|| *Comments on the 2009 Auto Club 500:* View the most recent comment <#52> | Post a comment <#post> 1. T-Mac posted: 02.22.2009 - 11:49 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kenseth makes it 2 for 2, first driver to do so since Gordon in 1997. 2. Bronco posted: 02.22.2009 - 11:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kenseth now ties Dale Jr and Kurt Busch for career wins at 18. This time he actually earned the win. And Jeff Gordon passed Rusty Wallace on the all time laps led category and is 11 laps away from 20000. Dale Jr is off to a horrible start, 2 races in and he's 35th in points. And Kenseth has big point lead after only race 2. Harvick's DNF streak ended at 81 races, 3 short of the all time record. Maybe now he'll focus on winning which he hasn't done in 73 races. Great runs for Stremme, Waltrip, Reutimann and JPM. 3. Neal posted: 02.23.2009 - 12:01 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) This race was better than the truck and Nationwide races, but that's not saying much. This race was probably a C-/D+. 4. Anonymous posted: 02.23.2009 - 12:06 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Great win by Matt Kenseth. The race was boring though. Jeff Gordon battling Matt Kenseth for the lead was the only existing thing for the race tonight. If it wasn't for the rain cautions, this race would've been the quickest race at Auto Club Speedway ever. Only one of the 5 cautions was not for rain. Good runs by Stremme, and Reutimann. I was shocked on how off Jeff Burton was and RCR was outside of Kevin Harvick. Harvick was in the top 10 or near it all night before he started to have engine problems before he crashed. Micheal Waltrip lucked his way into a top 15. Harvick, Martin and Dale Jr. had engine issues while they were in the top 15. Although Kevin Harvick crashed, His engine was letting go. Childress had engine problems at the Auto Club 500. Aric Almirola had a RCR engine and it blew up. No one should bad mouth Dale Jr's finish tonight since him and Mark Martin had the same engine problem. Jr was near the top 10, when he started to have problems with his engine. 5. Anonymous posted: 02.23.2009 - 12:36 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Kenseth, Gordon, and Johnson all led large parts of the race, but none could pull out a large lead. Biffle actually looked to have the fastest car near the end, but parked over an air hose during his last pit stop and couldn't recover. Kenseth beat Gordon out during the final yellow and Gordon just didn't have enough to get by him. 6. Anonymous posted: 02.23.2009 - 12:37 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Quite possibly the most boring race since of the 'Chase Era'. 4 cautions for rain when only the first seemed legit... Congrats to Kenseth for starting off 2 for 2. Would've liked to see Gordon give him a better run though, but I guess he worked his car too much there near the end. Tough break for Harvick though, sad to see his streak end. 7. Anonymous posted: 02.23.2009 - 12:41 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) First race for Prism Motorsports, essentially the successor to MSRP Motorsports with Phil Parsons as the owner (remember how he liked to distance himself from the latter). Blaney retired after 50 laps with "fuel pump" problems-you be the judge. Note that that was after two cautions... 8. Rusty posted: 02.23.2009 - 1:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Matt Kenseth wins the first two races of 2009 after going 2008 winless. This race was just a typical uneventful borefest from California. It looked like a possible good finish shaping up between Kenseth and Jeff Gordon but Gordon used all he had trying to catch Matt and fell back. 9. 18fan posted: 02.23.2009 - 1:10 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Wow, Michael Waltrip in the top ten in points after two races. When Jimmie Johnson drove off in the beginning, I thought it was going to be a repeat of last August. This was actually not that bad of a California race, but the Spring race is always better than the fall race. 10. BON GORDON posted: 02.23.2009 - 7:47 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Darn! Almost for Jeff. Congrats to Kenseth for two in a row. It's kinda ironic that the last person to win two in a row was the man who he had to battle to win the race. I thought it was better than a lot of California races. I think a lot of people go over the top by saying a lot of these races are boring. It's California for crying out loud. It's not Bristol and there is no reason