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  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Kansas Hollywood Casino 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Kansas Hollywood Casino 400

    Fresh off the announcement of the rules package for next year, here is what was surprising and not surprising from this year’s second race of the Contender round from the 15th annual Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

    Surprising:  While there were some familiar on-track challenges, from complaints about restarts to concerns about oil in the upper groove, problems on pit road played a pivotal role, particularly for several Chase drivers.

    Team 24 of Jeff Gordon had a loose lug nut and had to pit, one of Carl Edwards’ pit crew members fell down costing him spots, and Dale Earnhardt Jr., as well as others, had loose wheels.

    But the biggest pit road issues were faced by Chase contenders Kevin Harvick, who was penalized for taking equipment out of the box, and Martin Truex, Jr. who was penalized for an uncontrolled tire.

    “We’re lucky to come out of it as good as we did,” Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet, said. “We didn’t have a great weekend. A lot of things falling on and off.  All and all, it could have been a lot worse.”

    “It was tough day,” Truex said, echoing Harvick. “We were in good shape before the penalty (pass-through penalty for a tire going outside the line following green flag pit stop on Lap 213). We fought hard on the car all day got much better right when we got the penalty. We were fast at the end, but not enough time to get back up there.”

    Harvick finished 16th in the race, which put him in the fifth position in the point standings. Truex finished 15th in the race and is now eighth in the points.

    Not Surprising:  From the land of the yellow brick road, the golden rule was being practiced mightily in Victory Lane.

    “It was good, hard racing,” Joey Logano after tangling with Matt Kenseth to win the race. “We were racing each other really hard and I got in the fence twice on the straightaways.  He raced me hard and I raced him hard back.  That’s hard racing.  That’s the way I race.”

    “If I get raced like that, I’ll race the same way.  That’s how I’ve always been and it will always be that way.”

    Surprising:  There was a surprising runner-up and no, it was not Kevin Harvick. It was actually Denny Hamlin, behind the wheel of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, who captured the second spot in Kansas, putting himself in the runner-up spot in the point standings as well.

    “It was an interesting day for sure,” Hamlin said. “We definitely fought our car early in the day. We made it better, we had some good restarts and the pit crew got us some spots. The next thing we knew we were trying to battle for a race win.”

    “One short.”

    Not Surprising:  In a season of strange happenings at the track, from squirrels to foxes to ducks on track, Kansas featured a weird occurrence as well.  Smoke was reported wafting over the racing surface, causing some concern. But it all turned out to be a bus on fire just outside the track.

    Surprising:  Ryan Blaney had a surprisingly good run, finishing seventh in his No. 21 Woods Brothers Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford.  Yet the young driver admitted to being still in the learning mode as he faces the final few races of the season.

    “I feel pretty good about the rest of the year,” Blaney said. “We’ve learned some things. We still have to get a lot better, but we’re getting there. Being on the race track more is part of it. Things come with time for both me and Jeremy (Bullins, crew chief) and we’re finally getting some time under our belt.”

    Not Surprising:  There were at least three drivers who no doubt want to put Kansas City in their rear view mirrors. Tony Stewart was one, spinning early to bring out the second caution of the day.

    And the other two were Austin Dillon and Clint Bowyer, both of whom hit the wall, and hit it hard.

    “I was catching everyone in front of us and then blew a right front,” Dillon said. “We were carrying a lot of speed and just blew a tire.”

    “I thought I could save it, but guess what, I didn’t save it,” Bowyer said. “It was a hard hit. “Very, I hit a wall. Pretty damn hard.”

    “I couldn’t believe how fast it snapped. You usually can ride it along, but that thing came out from underneath of me so fast. As soon as that headlight got some air in it, boy that baby bit and turned me around pretty quick.”

    “I hate that happened especially at home.”

    Surprising:  Jimmie Johnson may not be in the championship hunt, but he may have played a role in how the race at Kansas played out. He stayed out late in the race, preventing many drivers who had had trouble from taking the wave around.

    The driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet finished third, posting his 16th top-10 finish in nineteen races at Kansas Speedway.

    “The silver lining of not being in the Chase is having fast cars,” Johnson said.  “It was fun racing. We did have speed in our cars and we are running really well.  We did it again this weekend.”

    Not Surprising:  There was some ‘dad’ flavor at the race, with new dad Kasey Kahne having a good run in fourth and dad Kyle Busch finishing fifth.

