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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

November 19, 2015
Surprising and Not Surprising: Phoenix Quicken Loans 500

From a rain delayed and a rain-shortened race in the Valley of the Sun, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 28th annual Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

Surprising: Two rookie crew chiefs had to make the tough calls that saw one of their drivers win the race and the other make the Chase.

“We kind of knew that once past halfway we’d see a couple more cautions,” Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s rookie crew chief Greg Ives said after scoring the victory. “So that rain started to pop up again and we’re on two long green-flag runs there, and we just saw it coming. We didn’t know if it was going to happen before we pitted or after, but we knew at some point it was going to happen, and we elected to kind of pit, be one of the first few to pit.”

“I think somebody got us one lap early, and our pit selection at pit stall 33 there allowed us to, when the caution came out, finish our pit stop and cross the start-finish line and allowed us to be scored the leader.”

Cole Pearn, Martin Truex Jr.’s rookie crew chief, called his driver to pit road when an unfortunate caution came out shortly thereafter. Truex was able to finish 14th, which was just good enough to secure his spot in the Championship four.

“I was real concerned until I looked at the scoreboard, and I was like, okay, we’re going to be fine. We’re going to be back on the lead lap if we get going here, and really the only guy we were racing was one car ahead of us, so we felt okay about it,” Truex said. “It’s definitely obviously an exciting day for everybody at Furniture Row Racing and me and just super proud of my team for the season we’ve been able to put together.”

Not Surprising: It was lucky 13 for Chevrolet as they secured their 13th consecutive Manufacturer’s Championship thanks to Dale Junior’s win.

“Winning the Manufacturers’ Championship is one of the goals we set at the beginning of every season,” Jim Campbell, U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports said. “This award is the result of great teamwork by the owners, drivers, crew chiefs, crews and technical partners. Special thanks to the Chevrolet powertrain team, along with the engine shops at Hendrick Motorsports and Earnhardt-Childress Racing for delivering the right combination of power, fuel economy, and reliability throughout the entire season.”

“Congratulations to everyone who has made this special achievement possible for Chevrolet.”

Surprising: The Sunoco Rookie of the Year race is surprisingly close with just one race remaining. Brett Moffitt currently has 196 points while Matt DiBenedetto sits at 192 points in the rookie battle.

DiBenedetto was the highest finishing rookie at Phoenix, finishing 28^th while Moffitt finished 36^th.

Not Surprising: Joey Logano was not the only driver who was hoping to see a restart before the rains came to end the race.

“I think it would have been pretty interesting to see what Joey did on that restart, I will say that,” four-time champion and 2015 championship contender Jeff Gordon said. “But I didn’t want to get caught up in whatever was going to happen.”

“I was going to do whatever I had to do try to win the race if I had a chance to restart,” Logano said after being bumped out of the battle for the Sprint Cup. “I guess it just wasn’t in the cards.”

Surprising: Even after finishing runner-up at a track where he has so often dominated, Kevin Harvick was still trying to figure out whether he was on the right side or the wrong side.

“We made great adjustments overnight and got that little bit of balance that we were looking for from practice. “Just the way that the caution fell, I didn’t get all my distance back on the racetrack under green and Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) was able to beat us out,” Harvick said. “But hey, you lose some and you win some like that.”

“Sometimes you’re on the right side of it, and sometimes you’re on the wrong side of it. Today we were on the wrong side of it, but in the big picture we’re on the right side because we’re racing for a championship next week.”

“So, I’m just really proud of everybody on our team.”

Not Surprising: Roush Fenway Racing had another bad day at the track in Phoenix. Greg Biffle was the highest RFR driver, finishing 25th. Both Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. struggled as well, with Bayne suffering a pit road speeding penalty to finish 34th and Stenhouse involved in an incident with Joey Gase, limping home to a 41st place run.

“That was disappointing,” Stenhouse said after the race. “We had a decent run here earlier in the spring and I think we could have had a decent finish. We will put this behind us and head to Homestead for the final race of the year. We’ve struggled this year, but my guys have never given up.”

Surprising: The Busch brothers were prime examples of making little mistakes, however, the end result was far from similar.

Kurt Busch made a little mistake, jumping the initial start, for which he was penalized and had to serve a pass-through penalty. Busch recovered to finish seventh, but it was not enough to advance him to the final four.

“I don’t even think it was a penalty,” Kurt Busch said after the race. “It’s not even a call in my mind.”

“We had a great season. We won two races, sat on three poles,” Busch continued. “We did everything possible to put polish on a season like that and get out there with elbow grease and work hard at it. There is some tarnish that is sitting there, polish and polish and that is all I kept doing this whole year.”

Brother Kyle Busch also made a little mistake, but his ended up being not so costly. Busch pitted too close to the wall and lost several positions, however, bounced back to finish fourth and advance to the final four.

