NASCAR - Fontana

9

What can you say about Fontana... Same as every year, Boring 2 mile Flat track, except for the fact that this track is 2 miles long in no way should it be called a Super Speedway... Green flag racing (that I do like) but no racing... Kyle led, Tony took the lead, Tony led, Denny came close to taking the lead, but the rains came and that was the end... No doubt the race would be called. From the beginning of the race every one was racing for half way as if it was already decided that whenever the first rain came that was it...

Smoke in the Rain

So the question after the race is "Should NASCAR not declare a winner until all laps have been run in any given race?" I am on the fence for this one... being the passionate race fan I am, YES I would love to see every lap run... but also being the passionate race fan I am I also know how demanding it is on the drivers to have to run the extra day... So my answer is... If they can not get to half way on race day then they need to run the following day... but if they do get to half way on race day, then every effort should be made to get the whole race in up until midnight that day... If they cannot then declare a winner... But today they could have finished that race by 9 pm as the rains would have stopped by 5pm tonight Pacific time... 2 hours of drying time, back to racing by 7pm done by 9pm... Fontana has lights... this should not have been called so early... Also every track should be required to have lights...
Anyway getting off my high horse...

Congratulations Tony Stewart!!! Looking good... took the lead from Kyle and never looked back... Good move by most all drivers not pitting when the rain came... Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson took the chance of maybe returning to racing and pitted. For Denny it turned out to be the wrong move, but for Jimmie it turned out to be okay as he eventually blowed up and because they called the race he still finished 10th.
Top Ten Recap
1. Tony Stewart - started 9 - up 3 positions to 4th
2. Kyle Busch - started 2 - up 2 positions to 14th
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - started 14 - up 3 positions to 3rd
4. Kevin Harvick - started 7 - remained in 2nd
5. Carl Edwards - started 12 - up 3 positions to 12th
6. Greg Biffle - started 4 - remained the Leader
7. Ryan Newman - started 6 - up 3 positions to 10th
8. Martin Truex Jr. - started 13 - down 2 positions to 6th
9. Kurt Busch - started 23 - up 4 positions to 23rd
10. Jimmie Johnson - started 10 - up 3 positions to 8th

Race for the Chase
1. Greg Biffle - finished 6 - remains the Leader
2. Kevin Harvick - finished 4 - remains the same
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - finished 3 - up 3 positions
4. Tony Stewart - WINNER - up 3 positions
5. Matt Kenseth - finished 12 - down 2 positions
6. Martin Truex Jr. - finished 8 - down 2 positions
7. Denny Hamlin - finished 11 - down 2 positions
8. Jimmie Johnson - finsihed 10 - up 3 positions
9. Clint Bowyer - finished 14 - down 1 position
10. Ryan Newman - finished 7 - up 3 positions
11. Paul Menard - finished 19 - down 1 position
12. Carl Edwards - finished 5 - up 3 positions

Joey Lagano lost the most positions, 4, dropping him out of the top 12 to 13th with a 24th place finished.
Kurt Busch and Kasey Kahne gained the most positions at 4. Kurt jumped to 23rd with a 9th place finish, and Kasey went to 28th with a 15th place finish.

This new points system certainly make the points race interesting. Martin Truex, Jr. finished 8th and lose two positions in the points. Who would have ever thought that even though you finish in the top 10 you still drop in points... The drivers have to be on their best every single race to have a chance to be in the Chase. I do believe I am liking this...

Next race - Martinsville Speedway - Goody's Fast Relief 500 -  April 1, 2012 - 12:30pm EST

Have A Wonderful Week All!!!

Take Care
Barbara

NASCAR- Jimmie Johnson

The verdict came down on Tuesday on the Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus saga... Chief Appellate Officer, John Middlebrook, overturned Chad's and Ron Malec's suspensions and Jimmie's point reduction. He did leave the $100,000.00 fine imposed on Chad Knaus.
Jimmie moved into 11th in points, 36 points behind the leader Greg Biffle

I can't say I disagree... that is what the inspections are for... if a car does not pass the first inspection before the car hits the track, there should not be any penalities... tell them to fix it and come back through... now if they fail the second time, thats a different story, that is blatantly trying to cheat... If it happens week after week after week, that is also a different story.. anyway Fontana on Sunday.

Sorry it took me a while to get this updated, but was a rough week... my little puppy Bowzer died on Tuesday so it's been a rough couple of days..

ENJOY THE RACE SUNDAY!!!

Take Care
Barbara

NASCAR - Bristol Motor Speedway

It's Bristol Baby!!! Of course Bristol had it's typical mishaps, the long green flag run, with a green flag pit stop, and the small little bumps about everyone feels. Only 5 cautions riddled the race, the first one, however, took out many good contenders including Kasey Kahne (who started the mess), Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Marcos Ambrose. Kevin Harvick was also involved but stayed in contention. Ken Schrader, David Stremme, Jeff Gordan and Tony Stewart brought out the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th cautions all single car incident.

Congratulations Brad Keslowski!!! back to back wins at Bristol... Nice driving, almost involved in the first caution, squecking by unscathed. Matt Kenseth gave it his all, just didn't have enough for Brad.