    “We just kept fighting and persevering through everything that was thrown at us,” Busch said after the race. “And in case everyone wasn’t sure, Halloween is coming up so grab all those M&Ms for all the kiddies. I know I’m looking forward to my first Halloween with my son Brexton.”

    Surprising:  Kurt Busch went from celebrating his sixth place win, as well as his third place in the point standings, to being decidedly bummed about how close the Chase continued to be.

    “We’re going to Talladega third in Chase Only plus 13?” Busch asked a reporter after the race. “I would have hoped we would have been 25. Plus 13 is not very exciting.”

    “Wow, you kind of deflated my bubble there. I thought a fifth or a sixth was pretty good in this battle but it’s not.”

    Not Surprising:  No one is looking more forward to racing next weekend than Dale Earnhardt Jr., particularly since the upcoming battle will be on his favorite restrictor plate track.

    The driver of the No. 88 Halo 5: Master Chief Chevrolet, who finished the last of the Chasers in 21st at Kansas tweeted this after the race, “Tough day at the track. Gonna have those. Bring on @TalladegaSuperS! Taking that same hot rod that won there earlier this season. #ShesFast.”

     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Charlotte

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Charlotte

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Joey Logano: Logano led 227 of 334 laps and held off Kevin Harvick down the stretch to claim the Bank Of America 500. With the win, Logano advanced to the next round of the Chase For The Cup.

    “I knew Harvick was creeping up behind me,” Logano said. “I knew I had to hit my marks to maintain my cushion. I kind of utilized Harvick’s strategy from Dover, because I knew if he got close enough to see my rear end, it would be bad news.”

    2. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished second in the Bank Of America 500, posting his 12th runner-up finish of the year.

    “I ‘backed up’ my win in Dover with a second,” Harvick said.

    “I am the defending Sprint Cup champion, but that doesn’t mean I’m not extremely motivated to win it again this year. Last year means nothing. In my mind, all evidence of that victory has been destroyed.”

    3. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished fourth at Charlotte, the top finisher among Joe Gibbs Racing drivers.

    “I dealt with some battery issues,” Hamlin said. “As you know, that comes with the positives and the negatives.

    “Matt Kenseth has been JGR’s best driver all year, but he struggled at Charlotte. And, if you remember, he had his issues last year at CMS. So for Matt, nothing is a cinch at Charlotte, except Brad Keselowski’s noggin in a headlock.”

    4. Carl Edwards: Edwards took sixth at Charlotte, joining Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin, who finished fourth, in the top 10.

    “I bumped Dale Earnhardt Jr. and sent him into the wall,” Edwards said. “Now, my status with Earnhardt fans has been upgraded, from ‘unlikeable’ to ‘hated.’”

    5. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished third at Charlotte, scoring his eighth top-five result of the year. He is third in the points standings, seven behind Joey Logano.

    “NASCAR did a sorry job of cleaning the track of oil and fluid,” Truex said. “But let’s face it, if anyone’s guilty of pulling a slick one, it’s not the track at Charlotte, but Kevin Harvick at Dover.”

    6. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished ninth in the Bank Of America 500, posting his 20th top 10 of the year.

    “There were a lot of cars making contact with the wall,” Keselowski said. “The wall played as big a factor in the Charlotte race as it did in the Dover race. For further explanation, see Kevin Harvick.”

    7. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth started on the pole at Charlotte and struggled thereafter, battling tight-handling conditions and hitting the wall three times, the last of which ended his day. He eventually finished 42nd.

    “We thought we had the No. 20 Dollar General car set up perfectly for Saturday’s night race,” Kenseth said. “Then rain postponed it until Sunday. So, after a tough day on Sunday, we were a day late and a Dollar General short.

    8. Jeff Gordon: Gordon finished eighth at Charlotte and has not finished below 14th in the Chase.

    “I may be Hendrick Motorsports only hope for the title,” Gordon said. “What’s shocking is that’s a long shot.

    9. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Earnhardt found trouble early at Charlotte, hitting the wall on lap 70 after making contact with Carl Edwards, then hitting it again after running through a patch of fluid on the track.

    “Carl Edwards flat out wrecked me,” Earnhardt said. “I promise revenge is coming. It will be swift and just, and will be called ‘E-taliation.’”

    10. Kyle Busch: Busch finished a disappointing 20th, his day spoiled by an incident with Kyle Larson that damaged his car.

