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  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Vegas Kobalt Tools 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Vegas Kobalt Tools 400

    With rain in the desert setting the field and the Denny Hamlin fine all the talk, here is what else was surprising and not so surprising from the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

    Surprising:  The transformation surprisingly continued for Matt Kenseth, who moved from lame duck last year at Roush Fenway Racing to winner this year in just the third race of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing.

    “Thank you Lord for putting me here,” Kenseth said simply as he took the checkered flag.

    This was the driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota’s 25th career victory and the 101st victory for his new owner Joe Gibbs. And it was Kenseth’s 41st birthday to boot.

    Not Surprising:  It was a strong day for the Hendrick bunch, with one notable exception, Jeff Gordon, who brought up the rear with a disappointing 25th finish in his No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet.

    Kasey Kahne, who had a strong No. 5 Farmer’s Insurance Chevrolet, gave Kenseth a run for his money but could not close the deal, finishing second.

    “I had the car to beat today,” Kahne said. “We lost, but it was still a great run for all of our guys.”


    Jimmie Johnson, behind the wheel of the No. 48 Lowes/Kobalt Tools Chevrolet, finished sixth and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy Orange Chevrolet, finished 7th.

    “I lost a couple of spots in that last restart, but it was fun to race that fast,” Johnson said. “We were flying.”

    “We had a real good race,” Junior said. “I enjoyed the race track and the raceability of the track was a lot of fun. I had a blast really.”

    Not surprisingly, Hendrick Motorsports is also strong in the point standings, with Johnson in the lead, Junior in third, Gordon dropping five spots to 13th and Kahne moving up 17 spots to 14th after the Vegas race.

    Surprising:  While every other driver complained of being loose, Rookie of the Year contender Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. surprisingly complained about being tight.

    “I kept telling them to free it up and we would get tighter and tighter,” the driver of the No. 17 Zest Ford said. “That is why we gave up all our track position.”

    “Every pit stop we made we got tighter and tighter,” Stenhouse, Jr. continued. “I couldn’t go on a restart.”

    Stenhouse Jr. finished 18th and is still in the lead in what he refers to as the ‘Ricky of the Year’ standings. He also led his first ever Cup lap after staying out while others headed to pit road.

    Not Surprising:  Stenhouse Jr.’s other half, Danica Patrick had ‘one of those days’ at the track. Not only did she struggle and finish 33rd in her GoDaddy.com Chevrolet but her team also had a tire outside the box violation on Lap 123, necessitating a pass through penalty.

    “That’s alright, guys,” Patrick said. “If we’re going to have these days, might as well have them all together.”

    “It was a real tough day, no doubt.”

    Surprising:  While both Earnhardt Ganassi Racing cars had to start from the rear of the field due to engine changes, both rebounded surprisingly well.

    Jamie McMurray, behind the wheel of the No. 1 McDonalds Chevrolet, finished 13th and EGR teammate Juan Pablo Montoya in the No. 42 AXE Apollo Chevrolet finished 19th.

    Not Surprising:   While Denny Hamlin paid the price for sharing his concerns publicly about the new Gen 6 car, many other drivers admitted to still trying to figure out their own race cars.

    Top among that group, however, was Kyle Busch, who overcame a Lap 48 pit road speeding penalty to finish fourth in his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota.

    “Man it was really unique,” Busch said. “When I was out front, I was fast as heck.”

    “But behind others, then I was wrecking loose,” Busch continued. “All in all it was fun and today was the first part of figuring out the nuances of this race car.”

    Surprising:  In his 150th career start, Joey Logano, behind the wheel of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford Fusion, made an uncharacteristic mistake. Just like his former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch, Logano sped down pit road on his first pit stop.

    Logano rebounded, just like Busch, to finish in the 12th spot.

    “I screwed up,” Logano said. “I went down a lap but never caught our break to go.”

    “I felt like we had a top-five car but I made a dumb mistake.”

    Not Surprising:  Although not running a full-time season, NASCAR’s Iron Man Mark Martin continued to show his mettle, finishing 14th in his No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine and moving one spot up to sixth place in the point standings.

    “It was fun,” Martin said. “I didn’t get a good restart on the last one but other than that, it was a good solid day by this team and car.”

    Surprising:  There is a bit of surprising name up there in the top ten in points and he just so happens to drive for the King. Aric Almirola, driver of the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Farmland Ford Fusion, may have finished 16th at Vegas but he remains right there in the tenth spot in the point standings.

    “We probably had an 8th – 12th place car so I’m disappointed we finished 16th,” Almirola said. “We didn’t have any major mistakes and I think points-wise we are still decent.”

    Almirola tweeted this after the race, “Headed to one of my favorite tracks next week in top 10 in points. Proud of my team!”

    Not Surprising:  Finally, the determination and grit of the reigning champ Brad Keselowski came through yet again. Keselowski posted his first top-ten finish at Las Vegas and brought the Blue Deuce home in the third spot.

    “Never give up,” Keselowski said. “Never give up. This team doesn’t and we didn’t today.”

    The champ is taking that attitude right into Bristol next weekend. And he admitted he has no idea how the new Gen 6 car will react on the first short track of the season.

    “That’s why you’ve got to watch,” Keselowski said simply.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Phoenix Subway Fresh Fit 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Phoenix Subway Fresh Fit 500

    In the Valley of the Sun, surprisingly dotted by a few sprinkles at race start, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 9th Annual Subway Fresh Fit 500 from Phoenix International Raceway.

    Surprising:  There was a surprising amount of frustration from many of the drivers finishing in the top five in the second race of the young NASCAR season.

    Second place finisher Jimmie Johnson was frustrated because of what he perceived as a not so kosher restart on the green-white-checker finish.

    “The leader’s not supposed to slow down before you take off,” the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet said. “If you get away with it, it works great.”

    “But if it had been me, my Twitter inbox would have been full.”

    The third place race finisher, Denny Hamlin, was also frustrated but for a different reason, lack of passing. This frustration was, however, a bit surprising since he came from the back of the field due to an engine change and also achieved a bonsai pass on the apron to secure his top-five finish.

    “It was so hard to pass,” the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota said. “Aero tight is a huge, huge deal.”

    “I hate to be Denny Downer, but I just didn’t pass that many cars today.”

    The final surprisingly frustrated driver was none other than Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who finished in the fifth position at a track where he has been known to struggle. Junior was frustrated because of a pit stop where he was boxed in and lost positions, in his mind costing him the race win.

    “Well I hate to be frustrated at Phoenix, but I think we are,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet said. “We feel like we could have finished better than fifth, maybe won the race.”

    “Just didn’t get the breaks on pit road.”

    Not Surprising:  Just as Denny Hamlin had done before, it was not surprising to see another driver follow suit, calling his own race win after an excruciating Speedweeks  in Daytona.

    Ending a 70 winless drought, Carl Edwards back flipped his way right into Victory Lane, achieving his 20th Cup career win. Edwards was especially proud to do the honors with his sponsor Subway on the car and sponsoring the race.

