Since we last talked, we’ve gotten three races in. Martinsville went well; we ran great all day long. I felt like we should’ve gotten the win there, but all in all, it was a good points day and we led a bunch of laps. Then we went to Rockingham and got another pole–that was good. In the race, we had a pretty good finish–not as good as I wanted it to be but another good points day.
With all the hubbub over the last two weeks about a connecting rod that was found to be a mere three grams underweight in the engine of Joe Gibbs Racing star, Matt Kenseth, and the resulting penalties levied by NASCAR, the main question in my mind is: did we really need to go through all this stupid drama?
Are the powers that be, _that_ out of touch with common sense? Ok, that’s two questions. But really, is there any one among us that didn’t think NASCAR was way off base? Make that three questions … or maybe it’s all one, I don’t know.
Richard “Slugger “Labbe has been crew chiefing in the Cup series since 1997. The last four seasons he’s been on top of the box for Paul Menard, both at Richard Petty Motorsports and now with Richard Childress Racing. Throughout his career to date, he’s notched five wins, 26 top 5s and 74 top 10 finishes. Labbe has won his five Cup races with three different drivers.
It’s an unfortunate thing that NASCAR is so impacted by the weather, but rarely do we sit through two meteorological marathons in one weekend. For Talladega, the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series were both either pushed back or set on hold for so long because of rain that the impending darkness at the light-less racetrack became more of a hazard than the inevitable “big one”. It got to the point where we were groaning and saying, “Just END it already!”
It’s called the Lady in Black because more often than not, Darlington Raceway is not kind to the drivers who try to conquer it. One driver who seems, though, to have a good idea on how to handle this so-called lady, is *Denny Hamlin.*
And if he ever needed to do it again, that would be now. Saturday night’s race will be Hamlin’s first full effort since his return from back injury suffered five weeks ago in a crash with Joey Logano. Hamlin now faces the daunting task of trying to make the Chase. Since he sits 31st in points, it’s probably next to impossible for him to reach the 10th spot with 16 races left in NASCAR’s regular season.
Once again, the Camping World Truck Series sits idle while the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series head off to Darlington Raceway. And during down times like the ones that have plagued the early parts of the year for a while now, there’s little going on that’s worth talking about. So to help keep the Truck Series in your mind ahead of next Friday night’s showdown at Charlotte Motor Speedway, I’m here to share some of the latest and greatest news coming out of the series.
When it was made known that Penske Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing were going to appeal their respective penalties, many were skeptical of the outcome. …
Joe Gibbs Racing had many of their penalties for the No. 20 team reduced during the appeal process on Wednesday. Driver Matt Kenseth and owner …
Roger Penske’s team got some relief Tuesday from NASCAR’s Chief Appellate Officer John Middlebrook, as he chose to reduce penalties assessed to that organization at …
Well, how about that!? It was David and David against Goliath at Talladega and, much like the popular fairytale, David won. At a racetrack that produces unlikely winners, the Front Row Motorsports teammates didn’t disappoint, claiming the team’s first win and sweeping the top two positions over the powerhouses of Hendrick, Gibbs and others. They said anyone can win at the restrictor plate racetracks, but you still have to be around on the final lap. David and David both avoided multiple big ones, a three-hour rain delay and made the right move coming off turn four of the final lap.