NASCAR team reports as the Sprint Cup Series goes short-track racing with its first visit this season to Richmond (Va.) International Raceway:
Kurt Busch, No. 2 Dodge, Penske Racing
This week: Busch has a five-point lead over Jeff Gordon in the Cup point standings after last week's mayhem at Talladega. This is the first time Busch has led the standings in the last 150 races. Busch's victory in the September 2005 race is his only Richmond win and one of his two top-five and five top-10 finishes in 16 starts there. He was 42nd last May and 10th last September. ... Busch has been consistently good lately -- eighth at Texas, third at Phoenix and sixth at Talladega, for a 5.7 average finish. "Getting those solid finishes on an intermediate track, a one-mile flat layout and then a big superspeedway -- on three such diverse tracks -- certainly has our spirits high," he said. "Being in the points lead is great and is something to be proud of, but we know we have to keep all that pride and emotion in check. We're only nine races into the season -- Richmond will be the 10th race this year -- and there is just so much more racing to be done. We can't let any of the early success we've enjoyed so far go to our heads. Our plan when we entered this season was to attack each and every race like it was the most important race on the schedule, with our first major goal being to make the Chase. Our strategy has been to attack every race with the attitude of getting everything we can out of it. If we have a top-10 car, then we strive to make sure we come out of the race with a top-10 finish."
Last week: Busch dodged debris to finish sixth at Talladega.
Etc.: So far, Busch is executing perfectly the plans his team laid out for this year. "Before the season started, Pat Tryson (his crew chief) and I had many discussions about strategies and goals for the 2009 season, and the subject would always come back to our objective of being as consistent as we could in every race," Busch said. "We've been executing the strategy we adopted entering 2009 extremely well, and it's paying dividends. Our plan is to keep focused and try to stay the course as the season rolls on. We're looking at it as if we have nine races behind us and 17 to go in getting everything we can out of each and every one of them."
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Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
This week: Gordon has dropped out of the top spot in the standings (he had led for seven weeks) as he heads to Richmond, where he is a two-time winner with victories in March 1996 and September 2000. Those are two of his 12 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes in 32 races. He was ninth in this race last year and eighth last September. "I think everybody loves Richmond," Gordon said. "Anytime you go to a track that has multiple racing grooves, it's something that all the drivers are going to like. And I think it's a great show for the fans because there's a lot going on and a lot of action. It's typical short-track racing, but there are multiple grooves. There were a couple years when we struggled at this track, and a lot of it was with the brakes."
Last week: Gordon was involved in the first "Big One" of the day at Talladega after racing just seven laps and spent much of Sunday's race in the garage area. He would return to the track later to finish 37th, completing 128 of the 188 laps.
Etc.: Gordon said evolution is important at any track, but especially one like Richmond. "Things are constantly changing in the sport," Gordon said. "As things evolve, you adjust what you've done in the past. You would think you run the same groove, the same line, and accelerate and brake at the same points. But sometimes that doesn't work, and you have to change one or more of those. It's the same for the setup. We'll probably start with something close to what has worked for us in the past. If that isn't working, we move in a different direction."
Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
This week: Johnson, 64 points out of the lead, has won three of the last four Richmond races -- he swept both 2007 races and also won there last September. He has one other top-five finish and no other top-10s in 14 starts. He was 30th there last May. "We've been very good there the last few times," Johnson said. "Things will cross over from Phoenix to Richmond. I'm not sure if we'll have that same tire or not, but that tire at Phoenix threw us for a loop and I think threw a lot of the teams for a loop. Once we get a good idea of the tire we can work on our set-up and either expand on last year's set-up if it's the same tire from last year or if it's the Phoenix tire we could be a little better and have to work on that and make the car turn the corner a little faster."
Last week: Johnson was part of the Talladega wreckfest, wadding up his car in a crash on the backstretch with seven laps to go. He finished 30th. "It's tough to race here," Johnson said. "It's just disappointing how many hours go into these cars and then we come out here and tear them up like we do. We were smart all day long and I think the field in general did a pretty good job of using their heads, and then there at the end some guys were beat and were trying to cram their way back in the line and not lose the draft. In the closing laps it just caused a wreck."
