Nascar Blogs

Denny Hamlin: Contender or Pretender?

Denny Hamlin did not just forget how to drive. I promise you that. But there is something going on with the 11 team right now. Maybe it's his knee, maybe it's his confidence. An early season favorite to unseat Jimmie Johnson as champ, Hamlin sits 22nd into the points standings heading into this weekends race at Atlanta.
"The frustration for me last season was we didn't perform at the level we did before," said Carl Edwards and he should know. He was everyone's hot pre-season pick to take on Jimmie Johnson in 2009. "I don't know if I got spoiled or what, but in 2008, it seemed really simple."
And he made it look really simple too, as did Hamlin at then end of th 2009 season. But putting the a championship season, is never that simple.
"You just have to leave from ever single season, " said Hamlin. "In '07 it was just a complete disaster trying to make up for what I didn't have on the race track with driving skill and that didn't work out because we got into more wrecks than we every have. In '08 we performed well, but we just didn't really have what it took. We we're about a 5th place car and we finished 8th in the points. Then in '09, I though we were as good as anyone."
Maybe, so but right now, they are not even close. Sure they were pretty good in Daytona, still they finished 17th. And the 11 team lead laps at California, before a pair of cut tires pushed them back to 29th. But what really should be a little worrisome is that in Vegas, they were not even close, finishing 19th-two laps down.
"We just never had a good enough car to move up and pass many people," said Hamlin. "We need to regroup this week and focus on getting to the front in Atlanta. We belong up front and we need to be there in Atlanta."
"The frustration comes when you know that you can do it and you know that you are doing everything as well or better that you have and you don't get the same result," said Edward when reflecting on similar struggles last season. "That frustration has to quickly turn into some sort of action. And that's what we've been working on not getting frustrated, getting better."
Which is what Hamlin must do, before Johnson and more importantly the chase get out of reach.
"It's just about executing, it really is. We know how to win a championship, I know how to win a championship. it's just a matter of getting to September."
And as I said at the beginning, Denny Hamlin did not just forget how to drive. So contender or pretender? At this point in the season, I'm gonna stick with contender.

Think you know NASCAR? Play the NewsChannel 9 Racing Challenge by clicking HERE
You can follow the Backstretch Blog on Twitter by clicking HERE
You can also check out the Backstretch Blog Overdrive on Facebook HERE
(The views and opinions represented here are mine and mine alone. They do not represent the views or opinions of any other employee or the management of WTVC-TV or Freedom Broadcasting Corp.)

The Circle of Life

Five years ago when I first started covering the sport of NASCAR, there where a lot of young drivers, good looking single. But oh how times change. To the best of my count at least 5 drivers wives are expecting or just had babies (including new dads Carl Edwards and Elliott Sadler pictured above). And several others including Matt Kenseth, Casey Mears and Jeff Gordon have young kids under the age of 5.Is there something in the water? Probably not. It's just part of the circle of life. Old drivers retire, new drivers come in, and get married have kids. It's kind of fun though. To see all this little babies and young kids running around the garage area.

No Longer Just the "Fall Guy"

It's frightening to think about, but even though Jimmie Johnson has won the last three races in Fontana, he hasn't won at the Auto Club Speedway in the spring since his rookie season 8 years ago. Not that's not to say he hasn't been good the first time NASCAR makes a stop in Cali each year, after all he has an average finish of 4th in 9 spring races. Over 15 career races, he has an average finish of 5.5. JJ has been dominating in SoCal. And get this, California site of the 48 teams first win and it's 48th.
"So weird how things work out," Jimmie said after Sunday's win, his 5th at Auto Club Speedway. "Look at the first win, then this win. We come back here with the foundation paint scheme on the car and have won a bunch. There's just something with this track, being in California for me. I wish I could explain it. But it's nice to come out here. I always love racing in my home state, being this close to the San Diego area where I grew up is really cool. To keep taking trophies out of here, there's nothing better."
And there may be no one better. When you sit and think about what he has accomplished, 4 championships in 8 seasons of racing. He also has a pair of runners up and he has NEVER finished below 5th in the standings. As a friend of mine said at the Daytona 500 party I was a, it might just be one of the most dominating performances ever in sports. I mean just think about it. He has finished first or second in the standings 6 of the 8 years he's raced. It's simply amazing.
And even more amazing is, every time the 48 team's back is up against the wall, the step up an perform. The last thing they wanted to do in Cali, was have another bad week after finishing 35th at Daytona.
"Hate, being in a hole this early points-wise, but we'll just roll on," Jimmie said Sunday. "It wasn't as much of a mind game as you would think. Now, if we finished 35th here today, that would be a different story."
But the real story is, they rarely have back to back bad weeks. That's what makes them so good.
Now, before you say, they got lucky with the way the pit stops fell this weekend, this is one of those "fuel mileage wins", so don't get too excited Heather. Well, I'll just let JJ handle that one.
"You know, yes, we were lucky today. But you don't get lucky and win four championships and 48 races. Things went our way today with the pit stop. But I had to go out there and hold Kevin off, 31, all that kind of thing.

