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  • Harvick Staying at Stewart-Haas Racing

    Harvick Staying at Stewart-Haas Racing

    CONCORD, N.C. — In case you missed it, Kevin Harvick is staying put with Tony Stewart.

    Thursday, Stewart-Haas Racing announced that the driver of the No. 4 SHR Chevrolet was signed to a long-term extension. This put an end to rumors that Harvick might leave the team at the end of the season when his contract expired.

    “When you have talented people who consistently deliver results, you hold on to them,” Gene Haas, team co-owner, said. “Kevin Harvick is an exceptional talent and we’re very proud to have him a part of Stewart-Haas Racing for years to come.”

    Harvick joined SHR in 2014 after spending the past 13 years with Richard Childress Racing. In his first season with the team, he won five races on his way to claiming the Sprint Cup Series championship. Last season, Harvick tied Bobby Allison for the most runner-up finishes in the modern era of NASCAR at 13 and finished runner-up in the championship to Kyle Busch.

    To date, Harvick has amassed nine wins, 42 top fives and 57 top-10s in 84 races with SHR.

    “It was a big decision to join Stewart-Haas Racing and it has turned out to be my best decision,” said Harvick. “I came to Stewart-Haas Racing to win championships. We have one, but that only made us hungry for more. I’m very happy to have my future secure with a team so dedicated to winning.”

    He currently sits first in points heading into Charlotte.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Dover

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kyle Busch: Busch was one of many cars damaged on a lap 352 restart when Jimmie Johnson’s car got locked in second gear, causing a major incident that took out a number of contenders.

    “There was a time,” Busch said, “that when you mentioned ’18-car crash,’ people thought you were talking about just me.”

    2. Kevin Harvick: Harvick led a race-high 117 laps at Dover but was a victim of a huge pileup with 47 laps to go triggered by Jimmie Johnson’s slow car. Harvick finished 15th, one lap down.

    “Once again,” Harvick said, “I had the strongest car in the field but didn’t win the race. Carl Edwards would call that ‘choking.’”

    3. Kurt Busch: Busch finished fifth at Dover, one of only fourteen cars on the lead lap at race’s end. He is third in the points standings, 32 out of first.

    “There are rumors that my Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick has an offer to join Hendrick Motorsports,” Busch said. “He would presumably replace Kasey Kahne, who’s under contract through the 2018 season. That means Kahne’s contract would have to be bought out in order for Harvick to join HMS. So, once again, I’m reporting that an acquaintance of mine is a ‘contract killer.’”

    4. Carl Edwards: Edwards led 27 laps at Dover before late contact with Kyle Larson’s No. 42 car sent Edwards’ No. 19 Toyota into the wall. Edwards finished 28th, 41 laps off the pace.

    “I think most drivers were impressed by the way Larson raced Matt Kenseth in the closing laps,” Edwards said. “But there’s no way anyone was more impressed by Larson’s patience than Kenseth.”

    5. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski led 49 laps and survived contact with Austin Dillon’s No. 3 car to post a sixth in the AAA 400, his seventh top-10 result of the year.

    “I advocated making some slight adjustments to the Chase format,” Keselowski said. “NASCAR officials didn’t want to hear it, though. I guess they had enough talk of ‘tweaking’ when Jeremy Mayfield was driving.”

    6. Jimmie Johnson: On a restart with 47 laps to go, Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet locked gears, leading to a chain reaction crash behind him that affected 18 cars. Johnson limped home with a 25th at Dover.

    “I’m not sure what went wrong,” Johnson said. “All I know is instead of ‘Six-time,’ guys in the garage were calling me ‘Fix-time.’”

    7. Joey Logano: Like many, Logano’s No. 22 Penske Ford was caught in the restart accident with 47 laps to go, resulting in a 22nd-place finish.

    “As was the case last fall at Martinsville,” Logano said, “I got wrecked and Matt Kenseth came out the winner.”

    8. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished third at Dover, scoring his third consecutive top 10 and again leading the charge for Hendrick Motorsports. He is seventh in the Sprint Cup points standings, 77 out of first.

    “I’m not surprised at all I’m doing so well,” Elliott said. “I would say, ‘It’s no accident,’ but that may be considered a poor choice of words considering what happened to the rest of the HMS crew.”

    9. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex’s misfortune continued at Dover, as his No. 78 Furniture Row Toyota was damaged in the big wreck with 47 laps to go. Despite the damage, Truex scrambled to salvage a ninth-place finish and is now ninth in the points standings, 82 out of first.

    “This team is cursed,” Truex said. “This team is also cursing, because we are sick and tired of our bad luck. It’s too bad NASCAR outlawed cigarette manufacturers from sponsorships because we would definitely want Lucky Strike on our car.”

    10. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth won the AAA 400 at Dover, avoiding a huge crash that wiped out much of the field and holding off Kyle Larson for the win.

    “I knew Larson was coming for me,” Kenseth said. “You could say ‘I had a Target on my back.’

    “But I admire Kyle’s integrity in racing me clean for the win. Just ask Kyle Busch—there’s a fine line between racing a JGR driver like a gentlemen and racing a JGR driver like a teammate.”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Kansas

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Kansas

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kyle Busch: Busch held off Kevin Harvick down the stretch to win the GoBowling,com 400 at Kansas. Busch is second in the Sprint Cup points standings, four behind Harvick.

    “Harvick got right on my bumper,” Busch said, “and I thought for sure he’d bump me to get by. But he didn’t. Of course, everybody, Landon Cassill included, knows that Harvick is a man of great integrity. He would never wreck someone just so he could win a race. He would, however, wreck someone just so he could advance to the next round of the Chase.”

    2. Kevin Harvick: Harvick was strong late at Kansas and nearly overtook Kyle Busch for the lead, but ultimately settled for second.

    “I hit a piece of debris and damaged the splitter,” Harvick said. “Otherwise, I would have passed Busch easily. So, you could say that ‘piece of trash’ won.”

    3. Carl Edwards: Edwards tagged the wall early in the GoBowling.com 400, causing a flat tire that ultimately cost him two laps. But the No. 19 Stanley Tools team recovered to finish 11th. Edwards is third in the points standings, 23 out of first.

    “I indeed hit the wall,” Edwards said, “but the damage was not severe. That’s a testament to the great engineering that goes into making these walls safe. So, while I can’t expect Kyle Busch to be, I can certainly expect walls to be ