(photo courtesy Leon Hammack)

One of my cyber-buddies, Bruce Simmons at brusimm.com, has compiled a very good look at the inside numbers regarding the top 12 driver’s chances at winning the 2010 Sprint Cup championship.

Bruce has analyzed the numbers, put them in perspective, and reached a scientific outcome.  You might check . . . → Read More: Another View Of The Chase]]>

(photo courtesy Leon Hammack)

One of my cyber-buddies, Bruce Simmons at brusimm.com, has compiled a very good look at the inside numbers regarding the top 12 driver’s chances at winning the 2010 Sprint Cup championship.

Bruce has analyzed the numbers, put them in perspective, and reached a scientific outcome.  You might check out Bruce’s View of The Chase!  It is a very interesting read.  Before your leave his web site, leave Bruce your comments on his article, I am sure he would be most interested in your take on this subject!

WOMR has his money on ol Kylie Busch, aka The Las Vegas Weasel (TLVW) for the championship!  ( That really pains me to make that prediction!)

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

(photo courtesy google.com)

Dover International Speedway, the high-banked, one-mile concrete oval in Dover, Del., hosts two NASCAR tripleheader weekends in 2010: May 14-16, and Sept. 24-26, when the “Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup” returns to Dover. Fiercely known as the “Monster Mile” for its ability to destroy cars and driver’s hopes . . . → Read More: Dover, “The Monster Mile” Track Facts]]>

(photo courtesy google.com)

Dover International Speedway, the high-banked, one-mile concrete oval in Dover, Del., hosts two NASCAR tripleheader weekends in 2010: May 14-16, and Sept. 24-26, when the “Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup” returns to Dover. Fiercely known as the “Monster Mile” for its ability to destroy cars and driver’s hopes of winning at ease, Dover has been a staple on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series calendar since its first race in 1969.

Situated in the heart of the mid-Atlantic region, the fan friendly venue welcomes thousands of race fans to its 750-acre complex each year. Unique to the sport of NASCAR, Dover shares the property with the Dover Downs Hotel & Casino, giving race fans the complete vacation destination. Outside of Turn 4 stands the 46-foot-tall Monster Monument at Victory Plaza, presented by AAA, the larger-than-life sculpture of Dover’s signature icon Miles the Monster. The fiberglass structure attracts visitors to the track year round and has become a “must see” stop for tourists coming to Delaware’s capital city.

Track History:

1969 - Dover Downs opens as a unique dual purpose facility, designed to accommodate both horse racing and motorsports events. The first event on the Speedway is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, the “Mason-Dixon 300,” on July 6, won by Richard Petty.

1971 - All non-NASCAR sanctioned motorsports events are dropped from the schedule to concentrate on two 500-mile NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races traditionally held in June and September of each year.

1982 - Joe Ruttman wins Dover’s first NASCAR Nationwide Series race, the “Sportsman 200,” a new Saturday attraction for race fans.

1986 - Modest 3,200 seat grandstand addition begins expansion of facility which continued until 2001 – unequaled by any other NASCAR track. Dover also adds a fall NASCAR Nationwide Series event to its annual schedule.

1994 - Delaware General Assembly passes legislation authorizing slot machines at pari-mutual horse racing facilities.

1995 - Dover Downs International Speedway becomes NASCAR’s first concrete paved superspeedway. Races become cleaner, faster and more competitive. After summer and fall of round-the-clock construction, Dover Downs Slots opens on December 29.

1996 - Dover Downs Entertainment, Inc., parent company of all Dover Downs activities, begins trading on New York Stock Exchange under symbol DVD.

1997 - Change to 400-mile distance for NASCAR Sprint Cup races is made at fall event. Dover Downs Entertainment, Inc. acquires Nashville Speedway USA, operator of NASCAR events at
Tennessee State Fairgrounds and announces plans for a new superspeedway in the Nashville area. Open date is set for Easter weekend in 2001.

2000 - NASCAR Camping World Truck Series makes debut at Dover’s September race weekend with Kurt Busch emerging as the winner from the pole position.

