Tag: Dale Earnhardt Jr

The Final Word – Daytona was a tale of two lane blacktop, at least for the final lap

“Stay on the bottom, stay in line, and they can’t pass us.”

For 199 laps, Darrell Waltrip’s observation of the 2016 Daytona 500 was dead on. Then, it became dead wrong. With Matt Kenseth leading Martin Truex Jr. on the bottom, Denny Hamlin jumped to the outside with some rarely seen momentum in that lane. Kenseth moved up to block, overshot just as Hamlin cut to his inside to leave the No. 20 wiggling high and dry. Moving beside Truex the pair fought it out to the line, with Hamlin taking his first Great American Race by about four inches, the closest finish in the history of the classic.

For 199 laps, it was the inside lane and only the inside that mattered. Nothing moved on top. Until Hamlin’s maneuver, nothing did. In claiming the prize, the most dominant car of the day got back to the front where he had led for 95 laps though he needed to finish it off the hard way. Well, hard for everyone else, but it looked pretty darn easy for the now 27-race winner.

Racing at Daytona is usually exciting, even when it becomes a single lane contest for the most part. Twenty-year-old Chase Elliott led a couple from the pole, but later his car drifted away from him to leave it wrecked in the infield. Dale Earnhardt Jr. looked strong for the next dozen, and while he was coming back with 30 laps to run, his own snapped from beneath him and found an inside wall. Other than that, Hamlin, Kenseth, and Truex were the only names worth remembering.

Among the milestones, the worst Charter finish was that of Chris Buescher in 39th after his crash with Matt DiBenedetto near the mid-point on Sunday. The best non-Charter was 15th, recorded by Michael McDowell in the No. 59 of Leavine Family Racing. Danica Patrick is usually the dividing line between the good and the ugly, so the car finishing just ahead of her at Daytona was Greg Biffle in 34th. The pair had a meeting over disputed real estate and neither came away well from that. Right behind her was Junior in 36th.

There are times when cars can go from the front to near the back and within a few laps they are back racing up front again. That was not this race. Unless you could get back using the checkers method, by jumping over the opposition, it took some time to make up lost ground. Unlike some, this was not a case of follow the leader, but rather one where the leaders ran on the inside and those on the outside just sat there frustrated going nowhere. That is, until the final lap.

Some claim that is was a snore fest. I disagree as pack racing is never boring. When you drive that close and that fast, with only the first handful of cars not within a racing buddy in tight beside them, things can happen and not all of them good. It became obvious that the leader was going to likely be our eventual winner. Obvious to everyone, except for Denny Hamlin, that is.

February 22, 2016

Earnhardt Tops the Chart in Final Practice

Dale Earnhardt Jr. topped the chart for the final practice session before the big race tomorrow.

The driver of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was the fastest in the final Daytona 500 practice session with a time of 45.655 and a speed of 197.131 mph.

Joey Logano was second in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford with a time of 45.832 and a speed of 196.369 mph. Ryan Blaney was third in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford with a time of 45.851 and a speed of 196.288 mph followed by Brad Keselowski in fourth in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford with a time of 45.857 and a speed of 196.262 mph. Kurt Busch rounded out the top-five in his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet with a time of 45.904 and a speed of 196.061 mph.

Kevin Harvick was sixth in his No. 4 SHR Chevrolet, Greg Biffle was seventh in his No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford and Chase Elliott was eighth in his No. 24 HMS Chevrolet. Brian Vickers was ninth in his No. 14 SHR Chevrolet as Clint Bowyer rounded out the top-10 in his No. 15 HScott Motorsports Chevrolet.

Twenty-five cars took part in the session. Elliott had the fastest 10-lap average.

