By: Toby Christie

Justin Allgaier captured his first Nationwide Series victory in his 43rd career start. Allgaier was able to work his way past Penske Racing teammate Brad Keselowski on the final restart, and hold him off down the stretch in a great battle for the win. The win is even more impressive because Allgaier had to fight from the 30th starting position.

“It was pretty unbelievable,” Allgaier said. “We had a great car in practice, and I screwed up qualifying and didn’t get the run we really needed and had to start 30th. But (crew chief) Chad (Walter) told me, ‘You’ll be there all day long, and if you push it really hard, you’ll be in victory lane.’

“I wasn’t sure we were going to be able to hold off Brad there for the last couple of laps, but Brad drove a heck of a race and ran us really clean. I’m just excited to get a 1-2 for Penske Racing.”

Kyle Busch came home third, followed by the two guys who have been the center of a new feud… Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick.

Things got started this week when both drivers exchanged unpleasant words through the media. Edwards was of course also involved at Atlanta in an accident in which he retaliated against Brad Keselowski. Harvick started his own on-track controversy at the finish of this event when he plowed through Joey Logano, knocking Logano back to the 14th finishing position.

This will be something to watch out for during tomorrow’s Food City 500 at Bristol.

By: Dave Thompson

As you probably already know, the site has started a new podcast hosted by me that focuses on the team spotters. Our first guest on the show, Rocky Ryan, was gracious enough to offer me one of his passes which allowed me to spend Friday on the spotter stand perched high above Bristol Motor Speedway.

The weather was absolutely perfect, not a cloud in the sky and nothing but sunshine expected for the entire day. I met up with Rocky around 10:30am and headed for the roof. I was a bit surprised but security wasn’t as tight as I expected, although I was with the one and only, Rocky Ryan. One thing I quickly learned after meeting several of the spotters, Rocky was in fact the “Mayor” of the spotters. Although several of them laughed while calling him the “Mayor”, he is clearly well respected by his peers on the stand.

The stand is interesting to see at first, as the spotters actually have small “pen” areas approximately 7’-8’ wide. The light stand actually provides separation between several of the “pens” and with clear markings that standing there is not allowed. Rocky had mentioned that recently the spotter stand at Bristol Motor Speedway had been extended deeper into turn 1. He noted the stand here is a rather spreadout compared to other tracks and often makes it difficult to leave your position on the stand to communicate to another spotter at the far end.

The view of the track and the entire “Thunder Valley” area is spectacular. I can only imagine how impressive it must be to look down over the stands and see 140,000 people cheering on their drivers.

I realize this is brief but I can tell you the experience was fantastic. I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to spend the afternoon on the stand with these unsung heroes of the teams. Although I was unable to meet each and every spotter, those I did talk with were more than willing to chat and were an extremely professional group.

Look forward to learning more about this great group of guys on our upcoming podcasts.

Joey Logano, who paced the first practice session at Bristol this morning, has taken the Coors Light Pole award for this Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series event. Logano turned a lap of 124.630 mph which was just enough to get him the top spot. This is the first pole in Logano’s young career.

Kurt Busch who has won five times at Bristol in his career will begin the race in second. This will help him go a long way towards another great finish at Bristol.

Dave Blaney shocked everyone with a third place qualifying run Friday. Blaney who is running the no. 66 car for Prism Motorsports is usually a start and parker… so it will be interesting to see if their strategy is different this week with such a fast car.

Jimmie Johnson will start fourth at a track that he is not historically great at, and his teammate Jeff Gordon rounded out the top-five in qualifying.

By:  Holly Blake

As the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) takes to the track for the first time this season at Bristol Motor Speedway, a few drivers found some misfortune and several took note of a slick track surface.
The tire wear seems to be the topic of discussion, to the point that Indianapolis a few years back was mentioned. The tires appear to be wearing and building ‘dust’ instead of adhering into the groove of the track. SPEED’s crew in the booth aren’t even calling it marbles, rather calling it dust. This could be a huge challenge for all the drivers as the weekend continues. Jeff Hammond said the track is slow to “rubber up” which is why there is a lack of grip. He goes on to say, “If you get out of the groove, it’s treacherous”. Several drivers have spun or nearly spun out of control in both the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) practices.
Surprisingly, there hasn’t been a lot of issue with the track changes as they relate to the safer barrier adjustments. Or at least there hasn’t been a lot of discussion about it.
Notables from practice runs:
Danny O’Quinn was fastest during the first practice run and seems to be quite happy with his car.
Trevor Bayne seemed happy after his practice run. He was actually quite enthusiastic and looking forward to qualifying and the race. He said it is better than any other car he’s ever had.
Kevin Harvick’s crew tore his car down almost completely during the first practice looking for just the right adjustment. They did manage to get it much better and after the first practice, he was 5th fastest.
John Wes Townley’s Zaxby’s sponsored car caught fire during the second practice run while in the pits. Very strange site to see and it seems to be something way back under the hood. Townley was in the car when it started, but quickly exited. Now the clean up and investigating begins to find the cause. Townley told Dick Berggren that it was pretty much under control and not too scary inside the car. He thinks the brake rotors touched something and set off the fire but he hadn’t heard officially what the cause was.
Michael Annett spun during practice but was able to keep it from hitting the wall. Discussion continues to be that the rubber dust is just above the groove and appears to be the culprit for the drivers finding themselves spinning out of control.

