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Tag: Jeff Gordon

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Homestead

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Homestead

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kevin Harvick: Harvick’s four-tire pit stop on a caution with 20 laps to go keyed his victory at Homestead, giving him the Sprint Cup championship. Harvick held off Ryan Newman to claim his first title.

    “I’d like to thank everyone who believed in me,” Harvick said. “I’d also like to thank Richard Childress. Do you believe me now, Richard?

    “Sunday’s race was for all the marbles. And that included the ‘marbles’ of Kurt Busch, because it seems he’s lost his.”

    2. Ryan Newman: Newman started 21st on the grid and chased Kevin Harvick to the checkered flag, unable to get close enough to make a move. Newman finished second as Harvick celebrated his first championship.

    “I was looking to become the first Sprint Cup champion without a win,” Newman said. “That would have been a dream come true for me, and a nightmare for NASCAR.”

    3. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin, on old tires, lost the lead to Kevin Harvick with seven laps to go and finished seventh.

    “Michael Jordan was in my pit box cheering me on,” Hamlin said. “Seventh may be good enough for Charlotte Hornets, but not for me. No one was more upset when I lost than Michael. No one was happier than his bookie.”

    4. Jeff Gordon: Gordon started on the pole at Homestead and led a race-high 161 laps on his way to a 10th-place finish at Homestead.

    “Surprisingly,” Gordon said, “there were no punches thrown. Apparently, Homestead isn’t ‘grounds’ for fighting.”

    5. Joey Logano: Logano’s chances at the Sprint Cup championship disintegrated when jack problems in the pits dropped him to 21st on the restart. He eventually finished 16th in the Ford EcoBoost 400.

    “Just when we needed a ‘pick-me-up,’” Logano said, “we suffered a ‘letdown’ in the pits.”

    6. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth won the Nationwide Ford EcoBoost 300 on Saturday and finished sixth in the Ford EcoBoost 400 on Sunday.

    “Congratulations to Kevin Harvick,” Kenseth said. “He wouldn’t be holding that championship trophy had he not won the last two races. I’d say he certainly knows when to ‘push.’”

    7. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished third at Homestead, closing the books on an up-and-down year.

    “It was an up-and-down year for us,” Keselowski said, “as well as a ‘left-and-right’ year.”

    8. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt finished 14th in the Ford EcoBoost 400, finishing the year with four wins.

    “It was a historic day at Homestead,” Earnhardt said. “The competition was intense, while Junior Nation was ‘in tents.’ Leave it to my fans to bring the moonshine to the ‘Sunshine State.’

    9. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished ninth at Homestead, the top finisher among Hendrick Motorsports drivers.

    “I wasn’t able to win my seventh title,” Johnson said, “but I can’t be too upset. “The race was called the ‘Ford EcoBoost 400. Let’s change that ‘Eco’ to ‘Echo,’ because whenever and wherever you say my name, you hear it repeated five times.”

    10. Kyle Larson: Larson finished 13th in the Ford EcoBoost 400, wrapping up what will surely be a Rookie Of The Year campaign.

    “If I don’t win that Rookie Of The Year award,” Larson said., “I’ll be very unhappy. So unhappy, that I could possibly go into ‘ROY’d rage.’”

  • The Final Word – After Chasing, Eliminating, and Winning, Kevin Harvick is the 2014 Cup Champion

    The Final Word – After Chasing, Eliminating, and Winning, Kevin Harvick is the 2014 Cup Champion

    Watching the Cup finale was like watching most Nationwide races. Few of the participants actually matter. You have your winner, you have those who actually are competing for the prize, and then you have the odd spectacular, special moment. Sunday’s race marked the end of ESPN’s run, which meant no more Allen, no more Dale, no more Andy, no more Rusty, no more Brad, and no more Nicole. A special moment, indeed.

    It could have been a special season for Jeff Gordon. He was best overall this year, just as he was the dominate wheel man for more than half the laps at Homestead. But it is no longer 2001, and at the end of the day he was 10th on the track and sixth in the official standings. In the old days only Joey Logano would have had a chance to catch Gordon in the final race. As pure a way of determining a champion it might have been, those days are gone forever.

