Backstretch Motorsports

TALLADEGA, ALA. — Jamie McMurray added his name to the victory list Sunday in a surprising finish to a typical race at Talladega Superspeedway.

McMurray, odd-man out in Jack Roush’s compliance move to fielding a maximum of four teams in 2010, crept home the winner in a green-white-checker finish that only made it three-quarters-of-a-lap before a wild crash brought out a caution flag making McMurray the winner.

NASCAR rules allow only one attempt at a green-white-checkered finish and McMurray was in the right position at the right time. [read more...]

Denny Hamlin may have won the Virginia campaign with a victory Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, but Jimmie Johnson moved ever closer to a record fourth straight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship with a runner-up finish at the .526-mile short track.

In a green-white-checkered-flag finish that ended under caution with John Andretti wrecked at the finish line, Hamlin pulled away from Johnson over the final two laps of the Tums Fast Relief 500. As the cars roared off Turn 4 on Lap 501—one lap beyond the scheduled distance—NASCAR simultaneously displayed the yellow and checkered flags when Andretti was unable to drive away. [read more...]

Qualifying Fast Facts
Martinsville Speedway
TUMS Fast Relief 500 (61st Running)

Coors Light Pole Winner: Ryan Newman
Age: 31
Team : No. 39 - U.S. Army Chevrolet
Owner: Tony Stewart
Crew Chief: Tony Gibson [read more...]

Jimmie Johnson has done it again, winning of the NASCAR Banking 500 Only From Bank of America. It was Johnson’s sixth win at Lowe’s Motor Speedway and put him another step closer to a fourth consecutive championship, which would be a first in NASCAR history.

Johnson extended his lead in the Chase standings to 90 points over second place teammate Mark Martin with five races remaining in the season.

Johnson drove away from the field after dicing with teammate Jeff Gordon in the closing laps of the 334-lap race. [read more...]

Fontana, CA — Saying that 3-Time NASCAR Sprint Jimmie Johnson has a really strong affinity for the Auto Club Speedway is understatement.

For months, the defending champion has been saying the addition of ACS to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup was a gift to his No. 48 team.

In Sunday’s Pepsi 500, Johnson proved it—and grabbed the points lead from Mark Martin in the process. Johnson’s win also left runner-up Jeff Gordon conceding that his Hendrick Motorsports teammate is in a class by himself. [read more...]

KANSAS CITY, KS. (Oct. 4, 2009) — Two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart took two tires on his final pit stop and held off hard-charging Jeff Gordon, a four-time champion himself, at the finish to win the Price Chopper 400 at Kansas Speedway Sunday afternoon.

Stewart, a first-year car owner/driver, raced hard all afternoon with the frontrunners and gambled with crew chief Darian Grubb on the two-tire strategy at the end.

“Darian (Grubb, crew chief) made it.” said the driver of the No. 14 Office Depot Chevrolet “We got two tires earlier in the day and were able to go really quick on them so it was pretty much in our opinion a no-brainer of what to do. The guys that took four could just never gain the track position back. We had a really good car on two tires. Darian and these guys on the pit crew, they are the ones that got us the win. They got us track position and I was able to pick which line I wanted on the restart and that won us the race.” [read more...]

Qualifying Fast Facts
Kansas Speedway
Price Chopper 400 presented by Kraft Foods
Coors Light Pole Winner: Mark Martin
Age: 50
Team : No. 5 - CARQUEST/Kellogg’s Chevrolet
Owner: Mary Hendrick
Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson [read more...]

DOVER, Del. (Sept. 27, 2009) — Polesitter Jimmie Johnson threw down the gauntlet in Sunday’s AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway, but Mark Martin was up to the challenge.

The day was frighteningly marked early in the race with a tumbling crash by JGR rookie Joey Logano. The 19-year-old emerged unhurt from his damaged Home Depot No. 20 Camry to the relieved appreciation of the Dover crowd.

With his fifth victory at Dover and second at the track this year, Johnson affirmed that his No. 48 Chevrolet team is a serious threat to win a fourth straight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship. [read more...]

Qualifying Fast Facts
Dover International Speedway
AAA 400

Coors Light Pole Winner: Jimmie Johnson
Age: 34
Team : No. 48 - Lowe’s Chevrolet
Owner: Jeff Gordon
Crew Chief: Chad Knaus [read more...]

Juan Pablo leaps over competitors to find fourth points position

Pure Mark Martin style - that’s the only way to describe it. He is truly “living the dream” in running for a championship in a Rick Hendrick-owned Chevrolet, a championship that is about the only thing he has not won in his career.

Starting from the 14th position at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Mark Martin opened the 2009 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with a victory.

Four of the top five finishers are in The Chase for The NASCAR Sprint Cup.
[read more...]