Fantasy Pick’Em: 2010 Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen
This week the Sprint Cup Series ends its 2010 road course sojourn with a trip to western New York and Watkins Glen International. Home of fine wines and fast cars, the track hosts this weekend’s Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen.
I attended the IZOD IndyCar Series race at the Glen earlier this year, and let me say that any traveling race fan that hasn’t experienced a weekend at the track doesn’t know what they’re missing. Watkins Glen is a quaint little town with all the amenities and brand names one could ask for, and the track provides fans with many prime spots from which to watch a race. And if you were impressed by the show that IndyCar put on, just imagine multiplying the crowds and fanfare by a significant number, and you have an American race fan’s dream.
So who’s going to take the checkers this weekend?
History (and a 5.3 average finish) suggest that Tony Stewart is the man to beat this weekend. Stewart has an incredible five wins in 11 Glen starts, and nine top-10s. Of his two worse finishes, one was an 11th place. He’s never failed to complete a lap there, much less accrue a DNF, making him the undisputed king of the track.
I’m not sure if you can call Marcos Ambrose a total dark horse at the Glen, seeing as his average finish is 2.5, but he’s never sealed the deal in a Cup race, and a killer mistake at Infineon robbed him of what should have been much closer to a victory, suggesting that he and his team still have a little way to go to pull it off. Ambrose has taken the checkers in Nationwide races at the Glen, though, and it will be interesting to see if his apparent mastery of the track will offset any doldrums that come with being a lame-duck driver at a midpack team with bad luck thus far.
Three more, because tradition says so:
Mark Martin’s got three Glen wins in 20 starts and hasn’t failed to complete a lap there since 1986 (excluding the 2007 and 2008 races, which he skipped). The wins came during an incredible three-year stretch from 1993 to 1995, where he won the pole and led 183 of a possible 270 laps. There are just as many knocks on him, though. First of all, this has been a tough year for the team; second, he hasn’t led a lap at the Glen in his past seven starts; finally, his last two Glen finishes have been 20th and 23rd, respectively. Pick carefully.
Robby Gordon is always a threat at the Glen, having scored seven top five finishes in 11 starts and a win in 2003. Normally the only knock against Gordon is failed alternate pit strategy that doesn’t work out in the end. Fans can always count on the independent to put on a good show, especially with the added data from a second, P.J. Jones-piloted car each time the series turns both ways.
Finally, A.J. Allmendinger is a decent pick that can be expected to exceed his previous finishes at the Glen – 11th and 13th in two career starts. The ex-Champ Car star’s future is now set at Richard Petty Motorsports, with a multi-year contract extension in place, and the confidence that comes with being the team’s new number one driver should allow him to open up a little this weekend and show off the road course talent that convinced Red Bull to bring him to stock cars in the first place a few years ago.
Johnson wins, Ambrose doesn’t at Sonoma
After Marcos Ambrose made what turned out to be a mistake that could have cost him his first Sprint Cup Series victory during the final caution with seven laps to go, Jimmie Johnson took advantage of the mistake to win his first race at Sonoma and first road course race of his Cup Series career.
Ambrose restarted the race in the seventh position after he his engine would restart going up the hill to turn three when he shut his engine off to conserve fuel. However, NASCAR rules state that cars must maintain pace car speed during a caution; otherwise they will lose their position.
Johnson’s win came on a father’s day — a day that he will soon celebrate as he and his wife Chandra are expecting their first child in a month — and his mother’s birthday.
“I’ve been working really hard to get better as a road course driver,” Johnson said. “I have to thank Bob Stallings and Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty and Kyle Brannan and all the guys at GAINSCO Racing who have been working with me and letting me come and run their Grand Am car. It has been a big help. On top of that Hendrick Motorsports has been working so hard to get better at this stuff. We tested again and again and again and we are getting better. I’m getting better and we have all the tools here. Just an awesome day.”
Robby Gordon finished the race second after starting 16th.
“We came here to win the race,” Gordon said. “But second place is pretty darn close to winning it.
“My team needs a little bit of morale here and there. This will boost morale back at the workshop. I will say that we will come to Watkins Glen guns blazing. We’ll get a lot of confidence going into the Glen and spend a bunch of time getting more rear grip. At the end of the day, that’s what we struggled on with Jimmie.”
Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top-five finishers at Sonoma. Ambrose wound up finishing sixth after his mistake.
“I had the motor turned off trying to save a bit of fuel and just had trouble getting it fired again,” Ambrose said. ” … I’m disappointed, but NASCAR calls the shots. I was leading the race and I just had trouble getting the motor cranked back up a little bit there.”
Greg Biffle, Boris Said, Tony Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya were the rest of the top-ten finishers.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who has publicly addressed his dislike for Sonoma in the past, finished 11th after starting the race 24th and racing in the latter half of the field for much of the race. With the finish, he gained some points on the 12th place cutoff for the Chase that is now ten weeks away. He remains in the 14th point position, trailing the cutoff line by 51 points.
Third place finisher Harvick continues to lead the Sprint Cup Series points standings by 140 points over Johnson.
This Week in NASCAR: McGrew’s crew chief stint with Earnhardt one year old
This weekend’s race at Dover International Raceway marks the one-year anniversary since Lance McGrew became the crew chief of Dale Earnhardt Jr. McGrew replaced Earnhardt’s cousin and long-time crew chief Tony Eury Jr., who later moved over to Earnhardt’s Nationwide Series team, JR Motorsports, to become a part-owner and a crew chief.
So far, the change has appeared to work for the better, with Earnhardt currently sitting 12th in points compared to 18th in points one year ago.
“A lot of building blocks would be the best way to describe it,” McGrew said. “There’s been some good and some bad. I feel like we are finally getting to a place where I like the structure of the team, the way the guys are working together and how things get done in the race shop. I think we’ve seen flashes of that this year where we have run really, really well. I hate that we had issues at Richmond (Va.) and Darlington. It’s not as long of strides as I would like to have made, but the foundation is very, very good.”
Buescher leaves Phoenix Racing
NASCAR Nationwide Series rookie James Buescher has announced that he will part ways with Phoenix Racing, effective immediately, and focus solely on his Camping World Truck Series efforts with Turner Motorsports.
“It was a great opportunity presented to me to drive for Phoenix Racing and I appreciate everything that we were able to do at the beginning of this season,” Buescher said. “Unfortunately, things didn’t mesh as smoothly as we had hoped and I wish them nothing but the best. I feel that it is better for me to concentrate on my Truck Series opportunity with Turner Motorsports and I’m really excited to be back in the series full-time. We had an awesome Chevrolet in Kansas a couple weeks ago and were able to run up front which felt great. I’m confident that we can go to the track for the rest of the year and be in contention for wins.”
Dover fan attending race for 42nd consecutive year
Jack Hoenstine, 78, of Queen, Pa. has purchased tickets at Dover International Speedway to witness his 42nd consecutive race at the track.
Hoenstine says he doesn’t go to Dover for their horse race track, he goes for the “gas burners.”
“I’ve been to the 300 milers, the 500 milers, and now the 400 milers,” Hoenstine said. “They’ve got a horse race track there at Dover, but I go for the gas burners, not the hay burners.”
Hoenstine hasn’t missed a race at Dover since 1969.
“I’ve been to hundreds of NASCAR races over the years, too many to even count,” Hoenstine said. “My sister-in-law asked me, ‘My goodness, Jack, what if you saved all that money instead?’ Well, I wouldn’t have seen all them races, met the drivers, fans I’ve come to know, and had such a good time. I’ve always wanted to enjoy life, and NASCAR’s been a big part of that.”
Keyed Up Motorsports suspends operations
Team owner Raymond Key announced Wednesday that his Sprint Cup Series team, Keyed Up Motorsports, would cease operations until further sponsorship could be found for the car. The team announced earlier this month that they would enter the Sprint Cup Series All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, however they have taken these events off of the schedule.
Key also said that the “Fan Car” program they announced last week would be ceased immediately. Refunds will be given to those that signed up for the program.