"I'm not discrediting the fact we were handed a huge gift when we were on pit road and the caution came out. It is what it is, and we've had plenty of races go the other way on us. From how consistent we've been from the first races we've been in from eight seasons ago till now, it's 'cause we're a good race team."

And I joke about him being the "fall guy" and only being able to win in Cali after the 4th of July. We all know, JJ can win just about anytime, and anywhere.

Reconstructing the Monster that is Junior Nation

It was as if I could hear Lance McGrew exclaim, "It's alive, it's alive!" during the final laps of the Daytona 500. As I watched Dale Earnhardt, Jr race from 10th to 2nd in just one lap, it looked as if this was a different driver behind the wheel of the 88 car. One more like the one that used to wheel the 8 for his daddy's team. And after the race, he even sounded more like the Junior of old.
"I had a hell of a time tonight," Earnhardt, said Sunday after the race. "When you got a good car, one that will make some moves and don't wreck. I wrecked out of the last couple 500s. I figured, What do I have to do to finish one of these things and finish it good? I might have been a little too careful, you know."
If that's careful, the rest of the guys on the track might want to be forewarned, looks like Little E may be back. Of course this is not something that has happened overnight. Since the day he took over as crew chief. Lance McGrew has been working hard to not only inprove the level of performance for the cars, but also the whole mindset of the team. He's been using the 48 team as an example for his team and his driver that just because the day isn't perfect, doesn't mean the day has to be lost.
"There's going to be something that happens every single week at the track, " said McGrew when I spoke with him last month. " There's a million thing that can throw a wrench in your day. When going bad, the great guys find a way to get over that, to make chicken salad out of the day."
And Junior is the first to admit, it's something his teammates have been able to do better than him up to this point. Most would write that off to good team chemistry. Something, Earnhardt says he's never had, and something he is not really sure exists.
"I know Chad and Jimmie have great chemistry, but they fight they disagree," said Junior at that same media event in January. "The disagree, but in the end that are both just so d@mn talented that they make a great team. And people say the chemistry is good. I don't know, I think it's a hoax."
Maybe it's not "chemistry" but there is certainly some sort if "weird science" going on in Junior nation. Because, even if for one weekend, "It's alive!"

NASCAR Let's the Pothole do the Talking

You all know the obnoxious commercial with the talking pot hole. Taking out cars and then asking, "Did I do that?" in a thick southern accent. Once again a pothole is talking, and its saying some pretty rough things about the NASCAR's biggest day.
Take a trip down memory lane with me. We don't have to go far back. It's 2004 at Martinsville, Jeff Gordon was running second when bam, a pothole about a foot wide by a foot long and 3 inches deep opened up in turn two. The asphalt kicked up and went right through Goron's girl. That race had to be stopped for more than an hour for repairs to the track and eventually lead to repaving at Martinsville.
“If we could have seen that problem ahead of time, it wouldn’t have been a problem,” Track President W. Clay Campbell said at the time. “We inspect the track every night.”
Sound familiar? Come back now to Sunday's race at Daytona when a pothole opened up in between turns one and two, and the race had to be stopped not once, but twice for a total of more than two hours. Here's what was said by Daytona International Speedway president Robin Braig. after the race.
"As we do for every event, we inspected this track this morning and there were no concerns. We are always prepared for these types of issues."
I knew I had heard that somewhere.
This is the biggest race of the season. This is the race that people that aren't necessary hard core race fans are most likely to watch. What if a hole was ripped open in the turf at the Super Bowl or a leak appeared in the roof during the NBA Championship and they had to stop for two hours? This is your biggest stage of the year. It's the one time you have to get it right. If track owners an operators learned nothing from what happened six years ago in Martinsville, you cant let a track deteriorate to the point where potholes open up and if one does, you need to be ready to fix it, fast.
"We had the proper materials and worked diligently to repair it," continued Braig. "The delay in the repairs was caused by the unusually cold ambient temperature. After this event, we will evaluate these effects from the weather and will make the necessary adjustments."
Is it too late? It was bad enough the race was on Valentines Day. Only the hard core fan is going to devote 7 hours in front of a tv on a holiday though all that went on. Admittedly for those that stuck around they saw a heck of a finish. But watching great racing shouldn't be so much work.
"Obviously the red flags are unfortunate, no one wants to see that," said NASCAR Managing Director of Corporate Communications Ramset Poston." But hopefully what fans will really remember about this race tomorrow and years to come is that dramatic finish, that 88 cutting through the entire field, really having a great finish for the win, and a great win for Earnhardt Ganassi with Jamie McMurray."
The sad thing is, to many, it's a little southern pothole and not the great racing doing all the talking the day after Daytona.

