Category: RC XFINITY

After leading final practice yesterday, Ty Dillon survived the Knockout Qualifying format to win the Coors Light Pole for the Boyd Gaming 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a lap of 29.625 seconds. It marks the first pole for the 22-year-old in his 15th start.

Dillon enters the Nationwide Series as a rookie, looking for success after winning the Camping World Truck Series Championship last year. Dillon is working with the same group that took his brother Austin to the Nationwide title last year.

Brad Keselowski kept his positive role going as he qualified second, looking for his first win of the year. Keselowski finished second in the season opener at Daytona, followed by a third place finish last weekend at Phoenix.

He was followed by fellow Sprint Cup regular Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Larson and Brian Scott.

Matt Kenseth qualified sixth, followed by Kyle Busch who is a back-up car following a practice crash. Busch’s team also made adjustments following qualifying so Busch will have to give up his starting spot.

Rookie Dylan Kwasniewski starts eighth and is also in a back-up car.Due to going to a back-up before qualifying, Busch will be able to retain his qualifying position.

JR Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and Regan Smith rounded out the top five.

Matt Crafton, who led the opening practice, qualified 11th, followed by Chris Buescher, Elliott Sadler, James Buscher and Ryan Reed.

The Boyd Gaming 300 is set to start at 4:30 p.m. EST.

With 35 laps left in the Blue Jeans Go Green 200, the skies would open up and rain would begin to fall. After a two-hour rain delay, NASCAR would make the decision to call the race.

When the rain began to fall, it was Kyle Busch that was in front of the field and he would pick up his third straight Phoenix victory behind the wheel of the No. 54 Monster Energy Camry. It marks his 64th career win in the Nationwide Series.

Busch had dominated the race, taking the lead early in the event and leading 155 laps, only falling out of the lead for 13 laps when he had to head down pit road.

“It can rain all it wants now but if we have to go back to green, we can go back out there,” Busch said at the beginning of the rain delay. “This car is good.”

Kevin Harvick, who made the pass by Keselowski shortly before the caution for second, would end up finishing in the runner-up spot. Today’s race at Phoenix International Raceway marked his first race with JR Motorsports.

“Kyle is really fast. We’re struggling on the restarts to get going,” Harvick commented. “Our car is really loose and stays loose for the first six laps. You just go out there and drive the thing in the corner and hope it sticks.”

Brad Keselowski would finish third after winning the pole for the race; he will lead the Sprint Cup Series to the green flag tomorrow as well.

“I haven’t been where I want to be,” Keselowski commented. “We keep making adjustments on it – but we’re getting further away from that. We could finish second or third, but we don’t want to do that as we want to win. So we’ll keep taking shots if we get a chance.”

Kyle Larson and Matt Kenseth would round out the top five for a Sprint Cup Series regular sweep of those five spots.

“We kind of lost our brakes about 60 laps to go and couldn’t pass anybody after that so we were stuck where we were,” Kenseth commented. “It’s been going okay.”

Elliott Sadler would finish sixth, followed by Trevor Bayne and JR Motorsports teammates Regan Smith and Chase Elliott. Ty Dillon rounded out the top 10.

“We were just starting to come in,” Dillon commented. “We were way too tight at the start of the race – kept working on it and feel that we can get up to seventh.”

Brian Scott finished 11th, followed by James Buescher, Dylan Kwasniewski, Ryan Sieg and Chris Buescher.

The race would see four caution flags, with the first caution flying at 20 for Daryl Harr going around after contact from Brad Keselowski. Keselowski was working his way through lap traffic when Harr came down and crossed paths with Keselowski.

“I was just trying to go in deep there,” Keselowski commented. “I was just trying to show him a nose and he came down and I couldn’t slow down enough to stop from wrecking him. I hate to see that because of them trying to make it in this series, but that’s part of racing.”

Under that caution, Will Kimmel stalled on the backstretch with a problem in the rear of his vehicle.

Derrike Cope brought out the second caution at lap 90 when he got into the wall after blowing a right front tire, while Jamie Dick blew his motor with 68 laps to go. The final caution came out with 35 laps to go for a combination of rain and rookie Ryan Reed getting into the backstretch wall. Reed got loose off the corner and couldn’t save the car as he made heavy contact with the inside retaining wall.

