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Rough Day for Stewart-Haas Racing in Vegas

Stewart-Haas Racing cars were the class of the field the first two races of the season, with a win in the Daytona 500 by Kurt Busch and most laps led in both the 500 and the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway by Kevin Harvick. Unfortunately, a 10th-place finish by Clint Bowyer was the highlight of a lousy day at Las Vegas Motor Speedway from the four-car organization.

But even Bowyer admitted that was a struggle.

“To be truthful, we weren’t the best all weekend, but we just kept digging,” he said after the race. “(Mike) Bugga didn’t give up on the box and kept adjusting on it and got me pretty good, the best we’d been right there at the end. It’s a top-10 and gives us some momentum. It’s our third race together and we got a top-10, so we’ve got to keep digging.”

Kurt Busch dealt with electrical issues that forced him to pit and change batteries with 66 laps to go. He finished in 30th place, four laps down.

“Obviously it wasn’t the day we were hoping to have with our Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford Fusion,” Busch said. “We didn’t have the long-run speed or the balance, and we had an electrical issue that forced us to change batteries on pit road. We kept battling, we didn’t give up. I hoped to have a better run here in front of the hometown fans.”

The other two SHR cars didn’t make it to the finish.

Exiting the tri-oval on lap 68, Kevin Harvick suffered a right-front tire blowout and slammed the wall. He said the tire started vibrating four or five laps prior and was he trying to nurse it to the end of the stage.

He was critical of the response time by American Medical Response.

“The worst part was the medical response. It took them forever to get to the car,” Harvick said. “I thought we made that better, but obviously we haven’t.”

He finished 38th and lost the points lead.

With 16 to go, Danica Patrick’s engine expired on the frontstretch, relegating her to a 36th-place finish.

“We just got the car to a place where I think we could have got a little more racy with it,” Patrick said, “especially if we would have caught some breaks, but then it just flattened out. I just rode around the top in case I blew up, but having a teammate behind me was not ideal for the timing of it, but unfortunately it happened. We’ll just move on.”

March 13, 2017
Busch and Logano Collide and Fight in Vegas

Kyle Busch and Joey Logano made contact both on the track on the final lap and on pit road after the Kobalt 400 race concluded at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

On the backstretch on the final lap, Busch veered to the bottom to avoid hitting Brad Keselowski, who was fading on the final two laps with a broken part on his car but made contact with the right-side of Logano’s car. In Turn 3, Logano got loose and bounced into Busch’s car, sending him spinning down onto pit road.

After the race, Kyle Busch got out of his car and proceeded to Logano’s car parked down pit road with the other top-five cars and punched him.

The fight lasted roughly 18 seconds before Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series officials broke it up and Busch was pulled out of the pile by NASCAR official Mike Lancaster (per Alex Hayden of MRN on Twitter). Logano was pulled out of the pile after just a few seconds by his PR rep Kyle Zimmerman.

The only noticeable injury sustained was a cut on Busch’s forehead, above his right eye.

“I got dumped,” Busch told Vince Welch of FOX Sports. “(Logano) Flat out drove straight into the corner and wrecked me”

Logano’s take was different from Busch’s.

“We were just racing hard there at the end,” Logano said. “I was underneath him on the backstretch and he tried to crash me into the corner getting underneath Brad there and at that point, I was just trying to get through the corner. I was sideways all the way through and get into him. Nothing intentional. I understand his frustration, he crashed. The same thing could have happened into 3 what he did to me.”

“There wasn’t much talking, there was a lot of swinging. I don’t know. I was racing hard there at the end with our Pennzoil Ford. Kyle and I usually race really well together,” Logano continued. “We usually never have any issues, and he tried to pin me down into the corner underneath Brad and we about crashed on entry. And then I was still trying to gather it up by the center and I was gonna spin out, so I’m trying to chase it up and he was there. It obviously wasn’t anything intentional, but obviously, he thinks that, so, I don’t know, we’ll get by.”

Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer spoke about the altercation Monday morning during an appearance on the “Morning Drive” program on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

He stated that the competition department was reviewing video of the post-race incident and the on-track contact that led up to it.

