Nascar Sprint Cup Championship 2014 - 34 Texas

Down south for some heated battles on this very fast speedway.  We almost didn't get to race tonight as Tunngle was inoperable.  But, I'm pleased to say that we were able to make Evolve work for us and that all humans (barely) survived to the end.

While the first attempt went poorly, our second attempt was good at least until the second lap.  As you can see, three humans on the qualy podium with Chad not far behind.

As I was saying, lap 2.  Sandy was slipping back a tad as he was getting his car up to speed and temperature when he came down on Jimmie.

Barely a tap but he got himself in bad trouble.  How he drove away from this with a fairly strong car, I will never know.  Maybe it's karma from the times his engine gave out from the slightest gusts of wind?

We hardly got going again when Josh Wise barely nicked the wall enough to slow him up and get tossed inside.

As Jr. pulled away from that wreck, he caught Chad and started another one.  Good for Chad for keeping himself from getting damaged worse from the onrushing field.

We actually went many green laps right up to our fuel window when Scot sailed it in hot through one and ran afoul the Landon Cassill.

Scot nearly hit every human on his way back down the track and did get slammed fiercely by Ambrose and others.  Darrel smacked him coming through the apron while Scot struggled with some flat tires.

As I was saying, pit window.  While the rest of the field had already staggered a stop or two from earlier cautions, I barely made to this one.  Darrel (top) had stopped just one lap prior, putting him a lap down.  Dreadful luck...

On the restart, there were lots of broken lappers mixed with broken and non-broken leaders.  As I was battling McDowell for 2nd through turn two, he slowed up so much I nearly turned him down the track.  As he recovered he swung out wide and bounced the wall enough to put him into Kenseth.

Kyle Busch slowed only slightly and Darrel had a strong run off the corner.

Darrel almost saved it but had too much momentum shift and tossed into Keselowski.

While I was only pinched against the wall from Busch, Darrel got smacked around a bit more, collecting others.  His race went from misfortune to catastrophe quickly.

While resuming racing again, more issues with the turn 2 wall resulted.  Mostly unaided by humans.

As we were under 10 to go, Scot was coming through the tri-oval when his line intersected with Patrick's.

She saved it only to turn back into the 029.

Who then did a neat trick.

On the last few laps of green flag, Sandy found himself battling ferociously for position while avoiding moving hazards like Blaney.  

The very next lap, Kyle Busch and Gilliland got tangled off of turn 2.  Sandy wasn't having any of it and just ran over the 38...

Sending him into McClure to deal with.  Sandy did go on to beat out McMurray who eventually was slowed up by good old Trevor Bayne.  He's finally good for something.

In a similar instance, Darrel served as a pic for Kenseth, allowing me to take the win, unmolested.

He was rewarded for his efforts with a spin by Johnson.

Off we go to the penultimate race of the season:  Pheonix.  This was the only track Darrel scored a last place finish and the rest of us didn't fare much better.  I'll try and get an update out to everyone before I head out to South Dakota.  I'll let you know if I won't be back for the next one.  We will use Evolve again.

Results

Session: Practice

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	061	D Hamilton	28.103
2	013	T Nadz	28.238
3	029	M Max	28.886
4	055	C Ferguson	28.975
5	16	G Biffle	29.010
6	48	J Johnson	29.016
7	99	C Edwards	29.038
8	88	D Earnhardt Jr	29.122
9	4	K Harvick	29.187
10	14	T Stewart	29.221
11	15	C Bowyer	29.236
12	20	M Kenseth	29.261
13	5	K Kahne	29.277
14	11	D Hamlin	29.284
15	2	B Keselowski	29.287
16	22	J Logano	29.305
17	1	J McMurray	29.320
18	24	J Gordon	29.329
19	78	M Truex Jr	29.350
20	47	A Allmendinger	29.448
21	41	K Busch2	29.467
22	31	R Newman	29.530
23	52	B Labonte	29.550
24	35	E McClure	29.557
25	34	D Ragan	29.568
26	40	L Cassill	29.608
27	55	B Vickers	29.611
28	77	D Blaney	29.624
29	95	M McDowell	29.630
30	27	P Menard	29.787
31	32	T Kvapil	29.791
32	17	R Stenhouse Jr	29.794
33	38	D Gilliland	29.797
34	10	D Patrick	29.804
35	66	J Burton	29.819
36	21	T Bayne	29.839
37	43	A Almirola	29.842
38	18	K Busch	29.944
39	9	M Ambrose	30.283
40	021	T Bear	30.906
41	13	C Mears	41.541
42	98	J Wise	42.028

