Tag: Matt Kenseth

Two Champions, Two Races, One Victor

NASCAR is gearing up for a duel in the desert with the penultimate event of the longest season in sports just a few days away. With 3rd place Kevin Harvick facing a 40 point deficit, this title bout has become a showdown between two proven champions and worthy adversaries. Jimmie Johnson is seeking a 6th title which would only further solidify his place among racing’s immortals while Matt Kenseth hopes to secure a second championship ten years after his first. The two went into Texas deadlocked and despite the now seven point advantage Jimmie Johnson holds, it’s nearly impossible to ascertain who will emerge victorious when the checkered flag falls in Miami.

Phoenix International Raceway

Jimmie Johnson vs. Matt Kenseth

20 starts vs. 22 starts

6.4 av. finish vs. 17.3 av. finish

4 wins vs. 1 win

13 T5’s vs. 5 T5’s

16 T10s vs. 9 T10’s

932 laps led vs. 212 laps led

Homestead Miami Speedway

Jimmie Johnson vs. Matt Kenseth

12 starts vs. 13 starts

15.3 av. finish vs. 17.6 av. finish

0 wins vs. 1 win

4 T5’s vs. 3 T5’s

7 T10’s vs.5 T10’s

99 laps led vs. 305 laps led

The stats say that Jimmie will most likely augment his points lead at Phoenix and that it could go either way at Homestead. As Matt Kenseth has proven on more than one occasion this year though, the stats mean very little in the whole scheme of things now that he’s with JGR. We went to Martinsville and most were ready to just hand 5-time the grandfather clock before the race even commenced but at the end of the day, Kenseth had shocked us all by retaking the points lead after out-performing Johnson in what has become his playground. At Texas, the pendulum swung back in the 48’s favor and the gap between these future HOF’ers grew to seven points.

To put it in perspective, Jimmie Johnson didn’t even have one championship to his credit the last time Kenseth won a title nor did the chase even exist so I guess you could say that JGR’s newest edition is starving for another Cup. The way this chase has gone, it seems that every time one of these titans of NASCAR outdoes one, the other steps up to the plate the following weekend evening the score. If that pattern persists, we may see a deadlock at the top of the standings going into the finale; a track the two seem evenly matched at based on previous races.

I see one of two scenario’s unfolding in the penultimate event at PIR; either Jimmie Johnson extends his points lead by a few markers or Kenseth digs deep and washes away the small, but crucial separation between the two at the moment. Seven points may not seem like a lot (and it isn’t), but check out this stat regarding the 2013 chase…

Chase Race #1: Matt Kenseth gains 8pts on Jimmie Johnson

Chase Race #2: Matt Kenseth gains 7pts on Jimmie Johnson

Chase Race #3: Jimmie Johnson gains 10pts on Matt Kenseth

Chase Race #4: Jimmie Johnson gains 5pts on Matt Kenseth

Chase Race #5: Matt Kenseth gains 1pt on Jimmie Johnson

Chase Race #6: Jimmie Johnson gains 8pts on Matt Kenseth

Chase Race #7: Matt Kenseth gains 4pts on Jimmie Johnson

Chase Race #8: Jimmie Johnson gains 7pts on Matt Kenseth

The largest points swing in this entire chase between Kenseth and Johnson was when Jimmie gained 10 points on Matt at Dover. In my honest opinion, if Matt loses anymore ground at Phoenix, he won’t be able to win the championship without Johnson being plagued by problems with the kind of results these guys have been laying down on a weekly basis. I mean they are making 6th place finishes look like bad days! It is imperative that Kenseth chips at least a couple points off of Jimmie’s lead heading into Homestead where fate will probably have the two stuck together the whole day so if he’s trailing by too much, a win may not even be enough to secure him the crown if his title rival is close by.

This clash of the titans is sure to come down to the wire and I believe it will be just as epic and riveting as the duel between Stewart and Edwards back in 2011. These two have been performing at a level that everyone, including their own teammates can only dream of and I don’t see either one of these rock solid racers fumbling in the final two events. Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth are interchangeable with their demeanor, their driving style and their raw talent behind the wheel of a race car. They can’t be rattled by mind games, they can’t force the other into a mistake, neither has an obvious weakness or Achilles Heel if you will. They are near infallible. I obviously can’t foretell a mechanical failure or blown tire but I don’t see this one coming down to a foolish mistake by one or the other but rather an on-track battle that ends with one prevailing by the slightest of margins in an enthralling dogfight for the coveted Sprint Cup championship.

Additional notes:

The stats say that Jimmie will most likely augment his points lead at Phoenix and that it could go either way at Homestead. The odds are certainly in Jimmie’s favor too as Bwin.com see him as their favorite for Sunday’s race. As Matt Kenseth has proven on more than one occasion this year though, the stats mean very little in the whole scheme of things now that he’s with JGR. We went to Martinsville and most were ready to just hand 5-time the grandfather clock before the race even commenced but at the end of the day, Kenseth had shocked us all by retaking the points lead after out-performing Johnson in what has become his playground. At Texas, the pendulum swung back in the 48′s favor and the gap between these future HOF’ers grew to seven points.

November 6, 2013

Hot 20 over the Chase Eight – Good just isn’t good enough when great is what it takes in the Chase

Average a Top Ten finish and you are doing good. Very good. Yet, good is not good enough when it comes to the Chase. Such is the case when there are those who are running great.

Over the past eight Chase events, Jimmie Johnson is averaging better than a fifth place finish. Matt Kenseth has a couple of wins and an average result of just over sixth place. Mere mortals can not compete against that, at least not until someone develops clay feet and returns to earth. If there is any Kryptonite out there, it better turn up at Phoenix and/or Homestead if it is going to do any good for those who have been, well, just good.

