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  • Hot 20 – Kentucky is no Daytona…and for some of us that is not a good thing

    Hot 20 – Kentucky is no Daytona…and for some of us that is not a good thing

    The thrills and the moments of dread of Daytona are behind us. Kentucky is next on the agenda, yet something tells me it arrives with not quite the same sense of anticipation. It still is racing, there is still a measure of danger attached to it, but it is not the same thing. Some think that is a good thing.

    Things can be made safer, less risky. In 2012, Nik Wallenda walked the high-wire above Niagra Falls. The danger was minimized when Canadian authorities insisted he make the trek wearing a safety harness. In 2013, he walked across the Grand Canyon without the harness. Both involved great skill, both were successful, but which impressed you the most?

    There is an iconic photograph of 11 iron workers sitting on a suspended beam 89 stories up during the construction of Rockefeller Center in 1932. Not one of the workers was wearing a safety device as they were shown reading, eating, and smoking with nothing but the void beneath them. I wonder how iconic that photo would have been with a large safety net stretched out beneath them?

    Last Monday morning, we saw Dale Earnhardt Jr. up front, eyes on his mirrors as he jumped from lane to lane to stall the pursuit of his challengers at 200 mph, en roue to claiming the checkered flag. We also saw the No. 3 of Austin Dillon punched high into the catchfence, hitting wheels first, to be torn up and spit back onto the racing surface as its engine bounced away on its own. We saw fans sprayed with debris and we saw the wreckage containing the driver hit late by a sliding Brad Keselowski. We watched, we worried, and we felt relief when we got the sign Dillon was okay.

    Some do not care for such scenarios and want it changed in some way to make it even safer for all concerned. Some of those proponents of change are drivers. You would think that any civilized person would embrace such change. Of course, while we are at it and in the interest of safety, we could welcome the NFFL and the NSL, that is the National Flag Football League and the National Shinny League. All it would take us to be more civilized and less risky would be to just remove contact from football and hockey.

    In fact, let us remove the engines and let the entries coast down the banking in a newly constituted NASBAR, or the National Association of Soap Box Auto Racing. Little risk, little danger, and obviously very few fans watching. That is the trade off.

    Do not get me wrong, I understand there is danger and risk in NASCAR, especially at the super speedways. I know that one day a crewman will be in the wrong place at the wrong time, a fan will be sitting too close to the action when parts fly, or all the driver safety features will prove to not be enough on some fateful day we pray is a long way off. We would be naive to think otherwise.

    NASCAR has tried, especially so for more than a decade, to make the sport safer. The fact that this accident involving the No. 3 at Daytona did not result in a fatality is proof of that. For fans, crews, and drivers, they should continue to fight for improvements to safety, but at some point they must either accept some degree of real risk or move on to something they believe to be safer.

    We watch, not to see disaster, but to witness those who can do what for us would be the impossible, and leave us in wonder at their skill and success.

    Our Hot 20 heading into Kentucky on Saturday night include…

    1. Jimmie Johnson – 4 WINS (589 Points)
    Even Jimmie thought we had lost Austin last week.

    2. Kevin Harvick – 2 WINS (656 Points)
    It is official…Keelan can drive. What were you doing as a three year old?

    3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 2 WINS (593 Points)
    Outwitted, outplayed, outlasted…but Dillon was the survivor.

    4. Kurt Busch – 2 WINS (508 Points)
    I agree with Kurt that we can make NASCAR safer…but at one point do we drive fans off?

    5. Joey Logano – 1 WINS (581 Points)
    Knew within three laps that last weekend would be a bit of a test.

    6. Martin Truex Jr. – 1 WIN (569 Points)
    The best thing about his race weekend was leaving.

    7. Brad Keselowski – 1 WIN (520 Points)
    The last hit was the scariest.

    8. Matt Kenseth – 1 WIN (501 Points)
    The oldest driver to win at Kentucky…and that was two years ago. Time to set a new record.

    9. Denny Hamlin – 1 WIN (480 Points)
    One little spin, one hell of a mess.

    10. Carl Edwards – 1 WIN (408 Points)
    Bad weekend at Daytona, bad week for Subway.

    11. Jamie McMurray – 528 POINTS
    A win would be nice but, as of yet, still unneccesary.

    12. Jeff Gordon – 500 POINTS
    They have not raced long at Kentucky, but a first win here would prove sweet.

    13. Kasey Kahne – 496 POINTS
    Sharks recently reported a Kahne sighting.

    14. Paul Menard – 480 POINTS
    One of four driving XFINITY at Kentucky, along with Brad, Junior, and…Kyle???

    15. Ryan Newman – 472 POINTS
    Being a race car driver can be dangerous. That is one reason I am not, but why is he?

    16. Clint Bowyer – 465 POINTS
    Patience is a virtue and Virtuous Clint is finally in the Top Sixteen.

    17. Aric Almirola – 441 POINTS
    One bad finish and bad things happen in the standings. Case in point…

    18. Kyle Larson – 395 POINTS
    Some like him as a dark horse candidate for this Sunday. If it proves true, a win and he’s in.

    19. Greg Biffle – 392 POINTS
    The Biff is interested with how the new rules package pans out…and he could use some good panning.

    20. Danica Patrick – 386 POINTS
    Dillon destroys his car, still finishes seventh, and is now just seven points back of Ms. Patrick.

  • The Final Word – Junior wins at Daytona as Dillon scares the hell out of us all

    The Final Word – Junior wins at Daytona as Dillon scares the hell out of us all

    “That scared the hell out of me.”

