After the figure-eight style finish of the Goody's Fast Relief 500, a few spots changed hands in the driver points standings, as would be expected...
Race winner Ryan Newman (Congrats Ryan!) moved up two spots into 8th
A.J. Allmendinger (2nd place) jumped 6 spots into 20th.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is now 6 points out of 1st, sitting in 2nd.
4th spot finisher Matt Kenseth moved up 2 spots, into 4th.
Martin Truex Jr. (5th) dropped down a spot, into 6th in the driver standings.
Denny Hamlin managed a 6th place finish and that helped him hold onto 7th in the points.
7th place finisher Tony Stewart moved up one spot, into 3rd.
Aric Almirola finished 8th, putting him into 19th in the driver standings.
Brad Keselowski (9th) moved up 4 spots, taking 12th.
Despite efforts, Clint Bowyer managed 10th and he dropped down into 9th in the standings.
Jimmie Johnson dropped a spot down to 10th and Jeff Gordon's finish propelled him 4 spots into 21st.
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Showing posts with label goody's fast relief 500. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goody's fast relief 500. Show all posts
Monday, April 2, 2012
Hendrick Power Wins Martinsville 'Goody's Fast Relief 500', But Not Like You Think!
This weekend at Martinsville Speedway saw a few fascinating events take place, where Kevin Harvick destroyed the competition in the truck series and the two guys fully expected to win the Goody's Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway, did not!
First up, the Camping World Series Kroger 250 race had Kevin Harvick lead all but 2 of the 250 laps, setting a track record. And he did it in the No. 2 Richard Childress entry. That is a pretty impressive stat!
At one point in the race, he had such a strong entry that Kevin relayed a message back to Ty Dillon to not burn up his equipment since he was running at 80% of his own truck's capacity. Dang.
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Speaking of Kevin Harvick, he made his 400th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start on Sunday in the Goody's Fast Relief 500.
Congrats to Kevin on that one.
But on a more excited note, I spent the entire race watching the Goody's Fast Relief 500, KNOWING that the two cars that were up front most of the race will be winning. It was either going to be Jimmie Johnson or Jeff Gordon. These two worked their up through the field and dominated. It was their race to lose! And it would have been the magic 200th victory for Hendrick Motorsports... which would have been something special, at Martinsville!
But...
Near the end of the race, Johnson had taken the lead with Gordon on his tail. At times one might have thought that Johnson was spent yet when Gordon made some form of a move, Johnson would goose it and retain his front runner's position. So it was looking like Johnson would get the win.
But alas, wondering if Johnson was going to beat Gordon became moot, because, yes, Johnson finished the race in front of Gordon... and crossed the finish line before Gordon did. But not in the fashion anyone was expecting.
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The Goody's Fast Relief 500 had seven cautions for the day... and it was the last two that impacted NASCAR history that 'was' in the making.
Early on a part broke in Kyle Busch's car, then Dave Blaney at about the midway point had an issue. Other cautions included Juan Montoya (spin), Kasey Kahne (engine) and Travis Kvapil having issues with physics in the the turns.
But we have two more cautions to account for... the two most important it turns out.
Through the latter half of the day, we had Hendrick Motorsports running up in the top-five spots with Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr..
At one point, those three were the lead three cars, and if I were a betting man, I'm guessing that at one point "Jr. Nation" was politely desiring something to go afoul with the No. 48 and 24 cars so Dale Earnhardt Jr. could could scoot past and take the win.
But there were several factors going against the entire group up there.
David Ruetimann was limping the No. 10 Chevy home trying to get points for his car's standings in the owner points because this is the car that Danica Patrick will drive when she returns to Cup series racing. The team is desperately trying to keep the car in the top-35 in points. But while limping around his engine then up and died on him.
This brought out a caution on lap 496 and it was going to be a very fateful caution.
Johnson and Gordon stayed out while the rest of the world pitted. On the restart, Ryan Newman got a slight run from the inside third row spot and Clint Bowyer dove down to block him and goose it into the corner, getting in under Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.
This might have been the classic fresh vs. old tires battle.
Bowyer had the spot but had to back off because he entered the corner kind of hot, thumped the inside curb and slid out a bit and Jeff Gordon got out of shape dealing with Bowyer on the inside, and he spun, taking Jimmie Johnson with him. Then Bowyer got spun out himself. Through it all, Ryan Newman and A.J. Allmendinger ducked low below the track self-cleaning accident.
youtube vid link
On the green/white/checkered restart, Ryan took the race lead and won handily... his first win at this track.
Here is the unofficial results:
-Bruce
First up, the Camping World Series Kroger 250 race had Kevin Harvick lead all but 2 of the 250 laps, setting a track record. And he did it in the No. 2 Richard Childress entry. That is a pretty impressive stat!
At one point in the race, he had such a strong entry that Kevin relayed a message back to Ty Dillon to not burn up his equipment since he was running at 80% of his own truck's capacity. Dang.
