NASCAR

NASCAR Issues Penalties From Sunday’s Event At Phoenix International Raceway

HI99 NASCAR News — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 15:39:00 GMT

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 12, 2012) – NASCAR announced today penalties to three teams that compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, as a result of rule infractions at Phoenix International Raceway.

Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 car, was found to be in violation of Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing) – altercation with another competitor on the race track during the race – and has been fined $100,000, docked 25 championship driver points and put on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31. Rick Hendrick, owner of the No. 24 car, has also been penalized with the loss of 25 championship owner points. Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 24 car, also was found to be in violation of Section 9-4A (at all events, crew chief assumes responsibility of his driver, car owner and team members) and has been placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31.

Brian Pattie, crew chief of the No. 15 car, violated Sections 12-1 and 9-4A and has been fined $25,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31.

Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 car, has been fined $25,000 and placed on probation until Dec. 31 for violating Sections 12-1 and 20-6.7A (cars and drivers will not be permitted to carry onboard computers, automated electronic recording devices, electronically actuated devices, power distribution modules, power conditioners, micro-processors, recording devices, electronic digital memory chips, traction control devices, digital readout gauges and the like, even if inoperable or incomplete) – driver had a cell phone in his possession onboard the race car.

All of these violations occurred during the Nov. 11 event at PIR.

Kevin Harvick steals Phoenix win, as Brad Keselowski takes charge of title race

HI99 NASCAR News — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 14:53:00 GMT

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Brad Keselowski has long since proven he's an elite talent behind the wheel and a glib, if somewhat irreverent analyst in front of the microphone.

Now we can add prophecy to his list of accomplishments.

We can also add fisticuffs to the repertoires of the Clint Bowyer and Jeff Gordon crews, who brawled in the garage after Gordon wrecked Bowyer and dashed his championship hopes on the next to last scheduled lap.

Never mind that Kevin Harvick stole a race that Kyle Busch absolutely dominated, winning Sunday's AdvoCare 500 in a green-white checkered-flag finish at Phoenix International Raceway.

Never mind that Harvick crossed the stripe as a wreck erupted behind him.

The real drama was deeper in the field, and earlier, as Keselowski moved tantalizingly close to his first NASCAR Sprint Cup championship after predicting last Sunday that bad luck might be on the horizon for five-time champion Jimmie Johnson. The prediction came true -- in spades—in the form of a wreck on Lap 234.

Harvick took the checkered flag ahead of Denny Hamlin, who passed Busch after the final restart. Busch came home third in a race that went seven laps beyond its posted distance of 312 laps. Kasey Kahne ran fourth, followed by Ryan Newman and Keselowski, who took back the lead from Johnson and leads by 20 points with one race left in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Keselowski, however, was appropriately cautious when assessing his title chances.

"Certainly if you have the choice, you always want to be in the lead of the points, especially in the closing races, so I'm thankful for that," said Keselowski, who can win the Cup championship outright with a finish of 15th or better in next Sunday’s season finale at Homestead.

"But I also know that the troubles that they had are the same troubles that we could have next week, and so you try not to take anything for granted. You try to just focus on what lies ahead, and we've got to do the best job we can at Homestead. That's where my focus is."

All other drivers were mathematically eliminated from title contention, including Bowyer, who was the victim of retaliation from Gordon for an earlier incident in which contact between their cars cut Gordon’s left front tire and sent him sliding into the Turn 3 wall.

Harvick’s victory came two days after ESPN.com reported he would leave Richard Childress Racing for Stewart-Haas Racing after the 2013 season, the last year on Harvick’s current contract. Clearly, the reported business dealings didn’t affect Harvick’s focus.

"There can be distractions," said Harvick who broke a 44-race drought in winning for the 19th time in the Cup series. "There can be whatever happening around the race track, off the race track, but when you get in that garage and everybody is doing their jobs -- I get in the car, he (owner Richard Childress) is up on the trailers -- we're all just racers in the end. We want to race cars, and it comes with a lot of media. It comes with a lot of things outside of the race track.

"But when we actually get to get into our element, we all do our jobs regardless, and we all don't want to go out and embarrass ourselves and not run good. We want to be exactly where we are, right here, talking to you guys after the race and in Victory Lane and doing the things that make us all happy. It's been a frustrating year, but two races to go, here we are."

