1. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished fifth in the Coca-Cola 600 and remains atop the points standings with a 23 point lead over Joey Logano.
“Chase Elliott must be devastated,” Harvick said. “And it shows. Even with the specter of Coronavirus all around us, he still can’t ‘mask’ his disappointment.”
2. Joey Logano: Logano won Stage 3 and finished 13th at Charlotte.
“I turned 30 on Sunday,” Logano said. “NASCAR officials gave me a pit road speeding penalty for my birthday, apparently.”
3. Alex Bowman: Bowman won Stages 1 and 2 at Charlotte, but faded late and finished 19th. He is third in the points standings, 25 behind Kevin Harvick.
“Chase Elliott might be a little upset at crew chief Alan Gustafson for the decision to pit,” Bowman said. “I hear Gustafson came to Chase’s hauler to console him. Chase was having none of it. He told Alan to ‘Get out.’ And, most importantly, he told him to ‘Stay out!’”
4. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski stayed out on a caution with two laps remaining and held off Jimmie Johnson to win the Coca-Cola 600.
“I’d like to thank my team,” Keselowski said, “as well as the fans. I’d also like to thank the ‘man upstairs.’ That’s what I call the person sitting atop Chase Elliott’s pit box who made the decision to pit.”
5. Chase Elliott: Elliott pitted with the lead when a caution flew with two laps remaining, a decision that ultimately cost him the win. A dejected Elliott finished second.
“We blew that,” Elliott said. “It was such a bad decision, I gave myself the finger.
“We thought pitting was definitely the right call, but it turned out to be one of the dumbest moves we’ve made. No matter how you look at it, it was a ‘no brainer.’”
6. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 29th, seven laps down, after a disastrous start in Charlotte.
“I had a rough start to my night,” Hamlin said. “I had to pit before the green flag because my ballast weights fell out. My response was, ‘Weight! What?’
“On the bright side, I’ve already got two wins this season. So, mask or no mask, it’s easy to ‘put on a happy face.’”
7. Ryan Blaney: Blaney finished third at Charlotte, posting his second top-five of the season. He is seventh in the points standings, 79 out of first.
“Charlotte’s race was called the ‘Coca-Cola 600,” Blaney said. “When I looked into the stands, however, I thought ‘Coke Zero.’”
8. Aric Almirola: Almirola finished 15th at Charlotte.
“Kyle Larson won the World Of Outlaws race on Saturday night in Missouri,” Almirola said. “Earlier this year, he lost big in the ‘Words Of Outlaws.’”
9. Kyle Busch: Busch came home fourth in the Coca Cola 600
“It was an eventful week for Chase Elliott and his right arm,” Busch said. “First, I wrecked him in Darlington and he gives me the finger. Then, in Charlotte, he loses the race by his own hand.”
10. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished second at Charlotte, but was disqualified after failing post-race inspection and relegated to last place.
“As Kyle Busch might say,” Johnson said, “you can’t fix this and have ice cream later. But if I were to have ice cream, it would definitely be from DQ.”
Joey Logano found victory lane Sunday afternoon at Phoenix Raceway. It was Logano’s 25th win of his career and second of the season, making him the first repeat winner of the 2020 NASCAR Cup season.
Chase Elliott earned the pole, with Kevin Harvick taking the second spot. Martin Truex Jr. would start at the rear due to an engine change.
Stage 1:
We saw action early when Elliott and Harvick led the field to the green. The two would nearly collide in Turn 3 of the opening laps but would keep their cars straight. The two of them would be inseparable as laps later they would battle it out for the race lead, with Harvick eventually taking the top spot.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. would find troubles as his No. 47 would hit the in Turn 1 going underneath J.J. Yeley. The No. 47 would receive rear damage to his Chevrolet, bringing out the first caution.
A restart would ensue and Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, and Brad Keselowski would find troubles as the three collided into the Turn 3 wall. Blaney would be knocked out of the race while Hamlin and Keselowski would be able to keep on going.
Kevin Harvick would fend off the field to win Stage 1.
