For Tony Stewart, Saturday night’s Cup race at Bristol was one to forget. After qualifying a dismal 42nd, Stewart rode around in the back all night and finished 28th. He was never higher than 28th on the leaderboard, and of the drivers that ran the entire race, Stewart had the seventh worst driver rating. It was his second finish outside the top 25 in his last three races. Smoke’s performance was almost surreal to witness, as watching the Office Depot Chevy fall three laps down in a race simply because it was too slow is not something we are used to seeing. Remarkably, Stewart is still clinging to the last spot into the Chase, but 2011 could go down in history as the worst of his career.
Through 24 races this season, Stewart has only two top five and nine top ten finishes. His average finish to this point (15.0) is the worst of his Cup career, and he remains winless. Keep in mind that Stewart has never had a winless Cup season in his career. He’s won as few as one and as many as six races every year going back to his rookie year in 1999.
With twelve races remaining, Stewart certainly has plenty of time to turn his year around. Smoke is known for being a much stronger competitor during the second half of the season and he’s got three career wins each at Atlanta and Richmond (our next two races). But as frustration mounts, especially with teammate Ryan Newman getting hot (five top tens in the last seven races), don’t expect Stewart to remain patient. This season’s dismissal of competition director Bobby Hutchens showed SHR isn’t afraid to make changes, and more are not out of the question.
Plenty of other notable drivers have struggled this season (see Jeff Burton), and I’m sure all would gladly trade places with Tony Stewart and his current hold on tenth place. But when expectations are as high as their are for Stewart, tenth place just isn’t good enough.
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Last weekend at New Hampshire was a big weekend for Ryan Newman. Not only did he pick up his first Cup Series win of the season, but he also took down his third straight Whelen Modified win at the track. Newman won in a car owned and prepared by Earnhardt Ganassi Racing crew chief Kevin “Bono” Manion. Besides being their third straight NHMS win together, the win was also their fourth in four tries with that particular race car. Following the race however, Newman’s race car was impounded by NASCAR and taken back to the R&D Center in Concord, NC. On Wednesday last week, we learned why. The car was found to have an illegal intake manifold, and as a result NASCAR stripped Newman and the team of the win. This situation begs the question that if NASCAR will take lower series wins away, why will they not do the same for violations in the upper divisions?
We’ve seen plenty of examples over the last few years where drivers won a race, had race cars deemed illegal post race, received penalties, but were allowed to keep the wins. In most cases the points and monetary penalties issued pretty much erased the benefit of winning, but the wins were kept nonetheless. But apparently what’s okay for Cup, Nationwide, and Trucks isn’t good for the rest of NASCAR’s divisions.
I do applaud NASCAR in this case for one thing: making an example of Newman. If they’ll strip other drivers of wins, then Cup guys shouldn’t be subject to a different set of rules. Drivers like Newman are already full of talent, and they’ll come equipped with the best cars and crews, they shouldn’t think they can cheat too. My problem here is NASCAR’s different application of the rules for a lower series. They have the power to penalize as they see fit across all series, I just think they need to be consistent. I know many of you have begged for the same on countless occasions in the past, and this is just another example.
This situation really looks bad for all involved. NASCAR looks bad because they can’t seem to be consistent, and Newman and Bono look bad because they appear to be cheating to beat guys with a lot less resources. Hopefully this will be a lesson for all involved.
Now it’s your turn, should NASCAR have taken the win from Newman? Should they ever take any wins away? Are there certain instances where maybe that is too drastic of a penalty? The floor is yours…
Sunday’s race at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, dominated by fuel mileage, mistakes, and both Stewart Haas cars continued what has been a season of parity and added another contender to the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Ryan Newman’s victory made him the 13th different winner after 19 races this season and gave him a one spot boost in the points. Perhaps more importantly, it gave Newman a win, further strengthening his chances at a spot in the Chase.
Past the halfway point of the season and with just seven races to go until the Chase begins, who gets in is still very fluid. At the top, Carl Edwards retook the points lead from Kyle Busch after Busch cut down a tire early on, and Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch made up spots. At the bottom, Dale Earnhardt Jr. lost one spot to ninth, while David Ragan and Kasey Kahne picked up two and three spots respectively to 13th and 14th (Kahne and Greg Biffle each have 523 points). Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin both have 570 points in 10th and 11th.
