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Tag: Martin Truex Jr.

  • Martin Truex Jr’s 2015 Season is Most Important Yet

    Martin Truex Jr’s 2015 Season is Most Important Yet

    There were several drivers who had disappointing seasons in the 2014 season. Included in those drivers is Mayetta, New Jersey native Martin Truex Jr. Truex joined Furniture Row Racing after spending the previous five seasons at Michael Waltrip Racing. Truex had a contract that ran through the 2017 season with the organization but that all changed on one September night at Richmond International Raceway.

    The infamous “spingate” scandal happened on Saturday September 7, 2013 when Truex’s teammate Clint Bowyer spun on lap 394 of a 400 lap race at Richmond International Speedway. Several drivers and teams felt that Bowyer spun intentionally. The spin was very beneficial to Truex. While Truex had nothing to do with the controversy, which was coerced by team general manager Ty Norris (among others), he seemed to get hit the worst.

    After an impressive seventh place finish at Richmond Truex found himself in the 2013 Chase for the Sprint Cup, but for only a couple of days. The 2013 season looked like it was going to be a significant year in his career, considering how well he ran throughout the year but after a historic 100 point penalty was handed down by NASCAR to Michael Waltrip Racing after the ‘Spingate’ scandal, Truex was outside of the chase. The penalty evaporated all the good memories from the 2013 season. The penalty was devastating for everyone involved including sponsor NAPA Auto Parts, who after spending 14 seasons associated with Michael Waltrip, announced that they would be leaving Michael Waltrip Racing at the end of the season due to the scandal.

    From that point Waltrip allowed Truex to explore other options for the 2014 season. His No.56 Toyota ride for the team would no longer have a sponsor and there were doubts coming from the organization that they would be able to field an entry for Truex. Truex explored his options and found a ride at Furniture Row Racing. The team had a seat open after veteran driver Kurt Busch left for Stewart-Haas Racing.

    Truex signed a three year contract with Furniture Row Racing in October 2013 and for Truex it was a best case scenario after having such an unfortunate circumstance. Furniture Row Racing finished an impressive 10th in the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings and the team has a major association with Richard Childress Racing. For Truex things looked to be in line for a solid 2014 season.

    However, the 2014 season was a tough one for Truex. He and crew chief Todd Berrier did not seem to be on the same page for most of the season and the performance of the No. 78 team was down for most of the season. Truex only recorded one top-five finish and five top-10 finishes. It was a far cry from the 2013 season which saw Kurt Busch rattle off 11 top-five finishes and 16 top-10 finishes. It was a disappointing year for Truex and the Furniture Row Racing team.

    The struggles in 2014 forced Furniture Row Racing to make changes heading into the 2015 season. This week the team announced that crew chief Todd Berrier would be replaced by team engineer Cole Pearn. It will be Pearn’s first chance to crew chief a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series operation. Berrier, meanwhile, will remain with the organization in a major role.

    The crew chief change is just more proof that Truex has a lot of pressure to run well heading into the 2015 season. It’s clear that Furniture Row Racing believes they can be much better than they were in the 2014 season and a crew chief change proves that. Truex will be entering his second year of a three year contract at Furniture Row Racing and it may arguably be his most important season.

     

  • Hot 20 – If Sweetness and Loveliness is What you are After, Texas Might not be the Place to Find It

    Hot 20 – If Sweetness and Loveliness is What you are After, Texas Might not be the Place to Find It

    So, Danica Patrick is not all sweetness and loveliness. Okay, she is the latter, but the fact she is a little ticked or not going along with the company line, has some folks talking. She is upset with Joey Logano, she had a bit of a run in with Martin Truex Jr. at Martinsville and she thinks qualifying at Talladega stinks after her boyfriend got left in the cold. She even is not a fan of NASCAR’s diversity program.

    To start with, if we were talking about Kurt Busch here, nobody would care less. Okay, his having a boyfriend might come as a surprise, but that is about it. As for the diversity program, it either works or it does not. To be honest, graduates such as Darrell “Bubba” Wallace and Kyle Larson might have gotten there based on their talent, looks, character and some marketing in the same fashion Patrick emerged. Did the program remove any barriers that would have prevented them from otherwise rising to the top? I know many would say so, whether that be true or not. My reaction to her questioning its validity would be the same whether Danica said it, or Richard Petty, or Dale Earnhardt Jr. Then again, I am one of those guys who sees nothing wrong in questioning even sacred cows. It causes conversation and that is never a bad thing.

    As Danica and the boys head to Texas, the only thing critical I have in regards to her is that she is the 28th best driver in Cup. She is the dividing line between those who matter and those who continue to strive for respectability each week. What she says or does should carry about as much weight as, say, Aric Almirola or Casey Mears. However, that is not the reality of things.

    What is real is that Jeff Gordon remains the best driver so far this season, though Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski are right there, according to these standings. However, after the issues last week Keselowski’s Chase dreams are about to go the way of the dodo, or the Earnhardt and the Johnson, unless fortune smiles down in Texas. It won’t. Matt Kenseth goes in as the race favorite and Matt loves everybody.

    Except Keselowski, but everybody loves Matt. Except Kevin Harvick. Something tells me these boys are not exactly all sweetness and loveliness either.

    *Drivers awarded a 25 (rather than a 3) point winner’s bonus
    BOLD = Currently in the Chase

    Hot 20

    1 – Jeff Gordon – 4 Wins – 1247 POINTS
    2 – Joey Logano – 5 – 1227
    3 – Brad Keselowski – 5 – 1188
    4 – Dale Earnhardt Jr – 4 – 1158
    5 – Kevin Harvick – 3 – 1088
    6 – Jimmie Johnson – 3 – 1045
    7 – Matt Kenseth – 0 – 1032
    8 – Ryan Newman – 0 – 1031
    9 – Carl Edwards – 2 – 1029
    10 – Kyle Larson – 0 – 981
    11 – Kyle Busch – 1 – 969
    12 – Greg Biffle – 0 – 931
    13 – Kasey Kahne – 1 – 927
    14 – Clint Bowyer – 0 – 923
    15 – Austin Dillon – 0 – 910
    16 – Jamie McMurray – 0 – 906
    17 – Denny Hamlin – 1 – 896
    18 – Paul Menard – 0 – 856
    19 – Brian Vickers – 0 – 847
    20 – A.J. Allmendinger – 1 – 828

  • The Final Word – Martinsville, A Day of Sunshine for Some, Storm Clouds for Others

    The Final Word – Martinsville, A Day of Sunshine for Some, Storm Clouds for Others

    As I peer out my window, I see cloudy skies and snow upon the ground. Even for us in the Great White North, this sucks. Yet, for many NASCAR fans, the skies are blue, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and even that fat little mouse is eager to help Cinderelli build her dress. Life is perfect. Well, almost perfect. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won his fourth of the season at Martinsville, but just one race too late to keep his title hopes alive. Still, it took him just nine months to match what he had done over the course of the previous nine years, and that is to win four races.

