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  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Michigan

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Michigan

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kyle Larson: Larson started on the pole at Michigan and led 96 laps on his way to the win at Michigan. Larson pulled away from Chase Elliott on a restart with five laps to go to claim his second win of the year.

    “That’s my third pole this season,” Larson said. “And it’s the second time I’ve won from the pole this year. In honor of the great Alan Kulwicki, I call doing that a ‘pole-ish victory lap.’”

    2. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex won the first two stages at Michigan and finished sixth, posting his 11th top 10 of the year.

    “I’ve made it a habit of winning two stages in a race but failing to win the race,” Truex said. “As someone who’s never won a Cup championship, I guess that’s called underperforming on the big stage. Maybe I just have a case of stage fright.”

    3. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson started at the rear after a spin in Saturday’s practice ruined his primary car and pulled out a 10th in the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan.

    “I signed a contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports through 2020,” Johnson said. “That was definitely a ‘signature’ win for HMS. Hendrick now has me under contract for three more years. The last time a NASCAR driver said he was ‘locked up for three years,’ it was Jeremy Mayfield.”

    4. Kevin Harvick: Harvick took 14th in the Firekeepers Casino 400, and is fourth in the points standings, 132 out of first.

    “I was anything but freaky fast in the No. 4 Jimmy Johns car,” Harvick said. “Unless we’re better in the future, there’s no way we deliver, a sandwich or a win.

    5. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 16th at Michigan and is now sixth in the Monster Energy Cup points standings.

    “I tangled with Kyle Busch on the first lap of the Xfinity Series race on Saturday,” Keselowski said. “Of course, that’s not the first time that’s happened. I’m not sure what’s clashed more, our cars or our personalities.”

    6. Kyle Busch: Busch led late at Michigan but faded to seventh after a late caution did away with his sizable lead. Busch is third in the Monster Energy Cup points standings, 130 out of first.

    “Once again,” Busch said, “a late caution cost me a chance at the win. I’m beginning to think I’m just cursed. And for that reason, I just cursed.”

    7. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished second to Kyle Larson for the second consecutive race at Michigan. In August, Larson bested Elliott to win his first career Cup race.

    “I just can’t seem to get past Larson at Michigan,” Elliott said. “It seems he has ‘MI’ number.”

    8. Jamie McMurray: McMurray bounced back from a 37th at Pocono with a fifth in the FireKeepers Casino 400, scoring his second top five of the season.

    “Fifth place was impressive,” McMurray said, “but it certainly wasn’t the biggest story in what was a fairly uneventful race. The big story was Dale Earnhardt Jr. Not necessarily his ninth-place finish, but anytime his crew chief Greg Ives called him in for fresh rubber, or, in other words, when he announced Junior’s ‘re-tire-ment.’”

    9. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished fourth at Michigan as Joe Gibbs Racing placed three drivers in the top 11.

    “Once again,” Hamlin said, “a debris caution affected the outcome of the race. Was their actually debris on the track? If you were watching on television, you probably didn’t see any. Trust me, though, there is garbage on the track. It’s called ‘NASCAR’s product.’”

    10. Joey Logano: Logano posted his first top-five finish since taking the win at Richmond on April 30.

    “Of course,” Logano said, “that win at Richmond didn’t really count because due to a rules violation, it won’t automatically get me into the Chase. You could also say I cheated out a win. You could also say I got cheated out of a win.

    “NASCAR calls that an ‘encumbered’ win. ‘Encumbered’ means ‘to restrict or burden (someone or something) in such a way that free action or movement is difficult.’ If you look that word up in the dictionary, you’ll find a picture of my dad.”

  • Logano’s Season to Date and Ongoing Slump

    Logano’s Season to Date and Ongoing Slump

    Joey Logano started the season strong with top-five finishes in all but three of the first nine races. But following his win at Richmond International Raceway, his season turned south fast.

    Logano opened the season with a victory in The Clash exhibition race at Daytona International Speedway. He followed it up with finishes of sixth in the Daytona 500 and a week later at Atlanta Motor Speedway. When the sport went west, he finished fourth at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, 31st at Phoenix International Raceway after a late wreck and fifth at Auto Club Speedway.

    Back east, Logano finished fourth at Martinsville Speedway, third at Texas Motor Speedway and fifth at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    It was at Richmond where he scored his first points-paying victory of the season with a win in the Toyota Owners 400. But a few days later, his victory was declared “encumbered” when, upon further inspection at the NASCAR R&D Center, his car didn’t meet up to NASCAR rules, specifically regarding the truck trailing arm. This meant he has docked 25 points, dropped to fifth in points and the win couldn’t be used to qualify him for the playoffs.

    The following week at Talladega Superspeedway began his present five-race slump. He was part of a multi-car pileup on the backstretch with 20 laps to go and walked away with a 32nd-place finish. At Kansas Speedway six days later, he suffered a right-front tire blowout, hooked Danica Patrick into the wall and rear-ended the wall himself, walking away with a 37th-place finish.

    Logano’s last three races have included lackluster performances of 21st at Charlotte Motor Speedway, 25th at Dover International Speedway and 23rd at Pocono Raceway.

    This slump and the encumbered finish at Richmond has dropped him from fourth in points to 11th heading into Michigan International Speedway. It’s also taken him from a 7.2 finishing average in the first nine races to a 27.6 in the last five.

    Logano says this last month has not been fun.

    “You have to keep life in perspective a lot of times with what you are doing out there,” Logano said. “One of funniest comments, maybe not the truth but, someone said, ‘We aren’t curing cancer out there, we are just trying to make circles really fast.’ It is something we can fix. This team is strong. We have been through this stuff before. Really if you look at the speed, last week in Pocono we made a step. We had a good second run in qualifying and were ninth. We had a good start, we were running sixth and had a flat tire. Those things have been happening to us. It isn’t just the speed. We have had other issues. We had an issue at Dover where we had a top-10 car.

    “We aren’t the winning car like we are used to being or want to be but we have made some progress on our cars to where we have gotten faster since Charlotte. We just haven’t had a chance to show it because we are trying to overcome things. Our car isn’t fast enough to overcome issues that happen in the race right now. If we get faster we can overcome having a flat tire last week.”

     

  • Michigan International Speedway – Did You Know?

    Michigan International Speedway – Did You Know?

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the XFINITY Series will compete at Michigan International Speedway this weekend while the Camping World Truck Series travels to Gateway Motorsports Park. The Cup Series race will headline the competition Sunday with 37 drivers entered in the Cup Series “FireKeepers Casino 400” event.

    Last week at Pocono Raceway Ryan Blaney scored his first win in the Cup Series giving Wood Brothers Racing their first checkered flag since Trevor Bayne won the Daytona 500 in 2011. But did you know that he was the 10th different driver to capture a Cup Series victory this season? Blaney joins Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Austin Dillon as first-time winners this year.

    Darrell Wallace Jr. will make his second Cup Series start this weekend, filling in for the injured Aric Almirola. Almirola’s recovery is progressing well and he could return as early as July 14 at New Hampshire. This means that Wallace has, at the least, four more chances to hone his skills in the Cup Series.

    Sunday’s race is the 95th Cup Series race at Michigan. The first race at the two-mile track was held on June 15, 1969, and was won by Cale Yarborough for Wood Brothers Racing. He gave them another win in the June event the following year. Yarborough has eight career wins at Michigan but did you know that David Pearson leads all drivers with nine victories? Kurt Busch and Matt Kenseth lead all active drivers with three each.

    Joey Logano heads to Michigan as the defending race winner. The Team Penske driver started the season strong and grabbed a win at Richmond in April but did you know that in the last five races, Logano’s best finish was a 21st place result at Charlotte? He has dropped from as high as third to 11th in the points standings.

    Will we see another first-time winner at Michigan?

    It may surprise you to learn that Chase Elliott has the series-best driver rating (125.1) at Michigan. In his only two starts last year, he earned two runner-up finishes. Elliott also has the series-best average finish (2.000), average running position (4.300) and the series-most laps in the top 15 (391 laps, 97.8 percent).

    Or will we see another veteran take the checkered flag?

    Kenseth has the second-best driver rating (102.2) heading into Michigan and the series-most quality passes with 990. He has scored three trips to victory lane at the track with 14 top-fives, 20 top-10s and one pole. Kenseth is looking for his first win this year to solidify his berth in the playoffs. But did you know that a Michigan victory would tie him with Tim Flock for 18th place on the all-time Cup Series wins list?

    Could this be the weekend that Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his team get it together and turn his final Cup season around?

    Earnhardt is currently 23rd in the standings. He has the fifth-best driver rating (96.0) at Michigan with two wins (2008, 2012), eight top fives, 14 top 10s and two poles plus the second-most quality passes at the track with 933. A top five finish could bolster the confidence of the No. 88 team as they head into the final 11 races of the regular season.

    Thirty-seven different drivers have won in 95 races at Michigan and capturing the pole may be the key to winning it all. The pole position has produced more winners (20) than any other starting position.

