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David Phillips
Editor and ChiefDavid Phillips is a long-time contributor to print and electronic publications in the U.S. and abroad, including Racer, Autosport, AutoWeek, Motor Sport and SPEEDtv.com, oversees the daily updating of news stories and assigns, edits and contributes feature material for inRacingNews.com.
Chris Hall
iRacing.com Series WriterChris Hall has been writing since the nineties and moved into motorsports reporting in 2005, covering series such as ALMS, British GT, FIA GT, Le Mans and 2CV racing for Full Throttle magazine, Motorsport.com, The-Paddock.net, GTGateway.com, L' Endurance and, of course, inRacingNews. During 2008 and 2009, he worked with the RSS Performance Porsche Carrera Cup Team (and former British GT(C) champions) as a data engineer for a variety of drivers and models of 997s.
Jameson Spies
Contributing Writer19 years old, Jameson Spies lives in Quartz Hill, California. He grew-up surrounded by racing. His mother raced late models throughout Southern California while his father built and setup the car. Not surprisingly, Jameson began racing go-karts at the age of 13, and is now racing Spec Trucks at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale. He has a passion about all forms of racing and hopes to make a career out of it.
Jason Lofing
iRacing.com Series WriterJason is 21 years old and was born and raised in Elk Grove. California. A big time NASCAR fan, he hasn’t missed a race on Sunday in years. Lofing is also a huge San Fransisco Giants fan and tries to take in at least a couple games a year. Other than sim racing, his biggest (and far more expensive!) hobby is photography. Although he is rather new to sim racing, Lofing has already accomplished some pretty impressive results, qualifying for the 2011 iRacing Oval Pro Series in Season 1, 2011, winning the inaugural Landon Cassill Qualifying Challenge and finishing runner-up in the second one.
Tim Terry
Contributing WriterTim Terry, aka the voice of Maritime stock car racing, fell in love with sim racing in 2004 after he joined the Sim Racing Network crew as a pit reporter. From October 2004 to SRNtv’s closure in June 2007, he’s covered prestigious races and leagues such as the Online 500, FLM Fall 400, Real Racing Online and the DMP Racing League – each as the lead broadcaster for the company. At the same time the wheels started to turn in another direction as he began announcing stock car racing locally. Terry became the assistant announcer at Scotia Speedworld in May 2007 and took over full duties in May 2009 when long-time voice Mike Kaplan retired from the track. Terry also became the series voice of the Parts For Trucks Pro Stock Tour in ’09 and continues to hold down both posts in 2011. He has also announced races for the Pro All Stars Series, Atlantic Open Wheel and Maritime League of Legends tours and has called races at six different Atlantic Canadian tracks. Terry can be heard online at WebRacingNetwork.com, RLMtv.com and OLRtv.com covering sim races. He also makes occasional appearances on PSRtv.com. In addition to inRacingNews, his articles and columns can be read on ScotiaSpeedworld.ca, MaritimeProStockTour.com and his own website at timterryonline.com.
David Allen
Contributing WriterNorth Carolina born and raised with over 15 years of computer/IT experience, I combine two of my biggest hobbies -- racing and technology -- here at inRacingNews. In my spare time I run a Nascar fan site and cure my own need for speed riding atvs. If it involves technology or racing I'll be there, but combine the two and I'll be looking a front row seat. Stop by and say hello anytime!
Allen Krier
Contributing WriterAllen was born in West Palm Beach, Florida but grew up in Atlanta and attended Georgia College and State University where he received a BS in Information Systems. Currently a resident of Albany, GA, he started sim racing in 2008 while in college when iRacing was first released to the public. Since then, Krier has been a two time iRacing Pro Series driver (2009 and 2010), picking up one Pro Series win at Daytona in ‘09. Besides sim racing, Allen’s other hobbies include RC Car racing as well as “attending and watching any sporting event that I can including going to the local dirt track.
Chris Cunningham
Contributing WriterChris is 20 years old, and recently moved to Charlotte, NC during his sophomore year in college to feed his need for speed. More than just an auto racing enthusiast, Cunningham has risen through the ranks of BMX Racing, Sailboat Racing, and Cycling. Cunningham recently took up go karting, and qualified as an alternate for the 2011 Red Bull Kart Fight at the PRI expo. Aside from racing, Cunningham has recently picked up the hobby of competitive eating (Ranked #7 Collegiate Eater in the country!), and competes all over the east coast in various contests. Chris also enjoys sim racing, writing, playing the drums, and enjoying college at UNC Charlotte.
