Tag: Kasey Kahne

Hot 20 – The Truex Triumph at Pocono Deserves an Encore at Michigan

You need a multi-car operation in order to be successful. At least, that seems to be the prevailing wisdom of the day, but just do not let Barney Visser and his Furniture Row team in on it. Other teams might not like what they would see.

Marching to the beat of their own drummer is just what they do. For example, while most teams call the Charlotte area home, the auto driven by Martin Truex Jr. is prepared in Denver, Colorado. Starting part-time in 2005, Furniture Row has been a Top 30 entry ever since they ran the full schedule with Regan Smith in 2010. They even won a race the next season, but hitting the Top Twenty by year’s end was a struggle.

Their dedication reached fruition in 2013 when Kurt Busch came over for a year, with 11 Top Fives launching them to a 10th best season. Still, no wins, and when Truex joined the outfit last year they dropped again to also-ran status in the standings. That proved to be just a blip on their radar as Cinderella got another shot to go to the ball and wear those glass galoshes.

Last Sunday, Truex gave Furniture Row just its second victory ever when he was the class of the field at Pocono. This was no surprise outcome for a usual also-ran, as they are easily the best team in points amongst the single win teams. In fact, they are second only to Kevin Harvick in points for the season, period. Single car teams are not supposed to do that. In fact, no single car team is supposed to do what Alan Kulwicki did between 1987 and his championship of 1992 these days. It seems to me that those mountain men and women are putting up another solid argument that the prevailing wisdom of the day is not their way, at least not yet.

While a teammate might not be to too far off in the future, Truex has had some success of his own at Michigan. He had three Top Tens racing for Michael Waltrip, and a pair of runner-up finishes for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2007. After last season’s annus horribilis, this appears to be a year of new beginnings and new successes, for both the team and its driver. Of course, he is among…

…our Hot 20 heading into Michigan.

1 – JIMMIE JOHNSON – 4 WINS (481 pts)
If Chad and Jimmie were girls, they wouldn’t talk for months after a race.

2 – KEVIN HARVICK – 2 WINS (559 pts)
Fourteen races. Two wins. Ten times finishing in second place. Don’t worry, be Happy.

3 – MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 WIN (520 pts)
Finally.

4 – JOEY LOGANO – 1 WIN (480 pts)
Starts dead last after rear-end gear change, then gets a pit penalty, yet finishes fourth at Pocono.

5 – DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 1 WIN (465 pts)
You would have thought he, not his buddy, won the race.

6 – BRAD KESELOWSKI – 1 WIN (441 pts)
Brought the beer to the Truex party. while Junior sent some post-celebration head pain relief.

7 – MATT KENSETH – 1 WIN (415 pts)
Family joined the Johnsons and Dillon boys for a Taylor Swift concert. Perks of the profession.

8 – KURT BUSCH – 1 WIN (379 pts)
Took the pole, finished fifth. Just another day at the office.

9 – DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN (379 pts)
The way he qualified at Pocono, one would have thought he was Bowyer.

10 – CARL EDWARDS – 1 WIN (368 pts)
Not as good as Newman this season…except for that little ole win he has.

11 – JAMIE MCMURRAY – 427 POINTS
Has completed 96.8 percent of his career laps at Michigan, but fourth in 2004 his best result.

12 – KASEY KAHNE – 417 POINTS
Impromptu body work from Junior helped neither car last weekend.

13 – JEFF GORDON – 411 POINTS
So, Alan and Jeff swore at each other. Am I the only one who notices they are both guys?

14 – PAUL MENARD – 385 POINTS
Caught speeding, got caught again on the drive through, then got a flat. Not a good day.

15 – ARIC ALMIROLA – 379 POINTS
Pocono was not a pointless exercise for Aric. He did pick up a single point for his efforts.

16 – RYAN NEWMAN – 374 POINTS
After just earning five himself, Newman not feeling the love after being Allmendingered.

17 – CLINT BOWYER – 354 POINTS
Billy Scott to replace Brian Pattie atop the box at Michigan. Let the magic begin.

18 – GREG BIFFLE – 343 POINTS
Twelfth was twelve better than teammate Trevor Bayne, which means they still have work to do.

19 – KYLE LARSON – 333 POINTS
Third at Dover, eighth at Pocono and eighth last spring at Michigan. The time is now.

20 – DANICA PATRICK – 328 POINTS
Deserved a better fate last Sunday.

June 11, 2015
The Final Word – The Top Four at Pocono Have Been the Season’s Best Four

Three drivers. When it came to the story of the Pocono race, only three mattered. You probably wanted to know who led the race for the opening few laps, and that would have been Carl Edwards. He finished 15th. For the rest of the way, it was down to two names, right down to the final lap; Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick. No one else much mattered on Sunday.

When it comes down to points, these two lead the way this year. When it comes to wins, Harvick’s two trailed only Jimmie Johnson’s four in that department. Truex, on the other hand, still had to close the deal. That finally happened in a race where he was a factor from start to finish, leading four times for 97 of the 160 laps, to snap a 69 race winless string. Harvick led for 39 to claim his 10th Top Two in 14 starts. As for third place, that eventually went to Johnson, as Pocono became a showcase of the three best thus far in 2015. Okay, Top Four, with Joey Logano finishing fourth.

