Stewart and NASCAR Hit Las Vegas for Sprint Cup Awards

By Mike Hembree
SpeedTV.com

Even in a down economy, even in bad weather, even with some of its giant hotel/casinos practically begging for customers, there’s always something big going on in Las Vegas.

It might be the annual convention of the International Paper Towel Manufacturers or the gathering of the Scottish clans from all 50 states or a comeback concert by the Dave Clark Five or a heavyweight title fight (if they still have those).

The Las Vegas Strip is one of the busiest roadways in America – and probably the busiest of all those that pass a Statue of Liberty, an Eiffel Tower AND a pyramid.

NASCAR knew when it moved its Sprint Cup awards banquet from the concrete canyons of New York City to the neon overload of Las Vegas that – as in Manhattan – it would share the billing. Las Vegas is so big and bustling and brawling – and so in need of the cash influx – that it can absorb a laundry list of big events and do so in such a fashion that one never really infringes on the other.

That will be the case this week as Sin City hosts, in addition to its normal list of concerts, shows, nightclub acts and off-the-cuff performances by street people, the Sprint Cup Champion’s Week and its Friday awards banquet finale, the opening nights of the National Finals Rodeo (THE national event for those of the rough-ridin’, Stetson-wearing, boot-stomping persuasion) and the Las Vegas Rock and Roll Marathon.


Read More Here.........


Pictures from the awards and festivities will be posted

Final Homestead-Miami Driver Ratings Following All Practices

Micah Roberts Top 10 Driver Ratings
Ford 400
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Sunday, November 20, 2011 - 12:16 pm (PDT)

Rating    Driver     Odds       Practice 1   Practice 2   Qualified   Texas*

 1. Carl Edwards 9/2                 2nd            1st              1st          2nd
Two-time winner with a track best 5.7 average finish in seven starts; using Texas chassis.
 2. Matt Kenseth 6/1                 3rd            15th             6th          4th
2007 winner with two wins on 1.5-mile tracks in 2011; using Texas chassis this week.
 3. Kevin Harvick 6/1                 9th           18th             21st       13th  
Two-time runner with a 7.9 average finish in 10 starts; using sixth-place Charlotte car.
 4. Tony Stewart 4/1                15th            28th            15th        1st
Two-time winner under old configuration, no top-5s since 2004; using eighth-place Charlotte car.
 5. Jeff Gordon 10/1                  8th            12th             7th         6th
One of two Cup tracks that he’s never won on; owns an 11.8 average finish in 12 starts.
 6. Jimmie Johnson 8/1             5th            14th             9th        14th
Two-time runner-up; one of only five tracks he‘s never won on. Using Charlotte chassis.
 7. Ryan Newman 40/1              4th            26th            14th       16th
Career best finish of sixth came his rookie season in 2002; good practices Saturday in race trim.
 8. Greg Biffle 15/1                   14th           11th              8th         5th
Three-time winner from 2004-06; will be using 15th-place Charlotte chassis from October.
 9. Brad Keselowski 30/1          25th           10th             5th         24th
Career best of 13th last season, had a great practice Saturday; will be using new chassis.
10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 40/1       1st             23rd            11th        7th
Has never finished better than 13th in 11 starts; strong practice suggests it could be career day.

* Results from the November 6, 2011 race at Texas Motor Speedway, the last race run on a high-banked 1.5-mile track. Although the track configuration of Texas and Homestead are not similar, the set-up requirements for the cars are.
     
Odds courtesy of the Las Vegas Hilton Super Book.

Micah Roberts, a former race and sports Director, has been setting NASCAR lines in Las Vegas since 1995. For more Roberts insights and post-practice analysis on the race, go to VegasInsider.com or follow MicahRoberts7 on Twitter.

Edwards Fastest in Final Homestead Practice

The last NSCS practice session for the season is complete, and at top of the Ford 400 speed charts was Carl Edwards with a lap speed of 171.124 mph. And, battling him for the championship, Tony Stewart, was 28th with a lap speed of 167.926 mph.

Edwards took only three laps in the session and must have felt pretty good with the car, opting to leave it alone until qualifying. With Stewart, his sessions rarely tell the story of how his car will perform on race day, but in this instance, you'd have to believe he wasn't happy with his final session.

Second fastest and with a lap speed of 170.913 mph, was Edward’s fellow Roush Fenway Racing teammate, David Ragan, and they were followed by Cole Whitt (170.063 mph), AJ Allmendinger (169.705) and Landon Cassill (169.609) was the fifth fastest.

Rounding out the top-ten fastest during “Happy Hour” were Martin Truex Jr. (169.465 mph, Clint Bowyer (169.306), Paul Menard (169.141), Dave Blaney (168.982) and Brad Keselowski (168.966) posting the tenth fastest lap speed.

Qualifying is up next for the teams later this afternoon at 2:40 PM (ET) and then they will return on Sunday for the 3:20 PM (ET) approximate start of the Ford 400 (with ESPN beginning their pre-race television coverage at 2:00 PM ET).

Practice Speeds

Phoenix is Now the Great Unknown for Jeff Gordon Due to Repaving

Gordon winning at Phoenix (Getty)

AVONDALE, Ariz. (November 8, 2011) – Phoenix International Raceway may have held races for more than 45 years and hosted 30 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, but Jeff Gordon believes this trip out west is into an unknown frontier.

Gordon was first to the checkered flag here in the spring, and afterward he was first to dig up a section of the front straightaway to begin reconstruction on the one-mile layout. The new design includes a new surface, and changes to the first two turns and back straightaway.

“It’s an unknown for all of us,” said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet. “It’s a new surface and we’re using a new tire. It’s basically a whole new race track.

“(Turns) 1 and 2 have changed quite a bit. Turns 3 and 4 really did not change a whole lot, other than the surface. And the back straightaway is completely different – there is no comparison of that part of the track to anything we race on anywhere else. “It’s going to be tricky – there’s no doubt about that.”

In 25 starts at the Arizona track, Gordon has two wins (2007 and 2011), three poles, 10 top-fives and 18 top-10’s. But a new era on the track starts with this Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500.

“I hope we are able to get a second groove worked in,” said Gordon. “I think that is going to be very important because you walk a fine line between having great track position and maintaining speed, and making it hard for other guys to pass. If you get a foot outside of the preferred groove, you might be in the wall or you could lose a lap. It takes that long to get back in the groove, clean the tires off and get back up to speed.

“That is what can make this race very interesting and very challenging.”

Gordon enters the penultimate race of the 2011 season eighth in the point standings. But the new-look track could alter the look of the standings.

“To me, Phoenix is the unknown with the new pavement,” said Gordon. “I think we’re all going to be anxious to see not only how the race goes, but how this championship unfolds. If you get a foot outside the groove, it could ruin your entire day – and those aren’t variables a championship contender would like to factor in.

“These conditions could shake things up in a big way.”

