The Official Race Thread

[HarveyWallbangers]

soo who are you guys pulling for, for the championship? well, if you have been a reader of this thread you know that i for one will be rooting for kenseth. I won't however be disappointed in Martin or Burton win the championship.

Kenseth. That's it. If somebody else has to win, there are guys I like more than others (e.g. Burton or Martin). However, I'll only be really happy if Kenseth wins it all.

[Fosco33]

soo who are you guys pulling for, for the championship? well, if you have been a reader of this thread you know that i for one will be rooting for kenseth. I won't however be disappointed in Martin or Burton win the championship.

Kenseth. That's it. If somebody else has to win, there are guys I like more than others (e.g. Burton or Martin). However, I'll only be really happy if Kenseth wins it all.

True that - and only b/c I'm a homer

I love it when a Yankee can do well in a 'southern' sport.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Kenseth won't change much in first Chase race
By MATT KENSETH, For The Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Well, the Chase is finally here and now all anyone wants to ask me is, ``How do you approach it?''

For me, it's the same as the 26 races before. This No. 17 team has done a really good job of taking it one race at a time all year. Do I look at the points? Sure. But, I don't dwell on them or think about the different scenarios or anything like that.

Here's what I know: If we can get the car as fast as we possibly can each week, have good pit stops, no part failures, and don't wreck, then we'll consistently have good finishes and things will take care of themselves. I know that first pays more points than second, second more than third, and so on.

We can't control how good other teams run, all we can control is how good our car is and how good the pit stops we have are and how good of race I run. I like the way our team is performing right now, but that doesn't guarantee us anything for the next 10 races. We have to continue to approach it one race at a time.

Crew chief Robbie Reiser and the guys have done a great job in the first 26 races. Overall, our cars this year have been better and more competitive than ever. We've been fortunate to win four races and close enough to win four or five more.

This is the first year where I've felt like we were capable of winning eight to ten races so far. Hopefully, we'll have a chance to win a few more. We're all excited about going into the Chase as the points leader, but we also know that they don't pay anything to the leader after 26 races. We have to continue to perform at the level we're at if we're going to compete for the championship in these final races -- and that all starts at Loudon this weekend.

Kenseth also sat down to answer five questions with AP Auto Racing Writer Jenna Fryer:

Q: NASCAR changed the championship format after your runaway title to ``add excitement.'' Did that offend you?

A: ``Maybe when NASCAR first announced it, it did. They did wait until after New York, after we were done celebrating the championship, and I was thankful for that. But they maybe could have called and told us before they announced it to the media, even if it was just five minutes before. I didn't know anything about it, and all of a sudden I'm getting all these questions about the points system. But looking back, I can see why they did it and I understand that they are trying to compete with the NFL, and I'm actually thankful for it.''

Q: The perception is that your title run was boring, and that you are also boring. Why do people think that about you?

A: ``I don't know and I don't really care, either. From my standpoint being a fan, I think the Busch Series championship is boring. Nothing against Kevin Harvick, but if someone tunes in with five races to go and sees that he already has the title wrapped up, they're going to think that is boring, too. So I understand where people are coming from when they say my title run was boring. NASCAR wants to make it more exciting, and I can totally see that now.''

Q: The top 10 drivers are going to New York City this week to promote the Chase. Since you say you aren't boring, what do you plan to do in the big city?

A: ``Nothing. My media commitments and that's it. Wait, actually, I am getting to go on Letterman, and I always said that was something I wanted to do, so that will be pretty cool. But that's really about it. I'm a country boy, and the things I like to do don't involved bumping elbows with a million people.''

Q: You are a country boy, from tiny Cambridge, Wisc., and I know you are a huge Packers fan. How brutal was their 26-0 loss to the Bears?

