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  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Martinsville

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Martinsville

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jeff Gordon: Gordon seized his opportunity at Martinsville, taking the lead late and holding on for his ninth win at the Virginia half-mile track. With the win, Gordon will be one of four drivers vying for the Sprint Cup at Homestead.

    “I can certainly identify with Joey Logano,” Gordon said. “Because we both ‘owe’ Matt Kenseth.”

    2. Joey Logano: Logano was dominating at Martinsville and seemed headed for his fourth straight victory, till Matt Kenseth intentionally wrecked Logano with 47 laps left. Logano finished 37th, 42 laps down.

    “It was a total coward move by Kenseth,” Logano said. “And I should know—I’m all yellow.

    “I’m furious, and so is my father Tom. He was redder than a Martinsville hot dog. He was so irate, he had to be restrained. And speaking of ‘restraint,’ that reminds me of my first memory of my father, when he duct-taped to the seat of a go-cart and said ‘Drive.’”

    3. Kevin Harvick: Harvick led 38 laps and finished eighth in the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500.

    “Once again,” Harvick said, “I made a move that kept my championship hopes alive. This time, however, instead of driving into the fray, I steered clear of controversy.”

    4. Kyle Busch: Busch finished fifth at Martinsville, and is second in the points standings with two races to go before the finale at Homestead.

    “I can’t wait to hear NASCAR’s response to the Matt Kenseth-Joey Logano incident,” Busch said. “In the ‘Boys, have at it’ age, and just weeks after Brian France used the term ‘quintessential NASCAR,’ it seems that NASCAR, just like Logano, was ‘asking for it.’”

    5. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished third at Martinsville, posting his 14th top-5 finish of the year.

    “I think we may need to look into updating the definition of the word ‘accident’ in this sport,” Hamlin said.

    6. Carl Edwards: Despite front-end damage suffered in an early accident, Edwards finished a solid 14th at Martinsville.

    “The crew did a good job of repairing the No. 19 Toyota,” Edwards said. “So good, in fact, that NASCAR wants some pointers on ‘damage control.’”

    7. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex led 27 laps at Martinsville and finished sixth at Martinsville.

    “NASCAR won’t stand for this type of vigilante justice,” Truex said. “NASCAR fans, on the other hand, well, they’ll not only stand, they’ll give it an ovation, as well.”

    8. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski was collected in an accident that sent him crashing into Matt Kenseth’s No. 20 Toyota. Keselowski’s No. 22 suffered major damage to the suspension, and he limped home with a 32nd-place finish.

    “I did not wreck Kenseth on purpose,” Keselowski said. “No, that’s not me quoting Joey Logano from Kansas. That’s me being honest, and, let’s face it, apparently NASCAR drivers can only be honest when they haven’t wrecked someone on purpose.”

    9. Kurt Busch: Busch was collected in a wreck after Brad Keselowski made contact with Matt Kenseth, sending Kenseth’s No. 20 into Busch’s No. 41. Busch finished 34th, 14 laps off the pace.

    “This means I’ll probably have to win one of the next two races,” Busch said. “That puts me in the same boat with three or four other drivers. And speaking of boats, if Matt Kenseth would have done what he did in a boat, he would be ‘docked.’”

    10. Dale Earnhardt, Jr: Earnhardt finished fourth at Martinsville as all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers finished in the top 12, with Jeff Gordon taking the win.

    “Am I surprised that Matt Kenseth took out Joey Logano?” Earnhardt said. “Of course not. This is NASCAR, in which most of the races take place on oval tracks. Just take a look at the cars turning laps on those tracks, and you’ll realize it’s easy to see ‘what goes around comes around.’”

  • NASCAR Must Do Something on Tuesday

    NASCAR Must Do Something on Tuesday

    What I saw at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday made me sick to my stomach. It ruined what otherwise was a good weekend at the track, the marvelous speedway that should be a blueprint for what racing should be. Everyone knows the story by now. Matt Kenseth decided to retaliate and knock the leader out of the race—on purpose. You may say I can’t prove that, but actions speak louder than words.

    I’ve been following this sport longer than many people have been alive. I’ve seen retaliation, but nothing on this scale. I can’t remember an action that changed the entire championship situation just to get even. Before you say Dale Earnhardt did it or Carl Edwards did it, that is not the case. Earnhardt’s actions were usually going for a win. This was blatant and uncalled for.

    It all started last year. The altercations started when the usually mild-mannered Kenseth chased Brad Keselowski and put him in a headlock over relatively minor rubbing. Several drivers applauded that action and others against the opposition drivers. It started to boil when Kenseth was spun by Joey Logano at Kansas Speedway two weeks ago. Kenseth never got over it, said he wouldn’t talk to Logano, and continued with some pointed radio transmissions at Talladega. It was eating him alive.

    During Sunday’s race on a restart, Keselowski was tagged from behind trying to let teammate Logano get back to the lead and Kenseth got tagged. These were basically racing accidents, but Kenseth could not let it go and planned his revenge. In the later stages of the race, with Logano leading and pulling away, Kenseth took his disabled car back into the fray. Going slow, he waited until Logano passed on the outside and turned directly into him, shoving him up to the wall and destroying his Ford Fusion and probably taking him out of the championship picture. He used the excuse that a tire went down and he couldn’t turn his car. Sitting in the press box looking down on the track and the accident just below me, that wasn’t the case. It was revenge and something that should not be a part of the sport I’ve loved for a half century.

