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  • Logano wins pole at Martinsville

    Logano wins pole at Martinsville

    For the ninth straight year in the Monster Energy Cup Series, Joey Logano has won a pole.

    The streak continued with the Penske driver’s 21st career pole and his fifth at Martinsville Speedway.

    “It’s awesome get another pole at Martinsville,” Logano said. “Hopefully we can top it off with another win with the Shell Pennzoil Mustang. This is always a fun race and I always look forward to coming up here.”

    Aric Almirola, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top five.

    Stage 1 was fairly calm with Hamlin, the Chesterfield Virginia native, setting the pace with two stages to go. The notables not advancing to Stage 2 included both cars from Richard Childress Racing in Daniel Hemric and Austin Dillon as well as Ricky Stenhouse Jr. from Roush Fenway Racing.

    In Stage two, the surprise of the weekend occurred when the winner of the Truck Series race earlier today and the winner of the past two races in the Monster Energy Cup Series, Kyle Busch, did not make it out of Round 3. He was 14th after his first run and tried to go out and make it into the third round but it was not enough so he will try to go for three in a row from the 14th starting position.

    Ryan Blaney did not make it out of Round 2 as well as Kurt Busch, Erik Jones and Paul Menard.

    After cutting a tire in the first practice, William Byron rebounded to qualify sixth, followed by Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr. and Daniel Suarez to round out the Top 10.

    The STP 500 will televised on FS1 with the telecast starting at 2 p.m. ET.

    Follow Bryan on Twitter for the latest updates.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: California

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: California

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kyle Busch: Busch overcame a pit road speeding penalty to capture the Auto Club 500 at Fontana, scoring his 200th NASCAR victory to tie Richard Petty.

    “This day couldn’t have gone any better for me,” Busch said. “First, Mötley Crüe gave the ‘Start your engines’ command. Then, I won the race. And my fans were even more excited. If you’re a Kyle Busch fan, then I’m your ‘Dr. Feelgood.’”

    2. Joey Logano: Logano finished second at Fontana and is second in the Monster Energy Cup points standings, 15 behind Kyle Busch.

    “Kyle blew by Brad Keselowski and I like we weren’t even moving,” Logano said. “And Roger Penske is not happy, because his company is all about‘ moving.’”

    3. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex came home eighth at Fontana and is seventh in the points standings, 68 out of first.

    “Kyle Busch’s first Cup win came at California,” Truex said, “and now his 200th NASCAR win took place in the state. Let’s not forget the other 198 winssandwiched between those two. I know Jimmie Spencer won’t, because he just heard ‘sandwich.’”

    4. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished third at Fontana.

    “It’s always tough to watch Kyle Busch win,” Keselowski said. “But let’s face it—Petty’s 200 wins all came in the Cup series. Kyle needed three series to equal the King’s feat. So, Kyle Busch will have an ‘ass‘-terisk beside that record.”

    5. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin led some early laps at Fontana and posted a solid seventh at Fontana.

    “Fans were booing us at qualifying,” Hamlin said. “But NASCAR shouldn’t be too concerned. Why? Because fans were at qualifying.”

    6. Kevin Harvick: Harvick started second and finished fourth in the Auto Club 500.

    “My car co-owner Tony Stewart is a nominee for the NASCAR Hall Of Fame,” Harvick said. “I doubt induction really means that much to Tony, mostly because he only gets to punch a ticket, and not Kurt Busch’s face.”

    7. Aric Almirola: Almirola continued his strong start to the season with a ninth at Fontana.

    “Our West Coast swing is over,” Almirola said. “Now it’s time for racing at Martinsville, where an ‘East coast swing’ means a driver you bumped and wrecked on Martinsville’s half-mile track just tried to punch you.”

    8. Kurt Busch: Busch finished sixth in the Auto Club 500, posting his fourth top 10 of the season.

    “Congratulations to my little brother Kyle for tying Richard Petty’s record of 200 wins,” Busch said. “I guess that makes Kyle ‘King’ for a day. And the Busch family must be royalty, because many people have labeled me ‘queen for life.’”

    9. Kyle Larson: Larson finished 12th in the Auto Club 500 and is now eighth in the Monster Energy Cup points standings.

    “The members of Mötley Crüe served as grand marshals for the race,” Larson said. “The Crüe, more than anyone, wants to see a female driver prosper in NASCAR, mostly because they love a little ‘heroine.’”

