Jeff Gordon

Mike Bartley asked:


The longest race of the season at six hundred miles is the Coca-Cola 600 held at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. While some may have expected that superstars like Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson will win the race, it was an entirely new cast that sits at the top of the podium after the race.

The reason for the upset is the way that the winner and his runner-ups have taken a gamble which has certainly paid off. During the latter stages of the race, the big guns went to the pits to have their fuels topped up, but some remained on the tracks and went on to complete the upset. Casey Mears racing for Hendrick Motorsports took the win while completing the top five are J.J. Yeley, Kyle Petty, Reed Sorenson and Brian Vickers. These drivers posted their best finishes for the season only because they gambled that their fuel supply will hold out until they go past the finish line.

Kyle Petty who has not finished in the top five for ten years humbly pointed out it was the team effort which allowed them to place as high as third. “I think when you look at the top three or four… I would say they’re all team efforts. We had nothing to lose,” said Petty. This third place for Petty is the best finish he has had since 1997. “A 600-mile race is a long race, nobody does it by themselves. I think this is a great example of why this is a team sport and how important the teams are,” he added.

Meanwhile, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is visibly disappointed that he finished eighth after counting on a higher placed finish: “I thought I was second, man! I didn’t know those guys stayed out. I would have rather finished third or second, like we should have. But some of those guys can afford to gamble.” Dale Earnhardt is currently looking for a new team and it seems that the top five finishers in the race are looking for ways to save their job. There have been questions about the way Mears is performing and that Earnhardt may replace him after this season.

J.J. Yeley who finished second is also being questioned for his performance. But he downplayed the possibility that Earnhardt might replace him at Joe Gibbs Racing saying: “If I get fired, I get fired. There are a couple of other places I can go. I’m not worried about getting a ride. If I couldn’t find anything in Nextel Cup, I’ll go back and race sprint cars. That’s the only thing I know how to do, regardless if it’s here or somewhere else.” The cars that these drivers drive are known for their power and which is considered that conventional cars equipped with a Vibrant aftermarket part and these cars are what these drivers need to make sure that they keep racing for their team and continue coming up with wins such as this.



JARED

Lauren Woods asked:


After announcing that he will be leaving the team that his late father founded, Dale Earnhardt Junior made news. In fact, the most recent Nextel Cup race was overshadowed by Dale Jr.’s announcement. With the motorsport community buzzing after that announcement, the most popular NASCAR driver at present made the headlines once again after NASCAR penalized him and implemented a 100-point penalty. This came after it was found out that his No. 8 car used the wrong rear wing mounting bracket.

The infraction cost Dale Jr. his 12th spot in the standings. The penalty will surely hurt Earnhardt’s bid for a championship run in his final season with the Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI) team.

Aside from the 100-point deduction, Earnhardt’s crew chief Tony Eury Jr. has been suspended for six races. Eury is Earnhardt’s own cousin. For his part, Eury has this to say: “It was a bad deal. We have done a lot of off season testing for NASCAR. There have been three different styles of brackets on there, and it just happened to be one of those old-style brackets.” He also maintained that the penalties they were slapped with are too harsh. The team has taken steps to appeal to the ruling body of the Nextel Cup Series.

An official statement from DEI says: “We do not question the infraction, which is clearly spelled out in the NASCAR rule book. However, we have appealed the severity of the penalty.”

Eury also said that they did use the wrong parts intentionally and that the No. 8 Chevy Impala that Dale Earnhardt was driving used the correct mounting brackets when he finished the race. If the suspension though is implemented, Eury will have plenty of time in his hands to think about where he would go when Dale Junior packs his bag and leaves DEI. The suspension is for point races only so Eury can work with Earnhardt at the upcoming Nextel All-Star Challenge which Earnhardt last won in the year 2000. While he can work with Dale Junior at the All-Star Challenge, he will have to sit out the races to be held in Charlotte, Dover, Michigan and Sonoma, California. Taking on Eury’s role upon the effect of the suspension will be DEI car chief Tony Gibson.