    “I feel good,” the driver of the No. 99 Subway Ford said. “It’s tough to go that long without winning.”

    “I’ll be eating Subway all week.”

    Surprising:  After struggling mightily last year, the driver of the No. 31 Cheerios Chevrolet had a surprisingly good day. Jeff Burton finally put it all together for an entire race to score a top-10 finish, even with some crew chief adversity.

    “Over the last 60 or so laps, we consistently had the fastest car in the field,” Burton said. “It was great to top it off with a top-10 finish, especially after all the adversity the team faced early in the day when Luke (Lambert, crew chief) flew home to be with his wife who is pregnant.”

    “I appreciate the entire Cheerios team pulling together.”

    Not Surprising:  In spite of all the pre-race hype and race promotion, there was no retaliation whatsoever between arch rivals from last year’s Phoenix race, Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer. In fact, both not only shared a few pre-race chuckles but also raced each other cleanly to top-10 finishes, with Bowyer finishing 6th and Gordon 9th.

    The duo, who were not even speaking at the end of last season, had similar pronouncements about their 2013 Phoenix race finish.

    “All in all it was a decent day for our 5-Hour Energy Toyota,” Bowyer said.

    “It was a solid top-10,” Gordon said. “All-in-all that was pretty solid.”

    Surprising:  Perhaps more heartbreaking than surprising is the incredibly poor start that Martin Truex Jr. has gotten off to in the 2013 season.

    Truex Jr. finished 24th in the Daytona 500 and barely got started in the Phoenix race, stalling on pit road with a gear and axle problem, relegating him to a 36th place finish.

    “I don’t even know what to say,” Truex Jr. tweeted after the race. “Never seen that happen in all my days. Had a fast @napafilters car too.”

    Not Surprising:   On his return to the NASCAR scene, A.J. Allmendinger had a great day in the Valley of the Sun. The ‘Dinger finished 11th behind the wheel of the No. 51 Guy Roofing Chevrolet for Phoenix Racing.

    “Everyone on the team kept fighting hard and worked their asses off,” Allmendinger shared via Twitter on his way out of the track.

    Surprising:  There was a surprising car, one with a big red Target on the hood, that just so happened to be at the front of the pack for much of the race. Juan Pablo Montoya drove his No. 42 Target Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet to a 12th place finish and was most proud.

    “It was a good points day,” JPM declared.

    Not Surprising:  Although she had an historic outing at Daytona as the first woman to sit on the pole and lead a green flag lap, it was not surprising that Phoenix was a major dose of reality for Rookie of the Year candidate Danica Patrick. The driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet blew a tire, hit the wall hard and then was hit on the driver’s side by David Ragan’s car.

    “I blew a right front with no real warning,” Patrick said. “It was a little unexpected.”

    “Thank God for SAFER barriers.”

    Surprising:  The Busch mother and brothers had a surprisingly trying weekend. Mama Busch was involved in a golf car accident and brothers Busch both started from the back of the field, Kyle for an engine change and Kurt for a wreck in qualifying.

    Both brothers were involved in on-track spins, in fact spinning in tandem at one point during the race.

    Although Kyle Busch finished a disappointing 23rd and brother Kurt finished even worse in the 27th position, Mrs. Busch was reportedly a little banged up but back at the track and “in good spirits.”

    Not Surprising:  Reigning champ Brad Keselowski had a blast at Phoenix, especially during the green-white-checkered finish. The driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford Fusion energetically shoved the winner into the first turn, hoping to get a run for the win, but had to settle for a fourth place finish.

    “Those guys fought hard and we fought hard and there was a lot of desire,” Keselowski said. “It’s early in the season, but I feel like there’s a lot of passion and that’s a good thing.”

    “That’s how it’s supposed to be, right?” Keselowski continued. “That was cool.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Daytona 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Daytona 500

    In the double nickel running of the Great American Race, with the first female ever to start from the pole, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 2013 Daytona 500.

    Surprising:  While drivers, crew chiefs, and teams scrambled through Speedweeks into the Daytona 500, surprisingly, the busiest people in Daytona were once again the track workers.

    Just as in previous years, from the infamous pot hole in 2010 to the jet dryer flame out last year, the track crew was again called upon to work their miracles.

    This time, however, their skills were put to the test the day before the big race after a horrific crash at the finish of the Nationwide race, shearing young driver Kyle Larson’s car in thirds and sending his engine, tire and other car parts into the crowd.

    The track workers not only had to tend to the injured fans but also had to make major repairs to the catch fence itself, working tirelessly into the early morning to ensure that the Great American Race would go on without a hitch the next day.

    “You try to prepare for as much as you can,” Kerry Tharp, NASCAR spokesperson, said. “You also take away and learn from every incident.”

    Not Surprising:  With the ‘one team, one shop’ philosophy prevalent throughout the Hendrick Motorsports organization, it was not surprising to see the 48/88 team finish 1/2 at the Daytona 500.

    “I was waiting for the run,” two-time Daytona 500 winner and five-time champ Jimmie Johnson said. “The 88 got a big shove and was coming up the inside.”

    “I moved down to defend that and we were able to get a one-two for Hendrick Motorsports,” Johnson continued. “For the 48/88 shop so very happy. There are a lot of people put a lot of effort into these cars and I want to thank them all.”

    Surprising:  While she may have been forging a new path as the first woman on the pole and the first to lead a green flag lap at Daytona, rookie Danica Patrick surprisingly seemed to have more in common with veteran four-time champion Jeff Gordon.

    Both the rookie and the veteran had no friends in the final laps of the race, both getting freight-trained to finish 8th and 20th respectively.

    “I kept asking what was working,” Patrick said. “You needed a hole and you needed people to help you out.”

    “I had a little bit of help here today here and there,” Patrick continued. “I had a feeling I was going to get freight-trained.”

    “It’s a really tough race,” Jeff Gordon said. “We lost track position and it didn’t seem like we were ever going to get it back.”

    “Then we finally did and those last two restarts just didn’t go very well.”

    Not Surprising:  With a driver rating of 96.5, second best at Daytona, and a good Speedweeks, finishing fourth in the Sprint Unlimited and fifth-fastest in time trials, the driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1/Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet had high expectations for the big race.

    So it was no surprise that Tony Stewart was absolutely smoked after being taken out early in the race, finishing 41st.

    “The hell with the season, I wanted to win the Daytona 500,” Stewart said. “I was happy with our car, just waiting for it to all get sorted out again.”

    “I don’t know what started it, but we just got caught up in another wreck.”

    Surprising:  At a track known for white knuckle racing and passes galore on every lap, it was surprising just how difficult the drivers found it to pass, especially on the bottom of the track. In fact, a portion of the race was surprisingly run in the single file formation.

    Veteran driver Mark Martin summed it up best.

    “One of the things that made it hard to pass was nobody would get organized on the bottom,” Martin said. “The top groove was the preferred groove.”

