picked up my luggage or something and then tore something up in there. So I don’t know, but we have a better diagnosis of it and I’ve got some experts that are giving me all the best scenarios.”(GM Racing PR)(5-2-2009) - Poole receives NMPA Spirit Award: David Poole is the first quarter recipient of the National Motorsports Press Association Spirit Award for his efforts to help a family burdened by medical bills. The award comes three days after Poole died of a heart attack. The NMPA Spirit Award is designed to recognize character and achievement in the face of adversity, sportsmanship and contributions to motorsports. Each year, quarterly winners are selected, and an overall winner is determined by a vote of the NMPA membership. The 2009 overall winner will be announced during the NMPA’s annual convention and awards ceremony in January 2010. Also receiving votes were Denny Hamlin and Bristol Motor Speedway. Poole, who wrote for The Charlotte Observer, started the foundation called Pennies for Wessa after writing a story about Wessa Miller in February 2008. Miller, who suffers from spina bifida, gave Dale Earnhardt a penny that he attached to the car’s dashboard before he won the 1998 Daytona 500. After the story, Poole kept in contact with the family, saw their struggles and sought to help them. The program and family gained more attention in March at Bristol when Miller and her family were invited to the track. The NASCAR Foundation held an online auction with proceeds going to Pennies for Wessa. Along with contributions from those in the sport, more than $10,000 was raised.(NMPA PR)(5-2-2009)
- Pocono offers ticket package with Sprint FanView or DVD:
Did you ever hear the expression “you can have your cake and eat it too?” Well Pocono Raceway announced not one, but two ticket offers, where race fans can do just that. Fans attending the June 7th Pocono 500 or August 2nd Pennsylvania 500, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series weekends can experience the live excitement and drama of the race PLUS view the race as a NASCAR insider or relive all the exciting race action anytime they wish. The NASCAR Sprint FanView Ticket Package includes specially priced Pocono 500 or Pennsylvania 500 Terrace or Concourse Grandstand seat tickets and a VIP Card redeemable for a weekend rental of a NASCAR Sprint FanView, the ultimate race day companion. Produced and developed by Sprint, NASCAR and Kangaroo.TV, NASCAR Sprint FanView® bridges the live excitement of races with real-time data and visuals. The DVD/Ticket Combo Package allows race fans to purchase two specially priced Terrace or Concourse seat tickets to either the Pocono 500 or the Pennsylvania 500 and receive a free DVD containing the full broadcast of the race that you attended PLUS bonus material including downloadable Wallpapers and Screensavers as well as a special 5″ x 7″ print by Official NASCAR artist Stephen Balck. The NASCAR Sprint FanView Discount Package and the DVD/Ticket Combo Package are available by going to:
www.poconoraceway.com and clicking on Get Tickets Fast. For additional information call 1-800-RACEWAY.(Pocono Raceway PR)(5-2-2009)
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