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Busch Piling On Chase Bonus Points

Every inch matters.

In this case, mere inches amounted to a 20 point swing as drivers compete for Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup eligibility.

When a caution flag came out on the last lap of the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, NASCAR officials reviewed video to determine Kyle Busch (No. 18 M&M’s Toyota) was just ahead of Carl Edwards (No. 99 Office Depot Ford) and thereby the winner of the race.

Not only did the win boost Busch’s lead in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings, it earned him yet another 10 potential bonus points.

Each win during the series’ first 26 races is worth a 10-point bonus if a driver makes the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Busch has six wins, which would give him a commanding lead in Chase seeding.

If Edwards had passed Busch, he would have earned the bonus points and cut Busch’s lead.

With only eight races remaining before the Chase begins, teams that are comfortable with their position in the standings will start taking more chances to win races and earn precious bonus points.

Because just like inches, every point matters.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Hits Halfway Mark

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has run half its season, with surprises and stellar competition the highlights of the first 18 races. A number of storylines have emerged, starting with Kyle Busch’s dominance. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 National Guard/Amp Energy Chevrolet), whose move to Hendrick Motorsports set the wheels in motion for Busch’s move to Joe Gibbs Racing, grabbed his first win in over two years and is second in the standings.

Other top storylines include Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Budweiser Dodge) and Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M Ford) experiencing resurgent seasons, Hendrick Motorsports “struggling” and new blood at the top of the heap with Busch, Carl Edwards and Ryan Newman (No. 12 Kodak Dodge) all leading the standings for the first time in their careers.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Mid-Season Look
18 of 36 races complete
10 different race winners
11 different pole winners
46 drivers have led at least one lap
74 different drivers have attempted to qualify for at least one race
All four manufacturers are in the top 12
All four manufacturers have won at least three races

Stewart Not Worried About Summertime LullTony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Toyota) will win at least one race in the Race to the Chase.

That is, of course, if Stewart continues a trend he started when the series expanded to 36 races in 2001. Since then, Stewart has at least one win - and as many as five - each season during the middle 12 races on the schedule. Stewart is winless in 2008, but isn’t worried.

“It’s not like we’re not running well, because we are,” Stewart said. “We’ve just had some circumstances that haven’t gone our way. You’ll have that. We tend to be a late-blooming team anyhow. We plan on doing the same thing we do every week. We’re not changing our approach. Every week our goal is to win the race, and that’s not going to change.”

That goal of winning seems to be easier for Stewart during the middle of the season. In 90 mid-season races since 2001 (races 13-24 on the schedule), Stewart has 15 wins, 37 top fives and 51 top 10s. In contrast, he has 17 wins in his other 248 races.

“We always seem to run well at Chicago,” he said. “We’re cautiously optimistic that we’re going to run well.

We need a good week, that’s for sure. The good thing is that the morale of the team is up. This team has battled adversity so many times that it takes a lot to beat this team down.”

In The Loop: Chicagoland Set Up For Stewart-Harvick Showdown

This Saturday night at Chicagoland Speedway, Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell Pennzoil Chevrolet) will wage what could be an epic head-to-head battle.

Sure, there will be 41 other cars out there. But right now, Stewart-Harvick is the main event.

Only two points separate the two in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings. The winner will either stay in the top 12 (if Stewart finishes ahead of Harvick), or will move into the top 12 (if Harvick finishes on top).

What makes this even more intriguing is that both are phenomenal at Chicagoland.

Only two drivers have multiple wins at Chicagoland - Stewart and Harvick.

The two, along with Matt Kenseth (No. 17 USG Ford), are the only drivers with more than 200 laps led at Chicagoland. And Stewart, Harvick and Kenseth are the only drivers with Driver Ratings above 110.0.

In other words, the battle for a coveted top-12 spot will be held up front.

Over the past three years, Havick owns slightly better stats at Chicagoland than Stewart. Below is the tale of the tape:

Driver Rating: Harvick leads 114.6 to 112.2

Average Running Position: Harvick leads 5.4 to 7.6

Fastest Laps Run: Stewart leads 82 to 27

Laps in the Top 15 percentage: Harvick leads 95% to 88.2%

But since 2005, Kenseth has been the class of the Chicagoland field - despite zero trips to Victory Lane.

Over the past three years, Kenseth has notched two runner-up finishes (2005 and 2007) and a 22nd-place finish in 2006 after leading a race-high 112 laps.

During that span, Kenseth has racked up series-high marks in Driver Rating (126.2), Average Running Position (3.9), Fastest Laps Run (146) and Laps in the Top 15 (792/98.5%).