    The on-track activity begins Friday with practice and qualifying on FS2. Tune into the FireKeepers Casino 400 Sunday at 3 p.m. on FS1 for the 15th Cup Series race of the season at Michigan International Speedway.

    In the meantime, check out the video below as Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins the LifeLock 400 at Michigan on June 15, 2008, breaking a 76-race winless drought. It was his first visit to victory lane for Hendrick Motorsports.

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

     

  • Hot 20 – Heading to Michigan, Danica would top this chart if it were not based on performance

    Hot 20 – Heading to Michigan, Danica would top this chart if it were not based on performance

    You would think it would be great to be Danica Patrick. After Pocono, she might be thinking it would be far easier to be Kyle Busch.

    When Kyle does not win, Kyle is not happy. He might not be out signing autographs like Richard Petty should he fall short, especially a race he thought he should have won. Danica finished 16th at Pocono and walked by some autograph hounds without stopping to sign. They then brought out the raspberries. Patrick did not like that and turned to face them.

    “If you’re a real fan then you’ll know my job is not to sign autographs. My job is to drive a car and to tell the team what is going on.”

    She added that the booing was hurtful, and she pulled no punches in doing so.

    “I don’t appreciate the booing. It hurts my feelings. I’m a f***ing person. I’m a person too. I have feelings.”

    I think Kyle might have similar thoughts on the matter, though I am sure he probably would have expressed them a bit differently. Rowdy might not have mentioned how they hurt his feelings, but there are a couple of Danica’s words he might have used, along with a few more. Did the crowd feel bad after her comments? Not really. They could not help but notice she still had not given them her autograph. They forget she is a driver first and foremost. If not, they would be hounding the Monster Energy ladies for their autographs. Hell, maybe they do.

    Meanwhile, Patrick has a new book out, but some question as to how much touch-up was done to her cover photo. Really? Who gives a damn? I might question her ability to bring in the results you might expect given the resources behind her, but I do not question her popularity, her place in the sport, her dedication, or her appearance.

    If the latter really mattered out on the track, Patrick would top our Hot 20 every damn week. Until such time as they figure out why her racing performance is not where they want it to be, that should be her focus. Her real fans would understand that. The others just do not matter. If you don’t like it, try approaching Jack Nicholson for an autograph. He would just tell you to go to hell.

    1. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 3 WINS (421 Pts)
    Had a Yosemite Sam moment. “Whoa, camel. Whoa, Whoa!” This time, no brakes, no whoa.

    2. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 2 WINS (584 Pts)
    Top Tens in seven of his past eight. Too bad about Talladega.

    3. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 2 WINS (454 Pts)
    At least nobody wrecked him last week.

    4. KYLE LARSON – 1 WIN (583 Pts)
    Career wins: 2 Cup, 8 Xfinity, 2 Craftsman, 1 ARCA, 5 World of Outlaws

    5. RYAN BLANEY – 1 WIN (360 Pts)
    Dad finished third twice at Talladega and once at Darlington, but the boy finished the deal.

    6. KURT BUSCH – 1 WIN (331 Pts)
    Won 15 times in a Ford (2002-05, 2017), 14 times in another brand (2006-16). Lesson learned.

    7. RICKY STENHOUSE JR. – 1 WIN (325 Pts)
    Never feels he needs to ask Danica for her autograph.

    8. RYAN NEWMAN – 1 WIN (322 Pts)
    Count the win, and he is 8th. Count the points, and he is 17th. He likes to count the win.

    9. AUSTIN DILLON – 1 WIN (287 Pts)
    If Newman likes the new format to get to the Chase, Dillon must love it.

    10. KEVIN HARVICK – 480 PTS
    You shift from first to second to third, pop it back to second, slam clutch and try again.

    11. KYLE BUSCH – 463 PTS
    I do remember Kyle trying to share his feelings, but Logano’s crew got in the way.

    12. CHASE ELLIOTT – 438 PTS
    Believing Elliott the next first-time winner is like believing Johnson the next eight-time champ.

    13. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 418 PTS
    Same scene, different camel at Pocono.

    14. DENNY HAMLIN – 386 PTS
    Believes there will be at least 10 drivers making the Chase on wins…he being one of them.

    15. CLINT BOWYER – 369 PTS
    You know, his position in the playoffs does not seem near as secure as it once did.

    16. JOEY LOGANO – 362 PTS (1 win)
    “To hinder or impede the action or performance of something.” That is what encumbered means.

    17. MATT KENSETH – 359 PTS
    Both Kenseth and Logano have recent wins at Michigan. They each could use another one.

    18. ERIK JONES – 322 PTS
    Drop this far back in points and you just can not make them up…even with a third place finish.

