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Kenseth – Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

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  • Matt Kenseth Serene Following Third at Charlotte

    Matt Kenseth Serene Following Third at Charlotte

    Matt Kenseth remained tough while running or blocking, machines to the apron, while attempting to maintain the race lead in the closing laps. However, Jimmie Johnson coasted around him in the remaining moments handing the 2003 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion another thrashing.

    Kenseth, who’s been unable to win this year after having seven triumphs last season, posted his season-best finish, third, in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday. Though despite being in an era that focuses on winning, he remains serene.

    “That’s (was) a little bit disappointing. I feel like we’re gaining on it,” Kenseth explained about his team’s competitiveness tonight. “Certainly we’re not where we were at this time last year, all of us there leading a bunch of laps and being in contention to win. I feel like we had a top-five car tonight and finished third with it.”

    Johnson, who went on to score the win and Harvick, who ended up second, both, according to Kenseth, had more speed then the remainder of the field.

    “They were just really, really fast tonight,” Kenseth expressed. “(Harvick) was really fast tonight, it seemed like. There were a group of them that seemed to have a little bit more speed.”

    However, regardless of the current circumstances at Joe Gibbs Racing, Kenseth isn’t alarmed. He’s even more determined to figure out the issue, whether it is adjusting to the new packages or rule changes.

    “Panicking has never helped anything. Like I said, I feel like we’re gaining on it,” Kenseth added. “We’ve just been off a little bit all year. I don’t know if it’s the aero, rules changes. We just have been off a couple 10ths at all these tracks. We’re digging hard trying to figure it out. We’re just not quite there yet.”

    Kenseth, who sits second in the points standings following NASCAR’s longest-race, isn’t insistent on getting victories; he’s accepting defeat, claiming he can’t change the outcome.

    “You hate it when you can’t hold on and win it. There’s no more I can do about it,” Kenseth said. “We were in position. I did everything I possibly could do and got beat. It’s just the way it goes sometimes.”

    Kenseth, now, is more focused on a building a solid arrangement and expecting his team to keep persevering and concluding the, rather short, but long from his view, winless streak.

    “I think you just got to keep working on it the same, as hard as you can each and every week.” Kenseth concluded with. “It’s not like you can try harder and work harder and make it happen. You just got to keep digging at it, keep trying to get better.”

    “It’s not like we’re way off. It’s not like we’re terrible. Like I said, it was a good, solid night. Just disappointed that we were in the front and couldn’t win.”

     

     

     

  • Domination and the Future of NASCAR

    Domination and the Future of NASCAR

    It seems that the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup season has been one long runaway season. Early on, it was Matt Kenseth dominating races. Then, it was Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports dominating. Drivers just seemed to run away from the field and leading huge chunks of laps, Sometimes they won and sometimes they didn’t, but it’s pretty clear that the new Gen6 car has been a problem for everyone but Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing—the ones who have dominated the races.

    As I watched yesterday’s Kentucky race that was another domination affair with Johnson, I had to wonder why Hendrick and Gibbs always seem to get things figured out and become competitive. I remembered when the “Car of Tomorrow” was introduced that Kyle Busch in a Gibbs car won the first race at Bristol. I also have watched this year and have seen the same thing. Add to that the dominance of Matt Kenseth. One couldn’t say he was less than stellar at Roush-Fenway Racing—he did win a championship in 2003 and lots of races—but he never was as successful as this. His career best has been five races and he already has four in less than a half season. Are those organizations just that much better than everyone else or is something else going on?

    Regardless, one has to wonder if a certain set of circumstances hadn’t come to pass. Johnson has been a rocketship in most races this year. If not for two restarts, one in which he was penalized and Sunday’s when he spun out plus his crash trying to overcome a leading Greg Biffle at Michigan, and Johnson has six wins and on his way to winning a record number of wins. Yes, Bill Elliott and Jeff Gordon have won double digit races in the past, but neither won that many races in such a short period of time. Such dominance is certainly not good for the sport. Is it the reason for the lack of attendance at tracks and lower television ratings? I have no way of knowing, but I would say it is one of the reasons. Richard Petty won 27 races a long time ago, and Bill Elliott dominated the superspeedways 30 years ago, but neither were as dominant when they raced. Others were competitive and won. Today, its Hendrick and Gibbs and the scraps go to Childress and Roush. It’s pretty obvious why Kenseth left his long-time employer. That’s where the success is, and he proclaims that every time he wins.

