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Author: Ron Thornton

  • Hot 20 over the past 10 – Martinsville is next, but Hamlin’s race for the Chase begins in May

    Hot 20 over the past 10 – Martinsville is next, but Hamlin’s race for the Chase begins in May

    When the season started, we wondered about Mark Martin’s chances of making the Chase. Even in running a partial season, the 54-year old still had the chops to possibly win a couple of races before the deadline and claim a wildcard spot. If we contemplated Martin making it in, the odds of Denny Hamlin slipping through must be that much greater.

    Hamlin was contending for his first win of the season when he and Joey Logano came together in California. His resulting back injury will have him out until Talladega on May 5th. Denny won eight times in 2010, had five victories last season, and 22 career decisions in 264 starts. The law of averages has him with a shot of at least one win over his next 16 starts. Can he get two?

    Talladega likely will not provide one of them. In 14 contests there, he has no wins and just three top fives. His best was third in the spring race of 2008. Darlington is a different story. Seven races, six top tens, one victory. If Hamlin can claim Darlington, he would need just one more win in his next 14 races to be a contender.

    In fact, in the 16 races that will await him upon his return, Denny has also won at Pocono and Michigan, which host two events apiece, New Hampshire, Bristol, Atlanta, and even at Richmond. 16 races to win two, with special emphasis on nine of those events, on seven of those tracks, where he has claimed 13 victories in 93 past attempts. It is not a lock, but Denny Hamlin most definitely has a chance. In the end, he needs to win at least two and climb back into the top Twenty in the season calculations. He might be as much as a hundred points out by then. Still, while points may mean something, wins for Hamlin will mean everything.

    Meanwhile, as he slowly sinks from view on this chart for a few weeks, the rest will be in Martinsville on Sunday. Dale Earnhardt Jr is our biggest mover as he has now run nine of the past ten affairs, averaging 35.1 points in each. While Hamlin dropped six spots after Fontana, Clint Bowyer is down eight after his engine let go in his last outing. At least he can’t blame his misfortune on Joey Logano.

    Name Points POS LW W T5 T10
      Brad Keselowski  373 1 1 0 5 8
      Kyle Busch  345 2 4 1 7 7
      Jimmie Johnson  336 3 3 3 4 6
      Kasey Kahne  325 4 6 1 5 6
      Greg Biffle  325 5 5 0 1 6
      Matt Kenseth  318 6 7 2 3 5
      Dale Earnhardt, Jr.  316 7 14 0 3 7
      Carl Edwards  313 8 8 1 3 3
      Paul Menard  313 9 10 0 1 5
      Clint Bowyer  312 10 2 0 3 6
      Kevin Harvick  293 11 11 1 1 4
      Kurt Busch  292 12 13 0 2 5
      Ryan Newman  283 13 15 0 3 5
      Joey Logano  279 14 16 0 1 1
      Denny Hamlin  275 15 9 0 2 2
      Aric Almirola  275 16 12 0 1 2
      Jeff Gordon  262 17 19 1 1 4
      Martin Truex, Jr.  256 18 17 0 1 3
      Tony Stewart  255 19 18 0 2 3
      Jamie McMurray  252 20 20 0 0 1

     

  • The Final Word – From Bristol, to California, and on to Martinsville the Logano friendship tour continues

    The Final Word – From Bristol, to California, and on to Martinsville the Logano friendship tour continues

    Last week I wrote that California wasn’t your daddy’s NASCAR venue. I was wrong. It turned out to be not only your daddy’s but your grandpappy’s as well. Both would have loved what they saw, be it from a 1953, 1983, or 2013 perspective.

    We had three cars dominate the front the entire day, as Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, and Denny Hamlin seemed to just lend one of those positions to others over the course of the event. On the final lap, they were back in those spots, with Logano and Hamlin duelling for the win, as Kyle Busch rode behind waiting for what most of us expected. As the leading duo put metal to metal, Busch swooped by on the outside while the other two exchanged checkers for wreckers. Busch won, Logano came off the wall to finish third, Hamlin took a hard hit to the concrete on the inside to wind up 25th and in the hospital for lower back concerns.

