Backstretch Motorsports

Last Sunday at Talladega, Jamie McMurray (No. 26 Crown Royal Ford) ended quite a few droughts.

First, he ended a personal 86-race winless drought that dated back to July 2007.

Second, he ended a Roush Fenway Racing drought that dated back to this year’s first Auto Club Speedway race, won by teammate Matt Kenseth (No. 17 DEWALT Ford). That was 30 races long. [read more...]

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...]

Mark Martin’s experience in battles for a title hunt are legendary. The Man from Batesville, Ark. has just about seen and done it all in the modern era of NASCAR racing.

Include in that experience seeing the tracks at Martinsville, Virginia and Talladega, Alabama seal some deals in some pretty definitive fashions.

“It’s not over.” says the driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports livery, “I still say, like I’ve said all along, we’ve got to get through Martinsville and Talladega. Then we’ll have a clear view of what’s going to happen here with this championship. Give us those two more races to see.” [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...]

Erase all doubt: To win the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship, the rest of the contenders will have go through Jimmie Johnson

When the NASCAR Banking 500 only from Bank of America is complete, it will mark the halfway point of the 2009 Chase. Through the first four races of the Chase, the top three drivers in the point standings – Johnson, Mark Martin (No. 5 Pop-Tarts/CARQUEST Chevrolet) and Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 42 Lysol Chevrolet) have all brought their “A” game.

Heading into Saturday night’s race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Johnson has grabbed the points lead with his sights squarely set on claiming his fourth consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title – an unprecedented accomplishment in the sport. [read more...]

The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings started with drivers bunched closely together points-wise. Three races into the Chase, some are thinking it’s just not going to happen for the ones that seemed so strong coming in.

Going into Sunday’s Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway, the man everyone is trying to catch continues to be Mark Martin (No. 5 CARQUEST/Kellogg’s Chevrolet), as he is 18 points ahead of second-place, Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet), the three-time defending series champion. Martin has posted a series-leading and career-high seven poles plus five victories.

But don’t be fooled, the rest of the top 12 are not letting Martin just walk away with the title. [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...]

OK, everybody sing along, you know the tune:

“I’m going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come - they got a winning little speedway there and I’m gonna get me some…”

No?.. well.. it was worth a shot… (apologies to the late, great Wilbert Harrison)

If the ’stock-car’ racing standards are set in the way many have historically classified them, it breaks down this way: [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...]