Surprisingly, Hamlin Tops NASCAR Loop Data at Talladega

EXPRESS NOTES:

Hamlin needs another good Talladega finish (Getty) 

Texas Recap: Denny Hamlin and the FedEx Racing team recorded a 15th-place finish Saturday night at Texas Motor Speedway. Hamlin, who swept both races at Texas in 2010, fought a loose race car throughout the 334-lap event, lost a lap to the leaders during a long green flag run in the race’s midpoint and never got a timely caution while in position for the “lucky dog.” Carrying a special FedEx Office/March of Dimes paint scheme, Hamlin was the highest-finishing Toyota driver in the race. The 15th-place result dropped Hamlin one spot to 20th in the NASCAR point standings following Texas, 82 points behind leader Carl Edwards.

Talladega Time: The Sprint Cup Series heads to Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway this weekend for Sunday’s 188-lap event on the 2.66-mile high-banked oval. In 10 career Talladega starts, Hamlin has recorded three top-five and four top-10 finishes. His best result of third came in the spring 2008 event, and he finished in the top-10 in both races at Talladega in 2010 — fourth in the spring and ninth in the fall. The Chesterfield, Va., native has led at least one lap in all 10 of his starts at Talladega, and has led more than 10 laps in six events, including 17 laps one year ago. In total, Hamlin has led 196 laps at NASCAR’s longest track, with an average finish of 18.3.

Special Scheme: The #11 Toyota will carry a special paint scheme for the second consecutive weekend, as the familiar black and blue FedEx Office colors turn blue and white to coincide with the “Print Big, Save Big” sale currently running at all FedEx Office locations.

HAMLIN CONVERSATION – TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY:
Do you think Talladega owes you a win after leading so many laps at the track? “You can never expect anything at Talladega other than you are going to need a great car and a good amount of luck. We’ve improved so much here over the years and we now come to Talladega thinking we can run up front and our record here shows that we can. It’s a matter of getting that strategy just right so when the time comes you know you are ready to go. If we can keep our car out of trouble at Talladega, I think we’ll have as good of a chance as anyone to win there.

Was your best chance to win at Talladega last spring? "I think we had a race-winning car there last year and it was frustrating to finish fourth. With the cautions and the restarts at the end we just lost those couple of spots and we couldn’t make our way back to the front. For as good as we ran all day, it was the cautions that killed us and we really just needed one more corner and I think we could have won that race. I couldn’t ask any more from the team, we had a great car. It just came down to where we were when those cautions came out. I know what I need to do this time around.”

- Weber Shandwick Worldwide for FedEx Racing, Press Release

Kyle Busch Bringing 8th-Place Daytona Chassis to Talladega

Looking for second Talladega win (Getty)

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (April 12, 2011) – Las Vegas native Kyle Busch might know a thing or two about “rolling the dice,” but heading into this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Aaron’s 499 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, there might be no track on the circuit that’s as much of a “crapshoot” as the mammoth 2.66-mile oval.

Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Pretzel Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), has conquered Talladega just once in his career, his lone win coming in April 2008. But, with only three other top-15 finishes and three Talladega outings that ended in an accident for Busch, the talented 25-year-old knows the winner of Sunday’s 499-mile race will need to have a strong car and be lucky in order to survive the seemingly inevitable multicar accident if he is to find victory again at NASCAR’s longest track.

And as if the challenges of the past weren’t enough for teams to navigate, a completely new style of restrictor-plate racing was introduced at this year’s season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway as a new front bumper replaced what was an important but fragile front splitter on Sprint Cup Series cars this year. With that front-end design change came a whole new phenomenon of racing at the restrictor-plate tracks. Until this year, the typical race at Daytona and Talladega would feature lengthy lines of cars that would bunch together, mere inches apart. But the new look to restrictor-plate racing, as seen at Daytona, involves cars running in pairs, almost as if the rear of the lead car is connected to the front bumper of the car following.

It’s a style of racing no driver or team has seen before. And everyone, including Busch and the M&M’s Pretzel team, look to learn more as the two-car draft evolves, and how it might be different this weekend at Talladega than it was in February at Daytona. Furthermore, unlike most everywhere else on the Sprint Cup circuit, the competitors know their fate depends on other drivers, oftentimes not even their teammates, if they want to find success in this new style of restrictor-plate racing.

If Busch has learned anything at the restrictor-plate tracks, it’s that you have to be good to be lucky. He knows he has great equipment underneath him, thanks to the No. 18 M&M’s Pretzel Toyota provided to him by JGR. He also knows he’ll need to slice and dice, and find the right draft partner to help him land on the right number, which first means surviving Talladega, and second, having a chance at repeating his lone triumph there from three years ago.

KYLE BUSCH QUOTES:
What are your thoughts going into Talladega this weekend? “It’s going to be a crapshoot. You have no idea what’s going to happen or how it’s going to happen. For us, what do we worry about going there? We just worry about surviving and trying to survive with our M&M’s Pretzel Camry. Right now, with the way that we saw the race play out in Daytona, we’re expecting the same thing – NASCAR is expecting the same thing and that’s why we had the restrictor-plate change, already. They’re being a little bit proactive in that, and allowing us to get some testing done – some dyno testing with the smaller plate so we can be ready for that aspect. I expect speeds to be higher because we’ll be pushing all the way around. Other than that, it’s just Talladega.”

Busch expecting the same thing from Daytona (Getty)

How do you think the new restrictor-plate size will impact the racing at Talladega? “I think what they are looking for is just to keep the speeds down, obviously, with how we all figured out how to push draft. They were expecting the speeds. We didn’t push draft all that much last year at Talladega. They’re going to be expecting us to do that. They’re going to be expecting the speeds to be higher. They’re just being a little proactive there. No problem in doing that. I think it’s actually a smart idea rather than changing it on us when we do get to the racetrack. They did a good job. I don’t think it will change much. The racing will stay the same. The push draft will still be there. Essentially, the dynamic of the race like it was in Daytona will be the same in Talladega.”

Who is your favorite drafting partner at Talladega? “I don’t know, since things were so different at Daytona. I’ve drafted well with a lot of people over the past, but I would say (Juan Pablo) Montoya helped me win the race I won at Talladega a couple of years ago. Jimmie (Johnson) is always pretty good to draft with. My brother (Kurt Busch), as well, but many more than that. It just all depends on which other cars end up working well with your car. Aside from out teammates, we had about another 10 guys who we thought would work with us in our radio at Daytona, so I’ll expect we will figure out what other car works well with our car during practice and during the first part of the race.”

Does being a former race winner at Talladega offer you any sort of advantage over the competition? “It doesn’t matter at all. It’s such a crapshoot there in the last 20, 30 or 40 laps that you never really know who is going to win, what’s going to happen, and where the wreck is going to come from.”

What does it mean to be up toward the lead in points this early in the season? “It is early, but we’re excited about it. We feel like it’s a great opportunity to be up front and have some good results. Unfortunately, our engine failure at Las Vegas kind of set us back a little bit. We’ve been able to rebound nicely and get back up to the points lead and we’re not too far back headed into this weekend. I feel good with where we’re at. I feel really good with where the cars are at. I think that’s the most important thing. If we can keep building upon this momentum and our recent success, then we can keep that going all year, hopefully.”

Busch is using his 8th-place Daytona chassis (Getty)

BUSCH CHASSIS CHOICE: Chassis No. 292 - This chassis will make its second career start in Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. No. 292 made its debut this past February in the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, where Busch started 10th and finished a solid eighth.