    19. TREVOR BAYNE – 303 PTS
    If you thought his 21st place finish was bad, you should check out last week’s tv ratings.

    20. DANIEL SUAREZ – 300 PTS
    Crew chief Scott Graves tagged with fine over lug nuts? A politician accepts less responsibility.

  • The Final Word – It was the thrill of victory at Pocono for one, but first a lot had to suffer the agony of defeat

    The Final Word – It was the thrill of victory at Pocono for one, but first a lot had to suffer the agony of defeat

    If you were looking for tight pack racing, Pocono was not it. However, if you wanted to see variations of the old Wide World of Sports “agony of defeat” scenario, that it had.

    Bubba Wallace, Jr. got his first Cup ride sitting in for the injured Aric Almirola. His opening act was a lot similar to an actor stepping out from behind the curtain for the first time, only to fall off the stage. Wallace got caught speeding on pit road twice in the opening stage, including his penalty pass through. He went down a lap early, and stayed there, coming home 26th.

    Clint Bowyer saw his tail end slip slide away on him to brush the fence. He never threatened, yet finished on the lead lap in 17th.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. picked up a bad habit in his 609th career race. As you accelerate, shifting from third to fourth saves the engine. Shifting from third to second kills it. Junior did it twice. Once in practice, once during the second stage. Same result; 38th was to be his fate.

    Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray are what I might call fitness freaks. They do freaky things together, like a Saturday bicycle ride, for example. They got caught in the rain and probably skipped the Piña coladas after that exercise trek got washed out. On Sunday, they had brake failures within a couple of seconds and a few yards apart. Johnson had his chimes rung a bit while McMurray needed to evacuate his burning auto. Now you know who finished just ahead of Junior.

    Kevin Harvick was in his 588th race. Near the end of the second segment, he did the same damn thing Junior did. Fortunately for him, a quick tap on the clutch saved his bacon, along with a very stoutly built engine. It was a death watch for smoke and flames that proved to be a tad premature.

    After Kasey Kahne brought out a late caution, we had Kyle Busch on point, with Ryan Blaney just behind him with 13 to go. Three laps later, Blaney finally managed to avoid the blocks and took over the lead, but he had company. As Rowdy faded to ninth, it was Harvick, abused engine and all, making this a race to the line. In the end, it was Dave Blaney’s son coming through to do something his dad could only come close to accomplishing in 473 starts and claim a Cup victory.

    It was a great day for Blaney and Harvick, a good one points-wise for the Busch boys (Kurt was fourth), Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski, and Chase Elliott. However, if we have just seven more drivers winning their first of the season over the next dozen races, points will not mean as much as they used it.

    An encumbered win means nothing, so that leaves Joey Logano 16th in the standings, just three points up on Matt Kenseth. Michigan is next, and with the pair having won two of the past three runs at the track, it might be a time for one of those other Wide World of Sports moments. You know, the “thrill of victory.”

  • Hot 20 – No lug nuts, no crew, as Kyle discovered heading to Pocono

    Hot 20 – No lug nuts, no crew, as Kyle discovered heading to Pocono

    They went and done it. Kyle Busch comes in leading early in the race at Dover. For whatever reason, when they went to tighten up the rear left lug nuts, the air gun was removing them instead. When the jack dropped, the car left, and shortly after the tire left the car. Bad news for Kyle. Today, bad news for the crew.

    A major penalty can be handed out for sacrificing safety in order to have a fast pit stop. That clearly was not the case here, but it did not matter. Gone for four races are crew chief Adam Stevens, tire changer Jacob Seminara and tire carrier Kenneth Barber. To be fair, the rule does state “loss of wheel(s) due to improper installation will result in a mandatory minimum four race suspension of the crew chief and the tire changer and tire carrier of the lost wheel(s).” As I read it, and it appears this is NASCAR’s interpretation, intent matters not. Something tells me that a certain jackman might owe his buddies a few beers, at the very least.

    Sometimes the crew does things a bit more on purpose. As we head to Pocono, we remember last year at this time, at this track, when Brad Keselowski’s rear tire carrier threw a hip check to the side of his driver’s car in the pits. NASCAR saw it, and did not like the unapproved modifications to its aerodynamics. Mind you, all he got was a call to return to the pits to repair the indentation. No one got vacation time.

    Keselowski knows all about vacation time. He has not made it past the first segment in the past two races. As for Busch, he is left hoping race engineer Ben Beshore will have the magic atop the box to get him his first victory of the season as the Hot 20 make their first visit of the campaign to Pocono.

