Nascar Sprint Cup Championship 2014 - 22 Watkins Glen

Despite some awkward tech issues and a series of unfortunate things happening, we actually did well here.  Seems as though this is one of those few road courses that works out for us.  Qualifying got washed out thanks to a crash.  The second time around was really loose, but if you held it, you could get a really fast time.

Once we got to the green flag, we were off without a hitch.

There were a few altercations over the next few laps...

...even causing Darrel to lose a ton of spots (thanks, Vickers)...

But we wouldn't see the yellow...

...even after some major wrecking.

Not until lap 7 would we get a yellow from Legano who smashed into the end of pit road.  Idiot.  But it helped Darrel a ton as he had some minor damage and ruined tires, many seconds behind the field.

Coming to the caution, Scot tried to put the moves on (like Jagger) but ended up getting side swiped... 

...into the kitty litter.

Back under green and we had a few more laps.  Chad overdrove turn one and spun right in front of the field.  He resumed racing without incident.

I, however, had lost all patience for the likes of Burton and Kahne and launched them into the bus stop.  All aboard.

That little incident brought out the second yellow and most of us came in.

Darrel and Scot did not and held onto 1st and 2nd.

Shortly after that yellow, Chad ran loose again, this time in the Esses.  It wouldn't have been so bad until Vickers ran him over while trying to get back on course.  Oddly enough, Chad turned the car around and ran it in reverse leading straight to a DQ.

With the yellow out and everyone racing back to the line, I pushed into the final two turns where Danica turned me out into Harvick and he slung me straight into the sand.  Their names have been added to the list.

With Darrel and Scot still fighting for position at the front, I was pushing through the field, even as they were knocking each other off the course.

Scot was pushing his car to the limits and quickly wearing out his tires.  I passed by him shortly after this.

Meanwhile, further down the order, Sandy was making his own charge to the front and making steady progress.

As I said earlier, Scot had worn out his tires.  He got wide out of the carousel and bounced out of the tires back into the inside wall.  He had to pit with 5 to go which dropped him down into the twenties.

The penultimate lap and I had caught Darrel going into one.

Just ahead, the K-Love machine plowed into the tire wall out of the pits.

Darrel slowed up and I instinctively pulled right to avoid him and just clipped my right side tire.

What had turned from an almost assured victory for me transformed to tragedy.  On the final lap, I got back to the pits and got a new tire on.  At the same time, Darrel disconnected!

And just as Sandy took HIS last lap...

The SAME THING!

Because there was no chance of either one of them losing or gaining positions within a lap, they have been awarded the positions they had at the time of disconnection.  I managed to place 7th right behind Sandy.  Even Scot managed to make a comeback and pulled out a 10th.

We now look towards Michigan where we'll have an excellent run down through our final regular races.

Results

Session: Qualifying

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	013	T Nadz	1:14.639
2	48	J Johnson	1:15.721
3	24	J Gordon	1:16.191
4	2	B Keselowski	1:16.359
5	16	G Biffle	1:16.551
6	9	M Ambrose	1:16.579
7	18	K Busch	1:16.740
8	31	R Newman	1:17.164
9	66	J Burton	1:17.320
10	1	J McMurray	1:17.344
11	27	P Menard	1:17.526
12	11	D Hamlin	1:17.584
13	22	J Logano	1:17.602
14	15	C Bowyer	1:17.650
15	4	K Harvick	1:18.111
16	78	M Truex Jr	1:18.133
17	99	C Edwards	1:18.173
18	5	K Kahne	1:18.180
19	34	D Ragan	1:18.246
20	47	A Allmendinger	1:18.342
21	88	D Earnhardt Jr	1:18.350
22	41	K Busch2	1:18.415
23	13	C Mears	1:18.425
24	20	M Kenseth	1:18.581
25	14	T Stewart	1:18.628
26	35	E McClure	1:18.676
27	38	D Gilliland	1:18.737
28	32	T Kvapil	1:19.006
29	52	B Labonte	1:19.028
30	021	T Bear	1:19.033
31	43	A Almirola	1:19.200
32	40	L Cassill	1:19.318
33	055	C Ferguson	1:19.388
34	55	B Vickers	1:19.467
35	95	M McDowell	1:19.929
36	77	D Blaney	1:20.042
37	98	J Wise	1:20.160
38	10	D Patrick	1:20.372
39	17	R Stenhouse Jr	1:20.729
40	36	R Sorenson	1:21.567
41	061	D Hamilton	1:29.175
42	029	M Max	--