For Dale, he is now currently out of the top twelve drivers. This means that he has to perform well at the next races in order for him to qualify for the Chase. He currently has 1160 points after the deduction. He is 721 points behind leader Jeff Gordon who has already garnered 1881 points. The remainder of the season should be a good one for Earnhardt if he wants a championship before he leaves his father’s legacy.

After eleven point races this season, Dale only recorded one top-five finish and four top ten finishes. While he may appear to be struggling, he still remains as the most popular driver today.

The penalty meted out is the harshest in Dale Jr.’s career. Earlier this season, other drivers have been also penalized by NASCAR for relatively minor infractions. During the first points race of the season in Daytona held in February this year, both Kasey Kahne and Matt Kenseth were docked 50 points each while their crew chiefs were suspended for four races. The infractions committed were minor compared to the violation committed by Michael Waltrip’s team. At the same race in Daytona, it was found out that Waltrip’s car used an illegal fuel additive. This resulted to a 100-point deduction for Waltrip and an indefinite suspension for his crew chief and competition director. This shows how NASCAR oversees the game to ensure fairness. After all, the cars used by these drivers are known to be engineered for speed and not even a vehicle equipped with a Toucan cold air intake system can match its power.

If NASCAR will not regulate the modifications done by teams, the game will surely be not as competitive as it is today.



HANS

Anthony Fontanelle asked:


Earlier this month, Dale Earnhardt Junior, the most popular driver today in NASCAR, announced that he will be leaving the team that his father, the legendary Earnhardt Senior, started. He made the announcement after failing to gain control of the DEI team from his stepmother Teresa.

After the announcement there have been speculations that the Dale Jr. merchandise sale would slow down. Currently, the two-time Busch Series champion holds the largest stake in the NASCAR merchandise market. His leaving the team has made experts concerned that the DEI is in danger of losing a driver who generates much of the money coming in for the team. The famous young driver said that he will be leaving the team after the end of the season. For now, he drives the Number 8 Budweiser Chevrolet Impala which he has ridden for only a single top five finish.

While it was feared that sale of the Dale Jr. merchandise would falter after the announcement, the exact opposite happened. Instead of slowing down, Dale Jr. merchandise sold as fast as the sale of the Chevrolet pickup hood scoop. Mark Dyer, NASCAR’s Vice-President for licensing, has this to say about the increased sale of Dale Jr. merchandise: “I was a little concerned about his sales after the announcement, what the reaction would be, but it looks like it’s terrific. It looks like there’s an affinity for that No. 8 car. There’s been a lot of great moments, the fact that it’s a DEI car, and the whole Dale Jr. thing. I think its indicative of the fact that people aren’t ready just this moment, they want at least one last souvenir before they move on to the next chapter with him.”

Dyer also pointed out that of all the drivers in NASCAR today, Earnhardt has the biggest share of the market with 25 to 30 percent share. His closest competition in the market is the winner of the recently concluded Dodge Avenger 500 which was held in Darlington, South Carolina - Jeff Gordon. It has been reported that Gordon controls about 15 to 19 percent of the market. For three straight years, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was voted by fans as the most popular driver in NASCAR today and his biggest share in the market comes as no surprise.

This same selling power of the young driver is seen as a way for Junior to gain control of DEI. Some experts think that his stepmother Teresa would be willing to give the reins of the team to Junior instead of letting him go and be left with a team with no championship to boast and a reduced income from licensing. It has been estimated that the sale of Earnhardt’s merchandise brings $30 million per year to the Dale Earnhardt Inc. His biggest sponsor is Budweiser which is yet to comment on what step they will take when Junior leaves DEI at the end of this season. In fact, the company only stated that they will be talking to Junior and DEI concerning their sponsorship of Earnhardt.