    1. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 3 WINS – 414 PTS
    Seven is heaven, but to win eight would be great.

    2. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 2 WINS – 545 PTS
    Good on segments, good on wins, good on points, good to go for the Chase.

    3. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 2 WINS – 410 PTS
    Dear Race Friends: Please do not wreck me until at least the second segment. Thanks, Brad.

    4. KYLE LARSON – 1 WIN – 536 PTS
    Had the best car out there last week, at least until the final re-start.

    5. RICKY STENHOUSE JR. – 1 WIN – 299 PTS
    Afraid last week that he had to hit the wall a third time to finally kill the car. It only took two.

    6. RYAN NEWMAN – 1 WIN – 299 PTS
    Late caution during green flag stops shuffled the order, allowing the Rocket a Top Ten at Dover.

    7. KURT BUSCH – 1 WIN – 291 PTS
    Wiggled early and took out Keselowski last week. One flat later, and he was gone himself.

    8. AUSTIN DILLON – 1 WIN – 263 PTS
    Until nine more drivers win this season, he is sitting pretty for the Chase.

    9. KEVIN HARVICK – 429 PTS
    Six Top Tens in his last seven races leaves him winless yet sitting pretty.

    10. KYLE BUSCH – 416 PTS
    “The wheels on the car go round and round…” He hates that song.

    11. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 415 PTS
    Has run no worse than 12th over the past seven events.

    12. CHASE ELLIOTT – 398 PTS
    After Richmond, Talladega, Kansas, and Charlotte, Dover was like a breath of fresh air.

    13. DENNY HAMLIN – 361 PTS
    Four Pocono wins, but the last one came seven years ago.

    14. CLINT BOWYER – 349 PTS
    Thought Tony Stewart was back, but it was just an idiot fan climbing the Dover catchfence.

    15. JOEY LOGANO – 348 PTS (1 Win*)
    Some seem to think Donald Trump’s win in November was also encumbered. They are wrong.

    16. MATT KENSETH – 327 PTS
    Screw it. Just win on Sunday and all this point counting will no longer matter.

    17. RYAN BLANEY – 320 PTS
    Ryan’s plan is to get eight more points than Kenseth and hope someone winless does not win.

    18. TREVOR BAYNE – 287 PTS
    40 points is not hard to make up…with a win. You might notice a bit of a theme here.

    19. ERIK JONES – 283 PTS
    Joins Saturday broadcast team of Erik, Ryan, Ricky, Kevin, Joey, Clint, Danica, and Denny.

    20. DANIEL SUAREZ – 278 PTS
    I read “Suarez drives in three”, but it was Eugenio’s performance for the Reds over the Cards.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson started at the rear of the field due to a gear change and charged to the front to win the AAA 400, his 11th career win at Dover and 83rd career Cup victory, tying Cale Yarborough.

    “It’s great to be mentioned in the same sentence with Cale,” Johnson said. “Especially since I was wearing a helmet honoring him. Cale hasn’t gone upside someone’s head like that since he battled the Allison brothers at Daytona back in 1979.”

    2. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex won Stages 1 and 2 at Dover and finished third as the race ended under caution after a crash shortly after the final restart. Truex leads the Monster Energy Cup points standings by nine points over Kyle Larson.

    “I won two stages,” Truex said, “and Kyle Karson led 241 laps. Yet Jimmie Johnson won the race. As the saying goes, ‘Legend has it.’”

    3. Kyle Larson: Larson led a race-high 241 laps, and saw a late caution wreck his hopes for the win at Dover. Larson was enjoying over a two-second lead over Jimmie Johnson when David Ragan hit the wall, bringing out a caution.

    “If David Ragan doesn’t wreck,” Larson said, “Johnson doesn’t win. Jimmie got lucky, very lucky. I said Johnson had a golden horseshoe somewhere. I won’t say where it actually is, but I will say Johnson can afford the best proctologist money can buy.”

    4. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished ninth at Dover, positing his eighth top 10 of the season. He is third in the points standings, 116 out of first.

    “My Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Danica Patrick posted her first top-10 finish since April 2015,” Harvick said. “That’s certainly good news for her future with SHR. As you know, Danica is under contract through next season, but she just lost Nature’s Bakery sponsorship. SHR has a decision to make, and the question is, ‘Is Danica worth the bread?’”

    5. Brad Keselowski: For the second week in a row, Keselowski’s was collected in a wreck that ended his day. At Dover, Kurt Busch got loose on lap 66 and hit the wall, leaving Keselowski nowhere to go. Keselowski slammed into Busch and finished 38th.

