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Tag: Brad Keselowski

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Talladega

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Talladega

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished fifth at Talladega in the rain-delayed Aaron’s 499 at Talladega. His lead in the Sprint Cup point standings is now 41 over Carl Edwards.

    “What an ending!” Johnson said. “It reminded me a lot of former NASCAR driver Kimi Raikkonen’s NASCAR skills—it was a ‘wild Finnish.’”

    2. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished third in the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega, losing the lead on the final lap as David Ragan grabbed an unlikely win. Edwards is second in the point standings, 41 out of first.

    “Ragan came out of nowhere,” Edwards said. “And that’s probably where he’ll return.

    “As one of NASCAR’s manliest of men, I’d like to comment on the NBA’s Jason Collins announcing that he’s gay. I think NASCAR is ready for a homosexual driver. She better be really hot, though.”

    3. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt slipped through the chaos of a wreck six laps from the to salvage a 17th at Talladega. He moved up two places to third in the point standings to third, and trails Jimmie Johnson by 46.

    “I was just happy to see the finish line,” Earnhardt said. “It was a war of attrition. That’s not to be confused with the “War Of Attrition,” which, according to many of my fans, was won by the South.”

    4. Kasey Kahne: Kahne was taken out at Talladega when Kyle Busch sent him spinning on lap 44, triggering the ‘Big One’ that eliminated 13 cars from contention. Kahne finished 42nd and fell one place in the point standings to fourth, 46 out of first.

    “Busch used to drive the No. 5 car,” Kahne said. “And, as of lap 44 at Talladega, so did I.”

    5. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer suffered significant damage in a big crash six laps from the end at Talladega, but managed to wheel the No. 15 Toyota to an 18-place finish. He is fourth in the point standings, 67 behind Jimmie Johnson.

    “Brad Keselowski wasn’t too happy with the way the cars lined up on the final restart,” Bowyer said. “So he took to Twitter to whine. I hear he changed his Twitter handle to “sshole.” Sunday’s result must have left a sour taste in his mouth. That gives him the ‘tart’ of a champion?”

    6. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished fifth in the rain-interrupted Aaron’s 499 at Talladega, posting his fourth top 5 of the year. The defending Sprint Cup champion is fifth in the point standings, 69 out of first.

    “For a while,” Keselowski said, “it appeared the race would be much like our rear housing at Texas—‘shortened.’

    “NASCAR denied our appeal for penalties incurred for illegal parts at Texas. And they surely didn’t Tweet their response. Oh no. It came on paper, and it was called a ‘cheat sheet.’”

    7. Kyle Busch: Busch triggered a huge lap 44 wreck in the Aaron’s 499 when he tried to move around the No. 5 Chevy of Kasey Kahne. The pileup wiped out 13 cars, including Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, and Tony Stewart. Busch eventually finished 37th and is now ninth in the point standings, 98 out of first.

    “Kurt may be the older brother,” Busch said, “but now, several drivers are calling me the ‘Big One.”

    8. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth led 142 of 192 laps on the day, and led at the green-white-checkered finish, but finished eighth after the Front Row Motorsports duo of David Ragan and David Gilliland zoomed to the front.

    “I’ve been a lame duck,” Kenseth said, “and I’ve been intimidated by the Aflac duck. On Sunday, I was a sitting duck there at the end.

    “Former Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron drove the pace car for Sunday’s race. There was talk that his girlfriend, Katherine Webb, would drive the pace car. That fell through, because David Gilliland refuses to follow a woman.”

    9. Aric Almirola: Almirola finished 10th at Talladega in the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford. He is now seventh in the Sprint Cup standings, 90 out of first.

    “You just never know what’s going to happen at Talladega,” Almirola said. “There were a lot of ‘unknowns,’ like the parts used by Penske and Joe Gibbs.

    10. David Ragan: Ragan, pushed by Front Row Motorsports teammate David Gilliland, won the Aaron’s 499 in improbable fashion, outgunning Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, and Matt Kenseth in an exciting green-white-checkered finish.

    “Just call Gilliand and I the ‘Aero-Dynamic Duo,’” Ragan said. “I haven’t got that big of a ‘push’ since Jack Roush showed me the door.

    “FRM is a small-time operation with nothing near the budget of the large teams. Not only did we accomplish the Talladega sweep with inferior equipment, we did it with legal equipment.”

  • Crunching The Numbers: Talladega

    Crunching The Numbers: Talladega

    After a crazy weekend for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the NASCAR Nationwide Series at the short track of Richmond International Raceway, both series pack up and move on to the biggest, fastest track on the circuit for some restrictor plate racing at Talladega Superspeedway. As is the case each trip to the 2.66 mile, high banked behemoth in Alabama, these races are sure to provide nonstop action and the driver who can play the 200 mph chess game just right and avoid the inevitable “Big One” will come out on top.

    Sprint Cup Series

    With Talladega being the second restrictor plate race for the new Gen6 Sprint Cup car after its debut at Daytona to open the season, only time will tell if the racing in the Aaron’s 499 on Sunday will mirror that from the Daytona 500 or if Talladega has a few tricks up its sleeve for these drivers as they try to figure out the new car in the restrictor plate draft.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Brad Keselowski 8 2 3 6 0 31 18.9 12.2
    Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 26 5 9 13 0 737 15.6 15.0
    Kevin Harvick 24 1 6 10 1 155 22.0 15.4
    Tony Stewart 28 1 9 13 0 317 16.5 15.8
    David Ragan 12 0 3 5 0 27 19.8 16.0
    Kurt Busch 24 0 6 13 0 143 20.8 16.1
    Clint Bowyer 14 2 4 7 0 96 18.7 16.1
    Jeff Gordon 40 6 15 19 3 839 11.5 16.4
    Jimmie Johnson 22 2 5 9 1 234 10.2 17.7
    Travis Kvapil 10 0 0 2 1 17 22.1 17.8

    Who To Watch: As the defending spring Talladega race winner and two time winner at Talladega, Brad Keselowski leads all active drivers at the track with two wins, three top fives, six top tens, 31 laps led, and an average finish of 12.2 in eight starts at the track. Coming in just behind Keselowski is Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who has five wins, nine top fives, 13 top tens, 737 laps led, and an average finish of 15.0 in 26 starts. However, Earnhardt has not won at Talladega since the Fall of 2004 and only has five top tens in the eight years (16 races) since that last win, but Earnhardt can never be counted out at restrictor plate races, no matter the track.

