NASCAR: 11/18-11/20 (Fri,Sat,Sun)

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Dodge Motorsports Notes & Quotes - Chase Notes - Homestead
November 18, 2011 , HOMESTEAD, Fla. - Friday, Nov. 18, 2011

Dodge Chase Notes
Dodge Motorsports PR
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Ford 400
Homestead-Miami Speedway


2011 CHASE FOR THE NASCAR SPRINT CUP

Chase Race No. 10 – Homestead-Miami Speedway – Sunday, Nov. 20

Brad Keselowski – No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T

Homestead
o Has three previous Cup starts at Homestead.
o Best finish (13th) and best start (18th) both occurred in the 2010 race.
o First Cup start at Homestead in 2008.
o Completed 99.9 percent of total possible laps in three previous races at Homestead (800 of 801 laps).
o Average Finish: 20.3
Chase
o Fourth in the series championship standings, 65 points behind leader Carl Edwards and six behind third-place Kevin Harvick. Leads fifth-place Jimmie Johnson by three points and sixth-place Matt Kenseth by five.
o Has scored four top-five finishes in nine Chase races and led at least one lap in seven of those events.
o Average Finish: 12.11
Season
o Has three wins, 10 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes.
o Recorded eight top-five and 11 top-10 finishes in last 18 races.
o Won pole position for Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte in May.
o Scored 214 points in five-race span to move from 23rd after Loudon to 11th following his victory at Bristol.
o Has led in 19 of the 35 races for 287 laps.
o Has been running at the finish 34 consecutive races.
o Enters Homestead with identical average start and average finish: 14.7.

Kurt Busch – No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T

Homestead
o One win, four top fives and four top 10 finishes in 10 previous starts at Homestead.
o Clinched the 2004 Sprint Cup championship at Homestead with a fifth-place finish.
o Won 2002 race by 2.070 seconds over second-place Joe Nemechek.
o Has two poles at Homestead – 2002 and 2004.
o He and Bill Elliott (2001) are the only drivers to win from the pole at Homestead.
o Has completed 83.5 percent of total possible laps at Homestead (2,233 of 2,675).
o Average Finish: 19.4.
Chase
o Eighth in the series championship standings, 107 points behind leader Edwards.
o Won at Dover and is one of six different drivers to win a Chase race.
o Has led laps in five of nine races.
o Average Finish: 17.44
Season
o Has two wins along with eight top-five and 16 top-10 finishes.
o Will make his 400th career Cup start at Homestead.
o Only Sprint Cup driver to remain in the top 10 in the series point standings all 35 races this season.
o All three pole positions came in consecutive races: Kansas (race No. 13). Pocono (race No. 14) and Michigan (race No. 15).
o Has led in 20 of 34 races for 770 laps
o Kicked off 2011 by winning Bud Shootout and first Gatorade Duel and finished fifth in the Daytona 500.
o Average Finish: 14.1

Results: Chase Race No. 9 – Phoenix International Raceway – Sunday, Nov. 13
Summary: Kurt Busch was leading late in the race when he ran out of gas half a lap away from a scheduled green flag pit stop. Busch slowed on lap 279 of the 312-lap race, coasting into his pit stall. But a lengthy stop on the pit lane to refire his car plus a speeding penalty entering pit road dropped Busch a lap down and out of contention for the victory. He was credited with a 22nd-place finish. He’s eighth in the Chase standings, 107 points behind leader Carl Edwards. Keselowski struggled early in the race, but after the first pit stop ran among the top 10. He was sixth in the running order when he hit pit lane for a routine four-tire stop during the event’s eighth caution on lap 221. But he lost nine positions due to an issue with the right side tire change then lost another handful of spots when he bounced around in traffic when the race restarted. Keselowski was credited with an 18th-place finish and is 65 points behind Edwards.

Brad Keselowski – No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T

o Qualified: 12th Finished: 18th
o Points Position: 4th Gain/Loss: +1 Behind Leader: -65
o Average finish in nine Chase races: 12.11

Kurt Busch – No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T

o Qualified: 17th Finished: 22nd
o Points Position: 9th Gain/Loss: +1 Behind Leader: -107
o Average finish in nine Chase races: 17.44

Results: Chase Race No. 8 – Texas Motor Speedway – Sunday, Nov. 6
Summary: Brad Keselowski started eighth at Texas but struggled with handling issues with his No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger throughout the race. And to make a bad day worse, he and Ryan Newman made contact on pit road during a round of stops under caution on lap 271. Newman, pitting directly in front of Keselowski, blocked in the No. 2 Dodge. When attempting to leave his stall, Keselowski backed into Denny Hamlin, damaging the right-rear of his car and forcing him to make an extra stop for minor repairs. He was credited with a 24th-place finish and is 49 points behind leader Carl Edwards. Kurt Busch also had a frustrating afternoon at Texas, struggling to a 30th-place finish. Busch is ninth in the series championship standings, 87 points behind Edwards.

Brad Keselowski – No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T

o Qualified: 8th Finished: 24th
o Points Position: 5th Gain/Loss: -1 Behind Leader: -49
o Average finish in eight Chase races: 11.37

Kurt Busch – No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T

o Qualified: 14th Finished: 30th
o Points Position: 9th Gain/Loss: -1 Behind Leader: -87
o Average finish in eight Chase races: 16.87

Results: Chase Race No. 7 – Martinsville Speedway – Sunday, Oct. 30
Summary: Brad Keselowski saw a top 10 finish disappear in the final laps of the TUMS Fast Relief 500. Keselowski was running eighth on the final restart with two laps to go when Dale Earnhardt Jr. made contact with Denny Hamlin, shoving Hamlin into Keselowski, sending the Miller Lite Dodge for a spin. He was credited with a 17th-place finish and dropped to fourth-place in the series championship standings, 27 points behind leader Carl Edwards. Kurt Busch overcame two spins and rallied from a lap down to score a 14th-place finish in the season’s final short track race. Busch took the wave around back onto the lead lap during the eleventh caution of the race on lap 404 of the 500-lap event. Five laps later caution number 12 waved, allowing Busch to make up the lost distance and join the pit sequence of the race leaders.