Kevin Harvick has been damn good in the Chase. In fact, he would be considered great if not for those other two boys. Dale Earnhardt Jr has done better than a tenth place average. If not for that damn engine blowing up in Chicago.

Ordinarily, during the opening 26 races of the season, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, and Clint Bowyer would have been very pleased. If this had been their first eight, and not their last, they would have thought themselves walking in tall cotton. Even Jamie McMurray and Jeff Burton, both outside the ten best in the Chase events, would have had cause for optimism. Unfortunately for them, this is the time of year when good just is not good enough. Not even very good cuts the mustard.

So, unless bad things happen to good…er…great people at the top of the leader board, there are just two names being considered for etching onto the trophy. Then again, if Junior, Kyle, and Jeff can find themselves outside the Top 30 in a race, there is always a chance that great over eight might not be good enough, either. That is why we will be watching the action from Phoenix on Sunday and why Harvick is still optimistic he could yet leave Homestead, well, happy.

	Driver	Wins	T-5	T-10	Points	Ave. Finish	Best	Worst
1	Jimmie Johnson	2	6	7	330	4.87	1	13
2	Matt Kenseth	2	5	6	320	6.12	1 (x2)	20
3	Kevin Harvick	1	2	6	296	7.75	1	20
4	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	0	3	6	280	9.75	2	35
5	Kyle Busch	0	5	5	278	10.12	2	34
6	Jeff Gordon	1	3	5	273	11.00	1	38
7	Clint Bowyer	0	1	5	273	10.50	3	17
8	Greg Biffle	0	1	3	266	11.12	3	16 (x2)
9	Joey Logano	0	3	3	248	13.62	3 (x2)	37
10	Brad Keselowski	1	2	4	248	14.00	1	37
11	Kurt Busch	0	2	2	246	13.37	2	21
12	Jamie McMurray	1	2	3	245	14.00	1	31
13	Martin Truex, Jr.	0	0	2	231	15.25	8	22
14	Jeff Burton	0	0	1	230	15.62	8	24
15	Ryan Newman	0	0	5	224	16.62	8 (x2)	38
16	Carl Edwards	0	1	3	220	17.00	5	37
17	Paul Menard	0	1	2	218	16.75	4	24
18	Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.	0	1	2	211	17.75	3	31
19	Kasey Kahne	0	2	2	209	18.37	2	37
20	Denny Hamlin	0	0	3	204	18.62	7 (x2)	38

November 6, 2013

Monica Palumbo Primed and Ready for Her Favorite Event NASCAR After The Lap™

For the fifth year in a row, NASCAR After The Lap™ will be back in Las Vegas during champion’s week and at least one of the co-hosts Monica Palumbo is primed and ready for her ‘favorite’ event.

Palumbo, former Miss Sprint Cup and current reporter for NASCAR Race Hub on Fox Sports 1, will be sharing the hosting duties with Marty Smith of ESPN. Palumbo will be handling the fans in the crowd, while Smith will be managing the drivers on stage.

The event this year will take place on Thursday, December 5^th at 5:00 PM at the Pearl Palms Concert Theater inside the Palms Casino Hotel.

“I actually worked NASCAR After The Lap™ twice already and it’s my favorite event because the guys are so loose and it’s an intimate setting,” Palumbo said. “You can see it on nascar.com but it’s not televised so I feel like it’s a little bit more special.”

“The drivers are really showing off their personalities that you don’t necessarily get to see throughout the season,” Palumbo continued. “It’s just one of my favorite events.”

Palumbo advised that her role at the event will be one of liaison between the crowd, sponsors and the drivers, however, the emphasis from her perspective is indeed on the fans in this unique event.

“It’s a very fan-friendly event and that’s one thing NASCAR is really big on,” Palumbo said. “It’s about the fans first.”

“They are going to have notecards so the audience can submit their questions in advance,” Palumbo continued. “Then I’ll go through them and pick out the questions to be asked.”

“So, I’ll be out there taking questions from the audience and making sure everybody has a good time.”

Palumbo is also primed and ready for the sweepstakes and giveaways that accompany the NASCAR After The Lap™ event. This year, fans can win an all-inclusive VIP trip to Las Vegas for the event, trips to either the 2014 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte or the 2014 Ford Ecoboost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, as well as the grand prize, a 2014 Ford F-150 Tremor.

“I’m really excited about the big sweepstakes,” Palumbo said. “They’re giving away a 2014 Ford Tremor, which is pretty awesome.”

“Coca Cola and Ford are both giving away tickets to the Coca Cola 600 and the Ford Champions Week for 2014,” Palumbo continued. “So, the sweepstakes winners will be there and they will also have a shot to win a car.”

“We’ll be doing that in the audience as well, which is pretty cool to get a free car.”

Palumbo is also primed and ready to get to Las Vegas, a place that she assesses as ‘perfect’ for this type of fan-interactive post-season event.

“Vegas itself just equals celebration to me,” Palumbo said. “So, I feel like it is a fun event.”

“Everybody is so relaxed,” Palumbo continued. “The season is over and it’s a time for celebration.”

So, who is Palumbo predicting will be in the champion’s seat for the event and at the head table come banquet time?

“It’s definitely down to Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth now and we know how well they are both running,” Palumbo said. “We know that Jimmie is so great at Phoenix so it’s really a toss-up between the two.”

“I can’t even bet on either one,” Palumbo continued. “I’m ready to put my money down on one but I can’t because I don’t want to lose.”

“Everybody is on pins and needles because we know Jimmie can do it obviously,” Palumbo said. “But Matt Kenseth is really giving him a run for his money.”

