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Saturday, September 26th, 2009
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1:14 pm - Welcome to NASCAR, Danica!
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1:11 pm - Hmmm ... Food for Thought, Kasey ...
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| Saturday, September 12th, 2009
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11:16 am - Hmm Don't Know if I LIke This ...
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Ford raised Kahne and is glad to have him backBy Joe Menzer, NASCAR.COM September 11, 2009 10:49 PM EDT RICHMOND, Va. -- Kasey Kahne, the top driver in the Richard Petty Motorsports stable, admitted he was as surprised as anyone at the news this week that RPM will be switching manufacturers at the end of this Cup season. Officials from RPM announced Thursday that the organization will be making the switch from Dodge to Ford while merging with Yates Racing. Kahne currently drives the No. 9 Dodge that sits sixth in the points standings heading into Saturday's Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway -- the final race before the top 12 drivers are locked into the Chase for the final 10 races of the season. Thus Kahne finds himself in a bit of a strange place. He's poised to race for a championship in a Dodge, which he has driven his entire six-year Cup career. But he knows his long-term future now appears to be in a Ford -- which he hasn't driven since being employed by Robert Yates Racing and Akins Motorsports in the Busch Series, now Nationwide, in 2002 and 2003, respectively. The irony there is that the association ended badly for him and for Ford, resulting in the manufacturer suing Kahne for breach of contract. Kahne rose from the USAC open-wheel ranks to NASCAR with the support of Ford -- but left Ford and Akins, which was associated with Robert Yates Racing, because Kahne claimed he was not moved up to the Cup Series in a timely manner. When he began driving a Dodge part time for what was then Evernham Motorsports toward the end of the 2003 season in the Cup Series, he still had three years left on his contract with Ford. "It wasn't really about me. It was about building Richard Petty Motorsports," Kahne said of Thursday's merger and manufacturer switch. "When I left Ford and we went through that suit, I wasn't a big fan -- and they weren't a big fan of me. But time heals, and I think some of those people are gone that caused all that. They have new people there. Ford is really excited, and I think we can work through things and figure out how to get by and use those guys and work with those guys to become a better race team." (Continued) There had been rumors that Petty was looking to move to another manufacturer when its contract with Dodge ends at the conclusion of this season. But most speculation had centered on a possible switch to Toyota. Kahne admitted that Thursday's announcement caught him off-guard. "I just heard a little bit here and there, but I didn't really know it had happened until Wednesday. ... I was surprised," Kahne said. The switch leaves Dodge with only one organization running its cars in the Cup Series next season. That would be Penske Racing, which fields cars that will be driven in 2010 by Kurt Busch, Sam Hornish Jr. and Brad Keselowski, who will be replacing David Stremme. Mike Accavitti, Dodge president and CEO, said in a statement Friday that he wishes Kahne and RPM luck in their new endeavor, while pledging support for the remainder of this season. "Dodge has enjoyed a successful partnership with Richard Petty and Richard Petty Motorsports," Accavitti said. "Richard has made a business decision to merge with Yates Racing. We wish Richard and RPM luck the rest of the season and in the future. "Dodge's plan -- to be a championship contender in 2010 with Penske Racing and a solid lineup of drivers -- has not changed. We remain firmly focused on our objectives to be the leading manufacturer in the Cup Series, win races and compete for the Sprint Cup at the right level." Kahne admitted he has some concern about the manufacturer switch adversely affecting his chances in this year's Chase, but he was quick to add that he doesn't think it will be a problem. "It's not going to hurt us in terms of support," Kahne said. "The people that we have who have worked hard to put the No. 9 car where it's at right now are really good people. And I feel like they still want to win races. I've talked to them and I want to win races, and we all want to run as well as we can in the Chase. So hopefully it doesn't affect us -- but there is always that chance that, you know, it could. Hopefully it doesn't." Kahne scoffed at one suggestion that he could essentially be reduced to the equivalent of a test team for the Roush Fenway organization, saying that it is his understanding that the new RPM will work with Roush Fenway more than for them. "Our team has too many good people here," Kahne said. "We're not going to test for Roush. We're going to work with Roush and help Roush, and Roush is going to be a part of Richard Petty Motorsports, or however that all works out. I don't know exactly how it works out. But we're definitely not their test team." The other RPM drivers in 2010 will be Elliott Sadler, who will be in the last year of his contract, along with A.J. Allmendinger and current Yates Racing driver Paul Menard. As part of last Thursday's announcement, team co-owner Richard Petty also confirmed that Reed Sorenson, current driver of the No. 43 Dodge, would not return to drive for RPM next season. Another odd driver apparently out in the new alignment is Jamie McMurray, currently driver of the No. 26 Ford for Roush Fenway. This is the last year Roush Fenway is permitted by NASCAR to run five teams -- and team owner Jack Roush already has committed to cars driven by Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth and David Ragan for next year. Biffle said Friday at RIR that reaction to the news of RPM's addition to the Ford family was positive within the Roush Fenway camp. "I think it's going to help our organization, having the Petty organization aligned with us. And certainly I think it's going to help Ford Racing in general," Biffle said. "I think it's a good thing for us. Obviously they needed to do something about a manufacturer, and I'm glad they chose Ford." |
current mood:  worried
current music: Movie/Never Cry Werewolf
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| Wednesday, September 9th, 2009
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7:44 am - Kasey and Richmond
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| Monday, September 7th, 2009
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11:35 am - The King Speaks ...
