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Tag: Kevin Harvick

  • So You Wanted Excitement? Gordon Delivers

    [media-credit id=40 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Phoenix brings back a lot of memories. It takes me back to 1992 when the championship was down to three drivers in many pundit’s opinions—Bill Elliott, Davey Allison, and Alan Kulwicki. All drove Fords, but Allison had the upper hand with a lead and with the Robert Yates Racing team’s stout engines. Elliott and Kulwicki were considered two drivers that would finish in second and third in no particular order. It was Davey Allison’s to win. And then came Phoenix. Many of you know the story. An unfortunate tangle with Ernie Irvan, and Allison was out of the championship picture. I thought about that as I watched Brad Keselowski take a pretty solid lead in the 2012 Chase for the Championship.

    All it took was a right front tire failure for Jimmy Johnson. Most of us have watched the flawless execution of the No. 48 Chevy team for the last seven seasons. Even in defeat, they always have appeared to be invincible. Unfortunately, this was not the case this time. Just like Allison in 1992, it was not preparedness nor was it the car, it was dumb luck. For Allison it was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. For Jimmie Johnson it was the failure of a tire. The result was the same. Both drivers were put in a hole that would be difficult to escape from with only one race remaining.

    In 1992, they finished at Atlanta. Kulwicki went on to win the championship despite Elliott winning the race. We may see the same scenario next week. I cannot imagine the Lowe’s team not being fired up and bringing their best piece to Homestead, but I also cannot see the Penske team bringing less than a car that could win the race. Gone are the days when drivers rode around hoping for 15th place to insure a championship—the place that Keselowski needs to clinch his first championship (like Elliott and Rusty Wallace did in their championship years). Anything can happen, but history tells us that Keselowski is in the driver’s seat. Whether he makes it or not will have to wait until November 18th, as it should be.

    On this day, I am more concerned about the incident that happened near the end of the race. When accidents happen in the course of racing, I have no problem with it. I like rubbing during racing and one thing we haven’t seen enough of is drivers moving cars to get an advantage. That used to be a staple of what NASCAR was. With the advent of the Chase and so much attention being paid to the championship and not winning races, it’s almost disappeared. What Jeff Gordon did today was not what I had in mind.

    It was a surprise. Gordon is a four-time champion, but things have been a little lean lately. He’s watched teammate Jimmie Johnson win five championships. He’s watched Dale Earnhardt, Jr. get more attention at Hendrick Motorsports. It has been more frustration than he can bear. We saw him push Matt Kenseth at Bristol with his helmet on, and walk down and push Jeff Burton when things didn’t go his way. Frustration is a horrible thing. Unfortunately, today was over the line. We’ve seen this behavior from Carl Edwards and we’ve seen it from Kyle Busch. Edwards stalked Keselowski after he punted Edwards at Talladega and Kyle Busch take out his frustration on Ron Hornaday in a truck race, Edwards was put on probation and Kyle Busch was parked for a race.

    When Gordon’s car crashed, it was obvious from 2,500 miles away that debris from the crash was obvious. A yellow flag would have probably ended the result that we saw played out live. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Gordon was allowed to slow down and wait for Bowyer and the end result was good television, but not good for racing. Sure, many have said that ticket sales will be brisk for Homestead, but what about the state of the sport?

    When the crews took it into their own hands and television showed Bowyer sprinting to get in the fight of running up to the hauler of the No. 24, all I could think of was WWE. Sorry, but I did. To many that was a good thing, but to me it was not that at all. The other problem was that NASCAR didn’t throw the yellow when Danica Patrick spun. Although Robin Pemberton said they couldn’t see any oil, I was sitting in West Virginia, 2.500 miles away and saw the oil. I saw the cars having a hard time negotiating in the oil and the final wrecks were not s surprise. How could someone sitting maybe a football field away not see that? You be the judge.

    Most drivers were upset on this day, and may say they lost respect for a four time champion. Whether that transfers to the final race at the Ford Championship weekend is not determined. We will soon know.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Talladega

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Talladega

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski survived the last-lap pileup at Talladega intact and finished seventh. He remained on top of the Sprint Cup point standings and leads Jimmie Johnson by 14.

    “It appears Lady Luck is on my side,” Keselowski said. “How else can you explain how I emerged from that mess with a seventh-place finish? So what you will, but I’ll never again complain about ‘women’ drivers.”

    2. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson’s No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet was one of several cars damaged in Talladega’s “Big One,” triggered by Tony Stewart on the final lap. Johnson is still second in the point standings, and now trails Brad Keselowski by 14.

    “My car was so damaged,” Johnson said, “I had to hitch a ride back to the pits with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. That was the first time a champion’s been in that car.”

    3. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 11th in the Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500, one of the few cars that escaped the final lap melee unscathed. He held on to the third spot in the point standings, and is 20 behind Brad Keselwoski.

    “I lost my rear view mirror about midway through Sunday’s race,” Hamlin said. “Luckily, it was replaceable, because I couldn’t see myself winning without it.

    4. Jeff Gordon: Gordon led seven laps at Talladega and finished second, after navigating through the carnage that ensued when Tony Stewart was clipped by Michael Waltrip. Gordon now has three runner-up finishes in the Chase, but has made little ground in the point standings.

    “It appears that, despite solid finishes,” Gordon said, “I won’t be able to make up much ground in the Chase. I’m sure some will argue that the Chase format needs more tweaking to reward cases such as mine. And I would be the first to ‘second’ that emotion.”

    5. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth won in a wild finish at Talladega, pulling away for the victory as chaos reigned behind him. It was his second win of the season following his triumph at Daytona in February.

    “That’s two superspeedway wins for me in which I persevered despite major incidents,” Kenseth said. “First it was Juan Montoya starting a fire, then it was Tony Stewart starting a wreck. Just call me the ‘Master Of Disaster.’

    “It was shaping up to be a close finish, but after the crash, I ended up winning easily. With respect to my contract with Joe Gibbs Racing, you could say I won ‘going away.’”

    6. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer was in position to compete for the win in the closing moments at Talladega, but was collected in the “Big One,” triggered when Tony Stewart was turned while trying to move in front of Michael Waltrip.