    Others that could find their way to Victory Lane this weekend include: Richmond winner and winner of the Fall race in 2010 at Talladega, Kevin Harvick; Tony Stewart, with one win, nine top fives, 13 top tens, and an average finish of 15.8, David Ragan, who hasn’t won at Talladega, but does have a Sprint Cup restrictor plate win at Daytona and a Nationwide Series win at Talladega under his belt as well as an average finish of 16.0; Kurt Busch, who has six top fives and 13 top tens in 24 starts and an average finish of 16.1; two time winner Clint Bowyer, who also has an average finish of 16.1 in 14 starts; Jeff Gordon, with six wins, but none since sweeping both races in 2007; and Jimmie Johnson, who has two wins, but has had horrible luck at restrictor plate races as of late, especially at Talladega.

    Nationwide Series

    If fans thought the season opener for the Nationwide Series at Daytona was wild, this weekend’s at Talladega is sure to provide just as many, if not more, thrills as that race did, due in large part to the two-car tandem drafting style that these drivers use in this series.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Joey Logano 4 1 4 4 0 21 10.5 2.0
    Kurt Busch 1 0 0 1 0 1 31.0 6.0
    Trevor Bayne 2 0 0 1 0 23 22.0 9.5
    Sam Hornish, Jr. 2 0 0 0 0 4 10.0 12.5
    Danica Patrick 1 0 0 0 0 1 17.0 13.0
    Brian Vickers 4 0 0 2 0 17 11.2 14.0
    Justin Allgaier 4 0 0 2 0 0 19.2 15.5
    Joe Nemechek 18 2 7 8 5 202 10.7 15.9
    John Wes Townley 2 0 0 0 0 0 28.5 16.5
    Kyle Busch 9 1 4 5 0 114 11.6 16.6

    Who To Watch: Sprint Cup regular Joey Logano will be making his first start in the Nationwide Series for Penske Racing at Talladega and carries an impressive Nationwide Series record at the track with him. In four starts, Logano has one win, four top fives, four top tens, 21 laps led, and an average finish of 2.0. If Logano can reproduce those results that he obtained while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing with his new team, Logano will definitely be one of the favorites for the win on Saturday.

    Logano isn’t the only favorite for the victory, several others will also be in contention, including: Kurt Busch, who will be teaming back up with Phoenix Racing, finished sixth in his lone Nationwide start at Talladega and won last July at Daytona, so he has ran well on restrictor plate tracks in the Nationwide Series; Trevor Bayne, who has two starts, one top ten, and an average finish of 9.5; Sam Hornish, Jr., the current points leader, has two starts and an average finish of 12.5; and Danica Patrick, who will be running for Turner Scott Motorsports, who has one Talladega Nationwide start and an average finish of 13.0.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Richmond Toyota Owners 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Richmond Toyota Owners 400

    A full moon and short track racing led to plenty of surprises and some not so surprising moments in the 59th Annual Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

    Surprising:  Race winner Kevin Harvick, currently with Richard Childress Racing but leaving at year end, was surprisingly more fixated on dispelling the moniker of ‘Lame Duck’ than celebrating his ‘Closer’ nickname in Victory Lane.

    In fact, with his first win of the season for RCR and his 20th career win under his belt, Harvick proclaimed he was nothing like a ‘Lame Duck’.

    “You know, a lot of people have thought we might lay down this year,” Harvick said. “There ain’t no lame in that game is there?”

    “It was a great night.”

    Not Surprising:  With some tempers tested on the short track, it was no surprise that a late-race caution and a green-white-checkered finish led to total chaos up to and even after the checkered flag flew.

    Perhaps the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing/Sealy Chevrolet summed it up best after seeing his potential top-five finish disappear to a ninth place finish thanks to the final lap craziness.

    “It was just chaos,” Kurt Busch said. “Some guys had older tires. Some guys had newer tires.”

    “People were beating and banging and shoving each other out of the way,” Busch continued. “It was a free-for-all at the end.”

    Surprising:  Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 15 Toyota Camry for Michael Waltrip Racing, was surprisingly pleased with his bridesmaid’s position. This was his ninth top-ten finish in 15 races at Richmond and his fifth top-ten finish of the season.

    “We had a good car,” Bowyer said. “It really got wild there at the end.”

    “Wish we could have won the Toyota race, but second’s not bad.”

    Not Surprising:  With his team’s appeal hearing looming this week, it was not surprising to see Penske’s Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, make a statement with a third place finish. This was Logano’s second top-ten finish in nine races at Richmond.

    “I’m just super-proud of my guys,” Logano said. “They never quit.”

    “They threw the kitchen sink at it and I’m just proud of what we got out of that.”

    Surprising:  Logano’s teammate, Brad Keselowski, however, had a surprisingly freaky bad day at the track, perhaps proving that ‘Redd’ was not a good color for a car known as the No. 2 ‘Blue Deuce.’

    “It was a long day,” the reigning champ said. “We had a bad pit stop and then blew a tire.”

    “Then whatever happened with the engine,” Keselowski continued. “It was a freak deal where something in the wheel broke and let all the air out of the tires.”

    “We got hit by a lot of freak deals.”

    Not Surprising:   With the ‘Orange Cone’ away, commitment violations came into play. And no one understood that more completely than Kyle Busch, who was tagged by NASCAR for that violation.

    In an unusual move, however, NASCAR reviewed the penalty and actually overturned it. Unfortunately for Busch, the damage was done and his four Spring Richmond race win streak came to a screeching halt.

    Busch’s fate was sealed after he was caught up in an accident and he finished 24th in the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota.

    Surprising:  With the beginnings of resurgence by Petty Motorsports, it was surprising that driver Marcos Ambrose suffered his first DNF of the season since Texas last year.

    “This is so disappointing for us,” the driver of the No. 9 DeWalt Ford Fusion said. “We were fast and had fantastic power from Ford Racing and Roush Yates Engines.”

    “So, we can’t complain.”

    Not Surprising:  Even with his first win on an oval track in sight, it was not surprising to see Juan Pablo Montoya and his crew chief thinking big picture and maximum points. The team elected to pit to take tires before the green-white-checkered finish to guarantee themselves a top-five finish.

