NASCAR Notebook: Hendrick Brings Momentum To 600

For Hendrick Motorsports, it appears the floodgates truly have opened during a magical eight days in Darlington, S.C., and at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Beware five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson – and Hendrick’s other three drivers – in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600.

Johnson won in Darlington on May 19, giving his team its long-awaited 200th victory. Not satisfied, the No. 48 team went home to Charlotte with a vengeance and virtually swept the board winning the Sprint Pit Crew Challenge and the Sprint All-Star Race.

Johnson, $1 million and his third All-Star victory in hand, hopes to become the third driver in five years to sweep both the Coca-Cola 600 and the all-star event. Teammates Kasey Kahne (2008) and Jeff Gordon (1997) both have won the double.

That has owner Rick Hendrick excited about moving forward.

“To get the pit crew deal done, then coming here tonight and running this well, just excited about the 600, excited about the rest of the year,” he said following Johnson’s all-star victory. “Everything has been clicking for us lately.”

And historically, everything has clicked for the organization at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where Hendrick cars have won 16 times, although not since the track’s fall race with Johnson in 2009. The Hendrick organization has won the Coca-Cola 600 nine times with Johnson, Gordon, Darrell Waltrip and Casey Mears.

•Johnson, with six wins, won the Coca-Cola 600 three consecutive years (2003-05). A victory would break a deadlock with NASCAR Hall of Famers Waltrip and Bobby Allison for the most Charlotte victories.
•Gordon has won five times. His three Coca-Cola 600 wins came in 1994 and 1997-98.
•Johnson and Kahne both recorded season sweeps at Charlotte. Johnson, in fact, won four consecutive races in 2004-05, while two-time Coca-Cola 600 winner Kahne, who’ll make his 300th career NASCAR Sprint Cup start this weekend, followed in 2006.

Sunday should see a typical Coca-Cola 600 – at 600 miles and 400 laps, NASCAR’s longest and most challenging race. The event begins in late afternoon heat and sunshine and continues for more than four hours into darkness. Charlotte’s 1.5 miles of asphalt will go through several transitions, challenging both drivers and crew chiefs to keep up with the changes.

What once was simple endurance has become an extra 100 miles of flat-out racing.
Johnson, who solidified his position as contender for a sixth championship at Darlington, hopes the momentum continues. He stands fifth in points as the regular season nears its mid-point.

Close A Year Ago, Earnhardt Hopes To Close ‘600’ Deal

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is pumped heading into Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600. And he should be – for a couple of reasons. Earnhardt nearly won the race a year ago, coming up a few hundred yards and less than a gallon of Sunoco Green E15 racing fuel short of winning his NASCAR Sprint Cup points race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He coasted across the line out of gas in seventh place.

Momentum – from a fifth-place finish in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race after winning the Sprint Showdown with a perfect 150.0 Driver Rating.

“Oh yeah, I mean when you run like this the week before it really makes you feel good. It really makes you look forward to it, not as many unknowns,” said Earnhardt. “I think we showed what we are capable of doing here next weekend. We are probably going to bring the same car. We have a couple of ideas on how to make the car even faster, especially for qualifying that I hope will work out.”

Earnhardt’s best 600 finish with Hendrick Motorsports – fifth – came in 2008, his first season with the organization. His top performance in the race, a fourth-place from his only Charlotte Coors Light Pole, came in 2000. Earnhardt’s best CMS finish, third, was recorded in the fall of 2004.

The Sprint All-Star Race helped erase the sting of a 17th-place finish at Darlington that ended a six-race run of top-10 finishes that matched Earnhardt’s career best. Nonetheless, Earnhardt, who enters the race third in NASCAR Sprint Cup points, appears closer each week to ending a winless drought now at 140 races dating to June 15, 2008.

Longest Race Produces First-Time Winners

What does David Reutimann have in common with NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson?

Answer: Both posted their first NSCS victories in the Coca-Cola 600, Pearson in 1961 – the first of 105 career wins – and Reutimann in 2009.

Reutimann is the most recent driver to score a “first” in one of NASCAR’s oldest and most prestigious races following Casey Mears in 2007.