    With Hamlin out of action, there was going to be no post-race fight, ala the 1979 Daytona 500 festivities involving Cale Yarborough and the Allison brothers. Wrong again. Tony Stewart got squeezed out on the final restart by Logano, and it was he who took a swing at the kid on pit road. Unschooled in hockey, Stewart did not grab the front of Logano’s firesuit, thus failed to do what Canadian ballplayers succeeded in doing against Mexico recently. So, to keep things lively, the television folks stuck a microphone in Stewart’s face and thankfully they played a bleeped taped version of Smoke’s smoking rhetoric. Basically, he said he had some concerns with Joey’s character but had some solutions in mind to help correct the young gent, though using a series of strong pronouns to get his point across.

    Roger Penske is defending his driver, saying Tony blocks, too. The fact Stewart went from a top five to outside the top twenty probably had much to do with his reaction. He took a swing; in return Logano threw a water bottle at his face. Usually, unless the fellow’s name is Klitschko, a 41 year old is usually not the favorite when it comes to the fistic arts against a 22 year old.  Then again, the 6 foot, 1 inch Logano is just a lightweight compared to the light heavyweights and cruiserweights he seems to become embroiled with. Maybe keeping those beefy crew guys around him might be a good policy to keep.

    Here I thought we needed Martinsville to get the taste of California out of our mouths, but instead the Virginia track needs to just maintain the status quo. The racing might have been strung out at Fontana but  there was racing to be had all over. Comers and goers exchanged spots, those you thought out of it returned from out of the darkness, and the finish was a true classic.

    In the meantime, the lads and lassie take Easter off, so Hamlin has an additional week to mend, though I don’t think the extra seven days are going to cool off too many drivers who are experiencing a bit of overheating. In a sport that features the Busch brothers, Hamlin, Stewart, Kevin Harvick, and Brad Keselowski, to name just a few, it would seem a young man from Connecticut has been voted the driver most likely to get his ass kicked by his peers. I sure hope he enjoys the next two weeks.

  • Rating the race – California dreaming on a sunny winter’s day, and for viewers all those dreams came true

    Rating the race – California dreaming on a sunny winter’s day, and for viewers all those dreams came true

    Why I watched…

    ESPN did not broadcast the race from Fontana. That was a pretty good reason to watch on Sunday. After watching the Nationwide event Saturday, after hearing Allan speak an octave too high, after hearing Rusty speak at all, they brought in the dynamic Joey Logano for an extended stay in the broadcast booth. If that wasn’t enough, the visuals soon became a bunch of guys turning left. My rating of Saturday was a whopping 5.5/10. Hey, at least I have a new appreciation for Andy Petree in the booth. Too bad about his company. Now, I waited to see if the FOX crew could do something with this track where ratings go to die and to see if Jimmie Johnson could win his sixth there, or if Tony Stewart might make it three for four.

    The race…

    What in hell was that? As the laps clicked down, Mike Joy announced that we were watching the best race of the season. To my shock, he was absolutely right. Two cars battled it out over the final three laps, two drivers who already had bad blood between them. As they went fender to fender, we knew that neither would back off to allow the other to slip away. On the final lap, on the final turn, Joey Logano drifted up into Denny Hamlin and as they made contact, Kyle Busch flashed his dominant car by on the outside to claim the win as the other two wrecked. Busch went to Victory Lane, Logano finished 6th, while Hamlin hit hard on the inside fence and wound up in the hospital.

    Joey Logano is 22 years old, a talented driver who continues to find himself making friends like a drunk uncle at a family wedding. You might remember his situation a few years back with Kevin Harvick. Last week he feuded with Hamlin, This week, he had Tony Stewart looking to remove his head after he cut off Stewart on the final restart that left the former three-time champion in 22nd on the day. It may be just me, but I do not think Hamlin will feel any warmer or all that fuzzy about him after finishing the race Sunday piling into concrete.

    There was no tight racing, at least to the eye, as the cars fanned out, spread apart, as the timed distance was measured in seconds instead of fractions. Yet, there was racing, there was passing, and those who faced adversity seemed to be able to overcome and become relevant again. A couple of dropped lugnuts during one pit stop could not stop Dale Earnhardt Jr from finishing second. Kurt Busch got a speeding penalty that put him a lap down and he had a podium finish. It was a cut tire that dropped Matt Kenseth a circuit behind and he left California seventh. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson found themselves in cars that refused to do their bidding, yet they came in 11th and 12th. The impossible became possible, as you searched to see if Jiminy Cricket was indeed somewhere trackside wishing upon a star to make some dreams come true. I thought this destined to be the worst race so far this season. I was so very wrong.

