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  • Hot 20 – Martinsville allows us to remember a much simpler time and place

    Hot 20 – Martinsville allows us to remember a much simpler time and place

    Having a team in NASCAR is easy. Not losing your shirt and anything else that might keep your unmentionables private is a tougher task. Just ask Ron Devine of BK Racing.

    According to documents made public by ESPN, Devine’s outfit lost 11 million four years ago. $10.1 million vaporized in 2016. The next season, another $8.45 million went up in smoke. That is close to $30 million in three seasons. This is what happens when you attract few sponsors, limiting your revenue to not much more than prize money, which was not enough to cover even one of those campaigns. In total, it cost just short of $50-million for them to operate over that time period, and an $18-million dollar return does not cut it.

    We should discover this week what lies in the team’s future as it goes to court over its bankruptcy. If you were wondering why NASCAR Cup teams have gone from 43, to 40, to just 37 hitting the track last week, I think you just got closer to an answer.

    Gray Gaulding has been at the helm of the Earthwater Toyota this season. He broke in to the Top 20 at Daytona, sits 32nd in the standings after finishing 32nd at Fontana.

    If that does not attract your notice, this might. Next season, Lowe’s will no longer be sponsoring Jimmie Johnson. After seven championships over 18 seasons and 83 race wins, Lowe’s is going the way of Home Depot, Sprint, Subway, Target, and UPS. The days of a single sponsor paying the freight over an entire season are gone.

    As they head to more traditional grounds this weekend, on a track built in 1947 at Martinsville, Virginia, we can hearken back to simpler times. It is a venue about to host its 139th event in the NASCAR Strictly Stock, Grand National, Winston Cup, Nextel Cup, Sprint Cup, Monster Energy Cup series.

    I wonder if Merle Haggard ever got an answer to his question, “Are the good times really over for good?”

    Our Hot 20 include…

    1. KEVIN HARVICK – 3 WINS – 1 E.W. – 170 Pts
    After California, he took the blame and does not plan a tour bashing Larson or Putin.

    2. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 WIN – 216 Pts
    Last Sunday’s movie saw the lead character nixed early, replaced with a new protagonist.

    3. AUSTIN DILLON – 1 WIN – 141 Pts
    After Daytona, has ranged between 10th and 17th on the track. Not stellar, but it seems to work.

    4. KYLE BUSCH – 207 POINTS
    Best damn driver without a win. Some still think he is the best damn driver…period.

    5. JOEY LOGANO – 197 POINTS
    Became the fourth straight Cup driver to win a Xfinity race. Just bloody wonderful.

    6. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 183 POINTS
    Whatever kind of Ford Harvick has, Brad would like one of those, too.

    7. RYAN BLANEY – 181 POINTS
    FBI Special Agent Wood, I presume.

    8. DENNY HAMLIN – 176 POINTS
    Other than being 17th at Las Vegas, he has rolled nothing but Top Tens.

    9. KYLE LARSON – 174 POINTS
    Funny, he does not look anything like Darth Vader.

    10. CLINT BOWYER – 155 POINTS
    Finished 11th at California, which is good. Was a lap down, which is not.

    11. ARIC ALMIROLA – 148 POINTS
    Does not look like Danica. Does not drive like Danica. Discuss.

    12. KURT BUSCH – 144 POINTS
    The official beer of NASCAR. Sorry…I might have got my notes confused.

    13. ERIK JONES – 132 POINTS
    His worst finish since Daytona? 11th at Atlanta. The lad is on the rise.

    14. RYAN NEWMAN – 117 POINTS
    8th…22nd…11th…11th…21st…and yet few remember he was even there. Talk about being stealth.

    15. PAUL MENARD – 115 POINTS
    Las Vegas was good. Ever since…not so much. His average finish at Martinsville? 20th.

    16. ALEX BOWMAN – 115 POINTS
    After Junior left, I guess the #88 became invisible. Maybe Newman is Bowman’s Yoda.

    17. RICKY STENHOUSE JR. – 107 POINTS
    No, he is not dating Almirola. Sorry. In the words of Merle, “Mama tried to raise me better…”

    18. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 97 POINTS
    A Jimmie sighting! A Jimmie sighting! Now, if you are looking to sponsor somebody…

    19. DARRELL WALLACE JR. – 94 POINTS
    Richard Petty has a dozen grandfather clocks. I think Bubba would like a similar timepiece.

