Backstretch Motorsports

Koretsky Picks Richie Stevens to Drive Nitro Fish Pontiac GXP

After deliberating for more than a week, Kenny Koretsky decided Tuesday to put Richie Stevens in the seat of his Nitro Fish/Indicom Electric Pro Stock Pontiac GXP for this weekend’s Summit Racing Equipment Nationals in Norwalk,
Ohio.

“It’s no secret I’ve been thinking about doing something like this since my crash at Topeka (May 31),” said the fan friendly Koretsky. “Well, now it’s official. Richie was in Joliet (Ill.) testing with Eddie (Guarnaccia, team crew chief) and getting comfortable in the car. If everything goes well – and it should – Richie will be racing at Norwalk.”

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With the half-way point in NASCAR’s 26 race regular season just past (Dover), its time to take a look at the season so far see who is doing what.

With his victory Sunday at Michigan, Dale Earnhardt Jr. became the latest addition to the 2008 winners list. Nine different drivers have posted victories in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2008, led by Kyle Busch with four. Carl Edwards (three), Kasey Kahne
(two), Ryan Newman (one), Jeff Burton (one), Denny Hamlin (one), Jimmie Johnson (one) and Clint Bowyer (one) are the others. If those drivers make the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, each will get 10 points per win toward their Chase “seeding.” Ties in number of wins are broken by the NASCAR rule book (number of seconds, thirds, etc.).

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RICHMOND, Va. – Bizarre might be a good description of the Dan Lowry 400 Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway.

This one had a little bit of everything.

Denny Hamlin led a race-record number of laps, 381 to be exact.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch provided a few laps of great racing for the lead, a battle that ended with Earnhardt spinning out on Lap 398.
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Chesterfield, Virginia rests just a mere 15 minutes or so from Richmond International Raceway. Chesterfield is the hometown of Denny Hamlin. Hamin considers RIR his hometown track.

So with friends and family in the stands and in force cheering the hometown boy on, Hamlin put his No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry from Joe Gibbs Racing on the pole for Saturday night’s Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400 Sprint Cup race.

On his second lap in Friday’s time trials, Hamlin toured the .75-mile “D”-shaped short track in 21.395 seconds tearing off a lap at 126.198 mph to edge Mark Martin . Martin, who had gone out early in the session, had covered the distance in 21.423 seconds.

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Jimmie Johnson and Team Lowe’s Racing are looking to make it three-in-a-row at Richmond International Raceway (RIR) this weekend as they vie for another victory at the .75-mile track.

In addition to his two wins, Johnson has collected three top-five finishes and two poles in his 12 career Cup starts at RIR.

JIMMIE JOHNSON ON THE RICHMOND RACE: “I’m excited to go to Richmond. We’ve won the last two there and that’s been one of my toughest tracks. So I’m really excited to go back. Our short track program is working really well for us and hopefully we can visit victory lane again.”

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Joe Nemechek exited the Front Row Motorsports No. 78 National Day of Prayer Chevrolet Impala SS with a huge smile. He had not only set the fastest time of the ‘go or go home’ drivers having to have speed to make the show, he had posted the fastest time of the Sprint Cup qualifying session overal, winning the Coors Light Pole Award for the Aaron’s 499 with a lap of 51.103 seconds, 187.386 mph.

This is Nemechek’s fourth pole and 11th top-10 start in 27 races at Talladega Superspeedway.

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Talladega, Al. – Jeff Gordon finds himself in a peculiar position – outside the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cut-off.
It’s a position he’s been in after every race but one this season (Gordon was in ninth after Martinsville). But prior to this season, the last time Gordon was outside the Chase cut-off was back in 2006 – after race No. 17 at Daytona (he was in 12th, when only 10 drivers made the Chase).
But Gordon’s season looks destined to right itself this weekend. Too many statistics suggest a return to the top 12 for the four-time champion:

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Subway Fresh Fit 500
Phoenix International Raceway
Fast Facts

Race Winner: Jimmie Johnson
Age: 32
Team: No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet
Owner: Jeff Gordon
Crew Chief: Chad Knaus

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Subway Fresh Fit 500
Phoenix International Raceway
Qualifying Fast Facts

Pole Winner: Ryan Newman
Age: 30
Team: No. 12 alltel Dodge
Owner: Roger Penske
Crew Chief: Roy McCauley

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 7, 2008) – With his win at Texas Motor Speedway, Carl Edwards joined Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Bill Elliott as active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers to win three of the first seven races of a season.

Johnson did it last year, and went on to win the championship.

Gordon has accomplished the feat three times, following it up with championships in two of those seasons – 1995 and 1997 (he finished second in the final points standings in 1996, the other year he won three of the first seven).
Elliott has done it twice – in 1985 and 1992 – and finished second in the final standings both times.

In other words, Edwards’ performance could lead to the title – it has happened before.

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