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Post by paroday on Feb 13, 2021 0:33:12 GMT -5
Points StandingsAfter Race 13: DoverStandings:  The Good: - James Davidson has now strung two top 10s back to back, and scored his first career win at Dover. Can the #10 team start to turn things around here? - Peter Hale scores his 9th top 10 in a row. - Nate Beasley is the only driver this year to score 4 top 5's in a row. He's scored more top 5's in the last 4 races then he did in all 36 races last year. - Zoe Sharp scores her first top 5 of the year and jumps into the top 25 in points. - Katie Durhamm is also picking up the pace - 17th in points as it stands. - Josh Berry's 6th place run puts him into the top 35 in points and guarantee's him a spot for the next race. Interesting Storylines: - Grant Dolson has gone 4 races without a top 10 and lacked speed at Dover. How much should that team be worried? They're still in 10th though, which is exceptional. - Carson Atkins is only 22 points out of 10th for a Chase spot. Can a rookie make the Chase for the first time since 2002? - Luis Suarez gets back on track with back-to-back top 10's. He hasn't missed the Chase yet, and he is not eager for 2007 to be the first year he does. The Bad: - Alex Parker's last 4 races have consisted of 4 finishes of 23rd or worse. He has now dropped to 5th in points after a strong start to the year. - Marco Montoya and Megan Murphy, the other two Ganassi cars are having their worst seasons to date, 27th for Montoya, and an abysmal 39th for Megan Murphy. - DNF #5 for Kaitlyn Sauter. I keep saying this, but this team has potential, they just can't capitalize on it. In other news, 55 drivers have now run a race this season, thus far.
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Post by paroday on Feb 16, 2021 15:16:12 GMT -5
2007 Hershey's Kisses 400
Late News: In this double-header, the top 20 of this race will be inverted for Race #2. Caitlyn Smith and EagleOne will race here at the double-header. Rumor has it that Kaitlyn Sauter and Wood Brothers are looking for ways to shake up the team - whether that be Sauter leaving, or a new crew chief, or increased support from Penske is yet to be seen. The #56 and Lincoln Racing announce they will only run a select few races for the rest of 2007, scaling back to two drivers - Travis Ruttman and Carlos Contreros. Zander Nunez, who raced twice for the team will be ousted, but he is running part time in the Grand National Series for Penske (in the #62 and #64's) so will still have a ride. Favorites: Alex Parker on pole is looking for a way to get back into consistent early season form. He will be looking for his first win here. Dale Stremme Jr. and Kyle Rudd both have multiple wins here. Stremme Jr. will start 3rd, Rudd will be further back in the #48. Nate Beasley deserves to be mentioned - is on a current hot streak of 4 consecutive top 5's. Dark horse pick is Marco Montoya. He scored well here last year, and starts 4th today. DNQs 74 - Frankie Parkins 89 - Sierra Green Overview Race #: 14/36 Distance: 40 Laps Polesitter: Alex Parker - Team: Hendrick Motorsports  Lap 1: Alex Parker leads the field into turn 1.  Lap 1: Some of the backmarkers spin - Rachel Bowyer into the infield, Brian Silvia (#55) and Denny Jennings (#23) getting together. NASCAR does NOT throw the caution for some reason.  Lap 5: Chris England gets tipped into the wall by the #31 of Alice Peters. No major damage, both drivers save it and are 26th and 28th on track.  Lap 9: Trouble - Kaitlyn Sauter gets turned into the turn 3 wall by the #7 of Sarah Cooper.  Lap 9-10: Sauter tries to come to pit road, but gets smashed by the #60 of Allison Coyne and Zoe Sharp in the #43. Caution flag is out - Nicole Sadler in the #37 also hits Sauter hard a few seconds after this wreck - ARCA brakes at it's finest.  