    NASCAR needs to act swiftly and put an end to this. Part of the problem is the elimination feature of The Chase. Drivers will do things that they probably wouldn’t otherwise, but this crossed a very narrow line. Kenseth should be parked this weekend at Texas, levied a hefty fine and docked championship points. This cannot continue if the sport wants to remain professional and draw fans. Larry McReynolds, who was crew chief for Dale Earnhardt simply said it best today on Dave Moody’s Speedway show on SiriusXM radio.

    “If they only give him (Kenseth) probation, which means absolutely nothing, I’m going to the nearest trash can and throw up,” McReynolds said.

  • Logging Laps: Breaking Point

    Logging Laps: Breaking Point

    We’re less than 24 hours removed from the race at Martinsville and there is once again a commotion in the media and in fan circles. Is it about Jeff Gordon punching his ticket to the chase playoffs in dramatic fashion? Nope. Is it about the risk versus reward of tires versus track position? Nope.

    All the social media and news outlets are abuzz about the Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano incident. The vast majority of which are already calling for penalties and suspensions to be levied against the driver of the No. 20 car.

    Give me a break.

    These are the same reporters that jump at a single quote taken out of context just to get views on their stories. The same people that cite “anonymous sources” from conversations with drivers to get “breaking news.” The same outlets that run drama-filled stories about minuscule things that have nothing to do with the competition of the sport they cover.

    You know what happened on Sunday? Competition and self-policing happened. You don’t believe me? Re-watch any of the videos from the race and watch the crowd reaction. What we saw was two men racing as hard as they could at Kansas, with one of them feeling wronged about the outcome. End result? That wronged man put things right again. The fans loved it.

    Why? Because this isn’t an isolated incident. This isn’t about a single spin at Kansas a few weeks ago. No, this was frustration and escalation of aggression on the race track that’s been spearheaded and created by none other than the Penske driver himself. Don’t believe me? Let me refresh your memory.

    It was the end of the Auto Club 400 in 2013 and the now famous incident between Tony Stewart and Logano on pit road. Stewart was upset by being blocked and run down onto the apron, effectively ruining his race and costing him a good finish. Result? Stewart has a physical confrontation with Logano on pit road. Why? Because Stewart hates being blocked. That’s not his code of racing ethics and how he wants to be raced. Logano, on the other hand, said, “It was the end of the race, and I felt like it’s what I had to do.”

    In Logano’s eyes, he felt that he had to block. It was his job to secure his position. However, it’s not simply limited to one incident there. As of now, the Penske driver has had no less than 5 well-documented incidents on track with different drivers in the last few years.

    Starting all the way back in 2010 at Michigan, Logano had an on-track incident with Ryan Newman. Racing for 15th place on the track, Logano gets loose under the No. 39 car of Newman and slides up the track, wrecking both drivers. After the race, there was a very animated and heated discussion about the incident.

        

    At the spring race in Bristol, 2013, Logano and Denny Hamlin get into an incident after the 22 of Logano makes a slide-job pass and block on the No. 11 car of Hamlin. Hamlin gives the 22 a bump and spins him off the corner. After the race, Logano goes over to the No. 11 car and proceeds to get into a shoving match with the 11 crew while expressing his displeasure at the still buckled in Hamlin.

    The next week at Auto Club Speedway, while racing for the win late, the 22 and the 11 make contact down the backstretch before entering Turn 3. Logano over-drives Turn 3, sliding up into the side of the 11 car of Hamlin, wrecking both drivers. This wreck resulted in Hamlin being injured after hard contact with the inside retaining wall. After the race, Logano infamously said of the accident, “That’s what he gets.” See 5:52 in the video.

    Even as recently as this year, Logano has found the ire of other drivers as well after an incident that I covered previously in this article here: (http://www.speedwaymedia.com/?p=91811). Questions were raised throughout the garage about the style of racing that’s being utilized on track by certain drivers.

    Flash forward to Kansas a few weeks ago and the roles are reversed. This time, Kenseth is doing exactly what Logano did years ago. He’s racing Logano the same way that he races everyone else on the track. That’s driver code, that’s how it’s always been; “I’ll race you the way you race me.” Logano spun Kenseth and went on to win, effectively ending Kenseth’s chances at a championship.

        

    Even last weekend, Logano, under green flag pit stops, threw a block on Kenseth which aggravated the Champion driver on the radio.

    So what happens this weekend? Kenseth raced Logano with the precedent that he himself had set years earlier. Simple as that.

       

    Even race winner Jeff Gordon had something to say about this whole entire series of events, “Had Joey handled that situation at Kansas slightly better … I mean, he was gloating about it. He was like, ‘Oh, yeah. That’s exactly the way I should’ve raced and he blocked me.’ That’s fine if you feel that way, but guess what? That’s not helping the situation and how (Kenseth’s) going to think about you and not even think twice if he gets in that scenario and in that situation. That’s what I learned in my situation with Bowyer. Yeah, I had regrets. I wish I’d handled it differently, but I also know my raw emotions came out and I reacted. But it’s how you handle it from that point moving forward as to what is going to help you get through it. That goes from both sides; from Joey’s side as well as from Matt’s side.”

