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Tag: Martin Truex Jr.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Martinsville STP 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Martinsville STP 500

    From the first short track of the season with the grandfather clock as the trophy, here is what was surprising and not surprising from Martinsville Speedway’s STP 500.

    Surprising: Denny Hamlin embarked on his own version of the ‘Drive for Five’ while the driver trying for his fifth championship doomed his own chances of winning with a pit road speeding penalty late in the race.

    “Well, by no means did we have a smooth race at all, and we still won,” the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota said after his fifth win at Martinsville. “So that to me shows what we’re capable of, and once we get everything worked out the way it needs to be and we’re back to our normal selves on pit road and we don’t have any penalties and everything just runs a smooth race, we can win a lot of these things.”

    Conversely, Jeff Gordon, with an eye on a fifth championship in his last full-time season, doomed his victory chances with a pit road speeding penalty on Lap 462, finishing in the ninth position in his No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet.

    “Oh my gosh, I’m so disappointed in myself,” Gordon said. “I felt like we finally got the car, got ourselves in a position to win the race. I knew I was pushing the limit but I didn’t think I had done anything different than I had all day. I’m very, very disappointed.”

    Not Surprising:  Although Chase Elliott made his first Cup debut, qualifying his way into the show, he joined his Hendrick teammates in having unusual struggles at Martinsville.

    Elliott finished 38th after some damage sustained early in the race, while teammates Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. suffered not only damage from incidents on the track. but also mechanical problems to finish 35th and 36th respectively.

    “A lot of guys I think were having some transmission or gear problems,” Junior said. “We got some real bad vibration in the car 30 laps into the race and it just kept breaking the shifter. It was just swinging up there like a tuning fork.”

    “It was a tough race.”

    Surprising: While Team Penske seemed to experience some moral dilemmas about wrecking, they still managed to finish in the second and third positions respectively.

    Brad Keselowski, on one hand, wrestled with his conscience as to whether or not he should wreck Denny Hamlin for the win, while his teammate Joey Logano was hoping beyond hope that Keselowski and Hamlin would wreck each other so that he could have the win and the weekend of his life.

    “I did everything I could other than wreck him,” the driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford said after the race. “Morals and racing are pretty subjective, but I just felt like I raced him the way I wanted to be raced and I guess that is what it is.”

    “I was hoping so,” the driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford said when asked if he thought Keselowski and Hamlin might wreck each other. “That was my only shot at it once they got pretty far away.”

    “That was the only shot I had for the win.”

    Not Surprising: In NASCAR, records are made to be surpassed and broken and both happened at Martinsville. Martin Truex Jr. continued his streak of consecutive top-10 finishes for the sixth race in a row, while Kevin Harvick’s streak of top-2 finishes came to an end with his eighth place run.

    “It is awesome,” Truex Jr. said of his top-10 streak. “I can’t say enough about the team. Again to battle like we did today. We showed we never give up. We haven’t all year long. We haven’t given up on each other since I started here.”

    “It feels good to have another good run at one of my worst race tracks,” Truex continued. “Just can’t believe we were able to stay on the lead lap, fix the power steering and all that and drive back through there. It was a hell of an effort.”

    Although Harvick led the most laps, 154 of 500, the driver of the No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevrolet lost track position on a late-race restart and simply could not recover.

    “I just got hung on the outside and couldn’t get back down,” Harvick said. “By the time I got down, I was 10th or 11th.”

    “Everybody did a good job, just lost track position at the wrong time.”

    Surprising: NASCAR seems to be in significant need of recovery, with the announcement of J. D. Gibbs facing a significant health issue and Kyle Larson fainting during an autograph session.

    “We’ve been dealing with this for about six months and basically what the doctor’s say is that they really don’t know,” Coach Joe Gibbs said of his son’s situation. “J.D. has lived a very active lifestyle. All the things that he’s done in his life physically he’s loved all sporting events and it’s everything from football to snowboarding, racing cars, racing motor bikes – he’s lived in a lot of ways for him, he loved all those things.”

    “We can’t point to any one serious thing that happened to him, certainly any injury is a possibility that led us into some of the symptoms that he’s experiencing now.”

    In addition to Gibbs, Kyle Larson suffered his own surprising health symptoms after passing out prior to the Martinsville race.

    After fainting at an autograph session in Martinsville, VA, Kyle Larson was first evaluated at a local hospital in Martinsville and ultimately evaluated at a Charlotte hospital,” Chip Ganassi Racing said in a prepared statement prior to the race. “Although all tests came back negative and Larson feels completely fine, the doctors felt he should be held for more testing.”

    Regan Smith, sub extraordinaire, filled Larson’s seat and after starting from the back of the field in the No. 42 Target Chevrolet, managed a respectable 16th place finish.

    Not Surprising: In spite of scoring his first ever top-five at Martinsville, David Ragan had nothing but thoughts of Kyle Busch, for whom he continues to substitute in the No. 18 M&M’s Crispy Toyota, and his recovery from injuries sustained at Daytona.

    “I just hope I helped the 18 team for the Chase race later in the year,” Ragan said. “We’ll enjoy Easter and I cannot wait to get to Texas.”

    Surprising: Smoke surprisingly got in the eyes of both Austin Dillon and AJ Allmendinger. The two Chevrolet drivers both had motor issues that determined their 41st and 43rd place finishes.

    “I’m not sure what the exact problem was with the motor,” Allmendinger, driver of the No. 47 Bush’s Beans Chevrolet said. “I noticed some smoke start rolling in the car and I could see it start out of the back of the car.”

    “I was smoking so bad they black flagged me.”

    “Yeah it was a motor issue,” Dillon, driver of the No. 3 Cheerios Chevrolet, said. “I think the same things as the No. 47. We just have to do a better job of going through our procedures at ECR right now. We have some power but we are not finishing races.”