2001 – Sixteenth year of grandstand expansion places seating capacity at 135,000 – the largest seating capacity of a sports facility in mid-Atlantic region. Dover holds first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event after terrorist attacks of September 11th on New York City, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania. Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins the race and takes the American flag for a victory lap around the track.

2002 - Dover Downs International Speedway becomes Dover International Speedway, as the
gaming side of the company splits off and Dover Motorsports, Inc. is created to exclusively oversee racing at the Dover, Nashville, Memphis and St. Louis tracks, as well as the Grand Prix of Long Beach, the Grand Prix of Denver and the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg which were later
discontinued. The harness racing, slots operation and newly built hotel retain the Dover Downs name now known as Dover Downs Hotel & Casino®.

2004 – The Monster Bridge, a 56 seat, glass-enclosed structure that extends over the track
in Turn 3, is unveiled. The one-of-a-kind structure creates the “Most Exciting Seat in Sports.” The newly introduced “Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup” comes to the Monster Mile in the fall as Ryan Newman notches another Dover win in the Sept. event and takes home the first ‘monster’ trophy.

2006 – Dover announces plans for the “Monster Makeover,” a multi-year capital improvement project. First phase of construction begins prior to Sept. race.

2007 – First phase of Monster Makeover is completed prior to June race. Construction
includes a new skybox complex and Velocity, an all-inclusive, luxury suite for individual race fans. A 2,100 square-foot addition to the media center was also completed along with widened walkways behind the frontstretch grandstands; six renovated restroom facilities; additional paved handicapped parking areas; expanded bus parking; a new sound system; an expanded and relocated hospitality tent village; and continued beautification and landscaping of the entire property.

2008 – The 2008 season marked Dover International Speedway’s 40th anniversary. The second phase of Monster Makeover construction included the addition of the 46-foot Monster
Monument at Victory Plaza, presented by AAA, a larger-than-life fiberglass sculpture of the track’s signature icon Miles the Monster. The structure also includes over 200 granite plaques dedicated to race winners and legendary drivers at the Monster Mile. Other construction projects included the expansion of the FanZone display area and the addition of a new emergency services building outside of Gate 1.

2009 – The third phase of Monster Makeover construction focused on pit road, including a new 1,592 foot concrete pit wall equipped with SAFER barrier technology. The new space made way for a 43rd pit stall and enabled the track to lengthen all stalls by four feet, creating an easier
entrance and exit for the cars while pitting. By eliminating all grass on the frontstretch and in Turn 4, the new pit road wall was set four feet closer to the apron of the track, creating a wider pit road.

The track hosted its 10th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on May 29, 2009, and will host its 80th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sept. 27, 2009. (Dover Motorsports,Inc)

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

WOMR has heard, on more than one occasion, from the TV commentators over the life of  The Chase races, that the “non-chasers”, the “rest of the field”, “the also rans” are racing “the chasers” too hard.  Their complaint was that those “non-chasers” weren’t moving over and allowing . . . → Read More: Non-Chasers Are Racing Too!]]>

(photo courtesy John Harrelson/Getty Images)

WOMR has heard, on more than one occasion, from the TV commentators over the life of  The Chase races, that the “non-chasers”, the “rest of the field”, “the also rans” are racing “the chasers” too hard.  Their complaint was that those “non-chasers” weren’t moving over and allowing “the chasers” to bypass them easily, possibly screwing up “the chasers” chance at the championship.

Isn’t that about the goofiest thing that you have ever heard?  These guys are race car drivers, they are competitive by nature.  Just because their team didn’t perform adequately enough to make “the coveted top 12″, doesn’t mean that the whole team “has laid down on the job”!

What makes NASCAR’s version of a playoff series different is that all 43 competitors still race in the final 10 races of the season.  Just because a race team does not end up in the top 12, does not mean that they take their race hauler back to the shop and not compete in the final 10 races.  Therein lies the beauty of the NASCAR Chase for The Sprint Cup championship!

For the non-Chasers, however, the only way to salvage something from a disappointing season is to go out and win one or more of the final races.  There’s pride, and possibly jobs, on the line.

That gritty determination in last Sunday’s Chase opener at New Hampshire was personified when five of the top-ten finishers were non-Chasers: Jamie McMurray, Dale Earnhardt Jr., David Reutimann, Ryan Newman and Sam Hornish Jr.

