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  • Opinion: The New Chase Format – What to Expect

    Opinion: The New Chase Format – What to Expect

    When NASCAR announced the new Chase grid system, and the expansion to sixteen drivers, I immediately cringed. Sixteen drivers, in my opinion, is too many and it “waters down” the significance of the championship.

    As more details were learned, I was fascinated with what NASCAR had designed. It is truly a superb mix of winning versus consistency. Also, eliminating drivers every three races adds an element of excitement we have never seen before – a driver can be in the Chase, then suddenly out. This was NASCAR’s attempt to add drama, a goal I believe will be accomplished.

    The new Chase format also lends itself to drivers who are risk takers. Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski come to mind. Their “less conservative” approach will likely be a benefit for this year’s Chase. A win in each of the three race segments automatically advances you to the next round. Drivers like Busch and Keselowski have historically been the type of driver who will go for the win by taking chances like – diving into a corner under another car and hoping it sticks. Under the old system, this may have made winning a championship a little tougher, but not now. That one bold move may be the difference between advancing and being dropped from contention.

    The exciting thing is we may now see the more conservative, more consistent drivers begin to take those chances. Imagine seeing Matt Kenseth diving into a corner three wide, left sides on the apron, car sliding sideways as Kenseth thinks to himself “twelve tires stick better than four.” Kenseth, known for being a smart, smooth racer, is not the guy you would expect to do that. Perhaps this system changes that mentality.

    We need to see more moves like the one Carl Edwards made a few years ago, driving in so deep and hoping it will stick like it does on the video game and then bouncing off the wall as the tires reached their mechanical limits. Edwards though, did not complain about the failure,  but was excited about the adventure and what could have been. It didn’t work out for Edwards, but if it had, we would still be talking about it just like we are Kurt Busch and Ricky Craven at Darlington.

    Another element this system adds is the fact that it allows drivers like AJ Allmendinger and teams like JTG Daugherty to be part of the championship talk. The additional media attention is what these smaller teams need. Team co-owner, Brad Daugherty, commented that making the Chase immediately brought an extra two million dollars in funding to his team. How can that be a bad thing?

    This is what NASCAR would like to see from this new Chase format. More of those “game seven” moments, and Cinderella stories. Of course only time will tell if the idea works. I’m sure this will be a topic of discussion throughout the next ten races. There will be supporters, and of course, there will be critics, but the main thing is, there will be excitement.

    As the series opens up the Chase on Sunday at Chicago, the level of anticipation is high. I think the Chase will live up to the hype. I think we are about to see one of the most exciting championship battles in the history of NASCAR. After Homestead, I will either eat crow or celebrate the fact that my predictions came to fruition. One thing is certain, however, I won’t complain if I fail, but I will be excited about the adventure and what could have been.

  • Kyle Busch To Start On Pole for Sprint Cup Race at Chicagoland

    Kyle Busch To Start On Pole for Sprint Cup Race at Chicagoland

    Kyle Busch will start on the pole in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series MyAfibStory.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday after Friday’s qualifying session was cancelled due to rain.

    The starting lineup will use the order of Practice One, which Busch won by .6 seconds with a best lap speed of 191.442 mph.

    Ryan Newman took the second spot with a speed of 191.042 mph, followed by Carl Edwards in third with a speed of 191.022 mph. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Matt Kenseth round out the Top-five, respectively.

    Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Paul Menard and Kyle Larson make up places sixth through tenth in the starting lineup.

    Farther back in the pack, Chase driver Kevin Harvick will start 12th. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start 13th and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne will begin from the 19th position. Denny Hamlin will start 24th, while fellow Chase drivers and Penske teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano will start 25th and 28th, respectively.

    Complete Starting Lineup:

    1. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota.
    2. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet.
    3. (99) Carl Edwards, Ford.
    4. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford.
    5. (20) Matt Kenseth, Toyota.
    6. (15) Clint Bowyer, Toyota.
    7. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet.
    8. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet.
    9. (27) Paul Menard, Chevrolet.
    10. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet.
    11. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet.
    12. (4) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet.
    13. (88) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet.
    14. (41) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet.
    15. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet.
    16. (55) Brian Vickers, Toyota.
    17. (47) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet.
    18. (10) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet.
    19. (5) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet.
    20. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford.
    21. (9) Marcos Ambrose, Ford.
    22. (14) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet.
    23. (43) Aric Almirola, Ford.
    24. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota.
    25. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford.
    26. (51) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet.
    27. (78) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet.
    28. (22) Joey Logano, Ford.
    29. (13) Casey Mears, Chevrolet.
    30. (38) David Gilliland, Ford.
    31. (83) Ryan Truex, Toyota.
    32. (95) Michael McDowell, Ford.
    33. (26) Cole Whitt, Toyota.
    34. (98) Josh Wise, Chevrolet.
    35. (7) Michael Annett, Chevrolet.
    36. (36) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet.
    37. (23) Alex Bowman, Toyota.
    38. (40) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet.
    39. (34) David Ragan, Ford.
    40. (37) Mike Bliss, Chevrolet.
    41. (66) Joe Nemechek, Toyota.
    42. (33) Travis Kvapil, Chevrolet.
    43. (32) Joey Gase, Ford
  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Richmond

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Richmond

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski dominated at Richmond, leading 383 of 400 laps to win the Federated Auto Parts 400. With four wins, Keselowski starts as the top seed in the Chase For The Cup.

    “Who was that ‘on the fence’ at Richmond?” Keselowski asked. “Was it Clint Bowyer? No. It was just a fan who obviously wasn’t ‘high’ enough.”

    2. Jeff Gordon: Gordon took second at Richmond, unable to catch Brad Keselowski, who clearly had the best car in the field. Gordon’s three wins on the season earned him the second seed in the Chase, where he’ll start three points behind Keselowski.

