Author: Missed Gear

2016 is on the track for racing. The ROLEX 24 opened the season with speed, splendor and color at Daytona and the Daytona 500 is rapidly approaching. Speed Weeks at Daytona always showcase some changes but this year there are some differences the casual, tune in and watch’em go fast’ fan might not catch right away.

For the obvious, let’s look at the #24. The famous driver isn’t the driver anymore. Jeff Gordon is out of the fire suit and into the broadcaster suit. Gordon will be in the booth joining the FOX Sports NASCAR broadcast team. He will still be at the track but out of sight, for the most part, as he adds commentary and insight to the broadcast viewers.

In the seat of the #24 will be Chase Elliott. The son of Cup Champion Bill Elliott is taking the #24 for his full time cross over season from the Xfinity series (2014 Champion). Fans will also see NAPA Auto Parts as a major player on the 24 Chevy.

Tony Stewart. It is his final year as he announced near the end of the 2015 season. The kick is he won’t be there to start the season at Daytona or for a good portion of it. He injured his back quite severely essentially in a dune buggy type vehicle incident in January. Stewart is in recovery but the injury presents a long trek back to the track. To start out at Daytona, Brian Vickers has been tapped to drive the #14. Ty Dillon has also been named to take Stewart’s car out when other series do not conflict.

Danica Patrick and the #10. She will still be out on the track as part of Stewart-Haas but the GoDaddy is gone. That easy to spot green is replaced by another major sponsor for 2016. Nature’s Bakery will take the primary location on the #10 Chevy. We’re looking forward to some free brownie snacks at the track!

Clint Bowyer. You may not notice it as the sponsor and the number remain the same for Bowyer in 2016. The #15, however, is off a Toyota and on a Chevy as Michael Waltrip Racing fell under at the end of the last season and Bowyer caught a ride, with his number and 5-Hour Energy sponsor, at the small HScott Motorsports. It is a one year run for Clint as he has also been tagged to join Stewart-Haas for 2017 and take over the #14 as Stewart steps away to engage further in the owner gig.

As for the actual racing there are two changes that will become more obvious as the season gets under way. First and more noticeable will be a little less traffic on the track. NASCAR has cut the running field down to 40 cars from the 43 that had been running for almost 20 years. This means some of those tag-alongs will have to really step up their game to make the field on any given race day. Most of the fans might not even notice the loss of three cars as they are watching the front anyway.

The other change falls on those races that face late race cautions. In the event of a green-white-checkered finish, NASCAR has set a distance marker so it is clear that the start is indeed fair and clean. If the lead car passes this mark the “green” start will be held to race. If their is another caution before the leader crosses that mark then there will be another shot at a clean start. This could happen as many times as needed. Cautions with just a few laps to go are not uncommon so this will likely be put to the test for the drivers and the fans.

Oh…. One more thing while we’re on it. Look for the Wood Brothers and the #21 Ford at every race this season. They will be running a full schedule for the first time in several seasons. Ryan Blaney has the wheel of the Motorcraft #21 as we give a nod to one of the iconic teams in racing.

Go Racing – and try to keep up…

Phoenix had the eyes of NASCAR all day Sunday as the last chance “race in” was held by rare rain. While fans tuned in for the Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 they instead were treated to a series of race replays showing the CHASE races and events that led up to the race at Phoenix. The victories and the eliminations, the crashes and the grudges that played out to set the circumstances of good drivers on the line or below it to advance to Homestead.
The big winner was the weather forcing NASCAR to start much later than intended only to cut the race when more rain came. The timing of the rain left the #88 of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. out front when NASCAR dropped the final red flag. That left many drivers out of it when there was still enough race left for the possibility of racing in. After a long day of waiting the weather also left fans a bit damp for not being able to see a full race and a real play of racing to the finish with those in contention to make the CHASE final four.
Jeff Gordon, winner at Martinsville after the Logano/Kenseth smash up, had the only CHASE advance win and will be joined at Homestead for a championship run by Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex, Jr. Following the delay and rain at Phoenix it was a points play for the three joining Gordon.
The championship run was ended for Joey Logano,  Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch. Logano has 6 wins in the season including the run of the three CHASE Contender races. Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch both have two season wins and Keselowski made the CHASE with one.
The four drivers going to Homestaed and the final championship race score with 4 wins with Kyle Busch, 3 wins with Kevin Harvick and one win each for Martin Truex, Jr. and Jeff Gordon. Gordon’s win was pivotal for the #24 team coming at a time when the retiring driver needed it most surviving to the Eliminator round and facing an uphill battle to stay.
The Sprint Cup championship is now on the line. Homestead and the season finale is coming up. Four remain to race for the cup. Thirty-nine others will be out there for a final season win to carry back to their sponsors and fans.
Go Racing!

