Ron Hornaday Jr. celebrates his 50th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory after winning the Kentucky 225 on Saturday at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Ky. - Photo Credit: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images for NASCAR

Fourteen-year veteran notches his 50th career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory

SPARTA, Ky. - Kevin Harvick, Inc., (KHI) driver Ron Hornaday, Jr., scored his 50th career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) victory, his third series win at Kentucky Speedway through eight starts and third this season in tonight’s “Kentucky 225.”

The 14-year NCWTS veteran and his No. 2 Hollywood Casino Chevrolet crossed the finish line 0.438 of a second ahead of Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Dillon and his No. 3 Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevrolet in the fifth-closest series finish through 13 all-time events at the track.

Crew chief Bruce Cook successfully navigated Hornaday, Jr., through seven caution periods that covered 36 race laps and made a stellar race-winning call when he brought the No. 2 truck to pit road on Lap 134.

Hornaday, Jr., rejoined the 225-mile battle and assumed the race lead for a fourth and final time just six laps later when Dillon, the race pole sitter, dove his truck to the pit road.

Dillon exited the pits and mounted a furious charge toward the front, but the savvy Hornaday, Jr., expertly managed his truck’s fuel mileage through the closing 11 race laps and captured the checkered flag along with his 10th top-five and 14th top-10 finish through 20 races this season.

He ended the night with a race-best 42 laps led.

“They ask, ‘what’s your favorite track?’ I tell them the ones where I win. I’ve won three at Kentucky, so this is my most favorite right now. To see the fans come out, as cold as it is, to see what we accomplished tonight, that’s pretty awesome.

“Bruce made an awesome call. We came in, everyone else stayed out and we put four (tires) on and ran the leaders down. We were running second and he (Austin Dillon) had to pit to come in and get fuel. We got an extra 20 laps on him. That’s the call that won the race,” Hornaday, Jr., said.

Dillon delivered his third consecutive and eighth top-five finish of the season while raising his season top-10 finish total to 12. He extended his series championship lead from two to three points ahead of Turner Motorsports driver James Buescher, who placed third tonight and notched fifth top-five finish in his past eight starts in the No. 31 Exide Chevrolet.

“I was trying everything and driving really hard, but the right front started pushing really bad and I got tight in traffic. I could gain a lot on entry to the center on him (Hornaday, Jr.), but that was really our only chance. Other than that, I got so tight there on the last run.

“The guys did a really good job on pit road all night, but we had a little problem with the water temp getting really high at one point and I was getting worried about it, so I backed off and that’s where we lost some of our lead. It was a good points day for us, everyone’s still close. We’ll go to Las Vegas (on Oct. 15), a place where we won last year, and take this same truck and see if we can do it again,” Dillon said.

KHI driver Nelson Piquet, Jr., who led three times tonight for 40 laps, took fourth in the No. 8 Autotrac/ Qualcomm Chevrolet and Brian Ickler rounded the race top five in the No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota.

Tonight’s race set two new NCWTS track records with 18 lead changes and 11 different leaders.

Action continues tomorrow at Kentucky Speedway with an open-wheel doubleheader. The fun begins at 10:15 a.m., with an IZOD IndyCar Series (IICS) autograph session just outside Gate 18 at the track. The Firestone Indy Lights “Kentucky 100” is set for a 12:30 p.m., start and the green flag will wave for the IZOD IndyCar Series “Kentucky Indy 300” at 2:50 p.m.

Tickets remain and will be available at the speedway gates.

- Kentucky Speedway, Press Release

Ron Hornaday - Photo Credit: Justin Edmonds/Getty Images for NASCAR

Hornaday, who sat on the outside pole, also received his third series win of the 2011 season, and his third series win at Kentucky Speedway.

Following Hornaday and Dillon to the drop of the checkered flag were James Buescher (who trails points leader Austin Dillon by 3-points in the standings) finishing third, Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender, Nelson Piquet, Jr., fourth and Brian Ickler finished fifth.

Rounding out the top-ten finishers were Ricky Carmichael who finished sixth, Todd Bodine seventh, Sunoco Rookie contender, Cole Whitt eighth, Dakoda Armstrong ninth and David Starr finishing in the tenth position.

RACE NOTES:

Average Speed: 116.046 MPH
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 56 Mins, 20 Secs.
Margin of Victory: 0.438 Seconds
Lead Changes: 18 among 11 drivers
Cautions: 7 for 36 laps
Attendance: 22,000

Unofficial Top-Ten in the Point Standings: 1. Austin Dillon – 704 (Leader) 2. James Buescher – 701 (-3 Points Behind The Leader) 3. Johnny Sauter – 685 (-19) 4. Timothy Peters – 664 ( -40) 5. Ron Hornaday Jr. – 662 (-42) 6. Joey Coulter # –  634 (-70) 7. Cole Whitt # – 632 (-72) 8. Matt Crafton – 631 (-73) 9. Todd Bodine – 631 (-73) 10. Parker Kligerman # – 608 (-96).

Next Up: The teams will have next weekend off and return to action on Saturday, Oct. 15th, for the Smith’s 350 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

2011 NCWTS Kentucky 225 Race Results

(i) Ineligible for Points in this Series
# Denotes Rookie
PE Post-Entry (No-Points Awarded)

Austin Dillon - Photo Credit: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images for NASCAR

This was Dillon’s 5th series pole of the 2011 season, his 12th series career pole and his 2nd series pole at Kentucky Speedway.

