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  • Joey Logano Wins Cheez-It 355 at The Glen; Sweeps Weekend

    Joey Logano Wins Cheez-It 355 at The Glen; Sweeps Weekend

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • AJ Allmendinger Wins Pole for Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 at The Glen

    AJ Allmendinger Wins Pole for Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 at The Glen

    Last year’s winner at Watkins Glen will begin his quest to repeat in 2015 from the point position in tomorrow’s Cheez-It 355 at The Glen. AJ Allmendinger won the Coors Light Pole Award for the 30th Annual Cheez-It 355 at The Glen with a lap of 68.993 seconds, 127.839 mph.

    The driver of the No. 47 Kroger/Bush’s Beans Chevrolet posted his first ever pole in seven tries at Watkins Glen International early this afternoon in prime conditions for speed. The overcast skies made for an exciting 10 minute round two of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series qualifying. The No. 47 car has successfully swept both pole positions on road courses this season.

    The No. 47 team has found some speed overnight as the car was only 28th fastest in Final Practice on Friday afternoon. Allmendinger spoke to the media about the turnaround the team saw from practice to qualifying following Saturday’s qualifying session.

    “I didn’t know what to expect going into qualifying,” he said. “I was pretty down after the second practice yesterday. I wasn’t good. I got frustrated from it. We sat down after, debriefed, and picked through everything throughout the course of the day and said what is good, what isn’t good. Overall it was a strong day going into the day to see the changes we made to have that much speed. Rarely do you ever lead the (qualifying) sessions by over a tenth. Hopefully, we just do the right things tomorrow and give ourselves a chance to win. The guys did a great job from yesterday to today.”

    Allmendinger went to the top of the boards with less than a minute left in round two, edging out Martin Truex Jr. by just two-tenths of a second as the clock ran out. Truex posted his 11th top-10 start of 2015, and his fourth in 10 races at Watkins Glen International.

    Tony Stewart will start Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 at The Glen from his best starting spot all season. He will roll off third on Sunday, marking his third straight top-five starting spot.

    Reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion, Kevin Harvick will roll off fourth on Sunday, and the car that was fastest in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ final practice on Friday, Jeff Gordon, will start fifth. Gordon, making his final start at Watkins Glen, a place where he’s won four times, set the pace in final practice on Friday, but couldn’t secure a spot in the first two rows to start Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 at The Glen.

    Kyle Larson will roll off sixth, Dale Earnhardt Jr. seventh, Kyle Busch eighth, Jimmie Johnson ninth, and Austin Dillon rounds out the top-10.

    Stay tuned for more from The Glen all weekend.

  • Hot 20 – Rain, rain that went away, the Glen invites you back Sunday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Pocono

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Pocono

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Pocono Windows 10 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Pocono Windows 10 400

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    “So yeah, this is a first for me.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

     

     

     

  • The Final Word – Things got rather iffy at Pocono

    The Final Word – Things got rather iffy at Pocono

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Kyle Busch Scores 43rd Career Truck Win at Pocono

    Kyle Busch Scores 43rd Career Truck Win at Pocono

    After three green, white, checkered attempts, Kyle Busch was again the one to reign victorious, scoring his 43rd Camping World Truck Series win at Pocono Raceway. This was Busch’s first Truck victory for the 2015 season and his first at Pocono Raceway in the Trucks.

    With the victory, Busch has now won at least one race in all three of NASCAR’s national series for the tenth time in his career.

    “This is really, really cool,” Kyle Busch said. “Great to win and put Toyota in Victory Lane and my first win here as well.”

    In spite of the three restarts he had to contend with, Kyle Busch felt that he managed them well.  Unfortunately, his young teammate Erik Jones did not fare so well, getting spun and suffering damage on one of those fateful restarts.

    “The restarts weren’t too bad from my seat,” Busch said. “But behind me it looked crazy. I hate it that Erik Jones got washed out on that restart. The restarts didn’t go his way today.”

    Busch also was running low on fuel at the end of the race and had to nurse his race track during through cautions.

    “One of the biggest things we did was to shut the engine off during yellows,” Busch said. “The more you can shut it off, because these things are gas guzzlers, the better off you are.”

    Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 00 Haas Automation Chevrolet, finished in the runner-up position, after taking tires late in the race.

    “We had an interesting weekend, to say the least,” Harvick said. “But I signed up to give some feedback and help Cole (Custer) and JR Motorsports get situated on the bigger tracks. The great part is that the guys kept working and they didn’t get mad.”

    “So, we made something out of the weekend. IT’s not where we want to be performance-wise, but that’s why you run the race.”