“I think the fans love seeing that and the two drivers are definitely keeping it exciting.”

Palumbo is also primed and ready for the NASCAR After The Lap™ event because of where the proceeds go, helping individuals, children and families in need through the NASCAR Foundation, a nonprofit charitable organization.

“The tickets are only $20 and all the money, one hundred percent of the proceeds, goes to the NASCAR Foundation, which is unreal,” Palumbo said. “It’s probably one of the best charity events where all of the drivers are together in a relaxed way, cutting up with each other, joking about incidents that have happened during the year, and some have even gotten up and danced.”

“It’s a great event to get the drivers out of their element,” Palumbo continued. “There is not an event like this throughout the whole season.”

“This is a one of a kind,” Palumbo said. “You might have the drivers together for media day but they are so focused on that race.”

“This is the end of the season and they can all breathe,” Palumbo continued. “They’re all ready to have a good time, hang out with the fans and answer their questions.”

“There is just nothing like it.

Palumbo is not alone in her enthusiasm for the NASCAR After The Lap™ event.

“Celebrating its fifth consecutive season, NASCAR After The Lap has evolved into one of the most talked about events of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion’s Week™ and provides two long-standing partners, Ford and Coca-Cola, a valuable platform to connect with our brand-loyal fan base,” Norris Scott, NASCAR vice president of marketing, said. “It is an event unlike any other in sports that gives our fans the chance to see the drivers with their helmets off and their guard down.”

“Over the last five years as event sponsor, Ford has enjoyed some remarkable and very unpredictable moments with our NASCAR drivers,” Tim Duerr, motorsports marketing manager for Ford Racing, said. “The NASCAR after the Lap Sweepstakes continues to provide Ford with a great avenue to engage with fans by offering them a chance to not only win a trip out to Las Vegas, but also an opportunity to go home with a brand-new 2014 Ford F150 Tremor.”

“This sponsorship delivers results to Ford on many levels.”

“As a long-time partner, Coca-Cola is proud to celebrate the 2013 season with the stars of NASCAR at this year’s NASCAR After The Lap,” Ben Reiling, director of motorsports for Coca-Cola North America Group, said. “In our fifth year as an event sponsor, we are offering fans a stellar experience to interact directly with members of our Coca-Cola Racing Family and a chance to win a trip to our marquee event, the Coca-Cola 600.”

“We’re looking forward to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion’s Week and it’s definitely going to be a wild ride.”

For more information or to purchase tickets, fans can visit www.NASCARafterthelap.com.

For fans unable to attend in person, NASCAR.com will offer a live stream of the event.

November 5, 2013
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Texas

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson led 255 of 334 laps in a dominant win at Texas, his sixth win of the year. Johnson now leads Matt Kenseth, who finished fourth, by seven points in the Sprint Cup points standings.

“I had the same seven-point lead after Texas last November,” Johnson said, “and didn’t win the championship. I’m hoping this is one time when I don’t repeat.”

2. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished fourth in the AAA Texas 500, slowed by a pit road speeding penalty midway through the race. Jimmie Johnson won and took a seven-point lead in the points standings.

“I’m neither throwing in the towel,” Kenseth said, “nor am I waving the white flag. Ask anyone, except Carl Edwards, and they’ll tell you there’s no surrender in me.”

3. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt took the runner-up spot at Texas, following Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson across the line. It was Earnhardt’s third second-place finish of the Chase.

“There have been a lot of great drivers who have never won a Cup,” Earnhardt said. “Hopefully, I can put myself in that category some day.”

4. Jeff Gordon: One week after victory at Martinsville, disaster struck for Gordon at Texas, as a blown tire on lap 74 sent him into the wall. He eventually finished 38th, 187 laps down, and tumbled to sixth in the points, 69 out of first.

“Are you sure this is the AAA 500 and not the NRA 500?” Gordon said. “Because my championship hopes are ‘shot.’”

5 .Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished eighth at Texas and is now third in the points standings, 40 out of first.

“Will I be happier at Stewart-Haas Racing?” Harvick said. “Well, as Richard Childress has clearly stated, it’s all relative.”

6. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer came home tenth in the AAA Texas 500, posting his 18th top 10 of the year. He is seventh in the Sprint Cup points standings, 69 out of first.

“This race in Texas wasn’t sponsored by the NRA,” Bowyer said. “In hindsight, maybe the race in Richmond should have been sponsored by the NRA, because there was a second amendment made to the Chase field afterwards.”

7. Kyle Busch: Busch, who won at Texas in April, finished 13th on Sunday in the AAA 500. Like many drivers, Busch’s day was hindered by a blown tire suffered early in the race.

“The blown tire put me in a hole early,” Busch said. “I felt much like a North Carolina state trooper chasing me, because I was playing catch up.”

8. Greg Biffle: Biffle finished 12th at Texas, leading one lap after starting 18th. He is eighth in the points standings, 73 behind Jimmie Johnson.

“I apologized to Johnson for my actions at Martinsville,” Biffle said. “It was only the second most controversial ‘spin’ move in NASCAR this year. Maybe I shouldn’t have grabbed Jimmie from behind, but that’s where I always seem to find myself.”

9. Joey Logano: Logano finished third in the AAA Texas 500, posting his first top-5 result since a fourth at Kansas in early October.

“It felt good to run with the big dogs,” Logano said, “instead of from them.”

10. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski led 30 laps and finished sixth in the AAA Texas 500 at Texas, one day after winning the Nationwide Series race.

“I may not repeat as champion,” Keselowski said, “but the future is bright for this 29-year-old. I see nothing but clear, sunny skies ahead, because the ‘reign’ is over.”

