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Tag: Kevin Harvick

  • On the Edge with Ed – Fontana Edition

    On the Edge with Ed – Fontana Edition

    Kurt Busch. Much has been said about the 2004 champion in this early season but after being back from his suspension Busch has been all business. His first week back in his car, Busch finished fifth at Phoenix. Although behind teammate Kevin Harvick, who won the race, Busch was pretty happy.

    When they unloaded in Fontana, Busch was fast and so was Harvick and it was no surprise when they shared the front row after qualifying, just two hundredths of a second apart.

    After qualifying Busch said, “The adrenalin is going at a good pace right now and I got a good feeling from yesterday when I visited the Haas headquarters to see the employees and the different customers that came by and to feel the love from them was extra-special.”

    Busch continued to say, “And to deliver for Gene Haas today here in Southern California is special. He’s based his company here and it’s great to come to this track and produce a pole in just our second week back. It really shows the strength of the team and how we need to capitalize on it now.”

    During the race in Fontana Harvick and Busch led 99 of the 209 laps with Busch leading a race high 65 laps. At the end of the race, as cautions for wrecks, almost wrecks and debris caused numerous restarts; it seemed that it was between Busch and Harvick to settle it. Until Brad Keselowski showed up and stole the win as Greg Biffle’s car spun down the front stretch. In the past NASCAR seemed to throw a caution flag when this happened but Biffle got his car rolling and out of the way as the leaders came through the back stretch. Keselowski’s pass on the white flag lap was a heartbreaker for Busch but he took it in stride.

    “It was a fantastic day,” Busch said post race, “The Haas Automation Chevy was fast. Thanks to Monster Energy, Mobil 1, State Water Heaters, all our great sponsors. It was a solid day. I don’t know what we could have done different. We just got pinned in by the yellows and the sequence at the end on which tires we needed to have to optimize how many laps were left. We had two tires; Keselowski had four. We didn’t need that extra yellow at the end and I just got out muscled by Keselowski.”

    Busch also added, “It was fantastic to drive and the way that everybody chipped in on building the car, the pit sequence we just got hung out on the yellows at the end. When do you pit to put four tires on, when do you pit to put two tires on? That last restart I just didn’t get the job done.”

    There was much discussion post race about the fact that NASCAR did not put out a yellow and freeze the field when Biffle spun, but even if they did, it appeared that Keselowski would have been the winner, but it was close. For the previous caution, when it was Busch leading and Harvick in second, Busch simply said on his radio, “WWE,” in reference to a pro wrestling analogy.

    Richard Buck, NASCAR’s managing director of Sprint Cup Series said via Fox Sports, “We got multiple reports over the radio and confirmed it. There was a piece of material, something, in the racing groove and so we went ahead and called a caution. And by the time that we had called the caution, somebody had hit it.

    “He continued, “I don’t have it back yet (the piece of debris). I don’t have the piece back yet, but we always ask the safety and cleanup crews to return that stuff to us. But there were multiple reports.”

    I believe the piece of debris was off of Kyle Larson’s Target Chevrolet that resulted from contact as the cars jockeyed for position on a restart. I don’t believe there was a call from anyone just to keep Busch from victory lane in Fontana. It was just bad racing luck after running a great race all day. It always troubles me when fans think that NASCAR did this for excitement. The piece of debris was clearly shown on television monitors. NASCAR made the right call as far as I am concerned.

    Busch is returning to the scene of his only victory last year this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. I think that he will get his victory this season; that team has not missed a beat since his late return.

     

  • Hot 20 – If it was something we could not see, was Fontana truly debris free?

    Hot 20 – If it was something we could not see, was Fontana truly debris free?

    Nothing gets NASCAR fans hotter than the possibility their conspiracy theories might actually be true.

    Is NASCAR using phantom debris to manipulate the outcome of races through the use of late cautions?

    “That’s a preposterous allegation,” says NASCAR Executive Vice President Steve O’Donnell. Actually, it is those cautions that many fans are finding preposterous. With debris shown in only one of three late instances, fans are left to wonder. With bad boy Kurt Busch apparently heading to victory, how fortuitous that a caution was called to open up an opportunity to alter the outcome of the race at Fontana. That should be easily enough addressed, one would think. Show us the debris, and it better be something more substantial than a hot dog wrapper. Either that, or give Michael Waltrip his money back.

    Of course, it is preposterous that some fans fail to understand just how transparent NASCAR now is. Anyone know what the attendance was at Fontana? Oops, sorry, I forgot. Some information is as tough to get made public as a Hillary Clinton e-mail or a Richard Nixon taped conversation.

    As for our Hot 20 heading to Martinsville…

    1. Kevin Harvick – 2 Wins (225 Points)
    33rd at Martinsville last fall, first or second after each race since.

    2. Joey Logano – 1 Win (197 Points)
    If the damn tire stays in the box, maybe NASCAR should stay out of it.

    3. Brad Keselowski – 1 Win (163 Points)
    NASCAR loves me. They really love me.

    4. Jimmie Johnson – 1 Win (159 Points)
    After all the restarts left him finishing ninth, I need to ask Jimmie, “What does NFG stand for?”