    “I damaged the right front of the M&M’s No. 18 Toyota after colliding with Kyle Larson entering the pits,” Busch said. “You can’t blame me for that—I hit the Target.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Bank of America 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Bank of America 500

    Starting off the Chase Contender round, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    Surprising:  While the race was at most drivers’ home tracks, there was another track, one big superspeedway that seemed to be on many driver’s minds, including the race winner Joey Logano.

    “We had a great car, the driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford said in Victory Lane. “Charlotte is everybody’s home turf and you want to make it happen here.”

    “This makes Talladega way easier.  I know that’s on everyone’s mind when this round starts and last year we won Kansas when it was the first race of this round and now we were able to get it this time at Charlotte.  We’ll get lots of sleep here the next couple of weeks.”

    This was Logano’s first win at Charlotte, his fourth victory of the season, and his ticket into the Eliminator Round for the Sprint Cup championship.

    Not Surprising:  For the third time in the season, the No. 4 Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet driven by Kevin Harvick finished runner-up to race winner Logano. This was also Harvick’s eleventh time to finish in the second spot for the season.

    “We could hang with him (Joey Logano), but I would just lose him every once in a while in traffic,” Harvick said. “It was just extremely hard to pass. But all in all, we weren’t very good all weekend and the guys just did a great job on pit road and made our car better throughout the day.”

    “And if those are the off-days, we’ll be just fine.”

    Surprising:  Dale Earnhardt, Jr. no doubt expressed the sentiment of many drivers, including himself after taking the checkered flag.

    “It ain’t over,” the driver of the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet said after finishing 28th. “Don’t worry about that. I mean, we don’t have to go to Talladega and be nervous like those guys that are going to have to play it safe. We can just go hard. So, we’ve got a great car that can win that race.”

    “We can go to Kansas and run great. I like that track and don’t see why we can’t run great there and maybe win the race there.”

    “It ain’t over.”

    Not Surprising:  Jeff Gordon was in a sunny mood, thankful for a day race instead of a night race and for finishing eighth when his teammates Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne finished 28th, 39th and 43rd respectively.

    “The day race helped us starting 22nd,” the driver of the No. 24 3M Chevrolet said. “At night, it’s so grippy and fast and it’s hard to get multiple grooves; where during the day with the sun being out and heating up the track, losing a little bit of grip, I think it helped.”

    “I thought it was a really, really strong effort.”

    Surprising:  There were just ‘too many’ for Matt Kenseth at today’s Charlotte race.  The driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota finished 42nd after having too many men over the wall too many times, too many close encounters with the outside wall, and too many mistakes on pit road.

    “Yeah, I don’t know,” Kenseth said. “Everything kind of snowballed, you know? We were real fast out front, we were kind of tight in traffic and got behind pitting and then I missed the pit stall trying to come around the 21 (Ryan Blaney) and had to back up in the pit and that put us back there, so just kind of snowballed.”

    Not Surprising:  Aric Almirola may not be chasing a championship, but he and his team feel that they are definitely onto something after finishing top-10 in the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Smithfield Ford.

    “I’m really happy with our consistency and we just have to keep working at it,” Almirola said. “We have a few more weeks to go to try and steal a win, but, otherwise, I think we’re on to something.”

    “I think we’re running a lot better and I’m really proud of everybody at Richard Petty Motorsports for bringing me these nice race cars these last six weeks.”

    Surprising:  After a close encounter with a pyrotechnics display in the Xfinity race, Austin Dillon remained on fire in the Cup race with a seventh place finish.  The driver of the No. 3 DOW – Great Stuff Chevrolet not only finished top-ten in the big show but also busted off a win in the Xfinity race earlier in the weekend.

    Not Surprising:  At a track the size of Charlotte Motor Speedway, it was not surprising that there was more action in the pits than on the track. Most notably was the collision between the two Kyles, with Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson making contact while coming to pit road.

    “I don’t know what happened,” Busch said. “Just can’t say enough about my guys – all the work that they put into these things. They don’t deserve to be put in these situations year in, year out, but we are for some reason.”

    “But it’s tough and we’re going to have to battle through with what we’ve got right now.”

    Surprising:  Battery challenge….no problem.  In spite of battery issues, Denny Hamline still managed to finish fourth, scoring highest finishing Toyota of the race.

