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  • Hamlin says his teammates were smart to run in the back at Talladega

    Hamlin says his teammates were smart to run in the back at Talladega

    MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Denny Hamlin responded to those who took issue with his teammate running in the back at Talladega the week by saying he “thought it was smart.”

    Speaking to the media prior to the first practice session at Martinsville Speedway yesterday, the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was asked what he thought of his teammates running in the back of the field during last week’s Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

    “I thought it was smart,” Hamlin said. “From my standpoint I knew we had an uphill battle because we weren’t going to have any teammates all day, I knew that we weren’t going to have any teammates all day because we all knew what they were going to do before the race started. Just everyone else saw it when it actually happened. There’s no way, they would be the dumbest group in history if they had run in the middle of the pack and got wrecked at some point when they didn’t have to be. It’s about winning championships, it’s not about winning Talladega by any means.”

    Teammates Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth, who all entered Talladega well ahead of the danger of elimination, went the conservative route and ran at the tail end of the field the whole race to avoid getting collected in any major wrecks (The Big One) and advance on. Hamlin on the other hand, entering with a blown engine run at Charlotte and a mediocre run at Kansas, had to have a good run to advance into the Round of 8.

    The split strategy worked out for the best for the Huntersville, North Carolina based organization as all four drivers moved on into the Round of 8.

    Despite it working out and other drivers having done it to their advantage in the past, a number of fans took to Twitter and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio to express outrage, saying JGR “manipulated” the outcome of the race by not abiding by the 100 percent rule.

    Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice-president and chief racing development officer, said in his weekly appearance on “The Morning Drive” on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that the strategy used by JGR didn’t violate the 100 percent rule.

    “I would say that they do not fall into that,” O’Donnell said. “The spirit of that (100 percent) rule is really to prevent somebody from intentionally allowing another teammate to do something that would not be really within the spirit of the rules of the race.

    “In this case, we look at the strategy decision that the team made, and they executed it. … In this case, that wouldn’t be something that we look at that violated that rule.”

    Hamlin also emphasized that the Gibbs organization had every right to do what they did by how they performed in the first two races in the Round of 12.

    “All those guys earned the right to do that by having a good first two races and I think next year with the races being switched around, you’ll see less of that because people won’t know where they stand,” he added. “I think it kind of fixes itself next year most likely, but there’s more chances of a big wreck there than any other race track so you have to play the odds there. There’s no way that those guys should have been up there helping me and then risk putting themselves in danger of making the Chase and instead of Gibbs having three cars in the Chase, they could have had two or maybe one if there had been helping me and we got in a wreck. Luckily it all worked out where we have all four and they played the strategy they had to play to get in and I did the strategy I had to do to get in. Nobody from any other team would have done anything different, that’s for sure and if they tell you different, that’s a lie.”

  • Harvick’s and Busch’s Post-Race Actions at Talladega Were Pointless

    Harvick’s and Busch’s Post-Race Actions at Talladega Were Pointless

    Talladega is already a stressful race. Add the fact that it’s also a Chase elimination race and the stress factor rises even more. That makes sense. That’s a given. That way, in a sense, the disagreement between Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick following the Hellmann’s 500 on Sunday almost has some merit, even if they are Stewart-Haas Racing teammates.

    Keep in mind the key word in that sentence is “almost.” Regardless of the circumstances, the tradeoff following the checkered flag between Harvick and Busch was pointless, to be honest. It had no merit, no point, no reason. Busch was upset because Harvick wasn’t working with him coming to the finish and ran into him following the race. Harvick responded by confronting Busch while he was still in his No. 41 Chevy. It was an added bit of drama that really didn’t need to be added.

    It’s understandable why Busch was upset, but truthfully, restrictor-plate racing isn’t a guarantee that teammates will act like teammates. This isn’t Formula One, where team orders are blatant and part of the norm. That’s not saying that team orders aren’t in NASCAR (Does anyone remember Richmond in September 2013?). On the contrary, NASCAR drivers are supposed to chase their own glory, and if a team happens to do good because of a teammate, well, yay. Great job everyone.

    Although Busch is a great teammate to others and has done an awesome job working with his teammates (just ask Ryan Newman), he’s a smart enough, established racer who knows that sometimes things aren’t going to go as planned. It isn’t like he’s completely innocent in not working with a teammate either; just ask Greg Biffle about the 2004 All-Star race at Charlotte, where then-teammate Busch not only took him out but several other drivers with one boneheaded bump.

