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Hot 20 – Martinsville Could Showcase a Wildcard Cup Contender and a Dying Minor League

Will it bother anyone if, conceivably, one not so deserving wins the Cup title this year? I mean, if it is Jeff Gordon, Joey Logano, or Brad Keselowski, I doubt few would argue the outcome. One could even argue that the likes of Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, or Ryan Newman would be a worthy champion.

However, what about Denny Hamlin? Even if he had taken part in the two events he missed in order to mend, Hamlin would not even be in our Top Ten. Okay, maybe if he had won them both, but what were the chances? Still, would he be deemed as a worthy holder of the title?

In a word, yes. Few, if any, are pointing out the fact that the World Series participants, the Giants and the Royals, are just a pair of wildcard teams. They were not the best in their division, and in fact each was just the fourth best in their respective leagues. Yet, as time goes on, fewer will remember that the Orioles, Tigers, Angels, Dodgers, Nationals and the Cardinals all had better runs in 2014. They did, but when it counted, they did not. Hamlin is among those who has, thus far, been there when it counted.

When you watch a truck race, you can count on 36 entries. Usually. Well, sometimes. Not next year, when they scale the field down to 32. My guess is that it has been an embarrassment for NASCAR to realize a full slate just five out of 18 events. Three times they could not even get 30. Of the 37 entered to compete at Martinsville, only 13 have run the entire series. Only 16 have run 15 or more. Two others in that number, Ron Hornaday and T.J. Bell, are not even entered for this weekend.

I wonder what the problem is. Eight races have been won by Cup regulars, six of them by Kyle Busch. He, along with Keselowski and Austin Dillon are not entered at Martinsville. Two time winner Erik Jones is not, along with Cole Custer. What has gone wrong?

We are told the economy is still suffering, that sponsorship is hard to come by. So, is the involvement of the Cup guys keeping at least some level of interest alive, or is it helping to kill it? Maybe an answer can be found in the Nationwide series, where only 17 drivers have run all 30 of those races to date. They have won just eight between them. Nineteen have been won by Cup regulars, led by the half dozen claimed by (guess who?) Kyle Busch. At least they will retain the 40 car field for next season, but for how much longer?

Me thinks NASCAR needs to rethink its model for the supposed minor leagues, where 27 of the 48 events have been claimed by “major leaguers” this season. If the trend of attrition in the number of teams and full-time drivers at its lower levels does not turn around soon, Cup might be all NASCAR has to offer.

*Winning bonus increased from 3 to 25 points.
BOLD = Current Chase contenders

1 – Jeff Gordon – 4 Wins – 1203 Points*
2 – Joey Logano – 5 – 1187
3 – Brad Keselowski – 5 – 1175
4 – Dale Earnhardt Jr – 3 – 1089
5 – Kevin Harvick – 3 – 1088
6 – Jimmie Johnson – 3 – 1033
7 – Carl Edwards – 2 – 1005
8 – Matt Kenseth – 0 – 993
9 – Ryan Newman – 0 – 990
10 – Kyle Larson – 0 – 967
11 – Kasey Kahne – 1 – 923
12 – Kyle Busch – 1 – 903
13 – Greg Biffle – 0 – 900
14 – Clint Bowyer – 0 – 885
15 – Austin Dillon – 0 – 878
16 – Jamie McMurray – 0 – 877
17 – Denny Hamlin – 1 – 859
18 – Brian Vickers – 0 – 830
19 – Paul Menard – 0 – 826
20 – Kurt Busch – 1 – 816

October 23, 2014
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Talladega

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Joey Logano: Logano finished 11th at Talladega as Penske teammate Brad Keselowski won, joining Logano and six others with a chance to win the Sprint Cup.

“Brad is in with the win,” Logano said, “If NASCAR had a ‘wild card’ qualifier, Brad would have made it solely based on his performance at Charlotte.”

2. Jeff Gordon: Gordon finished 26th at Talladega and secured his spot in the Eliminator round.

“Amazingly,” Gordon said, “Brad Keselowski didn’t make contact with anyone at Talladega. He drove a heck of a race. He was in a zone, as opposed to a headlock.

“I’m the only Hendrick Motorsports driver in the final eight. It’s up to me to carry the HMS flag. As for the ‘HMS Johnson,’ the ‘HMS Earnhardt,’ and the ‘HMS Kahne’—those ships have sailed.”

3. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski beat the odds and won the Geico 500 to qualify for the Eliminator round in the Chase For The Cup. Needing a win, Keselowski held off Ryan Newman for his sixth win of the year.

“The Redd’s Wicked Apple No. 2 car was set up perfectly,” Keselowski said. “There’s only one thing better than a Redd’s Apple, and that’s a bad apple driving it.

“There’s nothing more satisfying than doing burnouts on the track. NASCAR handed me a check after that. I’ve smoked the tires in the garage area, as well. I handed NASCAR the check after that one.”

4. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished ninth at Talladega as a frantic finish saw Brad Keselowski take the win and an unlikely spot in the Chase’s Eliminator round.

“It was nice to go to Talladega and not have to win,” Harvick said. “I admire the guts it took for Keselowski to pull out the win. I had the same reaction after the race at Charlotte: ‘the nerve.’”

5. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished second to Brad Keselowski and qualified for the Eliminator round on points.

“Just like at Charlotte,” Kenseth said, “I’m ‘after’ Keselowski.”

6. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 18th in the Geico 500, good enough to advance him to the third round of the Chase For The Cup.

“What a run by Brad Keselowski,” Hamlin said. “The results were much different than those at Charlotte, but in both cases, he drove like a man possessed.”

7. Ryan Newman: With a fifth at Talladega, Newman punched his ticket as one of the final eight drivers in the Chase.

“I’m sure a lot of drivers were pulling for me to win,” Newman said, “if for no other reason than to keep Brad Keselowski out of the next round. But I just couldn’t keep Brad behind me, which was surprising, because Denny Hamlin advised me that the No. 2 would likely be on my bumper well past the checkered flag.”

8. Carl Edwards: Edwards advanced to the Eliminator round with a safe 21st at Talladega. He is one of eight drivers eligible to win the Sprint Cup championship.

“Kyle Busch is expecting,” Edwards said. “Nobody was expecting Brad Keselowski to win. Either way, a ‘baby’ made headlines.”

9. Jimmie Johnson: Needing a win to advance to the Chase’s next round, Johnson finished 24th at Talladega and fell well short of qualifying for the Chase’s next round.

“Our title hopes were dashed,” Johnson said. “But we gave it all we had. We didn’t run out of talent, we just ran out of eligibility.”

10. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Earnhardt struggled from the start and finished 31st in the Geico 500. He finished 13th, well short of qualifying for the Chase’s third round.

“Junior Nation is in a state of ‘E-nial,’” Earnhardt said. “But I expect them to survive. These final four races will be business as usual for Junior Nation—I’ll be racing with no chance whatsoever to win the Sprint Cup championship.”

October 21, 2014
The Final Word – Loved Talladega, Just Not All That Thrilled With the Outcome

What a wonderful race we saw at Talladega on Sunday. It had visual excitement that can only be rivaled by Daytona. We had suspense, as we did not know who would continue in the Chase and who got their hearts broken right through to the final lap. It was everything we could have hoped it would be. Then Brad Keselowski won the damn race and ruined everything.

Keselowski. A former champion. A great diver with five wins this season. After Kansas, a whiney little weasel who has a “who me?” attitude in presenting his fabricated version of events. A twit. Of course, that is just my opinion, I could be wrong. Other than that, though, I love the guy. Don’t you?

Down to the final lap, with his little buddy Joey Logano trying to run interference, Keselowski beat off the challenge of Ryan Newman in his illegal low rider, and held off Matt Kenseth to take it. In doing so, Kyle Busch and Kasey Kahne saw their hopes for a title this year come to an end. Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. led the most laps that day, but both needed to lead the final one in order to advance. That leaves boss Rick Hendrick down to cheering for Jeff Gordon, his final dog in this hunt.

For a successful drama, you need your heros and you need your villains. Any guess what side of the ledger that I put Keselowski? You can put Logano there, as well. Toss in Denny Hamlin, while you are at it. No doubt wonderful individuals all, but when they win I do not have much stomach to view or listen in to the post-race celebrations. At least that gives me five guys I can be, to various degrees, content with.

The eight remaining contenders start afresh, with Martinsville, Texas, and Phoenix before them to determine the final four. Gordon (8 wins) and Hamlin (with 4) appear to be the favorites entering round one next Sunday. They also claim the best average finish there amongst the final eight. Third and fourth best? Logano and Keselowski.

I wonder who I might be cheering for on Sunday afternoon?

Eight who continue to rate…
1 – Joey Logano – 1 WIN – 3121 POINTS – In by Win
2 – Kevin Harvick – 1 – 3117 – In by Win
3 – Brad Keselowski – 1 – 3085 – In by Win
4 – Ryan Newman – 0 – 3117 – 27 Points In*
5 – Denny Hamlin – 0 – 3100 – 10 Points In
6 – Carl Edwards – 0 – 3099 – 9 Points In
7 – Matt Kenseth – 0 – 3099 – 9 Points In
8 – Jeff Gordon – 0 – 3093 – 3 Points In

Four who’ve been shown the door…
9 – Kasey Kahne – 0 – 3090 – 3 Points Out
10 – Kyle Busch – 0 – 3086 – 7 Points Out
11 – Jimmie Johnson – 0 – 3053 – 40 Points Out
12 – Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 0 – 3045 – 48 Points Out

*Up to a 15 Point Penalty expected for low riding car

October 20, 2014
The Final Word – Charlotte was a Happy Place, Though it Made Junior Sad, and Some Mad at Brad

Charlotte in the night and what a web it wove. Essentially, you could sum up the action by first pointing out that Kevin Harvick once again had a dominant car. The difference this time is that he won the darn thing, the Closer closed, and the Happy boy is now locked into the Chase right through to the Arizona 500.