    5. Martin Truex Jr – 192 Points
    Five events, five Top Tens. That works.

    6. Dale Earnhardt Jr – 164 Points
    Zero for 23 at Fontana, but 1 (last October) for 30 at Martinsville.

    7. Ryan Newman – 162 Points
    If he had sat out the Daytona 500, would only slip to 8th in points.

    8. Kasey Kahne – 159 Points
    If 17th is the worst he can do (Phoenix, Fontana), you will find him here each week.

    9. Paul Menard – 152 Points
    Crew chief Justin Alexander’s magic helped massage a Top Ten on Sunday.

    10. Aric Almirola – 138 Points
    His boss won 15 times at Martinsville. Guess who wants a clock of his own.

    11. A.J. Allmendinger – 137 Points
    Thinking of Martinsville, dreaming of an Indianapolis-Charlotte double.

    12. Casey Mears – 132 Points
    His uncle won the Indianapolis 500 four times.

    13. Matt Kenseth – 127 Points
    Great pit stops, just one too many at Fontana.

    14. Denny Hamlin – 125 Points
    Gibbs cars lead 100 laps, none finish among the Top Dozen.

    15. David Ragan – 124 Points
    Upset Gordon at Fontana, but still sits a dozen points ahead of him in the standings.

    16. Carl Edwards – 120 Points
    Turned his foot long into a six-inch sub in practice and still searching for first Top Ten

    17. Jamie McMurray – 120 Points
    Yet to finish in NASCAR’s Top Ten. Is this the year?

    18. Austin Dillon – 116 Points
    With four Xfinity starts, tied with Larson for most visits to the kiddies table this year.

    19. Kyle Larson – 116 Points
    Now, NASCAR, THAT is what I would call debris.

    20. Clint Bowyer – 115 Points
    Martinsville changed its hog dogs, but this hot dog has endorsed ‘em as being just as good.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: California

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: California

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished second in the Auto Club 400, extending his amazing streak with his eighth consecutive top-two finish. He continues to lead the Sprint Cup points standings, and holds a 28-point cushion over Joey Logano.

    “Who’s going to stop me in my quest to defend my Cup championship?” Harvick said. “It appears no one is willing to step up. In the last eight races, I’ve won four times and finished second four times. I win and I ‘place;’ is anyone else going to ‘show?’”

    2. Joey Logano: Logano finished seventh at California as Penske Racing teammate Brad Keselowski took the win.

    “Brad stole that win from Kurt Busch,” Logano said. “Luckily for Brad, Kyle Larson’s bumper flew off, bringing out the caution that Brad needed. A bumper is real debris, debris you can actually see. Can something invisible, like a stiff wind, necessitate a yellow flag? NASCAR would likely say ‘Yes.’ I guess that would be called a ‘da breeze’ caution.”

    3. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished ninth at Fontana, posting his third top 10 of the year. He is fourth in the points standings, 66 out of first.

    “It was a solid day for Hendrick Motorsports,” Johnson said, “but the return of Kurt Busch has made Stewart-Haas Racing a real powerhouse. Busch has really been on fire since his reinstatement. It appears the line between being outlawed and being the ‘Outlaw’ is a significant one. But is Busch really a threat to win the Sprint Cup championship. Until he’s holding the Cup, I’m not convinced. So, he’s innocent until proven guilty.”

    4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Earnhardt posted his fourth top-10 finish of the year with a sixth at Fontana, rebounding strongly from his last place result in Phoenix.

    “I lost a lot of track position,” Earnhardt said, “when I got stuck behind Greg Biffle on a late restart. There’s nothing worse that getting stuck behind a slow car on a restart, except for getting stuck behind the wheel of a Roush Fenway Racing car.”

    5. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex’s hot start to the season continued with an eighth in the Auto Club 500. He has five consecutive top 10’s and is fifth in the points standings, 33 out of first.

    “Kurt Busch won the pole for Sunday’s race, Truex said. “I asked Kurt’s ex-girlfriend, Patricia Driscoll, about the race, and, not surprisingly, she said, ‘He started it.’

    “It was a wild finish at Fontana. And to capitalize on that result, Furniture Row is offering their own ‘wild finish,’ a tiger-striped design on a coffee table.”

    6. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski passed Busch on the final lap to seize the win in a dramatic Auto Club 500. Keselowski took four tires during the final caution, giving him the necessary advantage on the Fontana track’s abrasive surface.

    “I apologize if I made Kurt hit the wall,” Keselowski said. “He should consider himself lucky, that it’s only one wall and not four that he’s dealing with.”

    7. Ryan Newman: Newman finished fifth in the Auto Club 400, posting his third consecutive top-five result. He is seventh in the Sprint Cup points standings, 63 behind Kevin Harvick.

    “There were a lot of mysterious cautions thrown on Sunday in California,” Newman said. “That surely didn’t make Kurt Busch happy. Kurt may complain about ‘yellow flags being raised,’ as opposed to his girlfriends, who are concerned about all the red flags raised.”

    8. Kurt Busch: Busch started on the pole at California and had a win in hand until a late caution presented Brad Keselowski the opportunity to take four tires. Keselowski then passed Busch on the final green-white-checkered finish while Busch brushed the wall trying to regain position.