With the Truex win, we still have no drivers outside the Top 16 in points with a victory this season. With a dozen events to go, that could change, which would put some pressure on those up there, yet still winless. However, Jamie McMurray, Kasey Kahne and even Jeff Gordon look safe for the moment though Paul Menard, Aric Almirola and Ryan Newman are vulnerable. All three finished outside the Top Thirty on Sunday.

Top Thirty on the season is valuable for those who want to win to be in. Only Kyle Busch has a realistic expectation to possibly win amongst the outsiders, and he sits 151 points behind Trevor Bayne for that 30th spot. Busch gained 15 points on Bayne over the weekend and needs to average a 12.6 point advantage over each of the next 12 races, as well as claim a win along the way, for it to matter.

Danica Patrick looked good for much of the race, solidly a Top 15, if not better. She lost a tire, found a fence, and finished 37th. However, the girl looked good, and for those on her bandwagon, that certainly counts for something.

After taking the last five at Pocono, shared by their four drivers, Team Hendrick had to settle for all four in the Top 15. Considering the trials Truex has faced both professionally and personally over the past couple of years, I think their genuine happiness over his success more than makes up for any disappointment that they might feel. Way more.

While Truex celebrated, Almirola (43rd), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (42nd), and Sam Hornish Jr. (41st) were top thirty drivers who did not have top thirty days. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch (9th), Ty Dillon (18th), and Landon Cassill (25th) were among those outsiders who gladly took their place.

Michigan International Speedway is the next stop, where the last six contests run over the past three years have been split between Hendrick Chevrolets and Roush or Penske Fords. At least it is a venue Hendrick has not won the last five…just the last two.

June 8, 2015
Hot 20 – Preparing For Pocono, May They Remember to Just Stay in The Damn Car

Stay in your damn car. Jennifer Jo Cobb did not during Friday’s truck race, leaving the confines of the cab to direct a little displeasure after being wrecked. On Sunday, Trevor Bayne got wrecked and headed onto to the apron to voice his displeasure. According to NASCAR rules brought in last August, unless there is smoke or fire in the cockpit, stay in the damn car until the emergency crew arrives.

I love watching drivers venting steam, challenging those who they believe have done them wrong. Sometimes it is downright amusing, especially if the driver is much smaller than the focus of their displeasure. However, life is not a cartoon. Sometimes what might be funny can become terribly tragic in the blink of an eye.

August 9, 2014. After that date, on a dirt track in New York, with the death of 20-year old Kevin Ward Jr., we learned a very valuable yet costly lesson. Please just stay in the damn car.

Here are our Hot 20 as they take to the track at Pocono on Sunday…

1. Jimmie Johnson – 4 WINS (440 Pts)
Whenever Johnson fails to win at Dover, Miles the Monster gets a Jimmie Johnson trophy.

2. Kevin Harvick – 2 WINS (516 Pts)
Tony just called. He wants his damn car back…and pit crew…and crew chief..and lucky penny.

3. Joey Logano – 1 WIN (440 Pts)
A big believer in Loudon. Unless it is a songwriter named Wainwright, I’m not with him.

4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 1 WIN (432 Pts)
Never won at Pocono until last year. Now looking for his third straight.

5. Brad Keselowski – 1 WIN (414 Pts)
Giving a rival crewman a ride is fine after the race, just not during the race.

6. Matt Kenseth – 1 WIN (377 Pts)
As he prepares for Pocono, his boy Ross makes his XFINITY debut later this month.

7. Denny Hamlin – 1 WIN (345 Pts)
Bowyer’s Toyota was going places, causing Hamlin’s Toyota to go to a bad place.

8. Kurt Busch – 1 WIN (340 Pts)
On the track, he makes Gene’s gambit look pretty good.

9. Carl Edwards – 1 WIN (338 Pts)
A drag race is not what one does to a crew member in leaving the pits.

10. Martin Truex, Jr. – 472 POINTS
A 140-point bulge means winning is not everything…but it sure would be nice.

11. Jamie McMurray – 390 POINTS
Miles needs a desperate facelift. After what happened to him last year, Jamie would agree.

12. Kasey Kahne – 385 POINTS
The second best Hendrick driver at Dover? It sure in hell was not Earnhardt or Gordon.

13. Jeff Gordon – 380 POINTS
Then again, a Top Ten is not bad for an old guy…with four titles…and 92 career wins.

14. Aric Almirola – 378 POINTS
Solidly in the hunt, solidly a Top Five guy last weekend at Dover.

15. Paul Menard – 372 POINTS
If no one outside the Top 16 in points wins, he is fine. If not, he will need one of his own.

16. Ryan Newman – 369 POINTS
What goes for Menard also goes for Newman.

17. Clint Bowyer – 332 POINTS
Chasing is fine, but a win is his best bet to make the playoffs.

18. Danica Patrick – 321 POINTS
The Danica-Line used to be 25th. While not yet Chase worthy, it marks a definite improvement.

19. Greg Biffle – 311 POINTS
What’s Buggin’ Biffle? Nothing that a win would not cure.

20. Kyle Larson – 297 POINTS
At 22, elected to sit at the big boy table as a driver rep in chat with NASCAR.

June 3, 2015
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson led the final 23 laps and won the FedEx 400, capturing his 10th win in 27 starts at the famous one-mile track and his fourth win overall.

“Ten wins at one track is quite an accomplishment,” Johnson said. “If there was any doubt that I’m one of the greatest drivers in history, my dominance at Dover is concrete proof.