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A blast from the past: Petty car in championship huntHAMPTON, Ga. -- To Richard Petty, winning never gets old. "Get up on race morning, our job is to win the race. Get up on Monday morning, our job is to win the next race," the seven-time NASCAR champion said. "It never gets old when you win. I've been real fortunate, won a bunch of races and stuff. It never gets old. I've never won enough that it got old and boring as far as that part is concerned. Again, it's a new adrenaline flow every time we run a race or win a race." This from a man with 200 career race victories, more than any other driver in the history of NASCAR. Now he has two this season as an owner, the latest coming courtesy of Kasey Kahne, who shot to the lead on the final restart and held on Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway. In his red Richard Petty Motorsports car, Kahne didn't dominate the Pep Boys 500 -- two other drivers led more laps -- but a late caution gave him the opportunity to overtake Kevin Harvick for the victory. The King will take it. "No matter how you run, or how good you run or how bad, circumstances [are] beyond anyone's control," Petty said. "Circumstances fell our way on that last caution flag, and that put us in a position for the pit crew to do their job and the driver to do his job." For all his success on the race track, winning is something Petty hasn't experienced much of the past decade. His Petty Enterprises team, a staple on the NASCAR circuit for six decades and family owned for most of that time, struggled mightily before it was absorbed prior to this season by the organization formerly known as Gillett Evernham Motorsports. Kahne's first win this season, on the Infineon Raceway road course June 21, was also the first for a car bearing the Petty name since John Andretti won at Martinsville in 1999. That was the 258th and final victory for a Petty Enterprises outfit that produced 10 championships, but was ultimately done in by sponsorship woes. (Continued) Times have changed. Although Petty does not own his current team outright -- he shares ownership with George Gillett -- he still has a stake in it, and his name is still on the organization. In Kahne, RPM has a driver who is a consistent threat to win races, something no Petty car has enjoyed since the King himself scored five victories and 23 top-five finishes way back in 1979. Now, Kahne has more than just race wins in his sights. A topsy-turvy inaugural night race at Atlanta shuffled the deck of potential Chase participants. Greg Biffle finished 10th, but fell three places in the standings to 11th. Ryan Newman finished ninth, and fell two positions to ninth. Kyle Busch finished 13th and fell one spot to 14th. Matt Kenseth finished 12th and gained no ground, remaining on the cut-off line, 20 points ahead of Brian Vickers. A few drivers took advantage -- Denny Hamlin (who became the fourth Chase participant to clinch a playoff spot), Juan Montoya (who moved up to eighth with his third-place run), and Kahne, who jumped a healthy five positions to sixth thanks to the victory. Should the driver of the No. 9 car finish the job next weekend at Richmond, Petty will have an opportunity to experience something he hasn't celebrated since that 1979 season: a championship. It's been a while, to say the least, since a Petty car was in the thick of a title hunt. No vehicle bearing the Petty name has finished in the final top 10 since 1996, when Bobby Hamilton placed ninth in points for Petty Enterprises. But the last Petty driver to be considered a genuine championship threat? Again, you'd have to go back to Richard, who placed fifth in 1983. Given the strength of championship frontrunners Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson, Kahne would have to be seen as a long shot to net the King another title. But Petty doesn't mind opining on what it might take to win what for him would be championship number eight. "You know, I guess you go into any season saying, OK, if we have a good year, we've got a chance of winning a championship," he said. "We've been up and down, bouncing around. Got off to a bad start at Daytona, and just kept plugging away, plugging away. Maybe we're like some of the other teams, or football teams or whatever. Maybe we got off to a slow start, but hopefully all the stuff that we've done, all the stuff we've learned being a crew and a team deal sort of gels at the end of the season. That's the way the situation is with the points standings now. That's the way it is. Anybody that has the last part of the season good has a chance to win a championship. That's a good start to the last part of the season. So that's the way we're looking at it."
