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  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Ford EcoBoost 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Ford EcoBoost 400

    As the Florida sun faded to darkness at Homestead-Miami Speedway and a first-time champion was crowned, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the season’s final race, the Ford EcoBoost 400.

    Surprising: Although Stewart-Haas Racing has always touted its Hendrick Motorsports partnership, it was surprising to learn in more detail just how important that connection has been to the new NASCAR champion and the winning race team.

    Kevin Harvick, winning his first ever NASCAR Cup Championship, specifically and repeatedly paid homage to Hendrick Motorsports six-time champion Jimmie Johnson in his post-race and champion-clinching comments.

    “Jimmie Johnson was a huge help in just helping — he’d show up in the trailer after every practice and called and texted to Rodney (Childers, crew chief) and myself,” Harvick said. “You’ve got to remember, Jimmie and I have — we’ve known each other for a long time. We slept on those same couches at Hornaday’s house adjacent to each other in the game room.”

    “He’d go race his ASA cars, and I’d go race the trucks for the Spears bunch, so we spent a lot of time together as friends and have grown to be better friends as we’ve gone past the last few years for sure.”

    Tony Stewart, co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, echoed his driver’s comments about the HMS connection.

    “We’ve got a great partnership with Hendrick Motorsports, and like Kevin just mentioned, when you’ve got eight drivers that are sharing information, it’s a lot easier to race seven guys than it is to try to worry about racing 34 or 35 guys.”

    Not Surprising: Although they are three very different drivers, in age, size and style, they all had one thing in common after the final race was run. All three races were visibly despondent, from Ryan Newman, who finished the best of the three contenders in the second spot, to Denny Hamlin who finished seventh and Joey Logano who finished an even more disappointing sixteenth.

    “We had a couple pit stops that kind of put us back,” Newman said. “It is disappointing, don’t get me wrong, but there’s no point in being a sore loser. We came back for the entire season to make our best finish our last finish.”

    “The race did not go too well for us,” Hamlin said. “Obviously we had a championship-type car, championship-type effort, but those last breaks just didn’t go our way. We just struggled with restart speed.”

    “Obviously our race was not too good,” Logano said. “We knew what we had to do, we just didn’t execute from every angle it seems like. I hit the wall a bit early in the race and then we came down pit road, made a mistake and went to the tail end of the lead lap.”

    Surprising: Jeff Gordon and crew chief Alan Gustafson had a surprisingly testy exchange at the end of the race, all about whether or not to pit from the front of the pack for tires in the latter part of the race.

    Gordon was one of the few drivers who stayed out late in the race and when another caution came, he desperately pleaded for tires. Crew chief Gustafson argued against giving up track position but Gordon was insistent and down pit road he came.

    After starting mid-pack, the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet rallied back to finish tenth.

    Not Surprising: Who knew that Kyle Larson, officially named Sunoco Rookie of the Year, had his own bandwagon?

    “There was a lot of room on the Kyle Larson bandwagon on to start the season,” Larson said. “I think a lot of people chose Austin Dillon to win it, and I was pretty confident in myself and in my team that we could do it.”

    “I knew there would be some ups and downs, but I felt like we would be the top contender once we got halfway through the season, and we definitely were. We’ve gotten better throughout the season, and just is a huge honor to win this title with all the other names that have won it.”

    Surprising: During the race, NASCAR made a surprising announcement that Chad Knaus was called to the NASCAR hauler for disobeying a NASCAR directive. The issue, involving the team’s use of a wheel spacer, turned out to be much ado about nothing as confirmed by Robin Pemberton, Vice President for Competition.

    “We just had a discussion on pit road between our official and Chad and really it was just to discuss it,” Pemberton said. “It was really not a big deal. We were just trying to clarify what went on, that’s all.”

    “Everything is fine.”

    Not Surprising: Greg Biffle ended his difficult year with a blowout, of the unfortunate tire type. He was having a solid run when he blew a tire, hit the outside wall and had to go to the garage for repairs.

    Biffle finished 41st in the season finale and ended 14th in the championship standings.

    Surprising: The crew chiefs, teams and drivers that were racing together for the very last time sadly did not finish on the best of terms.

    “It had gotten dark, and the track was doing just what Trevor and Donnie expected,” team co-owner Eddie Wood said. “The track was coming to us, and Trevor was running some really good lap times. He had gotten in the lucky dog position, which would have gotten us back on the lead lap when the next caution came out.”

    “Unfortunately, that caution flag wound up being for us.”

    Carl Edwards and Jimmy Fennig also parted ways after the season finale, with Edwards going to Joe Gibbs Racing and Fennig ratcheting his time down on the box.

    “Jimmy Fennig is an unsung hero at Roush Racing,” Jack Roush, owner, said. “He doesn’t do things that create a personal image away from the driver or away from the sponsor or away from the team. He’s the trooper that’s back there doing everything that he can every day.”

    Probably one of the most dynamic driver/crew chief duos also did not finish off their relationship in quite the manner that they wanted.

    Dale Jr. and Steve Letarte raced one last time as driver and crew chief, finishing 14th in the Ford EcoBoost 400. The two summed up their feelings on Twitter as Letarte leaves for a television broadcasting career next season.

    “Me and Steve didn’t count on becoming such great friends,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “That’s just really been a bonus to the whole thing.”

    “I might not be talking to @DaleJr thru the headset any more but we will still be friends,” Letarte tweeted. “Taught me a bit about racing and a lot about life.”

    Not Surprising: Chevrolet had a big night at Homestead-Miami Speedway, with their driver winning the championship, six Chevy drivers in the top-ten, and securing their 12th consecutive manufacturer’s championship.

    “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.

    Surprising: Matt Kenseth had a surprisingly good weekend, as the highest finishing Toyota and also winner of the Nationwide race.

    “It’s been a long time since I won a race in anything, so just happy for Kevin (Kidd, crew chief),” Kenseth said. “He’s been trying to get a win over here for a long time, and he’s going on to something different next year.”

    “Happy to send him off with a win here; that was pretty good.”

    Not Surprising: There was at least one drive ready for Daytona after his third place run in the season finale.

    “Yeah, it was a heck of a season, not just for me but for all of Team Penske,” Brad Keselowski said. “I’m kind of wishing it wasn’t over, but we still have some work to do to continue to work and get better.”

    “In some ways, I hate to see the season come to an end, and honestly I’m ready to be at Daytona next week for the 500. That’s probably not the most popular comment in the world, but sometimes I’m not the most popular guy.”

    Final Note: In a most unusual year with the brand new Chase format, it has been a pleasure to share the surprising and not so surprising moments of the season. So, sit back, enjoy the off-season and as Brad Keselowski said, see you in Daytona!

     

     

     

  • Kenseth Wins Nationwide Finale; Elliott and Penske Celebrate Championships

    Kenseth Wins Nationwide Finale; Elliott and Penske Celebrate Championships

    In a thrilling green-white-checkered finish, Matt Kenseth, behind the wheel of the No. 20 GameStop/Rock Candy Toyota, held both Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson at bay to win the 20th annual Ford EcoBoost 300.

