Daily NASCAR

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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Jeff Gordon led 154 laps at the Shelby American, a track record. But Jimmie Johnson led the laps that counted most.

Just to keep my attention focused, I’ve taken, when I’m not actually at the track, to writie a "stream of consciousness" blog on the race while watching it on TV. Here are my impressions of the Shelby American at Las Vegas Motor Speedway:

In the prerace show, Larry McReynolds says something is a "point in case." As a friend points out, it was at this track six years ago when McReynolds said, "That’s like Samson and Goliath," or some such.

Kevin Conway’s race isn’t Xtenzed. He spins on the third lap. (We shall see him spin again.)

I know Twitter’s big, but don’t you think there are a lot of fans out there who don’t know what the various telecasters are talking about?

I wonder if A.J. Allmendinger knew growing up that if his name appeared in a baseball box score, it would be "Allmndngr." And if that had anything to do with him deciding to drive race cars? Probably not.

Quite the Jeff Gordon runaway so far.

Man, talk about "round up the usual suspects." Look at how the top 10 is converging (after 75 laps): Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

They aren’t clicking up their heels at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. Teammates Jamie McMurray and Juan Montoya tangle (maybe they thought there were racing with Felix Sabates). McMurray says, essentially, "my bad." Kurt Busch is an unwitting victim.

Montoya toasts (not in the sense of complimenting, but, rather, setting his ears on fire) McMurray on television. I think this week’s "Feud of the Week" (on NASCAR This Week) is etched in stone. Though, it is early yet.

Can’t help but wonder if NASCAR would ever penalize a driver for being too slow on pit road.

Darrell Waltrip says he can’t remember the last time Gordon led 154 laps in a single race (which he’s already done in Vegas). I don’t know, either, but he led 147 last spring at Martinsville. I could look it up further, but I’d rather watch this race right now. Besides, if he wins, someone else will look it up. Someone who’s not in his living room.

D.W.’s put his minions to work. Gordon led more than 150 twice in 2007.

Nineteen cars just got a lap back by the "wave-around." What a joke. Thirty-five laps to go.

Another dominant day for Chevrolet: Johnson, Harvick, Gordon, Martin, then Kenseth in a Ford, Logano in a Toyota and Stewart in another Chevy. Odd that it took making the cars just alike to allow one make to dominate as much as any time in history.

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David Reutimann is sometimes cited as something of a specialist at intermediate-sized tracks like Las Vegas Motor Speedway, site of the Shelby American.

Reutimann, though, is hardly at home in the gambling mecca.

Asked if he knew the odds of his winning, according to the casinos, Reutimann said, "I do need to go look and see where I’m at. I don’t bet on anything, but just to see where I am.

"The first couple years, it was kind of depressing the odds they had of me doing anything. I quit looking. You can bet on anything and everything. I generally don’t because I have enough things to spend money on besides that."

Reutimann had a fine excuse for missing fellow driver Martin Truex Jr.’s charity poker tournament.

"I don’t know how to play poker," he said. "I just made a donation to his foundation and figured that was the best way for me. If I went and played poker, someone would have to sit next to me and tell me what to do next. I figured I’d save everybody the hassle."

* * *

THE VEGAS NUMBERS–Out of the top 12 drivers in Sprint Cup points, two races into the season, only five have ever won at LVMS. Surprising few, Jimmie Johnson leads with three victories and a 113.6 driver rating.

Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth have each won twice in Vegas, while Carl Edwards has one victory. The second highest driver rating, 103.9, belongs to Greg Biffle, who has never won and has finished in the top five only once in six races.

Burton is the only active driver with a single-digit average finish (9.8) at the 1.5-mile track.

* * *

TIME TO SCORE–So far, the improvement of Richard Childress Racing has been noteworthy. Its drivers are first (Kevin Harvick), second (Clint Bowyer) and fifth (Burton) in points.

But it’s been a long time since those drivers visited victory lane. Harvick has gone 109 races since winning. Bowyer’s streak is 64 and Burton’s 43.

"We worked hard to get to this point," said Harvick, "but you can’t stop. With the three of us running well, it pushes us to fine-tune our stuff and really get the best out of our cars week in and week out."

Victory, presumably, will follow.

* * *

BUSCH BOYS– Kyle Busch won last year’s edition of the race now called the Shelby American. His brother, Kurt, starts on the pole. Both are Las Vegas natives.

"I’ve always dreamed about winning the race here at our home track," said Kurt, whose average finish at LVMS is only 20.4. "We had a strong car last year until we had engine problems. As everyone knows, you have to be there at the end. Kyle drove a great race and saved the best for last."

