Vickers Bounces Back To Win Pole For Auto Club 500

It might not erase the memories of the Daytona 500, but it didn't exactly hurt, either.

Brian Vickers put his Red Bull Racing car on the pole Friday afternoon at Auto Club Speedway in Southern California in advance of Sunday's Auto Club 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race, helping to at least turn the page on his Daytona 500 wreck with Dale Earnhardt Jr. last week.

"Obviously, the best way to move on from a situation or a controversy is to give them something else to talk about," he said. "We've given them that this week."

Vickers recorded a lap of 183.439 mph while the sun still burned down on the 2-mile track, then watched as no one else could match his efforts as the temperature cooled. The pole position is the sixth of his Cup career.

"It always feels good to be on the pole. ... Probably more important than that is the pit selection -- that's what you're fighting for, in my mind, on Sunday," Vickers said.

Hendrick Motorsports' Jimmie Johnson (183.164) came closest to knocking Vickers from the top spot, but settled for starting on the outside of the front row.

"The only thing I can think of is Brian and I went to In-N-Out Burger last night," Johnson said. "I had a double-double and he had a single. With that extra patty, five-hundredths of a second killed me."

Jamie McMurray (Roush Fenway Racing), Kurt Busch (Penske Racing) and Greg Biffle (Roush Fenway) rounded out the top five.

Sixth through 10th were Jeff Gordon (Hendrick), David Reutimann (Michael Waltrip Racing), Richard Petty Motorsports’ AJ Allmendinger, rookie Scott Speed (Red Bull) and Kyle Busch (Joe Gibbs Racing).

With 48 cars on the entry list, the go-or-go-home situation had some intrigue.

Allmendinger easily qualified his way into the field, with Tony Stewart (Stewart Haas Racing) close behind to assure he wouldn’t have to make use of his past champion’s provisional.

Also making the race were Dave Blaney (Prism Motorsports), David Gilliland (TRG Motorsports), Scott Riggs (Tommy Baldwin Racing), Travis Kvapil (Yates Racing), Jeremy Mayfield (Mayfield Motorsports) and Joe Nemechek (Nemco Motorsports).

Five cars failed to qualify: Todd Bodine (Gunselman Motorsports), Tony Raines (Front Row Motorsports), David Starr (Black Jack Racing), Mike Garvey (H&S Motorsports) and Sterling Marlin (Phoenix Racing).

Michael Waltrip Racing's Michael Waltrip changed an engine following qualifying and will start Sunday's race from the rear of the field.

 

 2009 Auto Club 500 Starting Lineup

Pos	Driver	Car #	Make	Qual. Speed
1	Brian Vickers	83	Toyota	183.439
2	Jimmie Johnson	48	Chevrolet	183.164
3	Jamie McMurray	26	Ford	182.653
4	Kurt Busch	2	Dodge	182.556
5	Greg Biffle	16	Ford	182.302
6	Jeff Gordon	24	Chevrolet	182.209
7	David Reutimann	00	Toyota	182.089
8	AJ Allmendinger	44	Dodge	182.048
9	Scott Speed	82	Toyota	181.965
10	Kyle Busch	18	Toyota	181.919
11	Tony Stewart	14	Chevrolet	181.901
12	Robby Gordon	7	Toyota	181.777
13	David Ragan	6	Ford	181.726
14	Marcos Ambrose	47	Toyota	181.653
15	Juan Pablo Montoya	42	Chevrolet	181.616
16	Bobby Labonte	96	Ford	181.461
17	Reed Sorenson	43	Dodge	181.429
18	Mark Martin	5	Chevrolet	181.264
19	Kevin Harvick	29	Chevrolet	181.210
20	Elliott Sadler	19	Dodge	181.173
21	Clint Bowyer	33	Chevrolet	181.137
22	Kasey Kahne	9	Dodge	181.132
23	Denny Hamlin	11	Toyota	180.836
24	Matt Kenseth	17	Ford	180.818
25	Carl Edwards	99	Ford	180.773
26	Sam Hornish Jr.	77	Dodge	180.746
27	Paul Menard	98	Ford	180.610
28	Ryan Newman	39	Chevrolet	180.397
29	Casey Mears	07	Chevrolet	180.374
30	Dave Blaney	66	Toyota	180.320
31	Aric Almirola	8	Chevrolet	180.248
32	David Gilliland	171	Chevrolet	180.234
33	Martin Truex Jr.	1	Chevrolet	180.176
34	Joey Logano	20	Toyota	180.059
35	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	88	Chevrolet	179.991
36	Scott Riggs	36	Toyota	179.721
37	Travis Kvapil	28	Ford	179.632
38	David Stremme	12	Dodge	179.390
39	Jeremy Mayfield	41	Toyota	179.301
40	John Andretti	34	Dodge	179.287
41	Jeff Burton	31	Chevrolet	179.109
42	Michael Waltrip	55	Toyota
43	Joe Nemechek	187	Toyota	177.997
44	Todd Bodine	64	Toyota	DNQ
45	Tony Raines	37	Dodge	DNQ
46	David Starr	51	Dodge	DNQ
47	Mike Garvey	73	Dodge	DNQ
48	Sterling Marlin	09	Chevrolet	DNQ