Full Practice Results:

Pos	Car	Driver	Speed
1	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	197.131
2	22	Joey Logano	196.369
3	*21	Ryan Blaney #	196.288
4	2	Brad Keselowski	196.262
5	41	Kurt Busch	196.061
6	4	Kevin Harvick	196.014
7	16	Greg Biffle	195.959
8	24	Chase Elliott #	195.839
9	14	Brian Vickers	195.814
10	15	Clint Bowyer	195.763
11	38	Landon Cassill	195.236
12	7	Regan Smith	195.135
13	5	Kasey Kahne	194.397
14	23	David Ragan	194.384
15	*26	Robert Richardson Jr.	194.342
16	6	Trevor Bayne	194.280
17	46	Michael Annett	194.221
18	48	Jimmie Johnson	193.719
19	1	Jamie McMurray	193.075
20	95	Ty Dillon(i)	192.951
21	20	Matt Kenseth	192.806
22	43	Aric Almirola	192.201
23	44	Brian Scott #	192.160
24	31	Ryan Newman	191.111
25	34	Chris Buescher #	190.392

February 20, 2016

June Bug Takes the Win, McDowell Gets In

The pied piper of Daytona scored the win in duel race No. 1 and Michael McDowell will have his chance to race for immortality on Sunday.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. led all but 17 of the 60 laps to take home his fifth career Cam-Am Duel victory at Daytona International Speedway in his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. His performance was a clinic that showed he’ll be the car to beat this Sunday in the Daytona 500. He’ll start the Daytona 500 in third. Joey Logano finished second in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford and will start fifth in Sunday’s Daytona 500.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. led all but 17 of the 60 laps to take home his fifth career Cam-Am Duel victory at Daytona International Speedway in his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. His performance was a clinic that showed he’ll be the car to beat this Sunday in the Daytona 500. Earnhardt will start the Daytona 500 in third place.

He gave credit for the win to his car, affectionately named Amelia.

“The car is awesome. I don’t really get too confident, I don’t want to get overly confident in what I’m doing. But the car really does everything I ask it to do. When you have a car that you know can do the things that this car can do, you’re willing to take those gambles and risks to pull out and pass and not worry about getting shuffled to the back because you feel like the car is really capable of doing what you’re going to ask it to do every time you make a move.

“It’s just a fun car to drive, really special car. Rick leaned into the window, I told him, whatever happens to this thing from here on out, he needs to keep track of it. Might be one he wants to put in a museum one day because it’s done a lot of good things.”

Joey Logano finished second in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford and will start fifth in Sunday’s Daytona 500.

Ryan Blaney didn’t need to fall back on his qualifying speed to make the Daytona 500 as his third-place finish was enough to transfer him into the race. He’ll start the Daytona 500 in seventh.

Michael McDowell and his No. 59 Circle Sport Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet will transfer into the Daytona 500 based on his qualifying speed. He’ll start the Daytona 500 in 37th.

Immortality wasn’t meant to be for Cole Whitt and Josh Wise. Whitt suffered damage in a spin with less than 20 laps remaining and retired his car from the race. Wise lost the draft with two laps to go and finished in 17th behind McDowell.

February 18, 2016
Hot 20 – The cream of the crop for the Daytona 500

There will be no Daytona 500 victory listed on Tony Stewart’s resume. His recent off-season back injury ensured that. Well, maybe. I cannot help but notice that Michael Waltrip already has a lock on his 29th place in the Great American Race. There is always the chance that, given an opportunity and still with the ability to squeeze into a firesuit, Smoke could be back, at some time.

The hottest 20 drivers heading into Sunday are all locked in. Thanks to some large wallets, even Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch are good to go for the rest of the season, buying up those Charters from Waltrip’s defunct operation.

As far as the debate over the Wood Brothers not getting a Charter, I agree that as they have been running part-time, they should not have received one. I do disagree that B.K. Racing got two, or that Go Fas Racing or Premium Motorsports received any. Instead of the only criteria to receive one being reduced to only those who attempted to quality for the past 108 straight races, maybe they should have taken performance into consideration. I mean, between them, those four operations failed to qualify for 29 events last season. Maybe those Charters should have been held for those who attempted the past 36, AND who were among the Top 36 in owner’s points. Good enough to earn a one-year Charter, something they could regain through a Top 36 finish in 2016.