“We look forward to returning to the schedule,” stated owner Raymond Key. “At this time we are taking a break from the schedule and working on securing sponsorship for future races.” Keyed-Up has not participated in an event since the Phoenix race in April, where driver Scott Riggs finished 28th. Riggs maintained a top-25 position with three laps to go when a right front tire blew, causing the final caution of the night. “I was very happy with Scott’s performance at Phoenix,” added Key, “and I welcome him back to the drivers’ seat when we return to the schedule.”
The team has been adamant that they will not “start and park” in order to earn money. “Start and park” is a term widely used in NASCAR to describe a car that doesn’t intend to run the full event and parks the car usually before the first pit stop to collect prize money.
Two teams penalized for Richmond rules violations
NASCAR has penalized the No. 7 and No. 55 Sprint Cup Series teams for rules violations found during pre-race and post-race inspections last weekend at Richmond International Raceway.
Crew chief Samuel Stanley, of the No. 7 Robby Gordon Motorsports team, has been fined $25,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31 after the No. 7 Ford was found to have unapproved additional door braces, which was found during opening inspection on May 7. Robby Gordon, both driver and owner of the car, will be penalized 25 driver and owner points for the violation.
An incorrect tooth count on the final driving gear caused for a $25,000 penalty for Zachary McGowan, crew chief for the No. 55 team. The violation will cause the loss of 25 driver points from driver Michael McDowell and 25 owner points from team owner Randy Humphrey. McGowan will also be placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31.
No. 38 Nationwide team penalized for Richmond violations
NASCAR has penalized the No. 38 Braun Racing Toyota team after inspectors found that the team was using and unapproved left front shock absorber during post-race inspection on May 7.
Crew chief Stewart Cooper is being fined $10,000. Driver Kasey Kahne will lose 25 Nationwide Series driver points with team owner Ralph Braun losing 25 Nationwide Series owner points.
Notebook: Hamlin, Martin touch off big wreck
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—Denny Hamlin got into the back of Mark Martin’s car in Budweiser Shootout practice Thursday night, igniting a seven-car crash at Daytona International Speedway.
Hamlin hit Martin about 35 minutes into the opening practice, and the ensuing crash resulted in Hamlin, Martin, Greg Biffle, Jamie McMurray and Kevin Harvick all going to backup cars. Harvick, who is sick with flu-like symptoms, had Clint Bowyer in his car for practice. Also collected were Kyle Busch and Joey Logano.
Kurt Busch crashed in the second practice and also will use a backup car in Saturday night’s race.
“It probably was a case of both us anticipating—it looked like he was going to try to squeeze in on the outside of me, so I made an effort to give him a line and he anticipated to get behind me,” Martin said. “If either one of us had just anticipated something else, it wouldn’t have happened.
“I was making an effort to be on the cautious side, and I think Denny did, too. And in this particular case, it created a situation where we came together. If just one of us would have been a little bit wilder, maybe it wouldn’t have happened.”
Hamlin saw it pretty much the same way.
“I was trying to be cautious,” Hamlin said. “You got two things going together—him at the last minute trying to check up and be cautious, me at the last minute trying to get behind him. Anytime there’s a check-up point down the straightaway, it’s going to happen.
“The cars are really unstable when you get close to each other. I’m not sure if it’s better or worse than in years past, but it’s definitely a lot different.”
Robby Gordon won’t be full time in 2010
Robby Gordon has spent the past eight seasons running a full-time Sprint Cup schedule, but he doesn’t plan on running a full 2010 season.
His Robby Gordon Motorsports will field a car in every race, at times in association with BAM Racing, but Gordon said Thursday he likely won’t be in the seat for each event. He wouldn’t reveal his entire 2010 schedule but did say the Indianapolis 500 is a possibility.
“The 7 car will run every race, but I might not be in it,” said Gordon, who was 26th in points in 2007 but has been 33rd and 34th the past two years. “We’ve got some big stuff coming up next week that we’re going to talk about. We’ve got a lot of good stuff on our plate. I’d rather be in this position than the other position wondering what I’m going to do.
“I think we’re just going to end up having more stuff than I can actually fit in a single season.”