Weather: Cloudy, 70 °F, Southeast 12 mph

Session: Qualifying

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	013	T Nadz	27.784
2	061	D Hamilton	28.064
3	021	T Bear	28.321
4	31	R Newman	28.674
5	27	P Menard	28.777
6	20	M Kenseth	28.823
7	5	K Kahne	28.832
8	48	J Johnson	28.866
9	055	C Ferguson	28.886
10	2	B Keselowski	28.896
11	18	K Busch	28.955
12	66	J Burton	28.958
13	4	K Harvick	28.967
14	78	M Truex Jr	29.015
15	11	D Hamlin	29.047
16	14	T Stewart	29.056
17	88	D Earnhardt Jr	29.071
18	35	E McClure	29.074
19	15	C Bowyer	29.106
20	34	D Ragan	29.111
21	16	G Biffle	29.165
22	52	B Labonte	29.174
23	13	C Mears	29.227
24	9	M Ambrose	29.235
25	41	K Busch2	29.298
26	95	M McDowell	29.430
27	32	T Kvapil	29.441
28	55	B Vickers	29.485
29	40	L Cassill	29.546
30	77	D Blaney	29.555
31	24	J Gordon	29.572
32	99	C Edwards	29.598
33	17	R Stenhouse Jr	29.617
34	43	A Almirola	29.712
35	22	J Logano	29.776
36	30	D Stremme	29.785
37	21	T Bayne	29.809
38	1	J McMurray	29.818
39	38	D Gilliland	29.889
40	98	J Wise	29.930
41	47	A Allmendinger	30.125
42	10	D Patrick	30.578
43	029	M Max	38.236

Weather: Cloudy, 70 °F, East 9 mph

Session: Happy Hour

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	013	T Nadz	28.918
2	061	D Hamilton	29.016
3	029	M Max	29.030
4	021	T Bear	29.143
5	4	K Harvick	29.388
6	14	T Stewart	29.514
7	41	K Busch2	29.515
8	055	C Ferguson	29.525
9	99	C Edwards	29.552
10	78	M Truex Jr	29.582
11	27	P Menard	29.621
12	1	J McMurray	29.633
13	24	J Gordon	29.640
14	22	J Logano	29.659
15	11	D Hamlin	29.659
16	47	A Allmendinger	29.667
17	34	D Ragan	29.726
18	66	J Burton	29.730
19	18	K Busch	29.737
20	48	J Johnson	29.740
21	16	G Biffle	29.768
22	9	M Ambrose	29.778
23	88	D Earnhardt Jr	29.820
24	15	C Bowyer	29.853
25	38	D Gilliland	29.883
26	13	C Mears	29.940
27	35	E McClure	29.964
28	20	M Kenseth	29.977
29	77	D Blaney	30.002
30	32	T Kvapil	30.026
31	52	B Labonte	30.055
32	95	M McDowell	30.080
33	40	L Cassill	30.085
34	31	R Newman	30.089
35	2	B Keselowski	30.165
36	55	B Vickers	30.165
37	43	A Almirola	30.263
38	17	R Stenhouse Jr	30.367
39	98	J Wise	30.466
40	10	D Patrick	30.481
41	21	T Bayne	30.561
42	30	D Stremme	31.248
43	5	K Kahne	2:23.790

