RACE DR on the RADIO

RACE DR ON THE RADIO

RACE DR returns to the Two Guys Name Chris show (featuring Deidre) on ROCK 92, Monday in the 10 O’Clock hour, please start listening at 6 AM. If you don’t reside in the Triad Megaplex tune on online at www.ROCK92.COM.

Check out the RACE DR as he visits “Manifold Destiny” Monday night on SIRIUS and XM NASCAR RADIO CH 128. “Manifold Destiny” begins 10PM Charlotte Mean Time, 7PM in the Wild West. “Manifold Destiny” is hosted by Mojo Nixon.

RACE DR returns to the Two Guys Name Chris show (featuring Deidre) on ROCK 92, Friday in the 10 O’Clock hour, please start listening at 6 AM. If you don’t reside in the Triad Megaplex tune on online at www.ROCK92.COM.

Tune in “Inside Track” on Sporting News Radio Saturday at 9 AM Charlotte time on your local Sporting News station, Sirius Satellite CH 127 or online at www.SPORTINGNEWS.com. The RACE DR and Vicki Johnson will break down this week’s race and go inside all the racing headlines.

CHICAGO ROAD TRIP

CHICAGO ROAD TRIP-Bueller style

Last weekend I was fortunate enough to travel to Chicago where many years ago I went to all 3 and half years of my high school experience-go Willowbrook Warriors! Thanks to great people at LifeLock I did my Sporting News Radio show live from the track on Saturday morning along with my partner Vicki. Friday started early as we went out try to get some advance audio and check out where we would do the broadcast from.

This guy was assigned to our car at the last minute, 5 people in a rental sedan is no party. Friday went well and thanks to all at the Chicagoland Speedway for making it easy. Saturday morning came early but we didn’t have flag guy in our car either. Broadcast went well. I was ready to hit the campgrounds and hook up with friends. Three RV’s full, now that is the way to party. I had lunch, got my tickets to the race and was ready to hit it the campground when the folks at LifeLock asked Vic and myself to interview the super charming singer Jessie James. RV trip delayed, out to the fanzone we went.

Here is Vic and myself interviewing the super charming Jessie James. The good thing about being on stage with two attractive women is nobody even looks at you, not even the women.

Here is Jessie singing the National Anthem before the LifeLock.com 400.

With that task complete it was off to the campground, confidentiality agreements prevent photos or written descriptions from being used here. The following day it was off to Wrigley Field. I went with JR from the old JR and the Race DR show. We had great seats-thank you Night Watchman! On the way to the seats we saw Kurt Busch standing right in front of us getting ready to throw out the first pitch. Kurt was great as always.

Here he is with the ball. Kurt did a good job throwing out the first pitch and later nailed it singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”. Cubs won, Cardinals lost, all in all a good end to a great weekend. Thanks to LifeLock, Sporting News Radio, The Movie Underground Friday’s at 8 in the East on WGN America, Chicagoland Speedway, Rowdy.com, Portillo’s, JR, Ross Grierson, Bob Weil and your crews. Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, Pete Pistone, Jeff Gluck, Carl Edwards, Dehm and Kelly and everyone they know.

Monday July 2oth look for my preview of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

TOP 5 DRIVER PICKS:CHICAGO

CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY LIFELOCK.COM 400
My #5 pick as always is my wildcard pick of the week, #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.  Dale has 8 starts here, 2 were top 5’s, including 1 win in 2005. Jr. sits 21st in points and is a long shot to make the chase. Since new crew chief Lance McGrew jumped up on the pitbox for him though things have been getting better.  Jr. returns here where he and Hendrick Motorsports have had success and he could be a big surprise Saturday night.
VIC PICKS #88

My #4 pick has only been here 4 times, #18 Kyle Busch. Kyle may have only have 4 starts but all 4 races were top 15 finishes and last year he was the winner. Kyle has had a lot of bad finishes lately – last week was a good example – and now it is time to turn things around.
VIC PICKS #83

My #3 driver to watch has never won here but he has come home 2nd twice, #17 Matt Kenseth. Matt is the best on these downforce tracks. Matt sits 10th in points and knows the Chase pressure is on. Matt has started all 8 races here and is just getting better – his two 2nd place finishes have been in the last four races.
VIC PICKS #18

The #2 driver is the 2nd hottest over the last 6 weeks, #48 Jimmie Johnson. Jimmie has 7 starts here and 5 of those were top 5’s. Jimmie is #2 rated on the downforce tracks and #2 in points.
VIC PICKS #99
The #1 driver is a two-time former winner here, #14 Tony Stewart. Tony has 8 starts, 2 wins, and 6 Top 5’s. Three quarters of his starts have been Top 5’s. New owner Tony Stewart is halfway thru a dream season that finds him #1 in points, #1 hottest over the last 6 weeks and coming off a dramatic win at Daytona.
VIC PICKS #48
Saturday look for my partner Vic’s late line picks.

