Nascar Rules

[the H team]

63 years ago today – a legend was born.

[the H team]

I see you did show up...checked it a couple of time but you weren't around.

Was pretty exciting at the end...I guess Casey got a good shiner from Marcus...

was busy with work & got home late, so only saw the last 2 hours. Jeff just needed a couple more laps.

[the H team]

Happy Birthday to 7-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Dale Earnhardt! You are truly missed!

[the H team]

Marcos Ambrose (left) and Casey Mears (right) came to blows after Saturday night's race at Richmond.

NASCAR levied penalties on Tuesday evening against drivers Marcos Ambrose and Casey Mears, who engaged in a shoving match that culminated in Ambrose punching Mears in the face moments after Saturday night's Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway.
Ambrose and Mears were found to have violated Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing), and 12-4.9 (Behavioral Penalty; involved in an altercation in the garage area after the race) of the 2014 NASCAR rule book.
As a result, Ambrose has been fined $25,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until May 28, while Mears has been fined $15,000 and placed on NASCAR probation until May 28. Neither driver was suspended.
Mears, speaking in an exclusive interview Monday evening on NASCAR Race Hub, said the two drivers had discussed their altercation and seemed to have a better understanding.








Fight club: Tempers flare on the short track in Richmond







"Marcos and I had a really good conversation actually today," Mears said on FOX Sports 1. "Just talked through it, and things happen. You get upset.

"We're a couple guys, and we're passionate about what we do. I was on the downside of it, but I think we both got our point across and kind of understand where we're at now."
Ambrose hasn't spoken publicly since the confrontation but his Richard Petty Motorsports team issued a statement late Tuesday saying Ambrose would not appeal his penalty.
Kevin Harvick, speaking at a media event Tuesday afternoon at Charlotte Motor Speedway before the penalties were announced, said he didn't expect Ambrose or Mears to be penalized.
Harvick was surprised, however, that the drivers' respective crews didn't intervene before a punch was thrown.
"Casey was kind of the aggressor in the beginning of that whole thing, and by the time Marcos wound up against the car, he had probably had enough," Harvick said. "And the unique part about that whole situation is the team just kind of stood around. It usually doesn't escalate to that point because team members get involved and just kind of break it up and you move on.
"That one was interesting to see everyone stand around and not get in the middle of it. It was almost like they had a pre-planned boxing match ready to roll there as they all watched. I think Marcos felt like he got backed into a corner and just felt like he needed to defend himself and landed a pretty solid shot."

[rockit]

Off to London to watch the race with brother tonight...

I'll try to drop in on bro's comp if I get a minute or two...

Enjoy the race...

Who's on the pole...

Happy, Happy, Happy...

[the H team]

evening race fans at Kansas Speedway for the 5 hour energy 400. The starting line is as follows,

Kevin Harvick
Joey Logano
Brad Keselowski
Carl Edwards
Kyle Larson
Kurt Busch
Ryan Newman
Tony Stewart
Danica Patrick
Greg Biffle

[the H team]

Jeff Gordon-13th
Jimmie Johnson-14th
Kasey Kahne-17th
Dale Jr-22nd
Kyle Busch-24th
Matt Kenseth-28th
Denny Hamlin-30

[the H team]

Joe Nemechek will start at the back due to missing driver introductions.

[the H team]

This is a mile & a half track so there will be 267 laps to do the 400 miles. We're almost ready to start, with the National anthem now being sung by Father Miller, a monk & Priest.

[the H team]

Rain is threatening in the the area, so we have have a shortened race.

[the H team]

The magic number is 134. If drivers make it to that lap & past when the rain comes, then the race will be official for whoever is leading, while less than that the race will go on Monday.

[the H team]

1. JEFF GORDON (NO. 24)

Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet

Standing: Gordon leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings with 347 points.

Past five races: 39th at Talladega, 2nd at Richmond, 7th at Darlington, 2nd at Texas, 12th at Martinsville.
Season stats: 4 top-fives, 7 top-10s.
Track history: At Kansas, Gordon's average finish is 12.5 and his average running position is 9.8 over the past nine years. In 16 career starts at Kansas, he has two wins, nine top-fives and 11 top-10s.
Quick hit: Gordon's success at this 1.5-mile oval came before the 2012 repave. The veteran won the first two Cup races here, and had a string of five consecutive top-fives from 2007-2011. In his last five races at the track, though, he has two top-10s and two finishes outside the top 20.