Etc.: Johnson was asked what is more important at Richmond, racing the competition or the track. "It's tough to pass people," Johnson said. "With them not putting any sealer down on it recently, the grooves from top to the bottom, there is a fair amount of grip. Granted, you get smoking around there pretty quick and you get sideways easily, but it's not like at Darlington where you just have to focus on the track. To me, you just have to go like hell and try as hard as you can every single lap because track position is so important there. You can get alongside someone, but you can't pull the pass off. To me it's like Saturday night racing. I just run every lap as hard as I can."
Tony Stewart, No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing
This week: Stewart, 67 points out of first place, is a three-time Richmond winner, including his first career Cup victory in September 1999. He also drove to victory in the May races in 2001 and 2002. Those are three of his eight top-five and 14 top-10 finishes in 20 starts there. He was fourth last May and second last September.
Last week: Stewart finished 23rd at Talladega, but at least he didn't damage his race car, like so many other drivers.
Etc.: Stewart and Elliott Sadler will participate at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in "MRN at Full SPEED," a Q&A fan forum conducted before the start of each Sprint Cup event at ISC-owned facilities throughout the year. Stewart, Sadler, MRN's Barney Hall and Richmond International Raceway president Doug Fritz will participate in the forum, emceed by MRN's Joe Moore. Race fans will have the opportunity to ask questions and chat with the panel.
Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
This week: Hamlin, from nearby Chesterfield, Va., has never won at his "home track" but has two poles (2006 and last May). He has three top-five and four top-10 finishes in six Richmond starts and was 24th last May and third last September. He is 109 points out of the lead.
Last week: Hamlin is coming off a 22nd-place finish at Talladega. "When they started going backward and they were single file, I didn't want to be back there at that point in time," Hamlin said. "Me and a lot of the guys that I was racing around didn't want to be back there. That is what ended up causing the wreck. They were trying to make their move forward with 15 (laps) to go and 10 (laps) to go."
Etc.: Hamlin said he has learned to handle it better when there is a mistake on pit road. "I've been on both sides of it," he said. "I've been on the side where I've voiced my opinion, and that's worked at times and sometimes it didn't. Here lately if we have trouble on pit road I just kind of bite my tongue. I think it hurts the team morale by going off on the radio. I think it hurts your (team's) confidence more. ... You know, someone knows they made a mistake, and you don't need to tell them. They know they need to step it up, and that performance means everything on pit road. I think for team building it's better to just bite your tongue. There have been times where I've wanted changes, and it seemed like the only way I could get them is to cause some kind of controversy for the team to get the changes done that I wanted. Yeah, it worked, but it wasn't necessarily the best way to do it."
Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing
This week: Busch, 175 points out of first place, is winless at Richmond but will be remembered for spinning out race leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the closing laps of last year's May race. Busch would go on to finish second behind Clint Bowyer. Busch has six top-five and six top-10 finishes in eight Richmond starts and was 15th last September.
Last week: After driving to the lead at Talladega, Busch was later involved in a crash with Martin Truex Jr. with 13 laps left in the race. He would finish 25th, one lap down. "It's just a product of this racing with this car here," crew chief Steve Addington said afterward. "(Jeff) Burton came by and said he was sorry -- he said he was trying to help him and he just spun him out, that it was totally his fault and he didn't mean to and that he was trying to help, so what are you going to do? You sit up on that box and you feel helpless all day long. The Camry was very strong. I'm very proud of my guys. They fixed the damage to the right side and we came back to lead the most laps again, I guess. We've been doing this a lot lately and not getting the finish out of it."
Etc.: Busch finished 10th in the Nationwide Series race at Talladega and remained in first place in the Nationwide standings, 62 points ahead of runner-up Carl Edwards.
Carl Edwards, No. 99 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing
This week: Edwards, 180 points out of the lead, is still looking for his victory at Richmond, where he has no top-five finishes and just three top-10s in nine starts. He was seventh last April and 13th last September. "It's been a pretty hectic week, but my main focus now is Richmond and winning there," Edwards said.