The biggest, most destructive bolt of ill-fortune in Johnson's already storied career struck on Lap 234, when the right front tire on Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet exploded -- the result of a melted bead (the edge of the tire that sits on the wheel) due to brake heat. Johnson smacked the Turn 4 wall.

Unlike at Kansas, where Johnson's crew was able to repair a wrecked car without losing a lap, the 48 was damaged far beyond the healing power of a pit road band-aid. Johnson spent 38 laps in the garage before returning to competition just as David Ragan's brush with the wall on Lap 273 caused the fifth caution of the race.

Johnson finished 32nd, his prospects for a sixth Cup title vastly diminished.

Busch led four times for 237 laps but surrendered the lead to Harvick after a restart on Lap 305 and never got it back.

"The guys gave me an awesome piece, and unfortunately there, I gave the race away," Busch said. "I hate it for my guys, and they worked so hard and they dug hard this weekend, and obviously having a car that's the class of the field, you expect to win and you're supposed to win, but I guess I just didn't know how to win it today."

Jimmie Johnson outlasts Brad Keselowski for Texas win

HI99 NASCAR News — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 13:31:00 GMT

FORT WORTH, Tex. -- The haymaker Jimmie Johnson delivered Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway turned out to be an eight-point swing.

Taking advantage of a late caution and four fresh tires to Brad Keselowski's two, Johnson pulled away from Keselowski in a green-white-checkered-flag finish to win the AAA Texas 500 and tighten his grip on a possible sixth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship.

Johnson finished .808 seconds ahead of Keselowski, the race runner-up, and increased his lead in the standings to from two points to seven. The victory was Johnson's fifth of the season, his second at Texas and the 60th of his career. For the second straight week, Johnson won a Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race from the pole.

Kyle Busch ran third, followed by Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart and Clint Bowyer. Keselowski held the lead on two previous restarts -- one a breathtaking side-by-side battle with the five-time champion -- but Johnson pulled ahead in the one that counted.

As hard as the top two Chase drivers raced each other on Sunday, Johnson felt it took the level of competition between them to new heights.

"The way we raced this afternoon, this evening -- that's what's different," Johnson said. "That's the first time that we've really engaged at that level and raced each other that hard.

"To his credit, he did a nice job of getting right to the edge, and we brought home race cars. We weren't wadded up looking like a bunch of fools over there, handing the 5 (Kasey Kahne) and the 15 (Bowyer) a big gift."

Had Keselowski held on to the lead for the final two laps, he would have been the Chase leader by one point.

Johnson, however, saved his best restart for the two-lap finish that sent the race one lap beyond its scheduled distance of 334 laps.

"I knew I wasn't going to be able to execute every restart, and Jimmie did a great job on the last one," Keselowski said. "I had to choose between wrecking him and winning the race, and it didn't seem right to wreck him.

"Ran him hard, and we're going to keep him honest. I know if we keep running like this that we won't be beat."
After NASCAR called the sixth caution of the race on lap 274, for debris on the backstretch, Keselowski entered the pits as the leader but dropped eight spots on the exchange of stops.

First, Keselowski slid to the front of his pit stall on the stop. Compounding the problem, the No. 10 Chevrolet of Danica Patrick, whose pit stall was immediately in front of Keselowski's, stopped at the top of her box, blocking Keselowski's exit.

By the time the No. 2 crew pushed the Blue Deuce back to give Keselowski clearance, he had lost the eight spots, as other lead-lap cars rolled past.

Keselowski spent the subsequent 30-lap green-flag run making up ground. On Lap 307, he passed Matt Kenseth for the fourth position, with Johnson running second behind Kyle Busch.

Three laps later, Marcos Ambrose's accident in Turn 2 brought out caution No. 7, and Keselowski regained the lead with a two-tire stop. Busch was second off pit road, ahead of Johnson, who restarted third on Lap 316.

Keselowski surged to the lead, clearing Busch on the backstretch, and held the top spot until the caution on Lap 321 for an incident involving Kahne, Jeff Gordon and Greg Biffle in Turn 2 slowed the field. Kahne got the worst of the contact, lost a lap and saw his title hopes all but evaporate.