“We were penalized by NASCAR for some minor infractions. As we well know from the plight of Jeremy Mayfield, NASCAR severely frowns upon ‘tweaking.’”

2. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished second at Dover, posting his ninth top-five finish and eighth runner-up of the year. He leads the points standings with a 41-point lead over Martin Truex Jr.

“Jimmie Johnson won for the 10th time at Dover,” Harvick said. “That’s truly a groundbreaking achievement. Of course, any achievement is ‘groundbreaking’ at Dover—that track is falling to pieces.

“The No. 4 Chevy featured the Ditech paint scheme. Ditech is a home loan service, as well as one of my biggest supporters. They give me ‘credit’ all the time, in addition to showing lots of interest.”

3. Martin Truex Jr.: For the third consecutive race, Truex led the most laps, but fell short of winning. At Dover, Truex led 131 laps and finished sixth.

“Am I going to win a race this year?” Truex said. “Please, I’d prefer not to be asked ‘leading’ questions.”

4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Earnhardt finished 14th in the FedEx 400, three laps down, following a pit road speeding penalty.

“First, we had to start at the rear of the field after changing a rear gear,” Earnhardt said, “then the No. 88 car had a radio issue early in the race. Let’s just say things didn’t sound good all day. Luckily, our radio issues don’t happen with great frequency.”

5. Joey Logano: Logano finished 11th at Dover, one spot ahead of Penske Racing teammate Brad Keselowski.

“I just turned 25 years old,” Logano said. “But listen, I’m no spring chicken. Well, that is unless you ask Ryan Newman. According to Newman, if it’s between March 21 and June 21 and I’m avoiding him, then I’m a ‘spring chicken.”

6. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski took 12th in the FedEx 400 at Dover, one lap down after starting 19th. He is sixth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 102 behind Kevin Harvick.

“What a run by Jimmie Johnson,” Keselowski said. “Ten wins at one track is one heck of an accomplishment, and JJ celebrated appropriately with a beer. Oh, it wasn’t ‘Miller Time’ for Johnson; it was ‘miler’ time.”

7. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth suffered a broken front suspension and finished 39th at Dover, his worst finish of the year.

“Kyle Busch was strong until he wrecked with Brian Scott,” Kenseth said. “Then Kyle stuck his head in Scott’s car and gave him a piece of his mind. Kyle may have broken his leg, but he definitely hasn’t broken character.”

8. Jeff Gordon: Gordon charged late at Dover and grabbed a 10th-place finish, posting his seventh top 10 of the year.

“The No. 24 car looked a lot like Greg Biffle’s No. 16 used to,” Gordon said. “3M told Biffle last year, ‘It’s no go with our logo.”

9. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin started on the pole at Dover, but things didn’t finish as well as they started. A late crash left Hamlin with a 21st, while no other Joe Gibbs Racing driver finished better than 19th.

“Carl Edwards’ 19th was the best finish among JGR drivers,” Hamlin said, “but he didn’t even finish on the lead lap. One week after winning at Charlotte, Carl went from back flipping to back marking.”

10. Kurt Busch: Busch was involved in a late incident with Brian Scott that knocked him out of the top 10. After numerous pits stops and several flat tires, Busch limped home with a 31st at Dover.

“There’s only one thing I’ve blown more than tires,” Busch said, “and that’s gaskets.”

June 2, 2015
Surprising and Not Surprising: Monster Mile FedEx 400

The heat was on both on and off the track at the Monster Mile and here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 46th annual running of the FedEx 400 Benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International speedway.

Surprising: It seemed that for many drivers, Miles the Monster not only bit them on the track but also in the pits. Carl Edwards had a terrible pit stop, with one of his pit crew members face planting after not being able to disengage the wrench from the back of the car. Edwards also suffered a pit road speeding penalty to add salt to the wound.

“We had a couple problems on pit lane, but the biggest problem was my speeding,” Edwards said. “I didn’t realize I couldn’t speed in that segment so I was being a little aggressive and that cost us.”

“I did not want to finish 19th today. I thought we had a top-three car, so just frustrating. But, once we got back there man it’s very hard to get track position.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was also bitten by the Monster on pit road as he too got tagged for speeding. The driver of the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet later tweeted “We worked hard as hell all day. The car was fast. I f’d up and sped on pit road. It happens. Passed a lot of cars and had fun considering.”

Dale Junior ended the race in the 14th position.

Not Surprising: Oops he did it again. In spite of qualifying 14th, Jimmie Johnson won again at Dover, scoring a perfect ten at that race track. And with that he became the only the fifth driver in NASCAR history to win ten races at a single track, joining Richard Petty, David Pearson, Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt.

This was also Johnson’s fourth win of the season.

“What a long hard fought day to get to the front,” the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Pro Services Chevrolet said. We did a great job hanging in there. My pit stops were awesome.”

“It was just an awesome day at the race track.

Surprising: The Monster Mile has often been compared to Bristol on steroids, but the tracks also had something else in common with each other, that of tempers flaring. Martin Truex Jr., who again led the most laps yet finished in the sixth position, had a run in with Kasey Kahne, who finished fourth.

“Martin was back behind me to get a run on me, obviously; the spotter said I was clear, so I just went to the bottom getting into (Turn) 1. I think he was a little upset. He gave me a bump after the race. But I don’t know. I didn’t really know what else to do other than to go there with guys on my outside, and stuff.”