Secondly, Dale Earnhardt Jr. had bad vibrations, bad enough to snap his shifter. It was not as bad as Kansas, but finishing 20th a race after coming home 39th is not what the lad was looking for. For either he or Jimmie Johnson to make the Chase, Kasey Kahne cannot. Harvick and Joey Logano are locked into the next round after Talladega, while the other five contenders are close to it, barring very bad things. Of course, Talladega is where very bad things are known to happen.

Very bad. Some think that describes Brad Keselowski and the boys seemed to be lining up to kick the crap out of him. A come to Jesus meeting seemed to be in order, where one’s feelings were not the only things destined to be hurt. In hearing Brad tell it, all I heard was that everyone else started the problems by attempting to pay him back for things he had already done.

With around 60 laps to go, Brad went either looking for an off ramp or he deliberately swung way wide on a restart to deliberately block Matt Kenseth and force him into scraping the wall. He then did a little tap-tapping on Denny Hamlin in his bid to move forward, causing an anxious moment or two late in the race.

Somewhere in there, or so Keselowski says, Hamlin tried to retaliate, so as the race ended Brad tried to perform a P.I.T. maneuver on Hamlin’s auto. Then, he claimed Kenseth had torn off his right front, which seemed perfectly fine when it hit Matt’s parked car post-race on pit road. At the time, Kenseth had already taken off his restraining devices, making it truly a stupid move. Unfortunately for Bradley Aaron, he also caught Tony Stewart, even though he claimed it must have been Kenseth who hit him. As Brad backed up, Stewart put his own in reverse and made damn sure Keselowski’s front end was indeed torn up, causing the boy to get out of Dodge but quick.

By the time he parked, Hamlin was hunting him down. There was pushing and yelling, but the two never seemed to get together. Brad was directed to his hauler, but hauled himself out to walk off into the night between the trailers. That is where Kenseth caught up to him, and they did get together. Another big crowd gathered, more pushing and yelling ensued, as the post-race action got more exciting than anything we had just seen out on the track.

In the end, Brad gave his side of the story, NASCAR was going to ponder what took place, and no doubt nothing of consequence will come out of it. Do you remember how I recently mentioned that after initially not being much of a fan I was starting to warm toward Keselowski? Not today. The boy seems on the verge of becoming what Kurt Busch had once been, a malady that seems curable only by a treatment made popular by a certain Dr. James (Jimmy) Spencer.

What we learned is that the next time Keselowski causes one of those racing deals, that block will result in him being sent into the wall. The next time he says what happened, I will want to see what really did happen, as ole Brad seems to ignore a few facts in his summation of events. I do not like his chances of advancing to the next round of the Chase, as I think he just lost a few friends from his Facebook list.

Talladega is next, and sometimes things just happen at Talladega.

The eight who rate…
1 – Joey Logano – 1 WIN – 3088 POINTS – Locked in
3 – Kevin Harvick – 1 – 3081 – Locked in
2 – Kyle Busch – 0 – 3082 – 26 Points to the good
4 – Ryan Newman – 0 – 3077 – 21 Points to the good
5 – Carl Edwards – 0 – 3076 – 20 Points to the good
6 – Jeff Gordon – 0 – 3074 – 18 Points to the good
7 – Denny Hamlin – 0 – 3073 – 17 Points to the good
8 – Kasey Kahne – 0 – 3057 – 1 Point to the good

Four who need to do more…
9 – Matt Kenseth – 0 – 3056 POINTS – 1 Point out
10 – Brad Keselowski – 0 – 3038 – 19 Points out
11 – Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 0 – 3031 – 26 Points out
12 – Jimmie Johnson – 0 – 3031 – 26 Points out

October 13, 2014
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Charlotte

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Joey Logano: With his spot in the Chase’s next round already locked up, Logano finished fourth at Charlotte, then watched as his Penske teammate went berserk afterwards.

“Sadly,” Logano said, “Kes is going to get stuck with the nickname ‘Spoiled Little Brad.’ Brad’s not one to back down when he thinks he’s been wronged, and if that means crashing his car, he’ll do it. If nothing else, he has ‘scrap mettle.’

“The post-race shenanigans were wild. It looks like my teammate is the bad guy. He really pissed some drivers off. When you say ‘Flair’ in Charlotte, you usually think of ‘Ric,’ not ‘tempers.’”

2. Kevin Harvick: Harvick led 162 laps at Charlotte, and took the field to green on the final restart with two laps remaining. He pulled away from Jeff Gordon and won the Bank Of America 500 and a pass to the third round of the Chase.

“They call me the ‘Closer,’” Harvick said. “They call Gordon the ‘(Can’t Get) Closer.’