    “The problem was that the car on the inside of the frontline wasn’t the fastest car,” Martin continued. “If you would have had the fastest car in the field on the inside, you would have had a whale of a race there at the end.”

    Not Surprising:   For two years in a row, team owner Chip Ganassi has been lamenting the performance of his race team. Unfortunately, the bad run continued at the 2013 Daytona 500 with drivers Jamie McMurray and Juan Pablo Montoya, finishing 32nd and 39th respectively.

    Both were in a significant wreck early in the running of the Great American Race.

    “You could see it coming,” Montoya said. “They were all checked up and I thought, ‘Somebody isn’t going to check and screw up.”

    “And then they did.”

    Surprising:  Things also went surprisingly awry for two out of the three Joe Gibbs racers. The defending Daytona 500 winner and newest member of the JGR team Matt Kenseth looking incredibly strong, leading many laps during the race until mechanical problems did him in.

    And then almost immediately afterwards, teammate Kyle Busch also had mechanical failure, leaving teammate Denny Hamlin to be the lone top 15 finisher.

    “It’s really unfortunate,” Busch said. “We were running 1-2-3 and it felt like we were dropping like flies.”

    “Something inside the motor broke that’s not supposed to break,” Busch continued. “It’s a little devastating.”

    Not Surprising:  Since the Daytona 500 can make dreams come true (just ask Trevor Bayne), it was not surprising that there was a Cinderella story and his name was Michael McDowell.

    With an underfunded team but a sponsor filled with faith, the driver of the No. 98 K-LOVE Ford finished ninth in the Great American Race.

    “We had a fast car,” McDowell said. “This was a great run and a great effort. For us, an under-funded team to come here to Daytona and get a top-10 finish is pretty cool.”

    Surprising:

    While it may have been no surprise that blooming onions would be on tap for Monday at Outback due to Ryan Newman’s top five finish, it was surprising that kids got to eat at Golden Corral thanks to J.J. Yeley’s top-ten finish in the Daytona 500.

    “After a long, hard-fought day at day at Daytona, we were able to log a top-ten finish for our first outing with our new team and Golden Corral on board,” Yeley said. “The best part of it all is making lots of kids happy when they eat for free as part of J.J.’s Monday.”

    Not Surprising:  Brad Keselowski, champion and NASCAR Ironman, proved he was both yet again, muscling his damaged No. 2 Miller Lite Ford around the track to finish fourth.

    “You want to make excuses for not being successful you could do that or you can go out there and put it all on the line and try to win,” Keselowski said. “You just drive it.”

  • Crunching The Numbers: Phoenix

    Crunching The Numbers: Phoenix

    After a wild week in Daytona, the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series drivers head out west to The Valley of The Sun to take on Phoenix International Raceway for the 2nd race of the season. The track’s reconfiguration back in 2011 turned a good track into a great track and has made it more conducive to close racing and if you will remember, the last time these two series took on PIR, both races turned into a literal slug fest and this weekend’s events should be more of the same.

     

    Nationwide Series

    The Nationwide Series will get first crack at the oval in the Arizona desert in the Dollar General 200, scheduled to go green at 2:30 PM Local Time on Saturday.

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Matt Kenseth 11 1 4 9 1 202 10.2 7.7
    Kyle Busch 14 4 7 10 4 793 5.8 8.6
    Brian Vickers 4 0 2 2 0 1 17.8 10.8
    Justin Allgaier 9 0 0 4 0 0 14.6 11.0
    Reed Sorenson 9 0 4 6 0 1 12.1 12.2
    Brad Keselowski 12 0 6 7 0 107 11.8 12.3
    Austin Dillon 3 0 1 2 0 0 15.7 14.7
    Alex Bowman 1 0 0 0 0 0 22.0 15.0
    Elliott Sadler 8 1 2 2 0 26 14.8 16.2
    Brian Scott 7 0 0 2 0 0 15.1 16.3

    Who To Watch: Running once again for Joe Gibbs Racing, Matt Kenseth leads all drivers with an average finish of 7.7 over 11 races that Kenseth has run. Another Gibbs entry, Kyle Busch, will be tough to beat here as well since he has an average finish of 8.6 and 4 wins in 14 races. That’s a winning percentage of 29%! Other drivers strong in the desert include Brian Vickers, Justin Allgaier, and Reed Sorenson. All 3 of those drivers have an average finish of 12.2 or better. Throw in Spring Phoenix defending champion Elliott Sadler and this race should be another good one.

     

    Sprint Cup Series

    The Sprint Cup Series gets their turn on track Sunday in the Subway Fresh Fit 500, scheduled to start at 1:00 PM local time

    Driver Races Win Top 5 Top 10 Pole Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
    Jimmie Johnson 19 4 12 15 1 931 13.0 6.7
    Mark Martin 32 2 12 21 2 836 12.0 9.1
    Denny Hamlin 15 1 7 8 1 399 12.8 10.3
    Jeff Gordon 28 2 10 19 3 389 11.1 11.5
    Tony Stewart 22 1 8 11 0 555 13.3 12.1
    Carl Edwards 17 1 6 10 3 228 11.8 12.5
    Jeff Burton 27 2 7 13 0 222 23.8 12.8
    Kevin Harvick 20 3 6 10 0 420 19.0 12.8
    Kurt Busch 16 1 4 11 0 750 13.0 13.2
    Kyle Busch 18 1 3 10 2 509 13.6 13.3

    Who To Watch: To no one’s surprise, Daytona 500 champion JImmie Johnson leads the Sprint Cup Series in the best statistics with an average finish of 6.7 and 4 wins in 19 races. Johnson’s win percentage at Phoenix is an astounding 21% and if the statistics hold true, we could see a back to back winner if Johnson takes the win Sunday. However, to do so Johnson will have to hold off an impressive field of challengers, including Mark Martin, with an average finish of 9.1 and 2 wins; Denny Hamlin, who won here last spring and has an average finish of 10.3; and Jeff Gordon, with 2 wins and an average finish of 11.5. Not to mention winner of last fall’s race, Kevin Harvick and others. The 2nd Gen6 race and first on a track 1 mile or less should be a can’t miss, especially if tensions started here last fall come to a head at the place where they all began.

  • 2013 NASCAR Season Predictions

    2013 NASCAR Season Predictions

    Photo Credit: David Yeazell
    Photo Credit: David Yeazell

    As we head into the 2013 NASCAR season, here are some predictions of what could take place this year…….

     

    *At the Country Music Awards in Las Vegas on April 7th, Jeff Gordon challenges mortal enemy Clint Bowyer not to a duel, but a duet, and the two take the stage for a rendition of Garth Brooks’ 1991 dud “We Bury The Hatchet.”

    The following week at Texas, Bowyer and Gordon tangle, and Bowyer, true to his sponsor obligations, first opens up a 2-ounce 5-Hour Energy bottle, then opens a comparable-sized can of whoop ass. True to post-1979 NASCAR fist fights form, no punches are thrown, as Gordon is taken down by four Bowyer crewmen, two of which ask for Gordon’s autograph.