Brain Fart – Thy Name Is Junior

Most everyone that is a civilian in Junior Nation witnessed a display of remarkable stupidity from their driver during the 51st Annual Daytona 500. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. looked more like Joey Logano should look, and not a driver that has 18 Cup trophies on the mantle. Not to mention a driver that is widely considered one of the best at restrictor plate racing.

This isn’t the first time Junior has had pit troubles costing him a shot at a good finish. Missing his pit box, running over the air line, countless speeding infractions when entering or exiting pit road, you name it he has done it. Sure, there isn’t a driver out there that has not had pit problems at some time. What makes the difference with Junior is that usually the mistakes come when he has a very stout machine that could win the race.

Let’s recap how Junior’s 2009 Daytona 500 went yesterday. Earnhardt, Jr. missed his pit stall around lap 60, because he said he couldn’t find his pit sign. The sign was the same color as many of the other signs. He was forced to take a full lap around the track and pit again. This cost him a good amount of track position.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. being held for a one-lap penalty on lap 120,  during the 2009 Daytona 500 

Then on a later pit stop, he stopped his right-front tire barely on the white line of his pit box and incurred a one-lap penalty. Because of the penalty, Junior had to line up on the inside of the lead-lap cars, just behind Brian Vickers.

After the restart, Vickers and Junior were racing to be the first of the one-lap down cars, when they tangled. This caused a nine-car catastrophe that took out many front-running cars. Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Robby Gordon, Jamie McMurray, Scott Speed and Carl Edwards were also involved in the wreck.

He can blame the awful day on other drivers, his spotter, the pit sign color, the pit crew, the crew chief, whatever. What it comes down to is one little, bitty five-lettered word: FOCUS.

I don’t know if Junior is thinking about the Redskins during a race or what it is, but one thing is certain - if the most popular driver in NASCAR doesn’t learn to focus on the little things during a race, he will never hoist the Sprint Cup trophy over his head.

It is hard enough to recover from one pit mistake in a race (especially when it has the possibility of being shortened due to weather), but almost impossible to recover from two. If both mistakes happen early in a race, then there’s a chance to recoup because of the Lucky Dog rule. In order to do it, the driver has to run a flawless race the rest of the day. It has been done before.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s race after the two mistakes was anything but flawless. He constantly went three-wide when it wasn’t necessary, cut drivers off and become very aggressive during the Brian Vickers incident. You know you have screwed up when you have Jeff Burton waiting on you at the end of the race to discuss what occurred.

Now, my take on the Junior/Vickers incident. After looking at the video of what happened, at least 20 times, I believe both drivers were at fault. Junior did have a very good run on Vickers going into the turn. Yes, both drivers were fighting to get their lap back, but they both should have used the good ‘ole “give and take” method.

Junior must be smarter if he wants to see Victory Lane  in 2009

With the run Junior had, Vickers should have just stayed his line and let him go by. On the other hand, once Vickers put up the block, Junior should have backed down and saved it for the next lap. In other words, both drivers should have given a little. I guarantee their finishes would have been much better.

I see only one real thing keeping the Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 88 team from winning races and/or championships. Junior must learn to focus on the little things as well as the big picture. He has to focus on his pit stops, he must race smarter and he can not let emotions dictate what he does on the track.

Busch, Johnson Lead Shootout Practice

 

Kyle Busch, driving the M&Ms #18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry, posted the fastest speed during the first practice session for the 2009 Budweiser Shootout at Daytona on Friday. Busch’s fastest time was 47.009 or 191.453 MPH.

Defending Sprint Cup Champion, Jimmie Johnson paced the second practice. Johnson posted the fastest time of both sessions at 46.724 or 192.620 MPH.

Some other news worth posting during the first and final Bud Shootout practices:

• Jeff Burton, driver of the Caterpillar #31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Impala, blew an engine two laps into the final practice for the Bud Shootout.
• Paul Menard, who drew the pole position for the Bud Shootout, wrecked his car after probably blowing a right rear tire. Rookie Scott Speed was also involved in the accident, getting extensive damage to the right front of his Toyota Camry. Neither driver will have to go to a backup car for tonight’s race.