    I do not know how much to credit the announcing, the new car, the talent level of the drivers or the flow of the race, but this was the best presentation I have ever seen produced at the Auto Club Speedway. That was already the case even before we witnessed those final three laps.

    Rating the race (9/10)…

    It was a day when anything could happen, and did. There was action on the track, action once again off the track, a finish that had you up and cheering even from your couch, and a lot to talk about when it was all over. These are highlights they will be playing everywhere, even in places where they think NASCAR is just a southern way of saying “nice car.” From the track where ratings go to die, we just saw our best race, and most certainly the most thrilling finish of the season.

  • Hot 20 over the past 10 – California, not one of your daddy’s NASCAR traditions

    Hot 20 over the past 10 – California, not one of your daddy’s NASCAR traditions

    This week, back in 1933, there was no NASCAR. Moonshiners, for sure, and probably a few in Saskatchewan. My dad was born there 80 years ago this week, and along with mom we got together recently with his six children, their spouses, seven grandchildren, and even one great-grandchild still a few months away from making his or her debut. I bring this up to illustrate how important it is to remember our roots, to celebrate those who are responsible for where you are, where you have been, and maybe even get an idea as to where you are going.

    With this Sunday’s race coming up in Fontana, California, we are reminded that sometimes NASCAR has taken an axe to its roots. They have been seen as being too busy trying to break out of its southeast United States homeland in seeking out greener pastures that they forgot who “brung ‘em.” They started racing at the Auto Club Speedway in 1997 and the racing there has been, well, rather lousy over the years. Then in 2004, as part of a legal settlement, NASCAR rejigged its schedule.  After 55 years as one of the sport’s crown jewel events, the traditional Labor Day date of Darlington’s Southern 500 was sent to California.

    Let me repeat that. NASCAR sold out 55 years of tradition at the Lady in Black for a bucket of warm spit in the sunshine as they sought more fans and big money. Well, at least they got the sunshine. The date proved so popular on the west coast that it got moved to Atlanta in 2009, to become that venue’s only race date after the spring race there was awarded to Kentucky. Anyone remember the nightmare that turned out to be?

    Here’s hoping that come Sunday I can tell you how surprised I was, how great the racing proved to be, how much it was like the first four contests of the season. Our champion Brad Keselowski continues with his hot hand as of late, with Clint Bowyer making some noise by moving up four spots from last week. Still, our biggest mover was Kurt Busch, who replaces a 39th place finish last fall at Talladega with a fourth place result last Sunday. The biggest drop belonged to Jeff Gordon, who may have lost a tire but gained a wall and Matt Kenseth. He was 2nd at Talladega, but that result is replaced by his 34th place outcome in Bristol.

    We may be leaving a traditional track behind as our attention focuses westward, but tradition dictates that hope springs eternal from week to week. Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Ryan Newman hope California is the place they got to be, so they’ve loaded up their trucks and… Well, if you are older than 50 you know how that classic goes.

    Name Points POS LW W T5 T10
      Brad Keselowski 387 1 1 0 5 8
      Clint Bowyer 350 2 6 1 4 7
      Jimmie Johnson 346 3 2 3 5 7
      Kyle Busch 336 4 4 0 7 7
      Greg Biffle 328 5 5 0 2 6
      Kasey Kahne 326 6 7 1 5 6
      Carl Edwards 310 8 11 1 2 3
      Matt Kenseth 310 7 3 2 3 4
      Denny Hamlin 298 9 8 0 3 3
      Paul Menard 294 10 13 0 1 4
      Kevin Harvick 289 11 10 1 1 4
      Aric Almirola 277 12 9 0 1 2
      Kurt Busch 276 13 19 0 0 4
      Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 274 14 17 0 2 6
      Ryan Newman 273 15 15 0 3 4
      Joey Logano 272 16 18 0 0 1
      Martin Truex, Jr. 264 17 16 0 1 4
      Tony Stewart 263 18 14 0 2 3
      Jeff Gordon 256 19 12 1 1 4
      Jamie McMurray 254 20 22 0 0 1

     

  • The Final Word – Trading Bristol for Fontana

    The Final Word – Trading Bristol for Fontana

    Okay, it is time to start whining. Bristol usually gives us a good show, and last Sunday it was great. Fontana usually does not, and it is next on our dance card. Maybe it is best to dwell on what was than on what could soon be.

