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NASCAR’s Hot 20 of All-Time
The best of the best, a legacy that has given us 70 championships since 1949. 33 individuals have been able to lay claim to the crown. Three men have won it seven times.

To be a champion immortalizes you, but so does excellent performance. A driver can win, but fail to grab a title. He can also rack up Top Fives and Top Tens, even if he fell a tad short in claiming the checkered flags earned by his competitors.

A few names might surprise you, at first. Yet, when ranked for most championships, wins, Top Fives, and Top Tens, these are the 20 best NASCAR has had to offer in the driver’s seat over 70 seasons of motor mayhem.

I bet there is no argument that the King leads the parade.
1. RICHARD PETTY – Born July 2, 1937
  7 Championships, 200 Wins, 555 Top Fives, 712 Top Tens
2. JEFF GORDON – Born August 4, 1971
  4 Championships, 93 Wins, 325 Top Tens, 477 Top Tens
3. DALE EARNHARDT – (April 29, 1951 – February 18, 2001)
  7 Championships, 76 Wins, 281 Top Fives, 428 Top Tens
4. DAVID PEARSON – (December 22, 1934 – November 12, 2018)
  3 Championships, 105 Wins, 301 Top Fives, 366 Top Tens
5. DARRELL WALTRIP – Born February 5, 1947
  3 Championships, 84 Wins, 276 Top Fives, 390 Top Tens
6. JIMMIE JOHNSON – Born September 17, 1975
  7 Championships, 83 Wins, 224 Top Fives, 352 Top Tens
7. BOBBY ALLISON – Born December 3, 1937
  1 Championship, 84 Wins, 336 Top Fives, 446 Top Tens
8. CALE YARBOROUGH – Born March 27, 1939
  3 Championships, 83 Wins, 255 Top Fives, 319 Top Tens
9. LEE PETTY – (March 14, 1914 – April 5, 2000)
  3 Championships, 54 Wins, 231 Top Fives, 332 Top Tens
10. BUCK BAKER – (March 4, 1919 – April 14, 2002)
  2 Championships, 46 Wins, 246 Top Fives, 372 Tens
11. MARK MARTIN (Born January 9, 1959)
  40 Wins, 271 Top Fives, 453 Top Tens
12. RUSTY WALLACE – (Born August 14, 1956)
  1 Championship, 55 Wins, 202 Top Fives, 349 Top Tens
13. TONY STEWART – (Born May 20, 1971)
  3 Championships, 49 Wins, 187 Top Fives, 308 Top Tens
14. TERRY LABONTE – (Born November 16, 1956)
  2 Championships, 22 Wins, 182 Top Fives, 361 Top Tens
15. NED JARRETT – (Born October 12, 1932)
  2 Championships, 50 Wins, 185 Top Fives, 239 Top Tens
16. RICKY RUDD – (Born September 12, 1956)
  23 Wins, 194 Top Fives, 374 Top Tens
17. KEVIN HARVICK – (Born December 8, 1975)
  1 Championship, 45 Wins, 191 Top Fives, 336 Top Tens
18. HERB THOMAS – (April 6, 1923 – August 9, 2000)
  2 Championships, 48 Wins, 122 Top Fives, 156 Top Tens
19. KYLE BUSCH – (Born May 2, 1985)
  1 Championship, 51 Wins, 183 Top Fives, 269 Top Tens
20. BUDDY BAKER – (January 25, 1941 – August 10, 2015)
  19 Wins, 202 Top Fives, 311 Top Tens
Three of those boys will be out to add to their accomplishments this weekend. The Daytona 500 is coming up this Sunday, a time for new beginnings and a time for bringing things to an end. After 15 years and over a thousand columns of various incarnations, this edition represents my final regular contribution to this site.

I want to thank Barry Albert for providing a writing home for me back in 2004. My thanks to Angie Campbell for her editing prowess and her encouragement. I would like to give a shout out to Racing Reference, a website that helps a fellow make sense of it all, a great aid to such scribes as myself. Finally, thanks to you for joining me on this journey.
February 13, 2019
Hendrick Motorsports and the Daytona 500 Front-Row Curse

Saying that the Hendrick Motorsports camp has a lock on Daytona 500 qualifying is like saying water is wet.

With William Byron scoring his first-career pole for the 2019 edition of the Great American Race, he joins the ranks of other Hendrick notables like Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, and even Ken Schrader in being the eighth HMS driver (and third in the No. 24) to win a 500 pole.

Yet with 13 poles and 12 outside-pole starts, Gordon, Darrell Waltrip, and Geoff Bodine are the only HMS drivers to win the 500 from the front row (Bodine started second in 1986 and Waltrip started second in 1989 while Gordon won from the pole in 1999).

