Kevin Harvick had two wins in a row and had moved into the 5th place in Championship points standings after Martinsville, but arriving in the Lone Star State the other Richard Childress teams were looking for new life. Jeff Burton slid back three places after Martinsville and Paul Menard had lost six spots to fall to 13th place, while Clint Bowyer improved one spot to 16th position. Past successes at Texas by all drivers had RCR confident that the four teams would drive strong at TMS.
Jeff Burton ran 6th quickest for RCR during first practice and Clint Bowyer ran 9th fastest while the the other two team members struggled. Second practice found Paul Menard with enough speed to grab the second fastest speed of the session, just .001 of a second behind Kasey Kahne. Bowyer showed 11th fastest on the board, Harvick was 27th, and Burton was left back in 41st place during the second session.
With RCR team speeds all over the board during both practices there was no certainty upon the performance of any of the teams going into qualifications. More than respectable qualifying efforts rewarded Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton with 3rd and 5th.place starting positions. Paul Menard would roll off the grid in 19th position and Kevin Harvick was to start Saturday's race in the 29th place.
Paul Menard
After starting from the 19th position on the grid, RCR driver Paul Menard found the green Quaker State paint scheme brought him some good fortune at Texas. In the opening segment of race, Paul moved into the top 15 and remained there throughout most of the day.
Just after the halfway mark in the 500-mile race, Menard made his way into the top 10. With only minor adjustments in the pits and no errors by the crew or the driver during stops, Paul found himself in 6th position with just more than 100 laps to go.
Menard took 5th position on the last lap when he passed an out of fuel Tony Stewart. Finishing 5th rewarded Paul with a two-spot increase in points standings. Now in the 11th position, Menard is 47 points back from points leader Carl Edwards.
Jeff Burton
From the 15th position at the green flag, Burton lost seven position in the first 10 laps and came into the pits for major adjustments and a set of new right side tires during the early caution. Through improvements in the pits Jeff was able to climb back as high as 13th position during the first half of Saturday's race.
As night fell upon the track, Burton lost handling in the car and found himself fighting the steering through the turns. Regular scheduled pit stops kept Jeff's lap times competitive however, and he remained running on the lead lap.
The final pit stop of the night was without error for the #31 Caterpillar team and Burton was able to bring home an 11th place finish – his best of the season so far. Jeff improved three spots and now resides in 25th place in points standings. Saturday night was Jeff Burton's 900th career NASCAR start.
Clint Bowyer
Starting inside row two on Saturday night was Clint Bowyer. The #33 Chevrolet was a bit tight at the beginning of the race but adjustments during an early yellow allowed crew chief Shane Wilson to tighten up Clint's ride. Bowyer first took the lead on lap 200 after spending most of the beginning of the race solidly in the top five.
Clint led a total of 44 laps at Texas Motor Speedway to earn an extra point toward Championship standings. The RCR/Cheerios team held their collective breath on lap 248 when the #83 car made contact with Bowyer on the front stretch. Although the car was almost completely sideways, Clint was able to save the car from spinning.
With a strong car, solid stops, and no mistakes on or off the track Bowyer finished in the runner-up position. This is a career best finish at Texas Motor Speedway for Clint. Bowyer gained four places in points and now finds himself in the 12th spot in Championship standings, just 12 points out of the top ten.
Kevin Harvick
Starting from deep in the field, Kevin Harvick had his work cut out for him on the track Saturday night. Handling was not good in the #29 car and Harvick was unable to make up ground early. Bad luck followed Kevin to the pits as he became virtually trapped between cars during two separate stops and fell further behind the leaders.
Repeated adjustments during pit stops improved the car's handling little throughout the evening. On the long-green flag runs of the latter stages of the race Harvick found himself losing ground and two laps down. A finish of 20th place left the Budweiser team down four spots in the standings; Kevin is now 9th in Championship points.
Looking Ahead to Talladega
Kevin Harvick won last years spring race and Clint Bowyer won the fall race at Talladega. With both of last year's races being won by RCR drivers there is much confidence that the team will perform strongly again at this year's spring race.
Paul Menard has seen some past success at this track; Paul's first victory in the ARCA series came at Talladega and he snagged the runner-up position in the spring 2008 Cup race. Jeff Burton has yet to find victory lane at Talladega in his 34 starts but posts four finishes within the top five and 13 finishes in the top 10.
This weekend should be a good week for Richard Childress Racing as all drivers for the team have shown prowess on the Talladega Super Speedway. Each of the RCR drivers have different experiences to draw upon and through teamwork have the ability to make it a good weekend. Two practices on Friday afternoon lead into Qualifications on Saturday; the green flag drops Sunday afternoon for the Aaron's 499 from Talladega
Amy McHargue
http://ellipticalcurrents.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
Richard Childress Racing; This Week in Retrospect - Martinsville
Arriving in Martinsville Richard Childress Racing had both Kevin Harvick and Paul Menard in the top 10 in driver points standings. Clint Bowyer had moved up seven positions and Jeff Burton improved four positions after both drivers had solid days at Fontana.
First practice at Martinsville was promising as all four RCR driver posted speeds in the top 11 but second practice saw the RCR drivers lacking in the speed of the first session. Menard was the fastest of RCR drivers in practice two, posting the 15th fastest speed among all drivers.
Kevin Harvick came out of Qualifications on Saturday with a 9th place starting spot, the best among the RCR drivers. Clint Bowyer would start 15th, Paul Menard would start 16th, and Jeff Burton would start from the 32nd position.
Paul Menard
The #27 Team did not have a good weekend at Martinsville. After a 16th place qualifying effort driver Paul Menard was left alone on the high side early in the race and drifted back in the pack. Being stuck in traffic and battling against a loose car Menard brought the Chevrolet to the pits for adjustments during the lap 52 caution.
Paul made his way back on the lead lap by receiving the lucky dog pass on lap 175 and continued his rise through the field during the following hundred laps. Menard restarted 15th after the Truex incident but just three lap later was bumped from behind and spun into the first turn safer barrier.
After a eight lap stay in the pits Menard returned only to call it a day 12 laps later because of mechanical issues. Menard finished Sunday's race in the 38th position and lost six position in points standings. Paul is now showing in 13th position in Cup standings.
Jeff Burton
The struggles that Jeff Burton has been followed by thus far in the 2011 season continued on Sunday. Burton fought a loose car from the beginning of the race but managed to make his way forward from a starting position of32nd to the 17th spot by lap 100.
After multiple adjustments by the Caterpillar crew the car improved to allow Jeff to break the top ten; he ran as high as 9th before loose conditions returned. As Burton began sliding back in the pack he made contact with another car and sustained right-side damage.
After further front-end damage during a later restart Jeff found himself five laps down after a green flag stop for repairs. Burton finished 24th in Martinsville and began a backwards slide through points standings. Burton is now shown in 28th position in the points totals after losing three spots this week.
Clint Bowyer
RCR #33 driver Clint Bowyer had a fast car from the green flag on Sunday. He quickly made his way through the field from his 15th starting position to reach the top five by lap 100. Clint led the race on three separate occasions for a total of 91 laps, gaining a valuable bonus point toward Championship standings.
Clint ran with the fastest cars on the track through the first half of the race at Martinsville. The car inexplicably tightened up in the last 100 laps of the event and no improvements could be found by the BB&T pit crew.
Bowyer said after the race that he felt as if he had a car that could win at Martinsville until the tight conditions arrived late in the day. Clint finished in the 9th position and moved up one spot in Championship standings to the 16th position, 30 points out of the top ten.
Kevin Harvick
For the second week in a row Kevin Harvick finished ahead of the pack on Sunday. This week, for his efforts he took home a coveted Martinsville grandfather clock. This Martinsville win marked the first Richard Childress Racing win since Dale Earnhardt won the fall Martinsville race in 1995.
Harvick's day did not start out as smoothly as he would have liked; after starting 9th on the grid Kevin began falling back through the pack early as he fought car handling issues. Damage from a mid-race incident resulted in chassis issues.