    10. Ryan Blaney: Blaney took fifth at Fontana and is now 10th in the points standings.

    “Tony Stewart is nominated for the Hall Of Fame,” Blaney said. “In the same week, Mötley Crüe are grand marshals at Fontana. If there’s a song that encapsulates all of that, it’s ‘Smoke In The Boys’ Room.’”

  • Win #200: Kyle Busch Rebounds from Penalty to Win the Auto Club 400

    Win #200: Kyle Busch Rebounds from Penalty to Win the Auto Club 400

    Kyle Busch breaks 200 wins across NASCAR by winning the Auto Club 400 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at Auto Club Speedway.

    “I cherish every minute of it,” Busch mentioned when asked to recollect the memories of all his victories.

    In case you haven’t heard, Kyle Busch has been on debate as one of the greatest of all time, especially with the comparison of Richard Petty’s 200 victories in NASCAR. No matter what side you choose, it’s undeniable his accomplishments are nothing short of legendary.

    “It’s something that I don’t necessarily pay attention to,” Busch declared shaking his head. “As long as you’re successful and doing a good job and doing your job about what you know how to do and you’re winning those races, then you’re going to be eclipsing a lot of milestones and certainly it’s been pretty awesome so far.”

    Joey Logano was one position of earning back to back victories on the west coast, but led his Team Penske teammates as the three Fords finished in the top 5.

    “[Brad and I] only raced for about two laps before the No. 18 blew our doors off,” Logano said of Busch. “The fastest car won the race. We just didn’t have nothing for that green car. We held strong today with the Auto Club Mustang. You want to win at the home track of your sponsor. We gave it a solid run. We have a lot of momentum on this race team right now.”

    The Toyota camp mentioned all weekend that the Fords were fast. Busch’s was faster, but with Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick and Ryan Blaney completing the top 5, they were right there to capitalize if the No. 18 made a mistake.

    “We just weren’t very good the first run, but we got a lot better,” Blaney said. “We had a lap-and-a-half on our tires when the caution came out (on Lap 165). I thought if I could control the race from the front row and be the leader that I might be able to hold on because I thought our car was pretty good at the time.

    “I was fourth by the time we got to Turn 1. I got no push. It took 10 laps for it to come in, and we were eighth and drove back to fifth. We had a really fast PPG Ford Mustang, we just never got the lead or track position with equal tires and that hurt us, but overall not a bad day.”

    Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Aric Almirola and Austin Dillon completed the top 10.

    “It was just an uphill battle to reclaim track position,” said Dillon who faced an illness all race long. “Through hard work, we were able to finish 10th. I’m so proud of this team.”

    Stages Swept by Kyle Busch for the Third Time

    Before the cars left pit road, Austin Dillon began the day on pole after yesterday’s awkward qualifying session, but was on standby for an illness from the previous night. Cole Custer, yesterday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series winner in the Production Alliance Group 300, was the only eligible driver as a replacement. Because he races with a Ford team, he had to sign an exemption so he could be on standby in case Dillon needed to exit the car. Two cars went to the rear for the start for the race. Michael McDowell’s team failed inspection twice, and Matt Tifft had an engine change. The car chief of McDowell was ejected for the rest of the weekend due to the failed inspections per the NASCAR rule book.

    In a press release, Auto Club Speedway announced they were going to run a Five Wide Salute to the fans during the opening laps. Saluting the fans has been a long tradition in racing and short track racing, and this weekend celebrated Auto Club Speedway’s signature racing style of flat out and five wide.

    “This five wide salute will be an impressive sight and is a nod to both our race fans and the grassroots of the sport,” said Dave Allen, President of Auto Club Speedway. “I grew up going to and racing at dirt tracks, and I am very passionate about the community because at the end of the day, we’re all family. I look forward to seeing everyone’s reaction in the grandstands, infield and along pit road.”

    Early in the race, it appeared the No. 14 Ford of Clint Bowyer lost a cylinder. During the final stage, his engine looked to finally let go and ended his disappointing weekend. At the end of the first stage, Dillon lost a tire and the yellow was put out for debris. The field was restarted with one lap to go, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. spun in Turns 1 and 2 in the middle of the pack. Luckily, no one crashed into him, but a few drivers such as Kyle Larson and Ryan Newman either scrapped the wall or bumped into another competitor trying to get around the wreck.

