Race 32 - Subway 500 - CHASE RACE #6

labontefanboy Administrator Posts: 1,535	Race 32 - Subway 500 - CHASE RACE #6 Jan 10, 2015 16:22:10 GMT -5 frow78 likes this Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by labontefanboy on Jan 10, 2015 16:22:10 GMT -5 Entry List for Martinsville:

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Race 32 - Subway 500 - CHASE RACE #6 Jan 10, 2015 18:34:27 GMT -5

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Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2015 18:34:27 GMT -5

Bobby Ricky looks at...the Subway 500

As we begin the second half of the 2007 Chase, we return to the Virginian paper clip, Martinsville.

Jeff Burton comes into this race as the points leader, despite his lack of wins this season. Well, if Burton were to get his first win of the season, Martinsville would be the perfect place to do it. Jeff's short track resume has me convinced that he'll be a big threat to win this coming Sunday.

Of course, Ryan Newman's only 5 points back. And Tony Stewart, despite losing the points lead last week, is only 24 back on Burton. If either or both of them outperform Burton, the points lead will be changin' yet again.

Chad' Senior Member Posts: 512	Race 32 - Subway 500 - CHASE RACE #6 Jan 10, 2015 19:59:51 GMT -5 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by Chad' on Jan 10, 2015 19:59:51 GMT -5 DNQ predictions: #7 - Robby Gordon #74 - Derrike Cope #92 - Ken Schrader

labontefanboy Administrator Posts: 1,535	Race 32 - Subway 500 - CHASE RACE #6 Jan 11, 2015 8:36:06 GMT -5 thatoneshredder likes this Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by labontefanboy on Jan 11, 2015 8:36:06 GMT -5 Forgot to add #23 Johnny Benson to the image of the entry list, but he is on the entry list in-game.

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Race 32 - Subway 500 - CHASE RACE #6 Jan 11, 2015 14:48:21 GMT -5

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Post by labontefanboy on Jan 11, 2015 14:48:21 GMT -5

Race 32 - Subway 500
Pre-Race: After a very interesting first half of the Chase, we begin the second half of NASCAR's playoffs at the oldest track on the circuit, Martinsville Speedway. The paperclip-shaped track has a history of producing many wrecks, battered fenders, and pit road fights during and after the race. Tempers run short when you're running bumper to bumper and door to door for 500 laps. The 12 Chasers, who all remain in mathematical contention, must keep their emotions in check. It'll be a long, trying afternoon here in Virginia. Someone will emerge victorious and take home a grandfather clock. Based on past races, it's likely that one of the Chasers will be the one taking home the trophy, but we saw at Talladega that anything can happen. Who will it be today? We're about to find out.

Green flag-Bobby Labonte leads the field to the green flag.

Lap 36-Points leader Jeff Burton, who is the only Chaser without a win, is looking to add to his lead and change that statistic today. He has taken over the race lead from Labonte.

Lap 52-Kyle Busch passes Burton for the lead.

Lap 56-Labonte back to the lead.

Lap 62-Clint Bowyer becomes the 4th different leader in the first 31 miles of this one.

Lap 67-Polesitter Labonte back to the lead. He hasn't won since June of 2005.

Lap 70-Kasey Kahne to pit road with a vibration.

Lap 74-Kyle Busch back to the lead.

Lap 76-CAUTION FLAG #1-After an unusually quiet start to the day we have our first yellow flag. Jason Leffler and Michael Waltrip have tangled in turn 3.

Lap 81-Green flag back out. Labonte leads Kyle Busch, Bowyer, Elliott Sadler, and Bobby Hamilton Jr.

Lap 89-Kyle Busch to the lead.

Lap 96-Bowyer takes over the race lead.

Lap 101-Here's the first Chase update of the day:
Clint Bowyer-1st
Kyle Busch-2nd
Jeff Burton-5th
Ryan Newman-6th
Tony Stewart-10th
Brian Vickers-11th
Jeff Gordon-13th
Kevin Harvick-15th
Travis Kvapil-17th
Carl Edwards-23rd
Casey Mears-25th
Jimmie Johnson-26th

Lap 156-Jeremy Mayfield hits pit road for an unscheduled stop.

Lap 162-After a long lull in on track action we finally have a lead change. Busch has gotten around Bowyer to retake the top spot.