    But Harvick isn’t a saint either. He’s fiery; yes, that’s great and that’s one of the reasons he’s loved as much as he is. But it’s not really entertaining anymore. It honestly stopped being entertaining around 2005. That said, he still continues to respond to situations in a zero-to-100 manner, in that his first knee-jerk response is to fly into a rage when he’s mad. Ask Jimmie Johnson following the first Chase race of 2015.

    That can be understood on a rare occasion. But Harvick’s been around long enough to know what’s necessary in the right situations. Storming over and swinging at a teammate or teammate’s car wouldn’t fall into that category, not without knowing the reasons why at first. It’s easy to see why he was mad: Busch drove up to him and gave him a heart smack on the right side, so why shouldn’t he be mad? But even Busch can attest that cooler heads should prevail.

    This doesn’t scream dissension and unease in the SHR camp, and this doesn’t look like the revival of an old rivalry. This is nothing more than a misunderstanding between teammates, albeit a ridiculous one. Both drivers are fiery, talented drivers, one of whom just so happens to flat-out love to fight. But even Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards cleared the air by the end of the Chase in 2007, back when they were Roush Fenway Racing teammates. By Martinsville, Harvick and Busch will be back to just being teammates. They hit a bump Sunday, even if it was a rather dumb one, but they get along great as teammates and shouldn’t let something like this get in the way of their chemistry.

  • Chase hopes for Keselowski and Truex Go up in Smoke

    Chase hopes for Keselowski and Truex Go up in Smoke

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — Two of the heavy favorites to win the championship going into the Chase won’t continue on in the pursuit of a championship in 2016 following mechanical failure in Alabama.

    Martin Truex Jr. – who entered the race in seventh, 13 points above the cutoff – started the race on pole position and had a strong car in the first quarter of the Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, leading two laps while staying near the front.

    Rounding turn 2, however, his Chase hopes went up in smoke when his engine blew up, his first since the 2014 Daytona 500.

    “Just developed a vibration and started to lose a little bit of power,” Truex said of what happened to take him out. “Originally I thought it could have been a tire because it was shaking worse and worse and worse until it was time to pit. I slowed down to hit pit road and felt the vibration still there and knew it was the engine. Definitely not the way we wanted today to go – it’s a tough way to go out, but proud of the effort and proud of all the guys.”

    This relegated him to a 40th place finish, his fifth in 401 Sprint Cup Series starts and first since the 2014 Daytona 500.

    He’s also the first pole sitter to finish last in a race at Talladega since Stacey Compton in April of 2001 and the first driver to finish last after having led a lap since Michael McDowell at Texas in November of 2013 (LASTCAR.info).

    He leaves Talladega ninth in points.

    Brad Keselowski takes his car to the garage following his engine expiring late in the Hellmann's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Photo: Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
    Brad Keselowski takes his car to the garage following his engine expiring late in the Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Photo: Sarah Crabill/Getty Images

    Truex wasn’t alone in the engine failure department.

    Brad Keselowski, entering Talladega 11th in a seven-point hole, worked his way to the lead on the first lap and led 90 laps on nine different occasions.

    In the final quarter of the race, Keselowski allowed Ryan Blaney to take the lead so he could get behind him and clear off trash that was stuck on the grille of his car. The debris flew off, but a lap later, his engine blew up, eliminating him from Chase contention.

    “It looks like we lost an engine,” Keselowski said when asked what happened. “I’m pretty confident I lost a rod or something in the lower end. That’s just the way it goes.”

    He said he didn’t know if the engine got too hot from the debris on his grille.

    “I’m not an engine guy, but the car was really strong and we definitely kept finding debris,” he added. “I thought I got it cooled off and only got it slightly over, but I don’t know.”

    Keselowski finished 38th and leaves Talladega 10th in the standings.

  • Logano Moves on with Victory at Talladega

    Logano Moves on with Victory at Talladega

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — A jack getting stuck under the car of Joey Logano on his first stop didn’t stop him from rallying back to score the victory in Alabama.

    Martin Truex Jr. led the field to the green flag at 2:22 p.m. Brad Keselowski got a run on him going down the backstretch to lead the first lap. Truex worked his way up alongside Keselowski in Turn 1 to take the lead for the first time on the 13th circuit, only to give it back to Keselowski a lap later.

    The No. 2 Penske car spent most of the run blocking all three lanes, which allowed Chase Elliott to get under him in Turn 3 and take the lead on lap 26. Keselowski regained it briefly two laps later before Elliott powered by on the top in Turn 1 to regain the lead back on lap 29, only for Keselowski to take it back on lap 32.

