Finger Lakes 350 at the Glen

Here is starting line up for the Sprint Cup race:

1. Juan Montoya
2. Kyle Busch
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. Brad Keselowski
5. Marcos Ambrose
6. Ryan Newman
7. Tony Stewart
8. Clint Bowyer
9. Martin Truex Jr.
10. Jamie McMurray
11. Michael McDowell
12. Jeff Gordon
13. Regan Smith
14. Joey Logano
15. Greg Biffle
16. Dale Earnhardt Jr
17. Sam Hornish Jr.
18. Carl Edwards
19. Kevin Harvick
20. Kasey Kahne
21. Scott Speed
22. Paul Menard
23. Denny Hamlin
24. Matt Kenseth
25. Boris Said
26. Bobby Labonte
27. Kurt Busch
28. Jeff Burton
29. Aric Almirola
30. Casey Mears
31. Dave Blaney
32. David Ragan
33. Brian Vickers
34. David Gilliland
35. Landon Cassill
36. Joe Nemechek
37. J. J. Yeley
38. Josh Wise
39. Stephen Leicht
40. Chris Cook
41. Jason Leffler
42. Travis Kvapil
43. Patrick Long

For those asking if Jeff Burton and Denny Hamlin would have to start in the back during this race. The answer is no because both drivers destroyed their primary cars before qualifying. If the primary cars were destroyed after qualifying, then both drivers would have to start in the back.

At 1:10 EST the command to fire engines was given. Within 6 mins the 43 cars will go on track for the parade laps. In today's race there is no one that had to go home as all that came to the track made the race. However Travis Kvapil will be starting in the rear as he missed the driver meeting. He qualified 42 so it's not really a big deal.

The green flag flies at 1:25EST. The leader of the first lap is the 18 of Kyle Busch. In second is the 42 of Juan Montoya.

The 55 of Brian Vickers is to the garage on lap 1. The 55 is out of the race as the engine blew up. The 55 will finish 43rd in the race.

The top 10 cars are Kyle Busch, Juan Montoya, Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson, Marcos Ambrose, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr, Jeff Gordon on lap 5. Kyle Busch has led every lap thus far. Could the 18 team go back to victory lane at this track, first time since 2008? We'll know in 85 laps.

The 32 of Boris Said brought out a huge smoke on turn one. No yellow and we are still green flag racing. David Regan got into the back of Boris Said. The 32 driver told his team that he has no brakes.

The 5 driver of Kasey Kane is telling his team that his a/c unit is not working and is pushing smoke into his face. Kasey unhooked the hose on the helmet. He has no A/C.

First on pit road is the Ryan Newman. 4 tires fuel on lap 17. The leader is Kyle Busch. Most teams are staying out, as they are not letting other teams decide their strategy.

Media said there was a yellow flag on lap 18 for Jason Leffler but there is not. He went into the gravel pit. He was the only involved. Pit road speed is 40 miles per hour. DO NOT SPEED or it will destroy not only your day but also destroy your strategy.

After 20 laps: (18) Kyle Busch, (42) Juan Montoya, (2) Brad Keselowski, (9) Marcose Ambrose. These are the top four. We are still green flag racing; no yellow flags.

We have a yellow flag out for the 1. Hit the guardrail in turn 1. Jamie McMurray had a tire going down and hit the gardrail. He is on his way to the garage. As we are under yellow, the left rear tire just fell off Kurt Busch's car. Some how he he making his way to the pits on 3 tires. He is going to the garage.

Juan Montoya wins the race of pit road. Kyle Busch comes off the pits in 2nd. Both will be starting 6th and 7th respectively. While we were in the yellow flag pit stops, the 14 team received a punishment for taking equipment out of the pit box.  Tony Stewart will be starting at the tale end of the longest line.

The 20 team is keeping a close eye on Joey. They changed a rear shock as Joey thought it was broken. The shock specialist isn't sure what is wrong. Not something that Jason or any Joey Logano fan wants to hear. Keep you all updated as the story comes out.

The pole sitter Juan Montoya comes to the pits on lap 32 says that something is broken. He says that he tried to turn but he couldn't. The team has the hood up. Juan is on his way to the garage. If anything is known, it will be updated here.

Joey is in the garage. The team ripping the car apart to fix the car. The team has to attach a new rear axel to the car. Joey stated to the media that he could feel something break 10 laps before the yellow came out. Not the day Joey, the Home Depot wanted today. 

Lap 35 already where has this race gone. Top five cars are Brad Keselowski (2) Marcos Ambrose (9) Jimmie Johnson (48) Martin Truex Jr. (56) Kyle Busch (18).

Sounds like the 15 of Clint Bowyer could be going to the garage soon as he has radioed to his team that he doesn't have any breaks. The team is running to the garage waiting for their driver.

Juan is in the garage. He tells the media that it is a read track bar arm. The team is trying to fix the problem so he can get back out. "It's been a tough year." Juan's words not mine.

The 51 team is back on track 9 laps down.

We are halfway. There are 29 on lead lap. 3 cars 1 lap down 12 cars off track or out of the race.

