NASCAR Notebook: Texas Equals Roush Fenway Spark

If the past indeed is prologue, Saturday’s Samsung Mobile 500 is going to be a very big race for Roush Fenway Racing.

The team is an eight-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winner at Texas Motor Speedway, more than double the victory total of its two closest rivals Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports – six combined.

Matt Kenseth is the defending winner of Saturday night’s event. His victory, by more than eight seconds over Clint Bowyer, broke a two-year RFR winless streak at the Fort Worth track.

The drought didn’t just end in Victory Lane. Kenseth’s two teammates, Carl Edwards and current points leader Greg Biffle, finished fourth and fifth, respectively. The organization repeated its top-five domination in the track’s fall Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup event: Edwards was second to winner Tony Stewart, while Kenseth was fourth with Biffle again fifth.

All three RFR drivers have Texas wins. Edwards boasts three victories, including a sweep in 2008; Kenseth has two and Biffle one. Roush drivers have two season sweeps in 2008 and 2005.

RFR’s performance over the season’s first six races gives every indication the team again will field the cars to beat in the Lone Star State. Kenseth won the Daytona 500; Biffle heads the points and Edwards ranks 11th with a trio of top-10 finishes.

“Texas gives us several lines to race on, so it’s just turned into a place where drivers can take the high line or the low line when it comes to racing for position,” said Kenseth. “Texas is just a great fast track with the challenge of relatively flat straightaways and high-banked turns. So it’s a place that can be challenging, but I always look forward to racing there twice a year.”

The week’s schedule – practice Thursday and Friday, the latter session followed by qualifying – figures to challenge teams to be ready for a race that begins at 7:30 p.m. EDT (live on FOX).

“We only have one practice (Thursday) that will be around the same time as the race starts, so we’ll spend time on race trim since track conditions should be similar to Saturday,” said Jimmy Fennig, crew chief for Kenseth’s No. 17 Ford. “Last November, our car got loose as the race went on and the track rubbered up so we’ll work on those similar situations this weekend in practice.”

Texas Leads The Charge To Racing On Saturday Nights

As the song suggested, “The night time is the right time.”

NSCS competition goes under the lights beginning with Saturday’s Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas. Four of the next six points races – Texas, Richmond, Darlington and Charlotte – plus the May 19 Sprint All-Star Race will begin and/or end after dark. The cars look faster at night and, in some cases, actually are when the racing surface isn’t bombarded by the sun’s heat.

Texas Motor Speedway moved its spring race to Saturday night in 2011. The race was a dandy, thrilling an estimated crowd of 168,400, as 13 different drivers traded the lead 31 times before Matt Kenseth went to Victory Lane to fire TMS’ famed six-shooters.

Darlington’s famed Southern 500 moved to Saturday night in 2005. Richmond is the only track to host both spring and fall races at night. So, who owns the nightcap advantage (Texas, Richmond, Darlington and Charlotte)?

The last seven years – dating to Darlington’s schedule shift – have mostly belonged to a Kyle Busch. Busch, who rides a three-in-a-row streak at Richmond, is at the top of the list with four wins, with his other victory coming at Darlington. Other multiple winners are Kasey Kahne with three (Charlotte twice and Richmond), and Greg Biffle (Darlington) with two. Kenseth won the first night race of this season, though it wasn’t scheduled as one – the Daytona 500.

Earnhardt Has That Winning Feeling

As competitive as they are, a one-race wins drought probably feels like forever for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers. Dale Earnhardt Jr. currently stares at a 135-race winless streak. That’s by far the longest of his career.  But just how long is it? Well, his previous longest was prior to his last win in 2008 at Michigan International Speedway, when he went winless in 76 consecutive races.

Other than those two stretches, Earnhardt has enjoyed only brief periods of lulls.
Few waits were shorter than that for his first victory, which just so happened to come at Texas Motor Speedway, site of this Saturday night’s main event. Earnhardt needed only 12 starts to capture his first NSCS win, nabbing it on April 2, 2000.