•Four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon, No. 3 on the career win list, posted his first of 85 wins in 1994.
•Bobby Labonte, the 2000 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, made the 1995 Coca-Cola 600 the initial of 21 wins.
•Daytona 500 winner and 2003 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Matt Kenseth won 600 in 2000 en route to a still-counting 21 trips to victory lane.

Jamie McMurray, Buddy Baker and Charlie Glotzbach also won first races but in Charlotte Motor Speedway’s fall events. So, who’s next?

Recent performances in the Sprint Showdown, in which he finished second, and the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race points to Penske Racing’s AJ Allmendinger. The Dinger raced from nearly a lap down to claim an All-Star transfer spot.

Again from the back of the field, the Los Gatos, Calif., competitor reached the top five before finishing 11th.

Allmendinger’s No. 22 Dodge team won the 2010 Coca-Cola 600 with Kurt Busch behind the wheel. Teammate Brad Keselowski is a two-time winner so far this season and finished runner-up to NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race winner Jimmie Johnson.

Not to be dismissed, Allmendinger has a knack for these endurance-type races. His Michael Shank Racing team won the GRAND-AM Road Racing’s Rolex 24 earlier this season.

Right Place Right Time For Harvick, RCR?

With May about to become June – and the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup not too far distant – there’s work to be done at Richard Childress Racing.

Only one of its three drivers, Kevin Harvick, currently ranks among the top 10 (eighth), but it’s been a downward slide in recent weeks for the defending winner of Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600. Harvick finished 16th at Darlington on May 19, the veteran’s third consecutive run outside the top 15.

Harvick, the third-place championship finisher in each of the past two seasons, heads into the season’s 12th race with a 26-point cushion on 11th place. A repeat victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway would help his cause and perhaps shift some momentum at RCR to the positive side of the ledger. The team’s last victory, Harvick at Richmond last September, was 21 races ago.

Both Paul Menard (13th) and Jeff Burton (17th) similarly need to make progress this week. Burton won Charlotte’s fall race in 2008, the last of his 21 victories. RCR has won four Coca-Cola 600s and six times overall in Charlotte. Dale Earnhardt was a three-time Coca-Cola 600 winner with RCR.

Patrick Continues NSCS Gauntlet

Talk about a grueling test. This schedule Danica Patrick has slogged through falls somewhere between cruel joke and dastardly gauntlet.

First, she takes on the high-banked, high-speed Daytona International Speedway. All eyes are on the sport, as it’s the Daytona 500, NASCAR’s biggest race. She gets caught in an early wreck, a true baptism by fire moment.

Then, she tests out NASCAR’s second crown jewel – the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Few leave wholly unscathed. She had her difficulties, but finished the race (albeit six laps off the pace in 31st).

This weekend, she’ll test her mettle at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It’s another crown jewel – NASCAR’s longest race of the season – the Coca-Cola 600.

At least she’s seen the track, racing at CMS last October in the NNS. She finished 21st.

Patrick continues to make history, becoming only the second woman to compete in the Coca-Cola 600, and the first since 1976. Janet Guthrie, in her first NSCS start, finished 15th in that event.
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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Notes

The Memorial Day Weekend at Charlotte kicks off the first at-track activation of “NASCAR Unites – An American Salute,” a six-week patriotic initiative to celebrate America and support U.S. military families. The weekend’s festivities include a patriotic pre-race military salute, special USO race invitations and host Lieutenant Colonel Greg Gadson as Honorary Commander. … Ryan Newman continues his hunt to become the ninth driver with 50 NSCS Coors Light Poles. Newman has nine Charlotte poles, making CMS his most prolific track in terms of poles. …  Hendrick Motorsports big weekend wasn’t confined to Charlotte. Development driver Chase Elliott scored his first NASCAR win in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series race Saturday night at Iowa Speedway. Elliott’s win at 16 years, 5 months, 22 days was just two days shy of the series record for youngest winner set by Darrell Wallace Jr. in 2010.

Nationwide Series: Stenhouse On Path To Repeat His Championship Ways

Exclusive company is where current standings leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will be if he stays the course and repeats as the NASCAR Nationwide Series champion. Stenhouse would become the sixth driver to win consecutive series championships, joining Sam Ard (1983-84), Larry Pearson (1986-87), Randy LaJoie (1996-97), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1998-99) and Martin Truex Jr. (2004-05).

