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Allen Bestwick Replaces Marty Reid As Play By Play Announcer For Sprint Cup Series

Allen Bestwick, who has had a long history of calling NASCAR races, will finally return to the play by play booth for the Sprint Cup Series on ESPN. Allen Bestwick, who has had the support of many fans that wanted him back in the booth, will replace Marty Reid, who covered the Sprint Cup Series for ESPN last season. Reid will continue as a play by play announcer for the Indycar Series as well as the NASCAR Nationwide Series events.

Allen Bestwick will work with Andy Petree and Dale Jarrett, who both remain analysts in the booth.

As for NASCAR Countdown, ESPN's pre-race show, Nicole Briscoe will be in the hosting role, as Bestwick used to host the countdown show. Rusty Wallace and Brad Daughtery will continue their roles in the ESPN Pit Studio.

"We are blessed with a talented and versatile group of NASCAR commentators," said Norby Williamson, ESPN executive vice president of production. "We believe this arrangement best plays to our individual and collective strengths.”

ESPN picks up the rest of the NASCAR season at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 31st.


Quote from Scenedaily.com

Juan Pablo Montoya Gets New Crew Chief

Official Earnhardt Ganassi Press Release:

CONCORD, NC (July 19, 2011) – Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates announced today they have made a crew chief change on the No. 42 Target Chevrolet driven by Juan Pablo Montoya. Effective immediately, Jim Pohlman, who has been with the organization since 2006 in numerous roles, was named interim crew chief of the No. 42 team.

“We are pleased to have someone of Jim’s caliber to be able to place into this role on the No. 42 team. Jim has been with us a number of years and I have confidence in his abilities to move the team forward,” said Team Owner Chip Ganassi.

The No. 42 team is currently 17th in the point standings, 59 points out of the 10th position.

RaceBuddy and Television Numbers For TNT Summer Series

By Official Turner Sports Release:

TNT saw overall growth in total viewers, ratings and households with its just concluded six-race NASCAR Summer Series coverage of the 2011 Sprint Cup Series with 5,125,000 total viewers (up +3%, 4,990,000 in 2010), 3.1 U.S. HH rating (up +3% vs. 3.0 U.S. HH rating in 2010) and 3,615,000 households (up +3%, 3,495,000 in 2010).

NASCAR.com’s TNT RaceBuddy complemented the television coverage with an average of 886,000 weekly video streams during the six-race Summer Series. Overall, video streams on RaceBuddy were up 143% from last year and delivered 5,319,000 total video streams this year. RaceBuddy had record-breaking viewership during TNT’s first race of the 2011 Summer Series in Pocono with 1,146,000 video streams and proceeded to have the second (Daytona, 1,020,000) and third-highest (Kentucky, 928,000) video stream totals in its history during this year’s Summer Series.

Other highlights from the 2011 TNT NASCAR Summer Series Coverage:

-The Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola from Daytona International Speedway was the highest-rated and most-watched cable program for the week (3.4 U.S. HH rating, June 27-July 3, 2011).

-NASCAR.com’s TNT RaceBuddy total page views were up 21% vs. last year for its coverage during the 2011 NASCAR Summer Series.

-RaceBuddy also experienced more than a 17% growth in daily uniques and total visits on TNT RaceBuddy were up +24% compared to last year.

Ryan Newman Wins At New Hampshire

Stewart Haas Racing was able to sweep the front row for both qualifying and the race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, as Ryan Newman took the checkers while teammate and boss Tony Stewart finished second.

Joe Gibbs Racing finished third and fourth, with Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano respectively. Jimmie Johnson finished 5th.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished in the teens, making it another bad race for the 88 team, and also tightening the Chase battle for the drivers behind him in points. Earnhardt is now 9th in points following New Hampshire.

Unofficially, there were 21 lead changes among 14 drivers plus 10 cautions for 44 yellow flag laps. The attendance was 95,000 people, up from last year.

Here are the unofficial results of New Hampshire:

1. Ryan Newman
2. Tony Stewart
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Joey Logano
5. Jimmie Johnson
6. Kasey Kahne
7. Bobby Labonte
8. Martin Truex Jr.
9. Marcos Ambrose
10. Kurt Busch
11. Jeff Gordon
12. A.J. Allmendinger
13. Carl Edwards
14. David Ragan
15. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
16. Jeff Burton
17. Clint Bowyer
18. Greg Biffle
19. David Reutimann
20. Matt Kenseth
21. Kevin Harvick
22. Mark Martin
23. J.J. Yeley
24. Paul Menard
25. David Gilliland
26. Landon Cassill
27. Scott Wimmer
28. Andy Lally
29. Dave Blaney
30. Juan Montoya
31. Jamie McMurray
32. Mike Bliss
33. Regan Smith
34. Brian Vickers
35. Brad Keselowski
36. Kyle Busch
37. David Stremme
38. Casey Mears
39. Erik Darnell
40. Michael McDowell
41. Joe Nemechek
42. Mike Skinner
43. Jeff Green

Matt Crafton Holds Off Austin Dillon To Win Truck Race At Iowa

Matt Crafton was able to hold off a hard charging Austin Dillon late in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Iowa to take the checkered flag. The win marks Crafton's second career win in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

One major storyline of the event was the injury of Justin Marks, who hit the wall hard, causing a red flag. Marks was taken to the hospital, where he will stay overnight for observation. Reports say he is doing okay.

Unofficially, there were 6 lead changes among 5 drivers and 6 caution flags for 32 laps.