    Like my father used to say, I don’t have a dog in this hunt. The racing was good on Sunday—back in the pack. Three wide and sometimes four wide was the rule. It was a surprise ending with many drivers who usually are forgotten, making it interesting despite the commentators telling us every five minutes (between the many commercials) where the usual suspects were. It’s just the way it is. Last week we saw a new face win, and it was glorious and the way NASCAR used to work. Today, there is a very rigid pecking order. It’s Hendrick, Gibbs, Roush and Childress tied for third, and Waltrip. Yes, David Ragan won at Talladega, but that’s restrictor plate racing—an entirely different animal. What NASCAR needs is more competition among many competitors. Is that the answer? I think its part of a bigger problem, and there are many solutions. Most of this is out of control to NASCAR. It’s up to the teams to catch up. Whether they do or not is the future of NASCAR.

  • Thoughts on the All Star Race — Hendrick Rules

    Thoughts on the All Star Race — Hendrick Rules

    My friend Monte Dutton, who is one of the best or probably was one of the best writers on the NASCAR beat, tweeted Saturday night that unlike normal races, the format actually seems to encourage all hell breaking loose UNTIL the end. That was the case on Saturday. There was a lot of good racing and lots of rubbing, but in retrospect, we should have known what was going to happen. The first four 20-lap segments proved one thing—if you got up front, you were going to be there at the end. No matter what NASCAR has tried to do with this Gen 6 car, the dreaded aero-push still exists. So, whenever Kyle or Kurt or Jimmie got in front, they were off to the races. One by one, they got the lead and couldn’t be headed in each segment.

    It seems to only happen on the 1.5-mile tracks, or maybe it’s my imagination, but at different times it seemed that Kurt or Kyle, or even Carl or Kasey had the best, almost unbeatable car. In the end, it was the guy who led last, and that was Jimmie Johnson who drove into the sunset, as usual. Johnson and his crew chief, Chad Knaus, have all this figured out. No matter where you start, get to the front late and drive away. They constantly outsmart most teams, which is better than having a great driver which is not to discredit Jimmie Johnson. He is a great driver.

    That is one of the reasons why I have contended for a long time that the domination of Jimmie Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports is one small factor in the demise or at least one of the factors why NASCAR is not what it was fifteen or even twenty years ago. Yes, Richard Petty, the King, dominated in the 60’s, and others dominated at different times, but never at the length that the Hendrick Motorsports teams have, especially at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the 1.5 mile tracks. Given that the final ten races are dominated by such tracks, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that we’ve already seen who is going to win the NASCAR championship and his name is Johnson. Last year, bad luck played into that scenario, but without that happening, there are no drivers like Brad Keselowski on the horizon to challenge him. Of course, the great part is you never know. Hendrick Chevrolets and Gibbs Toyota dominate the series, but as the season goes along and the expertise of the Hendrick teams continue to shine, we know the outcome, if Jimmie is out front at the end.

    Who could be the challenger? Naming them is difficult. Competition from the Chevrolet side would include Johnson’s teammates, but others pale by comparison, and that’s a problem. You might make an argument for Kevin Harvick, but we’ve seen less than stellar performance from any of the Richard Childress Racing team. With so many Chevrolets in the lineup—they dominate—it seems Johnson’s main competition is in house.

    Toyota has several challengers. Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch from Gibbs (and maybe Denny Hamlin if he can perform a miracle), and Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex, Jr. from Michael Waltrip Racing seem to be the best bets. The smart money would be on Kenseth, Busch, or Bowyer, but consistency is a problem so far.

    Ford only has Carl Edwards. Brad Keselowski, the defending champion who seems to have been forgotten in all of this, should be at the top of the list and would be if not for that nasty penalty he and Joey Logano received earlier. I look for Keselowski to come on at the end after they are totally comfortable with the new car. Joey Logano is a year away, although his talent is coming through. His second place finish in the Showdown was impressive. Edwards, though not a factor in most races to win, is showing the consistency that crew chief Jimmy Fenning brought Kenseth for so long. Greg Biffle is out to lunch so far and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., though a rookie, is showing signs of improvement and could be a spoiler later on.

