September 26, 2008
NASCAR Post-Race Teardown
By Jen Dunnaway
Editor
As you probably know, the racecars that compete in NASCAR’s top series are subject to ongoing, nearly constant inspections from the moment they roll off the trailer at any given track. When I was in Dover last weekend, one of the things I was especially curious about was the post-race teardown, where inspectors nab the winning car and a handful of randoms and then break them down into nothing but a heap of components, going through the car with a fine-toothed comb to rule out cheating. So as soon as the race was won and the Victory Lane celebrations were over, I high-tailed it over to the garage area to watch Greg Biffle’s No. 16 Ford, still sticky with Gatorade and confetti, get transformed from a race-winning Sprint Cup car to a rolling shell and a rubble of car parts. Read more…
September 25, 2008
NASCAR At Dover: Hundreds Of Pics Now Live!
By Jen Dunnaway
Editor
Dover International Speedway is a hot, high-banked concrete oval that chews up racecars, spits them out, and asks for more—and after watching that happen all weekend, I sure did have one burly item that I could cross off my before-I-die list. Now, here at CarDomain, we’ve got the largest collection of Dover race photos on the internet. Over in our Events section, there’s a ton of pics from all three of this week’s exciting series, but don’t think you have to put up with much of my Casio’s mediocre track photography—the lion’s share of the shots are from behind the scenes, the restricted areas like the garage and the pits, where the real craziness happens. Enjoy!
September 24, 2008
Back 40 Racing
By Jen Dunnaway
Editor
NASCAR driver Carl Edwards told me about Back 40 Racing when I chatted with him at Dover this weekend—basically, it’s an informal field-racing series in which competitors run cars they’ve pulled out of the junkyard. Carl was more involved in Back 40 before full-time racing duties took over—it bears the same name as his record label—but apparently, he still goes out racing with them once in awhile. And yeah, running junker cars through back fields against the current Sprint Cup Series points leader sounds like my idea of a total blast! Check out video of a typical Back 40 lap, below.
September 22, 2008
Somewhere Under All That Confetti Is Greg Biffle
By Jen Dunnaway
Editor
Today was huge for the Roush-Fenway Fords, with Greg Biffle scoring the win at Dover following a harrowing battle with Roush teammates Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards. Those two finished second and third, respectively, but not before spending the final 25 laps trading paint and nearly giving team owner Jack Roush a heart attack. As Greg Biffle reflected after the race on what it must’ve been like for his boss to witness his Fords’ kamikaze three-wide antics, "I would have crapped my pants watching those three cars run into each other." But all the beatin’ and bangin’ paid off, of course, with a 1-2-3 finish for the Roush Fords, a sweep that some speculated might’ve even been 1-2-3-4 if Jamie McMurray hadn’t been caught up in a wreck after leading the race early on. The win seemed to come as a bit astonishing to Biffle, who said his car had been off and on all day and who had been second-guessing his suspension setup until well into the race. Biffle hadn’t scored a win all season prior to his back-to-back victories in these first two races of the Chase for the Cup. Congratulations!
See a few of my pics from today’s finish.
Continue reading "Somewhere Under All That Confetti Is Greg Biffle" »
Door Prize: Dover Gives Away Its Pace Car
By Jen Dunnaway
Editor
Hey, remember that awesome Charger pace car I told you about on my first day at Dover? Yep, some lucky bastard got to drive it home. The Charger ended up being the speedway’s giveaway car during today’s pre-race festivities, and Buck and Bass from Rowdy.com got to do the honors and hand over the keys. The six finalists who gathered at the start-finish line had been entered automatically in the drawing when they renewed their season passes. There were six keys in the hat, but (isn’t it always the way?) only one unlocked the Charger’s door—and set off its alarm. Sweet prize!