The sudden increase in Earnhardt merchandise sale is expected to slow down since production of new products will surely take time. “It’s a very long process to get these things done,” says Dyer. “The car number and sponsor has to be decided, the paint scheme has to be designed and approved by Dale Jr.’s people, the team, the sponsor and then NASCAR’s competition committee. Then it all has to get made. The very latest production can start to guarantee die casts for the Daytona 500 is early-to-late fall.” But once these products are available it can be expected that sales would skyrocket.

For now, Earnhardt may have his mind on things aside from his merchandise sale. This is because his run for a championship title this season has been derailed. NASCAR implemented a 100-point deduction on Earnhardt as it was found out that his car used the wrong rear wing mounting brackets. Aside from the deduction, his crew chief and cousin Tony Eury Jr. was suspended for four races. This infraction cost Earnhardt his twelfth spot in the driver standings. He now sits at the 14th spot with 1160 points and that is 721 points behind the leader Jeff Gordon. After eleven races this season, Earnhardt has so far only posted four top ten finishes.



RILEY

Jenny Mclane asked:


The eleventh race of the current Nextel Cup Series is already over and Chevrolet continues its dominance by taking the top three positions. The Dodge Avenger 500 was held at the Darlington Raceway. Juts like the tenth race of the season. the Dodge Avenger 500 was also postponed due to rain.

After the 500 laps of the race, Jeff Gordon driving the #24 Chevrolet Impala emerged as the winner. Denny Hamlin, driving another Chevy Impala, finished at second place while Jimmie Johnson finished in third in yet another Chevy Impala. This marks the tenth race that a Chevrolet car has won this season. The only race that a Chevrolet car has not won is the Auto Club 500 - the second point race of the season which was won by a Ford Fusion driven by Matt Kenseth.

While Ford is the only car manufacturer to grab a win against Chevrolet cars, they have yet to gain another win this season. At the recently concluded Dodge Avenger 500, the highest placing Ford Fusion is the one driven by Carl Edwards who finished fifth. While Ford has reason to be frustrated with the way Chevy has been dominating the season, Edwards is clearly elated by his top-five finish. “My guys did a great job,” Edwards said. “I guess I got onto pit road wrong and we got a penalty, but I had fun. This is the greatest race track we go to by far. They need to build about 10 more of these all over the country. We need to race at them once a month for sure. This is a blast,” he furthermore adds.

Talking about the closing stages of the race when he was involved in a tight finish, Edwards has this to say: “It’s crazy, but that’s what makes this place so great is you can race so hard. My hat’s off to Jeff Gordon and those guys. They did a great job, but our Office Depot team did great today. This is the best finish we’ve had in a while and I’m really proud of them.” Reflecting on his performance which earned him the fifth place finish, Edwards is evidently thrilled in the way his team is making progress. “It was a lot of fun. I appreciate all of the fans sticking around for the race today and I hope everybody had a good Mother’s Day. It was a lot of fun for me. This is my favorite race track. Congratulations to Jeff and those guys. They’ve been on a roll and it’s awesome to see somebody do that well, but we’re creeping back up and we’ll go onto wherever we’re racing next and have a good time,” he continues.

The second highest ranking Ford car after the race at the track called “The Lady in Black” or “The Track Too Tough to Tame” is Matt Kenseth driving the #17 DeWalt Ford Fusion. Kenseth finished seventh and thinks that his team is also gaining ground on the Chevrolet Impalas. “I feel like we’re gaining on it,” he says. “We’re not where we need to be, but I feel like we’re definitely gaining on it. Before the sun came out, we weren’t the car to beat, but we made some adjustments and got up within the top five cars and actually led a little bit. The cars are just very, very sensitive - at least ours are. The sun came out and it just really threw the car for a loop and we could never get it back.”

