I watched the race tonight and yes-indeedy Jr did dominate it! Looks like DEI has that restrictor plate racing down again. I sure do hope so because it was not a pretty sight the past few restrictor plate races to see DEI get bet by HMS!
Here's to wishing the best for DEI in the cup race tomorrow!
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LOUDON, N.H. – While Carl Edwards cruised to victory in Saturday’s New England 200 at New Hampshire International Speedway, the most interesting action unfolded behind him.
Busch Series points leader Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin battled on the track most of the race and traded insults over their radios as the race drew to a close.
Edwards easily held off Harvick by 0.604 seconds for his third win of the season and eighth of his career. Hamlin finished third, Paul Menard fourth and Clint Bowyer, who led 127 of the 200 laps, finished fifth.
Bowyer dominated the race and was leading when he and Kyle Busch, who was also running in the top five at the time, both pitted under green on Lap 143. Two laps later a caution came out and both ended up in the back of the field.
"I think if that caution hadn’t come out and everything had stayed the same, I don’t think anybody would have caught Clint," Edwards said. "I think he was just up there cruising.
"But anything can happen in racing."
After the lead lap cars pit, Edwards emerged the leader with 58 laps remaining. He remained out front the rest of the race.
"It was a pretty exciting race from my standpoint," he said. "I got to watch the battle between Harvick and Denny.
"I knew if we didn’t slip up, it would be real hard for Kevin to get by. There at the end he was creeping up on me and that took about a year off my life."
After Edwards successfully completed his traditional post-race back-flip, Harvick and Hamlin pled their respective cases outside their cars on pit road.
"I just didn’t appreciate the fact he ran into me down the straightaway. That made me mad," Harvick said. "I just wanted to show him I was a little unhappy with that."
Hamlin complained that Harvick had squeezed him up into the wall, but claimed the issue was "water under the bridge."
"It was just one of those things. I had position on the outside, he came up and ended up taking me in the wall. So, I went done the back straightaway and I just barely touched him," Hamlin said.
"Then every time I tried to pass him after that, he just made my job 200-percent harder."
Harvick continues to hold an enormous lead in the points, 308 over Edwards after 20 of 35 races. Bowyer is third, 387 behind Harvick.
Note: Kevin Harvick Inc. driver Aaron Fike was penalized a lap for throwing one of his driver gloves out of the window of his No. 33 Chevrolet, which caused the first caution of the race.
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The Associated Press
July 30, 2006
01:41 AM EDT (05:41 GMT)
MADISON, Ill. -- Nextel Cup star Carl Edwards overtook Denny Hamlin with eight laps left and held on to win the Busch Silver Celebration 250 on Saturday night.
After heavy rain delayed the start by 1 hour, 40 minutes, the race had few incidents during its 200 laps. Only two yellow flags came out for a total of 11 laps, one of several records tied or broken at Gateway International Speedway.
"This means so much to win right here in front of all these people I know," said Edwards, from Columbia, Mo., about a two-hour drive from Gateway. "I've never been that excited to win a race."
Maybe more importantly to NASCAR officials, the circuit's first test run with unleaded gas went off without any noticeable changes in speed from a year ago.
Edwards averaged 119.152 in his Ford, nearly 3 mph faster than the previous record set by Kevin Harvick during his 2000 victory. Only 11 laps were run under caution during the 2000 race as well.
Edwards has won two of the past three Busch Series events and has four victories overall this season. He started on the outside of the front row and looked as if he might have lost his chance for victory when he pitted for two tires with 16 laps remaining. But that decision turned out to be the key.
Clint Bowyer finished second, followed by Hamlin, Reed Sorenson, series leader Harvick, Scott Wimmer, David Green, Kyle Busch, St. Louis driver Kenny Wallace and Kevin Grubb.
Hamlin dominated the race after starting the night on the pole position. He led the first 111 laps and 169 overall. He held the lead when he entered and exited pits with 13 laps remaining.
However, the decision to only take a splash of gas and not change any tires during that stop, cost him the victory. He lasted just five more laps in first before Edwards passed him on the outside and went on for the victory.
"We had the best car probably 90 percent of the day," Hamlin said. "[But] once we got in that box where guys started to pit before we did, it was a no-win situation. We should have came down earlier and gotten tires. But third place is still good for us."
Edwards and Hamlin raced side-by-side for much of the final 90 laps of the race. Twice they bumped into each other as they traded the lead several times.
