Working On My Redneck ™ » jeff gordon

Most Wanted Man In NASCAR

Leon — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 22:15:08 +0000

(photo courtesy Leon Hammack)

Four-time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon used to be “the king of the road course”. He has the most road course victories of any current Sprint Cup driver. His days used to be very busy collecting trophies on Sunday afternoons.

However last Sunday at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA, the Hendrick Motorsports #24 DuPont Chevy was much busier collecting other race cars with his front bumper. There are at least five drivers, by the last count, that left Infineon Raceway with a “chapped butt” courtesy of the four-time Sprint Cup champion.

Martin Truex, Jr. was, by far, the most vocal about Jeff Gordon’s driving antics last Sunday! Truex,Jr. vowed “to get him” at Louden this weekend. Elliott Sadler also received “the chrome horn” from the four-time Sprint Cup champion. As a results of Gordon’s “love tap” to Sadler, Clint Bowyer got collected up in Sadler’s spin. Sadler made a point of telling his spotter to let Bowyer know that the cause of his spin was directly from Gordon’s front bumper.

David Ragan was still another victim of Jeff Gordon when he took Ragan’s RFR #6 UPS Ford and Mattias Eckstrim’s Red Bull Racing #83 Toyota three wide. Additionally, Kurt Busch left the track all steamed up over his encounter with Gordon that cut a tire on the Penske racing #2 Miller Lite Dodge relegating Busch to 32nd place.

After the conclusion of the Toyota/Save Mart 350, it appeared that the only cars that suffered no damage from the HMS #24 DuPont Chevy, was the pace car and the track ambulance!

What did you think of Jeff Gordon’s driving tactic Sunday?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Wal-Mart In Negotiations With NASCAR

Leon — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 03:23:53 +0000

(photo courtesy Leon Hammack)

Retail giant, Wal-Mart is in in deep discussions with NASCAR teams and NASCAR officials about a wide ranging deal that has both sponsorship, licensing implications, and could see Wal-mart sponsoring a Hendrick Motorsports team or one of the other powerhouse teams.

Senior level Wal-Mart executives were the guests of NASCAR at the May 22nd Sprint All-Star race at Charlotte. One week later they were back touring race shops and meeting with team executives as the mass ratailer explores NASCAR possibilities.

Although there are several scenarios, industry sources say that Wal-Mart is discussing the potential of a direct license that would make Wal-Mart NASCAR’s exclusive retailer in the mass market. A direct license would give Wal-Mart the ability to select its suppliers and set prices for certain categories, such as hats and T-shirts.

Wal-Mart is believed to be exploring sponsorship opportunities with Hendrick Motorsports as well. Hendrick’s drivers – Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin – account for close to 75 percent of all licensed sales in the sport, industry analysts say, making it a logical team for Wal-Mart to sponsor. Hendrick has also signed popular driver Kasey Kahne, who will take over Martin’s No. 5 car in 2012.

Wal-Mart is thought to be considering a sponsorship arrangement with a team or multiple teams, with Hendrick Motorsports in the middle of those discussions. It’s unclear, though, if the mass retailer will settle on one car for a chunk of the season, sponsor multiple cars for a few races each, or perhaps put together several driver deals into a marketing platform, a la the Gillette Young Guns or the Coca-Cola family of drivers.

One scenario, according to sources, has Wal-Mart sponsoring Gordon’s # 24 Chevrolet for half of the season or more, as primary sponsor DuPont looks to scale back its spending. DuPont’s current primary sponsorship on the No. 24 car ends this season, and while the longtime sponsor is expected to remain in some form, it’s uncertain whether DuPont will remain the primary.

Other industry insiders say it’s unlikely that Wal-Mart would sponsor a single driver because the retailer will potentially have licensing arrangements across a variety of drivers.

What do you think about Wal-Mart making an entrance into NASCAR?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Hamlin Pulls Off A Double At Darlington

Leon — Sun, 09 May 2010 17:01:21 +0000

(photo courtesy Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)

Denny Hamlin pulled off the Darlington double, winning both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races this weekend! That feat has only been accomplished 3 times in Darlington’s illustrious 61 year history!

