Regan Smith Goes From Seventh To First In One Lap To Win A Crazy Race at Talladega

        With the help of teammate Kasey Kahne, Regan Smith was able to maneuver his way through the field and win while cars wrecked behind him. Kasey Kahne was the first across the stripe, but NASCAR rules state that the driver that is leading when the next flag waves after the white flag is the winner of the race. This gave the win to Regan Smith. With the win, Smith was also able to move ahead of Sam Hornish Jr. to take the points lead. This was by far the craziest and most bizarre race of the year with a three hour delay before it even started and a change to only run one hundred and seven of the scheduled one hundred and seventeen due to incoming darkness. Plus, they had to run one hundred and ten in the end due to a green-white-checkered. If you aren't interested yet, check your pulse.

          Like previously stated, the race did not start on schedule due to rain. After a three hour delay, the command was given and the race was ready to begin. Travis Pastrana started on the pole. It was his first career NASCAR Nationwide Series pole and he certainly used the spot well. He was able to lead the first lap and Trevor Bayne pushed him out to a nice lead before the lead changes began to occur. It was a short time before the first caution of the race came out on lap 15. Kyle Larson was drafting with Danica Patrick coming into turn 3. Larson hooked Patrick into the outside wall and Patrick went spinning into the grass after a hard hit to the outside wall. She was able to drive away, but did not continue on in the race. No drivers received the lucky dog. NASCAR had planned a competition caution for lap 20, but this caution was used instead. Now, the drivers were ready to really begin the race.

         The race went back green and it was a short time before the second caution on lap 35. Kyle Larson blew a tire in turn 3 and went for a spin in the grass. Jeffrey Earnhardt also spun, but he did not receive any damage. Larson, though, received a huge amount of damage. Mike Wallace received the lucky dog. The race went back green and the longest green flag run of the day ended with the third caution of the race on lap 72. Brian Scott turned Reed Sorenson going down the backstretch. Sorenson hit the wall and went down the track. Travis Pastrana was there and slammed into Sorenson. Sorenson almost got airborne while Pastrana slammed hard into the outside wall. They both ended up in the grass with large amounts of damage. Morgan Shepherd received the lucky dog. The race went back green once  again and it continued on until the fourth caution on lap 88. Justin Allgaier turned Blake Koch into the wall and Koch received a lot of damage, which caused debris to fall on the track. Austin Dillon received the lucky dog. The race now had a mad dash set up and the Big One was waiting at every corner.

        The race went back green and there were moves made all over the track. Finally, the track could not hold the moves any more and this resulted in the fifth caution of the race on lap 94. Sam Hornish Jr. tried to thread the needle between Johanna Long and Eric McClure on the backstretch and the three made contact. They all went spinning and other drivers like Brian Scott, Trevor Bayne, Ty Dillon, Robert Richardson Jr., Tim Andrews, Bobby Gerhart, Nelson Piquet Jr., Kyle Larson, Mike Harmon, and Donnie Neuenberger piled in and created a huge mess in turn 3 that we know as the Big One. No drivers received the lucky dog. Due to the incoming darkness over Talladega, NASCAR decided to shorten the event from one hundred and seventeen laps to only one hundred and seven laps. Now, the drivers only had about ten laps to get the job done and it would be a definite mad dash.

         The race went back green and drivers began to set up there two car tandems for the end. It looked like the drivers would wait until the white flag lap to make their great move, but the sixth caution of the race on lap 106 stopped them. Justin Allgaier turned Joey Coulter on the frontstretch and Coulter slammed into the outside wall.  Fortunately, no other cars were coming and Coulter was able to slide down the track safely. Now, the event would be extended to one hundred and ten laps and the drivers would have only one chance at a green-white-checkered to finish.

          The green flag waved and the tandems began to set up. Everybody got into line and the white flag waved. The mad dash was set up and the eventual winner, Regan Smith, was in seventh. Smith and his drafting partner, Kasey Kahne, made their way up through the pack and Smith made a huge move coming out of turn 4 and slid between Kurt Busch, Alex Bowman, Joey Logano, and Parker Kligerman and the mayhem began. Drivers started wrecking behind Kahne, Logano, and Smith as they made it three-wide going to the line. They crossed the line and Kahne had come across first and had the win. But before we talk about that we need to talk about the seventh caution on lap 110. Coming into the tri-oval, Elliott Sadler turned Brian Vickers into the outside wall. Vickers made contact with Alex Bowman and drivers like Landon Cassill, Mike Wallace, Jamie Dick, and Josh Wise piled in, causing a massive mess on the frontstretch. Since a caution had waved, NASCAR had to revert to the nearest scoring loop to decide the winner. Kahne was the first across the line, but Regan Smith was in first when the caution lights came on and he was awarded the win. It was by far the craziest finish I have seen in a while and it did not disappoint in the end. Well, it would have been better if Kahne won, but I won't complain.