    This was Kenseth’s first win of the 2014 Nationwide Series season and his second victory in 13 races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    “Well, we kept getting those restarts at the end of the race, and the first couple got away okay,” Kenseth said. “I felt good about it.”

    “We had a really good car tonight, especially on a short- to mid-range run, and that kind of fell into our hands except for the last two or three cautions we didn’t need, but it kind of worked out where we got in the front and had the speed on the front side of the run where we needed it.”

    ”It’s been a long time since I’ve won a race in anything.”

    Following closely behind race winner Kenseth, with what has become known as the ‘Kyle and Kyle show’, Busch and Larson finished second and third respectively. This was Busch’s seventh top-10 finish in eight races and Larson’s seventh top-10 finish in just two races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    “Yeah, we had a strong car,” Kyle Busch said. “Somewhere in the middle part of the race we started falling behind a little farther than I wanted to, just ill handling, being loose, tight, loose, and everything going on. But Adam made some great race calls and some good adjustments to get our car handling a little bit better, to get ourselves farther up toward the front. The 20 was kind of off there early on in the race, but there at the end he really came on strong and the 42 was really good.”

    “So it was kind of a race amongst us three, I thought, and that’s kind of what it came down to there at the end,” Busch continued. “All in all, can’t be prouder of my team, Adam Stevens and Curtis and everyone that works so hard on the Monster Energy 54 at Joe Gibbs Racing, all the guys at the shop.”

    “We did our part and we had some great races, and we did have a successful year, so nothing to hang our hats about, but there’s one other guy or team out there that was a little bit better than us.”

    “Yeah, we were able to lead a lot of laps today, a lot more than I’ve probably ever led in my career,” Kyle Larson said. “That was fun. I had good restarts up there until the last 50 laps or so, and then I finally got a good one underneath Matt, was able to get to the lead, and was about 15 feet short of the win.”

    “Almost had second, but Kyle was able to squeeze around me,” Larson continued. “I probably could have shut the door on him, but we weren’t going to win, so there was no point in maybe tearing up two cars. Disappointed, super disappointed. Really close to a win today.”

    The Homestead finale race also officially crowned Chase Elliott as the Nationwide Series champion, an honor he had clinched last weekend. In spite of finishing 17th in the last race of the season, Elliott still made history as the youngest champ in NASCAR history.

    “I know it was ugly,” Elliott said. “We didn’t have a very good run, but we’ll take it.”

    The title was not just special for Chase Elliott and his family, NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott and wife Cindy, but was also the first ever for the team owned by Dale Earnhardt, Jr., his sister Kelly and Rick Hendrick.

    Roger Penske also clinched a championship, that of the Nationwide owner’s title. He did so with six wins and not just with one, but five different drivers, in the No. 22 Hertz Ford Mustang.

    “It was a great day,” Penske said. “I thought that race would never get over. I think we had a green-white-checker and all we had to do was finish 25th, but you never know with all the action up front.”

    “Brad (KeselowskI) ran a great race and when you think about five different drivers it’s really a credit to Jeremy Bullins and the job he’s done in preparing the car for different drivers and with six wins.”

    “So, to me, this was a team effort at Team Penske,” Penske continued. “Everyone did so much to make this happen and obviously it didn’t come down until the last lap there that we knew we had it.”

    With the final race in the books, NASCAR also bid a fond adieu to Nationwide, who has ended their title sponsorship, turning the reigns over to Xfinity.

    “We have truly enjoyed our time as the series sponsor and are grateful for the relationships we’ve made with the drivers, teams, owners, and fans,” Jim McCoy, director of sports marketing for Nationwide Insurance, said.

    The full race and points results are as follows:

    2014 NNS Ford EcoBoost 300 Race Results

    Fin Str Car Driver Team Lap Pts BPts Status TLd LLd
    1 3 20 Matt Kenseth(i) GameStop/Rock Candy Toyota 206 0 Running 3 52
    2 6 54 Kyle Busch(i) Monster Energy Toyota 206 0 Running 2 5
    3 2 42 Kyle Larson(i) Cartwheel by Target Chevrolet 206 0 Running 5 111
    4 5 12 Ryan Blaney(i) Discount Tire Ford 206 0 Running 1 24
    5 10 60 Chris Buescher # Humalog Ford 206 39 Running
    6 15 7 Regan Smith TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet 206 38 Running
    7 21 3 Ty Dillon # WESCO Chevrolet 206 37 Running
    8 1 22 Brad Keselowski(i) Hertz Ford 206 0 Running 1 5
    9 4 11 Elliott Sadler OneMain Financial Toyota 206 35 Running
    10 7 2 Brian Scott Shore Lodge Chevrolet 206 34 Running
    11 13 6 Trevor Bayne AdvoCare Ford 206 34 1 Running 1 3
    12 31 33 Paul Menard(i) Alert Today Florida/Boy Scouts of America Chevrolet 206 0 Running 3
    13 20 51 Jeremy Clements All South Electric/Repairable Vehicles Chevrolet 206 32 1 Running 1 1
    14 25 10 Ross Chastain(i) watermelon.org Toyota 206 0 Running
    15 30 93 TJ Bell(i) Dedicated to Electrical Linemen Dodge 206 0 Running
    16 17 28 JJ Yeley Texas 28 Spirits Stage Toyota 206 28 Running
    17 14 9 Chase Elliott # NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 206 28 1 Running 1 1
    18 24 99 James Buescher Rheem Toyota 206 26 Running
    19 9 31 Dylan Kwasniewski # Rockstar/AccuDoc Solutions Chevrolet 206 25 Running
    20 19 43 Dakoda Armstrong # WinField Ford 206 24 Running
    21 28 4 Jeffrey Earnhardt GCL/Polyglass Chevrolet 206 23 Running
    22 22 44 Blake Koch Celsius Flo Fusion Toyota 206 23 1 Running 1 1
    23 18 19 Mike Bliss Tweaker Energy Shot Toyota 206 21 Running
    24 35 26 Jake Crum(i) MyFreedomSmokes.com Chevrolet 206 0 Running
    25 12 5 Josh Berry Ragu Chevrolet 206 19 Running
    26 27 14 Eric McClure Hefty Ultimate/Reynolds Wrap Toyota 206 18 Running
    27 11 16 Ryan Reed # ADA Drive to Stop Diabetes/Lilly Diabetes Ford 206 17 Running
    28 33 36 Ryan Preece Accell Construction/East West Marine Chevrolet 206 16 Running
    29 8 62 Brendan Gaughan South Point Chevrolet 205 15 Running
    30 29 55 David Starr Niece Equipment Chevrolet 205 14 Running
    31 40 17 Tanner Berryhill # New Gulf Resources Toyota 204 13 Running
    32 37 23 Carlos Contreras Circle K Chevrolet 203 12 Running
    33 26 25 John Wes Townley(i) Zaxby’s Toyota 201 0 Running
    34 39 87 Milka Duno CanTV Toyota 201 10 Running
    35 23 1 Landon Cassill Flex Seal Chevrolet 190 9 Engine
    36 32 39 Ryan Sieg # Huntinator Chevrolet 179 8 Suspension
    37 16 98 Corey LaJoie(i) Medallion Financial/Smithfield Ford 116 0 Accident
    38 36 40 Matt DiBenedetto Curtis Key Plumbing Chevrolet 57 6 Transmission
    39 38 52 Joey Gase FindDieselEngines.com Chevrolet 54 5 Engine
    40 34 91 Jeff Green SupportMilitary.org Toyota 3 4 Vibration

