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Finley Factor: Daytona Nights-The Ballad of Ricky Allen
Sunday night under the lights at Daytona will be both an ending and a beginning.

NBC will be covering its first Sprint Cup race since 2006 and I’m excited to see what they have after FOX kicked the season off with some of the worst coverage I’ve ever seen. Constant production mistakes, announcers giving false or misguided information, biased studio analysts, constant commercials, and a terrible pre-race “grid walk.”

The walk, in particular, ripped off from Will Buxton’s Formula One segments, is a constant embarrassment and has got to go next year. Instead of Buxton’s professionalism and talk of things relevant to the in-race action, FOX has Michael Waltrip run from car to car, breathing hard and making poor attempts at comedy. Quite possibly the lowest point of the entire NASCAR season has been Waltrip spilling a taco over Denny Hamlin’s race car.

To be completely honest, Waltrip is completely useless on the FOX broadcasts. Jeff Hammond is on hand and can provide just as good, if not better, analysis. Hammond also doesn’t have a bias like Waltrip does, which is always a negative when it comes to sports broadcasting. I don’t like it when analysts have a stake in the game/race they are talking about. It is just unfair to all other teams talked about during pre and post race coverage. I wasn’t thrilled when Brad Daugherty worked for ESPN while covering NASCAR but at the very least JTG Daugherty wasn’t really that relevant until the end of ESPN’s run.

So far, I like what NBC is doing. Nobody in the broadcast booth has called a Cup series race, but I’ve felt for years that Rick Allen’s call of the Truck Series has been the highlight of FOX’s coverage of the series. Jeff Burton did a great job covering XFINITY races for ESPN part-time while Steve Letarte has potential but needs some seasoning.

I even like the pre-race crew. Nobody really has a bias in today’s NASCAR. The closest would be Kyle Petty with Richard Petty Motorsports, but even then I don’t believe Kyle has a stake in the team. Dale Jarrett is better in the studio than he is in the booth while Krista Voda has been very good in her role as host for FOX’s Truck Series coverage for years.

The closest thing I have to a problem is with Rutledge Wood, who is only really bad when he has a show all to himself, Trackside, and is fine in small spurts.

There’s definitely talent in the NBC crew, but now let’s see how the actual coverage is. If anything, they should be better than FOX at the very least.

Sunday will mark the final start for Jeff Gordon at Daytona. Gordon holds six points victories at this track, including three Daytona 500’s, along with two Sprint Unlimited wins and five Budweiser Duel wins. Gordon, however, hasn’t won at Daytona since 2009 and hasn’t won a points race since 2005 when he won his third Daytona 500.

Although unconfirmed, it may also be the final Daytona race for Bobby Labonte in the No. 32 Ford for Go Green Racing. The 2000 Cup champion holds no points wins at Daytona, but has a single Duel win and finished second to Dale Earnhardt Sr. when he won the 1998 Daytona 500 in one of the most famous races in history.

Daytona Predictions

From now on I’ve decided to name two drivers for each category instead of just one. The reality is that most weekends there is no clear cut favorite/sleeper/dark horse, and with 43 teams in each race it’s hard to talk about only three teams.

Favorites

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a better average finish than any other driver in the past 10 plate races at 10.5 and is tied with Jimmie Johnson in both wins and top-10s. Johnson has an average finish of 12.1 and one more top-five than Dale Earnhardt Jr. in those same races.

Sleepers

Although Clint Bowyer hasn’t won a plate race since joining Michael Waltrip Racing, the Kansas native is typically out front and center near the end of these races.

Dark horses

Casey Mears has been super impressive in plate races the last few years and he knows this is the last real shot the small Germain Racing team has at winning and making the Chase. It’s strange to call the defending race winner a dark horse, but that’s what Aric Almirola is this week. Although he hasn’t been too impressive in these races, the reality is that he was leading, not in the middle or a pit cycle or anything like that, when the race was called last year, and under the unpredictable Florida sky, anything can happen.

I try not to bring politics into any NASCAR writings, but this week I’m making an exception to that.

As most who are reading this have heard, NASCAR has come out against the public display of the Confederate Flag at races. Having been to Martinsville and Richmond, I can, in fact, confirm that many NASCAR fans believe the Civil War is still going on.

Many of these fans have complained about their first amendment rights being taken away by NASCAR, and constantly claim that the Confederate Flag has more than one meaning. They believe that they are in the right and NASCAR, for condemning the flag, is in the wrong.

Here are some basic facts about this issue that these people need to read:
1. A racetrack has the right to tell you not to fly any flag, just like how you have the right not to go to said racetrack.
2. NASCAR is not the government and thus cannot tell you not to fly a flag when not at their racetrack.
3. The Confederate Flag was the symbol of a traitorous non-country that helped to usher in the worst war in the history of the United States.
4. In said war, white men fought under said flag for their right to enslave African Americans. Even though some fought for other reasons, at the end of the day this was the principal reason for the Confederacy’s existence to begin with.
It simply doesn’t matter if the Confederate Flag stands for something else. The Swastika is and was a symbol for luck, eternity, and even God himself in most Asian cultures long before Hitler got his hands on it. Does that make it right to be flown in this country? No, but you have the right to fly it on private property, just like with the Confederate Flag.

Not to mention, if the flag is really such an integral part of our sport, why is nobody in it defending its usage? The fact is that it’s a niche flag being flown by people who do it just because they hate the government. Not one person I’ve ever seen flying it has been happy with the administration in power at the time, and within this commonality, most don’t think about what needs to be looked at such as those who hand out political flyers at racetracks; disdain and an annoyance. Political statements shouldn’t be made at races.