Schrader was a three-time (’88, ’89, ’90) 500 pole winner, as well as a two-time winner of the Clash at Daytona (’89, ’90). But with a runner-up finish in the ’89 500, Schrader couldn’t seal the deal in the No. 25 Chevrolet, with a sixth-place run in ’88 and a 40th-place run in ’90 sandwiching his ’89 disappointment.

No more HMS drivers started on the front row until Gordon’s 500 win in ’99, then it was Jimmie Johnson on the front row in 2002, winning his first of two 500 poles and four front-row starts overall. His runner-up qualifying efforts in 2005 and 2015 were rewarded with a fifth-place finishes in both instances, but his ’02 and ’08 poles were met with 15th-place and 27th-place finishes, after spinning in both races. Despite all that, the seven-time series champion is a two-time 500 winner.

Despite being a three-time 500 winner and two-time 500 pole sitter, Gordon hasn’t had much 500 luck from the front row. Qualifying second in 2006, the No. 24 crew found themselves in a few scrapes before finishing 26th. Again qualifying second in 2011 and 2013, Gordon’s efforts were met with finishes of 28th and 20th, respectively. His pole run in 2015 was followed up with a dominant showing in the 500, where he led the most laps (87) before being turned around as the field was heading for the finish. He was credited with a 33rd-place finish.

Joining HMS in 2009, Mark Martin’s comeback season started off with a second-place qualifying run in the 500. However, five wins and a runner-up points finish masked a forgettable 16th-place finish in the 500, and not even a pole the next season in the 500 could bare any success: He finished 12th after leading 11 laps.

Earnhardt’s 2011 effort saw him put his No. 88 on the pole to put HMS on the 500 front row for the second-straight year after he qualified second in the 2010 event. But although he finished second in that event, ’11 saw him lead a meager nine laps before crashing and finishing 24th. He returned to the 500 front-row in 2017, but a crash while leading after halfway put the two-time 500 winner in 37th in the final running order.

Chase Elliott has two 500 poles to his credit (’16, ’17) but lacks the finishes to back up his qualifying efforts. His 500 debut in ’16 put him in the lead for three laps after starting first, but an early-race spin put him in 37th after extensive damage was made to the No. 24. In 2017 he led 39 laps but was shuffled out of the running order late in the race, finishing 14th in the final order.

The most recent 500 had HMS driver Alex Bowman on the pole, but a late-race involvement in The Big One left him in 17th even though he led 13 laps early on.

With all of this being said, the argument can be made that HMS has a lock on 500 qualifying, as mentioned before. But with three 500 wins from the front row in 33 years, the argument can also be made that the odds are not in the organization’s favor that they’ll put the No. 24 or the No. 88 in Victory Lane even though come Sunday Byron and Bowman will be leading the field to the green flag.

Regardless, being on the front row for the 500 hasn’t proven that successful for an organization that has eight 500 wins despite the fact. The odds may not be in favor for two of the drivers, but with established drivers like Johnson and Elliott picking up the slack, things are evened out so there may be an HMS Chevy in Victory Lane regardless.

February 12, 2019
Hot 20 – Smokey just tagged the Bandit to make Phoenix a lot more interesting

If NASCAR was a certain 1977 hit movie, you could say that Sheriff Buford T. Justice finally got his hands on the Bandit. It might not have derailed the adventure, but there is a danger the Snowman might not be able to deliver that truckload of suds to their destination on time.

That quest could be spoiled by spoilers. Specifically, NASCAR tagged the team of Kevin Harvick with a top drawer penalty violating the rules that explicitly points out that spoilers must be used exactly as supplied from the manufacturer and not altered. Instead of getting that free pass to contend at Homestead, the boys are just three points in.

Gone are all the benefits of the win at Texas. No free pass, though Harvick does keep the guns and the hat. Gone are 40 of the sixty points he picked up in that race. Gone is crew chief Rodney Childers for the rest of the season. Gone is $75,000 from Childers’ pocket. Gone is car chief Robert Smith until the campaign is over. Stewart-Haas Racing will not appeal the penalties, as production manager Tony Gibson returns to the box he last sat atop a year ago, when he directed Kurt Busch to the 2017 Daytona 500 victory. With the decision, Busch now finds himself just three points out of the Homestead final four.

Post-race tear downs at the NASCAR Research and Development Center can be a real bitch. Ryan Blaney lost 20 points from Texas, along with crew chief Jeremy Bullins, who was fined $50,000, and car chief Kirk Almquist for the rest of the season. Same goes for Erik Jones, as crew chief Chris Gayle coughs up the same amount of cash and he joins car chief Jason Overstreet on the sidelines until the smoke clears in Florida.

Of course, neither of those rulings have anywhere close to the same impact as the hit taken by the No. 4 crew. It could all still end the same way most expect, with Logano joined by the Big Three at the big dance. Now, however, it will take a little more action before this movie runs the final credits.

