Tag: joey logano

NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Watkins Glen

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Kyle Busch: Busch kept his hot streak alive with a third-place finish at Watkins Glen, and although he didn’t win, he moved into 30th place in the Sprint Cup points standings.

“We played the finish conservatively,” Busch said. “I took an unnecessary chance last week at Pocono, not to mention one in Iredell County, North Carolina back in 2011. I got busted in both instances.

“This time, we played it safe. Sometimes, you’ve gotta think ‘big picture.’ And I’m always thinking ‘big picture,’ because that’s the only one my ego will fit in.”

2. Kevin Harvick: Harvick ran out of fuel in the final corner at Watkins Glen, handing Joey Logano the win while settling for third.

“Logano overtook a car that was out of fuel,” Harvick said. “That’s called ‘passing gas.’ I tried to wreck Logano as he went by. And, much like my fuel tank, it came up empty.”

3. Joey Logano: Logano passed Kevin Harvick in the final corner after Harvick’s fuel ran out, giving Logano the win in the Cheez-It 355 At The Glen.

“I’m just happy to get the win,” Logano said. “Fuel mileage races don’t really tell us who’s best. They do, however, tell us who ‘sucks’ the least.

“I knew I had plenty of fuel to chase Harvick. And I knew if I pressed the issue, I could make him run out. In essence, I put him back in a Richard Childress Racing car, because he slowed to a crawl.”

4. Jimmie Johnson: Despite a late spin caused by Tony Stewart’s blown engine, Johnson salvaged a tenth at Watkins Glen, scoring his 14th top 10 of the year.

“You may have seen me in a commercial for ‘Burnt Rubber,’” Johnson said. “It’s a new fragrance from Sunoco, and it’s left its mark on the cologne industry. Unfortunately, it’s a skid mark. Let’s just be thankful that the latest NASCAR-themed cologne wasn’t called ‘Dick Trickle.’”

5. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt finished 11th in the Cheez-It 355 At The Glen, just missing his 14th top-10 finish of the season.

“It was a tough day for a lot of drivers,” Earnhardt said. “Particularly Tony Stewart. He finished last. Plus, he experienced something that often happen to fans of Junior Nation when they break out their finest china for an important meal—he got ‘served with papers.’”

6. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex qualified second and suffered a flat tire with 22 laps to go, ruining what would have been a solid day and settling for a 25th-place finish.

“Some drivers ran out of gas,” Truex said, “while some, like me, ran out of air. Others ran out of talent. Still others had no talent to begin with. The remainder drive for Michael Waltrip Racing.”

7. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished seventh as Penske Racing teammate Joey Logano took the win at Watkins Glen.

“Joey had luck on his side,” Keselowski said. “My No. 2 Ford did not. Maybe, instead of having ‘Miller Lite’ plastered on the side of my car, we should have had ‘Miller Fortune’ there.”

8. Kurt Busch: Busch claimed fifth in the Cheez-It 355 At The Glen, posting his seventh top-5 finish of the year.

“Kevin Harvick clearly had the fastest car on the track,” Busch said. “Then he ran out of fuel. He was more than ‘good,’ he was best….till the last drop.”

9. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth led two laps and finished fourth at Watkins Glen, one of three Joe Gibbs Racing cars in the top 10.

“That’s two consecutive fuel mileage races,” Kenseth said. “I won at Pocono, and was pretty close to winning at Watkins Glen. That really would have established me as a driver who knows how to make a drop of fuel last. I guess I would have been known as the ‘Wizard Of Oz.’”

10. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished eighth at Watkins Glen, posting his sixth top 10 of the season.

“Did you see Denny Hamlin speeding around the track with his hood up on the No. 11 FedEx Toyota?” Edwards said. “That performance earned Denny the nickname ‘Little Fed Riding Hood.’”

August 11, 2015
Surprising and Not Surprising: The CHEEZ-It 355 at The Glen

With no need for the Goodyear wet weather radials brought to the track just in case, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 30th annual CHEEZ-It 355 at the Watkins Glen International road course.

Surprising: Race winner Joey Logano held a make-up session at The Glen, first making up for losing the race the previous week on fuel mileage and second, making up for the four previous races where Team Penske lost out to a member of the Joe Gibbs Racing team.

“It makes up for last week, the driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford said. “We lost the race last week the same way, so it makes up for it to get it this week.”

“Team Penske, the last four races in a row, one of our cars finished second,” Logano continued. “Brad (Keselowski, Penske teammate) finished second a couple of times and so did we, so it feels good to break through and not be the bridesmaid anymore and actually get the checkered flag and have some fun.”

Logano also made up for lost time for Team Penske, who won their first ever at Watkins Glen.

“It means an awful lot to Team Penske,” Walt Czarnecki, Vice Chairman of Team Penske said. “This is Team Penske’s first Cup win at The Glen. I believe this is our winningest track in the whole history of our company, going back to the Trans-Am and the Can-Am and Nationwide and XFINITY Series – a great run yesterday – so this is particularly meaningful for us to win here today in this race.”

Not Surprising: Given the challenges to the cars on road courses, it was not surprising that at least a few drivers uttered those dreaded two words, “Something broke.”

Jeff Gordon, who had high hopes for a chance to make the Chase with a win at The Glen, had brake issues instead and went down four laps trying to fix it. Gordon finished 41st and slid from tenth to twelfth in the point standings.