    One big potential game changer was Kyle Busch’s speeding penalty. Kyle also received a penalty in yesterday’s Xfinity race when a crew member appeared to lose control of a tire, and as it rolled into the next pit stall, Busch had to climb his way up through the field. The same was true in Sunday’s race as he was put at the rear of the field after the penalty during pit stops at the conclusion of Stage 2.

    “That thought definitely certainly crosses your mind,” Busch reflected on the penalty that put him in an uphill battle. “I knew we had a great racecar all day long. I wasn’t sure how well we were going to be able to come through the field, get back in traffic, get our way worked back up to the lead. Fortunately, we were in the Interstate Batteries green today with being St. Patty’s day. It certainly is a monumental moment for all of us, including M&M’s, Skittles, and Snickers.”

    In the final stage during green flag pit stops, Darrell “Bubba” Wallace had a flat tire and the debris caused a yellow flag. This trapped some drivers a lap down as roughly six drivers were left on the lead lap. This played into Kyle Busch’s favor since he was leading at the time but had not yet made his pit stop.

    Most of the field took the wave around, and Kyle Busch took what would be the final restart alongside Ryan Blaney. Blaney was the control car as he elected to stay out, but quickly dropped back on the initial start. Busch had a short battle with Logano, Keselowski and Harvick, but would soon reclaim the lead with 26 laps to go and hold it for the rest of the race.

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competes at the first short track of the season at Martinsville Speedway on March 24.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Phoenix

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Phoenix

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kyle Busch: Busch passed Ryan Blaney late at Phoenix to win the TicketGuardian 500 to complete the weekend sweep at ISM Raceway.

    “Richard Petty’s 200 wins is on my radar,” Busch said. “And I plan on smashing that record and staking my claim as the best NASCAR driver in history. I won’t call myself the ‘King,’ and my name’s not Richard, but people already see me as the biggest ‘Dick’ in NASCAR.”

    2. Joey Logano: Logano finished 10th at Phoenix and is now second in the Monster Energy Cup points standings.

    “Kyle Busch is one win away from matching Richard Petty’s 200 wins,” Logano said. “I think this is a great promotional opportunity for Goody’s Powders, because Kyle has traditionally been one of NASCAR’s biggest headaches.”

    3. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished second at Phoenix as Joe Gibbs Racing took three of the top five spots, with Kyle Busch winning.

    “Hats off to Kyle Busch,” Truex said. “He won the Xfinity race on Saturday, and capped the weekend with Sunday’s win, giving him the sweep. It seems like every week Kyle is a threat to pull off the sweep. The last time a broom was this prominent in NASCAR, Teresa Earnhardt was riding it.”

    4. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin took fifth in the TicketGuardian 500 at Phoenix.

    “I score a hole-in-one on the golf course last week,” Hamlin said. “It was on a par 3, and the club I used was a tire iron.”

    5. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished ninth at Phoenix and is third is the points standings, nine out of first.

    “How about that Daniel Suarez-Michael McDowell altercation on Friday during qualifying?” Harvick said. “Those guys were heated! I guess starting 27th on the grid was a big deal to them.”

    6. Kurt Busch: Busch finished seventh at Phoenix.

    “My Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Daniel Suarez took down Michael McDowell with a body slam,” Busch said. “I think McDowell deserved a right hand to the chin. How do I know? Because of all the drivers in NASCAR, I know what a punchable face looks like.”

    7. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 19th at Phoenix, hampered by an early tire issue that left him unable to contend for the win.

    “I blew a tire and slammed the wall during Stage 1,” Keselowski said. “That really caused some issues with the front end. So, for the second time this season, I had a problem with ‘bodily functions.’”

    8. Kyle Larson: Larson finished sixth at Phoenix, earning his second top 10 of the season.

    “NASCAR moved our year-end awards banquet from Las Vegas to Nashville,” Larson said. “That’s surprising, because I’ve always heard you can get more bang for your buck in Las Vegas.”

    9. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Stenhouse finished 13th at Phoenix.

    “Hailie Deegan is an up-and-coming 17-year-old female driver,” Stenhouse said. “Her aim is to be better than Danica Patrick. Someone should ask Danica what she thinks about this, but it won’t be me, because I’m afraid to pop the question.”

    10. Aric Almirola: Almirola finished fourth at Phoenix, the top finish among Stewart-Haas Racing drivers.

    “Stewart-Haas is winless so far this year,” Almirola said, “but it’s no time to panic. Maybe a short pep talk would be helpful, like these words from Tony Stewart, NASCAR’s poet laureate, ‘You mo fo’s need to find your mo jo’s.’”