    So, does that warrant a suspension and being parked until the end of the year? That’s not up for me to decide, but it’d be rather inconsistent if NASCAR did. I could give you a list five pages long of incidents where a driver wrecked another driver because he or she felt they had been raced outside of their code. It’s something we’ve seen for 60 years now. Drivers race each other the way they wish to be raced. For all the saber-rattling and media outlet crying foul and demanding action and penalties, they seem to have forgotten who started all this in the first place back in 2010.

    What short memories everyone seems to have. Everyone except Matt Kenseth.

  • The Final Word – Gordon wins but it is Kenseth with the knockout at Martinsville

    The Final Word – Gordon wins but it is Kenseth with the knockout at Martinsville

    There are things that matter. A retiring champion seeking to go out in a blaze of glory. A 25-year old looking to complete his career redemption as well as claim a fourth straight checkered flag. An elder statesman who believes that young man deserves something a bit different.

    Some things just do not matter. For example, in the XFINITY series, where Cup drivers have a second home, none of them matter except for a race winner and those actually running for a title. Same goes in Cup, as just eight drivers are eligible to try and chase down a championship. The winner always matters, no matter where they sit in the standings. As for the remainder, if you are not among the eight and did nothing to cause us to gasp, you do not matter.

    It did matter when Chaser Kyle Busch went for a spin at Martinsville after claiming to have found water on the track just before the midpoint. He tagged Austin Dillon and fell into the middle of the field. Same for Carl Edwards, who got into the back of A.J. Allmendinger in the same incident as the accordion effect took over. Both had points to gain, and definitely something to lose. It mattered, and it also gave us a break from the monotony that was Martinsville for much of the day. Much of it, but surely not all of it, as we were to discover.

    With 65 laps to go, a lot started to matter. Matt Kenseth got tangled up with Brad Keselowski and then got popped over to really pop Kurt Busch. It mattered that both Chasers had to go to the garage for repairs, and it mattered for Edwards, as the caution brought him back onto the lead lap. It mattered that Kenseth thought his last name was Hatfield, and Penske drivers were the McCoys.

    Revenge is best-served cold as Kenseth gave us our best gasp moment. Keselowski’s teammate, Joey Logano, the guy who had dominated the race, passed the battered Kenseth, who was nine laps down. Kenseth said on the radio he thought his right front must have gone down, but it appeared for all the world that he purposely hooked the leader and bulldozed him straight into the wall. Anything with a Penske stamp on it appeared to be a target, and one had to wonder if even the Captain himself was safe.

    Brian France thought Logano made a smart decision when he bumped Kenseth out of the way in Kansas. I wonder how smart he thought this hit was? Anyway, Matt got parked, as if his car or Logano’s was going anywhere fast after that. As to what the crowd thought of it, you would have thought Kenseth was an adopted Earnhardt with the ovation he received.

    It was almost anti-climatic that Jeff Gordon finally won in his swan song season. Almost. He was near the front most of the day, and was the best after Logano’s departure, leading the final 22 laps to claim his 93rd career victory. The crowd at Martinsville roared their approval as the four-time champ claimed a final four berth for the Homestead showdown on November 22. Gordon shall retire with wins in all but three of his 23 full-time campaigns; in 1993, 2008, and 2010. He wants just one more win in one specific race before heading off to become one of the sport’s most articulate ambassadors

    Amongst those who mattered, Rowdy overcame his earlier issue to claim fifth on Sunday, a position ahead of Martin Truex Jr., with Kevin Harvick in eighth. Edwards turned his return to the lead lap to a 14th place finish, but not that terribly far out of the running. As for Keselowski, Kurt, and Logano, they have some work to do.

    As for Kenseth, they do promote the Chase as having a knockout format. Well, at Martinsville, Kenseth knocked Logano out. After Kansas, did anyone expect anything less? It is now up to Logano, along with Keselowski and Kurt, to pull themselves off of the canvas to answer the bell at Texas and Phoenix beyond that.

    This column will not appear next week, but returns after Phoenix when we will know who will be joining Gordon in the battle for the championship. Who knows, maybe my return will come sooner than Matt’s.

    The Chase

    1. JEFF GORDON – Win
    2. KYLE BUSCH + 9
    3. MARTIN TRUEX, JR. +9
    4. KEVIN HARVICK +7
    5. CARL EDWARDS -7
    6. BRAD KESELOWSKI -24
    7. KURT BUSCH -26
    8. JOEY LOGANO -28

  • Is NASCAR Sending Mixed Signals?

    Is NASCAR Sending Mixed Signals?

    As the Chase for the Championship heats up, sparks continue to fly on the race track with aggressive driving and questionable tactics.

    Events began to escalate two weeks ago at Kansas Speedway Joey Logano bumped race leader Matt Kenseth spinning him out of the way to claim the win, an incident that directly contributed to Kenseth’s elimination from the Chase. Logano deemed it “good, hard racing,” and insisted that he didn’t intentionally wreck Kenseth.

