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  • Matty’s Picks 2013 – Race 31 Bank of America 500 – Charlotte Motor Speedway – October 12, 2013

    Matty’s Picks 2013 – Race 31 Bank of America 500 – Charlotte Motor Speedway – October 12, 2013

    The drivers of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series do not have to travel much further than their back yards to get to the track this week. A hometown race this week, and the only night race of the 2013 Chase for The Sprint Cup for the vast majority of teams this week. There have been 109 races at Charlotte Motor Speedway, everyone knows the history that has been made at the track, so I’ll spare the history for some statistics this week.

    Jimmie Johnson leads the series with the most Chase race wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway with three, but none since his last win at Charlotte in October of 2009. The deepest in the field any eventual NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion has finished at the Chase race at Charlotte Motor Speedway was 25th all the way back in 2005 when Tony Stewart won his second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship, his first with the Chase setup. All but one of the nine Chase races at Charlotte have been won by Chase drivers, and the second starting position has produced more race winners than any other starting position with 17 eventual race winners starting outside the front row. So with these stats so far, we’ve not eliminated any potential race winners.

    The one statistic very important to this week’s picks comes in the form of a particular manufacturer’s recent struggles at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Just one Ford driver (who is driving a Toyota now) has won a race at Charlotte in the last 22 Charlotte races, and that was Matt Kenseth in the 2011 Bank of America 500. So one driver in 11 years has been able to put Ford in Victory Lane, which is something to look at this week if you’re making fantasy picks.

    The only night race of the 2013 Chase for the Sprint Cup, so enjoy not swapping back and forth between your NFL game and NASCAR this week…

    Kansas Recap

    Not a great week for me last week at Kansas Speedway as I went with the points leader, Matt Kenseth as my winner pick because he was undefeated on the low-banked intermediate tracks this season. He had won at Las Vegas in March, Kansas in April, Kentucky in June, and Chicago in September to open the 2013 Chase. Kenseth’s streak would end last week at Kansas has he was rather quiet for the majority of the race….but extended his streak of 5 straight races where he has led a lap. Kenseth finished 11th, his first finish outside the top 10 in over a month.

    My Dark Horse was exactly that, a shot in the dark especially this season. The dark horse aspect was erased when Brad Keselowski qualified fourth and got to the front for 52 laps last week in Kansas. Crew Chief Paul Wolfe’s gamble with fuel would not pan out as the Miller Lite Ford ran out of fuel on lap 224, the gamble cost Keselowski two laps to the leader which he was able to make up one, but would finish 17th when the checkered flag flew.

    Charlotte Picks

    Winner Pick
    There are many folks looking at the No.18 team this week, for one he has won two races on the high banked intermediate tracks this season, in dominating fashion at Texas in April and most recently at Atlanta on Labor Day weekend. The second reason why Rowdy Busch is circled on may fantasy rosters this week is the thought that he is due for a win at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Cup Series. Rewind to Memorial Day weekend this season…Kyle Busch was leading the Coca-Cola 600, in the middle of lap traffic when Fox Sports’ SkyCam over the frontstretch at Charlotte Motor Speedway came crashing to the race surface immediately in front of the No.18 car. The impact of the SkyCam resulted in radiator issues and an engine failure for Kyle who was positioned for his first ever Charlotte career win.

    The loop statistics are great for a guy who has never won a race…he’s in the top three in all but one of the loop categories. The only one he is not inside the top three is Green Flag Passes, but Kyle has also qualified well over the years in North Carolina with a couple poles in the points races and an average start of 11.5. The practice sessions today and his win in the NASCAR Nationwide Series on Friday at Charlotte have added to my case for Kyle Busch on Saturday night. I am seeing a win out of this team on Saturday night and them jumping back into the Championship picture when we head to Talladega next week.

    Dark Horse Pick
    Martin Truex Jr. is going to be my longer play this week and here is why…Before Kansas last week and the race at Chicagoland to open the Chase, you had to go back all the way to Las Vegas back in March of 2012 for Truex’s last finish outside the top 15 on any of these intermediate track races. The stretch of 15-straight top 15 finishes is enhanced by the fact that he had two finishes outside the top 10 in the same stretch, both of which coming in the 2012 season.

    Keep in mind Truex led 142 laps and finished 2nd at Texas back in April, also a 1.5-mile night race. Truex qualified 17th on Thursday, but went out for his qualifying run relatively early to some of the other drivers with similar practice speeds. On Friday, Truex was 3rd fastest in the first practice session and 5th in Happy Hour Friday evening, adding to the consistency we’ve seen all season from Truex on these intermediate tracks. He would like nothing more than to win one of these Chase races, so I’m throwing out the couple poor finishes in a row at Chicago and Kansas and going with Truex as a solid longer play this week.

    That’s all for this week, so until we head to the biggest juggernaut of the 2013 Chase for the Sprint Cup….You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Kyle Busch Claims Victory in the 32nd Annual Dollar General 300

    Kyle Busch Claims Victory in the 32nd Annual Dollar General 300

    A cool, October night at Charlotte Motor Speedway was anything but serene as forty-six drivers battled for victory in the 32nd Annual Dollar General 300.  Intense competition at the lead of the pack resulted in an all too familiar outcome, Kyle Busch won his eleventh NASCAR Nationwide Series race of the 2013 season.