“With the win, I moved in to the Chase For The Cup’s round 3. Of course, that took a backseat to some of the post-race events, which looked more like round 1.”

3. Kyle Busch: Busch won the pole at Charlotte and finished fifth in the Bank Of America 500, his second top-five in the last two races. He is second in the points, six out of first.

“I’m in perfect position to advance,” Busch said. “The only thing that can keep me out of the ‘Eliminator’ round is a meltdown on the scale of the one that Brad Keselowski displayed. I’m confident that won’t happen. What worries me is that I know I’m capable of it.”

4. Jeff Gordon: Gordon chased Kevin Harvick to the finish at Charlotte, but didn’t have enough to catch the No. 4. Gordon took second, and needs only a finish of 16th or better at Talladega to advance to the Challenger round.

“What a wild night at Charlotte,” Gordon said. “I think NASCAR needs more races like this. I hear NASCAR is already looking to add a race on a track shaped not like an oval, but an octagon.”

5. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished eighth at Charlotte and now stands fifth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 12 behind Joey Logano.

“I’ve got to hand it to my future teammate Matt Kenseth,” Edwards said. “He really went after Brad Keselowski. From the man who is known for his backflips, that was the best ‘jump’ I’ve seen in awhile.”

6. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished 19th after starting 42nd due to what NASCAR called an “unapproved adjustment.” After the race, Brad Keselowski hit Kenseth’s No. 20 as the cars were heading to the garage.

“First of all,” Kenseth said, “NASCAR’s so-called unapproved adjustment was a decal. When I heard we had to go to the back of the field, I experienced a case of ‘sticker shock.’

“Then, Keselowski started playing bumper cars. I won’t stand for that. I’m not a huge social media user, but I felt the need to post Brad’s new Twitter handle, ‘@hole.’”

7. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson pitted on the final caution with seven laps to go, giving up fourth place in the process. He emerged 10th and dropped back to 17th at the checkered flag.

“Obviously,” Johnson, “that wasn’t the right decision. It appeared to be the first of many judgment errors made by drivers at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“We’ve placed ourselves behind the 8-ball. But we’ll have to scrap for everything at Talladega, and I’m confident we can do it. With the Keselowski-Hamlin-Kenseth dustup in mind, I still have some ‘fight’ left in me.”

8. Kyle Larson: Larson led five laps and looked poised to challenge for the win until he brushed the wall late, throwing off the handling of his No. 42 Target car. He still finished sixth, and has a top-six result in all five Chase races.

“Sure,” Larson said, “the events of Saturday night don’t reflect well on Brad Keselowski. He’s got at least three drivers upset with him. But there’s a positive to everything, and NASCAR drivers are always looking for a new sponsor. The heck with the milk industry, Keselowski should be the poster boy for the new ‘Got Beef?’ ad campaign.”

9. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished ninth in the Bank Of America 500, then tangled with Brad Keselowski on the cool-down lap.

“Ironically,” Hamlin said, “I threw a white towel at Keselowski in anger.

“I’m not afraid to tell it like it is. I’m a straight-shooter. Keselowski needs a straightjacket.”

10. (tie): Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Earnhardt suffered a broken shifter handle on lap 137, and the ensuing problems cost him dearly at Charlotte. He finished 20th, and now needs a win at Talladega to advance to the next Chase round.

“Hey,” Earnhardt said. “Shift happens.

“But I know what I have to do. It’s all or nothing at Talladega. I need a huge victory in the worst way. So, contrary to what is standard at Talladega, I welcome the ‘Big One’ at Talladega.”

Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 16 in the Bank Of America 500 on a clearly frustrating night in Charlotte. On the cool down lap, Keselowski rammed Denny Hamlin, then hit Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart. In the garage moments later, Kenseth charged Keselowski, sparking a wild melee.

“It looked like everyone wanted a piece of me,” Keselowski said. “What the heck happened? Did NASCAR just announce a new dispute-settlement philosophy, ‘Boys, have at ‘im?’”

October 13, 2014
Surprising and Not Surprising: Charlotte Bank of America 500

With new paint schemes under the lights, as well as pink for breast cancer awareness abounding, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 55th annual Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Surprising: In spite of the championship not even being close to secured for 2014, there was a surprising amount of discussion about champions after the checkered flag flew at Charlotte.

Past champs Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski had quite the confrontation in the pits after the race, as well as exchanging some beating and banging on the track during the race and at the end of it.

“The race had ended, and he’s running into cars on the cool-down lap,” Kenseth said of Keselowski. “I mean, the race is over, and he comes down pit road and drives into the side of me. That’s inexcusable. He’s a champion, and he’s supposed to know better.”

Denny Hamlin was also a participant in the melee on and off the track with Keselowski, calling the driver of the powder blue deuce “out of control.”