To suggest that any of those drivers should have slowed down, moved over, or as Junior Johnson would have called it, lay down, to let the Chaser racers go by is ludicrous!

Last Sunday Earnhardt got almost as much air time by finishing 4th as dark-horse Clint Bowyer did for winning the race! There’s no denying that if Earnhardt can get it in gear down the stretch and compete for wins, it will create a tremendous fan and media buzz.

Junior can’t win the championship but he can still win the race, and that’s enough to get the Junior Nation all a-twitter!

What is your view on this?

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

Clint Bowyer held of a rapidly depleting fuel cell, as well as a very hard charging Denny Hamlin, to log his first Sprint Cup victory of the 2010 race season.  Bowyer ended an 81 race drought with . . . → Read More: Bowyer Wins The Sylvania 300 On Fumes]]>

Twelve drivers, ten races, one championship, who will be the last man standing?

Clint Bowyer held of a rapidly depleting fuel cell, as well as a very hard charging Denny Hamlin, to log his first Sprint Cup victory of the 2010 race season.  Bowyer ended an 81 race drought with quite an exclamation point by winning the first race of the Chase, The Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

For the last ten races, Bowyer’s team had been flying well under the radar.  By most pundits analysis, his team was not supposed to pose a threat for the current crop of favorites, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin.  Therefore, there was no pressure on this team to perform during The Chase races.  However with this victory, it has propelled the RCR #33 Cheerios Chevy 10 places, moving them up from 12th place into 2nd place in the standings!

Bowyer dominated the first two-thirds of the race leading 174 of the first 202 laps, but then fell back to the back of the top ten pack of cars.  Then with a long final 54 laps of green flag racing to the checkered flag, Bowyer was able to race his car back up to second place, behind race leader Tony Stewart.

Stewart and Bowyer elected not to stop during the last yellow flag, their crew chiefs figuring that it would be tight on fuel, nevertheless, both elected to attempt to stretch out their fuel consumption in order to make it to the checkered flag.  Unfortunately, with just two laps to go, the race leader Tony Stewart runs out of gas, allowing Bowyer to inherit the lead and ultimately win the race!

Here is the unofficial results of the Sylvania 300.

With the Louden race now in the books here is the unofficial Chase standings.

Twelve drivers, now nine races, one championship, who will be the last man standing?

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

(photo courtesy racintoday.com)

Sunday, at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, marks the first race at in The Chase for the Sprint Cup, therein the phrase “the chase is on”.  But with The Chase comes “The Pressure”!

Sunday will mark the beginning process that will weed out, and separate, the “pretenders” from the . . . → Read More: The 2010 Chase Is On!]]>

(photo courtesy racintoday.com)

Sunday, at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, marks the first race at in The Chase for the Sprint Cup, therein the phrase “the chase is on”.  But with The Chase comes “The Pressure”!

Sunday will mark the beginning process that will weed out, and separate, the “pretenders” from the “contenders”.  As in the stick and ball sports, the measuring stick is if the team made it to the playoffs.  Likewise, the measuring stick for for a successful season in NASCAR is making “the Chase for the Sprint Cup”, NASCAR’s version of the championship playoffs.  If your team made The Chase is was a successful year, if not your year was a flop!

The Chase is NASCAR’s benchmark for success.

The 10-race Chase for the Championship kicks off Sunday at New Hampshire Speedway with 12 drivers in contention. They are the dozen still standing after a grueling 26-race marathon that began way back in February at Daytona.

Each of them breathed a sigh of relief once their place the Chase was secured. They made it!  No matter what happens the rest of they way, even if the fizzle in the Chase, they can always say they were championship contenders in 2010.

The rest of the field can’t say the same thing. They’re fighting for crumbs and leftovers. They are championship spectators!

So pull those belts tight one more time, get up on the wheel, and mash the loud pedal hard!

Here is the starting lineup for Sunday’s Sylvania 300 at Louden, N.H.