Lap 12: Pit road is a busy place. Lap 15: Green flag. Parker, Luis Suarez, Stremme Jr., Peter Hale, and Hannah Tanner are the top 5. Lap 17: Three wide for the race lead! Dale Stremme Jr. passes Suarez and Parker for 1st position. Lap 25: Top 8 are within 1.4 seconds. Parker passes Suarez for 2nd.  Lap 30: Teammates Carson Atkins and Landon Kaiser (#98 and #9 respectively) get into the wall. Stephanie Dillon in the #3 tips Atkins into Kaiser. Lap 33: Top pack spreading out - only Parker is within a second of the leader now. Lap 37: Hannah Tanner in 3rd runs out of fuel. Her team didn't put enough in during the caution. She goes to pit road to top off.  Lap 40: There's the checkered flag - Dale Stremme Jr. holds off Alex Parker for his first win of 2007. Stremme's teammate, Jeb Warson finishes 3rd, with Peter Hale and Kyle Rudd rounding the top 5 out. Results:  Thanks for tuning in. Standings will be updated soon. Next Race: Pocono (Double-header)
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Post by paroday on Feb 16, 2021 15:42:21 GMT -5
Points StandingsAfter Race 14: PoconoStandings:  Good News: - Peter Hale's streak of top 10's is becoming staggering - he puts his 10th consecutive top 10 down here at Pocono - Kyle Rudd scores back to back top 5's and jumps to 6th in points. - Luis Suarez has strung 3 top 10's together. The 3rd JGR car is catching up to the Chase bubble, now only 9 points behind 11th (Grant Dolson). - Austin Bell had a rough start to the season but has put up 3 top 20's in the last 7 races, including a very nice 18th place here today, moving him into the top 30 in points. Interesting stories: - TriStar-Evernham has been relatively solid in their first year, but they haven't been able to put together consistent runs through all 4 cars. Kaiser, Cooper, Atkins, and even Davidson have all shown potential (and two wins) but they haven't found the consistency yet. - The Chase bubble is pretty intense: 10th-19th are all separated by 43 points. And guys like Clint Johnson and Chad Little Jr., both inside the top 10 without a win, have been just consistent enough to stay above the rest. The Bad: - Kaitlyn Sauter now has 6 DNF's in 14 races. To put it into perspective, the top 8 drivers in points combined have the same number of DNF's as her. - Hannah Tanner is on this side of the list for the first time this season - a 37th place run drops her from 4th to 9th in the standings. - Sarah Cooper has 3 finishes of 22nd-29th in the last 4 races. This team has slipped back into the middle of this large Chase battle.
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Post by paroday on Feb 16, 2021 20:33:59 GMT -5
2007 Axalta 400Late News: Considering the two races take place in the same weekend, there will be no DNQ's. Also, rumor has it that Furniture Row Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing are having a tiff, debating on who should be in the #78 next year. Burton, the 2004 Champion who won it driving for Furniture Row, has a contract secured, but Gibbs may want to move him to a 4th Gibbs car (#18 or #81) and place Grand National driver Logan Wintergreen in the #78. The #78 team has been slowly slipping down the rankings after their championship in 2004, and they have expressed interest in a manufacture change if things don't go to plan. Favorites: Same as last race - Dale Stremme Jr., Alex Parker, Kyle Rudd, among others. Dark horse pick is Chad Little Jr. - he has a win here and will start ahead of the faster cars because of the reverse top 20 rule in place. Overview Race #: 15/36 Distance: 40 Laps Polesitter (20th place finisher from last race): Chris Burton - Team: Furniture Row Racing **Note that Burton will be eligible for the Clash at Daytona in 2008 because of this.