BUSCH NOTES OF INTEREST
· The Aaron’s 499 will mark Busch’s 230th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and his 13th Sprint Cup start at Talladega.
· Busch has career totals of 20 wins, seven poles, 70 top-fives, 108 top-10s and 6,153 laps led in 229 career Sprint Cup races. His most recent Sprint Cup win came four races ago at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. His last pole came 30 races ago at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway.
· Busch has one win, no poles, one top-five and two top-10 finishes and has led a total of 131 laps in 12 career Sprint Cup starts at Talladega. His average finish is 23.3 at the 2.66-mile oval.
· In addition to his 131 Sprint Cup laps led at Talladega, Busch has led 74 laps in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and 33 laps in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Talladega.
· Both of Busch’s restrictor-plate wins came during the 2008 season, his first with Joe Gibbs Racing. In the four Sprint Cup restrictor-plate races contested in 2008 (February and July at Daytona, April and October at Talladega), Busch notched an impressive two wins and three top-fives while leading a total of 149 laps. However, in the nine restrictor-plate races contested in 2009, 2010, and thus far in 2011, Busch’s best finish of eighth came in this past February’s Daytona 500.
· Busch is now just 117 laps shy of the 20,000 career laps-led mark across NASCAR’s top three series. He currently sits at 19,883 career laps led among all three series. Additionally, by leading 151 laps three weeks ago at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., Busch became the 30th driver to surpass 6,000 laps led in the Sprint Cup Series and sits at 6,002 laps led. Busch is closing in on three active drivers in career Sprint Cup laps led, including Jeff Burton (6,396), his brother Kurt Busch (6,479), and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (6,740).

· In the seven Sprint Cup races held thus far in 2011, Busch leads the Sprint Cup Series in 10 statistical categories:
ÿ Best average running position (9.144)
ÿ Fastest driver late in a run (6.5 rank)
ÿ Fastest in laps run (210 or 10.8 percent)
ÿ Best driver rating (114.3)
ÿ Most laps led (481 or 20.7 percent)
ÿ Most miles led (493.48)
ÿ Most laps in the top-15 (1,966 laps or 84.7 percent)
ÿ Fastest driver early in a run (3.8 rank)
ÿ Best green-flag speed (3.33 rank)
ÿ Second-highest percentage of laps run on the lead lap (90.52 percent or 2,101 laps of 2,321 laps
available)
ÿ Sixth-fastest driver on restarts (15.143 rank)
ÿ Fastest speed in traffic (8.857 rank)
· Streaking: With his Sprint Cup win last month at Bristol, Busch has now won at least one Sprint Cup race for seven consecutive seasons (2005-2011). This is the Las Vegas native’s seventh year as a full-time Sprint Cup competitor.

- TRUE SPEED COMMUNICATIONS PR

Gilliland Ready To Push His Way To The Front Again at Talladega

Gilliland Finished 3rd at Daytona

Statesville, N.C. (April 12, 2011) - David Gilliland pushed his way to a third-place finish in the 2011 Daytona 500, and he’s confident that same No. 34 Taco Bell Ford can run up front at the Sprint Cup Series’ next superspeedway. The team will bring the same chassis to Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway this weekend that made a dash for the checkers in the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway.

Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 will be Gilliland’s eighth Cup start at the historic 2.66-mile oval. He’s no stranger to the front of the pack there. He won the pole in his first race at Talladega (2006) and has a career-best finish of fourth (2007).

Comments from Taco Bell driver David Gilliland on Talladega:
“At Talladega, I think you’re going to see a lot of the same thing you saw at Daytona. Hopefully a lot of the same with us up front. We’re taking the same car, and I’m excited for it. That kind of racing is different. If you didn’t like it at Daytona, then you’re probably not going to like it at Talladega. But I liked it and I’m looking forward to doing it again.

“With the change NASCAR made to the restrictor plate, it’s not going to make that much of a difference. Here’s where you’ll see the difference. When you’ve got pairs of cars hooked up together, but one is hung out by himself, it’s just going to make that slow car even slower. I don’t think it’s going to slow the top speeds down too much because, like we saw at Daytona, when two cars get together they really go.

“I think a lot of teams are working on cooling and different things to be able to push as long as you can. I feel like we’ve made some really good gains since Daytona that are really going to help us. We have really good speedway cars and the FR9 motors are awesome. Obviously, FR9s finished 1-2-3 at the Daytona 500, and we’re going back with the same thing.

“At Daytona, a lot of cars could only push for a few laps and then they had to break away to get some clean air, but our Taco Bell Ford Fusion was able to push for a long time, sometimes as many as 20-plus laps. And that got us a third-place finish. If the race had been one lap longer, I honestly believe we could’ve won. We had that kind of momentum. So, I really have a lot of confidence in our engine package and our cars that we’re going to be taking.

“Front Row Motorsports spent some time at the wind tunnel last week, testing our aero package on a superspeedway car. One of the benefits of working with Ford is they give us access to these resources to help make our cars better. It really helps put us a step ahead when we arrive at the track. So, between what we had at Daytona and this new information we just got, I can’t wait to get there.”

About Front Row Motorsports:

Front Row Motorsports is a Statesville, N.C.-based race team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Formed in 2005 by restaurant entrepreneur Bob Jenkins, the team has competed in NASCAR racing in each year since its inception, expanding full-time to the premier Sprint Cup Series in 2009. The team partners with Ford Racing and Roush-Yates Racing Engines to field the No. 34 Taco Bell Ford driven by David Gilliland and the No. 38 Long John Silver’s Ford driven by Travis Kvapil.

- Breaking Limits Marketing for Front Row Motorsports, Press Release

Las Vegas Hilton Super Book Odds To Win Aaron's 499 at Talladega

Roll the dice; anyone can win this week (Getty)

AARON'S 499
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
SUNDAY, APRIL 17, 2011

JIMMIE JOHNSON 15
DENNY HAMLIN 15
CARL EDWARDS 15
KYLE BUSCH 9
JEFF GORDON 15
GREG BIFFLE 30
KEVIN HARVICK 13-2
TONY STEWART 12
MATT KENSETH 20
CLINT BOWYER 15
KURT BUSCH 12
MARK MARTIN 30
JOEY LOGANO 30
JEFF BURTON 15
JUAN MONTOYA 30
KASEY KAHNE 30
JAMIE McMURRAY 15
RYAN NEWMAN 35
BRIAN VICKERS 35
DAVID REUTIMANN 35
DALE EARNHARDT JR 10
AJ ALLMENDINGER 35
MARTIN TRUEX JR 35
PAUL MENARD 30
DAVID RAGAN 30
BRAD KESELOWSKI 60
MARCOS AMBROSE 75
REGAN SMITH 75
BOBBY LABONTE 100
TREVOR BAYNE 75
DAVID GILLILAND 100
FIELD 25

Betting matchups in plate races is tough because driver value is deflated

AARON'S 499 MATCHUPS
TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
SUNDAY, APRIL 17, 2011

KEVIN HARVICK -125
KYLE BUSCH +105

KEVIN HARVICK -135
DALE EARNHARDT JR +115

KYLE BUSCH -120
DALE EARNHARDT JR EVEN

CLINT BOWYER -110
KURT BUSCH -110

JEFF GORDON -110
TONY STEWART -110

JIMMIE JOHNSON -110
DENNY HAMLIN -110

CARL EDWARDS -120
MATT KENSETH EVEN

JEFF BURTON +105
JAMIE McMURRAY -125

GREG BIFFLE -110
JOEY LOGANO -110

MARK MARTIN +105
KASEY KAHNE -125

RYAN NEWMAN EVEN
JUAN MONTOYA -120

AJ ALLMENDINGER EVEN
DAVID RAGAN -120

PAUL MENARD -140
BRAD KESELOWSKI +120

MARTIN TRUEX JR -110
DAVID REUTIMANN -110

TREVOR BAYNE +105
MARCOS AMBROSE -125

BRIAN VICKERS -110
REGAN SMITH -110

CLINT BOWYER -120
JIMMIE JOHNSON EVEN

MARK MARTIN +105
JOEY LOGANO -125

JEFF BURTON -110
JEFF GORDON -110

KASEY KAHNE -110
GREG BIFFLE -110

Talladega Odds & Ends: Aaron's 499

At Talladega Superspeedway:

Just another Sunday drive on the highway 

History
· Construction began on what was then known as the Alabama International Motor Speedway on May 23, 1968.
· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on Sept. 14, 1969.
· The name changed to Talladega Superspeedway in 1989.
· Fourth repaving completed on Sept. 19, 2006.