There’s a feel to this 2012 season that a victory will come sooner than later. He has three top-three finishes (and four top 10s overall), which has moved him to second in the points. The last time he was this high in the points late in the season was 2008, the season he last won. The last time Earnhardt held the points lead was October 2004.

And, the weekly wait surprisingly continues: an Earnhardt win (or one by Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson or Kasey Kahne) would be Hendrick Motorsports’ 200th victory. The team has built up a mini-drought of their own – 12 races have run since its last win at Kansas Speedway. HMS has three victories at Texas, most recently by Gordon in 2009. That win snapped a 47-race drought for Gordon.

Hamlin Hoping For Rerun Of 2010 Texas Sweep

Texas Motor Speedway figures to be a good place for Denny Hamlin to keep his 2012 mojo revving.

Although Hamlin struggled at the 1.5-mile Fort Worth speedway a year ago – he was 15th in the spring; 20th in the fall – he has two reasons to look forward to a return to the Lone Star state.

Hamlin swept both races in 2010, the season in which he finished second in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

His crew chief, Darian Grubb, shared Victory Lane with last year’s champion Tony Stewart, the track’s most recent winner. Hamlin and Grubb have been a solid match through six races with a victory, two top-five and three top-10 finishes.

Hamlin has the third-best Texas Driver Rating (102.4) among current Chase contenders, trailing only Stewart and points leader Greg Biffle. Only defending race winner Matt Kenseth (8.7) has a better average finish than the 10.2 Hamlin shares with five-time champion Jimmie Johnson.

Hamlin is the only Texas Toyota winner. All four series manufacturers have at least one victory over the past three seasons.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Notes

NSCS driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 National Guard Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was prominently displayed on the Ellipse outside of the White House for the 134th Annual Easter Egg Roll event on Monday, where NASCAR officially launch its patriotic campaign, ‘NASCAR Unites – An American Salute.’  The car’s appearance was the start of a NASCAR initiative that will support military families from the Memorial Day weekend race (Charlotte Motor Speedway) through Independence Day weekend (Daytona International Speedway). Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, Danica Patrick, Greg Biffle and Keselowski are drivers scheduled to run NASCAR Unites paint schemes during this period. … Milestone Marker: Ryan Newman has a couple of notable numbers to watch. He continues his march toward 50 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light poles this weekend. The achievement would make him solely ninth on the all-time NASCAR Sprint Cup pole winners list. In 2005, Newman swept both poles at Texas. Additionally, he is on the verge of eclipsing 6,000 NASCAR national series laps led. He currently has a total of 5,965 laps led – 4,462 laps led (NSCS), 1,491 laps led (NNS) and 12 laps led (NCWTS). Newman has led a total of 88 laps in 17 NSCS starts at Texas Motor Speedway. …The Sprint Fan Vote is open for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race on May 19…. Greg Biffle’s 193.736 mph last fall won the Coors Light Pole Award and was the fastest lap of the season in qualifying. If Texas wants to keep its title as fastest track, it will have to top the speed Carl Edwards posted for this year’s Daytona 500: 194.738 mph.

Nationwide Series: Glitter Abounds Under The Friday Night Lights

Turn those cameras on because the NASCAR Nationwide Series returns for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. This weekend boasts a Friday night showdown under the lights with one of the more star-studded fields seen thus far in 2012. Joining series regulars like standings leader Elliott Sadler, Danica Patrick, Sam Hornish Jr., reigning series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and talented Sunoco rookies Austin Dillon and Cole Whitt are eight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series double-duty drivers.

