Jamie McMurray’s crew claimed its first Tissot Pit Road Precision Award by taking top honors in Saturday night’s (Sept. 12) NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway.

The Tissot weekly competition, which recognizes the unsung heroes of the sport, has had 17 different winners in the first 26 races of the season.

McMurray’s No. 26 Ford Fusion spent the least amount of time on pit road – 270.639 seconds – during the 400-lap race at the .75-mile short track. The team will collect $5,000 from Tissot for the pit crew win.

“It’s really nice to have this group of guys on our Crown Royal and IRWIN Industrial Tools team get recognized for something good,” said No. 26 crew chief Donnie Wingo. “This weekend’s race at Richmond was a bit of a challenge in regards to our car’s handling, but our team did a great job in the pits, and they’re very deserving of this award. They deserve the recognition because too many times races can be won or lost in the pits, and we have a tremendous crew on our No. 26 team this year.”

The No. 26 over-the-wall crew at Richmond consisted of: Kevin Novak (front tire changer), Brian Huitt (front-tire carrier), Sean Meckelson (jackman), Chris Tompkins (rear-tire changer), Ben Surface (rear-tire carrier), Les Huntley (gas man) and Ben Holm (catch can). The team’s pit crew coach is Jesse Posey.

Greg Biffle’s crew continues to lead the Tissot standings with five wins. The crews for Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are tied for second with three wins each.

The team with the most Tissot Pit Road Precision Award wins at the completion of the 36-race Sprint Cup schedule will receive a $100,000 bonus plus Tissot watches for the crew and driver.

Tissot has been the official watch and timekeeper of NASCAR since 2006. The company is also the official timekeeper for a number of other sports, including the MotoGP World Championship, the Ice Hockey World Championship and the Cycling World Championship.

2009 Tissot Pit Road Precision Award Standings

Pos Team No. Pit Crew For Wins Prize Money

1 16 Greg Biffle 5 25,000

T2 24 Jeff Gordon 3 15,000

T2 48 Jimmie Johnson 3 15,000

4 14 Tony Stewart 2 10,000

T5 43 Reed Sorenson 1 5,000

T5 33 Clint Bowyer 1 5,000

T5 39 Ryan Newman 1 5,000

T5 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 1 5,000

T5 1 Martin Truex Jr. 1 5,000

T5 00 David Reutimann 1 5,000

T5 99 Carl Edwards 1 5,000

T5 42 Juan Pablo Montoya 1 5,000

T5 11 Denny Hamlin 1 5,000

T5 9 Kasey Kahne 1 5,000

T5 20 Joey Logano 1 5,000

T5 44 AJ Allmendinger 1 5,000

T5 26 Jamie McMurray 1 5,000

2009 Tissot Pit Road Precision Award Winners

Daytona, 2/15 Reed Sorenson Team

Fontana, 2/22 Tony Stewart Team

Las Vegas, 3/1 Greg Biffle Team

Atlanta 3/8 Clint Bowyer Team

Bristol, 3/22 Jimmie Johnson Team

Martinsville, 3/29 Jeff Gordon Team

Fort Worth, 4/5 Jeff Gordon Team

Phoenix, 4/18 Ryan Newman Team

Talladega, 4/26 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Team

Richmond, 5/2 Jeff Gordon Team

Darlington, 5/9 Martin Truex Jr. Team

Charlotte, 5/25 David Reutimann Team

Dover, 5/31 Greg Biffle Team

Pocono, 6/7 Carl Edwards Team

Michigan, 6/14 Greg Biffle Team

Sonoma, 6/21 Juan Pablo Montoya Team

New Hampshire, 6/28 Jimmie Johnson Team

Daytona, 7/4 Tony Stewart Team

Chicagoland, 7/11 Denny Hamlin Team

Indianapolis, 7/26 Greg Biffle Team

Pocono, 8/3 Kasey Kahne Team

Watkins Glen, 8/10 Jimmie Johnson Team

Michigan, 8/16 Joe Logano Team

Bristol, 8/22 Greg Biffle Team

Atlanta, 9/6 AJ Allmendinger Team

Richmond, 9/12 Jamie McMurray Team

- DMF Communications for Tissot Pit Road Precision Awards, Press Release

NSCS Red Bull Racing Teams No. 82 & No. 83

Who:

+ FIXTURE AT THE FRONT

Solid” has come to define Scott Speed’s Nationwide Series season in the No. 99 Red Bull Toyota.

For the sixth consecutive race, Speed ran and finished up front, with the latest effort coming in Friday night’s event at Richmond International Raceway.

He started eighth and finished 10th. Happy with the car’s handling around the flat, sweeping short track, Speed called for slight adjustments throughout the 250-lap race. With 25 laps to go, Speed was scored in fifth — his highest position of the evening — and the final of five cautions allowed the leaders one last chance at improving their cars. However for Speed, the adjustments did not sit well, as he
dropped to 10th at the checkered flag.

Speed has nine starts in the No. 99 Red Bull Toyota this season, with one pole, five top-10 and seven top-15 finishes. Based on his average finish of 14.9, had Speed made all 27 starts this season he’d rank fifth in the points standings.

Speed will join the No. 99 team at Michael Waltrip Racing for four more Nationwide races — Dover, Kansas, California and Homestead.

+ UP NEXT FOR SPEED

Dover 200, Saturday, Sept. 26, Dover International Speedway

- Red Bull Racing Team, Press Release

WIX Filters

Hamlin had just won the race, his second of the 2009 season. He had locked up the fourth seed in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. And the Chesterfield, Va. native had just scored his first win in eight races at his home track, Richmond International Raceway. He led 299 of the 400 laps (including the final 195) and easily captured WIX Filters Lap Leader of the Race honors for the fourth time this season. Hamlin held off Kurt Busch by .378 seconds to win, his sixth victory in 141 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.