If you would like more information on the Bud Shootout practice times and speeds, you can check out these links:

2009 Bud Shootout First Practice

2009 Bud Shootout Final Practice

 

It is almost here! The Bud Shootout will air tonight (February 7, 2009) at 8 P.M. (EST) on Fox!

2009 Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year Prediction

The 2009 season will bring us just two candidates for Raybestos Rookie of the Year in the Sprint Cup Series. Those candidates are Joey Logano and Scott Speed.

Joey Logano

First up is Joey Logano. Logano is the most-hyped rookie in recent memory. You have probably heard more about Logano in the last six months than you have about any rookie since Dale Earnhardt,Jr.

 2009 Raybestos Rookie of the Year Candidate Joey Logano

Joey Logano was born May 24, 1990 in Middletown, Connecticut. He was nicknamed “Sliced Bread” by former Nationwide Champion, Randy LaJoie. LaJoie’s son, Corey, grew up racing with Logano.

Logano burst onto the NASCAR scene last season after he turned 18, NASCAR’s minimum age to compete in the top three series. He then won his first Nationwide Series race just 21 days later at Kentucky Speedway. With wins in quarter midgets, Bandoleros and Legends as a child to USAR Hooters Pro Cup, Camping World East and ARCA Series as a teenager, Logano has proven he is as good as the hype indicates.

Joey Logano will take over the Joe Gibbs Racing #20 Home Depot Toyota Camry from Tony Stewart in 2009.

 

Scott Speed

Scott Speed was born January 24, 1983 in Manteca, California. Speed worked his way up through the open wheel career ladder winning national championships in karting before moving on to US Barber Formula Dodge and US Star Mazda Series. Speed continued his climb overseas with 2004 championships in the Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup and German Formula Renault series.

2009 Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate Scott Speed

Speed got a taste of the big time in 2005 when he started two Formula One races. He then ran the full season in 2006 and the first ten races of 2007 before disagreements with the team caused a separation.

In all, Speed started 28 Formula One races without scoring a point in the series. Overall Scott Speed performed well in Formula One considering the equipment he had.

Speed found his way back to the U.S. and landed in the ARCA series. In 2008, Scott scored four wins and ended the season third in points. At the same time he started 16 Truck Series events for Bill Davis Racing managing nine top tens and one win.

Speed ended last season with five NASCAR Sprint Cup starts in the Red Bull Racing #84. Speed struggled with his first four starts, not starting better than 33rd or finishing higher than 30th. However, in the season finale in Homestead, Speed started on the outside of the front row, ran near the front most of the day and ended the race with a respectable 16th place finish.

This is the same team that he will race full-time with in 2009. They have simply changed the car number to #82.

 

The Skinny

Scott Speed brings the most diversified racing resume and experience of the two drivers. He has proven he is a quick learner. Throughout his career he has reached his potential at a rapid pace. He could quickly become the #1 driver at Team Red Bull. And his last name is Speed, go figure.

Joey Logano has also shown to be a quick study. Logano has proven that he isn’t scared to rub fenders with the big boys. He will be the youngest driver to ever qualify for the Daytona 500 at 18 years old. Logano will need to mature quickly to overcome obstacles during his first full-time season in Sprint Cup.

 

My Prediction

One driver has great skill and experience but is with a second tier team. The other driver is very young, immensely talented, and has the support of a championship-winning crew chief with nearly unlimited resources.

My choice is the latter, Joey Logano, to win the 2009 Raybestos Rookie of the Year. With crew chief Greg Zipadelli’s tutelage, Logano will have a very good season. He should get at least one or two wins in 2009 and may even challenge for a Chase spot near the end of the season.

I hope that both drivers have a safe and competitive season in 2009. I believe they both will have great success in the Sprint Cup Series.

2009 Bud Shootout Entry List

Here is the official Entry List for the 2009 Bud Shootout. Remember, the Bud Shootout will be February 7th, at 8:00PM (EST) on Fox.