for there to be three and four wide racing every lap the entire race. These guys want to save there stuff till the end. If you don't like it than change the channel. If we are all NASCAR fans than we need to stop complaning and just enjoy what we can. If not there is always baseball or basketball to watch. This is the way racing is now. I'm not trying to start something but it is what it is. Knowing you guys I'm going to have a lot of opposing opinions but I don't care cause I'm hard headed and you aren't going to change my mind so don't bother. Anyways now off to Las Vegas which is better with the banking and I'm looking foward to watching it. 11. mk17ce99 posted: 02.23.2009 - 8:18 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) bronco I think its funny you say kenseth didnt earn the 500 win. Considering none of the other 42 drivers could position themselves to win the 500, I guess they didn't earn it either now did they? Kenseth won that race fair and square, everyone knew the rain was coming and thats how it happened. 12. Anonymous posted: 02.23.2009 - 9:52 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) BON GORDON, I like seeing drivers battle for the lead. I don't watch Nascar for wrecks. I've seen great races at California Speedway before. The problem is most of them happened in Cart or the IRL. I once a Cart race on tv that had over 50 or 60 passes for the lead at California. The track is made open Wheel racing like Michigan is. The only difference that Nascar could put on decent to great showings racing at Michigan at time. Michigan can be exciting or very boring. Auto Club Speedway was built as a multi purpose track. The problem is Open Wheel Racing in America started to decline as the track opened and open wheel racing no longer goes to the track. While I am a fan of open wheel racing, I only watch it while there is no Nascar race on. I already mention the Jeff Gordon battle was exciting, for the last run. Before that, I didn't see many legit lead changes on the track. When ever a pass is made for the lead, the distance between the 1st and 2nd place was overly close. I am not a Baseball fan. I really don't care for Basketball outside of March Madness. I am not really a Basketball fan either outside of March Madness either. Baseball lost me as fan due to the 1994 strike. I am only into watching the NFL and there is no NFL games till August. 13. samfan09 posted: 02.23.2009 - 11:20 am Rate this comment: (1) (0) Gotta agree with mk17ce99. I hate seeing any race end early, but it's still a win. Not every race can be won by the fastest car. Nor should it. Strategy needs to come into play, and fuel mileage and rain wins, while maybe flukes, are still wins. Congrats to Matt on the great start to the season. Nice to see after he didn't win last year. 14. DaleSrFanForever posted: 02.23.2009 - 12:32 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Great job by Matt, Drew, and the Killer Bees. For the second week in a row his pit crew makes an outstanding final stop, and Matt turns it into a win. Great adjustments by Drew. The second to last run Gordon caught Matt, passed him, and drove off. But they fixed it so he couldn't do that on the last run. This looks to be a great combination. Tough race for RCR. 3 of the 4 cars were just totally lost out there, getting lapped easily. And the one that was decent, Harvick, blows an engine. That ends his no DNF streak, just 3 short of the all time record. That has to be heart breaking. If you are going to sacrifice speed for over 2 years to get the record as the #29 team has done, you hope to at least get the consistency record. Oh well, as Bronco said, maybe now they will try to actually win now. Imagine that. One of the better races at California..... and it still sucked. Just get this track totally off the schedule. 15. Bronco posted: 02.23.2009 - 4:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) mk17ce99, I guess I'm just mad that NASCAR let the most prestigious race of the year, the one that gets the most hype be decided by rain. Yes, the record books will show it as being a win, but I guess its just one of those stupid finishes to what could have been a good race, like last year's fall Talladega race. Moldy bread scores his best career finish, a remarkable 26th. Mark my words, at least one of those two rookies will fall out of the top 35 pretty soon. I think if Ambrose was still eligible for ROTY, he would definitely win it. To me California will always be known as a track with bad racing with some very bad crashes. Ricky Rudd in the September 2007, David Reutimann in February 2007, Dale Jr. in April 2002, and Brad Keselowski in the September 2007 Busch race. If it were dropped of the schedule no one would miss it. 16. Anonymous posted: 02.23.2009 - 6:17 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) @DaleSrFanForever and Bronco, Clint Bowyer is not far from the No DNF record. Clint's no DNF streak at 75. I think the whole RCR organization was sacrificing speed to get the record. The only driver that is not close to the record is Jeff Burton. 