“I had a little mishap on pit road, just overshot my marks a little bit, being a little bit slick and got my guys too close to the wall, but past that we had a really good race car,” Kyle Busch said. “The M&Ms Camry was fast. I felt like we had a good top-three, top-four race car and long runs seemed to be our friends and we got some of those tonight, so couldn’t be more pleased to finish where we did and be more pleased to go to Homestead.

Not Surprising: With his Chase hopes dashed, Brad Keselowski now has his hopes set on a high five.

“It was a long day for everybody and to have it end like that wasn’t surprising. We kept adjusting on it, but it’s a short race and who knows? Maybe that last run we would have had something, but that’s not the way it played out,” the driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford said. “The highest we can get is fifth in points now, so I’d like to pull that off and take advantage of that opportunity when we get to Homestead next week.”

The NASCAR season will now finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway with four surprisingly distinct storylines. Two of the contenders have already been champions, one Kevin Harvick looking to go back to back and one Jeff Gordon looking to close out his career with his fifth championship.

The other two drivers in the Sprint Cup hunt could write the surprising storylines of being first-time champs, with Kyle Busch hoping to play the role of comeback kid and Martin Truex Jr. as the little engine that could.

The 17th Annual Ford EcoBoost 400 will run on Sunday, November 22 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, in Homestead, Florida. And in less than a week, the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion will be crowned.

November 16, 2015
Hot 20 – Kenseth to miss Texas and Phoenix after facing NASCAR justice (pending appeals)

Bad boy and bad girl. It would seem NASCAR is an equal opportunity disciplinarian, as both Matt Kenseth and Danica Patrick got slapped for aggressive driving at Martinsville. In short, they purposely ran into people with bad intentions.

Gone for two, including the races in Texas and Phoenix, is Kenseth for taking out Joey Logano in mobster style last week. Nine laps down he plucked the front running Logano out of the mix and bulldozed him into the wall. As I write this, Kenseth is appealing his penalty, though I would be surprised if any change in his sentence is forthcoming.

There are those hand ringers who figure this was an awful thing. I do not agree. In fact, I think I just became a Kenseth fan for life. The way I see it, all he did was tune in a mouthy little twerp who danced all over his accomplishment of knocking the former champ out of the way back in Kansas, robbing Kenseth of his best shot at continuing in the Chase. You do not celebrate causing another’s misfortune unless you want karma to come back and bite you in the ass.

Now, you might suspect that I am no fan of Logano. That would be correct, but my feelings toward the man are based only on perception. If I knew him and ran into him on a weekly basis and could not stand him, that is one thing. The truth is, we have never met, and if I had the chance to sit down with Logano for a couple of hours over some adult pops, I might end up a fan of his for life, too. Instead, my feelings toward him, along with those of most of you, are based only on a perception, and that perception just leaves me ice cold.

As for Patrick, her temper was anything but cold. It warranted her picking up a behavioral penalty for using her car to rearrange parts of that driven by David Gilliland at Martinsville. That cost her $50,000 and 25 points.

Both penalties, by the way, are justified, though I do not condemn their actions. They felt they needed to do something, they did what they did, and now have to pay the piper. End of story.

This column takes a break next week but returns to set the table as the boys and girl venture into Homestead to wrap things up for the season. Just in time to see the return of a certain bad boy to the track. My hero, at least for the moment.

Our Hot 20 during the Chase, and only the Chase, to date include…

1. JOEY LOGANO – 3 Wins, 265 Points
Joey might be the best in the Chase, but Kenseth seemed more than able to chase him down.

2. JEFF GORDON – 1 Win, 260
Do you believe in fairy tales with happy endings?

3. CARL EDWARDS – 257
It has been seven years since he won his third at Texas.

4. DENNY HAMLIN – 1 Win, 248
Could have still been in the hunt himself except for Harvick’s actions at Talladega.

5. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 247
If NASCAR is going all “wild west,” shouldn’t that well suit a team from Denver?

6. RYAN NEWMAN – 231
Being outside the Chase, he shouldn’t feel the need to repeat last year’s move at Phoenix.

7. KYLE BUSCH – 224
Four Top Fives, including a win, in last five attempts at Texas, bodes well for Sunday.

8. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 221
How things change. Just a year ago the Feud of the Week involved Brad and Jeff.

9. KURT BUSCH – 217
Can pick either Kenseth or Keselowski to blame for his tribulations last week.

10. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 215
Jeff cheered for winning, Matt cheered for creaming Logano, Junior cheered for being Junior.

11. KEVIN HARVICK – 1 Win, 214
After Matt’s little adventure, we did not hear much from Harvick. Trevor Bayne wonders why?

12. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 201
Not a contender but he has become relevant.

13. RICKY STENHOUSE, JR. – 196
Not among the Top Twenty heading into the Chase, but some groundwork is being laid for 2016.

