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  • Surprising and Not Surprising: AAA Texas 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: AAA Texas 500

    From deep in the heart of the Lone Star State, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 11th annual AAA Texas 500.

    Surprising: There apparently is a new super power in NASCAR called ‘Mega Turn’. At least that was the power bestowed on race winner Jimmie Johnson by runner-up Brad Keselowski.

    “The 48 car had mega turn that last run and I couldn’t keep the turn and it kept pushing real bad,” the driver of the No. 2 Wurth Ford Fusion said. “I did everything I could to hold him off, but he was way faster that last run.”

    “Their team did a hell of a job and found speed and my team did a hell of a job too. We led 300-some laps and these debris yellows always favor someone and it wasn’t our day for them to favor us.”

    “It was a hell of a race.”

    This was Keselowski’s sixth top-10 finish at Texas and his 23rd top-10 finish of the season.

    Not Surprising: Given the fact that rain washed out both Cup practices, the saying ‘When it rains, it pours’ was definitely applicable at Texas, especially for Chase driver Joey Logano. Not only did his tire blow early in the race but one of his crew members had hot oil pour out of the car onto his face, causing him to take a quick trip to the infield care center.

    While the crew member was treated and released, Logano finished 40th and is now solidly in the basement of the Chase race, 69 points behind leader Jeff Gordon.

    “Sometimes you just have to roll with the punches,” the driver of the No. 22 AAA Insurance Ford said. “This team is strong. We didn’t take any wind out of our sails today and we showed how fast this thing was even after we crashed. I am very proud of our team.”

    “It is unfortunate that we finished how we did.”

    Surprising: After a weekend that was not so classy, this week’s race was filled with at least a few moments of class, from Jimmie Johnson racing Brad Keselowski fair and square without incident for the race win to Martin Truex Jr. acknowledging some hard racing with Keselowski with a handshake after the race.

    “I just like to race guys clean anyway, the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet said of Keselowski. “I kept working on him and working on him. He got real loose off (Turn) 2 and I had a big run off the top and I went for a big slide job down in (Turns) 3 and 4 and got the win.”

    And of the other classy act of the race, here is what eighth place finisher Martin Truex Jr. had to say of his close racing with Brad Keselowski.

    “We just rubbed a little bit there in the tri-oval,” the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet said. “No big deal at all. We were both racing hard. Good hard racing-rubbing a little. Rubbing is racing.”

    “It was fun.”

    Not Surprising: Although he is one of the younger drivers on the track, Erik Jones was spent and ready for some respite after running the third race of the weekend in substitution for Matt Kenseth in the No. 20 DeWalt Toyota.

    “I’m ready to take a day off, I don’t think I’ve ever run more than two races – the Truck and XFINITY race – in more than one weekend,” Jones said. “At this point, I’m feeling fine, but I can definitely feel it coming on. I’ll be worn out tonight.”

    “It was a fun weekend and I’ll do it again for sure next weekend. I’m looking forward to it, but it’s definitely busy and definitely hard on you. I’ll take a nice day off tomorrow.”

    Surprising: One would think that having two tires go down, as well as another shifter problem, would definitely have resulted in a near the bottom of the pack finish. Not so for one Kevin Harvick, who rallied back from all that to finish third in his No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet.

    “I’ve never had to drive with one arm that long,” Harvick said. “I had to pay a lot more attention. The hardest part was my arm started to go to sleep and I had to let off on it to get the blood flowing again.”

    This was Harvick’s 14th top-10 finish in 26 races at Texas Motor Speedway.

    Not Surprising: Even veteran drivers, including one in his last season, can continue to be a student of the sport. Of course, that continuing education is greatly enhanced when that driver is also already guaranteed a spot in the final four of the Championship Chase.

    “I thought we learned a lot this weekend,” Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet said. “I think we certainly know that our cars are fast because our teammate won. At the same time, I think that we were here to execute and push hard, try to win, but also to just learn what we could. I thought we learned some stuff.”

    “Something good to build on and work on.”

    Surprising: While teammate Jeff Gordon was going to hug his teammate after the win, the two top finishing Toyotas were also actually cheering on competitor Jimmie Johnson for the race win.

    “For our situation, we wanted to see a guy that was not in the Chase win or a guy that we were racing right around us like the 78 (Martin Truex Jr.) and win the race,” Kyle Busch said after finishing fourth. “This M&M’s Crispy Camry was really, really fast today – just not fast enough. We fought hard, we did what we needed to do, we finished in the top-five and we got ourselves in a pretty good spot hopefully.

    “My guys never cheered so hard for Jimmie (Johnson), we needed that for the points going to Homestead,” Carl Edwards said after finishing fifth. “Our Sport Clips Camry – it was fast. It was really fast in the middle of the race. We were up to second and I thought we had something then it fell off at the end.”

    “This was a fun race to drive.”

    Not Surprising: Two drivers had some close encounters with the wall, with both manning up that it was due to driver error.

    “We had a good car and we were driving forward early and I got into the wall off four trying to pass somebody and cut a right front tire down,” Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 21 SNAP-ON Tools Ford said. “Hit the wall pretty hard in one and two and ruined our day. It is all my fault. I hit the wall all by myself and ruined a very fast race car.”

    “I was having too much fun out there and got loose, three-wide after a restart and tagged the wall real good and bent the car up pretty bad and knocked the rear deck lid off of it,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said after the race. “We got the chance to fix it and we just had a real fast car. I think we had the best car here. Just can’t hit the wall, but man we were just having fun, running hard. Got to do that every once in a while.”

    Surprising: Brian Scott continues to strut his stuff in the Cup Series. He had another top-15 finish, his second in his limited run in the series, finishing 14th in his No. 33 Shore Lodge Chevrolet. This was the first time in his Cup career that he has scored back to back top-15’s.

    Not Surprising: Demonstrating his dry wit and his own brand of humor yet again, Matt Kenseth won his own race, at least for one of the most re-tweeted Twitter postings after the race.