- Performance PR Plus for DuPont Motorsports, Press Release

Phoenix Odds & Ends: Kobalt Tools 500

At Phoenix International Raceway:

History

·            Construction was completed in January 1964.The facility consisted of a one-mile oval and a 2.5-mile road course.

·            Alan Kulwicki won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Phoenix on Nov. 6, 1988.

·            The first spring race was held on April 23, 2005 and also the first night race, which was won by Kurt Busch.

·            The track underwent its first repave this year. The construction began in March and concluded in September of 2011.

·            The following changes were made during the construction period:

·         Widened the frontstretch from 52 to 62 feet

·         Reconfigured pit road with the installation of concrete pit stalls

·         Pushed the dog-leg curve between Turn 2 and Turn 3 out 95 feet

·         Tightened the turn radius of the dog-leg from 800 to 500 feet

·         Implemented variable banking to ensure the immediate use of two racing grooves, including 10-11 degree banking between Turn 1 and Turn 2; 10-11 degree banking in the apex of the dog-leg; and 8-9 degree banking in Turn 4.

 

Notebook

·            There have been 30 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Phoenix International Raceway, one per season from 1988-2004 and two each season since.

·            Geoffrey Bodine won the first Coors Light Pole in 1988.

·            There have been 18 different pole winners, led by Ryan Newman with four. Newman’s next pole will be his 50th.

·            Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards are the only drivers to win consecutive poles. Newman won three straight (2002-04), while Gordon won the fall of 2006 and spring of 2007, and Edwards won the fall of 2010 and spring of 2011.

·            There have been 21 different race winners, led by Jimmie Johnson with four.

·            The race has been won from the pole four times: Jeff Gordon (spring 2007), Jimmie Johnson (fall 2008), Mark Martin (spring 2009) and Carl Edwards (fall 2010).

·            The race has been won from a top-10 starting position in 15 of 30 events.

·            Denny Hamlin won his first career pole at Phoenix in November 2005. AJ Allmendinger won his first career pole in April 2010.

·            Ricky Rudd won the 1995 race from the 29th-place starting position, the furthest back a race winner has started.

·            Mark Martin has 12 top-five finishes, more than any other driver. Martin (8.8 average finish) is one of three active drivers who average a top-10 finish. Jimmie Johnson (4.8) and Jeff Gordon (10.0) are the others.

·            Two perfect Driver Ratings of 150.0 have been recorded at Phoenix. Kurt Busch did it with his win in April of 2005, and Kevin Harvick did it in November of 2006.

 

Phoenix International Raceway Data

Race: 35 of 36 (11-13-11)

Track Size: 1 mile

·     Banking/1 and 2: 10 - 11 degrees

·     Banking/3 and 4: 8 - 9 degrees

·     Banking/Frontstretch: 3 degrees

·     Banking/Backstretch: 9 degrees

·     Frontstretch: 1,179 feet

·     Backstretch: 1,551 feet

 

Driver Rating at Phoenix
Jimmie Johnson	121.8
Jeff Gordon	103.3
Kurt Busch	100.3
Carl Edwards	99.6
Mark Martin	99.4
Denny Hamlin	98.3
Tony Stewart	98.1
Kyle Busch	98.1
Kevin Harvick	95.9
Greg Biffle	94.8

 Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-11 races (13 total) at Phoenix. 

 

Qualifying/Race Data

2010 pole winner: Carl Edwards (136.389 mph, 26.395 seconds)

2010 race winner: Carl Edwards (110.758 mph, 11-14-10)

Track qualifying record: Carl Edwards (137.279 mph, 26.224 seconds, 2-27-11)

Track race record: Tony Stewart (118.132 mph, 11-7-99)

 

NASCAR in Arizona

·            There have been 35 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Arizona: 30 at Phoenix International Raceway; four at Arizona State Fairgrounds; one at Tucson Rodeo Grounds.

·            30 drivers in NASCAR national series history have their home state recorded as Arizona.

·            There have been no race winners from Arizona in NASCAR’s three national series.

Phoenix Storylines: Kobalt Tools 500

Three points separate two drivers, points leader Carl Edwards and second-place Tony Stewart. Two races remain before the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion is crowned at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

That all equals one storyline-rich stretch run.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship contenders roll to the penultimate race of the season, at newly repaved Phoenix International Raceway for the Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. holds onto a 17-point lead over Elliott Sadler, the only other driver mathematically eligible for the NASCAR Nationwide Series title going into Saturday’s WYPALL 200 at Phoenix.

Austin Dillon nears his first national series championship, needing only a 16th-place finish at Homestead to win the title. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has an open week this weekend.

Stewart Talks Talk, Walks Walk
After his win at Martinsville, Tony Stewart suggested that Carl Edwards forego sleep – he was coming for the points leader.

Brash words, indeed. And Stewart, a two-time champion, backed them up.

Tony Stewart won again, this time at Texas, trimming his deficit to Edwards to three points. An interesting side note: They’ve both scored the exact same number of points in the Chase: 313. Edwards owns his miniscule advantage because of the three bonus points he earned for winning a race in the regular season.

Some other notables from Stewart's win at Texas…

- This is his fourth win of this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Only one other driver has ever won four races in the Chase: Jimmie Johnson, in 2004, 2007, 2009 (Johnson won the title in 2007 and 2009). No driver has won five races in the Chase. Stewart has a solid chance of becoming the first – he turned the fastest lap at last month’s test at Phoenix.
- If Stewart wins the championship this year, he’ll join NASCAR Hall of Famers Cale Yarborough, Lee Petty, Darrell Waltrip and David Pearson, the other NASCAR legends with three titles.

Though no driver has experience racing on the new Phoenix surface, Stewart may have turned more laps than anyone at the one-mile track. Stewart is one of the few drivers who participated in both the two-day test in October and the Goodyear Tire Test in August. Carl Edwards also ran both tests.

I Won’t Back Down: Carl Edwards Up To Challenge

Edwards had the best car in spring, but found trouble

Carl Edwards won’t be intimidated.

Edwards took Stewart's words, and used them as inspiration, finishing second and holding on to the points lead with two races to go.

A couple worry spots, though. His three-point advantage roughly equates to 13 points in the old system. That would be the closest margin between first and second in Chase history.

Second, the circumstances of this season give it a similar feel to last year. Last year, Denny Hamlin, going for his first championship, was leading Jimmie Johnson, who owned multiple titles. This year, Carl Edwards, going for his first championship, is leading Tony Stewart, who owns multiple titles. Hamlin squandered a 33-point lead, and Johnson won his fifth title.

Johnson Just About Done
This just isn’t Jimmie Johnson’s Chase. He finished 14th at Texas, his third finish outside the top 10 in the last four races, and fourth finish outside the top 10 overall in the Chase. That matches the total finishes outside the top 10 in the 2008, 2009 and 2010 Chases combined (he had two finishes outside the top 10 in the 2008 Chase, and one each in 2009 and 2010.