Lap 48 Brad Keselowski is leading with Kyle Busch in 2nd postion. Will Kyle have enough time to get to the lead and win? 42 laps and we will know the answer to this.

When Kasey Kahne was last on pit road for service he speed on pit road. Just served his pass threw. He is now the last car on the lead lap on lap 52.

The 20 team is done. The team is back at pit road packing up the pit stall. Not what any team wanted to do while the track is still hot. Joey is back on the track 19 laps down.

The Denny Hamlin brings out the 2nd yellow flag. Fire under the hood. He is done. At least he did not hit the guardrail this year. Another TRD engine bites the dust.

Martin Truex Jr had to come to pit road while the yellow was out. He was out of gas. He got 4 tires and full of fuel. He will start and the tale end of the lead lap cars.

Winning the race off pit road is Kyle Busch. Second off pit road Matt Kenseth. The leader is Brad Keselowski on lap 60. Kyle has been told by Dave Rogers to start saving him some fuel.

Third yellow is out for Jason Leffler. Reports are that he has lost his engine. Rain is coming to the track. Could this race be rain shortened like last week? Stay tuned.

As the yellow comes out, The 18 crew chief tells his driver he doesn't need to save fuel any longer. They are now good on fuel. The next 24 laps will be a wild one.

The rain has stopped and the cars are going racing with 23 laps to go. Brad Keselowski is leading. Tony Stewart in 2nd, Clint Bowyer 3rd Kyle Busch 4th Marcos Ambrose 5th.

Forth yellow is for Tony Stewart. He hit the guardrail at the pit entrance. This is NOT what the 14 team wanted to see. Tony did not have any help in this caution he went around all by himself.

Keselowski is leading with Marcos Ambrose in 2nd and Kyle Busch in 3rd. Will the leader come from the top 3? In 16 laps we will find out. Kyle is told under yellow to keep saving fuel.

Green flag back in the air. Kyle took the lead back with 16 laps to go. Can he hold on to the lead? We will find out in 16 laps.

The battle for 2nd position is heating up with 10 laps to go between Brad Keselowski  and Marcos Ambrose. Who will end up with the position? We will know in 10 laps.

The 18 driver went sliding through oil.  He was the leader. He led the most laps today.

The winner is Marcos Ambrose. Kyle Busch finished 7th.

Wild Card holders right now are Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman.

Any other time NASCAR would have thrown the yellow flag and we would have gone to a Green-White-Checkered finish attempt Number 1. Drivers were telling NASCAR that there was oil on the track but because NASCAR could not see it they did not throw the yellow.

This will be something that fans will be talking about until next weeks race at MIS.

PA 400 August 5, 2012

Here is the starting line up for todays race:

1. Juan Pablo Montoya
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Paul Menard
4. Kasey Kahne
5. Marcos Ambrose
6. Kurt Busch
7. Matt Kenseth
8. Dale Earnhart Jr.
9. Ryan Newman 
10. Jimmie Johnson
11. Regan Smith
12. Greg Biffle
13. Aric Almirola
14. Joey Logano
15. Martin Truex Jr
16. Jamie McMurray
17. Carl Edwards
18. Mark Martin
19. Clint Bowyer
20. Kyle Busch
21. Kevin Harvick
22. Landon Cassil
23. Jeff Burton
24. David Reutimann
25. Sam Hornish Jr. 
26. David Gilland
27. Jeff Gordon
28. Tony Stewart
29. Casey Mears
30. Mike Bliss
31. Brad Keselowski
32. David Ragan
33. Scott Riggs
34. Josh Wise
35. J. J. Yeley
36. David Stremme
37. Travis Kavpil
38. Joe Nemechek
39. Bobby Labante
40. Bobby Sorenson
41. Jason White
42. Tony Raines 
43. Mike Skinner

The scheduled time to start was 1 20 EST however it is raining hard and all activities, which include driver intros and opening ceremonies.  As it stands right now 2 30EST will be the opening ceremonies and thirty minutes later the track should be try. However, there is another rain cell moving toward the track. 

At 2 47 EST the engines were brought to life. The rain delay was 1 hr 25 minutes long. Do not forget at lap 20 there is a competition caution for the rain. 

Tony Rains will start in the rear due to an engine change. He is starting in the 42nd position so it wasn't a big deal for him to move. 

The green flag was shown at 2 58 EST. The leader of the first lap is #11 of Denny Hamlin. The lead has gone back and forth between the #11 and #42 for the past 3 laps. 

The #20 of Joey Logano has moved up 4 spots since the green flag fell and finds himself in the top ten in 10th. 

The #88 of Dale Earnhart Jr. just took over the 3rd position for the #51of Kurt Busch on lap 6. 

We are 13 laps from the competition caution. 

The #88 of Dale Earnhart Jr battling with the #42 of Juan Pablo Montoya for potion on the tack, which is 2nd. Dale Earnhart Jr has the position.

A competition caution, is when NASCAR put a yellow out so crews can look at the tires. If a caution flies before the competition, then all teams can do is add fuel and change tires.  We are 7 laps from the competition caution.

