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  • Texas Motor Speedway – Did You Know?

    Texas Motor Speedway – Did You Know?

    This weekend the Monster Energy NASCAR Truck Series heads to Texas Motor Speedway for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500. With his victory at Martinsville, Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski became the first driver to grab multiple wins this season. But did you know that Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing, the two most successful active teams in NASCAR, are winless after six races?

    Texas may be the perfect track for these teams to rebound. HMS driver Jimmie Johnson has the best overall driver rating (107.1) at the 1.5-mile track but so far this year his best finish was ninth place at Phoenix. However, with a track-record six wins, history may be on his side.

    Or maybe Chase Elliott will break through and capture his first win at Texas. He had two top-fives in his 2016 rookie season and is currently in second place in the standings, only four points behind leader, Kyle Larson.

    JGR’s Kyle Busch is also hungry for a win especially after last week’s race at Martinsville where he led a race-high 274 laps only to see victory elude him. He has scored two checkered flags at Texas and is the defending race winner with 11 top fives, 12 top 10s and one pole at Texas.

    But the bigger story may be the newly repaved track surface that was completed during the offseason. Did you know that the entire track was repaved and an extensive drainage system was added on the frontstretch and backstretch? Turns 1 and 2 were also reconfigured with the banking reduced from 24 to 20 degrees and the racing surface widened from 60 to 80 feet through Turns 1 and 2.

    Some of the drivers have expressed concerns about the unpredictability of heading to Texas to compete on the new surface, especially since there will be no opportunity for pre-race testing.

    “To head into Texas with no formal tire test, no official track mapping, let ’er rip, this is new territory for our sport,” Stewart-Hass Racing’s Kurt Busch said. “I think it shows how much we’re having to adapt on the fly. Is it a good thing? A bad thing? It doesn’t matter. It’s what it is, and it’s unique the way we’re headed in there to go 215 mph with no track time.”

    JGR driver Matt Kenseth, who has the second-best driver rating of 104.7 at Texas, calls it “unprecedented,” adding, “I don’t think that we’ve ever gone to a newly paved race track without some sort of a test day, a tire test, or something along those lines.”

    There’s no doubt that this weekend will likely test the skills of even the best driver but let’s look at some statistics to set the stage.

    Did you know that four active drivers have multiple wins at Texas Motor Speedway? Johnson leads the way with six followed by JGR’s Denny Hamlin, Kenseth and Kyle Busch with two each. Roush Fenway Racing leads the Cup Series in victories with nine while Hendrick Motorsports has eight and Joe Gibbs Racing has six.

    There have been 32 MENCS races at Texas, one each year from 1997-2004 and two per season since 2005, resulting in wins by 18 different drivers. But did you know that 78.1 percent (25 of 32) have been won from a top-10 starting position? And, to narrow it down more, starting in third place has produced more wins (six) than any other starting position.

    Don’t miss the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Sunday, April 8 at 1:30 p.m. on FOX as the 2017 season continues at Texas Motor Speedway. While you’re waiting, check out the gallery below for a preview of the paint schemes we’ll see this weekend.

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

    Texas paint schemes

     

  • The View From My Recliner – Off Season Part 1

    The View From My Recliner – Off Season Part 1

    We start off the first offseason View from my Recliner by welcoming back Dale Earnhardt Jr. He completed a test at Darlington Raceway and was cleared by doctors and NASCAR to return to driving in the 2017 season.

    I do believe that it is interesting that Alex Bowman will drive the No. 88 in the Clash at Daytona instead of Earnhardt. I thought to get Dale Jr. back in the swing of restrictor plate racing, he would drive the 88 and Bowman would drive the No. 5 car.

    I understand Roush Fenway Racing taking the step back to two cars for the 2017 season. It has been a struggle for that team for the last three plus years. Focusing on the engineering and trying to get the two cars competitive is the right thing to do. The part that has me shaking my head is Chris Buescher moving to the second JTG Daughterty car while under contract to Roush-Fenway. JTG Daughtery runs Chevrolet with support from Richard Childress Racing. You would have thought that they would have kept him in the Ford camp for the 2017 season.