    Logano’s day wound up being the pits. With 74 to go, he was riding fifth when they took time under caution to do a few repairs that dropped him to tenth. With 47 to go, he had worked his way back to fourth when he returned to the pits under caution, but a hung lug nut left him 11th on departure. No problem, if not for the pits. Another caution, another stop, another miscue as a dropped jack dropped Logano from sixth to 20th with 20 to go. Game, set, and match, as he finished 16th.

    Things seemed to be about to go Denny Hamlin’s way. They had the pit strategy, if only they could go green. They did not. The cautions allowed those with fresher tires to move past, and his title hopes went up in smoke over the final laps. Hamlin wound up seventh.

    That left two at the front. Ryan Newman had been the weak sister amongst the contenders for much of the race, but pit strategy gained them track position. The car was the best it was all night but only one problem remained.

    His name was Kevin Harvick. On the final restart, Harvick once again separated himself from the field, leaving Newman staring at a back bumper. The best finisher amongst the four would win the title, and you cannot do much better than winning the race to erase all doubt.

    Once we had a points system that rewarded consistency at the expense of wins over the course of a season. Then we got a 10 race playoff where only the top 10, or 12, or 13 were eligible for the crown after the initial 26 events. Now, we have a system where a win gets you into the Top 16 vying for the title in those final 10 races, where every three events they eliminate four contenders until you wind up with the best among the final four on the final day winning the title while racing 39 non-contenders.

    The records show that Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt won seven titles each using the original system, Jimmie Johnson won six through the Chase, and Kevin Harvick is the 2014 Cup champion through the elimination series. Each champion just as valid as the man who preceded him.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Ford EcoBoost 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Ford EcoBoost 400

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    “Everything is fine.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    “Winning the Manufacturers’ Championship is one of the goals we set at the beginning of every season,” Jim Campbell, U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports, said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

     

     

     

  • Brian France Talks Chase, Domestic Violence, Fights and Championship Finale

    Brian France Talks Chase, Domestic Violence, Fights and Championship Finale

    In a wide-ranging State of the Sport press conference, NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France discussed everything from the new Chase format, the sanctioning body’s domestic violence policies, fights in the sport, and the drivers who may be crowned champion this weekend.

    France started his State of the Sport remarks with his assessment of the new Chase format, which he deemed as “exceeding all expectations.”

    “The Chase has accomplished all of our goals and probably exceeded them,” France said. “The balance between winning and consistency was achieved. Depending on what happens on Sunday, this has the potential to be one of the most successful seasons in NASCAR history.”

    “It has our fans excited and the interest level of the sport heightened. That’s precisely what we wanted to achieve.”

    France did acknowledge that fans, especially some of the most hard-core in the sport, still may be adjusting to the whole new Chase format.

    “Even though the format is relatively simple, what we are all finding out is that the strategies associated with the new format are different,” France said. “They are unknown and they are unprecedented. That’s going to take a while for even the most hard-core fans to fully get accustomed to how the flow of the season goes, why the transfer races are so important and how consistency all plays out.”

    Because of the Chase’s perceived success, France advised that he expected “very modest to zero” changes in the Chase format for next season.

    “We reserve the right to make a modest adjustment but this is the season that I hoped for and it has done precisely what we hoped it would do,” France said. “It’s only year one but clearly we are on our way.”

    France also dealt with several questions focused on driver Kurt Busch’s domestic violence charges, especially in light of California Congresswoman’s Jackie Speier’s letter to the sanctioning body calling the incident horrifying and asking for action to be taken.

    “There is a heightened awareness of the issues of domestic abuse and violence. We expect our policies to reflect that,” France said. “We are watching that case carefully and it’s under review by law enforcement and others and they have not made a decision on that regarding Kurt.”

    “It’s a very sensitive topic today. Rightfully so,” France continued. “And so it’s not surprising that some members of Congress and other leaders might have some strong views on what we should and shouldn’t do.”

    “So, until they make some judgments on that investigation, it wouldn’t be right of us to just intervene before they’ve even gotten the investigation completed. So, that’s our position. We’ll respect their process. It’s in their hands.”

    “We’ll stay the course, let the investigation be completed and then we’ll react.”

    France also addressed another recent controversy in the sport, that of the fight between the teams of Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski after the Texas race.

    “We don’t think what happened in Texas, crew members getting into a fist fight is a good thing for NASCAR, no,” France said. “We realize that emotions sometimes will get you there and we reacted very harshly if you look at the scope of those penalties, and we should have.”