Thirty-six entries, just like the 36 provisional spots once awarded in past years; awarded based on performance. Qualifying spots should have remained at 43, giving teams seven openings to make it and still be able to challenge for one of those 36 Charter positions. A Charter gives peace of mind, but seven open spots still allow those without a parachute an opportunity to challenge, to compete, to succeed. Just what in hell NASCAR and the members of the Race Team Alliance were thinking when they guaranteed places for at least the next three years while all but closing the door on challengers is beyond me.

At least, we still have the race, albeit minus three entries and the entire backstretch grandstands. I am sure nobody will notice, or ponder the reasons why. Here are our hot 20, based on their 2015 season long performance.

1. Joey Logano – 6 Wins – 1299 Points
Logano arrived in 2014, confirmed that in 2015, and as for 2016….

2. Jimmie Johnson – 5 Wins – 1155 Points
The official standings have him finishing 10th; a rather misleading statistic.

3. Matt Kenseth – 5 Wins – 1046 Points
When Matt says he is going to run a driver down, he just might mean it.

4. Kyle Busch – 5 Wins – 867 Points
His greatest year featured a championship, a busted leg, and a late May start to the season.

5. Kevin Harvick – 3 Wins – 1321 Points
Recorded an average of nearly 36.7 points per race in 2015.

6. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 3 Wins – 1198 Points
After just two wins in seven seasons, he has seven wins in his last two.

7. Denny Hamlin – 2 Wins – 1117 Points
Finishing in the season’s Top Ten eight times in 10 tries, is this the year he takes all the marbles?

8. Carl Edwards – 2 Wins – 1108 Points
Wins two and still has to pay for a Charter spot, while BK Racing gets two, after four DNQ’s.

9. Kurt Busch – 2 Wins – 1108 Points
Kurt wins twice and gets nothing while the No. 62 DNQ’s 19 times last season and “earns” one.

10. Brad Keselowski – 1 Win – 1217 Points
Just a single win but a personal high of 25 Top Tens kept him close.

11. Martin Truex, Jr. – 1 Win – 1165 Points
A team that made it all the way to top tier status without the benefit of a Charter.

12. Ryan Newman – 1052 Points
I still think Tony let go the wrong driver.

13. Jamie McMurray – 1052 Points
He might not be great, but you might have to be in order to out-point him.

14. Paul Menard – 972 Points
You hear more about his driving ability and less about his daddy’s cash these days.

15. Aric Almirola – 940 Points
Last year, Petty trumped Roush.

16. Kasey Kahne – 939 Points
In fact, Hendrick’s weak sister would have led the way for Jack’s crew.

17. Clint Bowyer – 891 Points
Teammates once were Waltrip and Truex. Today, he is Michael Annett.

18. Kyle Larson – 872 Points
Maybe the best of the kiddie corps…but Chase probably will contest that thought.

19. Greg Biffle – 869 Points
Damn good driver with what has become a damn poor team.

20. Austin Dillon – 832 Points
Grandpa expects more this time out.

February 17, 2016
Earnhardt Leads the Way in First Daytona 500 Practice

Dale Earnhardt Jr. opens the NASCAR season at the top of the charts in the first Daytona 500 practice. The driver of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 46.364 and a speed of 194.116 mph.

Reigning Daytona 500 champion Joey Logano was second in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford with a time of 46.427 and a speed of 193.853 mph followed by Matt Kenseth who was third fastest in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 46.444 and a speed of 193.782 mph.

Reigning Daytona 500 champion Joey Logano was second in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford with a time of 46.427 and a speed of 193.853 mph followed by Matt Kenseth who was third fastest in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 46.444 and a speed of 193.782 mph.

Chase Elliott was fourth in his No. 24 HMS Chevrolet with a time of 46.491 and a speed of 193.586 mph and Kasey Kahne rounded out the top-five in his No. 5 HMS Chevrolet with a time of 46.492 and a speed of 193.582 mph.

Brad Keselowski finished sixth in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford. Greg Biffle finished seventh in his No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford. Kurt Busch finished eighth in his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet. Carl Edwards finished ninth in his No. 19 JGR Toyota followed by Martin Truex Jr. to round out the top-10 in his No. 4 SHR Chevrolet.