Tim Doyle
Contributing WriterI've been a race fan since before I can remember, going to dirt tracks around the Washington, DC area since the early 70's with my parents. I got away from racing during my school years but in 1989 a friend and I went to a race in Hagerstown, MD and from there my life was all about racing. I currently live in Winchester, VA and while Dirt Late Models is my favorite form of racing, I also enjoy many other forms such as F1, IndyCar, 410 sprint cars on dirt and (probably more than anything) sim racing. My favorite driver is Ayrton Senna.
I was introduced to sim racing in 1989 when a friend turned me onto Indy 500 The Sim by Papyrus. It took me a few years to own my own PC but once I did, all I wanted to do was sim race. I tried to race my friends as much as possible via modem racing back in the 90's before joining TEN in 1998. From there I devoted a lot of time to online racing enjoying every minute of it. I was able to meet a lot of my competitors from all over the world at LAN events and races I went to. Being able to call some real world drivers friends as a result of sim racing is probably the neatest part of this whole deal!
David Roberts
Contributing WriterDavid lives in Brisbane and is a former Australian National Formula Ford Champion who now owns his own marketing and design company. After racing in Europe, David returned down under to swap a career behind the wheel for a career in the creative department. He now has three children, an ongoing love affair with the good ol’ days of motor racing, and just enough spare time left to enjoy a bit of sim-racing with a few of his old mates.
Ben Rothberg
Contributing WriterI was born and raised in the south eastern suburbs of Melbourne where I still am situated. I am currently at University studying for a Certificate in Motorsport and hoping I will be able to achieve my top goal and become a part of a race team. In the sim-racing world, I won an rFactor V8 Supercar season and also was awarded with Best & Fairest award. I am now situated with the best simulation in the world (iRacing.com!) and love every minute of it. I currently race in the V8 Supercar Online Series and finished 16th overall in 2012 Season 1.
Dylan Sharman
Contributing WriterI was born in Adelaide and we moved-out for Angle Vale for a few years until I was about 7 years old, when we moved to the Barossa Valley where I live now. I'm 19 years old and currently traveling back and forth weekly as I’m studying for a Diploma of Furniture Design and Technology.
I’ve always had a love for racing as my close family did some racing and we were always out at the local dirt track. I joined iRacing back in 2010 and slowly but surely got the hang of it as this is my first experience with sim racing and am loving it each time I race. I’ve won two SK Modified titles (almost had three in a row but finished P2 in 2011 S4), an inRacingNews Challenge championship (2012 S1 Mazda) and was also an AustralAsian Intel GT Series Finalist.
Kyle Busch grabs Chase spot with win
August 21st, 2011
Kyle Busch held off reigning champion Jimmie Johnson in a green-white-chequered finish at Michigan to clinch a spot in this year’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver claimed the lead from his Hendrick Motorsports rival, who had been up front since the penultimate restart with 13 laps remaining, thanks to a timely final pitstop right before the last caution that placed him ahead once the frontrunners pitted for the last time.
Johnson initially took advantage of the battle for second place following the penultimate restart but as Busch was able to get the better of Hendrick’s Jeff Gordon and Roush Fenway’s Matt Kenseth in the battle for second place, he quickly started eating into Johnson’s lead. Although it took him a few laps once he caught the #48 car, he finally overtook him at Turn 2, with Johnson unable to fight back.
On the final restart for the last two laps of racing, Busch was superior and pulled away to claim his 23rd Cup career win, which locks into contention for this year’s title through a wildcard entry, which he most likely will not need as he may safely enter the play-off through his points position, for he currently leads the drivers’ ranking.
“That [penultimate] restart there, I think I restarted fourth, and Jimmie was gone, like in three laps. I was like, ‘holy cow!’” said Busch. “I didn’t think there was any way I was going to run him back down. Our car was good on the long run. I felt comfortable running my pace, trying to get closer to him.
“When I got about three lengths back, I stalled out. I’m like, ‘C’mon, man!. Go high, go low’. I was all over the place trying to build speed.
“Finally was able to do that and power by Jimmie and get by him. Once I got by him, I just picked the top [racing line]. That’s where I wanted to be anyway. I could run some consistent times up there that were faster than him and drive away a little bit.”
Johnson lamented being unable to make the most of his team’s great strategy call ahead of the final round of pitstops. His second place moves him up a spot in the championship but still has only one win to his name in a season when race victories will help secure Chase positions. Michigan also remains one of only five tracks where Johnson has yet to win a Cup race.
“Once I was up front in the clean air the balance of the car was a bit too loose,” said Johnson. “I got away from Kyle but I was loose and I knew he was going to come at some point and he showed up. [I'm] disappointed that I didn’t win but a very good effort for the team especially when you look at where we started the race and where we finished.”
