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NASCAR Pictures from Michigan Speedway: Friday at MIS

by Charlie Turner

Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. The best NASCAR and IndyCar news and opinion, exclusive pictures and video. I'm Charlie Turner. Follow me on Twitter @onpitrow

June 12, 2010 9:25 pm CDT No Comments

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Michigan International Speedway is the NASCAR Home Track for On Pit Row.

BethAnne Heisler is our field producer and a terrific photographer. Here is a sample of her work from Friday’s Sprint Cup practices and NASCAR drivers interviews from the all new Media Center.

: Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin at MIS

: Robby Gordon and Joey Logano at MIS

: Casey Mears and Kasey Kahne at MIS

: Carl Edwards in Media Center at MIS June 2010

: Mark Martin MIS Media Center

: Greg Biffle in MIS Media center

: Todd Bodine at MIS

: Tony Stewart at MIS Friday practice

: Kurt Busch on the pit wall at MIS

: Front Row Joe Nemechek at MIS

: A J Allmendinger at Michigan Speedway

Photo credit: BethAnne Heisler OnPitRow.com

Filed under: A J Allmendinger, Bobby Labonte, Carl Edwards, Casey Mears, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Joe Nemechek, Joey Logano, Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, Mark Martin, Michigan International Speedway, NASCAR, NASCAR photos, Robby Gordon, Tony Stewart

Tagged with: Michigan Speedway, MIS, NASCAR photos

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NASCAR Shark Fin Soup: Pocono

by Charlie Turner

June 8, 2010 10:09 pm CDT No Comments

“They’re (sic) mad as hell, and they aren’t going to take it anymore!” - Albert Finney: Network

Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle and Joey Logano, all were mad as hell.

Pretty funny too, some of them. Logano will go down in 2010 NASCAR lore for telling all that, Harvick couldn’t really be blamed for balking him on the track because….

“‘His wife wears the firesuit in the family”

Tony Stewart thought that he’d seen some of the worst driving ever at a professional event. He finished third, but it seemed that Smoke thought it an unearned showing. Scene Daily quoted Tony…

“…for anybody that’s looking for drama for the next couple races, start looking ‘cause I can promise I’m going to start making the highlight reel the next couple weeks.”

Biffle and Kahne both blamed A J Allmendinger for the late race wreck that put Kasey in the fence and a bunch of cars in the garage. Biffle…

“He totally caused that whole thing. I don’t know what his deal is…”

And this was at Pocono Raceway, of all places. ”The Green (500 boring) Mile(s)”.

Denny Hamlin won. Again.

On to Michigan.

Photo credit: Glenn Bure OnPitRow.com

Filed under: A J Allmendinger, Greg Biffle, Joey Logano, Kasey Kahne, NASCAR, Pocono Raceway, Tony Stewart

Tagged with: Delana Harvick, Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500

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Fantasy Pick’Em: 2010 Kobalt Tools 500

by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and pictures,2010 NASCAR schedule,NASCAR video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I do weekly Fantasy Pick'Em columns here at OPR, as well as the occasional opinion and analysis piece. I also provide the IZOD IndyCar Series coverage. For more on that, head to my site, OpenWheelAmerica.com. My Twitter handle is @christopherlion.

March 4, 2010 2:05 am CST 2 Comments

Three races into the season, and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to the Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Kobalt Tools 500. Jimmie Johnson, sponsored by Kobalt Tools in his Cup efforts, will attempt to win his third consecutive race this weekend… and with the old formalities down, let me tell everybody that it’s my midterm week here at school, and combined with reading too many sarcastic IndyCar blogs in preparation for that season, I’m going to be a little more bitingly sarcastic than usual. Strap in, folks.

Speaking of winning, guess who picked the winner last week? That’s right. I called him an easy pick, but sometimes it’s worth it to take the easy money (and the gift win)… especially when the rest of your picks were relative duds. Jeff Burton wound up 11th, Kyle Busch was 15th, and Denny Hamlin finished 19th, while my dark horse, Bobby Labonte, was 51 laps down in 38th.

