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Race Central NASCAR Cup Series news and information

  • Keselowski Rallies from Spin to Finish Runner-up

    Keselowski Rallies from Spin to Finish Runner-up

    The day for Brad Keselowski started with a spin through the frontstretch grass, then ended with a second-place finish at Auto Club Speedway.

    On the initial start, Denny Hamlin spun the tires and forced Keselowski off the gas. The resulting accordion effect led to the front bumper of Ryan Newman, who turned Keselowski up the track. It left him with a damaged left-rear corner panel.

    Exiting Turn 4 on the third lap, Keselowski got loose trying not to hit Ty Dillon, and was tapped in his left-rear by Jimmie Johnson, and spun down the track and through the frontstretch grass, bringing out the first caution of the race.

    “I got ran into the back of and it did a lot of damage to the car and we were in a lot of trouble and started to freefall through the field and then I got ran over again,” Keselowski said in his post-race press conference. “I got ran over, so I’m not really sure who, why, what. I haven’t seen any of that.”

    With his damaged race car, he fought his way back into the top-10 just past halfway through the race and was in the top-five when the final caution flew with three laps to go.

    Keselowski restarted third on the overtime restart and passed Hamlin to finish second.

    “The last two restarts we really hit pretty well,” Keselowski added. “I don’t know if I would have had a shot at Kyle, but I would have liked to have seen. We came from third on that last one and a couple of three-wide passes and what-not. Kyle was smart. He picked the outside lane and kind of pinned me behind a guy that had older tires, so by the time I cleared everybody Kyle was just too far gone.”

  • Larson Sweeps Weekend in Fontana

    Larson Sweeps Weekend in Fontana

    Instead of bridesmaid status for the fourth straight week, Kyle Larson dominated most of the day at Auto Club Speedway and took the lead in the closing laps to return to victory lane in NASCAR.

    He led 110 laps from start to the finish of the Auto Club 400 and beat Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski on the final restart to score his second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory.

    “I was staying as calm as I could be, but also frustrated at the same time,” Larson said. “It seems like every time I get to the lead at the end of one of these things, the caution comes out and I’ve got to fight people off on restarts. Our Target Chevy was amazing all day. We were able to lead a lot of laps today. Truex was better than us that second stage by quite a bit. We were able to get the jump on him the following restart and led pretty much the rest of the distance. I had to fight them off there after the green flag stops and that was a lot of fun.

    “This is just amazing. We have been so good all year long; three seconds in a row. I’ve been watching all the TV like ‘he doesn’t know how to win’, but we knew how to win today, so that was good.”

    This win is in addition to his victory in the XFINITY Series race the day prior.

    Keselowski overcame a spin on the third lap to finish runner-up. Clint Bowyer came home third.

    “It was a good weekend for us,” Bowyer said. “We never showed the speed in practice, but I wasn’t worried about it because I knew the car was really comfortable on the long run and things like that. I was proud of the effort that (Mike) Buga and all the guys give me each and every week.

    “I’m just having fun again. That’s what it’s about.”

    Starting on pole, Larson lost the lead only during the green flag cycle in the middle of the first stage. But he quickly regained it and won it.

    Though Larson dominating Stage 1, Truex took command of the race under the stage break and easily won the second stage.

    “Well, I had slid through my (pit) box at the end of that first stage and I had to overdrive some to get to second and then Truex was just really good that run and I had run the top of (Turns) 3 and 4 and probably wore my tires out too much,” Larson said. “When I got to the lead in the third stage I knew to just commit to the bottom of (Turns) 3 and 4 and save my tires the best I could. Our long run was really good the rest of the race.”

    On the ensuing restart, Larson made a power move on Truex in Turn 1 to take the lead back. Other than surrendering it to Kyle Busch and Ty Dillon during a cycle of green-flag stops with 45 laps to go, which he took back with 37 to go, he was in command the entire run to the finish.

    The complexion of the race changed when Corey LaJoie spun out in Turn 2, bringing out the penultimate caution with nine to go. Hamlin, Truex and Erik Jones elected to stay out while everyone else pitted.