Ryan Blaney was the highest non-charter driver in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford in 13th.

As of the publishing of this piece, the Sprint Cup Series is on track for second practice.

Complete Results:

February 13, 2016
The Final Word – 2016’s NASCAR Contenders, Pretenders, and Participants

Starting in ten days, just about every week the engines will roar to life and 43 cars will take the green flag. However, we all know that not all race drivers and teams are created equal. A half dozen will come from the part-time ranks, and only a couple of dozen will have any kind of hope of even challenging for a win. To put it in culinary terms, you have your steak, your hamburger and, to fill out the field, your hamburger helper. Here is a look at who is who on the menu, with the Daytona 500 less than two weeks away.

TIER I – THE CONTENDERS

Few can question that the 2016 champion could well come out of the top tier of drivers. In fact, half of them already know what it is like to claim the crown.

2 – Brad Keselowski
4 – Kevin Harvick
11 – Denny Hamlin
18 – Kyle Busch
19 – Carl Edwards
20 – Matt Kenseth
22 – Joey Logano
31 – Ryan Newman
41 – Kurt Busch
48 – Jimmie Johnson
78 – Martin Truex, Jr.
88 – Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

The odds might favor Kyle Busch repeating in what we hope, this time, will be a healthy full campaign though Harvick had the best season from start to finish. Well, almost to the finish. Johnson has already claimed the trophy six times, and seems to always be in contention even in those years he falls short. If one was going to pick a potential winner, race in and race out, chances are the favorites would come from this list.

TIER II – THE PRETENDERS

There are those you expect to have a good shot at being victorious every week, and then there are those who, if they did, probably would not come as all that much of a shock, either. In fact, I would expect at least four of these drivers to make it into the Chase, where a pretender could get hot and become a true contender themselves if things fall into place at the right time.

1 – Jamie McMurray
3 – Austin Dillon
5 – Kasey Kahne
6 – Trevor Bayne
13 – Casey Mears
15 – Clint Bowyer
16 – Greg Biffle
24 – Chase Elliott
27 – Paul Menard
42 – Kyle Larson
43 – Aric Almirola
47 – A.J. Allmendinger

In this case, a pretender is one with tons of talent, one with a good chance of claiming a Top Ten, but just not a driver you expect taking the checkered flag on a regular basis. I have always liked McMurray, but he just doesn’t seem to be able to clear that final hurdle. Biffle should be rated higher and in previous years he no doubt would have been, but Roush Fenway has not been an outfit on the rise. Kahne has the ability, but not the results in recent seasons. Dillon and Larson are touted as future stars, and just maybe this is the year they meet expectations. Elliott has things to prove, and a lot of eyes with be watching Jeff Gordon’s former ride to see if the rookie can break out in his rookie campaign.

TIER III – THE PARTICIPANTS

43 cars hit the track each event, with some having pretty good odds of finishing high in the running order when things are said and done. Some others are not as fortunate.

7 – Regan Smith
10 – Danica Patrick
14 – Tony Stewart
17 – Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
21 – Ryan Blaney
23 – David Ragan
32 – Jeffery Earnhardt
34 – Chris Buescher
38 – Landon Cassill
44 – Brian Scott
46 – Michael Annett
83 – Matt DiBenedetto
95 – Michael McDowell

Stewart is on the mend, again, and could be out for quite a spell at the beginning of his final season. Some tend to believe we won’t see him for months as he recovers from his recent back injury. If only Patrick could emerge as the next Jamie McMurray that would be something, but thus far cracking the Top Twenty has been a struggle every week. There is nothing I would like more than to see someone from this group emerge as a pleasant surprise, but they are going to have to prove it for me to believe it. Sure, Stewart could mend enough to rise by the end of the year and Patrick could finally cash in on all of those resources to take it to the next level, but my money would be on Blaney and the Wood Brothers as they return to running a full schedule.

February 8, 2016
The Final Word – Change is inevitable whether we like it or not

I hate change. I do not care for it. I like things just as they are or, probably more truthfully, as they were.