    “We were determined,” Gordon said. “Not even Clint Bowyer could keep us out of the Chase. But Bowyer doesn’t have to worry about ‘intentional spins’ now; Michael Waltrip will handle those on ‘Dancing With The Stars.’”

    3. Joey Logano: Logano finished sixth at Richmond as Penske Racing teammate Brad Keselowski captured the victory, giving Roger Penske his 400th racing win.

    “Keselowski was just unbelievable,” Logano said. “He led an amazing 383 of 400 laps. I’m surprised he wasn’t wearing leather and chains, because it was a display of ‘dominant fashion.’”

    4. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt finished 12th in the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Speedway. He will start third in the Chase, three points behind Brad Keselowski.

    “Some crazy fan climbed the catchfence late in the race,” Earnhardt said. “I guess alcohol and boredom make a deadly combination.”

    5. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson posted his 16th top-10 finish of the year with an eighth at Richmond. He will start the Chase in second, along with Hendrick teammates Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Jeff Gordon, all with three wins on the season.

    “I collapsed after the race due to severe dehydration,” Johnson said. “But after some intravenous fluids, I feel great. I think this bodes well for my chances of winning my seventh Cup title. As they say, you can’t get ‘VII’ without first getting ‘IV.’”

    6. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished fifth at Richmond, recording his eighth top-5 result of the year. With two wins this season, he will start the Chase For The Cup six points behind Brad Keselowski.

    “There we no squirrels on the track at Richmond,” Harvick said. “If there were, they would have been after that nut on the fence.”

    7. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth’s night at Richmond ended early after he hit the wall on lap 120. He finished 41st, 70 laps down, and starts the Chase For The Cup 12 points out of first.

    “It was a tough night for me,” Kenseth said. “But my disappointment was tempered by the knowledge that Michael Waltrip was selected to appear on ‘Dancing With The Stars.’ I’m not surprised my Michael’s selected—-he’s often been accused of being light on his feet.”

    8. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished 22nd at Richmond, four laps down. He’ll start the Chase For The Cup with 2,006 points, six behind Brad Keselowski.

    “Congratulations to Greg Biffle,” Edwards said. “He clinched the 16th and final spot in the Chase field. Of course, he did it by finishing 19th, two laps down. He probably didn’t see that coming; that’s what happens when you ‘back’ your way in.”

    9. Ryan Newman: Newman easily drove his way into the Chase, finishing a solid ninth. He will start the Chase in 16th, 12 points behind Brad Keselowski.

    “There’s a lot of distance between me and the driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite car,” Newman said. “Interestingly enough, that’s the same thing I said when Rusty Wallace was my teammate.”

    10. Kasey Kahne: Kahne finished 17th at Richmond, one lap down. He start the Chase For The Cup with 2,003 points, nine behind top seed Brad Keselowski.

    “Hopefully,” Kahne said, “I can carry some of the momentum from my win at Atlanta into the Chase. Thank goodness I got that win. I knew I need to carry my weight before I could carry momentum.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Richmond Federated Auto Parts 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Richmond Federated Auto Parts 400

    In a far less dramatic and controversial race than last year, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 57th Annual Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway.

    Surprising: While the top seed is often coveted in other sports, from basketball to tennis, one NASCAR driver was dead set on achieving that distinction going into the Chase for the championship.

    Brad Keselowski not only achieved his top seed goal by scoring his fourth win of the season, but also dominated the Richmond race, leading 383 of 400 laps and scoring the 400th victory for Team Penske.

    “It was just a phenomenal night for our team here and everyone at Team Penske,” the driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford said. “Car was fast. Pit crew was flawless. We put all the pieces together tonight.”

    “I’m very proud of the result that comes from a win and what it means to the bigger picture of having the first seed entering the Chase. That’s really something. We want to keep that going as we get through this next 10 weeks.”

    Not Surprising: Leave it to teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. to try to make his teammate feel better. Junior was parked behind his HMS teammate Jimmie Johnson when he saw that Johnson was not feeling well after the race.

    “It was super-hot tonight,” Earnhardt Jr. said after the race. “I thought I might have some trouble with it because I had a sinus cold all week. …Jimmie is the most fit guy in this series and he must have something going on — something that didn’t agree with him today that he ate or drank.”

    After helping Team 48 assist Johnson out of the car and to the infield care center where he was pumped full of IV fluids, Earnhardt Jr. stopped by to proffer some chocolate milk, hoping that would assist in the six-time champ’s recovery.

    The milk offer must have helped as Johnson did attend his Foundation’s Wellness Challenge the day after the race, although he did not participate in the event as scheduled.

    Surprising: They may both be in the Chase, but Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin have at least one thing in common. They are both looking for speed, for Harvick on pit road and for Hamlin under the hood and on the track.

    “I can’t fix them, but it’s probably the biggest thing that we have to fix in order to contend for the championship,” Harvick said of his pit crew hiccups. “I think our cars are as fast as they need to be. The guys do a great job of bringing fast cars every week.”

    “It’s just one mistake after another every week on pit road,” the driver of the No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet said. “Hopefully they have a plan as to what they think they need to do in the shop with the two teams in the Chase, but that’s not my department.”

    “Pit crew would be our strength right now,” Hamlin said. “You know, we’ve got a lot of pieces of the puzzle put together for a championship run.”

    “As important as track position is nowadays, you’ve got to have great pit stops, and we feel like we’ve got that part licked, it’s just you’ve got to have faster cars, you’ve got to qualify better,” the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota said. “There’s a lot of things that go into a championship run, and we’re missing a couple of them very important pieces, and that’s speed.”

    Not Surprising: No doubt that there was no one more disappointed than Clint Bowyer, who had a good run at Richmond, finishing third, but still failed to make the Chase.

    “The boys brought in the best they could possibly build, put a lot of effort into it, I raced as hard as I could,” Bowyer said. “Have some work to do.”