Cars using WIX Filters claimed their third consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory and have now won 13 of the 26 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races this season in addition to the Budweiser Shootout and Sprint All-Star Race. Five of the 12 drivers in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup use WIX Filters: Tony Stewart, Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman and Juan Pablo Montoya.

“This is my house,” Hamlin said after the race. “It has been for the last two years, we just haven’t got the win to show it. Finally our FedEx Toyota showed that we’re a championship contender.

“It’s a good run for our team. It’s how we have run the last few times here and just haven’t got the win. You know, today everything just came together. We had good pit stops and didn’t make any mistakes. We just kind of paced ourselves at the beginning.”

And just how special was Hamlin’s victory at the .75-mile speedway?

“Like a Daytona 500 win for anyone else,” Hamlin said. “But this one in particular, to me, was ‑‑ especially after all the heartbreak, it makes it more gratifying to win now. It’s by far the biggest win of my career and hopefully goes a long way for this race team over the next ten weeks.”

Hamlin and Jeff Gordon waged an entertaining battle for the lead during the middle stages of the race. The duo exchanged the lead six times over a 100-lap period before Hamlin pulled away.

“That was a ball racing with Jeff (Gordon) there for a while upfront,” Hamlin said. “I was just trying to measure them up and see what I had in case I had to race these guys at the end but for the most part we had the most dominant car all day.”

Hamlin is optimistic about his chances to win the championship, thanks in large part to improvement in the team’s intermediate program. He begins his quest for the series title seeded fourth in the standings, 20 points behind leader Mark Martin.

“We are bringing good cars to the track and being competitive and competing for race wins every week,” Hamlin said. “That’s something we didn’t have in our rookie year when we were racing for the championship. We were racing for the championship on short tracks. We would gain all of our points there and lose them all once we got to the bigger tracks. Now I feel like our big track program, our mile‑and‑a‑half program is better than our short track program. I think with those six or seven races on big tracks, I’m looking forward to. It I think it kind of sets up nicely for us.”

Hamlin averaged 96.601 mph in a race that took 3 hours, six minutes and 20 seconds to complete. There were 12 lead changes among four drivers and the pace was slowed by 10 cautions for 56 laps.

Since 1939, WIX® Filters, a member of the Affinia Group family of brands, has been an innovator in filtration products. WIX designs, manufactures and distributes products for automotive, diesel, agricultural, industrial and specialty filter markets. Its product line includes oil, air, cabin interior, fuel, coolant, transmission and hydraulic filters for automobiles, trucks and off-road equipment. WIX, a member of the Affinia family of brands, is the number one filter in NASCAR and an exclusive NASCAR Performance Product. Its NASCAR relationship also includes the WIX Filters Lap Leader Award, which recognizes the drivers leading the most laps in each race. For more information, visit www.wixfilters.com.

Affinia Group Inc. is an innovative global leader in the design, manufacture, distribution and marketing of industrial grade products and services, including extensive offerings of aftermarket parts for automotive and heavy-duty vehicles. With more than $2 billion in annual revenue, Affinia has operations in North and South America, Europe, Asia and India. For more information, visit www.affiniagroup.com.

*Affinia Group Inc.’s affiliated companies include Brake Parts Inc. WIX Filtration Corp LLC, Affinia Products Corp LLC and other high quality manufacturers of the Affinia family of brands.

- Camp & Associates, Inc., for WIX Filters, Press Release

Raybestos - The Best in Brakes

Hamlin had just won the race, his second of the 2009 season. He had locked up the fourth seed in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. And the Chesterfield, Va. native had just scored his first win in eight races at his home track, Richmond International Raceway. He led 299 of the 400 laps (including the final 195) and held off Kurt Busch by .378 seconds to win, his sixth victory in 141 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.

Hamlin gave Raybestos® brand Brakes, a member of the Affinia Group family of brands, their seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win in 2009 and second in the last three races. Cars using Raybestos® brand Brakes have won four of the five short track races this season including a sweep of races at both Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and Richmond.

“This is my house,” Hamlin said after the race. “It has been for the last two years, we just haven’t got the win to show it. Finally our FedEx Toyota showed that we’re a championship contender.

“It’s a good run for our team. It is how we have run the last few times here and just haven’t got the win. You know, today everything just came together. We had good pit stops and didn’t make any mistakes. We just kind of paced ourselves at the beginning.”

And just how special was Hamlin’s victory at the .75-mile speedway?

“Like a Daytona 500 win for anyone else,” Hamlin said. “But this one in particular, to me, was ‑‑ especially after all the heartbreak, it makes it more gratifying to win now. It’s by far the biggest win of my career and hopefully goes a long way for this race team over the next ten weeks.”

Hamlin and Jeff Gordon waged an entertaining battle for the lead during the middle stages of the race. The duo exchanged the lead six times over a 100-lap period before Hamlin pulled away.

“That was a ball racing with Jeff (Gordon) there for a while upfront,” Hamlin said. “I was just trying to measure them up and see what I had in case I had to race these guys at the end but for the most part we had the most dominant car all day.”

Hamlin is optimistic about his chances to win the championship, thanks in large part to improvement in the team’s intermediate program. He begins his quest for the series title seeded fourth in the standings, 20 points behind leader Mark Martin.

“We are bringing good cars to the track and being competitive and competing for race wins every week,” Hamlin said. “That’s something we didn’t have in our rookie year when we were racing for the championship. We were racing for the championship on short tracks. We would gain all of our points there and lose them all once we got to the bigger tracks. Now I feel like our big track program, our mile‑and‑a‑half program is better than our short track program. I think with those six or seven races on big tracks, I’m looking forward to. It I think it kind of sets up nicely for us.”