    Jeff Gordon had the car to beat. A speedy run through the pits put him back of the pack for some time, to allow others some face time up front. Denny Hamlin had the spotlight for awhile, as did Joey Logano. It was Gordon’s misfortune to return amongst the leaders about the time Junior’s car came alive. However, Four Time has the point as the Chasers advance to Texas. Ryan Newman, who led not a lap, was third and is within three points of Gordon.

    Martinsville, in large part due to the quality of the broadcasters, was a chore to watch. At least it was until the action superseded their attempts at commentary. Gordon went from first to beyond 30th after his pit road violation and things seemed to perk up after that.

    Kevin Harvick’s temper certainly spiked after fellow Chaser Matt Kenseth wheel-hopped and popped Harvick into the fence. Both had been riding around in the top 10, while in the end Kenseth finished sixth, Harvick 33rd and not very happy. In fact, he predicted Kenseth would not win the title. No need for a crystal ball when one has a fender that has the ability to alter history at Homestead.

    Then we had Kasey Kahne and Brian Vickers. Kahne shoved Vickers out of the way early, Vickers spun Kahne later. When Kahne added his own version of the spin-o-rama NASCAR forced a peace and a halt to the shenanigans.

    Danica Patrick and Martin Truex Jr. had their own tete-a-tete going on, but they and Kahne both got roughed up when Brad Keselowski got hit with drive line problems. Brad soon got hit by Casey Mears when he slowed to a crawl, and Patrick got a piece of Mears, while Kahne got all of Truex. Even Carl Edwards got a small piece of that and came home 20th on the day.

    For a while there, I had visions of a 1-2-3 finish involving that trio of Chasers that warm the cockles of our hearts. Thankfully, reality stepped in and spared us. With apologies to that iconic trio of Chicago Cubs from a century ago…

    These are the saddest of possible words:
    “Joey and Denny and Brad”
    Trio of racers who are fleeter than birds,
    Joey and Denny and Brad.
    Leaving fan favorites to sit on the bubble,
    It is enough to make one order up doubles
    Three bloody drivers who are nothing but trouble:
    “Joey and Denny and Brad”

    Joey was fifth, Hamlin eighth, Brad back in 31st.

    As one can not be sure of others’ misfortune, both Keselowski and Harvick need to be hunting for wins at Texas and Phoenix in order to advance to the final round as Chasers. However, based on past history, a win for either this weekend, or even Edwards for that matter, is a bit of a long shot. The one with the best shot is Kenseth, with a pair of wins and an average finish of 8.2, though Hamlin has a couple claimed there, as well.

    If there was a time for one of those on the outside looking in to order up a bit of sunshine of their own, this would be it.

    1 – Jeff Gordon –  4044 POINTS –  7 to the good
    2 – Ryan Newman –  4041 – 4 to the good
    3 – Joey Logano –  4040 – 3 to the good
    4 – Matt Kenseth –  4039 – 2 to the good
    5 – Denny Hamlin –  4037 – 2 away
    6 – Carl Edwards –  4024 – 15 away
    7 – Brad Keselowski –  4013 – 26 away
    8 – Kevin Harvick –  4011 – 28 away

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Kansas Hollywood Casino 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Kansas Hollywood Casino 400

    With Kansas City Royals Manager Ned Yost commanding the drivers to start their engines, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 14th annual Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

    Surprising: There were surprisingly two drivers after the checkered flag flew that thought that they had won the race.

    One driver, Joey Logano, did indeed end up in Victory Lane, securing his place in the Eliminator Round of the Chase competition, while Kyle Busch, who has so often had tremendously bad luck at Kansas, finished third in a run that felt to him more like a win.

    “It’s a dream come true,” Logano said after winning his fifth of the season and his first ever at Kansas Speedway. “It’s a dream season so far. We’ve just got to keep finishing it off.”

    “It is awesome to be back in victory lane again,” Logano continued. “We were able to capitalize and do what we needed to do. It was fun.”

    “I won today, I just didn’t get champagne and a trophy,” Kyle Busch said after posting only his third top-10 finish in 15 races at Kansas Speedway. ““To get through Kansas feels nice.”

    “I set my mind to it that there is no reason why we can’t run good here. There is absolutely no reason and other guys can do it so I can do it and my teammates can do it — there is no reason,” Busch continued. “We did that here today and it felt good.”

    Both drivers also had winning days in the point standings as Logano is just six points ahead of Busch after the Kansas race.

    Not Surprising: One of the first gestures after the race was over was from rookie Kyle Larson, demonstrating with about an inch between his index finger and thumb just how close he was yet again to winning.

    This was Larson’s 15th top-10 finish of the season and he was again the highest finishing rookie, in fact for the 21st time.

    “We were good all weekend long,” Larson said. “I thought me and Joey were dead even there at the end. It was hard for me to gain on him. We would go within a hundredth of each other it seemed like on every lap. I was able to close on him at one point, but just couldn’t do anything.”

    “Good finish. We’ll get some wins here soon hopefully before the end of the year, and I think once we get one, we should be up here more often as a winner.”

    Surprising: For at least one Chase contender, the Kansas race ended up being what has traditionally been defined as “a potentially lethal game of chance in which a “player” places a single round in a revolver, spins the cylinder, places the muzzle against their head, and pulls the trigger.”

    “It was just Russian roulette and it was our turn,” Brad Keselowski said after a tire issue sent him into the wall for a 36th place finish. “We blew the right front tire. I am not sure why. We didn’t have an aggressive setup or anything, we just blew the tire.”

    “We didn’t do anything,” the driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford continued. “Like I said, it was a game of Russian Roulette and it was our turn at the gun.”

    Not Surprising: After the euphoria of welcoming his first born son into the world prior to the race, it was not surprising that Clint Bowyer was extremely upset with finishing 18th at a track that he considers part of his racing history.

    “We just struggled all day,” Bowyer said. “Got damage early on and our pink lemonade 5-hour ENERGY Toyota was never the same. Hate it at my home track.”

    Surprising: For once in a very long time, Richard Childress Racing had a better day at the track than Hendrick Motorsports, with the former having all three of its drivers in the top ten, while the latter had major issues of some sort for every one of its four drivers.