14. KASEY KAHNE – 195
Four Top Tens during the Chase, but 19th at Talladega, 24th in Chicago, dead last at Charlotte.

15. MATT KENSETH – 1 Win, 185
I once thought Matt was as boring as white bread…but not anymore!

16. GREG BIFFLE – 185
The worst season of his career still the best Roush-Fenway has this year.

17. ARIC ALMIROLA – 184
Ranked 17th on the season, 17th during the Chase events. Not great, but he is consistent.

18. KYLE LARSON – 184
Newman’s berth to Homestead last year went through Larson…literally.

19. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 181
Are we there yet?

20. PAUL MENARD – 177
He always wanted to have the same success as Jimmie, but this is not quite what he envisioned.

November 4, 2015
The Final Word – Gordon wins but it is Kenseth with the knockout at Martinsville

There are things that matter. A retiring champion seeking to go out in a blaze of glory. A 25-year old looking to complete his career redemption as well as claim a fourth straight checkered flag. An elder statesman who believes that young man deserves something a bit different.

Some things just do not matter. For example, in the XFINITY series, where Cup drivers have a second home, none of them matter except for a race winner and those actually running for a title. Same goes in Cup, as just eight drivers are eligible to try and chase down a championship. The winner always matters, no matter where they sit in the standings. As for the remainder, if you are not among the eight and did nothing to cause us to gasp, you do not matter.

It did matter when Chaser Kyle Busch went for a spin at Martinsville after claiming to have found water on the track just before the midpoint. He tagged Austin Dillon and fell into the middle of the field. Same for Carl Edwards, who got into the back of A.J. Allmendinger in the same incident as the accordion effect took over. Both had points to gain, and definitely something to lose. It mattered, and it also gave us a break from the monotony that was Martinsville for much of the day. Much of it, but surely not all of it, as we were to discover.

With 65 laps to go, a lot started to matter. Matt Kenseth got tangled up with Brad Keselowski and then got popped over to really pop Kurt Busch. It mattered that both Chasers had to go to the garage for repairs, and it mattered for Edwards, as the caution brought him back onto the lead lap. It mattered that Kenseth thought his last name was Hatfield, and Penske drivers were the McCoys.

Revenge is best-served cold as Kenseth gave us our best gasp moment. Keselowski’s teammate, Joey Logano, the guy who had dominated the race, passed the battered Kenseth, who was nine laps down. Kenseth said on the radio he thought his right front must have gone down, but it appeared for all the world that he purposely hooked the leader and bulldozed him straight into the wall. Anything with a Penske stamp on it appeared to be a target, and one had to wonder if even the Captain himself was safe.

Brian France thought Logano made a smart decision when he bumped Kenseth out of the way in Kansas. I wonder how smart he thought this hit was? Anyway, Matt got parked, as if his car or Logano’s was going anywhere fast after that. As to what the crowd thought of it, you would have thought Kenseth was an adopted Earnhardt with the ovation he received.

It was almost anti-climatic that Jeff Gordon finally won in his swan song season. Almost. He was near the front most of the day, and was the best after Logano’s departure, leading the final 22 laps to claim his 93rd career victory. The crowd at Martinsville roared their approval as the four-time champ claimed a final four berth for the Homestead showdown on November 22. Gordon shall retire with wins in all but three of his 23 full-time campaigns; in 1993, 2008, and 2010. He wants just one more win in one specific race before heading off to become one of the sport’s most articulate ambassadors

Amongst those who mattered, Rowdy overcame his earlier issue to claim fifth on Sunday, a position ahead of Martin Truex Jr., with Kevin Harvick in eighth. Edwards turned his return to the lead lap to a 14th place finish, but not that terribly far out of the running. As for Keselowski, Kurt, and Logano, they have some work to do.

As for Kenseth, they do promote the Chase as having a knockout format. Well, at Martinsville, Kenseth knocked Logano out. After Kansas, did anyone expect anything less? It is now up to Logano, along with Keselowski and Kurt, to pull themselves off of the canvas to answer the bell at Texas and Phoenix beyond that.

This column will not appear next week, but returns after Phoenix when we will know who will be joining Gordon in the battle for the championship. Who knows, maybe my return will come sooner than Matt’s.

The Chase

1. JEFF GORDON – Win
2. KYLE BUSCH + 9
3. MARTIN TRUEX, JR. +9
4. KEVIN HARVICK +7
5. CARL EDWARDS -7
6. BRAD KESELOWSKI -24
7. KURT BUSCH -26
8. JOEY LOGANO -28

November 2, 2015
Hot 20 – Gordon is a favorite to win at Martinsville, Truex and Kurt not so much

The truth, sometimes it is a tough thing to nail down. Sometimes not. Truth is, Jeff Gordon should do well at Martinsville. In the past five events there, the retiring four-time NASCAR champ has a win and four Top Tens. Over the past dozen years, a span of 25 races, Gordon has failed to claim a Top Ten only three times. He finished 20th in the fall of 2010, 14th in the spring of 2012, and finished 12th in the fall of 2014. That leaves 22 Top Tens, 18 Top Fives, and five victories. You just cannot do better than that. The stats do not lie, and after taking ninth this spring, Gordon still has it. That is the truth.

