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  • Hot 20 – As they head to Loudon, a half-billion dollar lawsuit leaves me very confused

    Hot 20 – As they head to Loudon, a half-billion dollar lawsuit leaves me very confused

    Nothing like a good old-fashioned hand out to make people feel good. Terrence Cox III and his Diversity Motorsports wants in. They are suing NASCAR, the tracks, even the other teams, in a racial discrimination lawsuit for half a billion dollars.

    Oh, what I could do with that kind of cash. Hell, I could run for president if I were only born in the right country. I am not sure what Diversity wants, but it seems they would like to be handed something even the Wood Brothers can not get if a locked in spot is their goal. They are even suing JTG Daugherty, a team former non-Irish NBA player Brad Daugherty has a 10 percent ownership share in.

    What is interesting is that the organization appears to be more a sponsorship vehicle than an actual racing team. Since it first appeared earlier in this decade, Diversity has never to my knowledge attempted to enter a single car in any national NASCAR event with anyone…ever. If they have been wronged, I am not sure as to how. So they feel entitled to a spot due to what, exactly?

    They claim that comedian Steve Harvey wanted to start a race team, associate it with Diversity Motorsports, but NASCAR said they would never work with a team that included Diversity. Harvey, for one, disagrees with that assertion. In fact, he seems downright upset at the moment, saying he never wanted to start a team, that he just wanted to expose underprivileged youth to NASCAR. When Diversity head Terrence Cox, III talked to Harvey about having young folks protest Coca-Cola, Harvey says he refused to participate. Does any of this make sense to you? I know I am having trouble with it.

    Being dragged into this has raised the ire of the comedian. “Now here I come, my ass all over the cover of TMZ and everywhere, talking about how I want a damn race team”, Harvey said on his radio show. “I don’t want no damn race team. I don’t even like fast-ass cars.”

    Confused? Me, too. I think I will leave it to the lawyers to figure it all out.

    We have enough to deal with just seeing how things might progress in New Hampshire with our Hot 20.

    1. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 SEGMENT WIN (2050 Pts)
    Is there something wrong with the laser inspection system? Who cares, they got the win!

    2. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 2049 Pts
    Wants a transformer car; passes tech before the race, turn into a fire-breathing dinosaur after it.

    3. KYLE BUSCH – 2046 Pts
    Even his winning truck failed inspection at Chicago. Maybe the problem is too much inspecting.

    4. DENNY HAMLIN – 2045 Pts
    Boasts best average finish in New Hampshire. Seeks best finish period on Sunday.

    5. JOEY LOGANO – 2043 Pts
    The car was not good enough at Chicago, but the driver was in the end.

    6. CHASE ELLIOTT – 2039 Pts
    Late caution, lost lead, and chase Truex was all he could do at the end.

    7. MATT KENSETH – 2038 Pts
    If this visit to Loudon is anything like the last two, hand Matt his pass when it is all over.

    8. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 2037 Pts
    Got a break Harvick did not get, then needed more brakes and less gas in late pit row stop.

    9. CARL EDWARDS – 2032 Pts
    Swerving on the cool down lap helps rear toe return to legal limits. Watch Carl. Watch ‘em all.

    10. KURT BUSCH – 2031 Pts
    When he read that familiar name in the headlines, I wonder if he whispered, “I told you so.”

    11. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 2030 Pts
    Toured a GM assembly plant last week. Unfortunately, they were not handing out free samples.

    12. TONY STEWART – 2028 Pts
    Back on Newman’s gift list. The Beatles were right, all you need is love.

    13. KEVIN HARVICK – 2027 Pts
    Two feet short of the line, Sweet Jesus, two feet short of the line.

    14. AUSTIN DILLON – 2027 Pts
    Says NASCAR won’t stand drivers who refuse to stand for the national anthem.

    15. KYLE LARSON – 2026 Pts
    If his owner held his breath, would that make Larson a blue Chip driver? I am truly sorry.

    16. CHRIS BUESCHER – 2016 Pts
    Penske Fords seem to run good, so why not borrow one from them…or a Studebaker.

    17. KASEY KAHNE – 667 Pts
    Sitting at the head of the kid’s table.

    18. RYAN NEWMAN – 655 Pts
    However, sometimes when things get rough and tough, you got to hide your love away.

    19. RYAN BLANEY – 613 Pts
    Old tires were almost good enough to steal one at Chicago.

    20. A.J. ALLMENDINGER – 607 Pts
    I still can not get over Mr. Tickles. Maybe his full name is Sam Elliott Tickles. Much better.

  • The Final Word – Among Chicago lucky dog hopefuls, Harvick was the day’s Old Yeller

    The Final Word – Among Chicago lucky dog hopefuls, Harvick was the day’s Old Yeller

    You got to be good to be lucky and lucky to be good. That is how the old saying goes. I wonder what the saying is when you are good, but everything just gets flushed down the toilet? Kevin Harvick had a bad case of the swirls, as in down the drain, for his Chicago experience.

    So you do not get the wrong impression, I should say that Harvick came damn close to getting the Lucky Dog. It was one he was waiting to occur since the 50th of 267 scheduled laps. When caution waved over Brian Scott’s spin on lap 124, Martin Truex Jr. had passed Harvick to be in the coveted position. They found debris on the backstretch on lap 193, but it was Tony Stewart who got the nod. When it waved again to force overtime on lap 264, it was Stewart again, the man with the good fortune. That left Harvick all dressed up for the ball, but the damn coach remained a pumpkin.

