Friday, December 9, 2011

2011 Year In Review: Kurt Busch's Penalties


Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR

Nobody could have predicted how Kurt Busch's 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season would have gone. The 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup champion was most definitely a threat for the 2011 title but what was a great season ended up falling apart in the closing races of the year.

Busch started the season with a steady string of top 10 finishes. While the Shell/Pennzoil Dodge race team was pretty consistent, things really changed for the entire Penske Racing operation at Kansas Speedway in the STP 400. Busch won his first pole of the season and his car went from a top 10 car to a top 5 car almost overnight. Busch backed up the Kansas pole with two more at Pocono and Michigan, however the 22 team didn't find victory lane until stop 16 at Infineon Raceway. Busch dominated the Toyota/Save Mart 350 for his first win of the season.

Busch continued to knock off good finishes and made the Chase for the Sprint Cup. Once the Chase started, it appeared as though the 22 team fell apart. While they scored a victory at Dover in the AAA 400, it was one of only two top 10 finishes Busch and crew had during the Chase. Busch finished a very disappointing 11th in the final points standings, but the season was not over yet. Video leaked of Busch in a verbal tirade toward ESPN pit reporter, Dr. Jerry Punch while Busch was in the garage area in the final race of the year at Homestead. Subsequently, Roger Penske and Busch went their separate ways after the conflict and now it is unclear who will pilot the 22 Dodge and whether or not Busch will even participate in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season.

Surprisingly, Busch garnered several black flag penalties from NASCAR in 2011. In all, Busch was penalized an astounding eight times for speeding in the pits. Busch was also penalized once for illegally pulling up to pit and twice for pitting before pit road was open when he did not have any issues. The 22 team was not penalized once in 2011.

2011 Statistics For Kurt Busch
11th in Sprint Cup standings
2 wins (Toyota/Save Mart 350, AAA 400)
8 top 5s
16 top 10s
770 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Kurt Busch
Race 1 - Speed-Entering pits, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 3 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 9 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field; Speed-Entering pits, Tail of Field
Race 10 - Speed-Exiting pits, Tail of Field; Pulling up to pit, Held 2 laps
Race 20 - Speed-Entering pits, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 23 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage; Speed-Entering pits, Garage
Race 24 - Speed-Exiting pits, tail end; Speed-Exiting pits, tail end
Race 32 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end garage
Race 35 - Speed-Entering pits, pass thru
Race 36 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end

Thursday, December 8, 2011

2011 Year In Review: Greg Biffle's Penalties


Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

There's no denying that 2011 was not the kind of year that Greg Biffle or his 3M Ford team expected to have in NASCAR's Sprint Cup series. While Biffle did have a career best three poles on the year, he tied his 2003 career low of only three top five finishes and a career low of 10 top 10 finishes.

By no means was Biffle not in contention for several wins in 2011, it just seemed as though mistakes in the pits ended up costing he and his team a chance at victory. Two of Biffle's best chances of getting a win were both Charlotte races. In the Coca-Cola 600, Biffle led 50 laps but was knocked out of contention when he was caught speeding in the pits and forced to serve a drive through penalty. In the second event at Charlotte Motor Speedway the Bank of America 500, Biffle almost certainly had the car to beat. The #16 Roush Racing Ford led 68 of the 334 laps in the event but a lug nut error by the pit crew during a stop cost Biffle all important track position, effectively taking him out of a chance to win. In all, Biffle was blackflagged by NASCAR four times in 2011 for speeding in the pits and once for jumping out of line prior to crossing the start/finish line on a restart. Meanwhile the 3M crew only had two penalties all year long.

2011 Statistics For Greg Biffle
16th in Sprint Cup standings
3 top 5s
10 top 10s
Best Finish: 3rd in the Sylvania 300
351 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Greg Biffle
Race 1 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 8 - Pre-Race to the rear, Adjustments after Impound
Race 12 - Speed-Entering pits, Pass Thru; Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 20 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 21 - Jumping the restart, pass thru
Race 22 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Speed-Entering pits, tail end
Race 24 - Speed-Exiting pits, tail end
Race 29 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 30 - Speed-Entering pits, Tail of Field
Race 31 - Lug nut(s) not installed, Must Come In; Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 36 - Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area, tail end

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

2011 Year In Review: Robby Gordon's Penalties


Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

2011 proved to be dismal for Robby Gordon and his self-owned race team. It was the first time in his 18 year NASCAR Sprint Cup career that he did not have a top 10 finish in a season where he attempted all or most of the events. 16th in the season opening Daytona 500 was the best finish Gordon could muster. Gordon's next best finish in 2011 was 18th at Infineon Raceway in the Toyota Save Mart 350.