Elliott, Logano, Matt DiBenedetto, Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman, Truex, Aric Almirola, Tyler Reddick, and Erik Jones would round out the rest of the Top 10.
Stage 2:
Elliott would lead the first few laps of the stage before Harvick would retake the race lead. However, the No. 9 would fight back and respond by taking the lead back. Keselowski would march his way forward as he would pass by Harvick for the second spot.
Halfway into the stage, Austin Dillon would blow a right front tire, causing the No. 3 to slap the Turn 1 wall, bringing out the yellow.
During pit stops, Logano would get a penalty due to an uncontrolled tire, Harvick would lose spots due to a lengthy pit stop.
Keselowski and Elliott would lead the field down on the restart, but the two would have a close skirmish with each other into Turn 2, giving Truex an opportunity to lead some laps. Elliott and Keselowski would pass the No. 19 shortly after.
Elliott’s lead would be short-lived as he would come down pit lane, reporting a loose wheel, giving Keselowski the first position.
Rookie Tyler Reddick would climb his way toward the Top 5 as he would pass Kyle Busch for position.
Elliott was on the hard charge, trying to pass cars left and right in order to get back onto the lead lap. A caution with two laps to go into the stage would fly when Garrett Smithley’s car would blow up.
As a result, Keselowski got the stage win. For Elliott, he would get the free pass thanks to the yellow.
Harvick, Truex, Reddick, Kyle Busch, Almirola, Logano, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Larson, and Cole Custer would finish out the Top 10 at the end of Stage 2.
Stage 3:
Keselowski and Truex would lead the field down, and Reddick would move his way towards the second position immediately.
Reddick, Logano, and Harvick would later duke it out, going three-wide into Turn 3. Reddick would drive the car wide, dropping him all the way down to ninth.
Elliott, who had issues back in Stage 2, lurked his way into the Top 10 with 101 laps to go. Quin Houff would blow up off of Turn 2 a few laps later, sending the StarCom Chevy into the outside wall.
The field would immediately flood pit road. Truex was the first one off due to a two-tire stop. Reddick, Jones, and Christopher Bell would follow along with two tires as well.
The two-tire strategy would not pay off, as Truex, Reddick, Jones, and Bell would fall backward in position, while those with four new tires would surge their way past.
Logano and Harvick would pull away from the field until a crash in Turn 1 by Jones and Custer would bunch the field back up. A plethora of cautions would follow upon the restarts.
Reddick, who had a promising run throughout, would have a right-front tire go down, sending the rookie into the Turn 2 wall. Chris Buescher would have a left front go down after contact with Bell, resulting with the No. 17 hitting the Turn 1 wall.
Truex, on a restart, would get a shove from Almirola, sending his Bass Pro Shops Toyota hard into the Turn 1 wall, knocking him out of the race. Logano, who was trying to block Bowman, had a close call and saved it in the dogleg.
Keselowski and Bowyer would lead the front row on the restart, but Logano would close in on the two and would discard them quickly. Harvick would later move Keselowski to take second away. With nine laps to go, Ross Chastain would spin off of Turn 4 after contact with William Byron.
A four-lap shootout would arise, and Logano would have to hold off the field again when John Hunter Nemechek and Stenhouse collided off of Turn 4.
It led to NASCAR Overtime, and with a solid restart, Logano would run away from Harvick to secure the victory at Phoenix.
There were 20 lead changes for seven different leaders. There were 12 cautions for 73 laps.
1. Ryan Blaney: Blaney won Stage 2 and suffered a cut tire late in the final stage, which forced a pit stop and left him with a 19th-place finish.
“Alex Bowman whipped the field by almost nine seconds,” Blaney said. “So mine wasn’t even the biggest ‘blowout’ of the race.”
2. Joey Logano: Logano finished 12th in the Auto Club 400 at Fontana.
“It was cool to see Jimmie Johnson honored with the ‘5-Wide Salute,’” Logano said. “Maybe one day, I can receive that same appreciation. I kind of do now. However, my ‘5-Wide Salute’ is five people standing side-by-side giving me the ‘One-Finger Salute.’”