    Tonight’s win marks Busch’s eighth NASCAR Nationwide Series win at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  He also has five Camping World Truck Series wins that makes him the driver with the most wins collectively at Charlotte Motor Speedway. While celebrating in victory lane Kyle and his wife, Samantha, announced that they are donating all of tonight’s winnings to the Pretty in Pink Foundation.

    When asked how special it is to win this race tonight, Busch said, “I certainly want to do this tomorrow night also, but first and foremost our breast cancer survivors are with us tonight—they are the champions that we have here tonight.  This is an honor to them—Samantha’s done a tremendous job with her Project Pink Initiative.  To come out here and try to raise money—we had a dinner on Tuesday night, we had a mammogram unit at KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) on Thursday and she’s done a tremendous job.  She deserves all the credit this week.”

    NASCAR’s support of Breast Cancer Awareness month was evident throughout the track with a variety of paint schemes and evidence of charitable support.

    Although Busch has had tremendous success in the Nationwide Series this season, his trip to victory lane tonight did not come easy.  Nationwide regulars, Austin Dillon, Sam Hornish Jr., and Kyle Larson, gave Busch a run for his money.

    When asked how he was able to catch Sam Hornish Jr. in the closing laps, Busch commented, “I felt like I didn’t have a chance to win the thing and went and found the top groove and chased Sam back down, got by him and I tell you without the help from upstairs—that’s the biggest help you can get these days.”

    After a hard fought battle to the finish, driver of the No. 12 Detroit Genuine Parts Ford, Sam Hornish Jr., finished the night in third place posting his second top-10 finish in seven races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    When interviewed after the race, Hornish said, “We had that restart with about 40 to go and felt really good about our car and what we were gonna be able to accomplish.  The Detroit Genuine Parts Ford Mustang was good, but our problem throughout the night that we continued to build freer as the runs went on and I think there were probably a lot of people that were in the same boat, but we could never get it tight enough at the start of the run to be not busting-free towards the end.  We caught Kyle there and got around him and thought I was pulling away from him far enough to be ok, and then all of a sudden he just started reeling me back in.  I was too free to run up there where he ran that last bit of the race.”

    Hornish is eight points behind the Nationwide Series points leader, Austin Dillon.  Hornish and Dillon battled for position during much of the race and Hornish stayed right with Dillon in the points tonight.

    “Yeah, we ran around each other a lot the second half of the year here,” Hornish said. “It seems like no matter what we’re always right there together, but we got out there and led a bunch of laps and got that extra bonus point and kept it even up, so we’ll just keep working hard.  We go to some tracks that I really like going to coming up.”

    Nationwide points leader, Austin Dillon, finished the 32nd Annual Dollar General 300 in second place posting his second top-10 finish in four races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  It is his twentieth top-10 finish in 2013.

    Commenting on his night, Dillon said, “It was a good one, they asked us early in the week what it would be like to be the points champion without a win, that right there should show you how great the racing is and how tough it is.  Had three guys fighting it out there until the end for everything we had and that was a heck of a race and like I told Sam, it was the best race I felt like I was a part of all year, slicing and dicing out there…”

    Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 32 Target Chevrolet, was the highest finishing rookie with a thirteenth place finish.  Larson made the bold move of running the high line on the track for much of the night, and it proved to be successful until he hit the wall during the final laps, which resulted in his thirteenth place finish.

    The No. 22 Discount Tire Ford, with eleven wins this season, was driven by Joey Logano and ended the race with a seventh place finish.  After the race Logano said, “It starts in practice.  There was an adjustment on the car we went back and forth on and couldn’t figure out what we wanted to do and we went down a little bit more of a risky road, but it was faster and it bit us.  I feel like I should have known better.  I feel like I steered the boat down the wrong way, so I’m mad at myself.  But you win as a team and you lose as a team, but it’s just frustrating.”

    Other notable finishes in tonight’s race were Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth finishing in fifth and sixth places, respectively.  Trevor Bayne, Parker Kligerman, and Michael Annett rounded out the top 10 in eighth, ninth, and tenth places.

    The NASCAR Nationwide Series will travel to Texas Motor Speedway on November 2nd for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300.

     

  • Could the Busch/Keselowski Feud Cost Busch the Championship?

    Could the Busch/Keselowski Feud Cost Busch the Championship?

    With an impressive NASCAR Sprint Cup season thus far, including four wins, with fourteen top-5 and eighteen top-10 finishes, Kyle Busch has won many NASCAR experts over with his signs of increased maturity and level-headedness this season.

    Many spectators believed this could be the season that Kyle Busch capitalizes on his strengths in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.

    Many of these sentiments have come into question one week after Busch made contact with the driver of the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford, Brad Keselowski, on lap 188 of the NASCAR Nationwide Series Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway.

    Busch said he has “yet to wreck a person on purpose,” and accounted for the incident by saying, “I was faster than he was for as tight as I was — and when I got underneath him a little bit there off of Turn 4, I got inside of his wake and got too close to him and it pulled me right into him. Once we touched, he was gone.”