While not finishing as high up in the ranking as Edwards and Kenseth, #26 Royal Crown Ford Fusion driver Jamie McMurray did not exactly came up with a down-to-the-Weathertec mat performance. He finished 16th after the race. He talked about his car’s performance after the race saying: “It was just terrible at the beginning. All of the Roush setups were pretty close and I knew that Carl was leading at one point and we weren’t much different. Apparently what worked for him wasn’t working for us. We were just really, really loose so the guys adjusted on it and we got a little better, and then the next adjustment was really good. I thought we were like an eighth to a tenth-place car and we just kind of ran there for like 100-150 laps. Everything was good and we came in and pitted and then went back out and it was just undriveable - tight. We kind of thought we got a bad set of tires and then we put another set of tires on and it was a little bit better, but it still wasn’t the way it had been early in the race. I hit the wall a couple of times. I might have knocked something out of whack, I don’t think so, or maybe the race track just changed and we didn’t keep up with it.”

With the Chevrolet cars dominating the 2007 Nextel Cup Series, it is a given that Ford should step up and come up with wins for the rest of the season. While a top five finish is a good performance, they need to once again take the top position to make the season more interesting.



ALBERT

Kaye Leery asked:


Reid Spencer, a Sporting News NASCAR journalist, predicts who is going to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup for the next nine more weeks. He also has predictions as to who will not qualify in the top 35 in owner points at the end of the year and why the entire landscape of Toyota’s Nextel Cup effort will witness dramatic changes for next season.

He first looked at the points report NASCAR furnished after Sunday’s Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. With this, he concluded that the current top eight drivers in points - Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Burton, Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick - are going to be in the race when the cutoff comes at Richmond in September.

Series leader Harvick in eighth place is 507 points behind Gordon. Harvick is 248 points ahead of Ryan Newman in 13th, the first position outside Chase worthiness. Fourteenth placer Jamie McMurray is 305 behind Harvick, and 15th-place Kurt Busch drags the Daytona 500 winner by 357.

Having those figures, the journalist writes that it might be possible for one of those three drivers to replace Harvick, but the writer assures it is not going to happen.

Positions nine through 12 are occupied by Chevrolet drivers Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Behind Gordon at 628 points lead is Earnhardt. But Earnhardt is 127 ahead of Newman (Dodge), 184 ahead of McMurray (Ford) and 236 ahead of Kurt Busch (Dodge).

Spencer writes that it is possible for any of the four drivers in 9th through 12th to fall out of the Chase, but again, he predicts that it is not going to happen. He adds that drivers currently in the top 12 will still be in the top 12 after Richmond, without exception.

He further writes that the introduction of the Car of Tomorrow (COT) has built a status system in Nextel Cup -those who have an advantage in testing and development of the COT, and those who do not have.

Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Richard Childress Racing have their COT programs hitting on all cylinders, from a team standpoint. But from a manufacturer view, Chevy is at the forefront in the development of the new car.

Getting the top eight positions at New Hampshire are the Chevy drivers. Seven of those drivers belong to one of the four teams mentioned above, Jeff Green being the exception.

Also finished in the top 13 at NHIS were 12 of the drivers currently in the top 13 in the standings, with Bowyer being the only exception, who had trouble with an oil cooler line. The journalist writes that the situation is hardly a coincidence and just more of evidence that the gap will widen between 12th place and those below the cutoff.

Spencer adds that the teams that are performing well now will continue to do so in order to solidify their positions in the race. He deduces that the public will not witness a battle for the final spot when Richmond rolls around. He further writes that the suspense and drama of 2006 when Kasey Kahne edged Tony Stewart by 16 points in the race for the 10th and final position before the Chase was increased to 12 drivers simply will not happen this year.

He adds that there will not be any suspense on who makes the top 35 in owner points, either. According to him, failing to qualify for the Lenox Industrial Tools 300 was a devastating flurry for 36th placer Scott Riggs’ Evernham Motorsports team, which descended 182 points behind the No. 70 Haas CNC Chevy driven by Johnny Sauter.

Thirty-seventh in owner points New Hampshire pole sitter Dave Blaney is 188 back of Sauter. The Wood Brothers No. 21 Ford driver Bill Elliott is 219 points behind Sauter in 38th spot. Spencer predicts that those are the only three cars with a remote possibility of unseating the No. 70.

