NASCAR Notebook: Powerhouse Teams Go Deep

Look at the Joe Gibbs Racing stable. Household names spill from its cupboard: Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano.

Same with Hendrick Motorsports. Its roster boasts Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne. Seemingly, the organization is set for life. Literally. Gordon has a lifetime contract with Hendrick.

But every organization, even one as prolific as Hendrick, needs to stockpile talent. And those two are doing it from the ground, up.

Darrell Wallace Jr. heads up the list of names that will fill out primetime rides in the coming decade. Wallace, a current Joe Gibbs Racing developmental driver and former NASCAR Drive For Diversity standout, won last weekend at Greenville (S.C.) Pickens Speedway to take the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East points lead. Wallace’s stats scream “future star.” In 24 starts in the NKNPSE, he has won six times – a 25 percent clip – and finished in the top 10 in all but five starts.

Comparatively, here are the NASCAR K&N Pro Series winning percentages of a few well-known NASCAR national series drivers: Logano (41%), Martin Truex Jr. (8%) and Ryan Truex (23%). Ricky Craven, regarded as the most talented prospect in series history prior to Logano’s emergence, had a winning percentage of 27%.

Likewise, Hendrick strategically grooms for the future. Chase Elliott, son of 1988 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Bill Elliott, is competing in his second season of NKNPSE competition. Elliott sits second in the points behind Wallace, collecting top-10 finishes in each of the first two races of 2012. Ben Kennedy, third in NKNPSE points, has scored top 10s in the first two races this season with technical support from Hendrick Motorsports.

Ryan Gifford, a member of Rev Racing and of NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, opened his 2012 NKNPSE season with a third-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway and currently sits fourth in points.

The NASCAR Ladder System – it’s the way of the stock car world.

Richard Childress Racing young guns Austin and Ty Dillon continue their climb after making their NASCAR debut in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series. Austin became the youngest champion in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series history last season and has immediately found success at the next level – he’s third in points in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Brother Ty nabbed a runner-up finish at Martinsville, and is fourth in the truck points.

Similarly, Roush Fenway Racing has developed incredible talent. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wears the NNS crown, and may again this year. Trevor Bayne is a Daytona 500 champion, and a likely future star.

Second In Points, Junior’s Stock Continues To Gain Value

Dale Earnhardt Jr. without a doubt has turned the corner.

The 135-race winless streak remains intact. But its end has become a case of when rather than if. Junior has become a story not for where he’s been but rather where he’s going – straight toward the top of the points standings.
A third-place finish at Martinsville Speedway, his third top five of the season, shot Earnhardt out of a third-place traffic jam and within six points of leader Greg Biffle. How well is Junior doing? Consider:
•He’s one of two drivers with three top-five and four top-four finishes. The other is Biffle.
•Three of the past four races have seen the No. 88 Chevrolet head the field.
•Earnhardt is the highest ranked of Hendrick Motorsports’ four drivers.
•His second-place ranking in points is his best at this stage of the season since 2008 – the year Junior won his last race at Michigan International Speedway.
Martinsville, a track where Earnhardt collected his fourth consecutive top-10 finish, is indicative of the progress his Steve Letarte-led team has made. He’s passing – and passing champions like teammate Jeff Gordon.
That begs a pretty obvious question: The last time Earnhardt held the points lead was after the Talladega Superspeedway race on Oct. 3, 2004. The stay was short-lived, as a mid-week 25-point penalty knocked him from the top spot.

Newman Joins Party As SHR Continues To Steamroll

For Stewart-Haas Racing, the beat goes on.

Ryan Newman’s Sunday victory at Martinsville Speedway was the organization’s third of the 2012 season and eighth trip to Victory Lane over the past 16 races.

Batting .500 ain’t bad – especially in an environment as competitive as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

It’s fair to say SHR has few – if any – weaknesses. The team’s recent run of victories includes wins on short track (two), mile, intermediate tracks (five) and a two-mile layout.

Newman had been winless since last summer’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Teammate Tony Stewart had been doing the heavy lifting, a point not lost on Newman, who collected his 16th victory.

“Just glad I finally contributed,” said Newman, smiling, following the race.
Heading to Texas Motor Speedway, Stewart, winner of last November’s Texas race, stands third in points. Newman, also a Texas winner, is eighth.

Michael Waltrip Racing’s Rise Is No Overnight Success

Enjoying what’s on track to be the best season of his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career, Martin Truex Jr. will tell you that the fortunes of Michael Waltrip Racing didn’t change overnight – or over the winter.

The trip from the middle of the pack has been a process, ongoing but steadily in the right direction.

Truex ended the 2011 season, in which he finished 18th in the standings, with top-10 finishes in five of his last six races. Too late to make the Chase but laying the foundation for a fast start in 2012, not only for Truex but teammates Clint Bowyer, Mark Martin and Brian Vickers.

Truex is one of three drivers with four top-10 finishes. He’s in a logjam of four – Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick are the others – sharing third through sixth, 12 points behind leader Greg Biffle. Bowyer is ninth in the standings. All three MWR entries – including the No. 55 Toyota thus far shared by Martin and Vickers – are among the top 10 in owners’ championship points.

