The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the XFINITY Series travel to Talladega Superspeedway this week. Both series will have two practice sessions Friday. The XFINITY Series Sparks Energy 300 is set for 1 p.m. Saturday with the Cup Series GEICO 500 closing out the weekend Sunday at 2 p.m. Both races will be televised on FOX.
Brad Keselowski is the defending Cup Series race winner, capturing his fourth checkered flag at Talladega last spring to go with six top fives and nine top 10s. He’s sixth in the point standing and has already been to victory lane twice this season.
Talladega is famous for its unpredictability and volatile nature and the inaugural Cup Series race was no exception. But did you know that it was held during a driver boycott?
The first race was scheduled at what was then known as Alabama International Motor Speedway (the name was changed to Talladega Superspeedway in 1989), for Sept. 14, 1969. The drivers, who had recently formed the Professional Drivers Association with Richard Petty as president, wanted to postpone the event because of concerns about the effects of the fast speeds on tire wear and the lack of grip on the rough track. When NASCAR refused, most of the drivers decided not to race and went home. The field was filled by drivers recruited on short notice by Bill France Sr. and was won by Richard Brickhouse, his first and only win in the series.
But did you know that Richard Childress was one of those last minute drivers? France was offering drivers extra money to compete in the event to fill out the field and Childress thought that it was too good an opportunity to pass up. He finished 23rd in the first race of his 285-race career in the Cup Series as a driver.
“It was a big break,” Childress said. “I left that day with seven or eight grand, bought me some land and built my first race shop. It was being in the right place at the right time. It was just one of the lucky breaks. Life’s all about the breaks and when you take advantage of them. That was the difference of me making it and not making it.”
Although Talladega is nicknamed “Earnhardt Country,” NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott left his mark there as well. Elliott holds the record for the fastest pole at Talladega, set on April 30, 1987, at a speed of 212.809 mph. But did you know it is also the fastest all-time qualifying lap in NASCAR history? It is likely a record that will never be broken since the following year, restrictor plates were implemented at NASCAR’s superspeedways.
NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee, Davey Allison, won his first race at Talladega in the 1987 Winston 500. Nine other drivers, including Brad Keselowski (04/26/2009), Brian Vickers (10/08/2006), Ken Schrader (07/31/1988), Phil Parsons (05/01/1988), Bobby Hillin Jr. (07/27/1986), Ron Bouchard (08/02/1981), Lennie Pond (08/06/1978), Dick Brooks (08/12/1973) and Richard Brickhouse (09/14/1969) went to victory lane for the first time at the 2.66-mile track.
Although luck often has more to do with winning at Talladega, than skill, did you know that three Hendrick Motorsports drivers are included in the top five list of best driver ratings at Talladega?
Chase Elliott, third in the point standings, enters Talladega with the best driver rating (97.1) but has only made two Cup starts at the track, finishing fifth and 12th in his rookie season with one pole at the track.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has had a disappointing season to date but hopes to turn things around in “Earnhardt Country” as he searches for his first win this year. He heads to Talladega with the second-best driver rating (92.0) and leads all active drivers with six wins; four of those are consecutive, from the fall of 2001 – 2003. Only his father has won more, claiming 10 career victories. Earnhardt’s last win was in May 2015. He also leads all active drivers in laps led with 960. If he leads 40 more laps, he will become the third driver in the series history to lead 1,000 laps at Talladega.
Kurt Busch is currently 17th in the point standings but has the third-best driver rating at Talladega (88.8), Matt Kenseth has the fourth-best driver rating at the track (88.0) and Jimmie Johnson rounds out the top five with a driver rating of 87.9, with two wins, seven top fives, 11 top 10s and one pole.
Will one of the drivers mentioned above win the GEICO 500 at Talladega or will there be a “big one” that shuffles the field and deals up an unexpected winner? Anything can happen at ‘Dega so don’t miss the action this Sunday at 2 p.m. on FOX.
While you’re waiting, check out the video below to see a wild wreck from last year’s GEICO 500.
Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.
1. Kyle Larson: Larson stayed out during the final caution while Joey Logano pitted for four tires. The gamble did not pay off for Larson, and Logano made quick work on his way to the win. Larson faded to 14th.
