Richmond International Raceway Posts -- FanHouse

Latest Richmond International Raceway Stories

Mark Martin Wins Pole at Richmond

Posted: Sep 11th 2009 8:40PM by Holly Cain (author feed)
Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Penske Racing, Chase for the Sprint Cup

4 COMMENTS

RICHMOND, Va. -- Fifty-year old Mark Martin continues to make a strong case for his emotional NASCAR championship run, winning the pole position for Saturday night's Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

It's Martin's sixth pole of the year, tying him with Brian Vickers for the most in NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series. His four wins is also tied for most of the season -- a victory total that equals his wins from 2000-2008 combined.

"This year, I've been getting some nice laps,'' Martin said in the ultimate understatement.

Continue Reading Mark Martin Wins Pole at Richmond

Drivers Apologize for 'Awful' IndyCar Race

Posted: Jun 28th 2009 6:00PM by FanHouse Newswire (author feed)
Filed under: IRL

2 COMMENTS

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Scott Dixon described the IndyCar Series race at Richmond International Raceway as "a bit of a procession, unfortunately,'' and said the 300-lap event was frustrating because the lack of passing made it more closely resemble a parade.

And he made those comments Saturday night after ending up in Victory Lane.

Teammate and runner-up Dario Franchitti apologized to fans for an "awful, awful race,'' while Graham Rahal said he only passed two cars all night while finishing third.

Continue Reading Drivers Apologize for 'Awful' IndyCar Race

Numbers: Shrub's Richmond B-Day Bash

Posted: May 4th 2009 9:45AM by Geoffrey Miller (author feed)
Filed under: Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing, Sprint Cup Numbers

12 COMMENTS

Kyle Busch celebrated his 24th birthday Saturday night with his third win in Richmond. Here's a look at it from a feature we like to call Sprint Cup Numbers:

2.751 - Kyle Busch's margin of victory in seconds over Tony Stewart, the largest of the 2009 season

3 - Wins Kyle Busch had over the weekend after also taking the Nationwide Series race and a Denny Hamlin charity race

4.895 - Average running position, behind Jeff Gordon (4.198) and teammate Denny Hamlin (3.510)

Continue Reading Numbers: Shrub's Richmond B-Day Bash

Sprint Cup Notes & Quotes: Richmond

Posted: May 3rd 2009 6:47PM by Geoffrey Miller (author feed)
Filed under: Jamie McMurray, Jimmie Johnson, Sam Hornish Jr., Sprint Cup

0 COMMENTS

Let's take a quick glance at some of the Richmond post-race storylines:

"We lost the brakes."

Jimmie Johnson, as Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway proved, isn't the racing robot with a switch stuck on "Dominate" we've come to think he is after three-straight Sprint Cup titles. Nope, not even at a track where he's won three of the last four events before Saturday night's race.

In fact, it was an all-around miserable night for the No. 48 after brake problems caused him to spin once, get caught up in another crash and then race the rest of the way with a damaged race car. Unfortunately for the rest of the competition, his 36th-place finish won't be a barometer of his 2009 season.

Continue Reading Sprint Cup Notes & Quotes: Richmond

Believe It: Stewart-Haas Ready to Win

Posted: May 3rd 2009 5:01PM by Geoffrey Miller (author feed)
Filed under: Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, Stewart-Haas Racing

15 COMMENTS

There's a lot of folks in the NASCAR world that said Tony Stewart was straight crazy to leave his championship-winning team of Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2009 season.

Me? I didn't exactly make a prediction to stay on the safe side, mainly because I know how Stewart always produces when the odds are against him.

But for all of those that said Stewart and hired teammate Ryan Newman wouldn't find success, the still-young Stewart-Haas Racing is proving the doubters to be completely wrong.