current mood:  ecstatic
current music: Ghost Hunters Marathon
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9:47 am - Oh Yeah Baby !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Kahne's late-race pass paves way to Victory LaneBy Sporting News Wire Service
September 7, 2009
01:34 AM EDT HAMPTON, Ga. -- For Kasey Kahne, victory in Sunday night's Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway was the watershed moment of his Sprint Cup Series career. For one thing, it all but guaranteed Kahne a position in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, jumping him five positions to sixth in the series standings -- a sizable-if-not-comfortable 96 points ahead of 13th-place Brian Vickers, who finished seventh Sunday. For Kahne, 29, the victim of a late-season fold with back-to-back 40th-place finishes at Michigan and Bristol last year, the win was vindication. For Richard Petty Motorsports, the victory was cause for celebration, all but ensuring a Petty car in the Chase for the first time since NASCAR's playoff format was introduced in 2004. Kahne beat resurgent Kevin Harvick to the finish line by 1.766 seconds, after a caution for Clint Bowyer's spin on Lap 309 erased a sizable lead for Harvick, whose car was unbeatable on long runs but no match for Kahne's over the short haul. Kahne broke away from Harvick and third-place finisher Juan Montoya after a restart on Lap 315 of 325. David Reutimann finished fourth, followed by Mark Martin and Denny Hamlin, who locked himself into the Chase with the sixth-place finish. "I knew Harvick and Montoya were going to be tough there at the end," said Kahne, who won for the second time this season and the 11th time in his career. "But I got 'em. We were really good there for about 10 laps. "We did it, and we did it right there at the end. When we got that restart with 11 [laps] to go, I knew we had a chance. ... This team just stepped up. The pit stops were awesome all night. The calls from [crew chief] Kenny Francis were perfect. I knew we could go fast for about 15 laps -- faster than anybody. After that I was getting a little bit too loose to hang with Harvick and Montoya. "But 11 laps to go, just getting to the front was what I was thinking I needed to do, and once we did it, everything was perfect from there on out. It was great team effort, something that Richard Petty Motorsports really needed." Kahne wasn't the only driver who helped himself immensely. Montoya improved to eighth in the standings, 88 points ahead of Vickers. Martin remained 10th in the standings but widened his advantage over 13th place to 69 points. "I think it's great," said Montoya, who was victimized by tire problems the previous two races, at Michigan and Bristol. "I think everyone on the team did an amazing job. Last race in Bristol, I thought we had a chance of winning. We had a flat tire. It cost us a lot in points. "Two races with flat tires ... lost a bunch of points, it's always kind of worrying. Every restart you go, 'Please, nobody slide into me.' Things like that. It was nice to see that Kasey and Kevin and myself were the three fastest cars by a mile. Once you got in line, after the first corner, you knew you were fine." The save of the night went to Matt Kenseth, who scraped the wall in the early going and was mired in 30th position before his crew repaired the No. 17 Ford and improved the handling. Aided by excellent work in the pits on subsequent stops, Kenseth drove through the field and finished 12th. That kept him 12th in the standings, 20 points ahead of Vickers. Kenseth teammate Greg Biffle also fought an ill-handling car but was able to regain a lost lap, thanks to a free pass under caution for Jimmie Johnson's spin on Lap 200. Biffle worked his way up to 10th at the finish and is 11th in the standings, one point behind Martin. Kyle Busch, on the other hand, is 14th in the standings after finishing 13th. Despite four victories this season, Busch is 37 points behind Kenseth with one race left before the Chase field is set Saturday night at Richmond.