November 5, 2013
Surprising and Not Surprising: AAA Texas 500

As the race for the six shooters and black cowboy hat moved from afternoon into evening, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the ninth annual AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Surprising: Although no one could argue about the strength of Jimmie Johnson’s performance and victory at Texas, when it came time to discuss the Chase and the battle with Matt Kenseth, now seven points behind Johnson, there were some fighting words involved.

“I have been watching a lot of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighting lately, and you’ll fall into a rhythm and think that somebody has got the fight won, and it doesn’t end that way,” Johnson said. “That’s how this is going to be.”

“Matt didn’t have maybe the best day and still finished fourth,” Johnson continued. “This thing is going to go to the last lap at Homestead.”

“I think this is just going to be a dog fight there,” Rick Hendrick, Johnson’s team owner, said. “I think it’s going to be the last lap at Homestead because the teams are that close.”

“It’s going to be a war,” Coach Joe Gibbs, Kenseth’s team owner, said. “And I just hope we all survive.”

Not Surprising: Dale Earnhardt Jr. acknowledged Jimmie Johnson’s dominance best, telling his crew chief Steve Letarte that his car won even though he finished second for the third time to his five-time champion teammate.

“He (Johnson) was in a class of his own,” Dale Junior said. “We were joking that he won the DP but we were first in the GT class.”

“They were super-fast and I was super, super impressed with those guys’ car,” Earnhardt Jr. continued. “I’m happy to have a good effort and looking forward to the last couple of races.”

“Hopefully we will get us a win,” Junior said. “We keep getting close.”

Surprising: Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Aflac Ford Fusion, went from hero, sitting on the pole, to zero, getting knocked out of the race at Texas due to engine failure. Yet even in his disappointment, Edwards surprisingly was still able to pull off a plug for his erstwhile sponsor.

“I think a valve spring broke,” Edwards said. “We don’t usually have a lot of engine trouble.”

“We had such a great weekend going,” Edwards continued. “Aflac has coverage for just about everything but I don’t think they cover sick engines which is too bad.”

Edwards was not the only one with a sick engine as Ford mate David Ragan also lost one, as did Timmy Hill and Bobby Labonte.

Not Surprising: While speeding penalties are costly enough to the average driver, they were especially costly to two of the Chase competitors, particularly Matt Kenseth, whose penalty no doubt cost him the point’s lead, and Kyle Busch, who battled not only the speeding penalty but also an early crash to finish 13^th.

“We were just being too aggressive,” Kenseth said. “That speeding penalty got us behind — we definitely didn’t need that.”

“If I wouldn’t have messed up, maybe we could have ran second.”

“Kyle (Busch) feels horrible because he sped on pit road late in the race,” Dave Rogers, crew chief of the No. 18 Snickers Toyota, said. “He was giving us all he had to give us the best possible finish and we took a little bit more that what was there.”

“This is a team and we’ve got his back.”

Surprising: While Texas provided a surprising venue to showcase the strength of Penske Racing, with two top-ten finishes, both drivers, however, acknowledged that neither of them had what it took to be stronger than team 48.

“From the start of the race, we moved our way forward,” Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 AAA Ford said. “Overall we can’t be disappointed with a third place finish but the 48 car was just ridiculously fast.”

“I thought we had decent speed,” Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford, said. “We were leading at one point and the yellow flag came and we pitted and came out ninth, which ended our shot of being able to derail Jimmie if there even was one.”

“His car was so much faster than the field,” Keselowski continued. “It was pretty embarrassing to be quite honest.”

Not Surprising: The pattern of inconsistency for team No. 24 and driver Jeff Gordon continued, with the win at Martinsville last weekend being negated by the hard hit into the wall after a tire went down at Texas.

“I hit the wall hard,” Gordon said “I just know the left front went down as I was going down the front straightaway.”

Gordon finished 38^th, close to 200 laps down, his worst finish since Watkins Glen.

Surprising: Parker Kligerman made a surprisingly good debut in the Sprint Cup Series for Swan Racing, finishing top-20.

“Although 18^th doesn’t sound that great, for a rookie and this team, it’s a great finish and it’s one of the best finishes for these guys,” Kligerman said. “It was a long tough race but the team persevered and everyone fought hard.”

Not Surprising: Since Greg Biffle never, ever forgets, his love tap of Jimmie Johnson in the waning laps of the Texas race was not the least bit surprising. It did not, however, help him to feel at all better even though he finished twelfth in the race when the checkered flag flew.

“That was a tough one,” Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion, said. “The car wasn’t very good in traffic.”

“We didn’t get it until it seemed like about 20 to go or whatever that last stop was,” Biffle continued. “We just weren’t where we wanted to be.”

Surprising: While most, if not all eyes were on the Chase race between Johnson and Kenseth, there were other drivers in the field who literally paid no heed as they were marching to the beat of their own drummers.

“We actually made a lot of gains throughout the weekend,” Danica Patrick, drive of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet said after finishing 25^th. “We never quite got it, but we certainly made progress.”

“I’m excited to get to Phoenix next week,” Patrick continued. “GoDaddy is based out there, so it’s a big race for us.”

With her 25^th place finish, Patrick also gained three spots in the point standings to 25^th as well.

Not Surprising: Problems continued on and off the track for Juan Pablo Montoya as he winds up his NASCAR career and prepares to return to the IndyCar Series.

Montoya brought out one of the few race cautions on track due to a tire issue, which was a shredded right front tire according to Crew Chief Chris ‘Shine’ Heroy. JPM was able to soldier on to finish in the 20th place at Texas Motor Speedway.

