Tag: kyle busch

Preview and Predictions: Auto Club 400

After bumping and grinding at Bristol Motor Speedway last week, the Sprint Cup Series heads to the 2-mile, low-banked oval of Auto Club Speedway. Despite being very similar in shape to its sister track Michigan International Speedway, the two tracks drive very differently. Since the repave at Michigan, the low and middle groove are the only fast ways of getting around the track. Auto Club Speedway has never been repaved since 1997, so it is one of the oldest surfaces on the Sprint Cup schedule.

In qualifying, I saw drivers using the high line to try and find some grip, even though it isn’t the shortest way around the track. Winning at Auto Club not only requires great horsepower to pull you down the straightaways, but also a great suspension package to help you get a good drive off the corners. We know that someone will get it exactly right on Sunday, and here’s three drivers that probably will.

Jimmie Johnson

There are some instances where it is actually difficult to pick a definitive favorite to win the race. This is not the case with the Auto Club 400. Jimmie Johnson has won four of the last 10 races at his home track, and five overall including his first victory back in 2002. He’s also finished in the top five 12 times and has an astounding average finish of 5.7. Some may argue that he’s lost his touch over the past couple of years, and that his prime at Auto Club came in the Car of Tomorrow era, but I believe they’ve found the magic yet again. Johnson was fastest in the first practice and ended up third in qualifying. There’s no question he’ll be a factor in Sunday’s race.

Matt Kenseth

Although Kenseth hasn’t won a race at Auto Club since 2009, his record at the track has been pretty solid over the past few years. His average finish over the past 10 races of 9.5 is third only to Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson. Joe Gibbs Racing has found some speed at the past few visits to the track, mainly with Kyle Busch, who won the race last year. However, looking at the first practice speeds, it appears that Kyle Busch may not have the speed he did last year. Kenseth, who qualified on the pole, will pick up the slack for his teammate.

Jeff Gordon

The inaugural winner at Auto Club Speedway is back at it again with a fast Hendrick Chevrolet. In practice, Gordon was second behind his teammate Jimmie Johnson, and he actually ran faster than the track record. In qualifying, he was consistently at the top of the charts until the final round, where he ended up sixth. The four-time Sprint Cup champion hasn’t even had a top-five at Auto Club since 2009, but I believe they have found the magic yet again. Although it looks like his teammate will be leading the way on Sunday, Jeff Gordon won’t be far behind.

Whoever shines brightest at Auto Club will be the driver that effectively communicates where the car is losing speed. That’s why Jimmie Johnson is so good here, because it isn’t just about pure speed. It’s about adjusting the chassis, the tire pressures and the wedge throughout the race so that you can develop a perfect drive off the corner. Then it’s all about what you’ve got under the hood to pull you down those long straightaways. There’s always one driver that hits the set up exactly right, and whoever that driver is, rest assured that they will be unstoppable on race day.

Statistics retrieved from racing-reference.info.

March 22, 2014

Hot 20 – Harvick hoping for some California heat

Four winners, three of whom sit atop our leader board. As important as victories are this season in determining the Chase contenders, it would be hard to include Kevin Harvick among the best under normal circumstances.

Harvick may have won at Phoenix, and his 13^th at Daytona may have been acceptable. Even his runs at Las Vegas and Bristol were impressive for as long as they lasted, but when you are listed as 41^st and 39^th in the final results it does take the bloom off the rose. Turns it into stinkweed, to be honest.

Still, in determining our top performer over the course of a 36-race season, that win does keep Harvick six slots better than the official standings, with the 22 bonus points we hand out to winners. As we are not interested in a Chase or even the television ratings for Homestead, we can dwell on just who has been the best performer. Even with a string of three Top Threes broken up by a 14^th at Bristol, that would still be Brad Keselowski to this point.

If you were wondering, as the action heads west to California this weekend, Regan Smith and Trevor Bayne remain our hot duo in the Nationwide series. I wonder if ESPN will have time to interview them after they are done gushing over Kyle Busch once again at Fontana? The big boy visiting the little sandbox has won six of the past eight junior circuit events at this track.

Kyle won the Cup race at Fontana a year ago. Other recent winners include Tony Stewart, Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, and Carl Edwards. No one who isn’t already a someone will visit Victory Lane on Sunday.