    Kenseth had a different point of view and said that he was “really disappointed,” in Logano’s actions on the track, adding “That’s not the way I race people no matter what the stakes are.”

    NASCAR chairman Brian France discussed the contact between the two drivers on SiriusXM Radio’s NASCAR channel the following Monday.

    “That’s quintessential NASCAR,” France said.  He went on to explain his position stating, “Late in the race, I think that’s a great example of everybody doing probably exactly what they should be doing. You had Matt Kenseth trying to block and hold his position. He had a faster car behind him, and when you block, you risk that somebody is going to be in that position and there was contact.”

    France went on to say that Logano “made a very smart decision in what he did because not only did he try to win the race, which he said he wanted to do and obviously he did, but the idea to, late in that race, to have an opportunity to put one of the top teams on the outside looking into the next round in Matt Kenseth, (who) has run so well, that’s a smart thing to do.”

    “You have to give them a lot of credit,” Franc continued. “This is the strategy that we all thought was going to be different when you have this kind of format. But it does reward aggressive racing at the end of the day.”

    The message seems clear; aggressive driving is not only expected but encouraged in the Chase format. It also begs the question of where is the line drawn?

    Last week at Talladega Superspeedway, controversy arose again when it appeared that Kevin Harvick intentionally caused a wreck at the end of the race to freeze the field and lock in his points, ensuring his inclusion into the next round of the Chase.

    Harvick denied the allegations and after a review of the race, NASCAR stated that they had “completed the review of any other potential penalties from the track (Talladega) this past weekend and there will be no further actions.”

    NASCAR’s decision and Harvick’s assertion of innocence were met with skepticism by many after viewing video footage from his in-car camera that show him turn his steering wheel to the right as he clips driver Trevor Bayne’s car, causing the accident. Harvick, who had a failing engine, maintains that he did not see Bayne and was attempting to get out of the way.

    Again, the message seems clear as drivers do what they must, to compete for wins and the championship with no repercussions from NASCAR. But Kenseth may have crossed the line Sunday at Martinsville Speedway.

    Kenseth was competitive at the short track Sunday, but his day turned sour after he sustained significant damage to his car after contact with Brad Keselowski on Lap 434. Twenty laps later, Logano’s day effectively ended when Kenseth hit Logano, turning him into the wall. Logano ended the race in 37th place and is now in eighth place in the Chase, 28 points behind the leader. NASCAR parked Kenseth for the remainder of the race.

    While he didn’t admit to purposely wrecking Logano, Kenseth’s comments imply that he felt it was important for him to respond to the events of the last few races.

    “You never like to be in these situations,” Kenseth said. “They really stink, to be honest with you, but sometimes you get put in these spots, and you’ve got to try to keep respect in the garage area. You can’t get yourself ran over.

    “You can’t get in the Chase next year and get ran over for the same reason. Like I said, hate the way it ended. Wish we were out there celebrating or having a shot for the win like we did before we got wrecked, so a disappointing day.”

    Did Logano intend to wreck Kenseth at Kansas or simply move him out of the way? Logano is the only one who can answer that question. Harvick’s actions at Talladega may seem questionable, but it is difficult to ascertain his motives with any certainty. If you consider the first two instances, should Kenseth also get the benefit of the doubt for the contact with Logano at Martinsville?

    After listening to executive vice president Steve O’Donnell’s comments after the race, it is likely that Kenseth may face penalties from NASCAR.

    “I think in the case with Matt,“ O’Donnell said, “we were certainly disappointed with what took place tonight on the racetrack. We had a conversation with both Matt, crew chief, Joe Gibbs. Like we always do, there’s still a lot to digest from what happened tonight. We’ll do that. We’ll have some additional conversations and probably come out with something, if there is anything to discuss, on Tuesday”.

    Whether you believe the wreck was intentional or not, there is no definitive proof to back up either claim or to establish intent. But Kenseth, who is no longer in contention for the Chase, may have committed the one mistake that NASCAR won’t ignore; taking out someone contending for the championship. If NASCAR penalizes Kenseth, are they establishing two sets of rules – one for Chasers and one for non-Chasers? Or were Kenseth’s actions simply too blatant to ignore?

    Given the atmosphere of aggressiveness that NASCAR has fostered, Kenseth may have felt he had no choice but to respond in kind.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500

    In race number 33 of the 2015 NASCAR season, here is what was surprising and not surprising after the completion of the 67th Annual Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

    Surprising:  It was a surprisingly rough day for the Ford Racing teams, with Aric Almirola as their highest finisher in the 16th position. And it was also a surprisingly difficult race for Ford’s Team Penske, with Brad Keselowski finishing 32nd and Logano finishing 37th after a controversial move into the wall by Matt Kenseth.

    “I got wrecked.  I don’t know. What am I supposed to say about it?” Logano said after he was wrecked while leading the race by rival Matt Kenseth.  “His race was over and he tried so hard to catch us the first time and he took out half the field, and he was successful the second time so I give that to him. It’s kind of a coward move.  Actually, a really coward move for a race car driver to do that, essentially someone as mature and an experienced race car driver that knows what this is all about.”

    Logano’s Ford and Team Penske teammate also had his own encounter with Matt Kenseth, which resulted in a less than satisfactory finish for the driver of the No. 2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford.