Hamlin averaged 96.601 mph in a race that took 3 hours, six minutes and 20 seconds to complete. There were 12 lead changes among four drivers and the pace was slowed by 10 cautions for 56 laps.

To gain a competitive advantage at Richmond, the Joe Gibbs cars used the Raybestos® Sprint Cup braking system. The ultra-lightweight aluminum alloy six-piston calipers are the stiffest and lightest calipers available in all of NASCAR. The innovative calipers were developed using Raybestos® technology partner Alcon’s state of the art “optimized design” process, and include an asymmetric body design and advanced between-piston and crossover cooling features. The brake package also provides for the largest brake pad volume (surface area) and largest rotor (13.15” outside diameter, and 1.65” thick) available in NASCAR.

Raybestos® brand brake and chassis parts are produced by affiliated companies in Affinia’s Global Brake and Chassis Group, the leading manufacturer of braking systems and chassis parts in the transportation industry. The brake line includes everything from brake drums to rotors, pads, shoes and hydraulic parts, while the chassis line features tie rods, ball points, idler arms and sway bar links. Raybestos brand braking and chassis systems are also the only systems used by NASCAR’s Joe Gibbs Racing in competition. For more information about Raybestos brakes, visit Raybestos.com. For more information on Raybestos Chassis visit RaybestosChassis.com

Affinia Group Inc. is an innovative global leader in the design, manufacture, distribution and marketing of industrial grade products and services, including extensive offerings of aftermarket parts for automotive and heavy-duty vehicles. With more than $2 billion in annual revenue, Affinia has operations in North and South America, Europe, Asia and India. For more information, visit www.affiniagroup.com.

Alcon Components USA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Alcon Components Limited, the UK based manufacturer of premium brake and clutch products. Alcon systems are engineered and designed for the most rigorous demands and are widely used throughout the world of motorsport, from Formula One to IndyCar to NASCAR, as well as in various high performance road vehicles including Jaguar, Land Rover and Bentley. For more information, visit www.alconusa.com.

*Affinia Group Inc.’s affiliated companies include Brake Parts Inc. WIX Filtration Corp LLC, Affinia Products Corp LLC and other high quality manufacturers of the Affinia family of brands.

- Camp & Associates, Inc., for Raybestos, Press Release

2009 NSCS No. 47 Clorox Toyota

Denny Hamlin, who is one of the 12 contenders, won the event in front of a hometown crowd while Brian Vickers drove his way into the top-12 Chase for the Cup with a seventh-place finish knocking Matt Kenseth out of 12th and beating fifth-place finisher Kyle Busch for the coveted spot by eight points.

The top 12 championship contenders for the final ten events are Mark Martin, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Brian Vickers, Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman, Juan Pablo Montoya and Greg Biffle.

Saturday night was full of surprises starting with a little rain that slightly delayed the 400-lap event. When NASCAR waved the green flag, Ambrose started from 16th-place in the 43-car field at the .75-mile D-shaped oval. As the first caution of the night occurred with Scott Speed hitting the wall on Lap 4, Ambrose radioed crew chief Frank Kerr about his car’s handling.

“We started the race a little loose on forward drive and as we made some laps it was tight in the middle and loose off,” Ambrose said.

The Australian driver maintained a top 15 spot for nearly 40 laps. At Lap 45, points leader Tony Stewart and Reed Sorenson’s machines got together in Turn 4 to bring out the second caution of the race. Ambrose headed to pit road for four tires and an air pressure adjustment since he had been loose in, tight in the middle and loose off. He returned to racing in 16th-place on Lap 50.

Six laps later Ambrose was jockeying for position as the No. 78 car stalled on the backstretch. A hole opened up on the bottom by Jamie McMurray for 14th-place and Ambrose dove to the bottom for the spot. The two slightly made contact.

“He got loose and got off the bottom and I filled the hole,” Ambrose said.

As Ambrose restarted 14th on Lap 63, he reported a bit of brake fade.

“The brakes would shake too,” Ambrose said.

The No. 47 Clorox® Toyota was on the move and gained three positions to be scored in 11th place

by Lap 64. Holding on to a top-15 position, Ambrose pitted again at lap 106 when a caution

happened for debris. The pit crew changed four tires and shoved a quarter rubber in the right rear

because Ambrose had been loose off.

After pitting and making some more laps, Ambrose reported he was loose off on Lap 138. When

the yellow flag waved at Lap 172 for debris, he was 24th and said he was ‘loose on entry.’ Back on

pit road at Lap 174, the JTG-Daugherty Racing team changed four tires and took the quarter rubber out of the right rear.

On their next stop under caution at Lap 204, Kerr called for a small wedge adjustment in the

Clorox® Toyota and only two tires. The call for two tires was for track position. Ambrose went from

24th to 11th for the restart on Lap 211.

Ambrose eventually fell to 28th and a lap down to leader Hamlin before having the opportunity to pit at Lap 282 for four fresh Goodyear tires. He pitted again on lap 322 and on lap 383 he earned the Lucky Dog and got back on the lead lap. He pitted one final time under caution for more tires and adjustments and fought hard to pass a number of cars to cross the finish line 22nd and post his 19th top-25 finish of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. He remains 17th in the points standings.

Next the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Sylvania 300. Live coverage of the event on Sunday, September 20th on ABC begins at 1 p.m. ET. PRN and Sirius XM Satellite Radio will also broadcast the event.