	Driver	Win	Points
1	Brad Keselowski	1	185
2	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	1	175
3	Carl Edwards	1	174
4	Jeff Gordon	0	152
5	Jimmie Johnson	0	143
6	Joey Logano	0	141
7	Denny Hamlin	0	140
8	Matt Kenseth	0	138
9	Ryan Newman	0	125
10	Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.	0	122
11	Kasey Kahne	0	120
12	Greg Biffle	0	118
13	Austin Dillon	0	117
14	Kevin Harvick	1	111
15	Kyle Busch	0	111
16	Marcos Ambrose	0	108
17	Jamie McMurray	0	100
18	Paul Menard	0	99
19	Brian Vickers	0	99
20	Casey Mears	0	97

March 20, 2014

Cup Stars in Nationwide – The Drivers Aren’t the Problem

At Phoenix a few weeks back, Cup drivers took every spot inside the top five in the Nationwide (NNS) race and also led every single lap. At Las Vegas, they held the top four finishing positions and led 193 of 200 total laps. At Bristol, they led all 300 laps on their way to finishing 1st, 2nd and 3rd. This pattern needs to end. Don’t be fooled into believing that I am against Cup drivers in Nationwide though, because I’m actually not. I’m against dull and action-deprived shows that are so predictable.

In the 100 races run between 2011 and 2013, Cup drives have won 74 of them. I’ve heard a plethora of ideas floating around about what, if anything, NASCAR should do. The most popular ones involve limiting the number of races Cup drivers can par-take in; or actually going as far as to ban them completely. The opposing side argues that the Cup stars bring in sponsors, attract more fan interest, and are great for the up-and-comers to learn off of.

However, the problem isn’t Cup drivers in Nationwide as many erroneously believe….it’s the Cup teams in Nationwide. You disagree? Well, chew on these stats and then tell me what you think – Kevin Harvick won 15 Nationwide races between 2006 and 2007 for Richard Childress Racing. In 2009 and 2010, he drove for his own organization and won just five times over that two year period. It’s a head-turning stat, but not near as blatant and incontrovertible as this one…

In 2011, Kyle Busch won eight of the 20 NNS races he entered in. In 2013, he took the victory in twelve of his 26 attempts. In 2012 though, he participated in 22 races, failing to win a single one. What was the big difference that year? Well, in 2011 and 2013, Kyle drove for Joe Gibbs Racing. In 2012 however, he ran his own cars under the Kyle Busch Motorsports banner. Joey Logano was Kyle’s replacement in the JGR ride and won nine times.

The Camping World Truck Series has a smaller field, is cheaper to run, and consequently, easier to dominate (see Kyle Busch’s career); yet 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski has found it difficult to succeed there. In 17 starts driving his own trucks, Brad has never won. How do you argue with these facts? Kyle had to shut down his Nationwide program due to lack of sponsorship at the end of last year, but these drivers don’t have to all own their own race teams; that’s not what I’m trying to sell here. It’s just one of the options.

If they don’t want to or can’t field their own cars, then there’s always the Nationwide only teams such as RAB Racing, JD Motorsports, and TriStar, who would benefit immensely from having that kind of star power wheeling their machines. Obviously, teams like Jr Motorsports and Turner-Scott would be more more appealing to Cup drivers. The Cup teams could only continue to field cars in the series, if they put a Nationwide driver in the seat. Not only would this idea continue to allow the young guns to race against and learn from Cup drivers, but they’d be able to do so in the best rides out there. It would level the playing field (or even put the Cup drivers at a disadvantage), and gives the NNS guys and girls a legitimate shot at victory lane each week. Oh, and the change would probably draw many of the disgruntled fans back too.

With the JGR & Penske seats vacated, talents like Ross Chastain and Jeb Burton, who are currently fighting to keep their foot in the door could get their big break…pending sponsorship of course. A contingent of people out there want to argue that if it were Mark Martin or Dale Earnhardt Jr. winning all these races, then this debate would be non-existent. Well, they are right to a point, but you’d still hear my voice opposing it…and I doubt I’d be alone. I could care less who wins; I just want to see a good show. A single driver, no matter who it is, dominating from start to finish on a weekly basis, is far from entertaining. When you have such a disparity within the field, a change needs to be made.

Dale Jarrett brought up at Vegas that it’s only the fans and some media who complain about this. Well, the media writes about it because the fans complain about it so that’s a moot point. Let’s focus on the fans for a second though. They buy the tickets, they watch on TV, and they are the reason why sponsors even care that the series exists. Sponsors won’t stick around if they aren’t getting the biggest bang for their buck. Case and point…Nationwide is pulling the plug as the series’ title sponsor at the end of 2014. They plan to solely focus on their role as the official insurance company of NASCAR in 2015.