**  Lap 1: Chris Burton takes the green flag with Carson Atkins on his outside. Lap 2: Lead Change: Atkins takes the lead from Burton. Andy Houston moves to 2nd. Lap 4: Kevin Grant in the #27 runs wide and loses 10 spots or so. Lap 5: Lead Change: Andy Houston passes Atkins. Dale Stremme Jr. has moved from 20th -> 5th in 5 laps. Hannah Tanner, who started 37th (finished there last race), is up to 27th. Lap 13: Top 7 are all within a second. Hannah Tanner has climbed up to 19th now - Dale Stremme Jr. is 3rd. Lap 17: Clint Johnson in the #25 has jumped to second and is on the bumper of Andy Houston for the lead. Lap 20: Lead Change: Dale Stremme Jr. passes Houston for the lead - Clint Johnson and Peter Hale pass for 2nd and 3rd as well.  Lap 22: Cars coming in for their green flag pitstops. Lap 25: Lead Change: After all was said and done, Clint Johnson leads after pit stops from Hale, Stremme Jr., Alex Parker, and Hannah Tanner who has come from 37th to 5th in just 25 laps. Lap 27: Lead Change: Dale Stremme Jr. takes the lead. Looking to win his second race in a row. Hannah Tanner sets the fastest lap time in 4th, 0.6 second back. Should Tanner win, she will have won from the furthest back starting position ever (started 37th). Lap 28: The top 6 are all in a pack - what an exciting race thus far. Hannah Tanner now passes Clint Johnson for 2nd. The #24 has passed 35 cars in just 28 laps. Lap 30: Andy Houston has begun to come on strong - the #2 has passed Alex Parker, Peter Hale, and now, Clint Johnson for 3rd. Lap 31: Houston passes Hannah Tanner for 2nd. Houston hasn't won in his last 137 starts - his last win was here at Pocono in 2003. Lap 32: Lead Change: Dale Stremme Jr. is dethroned from the top - Andy Houston takes the lead, Hannah Tanner and Peter Hale and Alex Parker trying to make moves on Stremme Jr. now, with Clint Johnson waiting in the wings. All 6 drivers are within a second of each other. Lap 36: After a fierce battle, Hannah Tanner passes Dale Stremme Jr. for 2nd. She sets her sights on leader Andy Houston. Lap 37: Out of turn 3, Tanner gets alongside Houston, but can't make it stick, entering lap 38. 3 to go. Lap 38: Out of turn 3, Deja Vu from a lap ago, Tanner is alongside Houston - but she can't make it stick again heading to 2 to go. Tanner needs to wait for a lap, and get a run. She's just a tick faster than Houston.  Lap 39: OH NO! Denny Jennings and Megan Murphy get caught up together, and caution is out! What a disappointing end to what would have been an epic conclusion to this race. Andy Houston wins the race back to the line!  Lap 40: Andy Houston does it - out of turn #4, Houston holds off the field for his first win since 2003! Hannah Tanner puts on perhaps the drive of the year with a 2nd place run from 37th at the start, with Alex Parker, Dale Stremme Jr. and Peter Hale rounding out the top 5. Results:  Thanks for tuning in. Standings will be updated shortly. Big News Drop in a separate post after standings. Several teams are dropping out/coming in, and rumor's are afoot. Next Race: Michigan
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Post by paroday on Feb 16, 2021 20:50:40 GMT -5
Points StandingsAfter Race 15: PoconoStandings  The Good: - The epic racing needs to be given a shout out - both were competitive and entertaining to watch. - Hannah Tanner's race of the year jumps her to 8th in points - Andy Houston win puts him into the top 20, giving him the second Chase wild card spot for the time being. - Peter Hale has now strung 11 consecutive top 10's. For a generally inconsistent driver, this is astonishing - Hendrick Motorsports had a great day - all 5 of their drivers finished inside the top 9. Interesting Stories ... there will be a separate post for this below soon... The Bad: - Megan Murphy scores her 6th DNF. The #41 Chip Ganassi car is now 39th in points. 39th. Her best finish is 24th, which is horrendous considering the pace of her teammates. - Chris England seems to be fading slightly, finishing between 12th and 20th in the last 3 races. He slips to 3rd in points. - Grant Dolson finished 17th this week, but this is now the 6th race in a row where he did not finish in the top 10. He had 5 top 10's in the first 8 races. Luckily consistency is helping that team out.