    With those post-race words, race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. summarized exactly how every fan felt as they watched the end of the Sunday night/Monday morning race at Daytona. That track. That team. That car number. That wreck as they came to the line was scary and, until we saw those upraised thumbs of all those crewmen who had raced onto the track to lend assistance, we all feared what we may have just witnessed.

    It took three hours to outlast the rain, but it was worth every moment, from a fan’s perspective. The action was incredible as those 3400-pound machines thundered around in close formation at more than three times highway speeds. We had wrecks, including one that caused Aric Almirola to tumble out of a Chase place, allowing Clint Bowyer to slide in. We saw Kyle Busch scrape the wall, lose a couple of laps, yet dig down to finish 17th. In his bid to move up into the Top Thirty on the season, so his win at Sonoma might count for a pass to contend for the title, he only made up eight of the 136 point gap, with just nine events to go before the Chase spots are finalized.

    We watched to see if we would have a repeat winner or if a new victor might take it to complicate someone’s race to the Chase. We soon discovered that Junior had come home, as he demonstrated all his superspeedway talent to drive at 200 mph while watching his mirrors and blocking the lines that moved up to challenge him. It marked his second of the season and 25th of his Cup career. Then all hell broke loose.

    As they hit the line, Kevin Harvick touched the left rear of Denny Hamlin. It was enough to allow Jimmie Johnson to claim second as Hamlin’s car whipped around counter-clockwise and speared the following No. 3 Chevy of Austin Dillon. Combining the angle of the hit, the speed of the cars, and aerodynamics, Dillon’s car launched from the inside lane over the next two for a terrifying impact above the wall, directly into the catchfence.

    Two posts snapped, the catchfence disappeared, but the cables held it all together long enough to abruptly stop the car’s momentum and return it, in pieces, back to the track. Dillon’s engine bounced unattached into the grass on the infield, as what was left of the shattered chassis spun back on the track upside down, with no nose, no back end, and just three tires. Then Brad Keselowski slid hard into it to make beating hearts beat that much faster.

    Crews, led by Earnhardt’s, rushed on to the track to lend immediate assistance, beating all emergency personnel to the scene. They bent down to check into the cockpit. Agonizing seconds later, they stood, thumbs raised up to indicate our worst fears were not to be realized on this day. Three fans were injured, one taken to hospital in stable condition. Considering that the car hit the fence wheels first and stayed out is almost a miracle.

    If only all races promised this kind of action. There are those who dwell on the dangers, and I must admit that my first automatic response would be to tell them to “go to hell.” If you pay to go, if you pay to sit anywhere near the fence, if you sit anywhere anything can be flung from a crashing car to reach where you sit, you better realize there is inherent danger just being there. Maybe as much as that flight to Orlando, or the car trip to Daytona Beach. But…

    As one driver noted, what if two cars get launched? What if they arrive a split second apart? What is there is no longer a viable catchfence left to catch that second car? NASCAR, in fact, no form of motorsport, needs another Le Mans tragedy, which claimed the life of a driver, 83 spectators, and injured 120 more in a 1955 inferno.

    There is a reason you do not see seats right up to the fence. Still, if you can see through the fence, some car parts can make it through to you. I think fans know this, understand this, but all that knowledge and understanding goes out the window should tragedy strike. All they can do is try to reduce the risk,

    Daytona, this past weekend, proved to be damned exciting, as exciting as it gets, but it comes with risk, and it is shared by drivers, teams, and fans alike. A risk that can be reduced, but never totally eliminated. Everybody needs to know that.

  • Finley Factor: Daytona Nights-The Ballad of Ricky Allen

    Finley Factor: Daytona Nights-The Ballad of Ricky Allen

    Sunday night under the lights at Daytona will be both an ending and a beginning.

    NBC will be covering its first Sprint Cup race since 2006 and I’m excited to see what they have after FOX kicked the season off with some of the worst coverage I’ve ever seen. Constant production mistakes, announcers giving false or misguided information, biased studio analysts, constant commercials, and a terrible pre-race “grid walk.”

    The walk, in particular, ripped off from Will Buxton’s Formula One segments, is a constant embarrassment and has got to go next year. Instead of Buxton’s professionalism and talk of things relevant to the in-race action, FOX has Michael Waltrip run from car to car, breathing hard and making poor attempts at comedy. Quite possibly the lowest point of the entire NASCAR season has been Waltrip spilling a taco over Denny Hamlin’s race car.

    To be completely honest, Waltrip is completely useless on the FOX broadcasts. Jeff Hammond is on hand and can provide just as good, if not better, analysis. Hammond also doesn’t have a bias like Waltrip does, which is always a negative when it comes to sports broadcasting. I don’t like it when analysts have a stake in the game/race they are talking about. It is just unfair to all other teams talked about during pre and post race coverage. I wasn’t thrilled when Brad Daugherty worked for ESPN while covering NASCAR but at the very least JTG Daugherty wasn’t really that relevant until the end of ESPN’s run.

    So far, I like what NBC is doing. Nobody in the broadcast booth has called a Cup series race, but I’ve felt for years that Rick Allen’s call of the Truck Series has been the highlight of FOX’s coverage of the series. Jeff Burton did a great job covering XFINITY races for ESPN part-time while Steve Letarte has potential but needs some seasoning.