    “Everybody on the Depend Chevy did an amazing job,” Montoya said. “We had a great car.”

    “This is what we needed,” Montoya continued. “We made the right call when we pitted.”

    Surprising:  Another Richard Childress racer Jeff Burton had a surprisingly great run, from threading his way through one of the many wrecks to finishing fifth.

    “Kevin Harvick and I both got better at the end of the race,” the driver of the No. 31 Airgas/Bulwark Chevrolet said. “We were best at the end.”

    Not Surprising: Richard Petty Motorsports’ other driver Aric Almirola continued to reel off  top-ten finishes in his No. 43 Smithfield Ford. Almirola managed an eighth place finish on the short track after battling an ill-handling race car.

    “At one point we were almost a lap down,” Almirola said. “We were in big trouble and Todd Parrott made so many adjustments and kept making it better and better and better.”

    “Our guys never gave up.”

    Surprising:  Matt Kenseth may have won the pole for the Toyota Owners 400, led the most laps at 140, and finished seventh, but he felt more like he was riding a roller coaster than driving an elite Cup car.

    “It was an up and down race,” Kenseth said. “In the beginning, we were real strong.”

    “That last restart, just being on the outside and the 78 (Kurt Busch) drove up through there and knocked my whole side off,” Kenseth continued. “That was the best I could do.”

    Not Surprising:  While Richmond may be known more as a Denny Hamlin type track, the Hendrick Motorsports team fared pretty well, with three of the four drivers finishing in the top-15.

    In fact, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson finished tenth, eleventh and twelfth respectively while Kasey Kahne brought up the rear in 21st.

    With his  finish, Johnson extended his points lead, now 43 points ahead of Carl Edwards in the second spot. And all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers are now in the top 15 in the point standings.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Richmond

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Richmond

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jimmie Johnson: Despite being collected in a spin initiated by Tony Stewart and finishing 12th, Johnson increased his lead in the Sprint Cup point standings. He now leads Carl Edwards by 43.

    “My points lead is so big,” Johnson said, “only a NASCAR inspection could do anything about it.

    “I got ‘Smoked;’ now, I’m ‘Steamed.’ Stewart may be a three-time Cup champion, but judging by his performance this year, I’m not sure I want any of him ‘rubbing off’ on me.”

    2. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished sixth at Richmond, posting his fifth top-10 result of the year. He jumped four spots to second in the point standings, and now trails Jimmie Johnson by 43.

    “How about Matt Kenseth and his connecting rods?” Edwards said. “NASCAR says they didn’t weigh enough. I would tend to agree, because I’ve known Kenseth was a lightweight for years.”

    3. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt scored his first top-10 finish in the month of April with a 10th in the Toyota Owners 400. He is third in the point standings, 46 out of first.

    “It was wild at Richmond International Speedway,” Earnhardt said. “There were nut shots, fights, and arrests. It reminded me of Mother’s Day with Teresa.

    “I may be a ‘Junior,’ but I wouldn’t stoop so low as to kick a competitor in the balls. If I’m going to kick someone where it hurts, it will be a fan of Junior Nation, in the wallet, at the merchandise stand.”

    4. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer led 113 laps at Richmond and finished second to former teammate Kevin Harvick. He is fifth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 53 out of first.

    “I was the top Toyota finisher,” Bowyer said. “Which means NASCAR will be watching me as intently as I watch Jeff Gordon.

    “In the wake of the Matt Kenseth penalties, Toyota Racing Development recalled three of my engines. Now, Michael Waltrip can say he’s just like an ordinary Toyota owner, because now he’s experienced a recall.”

    5. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth led a race-high 140 laps at Richmond and finished seventh after a mad green-white-checkered scramble at the finish. It was an impressive result, coming just days after NASCAR levied harsh penalties on the team for illegal parts.

    “I don’t agree with NASCAR’s penalties,” Kenseth said. “I feel they were much too strict with their inspection. In other words, I was ‘screw-tinized.’”

    6. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski struggled at Richmond, finishing 33rd, eight laps down, his worst finish of the season. He is now sixth in the point standings, 59 out of first.

    “It’s good to see NASCAR’s focus on something other than Penske Racing,” Keselowski said. “Penalties have become so commonplace, there’s practically no difference in the questions ‘Witch hunt?’ and ‘Which hunt?’”

    “Among kicks in the balls in NASCAR this year, Nelson Piquet, Jr.’s may be the most blatant. Is it a surprise that Piquet’s right foot was in Brian Scott’s crotch? Not really, because it certainly wasn’t on the gas pedal.

    7. Kevin Harvick: Harvick dashed from seventh to first on the chaotic green-white-checkered finish at Richmond, earning him his first win of the season. Harvick took four tires and, after a great restart, easily picked off Jeff Burton to take the lead.

    “I found some extra motivation,” Harvick said. “Some Richard Childress Racing drivers needed a kick in the pants, not in the balls. Of course, I was lucky to win. While Nelson Piquet, Jr.’s may have put one up Brian Scott’s, I pulled “one” out of mine. And it didn’t hurt nearly as much.”

    8. Kasey Kahne: Kahne finished 21st in the Toyota Owners 400 on a night when only one Hendrick Motorsports driver finished in the top 10. Kahne is tied for third in the point standings, 46 out of first.

    “It was a wild weekend at Richmond,” Kahne said. “Now, I can say the same thing to Nelson Piquet, Jr. that I would say to a lovely Sprint Cup girl: ‘nice rack.’ Between them, my teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon have nine Cups. Hopefully, they can spare one for me to wear.”

    9. Kyle Busch: Busch’s No. 18 Toyota was damaged when Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48, sent reeling by Tony Stewart, spun into Busch’s path. Busch eventually finished 24th, ending his run of four consecutive spring victories at Richmond.

    “They say good things come in three’s,” Busch said. “But bad things come in two’s, like damaged Busch brother cars at Richmond, Tony Stewart chins, and bruised Brian Scott testicles.”

    10. Greg Biffle: Biffle suffered a broken shock and spun about midway through Saturday’s race. He finished 36th, 15 laps down, and tumbled four spots in the point standings. He is now eighth, 71 out of first.