Also watch for wins and standings leader Kyle Busch to make a strong push for another 10 potential Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup bonus points. With his win at Daytona, Busch now has 60 bonus points, opening up a 40 point lead over Carl Edwards and Kasey Kahne.

There’s a good chance he’ll add to that total. In his Chicagoland career, Busch has a Driver Rating of 105.0 (fifth-best), an Average Running Position of 7.8 (fourth) and 25 Fastest Laps Run (tied for eighth).

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NASCAR’s template to measure the roof of cars revealed a violation with the roof of Truex’s No. 1 car, which couldn’t be made to fit despite efforts of Truex’s crew.

Truex drops from 14th to 18th in the overall standings, putting him 238 points behind Tony Stewart and the 12th and final Chase spot.

Car owner Teresa Earnhardt also lost 150 owners points. In addition, crew chief Kevin Manion and car chief Gary Putnam were suspended for six races and put on probation for the rest of the year. Manion also got hit with a $100,000 fine.

The folks at Dale Earnhardt Inc. may appeal the suspension.

“We are still trying to understand how the car fit our templates multiple times at the shop, but we respect NASCAR’s determination that one of our cars did not exactly conform to their template at the track,” NASCAR.com quoted John Story, the VP of motorsports at DEI, as saying in a statement.

Whether this infraction impacts the negotiations between Truex and DEI on a new contract remains to be seen. It surely means he will miss the Chase, which might give both sides pause as they consider whether to enter into a new agreement. Truex is a free agent after this season.

This could be a tough offseason for DEI. Mark Martin already is on the move to Hendrick Motorsports for a fulltime ride next season. Aric Almirola will take over as the fulltime driver of the No. 8 sign, but sponsor Army may be on the move as well. It’d be more bad news if Truex would opt to move on.

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Here’s Gateway’s release …

GIR Offers Ticket Package in Honor of 50 Years of Richard Petty

MADISON, Ill. - This weekend, seven-time Cup Series champion Richard Petty will celebrate the 50th anniversary of his NASCAR debut. Gateway International Raceway wants to honor “The King” by offering fans an opportunity to watch the sport the 200-time race winner has represented so well in those five decades.

This Wednesday, from 1-6 p.m., GIR is offering the Richard Petty Golden Anniversary sale. NASCAR fans can call 866-35-SPEED during that time and receive two tickets to the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 at Gateway July 19, as well as two Gateway ballcaps for an amazing $ 50!

Over the course of his career, Petty represented both NASCAR and Dodge with class. What better way to show respect to this legendary icon than to give the sport’s great fans an opportunity to see great NASCAR action at Gateway International Raceway for an unheard of price?

For more information on the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 at Gateway International Raceway July 19, visit GatewayRaceway.com and to take advantage of this great offer, call 866-35-SPEED Wednesday between 1-6 p.m.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Seven a Lucky Number for Earnhardt at GIR
by Josh Weinrich

In mid-October of 1998, the NASCAR Nationwide (formerly Busch) Series made its second trip to the Gateway. With the wild action delivered in the series’ inaugural event a year prior, St. Louis race fans were enthusiastic about the NASCAR’s return and witnessed history and a friendly rivalry.

Now two of the most well-known drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, 2003 Cup Champion Matt Kenseth, and two-time Busch Series champion and Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. began a highly-competitive and friendly rivalry. That rivalry was just getting warmed up by the time they rolled into GIR.

Coming into the Carquest Auto Parts 250, Kenseth trailed Earnhardt by just 97 points with four races remaining. The two had swapped the point lead throughout the year but Earnhardt had held the series lead since mid July. In addition to going back and forth for the top spot, the two drivers had traded wins throughout the year. Kenseth had three wins to his credit as opposed to Junior’s six coming into the St. Louis area. If Kenseth wanted to mount a final charge for the title, he needed to close the gap on Earnhardt at Gateway.

From the drop of the green flag, Jeff Purvis drove James Finch’s #4, which finished third in 1997 with Dale Shaw, to the front of the field and began to dominate the early stages. Purvis scored the second-straight top-three finish for James Finch at Gateway by coming home third.

With the end of the 250 miles in sight, series veteran Buckshot Jones began to mount a comfortable lead over Earnhardt in second and Kenseth in third. However, Jones’ Pontiac ruptured an oil line with less than 50 laps to go and handed the lead over to Earnhardt. From there, Earnhardt went on to build a 3.2-second lead on his title rival Kenseth at the checkered flag.