    I even like the pre-race crew. Nobody really has a bias in today’s NASCAR. The closest would be Kyle Petty with Richard Petty Motorsports, but even then I don’t believe Kyle has a stake in the team. Dale Jarrett is better in the studio than he is in the booth while Krista Voda has been very good in her role as host for FOX’s Truck Series coverage for years.

    The closest thing I have to a problem is with Rutledge Wood, who is only really bad when he has a show all to himself, Trackside, and is fine in small spurts.

    There’s definitely talent in the NBC crew, but now let’s see how the actual coverage is. If anything, they should be better than FOX at the very least.

    Sunday will mark the final start for Jeff Gordon at Daytona. Gordon holds six points victories at this track, including three Daytona 500’s, along with two Sprint Unlimited wins and five Budweiser Duel wins. Gordon, however, hasn’t won at Daytona since 2009 and hasn’t won a points race since 2005 when he won his third Daytona 500.

    Although unconfirmed, it may also be the final Daytona race for Bobby Labonte in the No. 32 Ford for Go Green Racing. The 2000 Cup champion holds no points wins at Daytona, but has a single Duel win and finished second to Dale Earnhardt Sr. when he won the 1998 Daytona 500 in one of the most famous races in history.

    Daytona Predictions

    From now on I’ve decided to name two drivers for each category instead of just one. The reality is that most weekends there is no clear cut favorite/sleeper/dark horse, and with 43 teams in each race it’s hard to talk about only three teams.

    Favorites

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a better average finish than any other driver in the past 10 plate races at 10.5 and is tied with Jimmie Johnson in both wins and top-10s. Johnson has an average finish of 12.1 and one more top-five than Dale Earnhardt Jr. in those same races.

    Sleepers

    Although Clint Bowyer hasn’t won a plate race since joining Michael Waltrip Racing, the Kansas native is typically out front and center near the end of these races.

    Dark horses

    Casey Mears has been super impressive in plate races the last few years and he knows this is the last real shot the small Germain Racing team has at winning and making the Chase. It’s strange to call the defending race winner a dark horse, but that’s what Aric Almirola is this week. Although he hasn’t been too impressive in these races, the reality is that he was leading, not in the middle or a pit cycle or anything like that, when the race was called last year, and under the unpredictable Florida sky, anything can happen.

    I try not to bring politics into any NASCAR writings, but this week I’m making an exception to that.

    As most who are reading this have heard, NASCAR has come out against the public display of the Confederate Flag at races. Having been to Martinsville and Richmond, I can, in fact, confirm that many NASCAR fans believe the Civil War is still going on.

    Many of these fans have complained about their first amendment rights being taken away by NASCAR, and constantly claim that the Confederate Flag has more than one meaning. They believe that they are in the right and NASCAR, for condemning the flag, is in the wrong.

    Here are some basic facts about this issue that these people need to read:

    1. A racetrack has the right to tell you not to fly any flag, just like how you have the right not to go to said racetrack.
    2. NASCAR is not the government and thus cannot tell you not to fly a flag when not at their racetrack.
    3. The Confederate Flag was the symbol of a traitorous non-country that helped to usher in the worst war in the history of the United States.
    4. In said war, white men fought under said flag for their right to enslave African Americans. Even though some fought for other reasons, at the end of the day this was the principal reason for the Confederacy’s existence to begin with.

    It simply doesn’t matter if the Confederate Flag stands for something else. The Swastika is and was a symbol for luck, eternity, and even God himself in most Asian cultures long before Hitler got his hands on it. Does that make it right to be flown in this country? No, but you have the right to fly it on private property, just like with the Confederate Flag.

    Not to mention, if the flag is really such an integral part of our sport, why is nobody in it defending its usage? The fact is that it’s a niche flag being flown by people who do it just because they hate the government. Not one person I’ve ever seen flying it has been happy with the administration in power at the time, and within this commonality, most don’t think about what needs to be looked at such as those who hand out political flyers at racetracks; disdain and an annoyance. Political statements shouldn’t be made at races.

    All stats for the Finley Factor are provided by Racing Reference unless otherwise noted.

  • Hot 20 – Daytona’s banner should wave over the land of the free, not the home of the enslaved

    Hot 20 – Daytona’s banner should wave over the land of the free, not the home of the enslaved

    As the action returns to Daytona, Florida this weekend, I must admit something. I love the look of the Confederate battle flag. I love the stories of Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and James Longstreet. I loved the Dukes of Hazzard, good ole boys, and good ole girls even better. Junior was the name of Mr. Johnson or Hank’s boy. I think Copperhead Road is one hell of a song, and even Lincoln liked the tune of Dixie. Then there is Nathan Bedford Forrest, Jim Crow, and an additional century of institutionalized racism to consider, all equally associated with the rebel banner.

    Many years ago, while visiting Florida, I bought a belt buckle bearing that symbol. I cannot wear it for the same reason it should no longer fly at NASCAR tracks. Variations of it flew from 1861-1865 leading the way for Confederate armies into battle in their fight to defend the southern way of life, of which slavery was a main component. Maybe it could have survived that connection, as it has up to this point. Still, you cannot ignore its association since with segregation and the racist policies and actions of the following hundred years since the Civil War, all of which has made it a contemporary political and social lightening rod.

    Some will argue that such a ban also treads on the southern way of life, forgetting that southern blacks especially are not newcomers to the party. Their ancestors have also been part of the fabric of the region since the very beginning. As much as its reminds some of bravery on the field or a romanticized lost cause, it is also an insulting, insensitive reminder of a people held in bondage, a denial of civil rights and white supremacy. I cannot see how the two views can be reconciled today. Can you?