Weather: Clear, 81 °F, Northeast 2 mph

Session: Race

OFFICIAL STANDINGS

F	S	#	DRIVER	INTERVAL	LAPS	LED	POINTS	STATUS
1	1	013	T Nadz	120.447	51	46*	185	Running
2	6	20	M Kenseth	-1.69	51	0	170	Running
3	21	16	G Biffle	-1.71	51	1	170	Running
4	12	66	J Burton	-1.83	51	1	165	Running
5	32	99	C Edwards	-2.03	51	0	155	Running
6	8	48	J Johnson	-2.07	51	3	155	Running
7	17	88	D Earnhardt Jr	-2.81	51	0	146	Running
8	15	11	D Hamlin	-3.80	51	0	142	Running
9	25	41	K Busch2	-4.38	51	0	138	Running
10	5	27	P Menard	-4.51	51	0	134	Running
11	23	13	C Mears	-4.72	51	0	130	Running
12	31	24	J Gordon	-4.86	51	0	127	Running
13	13	4	K Harvick	-5.28	51	0	124	Running
14	41	47	A Allmendinger	-5.65	51	0	121	Running
15	16	14	T Stewart	-5.90	51	0	118	Running
16	28	55	B Vickers	-6.00	51	0	115	Running
17	7	5	K Kahne	-6.27	51	0	112	Running
18	10	2	B Keselowski	-6.50	51	0	109	Running
19	3	021	T Bear	-7.96	51	0	106	Running
20	38	1	J McMurray	-8.25	51	0	103	Running
21	37	21	T Bayne	-8.28	51	0	100	Running
22	11	18	K Busch	-8.49	51	0	97	Running
23	39	38	D Gilliland	-8.84	51	0	94	Running
24	34	43	A Almirola	-9.71	51	0	91	Running
25	9	055	C Ferguson	-9.98	51	0	88	Running
26	42	10	D Patrick	-10.58	51	0	85	Running
27	26	95	M McDowell	-1L	50	0	82	Running
28	18	35	E McClure	-2L	49	0	79	Running
29	30	77	D Blaney	-2L	49	0	76	Running
30	43	029	M Max	-2L	49	0	73	Running
31	40	98	J Wise	-4L	47	0	70	Running
32	2	061	D Hamilton	-5L	46	0	67	Running
33	19	15	C Bowyer	-19L	32	0	64	Retired
34	4	31	R Newman	-24L	27	0	61	Retired
35	24	9	M Ambrose	-25L	26	0	58	Retired
36	29	40	L Cassill	-26L	25	0	55	Accident
37	33	17	R Stenhouse Jr	-26L	25	0	52	Accident
38	36	30	D Stremme	-26L	25	0	49	Accident
39	35	22	J Logano	-44L	7	0	46	Retired
40	20	34	D Ragan	-48L	3	0	43	Retired
41	22	52	B Labonte	-49L	2	0	40	Retired
42	14	78	M Truex Jr	-49L	2	0	37	Accident
43	27	32	T Kvapil	-50L	1	0	34	Accident

Caution Flags: 7 (24 laps)

Lead Changes: 4 (4 drivers)

Weather: Clear, 79 °F, Northwest 7 mph

Pitstop Frequency: 3x

AI Strength: 97%

PENALTIES

LAP	#	INFRACTION	PENALTY
4	021	Dropping Debris	Pit for repairs
8	055	Entering closed pits	Go to end of longest line
32	061	Smoking Engine	Pit for repairs
32	061	Entering closed pits	Go to end of longest line
34	029	Speeding in pits	Go to end of longest line
32	061	Unsafe pit entrance	Go to end of longest line
32	061	Unsafe pit entrance	Go to end of longest line
33	061	Unsafe pit exit	Go to end of longest line
33	061	Speeding in pits	Drive through pit lane
43	029	Entering closed pits	Go to end of longest line
44	029	Failure to pit	Go to end of longest line

Nascar Sprint Cup Championship 2014 - 33 Martinsville

The first race in the Eliminator Round at the half mile of Martinsville.  A smaller bunch of humans but certainly plenty to cause havoc.