“He ran me down on the apron,” Truex said of Kahne. “So, I either had to let off or wreck all of us.”

Kyle Busch, behind the wheel of the No. 18 Skittles Toyota, also was unhappy with Brian Scott and vice versa after an on-track incident that cost both of them good finishes.

“I guess Brian (Scott) said his spotter didn’t say anything and he just chopped the corner and I was under him already and it just sucked me around,” Busch said. “I hate it. This is a shame. This isn’t what we need, and we weren’t going to win today, but it doesn’t help when you finish 40th.”

The final dust up occurred between Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer, who also exchanged words after the race was over.

“It was a bad day,” Hamlin said. “Bowyer just said he was sorry. He ran into the back of us and wrecked us. That was it.”

Not Surprising: The Monster Mile itself had some issues reminiscent of last year with parts of the track coming up, as well as a patch crumbling in Tony Stewart’s pits.

And in typical Smoke style, he asked this of his team on his in-car audio about his crumbling pit staff, “Is that Andreas fault type s*it?”

Surprising: Trevor Bayne, who has been struggling recently had double trouble at Dover, wrecking as well as getting called to the hauler because he exited his car before safety workers arrived.

“It is really unfortunate,” Bayne said. “I am not sure what else to say about it. I felt we were making progress on our race car. I don’t think we had a great car today by any means, but you never want to tear them up by any means. It really stinks.”

Not Surprising: It seems that when Jimmie Johnson finishes first, there is one driver always right behind him. Kevin Harvick in his No. 4 Ditech Chevrolet took the runner-up spot yet again, pronouncing his run a ‘good solid day.’

“We just struggled at the end of the race on restarts, really all day on the restarts,” Harvick said. “All in all, everybody did a great job, and I think when you look at Dover it’s been a good racetrack for us. We’ve led laps and just haven’t quite finished it yet, but a good, solid day.”

Surprising: Sometimes even champions know that it is better to be lucky than good. And that pretty much described the day of the driver of the No. 24 3M Chevrolet Jeff Gordon.

“We just aren’t good enough to be further up there,” Gordon said. “We have some work to do. We fought hard today that is for sure. I like the fight, but we have to get better than that.”

Not Surprising: As the drivers battled such a difficult track, it was no wonder that there were plenty of hoods up on pit road, including the cars of Matt Kenseth, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Austin Dillon.

“Not really sure, we broke something in the suspension and I’m not really sure what,” Kenseth said after his hood went up ending his day in the 39th position.

Surprising: Kyle Larson finally pulled off what he called the ‘first real kind of solid finish of the year’ as he took the checkered flag in the third position in his No. 42 Target Chevrolet.

“Really good run for us, first top three of the year, first real kind of solid finish of the year,” Larson said. “Proud of my guys for the job they did to rebound from last week to bring a better car to the racetrack.”

“That was just a nice solid day.”

Not Surprising: Paul Menard, in his usual quiet style, had a great run at the Monster Mile, finishing 8th in his No. 27 Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet.

“Good day, we made some really good adjustments,” Menard said. “Overall a good day. We just haven’t been finishing where we have been running. To come away from Dover with a top 10, we should have been top five, but our lane just didn’t go at the end.”

Surprising: A group of drivers and NASCAR met prior to the Dover race to discuss how to improve racing, as well as how to keep those behind the wheel safe.

“We’ve been trying to get all of our drivers together for about a year now, trying to get all of our ideas in one room together,” Denny Hamlin said Sunday morning at Dover. “NASCAR knew we were trying to form a line of communication, so they helped us start a driver council which gives us that forum to allow us to talk about things we want to talk about.”

“I’m glad NASCAR wanted to do it and I think it gives us all a better opportunity to sit down and talk about why they make the decisions they make,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “We can talk about potential ideas to make sport better in a good, controlled atmosphere. It works really nice.

Not Surprising: Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 43 Smithfield Ford scored his first top-five of the season. And though he was pleased with the finish, the Petty driver acknowledged that was one of his hardest fought runs to date.

“I earned my money today that is for sure,” said Almirola. “This Smithfield Ford Fusion was tight early. Trent Owens and the guys made really good adjustments on the car and got it better and better. Finally, we weren’t the lucky dog, we raced and stayed on the lead lap, and when the caution came out, we got a chance to restart with the leaders. That was the big break for us.”

“It was a great day for us, a really good points day for us,” Almirola continued. “I am proud of Trent and all the guys at Richard Petty Motorsports. They have been working their guts out trying to bring better cars to the race track week in and week out.”

“All in all, it was a good day for us, and I am ready to go to Pocono.”

June 1, 2015

Jimmie Johnson Notches Historic Tenth Win at Monster Mile

He may have qualified in the fourteenth position, but Jimmie Johnson did what he usually does at the Monster Mile, scoring another win, his tenth in fact in the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway.

And with that, the driver of the No. 48 Lowes Pro Services Chevrolet also made history, becoming just the fifth driver in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history to have ten or more victories at a single track, joining Richard Petty, David Person, Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt.

“I felt like it was going to be a game of inches today,” Johnson said. “We were able to leap frog some guys on some pit stops.”

“It all came together for us very late but we were able to get that tenth win.”

“It was so great to be able to come here and compete for it,” Chad Knaus, crew chief, said. “I didn’t really realize we were doing that. To be able to run the way we did was great.”

“We didn’t qualify as well as we wanted but Jimmie got us to fifth quite quickly. Finally we started to put it together and once Jimmie was in position to battle for the lead, he did it.”

