After nearly 5 hours behind closed doors, NASCAR denied the appeal of Richard Childress Racing for the massive penalty they handed down to Clint Bowyer after his New Hampshire winning race car failed post race inspection. The penalty that hurts the most for a driver in the Chase is of course the 150 points he lost. Richard even brought in an expert witness, a tow truck “expert” regarding the damage received while Clint Bowyer’s #33 car sit lifeless, unable to head to victory lane due to a dry fuel tank.

Now they’ll take it to the Stock Car Racing Commission for a last ditch effort.

SHOW #129 – Monica Palumbo, Miss Sprint Cup joins us for a chat, plus we recap Dover, Preview Kansas, headlines of the week, Bowyer RCR Hamlin smack-down, and more. Hosted by Kerry Murphey and Paul Northrop

LISTEN HERE (About 38 mins)

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Details from our interview with Monica Palumbo
What: NASCAR After The Lap is a celebration of NASCAR’s most loyal supporters – the fans! The fan-focused, FREE event will take place during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion’s WeekTM in Las Vegas. The event provides fans with unprecedented access to the top-12 NASCAR Sprint Cup SeriesTM drivers!
When: Dec. 2, 2010
Coca-Cola Fan Zone opens at noon PT.
Doors open at 3 p.m. PT.
NASCAR After The Lap begins at 4:30 p.m. PT.
Where: Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas
Sponsors: Ford and Coca-Cola

NASCAR After The Lap
NASCAR After The Lap will feature an unfiltered fan question-and-answer session with the top-12 Chase drivers.
General admission seats are free and based on a first-come, first-serve basis. Seats may be reserved at NASCARafterthelap.com until Dec. 1, 2010.
From noon to 4 p.m. PT and located in front of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Coca-Cola will present the fan-interactive Coca-Cola Fan Zone complete with The Sprint Experience, Ford vehicles, games, concessions, entertainment and more.
For fans not able to attend NASCAR After The Lap, NASCAR.com will offer a web cast while Sirius XM Radio will broadcast the event live on SIRIUS NASCAR Radio channel 128.

Send Me 2 Vegas
Beginning Sept. 15, the Send Me 2 Vegas sweepstakes will give one lucky fan a chance to win the ultimate NASCAR prize package:
A 2011 Ford Taurus SHO valued at up to $40,000
A VIP trip for two to NASCAR After The Lap
Two nights hotel at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Roundtrip air fare to Las Vegas
$500 cash
An officially-licensed NASCAR gift basket
The opportunity to present a card to the 2010 Champion live at NASCAR After The Lap.
The sweepstakes will conclude Nov. 21.
After entering the Send Me 2 Vegas sweepstakes, fans can submit a message to their favorite NASCAR driver at NASCARafterthelap.com and at Chase for the Sprint Cup races at The Sprint Experience and the Ford and Coca-Cola displays at select races.
Fans’ messages will be compiled and assembled into a card featured during NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion’s Week at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
To enter the Send Me 2 Vegas Sweepstakes or for Official Rules, visit NASCARafterthelap.com.

The Final Lap is not associated with this contest.

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NOTE: Also HEARD on Stitcher Radio

CREDITS:
Hosts: Kerry Murphey & Paul Northrop
Production: Kerry Murphey
Music: Radium Sound
Voice Over: Thomas Moog

FYI WIRZ: NASCAR’s Top Drivers Talk Fast Kansas City

By: Dwight Drum
http://Racetake.com

The top five Chase drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this week—Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, and Kevin Harvick—talk the 1.5-mile tri-oval with 15-degree banking at Kansas Speedway.

The Price Chopper 400 Presented by Kraft Foods, race 3 in the 10-Race Chase to the Sprint Cup, commences this Sunday at 1:00 p.m. on ESPN.

This fast series includes comments by three of NASCAR’s most popular drivers—Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

FYI WIRZ is the swift presentation of pertinent motorsports topics compiled, condensed, and often written by Dwight Drum @ Racetake.com. Quotes provided by NASCAR and Sprint Cup team media.

