Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: Martin Truex Jr.

  • Hot 20 – As they head to Loudon, a half-billion dollar lawsuit leaves me very confused

    Hot 20 – As they head to Loudon, a half-billion dollar lawsuit leaves me very confused

    Nothing like a good old-fashioned hand out to make people feel good. Terrence Cox III and his Diversity Motorsports wants in. They are suing NASCAR, the tracks, even the other teams, in a racial discrimination lawsuit for half a billion dollars.

    Oh, what I could do with that kind of cash. Hell, I could run for president if I were only born in the right country. I am not sure what Diversity wants, but it seems they would like to be handed something even the Wood Brothers can not get if a locked in spot is their goal. They are even suing JTG Daugherty, a team former non-Irish NBA player Brad Daugherty has a 10 percent ownership share in.

    What is interesting is that the organization appears to be more a sponsorship vehicle than an actual racing team. Since it first appeared earlier in this decade, Diversity has never to my knowledge attempted to enter a single car in any national NASCAR event with anyone…ever. If they have been wronged, I am not sure as to how. So they feel entitled to a spot due to what, exactly?

    They claim that comedian Steve Harvey wanted to start a race team, associate it with Diversity Motorsports, but NASCAR said they would never work with a team that included Diversity. Harvey, for one, disagrees with that assertion. In fact, he seems downright upset at the moment, saying he never wanted to start a team, that he just wanted to expose underprivileged youth to NASCAR. When Diversity head Terrence Cox, III talked to Harvey about having young folks protest Coca-Cola, Harvey says he refused to participate. Does any of this make sense to you? I know I am having trouble with it.

    Being dragged into this has raised the ire of the comedian. “Now here I come, my ass all over the cover of TMZ and everywhere, talking about how I want a damn race team”, Harvey said on his radio show. “I don’t want no damn race team. I don’t even like fast-ass cars.”

    Confused? Me, too. I think I will leave it to the lawyers to figure it all out.

    We have enough to deal with just seeing how things might progress in New Hampshire with our Hot 20.

    1. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 SEGMENT WIN (2050 Pts)
    Is there something wrong with the laser inspection system? Who cares, they got the win!

    2. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 2049 Pts
    Wants a transformer car; passes tech before the race, turn into a fire-breathing dinosaur after it.

    3. KYLE BUSCH – 2046 Pts
    Even his winning truck failed inspection at Chicago. Maybe the problem is too much inspecting.

    4. DENNY HAMLIN – 2045 Pts
    Boasts best average finish in New Hampshire. Seeks best finish period on Sunday.

    5. JOEY LOGANO – 2043 Pts
    The car was not good enough at Chicago, but the driver was in the end.

    6. CHASE ELLIOTT – 2039 Pts
    Late caution, lost lead, and chase Truex was all he could do at the end.

    7. MATT KENSETH – 2038 Pts
    If this visit to Loudon is anything like the last two, hand Matt his pass when it is all over.

    8. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 2037 Pts
    Got a break Harvick did not get, then needed more brakes and less gas in late pit row stop.

    9. CARL EDWARDS – 2032 Pts
    Swerving on the cool down lap helps rear toe return to legal limits. Watch Carl. Watch ‘em all.

    10. KURT BUSCH – 2031 Pts
    When he read that familiar name in the headlines, I wonder if he whispered, “I told you so.”

    11. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 2030 Pts
    Toured a GM assembly plant last week. Unfortunately, they were not handing out free samples.

    12. TONY STEWART – 2028 Pts
    Back on Newman’s gift list. The Beatles were right, all you need is love.

    13. KEVIN HARVICK – 2027 Pts
    Two feet short of the line, Sweet Jesus, two feet short of the line.

    14. AUSTIN DILLON – 2027 Pts
    Says NASCAR won’t stand drivers who refuse to stand for the national anthem.

    15. KYLE LARSON – 2026 Pts
    If his owner held his breath, would that make Larson a blue Chip driver? I am truly sorry.

    16. CHRIS BUESCHER – 2016 Pts
    Penske Fords seem to run good, so why not borrow one from them…or a Studebaker.

    17. KASEY KAHNE – 667 Pts
    Sitting at the head of the kid’s table.

    18. RYAN NEWMAN – 655 Pts
    However, sometimes when things get rough and tough, you got to hide your love away.

    19. RYAN BLANEY – 613 Pts
    Old tires were almost good enough to steal one at Chicago.

    20. A.J. ALLMENDINGER – 607 Pts
    I still can not get over Mr. Tickles. Maybe his full name is Sam Elliott Tickles. Much better.

  • The Final Word – Among Chicago lucky dog hopefuls, Harvick was the day’s Old Yeller

    The Final Word – Among Chicago lucky dog hopefuls, Harvick was the day’s Old Yeller

    You got to be good to be lucky and lucky to be good. That is how the old saying goes. I wonder what the saying is when you are good, but everything just gets flushed down the toilet? Kevin Harvick had a bad case of the swirls, as in down the drain, for his Chicago experience.

    So you do not get the wrong impression, I should say that Harvick came damn close to getting the Lucky Dog. It was one he was waiting to occur since the 50th of 267 scheduled laps. When caution waved over Brian Scott’s spin on lap 124, Martin Truex Jr. had passed Harvick to be in the coveted position. They found debris on the backstretch on lap 193, but it was Tony Stewart who got the nod. When it waved again to force overtime on lap 264, it was Stewart again, the man with the good fortune. That left Harvick all dressed up for the ball, but the damn coach remained a pumpkin.

    You would think it was another pit crew screw up that bit him. Instead, it was just bad luck. As he and Jimmie Johnson sat in the pits under green, they found some debris and waved the yellow. Johnson managed to roll to the line before Truex, the leader, crossed over. Harvick came two feet short. While Johnson led for the next 50 laps, Harvick was dropped a lap down. Two feet was all he needed. Two feet is not what he got. Twentieth and a lap down was the end result. As was the fate of the title character in Old Yeller, Harvick’s hopes for a warm and fuzzy finish were shot.

    Johnson led the most laps. Too bad about that speeding penalty in the pits with 33 to go. That left him 12th. At least, for the moment. More on that later.

    That left Truex. A skinned tire had him requiring roadside assistance 70 laps in, but then he got by Harvick to get the aforementioned pass to the lead lap. With 20 to go, all he saw was the tail pipe of Chase Elliott who looked about to pounce on his first career win. Too bad about Michael McDowell’s little mishap that forced overtime. Truex came to the re-start in fourth, and powered his way to the front and the victory, his third of the season. Joey Logano and Elliott were next.