    You would think it was another pit crew screw up that bit him. Instead, it was just bad luck. As he and Jimmie Johnson sat in the pits under green, they found some debris and waved the yellow. Johnson managed to roll to the line before Truex, the leader, crossed over. Harvick came two feet short. While Johnson led for the next 50 laps, Harvick was dropped a lap down. Two feet was all he needed. Two feet is not what he got. Twentieth and a lap down was the end result. As was the fate of the title character in Old Yeller, Harvick’s hopes for a warm and fuzzy finish were shot.

    Johnson led the most laps. Too bad about that speeding penalty in the pits with 33 to go. That left him 12th. At least, for the moment. More on that later.

    That left Truex. A skinned tire had him requiring roadside assistance 70 laps in, but then he got by Harvick to get the aforementioned pass to the lead lap. With 20 to go, all he saw was the tail pipe of Chase Elliott who looked about to pounce on his first career win. Too bad about Michael McDowell’s little mishap that forced overtime. Truex came to the re-start in fourth, and powered his way to the front and the victory, his third of the season. Joey Logano and Elliott were next.

    Interesting post script to this one. When they put the cars through inspection after the event, both Johnson and Truex failed. We hear it was not a big miss, but a miss none the less. No doubt, the victor will keep his win and get his free pass to the next round of the Chase. Johnson, on the other hand, still has a thing for points at this stage of the game, and any penalty there could hurt.

    As we await NASCAR justice, some are more comfortable than others heading to Loudon but no one took a big hit at Chicago. Okay, other than Chris Buescher, who was an expected 28th and now sits a dozen points behind the 12th placed Stewart. Buescher might be sitting on a pumpkin tethered to some mice, but at least he is at the ball and rumor has it he should also retain those glass slippers as a souvenir.

    Matt Kenseth has a pair of souvenirs as a reminder of his past two races in New Hampshire, both victories. Harvick has not won there since 2006, but something tells me that you will not need to ask who let the dogs out on Sunday. I think ole Happy will be unleashing the hounds to try and make up for some lost time and points. For their sake, I hope his pit boys are good and lucky on that day.

  • Buescher: ‘We are going one round at a time right now’

    Buescher: ‘We are going one round at a time right now’

    Asked what his strategy is now that he’s in the Chase, Chris Buescher says he’s taking it one round at a time.

    Speaking to the media during Chase Media Day at the Bridgeport Art Center in Chicago, the driver of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford was asked what’s his plan of attack now that he’s in the Chase.

    “We are going one round at a time right now,” Buescher said. “We are trying to look ahead to the next three races. We have been so focused on getting into the Chase that now that we are here we haven’t thought too much past that. I feel like we are prepared to go into this next couple.”

    Buescher made his way into the Chase with a win in the rain-shortened Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono Raceway. In the five races since, he’s finished 30th, fifth, 35th, 17th and 24th for a 22.2 finishing average, which is four and a half spots better than his season finishing average.

    Despite the stats, the reigning 2015 NASCAR XFINITY Series champion believes he can make it into the second round of the Chase.

    “I think we can make it into the second round. Consistency was a huge part of our championship last year,” Buescher said referring to his 2015 championship in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. “We were able to get a couple wins and be right there with the guys we were racing every week. That was a big part of it. For this first three races, I definitely think consistency will play a really big part of it. You can’t have that one bad week and expect to recover in the two remaining. You really need to be smooth throughout all of it and make sure you are there after Dover. Then you can reevaluate and decide how you will treat the next couple of rounds.”

  • Hot 20 – Mr. Hamlin, what races do you suggest we remove, reduce, or reschedule?

    Hot 20 – Mr. Hamlin, what races do you suggest we remove, reduce, or reschedule?

    As NASCAR swings into Chicago and begins the Chase, I can not help but notice that Denny Hamlin, and now Danica Patrick, have made mention that the season is too long. Reduce some races in length, reduce some altogether, run some mid-week are among their suggestions. I am cool with that, but in my mind there are a dozen races on eight tracks that cannot be touched. Ever.

    Daytona, Talladega, Bristol, and Charlotte continue with their two each with no changes to race length. If 600 miles to too long at Charlotte, stay home. You can not tinker with the two road courses at Sonoma or Watkins Glen. The Southern 500 should never again be violated at Darlington. Same goes for the Brickyard at Indianapolis. The racing there might be questionable at Indy, but it has become a crown jewel event. Touch any of them, and more than a few of us fans will be gone. NASCAR simply can not afford to see too many more of us on our way out.

    As for the other 24 contests on the other 15 tracks, go for it. However, you risk some upset folks at Martinsville, Richmond, and Atlanta where tradition means something to some people. Remove those tracks, and you remove fans. Texas, Michigan, Las Vegas, Fontana, and Chicago are not going anywhere. The trio of northeast venues, Pocono, Dover, and Loudon, would be tough for NASCAR to abandon. I could not care any less for Kansas or Kentucky, but I am sure there are others who do not share my sentiment.

    As long as NASCAR refuses to brand each of its events so they might each become something special, traditional, and untouchable instead of nothing more than a spot to park a sponsor’s name for yet another generic race, a lot of them can disappear, be moved, or reduced in length without much fanfare. I mean, this weekend in Chicago we have the legendary and prestigious Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400. Good bloody grief! What these two drivers are proposing works in theory. However, the devil is in the details, and we should leave it to Mr. Hamlin and Ms. Patrick to toss out a few specifics until we go ballistic. You know we would, no matter what they come up with.