    “You may say I hit the wall,” Busch said, “but I deny it.

    “As conspiracy theories go, my favorite is the one that says NASCAR threw the cautions to prevent me from winning. Sure, they granted me a waiver for the Chase, but all those yellows served as ‘wavers’ to keep me out of the Chase.”

    9. Jeff Gordon: Gordon finished 10th at California as Hendrick Motorsports placed three cars in the top 10.

    “I counted at least three ‘phantom’ cautions in Sunday’s race,” Gordon said. “And you know that means: if there are ‘phantoms,’ then there are ‘ghosts.’ And that’s bad news for NASCAR, because this sport just got even whiter.”

    10. Paul Menard: Menard recorded his best finish of the year with a fourth in the Auto Club 400. He is ninth in the points standings, 73 out of first.

    “Richard Childress could be kicking himself for letting Kevin Harvick leave after the 2013 season,” Menard said. “But at some point, even if something or someone has been getting under your skin, you just have to ‘let it go.’ I think Richard exemplifies that very well.”

  • The Final Word – If Fontana were a Hollywood movie, we would have wanted our money back

    The Final Word – If Fontana were a Hollywood movie, we would have wanted our money back

    Imagine watching the final confrontation of Lord of the Rings. We have Sam somewhere out on the mountain, as Frodo and Smeagol battle for the ring on the edge of the volcano. Then, out of nowhere, Barliman Butterbur, the owner of the Prancing Pony bar, jumps in to steal the ring from them both, leaps onto the back of Bill the horse, and disappears into the sunset. You are left wondering just what in hell just happened. Fontana was just like that.

    Barliman…er…Brad Keselowski, on a nice set of four new tires, utilized the second attempt at a green-white-checker to come out of nowhere to get by Kurt Busch (Smeagol) and Kevin Harvick (Frodo), who just had fresh right side only chariots. On the final lap, as Greg Biffle (Sauron?) wrecked in the distance, he pulled it off. We knew Brad was in the movie, but we just did not expect to see him in the end. It marked the first win of the season for the 2012 champ, and the 17th of his career.

    While Frodo was second best, a top two performer in his last eight straight, and Smeagol was third, the role of Sam was played by Matt Kenseth. Absolutely superb pit stops left him in front or challenging for the top spot all day. Then, with 14 to go, the boys got their driver out in under 11 seconds, only the see his rear axle failing to survive the departure. Amazingly, they managed to do repairs to allow him to finish on the lead lap, though in 31st.

    Kenseth failed to win, but both he and Ryan Newman got good news. With the statute of limitations removed from eligibility for the all-star race, they both got their passes renewed for this May’s event.

    Brian Vickers was out in California bringing awareness to those who suffer from blood clots. That is exactly what has removed him from his ride yet again. We hope to see him back in his seat this summer.

    NASCAR boss Brian France admits that the COT was a mistake. The ill-handling box was designed for safety, but was not worth a damn for racing. Now if he would only admit that the new rule for runaway tires is a bit of a mistake. Joey Logano got totally screwed for such an infraction, even though the rubber never left the pit stall. Denny Hamlin got called late, but at least his tread did cross over, albeit barely.

    So…what exactly was the debris that caused that final caution with less than two laps remaining, with Busch and Harvick dueling for the finish line? Damned if I know. Do you? Does anyone?

    So NASCAR has taken a few dollars, a very few, from the Cup folks to pay drivers in its developmental series. I guess stealing from Peter to pay Paul is preferable to actually digging into their own bulging wallets but it is something. Funny how they want to redistribute the wealth Obama style now, at a time when the truck series is no longer broadcast beyond American borders and the Xfinity series is being invaded by drivers a tad beyond developmental. Then again, we now live in a world that does not always makes sense to us, so why should NASCAR be any different.

    If you watched on Sunday for excitement, for tight action, or for carnage, you might have been disappointed. If you like surprises, you loved Fontana. Godspeed, Barliman Butterbur. Godspeed.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Auto Club 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Auto Club 400

    For the finale of NASCAR’s west coast swing, here is what was surprising and not surprising from Fontana’s 19th annual Auto Club 400.

    Surprising: Never have debris cautions and uncontrolled tires combined to play such important roles in a Cup race, with a total of five and six respectively. The late debris caution was especially important to the race finish, allowing Brad Keselowski to power past Kurt Busch, who had led 65 laps of the race, until that last one.

    “It looked like we were probably going to finish sixth or seventh,” the driver of the No. 2 Wurth Ford said. “That yellow came out. We came in and pitted and drove up a little bit, then caught another yellow.”

    “So Paul (Wolfe, crew chief) made the call to come down pit road and put four tires on. We were able to find our way through the lanes and get to the front there, somehow end up in Victory Lane leading the last lap.”

    “Kind of a racecar driver’s dream,” Keselowski said. “This is one we’re going to sit back and go ‘wow’ for a while.”

    And while the race winner was wowed by his finish after the yellow flag for debris, Denny Hamlin, who had been running well in his No. 11 Sports Clip Toyota, was understandably devastated by his uncontrolled tire penalty, causing him a disappointing 28th place finish.

