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At Last NASCAR Victory for the Son of Sam

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

November 12, 2011 10:07 pm UTC No Comments

Sam Hornish Jr won the 2011 WypAll 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series race Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway. Finally triumph for the Penske Racing driver whose first NASCAR start came at the same track in a Nationwide Series race in 2006.

One win in almost six seasons of NASCAR.

But Hornish won 19 races in eight seasons of IndyCar (CART and IRL) including three championships. He won the 2006 Indianapolis 500. He’s a helluva good driver.

Watching Hornish hold off his teammate Brad Keselowski over the last 25 laps, I was on the edge of my seat. I can’t remember wanting a driver to hold on more than I did Saturday. It wasn’t a big race in relative terms and the result had little to do with history making. It didn’t save a career, or validate anything. But it felt good to me.

Congratulations Sam Hornish Jr and Penske Racing. Now go get some more.

Photo credit: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images for NASCAR

Filed under: Brad Kesolowski, Indy Cars, NASCAR, Nationwide Series, Phoenix International Raceway, Sam Hornish Jr

Tagged with: WypAll 200 presented by Kimberly-Clark

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The Kez Wins One for the Captain

by Charlie Turner

November 6, 2010 7:32 pm UTC No Comments

Brad Keselowski showed maturity – yep he did – in closing out his first NASCAR series championship at Texas Motor Speedway.

In doing so, The Kez brought one of auto racings’ most accomplished team owners his first NASCAR championship too.

Keselowski followed his two closest Nationwide Series championship contenders – Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch – to the finish line at TMS. He locked up the NNWS for Roger Penske, and himself, by doing so.

Penske has more racing championships than Keselowski has enemies, but this was The Captain’s first in NASCAR.

Rusty Wallace couldn’t bring one home. Nor did Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch or IRL Champ Sam Hornish Jr.

Congratulations Brad. You done the Captain proud.

Photo credit: Glenn Bure – OnPitRow.com

Filed under: Brad Kesolowski, Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch, NASCAR, Nascar Legends, Nationwide Series, Penske Racing, Rusty Wallace, Ryan Newman, Sam Hornish Jr

Tagged with: NNWS, Roger Penske

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Looks Like a Chevy vs Toyota Showdown at Talladega

by Charlie Turner

October 30, 2010 7:57 pm UTC No Comments

Juan Pablo Montoya took his second career pole at Talladega Super Speedway and along with Clint Bowyer, gave Chevy the front row and six of the top eight spots on the grid.

Earlier, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota drivers Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch topped 201 MPH (lap average speed) in practice, while drafting together – which they just may do some on Sunday in the race.

The AMP Energy Juice 500 shapes up to be Fast and Fabulous, as are most races at the big track. Despite a nice qualifying showing by the Penske Racing Dodges of Kurt Busch (3rd) Sam Hornish Jr and Brad Keselowski (10th and 11th), the Racing for Glory this week shapes up to be between the Bow-tie camp and the Rice Burners.

With lots of three and four wide action, there will be plenty of the old Rubbing’s Racing talk during and after this one. And there is bound to be a big wreck or two. Maybe the Fords can shake their problems and the Dodges are for real. It is Halloween after all. Strange things do happen.

Filed under: Brad Kesolowski, Chase for the Cup, Chevrolet, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin, Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff Gordon, jimmie johnson, Joe Gibbs Racing, Joey Logano, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Kyle Petty, Mark Martin, NASCAR, Sam Hornish Jr, Sprint Cup Series, Talladega Superspeedway

Tagged with: Amp Energy Juice 500, Chevy racing, Dodge, Ford Racing, restrictor plates, Toyota Motorsports

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NASCAR Shark Fin Soup: Hello Newman

by Charlie Turner

April 12, 2010 10:24 pm UTC No Comments

Where the hell did that come – Ryan Newman? I was never particularly a Seinfeld fan, but…

Newman: Hello, NASCAR.
NASCAR: Hello, Newman.

But now that it’s happened – it being a Sprint Cup race win by The Rocket Man – will it be the start of a 2003-like streak by Newman?

Dr Dick Berggren called for that last week On Pit Row. Among many topics, we asked Dr Dick about Newman. And Berggren said what we’ve all thought; that the no 39 car has been the weak link for Stewart-Haas Racing.

Berggren also said that once the team figured out what Newman needed to be comfortable, Ryan was going to win a bunch. Listen to the Berggren interview here.

Newman looked pretty comfortable to me Saturday night. We’ll have to see if it converts to more good finishes.

On to Texas. Home to America’s Greatest Race Promoter, Eddie Gossage and the Great American Speedway. Ought to be fun.

Photo credit: Round Girl Jen by BethAnne Heisler for OnPitRow.com

Filed under: NASCAR, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio, Phoenix International Raceway, Sam Hornish Jr, Sprint Cup Series

Tagged with: Dr Dick Berggren, Eddie Gossage, Round girl Jen, Seinfeld

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Penske Racing Assembling NASCAR’s Best Stable of Young Talent

by Charlie Turner

March 23, 2010 1:03 pm UTC 1 Comment

Did you see the post race interview with Brad Keselowski after the Penske Racing one-two finish at Bristol?

The Kez wasn’t happy. He had just been passed at the end of a dominant performance in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race. He said all the right things. But he did seem to be choking something back. I got the feeling that his inner Brad was saying something like – “If that had been Edwards or Hamlin, instead of Allgaier, and if the whole world weren’t watching me this week, there’s no flippin’ way…..”