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

    2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series Unofficial Point Standings Final

    Pos Driver BPts Points Ldr Nxt Starts Poles Wins T5s T10s DNF PPos G/L
    1 Chase Elliott # 26 1213 0 0 33 2 3 16 26 0 1 0
    2 Regan Smith 13 1171 -42 -42 33 0 1 7 26 0 2 0
    3 Elliott Sadler 13 1154 -59 -17 33 1 1 7 25 1 4 1
    4 Brian Scott 10 1154 -59 0 33 3 0 6 23 1 3 -1
    5 Ty Dillon # 11 1148 -65 -6 33 3 1 7 24 1 5 0
    6 Trevor Bayne 7 1086 -127 -62 33 1 0 5 21 3 6 0
    7 Chris Buescher # 9 1014 -199 -72 32 0 1 5 14 1 7 0
    8 Brendan Gaughan 14 954 -259 -60 33 0 2 2 7 2 8 0
    9 Ryan Reed # 1 889 -324 -65 33 0 0 1 1 2 9 0
    10 James Buescher 3 868 -345 -21 33 0 0 0 2 1 11 1
    11 Dylan Kwasniewski # 0 867 -346 -1 33 1 0 0 3 4 10 -1
    12 Landon Cassill 0 800 -413 -67 33 0 0 0 3 7 12 0
    13 Dakoda Armstrong # 2 788 -425 -12 33 1 0 0 3 1 13 0
    14 Mike Bliss 1 779 -434 -9 33 0 0 0 1 4 14 0
    15 Jeremy Clements 8 757 -456 -22 33 0 0 0 2 2 15 0
    16 Ryan Sieg # 1 682 -531 -75 33 0 0 1 2 5 16 0
    17 Jj Yeley 2 651 -562 -31 30 0 0 1 2 5 17 0
    18 Jeffrey Earnhardt 1 586 -627 -65 33 0 0 0 0 9 18 0
    19 Eric McClure 0 521 -692 -65 28 0 0 0 0 4 19 0
    20 Joey Gase 1 482 -731 -39 33 0 0 0 0 11 20 0
    21 Matt Dibenedetto 0 369 -844 -113 29 0 0 0 0 17 22 1
    22 Tanner Berryhill # 1 365 -848 -4 29 0 0 0 0 14 23 1
    23 Derrike Cope 0 364 -849 -1 28 0 0 0 0 12 21 -2
    24 Blake Koch 2 317 -896 -47 28 0 0 0 0 18 25 1
    25 Jamie Dick 1 314 -899 -3 21 0 0 0 0 7 24 -1
    26 David Starr 2 293 -920 -21 14 0 0 0 1 1 26 0
    27 Sam Hornish Jr. 10 242 -971 -51 8 2 1 4 4 3 27 0
    28 Mike Wallace 1 229 -984 -13 11 0 0 0 1 2 28 0
    29 Chad Boat 1 227 -986 -2 14 0 0 0 0 6 29 0
    30 Carlos Contreras 0 204 -1009 -23 14 0 0 0 0 5 30 0
    31 Jeff Green 0 172 -1041 -32 20 0 0 0 0 16 31 0
    32 Kevin Swindell 0 157 -1056 -15 10 0 0 0 0 4 32 0
    33 Mike Harmon 0 153 -1060 -4 16 0 0 0 0 13 33 0
    34 Kevin Lepage 0 137 -1076 -16 14 0 0 0 0 10 34 0
    35 Tommy Joe Martins 0 124 -1089 -13 11 0 0 0 0 8 35 0
    36 Josh Reaume 0 116 -1097 -8 11 0 0 0 0 8 36 0
    37 Ryan Ellis 0 104 -1109 -12 12 0 0 0 0 10 37 0
    38 Carl Long 0 104 -1109 0 16 0 0 0 0 16 38 0
    39 Alex Tagliani 1 82 -1131 -22 2 1 0 2 2 0 39 0
    40 Austin Theriault 0 78 -1135 -4 3 0 0 0 0 0 40 0
    41 Will Kimmel III 0 74 -1139 -4 5 0 0 0 0 1 41 0
    42 Robert Richardson Jr. 0 72 -1141 -2 7 0 0 0 0 4 42 0
    43 Cody Ware 0 71 -1142 -1 4 0 0 0 0 1 43 0
    44 Kenny Habul 0 61 -1152 -10 3 0 0 0 0 1 44 0
    45 Justin Marks 0 58 -1155 -3 2 0 0 0 1 0 45 0
    46 Daniel Suarez Garza 0 54 -1159 -4 2 0 0 0 0 0 46 0
    47 Morgan Shepherd 0 54 -1159 0 8 0 0 0 0 8 47 0
    48 Kelly Admiraal 0 53 -1160 -1 3 0 0 0 0 1 48 0
    49 Martin Roy 0 53 -1160 0 5 0 0 0 0 3 49 0
    50 Josh Berry 0 51 -1162 -2 2 0 0 0 0 0 59 9
    51 Stanton Barrett 0 49 -1164 -2 3 0 0 0 0 2 50 -1
    52 Kevin O’connell 0 48 -1165 -1 2 0 0 1 1 1 51 -1
    53 Ryan Preece 0 46 -1167 -2 2 0 0 0 0 0 61 8
    54 Ruben Garcia Mateos 0 41 -1172 -5 3 0 0 0 0 1 52 -2
    55 Harrison Rhodes 0 40 -1173 -1 6 0 0 0 0 6 53 -2
    56 Daryl Harr 0 39 -1174 -1 3 0 0 0 0 1 54 -2
    57 Andy Lally 0 37 -1176 -2 1 0 0 0 1 0 55 -2
    58 Hermie Sadler III 0 37 -1176 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 56 -2
    59 Bobby Reuse 0 35 -1178 -2 2 0 0 0 0 1 57 -2
    60 Hal Martin 0 34 -1179 -1 2 0 0 0 0 0 58 -2
    61 Scott Lagasse Jr. 0 31 -1182 -3 2 0 0 0 0 0 60 -1
    62 Matt Frahm 0 28 -1185 -3 3 0 0 0 0 2 62 0
    63 Tim Cowen 0 26 -1187 -2 1 0 0 0 0 0 63 0
    64 Paulie Harraka 0 25 -1188 -1 1 0 0 0 0 0 64 0
    65 Kenny Wallace 0 25 -1188 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 65 0
    66 Jason White 0 25 -1188 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 66 0
    67 Ryan Gifford 0 24 -1189 -1 1 0 0 0 0 0 67 0
    68 Bobby Gerhart 0 19 -1194 -5 2 0 0 0 0 1 68 0
    69 Mackena Bell 0 15 -1198 -4 1 0 0 0 0 0 69 0
    70 John Jackson 0 15 -1198 0 4 0 0 0 0 4 70 0
    71 Matthew Carter 0 15 -1198 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 71 0
    72 Roger Reuse 0 14 -1199 -1 2 0 0 0 0 1 72 0
    73 Tim Schendel 0 14 -1199 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 73 0
    74 Milka Duno 0 14 -1199 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 76 2
    75 Kyle Fowler 0 12 -1201 -2 1 0 0 0 0 0 74 -1
    76 Richard Harriman 0 12 -1201 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 75 -1
    77 Kyle Busch(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 26 7 7 25 25 0 77 0
    78 Brad Keselowski(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 11 5 5 10 11 0 78 0
    79 Kevin Harvick(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 15 1 4 12 15 0 79 0
    80 Kyle Larson(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 28 1 2 14 21 2 80 0
    81 Ryan Blaney(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 14 1 1 10 13 0 81 0
    82 Matt Kenseth(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 19 0 1 10 15 1 87 5
    83 Paul Menard(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 8 0 1 3 5 0 82 -1
    84 Kasey Kahne(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 3 0 1 2 2 1 83 -1
    85 Marcos Ambrose(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 1 0 1 1 1 0 84 -1
    86 Joey Logano(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 10 3 0 8 9 0 85 -1
    87 Michael McDowell(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 3 0 0 1 3 0 86 -1
    88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 4 0 0 3 3 0 88 0
    89 David Ragan(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 6 0 0 1 2 0 89 0
    90 Erik Jones(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 3 0 0 0 3 0 90 0
    91 Cale Conley(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 11 0 0 0 1 2 91 0
    92 Joe Nemechek(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 6 0 0 0 1 0 92 0
    93 Darrell Wallace Jr.(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 2 0 0 0 1 0 93 0
    94 Austin Dillon(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 1 0 0 0 1 0 94 0
    95 Justin Boston(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 2 0 0 0 1 0 95 0
    96 Ross Chastain(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 7 0 0 0 1 0 96 0
    97 Alex Bowman(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 3 0 0 0 0 0 97 0
    98 Matt Crafton(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 1 0 0 0 0 0 98 0
    99 Aric Almirola(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 2 0 0 0 0 0 99 0
    100 John Wes Townley(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 11 0 0 0 0 2 100 0
    101 Chase Pistone(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 3 0 0 0 0 0 101 0
    102 Johnny Sauter(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 3 0 0 0 0 0 102 0
    103 Josh Wise(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 17 0 0 0 0 6 103 0
    104 Tj Bell(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 2 0 0 0 0 1 117 13
    105 Jeb Burton(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 1 0 0 0 0 0 104 -1
    106 Corey Lajoie(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 5 0 0 0 0 3 105 -1
    107 Brennan Newberry(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 4 0 0 0 0 1 106 -1
    108 Danica Patrick(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 1 0 0 0 0 0 107 -1
    109 Tomy Drissi(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 2 0 0 0 0 0 108 -1
    110 Timmy Hill(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 7 0 0 0 0 4 109 -1
    111 Jake Crum(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 4 0 0 0 0 1 111 0
    112 Jennifer Jo Cobb(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 1 0 0 0 0 0 110 -2
    113 Todd Bodine(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 2 0 0 0 0 1 112 -1
    114 Chris Cockrum(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 2 0 0 0 0 0 113 -1
    115 Caleb Roark(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 1 0 0 0 0 1 114 -1
    116 Denny Hamlin(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 1 0 0 0 0 1 115 -1
    117 Derek White(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 2 0 0 0 0 2 116 -1
    118 Jimmy Weller(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 1 0 0 0 0 1 118 0
    119 Willie Allen(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 0 0 0 0 0 0 119 0
    120 Benny Gordon 0 0 -1213 -12 0 0 0 0 0 0 120 0
    121 Clay Greenfield(I) 0 0 -1213 -12 0 0 0 0 0 0 169 48