The win was Earnhardt’s seventh and final of the 1998 season. Leaving Gateway, Kenseth trailed Earnhardt by 102 points, and only had three events to make a charge for the title. “Little E” went on to win his first Busch Series title thanks to his Gateway victory.

Another Sprint Cup Series star made a race appearance at GIR that day. Tony Stewart made his first and only Busch start at Gateway driving a Joe Gibbs Racing entry. Stewart, who won the 1997 IRL Championship, made the move to the NASCAR Busch Series in 1998 to prepare for his rookie campaign in the then-Winston Cup Series the following year. Stewart found instant success at Gateway in a stock car by finishing 5th.

The Nationwide Series returns on July 19th, and race fans can witness more history and rivalries by ordering tickets to the Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250. Tickets can be purchased by calling 866-35-SPEED or logging on to GatewayRaceway.com.

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Here’s Part 1 of their series — 1997

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Hot Temps, Hot Racing for NASCAR Debut at GIR
by Josh Weinrich

July 26, 1997, was a hot day in the St. Louis area with near-record temperatures. Loyal St. Louis area race fans had been long awaiting this day which brought NASCAR’s Busch Series to the new Gateway International Raceway. While highs in the upper 90’s in the middle of summer aren’t anything new to Midwesterners, race teams and fans alike persevered through the elements and took part in an unforgettable introduction of NASCAR to the area.

In 1997, Gateway was one of three inaugural events on the Busch Series schedule, along with a mid-spring date at the Texas Motor Speedway and a mid-October date at California Speedway. With a brand-new racetrack and Gateway’s longest event, it was a recipe for the wildest race Gateway has ever seen, with Elliott Sadler scoring his 3rd win of 1997.

There were a number of storylines coming out of that historic day in local racing history. One of those includes the St. Louis debut of a legendary name and a future star.

Some of the drivers were bothered by the temperatures all afternoon. One of those competitors was series regular, Glenn Allen Jr. Allen Jr. was driving the #99 Luxaire Chevrolet for longtime series owner Bill Papke and started on the inside of row two.

Throughout the 300-mile event, Allen Jr. became sick and needed a relief driver for the rest of the event. The young man who replaced him was none other than Dale Earnhardt Jr. Earnhardt was making just his fourth start in the Busch Series driving the #31 Sikken’s Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. Dale Jr. was caught up in an accident and retired from the race on lap 61.

When Allen Jr. became ill, Earnhardt filled the seat in the #99 Chevrolet and drove it to a respectable 14th-place finish. Glenn Allen Jr. competed full time for three seasons in the Busch Series from 1996-1998 and partial schedules in 1999 and 2000 scoring 17 top-ten finishes. Currently, Allen has a partial ownership in Allen-Hock Racing which house cars for three ASA Late Model Series Challenge Divsion teams. The ASA Challenge Series will compete at Gateway on September 6th.

Longtime racer Dale Shaw was one of the feelgood stories that July afternoon. Shaw never competed in more than 13 events in any single season in the NASCAR Busch Series, but found great success in his only trip to Gateway. Shaw turned a 19th-place qualifying effort into a third-place finish. In his Busch Series career, Shaw scored three top five finishes, all in 1997. In fact, in the race before at South Boston Speedway, Shaw finished a career-best second before coming to Gateway. Currently, Shaw serves as the crew chief for his son D.J. Shaw in the PASS Super Late Model division in the northeast.

In 2008, it is not uncommon to see upwards of twenty NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers participating in Nationwide Series events on any given weekend. Ten years ago when the Busch Series first came to Gateway, only a handful of Cup drivers were expected to compete in Busch Series events. The 1997 Busch race at Gateway saw one of the most accomplished lineups in track history. Present and past Sprint Cup race winners that competed in the 300-miler included Elliott Sadler, Steve Park, Kyle Petty, Ricky Craven, Joe Nemechek, and Jimmy Spencer along with Sprint Cup Champions Terry Labonte, Bobby Labonte, Matt Kenseth, and two-time GIR winner and Daytona 500 Champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. This group of drivers that were in the Gateway 300 represent 97 Cup Series wins, 185 Busch/Nationwide Series wins, four Cup Championships, three Nationwide Championships, and one Daytona 500.

More excitement is sure to come on July 19th when the NASCAR Nationwide Series returns to Gateway International Raceway for the Missouri Illinois Dodge Dealers 250. Fans can order tickets by calling 1-866-35-SPEED or logging onto GatewayRaceway.com.