But off track, Montoya also has problems as Forbes reported that he is in trouble with the US taxman. The IRS is alleging that the driver owes $2.7 million in additional taxes and penalties due to some interesting and complicated deductions, many of which were made prior to his coming to NASCAR and to the United States to live with his family.

Montoya has just two more races in the NASCAR Series and then will return to IndyCar racing but this time to drive for Roger Penske and serve as teammate to Penske driver Helio Castroneves.

Surprising: After a challenging season of his own, Kasey Kahne actually surprised himself with a top-five finish at Texas Motor Speedway.

“We had a pretty good Time Warner Chevy today,” Kahne said. “We were seventh to tenth most of the race and we worked our way to fifth there at the end.”

“I’m glad we were able to have kind of a flawless race and race all day and make a little bit of ground up at the end.”

Not Surprising: Kurt Busch’s quest to finish off his season with Furniture Row Racing with outstanding performances is proving most difficult.

“Nothing good to say about this race,” Busch, driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet said. “That’s all we had and it was a struggle all weekend.”

“We definitely need a turnaround in the final two races because it has been too good of a year to end on a struggling note.”

November 4, 2013
Martinsville Was The Fan’s Wakeup Call

The racing at Martinsville Speedway this weekend was a refreshing as a dip in a West Virginia lake in the month of February. The collective fan base woke up, dried itself off and became interested again. Funny how a short track does that.

There was little to warn folks this would happen. It was 26 degrees as I entered the track on Saturday morning. People were huddling together as if body heat would keep them warm. Sprint Cup practice started and even my camera failed to take pictures because of the cold and the trusty iPhone wouldn’t work because my frozen fingertips wouldn’t work the touch screen. The wisdom of scheduling this race weekend in late October is debatable at best, especially when a better weekend might be the first race of the Chase in September. That would move the rest of the schedule a week later, but that’s a subject for another column. Truth is, it all worked out. The temperature got into the mid 50’s by truck race time and was even in the mid 60’s on Sunday.

Denny Hamlin won the pole for the Camping World Truck Series race and was expected to lap the field, closely followed by Kevin Harvick. It didn’t exactly work out that way. Hamlin had his problems and Harvick, shall we say, had his. Darrell Wallace, Jr. won the race to become the first African-American to win a major NASCAR race since 1963. The African-American who won in 1963 was the late Wendell Scott and he lived only a few miles away in Danville, Virginia. Unfortunately for Wallace, everyone was more interested in the scuffle between RCR grandson Ty Dillon and RCR driver (temporarily) Kevin Harvick. It’s certain that most of you know, the two got together, both were upset, Dillon tried to spin Harvick several times on his way to the pits, Harvick drove into Dillon’s pit stall, Dillon’s crew came out throwing sledgehammers and trying to get to Harvick, Harvick came out and made references to “little rich kids who have been spoon fed,” and said it was the reason he was leaving RCR at the end of the season. The alarm went off after the sleep-inducing race in Talladega, but it was full wakeup time on Sunday.

Fans rolled into Martinsville Speedway on Sprint Cup race day. I hadn’t seen the walkways and roads so full since, well since things started going south in NASCAR. The stands were nearly full, and as a bonus, the campground was heavily populated. One wag told me, “they came to see a race and they know they’ll see one here.” His analysis rang true. They saw one.

Just as in the truck race, many had crowned Johnson or Hamlin as the winner on Sunday morning as I drove into the traffic jam getting into the track. Maybe Hamlin or Harvick would get close, but Jimmie was the man. As ESPN’s Lee Corso is famous for saying, “not so fast, my friend.” Several drivers took turns at leading, but it was mostly Matt Kenseth in the first half of the race, and Johnson in the second half. In the end, to simplify things, Johnson pitted for four tires and fell back into the field. It was entertaining to see him pushing and shoving himself to the front. That is, to everyone but Greg Biffle. Biffle took issue when Johnson wore his bumper out trying to get by him and driving like a man possessed to stay in front of the five-time champ. Finally, with the bumper cover connected to the car on only the right side, Biffle had to pit and have it taken care of, and the battle was over. Of course, watching a very fast Biffle work his way up to the top ten was almost as entertaining as watching Johnson earlier.

Up front, Gordon had moved to second and got by Kenseth, who had re-taken the lead for several laps. Kenseth called it a lack of experience. Gordon smiled and waved goodbye as he streaked to the win. Everyone seemed surprised at the turn of events, but watching out the big press box window, I saw the fans truly engaged. I’ve watched those fans from the same venue for 34 consecutive races, and never did I see so much rooting and hand slapping as on Sunday. The fans even got a good show on the big screen in the middle of the infield when Biffle confronted Johnson and stuck his finger within an inch of the Chevy driver’s nose. On the two stops as I traveled home, all anyone could talk about was Harvick, the Dillon boys, and Biffle. Never mind that Bubba Wallace and Jeff Gordon won their races.

The weekend was clearly a wakeup call to the fans of NASCAR racing. The Chase is filled with “mile-and-a-half’s.” It has only one short track—Martinsville. As I stopped at the new Cook Out restaurant in Rocky Mount, an older gentleman said that “they” needed to build a few more tracks like Martinsville. A gentleman in Roanoke said he turned the TV off during the Talladega race, but his interest was now totally on the last three races. Let’s hope the interest and attendance is as brisk as it was at Martinsville. The race was like a cup of strong coffee first thing in the morning.

October 30, 2013
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Martinsville

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth led 202 laps at Martinsville and finished second, unable to keep eventual winner Jeff Gordon at bay over the closing laps. Kenseth’s runner-up finish forged a tie in the points standings with Jimmie Johnson.

