Amanda’s Articles
by Amanda Vincent

When NASCAR heads to a road course, as both the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series do this weekend by traveling to Watkins Glen, many teams, especially some of those with regular drivers who, at this point, have no shot of making the Chase, turn to road course ringers to improve the team’s position in owner points standings.

But is the road course ringer route really the way to go? For some, maybe the answer is yes, especially if their regular driver is absolutely pitiful at getting around a road course. Yes, Ron Fellows has won a race here and there in both the Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series, but a road course ringer hasn’t won a Cup-level event since 1973 when Mark Donohue won a Cup race at the old Riverside International Raceway.

Continue reading “NASCAR has its own road course aces”

Q. Are you and Kenny able to do things on your branch of the team because of your big, solid sponsorship that others on the RPM can’t because of touchy sponsorship? You mentioned brakes. Are there other things, have you found something in yourself or in the car setup that makes you now a regular contender in road races?

KASEY KAHNE: Well, I hope so on the road racing. We made some big gains at Sonoma from where we’d been in the past on a race run. One of the things was the brakes. My brakes never faded the entire race. In the past, they’ve always told me you have to take care of ’em. That’s just part of it

Well, I was getting out-broke at the end of races by other cars. He’s not taking care of his, I have to take care of mine. We finally hit on some stuff there. I thought my brake package was awesome at Sonoma, which will help at Watkins Glen.

Yeah, I think I figured out just a little bit that I need a little bit different feeling than maybe I was looking for. Maybe the communication I was giving Kenny, he was giving me a certain feeling in the past, and on a long race run, it just kind of went away.

Continue reading “Q & A with Kasey Kahne”

Greg Biffle’s 2010 NASCAR Pets Calendar is Available

MOORESVILLE, NC (Aug. 3, 2009) – The Greg Biffle Foundation is pleased
to announce the release of the highly anticipated 2010 NASCAR Pets
Calendar, The calendar was designed and printed courtesy of 3M and
features NASCAR Sprint Cup Drivers as well as members of NASCAR’s
media family posing with their pets. The 12 drivers selected to appear
in the calendar are: Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears and Tony Stewart. Members of the media featured include: Dick Berggren, Bob Dillner, Jeff Hammond, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro, John Roberts, Shannon Spake, and Matt Yocum.

Continue reading “Greg Biffle Foundation 2010 Calendar”

The Final Lap Podcasts –  Subscribe Here

The Final Lap CHAT Show #75 – Our first LIVE show – Tue, 4 Aug 2009
In our 75th show we go LIVE to ustream.tv We discuss all the goings on at Pocono/Iowa/Nashville. Talk about the Mustang coming to NASCAR, Kenseth’s new sponsor and where will McMurray go, plus a full preview of Watkins Glen. Hosted by Kerry Murphey and Paul Northrop

USTREAM Channel

SUBSCRIBE FROM iTUNES: Take us with you! Subscribe to our audio shows from iTunes, and they will automatically show up on your computer as soon as we post fresh shows..it’s easy, FREE, and we take no information.  It’s like a DVR for audio so you can take us with you anywhere and listen on your schedule!

NOW HEARD on Stitcher Radio | Grab Stitcher Radio Here

Once installed, search for THE FINAL LAP and make us a favorite!

Stewart, Gordon True Road Course Ringers
Much is made about the so-called “road course ringers” who enter each NASCAR Sprint Cup Series road course event. Still, the true aces are also series champions: Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon.

The two champions lead all drivers in Watkins Glen victories, with four apiece. Stewart has three wins in the last five races, and has finished first or second in each of the last five. Gordon, though, has stumbled in recent years.

After winning three consecutive races at Watkins Glen from 1997-99 and four out of five from 1997-2001, Gordon has post only one top-10 finish (ninth in 2007).