    Interesting post script to this one. When they put the cars through inspection after the event, both Johnson and Truex failed. We hear it was not a big miss, but a miss none the less. No doubt, the victor will keep his win and get his free pass to the next round of the Chase. Johnson, on the other hand, still has a thing for points at this stage of the game, and any penalty there could hurt.

    As we await NASCAR justice, some are more comfortable than others heading to Loudon but no one took a big hit at Chicago. Okay, other than Chris Buescher, who was an expected 28th and now sits a dozen points behind the 12th placed Stewart. Buescher might be sitting on a pumpkin tethered to some mice, but at least he is at the ball and rumor has it he should also retain those glass slippers as a souvenir.

    Matt Kenseth has a pair of souvenirs as a reminder of his past two races in New Hampshire, both victories. Harvick has not won there since 2006, but something tells me that you will not need to ask who let the dogs out on Sunday. I think ole Happy will be unleashing the hounds to try and make up for some lost time and points. For their sake, I hope his pit boys are good and lucky on that day.

  • The White Zone: The current penalty structure inadvertently incentivizes cheating

    The White Zone: The current penalty structure inadvertently incentivizes cheating

    “The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading…” and I need to unload on the deterrent system NASCAR has for the penalty structure and how it inadvertently incentivizes cheating.

    This past Wednesday, NASCAR made changes to the penalty structure to give it more teeth and discourage attempts of cheating.

    Among the changes included adding a stiffer penalty for cars that fail LIS inspection and are deemed “encumbered.”

    “The changes are made to assure that we have a level playing field and make sure that there’s not a carrot out there for the team to have excessive violations when it comes to lug nuts and the LIS post-race measurements,” Scott Miller, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, told NASCAR.com. “As we worked with those penalties during the season we realized we probably needed to have a little bit more in place as Chase time rolled around.

    “The Chase obviously changes a lot of scenarios for both NASCAR and the teams; it’s ramped up the intensity and there is a lot of scrutiny, as there is every week on everything (involving) technical infractions. This is really just a matter of us putting something in place so that should something happen, we have a means to effectively deal with it.”

    A few hours after the checkered flag flew on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, it was announced that the winning No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota of Martin Truex Jr. and the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Jimmie Johnson had failed post-race LIS inspection.

    However, and this is where we get to my biggest problem with the penalty structure, the 78 car was not considered “encumbered” so he therefor gets to keep the win and the benefits of said win.

    If you don’t understand all that technical babble, it basically translates to, “The 78 car was illegal, but not too illegal. So Truex gets to keep the benefits of his win.”

    These teams have inadvertently been given license to cheat, but not too much that it’ll really bite them. Sure a 10 or 15-point penalty might bite Johnson in the ass when the checkered flag flies at Dover, but a points penalty means nothing in the case of Truex. It doesn’t matter if you take away all his points. His win means he’s locked into the next round.

    In essence, NASCAR has inadvertently incentivized cheating.

    Think about it. With the current wording of the rulebook, especially in regards to LIS failure, a team is essentially rewarded for finding ways to make a car illegal enough to fail inspection, but not enough to have the benefits of the win taken away.

    If you don’t believe me, here’s a tweet from producer Tyler Burnett of the Motor Racing Network.

    I’m not accusing the 78 team of cheating and I have no proof that they are. I only presented the above tweet to show how their LIS failure could be interpreted as “cheating.” However, they don’t help their case of not being perceived as “cheating” when Truex was explicitly told to swerve and this is the second straight week the 78 car has failed post-race inspection.

    It was bound to happen one of these years. NASCAR has always been hesitant to take away wins because they want the at track audience to know who won when they saw it.

    Maybe that made sense when newspapers were the main source of news, but the date this piece was published is September 18th, 2016. We now live in the internet age where communication with other people is almost instantaneous. And while I do still value the work of newspapers, news can be broken within seconds of an event happening via Twitter.

    I’ll be very damn interested in what Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice-president and chief racing development officer, has to say about this tomorrow in his appearance on “The Morning Drive” because I’d love to know how “encumbered” could be interpreted as anything other than “his car wasn’t illegal enough.”

    My plane is about to take off, so I must wrap this up.

    THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS PIECE ARE SOLELY THOSE OF TUCKER WHITE. THEY MAY OR MAY NOT REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF SPEEDWAYMEDIA.COM.

  • It’s ‘Sweet Home Chicago’ for Truex

    It’s ‘Sweet Home Chicago’ for Truex

    Despite a flat right-rear tire early in the race, Martin Truex Jr. fought back to score the victory in the Windy City.

    Under clear blue skies, Kyle Busch led the field to the green flag at 2:49 p.m. He held the lead for the first 21 laps before Truex powered by to take it on lap 23. A round of green flag stops started on lap 48, but was cut short by a rogue tire that came from the stall of Aric Almirola and brought out the first caution of the race on lap 49. This was a major point in the race as Jimmie Johnson was on pit road when the caution flew, crossed the start/finish line before Truex and remained on the lead lap. Kevin Harvick, who worked his way from 38th to eighth, did not and was trapped a lap down.

    The race restarted on lap 56 with Johnson in the lead. Truex made an unscheduled stop for a flat right-rear tire on lap 70. He was running second at the time and rejoined the race in 21st.

    Green flag pit stops were the game play of the day as the next round of stops commenced on lap 103. Johnson pitted the next lap and handed the lead to Brad Keselowski. He pitted the next lap and the lead cycled back to Johnson.

    The second caution of the race flew on lap 119 for Brian Scott getting loose and spinning out in turn 4 as he was trying to get down onto pit road.

    After the race restarted on lap 126, it settled into “ride around until the next round of stops.” The next round of stops came at lap 172. Johnson pitted from the lead that lap, Keselowski pitted from the lead two laps later and the lead cycled back to Johnson.

    Chase Elliott took the race lead for the first time on lap 182 about 11 laps before debris on the backstretch brought out the third caution of the race on lap 193.

    Not much happened after the race went green on lap 199 until the final round of green flag stops began with 33 laps to go. The lead went as follows: Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman and back to Elliott.

    A shredded right-front tire on the No. 95 of Michael McDowell brought out the fourth caution of the race with five laps to go and forced overtime. Everyone except Blaney, Kasey Kahne and Carl Edwards pitted under the caution. Truex exited ahead of Elliott on pit road.

    The race restarted with two laps to go. Blaney was no match on older tires for Truex on newer tires. Truex made easy work of passing him on the backstretch and drove on to score the victory in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400.

    “Oh my goodness, I guess the racing gods don’t want us to lead too much,” Truex said. “What can I say about everyone at Furniture Row Racing, Toyota, TRD (Toyota Racing Development), Bass Pro Shops, Denver Mattresses – just everybody that makes this possible – Sprint, the fans have given us a ton of support, not only over the years but the last two has definitely helped us. This feels good.”