    Ryan Newman, driver of the RCR No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet finished sixth, Austin Dillon in his RCR No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet finishing eighth, and Paul Menard, in the RCR No. 27 Quaker State/Menards Chevrolet finished ninth.

    “Just a good run for the Caterpillar Chevrolet, it was nice to lead some laps,” Newman said. “First time in a long time we have done that.”

    “That is good. That is a motivation for our company.”

    “We fought hard all day,” Menard said. “We didn’t quite have the speed our teammates did. We made some really good adjustments to get the car balanced out good. I’m pretty happy with a top 10 after struggling most of the race. We hit on a couple of things throughout the race that got us better.”

    Jeff Gordon was the highest finishing Hendrick Motorsports car, with a 14th place run. Kasey Kahne finished 22nd; Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson finished 39th and 40th respectively.

    “It was a handful,” Jeff Gordon said. “We were having a pretty solid day with the Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet until the No. 1 car (Jamie McMurray) got loose and got into our left rear.”

    “We had a little damage but we just lost all that track position,” Gordon continued. “It is so hard to get it back at this place.”

    “A lot of people had trouble today. So today was a real survival day. We did that. It just felt like we could have finished a lot better than that. We had a good race car. We actually really had a great race car.”

    Not Surprising: Pleased but not satisfied was how Brian Vickers felt after almost wrecking all day, throwing the kitchen sink at his race car, and finishing tenth in his No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota.

    “I think we wrecked 15 times and didn’t hit anything,” Vickers said. “We didn’t get much practice yesterday — we had a couple shock issues that kind of messed us up for the two practices. Then we finally got that figured out on the last run of practice. Basically, today’s race was our practice.”

    “It just took us until the end of the race to kind of get it figured out,” Vickers continued. “There were a few runs there where we were horrible and trying to learn and trying things that didn’t work and did work. Then that last run the guys said, ‘Screw it,’ and threw the kitchen sink at it with a couple changes where we were trying to learn something for the future and it was just awesome.”

    “Considering everything we had to overcome this weekend I would say we’re pleased, but not satisfied.”

    Surprising: In a race with so many blown tires, it was a bit surprising that Carl Edwards’ two tire call actually worked out for him. The driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford finished fifth, keeping his hopes alive in the Chase race.

    “That was an awesome finish for us,” Edwards said. “I appreciate everyone coming out here and supporting this 99 team, it means the world. We did not run very well all day but that was awesome at the end, a lot of fun.”

    “We put it on the top and ran around and it was a lot of fun,” Edwards continued. “You keep saying we are going to fall out of this and we will keep doing what we are doing. I am so proud of my guys, they did great on pit road. Everyone on the Fastenal crew did a great job and Jimmy Fennig made the right calls and we came home with a top-five, so it was a good day.”

    Not Surprising: After another top-10 finish, there was no doubt that Denny Hamlin was in a smooth mood after his seventh place run.

    “I’m proud of my team — no mistakes on pit road, just nice smooth day,” Hamlin said. “I saw those guys having a lot of issues. We don’t have a lot of the speed that those guys have, so maybe if we can get them out this round, then maybe there’s a fighting chance we’ll get to the end of this thing.”

    “This is a good run for us and this is obviously the type of runs that we need to keep moving on. We’ll take sevenths all the way out.”

    Surprising: This team just might have finally turned the corner after a struggle and back luck filled season to date. Martin Truex Jr. scored his best finish of the season with a fourth place run in his No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet.

    Since the Chase began, Truex has an average finish of 9.25 and had the second best result at Kansas of all of the non-Chase drivers.

    “A lot of effort and a lot of patience have gone into our resurgence,” said Truex. “Everything seems to be clicking much better right now and I look forward to taking advantage of what we have learned and trying to get a win.”

    “As I said last week, we’re also getting ready for 2015 and right now we’re seeing the fruits of our labor.”

    Not Surprising: He may not have advanced in the Chase but AJ Allmendinger was celebrating what he perceived as a stand-out weekend at Kansas.

    “This is the best weekend we have had in a long time for sure,” the driver of the No. 47 Clorox Chevrolet said after finishing 11th. “Happy with the car throughout the whole race, we are just lacking a little bit of overall speed.”

    “It was a good car, by far the best we have been,” Dinger continued. “That is the best 1.5-mile car I’ve had in over a year. Hopefully, we learned for the next race at Charlotte.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Dover AAA 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Dover AAA 400

    With advancement into the Contender Round for the NASCAR championship on the line, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 45th annual AAA 400 at Dover international Speedway.

    Surprising: After experiencing a tire valve stem issue early in the race, one driver surprisingly seemed to have turned his attention to the upcoming holidays instead.

    “The inner valve stem got knocked out just like the first race here, except this time it was on the left-front,” the driver of the No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet said after finishing 13th from the pole. “A lug nut got in between the wheel and the brake rotor and knocked the valve stem out.”

    “So unfortunate, but probably our own fault for not finding a solution for it the first race,” Harvick continued. “Just handing out early Christmas presents to people for winning races that we should be winning.”

    “It’s just unbelievable that it can happen.”

    Not Surprising: As has played out for much for the season to date, the Monster Mile was also two-team dominated. Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon won the race, while his usually strong at Dover teammate Jimmie Johnson finished third.

    Team Penske also had a great day at Dover, with Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano finished second and fourth respectively.

    “I knew we could compete with the No. 2 (Brad Keselowski) car,” Jeff Gordon said in Victory Lane. “The No. 2 was really good on short runs, but we could run him down. Of course he made us work for it there at the end.”

    “Certainly wish we were in Victory Lane, but good solid third-place run,” Hendrick teammate Johnson said. “We had a solid car.”

    “All I could think about was how I wanted to win all three races,” Brad Keselowski said after his runner-up finish. “Three more races and we’ve got to keep our head on straight t and push forward these next three like we have these last three.”

    “It was a hard-fought day, which is pretty normal for here at Dover,” Logano said of his fourth place finish. We got something good out of it and now we’ll start the next round and try to move on to the next one.”

    “We’ve got to focus on what we do to go fast and not what other people are doing or who our competition is,” Logano said about the Team Penske vs. Hendrick battle. “There are 11 other guys right now who are our main competition, so we’ve got to look at them all just like we did going into this round. We look at every one as a contender, no pun intended, and we’ll be able to focus on what we’ve been doing with our race cars and go from there.”

    Surprising: It was surprising to see just how disappointed so many drivers were who actually advanced to the next round of competition after the race at the Monster Mile.

