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  • The Final Word – Daytona and Talladega I get, but Junior is the King of Pocono?

    The Final Word – Daytona and Talladega I get, but Junior is the King of Pocono?

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. is having a rather pleasant season thus far. On Sunday, he swept the season series at Pocono, upped his count to three wins this term, tops the standings, and is second only to Jeff Gordon in accumulated points. No bad at all.

    Gordon actually had the car to beat on the day, leading the most laps, but with 39 to go he stayed out while Junior hit the pits. That allowed his teammate to gas and go with 10 remaining, while Gordon required full service, and that was that. Gordon finished sixth, leaving Kevin Harvick to fill up Junior’s rear view as they ticked down to the end, with Harvick claiming the runner-up spot.

    Three years ago at Sonoma, Brian Vickers had enough of Tony Stewart and wound up parking Smoke atop a stack of tires. On Sunday, Vickers again caused Stewart to end up jacked up, though not intentionally. Denny Hamlin lost traction, almost spun, causing Vickers to ponder evasive action. That was enough to send his car into Matt Kenseth, which caused one heck of a mess behind them, including Stewart parked atop Paul Menard’s ride.

    That meant Stewart failed to get his much needed win. Kenseth remains the points leader amongst the winless. Menard needs a win, not another car. Jimmie Johnson has his three wins, but tire woes meant wall woes as he was done in 39th. Kyle Busch does not smoke, but his car did after 20-odd laps to leave him 42nd. As for Ms. Patrick, she failed to make it over the Danica-line as she came home 30th. She was a solid Top-10 early but smacked the wall, which caused her tire to blow a lap later, which pretty much shot the handling after that. Just another day in paradise.

    This Sunday, Watkins Glen provides the test, where Patrick finished 20th in her first attempt. Marcos Ambrose won there in 2011, and he sure could another one this weekend. Same goes for Stewart, who has claimed it five times. Both usually do quite well turning left and right, while a win would turn one of them right into a place in the Chase.

    THE SWEET SIXTEEN

    1 – Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 3 Wins – 740 Points
    2 – Brad Keselowski – 3 – 687
    3 – Jimmie Johnson – 3 – 633
    4 – Jeff Gordon – 2 – 757
    5 – Joey Logano – 2 – 633
    6 – Carl Edwards – 2 – 618
    7 – Kevin Harvick – 2 – 608
    8 – Kyle Busch – 1 – 611
    9 – Denny Hamlin – 1 – 532
    10 – Aric Almirola – 1 – 506
    11 – Kurt Busch – 1 – 488
    12 – Matt Kenseth – 0 – 668
    13 – Ryan Newman – 0 – 642
    14 – Clint Bowyer – 0 – 617
    15 – Kyle Larson – 0 – 595
    16 – Greg Biffle – 0 – 590

    CONTENDERS & PRETENDERS
    17 – Kasey Kahne – 0  Wins – 589 Points
    18 – Austin Dillon – 0 – 588
    19 – Paul Menard – 0 – 562
    20 – Marcos Ambrose – 0 – 541
    21 – Brian Vickers – 0 – 539
    22 – Tony Stewart – 0 – 537
    23 – Jamie McMurray – 0 – 536
    24 – Casey Mears – 0 – 487
    25 – A.J. Allmendinger – 0 – 477
    26 – Martin Truex, Jr. – 0 – 477
    27 – Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. – 0 – 423
    28 – Danica Patrick – 0 – 396
    29 – Justin Allgaier – 0 – 371
    30 – Michael Annett – 0 – 347
    31 – David Gilliland – 0 – 312
    32 – Cole Whitt – 0 – 305

     

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Pocono GoBowling.com 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Pocono GoBowling.com 400

    From the impact of crew chief suspensions inspired by the No. 11 Denny Hamlin penalty to the forecasted rain that never reared its ugly head, here is what else was surprising and not surprising in the 41st Annual GoBowling.com 400 at Pocono Raceway.

    Surprising: They may have swept Pocono for the first time since Denny Hamlin did it in 2006 and also scored their third victory of the season, but what Dale Earnhardt Jr. and crew chief Steve Letarte were most eloquent about after the race was their praise for the positive impact of team owner Rick Hendrick on their lives.

    “I just told him thanks for believing in me and making my life better,” Dale Jr. said of the call he made to Mr. H. in Victory Lane. “He has that effect on all the people that work for him. He makes everybody’s life better.”

    “He put me with Steve and I think that Steve was in a place where he was looking for something new and I was definitely needing something new, and it worked out,” Earnhardt Jr. continued. “I was, it was a touch and go there for a while, but we have worked, we have done some good things together and we have continued to get better and we finally are realizing that potential and doing the things on the racetrack that we dreamed about doing when we first started working together.”

    “Mr. Hendrick has helped me become a better person, put me around people that influence me to be a better person, so just want him to know that I appreciate it.”

    “He’s the kind of guy that through the low times in your life you can lean on and you don’t worry about talking to him about it,” crew chief Steve Letarte said of Mr. H, in support of his driver’s opinion. “He’s given me a tremendous amount of advice without probably ever even knowing it. He’s just that kind of guy.”

    “People don’t work at Hendrick Motorsports because we win races, people work at Hendrick Motorsports because they want to work for Rick Hendrick and that’s a big difference.”

    Not Surprising: Jeff Gordon may not have won the race in spite of leading 63 laps, but he did achieve two career milestones as a result of his sixth place run in the GoBowling.com 400. The driver of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet broke the 24,000 career laps led mark and also achieved the milestone of leading 1,000 laps at Pocono Raceway.

    “I’m really happy with the way our car performed,” Gordon said. “It’s just so awesome and encouraging and has got my confidence sky high. And I just can’t wait to get to the next race.”

    Surprising: Tony Stewart and Paul Menard had a close encounter of the on-top-of-each-other-yet-again kind after a multi-car pileup on Lap 118.

    “I told Tony the last time we did that was about two years ago at Talladega,” Menard, driver of the No. 27 Certainteed/Menards Chevrolet, said. “So, we have got to stop doing that.”

    “Yeah, I tend to end up on Paul (Menard) a lot,” Stewart said, followed by a quick clarifying statement. “Car wise, our cars tend to end up on top of each other for some reason.”

    “I think that is the second time I’ve landed on top of him,” Smoke continued. “This time at least we weren’t’ looking windshield in at each other.”

    Not Surprising: For at least one driver, who officially locked himself into the Chase with his second place Pocono finish, there were lessons to be learned at the Tricky Triangle.

    Kevin Harvick described his team’s biggest lesson learned as the ability to scramble after suffering damage in the multi-car wreck that sent their car into a drain and then the wall.