However, the writer again forecasts that it will not happen, and that is the basis of Toyota’s difficulty. According to him, Toyota, maker of quality Toyota starters, will start the 2008 season in a more unfavorable shape than it started 2007 — with no teams in the top 35 in owner points.

Being in the top 35 in 2006, Blaney, therefore was guaranteed a starting spot in the first five races this year. Dale Jarrett will still have six past champion’s provisionals to use next year. These statements were based on a lot of assumptions like: NASCAR does not amend the past champion’s rule, Jarrett still drives a Toyota and Michael Waltrip Racing still exists.

The writer states that it is not the sort of progress Toyota will find acceptable in its second season. Blaney’s pole at Toyota’s first in the Cup Series - New Hampshire - certainly was a parcel on a generally barren landscape. But the current predicament of Toyota, according to Spencer, brings urgency to the carmaker’s courtship of Joe Gibbs Racing.

Spencer recommends that Toyota needs a team with marquee stars who are guaranteed to race. From Gibbs’ standpoint, the organization would move from second, third or fourth in Chevy’s stricking order - depending on how heavily a driver weights performance, history and sentiment - to elite status as Toyota’s flagship team.



RON

Anthony Fontanelle asked:


The 2007 Nextel All-Star Challenge is all over and Kevin Harvick recorded his first win at the prestigious event. After 80 laps around the Lowe’s Motor Speedway on the 19th of this month, the Number 29 Chevrolet Pennzoil Platinum driven by Harvick bested former champions like Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Winning the race gave Harvick $1 million. His composure played a major role in winning the race after he fended off defending champion Jimmie Johnson on the latter stages of the race.

The race featuring perennial NBA All-Star player Michael Jordan as the grand marshal was fought to the end by Johnson and Harvick. After winning the race, Harvick is absolutely thrilled. “To win the All-Star race is just a lot of fun,” Harvick said. “Jimmy and I raced hard all night and I actually learned something for turn three tonight from him. Everything worked really well tonight and it’s pretty awesome to win this event.”

Meanwhile, two-time Nextel All-Star Challenge winner Jimmie Johnson is visibly disappointed by his second place finish. “We got close to that first place in the last few laps,” he said. “Our cars were about equal. Threw a lot at him, but just came up a little short. I’m a little disappointed on how we got started. We started off a little slow. I got really tight on that first run.” Although he may have lost the chance to win back-to-back All-Star wins, Johnson is already concentrating on the next race. “Looking to the 600 next week, I’m ready to come back and get started,” he added.

The third driver to cross the finish line was Mark Martin on his Chevrolet Impala. After the race, he talked about his performance at the race: “Started in the back and came up a little short after working our way to the front and getting some track position. This format is not my style. I’m not much of a short-distance racer. I’m more of a long-distance racer. The three cars there at the end were about equal. My specialty is a little more than 20 laps. There are a lot of good cars to contend with for the 600 next week.”

The dominance of Chevrolet cars in this year’s Nextel Cup Series continues in the All-Star. The top six spots after the race were taken by Chevrolet cars and eight out of the top ten are Chevrolets. Harvick, Johnson, and Martin all drove Chevrolet Impalas. Aside from them other Chevrolet drivers who made it to the top ten are Jeff Burton who finished fourth, Tony Stewart finished at fifth, Johnny Sauter finished sixth, Dale Earnhardt Jr. at ninth, and Martin Truex Jr. who finished tenth. At this rate, not even a brake component from Active Brakes Direct can stop the Chevrolet in the Nextel Cup.



ANTONY

Anthony Fontanelle asked:


With the tenth race of the Nextel Cup Series already in the books, Chevy has shown once again that they are dominating this season. Out of the ten races that has just transpired, Chevy cars have won nine of them including the recently concluded Jimmy Stewart 400 which took place at the Richmond International Speedway in Richmond, Virginia. The said race was postponed due to heavy rains and was rescheduled last Saturday night. After 400 laps or 300 miles of racing, a Chevy car driven by defending champion Jimmie Johnson emerged as the winner. This is the fourth race this season wherein Johnson won a race on his No. 48 Lowe’s Impala SS.