Think you know NASCAR? Play the NewsChannel 9 Racing Challenge by clicking HERE
You can follow the Backstretch Blog on Twitter by clicking HERE
You can also check out the Backstretch Blog Overdrive on Facebook HERE
(The views and opinions represented here are mine and mine alone. They do not represent the views or opinions of any other employee or the management of WTVC-TV or Freedom Broadcasting Corp.)

McMurray's Shining Moment

When I stood in Talladega victory lane last fall and watched Jamie McMurray celebrate, I almost felt sorry for him. It seemed cruel for fate to dangle that carrot of what could have been in front of him, with such uncertainty ahead. He was the odd man out at one of the sports top teams. Maybe he wasn't the driver everyone thought he was when he burst onto the scene in 2002 and won his third cup race ever.
McMurray would end up back at the team he once left for what he thought was a better opportunity. That has to be a humbling experience for a driver. Then to win, not only a race, but the race, the Daytona 500 after all he had been through.
"You know, for me to be in the position that I was four or five months ago, to have Chip and Felix and Bass Pro Shops welcome me into their organization, it means a lot," McMurray said after the race. "It's a great way for me to be able to pay those guys back."
Said team owner Felix Sabatas, " I was very excited when Jamie came back with us because I always liked Jamie. Last night at dinner, I told him, we're going to be in Victory Lane together tomorrow. Sometimes you have a feeling something is going to happen. I had that feeling. I thought that he will win this race."
As I watched McMurray's emotional pre-conference after the race, I thought back to that victory lane celebration last November. What seemed like a cruel twist of fate, was actually any thing but. The course of events that followed lead to this day and the biggest win in McMurray's career. And as a I watched, I could help but get emotional, too.
"Coming off of turn four, seeing the checkered flag, knowing there's not going to be another 'green-white-checkered', you're going to be the Daytona 500 champion," sai McMurray. "I can't explain to you. It's very emotional. I don't know that I've cried like that. I've kept trying to compose myself. I couldn't get it back."
Think you know NASCAR? Play the NewsChannel 9 Racing Challenge by clicking HERE
You can follow the Backstretch Blog on Twitter by clicking HERE
You can also check out the Backstretch Blog Overdrive on Facebook HERE
(The views and opinions represented here are mine and mine alone. They do not represent the views or opinions of any other employee or the management of WTVC-TV or Freedom Broadcasting Corp.)

Pre-Season Top 15: Number 1 Jimmie Johnson

Who else would it could it be, He could be the best driver ever in NASCAR. And until someone show they can beat the 48 at the chase game. Its amazing to think about, but unless they change the chase rules, I see very little stopping JJ from winning 5 or 6 cups. The only thing I see that could throw a wrench into the whole thing, is the return of the spoiler. Jimmie was good before the COT, but he has been dominate since. A change in the car could level the playing field. But I am still not betting against him.

Pre-Season Top 15: Number 2 Denny Hamlin

Denny Hamlin has come a long way in his Sprint Cup career. He is now a poised racer that is in position to make a legitimate run at the championship. Hamlin was red hot during the chase, especially after they
dumped their early season bad luck. The 11 team seams to have all the pieces, good cars, good chemistry and a hungry driver. If anyone can take down the champ in 2010, I believe it will be Hamlin.

'
Think you know NASCAR? Play the NewsChannel 9 Racing Challenge by clicking HERE
You can follow the Backstretch Blog on Twitter by clicking HERE
You can also check out the Backstretch Blog Overdrive on Facebook HERE
(The views and opinions represented here are mine and mine alone. They do not represent the views or opinions of any other employee or the management of WTVC-TV or Freedom Broadcasting Corp.)

Meet Tennessee Native Trevor Bayne

Michael Waltrip calls him Kasey Kahne, only 4 inches taller. But Trevor Bayne is hoping to be more than just a pretty face. The young gun from Knoxville will begin his first full season in the Nationwide series Saturday.
Midway through last season he began driving a part-time schedule in the Michael Watrip Racing number 99. His first race in the car, he turned a lap, that turned plenty of heads and landed him on the pole in Nashville. In all, Bayne made 15 starts in the Nationwide Series a year ago, including 11 with Michael Waltrip Racing. He managed a pair of top-10s (seventh-place runs at O’Reilly Raceway Park and Richmond).
His ride for 2010 is a joint effort between Diamond Ridge Motorsports and Michael Watrip racing, know as Diamond-Waltrip racing.
Bayne will start the Nationwide race at Daytona 17th, thanks to a rain out of Friday qualifying.

Pre-Season Top 15: Number 3 Tony Stewart

He's a proven champ. Once under the old points system, once under the new. And Tony Stewart is the last Sprint Cup Champion not named Jimmie Johnson. Last season, Stewart-Haas racing saw unprecedented success right out of the gate and the #14 has too BIG things going for it. Number one, they are practically a Hendrick Motorsports team, thanks to their technical alliance. And two Smoke has who I feel may be the second best crew chief behind Chad Knaus, in Darian Grubb.