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  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Kobalt 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Kobalt 400

    From the Team Penske pole repeat to the Most Interesting Man’s command to start the engines, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 17th annual Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

    Surprising:  Boy, is he ever back…in so many surprising ways. With his crew chief Paul Wolfe back on top of the pit box after being out one race for the birth of his baby, driver Brad Keselowski sailed on past the out-of-gas Dale Earnhardt Jr. to make his way right back to Victory Lane.

    The driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford also went back to back for the race weekend, becoming the first driver to sweep both the Nationwide and Cup races at Las Vegas in the same weekend since 2000 when Jeff Burton did it.

    Finally, Keselowski himself noted after crossing the finish line that he was back in the Chase, having scored the first win for Team Penske of the young 2014 season. He is also back in the point standings, just one point shy of the top spot.

    Not Surprising:  Dale Earnhardt, Jr. joined fellow competitor Martin Truex Jr. in trying to look on the bright side of life after finishes that did not quite live up to their expectations.

    “We knew we were a lap short,” Junior said after finishing second on fumes. “We tried to save as much as we could.”

    “We took a gamble and didn’t win the race, but it still worked in our favor to run second,” the driver of the No. 88 Mountain Dew Kickstart Chevrolet continued. “It sucks to lose like that, but we can’t let that be a negative. The only way to be productive is to be positive.”

    “We have got to look at the positives in today and keep working toward our goal of winning some more races.”

    “We were better than 14th, no question about that,” Martin Truex Jr. said. “We ran in the top-10 for most of the race but lost track position at the end.”

    “On the bright side this was our best performance as a team, much better than last week at Phoenix,” the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet said. “We had good pit stops all day and I really like the gains we made this weekend.”

    Adding to their bright sides was the fact that Martin Truex Jr. made his 300th career start and Dale Jr. became only the second driver, next to the King, to begin a race year with three top-2 finishes in a row.

    Surprising:  Danica Patrick was the best of the Stewart Haas crew, finishing 21st.  Teammates Kurt Busch finished 26; Tony Stewart 33rd and Kevin Harvick 41st with a wheel hub issue putting him 30 laps down.

    “Obviously you always want more, but I’m happy with it, especially after what we’ve gone through the last two weeks,” Patrick said. “It’s a good day and gives us something to build on going to Bristol.”

    Driver and team owner summed up the surprisingly poor overall team performance with three words, “Something wasn’t right.” In fact, Stewart asked that his car at least not be touched after the race so it could return to North Carolina for diagnosis of its troubles.

    Not Surprising:  With a sense of urgency, given his wife was due with their first child at any minute, Paul Menard drove right up to the third spot in his No. 27 Quaker State/Menards Chevrolet. And not surprisingly given his record there, this ended up as Menard’s third top-10 finish in eight races in SinCity.

    “It’s big for sure,” Menard said. “This Quaker State/Menards Chevy was hauling ass on long runs. Had a lot of those today and it kind of played in our favor.”

    “And now I want to get home as soon as possible.”

    Surprising:  For the first time back on the race track since announcing his departure from full-time racing and his soon-to-be broadcast career and for his first time behind the wheel of a Toyota Camry, Jeff Burton had a surprisingly good run.

    In fact, the driver of the No. 66 Let’s Go Places Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing brought it home top-20, finishing in the 17th spot.

    “That was a lot of fun,” Burton said. “That was a good day for the No. 66 guys.  Chad (Walter, crew chief) and the guys were a pleasure to work with this weekend.”

    Not Surprising:  While Carl Edwards was pleased with his top-5 finish in his No. 99 Aflac Ford, he could not help but mourn the passing of William Clay Ford, Sr., the grandson of Henry Ford.

    “We’re all thinking of the Ford family,” Edwards said. “For Brad in a Ford to win both of those races (Nationwide and Cup), I think it says a lot.”

    NASCAR echoed Edwards’ sentiments with Brian France, NASCAR Chairman and CEO, issuing these words, “He will be remembered as a man of style, for both the automobiles he built and the life he led. He was a giant….who forever will be missed.”

    Surprising:  With the new Chase system focusing on race wins, it was surprising to hear at least one driver talk about a good points day after the Kobalt 400.

    “It was a good effort for the team and it was a good points day,” Ryan Newman said after finishing seventh in his No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet. “If we keep running like that, we’ll put it in the top five and if we do that we’ll win.”

    Not Surprising:   That Austin Dillon is just good so it was not surprising that he not only had a good finish in 16th, the highest finishing rookie, but as a result, he now sits as the highest rookie in the point standings. In fact, Austin Dillon is 13th in the point standings, ahead of the likes of Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, Clint Bowyer, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch.

    Surprising:  While Kyle Busch is usually a favorite with the kids due to the M&Ms candy on his car, he felt more like a kid’s toy, in this case a yoyo, after a grueling day in his home town.

    “We had a really up and down day with our M&M’s Peanut Camry,” Busch said. “We started off getting blocked in the pits and had to come from the back.”

    “The car was too loose on the first run and we tightened it up and it was really fast for a while,” Busch continued. “But, we kept adjusting on it to try and help the tight in the center of the corner and it was just getting looser and looser, especially on the last run.  Just disappointing when we looked like we had a good car earlier in the race.”

    Not Surprising:  With three top-ten finishes to his name, Jeff Gordon is one happy camper so far this season. And to finish top-ten at Las Vegas, admittedly one of his struggles tracks, he was almost giddy.

    “I knew today was going to be one of the most challenging races that we were going to have, possibly all year long,” Gordon said. “And so, I feel like this team did an incredible job. I think we were much better than ninth, but at the same time, this I think is one of my worst tracks right now.”

    “We’re off to a fantastic start. We’re very motivated by that. We’re excited.”