``Well, I went to the game and I really enjoy doing that. But me and (wife) Katie went with a couple of friends who are Bears fans, so that was painful. But we got to go down on the field, and see Lambeau Field in September when you aren't freezing your butt off. That part is just awesome, and really gives me an appreciation for the sport and the history and the tradition of the Packers. But the game? That was terrible. Luckily I had gone to Chicago to pick my friends up and fly them to the game, so they didn't dare give me any crap because they knew it would be a long five-hour drive home for them if they did.''

Q: You are playing fantasy football this year, how did opening week go for you?

``Oh, I don't know. I fell asleep! I was winning my game, but the guy I was playing had Randy Moss. I didn't do super great this week because my best player is Chad Johnson and he had a bad week. I need to go so I can find out if I won or lost.'' (He won.)

[Little Whiskey]

okay, well nobody has bumped this thread in a while so while i'm on i might as well take care of it.

this past weeks race was at dover. kenseth tried to hold off a hard charging burton but with older tires simply couldn't. Shortly after he was passed by burton he ran out of gas. however he still finished 10 and is third in the points. during the post race interview you could tell that he was shocked that he ran out of fuel. Sounds like robbie rieser miscaculated. if he knew he was close on fuel i doubt he would have raced burton that tough.
I'd say that both kahne and kyle busch are out of the race with back to back bad races. kahne was no fault of his own, as both wrecks were the result of being caught up in some one elses mistake. This week it was stewarts turn to run out of skill. he spun out by him self and kahne had no where to go. busch simply blew up his engine. if jimmie johnson has another bad finish (lets hope) you might as well count him out too. he is turning into the peyton manning of nascar. after three chase races it looks like RCR will be the team to beat. both harvick and burton are peaking at the right time.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Love the fact they ask him a Packers question each week. I've a read a quote from him in the past where he said that he takes Packer losses harder than his own losses. True Packer fan.

When the tank runs dry
By MATT KENSETH, For The Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- I guess there's nothing really to talk about this week. Pretty much business as usual last weekend. Nothing too eventful at Dover.

Yeah, right.

Anytime something like this happens -- getting passed for the lead with six laps left, then running out of gas with two to go -- my first reaction is to get upset and frustrated because we should have had at least a second-place finish. But once you take a minute, or in my case a day, to step back and look at things, we're very fortunate to have left Dover with a top-10 finish and only 16 points out of first.

If you would have told me last week that we would go to Dover and run out of gas, I'd probably have said we'd finish around 30th or worse. So the fact that we did run out of gas with two to go, and were still able to coast to pit road, get a splash of gas, and still finish 10th is remarkable.

We're very fortunate for sure.

It was frustrating and still is frustrating because we had the dominant car all day long on Sunday. When you have the dominant car, you need to win, and we didn't get that done. Yeah, we actually cut into the points lead a little, but just think if we could have held on for second: We would be about 30 points clear and in first place in the Chase.

I just hope that it doesn't come back to bite us, but I can't help but feel frustrated with all of those points we left on the table.

I was happy that Jeff Burton won. If I couldn't win, there's honestly no one else I'd rather see win than Jeff. He's a good friend and a great person. I was using a lot of racetrack when we were racing there at the end, but he finally got the bottom groove to work and made the clean pass. He's a great driver and I know that win will mean a lot to him and he deserves it.

One last bright note, because I feel like I'm being too negative -- I'm still extremely pleased with how our cars have been running. Robbie (Reiser, the crew chief) has this team operating at a championship level and the pit stops continue to be fantastic.

We just didn't get it done as a team on Sunday. And if you race long enough, things like that will happen. We're going to Kansas this week where we've had some success in the past, and hopefully we'll bounce back in a big way this weekend.

Kenseth's Q&A with AP Auto Racing Writer Jenna Fryer:

Q: That was a tough loss, and you were pretty hard on Robbie after the race for not pitting for gas. How long does that stuff stay with you? And how do you handle it with Robbie once you've calmed down?

A: ``Well, I don't think I was really hard on Robbie that much. It was dumb not to pit, it cost us and we can't do those things if we want to win a championship. So I was a little hard on all of us. And when I make a mistake, I am hard on me and admit that I screwed up.