    “Of all the wild occurrences over the weekend,” Biffle said, “mine was the least shocking. Take it from Brian Scott—a swift kick in the nuts can really cause momentary confusion. Medically, that’s known as a loss of your ball bearings.

    “But Nelson Piquet, Jr. isn’t completely at fault. He made millions of NFL fans happy, because ‘foot-ball’ season came early this year.”

  • Comparing the JGR & Penske Racing Penalties: Did NASCAR Make The Right Call?

    Comparing the JGR & Penske Racing Penalties: Did NASCAR Make The Right Call?

    In the past two weeks we’ve seen two big teams get hammered by NASCAR for illegal parts. The administration certainly isn’t messing around this year, if you are found in violation of their rules no matter what the circumstances surrounding it are, you will be punished harshly. I fully agree with the Penske penalties but I do not agree with how hard they came down on JGR and Matt Kenseth. If anyone should have received a larger punishment, it should be the No.2 and No.22 because they purposely tried to get a performance advantage by manipulating the rear ends of their racecars. The No.20 issue was simply a mistake on the part of TRD and there was no malicious intent whatsoever.

    During pre-race inspection at Texas, officials found that Penske Racing had messed with the rear end housings of their cars attempting to get them to skew which was outlawed by NASCAR at the start of this year. Both the No.2 and the No.22 barely made it to the grid in time for the race and Brad Keselowski was very vocal following the event. He was quoted saying,

    “I have one good thing to say, that’s my team and effort they put in today in fighting back with the absolute bulls— that’s been the last seven days in this garage area. The things I’ve seen over the last seven days have me questioning everything that I believe in, and I’m not happy about it. I don’t have anything positive to say and I probably should just leave it at that. There’s so much stuff going on…you have no f—— idea what’s going on, And that’s not your fault and that’s not a slam on you. I could tell you there’s nobody, no team in this garage with the integrity of the 2 team. And the way we’ve been treated over the last seven days is absolutely shameful. I feel like we’ve been targeted over the last seven days more than I’ve ever seen a team targeted. But my guys kept their heads on straight and they showcased why they are a winning team and championship team. We’re not going to take it. We’re not going to be treated this way.”

    NASCAR surprisingly did not penalize Keselowski for those incensed comments but they weren’t bashful about dropping the hammer on the team for their rear end housing infraction. They suspended the crew chiefs, the car chiefs, team engineers and the team manager for six weeks. They also fined the crew chiefs $100,000, took 25 points away from Brad and Joey and placed all the team personal that they suspended on probation until December 31st, 2013. What these guys did was play in the gray area and ended up stepping on NASCAR’s toes. They aren’t bad, they aren’t cheaters, they are just doing their job. Every team from all eras has always tried to find an advantage by playing in iffy territory. It’s nothing new and every team does it, some just do it better than others. When you mess around in the danger zone, you’re eventually going to get bit and that’s what happened here. I have no remorse for them and feel the penalties are fully justified.

    Photo Credit: Sal Sigala Jr./Speedway Media
    Photo Credit: Sal Sigala Jr./Speedway Media

    When it comes to Joe Gibbs Racing and their ground shattering punishment, a large contingent of people out there including myself feel NASCAR went too far. A connecting rod was found to be approximately 2.7 grams underweight when NASCAR weighed it during the tear down of the race winning No.20 car from Kansas. The other 7 connecting rods were each a few grams to the good and perfectly legal. There are areas on a racecar that are considered sacred ground and not even the likes of Chad Knaus would dare mess with them. That’s the tires, the fueling system and the engine. As a result, NASCAR dropped the hammer hard in a penalty that ranks right up there as one of the biggest ever. Crew chief Jason Ratcliff was fined $200,000 and suspended for six races, an astonishing 50 points were taken away, Matt won’t get chase bonus points for the win and can’t use it as a WC either, the owners license of Joe Gibbs has been suspended for six weeks, the pole won’t count towards the 2014 Sprint Unlimited and Toyota loses 5 manufacturer points.

    One connecting rod 2.7 grams underweight gives no advantage and in fact, it throws the engine slightly out of balance which could hurt overall performance. It was an error made by TRD when creating the parts and nothing more. NASCAR doesn’t look at it that way though and although I don’t like it, I can understand that. If they started basing penalties on the exact person who was in the wrong, it would bring in an infinite number of variables and it could get very messy. This case in particular exemplifies one that would be a black and white but a lot of them wouldn’t be. In order to maintain consistency and integrity, they have to police each case basically using tunnel vision. They can’t factor in the all the details; just simply look at it and say this piece was in violation of this rule therefore we will issue the appropriate penalties. This is when the appeal committee comes in handy though. They are separate from the NASCAR officials who initially hand out punishments and they base their decisions after hearing the team’s explanation for why they were in violation of the rules. With this particular situation, I think JGR has a good chance to reduce the penalties. It’s actually a pretty solid system that NASCAR has put in place and works very well most of the time.

    I still firmly believe that TRD should have gotten more of a punishment though. Penske pushes the limits trying to gain an advantage and gets caught but their penalty is less than a team that had an issue with a manufacturer supplied part that didn’t even help performance of the car. That doesn’t make sense to me. It looks like they came down harder on JGR because they raced with the “illegal” part and won with it unlike Penske whose blunder was caught before the race even began. TRD took full blame for the error but the responsibility falls on the shoulders of the teams in the eyes of NASCAR. Matt Kenseth wasn’t pleased with how hard his team was hit and had this to say regarding the penalties:

    “I think the penalties are grossly unfair. I think it’s borderline shameful. There’s no argument the part was wrong. They weighed it and it was wrong. However, there is an argument that there certainly was no performance advantage. If you can find any unbiased, reputable, knowledgeable engine-builder and if they saw the facts, what all the rods weighed. The average weight of all the rods was well above the minimum — 2.5 (grams) above the minimum at least. There was one in there that was way heavy. There was no performance advantage, there was no intent, it was a mistake. JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) had no control over it. Certainly to crush Joe Gibbs like that — to say they can’t win an owner’s championship with the 20 this year is just, I can’t wrap my arms around that, it just blows me away. And the same with Jason Ratcliff (crew chief). I don’t feel bad for myself at all, but for Jason and Joe, I just couldn’t feel any worse. There’s no more reputable, honest hard-working guys with good reputations more so than those two — I feel really bad for them.”