The drivers’ thoughts about Kansas and the Chase follows:

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Toyota)

“I feel like the bigger race tracks—the mile-and-a-halfs—oddly enough, seemed to be our strong suit throughout the year,” Hamlin said. “Going to Kansas, then the bigger tracks after that, I feel like those are the tracks we can perform at a much higher level.

“Hopefully, all of our focus that we’ve worked on for the bigger tracks will come to when we get to the track.”

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Chevrolet)

“For a mile-and-a-half track, I think that Chicago and Kansas are similar,” Johnson said. “In years past, mile-and-a-half tracks have been our bread and butter. Kansas has a really cool transition in and off the corners where you can run a second and third lane. It is friendly and you can search around and try to find a line. The asphalt has aged pretty quickly there, too, which has allowed us to run multiple lanes and move around. So, in general, it is a track with options.”

Kyle Busch (No. 18 Toyota)

“I think championships just kind of solidify how good you are throughout a year and how you’re able to beat the best of the best in the weekends that it matters the most—the bad weekends,” Busch said. “You can win all the races you can win throughout your career and stuff and be known for a guy that can go out there and win on a weekend, but to win over the whole year, that’s 36 races that you beat everybody else. To be known as a champion is what everybody wants to be known as in this sport.”

Kurt Busch (No. 2 Dodge)

“I don’t know what it is about Kansas,” Busch said. “It’s a flat mile-and-a-half that reminds me of Las Vegas when it was built and flat. It’s just a tough combination when you go to tracks just once a year. You feel like you play catch-up most of the weekend and if you unload fast, you’re tough to chase down.

“We need another strong run this weekend at Kansas to keep on the right track in our goal of winning the championship. We know that we’re up against a tough racetrack and we’ll give it our best effort.”

Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Chevrolet)

“For us, I think we just have to keep doing the things that we did up until this point,” Harvick said. “We won a few races, had a lot of top-five and top-10 finishes. On the days where we really struggled, I felt like we, for the most part, made something out of those days.

“We’ll see what happens. Whether we win or lose, I think everybody has done everything we can control. We’ll just go race now.”

Tony Stewart (No. 14 Chevrolet)

Your win at last year’s race at Kansas: “Darian [Grubb, crew chief] made a great call getting two [tires], and the guys had an awesome stop,” Stewart said. “We got that track position at the end, and we had the luxury of being able to pick the inside or outside lane on the restart, and I kind of debated back and forth which side I needed to be on. But I kind of struggled when I was stuck on the bottom on restarts. So, I took a gamble and went to the top and got enough of a lead. By the time we got to [turns] one and two, I was able to run my line.”

Kasey Kahne (No. 9 Ford)

“I’ve qualified well and led laps at Kansas, but I haven’t always been able to turn that into a good finish,” Kahne said. “Every time we go back to Kansas, the racing improves. The groove has gotten to be so wide that you can pretty much pass wherever you want to. Any track where you’re able to search around for that line that makes your car work better is a lot more fun for the drivers.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 Chevrolet)

“We had a really good run there last year, and I know Lance and the guys are coming back with something similar,” Earnhardt said. “Kansas can be challenging to get the car to work at both ends, but it’s a pretty simple racetrack, I enjoy running there.”

ABOUT DWIGHT
Dwight Drum, a member of the National Motorsports Press Association, began in motorsports as a photojournalist and writer with Stripbike.com in 1998 and as editor created Zoomster.com (1999) and Racetake.com (2007). He has interviewed almost every big name in NASCAR, NHRA and IndyCar. He also has experience covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and has two stories in the 2010 book “Chicken Soup for the Soul: NASCAR.”

The opinions expressed in this articles are solely those of the author and not this website.

Photo credit: Dwight Drum @ Racetake.com

NASCAR DRIVER RICKY CARMICHAEL TO MAKE HIS NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES DEBUT AT KANSAS SPEEDWAY

Mooresville, N.C. – Turner Motorsports announced today that one of its drivers, Ricky Carmichael, will make his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut in the No. 10 Monster Energy car at Kansas Speedway.

Carmichael, a 15-time AMA Champion and current full-time driver in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, will have long-time sponsor, Monster Energy Drink, on the hood of his car as part of Turner Motorsports’ acquisition of Braun Racing. Additionally, Carmichael is set to compete in the Nationwide Series races at Phoenix and Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Team owner, Steve Turner, considers Carmichael’s entry into the Nationwide Series to be a natural progression for the young driver.

