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  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Pocono Windows 10 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Pocono Windows 10 400

    In what will no doubt go down in the books as one of the crazier races at the ‘Tricky Triangle’, here are the highlights of what was surprising and not surprising from the Windows 10 400 at Pocono Raceway.

    Surprising:  In an unusual race where one of his team’s drivers run out of fuel on the way to a fourth straight win and one of his other drivers coasted into Victory Lane, the best quote of the day was from Coach Joe Gibbs.

    He told Sirius XM radio’s Claire B. Lang, “I’ve been going to Victory Lane so much that I might just have to go to rehab.”

    This was Joe Gibbs Racing’s fourth consecutive win in that same number of races.

    “It was a big deal today the way everything played out,” Gibbs added. “But I think you do, in pro sports you realize how hard it is to win a race, and when you get in a situation like this, you really want to enjoy it, and I think we do.”

    Not Surprising:  Matt Kenseth accomplished a first-time twofer as he took the checkered flag with just enough fuel left for a burnout.

    “Today is a first,” Kenseth said. “I checked two things off the list.  I won at Pocono, I didn’t think that would ever happen, and I won a fuel-mileage race, I didn’t think that would ever happen.

    “There’s been a few through the years that I thought we had it all figured out, and we were the only one that was going to make it and all that stuff and you catch an untimely caution and there’s been some other ones where you are kind of dominating the race and you’re out there and you run out of gas and somebody back mid-pack had enough gas to make it and have lost several like that.

    “Feels good to get one like that.  We had a fast car and we were able to get the fuel mileage good enough to get the win.

    “So yeah, this is a first for me.”

    Surprising:  It was Groundhog Day at Pocono, at least for the eerily similar three crashes that happened with cars smacking into the pit road wall. It happened to Ray Black Jr. in the Truck race, as well as Jeb Burton in practice. And then the third hit happened in nearly the same way but in the race to Kasey Kahne.

    “I just got loose really late, so far off the corner,” Kahne said. “A really late exit. I’m not sure why or what happened. It just jumped out. You’re so far off the corner, to slow slide and get so far down pit road, it was crazy.

    “I’ve never ended up over there like that. I don’t know why that was. I couldn’t believe when the No. 26 (Jeb Burton) did earlier this weekend and then I did.”

    Not Surprising:  While several drivers, especially those that ran out of fuel, might want to put Pocono in their rear view mirror, there was one driver who no doubt burned rubber leaving the track.

    “It was one of those days,” Sam Hornish Jr. said. “I missed a shift on a restart which wasn’t any good and then we had a tire come apart and then we got hit and then Kurt (Busch) was trying to hold on to it and I saw that he got it straightened back out and it is one of those things where everything stops smoking long enough that you think he has it back under control again and then it is just wobbling around on him.

    “Unfortunate for us for sure. I love coming to Pocono and I have had some good runs here and led laps and felt like we could win races, but it just hasn’t been for us this year.”

    Surprising:  There was no one more surprised than Kyle Busch that the race went green at the end, especially given the many early race cautions. And the driver, who was hoping for his fourth consecutive win and a boost into Chase contention, was also surprised that he was short enough on fuel not to make it to the finish line.

    “It was a caution-filled race there for a while,” Busch said. “I was surprised the end then went green. I don’t know where we were on our strategy and all of that stuff.

    “I’ve got to debrief with Adam (Stevens, crew chief), but I don’t know how close we were and if we were one lap short of making it then I probably needed to save or do a better job of running those last 30 laps or so.

    “We were short, we run out, but we went down swinging so I can’t fault my guys for that. An awesome call, they called the race right and another Monster Energy can of gas and we’d be winning another one.”

    Not Surprising:  The irrepressible Clint Bowyer was nearly jumping up and down when he got out of his race car after finishing top-10.

    “Holy cow that was a finish,” the driver of the No. 15 Maxwell House Toyota said of his eighth place run. “What a race. We got caught with the caution lights and had a heck of a comeback. We were able to save enough fuel and give the Maxwell House Toyota a great finish.”

    Surprising:  The fourth place finisher felt like a time traveler when all was said and done at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’

    “Yeah, in the booth up there, they turned the clock back to 1973 and let that thing play out a little bit and let everybody run out of gas,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “That was pretty cool. It’s kind of like some of the older races where you just can’t count on them to throw them cautions there at the end. And they didn’t today.”