    The Hot 20 returning to Daytona Sunday night include…

    1. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 4 WINS (546 Points)
    One darn caution too many spoiled his road tour.

    2. KEVIN HARVICK – 2 WINS (616 Points)
    Jack car up, take tire off, put tire on…before dropping the damn jack.

    3. KURT BUSCH – 2 WINS (469 Points)
    He wins one week, his brother wins the next week. See, sharing with siblings can be fun.

    4. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 WIN (563 Points)
    This week, Martin remembers his family, his friends, his country and, no doubt, David Ragan.

    5. JOEY LOGANO – 1 WIN (559 Points)
    Seemed to do alright the last time he was at Daytona.

    6. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 1 WIN (545 Points)
    Sonoma was fun, but Daytona is a family tradition.

    7. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 1 WIN (505 Points)
    If you call him Joey, that is how he’ll sign the autograph.

    8. MATT KENSETH – 1 WIN (479 Points)
    Going from one of his worst venues to one of his favorites.

    9. DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN (438 Points)
    Has yet to win at Daytona, but he has come close enough to bear watching.

    10. CARL EDWARDS – 1 WIN (405 Points)
    Had he done to Ragan what Ragan had done to Martin, all would have been well.

    11. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 497 POINTS
    Won on only four tracks; once at Indy, twice each at Charlotte, Talladega, and Sunday’s venue.

    12. KASEY KAHNE – 483 POINTS
    Last two summer races at Daytona resulted in fireworks of the unappreciated kind.

    13. JEFF GORDON – 462 POINTS
    Memo to crew: Take out spring rubber, walk with spring rubber, gently place it over the wall.

    14. PAUL MENARD – 452 POINTS
    Being consistently 14th or 15th is okay, but being consistently ninth or 10th would be even better.

    15. RYAN NEWMAN – 435 POINTS
    If this becomes a horse race to be won by just a neck…

    16. ARIC ALMIROLA – 431 POINTS
    When he shaves, he sees Clint standing behind him in the mirror.

    17. CLINT BOWYER – 430 POINTS
    Sixteenth in actual accumulated points…but Carl has the win and he does not.

    18. KYLE LARSON – 390 POINTS
    To my knowledge, has never posted a yoga video.

    19. DANICA PATRICK – 377 POINTS
    Okay, her yoga video is hard to ignore, just like her appearances on this list week after week.

    20. GREG BIFFLE – 368 POINTS
    The Biff needs a win, but few think he has a car that can. That must bug him.

  • The Final Word – Kyle turns it up, turns it left, and turns it right at Sonoma like a FOX on the run

    The Final Word – Kyle turns it up, turns it left, and turns it right at Sonoma like a FOX on the run

    Win and you are in, or so the saying goes. Well, not if it is only your fifth race, 16 events into the season. However, running together a string of 10 straight Top Fifteens or better is easier than taking one of these contests, and Kyle Busch checked that off his “to do” list at Sonoma Sunday.

    A late caution allowed him to swing in for fresh tires that he used to maximum effect as he got by Jimmie Johnson then held off Clint Bowyer and his brother for the victory. It marked his 30th Cup decision, but he now needs to get himself in the Top 30 in the season standings. He currently sits 136 points distant behind Cole Whitt for that final eligible spot where wins matter. Whitt, who has an average finish of just beyond 27th, was 22nd on Sunday, so Busch gained 25 points on the day.

    Brother Kurt was second, and one does wonder just how hard he was trying to break his sibling’s heart. I am sure I know what Kurt would say, but he did not seem terribly broken up by the outcome. Bowyer jumped 25 points ahead of Carl Edwards, in points, but without a win that does not matter. Where it does matter, Clint is just a point behind the equally winless Aric Almirola, and five in arrears of Ryan Newman for the final two Chase places.

    Albert Hammond was prophetic when he sang “It doesn’t rain in California,” so we saw none. What we did see was Casey Mears coming to a halt after a rear tire and attached axle housing broke free and outpaced him down the track. We saw Martin Truex Jr. force David Ragan wide into the dirt, but a small nudge later and it was Truex heading into the tires along the fence. Later, Edwards tried to avoid going off the track, nudged Ragan, and both of them found the fence. Carl was literally left sitting in 40th place.

    Jeff Gordon came in to have a spring rubber removed. That takes time, and it is quicker for a crewman to toss it over the car and over the wall. Too bad NASCAR has a thing about that, so instead of re-starting 26th, he was 28th, but 36th on the track at the end of the longest line. Sixteenth was his fate. Matt Kenseth had a flat that turned into a departing carcass, but no caution, as he hit the pits and his day did the same, landing him in 21st. A.J. Allmendinger was strong early, but a fuel pressure problem crippled his day to leave him 37th.

    Some seem to do well no matter what. Kevin Harvick was fourth, which is not a surprise, except for the disastrous pit stop that saw the jack come down before his left rear was even placed on the car. The end of hope for some, a beginning of a challenge for others, it would seem.

    Ten races are left before the Chase positions are decided, with six of the 16 current position holders still winless, facing various degrees of vulnerability. With Kyle’s win, 32 drivers are still in the hunt, including Justin Allgaier, himself just a point behind Whitt in the rankings. A win at Daytona next Sunday would sure be sweet.