    The Penske Racing appeal will be held May 1st at the NASCAR R&D Center and no one expects their punishment to be reduced in any way. They appealed not because they thought they could win, but because they wanted to have some time to find appropriate replacements for their soon to be sidelined seven high profile team members. JGR is also appealing the penalties issued to them and like I said before, they do have a fighting chance. The date of their appeal hasn’t been set yet but my guess would be that it would take place the week leading up to Talladega or possibly the week following it.

    I’m sure all of you out there have your own sentiments regarding these highly controversial incidents so feel free to voice your opinions below!

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Kansas STP 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Kansas STP 400

    In a week where those impacted by the Boston Marathon bombing were remembered, here is what was surprising and not surprising as NASCAR’s elite visited Kansas Motor Speedway for the 3rd annual STP 400.

    Surprising:  The heartland of Kansas witnessed a driver rebirth of sorts with Matt Kenseth following his own yellow brick road to Victory Lane. And the man behind the wheel of the No. 20 Home Depot/Husky Tools Toyota proclaimed that for him this win was a “dream come true.”

    “You don’t know if or when you’ll ever win again,” Kenseth said. “I’m so thankful to have another win.”

    “This is a dream come true to drive this stuff.”

    Surprisingly, Kenseth, unlike his other Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, dominated the race, starting from the pole and leading the most laps, 163 to be exact.

    Even more surprising, however, was that Kenseth’s dream run came crashing down after a severe penalty was levied on the No. 20 car and team due to having a connecting rod in the engine failing to meet the minimum weight.

    Kenseth’s crew chief Jason Ratcliff was fined $200,000 and suspended for six races, JGR lost 50 owner points and Kenseth lost 50 driver points.

    JGR will of course appeal.

    Not Surprising:  The Kansas curse continued for Kyle Busch, who spun in the early laps and then crashed so hard with Joey Logano that he had to drive his car to the garage backwards before abandoning it to the scrap heap.

    “Absolutely no grip for me,” Busch said. “Spun twice on our own.”

    “Just don’t know what to do with Kansas.”

    Surprising:  Jeff Gordon started dead last in the 43rd position, his worst starting position ever in his career. Yet surprisingly and in spite of having to take the wave around after being trapped in the pits under caution, Gordon was able to battle back for a 13th place finish.

    “We weren’t the best car, but we made some great improvements throughout the weekend,” the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, said. “We were able to make our way up through there.”

    “All in all I thought it was a great effort.”

    Not Surprising:  With a team that not only has Boston roots, but one that has also faced a week of difficulties and penalties, it was not a surprise that Brad Keselowski had to dig deep for the Kansas race.

    The driver of the Blue Deuce also had to overcome a great deal of adversity on the track, from early damage to getting lapped. Yet, he persevered to attain a top ten finish, scoring a sixth place in a most eventful race and week.

    “We got ‘Boston Strong’ on the back of this car and that was a good inspiration for this weekend,” Keselowski said. “That was a gritty effort by the 2 team.”

    “A day where you can fight through adversity like we did today and get a solid finish, that kind of is a win.”

    Surprising:  Kasey Kahne surprisingly had his head in the clouds, or at least was wishing for a cloud to come out to assist him in getting around Kenseth at the end of the race. The driver of the No. 5 Farmers Insurance 85th Anniversary Chevrolet finished a close second.

    ”We tightened up a little bit on that final run,” Kahne said. “I just did everything I could.”

    “I needed clouds.”

    Not Surprising:   While this driver may have been disappointed with his continuing runner up finishes, Martin Truex Jr. was well pleased with his fourth place finish at Kansas.

    “Got a lot of questions last week about being second and how I seemed so disappointed and all that,” the driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, said. “This is the complete opposite.”

    “All in all, I’m very happy with fourth place.”

    Surprising:  Two drivers who returned to Cup competition, Sam Hornish Jr. and Elliott Sadler, had surprisingly bad days at the race track, finishing 37th and 40th respectively.

    Hornish Jr. hit Marcos Ambrose so hard during his wreck that he bit the inside of his lip and broke the tach off with his knee.

    “I couldn’t see anything,” Hornish Jr. said. “I just wish we could have done a little better.”

    Sadler, behind the wheel of the No. 81 ALERT Energy Gum Toyota, got loose into turn three and never recovered.

    “The car was kind of darting around on me too quick,” Sadler said. “Just ended a lot shorter than I wanted to.”

    Not Surprising:  While those returning to Cup competition did not fare well, old five time continued his not surprising top-five finishing ways. Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowes/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet, finished fourth and maintained his top dog spot in the point standings.

    “Everybody worked real hard to get the car right and we had a great race car,” Johnson said. “At times I felt like I had a shot to win but we just didn’t have enough for Matt and Kasey.”

    “A very solid performance for our Kobalt Tools Chevrolet.”

    Surprising:  Danica Patrick endured trash on the track, as well as some trash talking after the race. Patrick’s race was spoiled by some litter that stuck to her grille, causing her water temps to rise and necessitating an unexpected trip to the pits.

    “We had a tire rub at one point and issues with the splitter from some contact we made,” the driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, said. “The trash on the grille was what really hurt us today.”

    But the trash talking after the race was even more interesting after the rookie complained about competitor David Gilliland racing her inappropriately.

    “He tries to take me out every time,” Patrick complained of Gilliland. “I’m coming after him if he does it again.”

    Gilliland in return issued this statement aimed at Patrick through his PR rep, “Shut up and race.”

    Not Surprising:  One Kansas boy, Clint Bowyer, who hails from Emporia, finished nicely in the fifth position at his home track.

    “We needed a turnaround after last week,” Bowyer said. “Certainly you want to win it at home but a good top-five finish is a great way to get things bounced back with our 5-hour Energy Toyota.”

    Surprising:  There were some surprising names amongst the top-ten finishers in the STP 400, including Jamie McMurray in seventh, Aric Almirola in eighth, and Paul Menard in tenth.

    “I honestly thought we had one of the better cars,” McMurray said. “Good job by our team.”

    “It was a good day for us,” Almirola said. “That’s two top-10s two weeks in a row and I’m proud of that.”