    “A win was in our sights,” Bowyer said, “and would have been a big lift to our championship hopes. As it was, Tony Stewart got a ‘lift,’ in the air and on my hood.

    7. Tony Stewart: Stewart was leading on the final lap at Talladega, but with Michael Waltrip fast approaching, Stewart tried to move in front of the No. 55. It didn’t work, Stewart spun, and much of the field was affected in the pileup. Stewart finished 22nd, and is now 43 out of first in the point standings.

    “I take full responsibility for the wreck,” Stewart said. “I said as much when I took to social media to explain on my new Twitter account, ‘@fault.’

    “As you have heard, I’ve secure sponsorship from Bass Pro Shops for 18 races in 2013. I’m thrilled. I can’t wait until next year, when I can qualify first for a race and proudly proclaim it a ‘fishing pole.’”

    8. Kasey Kahne: Kahne started on the pole and finished 13th after a wild, last-lap crash that saw Tony Stewart’s No. 14 Chevy on the hood of Kahne’s No. 5 Chevy. Kahne moved up two spots to fourth in the point standings, and is 37 out of first.

    “Aric Almirola handed out 600 pounds of bacon to celebrate Gwaltney’s sponsorship of the No. 43 car,” Kahne said. “Interestingly enough, I later gave Stewart a ‘piggy-back’ ride on Sunday.”

    9. Kevin Harvick: Harvick was battling up front, with a good chance to win, when the inevitable struck at Talladega. When the dust had cleared, Harvick had an 11th-place finish.

    “The Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 certainly lived up to his name,” Harvick said. “At least the ‘Roadside Assistance” part. Kurt Busch lived up to the name, as well, at least the ‘Roadside Ass’ part.”

    10. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt finished 21st after order was restored in the aftermath of a massive final-lap crash that left much of the field in wrecked cars. Earnhardt is now 11th in the point standings, 58 out of first.

    “Despite the damage to my car,” Earnhardt said, “I was still able to give Jimmie Johnson a ride back to the pits. It felt good to be able to return the favor, because Jimmie’s ‘carried’ this team for so long.

    “Drivers may not like it, but fans love racing at Talladega. And I’m all about giving the fans what they want, as long as it’s overpriced merchandise bearing my likeness and not wins.”

  • Brad Keselowski Tames Monster Mile for First Win and Points Lead

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”230″][/media-credit]Brad Keselowski, driving the No. 2 Miller Lite  Dodge for Penske Racing, not only tamed the Monster Mile with his first ever win at Dover International Speedway, but also took the points lead, now five points over Jimmie Johnson.

    This was Keselowski’s fifth win of the season and his ninth career win. He has now won two of the three races so far in the Chase.

    “I’m happy for our day here obviously,” Keselowski said. “We certainly were a lot stronger here than we were in the past.”

    “I may not have had the best car but hung around in that top five, just kept creeping around and when you do that, you put yourself in position for good things to happen.”

    “That’s what this 2 team has done the last few months.”

    “That was the type of performance we needed to stay in this championship and we showed today that we’re going to continue to be there every week,” Paul Wolfe, crew chief for the race winning car, said. “This was another small step to the ten races and I’m proud to be able to come out of here in the points lead.”

    One driver that needed a great run actually got it at the Monster Mile. Jeff Gordon, behind the wheel of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, held on to finish in the runner up position.

    “I thought it was a solid effort,” Gordon said. “Our car was good right from the start.”

    Gordon admitted he had a car that was better on the long runs, but that actually helped when it came time to finish up the fuel mileage racing.

    “We struggled on the short runs,” Gordon said. “We started really struggling on the restarts and losing positions.”

    “But that played to our favor because we could come in and top off,” Gordon continued. “It gave us the opportunity not to have to save fuel.”

    “I thought me and Mark Martin were going to be battling for the win”, Gordon said. “We just got a little too tight at the end.”

    Although Gordon is still 48 points out in the Chase, he has moved forward into the tenth spot after race three of the Chase.

    “This is nice to follow up with what we had last week,” Gordon said. “We’re just taking a few steps in the Chase each week.”

    “It was a great day all around.”

    Wily veteran Mark Martin, behind the wheel of the No. 55 Aaron’s 2000th Store/Bronx NY Toyota, finished third for Michael Waltrip Racing.

    “I don’t know if everybody really noticed but we had a rocket ship,” Martin said. “Super fast car.”

    “We battled from behind all day,” Martin continued. “We were just passing cars left and right.”

    “It was a hard fought battle by a great race team,” Martin said. “I had a really, really fast race car.”

    “It feels really good, regardless of the points, to run good.”

    Jimmie Johnson, in the No. 48 Lowe’s /Kobalt Tools Chevrolet, not only lost the points lead but had to finish off the race in fuel saving mode, for fourth.

    “It’s a tough situation to be in, but I’m more focused on the big prize,” Johnson said. “I’m very happy we got to the finish line.”

    “We had clean air but I had to give it up because of saving fuel,” Johnson continued. “Today we were fourth, which is not bad.”

    Johnson acknowledged that it was difficult to let cars pass, especially those Chase competitors, just to have to save fuel.

    “It’s tough,” Johnson said. “But you have to race on all fronts and we had a decent day today.”

    Once known as ‘Concrete Carl’, the driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford finally had a good day on the concrete banks of the Monster Mile, finishing fifth.

    “That was a decent run for us,” Edwards said. “We had a lot of good luck.”

    “If I can’t be winning the race, I enjoy seeing the battle out there,” Edwards continued. “We’ve got some work to do and we have to keep working on these cars.”

    “We didn’t drop the ball and we had some fun,” Edwards said. “It’s fortunate we came home top five.”

    Some Chase contenders salvaged a fairly decent day; however others had dramatically difficult days. Among the latter was Matt Kenseth, who hit the wall twice and finished a miserable 35th in his No. 17 Ford EcoBoost Ford.

    “Today was a struggle,” Kenseth said. “This is probably the worst we’ve run here for as long as I can remember.”

    “From the first lap on the track to the last lap on the track, we were pretty much junk.”

    Kenseth had the distinction of being the worst finisher of the Chasers and fell into the basement position in 12th, now 72 points behind leader Keselowski.