    “I got hit from behind and pushed me into the 20 and my right-front wheel hit Kenseth’s left-rear and it just broke the right-front suspension off the car,” Keselowski said. “The car wouldn’t turn and just kept going straight until I couldn’t do anything and I started wrecking everybody.  I just didn’t have any steering wheel left.”

    Logano fell to the eight spot in the Eliminator Eight round and Keselowski fell to the sixth spot.

    Not Surprising:  At a track that has seen many highs and a major low with the loss of so many loved ones in that tragic plane crash, Hendrick Motorsports and their driver Jeff Gordon celebrated one of the highest of highs with a trip to Victory Lane.

    This was Gordon’s 93rd career victory and his ninth win at Martinsville Speedway. And the driver, running his last few races of the season, guaranteed that he will be one of the participants in the Chase for NASCAR’s Sprint Cup championship.

    “This is the sweetest, most amazing feeling,” the driver of the No. 24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet said. “I am so proud of this team. You want to talk about holding back emotions; right now man, wow, we’re going to Homestead!  I can’t believe it. What an incredible battle that was.”

    Surprising:  There were quite a few drivers craving illumination as the race at the track shaped like a paperclip came to a close.

    “It was dark!” Martin Truex Jr. said after finishing sixth in his No. 78 Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet.  “It was getting borderline where we had to quit, but I’m glad the fans got to see a good ending.”

    “I love Martinsville,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said after he took the checkered flag in the fourth spot. “But if we are going to run at night we need to put some damn lights up here.”

    Not Surprising:  The highest finishing Toyota drivers, Denny Hamlin in third and Kyle Busch in fifth, both had to overcome obstacles before taking the checkered flag in the top-5. Hamlin had not just one, but two speeding penalties and Busch hit a wet spot that had him spinning.

    “My race was eventful to say the least – two pit road penalties, my car wasn’t very good at all up until the very, very end and we just took a long time to get going,” Hamlin said. “It’s just part of it. This racing now is different now than what it used to be when I first came in the sport and its just survival of the fittest.”

    “I screwed us up early in the race and touched that water down there in turn one and spun out with the 3 (Austin Dillon) car so that was my bad,” Kyle Busch said. “I bent up the front end of the car and it was just never right from there on out, but we persevered and we just made the changes that we needed to make for this car for our conditions that we had. The M&M’s Crispy Camry there at the end was good enough for a top-five so I’m glad we finished there.”

    Although Hamlin was eliminated from the Chase after Talladega, Busch goes into the next Chase race in Texas in the second spot in the standings, just eight points behind leader Jeff Gordon.

    Surprising:  There was a great deal of apparent comradery at the back of the field, which resulted in at least two drivers working their way back up for top-ten finishes.  Both Kasey Kahne and Tony Stewart had to start from the rear in backup cars and both finished well, in fact in ninth and tenth respectively.

    “Kasey (Kahne) and I both finished top-ten in backup cars,” Smoke said. “That was what was really cool; seeing two Team Chevy drivers come from the back like that. He and I both worked pretty good going through the pack there.”

    “I’m happy with it.”

    Not Surprising:  There was definitely ‘more to the story’ of Kurt Busch, who finished 34th after being involved in a wreck that was not of his doing. The driver of the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet debuted his new sponsor Monster Energy for the first time at Martinsville.

    “For us there is so much more to our story,” Busch said. “It’s been a fantastic season.  I’m really proud to debut a new sponsor in the Sprint Cup series with Monster Energy.  They were here today.  We led laps today we were up front.  Restarting third with a set of fresh tires and 70 laps to go I mean we were in perfect position.  We did our job we just didn’t have luck on our side.”

    Surprising:  Carl Edwards found himself in a foreign land at the end of the race, finishing 14th in his No. 19 XFINITY Toyota.

    “I thought it was going to be a top-10 there at the end,” Edwards said. “We struggled for a lot of the day, but really proud of all these guys. Our XFINITY Camry was fast at the end, maybe if we got tires – we were just in no man’s land, we didn’t know whether to get tires or not at the end.”

    “That was a crazy day.”

    Not Surprising:  While it might not have been the outcome he desired, the runner-up at Martinsville admitted that he would be leaving with the best of memories of the competition on the track.

    “For me, Jeff Gordon is the only die cast or T-shirt that I ever bought growing up before I made it to NASCAR,” Jamie McMurray, driver of the No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet, said. “So it was really a cool moment for me to get to battle with him on a green-white-checkered at Martinsville.”

    “I certainly wish it would have turned out a little bit differently.  But that’s a really good memory for me and a very good moment that I will not forget.”

    Surprising:  While many drivers were relieved after surviving Talladega, Kevin Harvick was thankful to end his time in Martinsville with an eighth place finish, especially after getting run into and suffering significant damage to his race vehicle.

    “Well, we didn’t score many points here last year,” Harvick said. “We were in a big hole leaving Martinsville. It’s very easy to get in a hole leaving here. I feel like Texas has been a very good race track for us as we’ve gone through the past couple of years at Stewart-Haas, and we all know how Phoenix has gone.”

    “So, we just need to have two more solid weeks and hopefully position ourselves well to have a chance to get to Homestead.”