Around the track …
Lynda Petty, wife of NASCAR legend Richard Petty, has been diagnosed with central nervous system lymphoma and will undergo treatments at Duke University Medical Center. “The doctors and our family are very optimistic that the treatment for this cancer will be successful,” Richard Petty said. … Texas Motor Speedway received approval from NASCAR to move the start times of its two Cup races this season to 2 p.m. Central Time. Both events were originally scheduled for noon. The move came after TMS petitioned NASCAR on behalf of its fans requesting a later start time and to avoid potential logistical issues posed by the earlier start. … Jeff Gordon confirmed Thursday that his wife, Ingrid, is pregnant with their second child. The baby is due in August, Gordon said. Gordon and Ingrid had their first child, Ella, in 2007.
Robby Gordon Clinches Off-Road Title
(Robby Gordon Motorsports PR)
Following a dominating season, Robby Gordon and the No. 77 Monster Energy / Toyo Tires team were named the 2009 Overall Series and Trophy Truck division Champion for the Tecate SCORE International Off-Road Racing Series. Gordon clinched the championship with his top-five finish in the Baja 1000 on Saturday, November 21st.
Throughout the 2009 Tecate SCORE International Off-Road Racing season, Gordon raced in all five events and finished in the top-ten in each race. Additionally, Gordon actually scored two wins throughout the five race season. The 2009 Tecate SCORE International Off-Road season kicked off in January with the Laughlin Desert Challenge where Gordon dominated the competition, winning the unique two-day event. Gordon returned to victory lane following the PRIMM 300 in early September, when he missed the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event in Richmond, VA.
“I’m so pleased with the progress Robby Gordon Off-Road made throughout the 2009 SCORE International Off-Road season,” commented Gordon. “When the season began, we didn’t even know that we were going to compete in the entire season. But after winning the Laughlin Desert Challenge in such dominating fashion, we knew that we could make a run for the championship. The guys did a great job continually building and preparing the trophy truck, which made it easy to run upfront. I’m very proud of our success. Returning to my roots to win two of five races is great, but capturing the championship is very exciting and rewarding. The entire Robby Gordon Off-Road team is extremely thankful for such great sponsors. Because of the support of Monster Energy and Toyo Tires, we have experienced great success this season.”
45 cars on Sprint Cup Series entry list for California
NASCAR’s preliminary entry list shows 45 entries for this weekend’s Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway which is race number 30 of 36 on the Sprint Cup Series schedule and is the fourth chase race.
In all, there are seven Fords, nine Dodges, 14 Toyota and 15 Chevrolets.
Ten drivers that have entered the race have won a race at Auto Club Speedway before. Those drivers are Carl Edwards (spring-2008), Elliott Sadler (fall-2004), Greg Biffle (spring-2005), Jeff Gordon (spring-1997, spring-1999, spring-2004) , Jimmie Johnson (spring-2002, fall-2007, fall-2008), Kasey Kahne (fall-2006), Kurt Busch (spring-2003), Kyle Busch (fall-2005), Mark Martin (spring-1998) and Matt Kenseth (spring-2006, spring-2007, spring-2009).
Ten drivers will have to qualify into the race based on their speed during Friday afternoon’s qualifying session. Those drivers are Dave Blaney, David Gilliland, Joe Nemechek, Kevin Hamlin, Mike Bliss, Max Papis, Michael McDowell, Mike Wallace, Regan Smith and Scott Speed.
The weekend begins with a practice session Friday at 4 p.m. ET and will be televised live on SPEED. Qualifying will also take place Friday, beginning at 6:40 p.m. ET and will also be televised live on SPEED.
Saturday holds two Sprint Cup Series practice sessions. The first of the day and second of the weekend begins 4 p.m. ET. The second practice of the day and final of the weekend will follow at 2:45 p.m. ET. Television coverage of the final practice will be shown on tape-delay and will begin at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
The green flag is expected to wave at approximatley 3:31 p.m. ET.
Gilliland to drive second RGM car at Kansas
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series entry list now shows David Gilliland as the driver of the No. 04 Toyota of Robby Gordon Motorsports. Gilliland subbed for Robby Gordon and the No. 7 team earlier this season and has spent most of the year with TRG Motorsports.
Gordon is still on the entry list with the No. 7 MAPEI/Menards Toyota for the race, making Gilliland the second Robby Gordon Motorsports car on the 46-car entry list for the Price Chopper 400 at Kansas Speedway this weekend.