Denny Hamlin restarted the Showtime Southern 500 Sprint Cup race at Darlington Raceway Saturday night in the lead driving his JGR #11 Fed Ex Toyota with 20 laps to go, and had no problem holding off the field to get the victory.

However, the two drivers who appeared to have the best shots at beating Hamlin in the Cup race – Jeff Gordon in the HMS #24 DuPont Chevy and Jeff Burton in the RCR #31 CAT Chevy – blew their chances at victory by making mistakes on the final pit stop of the evening. Gordon missed the commitment cone while trying to pit and Burton was penalized for running over a hose in the pits.

Jamie McMurray, driving the EGR #1 Bass Pro Sports Chevy, who started from the pole, finished second. On Friday, McMurray finished third in the Nationwide race. So, big weekend for McMurray – though not a surprising one to him and his teams.

Kurt Busch, driving the Penske Racing #2 Miller Lite Dodge, finished third. A very welcome third. “I haven’t had a solid run like tonight since Ricky Craven and I battled it out for that win,” Busch, whose brother Kyle finished second to Hamlin on Friday, said. “It feels good to get our Miller Lite Dodge back up front. It came down to a strategy where I though two tires would be the way to go at the end. We had the right strategy, we just didn’t have enough speed.

Gordon came back to finish fourth, after missing the pit entrance. Then as he re-entered the pits on the second attempt, a yellow flag cam out. With that yellow flag being waved, Gordon drove right through the pits again to rejoin the pack, then next time by Gordon took the wave around.

“That is what happens when you make a make a mistake,” Gordon said of missing pit road. “You have to make it up to your guys who worked so hard all weekend long to give you a race car like that.

Rounding out the top five was JPM, better know as Juan Pabl0 Montoya, driving the EGR #42 Target Chevy.

So the “track too tough to tame” has again given the race fans a great weekend of racing. The Southern 500 has put another exclamation point on a NASCAR season already full of exciting finishes. Even more interesting is that Deny Hamlin has shown that no “stinkin’ ACL surgery” will put a hamper on his competitiveness, durability, focus, and drive!

What is your take on Hamlin’s toughness?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Busch Jumps The Restart, Wins Crown Royal 400

Leon — Sun, 02 May 2010 14:24:59 +0000

(photo courtesy Getty Images)

Frustration continues to dog Jeff Gordon!

Once again the race was his to win, and like it has happened on several occasions already this season, he watched the victory slip away! Even though Kyle Busch led a race high 226 laps, it was Jeff Gordon who once again was in a position to win the race in the final 10 laps. However, it was not to be. It is getting to be like the movie “Ground Hog Day”, very repetitious.

Kyle Busch moved around Jeff Gordon on a restart with five laps to go to post his first victory since prevailing at Bristol Motor Speedway on Aug. 22, 2009.

Gordon, who led 144 laps, finished second and was followed by Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Carl Edwards – who finally led his first lap of 2010 – in a race named in honor of retired Army Sgt. Heath Calhoun, who lost both legs in the service of his country.

Busch led a race-high 226 laps – most of them early in the race on the 0.75-mile RIR oval. The second half of the event clearly belonged to Gordon, the four-time Cup champion who was searching for his first victory of 2010. But a series of cautions during the closing stages proved pivotal, including the night’s sixth yellow for Sam Hornish Jr.’s wreck into the inside retaining wall down the backstretch.

Gordon chose the inside line for the restart, with Busch alongside. Busch reacted slightly quicker to the green than Gordon, and the two raced side-by side until Busch completed the pass just before the start/finish line. It marked the seventh time in the last eight races at Richmond International Raceway that the driver who led with 10 to go – in this case Gordon – did not drive into Victory Lane.