    “Good work @JimmieJohnson! Textbook pass for the win at the end of the race when someone is trying to take your lane. #quintessential”

  • Jones Extends Championship Lead With Truck Series Win At Texas

    Jones Extends Championship Lead With Truck Series Win At Texas

    By Reid Spencer

    FORT WORTH, Texas – On turf that typically belongs to two-time defending NASCAR Camping World Series champion Matt Crafton, Erik Jones dominated on Friday night.

    Jones led 117 of 147 laps on the way to victory in the WinStar World Casino & Resort 350 at Texas Motor Speedway, his first win at the venue, his third of the season and the seventh of his career.

    In an event that featured only one caution, a track-record low, Jones finished 2.855 seconds ahead of runner-up and NASCAR Driver for Diversity alum Daniel Suarez, who matched his career-best finish. Jones extended his series from 10 to 17 points over Crafton, who ran fourth after winning the Keystone Light Pole Award. There are two more races left in the Truck Series season.

    The top two finishers drove Toyotas fielded by Kyle Busch Motorsports.

    Jones, who is doing triple duty this weekend at Texas, will race the No. 4 Tundra next at Phoenix, where he has won the last two races.

    “Getting the win here, that’s a nice boost for everybody, not just myself but everybody at KBM,” Jones said. “We needed this to get back on track. We’ve struggled a little bit the last month, month and a half and worked hard to get back to this point.

    “And now, to go out there and win one the way we did, and lead as many laps as we did, that’s a really nice statement for us. Hopefully, we can go to Phoenix and do the same kind of thing we’ve done the last two years. It’s nice to have that points lead back up closer to the 20 range than the 10 range, but we still have two more weeks, and we have to hold onto it, be strong and close this deal out.”

    In recent years, Crafton’s been the dominant force in the series at 1.5-mile intermediate speedways, but Jones grabbed the lead on Lap 13 and pulled away to a lead of nearly three seconds. Joes squandered that advantage with a slow pit stop under green on Lap 47, but the lone caution on Lap 54 bunched the field and erased a lead of 5.9 seconds built by Crafton.

    Jones overtook Crafton for the top spot on lap 65 and controlled the race the rest of the way, losing the lead only briefly during a cycle of green-flag pit stops around Lap 100.

    The race was the shortest ever in the Truck Series at Texas, lasting just one hour, 23 minutes and 48 seconds. 

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race – WinStar World Casino 350
    Texas Motor Speedway
    Fort Worth, Texas
    Friday, November 06, 2015

        1. (5) Erik Jones #, Toyota, 147, $62424.

        2. (7) Daniel Suarez(i), Toyota, 147, $42737.

        3. (15) Ryan Blaney(i), Ford, 147, $34886.

        4. (1) Matt Crafton, Toyota, 147, $27750.

        5. (17) Tyler Reddick, Ford, 147, $19678.

        6. (6) Timothy Peters, Toyota, 147, $18020.

        7. (4) Brandon Jones #, Chevrolet, 147, $17495.

        8. (11) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 147, $16965.

        9. (9) Ben Kennedy, Toyota, 147, $16861.

        10. (14) Cameron Hayley #, Toyota, 147, $17675.

        11. (12) John H. Nemechek #, Chevrolet, 147, $16620.

        12. (2) Spencer Gallagher #, Chevrolet, 146, $16406.

        13. (13) Johnny Sauter, Toyota, 146, $16297.

        14. (3) Daniel Hemric #, Chevrolet, 146, $16192.

        15. (16) Jesse Little, Toyota, 145, $14406.

        16. (8) Jeb Burton(i), Chevrolet, 145, $15952.

        17. (10) John Wes Townley, Chevrolet, 144, $15848.

        18. (18) Mason Mingus, Chevrolet, 144, $15744.

        19. (19) Ray Black Jr. #, Chevrolet, 142, $15635.

        20. (20) Timmy Hill, Chevrolet, 141, $16031.

        21. (21) Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, 138, $15427.

        22. (26) Korbin Forrister #, Chevrolet, 136, $14068.

        23. (29) Tyler Young, Chevrolet, 136, $13959.

        24. (24) Jennifer Cobb, Chevrolet, 134, $12854.

        25. (23) Justin Jennings, Chevrolet, 89, $12900.

        26. (22) Travis Kvapil, Chevrolet, Oil Leak, 77, $12647.

        27. (28) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, Suspension, 40, $12543.

        28. (27) Todd Peck, Chevrolet, Suspension, 17, $12214.

        29. (25) Dexter Stacey, Chevrolet, Electrical, 11, $12094.

        30. (32) Mike Harmon(i), Chevrolet, Engine, 6, $11594.

        31. (30) Tyler Tanner, Chevrolet, Engine, 0, $10094.

        32. (31) Caleb Roark, Chevrolet, Electrical, 0, $9094.

    Average Speed of Race Winner:  158.002 mph.
    Time of Race:  01 Hrs, 23 Mins, 44 Secs. Margin of Victory:  2.855 Seconds.
    Caution Flags:  1 for 5 laps.

    Lead Changes:  7 among 5 drivers.
    Lap Leaders:   M. Crafton 1-12; E. Jones # 13-47; T. Reddick 48; J. Nemechek # 49; M. Crafton 50-64; E. Jones # 65-98; C. Hayley # 99; E. Jones # 100-147.

    Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  E. Jones # 3 times for 117 laps; M. Crafton 2 times for 27 laps; J. Nemechek # 1 time for 1 lap; C. Hayley # 1 time for 1 lap; T. Reddick 1 time for 1 lap.
    Top 10 in Points: E. Jones # – 824; M. Crafton – 807; T. Reddick – 803; J. Sauter – 753; T. Peters – 718; C. Hayley # – 698; D. Hemric # – 674; J. Townley – 654; B. Kennedy – 630; S. Gallagher # – 606.