TOP 30 POWER RANKINGS

LIFELOCK.COM 400 CHICAGO

1. TONY STEWART #14

2. JIMMIE JOHNSON #48

3. MATT KENSETH #17

4. KYLE BUSCH #18

5. GREG BIFFLE #16

6. JEFF GORDON #24

7. KURT BUSCH #2

8. KEVIN HARVICK #29

9. BRIAN VICKERS #83

10. CLINT BOWYER #33

11. DALE EARNHARDT JR #88

12. MARK MARTIN #5

13. CARL EDWARDS #99

14. JUAN PABLO MONTOYA #42

15. JEFF BURTON #31

16. DENNY HAMLIN #11

17. RYAN NEWMAN #39

18. CASEY MEARS #07

19. DAVID RAGAN #6

20. KASEY KAHNE #9

21. MARTIN TRUEX #1

22. A.J. ALLMENDINGER #44

23. JOEY LOGANO #20

24. REED SORENSON #43

25. DAVID REUTIMANN #00

26. MARCOS AMBROSE #47

27. BOBBY LABONTE #96

28. JAMIE MCMURRAY #26

29. ELLIOTT SADLER #19

30. DAVID STREMME #12

*STILL MUST QUALIFY

Friday we break down the Top 5 drivers to watch.

TOP 10 DRIVERS:DOWNFORCE TRACK

TOP 10: DOWNFORCE TRACKS
1. CARL EDWARDS #99
2. JIMMIE JOHNSON #48
3. GREG BIFFLE #16
4. KEVIN HARVICK #29
5. MATT KENSETH #17
6. JEFF GORDON #24
7. KYLE BUSCH #18
8. DENNY HAMLIN #11
9. TONY STEWART #14
10. JEFF BURTON #31

Top 10 on Downforce tracks, Thursday look for our Top 30 rankings for Saturday’s LifeLock.com 400 from Chicagoland Speedway.

TOP TEN TEAM/OWNERS:PRE CHICAGO

TOP 10 TEAMS POST DAYTONA
1. STEWART HAAS RACING
2. HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS
3. ROUSH/FENWAY RACING
4. JOE GIBBS RACING
5. EARNHARDT GANASSI RACING

6. RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING
7. RICHARD PETTY MOTORSPORTS
8. PENSKE MOTORSPORTS
9. MICHAEL WALTRIP RACING
10. RED BULL RACING

Tony Stewart comes in 1st and SHR stays at #1. This is the 9th straight week of SHR at #1. The Top 7 stays the same! Scuderia Penske move up one spot and MWR drop a spot the week they announce that Martin Truex will be joining the fold. Team Red Bull stay at #10.

These are the Top 10 Owner/Teams, Wednesday look for our Top10 drivers on downforce tracks.

RACE PREVIEW:CHICAGO

LIFELOCK.COM 400
CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY
JULY 11TH, 8PM on TNT-TV
1.5 MILES 18 Degrees of Banking
My kind of town Chicago is, and my kind of track Chicagoland speedway is. Criticized when built as a “cookie cutter track”, this track is actually truly unique. The only thing it shares with other mile and a half tracks is the size. First there is no such thing as a bad seat here; even the first row has a good back stretch view. Secondly the back stretch is curved slightly and that makes it very different from the other 1.5 mile tracks on the circuit. This track has enough banking to keep speeds fast and wide enough to pass pretty easily. When you take a great race facility like this and put it next to a world class city like Chicago you have a weekend that can’t be beat. Chevrolet has won 6 out of the 8 races run here, with Dodge winning the 7th and Toyota the 8th.  Ford has not yet won a race here. Can Ford win their first race here? We’ll find out Saturday on TNT.