Car #	Driver	Owner	Crew Chief	Car Make	Sponsor
00	David Reutimann	Michael Waltrip	Rodney Childers	Toyota Camry	Aaron’s Dream Machine
2	Kurt Busch	Walter Czamecki	Patrick Tryson	Dodge Charger	Miller Lite
6	David Ragan	Mike Dee	Jimmy Fennig	Ford Fusion	UPS
7	Robby Gordon	Robby Gordon	Kirk Almquist	Dodge Charger	Jim Beam
07	Casey Mears	Richard Childress	Gil Martin	Chevrolet Impala	Jack Daniels
9	Kasey Kahne	George Gillett Jr	Kenny Francis	Dodge Charger	Budweiser
11	Denny Hamlin	J.D. Gibbs	Michael Ford	Toyota Camry	FedEx Express
12	David Stremme	Roger Penske	Leroy McCauley	Dodge Charger	Penske Dodge
14	Tony Stewart	Margaret Haas	Darian Grubb	Chevrolet Impala	Old Spice/Office Depot
16	Greg Biffle	Jack Roush	Greg Erwin	Ford Fusion	3M
17	Matt Kenseth	John Henry	Drew Blickensderfer	Ford Fusion	DeWalt
18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs	Steve Addington	Toyota Camry	M&Ms
19	Elliott Sadler	George Gillett Jr	Kevin Buskirk	Dodge Charger	Stanley Tools
20	Joey Logano	Joe Gibbs	Greg Zipadelli	Toyota Camry	Home Depot
24	Jeff Gordon	Rick Hendrick	Steve Letarte	Chevrolet Impala	DuPont
26	Jamie McMurray	Geoff Smith	Donnie Wingo	Ford Fusion	Crown Royal
29	Kevin Harvick	Richard Childress	Todd Berrier	Chevrolet Impala	Shell/Pennzoil
31	Jeff Burton	Richard Childress	Scott Miller	Chevrolet Impala	Caterpillar
43	Reed Sorenson	Richard Petty	Mike Shplett	Dodge Charger	McDonald’s
44	A.J. Allmendinger	George Gillett Jr	Sammy Johns	Dodge Charger	Valvoline
48	Jimmie Johnson	Jeff Gordon	Chad Knaus	Chevrolet Impala	Lowe’s
55	Michael Waltrip	Michael Waltrip	Bootie Barker	Toyota Camry	NAPA
82	Scott Speed	Dietrich Mateschitz	Jimmy Elledge	Toyota Camry	Red Bull
83	Brian Vickers	Dietrich Mateschitz	Ryan Pemberton	Toyota Camry	Red Bull
88	Dale Earnhardt Jr	Rick Hendrick	Tony Eury Jr	Chevrolet Impala	National Guard/AMP Energy
96	Bobby Labonte	Jeff Moorad	Brad Parrott	Ford Fusion	Ask.com
98	Paul Menard	Max Jones	Larry Carter	Ford Fusion	Menard’s
99	Carl Edwards	Jack Roush	Bob Osborne	Ford Fusion	AFLAC

 

The starting order is determined by a drawing for the Bud Shootout. It will be interesting to see which of these 28 drivers get the pole!

Thursday I will have a special post on the Bud Shootout called The Big Bud Shootout Shindig. This post will cover everything from the Bud Shootout history, famous events during previous Shootouts, former winners and much more!

Be sure you don’t miss it!

Follow The Chaos For The 2009 Season

As the 2009 season approaches, I felt like it would be a good time to list some of the new driver/crew chief/team changes. This Silly Season probably represents more changes than any other year I can remember.

So hang on and try to keep up as I list some of the biggest changes thus far for the 2009 Sprint Cup Series season.

 

