May 16, 2009

2009 All-Star Results

Smoke 'em if you got 'em. It was only a matter of time before Tony Stewart became a winner as the owner of his own team and it doesn't matter one little bit that this was an exhibition race.

After the race, second-place finisher Matt Kenseth told reporters that Stewart "rolled by me like I was tied to a tree," and it was sheer determination that got him to the lead.

Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards rounded out the top five after relatively quiet nights.

Fan vote winner Joey Logano advanced from 21st to eighth, which has to have improved his confidence as his rookie campaign nears the mid-season mark.

Unfortunately, the drivers with the dominant cars all sustained crash damage and were not in contention at the end. Jimmie Johnson pounded the wall in the final segment in a single car incident, while Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon got together only three laps into the 10-lap shootout.

Results
FinishStartDriverLapsStatusAvg Fin *
115Tony Stewart100Running7.55
23Matt Kenseth100Running6.44
32Kurt Busch100Running12.13
418Denny Hamlin100Running16.50
514Carl Edwards100Running11.20
65Mark Martin100Running12.91
713Kyle Busch100Running18.60
821Joey Logano100Running8.00
920Jamie McMurray100Running19.43
104Dale Earnhardt Jr100Running7.80
117Bobby Labonte100Running13.12
1217Clint Bowyer100Running21.50
131Jimmie Johnson100Running6.00
148Kasey Kahne100Running13.14
159Kevin Harvick100Running11.67
1619Sam Hornish Jr100Running11.50
1710Brad Keselowski100Running17.00
1812Ryan Newman93Accident8.88
196Jeff Gordon92Accident11.33
2016Jeff Burton85Engine17.44
2111Greg Biffle71Accident16.00

* Avg. Fin includes "Showdown" results unless a driver advanced into All-Star portion.

Shootout Results

F1: Monaco Quotes

Formula1.com has posted team and driver quotes for the Monaco Grand Prix.

Our View: “Monaco is my favorite circuit," said Lewis Hamilton. "The sensation you get from racing up the hill at 175mph, trying to make as straight a line as possible between the barriers while just shaving them with the walls of the tires is unbelievable." Along with the Indy 500 and Coke 600, this is one of the biggest days in auto racing.

2009 Shootout Results

Sam Hornish Jr. is making a career out of advancing into the All-Star race. Can another transferee win?

Jamie McMurray finished second and advanced. Joey Logano received the fan vote to advance into the All-Star race.



Results

FinishStartDriver
18Sam Hornish Jr.
230Jamie McMurray
33David Stremme
413David Reutimann
519Joey Logano
66Martin Truex Jr
710A J Allmendinger
87David Ragan
932Robby Gordon
1014Marcos Ambrose
114Dave Blaney
1211Juan Montoya
1323Casey Mears
1428Michael Waltrip
1522David Gilliland
1616Bill Elliott
1724Paul Menard
1834Reed Sorenson
1920Scott Speed
2021Joe Nemechek
219Max Papis
2233J J Yeley
2315Dexter Bean
2435Tony Raines
255Scott Riggs
2612Mike Wallace
2726Todd Bodine
2817Derrike Cope
2925Mike Garvey
3029David Starr
3118Norm Benning
321Kirk Shelmerdine
3327Elliott Sadler
3431Brian Vickers
352Carl Long


All-Star Results

IRL: Day 9 report

IndyCar.com has posted the trackside report for day 9 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Our View: This was the third day of qualifying and it provided fantasy owners with a full field of hopefuls. Qualification was dramatic as Stanton Barrett narrowly missed qualifying in the last two corners as the last car to go out on track.

IRL: Junqueira enters 500

Bruno Junqueira will be a last minute entry for the Indy 500, according to IndyCar.com.

Our View: This deal came together at the last minute with Conquest Racing and sponsorship from All Sport Drink. Junqueira sat on the pole for the 2002 Indy 500, but he'll have to qualify on bump day this year since he was unable to make an attempt on Saturday.

Almirola wants back in

Aric Almirola has been wandering around the garage area at Lowe's, wondering how he can get back in a NASCAR Cup ride, according to SceneDaily.com.

Our View: Almirola is a solid mid-cap pick, especially on the short tracks so it would be nice to see Dale Earnhardt, Inc. get a sponsor and field the No. 8.

IRL: Day 8 report

IndyCar.com has posted the trackside report for day 8 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Our View: Mike Conway's health and Tomas Scheckter's return to the track highlight this report.

IRL: Indy 500 full

The Indy 500 will be full as 33 cars have qualified and now the bumping will begin.

Our View: Only a handful of cars will go home, but this is one of the most emotional races of the year to miss.

Free Jeremy?