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

Interesting Louden Tidbits:

• Last race won from the pole: September 2007, Clint Bowyer. • Average starting position of race winners: 13.1. • Worst starting position of a race winner: 38th, by Jeff Burton in July 1999. • Races won from a top-10 starting position: 16 of 31. • Most . . . → Read More: Louden Tidbits]]>

(photo courtesy hnms.com)

Interesting Louden Tidbits:

• Last race won from the pole: September 2007, Clint Bowyer.
• Average starting position of race winners: 13.1.
• Worst starting position of a race winner: 38th, by Jeff Burton in July 1999.
• Races won from a top-10 starting position: 16 of 31.
• Most wins: Jeff Burton (4).
• 11 different drivers have won the past 11 races.
• Only repeat winner the past 13 races is Kurt Busch.
• 20 drivers have won at Loudon; 15 are active.
• Last winner to go on to win the championship that season: Tony Stewart, July 2005.
• Five of the 13 fall races have been won from the front row — four from the pole, one from second.
• Best average start: Ryan Newman (8.1, 17 races); best average finish: Denny Hamlin (8.2, nine races).
• Best teams in average finish: Stewart-Haas Racing — 10.5; Joe Gibbs Racing — 13.0; Hendrick Motorsports — 15.3; Richard Childress Racing — 15.9; Roush Fenway Racing — 16.4.

The Chase is on …

Greg Biffle

• Won the Chase opener in 2008; finished ninth at Loudon in September 2009.

Clint Bowyer

• Registered his first Cup Series win at New Hamshire on Sept. 9, 2007. He has finished in the top 12 in five of the past six races at Loudon, including three top-10s.

Jeff Burton

• The first of his 573 series starts came in the inaugural New Hampshire race in 1993. Since joining RCR, he has five top-10 finishes in 11 races, including three seventh-place runs.

Kurt Busch

• A three-time winner at Loudon; finished in the top six in the past five races at New Hampshire, including a third-place finish in June.

Kyle Busch

• Won this race in 2006 while leading 107 laps; finished seventhth and fifth last year and 11th in June

Carl Edwards

• Started 21st and finished 25th in June; has ony two top-10 finishes in 12 races at New Hampshire.

Jeff Gordon

• Has started on the front row 11 times in 31 races at Loudon; has finished in the top five in five of the past eight races and 14 times overall.

Denny Hamlin

• Six top-10 finishes in nine races at New Hampshire; led 22 laps and finished second in September 2009.

Kevin Harvick

• Finished 34th and 32nd last year, fifth in June; has been running at the end of all 19 starts at Loudon.

Jimmie Johnson

• Top-10 finish in the past seven races at New Hampshire and nine of the past 10; finished 39th in September 2006 — his only finish worst than 15th at Loudon and his worst finish in 60 Chase races.

Matt Kenseth

• Had 11 top-10 finishes in his first 16 starts at New Hampshire; his best finish in the past five races is 17th, in June.

Tony Stewart

• Has led 1,030 laps at Loudon, second to only Jeff Gordon (1,205); has led the most laps in five races at Loudon; has 12 top-five finishes in 23 races at New Hampshire.

Fast Fact

Jeff Burton led all 300 laps in winning at Loudon on Sept. 17, 2000, which was a restrictor-plate race. It was the first race since 1978 that a driver led every lap in a race (Cale Yarborough, Nashville). It was only the sixth time in Cup Series history — and the third time in the modern era — that it has been accomplished. It also was the second superspeedway race in which the winner led every lap. On March 12, 1961, Fireball Roberts led all 178 laps at the 1.4-mile Hanford, Calif., track. Ironically, Burton also is the New Hampshire race winner that has won by leading the fewest laps. He led only two laps in his victory in the 1999 New England 300. (nascar.com)

I looked it up so that you wouldn’t have to!

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

The . . . → Read More: New Hampshire International Speedway History]]>

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

(photo courtesy Leon Hammack)

Now that The Chase is upon us, WOMR has put together a “Wish List”.

The top 5 drivers who have a legitimate shot at the championship:

1. Jimmie Johnson, nuff said!

2. Kyle Busch-“Testes Ad Mureum”! The Las Vegas Weasel, has an unharnessable win or spin, checkers or . . . → Read More: The Chase Wish List]]>

(photo courtesy Leon Hammack)

Now that The Chase is upon us, WOMR has put together a “Wish List”.