This way, everyone is getting what they want. The big names stay, the sponsors stay, and fans on both sides of the argument will be satisfied for the most part. The Nationwide regulars would now have a fighting chance at winning more than a handful of times each year while also getting the experience of racing Sprint Cup stars before they become NSCS competitors themselves. There is no need to ban or limit the Cup drivers and/or Cup teams; simply forbid one to partner with the other in Nationwide races.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but it would be much more enjoyable to watch Kyle Busch pass a Nationwide regular for the win in inferior equipment, rather than lapping said Nationwide regular for the third time on his way to victory lane.

March 20, 2014

The Final Word – Bristol was one heck of a race…if you were able to see it

Rain. That was the theme of the cool, overcast, and often wet event at Bristol last Sunday. Rain delayed things, then stopped it all together for two hours as we sat on lap 125 of 500 for a spell. Often in the past, we have seen the guys who are leading near the start of the race just happen to be the same dudes there at the end. This was not one of those races.

Carl Edwards was nowhere to be seen early, but he emerged in the second half to lead 78 laps en route to his 22^nd career Cup victory. It was like a Talladega night as some unexpected names finished near the front. Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Aric Almirola rounded up the podium finishers, while Tony Stewart had his best result since his return from surgery, followed by Marcos Ambrose. It was not how we thought this might end.

For example, Matt Kenseth led the most laps, but it was an up and down day for him. He led early, but when Timmy Hill ran him over he found himself back in 30^th. He eventually worked his way back to the front again, only to fade over the final hundred laps to wind up 13^th.

That was one better than Brad Keselowski, he appeared done with about fifty left after he thundered into Jamie McMurray. It is tough to stop in oil, and after Kevin Harvick’s engine let go, there was lots to be found. Harvick once again had a good car, a horrid result (39^th), and a lot of flames.

Jimmie Johnson’s hopes unraveled. Literally. When you take a baseball apart, you go through a ton of string before you get to the rubber center. For Jimmie Johnson’s front right tire, you had a ribbon of rubber before getting to the cords. That flat took Six Time off the lead lap before the red flag and he never quite got back into a position to matter, winding up 19^th a couple of laps down.

Them Busch boys usually do well at Bristol, and for the first part of the race they were up there. The next thing you know they are battling Junior and Danica for the lucky dog. I would say that was a sign of the Apocalypse, then I remembered who the Grand Marshal is slated to be in California. No, THAT was the true sign. Junior had tire issues, not once but twice, and then he was…Gonzo. Kurt kept flirting with getting that lucky dog, but instead got the fence with his right rear with about a hundred to go. That dropped him into Unhappyland (35^th) with the likes of his brother (29^th), Junior (24^th), and the power steering challenged Joey Logano (20^th). Patrick finished 18^th.

So, TSN booted the race to FOX, who sent it to FOX 1, and for a lot of us, that was the end of the visual component of the race. Why does NASCAR allow race coverage to wind up in spots where a lot of folks get shut out? My guess is it is due to NASCAR really not giving a damn about you. If they did, you would be looked after. Pretty simple, really. I moved my Sirius out from the house to the car as it proved a real pain trying to secure a signal. I loaned my car to my sons to drive to college Sunday afternoon. Adios the audio component. Thank God for the Internet and my ability to read.

Weird race. We had a battery fall out of a car, tossing toilet paper everywhere, then a mystery caution at the end when the lights just started flashing after someone accidently leaned against the button. It would seem your butt can do more than just make phone calls.

So Kyle Busch wins Saturday’s Nationwide race, his 65^th career win in the juniors, his 2^nd of the season, and his 7^th at this particular track. As he won, he is the only Cup guy who mattered. Regan Smith finished 10^th as he leads the series by a point over eighth place finisher Trevor Bayne. Ty Dillon was the best finisher amongst series regulars, as his sixth place finish Saturday leaves him eight points out of top spot. Dear ESPN, these are the drivers you should have been interviewing, not fawning all over the Cup dudes like doe eyed gals at a high school dance. Pretty damn pathetic, to be honest with you.