“While I’m thrilled to be knotted atop the points standings with Johnson,” Kenseth said, “Johnson isn’t. In other words, Jimmie’s fit to be tied.”

2. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished fifth at Martinsville, three spots behind Matt Kenseth, as Hendrick teammate Jeff Gordon took the win. Kenseth and Johnson sit tied atop the points standings, 27 ahead of Gordon.

“While Greg Biffle confronted me,” Johnson said, “Kenseth in-fronted me. If only Kenseth were as easy to handle as Greg Biffle, you could hand me the Cup right now.”

3. Jeff Gordon: Gordon won for the first time this season, capturing the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville and vaulting from fifth to third in the Sprint Cup points standings. He trails Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth by 27.

“I put myself back in the Cup picture,” Gordon said. “Unfortunately, when I try to imagine myself as 2013 Sprint Cup champion, I just can’t ‘picture’ it.”

4. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished sixth in the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martisville. He is fourth in the points standings. 28 out of first.

“If you saw the Trucks race,” Harvick said, “you know I have a problem with drivers who have been ‘grandfathered in.’ Now you know why I’m leaving Richard Childress Racing. Those kids don’t know what they’re ‘Dillon’ with.”

5. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer took third at Martinsville, posting his ninth top-5 result of the year. He is sixth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 55 out of the lead.

“The 5-Hour Energy car finished third in the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500,” Bowyer said. “It seems that Goody’s has taken 5-Hour Energy’s concept and used it to their advantage. You could say they’ve put a ‘new spin’ on shots.”

6. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt came home eighth at Martinsville as Hendrick Motorsports placed three drivers in the top 10, led by Jeff Gordon’s first win of the year. Earnhardt is seventh in the points standings, 56 out of first.

“Army National Guard renewed their sponsorship of the No. 88 car,” Earnhardt said. “As you know, the fans of Junior Nation love the ‘armed services,’ especially if that arm is handing them a beverage.”

7. Kyle Busch: After two fifth-place finishes in his last two races, Busch finished a disappointing 15th at Martinsville. He is fifth in the points standings, 36 out of first.

“How about Darrell Wallace becoming only the second black driver to win a NASCAR-sanctioned race?” said Busch. “Now, NASCAR’s Drive For Diversity has a new slogan celebrating black heritage in NASCAR. It’s called ‘What A Race!’”

8. Greg Biffle: Biffle started 33rd and finished ninth at Martinsville. He is eighth in the points standings, 58 out of first.

“I made like my rear bumper,” Biffle said, “and got all up in Jimmie Johnson’s grill.

9. Brad Keselowski: After struggling at Talladega, Keselowski finished fourth at Martinsville, one of only two Fords in the top 10.

“All this controversy at Martinsville,” Keselowski said, “and none of it involves me. Once again, I’ve been ‘left out.’”

10. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished 12th at Martinsville and is now tenth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 76 out of first.

“Greg Biffle obviously needs a course in confrontation etiquette,” Edwards said. “And I’m the man to do it. Of all people, I’m the one that knows how to teach a teammate a lesson.”

October 29, 2013
Surprising and Not Surprising: Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500

With NASCAR legend and Hall of Famer Junior Johnson giving the command to get the action started and a grandfather clock trophy on the line, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 65th annual Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 Powered by Kroger at Martinsville Speedway.

Surprising: Jeff Gordon had some pretty surprising thoughts in the waning laps of the race as he battled with Matt Kenseth for the race lead at Martinsville and then motored on to Victory Lane.

“I was thinking, what would Jimmie Johnson do?” the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet said. “Or better yet, maybe what would Richard Petty do?”

“I was just hoping that no cautions were going to come out and they didn’t,” Gordon continued. “That clock, there’s nothing better than getting a clock at Martinsville.”

This was Gordon’s first win of the season and his 88^th victory in his career, tying him with Jimmie Johnson and trailing only Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip on the all-time wins list at Martinsville.

And with the win, Gordon climbed two spots in the all-important point standings to third, now 27 points behind the leaders.

Not Surprising: While the inside lane was definitely the preferred one at Martinsville, the outside lane seemed especially cursed during this seventh race of the Chase at the short track.

“It’s just the nature of the beast here,” Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota said. “That’s how important it is to get to the inside on these restarts.”

“You’d better get your business done quick,” Bowyer continued. “If you don’t, within two corners you’re in trouble because they’re stacked up on the bottom.”

Bowyer survived the curse of the outside lane to finish third, his tenth top-10 finish in 16 races at Martinsville Speedway.

Surprising: While Matt Kenseth was surprisingly confident at a track where he has no wins, only three top fives and a 15^th best driver rating of 80.5, his confidence did indeed bear fruit, with a runner up finish in his No. 20 Dollar General Toyota and a bump back up in the Chase standings.

“I felt like today was an opportunity to get the points lead back,” Kenseth said. “I know Jimmie (Johnson) is always the man here, and he’s still the man here along with Jeff (Gordon) and Denny (Hamlin) for sure.”

“I haven’t had that many good runs here, but we ran good in the spring, we were terrific at Loudon which has always been my worst track and this has probably been my second-worst track, and Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) and the whole group at JGR gave us such good cars to drive.”

“I couldn’t be much happier, but I am disappointed I got beat there at the end,” Kenseth continued. “I feel like we can go do some racing here in the next three weeks.”

With his good finish, Kenseth actually tied Jimmie Johnson for the point’s lead, however, has the advantage due to his number of overall wins.

Not Surprising: Tempers abound at any short track so it was not surprising that some apologies were due, some were made, and some will remain to be made potentially in the upcoming week as a result of the Martinsville race.