Stenhouse, the unofficial ‘Comeback Kid’ of the series, is doing it again. Following his win at Iowa Speedway last weekend, Stenhouse bolstered his points lead to 34 over second-place Elliott Sadler and in the process posted the series’ first Perfect Driver Rating performance of this season (150.0). Since a 19th-place result to start the year at Daytona, Stenhouse has ripped off nine straight finishes of sixth or better, including three wins (Las Vegas, Texas, Iowa).

Compared to last season, the stats are pointing to Stenhouse to pull it off. He has accumulated 90 more points in the series standings, including 13 more bonus points, than he did after the first 10 races in 2011. He also has bettered his season-to-date Driver Rating (117.9) by 13 points (’11 Driver Rating – 104.9), and his Average Running Position (6.1) by two positions (’11 Avg. Running Position – 8.2) over last season after 10 races.

Stenhouse returns to Charlotte after winning the pole for this race last year and finishing fourth, just missing the opportunity to give Roush Fenway Racing a top-three sweep – Matt Kenseth won, followed by Carl Edwards.  Stenhouse has made five series starts at Charlotte, posting one top five and two top 10s.

Bliss-ful Return To Charlotte Motor Speedway

Mike Bliss, 47, is one of the most versatile – and perhaps unheralded – drivers in NASCAR. Running for TriStar Motorsports, an independent series team, Bliss currently is ranked eighth in the standings, the seventh straight week he’s been listed in the top 10 after starting off the year in 27th due to an accident at Daytona.

Although he’s yet to post a top-10 finish this season, the 2002 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion and only driver to accumulate 200 starts in both NNS and NCWTS has had his best success at Charlotte. Both of his NASCAR Nationwide Series victories have come at Charlotte. He won this race in 2009 and captured his first series win in the 2004 fall event. He finished 18th in this race last year. With 135 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts, Bliss will pull double duty this weekend, also running in the Coca-Cola 600.

Other full-time NNS regulars entered in the season’s longest NSCS race are T.J. Bell, Danica Patrick, 1992 series champion Joe Nemechek and Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Cole Whitt.

Coulter Next In Line As RCR Continues To Groom Young Talent

Hard work, experience and success are all keys to making it in NASCAR, and car owner Richard Childress is notorious for having one of the best eyes for talented drivers. The NASCAR ladder system has been quite beneficial to Childress. He has used it to hone the talents of Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer and his grandson, Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate Austin Dillon, currently third in the series standings. This weekend, Childress has tapped up-and-coming driver Joey Coulter for the History 300 at CMS.

Coulter, 21, is currently in his second full season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The 2011 Sunoco Rookie of the Year, Coulter earned five top-five and 13 top-10 finishes in his rookie season. He currently is 10th in the 2012 NCWTS driver standings with two top-10 finishes in the first five events.

“I’m really excited to be given the opportunity to run in the NASCAR Nationwide Series with RCR this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway,” Coulter said. “I can’t thank RCR and everyone that has helped me grow as a driver over the past two years enough.”

NASCAR Nationwide Series Notes

Kyle Busch, the 2009 series champion, has the opportunity to build on his all-time win record at CMS. He’ll be back driving his own No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota this weekend. He last won this race in 2010 and he’s one of five former winners who are entered this weekend. … Two-time series champion and team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Danica Patrick, driver of the JR Motorsports No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, will take part in a live online chat on Friday, May 25, at 4:15 p.m. EDT on NASCARNationwideseries.com. … The No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota remains in second place in the owner standings behind the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford for the second consecutive week. The No. 18 supplanted the No. 2 RCR Chevrolet following Darlington. … Justin Allgaier’s sixth-place finish at Iowa was his best result thus far in 2012 and also best since a sixth last fall at Atlanta. … Austin Dillon has put up consecutive top-five finishes since a season-worst 17th place at Talladega. He continues to lead the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings. … Angela Cope, niece of 1990 Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope and whose twin sister Amber also races, will make her first start of the season at Charlotte. Her most recent series start was in the fall race at CMS last year. … After a six-year hiatus, Biagi-DenBeste Racing returns to the NNS at Charlotte. Reed Sorenson will drive the No. 98 Mustang honoring the late motorsports legend Carroll Shelby. Sorenson’s ride will mirror the new “Super Snake” from Shelby American in celebration of the company’s 50th anniversary.