    “Yeah, I just want to thank everybody on our Haas Automation Chevrolet.”

    Tyler Reddick, driver of the No. 19 Draw Tite Ford, finished third. And thanks to the misfortune that befell Matt Crafton, who tangled with Brad Keselowski to finish 28th, Reddick also became the new points leader in the Truck Series.

    “Our guys did an outstanding job,” Reddick said. “These guys have been working really hard. We didn’t have the speed we needed to compete with the 51 and the 4, but the truck was very raceable in traffic.”

    “But we still came home with a top three finish.”

    Reddick is now officially eleven points ahead of Matt Crafton in the championship point standings.

    “We need to stay aggressive,” Reddick said. “It’s always been race to race as far as the points If we run the best we can every weekend, it will all end up right at the end.”

    Cameron Haley scored his best career finish to date, finishing fourth in his No. 13 Cabinets by Hayley/Carolina Nut Co. Toyota.

    “I had Cup drivers on all sides and that was a hell of a feeling,” Haley said. “Learned a ton from him and my spotter Eddie D’Hondt (Jeff Gordon’s spotter) up on the stand.”

    “I will do lots of celebrating tonight. This was a good top five finish for sure.”

    Austin Dillon, who also pitted late in the race finished fifth in his No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet, in spite of an incident with Erik Jones.

    “We had a good run at the very last second, but it didn’t work,” Dillon said. “I hate it for Erik Jones, but we had a good conversation afterward.”

    Johnny Sauter, Timothy Peters, Matt Tifft, Daniel Hemric, and Erik Jones rounded out the top ten finishing order for the 6th annual Pocono Mountains 150.  The full results are as follows:

    015 NCWTS Pocono Mountains 150 Race Results

    Fin Str Trk Driver Team Lap Pts BPts Status TLd LLd
    1 2 51 Kyle Busch(i) Dollar General Toyota 69 0 Running 2 53
    2 7 0 Kevin Harvick(i) Haas Automation Chevrolet 69 0 Running
    3 6 19 Tyler Reddick Draw Tite Ford 69 41 Running
    4 16 13 Cameron Hayley # Cabinets by Hayley/Carolina Nut Co. Toyota 69 40 Running
    5 5 33 Austin Dillon(i) Rheem Chevrolet 69 0 Running
    6 17 98 Johnny Sauter Nextant/Curb Records Toyota 69 39 1 Running 1 4
    7 12 17 Timothy Peters Red Horse Racing Toyota 69 37 Running
    8 14 54 Matt Tifft ToyotaCare Toyota 69 36 Running
    9 15 14 Daniel Hemric # California Clean Power Chevrolet 69 35 Running
    10 1 4 Erik Jones # Toyota 69 35 1 Running 1 9
    11 8 11 Ben Kennedy Local Motors Toyota 69 33 Running
    12 11 15 Mason Mingus Call 811 Chevrolet 69 32 Running
    13 9 8 John H. Nemechek # D.A.B. Constructors Inc. Chevrolet 69 31 Running
    14 13 23 Spencer Gallagher # Allegiant Travel Chevrolet 69 31 1 Running 1 3
    15 20 2 Tyler Young Randco Industries/Young’s Building Systems 69 29 Running
    16 18 63 Garrett Smithley SegPay/Mittler Bros Machine & Tool/Ski Soda 69 28 Running
    17 10 5 John Wes Townley Zaxby’s Chevrolet 68 27 Running
    18 21 74 Jordan Anderson SRGFX.com Chevrolet 67 26 Running
    19 32 50 Kyle Martel Finish Line Express Chevrolet 67 25 Running
    20 25 28 Ryan Ellis FDNY/Julie’s Cause Chevrolet 67 24 Running
    21 23 40 Todd Peck Arthritis Foundation/OSS Health Chevrolet 66 23 Running
    22 30 6 Norm Benning Chevrolet 63 22 Running
    23 19 1 Travis Kvapil Burnie Grill Chevrolet 56 21 Running
    24 31 7 Ray Black Jr. # ScubaLife.com Chevrolet 52 20 Accident
    25 26 94 Wendell Chavous # Lilly Trucking Chevrolet 51 19 Accident
    26 24 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb Driven2Honor.org Chevrolet 49 18 Running
    27 29 8 Korbin Forrister # Trump for President Chevrolet 24 17 Accident
    28 3 88 Matt Crafton ChiChi’s/Menards Toyota 13 16 Accident
    29 22 45 BJ McLeod Tilted Kilt Chevrolet 12 15 Overheating
    30 4 29 Brad Keselowski(i) Cooper Standard Ford 5 0 Accident
    31 28 36 Justin Jennings Mittler Bros Machine & Tool/Ski Soda Chevrolet 3 13 Vibration
    32 27 0 Caleb Roark Driven2Honor.org Chevrolet 3 12 Suspension