    “Well, I think today was very important,” the driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Chevrolet said. “We didn’t have the car that we wanted, I felt like we had a top three car today, we were going to need track position and things were not really going well.”

    “They were able to fix the car after we wrecked it,” Harvick continued. “So that’s what we talked about as we came back from the break was just scrambling, being able to scramble and get a finish of some sort to get something out of a day.”

    “That’s what you’re going to have to do the last 10 weeks and today we were able to accomplish that and hopefully this is a good sign of things to come.”

    Surprising: Danica Patrick and Jimmie Johnson had one surprising thing in common at Pocono. Both of their races were pretty much ruined by tire issues, which coincided with hitting the wall issues as well.

    Six-time champ Johnson had his tires go down twice, once early in the race and the second time on lap 113, sending him into the wall.

    Patrick actually hit the outside wall first on lap 14, which resulted in a severe tire rub. Just one lap later, her right-rear tire failed as she was trying to make her way to pit road.

    Johnson finished 39th and Patrick ended her day in the 30th spot.

    “Unfortunately, we had some trouble early and were able to really rally back and get ourselves in the top-five,” the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet said. “So disappointed for sure, but really unclear as to what happened going into Turn 2. The car went straight down into the Tunnel Turn.”

    “I feel so badly that I started the problems when I hit the fence there in Turn 2,” the driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet said. “I just wish I would have been smart enough to bring our GoDaddy Chevy to pit lane as soon as it happened, but sometimes tire rubs seem worse than what they are, so I stayed out there and we lost the tire.”

    “I’m really disappointed, and I know all the guys are, too.”

    Not Surprising: After scoring the pole with a new Pocono track record of 183.438 mph and 49.063 seconds, it was not surprising for rookie Kyle Larson to yet again score Rookie of the Race honors with his 12th place race run.

    NASCAR Camping World Truck race winner and Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Austin Dillon finished in the 15th position as the next highest rookie runner.

    Surprising: While Kyle Busch is quite often the dominant Toyota, the driver of the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing, exited early with some sort of engine issue and Clint Bowyer instead led the charge in his No. 15 RK Motors Charlotte Toyota Camry, finishing 4th.

    “We had a good car all weekend and we unloaded good,” Bowyer said. “I’m proud of (Brian) Pattie (crew chief) and all these guys that work so hard.”

    “It’s the work during the week, day in and day out, that makes the difference when you come to these weekends and it’s good to be getting a good finish.”

    Not Surprising: Denny Hamlin, sans his regular crew chief Darian Grubb, deemed his substitute crew chief Mike Wheeler good after a top-10 finish at the Tricky Triangle.

    “You know, he (Mike Wheeler) did a really good job,” the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota said. “He called the race nice. Good communication and we were on the same strategy as far as what I was thinking and what he was thinking so that was good.”

    “So really pretty seamless for the most part.”

    Surprising: Matt Kenseth’s predictions of Pocono not being the best track for him came true when he finished a disappointing 38th after having his car destroyed in the Pocono version of the ‘Big One.’

    “It’s never been a wonderful track for me,” Kenseth said prophetically prior to the race. And after the race, he simply said. “We just got all collected.”

    Not Surprising: There was at least one driver that was ready to accept his 15th place finish and head on to the road course at Watkins Glen for next weekend’s race.

    “If you had asked me at the start of the day would I take a top-15 finish, I would have said yes but it was just a little frustrating there at the end,” Marcos Ambrose, driver of the No. 9 DeWalt Ford Said. “We had some issues and I probably let a few spots go, but we’ll keep digging and keep working on it.”

    “It’s frustrating for all of us to not be as competitive at these downforce tracks as we want, but we’ve got a good one next week coming up and hopefully we can get rolling there.”

  • Rookie Kyle Larson Wins First Career Pole at Tricky Triangle

    Rookie Kyle Larson Wins First Career Pole at Tricky Triangle

    Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender and Drive4Diversity grad Kyle Larson scored his first career pole behind the wheel of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet at one of the most demanding tracks on the circuit, Pocono Raceway.

    Larson took the pole in knock out qualifying with a track record speed of 183.438 mph and 49.063 seconds, qualifying him for the Sprint Unlimited. He joins rival Austin Dillon, who scored his first pole at the Daytona 500 to open the season, in rookie pole runs.

    “It’s great to get my first real pole,” Larson said. “I got the pole at Richmond but that was due to qualifying rain and we were quickest in practice. This time we got to beat the rain and actually earn the pole.”

    “It was an exciting third round and I had some butterflies actually going into it,” Larson continued. “I was definitely nervous. I felt like I hit all three corners as good as I could. I barely edged out Joey and he has been fast in qualifying.”

    “It feels really good and allows me the confidence for Sunday.”

    Right behind the rookie were the Penske duo of Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski, with speeds of 183.408 mph and 182.700 mph respectively. Logano has 17 top-ten starts and Keselowski is right behind him with 16 top-ten starts for the season.

    “My Shell Pennzoil Ford is really fast,” the driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford said after qualifying. “We unload today and we were loose but the car had a lot of speed in it. We definitely made some good adjustments and in qualifying trim we were decent.”

    “The first lap was really good and we tried to keep up with the cycle of tires and fuel,” Logano continued. “We ran the third session really hard and I felt like we nailed the balance and all three corners.”

    “I was pretty confident that that was going to be the pole and then we got beat,” Logano said. “This is our sixth front row start of the season, which is good but second sucks. It’s still something to be proud of so we have two fast race cars. I thought my lap was damn near perfect but we got beat.”

    Penske teammate Brad Keselowski echoed many of Logano’s sentiments in his shortened media availability due to his travel to Iowa for the Nationwide race.

    “Third is a respectable effort,” the driver of the No. 2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford said. “I always want the pole but we had to make an extra run there in the second session and that took us away from having a legitimate run with Kyle.”

    “Strong effort. You can win from third and we’re happy with that and we’ll move on.”

    As to his heading off to the Midwest after his qualifying at Pocono, Keselowski said that someone had to do that race and so he elected to make the trip.

    “I enjoy Iowa,” Keselowski said. “The track has been good to me. Someone had to run it, either Joey or me. So, when we sat down at the start of the year to figure out who was going to start where, this was one that I thought would be good.”

    Kurt Busch, behind the wheel of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet, and most recent race winner at the Brickyard Jeff Gordon, in the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet, rounded out the top-five in qualifying.

    “I had a good turns one and two,” Busch said. “Just got in there and got a little bit too low and got the car out of the track and then had to peddle it all the way from the center out.”

    “Still a good lap. The guys have done a good job and just have to get it right for race trim now.”

    Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Danica Patrick qualified in the sixth through tenth positions for the 41st Annual GoBowling.com 400. The rest of the starting grid is as follows:

    Pos Driver Sponsor Make
    1 42 Kyle Larson Target Chevrolet
    2 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford
    3 2 Brad Keselowski Alliance Truck Parts Ford
    4 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet
    5 24 Jeff Gordon Axalta Chevrolet
    6 4 Kevin Harvick Mobil 1 Chevrolet
    7 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota
    8 1 Jamie McMurray Bad Boy Buggies Chevrolet
    9 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Michael Baker International Chevrolet
    10 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet
    11 3 Austin Dillon American Ethanol Chevrolet
    12 5 Kasey Kahne Farmers Insurance Chevrolet
    13 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota
    14 15 Clint Bowyer RK Motors Charlotte Toyota
    15 55 Brian Vickers Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota
    16 14 Tony Stewart Code 3 Associates/Mobil 1 Chevrolet
    17 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet
    18 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota
    19 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Chevrolet
    20 47 AJ Allmendinger Scott Products Chevrolet
    21 31 Ryan Newman Quicken Loans Chevrolet
    22 51 Justin Allgaier AccuDoc Solutions Chevrolet
    23 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford EcoBoost Ford
    24 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet
    25 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford
    26 99 Carl Edwards Fastenal Ford
    27 9 Marcos Ambrose DeWalt Ford
    28 43 Aric Almirola GoBowling.com Ford
    29 27 Paul Menard CertainTeed/Menards Chevrolet
    30 38 David Gilliland Long John Silver’s Ford
    31 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet
    32 40 Landon Cassill Newton Building Supplies Chevrolet
    33 26 Cole Whitt Toyota of Scranton Toyota
    34 32 Travis Kvapil FAS Lane Racing Ford
    35 36 Reed Sorenson Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet
    36 23 Alex Bowman Dr. Pepper Toyota
    37 83 Ryan Truex Burger King Toyota
    38 7 Michael Annett Pilot Flying J Chevrolet
    39 34 David Ragan A&W Root Beer Float Ford
    40 37 Dave Blaney Accell Construction Chevrolet
    41 66 Joe Nemechek Land Castle Title Toyota
    42 33 Alex Kennedy Little Joe’s Autos Chevrolet
    43 93 Johnny Sauter Dr. Pepper Toyota

     

     

  • Darrell Wallace Jr. Transitions from Eldora Win to Tackling the Tricky Triangle

    Darrell Wallace Jr. Transitions from Eldora Win to Tackling the Tricky Triangle

    Darrell Wallace Jr., behind the wheel of the No. 54 ToyotaCare Toyota Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports, is ready to make the difficult transition from one of the sport’s highest highs, a coveted Truck win at Eldora Speedway, to the trickiness of Pocono Raceway where he will race the Pocono Mountains 150 in NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series.

    Even though he is in Long Pond, PA, he is still savoring his ‘W’ in the Mudsummer Classic at Eldora and in fact, just recently had the opportunity to celebrate with his race team.

    “Luckily the race was a Wednesday night race so we had the whole weekend to sit back, reflect on it and let it sink in,” Wallace said. “I’m still pumped up about it of course. We had our team dinner last night and we were talking about it.”

    “It’s been a fun week.”

    “Eldora was a surprise; a shocker,” Wallace said. “But we did it. If we can just finish out the rest of the season strong and we can keep it going, we will be fine.”

    While Wallace now has turned his attention to Pocono, he admits that the track is more difficult to figure out than even racing on the dirt, at least in his book.

    “It is a tricky triangle for a reason,” Wallace said. “It is grueling on the mindset of a driver, especially me.”

    “It’s just hard figuring out every corner because every corner is unique,” Wallace continued. “The guys brought me a fast Toyota Tundra and we just have to figure out where we need to gain speed. That’s the biggest thing. I think it’s mostly me but we will be fine by race time.”

    Wallace acknowledges that he may just need to lean on not only his crew chief but also his team owner Kyle Busch and teammate Erik Jones to make it around the three corners of Pocono.

    “My crew chief Jerry (Baxter) has been my biggest mentor and coach,” Wallace said. “He has been in the sport for a long time and he knows the ins and outs of it.”

    “I listen to what he has to say, through the frustrating moments to winning moments to losing moments, I try to take in everything he says,” Wallace continued. “We move forward as a team and that’s a huge part of being successful. Having the communication and relationship with your team is critical. Jerry is the team leader and we all listen to him. We’re giving him feedback and we’re trying to help each other progress as one.”

    “I think that is why we’re so dominant at KBM because we have the communication and we’re hitting on every note.”

    “Kyle (Busch) is the centerpiece of this team and we build off him,” Wallace said. “We try to be as fast as him and he is undefeated this season. Toyota is undefeated. We have two wins; Erik (Jones, teammate) has got one. So, we’re on a hot streak right now.”

    “We try to be patient and consistent and be ready to win.”

    Although his teammate Erik Jones is on the quiet-side, at least quieter than Wallace himself, the driver of the No. 54 has the greatest respect for him, especially with Jones’ performance so far at Pocono, where he has practiced consistently in the top-ten.

    “He’s quiet that’s for sure,” Wallace said of Jones. “But Erik is fast and he has speed. We sat on the front row at Iowa and he ended up winning the race. He has always shown speed and he is pretty fast here at Pocono.”

    “We bounce ideas off each other and places where we have been. We grow as a team and we will be just fine here.”

    So, what will success look like at Pocono for Darrell Wallace Jr.?

    “I would definitely be happy with a top five,” Wallace said. “I hate to say it, but we’re on a points run right now. We’re trying to bounce back up through the points.”

    “We have to be smart in the race,” Wallace continued. “The tunnel turn is the trickiest corner that you will ever get through.”

    “We have to be patient, calm and make smart decisions,” Wallace said. “We’ll let those other drivers make a bone head move and then there’s our top five opportunity.”

    “I’m on the level that I want to race,” Wallace continued. “We have to go out there and be smart about every call we make. We can’t get overexcited about what happened before because you get that special moment and then it’s time to get back to work.”

    Wallace finished final practice for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in the 1th position with a time of 55.427 seconds and a speed of 162.376 mph. Wallace will qualify Saturday, August 2nd at 10:10 am and then race the ‘Tricky Triangle’ at 1:00 pm.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Indianapolis

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Indianapolis

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jeff Gordon: Gordon blew past Kasey Kahne on the final restart with 17 laps to go and cruised to his record fifth Brickyard 400 win. It was his second win of the season and strengthened his lead in the Sprint Cup points standings.

    “Five times!” Gordon said. “That’s amazing! I’m not just a brick kisser; I’m a brick layer.