Ron Hornaday Jr., will start in second with a qualifying lap speed of 178.601 mph, and will be followed by Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender, Nelson Piquet, Jr. (178.383) starting third, Brian Ickler (178.371)  fourth and Justin Lofton (178.165) will start fifth.

Rounding out the top-ten starting positions will be Matt Crafton (177.661) starting from sixth, Sunoco Rookie contender, Parker Kligerman  (177.451) seventh, James Buescher (177.322) eighth and Sunoco Rookie contenders, Joey Coulter (177.282) and Cole Whitt (177.020) will start ninth and tenth respectively

No one failed to make the starting lineup.

The Kentucky 225 is scheduled to get underway around 8:20 PM (EDT) this evening, and SPEED will begin their (pre-race) coverage at 7:30 PM (EDT).

2011 NCWTS Kentucky 225 Starting Lineup

(i) Ineligible for Points in this Series
# Denotes Rookie

2011 Austin Dillon - Photo Credit: Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender,  Nelson Piquet, Jr., was second fastest with a lap speed of  177.136 mph, Ron Hornaday Jr. (176.626) was third fastest, Matt Crafton (176.563) fourth fastest and Sunoco Rookie contender, Joey Coulter (176.401) was the fifth fastest.

Rounding out the top-ten fastest during “Happy Hour” were Brian Ickler (176.211) who was sixth fastest, Sunoco Rookie contender, Cole Whitt (175.924) seventh fastest, Johnny Sauter (175.844) eighth, James Buescher (175.587) ninth and  Ty Dillon (175.490) posting the tenth fastest lap speed.

The teams return to the track on Saturday for their 4:15 PM (EDT -Tape-Delayed until 6:00 PM by SPEED) scheduled qualifying session to determine the starting lineup for that evening’s Kentucky 225 (scheduled to get underway approximately at 8:20 PM – EDT).

2011 NCWTS Kentucky 225 Final Practice Session Speeds

(i) Ineligible for Points in this Series
# Denotes Rookie
* Required to Qualify on Time

Raybestos - The Best in Brakes

Busch, in his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota, took the checkered flag to secure his third series win of the season and the top spot in the series standings. Busch had the dominant car throughout the night, leading 125 of the night’s 267 laps.

All three JGR team placed inside the top 15 with Denny Hamlin finishing 10^th and Joey Logano finishing 14^th.  This was the fourth Sprint Cup win of the 2011 season for Joe Gibbs Racing, now tied with fellow Raybestos brakes customer Roush Fenway Racing for posting the most wins so far this year.

The Raybestos Intermediate racing brake package used by NASCAR teams like Joe Gibbs combine ample stopping power with a considerable weight savings advantage on tracks like Kentucky’s 1.5-Mile Tri-Oval.

Employees of the Affinia Friction R&D Center and Raybestos racing brake pad manufacturing facility in nearby Winchester, Kentucky, were on hand as guests of JGR in the garage before the race — and enjoyed watching Busch in action, charging through the field on the Raybestos racing brake pads manufactured in their Kentucky plant.

“The Raybestos brake pads, and entire brake package, performed exactly as we expected them to — all night long,” said JGR Crew Chief Dave Rogers.  “The #18 Toyota Camry was quick in Kentucky, from start to finish.”

For reliable performance, all the Joe Gibbs Sprint Cup racecars are also equipped with Raybestos Racing ball joints and tie rods. The premium quality chassis parts help fine-tune each car’s suspension setup for optimal grip and handling.

The lessons learned on tracks like Kentucky are continually translated into product improvements across the entire Raybestos product line, which include racing, street performance, police patrol/pursuit vehicles and heavy-duty trucks.

For more information on the Raybestos Sprint Cup braking system, or for questions on any Raybestos brand brake or chassis products, visit www.raybestos.com or call 800-323-0354.

Raybestos^® Raybestos^® brand brake parts are produced by affiliated companies in Affinia’s Global Brake & Chassis Group, the leading manufacturer of braking systems in the transportation industry. The Raybestos brakes product line includes everything from brake drums to rotors, pads, shoes, calipers and hydraulic parts. Raybestos brand racing brakes are used by premier teams such as Joe Gibbs Racing, Roush Fenway Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports in NASCAR^® competition. In addition, the Raybestos brand is the preferred racing brake pad of IZOD^® IndyCar^® Series and Firestone^® Indy Lights road and street course competition. For more information about Raybestos brakes, visit Raybestos.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 approximately $2.0 billion in annual revenue, Affinia has operations in North and South America, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.affiniagroup.com.

- Raybestos, Press Release

NASCAR Logo

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (July 12, 2011) –

Busch’s strong start pushed the No. 18 Toyota Camry to the front, leading most of the first half of the race. As the event progressed, cautions put extra importance on restarts, a skill at which Busch excels. On the final restart, he fought off five-time champion Jimmie Johnson with two laps remaining, helping him earn the American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award, provided to the driver that records the fastest average speed on restarts and finishes the race on the lead lap. Busch also recorded the fastest lap of the race to capture the Goodyear Gatorback Fastest Lap Award.