    Other Chase contenders fared better than Kenseth, including Martin Truex Jr., who finished sixth; Denny Hamlin in eighth; Clint Bowyer in ninth; Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in eleventh; Kevin Harvick in the 13th spot, and Kasey Kahne who finished 15th.

    The remaining Chase drivers, Greg Biffle, who had a tire issue and a major meltdown, and Tony Stewart, who was just off all day, finished 16th and 20th respectively at Dover International Speedway.

    Unofficial Race Results
    AAA 400, Dover Int’l Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/race.php?race=29
    =========================================
    Pos. St. No. Driver Make Points
    =========================================
    1 10 2 Brad Keselowski Dodge 47
    2 7 24 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 43
    3 26 55 Mark Martin Toyota 41
    4 11 48 Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 41
    5 15 99 Carl Edwards Ford 39
    6 3 56 Martin Truex Jr. Toyota 38
    7 5 18 Kyle Busch Toyota 39
    8 1 11 Denny Hamlin Toyota 37
    9 2 15 Clint Bowyer Toyota 36
    10 14 20 Joey Logano Toyota 34
    11 25 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet 33
    12 17 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford 0
    13 13 29 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 31
    14 16 47 Bobby Labonte Toyota 30
    15 9 5 Kasey Kahne Chevrolet 29
    16 6 16 Greg Biffle Ford 28
    17 18 78 Regan Smith Chevrolet 27
    18 27 9 Marcos Ambrose Ford 26
    19 21 43 Aric Almirola Ford 25
    20 24 14 Tony Stewart Chevrolet 24
    21 8 39 Ryan Newman Chevrolet 23
    22 19 27 Paul Menard Chevrolet 22
    23 28 51 Kurt Busch Chevrolet 21
    24 20 1 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet 20
    25 4 22 Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge 0
    26 35 42 Juan Montoya Chevrolet 18
    27 39 31 Jeff Burton Chevrolet 17
    28 38 10 Danica Patrick Chevrolet 0
    29 33 93 Travis Kvapil Toyota 15
    30 31 34 David Ragan Ford 14
    31 30 13 Casey Mears Ford 13
    32 42 38 David Gilliland Ford 12
    33 41 32 T.J. Bell Ford 0
    34 40 36 J.J. Yeley Chevrolet 10
    35 12 17 Matt Kenseth Ford 9
    36 22 83 Landon Cassill Toyota 8
    37 23 26 Josh Wise * Ford 7
    38 32 98 Michael McDowell Ford 6
    39 37 87 Joe Nemechek Toyota 0
    40 34 195 Scott Speed Ford 4
    41 43 37 Dave Blaney Chevrolet 3
    42 36 23 Scott Riggs Chevrolet 2
    43 29 191 Reed Sorenson Chevrolet 0
  • Denny Hamlin Scores First Ever Pole At Monster Mile

    Denny Hamlin Scores First Ever Pole At Monster Mile

    [media-credit name=”Gary Buchanan” align=”alignright” width=”216″][/media-credit]At a track that has been admittedly been monstrous in the past to him, Denny Hamlin pulled off the fastest qualifying lap of his Monster Mile career, scoring his first ever pole at Dover International Speedway.

    Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota grabbed the pole with a fast lap of 22.599 seconds at a speed of 159.299 mph. This is Hamlin’s third pole of the season but his first ever at Dover in 14 races at the Monster Mile.

    “That was an amazing run,” Hamlin said. “Definitely wasn’t what I expected, but it sure feels good to get a pole here.”

    “Our car was really strong in race trim and really wasn’t all that good in qualifying trim,” Hamlin continued. “Hopefully this is a good sign of things that will give us a strong run here on Sunday.”

    “Starting from the pole will help us in tuning our car throughout the day,” Hamlin said. “Obviously track position is going to be very, very crucial and we’ve got to do everything we can to keep that.”

    “We’ve got a car that’s very capable of staying in the front and hopefully we’ll have a shot to win.”

    Hamlin humbly credited his crew chief Darian Grubb for his pole winning qualifying effort.

    “I think there’s a lot of drivers out there that could be able to do what I do with the cars that Darian has been giving me the last few weeks,” Hamlin said. “I’m going to give him pretty much all the credit and ride his back as long as it will hold me.”

    The second and third qualifying positions belonged to Michael Waltrip Racing teammates Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex, Jr.

    “It was good,” Bowyer, driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, said. “When you’re that close, it’s disappointing because you know just if you could have put the gas down that much more anywhere around the race track, you’d of had the pole.”

    “I will save that for another day.”

    Bowyer posted his 12th top-10 start of 2012 and his fifth in 14 races at the Monster Mile.

    “It’s a good day for us,” Martin Truex, Jr., driver of the No. 56 NAPA Toyota, said. “It’s been a good weekend so far.”

    “The NAPA Toyota was about perfect,” Martin Truex Jr. continued. “Had to lift off turn four and gave it to him.”

    “The car was awesome.”

    This was Truex’s sixth top-10 start at Dover International Speedway and his 13th in 29 races this season.

    Sam Hornish, Jr. sat on the pole briefly but was relegated to a fourth place qualifying run in his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger.

    “The lap was OK,” Hornish said. “From inside the car, I thought that we put together a pretty solid lap.”

    “Our race runs yesterday didn’t have the speed that we needed, so I’m really happy that I qualified well.”

    Kyle Busch, in the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry, rounded out the top-five in qualifying at Dover. Busch had his hands full, with the car wiggling during the lap.

    “I really don’t know what I did wrong,” Busch said. “It stepped out and I just had to catch it and wait and go after it the second lap.”

    “Just glad we were able to have a strong second lap.”

    While the qualifying lap may have been a bit squirrelly, Busch said he might just have the car to beat on race day.

    “I think we’ve definitely got a top-three car right now,” Busch said. “I think we’re one of those in the top elite.”

    Ten of the twelve Chase drivers qualified in the top-13 positions during the time trials, with Hamlin in first, Bowyer second, Truex Jr. third, Greg Biffle sixth, Jeff Gordon seventh, Kasey Kahne in ninth, Brad Keselowski in tenth, Jimmie Johnson in eleventh, Matt Kenseth in twelfth and Kevin Harvick in thirteenth.

