This Weekend At Texas Motor Speedway

This weekend leads into 3 races to go of the season and the title is still up in the air.  Jimmie Johnson leads the pack and may have sent a message last weekend at Martinsville.

As it stands, here's a few dates for each NASCAR Series:

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES

The Race: AAA Texas 500

The Place: Texas Motor Speedway

The Date: Sunday, Nov. 4

The Time: 3 p.m. (ET)

TV: ESPN, 2 p.m. (ET)

Radio: PRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90

Distance: 501 miles (334 laps)

NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES

The Race: O'Reilly Auto Parts Challenge

The Place: Texas Motor Speedway

The Date: Saturday, Nov. 3

The Time: 7:30 p.m. (ET)

TV: ESPN, 7 p.m. (ET)

Radio: PRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90

Distance: 300 miles (200 laps)

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES

The Race: WinStar World Casino 350

The Place: Texas Motor Speedway

The Date: Friday, Nov. 2

The Time: 8 p.m. (ET) 

TV: SPEED, 7:30 p.m. (ET)

Radio: MRN, Sirius XM Ch. 90

Distance: 220.5 miles (147 laps)

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Did you know that with Johnson's win at last weekend's TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway gave him a record 21 career victories in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup^TM since the post-season format was created in 2004. The next closest driver with wins in the post-season is Tony Stewart, with 11 wins.

With Texas coming up, Johnson likes this track, so I'm not sure anyone will gain ground on him.

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Did you know that the next win a Chevy logs in the NASCAR Cup Series will be a milestone, and be the brand's 700th win.

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If Jeff Gordon leads one more lap, he'll tie Darrell Waltrip with the all-time laps led... at 23,134 laps.

If Bobby Labonte starts this weekend, this will be his 900th start in a NASCAR National series.





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Bruce E. Simmons,
Owner/Editor/Writer:
Brusimm.com on Twitter & Facebook ;
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   NASCAR-Bits-and-Pieces.com on Twitter & Facebook .
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Will The 2013 NASCAR Bodies Create More (Old) Issues Than They're Solving?

NASCAR has been testing the new body templates that will be used in the 2013 season.  They've been working hard with Goodyear to get good tires under the new bodies as well, as they test at different tracks.  (You'd be surprised at the science that goes behind the tires under your car.)

It looks like they're taking some weight out of the car and looking to once again create a dependency on the mechanical grip between the machine and the track surface.  To me, this looks like one of the new factors with the new car will be how the cars won't be as aero dependent as they are now.  In other words, I'm thinking motor power, car balance and driver wheel skills.

OH!  And the new cars are going to start looking like their street production counterparts once again.  This last point is what got me thinking.

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What Am I Thinking?

Glad you asked!

I'm not sure if a lighter car will create a swing towards a dependency on a mechanically balanced car.  If something is moving at 100+ miles an hour, it will still be a victim of the fluid dynamics of the air it's shoving out of it's way, period.  (Yes... the air you breathe, is technically, a fluid.  Creepy, isn't it?)

And being lighter, I have some (uneducated) concern regarding the ability of a lighter car being able to get airborne when it gets out of shape on the track at 150+ miles per hour.  Maybe it's not going to be that much lighter.  I'm not sure.

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Battle of the Noses Again?

Aside from that, the other aspect I'm concerned about will be the new looks of the new 2013 NASCAR cars.  If they are going to indeed, start replicating how the different models look from the manufacturers, I have to wonder if this start up the "They have better aero noses than we do" arguments all over again?

Any long-time fan of the sport will remember the day when the cars did look like their street versions.  And it wasn't that long ago.

But during that era, (I think this was at least two car body versions ago), the big angst was how the other make had better aerodynamic advantage over the other one because of their nose design.  Every few weeks someone was grumbling about the other makes and every now and then, NASCAR had to step in and adjust how the front ends were shaped.

It seemed to be an ongoing mode of constant adjustment as NASCAR tried to get the aero balances just right between manufacturers.

And that, is the concern I have in the back of my head for the new NASCAR body types for the 2013 season.

But hey, at least it will look cool!  And sometimes that's half the fun...  barring too many sponsor stickers, etc..

Sprint Cup Series Official Race Results from Martinsville

Sunday was the day fans all expected to see Denny Hamlin make an assertive charge in the points standings in the Chase for the Cup.  Martinsville is his track.  He proved it earlier in the weekend in the Truck Series.  But then he had that stop & go penalty early in the race, it gave pause.  But that was OK.  Fans knew he'd make it all back up.  That penalty came early in the race.  But then that odd/pesky electrical short started showing up in the straight-away.  And then the hammer came down, ending Denny's day.

That left the opening for the other strong competitor, Jimmie Johnson, to make his move and serve notice that his team is serious about an incredible 6th title, if the cards are dealt right.