    “It was off a little bit,” Matt Kenseth said, after taking the checkered flag in fifth as the highest finishing Toyota. “I couldn’t do very good on restarts and that really hurt us bad. I’d lose so many spots over the restart and just too hard to get them back.”

    “There were times when the car was better than where we finished and other times when it was worse.”

    “We did what we had to do today with our Interstate Batteries Camry, but I’m not sure what the problem was on the last couple funs of the race,” Kyle Busch said after finishing tenth. “We were tight all day, but it just got worse at the end.”

    “We didn’t run good obviously,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said after finishing 17th. “We struggled with our car all day long. We never had a moment during the race where the car was very good and competitive.”

    Not Surprising: Although he did not make it into the Chase race, this rookie driver has big plans for his participation during the remainder of the competition rounds.

    “It was a really good finish for us,” Kyle Larson said after taking the checkered flag in the sixth spot. “Hopefully I can be the guy that wins Kansas and Charlotte so all the Chase guys can be nervous going into Talladega.”

    Surprising: While everyone else who made it to the Contender Round of the Chase had Talladega on their minds, one driver surprisingly indicated that he could not wait to get to the superspeedway.

    “This is built for us,” Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford said. “We’ve got to capitalize on it and go run well at Kansas and Charlotte.”

    “We know we can win Talladega, so I look forward to that race,” Edwards continued. “That’s the first time I’ve ever looked forward to Talladega in the Chase, but I’m looking forward to it.”

    Not Surprising: At a track that he claims as one of his own close to home, it was not surprising that Martin Truex Jr. had a good run, finishing seventh after starting 26th. Truex scored the second best finish among non-Chase drivers and this was also his second best finish of the season.

    “Dover has always been a special place for me,” Truex said. “I don’t know what it is about this track – maybe it’s just home field advantage for me because it seems like the longer the race goes here the better we get.”

    “Just like last week (New Hampshire) I wish the race was longer. I never thought I would say that.”

    Surprising: While many, including Mr. Hendrick have stated that they are witnessing the rebirth of race winner Jeff Gordon as he drives for his fifth championship, another driver felt surprisingly renewed after squeaking into the next round of competition.

    “I feel great,” Denny Hamlin said after finishing 12th in his No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota. “We’ve got another life.”

    “This is going to be a great comeback story if we can keep going,” Hamlin continued. “This is a new life.”

    Not Surprising: There was no fairy tale ending for the two small Cinderella teams battling for their place in the Chase, as both Aric Almirola and AJ Allmendinger were eliminated.

    “It just didn’t work out for us,” Aric Almirola said after his 28th place finish. “I hate it. We picked a bad day to run the way we did and we can’t blame anybody but ourselves. I’m sure we’ll be able to look past this another day, but right now it’s pretty disappointing.”

    “It was an awful day,” Allmendinger said after finishing 23rd. “We didn’t give up. We just missed it all weekend.”

    “It’s disappointing to miss it by two points, but we didn’t deserve to be in it with the run that we had,” Dinger continued. “We have to look at it – I’m not going to take a moral victory out of it to miss it by two points, it’s disappointing, but we know we are making steps in the right direction.”

    “We have seven races to go. I will be disappointed tonight, but be ready to go tomorrow morning.”

    Surprising: One driver was surprisingly gracious in defeat, just missing the next round in competition.

    “I felt like we were in good position to advance, but you just can’t expect to advance by running 15th,” Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 HAAS Automation Chevrolet said. “You have to be more competitive. We gave it a good run, you know?”

    “We put this team together pretty late,” Busch continued. “Gene Haas believed in me to come in here and do this and thanks to Haas Automation and Chevrolet and great associate sponsors like Mobil 1 and State Water Heaters and Monster Energy.”

    “We don’t get to advance to the championship, but we can still run for pride and run for wins.”

    Not Surprising: Perhaps with a small nod to fellow racer Michael Waltrip’s stint on Dancing With the Stars, Kasey Kahne, who just squeaked into the next round of competition, told his pit crew that they would have to step it up after some struggles during the Dover race.

    “Well, these guys work hard,” Kahne said. “And we’ve struggled all season with that. But they work hard and I know they’ll keep working hard.”

    “I just told them if you guys want to go further, it’s time to step-up,” Kahne continued. “It’s time to put our best stuff out there. I know they want to. They’ll work hard this week.”

    “I’m going to work hard and we’re going to be prepared when we get to Kansas and hopefully we can keep moving on.”

     

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: New Hampshire Sylvania 300

    Surprising and Not Surprising: New Hampshire Sylvania 300

    In the second race of the Chase for NASCAR’s championship, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 18th annual Sylvania 300 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    Surprising: Instead of being magical, New Hampshire Motor Speedway proved to be more of a combination of Daytona, Darlington and Martinsville.

    The 303 lap race included a Daytona-like ‘big one’, many cars striping the wall similar to Darlington, and some typically short-track Martinsville-like beating and banging, especially during the restarts.

    David Ragan was involved in New Hampshire’s version of the ‘big one’, slamming hard into the wall after tangling with Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr. and then getting tagged after the wreck by Denny Hamlin to boot.

    “It was unfortunate,” Ragan, driver of the No. 32 Taco Bell Ford, said. “It looked like the 51 and 78 were both mad and they were running over each other. They kind of shot up the race track and that just kind of shot me up.”

    Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. was just one of many drivers who had a too close encounter with the New Hampshire wall, getting an even more severe stripe than at Darlington.

    “I blew a left-front,” the driver of the No. 17 EcoPower Ford said. “We were all just racing really, really hard on that restart. Everybody was bouncing off each other. I don’t know who hit my left-front, but it got a fender rub and just blew the left-front going down the front straightaway.”

    “I was trying to get it slowed down as much as I could, but it wasn’t gonna turn, so I just hit the wall.”

    Chaser Matt Kenseth and Paul Menard were just one pair that were duking it out like on a short track while on the Magic Mile. Both drivers spun, causing a 21st place finish for Kenseth while Menard soldiered on to finish 15th.

    “I got spun out on that wall up there,” the driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota said. “Menard said he wheel-hopped it in there and got into me.”

    Not Surprising: New England native Joey Logano, clicking his heels together in Victory Lane, proved that there truly is no place like home. Logano won his fourth race of the season at his home track and secured his place, along with his Penske teammate, in the next round of the Chase competition.

    “This is my home race track, the coolest place to win for me,” the driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford said. “I could never pick a better race track to win.”

    “I watched my first Cup race here when I was five and I won that other Cup race here (rain-shortened race), but I just felt like I had to win one the right way here, and this means so much.”