    The charter system is a joke already and we are only one year into it. Tommy Baldwin has sold his charter to Levine Family Racing, Harry Scott sold his charter Premium Motorsports, Premium Motorsports sold the charter they owned to Furniture Row Racing, Roush-Fenway leased their charter to JTG Daugherty and that is what we know of so far. There are rumors of the 34 Front Row Motorsports team going away and there is no driver/sponsor announcement for Richard Petty Motorsports and that would open up two charters. The Charter system was basically made so that if you are not driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Stewart-Haas Racing or Team Penske, you don’t have a shot at a Championship. Chip Ganassi Racing and RCR are respectable, but not true championship contenders.

    I hope everyone realized that we watched history at Homestead-Miami Speedway with Jimmie Johnson winning his seventh Championship, starting the race in 40th and climbing through the field and running a flawless race. To show you how impressive it is that Johnson has seven championships when you go through the 2017 premiere series field, only Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch and Kevin Harvick have won Championships and none have repeated. Johnson has more championships than the other 39 drivers in the field combined. That is impressive.

    We’ll chat from time to time in the off-season and if you get a chance check out the podcast Talking In Circles that you can find on the Speedwaymedia.com homepage.

    Have a Happy Festivus, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

  • Hendrick pondered separating Johnson and Knaus during summer slump

    Hendrick pondered separating Johnson and Knaus during summer slump

    During the midst of a summer downturn, Rick Hendrick considered making a change that included severing Jimmie Johnson from Chad Knaus.

    Speaking to the media at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the owner of Hendrick Motorsports was reminded of how Johnson and Knaus nearly split apart 11 years ago following Homestead in 2005, that Johnson said that he (Hendrick) had recently asked him (Johnson) and Chad if the relationship is still working, why he would do that and how much he was considering changes in that time.

    “You know, every — I think it’s the toughest question when you have a relationship. It can be in a dealership, it can be in a race team, when you have two guys that have been so good and you try to decide is it time, and this year we started off really well, and then we hit a lull in the summer, and it was — we asked ourselves then, is this time, do we need to make a change,” Hendrick said.

    In the end, he opted to keep the two together.

    “But when you see things that are so close, I think that’s when they work harder, and we really just sit down and work hard together and try to identify weaknesses, and I think they have both made a commitment, they want to retire together,” he added. “They want to finish their careers together.”

    Knaus has sat on top of the 48 war wagon since Johnson’s rookie season in 2002. He’s been apart of all six of Johnson’s championship seasons and all but two of his 79 Sprint Cup Series victories. The enduring partnership these two share is rarely seen in NASCAR today.

    “Jimmie personally, obviously, he is by far one of my best friends, and to be able to have seen him grow and mature into the driver and the family man that he is has been awesome,” Knaus said Wednesday during a media teleconference. “It’s been a great ride.”

    But their relationship hasn’t always been rock solid. It almost came unraveled at the seems following the 2005 Ford 400. Hendrick brought Johnson and Knaus into his office for what was supposed to be a meeting on how they would split up, and ended up mending their relationship over a plate of milk and cookies on a Mickey Mouse plate.

    The two are on the verge of history where they could join Richard Petty and Dale Inman as the only driver/crew chief duo to have won seven titles together.

  • Knaus says Indy turned around the 48 team’s season

    Knaus says Indy turned around the 48 team’s season

    Asked where the 48 team’s season started to turn around, Chad Knaus points to the Brickyard as being where they began their run to the championship finale.

    Speaking to the media during a teleconference earlier today, the crew chief of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was questioned about, given the early season success and run of poor performance by his team and the entire Hendrick organization during the summer, when he felt the performance of his team started to level up to the point that they could compete for the championship.