    “We’ve got some of the best pits stops in the business,” Menard said. “We always end pretty good.”

    Not Surprising:  In spite of getting trapped in the pits during a caution, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is still trying to maintain a positive attitude as he faced yet another week of not quite getting the finish he wanted or expected. The driver of the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet finished 15th.

    “We were a lap down and hard to take the wave around,” Junior said. “That put us to the back behind a whole bunch of lead-lap cars and there was no time left.”

    “It’ll come around,” Earnhardt, Jr. continued. “We’ve just got to keep working and stay positive.”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Kansas

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Kansas

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished third in the STP 400 at Kansas and lengthened his lead in the Sprint Cup point standings. He now leads Hendrick teammate Kasey Kahne by 37.

    “That’s a heck of a cushion after eight races,” Johnson said. “If there were debris cautions in the point standings, NASCAR would fly one now

    “Brad Keselowski swears his team did nothing wrong. He gives new meaning to the term ‘defending’ champ. Penske is appealing their punishment, but NASCAR probably won’t change their mind. That ship has sailed, or better yet, that ship has been ‘docked.’”

    2. Kasey Kahne: Kahne posted his fifth top 5 of the year, taking the runner-up spot in the STP 400 at Kansas Motor Speedway. He leaped five places in the point standings to second, where he trails Jimmie Johnson by 37.

    “I just couldn’t make the pass on Matt Kenseth,” Kahne said. “He’s like the NASCAR rule book to Penske Racing—there’s just no getting around it.”

    3. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski closed an eventful week with a sixth in the STP 400, overcoming early damage to claim his seventh top-10 finish of the year. Earlier in the week, the No. 2 Miller Lite team was docked 25 points for an unapproved part in Texas.

    “As you may have seen,” Keselowski said, “my rear bumper cover flew off near the end of the race. That’s not the only time my car’s rear end has been ‘uncovered’ lately.

    “I’m sure NASCAR has heard enough me lately. It’s not often NASCAR quotes David Gilliland, but they’d like me to ‘shut up and race.’”

    4. Greg Biffle: Biffle finished 19th at Kansas on a tough day for Roush Fenway Racing, as the team failed to produce a top-10 finish. Biffle fell one spot to fourth in the point standings, and now trails Jimmie Johnson by 47.

    “Roger Penske said the team was working in a ‘gray area’ of the rule book,” Biffle said. “Apparently, that’s another area in which NASCAR lacks ‘color.’”

    5. Kyle Busch: Busch struggled in the STP 400, spinning twice, the second of which sent him into the wall and sliding into the path of Joey Logano’s No. 22 Penske Ford, which slammed Busch’s Toyota. Both cars were done for the day, and Busch finished 38th, his worst finish this season since a 34th at Daytona.

    “Logano has a ‘nose’ for Joe Gibbs Racing cars,” Busch said. “That’s in stark contrast to his ‘tail’ for NASCAR inspectors.”

    6. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt finished 16th at Kansas, his third consecutive finish outside the top 10. After taking the points lead after a runner-up finish at California, Earnhardt is now tied for fifth, 35 out of first.

    “That last caution ruined our chances,” Earnhardt said. “I hate flag waving, unless it’s green, checkered, or done by my fanatical fan base. But I’m not one to complain. I don’t need some two-bit driver to tell me to ‘shut up and race.’”

    7. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth won his second race of the year, capturing the STP 400 after a timely caution flag gave him the lead with about 40 laps to go. He held off Kasey Kahne down the stretch, and is now eighth in the point standings, 59 out of first.

    “Thank goodness for Brad Keselowski’s rear bumper flying off,” Matt Kenseth. “And I commend Keselowski for his defiance. NASCAR throws the book at him, and he throws back! He’s one tough customer. If he were a professional wrestler, he would hail from ‘Parts Unknown.’”

    8. Carl Edwards: Edwards led 19 laps at Kansas but fell a lap down after an untimely caution and finished 17th. He fell one spot to sixth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 49 out of first.

    “I’m no stranger to having a muscular physique, Edwards said. “And I’m no stranger to losing points due to a failed inspection. You could say I’ve been ‘sculpted’ and ‘busted.’”

    9. Paul Menard: Menard led the Richard Childress Racing charge at Kansas, finishing 10th while teammate Kevin Harvick came home 12th. Menard is now 10th in the point standings, 71 out of the lead.

    “Harvick has an average finish of 16th this season,” Menard said. “On a related note, Jimmy John’s has introduced a new topping for their sandwiches in Kevin’s honor—-it’s called the ‘medi-okra.’”

    10. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer posted his fourth top-5 result of the season with a fifth in the STP 400. He is ninth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 64 out of first.

    “David Gilliland did what many of us have wanted to,” Bowyer said. “No, not put Danica in her place, but talk dirty to her.

    “As you may have heard, I just opened the Clint Bowyer Autoplex in Emporia, Kansas. It’s been a dream of mine to own my own car dealership. Let that be a lesson to the youngsters: if you chase your dreams, you may catch them. And, if you chase Jeff Gordon, you may not.”

  • Crunching The Numbers: Kansas

    Crunching The Numbers: Kansas

    After a trip to the Lone Star State for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and a visit to “The Rock” for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series last weekend, both series join up this weekend in America’s Heartland for a weekend of racing at Kansas Speedway. After being reconfigured in 2012, the track has become super fast and should provide two great races for the race fans in the Midwest.