    “Anybody in our situation is always worried about escalation,” France continued. “The bottom line is we want the drivers to be able to express themselves. We don’t have dugouts or locker rooms per se. It’s not unusual for them to express themselves and have a heated conversation between them. We’re not going to change that. But when crew members and others who join in, that’s a different discussion and like I said, we dealt with that.”

    “Even the great ones, they faced similar stresses from time to time as they started to have success on the track,” France said. “Some of the drivers had a little more contact than necessary at times. That’s what we’re about. We expect tight, tight racing and that sometimes we will have some contact. It’s in our DNA.”

    “But, there is a line,” France continued. “Hard, tight racing is what we expect and what I’m sure we will see. If it’s over the line, that’s what we do. We look at those things from the control tower. Sometimes they even happen under caution.”

    “There is a line out there in all of this and we hope the drivers don’t put us in that position,” France said. “I don’t anticipate that and I do anticipate some really hard, tight racing. We respect that. Sometimes drivers thinks one or the other goes too far. That’s NASCAR. That’s what we do. That’s the whole point of what we try to get up every morning and create.”

    France also addressed the championship finale amongst Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin, especially in light of one driver, Newman, being winless coming into the Homestead race.

    “Short of us making it a prerequisite that you have to win a race to qualify, I think it’s great,” France said. “We have three drivers who have won. And I do think that whoever emerges as the champion on Sunday needs to think about winning the race. I would be surprised if one of those four drivers would get out of here with a championship without the win.”

    “We’ve seen over the past years how those teams have elevated their games,” France continued. “We want to see drivers elevate their games. The reality is when you give drivers the opportunity to do something extraordinary, more times than not they do that.”

    “It’s all about a balance,” France said. “You don’t want a system that ignores consistency. I don’t care how you do it frankly. So, if Ryan Newman and Richard Childress are able to pull it off, that would be an achievement for anybody.”

    “The best team will win on Sunday.”

     

  • Hot 20 – How happy will you be after the smoke clears at Homestead?

    Hot 20 – How happy will you be after the smoke clears at Homestead?

    As the final four prepare to thunder to their fate at Homestead, not everyone is thrilled with the new format to determine the Cup champion. Again and again I read how appreciative some are for NASCAR allowing them to do other things on a Sunday afternoon than watch a sport they have abandoned. It would seem more than a few do not see the elimination format as one that might determine a true champion, or promote a style of racing they can support.

    Some might argue that Denny Hamlin should not even be in the mix considering his season long points total. The thing is, a win and an automatic berth into the Chase allowed him to take a couple of races off to mend, and he took advantage of it. You can’t fault a man for using the rules to his own advantage.

    You might find some fault in Joey Logano. Sure, he is not universally loved, but you cannot fault with what he has done on the track this season. Pick any format you like and Logano is a contender. No Chase, and Logano would trail Jeff Gordon by 29 points. The old Chase format has Logano ahead of Kevin Harvick by the same amount. Even my own format in setting up my Hot 20 all season, awarding a 25 point bonus for a win rather than just 3, has Logano within seven of Gordon over the course of the season.

    Hell, I even put together some stats for if we had a 31 race regular season, followed by a five race playoff format that was restricted to only the top 20 contenders. Logano, along with Harvick, Hamlin, and Ryan Newman, would still have their shot, but so would three others. The good news is that Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. would still be realistically in contention. The bad news is that with the results from Talladega and Texas, Jeff Gordon would not.

    No format would satisfy everybody. There is no question the present system, from the win and in method of making the Chase, to the elimination rounds, to the final dash, has caused some excitement. While season long challengers like Gordon, Keselowski, and Earnhardt are no longer eligible, the loss of playoff favorites has not reduced the legitimacy of eventual champions in other sports. If Major League Baseball was truer to his roots, with its playoffs restricted to the champions of 4 eight team divisions, the San Francisco Giants would not have even been a contender. They would have finished behind the Dodgers and Cardinals in an expanded NL West, never mind becoming the World Series champions.

    As they say, it is what it is. Logano, Harvick, Newman, and Hamlin will each be driving to claim their first Cup championship. All are worthy, all are talented, and each should be acceptable as the 2014 champion as they would have claimed the prize under the rules of the day.

    That said, Jeff Gordon remains our hottest of the hot over the course of the entire season.

