Team Nationwide for Harry Goes Road Racing, Rolling 5

Team Nationwide for Harry hits its first road course under my tutelage this week at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Ca. I am not the biggest fan of these races but I do love the fact that you can and should always get five guys in the show for the week.

We left $18K on the table (leaving a chunk of cash is not uncommon when picking road racers) and went with the following:

Lineup:
no. 9 - Marcos Ambrose (30,000)
no. 24 - Jeff Gordon (35,000)
no. 42 - Juan Montoya (33,000)
no. 48 - Jimmie Johnson (41,000)
no. 51 - Boris Said (3,000)

I feel strongly that this lineup can yield a solid finish. They all made the show and here's where they will start:

no. 9 -- Marcos Ambrose -- 9th
no. 48 -- Jimmie Johnson -- 12th
no. 24 -- Jeff Gordon -- 13th
no. 42 -- Juan Montoya -- 17th
no. 51 -- Boris Said -- 30th

This post will be updated with post-race results.

Post-race results
Some late shenanigans by the no. 42 car of Juan Montoya cost Team Nationwide for Harry the win but still earned us a solid fourth-place finish this week.

We still had two drivers in the Top 5, and three in the Top 10 but the Montoya skirmishes along with an incident between Boris Said and Jeff Burton tarnished our dreams of a second win in three weeks.

Overall, Team Nationwide for Harry held at 17th overall but is well within striking distance of the Top 10 with a good finish.

Here is the final overall breakdown:

no. 24 -- Jeff Gordon -- 2nd
no. 9 -- Marcos Ambrose -- 5th
no. 48 -- Jimmie Johnson -- 7th
no. 42 -- Juan Montoya -- 22nd
no. 51 -- Boris Said -- 28th

We'll be back in action next week at Daytona for the Coke Zero 400.

Nationwide for Harry Rolling 5 at Michigan

Team Nationwide for Harry returns to the track this weekend at the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400 in Brooklyn, Michigan. Better news is, we're rolling five!

Here is who I took, why I took them and how they qualified:

16 -- Greg Biffle -- $34K -- The Biff is my man and Michigan has been good to him. Biffle has 10 top 10 finishes in 16 career starts at Brooklyn.
24 -- Jeff Gordon -- $34K -- I cannot drop the no. 24 after last week's win, the fact that he is only $34K and the fact that he has 18 top five finishes in 36 career starts at MIS.
46 -- JJ Yeley -- $5K -- Harry liked JJ and so do I, plus, he's affordable and almost a lock to qualify via speed. Note: Yeley is in.
48 -- Jimmie Johnson -- $42K -- JJ has never won here but is usually right at the top. I think he might get his first victory on Sunday.
99 -- Carl Edwards -- $44K -- I can't stand the prick but he's finished in the top 10 in 11 of his 13 career starts at MIS. Plus, he's on fire and due to bounce back strong after a rough ride last week.

Thus, I left $1K on the table. Qualifying results are as follows:

7 -- no. 16 Greg Biffle
21 -- no. 48 Jimmie Johnson
23 -- no. 99 Carl Edwards
31 -- no. 24 Jeff Gordon
34 -- no. 46 JJ Yeley

Note: This post will be updated with post-race results.

Post-race results:

A lineup I really liked turned in a below average day as team Nationwide for Harry had an off week, falling one spot to 16th overall on the year.

Here is how we finished:

no. 99 -- Carl Edwards -- 5th
no. 16 -- Greg Biffle -- 15th
no. 24 -- Jeff Gordon -- 17th
no. 48 -- Jimmie Johnson -- 27th
no. 46 -- JJ Yeley -- 39th

We'll be back in action next Sunday in Sonoma at the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway.

Dude, We Got One! Team Nationwide for Harry Wins!

I've taken a few weeks off from the blog due to some personal reasons and the fact that I moved. I'll be settled in my new apartment here in Chicago in July and am excited about that.

Now, for the big news: We Got One for Ya Harry!

After a season full of ups and downs, Team Nationwide for Harry finally took the checkered flag finishing FIRST at the 5-Hour Energy 500 at Pocono Raceway.

A mid-pack strategy helped us bring home the win this week. Rather than taking a heavy hitter, we used this strategy:

4 - Kasey Kahne (31,000)
39 - Ryan Newman (35,000)
24 - Jeff Gordon (33,000)
42 - Juan Montoya (33,000)
31 - Jeff Burton (28,000)

Here's how they finished.

24 -- 1st
42 -- 7th
39 -- 9th
4 -- 12th
31 -- 20th

The win moved Team Nationwide for Harry up to 16th overall but man, it sure feels good to win a week for my pal. We'll try for two in a row next week at Michigan. Dude, we got one!