Next two weekends .. Charlotte Motorspeedway

The basic format for the race remains the same — four segments of 20 laps with an optional pit stop between each segment, and then a mandatory four-tire pit stop before the final 10-lap segment.

The key to the race — and the big change for this year — is track position resulting from the pit stop before the final 10-lap dash to the finish.

Last year, drivers entered pit road with the winners of the first four segments at the front of field and the rest in the order of finish from the fourth segment.

This year, drivers will enter pit road according to their average finish from the first four segments. That will keep the winner of the first segment (Johnson last year) from sandbagging during the remaining three segments.

In another new twist, if a team wins all five segments, the driver will win an extra $1 million in addition to the $1 million winner’s purse.

Here are some other rules for the 29th Sprint All-Star race:

• Qualifying will be three laps with a mandatory four-tire pit stop. There is no speed limit on pit road.

• Qualifying results will determine the order of pit-stall selection because there is no pit-crew challenge this year.

• Caution laps count in the first four 20-lap segments but only green-flag laps count in the final 10.

• There will be five caution laps following the first, second and third segments. Drivers can pit but would lose track position.

• When setting the order for how drivers will come down pit road before the final segment, if there is a tie in average finish, ties will be broken by the finish of the fourth segment.

• The Sprint Showdown event for those not qualified for the all-star race will be 40 laps, with two 20-lap segments and an optional pit stop between them. All laps count. Qualifying is the traditional best of two laps.

The field for the Sprint All-Star Race features 22 drivers from the following eligibility requirements:

• Drivers who have won a race in 2012 or 2013: Marcos Ambrose, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, David Ragan and Tony Stewart.

• All-star winners since 2003: Kurt Busch (2010), Mark Martin (2005).

• Cup champions since 2003: All already in.

• The top two finishers from the Sprint Showdown. The car must be in a raceable condition as determined by Sprint Cup Series Director John Darby.

• The top driver in online/mobile app fan voting. The driver must finish on the lead lap and also have a car in raceable condition.

Thanks for the new blog cocoa.

WooHoo!!!!

For some reason, I did not watch the All Star race, last year.....looking forward to it, this go round!!!!

Congrats on your win Saturday, Cocoa......enjoy your spot, while you can!!!

Cocoa, thanks for the update. San, I watched last year and I liked it.

Hey wait! The All Star Race doesn't count for the league?

Hey Rooster!!! Doesn't look like it, based on the fantasy page.......

Good Morning !!!!

I must confess.... I did not watch the entire race......HOW could I? The damn thing did not actually get started, till close to "lights out" time !!! And........when BB went to the garage, so early, I said



JOHNSON REPEATS FOR FOURTH ALL-STAR VICTORY




Five-time Cup champ storms away in final 10-lap shootout

CONCORD, N.C. -- The Brothers Busch won the first four segments of Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but Jimmie Johnson took the one the counted -- the 10-lap dash to the finish -- and continued to build his legacy, not to mention his bank account.

Speeding away from Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne after a restart on Lap 81 of 90, Johnson won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series all-star exhibition race for a record fourth time, beating charging Joey Logano to the stripe by 1.722 seconds.

Kyle Busch, who won the second and third segments of 20 laps each, ran third, followed by Kahne and Kurt Busch. The elder Busch brother won the first and fourth segments and was first onto pit road before the final dash but exited fifth with a less-than-stellar pit stop.

Despite changes to his pit crew this week, Johnson’s over-the-wall gang performed an 11-second pit stop that got him out of the pits on the front row, beside Kahne, for the final restart. Ultimately, that made all the difference.

With the victory, Johnson broke a tie with teammate Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Sr. for most wins in the non-points race, won his second straight All-Star Race and collected $1 million for his efforts.

“To beat Jeff and Earnhardt, two guys I’ve looked up to my whole life -- two massive icons of our sport -- this means the world to me,” said Johnson, who started 18th after sliding through his pit box and drawing a penalty for a loose lug nut during Friday’s qualifying session.

