NNS: Harvick Wins Daytona Pole
Kyle Ocker, FanZone Sports
Kevin Harvick, in the No. 33 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet, will lead the field to the green flag for Sunday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series Camping World 300 at Daytona. With a speed of 49.779-seconds, running 180.799 mph, is good for Harvick’s 18th career Nationwide Series pole.
Starting on the outside of Harvick will be second place qualifier, Matt Kenseth, in an all Sprint Cup Series regular front-row. Kenseth ran a lap of 49.876, with a speed of 180.448 mph, in his No. 17 Kraft Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. This is Kenseth’s fourth top-ten Nationwide Series start at Daytona.
Clint Bowyer qualified third with a time of 49.973-seconds, with Jason Leffler—the fastest non-Sprint Cup Series regular—qualifying fourth with a lap of 50.013-seconds. Rounding out the top five fastest qualifiers was Tony Stewart, who is racing in the No. 80 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.
Michael Annett was the fastest qualifying rookie. Annett will start the race 18th.
“You know, it’s going to be tough but I think they’ll be some Toyota teams out there and we’ll be able to stick together and go towards the front,” said Annett. “I got lined up with some Roush guys the other day and I think they saw that we have a car that, our car is going to the front either way so they might as well come with us and help us. I think the Toyota teams will stick together.”
The NASCAR Nationwide Series Camping World 300 at Daytona begins Saturday, February 14 at 1:15PM ET, and will be televised live on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD, with live radio coverage on MRN Radio.
Harvick Wins Bud Shootout on a last second pass
Kyle Ocker, FanZone Sports
DAYOTONA, Fla. — Kevin Harvick won his first Budweiser Shootout after passing Jamie McMurray just seconds before a caution ended the race on the last lap of the green-white-checker finish from Daytona International Speedway. Harvick came back from being a lap down after the first segment of the Budweiser Shootout (lap 25 of 75). This is Harvick’s fifth appearance in the Budweiser Shootout, and his fourth top-ten finish in the Budweiser Shootout.
“We came in and put tires on [on lap 66]. I got a little bit behind there early. Michael Waltrip had a flat tire [on lap 42]. He blew up or something. I like lost the draft and just came back up through there and I was thinking the same thing. Man, we won a Daytona 500 [in 2007] this exact same way by just never giving up. I want to thank Shell and Pennzoil and Chevrolet and all these people that help us on this No. 29 car. These guys and the fans, I mean man, if that’s not fun to watch, I don’t know what is.
“The first thing I want to do is thank the fans. Man, if you don’t enjoy that, that was some wild racing. I have to thank Sprint, Shell, Pennzoil, Coca Cola, Rheem. Let me make sure, I haven’t done this for a while, SKS, Freightliner, Champion, Snap On, everybody for helping us and once again, the fans. It is awesome. What a race. That was wild as heck there at the end.”
McMurray finished second, in front of Tony Stewart who finished third in the debut of his Stewart-Haas Racing team, Jeff Gordon and AJ Allmendinger rounded out the top five finishers of the Budweiser Shootout. Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, and Kyle Busch were the remaining top five finishers.
“It was a good way to get our weekend started for sure,” McMurray said. “I pulled up and blocked the 24 and the 48 and really when it happened I thought, ‘Oooh, that was lucky that I didn’t get wrecked in the middle of that.’ And then when I saw the 29 coming, I moved up and I thought I was high enough. I didn’t think there was room between him and the wall and he just snuck in there. You feel like a sucker when you’re in the front of this deal. You get away from the guy so much in the corner that you have to drag the brake a little bit to try to keep him close enough, but when you get the white flag it’s hard to drag the brake. I guess I didn’t slow down enough and they got a big run down the backstretch.”
David Ragan, Robby Gordon, Joey Logano, and Scott Speed ended their nights early, when a lap five accident took out all four of the drivers.
“I’m very disappointed,” Ragan said. “Our UPS Ford was fine the first few laps and someone on the outside just got checked up and it was a chain reaction. I don’t know who was behind me, I think it was the 7, but wasn’t really paying attention and just drove into the back of us and kind of made a mess.”