    Chase drivers Tony Stewart qualified 24th and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. qualified 25th.

    Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., making his first Cup start in the No. 6 Cargill Ford, qualified 17th and Danica Patrick, in the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, qualified 38th.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: New Hampshire

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: New Hampshire

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Rainier Ehrhardt/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”242″][/media-credit]Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Denny Hamlin: After qualifying 32nd, Hamlin charged to the front at Loudon and took the lead on lap 94. He led 193 of 300 laps and won for the fifth time this year.

    “Last week,” Hamlin said, “I told everyone I would win. And I did. As such, I’m ‘back up’ the point standings.

    “Everything went smoothly at Loudon, except for some concerns with our water temperature late in the race. I think all parties involved, including my baby’s momma, agreed that it was an inopportune time to have our water break.”

    2. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson took the runner-up position for the second straight week and ascended to the top of the point standings. He now leads Brad Keselowski by one point, and Denny Hamlin by seven.

    “Ask anybody who knows me,” Johnson said. “They’ll tell you I’m not used to finishing second. And speaking of ‘2’s,’ I want my fellow Chasers to have no choice but to use two hands when asked how many Cup titles I have.”

    3. Brad Keselowski: After winning the Chase opener at Chicagoland last week, Keselowski finished sixth in the Sylvania300, posting his 17th top-10 of the year. He now trails Jimmie Johnson by one point in the Sprint Cup standings.

    “Hamlin did what one would expect of me,” Keselowski said. “He went on Twitter last week and guaranteed a win. I wasn’t much of a factor in this race, so you didn’t hear a peep, much less a tweet, out of me.”

    4. Tony Stewart: Stewart took seventh in theSylvania300 after leading 38 laps, scoring his third straight top-7 result. He is now fourth in the Sprint Cup point standings, ten out of first.

    “Denny Hamlin ran a great race,” Stewart said. “Congratulations to Joe Gibbs Racing for their 100th win. I had a hand in many of those victories. I’ve had a hand in a lot of things; I’ve had a hand on a lot more. Just ask any driver who’s crossed me.”

    5. Kasey Kahne: Kahne posted his ninth top-5 finish of the year and second of the Chase with a fifth at Loudon. He remained fifth in the Sprint Cup point standings and trails Jimmie Johnson by 15.

    “The No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet was fast,” Kahne said. “I’m certainly pleased with my sponsor, and they are pleased with me. I’m popular with Farmers Insurance, and even more popular with farmers’ daughters.”

    6. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer was the second-best Toyota at Loudon, coming home fourth in theSylvania300, which was dominated by Denny Hamlin. Bowyer is 15 points behind Hamlin in the point standings and still very much in the hunt for the Sprint Cup.

    “Eastwood might,” Bowyer said, “but this ‘Clint’ doesn’t talk to empty chairs. Or do I? Hopefully, at the NASCAR banquet at year’s end, I will be talking to one empty chair, my own, when I, as champion, take the podium and address the other 11 drivers on the stage. Boy, would that ‘make my dais.’”

    7. Jeff Gordon: Gordon won the pole for the Sylvania300 and finished third behind race-winner Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson. He is 12th in the point standings, 45 out of first.

    “It must be a slow week in NASCAR,” Gordon said. “The biggest news is Kurt Busch signing with Furniture Row Racing for 2013. It’s a perfect fit, because Kurt’s had enough ‘seats’ to fill a furniture store.”

    8. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt finished a disappointing 13th at Loudon, finishing in the same position he qualified. He is seventh in the point standings, 26 out of first.

    “Obviously,” Earnhardt said, “I’ve got a lot on my mind. There’s the Chase, and then there’s my split with the Eury’s. I hate to lose those guys, but with my record, what’s another loss?”

    9. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth led one lap and finished 14th in the Sylvania 300, following an 18th last week at Chicagoland. He is 11th in the Sprint Cup point standings, 35 behind Jimmie Johnson.

    “I’m driving myself right out of the Chase,” Kenseth said. “Luckily, that’s on the way to Joe Gibbs Racing.

    “Obviously, the No. 17 Roush Fenway Ford is not fast enough. So, you could say I’m just going through the slow motions.”

    10. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished 11th in the Sylvania 300, and moved up two spots in the point standings to eighth. He trails Jimmie Johnson by 31.

    “Finishing 11th accurately sums up my season,” Harvick said, “because it’s been a struggle to stay in the top 10 all year.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Advocare 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Advocare 500

    [media-credit name=”Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”232″][/media-credit]From daylight to darkness over the Labor Day holiday weekend, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 53rd annual Advocare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

    Surprising:  While stock car racing often focuses on the skills of the driver, the race winner surprisingly took little credit for his first ever Atlanta win, instead attributing the victory to his crew chief and team.

    Denny Hamlin, in the No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota, scored his 21st career victory and his fourth victory of the 2012 season. And with all that, he locked himself not only into a Chase berth, but a top seed with his multiple victories.

    “This has been something in the works for a very long time,” Hamlin said. “I have a lot of wins in my career because of two very important guys.”

    “One is Darian (Grubb, crew chief) and the other is Mike Ford (Hamlin’s prior crew chief),” Hamlin continued. “Mike put together 80% of a championship winning team, and Darian has just filled that gap and put the rest of the pieces of the puzzle together.”

    “The pit crew nailed it,” Hamlin said of his team’s Atlanta performance. “They were just on it all day long.”

    “I’ve never seen our crew just so happy to be at the race track every single week.”

    Not Surprising:  Yes, regrets they have got a few, particularly runner up Jeff Gordon and fourth place finisher Martin Truex Jr.

    “I’m just mad at myself right now,” the driver of the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet said after almost catching the race winner during the green, white, checkered finish. “I guess I’m just getting soft in my old age.”

    “I’m too nice because, I don’t know, 15 years ago I would have just moved him right up the race track,” Gordon continued. “I don’t know why I didn’t do that.”

    In spite of his disappointment, this was Gordon’s 25th top-10 finish in 39 races at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It is also his 11th top-10 finish for the season.

    The driver of the No. 56 NAPA Shocks Toyota was also full of regrets after leading in the waning laps until the final caution came out for Jamie McMurray’s crash.