    Not Surprising: It was a weekend of celebration for the Gilliland family, with dad David, in his 300th Cup start, having his best run ever at Martinsville with a 25th place finish and 14 year-old-son son Todd winning his first Late Model Stock Car race at Southern National Motorsports Park.

    “I’m proud of the guys,” Gilliland, driver of the No. 38 Love’s Travel Stops Ford, said. “The pit stops were good and this was the best I’ve personally ever run here, so we’ll build from it.”

    “And I couldn’t be prouder of my son,” Gilliland continued. “He’s a great young man and a great race car driver. I think he proved a lot with his win.”

    “I’m so glad I was racing in Martinsville this weekend so I could drive down to see this race.”

    Surprising: The penalty of uncontrolled tires in the pits continued to dominate. There were five such penalties in the Martinsville race, adding to the total of 21 of these out-of-control tires for the season.

    Not Surprising: Danica Patrick about summed it all up at Martinsville. When asked, how she avoided the wrecking on the track, she asked “Well, which one are you talking about?”

    “That’s kind of the way it goes at Martinsville,” the driver of the No. 10 TaxAct Chevrolet said. “I think all four corners were banged up.”

    “It’s all a matter of luck, too,” Patrick continued. “I could have got drilled from the back and hit into the car. I could have swerved to the right and had somebody clip my right rear and spun, somebody could have been out there.”

    “Crashes are about observing where you’re at and making a good decision about where to go, but they’re also about luck. I got lucky that there was nothing in my way to get around that one. That would have probably wrecked my day.”

    Patrick finished seventh at the track known as the ‘Paper Clip’, tying her second-best career finish in the Cup Series.

     

  • Hot 20 – If it was something we could not see, was Fontana truly debris free?

    Hot 20 – If it was something we could not see, was Fontana truly debris free?

    Nothing gets NASCAR fans hotter than the possibility their conspiracy theories might actually be true.

    Is NASCAR using phantom debris to manipulate the outcome of races through the use of late cautions?

    “That’s a preposterous allegation,” says NASCAR Executive Vice President Steve O’Donnell. Actually, it is those cautions that many fans are finding preposterous. With debris shown in only one of three late instances, fans are left to wonder. With bad boy Kurt Busch apparently heading to victory, how fortuitous that a caution was called to open up an opportunity to alter the outcome of the race at Fontana. That should be easily enough addressed, one would think. Show us the debris, and it better be something more substantial than a hot dog wrapper. Either that, or give Michael Waltrip his money back.

    Of course, it is preposterous that some fans fail to understand just how transparent NASCAR now is. Anyone know what the attendance was at Fontana? Oops, sorry, I forgot. Some information is as tough to get made public as a Hillary Clinton e-mail or a Richard Nixon taped conversation.

    As for our Hot 20 heading to Martinsville…

    1. Kevin Harvick – 2 Wins (225 Points)
    33rd at Martinsville last fall, first or second after each race since.

    2. Joey Logano – 1 Win (197 Points)
    If the damn tire stays in the box, maybe NASCAR should stay out of it.

    3. Brad Keselowski – 1 Win (163 Points)
    NASCAR loves me. They really love me.

    4. Jimmie Johnson – 1 Win (159 Points)
    After all the restarts left him finishing ninth, I need to ask Jimmie, “What does NFG stand for?”

    5. Martin Truex Jr – 192 Points
    Five events, five Top Tens. That works.

    6. Dale Earnhardt Jr – 164 Points
    Zero for 23 at Fontana, but 1 (last October) for 30 at Martinsville.

    7. Ryan Newman – 162 Points
    If he had sat out the Daytona 500, would only slip to 8th in points.

    8. Kasey Kahne – 159 Points
    If 17th is the worst he can do (Phoenix, Fontana), you will find him here each week.

    9. Paul Menard – 152 Points
    Crew chief Justin Alexander’s magic helped massage a Top Ten on Sunday.

    10. Aric Almirola – 138 Points
    His boss won 15 times at Martinsville. Guess who wants a clock of his own.

    11. A.J. Allmendinger – 137 Points
    Thinking of Martinsville, dreaming of an Indianapolis-Charlotte double.

    12. Casey Mears – 132 Points
    His uncle won the Indianapolis 500 four times.

    13. Matt Kenseth – 127 Points
    Great pit stops, just one too many at Fontana.

    14. Denny Hamlin – 125 Points
    Gibbs cars lead 100 laps, none finish among the Top Dozen.

    15. David Ragan – 124 Points
    Upset Gordon at Fontana, but still sits a dozen points ahead of him in the standings.

    16. Carl Edwards – 120 Points
    Turned his foot long into a six-inch sub in practice and still searching for first Top Ten

    17. Jamie McMurray – 120 Points
    Yet to finish in NASCAR’s Top Ten. Is this the year?

    18. Austin Dillon – 116 Points
    With four Xfinity starts, tied with Larson for most visits to the kiddies table this year.

    19. Kyle Larson – 116 Points
    Now, NASCAR, THAT is what I would call debris.

    20. Clint Bowyer – 115 Points
    Martinsville changed its hog dogs, but this hot dog has endorsed ‘em as being just as good.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Auto Club 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Auto Club 400

    For the finale of NASCAR’s west coast swing, here is what was surprising and not surprising from Fontana’s 19th annual Auto Club 400.

    Surprising: Never have debris cautions and uncontrolled tires combined to play such important roles in a Cup race, with a total of five and six respectively. The late debris caution was especially important to the race finish, allowing Brad Keselowski to power past Kurt Busch, who had led 65 laps of the race, until that last one.