    Restarting with five to go, Larson powered by Truex for second with ease. He had a run on Hamlin but was boxed in by Truex to his inside and the outside wall. This only delayed him momentarily as he passed Hamlin to take the lead exiting Turn 2 with three to go and held him off on the overtime restart to win.

    On the initial start, Hamlin got a bad start, forcing Keselowski to back into Ryan Newman. Keselowski was turned up into Kevin Harvick, who then made contact with Newman. Two laps later, Keselowski, with some help from Jimmie Johnson, spun out exiting Turn 4 and spun through the grass.

    With 20 to go, Gray Gaulding suffered a right-front tire blowout and slammed the wall in Turn 2.

    With 16 to go, Truex hooked Matt Kenseth exiting Turn 2, turning him down the track where he slammed the inside wall driver-side.

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spun out exiting Turn 2 with three to go, setting up the overtime finish.

    The race lasted two hours, 57 minutes and 48 seconds at an average speed of 136.359 mph. There were 17 lead changes among eight different drivers and seven cautions for 29 laps.

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  • Danica Patrick Chimes in on NASCAR not Punishing Austin Dillon

    Danica Patrick Chimes in on NASCAR not Punishing Austin Dillon

    NASCAR elected not to punish Austin Dillon for his actions against Cole Custer in last weekend’s XFINITY Series race at Phoenix International Raceway in which Dillon ran his car into Custer’s under caution as retaliation for contact just minutes prior.

    The no penalty decision raised eyebrows as just the day prior, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell said that NASCAR wouldn’t allow drivers to use cars as a weapon.

    It came after a meeting with Kyle Busch and Joey Logano, who were involved in a post-race brawl on pit road the preceding week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway where the former punched the latter in the face, and NASCAR chose not to fine either for their involvement.

    The driver most vocal about NASCAR’s ruling was Danica Patrick, saying NASCAR should “Give me my money back.”

    Last year, she was hooked into the outside wall by Kasey Kahne and fined for walking onto the apron to show her displeasure to him.

    “I also got fined here last year for Kasey Kahne right-rearing me on the front straightaway at 215 miles an hour and I gave him this sign, and I got fined for that, too,” she said.

    Patrick was upset about NASCAR’s ambiguous rules, but she was more concerned about fining drivers for actions that “makes for good TV.”

    “I think NASCAR makes a really big mistake of fining for some stuff, especially something that happens in the car because it makes for good TV – just like fights and all that stuff,” she said. “We can handle it. I think it’s a mistake. I might be speaking too much, but I’ve been fined a few times and I think that it makes for good TV and I think that we handle it out on the track ourselves.”

    Patrick said she’s fine with NASCAR having not fined drivers in the last few weeks, she wishes that they were consistent in that regard and asked where the fine money goes to.

    “Yeah, I’d rather that be the standard,” she added. “I mean, what does that really do? I’m not gonna not go on vacation. I would actually rather know what it did. I would actually love to see like the playground that got built for it, or homeless people that got food. I would like to see actually what the money does for fines because it’s supposed to go to charity, right? So what does it really do? I would like to see that.”

  • Hendrick Teammates Have Differing Views on Plates at Indy

    Hendrick Teammates Have Differing Views on Plates at Indy

    For the last few years, attendance at The Brickyard for NASCAR events has dwindled and the sanctioning body is looking for any measure to rectify the racing. Their solution, slap restrictor plates on the cars.

    Last week, Michael Knight of The Arizona Republic reported on Twitter that NASCAR would run restrictor plates in the XFINITY Series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. On Monday, Nate Ryan of NBC Sports confirmed Knight’s story after speaking to an unnamed NASCAR official. Yesterday, NASCAR officially announced that it was, in fact, running restrictor plates in the XFINITY Series race at The Brickyard.

    The XFINITY cars will run a 7/8 inch plate, the same sized plate run at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, a taller rear spoiler and splitter and aeroducts on the lower front bumper area.

    The aero ducts give the trailing car more of an advantage so that they don’t hit a “wall of air” when attempting to pass the leading car.