“It is tough,” said Logano. “You know, you start in the back and then it’s kind of what happens. Just saw everyone get loose and checked up and then saw he was coming down and I floored it and headed to the apron and just clipped me, enough to send me back into the wall. It’s tough for the Home Depot bunch. They tried hard and we felt like we had a decent car for the first couple of laps, just kind of getting a feel for it before we up there and mixed it up with everyone. It stinks. It’s still early. What are you supposed to do? Nowhere to go in that situation. I didn’t learn much at all five, six laps into it. We tried hard, though. I’ve got to thank everyone at Home Depot.”
Speed added, “Well, wrong place wrong time, obviously. The thing is, with these things when someone wrecks in front of you, you’re pretty much committed. If you’re on the top these cars are so heavy they’re going so fast you can’t exactly just say ‘Okay, I want to be on the bottom now.’ You’re pretty committed. It’s just one of those deals. You’re in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
David Reutimann and David Stremme crashed on the backstretch on lap 24, bringing out the caution for the second time. On lap 33, an incident between Greg Biffle and Jeff Burton in turn two brought out the caution for the third time. On lap 38, a caution for oil on the track when Reed Sorenson in the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge blew an engine.
On lap 56, Reutimann and Stremme again were collected with Elliott Sadler on the frontstretch, bringing out the fifth caution. Lap 65 brought an accident involving Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bobby Labonte, and Paul Menard, bringing out the sixth caution. The seventh caution for an accident on turn four between Stremme, Biffle, and Reutimann on lap 74. Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and Jimmie Johnson were collected on the final lap of the Budweiser Shootout for the eighth and final caution of the night. A total of 23 laps were consumed during the eight caution periods of the night.
28 cars started the race, with only 13 making it to the end of the race. The 28 car field was the largest in history, after a format change that the rules for qualifying into the race from winning a pole, to being in the top six in owner’s points for each manufacturer, plus a wild card entry for each, based on past champions or the next highest driver in the owner points.
Earnhardt Jr. lead the most laps with 23, McMurray led 16 laps, Edwards led 11, Kyle Busch led 6, Hamlin and Stewart led 4, Sadler, Jeff Gordon, Johnson, Vickers, Kahne, and Menard all led 2, and Harvick and Kenseth led one each.
Notes: A total of 23 lead changes between 14 leaders were the most ever in the history of the Budweiser Shootout. … Eigth cautions during the night also set the record for the number of cautions in a single Budweiser Shootout. … Logano started the race in the back after missing the pre-race drivers’ meeting because of the Daytona ARCA Series race which ran over its alloted time after several cautions and a long red-flag period towards the end of the race to set up a last lap shootout to the finish.
KHI Announces Sponsorship with Pinnacle Foods Group LLC
Kyle Ocker, FanZone Sports — NASCAR
KERNERSVILLE, N.C. — Kevin Harvick Inc. announced that Pinnacle Foods Group, LLC. as primary sponsor of the No. 33 Nationwide Series entry for three races in 2009.
“I’m excited to expand my relationship with Pinnacle Foods by having them join our Nationwide program at KHI,” said Kevin Harvick, KHI co-owner and two-time Nationwide Series champion. “With my Cup car, I currently have a partnership with Vlasic pickles as an associate sponsor, but this will give Pinnacle Foods their first primary sponsorship opportunity. I look forward to a great partnership in 2009 and in future opportunities.”
Pinnacle Foods Group LLC brands Vlasic®, Hungry-Man® and Armour® will each run one race as the primary sponsor with drivers Kevin Harvick, Ron Hornaday and Ryan Newman in the 2009 season.
“Pinnacle Foods Group is thrilled to be joining forces with the KHI Racing Team for 2009,” said Mark Parker, Senior Vice President, Business Development. “We have a great portfolio of household food brands at Pinnacle and we are excited that 3 of those brands, Vlasic, Armour Canned Meats and Hungry-Man Frozen Dinners will be stepping forward as the primary sponsors for Kevin and the KHI Team. We see our brands and the NASCAR consumer as having incredible synergies and we look forward to bringing everyone these exciting and energetic programs in 2009, along with a spectacular racing season.
In 2008 our switch from Sprint Cup to Nationwide has created an opportunity to build brand awareness for Armour®, Vlasic®, and Hungry-Man®, with becoming a primary sponsor. We are excited to tie this in with Kevin Harvick, Inc. and look forward to providing our consumers something to cheer about.”