    Hamlin was just one of five other drivers who were hit with the uncontrolled tire penalty.

    “I got shuffled back beyond the top-10 and worked our way back to the top-five and then the top-three and then had a penalty,” Hamlin said. “You just can’t come back from that. There ain’t nobody in the field with a fast enough car to come back from any penalties.”

    “We had one at the inopportune time and it just led to a bad finish.”

    Not Surprising:  Chevrolet drivers Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. have a new bond, with both achieving five straight top 10 finishes in the 2015 season.

    “Just really proud of everybody on my team,” Harvick said after finishing runner up in his No. 4 Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet “A great race and fun to be part of it.”

    “To come away with an eighth-place finish really says something about this team,” Truex Jr., driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet said. “We never give up and believe in each other. It’s been a great start for our Furniture Row team with five straight top 10s. We just need to keep it going and try to improve each week.”

    Surprising: For a team that was killing it in the pits most of the race, so much so that they got their driver to the lead, it was surprising that one mistake on pit road cost them a good finish. Matt Kenseth, behind the wheel of the No. Dewalt Toyota Camry, went from leading the race to a broken axle and a 31st place finish.

    “We didn’t have the fastest car on the long run, but we were fast enough to go up there and battle with them and we had been making it better all day, which is all you can ask for,” Jason Ratcliff, Kenseth’s crew chief said. “I think we were one of the few that was good on fuel, so I would have liked to have seen it go green at that point to see if we could make it and maybe get us a victory here today, but even when the caution came out and we came in on pit road first I was very confident that our pit crew would get us out.”

    “It’s just unfortunate that the axle broke like that. We rarely have any problems like that, but occasionally it happens. Unfortunately, it happens when you’re leading.”

    Not Surprising: Although Dale Jr. did not win, he had a fun day nonetheless, getting his picture made with Dwight Yoakum and apparently even getting to sing together and shake hands according to his Twitter feed.

    And yet even with all that excitement, the driver of the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet managed to top it all off with a sixth place finish to boot.

    “We had a great day, lot of fun, fun racetrack, awesome crowd we had here,” Earnhardt said. “We’re just glad to be able to rebound. Last week was very dismal, disappointing and frustrating. So, again, glad to be able to come here, run good, run strong.”

    “Everything else was good.”

    Surprising: Chris Buescher made the most of his first Cup start opportunity in the No. 34 Dockside Logistics Ford Fusion for Front Row Motorsports with a surprising 20th place finish.

    “It was a lot of fun,” Buescher said. “I can’t thank Front Row Motorsports enough to give me this opportunity and for Roush Fenway Racing to allow me to go do it.”

    “It’s the kind of race track I wanted to make my Cup debut at – some place that the pace falls off, the tires wear down and you’re able to really hustle it and race late into a run and this was just that.”

    “We completed the race, finished on the lead lap and got a top 20 out of it. I’m ecstatic about that.”

    Not Surprising: Although both members of Team Penske are now officially in the Chase, Joey Logano wants to see even more aggression from both himself and his teammate and victor Brad Keselowski.

    “It’s nice that we’re both in the Chase,” Logano said. “We can both race aggressive now and obviously he raced aggressively anyway.”

    “It’s nice for both of us to have a win already and it’s great to see Team Penske still having speed and we’re just racing hard and doing everything we can to keep up with these guys. The other cars are a little bit faster than us right now. We’ve got to find some more speed, but we’re racing really hard and that’s what we’ve got to do.”

    Surprising: At least one driver, who was the highest finishing Toyota driver, just wanted to get home to watch the replay of all those crazy restarts.

    “Restarts were insane, this is one I’ll go home and watch the replay,” Carl Edwards said after finishing 23th in his No. 19 Subway Toyota Camry. “It was just crazy.”

    “If they could take this pavement and map this and put this at every race track, it would be spectacular.”

    Not Surprising: Greg Biffle’s words about his Roush Fenway team “dying a slow death” proved prophetic as he finished 32d. Biffle took the wave around later in the race to get back on the lead lap but contact with another car on the final lap sent him spinning to another poor finish in his No. 16 Clean Harbors Ford.

    Surprising: Tony Stewart finished in the same position number as his car number, 14 that is. And surprisingly, that was the best finish to date for the driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet.

    “Yeah I mean I’m happy, we are gaining on it,” Smoke said. “We were getting to where we were sniffing the edge of the top 10 anyway all day.”

    “We are gaining on it a little chunk at a time. We didn’t need to get it all today, but this is a big gain for us.”

    Not Surprising: With the exception of the Ford at the front, the rest of the top 5 finishers at Fontana were Chevrolets, including Paul Menard, who scored his best finish of the season, and Ryan Newman, who continued his string of good runs, finishing fifth.

    “Oh, it was fun,” Menard said. “I really like this track. It’s all worn out and has a lot of grip and then it falls off in a hurry.” Really proud of my guys, they busted their tails this weekend and got a good finish to show for it.”

    “Luke (Lambert, crew chief) did an awesome job and everybody, the guys especially in the pits,” Newman said. “A hard fought day today but good strategy there at the end, got a couple of breaks with a couple of restarts there.”

