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  • Another Dominating Run Puts Kevin Harvick in XFINITY Victory Lane at Fontana

    Another Dominating Run Puts Kevin Harvick in XFINITY Victory Lane at Fontana

    March 21, 2015
    By Reid Spencer
    NASCAR Wire Service

    FONTANA, Calif.—It’s about time to start reserving a spot on the NASCAR podium for Kevin Harvick.

    With a dominating victory in Saturday’s Drive4Clots.com 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race, Harvick won his second race of the season, his first at Auto Club Speedway and the 46th of his career, third-most all-time.

    Incredibly, Harvick scored his 28th consecutive top 10 in the XFINITY Series, dating to 2013. With two victories and two seconds in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series this year to go with two wins and a third in the XFINITY Series, Harvick has recorded seven podium finishes in seven starts in both series combined.

    “I’m just a lucky guy to be piloting really fast cars,” Harvick said in Victory Lane. “We’ve just got to keep riding the wave.”

    It doesn’t seem to matter whether Harvick is driving his No. 4 Sprint Cup car for Stewart-Haas Racing or the No. 88 Chevrolet he drove to victory for JR Motorsports on Saturday. Once he got to the front from his sixth-place starting position (taking the lead for the first time after a restart on Lap 38), he stayed there, leading 100 of the 150 laps and giving up the top spot only during cycles of green-flag pit stops.

    JR Motorsports car owner Dale Earnhardt Jr., who competes against Harvick at NASCAR’s highest level, hasn’t been surprised by Harvick’s dominance in both series this year.

    “They’ve got something figured out,” Earnhardt said. “Kevin’s an amazing driver. He’s really focused, and his work outside the car helps him inside the car and helps his team… It don’t last forever, so you’ve got to enjoy it while it’s happening.

    “Sooner or later, what they know will be common knowledge, and somebody will be in search of the next advantage — and find it. But they’ve got it right now.”

    Harvick finished 3.317 seconds — roughly three football fields — ahead of runner-up Brendan Gaughan, who moved from eighth to second after the final restart of the race on Lap 122.

    There were three cautions in the race. Trailing Harvick by more than three seconds in the closing laps, Gaughan was praying for a fourth.

    “I love the fact that I’m pissed off at being second,” Gaughan said. “I love my restarts. My restart got us there… Any time you finish second to Kevin Harvick, come on, but — I don’t care if we would have finished fifth — I would have loved a shot at it. I know we’re pretty good on restarts.

    “I would have loved one shot at a restart, just to see if I still had something for him.”

    But the caution never came, and Gaughan had to settle for second. Polesitter Erik Jones ran third, followed by defending series champion Chase Elliott and Chris Buescher.

    Ty Dillon finished 14th and retained the series lead by five points over Buescher, with Elliott 15 points back in third.

  • Kurt Busch Snags First Coors Light Pole of Season

    Kurt Busch Snags First Coors Light Pole of Season

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Auto Club Speedway

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Auto Club Speedway

    The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the NASCAR XFINITY Series travel to Auto Club Speedway this weekend. The Camping World Truck Series is off but will return next week at Martinsville.

    All times Eastern.

    Friday, March 20

    On Track:

    3-4:15 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series practice – FOX Sports 1
    4:30-5:25 p.m.: XFINITY Series practice – FOX Sports 1
    6-7:25 p.m.: XFINITY Series final practice – FOX Sports 1
    7:50 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FOX Sports 1

    Press Conferences: (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

    1 p.m.: Kevin Harvick
    1:30 p.m.: Brian Vickers and Janssen Pharmaceuticals
    2 p.m.: K&N Pro Series announcement
    2:30 p.m.: Ryan Reed
    5:30 p.m.: AJ Allmendinger
    6 p.m.: Jeff Gordon
    Post-NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying

    Saturday, March 21

    On Track:

    11:30 a.m.-12:25 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series practice – FOX Sports 2
    12:45 p.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FOX Sports 1
    2:30-3:25 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series final practice – FOX Sports 1
    4 p.m.: XFINITY Series Drive4Clots.com 300 – FOX Sports 1 (150 laps, 300 miles)

    Press Conferences: (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

    11 a.m.: Casey Mears
    Post-NASCAR XFINITY Series race

    Sunday, March 22

    On Track:

    3:30 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Auto Club 400, FOX (200 laps, 400 miles)

    Press Conferences: (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

    12:30 p.m.: Greg Biffle
    1:30 p.m.: Sprint Cup drivers’ meeting
    Post-NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race

  • Kevin Harvick Rides Dominant No. 4 Chevrolet to Fourth Straight Phoenix Win

    Kevin Harvick Rides Dominant No. 4 Chevrolet to Fourth Straight Phoenix Win

    March 15, 2015
    By Reid Spencer
    NASCAR Wire Service

    AVONDALE, Ariz.—Yes, the best car won Sunday’s CampingWorld.com 500 at Phoenix International Raceway — but one-man juggernaut Kevin Harvick had to hold off charging Jamie McMurray on the final restart with 12 laps left to notch his fourth straight victory at the one-mile track.