When Busch relinquished the lead later in the race, strong pit stops helped get him back in front and gave crew chief Dave Rogers his fifth DIRECTV Crew Chief of the Race Award, which is awarded based on combined starting and finishing position. Finally, JGR head engine builder Mark Cronquist captured his fourth MAHLE Clevite Engine Builder of the Race Award of the season. The award is earned for providing consistent power based on qualifying and finishing position.

“I think Kyle and Dave will both tell you it’s a total team sport,” said team owner Joe Gibbs. “When I watch these guys going over the wall, that group is awesome, I got to tell you. Dave made great calls. Certainly the whole team performed extremely well.”

The awards are part of the NASCAR Prize Money and Decal Program, also referred to as the contingency program, which provides teams prize money and weekly awards based on performance in several categories.

“I was pretty confident that we were the car to beat,” said Busch after the race. “Whether you stay the car to beat is the next question because how long this race is, how you change from daytime to twilight to nighttime, the track goes through a lot of different changes. Dave had to do a lot of thinking on his own that I was telling him the car is good, but he would still make a change knowing what the track is going to do. That’s just experience. Knowing this race track pretty well, for us it worked well. We kept up with it.”

Busch takes his point lead into Sunday’s LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (1 p.m. ET, TNT).

Official winners of this week’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Prize Money & Decal Program special awards include:

v  AMERICAN ETHANOL GREEN FLAG RESTART: Kyle Busch

v  COORS LIGHT POLE AWARD: N/A

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

v  GOODYEAR GATORBACK BELTS FASTEST LAP AWARD: Kyle Busch (175.718 mph, Lap 261)

v  MAHLE CLEVITE ENGINE BUILDER OF THE RACE AWARD: Mark Cronquist, Joe Gibbs Racing, No 18

v  MOBIL 1 OIL DRIVER OF THE RACE AWARD: David Reutimann

v  MOOG CHASSIS PARTS PROBLEM SOLVER OF THE RACE AWARD: Paul Wolfe, 0.482 secs (crew chief for Brad Keselowski)

v  O’REILLY AUTO PARTS POSITION IMPROVEMENT AWARD: Denny Hamlin (15 places)

v  SUNOCO ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD: Andy Lally

About the NASCAR Prize Money & Decal Program

The NASCAR Prize Money & Decal Program, commonly referred to as the contingency program, is administered by the NASCAR Automotive Group. The program strives to build strong relationships with high-quality, performance-driven brands that are leaders in their respective categories and award money to NASCAR teams via per-race and year-end postings. Competitors become eligible for awards money by displaying partner decals on the front fender of their race vehicles and, in some instances, use of a sponsor’s product. National series contingency sponsors will contribute over $8.4 million to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2011.

- NASCAR, Press Release

MIS President Roger Curtis - Photo Credit: International Speedway Corp.

A sellout NASCAR race at Kentucky Speedway should have signaled the continuation of great things for race fans in the Midwest and for our sport.

Unfortunately Saturday’ night’s events became an exercise in blame and unpreparedness – and race fans, corporate partners, media and drivers were caught in the middle.

As a track promoter I am saddened and embarrassed about what happened this weekend. To think all the hard work that we’ve done here at Michigan International Speedway and other tracks have done could be so quickly erased by Saturday’s events. That speedway, having been open for racing since 2000, should have known the challenges it would face when it tripled in size.

Just to be clear: This isn’t about kicking a race track when it’s down. We all make mistakes and MIS has certainly had past issues with traffic.

And it isn’t about trying to sway a Kentucky Speedway ticketholder to come to Michigan – though we will be happy to treat them the way they should be treated should they want to give us a chance.

It’s about apologizing and doing what’s right when you are clearly in the wrong. It is about having your priorities right in the first place – on the fan experience.

That’s why I’m upset.

It is bad enough the racetrack went into the weekend knowing traffic was going to be worse than they had previously had with other series. But to think Bruton Smith made light of it with the media, and then pointed the finger at the State of Kentucky when posed with traffic questions is unfathomable.

We work tirelessly with our legislators and local officials to ensure traffic moves efficiently and safely. We collaborate with local communities, our state, public safety officials and first-responders to ensure an event at Michigan International Speedway is a true public-private partnership; and not a business threatening to hold its region hostage to meet our demands.

It appears the mentality at some other racetracks today is to see how much money they can make off a fan. Their line of thinking is to ban coolers, have fire sales on last-minute tickets, build, build, build without thinking, thinking, thinking, and blame others for their mistakes.

Don’t get me wrong: We are not perfect. But we listen to our fans, we recognize our shortcomings and we try to overcome them so race fans don’t feel the burden. Most importantly, we learn from them so those mistakes don’t happen again.

Michigan International Speedway is sincere when we say we want to do things for our fans to grow our business. That’s why we lowered ticket prices for all our loyal fans, why we launched a Fan Appreciation program, why we have a Fan Advisory Board, why we allow larger coolers in the grandstands, why parking is always free and plenty, why we have invested more than $60 million in our facility the past four years, why we continue to work with the State of Michigan, the Michigan Department of Transportation, the Michigan State Police to manage race-day traffic and why we have real race fans give a Fans’ Trophy to the winning driver in Victory Lane.

We try really hard to educate our fans on traffic and our facility, have a system of feedback and information sharing with all our guests, and we listen to our guests about changes we need to make to grow our business. Fans are our bottom line.

On behalf of the MIS staff, I apologize to all the race fans whose expectations were not met this weekend, but also to those who read all the stories and were taken back by the treatment other people received.