The #29 Chevrolet Team went to work in the pits, made adjustments, and gave Harvick back a car he could work with. The two-tire stop call by crew chief Gil Martin on lap 372 may have been the call of the day as Kevin was then in position to drive his way to the front of the field during the last quarter of the race.
The final laps of the race were again the deciding factor in Harvick's win over Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Kyle Busch on Sunday. Kevin closed on the leaders and passed Earnhardt for the lead with just three laps to go.
In addition to the win, the #29 car also took home two contingency awards including the Moog's Problem Solver Award for improving lap speeds the most among all drivers during the second half of the race. Harvick moves up four spots to the 5th spot in Championship standings after this week's win, 15 points behind points leader Kyle Busch.
Looking Ahead to Texas
Jeff Burton says that despite the bad luck the #31 team has encountered at every turn this season they will try their luck again at Texas. 20 previous Cup starts at Texas have resulted in nine top 10 finishes, three top fives, and two wins in 2007 and his first Cup race at Texas in 1997.
With nine Cup starts to his credit at Texas Motor Speedway Paul Menard has less experience than his teammates on this track. His only top 10 finish at TMS came in last fall's race. With a bit of leftover confidence in regard to this track Menard has a good chance of posting another strong finish this week.
Clint Bowyer has five top 10 finishes in his 10 Cup starts in Texas. Bowyer will be looking for win number one at Texas and for the season this weekend as he tries to better his previous best fourth finish in the Lone Star State.
Texas Motor Speedway is a track that Kevin Harvick has yet to conquer; 16 previous starts in Texas have given Kevin eight top ten finishes and three top fives, but no credits in the win column. Harvick and crew will be hoping that Texas leaves them continuing their climb upward through the Championship standings.
The Richard Childress Racing team has a good chance of finding each driver higher in points when they leave Texas Motor Speedway. With Harvick the only RCR driver currently in the top ten improvements are desired.
The majority of Paul Menard's 2010 successes came on mile-and-a-half tracks, he could be the RCR to keep an eye on for Saturday night's race. Watch NASCAR Sprint Cup action under the lights at Texas Motor Speedway this Saturday night to find out which Richard Childress Racing drivers are hot in Texas.
Amy McHargue
http://ellipticalcurrents.blogspot.com
First practice at Martinsville was promising as all four RCR driver posted speeds in the top 11 but second practice saw the RCR drivers lacking in the speed of the first session. Menard was the fastest of RCR drivers in practice two, posting the 15th fastest speed among all drivers.
Kevin Harvick came out of Qualifications on Saturday with a 9th place starting spot, the best among the RCR drivers. Clint Bowyer would start 15th, Paul Menard would start 16th, and Jeff Burton would start from the 32nd position.
Paul Menard
The #27 Team did not have a good weekend at Martinsville. After a 16th place qualifying effort driver Paul Menard was left alone on the high side early in the race and drifted back in the pack. Being stuck in traffic and battling against a loose car Menard brought the Chevrolet to the pits for adjustments during the lap 52 caution.
Paul made his way back on the lead lap by receiving the lucky dog pass on lap 175 and continued his rise through the field during the following hundred laps. Menard restarted 15th after the Truex incident but just three lap later was bumped from behind and spun into the first turn safer barrier.
After a eight lap stay in the pits Menard returned only to call it a day 12 laps later because of mechanical issues. Menard finished Sunday's race in the 38th position and lost six position in points standings. Paul is now showing in 13th position in Cup standings.
Jeff Burton
The struggles that Jeff Burton has been followed by thus far in the 2011 season continued on Sunday. Burton fought a loose car from the beginning of the race but managed to make his way forward from a starting position of32nd to the 17th spot by lap 100.
After multiple adjustments by the Caterpillar crew the car improved to allow Jeff to break the top ten; he ran as high as 9th before loose conditions returned. As Burton began sliding back in the pack he made contact with another car and sustained right-side damage.
After further front-end damage during a later restart Jeff found himself five laps down after a green flag stop for repairs. Burton finished 24th in Martinsville and began a backwards slide through points standings. Burton is now shown in 28th position in the points totals after losing three spots this week.
Clint Bowyer
RCR #33 driver Clint Bowyer had a fast car from the green flag on Sunday. He quickly made his way through the field from his 15th starting position to reach the top five by lap 100. Clint led the race on three separate occasions for a total of 91 laps, gaining a valuable bonus point toward Championship standings.
Clint ran with the fastest cars on the track through the first half of the race at Martinsville. The car inexplicably tightened up in the last 100 laps of the event and no improvements could be found by the BB&T pit crew.
Bowyer said after the race that he felt as if he had a car that could win at Martinsville until the tight conditions arrived late in the day. Clint finished in the 9th position and moved up one spot in Championship standings to the 16th position, 30 points out of the top ten.
Kevin Harvick
For the second week in a row Kevin Harvick finished ahead of the pack on Sunday. This week, for his efforts he took home a coveted Martinsville grandfather clock. This Martinsville win marked the first Richard Childress Racing win since Dale Earnhardt won the fall Martinsville race in 1995.
Harvick's day did not start out as smoothly as he would have liked; after starting 9th on the grid Kevin began falling back through the pack early as he fought car handling issues. Damage from a mid-race incident resulted in chassis issues.
The #29 Chevrolet Team went to work in the pits, made adjustments, and gave Harvick back a car he could work with. The two-tire stop call by crew chief Gil Martin on lap 372 may have been the call of the day as Kevin was then in position to drive his way to the front of the field during the last quarter of the race.
The final laps of the race were again the deciding factor in Harvick's win over Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Kyle Busch on Sunday. Kevin closed on the leaders and passed Earnhardt for the lead with just three laps to go.
In addition to the win, the #29 car also took home two contingency awards including the Moog's Problem Solver Award for improving lap speeds the most among all drivers during the second half of the race. Harvick moves up four spots to the 5th spot in Championship standings after this week's win, 15 points behind points leader Kyle Busch.
Looking Ahead to Texas
Jeff Burton says that despite the bad luck the #31 team has encountered at every turn this season they will try their luck again at Texas. 20 previous Cup starts at Texas have resulted in nine top 10 finishes, three top fives, and two wins in 2007 and his first Cup race at Texas in 1997.
With nine Cup starts to his credit at Texas Motor Speedway Paul Menard has less experience than his teammates on this track. His only top 10 finish at TMS came in last fall's race. With a bit of leftover confidence in regard to this track Menard has a good chance of posting another strong finish this week.
Clint Bowyer has five top 10 finishes in his 10 Cup starts in Texas. Bowyer will be looking for win number one at Texas and for the season this weekend as he tries to better his previous best fourth finish in the Lone Star State.
Texas Motor Speedway is a track that Kevin Harvick has yet to conquer; 16 previous starts in Texas have given Kevin eight top ten finishes and three top fives, but no credits in the win column. Harvick and crew will be hoping that Texas leaves them continuing their climb upward through the Championship standings.
The Richard Childress Racing team has a good chance of finding each driver higher in points when they leave Texas Motor Speedway. With Harvick the only RCR driver currently in the top ten improvements are desired.
The majority of Paul Menard's 2010 successes came on mile-and-a-half tracks, he could be the RCR to keep an eye on for Saturday night's race. Watch NASCAR Sprint Cup action under the lights at Texas Motor Speedway this Saturday night to find out which Richard Childress Racing drivers are hot in Texas.
Amy McHargue
http://ellipticalcurrents.blogspot.com
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Richard Childress Racing; Week in Retrospect - Fontana
Leaving Bristol the Richard Childress Racing Teams were still scratching their heads trying to figure where last years consistently strong runs had gone. RCR newcomer Paul Menard found the most success in early season races, fifth in overall point standings after Bristol. RCR veterans Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, and Clint Bowyer were all out of the top 12 following the fourth race of the season; people were starting to wonder what had went wrong in the Childress stables.