I remember coaching two little boys who are not so little anymore. Those were the days when I was Superman, not just the Old Man. I miss my mother and all the grandparents I was blessed with when I was born. I miss cousins who left us far too soon. I miss my youth. Damn it, I miss my hair.

I loved watching Cale Yarborough in the No. 11 and Richard Petty piloting the No. 43. How I miss seeing Dale Earnhardt in that black No. 3. I wish I could see Rusty Wallace again in that blue deuce though my reasoning is that him driving means there was no way in hell he would be announcing.

No Jeff Gordon this year, other than up in the booth. Tony Stewart is gone no matter what after this season. One day, sooner than later, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will hang up those skeleton gloves.

Sure, I guess there is room for some change. Did you notice the NHL All-Star game? It was its best presentation in 30 years, with a minor league enforcer named as its MVP to prove that Cinderella does indeed wear glass skates. Same day, the NFL had its Pro-Bowl, and it was about as riveting as watching soccer. Trust me, that is not a good thing. Change it or kill it would be my thought.

Cars are safer now. The tracks are moving that way. Daytona, Talladega, and Bristol pretty much guarantee something worth watching. Too bad we cannot be so sure about a few of the other venues. It would be nice if that could somehow change. They say the racing will be better after their latest tinkering with the cars, but we have heard that before. If those changes prove to be the real deal, that would be a change we could all live with.

This year, Bill’s son Chase Elliott goes full-time in Cup, joining other recent arrivals Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon. Still, they have fans to earn and accolades to accumulate. Once again, we will be cheering on our favorites. Kyle Busch returns as a champion to join brother Kurt as NASCAR royalty. Kevin Harvick looks to retake his trophy while Jimmie Johnson might be tired of loaning out what once was his and his alone. Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, and the insufferable Joey Logano remain among the top tier of stars in NASCAR’s constellation. You cannot go wrong rooting for the likes of a Matt Kenseth or a Greg Biffle, or admire the efforts put into the team led by Martin Truex Jr.

Unless you are a big fan of Johnson, a change in champion is acceptable, even though I do love dynasties. I like the cars to look like something I might drive, so we give thanks for the demise of the splitter. I once liked Michael Waltrip, but sometimes things change, and I think Clint Bowyer should be the beneficiary of that.

As much as I dislike change, it is inevitable. Drivers age, retire and are replaced by a new generation. Faces are now encased in helmets and races are won by a matter of seconds, not laps, these days. Since 2001, most weekends television delivers the races to homes in most places. Once we were asked, “How bad have you got it?” Wouldn’t it be nice if we were asked that once again?

It all returns in less than a couple of weeks, with the Sprint Unlimited featured on February 13, Duel Qualifiers on February 18 and the Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 21. Boogity, boogity, boogity!

Okay, some things do need to change.

February 1, 2016
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Reveals 2016 Axalta Paint Scheme

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Axalta unveiled the new paint scheme for the No. 88 Chevrolet Wednesday during Champion’s Week in Las Vegas via the Axalta Racing Twitter page.

Earnhardt said that he had been anticipating the moment as much as everyone else because he had not seen the car in person beforehand.

Looking ahead to next year, he said, “We got a lot of good things going on for 2016. This is definitely one of them. We got a bright new race car with a great new partner, Axalta, so I’m looking forward to it.”

The official unveil of the #Axalta88!! pic.twitter.com/wEezZctdpI

— Axalta Racing (@AxaltaRacing) December 2, 2015

Hendrick Motorsports and Axalta announced in October that their primary sponsorship would be moved to Earnhardt’s car next year in the wake of Jeff Gordon’s retirement from full-time racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at the end of the 2015 season. Axalta will serve as primary sponsor for 13 races in 2016, an increase of three races. The coatings company and Hendrick also extended their 23-year partnership through 2018.

After the unveiling, Earnhardt said, “I really love how bright and beautiful the car is. I think it will stand out on the racetrack really well. It’ll be easy to pick out which is important to the fans. My family always tells me when the car is hard to pick out.

“This will be an easy one to find. Hopefully, it’s up front.”