     

  • The Final Word – Earnhardt and Keselowski rule Cup, Cup guys rule Nationwide and SHR is run out of Vegas

    The Final Word – Earnhardt and Keselowski rule Cup, Cup guys rule Nationwide and SHR is run out of Vegas

    Three races in, and the story of the 2014 Cup season is the success of Dale Earnhardt Jr. He wins at Daytona, finishes second in Phoenix, and a hiccup in his fuel pick up was all that kept him from victory at Las Vegas. That and Brad Keselowski. Still, take a gamble, have it turn sour, and still come home second is not all that bad.

    As for Brad, he joins Junior and Kevin Harvick atop the standings with a win apiece. He was in the front row when it started, again, and saw his season output now read as an almost as sizzling third, to third, to first. It would almost seem that this season’s early winners are also the most charmed, or simply the best out there. Almost.

    That brings up to Kevin Harvick. His Phoenix victory came off a 13th place result at Daytona, which led into a 41st place conclusion in Las Vegas. Talk about rolling craps, and I’m not even referring to the dice game. Among the Stewart-Haas quartet, Harvick was the lone bright spot, even led for 23 laps. Then he broke his left front wheel hub and that made driving just a bit difficult. It is much easier when all the wheels on the car go round and round, and one did not really want to.

    You know your operation had a bad day when Danica Patrick, at 21st, was your best finisher. SHR saw Kurt Busch come home 26th three laps down. As for Tony Stewart, he was four off and 33rd. Even Patrick had a better car than these two right out of the gate. Hell, you probably have a better contender sitting in your driveway right now.

    Life has been good for both Hendrick and Penske. While Keselowski was winning, team mate Joey Logano was fourth, just as he was last week, to go with an 11th at Daytona. Junior’s trophied mates also have been hot to start. Jimmie Johnson matched his Phoenix finish by finishing sixth, to go with Daytona’s fifth place result. Jeff Gordon went from fourth, to fifth, to “slumping” to ninth at Las Vegas. Still, it is early and there are others in the neighborhood who hope to raise some arguments of their own as they head to Bristol.

    Regan Smith continues to lead the Nationwide ladder. After winning at Daytona, he has come up with Top Tens the past two events. That is good. That makes him relevant. That should give him TV time. So, does anyone give a damn that the past two events have been won by Cup drivers Kyle Busch and Keselowski? I mean, I give his crew credit for getting his car back in contention on Sunday, but it is hard to be impressed when a former Cup champion kicks ass against an under-funded, less experienced field. Cup drivers took five of the six top spots. Only Keselowski deserved any face time, and I am not even sure about that.

    If they wanted to talk to the relevant guys who took part on Saturday, you can give Keselowski a moment to celebrate his win, then move on to the fifth place Chase Elliott, Brian Scott in seventh, Trevor Bayne in eighth, and the over-all leader in Smith. You know, those who are actually running for a championship, those who are trying to work their way up, not just slumming to make the track owners and some sponsors happy.

    Those who matter would include…

     

    Driver

    Races

    Win

    T5

    T10

    Points

    Diff

    1

      Regan Smith

    3

    1

    1

    3

    117

     —

    2

      Trevor Bayne

    3

    0

    1

    3

    114

    -3

    3

      Elliott Sadler

    3

    0

    1

    2

    108

    -9

    4

      Ty Dillon

    3

    0

    0

    2

    105

    -12

    5

      Chase Elliott

    3

    0

    1

    2

    103

    -14

    In short, let the Cup guys run but if they do not win, they do not matter. Put the focus on those in Nationwide who do. Just a thought.

    Bristol is next up on the calendar for this weekend. Two springs ago Elliott Sadler won the Nationwide race there. Joey Logano won it that fall. Kyle Busch has won five of the past seven, including season sweeps in 2011 and last season. Whoop-de-bloody-do.

    Kyle has won four of the past ten Cup races there, as well, though none of the past five. Matt Kenseth hopes to repeat from the fall, Kasey Kahne from last spring, Denny Hamlin from before that, and Keselowski had back-to-backs before being shut out these past three. Usually the winner at Bristol is someone who matters, someone with title thoughts on his mind. More than likely, he will come from our sweet 16…

     

    Driver

    Races

    Win

    T5

    T10

    Points

    Diff

    1

      Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

    3

    1

    3

    3

    133

    — 

    2

      Brad Keselowski

    3

    1

    3

    3

    132

    -1

    3

      Kevin Harvick

    3

    1

    1

    1

    83

    -50

    4

      Jimmie Johnson

    3

    0

    1

    3

    117

    -16

    5

      Joey Logano

    3

    0

    2

    2

    116

    -17

    6

      Jeff Gordon

    3

    0

    2

    3

    115

    -18

    7

      Matt Kenseth

    3

    0

    0

    2

    105

    -28

    8

      Carl Edwards

    3

    0

    1

    2

    105

    -28

    9

      Denny Hamlin

    3

    0

    1

    1

    101

    -32

    10

      Ryan Newman

    3

    0

    0

    2

    97

    -36

    11

      Kyle Busch

    3

    0

    0

    1

    95

    -38

    12

      Jamie McMurray

    3

    0

    0

    1

    93

    -40

    13

      Greg Biffle

    3

    0

    0

    1

    86

    -47

    13

      Austin Dillon

    3

    0

    0

    1

    84

    -49

    15

      Kasey Kahne

    3

    0

    0

    1

    83

    -50

    16

      Casey Mears

    3

    0

    0

    1

    80

    -53
  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Phoenix

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Phoenix

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt finished second at Phoenix and maintained the Sprint Cup points lead. He leads Brad Keselowski by six.

    “It easily could have been my second win this year,” Earnhardt said. “And two consecutive wins would have sent Junior Nation into a frenzy, which is another word for ‘alcohol-induced coma.’

    “But I’m really pleased with our start to the season. This could be the year that I finally fulfill my destiny and win the Sprint Cup championship. I’m hoping fate can lead me there, because no one else has been able to.”