Sometimes, the truth is a little tougher to ascertain. A couple of years ago, a mysterious spin combined with a baffling call to the pits that briefly allowed a teammate to make the Chase caused controversy. Did Clint Bowyer intentionally spin his car? Bowyer denied it and Sprint Cup Series director John Darby is quoted as saying after the race that “I don’t think anybody realistically believes that was the case with the 15 car.” That tune changed quickly, as the truth appeared to be much more conspiratorial than NASCAR first thought. It cost Martin Truex Jr. a Chase position and his job, and he did nothing wrong. It cost Bowyer some credibility, it cost the team a major sponsor, $300,000 in fines and it possibly caused the eventual demise of Michael Waltrip Racing.

Last weekend, did Kevin Harvick, with a car that was barely running, that was barely in the Chase, deliberately spin out Trevor Bayne to save his season at the cost of Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr.? No, says NASCAR. So, we have to accept that Harvick was telling the truth. I mean, not everyone lies to us in order to get out of a sticky situation.

“I got out of the way, and I never even saw (Bayne) until he was by me.”
Kevin Harvick 2015

“I did not use performance enhancing substances as alleged in the notice of discipline…”
Alex Rodriguez 2014

“I had so much wheel, by the time I got to the gas, he was underneath me. I spun out.”
Clint Bowyer 2013

“I take these charges very seriously, and look forward to clearing my good name,”
Michael Vick 2007

“I’m not going to be the Alabama coach.”
Nick Saban 2006

“I have never had a single positive doping test, and I do not take performance-enhancing drugs.”
Lance Armstrong 2004 (among others)

“I did not have sexual relations with that woman”
Bill Clinton 1998

Sure, some may have misled us in the past, but would Kevin Harvick? Nah.

Here are our Hot 20 over the past five events at Martinsville.

1. JEFF GORDON – 5.4 AvFin – (1 WIN, 3 T5, 4 T10)
Has averaged a Top Seven finish going back 45 races and 23 seasons. Expect good things.

2. MATT KENSETH – 6.4 – (0-2-4)
No pot of gold at the end of this rainbow, but should he come across Logano along the way…

3. CLINT BOWYER – 6.8 – (0-2-4)
Author of “The Secrets of My Success.” Harvick has a copy.

4. DENNY HAMLIN – 8.8 – (1-1-3)
You can take that damn roof hatch and…

5. JOEY LOGANO – 9.8 – (0-3-3)
Mr. Three-in-a-Row has never won at Martinsville, but his last three have been Top Fives.

6. KYLE BUSCH – 11.2 – (0-1-1)
Does not believe Gordon can win it all. Next we will hear how he does not like kittens.

7. KEVIN HARVICK – 13.4 – (0-0-3)
If Karma is on duty this weekend…

8. GREG BIFFLE – 13.6 – (0-0-2)
MWR refugee Brian Pattie to be his crew chief next season.

9. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 14.4 – (1-2-3)
Best 21 finishes at Martinsville boasts a 6.3 average; his worst 10 finishes…27.7

10. TONY STEWART – 14.5 – (0-1-1)
What is probably no longer equates into what was.

11. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 15.0 – (1-3-3)
Used to own this place, but outside the Top 30 his last two attempts.

12. CARL EDWARDS – 15.4
Expected Harvick to get penalized after Talladega. He probably even expects a Top Ten Sunday.

13. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 16.2 – (0-2-3)
While his 2014 visits were a write-off, he was the runner-up last spring.

14. ARIC ALMIROLA – 16.2 – (0-0-1)
Raised in Daytona. I wonder where he got the racing bug?

15. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 17.0 – (0-0-3)
Looked decent last week, at least until he turned all smoky.

16. PAUL MENARD – 17.6 – (0-0-1)
Best non-Chaser last week, but Martinsville is really not his kind of place.

17. DANICA PATRICK – 20.4 – (0-0-1)
Never thought you would see her name on this list again this season, did you?

18. KASEY KAHNE – 20.8 – (0-1-1)
Best thing about Martinsville will be the trip home.

19. KURT BUSCH – 21.2 – (1-1-1)
Won in the spring last year, but has been outside the top dozen 16 of his past 17 starts here.

20. CASEY MEARS – 22.6
Had a pair of Top Tens at Martinsville in 2008. None since.

22. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 24.2 – (0-0-1)
Was sixth in the spring. That ought to count for something.