  • Kyle Busch Sweeps at the Desert, Wins TicketGuardian 500

    Kyle Busch Sweeps at the Desert, Wins TicketGuardian 500

    Kyle Busch sweeps the weekend at ISM Raceway to win the TicketGuardian 500 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

    “Man, that makes last week feel so much stupider (after Busch lost the chance at a sweep at his hometown of Las Vegas when he was penalized for speeding on pit road). I wish we could have swept last week too. That would have been pretty awesome to start this season with two sweeps in a row,” said Busch, who led a race-high 177 of 312 laps on Sunday.

    Busch faced a late race charge to pass pole sitter and Stage One winner Ryan Blaney, who was in fuel conservation shortly after, and held off a fast charging teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the closing laps.

    “I knew before we went back green (on the last run), that we were going to be right on the verge (of running out of fuel),” Busch said. “You got to go race hard first and then you have to worry about fuel afterwards.”

    Truex marched through the field in the last green flag run, but ran out of time to finish second, putting Joe Gibbs Racing in the top-two spots.

    “We were at least second-place car at the end, I felt,” Truex said. “We deserved to be up there.”

    Despite grabbing the pole, running strong across all practice sessions and winning the first stage, a mishap on pit road for the third race in a row put Blaney behind in the second half of the race. Last minute pit strategy put him in great contention for the win but he finished third. This was the first top five of the season for the No. 12 team after starting the year finishing 22nd or worse in the opening three races.

    “I was kind of riding, trying to save tires, trying to save gas,” said Blaney, who opted for two tires and track position on his final stop. “I think [Busch] was kind of riding back there, too. He knew what situation I was in. I started to get real tight and we got to lapped cars and I was done.

    “It definitely was a good weekend after the start of the year we had. A good day, the day we needed. We’ve been poised to have days like this and contend for wins and it just hasn’t happened this year. This is what we deserve.”

    Aric Almirola and Denny Hamlin completed the top five. Kyle Larson, Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano round out the top 10. To the shock of many, Harvick did not lead a lap throughout today’s race. Busch takes over the points lead from Joey Logano.

    Blaney Claims a Caution-Filled Stage One

    At the start of the race, Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott started side-by-side, but on the initial start, Elliott beat Blaney by a nose to the line as the field took the green. That is a rule violation for the initial start, so Elliott had to serve a pass-through penalty. Elliott was technically out front for the opening couple laps, but Blaney was credited as the leader for the first 30 laps. Elliott stayed on the lead lap, about five seconds in front of the leaders.

    On Lap 37, Erik Jones had reported a vibration, as his right-rear tire let go and the No. 20 Toyota slapped the outside wall. The damage looked minimal, so the Joe Gibbs Racing driver brought his vehicle to pit road for service and he continued on in the race. Everyone visited pit road, with a few drivers electing for two tires. Two penalties were handed out for speeding to Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Newman.

    On the restart, four tires appeared to dominate over two tires, but as the run went on it appeared that two tires didn’t lose much ground in the long run compared to the competitors taking four tires. Later in the run, Brad Keselowski reported something mechanical broken on the car as he spun through the turn. Ryan Preece was close to collision, but was able to avoid the wreck with a last second maneuver.

    When the field took the green with only a handful of laps left in the first stage, Blaney elected to take the top lane to reclaim the lead. In the middle of the field, everyone was aggressive to grab what positions they could on the restart, even racing four-wide in the first turn. Blaney would win the first stage over Aric Almirola and Joey Logano.

    Kyle Busch Dominates the Second Stage

    The pit road strategy continued into the second stage as drivers elected a little of everything. Some teams stayed out, Ty Dillon was first off pit road with fuel only, some cars took two tires and others took four. After the shuffle was complete, Keselowski would claim the Lucky Dog and get the free pass, but with an extended stay on pit road would go back one lap down. Daniel Suarez would be the other car one lap down after a stall on the track during a yellow flag session.

    The field took the green with the front dozen staying on track, and Kyle Busch would claim the top spot from Denny Hamlin five laps into the run. With three laps to go, Bowman had a tire failure and kept it off the wall, but not off the track in time and the yellow flag was displayed. There was no free pass because Bowman was the first car one lap down but brought out the yellow flag. Kyle Busch would claim the second stage over Clint Bowyer.