    Last weekend marked the end of the NASCAR season on FOX, with Larry McReynolds leaving the announce booth in favor of Jeff Gordon when they return next February. That ends a 15-year partnership with Mike and Darrell. Personally, I think the wrong guy is leaving to join Michael Waltrip and Chris Myers down in the studio, but I do not make these Boogity-Boogity-Boogity decisions. Next week, NBC arrives back on the scene with Rick Allen, Steve Letarte and Jeff Burton doing the honors.

    At Daytona, we wait to see if we have a repeat winner or a new kid in the mix. We will see how the battle settles between Newman, Almirola and Bowyer for the final spots on points. We will watch how Kyle does in relation to Whitt and Allgaier. We will listen and watch, and no doubt evaluate, the new television crew. Finally, it is Daytona in the summer. What else do you need to tune in?

  • Hot 20 – If you are seeking some racing excitement, Sonoma will be worth tuning in

    Hot 20 – If you are seeking some racing excitement, Sonoma will be worth tuning in

    Make the racing better. That seems to be what NASCAR is locked into and bless ‘em for trying. Outside of running all the races at Daytona, Talladega and Bristol, it is a challenge. The good old days had winners taking the flag by laps, not seconds, so no solution can be found there.

    A new rules package is being looked at, one that might allow a car to catch an opponent, get up beside him, or her, and actually make a pass. That should not be a problem this Sunday at Sonoma. Unlike their Formula One counterparts, these boys, and girl, will use a fender to gain an advantage and cause things to happen. If you want nice clean racing where speed is king, watch the ponies. If you want excitement, you might want to catch the action on the asphalt from California.

    Our Hot 20 heading to Sonoma include…

    1. Jimmie Johnson – 4 WINS (506 Points)
    What makes Jimmie so appealing? All those NASCAR penalties they keep fighting.

    2. Kevin Harvick – 2 WINS (576 Points)
    15 races, 1200 laps led. I think Harv likes being champion.

    3. Kurt Busch – 2 WINS (426 Points)
    Once upon a time missing three races killed a season. Times have changed.

    4. Martin Truex Jr. – 1 WIN (561 Points)
    Got the win, all he needs now is a new contract. A sponsor not named Visser would sure help.

    5. Joey Logano – 1 WIN (520 Points)
    Joey Sharkgano?

    6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 1 WIN (508 Points)
    First me, now Junior. Yes, all the good ones are now taken.

    7. Brad Keselowski – 1 WIN (480 Points)
    Does Penske lose both of its drivers in Sharknado 3?

    8. Matt Kenseth – 1 WIN (456 Points)
    Ross gives Pops a Top Ten on a Father’s Day outing in Chicago.

    9. Denny Hamlin – 1 WIN (412 Points)
    Denny is part of the council. Does that mean he knows Gandalf and Gimli?

    10. Carl Edwards- 1 WIN (401 Points)
    Last year he gave everybody the gears as he went left and right to victory at Sonoma.

    11. Jamie McMurray – 454 POINTS
    With the Truex victory, Mac is now the best without a win…something he has not done since 2010.

    12. Kasey Kahne – 447 POINTS
    Outside of Bristol and Talladega, worst finish is 17th, best is fourth. At least he is consistent.

    13. Jeff Gordon – 434 POINTS
    Top Ten at Sonoma…darn near a guaranteed result.

    14. Paul Menard – 421 POINTS
    The Chase is the goal, and as it appears Crew Chief Justin Alexander is a problem solver…

    15. Aric Almirola – 401 POINTS
    Feels Bowyer’s breath behind him as they take on a track where success has remained elusive.

    16. Ryan Newman – 400 POINTS
    His odds on Sunday are as bad as Junior, Kenseth, and Hamlin…but they already have their wins.

    17. Clint Bowyer – 388 POINTS
    If there is a track the gent can make up some ground, it is this one.

    18. Kyle Larson – 361 POINTS
    He may appear to be 13, but he turns 23 in a month.

    19. Danica Patrick – 357 POINTS
    Just when I start thinking of her as just a driver…I catch her Instagram photos.

    20. Greg Biffle – 351 POINTS
    Instagram or not, I view the Biff as just a driver. Trust me.

  • Hometown Son Trent Owens Shares Darlington Memories

    Hometown Son Trent Owens Shares Darlington Memories

    Darlington Raceway is a rare gem in today’s NASCAR because it is unlike any other track on the circuit. It was built on land that once grew cotton and peanuts and shaped around a minnow pond, giving it a unique design and producing NASCAR’s first paved superspeedway.

    The “Track Too Tough to Tame” was the site for an open NASCAR test session Wednesday. Aric Almirola and his crew chief Trent Owens were one of 12 Sprint Cup teams that participated.

    Owens, who hails from Darlington, has racing in his DNA. His father, Randy Owens (Richard Petty’s brother-in-law), was only 20-years-old when he lost his life in a bizarre pit accident at Talladega while attempting to extinguish a fire on Richard Petty’s No. 43. A pressurized water tank exploded, killing him instantly. Trent was only four months old.

    He followed in his father’s footsteps, working at Petty Enterprises as a teenager and eventually making his debut as a driver in NASCAR’s truck series in 2001. The following year he made six truck starts for Billy Ballew Motorsports, but the team lost its funding and Owen’s career took him on a different path.

    From 2006-2013, Owens began working as a crew chief in the Busch/Nationwide Series (now XFINITY) with various teams including Braun Racing and Turner Scott Motorsports. He won with five different drivers in the series and served as crew chief for the 2013 Rookie of the Year, Kyle Larson. Owens also captured one win with Larson in the Camping World Truck Series along with a victory in the ARCA Series.