          The race started with questions of rain and ended with thoughts of darkness, but the drivers did not care and fought for it all in the end. Regan Smith gained retribution from the win he lost at Talladega in 2008 and grabbed the points lead from Sam Hornish Jr. With this win, Smith hopes to take the championship and grab a couple more wins along the way and I will be backing him the entire way. The NASCAR Nationwide Series now heads to the always crazy and exciting Darlington Raceway. Will Elliott Sadler get retribution for his restart wreck last year that ended his chances to win or will a someone else possibly tame the beast. We will have to find out next Friday.
(More Stats Down Below!)




Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 15- Kyle Larson was drafting with Danica Patrick coming into turn 3 and Larson hooked Patrick into the wall.

2nd Caution: Lap 35- Kyle Larson blew a tire in turn 3 and went for a spin in the grass. Jeffrey Earnhardt also went for a spin.

3rd Caution: Lap 72- Brian Scott turned Reed Sorenson going down the backstretch. Sorenson slid down the track and Travis Pastrana was there and ran into Sorenson. Sorenson almost got airborne while Pastrana slammed into the outside wall.

4th Caution: Lap 88- Justin Allgaier turned Blake Koch into the outside wall on the backstretch.

5th Caution: Lap 94- Sam Hornish Jr. tried to thread the needle between Johanna Long and Eric McClure on the backstretch. The three made contact and drivers like Brian Scott, Trevor Bayne, Ty Dillon, Robert Richardson Jr., Tim Andrews, Bobby Gerhart, Nelson Piquet Jr., Kyle Larson, Mike Harmon, and Donnie Neuenberger also got involved.

6th Caution: Lap 106- Justin Allgaier turned Joey Coulter on the frontstretch and Coulter slammed the wall.

7th Caution: Lap 110- Coming into the tri-oval, Elliott Sadler turned Brain Vickers into the wall. Drivers like Alex Bowman, Landon Cassill, Mike Wallace, Jamie Dick, and Josh Wise also got involved.

Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: None
2nd Caution: Mike Wallace
3rd Caution: Morgan Shepherd
4th Caution: Austin Dillon
5th Caution: None
6th Caution: Tim Andrews
7th Caution: None

Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Regan Smith
2nd: Joey Logano
3rd: Kasey Kahne
4th: Kurt Busch
5th: Justin Allgaier

Notables Not in Top 5:
10th: Austin Dillon
11th: Elliott Sadler
15th: Brian Vickers
25th: Sam Hornish Jr.
28th: Trevor Bayne
36th: Travis Pastrana
39th: Danica Patrick




Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://racing-reference.info/race/2013_Aarons_312/B
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/nationwide-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-live.html
-Image:
http://mediacenter.smugmug.com/002-SPORTS/Motor-Sports/2013-05-04-Talladega-NASCAR/i-3qCtjNj/0/L/365266e516a1f10f300f6a7067002c24-L.jpg

Qualifying Canceled For the 2013 Aaron's 499; Carl Edwards To Start On The Pole

            After constant rain falling at Talladega Superspeedway, NASCAR decided to cancel Sprint Cup Series qualifying. Because of this, the starting grid will be decided based on first practice speeds. This gives the pole to Carl Edwards with Martin Truex Jr. starting on his outside. The rain-out will force drivers like Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Jeff Burton, and Danica Patrick to work their way from the back. Other drivers like Trevor Bayne, David Ragan, and Michael Waltrip will look to capitalize on their good starting spots. There were forty-four drivers that were going to attempt to qualify, so only Elliott Sadler will miss the race. We will have to wait until tomorrow to see if starting spots make any difference, which I doubt they will. Also, we will have to see if the rain subsides and we can see a full show at Talladega.
(More Stats Down Below!)




Top 5 Starters:
1st: Carl Edwards 
2nd: Martin Truex Jr.
3rd: Marcos Ambrose
4th: Joey Logano 
5th: Ryan Newman

Notables Not in Top 5:
8th: Jimmie Johnson
9th: Jeff Gordon
10th: Kasey Kahne
11th: Brad Keselowski
12th: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
13th: Kyle Busch
23rd: Danica Patrick
24th: Kevin Harvick

DNQ: Elliott Sadler



Credits:
-Statistics:
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2013/05/04/sprint-cup-pole-qualifying-talladega-superspeedway.html
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-media/articles/2013/05/04/sprint-cup-pole-qualifying-talladega-superspeedway.html
-Image:
http://www.jayski.com/news/schemes/2013/story/_/page/2013-NASCAR-Sprint-Cup-99-Team-Schemes

Frank Kimmel Wins A Rain-Shortened ARCA Race at Talladega

        After rain began to pour at Talladega Superspeedway with only 73 of the scheduled 94 laps completed, Frank Kimmel was awarded with the win. It was his second career ARCA victory at Talladega and his seventy seventh career victory. This win put him only two wins behind Iggy Katona's record of seventy nine career victories in the ARCA Racing Series. Kimmel seemed like the dominant car and he definitely was most of the day. But strategy caused by the impending rain nearly cost him the win and a good finish as well.