    This was Logano’s seventh career NASCAR victory and his second win at the Magic Mile.

    Surprising: Penske teammate Brad Keselowski emerged after the race surprisingly conflicted, in spite of finishing fourth in the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford.

    “I don’t know,” Keselowski said. “We had a lot of adversity. I made a few mistakes that got us behind, but Paul Wolfe (crew chief) and the crew did a great job of getting us back in position. It was kind of an up-and-down day and I guess we ended on an OK note.”

    “We finished seventh, but I was definitely looking for more than that,” Keselowski continued. “We certainly have a lot to be proud of, but there’s still a lot of work to do.”

    Not Surprising: It certainly was not surprising that Denny Hamlin’s post-race interview included the word crap as he battled a fueling issue and then got involved in a wreck to finish 37th in his No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota.

    “It’s so frustrating,” Hamlin said. “We just got bit by a mechanical deal. We’ve had them bite us in the Chase in the past, but I thought we were past that — but sometimes you roll the dice and you crap out.”

    “Today is that day for us.”

    Surprising: While Michael Waltrip lived to dance another day after being in the bottom three in ‘Dancing with the Stars’, his drivers both had decent top-15 runs at New Hampshire this race weekend.

    Vickers fared best in his No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, with a 10th place finish, while Clint Bowyer, expectant father, finished 14th.

    “The guys just did an awesome job with our Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota today,” Vickers said. “We had a really good race car — it was fast, we were one of the best cars in the corner today.”

    “The guys did a good job today, I’m really proud of them.”

    Not Surprising: Yes, the youngster did it again. Kyle Larson, the highest finishing rookie, scored the runner up finishing spot in his No. 42 Target Chevrolet.

    “It was a really good race for us,” Larson said. “Our Target Chevy wasn’t even a top-15 car the first 100 laps, and Shine (Chris Heroy, crew chief) and everybody on this Target team did a great job to get me in the game.”

    “They made some big changes there under the second or third caution, and it felt like a totally different race car.”

    This was Larson’s second top-10 finish in just two races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and his 13th top-10 finish of the season.

    Surprising: There was plenty of talk after the race yet again about restarts, from Kevin Harvick’s complaint about the restarts late in the race to other drivers commenting on the craziness of the multiple restarts, particularly the green-white-checkered finish.

    “And then at the end there, NASCAR must not be able to see the lines on the restart there and the No. 22 (Joey Logano) was way early all day,” Harvick said ruefully about the restarts after finishing third. “But all in all, we did what we had to do and I just enjoyed racing that hard.”

    “All those cautions are fairly frustrating,” Jamie McMurray said after finishing fourth in his No. 1 Belkin/WEMO Chevrolet. “I know it is fun to watch as a fan, but you are so panicked as a driver as to which lane you are going to get to restart in because that is critical.”

    “It was a wild day, especially with all of those restarts,” six-time champ Jimmie Johnson said. “Man I don’t know what it looked like from the grandstands today, but I can tell you that inside the car, I was hanging on trying not to spin out.”

    Not Surprising: The pendulum swung for Aric Almirola, whose engine blew up last weekend, to his sixth place finish this weekend in his No. 43 Smithfield Ford.

    “We’re down but we’re not out,” Almirola said. “We can only control what we can control and today we did that and did a good job and finished sixth.”

    “Last week it didn’t work out in our favor, but this week it did,” Almirola continued. “We’ll do the same thing at Dover and we’ll see what happens.”

    Surprising: Martin Truex, Jr. made another surprising comeback from two laps down just like last weekend to finish a respectable 12th place.

    “The guys didn’t quit on me today and I’m driving my heart out,” Truex said. “Though we made good adjustments today and came through at the end, we struggled for most of the weekend and need to work out some issues. But the guys worked hard and kept on making the car better.”

    “I never thought I would say this about New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but I wish the race was longer,” stated Truex. “We were moving forward and felt there were more cars that we could have passed.”

    Not Surprising: Next week will be anything but comfortable for the remaining Chase contenders fighting to go into the next round.

    “I wonder that the last race in each round may be quite eventful,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said about the next race in Dover after finishing ninth at the Magic Mile. “Guys are going to have to – you know on the last restarts or those last cautions guys that need those points and aren’t going to get them any other way are going to have to take some crazy gamble on tires, fuel.”

    “You are going to have some guys out there on old tires trying to hold people off and it’s going to cause a lot of traffic,” Junior continued. “It’s going to get tight. It’s going to get furious.”

     

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: MyAFibStory.com 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: MyAFibStory.com 400

    From Kevin Harvick swapping his pit crew to Marcos Ambrose announcing he will leave NASCAR at the season’s end, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 14th annual MyAFibStory.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

    Surprising: Brad Keselowski demonstrated his own version of the ‘Drive for Five’, winning his fifth race of the season and scoring the first win for Ford at Chicagoland Speedway.

    And with that victory, the driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford also punched his ticket to the Challenger round, one step closer to his championship goal.

    “We had a great Miller Lite Ford Fusion that I knew from the start would be good but man it was really awesome the last few runs,” Keselowski said. “We really dialed it in and the 2 crew did an excellent job. What a day. Man, I am still pumped.”

    “I am so thankful to be here,” Keselowski continued. “God that was sweet.”

    Not Surprising: They don’t call him ‘Big Daddy’ for nothing as second-place finisher Jeff Gordon had a fatherly consultation with third-place finisher rookie Kyle Larson after some hard racing between the two in the last few laps.

    “He was just giving me some advice there,” Larson said of his post-race chat with Gordon. “He was pretty proud of me. I’m sure there are some things I could have done differently on that restart, like he was telling me; and I’ll definitely know for next time.”

    “Oh my gosh, I was having a pretty good time watching Kyle (Larson)and Kevin (Harvick) go at it in front of me,” Jeff Gordon said. “I didn’t know what was going to happen. I thought for sure there was going to be a wreck. But that’s just two guys that are wheeling it.”

    “I’m really proud of Kyle Larson,” Gordon continued. “Man, what a great effort; such a young talent. I really wanted to see him win that race because I like him, but I didn’t want to see those other guys win it either.”

    “This Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet was really solid. The whole team effort was extremely solid.”

    After his third place finish, Gordon sits just seven points behind Keselowski in the Chase race.

    Surprising: There may be some very interesting conversations between brothers and significant others after the race, especially given the contact between the Busch brothers and between Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    “I got in the corner in bad air and just got in the corner real tight and finally it bit and went down and Kurt (Busch) was on my inside already plugging the hole but I didn’t even know there was room for a car down there,” Kyle Busch said after finishing seventh to Kurt’s eighth place run. “We just got together and luckily we all saved it and salvaged on.”