In the end, Bristol lived up to its billing. Too bad about the rain, the long delay, and the lack of television coverage for many. Other than that, it was darn near perfect. This upcoming weekend, they are off to Fontana, California. Kyle Busch won there last year. Hell, he won the Nationwide race in 2013 as well, his sixth time kicking the stuffings out of the underfunded and under-experienced on the west coast. While Harvick (2011), Edwards (2008), Kasey Kahne (fall 2006), and Greg Biffle (spring 2005) have won there in recent memory, it is just as likely the man on top next week will have a name like Tony, Jimmie, Matt…or Kyle. Of the other 11 Cup events run there over the past nine years, all were claimed by one from that quartet.

All eight of the above named are currently sitting in a Sweet 16 spot to make the Chase, with the exception of Tony Stewart. He is 20 points out though, as Harvick demonstrates, points do not matter as long as one has a victory to their credit.

	Driver	Win	Points	Diff
1	Brad Keselowski	1	163
2	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	1	153	-10
3	Carl Edwards	1	152	-11
4	Kevin Harvick	1	89	-74
5	Jeff Gordon	0	152	-11
6	Jimmie Johnson	0	143	-20
7	Joey Logano	0	141	-22
8	Denny Hamlin	0	140	-23
9	Matt Kenseth	0	138	-25
10	Ryan Newman	0	125	-38
11	Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.	0	122	-41
12	Kasey Kahne	0	120	-43
13	Greg Biffle	0	118	-45
14	Austin Dillon	0	117	-46
15	Kyle Busch	0	111	-52
16	Marcos Ambrose	0	108	-55

March 17, 2014

Surprising and Not Surprising: Bristol Food City 500

Just as in the Daytona 500, starting in day and ending at night due to extensive rain delays, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 54^th annual Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Surprising: Creating his own ‘March Madness’, the leader of the Stewart-Haas Racing team rebounded from having to use a provisional to get into the race to finishing in the top five.

“To start 37th and end up fourth today, I’m pretty excited about that,” Tony Stewart said. “I’m really excited for Chad Johnston (crew chief) and everybody on this Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 team.”

“We had a long way to go from Friday when we weren’t very good, and every day we just got better and better. So, I’m really proud of this team.”

Not Surprising: With a gladiator’s sword as the prize for the victor, it was appropriate that the race ended as a survival of the fittest contest. And the survivor of this race was indeed fit, as demonstrated by his back flip on a wet start finish line in the track known as ‘the Last Great Coliseum.’

Carl Edwards, behind the wheel of the No. 99 Kellogg’s / Frosted Flakes Ford, scored his first win of the 2014 season, making him the fourth different driver to win in the season and qualifying him for the Chase. This was Edwards’s third victory and eighth top-10 finish at Bristol.

“I just can’t believe it,” Edwards said. “We were terrible on Saturday, so I’m just glad we turned it around.”

“We had no clue we were going to win this race.”

Surprising: While typically the action ensues when the green flag flies, in this race most of the intense crashing took place when the caution flag came out. There were two instances where the yellow flew yet two drivers were struck from the rear at fairly high rates of speed.

The first incident occurred when Timmy Hill drilled Matt Kenseth from behind and the second occurred when Brad Keselowski was unable to slow down and hit Jamie McMurray in the rear.

One of the more bizarre incidents occurred on pit road under caution when Danica Patrick attempted to pull out of her pit stall, got sideways and drilled Clint Bowyer’s machine.

“It was an eventful night,” Patrick said. “I lost first and second gear and then finally third gear. That’s why I hit Clint (Bowyer) in the pits.”

“It wouldn’t go so I dipped the clutch and got sideways, and when it was about to spin around, I lifted, it caught and then it went straight and it wouldn’t stop.”

“So, I hit him,” Patrick said. “I apologized to his crew after the race.”

Not Surprising: Kyle and Kurt Busch had an ‘O Brother Where Art Thou’ moment on lap 394 when Kyle spun out after losing his car in the marbles and big brother Kurt hit the wall trying to avoid him. As a result of that damage, Kurt Busch had to go back behind the wall to repair the right front suspension.

Kurt Busch finished 35^th and brother Kyle finished 29^th.

“Had a moment of brightness but it went downhill from there,” Kyle Busch tweeted after the race. “Really thankful no one hit me when I was sideways.”

Surprising: While the streak of top five finishes sadly ended for NASCAR’s most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., another streak surprisingly was born.

Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon scored his fourth consecutive top-10 finish, which the four-time champ has never been done before in his career to start the season.