    Denny Hamlin punts Joey Logano on the track, Logano tries to punt Hamlin off of it. The crews get involved, folks get pushed. Oh, the humanity! I’m trying to like Denny for telling NASCAR he won’t pay a $25,000 fine, even though we know he will pay it one way or another. Joey, well he has never been my cup of tea, either. Give each of them some style points for trying to add to the day’s excitement.

    Danica did nothing at Bristol. Mike Bliss did less than nothing. Tony got a rub then a bang, as his day was in the crapper early. Jeff Gordon had the lead, then the wall, then a whole bunch of Matt Kenseth up his tail pipe.

    Kasey Kahne finally got off and running with about five to go, taking the win after putting some distance on the quartet of Rowdy, Keselowski, Kurt, and Clint battling it out for runner-up. Hey, Junior finished sixth, which was a popular result for NASCAR’s most popular.

    Jimmie and Denny finished outside the top twenty, while Joe Nemechek started the race and once again finished the race. You don’t have to be good to be out there, but you do have to try. Mr. Bliss, three laps does not a try make.

    That brings us back to this weekend. I think I have seen one race, one, that proved somewhat entertaining on that California track just east of Los Angeles en route to San Bernadino. Since the brother-in-law’s family moved to that vicinity there is always the chance we might make a NASCAR week out of it one day. Maybe with this new car a new era might be about to dawn where the sun sets a bit later than anywhere else, except for Sonoma. Maybe.

    Still, it has something going for it. As I head out in a few minutes to shovel that foot of snow off of my driveway, I’m sure that something will come to me. Enjoy the week.

  • Rating the Race – Bristol lived up to its reputation

    Rating the Race – Bristol lived up to its reputation

    Why I watched…

    It was Bristol. Even though I cringed through the announcing, Saturday’s Nationwide race was a good one to watch as Kyle Busch beat out Kyle Larson by about 3 feet at the line for the win. It had hits, it had spills, it had thrills…and now we got to do it all again with the likes of  Tony, Jimmie and Junior and all the rest. And not a Rusty or a Brad to be heard from.

    The race…

    We heard from Tony Stewart…for nine laps. He cut a tire, found a wall, and then pegged his way to a 31st place finish. It could have been much, much better, but at no time was Tony last.

    No, by the time Tony had his wreck, Mike Bliss had already found the garage. Bliss had ran three laps. Out of 500. Engine woes is the official reason. It might be just me, but if you can not build an engine to run 1.5-miles, 7920 feet, 95,040 inches, then for the love of God you should stay parked. If you have not leased at least three sets of tires, you should stay parked. If you do not have an entire pit crew, in proper gear, you should stay parked. If your war wagon consists of two lawn chairs and a cooler, you should stay parked. If Joe Nemechek can run 490 laps to wind up 29th, then you should, too…or stay parked. Unless you wreck.

    Jeff Gordon was leading, with Matt Kenseth second, when Four-Time got two timed by an old tire leaving his attempted pass a dive bomb into the wall right in front of One-Time. Both wound up behind Nemechek in the final results.

    We don’t hear much from Dave Blaney, but he was running steady in 15th with 180 laps remaining when he lost a tire and gained a wall. Jimmie Johnson did the same, though he did claim 22nd,  a spot ahead of Denny Hamlin. He found the wall, again and again and again over the final laps. It was the only way he could turn. If you ever played a NASCAR game on your computer, activated the invincible mode, and kept the throttle down, then you too know what it is like to drive the Hamlin way.

    Ever run over the car in front of you in playing that game? Hamlin did, too! Denny got upset with Joey Logano and turned him into the wall. Logano finished last on the lead lap, in 17th, then tried to say “howdy” to Hamlin post-race. One Hamlin crew member pushed Joey, and one of Logano’s guys pushed back, then one of Joey’s boys got grabbed by the neck, who demonstrated what he thought about that in no uncertain terms, and we were off to the rodeo.

    Oh, as for the race, with about five to go it remained anybody’s contest. In the end, Kasey Kahne managed to drive off with Kyle, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, and Clint Bowyer packed up behind him to provide a spirited finish.

    Rating the race…

    You wanted racing, we got racing. You wanted torn up cars, and thanks to worn out tires we tore up some cars. You wanted some pushing and shoving, both on and off the track, and you have to be a happy boy or girl as we got some of that. You wanted a race where we did not know who would win until near the end, and Bristol delivered. You wanted a television broadcast that was entertaining and informative, where the announcers added, not distracted, from the action, and thanks to FOX we were rewarded. A damn fine way to spend a Sunday. I give this one a...9/10.