Brad Keselowski – No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T

o Qualified: 3rd Finished: 17th
o Points Position: 4th Gain/Loss: -1 Behind Leader: -27
o Average finish in seven Chase races: 9.57

Kurt Busch – No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T

o Qualified: 8th Finished: 14th
o Points Position: 8th Gain/Loss: 0 Behind Leader: -58
o Average finish in seven Chase races: 15.00

Results: Chase Race No. 6 – Talladega Superspeedway – Sunday, Oct. 13
Summary: Brad Keselowski made a good choice in a drafting partner in Dave Blaney as the two challenged for the win in the two-lap dash to the checkered flag following the ninth caution of the race. Keselowski ended up fourth, his best restrictor plate finish of the season and second top-five in 11 career plate races. He won at Talladega in 2009. It was his fourth top-10 in six Chase races and moved him to third in the standings, 18 points behind leader Carl Edwards. Kurt Busch saw his championship hope fade after being involved in an accident off Turn 2 on lap 175 of the 188-lap race. Bobby Labonte spun and came back up the track directly in the path of Busch, heavily damaging the No. 22 Dodge. Busch finished 36th. He’s eighth in the standings, 52 points behind the leader.

Brad Keselowski – No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T

o Qualified: 16th Finished: 4th
o Points Position: 3rd Gain/Loss: +3 Behind Leader: -18
o Average finish in six Chase races: 8.33

Kurt Busch – No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T

o Qualified: 14th Finished: 36th
o Points Position: 8th Gain/Loss: -1 Behind Leader: -52
o Average finish in six Chase races: 15.2

Results: Chase Race No. 5 – Charlotte Motor Speedway – Sunday Oct. 15
Summary: Kurt Busch rallied from two laps down to score a 13th-place finish, best among Dodge drivers. Busch was zapped twice by untimely caution flags moments after making scheduled green-flag pit stops. He dropped one position to seventh in the standings, 27 points behind leader Carl Edwards. Brad Keselowski also had his share of misfortune, but salvaged a respectable 16th-place finish. Keselowski fell to sixth in the Chase, 25 points behind the leader. Ironically, both Busch and Keselowski have completed 99.93 percent of all possible laps in the five Chase races (1,572 of a possible 1,573).

Brad Keselowski – No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T

o Qualified: 26th Finished: 16th
o Points Position: 6th Gain/Loss: -2 Behind Leader: -25
o Average finish in five Chase races: 9.20

Kurt Busch – No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T

o Qualified: 20th Finished: 13th
o Points Position: 7th Gain/Loss: -1 Behind Leader: -27
o Average finish in first five Chase races: 11.00

Results: Chase Race No. 4 – Kansas Speedway – Sunday Oct. 9
Summary: Brad Keselowski led Team Dodge with a third-place finish. Keselowski won at Kansas in June and backed up that performance with his third top five in the four Chase races. He started 12th and steadily worked his way to the front, eventually leading the race for five laps. He gained two positions in the point standings, climbing up to fourth, 11 points behind leader Carl Edwards. Kurt Busch qualified 17th and finished 13th after leading the race once for six laps. Busch dropped to sixth in the standings and is 16 points behind the leader.

Brad Keselowski – No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T

o Qualified: 12th Finished: 3rd
o Points Position: 4th Gain/Loss: +2 Behind Leader: -11
o Has completed every lap of last 11 Sprint Cup races.

Kurt Busch – No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T

o Qualified: 17th Finished: 13th
o Points Position: 6th Gain/Loss: -2 Behind Leader: -16
o Led at least once in first four Chase races.

Results: Chase Race No. 3 – Dover International Speedway – Sunday Oct. 2
Summary: Kurt Busch earned his second Sprint Cup Series win of the season, defeating Jimmie Johnson by 0.908 seconds. Busch qualified on the outside pole, led 90 laps en route to his 24th NSCS win of his career – his first at the Monster Mile. The win vaulted Busch five positions in the Chase standings. He’s currently tied with Tony Stewart for third, nine behind co-leaders Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards. Mid-race mechanical issues with a power steering belt relegated Penske Racing teammate Brad Keselowski to a 20th-place place finish. Keselowski dropped three positions to sixth-place in the standings, 14 behind the leaders.

Kurt Busch – No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T

o Qualified: 2nd Finished: Race Winner
o Points Position: 3rd Gain/Loss: +5 Behind Leader: -9
o Led five times for 90 laps

Brad Keselowski – No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T

o Qualified: 15th Finished: 20th
o Points Position: 6th Gain/Loss: -3 Behind Leader: -14
o Has led at least one lap in each of the first three Chase races.

Results: Chase Race No. 2 – New Hampshire Motor Speedway – Sunday, Sept. 25
Summary: Brad Keselowski led Team Dodge with a runner-up finish. He started ninth but was running just outside the top 20 through the first half of the 300-lap event. Crew Chief Paul Wolfe used race strategy, choosing not to pit on lap 174 under caution, to gain track
position. Fuel mileage keyed Keselowski’s runner-up finish, a career best at Loudon. It vaulted him to third in the Chase standings. Teammate Kurt Busch qualified fifth, but lost track position early and was never able to recover as the race had only three cautions. Busch finished 22nd and dropped to ninth in the Chase standings.