    *Juan Montoya’s run of bad luck at Daytona continues, as he trips over his wife’s hair dryer in the couple’s RV parked in the Daytona infield, sparking an electrical fire that wipes out power and delays the start of the Daytona 500.

    After a two-hour delay, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. emerges with the win after blowing by Kevin Harvick on the final turn. In a post-race media session, Earnhardt calls his win the “start of something big,” a characterization that turns out to be correct, as Junior then embarks on the longest winless streak of his career.

    *After Zac Brown and his band rock the Daytona infield prior to the February 24th race, NASCAR chief executive officer Brian France, reinforcing his reputation as a clueless leader, tells Brown that “I loved you in The Hangover.” Brown, in turn, tells France, that his “language is offensive.”

    Later that year, Brown suggests to France that Zach Galifianakis serve as Grand Marshall at Indianapolis. France takes Browns’ advice, and while at Indy, compliments Galifianakis on his concert at Daytona.

    France taps Alabama native Evander Holyfield to serve as Grand Marshall at Talladega in October, where tells the former champ that he loved him in The Hangover, as well.

    *Brad Keselowski wins at Bristol in March after leading 298 of 500 laps at the Bullring, passing Jimmie Johnson late for the win. Afterwards in Victory Lane, Keselowski knocks back a six-pack of Miller Lite, and sends Johnson a six-pack of his own with the message “This is the only ‘six’ you’ll see this year.”

    Upon leaving the track, the defending champ is stopped by a police officer for erratic driving. Keselowski passes a battery of field sobriety tests, and immediately takes to Twitter, where he tweets 140 dashes, proving that he can Tweet and walk a straight line.

    *After two years without a Sprint Cup championship, Jimmie Johnson rededicates himself to capturing the 2013 title. Not one to miss an endorsement opportunity, Lowe’s, in conjunction with Kobalt Tools, introduces a new multi-task implement which hammers, screws, and strikes fear into opponents. The “Attitude Adjustment” retails for $19.95.

    Crew chief Chad Knaus is the first to buy the tool, and finds it just as useful in doctoring chassis and rear wings, as well as grooming the head of a middle-aged balding man.

    *Kyle Busch wins three of the season’s first ten races, including a win at Talladega on May 5th, and establishes himself as an early favorite for the 2013 Sprint Cup. The following week at Darlington, the bottom falls out, as the engine in Busch’s No. 18 Toyota blows.

    Busch finishes 20th or worse in his next ten races, and his frustration culminates when he takes a swing at crew chief Dave Rogers at Pocono in August. Busch is suspended by the team, and M&M’s yanks sponsorship. Brad Keselowski taunts Busch on Twitter, tweeting “That’s like taking candy from a baby.”

    Busch starts the Chase For The Cup in tenth and finishes in sixth, 46 out of first.

    *After blowing a fuse following a poor finish at Darlington, Kurt Busch hires a sports psychologist to help improve his attitude and demeanor. After several weeks in therapy, Busch notices a difference in his state of mind, while Furniture Row sees a spike in sales after introducing the “Kurt Busch Psychiatrist’s Couch” product line.

    Busch wins the Toyota/Save Mart 300 at Sonoma on June 23 and credits his psychiatrist, noting that “It’s the first time someone’s encouraged me to tell them how I really feel.”

    *Matt Kenseth wins at California on March 24, capturing his first win as a member of Joe Gibbs Racing. Kenseth thanks Deny Hamlin and Kyle Busch for being great teammates, and gives props to Carl Edwards as well, calling him the best former teammate he could ask for.

    Kenseth nabs three wins on the season, and finishes fourth in the Chase.

    *In the Fox booth at Dover on a sweltering June 2nd Sunday, Larry McReynolds is overcome by heat exhaustion and vomits, forcing Darrell Waltrip into quick action to sidestep the mess. Later in the broadcast, Waltrip notes that it was the first time he’s done the “Ickey Shuffle” since winning at Daytona in 1989.

    *Jeremy Mayfield’s rotten luck takes a turn for the better when, after a positive screen test, he lands a recurring role on AMC’s “Breaking Bad” as a meth-running courier. Mayfield’s character, “Jeremy Mayfield,” is written out of the show after he is arrested, ironically, for “speeding” on the way to the set in June.

    *In July, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un announces plans to field a NASCAR team in 2014. The team, bizarrely title “Yin And Pyong Yang Racing,” never makes it past the planning stages, as Un loses interest and instead turns his attention to developing jet fuel with Michael Waltrip.

    *In an interview on national television prior to the Texas 500 on April 13th, Danica Patrick identifies Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. as her “stiffest competition” for NASCAR’s Rookie Of The Year.

    Later in the year, NASCAR’s glamour couple deal with a pregnancy scare, and NASCAR rumor-mongers erroneously report that Patrick’s pregnancy test can be viewed on the website “NoDaddy.com.”

    Patrick edges Stenhouse for the ROY award, posting six top-10 finishes to Stenhouse’s four.

    *Carl Edwards snaps an 81-race winless streak with a victory in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. Edwards customary post-win back flip goes awry when he under-rotates and lands on his head, knocking himself unconscious.

    NASCAR’s new concussion testing procedures are put to the test, and Edwards fails, as, for the second straight year, quips, “I forgot what it’s like to win.”

    Edwards recovers after sitting out a race, and wins again at Homestead in the season finale, but eschews a celebratory back flip for a simpler fist pump, which, unfortunately and accidentally, connects win the chin of Miss Sprint Cup, knocking her out cold.

    Edwards finishes seventh in the Chase For The Cup.

    *In an attempt to get into Brad Keselowski’s head, Jimmie Johnson tries on the reigning champ and current points leader’s helmet at a Keselowski promotional appearance at a Ford dealership in Lansing, Michigan in August. The ploy works, as an irate Keselowski later tries unsuccessfully to wreck Johnson at Michigan on August 18th, taking himself out of the race in the process.

    Keselowski loses the points lead two weeks later at Atlanta, and Johnson heads to the Chase as the leader. Johnson clinches the Cup at Phoenix, wining his sixth championship.

  • Denny Hamlin Taking Lessons Learned Into New Season

    Denny Hamlin Taking Lessons Learned Into New Season

    Photo Credit: Gary Buchanan
    Photo Credit: Gary Buchanan

    Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, has learned plenty of lessons from last season as well as the off season. And he intends to take every bit of that new learning right into the 2013 season.

    One of the biggest lessons that Hamlin learned last season was the need for consistency as a race team. And Hamlin definitely wants to banish any inconsistency to the past and focus so that he can focus on that coveted championship prize.

    “We’ve won a lot of races year after year,” Hamlin said. “We’re always in the hunt and then something mechanical happens to our cars and it takes us out of the championship.”

    “You can’t have any DNFs,” Hamlin continued. “There are no mulligans.”

    “Our key in the offseason has been reliability and coming up with a system to make sure our cars are bullet proof when they hit the race track.”

