JOHNSON GIVES HENDRICK 200TH WIN

By Gerald Hodges/the Racing Reporter

DARLINGTON, S.C.-- Jimmie Johnson gave Rick Hendrick his 200th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory, as he ran away from the rest of the field on a green-white-checkered-flag restart in Saturday night’s Southern 500.

   Johnson took the lead from from Kyle Busch on lap 325 of the 367-lap race, and never relinguished it again, despite another caution that came out on lap 362, after Kurt Busch whacked the outside wall.
   Even though he had the fastest car, fuel was an issue with Johnson and his 48-team.

   “What a day,” said Johnson. “We knew we would be close on fuel. I just had to pace myself and hope that it lasted.

   “We caught some cautions that helped. I could try to save fuel going down the straightaway, by not using a lot of gas, not much brake, and just fly through the corner.The car handled so well, it allowed me to save more fuel.”

   Denny Hamlin ran second, the same as in Friday night’s Nationwide race.

   “Our finish is because of the crew chief making good calls and the pit crew making good pit stops,” said Hamlin. “That kept us in the ballgame, kept our track position up front.

   “We were planning on taking two (tires)on  that last stop, but I slid through the box, so we had to take four tires, and at that point we were fifth or sixth, then we just had to battle back.”

   Tony Stewart was third, followed by, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, Marcos Ambrose, and Joey Loganao.

   After the race, Ryan Newman parked his car near Kurt Busch's and exchanged words with the 2004 champion. Several of Newman's crew members tried to confront crewmembers on Busch's team, and the driver himself, but NASCAR officials restrained them.
    “The 39 (Newman's) guys were mad because Kurt burned out of our pit stall, and I don't know if they were still there working or whatnot,” said Nick Harrison, Busch's crew chief. “Their gas man came down there raising hell and wanting to fight Kurt.”

   The hard feelings stemmed from the aftermath of the wreck during the last caution, when Busch brought his car to pit road for repairs.
   “It's crazy, pit road,” said Tony Gibson, Newman's crew chief. “Things happen, and everybody's emotions run high. It's a hot night. Everybody settles down and talks about it. We're all good. We can't control drivers. Nothing against the team -- none of those guys. They didn't do anything wrong.”

   Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 17th.

   Danica Patrick was 31st, five laps down.

   Jeff Gordon continues to struggle. He finished 34th, and is probably out of this year’s Chase.

Top-12 leaders after 11 of 36: 1. Biffle-411, 2. Kenseth-409, 3. Earnhardt-397, 4. Hamlin-394, 5. Johnson-372, 6. Truex-372, 7. Stewart-369, 8. Harvick-361, 9. Kyle Busch-349, 10. Edwards-337, 11. Bowyer-335, 12. Keselowski-328

LOGANO GETS SECOND STRAIGHT NATIONWIDE WIN

   Joey Logano pulled away from his teammate Denny Hamlin on a green-white-checkered finish at Darlington for his second consecutive Nationwide win.

   Hamlin, who led the most laps, had complained of an engine problem during the final two laps, finished .256 seconds behind Logano in the runner-up position. Brad Keselowski ran third, followed by Sam Hornish Jr. and rookie Austin Dillon.

   Ricky Stenhouse, Brian Scott, Kurt Busch, James Buescher, and Cole Whitt rounded out the top-10.

   Danica Patrick finished 12th and Travis Pastrana 17th, both on the lead lap in their Darlington debuts.

   Top-10 points leaders after 9 of 33: 1. R. Stenhouse Jr.-364, 2. E. Sadler-341, 3. A. Dillon-329, 4. S. Hornish Jr.-305, 5. C. Whitt-282, 6. M. Annett-271, 7. J. Allgaier-260, 8. M. Bliss-230, 9. J. Nemechek-222, 10. D. Patrick-219.

CARROLL SHELBY IS GONE

   One of the toughest and most race-savvy men in motorsports is gone. Carroll Shelby died Friday, May 10, 2012, at the age of 89..

   But the legacy he left us is huge.

   He fathered the Cobra sports car and all the various Shelby Mustangs and Shelby Dodges, and was the commanding general of the Ford Mustang.

   Shelby was diagnosed with heart problems when he was seven, had a heart transplant in 1990, but continued to race and design cars.

   He was a giant in the racing field, and what he brought to the sport will be utilized and carried forward by future generations.

   Meanwhile Dodge finds itself in a very shaky spot. The only teams currently running the Dodge name is the two-car Penske Racing. Brad Keselowski, winner of two Cup races and driver of the No. 2 Penske Dodge, will be in a Ford next season.

    With such apparent success, why is Penske ditching Dodge for Ford?

   A further twist in the story is that Penske Racing has said it would still be interested in the business of building Dodge engines, despite the move to Ford

   I’d have to say Penske is being offered some major incentives.

   There’s no doubt that Ford has made Penske an offer they can’t refuse.

   If Penske goes ahead with the deal, just where will that put Dodge next year?

   The ideal move for Dodge fans would be for them to pair up with Richard Petty Motorsports. At one time the red and blue Dodges and Plymouths driven by Richard Petty dominated the sport.

   But then again, money talks, and Ford spoke the loudest when it mattered to RPM.

   Despite valiant efforts by Petty, their two teams are not performing well in Fords. And on top of that, sponsorship continues to be a problem for them.

   Another difficulty to be overcome would be that of engine building. There aren’t many Dodge engine builders out there. It’s hard for me to conceive that Ford would approve of Penske running their brand cars and building Dodge engines for another team..

   None of the other big names, Richard Childress, Michael Waltrip, or Hendrick Motorsports has any interest in switching.

   So, where does that leave the Dodge brand?

   I don’t know, but Dodge needs to be in NASCAR, if nothing else than for their presence and name recognition.

   It’s my guess they will hook up with one or two of the small under funded Cup teams.

   If not, they may just drop off the roster until something else develops, and they can align themselves with a proper team.

Weekend Racing: The Trucks and Cup teams will be at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The trucks run a regular race, but for the Cup teams, it is the Annual Sprint All-Star Race, a non-points event. The Nationwide teams will be at the seven-eighths-mile Newton, Iowa track.

Fri., May 18, Camping World Trucks North Carolina Lottery 200, race 5 of 22; Starting time: 7:30 pm ET; TV: SPEED.

Sat., May 19, Sprint Cup All-Star Race, Starting time: 7 pm ET; TV: SPEED.

Sun., May 20, Nationwide Iowa spring 250, race 10 of 33; Starting time: 1:30 pm ET; TV: ESPN.

   Racing Trivia Question: What is Ryan Newman’s favorite charity?

   Last Week's Question: What was NASCAR’s top car series called before it was named Winston Cup? It was called Grand National.

     You may contact the Racing Reporter at hodges@race500.com.

 News Photograph

Volume II of "Southern Supermodifieds and Other Early Racers."

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This is the second book on Southern Supermodifieds

It is over 300 pages with 209 photographs.

A partial list of driver chapters includes:

Eddie McDonald Sr., Chuck Amati, Fats Harvison, Jan Opperman, Donnie Bean

and the Resurrected 44-Super, Buddy Bielarski's Restored Supers, Charlie Mincey,

The "Yellow 19", Dale "Foots" Kimmons, Bobby Ward "The Arkansas Traveler",

Johnny Benson Sr., The Swindell Family, Mobile International Speedway, Five

Flags Speedway, Mississippi Gulf Coast tracks, Jimmy Burt and Lamey Speedway,

Terry Broadus and Twin Oaks Speedway, Saga of the 2-T Car, Victor Oliver Geisen,

John C. Dill, Tommy Booker, Rex White.

 

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