    The box score will show that the reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champ led 224 of 312 laps, but McMurray took his best shot on the Lap 301 restart, driving hard to the inside of the race winner and, for the briefest of moments, clearing Harvick’s No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet off Turn 2.

    But the driver who has become an all-but-irresistible force in NASCAR’s premier series fought back to the outside, cleared McMurray’s No. 1 Chevrolet and cruised to the finish line 1.153 seconds ahead of the race runner-up.

    The victory was Harvick’s second straight this season, his fourth straight at Phoenix and the 30th of his career. Harvick has won five of the last six races at the one-mile track in the Sonoran Desert — seven overall — and his string of seven straight top-two finishes in the Sprint Cup series, dating to last season, is the longest since Richard Petty rattled off 11 consecutive top-results in 1975.

    “When you said the Richard Petty part, that just gives me chills,” Harvick said after the race.

    The last driver to win four straight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at the same track was Jimmie Johnson at Charlotte in 2004-05.

    With restarts as crucial as they were on Sunday, Harvick was glad he had raced in the XFINITY Series event on Saturday afternoon.

    “The restarts were just really slippery, and I learned that in the race yesterday,” said Harvick, who finished third in Saturday’s race. “You had to really maintain your entrance speed and really slide the thing through the center of the corner to try to help keep it pointed up off (the corner).”

    Harvick did that to perfection on the last four restarts, holding off Stewart-Haas teammate and fifth-place finisher Kurt Busch when action resumed on Laps 234 and 242 and outdueling McMurray (after Busch pitted for tires under the ninth of 10 cautions) on Laps 296 and 301.

    Ryan Newman ran third, followed by Kasey Kahne and Busch. Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Larson completed the top 10. Truex posted his fourth consecutive top-10 finish, the first time a Furniture Row Racing driver has accomplished that feat.

    McMurray left the track wishing he had a mulligan on the final restart.

    “Matt McCall (crew chief) made a really good decision at the end to stay out (on old tires) and got us on the front row,” McMurray said. “That was a fun battle with Kevin. Those are the kinds you wish you could do over again, because I would have slid up earlier.

    “It’s similar to plate racing with the engine package we have now, where if you don’t get the guy cleared, he can kind of stall you out a little bit. And I saw Kevin coming and I thought I could slide up in front of him, but I also knew it was for the win and that we would probably have wrecked there.”

    Notes: With two victories and two second-place finishes this season, Harvick leaves Phoenix with a 22-point lead over Logano in the series standings… Dale Earnhardt Jr. blew a right rear tire — the result of a melted bead — and slammed the Turn 2 wall on Lap 180. Credited with a 43rd-place finish, Earnhardt dropped four spots to sixth in the series standings, 56 points behind Harvick… Busch scored 39 points in his return from a three-race suspension, good for 33rd place in the standings. To be eligible for the series championship, Busch must be in the top 30 in points at the end of the 26-race regular season.

    NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race – CampingWorld.com 500
    Phoenix International Raceway
    Avondale, Arizona
    Sunday, March 15, 2015

