rain....


picking Smoke for the win !

and Junior in third because everyone out of gas

You must admit though that the discussion between Menard and his crew chief was more than a little suspicious.

Poor-mouthing Tony Stewart, who four days ago minimized his chances for a third Sprint Cup title, outlasted the field in Monday's rain-delayed Geico 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

“We didn't have anything to lose. Where we're at in the Chase right now, we had to press.”

-- TONY STEWART

Saving fuel during a 50-lap green-flag run to the finish, Stewart, who started 26th, crossed the stripe .941 seconds ahead of hard-charging Kevin Harvick to win his first race of the season and the 40th of his career, tying him with Mark Martin for 16th on the all-time list.

This is the same Stewart who had said at Thursday's Chase media day in Chicago that there were seven drivers who could win the Chase -- and he wasn't one of them.

"Counting Tony Stewart out -- that's pretty funny that he counts himself out," said Harvick, who took the Chase lead by seven points over second-place Stewart. "He's won a ton of races to start off the Chase like they did today.

"[He has] the notes and teammates and things to lean on at Hendrick Motorsports and Ryan [Newman] and all the stuff they have to lean on, there's no way they're going to be totally out to lunch. So I think that's yet to be seen. So he ran strong all day and drove from the back to the front and led the race and won the race.

"So he shouldn't count himself out -- that's pretty funny."

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who saved enough fuel to get to the checkered flag, came home third, after other contenders -- five-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson among them -- ran out of gas ahead of him.

Carl Edwards ran fourth, followed by Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch, as drivers in the Chase claimed the top six positions. Johnson finished 10th after NASCAR demoted pole-sitter Matt Kenseth -- also out of gas -- to 21st for getting a push from J.J. Yeley through Turns 3 and 4 on the final lap.

NASCAR rules prohibit one car from assisting another on the last lap.

Last year, in the first Chase race at New Hampshire, Stewart gambled on fuel mileage -- and lost. He finished 24th in that race, severely damaging his title chances. Stewart said he wasn't thinking about New Hampshire in the closing laps -- just about the interval between his No. 14 Chevrolet and the cars that were chasing him.

"You hate to have to play the fuel-mileage game, but that's just the way the caution came out," Stewart said. "We came in and got fuel [on Lap 214 of 267] and [crew chief] Darian [Grubb] said we had to save a lap's worth of fuel, but we had a whole run to do it.

"I felt like we had saved enough to get us to the end, but we came off Turn 2 after we got the checkered, and the fuel pressure was down to two pounds, and it stayed there until just shortly after we picked up the checkered flag at the flagstand."

Given his position entering the Chase -- 12 points behind Kyle Busch and Harvick -- Stewart felt he could take the chance on fuel.

"We didn't have anything to lose," he said. "Where we're at in the Chase right now, we had to press."

Kenseth took the lead from Martin Truex Jr. on Lap 228, 10 laps after a restart forced by the sixth caution of the race, for debris. Stewart passed Kenseth for the top spot through Turns 3 and 4 on Lap 238, with Kenseth needing to save fuel and not contesting the position.

Though Stewart briefly surrendered the lead to Truex in the closing laps, the No. 14 team wasn't worried, because Truex couldn't go the distance and had to pit for fuel. Truex finished 18th.

The first Chase race worked out brilliantly for Earnhardt, who ran out of fuel off Turn 4 on the final lap. Earnhardt was mired in traffic for much of the afternoon but worked his way into the top 10 during the final fuel run -- and then let attrition take its course.

"I just knew we were going to get a good finish if we didn't run out of fuel," Earnhardt said. "I was happy where we were. I thought we had really improved throughout the day. And, yeah, it felt a lot similar to how we ran earlier in the year where we would ... use strategy to improve our finishing position."

The second race of the Chase is Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

I wasnt blaming, I was happy for him.


Loudon next week I think, should be a good one..

Deflect as he may, Stewart always a title threat

Win at Chicago puts No. 14 second in points and in the mix for third title

JOLIET, Ill. -- As the laps wound down in Monday's Geico 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, Tony Stewart and Darian Grubb were not thinking back to what happened on the final lap of the first Chase for the Sprint Cup race a year earlier in New Hampshire.

But others were. How could they not?

The situation seemed eerily similar. Stewart was leading as Monday's 267-lap race rushed toward its conclusion, but there was genuine concern that his No. 14 Chevrolet would run out of gas before he could take the checkered flag. A year earlier, he ran out of fuel on the final lap of the Chase opener at New Hampshire and never really recovered to truly challenge for what might have been his third Cup championship.

Monday at Chicagoland, Stewart didn't run out and held off a furious charge by second-place finisher Kevin Harvick at the end to win his first race of the season. It enabled him to jump from 10th in the Chase point standings to second behind only Harvick -- less than a month after Stewart stated following a race at Michigan that his team was performing so poorly it didn't belong in the 10-race Chase.