    2. Kevin Harvick: Harvick led 224 of 312 laps in winning the Profit For CNBC 500 at Phoenix, his second consecutive spring win in the desert. Harvick kept his challengers at bay on a number of restarts in the final 50 laps.

    “It was great to celebrate in Victory Lane with Miss Sprint Cup,” Harvick said. “Richard Childress is not a woman, but you can call him ‘Misses Kevin Harvick’ anyway.

    “And speaking of the ‘misses,’ I celebrated my 13th wedding anniversary. After 13 years, my wife DeLana has assured me that she has no intentions of replacing me with Austin Dillon.”

    3. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski won the pole and finished third, leading a strong Penske Racing at Phoenix. Teammate Joey Logano started alongside Keselowski and came home fourth.

    “I won the pole in NASCAR’s first knockout qualifying session,” Keselowski said. “In my book, that’s called a ‘BKO.’

    “And congratulations to my crew chief Paul Wolfe. He missed the race to be by his wife’s side for the birth of their first son. I’ve already bought little Caden a gift. It’s a Kyle Busch driver’s suit he can wear on Halloween. That way, he’ll be a ‘Wolfe in sheep’s clothing.’”

    4. Jeff Gordon: Gordon finished fifth in the Profit For CNBC 500 as Hendrick Motorsports again placed three driver in the top 10, duplicating their feat from Daytona. Gordon is fourth in the point standings, ten behind Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

    “Most importantly,” Gordon said, “I finished eight spots ahead of Clint Bowyer. That was weird, because I always feel like Clint is only two steps behind me.”

    5. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson posted his second top-10 result with a sixth at Phoenix, following a fifth at Daytona. The six-time Sprint Cup champ is fifth in the points standings, 12 behind Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

    “Have you heard?” Johnson said. “Texas Speedway president Eddie Gossage is upset that Formula 1 has a race scheduled in Austin on the same day in November that NASCAR is in Fort Worth. I’m not sure what Eddie stands to gain. Of course, it’s not the first time NASCAR has been accused of ‘running in circles’ where Formula 1 is concerned.”

    6. Joey Logano: Logano finished fourth at in The Profit On CNBC 500, joining Penske teammate Brad Keselowski, in third, in the top 5. Logano is sixth in the points standings, 15 out of first.

    “In case you didn’t know,” Logano said, “’The Profit’ is a show on CNBC. It’s only slightly more informative than Michael Waltrip’s pre-race walk through the pit lane on Fox. But you’ve got to commend Michael. He’s not afraid to ask to tough questions. Heck, he asked if he could kiss 50 Cent at Daytona. And I don’t even think it was a rhetorical question.”

    7. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished seventh in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Home Depot car, posting his first top 10 of the season. He is seventh in the Sprint Cup points standings, 20 out of first.

    “That car was made famous by Tony Stewart,” Kenseth said. “What else has been made famous by Tony Stewart? This Danica Patrick-Richard Petty feud. One would think that after starting his own race team, Tony would learn to mind his own business.

    “Personally, I would love to see Patrick and Petty in a race. It could be huge. All that’s needed is a pay-per-view audience, Stewart to continue his role as hype man, and a catchy slogan, like ‘The King And Eye (Candy),’ or ‘Age Before Beauty?,’ ‘Is This Really Necessary?’”

    8. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin followed up his second-place run at Daytona with a disappointing 19th at Phoenix. Hamlin pitted during a late caution while most of the leaders stayed out, costing him track position which he could not recover.

    “The No. 11 FedEx Toyota dealt with handling issues all day long,” Hamlin said. “I can’t tell you how many pit stops we made. Luckily, with the race being in Arizona, I wasn’t denied service based on my sexuality.”

    9. Carl Edwards: Edwards led the Roush Fenway Racing contingent at Phoenix, scoring an eighth-place finish in the Profit For CNBC 500. He is ninth in the points standings, 25 out of first.

    “What a performance by Kevin Harvick,” Edwards said. “He was so much better than everyone else, especially on restarts. Just ask Richard Childress—when Kevin says ‘goodbye,’ he means it.”

    10. Ryan Newman: Newman posted a seventh at Phoenix, leading the way for Richard Childress Racing as former RCR driver Kevin Harvick won easily.

    “I’m driving the No. 31 car formerly piloted by Jeff Burton,” Newman said. “But I’m not your typical RCR driver. Two things to remember: I’m not Richard Childress’ grandson, and Wadd Button is not my brother.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: The Profit on CNBC 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: The Profit on CNBC 500

    With the first knock out qualifying of the season and special guests like AJ Foyt celebrating the 50th anniversary of Phoenix International Speedway, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from The Profit on CNBC 500 presented by Small Business Fueling America.

    Surprising:  While Kevin Harvick may be known as the ‘Closer’ and ‘Freaky Fast’, he can now add a surprising new moniker, that of ‘Leader’.

    Harvick led more than 200 laps for the fourth time in the Cup Series, as well as leading a race-high 224 laps.

    The driver of the No. 4 Jimmy Johns Chevrolet also took the lead from six-time champ Jimmie Johnson as the winningest driver at Phoenix International Raceway with five victories.

    Finally, Harvick became the leader of the pack at Stewart-Haas Racing, grabbing the team’s first win, as well as his first win with his new team.

    “This just solidifies so many things and so many decisions,” Harvick said after the race. “What a race car.”

    Not Surprising:  With PIR being a one-miler, it was not surprising that there was at least one short-track temper tantrum. And this time, that honor went to Danica Patrick, who was more than annoyed with Justin Allgaier.

    “That damn 51 was driving like a complete jack**s out there,” Patrick said. “I’m not at all surprised we wrecked.”

    Patrick went on to spin out again as a result of the damage inflicted in the incident with Allgaier’s car, finishing 36th.  Since she also crashed out in the Daytona 500, she now sits 41st in owner points for the 2014 season, potentially endangering her chances in making races if she continues on that path.