    Not Surprising:  For his very last appearance at Pocono, Jeff Gordon actually went off script and could not have been more pleased with the result.

    “No, the script I had played out in my head was we were going to be 15th, so this one was way better than that,” the driver of the No. 24  AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet said after finishing third.

    “For whatever reason the last couple times we’ve been here we’ve had decent race cars, not maybe the cars that we would have liked to have had, but cars far capable of better finishes than what we’ve had, have been getting, and just a lot of different circumstances not playing out.  Some to our own credit and others just circumstances.

    “Today finally one went our way for a change, which is really nice to bounce back after last week’s unfortunate incident where we lost so many points.”

    Gordon gained one spot in the point standings, moving from the 11th spot up to 10th.

    Surprising:  In spite of overcoming adversity, including hitting two of his pit crew members during a doomed stop, to finish runner-up, Brad Keselowski felt surprising empathy, in fact even heartbreak, for his teammate’s misfortune at the race end.

    “The fuel came into play at the end and we were able to take care of it to bring home second, which is a very respectable day,” Keselowski said. “Certainly not where we were going to finish without the fuel, but that is sometimes how it works.

    “I think my teammate (Joey Logano) and his team did a phenomenal job. I am heartbroken for them to not win the race.”

    Not Surprising: Mama told him there would be days like this, so Kevin Harvick was able to let his first DNF since April 2014 roll off his back.

    “Yeah, coming around turn two I knew I had some issues but didn’t realize they were going to be that big,” Harvick said. I’m just really proud of my Jimmy John’s/Budweiser team. The car was fast. You’ll have days like this.”

    Next week, the Sprint Cup Series will travel to battle the road course at Watkins Glen. The CHEEZ-It 355 at The Glen will run at 2:00 p.m. ET on NBCSN on Sunday, August 9.

     

     

     

  • The Final Word – Things got rather iffy at Pocono

    The Final Word – Things got rather iffy at Pocono

    If. We all have a closet full of “ifs” that we may ponder about. Take last Sunday for instance. If Kyle Busch had saved enough fuel, he may well have won his fourth straight race, moved into the Top 30 in points, and sat atop the season standings with five victories to his credit. But he did not, so he does not. Well, at least for another week, as despite finishing 21st on Sunday he now trails the pair tied for that magic spot by just 17 points.

    If Joey Logano had not run out of gas to allow Busch to pass him with a handful of laps left, he might have won his second of the season., instead of coming home 20th. That would have pushed him into third place on the season ladder, but the cars can hold only so many gallons, and he needed a couple more.

    If Kevin Harvick had an engine that would last more than 20 laps, he could have won his third. However, just as he took the lead his car went up in smoke to take care of any mosquito problems in the area. He almost went from first to worst, but he even failed at that.

    If Kasey Kahne had not spun coming out of the third turn, he might have avoided finishing dead last after just three laps. Three. He broke loose, headed toward pit road, and found the inside wall. A lot of helmets on the barrier went flying but, thankfully, not a single head was in any of them. Now he sits 16th in the standings, which means he will be 17th after next week unless he can make up the 15 points he now trails Clint Bowyer.

    If Bowyer, who finished eighth, could just win a race he would not be worrying about making the Chase. His 15th could be the new 16th or worse if Kyle does well next Sunday and somebody below him in points wins at Watkins Glen. Somebody like 2014 race winner A.J. Allmendinger, for example. Don’t you think team owner Michael Waltrip could use a little good news about now?

    If last weekend’s race went 159 laps, instead of 160, Matt Kenseth would not have claimed his 33rd career victory, his second of the season, and his first in 32 Pocono starts. Logano and Kyle had the cars to beat, and Kenseth did just that by leading laps 88 and 160.

    If the 88 of Dale Earnhardt Jr. had only not had that pit road penalty. Who am I kidding? That car was junk much of the day, but it sure looked pretty. As it turned out, their fuel strategy worked pretty well, at least enough to give them an undeserved fourth place finish.

    If Brad Keselowski had not gone bowling for dollars, using his crew as pins, maybe his runner-up finish could have been one better. It takes time to complete a stop after sending your jack man flying and putting your tire changer on the hood as his fresh Goodyear goes bouncing to hither and yon. By the way, you do not have to take equipment out of the stall to get a penalty. Sending it flying on its own gets you docked some extra time just as well.