“He’s desperate, obviously, and it’s either four or five of us are wrong or he’s wrong because he’s pissed off everyone,” Hamlin said. “That was unfortunate. Matt (Kenseth) was nearly out of his car, and he just plowed into Matt and then ran into Tony and then went in through the garage and cleared out transmissions and did burnouts in the garage.”

“Just acting like a dumbass instead of a champion.”

Not Surprising: Although he won his 26th race, tying Hall of Famer inductee Fred Lorenzen for 25th on the all-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win list, as well as securing his spot in the Eliminator round of the Chase, Kevin Harvick seemed more than willing to turn over the wheel of his No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet to another driver for next weekend’s race at Talladega.

“I’d park it because it’ll be one hell of a race to watch,” Harvick said simply when asked about the potential mayhem at ‘Dega. “That’s what I’d do.”

“I’m parking it and watching it. It’s going to be fun to watch. It’s going to be crazy, offensive racing.”

“You want to drive, DeLana?”

Surprising: It was a surprisingly good night in Charlotte for the Ganassi Racing team, with Jamie McMurray finishing third and the rim-riding rookie Kyle Larson finishing sixth.

“Yeah, it was a really good night for our whole group,” McMurray said. “When I got to second place at one point I looked at my mirror and Kyle was catching me. We certainly went through a couple of really tough years as our group at Chip Ganassi Racing, and it’s so great right now to have both cars run that well every single week at a lot of different type racetracks.”

“I was not only thrilled for our group but also for the 42 car and just everybody. This is a big weekend for all the race teams. There’s a lot of crew guys that get to bring their kids here to watch their dads or their moms work that sit in the stands, so that’s pretty special I think for Kyle and I to have a good showing.”

“Top groove got going, and I was able to run up there and get to the front and lead for a little bit and the yellow came out and we lost some spots on pit road,” Larson said. “I was able to get back to second and then got into the wall in 3 and 4 chasing down the 11, and messed up the aerodynamics and was really tight after that and just kind of held on and I was lucky with that green-white-checkered, we came down and took four, restarted on the outside and was able to follow the 22 up around the top to get to sixth.”

Not Surprising: Although he finished second in his No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, restarts continue to be the Achilles heel for Jeff Gordon.

“I didn’t want to see another restart, because every time we start on the inside, we seem to lose positions; there at the end, and the whole race,” Gordon said. “We were just trying to tune to make it better.”

“I’m really proud of that finish and really proud of that effort.” Gordon continued. “It looked like we were going to be second. We got off a little bit and lost some track position. I had some terrible restarts. Kevin was tough. I knew when he got out in front it was going to be hard to beat him.”

“I’m really happy about this second (place finish). It doesn’t make us, by any means, comfortable going into next week, but a lot better than it could be.”

Surprising: With all the post-race drama, one of the most dramatic turn of events at the race start was lost in the shuffle. Matt Kenseth was penalized at the start of the race for an unapproved adjustment on pit road, which was reportedly a bumper decal.

After his crew chief vociferously argued the call, Kenseth was forced to start the race at the rear of the field, which perhaps led to his anger and frustration that spilled over at race end.

Not Surprising: While there was much drama for the Chase competitors, there were many non-Chasers that were having quite their own little races as well.

Both Kurt Busch and AJ Allmendinger were satisfied with their finishes at Charlotte, taking the checkered flag in eleventh and twelfth places respectively.

“I would call it a really good effort,” Kurt Busch, the driver of the No. 41 State Water Heaters Chevrolet, said. “The lap times were there. We were running second at half-way and ended up finishing 11^th. But all-in-all, it was nice to run up front with the guys, and to show a turn in the right direction from where we had been running.”

“We started off a little bit off,” AJ Allmendinger, the driver of the No. 47 Scott Products Chevrolet, said. “There were a couple of runs that I thought we were really good. I’m happy with it and stayed on the lead-lap all day.”

“We have to keep working. I think there are little, small things that we are missing instead of big things. Getting better.”

Surprising: After Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne was the only Hendrick driver to finish top-ten, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. having shifter problems and Jimmie Johnson testily telling crew chief Chad Knaus that he was going to crash every lap.

“It was better than we ran most of the night,” Kahne, driver of the No. 5 Pepsi Chevrolet, said. “The only way I could get it to turn in the center was to be so loose. Then it would still get tight after 15 laps so we would go slower at that point. So we just tried a lot of things.”

Johnson soldiered on to finish 17th and Junior ended the race in the 20th spot.

Not Surprising: While Joey Logano did not even have to finish the race given his race win at Kansas last weekend, he was still very pleased with maintaining his points lead position. In fact, he remarked prior to the race that he was thrilled to see his hauler and car in the garage area at the front of the pack.

“Obviously, this doesn’t do a whole bunch for us because we’re in the next round,” Logano said after his fourth place finish. “But we still need to keep that momentum like we have been. It was definitely a hard-fought day for this whole Pennzoil team and they did a good job.”

Logano leads the point standings by six points over competitor Kyle Busch.

Surprising: With the focus more on tire concerns, the real issue of the race was the incredible number of blown engines. In fact, there were five engine expirations, including Clint Bowyer, Paul Menard, Josh Wise, Michael Annett, and Brian Vickers.

“I had a really good car,” Paul Menard, driver of the No. 27 Schrock/Menards Chevrolet, said. “It’s too bad, awesome car, we had a pit stop problem and went to the back, but drove our way back up into the top 15 or so. We definitely had a top five car, just unfortunate. Something let go in the motor.”

Not Surprising: Next week’s race is the infamous crap shoot of Talladega and not surprisingly, the drivers have different opinions on just how that race will play out.

“It wasn’t a win – which is what we really want – but it’s another solid finish for us,” Kyle Busch said after his fifth place run at Charlotte. “We just need to go to Talladega next week and try to avoid the ‘big one.’ ”

“We had a good finish for our Fastenal Ford,” Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford, said after finishing eighth. “It’s fun racing here at Charlotte and now we get to go to Talladega and have a little fun. We’ve got 20 points on ninth-place so it went pretty well for us.”

“We’ll go on to Talladega, but I’m just glad we got out of here clean,” Edwards continued. “I don’t think we made any enemies, so we’ll go have some fun at Talladega and hopefully make the next round.”

October 12, 2014
Harvick Takes the Victory at Charlotte but Matt Kenseth Delivers the Final Blow

October 12, 2014
Hot 20 – Just like NASCAR, Life Presents us with Wins, Losses, and Challenges to be Overcome

Life is full of milestones, some good and some not. Some win championships, some more than one, while others struggle to overcome adversity. Their ability to do so, to win the fight, are just as inspirational, if not more so.

Life has a way of letting you know what is important. News that Steve Byrnes is stepping away from the microphone to do battle once again with cancer is one such example. I expect to see him overcome this setback, to see him return to the studio and garage. There are too many songs in his song sheet that yet need to be sung, and I expect Byrnes to do so. I wish him well, and wellness, and a speedy return to us.

Friday sees me in Eckville, Alberta to say goodbye and celebrate the life of Tim Tubbs. I do not believe Tim was a NASCAR fan. I mean, he cheered for the Calgary Flames, which means he was barely even a hockey fan. What he brought to the party was a love of life, family, and friends. Tim was short in stature, but a giant in personality and character. It was a joy to have been in his company.

As his friends say goodbye, friends of another celebrate on Friday the 40th birthday of Dale Earnhardt Jr. It feels like we have seen him grow up, though he was already 25 when he entered his first full season in Cup back in 2000. We watched him become the most popular driver in the sport, to overcome tragedy, to shine, to endure a decade of struggle, only to return to the forefront this season. His title hopes might not shine bright today, but after this Saturday night in Charlotte or an upcoming Sunday in Talladega they just might again.

Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski have the edge in wins, but as we up the victor’s bonus from 3 to 25 points, over the full season Jeff Gordon remains the man. Among our top dozen there is one outsider. Kyle Larson might have missed the Chase, but the rookie’s performance the past four events would have made him a real contender had he not. As for Denny Hamlin, even missing a couple of races earlier this year have not dashed his hopes. If wildcard teams can do well in the playoffs of other leagues, why not in NASCAR?

BOLD = Active Chasers

Hot 20

1 – Jeff Gordon – 4 WINS – 1141 POINTS
2 – Joey Logano – 5 – 1114
3 – Brad Keselowski – 5 – 1077
4 – Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 3 – 1050
5 – Jimmie Johnson – 3 – 984
6 – Kevin Harvick – 2 – 982
7 – Carl Edwards – 2 – 945
8 – Matt Kenseth – 0 – 925
9 – Ryan Newman – 0 – 912
10 – Kyle Larson – 0 – 901
11 – Kyle Busch – 1 – 859
12 – Kasey Kahne – 1 – 856
13 – Greg Biffle – 0 – 854
14 – Clint Bowyer – 0 – 843
15 – Jamie McMurray – 0 – 825
16 – Paul Menard – 0 – 816
17 – Austin Dillon – 0 – 815
18 – Denny Hamlin – 1 – 796
19 – Brian Vickers – 0 – 764
20 – Kurt Busch – 1 – 745

October 9, 2014
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Kansas

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Joey Logano: Logano took charge after a late restart and cruised to the win in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas.

“I’ve already qualified for the next Chase round,” Logano said. “Some other driver lost tire pressure. Me? I just lost ‘pressure.’”

2. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski suffered a blown front tire on lap 165 that sent him into the wall, a fate suffered by several Cup contenders. He finished 36th.

“A lot of Chase drivers, including myself, are dreaming of that championship,” Keselowski said. “Who doesn’t dream of the trophy and the accompanying ring? Unfortunately, at Kansas, talk of fingers quickly turned to talk of ‘tows.’”

