Champions: Some Crowned, Some Lost

A lot has happened since my last blog post. The world of racing has been through a lot the past few weeks. Some of these events were good. Other's, not so much. So here it goes.

Credit to hometracks.nascar.com

First the good look at things. These past few weeks, we have crowned a lot of new champions in racing. We'll start with our K&N Series champs. On Friday September 30, 2011, the K&N Pro Series East division crowned their new champion. 18 year old Max Gresham, driver of the #18 car for Joe Gibbs Racing wrapped up his first K&N Series championship. "It means everything in the world right now," said Gresham in a press conference. But as Max wrapped up his points championship, the Rookie of the Year was also being crowned. Another 18 year old by the name of Alex Bowman was the ROTY. Alex drives the #16 St. Judes Children's Research car for X Team Racing. While most people know Alex as "That kid who won the only two ARCA races he ever started" there's a lot more to this boy than just that. “The whole year was a big learning experience,” Bowman told the press. Bowman, who transferred straight from open-wheels to stock cars, beat out second generation drivers Corey LaJoie and Chase Elliott who were his closets competitors.

Credit to hometracks.nascar.com

Another set of K&N Series champions was crowned recently too. This series is divided into K&N East division and the K&N West division. So, we still had yet to crown our K&N West division champion. Greg Pursley, the elder driver of the Gene Price Motorsports team, was crowned the K&N West series Champion. Greg, who only had to take the green flag in the final race to get his championship, was by far the dominant driver of the season. “The Gene Price Motorsports team did a great job and gave me a great car,” Pursley said. “That’s pretty much how it’s been all year. It’s been a dream season to me, winning six races and five poles and finally winning a championship here. I can’t thank them enough.” Now Greg had his championship. So, who was it that got Rookie of the Year. Well, it was none other than Pursley's teammate, Dylan Kwasniewski. Kwasniewski, a 16 year old Las Vegas Nevada native, had a strong rookie season. And after his back to back wins, I think it was obvious that he would be crowned ROTY by seasons end. Dylan, who has set the new record for the series' youngest race winner, set the bar high for the rest of the rookie field.

Credit to NationalSpeedSportsNews.com

We did have some more champions crowned recently too. The ARCA championship wrapped up recently. And this years champion was no surprise. 19 year old Ty Dillon took home this years points title. Ty drives the #41 car for his grandfather Richard Childress and is the younger brother of Camping World Truck Series driver Austin Dillon, who is chasing for a championship as well this year. Ty came out with a strong start to the season. He was a force to be reckoned with and was practically unstoppable. Ty was victorious over another strong hopeful this season, Chris Buescher. Which leads to this years ARCA Series ROTY in Chris Buescher. Chris had a very strong season as well. Starting his season with many 2nd place finish, including a couple to Ty, Chris ended his season with three wins, including the season finale at Toledo. Chris drives the #17 car for Roulo Brothers Racing and is a developmental driver for Roush Fenway Racing and David Ragan.

Credit to IndyMotorSpeedway.com

Now, even though we were crowning all these champions and having all this celebrating, the past few weeks have not all been happy endings. On October 16, 2011 we lost a very loved man. During the IZOD Indy car series finale, there was a horrific 15 car crash on just the 12th lap of racing. Involved in this wreck was 2005 Indy Car champion and 2 time Indy 500 winner, Dan Wheldon. Dan was instantly the worry of all the fans. He was taken to the infield care center for a short amount of time before being transported to a local hospital. After two hours of suspense, a press conference was held to announce the passing of Dan. Family, friends, and fans of Dan were crushed. However, even though the race was cancelled, all the drivers did a 5 lap salute to Dan while his number was displayed on top of the scoreboard. Dan was loved by many and hated by few. But he will always be in our hearts.

Now, as I close today, I'd like to congratulate every driver who has celebrated a great championship. But I would also like to ask that we all continue to remember Dan forever. And soon we'll be crowning three new champions in each of NASCAR's main divisions. :)

That Time of the Year



Well people, as I said in the title, it's that time of year again. This years Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup has rolled around. The field is set and the Chase is almost underway. Today's race at Chicagoland Speedway is under race delay, but is suspected to be underway by around 7:30 ET. Until then, lets take a look at the Chase field.