    “I’d won four of the first 11 Brickyards. The last came in 2004. My last Sprint Cup title came in 2001. I was starting to worry that I’d be stuck on ‘4’ forever. I couldn’t help but think, ‘If the third time is the charm, the fourth must be the limit.’”

    2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Earnhardt came home ninth at Indianapolis as all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers finished in the top 14. Earnhardt is second in the Sprint Cup points standings, 24 behind Jeff Gordon.

    “Hendrick dominance was on full display,” Earnhardt said. “Gordon ‘kissed the bricks’ with his restart; Kasey Kahne ‘laid a brick’ with his.”

    3. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski posted a 12th at Indianapolis, a disappointing run considering his qualifying effort of third. He holds the third spot in the Sprint Cup points standings, 51 behind Jeff Gordon.

    “I’m third is the Sprint Cup points standings with 666,” Keselowski said. “I’m told that’s the ‘number of the beast.’ But rest assured, Christians, my cars don’t have horns.”

    4. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished 14th at Indianapolis as Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon captured the win. Johnson is fifth in the points standings, 89 behind Gordon.

    “The mayor of Indianapolis declared July 27th ‘Jeff Gordon Day,’” Johnson said. “That’s an impressive accomplishment, but I can top it. I can’t say I’ve had any days named after me, but I have had seasons named after me: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2013.”

    5. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished third in the Brickyard 400 on a strong day for Joe Gibbs Racing, as Joe Gibbs Racing drivers came home 2-3-4.

    “It was an awesome day for JGR,” Kenseth said. “And I say, ‘Why mess up a good thing?’ Do we really need Carl Edwards? The last thing this ‘stable’ needs is a jackass.

    “Carl is being replaced at Roush-Fenway by Trevor Bayne. I guess Jack Roush finally got that elusive Daytona 500 win.”

    6. Kyle Busch: Busch finished second at Indianapolis, his second straight runner-up finish. Joe Gibbs Racing cars all placed in the top five, with Denny Hamlin taking third and Matt Kenseth fourth.

    “Good things come in two’s,” Busch said. “At least, that’s what ‘they’ say; ‘they’ being everyone except the parents of Kurt and I.

    “I wasn’t on the JGR airplane that collided at the Concord, North Carolina airport. I guess runways can be like race teams: overcrowded.”

    7. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished 15th in the Brickyard 400 on a day dominated by Jeff Gordon. Edwards is eighth in the points standings, 114 out of first.

    “Roush-Fenway Racing finally confirmed that I’m leaving the organization,” Edwards said. “Gordon may be kissing them, but I’m hitting the bricks.

    “The magnitude of my departure finally hit me on my last pit stop. As I was leaving the pits, I thought to myself, ‘Leaving is the pits.’”

    8. Joey Logano: Logano finished fifth at Indianapolis to lead the way for Penske Racing. He is ninth in the points standings, 126 behind Jeff Gordon.

    “Roger Penske is winless in the Brickyard 400,” Logano said. “He even brought Juan Montoya here to try for the win. It was a one shot deal, but we’re going to send Montoya on his way in style, with a few drinks. In honor of Montoya’s one-shot deal, we’re going to celebrate with a two-shot deal: one for us, and ‘Juan for the road.’”

    9. Ryan Newman: Newman finished 11th at Indianapolis and remained seventh in the Sprint Cup points standings.

    “I’m Richard Childress Racing’s best hope for a spot in the Chase,” Newman said. “Talk about a no-win situation.”

    10. Kevin Harvick: Harvick won the pole at Indianapolis and led 12 early laps on his way to an eighth-place finish.

    “Did you hear?” Harvick said. “Joe Gibbs Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing planes collided on the runway at Concord Regional Airport. It looks like the *&#$ has hit the propeller. Apparently, JGR’s plane hit the SHR plane, which was parked. In other news, Carl Edwards may not be coming to JGR.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Brickyard 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Brickyard 400

    With the announcement by Roush Fenway Racing that Carl Edwards would not be returning in 2015 still reverberating throughout the garage, here is what else was surprising and not surprising in the 21st Annual Crown Royal presents The John Wayne Walding 400 at The Brickyard Powered by BigMachineRecords.com at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

    Surprising: In spite of securing his second win of the season, as well as having the points lead well in hand, it surprisingly took securing his fifth win at the Brickyard and his 90th career victory to make a championship believer out of Jeff Gordon.

    “It’s so hard to gain confidence in this series,” the driver of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet said. “I think we saw we were points leaders, we saw we won at Kansas, but I don’t know if we believed we were capable of winning this championship this year, truly believe it.”

    “We do now,” Gordon continued. “But a Brickyard 400 win, it just doesn’t get any better. I mean, to share that with that team that worked so hard, to see the look on their face, you can just see it in them now, you know, they believe.”

    Not Surprising: The Kyle and Kyle tandem were at it again, with Kyle Busch finishing in the runner up spot and Kyle Larson scoring highest finishing rookie honors yet again with his seventh place run. This was Busch’s third runner-up result in the last four races, scoring bridesmaid honors at Kentucky, Loudon and Indy.

    “I finished second at Kentucky, Loudon and here,” the driver of the No. 18 Snickers Toyota said. “We had some good races going. It would be certainly more beneficial to pick up some trophies, take some trophies home, get some of those benefits for the Chase.”

    “Three second places, that’s 11 extra points that you miss out on,” Busch continued. “That sucks pretty big for the Chase and for those bonus points. But, you know, if we keep going that way, then things will pay off sooner or later. We’ll start winning some.”

    With his top-10 finish, the other Kyle continued his domination of the Sunoco Rookie of the Year battle, now leading the standings by 37 points over Austin Dillon. Larson also sits 13th in the points as he tries to make his way into the championship Chase.

    “It was a good day for us,” Larson said. “The Target car was really good. We were a top-10 car the whole race.

    “Cool to finish in the top 10 at the Brickyard,” the driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet said. “To see Jeff Gordon win is pretty special. It’s kind of like Junior winning the 500 this year. It was a really good day for everybody and all the fans, too. So happy about it.”

    Surprising: Just when Denny Hamlin thought he and his Joe Gibbs race team had turned the corner after finishing third in his No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, some surprising post-race inspection issues reared their ugly heads.

    NASCAR took several rear firewall block-off plates off the car for further examination back at the R and D Center. These particular plates could have improved the aerodynamics of the car so Tuesday will be an interesting day for Hamlin and company as far as any potential penalties.

    “It was a little something; it wasn’t that big of a deal,” Jimmy Makar, Senior Vice President for Joe Gibbs Racing, said. “I don’t think it’s going to be a big deal (penalty-wise). It is just a questionable thing.”

    As a result of his good Brickyard finish, Hamlin advanced one spot in the point standings to 11th and is poised for a run at the championship with his win at Talladega earlier in the season.