In the words of Sheriff Justice, “What we’re dealing with here is a complete lack of respect for the law.” Well, message delivered.

Now it is time for the Bandit to keep his foot hard on the peddle, son, never mind them brakes. Let it all hang out ’cause you’ve got a run to make. Phoenix just got a lot more interesting.

1. JOEY LOGANO – ROUND VICTORY – 4119 Pts (7 Wins)
Shell Pennzoil is his Phoenix sponsor. At Homestead, maybe it should be Target.

2. KYLE BUSCH – 4128 POINTS (7 Wins)
Nothing has changed for him, other than there are now three opens spots instead of just two.

3. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 4125 POINTS (4 Wins)
Do not expect him to go down this week without having vengeance in his heart for the next.

4. KEVIN HARVICK – 4103 Pts (8 Wins)
A nine-time Phoenix winner suddenly could sure use a 10th about now.

5. KURT BUSCH – 4100 POINTS (1 Win)
Would hate to break his brother’s heart but as for those other two…

6. CHASE ELLIOTT – 4086 POINTS (3 Wins)
Phoenix has been kind to him in the past. She needs to be downright romantic on Sunday.

7. ARIC ALMIROLA – 4068 POINTS (1 Win)
His schedule reads, “Win this week or destroy Logano next week.” Not sure about the word “or.”

8. CLINT BOWYER – 4052 POINTS (2 Wins)
If anyone needed a tinkered spoiler last week, it was him.

9. RYAN BLANEY – 2263 POINTS (1 Win)
I am not sure if being in danger of dropping to 10th in the standings is that big a deal.

10. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 2259 POINTS (3 Wins)
The Miller Lite Ford will look a lot like a giant pysanka this weekend.

11. DENNY HAMLIN – 2220 POINTS
Well, Texas sure sucked.

12. KYLE LARSON – 2211 POINTS
Tires. If Fred Flintstone ran Goodyear things might have gone differently.

13. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 2195 POINTS
Sometimes Jimmie screws up. Sometimes it is Chad. In Texas, it was all NASCAR.

14. ALEX BOWMAN – 2187 POINTS
A Tucson boy returns to Arizona.

15. ERIK JONES – 2184 POINTS (1 Win)
He probably would prefer to lose those 20 points rather than $50,000.

16. AUSTIN DILLON – 2184 POINTS (1 Win)
The winless streak has now reached 34.

17. RYAN NEWMAN – 721 POINTS
Are we done yet?

18. RICKY STENHOUSE JR. – 676 POINTS
You could say that Stenhouse was in the eighth fastest unpenalized car at Texas.

19. PAUL MENARD – 672 POINTS
Does not exactly have the biggest social media footprint.

20. DANIEL SUAREZ – 666 POINTS
Still nothing set for 2019.

November 7, 2018
Hot 20 – The impending demise of Furniture Row Racing overshadows Sunday’s Brickyard 400

I had such high hopes for NASCAR, at least since July. That is when NBC came on board and presented the long sought after broadcast crew that could keep fans glued to the track simply by the strength of their commentary. We have waited years for that to happen, and it is crucial for a sport that has yet to solve some on-track competitive issues and more than a few off it. If the racing is not spellbinding, then the commentary damn well better be if you hope to have anyone watching.

The broadcast team could not solve the biggest off-track issue. Economics. Long gone are the days when Bob bought or borrowed a car and went racing. It costs big money to build the big cars with the big engines supported by big technology and hauled around by big trucks. Long, long gone. If you are in Denver, Colorado, it might cost a few more ducats to do so. To be competitive, to be the reigning Cup champion, you better believe the dollars are big. Without sponsorship, even a successful company with a successful sibling enterprise to help shore things up, cannot long last. This week, we discovered exactly how long.

Furniture Row Racing, established in 2005, Cup champions in 2017, will not be around come next season’s Daytona 500. With 5-hour Energy heading to the exits, and with no sugar daddies waiting to take their place, the cash had simply run out. A defending champion who cannot get proper sponsorship. If that is not a wake-up call for the sport, you might as well let them sleep in.

If nothing else, it should make for a very active silly season. Martin Truex Jr. and pit boss Cole Pearn, according to Dale Earnhardt Jr. and other published reports are bound in tandem for the mothership. Like Erik Jones before him, a move from Furniture Row to Joe Gibbs Racing is being claimed. If those reports are accurate, Daniel Suarez will take his dance to another ballroom, and it probably will result in a step down in his equipment. The really bad news is that one premier ride is disappearing and what, if anything, replaces it will feature a team destined to sit outside the top twenty-five next season. That will not bode well for the sport.

However, NBC does. Indianapolis might, depending on if the Brickyard 400 has solid rubber to avoid the debacle of 2008. At least the cars are different from the time of that disaster, and I am sure Goodyear has better rubber. I am not sure even this broadcast team could save a race where drivers are pitting every 10 laps to keep their tires from exploding.