    It’s the restrictor plates that’s raised most eyebrows, given that NASCAR tried them before at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September of 2000. Jeff Burton led all 300 laps on his way to victory that day, the third and, to date, the last time a driver has led every lap of a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race.

    The incorporation of plates won’t lead to the big packs that we see at Daytona and Talladega — according to Gene Stefanyshyn, NASCAR senior vice president of innovation and racing development, but you’ll most likely see groups of five or six cars “and in each of those groupings, we’re hoping to see passing on the straightaways.”

    Dale Earnhardt Jr., while not sure if restrictor plates at The Brickyard will work, said on Friday at Auto Club Speedway, that he’s open to it.

    “That race is really suffering as far as the show and how entertaining I think it is to watch,” Earnhardt said. “I don’t really know what the answer is to make it more exciting, but I think this is a great opportunity to find out if this is the direction to go. I am all for it. And I like the idea of trying it in the Xfinity Series or the Truck Series or what have you whatever track it is at to try it in that feeder series. That is an opportunity to see if we can get it right without ruining anything for the Cup guys. Hopefully, I think NASCAR watches the Indy 500 and they see those guys drafting and passing and they are competitive. They have to try to put on that type of show if not better at that race track. It is not good in conversation to have the IndyCar race be more exciting to watch than the NASCAR race there. That is just business. I think it’s great for them to be aggressive. We tried something last year in the Cup cars with the big spoilers and all that drag, didn’t work, but I’m good with it.”

    He also touched on how it’s in the best interest of NASCAR to make Indianapolis work for the XFINITY Series, from his perspective as co-owner of JR Motorsports in the XFINITY Series, rather than take it back to Lucas Oil Raceway Park across town.

    “I really think it’s easy to say ‘hey man let’s go back to IRP (Indianapolis Raceway Park, now Lucas Oil Raceway Park) for the Xfinity guys,” he added. “But how do you fix the Cup race? You want to fix the Cup race too. You want to try to improve Cup racing there if you can. We would love to keep the Xfinity Series at Indy if we can. If we can make that exciting that is where they belong. It’s great for our company. It’s great for us as owners to have that big marquee event and it’s a race that is easier to sell than maybe a Road America or something like that for sponsors. It’s a big deal. We want to be there. I would love to race at IRP. I would love to see a race at IRP, but it’s good for owners to be at Indy. If we can make that work that’s great. I’m open to trying anything.”

    His Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson isn’t convinced it’s the best idea. Saying on Friday at Auto Club Speedway when he heard the news of plates being used at Indianapolis for the first time that he doesn’t “see really any upside to it.”

    “We are out of the gas so long there and brake for two of the four corners. I don’t see how it’s going to help,” Johnson said. “I guess it would put a bit more of an emphasis on the draft down the straight, but the corners are so challenging. I am not confident we will create the competitive passes that I assume they are looking for. You need multiple lanes to create passes and that track just doesn’t provide that. So, I think taking horsepower away you know if you are held up in the turn the less power the less of an opportunity to run up on somebody and to make the pass on one of those long straightaways. I would fear that it would go the other direction.”

  • Larson Fastest in First Cup Practice

    Larson Fastest in First Cup Practice

    Kyle Larson topped the chart in first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Auto Club Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet was the fastest with a time of 38.081 and a speed of 189.071 mph. Denny Hamlin was second in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 38.204 and a speed of 188.462 mph. Kevin Harvick was third in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford with a time of 38.228 and a speed of 188.344 mph.

    Jamie McMurray was fourth in his No. 1 Ganassi Chevrolet with a time of 38.310 and a speed of 187.940 mph. Joey Logano rounded out the top-five in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford with a time of 38.382 and a speed of 187.588 mph.

    Larson posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 182.404 mph.

    Jimmie Johnson went to a backup car after spinning out in Turn 4 and digging his splitter into the infield grass.

    The session was stopped once for a live owl on the frontstretch.

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  • The White Zone: Some good things in NASCAR right now

    The White Zone: Some good things in NASCAR right now

    As much as I harp on NASCAR for getting things wrong and continuously point out the serious problems within it, I think it’s only fair to also give them their due when they get things right and point out the fantastic aspects in the sport at the moment.