    “It looked like we were probably going to finish sixth or seventh,” the driver of the No. 2 Wurth Ford said. “That yellow came out. We came in and pitted and drove up a little bit, then caught another yellow.”

    “So Paul (Wolfe, crew chief) made the call to come down pit road and put four tires on. We were able to find our way through the lanes and get to the front there, somehow end up in Victory Lane leading the last lap.”

    “Kind of a racecar driver’s dream,” Keselowski said. “This is one we’re going to sit back and go ‘wow’ for a while.”

    And while the race winner was wowed by his finish after the yellow flag for debris, Denny Hamlin, who had been running well in his No. 11 Sports Clip Toyota, was understandably devastated by his uncontrolled tire penalty, causing him a disappointing 28th place finish.

    Hamlin was just one of five other drivers who were hit with the uncontrolled tire penalty.

    “I got shuffled back beyond the top-10 and worked our way back to the top-five and then the top-three and then had a penalty,” Hamlin said. “You just can’t come back from that. There ain’t nobody in the field with a fast enough car to come back from any penalties.”

    “We had one at the inopportune time and it just led to a bad finish.”

    Not Surprising:  Chevrolet drivers Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr. have a new bond, with both achieving five straight top 10 finishes in the 2015 season.

    “Just really proud of everybody on my team,” Harvick said after finishing runner up in his No. 4 Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet “A great race and fun to be part of it.”

    “To come away with an eighth-place finish really says something about this team,” Truex Jr., driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet said. “We never give up and believe in each other. It’s been a great start for our Furniture Row team with five straight top 10s. We just need to keep it going and try to improve each week.”

    Surprising: For a team that was killing it in the pits most of the race, so much so that they got their driver to the lead, it was surprising that one mistake on pit road cost them a good finish. Matt Kenseth, behind the wheel of the No. Dewalt Toyota Camry, went from leading the race to a broken axle and a 31st place finish.

    “We didn’t have the fastest car on the long run, but we were fast enough to go up there and battle with them and we had been making it better all day, which is all you can ask for,” Jason Ratcliff, Kenseth’s crew chief said. “I think we were one of the few that was good on fuel, so I would have liked to have seen it go green at that point to see if we could make it and maybe get us a victory here today, but even when the caution came out and we came in on pit road first I was very confident that our pit crew would get us out.”

    “It’s just unfortunate that the axle broke like that. We rarely have any problems like that, but occasionally it happens. Unfortunately, it happens when you’re leading.”

    Not Surprising: Although Dale Jr. did not win, he had a fun day nonetheless, getting his picture made with Dwight Yoakum and apparently even getting to sing together and shake hands according to his Twitter feed.

    And yet even with all that excitement, the driver of the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet managed to top it all off with a sixth place finish to boot.

    “We had a great day, lot of fun, fun racetrack, awesome crowd we had here,” Earnhardt said. “We’re just glad to be able to rebound. Last week was very dismal, disappointing and frustrating. So, again, glad to be able to come here, run good, run strong.”

    “Everything else was good.”

    Surprising: Chris Buescher made the most of his first Cup start opportunity in the No. 34 Dockside Logistics Ford Fusion for Front Row Motorsports with a surprising 20th place finish.

    “It was a lot of fun,” Buescher said. “I can’t thank Front Row Motorsports enough to give me this opportunity and for Roush Fenway Racing to allow me to go do it.”

    “It’s the kind of race track I wanted to make my Cup debut at – some place that the pace falls off, the tires wear down and you’re able to really hustle it and race late into a run and this was just that.”

    “We completed the race, finished on the lead lap and got a top 20 out of it. I’m ecstatic about that.”

    Not Surprising: Although both members of Team Penske are now officially in the Chase, Joey Logano wants to see even more aggression from both himself and his teammate and victor Brad Keselowski.

    “It’s nice that we’re both in the Chase,” Logano said. “We can both race aggressive now and obviously he raced aggressively anyway.”

    “It’s nice for both of us to have a win already and it’s great to see Team Penske still having speed and we’re just racing hard and doing everything we can to keep up with these guys. The other cars are a little bit faster than us right now. We’ve got to find some more speed, but we’re racing really hard and that’s what we’ve got to do.”

    Surprising: At least one driver, who was the highest finishing Toyota driver, just wanted to get home to watch the replay of all those crazy restarts.

    “Restarts were insane, this is one I’ll go home and watch the replay,” Carl Edwards said after finishing 23th in his No. 19 Subway Toyota Camry. “It was just crazy.”

    “If they could take this pavement and map this and put this at every race track, it would be spectacular.”

    Not Surprising: Greg Biffle’s words about his Roush Fenway team “dying a slow death” proved prophetic as he finished 32d. Biffle took the wave around later in the race to get back on the lead lap but contact with another car on the final lap sent him spinning to another poor finish in his No. 16 Clean Harbors Ford.

    Surprising: Tony Stewart finished in the same position number as his car number, 14 that is. And surprisingly, that was the best finish to date for the driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet.

    “Yeah I mean I’m happy, we are gaining on it,” Smoke said. “We were getting to where we were sniffing the edge of the top 10 anyway all day.”

    “We are gaining on it a little chunk at a time. We didn’t need to get it all today, but this is a big gain for us.”

    Not Surprising: With the exception of the Ford at the front, the rest of the top 5 finishers at Fontana were Chevrolets, including Paul Menard, who scored his best finish of the season, and Ryan Newman, who continued his string of good runs, finishing fifth.

    “Oh, it was fun,” Menard said. “I really like this track. It’s all worn out and has a lot of grip and then it falls off in a hurry.” Really proud of my guys, they busted their tails this weekend and got a good finish to show for it.”

    “Luke (Lambert, crew chief) did an awesome job and everybody, the guys especially in the pits,” Newman said. “A hard fought day today but good strategy there at the end, got a couple of breaks with a couple of restarts there.”