“I guess we should have pitted for tires,” Larson said. “But as you know, hindsight is 20/20. Hindsight is also what I saw in my rearview mirror. And, in that instance, hindsight is Joey Logano.”
2. Joey Logano: Logano pulled away on a restart with 20 laps to go and secured the victory in the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond.
“We may not have had the fastest car,” Logano said, “but we won nonetheless. I owe it all to my team. They all worked together to make it happen. I haven’t seen teamwork like that since all my guys laid on top of Kyle Busch after he took a swing at me.”
3. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex posted his sixth top-10 finish of the year with a 10th in the Toyota Owners 400. He moved up one spot in the Monster Energy Cup points standings to second, 40 points behind Kyle Larson.
“I was penalized for what NASCAR calls a ‘commitment line violation,’” Truex said. “If you ask me what I think of the rule, I might be penalized with what NASCAR calls an ‘FCC’ violation.”
4. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished 11th despite crashing Dale Earnhardt Jr. on lap 343, when Johnson drifted up the track and into Earnhardt’s No. 88 Chevrolet.
“I had no idea Junior was there,” Johnson said. “Not to my immediate right, but in second place!”
5. Chase Elliott: Elliott struggled at Richmond, finishing 24th for his worst result of the year. He is third in the points standings, 52 out of first.
“The hot topic at Richmond was Jimmie Johnson wrecking Dale Earnhardt Jr.,” Elliott said. “It was totally unintentional. And Jimmie has apologized profusely, seven times to be exact.”
6. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski led 110 laps at Richmond but was bested by his Penske Racing teammate Joey Logano, who passed Keselowski on a restart while Keselowski battled Kyle Busch.
“We clearly had the best car in the field,” Keselowski said, “but circumstances didn’t work in our favor. I got stuck behind some slower cars. One of those happened to win the race.”
7. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished fifth at Richmond, posting his third top five of the season.
“Brian France addressed the drivers before the race about retirement,” Harvick said. “You could feel the electricity in the air; that is until France revealed he was talking about Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s retirement and not his own.”
8. Jamie McMurray: McMurray finished sixth at Richmond and is seventh in the Monster Energy Cup points standings, 116 out of first.
“Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s absence next year will leave a void for the people of Junior Nation,” McMurray said. “But if there’s one thing Junior fans know how to do, it’s ‘fill a void,’ often involving a liver or countless other body parts.”
9. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished third in the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond, recording his best finish since a sixth at Las Vegas.
“I said there was a 50 percent chance that Carl Edwards will be back in 2018,” Hamlin said. “That also means there’s a 50 percent chance Carl won’t be back in 2018. And I’m 100 percent sure I prefer that latter scenario.”
10. Ryan Newman: Newman finished seventh at Richmond, posting his third top 10 of the year.
“Joey Logano ran a great race,” Newman said. “And I wanted to offer him my congratulations after the race, but I know Joey is wary of me walking up to him with an arm extended. So, the situation called for a reacharound.”
After starting the race in the rear of the field because of a transmission change to the Team Penske No. 22 car on Saturday, Joey Logano found his way to the front and won Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway. This was Logano’s second career win at Richmond in his 300th career start in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
“Coming from the back, being the 300th start and pulling into victory lane, man that feels good,” said Logano. “I drove my guts out there. We ended up with the winning car, something I’m really proud of.”
Really Surprising
Jimmie Johnson made contact with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr. with 56 laps remaining. Johnson’s team had to make extensive repairs to his race car and finished in 11th-place while Earnhardt Jr. finished 30th.
“I just have to try to figure out if I just didn’t hear it being told to me or if it wasn’t told to me. I just feel terrible, obviously. Man, I’m surprised our cars even kept rolling after that because I just body slammed him into the wall and I could have easily not heard the clear or something else happened. I don’t know, but that’s the last thing you want to have happen with a teammate,” Johnson said.
“He said he didn’t see us. He had pitted and got tires and we were out there running around the top and weren’t ready to pit yet. He said he didn’t get any notice that he had a car outside. He was coming to pass me. I was running the top right against the fence and really wasn’t watching the mirror, so I didn’t know he was there or anybody was coming,” Earnhardt commented about the contact.
Surprising
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made contact with the outside wall early in the race but battled back to earn his second top-five finish of the season.