    Keselowski didn’t buy into Busch’s perspective of the wreck.  After the race he said, “He’s a dirty driver; there’s no other way of putting it.  He’s cool with that. I’ve raced him real cool over the last year to try to be respectful to him and trying to repair our relationship. I’ve watched him wreck my trucks, cost me from winning races, put me in the fence at Chicago in the truck race. Nationwide races, he’s been pulling this crap.  It’s not going to last. I can tell you that. I feel bad for the guys next to me (pointing to the No. 54 hauler). They’re going to have to fix his (crap).”

    Busch has no intentions of apologizing to Keselowski.  He told FOXSports.com, “I don’t have Brad Keselowski’s phone number. Don’t need it, don’t want it. He didn’t call me after Watkins Glen.”

    Busch continues to hold a grudge against Keselowski after the wreck between the two of them last season at Watkins Glen, which essentially cost Busch a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship.

    Busch commented on SiriusXM’s NASCAR channel on Friday about the possibility of Brad seeking revenge in one of the remaining Cup races leading up to the Championship.  He said, “Probably for Brad being who Brad is, I guess I should be worried because he’s stupid enough to do something, but in all reality, to myself, I don’t know, I guess I had more respect for drivers than that.”

    Keselowski clearly has the upper hand and he knows it.  Last Sunday, in the drivers’ meeting, Brad asked what the penalty would be for intentionally wrecking another driver.  Could it be that Brad was seeking revenge by disturbing Kyle’s psyche during the final six races of the season? Perhaps he asked the question preparing to make his move on the track.  Either way, Kyle finished the Hollywood Casino 400 in 34th position and dropped from third in the Chase points standings to fifth, thirty-five points behind leader Matt Kenseth.

    Despite the speculation this season that we have seen a new, more mature Kyle Busch who has a better chance than ever to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship, could Busch’s feud with Keselowski be the old Kyle creeping back into the Chase?  Could Busch be his own worst enemy?  Could the Busch/Keselowski feud cost Busch the Championship?

  • Busch Trying to Bounce Back at Charlotte

    Busch Trying to Bounce Back at Charlotte

    After a late crash in the Hollywood Casino 400 last week at Kansas Speedway that landed Busch a 34th place finish and caused him to drop two spots in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings, Busch comes to Charlotte Motor Speedway on a mission.

    Being a contender year after year, but never having won a NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship, many spectators believe this could be Kyle’s year.  Many also believe that Kyle has displayed the maturity and mentality this season to get the job done.

    Up until his 34th place finish at Kansas last weekend, Kyle was part of what many considered a “3-man” race for the Championship.  His crash toward the end of the race dropped him to 5th spot in the Chase standings, 35 points behind leader Matt Kenseth.

    When asked if he considers this a bounce back race, Busch said, “It’s certainly a bounce back week.  I feel like we’ve had good runs this year.  We’ve been really fast and we’ve shown consistency.  We have to show that consistency getting back into the thick of things and being able to run well here.  I feel like if we can come out here and win this weekend, that will put us right back in it and give us an opportunity to gain points on people and also show everybody that what happened last week is last week and this is this week.  We look forward to the final five that are left.”

    Having posted four Sprint Cup Series wins this season, with fourteen top-5 and eighteen top-10 finishes leading 1,200 laps, Busch has yet to find his way to victory lane at Charlotte.

    When asked what it would mean to get a Cup win at Charlotte, Busch said, “It would certainly be nice to get a win here whether it’s Nationwide or Cup and especially Cup — we haven’t done that yet here.  It’s been a track where we’ve been really good at over the years and I think the most important thing is that if we can get a win here, then that sets the tone that we  are back in the thick of things.”

    Busch will start the Bank of America 500, under the lights at Charlotte, in ninth position. Commenting on his car after qualifying, Busch stated, “The M&M’s Camry is not too bad — certainly wish for a little bit more.  We would have liked to have been quickest, but it seems like the track is similar in qualifying to what it was in practice, but a lot of guys are running the same.  We kind of slowed down a little bit.”

    The green flag will fall at Charlotte Motor Speedway at 7 p.m. local time for NASCAR Sprint Cup Bank of America 500.

  • Hot 20 over the past 10 – The junior circuit needs a rejig, while our Cup leaders hope to avoid a bad day in Charlotte

    Hot 20 over the past 10 – The junior circuit needs a rejig, while our Cup leaders hope to avoid a bad day in Charlotte

    As we head into Charlotte, there is a birthday to note and a milestone to recognize.  Dale Earnhardt Jr has celebrated his 39th birthday, and on Saturday night he will run in his 500th Cup start. It is a track he has yet to win on, a track that launched his Cup career back in 1999.

    Of course, by that time Junior had already won his first of two junior circuit titles. In doing so, in 1998 and 1999, he claimed 13 victories. Imagine that, the champion of what, for now at least, is known as the Nationwide series actually winning races.  Regan Smith has won two and sits in second place. Sam Hornish Jr and the eighth place Trevor Bayne each has one. Austin Dillon leads Smith by eight points, and he has not yet won a blessed thing. I wonder why?

    Four Nationwide drivers have won just four of 29 events.  Maybe it is a good thing that Kyle Busch missed seven of those races, for he has won 10 of those he has run. Brad Keselowski has five, Joey Logano has three, and two more claimed by Matt Kenseth. After fellow Cup drivers Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick get credit for their wins, that leaves only the one to youngster Ryan Blaney and the two for two run of A.J. Allmendinger when he found the time when not running Cup or IndyCar.  So, exactly what is the purpose of the Nationwide series?