Continue Reading Believe It: Stewart-Haas Ready to Win

FanHouse Warmup: Russ Friedman 400

Posted: May 2nd 2009 2:14PM by Geoffrey Miller (author feed)
Filed under: Brian Vickers, Denny Hamlin, Sprint Cup

6 COMMENTS

The Essentials

Race: Russ Friedman 400 by Crown Royal

Where: Richmond Int'l Raceway
Time: Saturday 7:30 p.m./EDT
TV/Radio: FOX Sports, MRN Radio
Twitter: Live updates at FanHouseRacing
Forecast: 60 degrees, 60% chance of rain
Distance: 400 laps (300 miles)
Pole Winner: Brian Vickers
2008 Winner: Clint Bowyer

The Storylines

Who in the world is Russ Friedman? After winning a promotion though Crown Royal, Saturday night's presenting sponsor, Friedman earned himself naming rights to the event in a program that's been going for a few years now.

Friedman, as it turns out, is a veteran of the war in Iraq and has received -- count 'em -- two purple hearts during his service.

Continue Reading FanHouse Warmup: Russ Friedman 400

Wheel2Wheel: From 'Dega to Richmond

Posted: Apr 30th 2009 11:59AM by Geoffrey Miller (author feed)
Filed under: Sprint Cup, Wheel2Wheel

76 COMMENTS

Jump in as FanHouse writers Holly Cain and Geoffrey Miller try to put a cap on the weekend that was Talladega and look ahead to the always exciting spring race in Richmond with a little thing we like to call Wheel2Wheel.

NASCAR Feuds

While Carl Edwards' wreck stole the show at Talladega, two of NASCAR's biggest stars will be thrust into the spotlight Saturday. Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. traded paint at both of last year's Richmond races. Click through to see their two dustups and other top feuds.

Getty Images

Race: Crown Royal presents Dan Lowry 400 Date: May 3, 2008
Feud: Kyle Busch spins out leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. with three laps to go.
Memorable Quote: Kyle Busch: "The deal with Jr. ... man, it was racing."

Kevin C. Cox, Getty Images

Race: Chevy Rock & Roll 400 Date: Sept. 7, 2008
Feud: Dale Earnhardt spins out leader Kyle Busch on lap 212.
Memorable Quote: Dale Jr.: "I really ain

Shawn Chamberlin, AP

Race: Subway Fresh Fit 500
Feud: Dale Earnhardt Jr. crashed with 11 laps to go after he and Casey Mears made contact. Earnhardt then spun Mears on the cool-down lap and Mears retaliated by bumping into the back of Earnhardt's car on pit road.
Memorable Quote: Mears: "I guess he was a little bent out of shape about it, because he spun me out after the checkered flag."

LEFT: Jim McIsaac, Getty Images RIGHT: Christian Petersen, Getty Images

Race: Subway Fresh Fit 500
Feud: Robby Gordon, left, gets upset with Michael Waltrip after contact with Waltrip's No. 55 Toyota sends Gordon into the Phoenix International Speedway wall.
Memorable Quote: Gordon: "I

Getty Images

Race: Daytona 500
Feud: Dale Earnhardt Jr's clip of Brian Vickers triggers a 9-car accident
Memorable Quote: Earnhardt: "What the hell am I supposed to do? ... If he wasn't so damn reckless, we would have never had that problem."

Getty Images (2)

Race: Gatorade Duel 150 Date: Feb. 12, 2009
Feud: Ryan Newman wrecked by David Reutimann
Memorable Quote: Newman: "Reutimann is a good name for him -- because he rooted a man right out of there and sent me up into the wall."

Steve Johnson, Orlando Sentinel / MCT

Race: Amp Energy 500 Date: Oct. 7, 2008
Feud: Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick clash four days after race
Memorable Quote: Harvick after race: "I know that [Edwards'] fans won't be very proud of him sitting back there riding around like a pansy."

Race: CARQUEST Auto Parts 300 (Nationwide) Date: May 24, 2008
Feud: Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski mix it up under a caution
Memorable Quote: Hamlin: "If he throws a rock, I'll throw a concrete block back."

Jason Smith, Getty Images

Race: Food City 500 Date: March 17, 2008
Feud: Kevin Harvick wrecks Tony Stewart with two laps left
Memorable Quote: Stewart: "I thought I left him plenty of room. I was far enough ahead of him that I didn't see where he hit me or when he hit me. But I'm sure, somehow, it's my fault."

Jason Smith, Getty Images

Q: What was your first reaction to all of the events and drama that Talladega produced this weekend?