    “Good day for us overall.”

    The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will finally leave the West and return to the East coast to race at Martinsville Speedway for the STP 500 next weekend.

  • Hot 20 Heading to California, The List of who is Not Hot is an Impressive one

    Hot 20 Heading to California, The List of who is Not Hot is an Impressive one

    It has a week of discovery. We know that Kevin Harvick is off to a great start. We know that Tony Stewart is not. We now know that NASCAR funds an organization run by Al Sharpton. We know that Kurt Busch’s ex is not happy that Kurt is back racing, and I discovered I just do not care. I also know that even if I were not a happily married straight male, I would have no interest in dating either of them. Now, let us move on.

    Hot 20 after Phoenix…

    1. Kevin Harvick – 2 Wins (182 Points)
    AKA The Champ, Double Winner, Happy, The Closer, Harv, Squirrel Killer.

    2. Joey Logano – 1 Win (160 Points)
    At Phoenix he proved he could go to Xfinity but not beyond.

    3. Jimmie Johnson – 1 Win (124 Points)
    In the end, he was more tired than his car as both hit the wall.

    4. Martin Truex Jr. – 155 Points
    Takes crap from nobody…except Junior.

    5. Kasey Kahne – 132 Points
    If this is an organization’s least heralded driver, they all wish they could be so cursed.

    6. A.J. Allmendinger – 127 Points
    Already the winner of an Auto Golf Club event at Fontana.

    7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 126 Points
    Super sorry about your motorcoach, Martin…I sh*t you not…but as for the dog…

    8. Ryan Newman – 123 Points
    Top Ten, Top Three, Top Three, why Newman is happy is plain to see.

    9. Brad Keselowski – 116 Points
    The most popular celebrity from Rochester Hills, Michigan…as of last week.

    10. Matt Kenseth – 113 Points
    If only he could get a Daytona do over.

    11. Paul Menard – 112 Points
    Still seeking a Top 10, but Fontana is where dreams have come true for him.

    12. Casey Mears – 111 Points
    Best driver in his organization is the only driver in his organization. He is racing to change that.

    13. Denny Hamlin – 108 Points
    Wants things to be more automatic…such as the transmission.

    14. Aric Almirola – 105 Points
    More lukewarm than hot, but he sure was hot after 2014 finish at Fontana.

    15. Clint Bowyer – 101 Points
    Now, a few words from our favorite driver. “@&$#*#$@!!!”

    16. Greg Biffle – 101 Points
    You picked a fine time to find me, loose wheel.

    17. David Ragan – 98 Points
    Knows Kyle will eventually return, but more worried he might lose ride to Will Ferrell.

    18. Kyle Larson – 98 Points
    Dug a hole at Daytona and Atlanta. Found a ladder out west.

    19. Jamie McMurray – 97 Points
    Ditto for Larson’s team mate.

    20. David Gilliland – 92 Points
    With thanks going to Austin, Carl, Danica, Sam, Jeff, Trevor, Ricky, Kyle, Kurt and Tony.

  • The Final Word – Harvick Once Again the Best in Phoenix but Fontana is Johnson Country

    The Final Word – Harvick Once Again the Best in Phoenix but Fontana is Johnson Country

    Phoenix got somewhat exciting near the end. Kevin Harvick was the star of this show, with the likes of Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch and Jamie McMurray in supporting roles. Two straight this season, four straight at Phoenix, a lock on a Chase spot (you would think) and 30 career victories as he defends his Cup championship. It is good being Kevin Harvick.

    Not so good being Tony Stewart. Take some orange paper, write a number 14 on it, then crumple it all up and toss it on the floor. That is pretty much how Stewart’s car looked when it finally stopped along the wall. Thirty-ninth on the day, 35th in the standings. It is not good being Tony Stewart, at least after four Cup races.

    It was good being Dale Earnhardt Jr. Top Fives at Daytona, Atlanta and Las Vegas was good. A blown tire and a sharp slap to the wall to finish 43rd was not.

    It was good, finally, to be Kurt Busch. In the words of Mike Joy, he went from suspension to redemption, as he finished fourth in his return.

    Danica Patrick had another day outside the Top 25. Sure, her team-mates with the law firm of Stewart-Harvick-and Busch may all have won championships, but none of them have a cook book coming out. Game, set and match, losers.

    One day, one race, 43 teams. I guess that is a bit too much even for Will Ferrell.

    The best on the day amongst the lesser lights was Justin Allgaier. The 29th ranked driver from last season was 18th at Phoenix. Among the brighter bulbs who went dim were Junior, Brian Vickers, Sam Hornish Jr. and Smoke, all of whom wound up amongst the bottom five.

    The great thing about FOX Sports taking over coverage is all the extra time it has given me. No truck racing, no practices, no qualifying to sit through. Now, if I only don’t blow it all on watching curling on TSN.

    What does Junior’s puppy at Martin Truex Jr’s motorcoach have in common with Junior’s car last Sunday out on the track? That is where both suddenly went to crap.

    Someone stole the No. 44. Now a lawyer wants it. Apparently, there is a claim that team owner John Cohen owes some money, so when the counsel for the other party heard Cohen claim the car was worth $250,000 he thought he would claim a piece. Insert your favorite lawyer joke here, I guess.

    The western swing wraps up this Sunday in Fontana, California, where the mending Kyle Busch will see an end to his two race dominance of that track. Maybe that will work in favor of five time race winner Jimmie Johnson, or allow Kyle Larson to build on his runner-up performance in his one and only start there. Will it be exciting? It depends on who you like and where they are racing. Then again, who watches live events anymore? Hit record and watch the action at your own pace, maybe catch an inning or two of a ball game in the meantime, or shovel some snow, if you live in the northeast, then return to the track. Hey, it is a multi-task world.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Phoenix CampingWorld.com 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Phoenix CampingWorld.com 500

    With the exit of the ‘Outlaw’ and the return of Kurt Busch, here else is what was surprising and not surprising from the 11th annual CampingWorld.com 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

    Surprising: Driver Kevin Harvick admitted to an interesting feeling after continuing his reign of Victory Lane celebrations at Phoenix and after picking up right where he left off from last year’s championship.