    If it is to develop future Cup drivers, rather than providing Chasers or former Cup champions yet another opportunity to showcase their talents against lesser lights, then just maybe we have undermined the purpose of the series. Maybe we have turned the exercise into something of a joke. I do understand why they run there, why the track owners want to see them there, but as much as I would love to see such names as Cabrera, Ellsbury, and Scherzer on the field should I take in a game in Winnipeg, it would be wrong for them to be there in a regular American Association game. It is just as wrong for Kyle, Joey, Matt, et al to take the place of drivers who have hopes of climbing the ladder. There is nothing to be gained by having established  stars simply dropping down to the bushes,  as it were.

    A solution? Allow Cup drivers five, and no more than five, opportunities to compete in any lower series than the one they are competing for points in. If Kyle Busch wishes to race in five Nationwide races and five truck events, let him do so. The fans would love it…but no more than five in each. Up and coming drivers would love the opportunity to compete, and to do so against their peers. They deserve no less. You can discuss.

    While the others await a stumble from Kenseth as we head toward the fifth of the ten Chase events, our points leader remains the hottest driver over the past ten events. While Jimmie Johnson sits three points back in the standings, he is buried  in 17th place over the past ten starts. So, what if there is no stumble, what if these drivers average a tenth place finish the rest of the way?

    With the advent of the Chase, whomever is the best over the final ten races of the season should be the champion. Obviously, making the Chase is necessary as well as taking into consideration the bonus advantage the leader takes in. Three points is what Kenseth had over Johnson going in, and three points is what he has today.

    As we replace the results from Pocono, Watkins Glen, Michigan, Bristol, Atlanta and Richmond by those of Charlotte, Talladega, Martinsville, Fort Worth, Phoenix, and Homestead, let us assume both Kenseth and Johnson will average 34 points, a 10th place finish, from this point onward. If that were the case, Kenseth would end with a ten race total of 372 points, a dozen better than what he has today. If Jimmie Johnson replaces those results (13th, 8th, 40th, 36th, 28th, and 40th) in similar fashion, he also would wind up with 372 points, jumping his total by 103.

    While Five Time is not among our hottest today, he will be in six weeks if he hopes to make it six. As hot as the Busch boys, Logano, Gordon, and Harvick might be right now, they will need better than a series of 10th place finishes to get back into the picture. That said, a bad day for two could equate into a great one for a few others.

    TW Driver Win T5 T10 Points LW Rank
    1 Matt Kenseth 3 3 5 360 1 1
    2 Kurt Busch 0 6 7 352 5 7
    3 Joey Logano 1 5 7 348 4 10
    4 Jeff Gordon 0 3 7 342 6 4
    5 Kyle Busch 2 5 6 337 2 5
    6 Kevin Harvick 1 3 5 332 9 3
    7 Greg Biffle 0 1 5 330 7 6
    8 Ryan Newman 0 3 5 317 3 12
    9 Jamie McMurray 0 2 2 310 8 14
    10 Carl Edwards 1 3 5 304 10 11
    11 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 0 2 6 294 11 8
    12 Marcos Ambrose 0 0 3 288 15 20
    13 Paul Menard 0 2 4 285 14 17
    14 Juan Pablo Montoya 0 2 3 280 12 22
    15 Kasey Kahne 1 2 3 275 13 13
    16 Brad Keselowski 0 1 3 274 17 15
    17 Jimmie Johnson 1 3 5 269 16 2
    18 Jeff Burton 0 0 2 258 22 19
    19 Martin Truex, Jr. 0 2 4 252 18 16
    20 Aric Almirola 0 0 1 246 20 18
    21 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. 0 0 2 246 19 21
    22 Clint Bowyer 0 1 4 242 21 9
  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Kansas

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Kansas

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished 11th at Kansas and maintained the lead in the Sprint Cup points standings. He leads Jimmie Johnson by three.

    “Believe it or not,” Kenseth said, “having my points lead sliced wasn’t my biggest ‘slide’ of the day. That Kansas track is slick! My teammate Kyle Busch had so many spins, even Clint Bowyer was impressed.”

    2. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished sixth at Kansas, five places ahead of Matt Kenseth. He trimmed Kenseth’s lead in the Sprint Cup points standings from eight to three.

    “Kenseth certainly feels the pressure,” Johnson said. “He’s hanging on to the points lead by a thread. And we all know you can’t have a noose without first a thread.

    “It’s very fitting that we’re leaving the Hollywood Casino 400 in a very tight race for the Cup, because for those who thought Kenseth was running away with the championship, all bets are off.”

    3. Kevin Harvick: Harvick dominated the early stages of the Hollywood Casino 400 and led 138 of 267 laps on his way to the win, his third of the year. He is now third in the points standings, 25 out of first.

    “After months of talking about going to Stewart-Haas Racing,” Harvick said, “I finally ‘made a move.’”

    4. Kyle Busch: Busch had all kinds of trouble at Kansas, spinning several times until ultimately ending his day after slamming the wall with 68 laps to go. He is now fourth in the points standings, 35 out of first.