    BPts – Bonus Points, -Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, PPos = Previous Position, G/L = Points standing gain/loss, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

    Source: Timing and Scoring provided by NASCAR Media/NASCAR Statistics

     

  • Alex Bowman: A Season of Firsts and Lasts

    Alex Bowman: A Season of Firsts and Lasts

    For Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 23 DipYourCar.com Toyota for BK Racing, this season has been one of firsts and lasts.

    One of those firsts, in the last race of the season, is that he is competing at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the very first time in his career.

    “Definitely the first time I’ve been here,” Bowman said. “The track is really slick, so you slide around a lot. You are definitely chasing the race car at all times and not settled into the track. You’re always working at it.”

    “It’s really fun,” Bowman continued. “In race trim, you’re always running right there up against the wall. I like it. It’s been fun for me so far.”

    “I’ve just kind of went out, got accustomed to it and adapted myself to the race track before we threw a lot of stuff at the race car,” Bowman said. “We’re not very fast but I think we’ll be alright tomorrow in the race.”

    “I feel like at this level, you kind of have to be ready for those first times at new tracks. It’s not the first place that I’ve never been to so I’m definitely used to that. I just have to get up to speed pretty quick and go for it.”

    While this is his first time at Homestead, it is the last race of the season and for four other drivers on the track, there is an opportunity for a championship. Bowman acknowledged that this last race where a champ will be crowned will be a first for him as far as how he races as well.

    “You just have to stay out of their way,” Bowman said. “They’ll be much faster than us. So, you just have to make sure that you don’t ruin their day because then you’re all over TV and everybody laughs at you and calls you an idiot. I don’t want to be ‘that guy’ that ruins somebody’s championship. Hopefully, we can stay out of the way, not make any of them mad, run our own race and when they’re around, be a little careful.”

    Bowman is also experiencing another first, that of having a new crew chief Patrick Donahue named this week for the very last race of the season.

    “Well he’s been with us all year, just as a car chief,” Bowman said. “So, nothing’s really new; kind of just the same deal. BK Racing felt like they needed to make a change so I guess Monday I got a text saying Patrick was going to be the new crew chief and we went from there.”

    “We’re working on it,” Bowman continued. “We’re not any better than we usually are but we’re not any worse either. All three of our cars are struggling this weekend. Three different set-ups, three different race cars, three different drivers, all not very fast. So, we definitely as a company have our work cut out for us. Hopefully we’ll figure something out before tomorrow.”