=
Speaking of Kevin Harvick, he made his 400th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start on Sunday in the Goody's Fast Relief 500.
Congrats to Kevin on that one.
But on a more excited note, I spent the entire race watching the Goody's Fast Relief 500, KNOWING that the two cars that were up front most of the race will be winning. It was either going to be Jimmie Johnson or Jeff Gordon. These two worked their up through the field and dominated. It was their race to lose! And it would have been the magic 200th victory for Hendrick Motorsports... which would have been something special, at Martinsville!
But...
Near the end of the race, Johnson had taken the lead with Gordon on his tail. At times one might have thought that Johnson was spent yet when Gordon made some form of a move, Johnson would goose it and retain his front runner's position. So it was looking like Johnson would get the win.
But alas, wondering if Johnson was going to beat Gordon became moot, because, yes, Johnson finished the race in front of Gordon... and crossed the finish line before Gordon did. But not in the fashion anyone was expecting.
-
The Goody's Fast Relief 500 had seven cautions for the day... and it was the last two that impacted NASCAR history that 'was' in the making.
Early on a part broke in Kyle Busch's car, then Dave Blaney at about the midway point had an issue. Other cautions included Juan Montoya (spin), Kasey Kahne (engine) and Travis Kvapil having issues with physics in the the turns.
But we have two more cautions to account for... the two most important it turns out.
Through the latter half of the day, we had Hendrick Motorsports running up in the top-five spots with Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr..
At one point, those three were the lead three cars, and if I were a betting man, I'm guessing that at one point "Jr. Nation" was politely desiring something to go afoul with the No. 48 and 24 cars so Dale Earnhardt Jr. could could scoot past and take the win.
But there were several factors going against the entire group up there.
David Ruetimann was limping the No. 10 Chevy home trying to get points for his car's standings in the owner points because this is the car that Danica Patrick will drive when she returns to Cup series racing. The team is desperately trying to keep the car in the top-35 in points. But while limping around his engine then up and died on him.
This brought out a caution on lap 496 and it was going to be a very fateful caution.
Johnson and Gordon stayed out while the rest of the world pitted. On the restart, Ryan Newman got a slight run from the inside third row spot and Clint Bowyer dove down to block him and goose it into the corner, getting in under Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson.
This might have been the classic fresh vs. old tires battle.
Bowyer had the spot but had to back off because he entered the corner kind of hot, thumped the inside curb and slid out a bit and Jeff Gordon got out of shape dealing with Bowyer on the inside, and he spun, taking Jimmie Johnson with him. Then Bowyer got spun out himself. Through it all, Ryan Newman and A.J. Allmendinger ducked low below the track self-cleaning accident.
youtube vid link
On the green/white/checkered restart, Ryan took the race lead and won handily... his first win at this track.
Here is the unofficial results:
| FIN | DRIVER | |
| 1 | - | Ryan Newman |
| 2 | - | AJ Allmendinger |
| 3 | - | Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
| 4 | - | Matt Kenseth |
| 5 | - | Martin Truex Jr. |
| 6 | - | Denny Hamlin |
| 7 | - | Tony Stewart |
| 8 | - | Aric Almirola |
| 9 | - | Brad Keselowski |
| 10 | - | Clint Bowyer |
| 11 | - | Carl Edwards |
| 12 | - | Jimmie Johnson |
| 13 | - | Greg Biffle |
| 14 | - | Jeff Gordon |
| 15 | - | Marcos Ambrose |
| 16 | - | Regan Smith |
| 17 | - | Bobby Labonte |
| 18 | - | Brian Vickers |
| 19 | - | Kevin Harvick |
| 20 | - | Jamie McMurray |
| 21 | - | Juan Montoya |
| 22 | - | Jeff Burton |
| 23 | - | Joey Logano |
| 24 | - | David Ragan |
| 25 | - | Casey Mears |
| 26 | - | Paul Menard |
| 27 | - | Travis Kvapil |
| 28 | - | David Gilliland |
| 29 | - | Landon Cassill |
| 30 | - | David Stremme |
| 31 | - | Hermie Sadler |
| 32 | - | Ken Schrader |
| 33 | - | Kurt Busch |
| 34 | - | Dave Blaney |
| 35 | - | David Reutimann |
| 36 | - | Kyle Busch |
| 37 | - | J.J. Yeley |
| 38 | - | Kasey Kahne |
| 39 | - | Joe Nemechek |
| 40 | - | Michael McDowell |
| 41 | - | Josh Wise * |
| 42 | - | Scott Riggs |
| 43 | - | Reed Sorenson |
-Bruce
Thursday, March 29, 2012
The 'Goody's Fast Relief 500' At Martinsville, TV Times and Some Stats
The gang is landing at Martinsville for the 127th time (Cup race) and it's time for some good old fashion fender rubbing fun for the Goody's Fast Relief 500. And at this track, where wheel-men rule the day, so be it, if their cars can last through the day.