“Man, we had to fight hard for this top five. I made a mistake early. I thought we were capable of running in the top five a lot. I just got loose into 3 and got into the fence and had to play catch-up for there.”
Not Surprising
Virginia’s own Denny Hamlin led the field for 59 laps en route to his fourth top-10 finish of the season.
“We couldn’t beat the 2 (Keselowski) and 22 (Logano) straight up, so it’s different and you just keep coming in and pitting for tires to try to steal one even though we were a third-place car. The strategy got all mixed up there and we were luckily able to get back up there and finish where we should have.”
Surprising
Matt Kenseth captured his first pole of the season and the 19th of his Cup career, leading 164 laps and scoring his first stage win this season. A cut tire on lap 364 forced him to pit road for repairs and he went a lap down. Kenseth was the benefactor of the lucky dog and got his lap back, but finished in 23rd place.
Not Surprising
Jamie McMurray led the way for Team Chevy with a sixth-place finish.
“I didn’t have any problems. It was really a normal race. The cautions at the end helped us on one and hurt us on one. But overall it was a really good day.”
Surprising
Newman finished in seventh-place and captured his third top-10 this season.
“It was a good day for this No. 31 team. We got to lead laps and contend for the race win so that’s all I can really ask for. I’m just proud of how we were able to improve on our Okuma Chevrolet all weekend long.”
Not Surprising
Kyle Larson finished 14th but continues to lead the standings by 40 points over Martin Truex Jr. after the first nine races.
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series returns Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway at 2 p.m. ET on FOX.
RICHMOND, Va. — Yesterday at Richmond International Raceway marked the end of the first quarter to the new era of NASCAR, so I thought I’d give my take on how it’s turned out.
Brian France and the other dignitaries from today’s press conference join in a toast to welcome Monster Energy into the NASCAR fold. Photo: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images
For all intents and purposes, the 2017 season really began on December 1, 2016 with the, at the time, worst kept secret in NASCAR. At the Wynn Las Vegas luxury hotel, in the midst of NASCAR’s Championship Week Banquet sendoff to exiting Cup Series sponsor Sprint, it was officially announced that Monster Energy would take over as the new entitlement sponsor of the Cup Series.
Monster Energy, a company that targets younger consumers and fans of extreme sports, was to say the least an odd choice. It made sense for NASCAR to want to bring aboard Monster Energy with the sport’s aging demographic. But it didn’t make sense, to me anyway, why Monster Energy had any interest in doing business with NASCAR, especially when the sport is in a decade-long television ratings decline. Yes I’m aware they’ve sponsored Kyle Busch in the XFINITY Series and Kurt Busch in the Cup Series, but sponsoring individual drivers with their own fanbases isn’t the same as sponsoring the sport in which they compete. The Busch brothers, being of a Generation-X age, draw a much different age group of fans than the sport itself.
However, I kind of had that question about Monster Energy’s motive answered by Mark Hall, chief marketing officer for the company, if they would go after the exiting, and markedly older NASCAR audience, compared to the consumers Monster Energy targets.
“There’s really — there’s two answers to that question,” Hall said. “Young people set trends in fashion, and then older people adapt, and I don’t want to say old. Fashion is set by a small group of influencers. The challenge is to make your product relevant to that group and then have them influence the others. If we’ve been successful in the past, we’ve followed that model. I think we have a lot of drinkers in the current NASCAR fan base. I think we can make the sport more interesting to some younger consumers, as well.”
NASCAR executive Steve O’Donnell and a selection of NASCAR personalities and NASCAR/ISC/SMI executives address the media during a press conference announcing new format “enhancements” to NASCAR’s three national touring series during the Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour. Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images
The next major plot point of the 2017 season was at the Charlotte Convention Center on January 23, 2017 with the drinking word of the offseason, “enhancements.” NASCAR was crystal clear to use the word “enhancement(s)” in place of change(s) this time around.
At this point, we all know the “enhancements” included stage racing and giving winners of the race and stages points specifically that would be added to your total at the start of the Chase, oh I’m sorry, “playoffs.” Yeah that was also another “enhancement” for 2017, dropping the name “Chase” and using the generic “playoff” term instead. Playoffs were so radically different from the “Chase,” despite the fact virtually nothing was changed about the system formerly known as the “Chase,” that the name “Chase” no longer seemed warranted.