“It’s certainly under review,” O’Donnell said. “We have to take everything, make sure we look at all the video, but just from our in assessment last night, as far as on-track I don’t think we saw anything that was intentional by any means. We have to have discussions with both drivers. I think our intention would be not to react unless we see something we haven’t seen yet.”

“It’s an emotional sport,” he went on to say, “and I think it shows exactly how much every position on the track means.”

March 13, 2017
Truex Takes Lead in Closing Laps to Clean House in Sin City

Martin Truex Jr. had the dominant car most of the day but had to beat Brad Keselowski when it mattered most in the closing laps of the Kobalt 400.

Keselowski edged out Truex on the final restart and had the win in check, but Truex closed the gap, thanks to a broken part on Keselowski’s car, and passed him on the backstretch with two laps to go to score the victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Keselowski said his team will need to take the car apart to find out the cause of what happened.

“At the end, we have to go to inspection and stuff, so we’re not allowed to look. I just know it was something major,” he said. “It wouldn’t turn and I lost brakes, so that’s a pretty good indicator, but that’s the way it goes. That’s racing and that’s why you watch until the end and you never know what’s gonna happen.

“It’s frustrating, but you put yourself in position to win and good things will happen. That happened to us last week and didn’t happen this week, so you just pick up the pieces and move on. Luckily, they’re really big pieces. We’ve got a lot to be proud of.”

Keselowski and Truex led a combined 239 of 267 laps of the first leg in the three-race west coast swing on the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Starting from the pole, Keselowski led most of the first stage and surrendered it under the second caution of the race when teammate Joey Logano opted not to pit.

Truex passed Logano with ease on the ensuing restart and held it for most of the day, only losing it during green-flag pit cycles or when others went on different pit strategies from him.

Keselowski passed Chase Elliott to take second with less than 40 to go, closed the gap on Truex and passed him in Turn 3 to take the lead with 23 to go. Danica Patrick’s engine expired on the frontstretch with 18 to go, setting up the nine-lap run to the finish.

On the final lap, Kyle Busch veered hard to the bottom lane on the backstretch, making contact with Logano in the process. In Turn 4, Logano got loose, made contact with Busch and sent him spinning.

Busch went to Logano’s car on pit road after the race and a fight ensued.

“We were just racing hard there at the end,” Logano said after the fight. “I was underneath him on the backstretch and he tried to crash me into the corner getting underneath Brad there and at that point, I was just trying to get through the corner. I was sideways all the way through and get into him. Nothing intentional. I understand his frustration, he crashed. The same thing could have happened into 3 what he did to me.”

Kyle Larson, Elliott, Logano and Keselowski round out the top-five.

Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Jamie McMurray, Matt Kenseth and Clint Bowyer round out the top-10.

The race lasted two hours, 56 minutes and 39 seconds at an average speed of 136.032 mph. There were 14 lead changes among six different drivers and six cautions for 34 laps.

Keselowski leaves Las Vegas with a one-point lead over Larson.

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March 12, 2017
Truex Fastest in Final Practice at Las Vegas

Martin Truex Jr. topped the chart in final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 28.630 and a speed of 188.613 mph. Chase Elliott was second in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 28.636 and a speed of 188.574 mph. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was third in his No. 88 HMS Chevrolet with a time of 28.657 and a speed of 188.436 mph. Matt Kenseth was fourth in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 28.684 and a speed of 188.258 mph. Brad Keselowski rounded out the top-five in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford with a time of 28.702 and a speed of 188.140 mph.

Ryan Blaney, who clocked in the eighth-fastest single lap, posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 185.347 mph.

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March 11, 2017
Elliott Fastest at Las Vegas in Second Practice

Chase Elliott topped the chart in second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was the fastest with a time of 28.197 and a speed of 191.510 mph. Kyle Larson was second in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 28.599 and a speed of 188.818 mph. Matt Kenseth was third in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 28.633 and a speed of 188.594 mph. Kyle Busch was fourth in his No. 18 JGR Toyota with a time of 28.645 and a speed of 188.515 mph. Kasey Kahne rounded out the top-five in his No. 5 HMS Chevrolet with a time of 28.713 and a speed of 188.068 mph.