Keselowski and Johnson raced side-by-side and a hairbreadth from losing control after the restart on lap 327, with Keselowski pulling out to an eight-car-length lead, but Mark Martin's wreck on the frontstretch two laps later set up the two-lap dash to the finish.

Busch, who had a ringside seat from his third-place finishing position, was impressed by the intensity of the racing in front of him.

"It was exciting," he said. "Those guys up there, man, they were battling, and they battled hard, giving it everything they've got. That's what they've got to do. (If) you're going to win a championship in the Sprint Cup Series, that's what you're going to have to make of it."

Jimmie Johnson Wins At Martinsville To Grab Chase Lead

HI99 NASCAR News — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 16:04:00 GMT

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Mr. Martinsville is back -- with mission accomplished.

With surgical precision, polesitter Jimmie Johnson triumphed at one of his best race tracks, gathering steam toward a sixth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title while fending off a strong performance from his closest challenger for the championship.

Holding off Kyle Busch during a five-lap closing green-flag run at Martinsville Speedway, Johnson won Sunday's TUMS Fast Relief 500 at the .526-mile short track and grabbed the series lead from sixth-place finisher Brad Keselowski.

Johnson's fourth victory of the season and his seventh at Martinsville -- tying him for third all-time with Rusty Wallace and Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon -- leaves the five-time Cup champion in a familiar position. Johnson holds a two-point lead over second-place Keselowski with three races left in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

"I'm ecstatic about the win today and ecstatic about the point lead, but this is no cakewalk," Johnson said. "I feel as focused and as prepared as I've ever been. We have some very smart guys with experience on this team, and everybody is managing their emotions well and working very hard on their individual positions.

"Our young group of over-the-wall guys, they're standing the test of time. They're dealing with a lot of pressure each time on pit road and executing very well."

Busch finished second, .479 seconds behind the driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet, who won for the 59th time in his career.

Kasey Kahne ran third, followed by Aric Almirola and Clint Bowyer. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 21st in his return to racing after a two-week hiatus. Earnhardt missed two races on doctor's orders after sustaining his second concussion in six weeks Oct. 7 at Talladega.

Johnson had the lead on Lap 491 when a chain-reaction spin involving Sam Hornish Jr., Carl Edwards and Earnhardt caused the 11th caution and set up a restart on Lap 496.

For practical purposes, however, the winning move came on Lap 476 when Johnson and most of the other lead-lap cars opted to pit for tires under the 10th caution, caused by Kevin Harvick's blown engine.

Keselowski and Earnhardt stayed on the track and led the field to the green flag on Lap 481. Earnhardt fell back immediately, but Keselowski stubbornly clung to the top spot until Johnson passed him on Lap 486.

"I think we've learned our lesson here in the past in not pitting late, and that certainly came into play, and we made the right decision there," Johnson said.

Five laps after Johnson grabbed the lead, Hornish spun Edwards in Turn 2, and Edwards' Ford slid into Earnhardt's Chevrolet, knocking him out of the racing groove. After the restart on Lap 496, Busch got to Johnson's bumper through Turns 1 and 2 on the final circuit, but deft driving on Johnson's part kept Busch at bay.

"Jimmie did a good job," Busch said. "He's a five-time champion, six-time champion -- probably six -- for a reason. Getting into (Turn) 1, I got to his rear bumper. Didn't want to move him out of the way. He slowed the corner down, protected the bottom.

"When I went back to the gas, I spun my tires and got loose, (and) he squirted away from me. No chance of getting back to him in 3 and 4. He manipulated my car the way he needed to protect himself for the last corner down there in 3 and 4."

Denny Hamlin's championship hopes sustained a crushing blow when his No. 11 suffered electrical problems late in the race. After intermittent losses of power, Hamlin's car stalled on the frontstretch on Lap 391, causing the eighth caution of the race.

By the time his crew identified and fixed the problem -- a broken post on the master cutoff switch -- Hamlin was 34 laps down and mired in 33rdplace, his finishing position. Hamlin dropped from third to fifth in the standings, 49 points behind Johnson and all but out of contention for the title.

Johnson's victory gave Chevrolet its 10th straight Cup manufacturers' championship and 36th overall.