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Post by paroday on Feb 18, 2021 1:51:07 GMT -5
Mid-week NewsAfter Pocono, Kaitlyn Sauter and the Wood Brothers have amicably split ways. Sauter is still in the Team Penske pipeline, and has been loaned to Chip Ganassi Racing for the rest of the season. She will drive the #41. Speaking of Chip Ganassi, Megan Murphy in the #41 has been fired from the team after a year and a half. She announced she will race Michigan with Frankie Parkins Racing - no other plans are in place. The #21 team has decided to scale back to a part time role. Ryan Garner will come out of semi-retirement to take over duties at Michigan. Sean Kroger, racing for Penske in the Grand National Series, will run 5-7 races this season, while Zander Nunez will be racing at the remaining road courses and several other races. The team will run part time. In other news, drivers will be debuting new paint schemes this week. Starting with Carson Atkins in the #98, driving the Advanced Auto Parts Dodge (on an actual Dodge, and not using Chase Briscoe's car).  Sarah Cooper in the #7 also gets the Evernham font applied to her car, and TriStar-Evernham picks up sponsorship from Red Bull.  Finally, Chip Ganassi released their rebranded #41 team. Kaitlyn Sauter moves over from Wood Brothers to take over this ride. Aquafina will sponsor most of the remaining races on the season.  What happens to Megan Murphy after Michigan? She will be making her 90th career start here, but after that, not much else is known for the driver. She has nothing else lined up for 2007, and will probably struggle to find a ride next year based on her poor performance in Ganassi equipment. It may be time to call it a career and 'retire'. Team News:Lincoln Racing has officially shut down - all parts have been liquidated/sold mostly to Majeski Motorsports and Front Row Racing. Frankie Parkins announces she will not run anymore in 2007, and that the #74 is planning on being bought out by another owner. EagleOne Racing has been bought out by an anonymous person. EagleOne and the new owner are planning on rebranding the team in 2008. No one knows who it is, but EagleOne has told us it's a very involved figure within the sport, and that he (or she) will come forward when plans are more concrete, and that they expect their rebranded 2008 team to be very competitive within the field. Rumor has it that Petty Enterprises may leave for Dodge at the end of the year. They ran Ford's from 2000-'05, then Dodge's from '06-'07. Random Other News:Drivers Peter Hale and Caitlyn Smith, who have been dating for 2 years now are officially engaged (this is likely why Smith has become Joe Gibbs' 'reserve driver', since late 2004). Both drivers have put up solid careers in the top division and have logged over 200 starts each. They have also spent a large chunk of their careers within the Toyota Racing Development program. Caitlyn Smith's future is relatively uncertain as to whether she will make a comeback to the top division. This leads us to the #78. With the Chris Burton rumor, Caitlyn Smith might have a tiny chance of getting a ride there. She did race with the team in 2000 and 2001. However, it's more likely she stays in the Grand National Series until she retires or Toyota creates another Cup team.