    “I heard my spotter say that the 14 (Tony Stewart) was below me on track, and I didn’t know the 17 (Stenhouse) was there on the high side of the track,” Danica Patrick said. “My spotter took the blame on that one.”

    “I just didn’t know Ricky was up there, and I obviously don’t want to hit his car or anyone else with 10 laps to go. I talked with Ricky afterward, and we’re fine. It’s just a tough deal. We finished 19th even with the damage, so it was a decent run.”

    Not Surprising: With one team member in Victory Lane, the other member of Team Penske showed his strength by scoring a fourth place finish in spite of an overheating engine that gave up the ghost coming to the checkered flag.

    “We hit a piece of debris with about five to go,” Joey Logano said. “I say piece but it was huge. I think it was a tear-off and we got really hot but the car started handling really good when it was on there and we got another spot because of it.”

    “We blew up going into three and just had a big smoke screen behind me but I was able to get it across.”

    Surprising: The races gods were for once on the side of Martin Truex Jr., who got two laps back late in the race to finish 14th.

    “It felt good to get a little lucky,” the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet said. “We were a 15th to 20th place car all day. We could never get track position. The first run of the race was really bad — it got us a lap down early. It took us forever to get back on the lead lap.”

    “The key for us today was picking up two laps late in the race,” Truex Jr. continued. “We stayed out as long as we could when other cars pitted under green. And when the caution came out shortly after we were the Lucky Dog. I can’t recall ever picking up two laps that quickly.”

    “It’s been a tough year for us with bad breaks so today we got a break that went our way that got us to a decent finish.”

    Not Surprising: Heartbroken cannot even begin to describe Aric Almirola’s day at Chicagoland. The driver of the No. 43 Eckrich Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports had his Chase chances all but dashed as he finished 41st after an engine failure.

    “Heartbroken I think is the easiest way to describe it,” Almirola said. ““I think the motor just let go. We rarely have any engine issues at all. It happened but we had a lot of horsepower while it lasted.”

    “We will regroup and go to Loudon and Dover and try to be spectacular,” Almirola continued. “We have to win. That is it. There is no other option. We have to go and figure out how we can win one of the next two races.”

    Surprising: ‘Mr. Consistent’ Matt Kenseth made a surprisingly uncharacteristic mistake, spinning on pit road coming in for a pit stop.

    “We just weren’t very good today,” the driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota said. “Just a struggle, we showed a lot of speed most of the weekend but just could never get it today where I wanted it to be.”

    Kenseth finished tenth in the race and also sits tenth in the point standings, 25 points behind Keselowski.

    Not Surprising: After blowing up in the Nationwide race, it was no wonder that Denny Hamlin was having thoughts of déjà vu all over again in the Cup race.

    “The engine changed tones quite a bit and I was very, very gun shy from yesterday,” the driver of the No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota Camry, said. “Probably a little more spooked than what I normally would be.”

    “It held together. Overall, pretty happy with our performance. Just got to get a little bit better.”

    Hamlin finished sixth and is 18 points behind leader Keselowski in the Chase race.

    Surprising: Jimmie Johnson, who usually lights up during the Chase, was surprisingly and conspicuously quiet. The six-time champ discretely finished the Chicagoland race in the twelfth spot and now sits eighth in the standings, 18 points behind the leader.

    Not Surprising: Dale Earnhardt Jr. was not alone in hoping that the next two tracks will be better for his championship chances after an eleventh place finish.

    “This has been a tough weekend,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet said. “We weren’t very good in practice. I was really, really concerned.”

    “We didn’t have a good car at all,” Junior continued. “But I feel like this team can run for 11th on its worst day. That will do it.”

    “That will get us through the next round until we get to some tracks that maybe we run a little bit better at, or tracks that suit us a little bit better.”

     

  • Hot 20 – Long Term Product Branding Works on the Range, but Holds Little Appeal for NASCAR

    Hot 20 – Long Term Product Branding Works on the Range, but Holds Little Appeal for NASCAR

    I had hoped to announce the NASCAR Ron Thornton series, but I came up about $200 million short. Instead, the former Busch series and soon to be former Nationwide series shall be the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the next 10 years. Oh, so close.

    Just as NASCAR holds no respect for branding its events long term, the same goes for its touring series. Thankfully, the top circuit remains the Cup tour, as in Winston, Nextel, and Sprint. Mind you, it was referred to as Strictly Stock in 1949 before becoming the Grand National tour a year later. That got tossed in favor of the Winston Cup in 1972, becoming in 1986 part of the new name for the former Sportsman series, then called the Busch Grand National Series until 2003. Thankfully, the truck series is the truck series, no matter who sponsors it. At least something remains consistent. You would think with all them smart folks working for them, someone would have gotten a grasp on the concept of branding. Maybe they need fewer smart guys and more cowboys.

    Now looking forward to Richmond. Looking back at last year, Clint Bowyer did what he was told, and it cost his then teammate a place in the Chase. Spin-gate was a year ago at Richmond, and while Martin Truex Jr. did not make the playoff in 2014, it appears Bowyer is in tough to repeat this year. He needs to make up a 23 point deficit on Greg Biffle and then hope nobody takes their first win of the season at Richmond. Truex lost his ride and had to find another, while I doubt Biffle will go for a spin to help his cause.

    It is interesting to note NASCAR granted Tony Stewart a waiver that would allow him a Chase spot if he wins on Saturday night. Part one of the Chase notes declared a driver needed to be in the top 30 in points – that was accomplished. The second part was a driver must qualify for each of the races leading up to the Chase – unless waived due to circumstances, say medical reasons. NASCAR deemed Stewart to fall under the “extraordinary” circumstances and granted the waiver. Still, he has to win to get in – but that’s another story.

    The whole reason for the Chase and new playoff format this year is to create some drama and higher ratings. Win and you are in has been exciting, though Biffle, Bowyer, or both could be denied a place they would have taken a year ago. The elimination format should be interesting as those eligible for the title get pared down by four every three events, leaving four to battle it out for the crown at Homestead. Of course, there will be 39 other guys and gal out there as well to provide some hamburger helper to bulk up the few steaks out there.

    I still like the idea of a real playoff, with the top 20 and only the top 20 competing over the final five races to see who is the best. There is no way you could send cars home ten races short, but we once had 31 race seasons and some might want those days to return. Failing to qualify for the Chase would then be one way to realize a shortened season and a longer rest, though not a desirable option. Who knows, maybe it is an idea that will find traction in the future. In the meantime, let the Chasing and the eliminations begin after we take care of business at Richmond.