As to the restart, Busch said, “I don’t remember what happened. Where was I? Was I on the outside? I just drove it down into Turn 1 and hope it stuck. I drove it too far and got it pointed just in time and had a major drive up off the corner. I knew I needed to baby it into Turn 3 and try to get a good launch off Turn 4 as well. Finally got to clear Jeff and got down to the bottom. Set sail from there and those guys (Gordon and Harvick) got racing. Best thing when you get out front is to see the guys behind you racing.”

Gordon was asked if the difference on the final restart was lane choice or older tires.

“It was the 18 (Busch),” said Gordon, driver of the # 24 DuPont Chevrolet Impala . “He was so strong on restarts all night. I don’t know what happened to him that one run where he fell back. He was head and shoulders above everybody on restarts. We got a couple decent restarts there and Burton and Harvick got to racing one another. And it allowed us to get out there into some clean air.”

“On that last restart, I got a good one but Kyle got a good one as well. I was just too loose to really get going. Great, great effort again. We’re going to have to figure out how to win these ones on these late cautions. That’s not where we’re strong right now. We’re certainly getting plenty of practice at it,”Gordon said somewhat in despair.

Gordon had been involved in controversial incidents with reigning/four-time Cup champion – and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson – in the previous two races at Texas Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. The two avoided each other Saturday night, although Johnson was involved in a wreck with Clint Bowyer of Richard Childress Racing shortly after crossing the start/finish line.

Even though Jeff Gordon is failing to “close the deal”, his team is there knocking on the door. The # 24 Dupont Chevy is currently sitting in 6th place in the Sprint Cup standings.

What do you think it is going to take for the #24 Dupont team to get their car to victory lane?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Competitors Fierce or Friendly?

Leon — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 17:27:08 +0000

(photo courtesy Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

There was a time when race car drivers would do ANYTHING to win a race! Do the names like Dale Earnhardt, Sr., David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Fireball Roberts, and Junior Johnson ring a bell? These men were hard charging, blatantly fierce race car drivers.

Yeah I know that was long ago and in a far away place right, kind of like Star Wars? Wrong!!! That was NASCAR competition, pure and simple!

What is with these so-called team mates being so happy, friendly, wanting to help their team mates score extra points by pulling over and allowing their team mates to lead a lap and pick up 5 bonus points? What happened to the fierce, macho competitive edge that was once displayed? Where is the game face of these “steely eyed“, fearless men?

Has Corporate America taken control of the one last bastion of fierce, masculine, take-no-prisoners type of independent competition?

Was too much made out of the competitive beating and banging of team mates, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, after all, they are both four time Sprint Cup champions? They are supposed to have that “fire in their belly”! Do you think that Junior Johnson, Cale Yarborough,David Pearson, or Richard Petty would have pulled over and let his team mate lead a lap for some bonus points? I think NOT!

What is your take on the subject of team mates?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Break Problems For Jeff Gordon?

Leon — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 15:30:17 +0000

(photo courtesy John Harellson/Getty Images)

Do you all remember when Jeff Gordon used to win NASCAR Sprint cup races? For those of you who might not have such a great memory, Jeff Gordon used to win races and lots of them! The four time Sprint Cup champion has 82 victories to his credit, enough to be in 6th place on the all time win list!

As recently as the 2007 season, he won six times. But checkered flags haven’t come easily for Gordon in a while. His only victory in the past two seasons came last spring at Texas.

It looked like the drought would end on Monday at Martinsville when Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, running 1-2 late in the race, were brought into the pits during a caution, leaving Gordon in the lead with only a handful of laps remaining on the half-mile track.

Gordon easily stayed out front on the restart, but another yellow flag forced a green-white-checker overtime session.

On the final restart, Matt Kenseth got into the rear of Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet with a classic bump-and-run maneuver and zoomed past into the lead. Gordon retaliated, slamming into Kenseth, whose Ford then drifted up the track as the leaders roared past.

But Gordon was done, relegated to third when Hamlin, sporting two fresh tires, and Joey Logano, another Gibbs entry, drove past.

Despite his calm demeanor and smooth words, it was obvious Gordon was not pleased.

