NSCS - Southern 500 5/9

There's no slowing Mark Martin down! He jumped out in front with 46 to go and cruised to victory lane! He calls it his "second childhood". We can call it momentum. It's his 2nd win in just 4 races. Career win #37 and his 2nd cup win @ Darlington - 16 years apart.

Martin broke a 97-race winless streak last month @ Phoenix. He finished last @ Talladega, but didn't lose momentum as he comes off a 5th place finish last weekend @ Richmond. Martin announced earlier this week that he would return to run another full-time season next year for Hendrick Motorsports. A decision he obviously can't have any doubts he made now.

"I'm just very, very happy right now," declared Martin once the victory lane celebration was over and he was able to grab a seat. "I don't need to say, you know, we're gonna win a whole bunch more races this year. We're going to race just like we raced this race and all the other ones, and the ones we cross the line first, we'll take the trophy. It could happen. But if not, at least we got two instead of one. That's the way I look at it (smiling). Don't take those kind of answers from me as pessimistic or a lack of confidence. All I want to do is be happy and have fun doing this. If you don't set yourself up for disappointment, then it's much easier." And he adds, "It's okay to have the passion. It's okay to have the drive. But you can't let it tear you apart, you know."

Although Hendrick drivers did not dominate the race, they led for a combined total of just 54 laps. 4 of the 5 Hendrick drivers did finish in the top 10. Great turnarounds for both Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. At one point, each of them were running one lap down. Johnson lead early on, but was trapped by a caution on lap 75 while making a green flag pit stop. He earned a free pass on lap 118. Gordon reported a vibration and backed up through the field. Gordon took the free pass on lap 214. By the conclusion, Johnson was runner up to teammate Martin and Gordon finished 5th. In his first race back in the series since winning @ Talladega, Brad Keselowski came home with a top-10 finish, 7th. Dale Earnhardt Jr's luck still hasn't turned around. He started 26th was as high as 2nd but had bad luck a couple of different occasions in the pits before finally hitting the wall with 25 laps to go. Dale Jr ended his night 27th.

2 more top-5 finishes for the Stewart-Hass Racing drivers. Tony Stewart finished 3rd followed by Ryan Newman. Newman led 48 laps.

Greg Biffle led a race-high 117 laps. Biffle was caught up in one of those racing incidents and hit the wall hard with 70 laps to go. He was still able to come back and pull off an 8th place finish.

Martin Truex Jr led the second highest amount of laps with 61. He finished 6th.

And what about Kyle Busch? He slammed the wall on lap 274 taking him out of contention and ended the night 34th.

For unofficial results, click here.

Perhaps call it the effects of the full moon, but a new record was set for most cautions for this Darlington race. There were 17 cautions for 73 laps. We saw 23 lead changes among 13 drivers:

M. Kenseth 1-16; J. Gordon 17-22; J. Johnson 23-24; R. Newman 25-71; K. Kahne 72-82; E. Sadler 83-84; K. Kahne 85-115; M. Truex Jr. 116-119; K. Kahne 120; B. Labonte 121-122; G. Biffle 123-161; K. Kahne 162; G. Biffle 163-185; K. Kahne 186; G. Biffle 187-215; Kyle Busch 216; M. Truex Jr. 217-249; Kyle Busch 250; G. Biffle 251-276; R. Newman 277; J. Logano 278-296; M. Truex Jr. 297-320; T. Stewart 321; M. Martin 322-367.

Jeff Gordon extends his points lead by 29 over new 2nd place challenger Tony Stewart.

Jeremy Mayfield Suspended & Comments

Official NASCAR press release - conference held at 6pm on Saturday, May 9th

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 9, 2009) – Jeremy Mayfield, driver of the No. 41 car
in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Tony Martin, a licensed crew member with the No. 34
team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Ben Williams, a licensed crew member with
the No. 16 team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, have been indefinitely suspended
from NASCAR for violating the sanctioning body’s substance abuse policy.
All three were found to have violated Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car
racing) and 7-5 (violation of the NASCAR substance abuse policy) of the 2009 NASCAR
rule book.