    1. (1) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 312, $263090.
    2. (3) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 312, $194931.
    3. (5) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 312, $167690.
    4. (9) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 312, $132900.
    5. (8) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 312, $132690.
    6. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 312, $145721.
    7. (15) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 312, $121025.
    8. (2) Joey Logano, Ford, 312, $135038.
    9. (10) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 312, $133666.
    10. (12) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 312, $116438.
    11. (20) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 312, $130066.
    12. (14) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 312, $93430.
    13. (7) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 312, $79180.
    14. (21) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 312, $95130.
    15. (11) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 312, $118041.
    16. (4) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 312, $123216.
    17. (22) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 312, $112038.
    18. (28) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 312, $103613.
    19. (32) Aric Almirola, Ford, 312, $116091.
    20. (24) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 312, $101588.
    21. (13) David Ragan, Toyota, 312, $120171.
    22. (33) Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 312, $78505.
    23. (25) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 312, $92855.
    24. (30) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 312, $112263.
    25. (39) Cole Whitt, Ford, 312, $89538.
    26. (23) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 312, $85655.
    27. (19) Greg Biffle, Ford, 312, $108438.
    28. (36) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 309, $118755.
    29. (29) David Gilliland, Ford, 309, $94602.
    30. (26) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 309, $78405.
    31. (40) JJ Yeley(i), Toyota, 309, $76240.
    32. (38) Brett Moffitt, Ford, 309, $73555.
    33. (37) Mike Bliss(i), Ford, 308, $73430.
    34. (41) Jeb Burton #, Toyota, 307, $74805.
    35. (35) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 307, $73180.
    36. (34) Josh Wise, Ford, 306, $73030.
    37. (42) Brendan Gaughan(i), Chevrolet, 306, $72898.
    38. (43) Alex Kennedy #, Chevrolet, 304, $68327.
    39. (17) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, Accident, 282, $91469.
    40. (27) Sam Hornish Jr., Ford, 277, $86600.
    41. (18) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 230, $83469.
    42. (31) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 202, $52255.
    43. (16) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, Accident, 179, $68155.

    Average Speed of Race Winner:  105.753 mph.

    Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 57 Mins, 01 Secs. Margin of Victory:  1.153 Seconds.

    Caution Flags:  10 for 53 laps.

    Lead Changes:  8 among 4 drivers.

    Lap Leaders:   K. Harvick 0; J. Logano 1-25; K. Harvick 26-118; B. Keselowski 119-170; K. Harvick 171-188; J. Logano 189-198; K. Harvick 199-294; J. McMurray 295; K. Harvick 296-312.

    Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  K. Harvick 4 times for 224 laps; B. Keselowski 1 time for 52 laps; J. Logano 2 times for 35 laps; J. McMurray 1 time for 1 lap.

    Top 16 in Points: K. Harvick – 182; J. Logano – 160; M. Truex Jr. – 155; K. Kahne – 132; A. Allmendinger – 127; D. Earnhardt Jr. – 126; J. Johnson – 124; R. Newman – 123; B. Keselowski – 116; M. Kenseth – 113; P. Menard – 112; C. Mears – 111; D. Hamlin – 108; A. Almirola – 105; C. Bowyer – 101; G. Biffle – 101.

  • Joey Logano is Class of the Field in XFINITY Win at Phoenix

    Joey Logano is Class of the Field in XFINITY Win at Phoenix

    March 14, 2014
    By Reid Spencer
    NASCAR Wire Service

    AVONDALE, Ariz.—Joey Logano summed up his dominating victory in one word.

    “Finally!” Logano exclaimed after taking the checkered flag in Saturday’s Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Phoenix International Raceway.

    Logano had reason to be frustrated. He had finished second in his last four XFINITY Series starts, the last three after winning the pole. And the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford hadn’t been to Victory Lane in the series since Sept. 28, 2013 at Dover International Speedway.

    On Saturday, however, Logano won the pole and closed the deal. Though race runner-up Matt Kenseth dogged his rear bumper all day long and closed to .294 seconds at the finish, he couldn’t catch the No. 22 Ford, which led 176 of the 200 laps at the one-mile track.

    “It felt good,” said Logano, who collected his second win at Phoenix and the 22nd of his career. “It took a long time to get our next win. We’ve been so close to winning — obviously, a lot of poles and things are going well. We just needed a little more speed, and it was awesome to get it today.”

    Logano, who posted the second perfect driver rating of his career, pulled away after a restart on Lap 144 and stayed out front the rest of the way, with Kenseth in close pursuit.

    “I was able to take off faster on restarts and get a nice lead and then Matt’s car was looser than mine, so that is why I was able to get a lead,” Logano said. “Once we started running a few laps, I would get tight and he would start catching up to me because his balance was a little more free.

    “I kept hoping for lapped traffic, because I was better in traffic, and that’s where I made up time.”

    Kenseth thought he had a better car for the longer runs, but traffic and dirty air proved his downfall.

    “For whatever reason, after our last pit stop, we just didn’t fire off as fast,” Kenseth said. “I had way less grip than (after) every other pit stop… He (Logano) got away pretty good, and then when it was time to go, I just got tight running him down with all the lapped cars, and I couldn’t quite get there.”