October 28, 2015
Surprising and Not Surprising: Talladega CampingWorld.com 500

In the final race of the Contender round and with the elimination of four more drivers, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the CampingWorld.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Surprising: There were four surprising words at the end of this Talladega race and they were, “Let’s go to the videotape.” After what many thought was the one attempt at the green, the true attempt then ensued with another wreck and so much confusion that the sanctioning body had to indeed go to the videotape to determine the race winner.

Once the videotape was reviewed, the sanctioning body crowned Joey Logano the victor. This was the driver’s third consecutive race win, moving him into the next round of the championship in dominant style.

“I saw the lights come on when I was still in the lead and I thought we had it,” the driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford said. “It is all about how the timing loops are and the camera to make sure that is what happened.”

“It is such a crazy race. To pull it into victory lane here at Talladega is so cool.”

Not Surprising: Fans of NASCAR’s most popular driver were standing by their man in spite of his failure to win and move into the next round of championship contention. And they were no doubt as proud of how their driver handled that failure as the driver was himself of his team and its performance.

“I just wanted to go out there, whatever happened, put forth a good account of myself, my team,” the driver of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet said after finishing runner-up. “I’m real proud of what we did today. So I can feel good about that.”

“I’m more proud of the drive I had today than the two wins this year. The two wins came a lot easier than this second place did.”

This was Junior’s 16th top-10 finish in 32 races at Talladega and his 19th top-10 finish for the season.

Surprising: Not many drivers can say that they had fun at Talladega, but four-time champ Jeff Gordon did just that, finishing third.

“I actually had a lot of fun out there,” the driver of the No. 24 3M Chevrolet said. “We had an awesome 3M Chevrolet and it was so much fun battling up front even if we got shuffled back a little bit.”

“Oh my gosh. That was intense. That was wild. That was crazy,” Gordon continued. “I loved my race car today. I had a lot of fun out there. It is fun having a race car that strong. I am so proud of this race team. They never quit, they never give up and I can’t believe we are going to round three. I said all along that if we got to round three, we have an excellent shot to get to Homestead.”

Not Surprising: Not wanting to be ‘that guy’ had a major impact on the race for Greg Biffle. The driver of the No. 16 Cheez-It Ford was leading the race when the caution flag flew and he had to head to the pits for fear of running out in front of the field.

“We were gonna make it if it went green for sure,” Matt Puccia, Biffle’s crew chief said. “We were gonna make it to the end, but we just didn’t need that. I guess the 1 car blew up down the back and oiled the track down. It’s just a shame.”

“We could have possibly made it, but I just didn’t want to be that guy who was gonna wreck the whole field if we didn’t get it going on the restart. It’s unfortunate.”

Surprising: Forget speeding penalties, the most popular penalty at Talladega was the ‘crewmember(s) over the wall too soon’ penalty.

There were four of those penalties, including one for Dale Earnhardt Jr., that no doubt impacted his race results. There were also three of the ‘too many crewmember(s) in contact with pit service area’ penalties as well.

And even more surprising were the number of cautions, which were just three for eighteen laps.

Not Surprising: Michael Waltrip, a driver who may be rusty but always good on plate tracks, scored a top-15 at one of his favorite tracks.

“Our plan today was to get in the pack and stay in the middle of the pack – do the best we could to lead and do the best we could to get to the front so we could celebrate Maxwell House and Toyota sponsoring me in the race,” Waltrip said. “We got up towards the front a few times and finished 13th. I’m proud of my guys and really thankful for the opportunity to race again.”

Surprising: Martin Truex Jr. likened his Talladega run to some time at a local playground.

“I felt like I was on the seesaw today,” the driver of the No. 778 Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet said. “My head was under the back of it. It’s crazy how fast things can change and how much is out of your control.”

“We were sitting out there riding a lap down for about 100 laps thinking that we were going to need an act of God to get back on the lead lap and have a fighting chance. We kept fighting and fighting, and had a good sequence of green-flag stops to establish ourselves in that front single-file line ahead of the guys we were racing.”

“Then we got lucky and got a caution. Once we were back in the game, we felt good about it. But it was still nerve-wracking down to the end.”

Not Surprising: The Busch brothers played their own game, one of follow the leader right into the next round of the Chase with Kurt finishing tenth and Kyle finishing eleventh.

“That’s what we pretty much planned all day today was to just race and whatever happened, happened,” Kyle Busch said. “It was crazy the way it always happens here, but I guess that’s what does always happen here. However, it was or is, it’s good if we’re in and we’re moving in. That’s what this team needs and what we need – I guess the farthest I’ve ever gone before.”

“I love all the adjectives and adverbs on how the point system works. Escapes, survived, yeah, we are in position now,” Kurt Busch said. “You’ve got the top eight guys and you’ve got to do really good things in these last four races to win the championship. I feel really good about our Haas Automation Chevrolet team and the way that we have worked through both rounds of this Chase thus far. We’ve got more for them. We will keep going.”

Surprising: Two drivers that were hoping for good runs most likely cannot wait to put Talladega behind them.