Notebook
· There have been 83 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Talladega Superspeedway since the track opened in 1969; two a year every year except the inaugural season, which had just one.
· Richard Brickhouse won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race.
· Bobby Isaac won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup pole in September 1969. Isaac won the first three poles there.
· 35 different drivers have won poles. Bill Elliott leads all drivers with eight poles.
· 41 different drivers have posted victories, led by Dale Earnhardt Sr. (10). Eighteen drivers have won more than once.
· Jeff Gordon leads all other active drivers in victories, with six. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is second among active drivers in victories with five.
· Richard Childress Racing has won 11 races, more than any other organization. Hendrick Motorsports, with 10 wins, can match that mark this weekend.
· 32 of 83 races have been won from a top-two starting position, including 13 from the pole; 23 have been won from a starting position outside the top 10. The most recent driver to win from the pole was Jeff Gordon in 2007 (spring).
· The furthest back in the field a race winner started was 36th, by Jeff Gordon in 2000.
· Mark Martin’s pace in the 1997 spring race set an all-time NASCAR Sprint Cup record for the fastest race ever. He won the caution-free race with an average speed of 188.354 mph and covered the 500-mile distance in two hours, 39 minutes and 18 seconds.
· Last season’s spring race set the all-time and track records for lead changes (88) and lap leaders (29). The previous highs were 75 lead changes (set on May 6, 1984) and 28 lap leaders (set on Oct. 5, 2008). Both previous records also were set at Talladega.
· Dale Earnhardt Jr. had four consecutive victories (October 2001 through April 2003), the most ever by a driver there. Buddy Baker (three – May 1975 through May 1976) is the only other driver to win more than two consecutive races there.
· Since the inception of electronic scoring in 1993, every race that has ended under green has had a margin of victory under half a second.

NASCAR In Alabama
There have been 102 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in Alabama.
66 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series (all-time) have their home state recorded as Alabama.
There have been seven race winners from Alabama in NASCAR’s three national series.

Talladega Superspeedway Data
Race #: 8 of 36 (4-17-11)
Track Size: 2.66 miles
· Banking/Corners: 33 degrees
· Banking/Frontstretch: 16.5 degrees
· Banking/Backstretch: 2 degrees
· Frontstretch: 4,300 feet
· Backstretch: 4,000 feet

Harvick and Bowyer finished in a close one in the fall last year

Driver Rating at Talladega
Denny Hamlin 93.0
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 92.7
Brian Vickers 89.6
Joey Logano 89.1
Jeff Burton 87.8
David Ragan 87.7
Juan P. Montoya 85.9
Kurt Busch 85.4
Jeff Gordon 84.8
Tony Stewart 84.7
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2010 races (12 total) at Talladega.

Qualifying/Race Data
2010 pole winner: None, due to inclement weather.
2010 race winner: Kevin Harvick (150.590 mph, 04-25-10)
Track qualifying record: Bill Elliott (212.809 mph, 44.998 seconds, 04-30-87)
Track race record: Mark Martin (188.354 mph, 05-10-97)

- compiled by Ray M. Smith, NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications




Las Vegas Hilton Super Book NASCAR Odds To Win Aaron's 499 at Talladega

Talladega Storylines: It's Wide Open For All 43 Drivers

Talladega should be a welcome sight for a few drivers

Talladega Superspeedway offers up a few guarantees – a word that’s almost nonexistent in the sport – every time NASCAR visits the 2.66-mile track.

There will be lead changes, and lots of them. Last year’s spring race featured a NASCAR record 88 lead changes. The second ’Dega race had 87.

There will be leaders, and lots of them. That record fell last year too, when 29 different drivers led at least one lap in the April race.

And Dale Earnhardt Jr. will lead laps. Admittedly, maybe that’s not a guarantee. But it’s darn close. He has led laps in each of the last 10 Talladega races, and in 20 of his 22 starts.

The NASCAR Nationwide Series kicks off an assuredly wild weekend, on Saturday with the Aaron’s 312.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series follows up with the Aaron’s 499, on Sunday afternoon.

Storylines follow…

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES

Best Track, Best Time For Surging Earnhardt

Junior finished runner-up in 2009 to Kes

Born in Kannapolis, N.C., Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s actual home track is Charlotte Motor Speedway. But really, it should be Talladega Superspeedway.

The Earnhardt family has practically owned the joint going on 30 years now. His father, Dale Earnhardt, won 10 races at Talladega, more than any other driver. Junior has five wins there – including four consecutive victories from 2001-03 – making the track his most successful. This weekend, he looks to end a career-long 100-race winless drought.

Earnhardt Jr., second in pre-race Driver Rating at Talladega (92.7), heads into this weekend with momentum not seen in three years. His points position – sixth – is his best after seven races since 2008, his first year with Hendrick Motorsports.

He scored a ninth-place finish at Texas, his fourth top 10 of the season. Last year, he had eight. In 2009, he had five.

Roush Fenway Racing: Short Lived Dominance?
Roush Fenway Racing placed all four of its cars in the top seven last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, including race winner Matt Kenseth. In doing so, Carl Edwards vaulted back into the series points lead, and Kenseth moved to third.

But a big test awaits Roush Fenway this weekend. Talladega has always presented problems for the team. It has three wins at Talladega, but only one since 1997. The team’s average finish at Talladega – 18.9 – makes the track its worst in terms of average finish.

RCR: Restrictor Plate Whizzes

Happy Harvick after 2010 win

Richard Childress Racing swept last year’s Talladega races – Kevin Harvick won the first, Clint Bowyer the second – and have won three of the last four restrictor plate races.

Three of the four RCR drivers are in the top 12 (Harvick is ninth, Paul Menard is 11th and Clint Bowyer’s 12th), with Harvick the only driver with multiple wins this season.

RCR is the all-time leader in owner wins at Talladega, with 11 (one ahead of Hendrick Motorsports’ 10).

Go-Time For Marquee Drivers
There are some big surprises – in the form of big names – outside the top 20.

Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup favorites Jamie McMurray (24th in points), Jeff Burton (25th), David Reutimann (27th) and Joey Logano (28th) are all in danger of missing NASCAR’s “playoffs” if their respective seasons don’t improve – and fast. Same goes for 2010 runner-up Denny Hamlin, who sits 20th in points.

The Chase “wild card” offers a bit of hope to some of the marquee names toiling outside the top 10. After race No. 26 at Richmond, the top 10 drivers will earn a Chase berth. Spot 11 and 12 will go to the two drivers outside the top 10 with the most victories, provided they are in the top 20.

The above names might soon need to rip off a few wins over the next 19 races, or else find themselves out of championship contention.