    “I ran on the wrong battery all day so we have one battery I guess to run everything and then one to run the motor so I was draining both of them,” the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota said. “My mistake, I usually start on one and run on the other and I just got switched.”

    Not Surprising: Martin Truex Jr. could possibly have a second career operating a lemonade stand. He made the best out of a car that he thought was a bit of a lemon, finishing third in his No. 78 Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet.

    “It was just hard work and a never-give-up attitude,” Truex said. “I honestly, this morning, I was really nervous going into the race thinking we’d be lucky to run 15th with what we had in practice. And Jeff Burton asked me before the race what I thought about my car. And I was like I don’t know; I don’t feel too good about it.”

    “So, I’m just really proud of the guys for working hard. The pit stops were great on pit road. This was a big hurdle and now we go to our best track at Kansas, and hopefully getting two more.”

     

  • The White-Zone: Why the Contender Round Favors Jeff Gordon

    The White-Zone: Why the Contender Round Favors Jeff Gordon

    “The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading,” and I must unload about why the Contender Round will put the ball in Jeff Gordon’s court.

    The motto for the 24 team in the Challenger Round struck me as simply “survive and advance.” While he had a dominant car at Chicagoland, he was a 10th-place car at best in Loudon and Dover. Now that Gordon has moved on to the Contender Round, he’ll find the track lineup of Charlotte, Kansas and Talladega to his advantage.

    First is the “Beast of the Southeast.”

    Jeff Gordon has a love/hate history with Charlotte Motor Speedway. This was the track where he scored the first of his 92 career wins on May 29, 1994. He’s visited victory lane here five times and has 17 top-fives, 24 top-10s, and nine poles. Gordon has led 787 laps with an average start of 10.7, an average finish of 15.4 and he has completed 93.3 percent of the combined laps in 45 career starts.

    Now with that said, Charlotte is the ultimate hit or miss track for the driver of the No. 24 car. His 10 DNF’s here are his most at any track on the NASCAR schedule. From 2005 to 2007, he suffered five straight DNF’s. In the last five races, those five being the races with the Gen-6 car, he’s finished 35th, seventh, seventh, second and 15th. This gives him an average finish of 13.2, which is higher than his career average of 15.4 at the track. Gordon might have a better run this time around since the Chase race doesn’t require as much chasing the changes as the Coca-Cola 600, but I would say it’s wishful thinking to expect anything but a 10th-place finish.

    Where the odds truly begin to go up for Jeff Gordon is when we make our way out to the heartland and race at Kansas Speedway.

    This has been one of his more friendly tracks. He’s won three times with 11 top-fives and 13 top-10s, led 218 laps with an average start of 13.1, an average finish of 9.9 and has completed 99.2 percent of the combined laps in 19 career starts.

    His top-10 average of 68.4 percent is his eighth best behind Pocono, Phoenix, Homestead, Indianapolis, Sonoma, Martinsville and Kentucky. Gordon’s top-five average of 57.9 percent is his third best behind Sonoma and Martinsville. In his last five races at Kansas, he’s finished 13th, third, first, 14th and fourth. This gives him an average finish of 7, higher than his career average of 9.9 at the track. In May, he ran top-10 most of the race and came home fourth. I think it will be another top-five run for Big Daddy in the heartland.

    While I expect Jeff Gordon to run well at Charlotte and Kansas, what really gives me confidence in his Contender Round run is the Alabama roulette wheel (I really hope that starts catching on) of Talladega Superspeedway.

    Before I go into detail, I’m aware that after Daytona, Gordon said he was glad he only had to do this plate stuff one final time. I’m also not going to say for certain if he’ll just run in the back trying to survive and advance. I do know that, next to Dale Earnhardt Jr., Big Daddy has been the best plate racer this season. He won the pole and dominated the Daytona 500, leading 87 laps before getting caught up in the last-lap wreck on the backstretch. He also won the pole and led 47 laps here back in May where he most likely had the race won until he was busted for speeding when he locked up the brakes getting onto pit road under the sixth caution and restarted the race from the rear of the field. He was unable to work his way back to the front when the field decided to run single-file until two laps remaining. Gordon, again, was caught up in the last-lap wreck and finished 31st. While he didn’t make as much noise in July at Daytona, he did bring the car home to a sixth-place finish before getting caught in the tri-oval melee.

