The Auto Club 500 at Fontana, California - Just Us Cup-date
The Auto Club 500 at Fontana, California -
The Race Report
The Roush-keteers ran wild at the California Speedway in Fontana, California. Greg Biffle had the car to beat all day long. He and Tony Stewart seemed to be setting up for a late race showdown...until...engine problems claimed them both. Biffle lead the most laps. All 5 Roush cars were in or around the Top Ten all day long. Jimmie Johnson brought a late race charge to the fore, but it was too little, too late. On a green, white, checkered flag restart, Carl Edwards went from fourth to third, passing Kasey Kahne, and from the way he was charging toward the front, had the race been two laps longer, he would have gotten past Johnson for second place, though whether he could have ran Kenseth down isn't knowable. Kenseth took the victory in the California twilight last night heralding a Roush sweep of the weekend's major series racing activities with Mark Martin winning the Friday night truck race, Biffle winning the Saturday Busch race, and Kenseth bringing home the trophy for the NEXTEL race.
No big wrecks. No long yellows. No drama overshadowing a good 500 miles in the southwestern U.S. And television coverage that wasn't so commercially focused that we missed three quarters of the race so someone could try and sell us razors...re: Fox Rocks while NBC Sucks.
Yahoo Raceflash
Stats, facts and observations from Bob Margolis via Yahoo's At The Track
Margolis is onto something with his wondering how many cautions there were for debris back in the 60's and 70's. Unless debris is metallic, they shouldn't throw a caution flag. The mysterious blue glove that was thrown on the track toward the end of the Saturday Busch race was blatant cheating. And surprise, surprise, when NASCAR checked post-race, everyone had their gloves.
Darian Grubb, the interim crew chief on the #48, may soon have Steve Letarte's job, if Steve can't help pull Jeff Gordon and the #24 out of the 26th place in points.
Margolis points out that Earnhardt Jr. is 5th in points...well...I think it is a little early to be crowing about how good Junior is doing.
The most exciting part of the green, white, checkered flag finish was Carl Edwards racing and passing Kahne for 3rd and taking a shot at Johnson going out of Turn 4.
The Dodge Controversy lost a lot of its luster as a result of the results from Cali. The three Intrepids that ran in the race didn't do so great. This speaks to the superior race balance of the Charger despite one of the Intrepids sitting on the pole at Fontana. The best finish by an Intrepid was 16th by Kurt Busch, who was one of the loudest proponents of the balance issue. The Dodge Chargers of Kasey Kahne in the #9 and Casey Mears in the #42 finished ahead of him.
Dropping the Hammer - NASCAR's enforcement of penalties - Shane Hmeil fails drug test gets lifetime ban.
Speed Channel's California Notebook - Tony Stewart, Intrepid vs. Charger, and Roger Penske on Toyotas and "how he'd handle rule breakers in his organization."
More Intrepid vs. Charger...the Results
Race fans are supposed to be better than this.
Complete Finishing Order
1 Matt Kenseth (17)
2 Jimmie Johnson (48)
3 Carl Edwards (99)
4 Kasey Kahne (9)
5 Jeff Burton (31)
6 Jamie McMurray (26)
7 Casey Mears (42)
8 J.J. Yeley (18)
9 Mark Martin (6)
10 Kyle Busch (5)
11 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (8)
12 Denny Hamlin (11)
13 Jeff Gordon (24)
14 Clint Bowyer (07)
15 Martin Truex Jr. (1)
16 Kurt Busch (2)
17 Dale Jarrett (88)
18 Brian Vickers (25)
19 Scott Riggs (10)
20 Ryan Newman (12)
21 Reed Sorenson (41)
22 Jeremy Mayfield (19)
23 Elliott Sadler (38)
24 Jeff Green (66)
25 Kyle Petty (45)
26 Robby Gordon (7)
27 Joe Nemechek (01)
28 Ken Schrader (21)
29 Kevin Harvick (29)
30 Dave Blaney (22)
31 Bobby Labonte (43)
32 Sterling Marlin (14)
33 David Stremme (40)
34 Terry Labonte (96)
35 Kevin Lepage (61)
36 Michael Waltrip (55)
37 Brent Sherman (49)
38 Mike Garvey (51)
39 Scott Wimmer (4)
40 Stanton Barrett Jr. (95)
41 Kenny Wallace (78)
42 Greg Biffle (16)
43 Tony Stewart (20)
The Just Us Cup-date
Place - Driver
Finishing Points
Deduction (DNQ/Prov -5, DNF -5,
Bonus (Pole +5, Most Laps Led +5, Win +5)
TOTAL
2nd - Jimmie Johnson
Finish Points - 65
TOTAL -- 65
3rd - Carl Edwards
Finish Points - 60
TOTAL -- 60
4th - Jamie McMurray
Finish Points - 55
TOTAL -- 55
9th - Mark Martin
Finish Points - 50
TOTAL -- 50
11th - Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Finish Points - 45
TOTAL -- 45
13th - Jeff Gordon
Finish Points - 40
TOTAL -- 40
16th - Kurt Busch
Finish Points - 35
Pole -- 5
TOTAL -- 40
17th - Dale Jarrett
Finish Points - 30
TOTAL -- 30
23rd -- Eliott Sadler
Finish Points - 25
TOTAL -- 25
28th - Ken Schrader
Finish Points - 20
Prov -- -5
TOTAL -- 15
29th - Kevin Harvick
Finish Points - 15
TOTAL -- 15
36th - Michael Waltrip
Finish Points - 10
TOTAL -- 10
42nd - Greg Biffle
Finish Points - 5
Most Laps Led - 5
DNF - -5
TOTAL -- 5
The Race Report
The Roush-keteers ran wild at the California Speedway in Fontana, California. Greg Biffle had the car to beat all day long. He and Tony Stewart seemed to be setting up for a late race showdown...until...engine problems claimed them both. Biffle lead the most laps. All 5 Roush cars were in or around the Top Ten all day long. Jimmie Johnson brought a late race charge to the fore, but it was too little, too late. On a green, white, checkered flag restart, Carl Edwards went from fourth to third, passing Kasey Kahne, and from the way he was charging toward the front, had the race been two laps longer, he would have gotten past Johnson for second place, though whether he could have ran Kenseth down isn't knowable. Kenseth took the victory in the California twilight last night heralding a Roush sweep of the weekend's major series racing activities with Mark Martin winning the Friday night truck race, Biffle winning the Saturday Busch race, and Kenseth bringing home the trophy for the NEXTEL race.