"That battle was about as fun as it gets," Edwards said. "Denny is a class act and an unbelievable driver. It was pretty wild. I kind of knocked him out of the way a little bit and got by him and he got me a little bit in [Turn] 3. It was just going to be one of those good battles until the end."
Edwards finished the race in a record 2:05.54, breaking Harvick's 2000 mark of 2:08.39, and he was one of just three racers to lead during the race along with Hamlin and Scott Wimmer, two fewer than the previous record set in 1999. The eight lead changes also tied a record for fewest changes set in 2004.
Edwards is second in the season standings, 318 points behind Harvick.
The track emptied quickly during the race with six cars pulling out of the race by the 80th lap. Before midway through the event, fewer than half of the entries remained on the lead lap, allowing the leaders more room to maneuver as the slower drivers moved out of the way while being lapped.
Only six cars finished on the lead lap, breaking the previous record of nine during the 2004 race.
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Busch Qualifying Record
David Green, Chevrolet, 113.461 mph; August 4, 1994
Busch Race Record
Jimmy Hensley, Oldsmobile, 96.923 mph; June 22, 1985
Track Length: .686-mile (200 laps = 137.2 miles)
Banking in Corners: 7.5 degrees
Banking on Straights: 2 degrees
Frontstrech: 699 feet
Backstretch: 699 feet
History
At the .686 mile oval track, the biggest names in stock car, open car and a variety of other autos compete in a diverse schedule from April through September.
This historic racing facility had its beginnings as a dream on the part of 15 racing professionals and area businessmen. It is now the site of three world-famous race courses -- a 4,400-foot drag strip, a .686-mile oval and a 15-turn, 2.5-mile road course -- all of which are paved with asphalt. Indianapolis Raceway Park was host to the first-ever NASCAR race in Indianapolis in 1982, and has been a part of the NASCAR Busch Series Grand National Division schedule every year in series history.
Past Indianapolis Winners
O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis
NASCAR Busch Series
Year Winner Make
2005 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet
2004 Kyle Busch Chevrolet
2003 Brian Vickers Chevrolet
2002 Greg Biffle Ford
2001 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet
2000 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet
1999 Jason Keller Chevrolet
1998 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet
1997 Randy LaJoie Chevrolet
1996 Randy LaJoie Chevrolet
1995 Jason Keller Chevrolet
1994 Mike Wallace Chevrolet
1993 Tracy Leslie Chevrolet
1992 Joe Nemechek Chevrolet
1991 Bobby Labonte Oldsmobile
1990 Steve Grissom Oldsmobile
1989 Michael Waltrip Pontiac
1988 Morgan Shepherd Buick
1987 Larry Pearson Pontiac
1986 Butch Miller Pontiac
1985 Jimmy Hensley Oldsmobile
1984 Morgan Shepherd Pontiac
1983 Tommy Houston Chevrolet
1982 Morgan Shepherd Oldsmobile
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43 26 Carl Long Chevrolet lovefifi.com 105.928 23.314 -0.953
44 228 Todd Shafer Ford Westerman Companies 104.352 23.666 -1.305
+ Set by Owner Points
* Denotes Rookie
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Just watched highlights of last weekends race at IRP/ORP. I guess you can just give the Busch title to Harvick already. He is just dominating. Over 360 point lead. Almirola had a tough weekend. He crashed twice in the Busch race, once taking out Boyer. The night before in the truck race he also crashed. A good top 6 for M.Martin's replacement O'Quinn. Actually there were 3 or 4 Busch regulars in the top ten.
I heard yesterday and they announced it during the coverage today, that Robby will drive the DEI Busch car at Michigan and California. They said who will race that other races but I do not remember. Whenever I hear Robby being talked about my ears always perk up.
I heard yesterday and they announced it during the coverage today, that Robby will drive the DEI Busch car at Michigan and California. They said who will race that other races but I do not remember. Whenever I hear Robby being talked about my ears always perk up.
I heard that too re: Robby driving their car, soooo excited! No one did a thread re: the Busch race today, think I'll have to do one!
Holy crap, did anyone see the Busch race today! I know you did! How exciting was that, I couldn't believe it! Robby drove his heart out and unfortunately he didn't win, that idiot did (don't like the bros Bush). But...what an incredible race at the end!!!
Looks like DEI has that restrictor plate racing down again. I sure do hope so because it was not a pretty sight the past few restrictor plate races to see DEI get bet by HMS!
St. Louis Gateway International Raceway
O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis
Qualifying Results
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