    “I couldn’t keep the tires on the track,” Busch said. “There was nothing ‘Hollywood’ about my performance, mainly because I was lacking ‘key grip.’ As they say, ‘M&M’s don’t melt in my hands, but my steering wheel does.”

    5. Jeff Gordon: Gordon took third in the Hollywood Casino 400 as Kevin Harvick took the win. Gordon is fourth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 32 out of first.

    “I had a cordial discussion with Kurt Busch after the race,” Gordon said. “I gave him an earful, which was quite difficult, because cosmetic surgery left Kurt with less than a full ear.”

    6. Kurt Busch: Busch posted his best finish of the Chase, taking second behind Kevin Harvick at Kansas. He is seventh in the point standings, 47 out of first.

    “Kyle entered Sunday’s race only 14 points out of the lead,” Kurt Busch said. “He left 35 out of the lead. I guess he gives new meaning to the term ‘backup’ car.”

    7. Joey Logano: Logano finished fourth at Kansas, the top Ford finisher in the Hollywood Casino 400. He is tenth in the points standings, 59 out of first.

    “Brad Keselowski signed an extension through 2017 to remain with Penske Racing,” Logano said. “In related news, Keselowski said he ‘deal with’ Kyle Busch later.”

    8. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt finished eighth in the Hollywood Casino 400, nabbing his 17th top 10 of the year. He is eighth in the points standings, 54 out of first.

    “Danica Patrick was out of the race in a hurry,” Earnhardt said. “Apparently, ‘Go’ time came early on Sunday.

    “As you’ve probably heard, Danica and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. star in a Colt Ford country music video for his song, ‘Drivin’ Around Song.’ Rumor has it that the tune samples Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall.’”

    9. Greg Biffle: Biffle finished 13th at Kansas and is sixth in the points standings, 44 behind Matt Kenseth.

    “I’ve fallen so far behind in the points,” Biffle said, “Tony Stewart will probably ‘recover’ before I do.”

    10. Clint Bowyer: Kansas native Bowyer came home 14th in the Hollywood Casino 400, and is now ninth in the points standings, 55 out of first.

    “I’m not sure where this Hollywood Casino is,” Bowyer said, “but I’d sure like to find the roulette wheel and take it for a ‘spin.’”

  • The Final Word – Kansas leaves us with just two contenders…or does it?

    The Final Word – Kansas leaves us with just two contenders…or does it?

    Sometimes I like surprises. You tune in a race hoping to be entertained, but not always expecting it. Kansas turned out to be that kind of race.

    Not everyone enjoys surprises. Danica Patrick, I am sure, did not expect to win last Sunday, but she probably had hopes of lasting more than a lap. Kyle Busch has rarely done well at Kansas, but he was hoping. He took some slings and arrows throughout, at least until he got spun to tear the front end off his car to put an end to his day early. He then slipped down to fifth in points behind race winner Kevin Harvick and the third place Jeff Gordon.

    Harvick’s third win of the season, and 22nd of his career, moved him to within 25 points of Matt Kenseth. Kenseth got a pit penalty early that dropped him from first to 30th at the time, only to recover to wrap the day up in 11th, just five spots behind Jimmie Johnson to retain a 3 point advantage.  Kurt Busch was second best on the day, but he sits 47 out, leaving Kenseth and Johnson in a two way fight, barring bad things going their way over the next six events.

    No surprise that Chasers Joey Logano, Carl Edwards, and Dale Earnhardt Jr finished in the top ten last weekend. It also should come as no surprise to see that matters little until the two leaders falter. Ryan Newman  got a surprise when he got clipped to pretty much skin his ride, leaving him 35th, a spot behind Rowdy. The junior Busch is 35 back, Newman is 38 behind even him. Say goodnight, Irene.

    Rating Kansas – 9/10 – Some races need the assistance of an announce team to keep us entertained. Some are entertaining on their own, and the ESPN trio were more than good enough to keep folks watching this time out. The track was slick and treacherous, providing more than a few  unexpected surprises.

    Traditionally, Charlotte and Talladega tend to be rather entertaining and those are our next two stops on the tour. Jimmie Johnson has six previous victories in North Carolina and is tied for second among active drivers with the best average finish.  If I were a betting man, I would not be surprised to see Five Time taking over the Chase standings when they are done this Saturday night, but I would also bet Mr. Kenseth to pick up a Top Ten to remain close.

    Jeff Gordon could win. He has five at Charlotte. Kasey Kahne has four, and could do well. Carl Edwards has yet to be victorious there, but he seems to have decent finishes. Still, until the top two slip, it all does not mean that much.  That is, unless Harvick repeats his spring performance and wins another this weekend.  That could cause us to rethink things when they venture to Alabama, a place where surprises are totally expected. In the meantime, enjoy the week.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Kansas Hollywood Casino 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Kansas Hollywood Casino 400

    From weather and tires to a fire off track that was smoky enough to cause a caution, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 13th annual Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

    Surprising:  Two ‘lame duck’ drivers who just happen to be future teammates scored the one-two victory punch in the land of Oz, with Kevin Harvick scoring the win from the pole and Kurt Busch coming all the way from the rear of the field to finish runner up.