    In the end, Johnson, who is more than a race ahead of any challenger, will go into the last ten races with a huge advantage, one that will be difficult to overcome. If that happens, it won’t be the drivers’ loss as much as NASCAR. Knowing who is going to win before they play the game (or race) is not going to get more fans in the seats or drive ratings. It’s a problem, but not to the Hendrick guys. They are paid to dominate and it’s up to the opposition to catch up. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened lately. Let’s hope that changes soon.

  • Has the Gen 6 Car Changed Anything?

    Has the Gen 6 Car Changed Anything?

    Photo Credit: Noel Lanier
    Photo Credit: Noel Lanier

    So far, from a fan’s point of view, not much has changed since the advent of the much ballyhooed Gen 6 car arrived on the scene. At least on the racetrack. Yes, the cars look like showroom cars, but other than that, the same things keep happening. The same drivers are good that were good and the same teams lead the pack. Did you expect anything else?

    It may be a rush to judgment, however. We’ve only had one short race and a qualifying session to judge the new Fords, Chevrolets, and Toyotas, but some things are clear. Hendrick Motorsports has built the fastest motors, Earnhardt-Childress motors are not far behind, Matt Kenseth is still a great driver, Ford didn’t gain anything with the change, and a lot of teams have a lot of work to do.

    On Saturday night during the Sprint Unlimited exhibition race, many drivers couldn’t keep up with Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, and Kevin Harvick. Drivers trying to help couldn’t get to those three drivers’ bumper to push. They were that fast. Many feel like this is a good thing. It has certainly made the “two car tango,” as Darrell Waltrip said, to rest, but to see cars pull away from the field, as much as they can in restrictor plate racing, was interesting. It was also interesting to note that Joey Logano, former driver on the No. 20 Toyota, finished two positions ahead of his former ride in third place in a Penske Ford. It didn’t get as much publicity as Ricky nearly qualifying on the front row with Danica, but then again, what is?

    Was the racing better in the Sprint Unlimited? Not that I could see. As usual, the cars were close and we had a big wreck because of driver error, something we’ve come to expect. Qualifying would have been a surprise had Danica Patrick not telegraphed her strength by running the fastest speed in Saturday’s qualifying practice. As usual, nothing seemed so different. Chevrolet dominated the whole two days of action as they will all season. As usual. Did the new car make a difference on the track?

    Truth is, we really won’t know much about this car until we hit some normal tracks. No, Daytona and its sister track, Talladega Superspeedway, are not normal. We will know a lot more after Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Bristol because we will have seen the car on a plate track, a flat one-miler, a mile and a half, and a short track. So, sometime on the late afternoon of March 17th, as we are enjoying our green beer, we might know what to think of this new car. Right now, it looks to be status quo, but late on March 17th, who knows?

  • Admiring Junior’s Decision While Pondering the State of the Sport

    Admiring Junior’s Decision While Pondering the State of the Sport

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”227″][/media-credit]One has to admire Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Even though medical test couldn’t show that he had a concussion, he knew something was wrong and the symptoms indicated that he shouldn’t drive a stock car. How many drivers would have come to the same conclusion? If the comments of Jeff Gordon are any indication, not very many would have. The old adage about a good athlete playing through pain does not equate to traveling at high speeds in a Sprint Cup car. I am reminded of a recent conversation with former All-American quarterback Pat White, who suffered a concussion while playing for the Miami Dolphins. When asked if he might suit up again, he commented, “Life’s too precious.” And it is.

    The fear is now that Earnhardt will come back too early, and the pressure is on for him to return in two weeks. That shouldn’t even be a concern to Earnhardt. Despite reports that people were leaving the campgrounds upon learning of Earnhardt’s absence from Charlotte Motor Speedway (by the way, I saw no such exodus from the Hellmann’s campground on Thursday. The place was empty anyway), Junior’s health is more important and he is to be commended for visiting Dr. Petty and getting treatment.