    “If it’s not one Busch brother dropping the mic,” Keselowski said, “it’s another dropping the ball.

    “I’ve been critical of Kyle Busch after his abbreviated press conference at Charlotte. Maybe I should be more sympathetic, because if anyone knows how to play the victim, it’s me.”

    6. Chase Elliott: Elliott overcame an early pit road speeding penalty to bring home a fifth-place finish in the AAA 400 at Dover. He is eighth in the points standings, 147 out of first.

    “I heard Kyle Busch’s crewman was unscrewing lugnuts when he thought he was tightening them,” Elliott said. “In NASCAR terms, you can say he got a little loose.”

    7. Joey Logano: Logano blew his right front tire with 46 laps to go in Stage 2, and limped home to a 25th-place finish at Dover.

    “They don’t call Dover the ‘Monster Mile’ for nothing,” Logano said. “It is truly a monster. And trust me, I know a monster when I see one. And that reminds me, Father’s Day is June 18th.”

    8. Jamie McMurray: McMurray finished seventh in the AAA 400 and is now fifth in the Monster Energy Cup points standings, 130 out of first.

    “Some idiot fan climbed the catchfence during the race,” McMurray said. “And some idiot NASCAR official didn’t even throw a caution flag. And that, in itself, should raise a red flag.”

    9. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished eighth at Dover, scoring his sixth top 10 of the year.

    “Joe Gibbs Racing has yet to win a race this year,” Hamlin said. “And the pressure is on us to win, especially Kyle Busch. So don’t put a mic in his hands until you put a trophy in his hands.”

    10. Kyle Busch: Busch started on the pole at Dover, but disaster struck early, when after his first pit stop, his left rear wheel fell off. Miraculously, Busch recovered from that incident, but fell two laps down late before scrambling to finish 16th.

    “Our pit crewman was actually unscrewing the lug nuts,” Busch said. “That’s shocking. But the biggest surprise was even with the unscrewing, I didn’t come ‘unhinged.’

    “Obviously, I need to work on my attitude. Still others think my sponsors and bosses should not be so easy to brush off my behavior. So, I guess they need to work on their latitude.”

  • The Final Word – Dover, where yellow became my favorite color

    The Final Word – Dover, where yellow became my favorite color

    When it comes to extraordinary television, sit on the edge of your seat excitement, Dover under green will not exactly get your heart racing. In fact, Sunday’s race was more of a cautionary tale. When the yellow waved, the interest spiked.

    They waved the flag to start the race. I dozed. There was a caution, but it was for one of the exhaust eaters. No big deal. Then they dropped the jack on leader Kyle Busch in the pits, nearly spun the fingers off tire man Kenny Barber, and then the tire rolled off as Busch pulled out. That got my attention. I bet it got the attention of the entire crew. It sure got the attention of NASCAR. It seems Barber, tire changer Jake Seminara, and crew chief Adam Stevens could all face a major penalty. That could cost them each up to four races. We shall see. However, instead of trying to jump the gun by putting on fewer lugs nuts, the air gun was actually pulling them off instead of spinning them on. Be it a malfunction or a miscue, it was rather memorable.

    Then, back to my nap. For a couple of laps. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. did not take tires under the caution, but caused the next. The lights went on, I woke up, and Stenhouse had some mangled rubber. That contact with the wall did not help either.

    I was about to head off to dream land when Stenhouse hit the wall again. He was finally done. Still, no nap for me, as on the re-start, Kurt Busch broke loose and drove Brad Keselowski into the fence. Bad Brad was toast. Busch lingered, but the damage he sustained finally got to his tire, which got him into the wall, and finally in to the garage to stay. There were still three-quarters of the race left to run and three bound for the Chase were already gone for the day.

    They pitted, when Clint Bowyer’s crew noticed a mechanical issue. Fluids were flowing out where they should not be flowing. To the garage for repairs. By the time he returned, 18 laps had gone by.

    I was able to get in some serious “zzzz” time for the next hundred laps. That was interrupted by another caution. It would seem Joey Logano met the outside barrier, and the repair time cost him four circuits.

    More than a hundred laps of round and round later, the alarm went off again. Regan Smith, sitting in for the mending Aric Almirola, had his right front surrender. Another caution, another tire, another fence, another retirement.

    As the final laps clicked off, it was Kyle Larson, Jimmie Johnson, and Martin Truex Jr., the contenders. One more caution, and we were off to overtime. Six additional laps under green, we thought. It actually ended under caution.

    Johnson moved to the lead with a better re-start and had gone by the overtime line when all hell broke loose behind them on the front stretch. Ty Dillon wiggled and got punted into the safer wafers, while Trevor Bayne and Kasey Kahne not only rhymed but also were among those who failed to make the line. Under caution, Johnson, Larson, and Truex did, in that order.

