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Harvick Wins by a Hair in Phoenix

Kevin Harvick scored the victory in the Valley of the Sun, but just by the slimmest of margins.

It took until past halfway through the Good Sam 500 to take over the lead for the first time, but the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet survived a beating and banging drag race to the finish line coming out of Turn 4 with Carl Edwards to secure the victory. It’s his 32nd career win in the Sprint Cup Series, his eighth at Phoenix International Raceway and the closest margin of any win in the history of the track (0.010 of a second).

“Well, I knew he was better through (Turns) 3 and 4. That was not the car that I wanted to see behind me. I knew I could beat him down there and I tried to protect the bottom in 3 and 4 and I just missed the bottom with all the rubber build-up on the tires and everything. But, all in all, I knew I was going to be on defense down there. I got up too high and wasn’t able to stay on the bottom like I wanted to and then he got into me like he should have, and I needed to get a good run off the corner and I was going to have to get into his door and it worked out, just barely. I just want to thank Jimmy John’s, Busch, Chevrolet, Mobil 1 and everybody at Stewart-Haas for everything that they do.”

“I should’ve wrecked him,” Edwards jokingly said after the race. “No, those guys were doing a great job all day. They hung on with those tires but we were faster so I thought ‘Man, I’ll just move him out of the way and get by.’ I just didn’t move him far enough and then he got up the door and I thought I was trying to time — I thought ‘I think he’s going to beat me.’ So, I tried to sideswipe him before he got there but I needed to be in front of his front tire. Anyway, just a fun race. Man, I wish we could’ve won that thing. Dave Rogers (crew chief) did a great job. I’ve got to thank Stanley. They’re onboard here. Hopefully, everybody that damaged their stuff could use some Stanley Tools to fix it today. ARRIS, Toyota, TRD (Toyota Racing Development), Subway, Comcast, XFINITY, all of our sponsors. I wanted to win that thing but you win some and you lose some. It was a good race.”

Denny Hamlin overcame being penalized for an uncontrolled tire on his first stop to finish third in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

He said there was “great effort for our whole FedEx Freight Toyota team. Just I thought we had a car that could win. We really did a good job back there – pit crew did a good job down the stretch there. So, overall I’m very proud of our program. We’ve really come a long way on this race track. Obviously, this is a very pivotal race track when it comes to getting to Homestead so we want to run good here and this is a good step.”

Pole-sitter Kyle Busch led 75 laps on his way to finishing fourth in his No. 18 JGR Toyota. Dale Earnhardt Jr. led 34 laps but opted to stay out when the rest of the field pitted and stumbled on the final restart on his way to rounding out the top-five in his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. got to bet on the final restart and came home fifth. Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images

“Yeah, I was surprised we finished as good as we did,” Earnhardt said. “I thought that was a good move to not pit. If a couple more guys don’t pit and we get another guy on the outside in the second row we was in good shape.”

Kurt Busch brought his No. 41 SHR Chevrolet home to a sixth-place finish.

“It was a good run, it wasn’t a great run,” Busch said. “Thanks to all my guys. We tried hard, we worked hard and it’s just a matter of getting that grip later in the day. Kevin Harvick is a master here at Phoenix, congrats to him. We were close. We will keep chipping away at it.”

After three races of bad runs, Matt Kenseth scores his first top-10 finish of the season after bringing his No. 20 JGR Toyota home to a seventh-place finish. Chase Elliott also bounced back from a lousy finish at Las Vegas with an eighth-place finish in his No. 24 HMS Chevrolet.

“I felt like it was a solid day for us,” Elliott said. “I was just happy we finally put a day together and got a finish that these guys deserved. I feel like we had a good car. We made gains on it all day long. That last restart, obviously, was pretty wild. We tried our best. We gave up a couple of spots, but we will take it and move on to Fontana.”

Austin Dillon continues his run of strong performances this season with a ninth-place finish in his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

“Solid day we ran right there 10th all day,” Dillon said. “At the end Slugger (Labbe, crew chief) made the call to stay out. It was a gutsy call. I think right there at the end the No. 88 kind of spun his tires and didn’t get going. The No. 18 put me three-wide, so glad to come out with ninth after that. We gained a spot overall. We probably could have had, maybe two more spots really, just a fun race. I’m looking forward to this year. That was enjoyable right there.”

