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Tag: Kurt Busch

  • Stewart Haas Racing – Looking For Less Controversy and a Healthy Tony Stewart

    Stewart Haas Racing – Looking For Less Controversy and a Healthy Tony Stewart

    Charlotte, NC – Kevin Harvick is ready to defend his first Sprint Cup Championship title. The assembled media met with Stewart-Haas Racing drivers on Tuesday afternoon and the defending champion was confident and ready to start the 2015 season. After 13 years of frustration, Harvick can relax, but not too much.

    “The pressure’s definitely off,” Harvick said. “There’s not that pressure of being that guy who was so close to winning championships and had not won one. To be able to accomplish that and take that pressure off is a really good thing because that’s really what we wanted to accomplish in coming over here. So to be fortunate enough to be able to do that is definitely a sense of relief, and now you’ve been through it, you understand it, you know the feelings, the emotions and the things that you’ve been through, and hopefully that leads to that chest full of experience that you carry around with you to just put another tool in that chest to hopefully win more.”

    Harvick came to Stewart-Haas from Richard Childress Racing. Though he is nicknamed “Happy,” the frustration of his last year there reared its ugly head during the 2013 season. At a Camping World Truck race at Martinsville, Harvick got in some on-track beating and banging with Ty Dillon, Childress’ grandson, and made some comments that weren’t complimentary to Dillon. He left RCR on good terms, but wasn’t interested in being comfortable after making the change

    “I didn’t want to be comfortable,” Harvick said. “I wanted to experience what we experienced last year, and sometimes you have to make some bold or hard decisions in order to make things like this happen. So for me, I’m as comfortable as I’ve ever been.”

    Team co-owner Tony Stewart has faced adversity over the last two years. First a sprint car accident that left him with a broken leg and a shortened season, then the poor performance on track and the horrible accident in another sprint car in New York in which a young man died. From the looks of things, Stewart was more himself which has to be good news for the organization.

    “As soon as the calendar flipped to 2015, I put the rest of it behind me and I’m not looking back,” Stewart said. “I’m not looking back at all. I’m looking forward and focused on what we’ve got coming up. Physically, even after the surgery Dec. 1, this is the best I’ve felt since the accident two years ago,” Stewart said.

    The big question for all the drivers, Stewart included, is how the new rules package will feel to them when in the cockpit. Stewart had no answer.

    “I have no idea if it’s going to feel better or worse,” Stewart said. “But you know what? I go back to all the years we’ve raced so many different types of cars. You were always having to adapt to it, anyways. So I don’t think this is going to be any different than what we’ve done in the past. It’s just a matter of finding out that feel that we want in the car right away.”

    Kurt Busch said he was eager to start the season and have the best run of his life. He also wants to get the domestic violence case behind him so he can concentrate on racing.

    “I feel like 2015 can be the best year that I have ever had with the situation with (crew chief) Tony Gibson and being the second year with the team,” Busch said. “My years of experience with teams in the second year have always produced the best result.”

    Whether Busch is allowed to race this season will likely depend on the outcome of the case. Gene Haas, who handpicked Busch to drive a car sponsored by Haas, said he believes Busch’s testimony and that he will be exonerated. Haas said he hasn’t considered suspending his driver.

    “Domestic violence is very serious, but at the same time I do believe in due process,” team co-owner Gene Haas said. “At the same time, I feel there can be abuses to the system, too.”

  • Odds and Ends as the New NASCAR Season Prepares to Crank it Over

    Odds and Ends as the New NASCAR Season Prepares to Crank it Over

    A new season, with a new defending champion, will be soon upon us. Kevin Harvick and the rest of the boys, and girl, will be in Daytona in less than a month to kick things off. According to Jayski, 43 teams have dreams of running full-time in 2015, with more than a dozen seeing drivers with new crew chiefs, and a handful of wheel men changing seats.

    Former Daytona winner Trevor Bayne goes full-time with Roush, returning in Mark Martin’s old No. 6. Sam Hornish Jr. makes a return to Cup driving the Petty No. 9. Carl Edwards moves on to Gibbs and the No. 19. Brian Vickers is out of Waltrip’s No. 55 until he mends from a heart repair. Nineteen-year-old Chase Elliot should get some seat time with Hendrick, while driving for Junior in the minor series. In the trucks, Junior will have soon-to-be 17-year-old Cole Custer running about 10 races. Cole Custer. If that isn’t the best damned name in NASCAR, I don’t know what is.

    Danica Patrick will be back. She will continue to be back regardless as to what she does, or does not do on the track, as long as fans and sponsors love her and pay her way. You could say she is a lot like Dale Earnhardt Jr. in that way, albeit minus the iconic father, the two Daytona 500 wins, five Talladega triumphs, 23 career victories, and seven appearances in the season’s top ten rankings.

    As I mentioned, while Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus continue their most successful racing marriage, others will be in new relationships. Danica, Junior, and Cousin Carl will be amongst those with new crew chiefs. So will Jamie McMurray, Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Paul Menard, Martin Truex Jr. and both Busch brothers. That could prove interesting, especially in the early going.