“We had a brake line issue,” the driver of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet said. “It’s not like I hit anything or something came into it and broke it that we can see. Something went bad with the line and it started leaking fluid and we started losing brakes.”

“So we had to come in. Unfortunately, it took us four laps to get that changed. Just so hard to make up laps when you get that many down, especially at a track like this.”

Tony Stewart, who qualified in the third position, also had a ‘something broke’ moment as a likely broken seal let all the rear end grease out of the axle, ending his day in the 43rd and final finishing spot.

“When I came off of (Turn) 1 I could feel it like it was kind of pulling heavy and going up through the esses you could hear it let go right at the end of the esses,” Smoke said. “We are going to leave the rear end together and get it back to Charlotte (NC) and find out exactly what happened.”

Surprising: In a race that this driver had circled on his calendar, especially as the defending race winner, AJ Allmendinger’s day went to one that he wanted to ‘X’ out of his memory. ‘Dinger suffered a power loss that left his No. 47 Kroger/Bush’s Beans Chevrolet dead on the track to finish a disappointing 24th.

“When the battery died that obviously put us way behind,” Allmendinger said. “I thought the changes we made helped the car a little bit, but I got my lap back and drove as hard as I could to get as much as I could.”

“I thought maybe we could get back to the top 10. Just 10 laps short.”

Not Surprising: Rodney Childers, crew chief for Kevin Harvick, must have had the Salt N Pepa song ‘Push It’ echoing in his head. And as he said, he ‘pushed it to nothing’ with his driver, who ran out of gas on the last lap of the race.

Harvick was, however, able to coast to a third place finish, his eighth top-10 finish in 15 races at Watkins Glen International.

“I thought I’d done a pretty good job of saving fuel under the caution,” Harvick said. “I was just running as fast as I needed to, to protect the lead.”

“All in all, our Budweiser/Jimmy John’s team did a great job today and we were in position to have a win; two corners away.”

Surprising: Only a six-time champ could miss the inner loop and have to sit until the field passed him, have contact with another driver, as well as taking a spin on the track, and still finish top-10.

Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, did just that, starting ninth and finishing the race in the tenth position in spite of all those challenges.

Not Surprising: Kyle Busch’s crew chief Adam Stevens was obviously scared straight, at least according to his driver. Busch finished second in his No. 18 M&Ms Crispy Toyota, his ninth top-10 finish in 11 races at Watkins Glen International.

“I could’ve went up there, I could’ve raced the 22 (Joey Logano), I could’ve passed him,” Busch said. “I felt like I was better than he was, but my crew chief called in scared on the fuel situation from last week and I don’t blame him.”

“We definitely didn’t want to run out again. We wanted to make sure we could be there at the end.”

This was Busch’s sixth top-10 finish in 2015 and he is now 30th in the points and eligible for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Surprising: It was a big ‘niner’ kind of day for Sam Hornish, who finished ninth in his No. 9 Medallion Bank Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports.

“Our car was good,” Hornish said. “We were good in areas that some other cars weren’t and that helped us pass people when we could get to them.”

“I felt like our car was definitely better than where we finished there, but you take what you can get on the days you have it and I’m just proud of everybody that works on this Medallion Bank Ford Fusion and the guys at RPM.”

“A ninth is probably disappointing for them compared to what they’ve had the last few times coming up here, but the package is a little bit different. I wish we could have had a little more practice time, but anytime you come home in the top-10 you can’t be too disappointed about it.”

Not Surprising: Denny Hamlin was definitely in the ‘hood’ at The Glen yet again. His hood flew up on top of the roof of his car, just like it had done at practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota had to have the hood replaced, relegating him to a 27th place finish.

Surprising: Matt Kenseth surprised himself, and no doubt everyone else, by scoring his best career finish at Watkins Glen, bringing his No. 20 Dollar General Toyota in the fourth position.

“We ran pretty good,” Kenseth said in his typical understated fashion. “It’s always fun to feel like you overachieved I guess and we probably did that today. I’m sort of surprised we made it to the end but I’m really thankful we did.”

Not Surprising: While Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon had his own problems, there were significant Chase implications for teammate Kasey Kahne, who was sidelined on Lap 49 due to multi-car accident, finishing 42nd.

Kahne also lost two spots in the point standings, from 15^th to 17th position.

“Yeah, at this rate we’re going to need to win,” Kahne said. “That’s the only way we’ll go into the Chase.”

“So hopefully we can run good at Michigan and maybe get a win there. We’ve won there before and also won there at Bristol before; so, maybe one of those tracks. Darlington and Richmond; there are some tracks that we could run really well at.”

The next Sprint Cup Series race on the circuit will be August 16 at Michigan International Speedway.

August 11, 2015
The Final Word – Watkins Glen was a Seinfeld event…a race all about nothing

It was, for the most part, a race about nothing. This is not to say that Watkins Glen was boring, for it was actually one of those pleasant occurrences where we had an event that actually was entertaining enough to keep us watching. The damndest things can happen on a road course, and they did.

Nothing but wins mean much of anything to Tony Stewart. He ran well for a time, but in the end something in the driveline broke and he wound up with nothing. A.J. Allmendinger had the pole, sought to repeat his win of a year ago, but as strong as he once was, things slowly turned sour and his hopes for a win turned the same way.