Plate Prodigy Bayne Goes For Repeat
Trevor Bayne returns restrictor plate racing, a style that clearly suits him.

Bayne, of course, won the Daytona 500 to open the 2011 season, the last trip the series took to a restrictor plate track.

In that event, Bayne famously worked well with Jeff Gordon as a drafting partner throughout. Gordon is the active leader in Talladega wins, with six.

Talladega: Home Of Competitive Balance
There are lead changes and leaders galore at Talladega.

The same holds true in terms of race winners. There have been seven different winners in the last seven races.

- NASCAR Media Services

Kenseth Wins at Texas; Ends 76-race Winless Streak

Associated Press

Kenseth had not won since February of 2009 at Fontana (Getty)

FORT WORTH — Matt Kenseth had a dominating run at Texas, breaking a 76-race NASCAR Sprint Cup winless streak Saturday night.

Kenseth led 169 of 334 laps at the 11/2-mile, high-banked track for his 19th career victory, his first since California in February 2009. Since his other win at Texas in 2002, Kenseth had four runner-up finishes, including last fall behind Denny Hamlin, and six other top-10 finishes at the track.

This time, the No. 17 Roush Fenway Ford was only trailing late behind Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch when both of those drivers were out of sequence on stops and trying to stretch fuel in hopes of catching a caution. Lucky for Kenseth, there were no yellow flags at the wrong time.

Kenseth went back ahead to stay with 13 laps to go when Busch had to make his final stop and give up a 8.2-second lead. Kenseth finished 8.315 seconds ahead of Clint Bowyer.

Texas Results

Final Texas Driver Ratings Following All Practice Sessions: Roush Should Lead The Way

Micah Roberts Top 10 Driver Ratings
Samsung Mobile 500
Texas Motor Speedway
Saturday, April 9, 2011 - 4:46 pm (PDT)

Rating    Driver     Odds       Practice 1    Practice 2     Qualified    Vegas 11*

 1. Carl Edwards 9/2                  15th            3rd             2nd            1st 
Three-time Texas winner; no top-fives in 9 other races. Using new chassis this week.
 2. Matt Kenseth 20/1                 8th            16th            4th            11th 
Since winning in 2002, has a track best 7.7 average finish; debuts new car this week.
 3. Tony Stewart 12/1                 2nd           12th             26th           2nd 
2006 winner is using a chassis that never finished outside of top-10 in four 2010 starts.
 4. Jimmie Johnson 6/1              7th            38th             6th            16th 
2007 winner; average finish of 10.1 in 15 starts. Using runner-up Fontana car this week.
 5. Clint Bowyer 25/1                  9th            11th            3rd            15th 
14.5 average finish in 10 starts, career best of 4th in 2008; new car this week.
 6. Kevin Harvick 8/1                 23rd           27th           29th           17th 
12.4 average finish in 16 starts; using chassis that finished fourth twice at Pocono in 2010.
 7. Greg Biffle 15/1                     5th            30th            9th             28th 
2005 winner; finished in the top-10 in last five Texas starts. Led 224 laps in the fall Texas race.
 8. Juan Montoya 30/1               3rd             14th           14th            3rd 
Fast average speeds in both practices; using third-place Las Vegas chassis this week.
 9. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 20/1        13th           13th            28th           8th 
2000 winner, his first career Cup victory; third fastest 10 consecutive lap average in final practice.
10. Denny Hamlin 8/1                20th            7th            23rd            7th        
Swept both races last season; leads all active drivers with an 8.8 average finish at Texas.
                    
* Results from the March 6, 2011 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway are relevant because similar set-ups are required for Texas.

Note: Only two scheduled practice sessions with qualifying held on Friday night.

Odds courtesy of the Las Vegas Hilton Super Book.

Micah Roberts, a former race and sports Director, has been setting NASCAR lines in Las Vegas since 1995. For more Roberts insights and post-practice analysis on the race, go to VegasInsider.com. 



STARTING LINEUP


DRIVER QUOTES FROM FRIDAY AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Johnson using his runner-up Fontana chassis at Texas

JIMMIE JOHNSON ON HOW HE PRACTICED THURSDAY: “Yesterday was kind of tough with the tire allotment that we have — figuring out the best strategy. We elected to go with qualifying trim yesterday and worked on that through the entire session. We’ll see how today goes. In qualifying, it’s a little different because now today we’ll just focus on race runs and then in my head mentally I have to switch over to qualifying at the end of the day. It’s a challenge finding the right rhythm as a driver and trying to maximize the amount of tires you have and how the teams choose to use them with these split practice sessions and limited amount of tires we have. At the end of the day we’ll have learned a lot more. I think we’re off to a decent start.”

CLINT BOWYER ON QUALIFYING THIRD: “Actually, yesterday the air conditioner shorted out, ’bout burnt my head up (LAUGHS). Something happened, there was a little fire out of it. Real proud of Shane Wilson (crew chief) and all these guys on the Cheerios / Hamburger Chevrolet. Brought me a new hot rod. Fast. Looking forward to the race tomorrow night. I wasn’t expecting that in qualifying. Richard (Childress, team owner) came on the radio there and told me ‘Hey, Carl (Edwards) ran the outside, run right there in the middle. You need to try it.’ I did and it was a pretty good lap so pretty excited about it.”

“When I rolled down the back straightaway, I was surprised at how much sun was in turn three. Pretty excited about the lap. It was a good lap for us."

KYLE BUSCH THOUGHTS ON QUALIFYING 11TH: “It’s a far cry from where we were yesterday, but unfortunately it’s not going to be fast enough today to get us where we want to be, but overall we felt like the Interstate Batteries Camry was really good. We posted a good time. But apparently there are going to be guys that are going to go faster than us. Our draw hurt us a little bit. We weren’t fast yesterday, but we got a lot better today. Looking forward to the race. It’s great to be here in Texas in front of the hometown crowd with Interstate Batteries. I’m pumped about that.”

KASEY KAHNE ON STARTING 13TH AND HOW HE FEELS ABOUT SATURDAY'S RACE: “I just blew turn three. I actually had a really good lap going, I drove in too hard and gave up a lot of time. The car felt really good, the engine and everything felt really good. I just screwed up.”

“Hopefully practice was good enough today and we’ll be fast tomorrow — we’ll see.”

Gordon has Dupont on the hood

JEFF GORDON ON HAVING TO ADJUST THE CAR WITH CHANGING RACE CONDITIONS: "Yes, you just have to completely throw the dice at the setup and hope that you get it close. That’s kind of the box that we’re in when we don’t get to be on the track at the time of day that we’re going to be racing. It’s more of a guessing game. I still think the cars that are strong during the day are going to be strong at night. You just want to maybe have a few more adjustable components in the car to be able to change in case the conditions are much more different than you think they are.”

CARL EDWARDS ON WHAT IT WILL TAKE TO WIN SATURDAY: “We are going to have to keep doing what we have been doing. The car is good. We just got done with some qualifying trim runs and it seems pretty fast. Texas is fun. It is a fun place to race and they pay a ton if you win which is great (laughter). This afternoon we get to go for that shotgun which has definitely eluded us. We have been second in qualifying here but Bob and I want to win that shotgun so we can fight over it. I don’t know who would get it, me or him. That is the first step here, to qualify well and then 500 miles at night. It will be a little bit different racing in conditions we haven’t practiced in yet so that will be interesting. It is fun to race here. I am glad to go, ready to go, glad to be here.”