3. Kyle Busch: Busch won his sixth Nationwide Series race of the year on Saturday and scored a third in the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday. He is third in the points standings, six out of first.

“I’m thrilled with third,” Busch said. “Kansas is traditionally a track at which I’ve struggled. Usually, I’m the one that ‘hits a wall’ at Kansas, not the true legitimate Cup contenders.”

4. Jeff Gordon: Gordon finished 14th on an otherwise disastrous day for Hendrick Motorsports, as Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Jimmie Johnson finished 39th and 40th, respectively.

“Sunday’s race was the Hollywood Casino 400,” Gordon said. “If you put Clint Bowyer in a casino at the roulette wheel, it’s a sure thing he’ll spin.”

5. Carl Edwards: Edwards, the lone Roush Fenway Racing driver still in the Chase, finished fifth in the Hollywood Casino 400.

“I’m third in the points standings,” Edwards said. “That’s my best position of the year. My best position of the next year will be in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.”

6. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson was spun by Greg Biffle on lap 85, sending him hard into the inside retaining wall. Johnson finished 40th.

“The points were reset after the Dover race,” Johnson said. “And Chad Knaus would agree with that fact 100%, because I can’t tell you how many times he’s sworn everybody is on a level playing ground.”

7. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: While leading midway through the race, Earnhardt blew a right-front tire and slammed the wall. The damage sent him to the garage and he eventually finished 39th.

“Let’s just hope the people of ‘E-Nation’ don’t become the people of ‘Elimi-Nation,’” Earnhardt said.

8. Kevin Harvick: Harvick won his seventh pole of the year and led 61 laps on his way to a 12th-place finish at Kansas.

“My seven poles have resulted in only one win,” Harvick said. “Obviously, I’m not that adept at closing the deal. If you ask Richard Childress, he’ll say I’m good at closing out a deal.”

9. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished 13th at Kansas as Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch finished third. Kenseth is seventh in the Sprint Cup points standings, 17 out of first.

“We’re headed to Talladega in two weeks,” Kenseth said. “And four drivers will be eliminated afterwards. I didn’t think it was possible, but the ‘Big One’ got even bigger.

“I hear Michael Waltrip is still alive on ‘Dancing With The Stars.’ And he’s finally able to admit he has a partner.”

10. Kyle Larson: Larson finished second at Kansas, and now has two seconds, a third, and a sixth in the last four races.

“Yet I’m barely old enough to drink a ‘fifth,’” Larson said.

October 7, 2014
Surprising and Not Surprising: Kansas Hollywood Casino 400

With Kansas City Royals Manager Ned Yost commanding the drivers to start their engines, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 14th annual Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Surprising: There were surprisingly two drivers after the checkered flag flew that thought that they had won the race.

One driver, Joey Logano, did indeed end up in Victory Lane, securing his place in the Eliminator Round of the Chase competition, while Kyle Busch, who has so often had tremendously bad luck at Kansas, finished third in a run that felt to him more like a win.

“It’s a dream come true,” Logano said after winning his fifth of the season and his first ever at Kansas Speedway. “It’s a dream season so far. We’ve just got to keep finishing it off.”

“It is awesome to be back in victory lane again,” Logano continued. “We were able to capitalize and do what we needed to do. It was fun.”

“I won today, I just didn’t get champagne and a trophy,” Kyle Busch said after posting only his third top-10 finish in 15 races at Kansas Speedway. ““To get through Kansas feels nice.”

“I set my mind to it that there is no reason why we can’t run good here. There is absolutely no reason and other guys can do it so I can do it and my teammates can do it — there is no reason,” Busch continued. “We did that here today and it felt good.”

Both drivers also had winning days in the point standings as Logano is just six points ahead of Busch after the Kansas race.

Not Surprising: One of the first gestures after the race was over was from rookie Kyle Larson, demonstrating with about an inch between his index finger and thumb just how close he was yet again to winning.

This was Larson’s 15th top-10 finish of the season and he was again the highest finishing rookie, in fact for the 21st time.

“We were good all weekend long,” Larson said. “I thought me and Joey were dead even there at the end. It was hard for me to gain on him. We would go within a hundredth of each other it seemed like on every lap. I was able to close on him at one point, but just couldn’t do anything.”

“Good finish. We’ll get some wins here soon hopefully before the end of the year, and I think once we get one, we should be up here more often as a winner.”

Surprising: For at least one Chase contender, the Kansas race ended up being what has traditionally been defined as “a potentially lethal game of chance in which a “player” places a single round in a revolver, spins the cylinder, places the muzzle against their head, and pulls the trigger.”

“It was just Russian roulette and it was our turn,” Brad Keselowski said after a tire issue sent him into the wall for a 36th place finish. “We blew the right front tire. I am not sure why. We didn’t have an aggressive setup or anything, we just blew the tire.”

“We didn’t do anything,” the driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford continued. “Like I said, it was a game of Russian Roulette and it was our turn at the gun.”

