The Chase for the Cup: Four Locked In, Others Licking Their Chops!

Going into Atlanta, four drivers are locked into NASCAR's Chase for the Cup...

1. Greg Biffle,
2. Jimmie Johnson,
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.,
4. Matt Kenseth.

Unless something goes horribly wrong, spots five through ten will or could include Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart.

Those outside the top-10, looking at the two wildcard spots (11th and 12th) include those in the 11th to 20th spots, with wins:

(W1) Kasey Kahne (2)
(W2) Kyle Busch    (1)
Jeff Gordon    (1)
Marcos Ambrose    (1)
Joey Logano    (1)

As you can see, Kahne and Kyle Busch right now are the two wildcards set to be in the Chase, if nothing changes as far as the number of wins or points gained.  Kasey Kahne seems locked in.

Now Kahne is a few points outside of 10th.  (16)  If Stewart falters and Kahne does well over the next two weeks, then he'll be in the top-10 and the landscape for the Chase can change a bit, but Tony has 3 wins, so he may very well have a wildcard locked up, regardless.

What's amazing is that Carl Edwards is not in this list.  He's 12th in points, but with no win.  Look out drivers if Carl has a chance to win and improve his lot in life, you know he'll do what it takes!

The other aspect to look at are those Michael Waltrip Racing teams, both in the top-10, getting ready to lock themselves into the Chase.

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RANK		DRIVER	PTS BEHIND	WINS
1	-	Greg Biffle	Leader	2
2	-	Jimmie Johnson	-11	3
3	-	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	-15	1
4	-	Matt Kenseth	-26	1
5	-	Martin Truex Jr.	-52	0
6	-	Clint Bowyer	-55	1
7	-	Brad Keselowski	-59	3
8	-	Denny Hamlin	-75	3
9	-	Kevin Harvick	-82	0
10	-	Tony Stewart	-103	3
W1   11	-	Kasey Kahne	-119	2
12	-	Carl Edwards	-137	0
W2   13	-	Kyle Busch	-142	1
14	-	Jeff Gordon	-158	1
15	-	Ryan Newman	-161	1
16	-	Marcos Ambrose	-170	1
17	-	Paul Menard	-175	0
18	-	Joey Logano	-211	1
19	-	Jamie McMurray	-251	0
20	-	Jeff Burton	-272	0

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A Bit About Calistoga Speedway in CA's Wine Country

A buddy of mine is heading to Calistoga Speedway, located at the Napa County Fairgrounds.  He'll be there for this holiday weekend and in preparation for his visit, he did some research on the track and I found it pretty fascinating.

Leon starts out talking about a man nicknamed "Fancy Pants" came along in 1937 and thought that the fairgrounds horse track could be put to other uses besides racing horses.

It's been a 70+ year run that seems to have worked out!  Check out Leon's write up.  You might be surprised what he has to say about Calistoga Speedway.

Kenseth To Gibbs Racing, Logano MIGHT Land at Penske?

ESPN's Dave Newtom is reporting that next Tuesday, Joe Gibbs Racing will be announcing their new driver, Matt Kenseth, starting with the 2013 season.

Kenseth will be slipping behind the wheel of the No. 20 Toyota, backed by Home Depot.  This ends Kenseth's long-time run at Gibbs Racing, after having joined the team back in 2000.

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Joey Logano is not expected to be part of the announcement, as it might not be likely that he's sticking around in a 4th team.

But don't count Logano out.  Word on the street is that he's being considered for the No. 22 Penske machine.  This goes against original perspectives that Penske was looking internally, which gave Sam Hornish Jr. some hopes of picking up a full-time ride. 

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This might be dating me, but I remember the days when you can sit down and for any number of years, find your guy, in the field, in the same car, same color, same number, year after year.  In fact I remember the very first special paint scheme that took place, because when Dale Earnhardt Sr. drove that silver Winston Select car, I was quietly grumbling to myself about "where the h*! is Earnhardt" when the cameras would show the whole field.

Silly season... is under way!

[espn]

Tony Stewart's Wing and a Helmet; At Least It Wasn't A Butt Spank!

I'm surprised by the fervor that has seemingly erupted from Tony Stewart flinging his helmet at Matt Kenseth weekend.

Flying helmets are nothing new to the sport of NASCAR.  They happen. I'm surprised fans want to see fines levied for this deed.  Are the fans starting to change on us too?  I don't remember hearing about disgruntled fans from previous incidents of solo-flight helmet anger.  It is what it is.  Frustration needing to be vented. I'd rather it be this way than some other ways.  In fact it wouldn't be a season if a helmet did not take flight at least once during a caution flag.  But there are other ways besides using a two-handed helmet toss to evidence one's displeasure at another competitor. (Not to mention the more often used one-handed, more manly fling!)

There's the finger wag that Danica Patrick deployed in the very same night at Bristol.