    20. WILLIAM BYRON – 91 POINTS
    This Lord Byron could write a poem about Elliott and that costly Phoenix points penalty

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: California

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: California

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kevin Harvick: Harvick’s three-race win streak was halted at Fontana after contact with Kyle Larson on lap 37 sent Harvick into the wall. He finished 35th.

    “I blamed Kyle,” Harvick said. “That is, until I realized it was Kyle Larson that I hit and not Kyle Busch. Had it been Busch, you can best believe it would have been a case of ‘He said, he said, DeLana tweeted.’”

    2. Kyle Busch: Busch took third in the Auto Club 400, posting his third consecutive top-five result. He is second in the Monster Energy Cup points standings, nine out of first.

    “I’ve yet to win this year,” Busch said, “and it’s very frustrating. I want to win so badly, mostly because I’ll be able to say to slower cars, ‘Catch me if you can,’ which is also what I say to Fox reporters.”

    3. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex was the class of the field at Fontana, leading 125 laps in winning from the pole for his first win of the season.

    “I won by nearly 12 seconds,” Truex said. “12 ‘seconds’ hasn’t meant this much in NASCAR since the days of Mark Martin falling just short every year.”

    4. Joey Logano: Logano finished fifth in the Auto Club 400 after winning the Xfinity Series race on Saturday.

    “You may have seen me hanging with Ice Cube before the race,” Logano said. “I feel like my street cred just went up several notches. So, I no longer want to be known as ‘Sliced Bread.’ In the future, please refer to me as ‘Corn Bread.’”

    5. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski came home fourth in the Auto Club 400, recording his second top five of the season. He is fourth in the points standings, 33 out of first.

    “I hear Kyle Busch was complaining about not being interviewed,” Keselowski said. “When asked about it in a later interview, he said, ‘No comment.’”

    6. Kyle Larson: Larson finished second in the Auto Club 400, posting his second top five of the season.

    “I finished over 11 seconds behind Martin Truex Jr.,” Larson said. “I made history, as the first driver to turn that much clean air into just a second-place finish.”

    7. Ryan Blaney: Blaney finished eighth at Fontana.

    “Attendance was awful on Sunday,” Blaney said. “That’s surprising because one would think speeds approaching 190 miles per hour would be a big attraction. Unfortunately, in NASCAR, one thing not going fast are tickets.”

    8. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin posted his fourth top-10 finish of the year with a sixth in the Auto Club 400.

    “It’s not a whole lot of fun racing in front of empty stands,” Hamlin said. “I think most fans were home watching NCAA basketball. At least fans know there will be passing there.”

    9. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer finished 11th at Fontana and is ninth in the points standings, 61 out of first.

    “NASCAR definitely has an attendance problem,” Bowyer said. “And it’s getting worse because the fans actually in attendance are dying of boredom.”

    10. Aric Almirola: Almirola finished 12th at Fontana in the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford.

    “We weren’t that far from Hollywood,” Almirola said, “so you probably noticed a few movie stars in attendance. To be honest, NASCAR doesn’t need movie stars; this sport needs directors. Maybe if they say ‘Action!’ there will actually be some.”

  • The Final Word – After the opening segment, the storyline at California needed a re-write

    The Final Word – After the opening segment, the storyline at California needed a re-write

    Storylines. We all need them. I mean, other than those rare moments when what is happening is so riveting on its own, we need them to keep engaged. Let’s face it, California was not going to be one of those tracks. Over a year ago, some folks were cheering for history, hoping for the first woman president. Instead, they got the oldest man ever elected, and some have been melting down ever since. When your storyline goes down the crapper, we often get upset and choose our own narrative over the facts. It happens.

    I did not realize I wanted Kevin Harvick’s storyline to include winning four straight races. Then, Kyle Larson took Harvick out, and I wanted to turn the damn tube off. Now, if I were using 2018 journalistic standards, I would say that Larson colluded with Vladimir Putin and punched the third-place Harvick into the wall to tear his car apart. Nice story. A very satisfying narrative to support my initial view. However, that would also be total bovine excrement.

    The reality appears to be that Larson took air off of Harvick’s spoiler, causing Harvick to come down to rattle Larson’s cage. On contact, Happy became anything but when his auto rebounded to make heavy contact with the fence. He went down a couple of laps, and we could put that storyline to bed. Maybe not the Happy ending (pun intended) some wanted, but no point having a hissy fit over it. We have enough of that as it is.