    BOLD = A contender for the championship

    Hot 20

    1 – Jeff Gordon – 4 Wins – 1305 Pts
    2 – Joey Logano – 5 Wins – 1298 Pts
    3 – Brad Keselowski – 5 Wins – 1248 Pts
    4 – Dale Earnhardt Jr – 4 Wins – 1233 Pts
    5 – Kevin Harvick – 4 Wins – 1214 Pts
    6 – Jimmie Johnson – 4 Wins – 1120 Pts
    7 – Carl Edwards – 2 Wins – 1093 Pts
    8 – Matt Kenseth – 0 Wins – 1093 Pts
    9 – Ryan Newman – 0 Wins – 1093 Pts
    10 – Kyle Larson – 0 Wins – 1049 Pts
    11 – Greg Biffle – 0 Wins – 997 Pts
    12 – Kyle Busch – 1 Win – 986 Pts
    13 – Jamie McMurray – 0 Wins – 975 Pts
    14 – Denny Hamlin – 1 Win – 971 Pts
    15 – Kasey Kahne – 1 Win – 956 Pts
    16 – Clint Bowyer – 0 Wins – 943 Pts
    17 – Austin Dillon – 0 Wins – 939 Pts
    18 – Paul Menard – 0 Wins – 904 Pts
    19 – Brian Vickers – 0 Wins – 900 Pts
    20 – Kurt Busch – 1 Win – 899 Pts

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Phoenix

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Phoenix

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kevin Harvick: Harvick led 264 of 312 laps at Phoenix and won the Quicken Loans Race For Heroes 500, qualifying for the Chase finale at Homestead.

    “Just call me ‘Mr. Unexcitement,” Harvick said, “because I took all the drama out of Sunday’s race.”

    2. Joey Logano: Logano came home sixth at Phoenix and easily clinched one of the four spots for the Chase For The Cup final at Homestead.

    “Sadly,” Logano said, “Brad Keselowski won’t be joining me as eligible. Luckily, he only got ‘knocked out’ for having too few points.”

    3. Jeff Gordon: Gordon finished second at Phoenix but missed making the Chase final four by a single point. Gordon was edged out by Ryan Newman, who finished 11th.

    “One second I was in,” Gordon said, “then, in the blink of an eye, I was out. I’m devastated. I’d like to quote Kurt Busch and say ‘I need a hug.’”

    4. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin started on the pole and finished fifth to secure his eligibility in the season’s final race at Homestead.

    “Interestingly enough,” Hamlin said, “Sunday’s race at Homestead is called the Ford EcoBoost 400. Maybe the fuel will be clean, but I’ve got a feeling ‘things’ could get dirty.”

    5. Ryan Newman: Newman bullied his way past Kyle Larson to finish 11th and edge Jeff Gordon for the fourth and final Chase spot heading to Homestead.

    “Sure,” Newman said, “I may have been a little aggressive racing the No. 42. But I’m racing for a championship, Kyle’s not. Let’s face it, no one’s gonna miss a ‘Target.’”

    6. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth took third at Phoenix and finished seventh in the points standings, missing the Chase finale.

    “Third place was a good finish,” Kenseth said, “but it wasn’t good enough. It’s bittersweet, much like attacking Brad Keselowski and not drawing blood.”

    7. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished 15th in the Quicken Loan Race For Heroes 500.

    “I needed a win to make it to Homestead,” Edwards said. “Obviously, I didn’t get it. In fact, it wasn’t even ‘close,’ which is also the kind of relationship I’m expecting with my new teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing next year.”

    8. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished fourth at Phoenix, but it was not enough to punch his ticket to the championship at Homestead.

    “There was still some fight left in me,” Keselowski said. “This time, I was the one that beat it out of me.”

    9. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt finished eighth at Phoenix, joining Hendrick teammate Jeff Gordon in the top 10. Gordon failed to qualify for the final at Homestead, meaning no Hendrick driver is eligible to win the Cup.

    “What do myself, Jimmie Johnson, and Ryan Newman have in common?” Earnhardt said. “We all helped keep Jeff Gordon from making the Chase final. As our ‘team orders’ are to go out and win the race.”

    10. Kyle Larson: Larson finished 13th at Phoenix, and unknowingly had an impact on the Chase. Ryan Newman powered by Larson on the final lap, a move which put Newman in the final and left Jeff Gordon out.

