by Jay | Nov 11, 2011 | NASCAR
KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (Nov. 10, 2011) – Back on Aug. 24, the St. Louis Cardinals had just been swept in a three-game series by the Los Angeles Dodgers and were 10 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers for first place in the National League Central Division. In addition, the Cardinals were 10.5 games back of the Atlanta Braves for the National League Wild Card berth into Major League Baseball’s playoffs.
Following the Aug. 27 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), had just finished 27th or worse for the second time in three races. In addition, he was 10th in the point standings, winless on the season, and barely eligible for the fast-approaching Chase for the Sprint Cup.
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by Jay | Nov 9, 2011 | NASCAR
Office Depot/Mobil 1 Driver Inches Closer to Chase Lead with Dominating Victory at Texas
Date: Nov. 6, 2011
Event: AAA Texas 500 (Round 34 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth (1.5-mile oval)
Start/Finish: 5th/1st (Running, completed 334 of 334 laps)
Winner: Tony Stewart of Stewart-Haas Racing (Chevrolet)
A week ago, Tony Stewart snared a race win from five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson with a dramatic late-race pass at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, then promptly served notice in victory lane to Carl Edwards – the Chase for the Sprint Cup point leader – that he better be worried over the final three races of the season.
With his second-consecutive victory in Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, the actions by Stewart and his No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 team spoke even louder than his words at Martinsville.
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by Jay | Nov 8, 2011 | NASCAR
FORT WORTH, Texas—Tony Stewart backed up his smack talk with a convincing victory in Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, the eighth race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
With his fourth victory in the Chase and the 43rd of his career, Stewart put a dent in runner-up Carl Edwards’ series lead, scoring maximum points (48) to trim Edwards’ advantage from eight to three points with two races left in the season.
After winning last week at Martinsville, Stewart promised Edwards a sleepless three weeks during the stretch run for the title. On Sunday afternoon, Stewart let his car do the talking, taking the lead from Edwards on a Lap 275 restart and coming back to the front through a cycle of green-flag pit stops late in the race.
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by Jay | Oct 25, 2011 | NASCAR
Roush Fenway Racing finds itself in an enviable position, occupying the top two spots in the Chase standings with four races remaining. Carl Edwards holds the points lead, 14 points ahead of 2003 series champion Matt Kenseth.
Surprisingly, it’s the first time in Chase history that RFR has held the top two spots in the points standings during the Chase. Though most called last weekend’s race at Talladega Superspeedway the wild card of the Chase, for Edwards and Kenseth this weekend’s race at Martinsville might be the deciding factor between a title or “better luck next year.”
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by Jay | Oct 23, 2011 | NASCAR
TALLADEGA, Ala.—It was a swan song for a lame duck.
Clint Bowyer surged past Richard Childress Racing teammate Jeff Burton through the tri-oval on the final lap at Talladega Superspeedway to win Sunday’s Good Sam Club 500.
Bowyer, who will leave RCR for Michael Waltrip Racing next season, beat Burton to the finish line by .018 seconds to record his first victory of the season and the fifth of his career. The win was the 100th in the Sprint Cup Series for team owner Richard Childress.
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by Jay | Oct 16, 2011 | NASCAR
CONCORD, N.C.—Spare Matt Kenseth the toilet humor.
The driver of the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford was delighted to win Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway with new sponsor Fluidmaster on his car—make that with any sponsor on his car.
In a race that saw five-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson suffer a Chase-changing accident in the final 20 laps, Kenseth pulled away from Kyle Busch and teammate Carl Edwards during a 12-lap run to the finish and notched his third victory of the season and the 21st of his career.
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