17. mk17ce99 posted: 02.23.2009 - 6:52 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) bronco, I know where you're coming from. I just dont see them being able to delay the race, making the fans wait and then all of a sudden it rains again. They really couldnt have run it monday because teams had to prepare cars and take them to the west coast. I do agree however with Logano being nothing more than hype. I think he should have paid his dues like the rest of the drivers and waited and matured. Instead, he's jumped into a situation that he's nowhere even close to being ready for and is going to pay the price for it. 18. Kit posted: 02.23.2009 - 7:15 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "If you are going to sacrifice speed for over 2 years to get the record as the #29 team has done, you hope to at least get the consistency record." Hahaha, well, we can give Harvick a participation ribbon for being in the race. California is NOT a stock car track. 19. 18fan posted: 02.23.2009 - 7:16 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) When I said this wasn't that bad of a race, I meant by California standards, which is worse than the worst races at most tracks except Pocono, the second worst track behind Snorefest Speedway of Southern Califonia 20. Jackie posted: 02.23.2009 - 7:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I just dont like Auto club speedway. It's just too hard to pass and the cars get strung out . Just not the wheel to wheel racing we've come to expect in Cup.I still think the fans would be better served if Nascar gave a date back to the Rock. 21. Mamorese posted: 02.23.2009 - 9:05 pm Rate this comment: (1) (0) Man, to everyone who thinks this race was boring, you obviously haven't seen any races from the 90s. Remember when dover races usually went 300 laps green to the finish? Or when Richmond races only had 2-5 cautions per race? Or maybe when North Wilkesboro, the undisputed real racing track by many NASCAR fans, routinely had races go the entire distance with less than 3 cautions, and even caution-free in one case? While current day NASCAR has its issues, everyone complains way to much. I swear most of you need 30+ lead changes, a flip or big one, and a last lap pass for it to be a good race. And that has never been the norm in NASCAR, no matter what you've led yourself to believe about NASCAR's "good ole days" 22. Kit posted: 02.23.2009 - 10:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) DaleSrFanForever, what do you think of Waltrip's seventh place points standings? Could this be the year for him to make a run for the championship? Could we see the driver of the #55 holding that big championship trophy over his head at the end of the season? Hahaha. 23. DaleSrFanForever posted: 02.23.2009 - 10:22 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I think the whole RCR organization was sacrificing speed to get the record. The only driver that is not close to the record is Jeff Burton." You are right, and oddly enough Jeff has shown the most overall speed of the RCR bunch. Clint Bowyer has won a grand total of twice so far during his streak, one of which landed in his lap at Richmond (thought the Loudon win was very impressive). Time for them to quit worrying about that stupid record and go fast. Dale Earnhardt once had a long finishing streak from mid 1996 to mid 1998, but only won once during that streak. In 1999 he crashed unassisted out of 3 different races. You think he cared about the finishing streak? "I do agree however with Logano being nothing more than hype." He is talented, but he isn't the golden god they are making him out to be, where he can just waltz into the Cup Series at 18 years old and blow the big dogs off the track. He has just been ridiculously overhyped. I just hope he doesn't lose his confidence like Casey Atwood did and never recover it. Joey's situation is worse because he is stepping into a championship car, while Casey was in a startup team that even Bill Eliott struggled with most of the year. A horrible decision by JGR. "California