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...]

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...]

BROOKLYN, Mich. (Aug. 16, 2009) — Polesitter Brian Vickers ran out of gas at the end of Sunday’s Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

It’s a good thing it was on the way to Victory Lane. [read more...]

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (Aug. 8, 2009) — When Marcos Ambrose and Kyle Busch came to the chicane or “bus stop” on Lap 64 of Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International, Busch stopped — out of necessity — and Ambrose didn’t.

Ambrose’s bold move into the chicane proved to be the winning pass, as the driver of the No. 47 Toyota held the lead the for the final 19 laps, winning the event for the second straight year. [read more...]

JOLIET, Ill. –A gutsy call, or a mistake in judgement. You could’ve hung your hat on either opinion if you had been sitting in the stands at Chicagoland Speedway for the close of Friday night’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

It’s all point of view.. neither really matters now, Dave Rogers sold his concept to his driver on a final restart that led to Victory Lane.

“This guy (Dave Rogers, crew chief) is a heck of a motivator.” race winner Joey Logano told reporters in the post-race presser. “I don’t know if you’ve ever heard him on the radio, that guy will make you drive harder than anyone out there. You can have a ninth-place car and he’ll make you think you have a first-place car. Always being confident on the radio helps me a lot as a driver. I was going off what he said. At first I thought this was going to be bad and then he made me think 50-50 of what it was going to be. Either way, I just drove my brains out.” [read more...]

LOUDON, N. H. — Sometimes, the sun shines even though it’s raining.

Ask young Joey Logano. A late-race rainstorm stopped the LENOX Industrial Tools 301 after 273 of the scheduled 301 laps, giving Logano his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory.

The 19-year-old rookie, who turned 19 on May 24, was probably the only happy driver when NASCAR announced the race official, but veterans of the sport would quickly tell the youngster to enjoy his win because “there’s no telling how long it might be before he wins another one.” [read more...]

LOUDON, N.H. — Kyle Busch has been in a holding pattern of frustration lately, leading the most laps in a NASCAR Nationwide Series race, and not getting the victory. He changed that today by winning Saturday’s Camping World RV Sales 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon.

In a trade of fortunes. the driver of the No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) earned the win by beating his teammate, Joey Logano, to the stripe by .617 of a second. It was Busch’s fifth Nationwide Series win of the season and his first since taking the checkered flag three weeks ago at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway.

In the final 10 laps, Logano closed up to the rear bumper of Busch’s No. 18 Toyota in lapped traffic, but Busch eventually pulled away to win his fifth race of the season by .617 seconds over his teammate. [read more...]

DOVER, Del. — Brad Keselowski finally caught a break.

Keselowski’s good fortune came at the expense of continued bad luck to Kyle Busch, who failed to win Saturday’s Heluva Good! 200 despite leading a race-high 108 of 200 laps at Dover International Speedway.

Keselowski took the lead for the first time on the next-to-last lap of the NASCAR Nationwide Series race after Logano ran into the back of Busch, his teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, moments after a restart on Lap 199.

[read more...]

Concord, NC - Race. Wait out the rain. Race. Wait out the rain.

That was today’s storyline at Lowe’s Motor Speedway sitting just mere miles from downtown Charlotte, NC.

Racing the dark clouds that followed one after another, dumping downpour after downpour became the order of the day [read more...]

Huntersville, N.C. – Everyone wants to be the best in the neighborhood at something. Kids want to have the fastest bike. Mothers want to have the most-beautiful garden. Fathers want to be the “master griller.” It becomes a type of a badge of honor when you can protect your own turf.

The NASCAR “neighborhood” is the Charlotte, N.C. area. An overwhelming majority of teams and employees call this area home. It was also the site of the first NASCAR race in 1949. The racing tends to take on a different meaning when it becomes Charlotte’s turn to host the action, as it does twice a year at the 1.5-mile track just outside the city limits. Bragging rights take the place of points and pride takes the place of trophies and prize money.
[read more...]