current mood: ecstatic
current music: Ghost Hunters Marathon
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| Sunday, September 6th, 2009
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5:55 pm - Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I Think it's Very Likely :)
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Truex, Kahne an unlikely front row for AMS Cup raceBy Sporting News Wire Service
September 5, 2009
07:57 PM EDT HAMPTON, Ga. -- Martin Truex Jr. got the pole, but Kasey Kahne got what he needed in Saturday's qualifying session at Atlanta Motor Speedway. With a lap at 184.149 mph, Truex will start from the top spot in Sunday's Pep Boys Auto 500 at the 1.54-mile race track. For Kahne, who qualified second at 183.497 mph, the front-row starting spot provides a boost of confidence for a driver fighting to hold onto one of the 12 positions in the Chase. Jimmie Johnson (183.358 mph) will start third beside teammate Jeff Gordon (182.994 mph). Kyle Busch, currently 13th in the Cup standings and 34 points behind Matt Kenseth in 12th, qualified fifth at 182.771 mph. Kurt Busch, Mark Martin, Brian Vickers, David Stremme and Denny Hamlin will start from positions six through 10, respectively. "We unloaded with the car and kind of struggled for a little while, but we learned some things, worked on them through practice, and then we had a half-hour break and made a lot more changes, and the next practice the car just really came to life," said Truex, who won his second pole of the season and the third of his career. "I felt real good about the car. I was happy with it, but when we made some qualifying runs, it was just OK. We made some more changes, and right there at the end I got pretty happy with the car, but we were out of tires, so we weren't really sure what we had." After a disappointing 28th-place finish Aug. 22 at Bristol, Kahne is 11th in the standings, with a 52-point cushion over Kyle Busch. "I felt I could have got a little bit more in the middle of [Turns] 3 and 4 back to the start/finish, but I still don't think I would have went as fast as Truex," Kahne said. "He ran a great lap, but it'll be nice to start on the front row. It's a big race for us [Sunday] night. We've got to figure out how to gain some points. "I look at [Sunday] night as going for it, running as hard as we can, bringing the car home in one piece, getting all the points we can. And hopefully it handles, and things go right." Notes:Erik Darnell, making his Cup debut Sunday, was slowest of 46 drivers Saturday but will start the race 42nd on an owner points provisional. Bobby Labonte, the driver Darnell supplanted in the No. 96 Ford, qualified 25th in the No. 71 Chevrolet. David Gilliland, unseated by Labonte, posted the 17th-fastest time in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford. Regan Smith, Patrick Carpentier and Tony Raines failed to qualify for the 43-car field. Terry Labonte got in on a past champion's provisional and will start 43rd. |
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| Sunday, August 30th, 2009
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12:15 pm - Daytona 500 News
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· Daytona 500 Qualifying moved to Saturday: Daytona 500 Qualifying Presented By Kroger, which secures the prestigious front row for the 52nd annual Daytona 500, will be part of a tripleheader day of racing on Saturday, Feb. 6, joining the 32nd annual Budweiser Shootout and Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 during Speedweeks 2010. Daytona 500 Qualifying Presented By Kroger, which is traditionally scheduled on the Sunday prior to the Daytona 500, will kick off activities on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 1:05 p.m. on FOX, followed by the season-opening Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 for the ARCA Series at 4:30 p.m. on SPEED, and the Budweiser Shootout at 8:10 p.m. on FOX.(Daytona PR)(8-28-2009)
current mood:  good
current music: Nothing
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| Tuesday, August 4th, 2009
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11:11 am - Good Job Kasey!
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| Saturday, July 11th, 2009
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10:56 pm - Another Great Race, Kasey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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ResultsChicago
Third place finish and up to #8 in points!!!!!!!!! Great job dude!!!!!!!!!! :D
current mood: ecstatic
current music: Leverage
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| Tuesday, July 7th, 2009
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7:54 am - Scary!!!!
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| Monday, June 22nd, 2009
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11:39 am - NASCAR Planting Trees!
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| Sunday, June 21st, 2009
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8:13 pm - WoooHooooooooooooooooo !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He Did It !!!!!!!!!!!