    Sprint Cup Series

    The Sprint Cup Series will make its 15th appearance at Kansas this Sunday, but only the second race since last year’s reconfiguration. With new track records being set last fall on the new track and the Gen6 making its Kansas debut, this race should be a good one to keep an eye on to see just what will happen when the STP 400 goes green on Sunday.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Jimmie Johnson 13 2 5 11 3 547 10.6 8.0
    Greg Biffle 13 2 7 9 1 346 15.2 9.5
    Brad Keselowski 6 1 2 3 0 17 17.0 9.8
    Carl Edwards 11 0 4 8 0 72 18.5 10.8
    Jeff Gordon 14 2 8 10 0 208 11.6 11.0
    Tony Stewart 14 2 6 9 0 152 18.1 11.7
    Kevin Harvick 14 0 1 6 0 83 19.9 12.9
    Clint Bowyer 9 0 1 4 0 48 15.2 14.0
    Kasey Kahne 11 0 2 5 3 78 11.0 15.0
    Mark Martin 14 1 2 5 1 212 16.4 15.3

    Who To Watch: As is the case at the majority of tracks the Sprint Cup Series visits, Jimmie Johnson is at the top of the board once again with two wins, five top fives, 11 top tens, three poles, an average start of 10.6, and an average finish of 8.0 in 13 starts. However, Johnson does have some competition in the Ford camp with drivers Greg Biffle, Brad Keselowski, and Carl Edwards having average finishes of 9.5, 9.8, and 10.8, respectively. Biffle also has two wins at the track with Keselowski taking the win once. Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart also join Johnson and Biffle in the two win club at Kansas. One last driver to keep an eye on would be Dale Earnhardt Jr, due to the fact that this race would be his first start on the reconfigured track after missing last year’s race with a concussion that all started in a wreck while tire testing on this very track last summer.

    Camping World Truck Series

    The Camping World Truck Series’ 13th race at Kansas will feature the series debut on the new reconfiguration, as the track was reconfigured after the series lone race at the track last spring. This should level the playing field for the Trucks, as all of the teams will be trying to get a handle on the new track for the first time.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Kyle Busch 1 0 0 1 0 0 11.0 6.0
    James Buescher 4 1 2 2 0 104 7.8 8.2
    Ty Dillon 1 0 0 1 0 0 5.0 9.0
    Johnny Sauter 4 1 2 3 0 112 8.0 9.0
    Todd Bodine 9 1 4 6 0 108 16.3 9.4
    Joey Coulter 2 0 1 1 0 1 7.5 9.5
    Ron Hornaday Jr 8 1 3 5 3 265 8.0 9.8
    Miguel Paludo 2 0 0 1 0 1 14.0 11.5
    Brendan Gaughan 8 0 1 5 0 17 21.6 12.2
    Dakoda Armstrong 1 0 0 0 0 1 20.0 15.0

    Who To Watch: With a top ten finish in his lone start at the track, Kyle Busch is at the top of the heap as far as stats at Kansas. Four former winners at Kansas, James Buescher, Johnny Sauter, Todd Bodine, and Ron Hornaday join Busch as ones to watch in the SFP 250 on Saturday. Also, keep an eye on Ty Dillon, who also has a top ten start and finish in one start at the track.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Texas NRA 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Texas NRA 500

    From the agonizing delays in pre-race tech to the broom in Victory Lane, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 17th annual NRA 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

    Surprising:  While it might have taken a surprising twenty years of trying, Norm Miller and Interstate Batteries, thanks to their driver Kyle Busch, finally made it to Victory Lane. This was Busch’s 26th win in 300 Cup Series races and surprisingly his first win at Texas Motor Speedway in the Cup Series.

    “For Interstate Batteries and Norm Miller to be in Victory Lane in Texas – there’s nothing better than putting him right here,” Busch said. “This feels good.”

    In addition to the sweep at Texas, winning the Nationwide and Cup races, Busch and company also had a surprisingly stellar night in the pits. In fact, for eight pit stops, the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota team led the way statistically with the least amount of time on pit road.

    “We had a great racecar, and we worked really hard all weekend, but without that pit crew – they’re the best in the business,” Busch said. “They know when it’s crunch time.”

    Not Surprising:  When a racer fails to win, especially after coming so close, it is not surprising that the end result is bitterness and disappointment. But for Martin Truex, Jr., the runner up run was almost unbearable, especially after losing the lead in the pits.

    “Shoulda, coulda, woulda,” the driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota said. “I’m just disappointed.”

    “The race was over when we got beat out of the pits,” Truex Jr. continued. “We’ve had a tough season and we had a car capable of winning.”

    “I’m just tired of finishing second,” Truex Jr. said. “This is getting old. It sucks.”

    Truex’s day got even worse when it was determined that his car flunked post-race inspection, being too low in the front. Any possible penalties issued by the sanctioning body may come early in the week.

    Surprising:  There was a surprising amount of drama prior to and after the race for team Penske. Both Keselowski and Logano had difficulty in pre-race tech, so much so that Logano almost did not make it out on the track for the start of the race.

    Yet both Penske drivers managed to score top-ten finishes in spite of it all, with Logano in fifth and Keselowski in ninth.

    “Shoot, I wasn’t even in the car yet,” Logano said. “It was a little too close for my comfort.”

    “If you would have told me I would have finished fifth today, I would have given you a hug.”

    Keselowski, however, had some harsh words for the sanctioning body after the race as a result of having to change the rear-end housing prior to the race.

    “The things I’ve seen over the last seven days have me questioning everything I believe in and I’m not happy about it,” the driver of the Blue Deuce said. “You have no (expletive) idea what’s going on.”

    “I feel like we’ve been targeted over the last seven days more than I’ve ever seen a team targeted,” Keselowski continued. “We’re not going to take it.”

    As with Truex Jr., NASCAR will most likely assess penalties later in the week.

    Not Surprising:  Roush Fenway Racing traditionally does well at Texas Motor Speedway, so it was not surprising to see both Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle have good runs, finishing third and fourth respectively. Both RFR drivers, however, faced some significant obstacles along the way to both finish top-five.

    Edwards had a mechanical issue with a cracked tailpipe and then had difficulties with his seat belts coming undone.

    “That’s a gift for us,” the driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford said after the race. “I know Martin (Truex, Jr.) is not happy with second, but I’m real happy with third.”

    Biffle also struggled, from starting towards the back with a 35th qualifying spot to a speeding penalty on lap 224 for too fast entering the pits.

    “It was a tough night,” Biffle said. “Our car definitely wasn’t as good as it was last year, but we battled back.”

    Surprising:  Dale Earnhardt Jr. suffered his worst finish of the season in 29th after having an eventful evening. Junior struggled with seeing his pit sign, asking at one point for a deer spotlight on it, and then headed to the pits with a dead battery.

    That started the perfect storm of other issues, since without the engine running the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet sped and incurred a penalty. With that poor finish, Dale Jr. dropped three positions in the point standings, down to the sixth spot.

    “It has been rough but we had a really good car tonight,” Junior said. “Eventually things will turn back around for us.”