Scot had the pole using some unorthadox methods for qualifying with me on his outside.  Sandy and Chad were a sprinkled among the field.

Chad was in trouble early due to a loose race car and running on the edge.

The first caution would come after bouncing into some of the back markers.  Oh look, a 30-something.

Scot could also be seen doing some spinning of his own as he got run over by the 48 of Mr. Johnson.

This one even got Chad caught up a little bit who was continuing to struggle with an ungainly setup.

 The next caution came after Chad got loose off of four and turned back up into traffic.

 After Busch hit him, there was a nice big pile up.  A handful were out at this point.

Scot would be the next couple of yellows, not really of his doing.  First was Woodchuck...

...and then he ran up on a 30-something.

When Scot turned Sorrenson, it brought out the caution just as Sandy was about to go a lap down.  I held up the field as much as I could to keep him on the lead but Kenseth tried to sneak by high.  The two collided and went spinning.  No real damage done.

The real damage was done when The Bear pulled out in front of Trevor Bayne to rejoin the line.  It was a perfect storm: Sandy's car was positioned so his A-rail blocked sight of oncoming cars and Bayne was behind smoke during the precious moments the A-rail wasn't a problem.  TBear was TBoned and TDead.

A short while later, Chad was slow off of two and was holding up the field.  I don't know if he was planning to pit or what but the bottle neck caused a lot of wrecking.  Scot got into it a little with Gordon as he and the 34 (a 30-something) collided.

The next caution was actually only of AI doing.

On the restart, Scot and I were in the fray working our way up.  I escorted the 48 to the outside wall.  It looks bad, but I'd like to point out that Mad Max was much busier than I was...

It wasn't until here that the yellow would finally come out.

He must not of liked what happened because he started slamming a few oncoming cars.

'Even gave Chad a whack.

And still managed to wreck a guy under yellow.  But it was the 34 so he didn't count.

On the home stretch now and Scot nearly got caught in this altercation of Jr and Newman (GASP!  A 30-something).

That same caution, Danicka wanted a closer look at Scot's paint scheme.  I'll admit, it does look good.

Closing in on the final laps, Scot resumed his work of running afoul the competition.

And doing so quite well.

In the end, he held 7th, the last lead lap car, while I took the lead and a victory flip.  Eat your heart out, Carl Edwards.

With a spot in the Chase secured for me, we move to the deep south in Texas for a fast and furious race.

Results

Session: Practice

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	029	M Max	20.784
2	055	C Ferguson	21.459
3	013	T Nadz	21.485
4	99	C Edwards	21.624
5	16	G Biffle	21.835
6	20	M Kenseth	21.852
7	9	M Ambrose	21.878
8	11	D Hamlin	21.890
9	5	K Kahne	21.918
10	35	E McClure	21.927
11	22	J Logano	21.941
12	38	D Gilliland	21.989
13	1	J McMurray	21.992
14	18	K Busch	22.126
15	4	K Harvick	22.130
16	34	D Ragan	22.172
17	43	A Almirola	22.173
18	13	C Mears	22.214
19	32	T Kvapil	22.301
20	17	R Stenhouse Jr	22.311
21	2	B Keselowski	22.379
22	47	A Allmendinger	22.446
23	48	J Johnson	22.451
24	41	K Busch2	22.490
25	14	T Stewart	22.499
26	66	J Burton	22.511
27	88	D Earnhardt Jr	22.541
28	40	L Cassill	22.549
29	55	B Vickers	22.610
30	78	M Truex Jr	22.684
31	24	J Gordon	22.716
32	10	D Patrick	23.062
33	98	J Wise	23.121
34	21	T Bayne	23.473
35	52	B Labonte	24.109
36	95	M McDowell	24.567
37	31	R Newman	28.817
38	15	C Bowyer	29.147
39	27	P Menard	29.700
40	77	D Blaney	33.865
41	30	D Stremme	34.759
42	36	R Sorenson	41.291