First practice at Fontana did not show any improvement for the Childress Teams. Clint Bowyer posted the best times of RCR drivers during the session with just the 15th fastest speed on the board. Jeff Burton could find speed for 19th place, Paul Menard posted the 19th quickest speed of the session, and Kevin Harvick was back in the 28th spot.
Jeff Burton began forward progress for RCR when he posted the fastest qualifying speeds among RCR drivers for Sunday's Auto Club 400 earning a 7th position starting spot. Struggles for the rest of the RCR team were still in attendance as Paul Menard qualified in the 15th position, Bowyer would start the race in 17th position, and Harvick in 24th.
Someplace between qualifications and second practice Kevin Harvick's team found something in the garage to turn them around; the #29 car posted the fastest speed of all drivers during the second session. Jeff Burton held steady after qualifications the day before and found himself 8th fastest during second practice. The third and final session found Clint Bowyer and Paul Menard, running a very similar setup 7th and 8th quickest while Burton and Harvick ran 10th and 21st.
Paul Menard
The 27 car of Paul Menard had handling issues early on Sunday and lost track position almost from the green flag. Fighting a tight race car the Menard's Pit Crew made adjustments during each stop, consistently improving driving conditions for Paul. Menard took just two tires on lap 75 and had moved into the top 10 by lap 120.
Paul stayed within the top ten until he was shuffled back in traffic during the lap 175 restart. Back in traffic the car tightened up again on Menard and he fought the car on every turn. After coming in for four fresh tires during the last caution of the day, Paul restarted in the 21st position with just nine laps to go.
With new rubber under the car he was able to fight his way back up to a personal best finish at the Auto Club Speedway of 16th place. Paul Menard lost two spots in Championship points standings, falling to seventh place.
Jeff Burton
Starting 7th on Sunday Jeff Burton held his own through lap 69 pit stops, never dropping below his starting spot. During the first green-flag stops Jeff was caught speeding on pit road and dropped back to the 26th position after serving his penalty. Burton won the right to the lucky dog pass when the caution came out just seven laps later and over the next 15 laps made his way back to the top ten.
Throughout the mid-section of the race Burton stayed between 10th and 15th positions. Jeff and his #31 Caterpillar Team looked to be on their way to a much-needed top ten finish until a call for two tires during the last caution proved to be the wrong one.
A lack of handling caused Burton to lose five positions over the last nine laps of the race; Jeff crossed the finish line in the 15th spot. As Burton said post-race “We took two tires on that last stop and the car just didn't like two tires.” Jeff did gain four places in the points this week and now shows in 25th position.
Clint Bowyer
In the opening 25 laps during Sunday's race, Clint Bowyer moved from his 17th starting position to the 5th spot and stayed out during the first green-flag pit stops to lead a lap for an important bonus point toward Championship standings. Losing grip on long runs, the crew made adjustments to tighten the car on stops and helped Bowyer stay within the top 10 for most of the race.
With no changes to the car during Clint's last stop on lap 176, the #33 Chevrolet was able to navigate through traffic and as high as fourth position before the last caution of the race. Car handling fell off during the last nine laps and Bowyer found himself battling loose conditions in the car.
Fighting to hang onto track position Clint blocked those he could and stayed out of the way of those who he could not keep from passing him. Finishing in 7th position on the day Bowyer improved seven spots in standings and now shows in the 17th place in the Championship race.
Kevin Harvick
With the fastest speed in the second of three practices, Team Harvick knew they had something to offer the rest of the field on Sunday. In the opening run Kevin moved the car from 24th to 16th before his first pit stop on lap 32. Four tires, an air pressure adjustment, and 25 laps later Harvick was in the top 10.
On fresh tires Kevin told the his crew he was loose but after just a few laps the car just kept improving. Restarts hurt track position for the #29 Jimmy John's Chevy as he fought the car on the beginning of the run but improvements with handling during long runs helped Harvick find the top five by the lap 102 restart.
Harvick made a stop for fuel and tires just one lap before the caution came out on lap 170; the team opted to stay out and dropped to 5th position through the next green flag run. When the last caution came on lap 186 Kevin and Crew Chief Gil Martin chose to stay on the track.
With two laps to go Harvick was in the runner-up spot and had leader Jimmie Johnson in his sights. On the last turn of the final lap Kevin made his move to pass Johnson and win Sunday's Auto Club 400.
After the race, Kevin said “We knew our cars were fast enough to win races. We just haven't had the circumstances go right. We had a fast car and the circumstance played in our favor." Harvick moved up six spots in Championship points standings and is now in 9th place in the standings.
Looking Ahead...to Martinsville
The Martinsville paperclip hosts this weekend's festivities and RCR drivers have high hopes. Paul Menard comes in with a career best 13th place finish at this track. Regarding Martinsville, Menard said “These guys work really hard, and I have the utmost confidence in them. We all know what we are capable of and set high expectations for ourselves."
Still looking for his first win at Martinsville Speedway Kevin Harvick has shown he has some prowess making his way around the track. One-third of Harvick's starts here have offered up top 10 finishes at the end of the day. Coming off of last week's win, a pole start at last fall's Martinsville race, and a 3rd place finish at the spring race here last year Kevin will come out with confidence and a plan to win.
Jeff Burton won at Martinsville in 1997. He has 10 top five finishes and another five finishes within the top 10 at this track. Looking to continue moving up in the standings Burton will be looking for his first top ten of the year. Only one of Jeff's last five starts at Martinsville has paid off with a top 10 finish; Burton will have to dig deep to tame this track on Sunday.
Clint Bowyer has five top 10 finishes and one top five finish in his ten Cup starts at Martinsville. With a 7th place finish here last spring Bowyer knows he has what it takes to finish strong here. He'll be searching for his first win at this track; he will need a fast car and a flawless day in the pits to make his way to the Winner's Circle.
Can Richard Childress Racing produce a week with all four drivers posting top ten finishes? Find out this weekend as drivers roll into Martinsville Virginia for two practice sessions on Friday, qualifying Saturday at noon, and short-track racing at the .526 mile Martinsville Speedway on Sunday afternoon.
Amy McHargue
http://ellipticalcurrents.blogspot.com/
First practice at Fontana did not show any improvement for the Childress Teams. Clint Bowyer posted the best times of RCR drivers during the session with just the 15th fastest speed on the board. Jeff Burton could find speed for 19th place, Paul Menard posted the 19th quickest speed of the session, and Kevin Harvick was back in the 28th spot.
Jeff Burton began forward progress for RCR when he posted the fastest qualifying speeds among RCR drivers for Sunday's Auto Club 400 earning a 7th position starting spot. Struggles for the rest of the RCR team were still in attendance as Paul Menard qualified in the 15th position, Bowyer would start the race in 17th position, and Harvick in 24th.
Someplace between qualifications and second practice Kevin Harvick's team found something in the garage to turn them around; the #29 car posted the fastest speed of all drivers during the second session. Jeff Burton held steady after qualifications the day before and found himself 8th fastest during second practice. The third and final session found Clint Bowyer and Paul Menard, running a very similar setup 7th and 8th quickest while Burton and Harvick ran 10th and 21st.
Paul Menard
The 27 car of Paul Menard had handling issues early on Sunday and lost track position almost from the green flag. Fighting a tight race car the Menard's Pit Crew made adjustments during each stop, consistently improving driving conditions for Paul. Menard took just two tires on lap 75 and had moved into the top 10 by lap 120.
Paul stayed within the top ten until he was shuffled back in traffic during the lap 175 restart. Back in traffic the car tightened up again on Menard and he fought the car on every turn. After coming in for four fresh tires during the last caution of the day, Paul restarted in the 21st position with just nine laps to go.
With new rubber under the car he was able to fight his way back up to a personal best finish at the Auto Club Speedway of 16th place. Paul Menard lost two spots in Championship points standings, falling to seventh place.
Jeff Burton
Starting 7th on Sunday Jeff Burton held his own through lap 69 pit stops, never dropping below his starting spot. During the first green-flag stops Jeff was caught speeding on pit road and dropped back to the 26th position after serving his penalty. Burton won the right to the lucky dog pass when the caution came out just seven laps later and over the next 15 laps made his way back to the top ten.