2. MATT KENSETH (NO. 20)

Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota
Standing: Kenseth is second in the standings with 344 points.
Past five races: 37th at Talladega, 5th at Richmond, 4th at Darlington, 7th at Texas, 6th at Martinsville.
Season stats: 3 top-fives, 7 top-10s, 1 pole.
Track history: At Kansas, Kenseth's average finish is 11.8 and his average running position is 9.6 over the past nine years. In 16 career starts at Kansas, he has two wins, six top-fives, nine top-10s and two poles.
Quick hit: Kenseth is one of four drivers to have an average running position of less than 10.0 over the past nine years at Kansas. He earned back-to-back wins in the fall of 2012 and spring of 2013. Kenseth's 11th-place finish last fall ended a string of six consecutive top-10s (four of which were top-fives).

3. KYLE BUSCH (NO. 18)

Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota
Standing: Busch is third in the standings with 343 points.
Past five races: 12th at Talladega, 3rd at Richmond, 6th at Darlington, 3rd at Texas, 14th at Martinsville.
Season stats: 1 win, 3 top-fives, 5 top-10s, 1 pole.
Track history: At Kansas, Busch's average finish is 22.2 and his average running position is 18.8 over the past nine years. In 13 career starts at Kansas, he has two top-10s.
Quick hit: Busch's average running position over the past nine years is 18th in the series, and he's said for years that this is among his worst tracks. The results bear that out -- he's finished outside of the top 30 in three consecutive races. The last time out, he wrecked his primary car during practice and his backup car in the race.

4. DALE EARNHARDT JR. (NO. 88)

Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet
Standing: Earnhardt Jr. is fourth in the standings with 328 points.
Past five races: 26th at Talladega, 7th at Richmond, 2nd at Darlington, 43rd at Texas, 3rd at Martinsville.
Season stats: 1 win, 5 top-fives, 6 top-10s.
Track history: At Kansas, Earnhardt Jr.'s average finish is 15.6 and his average running position is 15.1 over the past nine years. In 15 career starts at Kansas, he has one top-five, seven top-10s and one pole.
Quick hit: Junior has been uneven at this 1.5-mile track over his career, but his average finish since joining Hendrick Motorsports is 14.8 compared to an average finish of 17.1 before. Plus he has a runner-up finish on a mile-and-a-half oval already this year (Las Vegas), so consider the No. 88 team to have top-five potential.

5. CARL EDWARDS (NO. 99)


Roush Fenway Racing, Ford
Standing: Edwards is fifth in the standings with 328 points.
Past five races: 30th at Talladega, 9th at Richmond, 13th at Darlington, 14th at Texas, 13th at Martinsville.
Season stats: 1 win, 2 top-fives, 5 top-10s, 1 pole.
Track history: At Kansas, Edwards' average finish is 9.9 and his average running position is 12.3 over the past nine years. In 13 career starts at Kansas, he has five top-fives and nine top-10s.
Quick hit: Edwards is one of three drivers with an average finish of less than 10.0 in the loop data era -- the others are Jimmie Johnson and teammate Greg Biffle. This is one of Roush Fenway Racing's best tracks, with three wins here over the past 10 races. Edwards is one of the favorites to win Saturday night.

6. JOEY LOGANO (NO. 22)

Team Penske, Ford
Standing: Logano is sixth in the standings with 305 points.
Past five races: 32nd at Talladega, 1st at Richmond, 35th at Darlington, 1st at Texas, 4th at Martinsville.
Season stats: 2 wins, 5 top-fives, 5 top-10s, 1 pole.
Track history: At Kansas, Logano's average finish is 23.7 and his average running position is 22.2 over the past nine years. In nine career starts at Kansas, he has one top-five and one top-10.
Quick hit: Do you believe Joey Logano has turned a career corner? If you do, ignore his first eight races at this track in which he recorded four finishes outside the top 25 and zero finishes inside the top 10. Instead, focus on last year's fourth-place run and his dominance on 1.5-miles this year (fourth at Las Vegas, first at Texas).