During his qualifying attempt, Justin Allgaier was wrecked when the car of Clint Bowyer went reverse instead of forward, causing him to have to start at the back of the pack. The driver of the No. 51 Auto Owners Insurance Chevrolet then ended the race weekend with an engine failure.

Ryan Blaney, who usually runs so well at superspeedways, also had a challenging day with his engine expiring as well.

“We had a good car and we were just starting to make our way toward the front then we lost oil pressure and, unfortunately, it gave up on us,” Blaney said in the garage after retiring. “These guys worked really hard to give me a fast race car and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion was going to be really good today. It was a lot of fun out there for sure. Plate races are always a lot of fun. We’ll go to

Not Surprising: While weird things traditionally happen at Talladega, some of the weirdest occurred at this race, from Denny Hamlin’s roof flap popping out to the very controversial finish at the end of the race with a late race big one and as some would say, the second attempt at a green, white, checkered finish.

Three of the four drivers who failed to move on in the Chase aside from Dale Earnhardt Jr. had some pointed words to share after the race.

When asked about the final restart, Ryan Newman said, ““Which one? The final, final restart? Or, the one where we were only going to have one and not anymore? And then the No. 4 (Kevin Harvick) causing the crash. Which one do you want me to talk about?”

“Well, at the end, the 4 (Kevin Harvick) knew he was blew up and we had the first attempt, but I guess they said it wasn’t an attempt, although they threw the green, so it seems like we attempted the start and there was a wreck,” Matt Kenseth said. “So then they tried it again and the 4 knew he was blew up, so he said he was going to stay in his lane, so the 6 (Trevor Bayne) then went up and outside and he clipped him and caused a wreck because he knew he’d make the Chase that way, so it’s – I got wrecked out two weeks in a row from people doing what they had to do to make the Chase, but call it what you want.”

“4 (Kevin Harvick) could only run about 30 miles per hour so I think he saw people coming and he knew he was going to be 30th, last car on the lead lap so caused the wreck,” Hamlin said. “That’s not here nor there. We had a self-inflicted day, took us four times to get our roof fixed. It’s unfortunate, I feel like I’ve done all I could possibly do to advance in a three-race season. I feel like we could have won next week. I really can’t spin any positive on it right now.”

“It’s tough, we’ll just move on to next year.”

October 25, 2015
Greg Biffle Tops First Practice

Greg Biffle is off to a fast start this weekend after topping the chart in the first practice session. The driver of the No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford was the fastest in the session with a time of 47.597 and a speed of 201.189 mph.

Danica Patrick brought her No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet to second with a time of 47.731 and a speed of 200.624 mph. Justin Allgaier finished third in his No. 51 HScott Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 47.743 and a speed of 200.574 mph. Clint Bowyer timed in at fourth in his No. 15 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota with a time of 47.786 and a speed of 200.393 mph. Kasey Kahne rounded out the top-five in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 47.791 and a speed of 200.372 mph.

A.J. Allmendinger brought his No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet to sixth. Trevor Bayne finished his No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford in seventh. Casey Mears placed his Germain Racing Chevrolet in eighth. David Ragan finished his No. 55 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota in ninth. Paul Menard rounded out the top-10 in his No. 27 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

None of the Chase drivers placed higher than 13th.

Matt Kenseth finished 13th. Denny Hamlin finished 15th. Carl Edwards finished 16th. Jeff Gordon finished 17th. Kevin Harvick finished 18th. Brad Keselowski finished 19th. Joey Logano finished 21st. Kyle Busch finished 22nd. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 23rd. Kurt Busch finished 24th. Martin Truex Jr. finished 31st. Ryan Newman rounded out the Chase drivers in 32nd.

October 23, 2015
Hot 20 – Logano’s Talladega experience might be better suited by being sponsored by Target

How is it that rather intelligent people can make the dumbest statements? Brian France, the Grand Poobah of NASCAR, has come out with “I thought that Joey Logano made a very smart decision in what he did,” which was to intentionally spin out Matt Kenseth at Kansas with five laps to go. Instead of Kenseth winning and getting the free pass, he is in the weeds needing a win at Talladega while Logano claimed his second straight win. That was a very smart decision?

A lot of what one thinks of the move has to do with whether you like Logano, or cannot stand him, along with one’s thoughts regarding Kenseth. There are a number of ways to describe what took place, such as “Joey was forced to move him to get by” or “Matt was trying to block and Logano held his line” or “It was just a racing deal.” Anything but it “was a very smart decision.”

What France just did was ensure that Logano becomes a high-speed pinata come Talladega. He already has two wins, more than enough to guarantee himself a spot in the next round no matter what takes place on Sunday. So, for instance, a driver sees that he has no hope of making it, why not “smart decision” Logano’s ass into the wall along the way to make him pay? I am not saying that Kenseth is the type of guy who would seek out revenge, but if he were….