Brad Keselowski – No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T

o Qualified: 16th Finished: 2nd
o Points Position: 3rd Gain/Loss: +3 Behind Leader: -11
o Eighth to-10 finish in last nine Sprint Cup starts.

Kurt Busch – No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T

o Qualified: 5th Finished: 22nd
o Points Position: 9th Gain/Loss: -5 Behind Leader: -28
o Worse finish since Michigan (34th) in August.
o Led once for four laps.

Results: Chase Race No. 1 – Chicagoland Speedway – Monday, Sept. 19
Summary: Brad Keselowski finished fifth in his first career Chase race. He qualified fifth and was a top-12 car most of the race. He managed to stretch his fuel window for the race’s final 53 laps, something several other lead-lap cars were unable to do (four ran out of fuel). Kurt Busch qualified third, led the most laps (64) en route to a sixth-place finish.
Keselowski started the Chase 11th in the standings, 12 points behind the leader. Busch started the Chase nine points behind the leader in seventh.

Kurt Busch – No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T

o Qualified: 3rd Finished: 6th
o Points position: 4th Gain/Loss: +3 Behind Leader: -11
o Seventh top-five and 15th top-10 of the season.

Brad Keselowski – No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T

o Qualified: 6th Finished: 5th
o Points Position: 6th Gain/Loss: +5 Behind Leader: -14
o Seventh consecutive top-12 finish.
o Career-best Chicagoland finish.

2011 Dodge Motorsports Driver Statistics
Driver Rank Points Behind Starts Poles Wins Top 5s Top 10s Earnings
Brad Keselowski 4 2294 -65 35 1 3 10 14 $4,992,586
Kurt Busch 8 2252 -107 35 3 2 8 16 $5,834,341
Robby Gordon 34 268 --- 25 0 0 0 0 $2,271,891

Dodge at Homestead-Miami Speedway

Dodge has one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway (Bill Elliott – 2001).
Dodge has three poles at Homestead: Bill Elliott (2001), Jamie McMurray (2003) and Kasey Kahne (2006).
Dodge has racked up six top fives and 22 top 10 finishes at Homestead.
The most Dodge drivers to finish in the top 10 in a race at Homestead are FIVE in 2001: Elliott, Casey Atwood (third), Sterling Marlin (fifth), Dave Blaney (sixth) and Jason Leffler (10th).
Former Dodge driver Elliott (2001) and current Dodge driver Kurt Busch (2002) are the only two Sprint Cup winners at Homestead to start from the pole. Busch also started from the pole in 2004.
Busch clinched the 2004 Sprint Cup championship at HMS. It was the first year of the Chase format and came before he joined Penske Racing in 2006.

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NASCAR Results
Last Updated: Saturday, Nov 19, 2011 8:07 pm, EST
Ford 300
Status: Final Homestead-Miami Speedway



Order Driver (No.) Car Pts/Bonus Laps Laps Led Winnings Lap Progress
1 Brad Keselowski (22) Dodge 47/4 200 66 $75,450 Chart
2 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (6) Ford 43/1 200 22 $75,193 Chart
3 Carl Edwards (60) Ford 43/2 200 87 $50,825 Chart
4 Clint Bowyer (33) Chevrolet 41/1 200 9 $38,625 Chart
5 Denny Hamlin (18) Toyota 39/0 200 0 $31,775 Chart
6 Elliott Sadler (2) Chevrolet 39/1 200 7 $33,893 Chart
7 Sam Hornish Jr. (12) Dodge 38/1 200 3 $21,625 Chart
8 Aric Almirola (88) Chevrolet 36/0 200 0 $27,218 Chart
9 Brian Scott (11) Toyota 35/0 200 0 $28,443 Chart
10 Joey Logano (20) Toyota 34/0 200 0 $19,725 Chart
11 Trevor Bayne (16) Ford 34/1 200 2 $24,593 Chart
12 Jason Leffler (38) Chevrolet 32/0 200 0 $23,443 Chart
13 Justin Allgaier (31) Chevrolet 31/0 200 0 $23,993 Chart
14 James Buescher (32) Chevrolet 30/0 200 0 $22,843 Chart
15 David Stremme (70) Chevrolet 30/1 200 3 $25,283 Chart
16 Joe Nemechek (97) Toyota 28/0 200 0 $16,810 Chart
17 Mike Bliss (19) Chevrolet 27/0 200 0 $22,418 Chart
18 Jeremy Clements (51) Chevrolet 26/0 200 0 $22,503 Chart
19 Michael Annett (62) Toyota 26/1 200 1 $22,143 Chart
20 Mike Wallace (01) Chevrolet 24/0 200 0 $22,758 Chart
21 Timmy Hill (15) Ford 23/0 200 0 $22,923 Chart
22 Robert Richardson Jr. (23) Chevrolet 22/0 200 0 $21,813 Chart
23 Blake Koch (81) Chevrolet 21/0 199 0 $22,078 Chart
24 Nelson Piquet Jr. (30) Chevrolet 20/0 198 0 $21,568 Chart
25 Reed Sorenson (182) Dodge 19/0 198 0 $15,590 Chart
26 Kevin Conway (87) Toyota 18/0 198 0 $21,303 Chart
27 Casey Roderick (104) Ford 17/0 198 0 $15,120 Chart
28 T.J. Duke (40) Chevrolet 16/0 198 0 $14,605 Chart
29 Eric McClure (14) Chevrolet 15/0 197 0 $20,968 Chart
30 Derrike Cope (28) Dodge 14/0 195 0 $21,158 Chart
31 Stanton Barrett (141) Chevrolet 13/0 194 0 $14,280 Chart
32 Danica Patrick (7) Chevrolet 12/0 190 0 $20,633 Chart
33 Kenny Wallace (09) Toyota 11/0 187 0 $20,578 Chart
34 Steve Wallace (66) Toyota 10/0 146 0 $20,513 Chart
35 Kevin Lepage (52) Chevrolet 9/0 136 0 $14,010 Chart
36 Andrew Ranger (167) Ford 8/0 91 0 $13,975 Chart
37 Scott Riggs (103) Chevrolet 7/0 15 0 $13,910 Chart
38 Chase Miller (146) Chevrolet 6/0 10 0 $13,825 Chart
39 Josh Wise (147) Chevrolet 5/0 4 0 $13,735 Chart
40 Matt Carter (171) Chevrolet 4/0 4 0 $13,700 Chart
41 Scott Speed (142) Chevrolet 3/0 3 0 $13,625 Chart
42 Fain Skinner (39) Ford 2/0 2 0 $20,043 Chart
43 Morgan Shepherd (89) Chevrolet 1/0 1 0 $19,974 Chart