Kevin Harvick, behind the wheel of the No. 29 Rheem Chevrolet, made several apologies, first to Ty Dillon for his harsh words after the Truck race and then to Ryan Newman for hitting him during the Cup race.

“Yeah, first thing I want to do is apologize to Ryan Newman,” Harvick said after finishing sixth. “I tried to shoot in a gap there and just barely clipped the right rear of his car.”

Carl Edwards also acknowledged that he owed a few apologies after a ‘terrible’ day at the race track.

“I caused the first two cautions when the car was real hard to drive on entry,” the driver of the No. 99 Geek Squad Ford said. “I felt bad about that.”

“The car was real, real loose in and that was the reason I hit Kvapil there like that,” Edwards continued. “I’m going to apologize to him right now.”

There were two drivers, however, who were in no way, shape or form in the apologizing mode, at least after the race ended.

“We made contact, but I couldn’t quite understand why he was down here pulling on my collar like he just did,” Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, said after his pit road interview was interrupted by a visibly upset Greg Biffle.

“You knocked my (expletive) back bumper off mother (expletive)”, the driver of the No. 16 3M Ford said to the five time champ after finishing ninth. “You (expletive) ran into the back of me.”

“Dude, if you want to talk about it, let’s talk about it” Johnson said during the exchange.

“We just did,” Biffle countered as he walked away after being separated from Johnson by a NASCAR official.

Surprising: Brad Keselowski finally had a surprisingly good day, with his career best finish, fourth place, at Martinsville Speedway. And with that, the driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford said that he took the checkered flag exactly where he thought he had a car to do so.

“It was a decent day,” Keselowski said. “We weren’t where we wanted to be at the start, but we worked on our car and got it better at the end.”

“The last run was by far the most competitive we were and had probably about a fourth or fifth-place car and that’s where we finished at the end,” Keselowski continued. “It was a solid effort.”

Not Surprising: Chevrolet yet again secured the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup manufacturer’s championship and did so even with three more races left in the season.

This was the 37^th manufacturer’s title for Chevrolet and the eleventh year in a row taking the honors. This was also the 16^th win of the season for Team Chevy.

“To wrap it up with a win, with a great, exciting finish battling it out with a Toyota (the No. 20 driven by second-place finisher Matt Kenseth) is awesome,” Jeff Gordon said. “I know how much that means to Chevrolet.”

Surprising: In spite of his record setting qualifying effort, putting his No. 34 Taco Bell Ford in P8 in time trials, engine woes bit David Ragan and he finished dead last with a broken valve spring.

The driver, however, found the bright spot in his surprisingly bad finish with the positive evolution of his team over this past season, from testing to better work coming from the shop.

“We’ve built some new cars in-house and that’s doing the chassis work, the body work and building the components, so we’ve really evolved a lot,” Ragan said. “We’ve done it from within and I think long-term that’s a big positive for the whole Front Row Motorsports team.”

Not Surprising: Denny Hamlin, traditionally strong at Martinsville and pole sitter for the race, not surprisingly scored another top-ten run in his No. 11 FedEx One Rate Toyota, even with some damage incurred from one of the race’s early wrecks.

And with that finish, Hamlin pronounced the team as finally going in the right direction after a very difficult season.

“We ran decent,” Hamlin said. “Even though the car drove as bad as it did, we still were able to be at least somewhat competitive.”

“Seventh isn’t what we like here at Martinsville, but still it’s a step in the right direction,” Hamlin continued. “We’re just trying to get our feet under us.”

“Then that’s going to set us up pretty good for next year.”

Surprising: Sticking with the theme of blown engines, another one bit one of NASCAR’s most promising young drivers Kyle Larson who blew up for the second race in a row. The driver of the No. 51 Target Chevrolet suffered the mechanical issue on lap 165, spinning in his own fluid and bringing out the caution.

“We just can’t seem to catch a break in these two Cup starts that I’ve had,” Larson said. “We blew up in Charlotte and not sure we had a rear end blow up here or what.”

Larson’s day went from bad to worse as he tweeted after the race.

“What a bad last couple of hours. Engine blew up, got a speeding ticket, now my cat just puked and pooped in the car.”

Not Surprising: Kurt Busch admitted right up front that he does not have Martinsville Speedway circled on his calendar. And the track again was a struggle yet again for him as he finished 18^th with a banged up race car.

“We didn’t qualify well (19th), didn’t practice well and obviously didn’t race well,” the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet said. “I don’t know what it is but there’s something about this track that doesn’t suit me.”

“It was a very disappointing performance today,” Busch continued. “Our Furniture Row Chevrolet got banged up early when it took a big hit to the right side.”

“But no excuses, we just didn’t have it.”

The Cup Series next heads to Texas Motor Speedway for the AAA Texas 500, the eighth race in the Chase.

October 28, 2013
Championship leaders talk about racing at Martinsville and each other

Martinsville and Jimmie Johnson go together like bread and butter. Even championship contender Matt Kenseth said, “…you can almost pencil the 48 in here.” Johnson has been extremely impressive, with eight wins in 23 starts. He comes into the weekend with a slim four point lead over Kenseth.

Kenseth, who started off the Chase with two wins and the points lead, was asked if he would prefer to be leading or in the underdog mode chasing the leader. Kenseth replied, “I can’t imagine for the life of me anybody that wouldn’t want to have the points lead or why you wouldn’t want to have it. Certainly, we started off strong. We still perform pretty well, we didn’t have the finish last week and that was really disappointing. A couple other ones we didn’t quite have the finish, but certainly I wish we were still leading and you would have want to have as big of a lead as you could and I think anybody would.”

Kenseth’s record at the flat half-mile is less than stellar, especially compared to Johnson. In 27 starts, Matt has only three top-5 and eight top-10’s. Johnson has eight wins in only 23 starts. This past spring, however, Kenseth seemed to have Martinsville figured out. Even though he only finished 14^th, he led 96 laps and ran strong most of the day. 96 laps is more than he led in all of his Martinsville starts combined up to that point.

“I don’t know why it’s always been such a struggle, although I do feel like the last couple years on average has been much better.” Kenseth continued, “This spring at least the first half of the race we were really good and really competitive, and really, really helped me be better because we had the car good.”

Before this season, Kenseth had started all of his Martinsville races with Roush-Fenway Racing. He made the change to Joe Gibbs Racing after 2012 and has improved in several areas. The most noticeable of which is qualifying.

Johnson talked about how good Martinsville has been for him, “Without a doubt it’s been a good track for the No. 48 team. It doesn’t guarantee anything for this weekend’s race and we have to go out and get everything we can in this first practice session and then try to get our best two laps possible for qualifying. We all know how important that first pit stall is and it can make life so much easier come Sunday afternoon.”

Johnson seemed confident and very laid back on Friday. Those traits could spell trouble for the rest of the field. When this team is this confident, they are almost unbeatable, but more importantly, they rarely beat themselves. That is a crucial factor at this track. Drivers who get antsy, over aggressive and/or angry, will use up their equipment pre-maturely and find themselves hanging on for dear life.

Johnson was also asked about racing against Matt Kenseth now, compared to 2006 when the two went head-to-head. He replied, “We have had a good banter texting back and forth. For a guy that can come across dry, as we all know in here, he is awfully funny. He asked me to not pester him and ask him for too many tips this weekend and bunch of other things.” He continued, “I think his departure from Roush and then joining up with Gibbs it’s filled in some weak spots that you would normally think that Matt would have. This track is a perfect example.” Referring to the Roush-Fenway team’s historical poor performance at Martinsville.

October 25, 2013
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Talladega

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth survived to finish 20th at Talladega, seven spots behind Jimmie Johnson. Kenseth’s four point lead became a four point deficit to Jimmie Johnson in the standings.

“I drove like I was expecting the ‘big one,’” Kenseth said, “and it never came. So the fans weren’t the only ones upset that there wasn’t a big crash. I guess I should have been more aggressive. If I’ve been faulted for being anything, it’s too ‘laid back.’”

2. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished 13th in the Camping World RV Sales 500 at Talladega, leading a race-high 47 laps to earn two crucial bonus points. He took over the lead in the points, and holds a four-point edge over Matt Kenseth.

“I was playing ‘catch’ with points-leader Kenseth,” Johnson said, “and I ‘overthrew’ him.”

3. Kevin Harvick: Harvick, in the No. 29 Jimmy Johns Chevrolet, took 12th at Talladega and is fourth in the Sprint Cup points standings, tied with Kyle Busch 26 points out of first.

“This is the only way I can possibly share space with Kyle Busch,” Harvick said.

“That was one of the least exciting Talladega races, despite the fact that cars were topping out at near 200 miles per hour. I guess that’s why they call it ‘full bore.’”

4. Kyle Busch: Busch posted his second consecutive top-5 finish, taking fifth at Talladega. He is tied for third in the points standings, 26 out of first.

“I’m back in the championship hunt,” Busch said. “But if I don’t have a good finish at Martinsville, I’ll likely be done. The last time I was ‘officially eliminated,’ I was taken off the road by a state trooper in North Carolina.”

5. Jeff Gordon: Gordon led 19 laps at Talladega and finished 14th at Talladega, rendering unable to make up ground in the Sprint Cup points standings. He is now fifth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 34 behind Jimmie Johnson.

“Jimmie’s got the lead,” Gordon said. “Let’s see if he can hold it. With Martinsville up next, history says he can. He’s won eight races there, rewarded with a grandfather clock for each victory. It’s just further proof that the 5-time Cup champ’s greatness is measure in ‘times.’”

6. Kurt Busch: Busch came home 18th at Talladega and is now ninth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 61 out of first.

“We had Wonder Bread on the No. 78 Chevrolet,” Busch said. “As if you needed more proof that I’m as white bread as they come.”

7. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer finished tenth at Talladega, his first top-10 finish since a tenth at Dover. He is eighth in the points standings, 57 out of first.

“Kudos to 5-Hour Energy for their contribution to NASCAR,” Bowyer said. “Like its name states, 5-Hour Energy will stay with you for awhile, which is more than I can say about some of Michael Waltrip’s other sponsors.”

8. Greg Biffle: Biffle finished 11th in the Roush Fenway Racing No. 16 Ford, while teammate Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. took third. Biffle is seventh in the points standings, 53 behind Jimmie Johnson.

“That was a great run by Stenhouse,” Biffle said. “He finished 30 places better than his girlfriend Danica Patrick. Contrary to popular belief, Danica is the one who is ‘whipped.’”

9. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Running second on the final lap, Earnhardt’s bid for victory at Talladega ended when the caution flew on the final lap, allowing Jamie McMurray to coast to victory. Earnhardt’s second was the best result among Chase drivers, and moved him up to sixth in the points standings.

“I’ve made second a habit at Talladega,” Earnhardt said. “And speaking of ‘habits,’ I’ve got as many wins this year as that lady wearing the habit—none.”

10. Ryan Newman: Newman started 17th and finished ninth at Talladega, earning his 16th top 10 of the year.

“That was the most incident-free race at Talladega I’ve ever seen,” Newman said. “Take it from me, that race was turned upside down.”

October 22, 2013