    “To sit on the pole and win the race is obviously a great weekend, and controlling our own destiny by doing that, we are putting ourselves closer to where we need to be with the championship race,” the driver of the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet said. “We’ll just keep having fun and keep doing what we’re doing.”

    This was Harvick’s first win at Kansas and his third victory of the season. And with the win, Harvick did indeed help himself in the point standings, climbing into the third position, 25 points behind the leader.

    Kurt Busch scored his fourth top-10 in 16 races at Kansas and his 15th top-10 finish in 2013. He moved up two positions to seventh in the Chase standings, 47 points behind the leader.

    “Wow, what an unbelievable drive,” the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet said. “We battled hard to come from 41st and we did this in a backup car.”

    “Today is a small little victory in my own mind.”

    Not Surprising:  With every driver on edge given the track conditions, it was no surprise that tempers flared just a little bit with some of the close racing. Four-time champ Jeff Gordon was one driver who had an issue after some hard racing with Kurt Busch resulted in his third place finish.

    “It’s not a NASCAR race if you don’t have a discussion with another driver out there about an incident on the track,” the driver of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet said. “Everybody is just trying to get every position they could.”

    “I got in the outside lane there one time and he (Kurt Busch) just came up and the next lap I got to his bumper and got him loose,” Gordon continued. “I guess that kind of led to him wanting to run into me on the right side on my door.”

    Gordon’s third place finish did, however, move him up one position in the Chase standings to the fourth spot, 32 points back from the leader.

    Surprising:  In spite of a speeding penalty, loose race car and an 11th place finish, Matt Kenseth was feeling incredibly lucky in the Hollywood Casino 400, particularly since he described his No. 20 Dollar General Toyota as the ‘evilest’ car he had ever driven.

    Yet even with that ‘evilest’ car, Kenseth not only was the highest Toyota finisher but he also managed to maintain his points lead in the Chase, out front by three after Kansas.

    “It was a struggle all day,” Kenseth said. “I was so loose I was ready to crash pretty much at all times of the race.”

    “We drove back to 11th, which definitely isn’t what we wanted or what we need to contend for this thing, but it was a good save for as bad as we were.”

    Not Surprising:  While some drivers circle dates on the calendar for tracks where they cannot wait to race, others have tracks from which they cannot wait to leave.

    Such was the experience at Kansas for Kyle Busch, who yet again was bitten by the Kansas demons that led to his Chase race demise, from third to fifth place, after his 34th place finish. This was his third straight DNF at Kansas Speedway.

    “I have no idea what happened,” Busch said after his race ended in carnage. “All I know is we’re in Kansas, right?”

    “Every other track except Kansas seems to be able to bode well for us,” the driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota said. “It wasn’t meant to be.”

    Surprising:  Five-time champ Jimmie Johnson had a self-proclaimed surprisingly crazy, weird and wacky day that still had him passing cars, finishing sixth in his No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, and gaining points, now just three points back from leader Matt Kenseth.

    “All in all it was just a crazy day,” Johnson said. “Weird restarts. Wacky restarts. A lot of chaos there.”

    “These cautions kept coming out and they hurt us each time,” Johnson continued, “So we rebounded from all that and passed a ton of race cars, and then on the last lap with I guess two to go, coming down the back, the car started shaking real bad and I thought it was over.”

    “We had so many things happen to us and still salvaged a very strong sixth place finish.”

    Not Surprising:   Richard Petty Motorsports, a team that has seemed to be steadily gaining and moving forward had another good run at Kansas with both drivers finishing top ten.

    “It felt like a win because I thought our day was done,” Marcos Ambrose, driver of the No. 9 MAC Tools Ford said after finishing ninth. “It was a bizarre kind of a race.”

    “The tire was super edgy and unpredictable and you didn’t know if it was the wind or the tire or the car that was making the difference.”

    “I am just pleased that we finished and I fought hard all day.”

    “We got a top-10 and I would have never told you that was possible,” Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 43 Farmland Ford said after finishing tenth. “We got off in the middle part of the race but salvaged a good finish.”

    “I am proud of my guys.”

    Surprising:  Another team, however, that of Stewart Haas Racing, had a surprisingly ugly day at the race track.

    Danica Patrick, SHR driver, wrecked hard on the first lap and finished 43rd, while Ryan Newman, SHR teammate, got tangled up in a wreck, finishing 35th and dropping to 12th in the point standings.

    “I knew that going into the race that losing grip was going to be not that hard to do,” Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet said. “I said that before the race started.”

    “Things just go wrong,” Patrick continued. “If I did something wrong, I apologize to everyone on my team but it’s just a shame.”

    “There’s not much to say other than we were in the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught up in an accident not of our making,” Newman said. “It’s definitely a disappointing day for all of us on the Code 3 Associates team.”

    Not Surprising:  With the challenging track conditions, it was not surprising that restarts were especially challenging for each and every driver, whether a Chaser or not, in the field. In fact, one Chase contender defined the restarts at Kansas as simply ‘insane.’

    “The restarts were insane,” Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford said. “Look up insane and that is the definition right there.”

    “It is tough to be racing for points when you have those kind of restarts.”

    “It was pretty crazy out there,” Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, said. “Every restart you had to be so aggressive to pass people because that was your best shot to pass them and everyone realized it.”