    In 2014, when Owens got the call to move up to the Sprint Cup Series as crew chief for the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 car with driver, Aric Almirola, it was as if his life had come full circle.

    “In a lot of ways,” Owens said, “I know he would be extremely proud and in a lot of ways I feel like I’m continuing what he was trying to do. Not knowing him, it is special that I’m working on the same car that he was working on.”

    During a break from testing, Owens spoke about the special connection he has with Darlington.

    When asked about his first memory of the track, he said, “It’s hard to remember exactly. I think the best thing for me was getting out of school early to come for qualifying on Thursdays. I always enjoyed that. I don’t think I’ve missed a race here and it’s hard to remember what year that may have been.

    “It was cool that I lived in a town that, you know this racing deal, when you talk about family, we travel a lot, we don’t get to see our families so it was nice that I got to live in a town that my family got to actually come to a town I lived in and I got to visit them there. So I think that was one of the coolest things.”

    As the team heads to Michigan this weekend, their focus is on improving from a 15th place car to a top-10 or top-five car. But in three months, when the team travels back to Darlington for the Southern 500, the emphasis will certainly be on winning. For this Darlington son, a victory with the No. 43 would be nothing short of a dream come true.

  • Hot 20 – The Truex Triumph at Pocono Deserves an Encore at Michigan

    Hot 20 – The Truex Triumph at Pocono Deserves an Encore at Michigan

    You need a multi-car operation in order to be successful. At least, that seems to be the prevailing wisdom of the day, but just do not let Barney Visser and his Furniture Row team in on it. Other teams might not like what they would see.

    Marching to the beat of their own drummer is just what they do. For example, while most teams call the Charlotte area home, the auto driven by Martin Truex Jr. is prepared in Denver, Colorado. Starting part-time in 2005, Furniture Row has been a Top 30 entry ever since they ran the full schedule with Regan Smith in 2010. They even won a race the next season, but hitting the Top Twenty by year’s end was a struggle.

    Their dedication reached fruition in 2013 when Kurt Busch came over for a year, with 11 Top Fives launching them to a 10th best season. Still, no wins, and when Truex joined the outfit last year they dropped again to also-ran status in the standings. That proved to be just a blip on their radar as Cinderella got another shot to go to the ball and wear those glass galoshes.

    Last Sunday, Truex gave Furniture Row just its second victory ever when he was the class of the field at Pocono. This was no surprise outcome for a usual also-ran, as they are easily the best team in points amongst the single win teams. In fact, they are second only to Kevin Harvick in points for the season, period. Single car teams are not supposed to do that. In fact, no single car team is supposed to do what Alan Kulwicki did between 1987 and his championship of 1992 these days. It seems to me that those mountain men and women are putting up another solid argument that the prevailing wisdom of the day is not their way, at least not yet.

    While a teammate might not be to too far off in the future, Truex has had some success of his own at Michigan. He had three Top Tens racing for Michael Waltrip, and a pair of runner-up finishes for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2007. After last season’s annus horribilis, this appears to be a year of new beginnings and new successes, for both the team and its driver. Of course, he is among…

    …our Hot 20 heading into Michigan.

    1 – JIMMIE JOHNSON – 4 WINS (481 pts)
    If Chad and Jimmie were girls, they wouldn’t talk for months after a race.

    2 – KEVIN HARVICK – 2 WINS (559 pts)
    Fourteen races. Two wins. Ten times finishing in second place. Don’t worry, be Happy.

    3 – MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 WIN (520 pts)
    Finally.

    4 – JOEY LOGANO – 1 WIN (480 pts)
    Starts dead last after rear-end gear change, then gets a pit penalty, yet finishes fourth at Pocono.

    5 – DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 1 WIN (465 pts)
    You would have thought he, not his buddy, won the race.

    6 – BRAD KESELOWSKI – 1 WIN (441 pts)
    Brought the beer to the Truex party. while Junior sent some post-celebration head pain relief.

    7 – MATT KENSETH – 1 WIN (415 pts)
    Family joined the Johnsons and Dillon boys for a Taylor Swift concert. Perks of the profession.

    8 – KURT BUSCH – 1 WIN (379 pts)
    Took the pole, finished fifth. Just another day at the office.

    9 – DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN (379 pts)
    The way he qualified at Pocono, one would have thought he was Bowyer.

    10 – CARL EDWARDS – 1 WIN (368 pts)
    Not as good as Newman this season…except for that little ole win he has.

    11 – JAMIE MCMURRAY – 427 POINTS
    Has completed 96.8 percent of his career laps at Michigan, but fourth in 2004 his best result.

    12 – KASEY KAHNE – 417 POINTS
    Impromptu body work from Junior helped neither car last weekend.

    13 – JEFF GORDON – 411 POINTS
    So, Alan and Jeff swore at each other. Am I the only one who notices they are both guys?

    14 – PAUL MENARD – 385 POINTS
    Caught speeding, got caught again on the drive through, then got a flat. Not a good day.

    15 – ARIC ALMIROLA – 379 POINTS
    Pocono was not a pointless exercise for Aric. He did pick up a single point for his efforts.

    16 – RYAN NEWMAN – 374 POINTS
    After just earning five himself, Newman not feeling the love after being Allmendingered.

    17 – CLINT BOWYER – 354 POINTS
    Billy Scott to replace Brian Pattie atop the box at Michigan. Let the magic begin.