    Strategies Shuffle During Final Stage at ISM Raceway

    On the restart, the field scattered even more as the middle of the pack went four-wide, two deep on the first lap. A lap and a half in, McDowell had a mechanical failure that resulted in a flat tire going into Turn 3. The car hit the outside wall, and the race went back under yellow. He would later report that he had a stuck throttle on the back stretch.

    “As I got on the back straightaway the throttle pedal was gone. I was just wide open,” McDowell said. “I tried to jam on the brakes as hard as I could. I was just trying to do everything I could to get it shut off, and yeah, really unfortunate for us today.”

    The field took the green flag with just under 150 laps to go, and everyone took this restart much more calmly. Kyle Busch continued to lead over Bowyer, Truex Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Logano with 20 cars on the lead lap.

    The right side tire failures continued throughout the day as Bowman lost another right front going into Turn 3 on Lap 193. This time around, the damage looked fatal when he came to pit road.

    As the race approached 100 laps to go, the various strategies started to surface. Johnson took two tires and was running second when battling with Bowyer. Harvick’s team worked on his car all day and found themselves in fourth. Elliott realized he had a problem and spun through Turn 3 but made no contact with the wall. Under yellow, everyone elected to come to pit road. Austin Dillon took fuel only, about 10 cars took two tires and the rest of the field took four fresh tires.

    As the field took the green, Hemric stayed out of pit road and led the field to the green. The field was five-wide at one point, and Ryan Preece would spin to hit the inside wall on the backstretch. Keselowski also collected some damage from scraping the inside wall avoiding Preece. At this point, many drivers and teams started to communicate about fuel strategy, since everyone would be close on fuel with the remaining distance of the race.

    A short green flag run ended when Preece dropped some debris in Turn 1 to bring out the yellow quickly once again. Hemric, Harvick and Bowyer brought their race cars to pit road. Almirola led for the next restart, but the first stage winner, Ryan Blaney, was able to get around the No. 10 on the outside and lead once again. Blaney was out front up until 15 laps to go, when Kyle Busch was able to reel him in and pass him for the win and held off a late race charge from Martin Truex Jr. as Blaney was on fuel conservation. Quin Houff placed 30th and Bayley Currey placed 31st in their series debuts.

    The next race for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will be held at Auto Club Speedway on March 17 for the Auto Club 400.

  • Blaney earns podium finish in strong run at Phoenix

    Blaney earns podium finish in strong run at Phoenix

    As the laps ticked away, it seemed two tires would be enough to win the day at Phoenix. Then Kyle Busch was added to the equation.

    As one of the few cars that pitted under the seventh caution of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series TicketGuardian 500, Blaney used the two new right-side tires, and three subsequent restarts to run down and pass race leader Aric Almirola with 60 laps to go.

    “I fired off really good,” he said.

    After Kyle Busch passed him with 55 to go, he reeled in Blaney, who was conserving fuel and tires.

    Despite this, Blaney maintained a small advantage over Busch with less than 30 to go. With 20 to go, however, the handling of his car went to the tight side and four laps later, Busch passed him on the inside of Turn 2 and cleared him going into Turn 3.

    Throw in lap traffic, and Blaney was “just done.”

    “Honestly, we hung on better there on two tires than I thought we would,” he said.

    “I think (Busch) was kind of riding back there too. I don’t think he was in the situation I was in (fuel saving), but then I started to get real tight.”

    The remaining laps, he went into fuel save mode and came home third. It’s his best finish of the season to date and first top five and top 10 finish in 2019. He also led 94 laps and won a stage.

    The only hiccup was when he pitted a second time under caution for loose lug nuts.

    “Shame we couldn’t get Money Lion and Ford a win, but definitely a good weekend, after the start we’ve had. This is where this team deserves to run.”

    Blaney leaves Phoenix 12th in points, 64 back of new points leader Busch.

  • Kyle Busch shows that he’s the ‘Big Dog’ at ISM Raceway

    Kyle Busch shows that he’s the ‘Big Dog’ at ISM Raceway

    The NASCAR Xfinity series competed at ISM Raceway Saturday for the iK9 Service Dog 200 and this race showed who the big dog is that everyone is chasing after.

    Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota just dominated the race leading four times for 116 of the 200 total laps. Early on it seemed as if Christopher Bell in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota would be able to challenge Busch but when he ran into trouble it was clear sailing for Busch.

    “Christopher (Bell) was certainly going to give me a run for my money today,” Busch stated, “I can’t say enough about our guys at Joe Gibbs Racing, obviously they build really fast Supras.”