    “Just spun the tires,” Truex said of his restart. “It just wasn’t meant to be, I guess.”

    “It’s tough losing when you haven’t won in a long time,” Truex continued. “We were close.”

    “It just sucks we couldn’t get it done tonight.”

    In spite of his regrets about not winning, Truex Jr. did lock himself into the championship Chase, as well as locking into a three year contract continuation with Michael Waltrip Racing.

    Jeff Gordon, on the other hand, moved up one position in the point standings to 13th, but still remains outside of wild card contention and will have to finish ahead of Kyle Busch in the Richmond race in order to capture that Chase spot.

    Surprising:  While usually the first one to grab the microphone and most certainly one of the most verbal drivers, whether in the media center or on the grid, Carl Edwards was surprisingly at a loss for words as his engine, as well as his Chase hopes, seemingly went up in smoke.

    “I don’t even know what to say,” the driver of the No. 99 Subway Ford Fusion said. “This is not the interview I wanted to do after the race.”

    “I love this race track but it looks like a piston or something broke,” Edwards said regarding his engine woes. “It started making noise with about 25 to 30 laps to go.”

    “I mean, I just can’t believe this,” Edwards continued. “That’s just how our season has been going and I don’t know what the reason is.”

    “It’s just hard to put into words.”

    Edwards dropped two positions to 14th in the point standings after his 36th place finish at Atlanta.

    Not Surprising:  In spite of a most bitter Nationwide race battle, involving water bottle throwing and cheek ‘patting’, both drivers put aside their differences to finish top-5 at Atlanta, resulting in two Chase clinches.

    Keselowski, behind the wheel of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, finished third, scoring his second top-10 finish at Atlanta. Harvick, piloting the No. 29 Rheem Chevrolet, finished in the fifth spot.

    And yes, both drivers pronounced their finishes good.

    “Yeah, just a solid night,” Keselowski said. “Once again the 2 team stepped up, made great changes, and we are just proud of that effort.”

    “I’m proud to say we clinched our spot in the Chase.”

    “This was just a great night for our Rheem team,” Harvick said. “Things are going in the right direction and thanks to this solid run, we have clinched a post in the Chase.”

    Surprising:  As if losing one of his primary sponsors, Office Depot, was not enough, Tony Stewart added insult to injury by falling like a rock from his pole starting spot to finish 22nd, one lap down.

    “We just couldn’t get a handle on this thing tonight,” the driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevy said. “I was just to free.”

    “We chased it all night,” Smoke continued. “We’ll go back to the shop, tear it apart and see what the deal is.”

    Stewart remains in the tenth spot in the point standings.

    Not Surprising:   While Stewart struggled, teammate Ryan Newman affirmed his mission after the race, which saw the driver of the No. 39 Army Medicine Chevrolet finish 35th after an on-track incident with five-time champ Jimmie Johnson and fall out of wild card contention.

    “All I know was we ran out of room on the restart there,” Newman said. “It wasn’t my fault but it was just racing.”

    “In the big picture, tonight’s result hurt us relative to the Chase,” Newman continued. “But the US Army soldiers we represent are known for their refusal to accept defeat.”

    “The battle is certainly not over,” Newman said. “Our mission is clear.”

    Surprising:  While Newman may have seen it as just racing and Sam Hornish Jr. was just caught up in it all, Jimmie Johnson seemed surprisingly befuddled by the wreck on Lap 269, as in his mind, he was just easing on down the race track.

    “I think the No. 39 was on the outside and the No. 22 was next to me; we just all converged at one spot,” Johnson said. “All I know is I was riding down the road and left plenty of room on the outside of me and got turned head on into the wall.”

    The driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet finished 34th and fell two positions in the point standings to fourth. Johnson was, however, already locked into the Chase competition.

    Not Surprising:  Danica Patrick can finally claim ‘mission accomplished’ after checking off her ‘to do ‘list’ of finishing the race with all of the fenders intact on her No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet.

    “Yeah, that was what we were supposed to do today,” Patrick said of her 29th finish in her first race at Atlanta in a Cup car. “We were just in that phase of get the laps done, feel it out, run different lines, bring the car home, finish the race and try and learn a bit as we go.”

    “I think that was a good step for me,” Patrick said. “We did what we meant to do.”

    Surprising:  Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s crew chief Steve Letarte has been called many things, but what his current driver called him was a bit surprising.

    “Steve Letarte is really experienced and did a lot of crafty stuff to get us back into position,” Dale Junior said. “That’s about the only thing I think we can take away from that track.”

    The driver of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/National Guard Chevrolet already locked into the championship show, finished 7th in the Atlanta race before the Chase. He now is second in the point standings, just eight points back from leader Greg Biffle.

    Not Surprising:  In spite of the penalty cloud still hanging over their heads, Paul Menard, in the No. 27 Quaker State/Menards Chevrolet, and crew chief Slugger Labbe pulled of an eighth place finish.

    “We kept making the car better,” Menards said. “As the sun went down, we got better, made the right adjustments, and came away with another top-10.”

    Surprising:  Kasey Kahne seemed absolutely surprised that he didn’t fall further than 11th in the points with his 23rd place finish.

    “We just really missed it tonight,” the driver of the No. 5 Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet said. “The harder I drove, the worse I was.”

    “I can’t believe I’m in 11th,” Kahne continued. “I felt like I probably lost 10 spots.”

    “But we’re still in 11th and have two wins and I think we’re sitting decent.”

    Not Surprising:  Forget sexy, Kyle Busch is the wild card and he knows it. And he also knows that Jeff Gordon is most likely the competitor that he will have to beat to keep that wild card standing.

    The driver of the No. 18 Wrigley Doublemint Toyota finished 6th at Atlanta, gaining one position in the point standings to 12th, the second wild card position.

    “Overall the night was good for us,” Busch said. “Had to pass a few cars and got by a few cars to finish sixth.”

    “I’m not saying that I’m for sure going to be in the Chase at all – anything can happen,” Busch continued. “Jeff Gordon is no slouch at Richmond either and I feel like that’s the guy we’re racing.”