    It’s Truex’s sixth career victory in 396 Sprint Cup Series starts, third of 2016, first at Chicagoland Speedway, 13th top-10 finish of the season and third top-10 finish in 11 races at Chicagoland.

    “It’s just unbelievable,” he added. “Proud of the effort by my guys – that’s why you never give up and you fight until the end no matter what. We had just an unbelievable race car today and led a bunch in the beginning. We had that tire issue and I knew it wasn’t over and there was a long way to go. Guys kept their heads in it and kept it up at the end when it counted. It was a total team effort. I am more proud of these guys – more proud to drive their race cars. It’s just unbelievable to start the Chase this way. We have been so good all year long with winning a few weeks ago at Darlington and I felt like that gave us some momentum to just continue that this weekend.”

    Truex’s car failed post-race LIS inspection and any penalty resulting from this will be announced Wednesday.

    Joey Logano came home runner-up in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

    “It was awesome execution by the 22 team,” Logano said of his race. “From every angle. We had a very fast race car and were awesome on pit road. You want to talk about pressure, not just Chase pressure, but coming down at the end of the race to try to win, they executed and had an awesome pit stop and beat the 11 out and ultimately gives us a second place finish. I couldn’t be more proud of the team and the way we executed and attacked today. We will take this momentum and run with it the next nine weeks.”

    It’s his 19th top-10 finish in 2016 and fourth in eight races at Chicagoland.

    Elliott led 75 laps on his way to rounding out the podium in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

    Asked what was going through his mind when the caution came out when it appeared the race was his, he said “nothing is yours until it’s over. I mean that is part of life man. You are not dumb, we have all watched this stuff long enough we know these races don’t go green that long. We see more cautions come out at the end of these races than we do not. That is just part of it, you’ve got to expect it and be able to embrace it and move forward. I feel like we did a good job controlling the things that we could control today.

    “Like I said, there are some things you just can’t control with the amount of guys that stay out and where you line up on a restart,” he added. “We played the cards we were dealt and came up short.”

    Blaney led eight laps on his way to a fourth-place finish in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford.

    “It was a long day for us for sure,” Blaney said. “We passed a lot of cars. We didn’t start good. We started 22nd and worked on the car all It paid off since we finished a little bit better than we were going to. That’s a true testament to this team. We didn’t start off great but worked on the car all day. Taking a risk like that. Sometimes they don’t pay off. This one did. It was a good run for us. Hopefully we can do something like that in the next 10 weeks.”

    Asked how difficult it was to stay out on old tires, Blaney said it “wasn’t difficult at all. We kind of made that decision before everyone else came and we had nothing to lose as far as points. I wish a couple more cars stayed out. You never know. Those guys were on me so fast. We had a really good car all day. We started way back in the field and made it up there pretty quickly. We got our car decent at the end. We gambled and I prefer to do that. I prefer to take a gamble to stay out and try to hold those guys off.”

    Keselowski led seven laps on his way to rounding out the top-five in his No. 2 Penske Ford.

    Denny Hamlin led two laps on his way to a sixth-place finish in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Kahne finished seventh in his No. 5 HMS Chevrolet. Busch led 21 laps on his way to an eighth-place finish in his No. 18 JGR Toyota. Matt Kenseth finished ninth in his No. 20 JGR Toyota. Bowman led six laps on his way to rounding out the top-10 in his No. 88 HMS Chevrolet.

    Jamie McMurray finished 11th, Jimmie Johnson led a race high of 118 laps on his way to a 12th place finish, Kurt Busch finished 13th, Austin Dillon finished 14th, Carl Edwards finished 15th, Tony Stewart finished 16th, Kyle Larson finished 18th, Harvick finished 20th and Chris Buescher rounded out the Chase drivers in 28th.

    Johnson’s car also failed post-race LIS inspection. Any penalty resulting from this will be announced on Wednesday.

    The race lasted two hours, 47 minutes and 24 seconds at an average speed of 145.161 mph. There were 17 lead changes among nine different drivers and four cautions for 22 laps.

    Truex leaves with a one point lead over Keselowski in the points standings.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/C1627_UNOFFRES.pdf” title=”c1627_unoffres”]

  • The 2016 Chase For The Sprint Cup, Seeds 8-5

    The 2016 Chase For The Sprint Cup, Seeds 8-5

    Today, I’ll be taking a look at Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Martin Truex Jr., and Carl Edwards, seeds 8-5 on the Sprint Cup Chase Grid.

    Seeds 16-13

    Seeds 12-9

    1. Matt Kenseth

    With the retirements of Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon, and the unknown status of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth finds himself as the most experienced driver in the field.

    When Kenseth left his home at Roush Fenway Racing to go over to Joe Gibbs Racing, it could be argued it was a short sighted move. Yes, Joey Logano hadn’t done a whole lot in the four seasons before that in the No. 20 Toyota. But Kenseth was almost double Logano’s age and had never driven full time for anybody but Roush in the Cup series. It was a bit of a gamble for Gibbs, who traditionally doesn’t sign big name Cup free agents; Coach Gibbs has always typically developed young talent like he did in football. With the exception of Bobby Labonte and Dale Jarrett, the organization’s first two drivers, Gibbs had never hired a driver with any Cup experience who hadn’t run for the team in a lower series.

    Kenseth promptly went out in 2013, won seven races, and finished second in points. Neither Kenseth or Gibbs have ever looked back.

    Although Logano, Kyle Busch, and Kevin Harvick have gotten the headlines the last few years, Kenseth has quietly put together a very successful run. Since 2013, Kenseth ranks third in most laps led, tied for second in most victories, and fifth in total top 10s.

    Pros

    Toyota, Toyota, Toyota. TRD has won 25 of the last 36 races, and Kenseth counts for six of those. The manufacturer is so good, they are actually leading the Manufacturer’s Championship point standings right now. Said championship has been won by Chevrolet every year since 2002. Jason Ratcliff has also made a name for himself as one of the best crew chiefs in the game, with the team having won three races in the last two seasons due partially to key strategy calls by Ratcliff.

    Cons

    Kenseth is actually having his worst season since 2009 as far as average finishes go. His four top fives this season are tied for third worst among Chase drivers. He has struggled in the past month, with only two top 10s since finishing second at Indianapolis. His ongoing feud with Team Penske has shown no signs of stopping. Finally, his two wins this season haven’t been that impressive. Kenseth won Dover after an 18 car accident took out a lot of good cars in the last 50 laps, and he held on by beating two drivers who, at the time, hadn’t won Cup races before. Loudon was won after passing Martin Truex Jr., who has a history of throwing away races, and only led a total of 76 of 700 total laps in the two victories.