All stats for the Finley Factor are provided by Racing Reference unless otherwise noted.
July 2, 2015
Hot 20 – Daytona’s banner should wave over the land of the free, not the home of the enslaved

As the action returns to Daytona, Florida this weekend, I must admit something. I love the look of the Confederate battle flag. I love the stories of Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and James Longstreet. I loved the Dukes of Hazzard, good ole boys, and good ole girls even better. Junior was the name of Mr. Johnson or Hank’s boy. I think Copperhead Road is one hell of a song, and even Lincoln liked the tune of Dixie. Then there is Nathan Bedford Forrest, Jim Crow, and an additional century of institutionalized racism to consider, all equally associated with the rebel banner.

Many years ago, while visiting Florida, I bought a belt buckle bearing that symbol. I cannot wear it for the same reason it should no longer fly at NASCAR tracks. Variations of it flew from 1861-1865 leading the way for Confederate armies into battle in their fight to defend the southern way of life, of which slavery was a main component. Maybe it could have survived that connection, as it has up to this point. Still, you cannot ignore its association since with segregation and the racist policies and actions of the following hundred years since the Civil War, all of which has made it a contemporary political and social lightening rod.

Some will argue that such a ban also treads on the southern way of life, forgetting that southern blacks especially are not newcomers to the party. Their ancestors have also been part of the fabric of the region since the very beginning. As much as its reminds some of bravery on the field or a romanticized lost cause, it is also an insulting, insensitive reminder of a people held in bondage, a denial of civil rights and white supremacy. I cannot see how the two views can be reconciled today. Can you?

The Hot 20 returning to Daytona Sunday night include…

1. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 4 WINS (546 Points)
One darn caution too many spoiled his road tour.

2. KEVIN HARVICK – 2 WINS (616 Points)
Jack car up, take tire off, put tire on…before dropping the damn jack.

3. KURT BUSCH – 2 WINS (469 Points)
He wins one week, his brother wins the next week. See, sharing with siblings can be fun.

4. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 WIN (563 Points)
This week, Martin remembers his family, his friends, his country and, no doubt, David Ragan.

5. JOEY LOGANO – 1 WIN (559 Points)
Seemed to do alright the last time he was at Daytona.

6. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 1 WIN (545 Points)
Sonoma was fun, but Daytona is a family tradition.

7. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 1 WIN (505 Points)
If you call him Joey, that is how he’ll sign the autograph.

8. MATT KENSETH – 1 WIN (479 Points)
Going from one of his worst venues to one of his favorites.

9. DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN (438 Points)
Has yet to win at Daytona, but he has come close enough to bear watching.

10. CARL EDWARDS – 1 WIN (405 Points)
Had he done to Ragan what Ragan had done to Martin, all would have been well.

11. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 497 POINTS
Won on only four tracks; once at Indy, twice each at Charlotte, Talladega, and Sunday’s venue.

12. KASEY KAHNE – 483 POINTS
Last two summer races at Daytona resulted in fireworks of the unappreciated kind.

13. JEFF GORDON – 462 POINTS
Memo to crew: Take out spring rubber, walk with spring rubber, gently place it over the wall.

14. PAUL MENARD – 452 POINTS
Being consistently 14th or 15th is okay, but being consistently ninth or 10th would be even better.

15. RYAN NEWMAN – 435 POINTS
If this becomes a horse race to be won by just a neck…

16. ARIC ALMIROLA – 431 POINTS
When he shaves, he sees Clint standing behind him in the mirror.

17. CLINT BOWYER – 430 POINTS
Sixteenth in actual accumulated points…but Carl has the win and he does not.

18. KYLE LARSON – 390 POINTS
To my knowledge, has never posted a yoga video.

19. DANICA PATRICK – 377 POINTS
Okay, her yoga video is hard to ignore, just like her appearances on this list week after week.

20. GREG BIFFLE – 368 POINTS
The Biff needs a win, but few think he has a car that can. That must bug him.

July 1, 2015
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Sonoma

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished sixth at Sonoma, passed by eventual winner Kyle Busch with six laps remaining. Johnson is fourth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 70 out of first.

“Maybe we should have pitted during that final caution,” Johnson said. “But we had a strategy and we wanted to stick to it. I’m not one to question any decision Chad Knaus makes. If he says ‘Jump,’ usually I say ‘How high?’ Chad then says, ‘1/32 of an inch beyond NASCAR specifications.’

“Busch was driving like a man possessed. He really took this Sonoma ‘making wine from grapes’ thing to heart and ‘stepped on it.’”

2. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished fourth at Sonoma, posting his eleventh top-five result of the year. He’s on top of the points standings with a 53-point lead on Martin Truex Jr.

“Congratulations to Kyle Busch on his win,” Harvick said. “He’s one step closer to making the Chase. That means that Kyle, along with his brother Kurt, will both likely make the Chase. And just when I thought I was done with the ‘terrible two’s.’”

3. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex’s day at Sonoma ended early when he was wrecked by David Ragan on lap 31. Truex finished 42nd, his worst finish of the year.

“Ragan just plain ran me off the road,” Truex said. “He was driving that Michael Waltrip Racing No. 55 sponsored by Aaron Rents. I promise there will be revenge. Much like a sucker who rents furniture at outrageous interest rates from a place like that, there will be ‘hell to pay.’”

4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Earnhardt finished seventh in the Save Mart 350 as Hendrick Motorsports drivers took positions 6, 7 and 8. Jimmie Johnson finished sixth, Kasey Kahne took eighth and Jeff Gordon came home 16th.

“We’ve got Microsoft 10 sponsorship on the No. 88 car,” Earnhardt said. “That just shows you how times have changed in NASCAR. My father used to call some of his rivals tiny and weak, or ‘Microsoft.’

“As you know, I became engaged a couple of weeks ago. I’m sure I disappointed a lot of female Junior Nation members. But let’s face it, I’m just a bit out of their league. I wouldn’t touch them with a 10-Foot Coors Light Pole,’ much less ask them to marry me.”