    “We’ll just have to see how it all plays out.”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Atlanta

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Atlanta

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”220″][/media-credit]Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin beat Martin Truex, Jr. out of the pits on the race’s final caution, and then held off Jeff Gordon to win the AdvoCare 500. Hamlin’s fourth win of the year will give him the top seed in the Chase in two weeks, barring a win at Richmond by Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, or Brad Keselowski.

    “I kept Gordon out of the winner’s circle,” Hamlin said, “which may have put Kyle Busch in the Chase. You may think I’m doing Kyle a favor. Not so. In fact, I’m doing myself a favor, by letting a driver in the Chase who has no chance of winning the Cup.”

    2. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson sparked a wreck with 56 laps to go when he made contact with Sam Hornish, Jr. sent Johnson into the wall. The No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy spun sideways and was slammed by Newman’s No. 39. Johnson finished 34th, 58 laps down.

    “I guess I didn’t see Hornish,” Johnson said. “That’s probably because he’s been ‘invisible’ since coming to NASCAR from Indy cars.”

    3. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished third at Atlanta with his tenth top-5 finish of the year. He is now sixth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 48 out of first, and by virtue of his three wins, will start no worse than second in the Chase.

    “Joey Logano will be my new teammate in 2013,” Keselowski said. “If he’s anything like me, and nothing like A.J. Allmendinger, then he won’t take anything from anybody.”

    4. Greg Biffle: Biffle started on the front row at Atlanta, but struggled with handling issues for much of the night and finished 15th. He still leads the point standings with one more race before the Chase For The Cup field is set.

    “I’m just happy to still be on top in the point standings,” Biffle said. “Even if it’s for just one more week, I still have more ‘staying power’ than some of my Roush Fenway teammates. If it’s not Matt Kenseth telling us he’s going somewhere, it’s Carl Edwards telling us he’s not going somewhere. For the Chase, it seems, none of us are going anywhere.”

    5. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt surged on the green-white-checkered finish at Atlanta, taking seventh in the AdvoCare 500. He moved up one spot to second in the point standings, where he trails Greg Biffle by eight.

    “They say once the Chase begins,” Earnhardt said, “the ‘cream rises to the top.’ Does that explain why I’ll tumble down the standings when the points are reset?”

    6. Tony Stewart: Stewart struggled at Atlanta, running two laps down for much of the race before finishing 22nd, one lap down to the leaders. Stewart has not finished better than 19th in the last four races, and is tenth in the Chase, 18 points ahead of Kasey Kahne.

    “As you know,” Stewart said, “I’m losing Office Depot as a primary sponsor. Whereas the No. 14 has been ‘Office Depot’d’ for many years, it’s now being ‘Office Deposed.’ It seems that sponsorships, like helmets, are going ‘Mobil.’”

    7. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth led the Roush Fenway charge at Atlanta, finishing ninth for his 15th top-10 of the year. He is third in the point standings, 21 out of first.

    “Tony Stewart said there is no ill will between us from the Bristol helmet toss,” Kenseth said. “Considering Stewart’s history of holding grudges, I’m skeptical when he says ‘We’re cool.’

    “I’m finally able to officially announce my signing with Joe Gibbs Racing. It’s not like it was a secret, so I was quite taken aback by all the questions ‘thrown’ at me at the press conference.”

    8. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex hopes for his first win of the year crumbled when Jamie McMurray slammed the wall with five laps to go. Truex was edged out of the ensuing pit stop by Denny Hamlin, and eventually finished fourth. He is fifth in the point standings, and unless he wins at Richmond on Saturday, will start at the bottom of the Chase field.

    “I, along with NAPA, signed on for another three years with Michael Waltrip Racing,” Truex said. “Now, I think I’d rather ‘dot the eyes’ of McMurray as opposed to those of the contracts.”

    9. Kevin Harvick: Harvick led 101 laps, second to Denny Hamlin’s 105, and finished fifth, his first top-5 result since a second at Dover. Harvick is ninth in the point standings, 72 out of first.

    “A water bottle may have cost me the win in Saturday’s Nationwide race,” Harvick said. “I only wish the explanation for my lack of Sprint Cup wins could be explained as easily.”

    10. Kyle Busch: Busch kept his Chase hopes alive, with help from Joe Gibbs teammate Denny Hamlin, with a sixth in the AdvoCare 500. Hamlin’s win prevented Jeff Gordon from an all-important second victory, thereby allowing Busch to maintain a wildcard spot.

    “If anyone deserves to be a ‘wild card,’” Busch said, “it’s me, although the ‘old’ Kyle Busch was wilder and more of a card than the ‘current’ Kyle Busch. Strangely enough, for once, people are encouraging me to ‘go wild.’”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Pocono

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Pocono

    [media-credit name=”Kirk Schroll” align=”alignright” width=”205″][/media-credit]Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson led heading to a lap 91 restart, but got loose upon accelerating and slid into the path of Matt Kenseth. Denny Hamlin slammed into Kenseth while Jeff Gordon took the lead. Ran ended the race two laps later, and Johnson was left with a disappointing 14th-place finish.

    “I’ll be thinking about this one for awhile,” Johnson said. “Call it a ‘Long Pond-er.’

    “It was a mistake on my part. We knew the rain was coming; I just lost control when it counted. Obviously, I don’t work as well under clouds of suspicion as Chad Knaus.”

    2. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt was strong early at Pocono, leading 17 laps before transmission problems surfaced on lap 50. He eventually finished 32nd, 18 laps down to the leaders, but remained atop the Sprint Cup point standings, five ahead of Matt Kenseth.

    “I’m still on top of the points,” Earnhardt said, “thanks to a lengthy downpour. Ironically, the absence of a short-lived rain prevented a short-lived reign.

    “In the business, we call a transmission a ‘tranny.’ We call a funny-sounding tranny ‘Michael Waltrip.’ And the No. 88 sounded a lot like Michael on Sunday.”

    3. Tony Stewart: Stewart posted his ninth top-5 finish of the year with a fifth in the rain-shortened Pennsylvania 400. He is sixth in the points standings, 53 out of first.

    “I can’t complain,” Stewart said. “I’ll take this result and run with it, which is the only ‘running’ I plan to do. It’s certainly not the first time I’ve said this, but I’ll take what Mother Nature gave me.”