Stewart endured one more bad finish after that race -- 28th at Bristol on Aug. 27 -- but since then has ripped off finishes of third at Atlanta, seventh at Richmond and now first at Chicagoland. Yet he still keeps insisting that his No. 14 Chevy has much more work to do before he'll believe his team is a true title contender.

"I'm not sure one weekend can do that," Stewart said. "But I feel better about it, obviously. We've had three good weekends in a row. [Monday] doesn't change my mind -- but the last three weeks definitely make me feel better about it.

"We've still got nine hard weeks to go. And we have some tracks ahead that have been a struggle for us this year. So we've got a long way to go, but this gets us off to the right start."

No flashbacks

Grubb said he never thought at all about what happened last year in the Chase opener until it was mentioned to him following Monday's race.

"After the fact I did, but only when someone else brought it up," Grubb said. "We treat every race as its own race. I was concerned about running out of fuel -- but Loudon never popped into my mind.

"We were just making sure we were saving enough. Everyone was in the same boat this time. It wasn't a pit strategy call that did that, so it was a completely different circumstance [than at New Hampshire]. We had a really good race car and Tony was able to manage it."

Inside the car, Stewart said what happened in last year's Chase opener -- and all that the misjudged fuel gambit cost him then -- never crossed his mind, either.

"I was just worried about our interval, honestly," he said. "We've lost a lot more fuel-mileage deals than we've ever won.

"So you don't really have time to think about what happened a year ago. I mean, I'm listening to [Grubb over the team radio] and worrying more about the intervals."

That would be the intervals between the No. 14 as it was leading the race and the cars following most closely behind. Harvick, for instance, was closing fast in his No. 29 Chevy in the final laps and made Stewart nervous -- as did the No. 56 Toyota of Martin Truex Jr. several laps earlier.

At one point, Grubb had to implore Stewart to let Truex go by and take the lead -- knowing that Truex would have to pit for fuel and Stewart didn't need to waste his by trying to fight Truex off. Grubb had no intention of having his driver pit again, as they already had reached the point of no return where it was all or nothing.

"We didn't do any wild burnout or anything like that [after winning] and we ran out before we ever got on pit road," Grubb said. "So we were closer than I wanted us to be."

Playing possum?

They also were closer to being championship contenders than even they realized as the weekend was unfolding. Stewart struggled mightily during two Friday practices, and at the same time was battling migraine headaches that struck him early Friday and continued to bother him through the postponement of the race originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon.

It wasn't until the weather cleared enough for the Sprint Cup cars to race on Monday morning that Stewart finally felt the fog of his migraine lifting.

Earlier in the week, he had insisted that he had no pressure on him because no one expected him to do anything in the Chase. He was the underdog. He named seven other drivers whom he considered the favorites and acted as if he was simply happy to be part of the show, content to play a cameo role that he seemed to accept as inevitable.

Others laughed at that thought following Monday's startling revelation.

"They had some speed in them at a few different tracks earlier this year," five-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson said. "It's just been tough for them to link together a whole race. I felt like coming here, I remember this being one of the tracks the No. 14 is strong at, and he certainly was [on Monday]."

Steve Letarte, the crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr., added: "If you believed what he said, then you've never raced Tony Stewart. He's a master of deflection, but he seems to always be there."

And Harvick let loose with the biggest chuckle of all.

"Counting Tony Stewart out? That's pretty funny that he counts himself out," Harvick said. "He's won a ton of races to start off the Chase like he did [Monday]. They have the notes and teammates and things to lean on at Hendrick Motorsports [with whom they have a technical alliance], and [Stewart-Haas Racing] teammate Ryan Newman and all the stuff they have to lean on. There's no way they were going to be totally out to lunch."

In the end, they weren't out to lunch at all. They were just working hard to get better until they could muscle their way to the dinner table and feast on the rest of the field at the start of the Chase.

It no doubt tasted and felt delicious, especially considering how different it was from the outcome the No. 14 team endured at the beginning of last year's Chase.

Stick a fork in Denny Hamlin -- he's done

By Ed Hinton
ESPN.com
Archive

Denny Hamlin is the current prime example of what the Chase needs most: an elimination system. Why prolong the poor guy's misery? Why drag him through the charade?

Monday's Chase opener was bad enough for him. First a vibration in his car, then a flat left-front tire left him 31st in the rain-delayed Geico 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. He fell 41 points -- new-system points, mind you, essentially meaning 41 race-finish positions -- behind new Chase leader Kevin Harvick, and 34 behind race winner Tony Stewart, who surged into second place in the Chase. No wonder Hamlin didn't stick around to talk to the media. What the hell was he going to say?

At Chicagoland, Tony Stewart captures the first checkered flag of the Chase. Plus, we have more on Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards and Paul Menard. And what can he say at New Hampshire, and beyond? That he clings to hope of clawing his way back? That the far-fetched math has not forsaken him? Hamlin, who threatened Jimmie Johnson's string of championships right into the season finale at Homestead-Miami last year, is as good as done. So why not let him go in peace, right now?

