If misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows, so can the Chase hopes of the so-called "Bubble Boys," as the cutoff for eligibility draws near.
Monday, 1 July 2013
Salvage job for Keselowski, Wolfe at Kentucky (NASCAR.com)
RELATED: Race results " Updated standings
Latest news for Daytona race week (NASCAR.com)
Sprint Cup Series: Entry list for Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola " Standings
Kentucky brings rare top-five for McMurray (NASCAR.com)
SPARTA, Ky. -- Sunday brought something Jamie McMurray hadn't experienced in almost two years -- a top-five finish on NASCAR's premier circuit.
Hamlin cleared to drive for Indianapolis test (The Associated Press)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Denny Hamlin was checked and cleared to drive Monday morning before taking his No. 11 car onto the 2.5-mile oval at Indianapolis for testing.
Defending champion Keselowski could miss Chase (The Associated Press)
Tony Stewart's defense of his 2005 championship doesn't look so bad on paper, and it sure seemed to be soaring during his laborious celebratory fence-climb following his July win at Daytona.
Whelen named NASCAR Euro Series title sponsor (NASCAR.com)
Whelen Engineering, a long-time sponsor and supporter of NASCAR's touring and regional series, became the official entitlement sponsor of the European stock-car series in an announcement Monday morning in Paris.
NASCAR Green continues steady growth with Eaton (NASCAR.com)
RELATED: Click here for green.nascar.com
Coca-Cola Racing Family roundup: Kentucky (NASCAR.com)
Multiple members of the Coca-Cola Racing Family challenged for the lead at various points during the Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts at Kentucky Speedway.
UPS Game-Changing Moments: Kentucky (NASCAR.com)
On the final pit-stop sequence of the Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts at Kentucky Speedway, only one driver in the lead pack took no tires, and that driver went on to win.
Sunday, 30 June 2013
Craziest Moment: Kurt Busch gets into Brad Keselowski to trigger pileup
During the early stages of Sunday's race at Kentucky, Kurt Busch made an aggressive three-wide move to the apron of the tri-oval and the inside of Brad Keselowski. But when Busch's car re-emerged back onto the banking, he wasn't clear of Keselowski's car and tagged the defending champion on the left rear quarterpanel.
Keselowski did his best to save the car after it spun towards pit road on lap 49, but after he corrected it and started sliding in the direction of the outside wall, he collected Greg Biffle and Dave Blaney in a vicious accident that sheared off the front of Biffle's car.
Travis Kvapil and Landon Cassill also sustained damage behind the crash.
"It's a wreck. Wrecks happen," Keselowski said. "It takes a chain of events to get there. We had the bottom lane on two or three restarts in a row and got shuffled back a little bit. We were trying to get patient because it looked like we will get the whole race in before rain and there is no reason to drive like an animal. Apparently I am the only one that got that memo. It is one of those deals."
"I know he didn't intentionally wreck me but it is just one of those things. A chain of events with the way the cars drive and the track has that really bad bump down there and we all know it. There is no reason to go down there but he still did."
Busch apologized on the radio after the accident, saying the track shot him up towards Keselowski's car as he got back on the banking. As he was on the apron, Busch's car bottomed out heavily at the start/finish line over that bump.
He also apologized on Twitter after the race.
I hate that my mistake ruined @bradkeselowski @gbiffle @RCR27PMenard & their teams day. Apologized 2 them all but mad at myself still
— Kurt Busch (@KurtBusch) June 30, 2013
After a string of poor finishes, Keselowski had slid to eighth in the points standings before Kentucky, where he won last season. Now, after the crash, he's 13th, 14 points out of the top 10, but also 17 points ahead of 18th without a win this season. Though Keselowski says it won't change his team's approach with nine races before the Chase.
"We are just going to go do our thing and we are just on a streak of bad luck," Keselowski said. "It will turn around and when it does we will be in victory lane and be alright."
More NASCAR coverage from Yahoo! Sports
• Late gamble pays off for Matt Kenseth in Quaker State 400
• Danica Patrick responds to Kyle Petty criticism
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson sustain damage from Denny Hamlin’s tire
Junior Nation, that's a new one, isn't it?
Dale Earnhardt Jr. started Sunday's Quaker State 400 on the pole and was leading on lap 38 when Denny Hamlin suffered a flat right front tire behind him. No big deal, right? Hamlin's car shot high in turn four, but avoided the rest of the field.
As Junior and the rest of the field thundered on, Hamlin slowly made his way around the track and dove to Kentucky's pit access road on the inside of turns three and four. As he was on that road, the carcass of that tire separated and shot towards the outside wall -- right across the track as everyone else headed into turn three.
Since he was the leader, Junior was the first to encounter the tire and he hit it with the right front of the car. After bouncing off Junior's car, the tire flew into the right front fender of Jimmie Johnson's car and dented the headlight.
Because of the locations of their respective damage, Johnson's looked more significant than Junior's. Both drivers stayed out to assess how the tire's impact affected their machines, but when the green flag flew, Johnson took the lead while Junior's car developed a significant push.
While Johnson planted himself at the front of the field and went on to lead 182 laps, dented fender and all, Earnhardt Jr.'s crew took the next 100 laps to fix the damage on the car. Though the car wasn't where it was at the start of the race, those repairs were effective enough for Junior to drive back inside the top 20 and finish 12th.
As for Hamlin? Well, those Chase chances have now disappeared from very slim to none, as he's 104 points out of the top 20 in 25th place.
Due to an apparent NASCAR technicality -- the caution for Hamlin's tire was deemed to be for debris -- Hamlin got his lap back via the free pass on that caution. However, on lap 148, he lost a right front tire again in turn four and slammed into the wall.
After driving his car back to the garage, Hamlin was transported to the infield care center. He was examined and released 20 minutes later after complaining of a headache and knee pain after banging his knee inside the car. He finished 35th.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)