    “Good day for us overall.”

    The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will finally leave the West and return to the East coast to race at Martinsville Speedway for the STP 500 next weekend.

  • On the Edge with Ed: Kevin Harvick Edition

    On the Edge with Ed: Kevin Harvick Edition

    Last weekend, after a dominating win at the Phoenix International Raceway, Kevin Harvick’s crew chief Rodney Childers got up in front of the assembled media and said, “I know it didn’t seem this way, but we actually struggled a little bit.” Childers, who saw his driver lead 224 of the scheduled 312 lap affair continued, “Fault some of our tools and different things that weren’t matching up with the car this weekend. Finally we had to kind of wing it late model style. Finally got it going really good in Happy Hour. The guys at the shop have built great cars. You know, everything just went our way all weekend. You come to these deals, and some weekends it goes your way and sometimes it doesn’t whether you got a fast car or not.

    Childers went on to speak about the added demands of competing at Phoenix, saying, “just proud of all the guys back at the shop that have worked so hard, and of course Kevin. I think his record speaks for itself at this place. I said a minute ago, somebody asked me what was wrong with me this morning. I said that I felt more pressure to win this one race at Phoenix than I did to win the race at Homestead. When you bring him here, I think everybody expects him to win. I didn’t want it to be my fault if we didn’t. Just proud of everybody, like I said.  Just a great effort.”

    It was a great effort. The thing is Harvick has dominated the Sprint Cup Series since last season when he ended the season with two wins and the Sprint Cup championship. In fact Harvick has had seven top-two finishes in his last seven races dating back to last season. The last guy that accomplished such a feat was Richard Petty, who had 11 consecutive top-two finishes back in 1975. Harvick said after being told that fact, “When you said the Richard Petty part, that just gives me chills.”

    Runner-up in Phoenix, Jamie McMurray, said after the race, “That was a fun battle with Kevin (Harvick). Those are the kinds you wish you could do over again, because I would have slid up earlier. It’s similar to plate racing with the engine package we have now, where if you don’t get the guy cleared he can kind of stall you out a little bit. And I saw Kevin coming and I thought I could slide up in front of him, but I also knew it was for the win and that we would probably have wrecked there. But it was a good team effort with great pit stops all day. Our team is as good or better than where we left off last year, and it’s a great feeling.”

    Harvick’s teammate, Kurt Busch, racing for the first time this season due to his well documented off track problems finished fifth in Phoenix. He said about his team, his car and his owner after the race, “It means I’ve got a strong team. And personally it’s great to get back to them and produce a result like this on our first day back. It’s a quality car. Haas Automation and Gene Haas and everybody that’s there; I went over and visited the headquarters this week and I can’t thank them enough for believing in me. The truth will be shown later on. But, the way that we raced today, it was with heart. And I thought there had been enough good will in the bank to try to bring home a win. But Kevin (Harvick, race winner) was tough. Congratulations to my teammate, Kevin Harvick, for winning. We had a great day. To run up there and almost lead a lap; I was just too loose on restarts and couldn’t quite capitalize on some of those positions that I needed to gain early in a run. But thanks again to all my sponsors and Chevrolet and everybody that’s part of our team and the whole group at Stewart-Haas. Thank you.”

    Their teammates, Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick finished 39th (accident) and 26th respectively and sit 36th and 23rd in points respectively. Busch’s finish has him at 33rd in points after the Phoenix race. What is odd to me is the fact that Harvick’s dominance isn’t really odd in the sport. In 1998, on his way to his third championship Jeff Gordon tied Richard Petty, in the modern era, with 13 victories. Since then Jimmie Johnson’s dominance in the Chase secured him multiple championships, most notably in 2004 and 2007 when Johnson needed those victories to storm back from early chase mediocrity. Also, let’s not forget Tony Stewart who just weeks before the chase started in 2011 said to us in Bristol that his team was not “chase worthy” and then rattled off five victories, including a nail biter in the final race at Homestead to break a tie with Carl Edwards for his third championship.

    Some will say that Harvick’s peaking too soon this season and that there are many teams that will fill the gap before the season’s end. However, I look back to just last season, when they ran a completely different race package and the fact that Harvick dominated many races that resulted in poor finishes due to equipment failure, poor strategy or pit stops and he still won his first championship with a brand new team. Right now the usual suspects will be chasing Harvick. Jimmie Johnson, fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. and even sentimental favorite Jeff Gordon should be in the mix by the time the chase starts but I fully expect that Harvick will be a factor in who wins the 2015 championship.

     

     

     

     

  • Finley Factor: Be Quick or Be Dead

    Finley Factor: Be Quick or Be Dead

    So if you haven’t heard, Kevin Harvick is on a pretty decent run.

    The defending Champion has finished first or second the last seven straight races. The only drivers able to keep up with him this season have been Jimmie Johnson and Joey Logano, and even then both have had problems, with Johnson having a miserable Las Vegas and Logano seemingly hitting a metaphoric wall and fading back in the last quarter of most races.