With the new points system, there was a way for getting into the Chase, without being in the top 12. Wild card spots were a part of the new system this year. Under this system, any driver between positions 11-20 that had a win, was eligible for a Chase spot. And anyone 1-10 still made it in the same way.



Twitter.com





So I'm sure some people havn'te heard the Chase field yet. Well, here is the lineup. Kyle Busch will be first in points with for start of the Chase with 4 wins. Kevin Harvick will be second, also having 4 wins. Third is Jeff Gordon, who has 3 wins. Fourth, it's Matt Kenseth, having 2 wins. Fifth is Carl Edwards, with one win. Sixth is Mr. "5 Time", Jimmie Johnson, with a surprising, one win this season. Seventh is Kurt Busch, who has one win as well. Eighth is Ryan Newman, who once again, has one win. Ninth is Tony Stewart who is the highest ranked guy with no wins. Tenth is none other than, Dale Earnhardt Jr, who is making his first Chase appearance in years. Dale Jr. also has no wins.

Courtesy newsroom.sprint.com

Then comes the well worthy wild card spots. These two gentleman make up eleventh and twelfth, since their wins are not counted once they enter the Chase. In eleventh, is Brad Keselowski. Brad respectively won 3 races this season, and overcame a huge deficit, despite  his broken ankle late in this regular season. And, rounding out the Chase contenders, twelfth place is Denny Hamlin. Despite all his wins last year, and falling just short of the championship, Denny will be sitting twelfth in points with only one win!



All in all, good luck to every one of these lucky gentleman who made the chase this season. And good luck to the other guys who just fell short. I hope the best of luck for everyone, in this season, and next.

Alex Bowman: Moving On Up

I know what a lot of people are thinking. Who in the world is Alex Bowman? Well, I'm here to answer that for you. And to inform of his amazing accomplishment the other day.


Courtesy: hometracks.nascar.com



Alex Bowman is and 18 year old boy racing in NASCAR's K&N Pro Series East division. Alex is from Tucson, Arizona but currently resides in North Carolina. He has been racing for years now, slowly making his way up through the ranks.

Since Alex has been in the K&N Pro Series, he has done astonishingly well. Alex has posted 6 top fives and 3 top tens in his 9 K&N starts. He's also part of "NASCAR's Next Nine". A group of young racers picked out based upon they're pure talent. They are considered to be the future of NASCAR.

Now, on to something else very exciting about Alex.



On August 26, 2011, the ARCA Series raced in Madison, Wisconsin. Alex had the amazing opportunity to race in the Venturini Motorsports #55 car. Alex had a very good car from the start of practice, through qualifying, and during the race. Now, by me saying that, most people are probably thinking, "Alright, so what happened to him? Cause we know when someone says that, something went wrong."



Courtesy: Alex Bowman Racing on Facebook



Ya, well you're wrong. Not only did Alex have a good car, he had a GREAT car! So good, it carried him all the way to the checkered flag! That's right! Alex Bowman in his ARCA Series debut, won the race. Next Trevor Bayne moment, I think so.

But Alex, is a good racer, so this was no surprise to me. The boy has loads of potential. And who knows, maybe he'll be your next youngest Daytona 500 winner. I just want to conclude with Congratulations Alex. Everyone is very proud of you. We hope to see more from you in the future, with much more success.



Where Have I Been

No people I haven't dropped off the face of the earth. I just have been really busy. School started back last week, and between that, daily 2hour volleyball practices, and moving into a new house, I haven't had time to to much updating. Plus, I didn't have satellite until late Thursday night. And then I was at the fair last night with some friends.

But I did get home in time for the end of the Nationwide race. And man was that a finish! Kyle Busch and Joey Logano going at it like mad men! Congratulations to Kyle on the win as well. It was a well fought race. He also finally topped Mark Martin for most Nationwide Series wins. So congrats again Kyle.

Since I've been a little behind, I'll post the line-up for today's race. And hopefully, I'll have a recap of the race later tonight.