    The driver of the No. 4 Jimmy Johns/Budweiser Chevrolet confessed that he was surprisingly just a little scared.

    “It’s almost scary how well things are going,” Harvick said. “You don’t want to talk about it too much because you want it to keep going.”

    Harvick backed up his talk with his 30th victory in 506 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, his second victory and fourth top-10 finish in 2015, and his seventh victory in 25 races at Phoenix International Raceway.

    Not Surprising: Even Brad Keselowski noticed that there were five Chevrolets in front of him as the highest finishing Ford. Keselowski, behind the wheel of the No. 2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford Fusion, finished sixth.

    “There were a lot of Chevy’s up there and we need to get our Fords running a tiny bit better,” Keselowski said. “I feel like it was kind of a decent, nonchalant day. We didn’t really have the speed we needed to run with the 4 and 41.”

    “Everybody was on a different strategy it seemed and it didn’t quite pan out for us to get the third or fourth we deserved but we ran really well. We just have to find some more speed. That is the common theme to keep up with the 4 and even the 41 this week.”

    Surprising: Two past champions were beating and banging their way through the field in the Valley of the Sun. Six-time champ Jimmie Johnson tangled with Brian Vickers early in the race, as well as Carl Edwards later in the pits, and three-time champ Tony Stewart had some shoving matches with young racers Austin Dillon and Kyle Larson before hitting the wall twice.

    While Johnson was able to rally back to an eleventh place finish, Stewart exited his race car and the infield care center after his second wreck to finish 39th.

    “Just terrible luck today,” Johnson said. “Lap 1 we had damage and had to go to the back and then at the three-quarter mark of the race I don’t know what happened on pit road. We were like three wide and then somebody came out of the pits and we got damage again.”

    “Decent car we should have been top five, but just frustrating to have to go to the back twice like that.”

    Not Surprising: Even in the midst of the race, teammates apparently take a few moments behind the wheel to become race fans. And Kyle Larson, from his spot in the tenth position did just that, rooting for teammate Jamie McMurray to try to get around Kevin Harvick for the win.

    “Jamie (McMurray) did a great job to finish second there,” Larson, driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, said. “I was pulling for him there at the end, but I was happy to get a top 10. 10th to 12th is about where we should of ended up.”

    “Lost two spots there that last lap, but it was a hard fought day. Our car wasn’t the greatest, but we kept working on it and got it better and salvaged a pretty good finish.”

    “It was a good day for everybody at Chip Ganassi Racing.”

    Surprising: There were some milestones and a few records set amongst the top-ten, with Kasey Kahne finishing fourth in his 400th start, Kurt Busch finishing fifth in his return after his suspension, and Martin Truex Jr. scoring a record four straight top-10 finishes for Furniture Row Racing.

    Four straight top-10 finishes by Martin Truex Jr. is a Furniture Row Racing team record. The previous record of three straight 10s for a Furniture Row Racing driver was set by Kurt Busch in 2012 and 2013.

    “It’s neat to have 400 starts in NASCAR, straight starts, I hope I get 400 more,” Kahne, behind the wheel of the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet, said. “It felt really good.”

    “I’m really happy with our Farmers Insurance team. It’s pretty neat.”

    “It great to get back and produce a result like this on our first day back,” Kurt Busch said from behind the wheel of his No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet. “The way that we raced today, it was with heart. “

    Thanks again to all my sponsors and Chevrolet and everybody that’s part of our team and the whole group at Stewart-Haas. Thank you.”

    “We had a strong car,” Truex Jr., driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet, said. “We got tore up on pit road and had to go back to 24th. It was a hell of a rebound.”

    “A really good pit call by Cole (Pearn, crew chief) to stay out on the last pit stop. We were able to pass a couple of cars there at the end and get a top 10.”

    “To get a top 10 feel good.”

    Not Surprising: Team Toyota continued its struggles with Carl Edwards as the highest Toyota finisher in the 13th position.

    “We fought a lot of things,” the driver of the No. 19 Stanley Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing said. “We were a little tight in the middle of the corner and when we would get in dirty air our car seemed to be more affected than other people.”

    “We made the most of what we had today and I think we ended up 13th or something like that. I feel like we had about a 15th-place car and we didn’t do worse than that.”

    Fellow Toyota drivers Matt Kenseth finished 16th, David Ragan 21st, Denny Hamlin 23rd, and Clint Bowyer took the checkered flag in 24th.

    Surprising: After a strong start to the season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished dead last after Goodyear diagnosed a melted bead on his right rear tire caused by the high brake heats. The driver of the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet blew his right rear tire in Turn 2 on Lap 181, suffering severe rear end damage to his race car, and ended the race in the 43rd position.

    “The car was really, really loose today and just wore the right rear tire out, and blew the tire,” Junior said. “

    “You can’t wear the tire out. You have to get your car handling better.”

    “We just have to get the balance better where we don’t burn the tire off of it.”

    Not Surprising: Whoever said that there were just wins and no points racing involved in the new format has not met Ryan Newman. The driver of the No. 31 Quicken Loans Chevrolet finished third and definitely had his eye on the points, moving up to eighth from the twelfth position.

    “It was a good points day,” Newman said. “We’re knocking on the door. That’s two Top 3’s in a row.” “

    “We’re four races in and we’ve got two Top 5’s. It took us until June last year to get our first one. So, we’ll keep digging.”