    “Things that went wrong with our cars or things that fell off or got loose or whatever, it was human error,” Hamlin said. “You need to take that out of the equation.”

    “Hopefully those bugs have been fixed,” Hamlin continued. “We’re working on a new process to make our cars more tough and rigid and making sure they don’t fall apart.”

    “To do that, you have to have more than one set of eyes working on your cars,” Hamlin said “We’re hopefully working on some things to make sure that our cars are reliable as the planes you fly in the air.”

    Another lesson Hamlin learned, perhaps the hard way last year, is the need to do a better job in his qualifying efforts.

    “I always have to learn and keep up with what I need to do,” Hamlin said. “One thing I know I have to work on is qualifying.”

    “We greatly improved that last year and Darian (Grubb, crew chief) helped with that a bit,” Hamlin continued. “I’m getting better but the results haven’t always shown that.”

    “It’s just a matter of time before we are in the number one spot.”

    Hamlin is also hoping to learn some lessons from both of his new teammates, including current teammate Kyle Busch and especially his new teammate Matt Kenseth, in the upcoming season.

    “When I knew Matt was coming to Gibbs, we started talking and chatting through text messages quite a bit,” Hamlin said. “I’m so excited to have us on the same track together.”

    “I think he’s going to bring a ton of experience,” Hamlin said of his new teammate. “I can’t wait to compare data.”

    One other area that Hamlin acknowledged that he needed to pay attention to was learning how to better handle his emotions.  And he definitely wants to take that lesson into the new season.

    “The biggest lesson I’ve learned would have to be not letting my emotions get to me when something bad happens that I cannot control,” Hamlin said. “I think it’s very important to let your emotions be kept at an even keel and not let things get to you.”

    “It’s very hard, especially when I wear my emotions on my sleeve as to my performance,” Hamlin continued. “When I run well, I’m happy and when I don’t, I’m not.”

    “That’s tough for all of us as competitors when you have a bad day and not letting it affect you when you are on the race track,” Hamlin said. “I wear my performance on my sleeve.”

    “It will be all about managing those emotions and not to get down on the bad days,” Hamlin continued. “That’s another thing that Matt Kenseth will bring because he doesn’t let the bad things get to him.”

    In addition to handling the emotions on the track, Hamlin has a whole new set of emotions to deal with in his newest role, parenthood. And Hamlin intends to take those lessons with him on race day as well.

    Hamlin and his girlfriend Jordan Fish welcomed daughter Taylor James Hamlin to their world last month. Baby Hamlin, weighing in at six pounds, five ounces, made her arrival during Hamlin’s Daytona testing.

    “The experience has been great,” Hamlin said of being a new daddy. “Your outlook changes when you have to leave home and when you have to get home and how excited you are to pull in the drive knowing that you get to see your daughter.”

    “So that part of it is cool.”

    “She’s sleeping most all the time and in between feedings,” Hamlin said. ““It actually hasn’t been too bad.”

    Hamlin, however, admitted that it will definitely be a difficult lesson to bear when he leaves this week to head to Daytona International Speedway for Speedweeks and the start of the 2013 season.

    “Leaving the house for sure will be hard,” Hamlin said. “I have solace in knowing in just a few months I’ll get to see her all the time every day.”

    Hamlin’s last lesson learned is his strong desire to carry his charitable and philanthropic endeavors into the new season. For the third time in a row, Hamlin will be organizing the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown during the Richmond race weekend.

    The race raises funds for the Denny Hamlin Cystic Fibrosis Research Lab at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU.

    Last year, Hamlin, through the Foundation that bears his name, gave a multi-year grant of $150,000 for the Children’s Hospital. Funds raised at this year’s race will help train the next generation of CF research scientists.

    “The Showdown has had some of the best late model racing in the past,” Hamlin said. “This year will be no different.”

    “We’ve invited the region’s finest drivers to compete against some of my Sprint Cup Series friends,” Hamlin continued. “It’s going to be wild.”

    “Every dollar we give to cystic fibrosis makes a different,” Hamlin said. “You never know. This could be the year we find a cure.”

    So, how does Hamlin sum up all of his life lessons learned as he heads into the brand spanking new season?

    “My life is very different now,” Hamlin said. “It’s one of the most gratifying times.”

  • 2013 Sprint Cup Team Preview: Joe Gibbs Racing

    2013 Sprint Cup Team Preview: Joe Gibbs Racing

    Photo Credit: David L. Yeazell
    Photo Credit: David L. Yeazell

    Joe Gibbs Racing is next on our list to preview for the 2013 season. In 2013, JGR will field the No.11, No.18, and No.20 Toyota Camry’s for drivers Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and Matt Kenseth, respectively.

    Denny Hamlin

    Despite five wins, 14 top five finishes, and 17 top ten finishes in 2012 as well as qualifying for the Chase again, Denny Hamlin and crew chief Darian Grubb came up short of the championship yet again last year. With Hamlin and Grubb having a year together under their belts, one has to wonder if this is the year that Hamlin finally gets it done and wins the championship after coming close in recent years. Hamlin seems to come out of the gate strong to start the year, but fizzles once the end of the year nears. If Hamlin and crew can put together a whole year and avoid the mechanical failures that hurt them late in 2012, then the No.11 FedEx team might be right up there when Homestead rolls around in November.

    Kyle Busch

    After a 2012 season that many would consider the worst of his career, Busch and crew chief Dave Rogers are looking ahead to 2013 as a rebound year. Busch only found Victory Lane once and failed to qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup, due in large part to a rash of mechanical failures that led Busch to a 13th place points finish. As long as Busch can put his dismal 2012 season behind him and avoid the mechanical gremlins in 2013, he should have no problem finding Victory Lane and qualifying for the Chase in 2013. Busch could also be a championship contender if all the cards fall right for Busch and his team.

    Matt Kenseth

    After driving for Roush Fenway Racing for the majority of his career, Matt Kenseth moves over to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2013 to take over the No.20 Home Depot/Dollar General Toyota. Kenseth will team up with crew chief Jason Ratcliff in 2013 and as the only member of the JGR squad with a championship, could raise the game of both Hamlin and Busch. Kenseth should no doubt be able to find himself in Victory Lane and be in the Chase again this year and if 2012 is any indication, will be a force to be reckoned with at the restrictor plate tracks of Daytona and Talladega, where Kenseth won two of his races in 2012.

  • Clint Bowyer ‘Happy to be Second’

    Clint Bowyer ‘Happy to be Second’

    [media-credit name=”Photo Credit: Gary Buchanan” align=”alignright” width=”227″][/media-credit]While it may have been Clint Bowyer’s first season ever with Michael Waltrip Racing, it was the best season of his career.

    And the driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota couldn’t be happier, finishing second in the Chase standings, just 39 points behind champion Brad Keselowski and a mere one point ahead of third place finisher and five time champ Jimmie Johnson.