Mayfield Motorsports Press Release:

“As both a team owner and a driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, I have immense respect for the enforcement policies NASCAR has in place. In my case, I believe that the combination of a prescribed medicine and an over the counter medicine reacted together and resulted in a positive drug test. My Doctor and I are working with both Dr. Black and NASCAR to resolve this matter. Mayfield Motorsports remains committed to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the organization will announce an interim owner and a temporary replacement driver early next week. Those roles will commence immediately beginning with next week’s Sprint Open and continuing through Charlotte and beyond.”

Update 5/11:
According to USA Today, Jeremy Mayfield said that the use of 2 allergy medicines led to the failed drug test. It's a claim NASCAR said was unlikely. Check out the story - here.

Just about every major sports league makes their list of banned substances public, but NASCAR doesn't. Should they?

NNS - DHP 200 5/8

Matt Kenseth won under the lights Friday night @ Darlington!

The race had the look of another dominating win by Kyle Busch. He led 143 of 153 laps and all it took was a flat tire caused by debris on the track from a late race wreck to take Kyle from 1st to a 16th place finish. The crowd was cheering as Busch made it down pit road so his team could change the flat.

Chris Trotman/Getty Images

As soon as Busch jumped out of his car, he took off and left the race track without speaking to anyone.

Just before the start of the Nationwide race, Kenseth won the pole for the Sprint Cup Series race and set a new track record for his qualifying lap.

"Today couldn't have gone any better than it did, that's for sure," said Kenseth. "Like I said earlier, it's all really about the cars and the people that work on them and your pit stops and all that. I can't go fast with slow cars, which I proved over the last couple months. It feels good to be able to win one of these things… On the Cup side, it feels good to make changes today, and the car actually reacted to it and seemed to drive a lot better than our stuff has lately, so it's been a good day for us. Hopefully, that will continue (Saturday)."

There were 10 cautions for 32 laps and 4 lead changes among 4 drivers:

K. Busch 1-39; C. Edwards 40-44; T. Raines 45; K. Busch 46-149; M. Kenseth 150-153

On Track - Friday 5/8

Dodging rain drops this afternoon @ Darlington. A shower went through just in time to wash out Nationwide Series qualifying. The starting line-up will be set according to the series rulebook.

For the NNS starting line-up, click here.

The Nationwide Series drivers were able to squeeze in their only practice on the track early in the morning (8:30-11 am). Mike Bliss was fastest. Jason Leffler was second quickest followed by Justin Allgaier, Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth.

The last 3 Nationwide Series races were won by Joe Gibbs Racing's #20 piloted for 2 wins by Denny Hamlin and last year by Tony Stewart. Joey Logano is in the 20-ride this weekend. He'll start the race in the 4th starting spot.

Brain Vickers posted the fastest practice speed during the Sprint Cup Series practice session (11:30 am - 1 pm).
2. Greg Biffle
3. David Gilliland
4. Carl Edwards
5. David Stremme

Jeff Gordon was fastest during Happy Hour.
2. Jeff Burton
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Mark Martin

Per Darlington fashion, drivers found the wall. Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Denny Hamlin, Max Papis, Greg Biffle, AJ Allmendinger, Marcos Ambrose and Bobby Labonte scraped the wall during practice. David Stremme, David Reutimann and Scott Speed were forced to go to back-up cars. Sam Hornish Jr took a spin during the final practice session, but didn't cause any damage.

Stewart's "Darlington Stripe" after practice. (Photo by: Chris Trotman/Getty Images)



Sprint Cup Series Qualifying started 40 minutes later than scheduled as the rain had stopped and the track was ready. Matt Kenseth won the Coors Light Pole Award with a lap of 27.394 seconds at 179.514 mph - sets a new a track record. It's the first pole since Kansas, October 2005 and just his 4th pole in 339 series races.

Jimmie Johnson crashed during his qualifying run. He slid in turn 2, hit the wall with the back end then bounced into the interior wall with the front end. Johnson's crew ran out to help him. He was taken to the infield care center and released shortly after. He qualified for the race by owner's points and will start 42nd.