is NOT a stock car track." That is true, literally. Roger Penske built it with open wheel cars in mind. That is where his heart has always truly been, and it is showing now with his high priced organization seriously underachieving. It was OK when Rusty was there because he addressed things, but once they bought him out it just went straight downhill. "Remember when dover races usually went 300 laps green to the finish? Or when Richmond races only had 2-5 cautions per race? Or maybe when North Wilkesboro, the undisputed real racing track by many NASCAR fans, routinely had races go the entire distance with less than 3 cautions, and even caution-free in one case?" To me, that was when NASCAR was at its best. As long as they can pass, which they could at those tracks, it was fun watching those long runs. I hate this new style of 10 laps, caution, 40 laps, caution, 20 laps caution, 2 laps, caution. It just breaks the rhythm up. I went to a race at North Wilkesboro once which was caution free, and I really enjoyed it (except when Geoff Bodine won). This mess of throwing cautions for debris on the apron, when someone scrapes the wall, for tape on the track, or because someone spilled their beer in the grandstand is ridiculous. 24. DaleSrFanForever posted: 02.23.2009 - 10:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) 2009 Paul Menard 20th or worse count: 2 25. Neal posted: 02.23.2009 - 10:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mamorese - I've seen races from the 80s, 90s and 00s, and I have never seen a track consistently produce bad racing like Fontana. I don't care how the racing action for 15th place is (and I suspect people who pay hundreds of dollars for tickets, parking, food, and souvenirs don't, either). I don't need 30+ lead changes per race but I'd also like to see an occasional on-track lead change, something the COT has been hard-pressed to offer up. Most of the lead changes nowadays happen on pit-stop sequences. If I wanted to see follow the leader I'd watch Formula 1. The new car is a bust. The aero push is pathetic and it's amazing the brain trust at NASCAR can't solve the problem when the problem is staring them in the freaking face. 26. Kit posted: 02.24.2009 - 1:48 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Man, to everyone who thinks this race was boring, you obviously haven't seen any races from the 90s." I've watched plenty of races in the 90s. A lot of the best racing in NASCAR happened in the 90s. When you combine a crappy track like California which separates the cars so much then add in the COT, you have way worse racing than anything from the 90s. "Remember when dover races usually went 300 laps green to the finish? Or when Richmond races only had 2-5 cautions per race? Or maybe when North Wilkesboro, the undisputed real racing track by many NASCAR fans, routinely had races go the entire distance with less than 3 cautions, and even caution-free in one case?" Remember the '92 Hooters 500? Or all the Bristol races with Earnhardt, Wallace, and Terry Labonte? Or the Darlington wreck fest? There is not a race on the current schedule that even compares to those races. "While current day NASCAR has its issues, everyone complains way to much. I swear most of you need 30+ lead changes, a flip or big one, and a last lap pass for it to be a good race. And that has never been the norm in NASCAR, no matter what you've led yourself to believe about NASCAR's "good ole days"" Let me get this straight: I watched a truck race that had one leader for 95% of the race, a Busch race that had one leader for 95% of the race, a Cup race where the cars weren't even near each other, and you are suggesting that we are complaining too much? Do you even know how NASCAR got started? From stock cars banging each others doors and fenders on short tracks. Do you honestly think anyone would have given a shit about NASCAR decades ago if they ran races on tracks like Fontana back then? With just follow the leader "racing?" Of course not. If I wanted to watch follow the leader, I would watch IRL or a similar pointy-car series. When NASCAR gets so far out of touch with it's original roots to the point where it's really not even the same league of racing, people should call them out on it. "I swear most of you need 30+ lead changes, a flip or big one, and a last lap pass for it to be a good race." So how is a race with only lead changes during green flag pits, no wrecks, and a leader who has no threats a good race? Answer us that. If you want, I can record some radio controlled cars going around in circles, one behind the other, and send it to you. You'll probably enjoy it. 27. kup posted: 02.24.2009 - 3:45 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Michael Waltrip finished 15th in Fontana in both races: Wide & Cup. And alike results of MW were in Daytona. 