No big wrecks. No long yellows. No drama overshadowing a good 500 miles in the southwestern U.S. And television coverage that wasn't so commercially focused that we missed three quarters of the race so someone could try and sell us razors...re: Fox Rocks while NBC Sucks.
Yahoo Raceflash
Stats, facts and observations from Bob Margolis via Yahoo's At The Track
Margolis is onto something with his wondering how many cautions there were for debris back in the 60's and 70's. Unless debris is metallic, they shouldn't throw a caution flag. The mysterious blue glove that was thrown on the track toward the end of the Saturday Busch race was blatant cheating. And surprise, surprise, when NASCAR checked post-race, everyone had their gloves.
Darian Grubb, the interim crew chief on the #48, may soon have Steve Letarte's job, if Steve can't help pull Jeff Gordon and the #24 out of the 26th place in points.
Margolis points out that Earnhardt Jr. is 5th in points...well...I think it is a little early to be crowing about how good Junior is doing.
The most exciting part of the green, white, checkered flag finish was Carl Edwards racing and passing Kahne for 3rd and taking a shot at Johnson going out of Turn 4.
The Dodge Controversy lost a lot of its luster as a result of the results from Cali. The three Intrepids that ran in the race didn't do so great. This speaks to the superior race balance of the Charger despite one of the Intrepids sitting on the pole at Fontana. The best finish by an Intrepid was 16th by Kurt Busch, who was one of the loudest proponents of the balance issue. The Dodge Chargers of Kasey Kahne in the #9 and Casey Mears in the #42 finished ahead of him.
Dropping the Hammer - NASCAR's enforcement of penalties - Shane Hmeil fails drug test gets lifetime ban.
Speed Channel's California Notebook - Tony Stewart, Intrepid vs. Charger, and Roger Penske on Toyotas and "how he'd handle rule breakers in his organization."
More Intrepid vs. Charger...the Results
Race fans are supposed to be better than this.
Complete Finishing Order
1 Matt Kenseth (17)
2 Jimmie Johnson (48)
3 Carl Edwards (99)
4 Kasey Kahne (9)
5 Jeff Burton (31)
6 Jamie McMurray (26)
7 Casey Mears (42)
8 J.J. Yeley (18)
9 Mark Martin (6)
10 Kyle Busch (5)
11 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (8)
12 Denny Hamlin (11)
13 Jeff Gordon (24)
14 Clint Bowyer (07)
15 Martin Truex Jr. (1)
16 Kurt Busch (2)
17 Dale Jarrett (88)
18 Brian Vickers (25)
19 Scott Riggs (10)
20 Ryan Newman (12)
21 Reed Sorenson (41)
22 Jeremy Mayfield (19)
23 Elliott Sadler (38)
24 Jeff Green (66)
25 Kyle Petty (45)
26 Robby Gordon (7)
27 Joe Nemechek (01)
28 Ken Schrader (21)
29 Kevin Harvick (29)
30 Dave Blaney (22)
31 Bobby Labonte (43)
32 Sterling Marlin (14)
33 David Stremme (40)
34 Terry Labonte (96)
35 Kevin Lepage (61)
36 Michael Waltrip (55)
37 Brent Sherman (49)
38 Mike Garvey (51)
39 Scott Wimmer (4)
40 Stanton Barrett Jr. (95)
41 Kenny Wallace (78)
42 Greg Biffle (16)
43 Tony Stewart (20)
The Just Us Cup-date
Place - Driver
Finishing Points
Deduction (DNQ/Prov -5, DNF -5,
Bonus (Pole +5, Most Laps Led +5, Win +5)
TOTAL
2nd - Jimmie Johnson
Finish Points - 65
TOTAL -- 65
3rd - Carl Edwards
Finish Points - 60
TOTAL -- 60
4th - Jamie McMurray
Finish Points - 55
TOTAL -- 55
9th - Mark Martin
Finish Points - 50
TOTAL -- 50
11th - Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Finish Points - 45
TOTAL -- 45
13th - Jeff Gordon
Finish Points - 40
TOTAL -- 40
16th - Kurt Busch
Finish Points - 35
Pole -- 5
TOTAL -- 40
17th - Dale Jarrett
Finish Points - 30
TOTAL -- 30
23rd -- Eliott Sadler
Finish Points - 25
TOTAL -- 25
28th - Ken Schrader
Finish Points - 20
Prov -- -5
TOTAL -- 15
29th - Kevin Harvick
Finish Points - 15
TOTAL -- 15
36th - Michael Waltrip
Finish Points - 10
TOTAL -- 10
42nd - Greg Biffle
Finish Points - 5
Most Laps Led - 5
DNF - -5
TOTAL -- 5
posted by Mark "Puff" Anderson | 11:04 AM
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