The top 5 drivers who have a legitimate shot at the championship:

1. Jimmie Johnson, nuff said!

2. Kyle Busch-“Testes Ad Mureum”! The Las Vegas Weasel, has an unharnessable win or spin, checkers or wreckers, win at all cost, attitude that will either put him on top of the championship podium, or in a private room at the hospital!  The former is most likely the results.

3. Denny Hamlin- bonus points!  No matter what they say, it is better to have the bonus points than not to have them!

4. Carl Edwards-momentum.  Edwards’ team has quietly been gathering up momentum over the last six races.

5. Kevin Harvick- consistency.  Harvick’s team has been very consistent over the first 26 races.

The top 5 drivers that I wished were in The Chase:

1. “Blazingly Bad” Brad Keselowski and his feuds would have been another exciting factor to add to The Chase!  The ratings would most likely have gone through the roof!

2. Jamie McMurray was the winner of the two biggest races of the season, this is like “Cinderella”!  He didn’t have a job at the end of the 2009 season and Ganassi takes him back into his fold and wins the Daytona 500 right out of the box!

3. Mark Martin is a story that totally fell apart after last seasons “magic”.

4. Ryan Newman and his “Army of One”!

5. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and “The Junior Nation”. The party just wouldn’t be a party without Junior!

Top five quotes from Richmond:

1. Tony Gibson, crew chief for Ryan Newman – “We had a solid sixth-to-eighth-place car tonight.”

Talk about aiming high!

2. Winner Denny Hamlin – “Kyle (Busch) put the pressure on us and he made a heck of a charge. Luckily for me it was a teammate because if it had been anyone else, he probably would have moved us.”

You think?

3. Clint Bowyer, who finally nailed his Chase berth – “It’s just go cat go from here.”

Think Bowyer likes Elvis too much?

4. Jeff Burton, who is in the Chase, was asked what his goals were the final 10 races – “Ah, finish the best we can.”

Shoot the questioner!

5. Tony Stewart, when asked, well, the answer comes up whenever drivers are asked anything about anything  – “Really proud of our guys and everybody at Office Depot and Old Spice. Burger King, Coca Cola, Mac Tools, Haas Automation, US Army, Tornados, Chevrolet, everybody who has been part of this program the last two years and helped us build this and put us in a position where we can be in the Chase two years.”

Hmmm, wonder why fans are having more and more trouble relating to racecar drivers? And what about mom and apple pie?  There is just too much “Smoke” here, Smoke!

What is your wish list?

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

(photo courtesy Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images)

The Air Guard 400 at Richmond International Raceway has been completed.  The teams are set for the 2010 Chase to the Sprint Cup Championship.

This year’s Chase races will not doubt be some very exciting races.  Can the HMS #48 Lowe’s Chevy make it 5 years in . . . → Read More: The 2010 Chase Lineup]]>

(photo courtesy Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images)

The Air Guard 400 at Richmond International Raceway has been completed.  The teams are set for the 2010 Chase to the Sprint Cup Championship.

This year’s Chase races will not doubt be some very exciting races.  Can the HMS #48 Lowe’s Chevy make it 5 years in a row?  Will one of the Joe Gibbs Racing drivers, Denny Hamlin or Kyle Busch, be the new Sprint Cup Champ?  Will “Smoke” light his fire?  Does Jeff Gordon have one last drive for five?  Does either of the Roush-Fenway Racing drivers, Kenseth and Biffle, have anything  left for the Chase races?

These questions and more are about to be answered over the next ten races!

The Chase lineup:

Denny Hamlin – 5,060 points

Jimmie Johnson – 5,050 points

Kevin Harvick – 5,030 points

Kyle Busch – 5,030 points

Kurt Busch – 5,020 points

Greg Biffle – 5,010 points

Tony Stewart – 5,010 points

Jeff Gordon, 5,000 points

Matt Kenseth, 5,000 points

Jeff Burton, 5,000 points

Carl Edwards, 5,000 points

Clint Bowyer, 5,000 points

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