    Some get going, some get gone, and sometimes somebody is not happy the ways things turned out. As none of us were witness to the alleged altercation between Kurt Busch and his ex, we are left following along the court case. To be honest, as long as the guy is shown not to be a menace to society, as long as what may have happened is all that may have happened, I really do not care. As much as it is serious business for the principles involved, it is nothing more than a sideline event for the rest of us. An outcome to take notice of if we so wish, but not much more.

    It would be nice to owe millions, if only for having the chance to have spent millions in the first place. We try to live within our means, so that means my family is not bogged down in debt. Still, it would be nice to know that if I completely blew it there might be a bank or two willing to forgive millions in loans they gave me. It must be sweet to be in a position to forgive such a loan.

    The NASCAR Hall of Fame has been a white elephant from the beginning, with even its location suspect. It would seem the 25 minute drive from the track in Concord to downtown Charlotte is a trek many are not interested in making. Even the Daytona Experience, rejected as a site for the Hall, closed its doors and it was located right beside that track. I understand it will re-open again next year as the home of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. That is irony. Oh well, all is forgiven, I guess, to the tune of nearly $20 million. Now if they can only attract some paying customers, or the Convention Center there might wind up with tons of space for it to expand.

    It would be nice to say the new season means a change in the seasons, but for those of us in the lands of snow and ice, it does not. At least it gives us an idea what clear pavement, green grass, and shirt sleeves might look like. That, and a return of our favorite drivers, is good enough.

  • Dover Police Complete Kurt Busch Domestic Assault Investigation

    Dover Police Complete Kurt Busch Domestic Assault Investigation

    On Tuesday the Dover (DE) Police Department concluded its investigation into the domestic assault allegations brought against Kurt Busch by his ex-girlfriend Patricia Driscoll.

    “The Dover Police Department completed the investigation of Kurt Busch a few weeks ago and has since forwarded their findings along with all evidence and statements to the Kent County Attorney General’s Office.  Their office will review the findings of investigation and make a decision whether Mr. Busch will be charged or not.”

    Driscoll, president of the Armed Forces Foundation, alleged that Busch slammed her head against the bedroom wall of Busch’s motorhome three times. The incident supposedly occurred during a NASCAR race weekend in late September while Busch’s motorhome was parked outside of Dover International Speedway. Driscoll is also seeking an order of protection from the Delaware court in a case that is currently ongoing. The protective order hearing is scheduled to resume January 12.

    Busch has vehemently denied the allegations. In a statement released by his attorney Rusty Hardin, the allegations were characterized as “a complete fabrication.”

    NASCAR chairman Brian France previously stated that no disciplinary action would be taken until the police investigation was complete but added that, “If charges are filed, that will change our equation, and we will look at that.”

  • Opinion: Driscoll vs. Busch …. True or Not, It Does Not Belong in the Motorsports Headlines

    Opinion: Driscoll vs. Busch …. True or Not, It Does Not Belong in the Motorsports Headlines

    I am tired of hearing all this crap about Kurt Busch allegedly assaulting his girlfriend and how she is in fear for her life and the safety of her child. Before we all jump on the hate Kurt Busch wagon because he is an abuser, let me let you in on a few things.

    Patricia Driscoll is a political lobbyist. She has the ears of every congress man/woman and every representative in Washington. She used those already in the campaign against Busch when the congress woman from California, Jackie Speier, attempted to influence the situation with Stewart-Haas Racing and NASCAR. She wasn’t the only one who got involved in something which was not a matter of public record until Driscoll made it such and there are a lot of irregularities in her story and her situation.

    Driscoll was not afraid for her life, not then and not now. How do I know this? Well for one if she was she would not have manipulated the court system to get custody of her son and then filed the complaint 10 weeks later. If she were truly afraid for herself and her son she certainly wouldn’t have waited another two weeks to file for an order of protection. If she had truly been brutally attacked and slammed face first into a wall with her child in the other room as she claims she would have sought medical attention, she did not.

    This step is very important in the progression of obtaining safety for both the victim and the child. This step includes photographs and interviews by medical professionals and law enforcement officials to document the situation and the occurrence. Without this step there is no documentation for a court of law to intervene on her behalf.

    Driscoll is very well aware of the procedures required in Domestic Violence situations. Yet she chose not to follow through with them. According to her it was to avoid complicating her custody battle with her ex husband. She was also very well aware that it would bring the situation to a he said she said situation with no documentation.

    Driscoll testified before family court with a modified version of her original story on Monday, December 16. She testified that Busch called her to the track (Dover) and when she arrived she found him lying on the floor crying and saying “he wished he had a gun so he could shoot himself”. She had her son stay in the other room as she got him off the floor and calmed down. Then she stated that they were in bed and he suddenly attacked her slamming her face into the wall of the motor coach. At that point she ran out of the coach, leaving her son in the coach with Busch, to a neighboring coach to get help.

    To be frank I am personally not sure it happened. Driscoll claims she was attacked by a drunk suicidal, Kurt Busch. However, in my experience, drunk and suicidal people are not attackers. Most lack energy and motivation. She claimed at that point she was in fear for her life. But she waited 10 weeks to file a complaint and then another two weeks to file for an order of protection. She is afraid for her and her sons safety and yet she left him alone in a motor coach with Busch at the point he was apparently the most violent. None of that makes sense unless the objective is to damage Busch’s reputation and destroy his career.