    “I don’t fault Newman for racing me like he did,” Larson said. “He was on a mission. That rendered Gordon on an ‘omission.’”

  • Which is More Important – Winning or Respect?

    Which is More Important – Winning or Respect?

    The new playoff style Chase format was designed to put the emphasis on winning. Win and you’re in. Depending upon who you ask, it has brought out the best or the worst in the drivers.

    Brad Keselowski has been center stage in this debate. During the race at Texas Motor Speedway, he attempted to pass Jeff Gordon by squeezing through a gap between Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. As they went three wide, Keselowski made contact with Gordon cutting his left rear tire and causing Gordon to spin out, relegating him to a 29th place finish.

    After the race an angry Gordon confronted him but Keselowski didn’t seem to have much interest in discussing the incident, saying only that, “There was a hole.” Crew members of both teams gathered and a brawl of epic proportions broke out.

    Keselowski was unapologetic post-race saying, “We were just racing for the win. I didn’t wreck him, just raced him hard. He left a hole. Everything you watch in racing, if you leave a hole you’re supposed to go for it. It closed back up and we made contact. I don’t want to ruin anyone’s day. I wanted to win the race, and that was our opportunity. It just didn’t come together.”

    “I’ve been through a lot of rivalries,” he continued, “I’ve got a little blood on me right now, I’ve been roughed up, put in the grandstands, wrecked, and done all that stuff, and I’m still here fighting. It’s not going to change the way I race. I race with 100-percent intensity and race for the win. That’s what our fans deserve in NASCAR.”

    After several days to cool off, Gordon explained his intense reaction.

    “I have no issue with a guy being aggressive and making a bold move,” Gordon said. “If you win the race and the guy that you slam finishes third or fourth, I will be the first one to stand up and say, ‘That was awesome, that was a great move.’

    “But when you don’t win the race and you ruin a person’s day, then there are consequences that you are going to have to deal with. How you handle yourself after that is a part of that.”

    Denny Hamlin, who was involved in a dispute with Keselowski after the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, expressed a similar sentiment about Keselowski’s dismissive attitude.

    You’re just looking for someone to say, ‘Man, I’m sorry I ruined your day. I screwed up. I apologize,’” Hamlin said. “When that doesn’t get said, then it immediately lights a fire in your stomach that he doesn’t have any remorse. He’s just like, ‘Oh well, it’s your problem.’

    “If you ask me do you want a championship trophy or do you want the respect of your peers, I will take the respect from my peers because that trophy, they can’t put in my casket,” Hamlin said. “What’s the fun of a NASCAR party that nobody shows up to?”

    Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway, it was Ryan Newman who caused another controversy when he made the decision to push Kyle Larson out of the way to finish 11th and secure his spot in the final race for the championship.

    “I did what I had to do,” Newman said. “I’m not proud of it, but I think if he (Larson) was in my position he would have done the same.”

    Larson salvaged a 13th place finish and while he was obviously unhappy, said that he understood Newman’s motivation.

    “Coming to the finish, there were a lot of cars racing really hard,” Larson said in a team statement Monday. “I knew the 31 (of Newman) was right around me and knew he needed to gain some spots to keep from getting eliminated from the Chase.

    “It’s a little upsetting he pushed me up to the wall, but I completely understand the situation he was in, and can’t fault him for being aggressive there. I think a lot of drivers out here would have done something similar if they were in that position.”

    Newman’s finish put him one point ahead of Gordon, ending his championship hopes for this year. Yet Gordon is proud of his team and the integrity he feels he has maintained throughout the season.

    “It’s disappointing, Gordon said. “We have a lot to hold our heads high about, the way we raced this race and this season. I hope we taught people that you can race clean and you don’t have to wreck people and ruin people’s season.”

    Is winning the only thing that matters? Opinions are as varied among the drivers as they are among their devoted fans. However, for better or worse, I have no doubt that whoever wins the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship will waste little time reflecting on how they got there as they hoist their trophy high.

  • The Final Word – At Phoenix we Learned Being Liked and Respected can Earn Forgiveness

    The Final Word – At Phoenix we Learned Being Liked and Respected can Earn Forgiveness

    There are drivers you like and there are drivers you do not. If a driver should be a whiney revisionist weasel who does his best to avoid cashing the checks his mouth keeps on writing, I am not a fan. This is how I once viewed Kurt Busch, and it is how I presently see Brad Keselowski. For him to not make the Chase finale came as a welcome conclusion to the activities at Phoenix.