    “I think about Indianapolis was the turning point for the 48 car,” Knaus said. “Now, albeit we didn’t have very good finishes throughout the summer months, that’s not necessarily indicative of how we raced. We had some very strong performances, much like I said at Indianapolis. Were we as fast as the guys that were perfectly up front? No, not really, but we were running in the top-five and we passed a lot of cars there, so I think that was a great start for us.

    “Pocono we had some good races, so on and so forth. Once again, I don’t know that we had the finishing results that we wanted, but we were starting to show signs of performance. Once we got a little bit later into the season, Darlington showed up, Michigan, tracks like that, we really started to put some finishes together and some very, very strong performances.

    “So I think about that time of the year.”

    Despite four wins on the season and competing for a record-tying seventh championship this Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, this season for Jimmie Johnson will end up being statistically one of his most under-performed seasons. A finish less than fifth would make 2016 the season with the second-fewest top-fives of his career. He’ll also finish the season with both less than 20 top-10’s for the first time in his career and less than half of his finishes being top-10 finishes. A lead lap finish this weekend would avoid this season having the fewest lead lap finishes since his rookie season.

    During the six-race stretch from Pocono Raceway to New Hampshire Motor Speedway during June and July of this season, Johnson posted finishes of 35th, 16th, 13th, 35th, 32nd and 12th, which amounted to a 23.8 finishing average. Three of his four DNF’s on the season came during that six-race stretch.

    The entire Hendrick organization was under-performing during this stretch. There were weeks where none of the Hendrick cars finished inside the top-10.

    To make matters worse, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was ruled out medically halfway through the season due symptoms of a concussion that stemmed from his wreck at Michigan International Speedway. Alex Bowman and Jeff Gordon have split time, with Bowman taking a slightly larger share, driving the No. 88 car the latter half of the season.

    Even rookie Chase Elliott, who was the most consistent of any HMS driver for much of the season, started to slip in performance in the summer months to the point that his Chase hopes went from a sure thing to questionable.

    Knaus made no bones about the lack of speed through the summer months at HMS. He discussed how all the crew chiefs banded together to work the problem out and that, he believes, is what solved their dilemma.

    “But yeah, it’s no secret that we were not performing the way we wanted to throughout the bulk of the season as a company, so we all buckled down,” he added. “I think the crew chiefs have put their heads together very well, and really started to work well together. Not that we weren’t before, but we just did it with more vigor than what we had in the past, and I think that’s a direct reason why we have the results that we do now. I think all of our teams are running great. I think at one time, Sunday, last week, we were first, second, third and fifth, I think, so the best showing we have had in a race competitively like that in a while.

    “I think everybody at Hendrick Motorsports is doing a great job of pushing our performance and making that a priority, and it should carry on, I hope, into next season.

  • Alex Bowman Continues to Impress with Sixth Place Finish at Phoenix

    Alex Bowman Continues to Impress with Sixth Place Finish at Phoenix

    What a difference a few months can make.

    Bowman has gone from being jobless in January to joining JR Motorsports for eight XFINITY races to becoming the interim driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr. for what will be 10 Sprint Cup Series events.

    It has been a dream come true and he has embraced the opportunity with determination and focus.

    “If you would have asked me at any point in the last year if I would have a Cup pole in my career, I would have told you, you were crazy,” Bowman said. “So I’m very thankful to get this opportunity, obviously, not under the circumstances that anyone would want. But I’m trying to make the most of it and having a lot of fun. I have to thank the Hendrick engine shop. Obviously, we have great horsepower. Everybody on this team did an awesome job.”

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been a huge supporter of Bowman, saying that he was helped their qualifying program immensely and praising the talents of his interim driver.

    “Well, I’m not very good at qualifying,” Earnhardt admitted, “so he has been in the car and he has really helped our team get better on the qualifying front, as well as in the racing also. I’m not that great of a qualifier, so this is good for the team, good for Greg and the guys, great for Alex. Alex has really helped our program. Jeff (Gordon) helped it a lot, but Alex has been a great treat for the guys to work with and obviously he is a great driver.”