- JTG-Daugherty Racing, Press Release

Clint Bowyer No. 33 - Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images

RICHMOND, Va. – Clint Bowyer and his Shane Wilson-led Cheerios/Hamburger Helper team were able to lean on their Richard Childress Racing teammates to overcome handling woes in the opening half of the Chevy Rock & Roll 400, giving them what they needed to rally to a sixth-place finish Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway.

The finish advanced Bowyer one position, to 15th, in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings.

Bowyer recorded the fourth- and 28th-fastest times, respectively, in Friday’s twin practice sessions, and followed that up by touring the .75-mile oval in 21.517 seconds, at an average speed of 125.482 mph, in qualifying to earn the 18th-starting spot for the 400-lap event. Later that evening, Bowyer went on to record an 11th-place finish in the 250-lap NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

From the drop of the green flag, Bowyer struggled with a tight-handling Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet. Reporting that the rear end of his Impala SS was overpowering the nose, Bowyer caught a break when the Nos. 14 and 43 cars spun at lap 44 to bring out the second of 10 caution flags of the night. Wilson made the call for slight chassis and air pressure adjustments to the No. 33 machine when Bowyer hit pit road with the rest of the leaders but, when green flag racing resumed, it was evident that the adjustments were too much, as the former Richmond winner reported that he was extremely loose.

As the laps clicked off and RCR teammate Kevin Harvick consistently recorded some of the fastest lap times of the race as he battled at the front of the field, Wilson consulted with Harvick’s crew chief, Gil Martin, on the air pressures of the No. 29 machine. When the caution was displayed at lap 171 for debris, the decision was made to match the air pressures of Harvick’s machine to correct the handling issues of Bowyer’s Chevrolet. The decision proved to be the right one as the Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Impala SS came to life in the second half of the event.

Lightning-fast pit stops by the Helping Hands pit crew, coupled with one of the fastest cars on the track, allowed Bowyer to crack the top five at lap 287. The Emporia, Kan., native would continue to wage battle with the front-runners in the closing stages of the race, but slight contact with the No. 24 of Jeff Gordon on a restart resulted in nose damage to Bowyer’s Chevrolet that would hinder him in the final laps. Despite the damage, Bowyer was able to hold on to the sixth position when the checkered flag flew.

Virginia-native Denny Hamlin was able to hold off Kurt Busch to earn his second win of the 2009 season. Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and Kyle Busch rounded out the top-five finishers.

Bowyer’s RCR teammates Harvick, Jeff Burton and Casey Mears finished ninth, 18th and 30th, respectively.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Loudon, N.H., next week for the second and final time in 2009.

Flag-to-flag coverage of the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway will take the green flag Sunday, Sept. 20 beginning at 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on ABC. The race will also be broadcast on the Performance Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 27th points-paying race on the 2009 Cup Series calendar will be televised live on ESPN2 Friday, Sept. 18 beginning at 3 p.m. EDT and will also broadcast live on PRN and Sirius Satellite Radio.

CLINT BOWYER QUOTE

“We struggled during the first part of the race, but once we got the air pressure dialed in, the Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet was pretty good. I got into the (No.) 24 towards the ends and I hated that happened, but the damage from that had us off at the end. All in all, it was a good night for us.”

- Richard Childress Racing, Press Release

Max Papis

In the opening practice session, Papis and the #13 GEICO Camry focused solely on race set-ups, leaving Papis sitting 38th at the end of the session. Final practice would take place in qualifying set-up and the #13 GEICO Camry picked up speed and rested 36th on the final chart, sitting ahead of three other ‘go or go home’ cars. With 44 cars entered in the event, Papis would have to out-hustle a single car to qualify for the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Sounds easy enough, except that Papis and the GEICO team were competing against drivers such as Joe Nemechek, Regan Smith, Tony Raines and Dave Blaney for the honor of being part of Saturday night’s event.

When qualifying got underway, Papis and the #13 GEICO Camry would be the first out among the ‘go or go home’ cars. The progress would continue, as Papis would turn his fastest lap of the day in qualifying, touring the facility in just 21.992 seconds. His time would be good enough to bump out Tony Raines and take his place at the table.

Less than an hour before driver introductions were to get underway on Saturday evening, Mother Nature showed up at the race, dumping rain on the raceway. While the All-American Rejects didn’t seem to mind and kept playing their pre-race concert in the rain, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series would be forced to pray and wait. The rain would clear shortly thereafter and the jet dryers would make their way around the racetrack, quickly drying the ¾-mile D-shaped oval.

Starting 43rd, Papis and the #13 GEICO Camry would immediately move forward when the green flag was displayed. By Lap 4, when the caution came out due to Scott Speed’s collision with the wall between turns one and two, Papis had moved the GEICO Camry into the 39th position.

Papis would battle a tight condition most of the evening and would report that the GEICO Camry was very hard to turn. Regardless, he would still manage to dip inside the Top 35 while running solid lap times throughout the evening. On Lap 280, engineer Ryan Coniam radioed to Papis, “You just ran consistent Top 20 lap times for ten consecutive laps.” As the race came to a close under clear skies and cool temperatures, Papis and the GEICO Racing team recorded a 37th place finish, improving from their 43rd starting position.

“I’m glad we got to run the whole race and get the experience on this type of short track because these are tough tracks and I felt we did a good job of getting the #13 GEICO Camry in the show,” Papis said. “It’s tough not running the whole season because of the amount of pressure on us to qualify each week. We had a couple of good practice sessions and made the car better and better. We crashed out of Atlanta last week, so it was important to come out here this weekend and run all the laps and continue to gain experience and get seat time.” He continued, “We’re going to New Hampshire next week to run the #9 GEICO Tundra. I’m excited that I will be on-track every week through the end of the year because it will help me continue to learn and to stay active each week instead of just showing up every two or three weeks. I am thankful for GEICO’s support and together we will continue building this program.”