The following are the unofficial results of the Truck Series race at Iowa:

1. Matt Crafton
2. Austin Dillon
3. David Mayhew
4. Johnny Sauter
5. Joey Coulter
6. Cole Whitt
7. James Buescher
8. Nelson Piquet Jr.
9. David Starr
10. Todd Bodine
11. Timothy Peters
12. Justin Lofton
13. Steve Arpin
14. Brian Ickler
15. Miguel Paludo
16. Brendan Gaughan
17. Clay Rogers
18. Ryan Sieg
19. Ron Hornaday
20. Max Papis
21. Dakoda Armstrong
22. Parker Kligerman
23. Jamie Dick
24. Caleb Roark
25. Jason White
26. Norm Benning
27. Ricky Carmichael
28. Justin Marks
29. Jack Smith
30. Mike Garvey
31. Todd Peck
32. Greg Seevers

Unofficial Nationwide Series Results From New Hampshire

Kyle Busch made NASCAR history in New Hampshire by winning the 200 lap event in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. With the win, Busch has tied Mark Martin for first on the all time win list for the Nationwide Series with 49 wins. Also, Busch achieved another milestone for his career, winning his 100th NASCAR race total.

Kevin Harvick finished 2nd and Kasey Kahne finished third. The top Nationwide Series regular of the day was Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who finished 4th.

There were 9 cautions for 48 laps along with 9 lead changes among 7 leaders unofficially.

The attendance was estimated to be 42,000 people.

The following are the unofficial results for the race:

1. Kyle Busch
2. Kevin Harvick
3. Kasey Kahne
4. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
5. Aric Almirola
6. Kenny Wallace
7. Michael Annett
8. Brad Keselowski
9. Steve Wallace
10. Justin Allgaier
11. Joe Nemechek
12. Elliott Sadler
13. Trevor Bayne
14. Mike Bliss
15. Reed Sorenson
16. Mikey Kile
17. Brian Scott
18. Blake Koch
19. Jeremy Clements
20. Eric McClure
21. Morgan Shepherd
22. Charles Lewandoski
23. Timmy Hill
24. Kevin Lepage
25. Angela Cope
26. Matt Frahm
27. Mike Wallace
28. Andrew Ranger
29. Joey Logano
30. Jason Leffler
31. Derrike Cope
32. Dennis Setzer
33. David Green
34. Carl Edwards
35. Jennifer Jo Cobb
36. Carl Long
37. Mike Harmon
38. Johnny Chapman
39. Chase Miller
40. Danny Efland
41. Tim Andrews
42. Scott Wimmer

Pet Peeves: Common NASCAR Misunderstandings

As many NASCAR fans are well aware of, not everyone in the world is familiar with the sport of NASCAR. In fact, there are always common misunderstandings about NASCAR that are used everyday.

So, Trackside With Travis has organized some of the top 5 biggest misunderstandings that many people (fans of the sport or not) have about NASCAR. Here's the list:

5. How people say Hendrick Motorsports

Folks, it is Hendrick. Not Hendricks. Not Hendrix. H-E-N-D-R-I-C-K. Why do people even say Hendricks? Nobody else makes that mistake with other teams, right? Do people think Rick is related to Jimi Hendrix? The world may never know.

4. NASCARS

Alright, they drive racecars, not NASCARS. NASCAR is the league, not the vehicle they drive. Enough said.

3. Fixed Racing

Every once in a while, people will pull the "oh, that race was fixed!" card. For example, remember last year when Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Nationwide Series race in the three car? Yeah, the haters really hated on that one. Listen, regardless of how the race finishes, NASCAR does not fix these races. They can't even keep a secret fine a secret, so what makes people think they can keep this a secret with all the drivers and crews and keep the media from talking?

Now, are there some calls that are kind of suspicious? Oh yeah, but that is just sports in general.

2. Rednecks

Golden Tate, a second-year receiver for the Seattle Seahawks pulled the redneck card after getting abuse from NASCAR fans on Twitter after he made the comment that NASCAR drivers are not athletes. Hey everyone, it is the 21st Century now, all the races are on TV all over the world. It sounds pretty international to me, unless everyone who watches it are just rednecks. Golden Tate? Could you please clear that up for us? Thanks. Anyway, this redneck thing is getting old.


1. Drivers not athletes?

What a surprise! It's back to Golden Tate! I have been responding to this discussion that NASCAR drivers are not athletes for years and I have had many explanations of this, but Brad Keselowski put it in a good way on his Twitter account.

"sitting in a 140 degree rollercoaster For 4 hours, lifting 30lbs weight while leg pressing 150lbs. while knowing if u mess up, u could die."

Yeah, that just about sums it up.

For Gamers: NASCAR The Game 2011 Update

Image taken from NASCAR The Game Official Website

Many people hoped and believed that a new NASCAR game would be able to save or help NASCAR tremendously in gaining a younger audience and a younger fan base.

This year, to kick off the 2011 season, the mega gaming company of Activision along with a European company called Eutechnyx released the newest NASCAR video game - NASCAR The Game 2011.

What started out to be something that brought much hope and excitement to many NASCAR fans that were gamers (it had been years since a previous NASCAR video game was produced) turned to be a disappointment rather quickly.

The games, generally speaking for the XBOX 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles, were filled with major bugs and glitches, not to mention very little depth in the career mode and a weak NASCAR experience.