There was some good racing in the pack, most of which was missed while the TV cameras focused on the single file name-drivers up front, but it's Martinsville.  And in this case, that makes even single-file racing potentially exciting.

And the other bit was watching Dale Earnhardt Jr., and how his day went.  Having a good day until getting caught up in something that was the doing of someone else.

via press release:

Before an estimated attendance of 60,000, Jimmie Johnson won the TUMS Fast Relief 500, his 59th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Prior to the green flag, no cars dropped to the rear.

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NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES OFFICIAL RACE REPORT No. 33
64TH ANNUAL TUMS FAST RELIEF "500"
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY

Ridgeway, VA - October 28, 2012
.526-Mile Oval
500 Laps - 263 Miles Purse: $4,962,589

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Fin	Str	Car				Series	Bonus	Driver			Leader
Pos	Pos	No	Driver	Team	Laps	Points	Points	Rating	Winnings	Status	Times	Laps
1	1	48	Jimmie Johnson	Lowe's Chevrolet	500	48	5	135.8	$202,511	Running	8	193
2	3	18	Kyle Busch	M&M's Halloween Toyota	500	42	0	108.4	172,693	Running
3	15	5	Kasey Kahne	Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet	500	42	1	112.5	109,060	Running	1	12
4	10	43	Aric Almirola	Gwaltney Ford	500	40	0	77.7	131,421	Running
5	8	15	Clint Bowyer	5-hour Energy Benefitting Avon Foun for Women Toyota	500	40	1	127.9	116,074	Running	4	154
6	32	2	Brad Keselowski	Miller Lite Dodge	500	39	1	95.3	127,305	Running	1	8
7	11	24	Jeff Gordon	Pepsi MAX Chevrolet	500	38	1	123.6	127,321	Running	3	92
8	2	55	Brian Vickers	MyClassicGarage.com Toyota	500	37	1	112.4	85,160	Running	2	27
9	18	47	Bobby Labonte	Pine-Sol Toyota	500	35	0	79.5	109,718	Running
10	30	16	Greg Biffle	3M Ford	500	34	0	79.6	96,835	Running
11	17	39	Ryan Newman	Quicken Loans Chevrolet	500	33	0	80.0	120,818	Running
12	9	27	Paul Menard	Zecol / Menards Chevrolet	500	32	0	77.0	88,585	Running
13	27	22	Sam Hornish Jr	Shell Pennzoil Dodge	500	0	0	85.0	120,660	Running
14	6	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford EcoBoost Ford	500	31	1	67.2	124,021	Running	1	1
15	19	78	Kurt Busch	Furniture Row / Farm American Chevrolet	500	29	0	92.8	103,443	Running
16	14	20	Joey Logano	The Home Depot / redbeacon.com Toyota	500	28	0	78.0	88,160	Running
17	24	1	Jamie McMurray	McDonald's Chevrolet	500	27	0	76.6	109,618	Running
18	23	99	Carl Edwards	Geek Squad Ford	500	26	0	86.4	120,951	Running
19	34	83	Landon Cassill	Burger King / Dr Pepper Toyota	500	25	0	56.6	103,680	Running
20	25	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Target Chevrolet	500	24	0	75.6	108,151	Running
21	20	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr	Diet Mtn. Dew/Nat'l Guard/AMP Energy Chev	500	23	0	96.4	84,635	Running
22	4	31	Jeff Burton	Odyssey Battery / EnerSys Chevrolet	499	22	0	66.6	115,635	Running
23	12	56	Martin Truex Jr	NAPA Auto Parts Toyota	499	21	0	84.9	103,424	Running
24	33	9	Marcos Ambrose	Black & Decker Ford	499	20	0	53.7	103,868	Running
25	22	13	Casey Mears	GEICO Ford	499	19	0	56.9	90,368	Running
26	16	34	David Ragan	Where's Waldo? Ford	499	18	0	54.4	87,068	Running
27	7	14	Tony Stewart	Office Depot / Mobil 1 Chevrolet	498	17	0	72.6	125,260	Running
28	26	51	AJ Allmendinger	Phoenix Construction Chevrolet	498	16	0	63.0	92,632	Running
29	28	32	Ken Schrader	Southern Pride Trucking / U.S. Chrome Ford	495	15	0	39.6	82,460	Running
30	35	38	David Gilliland	Long John Silver's Ford	494	14	0	44.6	73,385	Running
31	41	93	Travis Kvapil	Burger King / Dr Pepper Toyota	492	14	1	47.4	79,760	Running	1	1
32	13	29	Kevin Harvick	Rheem Chasing the Cure Chevrolet	473	12	0	69.1	120,596	Engine
33	5	11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx Express Toyota	466	12	1	86.7	116,826	Running	2	12
34	42	33	Stephen Leicht #	LittleJoesAutos.com Chevrolet	253	10	0	32.9	80,985	Brakes
35	37	36	Dave Blaney	MOHAWK Northeast / TMone Call Center Chevrolet	193	9	0	41.6	71,435	Brakes
36	29	10	David Reutimann	@TMone Drive Sales Fast Chevrolet	185	8	0	46.7	71,385	Overheating
37	43	95	Scott Speed	Jordan Truck Sales Ford	116	7	0	36.2	71,330	Suspension
38	31	26	Josh Wise #	MDS Transport Ford	85	6	0	33.7	71,253	Brakes
39	21	98	Michael McDowell	Phil Parsons Racing Ford	61	5	0	34.0	68,500	Brakes
40	40	30	David Stremme	Inception Motorsports Toyota	46	4	0	29.9	68,450	Accident
41	38	87	Joe Nemechek	AM/FM Energy Wood & Pellet Stoves Toyota	35	0	0	28.5	68,400	Brakes
42	36	23	Scott Riggs	North Texas Pipe Chevrolet	22	2	0	27.4	68,350	Overheating
43	39	91	Reed Sorenson	Plinker Tactical Chevrolet	19	0	0	26.4	67,914	Overheating