This marks the final chance for those outside the Chase to win themselves in. All Jimmie Johnson has to do is come home 19 positions better than Alex Bowman, though Bowman could eat that up in a hurry by winning both stages. All Bowman needs is do, other than that, is to keep those behind him away from Victory Lane. Not likely one will slip by, but it could happen. There are some other possibilities when you see that past winners include such outsiders as defending race champ Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newman, Paul Menard, and Jamie McMurray. They could yet upset the apple cart. However, I do not have much hope of that happening.

Did I mention the outstanding broadcast team to take us through all the action on Sunday?

1. KYLE BUSCH – 6 WINS (1038 Pts)
With a “regular season” pennant, he should enter the playoffs in the top spot.

2. KEVIN HARVICK – 6 WINS (1 E.W. – 999 Pts)
He is retiring…from Xfinity racing.

3. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 4 WINS (883 Pts)
Defending champion now in a lame duck situation.

4. CLINT BOWYER – 2 WINS (777 Pts)
Hoping some of A.J. Foyt’s No. 14 magic at Indianapolis might rub off on him this week.

5. KURT BUSCH – 1 WIN (835 Pts)
Nothing definite yet as to where he will run in 2019.

6. JOEY LOGANO – 1 WIN (818 Pts)
Penske finishes last week’s classic 1-2, and that has to have Roger feeling pretty good.

7. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 1 WIN (785 Pts)
As demonstrated at Darlington, this truly is a team sport.

8. CHASE ELLIOTT – 1 WIN (737 Pts)
At 22, the young gent is not retiring from anything, including his Saturday ride at Indy.

9. ERIK JONES – 1 WIN (679 Pts)
Can Erik now be called the original Furniture Row refugee, or is that Kurt?

10. AUSTIN DILLON – 1 WIN (496 Pts)
Daytona (twice), Fontana, and Michigan. Outside the Top Ten everywhere else.

11. KYLE LARSON – 783 POINTS
0.6 seconds. Everything went right last week, except for 0.6 seconds.

12. RYAN BLANEY – 755 POINTS
Still seeking his first Indy Top Ten.

13. DENNY HAMLIN – 738 POINTS
In a dozen starts, has finished on the lead lap at the Brickyard in all but one.

14. ARIC ALMIROLA – 681 POINTS
Do not expect much, as his best finish in six starts at Indianapolis is 13th.

15. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 605 POINTS
If Bowman wins the opening two stages he might start getting nervous.

16. ALEX BOWMAN – 586 POINTS
He does not care who wins on Sunday, as long as it is not one of 14 particular drivers of interest.

17. RICKY STENHOUSE JR. – 518 POINTS
Not exactly hot with Top Ten finishes limited to Bristol, Talladega, and Charlotte in May.

18. RYAN NEWMAN – 503 POINTS
Coming back home again to Indiana, he needs to race like it is 2013 and Jim Nabors is singing.

19. PAUL MENARD – 493 POINTS
Needs to race like it is 2011.

20. DANIEL SUAREZ – 487 POINTS
Reports claim he is about to play off-season musical chairs.

September 5, 2018
Hot 20 – Back to Darlington, back to a September tradition and the Southern 500

Tradition. On Sunday, NASCAR returns to its traditional roots, to the track that was Daytona before Bill France replaced the beach-road course with his 2.5-mile architectural marvel. Before the Daytona 500, the marquee event was held in Darlington.

The Southern 500 has been on the calendar since 1950, except for a brief period when NASCAR went insane and dug up its roots in the name of a few dollars. On Sunday, the boys will be back to the 1.3-mile circuit of Herb Thomas, Buck Baker, and Fireball Roberts. They made the place famous long before the likes of Jeff Gordon, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison, David Pearson, Dale Earnhardt, or Bill Elliott made their marks. Maybe I should say, before the Lady in Black left her marks on them.

Each of our Big Three have won there as has our only active seven-time season champion. A classic race and a top-notch broadcast crew on NBC to keep you glued to the television. It does not get any better than this.

1. KYLE BUSCH – 6 WINS (1003 Pts)
His throwback weekend would include a repeat of 2008, except this time in September.

2. KEVIN HARVICK – 6 WINS (1 E.W. – 960 Pts)
He won his Southern 500 in 2014…in April.

3. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 4 WINS (849 Pts)
Won it in 2016 after sanity returned and it once again was the Labor Day Classic.

4. CLINT BOWYER – 2 WINS (776 Pts)
His car will have a Ned Jarrett look, who won the 1965 race by a record 14 laps. Fourteen laps!

