Daily NASCAR

As we approach the final stretch run of the 2010 Nationwide Series schedule, expect there to be more driver shuffling within Roush Fenway Racing’s NNS program.  We’re hearing that both Matt Kenseth and Erik Darnell will get starts in the team’s #16 Fords in the upcoming races.  Kenseth ran two NNS races for this team early in the season, and Darnell hasn’t made any starts in 2010.

We’ve talked quite a bit about the RFR Nationwide teams this season (here and here), because of the team’s commitment to developing drivers and because of the team’s turmoil.  What were supposed to be full seasons for both Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Colin Braun, have since turned into partial seasons.  A rash of bad luck, torn up equipment, and opportunities to run other drivers were the reasons why.  We’ve seen no less then five drivers make starts in the #6 and #16 (Stenhouse, Braun, Kenseth, Brian Ickler, and Billy Johnson), and Darnell will make it six.

If you’ll remember, Erik Darnell has been with the Roush organization since the 2004 season.  He was the winner of Roush’s famous “Gong Show” in 2005, which was televised that year and put on the Discovery Channel as “Driver X.”  Darnell then ran full seasons in the Truck Series for Roush from 2006 to 2008.  For the 2009 season he moved up to the Nationwide Series and split the #6 ride with driver David Ragan.  In 16 starts he earned two top five and five top ten finishes and had one pole.  He was also given the opportunity to run seven Cup Series races for Yates/Hall of Fame Racing in the #96 in place of Bobby Labonte, getting a best finish of 29th at Kansas.  A lack of sponsorship dollars has forced him to sit out much of the 2010 season.

Going forward, many questions still plague the RFR Nationwide program for the 2011 season.  We’ve heard that as of right now, the team may only run two cars next season, with Carl Edwards comitting to another full schedule.  The team will suffer with the loss of Paul Menard and his money to RCR/KHI for next season, and the struggles for both Braun and Stenhouse will probably mean the second car may be driven by a round robin of Cup and development drivers.

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And in turn making Chip Ganassi, Johnny Morris and Kevin Manion look pretty good.

Since returning to his old home at Ganassi Jamie McMurray looks like a new man. Just past the halfway point of the season he has won (or almost won) the three most prestigious events on the NASCAR schedule. McMurray’s got two wins, three poles, six top-fives, seven top-tens, and has led 228 laps (the most of any year in his career). Despite three DNF’s, and some bad luck, McMurray is having one of the best years of his career.

The same can’t be said for the guy McMurray replaced.

Martin Truex Jr. was folded into the Ganassi organization at the beginning of last season, and quickly established his desire to be somewhere else. By July of ’09 he had announced his intended move to Michael Waltrip Racing.

Truex, with very similar equipment and team personnel to McMurray (same engines, same crew chief, though some differing chassis) was lackluster at best last season. In the same year his teammate made the Chase, Truex was only able to take three poles, one top-five and six top-tens. He finished 23rd in the points. This season he’s running just slightly better with an average finish of 19.3.

And how about Jack Roush? He gets rid of McMurray and the kid starts winning. In fact, McMurray started winning before he left Roush – he has the most recent Roush and Ford Cup Series win.

At this moment Roush has three drivers in the Chase, and one 24th in the points (McMurray is 16th). I’m not saying Roush should have gotten rid of David Ragan, but it’s gotta stink to see McMurray over winning big races while they struggle to get over their performance hump.

All the above about Roush said, I don’t think you’ll hear too many arguments that McMurray’s move to Roush wasn’t for the best – on the same token, not too many are saying right now his move away from Roush (as if he had a choice) was bad.

One guy who was a Jamie McMurray skeptic coming into this season was sporting goods mogul Johnny Morris (CEO of Bass Pro Shops). It took some convincing to get Morris to go along with the plan – and let’s be honest, outdoorsman is not the first word that comes to mind when you think of Jamie McMurray.

Though maybe not the best ambassador of the brand off the track, McMurray has shown he has what it takes to represent Bass Pro Shops on track. If you saw victory lane on Sunday, you saw Morris is a skeptic no more. He has even taken Chip Ganassi and McMurray out hunting (I’ll bet that was interesting).

You never know how things are going to turn out. That is a fact of life. And the story of Jamie McMurray and Earnhardt Ganassi Racing are a prime example of that. Just ask Ty Norris.

“I don’t think the stability to be able to compete against the Hendricks and the Roushes and the Gibbses has been (at Earnhardt Ganassi) because it has been something different for six months, and fortunately for him, we offered (Martin Truex Jr.) a safe haven” – Ty Norris – July, 2009

My how things change.

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by Holly Cain

Filed under: Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, Daytona Int’l Speedway, NASCAR Crashes, Joe Gibbs Racing, NASCAR

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — By the time rain halted NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice Thursday night, a half dozen race cars sat hobbled in the garage while teams furiously prepared back-ups.