    Not Surprising: With Indy known as a track where passing is difficult, it was no surprise that restarts were key and where much of the action took place. And again, not surprisingly, the final restart was critical for so many drivers, from Matt Kenseth, who gained a few spots to finish fourth, to Kasey Kahne who lost the lead to finish sixth.

    “It was interesting because I was — I was kind of picking on Jeff’s (Gordon) restarts all day because he just couldn’t get going on the outside,” Kenseth said. “He was getting on the outside of the front row. I was behind and was like, ‘Man, this is going to be bad.’ He got into (turn) one and kind of carried the 5 (Kasey Kahne) and the 5 must have got loose.”

    “And, then Denny (Hamlin) gave me a break,” the driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota continued. “I got out in front of him and we were both able to pass Kasey (Kahne). Then Denny (Hamlin) got us three-wide. Once it singled out we were able to get away a little bit.”

    For Kahne, behind the wheel of the No. 5 Time Warner Cable Chevrolet, the final restart result was not as favorable.

    “Jeff (Gordon) just beat me,” Kahne said. “We got into Turn 1 he held me down and he was able to momentum off of Turn 1 which he did a better job.”

    “I should have choose the outside, looking back, but I thought there was more grip on the inside down the front stretch,” Kahne continued. “Then he controlled the start. I just gave it up at that point. Either way that was the best we were going to finish.”

    “That was alright though.”

    Surprising: It was a surprisingly good weekend for the Dillon brothers, with Ty winning the Nationwide race and brother Austin finishing top-10 at the Brickyard.

    “It’s great for us,” the driver of the No. 3 Dow/MyCogen Seeds Chevrolet said. “As a team we just want to build momentum and that was a solid day. Our car had some speed in it, but it was tough to pass because when you got in traffic you couldn’t do much.”

    “I am very proud of my guys, solid day, and hard to back up that win that Ty got yesterday but I will definitely take a top ten in this series.”

    Not Surprising: Paul Menard was NASCAR’s biggest loser after contact with Juan Pablo Montoya, back in a part-time ride for Team Penske, forced him to a 34th place finish, dropping him five spots in the points to 16th and teetering on the brink of Chase contention.

    “It’s stupid,” Slugger Labbe, Menard’s crew chief, said. “People have no respect…. I just don’t get Juan Pablo, what he’s doing. It doesn’t make sense. You’d think the guy would come over and apologize or something.”

    “We’re running for a spot in the Chase, and some part-time racer left-rears us and puts us in the fence,” Labbe continued. “Then you’re done.”

    “It probably knocked us out of the Chase (for the Sprint Cup), but…we’ve just got to fight back in six more races.”

    Surprising: In spite of a grueling day and a 42nd place finish due to a broken axle, Danica Patrick still managed to find her happy place.

    “It’s just one of those things,” the driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet said. “We were having a good day. It’s disappointing and the GoDaddy guys built me a really good car. Hendrick gave me great horsepower.”

    “We were the fastest car out there at times,” Patrick continued. “We qualified better and had a good car for the race, it just didn’t end the way we wanted it to.”

    “The good thing is, I get to come back to Indy and that makes me happy.”

    Not Surprising: After a 16th place run, Clint Bowyer in his No. 15 RK Motors Charlotte Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, was wishing his ride would turn magically into an IndyCar race car, complete with all its bells and whistles.

    “No wonder them Indy car things have a push to pass button,” Bowyer tweeted after the race with the hashtag of #indyproblems.

    “Our RK Motors Toyota was much better than our 16th-place finish,” Bowyer continued. “We had a little trouble in the pits and we got back in some traffic. We had to pit under that last caution because we got some debris on the grill from another car when we were leaving pit road.”

    “It was a frustrating day but Brian Pattie and the guys gave me a good car just wish we finished better than we did.”

    Surprising: Greg Biffle had a surprisingly lucky weekend, first hearing from his team owner that he would be the anchor driver for Roush Fenway Racing for 2015 and then gambling on pit strategy to finish lucky 13.

    “Certainly the focus of our leadership is going to be with Greg Biffle and the things that he does with the racecar and the leadership he provides for the engineering initiatives we take,” Jack Roush said. “We had that split with Carl and Greg together this year, so that will be a little different next year.

    “I had other options but I felt like I spent a lot of time there and we’ve always won races and I feel like we can win races again,” Biffle said. “The first half of the season has not been what we wanted. It’s no mystery.”

    “I don’t think that’s a reason to jump ship and say I’m leaving because we haven’t won a race and we’re not performing the way we should.”

    Not Surprising: With one win under his belt, it is not surprising that team Almirola is headed to test at Watkins Glen on their way to next week’s race at Pocono. Almirola passed many cars at Indy after starting in the rear in a backup car to finish 21st.

    “That’s a decent finish, but I’m frustrated because we’ve got to figure out how to get more speed,” Almirola said. “We’ve got six more weeks to get our cars better before the Chase, so we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us to try to figure it out and try to be more competitive.”

    “But it is what it is,” the driver of the No. 43 Eckrich Ford said. “We dug ourselves a hole this weekend and finished 21st.”

    “We had one run where we drove up to like 15th, and I thought we were going to be pretty good, and I don’t know if we got a bad set of tires or what, but we could never recover after that.”

     

     

     

  • The Final Word – After Indianapolis, I am guessing Jeff Gordon still runs with a full tank

    The Final Word – After Indianapolis, I am guessing Jeff Gordon still runs with a full tank

    Crown Royal attaches a hero’s name to the Brickyard 400 as part of their sponsorship, and this year that honor went to 12 year military veteran John Wayne Walding. Yet, to be honest and if the length of the title could go on to infinity, this should have been called “Crown Royal Presents The John Wayne Walding 400 at the Brickyard to be Dominated Once Again by Jeff Gordon.” That sounds about right.

    The California boy who became an Indiana racer as a teen had the car, the speed and this race in the bag from start to unchallenged finish. He might have led only 40 laps, but he was the guy early, the guy late and the guy we were watching for in between. Sure, Kasey Kahne might have had a good run, made some think this might be his day, but Gordon was the only driver who could come and go almost at will. When Kahne drifted back to sixth after the final re-start, there was no more guess work left. Twenty years ago Gordon won his first at the famed Indianapolis Speedway, and last Sunday he claimed his fifth. If the man who celebrates his 43rd birthday next Monday is growing old, he sure is going about it mighty gracefully.

    We have come to expect good things from Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, and even the winless Matt Kenseth this season and we were not disappointed. We expect Top Tens from Dale Earnhardt Jr. and he got it. Even the kids, Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon, showed why they remain in Chase positions as the pair claimed Top Tens as well.