    Surprising:  In spite of significant and integral parts of their team missing, with Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s spotter TJ Majors out for medical reasons and Brad Keselowski’s crew chief Paul Wolfe out for the birth of his child, both drivers did their missing compadres proud.

    Dale Junior finished second in his No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet and Brad Keselowski finished right behind him in third in his No. 2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford. This was Earnhardt Jr.’s 11th top-10 finish and Keselowski’s fourth top-10 finish at Phoenix International Raceway.

    “Yeah we had a great car,” Junior said. “We leaned on our teammates and got the car a lot better.  Steve (Letarte) and those guys just keep getting better and better.  These cars I’m driving I think are the best in the garage.”

    “That was everything we could do to get up there and get third,’ Keselowski said. “We did the best we could and that was really all we had.”

    Both drivers texted and tweeted their respective missing team members before and after the race, keeping them as connected as possible, as well as celebrating their good finishes together.

    Not Surprising:  With Team Penske being stout in qualifying it was no surprise that Joey Logano also had a good finish in his No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, taking the checkered flag in the fourth spot. In addition, Logano also had the quote of the race day.

    “It was fun out there,” Logano said. “I had a really good Shell Pennzoil Ford but that 4 car was just so fast.”

    “I was joking on the radio that on the back bumper of that car it says freaky fast and they weren’t lying when they put that on there.”

    Surprising:  Kasey Kahne, who had surprisingly been the lone Hendrick Motorsports struggler, fought off an ill handling car to catch up to his teammates, finishing 11th.

    “The guys battled hard today,” Kahne tweeted after the race. “11th was good for us after all that. On to Vegas!”

    HMS drivers Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson also had good runs, finishing fifth and sixth respectively.

    Not Surprising:  Phoenix International Raceway, which requires some finesse and experience, was not quite so kind to the rookies in the field. In fact, the highest finishing rookie was Kyle Larson in the 20th position.

    Austin Dillon finished 24th; Cole Whitt 27th; Justin Allgaier 30th; Michael Annett 34th; Ryan Truex 35th; Alex Bowman 41st and Parker Kligerman 42nd.

    Surprising:  Casey Mears, behind the wheel of the No. 13 Geico Chevrolet had another surprisingly good run finishing top-15. Mears had a great run in the Daytona 500, taking the checkered flag in the tenth spot.

    So, after leaving Phoenix, albeit only the second race of the season, Mears now sits 11th in the point standings, having one of his best starts to the year.

    Not Surprising:   Kurt Busch, who had been a student at the University of Arizona, returned to the state to learn one tough lesson at PIR, blowing an engine to finish 39th in the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet.

    “That was another disappointing finish for the No. 41 team,” Busch said. “We had a good Haas Automation Chevrolet early on and ran in the top-10 for more than 200 laps but we dropped a cylinder late in the race and couldn’t do anything to fix it.”

    “We learned some things today,” Busch continued. “The school of hard knocks happens out on the road and in life.”

    Surprising:  While Kurt Busch was fighting his own engine demons, Brian Vickers was facing some surprising challenges of his own, turning his No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota into a nightmare.

    “The second run we were trying to make an adjustment and the left rear jack screw broke so we didn’t get our adjustment,” Vickers said. “I think we even went the wrong way and that killed us — we lost track position and went a lap down.”

    Vickers soldiered on to finish the race in the 25th position.

    Not Surprising:  Ryan Newman served as leader of the Richard Childress Racing team, finishing seventh in his No. 31 Quicken Loans Chevrolet.

    “The guys did a good job in the pits,” Newman said. “We caught a good break with the debris caution but that happens. I’m sure we’ll get the opposite at some point this year, too.”

    The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Kobalt 400 on Sunday, March 9th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The race starts at 3 p.m. EDT, with live coverage provided by FOX beginning with its prerace show at 2 p.m.

  • The Final Word – Harvick wins at Phoenix, Junior remains hot, but as for Danica…

    The Final Word – Harvick wins at Phoenix, Junior remains hot, but as for Danica…

    Daytona was great. Phoenix was not bad, once you got used to the differences. One week we had a 2.5-mile superspeedway, the next we got was a single mile circuit. It rained in Florida, yet despite the forecast the only rain came to prematurely end the Nationwide race on Saturday. They ran in big packs in the southeast, not so much in the southwest. Rather than the huge grandstands, the feature of the PIR was Lonely Mountain and its band of hobbits just beyond the track. There was one similarity of note, however.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr did run out front all day, just like at Daytona. He was almost the most dominant car on the day. Almost. The only difference was that Kevin Harvick remained ahead of him. All day. In the end, he had the horses to record his first victory as part of the Stewart-Haas team and an all but certain berth in the Chase, barring injury or alien abduction. Happy’s fender stated that it was Freaky Fast, and that was no lie.

    If this was a wedding party, we had the happy couple at the alter, and the best men just behind them. Team mates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano started on the front row and never seemed to fade beyond the top four. You need ushers, and Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon were visible for the first half of the race, disappearing for much of the second half before returning at the end to round out the top half dozen. No one else really mattered from start to finish on Sunday in what was a great day for Hendrick, Penske, and Stewart-Haas.

    The Hendrick weak sister was not all that delicate, with Kasey Kahne 11th.  Not everyone at SHR was as stout. Tony Stewart was 16th, Danica Patrick 36th, and Kurt Busch 39th. Busch ran out the string with an ailing auto until it finally blew up with 20 laps left.

    As for Patrick, she has still yet to show she can race, as the new qualifying rules left her starting closer to the rear. While a Top 20 might be a victory for her, she never got a chance to even get that far. Already a lap down, in 25th, she tangled with Justin Allgaier, which left her rear left quarter-panel buckled in. While the broadcast crew saw the tire rub, her crew did not, so they were probably the only folks surprised when the tire finally blew.