Harvick fastest in second NSCS Practice at PIR
Kyle Ocker, FanZone Sports — NASCAR
Kevin Harvick was the fastest driver in Saturday afternoon’s first Sprint Cup Series practice, running a lap of 27.402 seconds. Harvick will start 19th on Sunday.
Carl Edwards was the second fastest, lapping the speedway with a time of 27.490. Edwards will start the race on Sunday in 15th position, 106 points behind the Sprint Cup Series points leader Jimmie Johnson.
Johnson was third fastest, 0.065 seconds behind Edwards with a lap of 27.555 seconds. Johnson will start from the pole for the Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500.
Johnson’s teammate at Hendrick Motor Sports, Jeff Gordon owned the fourth fastest lap in the second cup practice, with a lap of 27.577 seconds.
Ryan Newman was the fifth fastest driver in his No. 12 Dodge for Penske Racing, with a 27.621 second lap.
Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray, Clint Bowyer, Greg Biffle, and Brian Vickers were the rest of the top ten fastest.
Harvick Captures Lucas Oil 150
By Reid Spencer — Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
AVONDALE, Ariz. — Kevin Harvick held off hard-charging Kyle Busch to win Friday night’s Lucas Oil 150 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Phoenix International Raceway, as title contenders Ron Hornaday and Johnny Benson struggled to wreck-plagued finishes that left them three points apart with one race left.
Benson takes a three-point lead to the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the smallest margin with one race left in series history. The previous low margin was Hornaday’s 13-point advantage over Jack Sprague in 1998; when Hornaday went on to win the title.
Harvick, who owns the No. 33 Chevrolet that Hornaday drives, finished .941 seconds ahead of Busch, who had stopped for tires on Lap 130 and charged through the field to the second position. Todd Bodine was third, followed by rookie Brian Scott and Mike Skinner.
A succession of troubles dropped Hornaday to 25th and Benson to 26th at the finish and allowed Hornaday to trim three points from Benson’s lead entering the race.
From Hornaday’s perspective, the championship battle took a turn for the worse on the first lap. Starting from the pole, Hornaday raced side-by-side with Busch into Turn 3, and as the trucks rolled through the corner, the rear of Hornaday’s Chevrolet slid out, starting a spin that would see the defending series champion slam nose-first into the outside wall.
Hornaday’s truck slid down across the track, only to be broadsided by J.R. Fitzpatrick’s Chevy. Benson’s Toyota sustained damage on the right side as it clipped Hornaday’s crippled truck on the way past.
“I was a little bit frustrated on that first lap, seeing that 33 turned around, but it worked out for us,” said Harvick, who picked up the third truck series win of his career and his first since 2003. “In one sense, you think you’ve lost the championship, but it’s never over till it’s over.”
After hasty repairs in the garage, Hornaday returned to the track 29 laps down and worked his way back to 29th before an accident involving Benson and T.J. Bell sent the points leader to the garage on Lap 87 for extensive repairs.
By the time Benson returned to the track, Hornaday had passed him for the 25th position, and neither could improve the rest of the way.
“I don’t know what to really think,” Benson said.” It seemed like everyone was gunning for me and Ron. It was a bad night for both of us.”
Online Auction will help support Sam Ard
Kyle Ocker, FanZone Sports — NASCAR
After Kyle Busch won the NASCAR Nationwide Series O’Reilly Challenge last weekend at Texas, he tied Sam Ard’s record for wins in a single Nationwide Series season of ten. He also made a generous donation of $100,000 of his winnings.
“Sam Ard is one of the pioneers of this deal and to be tied with him at 10 wins is something that’s pretty spectacular and really, really special to me,” Busch said. “He’s in Florence, S.C. with his wife Jo with Alzheimer’s and I just want to say ‘hey’ to him.
“I told myself during (the O’Reilly Challenge) that I knew he had health issues and stuff like that and I’m going to go ahead and give him $100,000 and I’m going to try to help him out and see what I can do. It’s not much but it’s something that can try to help cure him and everything he’s going through.”
Kevin Harvick and Harvick’s sponsor Shell-Penzoil donated the Chevrolet van that Shell used to shoot their latest commercial with.