Camping World Trucks: Variety Rules The Roost In 2012’s First Five Races

What a season. And it’s only just begun.

Five races into the 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series campaign there have been five different winners, five different pole winners and three first-time winners.

Justin Lofton’s May 18 victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway was the Californian’s first in the series, joining John King, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne and James Buescher. The last time a season began with five different winners in the first five races was 2005.

King and Buescher, winners at Daytona and Kansas, respectively, also grabbed their first victories.

Ty Dillon, 20, became the year’s youngest pole winner following the Brazilian pair of Nelson Piquet Jr. and Miguel Paludo, Harvick and Tim George Jr. His older brother, 2011 champion Austin Dillon, won seven poles in his rookie season.

Will the streak continue June 1 at Dover International Speedway? Possibly. Two former Dover winners are expected to be in the field: Jason Leffler (2003) and four-time champion Ron Hornaday Jr. (2007). Hornaday’s fifth-place finish at Charlotte – his first top five since joining Joe Denette Motorsports – boosted him to sixth in the standings, a point behind Parker Kligerman.

Lofton, Sharp Making Magic Second Time Around

For Justin Lofton, it’s been an elevator ride from the basement to the penthouse. The off-road veteran and ARCA champion couldn’t buy a top-five finish in his sophomore season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and – voila – he’s now a race winner and the points leader.

Granted, his advantage over previous leader Timothy Peters – a single point – is tenuous at best. It’s the closest since Austin Dillon held a similar lead over Johnny Sauter on Aug. 6, 2011, following the event at Pocono Raceway.

Lofton is the season’s third different leader joining Peters and King. He’s one of three drivers to have finished among the top 10 in all five races.

His short NASCAR national series career has come full-circle after reuniting with ARCA owner Eddie Sharp midway through 2011. Sharp took a big step over the offseason, purchasing most of the assets of Kevin Harvick Inc. and adding Cale Gale to the team.

Lofton’s Charlotte victory also was the first for Eddie Sharp Racing as well as crew chief Daniel Bormann.

“This is amazing. This day has been coming for so long,” said Lofton, speaking both of the victory and his ascent to a No. 1 ranking. “These guys right here work their butts off week in and week out. I want to thank them.”

For Dillon, A Milestone Fifth Consecutive Top-10 Finish

Only once, in 2001, had a Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender posted top-10 finishes in his first five starts of the season. The late Ricky Hendrick, who lost a tight freshman battle to Travis Kvapil, was the runner-up finisher to Joe Ruttman at Daytona and carried the streak through races at Homestead, Mesa Marin, Martinsville and Gateway before rear-end failure resulted in a DNF at Darlington.

More than a decade later, Ty Dillon has matched Hendrick’s feat. His 10th-place performance at Charlotte added to top 10s at Daytona, Martinsville – where he was second – Rockingham and Kansas.

It’s difficult to say whether consistency leads to future success although it certainly can’t hurt.

For the moment, however, Dillon can boast that he’s done something that some very successful NCWTS graduates did not accomplish. The list includes 2000 champion and current NASCAR Sprint Cup points leader Greg Biffle, 2004 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Kurt Busch, 2003 NCWTS top rookie Carl Edwards and Kvapil. Dillon goes for his sixth consecutive top 10 on June 1 at Dover International Speedway.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Notes

In recent seasons, SPEED has broadcast Dover’s Lucas Oil 200 on a same-day, delayed basis. On June 1, the event returns to live television beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET. … Dover’s “Monster Mile” hosted 11 consecutive different winners before Kyle Busch became its first repeat winner a year ago. … First and second and fifth and six places aren’t the only positions separated by small margins. The difference between Dillon and fourth-place Buescher is two points. Joey Coulter replaced Matt Crafton in 10th, but his edge is a single digit. … Buescher and Coulter have entered Saturday’s NNS History 300. Coulter would make his series debut in Richard Childress Racing’s No. 21 Chevrolet.