Congratulations to Kyle Busch for his pair of victories this past weekend and also congrats to those who picked him here on this blog on Friday. Was glad that they were able to get the race in despite the fact that it rained in Richmond for most of the afternoon on Saturday. I thought the racing was pretty good all night. How was Friday night's race? I didn't get a chance to see it.
Here's the caution breakdown from yours truly:
I'm not going to count the first six laps of caution that were run to dry the track. So we'll start with the first caution flag being waved for Dave Blaney hitting the wall.
Jeremy Mayfield brought out the second caution. He spun and hit the wall.
Kasey Kahne spun on the front stretch bringing out the third caution. He didn't hit a thing though.
David Stremme made contact with Carl Edwards sending Edwards spinning. Jamie McMurray had to check up and he spun also bringing out the fourth caution.
Jimmie Johnson had brake issues which eventually led to him losing his brakes and spinning, bringing out caution number five. To make matters worse, he restarted in the wrong position and got black flagged by NASCAR which resulted in a drive through penalty, putting him 3 laps down.
The sixth caution was because Dale Earnhardt Jr. got into Jeff Burton sending him spinning and up into the wall.
Caution number seven was brought out for debris. This was the only debris caution of the race.
Joey Logano spun Greg Biffle who went up and tagged the wall for caution number eight.
Kevin Harvick blew a tire and hit the wall hard for caution number nine.
Marcos Ambrose can thank Sam Hornish for his spin and hitting the wall for caution number ten.
Caution number 11 was from a spinning Mark Martin who was hit by Ryan Newman. Newman hit Martin who had to check up so he didn't hit Tony Stewart who had checked up to avoid dumping Kyle Busch.
David Stremme, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne all got up into the wall for caution number 12. Stremme got hit by Bobby Labonte which sent Stremme into the wall collecting Kahne and Johnson.
Caution number 13 was brought out by a spinning Bobby Labonte down the frontstretch.
David Reutimann spun which brought out caution number 14.
Here's a few random thoughts:
-- The dumb Burger King commercial surprisingly only aired twice during the race. Thank God for small miracles.
-- I thought the Casey Mears/Kevin Harvick team swap worked well, until Harvick wrecked. Mears finished the race ninth, his best finish this season. I can't wait to see if they continue to do well this weekend at Darlington.
-- Rookie Watch: Joey Logano finished the race in 19th position. Scott Speed finished 33rd. I'm not sure what Speed's problem was all night. He must have just had a terrible car because he was in the back of the pack all night. Logano continues to creep up in the point standings, sitting in 32nd position while Speed is on the outside looking in in 36th position.
-- I only saw two mistakes on pit road. The first was Jimmie Johnson got caught for speeding on pit road and had to serve a penalty of starting at the tail end of the longest line for the restart. The second was David Reutimann's crew let a tire go loose during a pit stop. Did you see anything else?
What did you think of the race?
ON A DIFFERENT NOTE: If everything goes as planned, Bump Draft is being reborn tomorrow. She's moving to a new blogging platform. I'm not really sure what to expect. I was just told that if I wanted to get any blogging in that I needed to do so today. I won't be able to do a thing for a good chunk of the day tomorrow. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a smooth delivery and should be back up and running tomorrow afternoon.
It's May which means the next few weeks are all night races. However, Saturday night's race may have to wait until Sunday. The weather doesn't look good at all.
Qualifying for tomorrow night's Crown Royal 400 at Richmond International Raceway is scheduled for today at 5:30 on SPEED. Fingers are crossed that they get qualifying in. I'd like to see Scott Speed make the race or at least have the chance to qualify.
This is it. The moment is here. Richmond International Speedway, the final race for drivers to make their way in to the Chase. There are only five drivers out of 12 that are locked in. They are: Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Jeff Burton.
Greg Biffle and Kevin Harvick only need to start the race to clinch a spot in the Chase.