    Kevin Harvick ran third, followed by Austin Dillon and Erik Jones, subbing for injured Kyle Busch in the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Ty Dillon came home sixth and retained the series lead by 14 points over 14th-place finisher Chris Buescher.

    NASCAR XFINITY Series Race – Axalta Faster Tougher Brighter 200
    Phoenix International Raceway
    Avondale, Arizona
    Saturday, March 14, 2015

                   1. (1) Joey Logano(i), Ford, 200, $81148.

                   2. (4) Matt Kenseth(i), Toyota, 200, $60886.

                   3. (2) Kevin Harvick(i), Chevrolet, 200, $42789.

                   4. (5) Austin Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 200, $34112.

                   5. (3) Erik Jones(i), Toyota, 200, $34114.

                   6. (11) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 200, $30477.

                   7. (7) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 200, $29998.

                   8. (9) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 200, $27895.

                   9. (8) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 200, $26736.

                   10. (12) Brian Scott, Chevrolet, 200, $26676.

                   11. (6) Daniel Suarez #, Toyota, 200, $25967.

                   12. (10) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 200, $26460.

                   13. (17) Ryan Reed, Ford, 200, $23778.

                   14. (13) Chris Buescher, Ford, 200, $23399.

                   15. (16) Darrell Wallace Jr. #, Ford, 199, $23746.

                   16. (18) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 199, $22944.

                   17. (15) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 199, $22741.

                   18. (14) Dakoda Armstrong, Ford, 199, $22539.

                   19. (23) Dylan Lupton, Chevrolet, 199, $22362.

                   20. (20) Mike Bliss, Toyota, 197, $16711.

                   21. (25) David Starr, Toyota, 197, $22109.

                   22. (26) Cale Conley #, Toyota, 197, $21978.

                   23. (29) Harrison Rhodes #, Chevrolet, 197, $21851.

                   24. (24) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 197, $21751.

                   25. (19) Blake Koch, Toyota, 197, $21774.

                   26. (21) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 196, $21523.

                   27. (27) Ross Chastain #, Chevrolet, 196, $21396.

                   28. (28) Jamie Dick, Chevrolet, 196, $21321.

                   29. (31) Eric McClure, Toyota, 195, $21269.

                   30. (40) Charles Lewandoski, Chevrolet, 195, $15519.

                   31. (30) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 193, $21164.

                   32. (39) Carl Long, Dodge, 193, $21103.

                   33. (35) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 192, $15063.

                   34. (37) Enrique Contreras, Chevrolet, 191, $15027.

                   35. (38) Mike Harmon, Dodge, Suspension, 165, $20986.

                   36. (34) Peyton Sellers, Chevrolet, Engine, 118, $19498.

                   37. (22) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, Accident, 91, $18498.

                   38. (32) Mario Gosselin, Chevrolet, Brakes, 59, $17498.

                   39. (33) Derek White, Dodge, Brakes, 7, $10498.

                   40. (36) Jeff Green, Toyota, Vibration, 3, $9498.

    Average Speed of Race Winner:  109.141 mph.

    Time of Race:  1 Hrs, 49 Mins, 57 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.293 Seconds.

    Caution Flags:  4 for 26 laps.

    Lead Changes:  7 among 4 drivers.

    Lap Leaders:   J. Logano(i) 1-50; M. Kenseth(i) 51-61; J. Logano(i) 62-96; A. Dillon(i) 97-100; J. Logano(i) 101-126; B. Poole 127-132; M. Kenseth(i) 133-135; J. Logano(i) 136-200.

    Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  J. Logano(i) 4 times for 176 laps; M. Kenseth(i) 2 times for 14 laps; B. Poole 1 time for 6 laps; A. Dillon(i) 1 time for 4 laps.

    Top 10 in Points: T. Dillon – 157; C. Buescher – 143; R. Reed – 135; C. Elliott – 132; D. Wallace Jr. # – 132; B. Gaughan – 122; R. Smith – 121; E. Sadler – 114; D. Starr – 106; D. Suarez # – 103.

  • Harvick Bags Coors Light Pole Award at Phoenix

    Harvick Bags Coors Light Pole Award at Phoenix

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Phoenix International Raceway

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Phoenix International Raceway

    This weekend the racing action continues as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and XFINITY Series head to Phoenix International Raceway. The Camping World Truck Series will return to the track March 28 at Martinsville.