KENSETH BETS WINNING HAND IN HOLLYWOOD CASINO 400

HI99 NASCAR News — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 12:47:00 GMT

Matt Kenseth took advantage of his testing time at Kansas Speedway and visited Victory Lane for the first time in the Hollywood Casino 400 today. The win was Kenseth’s third this season and second in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Kenseth was one of nine drivers who visited Kansas Speedway in late August to conduct a tire test for Goodyear and saw the newly reconfigured pavement after it had recently been finished. This week, he joined other NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams at the facility for two days of testing at Kansas Speedway to continue to become familiar with the new variable banking.

“It (the win) really means a lot,” said an emotional Kenseth in victory lane. “I have to thank God for all of the opportunities and guidance. I (also) want to thank Jack Roush, Robbie Reiser and Mark Martin; without those guys I would have never been at Roush Fenway Racing.”

While drivers aren’t usually fans of changes or track repaves, Kansas Speedway’s new surface has gotten favorable reviews.

"Once the outside got working, it was actually pretty darn good,” said Truex. “It's going to be a cool race track here in the future, and they did a great job with it."

“It wasn’t one line single file around the bottom like a lot of repaves,” said third place finisher Menard. “The second groove burned in. Even the third groove came in today. For a first race on a repaved track, I thought the track came in really well.”

New Qualifying Format For NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Highlights 2013 Competition Changes

HI99 NASCAR News — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 20:01:00 GMT

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Oct. 16, 2012) – NASCAR today announced a number of competition changes for the 2013 season, highlighted by a new qualifying format in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series that places a greater emphasis on speed.

Below is a breakdown of next season’s slate of competition updates…

Qualifying Format In The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

In NASCAR Sprint Cup competition, the series will move to a 36-6-1 format where the fastest 36 cars will make the race on speed.

The next six highest ranking cars in owners points that have not already earned a starting position through qualifying and who have entered the event by the posted entry deadline will also make the field. The final starting position will be awarded to the most recent eligible past champion driver. If there is no eligible past champion driver, then a seventh car will make the field based upon owners’ points.

Provisional positions in the 36-6-1 format will be lined up by owners’ points, not speed.

Since 2005, the top 35 cars in owners’ points were guaranteed a spot in the field. Now, only a maximum of seven cars will be locked into a given race.

“This is a big win for our fans,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. “They’ll see the fastest cars earn their starting spots. This change adds intrigue, drama and excitement to qualifying.”

In 2013, the qualifying order for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events will return to a random draw. However, in the event qualifying is canceled due to rain, the field will be set per the rule book and the starting lineup will continue to be determined by practice speeds.

Additionally, provisional positions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be based upon the previous year’s owner points for the first three races, as opposed to the first five races in previous years for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and four races for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Testing Policy Opened Up For 2013

Beginning next season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, there will be up to four tests per organization available to teams at tracks at which the series competes. Since 2009, teams could only test at tracks that did not hold NASCAR national series events.

“We feel like it’s time to open that up and allow the teams to manage their testing and get back to facilities that host our events,” said Pemberton. “We made the decision at the end of 2008 to restrict testing, primarily for economic reasons. Now we believe it will be best for the garage and for the tracks to have some testing return in 2013.”

For the NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, starting in 2013, there will be up to two tests per organization at tracks where those series compete. If the organization has an official Sunoco Rookie of Year candidate, then that team will receive one additional test. Additionally, NASCAR will open track activity early for extended practice at two additional events per series, to be determined.

Maximum Field Set At 40 Cars For NASCAR Nationwide Series

In an effort to strengthen the ownership base up and create a sense of urgency among teams to make races, the maximum starting field for the NASCAR Nationwide Series will be set at 40, as opposed to the 43-car field in previous years.

A maximum NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starting field will remain at 43 cars while the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will hold steady at 36.

Clint Bowyer Plays Fuel Strategy to Perfection, Wins Bank of America 500

HI99 NASCAR News — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 12:34:00 GMT

Clint Bowyer played the fuel strategy game to perfection, sneaking in to win Saturday’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“If you’re not the fastest car here, you’ve gotta have options,” said Brian Pattie, crew chief for Bowyer.