    The campaign she has launched against Kurt Busch continued in court when she sought to destroy the relationship with his employer and his teammates. Claiming he stated that Kevin Harvick got all of the good equipment all he had to do was whine. That Busch was upset with owner Tony Stewart for “throwing his career away by killing that kid in New York.” What is the purpose of that? Seriously the only thing she can hope to gain is to alienate him within the race community by linking his past actions to this situation and showing a progression to violence. (However, Busch has never thrown a punch publicly, that I could find documented anywhere.) When she does this she will affectively destroy his career. Granted, Busch his self contributed to his situation within the race community with his past actions.

    The bottom line in all this comes down to whether you believe her or not. I don’t, but whether you do or don’t it doesn’t change the fact Domestic Violence is a growing problem in our country and it’s not a closet situation anymore. It’s a very serious problem that ends tragically 60 percent of the time according to statistics published by the United States Attorney General’s office. With the football player being suspended indefinitely and the NFL getting knee deep involved in the situation it has become high profile. Sadly, it doesn’t change the fact that Domestic Violence is a sad and tragic thing. If Ms. Driscoll is manipulating the system, as she has already shown she has no problem doing, then she is as guilty as the abusers.

    False reports make it very difficult for those who have truly been victims of abuse. It makes people question whether the situation is what the victim claims it is. It makes it virtually impossible for orders of protection to be issued on the say so of the victim even with photographic proof. Although the order of protection will not protect the victim and that has been proven time and time again, there are cases in which it does. It is a part of the chain of events necessary to proceed in getting the victim help and stopping the abuser.

    Whatever, happened here does not need to be dragged through the media circus of NASCAR. The legal system needs to do its job without the politics and influence of outside agencies and political associates. The fans of our sport have been drug through enough dog and pony show antics from the media this year. They have been scarred, alienated and frightened. This situation needs to not be on the front page of every motorsports publication because the reality of the situation is, that like it or not, it is not a public issue just because Busch is a public figure.

    • About one in three American women have been physically or sexually abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives.
    • On average, nearly 20 people per minute are victims of physical violence by an intimate partner in the US.
    • In 2006, 50 percent of all female murder victims were killed by their husbands or boyfriends. (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2012)
    • One of the most frequent types of abuse in the United States is the use of a child to force compliance. According to Busch, Driscoll brought her son uninvited to his coach so he “could tell him the relationship was over.”
    • Driscoll did not file complaint until AFTER she admittedly manipulated the family court to gain custody of her son.
    • Pre court testimony Driscoll claimed son was not at the scene. In court she claimed he was present.
    • Driscoll had no reason to fear Busch. http://youtu.be/_MAbYIrniY4
    • Smear campaign against Busch very similar to what we see done to politicians by opponents during elections.
    • Driscoll did not seek medical attention at the time of the assault.
    • Driscoll did not seek law enforcement assistance.
    • Driscoll did not seek an order of protection until 12 weeks after the supposed attack. During which time Kurt Busch was completing the NASCAR season. Following which he began a racing tour in Europe.
    • Driscoll moved her office after the attack to Charlotte, North Carolina. Busch lives in Mooresville, NC, a suburb of Charlotte.
    • Driscoll claimed in court to be responsible for Busch’s PR and the rebuilding of his brand. However, NASCAR’s media guide lists Rory Connellan of True Speed Communications as his PR person and contact.
    • If you are in need of assistance in a Domestic Violence situation or you know of someone that is The Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7 1800 799 SAFE (7233).

    Editors Note: Personal attack comments will not be tolerated. 

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Homestead

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Homestead

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kevin Harvick: Harvick’s four-tire pit stop on a caution with 20 laps to go keyed his victory at Homestead, giving him the Sprint Cup championship. Harvick held off Ryan Newman to claim his first title.

    “I’d like to thank everyone who believed in me,” Harvick said. “I’d also like to thank Richard Childress. Do you believe me now, Richard?

    “Sunday’s race was for all the marbles. And that included the ‘marbles’ of Kurt Busch, because it seems he’s lost his.”

    2. Ryan Newman: Newman started 21st on the grid and chased Kevin Harvick to the checkered flag, unable to get close enough to make a move. Newman finished second as Harvick celebrated his first championship.

    “I was looking to become the first Sprint Cup champion without a win,” Newman said. “That would have been a dream come true for me, and a nightmare for NASCAR.”

    3. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin, on old tires, lost the lead to Kevin Harvick with seven laps to go and finished seventh.

    “Michael Jordan was in my pit box cheering me on,” Hamlin said. “Seventh may be good enough for Charlotte Hornets, but not for me. No one was more upset when I lost than Michael. No one was happier than his bookie.”

    4. Jeff Gordon: Gordon started on the pole at Homestead and led a race-high 161 laps on his way to a 10th-place finish at Homestead.

    “Surprisingly,” Gordon said, “there were no punches thrown. Apparently, Homestead isn’t ‘grounds’ for fighting.”

    5. Joey Logano: Logano’s chances at the Sprint Cup championship disintegrated when jack problems in the pits dropped him to 21st on the restart. He eventually finished 16th in the Ford EcoBoost 400.