5. KURT BUSCH – 1 WIN (796 Pts)
21 attempts, 21 times he has not been invited to the Lady in Black’s post-race boudoir.

6. JOEY LOGANO – 1 WIN (768 Pts)
He will be honoring Pennzoil and Steve Park when they hit the line on Sunday.

7. CHASE ELLIOTT – 1 WIN (697 Pts)
Dad won the Southern 500 three times. If the son could win, that would be awesome, eh Bill?

8. ERIK JONES – 1 WIN (635 Pts)
He seemed to tame the track in his first outing. Might she be out for revenge this year?

9. AUSTIN DILLON – 1 WIN (475 Pts)
After Daytona, Dillon disappeared but he has been making some noise as of late.

10. RYAN BLANEY – 733 POINTS
His car will have the same look at his father’s did…when Ryan was nine.

11. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 730 POINTS
Driving a hot rod with a paint scheme Rusty Wallace would love…and does.

12. KYLE LARSON – 729 POINTS
Remember Davey Allison’s rookie colors of 1988? Larson will remind you what that looked like.

13. DENNY HAMLIN – 707 POINTS
Eight years, two Southern 500 wins, a pair of runner-up finishes, and all but once in the Top Six.

14. ARIC ALMIROLA – 658 POINTS
Racing the colors that made Danica Patrick a winner. Okay, I’m just being facetious.

15. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 604 POINTS
Driving throwback colors of…himself. Did not win a title in 2012…but did win a Southern 500.

16. ALEX BOWMAN – 572 POINTS
Not sporting throwback colors. Probably was worried it would distract one of the announcers.

17. RICKY STENHOUSE JR. – 493 POINTS
Nothing runs like a Deere. That is what Ricky is hoping for.

18. RYAN NEWMAN – 481 POINTS
Will be looking a lot like the first RCR driver to race the No. 31…Neil Bonnett.

19. DANIEL SUAREZ – 479 POINTS
A good throwback scheme would be Jack Roush cars that could compete.

20. PAUL MENARD – 473 POINTS
Has to win either at Darlington or Indianapolis, or all he gets is a Participation Trophy.

August 29, 2018
The Final Word – Kevin Harvick dominated the race at Michigan, Keelan dominated after that

Domination and elimination was the story from Michigan on Sunday afternoon. Kevin Harvick dominated and eliminated everyone else from view. He dominated the opening stage. He overcame another pit road miscue that cost him five spots between stages, but he eliminated the danger to come back to claim that, too. As for the money run, he cashed in big time to eliminate everyone else from the storyline. Well, everyone but one. I’ll get to him in a moment.

Denny Hamlin started on the pole, but he was eliminated from our consciousness despite finishing eighth. Kyle Busch was beside him at the start, but he did not matter for the most part despite finishing third. Harvick at least was gracious enough to allow both of his main rivals some cameo time up front. Martin Truex Jr. seemed eliminated only to rise again and then get stomped right back down. William Byron spun him out in the opening stage. Truex came back, led a bit but ran out of fuel near the end of the second. He came in while the pits were closed for a penalty. A tire was left unattended, and he got tagged with another. Truex finished 14th.

In the middle frame, Chase Elliott was eliminated from contention when he had to come in early due to a loose tire. He finished ninth. Kyle Larson also had a tire issue and he also had to pit early. That helped eliminate him from contention, wrapping up the day in 17th. For Erik Jones, it was one damn thing after another. A spin early in the opening stage, only to get spun by Ryan Blaney in the second, and he came home in 13th.

Brad Keselowski finished second, but few noticed. Austin Dillon did get noticed, having his first quality result since winning the Daytona 500. He picked up a flat tire on the final lap, yet still brought the car across the line in fourth. At least somebody other than someone named Harvick had a notable day.

Harvick won his seventh of the season, the 44th of his career to tie Bill Elliott on the all-time list, yet even he got eliminated from consideration as the most talked about Harvick out there. When it came to post-race activities, it was six-year-old Keelan Harvick who dominated.

Dad might have tons of charisma, but the son won in that category walking away. Literally. With the winning car parked on the finish line, Keelan was brought out to walk across the track to fetch the checkered flag. Then Dad put the lad on the passenger side of the car and, with the boy waving the checkers out the window, they drove together to Victory Lane. When the suds were done being splashed, Keelan was taken out of the car and handed a bottle of water to celebrate. He did, splashing dad’s public relations guy Josh Jones from stem to stern, much to the delight of Kevin’s crew chief Rodney Childers and all those watching, including young Keelan himself. Dad won the race, the son continued to win our hearts.

It was a race to watch, again thanks to NBC. The commentary, the chemistry, the insight, and the pure entertainment value kept us watching the action. It was a single groove track, with the outside lane dominating the inside except for those rare moments when a bit of side drafting before diving down in the corners allowed for a pass. It was a single car event, with a few cameos to at least give the false hope the others might compete against the most dominant car on the day. It ended with a father and a son sharing some life-long memories and sharing those moments with us.