On lap 13 the #88 of Earnheart Jr team takes the lead. The #11 of Denny Hamlin is in second and the 42 is in third. The 88 driver has also has the fastest lap thus far at 172 mph.

The battle for the 15th position is heating up. The #55 of Mark Martin and #20 of Joey Logano. The #20 is blocking the #55 as he has the postion. This keeps going until the #55 takes the position on lap 16. 

Caution came out for the #18 Kyle Busch hitting the wall. The #18 team is heading to the garage.  This is the the competition yellow. 

The leader off pit road is the 1 of Jamie McMurray. Rounding out the top 5 are Mark Martin, Brad Keselowski, Michael McDowell and Casey Mears.

Green flag goes back in the are on lap 23. 

Brad Keselowski is now up to P2 and chasing Jamie McMurray down in P1 on lap 24. 

They continue to do work to the #18 machine in the garage. Updates will continue.

Jimmie Johnson just drive around Mark Martin on lap 26 to take 7th position on the track. 

The #48 moved up to 4th on the track and is going after 3rd. The lead just changed and the new leader is Earnheart Jr. as Brad had to pit. 

Kurt Busch and the Joey Logano are battling for 20th postion. Joey has it and Kurt wants it. 

Joey's team is complaining that the car is not turning in at all and tell his crew chief that he doesn't understand how hard it is to drive. Jason Radcliff responds 'I can see how hard it is. You're losing positions.'

The 48 team is having a real head scratcher at the moment. The driver reported to the crew chief, Chad Knaus, that the switch turned off when he went to turn one of the knobs. Chad Knaus' responce, "We'll take care of it at the next pit stop."

The 18 is on his way back to the race track. The pit crew has been sent back to pit road. The 18 has tires back on the machine and getting gas in the car. Next few laps he should be back on track. When he returns back on track, he will be 23 laps down.

Dale Earnhart Jr is on the way to the garage on lap 51. He has a broken transmission. Dale Earnhart Jr is out of the car and now in the Sprint Cup series there is no one that has completed every lap.

When the green flag stop finish the leader will be the 48. There are 29 cars on the lead lap. The lucky dog postion is 47 team.  This is as of lap 59.

All the teams are looking at the radar as there is more rain coming. We are not at half way down right now. Looks like the rain could be at the track in the next half of an hour.

Juan Pablo Montoya and Kurt Busch are battling for postion on the track the #51 has it and #42 wants it. The postion is 20th postion. Kurt is now going after Joey and the 20 car on the track for the 19th postion.

Teams have now informed the drivers that the rain is coming. We are 15 laps from half way. 

Thus far in the race, Jeff Gordon's team has picked up 24 postions and is now in 5th postion. 

The #88 team is back on the track at lap 69 18 laps down.

The 20 team made a scheduled pit stop at lap 70. Four tires fuel and a air pressure adjustment. He goes back on the track in 29th position. 

We are 10 laps to half way. If the rain wants to destroy the rest of the day it can do it after 10 laps.

After Kyle Busch went to pit road for service he speed on pit road. On lap 74 he is serving his pass through penalty. The crew chief, Dave Rogers, told the Kyle Busch that if he does not come this time NASCAR will not score him. 

The race leader on lap 75 is Jimmie Johnson with Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle and Jeff Gordon round out the top 5. 

Good news the race is now official. Anything that would prevent this race from going to the end, it will be able to be called official. Bad news rain is 14 miles away about 30 minutes away.

Most of the crew chiefs are telling their drivers to save them some fuel. Rain is now 20 minutes away. 

Caution just came out for Kurt Busch. The left front tire blew and Kurt ends up in the wall. Tough break for the Phoenix Racing team.  Not the finish the team wanted today. 

This changes the pit strategy for all race teams. To pit and not to pit. Most teams do not pit. The 55, 1, 11, 20 29, 22, 43 and 31 all come to the pits to get gas. 

This restart Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson will be on lap 90. This lap didn't last long as the Kenseth, Johnson and Denny Hamlin brought us our next caution. Hamlin is done and Kenseth is heading to the pits. New leader is the Jeff Gordon. Can Jeff Gordon hold the lead? Can he win a race this season? Stay tuned.

I have to give credit to all the men and woman who work in race control. Today has rain, the usual nascar transmissions. They do not get enough credit for the job they do from the fans.

The rain is at the track. We are still under caution. All the crew chiefs are putting their notes in a dry place, so they do not get wet.  The pace car should be bringing them down pit road as the red flag will be displayed as the rain is picking up. 

This time by the cars are being brought back to pit road and the teams are going to cover up their cars. There is a possibility that we could go back. It all depends on how long the rain lasts.  When the last car is on pit road, NASCAR will display the red flag. 

NASCAR has just called the race. The rain is pouring down. Jeff Gordon is the winner. Dale Earnhart Jr is the points leader.

Pocono Raceway that ten fans have been injured by lightning. One is dead. One critical condition. One in moderate condition. Two with minor injuries. Five were treated at the track.