Not Surprising: After the euphoria of welcoming his first born son into the world prior to the race, it was not surprising that Clint Bowyer was extremely upset with finishing 18th at a track that he considers part of his racing history.

“We just struggled all day,” Bowyer said. “Got damage early on and our pink lemonade 5-hour ENERGY Toyota was never the same. Hate it at my home track.”

Surprising: For once in a very long time, Richard Childress Racing had a better day at the track than Hendrick Motorsports, with the former having all three of its drivers in the top ten, while the latter had major issues of some sort for every one of its four drivers.

Ryan Newman, driver of the RCR No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet finished sixth, Austin Dillon in his RCR No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet finishing eighth, and Paul Menard, in the RCR No. 27 Quaker State/Menards Chevrolet finished ninth.

“Just a good run for the Caterpillar Chevrolet, it was nice to lead some laps,” Newman said. “First time in a long time we have done that.”

“That is good. That is a motivation for our company.”

“We fought hard all day,” Menard said. “We didn’t quite have the speed our teammates did. We made some really good adjustments to get the car balanced out good. I’m pretty happy with a top 10 after struggling most of the race. We hit on a couple of things throughout the race that got us better.”

Jeff Gordon was the highest finishing Hendrick Motorsports car, with a 14th place run. Kasey Kahne finished 22nd; Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson finished 39th and 40th respectively.

“It was a handful,” Jeff Gordon said. “We were having a pretty solid day with the Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet until the No. 1 car (Jamie McMurray) got loose and got into our left rear.”

“We had a little damage but we just lost all that track position,” Gordon continued. “It is so hard to get it back at this place.”

“A lot of people had trouble today. So today was a real survival day. We did that. It just felt like we could have finished a lot better than that. We had a good race car. We actually really had a great race car.”

Not Surprising: Pleased but not satisfied was how Brian Vickers felt after almost wrecking all day, throwing the kitchen sink at his race car, and finishing tenth in his No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota.

“I think we wrecked 15 times and didn’t hit anything,” Vickers said. “We didn’t get much practice yesterday — we had a couple shock issues that kind of messed us up for the two practices. Then we finally got that figured out on the last run of practice. Basically, today’s race was our practice.”

“It just took us until the end of the race to kind of get it figured out,” Vickers continued. “There were a few runs there where we were horrible and trying to learn and trying things that didn’t work and did work. Then that last run the guys said, ‘Screw it,’ and threw the kitchen sink at it with a couple changes where we were trying to learn something for the future and it was just awesome.”

“Considering everything we had to overcome this weekend I would say we’re pleased, but not satisfied.”

Surprising: In a race with so many blown tires, it was a bit surprising that Carl Edwards’ two tire call actually worked out for him. The driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford finished fifth, keeping his hopes alive in the Chase race.

“That was an awesome finish for us,” Edwards said. “I appreciate everyone coming out here and supporting this 99 team, it means the world. We did not run very well all day but that was awesome at the end, a lot of fun.”

“We put it on the top and ran around and it was a lot of fun,” Edwards continued. “You keep saying we are going to fall out of this and we will keep doing what we are doing. I am so proud of my guys, they did great on pit road. Everyone on the Fastenal crew did a great job and Jimmy Fennig made the right calls and we came home with a top-five, so it was a good day.”

Not Surprising: After another top-10 finish, there was no doubt that Denny Hamlin was in a smooth mood after his seventh place run.

“I’m proud of my team — no mistakes on pit road, just nice smooth day,” Hamlin said. “I saw those guys having a lot of issues. We don’t have a lot of the speed that those guys have, so maybe if we can get them out this round, then maybe there’s a fighting chance we’ll get to the end of this thing.”

“This is a good run for us and this is obviously the type of runs that we need to keep moving on. We’ll take sevenths all the way out.”

Surprising: This team just might have finally turned the corner after a struggle and back luck filled season to date. Martin Truex Jr. scored his best finish of the season with a fourth place run in his No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet.

Since the Chase began, Truex has an average finish of 9.25 and had the second best result at Kansas of all of the non-Chase drivers.

“A lot of effort and a lot of patience have gone into our resurgence,” said Truex. “Everything seems to be clicking much better right now and I look forward to taking advantage of what we have learned and trying to get a win.”

“As I said last week, we’re also getting ready for 2015 and right now we’re seeing the fruits of our labor.”

Not Surprising: He may not have advanced in the Chase but AJ Allmendinger was celebrating what he perceived as a stand-out weekend at Kansas.

“This is the best weekend we have had in a long time for sure,” the driver of the No. 47 Clorox Chevrolet said after finishing 11th. “Happy with the car throughout the whole race, we are just lacking a little bit of overall speed.”

“It was a good car, by far the best we have been,” Dinger continued. “That is the best 1.5-mile car I’ve had in over a year. Hopefully, we learned for the next race at Charlotte.”

October 6, 2014