Bowyer definitely wasn’t the fastest car, but he and his No. 15 5-hour Energy Toyota team turned a solid but unremarkable top-10 car into a winner simply by saving fuel over the final green-flag stretch.

It turns out that Bowyer had enough fuel to win his first race at Charlotte Motor Speedway but barely an ounce more. While trying to perform a post-race burnout, the tank ran dry, and suddenly his Michael Waltrip Racing crew was pushing the car the length of the track back to Winner’s Circle.

“Man, am I ever going to get to do a burnout?” Bowyer asked after winning his third race this season with no fuel left in the tank. “[Pattie] told me we were good to the end, so I went ahead and took off, and it quit on my first rotation of a burnout. So we were pretty close [on fuel].”

Bowyer inherited the lead on lap 310 of 334 when many of the leaders headed to the pits, leaving just Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch and Mark Martin on the lead lap. Hamlin was the only car within striking distance of Bowyer in the closing laps but was told to conserve fuel.

By the time Hamlin was green-lighted to stop conserving, he didn’t have enough real estate to catch Bowyer, despite charging hard in the final corners to finish second.

“It would be interesting to see how much we had left and see if we could have cut the reins a little earlier and tried to catch the 15 [Bowyer],” Hamlin said. “We just needed one more lap.”

Johnson ended up third, with Biffle and Busch rounding out the top five.

Brad Keselowski led the most laps (139), but crew chief Paul Wolfe tried to stretch the No. 2 car’s fuel window well beyond mortal limits. Keselowski ran out of fuel on lap 276 while trying to stretch his tank, shuffling him back in the field and taking him out of contention for the rest of the night. He ended up 11th but keeps the NASCAR Sprint Cup points lead by seven.

“It’s like playing blackjack,” Keselowski said. “Sometimes you get a good deal, but you’re not gonna win ‘em all; you know that. And you hope that when you’re sitting there with 13, you’re not gonna have a lot of chips in the pile. We didn’t lose too much.”

BANK OF AMERICA 500 POST-RACE QUOTES:

Clint Bowyer (Winner, No. 15 5-hour Energy Benefitting Avon Foundation for Women Toyota) – “This is my worst race track. To come here and have cars capable of qualifying in the top five, and race up front, I mean, I tell you that means a lot to me. I think it speaks volumes about our team, Brian Pattie [crew chief] and everybody he has assembled around him. It makes me almost giddy. It’s so much fun to come to the race track knowing you have got cars that are capable of getting the job done. We’re still in contention for the championship. Never in a million years did I think the caution wouldn’t come out. We had too much left in the race. We were a burnout short of making it!”

Michael Waltrip (Team Owner, No. 15 5-hour Energy Benefitting Avon Foundation for Women Toyota) – “Not only did the Toyota engine run with as much power as we needed to win with; we got the fuel mileage we needed to win and had enough gas to do one of the most amazing starts to a burnout I ever saw. It really went kind of downhill from there. But to have an engine under your hood that can perform like it did, qualifying in the top five with a new track-record speed; to have that kind of speed and also have the economy it takes to race to the checkered and not have to pit late. Clint’s won three races, and he hasn’t been able to drive to victory lane yet because of getting there with just enough fuel.”

Brian Pattie (Crew Chief, No. 15 5-hour Energy Benefitting Avon Foundation for Women Toyota) – “We had a good qualifying setup for here in the spring and came back here and qualified better. We evolved our setups over the summer. We were a little too tight and burned the tires off too fast, though. We knew in practice that we might have to save gas for fuel mileage, and we worked on that some. Everyone did their part to make it work. These are a great group of guys. It’s fun to show up on Monday.”

Denny Hamlin (Second-Place Finisher – No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota) – “It’s almost impossible to save fuel [when driving for a win]. It goes against everything we have learned as race car drivers. We had a good run, obviously, and put ourselves in position all day. It’s good to have a fuel mileage race go somewhat our way. Darian [crew chief Darian Grubb] made a gutsy call to bring us in [even though it meant we would] lose all of our track position in the middle of the race. Obviously, he knew what he was doing. We slowed down just enough to finish second. It’s frustrating to know whether we could have cut the reins a little sooner and tried to catch the 15 [Bowyer]. We just needed one more lap. You are just running the race backwards. Basically, you are just seeing how slow you can go and maintain your track position. It puts everyone in kind of a weird window. You have to prepare for it, and we did prepare for it a little bit better. It’s tough because I’m sitting there thinking I could go by [Bowyer] or catch him anytime I wanted. Darian is screaming at me to back off. As a race car driver, you really don’t want to save gas.”