    “Hell, everybody does looks to me like.”

    Surprising: While Jeff Gordon, the runner up at Richmond, stated that he believes the cream will rise to the top in Chase even with the new format, he also thinks the championship competition will be, well, intense.

    “I believe, no matter what the structure is, I still believe the best team wins,” the four-time champion said. “ I’ve always believed that and I still believe that. If it’s meant to be because you’ve prepared and you have the strong cars, the best team, I think you’re going to make it to Homestead and you’re going to win the championship.”

    “But it’s going to be intense,” the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet continued. “Oh, yeah, it’s going to be really, really intense. I think you actually have to try to balance out that intensity to try to make it not too intense for yourself.”

    Not Surprising: Even with the exemption granted by NASCAR for Chase eligibility with a win, it was not surprising that Tony Stewart, with all on his mind and his heart, simply could not pull of that feat.

    Smoke had a problem on pit road with a missing lug nut, setting him back to the tail end of the field. The driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet finished 15th.

    Surprising: Although Roush Fenway Racing got two drivers into the Chase, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle, marking the 11th time in 11 seasons of the Chase that RFR has gotten multiple entries into the playoffs, it was a still a surprisingly disappointing race night for their three team drivers.

    Biffle was the highest finishing Roush Fenway Racing driver in 19th, Carl Edwards finished 22nd and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished 26th.

    “I’ll tell you what, it’s got to be the toughest race of my life,” Biffle said. “Man, I drove so hard, and we just missed the setup. It was clear that our whole company did, Carl and Ricky and myself.”

    “We were way off tonight, which is frustrating because five top 10s in a row put us in this position, but tonight was not pretty.”

    “I drove as hard as I could, and it was enough to get us in. I knew I needed to be in the top 20, and like I said, it was all I could do.”

    “We just missed the setup,” Edwards said, echoing Biffle’s sentiments. “A year ago we won this race with our Kellogg’s Ford and we went on to finish last in the Chase. Hopefully tonight’s poor performance will bode well for the final 10 races.”

    Not Surprising: Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick had the best repartee when it came time to discuss the drunken fan who climbed the Turn 4 catch fence, bringing out a caution with just 63 laps to go in the race.

    Here is their conversation when asked about the fan on the fence:

    DENNY HAMLIN: Yeah, I saw that.

    KEVIN HARVICK: Those Virginia folks.

    DENNY HAMLIN: That caution put me two laps down. Knucklehead.

    KEVIN HARVICK: It used to be okay. I remember the first race I won, the whole backstretch grandstand was hanging on the fence. They never threw a caution then.

    DENNY HAMLIN: If he wants to play in traffic, it’s his problem.

    KEVIN HARVICK: Wasn’t a NASCAR employee, was he (smiling)?

    Surprising: With so many other drivers just trying to ensure their chance at the Chase competition, Kurt Busch surprisingly advised that he was already running a Chase race at Richmond.

    “We wanted to run tonight like we were running in the Chase,” the driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet said after finishing seventh. “We ran our own race tonight, finished 7th. If you can finish 7th the first three weeks of the Chase you’re going to advance. I think you can do that again in the next round of the Chase.”

    “That’s what it takes to be a championship-contending team, and this Haas Automation team is ready, Busch said. “We’re ready. We have a nice 10 weeks ahead of us where we’ve prepared for it.”

    “Here we are, so let’s go for it.”

    Not Surprising: As with every playoff situation, there are those looking for that Cinderella glass slipper, including one from a small team and one from the King’s team.

    “I feel like if we’re at our best, we have a shot at getting through the first three races and having a shot to move on,” AJ Allmendinger said. “We did a test at Charlotte, RCR has helped us get a new car ready for next week, so we’ve got to be ready to go. We’re at least in it, so we’ve got a shot at it.”

    “We don’t want to be just happy to be in the Chase,” Aric Almirola said. “We want to go and execute for the next 10 weeks, and we’re going to have to be flawless. “We’re up to the challenge. We’ve got two good weeks under our belt with top-10 finishes, and going into the Chase with a lot of momentum I feel like.”

    “I feel like we’re major underdogs, so we’re going to let it all hang out for the next 10 weeks and see

     

  • Then There Were 16 – The Chase Grid is Set for the 2014 Sprint Cup Championship

    Then There Were 16 – The Chase Grid is Set for the 2014 Sprint Cup Championship

    With only two more positions to be filled, and one race remaining, Saturday’s race at Richmond International Raceway held the promise of a no holds barred, fight to the finish. Instead it delivered an uneventful event but a dominant fourth win by Brad Keselowski who led 383 out of 400 laps. His fourth win also puts him atop the Chase Grid.

    Keselowski was thrilled saying, “What a night! Part of me, I pulled into victory lane and I pinched myself once to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. These are nights you don’t forget as a driver, and you live for. The Miller Lite Ford Fusion was just flying, and this is, I couldn’t ask for a better way to enter the Chase than to win and take the first seed.”

    Greg Biffle held on with a 19th place finish to make the Chase by seven points and is seeded 15th on the Chase Grid. Ryan Newman finished ninth to secure the 16th spot.

    The points have been reset and all of the 16 drivers in the Chase Grid begin with 2000 points. Three additional bonus points are given for each win during the 26 race regular season.

    Keselowski is first with 2012 points. Positions second through fifth are held by the drivers who earned three victories each during the regular season accumulating 2009 points each. Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Joey Logano are in positions second through fifth, respectively.

    Jeff Gordon finished second at Richmond but is excited to begin the Chase.

    “This team is on fire, and we just can’t wait to get it all started,” he said. “It’s been a heck of a year. Our fans and the way that they’ve embraced this season has been extremely motivating, and I know how proud they are. And we’re proud of the effort and the results that we’re getting this year. Ten more weeks that we’ve got to get it done, and this team is ready to do that.”

    Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick, with two wins and 2006 points each, are sixth and seventh.

    The drivers with one win during the regular season begin the Chase with 2003 points. Positions eighth through 13th, in order, are held by Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne, Aric Almirola, and AJ Allmendinger.

    Matt Kenseth, with zero wins and 2000 points is in the 14th spot and is joined by Greg Biffle (15th) and Ryan Newman (16th), also with 2000 points each to complete the Chase Grid.

    Next week on September 14, the series travels to Chicagoland, the first of three races in the Challenger Round. Then it’s on to New Hampshire on September 21 and the final race in this round which is at Dover on September 28.

    The Challenger Round – 3 Races/16 Drivers: At the end of the Challenger Round, the top 12 drivers will advance to the Contender Round.  Win a race in the Challenger Round and you automatically advance to the Contender Round. The remaining top 12 drivers will be set by points. All drivers who advance will then have their points total reset to 3000 for the Contender Round.

    The Contender Round – 3 Races/12 Drivers (Kansas, Charlotte, Talladega): At the end of the Contender Round, the top eight drivers will advance to the Eliminator Round. Win a race in the Contender Round and you automatically advance to the Eliminator Round. The remaining top eight drivers will be set by points. All drivers who advance will then have their points total reset to 4000.

    The Eliminator Round – 3 Races/8 Drivers (Martinsville, Texas, Phoenix): At the end of the Eliminator Round, the top four drivers will advance to the final Championship Round. Win a race in the Eliminator Round and you automatically advance to the Championship Round. The remaining top four drivers will be set by points. All drivers who advance will then have their points total reset to 5000.

    The Sprint Cup Championship – 1 Race/4 Drivers: The final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway will determine the new champion. The first to cross the finish line of the remaining four eligible drivers will be the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion.

    Chase Grid Set.2014

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Atlanta

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Atlanta

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jeff Gordon: Gordon was running second early at Atlanta when he blew a tire, sending him into the wall. He fell two laps down, but battled back to regain the lead lap and finished 17th.

    “It was ‘The Night The Air Went Out In Georgia,’” Gordon said. “I didn’t see a squirrel on the track, but I do believe I heard a snake. It went, ‘Sssssssssss.’”

    2. Joey Logano: A week after winning at Bristol, Logano finished 14th in the Oral-B USA 500. He is now fourth in the points standings, 81 out of first.

    “Our performance was a far cry from that at Bristol,” Logano said. “If I’m ‘Sliced Bread’ in winning at Bristol, then I must be ‘Loaf Bread’ finishing 14th at Atlanta.”

    3. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt just missed a top-10 finish at Atlanta with an 11th. He is second in the Sprint Cup points standings, 21 behind Jeff Gordon.

    “Sunday night’s race was called the ‘Oral-B USA 500.’ I think a better name would have been the ‘Mouth Of The South.’

    “But is it a good idea for dental health awareness in NASCAR? I see a conflict of interest with NASCAR’s ‘Drive For Diversity’ program, because good dental hygiene encourages ‘whiteness.’”

    4. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished third at Atlanta, as Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne won for the first time this season, locking up a spot in the Chase For The Cup. Johnson is sixth in the points standings.

    “What a great run by Kahne,” Johnson said. “Now, all four Hendrick drivers are in the Chase. Kasey went from ‘Chase bubble’ to ‘Chase bubbly,’ because we celebrated with champagne.”

    5. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski night in Atlanta ended with 28 laps remaining after a collision with Josh Wise. Keselowski finished 39th, and is fifth in the points standings, 90 out of first.

    “I ran right into the back of Wise’s No. 98 Chevrolet,” Keselowski said. “It’s certainly not the first time I’ve been called a ‘Wise-ass.’”

    6. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth gained the lead with a two-tire pit stop on the final caution, but couldn’t hold off Kasey Kahne, who took four tires. Kenseth finished second, falling short of his first win, but still clinched a spot in the Chase.

    “Squirrels sightings aside,” Kenseth said, “Kahne ‘skunked’ me on that restart.

    “My wife and I released an anti-bullying children’s book called ‘Race Against Bullying.’ Some drivers I know have a track record of bullying. In fact, if bullying were a race, Carl Edwards would have the track record.”

    7. Kevin Harvick: Harvick was squeezed behind Paul Menard in a late restart at Atlanta, and found the wall after contact with Menard and Joey Logano. Harvick finished 19th.

    “I nearly hit a squirrel crossing the track early in the race,” Harvick said. “That wasn’t my last encounter with an animal nuisance. It looked like Menard was playing possum on the late restart.”

    8. Carl Edwards: Edwards scored his sixth top five of the season with a fifth at Atlanta. He is seventh in the points standings, 117 out of first.

    “Luckily,” Edwards said, “I’ve already locked up a spot in the postseason. I can tell you, it’s one thing to be ‘Chased,’ it’s another to be ‘pursued.’ Joe Gibbs Racing really wanted me, and ironically, they did back flips to get me.”

    9. Ryan Newman: Newman posted his ninth top-10 result of the year with a seventh in the Oral-B USA 500. He can clinch a spot in the Chase with a finish of 41st or better next week at Richmond (assuming there is a repeat winner).

    “I could go to Richmond,” Newman said, “not win, and still make the Chase For The Cup. And that’s fine with me. It may not be official, but my slogan at Richmond will be, ‘Virginia is for losers.’”

    10. Kasey Kahne: Kahne passed Matt Kenseth on the final restart and held on for the win in the Oral-B USA 500 in Atlanta. Kahne was previously leading, and seemingly on his way to the win, when a tangle between Kyle Busch and Ryan Truex brought out a caution.

    “I’m not sure what those clowns were doing,” Kahne said. “But once again, we’ve seen the worst of Kyle Busch. There’s only one thing that gets the best of Kyle, and that’s his frustrations.”