    Let me be clear. This isn’t me playing Ms. Pauliana, trying to brush a coat of gilded-color paint to cover up serious problems bubbling under the surface. In what I consider a make or break year for NASCAR with a decade of declining ratings and signing Monster Energy as the new title sponsor of the Cup Series, it’s not off to a hot start in the ratings and viewership department. The ratings for NASCAR this season, compared to last season so far are flat in ratings but up five percent in viewership (Daytona), down seven percent in ratings and three percent in viewership (Atlanta), down 18 percent in ratings and 17 percent in viewership (Las Vegas) and down 18 percent in ratings and 19 percent in viewership (Phoenix).

    But while I find more wrong with the sport at the moment, I decided to do a column listing just a few items I believe show NASCAR is on course for better days when they also fix the bigger problems.

    Without further adieu, here’s just a few things I feel are right with NASCAR at the moment.

    1: Restrictor plate racing

    I’m not talking about the “bet on disappointment” XFINITY Series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this coming July where NASCAR is going to use restrictor plates. I’m talking about the events of Speedweeks.

    During The Clash on a Sunday afternoon, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano worked together to breakup the Toyota contingent commanding the lead in the closing laps one by one until Denny Hamlin was left all by himself. When Hamlin tried to block Keselowski’s advance in Turn 1, he got loose and turned himself sideways. Logano drove to the high side of them and won the race.

    Granted, the current restrictor plate aero package still gives too great of an advantage to the leader, especially when it allows them to block any advancing lane and not lose said aero advantage, and that is the most frustrating aspect of plate racing today. But it was less prevalent during the Daytona 500, thanks largely to NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France telling the drivers in the drivers meeting don’t look to NASCAR “when you block somebody out there.”

    “When you block somebody out there — and it’s going to happen today — it causes almost all the big incidents — do not look for NASCAR,” he said. “You’d better hope there’s a Good Samaritan behind you who is going to accept that block, because they have that lane.”

    Considering the carnage in the XFINITY Series race the day before, France’s comments weren’t so out of left field. But given most of the wrecks were the result of the close nature of plate racing and bump drafting, his comments still left more questions than answers.

    Regardless, this running of the Daytona 500 was entertaining from start to finish. It wasn’t next to impossible to pass for the lead and unlike the XFINITY race the day prior, the carnage didn’t start until halfway through. Breaking from what’s become the norm of plate races, there wasn’t a caution in the closing laps. Instead, the race went straight to the green on the last 47 laps. In the closing laps, Chase Elliott ran out of gas while leading, Martin Truex Jr. ran out while leading and Kyle Larson ran out while leading. Kurt Busch took the lead exiting Turn 2 and won the Daytona 500.

    If we get a race similar in entertainment while at Talladega, plate racing in NASCAR will finally be back to a great place.

    2: The young guns

    This season might be the true start of the youth takeover of the Cup Series in NASCAR.

    After four races, Larson is riding a streak of three consecutive runner-up finishes. Even though he’s led just 26 laps, he’s leading the points thanks to those runner-up finishes and finishing top-10 in every stage segment so far this season, minus the final stage of the Daytona 500 where he finished 12th. While he’s yet to earn a playoff point, his consistent stage finishes demonstrate the importance of running well the entire race and not just at the end.

    Compare this to Kevin Harvick who had dominant runs in the Daytona 500, winning the second stage, and Atlanta, winning the first and second stage, but an early exit at Las Vegas and another non-factor day at Phoenix has dropped him from the points lead to seventh.

    Other impressive “young whipper-snappers” so far includes Elliott. He was a few gallons short of possibly winning his first NASCAR race in the Daytona 500 and led over 100 laps in a disappointing 12th-place finish at Phoenix.

    Ryan Blaney is also making good of his runner-up finish in the Daytona 500, sitting sixth in points.

    Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez quietly earned their first top-10’s in the Cup Series this past weekend at Phoenix.

    Austin Dillon is off to a slow start, currently sitting 25th. But it’s too early in the season to write them off.