Fans were very displeased, especially since the wait for the new game was quite a long one. However, the developers from Eutechnyx quickly began listening to fan feedback, working on an update called a "patch" for the game. It seemed this would only take a few weeks to produce, but as time progressed, it turned into a very long wait for customers. The major PlayStation hacking saga put a huge delay on much of the process to improve the game for the PlayStation customers, plus there seemed to be little progress made to the XBOX 360 game as well.

Fans became very hostile very quickly towards the developers on Twitter and on the official game forum website as time continued to go without little change. The developers knew they messed up, but continued to stress the fact that these issues would be solved eventually, and that patience would be necessary.

Now, as the the wait heads into the end of July, progress is beginning to be seen. The XBOX 360 update has now been completed and tested, and is just waiting for the final approval for the owner of XBOX, Microsoft. The release of this patch to the public will be in only a few days time, and yet another update is expected immediately after, which will contain all the 2011 cars and paint schemes (the game started with the 2010 data).

The PlayStation 3 updates are still in the final stages of testing, but are expected to be submitted for final approval a week following the XBOX 360 updates, which would also be any day from now.

Regardless of the major attempts to improve the 2011 NASCAR video game, many still say the game will not be very authentic to what NASCAR is. While this may be the case, developers are already working on the 2012 game, and vow to not make the mistakes they made this year, which ultimately destroyed the fan attraction towards it.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Lineup For New Hampshire

Ryan Newman has won the pole position for Sunday's race at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Newman's lap time of 28.165 seconds is a new track record for the Sprint Cup Series at New Hampshire.

Starting beside Newman will be his teammate and boss, Tony Stewart. David Reutimann will start the 300 mile race in the third position, while Kurt Busch will start fourth.

Missing the race will be Tony Raines, Scott Riggs, and Dennis Setzer.

The following is the unofficial starting lineup for Sunday's Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at the "Magic Mile:"

1. Ryan Newman
2. Tony Stewart
3. David Reutimann
4. Kurt Busch
5. Brad Keselowski
6. Jeff Burton
7. Jeff Gordon
8. Juan Montoya
9. Paul Menard
10. Kasey Kahne
11. Regan Smith
12. Clint Bowyer
13. Martin Truex Jr.
14. Denny Hamlin
15. Carl Edwards
16. Joey Logano
17. A.J. Allmendinger
18. Kevin Harvick
19. Kyle Busch
20. Greg Biffle
21. Brian Vickers
22. Marcos Ambrose
23. Bobby Labonte
24. Mark Martin
25. Jamie McMurray
26. David Ragan
27. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
28. Jimmie Johnson
29. David Stremme
30. Matt Kenseth
31. Casey Mears
32. Landon Cassill
33. Michael McDowell
34. David Gilliland
35. Joe Nemechek
36. Jeff Green
37. Dave Blaney
38. J.J. Yeley
39. Mike Skinner
40. Erik Darnell
41. Mike Bliss
42. Andy Lally*
43. Scott Wimmer

NASCAR CEO Brian France Issues Statement Concerning Kentucky

NASCAR has now released a statement about the major issues with traffic that made thousands of fans miss the inaugural Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway.

The following is a statement from NASCAR CEO, Brian France, about the problem that occurred on Saturday night:

“While NASCAR was thrilled by the incredible response to our inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in Kentucky, we also are extremely disappointed by the traffic problems and inconveniences endured by fans who wanted to be part of our races at Kentucky Speedway. NASCAR will be in close communications with Kentucky Speedway and Speedway Motorsports Inc. to see that they work to resolve the issues. This situation cannot happen again.”

At this time, Kentucky Speedway has not issued any official apologies to the fans, but has said in multiple statements they will work to solve this issue for the future.

Kentucky Speedway Makes Another Statement About Traffic Issues

The following is the original statement made by the Kentucky Speedway concerning the traffic issues for the inaugural Quaker State 400:

We've had an overwhelming response to our inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quaker State 400. We know we had challenges related to traffic. We're already planning improvements and looking forward to a much better situation for next year's event.

Now, track officials have added more to their original statement concerning the many fans who were displeased about the traffic situations on Saturday night, as well as the fans who did not make it in time to view the race.

The following is the new statement by Kentucky Speedway:

“Kentucky Speedway regrets the traffic conditions surrounding the Quaker State 400. We’re committed to working with NASCAR, state and local officials and traffic experts to assure that this never happens again. The details of these improvements will be announced over time as they are formulated.

We also recognize the traffic problems resulted in some fans not being able to attend the Quaker State 400. We are gathering information on this and will announce a policy for these affected fans within seven days.

Our Quaker State 400 ticket holders are invited to share their experiences with us through fans@kentuckyspeedway.com. We thank all our fans for giving the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series such a great welcome to our venue.”

Weekend Schedule: New Hampshire and Iowa

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series will head from the tough traffic in Kentucky to New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend for races on the mile long racetrack. The Camping World Truck Series will also be racing this weekend, but not at New Hampshire. The series will stop by the Iowa Speedway for their next race of the season.

This weekend also marks the final Sprint Cup Series race of the year on TNT. ESPN will take over the coverage following this weekend's event for the remainder of the season.