5. Joey Logano: Logano finished fifth at Sonoma, posting his eighth top-five result of the year.

“What a run by Kyle Busch,” Logano said. “With Sonoma being wine country and me being ‘Sliced Bread,’ I’d like to propose a ‘toast.’”

6. Kurt Busch: Busch started second on the grid at Sonoma and finished second to younger brother Kyle Busch in the Toyota Save Mart 350.

“Kyle celebrated with a glass of wine in Victory Circle,” Busch said. “And I’m so happy for him. People like it better when the Busch brothers are happy. When we’re not, it’s a case of fortified ‘whine.’”

7. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski struggled to a 19th-place finish in the Toyota Save Mart 350.

“Brian France wants to remove the Confederate flag from NASCAR,” Keselowski said. “And he’s not just whistling Dixie. But let’s be real. The one flag NASCAR needs to get rid of most is the yellow.”

8. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth started third at Sonoma and finished 21st as Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch charged to the win.

“Now all four Joe Gibbs Racing drivers have a win this season,” Kenseth said. “This time, Kyle Busch drove his tail off, as opposed to his leg. Then he did donuts in Victory Lane and donuts are the closest he wants to get to the police these days.”

9. Kasey Kahne: Kahne finished eighth in the Toyota Save Mart 350 at Sonoma, recording his sixth top 10 of the year.

“Now that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is engaged,” Kahne said, “I’m now NASCAR’s most eligible bachelor. But I’m in no hurry to get hitched. Let’s just say I like to play the field, which means I’m currently involved with 43 women.”

10. Kyle Busch: Busch won for the first time this year and a mere five weeks after returning from a broken leg suffered at Daytona in February, taking the Toyota Save Mart 350.

“For those who doubted my ability after such an injury,” Busch said, “this win in Northern California wine country should put a cork in it.

“The road course at Sonoma has more twists and turns than the Kurt Busch-Patricia Driscoll saga. I think Kurt now knows better than to get involved with an assassin. We’ll see whether women will know better than to get involved with an ass.”

June 30, 2015
The Final Word – Kyle turns it up, turns it left, and turns it right at Sonoma like a FOX on the run

Win and you are in, or so the saying goes. Well, not if it is only your fifth race, 16 events into the season. However, running together a string of 10 straight Top Fifteens or better is easier than taking one of these contests, and Kyle Busch checked that off his “to do” list at Sonoma Sunday.

A late caution allowed him to swing in for fresh tires that he used to maximum effect as he got by Jimmie Johnson then held off Clint Bowyer and his brother for the victory. It marked his 30th Cup decision, but he now needs to get himself in the Top 30 in the season standings. He currently sits 136 points distant behind Cole Whitt for that final eligible spot where wins matter. Whitt, who has an average finish of just beyond 27th, was 22nd on Sunday, so Busch gained 25 points on the day.

Brother Kurt was second, and one does wonder just how hard he was trying to break his sibling’s heart. I am sure I know what Kurt would say, but he did not seem terribly broken up by the outcome. Bowyer jumped 25 points ahead of Carl Edwards, in points, but without a win that does not matter. Where it does matter, Clint is just a point behind the equally winless Aric Almirola, and five in arrears of Ryan Newman for the final two Chase places.

Albert Hammond was prophetic when he sang “It doesn’t rain in California,” so we saw none. What we did see was Casey Mears coming to a halt after a rear tire and attached axle housing broke free and outpaced him down the track. We saw Martin Truex Jr. force David Ragan wide into the dirt, but a small nudge later and it was Truex heading into the tires along the fence. Later, Edwards tried to avoid going off the track, nudged Ragan, and both of them found the fence. Carl was literally left sitting in 40th place.

Jeff Gordon came in to have a spring rubber removed. That takes time, and it is quicker for a crewman to toss it over the car and over the wall. Too bad NASCAR has a thing about that, so instead of re-starting 26th, he was 28th, but 36th on the track at the end of the longest line. Sixteenth was his fate. Matt Kenseth had a flat that turned into a departing carcass, but no caution, as he hit the pits and his day did the same, landing him in 21st. A.J. Allmendinger was strong early, but a fuel pressure problem crippled his day to leave him 37th.

Some seem to do well no matter what. Kevin Harvick was fourth, which is not a surprise, except for the disastrous pit stop that saw the jack come down before his left rear was even placed on the car. The end of hope for some, a beginning of a challenge for others, it would seem.

Ten races are left before the Chase positions are decided, with six of the 16 current position holders still winless, facing various degrees of vulnerability. With Kyle’s win, 32 drivers are still in the hunt, including Justin Allgaier, himself just a point behind Whitt in the rankings. A win at Daytona next Sunday would sure be sweet.

Last weekend marked the end of the NASCAR season on FOX, with Larry McReynolds leaving the announce booth in favor of Jeff Gordon when they return next February. That ends a 15-year partnership with Mike and Darrell. Personally, I think the wrong guy is leaving to join Michael Waltrip and Chris Myers down in the studio, but I do not make these Boogity-Boogity-Boogity decisions. Next week, NBC arrives back on the scene with Rick Allen, Steve Letarte and Jeff Burton doing the honors.

At Daytona, we wait to see if we have a repeat winner or a new kid in the mix. We will see how the battle settles between Newman, Almirola and Bowyer for the final spots on points. We will watch how Kyle does in relation to Whitt and Allgaier. We will listen and watch, and no doubt evaluate, the new television crew. Finally, it is Daytona in the summer. What else do you need to tune in?

June 29, 2015
Sonoma Raceway Sprint Cup Preview – Just the Facts

With only 11 races remaining in the regular season, the action heats up as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to Sonoma Raceway this weekend for some road course action in California.

Did you Know?