    You also can’t overlook the fact that Gordon has more restrictor-plate points wins than any other driver in the history of NASCAR. Before anyone goes to Wikipedia to try and tell me it’s actually Dale Earnhardt, the Intimidator only had 11 points wins in plate races – two of his Talladega wins came before the plates – while Jeff Gordon has 12. I’m not saying that Earnhardt wasn’t the best plate racer in NASCAR history, I’m just saying that Gordon is no slouch when it comes to Daytona and Talladega.

    Granted, he hasn’t won a plate race since sweeping Talladega in 2007. But it’s not a stretch to say he could get one last restrictor plate win. Regardless, it’ll be a thrill to be there in person to see Big Daddy make his final start in the hallmark style of racing in NASCAR. I also think when all is said and done, Jeff Gordon will stand victorious at the Alabama roulette wheel.

    Do you agree with my case? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. Until next time, I’ll leave you with this fact. A syzygy occurs when three astronomical bodies line up.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    The Hot 20 heading into Charlotte include…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth started on the pole after qualifying was canceled and finished seventh at Dover, easily advancing to the Contender Round.

    “And then there were 12,” Kenseth said. “Now, we’re headed to Charlotte, where speeds can reach upwards of 190 miles per hour. And, if history is any indication, the cars won’t be the only thing flying—-fists will be, as well.”

    2. Kevin Harvick: Harvick dominated at Dover leading 355 of 400 laps and winning when he had to.

    “I advanced,” Harvick said. “Jimmie Johnson retreated. And that’s certainly not the first time.”

    3. Kyle Busch: Busch finished second in the AAA 400 and advanced to the next round of The Chase for the Sprint Cup.

    “It’s all about surviving and advancing,” Busch said. “And I did them both at the same time. Add those to the list of things I can do all at once, which includes ‘Whip And Nae Nae.’”

    4. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin, already into the next round with his win at New Hampshire, finished 18th at Dover.

    “I took a nice, leisurely Sunday drive,” Hamlin said. “That wasn’t the case for everyone. I’m not saying Kevin Harvick drives like a man possessed, but he emerges from his hauler like a man possessed.”

    5. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished 15th at Dover and is one of four Joe Gibbs Racing drivers to qualify for the round of 12.

    “Kevin Harvick didn’t waste any time taking over the lead,” Edwards said. “He took off like a bat out of hell, or just like the way he left Richard Childress Racing.”

    6. Joey Logano: Logano finished 10th at Dover, posting his 23rd top-10 of the year. He advances to the Contender Round of the Chase.

    “Kevin Harvick showed why he’s the reigning champion,” Logano said. “Jimmie Johnson showed why the Chase format is his biggest obstacle to winning his seventh Cup. Sadly, it was a simple seal that ruined Jimmie’s hopes. On this day, it appeared a mechanical issue was Jimmie’s ‘Achilles Seal.’”

    7. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 16th in the AAA 400, making his way to the next round of the Chase.

    “It wasn’t pretty,” Keselowski said, “but the No. 2 Wurth Ford Fusion, after a rough start, came through when it counted. You could say it was ‘Wurth’ the wait.”

    8. Kurt Busch: Busch finished 17th at Dover and claimed his spot in the next round of the Chase.

    “I think NASCAR was a bit disappointed,” Busch said. “This was a high-pressure elimination race, and the only thing that got punched was a ticket.”

    9. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Earnhardt, needing a strong finish to make the Chase, took third at Dover to advance to the next round, but just barely. Earnhardt took the 12th and final spot, tied with Jamie McMurray in points but advancing by virtue of a tiebreaker.

    “I heard a strange sound,” Earnhardt said. “It turned out I was almost done in by a loose wheel. Ironically, I ‘squeaked’ by.”

    10. (tie): Jimmie Johnson: Johnson suffered a rear axle seal failure at Dover, forcing him to the garage and ending his hopes of advancing to the round of 12. Johnson finished 41st, and won’t be winning his seventh Sprint Cup title.

    “That was a $5 part,” Johnson said. “The sad part is, I had to pay for it.”

    10. (tie): Jeff Gordon: Gordon finished 12th at Dover and made his way to the round of 12.

    “The ‘Drive For Five’ is still alive,” Gordon said. “If I could win my fifth Sprint Cup title in my final season, it would be the most emotional experience of my life. That’s why I’m calling my quest ‘Once More With Feeling.’”