    If not for the woes of others, Greg Biffle, Allmendinger, and Tony Stewart might not have picked up Top Tens on the day. I believe their feelings on the matter might be something like “it sure sucks to be them.”

    If Tony can rebound to form at Watkins Glen next Sunday, where he has won five before, or if Allmendinger can repeat, all of a sudden their respective seasons perk right up. If Jeff Gordon could take his fifth or Harvick his second on the road course, it would be nice, but there are those in greater need.

    If Kyle could win a third race at the Glen, the waiting would be over, the standings reset, and just five places in the Chase would remain open to non-winners.

    If a first-time winner emerges on Sunday, make that four spots open.

  • Hot 20 – Pocono, where Kyle’s winning streak comes to an end…maybe

    Hot 20 – Pocono, where Kyle’s winning streak comes to an end…maybe

    Back we go to Pocono, where Martin Truex Jr. won in the spring, where all of the Hendrick drivers shared in winning the previous five. A Busch has won there, twice. His name is Kurt.

    Kyle Busch has not…yet. He swept Indianapolis last weekend, meaning he ran and won the XFINITY race there on Saturday. It was his second junior circuit win in five tries this season. That now means series regulars have won just three of 18 events, with Chris Buescher taking two while Ryan Reed won at Daytona in February. Truck series wonder-kid Erik Jones has a pair while six Cup drivers have shared the other 13. Of course, most see what the problem is. I guess stupid is as stupid does, as Forrest Gump reminded us.

    NASCAR spent tons of time and money figuring out a package to run at Indy. Then they got teams to spend their own time and money to ready their cars with that new package. In the end, they appear to have wasted a bunch of time and money. The racing was not much different than it has ever been, which is not all that good while making them a bit more sensitive to losing control after losing air on the spoiler, spoiling their day. Next month, they will use the same package in Michigan. You can never have too much of a bad thing, I guess.

    Word is that Danica Patrick is expected to stay with Stewart-Haas after this season, a new contract and new sponsors. Why? It has everything to do with being a competent attractive female in a sport dominated by men. She might never contend for a title or even a Chase berth, but as long as she continues to enjoy the following she has, she does not have to.

    Cameron Hayley is a 19-year-old Canadian sitting sixth in the truck series standings. He is a Calgary boy, making him as likely to be a cowboy as a hockey player. Instead, he turned to racing. Too bad the truck series is not broadcast in Canada this season. However, if you want to watch soccer instead, I got great news for you.

    Heading to Pocono, our Hot 20 does not include our hottest driver. Heading out of Pocono probably will be a different story. If you are wondering if it is all about Kyle…it seems it is.

    1. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 4 WINS (675 Points)
    Will remain first overall, unless Kyle wins Pocono.

    2. KEVIN HARVICK – 2 WINS (777 Points)
    All the talk is about Kyle, but Harv’s finishes over the past five have been fourth, fourth, eighth, third, and third.

    3. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 2 WINS (677 Points)
    The last driver not named Kyle Busch to win a Cup race.

    4. KURT BUSCH – 2 WINS (612 Points)
    Kyle’s first bridesmaid was his own brother.

    5. JOEY LOGANO – 1 WIN (708 Points)
    Bridesmaid No. 2…and No. 4.

    6. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 WIN (668 Points)
    Could have helped Kyle and Kevin in late restarts…but I guess they were on their own.

    7. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 1 WIN (638 Points)
    Kyle’s other bridesmaid, as Penske finished second in each of the past three.

    8. MATT KENSETH – 1 WIN (615 Points)
    As a teammate, he personally knows Kyle.

    9. DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN (591 Points)
    So does Denny.

    10. CARL EDWARDS – 1 WIN (519 Points)
    So does Carl.

    11. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 602 POINTS
    Has enough points that Kyle’s expected jump up the ladder affects him the least.

    12. JEFF GORDON – 575 POINTS
    Forget Kyle. Until further notice, the goal is to finish ahead of Bowyer every week.

    13. RYAN NEWMAN – 563 POINTS
    After Pocono and Kyle’s expected rise in the standings, things get a little more tense.

    14. KASEY KAHNE – 558 POINTS
    Same as above.

    15. PAUL MENARD – 558 POINTS
    Ditto.

    16. CLINT BOWYER – 538 POINTS
    If Kyle moves up, 16th becomes the new 17th.

    17. ARIC ALMIROLA – 508 POINTS
    Forget Kyle and forget making the Chase on points. A win is the only way in.

    18. GREG BIFFLE – 462 POINTS
    Kyle is the least of his worries.

    19. AUSTIN DILLON – 453 POINTS
    Like Kyle, Austin was a speed racer at Indy. Unlike Kyle, he did his speeding on pit road…twice.