    3. The finishes so far

    So far, the racing this season isn’t good. It’s just where we left off with 2016, serviceable to mediocre on most weekends. The finishes have been the saving grace to each of these races: last lap pass for the win at Daytona, closing laps pass for the win at Atlanta, Truex passes Keselowski for the win with two to go at Las Vegas and Ryan Newman stays out on final caution to win at Phoenix.

    The way these races have finished this season have somewhat made up for the fact the races haven’t been that good. Truth be told, the stage breaks and stage racing are the only things that’s made the racing this year tolerable to watch.

    Jeff Gluck and I were talking on the exit of pit road at Atlanta after the Cup race ended and he asked me what I thought of the race. I told him I thought it was average for a race at Atlanta, and that was with the way it ended. I added that if you took Harvick’s speeding penalty out of the equation and he won, it doesn’t register. Gluck responds, “Oh agreed. It’s basically Truex at Charlotte if Harvick won.” We also talked about how this race was a race to “adjust our expectations” after Daytona. I told him while I know Daytona is its own animal, I thought the stage racing contributed to making the race far more intense and made passing at a track where it’s been next to impossible in the past easier. I thought if that’s what we got at Daytona, imagine what we’ll get at Atlanta where passing is much easier. But halfway through, I realized we were going to get the same kind of racing we got last season. The only difference is we have stages to break them up.

    Yes, stage racing is contrived and cautions at the end of the stages are more contrived. I’m still skeptical as to whether the stage racing concept NASCAR has devised will stem the decade slide in television ratings it’s experienced. As I pointed out in the beginning of this piece, that doesn’t seem the case.

    But the bottom line is these races outside of Daytona would’ve been far less interesting without the stage racing. However, we’ve only raced at downforce centered tracks so far. So that could change.

    CONCLUSION:

    There’s a lot wrong with NASCAR today, but these three huge things show this sport is set to head in the right direction if it fixes its other problems. If NASCAR does something about the quality of the racing and the XFINITY Series, it will find itself in a much better state.

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Auto Club Speedway

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Auto Club Speedway

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the XFINITY Series head to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana California for the final stop of “NASCAR Goes West.” First up is the NXS Service King 300 on Saturday at 4 p.m. on FS1. The MENCS Auto Club 400 wraps up the weekend’s activities on Sunday, March 26 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

    Saturday’s Service King 300 will consist of three stages. Stages 1 and 2 will be 35 laps each in length with a final stage of 80 laps (150 total laps). The Cup Series Auto Club 400 is also comprised of three stages. Stages 1 and 2 will be 60 laps each while the final stage will be 80 laps (200 total laps).

    Please check below for the complete schedule of events. All times are Eastern.

    Friday, March 24:

    On Track:
    1:30-2:55 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Practice – FS1
    3-3:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Practice – FS1
    5-5:55 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Final Practice – FS1
    7:05 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FS1

    Garage Cam: (Watch live)
    1 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
    2:30 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    11:45 a.m.: Jimmie Johnson
    12 p.m.: Daniel Suarez
    12:15 p.m.: Danica Patrick
    12:45 p.m.: Chase Elliott
    1 p.m.: Cole Custer and Ryan Reed
    3:35 p.m.: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
    4 p.m.: Ryan Blaney
    4:30 p.m.: Ryan Newman
    6:15 p.m.: Kyle Larson
    8 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying

    Saturday, March 25:

    On Track:
    11:30 a.m.-12:25 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Practice – FS1
    12:30 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FS1
    2:30-3:20 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Final Practice – FS1
    4 p.m.: NASCAR XFINITY Series NXS 300 (150 laps, 300 miles) – FS1

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    6:45 p.m.: Post-NASCAR XFINITY Series Race (time approx.)

    Sunday, March 26:

    On Track:
    3:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Auto Club 400 (200 laps, 400 miles) – FOX

    Press Conferences: (Watch live)
    2 p.m.: Auto Club Speedway Announcement
    2:30 p.m.: Justice Brothers/Shav Glick Award
    7 p.m.: Post-Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race (time approx.)

