NASCAR 2005: CHASE FOR THE CUP
Efusjon Home Run Team, Starting today through December 31, 2009 every team member that personally enrolls 3 people will be placed in a drawing for a Framed, Ernie Banks Autographed, Chicago Cubs Jersey. This will be an incredible keepsake for our Home Run Club winner.
The Jersey is being provided by Mrs. Liz Banks, wife of Mr. Ernie Banks, of the 500 Home Run Club, and proud member of the Efusjon Home Run Club.
Each member of the Efusjon Home Run Club that enrolls 3 people in the month of December will have their name placed in a raffle.
Each time you enroll three your name will be entered into the raffle again. For example if you enroll 6 people in December you would have two chances in the raffle, 9 would give you three chances and so forth.
End the year with a Home Run for your Efusjon business, let's knock the cover off the ball!
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posted by ADMIN @ 12/02/2009
Blame it on Jeff Gordon.
If only he had averted his eyes from the kid in the red and white car running the perfect line around Darlington Raceway at that test session so many years ago. If only he hadn't passed his name on to team owner Rick Hendrick. If only he hadn't sat in a conference room with the chief executive officer of Lowe's, swallowed hard, and said, yeah, sure, of course the guy is capable of winning races and championships.
Gordon / Johnson
Points/Rank (full years)
Year Gordon Johnson Diff.
2002 4,607/4 4,600/5 +7
2003 4,785/4 4,932/2 -147
2004* 6,490/2 6,498/2 -8
2005* 4,174/11^ 6,406/5 -2,232
2006* 6,256/6 6,475/1 -219
2007* 6,646 6,723/1 -77
2008* 6,316 6,684/1 -368
2009*~ 6,323/3 6,492/1 -169
* Chase years
^ Didn't make Chase
~ 35 races
How different modern NASCAR history would be. How ironic that the man most responsible for unleashing Jimmie Johnson upon the world is the driver who likely would have gained the most had the once-unknown Busch driver never been unearthed.
"I'm very proud of what that team has accomplished. I'm proud to have been a part of it from the beginning," Gordon said at Homestead-Miami Speedway, site of Sunday's season finale, where Johnson likely will secure his record-breaking fourth consecutive championship on NASCAR's highest level.
"It's a bittersweet thing, because as a driver, you know, we won the championship in '01 when they ran their first race. They watched us win that championship in '01. I think maybe in '02 I finished ahead of him in points. I don't think I've finished ahead of him in points since then. It just reminds me of when the 24 team came together, the people that made that happen, how it came together, how it clicked, all the right things happening. It reminds me a lot about that. You know, I'm happy for those guys, being able to be a part of something like that."
Gordon laughs about it now, this realization that he created a monster. But without Johnson in the way, the driver of the No. 24 car unquestionably wins a fifth championship in 2007, the season when he stockpiled an amazing 30 top-10s yet fell 77 points short of the crown. He'd have a more-than-realistic shot at a sixth title this year, given that he's 61 points behind second place Mark Martin. As it stands now, though, they're all watching Johnson continue a march that may not end until the sport's greatest record is equaled.
Even Gordon, made wary of such prognostications by personal experience -- he heard plenty of talk about seven championships himself after he won his fourth and still most recent title in 2001 -- concedes the possibility given Johnson's success under the current championship format.
"Those guys are on a roll right now, and I don't really see it slowing down," Gordon said. "I think they're very capable of doing it again next year. You know, that's still just five. Seven is a big number. That's tough to get to. I remember a lot of people telling me or asking me, oh man, seven is in reach, seven is in reach. A lot changed.
"To me the only difference is, I don't compare the championships those guys won, or the ones I won, to the new championship. It's totally different. If they continue to keep the 10 races in the Chase that are in there now, I don't know if there's anybody better than the 48 team at those 10 races, those 10 tracks.
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posted by ADMIN @ 11/23/2009
"How 'bout some history?!" Jimmie Johnson shouted as the crossed the finish line at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
No, Johnson didn't win Sunday's Ford 400. Denny Hamlin did. But Johnson accomplished something far more significant than a victory in a single event. His fifth-place finish was more than good enough to clinch his fourth Cup Series title in a row, breaking a tie with Cale Yarborough for most consecutive championships.
"History, boys," Johnson continued. "No one ever -- ever! I don't know how to thank you guys. Thank you so much."
Johnson's title run also completed Hendrick Motorsports' sweep of the top three positions in the final standings, the first time an organization has achieved that distinction. In winning his fourth Chase, Johnson finished 141 points ahead of Mark Martin, who entered Sunday's race 108 points behind his teammate and finished 12th.
Jeff Gordon secured a third-place finish in the points with a sixth-place run.