Here is the tentative schedule for this weekend's on track activities:

Friday, July 15, 2011:

10:30 a.m. ET - Nationwide Series practice (No TV)

11:30 a.m. ET - Sprint Cup Series practice (SPEED)

1:30 p.m. ET - Nationwide Series final practice (SPEED)

3 p.m. ET - Sprint Cup Series Qualifying (SPEED)

5:30 p.m. ET - Camping World Truck Series practice (No TV)

7:30 p.m. ET - Truck Series final practice (No TV)

Saturday, July 16, 2011:

9:30 a.m. ET - Sprint Cup Series practice (SPEED)

10:30 a.m. ET - Nationwide Series Qualifying (SPEED)

11:45 p.m. ET - Sprint Cup Series final practice (SPEED)

2:35 p.m. ET - Truck Series Qualifying (No TV)

3:30 p.m. ET - Nationwide Series Race (ESPN)

8 p.m. ET - Truck Series race (SPEED)

Sunday, July 17, 2011:

1 p.m. ET - Sprint Cup Series Race (TNT)

Kentucky Issues May Just Have Ruined That Race Forever

Opinion:


It was the inaugural race at Kentucky Speedway - what many fans, drivers and NASCAR personalities such as Darrell Waltrip were very much looking forward to. Excitement was in the air all weekend long, as NASCAR's three top series would take to the track. Everyone seemed to be a winner this weekend, as the local economy flourished because of the event.

Little did anyone know that a major problem would occur, one that would even overshadow the race.

It started early Saturday morning, about eight or nine hours before the race, where reports began to pop up on the Internet, mostly Twitter, were it was made clear traffic was an issue. Even that early before a race, traffic was backed up for miles and miles, with major concerns. There was still however, plenty of time to get to the track.

Soon it became later in the day, and the problem seemed to become more severe. Even drivers, such as Denny Hamlin, were concerned that they wouldn't be able to beat the traffic getting into the racetrack. Hamlin joked that he was going to start in the back anyway, so it was okay if he missed the drivers meeting. Fans however, were not in a joking mood.

Later, it became minutes until the green flag, stands were looking empty, people still in the roads, and Bruton Smith the owner of the speedway, continued to bash the roads nearby.

Smith had made it clear that he is pressuring the governor of Kentucky to allow him better roads and an airport to help the flow of traffic. He joked during the weekend that he hoped everyone would be out of the track area on Tuesday. Perhaps, he wasn't kidding.

When the race eventually did begin, the stands looked fairly healthy, but anyone could easily tell there were some empty seats.

As the race progressed, news came up stating that around 20,000 people missed the race that night. Even worse, there was another report that some people were turned away because of the lack of space.

Not only that, fans hated the race with a burning passion. Racing was less than exciting, and many fans were just mad that there was yet another mile and a half track on the schedule.

Yes, the first race at Kentucky was a terrible way to bring in the next era for the SMI track, but perhaps the real issues are down the road. The speedway may not ever be able to recover.

Look at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after the tire debacle a few years ago - they have never been able to bounce back. Seats have been so empty it makes the Sprint Cup race look like a Truck race as far as seating goes. Even a place with such racing history is having ticket sale issues all because of one bad race.

The same may happen to the Kentucky Speedway. There is a good chance it will forever be a track with not so good crowds and little fan appreciation. It may just take itself right off the schedule.

Whether it does or not, that is yet to be seen. We will all have to wait until next year to discover if this will hurt this race. One this is for certain: it certainly didn't help.

Kyle Busch Wins The First Ever Kentucky Sprint Cup Race

Kyle Busch took home the checkered flag on Saturday night for the inaugural Quaker State 400, making himself a two time winner during the NASCAR Kentucky weekend, after he scored the win for the Camping World Truck Series race on Thursday.

Busch dominated much of the race, while Brad Keselowski was also a strong factor, leading many laps. However, it was Jimmie Johnson and David Reutimann who Busch had to hold off in the final restart of the race, with only a few laps remaining. Reutimann was able to get by Johnson off of turn four on the final lap to take second place.

Kyle Busch also has taken the lead in the points standings. This is the third different points leader in three weeks. Kevin Harvick took the lead from Carl Edwards last weekend.

There were 20 lead changes among 12 drivers as well as 6 cautions for 32 yellow flag laps unofficially. The attendance was expected to be around 110,000 people as it was also sold out, but tough traffic situations may have left some fans missing the race.

The following are unofficial results for the Quaker State 400:

1. Kyle Busch
2. David Reutimann
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. Ryan Newman
5. Carl Edwards
6. Matt Kenseth
7. Brad Keselowski
8. David Ragan
9. Kurt Busch
10. Denny Hamlin
11. Jeff Gordon
12. Tony Stewart
13. Kasey Kahne
14. Joey Logano
15. Juan Montoya
16. Kevin Harvick
17. Regan Smith
18. Martin Truex Jr.
19. Jeff Burton
20. Marcos Ambrose
21. Greg Biffle
22. Mark Martin
23. Landon Cassill
24. Paul Menard
25. Casey Mears
26. Bobby Labonte
27. Brian Vickers
28. A.J. Allmendinger
29. Travis Kvapil
30. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
31. David Gilliland
32. Andy Lally
33. Dave Blaney
34. Mike Bliss
35. Clint Bowyer
36. Jamie McMurray
37. Scott Wimmer
38. Tony Raines
39. Joe Nemechek
40. J.J. Yeley
41. Michael McDowell
42. Scott Riggs
43. Mike Skinner

Unofficial Nationwide Series Results From Kentucky

It turned out to be yet another fuel mileage race for the NASCAR Nationwide Series during the Feed the Children 300 at Kentucky Speedway. It also became another event in which a Sprint Cup Series star captured the win, taking the win away from the Nationwide Series regulars.