    Logano finished the race in fourth while Edwards salvaged a fifth place finish. The two drivers are now in the tenth and eleventh spots in the point standings respectively.

    Surprising:  The end of the race was most surprising, at least for Aric Almirola and Clint Bowyer, who got into each other coming to the checkered flag.

    Bowyer, driver of the No. 15 Raspberry 5-Hour Energy/Living Beyond Breast Cancer Toyota, described his day in a tweet after the race, “What a frustrating day! Started out sh**ty, got a little better, got WAY better, put on 2 tires and s**t the bed…Then lost my mind.”

    Almirola described the run-in with Bowyer in a slightly different way, “I beat him on that restart and I guess he was mad about it.”

    “That is fine, I am not worried about it,” Almirola continued. “I beat him.”

    Not Surprising:  With the confluence of weather, tires, track conditions and the Chase pressure, it was not surprising that the record for the number of cautions was broken at Kansas Speedway with a total of fifteen. In fact, there were 71 laps run under caution, a new record for the season.

    “We had a lot of gremlins this weekend,” Brad Keselowski, reigning champ and driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford said. “There were so many wrecks and so many yellows that we could never really get going.”

    “Oh yeah, we couldn’t get in a rhythm out there.”

    The Cup Series next travels to Charlotte for the Bank of America 500 under the Saturday night lights.

     

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished 7th at Dover, failing in his quest to become the first driver to win the first three Chase For The Cup races. Kenseth leads Jimmie Johnson by eight points in the standings.

    “The No. 20 Toyota sported the ‘Let’s Do This’ logo at Dover,” Kenseth said. “That’s opposed to Clint Bowyer’s No. 15, which read ‘I Did This.’”

    2. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson captured a big win at Dover, taking the AAA 400 as Joe Gibbs Racing rivals Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch finished 7th and 5th, respectively. Johnson trails Kenseth by eight in the Sprint Cup points standings.

    “Kenseth won’t have this championship handed to him on a silver platter,” Johnson said. “Why? Because that platter is full, because I just served notice on it.”

    3. Kyle Busch: Busch led 30 laps and finished fifth at Dover, posting his 14th top 5 of the year. He is third in the point standings, 12 behind Matt Kenseth.

    “I’m tired of playing second fiddle to Kenseth,” Busch said. “I’m used to being called a ‘tool,’ not an ‘instrument.’

    4. Jeff Gordon: Gordon finished fourth at Dover as Hendrick Motorsports took three of the top four spots, with Jimmie Johnson winning. Gordon is fifth in the points standings, 39 out of first.

    “I’d say I’m doing pretty good,” Gordon said, “considering I was a wild-wild card addition to the Chase.

    “My odds are slim and my chances are fat. It appears that for my fifth Sprint Cup championship, the ‘wait’ is on.”

    5. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished sixth in the AAA 400 at Dover, recording his 15th top 10 of the year. He is fourth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 39 out of first.

    “Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, and Kyle Busch are slugging it out at the top,” Harvick said, “while I’m merely an afterthought. I, along with others, am what you call a ‘sleeper.’ That’s because if I win the Cup, someone will have to wake me up, because I was obviously dreaming.”

    6. Greg Biffle: Biffle took ninth at Dover, the top finisher among Roush Fenway Racing drivers. He is sixth in the point standings, 41 out of first.

    “I heard Clint Bowyer did yoga before Sunday’s race,” Biffle said. “Ironically, I find myself in a similar position, because it’s a ‘stretch’ to believe either one of us has a chance to win the Cup.”

    7. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer finished 10th in the AAA 400 after starting 23rd and leading one lap. He is eighth in the points standings, 51 out of first.

    “Luckily,” Bowyer said, “5-Hour Energy will remain as the primary sponsor of the No. 15 car. I guess I talked them in to staying. You could say I put a positive ‘spin’ on the situation.”

    8. Kurt Busch: Busch finished 21st in the AAA 400, three laps off the pace. He is now ninth in the points standings, 55 out of first.

    “We had four new pit crew members at Dover,” Busch said. “You could say Furniture Row Racing ‘benched’ some guys. It didn’t seem to make much of a difference, though, because our chances to win the Cup have been put to bed.”

    9. Ryan Newman: Newman finished eighth at Dover and is now seventh in the points standings, 48 behind Matt Kenseth.

    “Quicken Loans is following me to Richard Childress Racing,” Newman said. “Unlike Stewart-Haas Racing, they didn’t leave me hanging.”

    10. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt started on the pole and finished second to Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson at Dover. He is tenth in the points standings, behind Matt Kenseth.

    “I won the pole with a record lap at Dover,” Earnhardt said. “It was a historic moment for Junior Nation, because they had good reason to do a pole dance and a lap dance.

    “I thought my four tires would catch Johnson’s two. Four is usually better than two. Likewise, five is always better than zero.”

  • Don’t Call This a Three-Man Race Just Yet

    Don’t Call This a Three-Man Race Just Yet

    Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson seem unstoppable at the moment but no matter how fast they are and how dominate they can be, there will always be forces outside of their control that could halt their crusade for the Cup in an instant. These three are far from immune to bad luck and to count out 4th on back right now would be imprudent. It’s incontrovertible that it’s their chase to lose but to completely discount the chances of some of those behind them isn’t a smart idea just yet. It would obviously take a mechanical issue, a blown tire or a wreck to stop the top three but with how solid and consistent some of the driver’s chasing them are, they would be launched right back into the battle should fate decide to be so kind.