That is not how we do business at our racetrack – and it’s certainly not indicative of how every track operates. I hope fans recognize this and realize the vast majority in this great sport (not just tracks, but NASCAR officials, drivers and owners, as well) are working hard for the fans and do have their priorities right.

We do not take our guests for granted and we pledge to do everything we can every day to make your experience at MIS the best it can be.

We won’t undercut our loyal customers with a knee-jerk ticket offer to make up for what happened on Saturday. But we will match what our loyal customers received by offering any race fan who has not had their expectations met at any racetrack with our lowest ticket price of the season for seats in Turns 1 and 3. Send us your race ticket and you can purchase a reserved ticket for $45 for the August 21 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

About Roger Curtis:

Roger Curtis, the president of Michigan International Speedway, is a 20-year veteran of motorsports administration. Before his time at MIS, Curtis was at Auto Club Speedway in California, Richmond International Raceway and Watkins Glen International in New York.

Involved in motorsports since 1991, he has owned his own motorsports marketing and communications company and has worked with Bobby Allison Motorsports, Bill Davis Racing and NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Bobby Dotter.

He’s a NASCAR fan and counts family time, the outdoors, music and cooking among his many interests.

- By Roger Curtis, president, Michigan International Speedway

Kentucky Speedway billboard on its first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on July 9, 2011

“To those fans that were not able to attend the Quaker State 400, we offer our sincerest apologies,” said Mark Simendinger, general manager, Kentucky Speedway. “We’d also like to apologize to all of our fans who endured challenging conditions during our event weekend. As we said earlier, we’re committed to working with NASCAR, state and local officials and traffic experts to address Saturday’s traffic issues to ensure that we never have this type of experience again.”

“I would like to apologize on behalf of Speedway Motorsports to the fans who had tickets, yet due to logistical issues, were not able to attend the inaugural Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway,” said Marcus Smith, president and chief operating officer of Speedway Motorsports, Inc. “For those fans with tickets who were unable to attend Saturday night’s event, we will honor their ticket at any remaining 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at a Speedway Motorsports facility or the 2012 Sprint Cup race at Kentucky Speedway.

“Our company has always been about enhancing the fan experience with first-class amenities and putting fans first. I feel terrible for the fans that had a bad experience at Kentucky Speedway and we are asking that they give us a chance to make it up to them. We are very thankful for the overwhelming fan support we had for this inaugural event. We learned some valuable lessons this past weekend and will do everything in our power to make sure we don’t have these issues again.”

The ticket exchange is good for the following events at Speedway Motorsports facilities while supplies last at each respective venue:

July 17 – New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Aug. 27 – Bristol Motor Speedway

Sept. 4 – Atlanta Motor Speedway

Sept. 25 – New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Oct. 15 – Charlotte Motor Speedway

Nov. 6 – Texas Motor Speedway

2012 – Kentucky Speedway

In addition to the ticket exchange, Kentucky Speedway offers will issue these fans an equal quantity of tickets to either its Oct. 1 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series 225-mile race or Oct. 2 IZOD IndyCar Series 300-mile event.

For information on ticket exchange and redemption, fans should only contact the Kentucky Speedway ticket office at 859-578-2300 or by email at tickets@kentuckyspeedway.com.

- Kentucky Speedway, Press Release

Granny Grump

Thursday night we were witnessin’ the Truck Series. That was their first time back racin’ since June 10th at Texas. You’d think those guys and girls would be a bit on the rusty side and maybe some were but the racin’ was good viewin’ pleasure to my way of thinkin’. Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Sauter started in the #1 spot followed by Wine Maker’s grandson Austin Dillion, Nelson Piquet, Jr., curly headed cutie Elliott Sadler and Parker Kligerman. Duck and I thought we would see a bunch of Cup drivers usin’ this race to learn about this track cause Cup has never raced here before, but we were wrong. Only Cup driver was Rowdy Boy. For those who are interested and Duck and I were, Rowdy started 8th but didn’t, Handsome Hornaday started 7th and 2 girls, Jennifer Jo Cobb started 29th and Johanna Long started 21st. Rowdy missed the driver’s meetin’ and had to move to the rear. The rest you can look up.

Course you know I won’t do a lap by lap but 7 cautions allowed Duck and I to refresh our drink of choice and head outside for potty breaks if we needed to. It was good racin’ with some 3 wide stuff goin’ on. Sure beats that Noah’s Ark 2 by 2 silliness for sure! I do know Handsome Hornaday wrecked on lap 76 which had a total of 5 trucks banged up in the process. Sad for them I say! Duck and I were pullin’ for Ron but we didn’t get our way, but that’s neither here not there. And neither of the girls had a good evenin’ either. Johanna had a wreck on lap 5 and Cobb wrecked on lap 66. Sad for those two girlies, too, I say! Course, you know the only lap that counts the most at the bank is the winner and it’s no big surprise that Rowdy Boy came from the tail end to win that race on a green/white/checkered. Not doubtin’ that boy can drive. Course he has excellent equipment. That boy could fall in nasty ol’ stinky stuff and come out smellin’ like fresh baked cornbread. Know what I mean? Kligerman, Gaughan, Todd Bodine and Jason White rounded out the top 5. And for those of you who are interested pole sitter Rock ‘em Sock ‘em had transmission problems and only ran 125 laps of the total 152. The rest you can look up like everybody else who cares.