All this wording was totally naturally, and not a cynically manipulative ploy by the sanctioning body to make this lead balloon go over much easier.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – FEBRUARY 26: Kurt Busch, driver of the #41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the 59th Annual DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 26, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida. Photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
The third plot point of this story was on Sunday, February 26, 2017, the day of the 59th running of the Daytona 500.
The Daytona 500 is NASCAR’s biggest race, held on it’s grandest stage, Daytona International Speedway. It’s the culmination of an offseason of work by all departments of the race shops located back in Charlotte (or Denver in the case of Furniture Row Racing), and the culmination of Speedweeks (from January (Rolex 24) to the Daytona 500).
The success, television-wise, sets the tone for the rest of the season more often than not with the ratings of the rest of the races to come.
The 2017 Daytona 500 was perhaps the most critically important race in the history of NASCAR. As I mentioned earlier, the sport is in the midst of a long slide in ratings, and I, as well as many other NASCAR writers, consider this season a make or break year for the future sustainability of the sport.
To make a long story short, this year’s Daytona 500 absolutely HAD to deliver at all costs.
So what were the results? It too soon to tell.
Let’s discuss the most important aspect of a race, the race itself. How did this year’s running of the Daytona 500 fare out with stage racing?
From start to finish, and I mean this with all sincerity, that was the most entertaining restrictor plate race I’ve watched in a long, long time.
The intensity was there, even for the lead, almost every single lap. It had the pack racing, drafting and carnage you’d expect from a race at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.
Kurt Busch celebrates with his Stewart-Haas Racing crew after doing donuts through the infield grass of Daytona International Speedway in celebration of winning the 59th running of the Daytona 500. Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Chase Elliott is on his way to his first career victory on the sport’s biggest stage when he runs out of gas. Martin Truex Jr. takes over the lead, and then he runs out of gas. Kyle Larson takes the lead coming to the white flag, and he runs out of gas.
Taking the lead exiting Turn 2 is Kurt Busch.
The story writes itself.
Busch, a driver who started his Cup Series career receiving the middle finger salute, courtesy of Dale Earnhardt, in the 2001 Daytona 500, two years ago, two days prior to the Daytona 500, was banned from NASCAR for alleged domestic abuse (of which no charges were pressed), one of the most talented drivers of the 2000’s takes the lead on the final lap of one of the most important races in NASCAR history and wins the Daytona 500.
This race alone was so great that any driver winning it would’ve made a great story, but the fact that it was won by a man who’s very life, both professional and personal, is worthy of an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary feature, is the best part. As someone who’s watched Kurt his entire NASCAR career, as a race fan during the years he was king at Bristol Motor Speedway and as a member of the media, I take great joy in knowing I saw his entire story arc play out (on the NASCAR side).
But as happens every year, when Daytona ends, the grind of the season truly starts.
As a seasoned NASCAR observer, both as a fan and scribe, I know that Daytona, and plate racing, is its own animal.
But there was no denying that stage racing and playoff points made the racing more intense than usual, to the point where the usual problem of passing the lead car was not a major problem (also thanks to Brian France warning against drivers blocking in response to a fustercluck of an XFINITY Series race at Daytona the day prior).
So I thought if cars could pass with ease at Daytona where it’s hard as hell to pass for the lead, then we’re in for one hell of a race at Atlanta, where passing is much, much easier.
Well a few hours, I’d say two, after the Cup race, Jeff Gluck and I were “shooting the bull” about the race at the exit of pit road. We both thought stage racing was going to turn the intensity “up to 11,” like we saw at Daytona. We both agreed, however, that around halfway, the intensity wasn’t always going to be “up to 11.” It’s just going to be the same old product we’ve been getting, especially on the mile and a half’s.
Thus started the “some notable moments in an otherwise forgettable race” trend we’ve experienced outside the short tracks.
The first was the finish to Atlanta.
Gluck asked me what I thought of the race overall. I said,”It was average for Atlanta, and that was with the way it ended with (Kevin) Harvick’s speeding penalty. Take that out of the equation and Harvick wins this, I don’t think this race registers.”
“Oh agreed,” Gluck replied. “It’s basically Truex at Charlotte if Harvick wins this.”