DENNY HAMLIN ON PRESSURE TO DO WELL THIS WEEK: “I’m pretty sure we’re going to run well. Finishing well is the part that we haven’t done as well this year as we’ve done in years past. It is so early and we are close to where we are last year. We’re not quite, because we won Martinsville last year at this point. For me, the panic level is not that high, but it is creeping there because ultimately it’s not about the number of points that you’re behind 10th at this point, it’s how many guys separate you from that. In my head, I know that we’re going to run well — I know that for a fact, it’s just whether we finish well is going to be the question mark. To do that, all the other aspects of the race team that we have to have together.”

Kasey Kahne Fastest in Final Texas Practice

By Jeff Gluck
SBNation.com

Kasey Kahne led the final Sprint Cup Series practice on Friday afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway, topping the charts with a fast lap of 183.899 mph.

Kahne bested Paul Menard (183.892) in a 90-minute practice session that saw many drivers work only on race trim and not the upcoming qualifying session later this evening.

The fastest drivers in the session, though, did work on qualifying: Carl Edwards was third-fastest, followed by Kurt Busch and Regan Smith.

Roush Fenway Racing's David Ragan – who led Thursday's practice session – was sixth, ahead of Denny Hamlin, Marcos Ambrose, Mark Martin and AJ Allmendinger.

There were no incidents during the practice session, which wasn't televised due to Speed's coverage of the Barrett Jackson auction.

Sprint Cup Series qualifying is scheduled to begin at 6:40 p.m. Eastern time (5:40 p.m. local time). Qualifying order will mostly be based on Thursday's practice session, which saw the fastest speeds.

Practice 1 & 2 times

Driver Chassis Selections For Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas

Note: Not all teams list their chassis information in their press releases

Busch not bringing one of his better cars this week 

1. Kyle Busch: Equaled best finish (third) in 12 starts in this event last year; 12.2 average finish and 286 laps led in six starts with Joe Gibbs Racing; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 283) that he last finished 32nd with in its last two starts (Texas and Homestead).

2. Carl Edwards: Three-time winner; Leads all drivers in laps led (344) in the six races with the COT; Crashes in two of the last three events have raised his finishing average to 17.7 in 12 starts; Won the first race of the season on a 1.5-mile track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway; Will debut a new chassis (No. 748) in the Samsung Mobile 500.

3. Jimmie Johnson: Finished second in last three spring events; Winner of the fall race in 2007; Led 39 laps in this event last year; Only finishes outside the top 15 in 15 starts is a pair of 38th-place finishes; 11.3 average finish in the six races with the COT; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 650) that he finished second with last month at Auto Club Speedway.

4. Kurt Busch: Winner of the 2009 fall race; Finished fourth in this event last year; 24th-place finish last fall snapped a streak of three consecutive top-10s; Five top-10s in 10 starts with Penske Racing; 16.8 average finish and 92 laps led in the six races with the COT; Will return in the same car (chassis No. PRS-744) that he finished ninth with at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Harvick going for 3 wins in a row using 2010 Pocono car

5. Kevin Harvick: Coming off third consecutive, and eighth overall, top 10 with a sixth-place finish last fall; Has only led five laps in 16 starts; Fourth-best average finish (10.5) in the six races with the COT; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 309) that he posted fourth-places finishes with on both races at Pocono Raceway in 2010.

6. Ryan Newman: 14.5 average finish in four starts with Stewart-Haas; Posted one win and three top 10s in previous 11 starts with Penske Racing; Has yet to lead a lap in last six starts.

7. Juan Pablo Montoya: 25.1 average finish in eight starts; Last top 10 came in the 2009 spring race; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 1105) that he finished third with at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

8. Dale Earnhardt Jr: Has one pole and an average finish of 17.0 in six starts with Hendrick Motorsports; Finished eighth in this event last year; Posted one win and seven top-10s in previous 11 starts with Dale Earnhardt, Inc; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 617) that he finished eighth with at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

9. Matt Kenseth: Coming off 11th top 10 in 17 starts; 20th-place finish in this event last year snapped a streak of six consecutive top 10s; Third-best average finish (8.0) in the six races with the COT; Won the pole and finished 11th in the first race on 1.5-mile track (Las Vegas) this season; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 741) in the Samsung Mobile 500.

10. Mark Martin: 4.8 average finish in four starts with Hendrick Motorsports; Third-place finish last fall was 11th top 10 in 20 starts; Won the 1998 race with Roush Racing; Second-best average finish (6.5) in the six races with the COT.

Stewart was 2nd fastest in practice

11. Tony Stewart: Won the pole and led 74 laps in this event last year until a crash took him out of contention; 13.3 average finish in four starts with Stewart-Haas; Posted one win and eight top 10s in previous 14 starts with Joe Gibbs Racing; Led 163 laps and finished second in first race of the season on a 1.5-mile track (Las Vegas).

12. Jeff Gordon: Led a race-high 124 laps in this event last year before a crash relegated him to a 31st-place finish; Last of nine top 10s was a win in the 2009 spring race; 21.2 average finish in the six races with the COT.

13. Paul Menard: Coming off best finish in 10th; 23.6 average finish in nine starts; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 351) in the Samsung Mobile 500.

14. AJ Allmendinger: 22.7 average finish in six starts; Best finish came in the 2009 fall race in 10th; Will debut a new car (chassis No. 752) in the Samsung Mobile 500.

15. Kasey Kahne: Finished 13th last fall in first track start with Team Red Bull; Won the 2006 spring race with Evernham Motorsports; Last top 10 (fifth) came in this event last year with Richard Petty Motorsports.

16. Clint Bowyer: Coming off fifth top 10 in 10 starts; Finished 36th in this event last year after a crash took him out of contention; Will pilot a new car (chassis No. 350) in the Samsung Mobile 500.

17. Martin Truex Jr: Finished ninth in this event last year in first track start with Michael Waltrip Racing; Four previous top 10s came with Dale Earnhardt, Inc.

Ragan topped the charts in Thursday's practice

18. David Ragan: Coming off first top 10 in eight starts; 22.1 average finish; Will pilot a new car (chassis No. 750) in the Samsung Mobile 500.

19. Denny Hamlin: Won both races last season; 8.8 average finish in 11 starts; Best average finish (6.3) in the six races with the COT.

20. Greg Biffle: Coming off fifth consecutive top 10; Winner of the 2005 spring race; 612 laps led in 14 starts; Sixth-best average finish (11.7) in the six races with the COT; Will pilot a new car (chassis No. 749) in the Samsung Mobile 500.

Notable Drivers Outside the Top 20

Bobby Labonte: Last of five top-10s came in this event in 2006 with Petty Enterprises; 25.3 average finish in last 10 races; Will make track debut with JTG-Daugherty Racing.

Jamie McMurray: Last of six top 10s (third) came in the 2008 fall race with Roush Racing; 23.0 average finish in first two track starts behind the wheel of an Earnhardt-Ganassi Chevrolet in 2010; 20.2 average finish in the six races with the COT: Will return in the same car (chassis No. 1102) that he finished 27th with at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Brian Vickers: Has yet to post a top 10 in 12 starts; 21.6 average finish in seven starts with Team Red Bull.

Brad Keselowski: Has yet to post a top 10 in five starts; Best finish came in this event last year in 14th; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 745) that he finished 26th with at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

David Reutimann: Won the pole for the 2009 spring race; Engine problems in three races have raised his finishing average to 24.7 in seven starts; Best finish came in the 2008 fall race in 10th.

Joey Logano: Coming off first top 10 (fourth) in five starts after leading 30 laps; 24.2 average finish; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 297) that he finished 23rd with at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after a late-race tire violation.