3. Kevin Harvick: Harvick came home ninth in a mostly uneventful Auto Club 400. He is fourth in the points standings, 12 out of first.
“My ‘Kyle Busch Bounty’ really has people talking about the Gander Truck Series,” Harvick said. “And it has people talking more about Kyle Busch, which is actually what I was trying to avoid.”
4. Alex Bowman: Bowman led 110 laps at Fontana and held off Kyle and Kurt Busch late to ease to victory in the Auto Club 400.
“I promised a friend I’d get an ’88’ tattoo if I won,” Bowman said. “I’m sure people will have a lot of questions when they see my tattoo, like, ‘Cool, are you’re a Dale, Jr. fan”‘”
5. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson started second and finished seventh at Fontana.
“I was honored with a ‘Five-Wide Salute’ during the warmup laps,” Johnson said. I’m really digging this farewell tour. I mean really digging it. It’s quite a turn-on actually. You could say I now have a ‘fete fetish.’”
6. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished fifth at Fontana, scoring his first top-five result of the season.
“Good news,” Keselowski said. “NASCAR is transitioning to single lug nut wheels in 2021. In hockey, that would be a ‘one-timer.’ In baseball, it’s a ‘single.’ In basketball, it’s a ‘one-and-done.’”
7. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin started at the back of the field and forged his way forward to finish sixth at Fontana, posting his second top-10 of the season.
“We started at the back because we pitted to change a shock absorber on the warmup laps,” Hamlin said. “Little did we know that the real shock ‘absorber’ would be Kyle Larson’s rear bumper.”
8. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished fourth at California, recording his first top-five of the season. He is sixth in the points standings, 17 out of first.
“I was just named brand ambassador for Hooters Spirits,” Elliott said. “In case you’re wondering, Hooters Spirits is not a haunted Hooter’s restaurant, where the waitresses might say ‘Boo(b)!’ It’s a line of Hooter’s alcoholic beverages. Look for them on shelves. Or better yet, look for them on racks.”
9. Matt DiBenedetto: DiBenedetto continued his strong start to the season, posting a 13th at Fontana, and is eighth in the points standings.
“You could say I’m ‘running with the big dogs,’” DiBenedetto said. “And as they say, ‘If you can’t run with the big dogs, stay off the porch.’ Well, I’m a big dog, and I’m gonna stay on that porch, and probably ‘leave my mark.’”
10. Kyle Busch: Busch finished second in the Auto Club 400, scoring his first top-five result after two lackluster efforts to begin the season.
“Alex Bowman beat me by almost nine seconds,” Busch said. “In racing, that’s an eternity. So, if you ask how badly I was beaten, I’ll tell you ‘from there to eternity.’
“As for bounties on me, I say ‘Bring ’em on.’ I don’t mind being the hunted, just as I don’t mind being the bad guy. I’m not here to be liked. You’ve heard of Formula 1, right? Well, for me, it’s not ‘F1,’ it’s ‘F everyone.’”
1. Joey Logano: Logano took the win in the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas, staying on the track during a late caution to secure the win.
“My crew chief Paul Wolfe said to pit,” Logano said, “but I didn’t hear him, so I stayed out. Now, a lot of people are telling me I should have my ears checked, most notably Kurt Busch’s cosmetic surgeon.”
2. Ryan Blaney: Blaney seemed headed to victory at Las Vegas before Ross Chastain’s spin brought out the caution with six laps to go. Blaney hit the pits, but Joey Logano stayed out to steal the win. Blaney finished 11th and leads the points standings.
“I guess we should have stayed out,” Blaney said. “It was a regrettable decision, but we can always learn from our mistakes. As a team, we usually meet and discuss the big mistakes we’ve made. We call it the ‘craps!’ table.”
3. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished eighth at Las Vegas and is third in the Cup series points standings.
“Compared to Daytona,” Harvick said, “this race was pretty boring. There were no huge crashes, no photo finish, and no President taking a lap. So apparently, what happens in Daytona stays in Daytona.”
4. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Stenhouse finished third in the Pennzoil 400 and is fifth in the Cup points standings.
“It’s early in the season,” Stenhouse said. “I know because I’m fifth in the points standings.
“But I believe I can keep it going, because I believe in myself, and unlike Aaron Rodgers, I believe in God. I don’t think Danica Patrick shared my faith. Clearly, she was less in tune with the ‘heavenly father,’ and more in tune with ‘Go Daddy.’”
5. Kyle Larson: Larson finished ninth in the Pennzoil 400.
“The members of the 1980 Olympics gold medal-winning hockey team served as grand marshals,” Larson said. “The last time this sport experienced a ‘Miracle On Ice,’ was when Jeremy Mayfield was able to drive while high on meth.”
6. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 17th at Las Vegas.
“It was a tough day for Joe Gibbs Racing,” Hamlin said. “No one finished better than 15th. So, you could say, here in Las Vegas, JGR went ‘bust.’ In other words, it was a case of ‘Toyota-ta‘s.’”
7. Chase Elliott: Elliott won the first 2 stages at Las Vegas, but suffered a flat tire with 50 laps remaining, which ruined any chance for the win. Elliott eventually finished 26th, one lap down, and is seventh in the points standings.
“I was dominating the race,” Elliott said. “My chances of winning the race were high, then, ‘Poof!,’ it all came crashing to a halt. It was the epitome of the phrase ‘Odds and ends.’”
8. Austin Dillon: Dillon finished fourth at Las Vegas after posting a 12th in the Daytona 500. He is sixth in the points standings.
“Did you see Michael Waltrip in the ‘Between Two Buschs’ segment on Fox’s pre-race coverage?” Dillon said. “Michael looked stoned. If his brother Darrell did the ‘Ickey Shuffle,’ then Michael must be doing the ‘Sticky Ickey Shuffle.’”
9. Matt DiBenedetto: DiBenedetto took the runner-up spot in Las Vegas in just his second race with Wood Brothers Racing.
“Obviously,” DiBenedetto said, “staying on the track during that late caution was the right call. And Ryan Blaney and William Byron learned a hard lesson about taking new tires. So, to all those who believe you should always take fresh rubber during a caution, well, they just need to ‘get a grip.’”
10. Kyle Busch: Busch finished 14th on a tough day for Joe Gibbs Racing, who failed to place a driver in the top 10.
“I’ve won seven consecutive Truck Series races,” Busch said. “And Kevin Harvick has offered a $50,000 bounty to any full-time Cup driver who beats me in the next four races. Harvick can take that money and shove it, right back into his bank account because no one’s going to claim it.”
Joey Logano found victory lane Sunday afternoon in the Team Penske No. 22 after holding off the field in overtime at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The win at Vegas marks Logano’s 24th career win in the Cup Series.
“Winning the Pennzoil 400 with the Pennzoil car, this is huge,” Logano said. “It means a lot to be able to do this two years in a row winning this race. I’m proud of the effort everybody here behind me did today. They prepared a great car and executed the race perfectly and that’s what we wanted. We fought hard and tried to keep every spot we possibly could and then ultimately, oh man, being able to pull it into Victory Lane here.”
Qualifying was rained out on Saturday morning and the lineup was set based on last year’s owner points.
Defending champion Kyle Busch was on the pole but was sent to the rear due to failing prerace inspection. Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin and rookie Christopher Bell were other notables that also failed inspection. Hamlin and Bell too would be sent to the back.
Stage 1:
Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. would lead the field down to the green flag but issues in the back would plague Daniel Suarez as his No. 96 Toyota could not get up to speed, bringing out the first yellow.
Harvick brought the field to green again but was swiftly passed by Logano. A few laps later the two would swap the top position and on Lap 12 Truex joined the fray in a three-wide tussle for the lead. Harvick’s No. 4 held them off and continued to lead as the competition caution waved on Lap 25.
As the stage wound down, Chase Elliott’s car came to life as he inherited the race lead with 14 to go in Stage 1 and the No. 9 NAPA Chevy would win Stage 1.