“I feel fine,” Reed commented. “I just hate it for the guys. I don’t know what happened down there. I think a combination of the damp track and the car stepping out with me. I tried to save it – but I couldn’t. I just got real aggressive and hate it that happened.”

Daytona winner Regan Smith will keep the points lead heading to Las Vegas next weekend.

After scoring the pole for the Sprint Cup Series race yesterday, Brad Keselowski kept the momentum rolling as he would score the pole for today’s Nationwide Series Blue Jeans Go Green 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. Keselowski covered the one-mile flat track in a speed of 134.053 mph (at 26.855 seconds).

Keselowski came close to winning last weekend’s Nationwide Series race at Daytona International Speedway, finishing a very close second to Regan Smith.

Richard Childress Racing driver Brian Scott will start second, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth. Busch swept won both Nationwide Series races at Phoenix last year. Ty Dillon rounded out the top five.

Elliott Sadler will start sixth, followed by JR Motorsports teammates Kevin Harvick and Regan Smith. Kyle Larson and Trevor Bayne will round out the top 10.

Rookie Chase Elliott qualified 11th, followed by fellow rookies Chris Buescher and Dylan Kwasniewski.

The Nationwide Series race is set to start at 3:47 p.m. EST as NASCAR has moved up the start of the race due to threat of rain.

By a narrow margin, with a push from Trevor Bayne, Regan Smith edged Brad Keselowski by 0.013 seconds to win the season-opening Drive4COPD 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona International Speedway.

Smith’s victory was his first ever at Daytona, his fourth series win, and his second on a plate track. For Hendrick Motorsports, it was their 300th win as a company. The driver of the No. 7 RAGU Chevrolet ended a five race winning streak for Joe Gibbs Racing drivers in NASCAR, dating back to Denny Hamlin’s season finale win at the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, last November. “It still does not feel real,” Smith said. “It’s a very special moment.”

Smith, also reflected, on last year’s accident, which injured several fans. “No one felt worse than me on Sunday morning, but I felt that we learned a lot.”

Trevor Bayne finished in third. Bayne was asked about how different the Daytona 500 will be compared to today’s race. “Lane choice,” said the 2011 Daytona 500 champion. “The lane with the most cars will be the fastest and most guys will choose the bottom lane because it’s the fastest way around the race track.” Bayne also added that the race will be very similar to the Sprint Unlimited and the Budweiser Duel qualifying races.

Brad Keselowski was greeted by Trevor Bayne in the media center with a short, little jab. “Should have chose the top lane there, bud.” Indeed, a very awkward response came from the 2012 Sprint Cup Series Champion, as Keselowski did not seem, at all, amused. When asked on whether he would want to be first or second on the final of the 500, Keselowski stated, “I want to lead every lap.”

With that being said, Dylan Kwasniewski and Kyle Larson led the field to the green flag. However, on the opening frame, Kwasniewski and Larson fell like rocks. Kyle Busch, with a push from Elliott Sadler, on the bottom lane, stormed to the lead.

On lap nine, Harrison Rhodes blew an engine. His teammate, Jason White, spun into the grass to avoid wrecking two-time Daytona 500 champion, Matt Kenseth, who had trouble early. Kenseth nearly hit Scott Lagasse Jr. exiting his pit stall, then made contact with Chad Boat, the son of former Indy Car driver, Billy Boat. Kenseth was never a factor and finished 14th.

Jamie Dick stayed out to claim the lead once the race was back underway. However, Kyle Busch, on lap 15, quickly darted to the outside, leaving Jamie Dick on the inside, and pushing Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the lead.

Jr. led for the next 28 laps, but pitted early for his green-flag stop on lap 42. However, Jr. did not pit with any of the drivers he was drafting with. The only driver that came in with him was Joe Nemechek in the No. 87 car. A slow pit stop proceeded to derail Jr., who also lost Joe Nemechek in the process. After pit stops had cycled through, Jr. was shown in the 20th position.

On lap 70, the safer barrier in turns one and two became dislodged and a caution was thrown. Ty Dillon won the race off pit road, but also was busted for speeding while entering. As a result, Dillon lost the lead, and was sent to the tail-end of the longest line.