    Surprising: After starting from the rear of the field due to an engine change, AJ Allmendinger quietly finished the race in the 17th spot. And with that finish, the driver of the No. 47 Kingsford Charcoal Chevrolet sustained his fifth position in the point standings.

    Not Surprising: Jeff Gordon finally rebounded to finish top-10 after his rough finishes in the first three races of the season. The driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet also inched up in the point standings from 30th to 25th.

    “It was a really great team effort,” Gordon said. “A nice job in the pits. We had a decent race car and we showed that as we got track position.”

    “It certainly wasn’t easy, but I’m real proud of everybody,” Gordon continued. “There at the end it was just kind of a judgment call whether to come in and take tires or not.”

    “As it turned out that might not have worked in our favor, but hey some of those are going to go your way and some of those aren’t.”

    The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series finishes up the final of the three races in the West Coast swing next weekend at Auto Club Speedway.

  • Hot 20 – Hello Phoenix, here’s a song that we’re singin’…come on, get Happy

    Hot 20 – Hello Phoenix, here’s a song that we’re singin’…come on, get Happy

    Two races in with a new rules package, and what positive affects has it had on the racing to date? Well, not much from what I can see, especially side by side dueling up front. Even less down force appears to be the answer, or so we hear from Carl Edwards. Tony Stewart, on the other hand, is no fan of the reduced horsepower or much else. Neither are currently amongst our Top 20. Hell, Stewart isn’t even among our Top 30. Maybe Phoenix might be better for them both. Then again, maybe not.

    Hot 20 after Las Vegas…

    1. Kevin Harvick – 1 Win (134 Points)
    Won last race in Las Vegas, the last three in Phoenix. Damn right he is Happy.

    2. Joey Logano – 1 Win (123 Points)
    Gift caution from NASCAR was helpful in ‘Vegas.

    3. Jimmie Johnson – 1 Win (91 Points)
    Bet the car vibrated even more after hitting the fence.

    4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 125 Points
    Likes all the Top Fives, but would love a Top One.

    5. Martin Truex Jr. – 118 Points
    The Rocky Mountain high continues.

    6. A.J. Allmendinger – 100 Points
    His time in Las Vegas just flu by.

    7. Kasey Kahne – 92 Points
    Super sorry about your car, Carl.

    8. Denny Hamlin – 87 Points
    A Top Five, probably; a Top Ten at Phoenix, definitely.

    9. Casey Mears – 87 Points
    Thus far, 2015 has been the year of the one man band.

    10. Matt Kenseth – 85 Points
    His advice helped make Jimmie a champion…at assembling kid’s toys.

    11. Greg Biffle – 84 Points
    Has the answer to improve ride this week. Just Cheez-It!

    12. Paul Menard – 82 Points
    Tied with teammate for the best at RCR after three races.

    13. Ryan Newman – 82 Points
    Best damn neckless driver in NASCAR.

    14. Clint Bowyer – 81 Points
    Says secret to Phoenix is not to spin around. I think I just bit my tongue.

    15. Aric Almirola – 80 Points
    Sponsor Eckrich are the makers of naturally hardwood smoked sausage. I think I’m in love.

    16. David Gilliland – 77 Points
    Front Row appears ready to make the move from participant to competitor.

    17. Brad Keselowski – 77 Points
    I’m not a fan. As he doesn’t know I even exist, he’s probably good with that.

    18. Sam Hornish Jr. – 75 Points
    Open wheel success often does not equate into fendered success. Maybe this time.

    19. David Ragan – 75 Points
    Not quite up to Kyle-like standards yet, but neither are Carl or Tony.

    20. Danica Patrick – 68 Points
    Still here, thanks to Regan Smith registered in Xfinity, not Cup series.

  • The Final Word – Be it Las Vegas or Phoenix, we be groovin’ on a Sunday afternoon

    The Final Word – Be it Las Vegas or Phoenix, we be groovin’ on a Sunday afternoon

    Another Sunday, another NASCAR Cup race. I think if you loved the race, you may have been a fan to some degree of one of the top four. The fact Kevin Harvick followed up a pair of runner-up finishes with his 29th career contest at Las Vegas must have made followers of the defending Cup champ smile. He certainly had the most dominant car on the day, leading the way for more than half the laps.

    A second place run from Martin Truex Jr. may have been welcome. Seeing Ryan Newman take third was fine for many. Dale Earnhardt Jr. coming home fourth had to make more than a few content with how things played out. Imagine how you might have felt had Joey Logano won.

    Sure, there are Logano fans out there, and I am not just referring to Brittany. I mean, NASCAR must love him, or at least that might explain them dropping a caution for a long sitting lost tire near pit road just as he, and only he, was left coming in for his stop. They might as well have changed his tires and offered the lad a snack while they were at it. If nothing else, they kept him on the lead lap, something only 14 cars could claim when it was all over, to take 10th on the day.

    Kasey Kahne finished 17th, Carl Edwards 42nd. Why that was had everything to do with Edwards accidently taking his rival up and into the wall, and Kahne not so accidently spinning his rival into tagging the inside fence. Carl took the blame when the microphone found him inside the car, inside the garage, seeking repairs that proved too much to salvage even one additional position.

    Brian Scott salvaged a 13th place outcome in his run for Richard Childress in the No, 33 to be the best amongst those we do not see regularly near the front. Whitney and Brielle had good reason to be pleased on the day.

    Two spots behind him was Brian Vickers. Three months ago they were working on his heart, Sunday he was working to get his career back on track. Already, in just one race, he sits ahead of Tony Stewart in the standings.