  • The Final Word – A Kahne-Do Spirit Trumps a Fast Car, a Fast Pit Crew, and Two Brats at Atlanta

    The Final Word – A Kahne-Do Spirit Trumps a Fast Car, a Fast Pit Crew, and Two Brats at Atlanta

    Atlanta was a race we thought would be decided by a driver who had a great car, one who had a great pit crew, or one who was simply too desperate for victory to be denied. In the end, it was decided by two guys who turned their high-powered machines into bumper cars to force a green-white-checker…or two.

    Kevin Harvick had the car. He dominated the race, but when it came time to go to extra time he had a bit of ground to make up. Paul Menard, after a two tire stop, could not get going on the re-start. Harvick clipped him, and then Menard squeezed up to the wall as the two fresh tired Joey Logano came up behind. Harvick went from challenging for a win to being challenged by the wall. He finished 19th.

    Denny Hamlin had the pit crew. 11-seconds and a tick were what they were giving him every stop, and he used the advantage to stay up near the front. By the time the smoke cleared, he was still up there, just two positions back of where he had hoped to finish.

    Kasey Kahne wanted a win. He needed a win. He got by Hamlin with just over twenty laps remaining, then fended off Harvick, and it seemed that would be how they would finish, Kahne, Harvick, Hamlin…then it was time to waste away in Moronoville.

    Not sure what prompted it, but with under a handful of laps left, Kyle Busch went into the rear of Martin Truex Jr. Then did it again. They he got tagged back, as the two proceeded to dance the auto tango to bring out the caution. They even had words later, with Rowdy in his car and Truex leaning in to chat. Neither mattered much on this day, but their spat could have affected things.

    Well, it did affect Harvick’s finish, though it matters little at this stage. It did allow Matt Kenseth to duel Kahne in a battle of the winless for the decision in the second G-W-C attempt, but Kahne survived to win his Chase place while Kenseth locked himself a berth on points. In the end, all was right with the world.

    Not for Clint Bowyer. He hold on a Chase place went to crap along with his shifter. It broke and he fell laps back to fall right out of the Chase. A win at Richmond, or he is left hoping for a repeat winner along with finishing well ahead of Greg Biffle on Saturday.

    Anyone still in the Top 33 still has a shot at a spot in the Chase, but they need a win next week to pull that off. That makes Danica Patrick still a contender, and a sixth place finish at Atlanta made a bunch of happy reporters. Still, I will wait for a couple of back-to-back Top Fifteens before I get too warm and fuzzy about it. I mean, Aric Almirola also had a Top Ten, but no one seemed quite ready just yet to snap up his autographed bikini photos in celebration.

    It was nice Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards had pretty good finishes, or even that Junior was 11th even on a day he was a non-factor. Too bad for Jeff Gordon, who looked good early before a tire and his hopes went away at about the same time. Tony Stewart was back, looked great the first few laps, but then Kyle Busch squeezed him into the grinder to damper his hopes. A blown tire a little later ended them. Still, it was good to see him back.

    With Richmond coming up this Saturday night, it comes down to this. 13 drivers are in the Chase through wins this season and one is in on points. That leaves two open. Give one to Ryan Newman. As you check these standings, you will see that as long as Biffle does not make any great gains on him, or Newman blows up early, the Rocket is in. As for Biffle, it comes down to trying to catch Newman, holding off Bowyer, and hoping for a repeat winner…unless the winner is a guy named Greg. That would be fine by him.

    So Richmond will be all about Newman, Biffle, and Bowyer, and the identity of the driver that wins. Nothing else really matters, but at least that keeps things rather simple.

    The Locked in chasers…
    1 – Jeff Gordon – 3 Wins – 871 Points
    2 – Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 3 – 851
    3 – Joey Logano – 3 – 791
    4 – Brad Keselowski – 3 – 782
    5 – Jimmie Johnson – 3 – 766
    6 – Carl Edwards – 2 – 755
    7 – Kevin Harvick – 2 – 748
    8 – Kasey Kahne – 1 – 708
    9 – Kyle Busch – 1 – 657
    10 – Denny Hamlin – 1 – 636
    11 – Kurt Busch – 1 – 614
    12 – Aric Almirola – 1 – 594
    13 – A.J. Allmendinger – 1 – 590
    14 – Matt Kenseth – 0 – 794

    One is in, but no guarantee as to another…
    15 – Ryan Newman – 0 Wins – 747 Points
    16 – Greg Biffle – 0 – 728
    17 – Clint Bowyer – 0 – 705
    18 – Kyle Larson – 0 – 704

    A Win to be in…
    19 – Paul Menard – 0 Wins – 675 Points
    20 – Austin Dillon – 0 – 674
    21 – Jamie McMurray – 0 – 666
    22 – Brian Vickers – 0 – 650
    23 – Marcos Ambrose – 0 – 628
    24 – Casey Mears – 0 – 583
    25 – Martin Truex, Jr. – 0 – 561
    26 – Tony Stewart – 0 – 540
    27 – Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. – 0 – 538
    28 – Danica Patrick – 0 – 500
    29 – Justin Allgaier – 0 – 443
    30 – Michael Annett – 0 – 393

    A win…and 30th or better…
    31 – David Gilliland – 0 Wins – 392 Points
    32 – David Ragan – 0 – 370
    33 – Cole Whitt – 0 – 353

     

     

     

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Oral-B USA 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Oral-B USA 500

    With an intense heat radiating from the track and an even more intense return to the track for Tony Stewart, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 55th annual Oral-B USA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

    Surprising: Kasey Kahne ended his Hendrick Motorsports lonely boy status with a thrilling green-white-checkered win to join his teammates Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Jeff Gordon in Victory Lane and in the Chase.