Since the inaugural Chase, in 2004, I have preached that (A) NASCAR has as much right to a playoff system as any other sport, but that (B) to have true playoffs, somebody has to lose and fall out, every week.

Eliminating one driver a week wouldn't just provide the sudden-death scenarios that electrify other playoffs in other professional sports, it would be more humane. The way it stands now, Jeff Gordon would be next on the bubble. He fell 22 points back with a car that was fitful all Monday afternoon and then ran out of gas near the end. Johnson, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth also ran out of fuel at the end, and fell near the bottom of the Chase heap, just above Hamlin. Stewart, Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. conserved enough fuel to finish 1-2-3 in the race after the other Chasers dropped out. Stewart moved to second in the standings with his first win of 2011, even though through most of regular season, "We've had a miserable year," he conceded.

But that's how playoffs work. Some surge, some don't.

In other sports leagues, when stragglers fall out of contention in the playoffs, it's official. It's over for them. It's clear-cut. It is therefore more interesting, week to week.

And far less painful to those who falter.

Bowyer "close" to announcement: At Chicagoland last weekend, rumors swirled that #33-Clint Bowyer and MWR were ready to announce a deal with Michael Waltrip Racing, but the two parties never made an announcement. Pressed about the issue during an appearance for the upcoming Good Sam Club 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Bowyer seemed close to a decision. "We are getting close to making an announcement," he told News/Talk WSB. "I've had a lot of opportunities and a lot it hinges on funding." Longtime Richard Childress Racing employee and former Director of Competition Scott Miller has left RCR and is highly rumored to have taken a job at MWR - Bowyer's likely destination. When asked whether Miller's departure and destination were linked to his own, Bowyer grinned and said, "I wish him the best and, who knows, maybe I will be working with him someday."(WSB Radio Blog)(9-22-2011)

I think I'll just start one big NASCAR thread like the CFL and NHL thread.

Good move, I took some time the other day to merge everything into the NASCAR thread you started, I don't see why there can't be a forum in CKA for auto racing, unfortunately NASCAR seems to be the only auto racing which has any interest here with no interest in Formula 1, Indy car or drag racing. So, as things stand NASCAR is the only active thread for CKA auto racing.

•JTG Daugherty ending alliance with MWR? UPDATE: Michael Waltrip Racing currently fields two teams with #56-Martin Truex Jr. and #00-David Reutimann, and supplies cars for #47-Bobby Labonte and JTG Daugherty Racing out of its Mooresville, N.C., shop. Sources said JTG Daugherty Racing may cut its tie to MWR but remain in the sport with Labonte as its driver in 2012.(ESPN)(9-16-2011)

UPDATE: MWR has paved the way for a third full-time entry [with Clint Bowyer] by ending its affiliation with JTG Daugherty Racing, which had housed its #47 entry at the team's headquarters as part of its alliance. Team owner Brad Daugherty plans to keep his organization on track next season but is currently looking at options to align with another team, with speculation of a partnership with Richard Petty Motorsports. Daugherty's affinity to and admiration of Petty has even included the former college basketball and NBA star wearing the #43 throughout his career. An association as NASCAR business partners would further that connection. RPM was close to launching a third team with Bowyer before contract talks with the driver broke down so the desire to expand is evident.(CBS Sports)(9-22-2011)

Newman wins second consecutive Loudon pole

LOUDON, N.H. -- Rain or no rain -- it didn't matter to Ryan Newman, who won the pole for Sunday's Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the second race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

After a rain delay halted Friday's qualifying session, Newman, the last driver to make an attempt, posted a lap at 135.002 mph (28.213 seconds) to knock Kasey Kahne (134.763 mph), who had preceded him on the track, out of the top spot.

The pole was Newman's third of the season and the 49th of his career. The driver of the No. 39 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet won the July race at New Hampshire from the pole.

Kahne's Red Bull Racing teammate, Brian Vickers, qualified before the rain delay, and his speed of 134.648 mph stood up for the third starting position. Greg Biffle (134.587 mph) will start fourth. Kurt Busch qualified fifth at 134.382 mph.

The session stalled with five cars left on the grid when Juan Montoya declined to take to the track for his qualifying lap in a light rain. Montoya sat on pit road, as did the four cars behind him, including the No. 48 Chevrolet of five-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson.

"Send out the No. 48, if he's so brave," Montoya said.

Instead, NASCAR sent out jet dryers, and though a light mist continued to fall, the track dried enough to resume the session. Montoya posted a lap that was 27th fastest at the time [31st after the end of the session] -- and wasn't happy about it.

"Our car was fast enough to sit on the pole, and we're 27th," Montoya said. "It's a freaking joke."

Johnson followed with a lap fast enough to secure the 10th starting position. Chase leader Kevin Harvick, who holds a seven-point margin on Tony Stewart, will start sixth.