He’s now 6th in points, 55 points out of the lead. He leads all drivers in wins at Phoenix, with four – but that was all on the old surface.

What To Watch For: How To Analyze New Phoenix, The New Wild Card Track
This is a tough one. After last month’s two-day test session at the newly repaved Phoenix International Raceway, drivers offered a number of reviews of the surface and new configuration. The consensus: It’s vastly different from the "old" layout. And there wasn’t much of a comparison to other tracks. In other words, who knows. It’ll be interesting

A few insights…

Carl Edwards: "It’s hard to say. I would say this first trip to Phoenix it will be more of a crew chief/engineer race. You’re gonna have to really pay attention to tire wear. The setup is going to be hugely important. The track is very smooth, very easy to drive. I don’t know that you’ll be able to go there and manhandle the car and hustle it around there like you could the old Phoenix – not this first time."

Denny Hamlin: "I think it will be a fun race track. Driving it was like wow, this is a lot different than any other course we’ve ever kind of been on before with the elevation changes and things like that."

Kevin Harvick: "I think there are a lot of unknowns with the repave and the things that have the potential to happen. I look at Phoenix a lot like Martinsville. The Roush cars didn’t run very well there and we have to run well there. So we’re looking forward to it.

"It’s definitely unique. (Turns) three and four is definitely not like it was but it is similar to what it was with the new asphalt as far as the radius of the corner. The exit of turn two is a lot different and the back straightaway is definitely different. They did a good job by designing the track so the fans can see the cars

Jeff Gordon: "The way I look at it is three and four really did not change a whole lot, other than the surface and the tires. It is going to be tricky conditions. Turns one and two has changed quite a bit, as you exit turn two. The back straightaway is completely different, there is definitely no comparison to what goes on back there to any other track. It is going to be challenging, there is no doubt about it."

- NASCAR Media Services

AAA Texas 500 Storylines

Still only one win (Vegas) for Edwards on the season.

As if this year’s edition of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup needed any added heat, Tony Stewart doused the flames with a gallon of verbal gasoline.

Stewart let the world know that he was aiming for points leader Carl Edwards, whose lead shrunk to eight points. Stewart’s third Chase of 2011 moved him to second, cutting the lead to single digits, and inching closer to a possible third NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.

The Victory Lane quote heard ‘round the world: "Carl Edwards had better be real worried. That's all I've got to say. He's not going to sleep for the next three weeks."

Three races remain until the champion is crowned, with a bout at Texas Motor Speedway up next – Sunday, the AAA Texas 500.

Three races also remain in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, which comes off two consecutive open weeks. In Saturday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. hopes to hold off charging Elliott Sadler.

Two races remain in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and a stout effort by Austin Dillon at Martinsville last Saturday has put him ever closer to his first championship. He’ll look to increase an 11-point lead over James Buescher in Friday’s WinStar World Casino 350K at Texas.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES


That’s Odd: Smoke vs. Edwards

Stewart laid down the challenge to Edwards, is he afraid?

With a come-from-behind victory at Martinsville Speedway, Tony Stewart cut the deficit between he and points leader Carl Edwards to eight points.

This budding feud has some juice behind it. Consider these two marquee drivers “The Odd Couple Of NASCAR.” Tony’s Burger King. Carl’s Subway. Tony’s outspoken, with little worry about being politically correct. Carl’s a sponsor’s dream, always quick to flash a smile. Last week at Martinsville, when asked what NASCAR personality he’d be for Halloween, Tony said anyone sponsored by a beer company, so it could match what he’s drinking. Carl’s probably in a gym as you read this.

This will get interesting.

Stewart Aims For Third Title, History
If Stewart can overcome his eight-point deficit, he would become first owner/driver since Alan Kulwicki in 1992 to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup title. Maybe more impressively, he would join Cale Yarborough, Lee Petty, Darrell Waltrip and David Pearson with three championships. Everyone on that list is either a NASCAR Hall of Famer or a NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee.

Stewart won at Texas in 2006, and finished 12th there earlier this season.

Stewart has a better average finish at Texas than Edwards with a 13.2 compared to Edwards 16.5

Edwards’ Chase: Lemons Into Lemonade
Martinsville was the second consecutive race where Carl Edwards viewed a subpar finish as a victory. After a safe effort at Talladega led to an 11th-place finish, Edwards finished ninth after an adventurous Martinsville race. He breathed a sigh of relief after both.

Good news for him: He leads by eight. Better news: Two of his best tracks await: Texas and Homestead.

Edwards started second and finished third at Texas earlier this season. With a series-leading three wins, Texas joins Atlanta as Edwards most prolific track.


Cream of the Crop: Chase Drivers Successful At Texas

Hamlin swept Texas last season, 15th in the spring (Getty)

Nine of the 12 Chase drivers have wins at Texas. The three drivers without a win: Brad Keselowski (fourth in points), Kevin Harvick (third) and Kyle Busch (seventh).

Keselowski’s best finish at Texas is 14th and he finished 18th there earlier this season; Harvick’s best finish is third, and he finished 20th earlier this season; Busch’s best finish is second, and he finished 16th earlier this season.

Denny Hamlin swept both races last season, and Matt Kenseth won at Texas earlier this season.

Full Circle? Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hopes To End Drought At Scene Of First Win
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s win drought stands at 126, but Texas offers a storybook opportunity for its end.

On April 2, 2000 at Texas Motor Speedway, Earnhardt nabbed his first NASCAR Sprint Cup victory. He’s been strong there throughout his career, with an average finish of 14.5. He finished ninth at Texas earlier this season.

- NASCAR Media Services

Stewart Holds Off Johnson, Wins at Martinsville

Sporting News Wire Service

Tony Stewart wins his third race of the Chase (Getty)

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Tony Stewart passed Jimmie Johnson on a restart with three laps left in Sunday's Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway and held off Johnson's desperate bid for the win on the final lap.

The victory was Stewart's third in the Chase for the Sprint Cup and vaulted him into second place in the standings, eight points behind leader Carl Edwards. Stewart won for the 42nd time in his career.

"He'd better be worried," Stewart said of Edwards after the race, "that's all I can say. He's not going to have an easy three weeks."

Miraculously, after twice being lapped on the race track, Edwards salvaged a decent run and retained his lead in the Chase standings with a ninth-place finish, as his two closest pursuers entering the race, Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski, both experienced late trouble and finished 31st and 17th, respectively.

Jeff Gordon ran third, followed by Kevin Harvick, who climbed to third in the standings, 21 points behind Edwards. Denny Hamlin came home fifth, with Jeff Burton sixth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. seventh.

After a wild first half of the race had settled into a 97-lap green-flag run after the midpoint, Hamlin squeezed past Gordon on Lap 320 and stayed out front in traffic until Burton's spin caused the 10th caution of the race.