Ryan Blaney brought home another top-10 finish in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford.

“That wasn’t bad,” Blaney said. “We fought really hard all day. We got a lot better throughout the day. We didn’t start out that great and we just got better as we went along. The guys did a great job with two tires at the end and I thought about staying out but we wouldn’t have been on the first two rows, I don’t think, so we had to come in and get two and I think it picked us up one spot. It was a good day and a good job by everybody on this Motorcraft Quick Lane team and a top-10 car is all I could ask for.”

Joey Logano couldn’t make the fuel last to the end. Photo: Sean Gardner/Getty Images

Joey Logano pitted from ninth with seven laps to go and finished in 18th one-lap down.

“We just didn’t quite get the luck on our side today,” Logano said. “We created our own luck as well. We need to clean it up a little bit. We need to clean up the mistakes we have had here at the beginning of the season on everybody’s front. We still have speed. We were close today. At times, it felt like we were a third-place car, and we were running up there around third. We just still have work to do to catch the 4 and 19, they were the class of the field.”

Kasey Kahne had a top-10 run going before suffering a right-front tire blowout and slamming the wall in Turn 3 with six laps remaining.

“We had a right front tire go down,” Kahne said. “It happened earlier in the race but a caution came out and I thought it was the engine at the time because of the way it kind of vibrated and changed the tone of the engine. Come to find out it wasn’t the engine and it was the tire. We’ll look at what we are doing since it happened a couple of times. We had a car capable of running in the top-15 and we were really good early. The longer the race went I felt like I got looser. I used a lot of brake during the entire the race, which I was surprised about. Yesterday in practice I didn’t have to use the brake hardly at all and today with different grips I used it so much.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who’s been showing that Roush Fenway Racing has started to turn the ship around the last three weeks, suffered a right-front tire blowout and slammed the wall in Turn 1 halfway through the race.

“We were really tight and I was having to use too much break and I think we got the tires hot and once we did that the right front gave out from having to use too much brake,” Stenhouse said. “The cars were a handful. They were fun to drive. We just didn’t quite have the Fastenal Ford dialed in like we needed to today. We were really tight, therefore, we had to use too much brake.”

Paul Menard suffered a right-front tire blowout at the lap 105 mark and slammed the wall in Turn 3.

Asked what happened, he said he wasn’t “really sure. We were okay that last run. We fired off pretty decent and started getting really tight at the end. I don’t know if a left-front tire blew or what going into 3. I don’t know if something broke or if a tire blew. We are going to check it out. I’m curious about it.”

Ryan Newman also fell victim to a right-front tire blowout at the lap 53 mark and hit the wall in Turn 3.

“We just blew a right-front tire. It must have melted the bead or something. I don’t know if something failed in the cooling department or what the deal was. I didn’t do anything any different than I’ve ever done here before. Just definitely blew a right-front tire out and that was the end of our day with the Grainger Chevrolet.”

The race lasted two hours, 45 minutes and 53 seconds at an average speed of 113.212 mph. There were seven lead changes among four different drivers and five cautions for 30 laps. The final margin of victory was one one-hundredths of a second.

Complete Race Results:

March 13, 2016
Kevin Harvick Fastest in Final Practice at Phoenix

March 12, 2016
Hot 20 – The heat is on at Phoenix after an endorsement, poor ratings, and some poorer finishes

It is a strange world we live in. Donald Trump appears on his way to the Republican nomination, but an endorsement from Brian France has folks in a tizzy. It could kill the diversity NASCAR is striving for, some claim. That is true. I doubt Trump would be a supporter of any team hiring an illegal alien to drive for them. Crazy, I know.

If that is not bad enough, the television ratings have gone from bad, to worse, to not nearly as awful as the first two races. In a sport that had something of a cult following a decade ago, NASCAR no longer releases attendance figures, prize payouts, and has torn down some grandstands. The antidote will be found on the track, in their marketing, and in the economy. As always, there remains stark room for improvement in all those areas.

A year ago, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won at Phoenix. Five of the six before that, Kevin Harvick claimed the prize. Now, if anyone could use a win this weekend, Danica Patrick, Chase Elliott, and Clint Bowyer would be among them. They sure are not among the Hot 20 going into Sunday’s action.

1. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 1 WIN – 110 PTS
Drives like Superman. In California, he will even look a bit like him.

2. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 1 WIN – 98 PTS
Flag on the ground, flag on the ground, felt like a fool with the flag on the ground.

3. DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN – 93 PTS
Recently was asked if driver confrontations are staged. Sure, about as much as a Republican debate.

4. KYLE BUSCH – 116 PTS
Best in points, zip in wins. Close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and NASCAR

5. KEVIN HARVICK – 109 PTS
Has won five of past seven races at Phoenix. If I were a betting man…

6. JOEY LOGANO – 104 PTS
Truck decal: Things I hate: warm beer, cold women, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski

7. KURT BUSCH – 102 PTS
A pit-road speed limiter button request was made by the speedster to f****** NASCAR.

8. CARL EDWARDS – 96 PTS
Twice failing template inspection last week earns the team a written note of bad tidings.

9T. AUSTIN DILLON – 90 PTS
It has been a while since the No. 3 sat in Victory Lane. It might not be long before it returns.

9T. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 90 PTS
Crew Chief is in the sin bin this week, but the driver has been a factor thus far.

11. RICKY STENHOUSE, JR. – 79 PTS
If Dillon’s performances surprise you, this must make your head spin.

12. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 78 PTS
California’s Caped Crusader hopes to repeat at Gotham…er…Phoenix.

13. KASEY KAHNE – 77 PTS
Bouncing back, or just bouncing. The jury remains out.

14. RYAN BLANEY – 73 PTS
While Mr. Elliott gets the headlines, fellow rookie Blaney thrives in un-Chartered territory.

15. ARIC ALMIROLA – 72 PTS
Living the all-American dream in the all-American car, employed by an all-American icon.

16. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 69 PTS
Some consider this to be a slow start, but it is way too early to get terribly excited just yet.

17. RYAN NEWMAN – 66 PTS
Led just one lap this season. Maybe he is going for quality rather than quantity.

18. PAUL MENARD – 62 PTS
Getting out of a hole at this time of year is a whole lot easier than trying to do it later.

19. REGAN SMITH – 57 PTS
Good start by Tommy Baldwin entry, but last two results have been far from impressive.

20T. TREVOR BAYNE – 56 PTS
Finally had a Top 20 finish last week. Well, at least, that is something.

20T. KYLE LARSON – 56 PTS
Was looking pretty good, then came Las Vegas.

20T. MATT KENSETH – 56 PTS
If NASCAR had a bumper car division, he would be running away with it this season.

20T. GREG BIFFLE – 56 PTS
Tied with his former team-mate and ahead of Danica. That might not make him feel any better.

March 9, 2016
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Las Vegas

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Kyle Busch: Busch led late at Las Vegas but was passed with five laps to go by Brad Keselowski, who went on to win the Kobalt 400. Busch leads the Sprint Cup points standings by six points over Jimmie Johnson.

“The No. 18 M&M’s car had a late wheel vibration that affected the handling,” Busch said. “If that type of vibration happens to the No. 48 car, you’d call it a ‘Shimmie Johnson.’”

2. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson led a race-high 76 laps and finished third in the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“It was a grueling race due to the weather,” Johnson said, “and that takes a physical toll on a driver. Take it from a guy who runs triathlons—even I was ‘winded’ afterwards.”

3. Kevin Harvick: Harvick took seventh at Las Vegas, piloting the No. 4 Jimmy Johns Chevy to its third top-10 finish of the year.

“NASCAR legend Mark Martin has endorsed Donald Trump as the Republican nominee for President,” Harvick said. “Martin urged Trump to ‘build that wall.’ A lot of people have urged Trump to do that. Some have even encouraged him to build that wall out of Muslims. I don’t know how high a wall would be needed to prevent illegal aliens from crossing the border. I do know that a four-foot wall would prevent Mark from seeing over it.”

4. Joey Logano: Logano finished second to Brad Keselowski as Penske Racing swept the top two places at Las Vegas. Logano is fourth in the points standings, 12 behind Kyle Busch.

“That’s right,” Logano said, “Penske drivers went 1-2 at Vegas. I think we could make a habit of taking the top 2 positions at future races. Other drivers have already nicknamed us ‘The Old One-Two,’ but mostly because our faces are so punchable.”