    Green flag stops started on lap 37 with the first wave of cars hitting pit road. Race leader Keselowski was among the second wave the following lap. After the third wave pitted, the lead cycled back to Keselowski.

    Teammate Logano was penalized for removing equipment (jack) from the pit box under this pit cycle.

    Truex’s Chase hopes went up in smoke when his car went up in smoke in Turn 2 on lap 41.

    “Just developed a vibration and started to lose a little bit of power,” Truex said. “Originally I thought it could have been a tire because it was shaking worse and worse and worse until it was time to pit. I slowed down to hit pit road and felt the vibration still there and knew it was the engine. Definitely not the way we wanted to go. It’s a tough way to go out, but proud of the effort and proud of all the guys.”

    The race restarted on lap 47. Attempting to block Elliott’s advance, Keselowski found himself without drafting help and Elliott took back the lead, only for Biffle to get a run on him going into Turn 1 to take the lead on lap 49. Elliott worked his way back to the lead by dropping to the bottom lane going into Turn 1 and driving under Biffle on lap 78.

    Another wave of cars started pitting the following lap. The lead under the cycle went as follows: Elliott, Hamlin, Edwards, Annett and Keselowski.

    A three-car wreck involving Biffle, Jeffrey Earnhardt and Casey Mears on the frontstretch brought out the second caution with 74 laps to go.

    After the race went back green with 68 to go, it settled into a routine of going back and forth between single and double file. The most notable event during the run was Keselowski blowing an engine on the backstretch with 42 to go and bringing out the third caution. Teammate Logano assumed the lead

    The next run didn’t last a lap because the caution flew the same lap as the restart with 39 to go for a big piece of debris on the backstretch.

    Going back green with 35 to go, the race was slowed down with four to go by Kasey Kahne wrecking in Turn 3 and Alex Bowman going for a spin through the tri-oval grass coming to the line to get two to go.

    Restarting in overtime, Logano had to hold off Brian Scott to score the victory.

    “It’s never a layup here at Talladega. It’s always close,” Logano said. “You never get a big lead. A good Shell/Pennzoil Ford. Todd made some good adjustments during the race and found some speed in the car, so that was pretty neat to see some of that. We got that track position and just hung onto it. I was able to stay on the bottom and try to run the bottom and keep everyone in lane, and that worked out really well. Kevin did a good job with that, which ultimately got us all a great finish. It was fun racing there at the end. I was really confused. I didn’t know what lane to pick coming to the last restart, but I knew Kevin had a lot of experience in these situations and is great at speedway racing, so he did a good job of pushing me out and then had to defend the top lane with Brian Scott, so a couple of Fords out front here at Talladega is pretty cool.”

    It’s his 16th career victory in 287 Sprint Cup Series starts, second of 2016 and second at Talladega Superspeedway.

    Scott brought his No. 44 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford home to a runner-up finish, his career-best finish and first top-10 finish of 2016. Hamlin rounded out the podium in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

    Describing the level of stress, Hamlin said the race “was crazy. I mean, it was very tough in there not having any teammates, but there were a lot of guys that acted like teammates today to me and can’t thank enough for that. They know who they are. I don’t want to get them in trouble with their race teams because they’re probably a different team, different manufacturer, but thank those guys for that. 4 (Kevin Harvick) cut me a break at the tri-oval. I mean, just – we had something go our way for crying out loud. One time, we had something go our way and we just battled at the line right there with the 41 (Kurt Busch), so just – I’m just so happy.”

    Kurt Busch finished fourth and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the top-five.

    “It was really fun. Every time I would make a mistake and get shuffled to the middle it seemed like the crew guys would bring back a solid pit stop to put us in position and to be in control,” Busch said. “It feels good when we have that plus alongside our name in points. I was trying to ease it for Tony Gibson (crew chief) and all these guys that work so hard. There was some rooting and gouging at the end and I got some damage. I don’t even know where we finished, but all I was shooting for was top 15.”

    Kyle Larson finished sixth, Kevin Harvick finished seventh, Aric Almirola finished eighth, Austin Dillon finished ninth and AJ Allmendinger rounded out the top-10.

    Logano, Jimmie Johnson, Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Edwards, Hamlin and the Busch brothers advance to the Round of 8 while Austin Dillon, Elliott, Keselowski and Truex go no further in the Chase.