Finally, on lap 76, Regan Smith finally got past Kyle Busch, with a bump from Brad Keselowski. Smith dove inside to protect his lead.

NASCAR banned the tandem draft. This means that drivers are not allowed to push, lock on another driver’s bumper for too long, or a penalty will be issued. On lap 86, James Buescher received a penalty, despite replay evidence showing that Buescher was not guilty. Buescher went on to finish 16th.

On lap 99, Ryan Sieg spun, as he came across the nose of Eric McClure, bringing out a caution. McClure was also involved in the next caution, on lap 116. Chad Boat tried to get to the inside of McClure as they entered turn 3, but there was not enough room, causing them both to spin, bringing out a caution, and setting up a green-white-checkered finish. Before the caution had come out, Trevor Bayne had pushed Brad Keselowski to the lead.

Trevor Bayne’s push to Regan Smith was just enough to hold off Brad Keselowski, who was getting a push from Kyle Busch.

For NASCAR to allow him to run the Nationwide Series race at Daytona, 18-year-old Dylan Kwasniewski had to run the ARCA Racing Series Lucas Oil 250 to get NASCAR’s approval. Not problem as Kwasniewski won the pole and finished solidly inside the top 15.

On the heels of that, Kwasniewski put his No. 31 Rockstar/FOE Chevrolet on the pole for the DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona in his first ever Nationwide Series start. The 2013 K&N Pro Series East Champion will run the full Nationwide Series schedule this year as he battles for the Rookie of the Year crown against Ty Dillon and Chase Elliott.

“If you’d told me I’d have the pole for the Daytona race, I’d have said you were crazy,” Kwasniewski said afterwards. “For lack of a better word, I have no idea how to say what the feeling is for this. … It’s crazy. … It’s an extraordinary feeling.”

The Nationwide Series qualifying session marked the first round of NASCAR’s new group segment qualifying format. However, due to rain, NASCAR was only able to complete the first 25 minute segment so therefore the field will be set by those speeds.

Kwasniewski will be joined at the front of the field by his Turner-Scott Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson and Danica Patrick, as they qualified second and third behind them. The TSM cars all headed out together and were able to post the quick time mid-way though the session.

Kwasniewski credited Patrick for their fast time, stating that, “She picked her way (though) perfectly and got all us a great lap.”

Both Larson and Patrick shared their thoughts on the new format, saying that it was wild and exciting.

“The new qualifying was really wild, especially since it was on a super speedway. But it was a lot of fun,” Larson commented. “I definitely think the car owners are happy we aren’t doing two more sessions.”

There will be some times when it will be a total disaster,” Patrick added. “Like when we go to short tracks. Can’t even imagine. If NASCAR wanted to make it interesting for the fans, they’ve done that.”

The three Turner-Scott Motorsports were followed by the three Joe Gibbs Racing drivers: Kyle Busch, Elliott Sadler and Matt Kenseth. Jamie Dick turned in an impressive seventh, followed by Jeff Green, Johnny Sauter and David Starr.

Notably, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular Dale Earnhardt Jr.  was 16th, followed by Brad Keselowski in 17th.  Rookies Ty Dillon and Chase Elliott qualified 23rd and 26th, respectively.

One car would find trouble during qualifying as rookie Ryan Reed made heavy contact with the wall. He will go to a back-up, though made the field virtue of having Travis Pastana’s owners points from last year.

Failing to make the field was Clay Greenfield, Carlos Contreras, Carl Long, Matt DiBenedetto, Matt Carter, Willie Allen, Chris Buescher, Tanner Berryhill and David Ragan. Chris Buescher is scheduled to run the full NASCAR Nationwide Series this year for Roush-Fenway Racing and go for the Rookie of the Year Award.

Brad Keselowski would take the lead on a late race restart to win his seventh race of the season.

Meanwhile, Austin Dillon fought back from having an ill-handling car early to win the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship, three points ahead of Sam Hornish Jr.

By Joey Logano finishing sixth, he would win the Owner’s Championship for Roger Penske and Penske Racing with the No. 22 Ford.

 

First 30 laps: Hornish Jr. led

Lap 31 Hornish Jr. leads Logano Larson Busch Kenseth Keselowski Koch Scott Sadler Allgaier while Dillon runs 13th. Hornish Jr. leads Dillon by nine points as they run.

