California Speedway - Camping World 300
RACE WINNER: JEFF BURTON
Scott Wimmer: 12th (started 25th)
- It was really nice of Kevin Harvick to put Scott in his #77 Busch car this weekend and Scott came back from starting from the rear being a lap down early on to a decent finish.
David Reutimann: 15th (started 13th)
- I was a little surprised that David didn’t run better, but you have an off night sooner or later. It was very interesting when it came down to the last lap, and who is David racing to the line like a dragster? Jason Leffler! Leffler got the position, but I was glad to see no smoke or sparks and ripping of sheet metal…I’m all for these two racing hard, but no more wrecking! David dropped back down to 3rd in points behind Harvick, but with Carl Edwards’ continuing problems he is now (only) 657 points from the lead!
- Quotes:
“The car wasn't running as well as it should have all night. Our Camry was capable of running in the top-10, but we had some lug nut issues. On that last pit stop, we came in and the lug nuts came loose as we were pitting . The left rear tire came off and messed up our quarter panel. Overall, it was a good day for the points but we would have liked to give Toyota a solid finish in their backyard. We are going to put this behind us and go to Richmond next weekend.”
Brian Vickers: 27th (started 9th)
- A strong car early faded a bit at the end, which seems to be a bit typical, but he ran well all night until a wreck took him out. Matt Kenseth turned himself across Steven Leicht during a restart and smashed into teammate Carl Edwards, sending both into the wall and, of course, right in front of Brian…
- Quotes:
“Tonight we had a really, really strong car - especially on long runs. We weren't as good as some guys the first 10, 15, maybe 20 laps, but the second half of the run we were strong. We were so fast. Everybody did a good job. Coming in for four tires on the last pit stop was the right call. We were getting ready to smoke those guys who didn't get tires. I don't know what happened, who wrecked who or who got into who. I don't think it was intentional, it was just one of those racing accidents. Toyota has a great car here in the Busch series - I'm glad I had the opportunity to race it.”
Other Notes:
- Brad Keselowski was involved in a horrifying wreck on Lap 69 and it made me very thankful that SAFER barriers are installed at California. AJ Allmendinger was racing hard with JJ Yeley while Brad ran at the bottom of the track beneath them. Eric McClure rode up top, trying to stay out of everyone’s way, but when these four drivers lined up side-by-side disaster struck. Yeley made contact with AJ’s right rear quarter panel, sending AJ flying down the track and right into Brad. Brad shot back up, taking AJ with him, and slammed astonishingly hard into the wall. The 88 soared into the air trailing a curtain of flames and AJ found himself briefly trapped under him. Brad’s rear tire was hung on the wall for a few scary moments before it hit the track again and slid down to the grass. It was evident as soon as Brad began to be helped out of the car by safety workers that he was hurt, and several workers held him up. Brad grimaced in pain the entire time until he was brought into an ambulance via a stretcher and was later transported to a hospital. He was released from the hospital with no broken bones (according to ESPN’s Cup broadcast) – that’s unbelievable! I so glad he is okay, for he is a young talent and in my opinion a perfect fit for JR Motorsports.
- AJ Allmendinger is driving for Ganassi in the Busch Series for several races now, which I think is really cool of both Toyota and Dodge to allow to happen. More than anything, AJ needs seat time and he was doing a great job last night from starting at the rear of the field and making his way forward. It really sucked when he got into that accident, but his post-race interview was nothing but class.
- ESPN coverage continues to make me want to vomit! Not only did we miss all the pre-race ceremonies except the command because of some lame football game, but when the race actually started the booth guys were awful. Brian “Vicker”? “Kevin” Hamlin? Kyle Busch was called Kasey Kahne. Rusty suddenly thought “nervy” was the coolest, trendiest word ever and used it about five times in ten minutes. I’m also getting really irritated when they see one replay of an incident and instantly “know” what happened. Andy Petree really screwed up with the Kenseth/Leicht incident, immediately blaming it all on Leicht. When it was clear from the second angle that Kenseth turned across Leicht, Petree just shut his mouth and didn’t speak another word about it. Learn from the other broadcasters, boys! When you think you know what happened, say, “Well, it looks like from this angle that…” instead of, “So-and-so did this!!”