Then came Las Vegas. Keselowski has a part failure and Truex wins, which is overshadowed by a, let’s call it, fight on pit road between Kyle Busch and Joey Logano, of which Gluck captured the best video.
Phoenix sees Ryan Newman snap a four-year winless drought with a decision to stay out in the final laps.
Fontana delivers Kyle Larson his second career victory and demonstrates he’s truly a threat to win the championship this season.
Martinsville hands down was not only the best race of the season, but also my favorite race to ever cover. You have cars making the outside groove at MARTINSVILLE of all places work, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. bumping Kyle Busch out of the way to stay on the lead lap, allowing Chase Elliott to win the stage and a 10-lap duel for the win between Kyle and Brad Keselowski with less than 50 laps remaining that saw Keselowski win the race.
Texas showed us Jimmie Johnson is still arguably the greatest driver in NASCAR history and is going nowhere. It was also the breakout race for Ryan Blaney, who led 148 of 334 laps and won two stages, but finished 12th thanks to a bad pit stop.
Bristol, when I wasn’t getting soaked trying to get from my car in Lot E by the drag strip to the deadline room and press box, was a good race as Bristol always is, but not as great as everyone said. Either way, it was fun to watch the events that led to Johnson win yet again on a Monday afternoon in Tennessee.
Finally there was Richmond.
It was…good. Like Bristol, it wasn’t anything spectacular, but it was still a short track race that delivered excitement. In the end, it was Joey Logano who scored the checkered flag.
I said during the media tour that I would give some time to see how stage racing plays out. After one quarter of the season is complete, I love stage racing. But I’m not convinced it’s the direction that’ll resuscitate the ailing television ratings, especially when the ratings continue sliding down after eight races (Richmond’s rating wasn’t available when this was posted).
So how will it play out during the second quarter, we’ll just have to see.
RICHMOND, Va. — If Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn’t have bad luck, he wouldn’t have any luck. Sunday at Richmond International Raceway was a microcosm of his abysmal final season to date.
Going into Richmond, Earnhardt’s season has included being taken out of the Daytona 500, while leading, in a multi-car wreck, finishing 30th at Atlanta, 16th at Las Vegas, 14th at Phoenix, 16th at Fontana, taken out in a late-race multi-car wreck at Martinsville, a fifth-place finish at Texas and wrecking out at Bristol.
Starting 12th, Earnhardt was running eighth at lap 72 when, under the second caution of the Toyota Owners 400, he was busted for speeding on pit road and restarted 26th.
He made it to second in the running order, thanks to a cycle of green flag pit stops as he had yet to pit, with 57 laps to go when teammate Jimmie Johnson, who was exiting pit road, slammed into him exiting Turn 2.
“He (Johnson) said he didn’t see us,” Earnhardt said. “He had pitted and got tires and we were out there running around the top and weren’t ready to pit yet. He said he didn’t get any notice that he had a car outside. He was coming to pass me. I was running the top right against the fence and really wasn’t watching the mirror, so I didn’t know he was there or anybody was coming. TJ (Majors, spotter) was giving me pretty good warning about guys getting on my inside, but otherwise when you are running the top you don’t have to worry about it everybody kind of takes care of you, but Jimmie (Johnson) didn’t know we were there. Came off the corner and didn’t know the car was there. It was an explosion, but the car held up pretty well.”
Eight laps after the ensuing restart, the left-rear tire on Earnhardt’s car gave out and he spun out in Turn 3. He brought his car home to a 30th-place finish. It’s his fifth finish of 30th or worse in nine races, amounting to a 24.4 finishing average on the season. He avoided his fourth DNF of the season running two laps down at the finish.
He leaves Richmond 24th in points, 257 behind points leader Kyle Larson.
RICHMOND, Va. — Joe Gibbs Racing experienced a mixed bag of results in the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
Matt Kenseth kicked off the race weekend by taking pole position. He lead from the start to the 164th circuit, winning the first stage, before losing the lead to Brad Keselowski and finishing runner-up in the second stage.
With 38 laps to go, however, he and Chase Elliott made contact in Turn 1, leading to his right-rear tire going flat.
He came home 23rd.
Kyle Busch ran a more “under the radar” race until the final stage. He made his way towards the lead for a lap and hung around the top-five, but was busted for a commitment line violation under the final caution of the race.