Gas, or more specifically the lack of it, bit most of them. We knew for some time that without a late caution, none of the leaders would make it. Kevin Harvick came close, but he hit fumes with two corners to go. That allowed Joey Logano and Kyle Busch to sail by to complete the course one-two. For Logano, it marked his second win of the campaign and 10th of his career. For Busch, he moved into 30th place in points and, with his four wins now counting, he sits second in the standings. I guess that was not nothing, just expected.

No matter what happened to those who already had a win coming in, the race meant nothing. No matter what hardships they might have endured, the race meant nothing even for the winless Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard, and Jeff Gordon. Nothing to sweat about for Ryan Newman or Clint Bowyer, for that matter. The gap between being a Chaser and being on the outside is a good 50 points or more. At least it is, for the moment.

Nothing was what some got, but it meant something. Aric Almirola got his car roughed up early as he dived to 17th on the season, more than a race full of points out of it. Kasey Kahne is a point behind him after he got crunched during a re-start. Like everyone else outside the Top Sixteen, no win, no Chase.

However, things could start to mean something as they move on to Michigan, Bristol, Darlington, and Richmond. Should an outsider win, that 50 point cushion disappears and the gap that currently separates those currently between 12th and 16th is only 23 points.

In short, the next four races could prove meaningless as far as the Chase goes, other than to pick up bonus points through victories. That could change if Kyle Busch falters out of the Top 30, or somebody outside the Top Sixteen claims a checkered flag. If either happens, things would get meaningful in a hurry.

August 11, 2015
Joey Logano Wins Cheez-It 355 at The Glen; Sweeps Weekend

WATKINS GLEN, NY – The 30th running of the Cheez-It 355 at The Glen is in the books, and yet again, Watkins Glen International has produced an exciting race weekend. The Glen solidified their spot atop the polls after announcing all reserved grandstand tickets for Sunday’s running of the Cheez-It 355 had sold out.

Watkins Glen International commented on the sell-out, stating, “A reserved grandstand sell-out shows just how dedicated and passionate Watkins Glen International fans are.”

Dedicated is one way to describe it, as WGI announced earlier in the week that they had created additional campsites to accommodate the enormous demand for camping at the facility.

Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 at The Glen was as eventful as we’ve seen over recent years at Watkins Glen International. Instead of the large crashes and flared tempers, fans saw a clean race out of some of the top contenders for the championship. The race on Sunday progressed as many recent races at the 2.45-mile road course, with fuel strategy coming into play. This year was different in the sense that there was no caution within the last 20 laps.

Fast forward through the first five cautions, and you have the top 10 cars stacked up as follows: Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., David Ragan, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Greg Biffle and Sam Hornish Jr. Final pit stops were made over the course of the final yellow of the afternoon between laps 58 and 60, and the only car with a glimmer of hope to make the finish on fuel was the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford driven by Joey Logano.

Slowly but surely over the course of the final 20 laps, Logano, followed closely by Kyle Busch, picked their way through the field and into the top five. With seven laps remaining, Logano was shown in second, lurking behind the No. 4 of Kevin Harvick. Harvick, whose radio chatter was not mentioning anything about having enough fuel to make the finish of the race, sealed the most laps led (29), but would come up short in the end.

As the laps wound down, radios were full of talk about who could make it, who would be short, and predictions of a late race caution ran rampant. There was no late race caution, and on the final lap it looked like Harvick had done what he needed to to save fuel and stay in the lead, and when Logano overshot turn one, a win for the No. 4 team became all but inevitable.

The only caveat in the formula for a third victory this season for Harvick was the amount of fuel in his gas tank. Though he had a clear track in front of him and space between him and Logano, Harvick’s luck would run out between turns six and seven when he finally ran out of fuel. Logano made the pass on the outside in turn seven and took the checkered flag for the 10th time in his career.

Logano was ecstatic in Victory Lane following his sweep of both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR XFINITY Series races this weekend at Watkins Glen International.

“This is the coolest weekend of my life,” Logano exclaimed. “Every driver wants to add a road course victory to their resume. This is a dream come true to win at this place.”

The win marks Logano’s second victory and 16th top-10 finish in 2015. It was the first time in track history for a driver to sweep both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR XFINITY Series races at Watkins Glen International.

Kyle Busch, who led once for three laps, finished second in the Cheez-It 355 at The Glen and moved into the top 30 in points, the stipulation for him making the 2015 Chase for the Sprint Cup.

“We knew we would be (in the top 30 in points), which is probably a reason we played it safe on the fuel strategy,” Busch said. “I could have had a chance and raced the 22 (Logano), but we wanted to make sure we made it to the end.”

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader Kevin Harvick, who barely missed the win at the end, had enough fuel to make it to the start-finish line in third.

“I thought I did a pretty good job of saving fuel,” Harvick explained, “and I was only running as fast as I needed to to stay in the lead. Once the No.22 got to me, I had to pick up the pace a little bit. We were in position for the win, two corners away, but that’s just how the middle of this season has gone for us.”

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series moves on to Michigan International Speedway next weekend for the Pure Michigan 400 on Sunday, August 16.