That started a spate of cautions that gave Harvick and Stewart a chance to move to the front with two-tire calls -- and allowed Edwards to return to the lead lap under the 12th caution with a free pass for the highest-scored car one lap down.

At the drivers' meeting before the race, NASCAR announced that any driver intentionally causing a caution by stopping on the race track will be penalized three laps. The rule is in effect for at least the rest of the season, though the number of laps could vary according to the size of the race track.

Martinsville Results

Martinsville Post-Race Notes

• Tony Stewart earned his 42nd career win in his 461st start. His third win of the season came, as the others have, in the Chase.
• This was Tony Stewart's third Martinsville victory, but his first since spring 2006.
• Tony Stewart led three times for 14 laps, including the final three laps after passing Jimmie Johnson on a restart.
• With nine Chase wins in his career, Tony Stewart is second to Jimmie Johnson (20).
• This was the 11th career victory for Stewart-Haas Racing; nine of those have come from Tony Stewart.
• Chevrolet earned its 48th victory at Martinsville, the most of any make.
• Jimmie Johnson (second) earned his 14th top-five finish at Martinsville; he's finished first or second nine times.
• Jeff Gordon (third) has finished in the top five in 13 of the past 14 races at Martinsville. He also became the fourth driver to lead more than 3,000 laps at Martinsville.
• Kevin Harvick (fourth) finished in the top five for the third consecutive race at Martinsville.
• Denny Hamlin (fifth) earned his first top-five in the 2011 Chase.
• Jeff Burton (sixth) followed a second-place run at Talladega with his third top-10 finish of 2011.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. (seventh) finished in the top 10 in both Martinsville races in 2011.
• Martin Truex Jr. (eighth) picked up his 10th top-10 finish of 2011.
• Carl Edwards (ninth) picked up two free passes in the race; his worst finish in the 2011 Chase is 11th at Talladega.

Driver Chassis Selections for Martinsville

Note: Not all teams list their chassis in PR releases

#1-Jamie McMurray: Crew Chief Kevin "Bono" Manion and the #1 McDonald's team will be bringing chassis #1116 to the Tums Fast Relief 500. This chassis was used for the first time last month at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

#2-Brad Keselowski: will race chassis PRS-803 during Sunday's Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. This is a new chassis to the #2 fleet.

#6-David Ragan: Primary: RK-747 Last ran Martinsville - finished eighth; Backup: RK-755 Last ran Richmond - finished fourth

#5-Mark Martin: Crew chief Lance McGrew has chosen Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 5-651 for Sunday's race at Martinsville. This is the same chassis Martin drove to a 10th-place finish at Martinsville in April.

#9-Marcos Ambrose: The #9 RPM team has prepared chassis No. 754 for the 500-lap race at Martinsville Speedway. This Stanley Ford Fusion has been run previously this season at the Martinsville spring race and both Dover (Del.) International Speedway and Pocono (Pa.) Raceway events.

#14-Tony Stewart: Chassis No. 14-587: This car made its debut in March 2010 at Martinsville Speedway, where it qualified fifth and finished 26th. Prior to Martinsville, Chassis No. 14- 587 never turned a wheel on the racetrack. With a new body honed in the wind tunnel, it was tested at The Milwaukee Mile June 1 in preparation for its second career start in June at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. There, Chassis No. 14-587 earned a hard-fought second-place finish, for after starting 25th, it fell to 33rd after a lap 36 pit miscue on the team's first stop. Two late-race cautions allowed Stewart to regain his lost track position, and with a savvy two-tire pit call, Stewart wheeled Chassis No. 14-587 to pass second-place Kurt Busch on the penultimate lap. The car returned to New Hampshire for the first event of the 10-race Chase for the Championship, where in its third career start, it qualified third before leading three times for 100 laps. But while leading with less than two laps to go, it ran out of fuel. Stewart coasted around the 1.058-mile oval for the final circuit of the 300-lap race and finished 24th, the last driver on the lead lap. Clint Bowyer, who served as Stewart's primary competition for much of the race, wound up with the victory. Chassis No. 14-587 revisited Martinsville for round six of the Chase, where it qualified sixth and rallied back from two pit-road miscues during the race, but a flat right-front tire with less than 10 laps remaining relegated it to a 24th-place finish. With another new body, this car made its first start of 2011 and fifth overall at Phoenix International Raceway in February. It started 18th and led four times for 59 laps before an ill-timed caution period late in the race jettisoned solid pit strategy and left it with a seventh-place finish. Chassis No. 14- 587's second start of 2011 came at Richmond International Raceway back in April, where it qualified 31st and rallied its way to a ninth-place finish. The car sat idle until returning to Richmond in early September for it seventh career start where it logged its third straight top-10 finish.

#17-Matt Kenseth: RK-790 (brand new chassis)

#18-Kyle Busch: Chassis No. 315: This chassis will make its fourth-ever start in Sunday's TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. In its first outing in July's Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Busch started a distant 29th but still managed to bring home a respectable 10th-place finish. Next up, No. 315 headed to Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, where Busch started 17th and went on to score his fourth win of the season in the Pure Michigan 400. In its most recent outing, Busch started eighth and finished a respectable 11th in the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.

#20-Joey Logano: Chassis No. 309: This chassis will make its fourth-ever start in Sunday's TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. In its first outing in June's 5-Hour Energy 500 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, Logano started 19th and finished 11th. Next up, No. 309 headed to Kentucky Speedway in Sparta for the inaugural Sprint Cup Series race at the 1.5-mile oval, where Logano started 15th and went on to finish 14th. In its most recent outing, Logano started 16th in the September race at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway and appeared headed for a solid top-15 finish midway through the race, but engine trouble forced him to
retire on lap 296 of 400 and he placed 35th.

#22-Kurt Busch: will be racing the "PRS-755" Shell-Pennzoil Dodge Charger at Martinsville Speedway this weekend. This will be the first race for the "Double-Deuce" team with this chassis. However, teammate Brad Keselowski drove this car, dressed in the Miller Lite #2 colors, to a sixth-place finish from a 14th-place start in the Sept. 4 Advocare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

#27-Paul Menard: will pilot chassis No. 349 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This #27 Chevy Impala was a brand new addition to the RCR fleet for the 2011 season and was last seen on track at Martinsville Speedway in April, where Menard started 16th and was forced to settle for a 38th-place result after on-track damages caused the motor to expire, prematurely ending the day for the team.

#29-Kevin Harvick: will race chassis No. 332 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. It is the same chassis Harvick drove to his first NSCS win at Martinsville Speedway in April. The No. 29 team has utilized this Chevrolet a total of six times so far in 2011 earning two wins (Martinsville and Richmond International Raceway) and three top-five finishes. Harvick finished 12th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the team's most recent race with this car.

#31-Jeff Burton: will race chassis No. 317 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This #31 Chevy has seen on-track action on three previous occasions this season. The first competitive laps came at Bristol Motor Speedway in March where Burton started 20th and finished in the 17th position. The South Boston, Va., native drove this RCR entry to an 11th-place finish at Dover International Speedway in May and a 33rd-place finish at Pocono Raceway in June.