Mad Max and the GEICO team will travel to Loudon, New Hampshire, this week for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. Papis will be behind the wheel of the #9 GEICO Toyota Tundra.

Papis will take to the 1.058-mile oval of New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the opening practice session at 10:30 AM (ET) on Friday, September 18th. Qualifying will be held on Saturday at 10:05 AM (ET).

The Heluva Good! 200 is on Saturday, September 19th, and it will be televised live on SPEED beginning at 2:30 PM (ET), while the Motor Racing Network (MRN) will carry the live radio broadcast.

To learn more about Max Papis and the GEICO Racing program, please visit: www.geicogarage.com

You can also follow GEICO Racing on Twitter: www.twitter.com/geicoracing

- Player Management International, Inc., for GEICO Racing, Press Release

2009 NNS Matt Kenseth (Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Kenseth, who had been inside the top 12 after each of the first 25 races of the season, lost two spots in the ‘regular season’ finale, dropping to 14th and finishing 38 points on the outside of the top-12 Chase contenders.

“Honestly, we did approach it like any other race,” said Kenseth after the race on pit road. “This is about how we ran the last four Richmond races. We just haven’t been competitive, so, really since California this year it’s been a downhill slide for us. We’ve slowly fallen back in the points every week, so I can’t say I’m very surprised we didn’t make it, but we’ve been working on it hard, we’re just weak in a few areas.

“I’m really disappointed we didn’t make it, but we just didn’t perform good enough. Yeah, there were some mistakes here and there, and there were some points left on the table, but you can say that every year. Basically, we didn’t perform good enough. We didn’t run good enough to be in and the way we ran the last three months we didn’t really deserve to be in there.”

“We need to figure out why because none of our cars really run the way they should,” added Kenseth. “I wish we weren’t in this spot, but we did the best we could and we’ll try again next week.

Kenseth, who had made each of the first five Chases, started the season with back-to-back wins at the Daytona 500 and at California Speedway. He finished each of the first 25 races of the season inside the top 12 and entered the 26th and final race before the cutoff point 20 points in front of 13th. It marks the first time in the existence of the 10-race Case for the Sprint Cup that Kenseth will not be a part of the 12-man field.

Kyle Busch fell short of the Chase as well, with Brian Vickers earning the 12th and final spot. Busch and Kenseth end the 26-race stretch on the outside looking in, despite combining for almost 25 percent of the series wins in 2009.

It is the first time that Kenseth has been outside the Sprint Cup top 12 in driver points since June of ’08. The 25th-place finish marked the first time the veteran has finished outside to top 14 in the past seven races and it is the team’s worst finish since March.

The team will look to regroup next weekend when the series travels to New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

- Roush Fenway Racing, Press Release

Kyle Busch - Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), finished a solid fifth in Saturday night’s Chevy Rock & Roll 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. But despite Busch’s seventh top-five finish of 2009, he and the M&M’s team came up just eight points shy of making the 12-driver Chase for the Championship.

Brian Vickers – Busch’s primary competitor in securing a spot in the Chase – finished seventh in Saturday night’s race, giving him a season-to-date total 3,203 points to Busch’s 3,195.

“It’s a conglomerate of points that we sacrificed all year,” Busch said. “It’s unfortunate for the whole M&M’s organization. Victoria Mars was here tonight hoping that we could make it into the Chase. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to. We didn’t have the best of years to be consistent, and unfortunately, that bit us. We can always look toward the rest of the year to try to win some races and go out with a bang and try to build on something for next year.

“I’ve been struggling a little bit this year with these cars for some reason. Last year I took to them real quick. Thanks to Joe (Gibbs) and J.D. (Gibbs) and everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing. It wasn’t tonight – it was a good, strong top-five finish. That was a hard battle all night. My arms are sore, my back is sore, but it was fun to be able to race all these guys. Vickers put up a whale of a fight there at the end. I just want to thank M&M’s, Combos, Snickers – we missed it.”

Despite the disappointing outcome, the M&M’s team didn’t go down without a fight. Busch raced among the top-10 throughout the 400-lap race and the M&M’s pit crew gave him outstanding service throughout the evening, gaining him precious spots nearly every time the No. 18 Toyota came to pit road. In fact, the over-the-wall team did not lose a spot off pit road all night, and gained at least one spot on all but one pit stop.

“The pit crew has earned a steak dinner a few times here these past couple weeks,” said Busch. “They’ve done a phenomenal job. They kept us in the game tonight. We lost some spots on the racetrack. Every time I came down pit road, it gained us a spot or two, and when you’ve got a crew like that – that you can count on to gain you spots – it’s the world.”

With 20 laps remaining, Busch was seventh and Vickers was fourth with a 31-point advantage. Then the yellow caution flag waved, giving Busch one more chance to close the gap.

Quick pit work by the M&M’s crew got Busch out in front of Vickers and when the race restarted on lap 386. Busch was in sixth and Vickers was in seventh – giving Busch a chance to move ahead of him in points.

Unfortunately, while Busch got up to fifth, Vickers held off the hard-charging cars of Sam Hornish Jr., and Kevin Harvick to keep the 12th and final spot in the Chase.

“It’s very, very frustrating,” Busch said. “I’m heartbroken, but the good Lord put me in this predicament for some reason and someday I’ll find out what it is. Right now, I’m not quite sure. We’ll take this and go the rest of the year and try to win some more races. We just need to work on our consistency. We picked up at some tracks that we needed to and we faltered at some tracks that we thought we were good at. Just wasn’t our year and wasn’t meant to be for some reason.”