    The race lasted three hours, 11 minutes and 38 seconds at an average speed of 159.905 mph. There were 31 lead changes among 14 different drivers and six cautions for 25 laps.

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  • Truex Earns Pole at Talladega

    Truex Earns Pole at Talladega

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — Martin Truex Jr. will lead the field to the green flag tomorrow at Talladega Superspeedway.

    The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota posted the fastest time in the final round of qualifying and scored the pole position for the Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway with a time of 49.509 and a speed of 193.423 mph.

    “It’s definitely the place to be to start the race – it’s just about trying to stay there as long as you can,” Truex said. “We’ll see what happens. This is obviously a big race with a lot on the line. I look forward to it. I’m just so proud of the guys in Denver and everybody here at the race track for what they did here. This is all about the team, all about what they do and all about the guys at TRD (Toyota Racing Development) in California building these engines, so my hat’s off to all of them. I’m lucky to be sitting behind the wheel and holding it to the floor. It was a good day today and hopefully, we will have another good day tomorrow.”

    It’s his 11th career pole in 401 Sprint Cup Series starts, fourth of the season and first at Talladega Superspeedway.

    His car was at the center of a parts confiscation stir earlier today when NASCAR confiscated a front jack bolt that started a discussion over Truex getting a Chase-ending penalty. But Scott Miller, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, said it wasn’t “a real competitive advantage” and “unlikely” to result in a penalty.

    Three of the JGR cars – 11, 18 and 20 – were sent back to the garage before they were allowed to make their qualifying run. Miller said the issue was “body manipulation.”

    “The quarter panels (on the right side) appeared to have been messed with around the deck lid,” he added. “(We) brought them back in to rectify it.”

    Brad Keselowski will join him on the front row in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford after posting a time of 49.523 and a speed of 193.365 mph.

    “It’s good to qualify up front,” Keselowski said. “I think it’s a good confidence boost. I feel like when we have cars that qualify well here, we race well. The Miller Lite Ford was really fast here in qualifying and hopefully, it will stay the same for Sunday.”

    Matt Kenseth will start third in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota after posting a time of 49.568 and a speed of 193.189 mph.

    “Good for America. It was good,” Kenseth said of his qualifying run. “I think we ended up third, so that’s really good. It’s obviously a team qualifying session – not anything to do with the driver really. I just steered around and hold it to the floor, so obviously, they did a good job and it’s a good spot to start.”

    Chase Elliott will start fourth in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet after posting a time of 49.574 and a speed of 193.166 mph. Greg Biffle will round out the top-five starters in his No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford after posting a time of 49.585 and a speed of 193.123 mph.

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Austin Dillon and Paul Menard will round out the top-10.

    Trevor Bayne and Reed Sorenson, who posted the fastest time in the first round in his No. 55 Premium Motorsports Toyota, will round out the 12 drivers that made the final round of qualifying.

    Carl Edwards will start 13th, Kyle Busch will start 14th, Joey Logano will start 16th, Jimmie Johnson will start 17th and Kevin Harvick will be the lowest starting Chase driver in 22nd.

    David Gilliland was the lone driver that failed to make the race.

    In total, 19 Chevrolet’s, 12 Ford’s and nine Toyota’s will comprise the 40-car field for Sunday’s Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega.

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  • Edwards on Aspects of Plate Racing

    Edwards on Aspects of Plate Racing

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — Among the topics Carl Edwards addressed with the media were if he thinks plate racing is “insane,” the unpredictability of plate racing and Talladega not being an elimination race come next season.

    Speaking to the media yesterday at Talladega Superspeedway, the driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was asked, given the unpredictable and volatile nature of restrictor plate racing, if he as a driver ever stopped to think “I am insane to do this.”

    “It’s a crazy style of racing and there are times at the end of these races where you think, ‘This is just – this is truly insanity,’” Edwards said. “All the cars are torn up, everybody is limping around, but I think NASCAR – aside from completely changing the race track and the style of racing – I believe NASCAR does the best job they can do keeping things as safe as they can. We’ve got the best technology that we can have to keep the walls soft and the cars safe and monitoring everyone and keeping us from bumping too much and all that, but it is – it’s a crazy style of racing. That’s all there is to it.”