    “It was kind of like you just know that you have to win,” the driver of the No. 5 Farmer’s Insurance Chevrolet said. “I told a friend that this week, like I just kept saying, I have to win.”

    “That was, it was all that I could think about,” Kahne continued. “I knew Atlanta was a better opportunity for myself to win at than Richmond. But I just knew that tonight was that — you know, we needed it.”

    “When I came off Turn 4 and I could see the checkered, right there is the first time I knew I was in The Chase and it was such a relief.”

    Not Surprising: He might not have been a winner, but Matt Kenseth’s second place finish, as well as his consistency all season long, earned him a place in the Chase race, post-Atlanta.

    “That was the goal, to have all three JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) cars in the Chase and we were able to accomplish that,” the driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Husky Toyota said. “The ultimate goal is for one of us to be able to win the championship.”

    “I feel like we’re gaining on it,” Kenseth continued. “I’m not a huge believer in momentum, but yet I feel like everyone is really clicking together and working well together and the stops are good.”

    “I feel like we’re doing everything right right now, we just need a little more speed to be able to start getting those wins.”

    Surprising: Move over Janet Guthrie as there is a new girl in town at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Danica Patrick, after taking the checkered flag in sixth, scored the highest finish by a female at the track. Janet Guthrie had previously held that record by finishing tenth at Atlanta on March 19th, 1978.

    “It was a long night,” the driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet said. “Man, that race felt like it was 700 miles. Sometimes when you are running well they feel like that because you are hoping it stays there, keeps going well, and you keep improving and don’t lose it.”

    “There were definitely a couple of times late in the race when we fell back,” Patrick continued. “In the middle of the race the GoDaddy car was very good. We took a little step back, and then it came back in the end.”

    Patrick was also the strongest running Stewart Haas Racing team member as her teammates Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart finished 13th, 19th and 41st respectively.

    Not Surprising: With the pressure of making the Chase reigning supreme, it was no wonder that all kinds of freaky things happened on the track. One of the most freakish occurred towards the beginning of the race when a cat or a squirrel ran for his life in right in front of race leader Kevin Harvick.

    “That was a cat,” Harvick proclaimed. “The cat ran across the backstretch. That would have been a big mess.”

    Clint Bowyer also experienced some freakiness when his gear shifter broke, Marcos Ambrose blew an engine, AJ Allmendinger had problems with a hub and fender brace and Michael Annett lost one of his contact lenses on Lap 150.

    Surprising: Young Kyle Larson was surprisingly dejected after finishing as the Sunoco Rookie of the Race yet again with an eighth place finish.

    “Yeah, it was a tough race,” the driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet said. “The first corner or so I felt pretty good. For whatever reason, we got pretty tight in the center and I couldn’t roll the bottom like I wanted to. Really couldn’t go anywhere.”

    “Doesn’t really matter anymore because Kasey won,”Larson continued. “So happy for Kasey, but that pretty much ends our Chase hopes.  Unless we win.”

    “But Top-10 is not bad.”

    Not Surprising: He may have had a rough night with a tire down early in the race resulting in a 17th place finish, but Jeff Gordon was still no doubt savoring his milestone 750th career start.

    “That’s a big number,” the driver of the No. 24 Panasonic Chevrolet, said. “I hadn’t thought about it a whole lot until I saw a decal made up and I was like ‘Man, that’s a lot of races, especially in a row.’”

    “Really proud of that,” Gordon continued. “It’s been an amazing career in the Cup Series. I’ve had a lot of good moments. Luckily for me, they far outweigh the bad moments.”

    Surprising: Roush Fenway Racing had a surprisingly good night, putting two of its cars into the top-five, with Carl Edwards in fifth and Greg Biffle in tenth. While Edwards is already locked into the Chase with two wins, Biffle needed that solid run to keep his Chase hopes alive.

    “That was crazy,” the driver of the No. 99 Subway Ford said. “Those last couple of restarts were really fun. I hate that we tore up a bunch of cars, but it was definitely exciting.”

    “I hope we’re ready for the Chase.”

    “If the 5 wouldn’t have won, we would have been close to getting locked in with the way all the points shook out,” the driver of the No. 16 Ortho Ford said. “I don’t think we would have been able to lose two spots, but it is what it is.”

    “We’ve got to race as hard as we can,” Biffle continued. “We know if one of those guys behind us wins next week it bumps us out, so we’ll run as hard as we can.”

    Not Surprising: In his own quiet, unassuming fashion, Aric Almirola, Chase participant by virtue of his win in the rain at Daytona, finished top-ten at Atlanta, catapulting himself from 14th to ninth on the last restart.

    “We had a solid night,” the driver of the No. 43 Eckrich Ford said. “I just went through turns one and two and ran wide-open. I hooked my left-front around the top seam and it was just like the seas parted and I drove right through there.”

    “Anytime you can walk away from Atlanta with a top 10 after the last six weeks that we’ve had, it was nice to walk away with a car that wasn’t crashed.”

    Surprising: Kyle Busch made a surprisingly good choice to stay in his car with his helmet on after the race as he and his crew chief Dave Rogers were angrily confronted by Martin Truex Jr. Busch and Truex got together late in the race, resulting in a 23rd place finish for Truex while Busch took the checkered flag in the 16th spot.

    “We had handling issues all night — couldn’t drive off the corners,” Truex Jr. said. “But we hung in there, fighting for every possible position until Kyle (Busch), for whatever reason, ran into the back of me, causing pretty good damage to our car.”

    “I passed him clean earlier and then he comes back and hits me from behind,” Truex Jr. continued. “It was totally uncalled for and hard to figure out why he did what he did. We were in the top-15 when that happened and had a chance of picking off a few more positions.”

    Not Surprising: Ryan Newman’s top-ten finish now puts his Chase hopes squarely into his own hands. Regardless if there is a repeat winner or if Kenseth pulls off a Richmond win, Newman gets to compete for the championship if he finishes 41st or better; or 42nd with one lap led minimum; or 43rd after leading the most laps.