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King of the roadKasey Kahne held off Tony Stewart on double-file restart after double-file restart and won at Sonoma to give the current Richard Petty Motorsports its first victory.
ALRIGHT KASEY WAY TO GOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
current mood: ecstatic
current music: Ghostbusters
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| Friday, August 15th, 2008
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4:02 pm - Great Kasey Article Here:
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| Saturday, June 7th, 2008
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9:13 am - Alright Dewd !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Kahne only one to top 170, earns first pole of seasonBy Sporting News Wire Service
June 6, 2008
07:52 PM EDT type size: + - LONG POND, Pa. -- The transition to NASCAR's new racecar didn't hurt Kasey Kahne at Pocono Raceway. The driver of the No. 9 Gillett Evernham Dodge flew around the 2.5-mile speedway in 52.873 seconds to win the pole for Sunday's Pocono 500 Sprint Cup race. At 170.219 mph, Kahne was the only driver to top 170 mph (watch video). Jimmie Johnson, the first driver to attempt qualifying, will start second after a lap at 169.856 mph. Mark Martin (168.897 mph), rookie Regan Smith (168.745 mph), Joe Nemechek (168.723 mph) and Carl Edwards (168.517 mph) completed the top six qualifiers for the 500-mile race. Though Kahne's lap didn't approach the track-record 172.533 mph (52.164 seconds) he posted on June 11, 2004, it was a stellar effort in hot, humid conditions -- and in the first session of time trials at Pocono in the new racecar. "This has always been a pretty good racetrack for us," said Kahne, who won his first pole of the season, his second pole at Pocono and the 15th pole of his career. "The whole team has really stepped it up. We've had some great cars in the last couple of months. "To me, when you qualify good at this racetrack, you race pretty well. Track position will be big, and we're starting up front." Johnson, who has two Pocono victories to his credit, overcame his early qualifying draw with an outstanding lap. "Being the first car out is never a good situation," the two-time defending Cup champion said. "So I'm really pleased to put up a lap like that." Martin likewise said driving his No. 8 to a third-place starting position was a pleasure, but he was elated by the performance of Smith, with whom he shared driving duties at Dale Earnhardt Inc. last year. "I felt like he was my pupil last year and felt like he was a full-time Cup driver," Martin said. Only 44 drivers attempted qualifying at Pocono, a season low number of entrants for a Cup race. J.J. Yeley was the odd man out after Terry Labonte, subbing for Kyle Petty in the No. 45 Dodge, used a past champion's provisional to make the 43-car field.
current mood: ecstatic
current music: Nothing
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| Sunday, May 25th, 2008
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9:29 pm - HE DID IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Lap-by-Lap: CharlotteBy NASCAR.COM
May 25, 2008
10:18 PM EDT type size: + - CHECKERED FLAG: Kasey Kahne becomes the sixth driver to win the All-Star race and the Coca-Cola 600 in the same season. This is Kasey's first win on the season and just his second top-five. Lap 399 -- WHITE FLAG: Kasey Kahne takes the white flag and just has to hang on to his car to win. Carl Edwards is out of gas and loses a ton of spots. Lap 398 -- Denny Hamlin hits the wall but the race stays green. Lap 397 -- LEAD CHANGE: Tony Stewart blows the right rear and hits the wall losing the lead to Kasey Kahne. Lap 396 -- Tony Stewart has a five-second lead and plenty of fuel to take the win. Lap 394 -- The top five after quick pit stops.