    The 23-year-old has achieved three top-five and seven top-10 Sprint Cup finishes to date this season. In what may have been his most impressive performance this year, Bowman scored his first Sprint Cup Series pole at Phoenix International Raceway Sunday, leading the most laps (194) and earning a hard fought sixth place finish in the Can-Am 500.

    He was in contention for the win for much of the race but after a pit stop for a caution with 57 laps remaining, Bowman lost the lead after a team decision to take four tires while pitting as some teams stayed on the track or took only two tires. He restarted fifth but with 15 laps to go had advanced to second place. The race went into overtime and on the restart, Matt Kenseth and Bowman made contact. Kenseth hit the wall and Bowman fell back to fifth place. After a second overtime restart, he finished the race in sixth place.

    Bowman described his day as enjoyable but was clearly unhappy that he fell short of a win. He also spoke about the contact with Kenseth.

    “It was a really fun day,” he said. “Greg (Ives, crew chief) and all the guys made great changes all day. We had the best car all day long, really disappointed. I hate that we got into Matt (Kenseth) like that, just really disappointing end to the day, but one of those deals, just a racing deal. I don’t know if his spotter cleared him or what, but I was up against the inside wall when we made contact. It says a lot about Hendrick Motorsports and Greg Ives and the whole Nationwide Chevy team. We were so strong all day, fastest car, but the fastest car didn’t win the race this weekend.

    “Man, it’s just really disappointing. But everybody at Hendrick Motorsports, the Hendrick engine shop, Nationwide, Axalta, it just means so much for them to put faith in me. I don’t think I have ever led a Cup race before and to lead as much as we did and to run like we did today is amazing.”

    Bowman has done an excellent job of showcasing his talent this year and making his presence known on the track but does not have anything lined up for the 2017 season. He says he is “still waiting for the right opportunity to come along.”

    Maybe an endorsement from NASCAR’s most popular driver will help.

     

     

  • NASCAR Top 10 Power Rankings: Martinsville

    NASCAR Top 10 Power Rankings: Martinsville

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson recovered from left front damage to the No. 48 and stormed back to win the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville. Johnson qualified for the Chase For The Cup finale at Homestead on November 20.

    “That’s my ninth Martinsville win,” Johnson said. “Now, I’ve got nine grandfather clock trophies. That makes me the father of grandfather clocks.

    2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin led 48 laps and finished third at Martinsville.

    “I race hard at Martinsville,” Hamlin said. “And I think some drivers don’t like that about me. Jimmie Johnson was upset at how hard I raced him, and my Joe Gibbs teammates Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch were also pissed at me. I can understand Johnson’s frustration, but not my whiny teammates. Trust me, for my teammates and I, there was a race lost, but there is no love lost.”

    3. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth led 176 laps at Martinsville and finished fourth, posting his eighth top five of the year.

    “I famously wrecked Joey Logano last fall at Martinsville,” Kenseth said. “That gave the fans something to cheer for. I don’t know if they were necessarily my fans because I don’t think I have any fans.”

    4. Kyle Busch: Busch finished fifth in the Goody’s Fast Relief 500, recording his 15th top 10 of the year.

    “I’m still the defending Sprint Cup champion,” Busch said, “and I will remain that until someone pries it from my cold, dead hands. And here’s a Halloween reminder: M&M’s won’t melt in your mouth, and they definitely won’t melt in your cold, dead hands.”

    5. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished 20th in the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville.

    “I just wasn’t myself at Martinsville,” Harvick said. “You could say I was ‘Un-Happy.’”

    6. Joey Logano: Logano finished ninth at Martinsville, posting his 13th top five of the season.

    “NASCAR needed 29 caution laps to sort out the field order after Carl Edwards hit the wall on lap 358,” Logano said. “I don’t know who NASCAR has in charge of this, but they must be out of the ‘loop.’”

    7. Kurt Busch: Busch finished 22nd, three laps down, at Martinsville, and likely will need a win at Texas or Phoenix to advance to the final Chase round.