    He added, “I want to thank the fans. It’s always cool to come out with Rowdy Nation and having their support, and everyone that backs us. Congrats to all these guys who work so hard to get me where I’m at.”

    Stage 1 had only one caution in it when the No. 17 of Bayley Curry hit the wall. Some of the drivers opted to pit while others stayed out. Austin Cindric took advantage of the caution staying out and winning the stage.

    Stage 2 went caution free and saw Bell and Busch battle for the lead. Halfway through the stage, Bell took the top spot and the stage win setting up what would be a great battle to the finish line. However, it wasn’t meant to be today.

    The final stage saw Busch leading and Bell in second when the No. 01 of Stephen Leicht appeared to have an engine let go causing a huge plume of smoke. When the smoke cleared the No. 7 of Justin Allgaier had damage from tagging the wall, but Bell’s car was heavily damaged from hitting the wall and his day ended early.

    Ryan Truex had a great day in the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet bringing it home in second place.

    “I guess it’s good when you lose to Kyle Busch.” Truex commented, “ Our car was just so good in the long runs. I was able to hold Tyler Reddick off and finish second. He added, “ I’m thankful to JR Motorsports for this opportunity, it felt good to be back up here.”

    Tyler Reddick, Cole Custer and Austin Cindric round out the top five. Chase Briscoe, Brandon Jones, Michael Annett, John Hunter Nemechek, and Ryan Sieg finished sixth through 10, respectively.

    Reddick is leading the NASCAR Xfinity Series Standings with 169 points, Bell is second with 165 points and Custer is in third with 158 points. Annett is in fourth with 147 points and Brandon Jones rounds out the top five with 147 points.

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads next to the Auto Club Speedway on Saturday, March 16.

  • Ryan Blaney earns pole for the TicketGuardian 500

    Ryan Blaney earns pole for the TicketGuardian 500

    With a lap time of 25.480 seconds, Ryan Blaney captured his sixth career pole for Sunday’s TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

    Blaney was also fastest in practice earlier in the day after only 10 laps on track with a slightly faster time at 25.403. He was the only driver to break the 25.4 second bracket in both first practice and qualifying on Friday.

    “Nice to get our first pole of the year,” Blaney shared on Twitter. “Really great to have Money Lion with us for their first Cup race.”

    Chase Elliott will share the front row for Sunday’s race. Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski complete the top five qualifying positions.

    Alex Bowman and William Byron will start sixth and seventh respectively, putting three of the four Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet cars in the final round of qualifying.

    Kevin Harvick, defending race winner, will go for his 10th career victory at the Arizona 1-mile oval, and start from the eighth position.

    Martin Truex Jr. and Erik Jones finish the top-10 starting spots. Rookie Daniel Hemric will start his No. 8 Okuma Chevrolet in 11th place.

    The 2018 MENCS Champion, Joey Logano, will start from 12th place, the last position of the final round of qualifying.

    Kyle Larson was third fastest in practice, but had terrible track position during the first round of qualifying. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to continue past the first round, and will start in 31st on Sunday. Bayley Currey was the only driver that elected not to run a timed lap.

    A lot of attention went to pit road shortly after the first session when Daniel Suárez and Michael McDowell had a brief fight. Crew members eventually broke up the fight, and the two would eventually calm down to have a more civil conversation about the on-track altercation.

    “I always have my helmet when I get in and out (of the race car), just an old habit,” McDowell shared with Jamie Little from FOX Sports. “Just miscommunication on the race track. We all kinda waited until the end and then we just had a lot of traffic. Just unfortunate. He was upset that I held him up on his good lap, and then he tried to crash us. I just didn’t appreciate it.

    “It’s just ‘heat of the moment’ stuff. It’s racing. These shorter practice sessions, shorter qualifying, getting late going through tech, intensity ramps up so it’s all a part of it.”

    Suárez felt disrespected by the No. 34 driver’s racing etiquette.

    “Just lack of respect,” after Vince Welch from FOX Sports asked for Suárez’s take on the altercation. “Track position is very big in races these days, and you have to qualify well to have a good stall on pit road, and obviously to have a good start in the race. The race is long, so we can overcome that, but just a lack of respect. Everyone here in the garage knows the second lap is a good one. You have to try to get out of the way if somebody is coming into a hot lap, and he didn’t. He killed me in one corner. I thought he would get out of the way in that second corner, and he didn’t and I almost wrecked him.

    “He was disappointed because I was trying to wreck him afterwards, but that’s about racing.”