Stenhouse Jr. wins Nationwide Series championship



HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP)—Ricky Stenhouse Jr. drove dozens of laps as a champion—and didn’t even know it.

Stenhouse won the Nationwide Series title long before the checkered flag dropped Saturday at the season finale.

Stenhouse clinched his first championship about 30 laps into the 200-lap race, securing the title when six cars officially dropped out of the 300-mile event at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Stenhouse was running fourth when NASCAR officials announced he had wrapped up the title. He finished second behind Brad Keselowski. Carl Edwards was third, followed by Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin and Elliott Sadler.

Edwards clinched the owner’s title for Jack Roush, who is looking to become the first owner in NASCAR history to win both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide championships in the same season. Edwards leads Tony Stewart by three points heading into Sunday’s season finale.

Edwards and Stenhouse parked their cars nose to nose and did a double burnout in celebration.

Sadler, who started the race 41 points behind Stenhouse, finished second in the season points standings.

Stenhouse knew he held a comfortable lead over Sadler, needing to finished 37th or better to secure the championship a year after earning the rookie of the year honors. As expected, Stenhouse played it safe although his day was far from trouble free.

The team had communication issues early. Apparently, someone not associated with the team left the push-to-talk button open on a radio, causing problems that eventually got solved by switching channels. Later, with about 70 laps remaining, Stenhouse scraped the wall for the second time.

None of the mishaps did much to dampen Stenhouse’s day.

Crew chief Mike Kelley gave Stenhouse the news a little past the halfway point, saying, “All right, man, I got the word. You are the champion.”

Kelley knew how many cars were out of the race early and considered telling Stenhouse then. But just as he started the sentence over the radio, he stopped and said, “Keep doing what you’re doing.”

Stenhouse did.

He ran near the front much of the race. And he had the lead late until spinning his tires on a restart and getting stuck in some traffic. He nearly ran down Keselowski on the final lap, but came up a few car lengths short.

Stenhouse and Sadler were the only drivers still eligible for the title.

Stenhouse’s guaranteed finishing spot improved just after the green flag as “start and park” cars headed to the garage. Morgan Shepherd, Fain Skinner, Scott Speed and Matt Carter all drove just a few laps before calling it quits. Josh Wise and Chase Miller followed them a few laps later, making it official.

The rest was a mere formality.

Daytona 500 champion Trevor Bayne finished 11th. Former IndyCar star Danica Patrick crossed the line 32nd after wrecking shortly after a restart with 14 laps to go.

Sprint Cup regulars were ineligible for the Nationwide title. NASCAR officials instituted a new rule this year that prevented drivers from racing for championships in more than one series.

The change was made in hopes of bolstering the identity of up-and-coming drivers in the second-tier series.

The series has been dominated by Cup stars, with Keselowski (2010), Kyle Busch (2009), Bowyer (2008), Edwards (2007) and Kevin Harvick (2006) winning the previous five Nationwide titles.

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Ford 400 SPRINT CUP
NASCAR Qualifying
Field Set Homestead-Miami Speedway



Order Driver (No.) Car Qualifying Speed
1 Carl Edwards (99) Ford 175.467
2 Martin Truex Jr. (56) Toyota 174.808
3 Kasey Kahne (4) Toyota 174.582
4 Kurt Busch (22) Dodge 174.520
5 Brad Keselowski (2) Dodge 174.492
6 Matt Kenseth (17) Ford 174.475
7 Jeff Gordon (24) Chevrolet 174.436
8 Greg Biffle (16) Ford 174.109
9 Jimmie Johnson (48) Chevrolet 174.098
10 Denny Hamlin (11) Toyota 173.969
11 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) Chevrolet 173.907
12 A J Allmendinger (43) Ford 173.734
13 David Ragan (6) Ford 173.678
14 Ryan Newman (39) Chevrolet 173.371
15 Tony Stewart (14) Chevrolet 173.332
16 Regan Smith (78) Chevrolet 173.321
17 Clint Bowyer (33) Chevrolet 173.277
18 Marcos Ambrose (9) Ford 173.271
19 Kyle Busch (18) Toyota 173.249
20 Trevor Bayne (21) Ford 173.160
21 Kevin Harvick (29) Chevrolet 173.155
22 Landon Cassill (51) Chevrolet 173.094
23 Paul Menard (27) Chevrolet 173.082
24 Brian Vickers (83) Toyota 172.966
25 Mark Martin (5) Chevrolet 172.889
26 Jamie McMurray (1) Chevrolet 172.701
27 Juan Pablo Montoya (42) Chevrolet 172.656
28 David Reutimann (00) Toyota 172.425
29 Cole Whitt (84) Toyota 172.392
30 J.J. Yeley (55) Ford 171.991
31 Jeff Burton (31) Chevrolet 171.821
32 Joey Logano (20) Toyota 171.685
33 Michael McDowell (66) Toyota 171.059
34 Dave Blaney (135) Chevrolet 171.027
35 Bobby Labonte (47) Toyota 170.881
36 David Stremme (30) Chevrolet 170.881
37 Joe Nemechek (87) Toyota 170.578
38 David Gilliland (34) Ford 170.143
39 Casey Mears (13) Toyota 169.929
40 Travis Kvapil (38) Ford 169.718
41 T.J. Bell (32) Ford 167.707
42 Geoffrey Bodine (36) Chevrolet 162.842
43 Mike Bliss (71) Ford 169.940
44 Scott Speed (46) DNQ 169.529
45 Reed Sorenson (7) DNQ 169.359
46 Mike Skinner (37) DNQ 168.587
47 Scott Riggs (192) DNQ 167.775
48 Grant Enfinger (193) DNQ 165.807