    At 39 Harvick still has around five more years before his decline as a driver (And who knows about that; Mark Martin and Harry Gant were still championship contending drivers in their fifties), and I doubt that Stewart-Haas Racing, with multiple solid sponsors and the best chassis/engine provider in the game with Hendrick Motorsports, will decline like Roush Fenway Racing has the last three seasons.

    Rodney Childers has also proven to be one of the best crew chiefs in the game, maybe even better right now than Chad Knaus, who is probably entering the twilight of his career (Modern crew chiefs generally have a shorter career than drivers, with a notable exception in Jimmy Fennig). Childers has proven to be an excellent team builder; Michael Waltrip Racing flat out sucked before Childers came over in 2009 and helped to develop the team into an elite team over the next four seasons before leaving after 2013. It speaks volumes that MWR once again became completely rudderless as an organization when Childers left, not even being able to lure Greg Biffle from Roush last season, which really speaks volumes. I promise that if MWR actually is able to develop Brett Mofitt into a great driver, he isn’t going to win a championship with MWR.

    Childers also, as noted by Darrell Waltrip last Sunday, basically built the No. 4 team from the ground up in the 2013-2014 off-season, then won a championship the first year in. Think about that for a second. Football isn’t like racing, but that is kind of like starting a new expansion team with Pete Carroll as the coach, like Childers, a relative new face who turned the Seahawks into a powerhouse, and installing Matt Ryan, like Harvick, a mid-career player who has played well but has never truly had the team to win it all, as the QB.

    And then, come February, you turn the television on and you see Ryan hoisting the Lombardi after winning the Super Bowl, after one year.

    History says that no, Harvick and the 4 team won’t continue this amazing run. Someday he’s going to lose an engine or get stuck on pit road or get caught up in a wreck. Then we get to see just how good this team really is. The best players, regardless of sport, will perform when it’s pouring, not just raining. Can he join the ranks of drivers and teams such as his boss Tony Stewart in 2011, where he went from saying “We shouldn’t be in the Chase” to hoisting the Cup in just three months’ time? We shall see.

    Fontana Preview

    Favorite (Outside of Kevin Harvick)

    I’ve gotta go with K. Busch……. Wait, you’re telling me Kyle is still out with his injuries? I already know that, I’m talking about the other K. Busch. Kurt showed he hasn’t lost a step last Sunday, and with Kyle on the shelf he is the best here in the Gen 6, with an average finish of fourth in the last two races here.

    One To Watch

    Kyle Larson opened a lot of eyes in this race last year. The 2014 Rookie Of The Year almost won, if it wasn’t for the other Kyle blocking we’d be talking about defending race winner Kyle Larson. Larson is hungry for a victory, and with a second in Cup last season and his first Xfinity series win the same weekend, expect him to be a factor on Sunday.

    The Dark Horse

    Paul Menard has finished eighth and ninth here the last two seasons. Don’t expect a win, but do expect another under the radar top-10.

    A brief correction from last week. For the rankings I posted, comparing all Cup drivers from 2013 and 2014’s first two full time seasons in the sport, I forgot to post, of all people, Kevin Harvick’s statline. Harvick, with three victories, 11 top-fives, and 24 top-10s, would be 10th in the ranking, with everybody below Kyle Busch being a rank below what they are in the article.

    Harvick’s first two seasons are well known for being a roller coaster of emotions, from the grief in replacing the late Dale Earnhardt Sr., to triumph in winning three races including an emotional and iconic Atlanta win three weeks following Earnhardt’s death, to anger when he was suspended for the spring Martinsville race in 2002 after running into Coy Gibbs the day before in the Truck race after Gibbs wrecked him. Harvick, already on probation following an incident earlier in the year with Greg Biffle at Bristol, was suspended and relived by Kenny Wallace in the Cup Race.

    Maybe, once he comes back from injury, there is hope for a Kyle Busch championship after all.

    Speaking of Martinsville, they’ve changed hotdog brands once again. I’d be amazed if Jesse Jones hotdogs aren’t back at Martinsville by the start of the Cup race there on March 29. They’ve tried to change the hotdogs before and it has never worked out.

    If they don’t, it really is a shame that a track like Martinsville, with two dates a year (And thus plenty of money from the new television deal), will screw with its long time partners (Jesse Jones had been at the Speedway before there even was a NASCAR, starting with a handshake deal in 1947) and race fans just to make more money. Money that I doubt any of the race teams will see, or if they do see it, it will most definitely be pennies on the dollar.

    It seems like the France family, who majority own Martinsville Speedway owner ISC, either delight in moving races around or off the schedule for no real good reason (Somehow Darlington on Labor Day went from being too hot after years of it not being hot in 2004 to suddenly not being hot again in 2015) or messing around with what has been around for years. Instead of buying and then fixing Rockingham and making sure it had the resources to stay on the Cup schedule, it was decided that ISC needed a track in Kansas and Chicagoland, even though the Rockingham makeover would have been cheaper and would have led to better races, continuing the track’s history.

    It isn’t just ISC, either. Atlanta looked horrible a couple of weeks ago, and Bruton Smith has been wanting that second Las Vegas date for years now. As far as I know, Bruton has three options to get that second Las Vegas date- replace the second Charlotte race, replace the second Loudon race, or replace Atlanta and move dates around to get Vegas later in the year. And because I know he won’t get rid of Loudon because, you know, that makes too much sense, it’s either the heart of NASCAR in Charlotte or the birthplace of stock car racing in Atlanta that will be hurt in this deal.