Lap 33 Larson passes Logano for second

Lap 36 Larson slips behind Logano after getting into the wall

Lap 37 Larson slips back past Logano for second

Lap 38 Larson to the lead

Lap 44 Larson leads Logano Busch Hornish Kenseth Koch Keselowski Sadler Kligerman Allgaier. Sadler passes Keselowski for seventh

Lap 45 Busch passes Logano for second – owner’s points battle there. Hornish runs third, sitting three points ahead of Dillon points wise.

Caution lap 47 debris turn two. Leaders head down pit road. Busch leads Kenseth Larson Logano Hornish Jr. Koch Sadler Keselowski off pit road.

Restart lap 52 Busch and Kenseth side-by-side for the lead

Lap 53 Busch leads Kenseth Larson Hornish Logano off of turn two. Kenseth back underneath Busch off of turn four.

Lap 54 Kenseth takes the lead from Busch ahead of Larson and Hornish

Caution lap 56 Corey LaJoie goes for a spin. Leaders stay out but others pit, including Dillon.

Dillon runs 23rd; Hornish Jr. runs fourth. Hornish Jr. leads Dillon by 13 points.

Kyle Busch runs 2nd. Joey Logano runs 5th. Busch has led lap while Logano hasn’t. That means we’ve got tie for owner’s points

Restart lap 61 Kenseth and Busch side-by-side for the lead.

Lap 63 Busch to the lead ahead of Kenseth Hornish Keselowski Larson Sadler Kligerman Logano Herring Allgaier. Allgaier by Herring for ninth.

Lap 65 Keselowski slips by Kenseth and is looking for the lead on Busch

Caution lap 66 debris

Restart lap 70 Busch and Keselowski side-by-side for the lead

Lap 71 Keselowski leads Busch as Logano, Larson and Hornish got three-wide. Logano grabs third ahead of Larson.

Lap 72 Logano underneath Busch for second ahead of Hornish Larson Kenseth Sadler Allgaier Kligerman and Herring

Lap 73 Kligerman by Allgaier for eighth; Busch clears Logano for second ahead of Hornish

Lap 74 Keselowski leads Logano Busch Hornish Kenseth Larson Sadler Kligerman Allgaier Sweet. Sadler by Larson. Austin Dillon runs 17th, now sitting seven points behind Hornish in points

No. 22 leads No. 54 by four points in owner’s standings. Came in that way and Busch leading lap keeps even.

Lap 76 Herring and Smith by Sweet. Dillon up to 16th, six points behind Hornish.

Lap 83 Logano takes the lead from Keselowski. Logano leads now owner’s standings by six points now with leading the race and leading a lap.

Lap 87 Logano leads Keselowski Busch Hornish Kenseth Larson Sadler Kligerman Allgaier and Herring. Dillon currently runs 16th, six points behind Hornish in points.

Lap 90 Kenseth passes Hornish for fourth. Hornish’s points lead now shrunk to five points.

Lap 93 Logano leads Keselowski Busch Kenseth Hornish Larson

Caution lap 97 debris. Leaders head down pit road. Logano leads Busch Kenseth Larson Hornish Sadler Keselowski and Allgaier off pit road. Dillon runs 12th.

Restart lap 102 Logano and Busch side-by-side for the lead

Lap 103 Busch leads Logano and Larson

Lap 105 Busch leads Logano Larson Hornish Kenseth Keselowski Kligerman Sadler Allgaier and Bayne. Dillon runs 11th to therefore give Hornish a one point lead

Lap 107 Hornish reports a vibration

Lap 108 Keselowski by Kenseth for fifth; Dillon back to 13th to give Hornish a three point lead.

Lap 110 Logano challenges Busch for the lead. Busch holds him off down the backstretch

Lap 112 Logano challenges Busch again, Busch holds him off

Lap 113 Busch leads Logano Larson Keselowski Hornish Kenseth Allgaier Kligerman Bayne Scott Smith Dillon

Lap 114 Logano looks for the lead once again

Lap 115 Busch holds Logano behind him….Larson passes Logano for second

Lap 120 Hornish falls back to sixth after being passed by Kenseth. Dillon runs 12th. The pair are tied. Hornish shall get tie breaker with win

Caution lap 121 Sweet goes for a spin. Some leaders pit, others stay out including Keselowski and Kligerman. Bayne leads Busch Logano Larson Allgaier Sadler Hornish ADillon Smith TDillon off pit road.