  • The Final Word – With so much on the line for so many, Dover was one hell of a race

    The Final Word – With so much on the line for so many, Dover was one hell of a race

    Dover, where the Chase hopes of four would be over by the time the haulers moved on down the road. Two came in safe, some were comfortable while others were scrambling to survive. For a pair, it pretty much was win to be in.

    Most races come down to a series of snapshots, of moments that determine their fate and those of those challenging them. For Kevin Harvick, it came early, on just the 24th lap of the 400 circuit affair. He took the lead and showed himself to be in the dominant car. For the defending champion, a win would pretty much be necessary to keep his dreams of a repeat alive.

    For Jimmie Johnson, it was lap 104. Problems in the rear end forced him to come to the garage for 37 laps, to forever sit beyond 40th, and to hope for someone to experience disaster. He did not need to move up, but he needed somebody to move back toward him. More than one would have been nicer.

    That left Jamie McMurray and Dale Earnhardt Jr. battling for the bubble spot. Well, as long as Harvick led and no one other than Johnson suffered a major failure, it was going to be either one or the other who would make it in. Just one to four points separated the pair most of the afternoon in the battle for 12th in the standings.

    With 20 to go, that two car duel had widened to a five-car fight. Suddenly, the jack problems that dropped Kurt Busch to 17th had him ahead of the pair by just two points. Kyle Busch was running second, but he was up only by a single point as Junior and McMurray were running third and fourth in the race. Ryan Newman was back to 19th, and his lead was now just a single point. Seven laps later, Brad Keselowski, 15th on the track, was himself just two points to the good in the standings. A dozen laps left, and we still did not know how it would all end. Meanwhile, as all this was going on, Harvick still was running first, Johnson was sitting near last on the track. This movie was promising to have one hell of a finale.

    “We believe we can win,” was the chant his crew serenaded their driver in Victory Lane, and they were right as Harvick advanced them to the Contender Round of the Chase. No disaster came to save the day for Johnson, so his dream of seven championships is put off for another season. As for the battle for the final berths, in the end it did come down to Earnhardt and McMurray. They finished tied in points, with the tie breaker going to the man recording the best finish amongst the three Chase races to date. On the day, Junior was third, McMurray was fourth, and that was the difference.

    Harvick joins Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin winning their way forward, as Earnhardt, Newman, the Busch brothers, and Keselowski join Martin Truex Jr., Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, and Joey Logano as, for them, the hunt continues.

    It was one hell of a race, now on to Charlotte this Saturday night to begin the next round.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Monster Mile AAA 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Monster Mile AAA 400

    The first elimination race, otherwise known as ‘It’s Over in Dover’, produced some very surprising and not surprising moments in the 46th running of the AAA 400 at the Monster Mile.

    Surprising:  Typically there are a few monstrous wrecks at Dover that collect several drivers at a time. But with the surprising lack of any major crashes and thanks to an unusual parts failure, six-time champion Jimmie Johnson was eliminated from further Chase contention.

    The driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet finished 41st, with just Jeb Burton, who solo crashed twice, and Brett Moffitt, who solo crashed once, finished behind him.

    “I don’t know exactly what happened,” Johnson said. “That’s racing. I’ve lost championships this way and I’ve won championships this way. It’s not the way we wanted to end the season, but it’s racing and there’s not much we can do.”

    “It wasn’t meant to be.”

    Not Surprising:  Promises were made and promises were kept on this race day. Kevin Harvick promised that he would stay the course, keep confident, and believe in his team. And that promise not only led him to Victory Lane but also to fulfill his other promise, to allow son Keelan to keep the Miles the Monster trophy in his room for the night after the race.

    “He’s been asking for the Monster trophy for a couple years,” Harvick said. “Before the race started, we got him a little figurine just in case things didn’t work out today so he wasn’t disappointed.”

    “I’m just so proud of everyone from Stewart-Haas Racing to do what we’ve done the last three weeks,” the driver of the No. 4 Budweiser Jimmy Johns Chevrolet continued. “We weren’t in a great position coming into today. But that’s what this team is made of and that’s what teamwork is all about.”

    “This is what it’s all about, those big-time moments.”

    This was Harvick’s first-ever win at Dover International Speedway, which made his promise keeping all the sweeter.

    Surprising:  Although advancing to the next round of the Chase for his final time ever, Jeff Gordon admitted to a major freak-out moment.