“The 17 got into the back of me,” The feisty Gordon said. “I made sure he wasn’t going to win the race after that.” Gordon wound up finishing 3rd and Kenseth finished a disappointing 18th.

Gordon hasn’t won a Cup title since 2001, goes into the rare off weekend seventh in the season points and still very much among the drivers with a chance to knock his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson off the top of the hill that he has held for four straight years.

Jeff Gordon, who has dominated at times this season without winning, isn’t concerned with bad breaks. But is he really not concerned with the bad breaks?

What do you think?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

NASCAR Team Values Drop Except Hendrick Motorsports

Leon — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 15:43:54 +0000

Jeff Gordon pulling into the garage area at Atlanta (photo courtesy Leon Hammack)

A Forbes’ report released Wednesday shows NASCAR’s top team, Hendrick Motorsports, is worth $350 million. But the report claims the average team value has declined $5 million over the past year. Forbes magazine annual rankings show that Hendrick Motorsports is the most valuable team in NASCAR for the second straight year. That organization has thoroughly dominated NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series over the last 15 years!

Second in the rankings of NASCAR race teams is Roush-Fenway Racing valued at $238 million. Third in value in the Forbes ranking is Richard Childress Racing valued at $153 million. Coming in fourth place in the Forbes ranking is Joe Gibbs Racing valued at$144 million. Rounding out the top five is Richard Petty Motorsports, a merged entity of Petty Enterprises, Gillette-Evernaham Motorsports, and Yates Racing valued at #124 million.

Forbes said that the NASCAR race teams decreased in value an average of 10% since 2008, with the exception of Hendrick Motorsports. Forbes also ranked three Hendrick drivers as the highest paid drivers in NASCAR. The three drivers are Dale Earnhardt, Jr. earning $30 million, Jeff Gordon earning $27 million, and Jimmie Johnson earning $23 million in 2009.

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Turn Out The Lights…..!

Leon — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:55:08 +0000

(photo courtesy Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

The HMS #48 Lowe’s Chevy driven by Jimmie Johnson rebounded in the ultimate fashion Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway’s Checkers O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 in Avondale, AZ! In what has come to be traditional #48 Lowe’s Chevy Chase productivity, the team responded after a horrible previous race at Texas with a dominating win at Phoenix! The win Sunday has all but put an exclamation point on what most definitely will be that team’s fourth consecutive championship!

That’s right folks, you can tear down the tents, wipe the grease paint off of the clowns faces, the “fat lady” is tuning up and going to sing her Auria! Turn out the lights, the part is over! What we have witnessed has been truly amazing. Not only have we witnessed “Tornado Jimmie”, but also we have witnessed one of the greatest disappearing acts by nine of the competitors in recent NASCAR history!

Ten weeks ago we were touting this group of 12 drivers as the best of the best. Now nine of those drivers have faded like a pair of Levi jeans! Jeff Gordon in the HMS #24 Dupont Chevy is in third place, back a distant 169 points. His chances fade immediately to black as soon as Jimmie Johnson fires up that 800hp HMS #48 Lowe’s Chevy on Sunday. That will leave only Mark Martin in the HMS #5 Kellogg’s/Carquest Chevy as the only driver to have the remotest of chances in catching “Tornado Jimmie”! Martin is 108 points behind Johnson with just the lone race at Homestead to run.

So what started out as twelve drivers, ten races, one championship is now one driver, one race, and one champion…… Jimmie Johnson!

The Hendrick Motorsports #48 Lowe’s Chevy rewrites the NASCAR history books at Homestead this Sunday!

(Can anyone direct me to a good restaurant that serves crow on their menu?)

Congratulations to the whole Hendrick Motorsports organization! It appears that they will have a 1,2,3 finish in the Chase points in 2009. That is also another first for NASCAR history.

UNTIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

History Was Almost Made At Texas!