He finished 16th.
Daniel Suarez, who started 11th and rallied from a three-lap deficit to finish 12th, described his race as “okay.”
“The first half of the race it was very tough,” Suarez said. “In the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, it’s just so difficult. You get behind one or two adjustments and then you get a lap down or two laps down and it’s very difficult to recover that. Luckily we got a lot of cautions right there at the end and I was able to overcome those laps down that I was down. Very proud of the team. They never give up. They were working hard on the race to try to make it better. I just feel like we have to work hard in the first third – first half – of the race to try to stay with the rest of the guys.”
Denny Hamlin was the highlight of the mixed bag.
He put himself in position with finishes of fifth in the first stage and fourth in the second. He first took the lead briefly under the second stage caution break, but lost it to Keselowski on lap 228. He regained it under the fifth caution with 150 to go, thanks to exiting pit road first, and held it until he was edged out at the line by Keselowski with 113 to go.
Hamlin took the lead for the final time under the seventh caution and was passed by Keselowski on the restart with 39 to go.
He brought his car home to a third-place finish.
“We were competitive and our car drove really good,” Hamlin said. “We were just missing some of the speed from the 2 (Brad Keselowski) and the 22 (Joey Logano) – they run a little more sideways than what we run and just they have more grip. I think we optimized our day for the most part and that’s about as good as we could do.”
RICHMOND, Va. — The Furniture Row Racing duo went into Sunday’s race topping two of the three practice sessions, but finished at different ends of the spectrum when the checkered flag flew at Richmond International Raceway.
Erik Jones was squeezed into the outside wall by Kasey Kahne, a byproduct of three-wide racing on the opening lap of the Toyota Owners 400. It led to a left-front tire cut and slamming the wall in Turn 3 on the fifth lap, bringing out the first caution of the race.
“We got three-wide right on the start and then the 5 ran us up into the fence,” Jones said. “I was trying not to wreck everybody and then a couple laps later the GameStop Prey Toyota Camry cut a left-front tire. It’s just really a heartbreaking day. It’s not what we wanted, but we’ll just have to come back next week with another fast race car and try to run up front again.”
He earned his first last-place finish in his 12th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start.
He leaves Richmond 16th in points, down four spots and 205 points back of Kyle Larson.
It was an across the board day for teammate Martin Truex Jr. with a third-place finish in the first stage and disappearing from the top-10 at the end of the second.
His drive back to the top-10 almost took a fatal blow under the eighth caution with 39 laps to go when he was busted for a commitment line violation, one of six drivers busted for so during the race, and restarted 25th.
But he opted not to pit during the final caution and restarted fourth. On old tires, he salvaged a 10th-place finish.
“We just didn’t have it today, too many issues with rear grip,” explained Truex. “We were good in the beginning but couldn’t get the rear grip issue resolved with our Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Boats Toyota. Just one of those days where you battle all day and hope to get a top-10 and we barely did that. We have some work to do for next time we come here.”
Truex’s third-place in the first stage and 10th overall finish moves him up to second in points, just 40 behind Larson.
RICHMOND, Va. — When the day started, Ryan Blaney was second in the running order. When it ended, he was behind the wall.
Blaney qualified second for the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway, but dropped like a rock after the first restart of the race on lap 12.
The day went from lousy to awful for Blaney with 22 laps to go. Going down the backstretch, Chase Elliott made contact with Kurt Busch above him, sending him into Blaney. Busch’s contact with him cut down his left-rear tire. He tried to hold onto it, but lost control and spun out in Turn 3, bringing out the final caution of the race.
He came home 36th, his fourth straight finish outside the top-10 and third finish of 25th or worse in the last four races.
He leaves Richmond 12th in points 169 back of Kyle Larson.
RICHMOND, Va. — The records will show that Joey Logano started fifth, but he came from the rear for an unapproved adjustments, took the lead from Kyle Larson with less than 20 laps to go to win in the capital of Virginia.
Opting not to pit under the final caution of the race, Larson assumed the race lead. He was unable to hold off Logano on four fresh tires. Logano made the winning pass driving to Larson’s outside and scored his 18th career victory in his 300th career start.