     

  • Jones Wins NCWTS Winstar World Casino & Resort 350

    Jones Wins NCWTS Winstar World Casino & Resort 350

    FORT WORTH, Texas (November 6, 2015) – Rookie Erik Jones continued his march toward a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship with a dominating victory in Friday night’s WinStar World Casino & Resort 350 at Texas Motor Speedway.

    Jones (No. 4 Toyota) led 117 laps of the 147-lap event as he cruised to a 2.855-second margin of victory over Kyle Busch Motorsports teammate Daniel Suarez (ARRIS Toyota) for his third win of the season and sixth of his career. It also was his first NCWTS win at Texas, which came in his third career start.

    The victory allowed Jones to stretch his championship lead from 10 points to 17 over two-time defending NCWTS champion Matt Crafton (No. 88 Damp Rid/Menards Toyota) despite his strong outing. Crafton started on the pole and led 27 laps en route to a fourth-place finish, his seventh top-10 effort in the last nine races.

    Jones, however, extended his run of consecutive top-10 finishes to 13 with the win, allowing him to inch closer to that series crown with races remaining next week in Phoenix and then the Nov. 20 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    Jones, who won his first career XFINITY Series race at Texas in April, took the lead from Crafton on Lap 13 and did not encounter any major challenges throughout the evening. Crafton led again for a 15-lap stint from Laps 50-64 before Jones took complete command and led 82 of the final 83 laps.

    Caution periods and possible gambles by other drivers never came about as the race established a track record for fewest cautions (1) and caution laps (8). The race also set a track record in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for fastest time of race at 1 hour, 23 minutes and 48 seconds. The previous mark was 1 hour, 25 minutes and 30 seconds from the fall race in 2012.

    In addition to the 1-2 finish by Jones and Suarez, it was a banner night for Kyle Busch Motorsports as all three of its drivers finished in the top 10. Christopher Bell (No. 54 JBL Toyota) rounded out the strong performance for the organization with an eighth-place finish.

     

  • Hot 20 – A Senior Driver Leads the Pack into Dover as Others Prepare to Ride into the Sunset

    Hot 20 – A Senior Driver Leads the Pack into Dover as Others Prepare to Ride into the Sunset

    Time can bring us many wonderful memories, but it comes with change. Most of us are not all that fond of change. Once we watched the likes of Richard Petty, David Pearson, Dale Earnhardt and the Alabama Gang take to the track, to thrill us with their exploits. That was then. Time changed that.

    Jeff Gordon prepares to enter his 790th consecutive Cup race, but time is ticking down on his great Hall of Fame career. Tony Stewart has one more season left in him, then he goes to the sidelines. NASCAR gives us a little more time for most of our favorites than other sports, where our heroes are usually finished by the time they hit 40. Still, even in NASCAR, it is an age when the countdown seems to begin, whether we like it or not.

    We have Greg Biffle, 45, and Matt Kenseth, 43, getting up there. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson both are now 40. Next season, so will Kevin Harvick. Sure, there is always a Chase Elliott working his way up, or an Erik Jones, but we treasure those who we cheered for in our youth, then for those our own age who claimed our support, then we watch those even younger than ourselves hanging them up. Damned time.

    Nothing makes a person feel older than when one of the kids decides to retire. We might find some solace in that one of those seniors is leading the pack heading into Dover this weekend. A senior. I was already driving when that old fossil was born. At least I can still do the same number of backflips that I could do forty years ago.

    I wonder what it is like to do a backflip?

    Here are our Hot 20 heading to their date with the Monster Mile.

    1. MATT KENSETH – CHASE WIN
    You do not have to be the most dominant as long as you finish first.

    2. DENNY HAMLIN – CHASE WIN
    First at Chicago, second at Loudon. Is Hamlin trying to tell us something?

    3. CARL EDWARDS – 2089 POINTS
    A Top 30 finish is all he needs to move on.

    4. JOEY LOGANO – 2089
    As long as it isn’t in a first lap wreck, staying up with Edwards should do the trick.

    5. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 2083
    A visit to Dover and an 11th win on the Monster Mile would be lovely at this time of year.

    6. RYAN NEWMAN – 2074
    How did he end up way up here?

    7. KURT BUSCH – 2073
    Minimal success, with minimal problems, just might work in the Challenger round.

    8. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 2072
    Jumped a re-start, was running second at the first turn, then 24th after the penalty.

    9. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 2071
    I’m thinking a move to Toyota sure beats a move to Volkswagen about now. Just sayin’.

    10. JEFF GORDON – 2068
    The length of Gordon’s Cup career is about to turn 790 races long, with no interruptions.

    11. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 2058
    It is time for McMurray to McDrive his arse off.

    12. DALE EARNHARDT, JR. – 2057
    Driving with an empty bladder is a joy for us, not so much late in the race in NASCAR.

    13. PAUL MENARD – 2056
    Can a driver with a single career Cup win really be a serious candidate for the championship?

    14. KYLE BUSCH – 2056
    Damn tire. Damn wall.

    15. KEVIN HARVICK – 2034
    Dear Kyle: It could be worse.

    16. CLINT BOWYER – 2018
    Tony promises to never goad me into spinning out on purpose, so I will never have to fib again.

    17. KASEY KAHNE – 732
    2016 came a lot earlier than Kasey had hoped.

    18. ARIC ALMIROLA – 728
    Came close to making the Chase, but even closer to the wall at New Hampshire.

    19. KYLE LARSON – 683
    Stewart wanted the 23-year-old Larson, settled for the 36-year old Bowyer in 2017.

    20. GREG BIFFLE – 675
    Finishing fourth at Loudon means we might not see Austin Dillon make this list again in 2015.

  • NASCAR BTS: Venturini Racing Pays It Forward for Kevin Swindell

    NASCAR BTS: Venturini Racing Pays It Forward for Kevin Swindell

    Whether on dirt or asphalt, racers compete with all the hearts on track. But when a fellow racer is injured or in need of help off the track, true racers pay it forward with whatever help is needed.

    This week’s NASCAR Behind the Scenes looks at a true racing family, the Venturinis, who are paying it forward by organizing a golf tournament to help Kevin Swindell, who was injured in a heat race qualifying for the Knoxville Nationals back in August.