    I love Kevin Harvick. He does what he does and if you do not like it, you know where you can find him. At Phoenix, that would have been up front. He dominated the Harvick 500 from start to finish and every restart to win his fourth of the season to punch his ticket into the final four.

    I am not a fan of Denny Hamlin or Joey Logano. To be honest, I cannot tell you the deep dark reasoning behind it. I guess I just need some black hats out there on the range to go with the cowboys in white. They finished fifth and sixth respectively and had enough in the bank to go through to the final round themselves. Only tough luck has kept Hamlin from taking a championship in the past, while the 24-year old Logano is a legitimate contender no matter what measurement one wishes to use. One day, I might even get excited when they take the checkered flag.

    Jeff Gordon has been outstanding in 2014, robbed of something better by Keselowski at Texas. Ryan Newman, whose eight win season in 2003 was trumped by Matt Kenseth’s title run, used Kyle Larson’s car as a buffer on the final turn on Sunday to pick up the spot that got him in. In doing so, he also put Gordon out. Fan reaction to that move, and the end result in the Chase standings, I dare say, is much different than if it were Keselowski bouncing off Larson to end the dream for Gordon.

    By in large, it comes down to one driver being basically liked while the other is essentially not. It is not a universal feeling, granted, but by enough that it matters. While it might affect how many t-shirts he sells, being liked by the fans is not as important as being respected by your peers. They do not have to love you, but they need to have an appreciation for you that, despite his unquestionable talent, Keselowski still appears to have failed to earn.

    What the boy needs is charm and the cojones to meet head on any challenges that comes his way. Sure, he might get shaken like a rag doll from time to time, but he won’t get punched, unless someone has the cash to spend. With his talent in the car and his gift of the gab outside of it, he has the tools to jaw and charm his way through damn near anything. J.R. Ewing did it. So did Dale Earnhardt. Why not Brad? Heck, he could even continue to wear the black hat.

    Why was Brad driving the winning Nationwide car at Phoenix on Saturday? Why are any Cup guys running that circuit enough to claim 21 of 32 events this season, and nine of the past 10? Maybe NASCAR just wants to kill the circuit and this is what they have come up with. Chase Elliott has already claimed the season crown, winning three races in Texas, Darlington and Chicago against Cup talent. The lad turns 19 at the end of this month. We need to see more young talented drivers in this circuit like Chase Elliott, and less of the likes of Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski.

    To see either in more than one race at Homestead is likely, but neither will be in the running for a title in the season finales. What we will have will be four drivers, each seeking this first Cup championship, and come Sunday one of them will be successful. Nothing to not like there.

    CHASE CHAMPIONSHIP FOUR…
    1 – Kevin Harvick – 1 WIN – 4102 Points
    2 – Denny Hamlin – 4112 Pts
    3 – Joey Logano – 4111 Pts
    4 – Ryan Newman – 4103 Pts

    FOUR SHOWN THE DOOR…
    5 – Jeff Gordon – 4102 Pts
    6 – Matt Kenseth – 4100 Pts
    7 – Brad Keselowski – 4095 Pts
    8 – Carl Edwards – 4088 Pts

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500

    In the final race of the Eliminator Chase round, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 27th annual Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

    Surprising: Not only did Kevin Harvick take his No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet to Victory Lane at Phoenix but he also achieved perfection. Harvick scored a perfect 150.0 driver rating as a result of his race domination, in addition to winning his fourth of the season and his sixth at PIR.

    “That’s a good day,” Harvick said simply. “I’m really proud of the guys from Stewart-Haas Racing and Rodney (Childers, crew chief) for the group of guys that they put together over the off-season, and to see this team build throughout the year has been something that for me has been just — it’s just fueled life back into me to come to the racetrack and be a part of something like this.”

    Not Surprising: All of the manufacturers currently in the sport will have a shot at the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship this year. Joey Logano will be representing the Ford Camp, Kevin Harvick and Ryan Newman will fly the Chevrolet banner, and Denny Hamlin will carry the torch for Toyota Racing in the Homestead championship finale.