Leon — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:29:58 +0000

(photo courtesy Rusty Garrett/ Getty Images)

On more than one front, history was nearly written at the Texas Motor Speedway. Kyle Busch won two of the three races scheduled during the Texas NASCAR weekend at Fort Worth! He came within 3 laps of winning the Sprint Cup race at Texas, thereby winning all three events at one venue. That would have been a very historic event, since that feat has never been accomplished! Additionally, Jimmie Johnson could have “iced” all the competition with a top 10 finish. But unfortunately neither of those historic events occurred.

Instead, Jimmie Johnson was involved in a lap 3 wreck losing more that 100 points of his 184 point lead. Kurt Busch passed his younger brother, Kyle, with 3 laps remaining when the younger Busch ran out of gas.

Now the venue changes to the Phoenix International Raceway. With 2 races left, the intensity cranks up. The door has been reopened to both Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon. With two races left, it is a three horse race.

Workingonmyredneck is looking forward to the trip to Phoenix this weekend to catch the Copper Classic, midgets and Silver Crown cars, Camping World Trucks, Nationwide, and sprint cup races!

Does the HMS #48 Lowe’s Chevy driven by Jimmie Johnson still have the championship locked up? Can either the HMS #5 Kellogg’s Chevy driven by Mark Martin, or the HMS #24 Dupont Chevy driven by Jeff Gordon make a run for the championship with just 2 races left?

What do you think?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Hamlin Wins At Martinsville

Leon — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:07:58 +0000

(Photo courtesy of NASCAR)

At the last Martinsville race in the Spring, Jimmie Johnson punted Denny Hamlin for the victory. Sunday in the Fall race at Martinsville, Denny Hamlin found the perfect fix to that problem. Hamlin, in his JGR #11 FedEx Toyota, simply didn’t allow the #48 HMS Lowe’s Chevy to get close enough to his bumper to replay the end results of the Spring race! Therefore, Hamlin was fortunate enough to score his third victory of the season and his first in this season’s Chase races.

However, this victory for Hamlin has come much too late to allow him any chance to catch the leader. After the Martinsville race, Jimmie Johnson has a 352 point lead over Denny Hamlin.

The Chase for the Cup standings looks like this, the HMS #48 Lowe’s Chevy appears to be heading for his fourth consecutive championship! Johnson is still leading the points with the HMS #5 Kellogg’s/Carquest Chevy driven by Mark Martin still in second place trailing the leader by 118 points. Still holding on third place is the HMS #24 Dupont Chevy driven by Jeff Gordon trailing the leader by 150 points. The Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) #14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevy is in still fourth position back 192 points. Juan Pablo Montoya (JPM) moved into fifth place in his EGR #42 Target Chevy back 200 points from Johnson.

Next Sunday is Talladega! This race is always exciting and could prove to be one of the top five Chase cars’ down fall, if they are involved in one of “THE BIG ONES” that can occur there! ” THE BIG ONE” most definitely will happen and take out a number of cars, you just have to figure out when it is going to happen at Talladega! With even a smaller restrictor plate for this Talladega race, the cars will be bunched even tighter. That may lend itself to triggering “THE BIG ONE”! That could spell catastrophe for some Chase teams!!

Traditionally the fall race in Talladega comes up with some very surprising finishes. Remember the fantastic driving of Dale Earnhardt, Sr? He started the last restart from something like 18th place and drove through the crowd to win his final NASCAR race before his untimely death in the following Daytona 500. Last year, Carl Edwards started the multi-car crash that ended his chances of dethroning Jimmie Johnson.

Workingonmyredneck is anxiously awaiting his trip to Talladega to witness this race for the first time! Having made six Daytona 500′s in the past, this trip to Talladega is like a cherry on an ice cream sundae!

The end of the season is in sight with only four more races left in 2009. What is your take on who will be crowned the 2009 Sprint Cup Champion at the Miami-Homestead Speedway? Is it time to turn out the lights and give the championship for the fourth consecutive time to the #48 Lowe’s Chevy? Can Martin or Gordon mount a charge to overhaul the leader? Can “Smoke” smoke them all? Can JPM pull off the all time fairly tale in NASCAR?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!