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Post by paroday on Feb 26, 2021 0:36:58 GMT -5
2007 Pure Michigan 400Late News: Frankie Parkins will take an extended leave of absence as she looks for a buyer for the #74 team. Fingers are pointing to a truck driver, David Green being the primary candidate, but he has denied them saying he himself is in talks with another cup team. Megan Murphy will run in a one-off in the #74 this week, before the #74 takes a leave. Favorites: Peter Hale and Hannah Tanner have 3 and 2 wins respectively at Michigan. However, Hale starts from the back, while Tanner has a much better starting position (6th). Dale Stremme Jr. has been strong all year and will look for a 3rd win on the calendar. Meanwhile Alice Peters on pole will look for her first win since 2005. Dark horse pick is Kevin Grant in the RCR #27. The team has silently been good here and have scored 2 top 10's recently. DNQs 89 - Sierra Green Overview Race #: 16/36 Distance: 40 Laps Polesitter: Alice Peters - Team: Richard Childress Racing  Lap 1: Alice Peters leads the field to the green. However, Dale Stremme Jr. in his new Coca-Cola sponsored Ford takes the lead. Lap 6: After starting 41st, Kyle Rudd has jumped to 33rd. Meanwhile, Andy Houston and Hannah Tanner have passed Alice Peters for 2nd and 3rd. Lap 10: Nate Beasley to 2nd. Lap 18: Top 5 have formed a pack - Stremme Jr. lead Beasley, Tanner, Peters, and Landon Kaiser. Lap 26: Peter Hale started in the back and is up to 20th - picking up nearly 20 spots. Lap 32: Lead Change: Alice Peters just nips Dale Stremme Jr. to the stripe this time by. She takes the lead with 9 to go. Lap 38: Peters navigates lapped traffic better than Landon Kaiser in 2nd - Hannah Tanner is rapidly catching the pair. Lap 39: Lead Change: Hannah Tanner takes the lead of the race. Dale Stremme Jr. also gets passed Peters for 2nd. 2 laps to go.  Lap 40: Stremme Jr. makes a move on Tanner but it's not enough - Tanner will hold on for the race win! Stremme settles for 2nd - Peters, Kaiser, and Beasley round out the top 5. This race marks the first time this year where no DNF's were recorded. Results:  Thanks for tuning in. Points will be updated soon. Next Race: Chicagoland
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Post by paroday on Feb 26, 2021 0:50:59 GMT -5
Points StandingsAfter Race 16: MichiganStandings:  The Good: - No DNF's... (?) - Nate Beasley is now 13th in points and firmly on the Chase bubble. - 5 consecutive top 13's have put Luis Suarez just barely above the Chase cut line. The Bad - Peter Hale's consistent streak comes to an end. He had 11 straight top 10's before a 22nd here ruined it. - Chris Burton has now gone 6 races without a top 10 and is in danger of missing the Chase for the second time in three years. Chase Bubble 5th - Clint Johnson (+57) 8th - Chad Little Jr. (+45) 10th - Luis Suarez (+6) ________________________ 11th - Chris Burton (-6) 13th - Landon Kaiser (-17) 14th - Grant Dolson (-19) 15th - Carson Atkins (-27) 16th - Katie Durhamm (-30) 17th - Steve Perry (-34) 18th - Alice Peters (-35) 19th - Sarah Cooper (-37) Wild Card Spots 12th - Landon Kaiser (1 Win) 20th - Andy Houston (1 Win)
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Post by paroday on Feb 26, 2021 2:01:44 GMT -5
2007 Chicagoland 400Late News: Joe Gibbs Racing has pulled Caitlyn Smith from the #77 for the rest of the season. She will run a few select races in the #81 through the year later on. Sean Kroger has taken over the #21 here today and will make his Cup Debut. Favorites: Kyle Rudd and Peter Hale both have 2 wins here and are looking for another. Alex Parker is on outside pole and would like to score a 2nd win of the year here today. Landon Kaiser also qualified well here and appears to be on a hot streak... maybe a win here today? Dark horse is Clint Johnson, who has consistently worked his way through the year and has been good here. DNQ's 23 - Denny Jennings 83 - Ty Majeski Overview Race #: 17/36 Distance: 54 Laps Polesitter: Chris Burton - Team: Furniture Row Racing  Lap 1: Green, green, green. Burton in the #78 leads them into 1. Alex Parker in the #5 takes Burton 3 wide out of 2 and takes the lead at the end of lap 1.  