“I couldn’t be prouder. It was pretty awesome.”

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 ditech Chevrolet, finished second while the driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet Kyle Larson finished third.

“We got really tight and then we freed up a lot and got better,” Larson said. “We gained a couple spots each time.”

“Our first good run of the year and hopefully we have many more.”

“Once the track bar broke, we were pretty much in a box,” Harvick said. “But all in all, the team did a great job. Dover has been a good race track for us. We’ve led laps but haven’t quite finished it off yet.”

“But a good solid day.”

This was Harvick’s 13^th top-10 finish in Dover and his 12^th top-10 finish for the season. He leads the point standings by 44 over Martin Truex Jr.

Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne rebounded from a 25 place qualifying position to finish fourth in his No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet. And rounding out the top-5 was Aric Almirola in the No. 43 Smithfield Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports.

“I earned my money today that is for sure,” Almirola said. “This Smithfield Ford Fusion was a handful most of the day. It started off extremely tight. Trent Owens and the guys made really good adjustments on the car and got it better and better.”

“Finally we weren’t the lucky dog, we raced and stayed on the lead lap and when the caution came out we got a chance to restart with the leaders. That was the big break for us.”

“Every time we would get the lucky dog I had to start dead last and 30-40-50 laps the leaders were right back on me. It was a great day for us, a really good point’s day for us.”

“I am proud of Trent Owens and all the guys at Richard Petty Motorsports. They have been working their guts out trying to bring better cars to the race track week in and week out.”

“We have to get better qualifying. That is our Achilles heel right now. We start too deep in the field every week. All in all it was a good day for us and I am ready to go to Pocono.”

Martin Truex Jr. led many laps but finished sixth. Jamie McMurray, Paul Menard, Clint Bowyer and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top ten in the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks.

The full finishing results are as follows:

2015 NSCS FedEx 400 Race Results

Fin	Str	Car	Driver	Team	Lap	Pts	BPts	Status	TLd	LLd
1	14	48	Jimmie Johnson	Lowe’s Pro Services Chevrolet	405	47	4	Running	1	23
2	6	4	Kevin Harvick	ditech Chevrolet	405	43	1	Running	2	91
3	3	42	Kyle Larson	Target Chevrolet	405	41		Running
4	25	5	Kasey Kahne	Farmers Insurance Chevrolet	405	40		Running
5	23	43	Aric Almirola	Smithfield Ford	405	39		Running
6	2	78	Martin Truex Jr.	Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet	405	40	2	Running	3	131
7	11	1	Jamie McMurray	McDonald’s/Cessna Chevrolet	405	37		Running
8	18	27	Paul Menard	Pittsburgh Paints/Menards Chevrolet	405	36		Running
9	20	15	Clint Bowyer	AAA Insurance Toyota	405	36	1	Running	1	1
10	22	24	Jeff Gordon	3M Chevrolet	405	34		Running
11	5	22	Joey Logano	Shell Pennzoil Ford	405	33		Running
12	19	2	Brad Keselowski	Miller Lite Ford	404	33	1	Running	1	28
13	15	55	David Ragan	Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota	404	31		Running
14	16	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Nationwide Chevrolet	403	31	1	Running	1	3
15	33	10	Danica Patrick	GoDaddy Chevrolet	403	29		Running
16	26	14	Tony Stewart	Code 3 Associates/Mobil 1 Chevrolet	403	28		Running
17	7	16	Greg Biffle	Safety-Kleen Ford	403	27		Running
18	17	31	Ryan Newman	Caterpillar Chevrolet	402	26		Running
19	8	19	Carl Edwards	Stanley Toyota	402	26	1	Running	1	3
20	30	7	Alex Bowman	Chevrolet	402	24		Running
21	1	11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx Cares Toyota	402	24	1	Running	4	118
22	28	9	Sam Hornish Jr.	Twisted Tea Ford	400	22		Running
23	43	40	Landon Cassill(i)	CRC Brakleen Chevrolet	400	0		Running
24	29	47	AJ Allmendinger	Scott Products Chevrolet	400	20		Running
25	32	38	David Gilliland	The Pete Store Ford	399	19		Running
26	37	35	Cole Whitt	Ford	399	18		Running
27	21	13	Casey Mears	GEICO Chevrolet	399	17		Running
28	38	34	Brett Moffitt #	Dockside Logistics Ford	398	16		Running
29	40	23	JJ Yeley(i)	Dr Pepper Toyota	397	0		Running
30	35	26	Jeb Burton #	Maxim Fantasy Sports Toyota	396	14		Running
31	13	41	Kurt Busch	Haas Automation Chevrolet	396	13		Running
32	36	83	Matt DiBenedetto #	Burger King Toyota	395	12		Running
33	12	3	Austin Dillon	DOW Chevrolet	395	11		Running
34	41	62	Brendan Gaughan(i)	Chevrolet	392	0		Running
35	42	32	Mike Bliss(i)	CorvetteParts.net Ford	391	0		Running
36	10	18	Kyle Busch	Skittles Toyota	374	9	1	Accident	2	7
37	9	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Ford EcoBoost Ford	373	7		Running
38	27	33	Brian Scott(i)	ACME Chevrolet	372	0		Accident
39	4	20	Matt Kenseth	Dollar General Toyota	346	5		Suspension
40	39	98	Josh Wise	Ford	346	4		Electrical
41	34	46	Michael Annett	Pilot Flying J Chevrolet	317	3		Running
42	24	51	Justin Allgaier	AccuDoc Solutions/FOE Chevrolet	310	2		Running
43	31	6	Trevor Bayne	AdvoCare Ford	221	1		Running

# = Rookie, Fin = Finish, Str = Start, Pts = Total Points, BPs = Lap Leader Bns Pts, TLd = Times Led, LLd = Laps Led. (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

May 31, 2015

Hot 20 – A Dozen Drivers Seeking Another Miles the Monster Trophy this Sunday at Dover

The trophy features Miles the Monster, a sharp-toothed, red-eyed stone creature hoisting the winner’s car in the air in an apparent prelude to dashing it into dust. Imagine what happens to the guy who finishes dead last.