``It was tough to take that we gave it away. And after I calmed down, I apologized to Robbie. But Robbie has a way of not letting things go too quick, he doesn't move on too fast. So I said what I had to say and just moved on. That's all you can do, is move on and let it go. It wasn't the smartest move we've made as a group. Now we've gotta be smart enough to move on.''

Q: Great moment after the race when you stopped your car next to Jeff Burton to congratulate him. A lot of other drivers visited him in Victory Lane. I know he's a former teammate of yours, but why the love widespread for Jeff?

A: ``I think Jeff is well respected, he's a great driver and he had been in a little bit of a slump the past few years. It doesn't seem like it had been five years since he won, but it was and that's a long time. Obviously, he's proven himself as a championship contender before, and he had 17 career wins. So when somebody goes through that kind of slump, everybody is happy for him.

``I think the drivers are a pretty close-knit community, so when people say a guy can't drive anymore and it's someone as respected as Jeff as, we all want to see him win again. When he does it makes all of us happy.''

Q: You're big into aviation, and I know that the track is near the Dover Air Force base. Did you get a chance to stop over there? Check out any of the planes?

A: ``I got to go to the Air Force base, and signed some autographs and hung out with a lot of those guys. Then I got to see a C-5, which they say is the biggest airplane in the world. I don't know for sure if that is true, but it is the biggest military airplane. So I got to see the flight deck, and see the things they do for moving a lot of equipment and a lot of people. It's really big when there is no cargo in there. The guys told me they can play football down there in the bottom.''

Q: Dover also has a casino on track property. Did you lighten your wallet at all last weekend?

A: ``I went and donated a little bit. It was my annual donation and I gave most of it up on one machine. But then (wife) Katie went in there and won it all back, so as a group we left even. But my wallet was light and her purse was full. I can't tell you how much.''

Q: Last but not least, big win for your Packers last weekend. Was your fantasy football team as lucky?

A: ``Yeah, it was great the Packers won. Brett Favre looked really sharp, the offense looked really sharp, and Favre threw his 400th touchdown pass and that's just a huge milestone. I think he is more about wins and losses, but it was still great to see him get it. And he threw it to Greg Jennings, who is my receiver in fantasy, so that was great for me, and it helped me get to 3-0 in fantasy this year. So it was all around a great football weekend.''

[digitaldean]

Had to bump this thread back up.

Boy, what a nasty finish at Talladega! Dale Jr. has Jimmie Johnson and Vickers try passing him on turn 3 of the final lap. Dale tries to block them Johnson hits the binders, Vickers rear ends Johnson, sending Johnson into Dale.

Both Dale Jr. and Johnson go into the grass and out of the top 20. Vickers wins the race.

Dale wasn't ticked off. Essentially said, "that's Talladega racing." Flat out said he wasn't that upset. Johnson on the other hand was whining about a teammate knocking him out (Vickers). Vickers is leaving their team (Hendrick) at the end of the year for another. Hendrick has locked him out of team meetings and all sorts of juvenile crap. Don't think Vickers is losing any sleep over this one.

Points leader Jeff Burton got a flat tire near the end of the race and lost a lap to the field. Burton finished out of the top 20 I believe.

Wisconsin's own, Matt Kenseth, lead over 20 laps of the race and finished 4th. He is now ONLY 6 points behind Burton. Mark Martin had a good day and is only 10 behind Burton.

Jeff Gordon finished in 35th after getting tangled in an earlier 11-car pileup.

Here are the pts. standings as of now (number in parentheses is amt of movement in top 10)
1. Jeff Burton --
2. (+2) Matt Kenseth -6
3. Mark Martin -10
4. (+1) Kevin Harvick -33
5. (-3) Denny Hamlin -51
6. (+1) Dale Earnhardt Jr. -106
7. (-1) Jeff Gordon -147
8. Jimmie Johnson -156
9. (+1) Kasey Kahne -185
10. (-1) Kyle Busch -185

[Little Whiskey]

Thanks for the bump digitaldean, i was hoping i wouldn't have to dig for this thread. with burton's misfortune, it really helped kenseth close in to the lead.