    20. KYLE LARSON – 452 POINTS
    The other Kyle.

  • The Final Word – Post-race Kyle kissed the Bricks at Indianapolis, the rest could just kiss his…

    The Final Word – Post-race Kyle kissed the Bricks at Indianapolis, the rest could just kiss his…

    All we have heard all summer long is how great Kyle is at winning, how wonderful Kyle has been in making a comeback. Kyle, Kyle, Kyle. It is enough to make one channel their inner Jan Brady.

    What a wonderful race Kevin Harvick had. He led all those laps, yet the best he gets in the end was third. Joey Logano, he had a wonderful day going for him, but with about 10 to go, Kyle decided the race was his and won his first Brickyard 400.

    Okay, three wins in a row. Four of the past five, all in just the past nine events; 33rd of his career. Over those last five events, Busch has managed to pick up an average of 30 points per race on the driver sitting in 30th place in the standings, and today sits just 23 behind Justin Allgaier as he moves closer to being Chase eligible and making those wins count toward the standings. My bold prediction is that he will rocket from 32nd to at least second in the season standings come next Sunday at Pocono.

    Busch is having a season just as unbelievable as that of Tony Stewart. I mean, who can believe the crap Smoke has been putting up with this season? He starts fourth at Indianapolis, was up front the first half of the day, yet the heaping helping he was left with was not exactly a steaming pile of hospitality. Strategy gone bad, they said. Stewart pits when some thought he should have maintained track position. Shortly after, he pits again, giving up even more. He finished 28th, a spot behind Danica Patrick, who had a Top 15 day, was eighth when they re-started with eight to go.

    Jeff Gordon was in his final Brickyard, but he lost control trying to avoid a spinning Clint Bowyer. Contact with the outside wall left him limping to 42nd. Still, he is in no danger of dropping out of the Top 16 just yet. Bowyer has that final transfer spot, sitting 30 points ahead of Aric Almirola. He appeared to be driving a metallic pinata as Bowyer gained 32 positions on him.

    Mind you, after Pocono, when the four Busch wins trump whatever points he might have, as long as he sits amongst the Top 30, Bowyer will slip back to 17th. In reality, he goes into next weekend down by 20 to Kasey Kahne and Paul Menard, and 25 behind Ryan Newman, for the spot that will matter at the end of the day.

    As for Kyle, he has never won at Pocono. Of course, he had never won a Cup event at Indianapolis before, either. Busch is a husband, a new dad and appears to have returned a more mature version of his former self. Maybe even a more talented version, if that can be possible. Some might not like it, but the way things are going, they might have to be content with kissing his…championship ring at the end of the season.

  • Hot 20 – Indianapolis, It is no Wetaskiwin, but it will do

    Hot 20 – Indianapolis, It is no Wetaskiwin, but it will do

    I am just another foreigner. Sure, I’ve been to Daytona. I spent Christmas a couple of years ago on a beach near Malibu. I have been in the Empire State Building, walked the boardwalk in Atlantic City, toured Gettysburg, been to Independence Hall in Philadelphia, and drove the strip in Las Vegas. I have walked the Little Bighorn Battlefield more than once, seen Devil’s Tower and visited Mount Rushmore. I have watched the Red Sox play in Seattle, and I believe the scenery in Wyoming is second to none. I’ve been there, but I do not live there.

    I am reminded of that fact as I write this. You see, the big dirt race at Eldora Speedway was slated for this week. Sadly, as a Canadian, that American-based program was not be broadcast on this side of the border, or any truck race for that matter. All was not lost. TSN, our version of ESPN, was slated to run a NASCAR event the same night. It was the Canadian Tire series, from Wetaskiwin, Alberta. A race run nearly two weeks ago and won by 43-year old Scott Steckly from Milverton, Ontario. It was his second win in the six races run to date and he leads the season standings. You might not care. You might not even be Canadian. You might have been stuck having to watch that dirt race broadcast on live television from Iowa. Oh, well, such are the trials and tribulations of being American, I guess.