    Smoke’s season has already gone for shlitz. Some had bad days, while he had a bad car, bad enough to sit 33rd in the end. Cole Whitt had a bigger presence this day. Other guys for whom things did not go well included Atlanta winner Jimmie Johnson. He looked great early, but had to pit with a tire vibration. Johnson was battling for the lucky dog then a tire went down and he found the fence to finish just ahead of Edwards. Of course, with the win a week earlier, that leaves him sitting third in the rankings.

    So, was this a spectacular sporting event to sit through? Not really, though to be fair that could be said about any number of contests we witness every week. However, Cup has just 36 offerings for us to be excited about, compared to the hundreds and thousands of offerings per season in other major sports. If a game does not turn your crank, turn to another. That is not an option in NASCAR, so they are left with having to better market their product. Sadly, I feel they are woefully falling short.

    This weekend, there is another Sunday, another race, but this time they are in Phoenix. A 500 mile race that in five spring dates has yet to find a distinctive identity. To date, it has been named after a sponsor each time, Subway for three, CNBC last year, and Camping World this time out. Just another race on the schedule.

    Bad news for those not fans of Kevin Harvick. He won last week, and he has won the last three run at Phoenix. Maybe it should be the Happy Havick 500? At least some folks might love that.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Vegas Kobalt 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Vegas Kobalt 400

    For the first race of NASCAR’s self-proclaimed ‘West Coast Swing’, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 18th annual Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

    Surprising: In just the third race of the season, there were a plethora of firsts and lasts, from Jeff Gordon running his last ever race at Vegas to Brian Vickers starting his first race since open heart surgery and Kevin Harvick standing in Victory Lane for the first time ever at LVMS.

    Gordon himself was a contrast in firsts and lasts, having scored the pole position for the race and then having to start dead last due to a final practice crash with Danica Patrick. Gordon cut through the field but then had issues with contact and tires, relegating him to an 18th place finish in his No. 24 3M Chevrolet.

    “Man, we were coming,” Gordon said. “We drove up there right at the beginning and the car was amazing on rails. The next set of tires, the thing was just terrible loose. So we made an adjustment and then the car went back to being tight. I don’t know what happened there, but it was a great effort. I just can’t believe the way these days are going.”

    While Gordon completed his last race at Vegas, Brian Vickers was amazed to finally get his season started, back for the first time in the No. 55 Aaron’s 60th Anniversary Dream Machine Toyota after major heart surgery.

    “A top-15 considering where we were at three months ago – I’ll take it,” Vickers said. “You always want to win, but I think for us this was a victory in a lot of ways.”

    “It’s incredible. It feels so good to be back in a race car – so happy, so thankful and I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be here again.”

    And the final first went to Kevin Harvick, with his first win of the season and his first ever win at Vegas. This was Harvick’s sixth consecutive race to finish either first or second, tying for that honor with Jeff Gordon who accomplished the same feat in 1996.

    “It’s so cool to win here in Las Vegas and start this West Coast swing off this way is pretty awesome,” the driver of the victorious No. 4 Jimmy Johns/Budweiser Chevrolet said. “Just to be in front of all these fans I’ve raced in front of since about the mid-‘90’s. It’s pretty special to win here.”

    Not Surprising: Well, the setting was after all Las Vegas so there had to be at least one driver to take a gamble. This race it was driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., who rolled the dice on tires at the end of the race to finish fourth.

    “We didn’t put lefts (tires) on it; made it a gamble,” the driver of the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet said. “I like to gamble. I liked the call. I love being aggressive. We were going to drive up there and pass that No. 4 (Kevin Harvick). So, we had to take a chance.”

    Surprising: The two small teams with the big alliance with Richard Childress Racing again had great runs, with Martin Truex Jr. scoring the runner up spot and AJ Allmendinger coming in sixth.

    “I can’t put it into words, honestly. I’m just really proud of everyone,” Truex, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet, said. “I feel like we can keep chipping away at it, getting a little better each week and hopefully by the end of the year, we will have some wins under our belt.”

    “A lot of credit to having an RCR (Richard Childress Racing) alliance because the No. 78 and No. 31 were really fast all weekend,” Allmendinger, behind the wheel of the No. 47 Clorox Chevrolet, said after the race. “We kind of stole from them a little bit going into the final practice. That helped us and really helped up today.”

    “Honestly, probably one of the best races we have ever had. Something hopefully we can keep building off of.”

    Not Surprising: Even with battling penalties on pit road, including speeding and an uncontrolled tire, the Team Penske duo of Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano were the highest finishing Fords, in seventh and tenth respectively.

    “It was an up and down day,” Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford, said. “Good job by the team to rally there and get what we were able to out of it.”

    “The speeding on pit road – I found that. I put us in a hole,” Logano, driver of the No. 22 Pennzoil Platinum Ford, said. “Not that we were going to win the race either way because we weren’t fast enough but I maybe cost us two or three positions with what I did.”

    “We have some work to do.”

    Surprising: He may be ineligible for points in the Cup Series, but Brian Scott was on a roll, finishing top-15 in his No. 33 Whitetail Chevrolet. This was the best career finish in the Cup Series for the driver, who is competing for the championship in the Xfinity Series.

    Not Surprising: Ryan Newman may be taking a page from the Jimmie Johnson sponsorship book and his ability to keep improving scored the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet team a third place finish.

    “This was a great team effort with the Caterpillar Chevrolet,” Newman said. “It was an improvement over last year.”

    “We improved throughout the entire race and I’m satisfied only because we’re improving.”

    Surprising: Prior to the race, six-time champ Jimmie Johnson built the frame of a house for Habitat for Humanity. Unfortunately, the driver of the No. 48 Kobalt Tools experienced destruction on the track, including several blown tires that caused him to finish 41st.