    18 – GREG BIFFLE – 343 POINTS
    Twelfth was twelve better than teammate Trevor Bayne, which means they still have work to do.

    19 – KYLE LARSON – 333 POINTS
    Third at Dover, eighth at Pocono and eighth last spring at Michigan. The time is now.

    20 – DANICA PATRICK – 328 POINTS
    Deserved a better fate last Sunday.

  • The Final Word – The Top Four at Pocono Have Been the Season’s Best Four

    The Final Word – The Top Four at Pocono Have Been the Season’s Best Four

    Three drivers. When it came to the story of the Pocono race, only three mattered. You probably wanted to know who led the race for the opening few laps, and that would have been Carl Edwards. He finished 15th. For the rest of the way, it was down to two names, right down to the final lap; Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick. No one else much mattered on Sunday.

    When it comes down to points, these two lead the way this year. When it comes to wins, Harvick’s two trailed only Jimmie Johnson’s four in that department. Truex, on the other hand, still had to close the deal. That finally happened in a race where he was a factor from start to finish, leading four times for 97 of the 160 laps, to snap a 69 race winless string. Harvick led for 39 to claim his 10th Top Two in 14 starts. As for third place, that eventually went to Johnson, as Pocono became a showcase of the three best thus far in 2015. Okay, Top Four, with Joey Logano finishing fourth.

    With the Truex win, we still have no drivers outside the Top 16 in points with a victory this season. With a dozen events to go, that could change, which would put some pressure on those up there, yet still winless. However, Jamie McMurray, Kasey Kahne and even Jeff Gordon look safe for the moment though Paul Menard, Aric Almirola and Ryan Newman are vulnerable. All three finished outside the Top Thirty on Sunday.

    Top Thirty on the season is valuable for those who want to win to be in. Only Kyle Busch has a realistic expectation to possibly win amongst the outsiders, and he sits 151 points behind Trevor Bayne for that 30th spot. Busch gained 15 points on Bayne over the weekend and needs to average a 12.6 point advantage over each of the next 12 races, as well as claim a win along the way, for it to matter.

    Danica Patrick looked good for much of the race, solidly a Top 15, if not better. She lost a tire, found a fence, and finished 37th. However, the girl looked good, and for those on her bandwagon, that certainly counts for something.

    After taking the last five at Pocono, shared by their four drivers, Team Hendrick had to settle for all four in the Top 15. Considering the trials Truex has faced both professionally and personally over the past couple of years, I think their genuine happiness over his success more than makes up for any disappointment that they might feel. Way more.

    While Truex celebrated, Almirola (43rd), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (42nd), and Sam Hornish Jr. (41st) were top thirty drivers who did not have top thirty days. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch (9th), Ty Dillon (18th), and Landon Cassill (25th) were among those outsiders who gladly took their place.

    Michigan International Speedway is the next stop, where the last six contests run over the past three years have been split between Hendrick Chevrolets and Roush or Penske Fords. At least it is a venue Hendrick has not won the last five…just the last two.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Pocono Axalta We Paint Winners 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Pocono Axalta We Paint Winners 400

    In a peculiar race at Pocono, filled with shifting and unexpected bumps, here is what else was surprising and not surprising in the 34th annual Axalta We Paint Winners 400.

    Surprising:  Under picture-perfect skies, both blessings and curses abounded at the Tricky Triangle in the track’s first race of the season.

    “I just feel super blessed to be with this group of guys,” race winner Martin Truex Jr. said of his No. 78 Furniture Row race team. “They are super impressive and just proud to drive cars for them.”

    “We finally got it. That is all I can say we finally got it. Just can’t thank all my guys enough, Barney Visser, everybody at Furniture Row, everybody back in Denver for working so hard. This is a brand new racecar and they have been working really hard lately. Just proud of them and blessed to drive great racecars.”

    “It never gets any better than this.”

    This was Truex Jr.’s first victory of the season and one that ended a 69-race winless streak as well as qualifying him for the Chase.

    As much as Truex felt blessed to win, Jeff Gordon and Alan Gustafson on the flip side exchanged a tirade of uncharacteristic curses after disagreeing on pit strategy.  The curse-laden audio can be heard at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPeUz35cQRA&app=desktop.

    In spite of all that cursing, the Team 24 driver and crew chief duo managed to pull off a top-15 finish for the No. 24 Axalta/Penn State Chevrolet.

    Not Surprising:  Although many in the garage felt that he was the one to beat, Kevin Harvick finished second yet again, having had to deal with gear issues on the restarts and splitter issues as well.

    “Our Budweiser Chevy was really fast, but we were just terrible on the restarts getting going,” Harvick said. “We would lug really bad in third gear and just had to go into defense mode.”

    “We struggled in Turn 1 with the splitter on the ground. Things aren’t lining-up to win races right now.”

    Surprising:  Aric Almirola went from having one of the best finishes of the season in Dover to having one of his worst days at Pocono, finishing 43rd in his No. 43 Nathan’s Famous Ford with something malfunctioning in the motor of his race car.

    “It wouldn’t run anymore,” Almirola said. “It’s a shame.  It was not a good weekend for us. We struggled all weekend finding speed in our car and right there we came in and made a pretty aggressive adjustment on that pit stop. Trent (Owens, crew chief) changed a lot of stuff and just on that one lap of the restart it drove a lot better and I had my hopes up for a minute and then my hopes got crushed.”