    Then again, Smith could always just buy a track and pull it off the calendar, like he did to North Wilkesboro, which narrows it down to Dover and Pocono (We’ll find Martians before Smith buys Indianapolis). I’d love for it to be Pocono. Can we get rid of Pocono? That would be nice.

  • Hot 20 Heading to California, The List of who is Not Hot is an Impressive one

    Hot 20 Heading to California, The List of who is Not Hot is an Impressive one

    It has a week of discovery. We know that Kevin Harvick is off to a great start. We know that Tony Stewart is not. We now know that NASCAR funds an organization run by Al Sharpton. We know that Kurt Busch’s ex is not happy that Kurt is back racing, and I discovered I just do not care. I also know that even if I were not a happily married straight male, I would have no interest in dating either of them. Now, let us move on.

    Hot 20 after Phoenix…

    1. Kevin Harvick – 2 Wins (182 Points)
    AKA The Champ, Double Winner, Happy, The Closer, Harv, Squirrel Killer.

    2. Joey Logano – 1 Win (160 Points)
    At Phoenix he proved he could go to Xfinity but not beyond.

    3. Jimmie Johnson – 1 Win (124 Points)
    In the end, he was more tired than his car as both hit the wall.

    4. Martin Truex Jr. – 155 Points
    Takes crap from nobody…except Junior.

    5. Kasey Kahne – 132 Points
    If this is an organization’s least heralded driver, they all wish they could be so cursed.

    6. A.J. Allmendinger – 127 Points
    Already the winner of an Auto Golf Club event at Fontana.

    7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 126 Points
    Super sorry about your motorcoach, Martin…I sh*t you not…but as for the dog…

    8. Ryan Newman – 123 Points
    Top Ten, Top Three, Top Three, why Newman is happy is plain to see.

    9. Brad Keselowski – 116 Points
    The most popular celebrity from Rochester Hills, Michigan…as of last week.

    10. Matt Kenseth – 113 Points
    If only he could get a Daytona do over.

    11. Paul Menard – 112 Points
    Still seeking a Top 10, but Fontana is where dreams have come true for him.

    12. Casey Mears – 111 Points
    Best driver in his organization is the only driver in his organization. He is racing to change that.

    13. Denny Hamlin – 108 Points
    Wants things to be more automatic…such as the transmission.

    14. Aric Almirola – 105 Points
    More lukewarm than hot, but he sure was hot after 2014 finish at Fontana.

    15. Clint Bowyer – 101 Points
    Now, a few words from our favorite driver. “@&$#*#$@!!!”

    16. Greg Biffle – 101 Points
    You picked a fine time to find me, loose wheel.

    17. David Ragan – 98 Points
    Knows Kyle will eventually return, but more worried he might lose ride to Will Ferrell.

    18. Kyle Larson – 98 Points
    Dug a hole at Daytona and Atlanta. Found a ladder out west.

    19. Jamie McMurray – 97 Points
    Ditto for Larson’s team mate.

    20. David Gilliland – 92 Points
    With thanks going to Austin, Carl, Danica, Sam, Jeff, Trevor, Ricky, Kyle, Kurt and Tony.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Phoenix

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Phoenix

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kevin Harvick: Harvick started on the pole at Phoenix and won as expected, rolling to his fourth consecutive win at Phoenix International Raceway. He sits high atop the Sprint Cup points standings, 22 ahead of Joey Logano.

    “You can call me ‘Happy,’” Harvick said, “but you might as well call me ‘Tarp,’ because I had the field covered.

    “I’ve got four top-two finishes to start the season. No one has done that since Richard Petty in 1974. And speaking of ‘Kings,’ I rule.”

    2. Joey Logano: Logano finished eighth at Phoenix after starting second on the grid and leading 35 laps. He is second in the points standings, 22 behind Kevin Harvick.

    “No one can catch Harvick,” Logano said. “As such, it looks like the ‘Chase’ has started early this year.

    “I won the Xfinity Series race on Saturday. That race was called the ‘Xalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200.’ It wasn’t much of a race, but it did have something that no other race in NASCAR history had, and that’s punctuation.”

    3. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished 11th at Phoenix as Kevin Harvick dominated, leading 224 of 312 laps. Johnson is seventh in the points standings, 58 behind Harvick.

    “Harvick has been on a tear,” Johnson said. “They say this level of dominance hasn’t been seen since Richard Petty in 1974. I say it goes back further than that, to a time in racing when dirt tracks were the norm, because everyone is eating dust.”

    4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Earnhardt blew a right rear tire on lap 180 at Phoenix and slammed the wall, ending his day with a last place finish.

    “The No. 88 Hendrick Chevrolet was fast,” Earnhardt said, “but the surface at Phoenix is really tough on rubber. So, there’s a fine line separating ‘Hell On Wheels’ from ‘Hell On Tires.’”

    5. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex continued his solid start to the season with a seventh at Phoenix, giving him four top 10s in four races this year. He is fourth in the points standings, 27 behind Kevin Harvick.