    “Now that Halloween is over,” Busch said, “I think it’s safe to remove my costume because I’ve been masquerading as a Cup contender since the start of the Chase.”

    8. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski took the runner-up spot at Martinsville in a bittersweet finish for the 2014 Sprint Cup champion.

    “After failing to qualify for the next round,” Keselowski said, “I’ve kind of been a little dejected and walking around in a daze. In other words, I’ve been ‘out of it.’

    9. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex started on the pole at Martinsville and finished seventh.

    “I’m out of the running for the Sprint Cup championship,” Truex said, “so I’ve been rendered a mere spectator. But I’m still right in the middle of the action. That makes now a perfect time to introduce Furniture Row’s ‘Best Seat In The House’ promotion, in which nothing is on sale because I want you to feel my disappointment.”

    10. Carl Edwards: Edwards blew a tire late at Martinsville and finished 36th, putting a serious damper on his championship hopes.

    “Obviously,” Edwards said, “tire wear was an issue. I think that right-front tire was worn completely. And I hate bald tires just as much as Sport Clips hates bald heads.”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Kansas

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Kansas

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished fourth at Kansas, posting his eighth top five of the year. Johnson leads the Sprint Cup points standings and has already clinched his spot in Round 3 of the Chase.

    “I’m looking forward to Talladega,” Johnson said. “Who doesn’t enjoy a nice, relaxing Sunday drive? Well, besides everyone but Kevin Harvick and I?”

    2. Kevin Harvick: Harvick held off Carl Edwards over the final 30 laps at Kansas and went on to win the Hollywood Casino 400. Harvick advanced to Round 3 of the Chase For The Cup.

    “We’re standing behind the 8-ball,” Harvick said. “Then, as you would expect from the guy they call ‘The Closer,’ I won the race right on ‘cue.’”

    3. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth started on the pole at Kansas as Joe Gibbs Racing swept the top three spots in qualifying. Kenseth led 116 laps and finished ninth.

    “That’s 10 poles for Joe Gibbs Racing this season,” Kenseth said. “We’ve yet to win a Chase race so far. So that just goes to show, you can lead a horse to water, and JGR can lead a field to green, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you can lead a field to checkered.”

    4. Kyle Busch: Busch powered to a fifth-place finish in the Hollywood Casino 400, recording his 14th top five of the year.

    “I love casinos,” Busch said. “And I love gambling anywhere except Talladega, where it doesn’t matter how many chips you have because the chips are going to fall where they may anyway.”

    5. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished 11th at Kansas and is now sixth in the points standings.

    “After five straight top sevens ,” Truex said, “I’ve had two finishes outside the top 10. I don’t think there’s really an explanation for it. I often lay in bed at night and try to determine the reasons behind what happens. But I often find myself asleep soon after. In an algebraic sense, it’s a matter of ‘Truex + y=z.’”

    6. Kurt Busch: Busch came home 13th in the Hollywood Casino 400 and is well-positioned at fifth in the Sprint Cup points standings.

    “I had to go to a backup car after spinning through the grass in practice,” Busch said. “So we started at the back of the field. I commend my crew for getting the backup car ready. They worked with the precision, diligence, and steely nerves you’d expect from a dedicated crew or a government assassin.”

    7. Carl Edwards: Edwards took second to Kevin Harvick in the Hollywood Casino 400.

    “Harvick got past me on the final restart,” Edwards said. “I thought I had a clear stranglehold on the lead, but Harvick had the grip, and much like the time I wrapped my hands around his neck in 2008, I did the ‘choking.’”

    8. Joey Logano: Logano finished third at Kansas and is now eighth in the points standings, tied with Austin Dillon.

    “Kevin Harvick always seems to thrive in these must-win situations,” Logano said. “I don’t know how he does it, but he always seems to find more speed. I’m ‘Sliced Bread;’ he must be ‘Yeast Bread,’ because he rises to the occasion.”