• Mark Martin left a part time schedule, driving the #01 U.S. Army Chevrolet, to run full time again for Hendrick Motorsports. Martin will be steering the #5 Kellogg's/Car Quest Chevrolet with Alan Gustafson being the crew chief.
• Casey Mears left that Hendricks Motorsports #5 to drive for Richard Childress Racing. Mears will be driving the #07 Jack Daniels Chevrolet with Gil Martin serving as crew chief.
• Clint Bowyer, the previous driver of the #07 Jack Daniels Chevrolet, will move over to Richard Childress Racing's fourth team the #33 General Mills/BB&T Chevrolet with crew chief Shane Wilson.
• Ryan Newman left the #12 Alltel Dodge of Penske South Racing to drive the #39 U.S. Army Chevrolet of Stewart Haas Racing with crew chief Tony Gibson.
• Tony Stewart left Joe Gibbs Racing to become half owner of Stewart Haas Racing and pilot the #14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet with new crew chief Darian Grubb.
• David Stremme was hired by Penske South Racing to drive the #12 Alltel Dodge with crew chief Roy McCauley.
• Rookie Joey Logano was promoted to the Sprint Cup Series by Joe Gibbs Racing. He will steer the #20 Home Depot Toyota with crew chief Greg Zipadelli.
• John Andretti was hired to drive the #34 Window World Chevrolet for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. This team is from an alliance between Earnhardt Ganassi Racing and Front Row Motorsports. The crew chief will be Scott Eggleston.
• Rookie Scott Speed has moved into the #82 Red Bull Racing Toyota vacated by A.J. Allmendinger. The crew chief will be Jimmy Elledge.
• A.J. Allmendinger has signed to drive the new #44 Valvoline Dodge with Richard Petty Motorsports (now a part of Gillett Evernham Motorsports) for 2009. As of this post, Allmendinger is set for eight races this season, but the team is working on getting more races.
• Reed Sorenson will be piloting the #43 Gillett Evernham Motorsports Dodge in 2009 with crew chief Mike Shiplett. Their will be five primary sponsors for the team in 2009, most notably the U.S. Air Force.
• Former Sprint Cup Champion Bobby Labonte will be driving the #96 Academy Sports and Outdoors Ford for Hall of Fame Racing with crew chief Todd Parrott.
• JTG Daugherty Racing will add a Sprint Cup Series car to their team in 2009. They have primarily fielded cars in the Nationwide Series. The new Sprint Cup car will be the #47 Little Debbie Snacks Toyota driven by rookie Marcos Ambrose. Frank Kerr will be the crew chief.
• Paul Menard has left DEI, after the merger with Ganassi, to join Yates Racing. Menard will drive the #98 Menard's Ford. The crew chief will be Larry Carter.

There have been some notable team mergers during the off season as well.

• Richard Petty Motorsports has merged with Gillett Evernham Motorsports. It will be referred to as Richard Petty Motorsports.
• Dale Earnhardt Inc. has merged with Ganassi Racing to form Earnhardt Ganassi Racing or EGR.
• Yates Racing has formed an alliance with Hall of Fame Racing. It will be called Yates Racing.

Boy! This stuff can get confusing. It is no wonder they call it the Silly Season. The team mergers can get real confusing, because different people call the new team a different name. It all depends on who you talk to.

It can get mind-boggling the first couple races trying to figure out which driver is driving what. Hopefully this list will help to clear it up a bit.

The Top 20 Drivers of 2009 Part 2

Welcome to Day 2 of The Top 20 Drivers of 2009. This installment will cover who I think will finish 17th, 16th, and 15th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for 2009.These next three drivers should be interesting to watch during the upcoming season, so here we go!

#17 Brian Vickers

Brian Vickers was born on October 24, 1983 in Thomasville, NC. Vickers started racing go-karts at eight years-old and lived around racing the whole time growing up. Vickers’ father, Charlie, was an instrumental player in racing around the state of North Carolina.

Vickers had some impressive runs in 2008, considering how new the team was. Vickers had 36 starts, 1 pole, 0 wins, 3 Top 5s, 6 Top 10s, an average start of 22.0, and an average finish of 21.0, finishing 19th in points with 3,580.

Vickers will be back with Team Red Bull driving the #83 Red Bull Toyota Camry

#16 Kurt Busch

Kurt Busch was born on August 4, 1978 in Las Vegas, NV. Like many other drivers, Busch started racing go-karts at an early age. It was the Dwarf Car Series that got Busch recognized as a very talented racer. In 2000, Jack Roush hired him to drive a Craftsman Truck Ford, winning Rookie of the Year honors. Four years later, Busch clinched the 2004 Sprint Cup Championship.

In 2008, Busch had 36 starts, 0 poles, 1 win, 5 Top 5s, 10 Top 10s, an average start of 20.0, an average finish of 22.0, and finishing 18th in points with 3,635.

He will probably run a tad better in 2009. Just as in 2008, Busch will struggle on the intermediate tracks. Busch is able to shine the most on short tracks, road courses, and the superspeedways.

Busch will again be driving the “Blue Deuce” , the #2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger for Penske South Racing in 2009.

#15 Martin Truex, Jr.

Martin Truex, Jr. was born on June 29, 1980 in Mayetta, NJ. Truex also got his start in go-karts, but found great success in the Modified ranks, then winning the 2000 Rookie of the Year in the Busch North Series.The New Jersey native made his Sprint Cup debut in the 2004 Bass Pro Shops 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and also won the Busch Series Championship the same year.

Truex, Jr. had an up and down season in 2008 making 36 starts, 0 poles, 0 wins, 3 Top 5s, 11 Top 10s, an average start of 17.0, an average finish of 18.0, and ending 15th in points with 3,839.

Truex, Jr. will continue his ride with the #1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Impala for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing in 2009.

That is what I think will be the finishing order in points for #17 through #15 for the 2009 season. I will present #14 through #12 tomorrow.