    As for our search for the best over the course of an entire season, these standings reflect if winners were given a 25 (rather than a 3) point bonus.

     

    1 – Jeff Gordon – 3 Wins – 937 Points
    2 – Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 3 – 917
    3 – Joey Logano – 3 – 857
    4 – Brad Keselowski – 3 – 848
    5 – Jimmie Johnson – 3 – 832
    6 – Carl Edwards – 2 – 799
    7 – Matt Kenseth – 0 – 794
    8 – Kevin Harvick – 2 – 792
    9 – Ryan Newman – 0 – 747
    10 – Kasey Kahne – 1 – 730
    11 – Greg Biffle – 0 – 728
    12 – Clint Bowyer – 0 – 705
    13 – Kyle Larson – 0 – 704
    14 – Kyle Busch – 1 – 679
    15 – Paul Menard – 0 – 675
    16 – Austin Dillon – 0 – 674
    17 – Jamie McMurray – 0 – 666
    18 – Denny Hamlin – 1 – 658
    19 – Brian Vickers – 0 – 650
    20 – Kurt Busch – 1 – 636

     

  • The Final Word – A Kahne-Do Spirit Trumps a Fast Car, a Fast Pit Crew, and Two Brats at Atlanta

    The Final Word – A Kahne-Do Spirit Trumps a Fast Car, a Fast Pit Crew, and Two Brats at Atlanta

    Atlanta was a race we thought would be decided by a driver who had a great car, one who had a great pit crew, or one who was simply too desperate for victory to be denied. In the end, it was decided by two guys who turned their high-powered machines into bumper cars to force a green-white-checker…or two.

    Kevin Harvick had the car. He dominated the race, but when it came time to go to extra time he had a bit of ground to make up. Paul Menard, after a two tire stop, could not get going on the re-start. Harvick clipped him, and then Menard squeezed up to the wall as the two fresh tired Joey Logano came up behind. Harvick went from challenging for a win to being challenged by the wall. He finished 19th.

    Denny Hamlin had the pit crew. 11-seconds and a tick were what they were giving him every stop, and he used the advantage to stay up near the front. By the time the smoke cleared, he was still up there, just two positions back of where he had hoped to finish.

    Kasey Kahne wanted a win. He needed a win. He got by Hamlin with just over twenty laps remaining, then fended off Harvick, and it seemed that would be how they would finish, Kahne, Harvick, Hamlin…then it was time to waste away in Moronoville.

    Not sure what prompted it, but with under a handful of laps left, Kyle Busch went into the rear of Martin Truex Jr. Then did it again. They he got tagged back, as the two proceeded to dance the auto tango to bring out the caution. They even had words later, with Rowdy in his car and Truex leaning in to chat. Neither mattered much on this day, but their spat could have affected things.

    Well, it did affect Harvick’s finish, though it matters little at this stage. It did allow Matt Kenseth to duel Kahne in a battle of the winless for the decision in the second G-W-C attempt, but Kahne survived to win his Chase place while Kenseth locked himself a berth on points. In the end, all was right with the world.

    Not for Clint Bowyer. He hold on a Chase place went to crap along with his shifter. It broke and he fell laps back to fall right out of the Chase. A win at Richmond, or he is left hoping for a repeat winner along with finishing well ahead of Greg Biffle on Saturday.

    Anyone still in the Top 33 still has a shot at a spot in the Chase, but they need a win next week to pull that off. That makes Danica Patrick still a contender, and a sixth place finish at Atlanta made a bunch of happy reporters. Still, I will wait for a couple of back-to-back Top Fifteens before I get too warm and fuzzy about it. I mean, Aric Almirola also had a Top Ten, but no one seemed quite ready just yet to snap up his autographed bikini photos in celebration.

    It was nice Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards had pretty good finishes, or even that Junior was 11th even on a day he was a non-factor. Too bad for Jeff Gordon, who looked good early before a tire and his hopes went away at about the same time. Tony Stewart was back, looked great the first few laps, but then Kyle Busch squeezed him into the grinder to damper his hopes. A blown tire a little later ended them. Still, it was good to see him back.

    With Richmond coming up this Saturday night, it comes down to this. 13 drivers are in the Chase through wins this season and one is in on points. That leaves two open. Give one to Ryan Newman. As you check these standings, you will see that as long as Biffle does not make any great gains on him, or Newman blows up early, the Rocket is in. As for Biffle, it comes down to trying to catch Newman, holding off Bowyer, and hoping for a repeat winner…unless the winner is a guy named Greg. That would be fine by him.

    So Richmond will be all about Newman, Biffle, and Bowyer, and the identity of the driver that wins. Nothing else really matters, but at least that keeps things rather simple.

    The Locked in chasers…
    1 – Jeff Gordon – 3 Wins – 871 Points
    2 – Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 3 – 851
    3 – Joey Logano – 3 – 791
    4 – Brad Keselowski – 3 – 782
    5 – Jimmie Johnson – 3 – 766
    6 – Carl Edwards – 2 – 755
    7 – Kevin Harvick – 2 – 748
    8 – Kasey Kahne – 1 – 708
    9 – Kyle Busch – 1 – 657
    10 – Denny Hamlin – 1 – 636
    11 – Kurt Busch – 1 – 614
    12 – Aric Almirola – 1 – 594
    13 – A.J. Allmendinger – 1 – 590
    14 – Matt Kenseth – 0 – 794

    One is in, but no guarantee as to another…
    15 – Ryan Newman – 0 Wins – 747 Points
    16 – Greg Biffle – 0 – 728
    17 – Clint Bowyer – 0 – 705
    18 – Kyle Larson – 0 – 704

    A Win to be in…
    19 – Paul Menard – 0 Wins – 675 Points
    20 – Austin Dillon – 0 – 674
    21 – Jamie McMurray – 0 – 666
    22 – Brian Vickers – 0 – 650
    23 – Marcos Ambrose – 0 – 628
    24 – Casey Mears – 0 – 583
    25 – Martin Truex, Jr. – 0 – 561
    26 – Tony Stewart – 0 – 540
    27 – Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. – 0 – 538
    28 – Danica Patrick – 0 – 500
    29 – Justin Allgaier – 0 – 443
    30 – Michael Annett – 0 – 393

    A win…and 30th or better…
    31 – David Gilliland – 0 Wins – 392 Points
    32 – David Ragan – 0 – 370
    33 – Cole Whitt – 0 – 353

     

     

     

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Oral-B USA 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Oral-B USA 500

    With an intense heat radiating from the track and an even more intense return to the track for Tony Stewart, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 55th annual Oral-B USA 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

    Surprising: Kasey Kahne ended his Hendrick Motorsports lonely boy status with a thrilling green-white-checkered win to join his teammates Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Jeff Gordon in Victory Lane and in the Chase.