    “I wouldn’t call it ‘drama-free’, the driver of the No. 24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet said. “I was freaking out there at the end.”

    “We’ve gone through a lot and it hasn’t been pretty,” Gordon continued. “That’s kind of the way today was. We knew we needed to be in the top 10 or top 11, or maybe 12th, if we were lucky. We did that.”

    “Until the end, when that caution came out and people swapped-up their strategy; we just got ate up on that restart and were falling back and I didn’t know what was going to happen. So, it wasn’t easy.”

    “We’ll reset and go see what we can do in the next three (races).”

    Not Surprising:  It was the best of times and the worst of times for the driver of the No. 15 5-hour Energy Toyota. Clint Bowyer started the race in Dover in the worst of positions due to a significant penalty and then finished 14th, which was not good enough to advance to the next round of the Chase.

    “Our 5-hour ENERGY Toyota was good today – I’d say a top-five car,” Bowyer said after the race. “We just had some bad luck with that loose wheel early on. We got two laps down but were able to make those up.”

    “Real proud of everyone at Michael Waltrip Racing for all their hard work to get us in the Chase. Just sorry we aren’t able to go to the next round.”

    The MWR driver did experience the best of times prior to the race, however, as he secured his future racing prospects. Bowyer announced that he will race for HScott Motorsports in 2016 and then will fill the seat of the retiring Tony Stewart in 2017.

    Surprising:  Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates had a great Dover race, with Jamie McMurray finishing fourth and Kyle Larson finishing ninth.  And even though he missed the Chase due to a tiebreaker with Dale Earnhardt, Jr., McMurray was surprisingly able to celebrate that good finish.

    “We were driving so hard those last few laps,” McMurray said. “We haven’t run this well so I’m thrilled with our performance today. We weren’t able to make it to the next round, but it was a good day for this team. We just needed one more point.”

    Not Surprising:  It was the good, the bad, and the ugly for the driver of the No. 2 Wurth Ford Fusion.

    “We survived kind of ugly today, but I’d rather survive ugly than not survive pretty,” Keselowski said after finishing 16th while still moving on to the next round of the Chase. “We’ll take it and move on and realize that everything we’ve done from this point in the season doesn’t really mean anything.”

    “Everything is back to scratch and that’s probably a good thing for us this year.”

    Surprising:  Aric Almirola, behind the wheel of the No. 43 Nathan’s Famous Ford, was the highest finishing Ford, snatching a fifth place finish from the Monster.

    “That was a good run for us,” Almirola said. “I’m really proud of the guys.  That’s two top-5s in a row here at Dover.  It was a really good job.  We just struggled with getting the car in the racetrack most of the day and right there at the end four tires paid off for us.  That was some really good adjustments by Trent and the guys and the pit crew did a good job getting me off pit road and just a really solid day for us.”

    Not Surprising:  There was another weird animal sighting during this race, following squirrels, foxes and other various critters at some of the other tracks. This time, it was a duck that caused a bit of chaos, landing on the track and then flying off to rest on pit road.

    Surprising:  While every other driver was worrying about the points and where they were running, there was one driver who was taking a devil may care attitude towards it all. Kyle Busch, behind the wheel of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota, finished in the runner-up position, which was good enough to move forward with his championship hopes.

    “I wasn’t doing any thinking about the points,” Kyle Busch said. “I think when you’re in the position that we were in when we were running second there the whole race, you don’t have to watch it.”

    “You just do the best you can and that was the best that we were going to do today. Fortunately, we came out with that finish and second-place was what we needed to do.”

    “The points reset so we’re back even with those guys and hopefully we can have a good, solid next three races.”

    Not Surprising:  In spite of not having a single driver in the Chase, Roush Fenway Racing continues to improve as they look to the 2016 season. Their best finishing driver at Dover was Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., who finished top ten, in fact in the eighth position.

    “I’m really proud of my team,” Stenhouse said. “We didn’t get much practice this weekend due to the weather but felt like we had a strong Fastenal Ford during the limited practice we had on Saturday. We’ve been focusing on being consistent and we have finished inside the top-20 the past four races. We will keep building and take the momentum into the off-season as we prepare for the 2016 season.”

    Surprising: There was one driver that was still upset in spite of working his way from the rear of the field to finish ninth. Martin Truex Jr. was sent to the back from pit road due to the right rear being bowed out and had to work his way forward in order to move to the next round in the Chase.