Throughout the mid-section of the race Burton stayed between 10th and 15th positions. Jeff and his #31 Caterpillar Team looked to be on their way to a much-needed top ten finish until a call for two tires during the last caution proved to be the wrong one.
A lack of handling caused Burton to lose five positions over the last nine laps of the race; Jeff crossed the finish line in the 15th spot. As Burton said post-race “We took two tires on that last stop and the car just didn't like two tires.” Jeff did gain four places in the points this week and now shows in 25th position.
Clint Bowyer
In the opening 25 laps during Sunday's race, Clint Bowyer moved from his 17th starting position to the 5th spot and stayed out during the first green-flag pit stops to lead a lap for an important bonus point toward Championship standings. Losing grip on long runs, the crew made adjustments to tighten the car on stops and helped Bowyer stay within the top 10 for most of the race.
With no changes to the car during Clint's last stop on lap 176, the #33 Chevrolet was able to navigate through traffic and as high as fourth position before the last caution of the race. Car handling fell off during the last nine laps and Bowyer found himself battling loose conditions in the car.
Fighting to hang onto track position Clint blocked those he could and stayed out of the way of those who he could not keep from passing him. Finishing in 7th position on the day Bowyer improved seven spots in standings and now shows in the 17th place in the Championship race.
Kevin Harvick
With the fastest speed in the second of three practices, Team Harvick knew they had something to offer the rest of the field on Sunday. In the opening run Kevin moved the car from 24th to 16th before his first pit stop on lap 32. Four tires, an air pressure adjustment, and 25 laps later Harvick was in the top 10.
On fresh tires Kevin told the his crew he was loose but after just a few laps the car just kept improving. Restarts hurt track position for the #29 Jimmy John's Chevy as he fought the car on the beginning of the run but improvements with handling during long runs helped Harvick find the top five by the lap 102 restart.
Harvick made a stop for fuel and tires just one lap before the caution came out on lap 170; the team opted to stay out and dropped to 5th position through the next green flag run. When the last caution came on lap 186 Kevin and Crew Chief Gil Martin chose to stay on the track.
With two laps to go Harvick was in the runner-up spot and had leader Jimmie Johnson in his sights. On the last turn of the final lap Kevin made his move to pass Johnson and win Sunday's Auto Club 400.
After the race, Kevin said “We knew our cars were fast enough to win races. We just haven't had the circumstances go right. We had a fast car and the circumstance played in our favor." Harvick moved up six spots in Championship points standings and is now in 9th place in the standings.
Looking Ahead...to Martinsville
The Martinsville paperclip hosts this weekend's festivities and RCR drivers have high hopes. Paul Menard comes in with a career best 13th place finish at this track. Regarding Martinsville, Menard said “These guys work really hard, and I have the utmost confidence in them. We all know what we are capable of and set high expectations for ourselves."
Still looking for his first win at Martinsville Speedway Kevin Harvick has shown he has some prowess making his way around the track. One-third of Harvick's starts here have offered up top 10 finishes at the end of the day. Coming off of last week's win, a pole start at last fall's Martinsville race, and a 3rd place finish at the spring race here last year Kevin will come out with confidence and a plan to win.
Jeff Burton won at Martinsville in 1997. He has 10 top five finishes and another five finishes within the top 10 at this track. Looking to continue moving up in the standings Burton will be looking for his first top ten of the year. Only one of Jeff's last five starts at Martinsville has paid off with a top 10 finish; Burton will have to dig deep to tame this track on Sunday.
Clint Bowyer has five top 10 finishes and one top five finish in his ten Cup starts at Martinsville. With a 7th place finish here last spring Bowyer knows he has what it takes to finish strong here. He'll be searching for his first win at this track; he will need a fast car and a flawless day in the pits to make his way to the Winner's Circle.
Can Richard Childress Racing produce a week with all four drivers posting top ten finishes? Find out this weekend as drivers roll into Martinsville Virginia for two practice sessions on Friday, qualifying Saturday at noon, and short-track racing at the .526 mile Martinsville Speedway on Sunday afternoon.
Amy McHargue
http://ellipticalcurrents.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Las Vegas in Retrospect: Richard Childress Racing
Practice and qualifications were not easy for Richard Childress Racing in Las Vegas. Paul Menard had the best showing among the RCR drivers through practice and qualifications posting 11th fastest in the first session, qualified 18th for Sunday's race, and was 20th during second practice. The remaining three Childress drivers posted speeds that consistently found them ranging from 20th to 29th fastest on the track.
Kevin Harvick posted the 20th fastest speed in first practice, qualified in the 26th position, and fell to 27th during second practice. Jeff Burton was only a bit more successful at improving his first practice result of 23rd fastest on the track; he posted a qualification run that left him starting 21st on Sunday and was 22nd fastest in final practice session. Clint Bowyer had a similar experience to begin his week in Las Vegas as he showed the 29th best speed in first practice, qualified 28th on the starting grid, and ranked 28th during second practice.
Paul Menard
After starting Sunday's Kobalt Tools 400 in the 18th position Paul wasted no time in moving forward through the field. By lap 49 the RCR Menard's Impala was into the top ten though Paul was reporting loose conditions with the race car. The 27 Crew worked on the car throughout the day but the car continued to be tight in the center and loose off the turns despite the team's many adjustments.
Paul ran his quickest laps of the day just before the halfway mark and fought his way into the 6th running spot. A rough restart on lap 203 found Menard sliding back to the 12th position where he ultimately finished the day. Menard earned 32 points toward the Chase for his finish and leading three lap gained him a valuable bonus point. Coming out of Las Vegas Paul Menard is the highest ranked Childress driver, in the 6th place in Championship standings just 17 points behind points leader Tony Stewart.
Kevin Harvick
Beginning the week 22nd in points standings Kevin Harvick was looking for a great finish to gain position in points. Beginning the race in the 27th position Kevin took little time to gain track position. By lap 10 Harvick had cracked the top 20 and stayed out to run as high as 2nd position during green flag pit stops at lap 57. On lap 78 Harvick was shown in the 14th position; he cracked the top ten before coming in for tires and fuel on lap 98.
Kevin was running fourth when the caution flag came out on lap 149 but was caught speeding when leaving pit road; his penalty would be to restart at the tail end of the pack. He fought tight conditions in traffic the remainder of the day but with two fast stops the 29 Budweiser Chevrolet Crew was able to finish the race in 17th. Kevin gained two spots in Championship standings bringing him to the 20th position in overall points, 42 points out of first.
Jeff Burton
Starting 21st on Sunday Jeff Burton fought an ill-handling race car from the beginning of the race. Adjustments were made at every stop by the Caterpillar Chevy Crew but the car simply did not respond. Jeff said after the race that the crew was obviously missing something on Sunday and he is hopeful that they will figure it out before heading to Bristol.
Any headway made with the car's handling was negated on lap 236 when Jeff missed his marks coming into his pit. At the end of the race, he ended where he started. Burton's 21st place finish in the Kobalt Tools 400 gained him 23 points toward the Championship. He neither gained nor lost position, and is still tied for 32nd position in points, 63 points away from being atop the points leader board.
Clint Bowyer
Loose, loose, loose is what Clint Bowyer said to his crew from the drop of the green flag at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Early cautions allowed Bowyer's crew to make adjustments to the car during several stops. Chassis adjustments gave Clint what he needed to move his car up through the field, finding the top 20 by lap 102. Whereas the car drove well on the short runs, loose conditions returned to the number 33 Chevrolet on long green flag runs.
Finding grip after a stop on lap 149 gave Bowyer more fuel to reach toward the front of the pack. By staying out on the track when others came down pit road on lap 242, Clint led a lap and gained a bonus point toward Championship standings. By the end of the day Bowyer raced home in 15th position, gained a total of 30 points, and moved up into the 18th position in the standings, 38 points behind the top spot.