Restart lap 126 Kligerman pulls ahead as Penske pair duo for second…….Logano pulls alongside Kligerman for lead, Larson goes to the outside of Logano for lead

Lap 127 Logano and Larson side-by-side for lead. Larson pulls ahead of Logano. Kligerman falls to fourth behind Hornish

Caution lap 128 Kevin Swindell goes for a spin and hits the inside wall.

Hornish 3rd. Dillon 11th. Hornish leads Dillon by 2 points as they run.

Logano has the No. 22 up in the 2nd spot behind Larson. Busch runs seventh. As long as Logano keeps up there with Busch behind him. Penske has the owner’s points.

Laps led: Hornish 37, KyBsuch 27, Keselowski 22, Lgoano 20, Larson 17, Kenseth 9.

Restart lap 133 Logano leads ahead of Larson as Keselowski, Hornish battle for third. Keselowski with the advantage down the front stretch ahead of Sadler and Hornish

Lap 137 Logano leads Larson Sadler Hornish Keselowski Allgaier Busch Smith Kenseth Kligerman. Allgaier and Busch by Keselowski

Lap 139 Smith by Keselowski

Lap 140 Logano leads Larson Sadler Hornish Allgaier Busch Smith Keselowski Kligerman Dillon. Hornish leads by one point.

Lap 144 Dillon gets into the wall. ESPN showed the replay. Dillon gets into the wall by himself and then contact from Koch. Heads-up driving by Koch and Dillon there.

Caution lap 148 Kligerman goes for a spin after tire goes flat. Leaders head down pit road. Logano leads Sadler Smith Reed Annett Larson Sweet Busch Hornish Allgaier Keselowski Herring Kenseth ADillon and Bayne off pit road. Ty Dillon and Pastrana stayed out

Restart 47 to go Ty Dillon grabs the lead as they scatter behind him. Sweet gets into the wall mid-pack. Sweet got loose and multiple bumps from Allgaier finishes it off. Caution.

“He just came up and doored me and then slipped in front of me and I couldn’t get slowed up – JA

“That’s what happens when you block.” – Spotter

Restart 41 to go Larson and Ty Dillon side-by-side for the lead

40 to go Larson to the lead as Busch grabs second from Ty Dillon. Hornish side-by-side with Ty for third. Hornish takes third.

38 to go Larson leads Ky Busch Hornish Keselowski Kenseth Allgaier Bayne Logano Smith Dillon

34 to go Larson side-by-side with Kyle Busch and Busch takes the lead off of turn two

33 to go Dillon by Smith for ninth. Driver’s points tied now between Hornish and Dillon. Hornish will win tie breaker with Vegas win

32 to go Larson takes the lead in turn two with slide job. Sam gets into the job a little.

27 to go Larson leads KyBusch Hornish Keselowski Kenseth Allgaier Bayne Logano Kligerman and Dillon. Hornish leads drivers points by one point.

Caution 22 to go Allgaier goes for a spin. He got into the turn four wall the lap before.  Those who have tires pit while others stay out. Larson leads Busch Hornish Kenseth Whitt Dillon Herring Green Clements Wallace Long and Silas. Keselowski first out with tires to restart 13th. Logano to restart 17th.

With Larson now leading 37 laps, Hornish loses the extra bonus point. Hornish has led 36 laps. Hornish run 3rd, Dillon 6th. Dillon leads by 4 over Hornish in points deal.

Busch restarts 2nd. Logano restarts 17th. Needless to say, the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing team has the advantage right now

Restart 18 to go Larson leads Busch off turn two. Dillon tried to make move underneath Hornish, Hornish down a little as Dillon slows. Wreck behind them as Jeremy Clements, Mike Wallace and Smith have a big wreck. Caution. Smith thought he’d cleared both Clements and Wallace and wasn’t quite clear.

15 to go. Larson KyBusch Hornish Kenseth ADillon Whitt Bayne Herring Kligerman Keselowsk. Right now, Dillon has a 5-pt lead on Hornish.