Kasey Kahne, Brad Keselowski, Greg Biffle, Scott Wimmer and NSCS Pole Sitter, Joey Logano all look very strong in the second practice. Kevin Harvick is now very happy with the adjustments that were made to his Rheem Chevy. Brian Scott was running top five in practice and showing both talent and speed. Justin Allgaier ran the fastest lap in the second practice in the last 15 minutes of the session. Seems that many youngsters are showing something here today.
Qualifications for the NNS is tomorrow afternoon and there are seven “go or go homers”. There is a lot at stake for a number of drivers to get it right at the last attempt prior to their qualifying run in Thunder Valley this evening.

By: Holly Blake

As the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) returns to Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend of major note, the speedway has extended the reach of SAFER barriers in the exits of Turns 2 and 4 which cuts the racing groove some three feet on the already narrow track. How will this affect the racing? Will it improve it to be similar to the Bristol of old? By slimming the groove in two turns, one could certainly conclude that it would bring back the ‘bump and run’.

After the 2007 Food City 500, a resurfacing of the entire concrete surface, along with widening the track three feet and reshaping the turns with variable banking, which was completed for the 2007 Sharpie 500 in August and their support events in the Busch (now NNS) and Craftsman Truck Series (now Camping World Truck series). It seems that since that resurfacing and reconfiguration of the track 3 years ago, the competitiveness and that ‘Bristol magic’ has waned.

Personally, I look forward to how it might be different and also to hear the driver’s comments as they take to the track for the first time since the latest change.

Who to take note of this weekend? Defending race winner, Kevin Harvick has started off the 2010 season in good shape and should be on the watch list. Carl Edwards has proven to be solid at Bristol, especially since the track changes in 07 but more successfully under the lights in August. Could he change that trend this weekend? Never rule out Kyle Busch or Kasey Kahne, as they both are good here. And then there are the young newcomers like Allgaier, Bayne and Buescher that will have to show patience and finesse to get around this small but fast track in the valley.

By: Toby Christie

NASCAR has come out today and announced Carl Edwards’ fate after his blatant crashing of Brad Keselowski in Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500. NASCAR has placed Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 car in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, on probation for the next three series events for a rule violation he committed during the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 7. Edwards’ probation will run until April 14 of this year.

Edwards was found to have violated Section 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing – aggressive driving) of the 2010 NASCAR rule book.

This is good and all, but does this punishment really fit the crime? Other drivers such as Kevin Harvick and Robby Gordon have been suspended for a race by NASCAR in the past for similar infractions, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. was even docked points after slipping an S-Bomb in victory lane once…

In the end it is NASCAR’s decision and I understand they are kind of in a box, considering they told the drivers to “have at it” in the offseason, but I was expecting at least a wrist slap… this penalty hardly even constitutes as a wrist slap. It will be interesting to see what happens next in this fued now considering NASCAR has proven that they are for the drivers taking care of these issues themselves.

By: Toby Christie

NASCAR going into this season said that they were going to loosen the reigns, and let the drivers police themselves, and settle confrontations however they see fit… I don’t think they imagined this.

Sunday Carl Edwards went too far. He let his emotions get the best of him, and he put the safety of his fellow drivers and the race fans in jeopardy.

On lap 323 of the race Carl Edwards was on the track for the one reason you are not supposed to be on the track. He didn’t have any position to lose or gain, he plain and simple went out for revenge for an incident earlier in the race on lap 40.

On lap 40 Brad Keselowski made contact with the back of Edwards’ car, which sent Carl into Joey Logano which basically ended any shot at the win for Edwards. Being upset is understandable, but after further review of the incident it seems that Edwards may have been more at fault than anyone in that lap 40 skirmish.

It was the latest incident in a saga that dates back to last year’s Aarons 499 at Talladega where the two made contact which sent Edwards into the catchfence while Keselowski basked in the joys of victory lane.

Lets fast forward back to lap 323 of Sunday’s race. Edwards found himself 156 laps down, and all over the Fourth place car of Brad Keselowski. Rattling Keseloski would have been one thing, but Edwards took the fued to the next level. Coming down the front straightaway Edwards tapped the back quarterpanel of the No. 12 Dodge, which sent it around immediately. From there all hell basically broke loose.

Keselowski’s car flew through the air, flipped upside down and landed on the outside retaining wall. The accident was extremely scary because the part of the car that impacted the retaining wall was the Driver’s cockpit area… Keselowski walked away, and the fans in the stands luckily weren’t injured at all, but this could have very easily been much much different.

Love or hate Keselowski, you can’t deny that he could have easily been killed, and race fans could have been injured and for what reason? So Edwards could settle a score? It was utterly uncalled for and NASCAR had to take immediate action.