Going into this weekend’s race, Kenseth needs a win. So does Dale Earnhardt Jr., unless a big wreck in the opening laps takes out at least four of the top eight in the Chase. The rest, with the exception of Logano, need to survive. The threat of a pileup at any time at Talladega is very real, as 10 or 20 cars could be taken out at any moment until the checkered flag waves.

Our Hot 20 over the opening five Chase races, heading to Talladega on Sunday, include…

1. JOEY LOGANO – 209 Points (2 Wins)
Sorry, officer, but I was just making a smart decision when I caused that wreck.

2. DENNY HAMLIN – 198 (1 Win)
About as safe as anyone other than Logano, but at Talladega that might not mean much.

3. CARL EDWARDS – 188
Needs to survive this weekend and find a way to thrive at Martinsville.

4. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 171
Could have had a more comfortable margin if not for one damn bouncing tire in the pits.

5. JEFF GORDON – 171
Junior is not the only active driver with six wins at Talladega. Just thought I’d mention it.

6. KURT BUSCH – 171
Ten straight inside the Top Twenty, half of them Top Tens.

7. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 168
Five races, five finishes between eighth and 16th. Not much flash, but very consistent.

8. RYAN NEWMAN – 161
Top Tens might not be enough when everyone else who matters is doing the same.

9. MATT KENSETH – 160 (1 Win)
Charlotte disaster and Kansas disappointment have forced him to go for it all on Sunday.

10. RICKY STENHOUSE, JR. – 155
Surprise! His worst finish since Richmond is 13th, which he has done three times.

11. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 154
Not championship caliber, but at least fans again know who he is.

12. KYLE BUSCH – 151
November 13, 2005. The only time Kyle has won over the final 10 events of any season.

13. KEVIN HARVICK – 147 (1 Win)
A gas and go with the gas can cost him last week, but the format allows him to forget Chicago.

14. GREG BIFFLE – 142
Considering how this season has gone, I think he will accept this as a moral victory.

15. KYLE LARSON – 139
Not bad, but with three times out of the Top Fifteen, it sure is not great.

16. KASEY KAHNE – 134
At least no one can say he is the worst Hendrick driver during the Chase.

17. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 131
Just in case you were wondering why he also has to win at Talladega.

18. ARIC ALMIROLA – 128
Amongst the Top 11 in five of the past seven, yet still ranked way down here.

19. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 122
Is the season over yet?

20. CASEY MEARS – 118
Where is Bowyer? Where is Menard?

October 21, 2015
Hot 20 – Kansas, where there is no oil on the track…not that there is ever oil on any track

Lower downforce in next season’s rule package is supposed to reduce grip and make the cars more maneuverable. In short, passing should be more commonplace in 2016. If that is how it works out, we shall be happy. However, forgive me for waiting until at least February before I start celebrating.

Considering the follow the leader kind of racing we saw at Charlotte, at least we have hope. Not sure how much we have for this season, but we can always…well….hope. By opening up the zone for the lead car to control the re-start. it seems to work just dandy up front, but it can cause accordion type mishaps further back. If that happens, oil and other fluids can spill out onto the track, and if it is not totally cleared up like some claim was not done last week, it causes even more problems. Of course, that was not true and we know this because…NASCAR denies that it was true.

Did I mention that we had single lane racing? That can be a real problem, not only for fans trying to keep awake and drivers hoping to pass but enough oil and fluid that is left in that lane kind of messes things up a bit more. That is if such a thing happened. Which, of course, was not the case, because NASCAR said so.

This Sunday, we are off to Kansas, where Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch, and Ryan Newman have some clean up of their own to do after their respective Charlotte adventures. Considering he has a couple of wins there over the past three years, it could be redemption time for Kenseth.

1. JOEY LOGANO – ROUND WIN
Now Talladega is just another race.

2. KEVIN HARVICK – 3042 POINTS
Ill handling car was healthy enough to place second last week.

3. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 3041
Truex…the other Junior.

4. DENNY HAMLIN – 3040
Now that Kyle was recovered, Denny’s the best one-legged driver in the sport.

5. CARL EDWARDS – 3039
Super sorry about your car, Matt.

6. KURT BUSCH – 3039
Sounds like the Panic Switch clothing people are…well…panicking.

7. JEFF GORDON – 3037
2015’s best damn winless driver in NASCAR.

8. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 3035
If Brad and Kyle got along as well as Scarlett and Brexton, what a wonderful world it would be.

9. RYAN NEWMAN – 3029
Rained on Kenseth’s parade, but got a bit damp himself.

10. KYLE BUSCH – 3025
If only Kyle and Brad got along as well as Samantha and Paige…

11. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 3016
It is just a flesh wound…and Talladega is coming.