5. Kurt Busch: Busch started on the pole for the second consecutive week and had a strong run waylaid when he was collected in a crash with Carl Edwards caused by Matt Kenseth’s spin. Busch salvaged a ninth-place finish and is fifth in the points standings.

“The wind was blowing something fierce,” Busch said. “There were gusts upwards of 50 miles per hour. In NASCAR, we call that ‘da breeze caution.’ In the NHRA, they call that ‘Gale Force.’ No relation to John.”

6. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski recovered from a pit road speeding penalty and passed Kyle Busch with five laps to go to win the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas. Penske Racing teammate Joey Logano took second.

“It wasn’t easy passing Kyle,” Keselowski said. “I really had to work for it, as Kyle doesn’t concede position easily. If you mention the words ‘push over,’ Kyle won’t respond. Now, if you mention the words ‘pull over,’ Kyle will respond, especially if you’re a state trooper.”

7. Carl Edwards: After a wreck in practice, Edwards resorted to a backup car and finished 18th at Las Vegas. He sits seventh in the Sprint Cup points standings, 20 out of first.

“Las Vegas is a favorite stop on the circuit for many drivers,” Edwards said. “We all head to the casinos with high hopes, and leave with lighter wallets. Of course, you can’t talk about ‘blow money’ without mentioning Tim Richmond. He would have loved the track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and if given the chance to turn laps there, I bet he would have never left. Tim was always driven to excess.”

8. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished 11th in the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas. He is ninth in the points standings, 26 out of first.

“I was docked 15 points for having a roof flap issue for the second-straight race,” Truex said. “We’ve been trying to fool NASCAR for a week. Interestingly enough, they just happened to choose Las Vegas to blow the roof off this scandal.”

9. Austin Dillon: Dillon posted his second consecutive top-five finish with a fifth in the Kobalt 400. He is ninth in the points standings, 26 out of first.

“It’s nice to make Richard Childress Racing important again,” Dillon said. “If I’m not mistaken, they made a movie about me called ‘The Relevant.’”

10. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Earnhardt finished eighth at Las Vegas, posting his second top 10 of the year.

“I was in attendance at UFC 196 in Las Vegas on Saturday night,” Earnhardt said. “Believe me, the only times I hear the words ‘tap out’ mentioned more are at a Junior Nation keg party.”

March 8, 2016
The Final Word – Las Vegas came with some distractions, and not all of them were in Nevada

It was a rainy, blowy kind of Sunday, and that was just in these parts where I live. With a few errands to run, we had Sirius Channel 90 on the car radio so we did not miss the action. Due to the rainy, blowy kind of Sunday at Las Vegas, we did not.

Rarely do I watch the action live, but we were visiting my father, as the ladies in the family took care of packing up some of my late mother’s things. We gentleman were in front of the television. We also talked a lot. Did I mention our three and five year old nieces were there, the precocious pair being cuteness personified? Under those kind of conditions, one can miss some of the action, so with less than 30 laps to go it appeared we were seeing Kyle Busch rushing toward the finish. Then my sister came into the room, and our attention was further strained. When they waved the flag, it was Brad Keselowski taking the trophy. Okay, what in hell happened? Luckily for me, I taped the race, so an answer would be forthcoming.

I guess we failed to notice Keselowski make the pass with about six laps to go. It appears Busch was experiencing some vibration that only got worse, tightening the car and affecting his ability to turn. That is usually something one wishes to do when racing on an oval. Down to the final lap, Joey Logano made his pass for second. At the line, Jimmie Johnson edged out Busch for third. At least Kyle was the best Busch brother on the day.

Kurt Busch started strong, leading for 31 laps. A pit penalty while under the competition caution took him out of the running for top spot, and he never contended again. Still, ninth is not bad. Denny Hamlin actually led for a few laps. Ten, to be exact, but 19th was his fate.

Only five other drivers really mattered in Las Vegas. Keselowski popped in and out of the Top Three much of the day before he made his final charge. His car proved good enough to overcome a speeding penalty with 80 to go, needing just half of that to get back into contention, going on to claim his 18th career victory. The high winds on the day actually whipped the Stars and Stripes out of the car during the post-race celebration, though the young patriot immediately stopped the car to retrieve the fallen flag. Not exactly Denzil Washington’s scene in Glory, but much appreciated just the same.