    “We had some sort of motor issue. Every once in a while something like that happens.”

    This was Almirola’s first DNF of the season as well.

    Not Surprising:  Tony Stewart shared the best quote of the day. After received a penalty on pit road for an uncontrolled tire, Smoke came on the radio and said “They should start calling penalties on me for being an uncontrolled driver.”

    “I put us in a hole to start the weekend,” Stewart said, referring to his crash on Friday in practice that forced him to a backup racecar. “This whole Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops team dug in, worked hard all weekend and never gave up.”

    “I’m really proud of everybody and hate the finish doesn’t reflect that effort.”

    Stewart finished 21st at Pocono Raceway in his No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet.

    Surprising:  While Carl Edwards looked to be the strongest Toyota, starting on the outside pole, three other Toyotas managed to finish better than he did with his 15th place run. Matt Kenseth was the highest finisher of the manufacturer’s brand in the sixth place, with Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin finishing ninth and tenth respectively.

    “We had a really fast car – it was the fastest sixth-place car that I’ve ever had,” Kenseth, driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota, said. “We ran much better than we finished.”

    “This is a bad track for me and we had a great car today.”

    “We didn’t start the race with what we needed with our M&M’s Crispy Camry,” Kyle Busch said. “But Adam (Stevens, crew chief) made some good adjustments to get us better. Track position was big, so Adam also made a good call to take two tires and get us some track position and we were able to hold onto it for a while.”

    “Those last two cautions didn’t help us, we just couldn’t get going on those last couple of restarts. We’ll take it and move on to Michigan.”

    “I thought we were a decent car – fifth to 10th place most of the day, but with our track position, we always took four tires,” Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota , said. “Some of those guys made it on fuel because of all the cautions so we continued to lose track position throughout the day, but we kind of battled back.”

    “We barely got inside the top-10 and at best I thought we could have improved four or five more spots, but overall a solid day. We didn’t tear up anything this week and now we can go and improve our program for next week.”

    Not Surprising:  While Ford has traditionally struggled at Pocono, Joey Logano still managed to be the best finishing Ford, bringing his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford to the checkered flag in the fourth position. His finish was especially noteworthy as he had to start from the back of the pack due to a rear gear change.

    “I’m happy with the way it ended,” Logano said. “We didn’t have a very fast Shell/Pennzoil Ford from the get-go when we unloaded here, but we kept fighting hard.”

    “This was one of those blue-collar days, just working hard all day on the car and on pit road the guys did a good job making my car faster and got to where we were a top-five car at the end.”

    Surprising:  Ryan Newman’s temper got the best of him after contact between himself and AJ Allmendinger on Lap 142. And he even vowed some revenge as a result of that contact.

    “It’s pretty obvious what happened,” Newman, driver of the No. 31 Grainger Chevrolet, said after finishing 39th. “The No. 47 (AJ Allmendinger) just ran out of talent.”

    “He has got one coming now.”

    Not Surprising:  While Trevor Bayne got some Pocono practice time in running and winning the ARCA Series race, the driver of the No. 6 AdvoCare Ford acknowledged that he was still in the learning mode for the Tricky Triangle.

    “We got through it and that was the main part for our first run here at Pocono,” Bayne said. “Overall, we kept a clean car and for the first time here I learned a ton.”

    “From where I started this week and getting to where we finished I think we made big gains.  We got back on the lead lap there at the end and we just needed to be a little bit better off turn three and we would have had something for a top-15 run.”

    Bayne finished the race in the 24th position.

    Surprising:  Forget girls just wanting to have fun, sometimes six time champions like Jimmie Johnson just want to do that as well even with a beat up race car, with some missing parts to boot. And while he had fun, Johnson also went on to finish third in his No. 48 Lowe’s/Jimmie Johnson Foundation Chevrolet.

    “A fun day,” Johnson said. “She is beat up and missing a left-front splitter too from the contact we had with the outside wall off of Turn 3 there.”

    “We overcame a lot and still got a third place finish out of it.  Wish we had a little bit more, but not a bad finish.”

    Not Surprising:  Both Chip Ganassi Racing drivers managed top-10 finishes at the Tricky Triangle, with Jamie McMurray coming in seventh and Kyle Larson finishing eighth.

    “It was a good race and a nice top 10,” Larson, the driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet, said after the race. “I thought that was probably about the speed we had maybe eighth to 11th or so.  So to get an eighth place is alright.”

    Surprising: Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 7 Accell Construction Chevrolet, managed a 26th place finish only to go home and have an accident there.

    “No joke got home and roscoe ran to the door and head butted me so hard because he couldn’t stop that I now have an actual black eye,” @AlexBRacing tweeted after the race.

    Not Surprising: At the end of the day and in spite of the competition, friendships develop in the garage area. And the best example of that was Dale Earnhardt Jr. who could not wait to get into Victory Lane to shake the hand of his friend and race winner Martin Truex Jr.

    “I’m just happy for him,” the driver of the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet said after finishing 11th. “I know he’s been through a lot of stuff both inside the car and outside the car the last several years. He’s been able to get into a good opportunity with good people.”

    “He’s got a team that believes in him. And I was in the stall next to those guys during qualifying and how they are as a team and how they interact with each other really impressed me.”

    “So, Martin’s in a good situation. So, it’s real refreshing. I look forward to going over there (Victory Lane) and saying hey to him.”

    The Cup Series will race next weekend in the Irish Hills of Michigan for the Quicken Loans 400.