    “There are a lot of emotions, believe me,” Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford, said. “My hat’s off to all the Shell/Pennzoil guys on this team. They deserve to be in the final four. We proved it throughout this whole Chase and really this whole year, and I’m glad to be sitting here and going for it and have some fun next week.”

    “Just so proud of these guys, everybody, for fighting back, Luke Lambert, everybody at RCR and ECR, this Caterpillar team, they fight hard, there’s no doubt about that,” Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 31 Cat Mining Chevrolet, said after muscling his way into the Chase on the last lap. “I guess the only mistake I made all day was showing these guys what I’ll do on the last lap for when everything is on the line. We’re in this hunt. I’m proud of all my guys, and today was a lot of hard work, and in the end, the last lap was fun.”

    “Coming over here and racing this year has given me new life and a new perspective,” Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet said. “It’s like a dream. You lay it all out on paper and you say, this is what we want to do and we want to race for wins and championships, and all of a sudden you’re a week away from everything that you talk about and dream about and dream up and want it to be like, and here we are.”

    “We just kept working on it and getting our car better,” Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota said. “Probably our saving grace was we definitely didn’t have that strong of a car today but we had a strong car on restarts, and that kind of allowed us to be aggressive and pick up a handful of spots and then a caution would come out, we’d pit, get a little bit better tires, then the guys that stayed out would make up a few more spots, and next thing you know we ended up finishing in the top 5 somehow, some way.”

    “It was a battle.”

    Surprising: In spite of his disappointment in not advancing to the championship round, Jeff Gordon affirmed his support of the new Chase format, although with a bit of a caveat.

    “I like it. I do,” the driver of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet said. “I’m a little concerned where it could go with — just like last week we found out on pit road where the line is drawn and when you cross over that line, and I think that it could get to that on the racetrack, as well. I don’t necessarily know that it has gotten there yet, but it’s certainly possible.”

    “I think it’s incredibly intense,” Gordon continued. “This is the most interest we’ve had in this sport in a long time, so obviously it’s been good. I feel like the only disappointing thing or the only thing I don’t like right now is the fact that I’m not in it next week.”

    Not Surprising: Even though Halloween has passed, Carl Edwards was still looking for some tricks this weekend in order to pull of his dream of advancing to race for the championship. It was not meant to be, however, as the driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford finished 15th.

    “Yeah, we tried every trick that we could,” Edwards said. “We just didn’t have a lot of speed all weekend. The car actually drove pretty decently at the end. These guys dug deep and worked hard. I’ve never been a part of something like this where everybody just doesn’t give up. This means the world.”

    Surprising: After so many championship runs, it was surprising to see six-time champ Jimmie Johnson have such a bad day that all he was thinking about was getting home safely.

    “The root of our biggest problem was the fact that the alternator quit working and we had to keep changing batteries on pit road each caution,” the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Patriotic Chevrolet, said. “Then when I would go back out on the race track I would need to run with my fans off. I didn’t have my brake fans on and was racing hard to try to get a decent finish and evidently just got things too hot and the brakes failed.”

    “I felt a rotor explode on the front straightaway,” Johnson continued. “Luckily it did it there so I had time to throw it in third gear, slow it down some, stay wide into turn one and try not to have a bad angle of the impact of the wall because I was going to hit for sure. So, it was just bad day that kept getting worse. I hope to make it home safe and outside of that, we will see you in Homestead.”

    Not Surprising: While others were competing for championship rites, other drivers were running races with totally different agendas, including just finishing on the lead lap.

    “We were on the lead lap, which has been a struggle here lately,” Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet, said after finishing 22nd. “The GoDaddy car was good early on, but I think the track got tight later on. We finished decent, so I’ll take it. It’s always important to run well here because of GoDaddy so I’ll take it.”

    Surprising: With an investigation of domestic violence facing the driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet off track, it was surprising that Kurt Busch was able to pull off a seventh place finish at Phoenix, no doubt in part due to his owner’s confidence in him.

    “He’ll be in the car until someone else pulls him out,” Gene Haas, team owner, said. “I’m not pulling him out. I think we’re just going to let the police department do their job and try not to say anything that would compromise that. We want an unbiased investigation and we’ll see how it all plays out.”

    Not Surprising: In spite of being bumped out of the way by Chaser Ryan Newman on the last lap, Kyle Larson continued his winning ways as rookie of the race. The driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet finished 13th, with the next highest rookie finisher, Michael Annett, in the 26th position.