    If there is a new winner at Richmond next week, Newman gets into the Chase with an 18th or better finish; 19th and one lap led; or 20th with the most laps led.

     

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Bristol

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Bristol

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jeff Gordon: Gordon started second at Bristol but encountered handling issues that left him mid-pack for much of the race. He finished 16th, one lap down, and leads the Sprint Cup points standings by 27 over Dale Earnhardt Jr.

    “We’re disappointed for sure,” Gordon said. “But on the bright side, we’ve procured sponsorship from 3M, which was previously in a ten-year relationship with Greg Biffle. It was a mutually beneficial relationship for the Biff and 3M, and that’s good. Take it from me, not all ten-year relationships end on good terms.”

    2. Joey Logano: Logano zipped past Matt Kenseth with 44 laps to go and held off Brad Keselowski to win the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol. It was Logano’s third win of the year and solidified his status as a true Cup contender.

    “Hey,” Logano said, “I don’t mind being called ‘the man to beat.’ Mostly because it’s the only time I’m called a ‘man.’”

    3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Earnhardt hit Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 car, which was spun by Kevin Harvick, and suffered serious damage that sent him to the garage. He finished 39th,

    “Hamlin’s car just ripped the left side of my car off,” Earnhardt said. “I’ll quote a Michael Waltrip Racing driver and say ‘A Toyota ruined my day.’

    “Hamlin may want revenge on Harvick, but I don’t. Those who know me well know I’m a good-natured guy just looking for a good time. So, you could say both Denny and I have a reason to ‘Get Happy.’”

    4. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished second to Penske Racing teammate Joey Logano in the Irwin Tools Night Race, as the Penske stable swept all three races as Bristol. Keselowski won the Craftsman Trucks race, while Ryan Blaney took the Nationwide victory.

    “I think this weekend proves that Penske Racing is the best team in NASCAR,” Keselowski said. “And that’s not just a ‘sweeping’ generalization.”

    5. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson overcame two early pit road speeding penalties and posted a solid fourth, his seventh top-five result of the year. He is fifth in the points standings, 119 out of first.

    “I was back in the familiar blue Lowe’s paint scheme at Bristol,” Johnson said. “I just feel faster in that paint scheme. Unfortunately, the only thing we ‘blue’ by at Bristol were the pit road timers.”

    6. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth held the lead late at Bristol, but succumbed to the charges of Joey Logano, who passed Kenseth with 44 laps remaining. Kenseth settled for third, his ninth top five of the year.

    “I couldn’t keep him away,” Kenseth said. “By ‘him,’ I’m not referring to Logano, but Carl Edwards. He’ll be joining Joe Gibbs Racing next year. I guess I’ll welcome him with open arms. I assume he’ll welcome me with a closed fist.”

    7. Carl Edwards: Edwards took seventh at Bristol as all three Roush Fenway drivers posted top-10 finishes, with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. leading the way with a sixth.

    “I’m off to Joe Gibbs Racing at season’s end,” Edwards said. “I’ll be in the No. 19 Toyota. Starting with a new team is never easy, but I’m getting a raise, of course. As they say, ‘Change is good.’ As I say, ‘More change is better.’”

    “And speaking of ‘throws,’ Hamlin’s was nothing compared to the ‘pitch’ Joe Gibbs Racing gave me.”

    8. Ryan Newman: Newman finished 13th at Bristol, and is 14th in the Sprint Cup points standings with two races before the Chase.

    “I wouldn’t think of throwing my HANS device at another driver,” Newman said. “However, I’d certainly throw a hands device at another driver. It’s called a ‘fist.’ Just ask Juan Montoya.”

    9. Kevin Harvick: Harvick won the pole at Bristol and led 75 laps on his way to an 11th-place finish. Harvick faced the wrath of Denny Hamlin after wrecking the No. 11 car.

    “Hamlin threw his HANS device at me,” Harvick said. “I guess that means I’ll ‘catch hell.’ Ironically, Hamlin showed ‘restraint.’ I’m not sure what Denny threw harder—his HANS device, or a tantrum.”

    10. Kurt Busch: Busch recorded his sixth top-5 result of the year with a fifth at Bristol. With one victory this year, Busch has already locked up his spot in the Chase.

    “Tempers were flaring at Bristol,” Busch said. “Denny Hamlin flung his HANS device at Kevin Harvick. In case you’re wondering, the HANS device is a head and neck restraint system. Personally, I’ve tested several head and neck restraints, and the HANS is by far my favorite. My least favorite is a Tony Stewart headlock.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Pure Michigan 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Pure Michigan 400

    With an impassioned driver’s meeting speech by Carl Edwards urging safety and throttling back during cautions at such a high-speed track, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 45th annual Pure Michigan 400.

    Surprising: Drivers were apparently in full throttle preparation for Bristol, with tempers surprisingly abounding at the two-mile track in the Irish hills. Six time champion Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman exchanged words after the race, as did Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Denny Hamlin.

    “Just old Ryan Newman stuff,” Johnson said after his heated conversation with the driver of the No. 31 WIX Filters Chevrolet. “Anybody that has watched the sport long enough or has been in a race car out there understands the frustration of racing Ryan.”

    Racing frustrations also abounded between the drivers of the No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota and the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet.

    “I felt like he crowded me off of (Turn) 4 in the middle part of the race,” Hamlin said. “We’re trying to make the best we can do down 50 horsepower.”

    “I’m going to eventually let him go, but I’m not some lapped car that you can just shove to the high side and I’m going to back off.”

    “I ran him up the track a little bit early in the race,” Earnhardt said. “He didn’t like it too much. I’ve been run up the track, too. I don’t like it either, but I didn’t want him hanging on my quarter panel all the way down the front straightaway and ended up three- or four-wide.”