Busch’s JGR teammate, Denny Hamlin, beat Kurt Busch by .378 of a second to win the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 and score the sixth victory of his Sprint Cup career, his second of the season and his first at Richmond. The win was especially meaningful to Hamlin as he grew up in Chesterfield, Va., just 22 miles from Richmond International Raceway.

“Congratulations to Denny,” Busch said. “He’s wound up here about winning in his hometown, so congrats to the whole FedEx team.”

Four-time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon was third and Mark Martin was fourth. Clint Bowyer, Vickers, Hornish, Kevin Harvick and Ryan Newman comprised the remainder of the top-10.

Busch’s other JGR teammate, Joey Logano, finished 14th. He is currently 19th in the standings with 2,705 points.

Richmond marked the last race of the regular season, as the Chase for the Championship is now on. Representing JGR in this year’s Chase is Hamlin. This is Hamlin’s fourth appearance in the Chase. His best finish was third in 2006, his first full season of Sprint Cup competition.

Only the top-12 drivers in points are eligible to compete for the Chase for the Championship. NASCAR recalibrated the points for those in the top-12 as soon as the Richmond race was over, with each driver getting 5,000 points, plus 10 bonus points for each of their respective wins during the 26-race regular season. For drivers starting the Chase with identical point totals, their seed was determined by the traditional tiebreaker of best finishes beyond race victories.

Ranked in order of where their bonus points seeded them, the drivers competing for this year’s championship are:

1. Mark Martin (5,040 points)
2. Tony Stewart (5,030 points, -10)
3. Jimmie Johnson (5,030 points, -10)
4. Denny Hamlin (5,020 points -20)
5. Kasey Kahne (5,020 points, -20)
6. Jeff Gordon (5,010 points, -30)
7. Kurt Busch (5,010 points, -30)
8. Brian Vickers (5,010 points, -30)
9. Carl Edwards (5,000 points -40)
10. Ryan Newman (5,000 points, -40)
11. Juan Pablo Montoya (5,000 points, -40)
12. Greg Biffle (5,000 points, -40)

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule – the first race of the 10-race Chase for the Championship – is the Sept. 20 Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. The race begins at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by ABC beginning with its pre-race show at 1 p.m.

- True Speed Communication for Joe Gibbs Racing/Mars SnackFoods, US, Press Release

No78 World Vision Furniture Row Racing

Smith’s impressive 53-race streak of never having a DNF (did not finish) in his Sprint Cup career came to an end in Saturday night’s Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

A flat tire on Lap 206 of 400 caused Smith’s No. 78 World Vision Chevrolet Impala SS to lose control and crash into the concrete retaining wall. The car was heavily damaged, forcing the 25-year-old driver to retire from the race early. He was credited with a 40th-place finish.

“Sooner or later something like this was going to happen,” said Smith. “The tire blew and I smacked the wall. It was a pretty good hit and I knew then that we were going to take an early exit from the race. It’s disappointing and frustrating, but we’ll get over it and begin to focus on our next race in Dover (Sept. 27).”

Smith, who was driving the World Vision Chevy for the part-time Furniture Row Racing team, qualified 35th and made early gains on the .75-mile oval. But as he started to get into a rhythm his car began to sputter when both of the car batteries lost power, which eventually burned the alternator. The malfunction forced lengthy repairs to the No. 78 Chevy.

“We just never got going tonight,” offered Smith. “The loss of power and then the flat tire — I guess you could say it wasn’t our day. We really wanted to come out strong and give World Vision and Furniture Row Racing a good showing, but the luck cycle wasn’t on our side.”

The race winner was Denny Hamlin. Rounding out the top-five in order were: Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and Kyle Busch.

- DMF Communications for Furniture Row Racing, Press Release

Ryan Newman

The U.S. Army/Haas Automation driver made yet another late-race comeback as he took over the 10th position on the final lap of the 400-lap race at the .75-mile short track. It was the third straight top-10 for Newman and his 12th of the season.

Regarding the Chase, it will be the first time in three years that Newman will be involved in the championship format. He did however earn a spot in the Chase during the first two years of the competition — in 2004 and 2005.

“If feels awesome, especially after not making it (Chase) for so many years,” said an elated Newman. “We just never let up all season in the Army/Haas Automation Chevrolet Impala SS. When things wouldn’t go right we would just battle harder.

“This is our payback to our Soldiers who give us the mental strength and inspiration to keep on pounding away until the mission is completed. I’m so proud to represent the U.S. Army and knowing that I’m driving for over a million Soldiers fighting for our freedom. This is a win for them, too.”

Tony Stewart, Newman’s teammate and co-owner of the Stewart-Haas Racing team, finished 17th in the race and is also Chase bound, giving the first-year organization two positions in NASCAR’s championship playoffs.

“We just did what we wanted to do and that’s why it feels so good,” explained Newman. “It’s a dream come true. To think back to Daytona going through basically three race cars and make it to Richmond here and be in this position, it says a lot about the hard work that (crew chief) Tony Gibson, (owner) Tony Stewart and everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing have put into this effort.

“We still have the final 10 (Chase) races to go and need to pick up our performance a little bit. Those 10 races are all about having fun — can’t really lose anything, but there’s a lot to gain.”

Newman is positioned 10th in the Chase seeding while Stewart is seeded second. (see below for Chase seeds)

The 10-race, 12-driver Chase for the Sprint Cup begins Sunday (Sept. 20) at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.

The Richmond race winner was Denny Hamlin. Rounding out the top-five in order were: Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and Kyle Busch.