    “That’s kind of a freak deal,” Johnson said. “I’m disappointed. We certainly had an awesome race car. I wish we could have won this KOBALT race in this KOBALT car, but we’ll come back next week.”

    Not Surprising: When a great car competing up front ends up finishing 17th, it is not surprising that frustration abounds. That was the name of the game for Kasey Kahne, who not only was frustrated after contact with Carl Edwards but also with the new rules package and his inability to pass.

    “We had a second place car the first 30 laps of a run and a winning car the last 15-20 laps of a run,” the driver of the No. 5 Time Warner Cable Chevrolet, said. “Carl (Edwards) just came down and just apologized and said he feels like he hasn’t done that before to anyone. He just never lifted and run me just right into the wall and ruined his day as well.”

    “It’s like we run two Xfinity series,” Kahne continued. “It’s like we have two of those series now we don’t even have a Cup series anymore. It’s weird to do that, but you just run really hard. You don’t pass a good car until 15 or 20 laps to go in a run when tires start falling off a little bit.”

    “Until then you don’t even think about passing. You just run in line and it’s boring as can be, but that is what NASCAR wants.”

    Surprising: Landon Cassill finally broke his short streak of two consecutive last place finishes due to engine failure. The driver of the No. 40 Carsforsale.com Chevrolet actually finished the race in the 35th spot.

    Not Surprising: Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth definitely proved that they are the ones carrying the Toyota banner. Hamlin finished fifth and was the highest finishing Toyota and Kenseth came in ninth, actually leading one lap in the race.

    Both Hamlin and Kenseth are flying the Toyota flag in the point’s standings as well, in eighth and tenth respectively.

    “This FedEx Office team did a great job,” Hamlin said. “We got better. We’ve just got to get a little bit more speed and we’ll be able to race these guys, but right now we just need to optimize our weekends, finish where we’re supposed to and execute.”

    “I think next week will be a big tell for our race team,” Hamlin continued. “Even though we finished fifth at Phoenix in the Chase race last year, we got lapped twice under green and were able to battle back and I think that is a track we really need to perform well at if we’re going to be a part of this Chase.”

     

  • Hot 20 – Joey and Jimmie Lead the Way West to Las Vegas for Some Action…and Some Warmth

    Hot 20 – Joey and Jimmie Lead the Way West to Las Vegas for Some Action…and Some Warmth

    While Daytona was good, Atlanta was tolerable. I wonder, if I was a transient type flipping channels, how long would I have lingered on the action beaming in from Georgia? A decade ago, the sport and its sponsors marketed the heck out of their product, but not so much anymore. Now NASCAR is seeking a new title sponsor for the Cup series to, in a couple of years, cough up $1 billion over a 10 year span? It is certainly nice to dream.

    A Daytona 500 win is nice. A Southern 500 victory is okay. A World 600 triumph is cool. A Brickyard 400 is lovely. However, just imagine the life long memories one will have just racing in the SpongeBob SquarePants 400 in Kansas. Just imagine. Good grief.

    News flash…except for the Daytona 500, most fans could not care less about qualifying. Check out the television ratings or, better yet, all those empty seats in the grandstands. Nobody cares. Put all those guaranteed a spot on the grid based on points, then have all those not locked in go through tech inspection first before they hit the track to qualify. As for the rest, take your time checking them all out. Take the whole day if you need it. That would eliminate another embarrassment like they had in Atlanta. Would that not be a good thing?

    Being good and lucky can go a long way in keeping one among our top drivers in the rankings. Ryan Newman, Brad Keselowski, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart are good drivers. They just have not been very lucky thus far in 2015.

    Among those for whom things have gone better….

    Hot 20 after Atlanta

    1. Joey Logano – 1 Win – 88 Points
    A new bride, a winning ride, Joey’s horizons have opened wide.

    2. Jimmie Johnson – 1 Win – 87 Points
    The early favorite to win a seventh championship is…

    3. Kevin Harvick – 86 Points
    Still wearing that bridesmaid fire suit.

    4. Dale Earnhardt Jr – 84 Points
    I am reminded by my wife, Amy, that Las Vegas has chapels. What’s with that?

    5. Martin Truex Jr – 75 Points
    So far he has all his ducks and furniture in a row.

    6. Casey Mears – 68 Points
    It appears there are a lot more numbers unluckier than 13.

    7. Kasey Kahne – 65 Points
    Discovered that Atlanta in March is not Atlanta in late August.

    8. A.J. Allmendinger – 62 Points
    Better Than Bouillon, better than most.

    9. Aric Almirola – 62 Points
    Yet another Cup regular taking an Xfinity seat in Las Vegas.

    10. Clint Bowyer – 58 Points
    May have lost a cylinder, but he gained a Stenhouse…then a Biffle.

    11. David Gilliland – 56 Points
    At 38, I was watching my sons being born while this guy is watching his son race.

    12. Sam Hornish Jr – 55 Points
    2014 ‘Vegas Xfinity winner not in Saturday’s race…four other Cup guys will be.

    13. Carl Edwards – 54 Points
    If he aged 20 years, shrunk 6 inches, gained 50 pounds, and melted, I could be his body double.

    14. Greg Biffle – 54 Points
    And THAT is how a bad day can get worse.

    15. David Ragan – 53 Points
    Take your time, Kyle. Take your time.

    16. Danica Patrick – 51 Points
    No. 1 woman, No. 2 SHR driver

    17. Paul Menard – 50 Points
    If Menard’s sold heated hunting blinds, they could have made a mint last week.

    18. Matt Kenseth – 49 Points
    Qualifying means more to him than it does to us. Let him roll out in 18th, with Joey on the pole.

    19. Denny Hamlin – 48 Points
    Twice this week his vehicle gets broadsided…once when he was awake.

    20. Michael Annett – 47 Points
    Don’t expect to see him here next week.