“I felt really good about where we were as a team at the end of last season,” said Truex, whose only series victory came in 2007. He ticks off a number of organizational changes including the hiring of Scott Miller, the team’s executive vice president of competition, Bowyer and crew chief Brian Pattie.

“It wasn’t just one thing that we did.  It was a lot of changes – a lot of work by a lot of people through last year – to get where we were at the end of last year.  I feel like the stuff that we did in the off-season bringing in those guys, I think those are the things that are going to take us into the future.”

For Some, ‘Wild Card’ Scenario Already Looms Large

NSCS championship hopes are very much alive for many – some who weren’t among pre-season favorites to capture the sport’s biggest prize.

For others, the Easter weekend pause means reflection on what so far hasn’t been and may not be.

Qualifying for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup on points has become a long shot, especially for some big names outside the current top 20. They’ll head to Texas with two goals in mind: win races and reach a top-20 ranking to ensure eligibility for one of two “wild card” berths in the postseason.

Four names stand out, topped by Jeff Gordon. The four-time champion, a three-time winner in 2011, is 21st with a single top-10 finish. Jamie McMurray, winner of both the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 two years ago, is 24th.

Former champion Kurt Busch is 26th followed by Kasey Kahne, Hendrick Motorsports’ newest driver who is 31st without a top 10 and stung by two DNFs.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Notebook

NASCAR worked with Google Inc. for an April Fools’ Day joke last weekend – an announcement that Google was working with NASCAR to explore autonomous car (driverless) technology opportunities for future racecars. Part of the announcement was that Google has created a top-secret division within the company called Google Racing. The announcement also included a spoof video featuring NASCAR stars Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski and Clint Bowyer as well as fan reaction, which can be found here. … Goodyear held a tire test at Michigan International Speedway on Tuesday, with Michigan native Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon and Juan Pablo Montoya participating. For audio from the test, click here. … Ryan Newman’s win was a special one for crew chief Tony Gibson. Gibson was a crewman on Alan Kulwicki’s 1992 NSCS championship winning team. Kulwicki died in a plane crash on April 1, 1993, 19 years to the day of Gibson’s win at Martinsville last weekend.

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Nationwide Series: Fans Voted And Reaction Is Near Unanimous About 2012

The numbers are in and the results show fans are “fired up” about the start of the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series season.  Not since 1995, when NNS regulars won the first seven races, have the first four out of five races of the season been won by non-full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers.

James Buescher (earning driver championship points in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series), Elliott Sadler (two wins) and defending series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the first four races of the season. Joey Logano finally broke that string on March 24 at Auto Club Speedway.

Following the NNS at Auto Club, 3,932 Official NASCAR Fan Council members (avid NASCAR fans) responded to a question focusing on their feelings about series regulars winning against NASCAR Sprint Cup full-timers.

Of those, over 70 percent “agreed” that the wins by Buescher, Sadler and Stenhouse:
•Makes me feel good about the NASCAR Nationwide Series
•I’d like to see more NASCAR Nationwide Series regulars win races
•I expect to see NASCAR Nationwide Series regulars win NASCAR Nationwide Series races
•I’m more interested in the NASCAR Nationwide Series because regulars are winning
NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers not dominating NASCAR Nationwide Series races this year also resonates with the Fan Council. Of the survey participants, over 80 percent “disagreed” with the following statements:
•I miss seeing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regulars winning in the NASCAR Nationwide Series
•I’m less interested in the NASCAR Nationwide Series because my favorite Cup driver isn’t racing

The NNS returns to action on April 13 at Texas Motor Speedway for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300. Race coverage will begin at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

Methodology: Conducted among members of the Official NASCAR Fan Council. Members are avid NASCAR fans, 6 or 7 on a 7-point interest scale where 7 is extremely interested in NASCAR. 3,932 respondents completed the survey fielded March 26-27, 2012.

Season-To-Date Competition Highlights: Top Five In The Series Standings

•Elliott Sadler: The series standings leader is 18 points ahead of second place. In five starts, Sadler has posted one Coors Light pole, two wins (Phoenix and Bristol), four top fives, and five top 10s with an average finish of 3.4. He also leads or is ranked in the top five of several season-to-date Loop Data categories: Driver Rating (115.2); Average Running Position (6.8); and Laps in the Top 15 (935 laps, 96.4%).

•Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Is second in the series standings, nine points ahead of third place. In five starts, Stenhouse has posted one win (Las Vegas), three top fives, and four top 10s with an average finish of 6.2. He also is ranked in the top 10 of several season-to-date Loop Data categories: Driver Rating (114.7); Average Running Position (6.5); and Laps in the Top 15 (923 laps, 95.2%).

•Austin Dillon: Is third in the series standings, seven points ahead of fourth place. In five starts, Dillon, a Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate, has posted three top fives, and four top 10s with an average finish of 6.6. He also is ranked in the top 10 of several season-to-date Loop Data categories: Driver Rating (98.8); Average Running Position (12.0); and Laps in the Top 15 (904 laps, 93.2%).