    It marked the 83rd career win for Johnson, tying him for sixth all-time with Cale Yarborough. It gave him his 11th career Dover win in 31 attempts, and third victory of the season. As far as the standings go, the only real change of note was Matt Kenseth out performing Ryan Blaney, 13th compared to 32nd, and moving seven points up in the battle for the final Chase place.

    With Pocono coming up next week, here is a final cautionary tale. If you are not in the Top 17 heading to Pennsylvania on Sunday, you are not going to make the Chase on points. With the rest 40 or more points out, their best hopes lie in winning one of the next 13 events. The way things have played out so far, with nine winners to date, even a single victory might not be enough.

    This might be a good time for recent past Pocono winners Kahne, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kenseth, and Chris Buescher to catch lightning in a bottle one more time. Either Sunday, or the return date in August will do. Maybe.

  • Hot 20 – If Dover is such a boring track to watch a race, why is Jimmie Johnson so excited?

    Hot 20 – If Dover is such a boring track to watch a race, why is Jimmie Johnson so excited?

    Some things are just not like the others. May featured the World 600 and the All-Star race at Charlotte, the spring derby at Talladega, events a fellow can get excited about. This week. Dover.

    Maybe Jimmie Johnson will stall on the re-start like he did last spring. That caused one hell of a mess. No, it was not racing, but it sure was not boring. It was not boring when Carl Edwards bounced off the infield wall. At the end, Kyle Larson kept Matt Kenseth honest right to the stripe, as the veteran claimed the victory. That was not a boring finish.

    Miles the Monster is not boring. He is big, and the trophy is cool as it holds a model of the winning car in its big mitt. The Monster Mile was once known as White Lightning, but I am thinking that Miles is a bit of a Teetotaler. Come to think of it, so are Donald Trump and Kathy Griffin. Why that fun fact amuses me as much as it does, I do not know.

    They have raced 94 times at Dover since the first Cup event in 1969. Richard Petty won the first two, three of the first four, and is tied with Bobby Allison with seven victories. That is good enough for second best.

    Among active drivers, Kenseth and Ryan Newman have won three apiece but they are a long ways away from the top gun. Remember that guy who jammed things up last year? Johnson has won 10 in 30 attempts. That is a pretty good average. I wonder who the favorite might be?

    It would seem our seven-time Cup champion just likes collecting the more unusual trophies. Ten Monsters to go with his nine Martinsville grandfather clocks. Say what you might about the one-mile track in Delaware or the driver who dominates it, but I think we can agree that there is a trophy room out there that is anything but boring.

    Like Austin Dillon, Johnson is among our Hot 20 with a Chase in his future.

    1. MARTIN TRUEX JR – 2 WINS – 491 PTS
    First in points, tied for first in wins. What do you think of Furniture Row now?

    2. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 2 WINS – 409 PTS
    Dreams of lasting a tad longer this Sunday than he did in the race last week.

    3. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 2 WINS – 359 PTS
    The gatekeeper of the room with Monsters and Grandfather Clocks.

    4. KYLE LARSON – 1 WIN – 486 PTS
    Monaco is too far away to attempt a Triple but has dreams of a Memorial Day Weekend Double.

    5. RICKY STENHOUSE JR. – 1 WIN – 298 PTS
    Like Happy and Rowdy, he has an attractive better half, but he also has something they do not.

    6. KURT BUSCH – 1 WIN – 290 PTS
    With his Daytona 500 win and three of the past four a Top Ten, it is good to be Kurt.

    7. RYAN NEWMAN – 1 WIN – 266 PTS
    When a veteran looks you in the eye and says you are who they fight for, that has an impact.

    8. AUSTIN DILLON – 1 WIN – 238 PTS
    Points? Who needs stinkin’ points when you get a win at Charlotte?

    9. KEVIN HARVICK – 388 PTS
    The buck stops with the crew chief, as Childers loses $10,000 for Charlotte’s loose lug nut.

    10. KYLE BUSCH – 386 PTS
    Hates to lose, be it 38th at Daytona or 2nd at Charlotte. He won’t be a happy camper.

    11. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 385 PTS
    All of his wins have come on just four marquee tracks, and this is not one of them.

    12. CHASE ELLIOTT – 362 PTS
    Keselowski saved mechanics a ton of time last week, removing any thought of making repairs.

    13. CLINT BOWYER – 343 PTS
    Solution to a front end that just would not turn last weekend. Clydesdales. Just a thought.