“Sam Ard has been a huge part of NASCAR and an inspiration in my career,” said Harvick. “A lot of people don’t understand how hard those guys raced and how different it was back then. Those guys spent everything they won on racing and I am just happy that we are able to help Sam because none of us would be able to do what we love to do if it weren’t for guys like Sam Ard.”
The commercial featured the driver of the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet and the Shell “Passionate Experts.” The Shell pit crew along with the experts, were trying to pull a prank on Harvick by disassembling what they thought was the two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion’s van. The experts realize the vehicle they tore apart wasn’t Harvick’s as he drives away in another van identical to the one they dismantled. After the commercial was finished, preofessional mechanics put the van back to its original state and presented it to Ard.
“Fans know Sam Ard as pioneer in the early years of the Nationwide Series, and remember him even more for one thing – winning,” said Hugh Cooley, General Manager National Accounts/Joint Ventures and US Portfolio for Shell Oil Company. “He set astonishing records for victories in a very short period of time and achieved notoriety as the series first two-time champion. He has been an inspiration to Kevin over the years and we are very proud to join our driver in helping him out in these tough times.”
Ard, who is battling Alzheimer’s disease and financial problems, won the 1983 and 1984 Nationwide Series title. Ard was first diagnosed with Alzheimer’s when he was 66 years old. Ard’s wife, Jo, was diagnosed with degenerative eye disease that has been slowly taking her vision.
The NASCAR Foundation and Motor Racing Outreach have partnered together for an online auction to raise additional funds for the Sam Ard Fund. Fans can visit www.NASCAR.COM/foundation to learn more or start bidding. The auction will go live, Saturday October 25, at 10 a.m., and end November 17th, at noon. New items will be added throughout the length of the auction so fans are encouraged to check back for updated items.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chicagoland Speedway Post-Race Transcript
An Interview With:
KYLE BUSCH
STEVE ADDINGTON
THE MODERATOR: We are joined by the winner of the Lifelock 400, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota, Kyle Busch. Kyle, tell us about your run.
KYLE BUSCH: Well, glad to see everybody again. Been a long time. (Laughter).
I don’t even know where to start really. I mean, we had a decent car all night. It was not probably one of the best cars, but it was close. You know, it was a contender and that’s all we needed was just one we could go out and race everybody with and try to make gains.
The 99 came up and he was good as he’s always been on the mile and a halves this year for some reason and the 48 was strong there; fell back in the middle stages of the race. Read more
In The Garage – And From The Area: The Local Angles
More NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers call California home than any other state. Seven are California natives. Below is the list, along with other members of the NASCAR garage who hail from California and Wisconsin:
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series California natives
AJ Allmendinger (Los Gatos) – No. 84 Driver
David Gilliland (Riverside) – No. 38 Driver
Jeff Gordon (Vallejo) – No. 24 Driver
Robby Gordon (Orange) – No. 7 Driver
Kevin Harvick (Bakersfield) – No. 29 Driver
Jimmie Johnson (El Cajon) – No. 48 Driver
Casey Mears (Bakersfield) – No. 5 Driver
Scott Meesters (Hanford) – No. 9 Engine Tuner
John Smeltzer (Santa Cruz) – No. 24 Engine Tuner
Ron Liddell (Redding) – No. 29 Engine Tuner
J.D. Frey (Ferndale) – No. 42 Mechanic
Charley McDonnel (Anderson) – No. 9 Mechanic
Ronnie Hornaday III (Palmdale) – No. 10 Mechanic
Andy Morgan (Roseville) – No. 96 Mechanic
Todd Carmichael (Redding) – No. 19 Mechanic
Roger Parkinson (San Diego) – No. 41 Shock Specialist
Luke Cunnington (Lodi) – No. 2 Shock Specialist
Dan Graves (Newcastle) – No. 5 Tire Specialist
Robby Maschhaupt (San Dimas) – No. 10 Transport Driver
Rick Pennington (Oakland) – No. 9 Catch Can
Clint Almquist (Blythe) – No. 07 Catch Can
Robby Maschhaupt (San Dimas) – No. 10 Catch Can
Gordy Arbitter (Los Angeles) – No. 22 Front Tire Changer
Clay Robinson (Simi Valley) – No. 24 Front Tire Changer
Doug Newell (Oxnard) – No. 83 Gas Man