    Bowman’s other major first is that the finale of his rookie season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is coming to a close. And in the midst of his rookie Cup season, Bowman has also experienced another first, driving for JR Motorsports in the Nationwide Series.

    “Getting to drive the 5 for JR Motorsports a couple of times was a lot of fun,” Bowman said. “Last week we were really strong running third but ran out of fuel. Doing this deal helped me get that from Junior and helped show what I can do in lesser equipment to get a shot in good equipment. Hopefully there are more things to come from that and we’ll go from there.”

    Bowman has also accomplished a feat for which he is quite proud. He and his No. 23 race team have made all the races for the year, the first time that the team has been able to consistently achieve that.

    “Not missing any races was pretty cool,” Bowman said. “Our race team definitely struggled with that and the 23 car didn’t fight that at all.”

    The young rookie Cup driver has also had a series of challenges for the first time in his career that he has had to battle, many of which have caused him to even doubt his own abilities somewhat.

    “I think my biggest challenge is that when we’re off, we’re really off,” Bowman said. “When we’re bad, we’re really bad. We just need to work on being able to get the race car to not be so bad when we are having an off day.”

    “By my standards, every single race has been an off-day,” Bowman continued. “Managing my expectations and learning how to do that has been hard because I’m not used to doing what we’re doing. It’s been a learning experience for me as far as how to approach the weekend. You get down on yourself and it’s really easy to start thinking that it’s the driver and not the race car. You think you’re not doing a good job and then things like last weekend help me reaffirm that I can run with those types of cars. So, it’s been a huge learning experience just to manage my expectations every week.”

    Bowman has also learned for one of the first times in his career that he needs to be able to reach out and lean on others as he goes through the ups, downs, and vagaries of the sport.

    “Lately, I’ve been talking to Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) a lot,” Bowman said. “Driving the 5 car, we’ve developed a pretty good relationship. Talking to him and just learning different race tracks and different lines has helped me.”

    “But as far as getting through the weekend, there are a lot of good people on the race team and are fun to hang out with. They make a situation that is hard to deal with enjoyable.”

    While Bowman is looking forward to the off-season, with a particular eye to getting some rest, he also may be marking the last time he will race for BK Racing. In fact, the rookie is uncertain what his future holds at present.

    “I got a really comfortable couch that I’m going to spend a lot of time on,” Bowman said. “I’m going to work on my street cars a little big. I’m turning a 911 into somewhat of a drift car next week. I’m going to work on that a little bit.”

    “As far as next year goes, I’d like to be back but I don’t have anything done as of now,” Bowman continued. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I can’t really make up my mind what I want to do so I have to figure it out for myself and go from there.”

    For tomorrow, however, Alex Bowman will complete the last race of the season with his first-ever Cup race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The rookie will roll off for the first and last time in the 41st position for the Ford EcoBoost 400.

     

  • NASCAR Racing Schedule for Homestead-Miami Speedway

    NASCAR Racing Schedule for Homestead-Miami Speedway

    This week the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series head to Homestead-Miami Speedway for a tripleheader championship weekend as the 2014 season comes to a close.

    All times ET.

    Friday, November14:

    11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m.: NASCAR Nationwide Series practice – FOX Sports 1
    12:30-2 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series practice – FOX Sports 1
    2:45 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying – FOX Sports 1
    4-5:55 p.m.: Nationwide Series final practice – FOX Sports 1
    6:15 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – ESPN2
    8:00 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Ford EcoBoost 200 (134 laps, 201 miles) – FOX  Sports 1

    SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15:

    Noon-12:50 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice – FOX Sports 1
    1:15 p.m.: NASCAR Nationwide Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying – FOX Sports 1
    3-3:50 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice – FOX Sports 2
    4:30 p.m.: NASCAR Nationwide Series Ford EcoBoost 300 (200 laps, 300 miles) – ESPN2

    SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16:

    3:00 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 (267 laps, 400.5 miles) – ESPN

    Press Conference Schedule:  (Watch live) on Nascar.com (Post race times approx.)

    Friday, November14:

    11:00 a.m.: NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France
    2:30 p.m.: NASCAR Hall of Famers Dale Jarrett and Rusty Wallace talk Championship 4
    7:15 p.m.: NSCS Post Qualifying Press Conference with all Championship 4 drivers
    10:15 p.m. NCWTS Post Race Press Conference

    SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15:

    11:00 a.m.: Daytona Rising update with Joie Chitwood III
    11:30 a.m.: FDOT announcement
    1:00 p.m.: Jim Campbell (Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports, Chevrolet), Jamie Allison (Director, Ford Racing) and David Wilson (President and General Manager, Toyota Racing Development)
    7:30 p.m.: NNS Post Race Press Conference

    SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16:

    6:45 p.m.: NSCS Post Race Press Conference

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Corey LaJoie is ‘Taking One Leap of Faith at a Time’

    Corey LaJoie is ‘Taking One Leap of Faith at a Time’

    Corey LaJoie is a third generation driver with one win in the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour series, three wins in the ARCA Racing Series and five wins in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. In 2012 he was named as one of the NASCAR Next, “tomorrow’s stars, today.”

    In June 2013, LaJoie took the next step in his career, signing a development deal with Richard Petty Motorsports. Since signing with RPM, however, he hasn’t seen as much on-track action as one might imagine.

    His previous starts this year were a NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Kentucky in June where he placed 16th and two races in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with a 17th at Kentucky (June) and a 10th at Bristol in August.

    However, LaJoie is now poised to finish out the season on a high note, competing in four of the remaining five Nationwide Series races, as a result of a partnership agreement between RPM and Biagi-DenBenste Racing.

    In his first race of the four race series, LaJoie finished 26th at Kansas Speedway in his No. 98 Medallion Financial Ford. The following week at Charlotte Motor Speedway, he completed the race in 24th, after getting caught up in a multi-car accident on the first lap of the race. He also made his second Sprint Cup Series start at Charlotte in the No. 77 Ford of Randy Humphrey Racing, finishing 35th.

    After this weekend’s races, he tweeted, “It was great to race on my home track in front of family and friends. I learned a ton. Just taking one leap of faith at a time.”

    I spoke to LaJoie in Charlotte and he expressed a similar sentiment of appreciation for the opportunities he’s been given at RPM.

    “They’ve been working hard,” he said. “It’s tough to find the money right now but they felt the need to get me in some races before the year was over. They’re a great bunch of guys over there and I’ve learned a lot.”

    Although this partnership is a one-time deal, he is hopeful that the alliance might extend into next year but for now, LaJoie is focused on this season.

    “Hopefully we get some money rolling in and I’ll get a couple of good races in this year and we’ll see what the future holds but all that is for a later date,” he told me.

    LaJoie is intent on using the crucial seat time to hone his skills behind the wheel.