I think the vickers incident ruined Jimmie's hopes for a championship. again he is the payton manning of Nascar. chokes in the playoffs. you can pretty much count out gordon on down. unless the top teams have multiple bad races they are out of it.

the reason vickers is locked out of the meetings (i believe) has more to do with company secrets (more specifically mfg secrets) than juvenile crap. he will be driving a toyota as well next year.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Kenseth moving up in the points
By MATT KENSETH, For The Associated Press
October 10, 2006

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- I guess Talladega lived up to the hype. Thankfully, we weren't a part of the drama.

We had a great car and were able to lead some laps, but we just didn't have much help at the end. Still, it was a great points day for us and I moved up to second and am only six points behind Jeff Burton.

We were sitting in sixth for the final 10 laps or so, and I was trying to time my run on Kurt Busch in front of me with the run that Martin Truex was getting behind me. But he was trying to do the same with me and Kevin Harvick, who was running behind him.

Obviously, we never could get in tune.

I knew the 31 (Burton) and the 24 (Jeff Gordon) had some big problems and it was going to end up a pretty good day for us in the points, so part of me was thinking, ``Man, I can't risk jumping out of line and falling all the way back to 20th or something.''

But I had made up my mind to dive low going into turn three on the final lap and just see what happens. I thought, even if no one went with me, I could still salvage a top-10 finish.

But as soon as I took a peek inside, all I could see was the side of the 8 (Dale Earnhardt) and the 48 (Jimmie Johnson). I didn't know what had happened, but I quickly tucked back in line and we ended up finishing fourth, which is probably the best thing that could have happened for us at that point anyway.

It puts us in a good spot for these next few races. After the miserable run we had at Kansas and the disappointment we had at Dover, it was nice to run up front, lead laps and get a top-five finish out of it. This finish definitely helped us gained some much-needed momentum.

Now we're heading to Charlotte, which is one of my favorite tracks on the circuit. My first Cup win was there (in 2000) and we've won the All-Star race there. We're only six points back and in good shape to make a run at the title.

Kenseth's Q&A with AP Auto Racing Writer Jenna Fryer:

Q: What a finish at Talladega. Now that you've seen the replays, what did you think of Vickers taking out the leaders?

A: ``It was unfortunate for Dale Jr. and Jimmie and I hate to see that happen. But in that type of racing, it's always a possibility. The main thing is I doubt that Brian did it on purpose. I think he really intended to push him to the win and it just didn't work out, he just got him at a bad angle. But that's the way those deals go sometimes.''

Q: I think people wonder why Jimmie just didn't sit in second place and take those points, because he really needed them. As a racer, is it possible to just sit back and points race, or is it against everything you believe in to not run for the win?

A: ``No, no, you go for it. I always say the same thing; What's more important, the win or the points? Well, every time I've checked, you get the most points for the win, so you've got to go for the win. You know, the way Jimmie raced that race was really, really smart. He didn't try to get the lead with four laps to go, he waited until the perfect time. He and Vickers had a big lead on fourth place, he had a huge run going, he was going into turn three, so even if he didn't complete the pass, he was still going to get a good finish. The worst he was going to do was finish third. He played it really smart, had nothing to lose, calculated it out and was probably going to win the race. He just didn't expect to get wrecked by his teammate.''

Q: It looks like that accident might really harm the friendship between Vickers and Johnson. Have you ever feuded with a teammate?

A: ``I have had disagreements with teammates and they've had them with me, but we've all worked it out. I can't imagine that someone would turn a teammate on purpose. But I've been on the other side of it, like in Chicago when Jeff Gordon took me out, that was totally intentional. So I totally know how it feels. I've been on the other side of it, too.''

Q: The Gordon situation at Chicago is a little different because he wasn't your teammate. So how is the relationship now?