“I didn’t really discuss it much with Todd (Gordon),” Logano said when asked how pit strategy played out. “My thought process was, ‘Oh no!’ right after we stayed out. But we were able to maintain the lead. I don’t think we would have been able to win the race and hold off Kyle (Busch) if it had stayed green. The caution came out. The boys had a great stop which gave us good track position to pass the cars that stayed out. We were able to have a good start, work our way past those cars and tried to take off the best I could. I knew the 2 was so much faster than everybody and I had to get out there as quick and as far as I could. He was on his way to catch me. I think he was catching me a couple tenths a lap. That was all I had inside the car and I burned them up early trying to go. I am proud of the effort of the team. We executed under pressure today and brought a car home that was a 5th-10th place car home to victory lane.”
Teammate Brad Keselowski finished runner-up and Denny Hamlin rounded out the podium.
“I was just hoping for another restart or the race to get extended for another 10 laps,” Keselowski said of the closing laps and pit strategy. “I think we had a ton of long run speed today. That short run at the end…half the field came, half the field didn’t. I just got stuck in a lane of cars that didn’t go. By the time I did, he had a whole straightaway on me. I got it down to a couple of car lengths at the end. All and all I’m happy for Team Penske withe 1-2 finish. We’ll take it and move on.”
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-five.
Matt Kenseth led the field to the green flag at 2:16 p.m. He led the first stage from start to finish and won it.
He maintained the lead of the race until lap 164 when Keselowski passed him on the backstretch, allowing Keselowski to win the second stage.
Kevin Harvick passed Keselowski on the outside to take the lead with 170 to go (lap 230). Keselowski responded eight laps later passing him on his outside exiting Turn 2 to retake the lead.
Hamlin took the lead exiting pit road under the fifth caution of the race. He held the lead from 147 to 113 to go when Keselowski edged him out at the line.
Keselowski lost the lead under a cycle of green flag stops to Ryan Newman, who was staying out to catch a caution. It didn’t work out however as he pitted and gave the lead back to Keselowski, which he’d lose on pit road two cautions later.
Hamlin held the lead on the restart with 39 to go, only to lose it to Keselowski the following lap.
Logano took the lead for the first time passing his teammate exiting Turn 2 with 29 to go.
A single-car wreck in Turn 3 set up the final 19-lap run to the finish.
Erik Jones brought out the first caution on the fifth lap when he suffered a left-front tire blowout and slammed the wall in Turn 3.
“Well, we got three-wide right on the start and then the 5 (Kasey Kahne) ran us up into the fence,” Jones said. “I was trying not to wreck everybody and we got run into the wall by the 5 and then a couple laps later we cut a left front, so it’s really unfortunate. We only made five laps, 10 laps of the race and we’re already out, so it’s just really a heartbreaking day. It’s not what we wanted, but we’ll just have to come back next week, bring another fast race car and try to run up front again.”
Stenhouse brought out the second when he made contact with the wall in Turn 3 on lap 65. The first stage conclusion brought out the third.
The fourth flew for the end of the second stage.
Debris, a towel, in the restart zone brought out the fifth. Jimmie Johnson slammed into teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. exiting Turn 2 with 57 to go, lead to the sixth caution.
With 43 to go, Earnhardt suffered a left-rear tire blowout and slammed the wall in Turn 3 and there was a two-car wreck under the caution involving Clint Bowyer and Ty Dillon.
Debris brought out the eighth with 33 to go.
Kurt Busch made contact with Ryan Blaney, leading to a cut tire on the 21 car and he slammed the wall in Turn 3.
The race lasted three hours, 12 minutes and eight seconds at an average speed of 93.685 mph. There were 18 lead changes among eight different drivers and nine cautions for 53 laps.
Larson leaves with a 40-point lead over Martin Truex Jr.
Kyle Larson topped the chart in final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Richmond International Raceway.
The driver of the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet was the fastest with a time of 22.675 and a speed of 119.074 mph. Martin Truex Jr. was second in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota with a time of 22.686 and a speed of 119.016 mph. Jimmie Johnson was third in his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 22.727 and a speed of 118.801 mph.
Erik Jones was fourth in his No. 77 Furniture Row Toyota with a time of 118.702 mph. Chase Elliott rounded out the top-five in his Hendrick Chevrolet with a time of 22.794 and a speed of 118.452 mph.
Truex posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 117.521 mph.