    Friday, March 13 (All times Eastern)

    On Track:

    3-4:15 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice – FOX Sports 1
    4:30-5:25 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series practice – FOX Sports 1
    6-7:25 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice – FOX Sports 2
    7:50 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FOX Sports 2
    10 p.m.: NASCAR Mexico Series Toyota 120 – NBC Universo

    Press Conferences: (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

    2 p.m. Kevin Harvick
    2:30 p.m.: Chase Elliott
    4:45 p.m.: Denny Hamlin
    8:45 p.m.: Post-NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying – Time approximate

    Saturday, March 14 (All times Eastern)

    On Track:

    11:30 a.m.-12:25 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series practice – FOX Sports 1
    12:45 p.m.: XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FOX Sports 1
    2:30-3:20 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series final practice – FOX Sports 1
    4 p.m.: XFINITY Series Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200 – FOX (200 laps, 200 miles)

    Press Conferences: (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

    11 a.m.: Sam Hornish Jr.
    1:45 p.m.: AXALTA Chairman and CEO Charlie Shaver and President Mike Cash
    5:45 p.m.: Post-NASCAR XFINITY Series race – Time approximate

    Sunday, March 15 (All times Eastern)

    On Track:

    3:30 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series CampingWorld.com 500 – FOX (312 laps, 312 miles)

    Press Conferences: (Watch live at NASCAR.com)

    12:30 p.m.: Martin Truex Jr. and Joe Garone, GM, Furniture Row Racing
    6:15 p.m.: Post-NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race – Time approximate

  • Kevin Harvick Dominates NASCAR Sprint Cup Race at Las Vegas

    Kevin Harvick Dominates NASCAR Sprint Cup Race at Las Vegas

    Mar. 8, 2015
    By Reid Spencer
    NASCAR Wire Service

    LAS VEGAS, Nev.—Kevin Harvick must have been tired of finishing second, because on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion did something about it.

    Once Harvick got to the front of the field from his 18th-place starting spot in the Kobalt 400, he was untouchable.

    Even with a disquieting vibration on the final green-flag run—and a left-rear tire that shredded during his celebratory burnout—Harvick had enough of a working margin to hold off runner-up Martin Truex Jr. by 1.640 seconds.

    Harvick, who ran second in the season-opening Daytona 500 and in last week’s 500-miler at Atlanta, led a race-high 142 laps in winning for the first time in Las Vegas and for the 29th time in his career. In his last six races, dating to last year’s championship season, Harvick has three victories and three second-place finishes.

    Ryan Newman came home third, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin and AJ Allmendinger. Brad Keselowski, last year’s Las Vegas race winner, rallied from a pass-through penalty for a runaway tire on pit road to finish seventh. Kyle Larson, Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano completed the top 10.

    Harvick will try to extend his string of top-two finishes next weekend at Phoenix International Raceway, where the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet has won four of the last five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.

    “It’s so cool to win here in Las Vegas, and to start this West Coast swing off this way is pretty awesome,” Harvick said in Victory Lane. “Just to be in front of all these fans I’ve raced in front of since about the mid-‘90s… it’s pretty special to win here.”

    The only issue in doubt for the last half of the race was whether Harvick’s car would hold together in the closing laps.

    “That wasn’t a comfortable last run there,” Harvick radioed to his crew after he crossed the finish line.

    A few minutes later, after climbing from his car, he elaborated.

    “It wasn’t right,’” Harvick said. “Luckily we were able to hang-on to it and had a good enough lead to where we could pace ourselves and be able to keep the lead, I guess.

    “It got to be a handful there at the end. For whatever reason we got really, really loose the last run. Tires started vibrating and we were just kind of hanging on. Glad the race is over at that particular point for our own good.”

    The victory vaulted Harvick into the lead in the series standings by nine points over Earnhardt, who has finished third, third and fourth in the first three races of the season.

    Fourth in the standings after three straight top 10s to open the year, Truex was gaining on Harvick at the finish but never got close enough to make a move. Nor was Truex aware that Harvick had a potential problem.

    “I noticed he was getting a lot bigger, and I asked ‘Why in the world is Harvick so slow right now?’” Truex said. “They gave me my lap times and his and I’m like, “What’s going on?’”

    “I really thought he was just playing with us, taking it easy because he knew he had a big gap. They never said anything to me about him thinking he had any issues or anything else.”

    Note: Pole winner Jeff Gordon started from the rear in a backup car because of an accident in the last minute of Saturday’s final practice. The four-time champion’s luck didn’t improve on Sunday. He ran into the back of Jeb Burton’s Toyota as both drivers were trying to avoid the Chevrolet of Jimmie Johnson, who had blown a tire and hit the wall ahead of them. Gordon finished 18th, one lap down… Gordon was the last driver before Harvick to post six straight top-two finishes, a feat he accomplished in 1996.

    NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race – Kobalt 400
    Las Vegas Motor Speedway
    Las Vegas, Nevada
    Sunday, March 08, 2015

     

    1. (18) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 267, $431815.
    2. (8) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 267, $268950.
    3. (7) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 267, $236980.
    4. (4) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 267, $184455.
    5. (19) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 267, $162380.
    6. (22) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 267, $162703.
    7. (11) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 267, $170461.
    8. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 267, $156078.
    9. (6) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 267, $157206.
    10. (2) Joey Logano, Ford, 267, $165853.
    11. (10) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 267, $144426.
    12. (24) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 267, $121010.
    13. (23) Brian Scott(i), Chevrolet, 267, $128068.
    14. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 267, $141793.
    15. (28) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 266, $137274.
    16. (34) Regan Smith(i), Chevrolet, 266, $123160.
    17. (3) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 266, $121660.
    18. (1) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 266, $157196.
    19. (30) Ryan Blaney(i), Ford, 266, $101660.
    20. (25) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 265, $146796.
    21. (20) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 265, $137418.
    22. (13) David Ragan, Toyota, 265, $143651.
    23. (37) David Gilliland, Ford, 265, $123318.
    24. (29) Sam Hornish Jr., Ford, 265, $126380.
    25. (17) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 264, $118593.
    26. (15) Aric Almirola, Ford, 264, $134771.
    27. (21) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, 264, $104710.
    28. (35) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 264, $137185.
    29. (31) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 264, $103385.
    30. (32) Michael McDowell, Ford, 264, $93610.
    31. (26) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 263, $112457.
    32. (38) Cole Whitt, Ford, 262, $94210.
    33. (12) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 262, $118724.
    34. (39) Josh Wise, Ford, 261, $91310.
    35. (42) Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 261, $91085.
    36. (40) JJ Yeley(i), Toyota, 260, $90845.
    37. (36) Brett Moffitt, Ford, 260, $90614.
    38. (43) Brendan Gaughan(i), Chevrolet, 258, $85290.
    39. (33) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 257, $81290.
    40. (41) Jeb Burton #, Toyota, 254, $78790.
    41. (9) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 236, $121226.
    42. (14) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 227, $69290.
    43. (27) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, Engine, 28, $65790.

    Average Speed of Race Winner:  143.677 mph.

    Time of Race:  02 Hrs, 47 Mins, 15 Secs. Margin of Victory:  1.640 Seconds.

    Caution Flags:  6 for 28 laps.

    Lead Changes:  18 among 9 drivers.

    Lap Leaders:    0; J. Logano 1-27; D. Earnhardt Jr. 28-29; J. Logano 30-42; J. Johnson 43-76; C. Edwards 77-78; M. Kenseth 79; J. Johnson 80-90; K. Harvick 91-130; B. Keselowski 131-132; J. Logano 133-139; K. Harvick 140-144; M. Truex Jr. 145-147; K. Harvick 148-198; D. Earnhardt Jr. 199-200; K. Harvick 201-230; R. Newman 231-244; B. Keselowski 245-251; K. Harvick 252-267.

    Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  K. Harvick 5 times for 142 laps; J. Logano 3 times for 47 laps; J. Johnson 2 times for 45 laps; R. Newman 1 time for 14 laps; B. Keselowski 2 times for 9 laps; D. Earnhardt Jr. 2 times for 4 laps; M. Truex Jr. 1 time for 3 laps; C. Edwards 1 time for 2 laps; M. Kenseth 1 time for 1 lap.

    Top 16 in Points: K. Harvick – 134; D. Earnhardt Jr. – 125; J. Logano – 123; M. Truex Jr. – 118; A. Allmendinger – 100; K. Kahne – 92; J. Johnson – 91; D. Hamlin – 87; C. Mears – 87; M. Kenseth – 85; G. Biffle – 84; R. Newman – 82; P. Menard – 82; C. Bowyer – 81; A. Almirola – 80; B. Keselowski – 77.

  • Austin Dillon Holds Off Charging Ryan Blaney for XFINITY Win in Las Vegas

    Austin Dillon Holds Off Charging Ryan Blaney for XFINITY Win in Las Vegas

    By Reid Spencer
    NASCAR Wire Service
    Mar. 7, 2015

    LAS VEGAS, Nev.—As dominant as Austin Dillon was in Saturday’s Boyd Gaming 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he had to give his utmost effort in the closing laps to hold off charging Ryan Blaney for the victory.