A: ``I don't know if we've ever had a relationship. We've always known each other, and always raced against each other, but I haven't really been one of his `in' people. I don't get invited to the clubs in New York. But we do race each other clean.''

Q: There's some rumblings that you and crew chief Robbie Reiser may be splitting up at the end of the season, so he can move into a managerial role at Roush Racing. What's going on there?

A: ``I don't know, it looks to be something that (teammate) Greg Biffle started in an interview more than anything and now it's got legs. I only know that Robbie is one of the most talented crew chiefs in the business, and I'm really proud that we have the longest crew chief-driver relationship in the garage. But he's obviously not going to be a crew chief forever. I do hope he keeps doing it for a while, but whatever he wants to do I support him. Robbie has offers from all over the place to go run other teams, and maybe someday he will. Selfishly, I want him to keep doing my deal for a long time.''

Q: Mark Martin is leaving Roush Racing after like 100 years there. What do you think about that?

A: ``I have really mixed emotions on that because I hate to see him leave Roush, he's been here a long time and he's the face of the team. But if that's what he wants to do, and it gives him more flexibility with his schedule, then I am happy for it.''

Q: So if Mark's gone, are you the new face of Roush Racing?

A: ``I don't know if I am ready for that role. I would certainly like to help where I can. But I like to joke that Greg is the new face because he's the oldest. But he's certainly been around a long time and has won a Busch championship and a truck championship, and like I said, he's the oldest. So between me and him, we'll do what we can to help.''

Q: Give me a fantasy football update.

A: ``I won this week, so I am now 4-1. But I play (wife) Katie and her sister, Julie, this week. Their team name is `Twisted Sisters.' Her sister is really into it, and Katie is getting into it, and I've already been talking smack this week. I'm looking forward to the matchup.''

[HarveyWallbangers]

Kenseth: Lucky to still be within striking distance
By MATT KENSETH, For The Associated Press
October 17, 2006

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- I have to feel fortunate that, despite finishing two laps down at Lowe's Motor Speedway, I still ended up 14th.

To me, that says:

1. The leaders set a pretty fast pace.
2. There were a lot of teams having problems, us included.
3. As a team, we never gave up.

The third one is the most encouraging sign to me. We had some problems that got us two laps down early and we never could quite recover. We came close and it's kind of frustrating because we had a car that was capable of a top-10 finish, but we could never get back on the lead lap.

I'm not saying we deserved to get our laps back on Saturday, because I'm not sure we did. I guess what I'm saying is neither do the guys that wreck or have problems and go three or four laps down, and just because it's early in the race get the free pass the next four times the caution flag comes out and get back on the lead lap. I think that rule (the ``Lucky Dog'') should be looked at.

This week we're testing at Homestead, and a couple of guys are testing the Car of Tomorrow. I doubt I'll drive it, simply because our sole focus right now is on the championship.

Jeff Burton has been real consistent and we definitely have to pick up our game if we're going to keep pace. If you think about it, had Burton not had a tire problem at the end of the race at Talladega, he'd be up by over 100 points on the field.

Fortunately, we're still in the hunt. I'll feel a lot better once Martinsville is in the rearview mirror. It's been one of our toughest places to run, and that was no different in the spring. We had a good, solid top-10 run going until the brakes went out with under 10 laps to go and we wrecked going into turn one.

Needless to say, that car needed some big-time repairs, but it was pretty good and we've fixed it up to take back this weekend.

I think we've got a better handle on the brake issues that have hurt us a lot of flat tracks this season. We've done a brake test since they went soft on us at New Hampshire, and hopefully everything has been fixed and we'll be in good shape for a solid finish this weekend at Martinsville.

We've been doing a good job about taking it one race at a time, and we'll have to be sure to keep it business as usual this weekend if we want to keep pace.

Kenseth's Q&A with Auto Racing Writer Jenna Fryer:

Q: You fell two laps down so early at Charlotte, never recovered and finished 14th. Was the car that bad? How come you never contended?