Last week: Edwards survived a horrific crash while battling for the win at Talladega. He was in the lead heading toward the checkered flag when he attempted to block Brad Keselowski. Contact was made and Edwards nearly sailed into the grandstands at Talladega Superspeedway, ripping apart the fence and sending debris into the crowd. Seven spectators were injured. Edwards went from a near victory to a 24th-place finish in the ghastly chain of events. "NASCAR just puts us in this box," Edwards said. "They put us in this box and we'll race like this until we kill somebody and then they'll change it, but I'm just glad nobody got hurt today. I'm glad the car didn't go up in the grandstands and hurt somebody. What's the point of the whole event? If it's just a spectacle, that's cool, but it shouldn't be worth points. I saw some fencing at one point. That made me a little bit nervous. I don't know if I could live with myself if I ended up in the grandstands."
Etc.: Crew chief Bob Osborne offered his thoughts on Sunday's crash and the damage to the car. "Like I said last week, drafting was the key to winning the race and we had a really good push there at the end and came down too hard and, well, everyone knows what happened from there," Osborne said. "I do know one thing, though: We are very lucky no one was severely hurt. Carl is fine, and after examining the car post-race I found the driver compartment was virtually undamaged. All the safety precautions and preventative steps NASCAR enforces regarding driver safety really came through. Now, wrecking is just part of racing, and one thing you must have in this business to succeed is a short memory. With that being said, having a strong run at Richmond is my main focus this week. We haven't had the best finishes there yet, but I hope to change that this weekend."
Clint Bowyer, No. 33 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
This week: Bowyer is the defending winner of this race, thanks to Kyle Busch spinning out Dale Earnhardt Jr. In addition to being his only Richmond win, it's his only top-five and one of his three top-10 finishes in six starts there. He was 12th last September. "That was probably the most fun I've ever had winning a race," Bowyer said of last year's victory. "I've never had one of those surprise, shocker, hand-it-to-you wins. I thought to myself, 'Wow, this is awesome. I thought we were going to have a third-place finish and then bam -- that happened and we won.' "
Last week: Bowyer completed just eight laps before his car was totaled in the big crash triggered by Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth early in the race.
Etc.: Bowyer vividly remembers the crowd reaction when Busch wrecked Earnhardt in last year's Richmond race. "There were a lot of number ones from the fans, and it wasn't with their index fingers," Bowyer said. "That was the first thing I said in victory lane. They asked me what it felt like, and all I could say was, 'Can someone make sure Kyle gets out of here in one piece?' I'm pretty sure he had an escort out of there that night."
Jeff Burton, No. 31 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
This week: Burton has one win (September 2005), seven top-five finishes and 13 top-10s in 29 starts at Richmond. He was 11th last April and sixth last September.
Last week: Burton finished 10th at Talladega. "We had an awesome car," Burton said. "I am proud of our guys for understanding the situation we were in -- not being in denial about it, hoping it would go away, and just addressing the problem. I have been doing this a long time, and the worst thing you can do is think it is going to go away. Those guys did a nice job of addressing the problem and a good job changing it, and I am proud of them for making that call."
Etc.: Burton discussed the recent crew swap at Richard Childress Racing with crew chief Todd Berrier going to teammate Casey Mears' team and crew chief Gil Martin moving over to work with Kevin Harvick. "We don't have one thing that we are really doing wrong," Burton said. "We have really smart crew chiefs. I believe that. I am not saying that because I am sitting in front of you. I believe that we have really smart crew chiefs. I believe that we have very smart people in our engineering department. We have very capable and smart people in every department that we have. We are not getting the most out of those departments for one or many reasons. It is not from a lack of effort. It is not from a lack of knowledge or lack of desire or a lack of funding. It is a little bit in all areas. When you get a little behind, it is hard to catch up. I have been saying this for three years. We are a really, really good race team, but we aren't a great race team. In an effort to propel ourselves to greatness, we have been trying a lot of things. We have been experimenting with a lot of things. We have been willing to come to the race track and, if something didn't work, at least we were trying to be better and we haven't found the magic button."
Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing
This week: Biffle has no victories, two top-five finishes and five top-10s in 13 Richmond starts. He was 14th in both races there last year. "Every race is an adventure, absolutely," Biffle said. "And you look at each race as this is my opportunity right here and you don't get that many of them. What's frustrating for a driver that people don't understand is how when you finish the race -- like I finished third at Texas and I was mad, there was a lot of anxiety like, 'I should have won.' Well, everybody wants to win. When you've led and you've had one of the fastest cars and you finish third, you're not very happy. Then, on the other hand, when you run 10th, 11th, 12th to seventh and you work your way up with good pit stops and you finish third, you're all excited because I got a third-place finish. So you can be excited and disappointed with the same finish depending on how it comes, but we all want to win so bad. Keep in mind, we only have 36 chances a year to put a trophy in the trophy case. Thirty-six chances is it in an entire year."
Last week: Biffle finished seventh at Talladega.
Etc.: Roush Fenway Racing has to eliminate one of its five Cup cars next season in order to meet NASCAR's limit of four cars per team. "I don't know if it makes it easier or not, but we've known for some time that we're going to have to reduce the number to four teams," Biffle said. "We've worked hard on putting in place an alliance with Yates Racing that our teams can still communicate and still share technologies with all of us being Ford teams, so I think we've positioned ourselves well (enough) that it's going to be a seamless change between moving one of our teams or selling one of our teams over to Yates. I would imagine that would be what's going to take place. I don't know that for a fact, but I would anticipate that's what would happen -- to move a team over there and have those guys run it over on their side."
David Reutimann, No. 00 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing
This week: Reutimann led 104 laps and finished ninth last fall at Richmond for his first top-10 in four starts at the track. "Rodney (Childers, his crew chief) and the guys have given me fast cars all year, so I am going to set my expectations pretty high," said Reutimann. He will be driving the same car that he drove to an eighth-place finish at Phoenix two weeks ago.
Last week: Reutimann did not have the day that he expected as he finished 26th, a lap down, to drop from ninth to 11th in the Sprint Cup standings. He escaped all of the wrecks, but Reutimann's car just didn't perform as well in the draft as he had envisioned. "We were never able to get ourselves in position to run up front," he said.
Etc.: Reutimann believes "the whole Michael Waltrip Racing has made huge advancements over the last year. The cars and setups are better, the engineering is better and the teams at the shop and at the track are solid. When we unload off the truck and have a fast car right off the bat, it makes things better."
Matt Kenseth, No. 17 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing
This week: Kenseth has nine top-10 finishes in 18 starts at Richmond but admitted the team has struggled at Richmond since switching to the "Car of Tomorrow." "We need to get the car to turn better in the center of the corner and still have some sort of traction on corner exit. That's what we really struggled with last year," he said.
Last week: After helping trigger the first multicar accident when he and Jeff Gordon made contact, Kenseth rallied to lead twice for nine laps. And he was running second with 10 laps to go when he blew a right-rear tire. "We must have had it rubbing on the quarterpanel, and it just blew," he said. "Luckily, it didn't blow under green so we didn't wreck." Kenseth finished 17th to remain in 12th place in the standings.
Etc.: Kenseth said "Richmond is a great little short track that drives like a (super) speedway. It is fast but small (three-quarters of a mile), so all the fans are close to the action. Both ends of the track are different. Turn 2 is a real tight turn and turn 4 is more sweeping. You try to run on the bottom for a fast lap but also have to be able to make the top work to pass."
CUT-OFF FOR "CHASE FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP"
Ryan Newman, No. 39 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing
This week: Newman finished sixth in the spring race at Richmond last year for his eighth top-10 finish in 14 starts at the track. His one win at RIR came in the fall of 2003. Newman finished sixth at Martinsville and seventh at Bristol in the first two short-track races of the year. "I like short-track racing and I like Richmond -- that's always a good combination," said Newman.
Last week: Newman led the race with two laps to go, but he ended up third in one of the wildest finishes in the history of Talladega. "Didn't expect the 09 (Brad Keselowski) and the 99 (Carl Edwards) to get the run they did," said Newman. "I was wide open." When Edwards started spinning after he tried to block Keselowski and they made contact, Newman went high and Edwards' airborne car bounced off Newman's hood. Newman slammed hard into the outside wall moments before crossing the finish line.