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Dodge Motorsports Notes & Quotes - Final Qualifying Quotes - Homestead
November 19, 2011 , HOMESTEAD, Fla. - Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011

Dodge Final Qualifying Quotes
Dodge Motorsports PR
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Ford 400
Homestead-Miami Speedway


KURT BUSCH (No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T) Qualified 4th
HAVE YOU GOTTEN OUT OF YOUR RACE CAR WHAT YOU WANTED TODAY? “I think so. We started off way on the tight side and ended up way on the loose side so I was like ‘Hey, let’s shoot for the middle’ and I think we got a good lap in with our Shell/Pennzoil Dodge. We’ve had some poles this year. I don’t know what that run will get us, but it’s just neat to know that you’re in contention on Fridays or Saturdays when it’s qualifying day because you’ve got Penske horsepower and you’ve got a group of guys that are committed.”

YOU AND BRAD KESELOWSKI ARE CURRENTLY AT THE TOP OF THE BOARD. “We ran the same speed which means we did our job. That’s all we could get out of our Penske Dodges. It’s been a great season for us in qualifying. I don’t know if that’ll be pole material, but our Shell/Pennzoil guys have been working hard. We just feel real proud of the way we’ve qualified this year and put ourselves in Chase contention. We’ll see what we can give ‘em tomorrow in the afternoon race. With the season ending, it’s tough to see it go.”

HOW BIG WOULD WINNING THIS RACE BE GOING INTO THE OFF SEASON? “We’ve been hot, we’ve been cold; I guess it’s our description through the Chase as well as leading up to the Chase. I wouldn’t be surprised to see us win if we can get it all put together right. Last week, we had a winning car and we threw it away with fuel mileage.”

WERE YOUR SURPRISED AT HOW MUCH THE TRACK CHANGED? “It always picks up a little bit. I’m just hoping that the rest of the guys have to battle the sun because we were in full sun. We’ll see. We’re happy with that lap and if we end up tenth, that’ll be perfect.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger) Qualified 5th
YOU HAD A NICE QUALIFYING RUN DESPITE A LITTLE SLIP UP DURING YOUR LAP? “Yeah, you’re going to slip up a bit if you have the car right and you’re pushing it hard enough. It’s amazing that Kurt and I both started off bad, but we kept working on our cars and it looks like we’ve made some headway. I’m not sure a 39.40 (second) lap is good or bad, but so far it looks OK. Kurt and I have been on top of each other for time. We’ll just have to see how it plays out for the race. I’m really proud of where we’re at with our team.”

HOW MUCH DID THAT QUICK CLOUD COVER HELP YOUR LAP? “Probably a little bit. I’m not sure if I had it or the next guy had it, but clouds never hurt.”

WHAT HAVE YOU FOUND FROM PRACTICE TO QUALIFYING THAT HELPED YOUR LAP? “We threw everything at it. We were not very good at all in practice. It’s kind of been the story of our season of late. We’ve been qualifying much better than we’ve been racing. Hopefully, this weekend it changes. I think that we made some big gains in practice that should apply to our race setup.”

REED SORENSON (No. 7 SPEED Energy/MAPEI Dodge Charger R/T) DNQ
“We picked up three tenths so yeah, that’s good for us. It’s been tough. We’ll see if it makes it. It’ll be close.”

YOU PRACTICE IN THE MORNING, QUALIFY IN THE AFTERNOON AND WILL RACE INTO THE EVENING TOMORROW. IS IT A GUESS TO FIND THE RIGHT SETUP? “I think so. The Nationwide race I think starts at 4:30 and it’s quite a bit of change. It usually starts out really free and then the track changes a little bit once it gets dark.”

WILL YOU RUN SOME RACES FOR ROBBY GORDON NEXT SEASON? “Yeah, maybe. I don’t think he knows what he’s doing yet. He’s doing the Baja this weekend and he asked me to come out here and do it. I’ve been trying to help him when I can. His guys are actually in Mexico all week, the ones that work on this car. They’ve been real busy too, so hopefully it will make the race.”

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NASCAR SPRINT CUP Results
Last Updated: Sunday, Nov 20, 2011 9:01 pm, EST
Ford 400
Status: Final Homestead-Miami Speedway