Truex, Harvick, Ryan Blaney, Logano, William Byron, Kyle Larson, Jimmie Johnson, and Ross Chastain would round out the top 10 in Stage 1.
Stage 2:
Elliott would lead the field to the beginning of Stage 2, but Harvick’s car would launch off well, easily passing Elliott for the lead.
A long run would ensue with Harvick going backward as Elliott took back the lead, with Truex following right behind the No. 9.
Bell had a close call in Turn 3 as the No. 95 would slide into the corner but he kept it straight, preventing a yellow.
Halfway into Stage 2 pit road became busy as the leaders started coming in. Johnson and Hamlin nearly collided when Johnson was coming out of his stall, while Hamlin was doing the opposite.
Truex would be the leader near the end of the cycle, but Stenhouse and the No. 47 crew would stay out on the track, banking on a yellow. However, they would pull down to pit road to take two tires and fuel.
Elliott would reel in Truex and pass the No. 19 for the lead and he would win Stage 2 under caution due to Bell crashing off of Turn 2.
Blaney, Truex, Byron, Logano, Harvick, Johnson, Larson, Alex Bowman, and Busch would round out the Top 10 for Stage 2.
Stage 3:
Truex would beat the field off of pit lane but he had to come back down due to loose lug-nuts.
Blaney and Logano would push each other on the restart, with the two Penske cars pulling away until a spin by John Hunter Nemechek’s No. 38 would bunch the field back up together.
Another restart ensued and Truex would find trouble as the No. 19 would hit the wall on the frontstretch, giving the Toyota a right front tire rub before eventually hitting the Turn 3 wall, bringing out another yellow.
Logano and Blaney would continue to swap the lead and Harvick would also have his fair share of the lead with 84 to go between the two Penske cars.
With 63 to go, it was between Elliott and Blaney for the lead, with Elliott passing Blaney on the inside in Turn 1. The No. 9 would hold the gap from the No. 12 until pit stops began again.
The JTG Daugherty cars of Stenhouse and Preece, as well as Front Row’s Nemechek would stay out and a caution would fly as Elliott’s car had a left rear tire go down, sending the No. 9 into the Turn 1 wall with right rear damage.
Stenhouse and Nemechek were able to prosper due to the yellow, but Preece’s No. 37 would go behind the wall due to engine issues. The caution would change up the pit cycle leading to several of the frontrunners taking the wave around while Stenhouse and Nemechek pitted and maintained their track position.
The two would be swiftly passed on the restart as Logano and Harvick would take command. Blaney would follow closely behind, making it a three-way battle for the lead.
All three drivers were using different lines of the track as the laps wound down. Logano was passed by Harvick and Blaney, and soon Blaney would pass Harvick with 19 to go.
While the Fords battled it out, one other driver, Bowman, slowly worked his way into the picture.
Bowman’s No. 88 Chevy came to life as he reeled in the leaders. The Arizona native was coming up fast and disposed of Harvick and Logano quickly. With 9 to go, he was in the runner-up spot. A late yellow would fly as Chastain spun off of Turn 2 with 6 to go.
With a handful of laps left, the strategies were split as Blaney, Johnson, Bowman, and Harvick were notables that came into pit lane. Logano, Matt DiBenedetto, Wallace, and several others would stay out.
It came down to NASCAR overtime and Logano would get a push from Stenhouse. Then, after taking the white flag, a crash on the frontstretch would bring the yellow out, securing Logano’s win.
Logano credited spotter T.J. Majors on navigating him on the last 20 laps leading to his eventual win.
“T.J. does a great job up there being able to just call the lanes and where the runs are coming from, so trying to block those and then also just staring in the mirror trying to watch a run come along, so between all of that I had my hands full in there,” Logano said. “I think everyone had their hands full out there. It was a fun race. The track was wide and made it hard to maintain the lead when you got it.”
There were nine cautions for 37 laps and 25 different leaders for seven drivers.
