Track Funk Race Recap

As you shake off the track funk from Richmond and head to Darlington (Darlynn-ton!), here is what you missed if you chose to drink one too many Mint Juleps at the Kentucky Derby before watching the race.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR.com

It's getting hard for even the most cynical fan to hate Kyle Busch as he wins the 2009 Crown Royal Presents The Russ Friedman 400 at Richmond International Raceway. This is his 3rd win of 2009 and the 15th of his career. He makes the records book as the youngest driver ever to reach 15 Cup wins, claiming this honor on his 24th birthday. Kyle also swept the weekend by winning the Nationwide Series Race on Friday Night.The rest of the top 10 shakes out like this:

#14 - Tony Stewart
#31 - Jeff Burton
#39 - Ryan Newman
#5 - Mark Martin
#77 - Sam Hornish Jr.
#26 - Jamie McMurray
#24 - Jeff Gordon
#07 - Casey Mears
#42 - Juan Pablo Montoya

There were 15 cautions, tying the caution record at Richmond. There were 21 lead changes among 8 leaders:

Lap Leaders
Brian Vickers (1-16, 8-22)
Jeff Gordon (7, 23-72, 97-98, 309-351)
Denny Hamlin (73-95, 101-116, 124-144,152-213, 249-274)
Kurt Busch (96, 145-151)
Ryan Newman (99-100, 236-248, 275-299,303-307)
Clint Bowyer (117-123)
Martin Truex Jr. (214-235)
Kyle Busch (300-302, 308, 352-400)

Unofficial Standings, Results and a lap by lap recap are available at NASCAR.com. Stay tuned next week as Kyle Busch will try to make two-fer by defending his trophy at the Southern 500 presented by Go Daddy in Darlington. The race takes place Saturday, May 9th and will be broadcasted on Fox going green at 7:35pm.

Richmond Cheat Sheet / Lineup

Congratulations to Brian Vickers, who got the pole for the Crown Royal Presents the Russ Friedman 400 at Richmond International Raceway.Photo Courtesy of NASCAR.com

Below is the line-up
1. #83 Brian Vickers Toyota, Red Bull
2. #24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet, DuPont
3. #11 Denny Hamlin Toyota, FedEx Ground
4. #1 Martin Truex Jr. Chevrolet, Bass Pro Shops / Tracker
5. #31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet, Prilosec OTC / Wal-Mart
6. #09 Mike Bliss Dodge, Miccosukee Resort & Gaming
7. #5 Mark Martin Chevrolet, Cheez-It / Carquest
8. #82 Scott Speed Toyota, Red Bull
9. #00 David Reutimann Toyota, Aaron's Dream Machine
10. #39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet, U.S. Army
11. #12 David Stremme Dodge, Star Trek
12. #33 Clint Bowyer Chevrolet BB&T
13. #20 Joey Logano Toyota, The Home Depot
14. #18 Kyle Busch Toyota, Combos
15. #48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet, Lowe's
16. #14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet, Office Depot / Old Spice
17. #2 Kurt Busch Dodge, Miller Lite
18. #9 Kasey Kahne Dodge, Budweiser
19. #29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet, Shell / Pennzoil
20. #16 Greg Biffle Ford, 3M
21. #47 Marcos Ambrose Toyota, Bush's Best Baked Beans / Kingsford / Clorox
22. #6 David Ragan Ford, UPS Freight
23. #43 Reed Sorenson Dodge, McDonald's McCafe
24. #87 Joe Nemechek Toyota, NEMCO Motorsports
25. #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet, National Guard - Drive the Guard / Amp Energy
26. #66 Dave Blaney Toyota, Prism Motorsports
27. #26 Jamie McMurray Ford, Crown Royal
28. #77 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge, Mobil 1
29. #42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet, Target
30. #55 Michael Waltrip Toyota, NAPA Adaptive One
31. #44 A.J. Allmendinger Dodge, Paralyzed Veterans of America / King's Cup
32. #19 Elliott Sadler Dodge, Stanley Tools
33. #98 Paul Menard Ford, NIBCO / Menards
34. #71 David Gilliland Chevrolet, TRG Motorsports
35. #17 Matt Kenseth Ford, Dewalt
36. #7 Robby Gordon Toyota, Energizer
37. #99 Carl Edwards Ford, Aflac
38. #41 Jeremy Mayfield Toyota, SmallSponsor.com
39. #36 Scott Riggs Toyota, Tommy Baldwin Racing
40. #96 Bobby Labonte Ford, Ask.com
41. #07 Casey Mears Chevrolet, Jack Daniel's
42. #34 John Andretti Chevrolet, Window World
43. #37 Tony Raines Chevrolet, Long John Silver's

Failed to Qualify on time:
# 64 Todd Bodine Toyota, Gunselman Motorsports
#06 Trevor Boys Dodge, Boys Will Be Boys Racing Co.