  • Hot 20 over the past 10 – Danica will race at Bristol, but can she compete?

    Hot 20 over the past 10 – Danica will race at Bristol, but can she compete?

    Danica, Danica, Danica. Sounds a bit like a Brady Bunch classic, but as much as the public relation boys and girls try, the thunder from Daytona is fading into the distance. The good news is that in 2013 points, Danica Patrick is running one spot better than team-mate Ryan Newman. The bad news is that after disastrous runs in Phoenix and Las Vegas he sits 32nd.

    One thing that is not up for debate in whether she is a race car driver or not. She definitely is, though throughout her career in IndyCar, Nationwide, and thus far in Cup, she has not been great and some may even argue if she is all that good. Yet. In the open wheel series, she won once in 115 starts, with seven top three results where she was seen as a talented novelty. She has competed in 59 Nationwide races to date, has a top five and seven top tens. In 13 Cup races, she has that top ten to her credit in the Daytona 500. She can compete, but the soon-to-be 31 year old remains a highly publicized, very marketable journeyman …er… woman. Hot, she is not, at least when it comes to making this list anytime in the foreseeable future. Still, more will be watching to see how she does than they will Aric Almirola, Paul Menard, or Jeff Burton. A nice run at Bristol could go a long way in changing our perception of the rookie.

    The biggest mover of the week was Matt Kenseth, thanks to his birthday celebrations in Las Vegas. He joins Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson ahead of the pack, with Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle, and Clint Bowyer remaining among our main contenders. Jeff Gordon took a six position slide after a 25th place finish last weekend and would need a top two tally at Bristol just to maintain.

    Name Points POS LW w t5 t10
      Brad Keselowski 382 1 1 0 4 8
      Jimmie Johnson 352 2 2 3 5 7
      Matt Kenseth 347 3 8 3 4 5
      Kyle Busch 335 4 5 0 7 7
      Greg Biffle 334 5 4 0 2 7
      Clint Bowyer 333 6 3 1 3 6
      Kasey Kahne 312 7 9 0 4 5
      Denny Hamlin 305 8 7 0 3 3
      Aric Almirola 295 9 11 0 2 2
      Kevin Harvick 293 10 12 1 1 4
      Carl Edwards 292 11 10 1 2 3
      Jeff Gordon 288 12 6 1 2 5
      Paul Menard 274 13 16 0 1 3
      Tony Stewart 273 14 15 0 2 3
      Ryan Newman 271 15 13 0 3 4
      Martin Truex, Jr. 263 16 14 0 1 4
      Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 261 17 18 0 3 5
      Joey Logano 256 18 17 0 0 1
      Kurt Busch 241 19 20 0 0 3
      Jeff Burton 236 20 21 0 0 2
  • The Final Word – Some good, some bad, some ugly as we look ahead to Bristol

    The Final Word – Some good, some bad, some ugly as we look ahead to Bristol

    Bristol, Tennessee is where the lads (and lassie) are venturing for this weekend’s Cup action. Matt Kenseth arrives from Las Vegas with his birthday wrench and his 25th career victory. He has a pair at Bristol and most often leaves the place with a Top Ten finish. Over the past four years, half of the eight run there has been taken by Kyle Busch, with Brad Keselowski holding a pair, Jimmie Johnson with one, and Denny Hamlin claimed the race last August. As to what Denny thinks about this new Gen 6 car, he really loves turtles.

    There was more passing at Las Vegas, we are told. Lots more. Twenty-two lead changes, the most in six years there, and 2300 passes compared to 1300 a year ago, we are told. So, there were more than 8.7 passes made per lap? I wonder, if car A is trailing car B at one scoring loop, B puts its nose ahead by the next scoring loop, only to stall out and trail as they pass over the next, does that constitute two passes but with nothing really changing? Just wondering.

    The wallet is low on cash to afford some things. You can learn to do without, to prioritize what you need to afford and what you don’t need. You can add cash to your wallet by picking someone else’s wallet, and just keep spending. While the U.S. government decides which way to go, things are just being cut, so likely no more fly overs before NASCAR races, no more tours of the White House for kids. Yet, golf vacations are still a go for some. Life is good when you are on top of the heap.