• The NSCS competes at Sonoma Raceway once each season. The first Cup race was held there in 1989.
• Ricky Rudd won the first race on June 11, 1989 at a speed of 76.088 mph.
• Rusty Wallace won the inaugural pole with a 90.041 mph lap.
• Danica Patrick is the only female NSCS driver that has competed at Sonoma Raceway.
• Dale Earnhardt won his only NASCAR road course race at Sonoma in 1995.
• The last 10 races have produced 10 different winners:

2005 – Tony Stewart
2006 – Jeff Gordon
2007 – Juan Pablo Montoya
2008 – Kyle Busch
2009 – Kasey Kahne
2010 – Jimmie Johnson
2011 – Kurt Busch
2012 – Clint Bowyer
2013 – Martin Truex Jr.
2014 – Carl Edwards

Winners and Losers:

• Kurt Busch has the best driver rating at Sonoma (106.5) followed by Jeff Gordon (103.4) and Tony Stewart (98.8).
• Gordon’s resume, however, may be the most impressive as he leads the series with nine road course wins, five at Sonoma and four at Watkins Glen. Although his last triumph was in 2006, this could be one of his best opportunities to bring home his first checkered flag of the season.
He is the only driver with consecutive wins at this track, with three victories between the years 1998-2000. Gordon is also the lone competitor to win from the pole more than once (1998, 1999 and 2004) and he leads the series with 14 top-five finishes at Sonoma.
• Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are at the other end of the spectrum. They have the dubious distinction of leading all active drivers with the most NSCS starts at Sonoma (15) with no wins to show for their efforts. A trip to Victory Lane would be huge for either driver but if their driver ratings at the track are any indication, Earnhardt (72.1) and Kenseth (75.4) are long shots at best.

Milestones:

• Brad Keselowski is set to make his 300th NSCS consecutive start on June 28 at Sonoma Raceway.
• If Kevin Harvick places in the top-two this Sunday, he will accomplish something that only one other driver in NSCS history has done by capturing 11 top-two finishes in the first 16 races of the season. Bobby Allison did so in 1972.
• Carl Edwards is tied with Dale Earnhardt Jr. with 24 series career wins. A win at Sonoma would tie him with Joe Weatherly and Denny Hamlin who are 29th on the all-time wins list with 25.

Ten different drivers have secured their spot in the Chase with a victory this year. Will a new driver emerge victorious at Sonoma Raceway this weekend? Tune into the Toyota/Save Mart 350 on FOX Sports 1 Sunday, June 28 at 3 p.m. to find out.

June 25, 2015
Hot 20 – If you are seeking some racing excitement, Sonoma will be worth tuning in

Make the racing better. That seems to be what NASCAR is locked into and bless ‘em for trying. Outside of running all the races at Daytona, Talladega and Bristol, it is a challenge. The good old days had winners taking the flag by laps, not seconds, so no solution can be found there.

A new rules package is being looked at, one that might allow a car to catch an opponent, get up beside him, or her, and actually make a pass. That should not be a problem this Sunday at Sonoma. Unlike their Formula One counterparts, these boys, and girl, will use a fender to gain an advantage and cause things to happen. If you want nice clean racing where speed is king, watch the ponies. If you want excitement, you might want to catch the action on the asphalt from California.

Our Hot 20 heading to Sonoma include…

1. Jimmie Johnson – 4 WINS (506 Points)
What makes Jimmie so appealing? All those NASCAR penalties they keep fighting.

2. Kevin Harvick – 2 WINS (576 Points)
15 races, 1200 laps led. I think Harv likes being champion.

3. Kurt Busch – 2 WINS (426 Points)
Once upon a time missing three races killed a season. Times have changed.

4. Martin Truex Jr. – 1 WIN (561 Points)
Got the win, all he needs now is a new contract. A sponsor not named Visser would sure help.

5. Joey Logano – 1 WIN (520 Points)
Joey Sharkgano?

6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 1 WIN (508 Points)
First me, now Junior. Yes, all the good ones are now taken.

7. Brad Keselowski – 1 WIN (480 Points)
Does Penske lose both of its drivers in Sharknado 3?

8. Matt Kenseth – 1 WIN (456 Points)
Ross gives Pops a Top Ten on a Father’s Day outing in Chicago.

9. Denny Hamlin – 1 WIN (412 Points)
Denny is part of the council. Does that mean he knows Gandalf and Gimli?

10. Carl Edwards- 1 WIN (401 Points)
Last year he gave everybody the gears as he went left and right to victory at Sonoma.

11. Jamie McMurray – 454 POINTS
With the Truex victory, Mac is now the best without a win…something he has not done since 2010.

12. Kasey Kahne – 447 POINTS
Outside of Bristol and Talladega, worst finish is 17th, best is fourth. At least he is consistent.

13. Jeff Gordon – 434 POINTS
Top Ten at Sonoma…darn near a guaranteed result.

14. Paul Menard – 421 POINTS
The Chase is the goal, and as it appears Crew Chief Justin Alexander is a problem solver…

15. Aric Almirola – 401 POINTS
Feels Bowyer’s breath behind him as they take on a track where success has remained elusive.

16. Ryan Newman – 400 POINTS
His odds on Sunday are as bad as Junior, Kenseth, and Hamlin…but they already have their wins.

17. Clint Bowyer – 388 POINTS
If there is a track the gent can make up some ground, it is this one.

18. Kyle Larson – 361 POINTS
He may appear to be 13, but he turns 23 in a month.

19. Danica Patrick – 357 POINTS
Just when I start thinking of her as just a driver…I catch her Instagram photos.

20. Greg Biffle – 351 POINTS
Instagram or not, I view the Biff as just a driver. Trust me.

June 24, 2015
Finley Factor: Putting A Muzzle On The Dog

The lottery is really just a volunteer tax. Every week thousands upon thousands of people attempt to win it, in spite of the one in million(s) odds. Every week, these same thousands upon thousands of people don’t win the big money and decide to try again next week.

NASCAR’s version of the lottery? The free lap rule.

