Long Island Motorsports News - NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Notebook

February 26, Fontana, CA--- Finally we have a winner, after rains, weepers, and tons of coffee to stay awake; we got to see Carl Edwards do his famous back-flip after winning the Auto Club 500 in Fontana on Monday afternoon. I still am not sure if the back-flip was for the win or for being happy the race was over.

But the bigger story of the Auto Club 500 was the controversy stemming from the Sunday night debacle that saw NASCAR delay, until 11 p.m., the decision to postpone the race following a five-hour rain delay. I myself could not stay around for the race, after driving 8 hours and 550 miles to report on the race, I decided to head home. So I got the see 87 laps of, well, of a total joke! As I said in my earlier report of the decision to try and start the race on Sunday night, it was a huge mistake and it will leave a black-eye on NASCAR for many fans.

“I can't figure out what the heck NASCAR was thinking,” said Dave Spencer, a fan from nearby Upland who says he weathered Sunday's delay before returning yesterday morning. “They kept us here all night when it was wet and cold. Then they tell us you better get right back here tomorrow morning if you want anything for your $100 ticket. That's just not the right way to treat your customers.”

Had the race, which was originally scheduled to start at 1:15 Sunday afternoon, been restarted at 11 Sunday night, the television coverage in the East would have resumed at 2 a.m. with the finish coming around 4:30 a.m. That’s not good business for your core fan base. I live in California and I will be the first to say that NASCAR just isn’t as big here as it is in the east, now everyone knows this, well almost everyone.

“It wasn't the best decision for the television audience,” admitted Jimmie Johnson, who finished second to Edwards yesterday. “But NASCAR was in a tough situation. There's a point that NASCAR says we've got to keep the show moving.”

Part of the problem was next weekend's race at Las Vegas. West Coast races on back-to-back weekends were an added time burden for teams ferrying equipment and fresh cars back-and-forth from their North Carolina bases.

But the decisions made by NASCAR eventually ticked off both the fans who waited so long Sunday night and those not able to watch – either in person or on television – yesterday's 10 a.m. restart.

“I feel bad for the fans who were here so late Sunday night,” said four-time Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon. “I've never seen so many fans wait so long. And they were cold and wet.

“I know it didn't look like the most brilliant idea. But in NASCAR's defense, they gave it their best effort Sunday night. The track needs to do a little work, too.”

Gordon was speaking about the “weepers” that were draining water Sunday along the seams of asphalt in the second, third and fourth turns of Auto Club Speedway. Even as the field was coming around to take the green on lap 88, Monday afternoon, Jimmie Johnson and others were reporting “weepers” on the track still, but no as bad.

Another story was the much-anticipated debut of the Car of Tomorrow, (or today). This track is not knows as a side-by-side action packed race, and well nothing much changed. As usual, the field was spread out around the oval, and as soon as one driver got out front to the clean air, that was it. I always thought it was supposed to be called a “race” not a “parade”.

As much as the combo of Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon dominated much of this race (leading a combined 132 of the 250 laps), neither was any match for Edwards at the end of the race.

Edwards, who finished second to Johnson in the Labor Day weekend race here last September, led 61 of the final 89 laps, ducking inside Johnson in the first turn of the 238th lap to take the lead for good. Over the last 10 laps, as Johnson's right rear tire faded away, Edwards padded his lead by nearly a half-second a lap before Dale Jarrett's last-lap accident created a yellow-flag finish.

“I was too loose off the corners to do anything with Carl,” said Johnson, who was seeking his third victory at the track formerly known as California Speedway. “Edwards was in another league,” added Gordon.

The checkered flag fell at 12:16 p.m., 23 hours and one minute after the scheduled start. Officially, yesterday's restart came after a red-flag stoppage of 15 hours, 49 minutes and 54 seconds.

“I'd really like to know who NASCAR cares about,” said one fan, “because it doesn't seem to be about us, the fans.”

Tony Stewart, who finished seventh in the Sprint Cup race, scored his first victory at the Auto Club Speedway in yesterday afternoon's Stater Bros. 300 for NASCAR's Nationwide Series cars. Stewart led 136 of the 150 laps to score his second victory in as many Nationwide races this season. The win was Stewart's fourth Nationwide victory, but his first at a track other than Daytona International Speedway. Stewart finished 2.4 seconds ahead of fellow Toyota driver Kyle Busch, who won Saturday's Craftsman Trucks race.