    You know you are having a good season if a bad day means coming in between 11th and 15th. Boo-hoo for Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson, and Carl Edwards. Even Ryan Newman, winless but, like Kenseth, sitting pretty in points, was 11th.

    Okay, so it was not all roses and kittens for everyone. For Trevor Bayne, the new guy with Roush next season, it was a chicken or the egg sort of deal. He brushed the wall and he had a tire go soft, but I’m not certain in what order. The end result was him losing control in the corner and coming to a stop after finding the inside wall. Dead last.

    Danica Patrick, it could have been a premature end to a promising day, or just one we hoped held promise. When something busted in the rear-end of her car, she was destined for 42nd. Due to her open wheel experience, some hoped she might have done better here than she traditionally does elsewhere. Then again, some hoped for the same from Juan Pablo Montoya and he finished 23rd.

    Yes, ABC/ESPN is back, but let us think positive here. Other than Rusty and Brad, they are not all that bad and the pit reporters are top notch. As a poor Canadian boy without FOX1, I discovered last week that even a less than stellar Cup experience beats not having an Eldora experience at all.

    A quick word about the Nationwide race. If only our broadcasters quit hero worshiping, coverage of the junior circuit would be so much better. Young Ty Dillon won a career first to move to within 15 points of the top in the standings, so his story mattered. Brian Scott was seventh and the fifth ranked Nationwide driver mattered. The top three in the rankings, Chase Elliott (12th), Regan Smith (10th), and Elliott Sadler (15th), are all in a tight race, so all mattered, but like Scott none were deemed worthy of a post-race interview. Top five finishers Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, and Joey Logano are all Cup guys, none of whom won thus none of them mattered. Still, who was interviewed? You know.

    When we had 20 races to go to the start of the Chase, it was pure bovine excrement to read stories of how this driver or that needed to win to get into the Chase. With six to go, not so much. Eleven are in via wins, leaving five spots open. Kenseth and Newman could take a week off and still hold a Chase place, so far so good for them. Clint Bower and the kids feel the heat from Kahne, Paul Menard, and Greg Biffle for the final three spots. Thirteen others remain in contention by being in or near the Top 30 in points, though their pass is probably limited to a win to be in. Tony Stewart remains among them, 30 points behind the 16th ranked Dillon.

    This Sunday it is the GoBowling.com Pennsylvania 400 from Pocono, where Earnhardt won in the spring. Another win would be nice, but not crucial. In fact, going over the winners from the past ten years, we have Johnson (3 times), Edwards (2), Kurt Busch (2), Denny Hamlin (4), Gordon (2), Keselowski, and Joey Logano, all of whom already have a 2014 victory.

    Kahne has not, though he has two wins at Pocono, including last summer. Stewart (June 2009) and Greg Biffle (July 2010) are also former winners at the track, and a return to Victory Lane is even more crucial for them. With six to go, the sword of Damocles has started to appear hanging over their heads, which is one hell of a place to find an old Greek razor.

    SWEET SIXTEEN
    1 – Brad Keselowski – 3 WINS – 666 POINTS
    2 – Jimmie Johnson – 3 – 628
    3 – Jeff Gordon – 2 – 717
    4 – Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 2 – 693
    5 – Carl Edwards – 2 – 603
    6 – Joey Logano – 2 – 591
    7 – Kevin Harvick – 2 – 565
    8 – Kyle Busch – 1 – 609
    9 – Denny Hamlin – 1 – 572
    10 – Aric Almirola – 1 – 496
    11 – Kurt Busch – 1 – 456
    12 – Matt Kenseth – 0 – 661
    13 – Ryan Newman – 0 – 606
    14 – Clint Bowyer – 0 – 577
    15 – Kyle Larson – 0 – 562
    16 – Austin Dillon – 0 – 559

    CONTENDERS & PRETENDERS
    17 – Kasey Kahne – 0 WINS – 555 POINTS
    18 – Paul Menard – 0 – 551
    19 – Greg Biffle – 0 – 550
    20 – Brian Vickers – 0 – 532
    21 – Tony Stewart – 0 – 529
    22 – Marcos Ambrose – 0 – 511
    23 – Jamie McMurray – 0 – 499
    24 – A.J. Allmendinger – 0 – 466
    25 – Martin Truex, Jr. – 0 – 465
    26 – Casey Mears – 0 – 455
    27 – Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. – 0 – 397
    28 – Danica Patrick – 0 – 382
    29 – Justin Allgaier – 0 – 343
    30 – Michael Annett – 0 – 325
    31 – David Gilliland – 0 – 284
    32 – Cole Whitt – 0 – 282

     

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: New Hampshire

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: New Hampshire

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski dominated the Nationwide race on Saturday and duplicated that feat on Sunday, leading 138 of 301 laps to win at New Hampshire.

    “Once again,” Keselowski said, “It’s time for the celebratory champagne. But there’s a big difference in breaking out the champagne and breaking open the champagne.

    “The No. 2 Penske Ford featured the Redd’s Apple Ale paint scheme. So, at least for one race, I bleed ‘Redd.’”

    2. Jeff Gordon: Gordon led late at New Hampshire but ran out of gas, settling for a 26th. He remains on top of the Sprint Cup points standings with a 12-point lead over Dale Earnhardt Jr.

    “This win really solidified Brad Keselowski’s status as a title contender,” Gordon said. “Of course, that was also evident at Kentucky a few weeks back, where Brad sliced his hand open before declaring his readiness for the playoffs by saying, ‘Let’s cut to the Chase.’”

    3. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson suffered two flat tires early in the Camping World RV Sales 301, the last of which sent him into the wall, ending his day after just 11 laps. He finished 42nd and is now fifth in the points standings, 72 behind Jeff Gordon.

    “Goodyear says we had our tires underinflated,” Johnson said. “I say Goodyear has their egos overinflated.

    “Obviously, there were a lot of tire changes in Sunday’s race. But nobody needs to ‘re-tire’ more than Morgan Shepherd.”

    4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Earnhardt placed 10th at New Hampshire in a race dominated by Brad Keselowski. Earnhardt was the only Hendrick Motorsports driver in the top 10, and is now second in the Sprint Cup points standings, 12 behind Jeff Gordon.

    “Brad Keselowski was awarded a New England lobster for the win,” Earnhardt said. “What has claws, a tail, and horns? Teresa Earnhardt.”

    5. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished 13th at New Hampshire as Roush Fenway teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. took ninth. Edwards is sixth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 96 out of first.

    “You’ve probably heard about the formation of the Race Team Alliance,” Edwards said. “For heaven’s sake, don’t call it a ‘union.’ If you dare say ‘union’ at most NASCAR events, you may find yourself choked by a Confederate flag.”