       Milka Duno started on the pole, but there was some controversy behind it. John Wes Townley had the fastest time in qualifying, but his time was disallowed due to unapproved suspension mounting/placement and he was forced to start at the back. Bobby Gerhart, Mark Thompson, and Korbin Forrister also had their times disallowed and were forced to start at the back. The green flag waved and Duno was able to jump out to a quick lead and lead the first lap. It was a very short time before the first caution of the race came out on lap 2. Debris was spotted on the track in turn 1. The race went back green and the fastest car in the race would have huge problems.

       John Wes Townley had been making his way from the back to the front in good time. He was outside of his teammate Milka Duno when it turned horrible. The field came up on a lapped car and Duno veered to the right because she thought she could not make it passed the lapped car. She made contact with Townley and Townley went sailing into the outside wall. He could not slow down the car and made even heavier contact with the inside wall. He would get out of the car and be okay. This resulted in the second caution of the race on lap 29. The race went back green one more time and once again Milka Duno ruined somebody's race. But this time there was a lot more drivers involved.

       On lap 35, Thomas Praytor made contact with Milka Duno in turn 2, which resulted in a stack up behind them. Mason Mitchell was pushing Grant Enfinger and Enfinger slammed into Duno and they went for a spin, causing a massive pileup. Drivers like Spencer Gallagher, Tom Hessert, James Hylton, Drew Charlson, George Cushman, Justin Boston, Bo LeMastus, Donnie Neuenberger, Clay Campbell, Buster Graham, and Galen Hassler went spinning trough the grass and running into each other. There were cars with catastrophic damage everywhere. This resulted in the third caution of the race. The race went back green and it was a short time before the fourth caution of the race on lap 46. Debris was spotted on the frontstretch. The race went back green and one of the contenders in the race fell out. 

        Bobby Gerhart was coming out of turn 4 on lap 52 and a puff of smoke shot out from behind his car. He immediately slowed and it was obvious that he had a mechanical failure. He attempted to make it to pit road, but he did not have a lane and would have to limp back around. He was unable to and he was forced to stop on one of the exit roads on the backstretch. It was a short time before the fifth caution of the race waved on lap 56. Track officials were given time to move Bobby Gerhart's car from the exit road. The race went back green and it was a short time before the sixth caution of the race came out on lap 66. Thomas Praytor blew a tire in turn 2 and he went up the track. Darrell Basham was on his outside and they made significant contact. Basham also hit the wall with an extreme amount of force. Basham was able to drive away, but Praytor had too much damage to continue. Now, the race entered the late stages and the rain was coming quickly.

         The race went back green and there was a mad dash to get up to the front, but it was a short time before the seventh and final caution came out on lap 72. Rain had begun to fall steadily on the track. Nobody was able to make a move on Frank Kimmel and he had the lead. The rain began to fall quickly after the caution flag waved and ARCA was forced to wave the red flag and pull the cars down pit road. Now, it was a waiting game. All the drivers wanted to get back to racing except for Kimmel, who had the win if it was called. It was a short time before the waiting game was over and Frank Kimmel was declared the winner. It was his first win of 2013 and his first since Springfield in 2012. It was a race packed with action, but we can only imagine what would have happened in those last twenty laps.

         This race was a very physical one with drivers always contending for the lead and setting up their plans for a pass. It left you on the edge of your seat waiting for that one mistake that could cost the entire field. Like I said, no one knows what would have happened in those last twenty laps and I am certainly not going to take the win from Frank Kimmel. He fought hard all day and deserved it in the end. The ARCA Racing Series takes a week off and then heads to its birthplace, Toledo Speedway. It should be an action packed short track race and I hope to check it out on SPEED on May 19th.
(More Stats Down Below!)




Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 2- Debris was spotted in turn 1.

2nd Caution: Lap 29- Milka Duno moved up into John Wes Townley in turn 2 and Townley went into the wall. Townley would then make contact with the inside wall.

3rd Caution: Lap 35- Milka Duno and Thomas Praytor made contact in turn 2. Mason Mitchell pushed Grant Enfinger into Duno and Enfinger and Duno went for a spin. Drivers like Spencer Gallagher, Tom Hessert, James Hylton, Drew Charlson, George Cushman, Justin Boston, Bo LeMastus, Donnie Neuenberger, Clay Campbell, Buster Graham, and Galen Hassler also received damage.

4th Caution: Lap 46- Debris was spotted on the frontstretch.

5th Caution: Lap 56- Track officials were given time to move Bobby Gerhart's car.

6th Caution: Lap 66- Thomas Praytor blew a tire in turn 2 and went up the track into Darrell Basham. 

7th Caution: Lap 72- Rain began to fall on the track.

Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Frank Kimmel 
2nd: Mason Mingus
3rd: Caleb Armstrong
4th: Mark Thompson
5th: Terry Jones

Notables Not in Top 5:
16th: Grant Enfinger
24th: Bobby Gerhart
26th: Tom Hessert
27th: Spencer Gallagher
29th: Milka Duno
34th: John Wes Townley



Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://racing-reference.info/race/2013_International_Motorsports_Hall_of_Fame_250/A
http://timing1.arcaracing.com/
-Image:
http://binaryapi.ap.org/dba01ea5c92b47748cc0eb4caa7c99e4/512x.jpg