(WOMR file photo)

This wasn’t just any Nationwide race, this was Talladega!  Talladega is the place where it is high-speed, high-banks, and high-danger.  It is also the place where strange bedfellows make for a good story.  Another way of putting it is that you have the opportunity “to dance with the devil”!

(WOMR file photo)

Kyle Busch had his hands full for the last two laps of the Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at Richmond International Raceway.  Notwithstanding the beating and banging that occurred between Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin on the last lap, much like the finish of the race at Darlington years . . . → Read More: Kurt Gives KBM Their First NNS Win]]>

(WOMR file photo)

Kyle Busch had his hands full for the last two laps of the Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at Richmond International Raceway.  Notwithstanding the beating and banging that occurred between Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin on the last lap, much like the finish of the race at Darlington years ago with Kurt and Ricky Craven, Busch beat Hamlin to the checkered flag by inches, .062 seconds!  The finish of the Virginia 529 College Savings 250 imitated  Kurt’s life over the last six months !

The past six months have been, to say the least, a wake up call for Busch Clan.  First Kyle showed his immaturity by “stuffing” Ron Hornaday in the fence at Texas Motor Speedway.  Then after the season ended, Penske Racing had all that they could take of Kurt’s “radio rants”, verbal abuse of the media, and being a cancer on the team, therefore giving Kurt his “walking papers”!

Additionally, the start to KBM’s venture into the Nationwide Series this year has been extremely rocky.  It started out at Daytona, with Kyle behind the wheel finishing 18th, followed by an 11th at Phoenix, a 33rd at their hometown track of Las Vegas, a 17th at Bristol, and an 8th place at California.  Then Kurt jumped behind the wheel at Texas Motor Speedway barely hanging on to a 30th place finish.

However, tonight at Richmond, KuBu was able to dominate the last half of the race passing Kevin Harvick, and leading 68 laps on his way to his fourth victory in five attempts, and most importantly Kyle Busch Motorsports initial victory in the Nationwide Series.

“This is cool,” Kyle Busch said, fumbling for words. “This is really cool.”

Also fumbling for words afterward was Hamlin, Kyle Busch’s teammate in the Sprint Cup Series. He said he probably could have moved Kurt Busch out of the way but held back because of his status as Kyle’s teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing.

Needless to say, this was one of the most exciting races this year in the Nationwide Series.

Check out the unofficial results of the Virginia 539 College Savings 250.

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

(WOMR file photo)

Pulling away from Denny Hamlin and pole-sitter,Paul Menard, after a restart with just six laps to go, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. logged his second victory in the first six races.  This was also Stenhouse’s fourth career win, and RFR’s fourth consecutive Nationwide win at the Texas Motor Speedway.

The highlight . . . → Read More: Ricky Rolls At Texas Motor Speedway]]>

(WOMR file photo)

Pulling away from Denny Hamlin and pole-sitter,Paul Menard, after a restart with just six laps to go, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. logged his second victory in the first six races.  This was also Stenhouse’s fourth career win, and RFR’s fourth consecutive Nationwide win at the Texas Motor Speedway.

The highlight of the evening was the two times that the lights entering turn three darkened.  The first time that the lights went out there was a short yellow flag period.  The lights came back on, only to blow a circuit breaker later.  That constituted a red flag for 7 minutes while the track replaced the circuit breakers for that light bank!

Nevertheless, the racing on the track was equally hot as the circuit breakers that blew on the bank fo lights in turn three!

It appears that the 2011 Nationwide champ, Stenhouse, is already off to a very fast start in his attempt to repeat as the 2012 Nationwide champ.  Last year the RFR #6 Ford was only mediocre on the 1 1/2 tracks, this year Stenhouse already has won the first two races held on 1 1/2 mile tracks!  Just as a note, 1 1/2 mile tracks account for approximately one-third of all of the races on the circuit!  So Stenhouse could be a good bet for a repeat as Nationwide champ!

Check out the unofficial results from the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at the Texas Motor Speedway.

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

(WOMR file photo)

JR Motorsports made a move today to attempt to improve on track performance.  It was announced today that the JR Motorsports #88 and #5 Nationwide teams would swap crew chiefs.