12:35pm, February 25, Fontana, CA--- The NASCAR SPRINT Cup Auto 500 is once again postponed until Monday. The race was started Sunday night after persistent showers belted the track. NASCAR tried the get the race in, but with all the rain that has fallen the last few days, there is still water coming up through the track in between the grooves of the racing surface. Defending champion Jimmie Johnson was leading the race on Sunday at lap 87of the 250 scheduled laps, when the rain started to fall again. Johnson was followed by Travis Kvapil, Greg Biffle, and Kasey Kahne. Jeff Gordon is in 6^th after dominating much of the early stages, taking the lead 5 times. 41 drivers are still in the 43 car field.

The Auto Club 500 has not had a great start. Track workers were trying to get this soak race track worthy of a race, but to no avail. When a track official was asked if the race would go on as scheduled, he answered “The track still isn’t close to being dry enough”. Two hours after safety crew had to deal with the loose oil line on the #55 of Michael Waltrip’s car the race got underway. But the track was still in no conditions for racing. Up here in the media center we could all see the track still “weeping” in the turns. Water coming out of the cracks, running down the track. We could see the spray as the cars went over the water at 180 MPH. No one had to tell Denny Hamlin that, on lap 15 he careened into the wall in turn 3.

“I think we can get back out there, but I think there’s 42 other drivers that will agree that we shouldn’t be racing on the track right now,” Hamlin said. “I hit a slick spot and my car took off.” He also said, “You can see it on television, right at the seams, its seeping a lot of water. I hit a wet spot and I’m not going to be the last one”

Hamlin was right. Casey Mears was the next one. He hit the water 6 laps later rocketing out of turn 1 and bounced off the wall in turn 2, he collected teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Reed Sorenson. Sam Hornish Jr, was also involved. He saw smoke, but could not slow down fast enough before sliding into the back of Mears and flipping him over. Then Hornishs’ car caught fire as it was pined up against Mears.

“We just got loose and the issues I kept having was as we crossed that bottom seam, getting in and out of one and then also into three and four, if you weren’t quite low enough, it was a little wet,” Mears said.

"The track is still seeping a good bit of water. I don't know if that is why I got loose in turn 1 but in turns 3 and 4, it was still pretty wet. I had hit it a couple of times and in the center of turns 1 and 2, I hit that a couple of times. It is kind of hard to see. I don't know if that is what sent me around. I was trying to save it."

Mears said once the car caught fire, "It seems like it takes an eternity" before the rescue crews arrived. But the crews were at the scene immediately. Once the smoke cleared, his early point deficit sunk in. Mears was running third in last week's Daytona 500 before he wrecked with six laps remaining and finished 35th. As a result, he was scored 42nd following the first race of the season.

"Now we are pretty bad in the points," Mears said. "We have to rally back here."

NASCAR red-flagged the race after the wreck on Lap 22, tracks workers went out to solve the weeper issue by drilling grooves into the track to let the water run down the groove instead of the surface.

NASCAR spokesperson Kerry Tharp indicated the weepers were discovered during the first red flag.

"That's when we asked people from the track to come make some notches in the track to let the water drain off. When we started the race, we had communication with the drivers through our radio scans and with the feedback we were getting from them, we were confident that the track was ready to race.

"We had so much rain in those particular areas of the track, there just wasn't any where for it to go. It was seeping up. When we had the red flag, it was brought to our attention that those were out there and needed to be corrected. That's why we held it up as long as we needed to because we had to make sure it was right."

The track fix was too little, too late for Earnhardt, who was walking around the garage area and checking the damage to his #88 Amp Energy Drink Chevy

"I think we were too excited," Earnhardt said. "We got going a little too soon. The race track was a little dirty and everybody was losing grip and there were a lot of wet spots out there. When you run over all them wet spots and do the best you can, everybody is just trying to ride. But once you slip up, sometimes you don't save enough.”

"We got a chance of getting it fixed and getting out there, but we're going to finish a lap down and it ain't going to be a good day. I think everybody is OK. They took some hard licks out there."

Twice more the race slowed, but not due to rain. More water was coming up through the track.

"It's nothing that is really that unusual in this sport," said Auto Club Speedway president Gillian Zucker. "I think you've seen it in a lot of other racetracks that have the kind of weather that we've had. When you have that kind of rain, the water has to go somewhere. It's something that's been seen at Dover, Michigan and a number of facilities.

"When they put down the asphalt, between it are seams — it's sort of a course of nature that water needs to go someplace. That's what we are seeing here and it's a part of the country where we very rarely get this kind of weather, so it's certainly nothing we've ever encountered."