#33-Clint Bowyer: will pilot chassis No. 324 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable. This Chevy, built new in 2010, accumulated two top-10 finishes during the in 2010 NSCS season at Auto Club Speedway (started-13th, finished-second) and Texas Motor Speedway (started-7th, finished-7th). The five-time Sprint Cup Series race winner also drove this racer twice in 2011 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (started-28th, finished-15th) and most recently at New Hampshire Motor Speedway when Bowyer ran out of gas while leading with two laps remaining, settling for a 26th-place finish.

#36-Dave Blaney: will pilot the No. 910 chassis this weekend at the Virginia track. He most recently piloted the chassis at Dover International Speedway. He also drove the chassis in California, Texas, Darlington, both races at Pocono and Bristol in August.

#39-Ryan Newman: This will be the fourth start for Chassis No. 39-645 this season and the second start for the chassis at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The chassis made its first start in April at Martinsville, where Newman started second and finished 20th, two laps down. Newman led three laps and was in the top-10 for much of the first 300 laps of the 500-lap race, but a broken header pipe and a flat left-rear tire caused him to lose two laps. The next start for Chassis 39-645 was in July at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, where Newman started on the pole and led 118 of 301 laps en route to his 15th career Sprint Cup Series victory. The last on-track appearance for this chassis came in September at Loudon, where Newman started on the pole and led the first 62 laps before finishing a disappointing 25th. A cut tire with less than five laps remaining dropped Newman from 11th to 25th.

#42-Juan Pablo Montoya: Crew Chief Jim Pohlman and the #42 Target team are bringing chassis #1110 to Martinsville Speedway this weekend. This chassis was last run in September at New Hampshire, where Montoya started 31st and finished ninth. The chassis was also used in the first race at Loudon in July, and the first Martinsville event where Montoya finished fourth, overcoming a 27th-place qualifying effort.

#43-A.J. Allmendinger: The #43 Richard Petty Motorsports team has prepared chassis No. 729 for this weekend's event at Martinsville Speedway. This AdvoCare Ford Fusion was run previously this season at Phoenix Raceway, Martinsville, Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, Pocono (Pa.) Raceway and in New Hampshire.

#48-Jimmie Johnson: will drive chassis No. 653 in Sunday's race. He finished 11th in that chassis at Martinsville in April. Johnson finished 31st in backup chassis No. 590 at Richmond International raceway in September.

#88-Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Crew chief Steve Letarte will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-654 for this weekend's race at Martinsville Speedway. This will be the second time that Earnhardt has raced the car, which he drove earlier this season to a second-place finish at Martinsville.

#99-Carl Edwards: RK-791 This is a new car

- compiled by Jayski.com

Keselowski Has Series Best 6.5 Average Finish in Last 13 Heading into Martinsville

Keselowski just might win this Title if Roush drivers let up (Getty)is

Brad Keselowski
No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger
Tums Fast Relief 500
October 30, 2011Martinsville Speedway
TV: ESPN at 1:30 PM ET Radio: MRN/Sirius Channel 90 at 12:00 PM ET
No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger News and Notes

* · This Week’s Charger… The No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team will race chassis PRS-803 during Sunday’s Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. This is a new chassis to the No. 2 fleet.

* · No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge in 2011… After 32 points-paying events, Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team are ranked third in the 2011 Chase for the Championship standings. Keselowski is just 18 points behind leader Carl Edwards following a fourth-place finish in the Good Sam Club 500 at Talladega Superspeedway last Sunday afternoon.

* · Top-Five Leader… With four top-five finishes, Keselowski is tied for the most top-five results in the six races run in the 2011 Chase for the Championship.

* · Nothing “Average” About 6.5… Over the last 13 races, Keselowski has scored a series-best average finishing position of 6.5. During that stretch he has produced two wins, eight top-five finishes and he has led the field for a total of 142 laps.

* · Cheers To Chasing Greatness… The featured tag line on the rear bumper of the “Blue Deuce” this weekend in Martinsville will be “Cheers To Chasing Greatness.” Keselowski sits just 18 points out of the lead in the Chase for the Championship, which would be a “great” accomplishment in his first with driving the iconic car.

* · Deuces Wild… When Brad wins a race during the 2011 Chase for the Championship, two lucky fans will win their own “man cave,” compliments of Miller Lite. The man cave gear includes a “kegerator,” a dart board, Miller Lite neon sign, a basketball game and pub furniture. Visit MillerLite.com/Brad to enter.

* · The Rest is History… Martinsville Speedway is a track where Penske Racing has enjoyed its share of success over the years. In 86 starts, the organization has picked up six wins (all by Rusty Wallace), five poles, 19 top-five and 33 top-10 finishes at Martinsville. Wallace made Martinsville his personal playground in the Miller Lite car as he did not finish outside of the top-three in eight consecutive races from September of 1992 through April of 1996.

Brad Keselowski on his position in the Chase with four races remaining: “That was exactly how we needed to leave Talladega, with a strong finish. We gained points on the leader and gained points on really all the Chase cars. I’m very proud of the effort that everyone on this Miller Lite Dodge team has put forth thus far. We’re still in contention and we have a damn good shot at winning this championship. This weekend’s race at Martinsville is one that I’ve been looking forward to for a while. There is no part or piece of equipment that can substitute for just getting a bunch of laps under your belt there. I’ve learned a lot in my three races, and I know Paul (Wolfe) has as well. This is a race where I think we can really pick up some points on Carl (Edwards) and Matt (Kenseth).”

Brad Keselowski on racing at Martinsville Speedway: “Martinsville will always be a track that is hard on brakes. Yes, the braking systems have come a long way over the last 10 years or so. But if you give us more brakes or better brakes, we are going to use more brakes to the point that we will damage the sidewall of the tire. Overheating the brakes is something that is easy to do because you are going so hard every lap as passing is difficult at Martinsville. Managing your brakes is part of being a successful short-track racer.”

Crew chief Paul Wolfe on racing at Talladega Superspeedway: “Everyone on this team feels really good about going to Martinsville this weekend, especially since we were able to take part in the Goodyear tire test there last month. The good thing about Martinsville is that you don’t have to worry about aerodynamics. It’s the shortest track we visit and it’s all about mechanical grip. In the short time Brad has been at Martinsville, he has shown a great ability to get around the place. Hopefully we can get qualifying in – which is never a guarantee during this weekend – so that we can get a good starting spot. Then, if we can maintain forward bite off the corners, I believe we can gain more points on the Chase leaders to really make this thing interesting heading into the final three weeks.”