Gilliland will have to qualify for the race based on his time during Friday afternoon’s qualifying session.
The team has not made a formal announcement on the matter. Doug Richert will be the crew chief for this weekend.
Jim Beam follows Jack Daniel’s out of NASCAR
One day after Jack Daniel’s announced it was leaving NASCAR, Beam Global Spirits and Wine Inc., maker of Jim Beam bourbon, announced Tuesday it will not extend its sponsorship with Robby Gordon Motorsports beyond this season and will not return to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2010.
The company says it plans to focus its marketing resources on other platforms.
Jack Daniel’s announced Monday it would not extend its sponsorship with Richard Childress Racing’s No. 07 team. Brown-Forman, Jack Daniel’s parent company, and Beam entered NASCAR in 2005 when NASCAR lifted its sponsorship ban on distillers.
“It was a difficult decision to transition away from being a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team sponsor,” said Bill Newlands, president of Beam Global Spirits and Wine U.S. “We always take a hard look at our marketing resources and how we can best interact with legal-purchase-age consumers. After an extensive review of our marketing strategy, we have come up with new alternatives to fuel growth for Jim Beam in 2010.”
The company will continue its sponsorship of the team and owner/driver Robby Gordon for the remainder of this season.
“Jim Beam has been a great partner for the past five years,” Gordon said. “I would like to thank them for their support through the years. They have been with me since we started the team in 2005, helping build our Cup team and aiding in its success.”
Chart of the week: Winning percentage
Kyle Busch’s victory in last Saturday’s Sprint Cup race at Bristol was his 16th in 174 Cup starts, which moved him ahead of Carl Edwards in winning percentage. As the chart shows, Jimmie Johnson has the best Cup winning percentage among active drivers (eighth overall), followed closely by Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon. The chart is comprised only of drivers with at least 100 Cup starts.
| Rk. | Overall Rank | Drivers | Wins | Races | Win. pct. |
| 1. | 8 | Jimmie Johnson | 43 | 279 | 15.41 |
| 2. | 10 | Jeff Gordon | 82 | 569 | 14.41 |
| 3. | 24 | Tony Stewart | 36 | 380 | 9.47 |
| 4. | 26 | Kyle Busch | 16 | 174 | 9.20 |
| 5. | 27 | Carl Edwards | 16 | 181 | 8.84 |
| 6. | 36 | Kurt Busch | 19 | 316 | 6.01 |
| 7. | 38 | Greg Biffle | 14 | 246 | 5.69 |
| 8. | 40 | Bill Elliott | 44 | 804 | 5.47 |
| 9. | 42 | Mark Martin | 39 | 746 | 5.23 |
| 10. | 43 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 18 | 351 | 5.13 |
| 11. | 44 | Matt Kenseth | 18 | 352 | 5.11 |
| 12. | 47 | Kasey Kahne | 10 | 204 | 4.90 |
| 13. | 50 | Ryan Newman | 13 | 284 | 4.58 |
| 14. | 53 | Jeff Burton | 21 | 535 | 3.93 |
| 15. | 56 | Bobby Labonte | 21 | 570 | 3.68 |
| 16. | 57 | Denny Hamlin | 5 | 139 | 3.60 |
| 17. | 58 | Kevin Harvick | 11 | 310 | 3.55 |
| 18. | 62 | Terry Labonte | 22 | 864 | 2.55 |
| 19. | 68 | Clint Bowyer | 2 | 133 | 1.50 |
| 20. | 75 | Brian Vickers | 2 | 196 | 1.02 |
| 21. | 79 | Robby Gordon | 3 | 330 | 0.91 |
| 22. | 81 | Jamie McMurray | 2 | 246 | 0.81 |
| 23. | 83 | Elliott Sadler | 3 | 381 | 0.79 |
| 24. | 82 | Joe Nemechek | 4 | 509 | 0.79 |
| 25. | 86 | Martin Truex Jr. | 1 | 141 | 0.71 |
| 26. | 94 | Michael Waltrip | 4 | 747 | 0.54 |
| 27. | 95 | John Andretti | 2 | 380 | 0.53 |
| 28. | 100 | Casey Mears | 1 | 240 | 0.42 |
Is the ‘ringer factor’ still relevant?