A. ``The car was OK, but we certainly weren't going to be a contender to win. I do think we had a top-10 car, but we just had so many issues. Bad timing with the cautions, mistakes on pit road -- we just couldn't get it to roll right for us. It just was one of them nights where you couldn't get anything to go right. It's frustrating, but the best thing, the main thing, is that we forget about it and worry about the things we can control and that's our performance on the track. If our car had been better at the start the other night, we never would have gotten so far behind and fallen into the cycle that we did.''

Q: You said in your post-race interview: ``We'd be kidding ourselves thinking we can win a championship operating like we did tonight.'' You are only 45 points behind leader Jeff Burton, but it sounds like you think it's slipping away.

A: ``I don't think it's slipping away, but it's just a fact that we've got to be better and we're all smart enough to know that. Everyone keeps saying `we're just 45 points out,' but we're not doing anything to put us in position to win a championship. We're only 45 points out because Jeff Burton got a flat tire at Talladega, and some other guys crashed and had problems. We haven't performed at all the way we need to the last few weeks, and we've got to get better. There's only five races left. Time is running out for us.''

Q: So what's the deal with Jeff Burton? Is this his championship to lose now?

A: ``Jeff is smart, a great competitor, and one of the things that he's really got going for him is that everybody has left him alone. He's just kind of doing his own thing and nobody is taking him serious. When the Chase began, he wasn't a favorite to win it. I never heard people picking him to win 10 weeks ago, and that's an advantage. There's not a lot of high expectations on him. He's really sneaking up on the deal. Now is it his to lose? I don't know. I think whoever is leading, people would say it's his to lose. But there are five races left, and a 45-point lead isn't really that many points. That's one flat tire. One loose lug nut. That's a lot of races to put together, five perfect races. If they have one slip-up, that's 45 points.''

Q: What about your teammate, Mark Martin? After his crash at Charlotte he said he doesn't think he's ever meant to win a championship. Do you think he's cursed?

A: ``I don't think there's any such thing as being cursed. But I think there is something to be said about not being too optimistic or too pessimistic. You just go out there and do the best you can. You don't give up because you just don't know what's going to happen. I do believe it's easy to overanalyze this stuff, so you can't get too high or too low. You just worry about the things you can control.''

Q: So last week was the big fantasy football matchup against Twisted Sister, the team owned by your wife and her sister. How did it go?

A: ``I lost. It's been a bad week for me.''

Q: You lost to your wife! Has she been gloating?

A: ``I've been super busy. I went from Charlotte straight to Homestead, where I have been testing for two days. I haven't been around for her to gloat.''

[Little Whiskey]

Well, it was a great sports weekend for me. the pack won sunday and kenseth took the points lead. Too bad for burton who had engine problems. but that made the chase real close. there are 8 drivers who have a chance at winning the whole thing. I'd love to see kenseth win the damn thing without winning a race. lets see how they change it for next year then. maybe the rule will be..."kenseth cannot win the championship."

[HarveyWallbangers]

Matt hasn't been running really well. However, he does have four 1 1/2 mile tracks (cookie cutter tracks that Roush Racing is known for) that he's had good results with in the past.

[Little Whiskey]

your right harv, he has not run well, but he has finished alright. i think he has got a few horse shoes in the car. he was two laps down last week and finished top 15. this past week he was in the back all day but pulled out a 11th place finish. combine that with burtons woes and he takes the points lead.

it was nice to finally see two petty cars up front. both petty and labonte finished top 10 with labonte in 3rd.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Labonte has been running really well: two top 5s, three top 10s the last 4 weeks. His other finish was 17th. It's good to see the #43 car up there.

[FavreChild]

It was a valiant effort, LW, but I don't know that you were successful in converting me into a fan.

In fact, when does the PBA tour start?

(Sadly, perhaps, I already know the answer to that question!)

P.S. I do hate Jr. and Gordon, though. So maybe you consider that a small victory??

[Iron Mike]

Man, I'm SOOOO ready for Kentucky Coalminer team to be eliminated.



Ooooooops, wrong race thread