    “We’ve been consistent,” Truex said, “but we won’t be satisfied until we win. Some say that we can’t. On that note, Furniture Row offers upholstery in several patterns, but none in ‘checkers.’”

    6. Kasey Kahne: Kahne took fourth in the CampingWorld.Com 500 on Sunday, posting his first top-five result of the year. He sits fourth in the points standings, 50 behind Kevin Harvick.

    “I finished just ahead of Kurt Busch,” Kahne said. “Kurt was all over me, and, depending on who you ask, there may have been contact.

    “Is it right that no domestic abuse charges were filed against Kurt? Who am I to say? I can say this: I don’t mind racing against the ‘Outlaw,’ but I surely wouldn’t want him as an inlaw.”

    7. AJ Allmendinger: Allmendinger placed 17th at Phoenix and is now sixth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 55 out of first.

    “We didn’t get the finish we wanted,” Allmendinger said, “but I still had a great time. Grammy-nominated band Tonic played a pre-race concert, and boy, did that really get my blood pumping. Talk about a ‘band stimulant.’”

    8. Jeff Gordon: Gordon finished ninth at Phoenix as Hendrick Motorsports cars took three of the top 11 spots.

    “I’m on a quest for my fifth championship,” Gordon said. “Kevin Harvick appears well on his way to his second. Just a few words of advice for Kevin: before you can be ‘three-time’ or ‘four-time,’ you have to be ‘two-timed.’ And I have, on and off the track.”

    9. Ryan Newman: Newman finished third in the CampingWorld.Com 500, recording his second straight third-place finish.

    “Kevin Harvick was unstoppable,” Newnam said. “There was a time in my career when I wished I could be just like Harvick and join Richard Childress Racing. Now, I want to be even more like Harvick and leave RCR, because that’s when the wins and championships happen.”

    10. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished sixth in the CampingWorld.Com 500 in Phoenix, joining Penske Racing teammate Joey Logano, who finished eighth, in the top 10.

    “After a slow start to the season,” Keselowski said, “we’re back on track. I’ve got three top-10 finishes in a row after finishing 41st at Daytona. But to keep up with Kevin Harvick, we’re really gonna have to ‘push.’

    “My crew chief Paul Wolfe was placed on probation for an entire season. NASCAR should try putting the whole sport on probation, just to make sure it’s being ‘watched.’”

  • The Final Word – Harvick Once Again the Best in Phoenix but Fontana is Johnson Country

    The Final Word – Harvick Once Again the Best in Phoenix but Fontana is Johnson Country

    Phoenix got somewhat exciting near the end. Kevin Harvick was the star of this show, with the likes of Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch and Jamie McMurray in supporting roles. Two straight this season, four straight at Phoenix, a lock on a Chase spot (you would think) and 30 career victories as he defends his Cup championship. It is good being Kevin Harvick.

    Not so good being Tony Stewart. Take some orange paper, write a number 14 on it, then crumple it all up and toss it on the floor. That is pretty much how Stewart’s car looked when it finally stopped along the wall. Thirty-ninth on the day, 35th in the standings. It is not good being Tony Stewart, at least after four Cup races.

    It was good being Dale Earnhardt Jr. Top Fives at Daytona, Atlanta and Las Vegas was good. A blown tire and a sharp slap to the wall to finish 43rd was not.

    It was good, finally, to be Kurt Busch. In the words of Mike Joy, he went from suspension to redemption, as he finished fourth in his return.

    Danica Patrick had another day outside the Top 25. Sure, her team-mates with the law firm of Stewart-Harvick-and Busch may all have won championships, but none of them have a cook book coming out. Game, set and match, losers.

    One day, one race, 43 teams. I guess that is a bit too much even for Will Ferrell.

    The best on the day amongst the lesser lights was Justin Allgaier. The 29th ranked driver from last season was 18th at Phoenix. Among the brighter bulbs who went dim were Junior, Brian Vickers, Sam Hornish Jr. and Smoke, all of whom wound up amongst the bottom five.

    The great thing about FOX Sports taking over coverage is all the extra time it has given me. No truck racing, no practices, no qualifying to sit through. Now, if I only don’t blow it all on watching curling on TSN.

    What does Junior’s puppy at Martin Truex Jr’s motorcoach have in common with Junior’s car last Sunday out on the track? That is where both suddenly went to crap.

    Someone stole the No. 44. Now a lawyer wants it. Apparently, there is a claim that team owner John Cohen owes some money, so when the counsel for the other party heard Cohen claim the car was worth $250,000 he thought he would claim a piece. Insert your favorite lawyer joke here, I guess.

    The western swing wraps up this Sunday in Fontana, California, where the mending Kyle Busch will see an end to his two race dominance of that track. Maybe that will work in favor of five time race winner Jimmie Johnson, or allow Kyle Larson to build on his runner-up performance in his one and only start there. Will it be exciting? It depends on who you like and where they are racing. Then again, who watches live events anymore? Hit record and watch the action at your own pace, maybe catch an inning or two of a ball game in the meantime, or shovel some snow, if you live in the northeast, then return to the track. Hey, it is a multi-task world.