    Martinsville and Talladega still loom and until we get past those two races, I’m going to hold my tongue on eliminating anyone still within 50 points of the leader. The next race on the schedule is Kansas which is statistically one of Kyle Busch’s worst tracks. When we raced there earlier this year, Busch’s day ended after a vicious crash with Joey Logano. In fact, he’s crashed out of the last two Kansas events and in twelve starts, the highest finishing position he could ever manage was a 7th back in 2006. As for his teammate, the only weak spot I see left on the schedule for Kenseth is Martinsville; a track he’s never won at in 27 starts.

    Despite the fact that Kyle rarely has a good showing at Kansas and Matt is less than spectacular at Martinsville, that won’t be enough to take control of this chase away from them if they have rough days. I haven’t mentioned Jimmie Johnson yet because there really isn’t a track that he isn’t great at except for Homestead but five consecutive years of just needing to finish to win the title could be partially to blame for that. In reality, the only thing that will stop these three are problems that they can’t predict or counter. Johnson would have been the champion last year if it weren’t for a blown tire at Phoenix followed up by rear gear issues at Homestead. 5-time was at that mercy of both unfortunate circumstances and in the end, it cost him a 6th Sprint Cup.

    At Talladega, you can give up 30+ points quicker than you can think about it. Just look back at 2012 when Tony Stewart entered turn three on the final lap with the win in hand and ended up with a DNF and a 22nd place finish. On the flip side of that, Jeff Gordon went into the final corner outside the top 15 and ended up 2nd so to say that 4th on back have no chance with Dega still to come is ignorant. Talladega doesn’t necessarily have to be the game-changer either. You can blow a tire or have an engine failure just about anywhere. The possibility of bringing more bodies back into the fight at the paperclip, aka Martinsville are very high as well.

    If these three do indeed stumble, who will be the beneficiary? I see four drivers that aren’t performing anywhere close to the level of the three leaders but are consistent enough to capitalize should bad luck plague the guys at the top. They are Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer and Carl Edwards. Yes, there is an obvious dichotomy between the performance level of these two groups of drivers but it’s like the tortoise and the hare….sometimes slow and steady wins the race. Before I go any further, I think we can discount Carl who now faces a 65pt deficit and sits back in 11th after an engine failure at Dover….something out of his control. He would need to go on an incredible run that I don’t see Roush capable of doing right now as well as hoping that a lot of the people in front of him have trouble.

    Lets first take a look at the most talked about driver as of late and for all the wrong reasons, Clint Bowyer! The 2012 runner-up is 8th in points, 51 back of the leaders and would have been the regular season champion had he not partaken in the Richmond shenanigans. He would have been the points leader with no wins simply because he was quietly consistent. He does need to pick it up if he wants to have an outside chance of getting back into this fight because finishes of 9th, 17th and 10th are okay but with the caliber of driver’s he’s chasing, he’ll keep losing ground on them every single race until he’s too far behind to catch back up. He needs more top 5’s and wins in order to augment his chances at this championship.

    Jeff Gordon…the 13th seed that some people say doesn’t belong in the chase in the first place. Jeff is certainly making the most of this incredible opportunity given to him by NASCAR. Right now, he is tied for 4th place and is within 39 points of the championship leader. When we think of Gordon lately, we think of all the bad luck that has haunted him but his recent results prove that he can make a run at this title should something go awry with the three men everyone is chasing. In the last six races, he has five top seven finishes and the other result is still a respectable 15th which could have been a win if 4-time didn’t make a mistake on pit road. Jeff’s also put his car out front and led multiple laps in each of the last five events so don’t underestimate this future Hall of Famer and his ability to win it all in 2013.

    Now we go to Kevin Harvick, “The Closer,” “Mr. Where Did He Come From?” Both of these nicknames are well deserved as Harvick is famous for showing up out of nowhere to be in contention at the end of races and he’s also got an uncanny way of doing that when the fight for the championship comes down to the wire. Kevin is able to fly under the radar for the most part and more importantly, keep his nose out of trouble. In 2013, he only has two DNF’s and they both came at plate tracks; places where trouble finds you no matter where you try to hide. He’s shown this year that his team is fully capable of winning races and even when they don’t bring home the trophy, this Daytona 500 champion always does a stellar job of bringing home the most points possible which is crucial if you want to win the championship. In the last four years, he’s finished inside the top five in points three times and was always on the heels of the title contenders waiting for them to stumble. If those top three do falter, you can bet that Kevin Harvick will be one of, if not the first person to capitalize on their misfortunes.

    Like I said before, this chase is their’s to lose in reference to the top three. No one has shown the speed that they have showcased in 2013 and without bad luck, I highly doubt that any driver can catch them. If fate is not in their favor though, look for drivers such as Harvick and Gordon to be right there and ready to pounce. Until we get past the two wild card races left on the schedule, you shouldn’t rule out anyone still within reasonable striking distance of the top. You can try, but you can’t truly ascertain who the champion will be with seven races remaining no matter how blistering fast those top three are. I hate to sound cliche but remember, it’s never over until it’s over.