    “Can you believe I beat Jimmie Johnson?” Bowyer said in the media session following his runner up speech at the banquet. “It was a whopping one point.”

    “That’s like winning.”

    Bowyer most likely never dreamed that he would finish the year so strongly, especially after leaving Richard Childress Racing at the end of 2011 and signing with new team Michael Waltrip Racing.

    “Those were nerve-racking times in the winter last year,” Bower said. “I had lost my ride at RCR and walked into a new program with a lot of unknowns.”

    “But I had a lot of confidence in what was going on,” Bowyer continued. “They paired me with Brian Pattie (crew chief) and a lot of good people and that’s what it takes to be successful.”

    Bowyer made the Chase with three victories in the year, including wins at Sonoma, Richmond and Charlotte. He also scored ten top-5 and 23 top-10 finishes for the 2012 season.

    Bowyer’s first win was one of his sweetest, coming at the road course of Sonoma, where he had never won before. He dominated that race, leading 71 or the 112 laps.

    “It was awesome,” Bowyer said of that first victory for MWR.”I run well at Sonoma.”

    “It’s one of those tracks where I’m comfortable from the very first laps I run,” Bowyer continued. “It just came effortless.”

    “You’re at the top of the board in practice and, if you’re not, you knew just what kind of adjustment you needed to put you at the top of the board,” Bowyer continued. “I’ve just always been able to find good speed there.”

    “I’ve learned to enjoy those road courses.”

    Bowyer has also learned to enjoy fuel mileage racing, winning his next two races at Richmond and Charlotte by saving gas and playing that strategy.

    At Richmond, Bowyer recovered from a spin midway through the race due to a cut tire in a close encounter with Juan Pablo Montoya, saved fuel at the end, and went on to Victory Lane. This win put Bowyer in the sixth position to start the run for the championship.

    “Thank you, Juan Pablo, for wrecking me and then winning me the race,” Bowyer said exuberantly. “It’s a good way to bounce back headed into the Chase after the bad race last weekend in Atlanta.”

    Bowyer’s third win, also in fuel conservation mode, came at Charlotte in October. The driver actually ran out of gas during his burnout celebration and walked with team owner Michael Waltrip to Victory Lane.

    For Bowyer, these three wins, as well as finishing second in the Chase were the capstones for his successful season.

    “My season highlights were all about winning,” Bowyer said. “Winning on my worst race tracks, a mile and a half and a road course.”

    “That says a lot about what we’ve got going on as a race team.”

    Unfortunately for Bowyer, however, there were also some lowlights of the season that have, according to the driver, almost overshadowed all of the accomplishments. And those lowlights involve fellow competitor and four-time champion Jeff Gordon.

    Interestingly, Gordon and Bowyer have had an interesting relationship throughout the season, clashing on the track but yet also having good runs together at the same time.

    When Bowyer won at Sonoma, he spied a picture of Jeff Gordon, five-time Sonoma winner, in the media center after the race, and noted how much bigger that made his win there.

    “I looked up and Jeff Gordon was there on the wall, won this race many times, he’s a champion of this sport and I just beat him,” Bowyer said. “You have no idea…I’m a young racer from Kansas.”

    “You don’t forget stuff like that.”

    Bowyer’s Richmond race was also intertwined with Gordon’s in that, while Bowyer stood in Victory Circle, Gordon scored his own brand of victory with Bowyer, beating out Kyle Busch for the final spot in the Chase.

    But it was the altercation with Jeff Gordon at Phoenix, the next to the last race of the season and in the Chase, that has consumed all of the attention, much to Bowyer’s chagrin.

    At that race, with Gordon intentionally crashing Bowyer late in the race, leading to a melee in the pits, and Bowyer’s now infamous run to catch Gordon, the spotlight shifted from accomplishment and finishing second place to the newest rivalry in the sport.

    “It’s a bad thing,” Bowyer said. “I want to get this behind me because I’ve had such a great year.”

    “And I hated that happened at the end of the year because that’s all you guys in the media wanted to talk about,” Bowyer continued. “That’s the story, but that’s what sucked for me, knowing how good of a year we had, how much pride we had, and because of a stupid thing there, that’s what we’re talking about, not how we ran in the Chase and in the season.”

    Does Bowyer think that the Phoenix altercation with Gordon cost him the championship? Although still smarting from it all, Bowyer definitely acknowledged that there were other factors that led to his second place Chase standing finish.

    “No, we got behind at Talladega and never really bounced back,” Bowyer said. “I knew that was going to be a hard one to overcome, especially as hard as Jimmie and Brad were running.”

    “But, look at the way we ran in the Chase,” Bowyer continued. “A bad race was sixth, you know.”

    “When you’re running like that, it’s pretty rare,” Bowyer said. “And if we can continue to build on that like I think we can, it gives me a lot of confidence and a lot of pride.”

    And that pride and sense of accomplishment is what Bowyer fully intends to focus on for the remainder of 2012, the offseason, and into the New Year.

    “When we made the Chase, my realistic goal was to be in the top five,” Bowyer said. “To exceed that…you can’t ask for more.”

    “I’m with a group that I can really enjoy,” Bowyer continued. “Anytime you’ve had success the way we’ve had success, you’re bound to have fun and build confidence within yourself.”

    “I feel like this year I ran the way I was capable of running and it was super-cool to be a part of it.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Ford EcoBoost 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Ford EcoBoost 400

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]In a weekend full of champion-crowning, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the NASCAR Sprint Cup season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    Surprising:  For a driver known, as ‘bad’, brash and cocky, there were some surprisingly humble moments from the 28 year old driver who brought Penske Racing its first ever NASCAR championship.

    “It means the world, it really does,” Bradley Aaron Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge and Sprint Cup Champion, said after finishing 15th and securing the ultimate prize. “I’ve got the best team in racing and I’m just so thrilled to be a part of it.”

    “From the top down, Roger Penske, Paul Wolfe, everybody else, the crew guys and my family, that means so much,” Keselowski continued. “You can’t do this sport by yourself no matter how good you are.”

    “My family made incredible sacrifices and I’m just so fortunate to have them around me,” Keselowski said. “Without them, none of this is possible and they deserve way more credit than I do.”

    Keselowski’s parents, who gave up their lives to their son’s racing career, were equally proud and humble in Victory Lane.

    “How many people get to realize this dream?” Bob Keselowski, Brad’s dad and a racer in his own right, said. “There’s a million short track racers out there.”

    “I’m just so blown away.”

    “He has reached the pinnacle of success and I’m so unbelievably proud of my son,” Brad mom’s Kay said. “I’m ecstatic, just ecstatic.”

    “I was holding my breath all race long and praying to God that it would all come together.”

    Not Surprising:  Of course, once the Miller Lite started to flow in celebration of his championship, Keselowski, sporting a good-sized beer glass, returned to his usual self, tweeting from the media center and wise-cracking in fun with all.

    “I’ve got a little bit of a buzz going on right now,” Keselowski said after his victory on the show LIVE on ESPN. “I’ve been drinking for a little bit.”