Top Ten Recap

1. Brad Keslowski - started 5 - up 8 positions to 13th

2. Matt Kenseth - started 21 - up 2 positions to 3rd

3. Martin Truex Jr. - started 15 - up 4 positions to 4th

4. Clint Bowyer - started 16 - up 6 positions to 8th

5. Brian Vickers - started 25 - first race in position 37th

6. Jeff Burton - started 33 - up 4 positions to 11th

7. Jamie McMurray - started 17 - up 6 positions to 19th

8. Juan Montoya - started 30 - up 6 positions to 18th

9. Jimmie Johnsong - started 22 - up 6 positions to 17th

10. Paul Menard - started 11 - up 1 positions to 10th

Race for the Chase

1. Greg Biffle - finished 13th - remained the leader

2. Kevin Harvick - finished 11th - no change

3. Matt Kenseth - finished 2nd - up 2 positions

4. Martin Truex Jr. - finished 3rd - up 4 positions

5. Denny Hamlin - finished 20th - down 2 positions

6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - finished 15th - down 2 positions

7. Tony Stewart - finished 27th - no change

8. Clint Bowyer - finished 4th - up 6 positions

9. Joey Lagano - finished 16th - no change

10. Paul Menard - finished 10th - up 1 position

11. Jeff Burton - finished 6th - up 4 positions

12., Ryan Newman - finished 12th - up 1 position

Three guys moved into the top 12 this week, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton and Ryan Newman. The 3 that made room for them and dropped out are Kyle Busch finishing 32nd, Carl Edwards finished 39th and Mark Martin who did not race.

Next race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana CA - Auto Club 400 - March 25, 2012 - 2:30 pm est.

Have a Wonderful Week All!!!

Take Care

Barbara

NASCAR - Las Vegas Kobalt Tool 400

Las Vegas, Kobalt Tool 400 was a green flag lap filled race, til the end of course. Clean air was the key to running well, anyone up front was mostly a second or two ahead of second. Tony and Jimmie made it a little exciting at the end. Tony definately was the restart expert today, making Jimmie look like he was sleeping on the first restart, not quite off guard the second time, but Tony could get that car going quickly.

Congratulations Tony Stewart!!! Awesome win. Great racing! Winning 6 of the last 13 races. Teammate Ryan Newman finished in 4th today, making today a great day for Stewart-Haas Racing. Matt Kenseth was running second, when something (no one is real sure what happened) happened to put him in the wall, putting back to 22nd place finish.

Top Ten Recap
1.  Tony Stewart - started 7, moved up 8 positions to 7th
2.  Jimmie Johonson- started 6, moved up 14 positions to 23rd
3.  Greg Biffle - started 9, moved up 1 position to Leader
4.  Ryan Newman - started 18, moved up 5 positions to 13th
5.  Carl Edwards - started 21, moved up 4 positions to 6th
6.  Clint Bowyer - started 5, moved up 3 positions to 14th
7.  Paul Menard - started 26, moved up 3 positions to 11th
8.  Jamie McMurray - started 19, moved up 11 positions to 25th
9.  Trevor Bayne - started 25, moved up 2 positions to 46th
10.Dale Earnhardt Jr. - started 4, moved up 1 position to 4th

Race for the Chase:
1.    Greg Biffle - finished 3rd - up 1 position
2.    Kevin Harvick - finished 11th - up 1 position
3.    Denny Hamlin - finished 20th - down 2 positions
4.    Dale Earnhardt Jr. - finished 10th - up 1 position
5.    Matt Kenseth - finished 22nd - down 1 position
6.    Carl Edwards - finished 5th - up 4 positions
7.    Tony Stewart - Winner - up 8 positions
8.    Martin Truex Jr. - finished 17th, down 2 positions
9.    Joey Lagano - finished 16th - down 1 position
10.  Mark Martin - finished 18th - down 3 positions
11.  Paul Menard - finished 7th - up 3 positions
12.  Kyle Busch - finished23rd - down 3 positions

Dale Jr. had a very strong car at the beginning of the race, but just didn't keep up with track and his car stayed loose for about half the race. 

Next race:  Bristol Motor Speedway - Food City 500 - March 18, 2012 - 12:30 pm est.

Have a Wonderful Week All!!!

Barbara

Phoenix-Subway Fresh Fit 500

Congratulations Denny Hamlin!!!

Not the best race, but any racing is good racing.  If you kept your nose clean and didn't have any engine problems, you just hoped you had saved enough gas to make it to the end. Denny Hamlin won by more than 7 seconds over Kevin Harvick who ran out of gas with 1 to go and still finished 2nd over Greg Biffle...
Top Ten Recap
1.   Denny Hamlin
2.   Kevin Harvick
3.   Greg Biffle
4.   Jimmie Johnson
5.   Brad Keslowski
6.   Kyle Busch
7.   Martin Truex, Jr.
8.   Jeff Gordon
9.   Mark Martin
10. Joey Lagano
11. Juan Montoya
12. Aric Almirola

Race for the Chase
1.   Denny Hamlin - finished 1st - up 3 positions
2.   Greg Biffle - finished 3rd - up 1 position
3.   Kevin Harvick - finished 2nd - up 4 positions
4.   Matt Kenseth - finished  13th - down 3 positions
5.   Dale Earnhardt Jr. - finished 14th - down 3 positions
6.   Martin Truex Jr. - finished 7th - up 6 positions
7.   Mark Martin - finished 9th - up 3 positions
8.   Joey Lagano - finished 10th - up 1 position
9.   Kyle Busch - finished 6th - up 8 positions
10. Carl Edwards - finished 17th - down 2 positions
11. Bobby LaBonte - finished 16th - up 3 positions
12. Brad Keslowski - finished 5th - up 17 positions

Next Week - Vegas BABY
Las Vegas Motor Speedway - Kobalt Tools 400 - Sunday, March 11, 2012 - 2:30 pm est

Have a Wonderful Week!!!

Barbara