It’s a fairly easy rule to explain – like the lottery – to explain to those playing. If a caution comes out and a driver is the first a lap or more down (and they did not cause said caution), they become the “lucky dog” and gain a free lap.

Like the lottery, most “lucky dogs” win it by pure luck with no actual indicator of skill. They are simply lapped right before the caution comes out and if it had been even another lap, the leader would have lapped yet another driver. And if there are multiple cautions in a single period, congratulations, everybody gets their lap back!

The reality is that no driver has won a race after winning the free pass in five years now. Kevin Harvick was the last to do so, at Daytona in 2010, and only eight times in the 12-year history of the rule has a driver won after being the “lucky dog”.

If anything, the only factor the free pass rule has on most races is that lapped cars now have extra incentive to “race” each other. This is a code word for “ignore other cars and just get in the way of lead lap cars.”

Other than that, it has no real effect on racing and only serves to make racing sound better in PR statements – “We’ve had X amount of cars finish on the lead lap this year, we’re at the most competitive point in racing history”- and overall is just a waste of time.

Like the lottery.

Sonoma Raceway Preview:

Favorite

Jeff Gordon has to be the favorite this week. Even though he has not won at Sonoma in the past five years, he has an incredible 3.8 average finish over that same period, making Sonoma his best track on the Cup schedule.

Sleeper

Jimmie Johnson only has a single win at a road course but it came here, and like Gordon, he is riding a streak of five top-10s in the last five years here.

One to Watch

I’m interested to see how Kevin Harvick does this week. This is a good track for him, but he only finished 20th here last year. Now that this team has some experience together, they should definitely improve on that.

I’m getting tired of writing about Danica Patrick, especially because I feel she is performing decently this year, but here we go again.

I would like to provide a rebuttal to an article posted on motorsport.com, in particular, one written by news manager Steven Cole Smith about Danica Patrick possibly being a future Hall of Famer.

Overall I feel Mr. Smith didn’t exactly provide a good argument, as there are plenty of holes in his article that should be pointed out. The Orlando Sentential has already looked at one of them, I’m going to do the rest of the hard work.

“And while she may not yet have compiled sheer statistics that would send her to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, the fact that she has been the first female driver to prove that a woman – particularly a woman that isn’t built like a roller derby jammer – can survive season after season in what has always been, and still is, a man’s sport.”

Granted she has finished no higher than 27th in practically Hendrick equipment the last two seasons, but hey, it isn’t like her boss is doing a lot better this year.

“All that said, yes, Patrick doesn’t have a win, but look at her stats this season: As we approach the halfway mark, she is 19th in points, ahead of Greg Biffle (20th), Sam Hornish Jr. (25th), her car owner, Tony Stewart (26th), and her boyfriend, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (28th).

That shows competence. And for a slot in the Hall of Fame, I contend that’s plenty for a pioneer. I’m not remotely saying that her situation mirrors the struggle that Hall of Famer Wendell Scott faced as the first black driver to make a living in NASCAR, but there are similarities.

But Scott’s first real season with NASCAR in 1961 when he competed in 23 of 52 races that year, winning $3,240, came a stunning 52 years before a woman ran a full season, when Patrick did in 2013.”

Competence should never be the skill level of a driver in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The reality is that Wendell Scott was a good driver; he didn’t have the hard stats (i.e. wins) to prove it, but you have to remember his situation. He was running cars out of his backyard and had his children as his primary crew working on them.

Just the fact that he was able to make it to the racetrack was remarkable, never mind his three top-10 points finishes and an average finish of 15th throughout his career.

Granted, those results were a little inflated due to smaller fields and fewer drivers running full time versus today, but Scott still had 147 top-10 finishes in 495 starts, roughly a top-10 every 3.3 races.

Scott was a very consistent driver, similar in many ways to other “strokers” in Cup at the time, including James Hylton and Richard Childress. Nobody had the money the big teams had; they only raced out of pure love for the sport.

Meanwhile, Patrick, save for a fuel mileage win in IndyCar at Motegi, hasn’t won a professional race in 10 years of trying. And for at least the past 10 years, from Motorola to GoDaddy to whatever will be on the No. 10 next season, she has always had big money sponsors.

In seven years in IndyCar, she had an average finish of 10.6 in usually a 20 or so car field, only seven podiums, and a pathetic 124 laps led.

The fact is that she has been a journeyman driver, and as I’ve said, I think her peak is ultimately going to be at the Paul Menard level, she is an incredibly average driver that will contend for a spot in the Chase but probably won’t get it.

“Add to that the attention Patrick brought, and is still bringing, to stock car racing. She arguably brought along her IndyCar fans, as well as female fans who identified more with her than, say, Jimmy Spencer.”

How long did these IndyCar fans stay? Apparently not very long since ratings were down in 2014 after being slightly up in 2013, her rookie year. And even then, with the introduction of the Gen 6 and a few other things, the rating increase in 2013 may not have been only because of Patrick.

Not to mention – what IndyCar fans? NASCAR has been heads and shoulders above IndyCar when it comes to the pure number of fans for many years. IndyCar has been stuck on Versus/NBCSN for years and the only reason NASCAR is going on that network to begin with is to build said network up to someday compete with ESPN. And, of course, I’d cite attendance numbers, but NASCAR doesn’t publically give them out anymore. mainly because of how embarrassing the numbers are, nd are actively tearing down grandstands to reduce seating capacity.

None of this is Patrick’s fault of course, but she definitely brought in either no fans, a miniscule amount of fans long term, or the people she brings in are being outpaced by the people not caring about racing anymore, which is pretty frightening if true.

As far as female fans…. There has always been roughly a 30-40 percent female audience for NASCAR since the 90’s. I’m not going to argue that there are women who became a fan of Patrick when she made the switch, but that doesn’t make a huge difference when the overall number of fans is going down.