    Not Surprising:  Who says NASCAR cannot be compared to stick and ball sports, especially given that the World Series is currently underway?  Well, driver Matt Kenseth did just that in his post-race comments after finishing 38th.

    “It’s a tough sport, some days you’re the bat and some days you’re the ball,” the driver of the very wrecked No. 20 Dollar General Toyota. “I was the ball a few weeks ago and I was the ball again today so that part is never fun.”

    The Sprint Cup Series will head deep into the heart of Texas for next weekend’s race, the AAA TEXAS 500, the second in the Eliminator Round.

  • Hot 20 – Gordon is a favorite to win at Martinsville, Truex and Kurt not so much

    Hot 20 – Gordon is a favorite to win at Martinsville, Truex and Kurt not so much

    The truth, sometimes it is a tough thing to nail down. Sometimes not. Truth is, Jeff Gordon should do well at Martinsville. In the past five events there, the retiring four-time NASCAR champ has a win and four Top Tens. Over the past dozen years, a span of 25 races, Gordon has failed to claim a Top Ten only three times. He finished 20th in the fall of 2010, 14th in the spring of 2012, and finished 12th in the fall of 2014. That leaves 22 Top Tens, 18 Top Fives, and five victories. You just cannot do better than that. The stats do not lie, and after taking ninth this spring, Gordon still has it. That is the truth.

    Sometimes, the truth is a little tougher to ascertain. A couple of years ago, a mysterious spin combined with a baffling call to the pits that briefly allowed a teammate to make the Chase caused controversy. Did Clint Bowyer intentionally spin his car? Bowyer denied it and Sprint Cup Series director John Darby is quoted as saying after the race that “I don’t think anybody realistically believes that was the case with the 15 car.” That tune changed quickly, as the truth appeared to be much more conspiratorial than NASCAR first thought. It cost Martin Truex Jr. a Chase position and his job, and he did nothing wrong. It cost Bowyer some credibility, it cost the team a major sponsor, $300,000 in fines and it possibly caused the eventual demise of Michael Waltrip Racing.

    Last weekend, did Kevin Harvick, with a car that was barely running, that was barely in the Chase, deliberately spin out Trevor Bayne to save his season at the cost of Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr.? No, says NASCAR. So, we have to accept that Harvick was telling the truth. I mean, not everyone lies to us in order to get out of a sticky situation.

    “I got out of the way, and I never even saw (Bayne) until he was by me.”
    Kevin Harvick 2015

    “I did not use performance enhancing substances as alleged in the notice of discipline…”
    Alex Rodriguez 2014

    “I had so much wheel, by the time I got to the gas, he was underneath me. I spun out.”
    Clint Bowyer 2013

    “I take these charges very seriously, and look forward to clearing my good name,”
    Michael Vick 2007

    “I’m not going to be the Alabama coach.”
    Nick Saban 2006

    “I have never had a single positive doping test, and I do not take performance-enhancing drugs.”
    Lance Armstrong 2004 (among others)

    “I did not have sexual relations with that woman”
    Bill Clinton 1998

    Sure, some may have misled us in the past, but would Kevin Harvick? Nah.

    Here are our Hot 20 over the past five events at Martinsville.

    1. JEFF GORDON – 5.4 AvFin – (1 WIN, 3 T5, 4 T10)
    Has averaged a Top Seven finish going back 45 races and 23 seasons. Expect good things.

    2. MATT KENSETH – 6.4 – (0-2-4)
    No pot of gold at the end of this rainbow, but should he come across Logano along the way…

    3. CLINT BOWYER – 6.8 – (0-2-4)
    Author of “The Secrets of My Success.” Harvick has a copy.

    4. DENNY HAMLIN – 8.8 – (1-1-3)
    You can take that damn roof hatch and…

    5. JOEY LOGANO – 9.8 – (0-3-3)
    Mr. Three-in-a-Row has never won at Martinsville, but his last three have been Top Fives.

    6. KYLE BUSCH – 11.2 – (0-1-1)
    Does not believe Gordon can win it all. Next we will hear how he does not like kittens.

    7. KEVIN HARVICK – 13.4 – (0-0-3)
    If Karma is on duty this weekend…

    8. GREG BIFFLE – 13.6 – (0-0-2)
    MWR refugee Brian Pattie to be his crew chief next season.

    9. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 14.4 – (1-2-3)
    Best 21 finishes at Martinsville boasts a 6.3 average; his worst 10 finishes…27.7

    10. TONY STEWART – 14.5 – (0-1-1)
    What is probably no longer equates into what was.

    11. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 15.0 – (1-3-3)
    Used to own this place, but outside the Top 30 his last two attempts.

    12. CARL EDWARDS – 15.4
    Expected Harvick to get penalized after Talladega. He probably even expects a Top Ten Sunday.

    13. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 16.2 – (0-2-3)
    While his 2014 visits were a write-off, he was the runner-up last spring.

    14. ARIC ALMIROLA – 16.2 – (0-0-1)
    Raised in Daytona. I wonder where he got the racing bug?

    15. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 17.0 – (0-0-3)
    Looked decent last week, at least until he turned all smoky.