    Larson’s usual rookie nemesis Austin Dillon finished 38th after having a tire go down, causing a close encounter with the wall.

    Surprising: After several tough race weekends and in his next to the last NASCAR race of his career, Marcos Ambrose finished strong. In fact he finished top-10 for his Richard Petty Motorsports No. 9 Stanley Tools Ford team.

    “The track changed a lot, but Drew did a great job of making adjustments,” Ambrose said. “We really made the car a lot better all race. It was super-tight in the middle, but we made the right calls. It’s nice to get a good finish. The last few weeks have been a struggle and it’s nice to get back on track. It was a good day for our STANLEY team.”

    Not Surprising: Even those drivers not involved in the Chase competition are looking forward to the last race at Homestead, especially after testing there.

    “We’re looking forward to the race,” Dale Earnhardt, Jr. said. “We feel like we had a good car there last year and we just wanted to learn a few more things.”

    “We’re looking forward to the race.”

     

     

  • Hot 20 – Phoenix isn’t Tombstone, but it Might be Hard to Tell the Difference after Sunday

    Hot 20 – Phoenix isn’t Tombstone, but it Might be Hard to Tell the Difference after Sunday

    NASCAR sought unpredictability for its championship run, and they have it. If not for the Chase, Jeff Gordon would just need to hold off Joey Logano, 26 points back, over the next two races and the title would be his. If the Chase format had not changed from last year, Logano would be the man in charge, with Kevin Harvick 35 back with two to go. Not much drama, not terribly unpredictable, and to change that up is the sole reason NASCAR changed things up this season.

    Heading into Phoenix on Sunday, none of the eight remaining contenders are locked in. Logano, Denny Hamlin, and Ryan Newman look strong, but they are out of trouble by only 11 to 13 points. A bunch of things can happen to see that savings account get all used up. The other contenders are within six points either way of making it or losing their chance to race for all the marbles. At Homestead, the best finisher of the remaining four claims the crown, a track that historically is a good one for Carl Edwards, Harvick, Hamlin, and Gordon. Still, you got to be in the mix to contend, and you got to have a good final day to claim the prize.

    Jerks need not apply. If someone takes you out of the running, there are 38 cowboys (and one cowgirl) out there with nothing to lose at Miami. A simple “oops” can make one’s day while ruining somebody’s season. When a lad tries to fit his car in a hole it just does not fit without risking taking one or both of the leaders out, and tries to walk away from it later, somebody is bound to get a wee bit ticked off. Somebody might end up a tad bloodied. Somebody might find their bid for a title “accidently” wrecked. NASCAR wanted drama. NASCAR wanted unpredictability. NASCAR got it. While the O.K. Corral might be 200 miles away from the track in Phoenix, Keselowski might find himself facing a hell of a lot of Wyatt Earps out there this weekend.

    No matter how these “playoffs” end, the top two drivers throughout this season have been Gordon and Logano. It would be a shame if either fails to make it through Phoenix. It would be a damn shame if the third best fellow, Keselowski, also failed to make it through. Yup, a damn shame. Bad things befalling Bad Brad? Dramatic, yes, but unpredictable? Not so much. What remains to be seen is where, by whom, and when.

    *Drivers awarded 25 (instead of 3) bonus points for a win
    BOLD = Current Chase contender

    Hot 20

    1 – Jeff Gordon – 4 Wins – 1263 Points
    2 – Joey Logano – 5 – 1259
    3 – Brad Keselowski – 5 – 1208
    4 – Dale Earnhardt Jr – 4 – 1196
    5 – Kevin Harvick – 3 – 1144
    6 – Jimmie Johnson – 4 – 1115
    7 – Carl Edwards – 2 – 1064
    8 – Ryan Newman – 0 – 1060
    9 – Matt Kenseth – 0 – 1052
    10 – Kyle Larson – 0 – 1018
    11 – Kyle Busch – 1 – 976
    12 – Greg Biffle – 0 – 962
    13 – Jamie McMurray – 0 – 945
    14 – Clint Bowyer – 0 – 939
    15 – Austin Dillon – 0 – 933
    16 – Kasey Kahne – 1 – 933
    17 – Denny Hamlin – 1 – 931
    18 – Paul Menard – 0 – 883
    19 – Brian Vickers – 0 – 875
    20 – Kurt Busch – 1 – 862