Backstretch Motorsports

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...]

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...]

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...]

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...]

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...]

Feeling the moods at Dover.. nobody, either from team or driver perspective, is in actual desperation mode, at least from the outward appearance.

“You know, with only 10 races in the Chase, there is a little bit of urgency, but it’s still 10 races.” says Carl Edwards, No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing driver, “Last week, for instance, wasn’t exactly what we wanted, but it wasn’t a disaster, either. We have to run well every race, and there’s still a lot that can happen. It’s a relatively short time, but a lot can happen in two or three races, you know?” [read more...]

If the New Hampshire opener proved nothing else, it shined light on just how volatile the Chase can be, just as humbling.

Now enter Dover, The Monster Mile, it can be it’s own “wildcard” in The Chase, have no doubt.

It’s a tough track. Speeds are quick, disaster looms and can become reality just as quickly.

The drops in points position are hard to recover from, the gains are just as hard to maintain.

Dover has that modus operandi: 400 miles, hard on drivers, hard on equipment…

It can be a game changer for certain.

One race neither wins or loses a championship, but two races can become an indicator, a look at the end for some. [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...]

Qualifying Fast Facts
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
SYLVANIA 300

Coors Light Pole Winner: Juan Pablo Montoya
Age: 33
Team : No. 42 - Target Chevrolet
Owner: Teresa Earnhardt
Crew Chief: Brian Pattie [read more...]

Hampton, GA) Kasey Kahne’s shoot-out style blast to Atlanta Motor Speedway’s Victory Lane in last night’s Pep Boys Auto 500 was nothing short of perfect. The Richard Petty Motorsports driver was working his No. 9 Budweiser Dodge to it’s limits in set up, favoring the short run., getting all it had on new tires and exploiting the long run theme that hampered both runner-up Kevin Harvick and third place finisher Juan Pablo Montoya.

Kahne, who figured he had a faster car on short runs, took the lead when the race was restarted with 11 laps to go and , with a helpful push from David Reutimann, simply ran away from the field, finishing a full 1.7 seconds ahead of the rest. [read more...]