Not Surprising: Bristol is one of the most physically demanding tracks so it was no wonder that Joey Logano was feeling the need to improve his upper body workout regimen. Logano lost his power steering prior to the rain delay but soldiered on to finish 20^th in his No. 22 Shell Pennzoil For.

“I was already huffing and puffing pretty hard trying to get the thing to turn,” Logano said. “It was intermittent for a while once we restarted and then it just went away.”

Surprising: Jimmie Johnson and his crew chief Chad Knaus must have remained in previous race Las Vega mode, gambling with taking left sides only early in the race and then cutting a right front tire down as a result.

The tread on the No. 48 Kobalt Tools Chevrolet unwound, which forced him to the pits, losing several laps to the leader.

“The tire still had air in it,” Johnson said. “It didn’t wear it out.”

“Something made it come apart.”

Not Surprising: It was only a matter of time for these two drivers to have a bit of a break out in the Sprint Cup Series, both posting their career best finishes.

Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., behind the wheel of his No. 17 Nationwide Insurance Ford, finished second, bettering his previous career high finish in third at Talladega in October 2013. And Aric Almirola, in his No. 43 Smithfield Ford Petty blue machine, finished third, bettering his previous career best at Homestead in 2010.

“It helps our confidence for sure,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “We’re just slowly working and getting better and better.”

“It was a good night for us,” Almirola said after the race was finally concluded. “It seemed like our car got better and better.”

“I’m really proud of everybody on our team because they gave me a really good car.”

Surprising: A strange new hashtag on Twitter was surprisingly born after one of the most bizarre equipment malfunctions occurred. As a result, rookie driver Alex Bowman tweeted “#badluckbowman is getting freaking ridiculous. Solid top 20 car and the battery literally fell out. Now I get to ride around all day.”

And with that tweet, the young Rookie of the Year contender picked up ad additional ten thousand followers of his Twitter handle @AlexBRacing.

Not Surprising: Speaking of rookie contenders, young Kyle Larson, piloting the No. 42 Target Chevrolet, finished top-10 and also was the highest finishing rookie of the race.

“We had a really good run today,” Larson said. “Started off in 20^th and got to the top ten pretty easily there in the beginning.”

“Ran in second and third for a long time,” Larson continued. “Pretty much stayed in the top ten for the whole race and inched our way up to the front.”

The Cup Series heads back across country next week for the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.

March 17, 2014
Preview and Predictions: Food City 500

After we nearly saw Dale Earnhardt Jr. clinch his first multi-win season since 2004, the series heads over to the first short track race of the season at Bristol Motor Speedway. With zero top-fives in the last 10 races there, Dale Jr. will have his work cut out for him if he wants to maintain his streak of top-two finishes. However, his rival Brad Keselowski could very easily maintain his streak of top-five finishes.

Bristol Motor Speedway is a tough half-mile race track, with racing there being equated to flying jet fighters in a gymnasium. With the current surface, we’ve seen a lack of bump-and-runs that made Bristol so exciting. But with this new points system that puts a large incentive on winning, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a driver put the bumper to another guy in order to win. Almost every driver will tell you they wouldn’t wreck a guy to win a race, but they may consider “rattling their cage.” In any case, here’s a couple drivers to keep an eye on, and one of them might end up in victory lane.

Kyle Busch

In recent memory, when you think of Bristol, you think of Kyle Busch. He’s scored a whopping 160 more points than any other driver in the last 10 races there, and he’s found victory lane in four of those races, the latest being the spring race of 2011. Add that to his impressive average finish of 7.8 over the last 10 starts at Bristol and it becomes easy to see why Rowdy Busch is always the man to beat at Bristol.

Brad Keselowski

I’m not entirely sure what Team Penske has done to their race cars, but they have been extremely fast all year long. Joey Logano sits fourth in points with two top-fives in three races, but his teammate Brad Keselowski is even better. Keselowski is just one point behind points leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. and has three top-fives in three races. In very recent memory, Brad K. has made Bristol Motor Speedway one of his best tracks, winning two of the last five. His average finish of 13th may not sound so great, but with the success and speed Team Penske have had this year, it would be a surprise to not see the White Deuce run up front.