A wet beginning to Martinsville race day set in motion a rather unconventional start with the first few laps ticking away under caution while the dryers finished up on pit road. The drivers had been introduced while the cars were being put out. The time change put a crush on the start time to make sure the race rolled under the checkers with enough daylight for fans and drivers to finish the day.

It all went off in time, just barely, while the time between the green and the checkers delivered just a little bit more than the typical Martinsville mayhem.

Joey Logano had the pole and a target on his back from seven other drivers in the CHASE and one other with a grudge, real or imagined.

From the start it looked like Logano’s race to lose. There were some lead changes and some CHASE drivers put in the garage. Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski had laps lost with damage but Logano seemed to stay either up front or close enough to it to see his run continue.

Then there was Matt Kenseth. Kenseth was also in the wreck that put the #41 and the #2 in the garage. With the race and the checkers closing in the #20 and Kenseth were back out on the track. As Logano came around the #20 through turn one Kenseth tucked the nose under the #22 and both went straight as an arrow into the wall.

Logano’s day was done going from what looked like a win and a CHASE advance to the bottom of the grid. This also set up a finish that would put the grandstands in a frenzy.

With the #22 down, the race put the #24 of Jeff Gordon in position and the final restart played out with Jamie McMurray on the outside of the #24 and unable to nose out and ultimately tucking in behind Gordon. The fans were stomping the stands as the #24 rolled through the checkered flag for Gordon’s first win of the season and his ninth win at Martinsville. It also sets the #24 in place to race for a final championship at Homestead.

Joey Logano will need to win one of the two remaining Eliminator races to be in position at Homestead. He will be on a mission to do so. Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski, however, will be sharing that need so the push to be up front at Texas and Phoenix will be a CHASE battle with all on the line. Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick are currently on both sides of the bubble with Kyle Busch and Martin Truex, Jr. both 8 points behind Gordon.

It is Jeff Gordon’s last season. This year has been less than great for the #24 but Gordon and his team have managed to keep themselves in play and Martinsville may have given them the surge, late as it may be, to push to the end.

There is no doubt Gordon’s win came as a direct result of the feud between the #22 and the #20. Logano fans made it clear with a colorful chant from the stands during Gordon’s victory celebration while Gordon himself acknowledged them with fist pumps to the rhythm.

That little track in Martinsville has set another notch on the side of the grandfather clock that records the history making it one of the game changers for the sport.

For fans that saw the weather and stayed home… You missed a big one!

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Well… That was just a tiny bit disappointing.

Talladega went to an almost traditional, just about can’t have a Sprint Cup race without it, green-white-checkered finish.

Almost.

Before the green had even waved on the start, NASCAR decided that for this race at Talladega there would be only one green-white-checkered, if it came to it.

Which, of course, it did…

Jamie McMurray blew the engine with five laps to go. Yeah! The green-white -checkered finish is on.
Technically, Greg Biffle was on the first slot for the restart but he pitted just before the pace car dropped leaving Joey Logano and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. on the front row. The green. Someone didn’t get the memo and the push behind the front two caused a spin by Johnson in the #48. The yellow was thrown before the start-finish line.

So… That G-W-C wasn’t really “the one” because they hadn’t crossed to race. So there will be another, only one, green-white-checkered.