Lap 2: Kaitlyn Sauter spins from Nicole Sadler but keeps it off the wall and rights it - what a save. Still - new driver, same bad luck for the #41 team. Lap 7: Green flag, Parker leads from Katie Durhamm. Lap 10: Lead Change: Katie Durhamm in the #40 takes the lead. The first time that team has lead laps since before Durhamm's injury last year. Lap 14: Lead Change: Landon Kaiser takes the lead from the #40 team. Lap 20: Kaiser leads teammate Sarah Cooper. Clint Johnson has climbed up to third. Lap 25: Johnson passes Cooper for 2nd. Lap 30: Lead Change: Clint Johnson now passes Landon Kaiser for the race lead. Lap 36: Lead Change: Sarah Cooper passed her teammate Kaiser a few laps ago, and now passes Johnson for the lead.  Lap 38: Three separate incidents all taking place this lap! The Caution is out though for Alice Peters getting spun by Luis Suarez in the #19.  Lap 38: Incident 2 - Chris England's bad streak continues, Kevin Grant tips him into the wall, giving both drivers damage.  Lap 39: That 2nd incident caused the back of the pack to check up, and Hannah Tanner, Tony Irwin Jr., and Josh Berry are all caught up in it. Alice Peters also hits late with no brakes from her crash earlier in the lap... what chaos. Caution #2 is out. Lap 40: Split strategy - Kaiser, Alex Parker, Chad Little Jr, and a host of others come in for tires. Kaiser, running 3rd has trouble in the pits - goes one lap down! Lap 42: Top 10 stayed out - Chad Little Jr. is the first one on new tires. Green Flag! Cooper leads.  Lap 42: Kaitlyn Sauter drifts down the backstretch - another fantastic save by Sauter.  Lap 43: Multi-car wreck on the tri-oval! Three of the Toyota's are involved - points leader Peter Hale (#20), Luis Suarez, and pole sitter Chris Burton. Lindsay Simmons (#72), Josh Berry (#87), Stephanie Dillon (#3), Nicole Sadler (#37) and Daisy Green (#57) are all involved. Caution flag. Lap 44: The cars who took tires really benefited - Chad Little Jr. is 6th, Jeb Warson is 8th. Lap 49: Green flag! Cooper trying to hold on for her first win of the year on old tires.  Lap 49: Cautions breed cautions. Brian Silvia is spun. We will have a 1 lap dash to decide the winner! Chad Little Jr. is now 2nd behind Cooper. Will the old tires prevail, or will Chad Little Jr. steal the win away? Lap 54: Green Flag! Cooper leads.  Lap 54: They couldn't even make it to turn 1 - Tony Irwin Jr. and Nicole Sadler (#91 and #37 respectively) have crashed hard! Who gets to the line first?  Lap 54: The new tires will prevail here at Chicagoland - Chad Little Jr. soars past Cooper for his first win of the year. Jeb Warson and Zoe Sharp of all people pass Sarah Cooper for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, while Clint Johnson rounds out the top 5. Sean Kroger finishes 6th in his first race with the team. Results:  Thanks for tuning in. Points will be updated within 24 hours. Next race: Daytona
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Post by paroday on Feb 26, 2021 10:18:14 GMT -5
Points StandingsAfter Race 17: ChicagolandStandings: C = Charlotte V = Dover  Chase Bubble 5th - Clint Johnson (+71) 10th - Chris Burton (+6) _________________________________ 11th - Luis Suarez (-6) 12th - Nate Beasley (-6) 13th - Carson Atkins (-18) 15th - Grant Dolson (-22) 16th - Sarah Cooper (-22) 17th - Katie Durhamm (-23) 19th - Steve Perry (-39) 20th - Ross Evertson (-45) NOTABLES 21st - Alice Peters (-58) 27th - James Davidson (1 Win) (-110 Points Behind 20th) Wild Card Spots 14th - Landon Kaiser (1 Win) 18th - Andy Houston (1 Win) The Good: - Chad Little Jr.'s win puts him 6th in points. The #88 is quietly having an an excellent season compared to the last few years. - Sarah Cooper has been generally slower in the last few weeks, but a 4th here keeps her in Chase Bubble contention. - Zoe Sharp scores another surprising top 5 with pit strategy, jumping back into 25th in points. The Bad: - Landon Kaiser finishes 33rd after running in the top 5 all day. Luckily he still has the first Wild Card spot. - Alice Peters is having her worst season to date currently, now in 21st in points, which would be her worst finish in points since 2000. - Stephanie Dillon's DNF drops her to 28th in points. RCR in general has been far off from previous standards. They've had at least one driver make the Chase a year.
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