Leading the double-duty group is two-time series champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. (who also is Patrick and Whitt’s team owner at JR Motorsports). Earnhardt has made four starts at Texas, posting one win (1998) and three top 10s. His pre-race Driver Rating is 94.3 and his Average Running Position is 14.7.
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The last driver to win a series event at Texas entered this weekend is Kurt Busch (spring 2006 winner), making his second series start of the season, but first driving for his brother/team owner Kyle Busch. Kyle Busch Motorsports is seeking its first NNS victory and Kurt, the 2004 NSCS champion, will have some serious expectations to match. Kyle won five straight races at Texas from 2008-10 but Kurt should be up to the task. He has made two series starts at Texas, posting one win and two top 10s. He leads the series among entered drivers in average finish with a 4.5.
Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin, Paul Menard, David Ragan, Joey Logano along with former series champions Joe Nemechek – a winner at Texas in 2003 – and Brad Keselowski round out the double-duty field.

Series Regulars Ready To Continue Their Winning Ways

As the NNS returns from its two-week hiatus, fans and media alike are looking forward to non-fulltime NSCS drivers not only contending with, but beating some of the finest drivers the NSCS has to offer. Dating back to November, the last time the NNS raced at Texas, six of the eight series races have been won by drivers not running for NSCS championship points.

The 2011 Daytona 500 champion, Trevor Bayne won his first NNS race last November at Texas before Sam Hornish Jr. won the season’s second-to-last event at Phoenix. To kick off 2012, James Buescher, championship points-eligible in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and in line to run 14 NNS races this year, won at Daytona. Elliott Sadler won at Phoenix and Bristol while Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won at Las Vegas. Joey Logano finally chalked up one for the Cup regulars at Auto Club Speedway. Bayne’s win last fall made him the first series regular – and third overall – to win at Texas dating back to 1998. Earnhardt Jr. won that year and Jeff Purvis was the winner in 2002.

This weekend at Texas, the pre-race Loop Data stats point to Stenhouse as the one to watch among the series regulars. He has a Driver Rating of 99.5, an Average Running Position of 8.5 and has spent 93.5% of his laps completed in the top 15.

Standings leader Sadler has made eight starts at Texas, posting two Coors Light poles and five top 10s. Sadler was a guest on this week’s NASCAR Teleconference.

Top 30 Brings Focus To Other End Of Points Scale

With the first five races of the season in the books, the top-30 tide will turn starting at Texas. For the first five races of the year, the top 30 cars via 2011 owner points were locked in to each event. At Texas – and for the remainder of the year – the current top 30 in owner points will be locked in each week.

That scenario came close to presenting a nerve-racking qualifying session for Johanna Long, a Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate and Pensacola native. Long, 19, will be making her series debut at Texas and came close to having to qualify her No. 70 ML Motorsports Chevrolet on speed. The No. 70 is listed 31st in the owner standings but has made all five attempts this year. Long’s ride will move up at least one spot since the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota has made three attempts thus far in 2012.

NASCAR Nationwide Series Notes

Texas is a home race for Turner Motorsports owner Steve Turner (Hallettsville) and Robert Richardson Jr. (McKinney), driver of the No. 23 R3 Motorsports Chevrolet … Steve Arpin is back in the series for the first time in two years while Kelly Bires also returns. … Ryan Truex, two-time NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion, will be in the No. 09 for RAB Racing at Texas. Kenny Wallace returns at Talladega. … JR Motorsport’s crew chief Bruce Cook has moved to the No. 88 of Cole Whitt while Tony Eury Sr. now leads the No. 5 Chevrolet of Dale Earnhardt Jr. … Tayler Malsam, currently eighth in points, will throw out the first pitch at the April 11 Texas Rangers vs. Seattle Mariners game at The Ballpark at Arlington. … Justin Allgaier and Jeremy Clements visited schools in Darlington County on April 10 in support of the May 11 race at Darlington Raceway. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. travels to Montreal on April 11 to help promote the Aug. 18 race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. … Manufacturer Spotlight: Each manufacturer has won at least one of the last eight NNS races dating back to the last three events of 2011 (Ford – 2, Dodge – 2, Chevy – 3, Toyota – 1).