    Swindell’s car tangled with others, flipped, and landed hard on its wheels leaving the 26 year old racer with serious spinal cord and back injuries, including the lack of mobility below the waist. Swindell has completed several surgeries and a hospital stay and currently continues his rehabilitation on an outpatient basis in the Frazier Rehab Institute in Louisville, KY.

    “We are putting together a fundraising golf tournament to help Kevin,” Billy Venturini said. “We know it is going to be a lengthy process with his rehabilitation. Kevin drove for me and run some races. And there is a friendship there too.”

    “So, we just wanted to try to help out a little bit. I went through a spinal cord injury myself back in 2005 without any paralysis. So, I felt like this was my chance to pay it forward and help him out.”

    “Kevin is in Louisville right now at a spinal cord rehabilitation center and is now in outpatient,” Venturini continued. “They had to get an apartment for him to live up there. His mother and his girlfriend are there helping to take care of him. He also has a young daughter.”

    “So, that’s basically what it is all for. I know he has medical insurance so I don’t know if there will be bills there that are not covered. But I do know that the other expenses in having his family care for him and to live there for four to six months during his rehab. So, that’s what we’re trying to help with, the housing, the missed time from work for the family and to help support his little girl through all this.”

    The golf tournament, dubbed the #BulldogStrong Golf Tournament, is a collaborative effort with the Women’s Auxiliary of Motorsports (WAM), a nonprofit charity of NASCAR. Given that affiliation, 100% of the proceeds of the golfing event will go directly to help with Swindell’s recovery expenses.

    “We are doing the golf tournament at Rocky River Golf Course, right next to Charlotte Motor Speedway,” Venturini said. “It will be the week of the Charlotte race on October 6th.”

    “We did a couple of different sponsorship deals, with a Presenting Sponsor which is Toyota. There were two Gold level sponsors,  Curb and Allegiant, and Hoosier did the Silver level. We have hole sponsorships and I think we have sold out on those sponsorships.

    “So, we sold all the holes, all the major sponsorship packages, the longest drives and closest to the pins, all to raise money for this deal.”

    Not only have the sponsors turned out to pay it forward for Swindell but his fellow racers and those in the industry have done so as well.

    “We were planning for 128 golfers, which was the max the golf course said they could host because of the number of golf carts,” Venturini said. “But I have a friend who donated more carts so we can be at 144, which is the max for an 18 hole golf course.  So, they will start two four-somes on each hole.  We actually have had to close registration and have a waiting list to play golf.”

    “I would say that 98% of those involved are in the racing world.  There are a handful of different drivers coming out, like Kyle Larson, Erik Jones, Ross Kenseth, Brennan Poole, Justin Boston, and Matt DiBenedetto.”

    Venturini also credits his girlfriend for coming up with the gold tournament idea. After that, he said it was an ‘easy sell’ to the racing community to pull it all together.

    “I also have to give a ton of credit to my girlfriend,” Venturini said. “We were playing golf right after it happened. I was texting Kevin during that round of golf and I was like ‘Damn, I feel bad about his mother and his girlfriend and his little girl. They are all working so hard to do this deal for him.’

    My girlfriend said that we should do something and she was right. So, she suggested a golf tournament and she has helped so much with all of the logistics. I have the ties to the people, so that’s what I handled.”

    “When I talked to people, they all said that they wanted to help but just didn’t know how to go about it. So, I just basically give everyone a platform for something they already wanted to do. Because all these people, everyone wanted to help.”

    Venturini acknowledged that while there is competition for rides and on the track, Kevin is one of those special racers that everyone rallies around.

    “Kevin kind of falls into a rare category, which is that he is a true racer,” Venturini said. “We’ve come from a family of racers and we’ve done this our whole lives. And in all honesty, we’re in that community. There are a lot of racers that you see running that aren’t ‘true’ racers. Those that have grown up in it and have been saturated in it are part of the community. And Kevin is part of that fraternity.”

    “So, when I called on all these people, it was a really easy sell to get all these people to come out and do this and give. Racers don’t call on racers unless it is a needed situation.”

    And while the golf tournament is all about raising the dollars needed, Venturini also feels that it is a show of support that is much needed as Swindell goes through the long road of recovery.

    “I know this is so important to him,” Venturini said. “This support is helping him a ton. He is making good strides and there is a good chance that this will work out favorably for him. But it will be a long road ahead. And we racers have to stick together and keep paying it forward.”

    “It was ten years ago when I got hurt. I wasn’t lucky I broke my neck and had a spinal cord injury but I walked out of the hospital. I had six months of rehabilitation but that was nothing.”

    “Kevin’s going to have a tougher road than I had. I wasn’t looking to pay it forward but when it happened, I knew that was what I needed to do and what we all needed to do.”

    “We’ll be able to give Kevin a nice size check when this is all over.”

    For more information on the #BulldogStrong Golf Tournament Benefitting Injured Driver Kevin Swindell, visit www.KevinSwindellGolfTournament.com and @GolfForSwindell on Twitter.

  • Kyle Busch Scores 43rd Career Truck Win at Pocono

    Kyle Busch Scores 43rd Career Truck Win at Pocono

    After three green, white, checkered attempts, Kyle Busch was again the one to reign victorious, scoring his 43rd Camping World Truck Series win at Pocono Raceway. This was Busch’s first Truck victory for the 2015 season and his first at Pocono Raceway in the Trucks.

    With the victory, Busch has now won at least one race in all three of NASCAR’s national series for the tenth time in his career.

    “This is really, really cool,” Kyle Busch said. “Great to win and put Toyota in Victory Lane and my first win here as well.”

    In spite of the three restarts he had to contend with, Kyle Busch felt that he managed them well.  Unfortunately, his young teammate Erik Jones did not fare so well, getting spun and suffering damage on one of those fateful restarts.