How do you flesh out the entry list for a NASCAR Sprint Cup race?
Hold it on a road course.
On the circuits where right turns won’t necessarily get you in trouble, you’ll routinely see drivers who rarely appear on the staple of stock car racing—the ovals.
Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen won’t be an exception, with P.J. Jones, Ron Fellows and Brian Simo entered in the race. Sports car ace Andy Lally will make his Cup debut in a second car fielded by Kevin Buckler. For the second time this season, Patrick Carpentier will take the wheel from Michael Waltrip for a road-course event.
Not that long ago, the so-called road-course “ringers” were capable of contending for victories in Cup races. Fellows has come closest, having finished second at Watkins Glen in 1999 and 2004. If the ringers were a factor, so were the Cup drivers with polished road-racing skills—but you didn’t need two hands to count them.
Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Ricky Rudd, Tony Stewart and Robby Gordon invariably appeared at the top of the list of favorites to win on a road course.
Recently, however, road-course events have been much more competitive. It still helps to have a road-racing background, as Marcos Ambrose proved by driving from the rear to consecutive third-place finishes in the most recent races at Watkins Glen and Infineon Raceway. But road-course skills are no longer a guarantee of relative success, as Fellows and Boris Said have found in recent races.
Yes, testing and practice have improved skill levels throughout the field, and yes, drivers from oval backgrounds are far less hesitant to mix it up with the ringers than they used to be. If there’s one factor, however, that has taken an advantage away from the ringers and road-course savvy Cup drivers, it’s NASCAR’s new racecar.
That, at least, is the way Jeff Gordon sees it.
“Yeah, I think this car has closed up the gap quite a bit,” Gordon said. “It’s just hard to have much of an edge over the competition anywhere we go, and it shows up as well on the road courses. Everything NASCAR has done has really put us into a box as far as our transmissions and obviously with the car.”
Perhaps coincidentally, Gordon hasn’t won on a road course since 2006. The new car has been in use on road courses ever since. Then again, Gordon was leading at the Glen two years ago when he spun in Turn 1 with two laps left, in essence handing the victory to Stewart.
“For me, if I get out in front, don’t wheel-hop getting into Turn 1 and spin out with two or three laps to go—that’s what I’m going to be working on,” Gordon said facetiously.
Notebook: Practice crash sends Stewart to the rear
LONG POND, Pa.—Friday’s qualifying rainout gave Sprint Cup points leader Tony Stewart the top starting spot for Sunday’s Pocono 500.
A Saturday practice crash in Turn 2 at Pocono Raceway took the position away.
The rear end of Stewart’s No. 14 Chevrolet stepped out as he entered Tunnel Turn (Turn 2) during the first Cup practice session Saturday morning. Stewart slid through the infield grass at the exit of the corner and damaged the front end of his car so severely that it could not be repaired in time for the final session.
Forced to go to a backup car for Sunday’s race, Stewart must drop to the rear before the field takes the green flag. The backup car is chassis No. 450, which Stewart drove to a 26th-place finish (his worst of the year) at Las Vegas.
“I went off into the grass, but I hit the right front of the splitter with, I guess, one of those access roads or something and ripped the whole nose off of it,” Stewart said.
Before the incident, Stewart had posted the third fastest time in the first practice. After switching to the backup car for Happy Hour, he was sixth fastest in the session.
“This car will be good,” Stewart promised.
PRACTICE IS A GOOD PREDICTOR AT POCONO
Practice times on Saturday often don’t provide an accurate indication of who will be fast on Sunday. Greg Biffle says Pocono is an exception — and he’s happy about it.
“We think the track is going to be pretty similar tomorrow, maybe a little slicker than it is now,” Biffle said Saturday after posting the third fastest time in final Cup practice. “So I really feel like these times are going to translate over to (Sunday).
“The guys are pretty happy with the lap times. … They think we have a top-five car, and that’s good for us here. The car’s handling decent. We’ll look to see if we can improve it at all for (Sunday) and be ready to go.”
Biffle’s only top-five finish in 12 starts at Pocono came in 2004.
