Saturday, April 27, 2013

Sprint Cup 2013: Race 9 - Richmond Saturday Night


The ninth race of the 2013 season brings the Sprint Cup tour to Richmond, Virginia for good old Saturday night racing at its best. When they return to Richmond in September, the stakes will be much higher.  The ¾ mile short track with fine weather expected provides some of NASCAR’s most exiting racing as the only track with such dimensions. The front curved part of the D oval provides good old short track bumping and banging, but then there’s a nice long straightaway down the back stretch where the cars can really accelerate. Like short tracks, tempers and brake pads are bound to heat up.

With Matt Kenseth on the pole, the driver must feel vindictive pride standing tall after NASCAR’s vicious penalty against the #20 team having just won impressively at Kansas last week. All personnel remain on board pending appeals being heard with a seven week suspension holding in the balance for crew chief, Jason Radcliff. Another Joe Gibbs ride shares the outside poll, the #11 FedEx Toyota, driven by Brian Vickers filling in for injured Denny Hamlin.

A story starting to develop is the absence of Fords both in the top five and qualifying.  Only Joey Logano checks in at 7th in the top ten. The next Ford contender is Marcos Ambrose for Richard Petty in 11th. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. is the top Rauch driver in 12th, but no more Fords appear until 20th, David Ragan racing for Front Row Racing. Brad Keselowski starts 23rd, but the Rauch veterans find Carl Edwards in 28th and Greg Biffle in 33rd followed by the next Petty entry, Aric Armirola in 34th. Maybe it’s time for the King, the Captain, and the Hat to have a little engineering summit? 

STARTING LINEUP (NO CARS DID NOT QUALIFY)
POS CAR # Driver Mfg. Sporsor Speed
1 20 Matt Kenseth Toyota Dollar General  130.334
2 11 Brian Vickers(i) Toyota FedEx Delivery Manager  130.303
3 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet Drive to End Hunger  130.252
4 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet Quaker State / Menards  130.183
5 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota  Care  130.158
6 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Chevrolet Depend  129.851
7 22 Joey Logano Ford Shell Pennzoil  129.758
8 18 Kyle Busch Toyota M&M's  129.633
9 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota NAPA Brakes  129.596
10 55 Mark Martin Toyota Aaron's Dream Machine  129.577
11 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford DeWalt  129.565
12 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. # Ford Zest  129.552
13 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet McDonald's  129.534
14 78 Kurt Busch Chevrolet Furniture Row Racing / Sealy  129.422
15 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet Outback Steakhouse  129.385
16 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet Airgas / Bulwark  129.372
17 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet Bell Helicopter  129.366
18 7 Dave Blaney Chevrolet SANY  129.292
19 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet National Guard  129.187
20 34 David Ragan Ford CSX / Play it Safe  129.162
21 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet Rush Truck Centers / Mobil 1  129.112
22 83 David Reutimann Toyota Burger King / Dr Pepper  129.112
23 2 Brad Keselowski Ford Redd's Apple Ale  129.032
24 51 AJ Allmendinger Chevrolet Phoenix Construction  128.915
25 30 David Stremme Toyota Swan Energy  128.811
26 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet Lowe's Dover White  128.780
27 35 Josh Wise(i) Ford MDS Transport  128.743
28 99 Carl Edwards Ford Geek Squad  128.725
29 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet Menards / CertainTeed  128.719
30 10 Danica Patrick # Chevrolet GoDaddy.com  128.700
31 33 Landon Cassill Chevrolet Little Joe's Autos / Precon Marine  128.682
32 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota Bush's Beans  128.608
33 16 Greg Biffle Ford American Red Cross  128.516
34 43 Aric Almirola Ford Smithfield  128.351
35 98 Michael McDowell Ford Phil Parsons Racing  128.053
36 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota Dominion Raceway  127.956
37 38 David Gilliland Ford Long John Silver's  127.883
38 19 Mike Bliss(i) Toyota Plinker Tactical / G Oil  127.485
39 36 JJ Yeley Chevrolet NASCAR Foundation  126.547
40 13 Casey Mears Ford GEICO  126.404
41 87 Joe Nemechek(i) Toyota Acredale Vending / AM FM Energy  125.886
42 32 Timmy Hill # Ford OXY water  125.692
43 52 Brian Keselowski Toyota Highland Wealth Advisors  123.751

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