Looking Ahead...to Bristol
Bristol has been a track of mixed results for Richard Childress Racing in recent years. Paul Menard's best finish is 16th place in his seven Cup starts at Bristol; RCR cannot count on Menard as a probable top performer this week. Kevin Harvick has some past success at Bristol Motor Speedway with 11 of his 20 Cup starts here resulting in top ten finishes, nine top fives, and one win in 2005.
Clint Bowyer could find his first win next weekend in Bristol; ten Cup starts have given Clint five top tens, three top five finishes, but no wins to his credit. Jeff Burton has 34 Cup races dating back to 1994 at Bristol to draw experience from. Jeff claims 14 top ten finishes, eight top five finishes, and one win on this Tennessee short track. Burton looks to be the RCR favorite going into week four of the 2011 season.
Will the Richard Childress Racing Team collectively move up in the Points standings after Bristol? An off week makes us wait until March 20th to find out, but one thing is guaranteed – the racing will be hard and competition will be stiff. At the World's Fastest Half Mile, any incident on the track or in the pits can make the difference in how a driver's day ends.
Amy McHargue
http://ellipticalcurrents.blogspot.com
Kevin Harvick posted the 20th fastest speed in first practice, qualified in the 26th position, and fell to 27th during second practice. Jeff Burton was only a bit more successful at improving his first practice result of 23rd fastest on the track; he posted a qualification run that left him starting 21st on Sunday and was 22nd fastest in final practice session. Clint Bowyer had a similar experience to begin his week in Las Vegas as he showed the 29th best speed in first practice, qualified 28th on the starting grid, and ranked 28th during second practice.
Paul Menard
After starting Sunday's Kobalt Tools 400 in the 18th position Paul wasted no time in moving forward through the field. By lap 49 the RCR Menard's Impala was into the top ten though Paul was reporting loose conditions with the race car. The 27 Crew worked on the car throughout the day but the car continued to be tight in the center and loose off the turns despite the team's many adjustments.
Paul ran his quickest laps of the day just before the halfway mark and fought his way into the 6th running spot. A rough restart on lap 203 found Menard sliding back to the 12th position where he ultimately finished the day. Menard earned 32 points toward the Chase for his finish and leading three lap gained him a valuable bonus point. Coming out of Las Vegas Paul Menard is the highest ranked Childress driver, in the 6th place in Championship standings just 17 points behind points leader Tony Stewart.
Kevin Harvick
Beginning the week 22nd in points standings Kevin Harvick was looking for a great finish to gain position in points. Beginning the race in the 27th position Kevin took little time to gain track position. By lap 10 Harvick had cracked the top 20 and stayed out to run as high as 2nd position during green flag pit stops at lap 57. On lap 78 Harvick was shown in the 14th position; he cracked the top ten before coming in for tires and fuel on lap 98.
Kevin was running fourth when the caution flag came out on lap 149 but was caught speeding when leaving pit road; his penalty would be to restart at the tail end of the pack. He fought tight conditions in traffic the remainder of the day but with two fast stops the 29 Budweiser Chevrolet Crew was able to finish the race in 17th. Kevin gained two spots in Championship standings bringing him to the 20th position in overall points, 42 points out of first.
Jeff Burton
Starting 21st on Sunday Jeff Burton fought an ill-handling race car from the beginning of the race. Adjustments were made at every stop by the Caterpillar Chevy Crew but the car simply did not respond. Jeff said after the race that the crew was obviously missing something on Sunday and he is hopeful that they will figure it out before heading to Bristol.
Any headway made with the car's handling was negated on lap 236 when Jeff missed his marks coming into his pit. At the end of the race, he ended where he started. Burton's 21st place finish in the Kobalt Tools 400 gained him 23 points toward the Championship. He neither gained nor lost position, and is still tied for 32nd position in points, 63 points away from being atop the points leader board.
Clint Bowyer
Loose, loose, loose is what Clint Bowyer said to his crew from the drop of the green flag at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Early cautions allowed Bowyer's crew to make adjustments to the car during several stops. Chassis adjustments gave Clint what he needed to move his car up through the field, finding the top 20 by lap 102. Whereas the car drove well on the short runs, loose conditions returned to the number 33 Chevrolet on long green flag runs.
Finding grip after a stop on lap 149 gave Bowyer more fuel to reach toward the front of the pack. By staying out on the track when others came down pit road on lap 242, Clint led a lap and gained a bonus point toward Championship standings. By the end of the day Bowyer raced home in 15th position, gained a total of 30 points, and moved up into the 18th position in the standings, 38 points behind the top spot.
Looking Ahead...to Bristol
Bristol has been a track of mixed results for Richard Childress Racing in recent years. Paul Menard's best finish is 16th place in his seven Cup starts at Bristol; RCR cannot count on Menard as a probable top performer this week. Kevin Harvick has some past success at Bristol Motor Speedway with 11 of his 20 Cup starts here resulting in top ten finishes, nine top fives, and one win in 2005.
Clint Bowyer could find his first win next weekend in Bristol; ten Cup starts have given Clint five top tens, three top five finishes, but no wins to his credit. Jeff Burton has 34 Cup races dating back to 1994 at Bristol to draw experience from. Jeff claims 14 top ten finishes, eight top five finishes, and one win on this Tennessee short track. Burton looks to be the RCR favorite going into week four of the 2011 season.
Will the Richard Childress Racing Team collectively move up in the Points standings after Bristol? An off week makes us wait until March 20th to find out, but one thing is guaranteed – the racing will be hard and competition will be stiff. At the World's Fastest Half Mile, any incident on the track or in the pits can make the difference in how a driver's day ends.
Amy McHargue
http://ellipticalcurrents.blogspot.com
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Last Week in Retrospect - Richard Childress Racing - Phoenix
Coming out of Daytona, the Richard Childress Racing Team spent the week looking for ways to improve upon their week one performances. With team newcomer Paul Menard posting the best finish among RCR drivers at Daytona with a 10th place finish, last year's Chase drivers Burton, Harvick, and Bowyer were left searching for ways to better their respective 36th, 42nd, and 17th place finishes.
Coming into Phoenix, the RCR teams each had reason for some confidence based on past track performances. Paul Menard has shown multiple top ten finishes on tracks of a similar length to Phoenix. Kevin Harvick has visited the Winner's Circle at PIR in all three series. Jeff Burton claims two past wins at the Arizona track. Clint Bowyer found a top ten finish at the 2010 Spring race at PIR. All signs were pointing toward a good week for Richard Childress Racing.
Paul Menard
The number 27 Chevrolet started the week struggling with car handling, finishing 19th in first practice. By the second practice improvements had been made and Menard posted the 10th fastest speed in that practice session. Qualification speeds were not as competitive for Paul as he qualified in the 13th starting position for Sunday's race at Phoenix.
Menard fought a tight race car during much of the Sunday event. The number 27 car had contact with the 11 car causing a need for left-side tires during the lap 50 caution. Menard came back in for a full four-tire start just 14 laps later, leaving him to restart on lap 66 far behind the leaders. Throughout the day, Paul managed to avoid multi-car pileups that occurred on the track.
Adjustments to the car continued and improvement slowly became a reality but a caution flag just after his final pit stop of the day left Paul a lap down to the leaders. Finishing 17th in the Subway Fresh Fit 500 dropped Paul Menard five spots in the points standings, leaving him now in the 13th position.
Jeff Burton
Practice at Phoenix International Raceway started out well for the 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet of Jeff Burton. First practice ended with Jeff posting the second fastest speed of the session. From first to second practice, track conditions changed and changes on the car weren't working; Burton could only find the 25th spot on the speed boards. No major improvements could be found before Jeff's qualifying run, as he posted speeds that would only earn him a starting spot of 25th.
Jeff drove hard from the second the green flag waved, had a much-improved race car over his practice conditions, and found himself in the third position by lap 50 of the race on Sunday. Burton's first stop went without incident, with the driver calling for no adjustments to the car and four tires. A slow 4-tire stop on lap 51 left Jeff in the 22nd position on the track.