# 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: (2) #19 Mike Bliss; #37 J.J. Yeley

TIME OF RACE: 3 hours, 23 minutes, 9 seconds     AVERAGE SPEED: 77.677 mph     MARGIN OF VICTORY: 0.479 second(s)

COORS LIGHT POLE AWARD: Jimmie Johnson (97.598 mph. 19.402 secs.)

3M LAP LEADER: Jimmie Johnson (193 Laps)

AMERICAN ETHANOL GREEN FLAG RESTART AWARD: Jimmie Johnson

DIRECTV CREW CHIEF OF THE RACE: Kyle Busch (crew chief Dave Rogers)

FREESCALE "WIDE OPEN": Kyle Busch

MAHLE CLEVITE ENGINE BUILDER OF THE RACE: Hendrick Engines (#48)

MOBIL 1 OIL DRIVER OF THE RACE: Kyle Busch

MOOG STEERING AND SUSPENSION PROBLEM SOLVER OF THE RACE: Brad Keselowski (crew chief Paul Wolfe, 0.159 seconds)

NASCAR SPRINT CUP LEADER BONUS: Jimmie Johnson ($40,000 ++)

SUNOCO ROOKIE OF THE RACE: Stephen Leicht

USG IMPROVING THE FINISH: Greg Biffle (20 places)
++Rollover money awarded at year's end, amount not included in race winnings.

Caution Flags: 11 cautions for 64 laps. [Beneficiary in Brackets]
46-51 (Car #30 Accident Turn 1 [38]);
98-103 (Car #38 Accident Turn 3 [10]);
129-136 (Car #93 Spin Turn 2 [83]);
151-155 (Car #18 Spin Turn 4 [93]);
200-204 (Car #9 Spin Turn 2 [None]);
213-218 (Car #9, 93 Accident Turn 2 [34]);
230-234 (Car #78 Spin Turn 4 [93]);
393-399 (Car #11 Stopped On The Track [47]);
440-445 (Car #48, 42, 93, 14 Accident Turn 2 [78]);
476-481 (Oil On The Track [27]);
492-495 (Car #88, 99 Accident Turn 2 [42]).

Lap Leaders: 22 lead changes among 9 drivers.
Johnson 1-47, Kvapil 48,
Johnson 49-67, J. Gordon 68-98, Johnson 99-106,
J. Gordon 107-146, Vickers 147-164,
Hamlin 165-170, Johnson 171-182, Bowyer 183-200,
Johnson 201-204, J. Gordon 205-225, Bowyer 226-234, Johnson 235-237, Bowyer 238-349,
Hamlin 350-355, Vickers 356-364, Kenseth 365, Kahne 366-377, Bowyer 378-392, Johnson 393-477,
Keselowski 478-485, Johnson 486-500.

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES TOP 12
Driver	Points	Wins
1 - Jimmie Johnson	2291	(4)
2 - Brad Keselowski	2289	(5)
3 - Clint Bowyer	2265	(3)
4 - Kasey Kahne	2262	(2)
5 - Denny Hamlin	2242	(5)
6 - Jeff Gordon	2237	(1)
7 - Martin Truex Jr	2228	(0)
8 - Matt Kenseth	2226	(3)
9 - Greg Biffle	2222	(2)
10 - Tony Stewart	2220	(3)
11 - Kevin Harvick	2203	(0)
12 - Dale Earnhardt Jr	2151	(1)

 

NEXT EVENT: November 4, 2012 - 8th Annual AAA Texas 500, at Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, TX (501 Miles) (334 Laps)

NOTE: The above figures are based upon team winnings and include racing purse and cash contingency awards by participating manufacturers. (10/29/2012)

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-Bruce