    4. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth saw a top-5 result evaporate when he was clipped by Jimmie Johnson on a lap 91 restart. Kenseth’s spinning No. 17 Zest car was nailed by Denny Hamlin in the aftermath. Rain ended the race early two laps later, and Kenseth finished 23rd.

    “I joined an exclusive club,” Kenseth said. “Now, much like Jimmie Johnson’s wife, I can say I’ve been ‘taken out’ by a five-time champion.”

    5. Brad Keselowski: Keselowki finished fourth at Pocono, recording his ninth top-5 finish of the year. He moved up two places to seventh in the point standings, and trails Dale Earnhardt, Jr. by 54.

    “The No. 2 Miller Lite car was fast,” Keselowski said. “By the way, how is A.J. Allmendinger like Miller Lite? He’s ‘canned.’”

    6. Greg Biffle: Biffle came home 15th in the rain-shortened Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono, seeing a top-5 finish disappear due to Jimmie Johnson’s late spin. He remained third in the Sprint Cup point standings where he trails Dale Earnhardt, Jr. by six.

    “I don’t agree with NASCAR’s scoring after Johnson’s crash,” Biffle said. “You could say that, like A.J. Allmendinger, I’m ‘super-pissed.”

    7. Denny Hamlin: With rain approaching, Hamlin was victimized by the wreckage caused by a mad scramble on a lap 91 restart. Hamlin’s No. 11 Fed Ex car plowed in to Matt Kenseth, who was spun by Jimmie Johnson. A thunderstorm minutes later officially ended the race, and Hamlin limped away with a 29th.

    “Kenseth has been reluctant to announce his move to Joe Gibbs Racing,” Hamlin said, “so I decided to put out the unofficial ‘Welcome, Matt’ for him.

    “As you may have heard, I’m expecting my first child with my girlfriend. I’m excited, and so is Fed Ex, because it’s a great opportunity for a ‘delivery’ promo.”

    8. Jeff Gordon: Gordon finally took his first win of the year, thanks to chaos on a late restart and a timely thunderstorm that ended the Pennsylvania 400 after just 98 of 160 laps. Gordon weaved his way to the lead when Jimmie Johnson spun on the lap 91 restart, which shuffled the front-runners.

    “I’ll take any good fortune that comes my way,” Gordon said. “Take it from me, it’s better to be smiled upon by Lady Luck than Miss Winston. And if ‘Luck’ runs out, it will cost me much less.

    9. Kasey Kahne: Kahne took the runner-up spot to Hendrick teammate Jeff Gordon at Pocono, finding fortune in Sunday’s rain shortened race. Kahne sits 11th in the point standings, and would currently qualify for the Chase For The Cup as a wildcard.

    “I’m not sure what happened to Jimmie Johnson up front,” Kahne said. “I’ve heard he had a flat tire. Or did he? Either way, the ‘pressure’ got to him.”

    10. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer finished eighth at Pocono, earning his tenth top-10 finish of the year. He is currently 10th in the Sprint Cup point standings, 65 out of first and 77 ahead of Kasey Kahne in 11th.

    “Kevin Harvick and I sit ninth and tenth in the point standings,” Bowyer said, “which places us in very tenuous positions for the Chase. It’s possible RCR won’t have a representative in the Chase, which is not very representative of RCR.”

  • NASCAR Athletes In An Olympic State of Mind

    NASCAR Athletes In An Olympic State of Mind

    [media-credit name=”Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”232″][/media-credit]While NASCAR’s elite get set to race in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, many of them are keeping one eye across the pond in London for the Olympic games.

    “I love the Olympics, all the aspects of it,” Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Ford, said. “It is so fun to watch.”

    “From the swimming to the gymnastics, all of that,” Biffle continued. “I haven’t seen much more than that right now but I really enjoy that and it is a lot of fun to watch.”

    Teammate Matt Kenseth concurs with the Biff’s take on the Olympic festivities. But in the case of the driver of the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion, the family is watching just a bit more than he has been.

    “I have been watching a little bit,” Kenseth said. “My wife has been watching a lot.”

    “I am not really into the swimming and some of the gymnastics and all that stuff,” Kenseth continued. “Probably the running and the beach volleyball is pretty fun to watch.”

    “I got to meet Kerri Walsh a few years ago at the Super Bowl, so we were watching her play the other night,” Kenseth said. “Some of that stuff is fun to watch.”

    Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet, enjoys the Olympics, however, seems a bit puzzled by some of it.

    “I was watching the other morning and I didn’t know trampolines were,” Harvick said. “I didn’t know that was an Olympic sport.”

    “Whatever the case, it gets the whole world together to see who is the best at each individual sport.” Harvick continued. “It is fun to watch on root on your country.”

    Carl Edwards has been watching, however, he recognizes that in spite of his intensive training, he most likely never could compete in the games.

    “I have been watching the Olympics and thought ‘I could do that’ for like one second,” the driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford said. “The closest thing I have done is the Race of Champions.”

    “I don’t know if the world is ready for a bunch of race car drivers in the Olympics,” Edwards continued. “I don’t know if Bob Costas could explain some of the things we would do or say.”

    Edwards does, however, have a somewhat personal connection to the games. His trainer Dean Golich is at the Olympics, having trained several members of team USA.

    “My trainer from Carmichael Training Systems is at the Olympics with some athletes he trains,” Edwards said. “To have everything culminate from four years of work to one floor exercise or one time trial on a bike or a 100 meter race in a pool, I can’t imagine the amount of pressure that would be.”

    “We get to do this 38 times a year and it is still a lot of pressure,” Edwards continued. “That would be very difficult.”

    “I have a lot of respect for those athletes.”

    So as the best of the NASCAR drivers have been watching from across the pond, is there one Olympic game in which they would fancy themselves competing?

    “I don’t know what I would be good at,” Biffle said. “I’ll have to think about that one.”

    “Probably none of them because I am not talented enough to keep up in any of them,” Kenseth said. “If I was an Olympic athlete I would still like to do this, but I would be doing something else.”

    “I think the best I can do is watch.”

    “I don’t even know them all,” Harvick said of the various Olympic venues. “I was reading there were 300 and some medals that they hand out during the Olympic games.”