    The issue of attendance is in play because lately NASCAR’s top series has been playing to less than good crowds. This weekend, the “official” attendance figures were a joke. The Nationwide Series race on Friday night was poorly attended and the 100,000 estimate for Saturday night’s Sprint Cup race was laughable. The campground that I have parked in for several years was nearly empty before the Earnhardt announcement. Once upon a time, you had to squeeze into your camping space, but no more. There was a hundred yards between our camper and the next attendant. It was the same all over the speedway property campgrounds. Traffic was so sparse that for the first time, a quick trip to the grocery could be taken a couple of hours before the race without problems. The reasons are many and have little to do with the absence of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. So what is it?

    The NASCAR line is it’s the economy, as we’ve mentioned before in these pages, but it’s a lot more than that. Take this weekend as an example. With temperatures in the low fifties by the time the Friday night race started, many people just decided to skip the event, which was a shame. It was action packed from start to finish. Saturday night was somewhat different. With tickets costing upwards of $100, more people attended. It’s obvious to everyone but those in charge that a night race in October is not the best idea. I doubt that will change anything, but it is a reason.

    Secondly, unlike the Nationwide race on Friday, the Cup race was less than exciting. With Chase points so precious, as well as fuel mileage rearing its ugly head, drivers were cautious and not very racy. The race started with a wonderful side-by-side battle between Greg Biffle and Mark Martin and morphed into several runaway leads. The only excitement was who would run out of fuel and who wouldn’t coupled with a final push by Denny Hamlin that fell way short. The Chase has become so important that taking chances and actually winning races is secondary to how many points might be gained on any given night. Headlines from scribes much more talented than me were dominated on how many points Brad Keselowski lost to Jimmie Johnson and how far behind Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth were in the “big picture.” No matter that Kenseth had just won Talladega. He and Biffle are non-factors. Clint Bowyer’s win was only significant because he narrowed the gap in the almighty Chase. Madness.

    Attendance at races, contrary to popular belief, has more to do with a championship or a single driver. Each event should stand on its own with every driver not seeking points, but victories. That’s the way it used to be. The winner each week was the champion and got the spoils of victory for the week. Maybe it’s the fact that so many don’t have a realistic chance at victory these days. It wasn’t whether you drove for a certain team or manufacturer. It was desire and ingenuity. And the race was the ultimate in any given week. Those days are gone with playoffs and wild cards, more suited to stick and ball sports than racing ruling the roost. I hope Junior uses his head and makes sure he is ready to race again and does not succumb to pressure. As Pat White would say, “life’s too precious,” and points are only points.

  • The Beauty of Silly Season

    The Beauty of Silly Season

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”208″][/media-credit]It’s finally Silly Season time and moves are happening fast. The season started prematurely with A.J. Allmendinger’s failed drug test and Matt Kenseth’s shocking announcement that he was leaving Roush Fenway, but this is the time of year when Silly Season starts in earnest and started it has.

    Joe Gibbs Racing announced what we’ve known for ages, Matt Kenseth will drive the No. 20 Home Depot/Family Dollar Toyota next season. And Penske Racing announced that Joey Logano will drive Allmendinger’s former ride, the No.22 Shell Ford in 2013, but it doesn’t stop there.

    This weekend we learned that Tony Stewart has lost one of his primary sponsorships. Office Depot is leaving. This is problematic because Stewart-Haas racing lost the U.S. Army as a sponsor on its No. 39 car that Ryan Newman drives. That leaves only the Go Daddy car, the No. 10 Chevrolet that Danica Patrick will drive in 2013, as the only fully sponsored car in the SHR stable. Efforts have been made to obtain sponsorship for the No. 39 car apparently without success. That puts Ryan Newman on the market because he is a free agent next year. But there’s more.

    Elliott Sadler, the current points leader in the Nationwide Series, announced he was leaving Richard Childress Racing’s Nationwide team at the end of the season. The reasons are somewhat foggy and contradictory. Sadler says RCR offered him nothing. Richard Childress has expressed disbelief that Sadler was leaving after having his “best season.” We may have to wait awhile to get the full story on this one. Rumor has Sadler going to Joe Gibbs Racing and taking his sponsor, One Main, with him. Whether that means Gibbs has his sponsor for a fourth Sprint Cup team is not determined yet.