    As for the Chase, eight organizations are represented by the 16. Joe Gibbs has all four of his outfits in the running. Stewart-Haas goes with three, missing only Patrick. Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi both came through fully loaded with their two car teams. Barney Visser was also perfect, going one for one with Martin Truex, Jr. We have a pair from Rick Hendrick’s stable, Richard Childress has his grandson, and Bob Jenkins has his surprise entry. Some did not make it, even those with past success. Jack Roush came up empty, despite three entries. Neither of Richard Petty’s cars made the grade.

    A dozen veteran Chasers joined by a quartet of first-timers. Austin Dillon and Kyle Larson are joined by rookies Chase Elliott and Chris Buescher. How might they do? As 2014 champion Kevin Harvick lays it down, “Are you happy to be there or do you want to win?” If they want to win, they could do fine. Like the seven former champions back for another drink from the well.

    Heading into the Chase, NASCAR has decided to be kinder, gentler to those crew chiefs who break the rules. One loose lug nut does not a suspension make. Now it will take three, and then he is gone along with 35 points. So much for kinder and gentler, and this is a new rule change that goes beyond the Chase and into next season.

    Failure to get the winning car successfully through the Laser Inspection Station by a significant amount, and you keep the win, but it won’t mean much. Up to 35 points gone and during the Chase that win might not count toward a free pass into the next round. With the points penalty, that just could kill the season. It is the kind of penalty that cost Ryan Newman 15 markers heading into Richmond.

    Newman might not be in the Chase, but after what happened last week, he could wind up being a factor. We will have to wait to see how hot he might be at one member of our Hot 20 heading to Chicago.

    1. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 2012 PTS
    Tied for wins with Kyle, second only to Harvick in points. Brad might be thirsty again.

    1. KYLE BUSCH – 2012 PTS
    Imagine having to race all 36 races to win the title. Last season seemed so much shorter.

    3. DENNY HAMLIN – 2009 PTS
    You can shorten the World 600 in Charlotte…or you could to go-cart racing as an alternative.

    4. KEVIN HARVICK – 2006 PTS
    His Chase attitude is to “worry about the consequences when all the dust settles.” Game on.

    4. CARL EDWARDS – 2006 PTS
    Is this the year he can finally put that brides-maid dress away?

    4. MARTIN TRUEX, JR. – 2006 PTS
    Has led the pack this season for 1,664 miles. If you are going on a trip, here is your driver.

    4. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 2006 PTS
    Seeking a new nickname. Maybe something that rhymes with “Seven Time.”

    4. MATT KENSETH – 2006 PTS
    There is nice Matt and there is Chase Matt. You don’t want to make Chase Matt angry.

    9. JOEY LOGANO – 2003 PTS
    Last year, guess who upset Chase Matt.

    9. KURT BUSCH – 2003 PTS
    He has a title. Younger brother has a title. All older siblings know that just does not cut it.

    9. KYLE LARSON – 2003 PTS
    Over his last three races, has finished first, third, and second. That is called momentum.

    9. CHRIS BUESCHER – 2003 PTS
    Not everyone gets to live in the penthouse. even for what most predict will be a short stay.

    9. TONY STEWART – 2003 PTS
    Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? Newman knows!

    14. AUSTIN DILLON – 2000 PTS
    A truck title. A XFINITY crown. There is room on the shelf for one more.

    14. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 2000 PTS
    Could former winner of Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 win the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400?

    14. CHASE ELLIOTT – 2000 PTS
    Again, the nickname says it all. Would like to change that to “Champ” if he can.

    17. RYAN NEWMAN – 633 PTS
    Who is considered Public Enemy No. 1 in Chicago? Ask Newman; he might have an answer.

    18. KASEY KAHNE – 633 PTS
    If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again next season.

    19. TREVOR BAYNE – 586 PTS
    Unlike some, Bayne is determined to leave any at-track tantrums to his toddler.

    20. A.J. ALLMENDINGER – 583 PTS
    Racing in Chicago, but might have more interest in how the Bears do Monday against the Eagles.

  • The View From My Recliner — 2016 Chase Preview

    The View From My Recliner — 2016 Chase Preview

    I will start by saying that I have always been a Tony Stewart fan and always will be. But, Tony Stewart was wrong the last two weeks taking out Brian Scott at Darlington and Ryan Newman plus six others at Richmond.

    Many have said that Tony Stewart hasn’t been the same racer since the Sprint Car accident in Iowa where he broke his leg and has been even less competitive since the Sprint Car accident that took the life of Kevin Ward Jr. Prior to those accidents, there was always Stewart justice when he ran at the Cup level. Ask Carl Edwards, Robby Gordon, Brian Vickers and several others what happens when you rough up Stewart or block Stewart? Do that and you face Stewart Justice. Stewart was wrong, but this is something that NASCAR drivers have known for more than a decade. Even though Stewart was honest in his post-race comments, I hope that NASCAR fines Stewart for his actions. Wow, that is something I never thought I would say.

    Ryan Newman who has the history of being the toughest person in NASCAR to pass is also very calculated with his words to the media pre and post race. The first parts of his comments saying that Stewart was old and should retire are fine. Newman is passionate and was frustrated by missing the Chase. Those comments I can live with. The comments that followed were beyond personal. I understand Newman being ticked that Stewart took him out. I can see him holding his anger inside for four years because his contract wasn’t extended at Stewart-Haas Racing. Then, after being told there wasn’t the budget for a fourth car and that he was out at SHR, suddenly, Kurt Busch has a ride funded by Gene Haas. Even so, there is no place for comments like that. I always respected Ryan Newman, but I lost a little of that respect on Saturday night.