    We had another storyline coming in. We had entries that took part in qualifying, but we had 13 that did not. Nine of them flunked inspection twice and backlogged the process to deny four others their own second attempt. The rules call for the delinquents to start at the back of the pack, but with fresher tires than those who had to start on used rubber after qualifying, that did not seem fair. So, everybody started on fresh tires. In future, they may could go to the Xfinity series model, where those who fail to hit the track for qualifying have to hit pit road after the opening lap to serve a penalty. Not a great storyline yet, but more chapters are to come.

    The storyline then shifted focus to the boy who ruled the opening two segments. Last season, Martin Truex Jr. won a ton of segments to pad his points en route to his championship. He had none heading to California, but he started from the pole, and then went on to sweep the bonus points. Would this be another race where one driver dominated, or might Kyle Busch, or Brad Keselowski, or Joey Logano, or a handful of others in the picture actually get to sign their name at the bottom of the canvas at day’s end?

    Busch II thought he might have the car to beat. So, Truex beat him. Full points to the defending champion after taking the pole and everything else that mattered at Fontana. It marked the 16th win of his Cup career and launched him pretty much into a Chase place.

    It was a day when the rich got richer, as all but two of the Top Ten in the standings finished there on Sunday, with Harvick one exception and Clint Bowyer, in 11th, the other. Good days for seventh place finisher Erik Jones, while Jimmie Johnson finally snuck in there at ninth. That should set him up nicely for next weekend, where the storyline should feature the seven-time champ. Martinsville is a place he has raced to the checkered flag nine times. One win and no one will even remember those opening races of the season.

    By the way, Busch did not finish second on Sunday. That was Larson. Larson? Somebody better call Robert Mueller. I wonder what Larson’s tax return looked like in 1995? Sure, he might have only been three at the time, but I am sure Bob won’t let no stone go unturned to get to the bottom of this.

     

  • Joey Logano Goes for a California Cruise in the Roseanne 300

    Joey Logano Goes for a California Cruise in the Roseanne 300

    Joey Logano led 139 of 150 laps in a dominating win in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in the Roseanne 300 at Auto Club Speedway. This is Logano’s 29th career victory in the Xfinity series, and third at Auto Club Speedway. He has never finished outside the top-10 and will start sixth for tomorrow’s NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series race.

    “Anytime you have new tires and everyone else doesn’t, it’s fun. It’s when you have the old tires and everyone else has got the new tires, that’s not fun,” Logano laughed when asked about the late race pit cycles.

    “I felt sure that we had a car quick enough. The worry more than anything was a crash happening in front of us.”

    Logano was only one of two Cup drivers starting this race, with Austin Dillon who finished fourth. It was asked during the press conference about carrying over any notes or on-track experience into tomorrow’s race.

    “You know there are some things that you can learn from this race, and you only come out here once a year. The cars are very different, Cup cars and Xfinity cars. There were a couple things to carry over, you know, running against the wall, which will help you for the first couple of laps. You have an advantage for the first five laps. You know where the track is a little better. The cars that were fast earlier in practice today are gonna be very fast tomorrow, and I don’t think the advantage you get from running this race is so large that you’re going to smoke everyone tomorrow because you had more laps, but it does allow you to feel more comfortable and feel the race track sooner.”

    JR Motorsports finish second and third with Justin Allgaier and Elliott Sadler, respectively. Elliott extends his point lead to four points over teammate Tyler Reddick.

    “We worked really hard today,” Allgaier joyfully stated after feeling a successful weekend. “Yesterday in practice, we had a really strong Hellman’s Chevrolet and unfortunately when the race started, not that it was bad by any means, but some of the balance things that we felt like we were good with practice, today with the conditions being a little different, we needed to work on it a little. Jason (Burdett) made a great call there to pit towards the end, put tires on and catch the 22 off sequence, which we were kinda hoping it would take a little longer to get up front to battle him.

    “The 22 was the class of the field today, I think they had everybody. Our west coast swing has been great, two seconds and a third. We’ve been chopping away at it. I wish we had a win, but all in all, whenever you get up to the front like that, it’s a good day.”

    Despite hitting the wall, Daniel Hemric fought throughout the day and finished in the fifth position.