TOP 5 DRIVERS:DAYTONA

Daytona COKE ZERO 400
The #5 driver is my weekly wildcard and he sits 27th in points but is a former winner, #29 Kevin Harvick. Kevin has 15 starts, a win in 2007 and 3 total Top 5’s. Kevin is my #2 rated driver on restrictor plate tracks.
VIC PICKS #19
My #4 pick is another former winner, #14 Tony Stewart. Tony has 21 starts, 2 wins, and 6 Top 5’s. Of course this is one of Tony’s best seasons – he sits #1 in points and is #1 hottest over the last 6 weeks. He may NOT risk everything for a win but he should be near the front and the points when the day is over.
VIC PICKS #18
My #3 driver is only getting better here, #17 Matt Kenseth. On the eve of this race 2 years ago Matt only had 1 Top 5 in 15 starts. 4 races later at 19 starts Matt has 1 win, and 3 Top 5’s. Pretty strong! Things have come together for Matt here, he knows he can get it done and since he sits 10th in points. He HAS to get it done Saturday night.
VIC PICKS #88
My #2 pick won this race last year, #18 Kyle Busch. Kyle has 9 starts, 1 win, and 4 Top 5’s. Kyle has the skills to move thru the draft and the Toyota power to get the job done.
VIC PICKS #24
My #1 driver to watch has never won here, #2 Kurt Busch. Kurt has never won a restrictor plate race but he has been a very consistent Top 5 finisher. He has 17 starts and 8 Top 5 finishes. More importantly 5 of his last 6 races were Top 10’s and 4 of them were Top 5’s.
VIC PICKS #14
Saturday look for my partner Vic’s late line picks.

TOP 30 DRIVERS:DAYTONA

COKE ZERO 400 from DAYTONA

1. KURT BUSCH #2
2. KYLE BUSCH #18
3. MATT KENSETH #17
4. TONY STEWART #14
5. CLINT BOWYER #07
6. KASEY KAHNE #9
7. KEVIN HARVICK #29
8. CARL EDWARDS #99
9. MARK MARTIN #5
10. DAVID RAGAN #6
11. ELLIOTT SADLER #19
12. JEFF GORDON #24
13. RYAN NEWMAN #39
14. ROBBY GORDON #7
15. JEFF BURTON #31
16. GREG BIFFLE #16
17. DALE EARNHARDT JR #88
18. JIMMIE JOHNSON #48
19. BRIAN VICKERS #83
20. CASEY MEARS #07
21. DAVID REUTIMANN #00
22. MARTIN TRUEX #1
23. REED SORENSON #43
24. DENNY HAMLIN #11
25. JUAN PABLO MONTOYA #42
26. MARCOS AMBROSE #47
27. JAMIE MCMURRAY #26
28. DAVID STREMME #12
29. BOBBY LABONTE #96
30. SAM HORNISH #77

*STILL MUST QUALIFY

Friday we break down the Top 5 drivers to watch.

TOP 10 DRIVERS: RESTRICTOR PLATE TRACKS

TOP 10 DRIVERS: RESTRICTOR PLATE TRACKS
1. KURT BUSCH #2
2. KEVIN HARVICK #29
3. DAVID RAGAN #6
4. KYLE BUSCH #18
5. CLINT BOWYER #33
6. MATT KENSETH #17
7. KASEY KAHNE #9
8. RYAN NEWMAN #39
9. ELLIOTT SADLER #19
10. ROBBIE GORDON #7

Top drivers 10 on Restrictor Plate tracks, tomorrow look for our Top 30 rankings for Saturday’s COKE ZERO 400 from Daytona Int Speedway.

TOP 10 OWNER/TEAMS:PRE DAYTONA

TOP 10 TEAMS POST NEW HAMPSHIRE
1. STEWART HAAS RACING
2. HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS
3. ROUSH/FENWAY RACING
4. JOE GIBBS RACING
5. EARNHARDT GANASSI RACING

6. RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING
7. RICHARD PETTY MOTORSPORTS
8. MICHAEL WALTRIP RACING
9. PENSKE MOTORSPORTS
10. RED BULL RACING

Tony Stewart comes in 5th and SHR stays at #1. For the first time in a long time the Top 10 stays the same! This is the 8th straight week of SHR at #1.

These are the Top 10 Owner/Teams, Wednesday look for our Top10 drivers on restrictor plate tracks.