Etc.: After the fourth race of the season, Newman ranked 32nd in the Sprint Cup standings. He is now in 13th, only 30 points out of the top 12. "We never got down," said Newman. "We have started to make some headway (in his bid to make the Chase), and that has obviously given all of us a huge morale lift. We just need to continue what we've been doing (three top-10s in the last five races)."
Kasey Kahne, No. 9 Dodge, Richard Petty Motorsports
This week: Kahne has two top-10 finishes in the last three races at Richmond, giving him five top-10s in 10 starts there. He won the pole and the race in the spring of 2005 in dominating fashion as he led 242 of the 400 laps. That was his first Cup victory. "We've had pretty good success there in the past," said Kahne. "So we feel good about this weekend."
Last week: Kahne's victory aspirations ended early at Talladega as he got caught up in the 14-car melee on lap seven of the 188-lap event. His car was severely damaged, but his crew was able to repair it enough to where he could return to the track and finish 36th. Still, he dropped from 10th to 14th in the standings.
Etc.: After five weeks inside the top 10 in the standings, Kahne has fallen to 14th. "The wreck at Talladega hurt us in the points, and that was a deal that you just can't control," said Kahne. "Richmond, Darlington, Charlotte and Dover (the next four races) -- all those tracks I've run well at. This could be a good month or month and a half for us to get back to where we need to be."
Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
This week: Earnhardt will be looking for his fourth win at Richmond, and all three of his previous victories have come in the spring race. A year ago, he was leading late in the race when he and Kyle Busch tangled while battling for the lead; Earnhardt dropped to 15th in the final rundown. Earnhardt finished fourth in the fall race after leading 90 laps.
Last week: Earnhardt thought he was putting himself in position to go for the win as he pushed leader Ryan Newman to what Earnhardt thought was a comfortable margin over the rest of the front pack. "I thought there's no way (that anyone could catch the front two)," said Earnhardt. But Brad Keselowski hooked up with Carl Edwards to run down Newman and Earnhardt and open up a big enough advantage on the last lap to where they were the ones battling for the win. Earnhardt ended up second when Keselowski and Edwards collided as they dueled for the win.
Etc.: Despite only three top-10 finishes in the first nine races, Earnhardt is only 45 points out of the top 12. "We've got a couple of good race tracks coming up," said Earnhardt. "I always look forward to Richmond and we do pretty good at Darlington. I always love running at Charlotte. We just have to finish like we did Sunday (at Talladega), and not have any problems (the next three races). We just need to carry that momentum over (from Talladega)."
Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 42 Dodge, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
This week: Montoya has not had much success at Richmond -- his best finish in four starts is 26th. But he will be running the same car that he drove to a 12th-place finish at Martinsville earlier this year. "Normally, our weakest tracks are the short tracks, but we're doing a lot of testing to make ourselves more competitive," said Montoya. "And we ran much better at Martinsville."
Last week: After winning the first pole position of his NASCAR career, Montoya had high hopes of winning his first oval-track race. Instead, he was one of 10 drivers involved in an accident with only eight laps to go. "We got some damage to the nose of our Tums Chevy and just didn't have what we needed at the end," said Montoya, who finished 20th. "We had a really good car."
Etc.: When asked if he missed Formula One, Montoya replied, "I don't miss Formula One at all. I'm so happy here, you wouldn't believe it. And I think we are on the right path. We're very close (to winning an oval-track race). We had a great car at Talladega. But you got to survive the wreck first to have a chance, and we didn't do that."
Brian Vickers, No. 83 Toyota, Red Bull Racing
This week: Vickers won the pole and finished eighth in his first Cup start at Richmond. But in the eight races since then his best finish is 24th. "We feel a lot better about our flat-track program," said Elton Sawyer, the team's director of communication. "We learned a lot from what we potentially had at Phoenix (two weeks ago). The cars ran well even though the results didn't show it."
Last week: Despite being involved in the first multicar wreck of the day on lap 7, Vickers rallied to finish eighth for his fourth top-10 finish of the season as he moved up one spot in the standings to 17th. "We had a lot of damage (to the front of the car), and we definitely didn't have the car we needed after that," said Vickers. "I think we made the most of what we had."