On a day when outside my window it poured rain all day, Kevin and Keelan Harvick and NBC provided some much-appreciated sunshine. It was a broadcast that made my Sunday all that more joyful for having just been a part of it.

Now, off to Bristol for a Saturday night of bumping and banging under the lights. There is no question as to what my plans will be.

August 13, 2018
The Final Word – Kyle Busch had the whole wide World 600 in his hands

Australia. If there was any road to success on Sunday, it was to be a native of Australia. Perth-born Daniel Ricciardo led from start to finish to claim the Monaco Grand Prix. At Indianapolis, Toowoomba’s own Will Power kissed the bricks and drank the milk.

Unfortunately, the last Aussie to drive a Cup car was Tasmanian Marcus Ambrose four years ago. The closest we have now, according to my calculations, would be the boys from California. Going in, I guess that would have meant Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, or A.J. Allmendinger among our favorite mates to take hold of the tiller of their Yank Tank left hookers to burn off some motion lotion to finish the day doing some circle work.

Then again, betting on a Roger Penske driver might have been a good one. After taking his 17th Indianapolis 500 as a car owner, his boy Joey Logano led the opening lap at Charlotte. Maybe Joe Gibbs had the answer, as it did not take long before Logano was replaced up front by the trio of Kyle Busch, Erik Jones, and Denny Hamlin.

Tires became the early story. We soon discovered Austin Dillon was not going to win it. Since his Daytona 500 win, the lad’s performance has gone down under. He lost a tire, scraped the wall, and his hopes of even a Top 20 took a big hit. As to what I said about Harvick earlier, forget it. No Aussie luck came his way when he blew a front tread and pounded the wall late in the opening stage to end his day. They all came in, but Brad Keselowski missed his pit box. The good news was, he gained a dozen spots. The bad news is that without new rubber he fell like a stone on the re-start.

Rowdy claimed the opening stage. The wall claimed William Byron early in the sophomore stanza when he got loose and tore up the rear end of his auto. That provided the fans with a bit of excitement. Hamlin added some more when he and Johnson touched going into the corner, sending Johnson sideways in front of the pack. He managed to get Logano to skid, but everyone managed to avoid disaster. Still, you could not say things were boring.

For fans of Kyle Busch, the opening pair of frames was exciting, as their icon was the first in both. However, it was NASCAR’s longest night. A Kyle had an issue in the segment, but it was Kyle Larson who went for a slide all on his lonesome. Lots of smoke and fury, but no contact. Lots of smoke and fire a few laps later, as Ryan Blaney’s ride finally blew up as they earlier predicted and it went up like a Viking funeral pyre.

300 laps down and Kid Busch was still laying them down. It was as if he was the only one who mattered. Of course, the story of this one was going to be that he won, or why he did not. At least a dozen others still running had picked up some stage points, so there was no shortage of those who would be been more than happy to step into his tracks.

Jones had come to the pit second, he left 19th. Kasey Kahne cut into his pit box, caught the air hose of Jones’ tire changer and whipped it and the air gun away. Slick trick, though I doubt the victims of the deed fully appreciated the skill involved as much as others might have. You had to appreciate Ryan Newman’s quest to stay among the Top 20 in the standings for much of the race, but early in that final run, a wheel bearing issue sent him to the garage.

They all helped add some seasoning to the night, but they were all hamburger compared to the Busch steak. A perfect 70 point night, his 47th career victory, the fourth of the season. It was his first points race victory at Charlotte as he now has won at every active Cup series venue.

I know that Las Vegas has its own Eiffel Tower, but I guess there is a Sydney Opera House hidden around there somewhere. Good on ya, Mate.

May 28, 2018
Hot 20 – Hall of Famers and military heroes are honored at Charlotte this week

Jeff Gordon. Four-time NASCAR champion. Three-time Daytona 500 champion. Four-time Brickyard 400 winner. Six-time Southern 500 victor. Three-time World 600 champion. Three-time All-Star race winner. Winner of 93 Cup races. He probably was the most automatic inductee into the Hall of Fame since Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. His was the opening name announced Wednesday for the Class of 2019.

Next, they turned to ownership, with Jack Roush and Roger Penske both given the keys. Roush has 137 victories as the man who owns the garage, putting Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch in their championship rides. Notable drivers Mark Martin and Carl Edwards also had great success in his cars. Penske has 105 wins to his credit, with Brad Keselowski bringing him his Cup title in 2012. Penske has claimed a few other motorsports accolades over the years, including ownership of 16 Indianapolis 500 winning entries. Among his drivers, you can include the names of Mark Donohue, Mario Andretti, Rick Mears, Bobby Unser, Al Unser, Al Unser Jr., Emerson Fittipaldi, Hélio Castroneves, and Rusty Wallace. I think you get the idea.