    That’s the beauty of the Silly Season. It’s drivers and teams looking for that extra edge. Kenseth looking for some new scenery (he’s been with Roush since day one), Logano looking for an organization that has the ability to win and one that will respect his talents, and Sadler, at age 37, looking for a chance to get to the big show again. It puts Ryan Newman, who strangely finds himself without sponsorship, possibly on the market. It leaves the very successful RCR Nationwide program without a lead driver. And it gives something for fans to debate.

  • Why Did Matt Kenseth Leave?

    Why Did Matt Kenseth Leave?

    [media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”228″][/media-credit]As my father used to say, “I’d have liked to have been a little birdie”. We will probably never know what was discussed in that verbal intercourse between Jack Roush and his points-leading driver, Matt Kenseth.  But whatever it was saw one of the best drivers in the sport head for Joe Gibbs Racing (or so they say).

    It’s an interesting phenomenon. Last year it was Roush driver Carl Edwards that the Gibbs organization coveted. Carl didn’t take the bait and stayed. This year it was Matt Kenseth and Matt moved on. I guess it’s flattering to the Roush organization that other teams are coming after their drivers, but losing a driver the caliber of Matt Kenseth is quite a blow. I have no inside information, but I think three factors led to Kenseth’s defection.

    First was the sponsorship situation. It is unbelievable to me that a former champion who is always in the front of the field has no sponsorship while lesser teams with lesser drivers get enough money to run the entire season. Matt is low-key and less exciting for sponsors maybe, but it seems to be a problem with Roush-Fenway more often than not.  Rising star Trevor Bayne had to discontinue his Nationwide Series quest because sponsorship could not be found. If the truth were known, Roush has financed Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.’s Nationwide effort often. The fourth team, the famous No. 6, is without sponsorship. The future seemed to be iffy for Kenseth. If Gibbs is the place he lands, Home Depot is really a solid sponsor and Gibbs seems to find sponsors easily.

    Secondly, Kenseth might have been looking for new scenery. As successful as he has been with RFR, the same old grind gets old. Staying with the same team for a decade makes one look at the grass on the other side. It may be greener. How often does a driver get the opportunity to go to a team with solid sponsorship that is competitive as the one you are leaving? Opportunity knocks but once, an old philosopher once said. Maybe Matt saw this as his last chance.

    Finally, maybe it was the money. If the rumors swirling around last year are any indication, Gibbs offered a very lucrative package to Edwards to lure him away from Roush. Ford and RFR offered more and Edwards stayed. Maybe with the sponsorship problems (lack of resources) made it impossible to make a decent counter offer to Kenseth. Despite all the talk about it not being the money, it always plays a part in every equation. If that money also offers security, it would be hard to turn down.

    In comments today from Stenhouse, it appears this has been a done deal for awhile. “I got the call actually before Road America, but they wouldn’t let me tell anybody,” Stenhouse said. “I got the call last Thursday.” Stenhouse initially thought it was for the fourth car in the stable, but learned earlier this week it was for the car Kenseth is vacating.

    So, Silly Season starts in earnest. With the first domino falling, surely others will follow. If the No. 20 is Kenseth’s destination, will Gibbs field a fourth car for Logano? That has been mentioned. Will Richard Childress shake up his organization? Will Penske stay with A.J. Allmendinger or will he look at another driver for his flagship No. 22 Ford next year? Will Richard Petty Motors stay with Ford or head back to Dodge? Will Dodge field any cars next year? Lots of questions, but with Silly Season happening earlier and earlier these days, most of those answers might come quicker than you think.

  • The All-Star Race, What a Mess

    The All-Star Race, What a Mess

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”256″][/media-credit]Why it is that NASCAR feels it has to tweak the All-Star race. Consider this.  The All-Star Game, the mid-summer classic plays nine innings and all rules apply. The NBA All-Star event follows the rules and the NFL late season All-Star game still plays four quarters and follows the rules. Yet, NASCAR, who lusts after those stick and ball sports thinks they have to mess with the format. What they did on Saturday night was really screw up the formula. They once again made it so that those smarter than you and me could manipulate the race. Sure, strategy is part of sports, but this went to the extreme.