With wins being the ticket to the Chase outside the top-ten, there are currently four drivers who fit the bill and have been to victory lane – David Ragan, Brad Keselowski, Regan Smith and Trevor Bayne. Of those four, two have a realistic shot of making it into the requisite top-20.
The first of those two, David Ragan, is in good shape with his 13th place points position, but Brad Keselowski sits 23rd in the points – losing two spots this weekend. If Keselowski hopes to compete for a championship this year, he’s going to have to make up some ground – lucky for him there are only 95 points separating 23rd from 12th. With a good run over the next seven races that is certainly surmountable.
Competing with those two are the other chasers without a win, and those within the top-20 without a win. Considering the amount of parity there has been this season who makes it and who doesn’t is still wide open.
So what do you think? Who makes the Chase, who doesn’t? Feel free to sound off on the Championship Chase and the race at New Hampshire.
If there is one thing you can always be sure of, it’s that no matter what changes with the cars and drivers, the short tracks will always provide a good show. Saturday night’s race at Richmond was no exception, and it gave us everything we’ve come to love about short track racing: beating and banging, tight battles, and flared tempers.
Montoya v. Newman Whether you believe it was warranted or not, Juan Pablo Montoya predictably retaliated against Ryan Newman because of the incident between the two earlier in the race. Montoya has shown in many previous cases that when he feels he’s been wrecked, he will retaliate. Denny Hamlin’s post race comments made it clear that every driver knows it too. And as part of NASCAR’s “have at it” policy, neither driver was penalized or called into a post race meeting with NASCAR. Both drivers were clearly still upset after the race, and with no penalty coming from NASCAR, don’t be surprised if Newman and Montoya tangle again in the future. Both drivers felt wronged, and it’s hard to blame either side.
Martin Truex Jr. The troubles for MTJ continued at Richmond, when his race was effectively ended by a bad pit stop. Truex had to come back to pit road after the front changer had lugnut issues (clearly a loose wheel), and his frustrations exploded into a tirade over the radio in which he “fired” his entire pit crew. This comes only a few weeks after Truex was angry with his team over a hung throttle that ended his day at Martinsville. I wrote a couple years ago about drivers and their love/hate relationship with pit crews, and in this case the hate was on full display. Hopefully front changer Corey Quick doesn’t lose his job over the incident, but if he does, he won’t be the first to be replaced this season (see Denny Hamlin).
Jimmie Johnson On a night when he didn’t have a particularly stellar run, somehow 4-time 5-time again found a way to finish in the top ten. You really have to hand it to this bunch because they never give up. But what I really wanted to say about Jimmie, is that he proved on Sunday that social media is a beautiful thing (and entertaining too). When a fan thanked him for “running over the 20″ on Twitter, Johnson responded with “he ran me across the apron. I’m sure it looks easy from the couch.” Nice.
Now it’s on to Darlington, where the “Lady in Black” will make sure 2011′s drama continues.
Filed under: Jamie McMurray, Juan Pablo Montoya, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, NASCAR Testing, Sprint Cup, Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing, NASCAR, Charlotte Motor Speedway
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Filed under: Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, Sprint Cup, Stewart-Haas Racing, NASCAR
Filed under: Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman, Chase for the Sprint Cup, NASCAR
Filed under: Ryan Newman, NASCAR Crashes, NASCAR Fights, Sprint Cup, Joey Logano, NASCAR
Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, Sprint Cup, NASCAR
Ryan Newman put the No. 39 US Army Chevrolet on the pole for the Coca-Cola 600 to give Chevrolet 600 poles in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition. It is Newman’s ninth pole at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the 46th of his career to move him in a tie with NASCAR Hall of Famer Junior Johnson for 10th on all-time pole list. Here is the question and answers from the press room.
RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 U.S. ARMY CHEVROLET – POLE WINNER Question - CONGRATULATIONS. THIS IS ALSO CHEVROLET’S 600TH CAREER POLE IN THE NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES, WHICH IS QUITE FITTING FOR THE COCA-COLA 600
“Thank you. I’m glad the numbers worked out right for once. Ultimately it was a great lap. I ran the high line, which I’ve never done in qualifying here before. So it tells you how much things have changed between the tires and the race track and the cars to be able to do something different than I’ve always done to create that ultimate fast lap. So, I had a lot of confidence after practice and I watched Montoya have a good (Turn) 1 and 2 and he missed (Turns) 3 and 4. That gave me more hope because I knew he was going to be the benchmark, at least for the overall speed that he put down in practice. So, it was great to have U.S. Army on the car this weekend for Memorial Day weekend and the Coca-Cola 600. It’s an honor to represent those soldiers and try to do our best to celebrate Memorial Day in the right way.”