    6. Matt Kenseth: Still in search of his first win this season, Kenseth took fourth at New Hampshire, leading 12 laps. He is fourth in the points standings, 49 out of first.

    “After Hendrick Motorsports won four straight races,” Kenseth said, “Ford has now won the last four. Toyota hasn’t won a race since Talladega back in May. I’m not sure what Toyota’s are searching more for, speed, or answers.”

    7. Joey Logano: Logano was running second with less than 100 laps to go when 72-year-old Morgan Shepherd made contact with Logan’s No. 22 Penske Chevy. Logano finished 40th, 90 laps down, while Shepherd took 39th.

    “I don’t think Shepherd even knew I was there,” Logano said. “Heck, I’m not sure he even knows where he is. That must be why they call him the ‘Ageless Wander.’

    “Shepherd is old enough to be my grandfather, and dumb enough to be my father.”

    8. Kyle Busch: Busch started on the pole, setting a Loudon track record of 138.130 miles per hour in Friday’s qualifying. He was fast on Sunday as well, finishing second behind Brad Keselowski. Busch is eighth in the points standings, 103 out of first.

    “I finished as runner-up to Brad Keselowski twice at New Hampshire,” Busch said. “And there’s nothing wrong with that. Let me put that into perspective by quoting my brother Kurt when I say, “It’s okay to be second-best.”

    9. Ryan Newman: Newman posted his second top-five finish of the year with a fifth at New Hampshire. He is seventh in the points standings, 97 behind Jeff Gordon.

    “I’m not so sure about the formation of this ‘RTA’ deal,” Newman said. “I’ll say the same thing about that as I did to Rusty Wallace when I begrudgingly became his teammate: ‘I want no part of this race team alliance.’”

    10. Kyle Larson: Larson came home third in the Camping World RV Sales 301 at New Hampshire, posting his fourth top-five result of the year.

    “Some say Morgan Shepherd is too old to be racing,” Larson said. “I think I’m in agreement. Shepherd made his Sprint Cup debut back in 1970, and although his age has increased, his speed hasn’t. So, when Shepherd takes to the track in 2014, it’s just like ‘old times.’”

  • The Final Word – Keselowski Owns New Hampshire, Logano and Johnson Got Owned

    The Final Word – Keselowski Owns New Hampshire, Logano and Johnson Got Owned

    You sure could not beat the car that had Brad Keselowski behind the wheel Sunday in New Hampshire. And nobody did. He might have loaned out the lead from time to time to the likes of Kyle Busch and Clint Bowyer, but make no mistake about this one. The 30-year old Michigan driver owned this race as the former champion recorded his 13th Cup victory. With his third of the season, his moves atop the standings, 36 points up on Jimmie Johnson.

    To be honest, this was not one of the more visually stimulating events we have seen. It did provide a few surprises, though. Just ask Johnson. He might have three wins of his own, but he just picked up a pair of points at Loudon. First, a tire went flat, then its replacement blew out to send Six Time into the wall. That was all she wrote before five percent of the race was run.

    Morgan Shepherd provided a surprise of his own. Just ask Joey Logano. Fifteen laps down, the 72-year-old Shepherd slipped up to clip the 24 year old, who found the wall himself to end his day in 40th. The lad, who had been running second at the time, was not terribly understanding, wondering how the slowest guy on the track could eliminate him in such a fashion. As there was no camera shot that showed the event as it unfolded, we are left hearing arguments on both sides.

    We do know Shepherd was running above minimum speed. We know the driver who experienced the bulk of his Cup career from 1981 to mid 1990s has passed all the requirements needed to satisfy NASCAR that be belongs out on the track. It would appear his age was not a factor, just the quality of his ride that had trouble staying at the bottom. As for his being a friend of Logano’s team owner, Roger Penske, I think that ends the discussion right there.

    Are there more commercials or have we just become too impatient these days to sit through them? TNT had enough of them, and while I see the Canadian sponsors rather than what is seen in the U.S.A., most are not much to look at, especially for the tenth time in three or four hours. Thankfully, they invented the PVR/DVR, and as I do not watch the race live they last as long as it takes for me to hit the 30-second jump button six times. I might wear that button out in the upcoming weeks.

    Even though the work of Adam, Wally, and Kyle was not enough to keep me glued to this one, they are the best crew in NASCAR. Not even FOX is close. ESPN? Damn near unwatchable, as they will illustrate when action resumes in Indianapolis in a couple of weeks. As much as it saddens me to see TNT’s 32-year run come to an end, I look forward to seeing Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte on NBC next season, as long as it signals the removal of Allen, Rusty, and Brad.

    On the other hand, a win means inclusion in the Chase if you are still without one going into the seven race run from Indy to Richmond. If we have less than five first-time winners in that span, at least one driver will make it on points. Probably more. Eleven have their victories, two (Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman) do not need to worry about that just yet, but there are 19 others who can punch a ticket to the Promised Land by taking a checkered flag. For more than half of them, that stands as probably their only chance for an invite to the dance.

    SWEET SIXTEEN
    1 – Brad Keselowski – 3 Wins – 634 Points
    2 – Jimmie Johnson – 3 – 598
    3 – Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 2 – 658
    4 – Carl Edwards – 2 – 574
    5 – Joey Logano – 2 – 551
    6 – Kevin Harvick – 2 – 528
    7 – Jeff Gordon – 1 – 670
    8 – Kyle Busch – 1 – 567
    9 – Denny Hamlin – 1 – 530
    10 – Aric Almirola – 1 – 473
    11 – Kurt Busch – 1 – 440
    12 – Matt Kenseth – 0 – 621
    13 – Ryan Newman – 0 – 573
    14 – Clint Bowyer – 0 – 548
    15 – Paul Menard – 0 – 541
    16 – Kyle Larson – 0 – 524

    CONTENTERS & PRETENDERS
    17 – Austin Dillon – 0 – 524 Points
    18 – Greg Biffle – 0 – 519
    19 – Kasey Kahne – 0 – 515
    20 – Brian Vickers – 0 – 507
    21 – Tony Stewart – 0 – 502
    22 – Marcos Ambrose – 0 – 489
    23 – Jamie McMurray – 0 – 475
    24 – Martin Truex, Jr. – 0 – 446
    25 – Casey Mears – 0 – 444
    26 – A.J. Allmendinger – 0 – 440
    27 – Danica Patrick – 0 – 380
    28 – Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. – 0 – 377
    29 – Justin Allgaier – 0 – 326
    30 – Michael Annett – 0 – 311
    31 – David Gilliland – 0 – 276
    32 – Cole Whitt – 0 – 270

     

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Camping World RV Sales 301

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Camping World RV Sales 301

    From the granite state where the ‘lobstah’ rules, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 22nd Annual Camping World RV Sales 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    Surprising: Team Penske had an interesting day, with one driver taking the broom while the other driver went boom. Brad Keselowski, this week behind the wheel of the No. 2 Redd’s Ford, took his broom to Victory Lane, sweeping both the Nationwide and Cup races and scoring his first lobster trophy at New Hampshire.