    With wins pretty much equaling a Chase challenge, the only folks of note in trouble early are Patrick and Martin Truex Jr, both outside the top thirty in the standings. Truex was 22nd last Sunday after finishing dead last at Daytona, with Patrick still unable to crack the top 35 on race day. Still, it is early and you would think any fully funded driver surely would have to be able to crack the Top 30. Right?

    So, off we go via FOX to Las Vegas this Sunday for a 400 miler on a 1.5-mile layout.  Johnson has four wins there, while Gordon was best once back during his last championship season.  Matt Kenseth has three, including the one last year. Carl Edwards has a pair, with Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch each with one.

    Talking about Busch, does anyone give a damn that he won his all-time series best 64th Nationwide race in Phoenix on Saturday?  NASCAR sees what we see, they are concerned that the big leaguers stomp all over the up and comers, but are not sure exactly what to do about it just yet. The tracks want the stars to bring out the fans, the team owners want them as they bring in sponsorship dollars, but they are for sure killing this series.

    Regan Smith won at Daytona, but series regulars have just three of ten Top Five finishes, and 11 of a possible twenty Top Tens.  What I wonder about is why bother wasting my time gushing over Kyle kicking minor league ass, when the most relevant finishers at Phoenix were Elliott Sadler (6th), Trevor Bayne (7th), and Smith (8th)?  You know, the top three in the Nationwide standings, the boys who are truly relevant.  I think the problem is not that the Cup drivers are allowed to race, but that the media focuses in on those who do not matter at the expense of those who do.

    Winning is good, but at least one needs to strive to be relevant. Win a Cup race, stay in the Top 30, and one becomes relevant. Go winless, and one better be in the Top 16 in points to stay relevant. With a career average finish of 27.0, I think I can already identify one who is not. I believe Richard Petty might even agree with me.

    Here are the sweet 16 as we head to Las Vegas.

     

    Pos. Drivers Wins Points
    1   Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 1 90
    2   Kevin Harvick 1 79
    3   Brad Keselowski 0 84
    4   Jeff Gordon 0 80
    5   Jimmie Johnson 0 78
    6   Joey Logano 0 75
    7   Matt Kenseth 0 70
    8   Denny Hamlin 0 68
    9   Carl Edwards 0 65
    10   Jamie McMurray 0 64
    11   Greg Biffle 0 64
    12   Casey Mears 0 64
    13   Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. 0 63
    14   Kyle Busch 0 61
    15   Ryan Newman 0 60
    16   Austin Dillon 0 56

     

  • Kevin Harvick Destroys Field for Phoenix Victory

    Kevin Harvick Destroys Field for Phoenix Victory

    Kevin Harvick, though, known as, “The Closer,” for the past couple of seasons, Harvick did it all on Sunday, leading 224 of the 312 laps, as he went on to easily cruise to victory at The Profit for CNBC 500, Presented by Small Business Fueling America.

    Over the offseason, after driving for Richard Childress Racing for 13 years, Kevin Harvick switched to Stewart-Haas Racing. In just his second start with his new team, Harvick has already found his way to victory lane. Harvick’s victory was his 24th in 468 career starts in NASCAR’s elite series. Harvick’s win was his fifth at PIR, leading all drivers.

    “Enthusiasm is contagious at SHR. You are only as good as the people around you,” Harvick said. “It is quite an honor to be apart of that.”

    When asked about the advantages of being a part of SHR, compared to RCR, Harvick mentioned Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, and Danica Patrick. Stewart is a three-time series champion, Kurt Busch won the championship in 2004, and Danica Patrick is a driver that wants to get better. “It’s a hard sport. It’s really hard to win. Celebrate every win like it is your last because you never know when it is going to be your last one.”

    Dale Earnhardt Jr., last weeks Daytona 500 champion, finished second, with Brad Keselowski coming home third. “Got to congratulate Kevin. Those guys were two-tenths faster than everyone during practice. That was just phenomenal,” Earnhardt Jr. said. Before the final caution, Earnhardt Jr., had run his fastest lap of the race. However, Jr., could not make any ground on Harvick on the following restart. “We just didn’t have enough laps,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “We needed about ten laps and we did not have ten laps.”

    Brad Keselowski, who swept the poles for the weekend, was third, leading 4 laps. At the tweet up before the race, Keselowski said, “The cars are easier than ever to drive solo, but harder than ever in traffic.” Keselowski led four laps and praised Kevin Harvick on a dominating win.

    Joey Logano finished fourth, following his Team Penske teammate, Keselowski, after a solid weekend in the desert.

    Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon finished fifth and sixth, as Ryan Newman, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, and Jamie McMurray completing the top 10.

  • Preview and Predictions: The Profit on CNBC 500

    Preview and Predictions: The Profit on CNBC 500

    I kept trying to pry my jaw off the floor this entire week after Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won the Daytona 500, but I decided it was going to remain there for quite some time. Although I really shouldn’t be as surprised as I am, since the Hendrick driver has finished second in 2010, 2012, and 2013. It was bound to happen soon.

    Now the series moves on to what many fans consider to be the real start of the season: The Profit on CNBC 500 at Phoenix International Raceway (PIR). This track will play host to a couple firsts in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. It will be the first race that uses the new aero package for 2014, and it will be the first race that uses the new knockout qualifying format. We did see a teaser of what the new format might look like during Nationwide Series qualifying at Daytona, and it looked much more exciting than single car runs. As for the new aero package, I will be looking for an increase in side by side racing and passing in order to judge the success of the new package.

    While the Sprint Cup Series is extremely competitive and winning is never guaranteed, there are still a few drivers who I believe have an advantage over the competition. First off, we have the 6-time champion Jimmie Johnson. Over the past 10 races at PIR, Johnson has scored the most points there, and has tallied one win, eight top-5 finishes, and an average finish of 7.1. Look for Johnson to run up front and most likely end up in victory circle.