Dustin Long reports via Twitter that a plane just flew over the track with a banner reading "Free Jeremy."

Our View: That pretty much says it all.

Ragan confused by slow start

David Ragan is confused and a little frustrated by his slow start to 2009, according to SceneDaily.com.

Our View: Ragan ended 2008 with seven top-15s in the last eight races and it appeared he would carry that momentum over into this season when he finished sixth in the Daytona 500. Since then, however, he's earned only one more top-15 in 10 starts and has an average finish of 26.4. Wait for his fortunes to improve before adding him to your roster.

No provision for appeal in NASCAR drug policy

Brian France has said NASCAR won't consider an appeal policy for their drug test, according to SceneDaily.com.

Our View: And NASCAR wonders why their popularity with fans is eroding; it's this "we're smarter than God" attitude that just sort of rubs folks the wrong way. While the policy is laudable and necessary, it's hard to imaging the sanctioning body is so arrogant that they can't conceive of making a mistake.

IRL: 30 cars qualified

John Andretti and Milka Duno waved off their qualification attempt and the Indy 500 has 30 drivers qualified so far with a little less than two hours remaining in Saturday's session.

Our View: After a wet start that delayed time trials, every driver who wanted to go out early has, but look for activity to pick up in the final 45 minutes or so. The track is now open for practice.

IRL: Day three qualification underway

The track has dried and day three qualification is underway. Looks like there will be enough time to get a full field before the end of the day.

Our View: The first two drivers on track were E.J. Viso and Townsend Bell. It's important to have a good time on Saturday in case qualification is rained out on Sunday—the final scheduled day for time trials.

Truck: North Carolina Education Lottery 200 Results

Ron Hornaday Jr. continues to pad his record in the Camping World Truck Series by earning his 40th victory. The inactive Jack Sprague sits at 28, while Mike Skinner is two further back with 26. Hornaday had a sizeable advantage at the end of the race, but a big reason for that was because Kyle Busch got penalized by NASCAR for rough driving after he crashed then-leader Colin Braun.

Skinner has the second most Truck victories, but Friday night was a rough one for the veteran. He tried to make a questionable pass on Johnny Sauter on the front stretch midway through the event and slammed the wall. As soon as he contacted the concrete, T.J. Bell piled in and sent the No. 5 truck tumbling toward turn one. Thank goodness NASCAR requires these things to get built to rigid standards.

Results
FinishStartDriverLapsLaps LedStatusAvg Fin
13Ron Hornaday Jr13429Running8.20
21Kyle Busch134
Running4.60
35Matt Crafton13411Running6.57
420Ryan Newman134
Running4.00
59Terry Cook134
Running8.43
619David Gilliland134
Running6.00
715David Starr134
Running16.00
812Tayler Malsam134
Running8.00
910Stacy Compton134
Running18.50
1028Dennis Setzer134
Running11.00
1111Rick Crawford134
Running10.29
1214James Buescher134
Running12.00
1318Johnny Sauter134
Running13.00
1422Jason White134
Running20.00
158Chad McCumbee13417Running12.50
1621Brian Ickler133
Running16.00
1732Mario Gosselin133
Running17.00
1834Ryan Hackett133
Running18.00
1933Ben Stancil131
Running19.00
2035Chris Jones131
Running20.00
217Brian Scott129
Running28.00
2230Brent Raymer128
Running22.00
236Johnny Benson Jr128
Running15.40
2427Norm Benning126
Running24.00
254Todd Bodine977Accident15.67
2617Colin Braun8843Accident20.50
2724Mike Bliss53
Engine22.00
2823Brandon Knupp43
Engine28.00
292Mike Skinner3427Accident19.83
3016T J Bell34
Accident19.50
3113Timothy Peters24
Accident27.75
3226Marc Mitchell14
Quit28.00
3329Johnny Chapman9
Quit31.00
3436John Jackson9
Quit34.00
3525Donnie Neuenberger 6
Quit30.00
3631Chris Fontaine4
Quit36.00

Rain everywhere

Rain has slowed activity in Indianapolis and Charlotte both. Qualification for the Indy 500 is on hold, but hopefully tonight's All-Star activity will go as planned.

Our View: For that matter, the World of Outlaws Late Model race in Lawrenceburg, Ill. has been canceled by rain. It's hard to be a race fan some weeks.

Schrader to run WoO Late Models

Ken Schrader might not have a NASCAR ride for the moment, but he'll be racing on Memorial Day. He joins the World of Outlaws Late Model series for a tripleheader at US 36 Raceway, 34 Raceway and Charter Raceway from 5/22 through 5/24, according to the WoOLateModels Web site.

Our View: You can't keep Schrader out of a car, and it's great to see him competing in a major series such as this.