Joey Logano – 54 laps led
Matt DiBenedetto
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – 30 laps led
Austin Dillon – one lap led
Jimmie Johnson
Bubba Wallace
Brad Keselowski
Kevin Harvick – 92 laps led
Kyle Larson
Ty Dillon
Ryan Blaney – 19 laps led
Clint Bowyer
Alex Bowman
Chris Buescher
Kyle Busch
Corey LaJoie
Denny Hamlin
Tyler Reddick
Cole Custer
Martin Truex Jr. – one lap led
Aric Almirola
William Byron
Erik Jones
John Hunter Nemechek
Kurt Busch – one lap down
Chase Elliott – one lap down, 70 laps led, Stage 1 and 2 winner
Ross Chastain – two laps down
JJ Yeley – three laps down
Brennan Poole – three laps down
Daniel Suarez – four laps down
Joey Gase – nine laps down
Quin Houff – nine laps down
Christopher Bell – ten laps down
Reed Sorenson – 14 laps down
Garrett Smithley – 15 laps down
Michael McDowell – 45 laps down
Ryan Preece – OUT, Engine
Timmy Hill – OUT, Rear End
Cup Series Race Number 2
Race Results for the 23rd Annual Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube – Sunday, February 23, 2020
Las Vegas Motor Speedway – Las Vegas, NV – 1.5 – Mile Paved
Total Race Length – 267 Laps – 400.5 Miles
Rain seemed to be a minor setback for the first Bluegreens Vacations Duel at Daytona International Speedway but the drivers did not hold anything back as it became a massive dogfight at the end between the leaders. Joey Logano held off pole-sitter Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to win Duel 1. As a result, it gives him 10 points and a starting position of third for this weekend’s Daytona 500.
“It feels so good,” Logano stated. “I mean, obviously it’s the Duels, not the Daytona 500, but momentum is momentum.”
“This is awesome, he added. “What great teamwork by the Ford’s, especially Aric Almirola, my goodness. He was a great pusher at the right time and we were able to hold off the bottom when we needed and hold off the Chevy’s and showed the speed that the Ford’s have here. That is something I am proud to be a part of. I am proud to be driving that Blue Oval and these Roush Yates motors. We are ready to rock and roll. I can’t wait for the 500.”
Stenhouse led the way early on until he and the other Chevys pitted on Lap 23, beginning the cycle of green-flag pit stops.
A lap later the Toyotas would enter pit lane, but not all were free of trouble.
Martin Truex Jr. and rookie Christopher Bell made contact, causing the No. 19 to miss his pit stall. Daniel Suarez, who was racing his way in, would lose the draft of the Toyotas.
While the Chevys and Toyotas pitted, the Fords stayed out on track, with Clint Bowyer leading the group. However, as they entered pit lane, a caution would come out when Suarez and Ryan Blaney collided off of Turn 4.
Suarez, who had just finished his pit stop, was on the inside line. Trying to check up for Brad Keselowski’s car, Suarez’s No. 96 slid up, while Ryan Blaney was trying to pit from the outside line, causing a crash.
Blaney accepted the blame for the contact, saying, “It was just an error on my part and kind of a little lack of communication that didn’t end well.”
The wreck resulted in massive front end damage to Suarez’s Toyota. Blaney received right-side damage to his No.12 Ford Mustang. Suarez’s chances of making the 500 came to an end, while Blaney kept on going.
Many of the Fords that had committed to pit lane did not take service due to the caution, but Bowyer and Chris Buescher took service and both received an end of the longest line penalty.
Stenhouse would lead on the restart, but things would get heated up as Logano would challenge the No. 47 for the lead with help from Almirola. With Logano taking over, the field calmed down and stayed mostly single file until the 10 lap to go mark, guarding the inside line. It became a Ford top six consisting of Penske, Stewart-Haas Racing and Roush Fenway cars.
At first, Keselowski formed an outside line, but the leaders migrated upward to block the outside line. Stenhouse was thinking otherwise. The No. 47 went down to the bottom and made huge runs on the leaders with help from the inside line. Stenhouse would steal some laps from Logano and it became a drag race between him and the No. 22.