    The sad part is that this back and forth took away from the great racing that took place at Richmond International Raceway, Denny Hamlin’s win and the Chase grid being set. Everything took a back seat to Newman putting Stewart on blast and that is a shame.

    As we head to Chicagoland, you have to wonder if there are paybacks in the future. Will Newman wreck Stewart? Will Cole Custer get revenge on John Hunter Nemechek for the injustice he was victim to at Canadian Motorsports Park? Will the races be the top story next week or will it be about payback being delivered? My thoughts are that Newman doesn’t want to face a suspension and Cole Custer will wait until the Chase to get his payback on Nemechek.

    Here are my predictions for the each round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup:

    Round 1: Kyle Busch will win this weekend at Chicago. Tony Stewart surprises everyone by winning at New Hampshire and Jimmie Johnson wins at Dover. The first four eliminated are Carl Edwards, Chris Buescher, Austin Dillon and Jamie McMurray. I think one Joe Gibbs Racing car will have an issue at New Hampshire, Buescher and Dillon don’t have the equipment to get the job done and Jamie McMurray has been running well, but not at the front.

    Round 2: Truex wins at Charlotte, Harvick wins at Kansas and Logano wins at Talladega. Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch and Kyle Larson are eliminated.

    Round 3: Hamlin wins at Martinsville, Truex wins at Texas, Harvick wins at Phoenix and Stewart points his way in. (Remember, when I started I said I am a fan of Smoke and this is a, from the heart, pick. My head says Johnson points his way in, but I’m a columnist, so I am going with my heart. Kyle Busch, Kenseth, Johnson and Logano are eliminated.

    Final Four: So that leaves Hamlin, Harvick, Truex and Stewart as the final four. I would love to read the story of Stewart winning his final race and his fourth Championship, but I just don’t see it happening. Truex and Harvick have had pit road issues which could easily derail them at the Ford 400.

    My pick for the 2016 Sprint Cup Championship is Denny Hamlin. The communication between driver and crew chief is spot on, the pit crew has been flawless and Denny Hamlin promised Joe Gibbs when he was signed to the organization that he would bring home a championship to JGR and this year, I think he will.

    Enjoy the races at Chicago and we’ll talk again when I share the View from My Recliner.

  • The Final Word at Richmond Belonged to Tony Stewart

    The Final Word at Richmond Belonged to Tony Stewart

    Drama, that is what we were waiting for at Richmond on Saturday night. Drama and answers. We wanted to know if Chris Buescher would be close enough to David Ragan and 30th in the standings in order to be eligible for the chase? Could Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon, and Jamie McMurray keep from being caught by Ryan Newman for those final Chase spots on points? Could anyone outside the Top 16 win and really tumble up the standings? We had to wait for the final two or three laps to get the answer to that last one. With 38 laps to go, Tony Stewart provided us with the definitive response to the first two.

    Newman needed to make up ground, coming in 22 points behind McMurray. As it turned out, he would have had to win to be in considering how those he was chasing finished the night. However, he made a mistake along the way, and that was to run into his former boss and maybe former friend, two or three times. As Stewart swooped gently into a corner, Newman dived to the inside and knocked Smoke to the outside. Next turn, Newman came up and rubbed Stewart again. Oh-oh.

    On the straight away, Stewart turned down in front of Newman, who might have been able to take defensive measures if not for Carl Edwards running into him as he slowed down. That caused the contact between Newman and Stewart to be much harder, and pretty much killed all three autos. But wait, that is not all. Others got caught up in the mess, with one of them being David Ragan. As Newman went up the track after the wreck, he wound up directly in front of Ragan, who was left in flames.

    When asked later, Newman made some mention about somebody being bi-polar with enough info to Google to explain the mishaps a certain driver had been involved in, no doubt a guy who should retire, and a fellow who purposely drifted down in front of him. Stewart agreed with the latter observation, mentioned that in 10 weeks Newman would get his wish about his retirement and that he got to hit him two times more than anyone else would have gotten away with. By the way, one other guy caught up in the wreck was Brian Scott. Does anyone remember how Darlington went for him?

    With that, Buescher, Elliott, and Dillon were in the Chase. As for a first-time season winner ruining the party for McMurray, Denny Hamlin gave us that answer in the end when he dominated two re-starts to walk off with this one, even as a hard charging Kyle Larson tried to be a factor. Kasey Kahne finished sixth on a day he needed to be number one.

    Stewart is not leaving a kinder, gentler, passive version of his old self. He is his old self. Scott got dumped last week, Newman this time out. To be fair, he was slowly drifting in front of his old buddy and probably would have taken the brunt of the contact had Edwards not been there to accelerate things. Even if NASCAR got upset with their retiring former three-time champ, we know they refuse to dock points as they transfer to the Chase tally, and other than in the pocket book all they could do is suspend Stewart for a race or two and kill his championship hopes. That is not going to happen, and in this situation, it should not happen.

    As for Newman’s comments, I understand that he was angry. However, he came mighty close with his comments to invoking the tragedy and the pending civil case regarding the death of Kevin Ward Jr. in a sprint car accident involving Stewart two years ago. I do not know what their relationship was after Newman was essentially dropped in favor of Kevin Harvick with Stewart-Haas racing, but it can not be very good today.

    The Chase for the Championship begins in Chicago this Sunday, where the past five winners there are all current contenders for the title. Brad Keselowski has won twice, Hamlin won there a year ago, with Matt Kenseth and Stewart among the most recent winners.