Jimmie Johnson

When you think of Jimmie Johnson’s best tracks, Bristol usually doesn’t spring into mind, but after some research, I was surprised by how consistent Johnson has been at the half-mile race track. His five top-fives and seven top-10 finishes in the past 10 races there are equal to Kyle Busch, and he won a Bristol race in 2010. Also keep in mind that Johnson will be driving Chassis 728 this weekend. This chassis completely dominated at Pocono last year, won at Indy in 2012, and finished second at Indy last year. The success of Chassis 728 will continue on Sunday and Johnson will come home solidly inside the top-10.

Even though six-time has shown great consistency at Bristol over the past few years, I still believe the race will be between Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch, and I actually will give the edge to Mr. Keselowski. With the speed Team Penske has had in 2014, it’s evident that he looks a little better than his Joe Gibbs Racing rival Kyle Busch. As a diehard race fan, I can’t wait to see who conquers Thunder Valley.

All statistics retrieved from Racing-Reference.info.

March 14, 2014

Hot 20 – Earnhardt and Keselowski near perfect heading to Bristol

When you can tout an average finish of 1.67, as in the case of Dale Earnhardt Jr, or Brad Keselowski’s 2.33 you know you are doing something right. Each has a win, with Junior having a pair of runner up finishes compared to the two third place runs put in by the 2012 champion. While Kevin Harvick won at Phoenix, his 41^st place result at Las Vegas drops him in our search for the most noteworthy driver of the year.

Bristol is a place Earnhardt has won only once in 28 starts, and that was back in 2004. While he has recorded a top ten only half the time there, his average finish of 11.5 is second best amongst active drivers, only behind the 9.9 of five time winner Kyle Busch. While the chances are you will not see him crossing the line first on Sunday, odds are he will not be far behind. In his last ten starts there, Junior has come home between six and 16^th. Maybe still on top come next week, but so much for a near perfect pace.

Keselowski, on the other hand, once won a pair back-to-back at Bristol and was third in the spring race last season. However, he has also finished 30^th two of his last five, so it is anybody’s guess if he will experience feast or famine. As for Kyle Busch, he won half of the ten raced at Bristol between 2007 and 2011 and while he has had the odd off day, his last three show results of sixth, second, and 11^th.

Kurt Busch has not added to his five wins there since 2006, but maybe this is where he can get back on track this season. Jeff Gordon also has won five Bristol events, though none since 2002. Matt Kenseth can be hot and cold in the bowl as well, but he could up his tally to four Bristol wins by matching his result from last fall. Unless the doctor calls and he winds up heading back to North Carolina before race time to welcome the arrival of the latest addition to his family.

As we hunt down our season’s top driver, we give 22 additional points to the winner of each race and punt the Chase. I would expect either Kyle or Matt to move up into third place after this weekend, with both our leaders still atop the ladder when the smoke clears Sunday at Bristol.

Fin	Driver	Points	Wins
1	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	155	1
2	Brad Keselowski	154	1
3	Jimmie Johnson	117	0
4	Joey Logano	116	0
5	Jeff Gordon	115	0
6	Carl Edwards	105	0
7	Kevin Harvick	105	1
8	Kyle Busch	105	0
9	Matt Kenseth	105	0
10	Denny Hamlin	101	0
11	Ryan Newman	97	0
12	Jamie McMurray	93	0
13	Greg Biffle	86	0
14	Austin Dillon	84	0
15	Kasey Kahne	83	0
16	Casey Mears	80	0
17	Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.	80	0
18	Paul Menard	76	0
19	Marcos Ambrose	69	0
20	Brian Vickers	64	0

March 13, 2014

NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Las Vegas

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt’s engine sputtered on the final lap at Las Vegas, allowing Brad Keselowski to pass for the win as fuel mileage, costing the No. 88 its second win of the year. Still, Earnhardt has a win and two runner-ups, and leads Keselowski in the points standings by one point.

“We took a gamble,”Earnhardt said. “Some would call it ‘rolling the dice.’ That would be inaccurate. We only rolled one, because my engine ‘die’d.’ And Junior Nation is not a happy bunch. ‘MPG’ has moved to the top of the Nation’s list of most-hated three-letter acronyms, right above ‘DWI’ and ‘STD.’

“If only my gas tank was as big as expectations, we would have won the race handily.”

2. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski raced by Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s fuel-compromised Chevy on the final lap to win the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Keselowski also won Saturday’s Nationwide race, giving him his first weekend sweep.

“The No. 2 Miller Lite Ford was exceptional,” Keselowski said. “It’s hard to lose when you’re traveling at the speed of ‘Lite.’ This win has certainly sent our confidence sky-high. You could say we have a collective ‘brews’d ego.’