Mike Morrison (Redding) – No. 07 Gas Man
Rich Gutierrez (Yorba Linda) – No. 48 Gas Man
Jeff Patterson (Escondido) – No. 20 Gas Man
Gabe Barajas (Saugus) – No. 22 Rear Tire Carrier
Don Schenkel (Long Beach) – No. 45 Rear Tire Carrier
Tom Hubert (Cottonwood) – No. 22 Rear Tire Changer
Chad Avrit (El Centro) – No. 84 Rear Tire Changer
Jeremy West (Harbor City) – No. 48 Rear Tire Changer
NASCAR Nationwide Series Wisconsin natives
Jon Hanson (Madison) – No. 88 Car /Truck Chief
Ethan Marquardt (Merrill) – No. 31 Front Tire Carrier
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Wisconsin natives
Darin Bavery (Edgerton) – No. 51 Car /Truck Chief
Richie Wauters (Green Bay) – No. 51 Crew Chief
Ethan Marquardt (Merrill) – No. 40 Front Tire Carrier
Jim Schneider – No. 07 Front Tire Carrier
Steven Tautges (Abbortsford) – No. 11 Front Tire Changer
Brandon Rekow – No. 21 Jack Man
NASCAR PR
Kyle Busch wins easily at Dover
DOVER, Del. – Same song, different verse.
Points leader Kyle Busch made mincemeat of the competition and a mockery of Sunday’s Best Buy 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Dover International Speedway.
In a race that stayed green for the final 153 laps, Busch gained a total of five seconds over runner-up Carl Edwards on his final two pit stops, built a lead that topped eight seconds and cruised in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to a 4.225-second win, his fourth of the season and the eighth of his career.
Polesitter Greg Biffle ran third, followed by Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon and Martin Truex Jr., as only six cars finished on the lead lap.
Busch grabbed the lead from Edwards during a cycle of green-flag pit stops that ended on Lap 237. NASCAR called a caution on Lap 243 for debris in Turn 2 — under which the leaders remained on the track — and after a restart on Lap 248, Edwards dogged Busch until both drivers brought their cars to the pits under green on Lap 319.
Busch gained almost three seconds on pit road and pulled away steadily for the next 60 laps before backing off in the closing circuits.
“We didn’t have the car to beat today,” said Busch, who expanded his lead in the championship standings over eighth-place finisher Jeff Burton to 142 points. “Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle did. But our guys on pit road (were) phenomenal — got us out front — and that’s what won the race for us. The guys that pitted this thing on pit road definitely won the race for us.”
Edwards acknowledged he was slow getting off pit road on his final stop, but he gained two positions to fourth in the Cup standings with the second-place finish.
“It’s not what we came here for, but the car was good today,” Edwards said. “I wish we could have put on a better show for the fans. I wish we could have had a caution there at the end — but Kyle deserved it.
Biffle led 164 laps to Busch’s 158, but he developed an ignition problem on Lap 169 and surrendered the lead to Edwards before switching to his second battery. Biffle ran the rest of the race without the use of air conditioning or brake fans in his car.
“The engine started missing, but we changed batteries, and it came back on line,” said Biffle, who vaulted six positions to fifth in the Cup standings. “We were just a little too tight all day. That’s really what the problem was.”
The monster that inhabits the Monster Mile woke up early Sunday. Seventeen laps into the race, contact in Turn 2 between David Gilliland and Elliott Sadler triggered an 11-car wreck that ruined the afternoon for Chase contenders Dale Earnhardt Jr. (35th), Clint Bowyer (36th), Kevin Harvick (38th), Tony Stewart (41st) and Denny Hamlin (43rd).
Earnhardt, who held third in the points standings (now 271 behind Busch), was the only one of those five drivers who didn’t lose at least three positions in the standings, though none of the drivers dropped out of the top 12.
Notes: Roush Fenway Racing put three cars in the top five – Edwards, Biffle and Kenseth – for the first time since July 2006 at New Hampshire. … Sam Hornish Jr. drove his No. 77 Dodge back into the top 35 in owner points with an 18th-place finish. The No. 66 Haas CNC Chevrolet, driven by Scott Riggs, suffered a 150-point penalty on Tuesday for a rear wing mount infraction May 24 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and fell to 36th in owner points.
Credit: By Reid Spencer, Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