“I really didn’t think we had a shot at winning tonight, starting (18th), but we had a great race car and worked our way through there and got the job done. Over time, honestly, it’s just dedication and drive from every member at Hendrick Motorsports, every member on this No. 48 team. We’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished, but we know we’ve got to keep pushing harder and pushing one another.”

Kyle Busch thought he had the fastest car, but a slower-than-usual four-tire stop put his No. 18 Toyota on the second row for the final restart.

“We just didn’t get the best pit stop there at the end to get us out on the front row, and when you’re back behind cars, you’re getting beat up on,” Busch said. “It is what it is. We’ll just take this as a good learning day and hopefully bring back some speed like this to the (Coca-Cola) 600 (May 26).”

NASCAR’s luck with weather held Saturday night, with a large enough window to complete the race with just one delay.

With Kurt Busch leading from the outset, NASCAR called a caution because of rain after Lap 8 and red-flagged the race after 13 laps when the shower intensified. The drivers came to pit road, parked in their stalls and waited.

The rain didn’t come soon enough, however, to save reigning Cup champion Brad Keselowski. On the second lap, transmission troubles sent his No. 2 Penske Racing Ford to the garage.

“Something just broke in the back half of the drive train, either the transmission or drive shaft gear -- I’m not sure which one -- but it’s one of those deals, unfortunately,” Keselowski said. “We’ll try to learn from it and move on.”

With Keselowski in the garage, the race resumed after a stoppage of 41 minutes, 28 seconds. Kurt Busch pulled away from brother Kyle Busch to win the first 20-lap segment by .751 seconds.

Kyle Busch kept the second segment in the family, pulling away from Clint Bowyer after a restart on Lap 29 -- after Ricky Stenhouse Jr. bounced off the Turn 4 wall and knocked Mark Martin for a loop through the grass in the quad-oval.

Jamie McMurray led wire-to-wire to win the Sprint Showdown and transfer into the main event. McMurray, who started second, took two tires during the halfway competition caution after 20 laps and pulled away to beat Cup rookie Stenhouse to the finish line by 1.226 seconds.

Stenhouse transferred into the All-Star Race as the second-place finisher. His romantic interest, Danica Patrick, finished ninth in the Showdown but punched her ticket into the All-Star Race as the winner of the Sprint Fan vote.

“Obviously being out front is massive,” McMurray said during the break between the Showdown and the main event. “When I got by (pole-sitter) Martin (Truex Jr.) at the start of the race. … I was trying to take it easy because I didn't know with the track being green how quickly the tires would fall off, and even running at like 80 percent it was amazing what a difference just being in clean air was.

“I had a really good car in practice (Friday). I thought honestly the 56 (Truex) and I had the two best cars looking at times yesterday, and then the two-tire stop was the right call for us. It got us up front.”

McMurray’s words proved prophetic. Being out front for the final 10-lap run was crucial to Johnson’s record run.

Please tell me this is a joke.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/warped-wednesday-coca-cola-600-cameras-no-longer-223829832.html

Hey Scout....it has to be.......there is nothing on Nascar, or Jayski.....

Congrats E, now everyone has a win!

Sad, Another racer dies.

Allen Simonsen dies after 1st hour crash of the 2013 Lemans



http://www.streetfire.net/video/allan-simonsen-big-crash-2013-lemans-24h_2429900.htm

http://www.crash.net/le+mans/news/192623/1/hour_1_big_crash_for_allan_simonsen.html

Aaron's also on board for every Sprint Cup race through 2015

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Brian Vickers will drive the No. 55 Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing full-time for the next two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series seasons beginning in 2014, the team announced Tuesday at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

The two-year deal for Vickers comes with a two-year renewal from Aaron’s, which will be the car’s primary sponsor for every Sprint Cup race through the end of the 2015 season. The Atlanta-based retailer has been a backer of Waltrip’s car owner efforts on at least a part-time basis since 2000.