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Martinsville TV Times
Most events will be televised on Speed, but the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race will be televised on Fox. (All noted times are ET)
On Friday, March 30th:
On Saturday, March 31st:
on April 1st, 2012:
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Coming to Martinsville, it's a good bet that by the end of the day, we'll probably be looking at either Greg Biffle, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon or Denny Hamlin fighting for that swath of checkered cotton!
In the last seven races at Martinsville, Denny Hamlin has won three of them, Jimmie Johnson snagged two and Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick each had one a piece.
But looking at the average finishing top contenders for the track, these numbers say a lot:
Jimmie Johnson - 3.7
Jeff Gordon - 4.3
Denny Hamlin - 6.5
Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 11.5
Ryan Newman - 12.9
Tony Stewart - 12.9
But don't be fooled... Jeff Gordon has the most wins at this track, with seven victories to his credit.
{Hey Ryan, aren't you supposed to let the boss win?}
Also if you look at laps led, from the loop data, Johnson leads the pack with 21.5%. He's followed by
Jeff Gordon (17.7%)
Denny Hamlin (16.8%)
Tony Stewart (12.0%)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (5.9%)
Again, though we don't see Greg Biffle at the top of this statistical heap, he's been having a great year so far and I somewhat expect his emotional momentum to carry forward into Martinsville as well. I mean face it, if you've ever seen some of his saves, he is definitely a wheel-man!
Time to see who Lady Luck will smile or frown upon!
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Martinsville TV Times
Most events will be televised on Speed, but the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race will be televised on Fox. (All noted times are ET)
On Friday, March 30th:
12:30 PM First Practice - Speed
3:30 PM Second Practice - Speed
3:30 PM Second Practice - Speed
On Saturday, March 31st:
QUALIFYING at 11:30 AM - Speed
on April 1st, 2012:
The Goody's Fast Relief 500 at 12:30 PM, on Fox.
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Coming to Martinsville, it's a good bet that by the end of the day, we'll probably be looking at either Greg Biffle, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon or Denny Hamlin fighting for that swath of checkered cotton!
In the last seven races at Martinsville, Denny Hamlin has won three of them, Jimmie Johnson snagged two and Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick each had one a piece.
But looking at the average finishing top contenders for the track, these numbers say a lot:
Jimmie Johnson - 3.7
Jeff Gordon - 4.3
Denny Hamlin - 6.5
Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 11.5
Ryan Newman - 12.9
Tony Stewart - 12.9
But don't be fooled... Jeff Gordon has the most wins at this track, with seven victories to his credit.
{Hey Ryan, aren't you supposed to let the boss win?}
Also if you look at laps led, from the loop data, Johnson leads the pack with 21.5%. He's followed by
Jeff Gordon (17.7%)
Denny Hamlin (16.8%)
Tony Stewart (12.0%)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (5.9%)
Again, though we don't see Greg Biffle at the top of this statistical heap, he's been having a great year so far and I somewhat expect his emotional momentum to carry forward into Martinsville as well. I mean face it, if you've ever seen some of his saves, he is definitely a wheel-man!
Time to see who Lady Luck will smile or frown upon!
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Tuesday, March 27, 2012
NASCAR Heads to the Paperclip Known as Martinsville, 'The Goody's Fast Relief 500'
So far, no one has talked about reconfiguring this one-mile paperclip shaped track called Martinsville. And that's good. I can only handle so much reconfiguration news in a week! But as it stands, Martinsville is the last of the classic tracks that's flat and tight and still in a shape of a paperclip, forcing the racing to be calm, cool and collected. Well, that is, if the day went well, that's the attitude that could prevail after beating and banging fenders in an event at the track.
For the upcoming The Goody's Fast Relief 500, looking at the average finishing positions of drivers, the top dog coming into the weekend at Martinsville looks to be
Jimmie Johnson, with an average finish of 5.5, after 20 races. Behind Jimmie, we have
Denny Hamlin (6.5),
Jeff Gordon (6.9)
Dale Earnhardt Jr., (13).
We all know that statistical performance never matches up when weather and bad luck sit up and take note of our favorite driver, but that's how it's looking for stats, at this early part of the week.
We'll see how teams unload at Martinsville what what tale the practice and qualifying times will have in store for everyone!
For the upcoming The Goody's Fast Relief 500, looking at the average finishing positions of drivers, the top dog coming into the weekend at Martinsville looks to be
Jimmie Johnson, with an average finish of 5.5, after 20 races. Behind Jimmie, we have
Denny Hamlin (6.5),
Jeff Gordon (6.9)
Dale Earnhardt Jr., (13).
We all know that statistical performance never matches up when weather and bad luck sit up and take note of our favorite driver, but that's how it's looking for stats, at this early part of the week.
We'll see how teams unload at Martinsville what what tale the practice and qualifying times will have in store for everyone!
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