    “The restarts weren’t too bad from my seat,” Busch said. “But behind me it looked crazy. I hate it that Erik Jones got washed out on that restart. The restarts didn’t go his way today.”

    Busch also was running low on fuel at the end of the race and had to nurse his race track during through cautions.

    “One of the biggest things we did was to shut the engine off during yellows,” Busch said. “The more you can shut it off, because these things are gas guzzlers, the better off you are.”

    Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Chevrolet, finished in the runner-up position, after taking tires late in the race.

    “We had an interesting weekend, to say the least,” Harvick said. “But I signed up to give some feedback and help Cole (Custer) and JR Motorsports get situated on the bigger tracks. The great part is that the guys kept working and they didn’t get mad.”

    “So, we made something out of the weekend. IT’s not where we want to be performance-wise, but that’s why you run the race.”

    “Yeah, I just want to thank everybody on our Haas Automation Chevrolet.”

    Tyler Reddick, driver of the No. 19 Draw Tite Ford, finished third. And thanks to the misfortune that befell Matt Crafton, who tangled with Brad Keselowski to finish 28th, Reddick also became the new points leader in the Truck Series.

    “Our guys did an outstanding job,” Reddick said. “These guys have been working really hard. We didn’t have the speed we needed to compete with the 51 and the 4, but the truck was very raceable in traffic.”

    “But we still came home with a top three finish.”

    Reddick is now officially eleven points ahead of Matt Crafton in the championship point standings.

    “We need to stay aggressive,” Reddick said. “It’s always been race to race as far as the points If we run the best we can every weekend, it will all end up right at the end.”

    Cameron Haley scored his best career finish to date, finishing fourth in his No. 13 Cabinets by Hayley/Carolina Nut Co. Toyota.

    “I had Cup drivers on all sides and that was a hell of a feeling,” Haley said. “Learned a ton from him and my spotter Eddie D’Hondt (Jeff Gordon’s spotter) up on the stand.”

    “I will do lots of celebrating tonight. This was a good top five finish for sure.”

    Austin Dillon, who also pitted late in the race finished fifth in his No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet, in spite of an incident with Erik Jones.

    “We had a good run at the very last second, but it didn’t work,” Dillon said. “I hate it for Erik Jones, but we had a good conversation afterward.”

    Johnny Sauter, Timothy Peters, Matt Tifft, Daniel Hemric, and Erik Jones rounded out the top ten finishing order for the 6th annual Pocono Mountains 150.  The full results are as follows:

    015 NCWTS Pocono Mountains 150 Race Results

    Fin Str Trk Driver Team Lap Pts BPts Status TLd LLd
    1 2 51 Kyle Busch(i) Dollar General Toyota 69 0 Running 2 53
    2 7 0 Kevin Harvick(i) Haas Automation Chevrolet 69 0 Running
    3 6 19 Tyler Reddick Draw Tite Ford 69 41 Running
    4 16 13 Cameron Hayley # Cabinets by Hayley/Carolina Nut Co. Toyota 69 40 Running
    5 5 33 Austin Dillon(i) Rheem Chevrolet 69 0 Running
    6 17 98 Johnny Sauter Nextant/Curb Records Toyota 69 39 1 Running 1 4
    7 12 17 Timothy Peters Red Horse Racing Toyota 69 37 Running
    8 14 54 Matt Tifft ToyotaCare Toyota 69 36 Running
    9 15 14 Daniel Hemric # California Clean Power Chevrolet 69 35 Running
    10 1 4 Erik Jones # Toyota 69 35 1 Running 1 9
    11 8 11 Ben Kennedy Local Motors Toyota 69 33 Running
    12 11 15 Mason Mingus Call 811 Chevrolet 69 32 Running
    13 9 8 John H. Nemechek # D.A.B. Constructors Inc. Chevrolet 69 31 Running
    14 13 23 Spencer Gallagher # Allegiant Travel Chevrolet 69 31 1 Running 1 3
    15 20 2 Tyler Young Randco Industries/Young’s Building Systems 69 29 Running
    16 18 63 Garrett Smithley SegPay/Mittler Bros Machine & Tool/Ski Soda 69 28 Running
    17 10 5 John Wes Townley Zaxby’s Chevrolet 68 27 Running
    18 21 74 Jordan Anderson SRGFX.com Chevrolet 67 26 Running
    19 32 50 Kyle Martel Finish Line Express Chevrolet 67 25 Running
    20 25 28 Ryan Ellis FDNY/Julie’s Cause Chevrolet 67 24 Running
    21 23 40 Todd Peck Arthritis Foundation/OSS Health Chevrolet 66 23 Running
    22 30 6 Norm Benning Chevrolet 63 22 Running
    23 19 1 Travis Kvapil Burnie Grill Chevrolet 56 21 Running
    24 31 7 Ray Black Jr. # ScubaLife.com Chevrolet 52 20 Accident
    25 26 94 Wendell Chavous # Lilly Trucking Chevrolet 51 19 Accident
    26 24 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb Driven2Honor.org Chevrolet 49 18 Running
    27 29 8 Korbin Forrister # Trump for President Chevrolet 24 17 Accident
    28 3 88 Matt Crafton ChiChi’s/Menards Toyota 13 16 Accident
    29 22 45 BJ McLeod Tilted Kilt Chevrolet 12 15 Overheating
    30 4 29 Brad Keselowski(i) Cooper Standard Ford 5 0 Accident
    31 28 36 Justin Jennings Mittler Bros Machine & Tool/Ski Soda Chevrolet 3 13 Vibration
    32 27 0 Caleb Roark Driven2Honor.org Chevrolet 3 12 Suspension

    # = Rookie, Fin = Finish, Str = Start, Pts = Total Points, BPs = Lap Leader Bns Pts, TLd = Times Led, LLd = Laps Led. (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

     

     

     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    14. KASEY KAHNE – 558 POINTS
    Same as above.