Stenhouse’s momentum would stall out as Almirola would shove Logano, creating a massive gap ahead of the main pack. With runs coming left and right, Logano blocked both lanes to win. Logano, who led 19 laps in the event, will get 10 points, giving him a head start in the standings.
Almirola would finish second, with Newman, Keselowski, and Bubba Wallace Jr. rounding out the top five. Pole sitter Stenhouse finished eighth.
Rookie Bell would finish ninth in his first-ever Duel.
Due to Suarez’s crash, Reed Sorenson would make it into the Daytona 500 with an 18th place finish. Chad Finchum would not qualify for the main event, as he finished 20th in the Duel.
There were 11 lead changes and only one caution for seven laps.
A week after several crew members jumped into the Kansas scuffle between Cole Custer and Tyler Reddick, another scuffle involving crew members has taken center stage again. As a result, NASCAR has suspended a Team Penske crew member for collaring Denny Hamlin and throwing him to the ground following his scuffle with Penske driver Joey Logano.
Following Sunday’s First Data 500 at Martinsville, Logano and Hamlin first exchanged words, then shoves before crews stepped in to pull the drivers apart. But while other crew members appeared to be working to pull the drivers apart, Dave Nichols Jr., a tire technician for the No. 22 team, appeared to collar Hamlin and pull him to the ground before Hamlin’s crew converged on Nichols.
That move is what led to NASCAR suspending Nichols for the next race, as he was found in violation of Section 12.8.1.C, which addresses member-to-member confrontations with physical violence.
An argument can be made that the crews are doing nothing more than protecting their driver’s honor or respect. In some sense, that may be honorable. But unless the crews are working to break up a quarrel between drivers, their actions may only go to further escalate a situation into something it didn’t need to turn into.
Last week I brought up how some of those in the NASCAR community were talking about how the sport needs to implement a third-man rule much like the NHL. Let those drivers who were involved settle their dispute, be it with words or fists, and unless a crew member is working to de-escalate the situation they stay out of it or they risk a fine and/or a suspension.
There was no reason for Nichols to play the hero and collar Hamlin. His responsibility at that point was to help de-escalate the situation and make sure his driver didn’t get into too much trouble. His actions were over-the-top and unnecessary and made the No. 22 crew look bad.
The issue is between the drivers, not the crew. The drivers are the ones in control of what happens on the track; they’re the ones that know what truly goes down when it goes down. They are also the ones the fans have come to see and if there’s an issue, the fans want to see them handle the issue one-on-one.
Hopefully, the suspension of Nichols is actually seen as a deterrent to the other members on all the teams to not try anything unnecessary during a scuffle between drivers. Let them hash out their beef and be done with it.
Meanwhile, the crew’s job is to act in the best interests of their driver, team, and organization. Collaring a driver and throwing him to the ground is non-conducive to that. The call to suspend Nichols was a good call on NASCAR’s part, so the only thing left to do is to hope it’s enough of a deterrent lest the sanctioning body moves to harsher reprimands.
1. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin won the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas in a cut-off race that narrowed the field to eight drivers.
“Anytime it’s an elimination race,” Hamlin said, “things can get crazy. So, even though this race was sponsored by Hollywood Casino, ‘all bets were off.’”
2. Kyle Busch: Busch took third in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas.
“This is the time of year when pressure builds,” Busch said. “That was evident in Saturday’s Xfinity race when Daniel Hemric and Cole Custer were involved in an altercation. Things got physical, and a little sexy, because the ‘fight’ was really just a very intense hug.”
3. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished sixth in the Hollywood Casino 400 and joins Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin in the Playoff Round of 8.
“It’s me, Denny, and Kyle,” Truex said. “Some people would call that ‘Two Men And A Baby.’”
4. Kevin Harvick: Inspection issues forced Harvick to start 40th but he worked his way through the field to post a ninth. He heads to Round 3 of the Playoffs in fifth, 18 out of first.
“I didn’t even get to qualify,” Harvick said. “But there’s something cool about starting at the back of the field. Starting at the ‘ass-end’ of the field, you get a true perspective of the ‘ass-end’ of talent in this series.”