August 9, 2015
Hot 20 – Rain, rain that went away, the Glen invites you back Sunday

Rain. Usually, that would mean a long delay before we see some action if we wind up seeing any at all, but not before we interview every driver at the track. Then, there are those who like to record the race on television, but fail to allow for an eight-hour delay.

Still, rain at Watkins Glen means racing. Take off the slicks, replace them with rain tread, and off they go. There is a possibility of rain, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. is among those who would not mind using the wipers. Of course, you just got to know that come Sunday the sun shall be shining.

You also know that, barring a fuel mileage, heartbreaking finish, Kyle Busch will hit the Top 30, and the Top Two on this list on Sunday. Until then, here are our Hot 20 coming into Watkins Glen…

1. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 4 WINS (713 Points)
To all the Johnson haters out there…Jimmie invites you to kiss his…

2. KEVIN HARVICK – 2 WINS (780 Points)
Engine department thought the 400 mile Pocono event was a 20 lap feature. They bad.

3. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 2 WINS (717 Points)
I wonder how much space the new NASCAR “at track” superstore has devoted to one guy?

4. MATT KENSETH – 2 WINS (662 Points)
It is amazing what one can accomplish when one has fuel…and others do not.

5. KURT BUSCH – 2 WINS (620 Points)
Another free agent at the end of the season, but don’t expect him to go anywhere.

6. JOEY LOGANO – 1 WIN (734 Points)
I am not a fan of Joey Logano. He is not a fan of Ron Thornton, whoever he is.

7. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 WIN (694 Points)
Could not save enough fuel to sweep Pocono, but should do well at the Glen.

8. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 1 WIN (681 Points)
So THAT is the reason the crew chief stays up on the box.

9. DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN (614 Points)
Erik Jones will arrive full-time in Cup in 2017. Who departs Gibbs’ operation to make room?

10. CARL EDWARDS – 1 WIN (553 Points)
A dirty low down bottle tossing varmint? Say is isn’t so.

11. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 631 POINTS
Winning is so over-rated, as he will prove again this Sunday.

12. JEFF GORDON – 617 POINTS
40+ points up on Bowyer, so why in hell are some saying this has been a disappointing season?

13. PAUL MENARD – 591 POINTS
His dad is the richest person in Wisconsin. I’m not even the richest person in my household.

14. RYAN NEWMAN – 584 POINTS
The last of his four Top Fives was back in April. That has to change.

15. CLINT BOWYER – 574 POINTS
Calls everyone Boss these days, as you never know who his Boss might be next season.

16. KASEY KAHNE – 559 POINTS
The only sponsor who should have a real problem with Donald Trump is Great Clips.

17. ARIC ALMIROLA – 534 POINTS
Almirola? Isn’t that a great ice cream flavor?

18. GREG BIFFLE – 502 POINTS
First four races at the Glen, he averaged a 35th place finish. Since then, 15th. He got better.

19. KYLE LARSON – 485 POINTS
Just turned 23, so not quite a grey beard yet. Come to think of it, not quite ready for a beard yet.

20. AUSTIN DILLON – 484 POINTS
He did not win, but having a Tennessee Titan cheerleader in your corner is not exactly a loss.

August 5, 2015
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Pocono

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Kyle Busch: Busch inherited the lead when Joey Logano ran out of gas with three laps to go, but Logano’s misfortune was a harbinger of the same for Busch, whose tank ran dry with one lap to go. Busch finished 21st.

“My fuel tank said ‘E,’” Busch said, “then I said ‘F.’ Who would have thought that my luck and my fuel would have run out at the same time?”

2. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished sixth in the Windows 10 400 at Pocono, securing his 14th top 10 of the season.

“Hendrick Motorsports put three cars in the top six,” Johnson said. “Kasey Kahne put one in the pit lane wall. That’s what you call a pit stop.

“Pocono’s ‘Tricky Triangle’ indeed proved to be tricky. However, when you’re talking NASCAR, the triangle is not the geometric shape that first comes to mind. That would be the ‘cylinder.’ My fans know there are eight cylinders in the engine of the No. 48. On the other hand, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s fans know there are 24 of ’em in a case.”

3. Kevin Harvick: Harvick’s engine blew on lap 20 of the Windows 10 400 at Pocono, relegating him to his worst result of the year, a 42nd.

“I’m not sure what happened,” Harvick said. “All I know is something went ‘Ke-boom! and the car went ‘Ke-put.’ And out we went in a plume of burning oil and fluids. I was upset, but Tony Stewart was elated. It’s the first time ‘Smoke’s’ had an impact on the Chase all season.”

4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Earnhardt finished third at Pocono, the top finisher among Hendrick Motorsports cars.

“It appears Kyle Busch isn’t invincible after all,” Earnhardt said. “For a while there, he was so dominant it looked like he could win without really trying. It took the end of the race on Sunday for validation that yes, he indeed was ‘coasting.’”

5. Joey Logano: Logano was leading with three laps to go when his fuel tank ran dry. Instead of his second win of the season, he was left with a 20th-place finish.

“In retrospect,” Logano said, “the ‘Windows 10 400’ should have been called the ‘Fuel Windows 10 400.’

“Luckily, no one was hurt when Brad Keselowski hit some of his pit crew when he went screaming into his pit stall. Now, you can add three crewmen to the list of people who believe Brad doesn’t know when to stop.”

6. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth grabbed his second win of the year after winning a fuel mileage war at Pocono.

“I can’t say we found a way to win,” Kenseth said. “I would say the way to win found us.

“Out pit strategy played out to perfection and resulted in a day I’ll never forget, and I owe it all to my gas can man. To him, I say ‘Tanks for the memories.’”

7. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex ran out of fuel with two laps to go, just moments after Joey Logano’s tank went dry while leading. Truex finished 19th and is fifth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 86 out of first.

“There were a lot of cars running out of gas at the end of the race,” Truex said. “So many that it bordered on being suspicious. Was it a mysterious conspiratorial ploy by NASCAR to add excitement to an otherwise boring race? If so, it would have to be called ‘Fume-igate.’”

8. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished second in the Windows 10 400 at Pocono, surviving as several cars running in the top five dropped out after running out of fuel.

“I ran into a few of my crew members on a pit stop,” Keselowski said. “Here’s the rundown on their health—they’re all okay. There’s video of the incident all over the internet, and it’s become very popular. Rumor has it Hollywood wants to base a movie on it. It will be called ‘Boyz On The Hood.’”

9. Kurt Busch: Busch finished 37th at Pocono after an accident on a lap 66 restart sent him to the garage for repairs.

“On the bright side,” Busch said, “I had plenty of gas in my tank at race’s end. If you don’t believe me, just ask my former girlfriend Patricia Driscoll. She’ll tell you I’m still full of it.”

10. Carl Edwards: Edwards pitted late for fuel and salvaged a 10th at Pocono, his fifth top-10 result of the year.

“What a great race,” Edwards said. “I guess NASCAR was right—-slowing the cars down does make for more exciting racing.

“Not many drivers had the nerve to come in for gas so late in the race,” Edwards said. “Luckily, we had the guts to do it. As they say, you have to take the plunge before you take the splash.”

August 5, 2015
Surprising and Not Surprising: Pocono Windows 10 400

In what will no doubt go down in the books as one of the crazier races at the ‘Tricky Triangle’, here are the highlights of what was surprising and not surprising from the Windows 10 400 at Pocono Raceway.

Surprising: In an unusual race where one of his team’s drivers run out of fuel on the way to a fourth straight win and one of his other drivers coasted into Victory Lane, the best quote of the day was from Coach Joe Gibbs.

He told Sirius XM radio’s Claire B. Lang, “I’ve been going to Victory Lane so much that I might just have to go to rehab.”

This was Joe Gibbs Racing’s fourth consecutive win in that same number of races.

“It was a big deal today the way everything played out,” Gibbs added. “But I think you do, in pro sports you realize how hard it is to win a race, and when you get in a situation like this, you really want to enjoy it, and I think we do.”

Not Surprising: Matt Kenseth accomplished a first-time twofer as he took the checkered flag with just enough fuel left for a burnout.

“Today is a first,” Kenseth said. “I checked two things off the list. I won at Pocono, I didn’t think that would ever happen, and I won a fuel-mileage race, I didn’t think that would ever happen.

“There’s been a few through the years that I thought we had it all figured out, and we were the only one that was going to make it and all that stuff and you catch an untimely caution and there’s been some other ones where you are kind of dominating the race and you’re out there and you run out of gas and somebody back mid-pack had enough gas to make it and have lost several like that.

“Feels good to get one like that. We had a fast car and we were able to get the fuel mileage good enough to get the win.

“So yeah, this is a first for me.”

Surprising: It was Groundhog Day at Pocono, at least for the eerily similar three crashes that happened with cars smacking into the pit road wall. It happened to Ray Black Jr. in the Truck race, as well as Jeb Burton in practice. And then the third hit happened in nearly the same way but in the race to Kasey Kahne.

“I just got loose really late, so far off the corner,” Kahne said. “A really late exit. I’m not sure why or what happened. It just jumped out. You’re so far off the corner, to slow slide and get so far down pit road, it was crazy.

“I’ve never ended up over there like that. I don’t know why that was. I couldn’t believe when the No. 26 (Jeb Burton) did earlier this weekend and then I did.”

Not Surprising: While several drivers, especially those that ran out of fuel, might want to put Pocono in their rear view mirror, there was one driver who no doubt burned rubber leaving the track.

“It was one of those days,” Sam Hornish Jr. said. “I missed a shift on a restart which wasn’t any good and then we had a tire come apart and then we got hit and then Kurt (Busch) was trying to hold on to it and I saw that he got it straightened back out and it is one of those things where everything stops smoking long enough that you think he has it back under control again and then it is just wobbling around on him.

“Unfortunate for us for sure. I love coming to Pocono and I have had some good runs here and led laps and felt like we could win races, but it just hasn’t been for us this year.”

Surprising: There was no one more surprised than Kyle Busch that the race went green at the end, especially given the many early race cautions. And the driver, who was hoping for his fourth consecutive win and a boost into Chase contention, was also surprised that he was short enough on fuel not to make it to the finish line.

“It was a caution-filled race there for a while,” Busch said. “I was surprised the end then went green. I don’t know where we were on our strategy and all of that stuff.

“I’ve got to debrief with Adam (Stevens, crew chief), but I don’t know how close we were and if we were one lap short of making it then I probably needed to save or do a better job of running those last 30 laps or so.