    “I’m proud of our effort, not just today but over the past three or four weeks,” Hemric shared during a post-race conference session. “We kinda raced around the fifth to ninth place all day, and the racing to get by there is more intense. It seems like whenever you try to side draft somebody or someone side drafts you, here come three more with runs. Just proud to get to our best running position of the day there, and maintain and come home with the top five. And I hit the wall!”

    Most of the first stage was eventless until Matt Mills in the No. 15 spun in Turn 2. There weren’t enough laps to clean up the incident to go back green, so the end of the first stage finished under yellow.

    During the second stage, the No. 42 Chevrolet of John Hunter Nemechek blew his right front tire on the frontstretch in the closing laps. He didn’t collide with the wall, but the rubber caused substantial damage to the sheet metal. He would finish three laps down in the 29th position after starting in a hopeful third position.

    Christopher Bell, who started on the pole, took FOX’s Helmet Cam for a wild ride over the weekend, being involved in two separate incidents during the final stage. The first was a spin coming out of Turn 4 and sliding through the front stretch grass. Only a few laps later, Michael Annett pinched him coming out of Turn 4 as they ground against the outside wall along the front stretch.

    A few late-race cautions built some unique strategies into the closing laps of the race. Dylan Lupton, who went to a backup car after crashing in qualifying earlier in the day, lost a motor, which ended a long day for his No. 28 team. A few laps later, another caution was put out for debris found in Turn 2. At this time, Logano was one of only a few takers to come to pit road for fresh tires. He restarted in 16th, charged to the front, and took the lead within five laps. However, the final caution came out with around 10 laps remaining for more debris on the front stretch. At this time, almost everyone came to pit road, shuffling all the strategies, except for Ryan Sieg who inherited the lead for the final restart. Sieg was no competition against the fresh tires, as the field charged past him on the opening lap, allowing Logano to cruise to his third career win at the 2-mile oval.

    Positions 6-10 were Cole Custer, Tyler Reddick (highest finishing rookie), Matt Tifft, Ryan Preece and Ross Chastain. Kaz Grala crashed coming to the checkered flag and finished in the 14th position, but was checked and released from the infield care center shortly after the press conference was completed.

    Ironically, Logano is a big fan of the television show Roseanne.

    “I feel like I watched Roseanne a long time ago on like Nic at Nite,” Logano shared, as Brian Wilson, Logano’s crew chief, added, “He was watching the re-runs. I was watching the originals.”

    Joey continued talking about the trophy and winning the race.

    “You know, I was kinda hoping when we pulled in here and I saw the Roseanne 300 banner over the walkway, I was thinking of what the trophy was going to look like, so I hoped it would be a big picture of her face. It’s still cool.”

    Elliott Sadler leads the series points over teammates Tyler Reddick and Justin Allgaier. The NASCAR Xfinity Series races next in Texas on Saturday, April 7, and tickets can be purchased through the speedway website.

     

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Xfinity-Auto-Club-Speedway-Unofficial-Results-3-17-18.pdf” title=”Xfinity Auto Club Speedway Unofficial Results 3-17-18″]

  • Christopher Bell Starts in Front for Roseanne 300

    Christopher Bell Starts in Front for Roseanne 300

    Although Joey Logano was fastest in the first round, Christopher Bell starts on pole for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Roseanne 300 at Auto Club Speedway. This is Bell’s third pole in the last four races.

    “Qualifying’s about speed, and this No. 20 team has had speed,” Bell said. “When we unloaded yesterday, we were really good. I was just little bit loose, and anytime we’d tighten it up and make it more comfortable for me to drive, we’d slow down. We learned something there, and I’m going to have to man up and drive this thing in the race.”

    Bell (181.059 mph) was the only driver in the 181 mph bracket. Joey Logano (180.923 mph) will start second, as the two drivers were the only ones to break into a 39 second lap time. John Hunter Nemechek, Cole Custer and Daniel Hemric round out the top five positions. Christopher Bell was fastest in first practice, but was only able to clock a 40.299 second lap time, roughly half a second slower than his qualifying time.

    Qualifying was split into two rounds. During the first round, all 40 teams made an attempt but Dylan Lupton spun and crashed into the wall right after he took the green flag for his lap. While drivers have been splitting the seam in the corners to gain maximum grip, Lupton couldn’t get into the right position entering the corner, which resulted in the car stepping out from underneath him. He spun in Turn 1 and crashed in Turn 2, settling into the infield grass. The team had to pull out a backup car and will only have three hours to prepare the backup car.