    “Just when we needed a ‘pick-me-up,’” Logano said, “we suffered a ‘letdown’ in the pits.”

    6. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth won the Nationwide Ford EcoBoost 300 on Saturday and finished sixth in the Ford EcoBoost 400 on Sunday.

    “Congratulations to Kevin Harvick,” Kenseth said. “He wouldn’t be holding that championship trophy had he not won the last two races. I’d say he certainly knows when to ‘push.’”

    7. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished third at Homestead, closing the books on an up-and-down year.

    “It was an up-and-down year for us,” Keselowski said, “as well as a ‘left-and-right’ year.”

    8. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt finished 14th in the Ford EcoBoost 400, finishing the year with four wins.

    “It was a historic day at Homestead,” Earnhardt said. “The competition was intense, while Junior Nation was ‘in tents.’ Leave it to my fans to bring the moonshine to the ‘Sunshine State.’

    9. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished ninth at Homestead, the top finisher among Hendrick Motorsports drivers.

    “I wasn’t able to win my seventh title,” Johnson said, “but I can’t be too upset. “The race was called the ‘Ford EcoBoost 400. Let’s change that ‘Eco’ to ‘Echo,’ because whenever and wherever you say my name, you hear it repeated five times.”

    10. Kyle Larson: Larson finished 13th in the Ford EcoBoost 400, wrapping up what will surely be a Rookie Of The Year campaign.

    “If I don’t win that Rookie Of The Year award,” Larson said., “I’ll be very unhappy. So unhappy, that I could possibly go into ‘ROY’d rage.’”

  • Brian France Talks Chase, Domestic Violence, Fights and Championship Finale

    Brian France Talks Chase, Domestic Violence, Fights and Championship Finale

    In a wide-ranging State of the Sport press conference, NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France discussed everything from the new Chase format, the sanctioning body’s domestic violence policies, fights in the sport, and the drivers who may be crowned champion this weekend.

    France started his State of the Sport remarks with his assessment of the new Chase format, which he deemed as “exceeding all expectations.”

    “The Chase has accomplished all of our goals and probably exceeded them,” France said. “The balance between winning and consistency was achieved. Depending on what happens on Sunday, this has the potential to be one of the most successful seasons in NASCAR history.”

    “It has our fans excited and the interest level of the sport heightened. That’s precisely what we wanted to achieve.”

    France did acknowledge that fans, especially some of the most hard-core in the sport, still may be adjusting to the whole new Chase format.

    “Even though the format is relatively simple, what we are all finding out is that the strategies associated with the new format are different,” France said. “They are unknown and they are unprecedented. That’s going to take a while for even the most hard-core fans to fully get accustomed to how the flow of the season goes, why the transfer races are so important and how consistency all plays out.”

    Because of the Chase’s perceived success, France advised that he expected “very modest to zero” changes in the Chase format for next season.

    “We reserve the right to make a modest adjustment but this is the season that I hoped for and it has done precisely what we hoped it would do,” France said. “It’s only year one but clearly we are on our way.”

    France also dealt with several questions focused on driver Kurt Busch’s domestic violence charges, especially in light of California Congresswoman’s Jackie Speier’s letter to the sanctioning body calling the incident horrifying and asking for action to be taken.

    “There is a heightened awareness of the issues of domestic abuse and violence. We expect our policies to reflect that,” France said. “We are watching that case carefully and it’s under review by law enforcement and others and they have not made a decision on that regarding Kurt.”

    “It’s a very sensitive topic today. Rightfully so,” France continued. “And so it’s not surprising that some members of Congress and other leaders might have some strong views on what we should and shouldn’t do.”

    “So, until they make some judgments on that investigation, it wouldn’t be right of us to just intervene before they’ve even gotten the investigation completed. So, that’s our position. We’ll respect their process. It’s in their hands.”

    “We’ll stay the course, let the investigation be completed and then we’ll react.”

    France also addressed another recent controversy in the sport, that of the fight between the teams of Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski after the Texas race.

    “We don’t think what happened in Texas, crew members getting into a fist fight is a good thing for NASCAR, no,” France said. “We realize that emotions sometimes will get you there and we reacted very harshly if you look at the scope of those penalties, and we should have.”

    “Anybody in our situation is always worried about escalation,” France continued. “The bottom line is we want the drivers to be able to express themselves. We don’t have dugouts or locker rooms per se. It’s not unusual for them to express themselves and have a heated conversation between them. We’re not going to change that. But when crew members and others who join in, that’s a different discussion and like I said, we dealt with that.”

    “Even the great ones, they faced similar stresses from time to time as they started to have success on the track,” France said. “Some of the drivers had a little more contact than necessary at times. That’s what we’re about. We expect tight, tight racing and that sometimes we will have some contact. It’s in our DNA.”

    “But, there is a line,” France continued. “Hard, tight racing is what we expect and what I’m sure we will see. If it’s over the line, that’s what we do. We look at those things from the control tower. Sometimes they even happen under caution.”

    “There is a line out there in all of this and we hope the drivers don’t put us in that position,” France said. “I don’t anticipate that and I do anticipate some really hard, tight racing. We respect that. Sometimes drivers thinks one or the other goes too far. That’s NASCAR. That’s what we do. That’s the whole point of what we try to get up every morning and create.”