    Dillon led 183 of the 200 laps at the 1.5-mile speedway, but Blaney had a tire advantage at the end of the race, thanks to a late pit stop after his car snapped loose and knocked Erik Jones into the outside wall at the exit from Turn 4.

    After restarting fifth with 21 laps left, Blaney charged to the front, making up a deficit of more than 1.5 seconds and forcing Dillon to block him repeatedly during the last three laps. Blaney ran out of room in the final corner, his No. 22 Ford turning sideways and tagging the outside wall as Dillon crossed the finish line with an advantage of .664 seconds.

    During the closing laps, winning crew chief Nick Harrison made a point of not telling Dillon that Blaney had fresh tires.

    “There at the end, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,” said Dillon, who won for the third time in the XFINITY Series and the first time at Las Vegas. “You got to do whatever you can to win. Our car was dominant all day, and to give one away like that would have been heartbreaking.

    “I hadn’t heard in my ear all day that somebody was catching me, and he was catching me at about three tenths (of a second) a lap. And that was all I had. The other good thing is that my crew chief made sure no one told me that he had tires on, so I wouldn’t second-guess myself. I just thought I was getting slower—I didn’t know what I was doing wrong.”

    In his post-race question-and-answer session with reporters, Blaney was more distraught about his contact with Erik Jones than he was disappointed with his runner-up finish. And after the run-in with Jones, Blaney wasn’t about to move Dillon for the win in the closing laps.

    “I didn’t want any more people saying bad things about me after I wrecked Erik,” said Blaney, who passed fourth-place finisher Denny Hamlin on Lap 190 and third-place Regan Smith on Lap 193 before charging after Dillon. “I wasn’t going to move Austin, that’s for sure.

    “He did what he had to do. He stopped my run. I didn’t expect him to pull over. So, no, I wasn’t going to move him to win the race.”

    Chase Elliott came home fifth, followed by hometown favorite Brendan Gaughan, rookie Darrell Wallace Jr., Ty Dillon, Brennan Poole and Daniel Suarez.

    Ty Dillon, Austin’s brother, took over the series lead by six points over Chris Buescher, who came home 14th.

    NASCAR XFINITY Series Race – Boyd Gaming 300
    Las Vegas Motor Speedway
    Las Vegas, Nevada
    Saturday, March 07, 2015

    1. (1) Austin Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 200, $100011.
    2. (4) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 200, $71438.
    3. (7) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 200, $55573.
    4. (11) Denny Hamlin(i), Toyota, 200, $40351.
    5. (8) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 200, $39567.
    6. (5) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 200, $35787.
    7. (12) Darrell Wallace Jr. #, Ford, 200, $38028.
    8. (20) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 200, $33445.
    9. (16) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 200, $32346.
    10. (15) Daniel Suarez #, Toyota, 200, $32681.
    11. (9) Aric Almirola(i), Ford, 200, $25227.
    12. (6) Dale Earnhardt Jr.(i), Chevrolet, 199, $24671.
    13. (13) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 199, $30117.
    14. (10) Chris Buescher, Ford, 199, $23603.
    15. (18) Ryan Reed, Ford, 199, $29941.
    16. (27) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 199, $29129.
    17. (31) David Starr, Toyota, 198, $28942.
    18. (38) Ross Chastain #, Chevrolet, 198, $28806.
    19. (21) John Wes Townley(i), Chevrolet, 198, $22695.
    20. (22) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 198, $29084.
    21. (14) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 197, $28473.
    22. (25) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 197, $28332.
    23. (24) Eric McClure, Toyota, 196, $28196.
    24. (26) Jamie Dick, Chevrolet, 195, $28085.
    25. (28) Cale Conley #, Toyota, 195, $28084.
    26. (29) Harrison Rhodes #, Chevrolet, 193, $27788.
    27. (35) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 192, $27651.
    28. (33) Derek White, Toyota, 175, $27505.
    29. (3) Erik Jones(i), Toyota, Accident, 172, $27354.
    30. (23) Dakoda Armstrong, Ford, Accident, 164, $27517.
    31. (37) Mike Harmon, Dodge, 164, $21087.
    32. (32) Mario Gosselin, Chevrolet, Accident, 154, $26976.
    33. (36) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 113, $26860.
    34. (40) Cody Ware, Chevrolet, Suspension, 80, $26748.
    35. (19) Blake Koch, Toyota, Accident, 52, $26627.
    36. (30) Carl Long, Dodge, Electrical, 34, $18428.
    37. (39) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Suspension, 15, $17428.
    38. (2) Brian Scott, Chevrolet, Engine, 14, $22428.
    39. (17) Mike Bliss, Toyota, Accident, 12, $21428.
    40. (34) Jeff Green, Toyota, Vibration, 3, $14428.