Friday brought us the Nationwide race at Kentucky. Duck and I were fairly excited cause the truck was a good one and 2 of our favorites were on the front row so with snacks and refreshments on the crates Duck and I cheered and quacked as curly headed Elliott Sadler and Flippin’ Carl lead the front row followed by Stenhouse, Jr, wide smilin’ Logano and Bad Brad. For those who want to know about other Cup drivers in this race Happy Man started 6th, Logano started 10th, Baby Face Bayne started 11th, Rowdy Boy started 41st., cute little Mark Martin started 12th and Reutie Tootie Man started 26th. The rest you can look up.

Now this was an excitin’ race too. 200 laps of just good stuff, let me tell ya that one somethin’ right now. Harvick took the lead away from Elliott early on. We kept yellin’ and quackin’ for Flippin’ Carl but he was complainin’ about no grip. Duck was gettin’ disppointed. Before lap 40 only half of the field was on the lead lap. Those drivers were havin’ at it alright. There were a total of 5 cautions and a few leader changes but Keselowsi lead the most includin’ the last 64 and a total of 132. It was excitin’ and again we saw some 3 wide racin’ thank our good and gracious LORD! It was another one of those fuel strategy deals.Sad for all of ‘em I say! Happy man came home 2nd followed by Rowdy Boy, Kahne and Sadler. Have you all noticed that boy cut all his curly hair off. Probably gets real hot in his helmet but I’ll still call him Curly from here on. I just love his hair but that’s neither here nor there. For those who want to know Flippin’ Carl finished 8th, Logano 10th, Baby Face 11th, Markie 14th and Reutie Tootie Man 18th. The rest you can look up. Duck was like he always is when Carl doesn’t win. He went to bed early and I enjoyed the solitude.

Saturday we were treated to the Cup boys. I kind of like this summertime line up. Gives a granny a day durin’ the weekend with a bit lighter work load. Know what I mean? Duck and I ate earlier so we just had Fritos chili cheese chips and cold ice tea for snacks. Those chips affect Duck but he asked for them so I figured why not. He does have his own room after all. Sometimes simple is better. Duck had his bowl and I had mine, of course. It just saves arguin’ that way. Know what I mean? Rowdy Boy had the pole. I guess he didn’t miss meetin’s or introductions. He was followed by Jaun-toya, Kurt Busch, Kahne and same champ Jimmie. 6th through 10th were Bad Brad, Flippin’ Carl, Ragan, Smoke and Menard. For those who are interested JR started 29th and if you don’t see what you want here look it up. This was the first time the Cup Series raced at Kentucky. Course some of those drivers have raced there in other series but that’s worth mentionin’.

So with 267 laps ahead of us we quacked and cheered as they waved the green flag. Ya know some of those flag wavers scare me. They lean so far out there that they could fall. I know that’s more of an “other stuff” item, but I’m just thinkin’ and sayin’. We were cheerin’ for Kurt to pass his brother, we really were and on lap 3 he did it! They were just battlin’ back and forth. It was excitin’ to watch. Ya know there was a time when I never thought I would cheer for one of those brothers but that just goes to show you a granny can always change her mind. Not often mind you but it has happened a time or two. Know what I mean? Anyway before lap 30 the leaders were already lappin’ cars. 3 wide and fast. Yessirree it was good.

Kyle just showed that he was the one to beat yet again. Same champ Jimmie was pretty good all day long and we were impressed with Ruetie Tootie too. He is just adorable and sure is doin’ a fine job in that car. I was amazed to see Jeffie Gordon go a lap down along with JR. That doesn’t happen often let me tell ya that one somethin’ right now. They got them back though but JR lost 2 again by the end. There was all kinds of jostlin’ goin’ on. And poor Jamie McMurray’s car when up in a big pile of smoke on lap 200 which ended his day. Sad for him I say! Why that boy couldn’t possibly see where he was goin’ Thank our good and gracious LORD he got it stopped and out of that car safely! Scarey stuff there I sayin’.

No lap by lap here either. In the end Rowdy Boy did it again. Yep he did! Good for him I say! And Reutie came in 2nd. GOOD for him I say, too. Same Champ Jimmie. Flyin’ Ryan and Flippin’ Carl rounded out the top 5. JR finished 30th 2 laps down. Fuel strategy was a deal in this race too, Sad for JR I say!

Again Duck went to bed early. His idol is now 4 points behind leader Rowdy Boy. The rest of the top 10 are in this order: Happy Man, Kurt Busch, same champ Jimmie, Robo Matt, Jeffie Gordon, JR, Flyin’ Ryan, and Hamlin.

Now for a little other stuff. Those tires they had at Kentucky were amazin’. They just didn’t wear much. Bet those drivers liked that especially cause that track is such a bumpy one. And last week I said somethin’ about drivers may not be able to say that they don’t like the Daytona type of racin’ they have to do and low and behold JR said just that. GOOD for him I say! That doesn’t change much but glad he spoke his mind! Know what I mean?

I guess I’ll close this up for this week. I heard a racket in the wee hours this mornin’ and ran out on the porch without my lantern and slipped in a big pile of some kind of animal do do. Why I fell flat on my behind! I do believe Duck was snickerin’ the wicked little quacker! I imagine it is because I scolded him for potin’ about Carl yet again. Anyway, LORD have mercy I am just as bunged up as I can be! I better rest up cause chores don’t stop no matter what and a granny’s got to do what a granny’s got to do. Know what I mean?