Jimmie Johnson (Third-Place Finisher – No. 48 MyLowes Chevrolet) – “We made a bunch of circles out there tonight and made it on fuel. It’s weird running so long. There are some tracks and some conditions where that is just the game you have to play. The thing I’m excited about is we’re still learning. We don’t have the confidence that the 2 car [Keselowski] shows in some situations with how hard they can run. We finished a fuel mileage race here much better than we have done in the past. So, I feel like we are smarter racing in that department. It seemed like the three cars of the 2 [Keselowski], the 11 [Hamlin] and we were running one, two, three through a large portion of the night. With two stops to go, we saw the opportunity for long green runs and you just talk to yourself if you use too much or not enough.”

Greg Biffle (Fourth-Place Finisher, No. 16 3m/IDG Ford) – “It was too loose all night. I just didn’t want to take big enough swings at it. And then fuel mileage; we are just not in that game to go as far as those cars were going.”

Kyle Busch (Fifth-Place Finisher, No. 18 M&Ms Toyota) – “Fuel mileage played against us again. We had a really good race car barring circumstances and how they played out, but it just wasn’t there for us at the end.”

Hendrick Motorsports Statement on Dale Earnhardt Jr.

HI99 NASCAR News — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 13:43:00 GMT

CONCORD, N.C. (Oct. 11, 2012) – Dale Earnhardt Jr. will not compete in the upcoming NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway after being diagnosed with a concussion following the Oct. 7 race at Talladega, Ala.

Earnhardt, driver of the No. 88 Chevrolets for Hendrick Motorsports, was diagnosed Wednesday afternoon in Charlotte. Regan Smith will be the team’s substitute driver at Charlotte and Kansas.

NSCS Recap: Matt Kenseth survives pileup to win at Talladega

HI99 NASCAR News — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 14:31:00 GMT

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- The Big One waited until the final corner.

Matt Kenseth escaped a massive pileup in Turn 4 on Lap 189 of Sunday's Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 at Talladega Superspeedway to win the fourth race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Jeff Gordon likewise dodged the 25-car crash, triggered by contact between Tony Stewart's Chevrolet and Michael Waltrip's Toyota, and ran second, followed by Kyle Busch, David Ragan and Regan Smith.

Brad Keselowski finished seventh and extended his championship lead to 14 points over Jimmie Johnson, whose Chevrolet was heavily damaged in the wreck and limped home in 17th.

The handling of Kenseth's car was on the loose side, forcing the driver of the No. 17 Ford to run the middle lane. That turned out to be a blessing, as Stewart and Waltrip collided near the bottom of the track.

"The track kept getting looser for me as the day went on and we never could get it tightened up," said Kenseth, who posted his second victory of the season, his first at Talladega and the 23rd of his career. "On the last lap that's why I chose the middle groove. I knew I couldn't be on the bottom or I'd get spun out, so I had to run the middle or the top to try to make a move. . . .

"I didn't know what was going happen and I'm still not sure what happened. Somehow I think Tony got turned and caused a big wreck."

Jamie McMurray, who had led 39 laps, spun in the tri-oval on lap 183, as he got a push from Kevin Harvick. McMurray brought out the fourth caution, but, miraculously, no other cars were collected in the incident.

Clint Bowyer led the field to the restart on Lap 188, but Stewart quickly took the point. Trying to block Waltrip in the final corner, Stewart turned across the nose of the No. 55 Toyota and triggered the wreck.

Stewart took full responsibility for the melee that scrambled the order of finish.

"I just screwed up," Stewart said. "I turned down across -- I think it was Michael -- and crashed the whole field. It was my fault, blocking to try to stay where I was at. I take 100 percent of the blame.

"I was trying to win the race, trying to stay ahead of Matt there, and Michael got a great run on the bottom, had a big head of steam. When I turned down, I turned down across the right-front of his car. It was just a mistake on my part, but it cost a lot of people a bad day because of it."