28. Anonymous posted: 02.24.2009 - 5:11 am Rate this comment: (2) (0) Since when have cautions been the benchmark for good racing? 29. Bronco posted: 02.24.2009 - 11:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) "I know where you're coming from. I just dont see them being able to delay the race, making the fans wait and then all of a sudden it rains again. They really couldnt have run it monday because teams had to prepare cars and take them to the west coast." During the 2005 Pepsi 400, they didn't start until pretty late in the night and they managed to run all 160 laps. This race only had 50 laps left, or an hour so I think even with the rain and drying time they could have made at least some effort to get in the books. If you remember the Kansas race at 2007 was past the halfway point when it started to rain, yet for some reason NASCAR waited it out. But really, given the fact that they knew rain was a possibility, they should have moved up the start of the race by an hour at least. As far as travelling to the west coast is concerned, well we can agree that's just some pretty poor scheduling right there. "He is talented, but he isn't the golden god they are making him out to be," Thank you for saying that, I am glad not everyone is buying into that ridiculous hype. Simply put, he is nothing special compared to the numerous other young drivers trying to make it in NASCAR; the only thing distinguishing him is that he's lucky enough to have a big bucks sponsor and to be driving only the best equipment out there. In the Nationwide series he has by far the best team, and his results have fizzled out a bit. 30. DaleSrFanForever posted: 02.24.2009 - 1:18 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) You are right Bronco. Another thing people need to realize about Joey is that he comes from a wealthy family. He has always had way better equipment than anyone else he was racing against, so it made him look better. How wealthy is his family? They moved from Connecticut to Atlanta because Joey's older sister was a promising ice skater and apparently there is a great rink there with a good training program. But Joey began to show promise as a race car driver so his Dad bought a race shop in Charlotte and moved the family there. So what did he do to pacify Joey's sister and her ice skating? HE BUILT HER AN ENTIRE SKATING RINK!!!! Holy Crap!!! With that kind of money, of course he is going to look good out there. I'm not saying he has no talent, but he doesn't have THAT much. He has always had the best stuff, until now. Even when he started out in the Busch Series he was driving the #20 car which was dominating like nothing ever seen. But once they restricted Toyota's motors, he starting looking average, even though Kyle was still dominating. He has never had to raise his game before and it is showing. Now EVERYONE is on a team spending millions of dollars, and he can't keep up. He just was born to a wealthy family and has had everything fall into his lap. Now he has to earn it. 31. DaleSrFanForever posted: 02.24.2009 - 1:26 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Could we see the driver of the #55 holding that big championship trophy over his head at the end of the season?" Yeah, and the Earth will begin rotating backwards, cats will kill and maim dogs, Brian France will make logical long term business decisions, and the Detroit Lions will win the Super Bowl. Seriously though, his 15th place finish would be impressive if it weren't for the fact that David Reutimann, a driver with much less experience and the same equipment, finished 14th WITH NO BRAKES!!! And Marcos Ambrose, a driver with a strictly road racing background in tiny Australian sports cars, and only 10 previous Cup Series oval starts, finished just 7 spots behind him. 32. Mamorese posted: 02.24.2009 - 6:25 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I loved old school racing from the 80s and 90s, I don't mind low caution races or anything like that and I certainly don't approve of bogus cautions. I just felt like something had to be said about this issue. People whine when a race gets strung out and "boring", yet they are the same people who whine when NASCAR throws a caution for debris that is supposed to bunch up the field and make it "exciting". 