Just about everyone else who mattered were also there at the finish. Logano had led 70 laps, Johnson 76, and Kyle 38 of the final 44 laps, but those missing six were the most crucial. There was one exception.

Matt Kenseth only led nine, but he was up front much of the day. A vibration caused him to short pit about 60 laps in, but it did not take him long to get back into the mix. Late in the race, just before my sister came into the room, Kenseth was fifth on a re-start. A lap later, he lost the handling as his car drifted up toward the fence, where Chase Elliott smashed into him to wrap up the day for both. The only one who did not think Elliott could not have avoided the crash was Elliott himself, who thought things would have turned out differently if he had only used his brakes. The pair finished just ahead of Cole Whitt for dead last.

As for the Danica Line this week, it was 21st Sunday at Las Vegas, with Greg Biffle finishing just ahead while Clint Bowyer finished just behind her. Despite all the wishin’ and a hopin’, Patrick is still not a Top 20 performer. She sits 26th in today’s rankings, though that is better than Elliott and Bowyer heading into Phoenix this weekend.

Three races, three winners. Last year, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was the victor in Arizona. Mind you, five of the previous six races run there were all claimed by Kevin Harvick. I think we have a favorite.

March 7, 2016
Hot 20 – If rules are meant to be broken, somebody forgot to tell NASCAR

Rules be rules, and the book was tossed at a number of folks after Atlanta. The biggest hit was taken by Martin Truex Jr. after a roof flap issue meant the loss of 15 points. Thanks to the appeal process, he keeps crew chief Cole Pearn for this weekend otherwise, he would be gone for a race and tagged with a $50,000 fine. Considering it is the second straight race the issue has come up, NASCAR got rather ornery.

The honchos were not happy. A.J. Allmendinger lost 10 points for issues regarding his rear wheel crush panels. Austin Dillon, Paul Menard, Ryan Newman and Michael McDowell lost 10 each for components of the car not being kosher. Each crew chief also got to donate $15,000 to the cause.

The poobahs were not done. For failing to pass the pre-qualifying inspection after three attempts, they sent nasty notes to Jeffery Earnhardt’s people, along with the loss of 15 minutes of practice time. Uncle Dale Earnhardt Jr., along with Matt DiBenedetto, and Cole Whitt, were written up after each failed twice.

The lords of all racing even managed to hand out a $5000 penalty to an XFINITY crew chief, wrote up six others for pre-racing inspection issues, and even tagged a Camping World team for failing post-race inspection.

Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do?

In the meantime, NASCAR boss Brian France came out and endorsed Donald Trump for President. To each his own, but I cannot help thinking that while the Donald might not be everyone’s cup of tea, the character and morality flaws of some of the others leave him looking like Gandhi. Yes, it is a strange, strange world we live in, Master Jack.

Off to Las Vegas, our Hot 20 performers include…

1. DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN – 70 PTS
Still has Atlanta car, but his Daytona car is missing. It happens every darn year to somebody.

2. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 1 WIN – 70 PTS
Win a race, tie Dale Earnhardt, pretty much lock in a spot in the Chase. Check, check, and check.

3. KYLE BUSCH – 78 PTS
Won Atlanta’s XFINITY race and outran my five-month-old nephew Oscar. What a guy.

4. KEVIN HARVICK – 74 PTS
If he hopes to repeat in 2016, does that mean Harvick “peated” at Las Vegas last year?

5. CARL EDWARDS – 73 PTS
No one mentions his former friend 12919-028 anymore.

6. KURT BUSCH – 69 PTS
Will the hometown look the same as he steps down from the plane?

7. JOEY LOGANO – 64 PTS
A recent story was entitled, “Logano tries to adjust to new package.” I giggled. I am so immature.

8. MARTIN TRUEX, JR. – 60 PTS
Roof flap issues cost Truex 15 points, but the appeal retains for him his crew chief, for now.

9. ARIC ALMIROLA – 55 PTS
Some with Cuban heritage are running for President. President Almirola has a ring to it.

10. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 54 PTS
While Mr. France likes Donald Trump, Brad kind of likes the sound of President Keselowski.