SHORT STROKES
Robby Gordon will be joining Stewart at the rear of the field for the start of Sunday’s race, but not because of a car or engine change. Gordon was in and around Ensenada, Mexico on Saturday, competing with co-driver Andy Grider in the Baja 500 off-road race in his No. 77 Chevrolet trophy truck. While Gordon was racing in the Mexican desert, Travis Kvapil practiced the No. 7 Toyota at Pocono, where he was 34th fastest in Happy Hour. … Thanks to a late entry on the part of the Larry Gunselman team that was fielding a car for driver Mike Wallace, Dexter Bean will make his Cup debut Sunday in the No. 51 Dodge. Bean was the last driver in the field under NASCAR’s rainout rules.
Robby Gordon penalized for rules infraction
Owner/driver Robby Gordon has been penalized 50 championship owner points and 50 championship driver points for a rear axle housing infraction discovered by NASCAR inspectors after Monday’s rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, in which Gordon finished third.
Kirk Almquist, crew chief of the No. 7 Toyota driven by Gordon, was fined $50,000 for the violation. Specifically, the rear axle housing exceeded the allowable toe of plus or minus one degree. In layman’s terms, the axle was canted too far to the right, which can facilitate corner entry and improve a car’s ability to turn through the corner.
Believing there might be an issue with the housing, based on post-race inspection at LMS, NASCAR impounded the part and took it to the research-and-development center in Concord, N.C., for further examination. The penalties were announced Wednesday afternoon.
Gordon earned $208,985 for his third-place finish, which he earned by staying on the track under caution after rain hit the speedway. When the rain persisted, NASCAR called the race after 227 laps.
NASCAR also announced on Wednesday that Andrew Crnkovic, a crew member for the No. 07 team in the Camping World Truck Series, has been suspended indefinitely for violation of NASCAR’s substance abuse policy, based on findings from a drug test administered during Sprint All-Star Race weekend (May 15-16).
Chad McCumbee, who drives the No. 07 Green Light Racing Chevrolet, finished 15th in the May 15 trucks race at LMS.
NASCAR Confiscates Robby Gordon’s Rear Axle Housing
During post-race inspection, NASCAR found a possible issue with the rear axle housing on the No. 7 Jim Beam/Operation Home Front Toyota driven by Robby Gordon, who finished third in the Coca-Cola 600.
NASCAR will take the housing to their Research and Development Center for further examination this weekend.
If NASCAR finds a violation, forthcoming penalties will be announced later this week.
Gordon used pit strategy and stayed out on the final caution of the day before NASCAR called the event.
“Didn’t know how many people were going to stay out,” Gordon said of his race. “Obviously, Ryan’s crew was on their game, so was Reutimann, on theirs. We were probably a 15th place car. Ran with Kyle for a long time on that one long run.
“When you start back in the back, it’s just hard to pass. We worked our way, like I said, up to 18th at one point. We were running 20th when that caution came out.”
Traditionally, NASCAR announces penalty infractions on Tuesday. However, since the race was not run until Monday and NASCAR is holding a special driver and team only meeting on Tuesday, the penalties may not come until later on in the week.
RGM Gets Sponsorship from SPOT for Bristol
Robby Gordon Motorsports announced today that SPOT, a subsidiary of Globalstar Inc., will sponsor the No. 7 team for the Food City 500 this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.
SPOT, the world’s first Satellite GPS Messenger sends the user’s GPS location and select message over a global satellite network to a group of contacts or an emergency rescue coordination center. Because SPOT uses satellite technology it works regardless of cellular service availability from virtually anywhere around the world.
“SPOT is proud to team up with Robby Gordon, a true entrepreneur, adventurist and creative force in automotive racing and one of the most versatile drivers in the entire world of motorsport,” said Tom Colby, chief operating officer of Globalstar Inc. and president of SPOT LLC. “Our growth will continue to be supported with new marketing initiatives. This partnership is an exciting opportunity to connect with NASCAR fans and increase our brand visibility in a highly relevant market. Robby’s passion, commitment and knowledge for motorsports are second to none and SPOT welcomes his enthusiasm as a brand advocate for our product.”