    This Sunday, NASCAR is back on my television, but not from Wetaskiwin, a place where I understand cars cost less than in, say, Edmonton. No, this Sunday the event is something called the Brickyard 400, from a place called Indianapolis. You might have heard of it.

    In the meantime, as a Canadian, please allow me to politely submit this week’s Hot 20…

    1. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 4 WINS (646 Points)
    He and Chad are free agents at the end of the season. Could anyone tempt them?

    2. KEVIN HARVICK – 2 WINS (734 Points)
    Disaster struck in the pits…so the best he could do was third. Third. Oh, the humanity!

    3. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 2 WINS (655 Points)
    Junior was hot last week. Okay, more like p.o.’d, to use the vernacular.

    4. KURT BUSCH – 2 WINS (576 Points)
    The forgotten Busch? Little brothers can be so attention getting.

    5. JOEY LOGANO – 1 WIN (665 Points)
    It is so good to be a Penske guy right now.

    6. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 WIN (628 Points)
    Some guys got the breaks in New Hampshire, other guys were named Truex.

    7. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 1 WIN (603 Points)
    Best damn driver in recent weeks not named Kyle Busch.

    8. MATT KENSETH – 1 WIN (578 Points)
    It is a good thing they do not hand out demerits for speeding…on pit road.

    9. DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN (552 Points)
    Hamlin wins Saturday, upsets Austin, but why in hell were either racing in the minor league?

    10. CARL EDWARDS – 1 WIN (487 Points)
    The big difference between Clint and Carl is a single checkered flag.

    11. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 574 POINTS
    Jamie had a lousy day. Still, Bowyer’s was even worse.

    12. JEFF GORDON – 573 POINTS
    Five Indianapolis wins, including just one year ago. Why not six?

    13. KASEY KAHNE – 538 POINTS
    Presently a Chase contender, but best title comes in October…a new dad.

    14. RYAN NEWMAN – 530 POINTS
    Eleventh at New Hampshire means some breathing room heading to Indianapolis.

    15. PAUL MENARD – 528 POINTS
    Fail inspection once, you get a letter. If it happens again this week, they get penalized.

    16. ARIC ALMIROLA – 502 POINTS
    Thanks, Clint!

    17. CLINT BOWYER – 500 POINTS
    Failed inspection, runs into Gordon outside the garage, then car fades to irrelevance in the race.

    18. GREG BIFFLE – 437 POINTS
    If NASCAR had the same rules as MLB, Biffle should demand to be traded by the deadline.

    19. AUSTIN DILLON – 434 POINTS
    Has an idea as to where he would love to shove the XFINITY checkered flag after last Saturday.

    20. CASEY MEARS – 427 POINTS
    #13 proves to be a good number as Casey signs up for another season with Germain Racing.

  • The Final Word – After New Hampshire, the Busch Chronicles Continue

    The Final Word – After New Hampshire, the Busch Chronicles Continue

    Welcome to the Busch Chronicles. Brother Kurt missed the opening three races of the season, won a couple and quickly qualified for a Chase place by being well within the Top 30 in points on the season. Brother Kyle missed the opening 11 events of the season after suffering a broken leg in the XFINITY race at Daytona. He seems to be doing well after his first eight back. Three wins in his last four, including his run last Sunday at New Hampshire, has him close. I thought he might pick up twenty points on the 30th place Cole Whitt, but I was wrong.

    On lap 245, Busch sensed a tire going down and came to the pits under green. He slipped a lap down but had car enough to try to get it back on his own. On lap 252 he made a wild pass with no room to spare to slip by both Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick just before the caution came out due to fluid on the track. Not only was he back on the lead lap, all the other drivers pitted when he did not need to, making Busch the leader. He remained on point through to the 301st and final circuit to claim the victory, and accumulated 47 points.

    That was better than Cole Whitt, who had been 30th in the standings coming in. He was 28th on the day, allowing David Gilliland to move past him on the charts as he claimed 21st. Even with the swap of targets, Busch reduced his deficit from 87 to 58 points, a gain of 29 on the position he is aiming for.

    It is more than realistic to see Kyle moving into at least 30th in points, thus making his wins count toward the standings, to move him from 33rd today to at least second by the time they leave Watkins Glen. If he continues making 29-point gains, he could be there before they arrive at the road course. It is not always all about Kyle, but right now it sure is.