    15. PAUL MENARD – 558 POINTS
    Ditto.

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

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

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

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

    20. KYLE LARSON – 452 POINTS
    The other Kyle.

  • Chris Buescher Coasts on Fumes to Checkered Flag in Buckle Up 200

    Chris Buescher Coasts on Fumes to Checkered Flag in Buckle Up 200

    After contact with his teammate Darrell Wallace Jr., Chris Buescher gambled on fuel and nursed his No. 60 Roush Performance Products Ford to the checkered flag in the Buckle Up 200 at the Monster Mile. This was also Buescher’s first victory in three races at Dover International Speedway.

    “I never know what to believe and you never know how much you need to save,” Buescher said. “We were really just trying to go easy on the throttle and then at the end, we just had to let it coast at least half of the straightaway.”

    “It was really tough to do and I felt like we were going really slow,” Buescher said. “You have to convince yourself to do it. But we made it to the end and we had enough to do a burnout.”

    “It was nerve-wracking for sure,” Scott Graves, Buescher’s crew chief said. “You know you’re close and you don’t know exactly how much it was going to take. But we knew we were going to be OK when everyone else came in and we had a lap to play with at the end.”

    “Once we got down to that point, I was feeling better about it.”

    This is Buescher’s second Xfinity Series win of the season and with the win, he maintained the points lead over Ty Dillon by 15 points.

    Buescher’s victory, however, was not without controversy due to the contact with teammate Bubba Wallace, who cut a tire and soldiered on to finish a disappointing 17th.

    “It is my teammate so I can’t really say much,” Wallace said. “I asked the spotter after the race and he said we got run over. I was saving fuel there and Chris just ran over me and he ends up winning.”

    “It should be interesting Monday morning. We just got run over. It sucks that it was my teammate,” Wallace continued. “I was saving fuel. I didn’t think I was holding him tight and the next thing you know we are almost in the fence.”

    “The crappy part about it is we had a really strong Ford EcoBoost Mustang and we couldn’t get off pit road to save us and we got caught in dirty air and then we were in fuel saving mode. I thought we were doing okay until that little incident. I would say I am happy Roush won but I am not.”

    Matt Kenseth, behind the wheel of the No. 20 Reser’s Toyota, overcame an early tire issue to finish in the runner up position.

    “We had a great race car and I actually thought it was all going to work out for us,” Kenseth said. “I had to pit out of sequence and that let us a set of tires short. We got to stay out and lead some at the end and I honestly didn’t think that anyone could run that long on fuel.”

    “We came up a little short but we had a really, really fast race car.”

    This was Kenseth’s 13th top-10 finish in 21 races at the Monster Mile and is his third top-10 finish in the 2015 season.

    Regan Smith, driver of the No. 7 Breyers Chevrolet, took the checkered flag in the third spot. He also scored the $100,000 Dash for Cash honors provided by the Xfinity Series.

    “We had to work hard overnight because I didn’t like where the race car was,” Smith said. “They made good adjustments and we had very fast pit stops.”

    “Fuel mileage races are frustrating though,” Smith continued. “I haven’t been on the good end of one yet. Disappointed about that but proud of the effort today.”

    Smith advised that he had a child so that is where he intended to utilize the $100,000 bonus from the Dash for Cash. This was Smith’s fourth top-10 finish in 11 races at the Monster Mile.

    In spite of it being his nineteenth birthday, Erik Jones suffered another heartbreak in the Xfinity Series race after disappointment in the Truck race the night before. Jones missed pit road and then got a speeding penalty to boot, however, was able to soldier on to finish in the ninth position.

    “I just missed it,” Jones said. “It’s tough to get onto pit road here. I should have practiced it. It just didn’t work out at the end.”

    There was also another crash involving Ryan Blaney, Brian Scott and Jamie Dick. The initial incident was between Blaney and Brian Scott, the latter of whom started spinning. Unfortunately, Jamie Dick then plowed into Scott with violent impact.

    “The 22 (Blaney) was kind of out of control and he got real loose off (Turn) 4 so I got a run to his inside going into Turn 1. I just feel like he didn’t give me any room,” Scott said. “I went in there and he was stuck to my door. It just caused me to just suck around. As soon as I turned down in the corner I was loose.”

    “It sucks. I guess it’s a product of restarts here at Dover. That (second hit) hurt.”

    The 18 slipped a little bit off of four and the 2 got inside of us and must have got loose or something,” Blaney said. “Unfortunately we got in the fence there. It was unfortunate because I would have liked to see where it went.”

    “It was only lap 50 and I wish we could have raced more than that. They put it back together and we got what we got. It has been a rough last couple weeks for us. Hopefully we can get it turned around eventually.”

    Austin Dillon finished fourth, Kasey Kahne fifth and Chase Elliott, Brendan Gaughan, Ty Dillon, Erik Jones and Jeremy Clements rounded out the top-ten.