    What are the odds of Tony doing well at Chicago? Maybe that is a question that should be directed to Ryan Newman. Now, wouldn’t that be dramatic?

  • The 2016 Chase For The Sprint Cup, Seeds 16-13

    The 2016 Chase For The Sprint Cup, Seeds 16-13

    16. Jamie McMurray

    A few years ago, one of the biggest problems with Chip Ganassi Racing was reliability. In 2012 for example, Juan Pablo Montoya and McMurray combined for only 30 lead lap finishes. In 2010 the duo won four races including the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 but both combined for 11 DNFs. In both years, neither driver made it to the Chase.

    Fast forward a few years and a driver change. Both cars are making the Chase field even though McMurray hasn’t won since 2013 and Kyle Larson has only won one race. For McMurray, consistency was key and he was the final driver who made the Chase on that strength.

    Pros

    McMurray hasn’t had a lot of raw firepower- just one top five and nine top 10s are the worst in the Chase save for Chris Buescher. What he has had, however, has been consistency. Only five times has McMurray finished outside of the top 20, he has 19 lead lap finishes out of 26 starts, and his lone DNF was in a multi-car wreck at Daytona. He has also gained a lot of momentum recently, getting four top 10s in the past five races. A quiet ride to Homestead like Ryan Newman in 2014 or Jeff Gordon (before his win at Martinsville) last year could very well be in the cards.

    Cons

    But the Chase favors that raw firepower the No. 1 team just doesn’t have right now. Sure, Newman came one spot away from winning the championship without winning a race before Homestead, but he was flat-out more consistent than McMurray before the Chase. The Chase also has five 1.5 milers, a track type where McMurray has had one top 10 this season, at a track that isn’t in the Chase (Kentucky). Finally, he’s the only driver in the Chase that hasn’t led a single lap all season.

    Overall

    McMurray has momentum coming in and could very easily ride that to round two, then maybe get a surprise win at Talladega (Historically strong track for him and the site of his lone top five this year) to make it to round three. After that? I’m just not seeing him making it to Homestead. He was unimpressive at both Phoenix and Texas earlier this season while finishing outside of the top 20 at Martinsville.

    15. Austin Dillon

    Austin Dillon entered this season needing to improve. He had looked rather unimpressive in his rookie season in 2014 outside of winning the Daytona 500 pole and had regressed in 2015 with a much worse average finish. Then this year rolled around.

    Dillon had four top 10s in the first six races of the season and finished that stretch seventh in points, compare that to 21st in the final 2015 point standings. By comparison, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. also started the season off strong and was 11th in points after the third race of the season. But unlike Stenhouse, Dillon rode the wave of momentum well enough to make his first Chase.

    Pros

    As Richard Childress Racing’s lone hope in the Chase, no doubt Dillon will have even more of the team’s resources at his disposal. Dillon has also shown variation, having good runs on 1.5 milers, superspeedways, and short tracks. Finally, Dillon has a certain swagger about him not a lot of other young drivers carry. He’s used to having it his way, and sometimes that’s a good thing…

    Cons

    … And sometimes that’s a bad thing. Although he hasn’t had problems recently with his team, he has been known at times to get heated with crew chief “Slugger” Labbe over the radio this season. Dillon has also had consistency problems at times, never stringing together more than two top tens in a row this season. Like McMurray, the No. 3 Chevrolet also just hasn’t had the firepower other teams have had this season. That’s expected, however- the top RCR teams the last few years lack in wins but made up for it by being reliable.

    Overall

    Dillon is a noted Carolina Panthers fan. So using that, I’m going to say that his season so far has been like the 2014 Carolina Panthers; a losing team that ended up making the playoffs. His team is loaded with potential and has the chance to be as great as the 2015 Carolina Panthers someday, but they just aren’t there yet. Sure, he could make it past a round in the playoffs like the Panthers did that year but the moment he’s going up against a legitimate championship contender for a spot, he’s probably not winning. It’s more important instead that he builds on this season regardless of the result and has a good five years instead of an okay one.

    14. Chase Elliott

    No driver has entered their maiden season in the Sprint Cup Series with more pressure to perform than Chase Elliott. Sure, Kyle Petty and Dale Earnhardt Jr. had Hall of Fame dads to live up to. But they didn’t have to replace another Hall of Famer and a top-five driver in just about everybody’s all-time list. On the flip side, Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick started their Sprint Cup careers off taking the wheel from a legendary driver. But neither had Bill Elliott as a father as well.

    So far, Chase has done a pretty decent job. No wins but tenth in the regular season points before the Chase seeding and arguably has been the most consistent Hendrick driver this season. He also has a better average finish and more top tens than Jeff Gordon had in his own rookie season, which had to be a goal set forward by the team before this season.

    Pros

    Chase has come close to winning a couple of times this season and has shown he can compete for wins. That already makes him a better choice to make the final four than the other three drivers profiled in this article. Elliott also had strong top ten runs at six Chase tracks earlier this season- Kansas, Phoenix, Texas, Dover, Talladega, and Charlotte.