Chase Seeds
1. Mark Martin, 5040 points
2. Tony Stewart, 5030
3. Jimmie Johnson, 5030
4. Denny Hamlin, 5020
5. Kasey Kahne, 5020
6. Jeff Gordon, 5010
7. Kurt Busch, 5010
8. Brian Vickers, 5010
9. Carl Edwards, 5000
10. Ryan Newman, 5000
11. Juan Pablo Montoya, 5000
12. Greg Biffle, 5000

- DMF Communications for U.S. Army Racing, Press Release

Tony Stewart - Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

Tony Stewart was a bit conflicted after Saturday night’s Chevy Rock & Roll 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. He and his Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) teammate Ryan Newman were in the elite, 12-driver Chase for the Championship – an impressive feat for any organization, let alone one in its inaugural season.

As co-owner of SHR with Oxnard, Calif.-based Haas Automation – the largest CNC machine tool builder in the western world – Stewart the team owner was happy and impressed with what his foray into NASCAR team ownership had produced.

Stewart the driver, however, was none too pleased with his 17th-place finish in the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 – one of just eight finishes outside the top-10.

“I’m disappointed with my effort tonight. I made mistakes as a driver that I normally cuss people for doing, but from an ownership standpoint, I’m ecstatic to have us locked in and extremely proud for Ryan and everybody on the U.S. Army team to get themselves locked in,” said Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala SS for SHR. “This is a hard night to run when you have to fight your way into the championship Chase. It seems like there’s so many ways you can screw yourself up and only a few ways to ensure that you’re going to be in. So I’m really proud of their effort and I’m proud of my guys effort, too. None of us on our team and none of us at Ryan’s or anybody at Stewart-Haas know the meaning of quit. So we are excited about 10 great weeks coming up.”

Richmond marked the last race of the regular season, as the Chase for the Championship is now on. This is Stewart’s fifth appearance in the Chase and the third for Newman. Stewart won the Chase in 2005 – the second year of the format – to collect his second Sprint Cup championship. (Stewart’s first championship came in 2002 under the old NASCAR Winston Cup Series format.) Newman finished seventh in his Chase debut in 2004 and sixth in 2005.

Only the top-12 drivers in points are eligible to compete for the Chase for the Championship. NASCAR recalibrated the points for those in the top-12 as soon as the Richmond race was over, with each driver getting 5,000 points, plus 10 bonus points for each of their respective wins during the 26-race regular season. For drivers starting the Chase with identical point totals, their seed was determined by the traditional tiebreaker of best finishes beyond race victories.

Ranked in order of where their bonus points seeded them, the drivers competing for this year’s championship are:

1. Mark Martin (5,040 points)

2. Tony Stewart (5,030 points, -10)

3. Jimmie Johnson (5,030 points, -10)

4. Denny Hamlin (5,020 points -20)

5. Kasey Kahne (5,020 points, -20)

6. Jeff Gordon (5,010 points, -30)

7. Kurt Busch (5,010 points, -30)

8. Brian Vickers (5,010 points, -30)

9. Carl Edwards (5,000 points -40)

10. Ryan Newman (5,000 points, -40)

11. Juan Pablo Montoya (5,000 points, -40)

12. Greg Biffle (5,000 points, -40)

Stewart claimed his Chase berth four races ago by simply starting the Aug. 16 Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. Thanks to three wins and a series-leading 13 top-fives and 18 top-10s, he slots in at second.

“The system is a good system,” said Stewart, alluding to the point system where after leading it for 13 straight weeks he’s now second with the recalibrated Chase standings. “It’s not devastating to leave here and be second in the points after leading for so long. I mean, we all knew what the system was going in. It’s a fair system. It’s an exciting system.

“We’re not leaving here with our heads down because we’re now second in the points. We’re right there in striking distance, and if we can put together 10 great weeks, then we will be the champion. If we don’t, then we didn’t deserve it.”

That Stewart and his race team are even in this position is amazing considering that the last driver/owner to contend for a championship was Alan Kulwicki in 1992 – a title he eventually won.

“I am extremely proud,” said Stewart when asked about how far his team has come in such a short period of time. “I am proud of everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing. I am proud of Gene Haas (owner, Haas Automation) and Joe Custer (senior vice president, SHR) that gave us the opportunity to be partners with them and help build this organization, and also Rick Hendrick and everybody at Hendrick Engines and Chassis. We just have a great package. We have a great group of people. We have a great support system with Rick and his guys. Everybody has done an awesome job of working over the winter. Darian Grubb (crew chief for Stewart), Tony Gibson (crew chief for Newman), Ryan Newman, Office Depot, Old Spice, U.S. Army, Burger King and all these people that believed in us and wanted to come and be a part of this program helped us get where we are today.”

Lost in the Chase hoopla was that there was a race winner at Richmond. Denny Hamlin beat Kurt Busch by .378 of a second to win the Chevy Rock & Roll 400. It was his sixth career Sprint Cup victory, his second of the season and his first at Richmond. The win was especially meaningful to Hamlin as he grew up in Chesterfield, Va., just 22 miles from Richmond International Raceway.

Finishing third was Jeff Gordon, while Martin and Kyle Busch rounded out the top-five. Clint Bowyer, Brian Vickers, Sam Hornish Jr., Kevin Harvick and Newman comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were 10 caution periods for 56 laps, with six drivers failing to finish the 400-lap race.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule – the first race of the 10-race Chase for the Championship – is the Sept. 20 Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. The race begins at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by ABC beginning with its pre-race show at 1 p.m.

- True Speed Communication for Stewart-Haas Racing/Office Depot Racing/Old Spice Racing, Press Release

Bobby Labonte DLP/Yates Racing/Hall of Fame Racing

From the drop of the green flag Labonte reported that his DLP Ford was “tight in the center and loose off”. Four cautions stalled the first 100 laps of the race and each time Labonte brought his No. 96 to pit road for four tires and fuel as well as numerous adjustments in hopes of resolving the ill-handling problems Labonte reported. By lap 160 Labonte had worked his way up to 29th place, but still complained that his No. 96 was “loose.”