- Penske Racing, Press Release

Because It's Martinsville, Johnson Not Finished Just Yet

Johnson has six wins at Martinsville; completed 99.4% of all laps (Getty)

JIMMIE JOHNSON 2011


NEWS

Johnson will drive the No. 48 MyLowe’s paint scheme in Martinsville. MyLowe’s is an integrated online tool on Lowes.com that helps keep track of everything in your home. Users will never have to remember paint colors, warranty information or room dimensions again. When using the My Lowe’s card, purchases will all automatically upload to the users MyLowe’s site and can be customized from there. Johnson also will run the scheme in Texas.

RACE NOTES

Martinsville Speedway
• Johnson has made 19 Sprint Cup Series starts at Martinsville Speedway, where he has six wins, 13 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes.
• Johnson has completed 99.4% (9465 of 9519) of competition laps at the .526-mile track and has led 1616.
• He has an average start and finish of 12.2 and 5.6.

Chassis
• Johnson will drive chassis No. 653 in Sunday’s race. He finished 11th in that chassis at Martinsville in April.
• Johnson finished 31st in backup chassis No. 590 at Richmond International raceway in September.

JIMMIE JOHNSON QUOTES

A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK YOU JUST BEAT AND BANG AROUND MARTINSVILLE AND THEN IT’S OVER, BUT IT’S MORE OF A MENTAL GAME. DO YOU KNOW WHY YOU’RE SO GOOD THERE? IS IT A SECRET? AND WHAT DO YOU THINK IT IS THAT PEOPLE DON’T UNDERSTAND ABOUT WHAT IT’S LIKE TO RACE AT MARTINSVILLE AND BE GOOD AT IT? “Quirky tracks have always worked for me. And this track certainly is that. When I first came here, the first year or year and a half, there was no way I thought this track would be one that I liked. But in time, and in learning how to drive it, there is just one way to really get around here. And a lot of tracks have a lot of other options but there’s one very specific line you have to run and when a guy finds it, and he can set his car up to it, you go and go and go for years. And that’s what Denny (Hamlin) has been able to do and what we’ve been able to do and Jeff (Gordon) has done. So I really think it falls into that category. You go to a big track and there are three or four lanes to run on, you can move around and find somewhere that works for your set-up if you missed it (and) for your own driving style. That’s not the case here. There’s one way to drive this place and that’s it.”

SPRINT CUP SERIES CAREER NOTES


Career Wins
• Johnson has 55 wins in his Sprint Cup Series career, his most recent coming at Kansas Speedway on Oct. 9, 2011.
• The El Cajon, Calif.-native is currently tied with Rusty Wallace for eighth on NASCAR’s all-time wins list.
• He is second in total wins among active drivers, behind Jeff Gordon (85).
• Johnson needed only 296 starts to hit the 50 mark. Only three drivers have reached 50 victories quicker – Gordon (232), Darrell Waltrip (278) and David Pearson (293).
• Johnson has won at least three Cup races a season since he posted his first victory in 2002. He is the only driver in the modern era to win at least three races in each of his first eight full-time seasons.
• Johnson has won Sprint Cup Series races at all but five (Michigan, Chicago, Watkins Glen, Homestead, Kentucky) of the 23 tracks on which the series competes.
• Johnson’s 10 wins in 2007 was the highest number recorded in a single season since Jeff Gordon posted 13 victories in 1998.
• The four-consecutive wins scored by the No. 48 team in the 2007 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup ties a modern-era NASCAR record.

Career Poles
• Johnson has collected 25 poles in his Sprint Cup career.
• The championship driver has earned at least one pole a year since his first full-time season in 2002.
• He had a career-high six poles in 2008.
• Johnson’s most recent pole position was at Dover International Speedway on Sept. 24, 2010.

Career Starts
• Johnson has finished in the top five in the Sprint Cup Series point standings each year since his first full season in 2002.
• Johnson is the only driver to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup every year since the format was adopted in 2004.
• In 359 Sprint Cup Series starts, Johnson has posted 147 top-five and 223 top-10 finishes.
• He has a top-five finish at every track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit.
• Johnson has led a total of 12,048 laps (of 103,382) in his Sprint Cup career, covering over 138,901 miles.
• He has finished on the lead lap 280 times.

Career Recognition
• Johnson was named by Forbes as the Most Influential Athlete in 2011.
• In 2009, Johnson became the first race car driver to be named Male Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press in its 78-year history.
• Voted Driver of the Year four times in his career (2006, 2007, 2008, 2010), Johnson joins Jeff Gordon as four-time winners of the prestigious award.
• Johnson has won an ESPY for Best Driver four times, in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.

- GMR Live Marketing for Team Lowe’s Racing, Press Release

Hamlin Looking for Some 5-Time Home Cooking at Martinsville

DENNY HAMLIN EXPRESS NOTES:

Hamlin is 5/1 Vegas favorite to win Sunday (Getty)

Talladega Recap: Denny Hamlin drove the #11 FedEx Office Toyota to a top-10 finish at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday, finishing eighth in the race won by Clint Bowyer. With the finish, Hamlin moved up one spot to hold 11th in the Chase for the Sprint Cup standings with four races remaining in the season.

To start the race, Hamlin was the odd-man-out with 43 cars on the track and struggled throughout most of the day to find a draft partner. By lap 25 of 188, the FedEx team was down a lap and needed the Lucky Dog to get back on the lead lap. Using various drafting partners throughout the remainder of the event — including teammates Kyle Busch and Joey Logano, Juan Pablo Montoya and Ryan Newman — the #11 Toyota worked from the back to the front. However, Newman’s damaged car was unable to keep the duo in the top-10, with the two slipping back.

A caution with 15 laps remaining enabled Hamlin and Logano to link back up, and the duo sliced through the field to get back in contention. Hamlin was collected by Mark Martin in an incident, but quick work by the FedEx crew got Hamlin back on track for the finish, where he was able to move up to eighth for the checkered flag.

Martinsville Preview: The Series shifts to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, a track that Hamlin has had great success at throughout his career. The 30-year-old Chesterfield, Va., native has won four races at the 0.526-mile ‘paper clip,’ including the last two fall Chase races.

Hamlin has been dominant at Martinsville in his career, finishing in the top-five in eight of 12 starts at the track. In the spring race at the track, Hamlin started fifth and led a race-high 89 of 500 laps, but an untimely caution after the FedEx team had made its green flag pit stop yielded a 12th-place finish.

Hamlin swept the two races at the track in 2010, starting on the pole and leading 40 laps en route to victory lane in last year’s fall race. The spring race saw a determined Hamlin charge from ninth to first in four laps for the win, just two days before undergoing reconstructive knee surgery.

Hamlin earned his first victory at Martinsville in the spring 2008 race, and won again in the fall of 2009. In total, Hamlin has led 1,038 laps at the track, and has an average finish of 6.6.

HAMLIN CONVERSATION:


What has been your key to success at Martinsville? “It’s really a combination of things. I have raced at Martinsville more than I have raced at any other track when you consider total laps. Growing up in Virginia I had the chance to race here in some other series and all that track time definitely gave me a comfort level at Martinsville. That carried over to trucks and Nationwide Series and now to the Cup Series. I feel really confident at this track and I know we bring great cars – those things together usually lead to success. It’s also a lot of pressure because this is a race we circle as one where we expect to be really competitive.”