    2015 NXS Buckle Up 200 Race Results

    Fin Str Car Driver Team Lap Pts BPts Status TLd LLd
    1 2 60 Chris Buescher Roush Performance Products Ford 200 47 4 Running 1 10
    2 3 20 Matt Kenseth(i) Reser’s Toyota 200 0 Running 1 51
    3 10 7 Regan Smith Breyers Chevrolet 200 41 Running
    4 8 33 Austin Dillon(i) Rheem Chevrolet 200 0 Running 1 17
    5 7 88 Kasey Kahne(i) Ragu Chevrolet 200 0 Running
    6 14 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 199 38 Running
    7 11 62 Brendan Gaughan South Point Chevrolet 199 37 Running
    8 12 3 Ty Dillon WESCO Chevrolet 199 36 Running
    9 6 54 Erik Jones(i) Monster Energy Toyota 199 0 Running 2 70
    10 15 51 Jeremy Clements RepairableVehicles.com/AllSouthElectric.com 198 34 Running
    11 17 16 Ryan Reed Lilly/American Diabetes Association Ford 198 33 Running
    12 18 42 Brennan Poole DC Solar Chevrolet 198 32 Running
    13 24 44 David Starr Zachry Toyota 198 31 Running
    14 19 43 Dakoda Armstrong WinField Ford 198 30 Running
    15 16 25 John Wes Townley(i) Zaxby’s Chevrolet 198 0 Running
    16 21 4 Ross Chastain # Heroes Haven Chevrolet 198 28 Running
    17 1 6 Darrell Wallace Jr. # Ford EcoBoost Ford 197 28 1 Running 3 52
    18 23 28 JJ Yeley Big Barrel Country Music Festival Toyota 197 26 Running
    19 4 18 Daniel Suarez # ARRIS Toyota 197 25 Running
    20 20 39 Ryan Sieg Uncle Bob’s Self Storage Chevrolet 197 24 Running
    21 13 1 Elliott Sadler OneMain Financial Ford 196 23 Running
    22 28 1 Landon Cassill Meding’s Seafood/Iron Source Chevrolet 195 22 Running
    23 37 26 CJ Faison Deputy Builders Toyota 194 21 Running
    24 30 24 Eric McClure Hefty Toyota 193 20 Running
    25 32 97 Peyton Sellers # Vroom Brands Chevrolet 193 19 Running
    26 34 0 Harrison Rhodes # teamjdmotorsports.com Chevrolet 192 18 Running
    27 33 15 BJ McLeod(i) BYBExtremeFighting.com Chevrolet 191 0 Running
    28 38 70 Derrike Cope Circle Track Warehouse Chevrolet 187 16 Running
    29 35 52 Joey Gase Donate Life Chevrolet 179 15 Running
    30 25 8 Blake Koch LeafFilter Gutter Protection Toyota 171 14 Accident
    31 36 13 Timmy Hill(i) Braille Battery/Grafoid Dodge 159 0 Suspension
    32 29 90 Mario Gosselin VR Victoriaville Chevrolet 147 12 Running
    33 26 14 Cale Conley # IAVA Toyota 135 11 Accident
    34 9 22 Ryan Blaney Hertz Ford 131 10 Running
    35 40 74 Mike Harmon In Memory of David Torteotot Dodge 113 9 Suspension
    36 5 2 Brian Scott ACME/Kraft Singles Chevrolet 63 8 Accident
    37 22 55 Jamie Dick Viva Auto Group Chevrolet 62 7 Accident
    38 27 40 Carl Long Braille Battery/Grafoid Toyota 33 6 Engine
    39 39 89 Morgan Shepherd Chevrolet 33 5 Overheating
    40 31 19 Jeff Green TriStar Motorsports Toyota 3 4 Vibration

    # = Rookie, Fin = Finish, Str = Start, Pts = Total Points, BPs = Lap Leader Bns Pts, TLd = Times Led, LLd = Laps Led. (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

     

  • Tyler Reddick Burns Down Monster Mile’s House with Truck Win

    Tyler Reddick Burns Down Monster Mile’s House with Truck Win

    Tyler Reddick, driving the No. 19 BBR Music Group Ford for Brad Keselowski Racing, burned down Monster Mile’s house and headed to Victory Lane for the second time this season. Reddick took the lead late in the race and never let go to take the checkered flag in the 16th annual Lucas Oil 200.

    This was also Reddick’s first win at the infamous Monster Mile.

    “We worked really hard for this,” Reddick said. “I knew we had a top-five truck at the start of the race. It’s great to get a win for everybody back home and a great way to get the season started for us.”

    Owner Brad Keselowski was also very proud of his young driver, especially since he is in contention for the championship just eleven points shy of leader Matt Crafton.

    “It certainly was a great day but for us and it was kind of a landmark day,” Keselowski said. “We’ve got a lot to be proud of and we’ve got our focus on the championship. Tyler ran a partial season last year and a full season this year but it’s still his first season. So, it’s nice to see that come together the way it has and it’s going to be an exciting finish from here.”

    “There is a lot of racing left to do but I think you saw today that there are so many great competitors out there. The championship battle will come down the end and these wins are going to make the difference.”

    Reddick’s win was not without controversy as he had a run in with Jennifer Jo Cobb, who was incredibly annoyed and expressed her anger by staying on the track and sharing a gesture or two before taking the obligatory ambulance ride to the care center.

    “We were in lap traffic early on in the race and Jennifer pulled up as I was trying to pass another vehicle,” Reddick said. “She looked like she was going to get me three-wide and then she closed the door.”

    “So, I rode up to try to avoid getting in the back of her but she just got loose when I was right behind her and ended up spinning. It’s a real shame and I understand when something like that happens”

    “I just feel really bad for her for that happening to them and their team.”

    Daniel Suarez, behind the wheel of the No. 51 ARRIS Toyota, finished second in the race. This was his first top-ten finish at Dover and his fifth top-10 finish in 2015.

    “Well for sure the whole of 2015 so far has been different from my 2014,” Suarez said. “I’m very lucky. To have fast race cars every weekend is just great.”

    “I feel like I’m learning a lot every single weekend. Kyle (Busch) has been helping us as well. We are getting closer and closer.”

    The most disappointed driver yet one who finished in the third spot was Erik Jones, whose two-tire strategy simply did not pan out the way he wanted.

    “I was in on the call and we just didn’t have the time left. It was a solid day for us but it’s just a shame that we couldn’t bring it home,” Jones said. “It’s definitely frustrating and even more frustrating at this moment.”

    “It just really hurts being that close to a win and it’s a bummer for this race team. But we made a call to take two and that was a lot of laps on lefts. And it showed at the end.”

    “We’ll take it and move on and just keep getting better.”

    Jones was the highest finishing rookie of the race.