Order Driver (No.) Car Pts/Bonus Laps Laps Led Winnings Lap Progress
1 Tony Stewart (14) Chevrolet 47/4 267 65 $341,258 Chart
2 Carl Edwards (99) Ford 44/2 267 119 $296,416 Chart
3 Martin Truex Jr. (56) Toyota 42/1 267 5 $189,450 Chart
4 Matt Kenseth (17) Ford 41/1 267 15 $173,736 Chart
5 Jeff Gordon (24) Chevrolet 40/1 267 7 $159,386 Chart
6 Clint Bowyer (33) Chevrolet 38/0 267 0 $145,633 Chart
7 Kasey Kahne (4) Toyota 37/0 267 0 $118,458 Chart
8 Kevin Harvick (29) Chevrolet 37/1 267 12 $130,811 Chart
9 Denny Hamlin (11) Toyota 35/0 267 0 $123,875 Chart
10 Jeff Burton (31) Chevrolet 35/1 267 4 $90,400 Chart
11 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) Chevrolet 33/0 267 0 $81,150 Chart
12 Ryan Newman (39) Chevrolet 32/0 267 0 $110,625 Chart
13 Regan Smith (78) Chevrolet 31/0 267 0 $98,795 Chart
14 Jamie McMurray (1) Chevrolet 30/0 267 0 $107,664 Chart
15 A J Allmendinger (43) Ford 29/0 267 0 $110,086 Chart
16 Paul Menard (27) Chevrolet 28/0 267 0 $79,475 Chart
17 Brian Vickers (83) Toyota 27/0 267 0 $98,389 Chart
18 David Reutimann (00) Toyota 26/0 267 0 $98,783 Chart
19 Joey Logano (20) Toyota 25/0 267 0 $78,575 Chart
20 Brad Keselowski (2) Dodge 25/1 266 11 $95,158 Chart
21 Mike Bliss (71) Ford 23/0 266 0 $84,100 Chart
22 Travis Kvapil (38) Ford 23/1 266 3 $84,283 Chart
23 Kyle Busch (18) Toyota 22/1 266 16 $114,966 Chart
24 Mark Martin (5) Chevrolet 20/0 266 0 $77,075 Chart
25 Trevor Bayne (21) Ford 19/0 266 0 $69,275 Chart
26 Casey Mears (13) Toyota 18/0 266 0 $68,525 Chart
27 Bobby Labonte (47) Toyota 17/0 266 0 $95,170 Chart
28 Dave Blaney (135) Chevrolet 16/0 265 0 $65,125 Chart
29 T.J. Bell (32) Ford 15/0 265 0 $76,933 Chart
30 Geoffrey Bodine (36) Chevrolet 14/0 263 0 $75,747 Chart
31 Juan Pablo Montoya (42) Chevrolet 14/1 261 2 $105,533 Chart
32 Jimmie Johnson (48) Chevrolet 13/1 261 2 $118,211 Chart
33 David Gilliland (34) Ford 12/1 245 1 $65,375 Chart
34 Kurt Busch (22) Dodge 10/0 220 0 $108,450 Chart
35 Greg Biffle (16) Ford 10/1 190 2 $81,675 Chart
36 Landon Cassill (51) Chevrolet 8/0 153 0 $63,450 Chart
37 Cole Whitt (84) Toyota 7/0 153 0 $63,250 Chart
38 David Ragan (6) Ford 6/0 81 0 $71,050 Chart
39 Marcos Ambrose (9) Ford 5/0 72 0 $92,841 Chart
40 Joe Nemechek (87) Toyota 5/1 29 3 $62,620 Chart
41 J.J. Yeley (55) Ford 3/0 25 0 $62,405 Chart
42 David Stremme (30) Chevrolet 2/0 14 0 $62,110 Chart
43 Michael McDowell (66) Toyota 1/0 13 0 $62,429 Chart

[rickaren]

Stewart wins Homestead to win NASCAR championship



HOMESTEAD, Fla. (AP)—Tony Stewart insisted he wasn’t a title contender when NASCAR’s championship race began.

When it became clear he actually was a viable threat, he kicked it into another gear and vowed to go for broke in his pursuit of Carl Edwards.

Did he ever.

Stewart used a powerful and relentless drive—some might suggest the best in NASCAR history—on Sunday in the season finale to seize his third NASCAR championship. He overcame a hole in the grill of his Chevrolet, a rain delay, used debatable fuel strategy and made 118 passes on the track to win at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

That shows how bad I wanted to win this thing,” Stewart said. “When you’re going for a championship, you can’t hold anything back. I couldn’t leave anything on the table.”

Edwards, who started the race with a three-point lead in the standings, did everything he could from the minute he arrived in Florida. His Roush-Fenway Racing team put his Ford on the pole, he led a race-high 119 of the 267 laps and still finished a helpless second.

The two actually ended up tied in the final standings—a NASCAR first—but Stewart won the title based on his five victories, all in the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup championship—to Edwards’ one.

Stewart became the first owner/driver to win the championship since the late Alan Kulwicki in 1992, and the driver to end Jimmie Johnson’s record five-year title run. His last title was in 2005, the year before Johnson’s began his reign.

“Are you kidding me?” Stewart asked in Victory Lane in a pouring rain. “We said all week we’d just go out and win the race and didn’t have to worry about what (Edwards) did. If this doesn’t go down as one of the greatest championship battles in history, I don’t know what will.”

Edwards, who had a 4.9 average finish over the 10 Chase races, was disappointed but held his head high after the race.

“This night is about Tony Stewart. Those guys rose to the occasion, and they beat us fair and square,” Edwards said. “That is all I had. We came here and sat on the pole, led the most laps and Tony still managed. That’s it. That’s all I got at the end. That’s as hard as I can drive.

“I told my wife, ‘If I can’t win this thing, I’m going to be the best loser NASCAR has ever had.’ So, I’m going to try really hard to keep my head up and know that we’ll just go next year and we’ll be just as hard to beat.”

As third-place finisher Martin Truex Jr. did his post-race news conference, Edwards sat silently off to the side, his eyes fixated on a bank of televisions showing Stewart’s championship celebration.

“If I could do it all over again, there’s nothing I could have done differently,” he whispered. “That’s my maximal effort, and Tony beat us. We knew that of all the circumstances possible, this was the least probable. But I was prepared for this.”

Edwards, despite being the most consistent driver this season and points leader for 21 weeks, has been on the ropes the last month as Stewart turned up his energy, effort and trash-talking. His quick wit and sharp tongue kept the entire industry entertained as he did everything possible to get inside Edwards’ head.