Jeff Burton: Winner of the inaugural and 2007 spring race; Has posted six top-10s with Richard Childress Racing; 14.2 average finish in the six races with the COT; Will return in the same car (chassis No. 344) that he finished 21st with at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Texas Samsung Mobile 500 Preview: Kenseth Looks To Be Driver To Key On

By Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com

Earnhardt Jr. is all smiles this year after five straight solid finishes

Everything is big in Texas except the NASCAR Sprint Cup point lead after six races that seems to shuffle to a new leader almost every week. Las Vegan Kyle Busch is mere five points ahead of Carl Edwards with the next seven drivers in line all within 19 points of Edwards. The changes to the point structure make the points appear smaller than they are, but it really has been a competitive season thus far with a legitimate case made for at least 12 drivers to win the Championship.

Because of the competitiveness, we’ve seen a fluctuation with the odds to win the season championship at the Las Vegas Hilton Super Book with quite a few drivers odds differing from what they opened with back in December.

Defending five-time champ Jimmie Johnson opened the season as the 5-to-2 favorite to win for the sixth straight year, but has been bumped to 7-to-2 in light of all the new serious contenders. Johnson moved up two positions in points last week and is 3-points ahead of Kevin Harvick, a driver that has made believers out of Las Vegas oddsmakers. Harvick opened at 8-to-1 and is now 9-to-2 as the second choice to win the title with Carl Edwards.

Last season Harvick made a drastic improvement on the tracks that rule the season, the 1.5-mile and 2-mile tracks which are essential to winning a championship. Already this season, Harvick has won on two tracks he has never won on before, including Martinsville, a track that he hadn’t gained a top-five on for his entire career until the fall of last season. When looking at all the other tracks, he’s got those covered too; Road courses, check! Restrictor-plate tracks, check! Short tracks, check! And intermediate tracks like Phoenix, New Hampshire and Richmond, check!

Harvick has the whole season covered. Then when adding in that X-factor of his team getting better in the later part of races like has happened the last two weeks, well, it’s not hard to see why Las Vegas sports books think he’s just as capable as the trendy pick of Edwards to unseat Johnson this year.

Perhaps the biggest mover in respectability with Las Vegas is Dale Earnhardt Jr. who moved up four positions in points with his runner-up finish last week. Junior sits eighth in points and has gone from 50-to-1 opening odds to 20-to-1. Through the six races run, his worst finish has come on what is typically his best type of track, a 24th-place finish at Daytona in the opener. Junior has finished 12th or better since then in the ensuing five races.

The driver to take a major tumble in odds has been Denny Hamlin who opened as the 6-to-1 second choice to win, but has slid all the way back to 10-to-1 because his team still looks like they’re in a daze from Homestead last year when they blew the title. Despite being 19th in points, there still is considerable respect for Hamlin and what he’s capable of doing which is why Las Vegas only has four drivers listed with lower odds than Hamlin.

Hamlin and Harvick go for 3-in-a-row this week

This Saturday night’s race at Texas Motor Speedway will see Harvick and Hamlin trying to get a three-peat. For Harvick, now dubbed as the ‘closer’, he has won the last two races on the season with late come from behind wins. It’s the second time Harvick has won back-to-back races in his career and each of those wins this year also represented his first win ever on the track. Harvick would really shock the racing world with another win becoming the first driver since Jimmie Johnson since 2007 to win three straight races. If he does, it would also be his first win at Texas.

Hamlin doesn’t have a win this year, but is coming into this race having won two Texas races in a row sweeping the 2010 season. Last week was supposed to be a confidence builder, or sort of a crutch, for the struggling Hamlin because he had won three in a row at Martinsville, but it didn’t happen. He finished 13th, his worst finish on his home state track since his first Cup start there. It wasn’t like he wasn’t good, though, he led quite a few laps and looked to have one of the top three cars on the track.

The drivers to watch this week can be found be looking at what happened in Las Vegas and a little bit from California. They are both good indicators to who will be strong on this high-banked super fast 1.5-mile track.

Kenseth was strong at Vegas and Fontana 

The one who stands out the most is Matt Kenseth who also happens to have the best average finish of 7.3 on the track since he won in 2002. Kenseth started on the pole at Las Vegas, practiced well and finished 11th, a race won by teammate Carl Edwards. At California a couple of weeks ago, Kenseth finished fourth.

Edwards is a three-time winner at Texas, the most any driver has there, and in addition to his Vegas win, he also finished sixth at California. The interesting thing about Edwards at Texas is that he doesn’t have a top-five finish on the track with the exception of his three wins, which is why he has such a high average finish of 17.7 in his 12 starts. In his last three starts there, he’s had a 39th, 33rd and 19th.

It’s surprising that for all Johnson’s success at Las Vegas, Charlotte and Atlanta, that he wouldn’t have more than his one win in Texas. Even more surprising is that Johnson doesn’t have a win yet and has now gone 14 races dating back to last year without one. At Las Vegas and California, he didn’t give much indication in practice that he’d be a major player in the race, but in each instance, his team worked hard throughout the race adjusting the car and made it strong at the end. In addition to Johnson’s lone win on the Lone Star track, he also has four runner-up finishes. This week he'll be using his runner-up chassis from Fontana.

Others to key on this week include both Busch brothers, Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart. It could be argued that Stewart had the best car at both Las Vegas and California, but had some unfortunate mishaps at the end of each.

A sleeper for the week could be Juan Pablo Montoya. He's never done much at Texas, but is using the same car that he finished third with at Las Vegas.

Top 5 Finish Prediction:
1) #17 Matt Kenseth (20/1)
2) #14 Tony Stewart (12/1)
3) #99 Carl Edwards (9/2)
4) #49 Jimmie Johnson (6/1)
5) #29 Kevin Harvick (8/1)

Driver Notes & Quotes For Texas Samsung Mobile 500

Joey Logano finished fourth in his last Texas race

JOEY LOGANO ON RACING AT TEXAS: “Texas was only one of those tracks that I just struggled at and had no idea why. People try and tell you it’s like Charlotte, but I assure you it’s not. Charlotte has always been one of my best tracks and until last fall Texas was one of my worst. Last fall I was kind of expecting to be happy with anything around a top-10 finish and thought that would be a good day for us. Then all of a sudden I was in the lead and I was leading laps. I thought that was pretty cool was like, ‘who would’ve thought that here.”

“It’s a really fast track and the Joe Gibbs Racing cars have done well as these types of tracks recently. Hopefully The Home Depot Team will have a solid weekend and continue to work our way up in the points. Plus, I enjoy Saturday night racing so I’m looking forward to this weekend.”

LOGANO CHASSIS CHOICE: The No. 20 Home Depot Team is taking chassis #297 to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend for the Samsung Mobile 500. The team utilized this chassis at Las Vegas Motor Speedway earlier this season. A late-race tire violation with 25 laps to go dropped the team out of the top 10 and into the 23rd position at the Nevada track. The back-up chassis is chassis #284 which Logano drove last year at Auto Club Speedway to an 11th-place finish and at Phoenix International Raceway in November to third.

RYAN NEWMAN ON TEXAS: “We’re off to a strong start and if we’re going to continue to have success we need to do well at the intermediate tracks like Texas. In the past, the mile-and-a-half and two-mile tracks gave us problems, but so far this season we have had good results at those venues with fifth-place finishes at Las Vegas and Fontana. Texas will be another good test for our U.S. Army Reserve Chevrolet. I’ve had a mixture of results there including a win (2003), but it’s going to be more interesting this weekend with it being a night race. The balance transition at night races is key and with this being the first night race at Texas that’s the big unanswered question. It’s the same for everyone, but I feel good about how our U.S. Army team has been communicating and working through problems. I think we put ourselves in a better position team-wise and communication-wise to be more successful this year. After two years of working together, we’ve learned what we needed to work on and I think we did a good job in the off-season of doing that.