Gordon attempted to qualify in 26 of the 36 races on the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule. Of those events, Gordon only failed to qualify for one, the inaugural Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway. The other 10 races were started by Reed Sorenson, Johnny Sauter and Scott Wimmer. Of those 10 events, Gordon's #7 Dodge missed the field twice with a best finish of 27th by Wimmer in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. With all the struggles of 2011 and an uncertain 2012, it's unknown whether or not Gordon will be able to continue fielding his own team in the Sprint Cup series.

Gordon was only penalized by NASCAR three times during the season, once for speeding in the pits, once for a commitment line violation and once for leaking gear oil. Gordon's pit crew only had one infraction for too many crew members over the wall. Gordon managed to have a somewhat humorous series of penalties in the eighth race of the season at Talladega, the Aaron's 499. Sam Hornish, Jr, who was subbing for Gordon in qualifying had his time disqualified by NASCAR. Since the 7 car was locked into the top 35 in points Gordon was able to still start the event but at the rear of the field. Because of the driver substitution, Gordon had to serve another pre-race penalty for starting in the rear. Also because Gordon's crew made changes to the car in an impound situation, Gordon was penalized a third time to start the rear of the field for the race.

2011 Statistics For Robby Gordon
34th in Sprint Cup standings
0 top 5s
0 top 10s
Best Finish: 16th in the Daytona 500
18 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Robby Gordon
Race 1 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 2 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage; Speed-Exiting pits, Pass Thru; Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area, Tail End
Race 3 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 6 - Commitment Line Violation, Tail of Field
Race 8 - Pre-Race to the rear, Time Disallowed; Pre-Race to the rear, Driver Change; Pre-Race to the rear, Adjustments after Impound
Race 15 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 27 - Pre-Race to the rear, Engine
Race 32 - Safety violation, pit, gear oil; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end, garage
Race 33 - Pitting before pit road is open, Y, tail end, garage

2011 Year In Review: David Ragan's Penalties


Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR

2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season proved to be a real roller coaster ride for David Ragan and his UPS, Roush Racing team. The season started off with a costly mistake by the driver in the Daytona 500, hit a high point mid-season with Ragan's first victory and ended with Ragan out of a ride for 2012. However, at the time of this writing Ragan's ride on the roller coaster may be hitting a high point in the coming days with speculation of him taking over one of the premiere rides in all of the Sprint Cup series.

Statistically, the 2011 season was Ragan's second best out of the five seasons he's competed in NASCAR's Sprint Cup series. However stats don't make up for races that are lost, especially when they are due to errors that could have been prevented. Ragan can attest to that as he was lined up to potentially win the season opening race, the Daytona 500. Ragan and his Ford team overcame having to start at the rear of the field in a backup car to be within just a scant few laps of winning the Great American Race. On the next to last restart, Ragan jumped out of line bringing out a black flag and taking Ragan out of contention for the victory.

Things got better when the series returned to Daytona in July as Ragan took home his first victory ever in NASCAR's Sprint Cup series. Unfortunately, Ragan's inconsistency in 2011 along with not having sponsorship lined up for 2012 forced him out of the #6 car at the end of the year. There is the potential that Ragan may be at the head of the line to take over one of the best cars in the series for 2012. With Kurt Busch losing his ride in Roger Penske's Shell/Pennzoil #22 Dodge, rumors are abound that Ragan is the top pick to take the wheel in 2012. However, nothing has been confirmed as of this posting.

Other than a bad series of mistakes in the 11th race of the season at Dover, Ragan and his UPS crew were able to avoid getting any major penaltys from NASCAR in 2011. In the FedEx 400 at Dover, the crew made the mistake of having too many members over the wall. On the next stop just a handful of laps later, Ragan ran the stop/go sign at the end of pit road. When coming to serve that penalty, Ragan was caught speeding and was penalized yet again. Thankfully, the 6 crew only had one more penalty at Infineon Raceway in the Toyota Save Mart 350 where they were caught with too many members over the wall again. From that point on, Ragan and the team were penalized only once in the remaining 20 events.