It was Brad Keselowski, recovering from a rough start to the 2011 Nationwide Series season, who took the win after saving fuel and holding off a hard charging Kevin Harvick, who had a pit miscue in the final few laps. Harvick was told to pit, and as he was slowing down, Harvick's crew chief told him to stay out at the last second, costing him valuable time. The 33 team of Kevin Harvick was able to finish with enough fuel, despite the problem.

Kyle Busch finished third, and therefore will be unable to sweep the weekend among all of NASCAR's three top series. Kasey Kahne finished 4th in the 1st of two races for the pairing of himself and JR Motorsports. His next race with the team will be next weekend at New Hampshire. The top Nationwide regular of the night was Elliott Sadler, who started on the pole and finished 5th.

There were 5 cautions for 24 laps and 8 lead changes among 6 leaders during the race unofficially.

The following are the unofficial results following the Nationwide Series race from the Kentucky Speedway:

1. Brad Keselowski
2. Kevin Harvick
3. Kyle Busch
4. Kasey Kahne
5. Elliott Sadler
6. Kenny Wallace
7. Michael Annett
8. Carl Edwards
9. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
10. Joey Logano
11. Trevor Bayne
12. Joe Nemechek
13. Jason Leffler
14. Mark Martin
15. Brian Scott
16. Mike Wallace
17. Reed Sorenson
18. David Reutimann
19. Justin Allgaier
20. Aric Almirola
21. Steve Wallace
22. Blake Koch
23. David Stremme
24. Mike Bliss
25. Derrike Cope
26. Timmy Hill
27. Eric McClure
28. Charles Lewandoski
29. Kevin Lepage
30. Jamie Dick
31. Jeremy Clements
32. Jennifer Jo Cobb
33. Robert Richardson Jr.
34. Morgan Shepherd
35. Will Kimmel III
36. Scott Riggs
37. Jeff Green
38. Tim Andrews
39. Johnny Chapman
40. Mike Harmon
41. Chase Miller
42. John Jackson
43. Dennis Setzer

Qualifying Rains Out, Kyle Busch On The Pole

An attempt at Sprint Cup Series qualifying was made at Kentucky Speedway Friday, as some cars worked their way onto the speedway for an attempt at the pole, however, rain stopped all the drivers from making an attempt. Therefore, qualifying was canceled, causing the lineup for Saturday night's race to be set by the only practice session on Friday. Thus, Kyle Busch will start on the pole, since he was the fastest in the practice session. Among the highlights of the drivers missing the show, Michael Waltrip, who planned to honor his brother Darrell Waltrip with a special paint scheme, will be unable to race although his car was fast enough, due to the rules.

Also missing the race are David Stremme, T.J. Bell, David Starr, and Robby Gordon.

Here is the unofficial lineup for the race on Saturday:

1. Kyle Busch
2. Juan Montoya
3. Kurt Busch
4. Kasey Kahne
5. Jimmie Johnson
6. Brad Keselowski
7. Carl Edwards
8. David Ragan
9. Tony Stewart
10. Paul Menard
11. Marcos Ambrose
12. Regan Smith
13. Matt Kenseth
14. Jeff Gordon
15. Joey Logano
16. Martin Truex Jr.
17. David Reutimann
18. Ryan Newman
19. Kevin Harvick
20. Clint Bowyer
21. Greg Biffle
22. Jeff Burton
23. A.J. Allmendinger
24. Bobby Labonte
25. Casey Mears
26. Denny Hamlin
27. Brian Vickers
28. Mark Martin
29. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
30. Landon Cassill
31. Joe Nemechek
32. Dave Blaney
33. Mike Skinner
34. Jamie McMurray
35. David Gilliland
36. J.J. Yeley
37. Travis Kvapil
38. Michael McDowell
39. Andy Lally
40. Scott Riggs
41. Tony Raines
42. Mike Bliss
43. Scott Wimmer

Unofficial Nationwide Series Lineup For Kentucky

Elliott Sadler has claimed the pole for the Feed the Children 300 at Kentucky Speedway with a speed of 173.734 miles per hour and a time of 31.082 seconds. Carl Edwards will join him on the outside front row. Kyle Busch, who is trying to achieve the weekend sweep, crashed his car in the qualifying session and therefore will race a back up car in Friday night's race.

Missing the race will be Danny Efland and Carl Long.

The following is the unofficial lineup for the Feed the Children 300 race:

1. Elliott Sadler
2. Carl Edwards
3. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
4. Joey Logano
5. Brad Keselowski
6. Kevin Harvick
7. Brian Scott
8. Justin Allgaier
9. Steve Wallace
10. Trevor Bayne
11. Reed Sorenson
12. Mark Martin
13. Joe Nemechek
14. Jason Leffler
15. Will Kimmel III
16. Mike Bliss
17. Mike Wallace
18. Kasey Kahne
19. Kenny Wallace
20. Aric Almirola
21. Michael Annett
22. Derrike Cope
23. David Stremme
24. John Jackson
25. Jeff Green
26. David Reutimann
27. Blake Koch
28. Scott Riggs
29. Jennifer Jo Cobb
30. Morgan Shepherd
31. Dennis Setzer
32. Eric McClure
33. Chase Miller
34. Timmy Hill
35. Kevin Lepage
36. Tim Andrews
37. Johnny Chapman
38. Jamie Dick
39. Charles Lewandoski
40. Robert Richardson Jr.
41. Kyle Busch
42. Jeremy Clements
43. Mike Harmon

Unofficial Camping World Truck Series Results From Kentucky

Kyle Busch is one step closer to earning the weekend sweep of all of NASCAR's three top series at Kentucky Speedway. Busch, who did not have the truck to beat during Thursday night's Camping World Truck Series race, was able to steal the victory through other drivers' misfortune. Johnny Sauter, a strong competitor to Busch, broke and axle, while another strong competitor for Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, had his hood fly up during the final laps. Busch was able to hold off others on a final restart.