“It was a great week for Roger Penske. Not only did Penske Racing post two wins, Roger aced No. 4 at Augusta National golf course. Roger carries nothing but drivers in his bag. He’s not a member at Augusta, but he wears a green jacket nonetheless—-it’s made of money.”

3. immie Johnson: Johnson led 34 laps and finished sixth at Las Vegas, giving him three top 10’s in all three races this season. He is third in the Sprint Cup points standings, 16 out of first.

“Brad Keselowski was awarded a giant wrench for winning the Kobalt 400,” Johnson said. “It may not have been a symbolic win, but it was a symbolic trophy. And he can have it. I’m not into symblic trophies, but I am into symbolic ‘Cups.’

4. Joey Logano: Logano won the pole at Las Vegas, beating out teammate Brad Keselowski, as Penske Racing again swept the front row in qualifying. Logano finished fourth, while Keselowski notched the win.

“Brad and I love the new qualifying format,” Logano said. “Knockout qualifying has made us ‘qualifying knockouts.’ Roger put Penske on the map; we put Penske on the grid.”

5. Jeff Gordon: Gordon finished ninth in the Kobalt 400 as Hendrick Motorsports placed four drivers in the top 10, led by Earnhardt, Jr.’s runner-up. Gordon is fifth in the points standings, 18 behind Earnhardt.

“I liked Junior’s decision to gamble,” Gordon said, “despite the fact that it didn’t work out. He went ‘all in,’ and ended up ‘all out.’

“Earnhardt, Jimmie Johnson, and I all have three top-10 finishes to start the season, so it’s safe to say we’re all threats to win the Sprint Cup championship. But don’t forget about Kasey Kahne. As I’ve been saying for the last 13 years, you should be on the lookout for ‘No. 5.’”

6. Carl Edwards: Like Earnhardt, Jr., Edwards and the No. 99 team gambled on fuel mileage and came up just short. Edwards still managed to finish fifth, and vaulted two spots in the Sprint Cup points standings to sixth.

“We had a car capable of winning,” Edwards said, “but Lady Luck was not on our side. And let’s face it, she’s the only female, save for Miss Sprint Cup, worth having around in NASCAR.”

7. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth was the lone Toyota driver in the top 10 at Las Vegas, finishing tenth in the Kobalt 400. He moved up one spot to sixth in the points, where he trails Earnhardt, Jr. by 28.

“The Toyota’s didn’t quite have the speed to keep up with the Fords and Chevys,” Kenseth said. “I’m not worried. Toyota’s won 13 times last season. It’s just a matter of time before the Toyota’s re-‘Orient’ themselves at the front of the pack.”

8. Ryan Newman: Newman posted his second top-10 result of the year with a seventh at Las Vegas. He jumped six spots to ninth in the points standings, 36 out of first.

“I really feel comfortable in the Richard Childress Racing No. 31 car,” Newman said. “It’s a car that fans most associate with Jeff Burton. Sometimes, it seems like Jeff’s in the car with me. When that happens, I just do my best Richard Childress impression and tell him to leave.”

9. Kyle Busch: Busch finished 11th at Las Vegas, as Joe Gibbs Racing cars took the 10, 11, and 12 finishing spots. Busch is now tenth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 36 out of first.

“Congratulations to Brad Keselowski’s fuel tank for getting him the win,” Busch said. “Much like , it was full of it.

“My brother Kurt is planning to race in both the Indianapolis 500 and Coca Cola 600 on Sunday, May 25th. This will be historic. The last time Kurt said ‘Make it a double,’ he was talking to his plastic surgeon about his ears.”

10.Kevin Harvick: Harvick led 23 laps at Las Vegas before a broken wheel hub sent him to the garage. He eventually finished 41st, 30 laps down.

“It was a shaky day for Stewart Haas Racing,” Harvick said. “Danica Patrick was our top finisher with a 21st. Danica said that’s the highest she’s been in months, which could possibly trigger a test under NASCAR’s drug policy.”

March 12, 2014
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 17^th 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 300^th 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 21^st. Teammates Kurt Busch finished 26; Tony Stewart 33^rd and Kevin Harvick 41^st 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 17^th 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 16^th, the highest finishing rookie, but as a result, he now sits as the highest rookie in the point standings. In fact, Austin Dillon is 13^th 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.”

March 10, 2014

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

March 10, 2014