    9. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski got loose on lap 190 and slid up the track, where he was bumped by Denny Hamlin. Keselowski’s No. 2 Chevy slid through the infield grass, which heavily damaged the front of his car.

    “I believe we left a divot in the infield,” Keselowski said. “And keeping with the golf theme, I believe we’re out of mulligans.”

    10. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin suffered several bad breaks at Kansas, including a broken splitter, a penalty in the pits for a loose tire, and a crash initiated by the loose car of Brad Keselowski. Hamlin still finished 15th and will likely need a win at Talladega to advance in the Chase.

    “We were tripped up,” Hamlin said, “by a string of bad luck.”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Charlotte

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Charlotte

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson outdueled Matt Kenseth for the lead on a restart with 18 laps to go and went on to win the Bank Of America 500. Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet was the class of the field at Charlotte, leading 155 laps.

    “I want so bad to win my seventh Cup championship,” Johnson said. “I can assure everyone, fan and drivers alike, that I’m going to put all of my ability and energy into trying to make that happen. That makes me the greatest ‘try-athlete’ in the world.”

    2. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth delivered a strong start to Round 2 of the Chase with a runner-up finish at Charlotte.

    “Hurricane Matthew wreaked havoc with the NASCAR schedule at Charlotte,” Kenseth said. “And it was certainly gusty during the race. I haven’t felt that much residual wind since I hung out in A.J. Allmendinger’s No. 47 Bush’s Beans hauler. In any case, ‘Hurricane Jimmie’ ‘blew’ right past me on the final restart.”

    3. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished seventh at Charlotte, posting his 21st top 10 of the season.

    “There was no controversy at Charlotte this time,” Keselowski said. “The only person that got ‘jumped’ at Charlotte was Martin Truex Jr. when he stalled his engine.”

    4. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex started seventh and finished 13th at Charlotte.

    “Our day could have been better,” Truex said, “but I stalled my engine during a late pit stop and lost track position. Well, so much for the proposed ‘Sitting Pretty’ line of recliners at Furniture Row.”

    5. Kyle Busch: Busch finished sixth in the Bank Of America 500, joining Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Matt Kenseth, who finished second, in the top 10.

    “Denny Hamlin’s blown engine on lap 309 was a nightmare for him,” Busch said, “but a dream come true for some drivers, like Kevin Harvick, who finished 38th. Could Harvick have had something to do with Hamlin’s engine failure? Who knows? All I know is this: if Harvick needs a wreck to advance and he’s on the track, you should look out for Harvick. Heck, and even if Harvick’s not on the track and he needs a miracle, someone’s ‘looking out’ for Harvick.”

    6. Kurt Busch: Busch finished eighth in the Bank Of America 500, posting his 19th top 10 of the year.

    “We’re off to Kansas Motor Speedway for the next race in the Chase,” Busch said. “The pressure is on everyone to advance, and that pressure can play with your emotions. So, while we’ll be in the physical ‘state’ of Kansas, I have no idea what my mental ‘state’ will be.”

    7. Kevin Harvick: Harvick started on the pole at Charlotte but experienced electrical issues that ended his day early. He finished 38th.

    “Frankly,” Harvick said, “I’m shocked that we had electrical issues. But I think it’s way too early to pull the plug on our championship hopes.”

    8. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished 12th at Charlotte on a day when several Chasers struggled.

    “A lot of drivers dug themselves holes,” Edwards said. “Such as Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, and Denny Hamlin. There are by no means out of the running to advance to the next round, so I can only advise them to give it their all and continue to grind away. In other words, I hope those guys ‘keep digging.’”

    9. Joey Logano: Tire issues ruined Logano’s day at Charlotte after blown tires sent him into the wall on two occasions. He limped to a 36th-place finish.

    “We were doing so well in the Chase with three top-10 finishes,” Logano said. “Things were going right, but sometimes, things can go too right, like your steering wheel.”

    10. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin lost his engine on lap 309 while running second. Hamlin finished 30th, 26 laps down.

    “Something broke,” Hamlin said. “It was most likely my spirit.”