December 2, 2015
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Homestead

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Kyle Busch: Busch won the Ford EcoBoost 400, holding off Kevin Harvick to win his first Sprint Cup championship. Busch missed the first 11 races of the season after breaking his leg at a crash at Daytona in February.

“A pasty white guy from Las Vegas is the Sprint Cup champion,” Busch said. “Ironically, all other driver ‘pale’ in comparison to me.

“I’ve always dreamed of beating Jeff Gordon for the Sprint Cup championship. I guess dreams do come true. Apparently, when I was a kid, I had very vivid and colorful dreams. But those dreams were nothing like the ones I had on painkillers after surgery to repair my broken leg.”

2. Kevin Harvick: Harvick started 13th on the grid and finished second to Kyle Busch.

“’Second’ has been the story of my year,” Harvick said. “I can’t tell you how many times I finished second this year, but I can tell that I will be counting the seconds until the start of the 2016 season.”

3. Jeff Gordon: Gordon started fifth at Homestead and finished sixth, as Kyle Busch won the race to capture the Sprint Cup championship.

“I couldn’t believe the support I received,” Gordon said, “even in a losing effort. It reminded me of the applause that erupted when Matt Kenseth wrecked Joey Logano at Martinsville. Without that, I wouldn’t even be here.

4. Joey Logano: Logano started second at Homestead and finished fourth, posting his 22nd top-five result of the year.

“I dominated the circuit this season,” Logano said, “so you tell me who the rightful Sprint Cup champion should be. I had six wins and 22 top-10 finishes. You do the math. And speaking of math, if you subtracted Matt Kenseth from the equation, I would be Cup champion.”

5. Kurt Busch: Busch finished eighth at Homestead, posting his 21st top 10 of the year.

“Now there are two Sprint Cup championships in the family,” Busch said. “I guess I’ll have to call my brother ‘champ.’ He’s, of course, been called worse.”

6. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin started on the pole at Homestead, his fourth Coors Light pole of the season.

“I tore my knee up playing basketball earlier this year,” Hamlin said. “So, I’m going to have it surgically repaired. Hopefully, the doctors will use pins and screws because there’s a gas pedal that says my leg definitely needs to be heavier.”

7. Carl Edwards: Edwards led eight laps and finished 11th at Homestead.

“Congratulations to Kyle Busch,” Edwards said. “He’ll be a great champion. However, I’m not sure if his reign will do any favors for NASCAR’s Drive For Diversity program because Kyle will be the whitest champion ever.”

8. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex qualified 11th at Homestead and finished 12th, the lowest among championship-eligible drivers.

“This Chase For The Cup had it all,” Truex said. “Intentional wrecks, intentional wrecks made to look unintentional, intentional wrecks gone unpunished by NASCAR, and intentional wrecks punished by NASCAR. It was ‘quint-intentional.’”

9. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski took third in the Ford EcoBoost 400, recording his ninth top five of the year.

“Jeff Gordon was the sentimental favorite,” Keselowski said. “There were a lot of people pulling for him to win, almost as many as were pulling for Kevin Harvick not to win.”

10.Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished 10th at Homestead, posting his 22nd top 10 of the year.

“I received an odd drive-through penalty,” Johnson said. “Apparently, a crew member put his hip into a big dent in the side of the No. 48 Chevy. That’s a no-no. NASCAR’s rule book states that it’s illegal for cars to be powered by ‘pelvic thrust.’”

November 24, 2015
Hot 20 – Homestead is a place Happy Harvick should love, but so should Gordon and Truex

Homestead. That is where dreams are made or, more likely, where they die. That is if they have not already been snuffed for another year before even reaching the season finale. One thing about that track in Miami is that some of the best just do not seem to do their best there.

For example, try as you may, you will not find some familiar names listed among the Hot 20 at Homestead. If your average finish is 20th or worse, you will fail to make the cut. Among them are Joey Logano, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Paul Menard. That trio of eliminated Chasers has, between them, raced at Homestead thirty times. None has won there and combined they boast just a couple of Top Fives and four Top Tens. Even if they had remained in contention, one would have to be hard pressed to consider any of them a favorite to win this Sunday.