    Just one extra entry seeking a place to race at Bristol. Scott Riggs is the man who needs to time in among the top 36 in qualifying or he will be parked come Sunday. That probably won’t be enough to set record ratings for the time trials.

    The time has come where 2013 points could decide who makes a race and who does not. The lowest on the totem pole among those we might miss would be Danica Patrick (31st) and Ryan Newman (32nd). Neither will be in danger this week, or in the foreseeable future.

    The television announcers can go a long way in making a race. FOX has the all-star team, which helps explain why it again provided the high ranked televised sports event over the weekend. Is Mike Joy the best lap-by-lap man in the nation? Probably not, but no one has yet found the guy who is and put him on television.

    Is there a better duo to provide color than Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds? They are solid, but I like the additional banter Wally Dallenbach Jr and Kyle Petty provide that keeps me watching. Those two are pure entertainment. Nobody touches Jeff Hammond as the roving reporter/tech guy, while Matt Yocum, Krista Voda, and Steve Byrnes are on top of the pit action.

    I miss the recently retired Dick Berggren, but ESPN’s Dr. Jerry Punch and Jamie Little, along with SPEED’s Wendy Venturini and TNT’s Marty Snider can get the job done. On the desk, you have Chris Myers and Michael Waltrip, and that is it. The ESPN crew might be nice people, and I think Alan Bestwick a natural on that desk, but I simply can’t listen to Rusty or Brad, and I miss nothing when I don’t. I expect solid coverage into June, slipping to tolerable to July, to be followed by four months of God awful. What do you think?

    Finally, Brad Keselowski was asked how he would feel if a gay person worked on his team. The champion responded that “if you can win, people will want to be part of what you can do.” That has got him some attention from the Topeka, Kansas Westboro Baptist Church. Along with some uncomplimentary tweets, they plan to picket an upcoming race, possibly in Kansas next month. There are some things that disgust me, such as folks riding a float playing with their nipples, regardless as to their gender or sexual orientation. Same goes for public displays of french kissing. People who cheat on their spouses. People who fail to raise their kids right. Punks of all ages who substitute reasoned debate with vulgar demonstrations of their own immaturity. One does not have to agree with those who differ from themselves, in fact they should be able to voice their opposition. However, I believe the amount of respect one should expect is equal to the amount of respect one gives to others. Enjoy the week.

  • Rating the race – Las Vegas can be exciting, sometimes just a real relaxing way to spend a Sunday

    Rating the race – Las Vegas can be exciting, sometimes just a real relaxing way to spend a Sunday

    Why did I watch?

    Well, I wanted to see if Denny Hamlin was going to race or not. I do not much care for Hamlin. Something about him has always rubbed me the wrong way. That may be about to change. After Phoenix, Hamlin made what I thought was a rather respectful critique of the Gen 6 car, and for that NASCAR got its granny panties all in a knot and fined him $25,000. Have at ‘er boys, but Lord help you if you hurt NASCAR’s feelings. Hey, if you got a nice sleek muscle car and you pull out to pass a line of traffic, and I can’t, you would be rather put out, too. You probably would not be near as respectful as Hamlin was. Was. Heading into the weekend, he was not going to pay that fine, they could suspend him in they want. This is a sport spawned from moonshine, oil, grease, and gas. Tell me, when did the governing body of ladies soccer take it over?

    The Race

    Hamlin is appealing the penalty, he got to race, and we know that in time cooler heads will prevail with the boy eventually paying the cash. We were left watching to see if the car might pay off on the first of the numerous mile-and-a-half tracks it was truly designed for.

    It was bumpy on the inside and just plain slick everywhere else. We lost of lot of the boys, and the girl, early as ill-handling cars and a lack of cautions buried them deep. Ryan Newman was no where to be seen, until he blew up, to wind up 38th. Danica Patrick (33rd) did nothing all day. Clint Bowyer (27th) was two down and dead last 20 laps in, but at least he got one of those laps back. Jeff Gordon (25th) slid back quickly.

    Where was Matt Kenseth? He was around but not the center of attention until late when all he did was win on his 41st birthday, his first win for Joe Gibbs. He did it by coming out of the pits ahead of the day’s most dominant driver, Kasey Kahne, who stayed on his tail waiting for that mistake that Matt refused to offer up. Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, and Carl Edwards rounded out the Top Five, while Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Kevin Harvick all had Top Tens. Tony Stewart rode around a lap down for most of it, but he managed to get it back with just over seventy laps to go to end up 11th.