Camping World Trucks: Dillon Has Fond Memories Of Rockingham On And Off The Track

Ty Dillon has looked forward to Sunday’s Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200 Presented by Cheerwine at Rockingham Speedway for a variety of reasons.

Dillon, coming off a second-place finish at Martinsville Speedway two weeks ago, returns to the track where a victory in the 2010 season finale clinched the ARCA championship. The 20-year-old Dillon enters the year’s third race fourth in points, just four markers behind leader and fellow Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender John King.

The race – NASCAR’s first at “The Rock” since 2004 – also is a journey back in time for Dillon, who remembers the childhood drives to the 1.017-mile track in his grandfather Richard Childress’ Chevrolet Corvette.

“I was able to go a lot when I was younger, me and my grandfather.  I was probably six or seven years old,” Dillon said recently. “It was kind of a cool deal for me, because it was the time that I would go to the racetrack with just my grandfather, and me and him would hang out all weekend.

“We could ride up there together and have a little fun on the road, talking about racing and talking about whatever, and me just being a young kid trying to soak it all in.”

Dillon believes his ARCA experience – especially learning how to manage tires on a track notorious for extreme wear – will pay dividends on Sunday.

“I feel like I have a really big advantage,” he said. “It’s going to be tough to dial [in] a truck compared to an ARCA car there, but I feel like I’ve got a good understanding of the racetrack.”

Lofton, Kligerman Have Seen This Movie Before

Round 2 of Justin Lofton vs. Parker Kligerman takes place Sunday. The two, now NCWTS veterans, battled for the ARCA title in 2009, with Kligerman winning Rockingham’s race but Lofton – who finished third – taking the title.

“It is a great place to watch a race, but even more special to race,” said Eddie Sharp Racing’s Lofton, who has a pair of top-five finishes in 2012. “It’s what racing is about.”

Kligerman ranks eighth in points entering the season’s third race but has yet to score a top-10 finish. The driver of Brad Keselowski’s No. 29 Ram truck had a pair of third-place performances in 2011 as he finished fourth among Sunoco Rookie of the Year contenders and 11th in overall points.

Bodine, Others Have Rockingham Experience

Several competitors – seven, actually – enter Sunday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event with NASCAR experience at Rockingham Speedway.

Todd Bodine has a pair of NASCAR Nationwide Series victories, the most recent in 2001.

“You have to have a truck that’s just well balanced,” said Bodine. “There’s a lot of self-control that goes into it. The last thing you want to do is over drive it.”

Kasey Kahne, who will compete in the Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday night then fly to “The Rock” for truck competition, finished second to Matt Kenseth in 2004. His final lap, last-turn charge fell just 0.010 seconds short.

Other Rockingham veterans include Johnny Chapman, Ron Hornaday Jr., Jason Leffler, David Reutimann and Johnny Sauter.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Notes

Jeb Burton warmed up for his second series start by winning Saturday’s late model feature at Ace Speedway in North Carolina. Burton “sort of” attended Rockingham’s February 2002 NASCAR Nationwide Series race won by his father, Ward. His mother, Tabitha, was pregnant with Jeb, who was born in August. … Richie Wauters’ No. 5 Ford driven by Paulie Harraka will carry colors of Rockingham Speedway’s “Send A Soldier To The Rock” initiative. The public can purchase $20 tickets to be held for military personnel by calling (910) 205-8800. Fort Bragg is nearby. … Four fan-oriented events will be held in conjunction with this weekend’s race: hauler parade at 6 p.m. Thursday in downtown Rockingham; Thunderfest, also downtown, from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday, featuring children’s activities, music and autograph sessions; and Little Texas concert at 8 p.m. Saturday at the track – free to holders of Saturday and/or Sunday tickets. An “open” track walk will be held at 11 a.m. Sunday. … Matt Crafton will attempt to make his 275th series start; James Buescher his 75th.