    Cole Custer held the top spot in the first round, but was also the last car to qualify with cloud cover. The remainder of the first round and all of the second round of qualifying had clear skies with sun all around the track.

    Justin Allgaier, Ryan Reed, Ryan Preece, Brandon Jones, Ryan Truex, Elliott Sadler and Kaz Grala finished out the qualifying results for positions 6-12 from the second round. All three manufacturers are represented across the top three starting positions (only one Dodge qualified, Timmy Hill, and will start in the 35th position). NASCAR’s top three touring series are also represented with the top three starters: Christopher Bell on pole running the NASCAR Xfinity Series primarily, Joey Logano starting second from the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series, and John Hunter Nemechek who runs primarily in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will start in the third position.

    The green flag for the Roseanne 300 will wave later today at 2:18 p.m. local time.

  • Hot 20 – Few are California Dreamin’

    Hot 20 – Few are California Dreamin’

    Excitement, thy name is sure not Fontana. Not usually. There is a reason the idea to bring the Cup folks out to the Auto Club Speedway was abandoned after just seven seasons. It is bad enough to be a yawner on television, but when that is the perception live and in person, you have got a problem.

    NASCAR has some pretty exciting tracks, with Bristol, Daytona, and Talladega leading the way. The entertainment value alone makes those stand-alone events, whether you know the difference between Kyle Busch and Cole Whitt or not. Others are steeped in history, while this season will provide us with familiar tracks becoming quite unfamiliar.

    Last week was Phoenix, where new grandstands going up will cause a move of the start-finish line in time for November. New grandstands going up, new fans parked in those seats, a finish line right in front of all those newly accommodated peepers. What is now Turn Two becomes the focal point. Just imagine a finish where the track opens up, where even a daredevil can take their shot cutting low below the line in a bid for victory. Even the drivers like the idea.

    Then there is Charlotte. They run the 600 miler on the traditional oval in May, but in September they will add to that oval a detour to include the interior road course. Something different to watch for. Something exciting is what they hope for.

    As for California, it is not always a bore. Usually, but not always. Here is hoping we fans discover the exception on Sunday.

    As for our Hot 20…

    1. KEVIN HARVICK – 2 WINS – 1 E.W. – 168 Pts
    If the plan is to have his wins match his age, expect two more sooner than later.

    2. AUSTIN DILLON – 1 WIN – 114 Pts
    Winning the Daytona 500 was awesome, but did he retire after that?

    3. KYLE BUSCH – 156 POINTS
    If the plan was to watch Harvick’s backside every race, things are working out perfectly.

    4. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 156 POINTS
    18th at Daytona, Top Fives ever since.

    5. JOEY LOGANO – 152 POINTS
    Not always at the front at the end of the day, but he seems to there at some time during the day.

    6. RYAN BLANEY – 152 POINTS
    Proved that country singer Cole Swindell is a bit of a screamer.

    7. DENNY HAMLIN – 137 POINTS
    Believes he needs just a little bit of speed to catch Harvick. 30 other guys might say the same.

    8. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 134 POINTS
    Won the Xfinity race last weekend. I outran a three-year-old. We are both winners.

    9. KYLE LARSON – 131 POINTS
    Will Chip Ganassi allow his driver to do the Memorial Day double? Most doubt it.

    10. CLINT BOWYER – 125 POINTS
    Clint is second best in the SHR garage…

    11. ARIC ALMIROLA – 123 POINTS
    …but not by much.

    12. KURT BUSCH – 117 POINTS
    Tony’s boys were all in the Top Ten on Sunday.

    13. RYAN NEWMAN – 101 POINTS
    580 consecutive starts. That ties him for ninth with Jimmie Johnson. Jimmie who?

    14. PAUL MENARD – 97 POINTS
    Some days are not good. Some days can get worse. That was Menard’s Phoenix experience.

    15. ERIK JONES – 93 POINTS
    Cup and MLB are similar in that damn few performers of Jones’ age make it to the Show.

    16. CHASE ELLIOTT – 91 POINTS
    Daytona bad. Atlanta good. Las Vegas bad. Phoenix good. He might want to change the trend.