    Overall

    Kenseth could very well make a comeback in the Chase- a great crew chief and great equipment could allow that. But will he make a comeback in the Chase? He just hasn’t shown signs of doing that just yet.

    1. Jimmie Johnson

    This season Jimmie Johnson did something most figured he’d do, but that makes the accomplishment no less impressive.

    Johnson started off early and won Atlanta, his 76th Sprint Cup win, tying with Dale Earnhardt Sr. on the all-time wins list. Just three weeks later, Johnson won at Auto Club to break the tie.

    Not counting a technically retired Jeff Gordon or a soon-to-be retired Tony Stewart, Johnson’s 77 career wins are more than double any other active driver. No other driver in history has won six or more championships in 14 full-time seasons. Not counting either Gordon or Stewart, no other active driver even has multiple championships. In 12 of those 14 seasons, Johnson finished top five in points, something no other driver has done in history.

    Suffice it to say, Jimmie Johnson is going to be first-ballot Hall of Famer. And just remember that Johnson runs marathons in his off time and is turning only 41 next week. There are probably 10-15 more years of Johnson in this sport if he can keep up the pace. Unlike with Gordon, where generally only hardcore fans thought he’d get to win 100 (He has 93), it’s very possible Johnson could break the triple digit mark before his 50th birthday. And remember, this is against some of the toughest competition, year-to-year, there has ever been in racing. He’s always going to be a threat for the championship.

    Pros

    It’s Jimmie Johnson. Do I really need to write anything here that hasn’t already been written a hundred times before by more talented writers? Best crew chief in the game,  Johnson has won everywhere, has handled more pressure over his career than once thought humanly possible, blah blah blah.

    Cons

    If there is ever a season to bet against Johnson going into the Chase, it’s this one. Usually, the No. 48 team obviously spends late summer testing things out and can suffer from performance problems because of it right before the Chase. But unlike most seasons, this year all of Hendrick has struggled in the summer, losing ground to Team Penske and even more ground to the Toyota teams. Johnson himself has one top five and three top 10s since Charlotte in May, worse than pedestrian numbers for “Superman.”

    Overall

    If Jimmie Johnson wins the Sprint Cup championship this season, he will probably go down as the greatest driver of all time. Maybe this long summer lull has all been Chad Knaus’ plan for this season. But I doubt the plan involved all of Hendrick running poorly. It’s just not looking like 2016 will be the year “Six-time” turns into “Seven-time.”

    1. Martin Truex Jr.

    I wrote an article last year after Furniture Row Racing announced they were switching to Toyota. While it was pretty obvious the switch from RCR customer to funded Toyota team would work, I thought year one would have the team take a step back before taking two steps forward in 2017.

    Well, suffice it to say, that was wrong.

    Martin Truex Jr.’s return to Toyota has been even more successful than when he left. He dominated and won the Coca-Cola 600, the most dominant win in the history of NASCAR, and beat Kevin Harvick in a late race duel in the Southern 500. Truex came a hair away from winning the Daytona 500 in February as well, which would have marked only the third time in the history of racing that a driver won all three in one year.

    Now, “Big Time Truex” enters the Chase as a favorite to win the championship, just one year after making it to the final four and finishing the night fourth in points.

    Pros

    In 2014, Truex joined Furniture Row and struggled, leading only one lap. In 2015, Truex improved to 567 laps led. In 2016, Truex has been even better, leading 1,234 laps. That’s only 10 off of Kyle Busch’s series-best of 1,244. The No. 78 is at its best on 1.5 mile tracks, a track type common in the Chase; this season they have a worst finish of just 11th and a win at Charlotte. As outlined above, Truex is at his best when the lights are the brightest.

    Cons

    Using career stats, Truex had led 957 laps per win before Charlotte, far and away the lowest of any multiple win driver in history. Even now, his mark at 738.2 laps led per victory is still the worst of any other multiple win driver in history, by 100 laps. Truex has a reputation of having terrible luck, leading 100 or more laps at five races this season and he only won one of them. The team’s close alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing hasn’t been an issue at all yet, but they haven’t competed for a championship yet. The question of if JGR will be able to help provide Furniture Row the tools to win a championship that they are also competing for, should be asked.

    Overall

    Martin Truex Jr. enters the Chase as a favorite, and rightfully so. There’s no reason for the New Jersey driver not to be hoisting the championship at the end of the season. If they aren’t, it’s going to be either the usual case of bad luck at a bad time or it’s all going to be on this team. They might not even be able to recover from it for a year or two if there is a close championship loss, quite frankly.

    1. Carl Edwards

    From a marketing standpoint, is there a more perfect driver than Carl Edwards?

    The 37 year old Missourian driver has charisma that can appeal to the working man in the stands and, at the same time, to the board room full of Mercedes driving businessmen. He’s in prime athletic shape and can be pointed to by the sport as evidence that drivers are athletes. Most importantly, he can name drop sponsors in interviews without it sounding forced.

    But don’t think Carl Edwards doesn’t care about racing.

    If Edwards really wanted to, he could have stayed with Roush Fenway Racing for the next 10 years and never won a championship. He’d be the face of the Ford brand and live comfortably, if a little less successfully, for the rest of his life. Then he could have retired and become the next Jeff Burton, a great analyst who never got to hoist the Cup and may now be looking back and wondering “What If?” at points in his career.

    But Edwards isn’t planning and wondering that in retirement. He came to Joe Gibbs Racing to win championships, not to guest host daytime TV shows. Edwards has shown a lot of promise in that regard, having won four races in the last two years and almost made the final four last year at Homestead. He enters the Chase in a position somewhat similar to Cam Newton in the Super Bowl last season. Both were and are marketer’s dreams and their abilities have hinted for a long time that they could be the next face of their respective sports. Now Edwards needs to do what Newton didn’t do and become the face of the sport by winning a championship.

    Pros

    Edwards enters the Chase with an average finish of 12.7, his best since tying for the championship in 2011. He and crew chief Dave Rogers seem to have clicked this year after being paired in the off-season, with Edwards already having the same amount of wins, top fives, and top 10s as he did all of last year. Finally, “Cousin Carl” has been stout on Fridays this year- his average start of seventh is second only to Denny Hamlin. Pit box selection is still a huge factor in how great pit stops will be on Sunday, so a good qualifier always has a good advantage.

    Cons

    Edwards hasn’t shown a lot of speed on 1.5 mile tracks, a track type that makes up half of the Chase schedule. He finished second at Kentucky, but that was with a lower downforce aero package that won’t be used during the Chase. Edwards has never really been a big winner either; he won the Coca-Cola 600 last year on fuel strategy and won the Southern 500 that year only after a fast pit stop. Before Bristol this spring, where he led over half the race and won, Edwards hadn’t led more than 100 laps in a race since 2013.