1. Tony Stewart
2. Kasey Kahne
3. Carl Edwards
4. Kyle Busch
5. Jeff Gordon Lap 393 -- LEAD CHANGE: Dave Blaney doesn't gamble and he pits giving the lead back to Tony Stewart. Lap 391 -- LEAD CHANGE: Denny Hamlin pits for fuel giving the lead to Dave Blaney. Lap 390 -- LEAD CHANGE: Matt Kenseth pits giving the lead to Denny Hamlin. david Ragan also pits. Lap 389 -- LEAD CHANGE: Matt Kenseth leads for the first time tonight as Jeff Burton pits. Lap 388 -- LEAD CHANGE: Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch pit giving up the top two spots and handing the lead to Jeff Burton. Lap 387 -- Sam Hornish Jr. gives up 10th to top off on fuel. Lap 384 -- LEAD CHANGE: Tony Stewart takes the lead as Kasey Kahne hits pit road to top off on fuel. Elliott Sadler also on pit road and takes fuel only. Lap 379 -- Kasey Kahne has caught Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards and Jeff Gordon and could put them all a lap down. Lap 373 -- Tony Stewart has closed the gap on Kasey Kahne to less than a second. Lap 371 -- Patrick Carpentier hits pit road with what looks like an engine problem. Lap 369 -- Jeff Gordon and his team think they are about two laps short on fuel and they may go for it if the race stays green. Lap 366 -- Elliott Sadler is in fourth but says he hears noises in the engine. Tony Stewart passes Kyle Busch for second. Lap 363 -- Denny Hamlin is up to ninth after passing Sam Hornish Jr. Lap 361 -- LEAD CHANGE: Kasey Kahne passes Kyle Busch for the lead. Lap 358 -- Kasey Kahne has closed the gap on leader Kyle Busch. Lap 355 -- Kyle Busch has a 1.2-second lead on Kasey Kahne. Elliott Sadler is fourth after Jimmie Johnson heads to the garage. Lap 351 -- Smoke is pouring out of Jimmie Johnson's engine and he will call it a night. Lap 349 -- Jimmie Johnson has some engine issues, his RPMs are way down. Lap 346 -- LEAD CHANGE: Kyle Busch passes Jimmie Johnson for the lead. Lap 344 -- Kyle Busch passes Kasey Kahne for second. Lap 342 -- J.J. Yeley is back in the race. Lap 341 -- Kasey Kahne up to second and Kyle Busch moves to third. Lap 339 -- Kyle Busch passes Elliott Sadler for fourth and is in a three-way battle with Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne for second. Lap 338 -- GREEN FLAG: Jimmie Johnson brings the field to the green.
1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Tony Stewart
3. Kasey Kahne
4. Elliott Sadler
5. Kyle Busch Lap 337 -- Jeff Gordon came in and got four tires. Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards also pit. Lap 335 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Ryan Newman among a half dozen cars to pit. Lap 334 -- YELLOW FLAG NO. 11: Debris on the front straightaway brings out the caution. A.J. Allmendinger gets the free pass. Lap 334 -- GREEN FLAG: Jimmie Johnson
current mood: ecstatic
current music: Post Race interviews
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| Sunday, May 18th, 2008
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11:40 am - OMGsOMGsOMGs !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Way to go KASEY !!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Kahne goes from All-Star voted-in to Victory LaneBy Sporting News Wire Service
May 18, 2008
02:25 AM EDT type size: + - CONCORD, N.C. -- Sometimes it pays to be popular. On Saturday night, it paid Kasey Kahne $1 million. Voted into the Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway after he failed to make the field in the Sprint Showdown qualifying race, Kasey Kahne made the most of his opportunity by winning the All-Star event and the $1 million prize that goes with the victory. All-Star RaceUnofficial Results| | | | | Pos. | Driver | Make |
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| 1. | Kasey Kahne | Dodge | | 2. | Greg Biffle | Ford | | 3. | Matt Kenseth | Ford | | 4. | Jimmie Johnson | Chevrolet | | 5. | Tony Stewart | Toyota | | 6. | Ryan Newman | Dodge | | 7. | Sam Hornish Jr. | Dodge | | 8. | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Chevrolet | | 9. | Mark Martin | Chevrolet | | 10. | Carl Edwards | Ford |