Two fallen drivers, Davey Allison and Alan Kulwicki, are popular selections. Both were lost in aviation accidents in 1993. Allison won 19 times in just 191 career starts, winning 10 of them in 1991 and 1992 when he was third best in the standings both times. Kulwicki only won five times in his time, but he was the driver and team owner and took the Hooters No. 7 Ford to the championship the year prior to his death.

This week in Charlotte, they honored the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2019. This Memorial Day weekend, they will honor the troops. It is racing’s most celebrated 24 hours, with action starting at Monte Carlo, moving on to Indianapolis, then to Charlotte as NASCAR salutes some of the heroes, both those on active service and those who have made the supreme sacrifice, who make such days as this possible.

1. KEVIN HARVICK – 5 WINS – 484 Pts
Expects the future of NASCAR to look like the All-Star race did. I bet he does.

2. KYLE BUSCH – 3 WINS – 503 Pts
If you are a tender flower who screws up on his pit crew, you might want to reconsider things.

3. JOEY LOGANO – 1 WIN – 491 Pts
As long as Larson does not squeeze him into the wall again, then all will be well.

4. CLINT BOWYER – 1 WIN – 386 Pts
Let us remember 2Lt. Dale E. Bowyer (1921-1974), Distinguished Service Cross recipient.

5. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 WIN – 376 Pts
Defending champion recently visited with his Commander-in-Chief.

6. AUSTIN DILLON – 1 WIN – 241 Pts
Won at Daytona. All is good. See you in the Chase.

7. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 396 POINTS
Has a Hall of Famer owner. How cool is that?

8. KURT BUSCH – 393 POINTS
Has driven for two Hall of Fame owners. Top that!

9. DENNY HAMLIN – 380 POINTS
Drive fast on the track, drive much slower on Pit Road. That is a recipe for success.

10. RYAN BLANEY – 365 POINTS
Watch the Spider-Man animated series. Ryan would appreciate it.

11. ARIC ALMIROLA – 342 POINTS
Four Stewart-Haas drivers among the Top Dozen. How sweet it is.

12. KYLE LARSON – 336 POINTS
Don’t squeeze Joey. Don’t squeeze Joey. Don’t squeeze Joey…

13. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 286 POINTS
Got his start thanks to a Hall of Famer. Between them, they have 11 titles.

14. ERIK JONES – 285 POINTS
Until his boss makes the Hall of Fame, he is left with just 3 Super Bowl rings and 4 Cup titles.

15. ALEX BOWMAN – 271 POINTS
Traded in his car for a Coast Guard Response Boat this week. No points were awarded.

16. CHASE ELLIOTT – 266 POINTS
Just what we need, another Cup guy driving in the Xfinity series. Let the beat downs begin.

17. RICKY STENHOUSE JR. – 265 POINTS
It would be mean to suggest that he could get more attention if he dated a Monster Energy gal.

18. PAUL MENARD – 240 POINTS
Patrick County has its heroes, like the Wood Brothers and 1Lt. Leevi Barnard (1980-2009 in Iraq).

19. WILLIAM BYRON – 229 POINTS
He has the right car number to be a Hall of Famer.

20. RYAN NEWMAN – 225 POINTS
Come to think of it, Newman has also driven for a pair of Hall of Fame owners.

May 23, 2018
The Final Word – The Stars were out at Charlotte, including one Super Nova

It was a nice prelude to the All-Star Race in Charlotte on Saturday. First, we had a down and out established team show some life by taking the front row. The pole went to a former champion just a week after he ran his first race of the season. Then we had the Open, with a pair from the new generation advancing, along with a former Open Wheel racer who has spent much of this NASCAR career just sitting on the periphery of those considered to be the true stars of the sport.

With the Roush-Fenway duo of Matt Kenseth and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ready to rumble, joined by Alex Bowman, Daniel Suarez, and A.J. Allmendinger, it was time for the spring classic. Even the fans got to determine the field, with 22-year-old Chase Elliott getting their nod for inclusion.

While the Roush-Fenway lads led at the start, Kevin Harvick did what he has done much of this season thus far. He dominated the opening segment and walked off with it. Did it matter? Not after they had a slow pit stop it did not. That allowed the second best on the season, Kyle Busch, to waltz away with the second segment. Did that matter? Nope, again.

Things got shook up a tad in the third frame. Stenhouse was squeezed down low when he nudged Martin Truex Jr., who clipped Clint Bowyer, who got into Austin Dillon. Behind them, Truex went sideways and hit the trifecta in claiming the Busch boys, with Kyle on the inside, Kurt on the outside, and Brad Keselowski in the middle.

No single car dominated that portion of the event until the end. Kyle Larson and Suarez were battling at the front on the final lap, but Harvick was off on his own road trip on the outside. He coasted by Larson. Ditto when it came to Suarez, to claim the top spot in preparation for the 10 green lap dash for the million in cash.