NASCAR would call the no. 99 car back to the garage to be parked for the remainder of the event, but the damage was done. Edwards on this day took it too far, and gave a great example of why NASCAR began throwing out rules upon rules upon rules years ago.

No word yet on any further penalties for Edwards, but this will be an intriguing story to watch during the week. However in my opinion forcing Edwards to come to the garage when he was too far behind to gain any positions, is not penalty enough…

Kurt Busch with his NHRA 1970 Dodge Challenger. Photo Credit: DJ DeSpain, RubbingsRacing.com.

Kurt Busch announced today that he is going to race next weekend at the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals in his rebuilt 1970 Dodge Challenger.

The bug captured Busch back in the early 1990’s, but made the decision to compete while at Concord’s zMAX Dragway in September of 2008.

The 1970 Dodge Challenger is powered by a stroked 6.1 liter Hemi and weighs 3000 pounds. Busch mentioned that they wanted to keep the weight down a bit, but regardless, this car that he plans to make “street legal” will run 8 sec. 1/4 mile runs. Very deceptive based on its purely stock look.

Busch said he purchased the car originally off of ebay for $15,000, and when I asked him how much he has put back into the car to get it into racing condition, his response was “I haven’t added all the receipts together yet.” He did come back and say he thought it was probably around the $100,000 mark and took a year and a half of time to complete the rebuild with one full time employee and then up to five volunteers at any time.

Busch is prepared to be knocked out in the first round, but is very excited about the opportunity to compete. He feels that reaction time and feel for the car is going to translate well into NASCAR and feels that it will help with his “A” job.

Joking Busch said “it may not be as big of an announcement as Danica coming to NASCAR, but Busch is going to NHRA!”

By: Toby Christie

Those who were in doubt that the No. 88 Amp Energy team had made improvements this season, have to at least admit that they have qualifying figured out. Earnhardt Jr., who has not been known as a strong qualifier in his career, qualified fourth last week in Vegas, and he topped that Friday by capturing the pole for Sunday at Atlanta.

This is Earnhardt’s first pole since he topped the speed charts at Texas in 2008, some 68-races ago.

Earnhardt will lead the field to the green in the Kobalt Tools 500 after a blistering lap of 192.761 mph… much faster than I personally anticipated anyone to go with the aging track surface at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Kyle Busch will start second with a lap of 192.280 mph. Juan Pablo Montoya was a late qualifying scare, but he would come home third in the qualifying session. Montoya was the last of the cars to break 192 miles-per-hour.

Earnhardt’s Hendrick teammates Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon will roll off the grid from fourth and fifth.

Jimmie Johnson who has won the last two Sprint Cup Series races of the season was only able to muster the 16th fastest time of the session, but expect him near the front Sunday.

The three cars that will be going home this week are Aric Almirola, Terry Cook, and Casey Mears. Mears still has not made a cup race yet this season.

By: DJ DeSpain

Rocket Man Ryan Newman has seven qualifying poles at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which ties him with Buddy Baker for the track record. For his 300^th career start, he hopes to beat that record this Friday on Qualifying Day at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

When asked about the comparison between him and Buddy Baker, Newman said “I think Buddy Baker is one of the 50 greatest NASCAR drivers in the history of our sport. If there was ever a record I could beat him or tie him in, that would be a big reward mentally for me.”

He goes on to say “If I live out the rest of my career tied with Buddy Baker, I’m still fine with that. But obviously I’d like to beat it, too.”

However well he qualifies in Atlanta, it has yet to result in a win in the Cup series. Newman acknowledges that while he hasn’t had much luck at Atlanta, it’s not really fair to equate poles to wins.

According to Ryan “it’s all about the entire package, just like it is for everybody else on any given weekend. I’ve always said it’s much easier to go out there and be the quickest car on one lap than it is to be the best car on average over 500 miles. The longer you’re doing something, the harder it is to maintain that level of excellence.”

Presently, Atlanta is considered to be one of the fastest non-restrictor plate race track on the NASCAR circuit. But can Newman tell the difference in speed as he goes around the track?

“I don’t think you necessarily feel the speed as much as you actually know the input you’ve given the race car to make it go faster. I’ve always said, you know, from 140 miles an hour on up, I don’t think that you actually feel speed until something happens to you or you hit something.”

Aside from hitting the wall or someone else, “When you’re running 200 miles an hour at Atlanta, I don’t think you necessarily feel that actual extra one or two or sometimes three miles an hour. What you feel is the input you give in the car to make it go faster, getting back to the throttle a little sooner, getting into the corner a little bit harder, and carrying a little more mid-corner speed. Those are the things that you feel that actually make you feel what you’ve done to pick up speed over a given mile-and-a-half.”

As the cars and drivers get better, the speeds get faster. Newman stated that “it’s just a matter of picking your game up a little bit everywhere to be able to get the grip out of a track and match that grip to your race car to get everything you can for a given lap.”

Let’s hope Rocket Man Ryan can find enough grip to cap his 300^th career start with his first Atlanta Motor Speedway Sprint Cup win along with breaking the AMS pole record.

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