    Average Speed of Race Winner:  126.021 mph.

    Time of Race:  02 Hrs, 22 Mins, 50 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.664 Seconds.

    Caution Flags:  6 for 34 laps.

    Lead Changes:  13 among 7 drivers.

    Lap Leaders:   A. Dillon(i) 1-20; R. Blaney 21; A. Dillon(i) 22-105; B. Gaughan 106; D. Suarez # 107-109; E. Jones(i) 110-112; A. Dillon(i) 113-151; E. Jones(i) 152-155; D. Hamlin(i) 156; B. Gaughan 157-158; C. Elliott 159; A. Dillon(i) 160-165; R. Blaney 166; A. Dillon(i) 167-200.

    Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  A. Dillon(i) 5 times for 183 laps; E. Jones(i) 2 times for 7 laps; B. Gaughan 2 times for 3 laps; D. Suarez # 1 time for 3 laps; R. Blaney 2 times for 2 laps; D. Hamlin(i) 1 time for 1 lap; C. Elliott 1 time for 1 lap.

    Top 10 in Points: T. Dillon – 119; C. Buescher – 113; R. Reed – 104; D. Wallace Jr. # – 103; C. Elliott – 95; R. Smith – 86; B. Gaughan – 86; D. Starr – 83; E. Sadler – 82; R. Chastain # – 81.

     

  • Austin Dillon Wins Boyd Gaming 300 Pole at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

    Austin Dillon Wins Boyd Gaming 300 Pole at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

    He led both practices on Friday and on Saturday, he would score the pole for the Boyd Gaming 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The lap of 29.295 seconds marks his second pole of the season in his second start of the year.

    “We never ran two laps yesterday, and I knew our teammate was pretty fast in the 2 (Brian Sc0tt),” Dillon commented on running a second lap in the final round, which was quicker than his first. “That was pretty flat out there – that’s all I’ve had. We had a solid car all weekend – won practice, and now won qualifying. Hope to end up in victory lane later today.”

    Brian Scott would qualify second to give Richard Childresss Racing a sweep of the front row. The organization committed to making themselves stronger during the off-season after having their drivers finish fourth and fifth in the points standings behind JR Motorsports 1-2 finish.

    “That’s an RCR/ECR (Earnhardt Childress Racing Engines) front row,” Scott commented. “That’s the second week in a row that we’ve qualified second. We have a fast car and it’s great to start on the front row. We were just a little tighter than we needed to be. We have a fast car for the race so hoping to have a great run.”

    Ryan Blaney would qualify third in his first start of the season, followed by Brendan Gaughan and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Earnhardt is trying to give crew chief Dave Elenz his second straight victory in a row after Kevin Harvick scored the win last weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

    Earnhardt’s teammates Regan Smith and Chase Elliott were sixth and seventh, respectively, followed by Aric Almirola, Chris Buescher, Denny Hamlin and Darrell Wallace Jr.

    “For whatever reason, I’m not good at qualifying so we struggle a little bit in qualifying,” Hamlin commented. “I’m really looking forward to the race. I feel like we have a good car. Thankful for the opportunity, and obviously thinking about Kyle (Busch) racing in his hometown. I wish I could sub him in here for the session.”

    Elliott Sadler would qualify 13th, followed by Ryan Sieg, Daniel Suarez, Brennan Poole, Mike Bliss, Ryan Reed, Blake Koch and Ty Dillon.

    “We put everything like Austin’s car, and just missed it,” Ty said. “I hate this. This is the second straight week that we haven’t qualified well. Oh well. We’ll just drive through there and put on another solid show, again. Just disappointed to qualify like this two weeks in a row. Just hard on the splitter and we’ve been making adjustments, getting it slowly off the splitter.”

    Dexter Bean and Josh Reaume failed to qualify for the event. The first session had a small delay as a result of debris – a spring rubber – in turns one and two. Brendan Gaughan and Eric McClure both hit it, with Gaughan receiving no damage and McClure recieving significant front end damage.