Scott Wimmer: 12th (started 25th)
- It was really nice of Kevin Harvick to put Scott in his #77 Busch car this weekend and Scott came back from starting from the rear being a lap down early on to a decent finish.
David Reutimann: 15th (started 13th)
- I was a little surprised that David didn’t run better, but you have an off night sooner or later. It was very interesting when it came down to the last lap, and who is David racing to the line like a dragster? Jason Leffler! Leffler got the position, but I was glad to see no smoke or sparks and ripping of sheet metal…I’m all for these two racing hard, but no more wrecking! David dropped back down to 3rd in points behind Harvick, but with Carl Edwards’ continuing problems he is now (only) 657 points from the lead!
- Quotes:
“The car wasn't running as well as it should have all night. Our Camry was capable of running in the top-10, but we had some lug nut issues. On that last pit stop, we came in and the lug nuts came loose as we were pitting . The left rear tire came off and messed up our quarter panel. Overall, it was a good day for the points but we would have liked to give Toyota a solid finish in their backyard. We are going to put this behind us and go to Richmond next weekend.”
Brian Vickers: 27th (started 9th)
- A strong car early faded a bit at the end, which seems to be a bit typical, but he ran well all night until a wreck took him out. Matt Kenseth turned himself across Steven Leicht during a restart and smashed into teammate Carl Edwards, sending both into the wall and, of course, right in front of Brian…
- Quotes:
“Tonight we had a really, really strong car - especially on long runs. We weren't as good as some guys the first 10, 15, maybe 20 laps, but the second half of the run we were strong. We were so fast. Everybody did a good job. Coming in for four tires on the last pit stop was the right call. We were getting ready to smoke those guys who didn't get tires. I don't know what happened, who wrecked who or who got into who. I don't think it was intentional, it was just one of those racing accidents. Toyota has a great car here in the Busch series - I'm glad I had the opportunity to race it.”
Other Notes:
- Brad Keselowski was involved in a horrifying wreck on Lap 69 and it made me very thankful that SAFER barriers are installed at California. AJ Allmendinger was racing hard with JJ Yeley while Brad ran at the bottom of the track beneath them. Eric McClure rode up top, trying to stay out of everyone’s way, but when these four drivers lined up side-by-side disaster struck. Yeley made contact with AJ’s right rear quarter panel, sending AJ flying down the track and right into Brad. Brad shot back up, taking AJ with him, and slammed astonishingly hard into the wall. The 88 soared into the air trailing a curtain of flames and AJ found himself briefly trapped under him. Brad’s rear tire was hung on the wall for a few scary moments before it hit the track again and slid down to the grass. It was evident as soon as Brad began to be helped out of the car by safety workers that he was hurt, and several workers held him up. Brad grimaced in pain the entire time until he was brought into an ambulance via a stretcher and was later transported to a hospital. He was released from the hospital with no broken bones (according to ESPN’s Cup broadcast) – that’s unbelievable! I so glad he is okay, for he is a young talent and in my opinion a perfect fit for JR Motorsports.
- AJ Allmendinger is driving for Ganassi in the Busch Series for several races now, which I think is really cool of both Toyota and Dodge to allow to happen. More than anything, AJ needs seat time and he was doing a great job last night from starting at the rear of the field and making his way forward. It really sucked when he got into that accident, but his post-race interview was nothing but class.
- ESPN coverage continues to make me want to vomit! Not only did we miss all the pre-race ceremonies except the command because of some lame football game, but when the race actually started the booth guys were awful. Brian “Vicker”? “Kevin” Hamlin? Kyle Busch was called Kasey Kahne. Rusty suddenly thought “nervy” was the coolest, trendiest word ever and used it about five times in ten minutes. I’m also getting really irritated when they see one replay of an incident and instantly “know” what happened. Andy Petree really screwed up with the Kenseth/Leicht incident, immediately blaming it all on Leicht. When it was clear from the second angle that Kenseth turned across Leicht, Petree just shut his mouth and didn’t speak another word about it. Learn from the other broadcasters, boys! When you think you know what happened, say, “Well, it looks like from this angle that…” instead of, “So-and-so did this!!”