11. AUSTIN DILLON – 53 PTS
When I rechecked the point standings from Tuesday, I thought I might have had another stroke.

12. MATT KENSETH – 51 PTS
In future, when the flag goes black, maybe they should get back.

13. RICKY STENHOUSE, JR. – 50 PTS
Later this season, he will truly be a Sunny Delight. I wonder if Ms. Patrick would agree?

14. KYLE LARSON – 49 PTS
A big fan of the NBA Charlotte Hornets. I like the NHL Montreal Canadiens. We both are weird.

15. KASEY KAHNE – 46 PTS
Named by Hollywood Life as a Top 10 Hottie of NASCAR. Nope. Danica is all alone.

16. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 45 PTS
After failing pre-qualifying inspection twice, even Junior got written up on Santa’s naughty list.

17. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 44 PTS
Looked good at Atlanta, then they began the second minute of action.

18. REGAN SMITH – 40 PTS
Tommy Baldwin should be proud.

19. CHASE ELLIOTT – 38 PTS
Thanks to good, clean living and NASCAR penalties, the rookie makes the list.

20. RYAN BLANEY – 38 PTS
Some got a Charter, some did not need it.

21. RYAN NEWMAN – 38 PTS
Must have been a Childress thing, as Newman and Menard are also 10 lighter than first tallied.

March 2, 2016
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Atlanta

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Kyle Busch: One day after winning the XFINITY Series race, Busch finished third in the Folds Of Honor 500. He now stands third in the points standings, eight behind Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin.

“I originally won the pole,” Busch said, “but my car failed inspection. That gave the pole to my brother Kurt. You could say Kurt backed into the pole. That ‘pole’ at Atlanta caused no damage to Kurt’s car, unlike that ‘wall’ at Dover last October, which damaged Kevin Harvick’s car not only beyond recognition but beyond inspection.”

2. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson short-pitted with about 40 laps to go in Atlanta, and held off the charging Kevin Harvick down the stretch to capture the Folds Of Honor 500. With the win, Johnson matched Dale Earnhardt with his 76th career win.

“That’s why I held three fingers out of the window,” Johnson said. “Not because I was three times as pissed off as Martin Truex Jr. was at Regan Smith, but because I wanted to honor Dale Earnhardt. Just call me the ‘InJimidator.’

“I have to give it up to Chad Knaus for making a bold strategy call. Chad firmly believes in staying one step ahead of the competition, and two steps ahead of the rule book.”

3. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex led 34 laps and finished seventh in Atlanta, and is now fourth in the Sprint Cup points standings.

“You may have seen me give Regan Smith the finger,” Truex said. “You may not know this, but the Sunday before ‘Leap Day’ is ‘Flip Day.’”

4. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin fell a lap down early at Atlanta and never recovered, finishing 16th, two laps down.

“I call it the ‘Daytona Hangover,’” Hamlin said. “The thrill of victory at Daytona is often determined by less than a tenth of a second. The agony of defeat is often marked by more than a fifth of liquor.”

5. Kevin Harvick: Harvick led a race-high 131 laps but was outsmarted in the pits by Jimmie Johnson, who short-pitted to build a big lead, then held on after a late caution.

“That race was mine to lose,” Harvick said. “But I’ll let my crew chief, Rodney Childers, take ownership of it, though, because he was outsmarted by Chad Knaus. It was a contest to see who was going to pit first. You could say it was a game of ‘cat and Knaus.’”

6. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished 19th at Atlanta after a mid-race penalty left him two laps down.

“That’s called an ‘improper fueling’ penalty,” Kenseth said. “Apparently, my gas man placed a wrench on the back of the car. That’s a no-no. But not as big a no-no as me placing my front bumper on the back of Joey Logano’s car.”

7. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished fifth in the Folds Of Honor 500 to score his second top-five result of the year.

“There were 327 laps of green flag racing,” Edwards said. “We haven’t seen this much green flag racing since 2015. Or, should I say, ‘We didn’t see this much green flag racing in 2015.’”

8. Kurt Busch: Busch started on the pole and took fourth at Atlanta, one spot behind younger brother Kyle. Kurt is seventh in the points standings, nine out of first.

“Did you hear?” Busch said. “Brian France endorsed Donald Trump for President. That’s interesting because, in July, NASCAR said it would not hold its Camping World and XFINITY banquets at Trump’s National Doral Resort after Trump made racist and disparaging remarks about immigrants. Apparently, France puts the ‘race’ in ‘racism.’ I can see Trump spin this to even greater advantage: he’ll say he was endorsed by France, and his supporters will believe it’s the country. Viva Le Trump!”

9. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished ninth at Atlanta, plagued by handling issues that likely prevented a top-5 result.

“In light of Brian France’s endorsement of Donald trump,” Keselowski said, “this is certainly not the first time someone has looked at France and said, ‘What is he doing?’

“But enough about a pudgy-faced clown who is clueless as to how to run a race, France needs to mind his own business. He can’t even handle the politics of his own sport, much less those of a nation.”

10. Austin Dillon: Dillon started eighth and finished 11th in the Folds Of Honor 500. He is ninth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 15 out of first.

“My younger brother Ty subbed for Tony Stewart in the No. 14 car,” Dillon said. “Tony is out for a few weeks, mostly to rehab a back injury, but also to work on his new cookbook, ’50 Shades Of Gravy.’

“While Tony is out, Stewart-Haas Racing wants someone in that car. They certainly don’t want that ride empty. Ty is more than happy to occupy that spot. So, with or without Tony, you know there will be an ass in the seat.”

March 1, 2016
The Final Word – It was a war of words at Atlanta, black flags be damned

The drivers liked it. I think most pure race enthusiasts liked it. I kind of liked it. It was not the visual experience Daytona provides, granted, but you could not to sure of anything until it ended. One pit problem, a lack of cautions, and just the second of the day popping up right at the end sure rid us of some of our preconceptions.

For example, Matt Kenseth was going to have a wonderful day at Atlanta. Sure, what could go wrong? Well, it seems that the most a gasman can do when actually fueling the car, when the can is actually engaged, is to pass gas or maybe sing a little song, but that is about it. He cannot place a wrench on the deck of the car, for example. That would call for a pit penalty. Not so, claimed crew chief Jason Ratcliff, who was too busy arguing the case that he did not seem to notice when NASCAR black flagged the driver, then quit counting his laps. Kenseth sure the hell did, and did not seem terribly happy about it. By the time he came in, he was going to go back out two laps down, and he stayed down to finish 19th despite once leading for 47 laps.

Kurt Busch led from the pole and looked sweet for the early going. Sixty-two laps worth of sweetness. Then others got even sweeter, but a fourth place finish was not bad. If we thought he who led early would also lead late, we were bound to wind up mistaken.

Kevin Harvick then would be the guy. He led late. He led the most, with 131 laps on the point. He looked good. Then Chad Knaus ruined everything. He called Jimmie Johnson in early for some fresh rubber in a bid to make up ground. That happened. When Harvick came in under green, a hung front tire cost him four seconds in the pits against Johnson’s time. Harvick was down by more than a dozen seconds, made up half of it, then stalled. It was over, right? Wrong.

Two-thirds of the way through at Atlanta, we had our first caution for debris. By that time, we had two-thirds of the field lapped. With just three to go, Ryan Newman blew a right rear and caution waved for just the second time on the day. Harvick and Johnson would restart side by side.

If only Happy had not spun his tires, it might have been close. If only he did not get tagged by Martin Truex Jr. from behind, then rubbed by Carl Edwards from the side, he might have been able to salvage the situation. If only. Sixth was to be his fate, one spot behind Edwards and just ahead of Truex.

In the end, Johnson won his 76th career race, tying the mark of the late Dale Earnhardt, as his son and Johnson’s teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr., came home second, just ahead of Kyle Busch. This is not what we thought would happen with 20 to go. Once again, we were wrong. If we can be so wrong in a race that had just three cautions, including one that came out on the final lap, there must have been some decent racing action going on. With Las Vegas coming up next week, betting on the outcome might truly be the dominion of true gamblers. Hell, we can’t even be sure as to how big the field is going to be anymore.

The worst Charter car was the 38th place finish of Jeffrey Earnhardt, in a 39 car field. The best non-Charter was Ryan Blaney in 25th. Danica Patrick was 20th, sandwiched between Kenseth and Jamie McMurray. With the win, Johnson joins Denny Hamlin, 16th at Atlanta, as the pair with a ticket all but already punched for the Chase. If nothing else, picking those two to be among the Chasers would have been a very astute pick.

Thank God there appears to be at least one thing we can be confident about.