“And speaking of IndyCar, no migrant to NASCAR has been able to duplicate the success of Tony Stewart, including Juan Pablo Montoya, Dario Franchitti and Indy 500 winner Hornish, who is still struggling to establish himself. Patrick has.”

Hold up, hold up. Granted Montoya didn’t “duplicate the success of Tony Stewart,” but he still won races and made the Chase in 2009. Somehow he isn’t as successful as Patrick, who did “duplicate the success of Tony Stewart.” By this point in his Cup career (97 starts), Stewart had 10 wins and 33 top-fives, with a highest points finish of fourth and was in the middle of a season where he’d be the runner up for the championship. Patrick has no wins, no top fives, has a highest points finish of 27th and is on track to finish the current season in the high teens in points. Granted this is a very unfair comparison but I’m not the one making it, I’m just adding numbers to said comparison.

“Is there anyone who can say Danica Patrick hasn’t been very, very good for racing in general, NASCAR in particular?”

Ford has been very, very good for racing in general but I don’t think we’ll be seeing anybody from the Ford family inducted into the Hall of Fame anytime soon.

“Based on what she has done up to now, Danica Patrick is Hall of Fame material. But she’s young (33) and still has time to wow us, possibly by doing the Memorial Day double – the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600.”

To begin with, doing the double is nice but I don’t see Robby Gordon getting the nod to go into the Hall of Fame, and both Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart will go in for their overall body of work.

If I were judging today’s drivers based off of Hall of Fame merit, only 8 full time drivers come to mind as being Hall of Famers as of right now. These drivers are:

Jeff Gordon

Jimmie Johnson

Tony Stewart

Matt Kenseth

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Kevin Harvick

Kurt Busch

Kyle Busch (Remember it’s a NASCAR Hall of Fame, not just Cup merits matter).

Bobby Labonte (Not full time but should be mentioned as he will be going in with his brother whenever he decides to hang up the fire suit for good).

After that there are a few borderline candidates, such as Brad Keselowski or Carl Edwards. But the reality is that it’s unfair to judge all but these select few, because their careers are in progress.

Who really knows what could happen from here on out. Patrick could go win five races and win the championship this year. But you can’t judge careers now, and even if you want to, Danica doesn’t come close in my opinion.

But don’t just take my word for it. Read both mine and Smith’s articles and come to your own conclusion on the matter. My own conclusion is that Danica should not be put into the Hall of Fame simply for having something no woman before her has ever had in NASCAR… money.

All stats cited in the Finley Factor are as per Racing Reference unless otherwise noted.

June 23, 2015
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Michigan

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet was damaged when he went three-wide early in the Quicken Loans 400. The consequences cost Johnson track position and he eventually finished 19th after battling his way back for the remainder of the race.

“You heard right,” Johnson said. “I went three-wide. That’s something the average NASCAR fan can’t relate to. But they can come close because the average NASCAR fan can certainly relate to going ‘double-wide.’”

2. Kevin Harvick: Harvick led 63 laps at Michigan, but his day was derailed by tire troubles that left him with a 29th-place finish, his worst result of the year. He leads the Sprint Cup points standings by 15 over Martin Truex Jr.

“Hey,” Harvick said, “finishing 29th isn’t all that bad. ‘29’ was my car number at Richard Childress Racing. And finishing 29th reminded me why I left RCR in the first place.”

3. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex took third in the Quicken Loans 400, posting his series-best 14th top-10 of the year. He trails Kevin Harvick by 15 in the points standings.

“Rain interrupted Sunday’s race four times,” Truex said. “In fact, there were so many water ‘breaks,’ it reminded me of pregnant NASCAR wives.”

4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Earnhardt finished second at Michigan, tops among Hendrick Motorsports drivers. He is fourth in the points standings, 68 out of first.

“The No. 88 Chevy was sponsored by Amp Energy’s new ‘Passion Fruit’ flavor,” Earnhardt said. “I’m not sure that flavor appeals to the good people of Junior Nation. If there’s a fruit they’re passionate about, it better be in the form of schnapps.”

5. Joey Logano: Logano placed fifth in the Quicken Loan 400, posting his eighth top-five finish of the year.

“How did Kurt Busch pull out the win?” Logano said. “The rain came at precisely the right moment. And all this time I thought he was trying to get the dark cloud away from him.”

6. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished sixth at Michigan, joining Penske Racing teammate Joey Logano, who finished fifth, in the top 10.

“Logano won at Daytona,” Keselowski said, “and I won at California. And Penske hasn’t won since. You could say we’re just ‘coasting.’”

7. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth took fourth at Michigan, scoring his sixth top-five result of the season.

“My son, Ross, got his first win in the ARCA racing series on Friday night,” Kenseth said. “Obviously, talent runs in the family. There are a lot of drivers who’ll argue that I’m the only thing that ‘runs’ in the family.”

8. Kurt Busch: Kurt Busch won the rain-shortened Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan, taking the lead when Kyle Larson was forced to pit for fuel. A downpour ensued, and Busch had his second win of the year.

“I won today,” Busch said. “That means I have a checkered present to go along with my checkered past.”

9. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 11th at Michigan after starting 13th on the grid.

“Congratulations to Kurt Busch,” Hamlin said. “After two wins this season, he must feel vindicated. Especially now that the feds are investigating his former girlfriend Patricia Driscoll. Apparently, her most covert operation may have been her accounting.”

10. Jamie McMurray: McMurray finished seventh in the Quicken Loans 400, scoring his third consecutive seventh-place finish.

“I feel for Kyle Larson,” McMurray said. “He deserved the win, but the rain, or lack thereof, cost him. If the weather were as predictable as racing itself, Larson would have had the win.”

June 16, 2015
Surprising and Not Surprising: Michigan Quicken Loans 400

In a day of fits and starts, drops and stops, here is what else was surprising and not surprising in the 47th annual Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

Surprising: In spite of the race being rain-shortened, there were some interesting stats and history achieved for at least two of the drivers.