Weather: Cloudy, 71 °F, Northwest 6 mph

Session: Race

F	S	#	DRIVER	INTERVAL	LAPS	LED	POINTS	STATUS
1	41	061	D Hamilton	91.314	22	12*	110	Running
2	19	34	D Ragan	-12.00	23	2	180	Running
3	29	52	B Labonte	-26.08	23	0	170	Running
4	18	5	K Kahne	-26.45	23	1	170	Running
5	15	4	K Harvick	-26.74	23	0	160	Running
6	30	021	T Bear	-30.76	23	0	118	Running
7	1	013	T Nadz	-36.46	23	6	160	Running
8	21	88	D Earnhardt Jr	-39.03	23	0	150	Running
9	32	40	L Cassill	-41.06	23	0	146	Running
10	42	029	M Max	-45.80	23	0	142	Running
11	26	35	E McClure	-45.81	23	0	138	Running
12	6	9	M Ambrose	-50.82	23	0	134	Running
13	25	14	T Stewart	-54.96	23	0	130	Running
14	27	38	D Gilliland	-56.70	23	0	127	Running
15	36	77	D Blaney	-57.41	23	0	124	Running
16	39	17	R Stenhouse Jr	-1:07.62	23	0	121	Running
17	9	66	J Burton	-54.89	23	2	120	Running
18	34	55	B Vickers	-1:04.02	23	0	112	Running
19	7	18	K Busch	-1:13.08	23	0	109	Running
20	11	27	P Menard	-1L	22	0	106	Retired
21	10	1	J McMurray	-1L	22	0	103	Running
22	23	13	C Mears	-1L	22	0	97	Running
23	40	36	R Sorenson	-1L	22	0	94	Running
24	37	98	J Wise	-2L	21	0	91	Running
25	4	2	B Keselowski	-2L	21	0	88	Running
26	35	95	M McDowell	-2L	21	0	85	Accident
27	5	16	G Biffle	-2L	21	0	82	Accident
28	24	20	M Kenseth	-3L	20	0	79	Running
29	22	41	K Busch2	-3L	20	0	76	Running
30	2	48	J Johnson	-3L	20	0	73	Retired
31	28	32	T Kvapil	-5L	18	0	70	Accident
32	3	24	J Gordon	-7L	16	0	67	Retired
33	38	10	D Patrick	-8L	15	0	64	Camshaft
34	33	055	C Ferguson	-11L	12	0	61	DQ
35	14	15	C Bowyer	-13L	10	0	58	Retired
36	16	78	M Truex Jr	-17L	6	0	55	Retired
37	20	47	A Allmendinger	-17L	6	0	52	Accident
38	12	11	D Hamlin	-18L	5	0	49	Retired
39	17	99	C Edwards	-19L	4	0	46	Accident
40	13	22	J Logano	-19L	4	0	43	Accident
41	8	31	R Newman	-19L	4	0	40	Accident
42	31	43	A Almirola	-20L	3	0	37	Accident

Caution Flags: 0 (0 laps)

Lead Changes: 5 (5 drivers)

Weather: Cloudy, 71 °F, East 8 mph

Pitstop Frequency: 2x

AI Strength: 90%

Nascar Sprint Cup Championship 2014 - 21 Pocono

A little lighter this week with only Sandy, Darrel, Chad and me.  We ran a fairly straight forward practice and ran good qualifying laps (though Darrel sandbagged it).

A good start and Sandy was pushing for the top 10.

About 2 laps in and Stewart didn't let any room for Sandy to run his line.  This wasn't too much of a problem as there was no contact with any other cars or walls and kept going.

Only a few laps more and Darrel threw it hard into turn three going around Danica Patrick and couldn't quite collect it up.  He did back it into the wall a bit but damage was mostly minor and the field hit the pits.

But Darrel wasn't finished yet, a few more laps in and he was tight up the track into Kvapil, Wise, and Gilliland.

Sandy came up on this mess and quickly dropped the anchors and avoided damage, although he did get some major tire wear.

Darrel must have had a loose set up because he got into poor Stremme

Which caused a small collection of cars and another yellow.

At this point we'd hit our halfway point and Chad was roughing 'em up.

And so was Sandy, although with more zest and less wreck.

Doing another quick 3-way through turn two although barely holding this one together.

Even though all this was happening, it wouldn't be humans who brought out the next yellow.  Lap 30, Labonte pulls out heading into turn one and gets Legano loose.

This shoots him up the track and into the wall.  Sandy and a few others manage to evade high.

Newman goes down low for some reason and smashes him good, bringing more debris onto the track.

Dave Blaney comes up fast on Newman, just a few car lengths ahead of Darrel.

Darrel had started slowing for Legano and then sees Blaney and Newman collide.  He starts to swing out wide but glances off of Joey.