    “I need to learn how to slow down. In everything else I drove, I’ve had to make up for the lack of equipment,” he explained. “You can’t do that in the Nationwide Series. The drivers are too good and the cars you’re racing against are really good.

    “The days of driving 110 percent and making up those extra couple of tenths are over,” LaJoie continued. “I’ve got to learn how to drive 95-100 percent within the boundaries of what the cars are giving me and try to work on that and get better.”

    He’s looking forward to the two remaining races with Biagi-DenBenste Racing, “They’ve got some good cars and some really good people over there,” LaJoie emphasized, “so I’m excited to see what we can do.”

    Next up for the 23-year-old LaJoie is the O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway on November 1 and the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 15.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Denny Hamlin’s Homestead Victory Both Ironic and Symbolic

    Denny Hamlin’s Homestead Victory Both Ironic and Symbolic

    “He said he was coming for me. I usually don’t see him so he’s usually not a factor.”

    Those were the words of Denny Hamlin this past March following the Cup race at Bristol. He was referring to Joey Logano who was irate after getting spun by Hamlin while running second in the race. Those strong words uttered by Hamlin would come back to haunt him just one week later.

    As fate would have it, the ex-teammates and new rivals were locked into an epic battle for the win at Auto Club Speedway just seven days after their Bristol conflict. After nearly crashing each other with six to go, the gloves came off and the battle for the win was on. Logano led the race as Hamlin stalked him with a fire in his eyes and the pedal through the floor.

    Coming to the white flag, Hamlin gave the No. 22 a shot in the rear and moved alongside. Logano responded by running him up the track, trying desperately to slow his momentum. The two roared out of turn two and neither lifted. They slammed doors down the backstretch as the pair approached the checkered flag.

    In the final corner, Hamlin seemed to have the advantage but a second place result would not suffice for Logano who was still seething over the Bristol incident. He mashed the gas and implemented the philosophy, “eight tires are better than four” in a final attempt to steal the win. The result … Logano slammed the outside wall as Hamlin spun head-on into a part of the inside wall that was not protected by safer barriers.

    Over the radio, he screamed in agony; “my back! My back!” He was loaded onto a stretcher as Logano drove down pit road, flipped the bird to the horrified crew and said in a post-race interview, “that’s what he gets.”

    To be fair, he was just involved in a brawl with Tony Stewart on pit road and knew nothing regarding Hamlin’s condition at the time.

    Hamlin suffered a compression fracture in his lower back and had to sit out the next six weeks due to the crash. The animosity between these former teammates could not be understated following their clash at 200mph and neither have mended their relationship since that day. When Hamlin returned, he ripped off back-to-back finishes of second and sixth but suddenly, the wheels fell off his chase aspirations. He crashed heavily multiple times during the year injuring his hand at Bristol and even going airborne in the July event at Daytona.

    Arriving at Homestead was a relief for the beaten and battered Hamlin as he could see an end to this nightmare of a season. After an enthralling late-race duel for the win with Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hamlin captured the checkered flag and ended his year celebrating in victory lane. The irony of his Homestead triumph is obvious but how about what it symbolizes? To me, this win was an unspoken statement by Hamlin showing that the championship caliber driver that we knew before the injury was still in there somewhere.

    I’ll admit that I started to question whether we’d ever see Hamlin racing at his full potential ever again. I was concerned that the spinal fracture would change him as a driver much like Formula 1 racer Felipe Massa who after nearly winning the 2008 championship, hasn’t won a single race since after suffering a head injury early in 2009. We can’t ignore that Hamlin’s results were also hindered by the fact that he became the JGR Guinea pig for experimental setups to test for his teammates who were both in title contention this year.

    When a team is down in the dumps like the No. 11 was, the best time to win is in the final race of the year. It’s the most overlooked win of the season but to the team, they are able to ride that high through the entire winter which is crucial as they prepare for 2014. In the last four Homestead events excluding 2013 obviously, the winner went on to be the championship runner-up the following year twice.

    You can do whatever you want in an attempt to motivate a race team but there’s no stronger medicine than victory lane champagne.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Homestead Ford EcoBoost 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Homestead Ford EcoBoost 400

    With the crowning of just one last champion to join Matt Crafton, Truck Series Champion, and Austin Dillon, Nationwide Series Champion, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the final race of the season, the Ford EcoBoost 400, at Florida’s Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    Surprising:  For someone used to winning championships, especially after his sixth, Jimmie Johnson was surprisingly emotional in Victory Lane, especially as he remembered his grandmother who had passed away and when he saw his wife and daughter Genevieve appear to congratulate him.

    “I know there was an angel, at least one, but maybe four angles riding on this car,” the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet said. “My Grandmother passed away a month or so ago, and I am without grandparents now which is a sad thing.”

    “But, I know my Grandma and my other grandparents were helping me guide this car around this car around the track,” Johnson continued. “This one is for her.”

    “She was my biggest fan.”

    Johnson became most emotional when he talked about his wife and mother of his two children Chandra.

    “She is the strongest woman on the planet,” Johnson said. “She makes me who I am, and makes me a better man.”

    “She does a fantastic job raising these kids and keeping me in line; I am her third kid,” Johnson continued. “I am so thankful to have her as wife.”

    “We are going to have a lot of fun and enjoy this moment.”

    Johnson finished the Homestead race in the ninth position, which put him 19 points ahead of Kenseth for the Sprint Cup championship. This was the 11th championship for Hendrick Motorsports and makes Johnson only one of three competitors, including Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, to win six or more championships.

    Not Surprising:  There were at least two drivers, the second and third place finishers at Homestead-Miami Speedway, that along with many fans have one simple wish – that the season would not end.

    “For me, when you’re running good, you kind of don’t want the season to end in a way,” Matt Kenseth, runner up in the last race and in the championship, said. “You want to keep going to the track.”

    “To me as I get older, the seasons go faster and faster honestly,” Kenseth, driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota, continued. “It was more fun this season so in a way, you don’t want it to end.”

    Third place finisher Dale Earnhardt Jr. could not agree with Kenseth more.

    “Ever since I started working with Steve (Letarte, crew chief) and that whole team, I hadn’t wanted the year to end,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet said. “We seem to get better as the season goes.”

    “You would just love to go to another race next week.”

    Surprising:  After a surprisingly tough season of injury, recovery and struggles, Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, scored his first victory in the last race of the year. This was Hamlin’s second win in nine races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    “It was just an amazing drive,” Hamlin said. “Just proud of Darian (Grubb, crew chief) and this whole team for giving me a race-winning car.”

    “It just gives us huge momentum,” Hamlin continued. “We started kicking things into gear about two months ago and then last week with a horrific effort and that kind of gets your spirits down, but then to come here to Miami and back it up with a win — this is something we can think about for the entire winter.”

    Not Surprising:  The reigning champ of 2012, Brad Keselowski, was the highest finishing Ford, bringing the Blue Deuce to the checkered flag in the sixth position.