The weeping issue was something that was seen by every fan, reporter and driver at the track. This race should have been run Monday after the track was in the condition to race. East Coast fans should be in an uproar for NASCAR to wait so late to decide to continue until the next day.

The competitors and the fans, who waited more than 10 hours to watch stock car's premiere series race, deserve better than that.

9:00am, February 23, Fontana, CA--- I just arrived at the track and the sun is shining and the track looks dry. There is a good chance of rain later today which make delay the Nationwide race this evening. NASCAR worked on the track all night and there were some repairs that had to be made to the track. The sealant between the grooves in the track had melted from the jet driers. So last night the sealant was replaced and it looks like the Craftsman Truck series will be underway this afternoon.

9:45am--- What’s that sound? Nationwide cars on the track, getting the first practice in, and laying down so rubber on a very green track. The rumble of these cars going around this 2 mile speedway goes right through you. Just great to see and hear some cars on the track, finally!

12:00 pm--- Craftsman Trucks on taking the track getting ready for the San Bernardino County 200. No threat of rain, the sky is blue and the trucks look ready. Ron Hornaday is on the pole with Mike Skinner right next to him.

The final practice speeds for the Nationwide Series had #32 Kyle Busch the fastest with #60 Carl Edwards 2nd, #20 Tony Stewart 3^rd, #2 Clint Bowyer 4^th and #33 Kevin Harvick rounding out the top 5. Kyle Busch is doing triple duty this weekend racing in all three NASCAR series.

1:35pm--- The Craftsman Truck race has 8 laps to go, the weather is moving in, the sky is very cloudy and the radar shows rain is coming very soon. Right now #51 Kyle “Rowdy” Busch is leading and looks to be the guy to beat. The last Green flag stops are over and we will see in about 5 more laps.

2:15pm--- The Sprint Cup cars are out on the track for practice. NASCAR is trying to get things moving quick, so as to get the Nationwide Race started.

2:33pm--- RAIN! RAIN! RAIN! The Cup cars are off the track the rain is moving in. Looks to be bad. I don’t think any racing is going on tonight.

Here are a few photos that I have taken during some down time, you can see all the photos throughout the weekend in the photos sections of the site.

4:00pm--- NASCAR is starting driver’s intros in a few minutes, the rain is still falling and the officials are trying to get the track dry enough to get this race going, but it doesn’t look good.

6:45pm--- Word has come down that the Nationwide race is going to be run Sunday, about an hour after the Sprint Cup race.

8:45am, February 22, Fontana, CA--- Well here at California Speedway; well no, not anymore. If you haven’t heard California Speedway is now Auto Club Speedway of Southern California. All of us up in the media center were surprised to see the newly painted blue walls and the new Auto Club Speedway logo on the front stretch at the start/finish line. So, just one more name change to go through this year. I can’t even say how many times I still say Busch series, instead of Nationwide Series.

Track drying is going on right now, the Nationwide Series was scheduled to practice at 9:30 am. If we have no rainfall, practice should go on, but just a little later then normal. The Craftsman Truck Series is scheduled to practice today also.

12:55pm--- The Sprint Cup Cars are lined up on pit road waiting out the small rain shower that came through as the track was being dried off. NASCAR is doing everything they can to get these guys on the track. I have seen equipment from Phoenix Intl. and Infineon Speedway here to help dry this track. As of right now the track is looking good, and as I write this the cars are making their way onto pit road. Practice will be very important here with the track having no rubber on it at the moment. Guys will have to be very easy and not run too hard and bang the wall. This track can be very fast, but with no grip, it can rattle your cage too.

3:30pm--- Here we are watching the rain drops fall. The track was dry and looked good but with so much rain the last few days the track was “weeping” in turn 2. Water was running down the track from the wall keeping a large part of turn 2 very wet. Just when it looked good to get these boys on the track, a few quick downpours came through, and qualifying has officially been canceled. The field will start by the 2007 final points standing. So #48 Jimmie Johnson has won the Coors Pole Award, with teammate Jeff Gordon 2^nd. Drivers that are going home include: A.J. Allmendinger, Ken Schrader, Patrick Carpentier, Mike Skinner and Burney Lamar.

It appears no practice will happen today for any of the 3 series here. The weather looks to be much better tomorrow but we will have to wait and see.