    Overall

    Edwards will be a threat to win the championship and will probably make it to Homestead. The question will be, can he survive the pressure? He did in 2011, finishing second in a race isn’t a meltdown, but he still lost the championship. The Chase is much more pressure filled since the switch in format a couple of years ago.

  • Hot 20 – Mr. Hamlin, what races do you suggest we remove, reduce, or reschedule?

    Hot 20 – Mr. Hamlin, what races do you suggest we remove, reduce, or reschedule?

    As NASCAR swings into Chicago and begins the Chase, I can not help but notice that Denny Hamlin, and now Danica Patrick, have made mention that the season is too long. Reduce some races in length, reduce some altogether, run some mid-week are among their suggestions. I am cool with that, but in my mind there are a dozen races on eight tracks that cannot be touched. Ever.

    Daytona, Talladega, Bristol, and Charlotte continue with their two each with no changes to race length. If 600 miles to too long at Charlotte, stay home. You can not tinker with the two road courses at Sonoma or Watkins Glen. The Southern 500 should never again be violated at Darlington. Same goes for the Brickyard at Indianapolis. The racing there might be questionable at Indy, but it has become a crown jewel event. Touch any of them, and more than a few of us fans will be gone. NASCAR simply can not afford to see too many more of us on our way out.

    As for the other 24 contests on the other 15 tracks, go for it. However, you risk some upset folks at Martinsville, Richmond, and Atlanta where tradition means something to some people. Remove those tracks, and you remove fans. Texas, Michigan, Las Vegas, Fontana, and Chicago are not going anywhere. The trio of northeast venues, Pocono, Dover, and Loudon, would be tough for NASCAR to abandon. I could not care any less for Kansas or Kentucky, but I am sure there are others who do not share my sentiment.

    As long as NASCAR refuses to brand each of its events so they might each become something special, traditional, and untouchable instead of nothing more than a spot to park a sponsor’s name for yet another generic race, a lot of them can disappear, be moved, or reduced in length without much fanfare. I mean, this weekend in Chicago we have the legendary and prestigious Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400. Good bloody grief! What these two drivers are proposing works in theory. However, the devil is in the details, and we should leave it to Mr. Hamlin and Ms. Patrick to toss out a few specifics until we go ballistic. You know we would, no matter what they come up with.

    As for the Chase, eight organizations are represented by the 16. Joe Gibbs has all four of his outfits in the running. Stewart-Haas goes with three, missing only Patrick. Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi both came through fully loaded with their two car teams. Barney Visser was also perfect, going one for one with Martin Truex, Jr. We have a pair from Rick Hendrick’s stable, Richard Childress has his grandson, and Bob Jenkins has his surprise entry. Some did not make it, even those with past success. Jack Roush came up empty, despite three entries. Neither of Richard Petty’s cars made the grade.

    A dozen veteran Chasers joined by a quartet of first-timers. Austin Dillon and Kyle Larson are joined by rookies Chase Elliott and Chris Buescher. How might they do? As 2014 champion Kevin Harvick lays it down, “Are you happy to be there or do you want to win?” If they want to win, they could do fine. Like the seven former champions back for another drink from the well.

    Heading into the Chase, NASCAR has decided to be kinder, gentler to those crew chiefs who break the rules. One loose lug nut does not a suspension make. Now it will take three, and then he is gone along with 35 points. So much for kinder and gentler, and this is a new rule change that goes beyond the Chase and into next season.

    Failure to get the winning car successfully through the Laser Inspection Station by a significant amount, and you keep the win, but it won’t mean much. Up to 35 points gone and during the Chase that win might not count toward a free pass into the next round. With the points penalty, that just could kill the season. It is the kind of penalty that cost Ryan Newman 15 markers heading into Richmond.

    Newman might not be in the Chase, but after what happened last week, he could wind up being a factor. We will have to wait to see how hot he might be at one member of our Hot 20 heading to Chicago.

    1. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 2012 PTS
    Tied for wins with Kyle, second only to Harvick in points. Brad might be thirsty again.

    1. KYLE BUSCH – 2012 PTS
    Imagine having to race all 36 races to win the title. Last season seemed so much shorter.

    3. DENNY HAMLIN – 2009 PTS
    You can shorten the World 600 in Charlotte…or you could to go-cart racing as an alternative.

    4. KEVIN HARVICK – 2006 PTS
    His Chase attitude is to “worry about the consequences when all the dust settles.” Game on.

    4. CARL EDWARDS – 2006 PTS
    Is this the year he can finally put that brides-maid dress away?

    4. MARTIN TRUEX, JR. – 2006 PTS
    Has led the pack this season for 1,664 miles. If you are going on a trip, here is your driver.

    4. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 2006 PTS
    Seeking a new nickname. Maybe something that rhymes with “Seven Time.”

    4. MATT KENSETH – 2006 PTS
    There is nice Matt and there is Chase Matt. You don’t want to make Chase Matt angry.

    9. JOEY LOGANO – 2003 PTS
    Last year, guess who upset Chase Matt.

    9. KURT BUSCH – 2003 PTS
    He has a title. Younger brother has a title. All older siblings know that just does not cut it.

    9. KYLE LARSON – 2003 PTS
    Over his last three races, has finished first, third, and second. That is called momentum.

    9. CHRIS BUESCHER – 2003 PTS
    Not everyone gets to live in the penthouse. even for what most predict will be a short stay.

    9. TONY STEWART – 2003 PTS
    Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? Newman knows!

    14. AUSTIN DILLON – 2000 PTS
    A truck title. A XFINITY crown. There is room on the shelf for one more.

    14. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 2000 PTS
    Could former winner of Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 win the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400?

    14. CHASE ELLIOTT – 2000 PTS
    Again, the nickname says it all. Would like to change that to “Champ” if he can.

    17. RYAN NEWMAN – 633 PTS
    Who is considered Public Enemy No. 1 in Chicago? Ask Newman; he might have an answer.

    18. KASEY KAHNE – 633 PTS
    If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again next season.

    19. TREVOR BAYNE – 586 PTS
    Unlike some, Bayne is determined to leave any at-track tantrums to his toddler.

    20. A.J. ALLMENDINGER – 583 PTS
    Racing in Chicago, but might have more interest in how the Bears do Monday against the Eagles.

  • The View From My Recliner — 2016 Chase Preview

    The View From My Recliner — 2016 Chase Preview

    I will start by saying that I have always been a Tony Stewart fan and always will be. But, Tony Stewart was wrong the last two weeks taking out Brian Scott at Darlington and Ryan Newman plus six others at Richmond.