Maybe it was really for Stewart’s benefit, a driver trying to talk himself into believing he had a shot at the title after struggling all summer long. He maybe didn’t rattle Edwards, but Stewart for sure talked himself into this title.

He arrived in Miami insistent he’d race with nothing to lose, and did just that from the moment the race began. He was moving through the field from his 15th starting spot when caution came out 14 laps into the race. His Stewart-Haas Racing crew discovered a hole in his grill, and the repairs dropped him to 40th in the field.

Stewart then blew by car after car and was up to 23rd in a matter of minutes. Another caution sent him into the pits for more repairs, and he restarted in 32nd.

His yapping then resumed, as he scoffed on his radio how embarrassed Edwards and the No. 99 team would be when Stewart drove from the back of the field— twice!—to beat them.

When more rain forced NASCAR to stop the field for 75 minutes, Stewart confidently walked pit road and sent a message to Edwards.

“We are fixin’ to keep delivering this whoopin’; we got more in mind for him the rest of the day,” he said in an ESPN interview.

Edwards, meanwhile, huddled with crew chief Bob Osborne atop the pit box and declined to be interviewed. His Roush Fenway Racing team had to be nervous about engine durability—three Roush Yates engines failed over the course of the race—and Edwards eventually retreated to his motorhome to snack on popcorn and keep his focus.

When racing resumed, Stewart continued to slice through the field and used several spectacular three- and four-wide passes to close in on Edwards. Then crew chief Darian Grubb made an unusual call to keep Stewart out on the track until he was just about out of gas. It was a risky call but worked perfectly when the rain came moments after Stewart finally stopped for gas.

It gave Stewart breathing room as he was able to save gas under yellow. He was fourth on the final restart, Edwards was sixth, and Stewart used a three-wide pass over Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and AJ Allmendinger to reclaim the lead.

Although Edwards quickly moved into second, he couldn’t catch Stewart as he sailed to his fifth Chase victory.

“They got 5 wins in 10 races,” Osborne said. “That’s pretty unbelievable. But they did it and it got them the championship.”

SOURCE

[rickaren]

Dodge Motorsports Notes & Quotes - NSCS Final Race Quotes - Homestead
November 20, 2011 , HOMESTEAD, Fla. - Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011

Dodge Final Race Quotes
Dodge Motorsports PR
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Ford 400
Homestead-Miami Speedway


BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T) Finished 20th
YOU FINISHED FIFTH IN POINTS. “I don’t think anyone really expected that out of us, but I never stopped believing that we could be, you know, be a contender and have a lot of fun and do well as a team. I think we’ve got a lot to build off of. We’ll have to work on it, build off it too. I’m real proud of the effort for the whole team.”

HOW DID THE END OF THE RACE PLAY OUT FOR YOU GUYS? YOU HAD TO PIT LATE. “We were just doing what we could to try to get up to third (in the Chase standings). We were going to finish fifth in the points, so we just took a chance to try to get to third. It just didn’t pay off. If we caught a yellow, we could have been in really good position, but just wasn’t meant to be. I think we did all the right things and just didn’t catch the breaks we needed and really just didn’t quite have a fast enough car. We put ourselves in position to have good things happen to us and that’s okay.”

DOES THIS RACE ENCOMPASS YOUR ENTIRE CHASE? “We do an excellent job as a team putting ourselves in position where good things can happen to us and I think we’re rewarded accordingly. The big thing that we have to work on as a team is we’ve got to be a little faster, have faster race cars. If we can do that, we’ll rely less on strategy.”

YOU WON LAST NIGHT AND RAN STRONG TONIGHT. HOW DOES THAT MAKE YOUR OFFSEASON AND AS YOU LOOK AHEAD TO 2012? “Well, you know, we’d like to have had a better finish today but, you know, like I said, I was only surprised with how we ran. I’m ready for the offseason (smiles).”

DID YOU CAR GET BETTER AFTER THE RAIN DELAY? “Yeah, when the track didn’t have rubber on it, I thought the car was really strong.”

DID YOU HAVE A BETTER CAR THAN WHERE YOU FINISHED? “We were better than 20th, but we took our chances and just didn’t catch the breaks. I’m not frustrated with that. I think that’s the right strategy. I would just like to be a little bit faster. That’s the only thing I can be frustrated about.”

WHICH IS THE BIGGER ACCOMPLISHMENT: TOP FIVE IN POINTS OR MAKING THE CHASE? “They’re pretty damn equal (smiles).”

HOW WAS YOUR RACE? “We had an up-and-down night here at Homestead. At the end, we took some chances trying to get ourselves up to third in points and it just didn’t pay off. Ended up finishing 20th and if we catch a yellow there, we’ll probably have a fifth to 10th-place day and move up to third in points. But we just didn’t catch the right breaks for that to happen, but still had a decent day and probably a better day than where the finish was. You know, we just need a little more speed in our cars to be able to do something here. You look at the 14 (Tony Stewart) and the 99 (Carl Edwards) and they just had a lot of speed. If we can get a little more speed in our cars, I feel like we can go out there and win a championship.”

DID THE TRACK CHANGE A LOT AFTER THE RAIN DELAY? “Yeah, every time it would rain or do any of that kind of stuff, my Dodge got really good. I could have used a couple more of those showers (smile).”

THOUGHTS ON THE CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE COMING DOWN TO STEWART AND EDWARDS. “Did it come down to a tie and Tony won it? Wow – that’s pretty cool. I guess I didn’t do the math. Congrats to him. He had a great year and I don’t think you can ask for much more than that.”