Gordon wasn't surprised at the last-lap chaos. He was surprised it didn't happen earlier.

"I don't know how we made it to the white flag," said Gordon. "Coming through that tri-oval, being hit from behind, hitting the guy in front of me, you're sandwiched in-between basically cars. There are cars doing the same thing on that side of you, cars on that side of them doing the same thing.

"I really don't know how we made it to the white flag. It was just insane. But you're doing all you can to try to move your lane and hope that you make it back around. In today's case, we did."

The first round of green-flag pit stops proved the undoing -- albeit temporarily -- of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch and Trevor Bayne, all of whom were flagged for speeding on pit road. After serving pass-through penalties, all three drivers were lapped by the pack.

Just past the halfway point, Kenseth surged past Kurt Busch into the lead, marking a full recovery from a Lap 42 spin off the bumper of teammate Biffle and subsequent spectacular save.

Bayne got his lap back as the "lucky dog" on Lap 99, when Kurt Busch lost fuel pressure off Turn 2 and spun off the bumper of McMurray's Chevrolet, slamming the wall and causing the second caution of the afternoon.

Driving James Finch's Phoenix Racing Chevrolet for the final time before debuting for Furniture Row Racing next weekend at Charlotte, Busch --helmet off and out of radio contact with his team and NASCAR -- drove away from the accident scene before NASCAR had cleared him and was parked for his effrontery.

It wasn't until 40 laps later that Earnhardt and Kyle Busch regained their lost laps. Earnhardt paced the field as the last car on the lead lap when NASCAR called a caution for debris on Lap 39. Busch also rejoined the lead lap as the highest-scored lapped car and restarted third on Lap 144 after the vast majority of drivers returned to pit road to top off their fuel tanks on Lap 142.

Caught up in the wreck on the last lap, Earnhardt came home 20th.

RACE RESULTS

1. (15) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 189, $302,036.
2. (6) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 189, $206,171.
3. (13) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 189, $186,168.
4. (25) David Ragan, Ford, 189, $142,743.
5. (28) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 189, $136,243.
6. (5) Greg Biffle, Ford, 189, $124,260.
7. (22) Brad Keselowski, Dodge, 189, $130,330.
8. (36) Travis Kvapil, Toyota, 189, $119,518.
9. (2) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 189, $130,993.
10. (26) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 189, $128,610.
11. (21) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 189, $132,621.
12. (1) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 189, $101,610.
13. (9) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 189, $112,399.
14. (23) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 189, $124,801.
15. (32) David Gilliland, Ford, 189, $96,118.
16. (31) Terry Labonte, Ford, 189, $90,435.
17. (17) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 189, $125,121.
18. (40) Bobby Labonte, Toyota, 189, $99,332.
19. (18) Aric Almirola, Ford, 189, $118,346.
20. (12) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 189, $89,485.
21. (8) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 189, $81,235.
22. (4) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, Accident, 188, $130,085.
23. (3) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, Accident, 188, $107,549.
24. (10) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, Accident, 188, $120,835.
25. (11) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, Accident, 188, $79,785.
26. (19) Casey Mears, Ford, Accident, 188, $79,010.
27. (20) Marcos Ambrose, Ford, Accident, 188, $106,618.
28. (16) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, Accident, 188, $86,460.
29. (39) Dave Blaney, Chevrolet, Accident, 188, $78,310.
30. (38) Landon Cassill, Toyota, 188, $105,480.
31. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford, 188, $74,985.
32. (14) Joey Logano, Toyota, 187, $82,785.
33. (30) David Stremme, Toyota, 187, $74,635.
34. (24) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, Accident, 184, $110,868.
35. (43) Robert Richardson Jr., Toyota, Accident, 180, $74,260.
36. (7) Carl Edwards, Ford, 179, $120,351.
37. (41) David Reutimann, Chevrolet, Engine, 162, $73,980.
38. (27) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, Engine, 156, $103,819.
39. (29) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, Parked, 98, $79,000.
40. (42) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, Accident, 16, $78,860.
41. (37) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, Vibration, 12, $70,710.
42. (35) Timmy Hill, Toyota, Electrical, 8, $70,580.
43. (33) Josh Wise, Ford, Overheating, 5, $72,464.