Credit to BristolMotorSpeedway.com

1. Ryan Neman#39

2.Carl Edwards#99

3.Matt Kenseth#17

4.Jeff Grodon#24

5.Mark Martin#5
6.Jamie McMurray#1

7.Paul Menard#27

8.Brad Keselowski#2
9.Joey Logano#20
10.Kurt Busch#22
11.Marcos Ambrose#9
12.Regan SMith#78
13.Jimmie Johnson#48
14.Gre Biffle#16
15.Kevin Harvick#29
16.Clint Bowyer#33
17.David Gilliland#34
18.AJ Allemndinger#43
19.Jaun Pablo Montoya#42
20.Denny Hamlin#11
21.Jeff Burton#31
22.Dale Earnhardt Jr.#88
23.Kyle Busch#18
24.David Ragan#6
25.Kasey Kahne#4
26.Brian Vickers#83
27.Martin Truex Jr.#56
28.Joe Nemechek#87
29.Casey Mears#13
30.Bobby Labonte#47
31.David Stremme#30
32.Michael McDowell#66
33.Travis Kvapil#38
34.David Reutimann#00
35.Dave Blaney#36
36.Scott Speed#46
37.David Starr
38.Andy Lally#71
39.Robby Gordon#7
40.Mike Bliss#51
41.Terry Labonte#32
42.Tony Stewart#14
43.Mike Skinner#60

NASCAR's Newest Surprise

As we all know, Camping World Truck Series returns racing at Michigan International Speedway this weekend, after having an off weekend. With their return, there comes a driver return. And with his return, he is making some big news.

Credit to racejunk.com

As we all well remember, Colin Braun ran for Jack Roush in the Nationwide Series for a majority of the 2010 season. In my opinion, Colin was one damn good driver. He made me proud to be a good fan of his. But our opinion doesn't matter when it comes to situations like the one he was in.

Now, nearing the end of last season, Trevor Bayne left racing for Michael Waltrip. Jack Roush made it clear that he wanted Trevor, because he signed him to drive the #16 car. Which was, the car Colin was in. Now, Colin did run a few more races in a temporary #17 car. But after that, no one had ever really seen or heard from Colin, except for on Twitter.

However, no need to fret any longer! Cause after almost a year, Colin is back in business with his NASCAR career. For those of you who I know are thinking it, No, you eyes are not playing tricks on you. You read that correctly. He's back baby! He may not be in a Nationwide car, but he's here. Colin made the big announcement yesterday, August 15th, that he will be driving the #51 truck for Billy Ballew in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. He will race this weekend at Michigan International Speedway.

I, as a fan, would like to congratulate Colin! I've been waiting to see him back in our sport for almost a year now, and the wait has finally ended. So, Welcome back Colin, and we hope to have you around much more often. Until next time, keep your head held high everyone. -Reba :)

Heluva Good! Sour Creams Dip at The Glen: Sprint Cup Race Recap

The Heluva Good! Sour Creams Dip at The Glen was scheduled to run Sunday April 14, 2011. But mother nature had other plans. On Sunday, opening ceremonies had just concluded when the rain began to fall. A couple hours later, NASCAR decided to postpone the race till Monday. Good or Bad decision? We were soon to find out.

Monday rolled around, and the drivers were ready to go. There was a slight drizzle on the track that morning, but nothing the guys couldn't handle. After two pace laps, the green flag was waved, and we were underway at The Glen.

Jim Utter via yfrog on Twitter

There were three early race spins, but all cars were able to get refired and continued on. The race went caution free until Kurt Busch spun for the second time, hitting the wall hard. Then the next caution wasn't till Lap 66, when Denny Hamlin had brake issues and his car ran straight into the wall. A hard hit, but Hamlin walked away with nothing more than a few body aches.

Kyle Busch had pole for this race. And we all know, if Kyle has pole, then Kyle's gonna be a competitor. And that he was. However, Marcos Ambrose was just as fierce. Most of today's race was dominated by Kyle and Marcos. Undoubtedly, the two best cars out there all day.