“We were short, we run out, but we went down swinging so I can’t fault my guys for that. An awesome call, they called the race right and another Monster Energy can of gas and we’d be winning another one.”

Not Surprising: The irrepressible Clint Bowyer was nearly jumping up and down when he got out of his race car after finishing top-10.

“Holy cow that was a finish,” the driver of the No. 15 Maxwell House Toyota said of his eighth place run. “What a race. We got caught with the caution lights and had a heck of a comeback. We were able to save enough fuel and give the Maxwell House Toyota a great finish.”

Surprising: The fourth place finisher felt like a time traveler when all was said and done at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’

“Yeah, in the booth up there, they turned the clock back to 1973 and let that thing play out a little bit and let everybody run out of gas,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “That was pretty cool. It’s kind of like some of the older races where you just can’t count on them to throw them cautions there at the end. And they didn’t today.”

Not Surprising: For his very last appearance at Pocono, Jeff Gordon actually went off script and could not have been more pleased with the result.

“No, the script I had played out in my head was we were going to be 15th, so this one was way better than that,” the driver of the No. 24 AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet said after finishing third.

“For whatever reason the last couple times we’ve been here we’ve had decent race cars, not maybe the cars that we would have liked to have had, but cars far capable of better finishes than what we’ve had, have been getting, and just a lot of different circumstances not playing out. Some to our own credit and others just circumstances.

“Today finally one went our way for a change, which is really nice to bounce back after last week’s unfortunate incident where we lost so many points.”

Gordon gained one spot in the point standings, moving from the 11th spot up to 10th.

Surprising: In spite of overcoming adversity, including hitting two of his pit crew members during a doomed stop, to finish runner-up, Brad Keselowski felt surprising empathy, in fact even heartbreak, for his teammate’s misfortune at the race end.

“The fuel came into play at the end and we were able to take care of it to bring home second, which is a very respectable day,” Keselowski said. “Certainly not where we were going to finish without the fuel, but that is sometimes how it works.

“I think my teammate (Joey Logano) and his team did a phenomenal job. I am heartbroken for them to not win the race.”

Not Surprising: Mama told him there would be days like this, so Kevin Harvick was able to let his first DNF since April 2014 roll off his back.

“Yeah, coming around turn two I knew I had some issues but didn’t realize they were going to be that big,” Harvick said. I’m just really proud of my Jimmy John’s/Budweiser team. The car was fast. You’ll have days like this.”

Next week, the Sprint Cup Series will travel to battle the road course at Watkins Glen. The CHEEZ-It 355 at The Glen will run at 2:00 p.m. ET on NBCSN on Sunday, August 9.

August 3, 2015
The Final Word – Things got rather iffy at Pocono

If. We all have a closet full of “ifs” that we may ponder about. Take last Sunday for instance. If Kyle Busch had saved enough fuel, he may well have won his fourth straight race, moved into the Top 30 in points, and sat atop the season standings with five victories to his credit. But he did not, so he does not. Well, at least for another week, as despite finishing 21st on Sunday he now trails the pair tied for that magic spot by just 17 points.

If Joey Logano had not run out of gas to allow Busch to pass him with a handful of laps left, he might have won his second of the season., instead of coming home 20th. That would have pushed him into third place on the season ladder, but the cars can hold only so many gallons, and he needed a couple more.

If Kevin Harvick had an engine that would last more than 20 laps, he could have won his third. However, just as he took the lead his car went up in smoke to take care of any mosquito problems in the area. He almost went from first to worst, but he even failed at that.

If Kasey Kahne had not spun coming out of the third turn, he might have avoided finishing dead last after just three laps. Three. He broke loose, headed toward pit road, and found the inside wall. A lot of helmets on the barrier went flying but, thankfully, not a single head was in any of them. Now he sits 16th in the standings, which means he will be 17th after next week unless he can make up the 15 points he now trails Clint Bowyer.

If Bowyer, who finished eighth, could just win a race he would not be worrying about making the Chase. His 15th could be the new 16th or worse if Kyle does well next Sunday and somebody below him in points wins at Watkins Glen. Somebody like 2014 race winner A.J. Allmendinger, for example. Don’t you think team owner Michael Waltrip could use a little good news about now?

If last weekend’s race went 159 laps, instead of 160, Matt Kenseth would not have claimed his 33rd career victory, his second of the season, and his first in 32 Pocono starts. Logano and Kyle had the cars to beat, and Kenseth did just that by leading laps 88 and 160.

If the 88 of Dale Earnhardt Jr. had only not had that pit road penalty. Who am I kidding? That car was junk much of the day, but it sure looked pretty. As it turned out, their fuel strategy worked pretty well, at least enough to give them an undeserved fourth place finish.

If Brad Keselowski had not gone bowling for dollars, using his crew as pins, maybe his runner-up finish could have been one better. It takes time to complete a stop after sending your jack man flying and putting your tire changer on the hood as his fresh Goodyear goes bouncing to hither and yon. By the way, you do not have to take equipment out of the stall to get a penalty. Sending it flying on its own gets you docked some extra time just as well.

If not for the woes of others, Greg Biffle, Allmendinger, and Tony Stewart might not have picked up Top Tens on the day. I believe their feelings on the matter might be something like “it sure sucks to be them.”