Jimmie Johnson has a lot of these trophies, courtesy of nine victories at Dover. It does not seem to matter the time of year or even the time of his career. He swept 2002 in his rookie season, as he did in 2009. Johnson has won half of the last six ran there, including last spring. I am going out on a limb here, but I got a feeling Jimmie might be considered the favorite on Sunday.

It is not as if he does not share. Jeff Gordon has five of those trophies. There is a trio of them at both Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart’s homes. In fact, there are 11 other drivers who will be competing this weekend with a combined total of 22 to go along with the nine Jimmie has in his man-cave. Even Martin Truex, Jr. has one. He sure would love another.

Hot 20 heading over to Dover…with past winners in CAPS…

1. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 3 WINS – 393 Points
Dover has been kind to him nine times…so how about 10?

2. Kevin Harvick – 2 WINS – 473 Points
Points are important, but wins more so. Just ask Truex.

3. Joey Logano – 1 WIN – 407 Points
Winning just a single race isn’t that big a deal, is it? When it is THAT race, it sure is.

4. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 1 WIN – 401 Points
Loves Speedy Dry on oil, not so much on the top grove, on the fans, on your cereal…

5. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 1 WIN – 381 Points
Who’s her daddy? Brad is…of a baby girl. Congratulations!

6. MATT KENSETH – 1 WIN – 372 Points
You can join his pit crew in Kansas…sort of. Now, if you could just be Newman’s crew chief.

7. KURT BUSCH – 1 WIN – 327 Points
Still waiting for that final caution at Charlotte…that never came.

8. Denny Hamlin – 1 WIN – 321 Points
36 holes of golf and a game of tennis…not how to prepare for 600 miles.

9. CARL EDWARDS – 1 WIN – 312 Points
They call him Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning…at least over the final 21 laps last week.

10. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 432 POINTS
Best car in Charlotte, yet still winless.

11. Jamie McMurray – 353 POINTS
Interested only in winning the big ones, and July has both the Firecracker and Brickyard 400’s.

12. JEFF GORDON – 346 POINTS
Led the way at Indianapolis, so it was just too bad he was not also in the pace car at Charlotte.

13. Kasey Kahne – 345 POINTS
Last Sunday found Kasey having to do a lot of passing on a day when passing wasn’t easy.

14. RYAN NEWMAN – 343 POINTS
Last win was the 2013 Brickyard. Last race with his crew chief…Talladega.

15. Aric Almirola – 339 POINTS
Smithfield Foods sponsors Almirola and the IndyCar that caught fire prior to Sunday’s start.

16. Paul Menard – 336 POINTS
I hear his dad sponsors this team. Well, a big howdy to Mr. Pittsburgh Paints. Wrong one?

17. Clint Bowyer – 296 POINTS
Lt. Dale Bowyer…we and your grandson salute you.

18. Danica Patrick – 292 POINTS
Whose yoga photos would you prefer…Danica’s or Tony’s?

19. GREG BIFFLE – 284 POINTS
The only one even close to being the bearer of positive news for Roush-Fenway.

20. A.J. Allmendinger – 274 POINTS
Not saying he is bad at Dover, but anything in the Top 20 would represent a good day.

May 27, 2015
Hot 20 – Charlotte, where this weekend they go the extra miles

We begin with Monaco, tune into Indianapolis for the matinee, then spend the evening in Charlotte in our 600-mile feature. While we go in concerned about cars running into a house or into a harbor overseas, or find the wall and flipping down the track in Indiana, our biggest concern for the folks with fenders is that they might not be able to pass the leader in North Carolina.

As we discovered last week in the All-Star contest, if you run up front your only concern is that your car turns sour or adjustments just made the competition better. If neither happens, the leader leads until somebody has to hit pit road. Not terribly exciting in a visual sort of way, yet we shall watch to see if Clint Bowyer can hold on to that final Chase berth, if a past winner can win again, or if someone buried in points might be able to make the leap with a checkered flag performance.

Of course, Kyle Busch returns from his Daytona injury with zero points, 179 behind the 30th placed Tony Stewart. Well, that is nothing five or six straight wins wouldn’t cure. Hey, I did not say it would be easy.

Our hot 20 heading to Charlotte…

1. Jimmie Johnson – 3 WINS (389 Points)
Modifying the side skirt…okay on Fashion TV, not so good in NASCAR. Yet, forgivable.

2. Kevin Harvick – 2 WINS (437 Points)
Back in a crushing slump after a runner-up finish in the All-Star event. Yes, that is sarcasm.