Crew chief Bruce Cook has taken over responsibilities for the #88 Chevrolets driven by Cole Whitt. Cook has spearheaded . . . → Read More: Crew Chief Swap At JR Motorsports]]>

(WOMR file photo)

JR Motorsports made a move today to attempt to improve on track performance.  It was announced today that the JR Motorsports #88 and #5 Nationwide teams would swap crew chiefs.

Crew chief Bruce Cook has taken over responsibilities for the #88 Chevrolets driven by Cole Whitt. Cook has spearheaded the organization’s third team, a part-time entry primarily driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr., while assisting the company’s two full-schedule teams.

That role will now fall to Tony Eury Sr., who takes charge of the #5 team while continuing his role as JR Motorsports’ competition director.

Tony Eury Jr.’s role as crew chief for Danica Patrick and the  #7 GoDaddy.com team remains unchanged.

“Our teams have a tremendous responsibility not only to perform at the standards we set for ourselves but reflect the commitment to excellence of our sponsors,” said general manager and co-owner Kelley Earnhardt Miller. “Our on-track performance isn’t meeting those standards, and we felt a change was necessary.”

The #5 car will race at Texas next weekend with Earnhardt Jr. and sponsor Degree Men. The crew chief change reunites Earnhardt Jr. with Eury Sr. The pair won 15 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races between 2000 and 2004 as well as Nationwide Series championships in 1998 and 1999.

The pairing of Cook and Whitt gives one of the series’ hottest young drivers a crew chief that just last year won six NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races, one Nationwide Series race, and a truck series owners championship. Through five races this season, the #88 Taxslayer.com team has one top-five and two top-10s. Whitt, a rookie driver from Alpine, Calif., is currently sixth in the series point standings. His best finish, to date, is a fourth at Daytona. JR Motorsports’ last win came with Jamie McMurray on Sept. 4, 2010.

With this latest change at JR Motorsports, it would appear that they are intent in trying to enrich their weekly performances, and ultimately try to secure the Nationwide driver and owner championship.

What are your views?

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

(WOMR file photo)

Saturday afternoon Joey Logano was “California Dreamin”, all the while, showing the rest of the Nationwide boys and girls the fast way around the two-mile Auto Club Speedway!  Joey Logano took the lead just after a restart with 12 laps to go and went on to win the Royal Purple . . . → Read More: Logano Wins The Royal Purple 300]]>

(WOMR file photo)

Saturday afternoon Joey Logano was “California Dreamin”, all the while, showing the rest of the Nationwide boys and girls the fast way around the two-mile Auto Club Speedway!  Joey Logano took the lead just after a restart with 12 laps to go and went on to win the Royal Purple 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. on Saturday.

The victory was Logano’s second at Auto Club and extended Joe Gibbs Racing’s winning streak at the 2.0-mile oval to eight races.

“It’s important to keep the streak going,” said Logano. “You don’t want to be the guy who didn’t win it and broke the streak. Obviously, it makes me work extra hard, not that we don’t work hard any other weekend, we try to win every one of them, but to keep a streak going like that is important for our whole company.”

Logano led a race-best 92 laps in his Toyota Camry and got his 10th NNS career victory. It was his first victory since the race at Daytona last July.

The defending 2011 Nationwide Series champion, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. was the runner-up when the checkered flag flew.

It would appear that the rest of the competitors were left back at the check out desk in “The Hotel California”!

Check out the unofficial results of the Royal Purple 300.

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

(WOMR file photo)

The first short track race of the 2012 Nationwide Series has culminated with the second win of this season for the RCR #2 One Main Financial Chevy driven by Elliott Sadler.  Sadler took the lead by not pitting when a caution came out with 40 laps to go in . . . → Read More: Sadler Wins The Ford EcoBoost 300]]>

(WOMR file photo)

The first short track race of the 2012 Nationwide Series has culminated with the second win of this season for the RCR #2 One Main Financial Chevy driven by Elliott Sadler.  Sadler took the lead by not pitting when a caution came out with 40 laps to go in the race. He is now the first multi-race winner of the 2012 season!  This is the first time since 1995 that the first four races have been won by non-Sprint Cup/Nationwide only drivers!