Holly Cain: The accident began only a few yards below my seat in the Talladega press box. At most tracks, the press box is an elevator-ride atop the grandstands, but at Talladega it sits only about 15 rows up.

The last lap was sensory-overload, but that's what you expect at Talladega.

Continue Reading Wheel2Wheel: From 'Dega to Richmond

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Out of Shape and His #8 Bud Chevy Smells Like A Stripper

Posted: Sep 13th 2007 8:15AM by tallglassofmilk (author feed)
Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR Gossip, Kyle Busch

21 COMMENTS

Ooooh That Smell
(Excerpt from Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s in-car audio at Richmond)

Tony Jr.: Crank it up June ...
Junior: Stinks in here ... smells like a ... stripper ... somebody put some ... pine trees in here or something?
Crew member: These guys sprayed it down here right next to the 24 pit ... in a bottle ... it's real strong out here.
...

Junior: Smells like a stripper.

...

Crew: Car looks like it's got stripper dust on it, under the lights.
Junior: This thing got a couple of lap dances this morning [laughter].
Crew: After tonight we will ...

I wonder if they celebrated the way they hoped after the night they had.

Strippers smell like pine trees?

He'll Huff and He'll Puff and He'll Sit His A** Down
When asked if it was a coincidence that the top five finishers in the heat-impacted California race have fitness regimens, Kyle Busch said:

"Where'd Junior finish? Didn't he finish fifth? You call him in shape? He got out huffin' and puffin,' falling over, trying to find a place to sit."

I gotta think Shrub swallowed a bitter pill to be calling Junior out like that, but he does have a point.

Junior has a fitness regimen?

IndyCar Champ to NASCAR Chump?

Posted: Sep 11th 2007 9:59AM by Geoffrey Miller (author feed)
Filed under: Chip Ganassi Racing, Other Racing Series

5 COMMENTS

Dario Franchitti won a pretty thrilling race Sunday at Chicagoland Speedway to wrap up not only the season points title, but potentially his IndyCar career.

Passing Scott Dixon in the final corner after Dixon ran out of gas to take title is a pretty nice way to end up a season for all involved -- including the sanctioning body.

Except for the fact that yet another face from the series is taking off for bigger and better things. Someone turn the lights out over there.

Franchitti, a native of Scotland, has been under the microscope though since Friday when rumors blew up about his potential migration to the ranks of NASCAR. He apparently is headed to the seat soon to be vacated by David Stremme at Chip Ganassi Racing -- making two international NASCAR drivers (Juan Pablo Montoya being the other) from open-wheel ranks racing from the same stable.

Ganassi never has been one to go with the flow in anything he's done, so seeing his desire to convert another open-wheel standout into a stock car driver isn't that surprising.

What is surprising, though, is his choice of driver. (Even though he does bring a sponsor.)

Continue Reading IndyCar Champ to NASCAR Chump?

Drivers Rock Their Bests at Richmond

Posted: Sep 9th 2007 4:27PM by tallglassofmilk (author feed)
Filed under: Nextel Cup, David Ragan, David Reutimann

3 COMMENTS

Amidst all the Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chase hoopla last night, there was an exciting race going on at Richmond International Raceway--several drivers performed for the record book.

Rookie David Ragan rather enjoyed himself racing side-by-side out front with the big dogs last night, finishing between Cup champions Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon in the third position, a career-best.

"It was just a good, solid night. It takes a lot more than just a fast race car to finish well in the Nextel Cup races. We've learned that first-hand, so to be able to have good pit stops, we were pretty good on restarts and good on the long runs. We got shuffled back to like 20th one time and were able to drive our way back up to the front, so it was just a lot of fun. I certainly enjoyed it. Our car was pretty good all night and pretty good all weekend, so we had a lot of fun. It was certainly deserving for the team and all just to have a good night."

Johnny Sauter also brought home a career-best finish--his first top 5. For David Reutimann, a career-best of 13th.

Jeff Gordon led the most laps with 191 for a season best. Kyle Petty also had a season-best with two laps led.

The most wins Jimmie Johnson has had at this point in the season is four (2004)--he won eight total that year. He's currently at six and counting ...