RACE STATISTICS

   Average Speed of Race Winner: 171.194 mph.
   Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 56 Mins, 12 Secs.
   Margin of Victory: Caution.
   Caution Flags: 5 for 17 laps.
   Lead Changes: 54 among 18 drivers.
   Lap Leaders: K. Kahne 1-7; C. Bowyer 8; K. Kahne 9-10; T. Bayne 11; C. Bowyer 12; D. Earnhardt Jr. 13-14; Kyle Busch 15-17; K. Harvick 18; T. Kvapil 19; Kyle Busch 20-22; M. Kenseth 23-32; D. Earnhardt Jr. 33-40; M. Kenseth 41; D. Earnhardt Jr. 42-49; C. Mears 50; J. Burton 51-52; T. Bayne 53-56; C. Mears 57-61; J. Johnson 62-71; J. Gordon 72-78; J. McMurray 79-89; Kurt Busch 90-93; M. Kenseth 94-96; Kurt Busch 97-98; J. Burton 99; J. Johnson 100; D. Ragan 101; M. Ambrose 102-103; M. Kenseth 104-108; K. Harvick 109-116; J. McMurray 117-118; M. Kenseth 119-126; G. Biffle 127; M. Kenseth 128-131; J. McMurray 132-139; T. Kvapil 140-141; C. Mears 142-143; G. Biffle 144-145; K. Harvick 146-147; G. Biffle 148-151; J. McMurray 152; G. Biffle 153-155; J. McMurray 156-160; G. Biffle 161; J. McMurray 162; G. Biffle 163-167; J. McMurray 168; K. Harvick 169; J. McMurray 170; M. Kenseth 171; C. Mears 172-173; J. McMurray 174-181; C. Bowyer 182-187; T. Stewart 188; M. Kenseth 189;.
   Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): J. McMurray 9 times for 38 laps; M. Kenseth 8 times for 33 laps; D. Earnhardt Jr. 3 times for 18 laps; G. Biffle 6 times for 16 laps; K. Harvick 4 times for 12 laps; J. Johnson 2 times for 11 laps; C. Mears 4 times for 10 laps; K. Kahne 2 times for 9 laps; C. Bowyer 3 times for 8 laps; J. Gordon 1 time for 7 laps; Kurt Busch 2 times for 6 laps; Kyle Busch 2 times for 6 laps; T. Bayne 2 times for 5 laps; J. Burton 2 times for 3 laps; T. Kvapil 2 times for 3 laps; M. Ambrose 1 time for 2 laps; D. Ragan 1 time for 1 lap; T. Stewart 1 time for 1 lap.
Top 12 in Points: B. Keselowski - 2,179; J. Johnson - 2,165; D. Hamlin - 2,156; K. Kahne - 2,143; C. Bowyer - 2,139; J. Gordon - 2,137; T. Stewart - 2,133; M. Truex Jr. - 2,131; G. Biffle - 2,130; K. Harvick - 2,130; D. Earnhardt Jr. - 2,128; M. Kenseth - 2,117.

Keselowski Takes Dover, Points Lead and Momentum Into Talladega

HI99 NASCAR News — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 13:18:00 GMT

Brad Keselowski took a win at Dover today, the points lead in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and a boatload of momentum heading into ‘DEGA.

It’s been five years since a driver swept the spring and fall races at Talladega Superspeedway (Jeff Gordon - 2007) but Keselowski is poised to do just that as his team is riding high coming off wins in two of the first three Chase races.

“The last 12 or 13 weeks our cars have been really strong and getting stronger,” said Keselowski. “I’m going to focus on Talladega, it’s only seven days away.”

The wild card in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup has been a strong track for Keselowski who has two wins in only seven NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at ‘DEGA. He boasts five top-10 finishes and only twice has finished outside the top-20. By comparison Jimmie Johnson, currently second place in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings, has only three top-10 finishes and four finishes outside the top-25 at Talladega in that same timeframe.

Could Keselowski pull away from “five-time” with a win at Talladega? Or will the “big one” shuffle the standings? Race fans will have to be here to find out. The local forecast predicts great weather for a weekend of racing at Talladega Superspeedway.