    Another driver that has shown strength at PIR is Kevin Harvick. The man they call Happy has posted two victories in the past four races at Phoenix, along with finishing 5th or better in four of the past ten races there. The question of whether or not Harvick will be just as competitive with Stewart-Haas Racing remains to be answered, but I suspect he will find himself somewhere towards the top of the leaderboard in the closing stages. But in order to get there, he’ll have to fight off a Joe Gibbs Racing driver named Denny Hamlin.

    Denny Hamlin won this race in 2012, and that happens to be his only win at Phoenix, but don’t let that fool you. His average finish of 10.9 is second only to Jimmie Johnson, and he has posted a very solid eight top-5s in 17 starts at PIR. Couple that with the fact that Hamlin seems to be back with a vengeance in 2014 and he may even beat Johnson on Sunday.

     

    While some familiar faces will probably run up front all day, I’m more curious as to how the new car will race. If I see an increase in close racing and passing, the new aero package will surely receive a thumbs up from me. Let’s just hope all of that testing at Charlotte paid off.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: The Daytona 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: The Daytona 500

    In spite of the unusual happenings that perpetually occur at Daytona, this year a six hour plus rain delay with tornado warnings, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 56th running of the Great American Race.

    Surprising:  With so much focus pre-race on the return of the No. 3, formerly driven by Dale Earnhardt Sr. and now by rookie Austin Dillon, the son of the Intimidator and NASCAR’s most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. instead stole the show with his second Daytona 500 victory.

    This was Junior’s 20th victory in the Cup Series and, with the win, he joined Bill Elliott, Michael Waltrip, Sterling Marlin, Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson as two-time Daytona 500 winners.

    “I’ll never take this for granted,” Junior said. “We’re two time Daytona champions.”

    In addition to the coveted win at Daytona, Earnhardt Jr. had a big weekend overall. The team bearing his name, JR Motorsports, won the Nationwide Drive4COPD 300 race with driver Regan Smith at the wheel.

    Not Surprising:  In spite of several on-track incidents, the driver of the aforementioned No. 3 for Richard Childress Racing, did quite well for himself, starting from the pole and finishing ninth.

    Austin Dillon was also the highest finishing rookie of the race, taking the early lead in a Sunoco Rookie of the year battle.

    “That’s what this year is about — experience, trying to finish races and getting better each week,” Dillon said, “We have a long year ahead of us, I’d like to use some of this momentum going forward. I know it’s going to be a long, tough year, and hopefully we’ll be there at the end of these races and try to learn something.”

    Surprising:  Goodyear had a little scare early in the race when both Kyle Larson and Greg Biffle had tire problems, causing hard hits into the wall for the rookie and veteran racers.

    Larson, in the No. 42 race car formerly driven by Juan Pablo Montoya, actually hit the wall twice in the opening laps, going a lap down and soldiering on to finish 38th.

    In spite of his blown tire early in the race, Biffle had a much better finish than Larson, taking the checkered flag in the eighth spot in his No. 16 3M Ford.

    “It was a good night,” Biffle said. “We had a really strong car but the 88 was real fast. We just couldn’t hold him off.”

    Not Surprising:  With the combo platter of the rain delay, potential for additional weather coming in, and the pent up energy of the first race of the season, it was not surprising that there were a number of pit road incidents that created some major mayhem for several drivers.

    Early in the race, Matt Kenseth had contact on pit road and ended up spinning to pit backwards in his box. Both Kyle Busch and Aric Almirola removed equipment out of their pit boxes and had to serve costly penalties.

    And then there was one of the more controversial calls, with Kasey Kahne called for speeding, all of which he did in an effort not to get hit by Michael Annett who had lost control of his vehicle coming to his pit.

    Surprising:  After dominating most everything during Speedweeks, from the Sprint Unlimited to the second Duel race, it was a bit surprising that Denny Hamlin did not claim the big prize. He did, however, come home in the runner up position in his No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, which was his best finish ever in the Daytona 500.

    “I thought — the Duels and the Unlimited — I felt like our car didn’t have quite the speed,” Hamlin said. “It was a solid run for us and really it was a fun race.”

    Not Surprising:  Given the manufacturer change to Chevrolet and a new alliance with Richard Childress Racing, it was not surprising that Casey Mears and his GEICO No. 13 team had a great run in the Great American Race.

    In fact, team GEICO finished in the top-10, getting their driver and crew chief Bootie Barker off to a great start for the season.

    Surprising:  The Labonte brothers, Bobby and Terry, not only made the race but had surprisingly good finishes, 15th and 20th respectively.

    Brother Bobby extended his consecutive start street for the Great American Race to 22 while elder brother Terry most likely ran his last Daytona 500 competition.

    Not Surprising:   Because it was after all Daytona, there were several big crashes, collecting many good drivers, to no one’s surprise. One of those hard hits, however, impacted the only female in the field Danica Patrick.

    “I think more than anything I am just upset because the GoDaddy car felt really good and it was the best car that I had all Speedweeks,” Patrick said. “I felt like everything was going pretty well, so it’s just upsetting.”

    “It’s a bummer, but you know that is the excitement of speedway racing that anything can happen, and it was unfortunate that I was on the short end of the accident.”

    Surprising:  With a more than six hour rain delay, some of NASCAR’s finest were up to some surprising activities to pass the time away. In fact, several of the racer dads were busy with their children, from Jeff Gordon making Lego creations to Keelan Harvick suiting up in his dad Kevin’s fire suit.

    Probably most novel, however, was David Ragan, still clad in his own fire suit, who went out to pick up pizza for his team during the break.

    Not Surprising:  While Junior reigned triumphant in Victory Lane, just like in the Olympics, there was some agony of defeat in this year’s running for the Great American Race.

    Most agonizing were those drivers impacted by engine or fuel pick up woes, including Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex, Jr. and Tony Stewart.

    “If it was going to blow up, I wish it would have blown up four hours ago,” Clint Bowyer said. “I could have been home watching.  Just disappointing — the guys work so hard for this race.  Everybody is out there having fun and we broke our toy.”

    “It’s definitely a tough break for our team,” Martin Truex Jr. said. “I went to bed thinking this was my best chance to win the Daytona 500.”