If Tony can rebound to form at Watkins Glen next Sunday, where he has won five before, or if Allmendinger can repeat, all of a sudden their respective seasons perk right up. If Jeff Gordon could take his fifth or Harvick his second on the road course, it would be nice, but there are those in greater need.

If Kyle could win a third race at the Glen, the waiting would be over, the standings reset, and just five places in the Chase would remain open to non-winners.

If a first-time winner emerges on Sunday, make that four spots open.

August 3, 2015

Kyle Busch Keeps It Rolling With Pocono Pole

Kyle Busch, who has been on a tear winning four races and three in a row most recently, has continued that roll at Pocono Raceway. The driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Crispy Toyota scored the pole for the 42nd annual Windows 10 400 with a speed of 178.416 mph and a time 50.444 seconds.

This was Busch’s 17th pole in 375 Cup Series races and his second pole in 22 races at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’

“It certainly is nice to feel this way,” Busch said. “I certainly have been through some down times as well but this year the tides are 180 degrees different. We’re just trying to ride that wave as long as it will carry us. I hope it carries us on through the rest of the season.”

“I wasn’t sure we had a shot for the pole,” Busch continued. “We had good speed but we couldn’t get the balance quite right. But we did and to get a pole here today is cool.”

“I enjoy getting poles, wins, anything but if I look back at old school NASCAR, you have to win a pole to get into the Sprint Unlimited. One is all you need.”

Kevin Harvick, behind the wheel of the No. 4 Jimmy Johns/Budweiser Chevrolet qualified second, posting his 13th top-10 start of 2015 and his ninth in 30 races at Pocono.

“From our goals to what we did in qualifying, I feel like we definitely overachieved today,” Harvick said. “We needed that last round to go the way it did, running our fastest lap of the day.”

“I knew we did a good job,” Harvick continued. “That’s what we needed to do.”

“I feel like we’ll be even better when we get into the Chase. Today was important. As a team, we’re doing a great job. We just have to keep plugging along, with your head down and keeping your eyes plugged.”

Joe Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford, qualified third, posting his sixth top-10 start at Pocono.

“I feel good anytime we come to Pocono. This is one of our best race tracks here as a team,” Logano said. “Good qualifying run. We haven’t gotten the poles that we want. We want to take pictures and get stickers and banners and all that stuff, but I’m proud of what our team has done here lately, picking up from practice to qualifying to the race.”

“I’m proud of the improvements we make on our race car. The communication is there and the teamwork is there. Just are coming up a little bit short here lately.”

Austin Dillon and Tony Stewart both had good runs to round out the top-five qualifiers.

Jeff Gordon rebounded from his tough finish at the Brickyard, making it to the final round of qualifying to start in the tenth position.

“You have three unique corners that you have to drive different and set up different,” Gordon said of the track. “When I think of Pocono, that’s what I think of. I know they call it the ‘Tricky Triangle,’ but it’s true. It is a very challenging and tricky place to compete at.”

The rest of the starting lineup is as follows:

2015 NSCS Windows 10 400 Starting Lineup

Pos	Car	Driver	Team	Time	Speed
1	18	Kyle Busch	M&M’s Crispy Toyota	50.444	178.416
2	4	Kevin Harvick	Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet	50.514	178.168
3	22	Joey Logano	Shell Pennzoil Ford	50.608	177.837
4	3	Austin Dillon	American Ethanol Chevrolet	50.659	177.658
5	14	Tony Stewart	Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet	50.667	177.63
6	41	Kurt Busch	Haas Automation Chevrolet	50.672	177.613
7	20	Matt Kenseth	Dollar General Toyota	50.691	177.546
8	19	Carl Edwards	Stanley Toyota	50.75	177.34
9	2	Brad Keselowski	Alliance Truck Parts Ford	50.764	177.291
10	24	Jeff Gordon	AARP Member Advantages Chevrolet	50.787	177.211
11	11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx Office Toyota	50.833	177.05
12	48	Jimmie Johnson	Kobalt Tools Chevrolet	50.948	176.651
13	78	Martin Truex Jr.	Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet	51.007	176.446
14	31	Ryan Newman	Caterpillar Chevrolet	51.03	176.367
15	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Microsoft Chevrolet	51.038	176.339
16	5	Kasey Kahne	Aquafina Chevrolet	51.06	176.263
17	1	Jamie McMurray	Lexar Chevrolet	51.061	176.26
18	27	Paul Menard	Sylvania/Menards Chevrolet	51.153	175.943
19	15	Clint Bowyer	Maxwell House Toyota	51.202	175.774
20	10	Danica Patrick	GoDaddy Chevrolet	51.262	175.569
21	43	Aric Almirola	United States Air Force Ford	51.39	175.131
22	47	AJ Allmendinger	Bush’s Grillin Beans Chevrolet	51.409	175.067
23	6	Trevor Bayne	AdvoCare Ford	51.504	174.744
24	55	David Ragan	Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota	51.524	174.676
25	16	Greg Biffle	Roush Performance Ford	51.51	174.723
26	13	Casey Mears	GEICO Chevrolet	51.614	174.371
27	42	Kyle Larson	Suave Men Chevrolet	51.621	174.348
28	7	Alex Bowman	FW1 Wash and Wax Chevrolet	51.723	174.004
29	40	Landon Cassill(i)	Chevrolet	51.771	173.842
30	9	Sam Hornish Jr.	Medallion Bank Ford	51.803	173.735
31	51	Justin Allgaier	FraternalOrderofEagles/SwitchHitch Chev	51.895	173.427
32	34	Brett Moffitt #	A&W All American Food Ford	51.924	173.33
33	35	Cole Whitt	MDS Transportation Ford	51.949	173.247
34	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Ford EcoBoost Ford	51.971	173.174
35	23	JJ Yeley(i)	Dr. Pepper Toyota	52.125	172.662
36	83	Matt DiBenedetto #	Burger King Toyota	52.137	172.622
37	38	David Gilliland	Love’s Travel Stops Ford	Owner Points
38	26	Jeb Burton #	Maxim Toyota	Owner Points
39	46	Michael Annett	Pilot Flying J Chevrolet	Owner Points
40	32	Travis Kvapil(i)	Skuttle Tight Ford	Owner Points
41	98	Reed Sorenson	Chevrolet	Owner Points
42	33	Alex Kennedy #	MediaCAST Chevrolet	Owner Points
43	62	Timmy Hill(i)	Ford	Owner Points