    Many have said that Tony Stewart hasn’t been the same racer since the Sprint Car accident in Iowa where he broke his leg and has been even less competitive since the Sprint Car accident that took the life of Kevin Ward Jr. Prior to those accidents, there was always Stewart justice when he ran at the Cup level. Ask Carl Edwards, Robby Gordon, Brian Vickers and several others what happens when you rough up Stewart or block Stewart? Do that and you face Stewart Justice. Stewart was wrong, but this is something that NASCAR drivers have known for more than a decade. Even though Stewart was honest in his post-race comments, I hope that NASCAR fines Stewart for his actions. Wow, that is something I never thought I would say.

    Ryan Newman who has the history of being the toughest person in NASCAR to pass is also very calculated with his words to the media pre and post race. The first parts of his comments saying that Stewart was old and should retire are fine. Newman is passionate and was frustrated by missing the Chase. Those comments I can live with. The comments that followed were beyond personal. I understand Newman being ticked that Stewart took him out. I can see him holding his anger inside for four years because his contract wasn’t extended at Stewart-Haas Racing. Then, after being told there wasn’t the budget for a fourth car and that he was out at SHR, suddenly, Kurt Busch has a ride funded by Gene Haas. Even so, there is no place for comments like that. I always respected Ryan Newman, but I lost a little of that respect on Saturday night.

    The sad part is that this back and forth took away from the great racing that took place at Richmond International Raceway, Denny Hamlin’s win and the Chase grid being set. Everything took a back seat to Newman putting Stewart on blast and that is a shame.

    As we head to Chicagoland, you have to wonder if there are paybacks in the future. Will Newman wreck Stewart? Will Cole Custer get revenge on John Hunter Nemechek for the injustice he was victim to at Canadian Motorsports Park? Will the races be the top story next week or will it be about payback being delivered? My thoughts are that Newman doesn’t want to face a suspension and Cole Custer will wait until the Chase to get his payback on Nemechek.

    Here are my predictions for the each round of the Chase for the Sprint Cup:

    Round 1: Kyle Busch will win this weekend at Chicago. Tony Stewart surprises everyone by winning at New Hampshire and Jimmie Johnson wins at Dover. The first four eliminated are Carl Edwards, Chris Buescher, Austin Dillon and Jamie McMurray. I think one Joe Gibbs Racing car will have an issue at New Hampshire, Buescher and Dillon don’t have the equipment to get the job done and Jamie McMurray has been running well, but not at the front.

    Round 2: Truex wins at Charlotte, Harvick wins at Kansas and Logano wins at Talladega. Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch and Kyle Larson are eliminated.

    Round 3: Hamlin wins at Martinsville, Truex wins at Texas, Harvick wins at Phoenix and Stewart points his way in. (Remember, when I started I said I am a fan of Smoke and this is a, from the heart, pick. My head says Johnson points his way in, but I’m a columnist, so I am going with my heart. Kyle Busch, Kenseth, Johnson and Logano are eliminated.

    Final Four: So that leaves Hamlin, Harvick, Truex and Stewart as the final four. I would love to read the story of Stewart winning his final race and his fourth Championship, but I just don’t see it happening. Truex and Harvick have had pit road issues which could easily derail them at the Ford 400.

    My pick for the 2016 Sprint Cup Championship is Denny Hamlin. The communication between driver and crew chief is spot on, the pit crew has been flawless and Denny Hamlin promised Joe Gibbs when he was signed to the organization that he would bring home a championship to JGR and this year, I think he will.

    Enjoy the races at Chicago and we’ll talk again when I share the View from My Recliner.

  • Hot 20 – As Newman’s job just got tougher, could we give Ken Squier his old job back?

    Hot 20 – As Newman’s job just got tougher, could we give Ken Squier his old job back?

    A funny thing happened on the way to Richmond. Ryan Newman finished eighth at Darlington, got to within seven points of Jamie McMurray in the battle for the final Chase place, and then it hit the fan. Actually, it was not very amusing at all as his car failed post-race inspection, and that came with a 15 point penalty. Newman has to make up a 22 point deficit on McMurray, hope nobody below him in the standings wins this weekend, or just win the thing himself to make it. With a contract coming due and the owner’s other grandson ready to move up, this is the time for the Rocket to light the fuse.

    Kyle Larson‘s third place finish at Darlington was nice, but he also got tagged 15 points for failing the post-race checkup. However, he loses not a step in the standings and his win leaves him somewhat immune. As for the cash donations, Newman’s crew chief Luke Lambert was fined $25,000, while Chad Johnston, Larson’s bench boss, was fined $22,500. Would it not be lovely if you could fine your mechanic’s ass if he failed to fix your car the first time? Your doctor? How about politicians? We may be on to something here.

    There is one other scenario we have not mentioned. If Chris Buescher has a bad day and falls out of the Top 30, it is “hello Newman,” welcome to the Chase.

    Eleven races to go, and with Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the shelf until the Daytona 500, 23-year-old Alex Bowman will have a dream ride for eight of the remaining contests this season. It will be a good test for the driver who spent the past two seasons behind the wheel for BK Racing and Tommy Baldwin. Neither outfit has yet to win a race, boast just two Top Fives and six Top Tens in a combined 781 attempts. Bowman will end the season driving the good stuff. Jeff Gordon, meanwhile, finally retires again, after he completes Richmond, Dover, and Martinsville. Sixteen of his 93 career victories came at those venues, including nine coming at the paper-clip.

    What driver has the most identifiable car in NASCAR, even to the non-fan? Paul Menard. His name is all over it.

    Danny Gallivan, Vin Scully, Ken Squier. If you want to become a legendary hockey, baseball, or racing announcer, they are the prototypes to build upon After just a couple of minutes to get into the swing of things at Darlington, the 81-year-old Squier allowed us to once again hear how it should be done. These gentlemen were poets who were able to describe, inform, entertain, and allow us to witness the action simply through the sound of their voice. To actually see it on television was a bonus, almost an unnecessary one. Squier ended his term providing the lap-by-lap commentary in 1997, though we have been blessed by special appearances, as we were last Sunday. Gallivan retired in 1984 after 32 years calling the action for the Montreal Canadiens, passing away in 1993. The 88-year old Scully is presently bringing his 67-year career behind the Dodger microphone to a close. They remain incomparable and irreplaceable.

    Richmond has been part of the NASCAR scene since 1950, and Saturday the race will feature eight present and former Cup champions. Twenty-six of those 40 drivers have combined for 530 Cup victories, and while 12 have locked in their invite to the Chase, another 20 entered have a mathematical shot at one of the four remaining positions.

    That includes all of our Hot 20 heading into Richmond.

    1. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 4 WINS (797 Pts)
    Loose wheel, loose wheel, he thought he had Harvick’s crew pitting him for real.