Continue reading "Door Prize: Dover Gives Away Its Pace Car" »
September 21, 2008
Kyle Busch Heartbroken Following Engine Failure
By Jen Dunnaway
Editor
Kyle Busch, tailed by ESPN pit reporter Jamie Little, leaves his No. 18 Toyota following a catastrophic engine failure that sent his car to the garage. If you were watching, you’ll know that the car started billowing smoke out the exhaust at around lap 140, before it settled down to puffing smoke in bursts in time with the RPM. It hung on that way for several laps, but finally expired and was pushed into the garage. There, the team drained the oil and started tearing the motor down. That splatter of oil on the underside of the hood doesn’t look like a good sign, and there was more down the right-hand fender—but at the time, the crew was talking burned or bent valves and thinking maybe they could get the car back out on the track to avoid a DNF. Even if they do, however, the buzz is that this incident is going to be catastrophic for the former points-leader’s championship standings: Kyle will be lucky if he can hang onto the bottom rung of the Chase ladder. But Busch isn’t the only Chase Toyota having drivetrain problems today—Denny Hamlin had to go into the garage to swap out his rear end and axles after having burned them up, and is back out on the track, 37 laps down. See some shots of the No. 18 in the garage.
Continue reading "Kyle Busch Heartbroken Following Engine Failure" »
Wrecking Already!
By Jen Dunnaway
Editor
The race had barely run three laps when Kurt Busch got into it with David Gilliland’s No. 38 and mashed up his car’s rear clip. It looked like it was going to be bad for Kurt as he ended up a lap down after the stop, but Patrick Carpentier spun just a few laps later, clipping Carl Edwards and barely missing Jimmie Johnson. Kurt Busch scored the "lucky dog" from the ensuing caution, meaning he was advanced back up to the lead lap. I was in the No. 02’s pit box when Kurt brought it in for on-the-fly repairs. Here’s the view!
On The Starting Grid at Dover
By Jen Dunnaway
Editor
Out on the track, the cars were lined up and wearing their little heat-repelling space blankets. Following driver introductions, the drivers hung out by their cars for a bit before climbing in. Some were chatting with fans—Hot Pass-holders weren’t kicked off the track until right before they fired up the engines. See more pics from the starting grid below the jump.
Sprint Cup Garage During Practice: Controlled Chaos
By Jen Dunnaway
Editor
The drivers only have a limited amount of time to get out on the track and to run practice laps during any given session, and with so many 850-horsepower racecars coming in hot for quick adjustments, then shooting out again, the garage area feels like hell in a very small place. In such close quarters, it’s kind of a miracle that crew members don’t get hurt more than they do, but they’re clearly experts in staying out of the way, just as they are in the pits. Another curiosity was that a handful of fans were milling around with garage passes—whether they got them through connections, contest giveaways, or some other means I’m not sure—and they had to be carefully herded behind a line on the pavement to keep them from getting nailed by incoming or outgoing cars. Meanwhile, cars in practice were shooting by on the track directly behind us, and the air was full of that rich, strangely roasted-chestnut smell of burning race gas. Click below the jump to watch and listen as the whole garage full of cars empties out at the beginning of practice!
In the final practice, the fastest car was Carl Edwards’ Ford, followed by Greg Biffle’s Ford and Jimmie Johnson’s Chevrolet.
Continue reading "Sprint Cup Garage During Practice: Controlled Chaos" »
September 20, 2008
Kyle Busch Dominates Nationwide Race
By Jen Dunnaway
Editor
Today, Kyle Busch became the winner of the awkwardly-named Camping World RV Sales 200 (who comes up with these things?), not to be confused with Sunday’s Sprint race, the Camping World RV 400. Today’s race was a harrowing, crashy one that saw early achievers get laid low, and during the last couple of restarts, Kyle left the pack in his dust every time. I watched the No. 18 team celebrate in Victory Lane, and, and while it’s true that they splash nasty, sticky Gatorade over everyone, it won’t get you (or your camera) unless you’re down in the first few rows. Advice if you’re ever there: go high, unless you brought a change of clothing! See more pics below the jump, as well as a video clip of the No. 18 Toyota rolling into the circle.