    Goodyear supplies the rubber, but one would have sworn Alex Bowman had one of Barney Rubble’s firestones onboard. He provided a whole new definition to burning rubber as he went up in flames on his way out of the pits, as it appears the residual old hot rubber set the new rubber ablaze. The 22-year-old finished the race though about 70 laps down. Sure, Kyle is hot right now, but for a few moments it could be argued that Alex was even hotter.

    Clint Bowyer is not though he could be upset by tumbling out of the Sweet Sixteen. Finishing 34th did him no favors, 19 spots behind Aric Almirola. Almirola is now in 16th, two points up while Ryan Newman launched from seven to now 30 points ahead of Clint as he moves to 14th on the charts.

    So, we await a first-time winner to secure a spot, especially someone from outside the top 16. Carl Edwards is thirteen points behind Bowyer, but his win at Charlotte was huge. This weekend the storyline could be about one of the rich getting richer, or maybe someone jumping the line to steal a place with a surprise victory, the latest tango involving Bowyer and Almirola, and the continuing adventures of Kurt’s little brother.

    Next up is the Brickyard this Sunday. Jeff Gordon won his fifth at Indianapolis last year while Jimmie Johnson could add to his four win total of this year by taking his fifth ever at the Brickyard. Kyle has never won at this venue, but this is another week and that is just another challenge to be overcome.

  • Hot 20 – Sunday is the time to make a little magic on the mile in New Hampshire

    Hot 20 – Sunday is the time to make a little magic on the mile in New Hampshire

    You’ve got your Monster Mile in Dover and you’ve got your Hot Mile in Phoenix, but they are seeking to work a little magic on the mile in Loudon, New Hampshire. Kyle the Magnificent hopes he can continue pulling out of his hat the kind of results that have seen him win two of the last three events. Busch remains the hot story, but he will need to make up the 87 points between him and the 30th ranked Cole Whitt for his victories to launch him from 35th upwards into a spot on this list.

    Eleven drivers have wins, 10 of whom sit in Chase places, and none of them needs more bubbly just yet though none would turn down the chance for a post-race soaking. No matter what, those 10, along with both Jamie McMurray and Jeff Gordon, will keep their Chase positions in hand when they leave Loudon. A win would be nice, but not critical for any of them.

    The odds favor Busch making up his point deficit, maybe even as much as 20 of that coming this weekend alone. If he can accomplish that over the next eight events, that would leave only five Chase spots available for non-winners. You have to figure at least one or two others will claim their first checkered flag of the campaign between now and Richmond. Kyle Larson has yet to win a Cup race, but in two career Loudon starts he has claimed a second and a third place result. That first victory could come Sunday. If he or another of the winless amongst them can do the trick, the number of Chase spots available based on points alone could be reduced to four.

    Sunday will be an important one for Kyle and all those sitting beyond 12th in the standings. It would be a very good time for one of them to make a little magic.

    The Hot 20 heading to New Hampshire include…

    1. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 4 WINS (624 Points)
    New rules package should give Chad something to play with.

    2. KEVIN HARVICK – 2 WINS (692 Points)
    His son gets a go-cart. His wife gets jewelry. Sounds like a win-win-lose situation to me.

    3. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 2 WINS (616 Points)
    Four car operations can be fun…as long as they are owned by Rick Hendrick.

    4. KURT BUSCH – 2 WINS (542 Points)
    If Stewart-Haas was just a two-car outfit like Penske, this would be a hell of a great season.

    5. JOEY LOGANO – 1 WIN (624 Points)
    Sees nothing wrong in having just one team-mate.

    6. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 WIN (596 Points)
    What is a team-mate?

    7. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 1 WIN (559 Points)
    A great Kentucky weekend with an XFINITY victory and sixth place finish in Cup.

    8. MATT KENSETH – 1 WIN (540 Points)
    Only the fourth best Gibbs driver last week…and he finished fifth!

    9. DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN (522 Points)
    Eighteen starts at Loudon, 11 Top Tens, two wins. It might be another good day for Joe Gibbs.

    10. CARL EDWARDS – 1 WIN (449 Points)
    Fourth at Kentucky sure beats 40th and 41st the previous two weeks.

    11. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 556 POINTS
    He won’t win in New Hampshire, but history tells us he could finish anywhere else.

    12. JEFF GORDON – 537 POINTS
    Sure, Jeff is leaving after the season, but why is no one lamenting the loss of Josh Wise?