Elliott posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 186.480 mph.

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March 11, 2017
Keselowski Takes the Pole at Las Vegas

Brad Keselowski will lead the field to the green flag on Sunday after earning pole position for the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford scored the pole after posting a time of 27.881 and a speed of 193.680 mph. Martin Truex Jr. will start second in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota after posting a time of 27.913 and a speed of 193.458 mph. Ryan Blaney will start third in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford after posting a time of 27.920 and a speed of 193.410 mph. Matt Kenseth will start fourth in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota after posting a time of 27.923 and a speed of 193.389 mph. Kyle Larson rounded out the top-five in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet after posting a time of 27.956 and a speed of 193.161 mph.

Joey Logano, Kasey Kahne, Erik Jones, Kyle Busch and Jamie McMurray rounded out the top-10.

Daniel Suarez and Chase Elliott rounded out the 12 drivers that made the final round of qualifying.

With 39 entries, nobody failed to make the race.

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March 10, 2017
Kenseth’s Season to Date a Mixed Bag

Matt Kenseth comes into sin city after mixed results in the first two weeks of the NASCAR season.

His season started with a wreck halfway through the Daytona 500. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time when teammate Kyle Busch suffered a right-rear tire blowout and spun out in Turn 3 on lap 105, collecting Erik Jones and Kenseth.

Kenseth left Daytona with the third last-place finish of his career and 32nd in points.

Despite the finish, Kenseth said it was “hard to count Daytona.”

“Everybody – it’s so easy to get caught up in a wreck there, and like our wreck at Daytona, I really didn’t have anything to do with that, we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, so there’s just nothing you can do about that. I don’t put a lot of stock in where you leave in the points standings after Daytona. I just never have because it doesn’t really have much to do with the rest of the season.”

The following week in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, he was busted for speeding twice, but rallied to finish third on a day when the Joe Gibbs Racing cars were a non-factor.

He left Atlanta 15th in points.

Kenseth thought he ran “pretty well really the whole day,” even with the speeding penalties.

“We knew they added segments (at Atlanta). It’s just that you go through the segments pretty fast,” Kenseth said. “When they’re twice as long, even if you’re not trying to cheat a segment or do something like that, if you look away for a second at your pit stall or whatever and you get going a little bit, you’ve got some room to slow down and correct because they’re timed segments.”

March 10, 2017
Truex Fastest in First Las Vegas Cup Series Practice

Martin Truex Jr. topped the chart in first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 27.907 and a speed of 193.500 mph. Brad Keselowski was second in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford with a time of 27.980 and a speed of 192.995 mph followed by Jimmie Johnson who was third in his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 27.981 and a speed of 192.988 mph. Kyle Larson was fourth in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 28.020 and a speed of 192.719 mph. Matt Kenseth rounded out the top-five in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 28.031 and a speed of 192.644 mph.

Kyle Larson was fourth quickest in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet with a time of 28.020 and a speed of 192.719 mph while Matt Kenseth rounded out the top-five in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 28.031 and a speed of 192.644 mph.

Kasey Kahne, who ran the sixth-fastest single lap, posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 184.712 mph.

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March 10, 2017
Another Bad Day for Kenseth and Elliott

While Matt Kenseth had a winning car this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his cards weren’t a winning hand and he ended up in the red.

Rounding Turn 1 with 43 laps to go, the driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota got loose and slid up the track. Just as he had it recovered, Chase Elliott’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet slammed into the rear of his car and sent both of them to the garage.

“I really don’t know what happened,” Kenseth told Fox. “I just turned off in there and spun off before I honestly knew what was happening. I don’t know why it spun out. I tried to save it the best I could and just got hit hard from behind and ended up wrecking it.”

A 37th-place finish continues Kenseth’s string of bad luck. In the last three races, he went from leading the Daytona 500 on the final lap to getting passed by teammate Denny Hamlin, falling backwards after getting loose in Turn 4 and finishing 14th. In Atlanta, he had a strong car, but fell afoul of an unusual rule, fell two laps down and finished 19th.

He leaves Vegas 22nd in points.