This is Busch's 98th NASCAR win total, as he tries to sweep the inaugural weekend of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Kentucky.

Here are the unofficial results following the race at Kentucky:

1. Kyle Busch
2. Parker Kligerman
3. Brendan Gaughan
4. Todd Bodine
5. Jason White
6. Elliott Sadler
7. Joey Coulter
8. David Starr
9. James Buescher
10. Travis Kvapil
11. Max Papis
12. Steve Arpin
13. Ricky Carmichael
14. Austin Dillon
15. Justin Lofton
16. Timothy Peters
17. Clay Rogers
18. Jack Smith
19. Ryan Sieg
20. Charles Vest
21. Miguel Paludo
22. Nelson Piquet Jr.
23. Johnny Chapman
24. Johnny Sauter
25. Shane Sieg
26. Cole Whitt
27. Ron Hornaday
28. John King
29. Josh Richards
30. Jennifer Jo Cobb
31. Norm Benning
32. Matt Crafton
33. Chris Fontaine
34. Mike Garvey
35. Justin Marks
36. Johanna Long

Voting under way for Truck and Nationwide Series most popular driver

By Official Release:


DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- For the fourth consecutive year, fans can vote online for the 2011 Most Popular Driver in the Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series (Twitter hashtags: #NNSMPD, #NCWTSMPD).


Voting begins July 7 and runs through Nov. 17, prior to the season-ending race for both national series at Homestead-Miami Speedway during Ford Championship Weekend.

This year, fans have dedicated sites on NASCAR.COM to vote. For the Nationwide Series, fans can go to www.NASCAR.com/nnsmpd and to www.NASSCAR.com/ncwtsmpd for the Camping World Truck Series. Fans may vote once per day leading up to the Nov. 17 deadline.


To be eligible to receive votes, drivers must have selected either the Nationwide Series or Camping World Truck Series to receive 2011 driver championship points. Additionally, drivers must have attempted at least half of each series' races this season.


The winners will be announced at the 2011 Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series Awards Banquet. The combined post-season gala will again take place in South Florida at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel on Monday, Nov. 21.


With eligibility tied to their selected series for points, a new Most Popular Driver will be crowned in both series this year. Brad Keselowski, the 2010 Nationwide Series champion, earned a record-setting third consecutive series Most Popular Driver award via fan vote following last season. Kenny Wallace also has three Most Popular Driver awards in the Nationwide Series, though not consecutively. Narain Karthikeyan captured the most votes in the Camping World Truck Series to earn that series' Most Popular Driver honor in 2010.

TNT To Enhance Audio Coverage This Weekend

This weekend marks the inaugural race for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Kentucky Speedway, and also marks the second to last race of the year for TNT. TNT comes off of a weekend of their traditional wide open coverage, in which they were unable to keep all green flag laps commercial free, unlike the past few years. However, there was still only one commercial break that interrupted green flag coverage last weekend. This weekend, they are trying something new - adding microphones all around the speedway to enhance the audio for the fans.

The following is a statement from Turner Sports:

"TNT’s coverage of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Racing continues on Saturday, July 9 live from Kentucky Speedway for the track’s first-ever Sprint Cup Series race. The network’s exclusive prime time coverage of the race will be a special audio-enhanced telecast with 40 additional special effects microphones placed in multiple positions around the track, including pit road, the front and backstretches and the turns, to boost the listening experience for NASCAR viewers. On average, TNT uses approximately 50 microphones for their race coverage on a track this size. The network also will utilize increased audio from in-car communication between the drivers and race crews and will continue to mic-up select crew chiefs and their teams through Inside Trax which will provide fans with inside access to the sounds and strategy of racing."

Kentucky Tentative NASCAR Schedule:

This is it. After all those years of wondering when Kentucky would ever get to host a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, they will finally be able to do that with a sold out crowd.

The top series of NASCAR will be joined by the Camping World Truck Series and Nationwide Series, which have all been at the speedway before, unlike the Sprint Cup Series.

The Sprint Cup Series race is on Saturday night, meaning there will be much activity during the week days at Kentucky. In fact, vehicles hit the track on Wednesday, although there is no live TV coverage of those events.

Here is the tentative weekend (or mid week, if you would like to call it that) schedule for the NASCAR weekend at Kentucky:

Wednesday, July 6, 2011:

4 p.m. ET - Camping World Truck Series practice (No TV)

6 p.m. ET - Camping World Truck Series practice(No TV)

Thursday, July 7, 2011:

10 a.m. ET - Truck Series final practice (No TV)

11:05 a.m. ET - Sprint Cup Series practice (No TV)

3 p.m. ET - Truck Series Qualifying (Will air on SPEED at 6 p.m. ET)

4 p.m. ET - Sprint Cup Series practice (No TV)

6:10 p.m. ET - Nationwide Series practice (No TV)

8 p.m. ET - Camping World Truck Series race (SPEED)

Friday, July 8, 2011:

9 a.m. ET - Nationwide Series final practice (No TV)

11:30 a.m. ET - Sprint Cup Series practice (SPEED)

1:30 p.m. ET - Sprint Cup Series final practice (SPEED)

3:30 p.m. ET - Nationwide Series Qualifying (SPEED)

5 p.m. ET - Sprint Cup Series Qualifying (SPEED0

7:30 p.m. ET - Nationwide Series Race (ESPN)

Saturday, July 9, 2011:

7:30 p.m. ET - Sprint Cup Series Race (TNT)

Opinion: Regardless of how good the plate racing actually is, NASCAR needs to make a decision soon

With the NASCAR season of 2010 being the year of "Boys, have at it," it is safe to say that the year of 2011 has been the year of the two car draft.