    13. KASEY KAHNE – 513 POINTS
    If Jeff and Kasey are having disappointing seasons, at least 30 others would love to suck this badly.

    14. PAUL MENARD – 509 POINTS
    Best ever Loudon finish is 12th. A Top 20 would even represent a moral victory.

    15. RYAN NEWMAN – 497 POINTS
    That tire penalty back in March still looms…but how large depends on who wins the next eight.

    16. CLINT BOWYER – 490 POINTS
    I recently read that Bowyer is “stuck in the middle of a miserable season.” Ask Tony if he agrees.

    17. ARIC ALMIROLA – 473 POINTS
    Might be easier for Kyle to make up 87 points on Cole Whitt than for Aric to peg 17 on Bowyer.

    18. GREG BIFFLE – 420 POINTS
    Hopes a scripted NASCAR tv series might mean he gets to re-write his season.

    19. KYLE LARSON – 404 POINTS
    He is fast but, with an average finish of 20th, he sure is not making it last.

    20. CASEY MEARS – 399 POINTS
    As Johnny Cash prophetically sang, “Danica’s gone, one more round, Danica’s gone.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Our Hot 20 heading into Kentucky on Saturday night include…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    “That scared the hell out of me.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Daytona Coke Zero 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Daytona Coke Zero 400

    With drivers wishing their teams good morning due to the night race that went into the wee hours of the next morning, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the Coke Zero 400 on the July 4th, 2015 holiday weekend.

    Surprising:  In spite of flying through the air, hitting the catch fence, rebounding back on the track, getting hit again and coming out of it all with a bruised tailbone and a bruise on his forearm, Austin Dillon was still able to keep his sense of humor.  The driver of the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet tweeted “What a friend lol” in response to Tim Dugger’s tweet “To all the ladies out there He’s fine. He ain’t gonna be such a romantic buckaroo for a while, but he’ll be fine.”

    And even after that jaw-dropping, horrifying crash, Dillon was able to pull off a top-10 finish, taking the checkered flag in the seventh spot.

    Not Surprising:  With Chevrolets, many of them Hendrick-powered, dominating seven of the top-10 finishing positions at Daytona, there was one Toyota driver who was just happy to be in the mix.

    “Our FedEx Ground Camry and battled with the best of them,” Denny Hamlin said after finishing third. “Those Hendrick guys, not only are their cars fast, but they’re good drivers and they work well together. It’s hard to break through with them.”

    “You can get help from those guys every now and then, but they do a good job of sticking together and their cars are so fast and you can’t clear them at the right times. I was just happy to kind of be in the mix of them there late in the going. Worked well with all those guys at one point or another and still a decent day for us.”

    Surprising:  In spite of a disappointing season to date, as well as having to go to a backup car for the race, Trevor Bayne did the Ford and Roush Fenway Racing teams proud, finding his restrictor plate magic once again to finish in the ninth position.

    “Our AdvoCare Ford was really fast tonight,” Bayne said after the race.  “Despite getting into the wall avoiding that wreck off of Turn 4 our car ran really well, especially past halfway. We were able to get up front and run inside the top three with everyone and show that we belonged up there.”

    “We’re happy to come home ninth despite getting collected in that wreck at the line. I definitely needed that AdvoCare spark tonight. I want to thank my whole team though for their work this weekend, especially since we had to go to a backup car after Friday. Now it’s on to Kentucky.”

    Not Surprising:  At least the fans who noshed to keep themselves awake during the race were not alone.

    “Yeah, for sure when you’re under caution, you can feel the weight of the day kind of on you, on your eyes,” Jimmie Johnson, who finished runner-up, said after the race. “And then just sitting around waiting for it, there was a whole feeling, I think, throughout the industry that about 8:00, 8:30 the deal was over, so mentally I started shutting down and thinking, okay, I’m staying the night, what am I doing, trying to coordinate family things, and then all of a sudden it’s drying and the dryers are on the track.

    Being in the sport as long as I have, you learn how to turn it off and turn it on,” the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Patriotic Chevrolet said. “I did overeat, so I haven’t figured that part out.  It’s hard to sit out there for so many hours and not eat too much, but everything else went pretty well.”

    Surprising:  Jeff Gordon was racing his last Daytona race and ended up with his best finish there in quite some time, taking the checkered flag in the sixth position, yet he still is glad to put it in his rear view mirror and thankful that there is just one plate race left for him to survive.