Taking fuel only during his final pit stop between the third and fourth segments of the four-segment, 100-lap event, Kahne won the All-Star race for the first time. Matt Kenseth ran third, followed by Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart, the only Joe Gibbs Racing driver whose car survived the night. The first driver ever to win the race after a fan vote entry, Kahne also gave Dodge its first victory in the event. After finishing fifth in the Sprint Showdown, from which only the top-two finishers transferred to the main event, he learned that the fans had voted him into the All-Star Race via balloting on the internet, by cell phone and in Sprint stores (read more). "I would have loved to have raced my way in, but we have great fans, and it's cool they voted for us and got us in the race," Kahne said. "We need all the fan support we can have. They've stuck behind us. "I was going to head home, drink a couple of Budweisers and watch the All-Star race." As it turned out, Kahne got to do a lot more than that, and he gave crew chief Kenny Francis his due for making the right call at the end. "The car was mediocre in that open [Showdown]," Kahne said. "But we just kept fighting. I just can't believe we won a million dollars. Kenny made the right call -- no tires at the end. I didn't think we needed them, either." After a fuel-only pit stop between the third and final segments, Johnson led the field to a restart on Lap 76 but soon surrendered the top spot to Denny Hamlin. But Kahne took the lead for good off Turn 4 on Lap 84 when Hamlin's engine expired. From that point on, Kahne held off a determined charge from Biffle, who faded in the closing laps after challenging for the lead (watch video). Soon after Kahne took the lead, Biffle powered his No. 16 Ford beside Kahne's No. 9 Dodge but couldn't wrest the top position from the race winner. "I could have forced the issue," Biffle said. "I had one opportunity, and he kind of closed the door on me a little bit, and I figured, 'No sense pressing it right now -- I've got plenty of laps to go.' "Then it just got tighter and tighter as it went, and I never got a chance to get back at him again. "I had good tires. I had taken two, and he hadn't taken any. I can't believe I got beat [by a car] with no [new] tires." Pole-sitter Kyle Busch finally found a foe that could slow him down -- a mechanical problem. After leading all 25 laps of the first segment, Busch was cruising with a 1.5-second lead over Carl Edwards in the second segment when his No. 18 Toyota dropped a cylinder on Lap 36. Edwards overtook Busch on Lap 39 and remained at the point for the remainder of the second segment. Three laps later, Dale Earnhardt Jr. screamed past the hobbled Camry entering Turn 2. When the segment ended eight laps later, Busch had fallen to sixth (watch video). After a lengthy diagnosis during the 10-minute break between segments two and three, crew chief Steve Addington finally pronounced, "We're done." "We just didn't make it [Saturday]," Busch said, before his crew pushed the car to the garage. "We'll have to go back to the shop and work on some things." Notes: In a race usually typified by more than its share of accidents, the All-Star event featured only three cautions -- all planned competition yellows between segments and none for incidents on the track. ... Edwards faded to 10th place at the finish. ... Earnhardt led briefly during the third segment but dropped to eighth at the finish.
current mood: ecstatic
current music: Outside Sounds
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| Sunday, April 20th, 2008
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6:34 pm - Good Job Patrick!
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Not bad for a guy who's engine was overheating! Woo! Doing Everham proud!
RESULTS
2008 Unofficial Race Results : Corona Mexico 200 presented by Banamex
Corona Mexico 200 presented by Banamex | April 20, 2008 | Race 9 of 35
FIN ST CAR DRIVER MAKE SPONSOR PTS/BNS LAPS STATUS
1 6 20 Kyle Busch Toyota Doosan Infracore 190/5 80 Running
2 4 59 Marcos Ambrose Ford Kingsford Hickory Charcoal 170/0 80 Running
3 2 40 Scott Pruett Dodge Fastenal 175/10 80 Running
4 3 60 Carl Edwards Ford Scotts Water Smart 165/5 80 Running
5 6 9 Patrick Carpentier * Dodge Auto Value 160/5 80 Running
6 8 2 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet BB&T 150/0 80 Running
7 21 29 Scott Wimmer Chevrolet Holiday Inn / Holiday Inn Express 151/5 80 Running
8 28 88 Brad Keselowski Chevrolet U.S. Navy 142/0 80 Running
9 24 1 Mike Bliss Chevrolet Miccosukee Resort & Gaming 138/0 80 Running
10 12 66 Steve Wallace Chevrolet Atreus Homes & Communities 134/0 80 Running
11 11 12 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge Penske Truck Rental 130/0 80 Running
12 33 99 David Reutimann Toyota Aaron's Dream Machine 127/0 80 Running
13 19 7 Mike Wallace Toyota GEICO 124/0 80 Running
14 17 64 Max Papis Chevrolet Atreus Homes & Communities 121/0 80 Running
15 32 5 Adrian Fernandez Chevrolet Lowe's 118/0 80 Running
16
current mood:  okay
current music: Nothing in Particular
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(comment on this)
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6:32 pm - Sexist Bastard!
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10:17 am - Hey Hey Danica Wins!
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nascarfiend's journal
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