Race 14 - Pennzoil Ultra 400

Bobby Ricky looks at...The Pennzoil Ultra 400

It's great to see the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series back at The Rock. I, like everyone else, will be looking forward to the green flag dropping on Sunday. For now, here are some things to look out for:

First, even though North Carolina's been off the schedule for two seasons, I expect the veteran drivers who have experience on this track to pick up where they left off. But I also expect drivers who are still a few years into their career (Like Kyle Busch & J.J. Yeley) to need a few laps to get used to racing here in a Cup car. Yes, I know some of these guys may have raced here in the Grand National Division, but trust me, there is a difference between racing in Cup and racing in Grand National, especially here in North Carolina.

As for my pick to win...well, for now I'll say that a veteran has a good shot at winning (My top three picks, in no particular order, are Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, and Jeff Gordon), but given that the last few races have seen top-10 finishes from people you wouldn't expect to see in the top 10, this race may give us a shocker. Most likely from Kasey Kahne, who almost beat Matt Kenseth in what we thought was The Rock's farewell tour in 2004. The odds may be against Kahne, but I still have faith in the '04 Rookie of the Year.

Yeah, I messed up and forgot to remove him from the entry list after Charlotte so he raced at Dover, which was not in the original schedule. So instead of running an extra race he's just not going to race at Rockingham.

Pennzoil Ultra 400
Ah...it's good to be back. That was the sentiment of many fans and crew members alike this past Sunday as the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, after a 2 year hiatus, returned to a new and improved North Carolina Speedway, affectionately known as "The Rock". After sagging attendance forced the track to give up its race, the track hierarchy regrouped and invested heavily in facilities, dramatically improving the fan experience as well as improving on-track safety with SAFER Barriers.

Now on to the racing. With none of the national NASCAR series having raced at the speedway since 2004, most garage area insiders predicted that the Cup Series veterans would shine and sweep the top spots. However, none of that came to fruition, as the heavy favorites all experienced trouble or fell out of contention in one of the multiple large crashes that marred the afternoon.

Starting from the pole was one of those favorites, veteran Kevin Harvick, who made his debut at the track in 2001. He would jump out to an early lead, but it was points leader Brian Vickers who would track him down by lap 22 and take over command. The typically abrasive surface that tends to eat up tires didn't bring out any cautions, however, as tires wore but never exploded or went flat. Vickers was able to hold the lead through a long green flag run and after a cycle of green flag pit stops that began on lap 84. Despite having just one Cup start at the speedway, Vickers would actually lead all the way until the first yellow flag on lap 107, when Bill Elliott started a 9 car melee in turn 1 when he hooked Mike Bliss into a spin. Two of the veterans were eliminated, in Harvick and Tony Stewart.

Vickers retained the lead through the caution flag, and didn't have to hold for very long, as the second caution came out one lap after the restart. This time, the yellow flag flew for an accident that made the lap 107 accident look like a minor brush against the wall. In heavy 3-wide traffic, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Casey Mears collided exiting turn 2 while battling for 3rd place, and the field began to pile in. Car after car skidded helplessly into the mess, with 11 in total sliding into the junkyard. However, a secondary wreck unfolded just 100 feet further down the backstretch as cars tried to regain control upon leaving the smoke-filled scene. Travis Kvapil slid up towards the outside barrier, and in horrific fashion, was sent flying into the air as his car clipped the beginning of the SAFER barrier of turn 3 in the worst way possible. That secondary incident claimed 9 more drivers, seriously cutting down on the number of competitive vehicles. Kvapil would say this afterwards: "If I had hit the wall maybe half an inch either further back or further forwards, none of that would have happened. That was the freakiest thing I've ever seen."

After a lengthy red flag to clean up the war zone otherwise known as the backstretch, Vickers restarted the field on lap 118. However, it was Ryan Newman who motored past the 25 car on lap 123, and Newman would then dominate a long stretch of the race. It wasn't until Newman made a scheduled pit stop on lap 198 that anybody passed him, and he was back in front after everybody cycled through on lap 204. Vickers wasn't going anywhere, however, and the Hendrick driver found his way back to the lead on lap 240. However, just 42 laps later Vickers hit pit road for his next stop, and watched as his day went from good to horrible. As Vickers passed the commitment cone for pit road, he suddenly saw smoke and grass flying to his right. J.J. Yeley and Reed Sorenson had hooked fenders in turn 4 and were skidding through the infield, forcing NASCAR to throw the third and ultimately final caution flag of the day. Unfortunately for the 25 team and the rest of the field, Carl Edwards hadn't made his pit stop yet. When the race restarted on lap 288, Edwards led and Vickers and Newman started on the tail end of the lead lap. Everybody else was lapped. Those two drivers didn't last long either. Newman was down a lap by 289, and Vickers surrendered his lead lap position on lap 291. However, Vickers and Edwards would keep television viewers and fans in the stands intrigued with a thrilling battle with Edwards. Starting on lap 298 when Vickers returned to the lead lap, the two would swap positions 5 times in the next 26 laps, counting only changes at the start finish line. Vickers eventually dropped back until Edwards made his green flag pit stop, and a 14.2 second stop for the 25 versus a 13.7 second stop for the 99 doomed the points leader, as Vickers was never able to get back on the lead lap. Edwards would cruise to his first victory of the season, lapping the field in the process.

Bobby Ricky's Post Race Analysis:

Well, it was great to have Nextel Cup Racing back at The Rock, despite all the craziness that took place today.

Regarding the big one(s), I don't what to say that hasn't already been said. During the red flag, I went around the infield asking the spectators there for their reactions to Travis Kvapil's crash. the reactions ranged from, "That was the most insane thing ever!" to "Kvapil's lucky to still be alive after that!". I guess now we should be even more thankful for SAFER Barriers.

On a more positive note, we had ourselves yet another race with drivers finishing where you wouldn't expect them to finish (although big stars being caught up in big wrecks might have helped somewhat). In addition to another top-10 for Aric Almirola, we had a top-10 for David Stremme. This is a man whose season has been marred by early struggles that knocked him out of the top-35 in owner points, and just today, he managed a finish of 9th! It didn't get him any closer to returning to the top-35, but I'm sure this'll motivate Stremme to the point where we see him more often, and maybe back in the top-35 before season's end. Additional kudos to Jeff Green and Arnold Motorsports for finishing 14th in their long-overdue first race this season.

This has Bobby Ricky reporting from Rockingham, North Carolina, which should stay on the Cup schedule now that it's back on it.