Speaking after the race, Johnson expressed his feelings on his victory at the event. “This means the world to me to win here,” says Johnson. “We haven’t been that strong here. It reminds me a lot of Indy last year where we came back and we were able to beat a track that’s tough on us. I think this car has been an opportunity for myself and for the team to kind of learn the right setup; feeling the right the rhythm at this track.”

This chemistry between Johnson and his engineers has led to another good showing for the champion. From the start to the finish of the race, Johnson showed why he is the man to beat this season. He took control of the top spot with 20 laps to go and never relinquished that lead until lap number 400. After the race, Johnson also expressed his feelings about the recent shootings at Virginia Tech. “I feel honored to win this race here in Virginia. Obviously what took place, no one could ever describe. It’s just so sad, I don’t even know where to start,” says Johnson. “I didn’t go to school there, have a lot of close friends that did, great people that work at Hendrick Motorsports that have and certainly want to dedicate this win to them.”

The dominance of the Chevy Impala SS this season is evident in the fact that following Johnson are three Chevy Impalas. The second place was taken by Johnson’s teammate Kyle Busch on his No. 5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Impala SS. Speaking after the race, Busch summed up his car’s performance in the recently concluded race. “That was a good run for our Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Impala SS,” says Busch. “You know we struggle in qualifying with these things but we seem to get it when the race turns around so we also want to thank all my sponsors and all the people that are behind us,” he added.

Busch also talked about his and Johnson’s performance during the race after the restart. “I think mine fell off a little bit and his got better, because we kind of gapped out,” Busch said. “Normally we could run together but the restart before I was a little bit better than he was and I got a good start and I got down in one and two and got a good jump on everybody but that last caution came out again. I think he would have caught us anyway. He was a little bit better overall than we were but it’s still a good day for Hendrick Motorsports - one, two, four, I believe.”

Taking the third spot after the race is the No. 11 FedEx Express Impala SS driven by Denny Hamlin. The driver spoke about his performance after the race saying that: “We definitely had an up-and-down day but for the most part our car was pretty good.” He summed up his car’s performance for the race. “We were coming on there at the end and got caught behind a lot of cars,” Hamlin said. “It seemed like the fist couple of cars could clear and we just had a tough time running on the outside. For the most part I was happy about it. The FedEx Chevrolet was a winning car there at the end but we just didn’t have the track position.” Hamlin also talked about the impact of the result of the race on the special campaign for his team. “FedEx Express Chevrolet was really good and I can’t think of a better way to kick off the ‘Wear Your Heart on Your Helmet’ campaign for everyone at FedEx this year with the special paint scheme on our helmet. It’s a great way to start off that campaign and the perfect way to keep our season going in the right direction and I’m very happy with our run.”

Finishing fourth on the said race is Jeff Gordon on his No. 24 DuPont Impala SS. After the race, he talked about his performance. “We’ve got to be proud of that,” says the fans’ favorite. “This has been one of our worst tracks. To come out here in the top five just tells you what kind of improvements we’ve made with the DuPont Chevrolet team. We had great track position and we were able to maintain that. That probably helped us out for the most part. At one time I thought we had the car to beat and then we made some adjustments trying to keep up with the changing conditions of the track and just lost it. I’ve got to congratulate Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch. Those guys drove one heck of a race. We’re so proud to have those guys at Hendrick Motorsports. I was trying so hard to get that one-two-three Hendrick finish but just couldn’t pull it off. Denny Hamlin drove a great race as well. Congratulations to Jimmie and all those guys. We’ll just take our top-five and move on from here,” says Gordon.

After the tenth race of the season, Chevy looks dominant as the race once again featured that the four top spots were occupied by Chevrolet cars. This shows that these cars are not only good looking as Chevrolet pickup tail light lens but also show the true performance that one should expect from a precision engineered machine. Whether this domination continues for the rest of the Nextel Cup Series, that has yet to be seen though.



VINCENT