It was a wild first day out here at Daytona International Speedway thanks to a combination of an extremely slick track, unusually warm and humid weather conditions — even by Florida standards — and the largest restrictor plate ever used on this famous 2.5-mile superspeedway.

Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, Reed Sorenson, David Ragan, Joey Logano, Carl Edwards and Kasey Kahne were among those involved in practice session accidents. All but Edwards will use back-up cars in Friday afternoon’s qualifying for Saturday’s Coke Zero 400 here.

“I guess when we come to the superspeedway, we should prepare our back-up cars more than the primary,” said an exasperated Hamlin, who was hit from behind by his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch, triggering a five-car accident that also collected Reed Sorenson, Robert Richardson Jr. and Stewart with just less than an hour remaining in the evening session.

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Even though the top three NASCAR series were off on Sunday, there was no shortage of racing going on.  At Iowa Speedway, the annual East/West showdown between the two K&N Pro Series took place, and the ARCA cars descended on Toledo Speedway for the first of two events this season.  At Iowa, Joe Gibbs Racing development driver Max Gresham won his second straight race, beating Richard Childress’ grandson Ty Dillon to the line by .039 seconds.  In Toledo, Roush Fenway Racing development driver Chris Buescher outlasted Joey Coulter, and veterans Frank Kimmel, Ken Schrader and Matt Crafton to win his first ever ARCA race.

By winning at Iowa, Gresham added his name to a pretty impressive list of past winners of the dual series event.  Kyle Busch, Brian Ickler, and Joey Logano are all past winners.  Gresham is a rookie running for the championship this season in the K&N Pro Series East and he is also scheduled to make select starts in the ARCA Series.

Gresham, a 17 year old from Griffin, GA, was running Legends cars at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway only 4 years ago, and is already a decorated racer.  After graduating to latemodels in 2007 , he finished fifth in the Georgia Asphalt Series points in 2008, and won two races last year in the ASA Southeast Tour.  With two K&N wins already this season, the future looks very bright.

Buescher took no time this weekend showing his competition that he was at Toledo to win.  His #17 Ford was fastest in practice on Saturday, and he followed that up by sitting on the pole before he led 126 of 200 laps in route to his first ARCA win.  The 17 year old driver from Prosper, TX won in just his ninth ARCA start, and had help from Cup Series driver David Ragan.  After running the Sprint Showdown on Saturday night in Charlotte, Ragan boarded a plane and flew to Toledo to spot for Buescher.

Also a graduate of Legends cars, Buescher ran a part time ARCA schedule last season for the Roulo Bros. Racing team.  In seven starts, he had one pole, three top five, and six top ten finishes.  He is running another partial ARCA schedule this season.  And if his last name looks familiar, it should.  Buescher is the cousin of current Truck Series driver James Buescher.

From time to time here at TNI we like to point out a few young drivers to keep your eye on.  Driver development is certainly in inexact science, but Buescher and Gresham might be two names you will be hearing for many years to come.  They are both showing right now that they have the talent to compete with the best.

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Hmm, and Jimmie Johnson’s Chevy is carrying what paint scheme, exactly? Kobalt Tools 500.

Where it’s a tad chilly, but, thank goodness, the skies are clear: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Ga.

Big guns: Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin, Juan Pablo Montoya, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne.

Long shots: Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Jeff Burton, Ryan Newman, Martin Truex Jr., Brian Vickers, Elliott Sadler, David Reutimann, Jamie McMurray, Scott Speed, David Ragan, Brad Keselowski, Marcos Ambrose and A.J. Allmendinger.

The hunch here: Kyle Busch.

Just the facts, please

- Though this track was reshaped and reversed (the front straight) in 1997, its distance changed only slightly: from 1.522 to 1.54 miles. Originally named Atlanta International Raceway, the name was changed to Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1990.

- The track opened in 1960. Fireball Roberts both won and started on the pole in the first race.

- The all-time leading winner is Dale Earnhardt, who won here nine times. Cale Yarborough won seven. Richard Petty and Bobby Labonte are tied with six career victories.

-The most recent driver to win here after starting on the pole was Kasey Kahne in 2006.

- Though Geoff Bodine’s track record still stands (197.478 mph, Nov. 15, 1997), Earnhardt Jr.’s pole speed (192.761) was significantly higher than last year’s (Mark Martin, 187.045). It was the fastest qualifying speed at any track since the generic car was implemented.

- Bill Elliott has won more Cup races (44) than any other driver from Georgia. Five of the wins were here.

Snappy quotes

"This has been a really, really slick race track for a long time." - Jeff Burton.

"Forty is the new 30, anyway. That’s what I’m going with." - David Reutimann, who turned 40 on March 2.

"If I thought we’re softening up the competition in some way, shape, or form, it would be foolish on our part." - Jimmie Johnson.

"We might be in the top 10, but we’re not running as well as we need to be running." - Carl Edwards.

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