February 29, 2016
Harvick Comes up Short Again at Atlanta

HAMPTON, Ga.– A dominant car and dominant performance by Kevin Harvick wasn’t enough to secure the victory in Atlanta.

Despite leading 131 of the 330 laps in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet stumbled on the final restart of the race with two laps to go and finished sixth.

“We had issues about the last three runs,” he said. “I had to start driving the car different. It just required a little bit different handling. And then we had a slow pit stop there. We got way behind and the No. 48 (Jimmie Johnson) was way out front and I had to drive the car really hard and got the right rear burned up. We just didn’t execute today but everybody on our Jimmy John’s/Busch Chevrolet hung in there all day and we’ll keep at it.”

In four of the last five years at Atlanta, Harvick has led over 100 laps. In each of those races, he’s finished fifth, 19th, second and sixth. In the last three trips, he’s led 195, 116 and 131 laps.

Despite coming up short, Harvick leaves Hampton, Georgia third in points trailing Kyle Busch by four. He’s also heading to Las Vegas as the defending race winner.

February 28, 2016
Hot 20 – Some familiar names missing, but their replacements do not seem all that out of place

Interesting things can happen after the first race of the season. Some names usually near the front find themselves as also-rans as the schedule continues on to Atlanta. No Junior. No Biffle, No Bowyer. No Patrick. Okay, I’ve gone too far, I know.

Still, a lot of the boys who did, do not appear out of place. Regan Smith might have something to prove this year and the same with his owner Tommy Baldwin. Michael McDowell did well in a non-Charter ride and returns to his regular seat this Sunday. Ryan Blaney has no safety line, but the Wood Brothers just need to continue showing up and making races. Odds are the three past contenders should move ahead of this trio before long, but could one or two of them win somewhere along the way and steal a Chase spot from somebody? Why not.

Last Sunday, it was all about restrictor plate pack racing. Atlanta should be more about the car, the one they worked on, the one NASCAR claims again to be just what we need for more competitive, more exciting action.

I await the excitement promised for Sunday. Here are our hottest 20 performers coming to Atlanta.

1. Denny Hamlin – 1 Win – 45 Points
Toyota claims its first Daytona 500 in a game of inches.

2. Martin Truex, Jr. – 40 Points
If Charlton Heston was at the wheel, this car might have hit ramming speed.

3. Kyle Busch – 39 Points
39 points better than he was at this time last year. Walks better, too.

4. Kevin Harvick – 37 Points
Harvick had a plan last Sunday. Hamlin took that plan to Victory Lane.

5. Carl Edwards – 36 Points
A Top Five with a front fender made of peanut brittle.

6. Joey Logano – 35 Points
In the best darn Ford on the day. If you are seeking a Roush Ford…there is always next week.

7. Kyle Larson – 34 Points
This season, his Daytona 500 proved to be a much better experience than his Rolex 24.

8. Regan Smith – 33 Points
Some get a Charter handed to them, but maybe Tommy Baldwin wishes to show his was earned.

9. Austin Dillon – 33 Points
Only one man has ever taken the No. 3 to victory in the Daytona 500…and he did it once.

10. Kurt Busch – 31 Points
Has he driven a Ford lately?

11. Ryan Newman – 31 Points
If you can’t make tracks driving a Caterpillar, you can’t make tracks at all.

12. Aric Almirola – 29 Points
Petty people worked hard on their intermediate-track package. Sunday shall be a test of that.

13. Kasey Kahne – 28 Points
Who is the best damn driver at Hendrick? Kan’t guess?

14. Matt Kenseth – 28 Points
Only the inside lane was moving, until the outside lane did.

15. Michael McDowell – 26 Points
Loaned out his Charter ride and beat it as an outsider.

16. Jimmie Johnson – 26 Points
Not often Six Time is not visible. That probably won’t be the case in Atlanta.

17. Jamie McMurray – 24 Points
Bend ‘em like Beckham? Danica has to work to motor like McMurray.

18. Paul Menard – 23 Points
Childress entries were more successful last Sunday than Hendrick Chevys. Interesting.

19. Ryan Blaney – 22 Points
Charter? Who needs a stinkin’ Charter?

20. Brad Keselowski – 22 Points
According to Hamlin, the least athletic driver, “…with a sprint cup championship,” added Brad.

February 25, 2016