DID YOU EVER THINK THE CHAMPIONSHIP MIGHT COME DOWN TO LITERALLY THE LAST LAP? “Well, you know one year, it’s got to (laughs). This is the year and I don’t think we’ll ever see that again.”

PAUL WOLFE (crew chief, No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T)
“We just didn’t have the car that we were hoping to have tonight. It really would have been nice to finish with a win. We just didn’t have the car we needed. We worked on it and never could really put it all together. We got to the point where we were just trying strategy stuff to see if we could pull something off with this Miller Lite Dodge Charger. It just didn’t work out. I’m proud of the effort by everyone on this team. We were able to earn a top-five spot in the driver point standings and that’s a great accomplishment for this team. I’m proud of the effort. We feel like we know where we need to go during the off-season to make our cars faster and run strong for the championship. It wasn’t from a lack of effort. Everybody put the best effort they could to make this car a championship-caliber car and we did that. I’m very proud of this Miller Lite Dodge team. We’ve made big steps this year. We just have to continue to try and be better and ready once the flag drops at Daytona in a few months.”

KURT BUSCH (No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T) Finished 34th
"I've never been so disappointed in my life. I think I missed a race once my rookie year and this almost tops that."

[rickaren]

Busch gets bratty:

It's a coin flip every week as to which one of the Busch Brothers is going to be a bigger jerk. Last weekend in Homestead, it was Kurt Busch. He ripped into ESPN pit road reporter Jerry Punch with a cluster of F-bombs after Busch had car troubles in the Ford 400.

"Penske Racing extends its apologies to Dr. Jerry Punch, our media partners and our sponsors and fans for Kurt Busch's inappropriate actions in Homestead on Sunday," Busch's team owner said in a statement released Tuesday. "These actions do not represent Penske Racing and are inconsistent with the company's standards for behavior, respect for others and professionalism. This matter is being reviewed internally with no further comment at this time."

SOURCE

[rickaren]

Friday, November 25, 2011
NASCAR fines Kurt Busch $50,000
Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- NASCAR fined Kurt Busch $50,000 on Friday for his poor behavior during the Sprint Cup finale last weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

NASCAR cited both an obscene gesture Busch made inside his car and him being verbally abusive to a reporter in fining the 2004 Cup champion.

"Kurt Busch showed disrespect toward a media member, an incident that followed similar inappropriate media confrontations earlier in the season," NASCAR said in a statement announcing the penalty.

Busch had a transmission problem early in Sunday's race that sent his Penske Racing Dodge to the garage. His in-car camera caught him making an obscene gesture during that time.

“

Kurt Busch In my frustration with the loss of my transmission early in the race, I let my emotions get the better of me. I regret having done this and apologize to the sponsors of Penske Racing, to NASCAR, its fans, to the media and in particular, Dr. Jerry Punch.
” -- Kurt Busch

While his team made repairs, Busch waited to be interviewed by an ESPN reporter, and a fan videotaped Busch being verbally abusive while waiting to go live.

That video was posted on YouTube, and both Penske officials and Busch have apologized in separate statements for his behavior.

"Unfortunately, our result in the season-ending race at Homestead on Sunday was not what we had hoped for as a team," he said. "In my frustration with the loss of my transmission early in the race, I let my emotions get the better of me. I regret having done this and apologize to the sponsors of Penske Racing, to NASCAR, its fans, to the media and in particular, Dr. Jerry Punch."

Penske officials said earlier this week that Busch's "inappropriate actions" were being reviewed internally.

"These actions do not represent Penske Racing and are inconsistent with the company's standards for behavior, respect for others and professionalism," the team said in a statement.

The penalty comes just days after Busch crew chief Steve Addington quit the team, and three weeks to the day that Busch's younger brother, Kyle, intentionally wrecked Ron Hornaday Jr. under caution in a Truck Series race.

NASCAR suspended Kyle Busch for the remainder of the weekend at Texas -- he was entered in both the Nationwide and Cup events -- and fined him $50,000 for the Hornaday wreck. He then spent the next week fighting to keep his seat with Joe Gibbs Racing because sponsor M&M's was embarrassed by his actions.

He lost all composure during a race at Richmond in May, when he berated his team and Penske management over his in-car radio.

Busch's sponsor Shell/Pennzoil said in a statement it was disappointed with the driver.

"Shell and Pennzoil are disappointed with recent actions by driver, Kurt Busch, at the final race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race season," the company said in a statement. "His actions are in no way consistent with the way we want our brands represented and we have expressed our disappointment and concerns directly to Penske Racing."

At the same track in September, he had an angry post-race confrontation on pit road with another reporter, then continued the argument before his formal news conference. He also ripped apart another reporter's papers the same evening.

Busch was a two-time winner this season and opened the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship confident he could be the one to dethrone five-time defending series champion Jimmie Johnson -- his nemesis. Although he beat Johnson at Dover in the third Chase race, he faded as rumors spread Addington was bolting.

Busch wrecked at Talladega, ran out of gas while leading at Phoenix and had the transmission problem at Homestead. He ended the season 11th in the final standings. Kyle Busch, who opened the Chase tied for the top seed, finished 12th. Neither Busch brother will be part of the formal ceremony at next week's banquet in Las Vegas -- their hometown.

It's not clear what action, if any, team owner Roger Penske will take against Kurt Busch. He's remained largely silent when Busch has acted out in the past, but the emergence of teammate Brad Keselowski has given Penske reason not to tolerate Busch's behavior any longer.

Keselowski, in his second Cup season, won three races this season and finished fifth in the final standings. He's also become a fan favorite for his outspokenness -- candor that proved last week can get him in trouble: Keselowski was fined $25,000 by NASCAR for comments critical of electronic fuel injection.

NASCAR fines Kurt Busch $50,000 for gesture, obscenity-laced rant - ESPN