So there ya have it. Next stop is New Hampshire for Nationwide and Cup and Iowa for the Trucks. Email, comment or don’t. I don’t care cause you know I’m a very busy woman even if I am bunged up. I miss Cousin Grouch and I know y’all do too. Til next time Grouch over and out.

Tommy Baldwin Racing Logo

The weekend started with two test sessions on Thursday. Blaney posted the 32^nd and 20^th fastest lap times in the debut of the Richard Childress Racing chassis. The No. 36 Big Red Chevrolet ran the 34^th-fastest time during final practice on Friday. Rain showers cancelled qualifying, so the field was set by the final practice speeds giving Blaney the 32^nd starting spot.

Due to a transmission change, Blaney took the green flag from the tail of the field and quickly worked up to 35^th by the first lap. By lap 10, Blaney radioed that the No. 36 Big Red Chevrolet was loose in but pretty good everywhere else. The Hartford, Ohio native drove up to 31^st before the yellow flag waved for a competition caution on lap 32.

Crew Chief Philippe Lopez called Blaney down pit road for a two-tire pit stop and air pressure adjustment. The No. 36 Big Red Chevrolet restarted 30^th. Blaney drove up to 28^th before radioing that the Chevrolet was extremely tight. He fell back to 31^st, one lap down.

The TBR team made a green-flag, four-tire pit stop on lap 78 and made adjustments to work on the tight condition. During the stop, a lug nut fell, and Blaney had to come back down pit road to get another lug nut put on. The mishap put the Big Red Chevrolet a second lap down.

When Blaney came back on the track, he turned laps as fast as the leader and radioed that the car was much better early in the run. The No. 36 Big Red Chevrolet struggled the most in turn one as it was hitting the splitter in the turn. The team made another green-flag pit stop on lap 130. The team changed four tires and made a trackbar adjustment. By lap 138, Blaney radioed that the Chevrolet was chattering severely as he drove in 34^th position, three laps down.

A debris caution flew on lap 141, and the Big Red Chevrolet stayed out to get a lap back. During the caution, Blaney radioed that he felt like he could make up a lot of time in turns three and four but not in turn one. He said he could not drive in at all in turn one and continued that during the run before the last the car turned better right off the bat on sticker tires. He restarted on lap 146 in the 34^th spot, two laps down.

The third yellow flag flew on lap 153, and Blaney and team took the opportunity to pit for four tires and major changes. The No. 36 Big Red Chevrolet restarted 33^rd, two laps down. On lap 193, Blaney radioed that he had a problem and was coming down pit road. The team changed four tires and found that a strip was missing from one of the tires. When he got back on the track, Blaney radioed that he had a huge push and it felt worse than before he pit. A caution on lap 201 allowed the team to make adjustments to the Big Red Chevrolet. Blaney drove down pit road for a four-tire stop.

Blaney restarted on lap 209 in the 33^rd position, three laps down. On lap 213, he almost spun out and radioed that the Chevrolet was loose all over. A caution on lap 255 allowed for the team’s last pit stop. The TBR team changed four tires and made an air pressure adjustment. Blaney held on and finished the 267-lap race in the 33^rd position, three laps down.

The No. 36 Big Red Chevrolet is now 33^rd in NSCS Owner Points, one point behind 32^nd and 46 points ahead of 36^th place. Blaney fell a spot to 32^nd in NSCS Driver Points, one point behind Casey Mears in 31^st.

“The car was really good during parts of the race,” Blaney explained. “We had a mishap on pit road and a flat tire that put us behind. It was promising seeing that we could run lap times as fast as the leader. We definitely had a better car than where we finished. We will take our notes from today and use them to run better at the 1.5-mile tracks in the future.”

Blaney will head to New Hampshire Motor Speedway next weekend and pilot the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301.

About Big Red, Inc.
Big Red, Inc. is one of the top-10 beverage companies in North America with a history dating back to 1937. Along with Big Red, recognized as the number one selling red soda, Big Red, Inc. also markets beverage brands Diet Big Red, Big Blue, Big Red Vanilla Float, Big Peach, Big Pineapple, Big Punch, Big Honey Lemonade, NuGrape, and Nesbitt’s products. Distributed widely throughout the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Independent Bottlers and Pepsi Bottling Group, consumers across the country enjoy Big Red, Inc.’s beverages.

About Tommy Baldwin Racing:
Tommy Baldwin Racing was formed in 2009 by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Crew Chief Tommy Baldwin. Baldwin utilized a slumping economy to open a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team with a stringent budget. The team competed in two full seasons with multiple drivers behind the wheel of the No. 36 Chevrolet and improved in the standings each year.

Based in Mooresville, N.C., TBR will compete in the full NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule in 2011 with NASCAR veteran Dave Blaney piloting the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet. Looking to improve on-track performance, TBR found success early in the 2011 season with partners Golden Corral, Big Red and Accell Construction. TBR’s driver development program, Heinke-Baldwin Racing, will also compete in various NASCAR series in 2011.

For more information on Tommy Baldwin Racing, visit tommybaldwinracing.com or follow us on Facebook, facebook.com/TBR.HBR, and Twitter, twitter.com/TBR_Racing.