The two car draft, which started at Daytona International Speedway to start the 2011 season, turned to be a very controversial form of racing after three points paying restrictor plate races of the season. Teams now work together no matter what (for the most part) making similar pit calls, using the same spotter, and working on the same radio in a race. It is if two cars equals one team, but yet only one of the pair gets credit for the win in victory lane.

When it started, most people did not have any solid opinions of this foreign type of racing, especially since nobody actually knew what was going on and what the impact of this racing was.

Now, half way through the 2011 season, more people have made their opinions of it, saying it is either good, exciting racing, or saying it isn't real racing at all, and that the big packs of cars in the past were better shows at Daytona and Talladega. Some, are still on the fence about it.

Star drivers have also spoken out about the new type of racing in the recent weeks. Some, like Tony Stewart, say it is what it is, others like Ryan Newman, prefer this racing more than the old style, and drivers like Dale Earnhardt Jr., have made their displeasure clear to the media.

Regardless of how exciting the racing is or which form is better, NASCAR needs to make a decision soon. By the time Speedweeks hits NASCAR again in 2012, NASCAR needs to be clear on which way they want the sport to go. NASCAR, using feedback from drivers and fans, needs to discover if this form really fits into the style in which NASCAR holds. Does this racing fit with what NASCAR was and is? All these questions and concerns remain controversial, but yet unanswered. It is now time for the sanctioning body to find the answers to them, so NASCAR Nation can move forward.

David Ragan Gets Redemption At Daytona

David Ragan was able to get redemption following the penalty received in the Daytona 500 earlier this year by winning the Coke Zero 400. Ragan, who is in his final contract year with sponsor UPS, took the checkered flag after getting a push from teammate Matt Kenseth on the 2nd attempt at a green white checkered. On the last lap, there were two major crashes, and during the first green white checkered, there was the largest crash of the night, which all contained major players in the race.

Unofficially, here were 57 lead changes among 25 drivers plus 6 cautions for 21 yellow flag laps. The attendance was listed to be 115,000, which is the same as last year's Daytona July race.

Here are the unofficial results of the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Raceway:

1. David Ragan
2. Matt Kenseth
3. Joey Logano
4. Kasey Kahne
5. Kyle Busch
6. Jeff Gordon
7. Kevin Harvick
8. Paul Menard
9. Juan Montoya
10. A.J. Allmendinger
11. Tony Stewart
12. Brian Vickers
13. Denny Hamlin
14. Kurt Busch
15. Brad Keselowski
16. David Gilliland
17. Marcos Ambrose
18. Greg Biffle
19. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
20. Jimmie Johnson
21. Jeff Burton
22. Jamie McMurray
23. Ryan Newman
24. Regan Smith
25. David Reutimann
26. Landon Cassill
27. Andy Lally
28. Terry Labonte
29. Travis Kvapil
30. Joe Nemechek
31. Bobby Labonte
32. Casey Mears
33. Mark Martin
34. Robby Gordon
35. Martin Truex Jr.
36. Clint Bowyer
37. Carl Edwards
38. Geoff Bodine
39. Dave Blaney
40. Mike Skinner
41. Trevor Bayne
42. Michael McDowell
43. Kevin Conway

Joey Logano Comes Out of Nowhere To Win Nationwide Series Race At Daytona

It was a crazy race at Daytona International Speedway as usual for the NASCAR Nationwide Series, as the two car drafts dominated the race during Friday night's Subway Jalapeno 250. During the event, the four Kevin Harvick Inc. cars, along with the JR Motorsports cars of Aric Almirola and Danica Patrick seemed to be the ones to beat. However, it turned out to be a Joe Gibbs Racing car that made it out on top to take the checkers after a crazy last few laps - and no, it wasn't Kyle Busch. Joey Logano held of a hard charging Kyle Busch and an even bigger hard charger of Jason Leffler in the final lap of the event to take the win.

There was also a major crash through the tri-oval on the last lap behind the leaders, which included three KHI cars(the other car of Clint Bowyer was already destroyed) and the two JR Motorsports cars - all of which were threats for the win. Mike Wallace was also involved in the accident, along with Steven Wallace.

Unofficially, there were 36 lead changes among 13 drivers and 6 caution flags for 23 laps.