“I can’t put into words how this makes me feel,” Vickers said. “I’ve really found my home at MWR over the past few years, and I've enjoyed getting to know the Aaron's associates and customers. I am honored that Aaron’s is welcoming me into their family full-time. Knowing that I have a top-notch team and a dedicated sponsor for a full season is a really great feeling every driver dreams about, and like everyone else, I want to win races and win a championship. Michael and co-owner Rob Kauffman are really building something special at MWR and are giving me the tools to accomplish those goals.”



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TRUEX, BOWYER BUILD ROAD REPUTATION FOR MWR
6
Vickers has competed as an alternate driver in Waltrip’s No. 55 the past two seasons, filling in the gaps on the part-time schedule for primary driver Mark Martin, who has yet to announce his 2014 plans.

The highlight of Vickers’ part-time tenure was a victory this season at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 14, a win that snapped a 75-race Sprint Cup drought dating back to August 2009. The victory came during a key point in MWR’s renewal talks with Aaron’s, a fact that likely helped negotiations.

Waltrip has maintained a partnership with Aaron's since his team launched in 2000.
“The relationship with Aaron’s is very personal to me because they helped place Michael Waltrip Racing on the map in 2000 when I was running a half dozen Nationwide Series races from a small garage in my backyard," Waltrip said. "Now they are enabling MWR to continue its growth as we will have three drivers racing for the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship in 2014 and beyond. So much of this confidence comes from the NASCAR fans who continue to support the sponsors of our teams. I want to sincerely thank the NASCAR fans who are Aaron’s customers because you make this all happen."

The 29-year-old Vickers began his Sprint Cup career from 2004-06 in Hendrick Motorsports No. 25 Chevy, which became the No. 88 team in 2008 for driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ironically, Vickers scored his only Cup victory for Hendrick by bumping teammate Jimmie Johnson into Earnhardt in a last-lap battle for the lead at Talladega Superspeedway in October 2006.

Vickers joined the Red Bull Racing team in conjunction with Toyota’s Sprint Cup debut in 2007. In a five-season span, he collected seven Coors Light Pole Awards and one victory (Michigan, August 2009) before the team folded in 2011.

Vickers competed in just 11 Sprint Cup races in 2010, when life-threatening blood clots in his legs and lungs sidelined him. He returned in 2011, scoring just three top-five finishes. Vickers also drew criticism for his involvement in five of the 18 caution periods in a wreck-filled race that October at Martinsville Speedway.

Vickers struggled to latch on to a full-time ride last season, but impressed as a super-sub for Martin. After leading 125 of 500 laps and finishing fifth at Bristol Motor Speedway in his MWR debut, Waltrip expanded his 2012 schedule from six to eight races.

This season, Vickers is on schedule to compete in nine Sprint Cup races for Waltrip’s team. He also filled in for three Sprint Cup races in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota, replacing Denny Hamlin after he suffered a back injury in a last-lap crash at Auto Club Speedway on March 24.

Martin is scheduled for 24 points-paying Sprint Cup races, plus the non-points Sprint Unlimited at Daytona and the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, in the No. 55 car this season. Waltrip, who has dialed back his driving duties since his last full-time season in 2009, is scheduled for three races behind the wheel.
Vickers has competed this season as a full-time driver of Gibbs’ No. 20 Toyota in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. He currently ranks fifth in the series standings, carrying a five-race streak of top-five finishes into this weekend’s inaugural Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200 (Saturday, 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Hey Rooster...  

Third at that.

Like that Vickers has a full time ride. I like him. May put him on my team next year.

Hey and all the rest of you..... Third is damn good for a couple of dummies who didn't know a thing about NASCAR last year.....  

WooHoo !!! I'd say we have done right well, Rooster, unlike some others, I won't mention.......

Great job Ladies!!!  

 on all of you!

Still plenty of season left. It's not where you start, it's where you finish.

And, where did you finish last year, Peaches????

LMAO. Now, now children...... Don't make me separate you....

WILD CARD WATCH: IS IT RACING OR WRECKING?



Definitions could get blurred with intensity building as standings continue to be tight

With four races to go until the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and the standings ever so tight, it was interesting to hear Brad Keselowski talk about racing Kyle Busch during the closing moments of the Cheez-It 355 at Watkins Glen International -- a race in which Keselowski, who is badly in need of a win in order to solidify a spot in the Chase, finished a close second.

“There’s racing and wrecking,” Keselowski said. “Those are two different things. Everybody defines them a little differently and I guess that’s the code you live your life by. Me, I define last year as racing and some people would define that as wrecking. If I was gonna take out Kyle today it would have been wrecking in my mind and there’s a distinct difference.”



Keselowski was referring at least partly to last season, when he contributed to sending Busch into a spin at Watkins Glen that led to a seventh-place finish for Busch, who ultimately missed the Chase. Keselowski finished second and, of course, went on to win the championship. Now, after Keselowski’s third straight second-place finish at The Glen, one wonders if he missed an opportunity.

While it’s respectable that Keselowski chose to be honorable toward the end of the race last week, will he regret not driving through Kyle on the way to Victory Lane? We shall see in the next few weeks.

We also shall see if drivers get a little more desperate and perhaps forego the gentlemanly agreements toward the end of races.

The intensity is certainly building to a boiling point. We saw it on Jeff Gordon’s face after he wrecked on Lap 14. We saw it in the way Marcos Ambrose disgustedly tossed his helmet aside after Max Papis spun him out with six laps to go. We even saw it on Twitter with Kasey Kahne’s comments toward Joe Gibbs Racing drivers.

It should get real interesting as the Race for the Chase pulls into stops at Michigan, Bristol, Atlanta and Richmond, alternating between speedways and short tracks with only 24 points separating eighth place (Keselowski) from 13th place (Gordon) and with three drivers in that span (Kez, Gordon and Kurt Busch) still searching for their first win of the season.

Is it racing or wrecking? We'll see if the definitions get blurred in the coming weeks.


Ready to pounce: Kurt Busch’s quest to become the first single-car team driver to make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup got closer to becoming a reality last week when he finished ninth at Watkins Glen. That moved him up two spots in the standings to 11th place, just two points behind Martin Truex Jr. in 10th place. And following a fourth-place finish at Sonoma, it certainly was a good year at road courses for the No. 78.

In general, Busch has been coming on of late, with five top-10 finishes in the past seven races. However, just when fans get comfortable with seeing Busch pile up strong finishes, he’ll stumble upon a finish that is 30th or worse. In the 18 races starting with Fontana, Busch has finished in the top-10 10 times but also has five times when he placed 30th or worse. Literally, there has been no in between with him.

He returns to Michigan where he had one of those bad moments, a 35th-place showing earlier this season. He had a fast car that day and led 21 laps, but then he got loose in a corner and smacked the wall, thus ending his chances at a good finish. Busch has two wins and eight top-10s in 25 Cup races at Michigan International Speedway. His Driver Rating of 87.7 there is 12th among active drivers.

In danger of falling out: Jeff Gordon matched Kasey Kahne last week with the dubious distinction of dropping four spots in the standings. Gordon fell to 13th place after wrecking on Lap 14 of the Cheez-It 355 and finishing 36th. Kahne, who’s in 12th place, has two wins to fall back on in the Wild Card race, while Gordon has none. Currently, Gordon would not make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

The frustration Gordon showed in his post-wreck interview was palpable, and fans could get a sense he felt he was missing out on a golden opportunity. With Gordon’s strong history on road courses (Sprint Cup Series-best nine wins) it was almost surreal to see the driver of the No. 24 experience such a setback at Watkins Glen.

So now what? The good news is Gordon is just 15 points behind Truex in 10th place -- and five points in front of Ryan Newman, who holds the final Wild Card spot. Since the standings are so tight, there is bound to be plenty of shuffling in the next four weeks. Then, it will come down to who is holding the most victories for the winner of the Wild Cards to be determined.

Gordon has 14 wins in his Cup career at the next four tracks (Michigan, Bristol, Atlanta, Richmond), with his last win coming in 2011 at Atlanta. However, his last victory at Michigan, this week’s track, was way back in 2001.