3. Joey Logano – 1 WIN (375 Points)
Some dream of the double while Joey is content to focus on winning at night.

4. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 1 WIN (360 Points)
How to avoid post-race altercations? Have a NFL linebacker riding shotgun every race.

5. Brad Keselowski – 1 WIN (343 Points)
Noticed Hamlin’s sad eyes, so donated the All-Star race to him. What a nice guy!

6. Matt Kenseth – 1 WIN (331 Points)
A very funny man, but just in a dry sort of way.

7. Kurt Busch – 1 WIN (292 Points)
A personal life for Kurt equal to his success behind the wheel would bring me a measure of joy.

8. Denny Hamlin – 1 WIN (284 Points)
Feeling like a million bucks.

9. Martin Truex, Jr. – 391 POINTS
All-Star race? We don’t need no stinkin’ All-Star race!

10. Jamie McMurray – 328 POINTS
Boasts the prettiest mechanic in NASCAR…12 year veteran Ashley Parlett.

11. Jeff Gordon – 317 POINTS
Driving the Indianapolis 500….pace car.

12. Kasey Kahne – 313 POINTS
Beat young Erik Jones in an illegal truck last week…but not a terribly illegal truck.

13. Aric Almirola – 312 POINTS
Only driver in a Chase position with not a single Top Ten to his credit.

14. Paul Menard – 306 POINTS
Comparing Clinton Foundation cash to his dad’s support of Scott Walker? Not even close.

15. Ryan Newman – 305 POINTS
I heard Ryan Newman was very pretty. That is how I discovered the actress of the same name.

16. Clint Bowyer – 272 POINTS
Inside the top 16…but not very comfortably.

17. Danica Patrick – 270 POINTS
Bowyer takes over the final Chase place. Obviously, the man is no gentleman.

18. Carl Edwards – 265 POINTS
Amongst JGR drivers, he at least has more points than Kyle. Really.

19. A.J. Allmendinger – 259 POINTS
Would love a double, but it won’t happen this year.

20. Casey Mears – 242 POINTS
Is this enough to keep Germain Racing interested for 2016?

20. Greg Biffle – 242 POINTS
Can a front row start last week transfer into good tidings when it counts this week?

May 20, 2015
The Final Word – It was an all-star Saturday night in Charlotte, but the all-star weekend is still to come

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes you give it away. Denny Hamlin won the All-Star event Saturday night, but Brad Keselowski and his team handed it over.

With the 10 lap final shootout to go, Keselowski got out of his pit box just behind Hamlin. He gunned it to clear pit road ahead of his rival, but in doing so he was caught speeding. Keselowski, the best in two of the four 25-lap segments and the leader going into the pits, went to the back of the line and his hopes of winning went out of the window.

With the lead and the clean air that came with it, Hamlin kept ahead of Kevin Harvick to the end to claim the million dollar prize. Sadly, the days of being able to slingshot past the leader to victory, it seems, ended when David put the moves on Goliath. There were just three lead changes on the track; when Kasey Kahne went by Keselowski 15 laps in, when Hamlin loaned it to Kurt Busch for a lap in the second segment, and when Busch went by Hamlin two laps into the fourth segment.

Clint Bowyer and Greg Biffle made the race through their efforts in Friday night’s showdown. Danica Patrick got in through the fan vote. Martin Truex Jr., who is second in points but lacking in wins, was left in the cold when he failed to make the grade through the preliminary event. Maybe an all-star should also be defined as someone in the top three in points, as that person appears very likely to make the Chase one way or another. You know, like one would expect from an all-star.

Kasey Kahne was seventh Saturday but won Friday’s truck race in a photo finish over Erik Jones. There was just one problem. It seems the winning truck was too low on both sides and high in the right rear. For any penalties for this cameo violation to be meaningful, they would either have to come by way of taking cash from team boss Dale Earnhardt Jr. or take the win away. It just depends on how serious a violation it was and if, in itself, it made the difference between winning or losing.

Ryan Newman lost and I am not just talking about the weekend. He got some points back in his first appeal regarding his California tire violation in March but got nothing out of his second appeal to further reduce the penalties to him and his crew. Brian France claims all teams know what the problem was that day. The problem now seems to be that at least some of the teams claim they still do not know what Newman’s group did to get penalized, thus remain in the dark as to how to avoid such an issue themselves. It would seem to me that we have here, as was stated in that other Newman’s movie years ago, is a failure to communicate.

As Jeff Gordon ran his final All-Star contest, we see a bright horizon for the sport. We have the 18-year old Jones lighting it up in both XFINITY and the trucks, and on Sunday Ben Rhodes skipped his high school graduation to make his XFINITY debut for JR Motorsports. Jones finished third, Rhodes seventh. Not a single Cup guy was to be seen in Iowa, which is the way it should be for the most part.

Meanwhile, while American Pharoah won the Preakness last weekend to set up a run for horse racing’s Triple Crown in June, next Sunday is truly an all-star extravaganza in motorsports. We begin with the Monaco Grand Prix, followed by the Indianapolis 500, with the World 600 bringing the day to a close. Get the PVR ready and the couch all comfy, as it is going to be a busy day.

May 18, 2015
Kahne Takes Truck Series Win at Charlotte in Dramatic Drag Race to Checkered Flag

CONCORD, N.C.—Driving for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JR Motorsports, in the organization’s second start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, polesitter Kasey Kahne won a two-lap drag race against Erik Jones to earn his fifth victory in six starts in the series.