* * *

OFT POWERFUL THERE–Jack Roush, whose most recent victory came from a driver he doesn’t have anymore (Jamie McMurray), has won more races at this track than any other owner. He has six victories to Rick Hendrick’s four.

Mark Martin and Jeff Burton, now driving Chevrolets, won their Vegas races in Roush-owned Fords. Kenseth and Edwards are the current Roush Fenway drivers who have won at the track.
 

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by Holly Cain

Filed under: Kevin Harvick, Chase for the Sprint Cup, Richard Childress Racing

When informed on California Speedway’s pit road Sunday that two races into the 2010 season he was officially NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series championship leader, Kevin Harvick broke into a broad grin and smirked.

“Now only 34 more to go,” he shot back after the day’s runner-up effort.

Of course, two races hardly make a season and don’t typically even begin to foreshadow the championship outcome. Matt Kenseth won the season’s first two races last year and didn’t qualify for the Chase for the Championship. Jimmie Johnson was ranked 19th after California and still landed his fourth consecutive trophy.

But. …

After a what-else-could-go-wrong 2009, Harvick, like the entire Richard Childress Racing (RCR) three-team operation, will take what he can get. Harvick is hoping to parlay this encouraging beginning to a proper ending — a return to the ranks of those in the Chase for the Championship, which is where he spent the 2006-08 seasons.

What’s most promising for Harvick is that it’s not just him leading this charge back. Both of his RCR teammates,Clint Bowyer (ranked second in points after two races) and veteran Jeff Burton (fifth) are also off to a good start, suggesting the once mighty RCR may be returning to form.

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It was announced Wednesday that effective immediately, Todd Parrott would be replacing Drew Blickensderfer as crew chief for Matt Kenseth.  The Crown Royal team finished eighth at Daytona, and I think the move has surprised some fans and maybe even some media folks.  But with what happened last season, and what it took the 17 team to finish eighth at Daytona, the move might not be so shocking.

It’s been well documented that Kenseth and Blickensderfer got off to one hell of a start in 2009.  In their first two races together, the duo scored two wins; Daytona and California.  After those first two though, the team struggled for most of the rest of the season and failed to make the Chase.  It was the first time in the Chase era that Kenseth wasn’t a part of NASCAR’s playoffs.

Fast forward to the 2010 season and this weekend’s Daytona 500.  In the race he’d won just one year earlier, Kenseth struggled mightily with the handling of his car.  He did however manage to bring home a top ten finish with the aid of a few green-white-checkered restarts and some good pit crew work.  But, as they say, it was no picnic.

Over the course of the race, the 17 team made a number of changes to the car to help the handling including wedge adjustments, air pressure, track bar, a shim change, spring rubbers, and finally, a shock change!  Not exactly how you hope one of these races goes.

In the Cup Series, especially for a team that expects to contend for the Championship every year, the setup of the car has got to be pretty close when the green flag drops.  To make that many changes during the race, including two new front shocks is not good.  By the time Sunday rolls around, the setup should only require small tweaks to keep up with the changing conditions during the race.  Wholesale changes, like those that it took to get the Crown Royal Ford competitive, make Blickensderfer look incompetent.

I believe last year’s performances, together with how the Daytona 500 played out for Kenseth & Co. spelled the end for Blickensderfer.  It was the proverbial “straw that broke the camel’s back.”  Something tells me the meeting with Mr. Roush this week was not so pleasant.  And crew chief changes after a situation like this are not necessarily something new for “The Cat in the Hat.”

The whole thing really is a shame too, because as bad as it looks for Blickensderfer, he is not an incompetent crew chief.  You don’t win in the Nationwide Series and the Cup Series for Jack Roush if you don’t know what you’re doing.  But obviously something just wasn’t clicking between driver and crew chief and it was time to make a change.

This weekend at California Speedway
While this weekend’s stop in Fontana, CA is usually not an anticipated one for fans and the teams (see California Doesn’t Deserve A Cup Date), I think this Sunday’s Cup race will be an intriguing one to watch.

The Daytona 500 is always a bit of a crap shoot, and often, teams that might not be contenders can find a way to run well.  You can thank the restrictor plates for that.

But this race should be a fairly good litmus test for who might really be strong this year.  Plenty of teams think they’ve made the necessary changes to compete again (see RCR, RFR) and this weekend will be their first opportunity show it.

California will be the first of many speedway races that will be run this season, and it’s tracks like this that will make or break a driver’s season.  If you can’t run well at places like this, you can’t expect to finish well in the points.

Is Dale Jr. actually on the rise?  Will the down teams from last year come back?  Will Jimmie run away with a fifth straight Cup?  Sunday’s Auto Club 500 will be our first opportunity to start piecing together the puzzle that is the 2010 season.

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