    He also expanded on the unpredictability, stating “if you look back a couple – I think it was a couple years ago – Dave (Rogers, crew chief) mentioned it and he doesn’t like to talk about it, but I guess he and Kyle (Busch) came here basically leading the points or really close to leading the points and got knocked out running 42nd and were out of the Chase, so that’s a pretty big swing in fortune. I think all of us are aware that can happen here and it’s not just that it can happen – I mean that can happen anywhere, it can happen at Charlotte, we saw a lot happen there – but it can happen and it’s not your fault so to speak. Outside circumstances – you’re just so close and you’re in a pack and I think that’s what makes this race interesting to watch is that truly anything can happen. I mean, I’ve been staring at the checkered flag thinking I was going to win and then been upside down in the fence. I mean, it’s – and that was just the two of us messing around. If you get the whole pack in there, it can get crazy.”

    Edwards is not the only driver to note the “insanity” of racing at Talladega. Brad Keselowski, in his post-race media availability following his victory in the GEICO 500, talked about how racing is a “balance of daredevils and chess players” and that Talladega “has always been the more daredevil style of track.”

    Restrictor plate racing, exclusive to Talladega and Daytona International Speedway, has always been a polarizing topic in NASCAR since its introduction nearly 30 years ago. Drivers tend to dislike or outright hate plate racing because of its unpredictability and violent nature. Fans, on the other hand, overwhelmingly love it.

    The nature of plate racing has made Talladega’s position late in the schedule a hot button topic over whether it should have any impact on the championship that late in the going, especially in the elimination format era of the Chase.

    While some drivers are in favor of NASCAR swapping Talladega’s place as the final race of the Round of 12 with Kansas Speedway next season, Edwards doesn’t think it’ll make that much of a difference.

    “I think Talladega being in this round, I think it makes all of the races crazier just because you know this one’s slightly less predictable, so it puts a pressure on regardless of where it’s at,” he said. “I guess if it were the first race, there’s a chance you could come out and everything will go smoothly and then your next two races might be more normal, but heck I don’t know. I feel like truly Talladega gets a lot of attention, but as this – as being a real ‘wild card’ – but as people get better at this Chase and understand how important each lap is and each position is, the intensity has just been ramping up the last couple of years and it seems like it’s there for sure this year.”

  • Johnson Fastest in Final Practice at Talladega

    Johnson Fastest in Final Practice at Talladega

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — Jimmie Johnson topped the chart in final Sprint Cup Series practice at Talladega Superspeedway.

    The driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 48.761 and a speed of 196.386 mph. Matt Kenseth was second in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 48.773 and a speed of 48.773 and a speed of 196.338 mph. Chase Elliott was third in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 48.774 and a speed of 196.334 mph. Carl Edwards was fourth in his No. 19 JGR Toyota with a time of 48.775 and a speed of 196.330 mph. Alex Bowman rounded out the top-five in his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 48.775 and a speed of 196.330 mph.

    Kasey Kahne was sixth in his No. 5 HMS Chevrolet. Paul Menard was seventh in his No. 27 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Ryan Reed was eighth in his No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford. Kyle Busch was ninth in his No. 18 JGR Toyota. Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top-10 in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota.

    Denny Hamlin was 11th, Joey Logano was 13th, Kurt Busch was 15th and Austin Dillon was the lowest Chase driver in 16th.

    The Cup drivers are back on track tomorrow after the Truck race for qualifying.

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  • Biffle Fastest in First Talladega Practice

    Biffle Fastest in First Talladega Practice

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — Greg Biffle topped the chart in first Sprint Cup Series practice at Talladega Superspeedway.

    The driver of the No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 48.133 and a speed of 198.949 mph. AJ Allmendinger was second in his No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet with a time of 48.284 and a speed of 198.327 mph. Chris Buescher was third in his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford with a time of 48.300 and a speed of 198.261 mph. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was fourth in his No. 17 RFR Ford with a time of 48.300 and a speed of 198.261 mph. Trevor Bayne rounded out the top-five in his No. 6 RFR Ford with a time of 48.338 and a speed of 198.105 mph.

    Michael McDowell was sixth in his No. 95 Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet. Brian Scott was seventh in his No. 44 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford. Landon Cassill was eighth in his No. 38 FRM Ford. Kevin Harvick was ninth in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet. Kyle Larson rounded out the top-10 in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.

    Martin Truex Jr. was 13th, Denny Hamlin was 14th, Jimmie Johnson was 15th, Matt Kenseth was 16th, Kyle Busch was 17th, Chase Elliott was 21st, Brad Keselowski was 23rd, Joey Logano was 26th, Austin Dillon was 27th, Kurt Busch was 29th and Carl Edwards was the lowest Chase driver in 31st.

    The Cup cars will be back on track for final practice at 4:30 p.m.

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