KYLE BUSCH – Hoping Finally To Be ‘Top Dog’ at Martinsville

by Jay | Mar 31, 2011 | NASCAR

KYLE BUSCH – Hoping Finally To Be ‘Top Dog’ at Martinsville

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (March 29, 2011) – One look at Kyle Busch’s burgeoning trophy case reveals an assortment of trophies for his now 91 overall wins among NASCAR’s top three series, which includes 20 Sprint Cup Series wins.

But even though Busch, driver of the No. 18 Pedigree Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), has more trophies than he probably knows what to do with, there’s one glaring omission – the seven-foot-tall clock that Martinsville (Va.) Speedway president Clay Campbell’s late grandfather and track founder, H. Clay Earles, decided to award his race winners after teaming up with a local clock company almost five decades ago.

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TEAM CHEVY FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT AT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY:

by Jay | Mar 31, 2011 | NASCAR

TEAM CHEVY FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT AT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY:

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 HAAS AUTOMATION CHEVROLET – 2ND IN STANDINGS: “I think the competition is still really close I just think those guys have risen to the top at that racetrack, which is entirely unique to anything else we have on the schedule. I think that, in itself, Martinsville being Martinsville is part of it. The other part of it is the drivers have to really modulate that brake pedal, which is another part of it. You can have the best car there and burn the brakes off of it and finish 35th. I have actually blown two tires out, melted the beads on two tires at one time and blew both of them at the same time, which I thought was pretty cool, afterwards. But seriously, we’ve been good there – we have been really good – especially on Fridays, and we seem to start off a little slow on Sundays and end up in the top-five or top-10. I thought last fall was going to be a good race for us had we not lost a gear because we were leading at the time. I think we have made some pretty big gains to try to catch those guys and surpass them, so I think the No. 39 team is looking forward to getting back to a track that has been really good for us.”
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KURT BUSCH READY FOR “CHALLENGING” MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY

by Jay | Mar 30, 2011 | NASCAR

KURT BUSCH READY FOR “CHALLENGING” MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
-No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Dodge Driver Credits Crew Chief Addington In “Positive Attitude Adjustment”-

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (March 29, 2011) – Shell-Pennzoil Dodge driver Kurt Busch returns to Martinsville Speedway for this weekend’s Goody’s Fast Relief 500 with a positive attitude about Sunday’s bullring battle. The 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion has never tried to hide the fact that the circuit’s smallest track continues to present one of his biggest challenges.

“We’re coming back into Martinsville with a lot of confidence and a really positive attitude about racing there this weekend,” said Busch, who finished 17th at Fontana, Calif., on Sunday and is now third in the standings, trailing leader Carl Edwards by 10 points. “I’ll be the first to admit that the Martinsville races have always been so challenging to me and that goes all the way back through my career. But ever since Steve Addington came aboard as our crew chief at the beginning of last season, things have really begun to turn for the better.

“Steve deserves so much credit for rallying the troops every week and having our team’s confidence level up for all of these races,” Busch said of the veteran crew chief who will serve as his team leader for the 42nd race this weekend at Martinsville. “ I told him when he first joined the team that Martinsville was a weak track for me personally and he vowed back then that we’d work hard together in changing that. I think we’ve already made so much progress, but it’s a case of the numbers just not showing that.
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RYAN NEWMAN – Marching into Martinsville with Momentum, Consistency

by Jay | Mar 29, 2011 | NASCAR

RYAN NEWMAN – Marching into Martinsville with Momentum, Consistency

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (March 29, 2011) – “As any athlete knows, momentum is the most unstoppable force in sports. The only way to stop it is if you get in your own way, start making stupid mistakes or stop believing in yourself.” – Rocco Mediate, professional golfer

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NSCS Race Recap: Last-Lap Pass Gives Harvick Win at Fontana

by Jay | Mar 28, 2011 | NASCAR

NSCS Race Recap: Last-Lap Pass Gives Harvick Win at Fontana

FONTANA, Calif.—Hometown boy (finally) makes good.

Kevin Harvick, who grew up in Bakersfield—about 150 miles from Auto Club Speedway—needed a last-lap pass of Jimmie Johnson to win for the first time at the 2-mile track, in his 18th attempt.

Harvick won Sunday’s Auto Club 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, powering his No. 29 Chevrolet to the outside of Johnson’s No. 48 Chevy through Turns 3 and 4 and beating Johnson to the finish line by .144 seconds.
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