Yet, as bad as they are, there is one notable driver who is worse. Kyle Busch has failed to even make the Top Twenty in half of his 10 starts. He has won none at Homestead, with an average finish of 23rd place. His best result was fourth in 2012. Last year, he was 39th. If Kyle emerges with the championship after this weekend, he would have delivered the race of his life.

As for the other three contenders, all have a shot, with defending champion Kevin Harvick leading the way. Last year, he did just that to take the race and the crown. Jeff Gordon won there in 2012 while Martin Truex, Jr. has seven Top Tens in 10 attempts to be right in the mix. All have an average finish of no worse than 11th.

One may well come away with the race win on Sunday though I believe we can expect some heat from others among Homestead’s Hot 20…

1. Kevin Harvick – 14 races – 1 Win – 12 Top Tens – 7.6 Average Finish
A repeat as winner guarantees a repeat as Cup champion.

2. Carl Edwards – 11 races – 2 Wins – 7 Top Tens – 9.1 AveFin.
His track record at Homestead makes him a fav to win a title some day. It just won’t be Sunday.

3. Martin Truex Jr. – 10 races – 7 Top Tens – 10.0 AveFin.
It is time for a Rocky Mountain high to visit Florida.

4. Jeff Gordon – 16 races – 1 Win – 12 Top Tens – 10.6 AveFin
This would be a good time to become known as Five-Time.

5. Denny Hamlin – 10 races – 2 Wins – 6 Top Tens – 10.8 AveFin
If what Hamlin is selling is his “starter” home, what in hell does he live in now?

6. Clint Bowyer – 9 races – 6 Top Tens – 10.9 AveFin
Still a chance he could leave Michael Waltrip Racing with a final win before the sun sets.

7. Tony Stewart – 15 races – 3 Wins – 7 Top Tens – 14.0 AveFin
Oh, how the mighty have fallen…and so quickly.

8. Kyle Larson – 2 races – 14.0 AveFin
15th one year, 14th last year. You could say he is improving here each time out. Well, you can.

9. Jimmie Johnson – 14 races – 9 Top Tens – 14.4 AveFin
A six-time champion under the previous formats, but not so sure about a seventh under this one.

10. Kasey Kahne – 11 races – 4 Top Tens – 14.9 AveFin
Number 5 will be as mellow yellow as the number 24 on Sunday.

11. Brad Keselowski – 7 races – 2 Top Tens – 15.0 AveFin
Over the past two events at Homestead, his average finish has been 4.5.

12. Justin Allgaier – 1 race – 15.0 AveFin
A Top Fifteen finish would match…well…what he did last year.

13. Matt Kenseth – 15 races – 1 Win – 7 Top Tens – 15.8 AveFin
He is back. Will he and Joey meet at high noon, or will peace and harmony reign supreme?

14. Ryan Newman – 13 races – 5 Top Tens – 15.8 AveFin
Can drive a dozer from 150 miles away. Let him try that in a race car.

15. Aric Almirola – 5 races – 2 Top Tens – 16.2 AveFin
I am thinking that Richard Petty likes him best. At least he gets to return next season.

16. Jamie McMurray – 13 races – 4 Top Tens – 16.6 AveFin
Once had problems with Kenseth, but now are best buds. Is there hope for Matt and Joey? Right.

17. Greg Biffle – 13 races – 3 wins – 5 Top Tens – 17.2 AveFin
Best damn Roush driver this season, but when your teammates are Stenhouse and Bayne…

18. Danica Patrick – 2 races – 19.0 AveFin
It is sad when one thinks of this as one of her better tracks.

19. Kurt Busch – 14 races – 1 Win – 5 Top Tens – 19.2 AveFin
Hasn’t won in Miami since 2002, but it was the crashes in 2006 and 2008 that left him dead last.

20. A.J. Allmendinger – 6 races – 2 Top Tens – 19.5 AveFin
Great start to his career but 36th and 40th in his last two have marred his average just a tad.

25. Kyle Busch – 10 races – 3 Top Tens – 23.1 AveFin
His efforts to date get him included on this list. His past efforts at Homestead do not.

November 19, 2015