On-track contact with Carl Edwards on lap 59 left the 31 car in need of a trip to the garage for repair. 32 laps later Burton reentered the race. Several additional pit stops were needed to continue repairing and improving the car. By the end of the day Jeff was 36 laps behind leaders and finished in the 26th place. A trouble filled day in Phoenix leaves Burton improving just one spot in the points to 32nd place in the standings.
Kevin Harvick
After an early engine failure at Daytona the 29 team had their sights set on improving their 37th place standing in Cup points after week one of the season. First practice at Phoenix left Harvick looking good; the team posted the 4th fastest speed among drivers. Second practice showed the Budweiser Chevrolet team that not all change is good as the team could not figure out how to compensate for changing track conditions. Kevin posted only the 25th fastest speed in second practice. More changes to the car set up did partially pay off as Harvick qualified in the 17th starting spot for Sunday.
An early slow pit stop started off Kevin's day badly. When cars in front of Harvick spun on lap 58, the 29 car made contact with Mark Martin. That contact required several visits to the pits for repair under caution and led to a 31st position restart. Fortunately, when 14 cars wrecked on the backstretch Kevin was far enough back in the field to have time to react. He drove through the carnage on the track without damage.
A fast pit stop on lap 128 helped Harvick make up six positions. Continuing to run strong, he was credited with leading a lap during the next series of pits stops. A pit stop and another caution later found Kevin running fifth with 94 laps to go. A bobble with the right front tire by crew during the final stop of the day left the 29 car in 6th position when the caution came out on lap 285 but Harvick was able to race his way to finish in the 4th position on the day. Kevin moved up 15 spots in the standings and now claims the 22nd spot in the points.
Clint Bowyer
Practice at Phoenix proved to be mediocre for Team Bowyer. Loose car conditions left Clint as 16th fastest on the track during first practice. Second practice found a slight improvement as Bowyer posted the 11th fastest speed of that session. Ultimately, handling and speed went back the other way when it was time to qualify. Bowyer could only find enough speed to start from the 16th position.
Much like his practice runs, Clint complained the car was loose during the opening laps of Sunday's race. On lap 40, crew chief Shane Wilson found the first opportunity to improve track position for the 33 Cheerios Impala and called for a two tire stop. Bowyer came out of the pits in the third position. A lap 50 on-track incident brought out the yellow and allowed for further work by the crew, four tires and a trackbar adjustment seemed to be just what the car needed.
Contact involving Edward, Burton, and Kyle Busch also found Clint's car with minor damage. Just after the green flag waved again, Bowyer was caught in the big wreck of the day and was off the track for repairs for 48 laps. Even though Clint came back into the race in 32nd position, he was able to improve on that and finish the day in 27th place. The number 33 Chevrolet lost five spots in the standings and is now 21st place in the points.
Looking Forward
Las Vegas looks to be kind to the Richard Childress Racing Team in the upcoming week. Jeff Burton shows the most past success in the desert with two past wins and eight top ten finishes on the Vegas mile and a half track. The remaining RCR drivers are still looking for their first Cup Series wins in Las Vegas. Harvick has finished four times in the top ten and Clint Bowyer has two top tens under his belt. Paul Menard looks to be the weak link this week with just a 26.5 average finish in Vegas. The best finish of his four Cup starts has been 17th position. But as the last two weeks has shown us, anything is possible.
Coming into Phoenix, the RCR teams each had reason for some confidence based on past track performances. Paul Menard has shown multiple top ten finishes on tracks of a similar length to Phoenix. Kevin Harvick has visited the Winner's Circle at PIR in all three series. Jeff Burton claims two past wins at the Arizona track. Clint Bowyer found a top ten finish at the 2010 Spring race at PIR. All signs were pointing toward a good week for Richard Childress Racing.
Paul Menard
The number 27 Chevrolet started the week struggling with car handling, finishing 19th in first practice. By the second practice improvements had been made and Menard posted the 10th fastest speed in that practice session. Qualification speeds were not as competitive for Paul as he qualified in the 13th starting position for Sunday's race at Phoenix.
Menard fought a tight race car during much of the Sunday event. The number 27 car had contact with the 11 car causing a need for left-side tires during the lap 50 caution. Menard came back in for a full four-tire start just 14 laps later, leaving him to restart on lap 66 far behind the leaders. Throughout the day, Paul managed to avoid multi-car pileups that occurred on the track.
Adjustments to the car continued and improvement slowly became a reality but a caution flag just after his final pit stop of the day left Paul a lap down to the leaders. Finishing 17th in the Subway Fresh Fit 500 dropped Paul Menard five spots in the points standings, leaving him now in the 13th position.
Jeff Burton
Practice at Phoenix International Raceway started out well for the 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet of Jeff Burton. First practice ended with Jeff posting the second fastest speed of the session. From first to second practice, track conditions changed and changes on the car weren't working; Burton could only find the 25th spot on the speed boards. No major improvements could be found before Jeff's qualifying run, as he posted speeds that would only earn him a starting spot of 25th.
Jeff drove hard from the second the green flag waved, had a much-improved race car over his practice conditions, and found himself in the third position by lap 50 of the race on Sunday. Burton's first stop went without incident, with the driver calling for no adjustments to the car and four tires. A slow 4-tire stop on lap 51 left Jeff in the 22nd position on the track.
On-track contact with Carl Edwards on lap 59 left the 31 car in need of a trip to the garage for repair. 32 laps later Burton reentered the race. Several additional pit stops were needed to continue repairing and improving the car. By the end of the day Jeff was 36 laps behind leaders and finished in the 26th place. A trouble filled day in Phoenix leaves Burton improving just one spot in the points to 32nd place in the standings.
Kevin Harvick
After an early engine failure at Daytona the 29 team had their sights set on improving their 37th place standing in Cup points after week one of the season. First practice at Phoenix left Harvick looking good; the team posted the 4th fastest speed among drivers. Second practice showed the Budweiser Chevrolet team that not all change is good as the team could not figure out how to compensate for changing track conditions. Kevin posted only the 25th fastest speed in second practice. More changes to the car set up did partially pay off as Harvick qualified in the 17th starting spot for Sunday.
An early slow pit stop started off Kevin's day badly. When cars in front of Harvick spun on lap 58, the 29 car made contact with Mark Martin. That contact required several visits to the pits for repair under caution and led to a 31st position restart. Fortunately, when 14 cars wrecked on the backstretch Kevin was far enough back in the field to have time to react. He drove through the carnage on the track without damage.
A fast pit stop on lap 128 helped Harvick make up six positions. Continuing to run strong, he was credited with leading a lap during the next series of pits stops. A pit stop and another caution later found Kevin running fifth with 94 laps to go. A bobble with the right front tire by crew during the final stop of the day left the 29 car in 6th position when the caution came out on lap 285 but Harvick was able to race his way to finish in the 4th position on the day. Kevin moved up 15 spots in the standings and now claims the 22nd spot in the points.
Clint Bowyer
Practice at Phoenix proved to be mediocre for Team Bowyer. Loose car conditions left Clint as 16th fastest on the track during first practice. Second practice found a slight improvement as Bowyer posted the 11th fastest speed of that session. Ultimately, handling and speed went back the other way when it was time to qualify. Bowyer could only find enough speed to start from the 16th position.
Much like his practice runs, Clint complained the car was loose during the opening laps of Sunday's race. On lap 40, crew chief Shane Wilson found the first opportunity to improve track position for the 33 Cheerios Impala and called for a two tire stop. Bowyer came out of the pits in the third position. A lap 50 on-track incident brought out the yellow and allowed for further work by the crew, four tires and a trackbar adjustment seemed to be just what the car needed.
Contact involving Edward, Burton, and Kyle Busch also found Clint's car with minor damage. Just after the green flag waved again, Bowyer was caught in the big wreck of the day and was off the track for repairs for 48 laps. Even though Clint came back into the race in 32nd position, he was able to improve on that and finish the day in 27th place. The number 33 Chevrolet lost five spots in the standings and is now 21st place in the points.