- Weber Shandwick Worldwide for FedEx Racing, Press Release

Jeff Gordon Going for 8th Martinsville Win Sunday

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (October 25, 2011) – Jeff Gordon rolls into Martinsville Speedway this weekend pretty much out of this year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup, but it doesn’t mean the four-time champion won’t have a huge impact on the weekend.

Actually, with his Martinsville Speedway success, Gordon could prove to be a Chase spoiler this weekend. He comes into the TUMS Fast Relief 500 10th in the standings, 82 points behind leader Carl Edwards.

But Martinsville Speedway is Gordon’s house. He has seven victories in 37 career starts, the most among active drivers at Martinsville. Gordon also owns an average start of seventh and an average finish of seventh. His has finished outside of the top10 just once in his last 17 starts at Martinsville, finishing in 20th-place in 2010.

Conversely Edwards has never won at Martinsville Speedway, has led only 14 laps on the tough half-mile oval and has just one top-five finish in his career at Martinsville.

“We’ve run well and led laps recently, we just haven’t got the win to show for it.” said Gordon. “At times during some of the races, I thought we had the best car. But it doesn’t seem we’ve had the winning combination at the end of races.”

Gordon’s 30 top-10s and laps led lead all active drivers while he is just 19 laps led shy of 3,000. He owns 11 more top-five finishes than any other driver at Martinsville with 24 since his 1993 debut.

Although his last win at Martinsville came in 2005 when he took the checkered flag in both events, winning from the 16th and 15th positions that season.

“I always go to Martinsville with a lot of confidence,” said Gordon. “It is a very challenging track, but we seem to get into a rhythm and seem to be very competitive here – no matter the cars, the tires or any other changes that we’ve had over the years.”

He is not the only one with cause to walk in with confidence this weekend, as defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson has won at Martinsville six times in his career, most recently in the spring of 2009. Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart are the only drivers in the top-five in standings with wins at the shortest track on the circuit. Harvick won the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 in the spring while Stewart has taken the checkered flag at Martinsville twice in his career (2000, 2006).

FIVE-TIME AND MISS SPRINT AT MARTINSVILLE: Five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Johnson and Miss Sprint Cup will be available for questions from 10:45 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday at The Sprint Experience in the Martinsville Speedway midway. One lucky fan will have the chance to square off against Johnson in the champion’s new video game, “Anything With An Engine,” on a big screen television.

JUST TREATS FOR KIDS AFTER KROGER 200: The Martinsville Speedway midway will be transformed into the largest trick-or-treat zone from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. Dozens of souvenir rigs gathered around the midway will hand out goodies for youngsters trick-or-treating.

Under the bright red Martinsville Speedway tent, several NASCAR Camping World Truck Series drivers, including Joey Coulter, Timothy Peters, Matt Lofton, Josh Richards and Dakoda Armstrong as well as Clay Campbell, Martinsville Speedway President, will be treating children to candy and other goodies.

The Martinsville midway and souvenir area is located across the fourth-turn are of the track, adjacent to the Bill France Tour.

THE SCHEDULE: The first on-track action at Martinsville Speedway will be a practice session for the Kroger 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at 11 a.m. Friday, kicking off a day full of excitement. It will be followed by practice for the TUMS Fast Relief 500 and another Kroger 200 practice.

Time trials for the Kroger 200 begin at 10:40 a.m. on Saturday with qualifying for the TUMS Fast Relief 500 scheduled for 12:10 p.m.

There will be back-to-back Sprint Cup practice sessions beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, with the Kroger 200 taking the green flag at 2 p.m.

The TUMS Fast Relief 500 is set to begin at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

Fan gates open at 9 a.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

TICKETS: Tickets for the TUMS Fast Relief 500 begin at $25 and range to $77.

Tickets to Farm Bureau Pole Day and the Kroger 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on October 29 are $30 in advance, $35 on the day of the race, with children 12 and under admitted free.

Tickets for all events may be purchased by calling 1.877.RACE.TIX or by visiting www.martinsvillespeedway.com online.

- Martinsville Speedway, Press Release

Las Vegas Hilton Super Book Odds to Win Talladega Good Sam Club 500

GOOD SAM CLUB 500
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2011

CARL EDWARDS 15
JIMMIE JOHNSON 12
KYLE BUSCH 12
JEFF GORDON 12
MATT KENSETH 20
KEVIN HARVICK 10
DENNY HAMLIN 20
KURT BUSCH 12
TONY STEWART 12
DALE EARNHARDT JR 12
GREG BIFFLE 25
KASEY KAHNE 20
CLINT BOWYER 20
RYAN NEWMAN 20
BRAD KESELOWSKI 20
JOEY LOGANO 25
MARTIN TRUEX JR 30
DAVID RAGAN 20
JUAN MONTOYA 30
MARK MARTIN 30
JEFF BURTON 30
JAMIE McMURRAY 20
BRIAN VICKERS 30
DAVID REUTIMANN 40
PAUL MENARD 30
AJ ALLMENDINGER 40
MARCOS AMBROSE 50
REGAN SMITH 40
TREVOR BAYNE 50
BOBBY LABONTE 60
DAVID GILLILAND 75
FIELD 25

Johnson Going for SEVENTH Charlotte Win in 21st Start This Week

Johnson has an average finish of 10.8 in 20 career starts

Charlotte Motor Speedway
• Johnson has made 20 Sprint Cup Series starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where he has six wins, 10 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes.
• Johnson has completed 96.7% (6816 of 7050) of competition laps at the 1.5-mile track and has led 1385.
• He has an average start and finish of 7.6 and 10.8.

Chassis Choice
• Johnson will drive chassis No. 659 in Saturday night’s race. He crossed the line fourth in that chassis at Pocono Raceway in August.
• Johnson finished second in backup chassis No. 669 at Dover International Speedway on Oct. 2.

JOHNSON QUOTE

TALK ABOUT THIS WEEKEND IN CHARLOTTE: “I think we’re going to be a threat (at Charlotte Motor Speedway). When I look back to Chicago, Kentucky, and Kansas obviously, our 1.5-mile stuff has been coming along pretty good over the last two or three months. So I feel good about it. Charlotte, with that asphalt that’s down, it is its own environment and it’s really tough to get your car right from the start of the race to the end of the race. So I feel like directionally we’re going the right way; but until I get on the track this week and understand where the grip level is and what our issues are, it’s hard to build too much confidence. But it’s been that way all year. It’s so tough to take what you learn at one track and carry it to the next. It’s harder than I’ve ever seen it in our sport. And after talking to other teams and drivers, I feel like a lot of people are going through this in the garage area. Take last weekend at Kansas as an example, when you look at the Happy Hour sheet you would have sworn that the No. 33 (Clint Bowyer) or the No. 99 (Carl Edwards) was going to run away and win the race. Then on Sunday, both of them had their issues and couldn’t perform. So, it’s really tough to even go from a Saturday to a Sunday and hit it anymore. It’s been really hard this year.”

