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...]

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...]

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...]

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 20, 2009) – Though only 15 races old, the Allstate 400 at The Brickyard has produced a number of statistics befitting a track as historic as Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Already, Indianapolis has become a house of NASCAR champions. Of the 15 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, 13 have been won by series champions.
The only Brickyard winners who are not also series champions are Ricky Rudd (1997) and Kevin Harvick (2003). [read more...]

JOLIET, Ill. (July 11, 2009) — Body-slamming and bump-drafting were the order of the day — at 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway, no less — and 50-year-old Mark Martin was the last man standing in a wild LifeLock.com 400.

Pulling away after a double-file restart with two laps left in Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race, Martin won his series-best fourth race of the season and the 39th of his career. Martin gained two positions to 11th in the standings and will have at least 40 bonus points for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup seven races hence, if he can hold a position in the top 12. [read more...]

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 6, 2009) – Kasey Kahne’s 15th-place finish at Daytona International Speedway last Saturday night was enough to vault him back into the top 12 of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points standings. His entry inside the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup cutoff made it seven different teams in the top 12, the most after 18 races since the Chase field was increased to 12 in 2007. Here’s the breakdown:
2007: Five (Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Roush Fenway Racing, Richard Childress Racing, Dale Earnhardt Inc.);
2008: Five (JGR, HMS, RCR, RFR and Gillett-Evernham Motorsports); [read more...]

SONOMA, Calif.—How strange was it for Kasey Kahne to win a road-course race?

The driver of the No. 9 Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge had to ask his crew chief for directions to victory lane after taking the checkered flag in a green-white-checkered finish in Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway.

Kahne held off road-course ace Tony Stewart through a succession of four late-race double-file restarts, the final time after Scott Speed’s spin on Lap 108 caused the seventh caution of the day. After starting from the rear because of an engine change, Marcos Ambrose chased the top two finishers to the line to claim third place, matching the best result of his Sprint Cup Series career.
[read more...]

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Sunday’s race at Dover International Speedway shined a spotlight on a growing rivalry. It’s old guard vs. new guard – perennial powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports vs. the new kids on the block, Stewart-Haas Racing.
Hendrick claimed the Dover battle with Jimmie Johnson’s win, but lost the points lead in the process.
Tony Stewart took over the lead, becoming the first driver-owner to hold the top spot since Alan Kulwicki did it to close out the 1992 season. Next up for Stewart: A victory. He has three runner-up finishes this season, suggesting a win will come sooner than later. [read more...]

Weather reschedules NCWTS race : Truck race is now TOMORROW night at 6 p.m., immediately following the Nationwide race. Ron Hornaday has pole position, Colin Braun starts alongside on front row.

Qualifying Fast Facts
Dover International Speedway
Autism Speaks 400 Presented by Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips and Cheese

Coors Light Pole Winner: David Reutimann
Age: 39
Team : No. 00 - Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota
Owner: Michael Waltrip
Crew Chief: Rodney Childers [read more...]

KASEY KAHNE (No. 9 Budweiser Dodge Charger) WHAT DID IT MEAN TO YOU TO WIN THIS RACE LAST YEAR? “It means a lot to win this race. It’s such a tough race to win. It’s so long and the track changes so much that you need a lot of things to go your way (to win) and we had that last year. We had a great Budweiser Dodge (last year) and we caught a lot of breaks late in the race which helped us. We have the 49th (race anniversary) trophy, but the 50th would better. (The trophy) has all the winners on it; it’s just a real cool trophy. [read more...]