- Tommy Baldwin Racing, Press Release

Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway

“Kentucky Speedway regrets the traffic conditions surrounding the ‘Quaker State 400.’ We’re committed to working with NASCAR, state and local officials and traffic experts to assure that this never happens again. The details of these improvements will be announced over time as they are formulated.

“We also recognize the traffic problems resulted in some fans not being able to attend the ‘Quaker State 400.’ We are gathering information on this and will announce a policy for these affected fans within seven days.

“Our ‘Quaker State 400’ ticket holders are invited to share their experiences with us through fans@kentuckyspeedway.com. We thank all our fans for giving the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series such a great welcome to our venue.”

- Kentucky Speedway, Press Release

NSCS No. 39 Tornados Chevy (Ryan Newmaon) - Photo Credit:Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

Ryan Newman fought an ill-handling racecar and rallied from one lap down to score a hard-earned fourth-place finish in the inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. It was the fifth top-five finish of 2011 for the driver of the No. 39 Tornados Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR).

After starting 18^th, Newman struggled with the balance of his racecar for much of the first half of the 267-lap race and went a lap down on lap 99. Unfazed, he and crew chief Tony Gibson continued to work on their car’s handling through a series of track bar, wedge and tire pressure adjustments. And thankfully, they caught a couple of breaks.

When a caution came out on lap 140, Newman stayed out on the 1.5-mile oval rather than pitting and gained his lap back. From there, he steadily made his way toward the front, and when another round of pit stops began under green at the lap-197 mark, he found himself in second place just before he was ready to pit. But just before he was to come to pit road, the caution came out on lap 201 for Jamie McMurray’s blown engine, allowing Newman to pit on lap 203 under yellow for four tires and fuel.

He restarted ninth when the green flag came out on lap 210 and remained in the top-10 as fuel strategy came into play. As teams began pitting, Newman climbed to as high as third before heading to pit road on lap 251, stopping for just three seconds so just enough fuel could be added to his machine to make it to the finish.

Just three laps after his stop, however, the caution came out again for debris left over from Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s cut tire, and when everything cycled through, Newman restarted in eighth on lap 260. He moved to seventh in one lap, but the caution came out one final time on lap 263 for Clint Bowyer’s accident in turn two.

When the race restarted on lap 265, Newman made his biggest move, rocketing from seventh to fourth in the final two laps.

“It was a good last restart,” Newman said. “We struggled today and got a lap down. The Tornados Chevrolet was a little off balance-wise, but Tony Gibson and the guys did a good job getting it back right. Then we got a really good break there when the No. 1 (McMurray) car blew up and got us back in a better (pit) cycle. We just had the right strategy from there on out. We had better tires and better fuel opportunities. I’m just proud of the last restart – I did what I had to do, kept it clean and it was a good points day for us, too.”

Newman’s SHR teammate, Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 “Back-to-School” Chevrolet Impala, led one lap en route to a 12th-place finish.

Kyle Busch won the 400-mile race to score his 22nd career Sprint Cup victory and his third of the season.

David Reutimann finished .179 of a second behind Busch in the runner-up spot, while Jimmie Johnson, Newman and Carl Edwards rounded out the top-five. Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, David Ragan, Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were six caution periods for 32 laps, with nine drivers failing to finish the 267-lap race.

With round 18 of 36 complete, Newman leads the SHR duo in the championship point standings. He moved up one spot to ninth and now has 538 points, 86 markers back of new series leader Kyle Busch and 11 points ahead of 11th-place Stewart, who gained one position. Stewart has 527 points and is 97 points arrears Kyle Busch with a 30-point cushion over 13th-place Juan Pablo Montoya.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the July 17 Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. The race starts at 1 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by TNT beginning with its pre-race show at noon.

- True Speed Communication for Stewart-Haas Racing/Haas Automation, Press Release

Tony Stewart - Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images

For many drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, a solid top-15 finish is something they can hang their helmet on. It may not be flashy, but it is respectable and provides a decent amount of points toward the season-ending championship.

Tony Stewart, however, is not most drivers, as his two Sprint Cup titles and 39 career wins attest. So after finishing 12^th while being strong enough to lead a lap and run solidly among the top-five, Stewart was in no mood to celebrate a 12^th-place finish – the result he earned in Saturday night’s inaugural NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta.

“We just couldn’t get going on the restarts,” Stewart said. “Beyond frustrating.”

Stewart was alluding to two late-race restarts – one on lap 260 and another on lap 264 – where his No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 “Back-to-School” Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) simply could not get powered up as quickly as his counterparts.

“We were good late in a run – our laps times were just as good, if not better than, the leaders,” Stewart said. “But that didn’t help us at the end.”

Stewart ran well enough to lead lap 159 in a stirring battle with eventual race-winner Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski. Busch was obviously strong, as was Keselowski, but Stewart was in the mix, running second with 100 laps to go.

But with less than 35 laps remaining, varying pit strategies were playing out. Stewart started the green-flag pit cycle on lap 233 with a four-tire change and fuel. Most everyone else behind him took either two tires and fuel or just fuel. As a result, it put Stewart in 11^th when the race’s second-to-last restart began on lap 260. Stewart was able to gain one spot before the caution flag flew once more when Clint Bowyer crashed in turn two of the 1.5-mile oval. As such, Stewart restarted in 10^th for the final time on lap 266, but faded to 12^th when the checkered flag waved.