33. DaleSrFanForever posted: 02.24.2009 - 8:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ok Mamorese, I see your point. It just ultimately depends on the track. At this track it really doesn't matter how the cautions fall, the racing is just never very exciting. Especially now with the COT. 34. Kit posted: 02.24.2009 - 9:48 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) I think Joey has talent but he was rushed into Cup way, way too soon. He should have come into Cup at 21 at the earliest, with a few successful years of Trucks and Busch under his belt. You'd think the guy would put on some weight though. I think a driver should show some success in Trucks and Busch before he's given a top-tier ride in Cup. It's common sense. Up until a few years ago, it took quite a bit of money to go racing at the short tracks, but fortunately the cost is coming back down to earth with the recent crate engine series. I was watching this trivia show on Speed this past weekend where they found some bum in an alley, put him in a NAPA jacket, and put him on the show as a "Michael Waltrip fan." 35. 18fan posted: 02.25.2009 - 12:13 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) I agree with Neal. I don't care about racing for 15-20th with drivers that top out there. It's okay at RP tracks and when you have drivers like Gordon, Busch, Stewart, Johnson, and Kenseth moving through the field, but not with Salder, Reutimann, Kvapil, Ragan, Sorenson, and Montoya. Montoya is running better because Dodge sucks dick and he is now driving a Chevy. Even Kasey Kahne can't crack the top 10 for Dodge. Kurt Busch is the only driver that runs well in Dodges lately because he's been using the new Dodge R6 engine. Junior broke a valve train, but Jimmie, Jeff, Tony, and Ryan Newman had the same part and something just broke with the part on the 88 and the 5. 36. New14&88Fan posted: 02.25.2009 - 3:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) "Could we see the driver of the #55 holding that big championship trophy over his head at the end of the season?" Yeah, and the Earth will begin rotating backwards, cats will kill and maim dogs, Brian France will make logical long term business decisions, and the Detroit Lions will win the Super Bowl. HAHA,Good one DaleSrFan. If Michael Waltrip manages to stay in the top-10 in points past Vegas,Hell will freeze over and monkeys and pigs will fly. 37. DaleSrFanForever posted: 02.25.2009 - 10:27 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) The tracks that will really do Mikey in are Bristol and Martinsville. It seems like he has problems at every single race he runs at those two. Then he will also have to run races at Phoenix, Richmond, Darlington, and Dover. He will have bad finishes at 3 of those 4 races at least. I doubt he will be in the Top 25 after those races. 38. Kit posted: 02.26.2009 - 12:51 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) Waltrip only has six top 10s in Bristol, and a whole lot of 20th and 30th place finishes. His finishes at Martinsville are even worse. 39. Anonymous posted: 02.26.2009 - 5:55 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) On Joey Lagano about the issue of him getting in to Cup to early, why doesn't NASCAR still have the rule like they had in the 50's that you couldn't drive in Cup until you were 21! For example, Richard Petty started when he was 21 because that was the minimum age to drive in Cup back then. 40. Neal posted: 02.26.2009 - 5:43 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) That's not _entirely_ true. Buddy Baker started his first race at age 18 in 1959. Over the years there have been other young drivers but most have flamed out - Clark Dwyer and Bobby Hillin, Jr. come to mind. 41. Kit posted: 02.26.2009 - 7:40 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) And I meant that Kyle Busch is a dork with an inferiority complex, not Neal. 42. Willy on Wheels posted: 02.26.2009 - 8:20 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Who is Clark Dwyer? 43. Neal posted: 02.26.2009 - 9:56 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Willy on Wheels - Clark Dwyer was a 19-year old from Colorado who ran his first Winston Cup race in 1983. He ran roughly 2 full seasons driving for Roger Hamby and Elmo Langley. He scored 1 Top 10 in 59 starts. 