Other than Denny Hamlin's crash, the race was pretty calm for a while. Other than small scuffles between drivers, nothing major really happened. Then there was a late race caution by Paul Menard when he spun around and hit the wall with 5 laps to go. By this time, Marcos had been putting a lot of pressure on Kyle for the lead. So this restart was exactly what Kyle didn't want to see! NASCAR had already made the decision for a GWC finish.

On the restart, Ambrose spun his tires, and Kyle "King of The Restart", was flawless. It looked Marcos' chances were done when Brad Keselowski passed him. But Marcos held onto 3rd. Then when Kyle took the next turn a little to wide, Brad drove around him, followed by Marcos, and Kyle was in third. Then, the pressure was on for Brad. As the next turn came along, Marcos got under Brad and scooted him out of the way, taking over the lead. Then Marcos took the white flag. One more lap Marcos, and this was yours.

Photo by Getty Images

Well, Marcos didn't need one more lap. Coming out of one of the turns, Boris Said got David Ragan lose. David spun and hit the wall. Hard. But that wasn't the end of it. David came back and hit David Reutimann, who then spun and hit the wall. Then Reutimann flipped multiple times, was airborne at one point, and eventually ended up back on his wheels. NASCAR called the caution of course. This meant that due to a white flag caution, Marcos Ambrose was you winner. This was our 5th first time winner of the season, his first win in his Sprint Cup Series career, and it qualifies him for the Sprint Summer Showdown.

Now, while Ambrose was celebrating his win, there was a lot more taking place behind the scenes. When Boris Said had crashed David Ragan, which was bad enough it could have resulted in death if it weren't for proper safety precautions, he had trigger the angry side of one of Ragan's teammates. Greg Biffle was by no means happy by what had happened between David and Boris. Greg, being the good teammate he is, went to confront Boris about the situation. But before any major fights happened, crew members and NASCAR officials had stepped in. But it wasn't settled there. Biffle never commented on the situation, but Boris had plenty to say about it. He called Biffle, "The most unprofessional scaredy cat I've ever seen in my life.." But that was only part of what Said had to say. He also had many threats to "beat up" Biffle and give him a black eye the next time he saw him. Also saying that Biffle couldn't hide forever. Many people where unhappy with the way Boris reacted and what he said on live television.

However, after all the madness of the finish, this is how the top ten rounded out. Marcos Ambrose was your winner. He was followed by Brad Keselowski in second, Kyle Busch in third, and Martin Truex Jr. and Joey Logano rounding out the top five. Then it was Kevin Harvick in sixth, followed by Juan Pablo Montoya in seventh; then A.J. Allmendinger, Jeff Burton, and Jimmie Johnson rounding out the top ten. All of which had pretty much been running in the top ten all day anyways.

Now, the points leader coming into this race was Carl Edwards. But after the race we had today, you oughta know that there would be a pretty big shift in the points. Edwards ended up with a 12th place finish after NASCAR reviewed the footage for official placing. As for points....Mr. Kyle Busch is back on top this week. But he's not alone. He is tied with "Cousin Carl" for the lead with 752 points. A three point advantage over 3rd place Jimmie Johnson, our 5 time champ.

Congrats to Marcos Ambrose on his exciting win today at Watkins Glen. You deserved it Marcos, you really did. As for the rest of you, keep racing like you do. We all have our days. Until next time, "G'day mate!" -Reba :)

Watkins Glen: Postponed till Monday



(AP Photo/Tom Ryder)

 Well as we all know, NASCAR has called off the race for today.

Opening ceremonies had just begun at the track when it began to drizzle. By the time the National Anthem was finished it was raining pretty hard. So everyone pulled out the umbrellas and began to wait it out. Many of the drivers were tweeting. And the fans were getting very angry on Twitter. Some Twitter people even started doing Q&As. Some at the track began playing the new gaming app Pit Crew Combine made by Joe Gibbs Racing's tech guy Boris. All found something to do. Some drivers just chilled in their motor coaches. Many went and did interviews with the ESPN. All however, found a way to pass the time.

After about 3 and 1/2, almost 4  hours of waiting, NASCAR finally made the call to postpone the race. It is set to air tomorrow at 10 am EST on ESPN. Good luck to all the guy tomorrow. Let's hope the rain holds off this time. -Reba