    Cons

    Elliott just hasn’t broken out yet and gotten that first Sprint Cup win. Dillon hasn’t either, but Dillon has confidence in his abilities. Elliott doesn’t, as seen in his now infamously somber post-race interviews of blaming himself for not winning. A win would offset a lot of that- a successful, championship contending driver is also a confident driver. Hendrick Motorsports as a whole has been down this year, and although Chase has some momentum heading into the Chase, his team is largely still behind the Larsons and Toyotas of the world. Finally, to be honest, I’m not that sold on Alan Gustafson being Elliott’s crew chief of the future. He’s had two seasons where he was a top five crew chief- 2009 with Mark Martin and 2014 with Jeff Gordon- and he also had some good seasons with Kyle Busch early on, but his teams have been pretty mediocre otherwise. He also isn’t getting younger in crew chief years- most retire around year ten and he’s in his 12th season.

    Overall

    It’s remarkable just how much a natural Elliott is at driving a Sprint Cup car. He jumped into this car after just a handful of starts last year and after Richmond is higher in points than Gordon was after Richmond last season. But I don’t think he has the poise and the seasoning just yet to make it to Homestead like Gordon did last year.

    13. Chris Buescher

    Two months ago, nobody in a million years would have picked Chris Buescher to make the Chase, but here we are. Buesche and Elliott are the only two rookies in the Chase and are the first to be so since Denny Hamlin in 2006.

    When the current Chase rules were announced in 2014, some feared that a driver would get a fluke victory and make the Chase that way. Not to throw shade at Buescher, but honestly, he is kind of the first driver to make it in like that.

    Pros

    Honestly, the only real pro that Buescher has right now is he’s playing with house money. Nobody, probably not even himself, thought he’d be in the Chase before this season. He’s going to be the ultimate gambler in the Chase because that’s probably the only way his underpowered and understaffed team is going to advance.

    Cons

    Outside of laps led, laps completed, and total starts, Chris Buescher has the lowest totals in all relevant stat categories heading into the Chase.

    Overall

    There’s always a possibility that Buescher can win a surprise race again and make it to round two, win a wildcard plate race at Talladega to make it to round three, then five cars get hit by lightning three weeks in a row and Buescher makes the final four at Homestead. There’s also always a possibility somebody could win the lottery after buying one ticket. Let’s be honest- barring anything I mentioned above actually happening, there’s very little chance Buescher will make it out of Dover still in the Chase. But just making the Chase, to begin with, might as well be a championship for his small Front Row Motorsports team.

  • Hot 20 – As Newman’s job just got tougher, could we give Ken Squier his old job back?

    Hot 20 – As Newman’s job just got tougher, could we give Ken Squier his old job back?

    A funny thing happened on the way to Richmond. Ryan Newman finished eighth at Darlington, got to within seven points of Jamie McMurray in the battle for the final Chase place, and then it hit the fan. Actually, it was not very amusing at all as his car failed post-race inspection, and that came with a 15 point penalty. Newman has to make up a 22 point deficit on McMurray, hope nobody below him in the standings wins this weekend, or just win the thing himself to make it. With a contract coming due and the owner’s other grandson ready to move up, this is the time for the Rocket to light the fuse.

    Kyle Larson‘s third place finish at Darlington was nice, but he also got tagged 15 points for failing the post-race checkup. However, he loses not a step in the standings and his win leaves him somewhat immune. As for the cash donations, Newman’s crew chief Luke Lambert was fined $25,000, while Chad Johnston, Larson’s bench boss, was fined $22,500. Would it not be lovely if you could fine your mechanic’s ass if he failed to fix your car the first time? Your doctor? How about politicians? We may be on to something here.

    There is one other scenario we have not mentioned. If Chris Buescher has a bad day and falls out of the Top 30, it is “hello Newman,” welcome to the Chase.

    Eleven races to go, and with Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the shelf until the Daytona 500, 23-year-old Alex Bowman will have a dream ride for eight of the remaining contests this season. It will be a good test for the driver who spent the past two seasons behind the wheel for BK Racing and Tommy Baldwin. Neither outfit has yet to win a race, boast just two Top Fives and six Top Tens in a combined 781 attempts. Bowman will end the season driving the good stuff. Jeff Gordon, meanwhile, finally retires again, after he completes Richmond, Dover, and Martinsville. Sixteen of his 93 career victories came at those venues, including nine coming at the paper-clip.

    What driver has the most identifiable car in NASCAR, even to the non-fan? Paul Menard. His name is all over it.

    Danny Gallivan, Vin Scully, Ken Squier. If you want to become a legendary hockey, baseball, or racing announcer, they are the prototypes to build upon After just a couple of minutes to get into the swing of things at Darlington, the 81-year-old Squier allowed us to once again hear how it should be done. These gentlemen were poets who were able to describe, inform, entertain, and allow us to witness the action simply through the sound of their voice. To actually see it on television was a bonus, almost an unnecessary one. Squier ended his term providing the lap-by-lap commentary in 1997, though we have been blessed by special appearances, as we were last Sunday. Gallivan retired in 1984 after 32 years calling the action for the Montreal Canadiens, passing away in 1993. The 88-year old Scully is presently bringing his 67-year career behind the Dodger microphone to a close. They remain incomparable and irreplaceable.

    Richmond has been part of the NASCAR scene since 1950, and Saturday the race will feature eight present and former Cup champions. Twenty-six of those 40 drivers have combined for 530 Cup victories, and while 12 have locked in their invite to the Chase, another 20 entered have a mathematical shot at one of the four remaining positions.

    That includes all of our Hot 20 heading into Richmond.

    1. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 4 WINS (797 Pts)
    Loose wheel, loose wheel, he thought he had Harvick’s crew pitting him for real.

    2. KYLE BUSCH – 4 WINS (727 Pts)
    Six drivers under the age of 25 have driven for him in the truck series this season.