    16. PAUL MENARD – 17.6 – (0-0-1)
    Best non-Chaser last week, but Martinsville is really not his kind of place.

    17. DANICA PATRICK – 20.4 – (0-0-1)
    Never thought you would see her name on this list again this season, did you?

    18. KASEY KAHNE – 20.8 – (0-1-1)
    Best thing about Martinsville will be the trip home.

    19. KURT BUSCH – 21.2 – (1-1-1)
    Won in the spring last year, but has been outside the top dozen 16 of his past 17 starts here.

    20. CASEY MEARS – 22.6
    Had a pair of Top Tens at Martinsville in 2008. None since.

    22. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 24.2 – (0-0-1)
    Was sixth in the spring. That ought to count for something.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Talladega

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Talladega

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Joey Logano: Logano won the CampingWorld.com 500 at Talladega, taking the checkered flag under caution for his third straight win.

    “Having already clinched my spot in the next round,” Logano said, “I knew it didn’t really matter what happened behind me. Of course, no one was saying ‘What happened?’ because everybody knew what happened.”

    2. Kevin Harvick: Running with an engine on the verge of blowing, Harvick’s slow No. 4 initiated a crash that forced the race to end under caution, and secured his advance to the next round.

    “I think it would be appropriate to quote Steve Urkel,” Harvick said, “and say, ‘Did I do that?

    “Don’t ask me if I meant to do it. For all intents and purposes, I’m still alive to win the Cup.”

    3. Kurt Busch: Busch finished 10th in the Campingworld.com 500, posting his 18th top-10 of the year. He advances to the Eliminator Round of the Chase.

    “That had to be the most unsatisfactory ending to a Talladega race ever,” Busch said. “And take it from me and any of my girlfriends—we know unsatisfactory endings.

    “I think, eventually, Kevin Harvick will admit he was wrong and do what’s right. As it is now, the only thing ‘right’ was his turn into Trevor Bayne.”

    4. Jeff Gordon: Gordon started on the pole at Talladega and finished third, easily advancing to the next round of the Chase.

    “Kevin Harvick’s actions were fishy,” Gordon said. “So fishy, in fact, they’re complaining about the smell in Denmark.”

    5. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished fifth at Talladega and joins Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch in the Eliminator Round of the Chase.

    “Things could get very interesting at Martinsville,” Edwards said. “The race is called the ‘Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500.’ There are some drivers that want revenge, which will bring them relief, and will cause headaches for their victims. Will there be punches thrown? As they say in the South, ‘I reckon.’ And Sunday will be a day of reckoning, and wreck-oning.”

    6. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex finished seventh at Talladega and secured his place in the Eliminator Round of the Chase.

    “For all the talk of speed at Talladega,” Truex said, “it took forever to run the final two laps.”

    7. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished fourth to safely advance to the next round of the Chase.

    “Kevin Harvick will have a blinking eye on the front of his car next week at Martinsville,” Keselowski said. “He should have had it last week because he ‘hoodwinked’ everybody.”

    8. Kyle Busch: Busch finished 11th and slipped into the Chase, taking the eighth and final spot in the Eliminator Round.

    “I did what I had to do,” Busch said. “That’s a statement, not an excuse.”

    9. Denny Hamlin: A malfunction with the roof flap on the No. 11 Fed Ex Toyota forced Hamlin to pit four times. He was caught up in the final restart crash, the result of which set his car ablaze. He finished 37th, four laps down, and tumbled out of the top eight in points.

    “That roof flap is there for me to exit the car quickly in case of emergency,” Hamlin said. “Ironically, I couldn’t get out of the car fast enough after the race.

    “Harvick wrecked his own car at Dover to stay in the Chase,” Hamlin said. “He wrecked the field at Talladega to stay in the Chase. He’ll have to answer to all the accusations saying he did it intentionally. I guess that’s why he’s ‘defending’ champion.”

    10. Dale Earnhardt Jr: Earnhardt finished second at Talladega after the final restart carnage caused when Kevin Harvick clipped Trevor Bayne. The caution came out just seconds before Earnhardt overtook Joey Logano for the lead. Earnhardt needed a win to advance to the next round of the Chase For The Cup.

    “Joey Logano took the checkered flag from race command and did some victory burnouts,” Earnhardt said. “I’m surprised Kevin Harvick didn’t do the same, with the yellow flag.”

  • The Final Word – Talladega was awesome, even if the finish was bloody awful

    The Final Word – Talladega was awesome, even if the finish was bloody awful

    There is a single word that I dearly would like to begin this article with. One word. However, due to my raising and the fact there are some rules that prohibit me from using that one word, I shall have to come up with a compromise.

    Fudge!

    Close enough. Sadly, for Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans, close does not cut it, even an inch or two. Joey Logano was just out in front at Talladega by a hair when a caution came out on the green-white-checkered restart to claim the sweep of this round of the Chase. He is in. Junior needed to win to continue his hunt but did not.

    Fudge!

    Junior had the dominant car and was the story throughout. He led, he smoked the tires coming in. Instead of two, he needed four. Later, he comes in, smokes the tires, and again needed four. When he managed to do it right, a crewman went over the wall too early. Instead of first, he was 27th. Back to the front he comes, comes in for a little gas and go, smokes the damn tires one more time, to sit fourth. He got to second, got close, closer than those tiny hairs atop my shiny bald pate, in fact, but close would not cut it at Talladega.