Etc.: For the first time in the history of the Red Bull team, it placed two drivers in the top 10 as rookie Scott Speed finished fifth at Talladega. It was the best finish of Speed's brief Sprint Cup career. He was the first rookie to finish in the top five in 54 races.
Mark Martin, No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
This week: Martin finished fifth and third in the two races at Richmond last year to bring his top-five total to 15 and his top-10 total to 25 in 46 starts there, including a win back in 1990. He will be running the same car that he drove to victory at Phoenix. "Turns 1 and 2 at Phoenix are very similar to Richmond, so that's good because our car was really good in turns 1 and 2 at Phoenix," said crew chief Alan Gustafson.
Last week: Martin has never been a fan of Talladega racing, and his opinion certainly didn't change after he was caught up in the 14-car melee on lap 7. "There is nothing that my team or I could have done to avoid that," said Martin, who ended up 43rd (last) to drop from 13th to 18th in the standings. "There are so many (cars) in a wad that you can't help but move up or down on one another and it starts a wreck. I got hit and it turned me head-on into the wall."
Etc.: After closing to just seven points outside of the top 12 and a spot in the Chase, Martin is 92 points back of 12th-place Matt Kenseth. "I told you I wasn't racing for points," said Martin. "I got a win last weekend (in Phoenix). We had a great weekend last weekend, and I'm going to stop short of complaining (about what happened at Talladega) and be thankful for the good stuff. Maybe we'll go do that again (win) at Richmond."
Marcos Ambrose, No. 47 Toyota, JTG Daugherty Racing
This week: Ambrose will be making his first Sprint Cup start at Richmond on Saturday night. He has run four Nationwide Series races at RIR, and his best finish is 13th. "Two of our best finishes this year have been on the short tracks," said Ambrose. "For that reason, I am looking forward to this weekend. I believe we can run in the top 10 like we did at Bristol."
Last week: Ambrose made a late charge to finish fourth at Talladega, his best finish on an oval track, as he jumped from 26th to 19th in the standings. His previous best oval-track finish was 10th earlier this year at Bristol. Ambrose finished third on the road course at Watkins Glen last August. "This is crazy racing, it really is," said the Australian-born driver. "It's insanity on four wheels."
Etc.: Don't be surprised if Ambrose begins wearing his new "lucky hat" every week after escaping all of the wrecks at Talladega and earning a top-five finish. He said it was given to him by a honeymooning couple from Australia.
Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
This week: Harvick will be seeking his ninth straight top-10 finish at Richmond. His streak includes a win in the fall of 2005. During these eight races, he has led more laps -- 679 -- than any other driver. When asked to explain his run of top-10s at Richmond, Harvick said, "All the flat tracks have been our strong point through the years. As we go to the flatter race tracks during this point in the season, it's always something we look forward to."
Last week: Harvick's hopes of getting back into the top 12 were wiped out on lap 7 when he was one of the 14 drivers involved in the multicar crash. After a lengthy stay in the garage area, Harvick returned to the race to finish 38th, and he dropped from 16th to 20th in the standings. "It's typical Talladega, and it's kind of how the last month has gone for the Shell-Pennzoil team," said Harvick.
Etc.: Richmond will be the first race for Harvick with his new crew chief Gil Martin and crew. Car owner Richard Childress announced last week that the entire No. 07 team would be moving to the 29 team and vice versa. "The decision to interchange the 29 and 07 teams was made to make both programs stronger and more successful," said Childress.
OTHERS
Casey Mears, No. 07 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
This week: Mears is still looking for his first top-10 finish at Richmond. In 12 starts at the track, his best finish has been 11th on two occasions. "It's been kind of a hit-or-miss race track for me," said Mears. "I've run well but haven't had the finishes to show for it. Obviously, RCR cars have been strong at Richmond."
Last week: Mears felt he was getting himself in position to challenge for a top-five finish when, he said, Brad Keselowski's hit him to bump draft but "didn't quite hit me in the right place. It got me sideways and I started dropping back," said Mears, who ended up 16th. "We ran up with the lead pack most of the day, led a couple laps. It was typical Talladega. You go from the front to the back, back to the front."