    First they gave a real advantage to the winner of the pit crew competition held earlier in the week. The winner of that “competition” got their choice of pit stalls. Back in the day, the pit crew competition was held at North Carolina Speedway, now Rockingham Speedway, on a real race track with the driver of the car in the driver’s seat. Nowadays, it’s in some area in Uptown Charlotte with any number of people behind the wheel. No longer do drivers drive off after service. The cars are pushed to the so-called finish line with girlfriends and notables, in some case, behind the wheel. Strike One.

    Then, someone decided that a reward would be given to each driver who won four of the five segments of the race. Each would be allowed to pit first through fourth on the final segment. In past races, the field was inverted, but not this time. The rich get richer. Jimmie Johnson first and followed by Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski moved to the back and stroked around because they knew that in the end, they would have an advantage.

    Only Dale Earnhardt, Jr. didn’t have the luxury, winning the fourth segment. Truth is that it robbed the fans on TV and at the track of seeing the five-time champ, the current Daytona 500 champ, and a rising star, were robbed of seeing these stars race.

    Sure, it was the correct strategy, given the rules that must have been formulated by someone who didn’t understand what would happen. As it turned out, the format ruined the racing. Sure, it’s just an All-Star race, but to fans, it looked like a fix. I’m sure if they had run 90 laps, Jimmie Johnson would have won, but all the format changes just added to the misery.

    The racing was good back in the pack, but the real fast cars, somewhat like baseball’s Prince Fielder or Albert Pujols sitting out the middle innings, were sitting in the back waiting for the final ten laps or the ninth inning in baseball terms. It was just a little joke on those that raced in that last segment. The real power was at the back of the field, waiting for the end.

    Crazy! Do baseball, football, and basketball players take steroids to beef up for the All-Star game? And yet we see trick engines and apparently no rules.

    Fans love the All-Star race, but those making decisions need to look at what we are doing—racing—and let it be straight up. Saw a tweet from Steven Wallace. He said the race was perfect. No wrecks and no passing. That’s an exaggeration, but true in some ways.

    My response was that our drivers have become too good to make mistakes or that they are too good to settle because some are just too good. Either way, that’s sad.

    The “Pass In the Grass” and the close competition at the end of these races is only a memory. It’s all about finding a loophole in the rules and exploiting it, as usual. But this time, NASCAR, or whoever changed the format, made it easy. I guess I’m in the minority.

  • Matt Kenseth — The Rodney Dangerfield of the Circuit

    Matt Kenseth — The Rodney Dangerfield of the Circuit

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]The Daytona 500 was quite a show. Not only was the race postponed because of rain, but it caused Daytona International Speedway and NASCAR to hold the first ever prime time night 500 in history. That’s big stuff. There was rain and there was fire (had to change that so James Taylor wouldn’t sue), but the same old thing I’ve harped on for ages was present.

    Restrictor plate racing will always stick in my craw, no matter how much the general public loves it. It’s simply not racing. It better resembles a demolition derby within a race. Sorry, but that’s the way I feel.

    I know many find this racing exciting and probably because of the close racing and, unfortunately, the wrecks, but I just don’t see it. I’ve lost that argument long ago, so no more about that, but the result and the finish was wonderful. In the end, we had a classic battle between two teammates and the most popular driver. In the end, the “unnoticed one,” better known as Matt Kenseth, won going away in a car that doesn’t even have enough sponsorship to finish the season. Jack Roush says the car will be in every race, but the sponsorship isn’t there. What is it about Matt Kenseth that sponsors do not like?

    Kenseth came on the scene and beat Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in a battle for the Nationwide Series Championship way back when. He busted on the scene and won a Sprint Cup race his first year. He’s won over 20 times since. Unlike more popular drivers like Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon (not to mention Junior), Matt doesn’t talk much. Reading PR from Chevrolet, Johnson and Gordon can speak paragraphs about any subject. Long sentences and lots of comments are the rule and Matt answers questions and moves on. He prefers his driving to do the talking. And yet, Kenseth is always competitive. If not for that little problem with Brian Vickers at the end of last year, the Chase might have been a three-way race instead of the two man race we had.

    Then, to take away from Kenseth’s great win, we had the fire. If it wasn’t enough that we had rain on the first race of the season, a freak accident became the main focus of the race. Juan Montoya had a suspension part break that caused him to crash into a jet dryer which produced a terrifying fireball. It took nearly two hours to put out the fire and clean the track. Will anyone remember Matt Kenseth win his second Daytona 500? No. But the fire? Absolutely. Talk about bad luck, but that’s been the case with Kenseth his whole career.