    Oh, my gosh chaos it was crazy,” the driver of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet said. “I’m so glad Austin Dillon is okay.  That was a crazy one.  You knew it was going to be crazy.  Right from the start I thought it was a wild race.  A lot of action and crazy stuff going on.”

    “We were pushing like crazy, just wide open.  It is literally like a video game out there these days, except for it’s real life.  It’s crazy.  It’s really crazy.”

    “I love Daytona.  This place has been amazing for me.  I can’t believe this is my final race here, but after going through that experience I’m glad I only have one more restrictor plate race left.”

    Not Surprising:  Clint Bowyer, who finished tenth, had a front row seat for the big wreck at the end and in ‘Bowyeresque’ style described it all as only he can.

    “He (Austin Dillon) went over me,” the driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota said. “I went under him and thank God the seas kind of opened a little bit. It’s just Daytona — it’s wild. I got up there and got in position.”

    “The 3 (Austin Dillon) I think checked up. I don’t know the reason why but I was right behind Austin – they checked and he was already shooting up and I hit him and it just went right over the top of me and that was scary.”

    “I haven’t seen the whole wreck but I damn sure lived it through the windshield there for a second. This is entertainment. It’s certainly dangerous as hell, but its part of the sport.”

    “Our old hot rod wasn’t quite what it needed to be, but it was a decent day.”

    Surprising:  Carl Edwards went for broke but, unfortunately, ended up pretty broken. The driver of the No. 19 Subway Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing was involved in two separate accidents that led to his 41st place finish.

    “We went for it in this race and basically wrecked twice,” Edwards said. “The second one, I thought I had it saved a couple times and it just wasn’t meant to be. That’s just this style of racing.”

    “For us, this was just a checkers or wreckers type of race and we were going to go for it.
    Not Surprising:  Restrictor plate tracks are often the great equalizers so it was not surprising to see some names not usually at the top of the leaderboard have good finishes. For example, Casey Mears finished 11th and Landon Cassill finished a strong 13th.

    “The car was pretty fast,” Mears, driver of the No. 13 Geico Chevrolet said. “We were able to get to the front pretty quickly when it was time to go.  There at the end we were sitting in a really good position.  I was behind the No. 41 (Kurt Busch) pushing him pretty good.  We had kind of talked.”

    “I thought the No. 31 (Ryan Newman) might go with me.  I went up a little high and he didn’t go, but that happens it is the way these races go.  I think after all the carnage and everything that happened it would have been nice to be inside the top 10 or a little closer, but it’s a good day.  A lot of guys had bad days here.”

    “It was unbelievable,” Cassill, behind the wheel of the No. 40 Snap Fitness Chevrolet, said. “It’s just really tight racing.  I’m just so proud of my Hillman Racing team.  My Snap Fitness Chevy, we are so fast on these superspeedways and we can run up front and we have proven it.”

    “I’m proud of our finish.  These guys are just going to have to build another car and we will go to Talladega and be even faster.”

    Surprising: Team Penske had a disappointing showing at Daytona, with Joey Logano finishing 22nd and Brad Keselowski finishing 29th.

    “There isn’t much good to say about what happened here tonight,” Logano said after the race. “It is a product of the racing here. We got caught in the first crash which was way unfortunate after sitting around all day. We were five laps down and battled back to the lead lap, so that is something to be proud of but we couldn’t do much once we got there.”

    Not Surprising: Brian Scott summed it all up best with his two words when asked about what happened after crashing out and finishing 42nd.

    “Daytona happened,” Scott said simply.  The field was coming up to pass a lap down car and it looked like the No. 42 (Kyle Larson) got loose going around it getting in the middle, which happens with these Sprint Cup cars. They are so aero sensitive on the side.  Then from there it was Daytona.”

    “They were wrecking.  My spotter was doing a great job telling me where things were and it was one of those where we needed to gas up to get by cars that were sliding up.  As soon as we got past those Carl (Edwards) came up and we ran into the back of him.  It looked like he got jacked up on the windshield and then we were tore up.”

    “Our car wasn’t going to run to the end. It sounded like it maybe caught fire for a second.  But the bottom line is just a bad end to an already long weekend.  Not the way we wanted to end with our Shore Lodge Chevy SS.  I felt like we had a car that was capable of running up there in the top 10; top five early on.  I felt like we could get back up there.  Just trying to learn in the draft and be ready for the end, but the end came too soon.”