    Daniel Hemric, Matt Crafton, Ben Kennedy, Ryan Blaney, Brandon Jones, Johnny Sauter and Tyler Young  rounded out the top-ten finishers.  The complete race results are as follows:

    2015 NCWTS Lucas Oil 200 Race Results

    .Fin Str Trk Driver Team Lap Pts BPts Status TLd LLd
    1 4 19 Tyler Reddick BBR Music Group Ford 200 47 4 Running 3 40
    2 5 51 Daniel Suarez(i) ARRIS Toyota 200 0 Running
    3 2 4 Erik Jones # Special Olympics World Games Toyota 200 42 1 Running 1 50
    4 19 14 Daniel Hemric # California Clean Power Chevrolet 200 40 Running
    5 3 88 Matt Crafton Rip It/Menards Toyota 200 40 1 Running 1 3
    6 18 11 Ben Kennedy Local Motors Toyota 200 38 Running
    7 1 29 Ryan Blaney(i) Cooper Standard Ford 200 0 Running 1 33
    8 12 33 Brandon Jones # AGRA Industries Chevrolet 200 36 Running
    9 16 98 Johnny Sauter Smokey Mountain/Curb Records Toyota 200 35 Running
    10 25 2 Tyler Young Randco Industries/Young’s Building Supplies 199 34 Running
    11 20 7 Ray Black Jr. # Scubalife.com Chevrolet 199 34 1 Running 1 1
    12 13 23 Spencer Gallagher # Allegiant Travel Chevrolet 199 32 Running
    13 10 0 Cole Custer Haas Automation Chevrolet 198 33 2 Running 5 67
    14 15 86 Brandon Brown Coastal Carolina University Chevrolet 196 30 Running
    15 22 94 Timmy Hill Testoril Chevrolet 195 29 Running
    16 21 82 Austin Hill Empire Racing Ford 192 28 Running
    17 27 8 Korbin Forrister # Tilted Kilt Chevrolet 190 27 Running
    18 17 5 John Wes Townley Zaxby’s Chevrolet 178 26 Running
    19 24 50 Travis Kvapil BurnieGrill.com Chevrolet 178 25 Running
    20 14 17 Timothy Peters Red Horse Racing Toyota 136 25 1 Accident 3 5
    21 7 13 Cameron Hayley # Carolina Nut Company Toyota 136 24 1 Running 1 1
    22 6 8 John H. Nemechek # MeetBall Chevrolet 136 22 Running
    23 31 74 Tim Viens RacedaySponsor.com Chevrolet 127 21 Rear End
    24 28 1 Ryan Ellis Chevrolet 90 20 Accident
    25 8 54 Justin Boston # ROKMobile.com Toyota 65 19 Accident
    26 32 6 Norm Benning Chevrolet 61 18 Suspension
    27 23 45 BJ McLeod Chevrolet 56 17 Ignition
    28 26 63 Justin Jennings Mittler Bros Machine & Tools/Ski Soda Chevrolet 33 16 Accident
    29 11 15 Mason Mingus 811 Call Before You Dig Chevrolet 32 15 Accident
    30 9 97 Jesse Little Carolina Nut Company Toyota 32 14 Accident
    31 29 36 Tyler Tanner Mittler Bros Machine & Tools/Ski Soda Chevrolet 15 13 Vibration
    32 30 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb POW-MIAFamilies.org Chevrolet 12 12 Accident

     

  • The Final Word – It was an all-star Saturday night in Charlotte, but the all-star weekend is still to come

    The Final Word – It was an all-star Saturday night in Charlotte, but the all-star weekend is still to come

    Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes you give it away. Denny Hamlin won the All-Star event Saturday night, but Brad Keselowski and his team handed it over.

    With the 10 lap final shootout to go, Keselowski got out of his pit box just behind Hamlin. He gunned it to clear pit road ahead of his rival, but in doing so he was caught speeding. Keselowski, the best in two of the four 25-lap segments and the leader going into the pits, went to the back of the line and his hopes of winning went out of the window.

    With the lead and the clean air that came with it, Hamlin kept ahead of Kevin Harvick to the end to claim the million dollar prize. Sadly, the days of being able to slingshot past the leader to victory, it seems, ended when David put the moves on Goliath. There were just three lead changes on the track; when Kasey Kahne went by Keselowski 15 laps in, when Hamlin loaned it to Kurt Busch for a lap in the second segment, and when Busch went by Hamlin two laps into the fourth segment.

    Clint Bowyer and Greg Biffle made the race through their efforts in Friday night’s showdown. Danica Patrick got in through the fan vote. Martin Truex Jr., who is second in points but lacking in wins, was left in the cold when he failed to make the grade through the preliminary event. Maybe an all-star should also be defined as someone in the top three in points, as that person appears very likely to make the Chase one way or another. You know, like one would expect from an all-star.

    Kasey Kahne was seventh Saturday but won Friday’s truck race in a photo finish over Erik Jones. There was just one problem. It seems the winning truck was too low on both sides and high in the right rear. For any penalties for this cameo violation to be meaningful, they would either have to come by way of taking cash from team boss Dale Earnhardt Jr. or take the win away.  It just depends on how serious a violation it was and if, in itself, it made the difference between winning or losing.

    Ryan Newman lost and I am not just talking about the weekend. He got some points back in his first appeal regarding his California tire violation in March but got nothing out of his second appeal to further reduce the penalties to him and his crew. Brian France claims all teams know what the problem was that day. The problem now seems to be that at least some of the teams claim they still do not know what Newman’s group did to get penalized, thus remain in the dark as to how to avoid such an issue themselves. It would seem to me that we have here, as was stated in that other Newman’s movie years ago, is a failure to communicate.

    As Jeff Gordon ran his final All-Star contest, we see a bright horizon for the sport. We have the 18-year old Jones lighting it up in both XFINITY and the trucks, and on Sunday Ben Rhodes skipped his high school graduation to make his XFINITY debut for JR Motorsports. Jones finished third, Rhodes seventh. Not a single Cup guy was to be seen in Iowa, which is the way it should be for the most part.

    Meanwhile, while American Pharoah won the Preakness last weekend to set up a run for horse racing’s Triple Crown in June, next Sunday is truly an all-star extravaganza in motorsports. We begin with the Monaco Grand Prix, followed by the Indianapolis 500, with the World 600 bringing the day to a close. Get the PVR ready and the couch all comfy, as it is going to be a busy day.