    France also addressed the championship finale amongst Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin, especially in light of one driver, Newman, being winless coming into the Homestead race.

    “Short of us making it a prerequisite that you have to win a race to qualify, I think it’s great,” France said. “We have three drivers who have won. And I do think that whoever emerges as the champion on Sunday needs to think about winning the race. I would be surprised if one of those four drivers would get out of here with a championship without the win.”

    “We’ve seen over the past years how those teams have elevated their games,” France continued. “We want to see drivers elevate their games. The reality is when you give drivers the opportunity to do something extraordinary, more times than not they do that.”

    “It’s all about a balance,” France said. “You don’t want a system that ignores consistency. I don’t care how you do it frankly. So, if Ryan Newman and Richard Childress are able to pull it off, that would be an achievement for anybody.”

    “The best team will win on Sunday.”

     

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Phoenix

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Phoenix

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kevin Harvick: Harvick led 264 of 312 laps at Phoenix and won the Quicken Loans Race For Heroes 500, qualifying for the Chase finale at Homestead.

    “Just call me ‘Mr. Unexcitement,” Harvick said, “because I took all the drama out of Sunday’s race.”

    2. Joey Logano: Logano came home sixth at Phoenix and easily clinched one of the four spots for the Chase For The Cup final at Homestead.

    “Sadly,” Logano said, “Brad Keselowski won’t be joining me as eligible. Luckily, he only got ‘knocked out’ for having too few points.”

    3. Jeff Gordon: Gordon finished second at Phoenix but missed making the Chase final four by a single point. Gordon was edged out by Ryan Newman, who finished 11th.

    “One second I was in,” Gordon said, “then, in the blink of an eye, I was out. I’m devastated. I’d like to quote Kurt Busch and say ‘I need a hug.’”

    4. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin started on the pole and finished fifth to secure his eligibility in the season’s final race at Homestead.

    “Interestingly enough,” Hamlin said, “Sunday’s race at Homestead is called the Ford EcoBoost 400. Maybe the fuel will be clean, but I’ve got a feeling ‘things’ could get dirty.”

    5. Ryan Newman: Newman bullied his way past Kyle Larson to finish 11th and edge Jeff Gordon for the fourth and final Chase spot heading to Homestead.

    “Sure,” Newman said, “I may have been a little aggressive racing the No. 42. But I’m racing for a championship, Kyle’s not. Let’s face it, no one’s gonna miss a ‘Target.’”

    6. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth took third at Phoenix and finished seventh in the points standings, missing the Chase finale.

    “Third place was a good finish,” Kenseth said, “but it wasn’t good enough. It’s bittersweet, much like attacking Brad Keselowski and not drawing blood.”

    7. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished 15th in the Quicken Loan Race For Heroes 500.

    “I needed a win to make it to Homestead,” Edwards said. “Obviously, I didn’t get it. In fact, it wasn’t even ‘close,’ which is also the kind of relationship I’m expecting with my new teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing next year.”

    8. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished fourth at Phoenix, but it was not enough to punch his ticket to the championship at Homestead.

    “There was still some fight left in me,” Keselowski said. “This time, I was the one that beat it out of me.”

    9. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt finished eighth at Phoenix, joining Hendrick teammate Jeff Gordon in the top 10. Gordon failed to qualify for the final at Homestead, meaning no Hendrick driver is eligible to win the Cup.

    “What do myself, Jimmie Johnson, and Ryan Newman have in common?” Earnhardt said. “We all helped keep Jeff Gordon from making the Chase final. As our ‘team orders’ are to go out and win the race.”

    10. Kyle Larson: Larson finished 13th at Phoenix, and unknowingly had an impact on the Chase. Ryan Newman powered by Larson on the final lap, a move which put Newman in the final and left Jeff Gordon out.

    “I don’t fault Newman for racing me like he did,” Larson said. “He was on a mission. That rendered Gordon on an ‘omission.’”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500

    In the final race of the Eliminator Chase round, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 27th annual Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

    Surprising: Not only did Kevin Harvick take his No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet to Victory Lane at Phoenix but he also achieved perfection. Harvick scored a perfect 150.0 driver rating as a result of his race domination, in addition to winning his fourth of the season and his sixth at PIR.

    “That’s a good day,” Harvick said simply. “I’m really proud of the guys from Stewart-Haas Racing and Rodney (Childers, crew chief) for the group of guys that they put together over the off-season, and to see this team build throughout the year has been something that for me has been just — it’s just fueled life back into me to come to the racetrack and be a part of something like this.”

    Not Surprising: All of the manufacturers currently in the sport will have a shot at the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship this year. Joey Logano will be representing the Ford Camp, Kevin Harvick and Ryan Newman will fly the Chevrolet banner, and Denny Hamlin will carry the torch for Toyota Racing in the Homestead championship finale.

    “There are a lot of emotions, believe me,” Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford, said. “My hat’s off to all the Shell/Pennzoil guys on this team. They deserve to be in the final four. We proved it throughout this whole Chase and really this whole year, and I’m glad to be sitting here and going for it and have some fun next week.”