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Tornados Chevrolet Impala for SHR, finished fourth to score his fifth top-five finish of 2011.

Busch’s win in the 400-mile race was his 22^nd career Sprint Cup victory and his third of the season. David Reutimann finished .179 of a second behind Busch in the runner-up spot, while Jimmie Johnson, Newman and Carl Edwards rounded out the top-five. Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, David Ragan, Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were six caution periods for 32 laps, with nine drivers failing to finish the 267-lap race.

With round 18 of 36 complete, Newman leads the SHR duo in the championship point standings. He moved up one spot to ninth and now has 538 points, 86 markers back of new series leader Kyle Busch and 11 points ahead of 11^th-place Stewart, who gained one position. Stewart has 527 points and is 97 points arrears Kyle Busch with a 30-point cushion over 13^th-place Juan Pablo Montoya.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the July 17 Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. The race starts at 1 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by TNT beginning with its pre-race show at noon.

- True Speed Communication for Stewart-Haas Racing, Press Release

2011 NSCS Casey Mears - Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR

Sparta, KY (July 9, 2011)

In a state famous for horse racing, NASCAR looked to rebrand Kentucky as an auto racing state, as Kentucky Speedway served up it’s first ever Sprint Cup Series race. If pre-race traffic served as any indication, it would appear that they are well on their way.

The weekend kicked off with an open test on Thursday for all NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams. Having tested here previously years ago when testing was permitted for Sprint Cup teams, Mears quickly made himself at home and landed 21st on the speed chart at the end of the first test period. Crew chief Bootie Barker and the German Racing team made the necessary adjustments and Mears jumped the #13 GEICO Toyota Camry up to 17th at the conclusion of the final session.

For the second consecutive week, Mother Nature would intervene and cause the cancellation of the opening practice session on Thursday when rain blanketed the Sparta area. Fortunately, the storm cell passed and Mears and his counterparts were afforded a practice session early in the evening. Mears paced the 1.5-mile tri-oval in just 29.931 seconds, at a rate of speed of 180.415 miles per hour, placing the #13 GEICO Camry 25th on the speed chart, just ahead of Denny Hamlin, Brian Vickers and Mark Martin. After qualifying was rained out on Friday, the starting grid was set according to practice speeds. Mears would roll off 25th for the Quaker State 400.

A sold-out, standing-room only crowd awaited Mears when he took to pit road and climbed into his #13 GEICO Camry to do battle under a Saturday night sky. The green flag waved and Mears initially lost positions, dropping to 30th by lap three. His demise was short-lived, as he jumped back to 28th by the close of lap four and entered the Top 25 on Lap 11.

A competition caution slowed the field on Lap 30, allowing Mears to bring his #13 GEICO Camry to the attention of the Germain Racing pit crew. After being outfitted with four fresh Goodyear racing tires and a full tank of Sunoco racing fuel, Mears restarted the race in the 30th position on Lap 35.

He meticulously navigated the 1.5-mile tri-oval and moved into 25th on Lap 72. Lap 73 heard Barker telling his driver that his GEICO machine was faster than the leader. Then, on Lap 88 when Mears aired concern to Barker: “I’m too tight right now”, Barker responded with affirmation, saying: “You’re doing great, Casey; your lap times are excellent.” A lap later, Mears and his #13 GEICO Camry captured yet another position when they effortlessly moved into 24th.

Mears continued his assassin-like approach and cracked the Top 20 on Lap 121 while soon after, on Lap 124, he was flirting with the Top 10 when he took over the 12th position. After a scheduled green flag pit stop, Mears reported a vibration in the corners on Lap 128. Barker quickly assured him that his worry was for not, causing Mears to drop the issue and refocus his energy on the task at hand.

With just a handful of cars left on the lead lap, Mears had fallen victim to the leaders and found himself down a lap when Barker radioed to him on Lap 152: “By hook or crook, we’re going to get you back on the lead lap.” Mears responded by answering: “If we can get there we’ll be good. We’re better than a lot of those guys.”

As the race began to wind down, the caution flag was displayed with just five laps left on the board, causing Mears and the GEICO team to have a sense of familiarity. Just a week ago in Daytona, the team fell victim to a last lap crash that collected nearly half of the field.

The race went back to green with just two laps remaining and Mears was able to successfully hustle around the racetrack, avoiding any potential danger. Mears would not recoup his lap as late-race circumstances would dictate otherwise, but the GEICO driver would net a Top 25 when the checkered flag was displayed late into the night.

With fireworks setting the backdrop for the post-race activities, a smiling Mears emerged from his #13 GEICO Camry and immediately began thanking his crew for their efforts.

“We had a solid night, did a good job and we now have some positive momentum rolling,” Mears said. “This entire GEICO team has worked really hard this year and it’s nice to see our effort beginning to pay off. Daytona was exciting because we were able to lead laps and this week we come in here and battle and get a Top 25. Sprint Cup racing is a tough business, but we’ve shown our resilience and we’re showing what we can do as we continue to build this team.”

As good fortune seems to be abounding in the GEICO Racing program, GEICO announced on Thursday that they would be the title sponsor of the Chicago NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. The GEICO 400 will take place at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday, September 18th.

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

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

Please visit the Casey Mears Facebook fan page: www.facebook.com/caseymearsracing

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