JAMIE McMURRAY ON TEXAS: “I love Texas! I grew up only about five hours from the race track so It feels like home, and it’s one of the nicest facilities that we go to. We didn’t run very well there last year, so we’re going with a completely different style of a setup. Texas has usually been a good track for me, so hopefully we’ll hit on something this weekend and bring home another solid finish for our Bass Pro Shops Chevy.

McMURRAY CHASSIS CHOICE: Chassis #1102 - Kevin “Bono” Manion will bring chassis #1102. This chassis was raced earlier this season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway where the team qualified 11th and finished 27th.

Montoya will be using third-place Vegas chassis this week

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA ON TEXAS: “I like Texas believe it or not. Our results haven’t been that great there but it’s a track I enjoy racing at. You can run against the fence there and make up good ground especially in (turns) three and four. The racing there suits my driving style. Our program has definitely improved over the last couple of years and our Target Chevy’s are strong so I’m looking for a good points day.”

MONTOYA CHASSIS CHOICE: Chassis #1105 - Brian Pattie and the No. 42 team will bring chassis #1105 this weekend. This chassis was also raced earlier this season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway where the team finished third.

DALE EARNHARDT JR ON RACING AT TEXAS: “I look forward to going to Texas — it’s a real fast place, and it’s wide. The car needs to move around, and it needs to work in several different groves. Texas has some really, really tricky transitions. The exit off of Turn 2 is a real, real tricky corner — it is real loose off if you aren’t careful.”

MARK MARTIN ON RACING AT TEXAS: “Who doesn’t like a good night race? I’m excited about it. It’s our first one of the season, and I think that everyone, the drivers, the fans, the sponsors, gets pumped up for night races. I think it’s a good call by the Texas track and I am looking forward to it.”

KASEY KAHNE ON WHAT MAKES TEXAS DIFFERENT FROM OTHER 1.5-MILE TRACKS: “To me, the biggest difference is when you get into the corner — the way the car drops into turn one and then the way it transitions into (turn) three. The banking is kind of similar, the exit to the corners get flat also, which Charlotte and Atlanta do it, but not quite as much probably. There’s a hole — where the tunnels are — there’s a hole across the centers of the corners so your car bounces pretty big through there. It’s a unique track — it’s a tough track and a great track.”

JEFF GORDON ON TEXAS: “We haven’t always run well at Texas, but I am cautiously optimistic heading into the weekend. The differences in our performances in the spring and the fall races recently is probably just different weather and track conditions at that time of year. This track has always been one of the premier facilities – if not the premier facility. There is no other place like this and it has really turned into a fantastic track. When we first came here, it was a really, really challenging race track. It was fast and the transitions were really abrupt, and it was hard just to stay out of the wall. But as the surface has worn and as we’ve gotten the cars handling better, it’s become one of the premier tracks. The race track itself has come into its own and made great racing with the groove widening out. It seems like it gets better every time we come here.”

REGAN SMITH ON TEXAS: “We’re going to Texas knowing that our luck cycle needs to change. It’s been a frustrating start for our No. 78 Furniture Row Racing team. We’ve done so many things well, but can’t seem to avoid trouble and mechanical issues on race day. We know as a team that we’ve made big gains this year even though the results haven’t been what they should be. We’ve been hit pretty hard so far this season with unexpected issues. All we can do is keep plugging away and stay positive. I’ll be driving the Farm American Chevrolet this weekend and hopefully that will change our luck. I think the last time I drove the Farm American car was in California last fall and finished 12th.”

Denny Hamlin needs a major boost at Texas this week

DENNY HAMLIN ON TEXAS AND WINNING LAST YEAR AFTER ACL SURGERY: “Texas is a track I’ve always really run good at, but I was looking at Texas as kind of a week off after Phoenix. As bad as I felt that weekend, I felt like I could use Texas as almost a week off and then try to catch my stride a couple weeks after that and try to get better. How am I supposed to know that my car was going to be rocket fast and we find ourselves in a position to win that race. For me, it was just a huge turning point. It instantly went from trying to recover to just trying to figure out how I am going to get into the Chase and win the Chase at that point.”

TEXAS NATIVE BOBBY LABONTE ON RACING AT HIS HOME TRACK: “Texas Motor Speedway is going to be a good track for us and it will be fun racing at night – - we’ve got Bush’s Beans on board. I really like that place and every track has its own unique characteristic. I was fortunate to go there before they ever built the track. I literally saw it being built from the ground up. It is a great facility and right now it is as good as it has ever been. Texas is coming into its own with a lot of racing grooves.”

“We’ve had really good race cars except for one race and that was Fontana (Auto Club Speedway). We’ve had a little bit of bad luck to go along with the good luck we’ve had. But, we’re getting that consistency where we unload better weekly. We’ve got to find that last little bit to start gaining confidence and momentum as soon as we unload. Momentum is a big thing in this sport. You can’t buy it at a grocery store or a parts store. We’ve been more competitive than not and that’s really encouraging for us.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI ON RACING AT TEXAS: “Texas really is a unique racetrack and a unique layout. From above it looks like any normal 1.5-mile track, but the transitions into and off of the corners are quite a bit different than Charlotte, Las Vegas or any of the other mile-and-a-halfs. There is a lot of banking into the corners, which means you can carry a lot of speed in and to the center, but you lose that speed on exit as the track flattens out. It’s difficult because normally you can carry the same amount of grip and speed on both corner entry and corner exit. You have to adjust accordingly and sometimes that’s hard to do at 180 miles per hour. It’s easy to find yourself in trouble, especially off of Turn 2.”

KESELOWSKI CHASSIS CHOICE: The No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger team will use chassis PRS-745 during Sunday’s Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Keselowski drove this chassis to a 26th-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last month.

Martin Truex Jr's career best  finish at Texas was third in 2007

MARTIN TRUEX JR ON GOING TO TEXAS: “Martinsville wasn’t too pretty. Anytime you lift your foot off the floor and the engine doesn’t change sound, it’s not a good thing. All I could do was hold on and hope it didn’t hurt too much. It was an unfortunate deal that’s for sure, but it ended up not hurting at all except for our place in the standings. It’s unbelievable what these race cars are able to take nowadays. I think we forget sometimes how much work NASCAR has done to make these cars safe, but I want to thank everyone who has worked and still works diligently to make our sport safe.

“Now, it’s about going to the Texas Motor Speedway to pick everything back up and go at it again. I’m really looking forward to going back there. I think a track like Texas falls in one of our strong points in our program. We had a great run at Vegas so I hope some of what we used and learned there will translate to Texas.”

DAVID REUTIMANN ON TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY: “Texas is a track that we really like a lot. It’s a fun racetrack and a place where I enjoy going. For some reason it’s been a racetrack that I’ve enjoyed running ever since my days in the truck series. It’s one of my favorite racetracks. I think I probably like it so much because we’ve run so well there in the past – that probably helps a lot. In the end I think it’s just the overall design of the racetrack and the fans that come out for the event and the way they promote it. The feel of the whole weekend just makes it a fun weekend. I don’t know exactly what it is, but we definitely enjoy running there. I’ve always ran well there and I haven’t had a chance to run two races in a weekend there in some time. This may be my only shot all year to run both races, so I’m going to go out there and try to make the most of it.”