First, Kurt Busch notched his second win of the season and now has achieved his first multi-win season since 2011. And even more impressive was that Busch scored that win in a backup car to boot.

“It was a fantastic group effort,” Busch said “to be able to pull the backup car out and to have it as prepared as it was and then to have the extra work that went into it. All the crew members that Tony Gibson leads rolled up their sleeves, jumped right on in it, and we made it a race-winning backup car.”

“Excellent pit stops, excellent team chemistry. This is what it’s all about and anytime you win a second race, it really gives you that stamp on you’re in the Chase, now let’s work through these summer months to continue to make the team better.”

Second, Martin Truex Jr. made history with his third place run in his No. 78 Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet. He became the first racer to score 14 top-10 finishes in the first 15 races since Richard Petty accomplished the feat 46 years ago in 1969.

“Really proud to have my name mentioned next to Richard Petty,” Truex said. “The King is pretty special and I am so thankful for my team and what they’ve done this year. Hopefully, we’ll keep this thing rolling.”

Not Surprising: Dale Earnhardt Jr. was up on the box and working the bar to take his fan- designed paint schemed No. 88 AMP Energy Chevrolet to the checkered flag in the runner-up position. Junior stayed on the pit box during the rain delays talking strategy with his crew chief Greg Ives, while also working the track bar throughout the race to gain positions.

“We had a real good car that was really fast on the long runs,” Junior said. “The No. 41 (Kurt Busch) and a couple of guys were faster than us the first 10 or 15 laps of a run. But then I could get my car really fast and I could work my trackbar and pass a lot of cars.”

“I was able to work that trackbar and pass a lot of cars and go forward instead of being just kind of stuck where I was.”

This was Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s 13th top-10 finish in 32 races at Michigan and his ninth top-10 finish for the season.

Surprising: Kyle Busch took a surprisingly hard hit right into the wall and safer barrier, one that was so hard that his brother Kurt asked his spotter to find out if Kyle was okay. And after the high of winning the Xfinity Series race the day before, Kyle Busch finished dead last in his No. 18 M&M’s Crispy Toyota.

With that finish, Busch remained 39th in points, nine away from being able to qualify for the Chase if he secured a win as well.

Not Surprising: Both Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon were bit by problems in the pits involving tires. Harvick had a reoccurrence of a tire valve stem breaking and Gordon had to return to pit road to attend to missing lug nuts.

Gordon finished 21st in his No. 24 Panasonic Chevrolet while Harvick took the checkered flag in his No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet in the 29th spot. Harvick, however, managed to stay in the point leads, currently 15 points ahead of Truex, while Gordon held onto his 10th place position.

“We had an awesome Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet today,” Harvick said. “But we had some unfortunate luck.”

Gordon summed it up by saying “We have not had the best of days.”

Surprising: Trevor Bayne had the time of his life at Michigan, scoring his best finish of the season in ninth place and leading the pack of Roush Fenway racers.

“I feel like this was a really solid weekend for this No. 6 AdvoCare team,” said Bayne after the race. “We qualified inside the top-20 and made really good gains on the car throughout practice. We had a good car today that had good speed all race long.”

“It’s great to come home with a top-10 finish. (Crew chief) Bob (Osborne) made a great pit call and we were able to catch a break with that caution. This feels great.”

Not Surprising: Luck was not a lady to either David Ragan or Kyle Larson, both of whom were in full gambling mode. Ragan finished 35th after gambling to get a lap back with pit strategy and Larson finished 17th after gambling on fuel hoping the rains would come.

“Our Aaron’s Dream Machine was decent today but got down a lap there about halfway through the race,” Ragan, behind the wheel of the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine with a new crew chief on board, said. “We gambled to get that lap back and the caution flag flew about a lap after we pitted.”

“We were obviously better than where we finished. We just rolled the dice and luck wasn’t on our side today.”

“Yeah, we could see weather coming there off of (Turn) 4 and just praying that it would get here in time for me to stay out and be in the lead when the rain did hit,” Larson, driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet said. “Hey, I applaud my guys for trying.”

“We are pretty deep in points so we have to take risks like that to make the Chase. I’m happy with the call, just wish the rain would have come three laps sooner.”

Surprising: Ty Dillon, an interloper in the Cup Series, ran better than his brother Austin, a Cup regular, finishing 14th to his brother’s 20th place finish.

Not Surprising: Camry driver Matt Kenseth, who finished fourth, was the top-finishing Toyota driver He also led the race twice for a total of three laps (of 138).

“We had a really good Dollar General Camry, it was frustrating when you run all those laps under yellow,” Kenseth said. “Once we got rolling there we had a good car. We got real loose in the second to last run and we just weren’t able to adjust on it. Just didn’t have enough laps.”

“I thought we could have got to at least second with another seven or eight laps – the rain just came a little too early.”

Surprising: Jimmie Johnson was the biggest loser in the point standings, falling two spots to the fifth position. Johnson fought an ill-handling No. 48 Kobalt Tools Chevrolet all day and struggled in the pits as well.

Not Surprising: Team Penske was again the highest scoring Ford, with Joey Logano in fifth and Brad Keselowski in the sixth spot. And although both had to overcome challenges, they were still disappointed that they did not have a chance to better their results.

“It was a tough day but we got a good finish out of it,” the driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford said. “I felt like we were kind of stuck back in traffic a lot of the race and couldn’t get good restarts in the beginning of the day and kept losing spots.”

“That was frustrating. The car was loose. We made some good adjustments and got off the majority strategy which played right where we wanted to when the caution came out by staying out and getting a longer run on fuel. The last restart we lost a couple spots unfortunately.”

“I feel like overall it a good day considering how everything went and starting 11th which wasn’t very good.”