    17. ALEX BOWMAN – 91 POINTS
    The Arizona native son was 13th last week for his best finish of the season.

    18. RICKY STENHOUSE, JR. – 88 POINTS
    Still seeking out his first Top Ten of the year.

    19. DARRELL WALLACE JR. – 77 POINTS
    Claimed more points at Daytona than in his next three events combined.

    20. CHRIS BUESCHER – 75 POINTS
    Phoenix was his worst finish of the year. His time on this chart could soon come to an end.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Phoenix

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Phoenix

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kevin Harvick: Harvick corralled his third consecutive win, dashing to the win in the Ticket Guardian 500 at Phoenix.

    “I was showing three fingers out of my side window for the fans in the stands,” Harvick said, “and one finger out of my rear window for NASCAR officials in the inspection area.”

    2. Kyle Busch: Busch finished second to Kevin Harvick for the second week in a row and now sits second in the points standings.

    “I was trying my darndest to get to Harvick’s rear bumper,” Busch said. “Not because I wanted to pass him; I just wanted to get a really good look at his rear windshield.”

    3. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex started on the pole and finished fifth at Phoenix, scoring his third top five of the year.

    “Right now,” Truex said, “Toyota is just trying to keep up with Ford and Kevin Harvick. Is Harvick’s team hiding something that may be illegal? It’s possible. So, instead of focusing on the rear window, maybe NASCAR officials should try checking the ‘back door.’”

    4. Joey Logano: Logano finished 19th, one lap off the pace, in the TicketGuardian 500 at Phoenix. He is now fourth in the Monster Energy Cup points standings, 16 out of first.

    “Kevin Harvick’s dominance surely can’t be good for television ratings,” Logano said. “Heck, I know at least 38 people that are sick of watching this, and they’re all pretty involved in the sport.”

    5. Ryan Blaney: Blaney finished 16th at Phoenix.

    “I guess I can’t fault NASCAR for penalizing Kevin Harvick for rear windshield violations,” Blaney said. “Harvick lost 20 points from the overall championship standings and seven playoff points. NASCAR took one look at Harvick’s rear window and said, “Hindsight is 20-7.’”

    6. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 15th at Phoenix and is sixth in the points standings, 34 out of first.

    “All the talk last week at Las Vegas was about Kevin Harvick and his rear windshield,” Keselowski said. “Many feel it akin to a remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Rear Window.’ Personally, with Vegas being the home of the Busch brothers, I thought the applicable Hitchcock movie would have been ‘Psycho.’

    7. Kyle Larson: Larson started second at Phoenix and struggled to an 18th-place finish.

    “There were a lot of empty seats at Phoenix International Raceway,” Larson said. “NASCAR claims the action will get fans ‘out of their seats,’ and I guess they’re right.”

    8. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin took fourth at Phoenix.

    “Kevin Harvick was just too good,” Hamlin said. “After the race, he called out ‘all the haters.’ Well, that must mean all of us, because everybody hates Kevin Harvick.”

    9. Kurt Busch: Busch won Stage 2 at Phoenix and finished 10th. He is 10th in the points standings, 51 out of first.

    “I agree with my teammate Kevin Harvick,” Busch said. “NASCAR is overstepping their boundaries by penalizing him. NASCAR officials looked at Kevin’s rear windshield and proclaimed it a ‘sight to behold,’ whereas Kevin says they looked at it and he declared it a ‘sight to b-holes.’”

    10. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer finished sixth at Phoenix, posting his second top-10 finish of the season.

    “If not for social media,” Bowyer said, “Kevin Harvick probably wouldn’t have been penalized for his rear windshield violation at Las Vegas. And that really pissed Harvick off. Ironically, he’s the one going ‘post-al.’”

  • Hot 20 – Harvick hit by penalties heading to Phoenix, but they do not much matter

    Hot 20 – Harvick hit by penalties heading to Phoenix, but they do not much matter

    The damndest thing happened right after I submitted this for publication. The penalties came down after Las Vegas. Kevin Harvick’s team got hit. Hard. Talk about having to go back to the drawing..er..keyboard.

    So, what did they do? Well, according to NASCAR.com, “The team was found to have violated Sections 20.4.8.1 (dealing with rear window support) and 20.4.18 (rocker panel extensions), specifically. A brace that supports the rear window failed and did not meet specifications for keeping the rear window glass rigid in all directions, at all times. Additionally, the rocker panel extension was not aluminum.”