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The series leader got knocked out of line by teammate Denny Hamlin, shuffled beyond the back of the pack and then stormed back not only to reconnect with the pack but to work through it en route to his sixth victory of the season.

The end was squirrely of course, with cars crashing all over the place, but setting the field and allowing Busch to win (and hold off Columbia’s Carl Edwards) under the yellow.

While Busch was making his way through the field, the Hendrick boys — Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr — ran up front most of the night, but Johnson and Gordon got caught up in late incidents and Earnhardt Jr. got shuffled back into the back.

Nice ride by J.J. Yeley, the former Joe Gibbs Racing driver who lost his ride because of Kyle Busch but drove Saturday night in relief of former Gibbs teammate Tony Stewart. Two-time champion Stewart was ill with flu-like symptoms and pulled out of the car 72 laps into the 160-lap race. Yeley drove from 33rd into the top 10, before getting shuffled back and then getting caught up in the wreck that ended the race — involving Travis Kvapil, Sam Hornish Jr., Michael Waltrip, Dave Blaney, Paul Menard, Regan Smith.

Hamlin’s victory was the 10th for the Gibbs’ 20 this season, and Hamlin joins TOny Stewart as a multiple-race winner in the car. Stewart’s won five times, Hamlin two and Kyle Busch and hot shot Joey Lagano one each.

With the revolving cast of characters in the driver’s seat in the 20,  apparently some people are having a hard time keeping track of who’s who behind the wheel.

In fact, the Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service reports that none other Dale Earnhardt Jr. thought Stewart and not Hamlin was driving the 20 Friday night, prompting a couple of funny quotes in Reid Spencer’s story.

“I thought Tony was in the 20 all night,” Spencer quoted Earnhardt as saying. “I didn’t know Denny was in it — so congratulations, Denny.”

According to Spencer, Hamlin had this to say: “I think the reason for the confusion was that the colors (on the car) are the ones (Tony) usually runs. But my head’s a lot smaller than his.”

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Contrast that to what I just saw on SPEED, Elliott Sadler drinking a Coke Zero like he meant it, and then plugging the product’s sponsorship of the former Pepsi 400, now the Coke Zero 400, tomorrow at Daytona.

Now, that’s bein’ a spokesman!

Biffle aside, Coca Cola has some of the best product-placement sodie drinkers in NASCAR. All time guzzlers Kyle Petty, Tony Stewart and Michael Waltrip are in the Coke-sponsored group of drivers, which also includes: Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Denny Hamlin, Mark Martin, Jamie McMurray, Bobby Labonte, Clint Bowyer, David Ragan and Terry Labonte, who is driving for Petty this week.

By the way, if any of the Coke cats win Saturday, a nation full of sodie drinkers can log into the cokezero.com and get a coupon for a free Coke Zero.

And for equal time, I will say that the lead blue drinker, Jeff Gordon, slugs down  his Pepsi pop like he means it.

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Wow. So much for my recent speculation about whether Home Depot would stick with Gibbs or Stewart and whether Gibbs had the leverage. If Stewart is indeed ready to switch Depots, then I’d say he has the leverage now, and Gibbs should begin negotiating a big-dollar buyout.

Although ESPN.com quoted J.D. Gibbs as saying negotiations were ongoing for 2010, if Stewart is indeed signing contingent sponsorship deals, it would seem as though he really doesn’t want to be at Gibbs where he no longer is the top dog with young stars Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin, and therefore it’s time for him to move on sooner rather than later.

A negotiated settlement — i.e. buyout — would appear to be the prudent course, though with a long-time sponsor such as Home Depot involved, that might be easier said than done. Would Home Depot’s deal with Gibbs be as valuable to Home Depot with rising star Joey Lagano in the 20 car? Or someone else, such as pending free agents Martin Truex Jr. or Casey Mears? How much sway will Home Depot have with Gibbs if it wants Stewart at all costs?

It appears to be a bit of a mess, but that’s because NASCAR allows teams to speak with opposing drivers about switching allegiances before contracts expire. In other sports, this would be considered tampering, and it wouldn’t be tolerated. This of course happens every season, the so-called “silly season,” and I guess if NASCAR wanted to prevent it, it would, particularly with the amount of money tied up in marketing and promotion of drivers’ images with certain sponsors.

A s NASCAR and its marketing wing learned last year with the mountains of Dale Earnhardt Jr. No. 8 Budweiser gear, products bearing a lame duck driver in a lame duck car with a lame duck sponsor don’t exactly fly off the shelf.

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