2011 Statistics For David Ragan
23rd in Sprint Cup standings
1 win (Coke Zero 400)
4 top 5s
8 top 10s
49 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For David Ragan
Race 1 - Pre-Race to the rear, tail end, backup car; Jumping the restart, pass thru/tail end
Race 2 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of the field; Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 8 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 10 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 11 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area, tail end; Running the stop and go sign/light, 1 lap back; Speed-Exiting pits, tail end
Race 16 - Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area, pass thru
Race 22 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 35 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

2011 Year In Review: David Reutimann's Penalties


Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR

Many thought prior to the start of the 2011 Sprint Cup season that David Reutimann would be a strong contender for wins and a potential spot in NASCAR's Chase for the Sprint Cup. Reutimann had notched a win in the prior two seasons and scored a combined 14 top 5 and 19 top 10 finishes. Unfortunately, 2011 proved to be a disaster for Reutimann and his Michael Waltrip Racing team as Reutimann only scored one top five finish mid season in the inaugural race at Kentucky Speedway while garnering only two more top 10 finishes. To top it all off, Reutimann found himself without a ride for 2012.

The season opening Daytona 500 proved as a sign of things to come as Reutimann was forced to use a backup car for the Great American Race, putting him at the tail end of the start of the event. Reutimann did not score a top 10 finish until the May event at Charlotte, the Coca-Cola 600. Six races later on the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky, Reutimann and the 00 team had their best race of the season, leading seven laps and coming up just short to Kyle Busch with a second place run. The rest of the year proved to be a real struggle. Reutimann was given notice that his services were no longer needed at MWR for 2012 with just a few races left. Despite that setback, Reutimann was able to earn his third and final top 10 of the year at Phoenix in the Kobalt Tools 500.

Reutimann only earned the penalty for pitting before pit road was open seven times in 2012, a sign that he was not involved in many incidents during the year and that his struggles came more due to the car not handling to his satisfaction. Reutimann was caught speeding twice all year by NASCAR while he was penalized twice for pitting out of order. The 00 crew was penalized four in 2012, all for having too many members over the wall.

2011 Statistics For David Reutimann
28th in Sprint Cup standings
1 top 5
3 top 10s
Best Finish: 2nd in the Quaker State 400
8 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For David Reutimann
Race 1 - Pre-Race to the rear, tail end, backup car; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 2 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of the field
Race 4 - Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area, Tail of Field; Pitting out of order, Tail of Field
Race 7 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area, tail end
Race 9 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field; Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area, Tail of Field
Race 20 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end, garage
Race 23 - Speed-Exiting pits, Tail of Field
Race 24 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 26 - Speed-Entering pits, tail end; Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area, tail end
Race 27 - Pitting out of order, Tail of Field
Race 30 - Pre-Race to the rear, Tail of Field, Missed Driver Intros

Monday, December 5, 2011

2011 Year In Review: Travis Kvapil's Penalties


Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

The 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season for Travis Kvapil had to be a trying one. Going into the year, Kvapil expected to run the full NASCAR Camping World truck campaign. Unfortunately, Kvapil was ousted from the ride but Kvapil was able to keep his name on television by driving most of the Sprint Cup season for Front Row Motorsports underfunded organization.

Kvapil attempted to qualify for all but the two road course events on the 2011 Sprint Cup schedule. In all, Kvapil did not qualify for three of the events he attempted to start including the Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas, the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis and the Geico 400 at Chicagoland. Of the 31 events Kvapil started between Front Row's #38 and #55 cars, he only did the start and park five times, all while behind the wheel of the #55.

The Front Row team did a great job all year long, going the full season with only a single penalty on their behalf. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Kvapil who was caught speeding six times during the season. Kvapil's other penalties were pitting before pit road was open without damage three times and one for not obeying NASCAR's request to come to the pits.

2011 Statistics For Travis Kvapil
Was Not Eligable To Score Points
0 top 5s
0 top 10s
Best Finish: 16th in the Tums Fast Relief 500
13 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Travis Kvapil
Race 2 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 3 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 8 - Speed-Entering pits, Pass thru; Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 10 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 12 - Speed-Exiting pits, Pass Thru
Race 13 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 21 - Speed-Exiting pits, pass thru; Refueling car before the affected car receives the green flag on the race track or does not complete the designated race distance (competition yellow)
Race 24 - Speed-Exiting pits, tail end; Disobeying a NASCAR request [failure to go to proper position under yellow], 2 Laps
Race 26 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Speed-Exiting pits, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 33 - Speed-Entering pits, Tail of Field

Sunday, December 4, 2011

2011 Year In Review: Brian Vickers' Penalties


Photo by John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

After missing the majority of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season due to blood clots in his lungs, Brian Vickers was poised to make 2011 really count. Unfortunately for Vickers and his Red Bull Toyota team, things did not go as planned. 2011 was a struggle all year long for the 83 team. By the end of the season, Vickers was out of a ride and Red Bull was on its way out of NASCAR's Sprint Cup series.