    Coincidentally, McDowell (27th) and Suárez (28th) will start together from the 14th row on Sunday.

    The TicketGuardian 500 will be on television on FOX or over radio with MRN on Sunday, March 10 with the green flag scheduled to wave at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Las Vegas

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Las Vegas

    Note: the quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Joey Logano — Logano dashed to the win at Las Vegas, holding off Penske Racing teammate Brad Keselowski for his first Cup win in Vegas.

    “I knew Brad was going to make a run,” Logano said. “He’s so good at making those race-winning passes. I saw him in my mirror and though, ‘Uh oh.’ Anytime you look in the mirror and see Brad Keselowski, it’s bad news, especially if you’re Brad Keselowski.”

    2. Brad Keselowski — Keselowski, looking for his second straight win, finished second at Las Vegas to Penske teammate Joey Logano.

    “That’s right,” Keselowski said. “I finished second. So, for the second consecutive week, I ‘went No. 2’ in my car.”

    3. Kyle Busch — Busch’s quest for a weekend sweep ended with a third in the Pennzoil 400.

    “I blew any chance of winning when I was caught speeding on pit lane,” Busch said. “I’ll tell you this, though, the penalty for breaking the 45 miles per hour speed limit is much less severe when it happens on pit lane as opposed to a highway in Iredell County, North Carolina.”

    4. Denny Hamlin — Hamlin finished 10th at Las Vegas.

    “Other than those for the ends of stages,” Hamlin said, “there wasn’t a single caution during the race. And that made for a very boring race. Just ask television viewers. The TV ratings are in, and Sunday’s race rolled ‘snake eyes.’”

    5. Kevin Harvick — Harvick led a race-high 88 laps and finished fourth in the Pennzoil 400.

    “We dominated Stage 1,” Harvick said. “After that, the handling just went south. And with NASCAR’s new rules package, my battle with my steering wheel may have been the best action of the day in Vegas.”

    6. Martin Truex Jr. — Truex finished eighth at Las Vegas, recording his second top-10 of the year. He is eighth in the Monster Energy Cup points standings.

    “I’m not sure if NASCAR’s new rules package made that much of a difference,” Truex said. “But it’s a start. Now what the rules need is just some fine-tuning, or small adjustments. That’s why NASCAR should bring in the Mayfield family, because they can ‘tweak’ anything.”

    7. Kurt Busch — Busch finished fifth at Las Vegas and is 10th in the points standings.

    “I’m a Las Vegas native,” Busch said. “So it’s always hard to leave this place. When I leave Vegas, it’s like I leave a little piece of me behind, which was also the case when I had ear-reduction surgery in 2006.”

    8. Kyle Larson — Larson took 12th in the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas and is now sixth in the Monster Energy Cup points standings.

    “Those guys from Hendrick Motorsports are at it again,” Larson said. “They’re ‘playing games.’ Only this time, it’s in the casino.”

    9. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. — Stenhouse finished eighth at Las Vegas, posting his first top-10 of the year.

    “Erik Jones and I had a heated battle for position at one point in the race,” Stenhouse said. “Over the radio, he told me to ‘stop being a dumb ass.’ I responded by saying, ‘I dated Danica Patrick. You can use real profanity.’”

    10. Erik Jones — Jones finished 13th in the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas.

    “My Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch just signed a contract extension,” Jones said. “Kyle’s had some big wins in his illustrious career, but this is his latest ‘signature’ win.”

  • Joey Logano Cashes Out the Jackpot, Wins at Vegas

    Joey Logano Cashes Out the Jackpot, Wins at Vegas

    Joey Logano wins the first west coast race in the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

    “I said we’re going to do donuts on that giant infield logo after the race, and we were able to do it,” Logano shared after winning for the first time in his career at Las Vegas.

    With over 3,300 green flag passes and 47 green flag passes for the lead, NASCAR’s new aero package saw much more competitive racing. The leaders could not get further than a couple seconds out front before being reeled back in, and a lot of draft was being manipulated. Logano shared that it really was more of a mental game.

    “What a great race. Brad and I were so evenly matched, and you just can’t drive away (with the lead). In the last five or six laps, Brad was catching me so quick, and I got stuck behind a lapped car. Man, it was so close. Lots of fun – my heart’s still running hard.”

    Teammate Brad Keselowski put on a couple late run charges, even coming to the checkered flag. Out of Turn 4, he came up one spot short of going back to back to win two of the first three races of the season. Team Penske finished 1-2.