    3. KEVIN HARVICK – 2 WINS (840 Pts)
    Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, and let them try to pit my car.

    4. CARL EDWARDS – 2 WINS (746 Pts)
    First last lap pass for the win at Richmond in the spring, why not the fall?

    5. DENNY HAMLIN – 2 WINS (729 Pts)
    If he ran NASCAR, would shorten the season and the World 600. Good thing he doesn’t.

    6. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 2 WINS (696 Pts)
    Interested in just winning the Memorial and Labor Day weekend classics this season.

    7. MATT KENSETH – 2 WINS (669 Pts)
    Without Matt, Jim might have never worked at Dunder Mifflin or met Pam or Michael Scott.

    8. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 2 WINS (656 Pts)
    Jimmie won twice, had Top 10s in five of the seven events to open the season. It’s been a while.

    9. JOEY LOGANO – 1 WIN (752 Pts)
    With Junior out, does this give Joey a shot at being NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver?

    10. KURT BUSCH – 1 WIN (728 Pts)
    Felt kind of flat at Darlington. Menard’s flat, to be specific.

    11. KYLE LARSON – 1 WIN (606 Pts)
    Finally, he has two Top Fives in a row.

    12. TONY STEWART – 1 WIN (426 Pts)
    What happened to Brian Scott at Darlington? Why, he wrecked, of course.

    13. CHRIS BUESCHER – 1 WIN (358 Pts)
    Staying within 10 of Ragan next week would be good, keeping him in the rearview, even better.

    14. CHASE ELLIOTT – 659 POINTS
    Finish 17th or better and he is off to the ball.

    15. AUSTIN DILLON – 651 POINTS
    Menard has a sponsor, Dillon has a grandfather, and Newman needs the Chase.

    16. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 642 POINTS
    Could have been 30 points up if not for that late Darlington penalty.

    17. RYAN NEWMAN – 620 POINTS
    Penalty cripples his Chase bid, while the other Dillon has designs on his ride.

    18. KASEY KAHNE – 598 POINTS
    At least Junior has an excuse for not making the Chase.

    19. RYAN BLANEY – 573 POINTS
    No gloves, no problem, but less money in your pocket.

    20. A.J. ALLMENDINGER – 562 POINTS
    Mr. Tickles? Maybe it was girlfriend Tara who named the cat.

  • The Final Word – I would absolutely suck as a pit crew member, so why won’t Harvick hire me?

    The Final Word – I would absolutely suck as a pit crew member, so why won’t Harvick hire me?

    A classic. That is what the Southern 500 is. Born in 1950, it predates NASCAR’s jewel events in Indianapolis, Bristol, Talladega, Charlotte, and Daytona. It is the Southern 500, the Labor Day classic at Darlington. It is not a November race, not a race to be branded by Dodge, not run on Mother’s Day or in April. After a dozen years of stupidity, it returned in 2015 to be what it has always been meant to be, the great southern Labor Day NASCAR tradition.

    Kevin Harvick lost Sunday’s race in classic style. If a pit crew can screw things up, it can find work on this car. Two pit stops, two disasters. One dropped him from first to fourth. The next, from first to 12th. It has reached the point where even the most understandable reason is rejected as yet another damned excuse. “Someone slashed our spare tires” or “It is hard to change a tire with no arms” or “The dog ate the air wrench” no longer cuts it. Harvick finished second. He should have been first.

    That was left for Martin Truex Jr. to accomplish. Sometimes, it is just more fun to win a classic event over the holidays. After previous career victories at Dover, Sonoma, and Pocono, this season it has been Labor Day at Darlington and the Memorial Day World 600 in Charlotte. Those are the kind of wins that get a driver remembered.

    Winning a title also does that. With Richmond the last stop before the Chase, a dozen drivers are locked in having won a race or more. Chris Buescher claims a spot if he manages to be within ten positions of David Ragan next weekend, thus staying within the season’s Top 30. Chase Elliott and Austin Dillon are a lock should they come home within 23 and 15 spots, respectfully, of Ryan Newman this Sunday. Jamie McMurray lays claim to the final spot should he be no more than six places behind Newman at Richmond, and a first-time winner does not emerge to steal that final Chase place from him. The question is, do Newman, Kasey Kahne, Ryan Blaney, A.J. Allmendinger, Trevor Bayne, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Greg Biffle, or Paul Menard have the horses to do what needs to be done? The odds are long, but remember that they were for Buescher once, too.

    It was a true classic at Darlington, but it was something of a classic finish in the truck race at MoSport Park in Ontario on Sunday. Well, the finish between John Hunter Nemechek and Cole Custer would have gone down as a classic if it had taken place at almost any other track. Two racers rubbing and racing and scraping against the wall to the finish. Instead, on the outside, they had enough prairie to give me a home where the buffalo roam, along with a couple of elk, before they came across any barrier. Rather than taking Custer to the outside wall, Nemechek wound up taking him into the car pool lane. What could have been a classic finish had all the appearances of a demo derby. Does that make Nemechek a wild man or a guy who did what he had to do on a surface that extended much farther out than what we would have normally seen? He won, so does it matter? I bet to Custer, it does. He seemed downright excited as he tackled Nemechek after the race, sending the pair tumbling to the grass. Vengeance is a bitch, and she just might have some bite before their version of the Chase concludes in the truck series. Just ask Joey Logano.