Vickers placed in the top five three times in 2011, fifth on all three occasions at Dover, New Hampshire and Talladega. However, the team lacked consistency as did not have back to back top 10 finishes at any point in the year. As the season came to a conclusion, Vickers and his team were completely out-classed by his teammate for the season, Kasey Kahne. Even though Vickers had some good runs through the year, 2011 for him was marred by controversy. First there was an incident between he and Tony Stewart at Infineon Raceway in the Toyota/Save Mart 350. Later in the year in the Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville, Vickers found himself in the eye of the proverbial storm on several occasions. Two weeks later at Phoenix, Vickers was the center of controversy yet again when he made contact with championship contender, Matt Kenseth.

On the penalty side of things, Vickers was penalty plagued for most of the first half of the season. Vickers earned at least one penalty in 11 of the first 20 events in the year. Fortunately, Vickers was only penalized three times in the final 16 events. In all, Vickers' crew was penalized three times by NASCAR all year while Vickers was caught speeding five times and pitted before pit road was open without any problems with his car a single time during the season.

2011 Statistics For Brian Vickers
25th in Sprint Cup standings
3 top 5s
7 top 10s
Best Finish: 5th in the FedEx 400, Sylvania 300 and Good Sam Club 500
7 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Brian Vickers
Race 1 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area, pass thru/tail end
Race 2 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 4 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage; Outside half of the pit box tire violation/Team member not in contact with the outside tires, Tail of Field
Race 6 - Speed-Exiting pits, Tail of Field
Race 8 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 10 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 12 - Speed-Exiting pits, Tail of Field
Race 14 - Speed-Exiting pits, Pass Thru; Speed-Exiting pits, Stop & Go
Race 16 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 19 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 20 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 31 - Removing equipment from assigned pit area, Stop & Go
Race 33 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 35 - Speed-Entering pits, pass thru

2011 Year In Review: David Gilliland's Penalties


Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR

The 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season marked the sixth year of competition in the series for California driver, David Gilliland and his second year with the underfunded Front Row Motorsports team. Even though the FRM organization ran a shoe-string budget in 2011, Gilliland and the team competed in all 36 events on the year and did not start and park in a single event.

Gilliland started off the 2011 season with an impressive third place finish in the Daytona 500. The over $800,000 he and the team won likely gave the team a huge boost early on. The team's second and final top 10 of the year came at Talladega in the Aaron's 499 with a ninth place effort. The restrictor plate events proved to be Gilliland's strong suit as he was a top 10 competitor in all four races this season. It should be noted that Gilliland had a fantastic run at Infineon Raceway with a 12th place effort.

While Gilliland and his team scored their best success early on in the year, they also had their worst races as well. Gilliland was caught up in several incidents in the first few events in 2011 which in turn made him the most penalized driver for much of the year. Gilliland earned at least one penalty in seven of the first 10 races. Things got better though as the year progressed and in the final 26 events, Gilliland was penalized in only six more races. Most of Gilliland's penalties (15) came in the form of pitting to early to attend to damage on his car while he and his crew were penalized eight times total all year long, four by the driver and four by the pit crew.

2011 Statistics For David Gilliland
30th in Sprint Cup standings
36 starts
1 top 5
2 top 10s
Best Finish: 3rd in the Daytona 500
7 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For David Gilliland
Race 1 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Front air wrench must be carried back to pit wall side of car/truck, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 2 - Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area, Tail End of Longest Line; Pitting before pit road is open, Tail End of the field
Race 4 - Pitting out of order, Tail of Field
Race 5 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 6 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field; Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 7 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 10 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 12 - Speed-Exiting pits, Tail of Field; Pitting before pit road is open, Garage
Race 13 - Pre-Race to the rear, tail end transmission change; Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area, tail end
Race 20 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 23 - Outside half of the pit box tire violation/Team member not in contact with the outside tires, Tail of Field
Race 26 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Speed-Entering pits, tail end
Race 27 - Speed-Entering pits, Was at the end of race & 1 lap taken away
Race 33 - Pitting before pit road is open, Garage