Lap 168-Bowyer to the lead.

Lap 173-Kyle Busch back in front.

Lap 177-Waltrip has blown an engine and will finish 42nd.

Lap 180-Bowyer moves back to first. On a day where grip is at a premium and many drivers are frustrated with their inability to pass, the leaders are making it look easy swapping 1st place back and forth.

Lap 183-Busch retakes the lead.

Lap 192-Bowyer to the lead.

Lap 199-Kyle Busch back on point.

Lap 201-Chase Update #2:
Kyle Busch-1st
Clint Bowyer-2nd
Ryan Newman-3rd
Jeff Burton-4th
Tony Stewart-10th
Jeff Gordon-11th
Brian Vickers-12th
Kevin Harvick-14th
Travis Kvapil-17th
Jimmie Johnson-22nd
Casey Mears-24th
Carl Edwards-25th

Lap 208-Ryan Newman has suddenly found a lot of speed. Last week's winner has moved to the race lead.

Lap 213-Green flag pit stops may be starting soon. Jason Leffler has just made his stop.

Lap 214-J.J. Yeley pits.

Lap 215-Tony Stewart and Kahne make pit stops. Green flag pit stops at Martinsville are very rare, folks. This is a pretty unique circumstance with the long green flag runs we seem to be having today.

Lap 216-Sadler, Matt Kenseth, and Reed Sorenson pit for 4 tires and fuel.

Lap 216-CAUTION FLAG #2-Kurt Busch has blown an engine in turn 3 and his car now comes to a halt in turn 4. He had no chance of making it back as he was on the brakes, so he just stopped it right there. This will burn anybody that had already pitted or was on pit road at the time. Race leader Newman had just pulled onto pit road alongside Johnny Sauter, Kenny Wallace, Travis Kvapil, and Denny Hamlin. It looks as if they will lose a lap because of how quickly the pace car and the field caught up to each other.

Lap 223-Green flag back out. Labonte leads Busch, Burton, Bowyer, and Hamilton Jr.

Lap 301-LONG break in any action. Labonte has checked out with a 4 second lead over Busch. Here's the 3rd Chase Update of the day:
Kyle Busch-2nd
Jeff Burton-3rd
Jeff Gordon-4th
Clint Bowyer-5th
Brian Vickers-8th
Kevin Harvick-10th
Carl Edwards-12th
Travis Kvapil-13th
Ryan Newman-14th, -1 lap
Casey Mears-17th, -1 lap
Jimmie Johnson-18th, -1 lap
Tony Stewart-36th, -2 laps

Lap 313-CAUTION FLAG #3-Another RCR car has blown an engine. This time it's Chaser Kevin Harvick. His car comes to a rest in turn 1 where Kasey Kahne and Travis Kvapil each make light but noticeable contact with the #29 car. The way the drivers at the top of the standings are running today, it looks like this could be the final blow to Harvick's Chase chances.

Lap 319-Green flag back out. Burton, Labonte, Busch, David Ragan, and Brian Vickers make up the top 5. Great run for the #06 development team for Roush. They're easily having the best day of any of the Roush cars.

Lap 332-CAUTION FLAG #4-Another blown engine, another crash as a result. This time it's Kyle Petty blowing an engine in turn 2 and getting creamed in the rear by Carl Edwards. Both are done for the day, and Edwards, who had resurrected his once-slim Chase hopes, may have just put the nail in the coffin. A 38th place finish today will put him in a big hole with just 4 races to go after today.

Lap 338-Burton, Busch, Ragan, Bowyer, and Vickers make up the top 5 for the restart.

Lap 401-While Jeff Burton continues to check out on the field and expand upon his 5 second lead, here's the Chase Update #4 with 100 to go:
Jeff Burton-1st
Kyle Busch-2nd
Clint Bowyer-3rd
Jeff Gordon-5th
Brian Vickers-8th
Ryan Newman-11th, -1 lap
Casey Mears-12th, -1 lap
Jimmie Johnson-13th, -1 lap
Travis Kvapil-24th, -1 lap
Tony Stewart-32nd, -2 laps
Carl Edwards-38th, OUT
Kevin Harvick-40th, OUT

Lap 409-Time for another round of green flag pit stops? Travis Kvapil has made the journey to his pit box.