    Not Surprising:   While this driver may have surprised a military veteran prior to the race, Aric Almirola has been steadily gaining momentum on the track, so much so that his seventh place finish was not at all surprising.

    And with that good finish, the young driver gained two spots in the point standings, up to the 14th position.

    “We had a great car,” the driver of the No. 43 Petty race car said. “Todd Parrott and these guys gave me a great Eckrich Ford Fusion and I felt really good about it.”

    “It was a great day, a great points day for us.”

    Surprising:  While not surprising to see mechanical failures in a race as grueling as Texas, it was surprising to see two of the stronger cars in the race succumb to those issues. Both Kurt Busch, in the No. 78 Furniture Row/Serta Chevrolet, and Jeff Gordon, in the No. 24 Cromax Pro Chevrolet, had difficulties, resulting in 37th and 38th place finishes respectively.

    “I’m not sure maybe a burned wheel bearing or something,” Gordon said. “We’ll learn about what happened and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

    “When you’re running solidly in the top-five and then to have a parts failure knock you out of contention, it’s frustrating,” Kurt Busch said. “We had a part on the fuel injection system break.”

    “What’s done is done and we have to put tonight behind us and focus on getting these problems rectified sooner than later.”

    Not Surprising:  While many drivers had difficulty in the pits, from a fire in Matt Kenseth’s pit to Tony Stewart’s newest perpendicular approach to his pit stall, it was not surprising that the most basic issue, that of pit box color, tripped up at least two drivers on pit road.

    Juan Pablo Montoya, who sports the traditional red and white colors, got a bit confused when he tried to pit in Dave Blaney’s stall, which also just so happened to be red and white for the evening.

    Montoya finished 20th and Blaney ended up in the 25th spot in the race.

    Surprising:  While both rookies, sporting similar cowboy hats and boots, had surprisingly challenging days at Texas, Danica Patrick again beat out her boyfriend Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the rookie battle on the track.

    Patrick finished 28th while Stenhouse Jr., after cutting down a left-rear tire and spinning, finished 40th.

    “It was a tough night,” Patrick said. “The car was just kind of all over the place.”

    “It’s kind of tough to go straight when you lose a left-rear tire,” Stenhouse, Jr. said. “I felt like our car was pretty good, but it was just a tough break.”

    Not Surprising:  With Denny Hamlin at the track and on the pit box and a fast No. 11 FedEx Office/March of Dimes Toyota, it was certainly not surprising to see Brian Vickers, who is literally competing for a ride with each race, finish eighth.

    “It feels great,” Vickers said of his top-ten run. “We’re pleased but I wanted to win.”

    “I guess that’s what we are here for.”

     

  • A Controversy a Week…

    A Controversy a Week…

    A controversy a week seems to be the rule this season. We’ve had Kyle Larson going into the fence at Daytona followed by Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin at Bristol, closely followed by Joey Logano and Denny again at California and then the unexpected Joey and Tony near fight (water bottle toss) at California, followed by the Penske teams and rear housings at Texas. Let’s look at the facts.

    The Daytona accident is still yet to be solved. Several people were injured and the seemingly impossible happened, and yet no word from either NASCAR or Daytona International Speedway if a solution has been found. Hamlin and Logano got together at Bristol when it appeared that Logano had the faster car and Hamlin got impatient, but the bad feelings continued on. In what was a superior race at California Speedway, it looked like hard racing, but Hamlin suffered an injury. Logano, not knowing that Hamlin was hurt said some things that probably weren’t appropriate, and Denny still appears to be bitter. Apparently the two communicated some way and it didn’t go well.

    In the meantime, Logano seems to have turned the corner as a competitor. With the exception of Martinsville, Logano has been a changed driver. He has been at the front for most races and even at Texas where he didn’t seem to have a chance of being even competitive. The controversy of the week is the reason.

    I follow the stories from the tracks even when I’m not there, and this blindsided me. Last week at Martinsville, I was dumbstruck at the penalty assessed to 2012 champion Brad Keselowski for pitting out of the pit box. My vantage could see that he was squarely in the box, and I was sitting in the press box, high above the track. The FOX crew said as much and yet he was penalized. It didn’t get much publicity in the euphoria of another Jimmie Johnson win at the Paper Clip or Danica Patrick finishing so well. It continued along this week at Texas.

    Both Penske cars, those of Logano and Keselowski, went through two inspections at Texas without any problems until Saturday morning. Both cars were found to have rear end housings that violated the “spirited of the rules,” and the teams were ordered to change the rear end housings before they could race. Both teams made it into the field, Keselowski first and Logano barely making the race. To add insult to injury, Keselowski’s No. 2 Ford was taken to NASCAR’s technical facility for inspection. Both cars finished in the top 10, Logano in the top five, at race’s end, but Keselowski was livid.

    His tirade after the race wasn’t caught on FOX’s nationwide coverage, but was played on SPEED’s post- race coverage. It was mild compared to Tony Stewart’s confrontation of Logano after the California race, but it accused NASCAR of targeting his team and that’s where the controversy starts. Denny Hamlin was fined for saying the Gen 6 car wasn’t all that. So what is going to happen this week? Will NASCAR fine the team or will it fine Keselowski for his comments? Greg Biffle says he saw the parts in question outside the NASCAR hauler and said the housing was “slotted,” whatever that means. Regardless, it should be an interesting week. Keselowski has shown that he is outspoken and not willing to not comment when something is unfair. That’s a stark difference in what we see in the multiple- times Hendrick Motorsports’ team No 48 team has been found to be in violation of the rules or at least pushing the envelope of the rules. Driver Johnson has been mostly silent, so it will be interesting if some penalties will be assessed. What is the better strategy? We will soon see. Remember the last case like this ended up with Hendricks team avoiding a penalty, except for the monetary fine. Nevertheless, it’s just another controversy that has to be resolved.

    My best guess is that no penalties will be assessed. Brian France said earlier in the season that the only subject that was off-limits was the Gen6 car. Unless they find something totally against the rules in the Penske rear housings, the “slap on the wrist” will be in order. Keselowski’s comments were mild compared to Tony Stewarts after California, so the language, all beeped out, should not be a problem. Keselowski heads to the White House today, and any announcement is not likely. If penalties are announced, even tomorrow, maybe Keselowski was right. We will soon know.