    14. JOEY LOGANO – 336 PTS (1 WIN*)
    Win at Kansas was encumbered, meaning it means nothing when it comes to Chase eligibility.

    15. DENNY HAMLIN – 332 PTS
    One very bad day away from being in danger of losing his contender status.

    16. RYAN BLANEY – 308 PTS
    One very good day away from potentially putting Hamlin in that position.

    17. MATT KENSETH – 288 PTS
    A repeat of last year’s spring edition would be just fine with him.

    18. TREVOR BAYNE – 271 PTS
    Doing enough to stay on this list, but not enough to challenge for a title.

    19. ERIK JONES – 256 PTS
    Just turned 21 this week. I turned 21 in 1977. I win!

    20. DANIEL SUAREZ – 246 PTS
    Five straight in the Top 20, three of the last four in the top dozen. There is still time.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Charlotte

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Charlotte

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex led 233 laps and won Stage 2 on his way to a third-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600.

    “That’s the third consecutive year I’ve led the most laps in the Coke 600,” Truex said, “and all I have to show for it is one win and a lousy t-shirt.”

    2. Kyle Larson: Larson started at the rear of the Coca-Cola 600 after he failed to pass inspection in time for a qualifying lap. He raced as high as third before scraping the wall on lap 153, then smacked the wall harder 45 laps later, which ended his day. He finished 33th and dropped out of the top spot in the Monster Energy Cup points standings.

    “By the time I passed inspection,” Larson said, “I didn’t have time to turn a qualifying lap. In a sport based on speed, I guess we first need to be faster at passing inspection.”

    3. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson ran out of gas two laps from the finish, which allowed Austin Dillon to win his first Cup race. Johnson finished 17th.

    “Much like my fuel intake system,” Johnson said, “this sucks. But congratulations go to Dillon. He really proved he belongs with the big boys. You know, a lot of people thought he got a NASCAR ride only because of Richard Childress. I think that’s called being ‘grandfathered in.’”

    4. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski’s Charlotte experience ended abruptly when he rear-ended Chase Elliott, whose No. 24 slowed dramatically after running over a piece of debris from Jeffrey Earnhardt’s car. Keselowski finished 39th.

    “I’m not sure what piece came off of Earnhardt’s car,” Keselowski said. “But knowing it came from Jeffrey Earnhardt’s car, I’m guessing it was a piece of junk.”

    5. Kevin Harvick: Harvick started on the pole at Charlotte and finished eighth despite dealing with a loose wheel early in the race, then a spin caused by some fluid on the track.

    “Congratulations to Austin Dillon and Richard Childress,” Harvick said. “I know the importance of winning as an RCR driver. Whenever I won in an RCR car, both Richard and I celebrated. So the partying may have been mutual, but the parting was not.”

    6. Chase Elliott: Elliott crashed out early at Charlotte when he ran over a piece of Jeffrey Earnhardt’s car and was subsequently smashed from behind by Brad Keselowski. Elliott finished 38th.

    “It’s not the first time an Earnhardt has disappointed a fan base this season,” Elliott said.

    7. Jamie McMurray: McMurray finished 12th at Charlotte and is sixth in the points standings, 106 out of first.

    “Austin Dillon and his team made all the right calls,” McMurray said. “And it’s good to see the No. 3 in Victory Lane. But I don’t think anyone is going to start calling Dillon ‘The Intimidator’ anytime soon. Based on his fuel mileage victory, I think a more fitting nickname would be the ‘Fume-igator.’”

    8. Joey Logano: Logano finished 21st at Charlotte, one lap down, and is now 10th in the Monster Energy Cup points standings.

    “It wasn’t the best of days for Penske Racing,” Keselowski said. “First, neither Will Power nor Helio Castroneves won at Indianapolis. Brad Keselowski and I? We didn’t have any luck ‘In-dy Car’ either.”

    9. Kyle Busch: Busch likely had the fastest car on the track but finished a disappointing second to Austin Dillon, who successfully gambled on fuel strategy to capture the win.

    “Leave it to a Busch brother to be ornery after a second-place finish,” Busch said. “As it was, I came up short, in the race and in the post-race press conference.”

    10. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer finished 14th at Charlotte and is now ninth in the Monster Energy Cup points standings, 343 out of first.

    “Channing Tatum gave the command to start the engines,” Bowyer said. “Tatum was in Charlotte to promote his movie, ‘Logan Lucky,’ which takes place at Charlotte Motor Speedway and involves some type of robbery during the Coca- Cola 600. I think Austin Dillon will serve as a special consultant because he stole the race on Sunday.”