44. petty43 posted: 02.27.2009 - 10:29 pm Rate this comment: (0) (1) in my drive to work today there were more lead changes and passing than in this race. i tivoed thru the truck race, nationwide race, and sprint race all in less than 2 hours. sounds like i did not miss much. this could save me about 150 hours of free time in my weekends, and right now i do not see any reason to believe it will change, please can we get to bristol soon, or even a road course. and if kenseth wins another race i am going to have to start replaying the races from the 70's and 80's when drivers had some personality. man he makes pearson look like tim richmond. these are some dark days for an old school cup fan, please nascar fix these shitty racing cars, or else it may be time to look into that glorified go gart racing across the pond. 45. Pork Rind posted: 02.28.2009 - 11:15 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) The 2nd post for this race says that Jeff Gordon passed Rusty Wallace in the most laps led all time category. I can't imagine anyone has led more laps than Richard Petty. Is that in reference to the 'modern era' of Nascar? I've been a Nascar fan since June 8th 1997, and in the short time since I've seen some boring races and some great races. I watch week in and week out because you never know when you'll see a great race that you'll remember for years to come. As far as Michael Waltrip winning the Sprint Cup, it's not impossible, but it's not very probable. Have a nice day. 46. PennzoilChevy posted: 03.03.2009 - 2:38 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Harvick broke his streak of running at the end of 81 races. oh well hopefully he'll rebound in the weeks to come. 47. Sean posted: 03.14.2009 - 11:54 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Pork Rind, Gordon passed Wallace for seventh on the all-time laps led list. He is still behind: Richard Petty - 52194 Cale Yarborough - 31676 Bobby Allison - 27539 Dale Earnhardt - 25707 David Pearson - 25419 Darrell Waltrip - 23131 48. Daniel posted: 05.22.2012 - 10:33 am Rate this comment: (0) (0) In using fastest 43: #64 Todd Bodine Out using fastest 43: #55 Michael Waltrip 49. CBASS posted: 02.02.2013 - 10:07 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Sponsor updates #43/44 Charter #42 Target/ Polaroid #41 All Sport Body Quencher #12 Penske #8 Guitar Hero: World Tour #28 Farmers Auto Insurance #34 Window World http://archives.ciastockphoto.com/cgi/images.php?group=w0902 50. LASTCAR posted: 04.23.2013 - 12:03 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Joe Nemechek picked up his 14th career last-place finish in Sunday's Auto Club 500 at the Auto Club Speedway of Southern California after his unsponsored #87 Toyota fell out with a fuel pump failure on lap 36 of the 250-lap event. After coming just one spot shy of making the field for the Daytona 500 the previous week, Nemechek made the field for the Auto Club 500 with a qualifying speed of 177.998 mph. The run was just good enough for him to beat 5 other go-or-go-homers and secure the 43rd spot. In the early stages of the race, Nemechek gradually moved up into the 30s, but came down pit road under green on lap 36. His crew lifted the hood on his Toyota, then pushed it behind the wall. The fuel pump had failed, forcing the team to call it a day. It was the first time the last-place finisher was knocked out with a fuel pump problem since Joe Ruttman in the 1982 Firecracker 400 at Daytona. The run was Nemechek's third last-place finish at the Auto Club Speedway, his second-straight at the track, and his first since last fall's Tums QuikPak 500 at Martinsville. Half of Nemechek's fourteen last-place finishes have all come in the last three seasons. Nemechek's NEMCO operation had not finished last since Ron Fellows fell out early in the Global Crossing at the Glen in August of 2000. It had been just over a year since the #87 had previously finished last: Kenny Wallace did so driving as Nemechek's teammate in last year's Daytona 500. 2009 RANKINGS 1st) Joey Logano, Joe Nemechek (1) Visit http://brockbeard.blogspot.com/ for more. 51. Nascarp posted: 12.12.2020 - 1:30 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Ford's 2nd win in 2 races to start the season. They would go on to win only 1 more in 2009, and not until McMurray at Talladega 2. 52. Rich posted: 12.17.2020 - 11:39 pm Rate this comment: (0) (0) Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds and Darrell Waltrip were the commentators. Dr. Dick Berggren, Steve Byrnes, Matt Yocum and Krista Voda were the pit road reporters. Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond were in the Hollywood hotel. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Post a comment:* Your comment may not appear immediately - all comments must be approved by the moderator. Name: Comment: