#3WideBlog Race Review: Southern 500

     Saturday night under the lights at the track "Too tough to tame" The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ran the Bojangles Southern 500. Darlington raceway, The "Lady in Black", is a 1.366 mile egg shaped oval that was completed in 1950 and since has become a cornerstone facility on the NASCAR circuit. Due to its unique egg shape, limited racing groove and storied history, a win at the Southern 500 is a prestigious one. Drivers will do whatever it takes to bring home a Southern 500 checkered flag. Tempers flare, and patience is lost. The "Lady in Black" definitely delivered this year.

via NASCAR.com

     Pole sitter and points leader Greg Biffle led the field to the green flag. Biffle led untill the first round of green flag pit stops, when Kyle Busch short-pitted for tires and gained a slight advantage by pitting early and takes the lead. Early on the race takes a green feel and Biffle retakes the lead. Through the second round of green flag pitstops its Jimmie Johnson that short pits and comes out scored as the leader. Jimmie Johnson continued to dominate through a third round of green flag pitstops and by lap 170 lead Kyle Busch by over 5 seconds. Through that uncharacteristically long green run Johnson had 2/3 of the field a lap or more down, and had only one contender within 10 seconds of him.

    A "debris" caution at lap 172, 12 laps from halfway, bunched the field back up. Jeff Gordons abysmal luck continued in the Southern 500 aswell. He brought out the races second caution at lap 194 with a flat left rear tire. Subsequent flat tires at lap 205 & 221 had Gordon in the garage with the team looking for the cause. He wound up 35th 30 laps down. In a season where Gordon has 1 top-5, 2 top 10s, and an average finishing position of 21.6, he is fighting to stay in the chase picture 24th in points 170 points back of the leader.

     Business began to pick up at that point and the "Lady in black" slowed the pace down with 5 different cautions. Debris, a Bobby Labonte spin, Regan Smith the 2011 Southern 500 winner had trouble, Jamie McMurray slaps the wall and Reed Sorenson also spins. This brings us to lap 334. Jimmie Johnson had been saving fuel for quite some time, would shut off his engine and refire under caution to save as much fuel as possible. There was question to whether or not he could make it to the checkered flag. Johnson lead the field to the 7th restart, followed by Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart. After the restart Tony Stewart overtook Kyle Busch for second but Johnson had pulled away by over a second.

     At lap 361 drama begins to unfold. Kurt Busch, the 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion, in his James Finch owned unsponsored #51 car had been having a great run hovering around the top-10 after clawing his way there early on. After a long "Darlington stripe" cut one of his tires, he saw his effort fade away when he again made contact with the wall and spun. As Ryan Newman checked up to avoid Busch, Aric Almirola made contact with Newman sending him spinning also. When Newman and Busch hit pit road, there was more drama unfolding.

     Ryan Newmans #39 pit crew was outraged at the way Kurt Busch in the #51 had dangerously smoked his tires while pulling through their pit box that was directly next to his, but that story doesn't really take off until after the race. There is still a restart thats turned into a Green-White-Checkered. Jimmie Johnson has the 200th win for Rick Hendrick in his reach, but Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin were hoping to postpone it at least another week. After the green flag Hamlin was able to overtake Stewart, but Jimmie Johnson saved enough fuel to capture the 56th victory of his career (breaking an 8th place tie with Rusty Wallace on the all-time list), Hendricks 200th win, and the checkered flag at the Southern 500.

via NASCAR.com

via NASCAR.com

via Getty Images

via NASCAR.com

The fun wasnt quite over yet. As Jimmie Johnson was doing his victory lap of spinouts (Personal Favourite) there was some action on pit road. When the race ended and cars were pulling to pitroad, Kurt Busch made contact with Ryan Newman's car, that was the last straw, the crews readied for battle. Ryan Newmans gasman, Andy Reuger, approached Busch's team and was held back. In the mob that was created, a NASCAR official actually fell onto the hood of Busch's car. NASCAR VP of Competition Robin Pemberton said NASCAR was still investigating the issue, and penalties (if any) would be released this week. Kurt Busch couldnt be reached for comment but Ryan Newman had some words to say. When asked what happened by motorsports writer Dustin Long he said this http://www.twitlonger.com/show/hd1b4l . You be the judge.

     Just another night out with the "Lady in Black" ... Smitty OUT

#3WideBlog Race Preview: Southern 500

     Okay folks, here we go, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is on its way to Darlington Raceway, "The lady in black". The track "Too Tough to Tame" that's famous for close finishes, the "Darlington stripe" and "Busch vs Harvick"

Kyle Busch pushes Kevin Harvick's car on pit road.

     Does everyone remember that? Thought so, how could we forget? In last years Southern 500 not only did we see Regan Smith get his first ever Sprint Cup win, we also saw Kyle Busch push Kevin Harvick's car into the inside wall on pit road. Last years mess between Harvick and Busch was quite the show. We all know how "Rowdy" races and we all know how "Happy" races, both men are incredible wheel-men. However, get on their bad side and its' not likely to end well for you...at all.

     This is the type of thing we've come to expect out of Darlington, what with the finishes being so close over the years you're fighting for every inch of space you can get. When it comes time to cross the finish line, that inch could be the difference between being in victory lane celebrating...or..packing it up and heading back to the shop.  . 


     In recent years the track has been reconfigured; what was the front stretch is now the back stretch, lights were installed for night racing, and the turns have been renumbered. The track earned the moniker "The Lady in Black" partly because of it being the first paved track in NASCAR,and partly because of the many black marks left behind by tires bouncing off the walls during the race. Darlington is also known as "Too Tough to Tame", and  racers having hit the wall are considered to have received their "Darlington stripe". The track is particularly narrow due to its unique egg shape with the paved groove right up near the wall and tends to be quite difficult to navigate.This year's installment may not be as exciting as last years at least if you go by the current trend we've been witnessing so far, however it still should provide plenty of good entertainment and tight racing for even the most casual of fans to enjoy.

Regan Smith wins the Southern 500 in 2011

     This year's entry list can be found here, two things worth noting are that you will notice the #10 of Danica Patrick is on that list, she will be making her first Darlington start on Friday in the Nationwide series, but not before having a nice sit down talk with NASCAR officials after her dumping of Sam Hornish Jr at the end of last weeks Nationwide race at Talladega Superspeedway. You will also notice that Richard Childress Racing (RCR) will be fielding the 4th car #33 for Stephen Leicht, The 25 year old native of Asheville NC will have to qualify in on speed. 

     This race promises to be a good, entertaining race, you may not see as many cautions this year as you have in past years, but the racing will be tight, the battles will be good, and the finish will more then likely be close. This race every year is one of the best to watch and hopefully this year doesn't disappoint.




Race Info:                                                                   Event Schedule


Date- Saturday Night May 12th, 2012                           Cup Practice: Friday @ 11:30AM EST (SPEED)

Location- Darlington, South Carolina                             Practice: Friday @ 2:00PM EST (SPEED)

Start time- 7:15 PM EST                                              Qualify: Friday @ 5:00PM EST (SPEED)

Distance- 367 Laps/501.322 Miles                                Race: Saturday @ 6:30PM EST (FOX)

Broadcast TV- FOX

Broadcast Radio- MRN

#3WideBlog Race Review: Talladega #PACKisBACK

     The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is made its first stop at the Talladega Superspeedway this weekend. Superspeedway racing in NASCAR is one of the most exciting spectacles in the sport. 43 drivers take the green flag in what turns out to be a rolling chess match at upwards of 200 Mph. Two and three wide action almost all the way through the pack keeps fans on the edge of their seat throughout the entire race, and multi-car accidents are almost inevitable. This is just what some NASCAR fans were clamoring for, Talladega delivered.


     Throughout the entire race one story line that definitely became a big one was the rule changes. Alterations to the restrictor plates and the front grille openings on the superspeedway cars were made prior to Speedweeks in Daytona, so this was the first visit to Talladega with this rules package. With air temperatures reaching close to 90F at Talladega, this weekend was much different weather wise than Daytona. 

Pic via NASCAR.com

    Many drivers complained about overheating during the race. Hendrick Engines seemed to run especially hot, but there were complaints from many drivers in the field about running hot all race long. There were engine issues associated with it aswell, notably early departures of Regan Smith (lap 16), Ryan Newman (lap 44) and Jimmie Johnson (lap 110). 


    The new rules package was in an attempt to break up the two car tandem racing seen at the Superspeedways in the past, and replace it with the traditional pack racing. What resulted is a sort of hybrid pack racing, where yes the cars stay in what looks like a pack two and three wide, but you can see tandems throughout trying to gain that extra edge. Other than the overheating issues NASCAR seems to have done the trick because it certainly didn't come down to a tandem for the win. 