The empty, hands in the air, shoulder shrug that Kenny Schrader delivered with utmost precision at his dumper.  (Dumper, meaning the other driver that helped him wreck.  Not "that other" dumper.)

Of course there's the classic Kurt Busch Spanker.  Back some years ago, Jimmy Spencer dumped Kurt at Indy.  Kurt got out, bent over pointing his butt at Spencer and spanked himself when Jimmy drove by.  Most interesting.  Was that anguish or an offer?

Any how, since we see at least one helmet a year take flight, maybe NASCAR should stock the EMT wagon with throw-away helmets.  Something lighter that would be easier to throw.  I'm just saying.

Be it as it may, Tony Stewart made a statement earlier today that in regards to his threatening demeanor about running Kenseth into the ground for the rest of the year, he rectified that by saying that the racing will be clean.

So for now, the tempest may be fading.  But I'm betting Tony will have to live with that two-handed moment for quite some time because if someone doesn't use that video bite for ads, I'd be surprised!

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Food City Pilot's Body Has Been Recovered

The body of 64-year-old Bill R. Starnes, the pilot of the Food City helicopter that crashed Friday night, has been recovered.  He was located in 80-foot deep water, about 100 yards distant from the helicopter crash site.

Mr. Starnes had a combined experience of 42 years as a pilot, as a military and commercial pilot.   The cause of the accident Friday night is still unclear.  He was with Food City as a pilot for 5 years.

Our thoughts go out his family and everyone involved.  [WJHL]

NASCAR Nationwide Series Official Race Results from Bristol

via press release

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Before an estimated attendance of 85,000, Joey Logano won the Food City 250, his 15th NASCAR Nationwide Series victory. Prior to the green flag, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field for the reasons indicated: #87 (missed drivers meeting).

NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES OFFICIAL RACE REPORT No. 23
31ST ANNUAL FOOD CITY "250"
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Bristol, TN - August 24, 2012
.533-Mile Oval
250 Laps - 133.25 Miles Purse: $1,226,983

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Fin	Str	Car				Series	Bonus	Driver
Pos	Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Points	Points	Rating	Winnings	Status
1	2	18	Joey Logano (i)	Dollar General Toyota	250	0	0	135.2	$43,675	Running
2	5	6	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	NOS Ford	250	43	1	130.4	48,218	Running
3	10	54	Kyle Busch (i)	Monster Energy Toyota	250	0	0	111.5	26,625	Running
4	4	3	Austin Dillon #	American Ethanol Chevrolet	250	40	0	103.4	32,093	Running
5	7	2	Elliott Sadler	OneMain Financial Chevrolet	250	40	1	117.0	27,718	Running
6	19	88	Cole Whitt #	SPY Optic Chevrolet	250	38	0	95.5	29,018	Running
7	12	36	Ryan Blaney	Seal Wrap Chevrolet	250	37	0	94.7	18,710	Running
8	18	43	Michael Annett	Pilot/Flying J Ford	250	36	0	89.9	25,038	Running
9	34	7	Danica Patrick	GoDaddy.com Chevrolet	250	35	0	84.1	24,818	Running
10	9	12	Sam Hornish Jr	Detroit Genuine Parts Dodge	250	34	0	94.9	25,418	Running
11	16	87	Joe Nemechek	AM/FM Energy Wood & Pellet Stoves/AC Genral Toyota	250	33	0	79.9	24,643	Running
12	23	19	Tayler Malsam	G-Oil/Noah's Light Foundation Toyota	250	32	0	77.0	24,218	Running
13	14	44	Mike Bliss	Bandit Chippers Toyota	250	31	0	83.0	24,118	Running
14	15	38	Kasey Kahne (i)	Great Clips Chevrolet	250	0	0	102.5	17,585	Running
15	13	33	Kevin Harvick (i)	Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet	250	0	0	120.8	20,915	Running
16	1	60	Trevor Bayne	Yourracecar.com Ford	250	28	0	97.7	20,905	Running
17	33	01	Mike Wallace	Tradebank Chevrolet	247	27	0	70.2	23,928	Running
18	26	81	Jason Bowles #	American Majority Dodge	247	26	0	66.6	23,883	Running
19	27	39	Josh Richards	Joy Global Ford	247	25	0	63.7	23,848	Running
20	30	86	Kevin Lepage	Qello Ford	247	24	0	66.9	18,015	Running
21	11	30	Nelson Piquet Jr (i)	Autotrac/Qualcomm Chevrolet	246	0	0	81.8	23,743	Running
22	38	24	Benny Gordon	Big Timber/Horizon Entertainment Toyota	246	22	0	61.8	23,698	Running
23	20	99	John Wes Townley (i)	Zaxby's Toyota	246	0	0	76.3	23,638	Running
24	42	23	Robert Richardson	North Texas Pipe Chevrolet	246	20	0	46.4	23,603	Running
25	28	15	Timmy Hill	Lilly Trucking Chevrolet	245	19	0	49.8	17,350	Running
26	41	4	Brad Teague	SCAG Commercial Mowers Chevrolet	245	18	0	40.5	23,678	Running
27	39	14	Eric McClure	Hefty/Reynolds Wrap Toyota	244	17	0	47.2	23,418	Running
28	36	41	Fain Skinner	Carport Empire Ford	244	16	0	51.0	23,348	Running
29	29	70	Johanna Long #	Foretravel Chevrolet	244	15	0	43.6	23,313	Running
30	6	31	Justin Allgaier	Brandt Chevrolet	242	14	0	45.5	23,568	Running
31	32	52	Joey Gase #	Jimco Windows Chevrolet	239	13	0	44.0	16,760	Running
32	8	22	Brad Keselowski (i)	Discount Tire Dodge	226	0	0	49.2	16,690	Running
33	21	51	Jeremy Clements	stjude.org Chevrolet	213	11	0	40.6	23,138	Running
34	3	11	Brian Scott	Dollar General Toyota	198	10	0	79.0	23,118	Clutch
35	22	40	Erik Darnell	The Motorsports Group Chevrolet	173	9	0	66.6	23,103	Electrical
36	40	74	Rick Crawford (i)	Koma Unwind Chevrolet	55	0	0	44.0	16,615	Overheating
37	43	71	Carl Long	Lilly Trucking Chevrolet	27	7	0	40.1	16,595	Oil Pressure
38	25	75	Scott Riggs (i)	Lilly Trucking Chevrolet	20	0	0	35.7	16,556	Electrical
39	37	50	David Starr (i)	Make Motorsports Chevrolet	19	0	0	37.1	16,455	Engine
40	24	42	Josh Wise (i)	Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet	14	0	0	37.4	16,430	Electrical
41	35	08	Tim Andrews	Randy Hill Racing Ford	11	3	0	33.9	16,405	Brakes
42	17	10	Jeff Green	TriStar Motorsports Toyota	6	2	0	31.4	16,375	Vibration
43	31	46	Chase Miller	The Motorsports Group Chevrolet	2	1	0	30.3	16,330	Ignition