Pre-Race Jitters
By Jen Dunnaway
Editor
The Dover 400 isn’t until tomorrow, but gearing up for their practice sessions today, the Sprint Cup teams already seemed pretty nerved up. A lot of them were doing minor suspension tweaks, but everybody claimed to be steering a pretty conservative course with their adjustments. Jeff Gordon said yesterday at the press conference that he was happy with the way his car was running, and his crew said they were adjusting shocks and bump stops ever so slightly only to keep the car from bottoming out on the track. Kevin Harvick’s crewman Timmy Petty said they were setting the car up in anticipation of changing track conditions, but weren’t doing anything to jeopardize what’s already a good-running car. Jimmy Johnson’s team appeared to be adjusting shocks, though they weren’t too keen on me taking a lot of pictures of ‘em. After the jump, see more pics of the cars and the drivers getting ready to go out on the track.
Top NASCAR Drivers, With Rides
By Jen Dunnaway
Editor
I’ve never been one for wanton groupieism, but I was struck with a mild case of starry-eyed surprise earlier today when I saw the Sprint Cup drivers lined up on pit row waiting for their turn to qualify. And yes, their presence made it kind of difficult, at times, to get the whole car in the shot. Hey, cut me some slack—just because you do this for a living doesn’t mean you’re not human, and when my dog Clint got to within about a foot of me, I couldn’t help but go a little wobbly. If you’re curious to see some candid shots of NASCAR’s big guns alongside their race-winning rides, check them out below the jump.
Dramatic Day in Camping World East Series
By Jen Dunnaway
Editor
Today in NASCAR’s regional Camping World East Series, a bunch of stuff happened. Aric Almirola won the race his first time in as a substitute driver, and owner-driver Matt Kobyluck clinched the season championship, becoming the first Native American ever to do so in any NASCAR series. Congrats all around! Also, our beleaguered No. 15 team suffered an unfortunate wreck and finished last, and I believe the No. 26 car got tagged on both ends in an even more violent tangle. East Series is rough! Get full coverage here and here.
From The Sprint Cup Garage
By Jen Dunnaway
Editor
I hung around the garage area earlier today and watched the Cup cars go through their inspections. The process seemed quite a bit more assembly-line than Nationwide inspections yesterday, as the cars passed through a number of stations in close succession. First, an overall check, including underhood, suspension setup, and ride height. Second, the cars went on the scale to get weighed. Third, the teams rolled the cars outside into a tent for body templates. Finally, the cars went on what looked like an alignment rack, where they checked camber settings, toe, and the like. It was loud, because the Nationwide cars were doing their practice session while this was going on, and for the most part, I tried hard to stay out of everyone’s way. But I managed to snap a few pics of the cars and the activity in the garage area. Look!
September 19, 2008
Jeff Gordon Wins the Pole At Dover!
By Jen Dunnaway
Editor
In Sprint Cup qualifying today, Jeff Gordon lapped Dover’s one-mile oval in 22.921 seconds, scoring himself the pole position for the start of the Camping World RV 400. Mark Martin ran a 22.922-second lap, so he’ll start in the front row with Jeff. In the press conference that followed, Gordon seemed pretty stoked to be getting this boost after the lousy luck he suffered at New Hampshire last week, where he got tangled up in Robbie Gordon and some lapped cars and slipped to 11th in the points standings. At this point he’s just taking it one week at a time, and he doesn’t resent the slower drivers who got in his way last week. The "lucky dog" rule, which occasionally awards lead-lap status to a car that’s fallen behind a lap, is what often puts slower drivers in the way of the championship contenders, but Gordon isn’t about to start pushing for a rule change. We’ve all been there, he said, and while it’s frustrating to deal with lapped traffic and the small-potatoes cars from the rear, whatever it is they’re fighting for—whether it’s to hang onto the top 35 in owners points or to squeak by with a top-20 finish—it’s just as important to them as a win or a Championship is to Gordon. Nice guy! As for Sunday’s race, Jeff is optimistic about the No. 24 car—it handled a bit loose in practice, but the team sorted it out and now it’s running the way he wants it. And Mark Martin, also speaking at the conference, handed it to Jeff: it’s way too early for anyone to count him out for the championship, he said. So what do you think: will the former champion be able to score a win on Sunday, and bring the No. 24 team back into contention for the Cup?