    Another thing Talladega saw that fans have been talking about is multi-car wrecks. It had been since Martinsville that NASCAR fans had seen a multi-car crash, and Talladega made them wait too. At lap 141 it happened, cars around the track were off the pace running out of fuel and there's a big wreck in Turns 3 and 4. Landon Cassill, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Juan Montoya, Terry Labonte, Aric Almirola and Dave Blaney are involved. Bunch of wrecked race cars. A restart at lap 184 (that looked like a restart in the mini-stock division at a local short track) causes a big mess. Paul Menard, Denny Hamlin, Greg Biffle, Michael Waltrip, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Robert Richardson Jr., Tony Stewart, Joey Logano, AJ Allmendinger and more are collected. There you go NASCAR fans, I'm not sure the team owners wallets are as happy.

via NASCAR.com

   That joke of a restart lead to a Green-White-Checkered finish in which Brad Keselowski passed and then pulled away from Kyle Busch by a little over three tenths of a second for the sixth victory of his Sprint Cup Series career. Tony Stewart had some interesting comments in a post race interview. They include: "The racing was awesome," "It's fun to be able to race and have to watch the (overheating) gauges at the same time. It just adds that much more." and "I'm upset that we didn't crash more cars," "That's what we're here for. I feel bad if I don't spend at least $150,000 in torn-up race cars going back to the shop. We've definitely got to do a better job at that." (Quotes via Jeff Gluck) Stewart also made mention of a Talladega figure 8 race track. Totally ridiculous, but the words of a frustrated driver/owner. I would fully expect his comments to be different had he come out with a top-5. 

    Its off to the "Lady In Black" this week for a Saturday night show at the track "Too Tough To Tame" Darlington. 


    Until Then Smitty OUT

#3WideBlog Opinion: Blackflag? Debris? Richmond Review.

   Debris? Or no debris? THAT is the question.

   Following Saturday nights NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Capitol City 400 at Richmond International Raceway, there are many story lines I could talk about. I could talk about Kyle Busch coming out with the win and breaking a 20 race winless streak. Maybe Dale Earnhardt Jr. having another solid finish in second place? Or the poor finishes of Greg Biffle (18th) and Martin Truex Jr. (25th). Nope. I am going to talk about the restart on lap 318 where Carl Edwards is "controversially" black flagged, and the "debris" caution on lap 386 that has everybody, including myself, riled up.

Capture via NASCAR.com

   In my opinion, there is no controversy, Carl Edwards black flag was fully merited for its intended infraction. Carl Edwards jumped the lap 318 restart, that is why the black flag was shown. You can see in the diagram on the right (still frame taken from NASCAR.com and edited by myself) that Edwards has accelerated before the designated restart zone. Nevermind Tony Stewart in the bottom lane spinning his tires, Joey Logano didn't go either, because it was too soon. There was some controversy regarding whether a NASCAR official told Edwards spotter that he was in the first position at the time of the restart. This could have been caused by the fact that the scoring pylon at the time of the "1 to go" signal, showed the #99 (Edwards) in first. This was caused because as they had lined up for the restart, Edwards (while scrubbing his tires) inadvertently crossed the start/finish line before Tony Stewart in the #14. With electronic scoring, the pylon is automatically updated with this information. If Carls spotter looked over at the pylon he might get the impression that Edwards was the leader. BUT, As they roll around under caution the ticker goes by. 89 to go Edwards, Johnson, Stewart. 87 to go Edwards, Johnson, Stewart. Johnsons pit road penalty is announced which takes him out of the mix. THEN, Carl has to pit. He is the only car on the track that hasn't pit yet, thus Tony assumes the lead. There is no way anyone could have thought Carl was the leader before that restart UNLESS, a) they looked at the incorrect scoring pylon OR b) a NASCAR official in fact did tell someone on Edwards crew that they were first on the restart (neither confirmed or denied), which makes no sense because as they lined up for "one to go" Stewart went low line (preferred line) and Carl went high.

   Carl tried to defend himself in the post race interview. Saying that his spotter, not a NASCAR official, told him he was the leader, and that he wanted to gain any advantage he could because he was starting on the outside lane. He was caught. He tried to say that Tony spun his tires, which yes may have embellished the infraction, but doesn't negate restarting before the zone. He also said that he had restarted like that all night and hadn't been penalized. His lap 57 restart was within the restart zone. His lap 122 restart was good aswell. The lap 237 restart was awesome, bunched 'em up short track style and took off, IN the restart zone. Lap 318, Too soon Carl. Black Flag. That is all.

   Which brings me to our next bit of controversy coming out of Richmond. The "debris" caution on lap 386. Now I don't want to go all conspiracy theorist on you, but NASCAR has been known to have a problem with "phantom" debris cautions. This is a caution that NASCAR throws, because they claim there is debris somewhere on the racing surface, but NOBODY actually sees this "debris". Some fans say there was a huge piece of metal on the backstretch, Tony Stewart claimed it was a plastic water bottle, and the majority of us didn't see anything at all. The point here is that NASCAR needs to do a better job of telling the TV crew where this "debris" is. Even if its a plastic water bottle, or a ball cap (Texas), and NASCAR has blown the call, we have to know so we don't begin to think NASCAR is trying to manipulate the race at all.

   In closing SHOW US the debris, this will curb the "phantom caution" conspiracy. We can't wonder if we're shown. Smitty OUT