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

     

     

     

  • Kyle Busch Keeps It Rolling With Pocono Pole

    Kyle Busch Keeps It Rolling With Pocono Pole

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    The rest of the starting lineup is as follows:

    2015 NSCS Windows 10 400 Starting Lineup

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

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

    Source: Timing and Scoring provided by NASCARMedia/NASCAR Statistics

     

  • Excitement Abounds with NASCAR Trackside Superstore Opening

    Excitement Abounds with NASCAR Trackside Superstore Opening

    While some fans have expressed sadness over the elimination of the NASCAR haulers, a fixture for years at each and every racetrack, there was great excitement today as the new NASCAR Trackside Superstore debuted at Pocono Raceway.

    The new superstore appeared at Pocono Raceway like a gigantic circus-like tent the size of 1.5 football fields, with about 60,000 square feet of merchandise. In fact, there was $2.5 million worth of merchandise under the tent available for fans to browse and purchase.

    NASCAR officials, representatives of Fanatics Authentic, the new merchandiser in the superstore, and several Cup drivers, including Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. were on hand to unveil the new souvenir facility.

    “We’ve seen a lot of ideas and thoughts on paper and we’ve seen results of what the Fanatics group had done throughout other sports industries, but to see it at our race event here in Pocono for the first time, it just knocks you off your feet,” Mike Helton, NASCAR Vice President, said. “The shopping experience our fans now have at the event is incredible.”

    “I’m very excited.”

    “There will be people that go, ‘I’ve been coming here for 20 years. I love the haulers,’ and I know they’re going to be disappointed,” Ross Tannenbaum, Fanatics Authentic President, said. “I think once they shop and get more involved in this, I think they’ll go, ‘I really miss the haulers, but I really like the shopping experience.”

    “The real goal for us is to learn everything we can and offer the best experience we can for the last portion of the 2015 season but make 2016 the real launching pad for what this model will look like when we go to Daytona for the 500 in February,” Tannenbaum continued.

    “That’s our goal.”

    The two drivers in attendance at the superstore debut, Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick, also pronounced it good.

    “I think it’s awesome,” Truex, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Visser Chevrolet said. “It just seems so much more simple to me.  There’s no trying to find the haulers and not sure where everything is at.”

    “I know for me, the last two years, we get a lot of questions on Twitter and everywhere else about, well I couldn’t find one of your hats last week or this and that. It just makes things a lot simpler in a central location for everywhere.”

    Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Budweiser Chevrolet, echoed his colleague’s positive sentiments about the new store. In fact, he revealed that some of his fan club gatherings will move to the superstore in the future.

    Some of the other features of the new trackside superstore include the ability to touch and feel the merchandise before purchasing, the elimination of long lines at the hauler with the new efficient check-out system, and the future option to have merchandise personalized.

    Another positive feature, at least for the race tracks, are that they too will share in the profits of the new superstore.

    “I can tell you this, in dealing with every one of the tracks, every one of the teams, everyone within NASCAR, the vendors and everybody, they couldn’t be more supportive,” Tannenbaum said, adding that each track will get a share of the sales revenue from the superstore. “Everybody is trying to achieve the same goal which is to improve the retail experience for the fans at a NASCAR race.”

    Even Brandon Igdalsky, the Pocono Raceway President and CEO, acknowledged that all has gone well with the set-up of the tent, even with some rain coming down. His excitement spilled over into social media, with his tweet “Excited to be the 1st track to launch the new @NASCAR Trackside Superstore @poconoraceway @Fanatics #Windows10_400”.

    Fans who visited the superstore for the first time also gave positive reviews. And that after all was the goal of NASCAR in the first place.

    “I think that the winner in all of this is the fan, because the fan’s going to have not just a better experience, but the fan is going to have opportunity for a different product that they currently don’t have an opportunity to have, and to me that’s going to be the game-changer,” Steve Phelps, NASCAR executive vice president and chief marketing officer, said.

    “It’s just a better opportunity to interact with the product and see it.”

     

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    14. KASEY KAHNE – 558 POINTS
    Same as above.

    15. PAUL MENARD – 558 POINTS
    Ditto.

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

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

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

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

    20. KYLE LARSON – 452 POINTS
    The other Kyle.