It was all Harvick, and with two to go, he was gone barring a mishap. The bar came down when Larson squeezed Joey Logano into the fence, while Logano demonstrated a perfect P.I.T. maneuver to send Larson through the grass.

Two laps left. Harvick in front. Not surprising that the boy was still there when they crossed the line. Suarez and Logano were next, but there was only one check for a million smackers handed out, and that made that one driver a truly Happy man. It marked another reason to celebrate to go with the All-Star suds shaker he had back in his Daytona 500 winning season of 2007.

They get to come back next week, same track, different format, on a Sunday, and with points on the line. It is the best race day on the planet that opens with the Grand Prix of Monaco, followed by the Indianapolis 500, before they return to Charlotte and the World 600.

Thank God for the PVR.

May 21, 2018
Crossover Stars Help NASCAR’s Fan Appeal

NASCAR needs more crossover stars. It’s a time-honored tradition in the sport to bring in drivers from across the pond (mostly on NASCAR’s dime) and put them in our cars not only to perform but to draw in the fans. This is usually met with success more on the fan side of things, although former F1 drivers Mario Andretti and Juan Pablo Montoya did find a bit of success in NASCAR.

Lewis Hamilton’s comments to TMZ regarding a foray in NASCAR have been given a bit of levity considering how his 2018 season has gone without a win, not to mention he has yet to finalize any plans beyond 2018. Hamilton has been vocal in the past regarding his love for American motorsports as well as a possible NASCAR venture, and considering he’s the closest thing to a mainstream A-list celebrity the racing world has, it’s easy to imagine the NASCAR brass salivating at the idea of Hamilton in a competitive car at Daytona. It’s not impossible to imagine NASCAR possibly even footing some of the bill to bring him.

It’s had its pitfalls before, though. Two-time Formula One champion Jim Clark and Ludovico Scarfiotti were entered in the 1967 American 500 at Rockingham. Although Scarfiotti, winner of the 1966 Italian Grand Prix and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1963, did not compete due to his time being disallowed, Clark was able to bring his Holman-Moody Ford up into the top-15 before mechanical failure knocked him out of the race.

Another Formula One champion, Kimi Raikkonen, competed at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s May 2011 Speedweeks in the Camping World Truck Series race as well as the Nationwide Series race. Raikkonen, the 2007 World Champion (and arguably one of F1’s most enigmatic personalities), drove for Kyle Busch Motorsports in both events, scoring a 15th-place finish in the truck race while finishing four laps down in 27th during the Nationwide race.

Both instances had a lot of fanfare from across the racing world, and although they ended in less-than-stellar fashions, that hasn’t always been the case. Montoya won three races across the three national touring divisions in NASCAR. Andretti became a Daytona 500 winner for Holman-Moody in 1967. Nelson Piquet Jr. won two truck races and a Nationwide event.

It’s been more than just an F1-to-NASCAR crossover. In 2017, two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso made his IndyCar debut at the Indianapolis 500, where he piloted an Andretti-Herta Autosport entry to Rookie-of-the-Race honors. Alonso managed to lead several laps and appeared in contention to win before an engine failure sidelined his Honda. The fanfare was so great it even garnered attention in the NASCAR world, where NASCAR-to-IndyCar and vice versa are not uncommon; NASCAR has seen its own Kurt Busch, Robby Gordon, Tony Stewart, and John Andretti make the Indy 500-Coke 600 double multiple times over the years.

In 2008, on the heels of Formula One standout and Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya winning the 2007 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie-of-the-Year with one win, three top-fives, and six top-10s, IndyCar champions Sam Hornish Jr. and Dario Franchitti ventured into NASCAR with hopes of success. They dominated the storylines early in the season as part of the “Open-Wheel Invasion” despite struggling, and Franchitti dropped out halfway through the season while Hornish is now a part-time Xfinity Series competitor with a handful of wins.

Even Danica Patrick’s move from IndyCar to NASCAR was fruitless overall, although she was one of the faces of the sport and spent her entire career in top-caliber equipment.

It’d be easy to become jaded at the prospect of a crossover star coming to NASCAR, admittedly so. When has one actually set the sport on fire other than Tony Stewart, the 1997 Indy Racing League champion? Even those who have found success have received it in short bursts. Ultimately, it’s a matter of experience – more seat time means more success unless you’re a racing anomaly like Andretti or Montoya. But the buildup, the hype, the suspense of a driver who may be established elsewhere making the dive into another major motorsport, i.e., NASCAR, is noteworthy to the brass. Fans and media get especially excited, PR people go all out and come race day it’s almost certain that the Next Big Thing has arrived.

Should NASCAR invest into another crossover star (training, seat time, equipment, so on), it could help bolster attendance and ratings issues, same with IndyCar and F1. The day can and will come when a crossover driver is discovered and happens to truly be the Next Big Thing.

April 27, 2018