"I hate what happened to Jimmie," Jeff Gordon said after the qualifying set was over. "I know they've got another great car in the truck. They're a championship caliber team. They'll rebound, I'm sure, in a big way."

Jeff Gordon will roll off second. Ryan Newman - third. Sam Hornish Jr - 4th. Joey Logano - 5th.
Last week's race winner Kyle Busch qualified 14th.

For the NSCS starting line-up, click here.

Saving Abel's New Video

Saving Abel's video for "Drowning (Face Down)" was just released this week. It features Jeremy Mayfield with cameos by Martin Truex Jr, Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer and Brian Vickers.

2010 Chevy Camaro Unveil 3/6/09

On Wednesday, May 6th, the official unveiling for the 2010 Chevy Camaro occurred at dealerships across the country.

The relaunch has been highly anticipated over the past couple of years. Images of the newly redesigned Camaro have flooded popular auto magazines, network TV, movies and the internet.

This week, the cars were set up on showroom floors across the country underneath giant red Camaro covers which couldn't be removed until the premiere at 5:30.

I attended the showing at Sundance Chevrolet in Grand Ledge, MI. There were over 300 people attending the event. I heard several people discussing the color and packages they purchased with theirs. I didn't get a chance to test drive either model, but I'd definitely like to take one out on the road.


The 2010 Chevy Camaro RS
3.6L V-6 (304 horsepower)

The 2010 Chevy Camero SS
V8 (426 horsepower)

















I definitely give GM 2 thumbs up on their redesign

Need For Speed Race Preview: Darlington

Get ready to count Darlington stripes this weekend as NASCAR heads to the legendary and historic South Carolina track, commonly referred to as "The Lady In Black" for more racin' under the lights!

We'll also hear the terms: Beating and Banging, Authentic, Tradition, Deceptive and Southern Hospitality a lot over the course of the weekend.

Last week's race winner, Kyle Busch returns as defending race winner @ Darlington. In his 4 races @ Darlington, Kyle's finished 1st-37th-7th-23rd. Kyle's currently 5th in the point standings.

Greg Biffle looked like he had the car to beat during last year's race. He started from the pole and led 95 laps before losing an engine on lap 234. Biffle finished last. He won two years in a row in '05 and '06. Biffle has started in the top-10 in 6 of his 8 races @ Darlington with 3 top-10 finishes. Biffle's currently 11th in points.

On a side note, the last time a polesitter won a Darlington race was back in '97 with Dale Jarrett.

Who do you think will get the first win for Stewart-Haas Racing? Tony Stewart or Ryan Newman?

Tony Stewart has yet to win a cup race @ Darlington. It's just 1 of 3 tracks on the current cup schedule he hasn't won at. The Auto Club Speedway in Fontana and the Las Vegas Motor Speedway are the other 2. Stewart has finished in the top-5 four times in the last 5 races. In 16 starts @ Darlington, he's posted 8 top-10 finishes. Still yet, he's proved he can get around the track. Stewart won last year's Nationwide Series race @ Darlington.

“With the rich heritage and history at Darlington, to win there – it’s a feeling that’s hard to describe,” Stewart said of that win. “It’s just cool to win at Darlington. This series is just so deep in history, and this is one of those tracks where the history goes as deep as NASCAR does. To finally get a win at Darlington was a huge honor for me.”

Ryan Newman has posted 5 top-5 and 6 top-10 finishes in his 10 races @ Darlington. He has also led 249 laps which is the best among drivers entered (in Saturday night's race) without a win.

Jimmie Johnson has 2 wins, 5 top-5 and 8 top-10 finishes in 10 starts.

Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 7 Darlington victories. Gordon's finished in the top-3 in the last 5 races @ Darlington, including a win in '07.

To celebrate Mother's Day, mothers of various cup drivers will once again serve as grand marshals for the 5th consecutive year - since the Southern 500 was moved to Mother's Day Weekend in '05.

500 miles =367 laps TV coverage begins at 7 Saturday night on FOX.

The Nationwide Series - Diamond Hill Plywood 200 will begin at 7 Friday night on ESPN2.