    After checking his phone and adding about 6,000 new followers on his Twitter account, Keselowski, with 5 wins, 13 top-five and 23 top-ten finishes, discussed how he will now approach being the NASCAR champion.

    “Expect the unexpected,” Keselowski said, with his trademark grin. “That’s my MO, right?”

    And on how being the NASCAR champ might change his life, Keselowski replied, “I’ve always wanted to date a celebrity….but not a Kardashian.”

    And finally, Keselowski revealed his surprising powers of prediction, especially as it related to the points needed to secure the Sprint Cup.

    “I predicted that the champion would need 2400 points to win,” Keselowski said. And that was the exact number of points, 2400 total, that the second driver in history to win the Cup and Nationwide championships had when the checkered flag flew.

    “I feel like the best is yet to come,” Keselowski said as he wrapped up his media availability for the final time of the 2012 season.

    Surprising:  While not surprising to see team owner Rick Hendrick in Victory Lane, it was surprising that he was not there to see his driver Jimmie Johnson crowned six time champion.

    Hendrick instead celebrated his team’s first ever win and the first ever win at Homestead-Miami Speedway for driver Jeff Gordon, commemorating his 20 year partnership with sponsor Dupont in the HMS No. 24 Chevrolet.

    “Yeah, it’s disappointing,” Mr. H. said. “If you let that destroy you, you’ll never be able to win again.”

    “It’s racing,” Hendrick continued. “I’m celebrating Jeff’s win and letting the other deal go.”

    Driver and four-time champion Jeff Gordon might have been surprised to even be in the race, let alone Victory Lane, after his fracas the week before with competitor Clint Bowyer. The four-time champ was able to put the drama behind him, however, to score his 87th career victory and his second win of the 2012 season.

    “This is just huge,” Gordon said. “It’s been an emotional week and a hard one; one of the hardest ones I’ve ever gone through just looking back on my decision.”

    “So to come here and focus on the car with this silver commemorative paint scheme for 20 years of Dupont and to be able to end in Victory Lane, it was just an awesome team effort.”

    Not Surprising:  Even though starting the race behind the leader in the point standings, five-time champion Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus seemed on target to parlay some pit strategy into that coveted six pack.

    But an uncharacteristic lug nut issue and an even more unusual oil leak that proved fatal closed the door on the championship hopes for the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet. And Johnson, not surprisingly, found it a bitter pill to swallow.

    “You know, to be close, it just sucks to be close and not get it,” Johnson said. “Pretty heartbreaking.”

    “We were doing what we needed to and certainly in position to put a lot of pressure on the No. 2 car.”

    “Stuff happens,” Johnson continued. “It’s racing.”

    “I just have to reflect back on an amazing year.”

    Surprising:  Probably the most surprised driver coming out of the Ford EcoBoost 400 was none other than Clint Bowyer. Not only did he finish second in the race to nemesis of the week before Jeff Gordon, but he also scored second place in the point standings in his first season with Michael Waltrip Racing.

    “To be honest, I didn’t even think I could reach second,” the driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota said of his runner up spot in the points. “That was the goal I’d set.”

    “And I just wanted to catch the 24,” Bowyer said of his runner up race finish. “That was the only what-if that went through my mind at the end.”

    “Probably went through your mind too.”

    “Now I’m going to do whatever I want to do next week.”

    Not Surprising:   As with every end to the season, there were plenty of farewells to be said. Ryan Newman, who finished third in the season finale, bade farewell to the US Army as his sponsor.

    “The US Army Chevrolet, four years strong,” Newman said. “We’re proud to represent them and proud of their support and we wanted to finish on a great note.”

    Another farewell was said by Matt Kenseth, leaving the only race team home that he has ever known with Roush Fenway Racing and moving on to Joe Gibbs Racing.

    “The team really proved that they gave me all they’ve got this season regardless of my plans for the future,” Kenseth said.

    Joey Logano, who leaves Joe Gibbs Racing to partner with new champ Keselowski at Penske Racing, had some interesting words to mark the end of his tenure in the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota.

    “And that’s the way the cookie crumbles,” Logano tweeted. “Thanks to all of @JoeGibbsRacing for 7 great years.”

    The final farewell was most poignant, however, as Dodge won the championship and bid adieu to the sport of NASCAR.

    “It’s been a long run,” Ralph Gilles, President and CEO of the SRT Brand and Senior Vice President of Design at Chrysler Group, said. “I’m still pinching myself.”

    “It’s not bittersweet,” Gilles continued. “If anything, it’s an exclamation point on an effort that’s 11 years in the making.”

    Surprising:  Another Hendrick Chase driver was surprisingly upbeat, particularly since his teammate lost the championship to Keselowski.

    And in spite of missing two races due to a concussion, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was also upbeat about finishing the season with a top-10 in his No. 88 National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet.

    “I want to congratulate Brad on his championship,” Junior said. “He’s a buddy of mine and he did everything he had to do to win this thing.”

    “This has been a really good season for me personally,” Dale Junior continued. “I’ve had a blast.”

    “I can’t wait to test the new car and get to Daytona,” Junior said. “It will be a whole new ball game.”

    Not Surprising:  Yet again, Kyle Busch led the most laps in the race and failed to find Victory Lane, instead coming in fourth. In fact, this was the ninth race in a row where the driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota led the most laps and did not win.

    “I think I’ve said it the last five weeks – that’s our year,” Busch said. “It’s just a shame that we were not able to come out here and put it in Victory Lane like we should.”

    “We’ll have to see what we look forward to next year.”

    Surprising:  The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet not only finished ninth but had a surprisingly record-setting day in the process. Kurt Busch scored his third straight top-10 finish, the first time ever that Furniture Row Racing has had three consecutive top-10 finishes.

    “Finishing the season with three straight top-10s and four straight top-15s – you just can’t ask for much more in a short period of time together,” Busch said. “We’ve made a tremendous amount of progress in the last six weeks and that gives us all plenty of confidence heading into the off season.”

    Not Surprising:  The young driver of the infamous No. 43 for Richard Petty Motorsports continued his great streak of race runs, finishing seventh in the season finale.

    “We had a strong car all day,” Almirola said. “That was a great way to go out.”

    “I’m excited about next year,” Almirola continued. “These guys give me great race cars so we’re gonna win races.”

    As the 2012 season comes to a close, here’s to a Happy Thanksgiving, a blessed Christmas and a truly amazing New Year! See you at Daytona in 2013!

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Phoenix Advocare 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Phoenix Advocare 500

    [media-credit name=”Simon Scoggins” align=”alignright” width=”244″][/media-credit]In the next to the last race on the one miler in the Valley of the Sun, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 25th annual Advocare 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

    Surprising:  Although avoiding the shower of sponsor product, baby Keelan had his first ever visit to Victory Lane, celebrating with his dad Kevin Harvick, driver of the Richard Childress Racing No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet.