Sadler wasn’t sure about the decisive call in Saturday’s Ford EcoBoost 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway, that is until crew chief Luke Lambert gave him a history lesson.

Lambert’s astute call to keep Sadler on the race track under the final caution gave Elliott Sadler the boost he needed to win his second Nationwide Series race of the season, two weeks after he broke a 14-year drought in the series at Phoenix.

“He reminded me that I won a race here in 2001 by doing the same thing,” said Sadler, who celebrated with his parents in Victory Lane, a special moment, because Sadler’s parents never before had been on hand for one of his NASCAR victories. “Luke made a great call to stay out.”

Though he was a high school senior at the time, Lambert, 28, remembers that 2001 race, because he watched it from the grandstands with his father.

“I was here, and I watched it, but I was definitely a spectator,” Lambert said. “I do study all the history of our driver and what track we’re going to and everything else — but I was here for that one. And I was pretty young.”

It would appear that the change of ownership of Sadler’s equipment, Kevin Harvick, Inc. sold out to Richard Childress Racing, has struck a chord within this team.  Their performance so far in 2012 has set the benchmark, winning two times in just four races.

As far as the bruised egos, the crumpled sheet metal, and lost tempers that is normally associated with racing at Bristol Motor Speedway, there wasn’t much evidence of that today in the Nationwide race.  With the newer progressive banking of the race track there is not as much of the “bump and run”, the punt, or the beatin’ and bangin’ normally associated with Bristol.  It was a much tamer Bristol today!

Check out the unofficial results of the Ford EcoBoost 300.

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

(WOMR file photo)

Phoenix Racing announced Monday that, in addition to running the complete NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule with Kurt Busch, they will field the #1 Chevrolet in a limited amount of NASCAR Nationwide Series races.  The first of the those Nationwide races will begin . . . → Read More: Phoenix Racing Announces Nationwide Schedule]]>

Kurt Busch's new Sprint Cup ride

(WOMR file photo)

Phoenix Racing announced Monday that, in addition to running the complete NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule with Kurt Busch, they will field the #1 Chevrolet in a limited amount of NASCAR Nationwide Series races.  The first of the those Nationwide races will begin with the NNS race at Daytona in February.  Phoenix Racing is planning to run all the major NNS races, and are actively seeking sponsorship to that end.

“Everyone at Phoenix Racing is excited about competing on the Nationwide circuit this year,” said Steve Barkdoll, General Manager of Phoenix Racing. “Our Nationwide Series team is a proven, winning organization and we’re looking forward to Busch continuing the tradition. This is a great opportunity for a company to partner with a top-notch program.”

With this latest announcement, it is now known that KuBu will be in the driver’s seat of Phoenix Racing’s Sprint Cup car, as well as in the Nationwide Series car with James Finch, as well.   Therefore, the rumor of KuBu driving a Kyle Busch Motorsports Nationwide car is now moot.

It will be very interesting to see how long this new driver/owner relationship will endure!  Can KuBu control his radio tirades?  Will KuBu be able to keep his razor-sharp tongue zipped this year?  Hmmmmmmmm…….

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

(photo courtesy Christa L. Thomas)

Saturday Trevor Bayne, the 2011 Daytona 500 winner, finally posted his very first victory in the Nationwide Series.  After starting off the 2011 race season with a most improbable and spectacular win at Daytona, . . . → Read More: Trevor Bayne Rustles A Victory Away From Edwards At Texas]]>

(photo courtesy Christa L. Thomas)

The NASCAR cinderella story of of the decade has now come full circle.

Saturday Trevor Bayne, the 2011 Daytona 500 winner, finally posted his very first victory in the Nationwide Series.  After starting off the 2011 race season with a most improbable and spectacular win at Daytona, the future looked so very bright for this Knoxville 20 year old.

However, what was to follow was a drastic change of luck!  Within just a few weeks of winning the Daytona 500, Bayne found himself in the Mayo Clinic trying to find answers to blurred vision and fatigue.  The illness left him on the sidelines of the race track for five weeks.  For the remainder of this season Bayne has experienced set backs and near misses. All the while, Bayne has been playing catch-up in the Nationwide Series, trying ever so desperately to try to fulfill the legacy that looked to be within his grasp back in February!