The real fight to get in is going to be between Clint Bowyer, David Ragan and Kasey Kahne. That is going to be the best race within the race to watch. Hmmmmm... who won here in the spring? My memory isn't all that good. Who could it have been? Oh, now I remember, Bowyer! In four starts here, Bowyer has three top 10s. Hopefully he has a strong finish Saturday night.
Of the three, who would you like to see get in? I think you know who I want to see get in... I'll be a nervous wreck during the entire race.
I am going to go with Kevin Harvick for the win this weekend. He has finished inside the top 10 in each of the last seven races here. He hasn't won this season so he'll be fighting hard for that. Plus, he's got the momentum and certainly the consistency on his side.
Who do you think will win?
Joey Logano, who is attempting to make his Sprint Cup Series debut in the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 this weekend, may be out of luck. He'll be driving the #02 car with Wally Brown as the crew chief. They are scheduled to qualify tomorrow, but it doesn't look like the weather is going to cooperate.
If it does rain, the lineup will be set by owners points which would leave the #02 car out of the field. If that happens, he will likely make his debut the following weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He wouldn't have been my pick to win at Richmond anyhow. Just sayin.
Here's the NASCAR Newscast: Richmond Race to the Chase Preview
First things, first: Happy Birthday Kyle Busch. He's a Taurus, just like me! Now that I think of it, maybe that's why I'm not all that fond of him (possible similar traits).
May = Night racing. The next three races are all on Saturday nights. I have to admit though that I have a hard time staying awake for the entire race when it's at night. But I do enjoy watching racing under the lights.
Here goes nothing ... As of the completion of the race at Talladega, I am 0-for-10 in picking a winner. Let's see if I can break this losing streak.
Drum roll please ... I am going with Tony Stewart. He has three wins here and last year got a ninth and a second place finish. Seems like a logical pick. Another to watch would be Jimmie Johnson who has won the last two races here.
This is an impound race, which of course means they can't touch the cars after qualifying. There have been 23 races where the driver has won from starting on the pole position. So go Tony go!
Who's your pick for the race tomorrow night?
Earlier this week racefan shared a picture with me that was taken at Talladega. I want to share it. Thank you racefan!
I thought the racing at Richmond was actually pretty good. Maybe it was the whole points saga and where Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch were, I don't know. Honestly, for a little while, I thought Harvick was going to be out and Junior was going to be in. He had what appeared to be a solid finish brewing until he blew yet another motor.
The fat lady is now singing and Junior is not in the Chase.
Here are the point standings after the completion of the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond Motor Speedway.
The Chase officially starts this coming weekend at New Hampshire International Speedway. I am heading down there on Thursday for the weekend events.
I will be updating the blog a few times a day with images that I have taken. So if there's anything or anyone you would like to see, please let me know and I will try my best to get some images for you.
Honestly, I'm glad that Saturday night's Chevy Rock & Roll 400 is the last race to determine who's in the chase. I think this race may be a little more exciting than the past few, or at least I'm hoping it is.
It's down to three drivers fighting to stay in or get in to the top 12 in points. All three of these drivers, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick all have solid finishes here. It would take a small miracle for something to happen in order for Junior to get in to the 12th position in points. Junior is 128 points behind 12th-place Harvick and 141 points behind 11th-place Busch.
Well, actually, he needs to finish no worse than fifth AND must lead the most laps, BUT in that scenario, Harvick would need to finish 43rd. If Junior gets lucky enough to win, AND lead the most laps, AND have Harvick finish 33rd or worse and/or Kurt Busch finish 37th or worse, he'd be in the Chase.
All these scenarios are just way too darn complicated for me to wrap my brain around. In any event, it should be a pretty good show to watch.
My picks? Any one of the three drivers I have just mentioned. Those are my picks for this weekend. Enjoy.
Jennifer is the newsroom
administrative assistant and
executive
assistant to the editor for the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. She is married, lives in Pownal with her husband and son, and has been following NASCAR for many years.
About this blog:
I am hopeful that this will be a place where people can air their two cents' worth about a race, catch up on the gossip and share their opinions on the rules and regulations of NASCAR. I have always felt that there has been a need for such a place in Maine and that this blog helps to fill the void.
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