They line up and are off, again. Trevor Bayne goes on the outside of Kevin Harvick’s ailing #4 a few rows back. Harvick goes up as the #6 passes to get out of the way, maybe…

The #4 clips the #6. The Talladega “big one” sets cars bouncing off each other in true NASCAR pin ball action as the #22 and the #88 go over the start-finish line. When the yellow drops it is determined that Logano and the #22 was indeed out front for a caution flag finish.

This gives Logano a sweep of the Contender Round with all three wins and puts Dale, Jr. out of the CHASE as he was in a “must win” scenario for Talladega. It was, in many ways, a Dale Jr. day up to these last laps and restarts. The #88 was up front, fell back, took a drive through penalty and was even one position from a lap down. Dale drove back to the front and was there to race Logano, ultimately, for the yellow flag.

For the fans the final laps and the finish gave many a convenient method for disposing of late race trash as the fences weren’t nearly strong enough to keep the cans and other debris from flying out on the track as Logano was doing the burn out.

Drivers caught in the “big one” let emotions and frustrations out and accusations, subtle or direct, were quickly let loose. Everything from the CHASE format itself to finger pointing to a possibility that the crash was deliberate to hold position in the field was thrown out in post race interviews.

Whatever…  Drivers still in The CHASE for the Eliminator Round are: Joey Logano | Carl Edwards | Jeff Gordon | Kurt Busch | Brad Keselowski | Martin Truex Jr | Kevin Harvick | Kyle Busch.

Gordon, by the way, started on pole and raced well through the day. His final season continues in the CHASE. Logano may have a 3 consecutive win momentum going forward but Gordon has, after a season that has been somewhat lackluster, a huge hunger to make an exit with a Cup.

The CHASE continues to Martinsville for the start of a new round of three races. By the time drivers get on the track for the only short track in the CHASE Talladega will be in the mirror but the drama from it has a big chance to carry over. As a side note, Dale Jr. won at Martinsville last Fall after being eliminated from the CHASE the week before. That points back to the rest of the field beyond the CHASE. All of the drivers are going for the front. Some for the championship but all have a thirst for the win as their fans, sponsors and the next season look on.

We’ll see at the races!

The heavy storm “Patricia” from the Pacific moved over Texas on Saturday with wind and rain so harsh the United States Grand Prix (Formula 1) was put out of later practice and qualifying. The race is still scheduled for today (Sunday) and qualifying went off this morning although the 3rd session was cancelled. Nico Rosberg has the pole with team mate Lewis Hamilton beside him. The rain, however, lingers over the Circuit of the Americas with some drivers concerned about conditions and safety.

Talladega and NASCAR is in the path of this storm but so far the rain is hanging well to the west of the racing. Jeff Gordon has the pole while other popular drivers such as Earnhardt and Kenseth are in a “must win” position to move to the next round and still be in the CHASE next weekend at Martinsville.

Rain is putting a big question over Texas and Formula 1 with the potential to create havoc if conditions remain torrential with Hamilton’s possible points clinch on the line.

The CHASE and the potential for the “big one” crash at Talladega is playing with nerves as the Contender Round closes with this checkered flag and only eight of the twelve move on for the championship. Joey Logano has the two Contender wins at Charlotte and Kansas putting increased pressure on the CHASE drivers to either place well or win to advance.

Rain and tension is on the grid with races running in the same time frame. There will be a lot of channel flipping today. Let us all hope the channels are the only thing…

 

The CHASE is well under way. Racing at Richmond sealed the deal for the 16 drivers and teams still in the “chase” for the Sprint Cup Championship. From Richmond the circus has raced through Chicago, New Hampshire and Dover to fill out the “Challenger” round of the CHASE. Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick were winners in that set and advance forward with nine others with points to the “Contender” round of three more races at Charlotte, Kansas and Talladega.