7. JIMMIE JOHNSON (NO. 48)

Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet
Standing: Johnson is seventh in the standings with 304 points.
Past five races: 23rd at Talladega, 32nd at Richmond, 3rd at Darlington, 25th at Texas, 2nd at Martinsville.
Season stats: 3 top-fives, 5 top-10s.
Track history: At Kansas, Johnson's average finish is 5.3 and his average running position is 7.4 over the past nine years. In 15 career starts at Kansas, he has two wins, six top-fives, 13 top-10s and three poles.
Quick hit: Johnson ranks first on the circuit in average finish and average running position here over the past nine years. He's finished in the top 10 for 10 consecutive races. He has three top-fives, including a win, in the past five races here. He's not only the pre-race favorite, he's a must-play for your Fantasy Live lineup.

8. GREG BIFFLE (NO. 16)

Roush Fenway Racing, Ford
Standing: Biffle is eighth in the standings with 300 points.
Past five races: 2nd at Talladega, 15th at Richmond, 5th at Darlington, 6th at Texas, 18th at Martinsville.
Season stats: 2 top-fives, 4 top-10s.
Track history: At Kansas, Biffle's average finish is 8.7 and his average running position is 9.1 over the past nine years. In 15 career starts at Kansas, he has two wins, seven top-fives, nine top-10s and one pole.
Quick hit: Biffle was agonizingly close to his first win of the season at Talladega, and now comes to one of his best tracks. He ranks second in the past nine years in average place and average finish, behind only Jimmie Johnson, so expect the veteran to run up front all night. A win would be the fifth at the track for team owner Jack Roush, which put him above Rick Hendrick (who has four).

9. RYAN NEWMAN (NO. 31)

Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet
Standing: Newman is ninth in the standings with 299 points.
Past five races: 18th at Talladega, 8th at Richmond, 10th at Darlington, 16th at Texas, 20th at Martinsville.
Season stats: 4 top-10s.
Track history: At Kansas, Newman's average finish is 22.4 and his average running position is 21.4 over the past nine years. In 16 career starts at Kansas, he has one win, three top-fives and four top-10s.
Quick hit: This is one of just two tracks on the circuit in which Newman has a win, but not a pole. (Daytona is the other.) Newman finished second, second and first in the first three races at the track. Since then, he has one top-10 in 13 starts. Perhaps having new equipment in his first year with Richard Childress Racing will be the spur Newman needs to improve here.

10. BRIAN VICKERS (NO. 55)

Michael Waltrip Racing, Toyota
Standing: Vickers is 10th in the standings with 297 points.
Past five races: 4th at Talladega, 12th at Richmond, 26th at Darlington, 4th at Texas, 16th at Martinsville.
Season stats: 2 top-fives, 4 top-10s.
Track history: At Kansas, Vickers' average finish is 21.1 and his average running position is 20.1 over the past nine years. In nine career starts at Kansas, he has one top-10.
Quick hit: Vickers finished outside the top 30 in both Kansas races last year in his part-time role with Michael Waltrip Racing. How much does that matter? Hard to say. You can't ignore his spotty history here, but he's also outperforming expectations this season as a full-time Sprint Cup driver.

[the H team]

Drivers are waiting patiently in their cars, but it looks like they will be getting out of their cars & covering them for the impending rain. Now there's a surprise, another rain delay.

[the H team]

"I'm really excited about this weekend, because this Axalta Racing team has been strong on mile-and-a-half tracks this year." Jeff Gordon won the inaugural race at Kansas in 2001. Can he win the inaugural night race in 2014?

"I'm rjjeally excited about this weekend, because this Axalta Racing team has been strong on mile-and-a-half tracks this J"I'm really excited about this weekend, because this Axalta Racing team has been strong on mile-and-a-half tracks this year." Jeff Gordon won the inaugural race at Kansas in 2001. Can he win the inaugural night race in 2014?year." Jeff Gordon won the inaugural race at Kansas in 2001. Can he win the inaugural night race in 2014?"I'm really excited about this weekend, because this Axalta Racing team has been strong on mile-and-a-half tracks this year." Jeff Gordon won the inaugural race at Kansas in 2001. Can he win the inaugural night race in 2014?

[the H team]

Jeff won the inaugural race at Kansas Speedway in 2001, can he win the inaugural night race tonight?