News Highlights: Robby Gordon said in a morning interview for the media that if his appeal to NASCAR on his #7 Jim Beam Dodge, for an unapproved front bumper cover last week at Daytona, was not reduced or overturned, then he would possible go to a racing series outside of NASCAR. He said that the IRL/Champ Kart merger has lots of room to go race in. Now Robby is very outspoken, so maybe this is just talk from an upset driver. There is also word that Jim Beam Representatives, which sponsors Gordon's #7 car, will canvas the Auto Club Speedway grandstands on Saturday gathering signatures for a petition demanding NASCAR reverse its "unfair" decision to dock Gordon 100 points. Crew chief Frank Kerr also was fined $100,000, suspended for the next six Sprint Cup Series events until April 9 and placed on probation until Dec. 31. Along with the petition, "Rally for Robby" T-shirts are being made for Gordon fans to wear during this weekend's Cup events, said Sofia Lombardo, spokesperson for Jim Beam. Also, Thomas Flocco, president and CEO of Beam Global Spirits & Wine Inc., has sent a letter addressed to NASCAR president Mike Helton, as well as other top officials, voicing the company's frustrations.

There was plenty of buzz around Ryan Newman, after winning his first Daytona 500, he made the rounds on many TV talk shows including The David Letterman Show. When asked about being on Letterman, Newman said, “The hardest part for me is to maintain good conversation and keep up with the cameras at the right time, do all those types of things so you look like you know what you’re doing.”

I will have many pictures posted soon. With all the time to sit and watch the rain fall, I had tons of time to take pictures.

11:50am, February 22, Fontana, CA--- This week the drivers of all 3 NASCAR series are taking to the 2 mile California Speedway. Now California is normally known to have hot and sunny weather. So I wonder who forget to tell the track that? I arrived in Fontana, CA to 50 degree temps, and rainy, windy conditions. This is going to impact this race, because if the drivers can’t qualify then the field will be done by points. Some of the drivers that have to race to get in the 43 car field, may be going home without turning a lap. The forecast calls for a slight chance of rain on Friday, with the rain moving out as the day goes on. Saturday the weather is supposed to be Partly sunny with a 30% chance of the wet stuff, and Sunday, Sprint Cup race day, the weather looks to be cool, and a slight shot at some rain in the morning, the green flag doesn’t drop until 1pm PST, so if we gets some rain in the morning, hopefully there will be enough time to dry the track. Fontana does have lights so it could be a long day if there are hit and miss rain showers.

A few of the stories coming into this week are Matt Kenseth looking to make it 3 in a row here at Fontana. The Roush cars are always a factor at this track, but with the new COT’s it could be a totally different race. This track is not known for the side by side, close racing action. Normally a race here has long green flag runs, and most of the time a driver will get a big lead and have the clean air up front to make the car run perfect. We will see how these new cars do.

Also will Ryan Newman take his Daytona 500 win last week as momentum into this week? We will see how the Dodges do this race, and if they can stay up front.

The Toyota’s were very strong at Daytona, and I think that they will have a strong run especially by the Joe Gibbs Racing team this week. After finishing 3^rd last week in the 500, Tony Stewart will be looking to steal a win, but his luck at California Speedway has been, well…… no luck! He has blown motors the last 2 races here.

The other talk is the big penalty that NASCAR hit Robby Gordon with for having the improper nose on his Dodge at Daytona. Series officials penalized Gordon 100 driver points, fined crew chief Frank Kerr $100,000, suspended him for six races, and placed Kerr on probation until Dec. 31. Gordon had the wrong Dodge nose on his car. It's a nose that is expected to be approved but hasn't yet, Gordon said on Feb. 9. Remember that Gordon recently switched from Ford to Dodge. The mistake will hurt Gordon, who finished eighth in Sunday's Daytona 500. He scored 142 points and was ninth in the driver standings. Now, he's down to 42 points and falls to 40th.

My pick for this week’s win would have to be Matt Kenseth, the record he has here is something that just cannot be bet against.

Don Runkle has worked for Causey Motorsports in Hampton, Va. for 4 years, was a part-time Crew Chief for Rette Causey, driver of #33 INEX/Legends car in 2005 at Langley Speedway in Virginia, as well as being a crew member for Brad Causey in Grand Stock division at Langley Speedway. He's currently the webmaster of CauseyRacing.com.

Runkle has been racing "online" for about 5 years, served in the US Navy as a Gunners Mate in the Navy Seabees and is currently living in Chico, Ca. in the beautiful North Valley of California, with his even more beautiful wife, Kristina. God Bless all of the troops serving around the world!

For any question, comments, complaints, or just to say “Hi” feel free to email him at DRunkle@LongIslandMotorsports.com.

Disclaimer: Views expressed by columnists and all others on this website are strictly their own, and may not necessarily reflect the views and/or opinions of the management of Long Island Motorsports News.