    “It was a good battle,” Keselowski said. “We were both running really hard on the top. It seemed to come down to what the lapped cars were going to do. The lapped cars screwed the leader, and the second-place guy got a really good run. It happened over and over again. First, Joey got hosed by a lapped car, and I got by him. Then I got hosed by a lapped car, and he got by me. But it was definitely a good event.”

    Kyle Busch was able to recover from a pit road speeding penalty and a six second deficit to the leaders to pass Kevin Harvick for third. Time ran out and Busch was three spots short of the weekend sweep across all three NASCAR touring series.

    “I certainly screwed up our day coming to pit road,” Busch said disappointed after a green flag pit road speeding penalty during Stage 2. “Trying to make up time and just ruined it for us.”

    Stage 1 winner Harvick finished fourth with Kurt Busch utilizing some late race pit road strategy rounded out the top five. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Aric Almirola, Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott and Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin completed the top 10.

    Harvick Begins His West Coast Swing in Stage One

    Harvick and Hamlin started side by side on the front row at the initial start of the race. Landon Cassill and Ty Dillon moved to the rear of the field after both a gear change and an engine change. Hamlin, inside, pulled out to a brief lead on the back stretch, but Harvick marched his way through Turns 3 and 4 to lead the first lap as the crossed the start finish line. Harvick ended up leading virtually all the laps, aside from the green flag pit stops cycle. Daniel Hemric started in the fifth position, but quickly dropped through the field and lost a lap deeper into the stage.

    Unique penalties were handed out during green flag pit stops. Austin Dillon, who was running inside the top five most of the first stage was caught with too many crew members over the wall. The call came from NASCAR after two crew members retrieving tires from the tire changers fell over the wall after reaching too far for a tire. Kyle Larson, who also was running in the top 10, had a penalty with too many crew members over the wall. For his pit stop, the crew member also responsible for retrieving a tire swept their hand over the pit stall and made contact with pit surface. After some social media controversy, FOX Sports Bob Pockrass posted on Twitter the rule that states the following.

    Ryan Blaney had an extra unscheduled pit stop for a tire that lost a valve stem on his original pit stop.

    During the green flag pit stops, Joey Logano led for six laps before his pit stop. Daniel Suarez led his first career laps on a 1.5 mile oval before taking two tires to gain some track position. Harvick reclaimed the lead and led the final 19 laps to the green-checkered flag that signifies the end of the stage.

    Team Penske Working Together During Stage Two

    Keselowski led the field to the green on the restart, but because he elected to take two tires, he was quickly overtaken by Kyle Busch and Joey Logano, and the two battled for the lead for most of the stage.

    Blaney visited pit road early, and quickly caught the leaders. At this time, he was three laps down and passed the leaders to get one of his laps back the old school way. Logano saw his speed, and the No. 22 team elected to pit for fresh tires. That brought all the lead lap cars to the pits.

    As Busch came to pit road, he locked up the brakes and sped during the first segment. He immediately served his penalty per instructions from his crew chief before his car got up to full speed.

    “There’s no f****** way…” Kyle dejectedly stated over the radio, knowing he had gone too fast during the first section.

    William Byron played a similar strategy as Suarez in the first stage and led for 21 laps before his pit stop. Logano reclaimed the lead for the final 11 laps to win Stage 2.

    Team Penske Puts on a Show in the Final Stage

    A variety of strategies shuffled the running order as the green flag flew for the start of the final stage, including Kurt Busch staying out during the stage caution. Eventually, the two drivers that showed strength in the early parts of the final stage were Logano and Harvick. The two were at the front during the stage before the last set of pit stops.

    The biggest trouble Harvick had was on pit road. Throughout the day, his team constantly gave him fast pit stops, but Harvick’s car had no traction as he left his pit stall. Comparing to the others, Harvick kept spinning his tires before being able to leave pit road.

    After final pit stops, it became a four-way battle for the lead between Logano, Keselowski, Harvick and Kyle Busch. Keselowski was able to briefly get by Logano to lead a couple laps before Logano reclaimed the lead and won the second stage. Harvick closed the gap to start becoming involved, and Kyle Busch fought from over a six second deficit. However, time ran out for everyone as Logano crossed the line first after a close battle with teammate Keselowski.

    The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series continues their west coast swing next weekend in Phoenix, Arizona at ISM Raceway, Sunday, March 10 at 3:30 p.m. ET.