It was Justin Allgaier though, who finally made good on the promise he has shown since signing with the Penske organization, off his 2008 ARCA Racing Series championship. It was the first of a bunch more NASCAR wins to come. And they won’t all be in the NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule either. Allgaier is coming to Sprint Cup, right behind Keselowski. And it won’t be long.

ESPN the Magazine’s Ryan McGee was a guest On Pit Row before the Bristol Motor Speedway weekend. The talk started to be about Keselowski. Shortly, it turned to Penske Racing in general. The great 2010 start of Kurt Busch. Keselowski’s speed. The tenuous hold that Sam Hornish may have on a ride that Allgaier covets. And then there is 19 year old Parker Kliggerman, 2009 ARCA Racing Series near-champ and Rookie of the Year.

There is a theory being floated that because they are the only Dodge team, Penske has an advantage of being the sole focus of Dodge’s more limited resources. Larry McReynolds and Rusty Wallace both suggested as much Sunday. If it’s true, Roger Penske probably anticipated that. He’s a smart guy, Roger. And he has always been a great driver-talent evaluator.

The future looks bright at Penske.

Photo credit: BethAnne Heisler – On Pit Row

Filed under: Brad Kesolowski, Bristol Motor Speedway, Kurt Busch, NASCAR, Nationwide Series, Penske Racing, Sam Hornish Jr

Tagged with: Justin Allgaier, Parker Kliggerman

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The Tricky Triangle Turns In A Treat: A Live Report from the Pennsylvania 500

by Eric McClung, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2011 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

Follow @ericmcclung on Twitter for NASCAR, IndyCar, golf and various other fantasy sports picks.

August 3, 2009 7:35 pm UTC 1 Comment

Long Pond, PA – Some things (like a scheduled meeting with the president for some drivers) and even some races are worth waiting for. Rain washed out Sunday’s scheduled start at Pocono Raceway for the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500. But the action on Monday ended its own set of waterworks as winner Denny Hamlin broke into tears in Victory Circle after breaking a 50-race win-less streak.

One part was the frustration of losing numerous races in which he had dominated. But the much larger part was the loss of his grandmother earlier in the week. Indeed Hamlin entered this race weekend with a heavy heart but also a large chip on his shoulder, practically guaranteeing a victory after the team unloaded.

In the post-race press conference Hamlin reflected on losing his grandmother and biggest fan,

“She (was) 91 years old, she had a great run. She had a 30-inch TV that she looked about four inches from. She always had a FedEx No. 11 bear and No. 11 socks.”

In addition to Hamlin’s lose, crew member Patrick Mullen recently lost his mother.

“I was definitely driving aggressive out there trying to do everything I could to get a win for them,” Hamlin said.

Hamlin led on six occasions for a total 91 laps and took home the checkered flag for what was the most exciting Pocono race in recent memory. This marked Hamlin’s fifth win in the NASCAR Cup Series, all with Joe Gibbs Racing. Of those wins, this was the third at Pocono.

On a track that isn’t known for passing, Hamlin regained the lead for good with only nine laps to go. And on a track that isn’t know for excitement, two late wrecks added to the suspense.

Runner-up Juan Pablo Montoya posted his first top-five finish of the season and moved up to the eighth position in points. Montoya brought the same car he had used last week at Indianapolis, a race he probably would have won if not for a speeding violation on pit road.

While Hamlin and Montoya used muscle to get up front, Clint Bowyer and Sam Hornish Jr. had to gamble on pit road to gain their track position, finishing third and fourth, respectively.

When most of the leaders hit pit road on Lap 66 it was Bowyer, Scott Speed, Hornish and Montoya that stayed out. A series of late cautions allowed Bowyer to lead more laps than he thought was possible, while saving precious fuel.

“We were losing way too much time on pit road every time. We gambled on fuel mileage,” Bowyer said.

Hornish was the only driver to start worse than 25th to finish in the top-15,

“We didn’t have a good car all day. We tried to get some track position (with pit strategy). That was probably a 15th-place car at the end and got us up to fourth.”

Other notable finishes

After crashing in practice and going to his backup car, Tony Stewart started the race from the rear. Following a series of small adjustments early in the race it became clear his team would need to do a lot more to be competitive on this day. At Lap 80, Stewart was running 28th,

“We finally just made a huge, huge change and we got it closer but we never got it right,” Stewart finished 10th and remains the points leader with only five more races before the Chase begins.

Jimmie Johnson remains second in points and salvaged a 13th-place finish, but only after some guesswork on pit road. On Lap 104, Johnson radioed to his crew that he was losing engine power. It took several stops, aided by the late cautions, to tinker with things under the hood. Johnson was down as many as three laps and was running 29th with only 20 laps remaining.

“I assume it was a spark plug issue. That’s the last thing we started changing. (We were) able to get some cautions there at the end. I thought we would get a top-10 but I pounded the wall off (Turn) 2 and lost a couple of spots,” said Johnson.

Conclusion

In all, Pocono delivered in a very big way. Between the dog days of August when many fans are looking ahead to the Chase, the disappointing rain out on Sunday and historically vanilla racing that goes on here; it was refreshing to see several drivers that were desperate for a win gambling and dueling their way to the checkered flag.

Following the race J.D. Gibbs, son of owner Job Gibbs, jokingly said,