Fan’s View: Who Finished in the Top 12 & Aren’t Even in NASCAR’s Chase
Brad Keselowski won and Jeff Gordon appeared late in the running to almost give him some competition. There is nothing very stunning about the major …
Numbers Game 10/01/2012
by Garrett Horton 3 Three of the Chase contenders have yet to post a top-10 finish in the first three races of NASCAR’s playoff – …
Track Testing Enables Ford Teams to Gather Crucial Data for 2013 NASCAR Fusion as Countdown to Daytona Continues
DEARBORN, Mich., October 1, 2012 – While advances in computer simulation models and wind tunnel technology have given race teams the ability to predict what conditions they …
Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2012 AAA 400 at Dover
The caution flag flew for Matt Kenseth breaking a track bar mount on lap 310. The lead lap cars pitted and Brad Keselowski never visited pit road again, making his tank of fuel last 89 laps en route to his fifth win of the season and second of the Chase.
The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2012 AAA 400 at Dover
Sometimes those who have nothing to lose are the most dangerous of all. For most of the day on Sunday, it looked as though Kyle Busch, who failed to make the Chase this year, had the field covered at Dover. If the race hadn’t come down to fuel mileage, Busch would most likely have been the driver in Victory Lane. True to his take-no-prisoners style, Busch took the race lead from teammate Denny Hamlin and from there, cut nobody a break — not even Hamlin, who is very much in the title hunt. Leading 302 of 400 circuits, the only thing stopping Busch was that extra stop for gas, slipping him to a seventh-place finish when winner Brad Keselowski and others could go the distance.
Chasing Self-Destruction: Ford’s Sprint Cup Title Hopes Fall Apart
Roush Fenway Racing may have lost a truck arm Sunday at Dover, courtesy the No. 17 Ford of Matt Kenseth but in the stands they quickly gained themselves a new fan: Eeyore. How could the famous donkey, known for a need of modern day antidepressants _not_ be attracted to a trio of riveting quotes like these?
“In two out of three Chase races something either fell off or broke, so obviously that’s not good. Our performance hasn’t been very good either, so I don’t know. Today was a struggle. This is probably the worst we’ve run here for as long as I can remember. From the first lap on the track to the last lap on the track we were pretty much junk.” _Kenseth_
NASCAR’s Real “Monster” Lies In The David vs. Goliath Chase Battle Ahead
Monster. What monster? Unless you’re talking Halloween, for Jimmie Johnson Dover’s mythical one-“Miles” oval serves as his killer assistant to help slay Sprint Cup Chase competition. The numbers tell a tale of terror, not for him but everyone else; leading 2,318 career laps on the concrete, more than at any other facility success is not only expected but routine. Adding a fourth-place finish Sunday, his ninth top-10 result in NASCAR’s last ten trips out to Delaware I’d say fear is the last adjective that crosses his mind while driving.
So why did Mr. Five-Time, of all people leave Dover with the descriptors “afraid” and “apprehensive” instead of a typical A+? Three races in to a 2012 postseason quickly coming into focus, that answer is simple: Brad Keselowski equals J.J. Chase kryptonite.
Pace Laps: Last Hurrahs for NASCAR Independents, Hoosiers, and Sam Hornish?
*Sprint Cup: Talladega One Last Chance For Phoenix To Fly?* For more than 20 years, James Finch has fought the good fight as a single-car, independent NASCAR team owner–with middling, often frustrating results. So this season, despite limited sponsorship, he made one special push to break out from the back end of NASCAR’s Cup Series garage, moving from respectable some of the time to potential Chase participant this September. A “lucky break” left the No. 51 car partnered with its biggest heavyweight yet behind the wheel; landing former Sprint Cup champion Kurt Busch, a driver hungry to prove himself after an unceremonious release from Roger Penske made it seem the sky was the limit.
Nationwide Series Breakdown: OneMain Financial 200
Just like the spring, Joey Logano emerged victorious in Nationwide competition at Dover. The only difference was this race was devoid of the close battle to the finish between he and teammate Ryan Truex. This one was never in doubt, with the No. 18 team leading 184 of the 200 laps run en route to his seventh victory of the 2012 season. Paul Menard, Michael Annett, Elliott Sadler, and Kyle Busch rounded out the top 5.
Tracking the Trucks: Smith’s 350
*In a Nutshell:* Nelson Piquet, Jr. took the checkered flag 0.223 seconds ahead of Matt Crafton to win the Smith’s 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Saturday night. The driver of the No. 30 Chevrolet led for times for 30 laps and made a thrilling last-lap pass for his second victory of 2012. Joey Coulter, Brendan Gaughan, and Todd Bodine rounded out the top 5.
*Who Should Have Won:* *Nelson Piquet, Jr.* Having run sixth in the lone practice session, the driver of the No. 30 Toyota qualified 13th and took the lead for the first time during a round of green flag pit stops. He went on to lead three more times, including the final lap. Though he tried and failed to make a pass on Crafton twice in the closing laps, he made one last attempt on the final lap and made the move stick en route to his third national series victory this year.