  • Four Gears: Trucks and XFINITY, Hendrick Motorsports, Post-Race Inspection and Race Sponsors

    Four Gears: Trucks and XFINITY, Hendrick Motorsports, Post-Race Inspection and Race Sponsors

    Time to cycle through the transmission for another edition of Four Gears.

    This week, our resident NASCAR analysts are asked to rate the regular season’s of both the Camping World Truck Series and XFINITY Series, if any of the Hendrick drivers will win in the remaining races, what their takeaways were from the post-race inspection failures this past weekend at Chicagoland and what are their thoughts on NASCAR and tracks bringing in children’s shows to sponsor races.

    FIRST GEAR: With the regular season’s for both the Truck and XFINITY Series in the books, how would you rate the racing in each series this season on a scale of 1 to 10?

    For the Truck Series, I give it an 8/10. The racing in the series has been truly amazing this season and only three of the events were won by Cup drivers. I won’t say every race was a barn burner, but they were few and far between. I would’ve given this season a 9/10 if not for the stupid caution clock.

    As for the XFINITY Series, I give it a 3/10. The series has been lackluster for many years now and it was at its worst this season. We saw some truly abysmal racing this season considering only three XFINITY Series regulars won a race this season. The rest were won by Sprint Cup Series drivers and Justin Marks at Mid-Ohio. The only reason it’s not a 1/10 is because of the five-race stretch from Iowa in July to Road America in August.

    With only one real standalone remaining this weekend at Kentucky Speedway, I don’t see it improving. — Tucker White

    The truck series has been good to great so far and was an 8. It’s a bunch of young guys fighting to get into the Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series, and Matt Crafton is there too.

    XFINITY Series gets a 2. The Chase has too many people in it and the battle to get into it wasn’t really that dramatic, JGR has a complete stranglehold on the series and wins all of the races and all of the poles. The racing is boring and half the field has half the budget the other half does. It’s a mess of a series that desperately needs an overhaul. — Michael Finley

    SECOND GEAR: Three of the four Hendrick Motorsport cars finished in the top-10 this past Sunday and Jimmie Johnson had a strong car before a speeding penalty cost him a great finish. Will any of the Hendrick drivers win a race in the final nine races of the season?

    I’ll keep my answer short. History says Jimmie Johnson will win a race in the Chase. He’ll win a race before the season is over. — Tucker White

    If Hendrick comes out this weekend and is as strong as they were in Chicagoland, no question multiple Hendrick cars will win the next nine races. I’m not convinced yet either on this being a one race deal or a sign of things to come. — Michael Finley

    THIRD GEAR: The cars of Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson failed post-race LIS inspection, but neither were considered “encumbered” and won’t result in a P4 penalty or “loss of finishing benefits.” What’s your takeaway from this?

    I went into much greater detail about this following Sunday’s race, so I’ll just give you the cliff notes. I thought NASCAR inadvertently incentivized cheating with the wording in the rulebook regarding post-race LIS failure.

    Alas, this is definitely moot now, hopefully, with NASCAR announcing yesterday that LIS failures will now result in a P4 penalty. — Tucker White

    It’s NASCAR’s world and we live in it. If NASCAR’s rule book was a Wikipedia article, it would overtake the page on George W. Bush as the most edited page on the site in a couple of year’s time. — Michael Finley

    FOURTH GEAR: The last two years in the Sprint Cup Series has seen two races with entitlement sponsors of kids shows (the SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway in May of 2015 and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway this past weekend). What are your thoughts on NASCAR and tracks doing this and what other ideas for race sponsors for attracting children would you suggest?

    Oh, I’m going to have so much fun with this one.