    “I don’t want this moment to go away so quick,” Keselowski said. “This was just such a phenomenal weekend, and these don’t happen that often, and that’s what makes it special, and you try to appreciate them and enjoy them and hope that there’s more but not count on it, because these are big deals, winning races at the Sprint Cup level, sweeping a weekend, and it’s all possible because of the hard work and effort from everyone at Team Penske.”

    His Penske teammate Joey Logano, however, went boom in his No. 22 AutoTrader.com Ford, colliding with Morgan Shepherd and wrecking out to finish 40th.

    “I got taken out by the slowest car out there,” Logano said after his collision with Shepherd. “You would think there would be some courtesy to the leaders. We were in second place. He gets out of the way on the straightaway and then goes into the corner and slides right up into the lane I was in.”

    “Whatever. It is just dumb that it happened,” Logano continued. “I feel like that should be stuff that shouldn’t happen at this level of racing.”

    Not Surprising: Right behind Keselowski, who was so dominant in this race, were the dueling Kyles, Kyle Busch, who came in second for the third consecutive time at New Hampshire, and Kyle Larson, who scored the highest rookie honors after finishing third for his fourth career top-five finish.

    “I wouldn’t say it’s a rivalry,” Kyle Larson said of his race with Kyle Busch. “We just somehow are always finishing by each other. It seems like I’m usually one spot behind him (laughing), but it’ll change soon. It’ll change soon.”

    Surprising: Jimmie Johnson, who has scored the lobster in Victory Lane at New Hampshire three times previously, hit the road surprisingly early after crashing out of the race on Lap 11 because of tire issues.

    “The first one (tire) I was able to drive the car all the way through Turns 1 and 2,” Johnson said. “I knew I had a flat and then got down the back and came in.”

    “The other one just blew on the straight as soon as I hit the brakes,” Johnson continued. “I’m not sure what caused it. I’m sure there will be a lot of speculation and I’m sure finger pointing back to the teams or our team. But we saw some issues here especially with that particular tire the last couple of days. We will try to dig in and learn more, but I can promise you one thing is wasn’t low tire pressure. I’ve been out here for two days running around and haven’t had a flat.”

    “But on the bright side…I get to start vacation early,” Johnson later posted on his Facebook page.

    Not Surprising: Matt Kenseth, who took the checkered flag in the fourth position, finally seemed pleased with the direction that his Joe Gibbs No. 20 team was headed.

    “Overall, it was a good day for our Dollar General Camry,” Kenseth said. “I thought we really gained on it. Denny (Hamlin) and them guys really helped us a lot this week. I felt like all three cars were top-five race cars today. I feel like we’re definitely moving in the right direction.”

    “I felt like we were definitely in the ball game today.”

    Surprising: This season, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is such a competitor that even a 10th place finish, especially after qualifying 28th, was completely disappointing to him.

    “That was frustrating, the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet, said. “That was the hardest I’ve ever worked for a 10th place finish. It’s been a real frustrating weekend to be honest. The guys worked real hard. Steve (Letarte, crew chief) and the engineers did their best to try to get the car more competitive. Just to be lacking that much speed against a lot of those guys, I had to drive so perfect every lap.”

    “That was really frustrating,” Junior continued. “I wish we were better. We are going to have to come back here and run better than that to have a shot in the Chase. We will keep working.”

    “10th place I’m really disappointed, but I remember when we used to like these.”

    Not Surprising: NHMS was once again just a gas, gas, gas, with both Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick running out of fuel and finishing 26th and 30th respectively.

    “We knew we were very close,” the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, said. “That pick-up is in the right side and so I was scuffing my tires and think I just took enough fuel out of the pick-up and I could never get any back in there.”

    “I tried. I think if we would have gone green, we would have been fine,” Gordon continued. “I think it was really just because under caution it wouldn’t pick-up the amount of fuel that was in there.”

    “We got to go for it so I thought it was a great call even if we did come up short.”

    DeLana Harvick was not as positive about the fuel mileage rolling of the dice for her husband as Gordon seemed to be. She tweeted this after the race.

    “Came out on the bullshittiness side of interesting today..#fuelmileage. Ready for a week off with my boys!”

    Surprising: Martin Truex Jr. was the biggest mover, at least at the end of the race, gaining ten positions on the green-white-checkered restart and moving from 22nd to finish 12th at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    “The biggest reason we gained 12 positions on the final restart is that we had fresh tires and got in the right lane,” explained Truex. “We never had good restarts all day, but once we settled in and had a decent car we made a move at the end. You have to keep fighting — you never know what can happen.”

    “That was a good call to come in for two tires during that last caution.”

    Not Surprising: It is always tough to get back into a race car after being out for some time and even someone as adept at New Hampshire as Jeff Burton was no exception. Burton took the wheel of the No. 66 Let’s Go Places Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing and finished a disappointing 20th at a track in which he has so often dominated in the past.

    “We had a good car — we just never got track position,” Burton said. “And then Danica (Patrick) got into me there — I think Tony (Stewart) was working the outside and I think she just thought Tony was on the outside. Got the right side tore up.”

    “After that, we never turned. We tried to fix it with changes, but we couldn’t fix it because it was all aero,” Burton continued. “I’m really disappointed with the outcome. Three-quarters of the way through the race I thought we’re doing pretty good.”

    Surprising: A local hero racer Eddie MacDonald of Rowley, Massachusetts, made his Sprint Cup Series debut and finished the race in the 35th spot. This also marked a milestone for the driver of the tryandrozene.com Ford as he completed all five of the sport’s top series.

    “This is what I always dreamed of, being able to run in the Sprint Cup Race,” MacDonald said. “It meant the world for me to be able to do that and have my whole family here.”

    “Our goal was just to stay up there, stay out of trouble and run as many laps as we could,” MacDonald continued. “Thankfully, we were able to stay out of trouble and get a fair finish.”

    Not Surprising: TNT was given a fond farewell as they ended their partnership with NASCAR of 32 years.

    “There is no question that the folks at Turner have been fantastic partners for the past 32 years, and we can’t thank them enough for everything they’ve done to grow the sport during that time frame,” Brian France, NASCAR chairman and chief executive officer, said. “Their dedication to producing first-class, innovative NASCAR broadcasts has never wavered.”

    The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will enjoy a weekend off next week and will resume with the race on Sunday, July 27th at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.