Wins or points will advance. Four at the bottom will be out of “Cup” contention after Talladega

This will begin the “Eliminator” round consisting of Martinsville, Texas and Phoenix. There will be over 40 drivers on the tracks but only eight will be on the grid for the Sprint Cup. The others will be along to race for their sponsors, their team, their fans…

When they reach Homestead there will be four going for the “Cup”.

The only short track in the CHASE is Martinsville. The Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 is positioned at the start of the “Eliminator” round and could be a wild card on the way to Homestead. Having Talladega close the “Contender” round and Martinsville up next to start the next round is set to shake things up. The danger of the “big one” at Talladega and the challenge of the short track is going to test the patience and the strategy of racing.

For Martinsville the track is getting set to start the three races of the “Eliminator” round with a big regional lead-in as the ValleyStar Credit Union 300 rolls just three weeks before the Cup folks come in. (The VSCU 300 was put off a week as east coast storms battered the original run date)

The general consensus from late model to Cup is that Martinsville is a hard nut to crack. Drivers running for the first few times find it difficult with the low banking, tight lines and rhythm of speed to braking. Veterans are caught up in the traffic of those who can’t quite find a groove. The tight racing causes bumps and pushes and frustration.  Keeping the wheel in the center of patience is often key to a good finish but the temptation to push the driver a little harder for the bump that lost you 4 spots 80 laps ago runs hot.

Martinsville is a driver’s puzzle and a fan favorite with good views of the entire race from practically anywhere.
The curbs are pink for October and Breast Cancer Awareness Month. There have been visits by drivers having some fun with the speedway from Clint Bowyer racing go-karts with track President Clay Campbell to Kyle Larson picking up a pink brush and driving cancer survivors around the track. The late model drivers in the region have already had a practice day and the Cup drivers have it in their sights.

Martinsville, and the CHASE, is coming together.

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The ValleyStar Credit Union 300 is the latest of many incarnations for the regional  late-model highlight at Martinsville Speedway. It is even a new name for the region’s sponsor (ValleyStar) which formerly was known for years as Martinsville Dupont Credit Union which lended the name and sponsorship for the race in 2014.
The race coming up this weekend (Oct 3-4) will once take the season of racing at the region’s weekender short tracks and pack the track at Martinsville with the talent that turns laps and heads and crowds from all over the area. These are the drivers of the cars from back yard garages scraping to make the next race. These are the drivers that have earned some wins and recognition from local fans and have managed to bring some sponsorship and attention to themselves. These are the drivers that are looking to the future with big dreams of national sponsors and even bigger rides. These are the drivers that have carried the weight of NASCAR from the dirt to the biggest speedways. Some of these drivers might even get their names over the window for the top NASCAR racing series. Some racing this weekend already have.
Clay Campbell, President at Martinsville Speedway, echoed the excitement of the drivers present at a dinner and sponsor introduction held in Roanoke, VA at Corned Beef and Company. The early beginnings of the “300” have grown into a highlight for the track, the city and the region. With the Fall “main event” of the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 and the the Sprint Cup CHASE just a few weeks away the late-model race offers a great opportunity to put racing in the minds of the fans and tickets in their hands. Campbell, while acknowledging the Sprint Cup aspect of the timing of the ValleyStar 300 also made it clear the late-model event stands on its own with real racing based on the roots of the sport and the foundation of what NASCAR is now. The attraction of the prestige of this event attracted close to 90 drivers and teams for the practice session last week which has been a good indication of the turnout for making the race, Campbell noted. He also took the time to mention the partnership with ValleyStar which has taken the sponsorship to heart with their own efforts promoting the race, the speedway and the region they serve.
Drivers on hand at Corned Beef and Company looking forward to racing represented the hopes of all that will be running at the track this weekend. Winning at Martinsville means keeping time with a grandfather clock trophy and bragging rights for years to come. It could underscore sponsorship and certainly delivers a hefty paycheck for the hard work of the season.
The ValleyStar Credit Union 300 will have practice and qualifying on Saturday October 3rd with the heat races and main event under the flags on Sunday October 4th. For a full schedule and ticket information check Martinsville Speedway online.