Saturday, December 3, 2011

2011 Year In Review: Bobby Labonte's Penalties


Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

The 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season started off so promising for 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup champion, Bobby Labonte and his Clorox Toyota, JTG-Daugherty Racing team. Labonte finished a strong fourth in the season opening Daytona 500 and was the driver who gave Trevor Bayne the push that helped enable him to win the Great American Race. Unfortunately, the fourth place finish would be the highlight of the season for the driver and team as they would only manage one other finish in the top 10 at New Hampshire in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301. Things got worse late in the season as word broke that JTG-Daugherty Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing would be severing ties after the year. Added to that was a major infraction for an illegal windshield at Talladega prior to the running of the Good Sam Club 500 which cost the 47 driver/team 25 points and put crew chief, Frank Kerr on the sidelines for the rest of the 2011 season.

Labonte and his team racked up the second most penalties of all drivers and teams in NASCAR's Sprint Cup series. However it should be noted that most of Labonte's penalties came in the form of pitting before the pits were open, a sign of the 47 team being involved in many on track incidents in 2011. Labonte had to violate the rule 14 times on the year, second only to David Gilliland's 16 in the category. Labonte garnered six penalties for speeding in the pits, three of which came in the Coca-Cola 600 while the crew had five penalties on the year.

2011 Statistics For Bobby Labonte
29th in Sprint Cup standings
36 starts
1 top 5
2 top 10s
Best Finish: 4th in the Daytona 500
6 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Bobby Labonte
Race 2 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of the field; Pitting before pit road is open, Tail End
Race 6 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field; Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field; Removing equipment from assigned pit area, Tail of Field
Race 12 - Speed-Entering pits, Tail of Field; Speed-Exiting pits, Tail of Field; Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field; Speed-Entering pits, Tail of Field
Race 17 - Pre-Race to the rear, tail end engine change; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area, tail end; Outside half of the pit box tire violation/Team member not in contact with the outside tires, tail end
Race 20 - Removing equipment from assigned pit area, stop and go, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 23 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 24 - Safety violation [below minimum speed], pit
Race 26 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 30 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 31 - Pitting out of order, Tail of Field
Race 33 - Speed-Exiting pits, Tail of Field; Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field

Friday, December 2, 2011

2011 Year In Review: Casey Mears' Penalties


Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR

The 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season did not start off right for Casey Mears and his Geico Toyota race team. Mears was among the drivers who failed to qualify for the season opening event, the Daytona 500. Fortunately, it was the only race the 13 car would miss all year long as Mears was able to qualify for the remaining 35 events and establish his team in the top 35 in owner's points. This means the Geico Toyota is locked in to the 2012 Daytona 500 field as well as the subsequent four races.

Mears struggled all year long in the Sprint Cup Series leading only 10 laps during the entire year and managing a best finish of 12th in the Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville. Mears average finish in 2011 was a dismal 28.8. That aside, the underfunded team attempted to run nearly all of the races on the year and was not considered to be a "start and park" car.

Unfortunately, Mears and his team were the second highest penalized driver/team combination for the 2011 season. However, a good number of penalties occurred in the Coca-Cola 600 and the driver and crew had only three serious penalties after the 20th event of the season at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the Brickyard 400. Most of the penalties were driver errors as Mears himself garnered 13 penalties in 2011 while his Geico pit crew only garnered four penalties all year long.

2011 Statistics For Casey Mears
31st in Sprint Cup standings
35 starts
0 top 5s
0 top 10s
Best Finish: 12th in the Tums Fast Relief 500
10 laps led

2011 Penalty Report For Casey Mears
Race 2 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of the field; Pitting out of order, Tail end of longest line
Race 4 - Pre-Race to the rear, Tail of Field, Transmission; Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field
Race 6 - Pitting out of order, Tail of Field
Race 12 - Pitting before pit road is open, Tail of Field; Speed-Exiting pits, Tail of Field; Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area Tail of Field; Pitting before pit road is open Tail of Field; Speed-Exiting pits Tail of Field; Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area Tail of Field; Pitting before pit road is open Tail of Field
Race 14 - Pitting out of order Tail of Field; Too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area Tail of Field
Race 16 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Pitting before pit road is open, tail end; Lug nut(s) not installed, pit
Race 20 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 22 - Pre-Race to the rear, engine change; Jumping the start, pass thru - changing lanes at the start
Race 26 - Pitting before pit road is open, tail end
Race 35 - Speed-Entering pits, pass thru