Kahne’s victory in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway denied the dominant No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota of Jones, who led 88 laps but ran a disappointing second after a late caution forced a green-white-checkered-flag finish that took the race five laps past its scheduled distance of 134 laps.

In his six Truck Series starts, Kahne has five wins and a second-place finish.

Kahne’s margin of victory was a mere .005 seconds, tied for second closest in series history behind the .002-second margin of Kyle Busch over Aric Almirola at Talladega in October 2010.

“Jones was really fast,” Kahne said. “He was kind of in a league of his own when he could get to clean air. I knew if we could stay back and stay with him (on the final restart), as long as he didn’t get to clean air, it would be all right. I was able to side-draft, and it worked out perfect to get back to the line.”

Less than half a lap before Jones would have taken the white flag—after Jones made a deft pass for the lead to the outside on Lap 131—Daniel Hemric’s accident in Turn 1 caused the fifth caution of the night, sending the race to overtime.

Jones picked the outside lane for the final restart on Lap 138, but couldn’t clear Kahne, who side-drafted Jones’ Toyota Tundra off the final corner and beat him to the stripe.

In the wake of last week’s misfortune at Kansas Speedway, where Jones led 151 of 167 laps but ran short of fuel while leading late in the race, Friday night’s result left the young driver bitterly disappointed.

“It’s really a shame that we can’t bring it home,” Jones said. “I really thought tonight was the night. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t do it. It just sucks. I don’t know what to say. It just really, really hurts. I can’t believe it, man. I really wanted this one, and it’s hard to come home second.”

Interestingly, though Kahne and Jones qualified on the front row, both drivers had to start the race from the rear of the field, Kahne for an unapproved adjustment (changing a broken shock) and Jones for arriving late to the drivers’ meeting.

But by Lap 26, after the first caution, Jones had the lead, a position he maintained until the late caution gave Kahne the opportunity he needed.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race – NC Education Lottery 200
Charlotte Motor Speedway
Concord, North Carolina
Friday, May 15, 2015

1. (1) Kasey Kahne (i), Chevrolet, 139, $48454.
2. (2) Erik Jones #, Toyota, 139, $36563.
3. (9) Matt Crafton, Toyota, 139, $26622.
4. (7) Tyler Reddick, Ford, 139, $22672.
5. (4) Brad Keselowski (i), Ford, 139, $17402.
6. (11) John Wes Townley, Chevrolet, 139, $17157.
7. (17) Timothy Peters, Toyota, 139, $16592.
8. (3) Matt Tifft, Toyota, 139, $16481.
9. (22) Justin Boston #, Toyota, 139, $16342.
10. (18) Spencer Gallagher #, Chevrolet, 139, $17182.
11. (16) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 139, $15761.
12. (6) Scott Lagasse Jr., Chevrolet, 139, $15566.
13. (15) Brandon Jones #, Chevrolet, 139, $15427.
14. (13) Cameron Hayley #, Toyota, 139, $15316.
15. (19) Johnny Sauter, Toyota, 139, $15606.
16. (10) Ben Kennedy, Toyota, 139, $15295.
17. (5) Daniel Hemric #, Chevrolet, 139, $15040.
18. (20) Tyler Young, Chevrolet, 138, $14984.
19. (30) Jennifer Jo Cobb, Chevrolet, 137, $14929.
20. (29) Kyle Fowler (i), Chevrolet, 136, $15373.
21. (23) Tyler Tanner, Chevrolet, 136, $13546.
22. (8) Ray Black Jr. #, Chevrolet, 135, $13485.
23. (27) Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, 135, $12457.
24. (26) Caleb Holman, Chevrolet, 133, $12430.
25. (28) Wendell Chavous #, Chevrolet, Engine, 132, $12525.
26. (21) Mason Mingus, Chevrolet, Accident, 114, $12347.
27. (14) David Gilliland (i), Ford, Vibration, 84, $12318.
28. (31) Travis Kvapil, Chevrolet, Accident, 62, $12071.
29. (12) Korbin Forrister #, Chevrolet, Steering Box, 38, $12016.
30. (24) Justin Jennings, Chevrolet, Electrical, 33, $11516.
31. (25) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, Electrical, 26, $10016.
32. (32) Norm Benning, Chevrolet, Suspension, 9, $9016.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 128.947 mph.
Time of Race: 01 Hrs, 37 Mins, 01 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.005 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 5 for 25 laps.
Lead Changes: 12 among 6 drivers.
Lap Leaders: K. Kahne(i) 0; B. Keselowski(i) 1-4; M. Crafton 5-22; J. Jennings 23; M. Crafton 24-25; E. Jones # 26-65; M. Crafton 66-69; E. Jones # 70-108; T. Reddick 109; E. Jones # 110; K. Kahne(i) 111-130; E. Jones # 131-138; K. Kahne(i) 139;.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): E. Jones # 4 times for 88 laps; M. Crafton 3 times for 24 laps; K. Kahne(i) 2 times for 21 laps; B. Keselowski(i) 1 time for 4 laps; J. Jennings 1 time for 1 lap; T. Reddick 1 time for 1 lap.
Top 10 in Points: M. Crafton – 217; E. Jones # – 201; T. Reddick – 199; J. Sauter – 182; J. Townley – 160; T. Peters – 158; C. Hayley # – 153; J. Boston # – 149; S. Gallagher # – 145; D. Hemric # – 136.

May 16, 2015