# Sunoco Rookie of the Year Contender.
Bonus Points: includes winner, lap leader & most laps led points
(i) = Ineligible for driver points in this series

Failed to qualify: (3) #89 Morgan Shepherd; #47 Stephen Leicht; #00 Blake Koch

TIME OF RACE: 1 hours, 44 minutes, 26 seconds AVERAGE SPEED: 76.556 mph MARGIN OF VICTORY: 0.503 second(s)
COORS LIGHT POLE AWARD: Trevor Bayne (121.19 mph. 15.833 secs.)
3M LAP LEADER: Kevin Harvick (98 Laps )
FEATHERLITE MOST IMPROVED DRIVER: Cole Whitt (27 Places)
MAHLE CLEVITE ENGINE BUILDER OF THE RACE: Joe Gibbs Racing Engines - Mark Cronquist (#18)
MOBIL 1 OIL DRIVER OF THE RACE: Austin Dillon
SUNOCO ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Austin Dillon


Caution Flags: 9 cautions for 59 laps. [Beneficiary in Brackets]
6-10 (Car #31, 3 Accident Turn 3 [None]);
27-31 (Car #22, 4 Accident Turn 2 [23]);
34-39 (Debris Backstretch [4]);
46-53 (Car #81, 01 Accident Frontstretch [31]);
63-68 (Car #11, 54 Accident Backstretch [24]);
115-121 (Car #41 Spin Turn 2 [86]);
173-180 (Car #24 Accident Turn 4 [19]);
227-235 (Car #99 Accident Turn 2 [19]);
244-248 (Car #3, 60, 38 Accident Turns 1 & 2 [33]).

Lap Leaders: 7 lead changes among 4 drivers. Bayne-pole, Logano 1-35, Sadler 36-46, Stenhouse Jr 47-105, Logano 106-116, Stenhouse Jr 117, Harvick 118-215, Logano 216-250.

NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES TOP 10
Driver	Points	Wins
1 - Elliott Sadler	864	(4)
2 - Ricky Stenhouse Jr	845	(3)
3 - Sam Hornish Jr	836	(0)
4 - Austin Dillon	829	(1)
5 - Justin Allgaier	770	(1)
6 - Michael Annett	726	(0)
7 - Cole Whitt	671	(0)
8 - Mike Bliss	640	(0)
9 - Brian Scott	550	(0)
10 - Danica Patrick	539	(0)

NEXT EVENT: September 1, 2012 -
21st Annual NRA American Warrior 300,
Atlanta Motor Speedway,
Hampton, GA (300.3 Miles) (195 Laps) 

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