NASCAR Podcast
SHOW #362 – Guest: Daniel Suarez – We recap the Pocono race weekend, congratulations to Martin Truex Jr., Matt Kenseth hangs back stage with Taylor Swift, teams tested Darlington, MWR crew shuffle, chase spots dwindle, plus a full Michigan preview. Hosted by Kerry Murphey and Toby Christie
( Roughly 48:00 mins)
Continue reading “The Final Lap Weekly #362 Daniel Suarez / Michigan Preview”
Chris Buescher hasn’t seen anyone ahead of him lately.
And he’d like to keep it that way.
The No. 62 Roush Fenway Racing driver has won two of the last three NASCAR XFINITY Series races and has climbed to the top of the driver standings, 15 points ahead of Ty Dillon.
“It’s been a smooth start to the beginning of the year,” said Buescher following his latest win at Dover. “We’ve had a lot of races where we’ve been in the top five and have been very competitive. We know as long as we can run in the top five area, we’ll be able to get some of these wins. We are just trying to do everything we can each and every week to win these races. If we go do that, everything else comes with it.”
Buescher will try to continue his smooth start in Saturday’s Great Clips 250 Benefiting Paralyzed Veterans of America at Michigan International Speedway (1:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1).
The Texan faces added pressure since MIS is the home track of team owner Jack Roush and his car manufacturer Ford, but he has done well at the two-mile oval previously. In two career XFINITY Series starts at Michigan, Buescher has finished seventh and 10th. He will attempt to add to RFR’s legacy that includes a track-record five wins.
“It’s been a good week off, but I’m ready to head to Jack (Roush) and Ford’s home track up in Michigan,” Buescher said. “It is one of the fastest tracks we go to, and has been a pretty good track for me in the past.”
Michigan Weekend Preview
June 11, 2015
Staff Report
NASCAR Wire Service
Martin Truex Jr. has been the surprise of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.
Not expected to even make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup at the beginning of the year, Truex has proven to be a legitimate championship contender. The driver of the No. 78 Chevrolet for single-car Furniture Row Racing out of Denver, Colorado has led the most laps in each of the past four races and finally captured his first win of the season at Pocono Raceway last weekend, speeding away from reigning NSCS champion Kevin Harvick and wins leader Jimmie Johnson on his path to Victory Lane.
“The win was kind of an exclamation point on the start of our season,” Truex said. “But we’ve had a lot to be happy about, a lot to be excited about and honestly just looking forward to the rest of the season and seeing what we can do now that the pressure is off and we can go to work on getting ready for the last 10 (the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup).”
Truex carries the momentum from his Pocono triumph into Sunday’s Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway (1 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1).
The New Jersey native has never won at Michigan, but he does have three top 10s at the two-mile track, including two second-place showings in 2007 and a third-place finish in 2013.
“There are still mountains to climb and things to conquer,” said Truex after Pocono. “We haven’t won a championship. This is one race. We’ve got a lot of work to do yet.”
As Truex acknowledged, there is plenty of season left – 12 regular season races and the 10-race Chase. Still, he has produced a banner year so far by anyone’s standards. Truex ranks second in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings, 39 points behind Kevin Harvick. His 13 top-10 finishes tie Harvick’s total for the series’ most. To put Truex’s number of top 10s into perspective, in NSCS history only Lee Petty (1954, 1959), Richard Petty (1969), Truex and Harvick have collected 13 top 10s through the first 14 races.
“Honestly it’s the most fun I’ve had in racing in a long, long time,” Truex said. ”And (I’m) just so thankful for the opportunity to drive for (owner) Barney (Visser) and everybody there (at Furniture Row Racing).”
Truex has performed even while facing adversity off-the-track as his long-time girlfriend Sherry Pollex recovers from ovarian cancer. He has praised Pollex’s strength and asserts their off-the-track struggles have made him a better person.
Truex believes his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing team can win the series championship.
“Right now (we’re) as good as anyone out there,” he said. “Look what we’ve done the last four weeks. We’ve went head-to-head with the big guys, the 48 (Jimmie Johnson) and the 4 (Harvick), who have been the guys to beat for a year and a half. The 48 has been the guy to beat for seven, eight years. We’ve been right there with them, toe-to-toe.
“I think we’re still growing. We’re still getting better. I’m just excited to be a part of it, to see what we can do.”
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Here’s a bunch of words that could have been said with our headline…..
National Motorsports Appeals Panel Statement
(April 16, 2015)
The National Motorsports Appeals Panel today heard and considered the appeal of a P5 penalty issued on March 31, 2015 to Richard Childress (owner), Ryan Newman (driver), Lucas Lambert (crew chief), James Bender (tire technician) and Philip Surgen (race engineer) relative to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series vehicle #31 at Auto Club Speedway.
The penalty concerns the following sections in the 2015 NASCAR rule book:
12.1: Actions detrimental to stock car racing
20.16: Wheels and tires
A. Any device, modification, or procedure to the tire or wheel, including the valve stem hardware, that is used to release pressure, beyond normal pressure adjustments, from the tire and/or inner shield, will not be permitted.
20.16.2: Tires
F. Modifications to the tires, by treatment or any other means, will not be permitted.
12.5.3.5.2: Minimum P5 Penalty Options (includes all four points below):
A. Loss of 50 championship driver and owner points, regardless of whether the violation occurred during a Championship race or not
B. $75,000-$125,000 fine
C. Suspension for the next six series Championship Races, plus any non-championship races or special events which might occur during that time period, for the crew chief and any other team members as determined by NASCAR
D. Probation through the end of the calendar year for all suspended members, or for a six-month period following the issuance of the penalty notice if that period spans across two consecutive seasons
12.5.3.5.3: P5 Level infractions detected during post-race inspection:
If the infraction is detected during post-race inspection, then the following penalty elements will be added to those listed previously in this section:
A. Loss of an additional 25 Championship driver and owner points; regardless of whether it was a Championship Race or not
B. Loss of an additional $50,000
The original penalty assessed included a $125,000 ($75,000 plus $50,000) fine, six-race suspension and probation through Dec. 31 to Lambert; six-race suspension and probation through Dec. 31 to both Bender and Surgen; and the loss of 75 (50 plus 25) championship car owner and 75 (50 plus 25) championship driver points to both Childress and Newman.
Upon hearing the testimony, the decisions of the National Motorsports Appeals Panel are:
1. The Appellants violated the Rule or Rules set forth in the Penalty Notice and it is a P5 level violation.
2. The Panel amends the original Penalty levied by NASCAR because there is no written explanation of what constitutes a post-race inspection. Therefore the Penalty elements added under Section 12.5.3.5.3. are removed and the Penalty adjusted to:
-Loss of 50 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Car Owner points for Richard Childress.
-Loss of 50 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Driver points for Ryan Newman.
-$75,000 fine. Suspended for the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Races, plus any non-Championship Races or Special Events which might occur during that time period. Placed on NASCAR probation through Dec. 31 for crew chief Lucas Lambert.
– Suspended for the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Races, plus any non-Championship Races or Special Events which might occur during that time period. Placed on NASCAR probation through Dec. 31 for Tire Technician James Bender.
-Suspended for the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship Races, plus any non-Championship Races or Special Events which might occur during that time period. Placed on NASCAR probation through Dec. 31 for Race Engineer Philip Surgen.
The panel consisted of the following three individuals:
Mr. John Capels
Mr. Hunter Nickell
Mr. Dale Pinilis
The Appellants have the right to appeal the decision of the National Motorsports Appeals Panel to the National Motorsports Final Appeals Officer in accordance with Section 15 of the NASCAR rule boo