12. MATT KENSETH – 3003
Did not see Newman, but he sure saw the wall…a lot.

13. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 2130
Out of the Chase, but trying to stay in the weekly on-track conversation.

14. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 2092
It just does not matter anymore.

15. PAUL MENARD – 2083
Fixes got him back on the track but wrecked any hope of a decent finish at Charlotte.

16. CLINT BOWYER – 2082
One race closer to greener pastures.

17. ARIC ALMIROLA – 801
A Top Ten in Charlotte aids in dreams of greater things for 2016.

18. KASEY KAHNE – 771
Early crash left him dead last at Charlotte, but Tanner Lee’s arrival trumps everything.

19. KYLE LARSON – 742
One Kyle is good, two Kyles is a crash.

20. GREG BIFFLE – 726
Best Roush-Fenway driver of this season, but third best at Charlotte.

October 15, 2015
Hot 20 – Charlotte has a tough act to follow this week, while Las Vegas is not as safe as I thought

I get it. Racing cars can be dangerous. We have lost people in NASCAR, and one sad day, despite all the advances that have been made regarding safety, we just may lose somebody else. I hope not, but that is the reality we must face. All we can do is greatly reduce the odds.

Great leaps have been made in regards to producing a safer vehicle. Asphalt has replaced grass in many infields, though not all. Berms and gate openings are no longer an infield feature. SAFER barriers in front of concrete walls have made even the worst crashes survivable. However, if there is any chance a vehicle can be deflected in a direction that could put it on a path to hit concrete, it will.

The crash that left Austin Theriault with a compression fracture in his lower back last weekend in the Las Vegas truck race likely could have been less than it was if there had been a SAFER barrier where he hit. Teammate Josh Reddick had crashed in front of him, and when he spilled back onto the track he clipped Theriault, sending him sharply to his right and straight into the concrete wall. Should there have been a SAFER barrier in that location? Damn right. Will there be in the future? Only if driver safety is a real concern and if someone in charge has the brains to see the danger, in Las Vegas and elsewhere, and deals with it.

To be honest, I thought most tracks now had the barriers in such locations. I was wrong. Hopefully, NASCAR will finally make it right. All they need to do is remember that if it can happen to a billiard ball, it can happen to a race car.

Unless one has locked a place, either through a win or an insurmountable points lead, you can get caught by surprise. Jimmie Johnson was reminded of that in Dover when a $50 rear axle seal failed and sent him to the garage for more than 35 laps. That plunged him to beyond 40th on the track on a day when 28th or better would have saved him.

Kevin Harvick saved himself in winning last Sunday, and he heads to a track he won on last October. Johnson has seven career wins at Charlotte. That just does not matter as much as it did last week.

The Hot 20 heading into Charlotte include…

1. MATT KENSETH – 5 WINS
If one win was all it took to win a title, he did it. If it takes five or more, no problem.

2. KYLE BUSCH – 4 WINS
Challenged at Dover, finished third, but made it to the next round by a single point.

3. JOEY LOGANO – 3 WINS
If you like this year’s racing, Logano figures we will love 2016’s lower downforce package.

3. KEVIN HARVICK – 3 WINS
Won last October and is seeking to make it two in a row.

5. DENNY HAMLIN – 2 WINS
History shows that Hamlin won’t win Saturday night, but it will not be a disaster, either.

5. CARL EDWARDS – 2 WINS
Can spring success equate into a fall classic?

5. KURT BUSCH – 2 WINS
Difference between Kurt and Jamie…two points…and he was tied for sixth in the standings!

5. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 2 WINS
Exciting enough for you?

9. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 WIN
Tech issues caused him to start last, 11th place kept him in the Chase by six positions.

10. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 1 WIN
Re-starting with the same number of points as everyone else in the Chase…and no black flag.

11. JEFF GORDON – 3000 POINTS
Handing over to Junior a sponsor. Maybe he could also loan him a championship.

11. RYAN NEWMAN – 3000 POINTS
A winless championship season is still possible.

13. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 2098 POINTS
Rowdy by a point, Junior by a position, as Jamie is left waiting at the altar.

14. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 2086 POINTS
All for the want of a damn $50 car part.

15. PAUL MENARD – 2075 POINTS
If Johnson had finished 25th like Menard at Dover, Jimmie would still be in the Chase.

16. CLINT BOWYER – 2048 POINTS
So concludes the title hopes of Toyota supported Michael Waltrip Racing (2007-2015).

17. KASEY KAHNE – 770 POINTS
All that is left is to win the battle against Almirola. That is all.

18. ARIC ALMIROLA – 767 POINTS
Driving a Ford…will keep on driving a Ford next season.

19. KYLE LARSON – 718 POINTS
For a time, it appeared he might prove to be Harvick’s spoiler last week.

20. GREG BIFFLE – 706 POINTS
At least Roush-Fenway should finish the season with a single Top 20 entry. Exciting stuff.

October 7, 2015