Photo Credit: Robert Laberge/Getty Images

Elliott, who was running in the top-10 for most of the race, took all the blame for an incident he described as a “terrible job on my behalf.”

“What a fast race car. I appreciate everybody working hard. I feel like we made a lot of gains this weekend. Just a terrible job on my behalf. That is pitiful. We have run three races and finished one. Just a bad job on my end. I ought to know better to miss a wreck like that.”

His 38th-place finish is his second outside the top-10 for the young rookie who replaced Jeff Gordon and had so much hype coming into the 2016 season. After winning the pole for the Daytona 500, his day came to an end early after crashing into the infield grass. He rebounded with an eighth-place finish last weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He was running well for most of the day today before getting caught up in the melee with 43 laps to go.

He leaves Vegas 28th in points.

March 6, 2016
Keselowski Breaks the Bank in Las Vegas

Brad Keselowski passed Kyle Busch in the closing laps and denied the reigning series champion a weekend sweep in his hometown.

The driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford got a run on the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota going down the backstretch with five laps to go in the Kobalt 400 and drove on to score the victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He had to overcome being busted for speeding and staying out with less than 50 laps to go to score his 18th career victory in the Sprint Cup Series.

“This rules package — I love it, it’s awesome,” Keselowski said. “You can be really fast at the start of the run or at the end of the run, but we had awesome speed at the end of the run. It finally started to take off with 25 to go. This is such a good feeling to be back in victory lane. It’s been way too long. What a day, I’m beat. I put everything I had into driving this car.”

Teammate Joey Logano led 75 laps on his way to a runner-up finish in his No. 22 Ford.

“We had a good car,” a disappointed Logano said. “We led a lot of laps. Brad was just really good on the long run. I tried to hold him off as long as I could but he showed how fast he was getting by me and Kyle and checking out. Congratulations to Team Penske. It is something to be very proud of for our team. We have a lot of second place finishes already this year. I know we are only three races in but I am getting antsy. We have good speed in our cars, we will be alright.”

Jimmie Johnson led the most laps at 76 on his way to rounding out the podium in his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

Busch was in the catbird seat in the closing laps of the race but dealt with a right-front tire vibration he described as “coming apart” in the closing laps. He was unable to hold off the Team Penske duo and finished fourth. Austin Dillon also overcame a speeding penalty to round out the top-five in his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

Ryan Blaney was the highest finishing rookie in sixth in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford.

“This was really satisfying,” Blaney said after the race. “It was a good day for us. We needed a good finish after last week and it is nice to go out here and we all had fast cars. Congrats to the 2 team, they did a great job coming back from that speeding penalty and made a great call at the end. Good job by them and good job by our team.”

Last year’s race winner Kevin Harvick led only one lap and was never a factor for the win as he finished seventh in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished eighth in his No. 88 HMS Chevrolet. Pole-sitter Kurt Busch was busted for speeding on the first pit stop of the race and was only able to rally back to a ninth-place finish in his No. 41 SHR Chevrolet. Kasey Kahne rounded out the top-10 in his No. 5 HMS Chevrolet.

Matt Kenseth had a strong car for most of the race, but his streak of bad finishes continued today as he crashed out of the race with 43 laps to go. He got loose going into Turn 1, slid up the track and Chase Elliott slammed into the rear of his car.

“I really don’t know what happened,” Kenseth told Fox. “I just turned off in there and spun off before I honestly knew what was happening. I don’t know why it spun out. I tried to save it the best I could and just got hit hard from behind and ended up wrecking it.”

“Just disappointing,” Elliott said. “What a fast race car. Just a terrible job on my behalf. It’s pitiful. Run three races and finished one. Bad job on my end. I know better to miss a wreck like that.”

Twenty-three cars finished on the lead lap. There were 20 lead changes among 10 different drivers and six cautions for 36 laps. The race lasted two hours, 53 minutes and 55 seconds at an average speed of 138.170 mph.

Kyle Busch retains the points lead leaving Las Vegas with Johnson trailing by six. Harvick (-7), Logano (-12) and Kurt Busch (-14) round out the top five in the standings.

March 6, 2016