A series of scheduled pit stops were made throughout the race and numerous adjustments including: track bar, wedge, spring rubbers and air pressure were thrown at the No. 96. Nothing seemed to help and Labonte struggled to maintain track position. When the checkers waved Labonte crossed the finish line in 31st position.

“The car was hard to turn in the center and really loose off,” said Labonte. “We worked on it all night and just didn’t get it where it needed to be. With the track changing throughout the night, it was just hard for the guys to help it.”

Denny Hamlin won the Rock & Roll 400. Kurt Busch was second, followed by Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin – all secured spots in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Despite his fifth-place finish, Kyle Busch was nudged out of the Chase by Brian Vickers, who came home seventh.

The rest of the Chase field includes: Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman, Juan Pablo Montoya and Greg Biffle.

UPCOMING RACE:

New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009

2:00 p.m. (EST) ABC television and PRN radio

LABONTE’S RICHMOND STATS:

Start: 37th
Finish: 31st
Laps: 398/400
Points: 70

TEAM 96 2009 CUMULATIVE STATS:

Races: 26 of 36
Points: 2299
Rank: 30th
Top fives: One
Top 10s: One
Starts: 25
Poles: 0

- Yates Racing/Hall of Fame Racing, Press Release

Paul Menard

After an overcast afternoon at the .75-mile Richmond International Raceway, a small rain storm moved over the speedway an hour before the race was scheduled to begin. The brief rain delayed the start of the race by 30 minutes as track personnel worked quickly to get the track dried for the 400-lap shootout among 43 drivers.

Menard started the race from the 42nd position and quickly worked his way to the 33rd position by the time the first caution flag was displayed on lap five when the No. 82 car spun going into turn one. During the caution Menard noted the car was a little tight in the exit of the corners.

On lap 44, Menard came down pit road during a caution period for wreck on the speedway. During the stop, the team changed four tires, added two cans of fuel and made a slight air pressure adjustment. Back on the track, Menard noted the air pressure change was not enough to help with the handling and asked crew chief Larry Carter for more adjustments during the next stop.

The caution flag was displayed again on lap 52 for a stalled car on the backstretch of the speedway. During the caution period Menard returned to pit road for four new tires and another air pressure adjustment. The change seemed to help Menard a little bit, but not enough to help him work through traffic during the next green flag run.

The team pitted again on lap 108, this time changing four tires and making a chassis adjustment that seemed to help with the handling of the No. 98 Turtle Wax / Menard Ford Fusion.

During the next green flag run, Menard was lapped by race leader and eventual race winner, Denny Hamlin. The No. 98 Menards team did not give up and continued to work hard to make their car handle better for Menard.

After going down another lap, a heads-up call by crew chief Larry Carter helped the No. 98 team pick up one of their lost laps, leaving them only one lap down to the leader with 80 laps remaining in the event.

Menard battled hard to the end and crossed the finish line in the 28th position. Hometown favorite Denny Hamlin won his first Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway.

“In race trim I thought we had a really good car,” Menard said following the race. “I really think that if we could have qualified a little bit better tonight, we would have finished a lot stronger tonight. I messed up in qualifying and put us further back than what we would have wanted to start tonight. A few more positions in qualifying would have made a lot of difference in the race and going down those laps. Larry (Carter) and the guys gave me a great car tonight, but we just never got the track position we needed to make any big moves.”

Next week, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads back to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the second time this season. ABC television and MRN radio affiliates will carry the live race broadcast beginning at 2:00 p.m. (EST).

NEXT UP:

Sylvania 300

New Hampshire Motor Speedway (1.058-mile speedway)

Loudon, N.H.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

ABOUT MENARDS

Well-known as the place to “Save Big Money,” Menards is a family-owned home improvement retailer with 252 hometown hardware stores in 12 Midwestern states. Menards carries all the tools, materials and supplies for all your home improvement needs from just needing a light bulb to building a new house. Most Menards stores also carry name brand appliances, pet products, lawn and garden supplies and even groceries as your one-stop shopping experience. There is something for everyone at Menards from the beginning do-it-yourselfer to the experienced contractor. The company’s strength and success can be seen in the well-stocked and maintained stores, the lowest prices in the area and the way guests are always treated like family in a hometown hardware store atmosphere.

For more information, visit www.menards.com or www.menardsracing.com

ABOUT YATES RACING

Yates Racing currently operates three motorsports teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Formerly known as Robert Yates Racing, the team is owned by Doug Yates, who took the reins after his father, Robert Yates, retired following the 2007 season. In 2008, Doug partnered with Max Jones; a former road racer and long-time race team championship General Manager. During Yates Racing’s 21-year tenure in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series, the organization has earned a total of 57 wins, 49 poles, 270 top-five finishes, 433 top-ten finishes, and a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship. In 2009, Hall of Fame Racing has teamed up with Yates Racing to field the No. 96 Ford Fusion in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Sponsorship opportunities are available; please contact Jon Sands with Yates Racing at 704-720-4621 or visit www.yatesracing.com.

- Yates Racing, Press Release

Denny Hamlin, a Chesterfield, Va., native has in the past likened a win a Richmond to winning the Daytona 500. He had previously dominated at Richmond twice before suffering some kind of problem within the last 20 or so laps of the race to keep him from victory lane.

Hamlin came into the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 already locked into the Chase, but he was still looking for that Richmond win that had alluded him. He finally accomplished that childhood dream of winning at his home track Saturday night, running up front and battling Jeff Gordon for the lead much of the event. - Full Story by Amanda Vincent – Louisville NASCAR Examiner