    Classic. They have been racing at Richmond since 1953, and the list of the winners there is a smorgasbord of NASCAR history, with all the fixings. It is where three generations of Petty boys have a victory, including 13 by the King himself. Both Earnhardts have won there, with Senior having a 5-3 advantage over Junior. Kyle has a 4-2 lead over Kurt in the battle of the Busch boys. Richmond is where Bobby Allison won seven times, with six wins apiece awarded to David Pearson, Darrell Waltrip, and Rusty Wallace.

    Sadly, the one-time Capital City 400 sold its soul to Wrangler more than 35 years ago. Since then, the trail has winded through a brewery, a battery outfit, a car manufacturer, to even include a brand of pistachios for a season. A classic event it is not. A classic venue it most certainly is.

    Here is hoping for a classic finish. This spring Carl Edwards bumped Kyle Busch out of the way to record the first last-lap pass for the win in Richmond history. Why not another?

  • Hot 20 – Who will be left singing the blues at Darlington, where some memories just won’t die?

    Hot 20 – Who will be left singing the blues at Darlington, where some memories just won’t die?

    Who is the greatest country singer ever associated with NASCAR? There has been Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow, Brad Paisley, Brooks and Dunn, Hank Williams Jr., Toby Keith, Cledus T. Judd, and lately Blake Shelton. That is a pretty impressive list of talent and it is far from complete. However, there is no question that the King of NASCAR Country was Marty Robbins.

    While he is best known for singing White Sport Coat, El Paso, and My Woman, My Woman, My Wife, among his 17 Number One hits and 82 Top 40 entries, Robbins raced. Between 1966 and 1982, he managed to get into 35 Cup events, claiming six Top Tens along the way. He drove them, Hall of Famer Cotton Owens prepared them.

    As the boys and girl head to Darlington for the Southern 500, we should remember that the singer once finished seventh in the iconic race back in 1971. A year later, he was ninth again behind the wheel of the No. 42 at the Lady in Black. When you race, you wreck, and he did. A pileup in Talladega in 1974 left him with some 37 stitches in his face. The same year at Charlotte, he deliberately wrecked to avoid a t-bone collision with Richard Childress, some saying the action may well have saved the future Hall of Famer’s life.

    He was a legitimate driver. His results were legitimate. Well, all but one. His Talladega result in the spring of 1972 was not. Robbins was disqualified. When they tried to give him rookie honors, he declined, then had the officials check out his carburetor. It was as illegal as it gets. He just wanted to know what it felt like to drive up front with the big boys. I do not believe NASCAR was terribly impressed as they dropped him to 50th. Finishing up front that day was David Pearson, and it marked the debut of one Darrell Waltrip.

    This weekend, Darlington features throwback paint schemes for both the XFINITY event as well as the Southern 500. Michigan winner Kyle Larson will be one of a half dozen Cup guys in that Saturday contest. His paint scheme in that race will honor Marty Robbins.

    As Chris Buescher attempts to stay in the Chase by keeping ahead of David Ragan in the standings, and while Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon, and Jamie McMurray try to protect their own championship hopes, here is a look at whom or what our Hot 20 honor with their paint schemes heading into Sunday’s Southern 500.

    1. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 4 WINS (774 Pts)
    Original Miller Lite can design of 1972

    2. KYLE BUSCH – 4 WINS (696 Pts)
    Dale Jarrett’s No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet

    3. KEVIN HARVICK – 2 WINS (799 Pts)
    Cale Yarborough and the 1979 Daytona 500

    4. CARL EDWARDS – 2 WINS (724 Pts)
    Tony Stewart, who made his debut in 1999

    5. DENNY HAMLIN – 2 WINS (691 Pts)
    Darrell Waltrip, behind the wheel of the No. 11 from 1981-86

    6. JIMMIE JOHNSTON – 2 WINS (648 Pts)
    David Pearson and Dale Earnhardt of the late 1970s and early 1980s

    7. MATT KENSETH – 2 WINS (633 Pts)
    Ricky Rudd’s 1995 Tide ride

    8. KURT BUSCH – 1 WIN (721 Pts)
    The Haas VF-1 vertical machining center, introduced in 1988.

    9. JOEY LOGANO – 1 WIN (716 Pts)
    Bobby Labonte’s Busch series, Shell-sponsored car of 1996-98

    10. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 WIN (652 Pts)
    Sponsor Auto-Owners Insurance’s 100th anniversary

    11. KYLE LARSON – 1 WIN (582 Pts)
    Chip Ganassi Racing’s IndyCar history, going back to 1990, with seven championships, 90 wins

    12. TONY STEWART – 1 WIN (420 Pts)
    Bobby Allison and his five Southern 500 victories

    13. CHRIS BUESCHER – 1 WIN (334 Pts)
    Tribute to sponsor Love’s Travel Stops, in its original 1981 colors

    14. CHASE ELLIOTT – 628 POINTS
    NAPA’s delivery trucks of the 1960s

    15. AUSTIN DILLON – 622 POINTS
    Saluting first Childress win, with Ricky Rudd, in 1983

    16. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 616 POINTS
    Bill Elliott in his 1997 colors

    17. RYAN NEWMAN – 601 POINTS
    Ricky Rudd’s first Childress win of 1983 at Riverside, California

    18. KASEY KAHNE – 564 POINTS
    Tribute to Terry Labonte and his 1982 J.D. Stacy-sponsored Buick

    19. TREVOR BAYNE – 558 POINTS
    Mark Martin, 619 Starts, 35 wins in the No. 6 from 1988 to 2006

    20. RYAN BLANEY – 545 POINTS
    David Pearson’s 43 wins during the 1970s piloting the No. 21 for the Wood Brothers