Lap 410-Johnny Sauter on pit road for service.

Lap 422-Scott Wimmer in the Rusty Wallace Racing #66 Dodge has blown an engine.

Lap 425-Busch had been slowly but steadily reeling in the #31 for the race lead, and now Burton will abandon his 2 second lead for pit road. Busch takes over the lead as Burton, Vickers, Mike Bliss, Mayfield, and Scott Riggs began the main cycle of green flag stops.

Lap 426-Pitting this time by: Race leader Kyle Busch, Newman, Bowyer, Aric Almirola, Hamilton Jr., Joe Nemechek, Greg Biffle, Leffler, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Sorenson, and Jimmie Johnson.

Lap 427-Labonte stays out and leads a lap as Kahne, Kenseth, and Denny Hamlin pit.

Lap 428-Ragan, Todd Kluever, Robby Gordon, Martin Truex Jr., Dave Blaney, Jamie McMurray, and Casey Mears all make pit stops.

Lap 429-Jon Wood is the only driver to pit this time by. Labonte still out front.

Lap 430-Labonte, Jeff Gordon, Stewart, Yeley, and Wallace make pit stops.

Lap 431-Burton has made it back to the lead as we await the last couple of stragglers' pit stops.

Lap 433-Paul Menard to pit road.

Lap 436-Sadler finally completes what could be the final round of pit stops for the day.

Lap 443-Busch has finally gotten to Burton and takes the race lead away.

Lap 445-Burton gets it right back.

Lap 447-Busch gets back around Burton for the lead. It seems as if the new set of tires may be hurting Burton, as he continues to slide high in the corners.

Lap 451-Final Chase Update of the day.
Kyle Busch-1st
Jeff Burton-2nd
Clint Bowyer-3rd
Brian Vickers-4th
Jeff Gordon-8th
Casey Mears-10th, -1 lap
Ryan Newman-11th, -1 lap
Jimmie Johnson-13th, -1 lap
Travis Kvapil-29th, -2 laps
Tony Stewart-30th, -3 laps

Lap 461-40 laps to go. Burton is now 2.2 seconds back.

Lap 467-The handling isn't just bad for Burton, it's completely gone. In the last 6 laps he's fallen from 2.2 seconds behind Busch to 3.8. He's just getting killed on corner entry as his car has zero grip.

Lap 476-25 to go, and all is not lost for Burton. After briefly yelling in frustration over the radio, the typically calm and collected Virginian has refocused and has brought the margin back down to 2.2 seconds. It helps that Busch is in a gaggle of lapped cars. Of course, Burton will have to get through several of them to even have a chance at passing Busch.

Lap 481-20 to go. The margin is now down to a second and a half. Still, 3 lapped cars are in between the #5 and the #31.

Lap 491-10 to go, just a half second back now for Burton and the leader Busch has gotten caught on the outside lane. Expect a hard-nosed, contact-filled battle over the final 10 laps between two lame-duck Championship contenders.

Lap 492-Just as Burton saw the light and saw that he may be able to use lapped cars as picks to get past Busch, he gets very loose and is now stuck on the outside of the lapped car of Truex. Busch is on the outside of Jon Wood, and Wood and Truex are battling for position. No chance of them giving up a spot either, as they come into today's race tied in points.

Lap 496-Burton still stuck on the outside with very worn tires. All the sliding around he did earlier is coming back to haunt him. He's back to a full second behind Busch with 5 to go.

Lap 500-White flag in the air for Busch. Burton is now 1.2 seconds back and it looks as if his best chance of winning so far this season is going to be wasted by a bad set of tires.

Checkered flag-Kyle Busch wins his second race of the season and wins the Subway 500 at Martinsville! Points leader Jeff Burton dominated the second half of the race but again comes up empty, finishing second. While he still remains winless, however, he expanded on his points lead as for the first time in the 6 races of this year's Chase, we are beginning to have a clear picture of who will be fighting it out at Homestead. It looks as if Burton, Newman, and Busch are the top 3 contenders right now, but plenty of others drivers still believe they have a shot, especially veterans like Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon.

Results:

Driver Points:

Owner Points:

I am aware that I screwed up the owner points for 36th and 37th. The #1 team should be in 36th and the #45 team should be in 37th. Sorry about that.