Here are the unofficial results following a crazy race at Daytona:

1. Joey Logano
2. Jason Leffler
3. Reed Sorenson
4. Kyle Busch
5. Justin Allgaier
6. Michael Annett
7. Kenny Wallace
8. Elliott Sadler
9. Aric Almirola
10. Danica Patrick
11. Steve Wallace
12. Brian Scott
13. Tony Stewart
14. Carl Edwards
15. Mike Wallace
16. Jamie McMurray
17. Brad Keselowski
18. Kevin Harvick
19. Jeffrey Earnhardt
20. Mike Bliss
21. Tim George Jr.
22. Trevor Bayne
23. Timmy Hill
24. Josh Wise
25. Kevin Conway
26. Joe Nemechek
27. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
28. Blake Koch
29. Derrike Cope
30. Danny Efland
31. Robert Richardson Jr.
32. Jeremy Clements
33. Kevin Lepage
34. Clint Bowyer
35. Dennis Setzer
36. Jennifer Jo Cobb
37. Eric McClure
38. Morgan Shepherd
39. Ricky Carmichael
40. Charles Lewandoski
41. Mike Harmon
42. Carl Long
43. Jeff Green

Mark Martin Takes The Pole For The Coke Zero 400

Yet another Hendrick Motorsports car has taken the pole position in qualifying at a restrictor plate race. Mark Martin, with a speed of 182.065 miles per hour and a time 49.433 seconds, will lead the field to the green flag on Saturday night, with Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne starting beside him.

Tony Raines and J.J. Yeley fialed to make the race.

Here is the unofficial lineup for the Coke Zero 400:

1. Mark Martin
2. Trevor Bayne
3. Clint Bowyer
4. Jeff Gordon
5. David Ragan
6. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
7. Andy Lally
8. Jimmie Johnson
9. A.J. Allmendinger
10. Paul Menard
11. Ryan Newman
12. Jeff Burton
13. Kasey Kahne
14. Carl Edwards
15. Marcos Ambrose
16. Matt Kenseth
17. Greg Biffle
18. Jamie McMurray
19. Tony Stewart
20. Brian Vickers
21. Landon Cassill
22. Kevin Conway
23. David Reutimann
24. Bobby Labonte
25. Kurt Busch
26. Brad Keselowski
27. Travis Kvapil
28. Regan Smith
29. Mike Skinner
30. Juan Montoya
31. Kevin Harvick
32. Casey Mears
33. Michael McDowell
34. Martin Truex Jr.
35. Geoff Bodine
36. Denny Hamlin
37. Joe Nemechek
38 Joey Logano
39. Kyle Busch
40. David Gilliland
41. Dave Blaney
42. Terry Labonte
43. Mike Bliss

Nationwide Series Unofficial Lineup At Daytona

Kevin Harvick Inc. has shown their strength multiple times in the past at restrictor plate racetracks, and Friday at Daytona International Speedway was no different. All four teams that KHI brought to Daytona for this weekend's race have taken the top four spots. Team owner Kevin Harvick is credited with the pole.

Chase Miller failed to make the race.

Here is the unofficial lineup for Friday night's race at Daytona International Speedway:

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Tony Stewart
3. Elliott Sadler
4. Clint Bowyer
5. Trevor Bayne
6. Jamie McMurray
7. Danica Patrick
8. Carl Edwards
9. Reed Sorenson
10. Justin Allgaier
11. Brad Keselowski
12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
13. Aric Almirola
14. Kyle Busch
15. Jason Leffler
16. Tim George Jr.
17. Brian Scott
18. Joey Logano
19. Kenny Wallace
20. Steve Wallace
21. Ricky Carmichael
22. Mike Wallace
23. Michael Annett
24. Joe Nemechek
25. Kevin Conway
26. Timmy Hill
27. Robert Richardson Jr.
28. Jeffrey Earnhardt
29. Jeff Green
30. Mike Harmon
31. Blake Koch
32. Carl Long
33. Mike Bliss
34. Jennifer Jo Cobb
35. Danny Efland
36. Morgan Shepherd
37. Josh Wise
38. Jeremy Clements
39. Eric McClure
40. Charles Lewandoski
41. Derrike Cope
42. Kevin Lepage
43. Dennis Setzer

Tony Stewart Doesn't Back Down About Blocking Statements, Says He Will Retaliate Even If It Costs Him The Chase

Following last weekend's Sprint Cup Series race, Tony Stewart was very clear about blocking. After wrecking Brian Vickers when he blocked Stewart, Vickers wrecked the 14 car back, ruining Stewart's day. Following the race, Stewart said that he had enough of it, and he would even wreck his own teammate and the car he owns - the 39 of Ryan Newman - if he was ever blocked by him.

At Daytona International Speedway this weekend, Stewart has not changed his statement one bit.

“I’ve drawn my line in the sand and the next guy that blocks me is also going to suffer the same fate and it doesn’t matter who it is.’’


In fact, Stewart says he will continue to wreck others who block him, no matter what the risk, even if it costs him a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

“I’ll make sure when I do it next time that the guy doesn’t have the opportunity to come back and wreck me," Stewart said. “It might (impact his chance to make the Chase). I’m going to stay the course on it. I’m just to the point where I’m fed up with the ways some of these guys are racing each other. If we miss the Chase because of it, so be it. It’s not what the team is going to want to hear, it’s not what our sponsors are going to want to hear, but so be it. There’s 42 guys out there and they know how I race and what I expect. I don’t race them that way, I don’t block guys. I’m not going to block guys, but if they block me, they will suffer the consequences of it.’’

Stewart also made it clear that someone needs to draw the line and that as long as others don't block him, he doesn't really care how people race each other.

“I just think that you’ve got to have somebody that is going to draw a line in the sand somewhere and say this is what we expect. I don’t care if they want to race each other that way, that’s fine. They can race everybody else in the field that way, but I don’t race guys that way."

Tony Stewart also said that many other drivers agreed with him, and that he wasn't surprised one bit that they did.