Weather: Clear, 77 °F, Northeast 5 mph

Session: Qualifying

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	029	M Max	20.949
2	013	T Nadz	21.163
3	48	J Johnson	21.331
4	99	C Edwards	21.369
5	11	D Hamlin	21.370
6	24	J Gordon	21.464
7	16	G Biffle	21.582
8	1	J McMurray	21.617
9	055	C Ferguson	21.664
10	18	K Busch	21.687
11	15	C Bowyer	21.702
12	88	D Earnhardt Jr	21.721
13	66	J Burton	21.737
14	20	M Kenseth	21.755
15	27	P Menard	21.756
16	5	K Kahne	21.763
17	2	B Keselowski	21.851
18	14	T Stewart	21.851
19	41	K Busch2	21.869
20	31	R Newman	21.906
21	021	T Bear	21.942
22	9	M Ambrose	21.943
23	38	D Gilliland	21.979
24	32	T Kvapil	21.991
25	78	M Truex Jr	22.005
26	52	B Labonte	22.028
27	34	D Ragan	22.067
28	35	E McClure	22.075
29	47	A Allmendinger	22.140
30	30	D Stremme	22.173
31	43	A Almirola	22.180
32	95	M McDowell	22.198
33	22	J Logano	22.201
34	13	C Mears	22.226
35	55	B Vickers	22.244
36	77	D Blaney	22.394
37	36	R Sorenson	22.475
38	4	K Harvick	22.513
39	40	L Cassill	22.565
40	17	R Stenhouse Jr	22.578
41	98	J Wise	22.587
42	21	T Bayne	22.653
43	10	D Patrick	22.811

Weather: Clear, 77 °F, Northwest 7 mph

Session: Happy Hour

P	#	DRIVER	TIME
1	013	T Nadz	21.141
2	18	K Busch	21.625
3	20	M Kenseth	21.641
4	029	M Max	21.712
5	24	J Gordon	21.767
6	055	C Ferguson	21.776
7	021	T Bear	21.781
8	14	T Stewart	21.793
9	22	J Logano	21.843
10	31	R Newman	21.866
11	47	A Allmendinger	22.005
12	88	D Earnhardt Jr	22.007
13	27	P Menard	22.013
14	4	K Harvick	22.055
15	1	J McMurray	22.065
16	35	E McClure	22.079
17	16	G Biffle	22.087
18	9	M Ambrose	22.090
19	15	C Bowyer	22.114
20	48	J Johnson	22.125
21	41	K Busch2	22.138
22	38	D Gilliland	22.146
23	11	D Hamlin	22.166
24	5	K Kahne	22.186
25	99	C Edwards	22.193
26	34	D Ragan	22.211
27	78	M Truex Jr	22.212
28	55	B Vickers	22.225
29	66	J Burton	22.238
30	13	C Mears	22.269
31	2	B Keselowski	22.295
32	95	M McDowell	22.379
33	17	R Stenhouse Jr	22.391
34	98	J Wise	22.408
35	21	T Bayne	22.428
36	40	L Cassill	22.445
37	43	A Almirola	22.449
38	30	D Stremme	22.465
39	36	R Sorenson	22.489
40	52	B Labonte	22.564
41	77	D Blaney	22.624
42	32	T Kvapil	22.725
43	10	D Patrick	23.058