    “We don’t do anything that any of the other teams don’t do,” Truex Jr. said. “They tried to make an example out of us for some reason today. We just stayed focused. We didn’t have a great car, but we fought it and fought it.”

    “We did what we needed to do.”

    Not Surprising:  Forget the Monster, at least one driver moving forward in the Chase had his eye on the next biggest challenge, Talladega. Joey Logano pulled off a tenth place finish at Dover but was definitely looking ahead to the next round.

    “It’s nice to race that way, but we’re back to zero now,” the driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford said. “I think this next round is the most important. It’s really hard to get through it when you look at Charlotte, Kansas and Talladega in particular.”

     

  • Week Three of The Chase and Danger Approaches

    Week Three of The Chase and Danger Approaches

    Waiting until week three to comment on the Chase is probably unorthodox, but, as many readers know, hating the Chase is typical of old-timers like this writer. It’s like a team that was horrible all season and barely got in the playoffs still has a chance to win it all. It’s almost unfair. It’s obvious that the format is popular among those fans who are left (most of those who have followed the sport for more than 20 years are gone), and that is alright. So, we have to listen as television and radio guys want to talk non-stop on who is going to be the champion. Once this week a whole call-in show was dedicated to who the final four would be. What a crapshoot.

    As it is in these kinds of formats, designed after stick and ball sports, it matters not how your whole season goes, but who gets hot at the end. Remember the wild card teams in baseball who won about 86 games and eliminated the team that won 100 for the season? That’s where we are in this year’s Chase. Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch are in trouble. Harvick finished in the Top Five at what seemed like every race and Busch’s season since May has been unbelievable. Yet, here they are in a situation where they almost have to win to move to the next round. Both won’t win. Add Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the list. One cannot imagine the wailing and gnashing of teeth if Junior doesn’t make it, but that’s the magic of the Chase, or so they say.

    Harvick has had the worst luck. Obviously, his Stewart-Haas team has arguably been the best team all year. He’s only won twice, but he has been a threat in what seems like every race and finished second so many times. Now he faces elimination. A dustup with Jimmie Johnson at Chicago and running out of fuel at New Hampshire and now it’s do or die. Please remember that Dover is not one of Harvick’s best tracks.

    Being appalled at television coverage is nothing new. While NBCSN had no trouble documenting the push from Harvick in the motor coach lot last week, they pretty much ignored that Greg Biffle finished fourth and was a threat to win the race. It was a big deal for Roush Fenway Racing, but Biffle is not in the Chase, so all the attention was elsewhere, which is my main criticism of the Chase format. While media concentrates on who’s in and who’s out, who’s in trouble or who’s not, we miss milestones that used to be a big deal. It’s not anymore. It’s all about the championship. I can remember a time when Pearson, Yarborough, and Petty won championships and the races still meant something. Those days are gone. Sadly.

    This week, we also saw that a second driver decided to retire at a young age. First it was Jeff Gordon who announced late last year, and now Tony Stewart. Both are in their early 40’s, and it just doesn’t seem right. I first met Stewart at Rockingham in (I think) 1996 when Stewart and Matt Kenseth were racing for the win. Kenseth won the race but used the chrome horn to get by him. Tony was like one of my heroes, A.J. Foyt. He wasn’t a happy camper. He was gracious. I didn’t have any contact after that until the Sprint Media Tour in 2014 when I noticed the difficulty Stewart was having walking. I had broken my ankle at Bristol and in recovery myself. I had the opportunity to exchange notes with Smoke on broken bones. He was funny, sarcastic and just Tony. I will miss him.

    Many have talked about the void that may have caused NASCAR to lose fans starting with the death of Dale Earnhardt. I’ve witnessed that over the last few years. Fans still come in the campgrounds (the most loyal fans) with their big black and white No. 3 flags but many more have 24 and 14 flags. This is another stumbling point for the sanctioning body. As many more icons leave the sport, what will be the effect? Earnhardt was bigger than life, but Gordon and Stewart were the younger generation’s big heroes. That generation has grown up, but many former Earnhardt fans moved to Stewart, Gordon, and Dale Junior. It’s another crisis that NASCAR has to deal with now. The sport is strong, but will the Chase, which probably will eliminate two strong contenders in the first round, and the retirements, have the effect that that horrible day at Daytona caused. We will see.