Etc.: Mears said he is looking forward to working with crew chief Todd Berrier and what was formerly the entire 29 crew after car owner Richard Childress swapped the crews of the 29 and 07 cars. "Those guys are, without a doubt, a championship-caliber team," Mears said of his new crew. "They've been together a long time and won a lot of races. I support his (Childress') decision."
David Stremme, No. 12 Dodge, Penske Racing
This week: Stremme's best finish in five Cup starts at Richmond is 19th, but he did finish in the top 10 in both Nationwide Series races at RIR last year. "The No. 12 team has been gaining ground every week, and I feel like we are really coming together," said Stremme, who joined the team during the winter. "The more seat time I have in the COT as well as with my guys, the more confidence I get."
Last week: Stremme suffered only minor damage in the first multicar crash of the day, but he wasn't so lucky in the second one as he limped home in 31st place to drop from 20th to 22nd in the standings. "Just a normal Talladega deal with guys doing a lot of bump-drafting and a lot of guys doing stupid stuff; it is what it is," he said. "We could have gotten a top-10 or top-five here for sure."
Etc.: Crew chief Roy McCauley said "it is crucial to not use up the brakes early in the race (at Richmond) as they are paramount. You carry a lot of speed into the corners and need to be able to get the car slowed, pointed and be able to get back on the gas early to have a competitive car."
Martin Truex Jr., No. 1 Chevrolet, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
This week: Truex finished fifth in the spring race last year at Richmond for his first and only top-10 finish in six starts at the track. Truex believes the team is now heading in the right direction after a slow start to the year. "With all that happened (the merger between DEI and Ganassi), with all of us moving and with so many people coming and going, I really think we just kind of lost our way," said Truex. "But we are getting on the right track now."
Last week: Truex was one of the 25 drivers who led a lap, and he felt he had a car capable of winning the race. But, instead, he ended up 33rd after being caught up in a 10-car stack-up with only eight laps remaining. "Somebody lost their head, as usual," he said. "We had a great car. So damn frustrating. You ride around all day long just waiting for the end -- and then this happens."
Etc.: Truex said he has begun the process of deciding whether he will stay with his present team or begin looking to move elsewhere for the 2010 season. "It won't be much longer before everybody knows what's going on," he said. "I'm going to be a lot smarter (this year) -- it's going to be a more thought-out process."
David Ragan, No. 6 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing
This week: Ragan has just one top-10 finish -- a third -- in four starts at Richmond. Yet he said, "Richmond is one of my favorite tracks to race at. It's a great track, and Saturday night racing is always a lot of fun for us as drivers, but it's also fun for the fans that come out to watch the race. We need a good run Saturday night."
Last week: Ragan was pleased with how his car performed for most of the race, but he was not happy with the outcome as he ended up 12th. "It's certainly not where we could have finished," said Ragan. "I feel like we had a top-five to top-10 race car. I feel like we just kind of got in the wrong line there on the white-flag lap, and some of the other guys teamed up on us a little bit."
Etc.: Ragan moved up four spots in the standings with his finish at Talladega. "Last week was a step in the right direction," said crew chief Jimmy Fennig. "But now we need to keep moving forward. We need to put together a run of top-10 finishes." Ragan is 208 points back of teammate Matt Kenseth, who occupies the 12th spot in the standings.
Jamie McMurray, No. 26 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing
This week: McMurray has struggled recently at Richmond with six finishes of 25th or worse in the last seven races. He has earned only two top-10 finishes in 12 starts at RIR. "The toughest part about Richmond is the restarts," said McMurray. "The inside line is the preferred groove to run, so a lot of times it gets hard to fight your way forward if lapped cars are running that line."
Last week: McMurray thought he had a car that could contend for the win. Instead, he ended up 42nd as he got caught up in the early race accident. "You want to get mad, but it's just Talladega and that's what the fans pay to come see is good, hard, racing, but certainly it's awful early to have a big wreck like that," said McMurray. "It's just what you have when you come here."
Etc.: Crew chief Donnie Wingo said "99 percent of the time success at Richmond boils down to track position at the end of the race because it's just so hard to pass. So we may have to do a little gambling at the end (this weekend) to try to help get us the track position we need." source>>>
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