•Trevor Bayne: Is fourth in the series standings, 20 points ahead of fifth place. In five starts, Bayne, the 2011 Daytona 500 champion, has posted one top five and three top 10s with an average finish of 8.8. He also is ranked in the top 10 of several season-to-date Loop Data categories: Driver Rating (102.1); Average Running Position (9.7); and Laps in the Top 15 (890 laps, 91.8%).

•Sam Hornish Jr.: Is fifth in the series standings, nine points ahead of sixth place. In five starts, Hornish has posted two top 10s with an average finish of 12.2. He also is ranked in the top 10 of several season-to-date Loop Data categories: Driver Rating (91.6); Average Running Position (11.3); Laps in the Top 15 (744 laps, 76.7%).

NASCAR Nationwide Series Notebook

Mike Wallace will be among a group of drivers including Denny Hamlin, David Ragan and Michael Waltrip who will take in various rounds this week at The Masters in Augusta, Ga. … Standings leader Elliott Sadler has a big week in store. “We are packing up the whole family and going down to the Outer Banks,” he said. “Nags Head is my favorite vacation spot, so I’m really excited to be able to take my kids to get away for a few days. We will be doing an Easter egg hunt and celebrating my wife’s birthday.”

Camping World Trucks: Triple-Winner Kahne Adds Luster To Rockingham Debut

Turner Motorsports is rolling out the heavy artillery for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ debut at Rockingham Speedway on April 15.

The organization recently announced a fourth entry – that of Kasey Kahne – to complement an already formidable lineup of James Buescher, Miguel Paludo and Nelson Piquet Jr. for the Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200 presented by Cheerwine.

Kahne doesn’t compete very often in the series but when he does, watch out. He won his first two starts in 2004 at Darlington Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway. Driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports, he won again at Darlington a year ago. He finished second at Pocono in his only other series start.

“Turner Motorsports, they have great trucks and have a lot of good people there. I’m excited to be on their team and be a part of it,” said Kahne, who’ll drive his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at Texas Motor Speedway the evening of April 14 then fly back to North Carolina. “Rockingham is a great track for me; I’ve run really well there in the past in both series that I’ve raced in, especially that final Cup race there,” in which Kahne finished second to Matt Kenseth.

Brad Sweet has been tapped to practice and qualify Turner’s No. 4 Chevrolet. “I feel like it will have a really good set-up in it on Sunday when I get there,” said Kahne.

King Tames Martinsville, Sets Record As Continuing Points Leader

Nobody expected John King to win the 2012 season opener at Daytona International Speedway. Few doubted he’d remain the points leader after last weekend’s race at Martinsville Speedway, a notoriously difficult layout for any rookie driver.

King proved doubters wrong … again. King, who celebrated his 24th birthday the day after the Kroger 250, finished ninth. His lead over Red Horse Racing teammate Timothy Peters dwindled considerably to a single point. But it’s a lead nonetheless and marks the first time in series history a Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender has led after multiple races.

Now-NNS rookie Cole Whitt was the first freshman points leader a year ago after the event at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Two races don’t make a season but they signal a big change in the championship picture. The top eight drivers – King, Peters, Justin Lofton, Ty Dillon, Jason White, Buescher, Parker Kligerman and Piquet – are seeking their first title. Four-time champion Ron Hornaday Jr. is the closest to the lead but 24 points behind King. Four points is the spread between first and fourth places.

ThorSport Pair Must Fire For Effect After Digging Holes

One word sums up ThorSport Racing’s season to date: Ouch.

Neither pre-season championship favorite Johnny Sauter nor Matt Crafton was able to crack the top 20 at Martinsville Speedway, leaving the pair 27th and 23rd, respectively, in points. Sauter concluded the 2011 season six points behind champion Austin Dillon while Crafton logged his sixth top-10 championship finish in his last recent seven seasons with the organization.

Each has 20 races to rebound. Sauter won twice a year ago while Crafton also visited Victory Lane. They combined for 16 top-five and 29 top-10 finishes.

But this year’s shortened season of 22 races offers fewer chances to take a “mulligan.” To say that Sauter and Crafton have already used theirs may be an understatement.

Then again, Dillon was 24 points out of first with 20 races remaining a year ago. He recovered to win the championship despite finishing 22nd or worse on three occasions.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Notebook

Peters and Lofton are the only drivers to post top-five finishes in each of the season’s first two races. Lofton failed to score a top five in 2011. … What a difference a year also makes for Buescher, who finished third at Martinsville. Buescher failed to qualify for last season’s second race at Phoenix International Raceway. … Kevin Harvick’s third Martinsville victory was his first driving a Richard Childress Racing truck. The organization has won a race in all eight seasons (1995-99, 2010-12) in which it has competed full-time in the NCWTS. … The current points standings mark the second time in series history that Sunoco Rookie of the Year contenders – King and Dillon – have ranked among the top five in overall points after race No. 2. The only time rookies occupied top-five positions at this stage of the season was in 1996 – the first year the award was made – when Bryan Reffner and Ron Barfield Jr. were third and fourth after the event at Phoenix International Raceway.