JIMMIE JOHNSON CRASHES IN FINAL CUP PRACTICE



Five-time champion will start from the rear in search of first Michigan win

Related: Practice results, lineup
BROOKLYN, Mich. -- Five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, fastest in Saturday’s second and final practice at Michigan International Speedway, will start at the back of the field for Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver wrecked his primary car during the final practice session, and only quick work by the No. 48 crew enabled Johnson to get in a handful of laps in his backup car before the practice came to an end.

Once the damaged car was returned to the garage on the back of a wrecker, a handful of crewmen worked quickly to cover the car as others rushed to prepare the team’s backup.






LOGANO WINS FIRST POLE OF SEASON AT MICHIGAN
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“I’m a little puzzled as to why I spun out going in, because I’ve had great entry stability -- even on that run I had great entry stability,” Johnson said before climbing into the backup car and heading back out onto the track.
“I got a little close to the No. 27 (of Paul Menard) but then again it’s not like I was right on him.

“To me it felt like I lost downforce just from the traffic scenario. I’m not really sure; either way we have a torn up car and we will have to work hard to get this one ready to go.”

Because Johnson’s incident occurred after qualifying (he was scheduled to start third), he will now have to drop to the rear of the field prior to the start of the race.

Michigan is one of five tracks on which Johnson has yet to win. He’s also winless at Chicagoland Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Kentucky Speedway and Watkins Glen International.

It will be the second time this season he has started from the rear of the field. At New Hampshire earlier this season, Johnson’s No. 2 qualifying time was disallowed when the front of his car measured too low during post-qualifying inspection. Johnson went on to finish sixth in the race.

Before Saturday’s crash, which saw Johnson spin and make contact with the wall in Turn 4, he had turned the fastest lap of the session at 199.457 mph. He had been third in the morning session, while posting the best 10-lap average before turning to his backup car.

"Very good backup car went out and put down an eight- or 10-lap run there at the end that I would put up against anybody’s time," Johnson said. "I hate the extra work load, but we are trying to figure out what really happened because I had no sign of loose and certainly spun out and crashed. The No. 88 (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) came over and he said that he felt there may have been some oil down and he slipped real bad going through there."

Juan Pablo Montoya (Earnhardt Ganassi Racing) was second Saturday morning at 198.758 mph while Greg Biffle (Roush Fenway Racing), Kurt Busch (Furniture Row Racing) and Jeff Gordon (Hendrick) completed the top five.

Earnhardt Jr., 13th on the chart, had the fastest 10-lap average in the closing session.

Kevin Harvick paced the day’s first practice, a 55-minute affair, with a lap of 202.577 mph in the No. 29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Hendrick teammates Kasey Kahne (202.338) and Johnson (202.304) were second and third.

Completing the top five were Montoya and teammate Jamie McMurray.

Joey Logano, whose 203.949 mph lap on Friday established a track qualifying record and put the Penske Racing driver on the Coors Light Pole, was 15th in the morning session and 22nd in the final practice.

Deal could put Martin in #14 seat:

A deal is in the works that would offer Brian Vickers more seat time in the #55 Aaron's Toyota  and allow Mark Martin to pursue the opportunity to drive the #14 for the injured Tony Stewart. On Saturday, multiple sources told Fox Sports that Toyota offered Martin its blessing in order to enable Vickers  who was named the full-time driver of the #55 Michael Waltrip Racing Camry on Tuesday  additional races to gel with the team. Vickers is currently racing for the Nationwide Series championship with Joe Gibbs Racing. He is fifth in the NNS point standings. Before SHR inquired on Martin's behalf, the plan was for Vickers to race at Bristol, Martinsville and New Hampshire, where he raced last month. Team owner Michael Waltrip is scheduled to drive the #55 at Talladega. Martin originally was signed up for the balance of races. Certainly, MWR and Aaron's would have to sign off on Martin before SHR can green light the deal. If everything goes according to plan, he could be part of SHR's roster announcement expected late Monday.(FoxSports)(8-18-2013)