    “We definitely had the car on the short runs, but just weren’t close on the long runs,” Keselowski said of his last race of the season. “If we could have got the long run speed to go with the short run speed, we would have killed them tonight, but we just didn’t have that.”

    Even with a solid top-ten finish, Keselowski could not help but reflect on the championship year that ended when Jimmie Johnson hoisted the champion’s trophy.

    “A champion is forever,” Keselowski said thoughtfully. “It might not be reining, but you’re still a champion forever.”

    “I’m proud of that.”

    Surprising:  Kevin Harvick is looking forward to a surprisingly new adventure with now former team owner Richard Childress.

    “I think Martinsville brought a lot of things to a head and we were able to talk about a lot of things,” Harvick said of the controversy between him and Childress. “Really this was the way I would want to leave with everybody shaking hands and happy that we have been together and been successful together.”

    “I can’t wait for our first hunt together as friends,” Harvick continued. “That will be good times.”

    Harvick, in his last race with the ‘ole two niner’ finished tenth at Homestead and third in the championship points, 34 points behind six-time winner Jimmie Johnson.

    Not Surprising:   In his first year with Penske Racing and with an eighth place finish in the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford at Homestead, Joey Logano pronounced his year good.

    “I’m more impressed with our year,” Logano said. “We did a good job this year and learned a lot about each other, and learned a lot about where we could have done a better job in races and where we need to improve next year and where to work on our cars during the off-season.”

    “I had a lot of fun this year and this was my best season personally,” Logano continued. “We’ve got areas we need to improve and we’ll do it.”

    Logano also had a significant moment off the track to top off the 2013 season as he got engaged as well.

    Surprising:  One of the most surprising moments of the race occurred when Paul Menard, who had sustained damage during a wild restart, came to pit road in flames. The right rear tire then exploded sending parts and pieces flying throughout pit road.

    Thankfully no one, including the driver of the No. 27 MOEN/Menards Chevrolet, was injured. Menard, who at times was in the top-five running order, finished 39th.

    “That was pretty wild,” Menard said. “We were having a great day.”

    “On that restart, everybody kind of checked up and we got some right rear damage and had a flat tire,” Menard continued. “I guess a bunch of rubber got wrapped up underneath around the axle I guess.”

    “Came in a couple of times trying to fix the damage and try to get the rubber off,” Menard said. “We didn’t get it all and I guess it just caught fire.”

    “I didn’t really know it until there was a little bit of spark coming in the car and landed on the window net, thought that was kind of weird,” Menard continued. “About a lap later they said I was on fire; I lost my brakes, then the damn wheel blew right off (the car).”

    Not Surprising:  Even four-time champions can make a mistake or two and Jeff Gordon did just that, spinning his wheels on a restart, with almost catastrophic results for at least one of the championship contenders.

    “Yeah, I was trying to get some momentum and he (Denny Hamlin) checked up and it just messed the whole thing up and I got wheel spin,” Gordon said. “That is the second time this year I have done that right in front of Matt (Kenseth) and he has drove right into the back of me and about wrecked us both.”

    “The last thing I would want to do in front of Matt is that, but you can’t run into the guy you know,” Gordon continued. “It was a bad unfortunate situation and it just trickles on back from there.”

    “It could have been even worse.”

    Surprising:  Danica Patrick had a surprisingly good run for the last race of the season and in fact was the highest finishing rookie in 20th. This was Patrick’s eighth top-20 of her rookie 2013 season.

    “It’s one thing to have the yellow stripe on the car,” Patrick said. “It’s another thing with all the things being a rookie signifies, which a lot is, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing.’

    So I think that’s what I’m most pleased about is, now I’ve done the whole season, I’ve gone to every track and learned a lot about a lot of things — not just cars but about the team — and it just makes me more prepared for the future.”

    Not Surprising:  Even with Patrick finishing ahead of him, boyfriend Ricky Stenhouse Jr. still scored the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rookie of the Year honors.

    “It means a lot, looking at all the other names that have won this award,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “It definitely wasn’t the season that we wanted, but we slowly but surely got better throughout the season.”

    “I was proud of what we did throughout the season, of getting better, qualifying better, having runs up front, and leading laps throughout the year,” the driver of the No. 17 Ford EcoBoost Ford said. “Thought we had a chance at winning some races there, at least being in contention.”

    “I was proud of those moments.”

    This concludes the Surprising and Not Surprising column for the 2013 season. Thanks for all the reads and comments, have a great holiday season, and cheers to an exciting 2014 season, coming in just 100 days at Daytona!

     

  • Hamlin wins the battle, Johnson wins the war

    Hamlin wins the battle, Johnson wins the war

    Joe Gibbs Racing driver, Denny Hamlin, found the silver lining in a dark cloud of a season. Hamlin ran strong throughout the entire race leading 72 laps en route to victory.

    Hamlin looked like the Hamlin of old, when many were picking him to win the championship.  An obviously happy Hamlin talked about his win, “It was just an amazing drive. I knew we had a strong car. Pit strategy worked out great for us. We came back from the mid-20’s early in the race and we drove back up there. Just proud of Darian (Grubb) and this whole team for giving me a race-winning car.”

    Championship contender, Matt Kenseth, was flawless the entire weekend. He was fast in practice, sat on the pole, led the most laps, and was catching Hamlin late in the race until being challenged by Dale Earnhardt Jr.  Earnhardt, turning in one of his most impressive runs of the year, tried Kenseth on the inside and outside in an attempt to take second, but came up just short. The battle, however, permitted Hamlin to slightly pull away.

    Kenseth’s second place finish was not enough to prevent Jimmie Johnson from clinching his sixth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship. Johnson was once again smooth, consistent and executed everything perfectly en route to the title.

    Kenseth commented on his season, “Obviously, it’s been a great year, the best I’ve ever had. Had a lot of fun racing over at Joe Gibbs Racing.” He continued, “For me, when you’re running good, you kind of don’t want the season to end in a way. You want to keep going to the track. When you end the season on not as good a note, you come down here and struggle, you’re ready for a month or two break.”

    “Oh wow… I don’t even know where to start here. I am at a loss for words, but I am so proud, and so thankful for this opportunity at Hendrick Motorsports.”, Johnson said as he looked back at the cheering crowd and allowing the fact that he is a six time champion sink in.

    Johnson had two close calls that could have taken away his chances. During a restart, the field stacked up ad Johnson, ironically, got into the back of Kenseth. Johnson also had a run-in with Greg Biffle. Biffle seemed to run Johnson very hard and give him as little as possible. Earlier in the season at Martinsville, Biffle was irate with Johnson after the race due to the fact that he thought Johnson ran hi too hard. This could have been his way of getting a little payback.

    Johnson survived all challenges and when the checkered flag fell, he found himself in ninth place, giving him a 19 point gap over Kenseth and put him one step closer to tying the record for the most championships. That title is currently held by two legends of the sport– Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.