Which sends him right into the 31 and 77, utterly destroying his car.

Back in turn one Chad and others were stumbling over each other to get slowed up and avoid the cars as they started stringing across the track.  Chad took minimal damage and fortunately was not run over by more reckless AI from behind.

We continued racing with around 8 laps remaining with Sandy and Chad making up positions as quickly as possible.  With three to go, Chad sailed it into turn one hot and turned Vickers up the track to bring out the final caution of the race.

The race to the line was very exciting as Sandy fought Jr. tooth and nail to the line for the 11th spot.  Jr. just beat him out by 3/1000 of a second.  Sandy was mad because of who it was and the close margin, but was otherwise satisfied with the position.  Chad also finished well in 22nd after some ups and downs.

Next we go to Chad's favorite and our last roadcourse of the year, Watkins Glen.  I'll be sending the new track file along soon.

Results

Session: Practice

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	013	T Nadz	52.899
2	061	D Hamilton	53.502
3	021	T Bear	53.520
4	99	C Edwards	53.894
5	16	G Biffle	53.925
6	055	C Ferguson	53.977
7	4	K Harvick	54.033
8	88	D Earnhardt Jr	54.145
9	15	C Bowyer	54.189
10	14	T Stewart	54.223
11	20	M Kenseth	54.228
12	48	J Johnson	54.250
13	18	K Busch	54.265
14	24	J Gordon	54.292
15	27	P Menard	54.303
16	31	R Newman	54.331
17	5	K Kahne	54.337
18	11	D Hamlin	54.388
19	22	J Logano	54.429
20	66	J Burton	54.435
21	2	B Keselowski	54.574
22	1	J McMurray	54.686
23	78	M Truex Jr	54.700
24	34	D Ragan	54.704
25	9	M Ambrose	54.745
26	13	C Mears	54.809
27	41	K Busch2	54.886
28	35	E McClure	54.942
29	38	D Gilliland	54.994
30	43	A Almirola	55.004
31	52	B Labonte	55.145
32	47	A Allmendinger	55.154
33	77	D Blaney	55.169
34	40	L Cassill	55.342
35	32	T Kvapil	55.349
36	10	D Patrick	55.446
37	95	M McDowell	55.563
38	17	R Stenhouse Jr	55.624
39	30	D Stremme	55.686
40	55	B Vickers	55.707
41	36	R Sorenson	55.794
42	21	T Bayne	55.800
43	98	J Wise	55.806

Weather: Cloudy, 88 °F, West 4 mph

Session: Qualifying

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	013	T Nadz	54.233
2	4	K Harvick	54.538
3	15	C Bowyer	54.702
4	48	J Johnson	54.839
5	16	G Biffle	54.847
6	24	J Gordon	54.878
7	021	T Bear	54.896
8	99	C Edwards	54.933
9	18	K Busch	55.033
10	22	J Logano	55.036
11	31	R Newman	55.062
12	20	M Kenseth	55.082
13	14	T Stewart	55.115
14	055	C Ferguson	55.126
15	27	P Menard	55.174
16	88	D Earnhardt Jr	55.255
17	2	B Keselowski	55.356
18	11	D Hamlin	55.374
19	5	K Kahne	55.394
20	78	M Truex Jr	55.495
21	41	K Busch2	55.501
22	47	A Allmendinger	55.612
23	66	J Burton	55.702
24	32	T Kvapil	55.748
25	34	D Ragan	55.751
26	1	J McMurray	55.755
27	38	D Gilliland	55.758
28	9	M Ambrose	55.767
29	13	C Mears	55.912
30	35	E McClure	55.925
31	55	B Vickers	55.985
32	77	D Blaney	56.035
33	52	B Labonte	56.153
34	43	A Almirola	56.186
35	40	L Cassill	56.275
36	21	T Bayne	56.308
37	17	R Stenhouse Jr	56.364
38	95	M McDowell	56.446
39	98	J Wise	56.459
40	10	D Patrick	56.578
41	30	D Stremme	56.681
42	36	R Sorenson	57.249
43	061	D Hamilton	59.284