    The Cup Series moves on next to Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona for The Profit on CNBC 500 on March 2nd.

     

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Sprint Unlimited

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Sprint Unlimited

    After an off-season filled with snow, as well as major changes in the rules of the sport, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 2014 Sprint Unlimited.

    Surprising:  After twenty Sprint Unlimited victories for Chevrolet, it was surprising that Toyota was in Victory Lane instead. Denny Hamlin won the non-points race, scoring his second win in the Sprint Unlimited at Daytona and becoming the ninth driver to win multiple times.

    “The best car won, that’s for sure,” Hamlin said. “It was survival of the fittest.”

    “This car was just phenomenal.”

    Not Surprising:  Daytona International Speedway, especially under a full moon, seems to lend itself to something catching on fire. This time, however, it was the pace car that burst into flames, causing Brett Bodine and a passenger to bail out as quickly as they could.

    “The pace car experienced a fire in the trunk area, which contains a purpose-built auxiliary electrical kit to operate the numerous caution lights during the race,” Chevrolet said in a statement. “The pace car driver and passenger safely exited the vehicle. An assessment is underway.”

    Surprising:  While Jeff Gordon may have been jacked up with excitement thanks to his record of 20 consecutive Sprint Unlimited appearances, he was also jacked up, literally, in the race.

    The back end of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger was sent high in the air during a multi-car crash on lap 36, causing Gordon to have to settle for a 12th place finish.

    “Yeah when you get hit like that it’s pretty soft,” Gordon said. “I mean it sends you up in the air pretty good, but it’s not really that severe of an impact for me because the back of the car absorbs so much of it.”

    “I knew it was flying up in the air and I was just hoping it was going to sit back down on all four wheels,” Gordon continued. “The funny thing is that we slid in there and I was into Tony (Stewart) and I thought well I will try to drive it back.”

    “I put it in reverse I didn’t realize my rear tires were off the ground.”

    Not Surprising:  It may have been a small field, with just 18 cars on the track, but that did not stop tempers from flaring. Just ask Dale Earnhardt, Jr. who was none too happy with the driver from down under.

    “It looks like I was trying to get down a little bit there, and Marcos (Ambrose) went to the outside,” Junior said. “I didn’t know he was out there. Hard racing, and I was upset with him.”

    “A lot was happening right there and we just got turned around.”

    Surprising:  There was no one more surprised with the incident with Earnhardt, Jr. as Marcos Ambrose, especially since in his mind, he was just trying to help.

    “I was trying to help Junior there and ended up hurting him and hurting myself,” the driver of the No. 9 Stanley Ford said. “I was trying to push him and there was a little bit of a zig and a little bit of a zag and the next thing you know I helped him in the fence.”

    “That’s just what happens here.”

    Not Surprising:   While Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. remain romantically involved off the track, they certainly created sparks on the track when Stenhouse rammed Patrick after she got away clean from one of the Sprint Unlimited’s bigger wrecks.

    Not surprisingly, however, all was forgiven thanks to some dark chocolate from Godiva.

    “Well he got me 18 tin cans of Godiva dark chocolate for Valentine’s Day so I don’t know if he’s trying to butter me up,” Patrick said. “If his hood wouldn’t have been up and had the inability to see obviously there would have been more frustration.  It was one of those racing things.”

    Surprising:  Jimmie Johnson continued his streak of surprisingly poor finishes in the Sprint Unlimited, finishing 14th in the past two years and 18th this year.

    “The back of the car got light off of turn four there,” Johnson said. “The car went into a drift and for a second there I thought I could keep it off the inside wall, but the longer I slid the more the wall became a reality and I got it.”

    Not Surprising:  Kevin Harvick proved yet again that he is nicknamed ‘the Closer’ for good reason. In fact, the driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet was the only Stewart Haas Racing driver to finish the race, let alone finish in the top-five.

    “For us, we had a really good car,” Harvick said. “Led several laps in the beginning. Then on that restart we couldn’t get organized and wound up getting shuffled to the back.”

    “We about got lapped,” Harvick continued. “We kept working on it and working on it and the next thing you know, it was at least drivable and you could hold it wide open again.”

    “Heck at one point coming to the white flag, I thought we were going to win the race,” Harvick said. “To come out of here with a fifth place finish and do all the things they did to the car to make it go was pretty awesome.”

    Surprising:  There was no one more surprised than Kyle Busch with the sparse number of cars racing at the end of this year’s Sprint Unlimited.

    “There’s so little cars out there that you’re just kind of on your own trying to figure things out,” the driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota said after finishing third. “That’s kind of the way the race played out tonight.”

    “It was interesting there at the end and I don’t know that we’ve ever had so few cars at the end.”

    Not Surprising:  Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford for Team Penske, was no doubt humming Carol King’s song ‘So Far Away’ as he finished fourth.

    “I’m trying to relive it all in my head right now.  It’s crazy,” Logano said. “It’s just so frustrating when you’re that close. It’s so close and you can see it, but it’s so frustrating because you’re going as fast as you can and that’s all you’ve got.”

    “These things don’t mean anything unless you win.”

     

  • NASCAR 2014 Season Predictions

    NASCAR 2014 Season Predictions

    *Kyle Busch leads 54 laps and passes Ryan Newman on the final lap to win the Daytona 500, his first Sprint Cup win at the season opener. In a post-race interview with Erin Andrews, Busch announces that he and his wife Samantha are pregnant with their first child. Busch beams to Andrews that “I’m sure I’ll be a good father, because I know what it’s like to be a baby.”

    Busch finishes second in the Sprint Cup point standings, winning five races, and caps his year with a win at Homestead and his first Sprint Cup championship.

    *Tony Stewart vows to win his third Sprint Cup championship in 2014, and fans and other drivers notice his new attitude. Former teammate Ryan Newman quips in an interview at Daytona that Stewart seems to be “walking with a purpose, as well as a limp.”