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

    Complete NASCAR TV Schedule

    Odds To Win Nascar Auto Club 400
    https://www.bookmaker.eu/live-lines/motor-racing/nascar-pick-winner
    Jimmie Johnson +700
    Kevin Harvick +700
    Joey Logano +700
    Kyle Larson +700
    Kyle Busch +800
    Brad Keselowski +800
    Martin Truex Jr +900
    Chase Elliott +900
    Matt Kenseth +1518
    Dale Earnhardt Jr +1621
    Denny Hamlin +1826
    Kasey Kahne +2032
    Ryan Blaney +2342
    Kurt Busch +2653
    Clint Bowyer +3595
    Daniel Suarez +4000
    Ryan Newman +4000
    Erik Jones +4500
    Austin Dillon +6000
    Jamie McMurray +6000
    Field (Any Other Driver) +3071

    Auto Club 400 Entry List:

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Auto-Club-400-entry-list-C1705_PREENTNUM.pdf” title=”Auto Club 400 entry list C1705_PREENTNUM”]

     

  • Kyle Larson Loses Race but Wins Points Lead

    Kyle Larson Loses Race but Wins Points Lead

    Kyle Larson finished second place at Phoenix International Raceway but emerged as the new Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series points leader, proving that consistency is key in the Chase for the Championship.

    He ended last season at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the runner-up position and this year has added three more to his resume, with three consecutive second-place results this year.

    “This one stings,” Larson said after the race, “because I felt like I was in the best spot out of anybody there to line up fourth on two tires but it’s really, really cool to be the point leader right now.”

    The Camping World 500 was scheduled for 312 laps but Joey Logano experienced a tire failure and crashed on Lap 308, bringing out the final caution and resulting in a two-lap overtime race to the checkered flag.

    Ryan Newman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Martin Truex Jr. elected to remain on the track. Larson was first off pit road, lining up fourth beside Stenhouse. The two drivers made contact on the restart which allowed Newman to pull away for the win.

    Larson talked about the challenges of racing at the one-mile track in the desert heat and took responsibility for the incident with Logano.

    “It was hot for sure,” he acknowledged. “The second half definitely got hot and the track got kind of slimy. My feet were getting kind of hot, but not that crazy. It didn’t feel honestly that bad. The temperature reads really hot here, but it’s a dry heat out here on the West Coast. A mid 90s day in North Carolina feels 20 degrees warmer.

    “But, yeah, you know, it was a fun race for us.  We ran no worse than fourth I think all race.  Was really happy about that, challenged for the segment win there the first stage with Joey.  That was a lot of fun.  Finished second, I think, the second stage, too, second overall.

    “A solid run for us. Wish we would have been the winners. I thought we were; I knew we were in the best spot. Just, yeah, turned across Ricky’s nose and got sideways, killed both of our runs off of two, and allowed Newman to get out on us.”

    While no one could blame Larson for becoming frustrated with finishes that have left his first win this season barely out of reach, he remains upbeat about his chances.

    “Like I’ve been saying all of this early year, we’ve never had that speed,” he explained. “It’s a lot of fun right now. I’m sure, you know, if I ran second for the next eight weeks, yeah, it’s probably going to grow old. But, yeah, it’s so cool to be one of the fastest cars every week. I feel like I’ve got a shot to win every week at a racetrack like here and Vegas where I don’t normally run good and challenge for wins.

    “It’s been a lot of fun to start this year. I just hope we can continue to work hard, be consistent, be mistake-free on pit road and on the racetrack. If we can just keep doing that, the wins are going to come. I could easily have four wins right now, just got to keep working hard.”

    Larson admits that all of the second-place finishes may be “weird,” but is confident that a trip to victory lane is in his future.

    “Yeah, it’s weird running all these seconds,” he said. “It took me, like, three years to finish second in sprint cars. Now I finish second like every week, so, a little weird, but maybe we’ll turn them into wins soon.”

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

     

  • Race Recap: Newman Wins Phoenix

    Race Recap: Newman Wins Phoenix

    Drivers Ryan Newman, Kyle Larson, and Rickey Stenhouse Jr. stayed out on old tires during the final caution flag at Phoenix International Raceway. Newman’s crew chief Luke Lambert rolled the dice giving Newman the lead when the field went back green with two laps to go.