    2. KYLE BUSCH – 4 WINS (727 Pts)
    Six drivers under the age of 25 have driven for him in the truck series this season.

    3. KEVIN HARVICK – 2 WINS (840 Pts)
    Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, and let them try to pit my car.

    4. CARL EDWARDS – 2 WINS (746 Pts)
    First last lap pass for the win at Richmond in the spring, why not the fall?

    5. DENNY HAMLIN – 2 WINS (729 Pts)
    If he ran NASCAR, would shorten the season and the World 600. Good thing he doesn’t.

    6. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 2 WINS (696 Pts)
    Interested in just winning the Memorial and Labor Day weekend classics this season.

    7. MATT KENSETH – 2 WINS (669 Pts)
    Without Matt, Jim might have never worked at Dunder Mifflin or met Pam or Michael Scott.

    8. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 2 WINS (656 Pts)
    Jimmie won twice, had Top 10s in five of the seven events to open the season. It’s been a while.

    9. JOEY LOGANO – 1 WIN (752 Pts)
    With Junior out, does this give Joey a shot at being NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver?

    10. KURT BUSCH – 1 WIN (728 Pts)
    Felt kind of flat at Darlington. Menard’s flat, to be specific.

    11. KYLE LARSON – 1 WIN (606 Pts)
    Finally, he has two Top Fives in a row.

    12. TONY STEWART – 1 WIN (426 Pts)
    What happened to Brian Scott at Darlington? Why, he wrecked, of course.

    13. CHRIS BUESCHER – 1 WIN (358 Pts)
    Staying within 10 of Ragan next week would be good, keeping him in the rearview, even better.

    14. CHASE ELLIOTT – 659 POINTS
    Finish 17th or better and he is off to the ball.

    15. AUSTIN DILLON – 651 POINTS
    Menard has a sponsor, Dillon has a grandfather, and Newman needs the Chase.

    16. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 642 POINTS
    Could have been 30 points up if not for that late Darlington penalty.

    17. RYAN NEWMAN – 620 POINTS
    Penalty cripples his Chase bid, while the other Dillon has designs on his ride.

    18. KASEY KAHNE – 598 POINTS
    At least Junior has an excuse for not making the Chase.

    19. RYAN BLANEY – 573 POINTS
    No gloves, no problem, but less money in your pocket.

    20. A.J. ALLMENDINGER – 562 POINTS
    Mr. Tickles? Maybe it was girlfriend Tara who named the cat.

  • The Final Word – I would absolutely suck as a pit crew member, so why won’t Harvick hire me?

    The Final Word – I would absolutely suck as a pit crew member, so why won’t Harvick hire me?

    A classic. That is what the Southern 500 is. Born in 1950, it predates NASCAR’s jewel events in Indianapolis, Bristol, Talladega, Charlotte, and Daytona. It is the Southern 500, the Labor Day classic at Darlington. It is not a November race, not a race to be branded by Dodge, not run on Mother’s Day or in April. After a dozen years of stupidity, it returned in 2015 to be what it has always been meant to be, the great southern Labor Day NASCAR tradition.

    Kevin Harvick lost Sunday’s race in classic style. If a pit crew can screw things up, it can find work on this car. Two pit stops, two disasters. One dropped him from first to fourth. The next, from first to 12th. It has reached the point where even the most understandable reason is rejected as yet another damned excuse. “Someone slashed our spare tires” or “It is hard to change a tire with no arms” or “The dog ate the air wrench” no longer cuts it. Harvick finished second. He should have been first.

    That was left for Martin Truex Jr. to accomplish. Sometimes, it is just more fun to win a classic event over the holidays. After previous career victories at Dover, Sonoma, and Pocono, this season it has been Labor Day at Darlington and the Memorial Day World 600 in Charlotte. Those are the kind of wins that get a driver remembered.

    Winning a title also does that. With Richmond the last stop before the Chase, a dozen drivers are locked in having won a race or more. Chris Buescher claims a spot if he manages to be within ten positions of David Ragan next weekend, thus staying within the season’s Top 30. Chase Elliott and Austin Dillon are a lock should they come home within 23 and 15 spots, respectfully, of Ryan Newman this Sunday. Jamie McMurray lays claim to the final spot should he be no more than six places behind Newman at Richmond, and a first-time winner does not emerge to steal that final Chase place from him. The question is, do Newman, Kasey Kahne, Ryan Blaney, A.J. Allmendinger, Trevor Bayne, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Greg Biffle, or Paul Menard have the horses to do what needs to be done? The odds are long, but remember that they were for Buescher once, too.

    It was a true classic at Darlington, but it was something of a classic finish in the truck race at MoSport Park in Ontario on Sunday. Well, the finish between John Hunter Nemechek and Cole Custer would have gone down as a classic if it had taken place at almost any other track. Two racers rubbing and racing and scraping against the wall to the finish. Instead, on the outside, they had enough prairie to give me a home where the buffalo roam, along with a couple of elk, before they came across any barrier. Rather than taking Custer to the outside wall, Nemechek wound up taking him into the car pool lane. What could have been a classic finish had all the appearances of a demo derby. Does that make Nemechek a wild man or a guy who did what he had to do on a surface that extended much farther out than what we would have normally seen? He won, so does it matter? I bet to Custer, it does. He seemed downright excited as he tackled Nemechek after the race, sending the pair tumbling to the grass. Vengeance is a bitch, and she just might have some bite before their version of the Chase concludes in the truck series. Just ask Joey Logano.

    Classic. They have been racing at Richmond since 1953, and the list of the winners there is a smorgasbord of NASCAR history, with all the fixings. It is where three generations of Petty boys have a victory, including 13 by the King himself. Both Earnhardts have won there, with Senior having a 5-3 advantage over Junior. Kyle has a 4-2 lead over Kurt in the battle of the Busch boys. Richmond is where Bobby Allison won seven times, with six wins apiece awarded to David Pearson, Darrell Waltrip, and Rusty Wallace.

    Sadly, the one-time Capital City 400 sold its soul to Wrangler more than 35 years ago. Since then, the trail has winded through a brewery, a battery outfit, a car manufacturer, to even include a brand of pistachios for a season. A classic event it is not. A classic venue it most certainly is.

    Here is hoping for a classic finish. This spring Carl Edwards bumped Kyle Busch out of the way to record the first last-lap pass for the win in Richmond history. Why not another?

  • Truex Wins the Southern 500

    Truex Wins the Southern 500

    DARLINGTON, S.C. — After 500 miles around the lady in black, it was Martin Truex Jr. who found himself in Gatorade victory lane.