I would love to pick Johnson again this weekend, but my conscience tells me to be a little more interesting. Fair enough. How about Jeff Gordon? 23 top-fives in 35 Atlanta starts, with four wins, and a dominant car last weekend in Vegas suggest that the DuPont team may be a force both this weekend and beyond.

(For the record, if Johnson wins this week, I will attempt to write some revisionist history by suggesting I picked the 48 this week and the 24 last week, all in the name of sounding smart. This is what happens when you write a fantasy racing column for too long and want to finally sound smart.)

As for a dark horse, how about A.J. Allmendinger? Last weekend was a struggle for sure, but the ‘Dinger heads to the best track on which he has started more than two races. He’s been consistent, if nothing else, with all four of his finishes between 14th and 20th. And while that’s not “race-winning dark horse” material, it does seem like a gimme for a solid, reasonable finish, and I’ll take what I can get. Perhaps we simply have varying definitions of “dark horse.”

Three more for all you skeptics:

Jimmie Johnson. There. I said it. It’s 1 AM and I’m very tired. Next.

In what is sure to raise a cheer from the majority of people who read this column, my next pick is none other than Dale Earnhardt Jr., the second best active driver at Atlanta (behind his superhuman teammate, of course). Yes, he hasn’t been the same driver the past two weekends as he was at Daytona, but come on, the curse of the last Hendrick car can’t apply every weekend. Even Casey Mears won in a fourth Hendrick vehicle, and Casey Mears hasn’t accomplished half of what Dale Jr. has.

For my final pick, I’m going to go with Joey Logano. This has nothing to do with his Atlanta track record in Cup, which is pretty abysmal. It has everything to do, however, with the fact that eighth in points is the highest he’s ever been in Cup. Sliced Bread is finally starting to really get things together with the No. 20 team, and he could do what David Ragan almost did in 2008 by making the Chase in his sophomore year.

Filed under: A J Allmendinger, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Joey Logano, jimmie johnson

Tagged with: A.J. Allmendinger, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, jimmie johnson, Joey Logano, Kobalt Tools 500

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Lone Star NASCAR Sunday Morning

by Charlie Turner

November 8, 2009 9:56 am CST No Comments

Here’s what’s on my NASCAR mind this hazey Sunday in Texas, waitin’ for the start of the Dickies 500.

Will Kyle Busch pull off the sweep?

He’s had chances before. But he may have never looked as dominant on a weekend as he has at TMS this time. I picked him in the One and Done game this week. So he probably has no chance. But I’m pulling for him to make history.

Then there’s that Jimmie Johnson guy. Talk about history. I know it’s all over but the shouting but and he can’t officially clinch his fourth straight Sprint Cup championship. But a win would stamp it a done deal.

Or maybe Carl Edwards can get back on the winning track. Texas has been good to Carl. This could be the one. But he didn’t look all that good in the Nationwide Series Race Saturday.

First-time winner? David Ragan could do it, and start to repair the damage of 2009. Maybe A J Allmendinger can take that Richard Petty Racing retro paint job to victory lane. How ’bout Dale Junior? Oh wait - it’s just been so long…

We have On Pit Row on the road this week at Texas Motor Speedway. We’re getting ready to head out to the track now. Follow @onpitrow and @thunderounge on Twitter for race updates and pics.

Enjoy the race.

Photo credit: BethAnne Heisler - On Pit Row

Filed under: A J Allmendinger, Carl Edwards, Chase for the Cup, Dale Earnhardt Jr., David Ragan, Kyle Busch, NASCAR, Texas Motor Speedway, jimmie johnson

Tagged with: Dickies 500, On Pit Row on the road, Thunder Lounge

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Richard Petty Motorsports Further Solidifies 2010 Plans

by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and pictures,2010 NASCAR schedule,NASCAR video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

October 28, 2009 7:50 pm CDT No Comments

An Associated Press report published today suggests that Best Buy, Elliott Sadler’s sponsor on the No. 19 Richard Petty Motorsports car for the past couple of years, will move to its teammate, the No. 43 car, which A.J. Allmendinger will drive for the 2010 season.