    “It was great to be back in Victory Lane and to have Keelan there for our first victory celebration as a family,” Harvick said. “He was fine until everyone started screaming.”

    “That made him cry.”

    Surprisingly, this was Harvick’s first victory of the 2012 season, breaking a 44 race winless streak. Also surprisingly, this was Richard Childress Racing’s first win of the year as well.

    Harvick’s victory came on the heels of a surprising announcement prior to the race, one that will see him leave RCR for Stewart Haas Racing in the 2014 season.

    “It has been a struggle and an interesting weekend to say the least,” Harvick said. “Regardless of what happens in 2014, we have the end of this year and we’ve got all of next year.”

    “We want to win races and we want to be competitive and that is what we are here to do.”

    Not Surprising:  The theme of survival, which has been his mantra since Talladega and throughout the Chase, continued with the driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge.

    Brad Keselowski finished sixth in the Blue Deuce and also grabbed the points lead in the championship race after competitor Jimmie Johnson hit the wall to finish 32nd. Keselowski also had to navigate a wild last lap wreck, in which he was dinged, to take the checkered flag.

    “I raced pretty hard last week at Texas but that was borderline ridiculous,” Keselowski said. “We survived and I’m proud of everyone on the Miller Lite team for that.”

    “I felt very lucky to make it through the carnage today.”

    Surprising:  For a driver, crew chief and team that is so often totally in control, it was most surprising for the championship contending Jimmie Johnson and team No. 48 to come out of Phoenix feeling totally out of control.

    “We were cruising along and I think going to have a top-10 day if things worked out,” Johnson said. “I had a slight vibration and then as I was coming off of turn four, it went down and straight in the wall I went.”

    “Unfortunately, we lost a lot of control or all control in the championship,” Johnson continued, now 20 points back of point leader Keselowski. “It’s way, way out of our control with the problem we had.”

    “That’s racing,” Johnson said. “We will go to Homestead and do all we can down there and see how things pan out.”

    Not Surprising:  As with any fracas, there are a variety of ways to see the incident, depending on your point of view. And the melee on and off the track between Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet, and Clint Bowyer, pilot of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, was no exception to this rule.

    “It’s just that things have gotten escalated over the year and I’ve just had it,” Gordon said after wrecking Bowyer and participating in a bench-emptying brawl in the garage area. “Clint’s run into me numerous times.”

    “I’ve had it and was fed up with it and got him back.”

    “For him to act like that, I barely touched him,” Bowyer said. “Next thing I know, Brett (Griffin, spotter) is telling me that he’s waiting on me.”

    “It’s pretty embarrassing for a four-time champion and what I consider one of the best the sport’s ever seen to act like that.”

    For those directly and not so directly involved in the disagreement, other perceptions prevailed.

    “When I was young, I thought Jeff Gordon was the best driver,” Joey Logano, whose No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet was collateral damage in the Gordon/Bowyer madness, tweeted after the race. “Now I’ve lost a lot of respect for him.”

    “The 24 should be parked!” Denny Hamlin tweeted after the race. “He took out 5 cars in that BS!”

    One driver, however, seemingly enjoyed the hoopla and the sparring.

    “I like fights,” Kevin Harvick, race winner, said to the media with a devilish grin. “We should have more fights.”

    “They’re not always fun to be in, but fights are what made NASCAR what it is.”

    Surprising:  While Denny Hamlin had much to say about fellow competitor Jeff Gordon via Twitter, he also had a lot to say about the track, even with a second place finish.

    “The track is just so slick,” Hamlin said after the race. “Treacherous. The race track is extremely treacherous.”

    “You can’t – with these hard tires – you just can’t get a grip on the race track.”

    “Everyone’s just sliding around and sliding into each other.”

    The driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota also had some choice, but perhaps not politically correct words, for the track conditions on the final lap, which led to multiple wrecks and many torn up race cars.

    “There was oil all over the track,” Hamlin said. “Ray Charles could see that.”

    “Holy cow, it was a mess.”

    Not Surprising:   After dominating for the first third of the race, the intrepid Kyle Busch, behind the wheel of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota, had to settle for a third place finish. This was Busch’s 10th top-10 finishes in 16 races at Phoenix International Raceway.

    “Great day,” Busch said simply. “Guys gave me an awesome car.”

    “Obviously, having a car that’s the class of the field – you expect to win and you’re supposed to win,” Busch continued. “I guess I just didn’t know how to win it today.”

    “So, it seems to be the way the year goes.”

    Surprising:  For as bad of a season and weekend that Jeff Burton was having, the driver of the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet pulled off a surprisingly good 13th place finish in the Advocare 500.

    Burton had to start from the rear of the field after multiple accidents in both Friday and Saturday’s practices.

    “Just a solid effort this weekend from the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet team,” Burton said. “We wrecked two cars on Friday and Saturday.”

    “For these guys to come back and give this kind of effort was amazing.”

    Not Surprising:  Kurt Busch continued to settle in with his new Furniture Row race team, recovering from a lug nut problem to finish eighth in the Valley of the Sun. This was his second straight eighth-place finish, giving his team its best back-to-back finishes in the team’s history.

    “That was a wild ending,” the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Farm American Chevrolet said. “I just stayed on the gas to get to the finish line.”

    “We definitely had a car that was capable of winning,” Busch continued. “We battled back to notch our second straight top-10.”

    Surprising:  Another Cup rookie had a surprisingly good day, in fact the best yet in her young career in the top tier of the sport. Danica Patrick, in the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, finished 17th, her best result to date.

    “We had a green-white-checkered, so it was a nice exciting finish for the fans,” Patrick said. “The No. 31 went in too deep and clipped my left rear, spun me around and I just tried to limp back to the line.”

    “Still our best finish,” Patrick continued. “But you always want more.”

    Not Surprising:  Ryan Newman, often known as the ‘Iron Man’ of the sport, proved he was as tough as all the veterans’ pictures on his camouflaged car. After qualifying in the 12th position, the driver of the No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet worked his way to the front to finish fifth in the Advocare 500.

    “That was a good run for our Quicken Loans Chevrolet,” Newman said. “It was a special Veteran’s Day paint scheme and I’m really proud of everything there.”

    Surprising:  Chaser Martin Truex, Jr., racing no doubt with a heavy heart for his home state of New Jersey ravaged by Hurricane Sandy, saw his day end before it even got started. The driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota had an engine failure and finished 43rd.

    “Well, the engine started laying down on like the second lap and something broke in the top end, so we were done for the day,” Truex said. “It’s a shame.”

    “Just one of those deals – probably a parts failure or something.”

    Not Surprising:  Greg Biffle showed his mettle behind the wheel, coming back from a miserable start to the race to being the highest finishing Ford, scoring a top-10 finish.

    “It was actually a hard fought day,” the driver of the No. 16 Filtrete/3M Ford said. “We came back from not having a very good car to being really good.”

    “We kept working on it and working on it,” Biffle continued. “I never thought we’d get that good.”

    “That was remarkable.”