    Rating the Race — 8/10

    I liked it, I quietly sat back and watched it all, but I not once found myself on the edge of my seat. Maybe it was due to a track that offered some idiosyncrasies, with the bumps and the slickness and even a below the line shortcut. Only half the field stayed on the lead lap, though the top two were close right to the end. The announce team enhanced the action and the visuals were appealing, Some races can be downright exciting. This, on the other hand, was just a pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

    It was more than who was the leader of the pack. We watched Kyle aggressively move up on the starts, we wondered if Tony’s persistence would get him back on the lead lap, and we watched Joe Nemechek park just behind Michael McDowell early…again. This time, however, he returned to the track, to move from 42nd to 40th as Landon Cassill and Scott Speed tossed in the towel. Joe got to within a lap of moving ahead of Travis Kvapil as Nemechek earned his money on this day. It was relaxing and it was interesting to watch. Would I have had the same experience if ESPN had called this one? Probably not. However, the FOX team had me watching and kept me watching. That was good enough.

    Sometimes it is hard to describe why you liked something, other than to realize that for some reason you just did. As for Hamlin, he had his issues but still managed to finish 15th. Now as long as he doesn’t try to answer another damn car question.

  • Hot 20 over the past 10 – Las Vegas is next, though the debate centres on Texas

    Hot 20 over the past 10 – Las Vegas is next, though the debate centres on Texas

    Las Vegas, the home of the Busch brothers, is next, but as we near race time for the Kobalt Tools 400, the hot topic is April’s NRA 500.

    The National Rifle Association is sponsoring the race in Texas next month. Those against guns are not happy, but those who support the NRA are thrilled. Now I am not a gun guy, though we had a couple around as I was growing up. I do not even remember the last time I saw a gun fired. I do not believe I have ever fired a handgun, and more than 20 years have past since I shot a rifle. I can tell you that no targets were harmed when I did so. There are many responsible folks who have guns, but too many nut jobs and criminals do as well. That said, the NRA does not support the nut jobs or the criminals, but the right to bear arms as guaranteed by the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. So, they should be able to sponsor whatever they like. Personally, I think the focus has been too much on the “right” of the people to keep and bear arms, and not enough on the “responsibilities and expectations” demanded of a well regulated militia. All rights also come with responsibilities, or at least they should.

    The same goes in NASCAR, where you got to follow the rules or you lose your right to drive or sit atop the pit box. Sometimes rights are earned, like the right to be called a champion. Brad Keselowski was the hottest driver at the end of last season and over the past ten he is still setting the pace. Eight drivers in total have averaged 30 points or more per event over that term.

    This does not include Dale Earnhardt Jr or Mark Martin, who have missed two of those ten, yet are both among our hot 20. In fact, they are racing good enough to be in our Top Ten based on their per race average. As for who is heating up or cooling off, with his win in Phoenix, Carl Edwards has jumped six places to enter our Top 10, while Ryan Newman tumbles from 8th to 13th.

    Neither Danica or Ricky will make an appearance on this list for a few more races, but Stenhouse does lead Patrick 60-42 in points after two events, though her 8th place finish at Daytona gives her the lone Top Ten. Hey, I just thought you might be interested.

    Name Points POS LW w t5 t10
      Brad Keselowski 387 1 1 1 4 8
      Jimmie Johnson 354 2 3 3 6 7
      Clint Bowyer 352 3 2 1 3 7
      Greg Biffle 335 4 4 0 2 7
      Kyle Busch 333 5 5 0 6 7
      Jeff Gordon 312 6 7 1 3 6
      Denny Hamlin 312 7 6 0 3 4
      Matt Kenseth 309 8 10 2 3 4
      Kasey Kahne 297 9 9 0 3 4
      Carl Edwards 292 10 16 1 2 3
      Aric Almirola 292 11 12 0 1 2
      Kevin Harvick 289 12 11 1 1 3
      Ryan Newman 288 13 8 0 3 5
      Martin Truex, Jr. 265 14 13 0 1 4
      Tony Stewart 264 15 17 0 2 3
      Paul Menard 262 16 15 0 1 2
      Joey Logano 258 17 14 0 0 2
      Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 257 18 18 0 2 4
      Mark Martin 244 19 23 0 2 4
      Kurt Busch 238 20 19 0 0 3