Notwithstanding all the bad luck that has visited Trevor in the last eight months, today Bayne won the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at the Texas Motor Speedway.  The win today is only the first step in trying to remove the huge monkey, rather make that a gorilla, that has been hanging on his back since his win at the Daytona 500 back in February.

In light of Friday night’s NASCAR parking of ol Kylie Busch for his “anger management” issues, it is great to celebrate another “feel good story” in NASCAR!

Here is the unofficial results of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at the Texas Motor Speedway.

See you next weekend from the Phoenix International Raceway!

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

The victory was the first of the year for Kenseth in the Nationwide Series, who was named to replace . . . → Read More: Kenseth Fills In For Bayne With A Win At Charlotte]]>

Matt Kenseth passed his Roush-Fenway Racing teammate with three laps remaining to secure a win in the Top Gear 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the RFR #16 Fastenal Ford Mustang.

The victory was the first of the year for Kenseth in the Nationwide Series, who was named to replace Trevor Bayne in the #16 car earlier in the week. It was the 26th NNS victory of Kenseth’s career.

“When you can beat him, you know you had a good day,” Kenseth said of being able to edge past Edwards, who has won three NNS races this season.

Roush-Fenway Racing had a great afternoon at Charlotte finishing first,second, and fourth.

Here is the unofficial results of the Top Gear 300 at Charlotte.

Never forget what this Memorial Day weekend is really all about… our military men and women.

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

However, because of the strewn wreckage, his partial involvement, and his rattled nerves, Edwards dispensed with his . . . → Read More: Edwards Survived The Monster Mile Carnage]]>

Carl Edwards survived a last lap mass carnage and won the 5-Hour Energy 200 Nationwide Series race at Dover International Raceway Saturday afternoon.  It was Edwards’ third victory of the 2011 Nationwide season.

However, because of the strewn wreckage, his partial involvement, and his rattled nerves, Edwards dispensed with his traditional victorious back flip at the start/finish line.  Instead, Edwards stopped his race car at the site of the carnage to see if Joey Logono and Clint Bowyer were safe and sound.

As Edwards was being interviewed in Victory Lane, he got a chance to view the video tape of the final lap of the race.

“They just showed the replay and I didn’t touch them, so I am happy for that,” Edwards said. “What a wild finish. I apologize for not doing the back flip there guys. I thought that I wrecked them and I didn’t want to be celebrating over that but it looks like we didn’t hit them, we won the race in our fast Ford Mustang and that is good.”

As a recap, the race was started over one hour late because of a very persistent morning rain.  At lap 140 of the scheduled 200 laps, Justin Allgaier blew a right front tire that slammed him hard into the wall.

The cars at the front of the field headed to pit road when the yellow came out. Josh Wise did not and inherited the lead.  Before the race could restart, it began to rain and the cars were red flagged and parked.

The race restarted with Edwards in the lead as Wise had to pit before the green dropped.  Logano quickly took the lead and held it until 15 laps to go. He and Edwards went door-to-door for a lap before Edwards eased into the lead.

With three laps to go, Michael Annett crashed to bring out a caution to set up a green/white/checkered restart.

Edwards got a great restart and jumped to a couple-car lead but a stalled car on the apron brought out another yellow and that set up a second green/white/checkered restart.

On this, the second of as many as three green/white/checkered restarts, Logano and Edwards went door-to-door, with Logano easing slightly ahead down the back straight.  As the two cars went through turns #3 and 4, Logano and Edwards battled door-to-door. As the two were beginning to exit turn #4, Logano got loose.  As he was correcting, Clint Bowyer slammed hard into Logano’s left rear quarter panel, destroying that part of the car, rocketing Bowyer’s car up on its left side, hurtling Bowyer’s car into the inside crash wall, and then getting T-boned by Steven Wallace’s car.

“That was pretty wild,” Bowyer, who said he feared his crashing car was going to jump the pit wall and cause a tragedy on crowded pit road.

The race ended under the yellow flag, since the leader had taken the white flag as all the carnage began to unfold behind Edwards.

Here is the unofficial results of the 5-Hour Energy 200 at Dover.

What did you think of the 5-Hour Energy 200 at Dover.?

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