    Fudge!

    Now there is speculation that Kevin Harvick is the new Clint Bowyer. With his car doubtful if it could survive another two laps as its engine went south, Harvick checked his mirror as they re-started that final time. He no doubt saw Trevor Bayne go to the outside, then turned right. It was not a full turn, one that would have seen him actually change lanes, but rather just enough to catch the rear corner of that passing car, turning him into the fence, causing the wreck that ended the race. With the caution out, all Harvick had to do was slowly make the laps and secure his continuation in the Chase.

    Fudge!

    If NASCAR had held off throwing the caution on the 2.66-mile track for another mile, even half a mile, the result could have been different. They did not, waving it as they got into the first turn. Two miles to go before they returned to the scene of the carnage. Time and space to let them race, at least a little longer, but they did not allow that.

    Fudge!

    So, Martin Truex Jr. advances for Furniture Row. Jeff Gordon is the lone standard bearer for Rick Hendrick with Junior’s elimination. Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch has Joe Gibbs still with a pair, with Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin now both out. Logano and Brad Keselowski advance for Team Penske. I cannot begin to tell you how thrilled I am. I really can’t. As for Stewart-Haas, Kurt Busch and Right-Turn Harvick go forth to Martinsville with dreams of a championship still dancing in their heads.

    Fudge!

    But let us leave the final word to Denny Hamlin. You know, the guy who came to Talladega with the biggest cushion over his Chase rivals. The guy with the roof hatch latch that broke, that tried to give him some Red Bull wings, so that his crew brought him in more than once to tape it down. If only they had added a few extra pieces that first time to the repair that failed and that sent him right back to the pits for another round and another lap. Hamlin’s day was so far up in flames it was apropos the car burned briefly after that G-W-C wreck. I was not in the car, I did not hear his radio, but I am betting his summation of the race went something like this…

    “Fudge! Fudge! Fudge!”

  • Talladega Lived Up To Its Strange Past

    Talladega Lived Up To Its Strange Past

    The championship playoff known as the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup has had more turns that a West Virginia mountain, but Sunday’s CampingWorld.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway took the cake. It all happened at the end of the race and it changed who would vie for the crown over the last three races before heading to Homestead and the final four. Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the best car all day when he wasn’t botching pit stops.

    Earnhardt is probably the best driver at Talladega. He apparently inherited his father’s ability to see the air because he led the most laps and seemed to have no other driver he couldn’t pass. It was in the later stage of the race that Joey Logano got the lead and it was only just a matter of time before Earnhardt was going to pass him, except it didn’t happen due to some really strange circumstances. With only four laps to go, Jamie McMurray lost an engine bringing out only the second caution all day. That ensured there would be a green-white-checker finish, and with the new rule for this race, it was one and done. No matter what happened, during the final laps, the race would end. Then it got really weird.

    Earlier, at Lap 172, when most pitted, Greg Biffle stayed out and gambled that he would have enough fuel to finish the race and steal a win. Biffle was so far ahead, it looked like his plan might work until the caution flag flew. That bunched up the field and Biffle now found himself back in a pack of superior cars. Biffle had to pit for fuel and his dream was over. He finished 20th.

    The two tries to finish the race were even stranger. When the first attempt at a finish started, cars getting together in the back of the field caused NASCAR to wave it off and said it wasn’t really an attempt. Stranger, the green light can be seen on the flag stand, but one more try was ordered. After a long caution period, another attempt was made—technically the first attempt. Before the cars could get to Turn 1, the big one finally happened. With Kevin Harvick not having enough power in his failing engine, he couldn’t get up to speed. Trevor Bayne tried to pass him on the outside, but once Bayne was almost by him, Harvick seemed to turn right, clip Bayne and create the only “big one” of the day. It involved the cars of Denny Hamlin, Michael McDowell, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Danica Patrick, Austin Dillon, Sam Hornish, Bayne, and Alex Bowman. Hamlin was eliminated from the Chase.

    Hamlin, Bayne, and Kenseth pointed fingers are Harvick since the only way he was going to get to the next round was to have an additional caution. NASCAR Vice Chair Mike Helton, after meeting with representatives from Joe Gibbs Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing said they could find no evidence that Harvick had done anything wrong unless something came up this week. Harvick denied any wrongdoing.

    So, after last week’s controversial win, Logano had another controversial win. It’s clear that Kenseth hasn’t gotten over that tap from Logano last week, as he threatened to beat him up when an early pit stop got dicey. Kenseth seemed to cool at the end after his day was over and no beating occurred. The final result showed Hamlin, Ryan Newman, Earnhardt, and Kenseth eliminated, with Logano, Edwards, Gordon, Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., and Kyle Busch left to compete for the title.

    Much will be said about the last two races, but a few things are clear. Team Penske drivers Logano and Keselowski are always near the front and Logano has shown the skill to be at the front at the end of races. Jeff Gordon has speed, but will it continue? With his expertise on mile and a half tracks, he could be a factor. The rest are only dependent on what happens to those favorites, but after the last two weeks, you can’t count anything out.