Wednesday, September 10th, 2008
As predicted the weather played havoc with this past weekend’s race activities. Both Nationwide and Sprint Cup series teams and drivers were able to participate in their one and only practice session on Friday. However, Friday qualifying sessions were canceled and both races were postponed until Sunday with the Cup race set to run first.
The starting lineup for both races were set according to owner points, which meant Joey Logano was not able to make his Cup debut in the 02 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. It does look like he will be able to attempt to qualify for this weekend’s race in Loudon, N.H. (more…)
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Wednesday, August 6th, 2008
Who would have ever thought NASCAR would run a race in the rain? Not many people, but for Saturday’s Nationwide race in Montreal, Canada that is just what happened.
NASCAR and Goodyear were a step ahead of themselves as they learned of the high possibility of rain for Saturday’s race. The two decided to bring rain tires. These tires had a “tread pattern designed to push water away” and were also made in 1999, a fact that didn’t play a huge role in the race.
Windshield wipers were also mandated for the drivers’ cars, although a few teams opted not to use it — the one wiper per car. Back break lights were also mandated. (more…)
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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, June 18th, 2008
Rain — always a factor — played havoc on Friday’s race track activities, this time at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich.
Sprint Cup qualifying was canceled moments after the rain came down. Ten cars had qualified with Greg Biffle’s No. 16 sitting on top. However, it would be Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Toyota who would “claim” the pole position, thanks to the current owner’s points standings.
The rain didn’t seem to be a problem Saturday. The Cup drivers were able to have their final two practice sessions. Greg Biffle’s No. 16 (still very fast) and Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet were the fastest. (Other track activities were able to resume as well, including an ARCA Remax race and a Craftsman Truck race.)
The LifeLock 400 started Sunday despite the possibility of rain with Busch pulling away from the pack until the first caution flag flew three laps in. (more…)
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Wednesday, June 11th, 2008
Pocono races tend to be very uninteresting.
Anything you want to see typically happens early and maybe at the end. There isn’t usually anything “that interesting” in the middle, just a whole lot of racing. This weekend was no exception.
During Friday’s Cup practice session and qualifying, it was Kasey Kahne’s No. 9 Dodge on top. Kahne picked up his first pole of the season; he was the only driver to top 170 miles per hour around the tri-oval that is known as Pocono Raceway.
“It was perfect,” Kahne said after taking his qualifying laps.
Kahne continued to call his car “perfect” throughout both of Saturday’s practice sessions in which he was in the Top Five. (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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