Weather: Clear, 69 °F, Northeast 2 mph

Session: Race

OFFICIAL STANDINGS

F	S	#	DRIVER	INTERVAL	LAPS	LED	POINTS	STATUS
1	2	013	T Nadz	60.989	125	102*	185	Running
2	17	2	B Keselowski	-5.31	125	12	175	Running
3	7	16	G Biffle	-7.32	125	0	165	Running
4	3	48	J Johnson	-7.48	125	0	160	Running
5	8	1	J McMurray	-9.03	125	4	160	Running
6	11	15	C Bowyer	-13.49	125	0	150	Running
7	1	029	M Max	-20.45	125	7	151	Running
8	12	88	D Earnhardt Jr	-1L	124	0	142	Running
9	25	78	M Truex Jr	-2L	123	0	138	Running
10	13	66	J Burton	-2L	123	0	134	Running
11	18	14	T Stewart	-2L	123	0	130	Running
12	14	20	M Kenseth	-2L	123	0	127	Running
13	22	9	M Ambrose	-2L	123	0	124	Running
14	24	32	T Kvapil	-2L	123	0	121	Running
15	39	40	L Cassill	-2L	123	0	118	Running
16	19	41	K Busch2	-3L	122	0	115	Running
17	27	34	D Ragan	-3L	122	0	112	Running
18	33	22	J Logano	-3L	122	0	109	Running
19	20	31	R Newman	-3L	122	0	106	Running
20	38	4	K Harvick	-3L	122	0	103	Running
21	23	38	D Gilliland	-3L	122	0	100	Running
22	6	24	J Gordon	-3L	122	0	97	Running
23	28	35	E McClure	-3L	122	0	94	Running
24	15	27	P Menard	-4L	121	0	91	Running
25	29	47	A Allmendinger	-4L	121	0	88	Running
26	35	55	B Vickers	-4L	121	0	85	Running
27	36	77	D Blaney	-5L	120	0	82	Running
28	30	30	D Stremme	-5L	120	0	79	Running
29	26	52	B Labonte	-5L	120	0	76	Running
30	40	17	R Stenhouse Jr	-6L	119	0	73	Running
31	37	36	R Sorenson	-10L	115	0	70	Retired
32	42	21	T Bayne	-13L	112	0	67	Running
33	9	055	C Ferguson	-27L	98	0	64	Running
34	31	43	A Almirola	-29L	96	0	61	Running
35	43	10	D Patrick	-34L	91	0	58	Running
36	32	95	M McDowell	-38L	87	0	55	Ignition
37	34	13	C Mears	-80L	45	0	52	Retired
38	21	021	T Bear	-80L	45	0	49	Accident
39	16	5	K Kahne	-103L	22	0	46	Retired
40	4	99	C Edwards	-108L	17	0	43	Retired
41	10	18	K Busch	-108L	17	0	40	Retired
42	5	11	D Hamlin	-108L	17	0	37	Retired
43	41	98	J Wise	-110L	15	0	34	Accident

Caution Flags: 13 (51 laps)

Lead Changes: 6 (4 drivers)

Weather: Clear, 68 °F, Northwest 2 mph

Pitstop Frequency: 3x

AI Strength: 87%

PENALTIES

LAP	#	INFRACTION	PENALTY
4	021	Speeding in pits	Go to end of longest line
9	055	Entering closed pits	Go to end of longest line
25	021	Speeding in pits	Go to end of longest line
35	029	Speeding in pits	Go to end of longest line
34	021	Speeding in pits	Go to end of longest line
30	055	Speeding in pits	Drive through pit lane
49	029	Passing under yellow	Held for 1 seconds
40	055	Speeding in pits	Drive through pit lane
46	055	Speeding in pits	Drive through pit lane
62	055	Entering closed pits	Go to end of longest line
62	055	Speeding in pits	Go to end of longest line
62	055	Failure to pit	Go to end of longest line
71	055	Entering closed pits	Go to end of longest line
111	029	Speeding in pits	Go to end of longest line
112	029	Passing under yellow	Held for 1 seconds