    Kevin Harvick led the field to the green flag at 6:26 p.m. under mostly sunny skies. The race was dominated by Harvick and ran caution free for over 90 laps. It came out for the first time on lap 92 after Trevor Bayne spun out trying to get on pit road. It trapped all but Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. down a lap or more, and forced them to take a wave around.

    The race got back underway on lap 103 and remained green for nine laps before Brian Scott went spinning in turn 2 to bring out the second caution.

    When the race returned green on lap 118, it settled into another green flag long run that saw Harvick take the lead from Keselowski on lap 141 and a cycle of green flag stops on lap 162.

    Just past halfway, Tony Stewart got into Scott and sent him into the backstretch wall on lap 205. This got Stewart called to the NASCAR hauler after the race.

    After it returned to green on lap 211, Jimmie Johnson got loose exiting turn 4, turned down the track and hit the wall head on.

    The race turned into more of a start and stop mode after it restarted on lap 218. Thirty-one laps later, the fifth caution flew after Jeffrey Earnhardt made contact with the wall. Matt Kenseth assumed the race lead after opting not to pit.

    It restarted on lap 265. Harvick found himself back in the lead with 94 laps to go. The sixth caution flew with 87 laps to go for an incident with AJ Allmendinger and Ryan Blaney. Denny Hamlin exited pit road with the race lead.

    There was also the engine expiration of the 14 car with 48 laps to go and an accident with Kurt Busch and Paul Menard in turn 2.

    When the final caution flew with 17 laps to go after Clint Bowyer and Aric Almirola tangled in turn 2, Harvick was sitting in the lead. But as has plagued him for many recent races, he had a bad pit stop on top of other bad pit stops and Truex exited pit road with the race lead.

    Eventually, the race restarted, Truex pulled away and won the race.

    “This is just – this is unbelievable,” Truex said. “So many people to thank obviously. I’ve always loved this race track. I’ve led a lot of laps here in my career. I feel like just something always happened and just so proud to get to victory lane with this group. The pit crew was flawless tonight. They won us the race. They took a lot of heat from last week with what happened. I’m glad he’s (Ryan Newman) not riding home with me – he’d be waiting a while. But just a big weekend for us to – we’ve had a terrible string of back luck. We’ve had super-fast race cars. Auto-Owners Insurance, this is their second race with us and one more with us this year and really excited for them. They went a little retro. I’ve got my zoot suit. This is something here that’s really special to us – I ran this wheel today and it’s real special to take that thing to victory lane. We do a lot with our foundation for ovarian and pediatric cancer. It’s awareness month for both of those diseases, so big day for us there, but just can’t say enough about this team and Barney Visser (team owner) and Toyota and TRD (Toyota Racing Development) – the engines have been unbelievable this year – and Bass Pro Shops and Furniture Row, Denver Mattress and everybody that’s made this possible. Cole Pearn (crew chief) and these guys are just amazing. I knew when the bad luck would stop coming we’d start racking them off.

    “We do a lot with our foundation for ovarian and pediatric cancer. It’s awareness month for both of those diseases, so big day for us there, but just can’t say enough about this team and Barney Visser (team owner) and Toyota and TRD (Toyota Racing Development) – the engines have been unbelievable this year – and Bass Pro Shops and Furniture Row, Denver Mattress and everybody that’s made this possible. Cole Pearn (crew chief) and these guys are just amazing. I knew when the bad luck would stop coming we’d start racking them off and tonight we weren’t the best car for once and we actually won, so that was really cool and just couldn’t be more excited to win at Darlington, the Southern 500. I’ve been wanting to win this thing a long time and got to thank Sprint, the fans were great – tons of fans here today – and really excited. Glad they stuck around for a good finish and I don’t know – I could go on and on for hours I guess.”

    It’s his fifth career victory in 394 Sprint Cup Series starts, second of 2016, the 11th top-10 finish of the season, first win at Darlington Raceway and fifth top-10 at Darlington.

    “Well, it just was frustrating to lead laps here throughout my career and even in years when we didn’t run that well at teams I was on, we seemed to run well here and felt like we let a few slip away,” he added. “It was worth the wait for sure, so we’ll do some celebrating tonight and just can’t thank everybody enough again – everybody at (Joe) Gibbs (Racing), all those guys, great teammates – just so many people I need to thank. The pit crew – man, I can’t say it enough, what a job they did tonight. I appreciate them.”

    It’s also the first multi-win season of his career.

    Harvick led a race-high of 214 laps on his way to a runner-up finish in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.

    “Our team in the garage did a great job,” Harvick said. “They brought the fastest race car to the track once again and we just didn’t do a good job on pit road and gave it away.”

    It’s his 20th top-10 finish of the season and ninth in 20 starts at Darlington.

    Kyle Larson led 42 laps on his way to rounding out the podium in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.

    “It was long,” Larson said of how his race went. “My spotter said we were halfway and I was like ‘are you kidding me we still have however many to go?’ But it was a good night. We had to fight pretty hard to get to the top four or five. Our pit stops weren’t great there in the beginning, but they rebounded and we had some good stops there at the end to maintain. The last probably five or six stops I thought were pretty good. We were able to get past Denny (Hamlin) and get to the lead and lead some laps. We had a really good car out front. In traffic, I was just too tight for a little while and as we went I would get too loose on exit, but I found some lines that worked for me and that helped, but a tough race. It is good to come back after the win last week and finish third.”

    Denny Hamlin led 13 laps on his way to a fourth-place finish in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Joey Logano rounded out the top-five in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

    When asked if that means anything at this point, he said “it just doesn’t matter if it isn’t a win. At this point, I guess momentum means something so I guess something matters. I disagree that I didn’t have anything for them. I did on the long run. We were the fastest car on the long run every time. We hit a lot of short runs at the end and that would kill us. I lost two or three spots every restart for the first five or six laps and then it would kick in and off I would go. I was fighting to get them back. We kind of hurt ourselves there with restarts tonight. We needed to go green from about 100 to go. We would have been good then.”

    Matt Kenseth led 10 laps on his way to a sixth-place finish in his No. 20 JGR Toyota. Kasey Kahne finished seventh in his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Ryan Newman led nine laps on his way to an eighth-place finish in his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Brad Keselowski led 47 laps on his way to a ninth-place finish in his No. 2 Penske Ford. Chase Elliott rounded out the top-10 in his No. 24 HMS Chevrolet.

    Kyle Busch, who led one lap, finished 11th.

    Eighteen cars finished the race on the lead lap and 32 were running at the finish.

    The race lasted three hours, 57 minutes and 54 seconds at an average speed of 126.437 mph. There were 14 lead changes among eight different drivers and 10 cautions for 52 laps.

    Harvick leaves Darlington with a 43-point lead over Keselowski in the points standings.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/C1625_UNOFFRES.pdf”]