5. Kyle Larson: Larson finished 14th in the Hollywood Casino 400 and is seventh in the Playoff points standings, 35 out of first.
“I had a run-in with the lapped car of Joey Gase,” Larson said. “He was in my way and I needed to be somewhere, so I moved him. It’s football season so I gave Joey the ‘punt, the pass, and the kick (to the curb).’”
6. Joey Logano: Logano survived a late accident and slide through the grass to finish 17th at Kansas and advanced to the Round of 8, where he’ll be the sole representative of Penske Racing.
“I feel like it’s me against the world,” Logano said. “So, I’m gonna go out there and be a ‘world beater.’ Unfortunately, no one will care, because the general opinion of me is a ‘world of indifference.’”
7. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished second at Kansas which was good enough to secure the final playoff spot.
“That was close,” Elliott said, “and I get the cigar. And, as the kids say, it was ‘lit.’”
8. Ryan Blaney: Blaney finished 21st at Kansas and heads to Martinsville eighth in the Playoff points standings.
“I’m last among the eight drivers in the Playoff field,” Blaney said. “I feel like I’m the forgotten driver in the Playoffs. But I very well could quietly sneak in and eliminate the rest of the field. Then you could call me ‘champion,’ and Kurt Busch could call me ‘assassin.’”
9. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 18th at Kansas and narrowly missed advancing to the next round of the Playoffs.
“Had a late caution came out just a fraction of a second later,” Keselowski said, “I’d be in the Playoff field. But we all know NASCAR wanted that extra restart. I’d like a do-over because I have some ‘un-finish-ed’ business I’d like to take care of.”
10. William Byron: Byron finished fifth at Kansas and failed to make the Playoff Round of 8.
“You probably heard about the flock of birds flying into the NASCAR Hall Of Fame,” Byron said. “I guess they really wanted to get in. But come on birds, show some manners. Don’t you know, ‘Birds of a feather knock together.’”
It was a strange race for Joey Logano and his No. 22 Team Penske team. In fact, Logano did not even make a lap before he suffered his own problems. Just as soon as he rolled off pit road, he had a broken axle and had to take it behind the wall.
However, Logano would return to the track several laps down. All he could do at this point was salvage the best finish he could and avoid a DNF which would hurt him in the points. The Team Penske driver managed to stay out there on the track. While doing so, Logano did receive some criticism from other drivers for holding them up, but he stayed in his lane.
In the end, it wasn’t the day Logano was looking for and he finished a disappointing 34th at Dover.
“Bummer,” Logano said to MRN Radio describing his day. “Things happen, I guess. I don’t know, something broke back there and I’m not sure what it was. We fixed it and got back out there, and rode around 20 something laps down all day. It’s a long day to run around and hopefully have a few guys fall out and gain a couple of spots. We may gain two or three by being out there. I think we’re the last one in right now. We’ll press on from here, we’re not out.”
Logano is tied with William Byron in the playoff points standings heading into Talladega Superspeedway for the next race in the Round of 12.
It was a good effort for Joey Logano and his No. 22 crew but they fell a little short of scoring that elusive win at Indianapolis.
Logano qualified fourth and really did not fall back at all during the race. He was able to win the first stage and finish fourth in the second stage. The Team Penske driver swapped the lead a couple of times with Kevin Harvick. In fact, Logano led 11 laps and even had a shot to win the race with a late-race restart that came with nine to go. In the end, Logano had to settle for second place.
“We were the second best car of the cars that were still running,” Logano jokingly told PRN Radio. “Which may actually mean we were a fourth-place car in general. Proud of our Shell Pennzoil team. We needed a solid day, we had a rough month. It was nice to be able to finish where we should and have a shot at winning the race.”
“I would like to do it again, I don’t know if we had something for them. I was hoping for a green-white-checker at the end there, I was hoping for a caution. I was saving my tires there and he (Harvick) was too far up there to catch. Like I said, good momentum builder with the Playoffs coming up and we’ll head to Vegas, the track we won at the last time we were there. Coming off a solid finish here, so we’re ready to go.”