Looking Forward
Las Vegas looks to be kind to the Richard Childress Racing Team in the upcoming week. Jeff Burton shows the most past success in the desert with two past wins and eight top ten finishes on the Vegas mile and a half track. The remaining RCR drivers are still looking for their first Cup Series wins in Las Vegas. Harvick has finished four times in the top ten and Clint Bowyer has two top tens under his belt. Paul Menard looks to be the weak link this week with just a 26.5 average finish in Vegas. The best finish of his four Cup starts has been 17th position. But as the last two weeks has shown us, anything is possible.
Friday, February 18, 2011
I was born on February 18th ... and Dale Earnhardt Sr. was my driver
My love for racing started as another Hoosier IndyCar fan; as long as I can remember I watched each year's Indianapolis 500 at the end of May. As a kid I would watch the 500 with my Dad; after I graduated high school and moved to Indianapolis I watched from the infield. In my early 20s it was more an expectation of the party that got me to the track in August 1994 - the first year they held the Brickyard 400.
As I watched the drivers throughout practice, qualifying, and the race that week I saw one driver who drove harder, more aggressively, and was more into it than just about anyone else on the track, more than anyone I had seen in open-wheel racing. Dale Earnhardt Sr. put it all out there; he didn't hold anything back. I saw the passion and determination in Dale, and although I started that week as a casual racing fan, by the end of the weekend I was a serious NASCAR and Dale Earnhardt fan.
Fast-forward seven years.
I woke up on that Sunday and it was already a little different than most years on February 18th – it was the first year since I became a Dale Earnhardt fan to have the Daytona 500 running on my birthday. I was hoping for an Earnhardt win as one of my birthday gifts. My family was all meeting at my parents' house in the early afternoon. I would watch the race at their house, and since it was my birthday, the rest of my non-NASCAR loving family would just have to deal with it.
I remember sitting there on their couch as the laps ran down. My family wanted to go eat my birthday dinner, but I wasn't going anywhere until the race was over. They were frustrated and I was excited. This was shaping up to be the best race I had possibly ever watched - Mikey and Junior were up front and Dale was blocking the rest of the field behind them. With five laps to go Sterling Marlin and Ken Schrader were breathing down Dale Sr.'s tailpipes and I was on the edge of the couch. Hands down, some of the very best blocking ever seen in NASCAR took place during the final laps of that race.
The white flag waved and the three cars at the front of the pack charged into the first turn. The black Chevrolet went high and low through turns one and two; to this day I don't know how Dale kept the cars behind him from finding a way around. As they came out of four, it looked like Waltrip would win with Dale Junior a close second. The No. 3 should have crossed the line in the top five, but he got tapped in traffic, got loose between three and four, turned into the wall and came to rest in the infield next to Ken Schrader...but it wasn't a bad wreck, by all appearances.
The last thing I heard before we went out the door to go to my birthday dinner was Darrell Waltrip with tears of happiness for his brother Michael in his voice saying, “This is great...I hope Dale's all right...he's okay isn't he?”
Fast-forward 90 minutes.
I walked in the door at home and the phone was ringing. I picked up and a friend said, “Have you heard? Turn on ESPN...” I did, just in time to see the first of many replays of the words that many cannot forget: "We've lost Dale Earnhardt." I hung up the phone and with tears on my face I watched the replay of the news conference that had first aired as we were wrapping up the last birthday dinner I would let my family schedule on my birthday.
I cried for the loss of not only Dale Earnhardt the driver, the competitor, the Intimidator, but also for the loss of Dale as a person. I cried for the loss I knew his family must feel and for the loss felt by other fans. I cried for the the other drivers and crew who were feeling the loss of a brother in the garage.
Watching the race the following week was hard; I still can't imagine how hard it was for those who shared the track with Dale just the week before. There was an emptiness on the track, a noticeable absence, a perpetual lack of the black No. 3. Whether a person loved Dale Sr.'s aggressive racing or hated it, no one can deny what the hard racing, the bump drafting, the Man in Black driving up on someone's rear bumper, the realness of who he was, how he raced, and what he stood for did for the sport.
Somewhere between mid-February and the end of that season, NASCAR drivers, commentators, and fans adjusted to the new normal – a normal without Dale. From all the things that were lost when Dale Sr. died on the Daytona track, there were gains in driver safety. A quick transition to widespread use of the Hans device and the development of higher car safety standards have probably saved more than one life on the track since 2001.
Many talk of the legacy he left behind, but to me Dale's legacy is not only his children, his grandchildren, the DEI organization, or the development of safer driver and crew conditions. The legacy of Dale Earnhardt Sr. is all of that, but also includes the number of fans he left behind who loved him, fans who loved to hate him, and all of those who couldn't imagine NASCAR without him. We are all part of his legacy, we will never forget, and February 18th will never be the same.
Ralph Dale Earnhardt April 29, 1951 – February 18, 2001
Amy McHargue
http://ellipticalcurrents.blogspot.com/
As I watched the drivers throughout practice, qualifying, and the race that week I saw one driver who drove harder, more aggressively, and was more into it than just about anyone else on the track, more than anyone I had seen in open-wheel racing. Dale Earnhardt Sr. put it all out there; he didn't hold anything back. I saw the passion and determination in Dale, and although I started that week as a casual racing fan, by the end of the weekend I was a serious NASCAR and Dale Earnhardt fan.
Fast-forward seven years.
I woke up on that Sunday and it was already a little different than most years on February 18th – it was the first year since I became a Dale Earnhardt fan to have the Daytona 500 running on my birthday. I was hoping for an Earnhardt win as one of my birthday gifts. My family was all meeting at my parents' house in the early afternoon. I would watch the race at their house, and since it was my birthday, the rest of my non-NASCAR loving family would just have to deal with it.
I remember sitting there on their couch as the laps ran down. My family wanted to go eat my birthday dinner, but I wasn't going anywhere until the race was over. They were frustrated and I was excited. This was shaping up to be the best race I had possibly ever watched - Mikey and Junior were up front and Dale was blocking the rest of the field behind them. With five laps to go Sterling Marlin and Ken Schrader were breathing down Dale Sr.'s tailpipes and I was on the edge of the couch. Hands down, some of the very best blocking ever seen in NASCAR took place during the final laps of that race.
The white flag waved and the three cars at the front of the pack charged into the first turn. The black Chevrolet went high and low through turns one and two; to this day I don't know how Dale kept the cars behind him from finding a way around. As they came out of four, it looked like Waltrip would win with Dale Junior a close second. The No. 3 should have crossed the line in the top five, but he got tapped in traffic, got loose between three and four, turned into the wall and came to rest in the infield next to Ken Schrader...but it wasn't a bad wreck, by all appearances.
The last thing I heard before we went out the door to go to my birthday dinner was Darrell Waltrip with tears of happiness for his brother Michael in his voice saying, “This is great...I hope Dale's all right...he's okay isn't he?”
Fast-forward 90 minutes.
I walked in the door at home and the phone was ringing. I picked up and a friend said, “Have you heard? Turn on ESPN...” I did, just in time to see the first of many replays of the words that many cannot forget: "We've lost Dale Earnhardt." I hung up the phone and with tears on my face I watched the replay of the news conference that had first aired as we were wrapping up the last birthday dinner I would let my family schedule on my birthday.
I cried for the loss of not only Dale Earnhardt the driver, the competitor, the Intimidator, but also for the loss of Dale as a person. I cried for the loss I knew his family must feel and for the loss felt by other fans. I cried for the the other drivers and crew who were feeling the loss of a brother in the garage.
Watching the race the following week was hard; I still can't imagine how hard it was for those who shared the track with Dale just the week before. There was an emptiness on the track, a noticeable absence, a perpetual lack of the black No. 3. Whether a person loved Dale Sr.'s aggressive racing or hated it, no one can deny what the hard racing, the bump drafting, the Man in Black driving up on someone's rear bumper, the realness of who he was, how he raced, and what he stood for did for the sport.