    “Just so proud of these guys, everybody, for fighting back, Luke Lambert, everybody at RCR and ECR, this Caterpillar team, they fight hard, there’s no doubt about that,” Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 31 Cat Mining Chevrolet, said after muscling his way into the Chase on the last lap. “I guess the only mistake I made all day was showing these guys what I’ll do on the last lap for when everything is on the line. We’re in this hunt. I’m proud of all my guys, and today was a lot of hard work, and in the end, the last lap was fun.”

    “Coming over here and racing this year has given me new life and a new perspective,” Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet said. “It’s like a dream. You lay it all out on paper and you say, this is what we want to do and we want to race for wins and championships, and all of a sudden you’re a week away from everything that you talk about and dream about and dream up and want it to be like, and here we are.”

    “We just kept working on it and getting our car better,” Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota said. “Probably our saving grace was we definitely didn’t have that strong of a car today but we had a strong car on restarts, and that kind of allowed us to be aggressive and pick up a handful of spots and then a caution would come out, we’d pit, get a little bit better tires, then the guys that stayed out would make up a few more spots, and next thing you know we ended up finishing in the top 5 somehow, some way.”

    “It was a battle.”

    Surprising: In spite of his disappointment in not advancing to the championship round, Jeff Gordon affirmed his support of the new Chase format, although with a bit of a caveat.

    “I like it. I do,” the driver of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet said. “I’m a little concerned where it could go with — just like last week we found out on pit road where the line is drawn and when you cross over that line, and I think that it could get to that on the racetrack, as well. I don’t necessarily know that it has gotten there yet, but it’s certainly possible.”

    “I think it’s incredibly intense,” Gordon continued. “This is the most interest we’ve had in this sport in a long time, so obviously it’s been good. I feel like the only disappointing thing or the only thing I don’t like right now is the fact that I’m not in it next week.”

    Not Surprising: Even though Halloween has passed, Carl Edwards was still looking for some tricks this weekend in order to pull of his dream of advancing to race for the championship. It was not meant to be, however, as the driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford finished 15th.

    “Yeah, we tried every trick that we could,” Edwards said. “We just didn’t have a lot of speed all weekend. The car actually drove pretty decently at the end. These guys dug deep and worked hard. I’ve never been a part of something like this where everybody just doesn’t give up. This means the world.”

    Surprising: After so many championship runs, it was surprising to see six-time champ Jimmie Johnson have such a bad day that all he was thinking about was getting home safely.

    “The root of our biggest problem was the fact that the alternator quit working and we had to keep changing batteries on pit road each caution,” the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Patriotic Chevrolet, said. “Then when I would go back out on the race track I would need to run with my fans off. I didn’t have my brake fans on and was racing hard to try to get a decent finish and evidently just got things too hot and the brakes failed.”

    “I felt a rotor explode on the front straightaway,” Johnson continued. “Luckily it did it there so I had time to throw it in third gear, slow it down some, stay wide into turn one and try not to have a bad angle of the impact of the wall because I was going to hit for sure. So, it was just bad day that kept getting worse. I hope to make it home safe and outside of that, we will see you in Homestead.”

    Not Surprising: While others were competing for championship rites, other drivers were running races with totally different agendas, including just finishing on the lead lap.

    “We were on the lead lap, which has been a struggle here lately,” Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet, said after finishing 22nd. “The GoDaddy car was good early on, but I think the track got tight later on. We finished decent, so I’ll take it. It’s always important to run well here because of GoDaddy so I’ll take it.”

    Surprising: With an investigation of domestic violence facing the driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet off track, it was surprising that Kurt Busch was able to pull off a seventh place finish at Phoenix, no doubt in part due to his owner’s confidence in him.

    “He’ll be in the car until someone else pulls him out,” Gene Haas, team owner, said. “I’m not pulling him out. I think we’re just going to let the police department do their job and try not to say anything that would compromise that. We want an unbiased investigation and we’ll see how it all plays out.”

    Not Surprising: In spite of being bumped out of the way by Chaser Ryan Newman on the last lap, Kyle Larson continued his winning ways as rookie of the race. The driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet finished 13th, with the next highest rookie finisher, Michael Annett, in the 26th position.

    Larson’s usual rookie nemesis Austin Dillon finished 38th after having a tire go down, causing a close encounter with the wall.

    Surprising: After several tough race weekends and in his next to the last NASCAR race of his career, Marcos Ambrose finished strong. In fact he finished top-10 for his Richard Petty Motorsports No. 9 Stanley Tools Ford team.

    “The track changed a lot, but Drew did a great job of making adjustments,” Ambrose said. “We really made the car a lot better all race. It was super-tight in the middle, but we made the right calls. It’s nice to get a good finish. The last few weeks have been a struggle and it’s nice to get back on track. It was a good day for our STANLEY team.”

    Not Surprising: Even those drivers not involved in the Chase competition are looking forward to the last race at Homestead, especially after testing there.

    “We’re looking forward to the race,” Dale Earnhardt, Jr. said. “We feel like we had a good car there last year and we just wanted to learn a few more things.”

    “We’re looking forward to the race.”