    Johnson is writing his own chapter of NASCAR history. He has easily been the most consistent driver in the sport since his first full season in 2002. Johnson’s record speaks for itself – 435 starts – 66 wins – 182 top-5’s – 272 top-10’s. A record that earned him five straight and six total championships.

    Johnson, who is 38 years old, still has plenty of time to break several records. With no signs of slowing down, he could easily win nine or ten championships and could possibly reach David Pearson’s mark of 105 wins. Regardless of how many wins or championships he ends up with, his unprecedented record will forever have its place in NASCAR history.

    This championship also gave team owner, Rick Hendrick, his 11th championship surpassing Petty Enterprises for the most all-time.

    Roush-Fenway Racing driver, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., clinched the Rookie of the Year title over Danica Patrick. Stenhouse accumulated three top-10’s with one top-5 during the season and finished 19th in the final points standings.

    Asked about his win, Stenhouse replied, “It means a lot, looking at all the other names that have won this award. It definitely wasn’t the season that we wanted, but we slowly but surely got a little bit better throughout the season.”

    As another NASCAR season comes to a close, we look forward to 2014. With many drivers changing teams, teams changing manufacturers, a group of rookies that could lead to the best Rookie of the Year battle in recent history, it is sure to be a fantastic year.

  • Dillon wins championship amidst controversial finish

    Dillon wins championship amidst controversial finish

    Brad Keselowski won the Ford Ecoboost 300, but that win was overshadowed by a championship wrapped in controversy.

    Austin Dillon struggled with handling problems most of the night. His team led by crew chief, Danny Stockman, made several of adjustments throughout the race and managed to help the car significantly.

    As the race progressed, Dillon slowly and methodically worked his way toward the front. Even with the improvements, however, he was still a couple of points behind Sam Hornish Jr. who was running in the top-5 for most of the night.

    Race strategy came into play as the eighth caution of the night came out on lap 155. The Stockman led team of Dillon, were watching Hornish to see if they would take tires or wait. Their plan was to copy whatever the No. 12 car did. Hornish’s team installed their last set of Goodyear sticker tires and Dillon’s team followed suit. Several other teams chose to save their final sets until later. This would be a key factor later in the race.

    Regan Smith made contact and brought out the final caution on lap 184 when Regan Smith made contact with Jeremy Clements causing a multi-car crash on the frontstretch. The team who had saved their tires hit pit road to bolt their final sets on and make final adjustments. This set up a scenario where cars that were already as fast as Dillon, now had the extra benefit of fresh tires. Hornish looked to be in good shape as these cars would have had plenty of time to overtake Dillon and give Hornish the cushion he needed to clinch the title.

    The controversy came when it became obvious that the cleanup on the frontstretch would take longer than expected. In a move that has been questioned by many, NASCAR chose not to throw red flag. The field was allowed to run under caution for twelve laps. The race was not restarted until lap 196. If the red had been thrown, the race could have been restarted with at least ten to go, giving the contenders much more time to race for the title.

    Dillon talked about his race and his championship, “I was very close to wrecking that car trying to get more speed out of it, I hit the wall that one time and I told myself, I said if I go out there and the wall the next lap and take ourselves out of this championship, I’m giving it to him. I got to make it to the end and it worked out.”

    When asked about seeing Hornish right in front of him on the restarts, Dillon replied, “Do everything I could do to put stress on him. Make sure that he knew I was there. The last one, I knew with five to go our car was good enough. If I could somehow get him off his rocker, get him frustrated somehow, it would work.”

    A disappointed Hornish commented about the season and the night, “You can’t give away points throughout the year like we did at times – some was the driver’s fault and some was out of our control. We had it for most of the night and I knew that Austin was obviously trying to take care of the everything and make sure that he made it to the end, and then you had the late caution and a lot of guys had tires and came.”

    When asked about all of the caution laps at the end of the race, Hornish replied, “What can I say? Any other time there probably would have been a caution. It’s just one of those things that it wasn’t meant to be tonight so we’ll just take what we learned and try to do the best with it for here on out.”

    The decision to not throw the red flag completely altered the scenario for the race. If the race had restarted with ten to go, Hornish would have the upper hand. By waiting until four to go, Dillon did not have to fend off the challengers with new tires, making the path to the championship much easier.

    Robin Pemberton was asked why the decision was made to not throw the red flag. Pemberton responded, “It really looked like it was going to be a typical clean-up, a typical wreck. You know, you had two cars that had a lot of damage and both of them dumped quite a bit of oil. There was no need to throw a red.  We felt like we could get it in a normal lap segment of that. You know, unfortunately there was a lot of oil – it looked like it kept either seeping back up out of the race track or whatever from the car that was on the outside of the wall. And you know, we went one to go a handful of times trying to get the track ready.”  When asked if there was a time constraint due to TV he replied, “No, there was nothing like that.” Unfortunately, Pemberton was not asked why they did not throw the red once it was realized the clean-up was not typical.

    In this writer’s opinion, we have not been given a valid reason why twelve of the final sixteen laps of the final race of the season, with so much on the line from driver’s championship to owner’s championship to manufacturer’s championship, should have been ran under caution. This was a bad call all around, and there is no other way to say it.

    There needs to be a much more clearly defined policy regarding this situation. The series can never plan for every variable, but it usually reacts very well when a scenario sheds light on a problem. This is one of those times. This championship will always have an asterisk beside of it in the minds of many. Hopefully, NASCAR will rectify the problem and prevent it from happening in the future.

  • Hornish wins the pole for the Ford Ecoboost 300

    Hornish wins the pole for the Ford Ecoboost 300

    Sam Hornish Jr. who is chasing his first NASCAR championship this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, is doing everything he can do to accomplish his goal He was fastest in first practice and has now backed that up by being fastest in qualifying.

    Hornish, driving the No. 12 Alliance Truck Parts Ford Mustang, turned in a lap of 165.843 MPH to score his fourth pole of the season and the fifth of his career.

    Hornish edged out Blake Koch, who is making his debut for RAB Racing in the No. 99 Compression Racing.com Toyota that was driven by Alex Bowman until this week. Koch posted a lap of 165.781 MPH

    Penske driver, Brad Keselowski, will start third on Saturday in the No. 48 Discount Tires Ford. Keselowski posted a lap of 165.756 MPH. Keselowsi could play a role in the outcome of the driver’s championship and the owner’s championship. Both of his Penske teammates are involved in points battles – Sam Hornish battling for the driver’s title, Joey Logano driving the No. 22 will be trying to secure the owner’s championship.

    Logano will start fourth in the No.22, with Sprint Cup Series championship contender, Matt Kenseth taking the green in fifth. Austin Dillon, who has an eight point lead over Hornish, will start 11th after posting a lap of 163.825 MPH in his AdvoCare Chevrolet.

    The green will fall on the Ford Ecoboost 300 at 4:30 pm local time.