The NASCAR circuit made its way to Texas last week, bringing in hundreds of thousands of spectators and fans of the sport to the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway to take in all the action. Fans began coming to the track as early as last Wednesday to soak up all the racing excitement of Saturday’s Busch Series O’Reilly 300 and Sunday’s Nextel Cup Samsung RadioShack 500. At the end of the weekend, there were two winners. Kasey Kahne took the checkered for the Busch race, and Greg Biffle continued Roush Racing’s dominance and ran away with the win at the Nextel Cup race.
The Dallas Morning News Qualifying Days were last Thursday and Friday. Qualifying is when each car attempting to enter in the race drives two laps on the track, in order to determine who will race and how the cars will line up for the race.
In the Busch Series qualifying for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300, Shane Hmiel took the inside pole with a speed of 189.840 miles per hour and defending Busch Series champion Martin Truex, Jr. took the outside poll with a speed of 189.640 mph.
Hmiel races for Braun Racing, but Dale Earnhardt Inc. makes his engines, which is the same company that makes Truex’s Chance 2 Motorsports engines. Chance 2 is co-owned by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and his stepmother Teresa Earnhardt, so it seems that the DEI Busch cars would be strong contenders for Saturday’s race. In the end, the 2004 Nextel Cup Rookie of the Year Kasey Kahne would lead 47 laps before taking the checkered flag, with Hmiel and Truex finishing 10th and 35th, respectively.
In a surprising move by NASCAR, Johnny Sauter was disqualified from the race for using an illegal carburetor. NASCAR normally only hands out monetary fines and point deductions for cheating; but sent a strong signal by completely disqualifying Sauter’s participation and 14th place finish in the race. The severity of the punishment was because the carburetor was so large; it was bigger than the ones used in the Nextel Cup race. Additionally, it is believed that the engine component was tampered with after the car had completed its prerace inspection. Sauter will not receive any points, and the prize money he would have won will be dispersed equally amongst the other participants in the race. Also, NASCAR officials are expected to hand out additional fines and penalties against other members of Sauter’s No. 1 Dodge team.
In Nextel Cup Racing, Ryan Newman took his third poll with a speed of 192.582 mph and Jeremy Mayfield took the outside pole with a speed of 192.431 mph. Dodge Chargers took the first three spots in the starting lineup, and the new car is showing continued improvement for the teams that use the manufacturer.
In addition to winning the cash Bud Poll Award from Budweiser, Newman also received a Beretta Giubileo (pronounced jubi-lay-o) 12-guage over/under shotgun. The shotgun was engraved with Newman’s car number, 12, as well as his likeness and is valued at over $65,000.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. showed a strong improvement at qualifying, taking 11th place with a speed of 190.570 mph. The fan favorite has struggled most of this season, but after finishing 13th last week at Martinsville and 4th at Bristol, he seems to have turned things around.
In addition to the regulars on the NASCAR circuit, veterans and former Cup Champions Bill Elliot and Terry Labonte (a Texas native) qualified for the race in 15th and 43rd, respectively. Both Elliot and Labonte are running limited Nextel Cup seasons as they wind down their careers and enter into retirement.
The field was limited to only 43 drivers, and three drivers, Kevin Lepage, Stanton Barrett, Jr. and Randy LaJoie did not make the show.
On Sunday’s Samsung RadioShack 500, over 200,000 fans showed up to watch the race. RVs lined the infield, and people sat in traffic for hours to get to the track. The prerace ceremonies included live musical performances, speeches by track officials and Gov. Rick Perry. Perry announced April 29, the late Dale Earnhardt’s birthday, as “Dale Earnhardt Day in the Great State of Texas.” Also, while the national anthem was played, a B-52 bomber did a flyover of the track. Football great and car dealership owner Troy Aikman and comedian George Lopez gave the ‘start your engines’ command in both English and Spanish.
When the green flag dropped, the action began immediately. On lap two, Dave Blaney spun out and the accident took driver Jeff Green out of the race. Other early action included Scott Riggs getting loose when he got out of the racing groove and hit the wall on lap eight, and Jason Leffler spinning out on the back straight away on lap twenty-three.
The race was fairly calm, by NASCAR standards, with the exception of an incident on lap 298, when the engine of Tony Stewart’s Chevrolet Monte Carlo blew up, spewing massive flames behind the car for about half a lap. Stewart escaped with only minor burns and was released from the infield medical center shortly after the incident. It was an unfortunate end for Stewart. He led the race two times for a total of 45 laps, but after the failed engine, finished 31st.
One surprise was the resurgence by DEI teammates Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Michael Waltrip. The Texas race was the first time that both teams finished in the top 10 in the last 16 races. The drivers switched crew chiefs and crews at the beginning of the season, and it seems as if both teams are starting to get better acclimated to the changes that were made by DEI this season. Waltrip was strong all day, finishing sixth while Earnhardt, Jr. dipped in and out of the top 10 all day, eventually finishing ninth.
Greg Biffle, who had qualified 5th with a speed of 191.435, ran over a piece of debris, cutting down a tire and ran into the wall, wrecking his Roush Racing Ford Taurus during a practice session. He had to use his backup car, which just so happened to be the one he used to take the checkered flag at the California Speedway. NASCAR rules dictate that drivers who have to use a backup car have to start at the rear of the field.
Biffle worked his way up to the front and lead 219 of the 334 laps in the race. Biffle was able to break away from the rest of the field, but eleven caution periods slowed him down. After the last caution, Biffle rolled away and convincingly won the race.
Next week, NASCAR heads to Phoenix, Ariz., for the Subway Fresh 500. The race will be held April 23 at the 1-mile oval Phoenix International Speedway.