    Since we’re on a kick of sponsoring races based on products that were big in the 90’s, the next few should be the Pokémon 3oo at Suzuka, the Animaniacs 400 at Auto Club Speedway and my personal favorite, the Disney Afternoon 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

    We missed the boat on doing this in the early 2000’s. We could’ve had races like the Kim Possible 400 at Kansas Speedway, the Teen Titans/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway and the King of the Hill 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

    At this point, I’m just waiting for the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    As to my thoughts on it, we got to get the kids in the seats somehow and this could be a great way to do so. I mean I got into NASCAR via a show called NASCAR Racers. — Tucker White

    One thing I love about those two sponsors that nobody brings up is their willingness to step up and partially sponsor cars on one race deals. It’s great that the small No. 95 team got some much-needed publicity at both races by featuring popular characters from the two franchises, and also probably received a nice little check for their efforts. As far as other race sponsors, I’d love to see a brand like Pokemon sponsor a race. Plenty of people of all ages like and play Pokemon, and they have literally hundreds of recognizable characters to market the brand with. — Michael Finley

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Richmond

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Richmond

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished fifth at Richmond and will start the Chase For The Cup with 2006 points, six behind first place.

    “We were much better in the pits,” Harvick said. “Fortunately, our lug nuts were the only thing that was ‘screwed’ in the pits at Richmond.

    “Now, it would be negligent of me if I didn’t address the Ryan Newman-Tony Stewart issue. I’m employed by Tony, so you can guess where I stand. I guess what I’m saying is that lawyers aren’t the only people who defend Tony.”

    2. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished fourth in the Federated Auto Parts 400, posting his 12th top 10 of the year.

    “The action didn’t really start until Tony Stewart wrecked Ryan Newman, Keselowski said. “Newman then had some choice words for Stewart. If implied accusations of a 2014 incident are the measuring stick for Newman’s vitriol, then he absolutely murdered it, or at least manslaughtered it.”

    3. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin started on the pole at Richmond and dominated the closing laps to win the Federated Auto Parts400. It was his third win of the season.

    “I had to survive one final restart after a caution with three laps to go,” Hamlin said. “That was the last of 16 cautions on the night. After the race, I approached the flag stand and asked for the yellow flag and not the checkered flag.”

    4. Kyle Busch: Busch started ninth and finished ninth at Richmond. With four wins this year, Busch will start the Chase atop the standings alongside Brad Keselowski.

    “I wouldn’t be surprised if Brad or myself fall out of first after one race,” Busch said, “because neither of us can stand to be in the same place for very long.”

    5. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished third at Richmond, and will start the Chase For The Cup with 2006 points, six out of the lead.

    “The No. 78 Toyota failed the post-race laser inspection,” Truex said. “You never want to fail an inspection right before the Chase For The Cup begins, because you’re likely to get ‘pointed’ in the wrong direction.”

    6. Joey Logano: Logano finished 10th at Richmond, logging his 18th top 10 of the year.

    “The Chase field is wide open,” Logano said. “You have household names, and you have some drivers who are not very well known. Let’s face it, when the Chase ends, you could hear the words ‘Chris Buescher’ and ‘2016 Sprint Cup champion,’ but probably not in the same sentence.”

    7. Kurt Busch: Busch led two laps and took eighth in the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond.

    “There were a whopping 16 caution flags during Saturday’s race,” Busch said. “That’s just about how many red flags go up when I’m on a date.”

    8. Carl Edwards: Edwards struggled at Richmond, finishing 32nd, 41 laps off the pace.

    “How about the Virginia Tech-Tennessee football game at Bristol Motor Speedway,” Edwards said, “There were over 156,000 people in attendance. Tire wear must have been an issue at Bristol because it was a blowout.”

    9. Kyle Larson: Larson recorded his third consecutive top-5 finish with a second at Richmond.

    “Tony Stewart has intentionally wrecked two drivers in two consecutive weeks,” Larson said. “First, it was Brian Scott. Then, it was Ryan Newman. But, at least he just wrecked them.”

    10. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished 11th at Richmond, rebounding from a 33rd the previous week at Darlington.

    “I’m looking for No. 7,” Johnson said. “Based on my mediocre performance this season, most people say the only ‘No. 7’ I could find is Regan Smith.”