Next Saturday is Cinco de Mayo; the celebration of Mexico's defeat of Napoleon’s army on May 5th, 1862. Expect a big celebration NASCAR style as the Nextel Cup and Busch teams head to Richmond International Raceway to battle it out under the lights.
Richmond has been labeled by many as the "raciest" track on the circuit. The 3/4 mile track offers up 2 groves that produce great side-by-side racing while allowing the cars to get up to speedway like speeds.
Of all current drivers with 2 or more career starts at Richmond, Kyle Busch has had the most success. In 4 starts, Busch has an average finish of 3rd.
Other drivers to note:
Denny Hamlin - Average finish of 8th
Dale Earnhardt Jr - Average finish of 10th
Clint Boyer - Average finish of 11th
Ryan Newman - Average finish of 12th
Next Week's Schedule:
Nextel Cup: @ Richmond International Raceway (all times EST)
05/04/07 - 11:15am NASCAR Nextel Cup Practice - Crown Royal Presents The Jim Stewart 400
05/04/07 - 06:10pm NASCAR Nextel Cup Qualifying - Crown Royal Presents The Jim Stewart 400
05/05/07 - 07:30pm NASCAR Nextel Cup Aaron's Crown Royal Presents The Jim Stewart 400
Busch Series: @ Richmond International Raceway
05/04/07 - 10:10am NASCAR Busch Series Practice - Circuit City 250 Presented by FUNAI race
05/04/07 - 04:05pm NASCAR Busch Series Qualifying - Circuit City 250 Presented by FUNAI race
05/04/07 - 08:00pm NASCAR Busch Series Circuit City 250 Presented by FUNAI race
Craftsman Truck Series off until May 18th at Lowe's Motor Speedway Jeff Gordon Overtakes Earnhardt in Career Wins!Watching the closing laps of yesterday's Aaron's 499, I would never have guessed Jeff Gordon could win. He was mired back in 16th position in a single file pack with 10 laps to go. Finally, Gordon with the help of teammate Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart began to make his assault on the lead cars.
After bobbing and weaving, and pushing his way to the front, Gordon was able to overtake the lead position from Jamie McMurray before the second to last caution flag came out. Then on the first lap of what was meant to be a green-white checkered finish, Gordon claimed the win when mayhem broke out deep in the pack. In a green-white checkered finish, NASCAR will end the race if a caution comes out.
For some, Gordon's victory was tough to swallow. The win, Gordon's 77th in the Cup series, moved him ahead of the late Dale Earnhardt on a day that would have been Earnhardt's 56th birthday. But for many, Gordon's win is further validation that we are seeing a future legend make his mark in the history books. Hendrick Teams Continue Their Domination of the 2007 Season!Six of nine. That's the number of races won by a Hendrick driver (6) out of nine races thus far in the 2007 season. By combining resources amongst four Cup teams, and staffing each team with some of the best personnel in NASCAR, Rick Hendrick has amassed more wins, 155 total between all Cup teams, than any other owner in NASCAR's history.
Tired of losing out to DEI in restrictor plate races, Rick Hendrick appointed a specially staffed group within his organization to research and develop top-level restrictor plate cars for all four of his Cup teams. The panel paid off! In the last 14 restrictor plate races, Hendrick Motorsports has combined for 8 wins; a 57% winning percentage.
Through ingenious organization on Rick Hendrick's part, he has built the premier team in NASCAR's history. He has found that there is strength in numbers by splitting the cost of running key operations such as the engine department across all teams. That kind of business smarts makes Rick Hendrick one of the top owners in all professional sports! Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway Recap | Yesterday's Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway gave fans the restrictor plate action they've come to love! The 2.67 mile long track is the longest on the circuit and allows cars with restrictive power to run at speeds approaching 200mph while being bundled together like one large swarm of bees.
While the action during the race was non-stop, the finish was anti-climatic. Under the final caution of the day, Jeff Gordon claimed the checkered flag and his 77th career victory. The final caution was waved during the green-white checkered finish as cars were wrecking all over the back stretch. When the caution dropped, Gordon was in the lead.
Loving fans adorned Gordon by showering him with beer cans from the stands. None-the-less, Gordon shrugged off the negativity and celebrated his historic win.
How the top drivers faired:
Jeff Gordon made a late race charge that only he could pull off. Coming from 16th position with 10 laps remaining, Gordon parternered with Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson to charge to the front of the pack. On the final caution of the day under a green-white checker condition, Gordon claimed his 77th victory of all time. He now sits comfortably in first, 203 points ahead of second place Jeff Burton.
Tony Stewart had a tumultuous week that was anything but staged. Earlier last week, Tony made comments on his weekly Sirius radio show that some of the debris cautions NASCAR calls are akin to WWE staged performances. Unfortunately for Stewart, the 6am Friday morning meeting with Mike Helton followed by the late race crash at Talladega were all too real. Stewart finished the race in 27th position and now sits 6th in points.
Dale Earnhardt Jr had one of the strongest cars of the day, but fear of running out of gas perhaps held Earnhardt back from charging for the win. Jr finished in 8th position and now sits 13th in points.
Jimmie Johnson is exhibiting the same championship form he had last year. The reigning champion finished in 2nd place, his 6th top 5 finish of the year. He now sits 4th in points.
Kevin Harvick returned to top form by finishing 4th at Talladega. Last year's Busch champion now sits 7th in points. |
|