Crown Royal and Russ Friedman ...the story!

Experts taken from an article written by Barbara Barker, Newsday

Crown Royal Presents the Russ Friedman 400 race at Richmond International Raceway. Now, how the heck did he get a race named for him?

Friedman is an Iraq war veteran who wants to honor the men and women in the armed forces who have served and still are serving their country overseas. So last year, when the Huntington Station resident heard about an essay contest to have a race named after a NASCAR fan, he decided to write about the two Purple Hearts he was awarded while on duty in Iraq with Marine Corps and how he would love to dedicate a race to those in the armed services.

"I entered and then sort of forgot about it,'' Friedman, 27, said. "Then I get this call saying I was a finalist and they wanted to fly me to the Daytona 500. I was shocked.''

During the Daytona 500 in February, it was announced that Friedman had beaten out the more than 5,000 NASCAR fans who entered the contest. The May 2 race is officially named the Crown Royal presents The Russell Friedman 400.

Friedman, a member of the Marine Corps Individual Ready Reserve, is a native New Yorker. Also, he’s a student at Nassau Community College where he’s studying to be a history teacher.

Friedmanis an avid NASCAR fan. He decorates his basement with NASCAR paraphernalia.It's a dream come true for Friedman, a NASCAR fan who is hoping that by sharing his story, it will help others remember those in the armed services.

Marie Friedman, his mother, will be among those attending the race Saturday. With everything her son has gone through, she said she is just thrilled that he is receiving this honor.

"You don't hear about the troops over there as much as you used to, and I think sometimes we feel that they've been forgotten,'' she said. "That's why he wanted to dedicate this race to everyone in the armed forces. He really is a special kid.''

This is exciting to the fashionistas for a bunch of different reasons. First, both Ally and I have Long Island ties and my family is from Nassau county. I was also involved with this Crown Royal contest for about 2 years. When Crown was in Daytona for the races in February and July, they would set up locations via my radio stations and I to gather stories for this contest. In truth, there was some really ridiculous stories that came out of those nights. I am sure you can imagine the Billy Bob renditions of how he lost his dog, his wife but had Crown Royal by his side to the tune of banjos in the background. Thankfully Mr. Darlynn didn't offer his rendition that we have enough Crown Royal bags to wallpaper our house. How thankful I am that Russell Friedman had a wonderful story making this contest viable and an actual "Crown Winning Moment". Congrats!

Flying to Richmond? Airtran offers discount!!

Courtesy of Richmond International Raceway

On the heels of Richmond-area hotels offering reduced lodging rates and reducing or eliminating minimum night stays, AirTran Airways will be offering 10-percent off flights to Richmond International Airport for the May 1-2 NASCAR doubleheader weekend at Richmond International Raceway.

As part of AirTran Airways’ EventSavers program, travelers can receive 10-percent off their flight to Richmond by calling 866-68EVENT (866-683-8368) and using event code: RIC050109.

With the EventSavers program, the airline known for everyday low fares is now offering a way to save even more on airfare. With one call, travelers can receive a 10-percent savings off the flight cost to Richmond for the Crown Royal Presents the Russ Friedman 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the Lipton Tea 250 NASCAR Nationwide Series races at Richmond International Raceway, May 1-2.

Additional benefits of EventSavers include: no overnight stay or minimum stay requirement, priority advance seat assignments at time of ticketing and special event rates from Hertz.

For more information, contact the AirTran Airways EventSavers desk toll free at 866-68EVENT (866-683-8368).

The distance between the airport in Richmond and Richmond International Raceway is 10 miles and Google map directions are here. If you make last minute decisions like we do, this sounds like a very viable option for next weekend!