“I am disappointed because the Miller Lite Ford Fusion was getting better with each run,” the driver of the Miller Lite Ford said. “We were starting to get it where we needed to be when that last big rain came through and I would have loved to see what we had for the final stretch.”

Surprising: Danica Patrick used her time in between rain drops to plot strategy with her crew chief which allowed her to lead a few laps as well as bring her No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet home in the 16th position.

“The car was completely sideways early in the race,” Patrick said. “Daniel (Knost, crew chief) and I were able to sit down during all of the rain delays and talk through the adjustments we needed to make to help the car handle better.”

“Then he made the call to pit for fuel early in the race, and that put us in a position to stay out and take the wave-around there at the end and get a solid finish out of the day.”

Not Surprising: After the race being delayed by rain a total of four times with the final red flag on lap 138 resulting in the official end of the scheduled 200-lap event, it was no wonder that one driver had just about had it.

We really fought clean air versus dirty air with the car doing completely different things so it was a struggle as far as which one to adjust on,” Brett Moffitt, driver of the No. 34 Dockside Logistics Ford, said after finishing 33rd as the highest rookie. “That second run we ended up pretty good and got good track position. We tried to play the fuel strategy game to beat the weather but it didn’t work out for us.”

“It would have been good to get it going but it has been a long day for everybody here. I think everyone is glad this is the end of it.”

The Cup Series will take a break for Father’s Day and will reconvene on the road course of Sonoma on June 28th.

And to all the dads out there, salud and Happy Father’s Day!

June 14, 2015
Hot 20 – The Truex Triumph at Pocono Deserves an Encore at Michigan

You need a multi-car operation in order to be successful. At least, that seems to be the prevailing wisdom of the day, but just do not let Barney Visser and his Furniture Row team in on it. Other teams might not like what they would see.

Marching to the beat of their own drummer is just what they do. For example, while most teams call the Charlotte area home, the auto driven by Martin Truex Jr. is prepared in Denver, Colorado. Starting part-time in 2005, Furniture Row has been a Top 30 entry ever since they ran the full schedule with Regan Smith in 2010. They even won a race the next season, but hitting the Top Twenty by year’s end was a struggle.

Their dedication reached fruition in 2013 when Kurt Busch came over for a year, with 11 Top Fives launching them to a 10th best season. Still, no wins, and when Truex joined the outfit last year they dropped again to also-ran status in the standings. That proved to be just a blip on their radar as Cinderella got another shot to go to the ball and wear those glass galoshes.

Last Sunday, Truex gave Furniture Row just its second victory ever when he was the class of the field at Pocono. This was no surprise outcome for a usual also-ran, as they are easily the best team in points amongst the single win teams. In fact, they are second only to Kevin Harvick in points for the season, period. Single car teams are not supposed to do that. In fact, no single car team is supposed to do what Alan Kulwicki did between 1987 and his championship of 1992 these days. It seems to me that those mountain men and women are putting up another solid argument that the prevailing wisdom of the day is not their way, at least not yet.

While a teammate might not be to too far off in the future, Truex has had some success of his own at Michigan. He had three Top Tens racing for Michael Waltrip, and a pair of runner-up finishes for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2007. After last season’s annus horribilis, this appears to be a year of new beginnings and new successes, for both the team and its driver. Of course, he is among…

…our Hot 20 heading into Michigan.

1 – JIMMIE JOHNSON – 4 WINS (481 pts)
If Chad and Jimmie were girls, they wouldn’t talk for months after a race.

2 – KEVIN HARVICK – 2 WINS (559 pts)
Fourteen races. Two wins. Ten times finishing in second place. Don’t worry, be Happy.

3 – MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 WIN (520 pts)
Finally.

4 – JOEY LOGANO – 1 WIN (480 pts)
Starts dead last after rear-end gear change, then gets a pit penalty, yet finishes fourth at Pocono.

5 – DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 1 WIN (465 pts)
You would have thought he, not his buddy, won the race.

6 – BRAD KESELOWSKI – 1 WIN (441 pts)
Brought the beer to the Truex party. while Junior sent some post-celebration head pain relief.

7 – MATT KENSETH – 1 WIN (415 pts)
Family joined the Johnsons and Dillon boys for a Taylor Swift concert. Perks of the profession.

8 – KURT BUSCH – 1 WIN (379 pts)
Took the pole, finished fifth. Just another day at the office.

9 – DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN (379 pts)
The way he qualified at Pocono, one would have thought he was Bowyer.

10 – CARL EDWARDS – 1 WIN (368 pts)
Not as good as Newman this season…except for that little ole win he has.

11 – JAMIE MCMURRAY – 427 POINTS
Has completed 96.8 percent of his career laps at Michigan, but fourth in 2004 his best result.

12 – KASEY KAHNE – 417 POINTS
Impromptu body work from Junior helped neither car last weekend.

13 – JEFF GORDON – 411 POINTS
So, Alan and Jeff swore at each other. Am I the only one who notices they are both guys?

14 – PAUL MENARD – 385 POINTS
Caught speeding, got caught again on the drive through, then got a flat. Not a good day.

15 – ARIC ALMIROLA – 379 POINTS
Pocono was not a pointless exercise for Aric. He did pick up a single point for his efforts.

16 – RYAN NEWMAN – 374 POINTS
After just earning five himself, Newman not feeling the love after being Allmendingered.

17 – CLINT BOWYER – 354 POINTS
Billy Scott to replace Brian Pattie atop the box at Michigan. Let the magic begin.

18 – GREG BIFFLE – 343 POINTS
Twelfth was twelve better than teammate Trevor Bayne, which means they still have work to do.

19 – KYLE LARSON – 333 POINTS
Third at Dover, eighth at Pocono and eighth last spring at Michigan. The time is now.

20 – DANICA PATRICK – 328 POINTS
Deserved a better fate last Sunday.

June 11, 2015