Best Buy began its relationship with Allmendinger this season at Darlington, when they sponsored his No. 44 car as he finished 17th. Allmendinger also finished 7th at Sonoma and 23rd two weeks ago at Charlotte with Best Buy on the hood.

Best Buy sponsored Sadler in 19 races this season, including the Sprint All-Star Challenge, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, and the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. Sadler’s best finish this season was a 5th place in the Daytona 500.

The move is one of marginal elevation for the Richfield, MN-based company: Allmendinger sits one spot ahead of Sadler in points, although their records this season are virtually identical: 32 starts, no wins, a top-5 and four top-10s apiece.

The move leaves the No. 19 with one primary sponsor, Stanley Tools, which has covered 22 races over the course of this season (19 with Sadler and 3 with Allmendinger).

However, the move also strengthens Richard Petty Motorsports as a whole; instead of putting together a multi-million dollar sponsorship package for Allmendinger, they only need to patch holes for both Sadler and Allmendinger, a much easier task. RPM also has experience with this method, having utilized it all year with Allmendinger’s car and the No. 43 of Reed Sorenson.

Thus far, the biggest supporters of those two teams have been McDonald’s and Valvoline, with 10 races apiece. Hunt Brothers Pizza sponsored eight races for Allmendinger this season, with the last one this weekend at Talladega. Charter Communications covered seven races, but none since Phoenix in April. Super 8 Motels, the Air Force, and PVA.org have also sponsored RPM cars this year.

Ideally, RPM will fill its sponsorship gaps with the companies that have already appeared on its cars this year, giving them three fully sponsored and factory supported teams for next year. Pending the potential addition of Paul Menard and his family sponsorship, RPM could finally have a financially stable four-car team for the 2010 season.

Filed under: A J Allmendinger, Elliott Sadler, Richard Petty Motorsports

Tagged with: A.J. Allmendinger, Elliott Sadler, Richard Petty Motorsports

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Kasey Kahne Delivers a Win for The Kings

by Steve Wronkowicz

I am co-host of the syndicated radio show: ON PIT ROW. Charlie likes to call me an "idiot". I'm not an "idiot"; I just prefer not to let the facts get in the way of my opinions.

June 22, 2009 8:38 pm CDT No Comments

Kasey Kahne wasn’t much of a road racer until winning the Toyota Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway on Sunday; taking the King of Beers and the King of NASCAR to victory lane.

Other than sitting on the pole in 2008, Kahne had done little when faced with going left and right to think that he would be able to take Richard Petty Motorsports back to victory lane. A journey that lasted ten years since John Andretti last won for The King. Andretti’s win came during the Petty Enterprises years; before mergers and re-locations made the once dominant team a mere shadow of itself.

There is very little of the old Petty Enterprises remaining in the new team owned by George Gillett. The win comes within days of Gillett announcing that he has sold his interest in the Montreal Canadians hockey team. Rumors have been circulating since the race in Michigan that RPM may be within weeks of a huge downsizing.

Could Kasey Kahne soon be the only driver left from the four that started the season? Elliott Sadler, AJ Allmendinger and Reed Sorenson could all be without a ride and Kahne could be in an un-supported Toyota soon. Petty let the cat out of the bag before the race at Michigan that Chrysler had not been sending checks and the money to run four teams was running thin.

That brings us to this week’s BUZZ ON PIT ROW:

With all the recent and pending changes at Richard Petty Motorsports again; what does Kasey Kahne’s win do for the team?

Let us know what you think and we could use your comments on this week’s ON PIT ROW radio show. Listen live every Tuesday from 5-7pm ET here. Or call the show at 800-645-2946 and if your call is voted the Shell Nitrogen Enriched Call Of the Day you will win a Kevin Harvick bobble head.

photo credit: Robert LaBerge/Getty Images for NASCAR

Filed under: A J Allmendinger, Gillett Evernham Motorsports, Kasey Kahne, NASCAR, NASCAR Rumors, Nascar Legends, Reed Sorenson

Tagged with: AJ Almendinger, Elliott Sadler, George Gillet, Kasey Kahne, Reed Sorenson, Richard Petty Motorsports

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