(i) Ineligible for Driver Points in this Series
# Denotes Rookie

Source: Timing and Scoring provided by NASCARMedia/NASCAR Statistics

July 31, 2015

Hot 20 – Pocono, where Kyle’s winning streak comes to an end…maybe

Back we go to Pocono, where Martin Truex Jr. won in the spring, where all of the Hendrick drivers shared in winning the previous five. A Busch has won there, twice. His name is Kurt.

Kyle Busch has not…yet. He swept Indianapolis last weekend, meaning he ran and won the XFINITY race there on Saturday. It was his second junior circuit win in five tries this season. That now means series regulars have won just three of 18 events, with Chris Buescher taking two while Ryan Reed won at Daytona in February. Truck series wonder-kid Erik Jones has a pair while six Cup drivers have shared the other 13. Of course, most see what the problem is. I guess stupid is as stupid does, as Forrest Gump reminded us.

NASCAR spent tons of time and money figuring out a package to run at Indy. Then they got teams to spend their own time and money to ready their cars with that new package. In the end, they appear to have wasted a bunch of time and money. The racing was not much different than it has ever been, which is not all that good while making them a bit more sensitive to losing control after losing air on the spoiler, spoiling their day. Next month, they will use the same package in Michigan. You can never have too much of a bad thing, I guess.

Word is that Danica Patrick is expected to stay with Stewart-Haas after this season, a new contract and new sponsors. Why? It has everything to do with being a competent attractive female in a sport dominated by men. She might never contend for a title or even a Chase berth, but as long as she continues to enjoy the following she has, she does not have to.

Cameron Hayley is a 19-year-old Canadian sitting sixth in the truck series standings. He is a Calgary boy, making him as likely to be a cowboy as a hockey player. Instead, he turned to racing. Too bad the truck series is not broadcast in Canada this season. However, if you want to watch soccer instead, I got great news for you.

Heading to Pocono, our Hot 20 does not include our hottest driver. Heading out of Pocono probably will be a different story. If you are wondering if it is all about Kyle…it seems it is.

1. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 4 WINS (675 Points)
Will remain first overall, unless Kyle wins Pocono.

2. KEVIN HARVICK – 2 WINS (777 Points)
All the talk is about Kyle, but Harv’s finishes over the past five have been fourth, fourth, eighth, third, and third.

3. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 2 WINS (677 Points)
The last driver not named Kyle Busch to win a Cup race.

4. KURT BUSCH – 2 WINS (612 Points)
Kyle’s first bridesmaid was his own brother.

5. JOEY LOGANO – 1 WIN (708 Points)
Bridesmaid No. 2…and No. 4.

6. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 WIN (668 Points)
Could have helped Kyle and Kevin in late restarts…but I guess they were on their own.

7. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 1 WIN (638 Points)
Kyle’s other bridesmaid, as Penske finished second in each of the past three.

8. MATT KENSETH – 1 WIN (615 Points)
As a teammate, he personally knows Kyle.

9. DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN (591 Points)
So does Denny.

10. CARL EDWARDS – 1 WIN (519 Points)
So does Carl.

11. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 602 POINTS
Has enough points that Kyle’s expected jump up the ladder affects him the least.

12. JEFF GORDON – 575 POINTS
Forget Kyle. Until further notice, the goal is to finish ahead of Bowyer every week.

13. RYAN NEWMAN – 563 POINTS
After Pocono and Kyle’s expected rise in the standings, things get a little more tense.

14. KASEY KAHNE – 558 POINTS
Same as above.

15. PAUL MENARD – 558 POINTS
Ditto.

16. CLINT BOWYER – 538 POINTS
If Kyle moves up, 16th becomes the new 17th.

17. ARIC ALMIROLA – 508 POINTS
Forget Kyle and forget making the Chase on points. A win is the only way in.

18. GREG BIFFLE – 462 POINTS
Kyle is the least of his worries.

19. AUSTIN DILLON – 453 POINTS
Like Kyle, Austin was a speed racer at Indy. Unlike Kyle, he did his speeding on pit road…twice.

20. KYLE LARSON – 452 POINTS
The other Kyle.

July 29, 2015