All but lost in the hoopla surrounding Johnson's record run was Hamlin's fourth victory of the season and his second in the Chase. Surging into the lead after a restart on Lap 222 of 267, Hamlin crossed the stripe 2.632 seconds ahead of Jeff Burton, who posted his second consecutive runner-up finish and his fourth top-10 in a row.
Burton's Richard Childress Racing teammate Kevin Harvick ran third, and Kurt Busch locked up fourth in the Chase standings with a fourth-place finish.
After Hamlin did a celebratory burnout on the frontstretch, and the championship stage was rolled into position, Johnson did an elaborate burnout of his own that started near the entrance to pit road and continued down the front straightaway.
After the smoke settled, Johnson embraced the enormity of what he had just accomplished.
"The truth of it is, to do something that's never been done in this sport -- to love the sport like I do and respect it like I do -- and the greats: Petty, Earnhardt, Gordon ... to do something they've never done is so awesome. To win four championships in eight years, what this team has done ... I don't know where to start. It's unbelievable."
With his niece Alesha Gainey facing an emergency liver transplant in North Carolina, team owner Rick Hendrick wasn't at Homestead to celebrate Johnson's record and several others that accrued to the organization. Hendrick Motorsports won its ninth owners' championship, tying Petty Enterprises for most all time.
In addition, Hendrick won its aggregate 12th owners' championship in NASCAR's top three national series, a NASCAR best. Crew chief Chad Knaus also extended his record number of consecutive Cup titles to four.
"Heavy hearts and prayers with the boss man and the family," Martin said, paying homage to Hendrick. "That sort of takes a little bit of the shine off of it. But congratulations to Hendrick Motorsports, to Jimmie Johnson -- Superman -- and to my team."
Johnson never let up in pursuit of the championship. He raced hard for wins in nine of the 10 Chase races, and for all 400 miles at Homestead, where he threatened to try to run down the leaders to better his eventual fifth-place finish.
It made for a sometimes testy drive into history for Johnson, who was at times annoyed at rival drivers and even Gordon, the mentor and teammate who helped him land his job with Hendrick Motorsports.
Nobody gave Johnson anything, either. The other drivers raced hard around him all day, making Johnson earn every point.
After several tense laps chasing Gordon for fifth place -- Johnson at one point complained over his radio, "I let him go, now why won't he just go somewhere!" -- he asked Knaus if he had enough time to catch Hamlin and the leaders.
Hamlin, who collected his eighth career victory, won from the 38th starting position in a No. 11 Toyota that improved as daylight turned to night, thanks to crew chief Mike Ford's astute adjustments to the car. He managed to keep pace with Johnson at times during the Chase but fell out of contention with three DNFs.
"We're going to be there, I promise you," Hamlin said. "I promise you, the next couple years, we're going to win the championship. But right now, there's no one more deserving than Jimmie."
Even Gordon, who won four quick titles early in his career but has been shut out since 2001, is impressed.
"As a competitor, that Johnson ticks me off. As a friend, teammate, fellow car owner, they're amazing," Gordon said. "I never thought in my career, in my lifetime, I'd see somebody win four in a row. To see it happening right in front of your eyes makes it even more extraordinary."
Added Burton: "If you would have told me four years ago that someone would win four championships in a row, I would have told you you were crazy."
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posted by ADMIN @ 11/23/2009
Rusty Wallace Racing will switch from Chevrolet to Toyota next season, with Steve Wallace and Brendan Gaughan running the Nos. 66 and 62 Camrys, respectively, in NASCAR's Nationwide Series.
In addition, team owner Rusty Wallace has signed a personal services agreement under which the former Cup champion and current ESPN analyst will represent the Toyota brand nationally. Wallace owns a Toyota dealership in Morristown, Tenn.
"Our team's decision on manufacturers involved input from a lot of people within the organization," Wallace said. "We decided that, at the end of the day, our goal as a race team is simple: to win races and championships. Thus, we all had to take a long look at which manufacturer partner could best help us reach that goal."
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posted by ADMIN @ 11/20/2009
Springfield-based Bass Pro Shops will have a southwest Missourian driving its NASCAR Sprint Cup vehicle for the 2010 season.
Joplin native Jamie McMurray will be behind the wheel of the No. 1 Bass Pro Chevrolet as he joins Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. He replaces Martin Truex Jr., who has been sponsored by Bass Pro since 2003. Truex is leaving Earnhardt Ganassi for Michael Waltrip Racing next season.
McMurray is a seven-year NASCAR veteran, and his career began with what was then Chip Ganassi Racing in 2002, when he took the checkered flag at Lowe's Motor Speedway in his second career race.
"We are proud to be able to continue our long relationship with Teresa Earnhardt and Chip Ganassi and we are also excited that a fine young feller from our home state, Jamie McMurray, will be our driver," Bass Pro Shops's Johnny Morris said in a news release.
The 2010 season will be Bass Pro's fifth as a primary sponsor on the NASCAR circuit.
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posted by ADMIN @ 11/20/2009