    “It was kind of like you just know that you have to win,” the driver of the No. 5 Farmer’s Insurance Chevrolet said. “I told a friend that this week, like I just kept saying, I have to win.”

    “That was, it was all that I could think about,” Kahne continued. “I knew Atlanta was a better opportunity for myself to win at than Richmond. But I just knew that tonight was that — you know, we needed it.”

    “When I came off Turn 4 and I could see the checkered, right there is the first time I knew I was in The Chase and it was such a relief.”

    Not Surprising: He might not have been a winner, but Matt Kenseth’s second place finish, as well as his consistency all season long, earned him a place in the Chase race, post-Atlanta.

    “That was the goal, to have all three JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) cars in the Chase and we were able to accomplish that,” the driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Husky Toyota said. “The ultimate goal is for one of us to be able to win the championship.”

    “I feel like we’re gaining on it,” Kenseth continued. “I’m not a huge believer in momentum, but yet I feel like everyone is really clicking together and working well together and the stops are good.”

    “I feel like we’re doing everything right right now, we just need a little more speed to be able to start getting those wins.”

    Surprising: Move over Janet Guthrie as there is a new girl in town at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Danica Patrick, after taking the checkered flag in sixth, scored the highest finish by a female at the track. Janet Guthrie had previously held that record by finishing tenth at Atlanta on March 19th, 1978.

    “It was a long night,” the driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet said. “Man, that race felt like it was 700 miles. Sometimes when you are running well they feel like that because you are hoping it stays there, keeps going well, and you keep improving and don’t lose it.”

    “There were definitely a couple of times late in the race when we fell back,” Patrick continued. “In the middle of the race the GoDaddy car was very good. We took a little step back, and then it came back in the end.”

    Patrick was also the strongest running Stewart Haas Racing team member as her teammates Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart finished 13th, 19th and 41st respectively.

    Not Surprising: With the pressure of making the Chase reigning supreme, it was no wonder that all kinds of freaky things happened on the track. One of the most freakish occurred towards the beginning of the race when a cat or a squirrel ran for his life in right in front of race leader Kevin Harvick.

    “That was a cat,” Harvick proclaimed. “The cat ran across the backstretch. That would have been a big mess.”

    Clint Bowyer also experienced some freakiness when his gear shifter broke, Marcos Ambrose blew an engine, AJ Allmendinger had problems with a hub and fender brace and Michael Annett lost one of his contact lenses on Lap 150.

    Surprising: Young Kyle Larson was surprisingly dejected after finishing as the Sunoco Rookie of the Race yet again with an eighth place finish.

    “Yeah, it was a tough race,” the driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet said. “The first corner or so I felt pretty good. For whatever reason, we got pretty tight in the center and I couldn’t roll the bottom like I wanted to. Really couldn’t go anywhere.”

    “Doesn’t really matter anymore because Kasey won,”Larson continued. “So happy for Kasey, but that pretty much ends our Chase hopes.  Unless we win.”

    “But Top-10 is not bad.”

    Not Surprising: He may have had a rough night with a tire down early in the race resulting in a 17th place finish, but Jeff Gordon was still no doubt savoring his milestone 750th career start.

    “That’s a big number,” the driver of the No. 24 Panasonic Chevrolet, said. “I hadn’t thought about it a whole lot until I saw a decal made up and I was like ‘Man, that’s a lot of races, especially in a row.’”

    “Really proud of that,” Gordon continued. “It’s been an amazing career in the Cup Series. I’ve had a lot of good moments. Luckily for me, they far outweigh the bad moments.”

    Surprising: Roush Fenway Racing had a surprisingly good night, putting two of its cars into the top-five, with Carl Edwards in fifth and Greg Biffle in tenth. While Edwards is already locked into the Chase with two wins, Biffle needed that solid run to keep his Chase hopes alive.

    “That was crazy,” the driver of the No. 99 Subway Ford said. “Those last couple of restarts were really fun. I hate that we tore up a bunch of cars, but it was definitely exciting.”

    “I hope we’re ready for the Chase.”

    “If the 5 wouldn’t have won, we would have been close to getting locked in with the way all the points shook out,” the driver of the No. 16 Ortho Ford said. “I don’t think we would have been able to lose two spots, but it is what it is.”

    “We’ve got to race as hard as we can,” Biffle continued. “We know if one of those guys behind us wins next week it bumps us out, so we’ll run as hard as we can.”

    Not Surprising: In his own quiet, unassuming fashion, Aric Almirola, Chase participant by virtue of his win in the rain at Daytona, finished top-ten at Atlanta, catapulting himself from 14th to ninth on the last restart.

    “We had a solid night,” the driver of the No. 43 Eckrich Ford said. “I just went through turns one and two and ran wide-open. I hooked my left-front around the top seam and it was just like the seas parted and I drove right through there.”

    “Anytime you can walk away from Atlanta with a top 10 after the last six weeks that we’ve had, it was nice to walk away with a car that wasn’t crashed.”

    Surprising: Kyle Busch made a surprisingly good choice to stay in his car with his helmet on after the race as he and his crew chief Dave Rogers were angrily confronted by Martin Truex Jr. Busch and Truex got together late in the race, resulting in a 23rd place finish for Truex while Busch took the checkered flag in the 16th spot.

    “We had handling issues all night — couldn’t drive off the corners,” Truex Jr. said. “But we hung in there, fighting for every possible position until Kyle (Busch), for whatever reason, ran into the back of me, causing pretty good damage to our car.”

    “I passed him clean earlier and then he comes back and hits me from behind,” Truex Jr. continued. “It was totally uncalled for and hard to figure out why he did what he did. We were in the top-15 when that happened and had a chance of picking off a few more positions.”

    Not Surprising: Ryan Newman’s top-ten finish now puts his Chase hopes squarely into his own hands. Regardless if there is a repeat winner or if Kenseth pulls off a Richmond win, Newman gets to compete for the championship if he finishes 41st or better; or 42nd with one lap led minimum; or 43rd after leading the most laps.

    If there is a new winner at Richmond next week, Newman gets into the Chase with an 18th or better finish; 19th and one lap led; or 20th with the most laps led.