Question - FOR A GUY WHO IS GOOD AT QUALIFYING, WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO MAKE SUCH A DRAMATIC CHANGE?
“The where and the way I ran in practice, we were still two-tenths off of Montoya but we were running his line and he was the quickest car. From my standpoint and looking at it, he was showing us how to do it. And I used his example and fortunately had a great lap. But I lost a little bit of confidence in my sail when Tony Gibson came on the radio before I went out and said the top five guys ran the bottom. And I’m thinking to myself if you’re trying to convince me to run the bottom, I don’t appreciate it (laughs) because I’d already made up my mind. I talked to Jimmie Johnson actually. He asked me and I was going to ask him, but he asked me first. Are you going to run the top or the bottom? The top. I’m going to go for it all. I did. And it paid off. When you feel it’s right, you feel it’s right. It’s probably no different than a baseball player swinging at a pitch. He knows he can hit it. He just hits it and knocks it out of the park.”
Question - ON SAYING THIS WAS THE MOST COURAGEOUS LAP HE’D EVER RUN AT CHARLOTTE. COMPARED TO THE OTHER 45 POLES YOU’VE WON, HOW WAS THIS LAP?
“I’ve never run into a corner at 200 miles an hour up against the wall and made it stick (laughs) and still come out the other end. So, to have the courage to put yourself in that position and do that, is tough enough; let alone doing it and pulling it off and winning that pole. So, it was, from my standpoint, courageous because I’ve never been a guy to run the wall, let alone in qualifying. So, from my standpoint it was courageous. From other people’s standpoint (like) Dale Jr. or Martin Truex Jr. and other guys that run the top all the time, it may not have been that big of a deal.”
Question - NINE POLES AT THIS RACE TRACK, WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS TRACK?
“Ideally, I would like to spread it all out over some different race tracks, but I haven’t been that fortunate. I guess beggars can’t be choosers. In general, I like this race track, I like the speed, I like the banking. When I first came here with Buddy Baker, we drove around in a rental car and after one lap I told him I was going to like this place. I always have. It is a place that I like. I have been fortunate to have good equipment and I have been able to take that good equipment and make it fast. It is just a combination of team effort and nine times out of 19 we have been able to pull it off.”
Question - WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO DO TO TURN THIS POLE FOR THE 600 INTO A DIFFERENT OUTCOME AT THE END OF THE RACE?
“I don’t know. You asked me that after the fifth one, and the fourth one and the third one. (LAUGHS) Honestly, it is just a matter of going out there, just like we did tonight, it is a team effort and the difficulty of that expands once you include the pit crew; once you include multiple pit stops and strategies and everything else. I have always told you guys, it has been easier for me to go out and run one lap and do it fast than it is to go out there and run 600 miles fast. I can do that, it just a matter of putting yourself in that track position. Putting yourself in that right position; the right tires on the car because you have a good pit crew and things like that. I feel like I am more prepared than I ever have been as far as our team. Our pit stops have gotten better. I feel like, from an experience standpoint, five times now, I know what I did wrong. (LAUGHS) Ultimately, it is the best to start and it is where we all want to finish. There is only one that gets it all together. I’ll have to talk to Jimmie I guess. (LAUGHS)
Question - COULD YOU IMAGINE THAT IT WOULD BE 13 RACES IN BEFORE YOU GOT YOUR FIRST POLE THIS YEAR AND YOU’RE STILL A FEW AWAY BUT YOU ARE IN A POSITION TO EVENTUALLY OVERTAKE DAVID PEARSON WITH POLES HERE, WOULD THAT MEAN ANYTHING IN PARTICULAR TO YOU? “No different than it would be than it would be taking over Buddy Baker’s record at Atlanta. I think I am tied with him now. Ultimately, it’s what we all strive for is to be the fastest, to be the best, to be the quickest and get to victory lane. It would a lot to me. I think David Pearson was an excellent race car driver, still is. Ultimately it is just a number, but to be where I am and have a shot at it, that’s cool. But I’m still a long ways away. It took me this long to get nine, not that it took me that long, but it’s not easy to win one and five more is not going to be easy at all.”
Ryan Newman Wins the Pole for the Coca-Cola 600 is a post from: Awesome Race Fans