    He won the Sprint Cup Championship in 2003 with his consistency, but the fact that he only won one race, might have caused NASCAR to move to its own playoff system known as the Chase. His first Daytona 500 victory was rain shortened. Maybe he’s the Rodney Dangerfield of racing. He gets no respect, despite his exemplary record.

    One last thing. NASCAR ruled on the rules infraction for the No. 48 team today. The result was suspension of crew chief Chad Knaus and the car chief for six races and probation and a huge fine for Knaus beyond that. The team and driver Jimmie Johnson were penalized 25 points making them -25 for the season. Many think the punishment is too harsh since the car failed inspection before practice. Rick Hendrick thinks that since the same car (or so he says) passed inspection four times without problems, that the penalty is bogus. He is appealing the penalty, but we all know how this has gone on in the past. The suspension will stand when NASCAR gets around to hearing the appeal. It may make Knaus available for Phoenix, but you can bet he’ll be gone for some races sooner or later. I don’t know why they bother. Maybe it’s to lessen the blow, but I think the penalty was less than expected given the history of this team.

  • Lessons Learned in the Two Duels

    Lessons Learned in the Two Duels

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”281″][/media-credit]The two Gatorade Duels are over. The 150-mile qualifying races saw the field go back to pack racing, the kind of racing preferred by the fans, and little “two car tango.” In fact, the drivers couldn’t do much pushing because their cars overheated. Elliott Sadler had overheating problems during his race and Jimmie Johnson was spewing water while pushing Greg baffle. In the end, NASCAR had it all figured out, and accomplished what they set out to do. We did, however, learn some things.

    First, the Fords are fast. Doug Yates, who supplies all the engines for Ford stockers, seems to have come up with the most horsepower at least at this restrictor plate track. But the car with the horsepower doesn’t always win, as we saw in the first duel. Marcos Ambrose and Carl Edwards should have had the brute force to win this one, but it was Hendrick powered Chevrolets that won and finished second. In fact, the Hendrick power plants put seven cars in the top 10 in both races and Ford had only five. Earnhardt-Childress put four cars in the top 10 and Toyota Racing Development only two, both in the second duel. Dodge scored only two top 10’s. And yet Kyle Busch showed power in winning the Budweiser Shootout on Saturday night. To sum it up, don’t give the race to Ford drivers just yet. It’s anyone’s game.

    Second, there are going to be a lot of cautions on Sunday. With a smaller spoiler, downforce will be lacking and no human is skilled enough to bump draft and push another car without making the occasional mistake. We saw it in the Shootout and we saw it today. And remember, many drivers just did not go all out today while they will in the latter stages of the Great American Race.

    Third, Tony Stewart just seems to have the knack for getting to the front and staying there at Daytona, so I look for him to be a factor and maybe even is your winner on Sunday. He’d better pay attention to Marcos Ambrose, though. Ambrose has learned the formula at these restrictor plate tracks. After finishing a strong third in the Shootout, he also finished third in the first qualifying race today. The same could be said for Kevin Harvick, Regan Smith, and Jimmie Johnson. And that’s leaving out Polesitter Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, who dominated the second duel, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who is always good here. Want the truth? It’s anyone’s game.

    Finally, the overheating problem will continue unless NASCAR makes changes in the cooling systems before the race. I’ve been told that this is not likely to happen, but who knows? It is supposed to be a lot cooler on Sunday in Florida, but we may see a lot of overheated cars try to push the limit. The dominant theory is that in the last two laps, the drivers don’t worry about whether their engine gets hot and spews water. That could result in disaster if an overzealous driver goes too far and blows up at the front of the pack at 200 mph. Let’s hope “cooler heads” prevail.

    As I write this, we are only 61 hours away from the green flag of the Daytona 500. It was a long off-season, but from what we’ve seen, the competition is better and all looks well for a very enjoyable Daytona 500. My only hope is that we can go at least this race without the words points and Chase being used in a sentence by the voices and talking heads on the race broadcasts. After all, this is the Great American Race. The winner should not be known as the guy who is leading the points, but rather the guy who won the race.