Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008
Loudon, N.H. last weekend was the site for the first race in the “Race to the Chase” — the 10 races leading up to the final 10 races — the “Chase for the Sprint Cup.”
The “Chase” begins in Loudon also — in Septemeber.
Both races there tend to be either boring from start to finish or boring with a little excitement toward the end. This first race to the Chase was pretty much the first option. It had no real excitement but was filled with lots of disappointments from beginning to end.
It wasn’t totally without surprises.
Surprise number one came when Patrick Carpentier qualified his No. 10 Dodge on the pole position for Sunday’s Cup race. (more…)
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Wednesday, May 21st, 2008
Who would have thought there would be an All-Star main event without a single caution for debris or a wreck? Instead, there were three, the only cautions scheduled to break the race into four segments.
The Sprint Showdown (formerly the Open), the qualifying race directly before the All-Star race (officially called All-Star Race XXIV), was a different story. The 40-lap race had one scheduled pit stop after the first of two segments, but quickly the one definite pit stop turned to three additional pit stops.
Patrick Carpentier, the driver who promised to run naked if he was voted in, was the first to bring out a caution when his No. 10 Dodge got loose and spun hitting the wall. He was done and was also disqualified from the Fan Vote because his car was no longer race-ready.
When the segment restarted Carpentier’s teammate, Elliott Sadler, in his No. 19 Dodge, was the second car to bring out a caution (more…)
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Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008
I know it may be a little early for this, but I thought I’d share my predictions for the rest of the season. Maybe in doing so, I can give you a little more insight as to who my favorite driver is — or maybe not.
He may have it in him, but I don’t think Jimmie Johnson will actually win a third championship in a row. I don’t think he’ll drop out of the Top 12 in points, either. He’s high enough up and he’s got very “Jimmie Johnson friendly” tracks up ahead.
I’m sure he’s going to win a few more races. What would the season be if Johnson didn’t win a handful of races and wasn’t a threat to win? (more…)
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Wednesday, April 16th, 2008
The weekend started a day, or rather night, earlier than usual, with a Cup practice session, both Nationwide practice sessions and Cup qualifying.
During qualifying, Ryan “Rocketman” Newman was able to put his No. 12 Alltel Dodge on the pole and starting second, beside him, was Elliott Sadler in the No. 19 Best Buy Dodge. Sadler and his Gillett Evernham Motorsports (GEM) teammate, Kasey Kahne, No. 9 Budweiser Dodge, teams brought brand new cars to the track. A fact that was evident, with Kahne sitting fifth in the lineup.
Carl Edwards, No. 99 Aflac Ford, and Mark Martin, No. 8 U.S. Army Chevrolet, rounded out the top five. However, the three Dodges wouldn’t fair very well in Saturday’s race. (more…)
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Wednesday, March 19th, 2008
Short track racing typically equals disappointment. Disappointment for the drivers, not the fans, and Bristol was no exception.
Once again, like several times this season, the expected winner or dominant driver didn’t cross the finish line first.
For the second time this season with only five races under the belt, Cup qualifying was cancelled due to rain (or weather). Once again, the starting order was set by the owner points.
Nationwide qualifying was also cancelled (for the third time), because the drivers had not practiced on the track. (The rain had cancelled Nationwide practices earlier.)
Saturday called for both series to have one long final practice each with Clint Bowyer’s No. 2 BB&T Chevrolet being the fastest Nationwide car. Kasey Kahne’s No. 9 Budweiser Dodge was the fastest Cup car. Both names would continue to play a part in Saturday’s Nationwide race. (more…)
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Wednesday, February 20th, 2008
Last Thursday, all the 53 drivers entered into the Daytona 500 — the Great American Race — competed in two separate qualifying races — the Gatorade Duels. Only four were able to race their way into the Daytona 500 (John Andretti, Dale Jarrett, Kenny Wallace, and Brian Vickers).
The first duel win went to Dale Earnhardt Jr. who dominate the race and was able to secure his win thanks to Reed Sorenson, driver of the No. 41 Target Dodge, who help push him and keep in first position. This left everyone, including myself, to speculate whether he’d win the 500 or not. I was leaning towards the yes, as were many others that I talked with.
The second duel was won by Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota. This gave Toyota their first Cup win and momentum for the 500. Despite Hamlin being the first Toyota winner, he wasn’t the one everyone was eying for the first coveted win. (more…)
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