Weather: Clear, 88 °F, Southwest 4 mph

Session: Happy Hour

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	061	D Hamilton	54.829
2	013	T Nadz	54.843
3	021	T Bear	54.901
4	16	G Biffle	55.319
5	24	J Gordon	55.336
6	20	M Kenseth	55.377
7	4	K Harvick	55.451
8	99	C Edwards	55.510
9	5	K Kahne	55.639
10	15	C Bowyer	55.706
11	055	C Ferguson	55.740
12	18	K Busch	55.766
13	11	D Hamlin	55.792
14	41	K Busch2	55.852
15	66	J Burton	55.867
16	31	R Newman	55.872
17	78	M Truex Jr	55.887
18	48	J Johnson	55.897
19	27	P Menard	55.930
20	22	J Logano	56.029
21	1	J McMurray	56.046
22	88	D Earnhardt Jr	56.082
23	38	D Gilliland	56.129
24	14	T Stewart	56.189
25	2	B Keselowski	56.216
26	9	M Ambrose	56.328
27	13	C Mears	56.386
28	47	A Allmendinger	56.409
29	52	B Labonte	56.498
30	34	D Ragan	56.525
31	40	L Cassill	56.550
32	55	B Vickers	56.612
33	35	E McClure	56.746
34	43	A Almirola	56.770
35	98	J Wise	56.815
36	77	D Blaney	56.826
37	36	R Sorenson	56.884
38	95	M McDowell	56.919
39	17	R Stenhouse Jr	56.949
40	21	T Bayne	56.988
41	32	T Kvapil	56.997
42	30	D Stremme	57.318
43	10	D Patrick	57.736

Weather: Clear, 93 °F, East 14 mph

Session: Race

OFFICIAL STANDINGS

F	S	#	DRIVER	INTERVAL	LAPS	LED	POINTS	STATUS
1	1	013	T Nadz	118.168	40	40*	185	Running
2	8	99	C Edwards	-0.28	40	0	170	Running
3	6	24	J Gordon	-0.57	40	0	165	Running
4	2	4	K Harvick	-0.85	40	0	160	Running
5	18	11	D Hamlin	-1.13	40	0	155	Running
6	9	18	K Busch	-1.41	40	0	150	Running
7	17	2	B Keselowski	-1.70	40	0	146	Running
8	3	15	C Bowyer	-1.98	40	0	142	Running
9	13	14	T Stewart	-2.26	40	0	138	Running
10	5	16	G Biffle	-2.54	40	0	134	Running
11	16	88	D Earnhardt Jr	-2.83	40	0	130	Running
12	7	021	T Bear	-3.26	40	0	127	Running
13	26	1	J McMurray	-3.54	40	0	124	Running
14	25	34	D Ragan	-3.81	40	0	121	Running
15	23	66	J Burton	-4.08	40	0	118	Running
16	21	41	K Busch2	-4.35	40	0	115	Running
17	19	5	K Kahne	-4.62	40	0	112	Running
18	28	9	M Ambrose	-4.89	40	0	109	Running
19	27	38	D Gilliland	-5.15	40	0	106	Running
20	20	78	M Truex Jr	-5.42	40	0	103	Running
21	37	17	R Stenhouse Jr	-5.70	40	0	100	Running
22	14	055	C Ferguson	-5.72	40	0	97	Running
23	33	52	B Labonte	-5.97	40	0	94	Running
24	30	35	E McClure	-6.25	40	0	91	Running
25	40	10	D Patrick	-6.67	40	0	88	Running
26	38	95	M McDowell	-6.95	40	0	85	Running
27	36	21	T Bayne	-7.24	40	0	82	Running
28	39	98	J Wise	-7.54	40	0	79	Running
29	42	36	R Sorenson	-7.86	40	0	76	Running
30	34	43	A Almirola	-8.18	40	0	73	Running
31	31	55	B Vickers	-8.53	40	0	70	Running
32	15	27	P Menard	-8.78	40	0	67	Running
33	29	13	C Mears	-9.12	40	0	64	Running
34	41	30	D Stremme	-9.84	40	0	61	Running
35	35	40	L Cassill	-1L	39	0	58	Running
36	10	22	J Logano	-10L	30	0	55	Accident
37	11	31	R Newman	-10L	30	0	52	Accident
38	32	77	D Blaney	-11L	29	0	49	Accident
39	43	061	D Hamilton	-11L	29	0	46	Accident
40	12	20	M Kenseth	-19L	21	0	43	Retired
41	4	48	J Johnson	-28L	12	0	40	Retired
42	22	47	A Allmendinger	-28L	12	0	37	Clutch
43	24	32	T Kvapil	-29L	11	0	34	Retired

Caution Flags: 5 (17 laps)

Lead Changes: 0 (1 driver)

Weather: Cloudy, 91 °F, East 9 mph

Pitstop Frequency: 2x

AI Strength: 94%

PENALTIES

LAP	#	INFRACTION	PENALTY
4	021	Entering closed pits	Go to end of longest line
22	055	Dropping Debris	Pit for repairs
33	055	Failure to pit	Go to end of longest line
41	055	Passing under yellow	Held for 1 seconds