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Race 32 - Subway 500 - CHASE RACE #6 Jan 11, 2015 14:57:34 GMT -5

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Post by labontefanboy on Jan 11, 2015 14:57:34 GMT -5

Jack Roush statement-I should be pleased with the overall performance, but having our lone Chase contender basically eliminated with a crash is a bitter pill to swallow. That team had made such great strides over the first 5 races of the Chase and I honestly thought they'd have a chance to be in contention at Homestead, but we just got hit with some bad luck. That's racing.

David Ragan post-race-I'm really excited about our run today. I came here in the intention of logging laps and getting a little more accustomed to the higher-powered cars and found myself running up with the leaders for a little bit there in the middle. Great car by the guys at the shop, I couldn't be happier with they way it ran. Having a top 10 run today really gives me a big boost in confidence that I can come in next year and be successful.

Greg Biffle post-race-What a surprise, another race where our car was crap and came to life in the second half. Man, we were struggling to even stay in the top 30 for a good 150 laps early on, but I give a ton of credit to my guys who worked all day and we eventually came up with a decent finish. We may not be in the Chase, but none of us have quit and I'm really proud of the team effort once again today.

Todd Kluever post-race-Good run for me today. I stayed out of trouble and got 499 laps in under my belt, which is huge for next season. To get out of here with a top 15 run is a nice side benefit, but I'm just happy we had a trouble-free race. This season has been a struggle at times, but today is run that gives me optimism for 2008.

Matt Kenseth post-race-I feel like this is the first time I've talked to reporters at the end of the race all season. It might be the first time in a month we've actually finished a race. I can tell you that it feels like it's been forever. It's satisfying to see one through to the end. Now we just need to put up a top 10 or two in the last 4 races and hopefully we can have some semblance of momentum before next season starts.

Carl Edwards post-race-Such a tough break today. I had nowhere to go when the 45 came down, and he laid oil all over the track and my brakes were pretty much useless. It sucks to have rebounded all the way to 4th in the standings and be running on the lead lap in 10th place to see a whole season's worth of effort destroyed. But we're not done. We may have a very small shot and I concede that we'll need a lot of luck on our side, but we're gonna keep fighting. We're gonna see it through to the end, and I'm thankful for all these guys have given to me since I started running with this team in 2004. Until we're mathematically eliminated, we're going to keep grinding and making the most of what's left in our season and time together.

thatoneshredder Senior Member Posts: 649	Race 32 - Subway 500 - CHASE RACE #6 Jan 11, 2015 15:44:52 GMT -5 via mobile Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by thatoneshredder on Jan 11, 2015 15:44:52 GMT -5 Johnny missed the race this weekend, but the competition this weekend was really good, and we had a good run with Aric. Going to finish the season on a high note

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Race 32 - Subway 500 - CHASE RACE #6 Jan 11, 2015 18:59:38 GMT -5

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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2015 18:59:38 GMT -5

Bobby Ricky's Post-Race Analysis:

Well, the 31 team was in contention all day, just as I figured they would. It didn't result in a win, but Burton retains the points lead for now. Of course, if he really wants to be in contention for this championship, he's likely gonna have to win at one point or another. Sure, it's possible that we could have a winless champ this season, but with Kyle Busch on the move (and Ryan Newman still not that far behind), Burton's going to need to push himself like never before these last four weeks.

There's still plenty of time for plenty more to happen this season, and I'm sure these final four races will offer excitement from start to finish!

Chad' Senior Member Posts: 512	Race 32 - Subway 500 - CHASE RACE #6 Jan 11, 2015 19:46:16 GMT -5 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by Chad' on Jan 11, 2015 19:46:16 GMT -5 It would be strange if the CHASE champion not even win a race. Good race with the equipment we have.

frow78 Senior Member Connor Jacob Root Posts: 878	Race 32 - Subway 500 - CHASE RACE #6 Jan 12, 2015 20:47:47 GMT -5 via mobile Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by frow78 on Jan 12, 2015 20:47:47 GMT -5 Decent race for Mears, and Newman is still within striking distance of the lead. Congrats to Busch on the win.
	Penske Racing; Ryan Newman, 2007 Champion