Somewhere between mid-February and the end of that season, NASCAR drivers, commentators, and fans adjusted to the new normal – a normal without Dale. From all the things that were lost when Dale Sr. died on the Daytona track, there were gains in driver safety. A quick transition to widespread use of the Hans device and the development of higher car safety standards have probably saved more than one life on the track since 2001.
Many talk of the legacy he left behind, but to me Dale's legacy is not only his children, his grandchildren, the DEI organization, or the development of safer driver and crew conditions. The legacy of Dale Earnhardt Sr. is all of that, but also includes the number of fans he left behind who loved him, fans who loved to hate him, and all of those who couldn't imagine NASCAR without him. We are all part of his legacy, we will never forget, and February 18th will never be the same.
Ralph Dale Earnhardt April 29, 1951 – February 18, 2001
Amy McHargue
http://ellipticalcurrents.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
New NASCAR Points System...Explained and Compared
The 2011 NASCAR Points system has been announced. Brian France totes the new system as a way to increase competition and make the Points structure easier to understand. Is it easier to understand? Definitely.
Even the most casual fan can understand this after a short explanation. Diehard fans see immediately that it is a very straightforward points structure with no similarities to the old system when the top third was separated by five points, middle third by four points, and lower third by three points per finishing spot. You could figure the old points system in your head but it took a minute or two.
This year you check where your driver finished, subtract that number from 43 (the total number of drivers in the race), add 1 and you know how many points your driver receives. Your favorite driver finished 2nd? 43 - 2 + 1 = 42 points. He finished 32nd? 43 - 32 + 1 = 12 points. 41st place finisher? 43 - 41 + 1 = 3 points.
New Cup Points system:
Points awarded for finishing spot are from 1 to 43 points.
The Winner gets 43 points, last place gets 1 point. Everything in between fills in accordingly (2nd gets 42 points, 3rd gets 41, etc...).
Leading a lap gets you 1 bonus point.
Leading the most laps gets you 1 bonus point.
Winner of the race gets 3 bonus points.
The winner of the race will always either get 47 or 48 points. 43 points for winning + 3 bonus points for winning the race + 1 bonus point for leading a lap = 47 points. If that driver also leads the most laps then the driver receives 1 additional bonus point.
So, how does this compare to the old points system in regard to Brian France's claim of "raising the competition level?" Check this out:
Old Points: Race Winner received 544% more points than last place.
New Points: Winner receives 4700% more points than last place.
(Above stat is based on assumption of the winner receives 47 points scenario and last place does not lead a lap)
Old Points: Winner bonus was 2.7% of winners points.
New Points: Winner bonus is 6.9% of winners points.
Old Points: 2nd place received 91.9% of 1st place points.
New Points: 2nd place receives 91.4% of 1st place points.
(Above stat is based on assumption of the winner receives 47 points scenario and 2nd place leads at least 1 lap)
Old Points: Bonus points for leading a lap or most laps 2.7% of winner points.
New Points: Bonus point for leading a lap or the most laps is 2.1% of winner points, as based on 47 point scenario.
So, although the new points system awards a lesser percentage of bonus points for leading a lap or leading the most laps the new points system does significantly award a higher percentage of points for finishing higher in the field and for winning the race.
At the end of the first 26 races we will still enter Chase mode. The difference is that the top ten in points get a guaranteed spot the Chase. The other two spots are "Wildcard" positions. The 11th and 12th places in the Chase will be determined by the number of wins on the season. Both 11th and 12th place drivers must be in the top 20 in overall standings to be eligible.
Example: If your driver wins three races in the beginning of the season but has four DNFs that cause him to drop out of the top ten in points, he still makes the Chase if he has the most or second most wins of any driver in positions 11 through 20 in the standings.
In my opinion, this will definitely create more competitive racing. A guy can be sitting in 19th position in points after the 25th race because of getting caught up in wrecks, mechanical difficulties, or penalties but if that driver has won more races than the other guys in the 11th through 20th positions he is still in the Chase. Going into that 26th race if one driver in the 11th through 20th positions has won two races and three other guys have won one race each, that is going to make for some hot racing during that last race before the Chase.
Will this increase fan passion for NASCAR? Will it cause more competitive racing? A tighter race to the Chase? We are all going to have to stick around through at least this season and find out. In reality, it may be four or five years before it can be seen whether this change was good, bad, or had no change of viewership, fan passion, and attendance but I do not see this change as a bad thing at all.
Amy McHargue
http://ellipticalcurrents.blogspot.com
Even the most casual fan can understand this after a short explanation. Diehard fans see immediately that it is a very straightforward points structure with no similarities to the old system when the top third was separated by five points, middle third by four points, and lower third by three points per finishing spot. You could figure the old points system in your head but it took a minute or two.
This year you check where your driver finished, subtract that number from 43 (the total number of drivers in the race), add 1 and you know how many points your driver receives. Your favorite driver finished 2nd? 43 - 2 + 1 = 42 points. He finished 32nd? 43 - 32 + 1 = 12 points. 41st place finisher? 43 - 41 + 1 = 3 points.
New Cup Points system:
Points awarded for finishing spot are from 1 to 43 points.
The Winner gets 43 points, last place gets 1 point. Everything in between fills in accordingly (2nd gets 42 points, 3rd gets 41, etc...).
Leading a lap gets you 1 bonus point.
Leading the most laps gets you 1 bonus point.
Winner of the race gets 3 bonus points.
The winner of the race will always either get 47 or 48 points. 43 points for winning + 3 bonus points for winning the race + 1 bonus point for leading a lap = 47 points. If that driver also leads the most laps then the driver receives 1 additional bonus point.
So, how does this compare to the old points system in regard to Brian France's claim of "raising the competition level?" Check this out:
Old Points: Race Winner received 544% more points than last place.
New Points: Winner receives 4700% more points than last place.
(Above stat is based on assumption of the winner receives 47 points scenario and last place does not lead a lap)
Old Points: Winner bonus was 2.7% of winners points.
New Points: Winner bonus is 6.9% of winners points.
Old Points: 2nd place received 91.9% of 1st place points.
New Points: 2nd place receives 91.4% of 1st place points.
(Above stat is based on assumption of the winner receives 47 points scenario and 2nd place leads at least 1 lap)
Old Points: Bonus points for leading a lap or most laps 2.7% of winner points.
New Points: Bonus point for leading a lap or the most laps is 2.1% of winner points, as based on 47 point scenario.
So, although the new points system awards a lesser percentage of bonus points for leading a lap or leading the most laps the new points system does significantly award a higher percentage of points for finishing higher in the field and for winning the race.
At the end of the first 26 races we will still enter Chase mode. The difference is that the top ten in points get a guaranteed spot the Chase. The other two spots are "Wildcard" positions. The 11th and 12th places in the Chase will be determined by the number of wins on the season. Both 11th and 12th place drivers must be in the top 20 in overall standings to be eligible.
Example: If your driver wins three races in the beginning of the season but has four DNFs that cause him to drop out of the top ten in points, he still makes the Chase if he has the most or second most wins of any driver in positions 11 through 20 in the standings.
In my opinion, this will definitely create more competitive racing. A guy can be sitting in 19th position in points after the 25th race because of getting caught up in wrecks, mechanical difficulties, or penalties but if that driver has won more races than the other guys in the 11th through 20th positions he is still in the Chase. Going into that 26th race if one driver in the 11th through 20th positions has won two races and three other guys have won one race each, that is going to make for some hot racing during that last race before the Chase.
Will this increase fan passion for NASCAR? Will it cause more competitive racing? A tighter race to the Chase? We are all going to have to stick around through at least this season and find out. In reality, it may be four or five years before it can be seen whether this change was good, bad, or had no change of viewership, fan passion, and attendance but I do not see this change as a bad thing at all.
Amy McHargue
http://ellipticalcurrents.blogspot.com
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