    “Obviously, if I didn’t know trampolining was a sport, I would have to do a little research and find out which one I think I might be capable of,” Harvick continued. “I think I’m too old to do pretty much anything in the Olympics it seems anyway.”

    “I can tell you what sports that it wouldn’t be,” Edwards said. “I need a race car out there to jump off to do any gymnastics.”

    “It is amazing.”

    As the Olympics continue from across the globe, the best of the drivers in stock car racing will be competing at Pocono Raceway, better known as the ‘Tricky Triangle.’ And, just like their team USA counterparts, every one of them will be dreaming of their own ‘gold medal’ come Sunday in Victory Lane.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Brickyard 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Brickyard 400

    [media-credit name=”Dan Sanger” align=”alignright” width=”254″][/media-credit]At one of the most storied tracks on not just the NASCAR schedule but the motor sports circuit overall, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 19th Annual Crown Royal Presents the Curtiss Shaver 400 at the Brickyard.

    Surprising:  It was surprising that the emerging points leader after the race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway enhanced his proud team owner’s sleep habits.

    Hendrick Motor Sports principal Rick Hendrick had just one thing to say about his driver, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who assumed the coveted lead by 14 points after a fourth place finish at the Brickyard.

    “I will be able to sleep better tonight,” Mr. H. said simply after the race. His HMS driver has not led the point standings since September of 2004 after the race at New Hampshire.

    Junior echoed his team owner’s sentiments of pride, while reiterating that he not only wants, but needs more wins to keep that top spot.

    “I’m proud of that because it says a lot about our body of work,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “I have felt that way about our position in points all season long.”

    “But we need to win more races,” Junior continued. “If we want to win the championship, we have to.”

    “We’d like to step it up just a little bit more.”

    Not Surprising:  While making history with his fourth Brickyard win and tying teammate Jeff Gordon and idols Al Unser, A.J. Foyt and Rick Mears for four victories, it was not surprising to see this driver’s  little girl Genevieve steal the show during the post-race ceremonies.

    Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet, simply could not convince his daughter to kiss those hot, gritty bricks in spite of his intense coaxing.

    “I don’t really think she knew what was going on,” Johnson said. “The asphalt was pretty hot, so she got her hands down on it and I think that scared her.”

    “She’s a very cautious girl and that is going against everything we’re trying to teach her,” Johnson continued. “She just wasn’t in to it.”

    Surprising:  It was most surprising that the second place finisher was so ecstatic about his finish that he wanted to do his own ‘victory’ burnout after the race.

    Kyle Busch, behind the wheel of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota, posted his career best finish at the Brickyard and his best finish of the season since his third place finish at Charlotte in May.

    “It feels so good to actually run well and finish well,” Busch said. “We’ve been needed to do this for so long.”

    “It felt like a win to us,” Busch continued. “I wanted to do a burnout, but I’ll save that for when we really do collect the checkered flag.”

    Not Surprising:  Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Ford, proved one NASCAR adage true, that loose is fast. Biff came in third, his sixth top-10 finish in ten races at Indy.

    “We were pretty loose all day long,” Biffle said. “It was unfortunate we were that free and we couldn’t fix it.”

    “We were too loose to get it done so we came in third.”

    Surprising:  With a great qualifying run, an outside pole starting position and a brand new crew chief in Chad Norris on the box, it looked like nothing could derail Carl Edwards from finally pulling out a decent finish and a good day in the points race for the Chase.

    But a surprising mechanical problem forced the driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford to go laps down early in the race and finish 29th.

    “We didn’t know what was wrong with the engine and we were kind of points racing but also racing for the win,” Edwards said. “We stayed out there with seven cylinders or so and then got caught up on pit road again and went another lap down.”

    “That was pretty much the death knell for the whole thing.”

    Not Surprising:   As is so often the case, being at the back of the pack leads to trouble. And that’s just what Matt Kenseth experienced on lap 134 when Joey Logano lost control, slid into Trevor Bayne, Bobby Labonte and ultimately Kenseth.

    “The farther that we went back, the dumber people drove,” Kenseth said after exiting his fiery No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford. “You could see it was just a matter of time before the wreck happened.”

    Kenseth finished the race in the 35th position and, not surprisingly as a result, fell to second in the point standings.

    Surprising:  Jeff Gordon surprisingly has not posted a top-3 finish in his last 23 races and he continued the longest stretch of his career in that mode with a fifth place finish at Indy.

    “I’m pretty disappointed really,” the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet said. “It’s always nice to finish in the top five but at this point in the season, I feel like it was a little bit of a missed opportunity.”

    Not Surprising:  So much uncertainty continued to reign for the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Penske race team, even at the Brickyard. Although Sam Hornish, Jr. was still behind the wheel, finishing 16th, the cloud of the A.J. Allmendinger indefinite suspension for the failed drug test continued to hang over the proceedings.

    “There are so many questions,” Roger Penske, team owner said after the drivers’ meeting at Indy. “Our phone is ringing off the hook with people who are interested in the ride in the No. 22.”

    Penske has since made the decision to release Allmendinger as their driver and have named Hornish Jr. the driver for the remainder of the 2012 season.

    Surprising:  Only one driver could compare the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway to a junk yard but Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 29 Jimmy Johns Chevrolet, did just that, at least when it came to his 13th place car.

    “We were junk all weekend,” Harvick said. “No matter if we were turning left or going straight.”

    “That pretty much summed up today.”

    Not Surprising:  Stewart Haas racers Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman showed their Midwestern pride by scoring top-10 finishes at the Brickyard.

    Stewart, who qualified his No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot in the 28th position, rallied to finish tenth and teammate Newman, in the No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet, finished seventh.

    “We just were a little bit tight in the center of the corner and that’s kind of what we fought all day,” Smoke said. “So, I was proud of the gains we made.”

    “I’m from the Midwest and so is Quicken Loans so it was nice to get a top-10 finish,” Newman said. “We just didn’t have quite the speed we needed.”

    This was Newman’s sixth top-10 finish of the season and his second top-10 finish in 12 starts at the Brickyard.

    The Cup Series will next take on the ‘Tricky Triangle’ at Pocono Raceway.