“Running a few races in the Nationwide Series this year was something we’ve been thinking about since we started the team,” Turner said. “Our first priority for Ricky was in the Truck Series and making sure he had the equipment he needed to succeed. He’s shown a great deal of improvement this year and we wanted to take this opportunity to give him a chance to grow in his career.”

Moving forward, Carmichael plans to run full time in the Truck Series in 2011 and a partial Nationwide Series schedule with approximately seven races.

“I’m really excited about the opportunity that Steve and Monster have given me to step up to the Nationwide Series,” Carmichael said. “Just in my first full year of competition in the Truck Series, I feel like we’ve really made a lot of improvement. Monster Energy has been a great sponsor for of mine for many years – I’m very fortunate that they came with me from two wheels to four – and I’m looking forward to finding further success with them on the hood.”

Ryan In No. 99 & Martin Jr. In No. 00 At Kansas, First Race Together

CORNELIUS, N.C. – Diamond-Waltrip Racing announced today that two-time K&N Pro Series East champion Ryan Truex and two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Martin Truex Jr. will share the No. 99 Toyota for the remainder of the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series season.

The brothers will replace Trevor Bayne.

DWR will field two cars this weekend at Kansas Speedway, marking the first time the Truex brothers will race against each other. Ryan Truex, who capped his second K&N East Series championship season last weekend in Dover, will drive the No. 99 OUT! Pet Care Toyota at Kansas while older brother will pilot the No. 00 OUT! Pet Care entry. Ryan Truex will then race at Charlotte, St. Louis, Phoenix and Homestead-Miami, while Martin Jr. will race at California and Texas.

“I am very proud of the Diamond-Waltrip race team and the progress our team has made this year,” said majority owner Gary Bechtel. “On the track, this has been a sensational season and I feel as if we can win a race before the end of the season. The root of the issue regarding Trevor and his future with DWR is simply economics. DWR held an option on Trevor’s contract, but without appropriate funding, we could not match the provisions of that contract extension by guaranteeing him a full-time ride in the No. 99 car next year. We could not commit to the demands of the agreement.

“We all wanted to work towards a positive solution, but time was not on our side. We had to make a business decision and Trevor had to make a business decision. We owe it to our race team, sponsors and everyone personally invested in this organization to move forward with those who will be with us in 2011 and beyond.”

Bechtel said his Nationwide Series team is strong and finalizing a program he expects to announce soon.

“We have a very good plan in place, but we just haven’t reached a point where we can publicly discuss it at this time.”

Bechtel and his son Blake along with Michael Waltrip Racing own Diamond-Waltrip Racing that fields Toyota Camrys out of the MWR shop in Cornelius, N.C. The Bechtels have owned cars in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series since 1990. The Morgan Hill, California residents’ teams have visited victory lane 10 times in the Nationwide Series.

Ryan Truex said he didn’t think twice when offered a chance to drive for the Jerry Baxter-led DWR team that owns three poles and five top-five finishes in 2010.

“These are tough circumstances, but I love driving in the Nationwide Series and I’m pumped up about racing this weekend,” said the Mayetta, N.J. native. “My main goal this weekend is to keep this team’s momentum up and continue to deliver a great racing program to OUT! Pet Care. They came on board this year and have been a big boost for the entire organization and I want to get them a win.”

Martin Jr. will drive the No. 00 sporting a reversed-colored OUT! Pet Care paint scheme in Saturday’s race at Kansas. He expects Saturday will be a big day for the Truex family.

“This is pretty cool. I always hoped this day would come but I didn’t have any idea it would come this year,” said the 2004 and 2005 Nationwide champion. “We raced a lot on the computer and he’ll claim he beat me, but we’ll see what happens Saturday. I’m real proud of him. He’s had a good season winning the East championship for a second time and he’s done real good in his first few races in the Nationwide Series. He’s got a good deal driving for the Diamond-Waltrip guys. I’ve told him to just stay patient, learn as much as he can and everything will fine.”