    Stewart wins at Watkins Glen and qualifies for the Chase, but finishes a disappointing seventh in the final standings.

    *Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s No. 88 car gets a new sponsor just in time for the Daytona 500 when an online funeral planning service signs on for 12 races. The service, known as “Final-E” sees a boom in business after their logo appears on Earnhardt’s Chevy.

    Earnhardt finishes second in the Daytona 500, and wins at Daytona in July on his way to a fourth place finish in the Sprint Cup points standings.

    *Kevin Harvick coins the name “Two Men And A Babe, And Kurt Busch” to describe the Stewart-Haas Racing stable of Stewart, Harvick, Kurt Busch, and Danica Patrick after a heated drivers’ meeting following wreck at Fontana initiated by aggressive driving from Busch.

    Harvick, aided by new buddy Stewart, exacts his revenge the following week at Martinsville, where the two craft an elaborate hoax in which a phony façade of Busch’s hauler placed in front of a Port-A-Potty lures Busch into a trap. Once inside, Busch is fork-lifted to an outer parking lot, and is forced to walk back and misses qualifying.

    *E! Network and ABC collaborate on a new reality show called “Keeping Up With The Chase Format: Extreme Makeover: NASCAR Edition.” In the show, host Brad Daugherty roams around NASCAR events asking fans if they understand not only the Chase For The Cup format, but Daugherty’s hayseed, mountain drawl.

    *Richard Childress Racing rookie Austin Dillon bulls his way to the win in a wreck-filled race at Bristol on March 16, as only 22 cars are running at the end. In Victory Lane, Dillon salutes his detractors with a middle finger, then pops the top on a beer before shouting “Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!”

    The outburst makes Dillon a sensation, but also saddles the driver of the Childress No. 3 Chevy with the nickname “The Imitator.”

    *In an interview promoting a partnership between the No. 48 team and Caesar’s Palace before the March race in Las Vegas, Jimmie Johnson coins his quest for his seventh Sprint Cup championship “VIIni, VIIdi, VIIci.”

    Later, after International Speedway Corporation CEO Jim France makes Smith an insulting offer for Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Smith slaps France, leading a fallen France to quip, “Et tu, Bruton?”

    Johnson leads the points standings for most of the year, and heads to Homestead with a chance to win No. 7, but engine trouble ends his day. He finishes third in the points standings.

    *Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. elope in Barbados on April 19th at a ceremony presided over by Russell Brand and streamed live on GoDaddy.com. Patrick wears a Vera Wang gown crafted from fire-suit material and accented with a HANS device and also featuring a plunging neckline that leaves little to the imagination.

    Patrick’s good fortune continues when she wins at Talladega on May 3rd, darting from 23rd to first on the final lap as a wild pileup eliminates half the field. A wild celebration ensues in Victory Lane, where Patrick delivers a message to her competitors, “There’s a party at my house. I hate to be ‘Petty,’ but no one’s invited, so you can all go home.”

    *In a new advertisement for ESPN’s Sportscenter, Clint Bowyer leads a spin class in the ESPN company workout facility, while Michael Waltrip is seen guiding a tour group from Finland around ESPN’s headquarters. The commercial ends when Bowyer and Waltrip dupe the tour group into paying a second admission fee before they’re busted by Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman, who accuse the MWR duo of “manipulating the Finnish.”

    *Carl Edwards is scheduled to make an appearance in the March 2nd episode of AMC’s The Walking Dead, in which he portrays the leader of a brainless following of half-dead dimwits, a group eerily similar to the Carl Edwards Fan Club.

    To publicize the event, the No. 99 sports a Subway/The Walking Dead paint scheme bearing the slogan, “Subway: Eat Flesh” at Phoenix. Edwards leads 88 laps and wins in a race that features only three lead changes. In Victory Lane, Edwards performs his trademark back flip while disappointed fans file out like zombies.

    *Matt Kenseth wins the Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 6th, and is presented the winner’s trophy by “Duck Dynasty” patriarch Phil Robertson, who oddly comments that his favorite parts of the 1.5-mile track are the “straights.”

    *After a crash at Kentucky Speedway on June 28th, Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards are summoned to the NASCAR hauler for a talk with NASCAR officials. Keselowski creates a firestorm when he tweets a picture from inside the hauler, a photo which shows he and Edwards smoking cigars and playing ping-pong while officials in the background relax in a hot tub.

    Keselowski is placed on probation for two weeks, while NASCAR bans cell phones and all liquids in excess of 3.4 ounces. 5-Hour Energy shots takes advantage of the opportunity, and becomes the official drink of drivers called to the NASCAR hauler.

    *June’s road race at Sonoma is delayed for three hours after a mild earthquake strikes the region, causing slight damage to the circuit’s surface. Swan Racing part-owner 50 Cent is seen inspecting a fissure in the track along pit road, leading to TNT’s Kyle Petty to make the controversial statement, “Well, he was a crack dealer.”

    50 laughs off the comment, and later in the year makes a big splash when, as honorary starter at Dover in June, eschews waving the green flag and instead fires a starters pistol nine times. In doing so, 50 becomes the first rapper to be “shot nine times” twice.

    *Gene Haas abandons his plan to enter Formula 1 and instead opts to field a funny car in the NHRA. Haas car flops, failing to qualify for a single final, and becomes the laughingstock in the drag racing garage, leading to the nickname “Funny Haas Haas.”

    *A healthy Denny Hamlin wins four races on the season, including March’s Martinsville race, where he fights off a challenge from Joey Logano, than challenges Logano to a fight after the race. Hamlin and Logano settle their differences in a charity 1-on-1 basketball game, which ends in a tie, 1-to-1.

    Hamlin qualifies for the “Elimination Round” of NASCAR’s revamped Chase For The Cup format, and wins at Phoenix on November 9th, but tweaks his back shaking an oversized champagne bottle and struggles the following week at Homestead.