     

     

  • Kurt Busch under Investigation Following Allegation of Domestic Assault

    Kurt Busch under Investigation Following Allegation of Domestic Assault

    NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Kurt Busch is being investigated after an allegation of domestic assault against his ex-girlfriend, Patricia Driscoll.

    The Dover (Del.) Police Department issued the following statement:

    The Dover Police Department can confirm that an investigation is being conducted based on an allegation of domestic assault that is alleged to have occurred in the City of Dover involving Mr. Busch. These allegations were brought to the Dover Police Department on Wednesday, November 5th at 2:00PM. At this time, the department is still investigating the victim’s claims and will not have any further comment on this matter in order to preserve the integrity of the case. The Dover Police Department will release further information as it becomes available. We appreciate the public’s and media’s patience in this matter and are confident that the department is taking the proper investigative steps to ensure the case is resolved appropriately.

    Multiple reports state that Patricia Driscoll said the incident occurred inside Busch’s motor home during the Dover International Speedway race weekend in September. Driscoll filed court documents Wednesday asking that a judge order Busch to have no contact with her and to stay away from her. She is reportedly also asking that Busch undergo a psychiatric evaluation and an evaluation by a certified domestic violence treatment agency.

    In the documents Driscoll alleges that, “He (Busch) was verbally abusive to her and said he wished he had a gun so that he could kill himself.”

    Driscoll said Busch called her names and accused her of “having spies everywhere and having a camera on the bus to watch him.” He then jumped up, grabbed her face and smashed her head three times against the wall next to the bed, the documents say.

    The documents further state that Driscoll says she pushed Busch away and ran from the bedroom, going to a nearby bus to put an ice pack on her head and neck. She said the incident caused her severe pain, difficulty breathing and bruising on her neck.

    Busch’s attorney, Rusty Hardin, issued a statement Friday afternoon saying Busch would cooperate fully with the investigation.

    “The Dover Police Department has been informed that Mr. Busch will fully cooperate with their investigation,” Hardin said, “and he expects to be vindicated when the entire truth of the situation comes to light. This allegation is a complete fabrication by a woman who has refused to accept the end of a relationship, and Mr. Busch vehemently denies her allegations in every respect. At this time, we intend to have no further comment in the media out of respect for the Dover Police Department’s desire to conduct a thorough investigation without a media circus.’’

    Busch is at Phoenix International Raceway this weekend in preparation for the upcoming Sprint Cup race but has made no statement concerning the allegations.

    Mike Arning, a spokesperson for Busch’s team, Stewart-Haas Racing, issued a statement which said, “This is an allegation Stewart-Haas Racing takes very seriously, but we’re still gathering all of the facts and are not in a position to comment in greater detail.’’

    NASCAR responded to the incident with a release from Brett Jewkes, NASCAR Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer, as follows, “NASCAR is aware of the investigation involving driver Kurt Busch. We recognize the seriousness of this matter and are actively gathering information from all parties, including law enforcement authorities and Stewart-Haas Racing. It would be inappropriate for NASCAR to comment further on this matter until we have more information.”

    Driscoll is president of the Armed Forces Foundation and Busch has participated as a spokesperson for the organization.

    Pat LaFrieda, chairman of the board of the Armed Forces Foundation issued a statement saying, “I want to, first and foremost, express the direct support from the Board of Directors of the Armed Forces Foundation to Ms. Driscoll. For more than a decade, Ms. Driscoll has been a tireless worker and advocate for our nation’s service members, veterans, and military families. The Foundation will continue working to support service members, veterans, and military families and we ask that Ms. Driscoll’s privacy be respected. Given the serious nature of the allegations, the Foundation has suspended its association with Mr. Busch.’’

    A hearing in the case is scheduled for Dec. 2.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Texas AAA 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Texas AAA 500

    After remembering the passing of racer Jim Sauter with a moment of silence, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 10th annual AAA Texas 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway.

    Surprising: Brad Keselowski gave a whole new meaning to minding the gap after his on and off track real estate dispute with Jeff Gordon.

    “Today something happened,” Keselowski said after finishing third. “There was a gap. It closed up. By the time it closed up, I was committed, and I stayed in it. That almost won me the race.”

    “It hurt somebody else’s day. That’s a shame,” the driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford said. “But the reality is there was a gap.”

    “You know, I’m not Dale Earnhardt or Senna. I read how they raced, how great they were for this sport. They would sit here and tell you they would go for that same gap. I’m not them, but I’m inspired by that, and I’m going to race that way.”

    Not Surprising: Team Hendrick continued flawlessly executing their strategy in the Eliminator Round of the Chase, sending their Chase busting team members into Victory Lane as a sort of protection for their Chaser brethren Jeff Gordon, who did not quite make it there after his Keselowski encounter.

    Hendrick driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. became the Chase buster in Martinsville last weekend and this weekend it was another HMS Chase buster Jimmie Johnson who took his turn, honoring all Lowe’s employees who wear the red vest in his red No. 48.

    “We are back on track,” Johnson said after winning his fourth of the year and his fourth at Texas Motor Speedway. “Unfortunately we didn’t find this stuff a month or two ago, but that is the way racing goes.”

    With both HMS Chase busters in Victory Lane for the first two races in the Eliminator Round, the lone HMS Chaser Gordon has maintained his position in the top-4, a team feat especially impressive given Gordon’s 29th place run at Texas.