SPRINT CUP SERIES CAREER NOTES

Career Wins
• Johnson has 55 wins in his Sprint Cup Series career, his most recent coming at Kansas Speedway on Oct. 9, 2011.
• The El Cajon, Calif.-native is currently tied with Rusty Wallace for eighth on NASCAR’s all-time wins list.
• He is second in total wins among active drivers, behind Jeff Gordon (85).
• Johnson needed only 296 starts to hit the 50 mark. Only three drivers have reached 50 victories quicker – Gordon (232), Darrell Waltrip (278) and David Pearson (293).
• Johnson has won at least three Cup races a season since he posted his first victory in 2002. He is the only driver in the modern era to win at least three races in each of his first eight full-time seasons.
• Johnson has won Sprint Cup Series races at all but five (Michigan, Chicago, Watkins Glen, Homestead, Kentucky) of the 23 tracks on which the series competes.
• Johnson’s 10 wins in 2007 was the highest number recorded in a single season since Jeff Gordon posted 13 victories in 1998.
• The four-consecutive wins scored by the No. 48 team in the 2007 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup ties a modern-era NASCAR record.

Career Poles
• Johnson has collected 25 poles in his Sprint Cup career.
• The championship driver has earned at least one pole a year since his first full-time season in 2002.
• He had a career-high six poles in 2008.
• Johnson’s most recent pole position was at Dover International Speedway on Sept. 24, 2010.

Career Starts
• Johnson has finished in the top five in the Sprint Cup Series point standings each year since his first full season in 2002.
• Johnson is the only driver to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup every year since the format was adopted in 2004.
• In 357 Sprint Cup Series starts, Johnson has posted 147 top-five and 223 top-10 finishes.
• He has a top-five finish at every track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series circuit.
• Johnson has led a total of 12,046 laps (of 102,878) in his Sprint Cup career, covering over 137,927 miles.
• He has finished on the lead lap 279 times.

Career Recognition
• Johnson was named by Forbes as the Most Influential Athlete in 2011.
• In 2009, Johnson became the first race car driver to be named Male Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press in its 78-year history.
• Voted Driver of the Year four times in his career (2006, 2007, 2008, 2010), Johnson joins Jeff Gordon as four-time winners of the prestigious award.
• Johnson has won an ESPY for Best Driver four times, in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.


- GMR Live Marketing for Team Lowe’s Racing, Press Release

Final Kansas Driver Ratings Following All Practices

Micah Roberts Top 10 Driver Ratings
Hollywood Casino 400
Kansas Speedway
Sunday, October 9, 2011 - 11:16 am (PDT)

Rating    Driver     Odds      Practice 1   Qualified   Practice 2   Practice 3

 1. Jimmie Johnson 6/1          18th            19th           2nd            4th
2008 winner with a 9.1 average finish in 10 starts; looked like Johnson of old in practice.
 2. Jeff Gordon 7/1                   3rd            10th           7th            22nd
Won the first two races held and owns a track best 8.3 average finish in 10 starts.
 3. Kevin Harvick 12/1            32nd            14th          1st            30th  
Career best of third-place came last season; using runner-up Michigan chassis this week.
 4. Matt Kenseth 10/1               5th              4th          15th            3rd
Has finished seventh or better in three of last four; best 10-consecutive lap average in practice. 
 5. Greg Biffle 18/1                  12th             1st            5th           21st
Two-time winner, including last season, and has second best average finish at track (8.3).
 6. Carl Edwards 7/1               16th             2nd           3rd             6th
Has finished sixth or better in five of eight career starts; using seventh-place Pocono chassis.
 7. Kyle Busch 8/1                     8th             3rd            8th           13th
No top-five finishes in eight starts, but practiced well; using Chicagoland chassis this week.
 8. Clint Bowyer 30/1                2nd             24th         12th           1st
Runner-up in 2007; the Kansas native had second best 10-consecutive lap average in practice.
 9. Kurt Busch 8/1                   27th             17th          27th         29th
Didn’t practice very well, but his times were similar to when he dominated Kansas in June.
10. Tony Stewart 7/1               23rd            23rd          15th          24th
Two-time winner, the last coming in 2009; using stellar runner-up chassis from Las Vegas.

Note: This is the second race run at Kansas Speedway this season. The first race, held on June 5, was won by Brad Keselowski using a fuel mileage strategy. His teammate, Kurt Busch, dominated the race leading 152 laps but had to pit late for fuel and finished ninth. 
     
Odds courtesy of the Las Vegas Hilton Super Book.

Micah Roberts, a former race and sports Director, has been setting NASCAR lines in Las Vegas since 1995. For more Roberts insights and post-practice analysis on the race, go to VegasInsider.com or follow MicahRoberts7 on Twitter.

Gordon Hoping for Concrete Improvement at Dover Like Bristol

Jeff Gordon has won at Dover four times, but none since 2001 (Getty)

DOVER, Del. (September 27, 2011) – It has been four months since Jeff Gordon finished 17th at Dover International Speedway, but the No. 24 Drive To End Hunger team feels they have made monster improvements on concrete tracks since that day in May.

There are only two concrete tracks on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule: Dover and Bristol Motor Speedway. Earlier this year in Bristol, Tenn., Gordon started seventh but led no laps en route to a 14th-place finish on the 0.533-mile track. That event was in March, and Gordon and company followed that up with their 17th-place finish on the one-mile track in Delaware two months later.

But the No. 24 team returned to Bristol in August with a vengeance, and Gordon led 206 laps in that 500-lap event before finishing third. Can the Alan Gustafson-led crew rebound similarly in Dover?

“I certainly hope so,” said the No. 24 crew chief. “We learned a lot from our first trip to our second at Bristol this year, and I’m hoping the success on that concrete track translates over to Dover this weekend.”

In 37 starts at “The Monster Mile,” Gordon has four wins, four poles, 14 top-fives and 21 top-10’s. He has led 2,231 laps here, which ranks first among active drivers. But Gordon believes padding those statistics begins on Saturday.

“Qualifying well on Saturday will be important,” said the four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, who is fifth in the point standings and 23 out of the lead. “This is a real fast track, so being in ‘clean’ air makes your life that much easier during the race onSunday.”

Another obstacle facing the drivers and teams will be the rubber-buildup on the race track.

“The rubber on the track will be a challenge, as usual,” said Gordon. “But this track is wide and the groove will usually widen out – so much so you can probably even run near the wall.

“But if there’s significant rubber-buildup, it can be challenging on the restarts and when trying to pass another car.”

One way to avoid that? Be the leader, like Gordon was for much of the race in Bristol last month.

- Performance PR Plus, Press Release