REUTIMANN ON TEXAS BEING A TRACK THAT HE CIRCLES AS A PLACE HE SHOULD WELL: “Absolutely! There are a couple racetracks on the schedule that we look at that way and Texas is definitely one of them.”


Links to OTHER DRIVERS NOTES & QUOTES FOR TEXAS

StockCartoon by Mike Smith - Las Vegas Sun

Jimmie Johnson Notes


Kurt Busch Notes


Jeff Gordon Notes


RCR Texas Preview


Roush Racing Texas Preview 


Kyle Busch Notes


Tony Stewart Notes

Kyle Busch Takes NASCAR Points Lead To Texas

Kyle Busch leads the Cup series in points due to consistency

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (April 5, 2011) – A few years ago, Kyle Busch might not have been driver people associated with the word consistency. But now, just six races into the 36-race NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule for 2011, nobody has been more consistent than the talented 25-year-old.

Busch, driver of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), has already posted four finishes of third or better – a solid start that has vaulted him to the series points lead as the Sprint Cup Series heads to Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth for Saturday night’s Samsung Mobile 500.

The Las Vegas native has been a fixture at the front of the field thus far this season, having already led a series-high 481 laps. That’s more than all but eight drivers led during the entire 2010 season when Busch, himself, led 1,271 laps, second only to Jimmie Johnson’s 1,315.

Last weekend at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, Busch became the ninth driver in Sprint Cup history to lead at least 150 laps in three straight races and the first since Jeff Gordon accomplished the feat in 1995. Busch’s remarkable consistency over the last three races started with his 153 laps led en route to victory at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. He followed up that performance with back-to-back races with 151 laps led and third-place finishes at both Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. and Martinsville.

After bringing Dallas-based Interstate Batteries to victory lane at its hometown track for the first time last November in the Camping World Truck Series race, Busch will attempt to bring Interstate Batteries’ new “white hot” paint scheme that celebrates the company’s 20-year partnership with JGR back to that very same spot this weekend.

In addition to seeking Interstate’s first Sprint Cup win at its home track, Busch hopes to also notch his first Sprint Cup win in the Lone Star State. He’s come close to his first Texas Sprint Cup win in recent years as he has four finishes of sixth or better in his last seven outings at the 1.5-mile oval.

So, as Busch focuses his mind on notching his first Sprint Cup win in the Lone Star State this weekend, chances are he’ll be in the hunt yet again, based on the strong start to his season. After all, he knows full well that consistency has always been the key to putting oneself in position for race wins and, more importantly, contention for the season-ending championship at NASCAR’s top level.

KYLE BUSCH QUOTES:
When do you start looking at where you are in the points? “I think you actually want to try to do that sooner rather than later. It’s about Charlotte time – about the end of May, when you get into the season and you look at where you’re at. You’re about going to be where you’re going to be when you come down to Chase time. You kind of look at Charlotte and kind of evaluate where you’re at. You could pretty much say you’re either going to be four positions better or five positions worse once you get down to Chase time and Loudon, which is actually Chicago this year. It can go either way. If you’re really good, you can be four better. If you kind of hit a roadblock and have some bad races, you can probably be about five worse. That’s how we look at it. Right now, we are leading the points, which is great, but I don’t even watch or even pay attention to them right now. If you have good results like we have been having, then they’ll take care of themselves.”

Kyle Busch is looking for first Texas win

Can you be a great driver without being an aggressive driver? “You can certainly be aggressive but also successful, as well. It kind of depends on who all you’re racing, sometimes – how hard you’re racing those guys, sometimes. Certainly, there are some drivers out there with different dynamics about how to approach this place and some are aggressive, some are not so aggressive, some are smooth, some are erratic, and I think I’m about all of those, somewhere in-between.”

You’ve had success at Texas Motor Speedway, recently. Are you getting more comfortable there each time you go back? “It used to not be so much. I had some wild races there early on in my career and it wasn’t one of my favorite places, for whatever reason. Things have gone well, recently. Obviously, the Nationwide Series wins the last several years and getting the win in the Truck Series the last couple of years have been real confidence-boosters there. I have sort of learned how to drive it a little bit better and I know what I need in my racecar to make it easier. The cars that JGR has given me since I joined the team have also been a confidence-booster there. I can’t seem to get that win in Cup that’s eluded me, even though we’ve been close. So, hopefully, that’s something we can change this weekend. Not only would I like to get my first win at Texas, but getting Norm (Miller, Interstate Batteries chairman) a win there would be even more special.”

Thus far, is there any difference with your team this year that makes you believe you can win the championship? “I think the biggest thing that’s different with us is just having a full year under my belt with Dave Rogers (crew chief), and now we’ve had a season with that year’s worth of experience of working with Dave and we’re trying to reach our potential and little bit more this year. Unfortunately, we’ve kind of fallen shy of that the past few years. This is the year we’d like to change that and make it to where we get through the regular season OK and get to the Chase and then, once we get into the Chase, we stay consistent with what we’re doing. Then, if we can make it through without things happening or getting involved in wrecks or something like that, where we can have a shot come Homestead. It’s been hard to lead a lot of laps the last few weeks and not have wins to show for it, but you also have to look at how strong we’ve run, so that’s a really encouraging sign at this point.”

KYLE BUSCH CHASSIS CHOICE: No. 283
This chassis will make it fourth-ever start in Saturday night’s Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth. In its first start last September at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, Busch started ninth and finished ninth. The No. 18 team brought No. 283 back for the AAA Texas 500 at Texas last November, where Busch started 29th and finished a disappointing 32nd. Most recently, Busch competed with this chassis in the Ford 400 Sprint Cup season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he started
33rd but finished 32nd after being spun and making hard contact with the frontstretch inside retaining wall while running in the top-five late in the 400-mile race.

KYLE BUSCH NOTES OF INTEREST:
* The Samsung Mobile 500 will mark Busch’s 229th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and his 13th Sprint Cup start at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.
* Busch has career totals of 20 wins, seven poles, 70 top-fives, 108 top-10s and 6,153 laps led in 228 career Sprint Cup races. His most recent Sprint Cup win came three weekends ago at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. His last pole came 29 races ago at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway.
* Busch has no wins, no poles, four top-five and five top-10 finishes and has led a total of 441 laps in 12 career Sprint Cup starts at Texas. His average finish is 16.2 at the 1.5-mile oval.
* In addition to his 441 Sprint Cup laps led at Texas, Busch has led 1,187 laps in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and 274 laps in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Texas.
* Busch is now just 86 laps shy of the 20,000 career laps-led mark across NASCAR’s top three series. He currently sits at 19,914 career laps led among all three series after leading 215 combined laps last weekend at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Additionally, by leading 151 laps one week earlier at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., Busch became the 30th driver to surpass 6,000 laps led in the Sprint Cup Series and sits at 6,002 laps led. Busch is closing in on three active drivers in career Sprint Cup laps led, including Jeff Burton (6,396), his brother Kurt Busch (6,428), and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (6,738).
* That’s a lot of laps: Last weekend at Martinsville, Busch became the ninth driver in Sprint Cup Series history to lead at least 150 laps in three consecutive races and the first since Jeff Gordon accomplished the feat in 1995. Additionally, Busch has led a total of 481 laps in the first six Sprint Cup races this season, which is more than all but eight drivers led during the entire 2010 season (including Busch, who led 1,271 laps, second to Jimmie Johnson’s 1,315). Busch has shown remarkable consistency over the last three races, winning at Bristol while leading 153 laps and finishing third and leading 151 laps at both Fontana and Martinsville.

- True Speed Communications Press Release