    So, though they no longer use the term, the win is encumbered. If you find the term too confusing, buy a dictionary. Crew chief Rodney Childers has been fined $50,000. Car chief Robert Smith has been suspended for the next two races, and the team and driver both lost 20 points. That means, they get to keep the other 40 they picked up on the day. In short, it matters little to Harvick, with that Atlanta win already in the bag.

    What does matter is that some good people stepped up when they heard that Matt DiBenedetto’s No. 32 entry was unsponsored going into this one. Harvick donated $5000 to the cause. So did Denny Hamlin. Darrell Waltrip matched them. Talk about good people helping look after their own.

    As for our Hot 20 heading to Phoenix…

    1. KEVIN HARVICK – 1 WIN – 1 E.W. – 115 Pts
    If the penalties in any way mean that Kevin is a bit of a brat, welcome to Harvickville.

    2. AUSTIN DILLON – 1 WIN – 94 Pts
    After Daytona, when will we next notice him on race day?

    3. JOEY LOGANO – 132 POINTS
    Three races. Three Top Tens.

    4. RYAN BLANEY – 131 POINTS
    Took the pole last week, which was about the only thing Harvick did not leave town with.

    5. MARTIN TRUEX, JR. – 115 POINTS
    Colorado also boasts Boulder, Crabtree, Dillon Dam, and the Great Divide Brewing Companies.

    6. KYLE BUSCH – 104 POINTS
    If he does not matter it is because he is in the garage.

    7. KYLE LARSON – 104 POINTS
    Chevrolet was not completely shut out of the Top Ten last week. Damn near, but not completely.

    8. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 99 POINTS
    Along with Logano and Blaney, Team Penske has done rather well thus far.

    9. DENNY HAMLIN – 97 POINTS
    The guy is a jerk…then he goes and gives DiBenedetto a helping hand. Still a jerk, but a nice jerk.

    10. PAUL MENARD – 96 POINTS
    While everyone is watching Harvick up front, Menard is quietly succeeding further back.

    11. CLINT BOWYER – 93 POINTS
    Some like Nickelback. Others are named Clint Bowyer.

    12. ARIC ALMIROLA – 93 POINTS
    Failed to stay on the lead lap, but 10th is 10th.

    13. KURT BUSCH – 77 POINTS
    Kurt + Chase = A bad day

    14. RYAN NEWMAN – 75 POINTS
    Ooh, and it’s alright and it’s coming on, Ryan’s gotta get right back to where he last won.

    15. DARRELL WALLACE, JR. – 68 POINTS
    In a seven-race Cup career, Bubba has not done too badly.

    16. CHRIS BUESCHER – 67 POINTS
    Average a 15th place finish (5th, 25th, 15th) and that gives you a Chase place…for the moment.

    17. ALEX BOWMAN – 67 POINTS
    How bad has Hendrick got it? Alex is the best of their stable at present.

    18. RICKY STENHOUSE JR. – 66 POINTS
    This week…he is going after the hot dog guy.

    19. ERIK JONES – 64 POINTS
    In 40 career Cup starts, 24 times he has finished in the Top 15. You can build on that.

    20. MICHAEL MCDOWELL – 53 POINTS
    Mechanical issue killed his day early, yet he keeps on hanging on.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Las Vegas

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Las Vegas

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kevin Harvick: Harvick was clearly the class of the field at Las Vegas, winning Stages 1 and 2 and leading 214 laps in winning the Pennzoil 400, his second consecutive victory.

    “I was untouchable,” Harvick said. “The field didn’t have anything for me, except inferiority. And I’ve led 395 of 592 laps over the last two races, which should give me the award for ‘best lead actor in a series.’”

    2. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished sixth in the Pennzoil 400, as Penske Racing placed two drivers in the top 10.

    “Harvick’s No. 4 Jimmy Johns Ford was indeed ‘Freaky Fast,’” Keselowski said. “He was like Superman out there. And the NRA claims he was faster than a speeding bullet.”

    3. Joey Logano: Logano led 25 laps and finished seventh in the Pennzoil 400.

    “Kevin Harvick’s dominance made for a very boring race,” Logano said. ‘In the place often called the ‘City That Never Sleeps,’ it was the ‘Race That Put You to Sleep.’”

    4. Ryan Blaney: Blaney started on the pole and finished fifth at Las Vegas.

    “Kevin Harvick drove with surgical precision,” Blaney said. “In other words, he put on a clinic out there.”

    5. Kyle Larson: Larson finished third at Las Vegas, posting his second consecutive top-10 result. He jumped eight places in the points standings to fifth, where he trails Kevin Harvick by 31 points.