    Surprising: While tire troubles may be a common driver mantra, it is not often that there are complaints about the sheer lack of number of tires available, so much so that NASCAR actually permitted teams to get an extra set of tires during this particular race.

    “It’s kind of a sad situation when you run out of tires like that,” Newman, driver of the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet said after finishing 15th. “I wish NASCAR had given us more tires. They gave us one set, but when they keep throwing cautions like that that were totally unnecessary, and there’s not debris on the race track and no reason to throw it. We need to keep racing. And it’s sad to see but that’s the way they’ve been playing it.”

    Not Surprising: If you think that Alexander had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, just ask the Toyota drivers how they were feeling after Texas.

    “We were a bag of everything today. Man we were so bad,” Kyle Busch said after his fourth place run. “I don’t know what happened to us from yesterday. We fought all day long.”

    “We had a bad car,” Denny Hamlin, who finished tenth, said, echoing the theme. “We made the best of it. Other guys made mistakes. We weren’t really that good. Luckily other guys had problems. That’s what happened.”

    “We went the wrong direction on adjustments during the middle part of the race,” Brian Vickers said after his 16th place run. “Billy Scott (crew chief) was able to get the car pretty good for the end of the race but with all those cautions we just got too tight.”

    “We were okay when we were up front and had track position, but we had a problem in the pits and lost our track position,” Matt Kenseth said after finishing 25th. “The way my car drove — I was kind of afraid of how it would be in traffic. We got most of our track position back, stayed out on tires and just couldn’t get by Kurt (Busch) there — and got to the back again having to get tires. Then we got caught up in a restart deal that was three-four wide which did some damage, and we could just never overcome it.”

    Surprising: Joey Logano was on a surprisingly odd salvage mission of his own, trying to make good after, of all things, a glue issue on pit road.

    “We were able to salvage something decent out of tonight,” the driver of the No. 22 AAA Insurance Ford said. “We were a top five car and possibly a winning car if scenarios played out right.”

    “I don’t know what happened with the glue on the pit stop and I haven’t gotten the full story yet but we had a hell of a time trying to put rear tires on the car,” Logano continued. “We lost all our track position with 30 to go and I came off the corner and the 9 hit me and popped my right rear and then we spun out. We put tires back on it and then just held on until the end and got something decent out of something that could have been way worse.”

    In spite of his sticky situation, Logano did emerge the point’s leader by virtue of his five wins for the season, which broke the points tie with Denny Hamlin, who has but one win to date.

    Not Surprising: After the two past races where Austin Dillon scored Rookie of the Race honors, Kyle Larson emerged victorious in that regard, finishing seventh to Dillon’s 21st place run.

    “I thought we practiced really well,” the driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet said. “When the race fired off, we weren’t very good. I thought we’d get better, but we didn’t. We got worse and worse and worse. We had a lot of late-race restarts to get up there to get a better finish.”

    “Disappointing day, but okay to finish seventh where we did. Hopefully we can get some better runs in the last races.”

    Surprising: In a somewhat surprisingly ironic twist, Kevin Harvick, who nudged along the Keselowski vs. Gordon post-race match up, did not want anything to do with retaliation, even after some harsh words for Matt Kenseth as a result of last weekend’s short track racing.

    “I just raced,” Harvick said after Texas was completed. “I thought my car was fast enough to win the race and be in contention. Doing something crazy at that point in the race, then I never saw him (Matt Kenseth) towards the end of the race, so it wasn’t really our game plan to get into that situation any further than we needed to.”

    “It’s like I said before the race, I know he didn’t do it on purpose, but in the end we still lost 33 points to the leader. We got to race as hard as we can to try to get that back.”

    Not Surprising: Even with a swapped out crew chief, Kurt Busch was able to pull off a top-10 finish in his No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet.

    “It was great to have a shot at the win,” Busch said after taking the checkered flag in the eighth position. “Tony Gibson (new Crew Chief), the engineers did a great job reading my balance, and I was trying to pick up on their changes. So, it was nice to go out there and execute.”

    “We used the last yellow to our advantage,” Busch continued. “The last two yellows for fresh tires, and worked our way from, I don’t know, 25th to eighth. All-in-all, a great first day. I love the team; I love the guys. We are going to be good. We just have to work out the details.”

    Surprising: Jamie McMurray could not wait for the sun to go down on him, as when the darkness descended he ascended to the fifth finishing spot.

    “We had an up and down day,” the driver of the No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet said. “Fortunately for us we were better when the sun went down. It was really slick at the beginning. We really struggled with the car, but when the sun went down the car started coming to us.”

    Not Surprising: There is no quit in the No. 99 Aflac Ford team, who finished the race ninth after battling from the rear.

    “We got super lucky there at the end and my guys never quit,” Carl Edwards said. “I am so proud of my guys. I have no idea where we are at in points but we certainly finished better than we should have tonight.”

    “It was a great night when for awhile it didn’t look like it was going to be,” Edwards continued. “We get to move on to Phoenix now and we will know what we have to do there. We will take it.”

    “My guys didn’t quit and I know they won’t quit and we are going to go next week and go for this thing.”