    Sunday’s win marked Newman’s first win with Richard Childress Racing (RCR) and his first win since July of 2013 with Stewart-Haas Racing at Indianapolis. Phoenix has been kind to Newman in the past with his most recent success in November 2014 when on the last lap Newman made contact with Larson, which would give Newman a spot in the championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    Newman spoke to the media after Sunday’s win ending a 127 race winless streak.

    “It’s just a hard-fought race, a hard-fought battle, a hard-fought four years,” he said. “I got to thank Richard and Judy, everybody at RCR, ECR, for not only giving me the opportunity to drive the racecar but giving me a racecar that’s in contention to win a race.

    “Luke, my crew chief, Lambert, an amazing first win for him. He made the call to stay out, trusted me to make the racecar wide. Just a heck of a team effort.

    “I got emotional on the back straightaway. I haven’t gotten emotional since yet. I’m planning on not,” Newman said.

    Larson finished second in Sunday’s Camping World 500, giving him the points lead. Larson spoke to the media after his second place finish on Sunday.

    “A solid run for us. Wish we would have been the winners. I thought we were — I knew we were in the best spot. Just, yeah, turned across Ricky’s nose and got sideways, killed both of our runs off of two, and allowed Newman to get out on us,” Larson stated.

    Stenhouse Jr. scored his first top-five of the 2017 season. When he spoke to the media Sunday, he credited his crew chief Brian Pattie on his bold move.

    “There at the end, I thought Brian wanted us to stay out when the caution came out. I kind of second-guessed him. Then when I told him everybody was coming down pit road, I already kind of committed to stay out and went with his gut instinct, and paid off,” he said.

    Next weekend it’s the final leg of “NASCAR Goes West” at Auto Club Speedway with coverage starting at 3:00 PM Eastern on your local Fox station.

  • Mixed-Bag Day for Dominant Drivers in Phoenix

    Mixed-Bag Day for Dominant Drivers in Phoenix

    The three drivers who combined to lead the most laps in the Valley of the Sun finished across the board on Sunday.

    Joey Logano’s weekend started strong with a pole run on Friday, leading 82 laps and winning the first stage of the Camping World 500. But he lost the lead on the restart following the stage break and was busted for speeding under the fifth caution on lap 120.

    To add insult to injury, he suffered a right-front tire blowout and slammed the wall in Turn 1 with six laps to go. The blowout was due to a melted bead caused by excessive brake heat, not uncommon at tracks such as Phoenix.

    “The brakes are fine, we just blew a right front,” Logano said. “Probably just overheated the bead,” he said after the race. “I am sure that is what it was. There is not much you can do when the right front blows out. We had a good car in the beginning of the race and then just fell off and got a pit road speeding penalty and it was hard to get back up there. We were getting closer but out long run speed was off. We have to figure out how to get faster here on the long run.”

    He finished 31st.

    Chase Elliott took over the lead from Logano on the restart after the stage break, dominated the second stage and won it.

    He said the move that got him the lead early in the race was “momentum. Just had momentum and basically knew that if you fall back in line second you are probably not going to pass them. You have to be night and day better than somebody to get by them under green or they have to have a problem or something. That was the biggest thing was just realizing that hey you’ve got a lap, so you either get the lead then or you don’t. Fortunately, we got it then, but didn’t keep it when it counted.”

    He held the lead until Matt Kenseth brought out the caution with 120 to go, for slamming the wall after suffering a tire blowout, Busch beat him off pit road.

    “Even the really good cars had a really hard time getting to somebody, so track position was big as it always is every week, everywhere we go and that will continue to be the case throughout the year,” Elliott said. “So, if you don’t have it at the end of the race it is going to be an uphill battle I feel like throughout this season. That is going to be a big trend.”

    While not suffering the same fate as Logano, he faded from the conversation and came home 12th, having led 106 laps.

    Finally, Busch took command of the race with 120 to go and led a race-high of 114 laps. The race was his to lose until Logano’s wreck with six to go brought out the final caution and brought all but Ryan Newman to pit road. Kyle Larson exited ahead of him.

    He came home third.