    “NASCAR viewership is down from last year,” Larson said. “Not many people are watching. So, if you gave viewership a letter grade, it would be a ‘See minus.’”

    6. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex posted his second straight top five with a fourth in the Pennzoil 400.

    “Las Vegas is a playoff track this year,” Truex said. “So, we made observations, took notes, and came to the conclusion that Kevin Harvick has advanced to the second round of the Chase For The Cup.”

    7. Kyle Busch: Busch finished second in the Pennzoil 400 and is now tied for fifth in the Monster Energy Cup points standings, 104 out of first.

    “Nothing sucks more than losing to Kevin Harvick,” Busch said. “Except losing to Harvick badly. Brad Keselowski would call Harvick beating me in such fashion an ‘ass whupping.’”

    8. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 17th at Las Vegas and is now eighth in the points standings, 38 out of first.

    “Okay,” Hamlin said, “so maybe saying 70 percent of NASCAR drivers are taking Adderall is a bit much. But that won’t stop me from saying that 100 percent of drivers in Vegas are on something because they’re all ‘high rollers.’”

    9. Austin Dillon: Dillon finished 13th at Las Vegas and is 10th in the points standings.

    “This race was nowhere near as exciting as my Daytona 500 win,” Dillon said. “Both myself and my Richard Childress Racing teammate Ryan Newman finished a lap down to Kevin Harvick. It appears that, once again, Harvick has left RCR in the dust.”

    10. Paul Menard: Menard started 12th and finished ninth at Las Vegas.

    “What’s up with Jimmie Johnson?” Menard said. “He’s struggling. At this rate, he’s going to end his career with only seven Cup championships.”

  • The Final Word – They came, they saw, and they lost to Harvick…this time at Las Vegas

    The Final Word – They came, they saw, and they lost to Harvick…this time at Las Vegas

    If you missed the action from Las Vegas, allow me to bring you up to date. If you read my column from last week regarding Atlanta, consider yourself fully informed. Enjoy your day.

    If you have a few more moments to spare with me, last Sunday was a lot like the previous Sunday. Only worse, if you do not happen to love watching Kevin Harvick go to the front and ruling the contest. Atlanta saw him have to overcome some slight adversity, more of an inconvenience than anything else. Las Vegas saw him manage to escape with barely a scratch even when his air guns were malfunctioning. He led, he won both stages, he claimed his second straight win, the 39th of his career, and put the maximum 60 points in the bank. Not that he really needs it.

    Worse than Atlanta? Well, when you consider that half the field was lapped after the first segment and only nine were on the same circuit as Harvick at the end, yes. It was worse. Not only did Harvick lead 80 percent of the time, almost all those who were in the Top Ten during any segment finished in the Top Ten at the end. The only exceptions were Kurt Busch, who had his car break loose and then proceeded to break the car of Chase Elliott. That concluded their day far too early in the final frame.

    Kyle Busch finished second, but Kyle Larson picked up more points by taking third. Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Blaney also did better to end the day in the Top Five. Also among the best of the rest, we had Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Paul Menard, while the aforementioned wreck opened the door for Top Tens available to Erik Jones and Aric Almirola.

    Jimmie Johnson at one time was a couple of laps down, but considering he entered the race sitting 35th overall, a 12th place result was damn near as good as a win. That rockets him up to 29th in the season rankings. Still not good, but better.

    Joining the seven-time champ outside the Top 20 we have a pretty fine representation of talent. Elliott drops down to join Trevor Bayne, A.J. Allmendinger, William Byron, Jamie McMurray, Daniel Suarez, and Kasey Kahne among the have-nots. Every race provides a chance for redemption, a chance to recover and move back up the ladder. The funny thing is, as in odd not humorous, while at this time of year we think time is on their side, the actuality is that the longer it takes for redemption, the longer are the odds of climbing out of the hole. The door closes quickly.

    Phoenix might provide some measure of salvation. The bad news is that of the past 11 contests held there since the fall of 2012, Harvick has won six of them. The good news is that he has not won it since the spring race two years ago. More bad news is that while Kahne has won there, he has not done so since the autumn of 2011. Johnson has four, including three straight. Unfortunately, none since November of 2009.

    Maybe next week’s column will sound a whole lot like this one, and the one before that. I sure hope you love Kevin Harvick.