Restart 5 to go Larson pulls head through turn one

3 to go Keselowski looking for second round Kyle Busch…….looking for lead on Larson. Keselowski to the lead in turn three.

2 to go Keselowski leads Larson KyBusch Kenseth Logano Bayne Kligerman Hornish Whitt Piquet Dillon

Final lap

Brad Keselowski wins the race. Larson. KyBusch. Kenseth. Bayne. Logano. Kligerman. Hornish Jr. Whitt. Piquet Jr. Koch. Dillon. Dillon wins the championship by three points.

In the final practice for the Nationwide Series Ford EcoBoost 300, it’d be JR Motorsports driver Regan Smith topping the charts with a lap of 32.262 seconds. Last year in his first start with JR Motorsports, Smith went to victory lane behind the wheel of his No. 7 TaxSlayer Chevrolet.

Tri-Star Motorsports driver Cole Whitt was second quickest at a lap of 32.313 seconds behind the wheel of his No. 44 Takagi Tankless Water Heaters Toyota.

Turner-Scott Motorsports driver Justin Allgaier was third quickest, followed by Smith’s teammate Brad Sweet and Blake Koch. Koch is making his first start behind the wheel of the No. 99 CompassionRacing.com Toyota for RAB Racing. The car was previously driven by Alex Bowman, but he has been let go from the team.

Richard Childress Racing driver Brian Scott was sixth quickest followed by Nelson Piquet Jr., Trevor Bayne, Joey Logano and Sam Hornish Jr. Hornish comes into the weekend sitting eight points behind Austin Dillon in the points standings. Dillon was 18th quickest.

The owner’s points standings is closer with the No. 22 Penske Racing team leading the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing team by four points. Logano will be behind the wheel of the No. 22 Hertz Ford, while Kyle Busch will be piloting the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota. Busch was 11th in practice.

Qualifying for the Ford EcoBoost 300 will take place tomorrow morning with the race to follow tomorrow afternoon.

Kyle Busch has won the most NASCAR Nationwide Series races in history and further extended his legacy with another dominant showing at the ServiceMaster 200. Busch edged Austin Dillon for the pole earlier in the morning and didn’t hesitate to get off to a good start, leading the first 79 laps of the event.

Busch was entirely in a different class today. Green flag pit stops prevented Kyle Busch from leading more of the first-half. Trevor Bayne led two laps during the initial set of green flag stops. Kyle Busch cycled back to lead the next 29 laps before the first debris caution came out on Lap 106, and subsequently lost the lead on the following restart to Brad Keselowski.

Keselowski did a slide job on Kyle Busch to take the lead, causing Busch to lose several positions as he checked up, but Busch was able to recover to overtake Keselowski on Lap 120. Busch said, “It was definitely different being in third because of the flat aero deficiencies here in Phoenix, but I knew we had a really good car.” Busch also noted that the frequent amount of cautions after the first-half made it difficult to pass, despite leading 84.5% of the race. “We would pick off one or two cars and then a yellow, then we would pick off another two cars and another yellow.”

The victory was the 12th victory of the season for Kyle Busch, and it marked a season sweep at Phoenix International Raceway. Busch has a busy weekend ahead of him as teammate Matt Kenseth possibly could win the Sprint Cup Series championship as long as he beats Jimmie Johnson, and Busch could win the owners title for Joe Gibbs if he can hold off Roger Penske’s entourage. With Kyle Busch’s track record in the Nationwide Series, it will be difficult for the Penske clan to hold off Kyle Busch, but anything can happen in NASCAR.

The surface at Phoenix has come under scrutiny. Denny Hamlin suggested on Twitter that the surface should be grinded, but Kyle Busch disagreed saying, “I don’t think we should grind it. Jeff Gordon said that it takes about 8 years of the track weathering to see good racing.” Phoenix was repaved following the spring race in 2011 and we are still seeing mixed reactions. I asked Busch about his initial reaction. Busch replied, “I came here for the tire test.” “Our initial reaction was literally omg and wtf.” Busch noted that that tends to happen when you are used to one thing and it all of a sudden changes. “It’s hard to get used to, but it is what it is.”