    “I just wanted to get on by him because I was flying. We were hauling.”

    Not Surprising: Jeff Gordon went three for three for three, with his third win of the season, his third win at Michigan and a now three-win season, his first since 2011.

    “Well, I like to go fast. This place is really, really fast,” the driver of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet said. “Michigan has always been one of my favorites.”

    “Today I was able to drive this place the way I like to drive it, have success here again.”

    Surprising: It was a surprisingly rough weekend for Martin Truex, Jr., with his girlfriend Sherry Pollex undergoing surgery for ovarian cancer, his brother Ryan suffering a concussion in Michigan practice and his involvement a nine car pile-up that relegated him to a 36th place finish.

    “These two Michigan races turned out to be very long days,” the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet said. “It was hard to learn anything about this place back in June and it was the same story today.”

    “I just wish we could have finished one of these Michigan races with a clean car,” stated Truex. “You’re always curious to see how things would have played out and where you could have potentially finished.”

    Not Surprising: He may have been a bridesmaid yet again, in fact for the fourth time at Michigan, but Kevin Harvick deemed his second place run a success, especially in light of the upcoming Chase.

    “Yeah, I mean, we had a solid day,” Harvick said. “Just the 24 had more speed than we did all day. I felt like when Joey was out front, he could get away at the short run, we’d kind of even out.”

    “But all in all, it was a good day,” the driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet said. “The main focus for our team has been consistency heading into the Chase to make sure we can scramble and do the things we’ve done over the last month.”

    “Obviously you want to win, but all in all we had some different goals that are as important leading into the Chase.”

    Surprising: While Joey Logano joked in the media center after the race that he really did not want to relive his last few laps, he too like Harvick had the championship on his mind, laying down the gauntlet after his third place finish.

    “We can win a championship. I really feel we can do that,” the driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford said. “That’s the message I want to put out there. I want to put out for my team that we’re strong enough to do that. I think we showed that today.”

    Not Surprising: It was indeed a ‘hard week’ as Jeff Burton put it after being tapped to substitute for Tony Stewart, who decided to miss another race, grieving the contact with Kevin Ward Jr. which cost the young driver his life.

    “This was a hard week,” Burton said. “This was honestly one of the hardest weeks I’ve ever spent, coming here on Friday not knowing what to expect.”

    Burton’s No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet finished 37th after an electrical issue and a burning smell in the cockpit sent him to the garage.

    Surprising: It was a surprisingly bad day if your name was Kyle. Both Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson crashed, the first on lap four and the latter on lap 98.

    “I felt so good about my car those first few laps running the bottom, but then I was getting hung out on the straightaways,” Busch said “Then I just tried going to the top in (turns) three and four right away, and I got loose all the way through three and four. Every time I touched the gas it wanted to spin out, and finally it was too much gas and not enough save, and I wrecked.”

    Larson’s incident was far more frightening, however, as his No. 42 Target Chevrolet went up in flames after his hard impact.

    “I had no warning the right-front was going to blow,” Larson said. “Michigan is a fast track and into turn three is fast too. We are turning some really high speeds here so the hit was definitely a hard one.”

    “Yeah anytime you see flames you want to get out,” Larson continued, explaining his bailing out of his car in spite of NASCAR’s new ruling. “I have had fires and stuff, but that is the first time I have ever had fumes or smoke and stuff in the cockpit. That is the main reason why I wanted to get out.”

    Not Surprising: Once you get a win under your belt, as AJ Allmendinger did at Watkins Glen, those good finishes just seem to roll along. The Dinger finished top-15 at Michigan and officially clinched his spot in the Chase.

    “It’s really cool,” the driver of the No. 47 Kingsford Charcoal Chevrolet said of his Chase berth. “I thought we had a really good shot, but you never know until it’s official. So to have that is really good.”

    “More than anything I felt like this weekend made some gains so that gets a little excitement going into the next couple of race tracks to see if we can keep getting better. Overall the last few weeks has been really cool to share with the guys and come here and have a little energy and confidence. To come out here all weekend and show some speed has been really good.”

    Surprising: In spite of burning up a test session at Michigan International Speedway prior to the race weekend, Roush Fenway Racing continued to struggle at a track they once owned. Greg Biffle did manage a tenth place finish and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished 15th, however, Carl Edwards had a disappointing end to his day, taking the checkered flag in 23rd.

    “You know, I guess it was a good day,” Biffle said. “We got a top-10. Really we wanted to run up in the top-five. We had a car to do that and that track position we would get loose around other cars. We still have to work on that with our race cars.”

    “It was a good solid top-15,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “We qualified 10th and finished 15th and ran right around 15th the whole time which is kind of a goal. Obviously we want to run top-10 and pass as many cars as we can but all in all we accomplished what we were looking to do.”

    “We were so loose I just couldn’t drive it,” Edwards said. “It looked like Greg (Biffle) had a good run and we had speed in qualifying so that gives us something to look forward to but we were just too loose today to be able to do anything.”

    Not Surprising: After some difficult runs recently, it was not surprising that Paul Menard scored a fourth place finish at an intermediate track where he tends to run well. The driver of the No. 27 Certainteed/Menards Chevrolet did in fact run well, finishing fourth.

    “Our cars are really good,” Menard said. “The RCR fab shop, the ECR engine shop they make really good race cars. This track kind of suits my driving style I guess. Sluggar (Labbe, crew chief) and I, Justin and James and everybody on the No. 27 car have a good baseline intermediate track package that seems to work good at these fast tracks.”

    “Definitely needed a good run the last three or four weeks have been pretty brutal,” Menard continued. “We definitely needed this.”

    As a result of the Michigan race and assuming that they all attempt to qualify for the remaining three races of the regular season, AJ Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin all scored their spot in the championship Chase.