Penske’s Brad Keselowski rounded out yet another good weekend by finishing third, moving up two more spots in the championship and closer to the top 10 in the points. Keselowski’s result means he has the best finishing record of any driver in the past four weeks, as he continues to build momentum towards the play-off. He was a top-five contender all day long but did not quite get the chance to show what he could have done in clean air.
“Wish I had something more for the #48 and #18 there at the end, but it was just really kind of watching and hoping someone would make a mistake,” said Keselowski about the final restart. “I couldn’t do anything on my own merit. Still a fun race, proud of the effort. The last few weeks are more than I could ever ask for.”
Veteran Mark Martin, a five-time Michigan winner, was the fastest car on the last long green-flag run, but did not have chance to contend for victory. A two-tyre call early on gave him track position that he subsequently kept, being a contender on a day where Hendrick Motorsports excelled, all its cars running solidly in the top 10. Dale Earnhardt Jr was set for a top-10 finish but dropped to 14th over the final laps after pitting during the last caution.
His team-mate Gordon led 50 laps and showed enough pace to be a threat, but overheating issues due to rubbish in the grille of his car somewhat hampered his progress at different times throughout the race. He was sixth in the end behind Stewart Haas’ Ryan Newman, who made progress on the final restart after pitting for two new tyres on the last caution. Making a similar move, Red Bull’s Kasey Kahne was seventh at the flag ahead of RCR’s Clint Bowyer and Newman’s team-mate Tony Stewart.
Kenseth was the best of the Roush roster in tenth, a disappointing result given that between him and his team-mate Greg Biffle, the squad led more than half the distance. Kenseth had a poor final restart while Biffle blamed a bad set of tyres for his debacle, having led for 86 of the 203 laps. To make matters worse for Roush, its leading championship contender Carl Edwards retired with an engine problem.
With only three races left before the Chase, Denny Hamlin is in further risk of missing the play-off after hitting the wall and being forced to pit for lengthy repairs. He finished 35th and has slid down to 14th in the points despite still provisionally holding on to the final wildcard entry thanks to his Michigan win from earlier in the year.
Results – 203 laps:Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Kyle Busch Gibbs Toyota 2h41m26.000s
2. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Chevrolet + 0.568s
3. Brad Keselowski Penske Dodge + 0.788s
4. Mark Martin Hendrick Chevrolet + 1.037s
5. Ryan Newman Stewart Haas Chevrolet + 1.826s
6. Jeff Gordon Hendrick Chevrolet + 1.949s
7. Kasey Kahne Red Bull Toyota + 2.468s
8. Clint Bowyer Childress Chevrolet + 2.473s
9. Tony Stewart Stewart Haas Chevrolet + 2.616s
10. Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Ford + 3.034s
11. AJ Allmendinger Petty Ford + 3.143s
12. David Ragan Roush Fenway Ford + 3.198s
13. Regan Smith Furniture Row Chevrolet + 3.413s
14. Dale Earnhardt Jr Hendrick Chevrolet + 3.795s
15. Bobby Labonte JTG Daugherty Toyota + 3.841s
16. Brian Vickers Red Bull Toyota + 3.845s
17. Jeff Burton Childress Chevrolet + 4.016s
18. David Reutimann Waltrip Toyota + 4.017s
19. Martin Truex Jr Waltrip Toyota + 4.019s
20. Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Ford + 4.025s
21. Joey Logano Gibbs Toyota + 4.105s
22. Kevin Harvick Childress Chevrolet + 4.230s
23. Jamie McMurray Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet + 4.389s
24. Trevor Bayne Wood Brothers Ford + 4.657s
25. Juan Pablo Montoya Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet + 4.770s
26. Paul Menard Childress Chevrolet + 4.822s
27. Marcos Ambrose Petty Ford + 4.903s
28. Travis Kvapil Front Row Ford + 1 laps
29. Andy Lally TRG Chevrolet + 1 laps
30. Ken Schrader FAS Lane Ford + 1 laps
31. Landon Cassill Phoenix Chevrolet + 2 laps
32. David Gilliland Front Row Ford + 2 laps
33. Dave Blaney Baldwin Chevrolet + 5 lapsRetirements:
Kurt Busch Penske Dodge 197 laps
Denny Hamlin* Gibbs Toyota 188 laps
Carl Edwards* Roush Fenway Ford 174 laps
Casey Mears Germain Toyota 32 laps
Tony Raines Max Q Ford 26 laps
Todd Bodine HP Toyota 21 laps
David Stremme Inception Chevrolet 20 laps
Joe Nemechek NEMCO Toyota 18 laps
Mike Skinner Germain Toyota 14 laps
JJ Yeley Front Row Ford 11 laps* Running again at finish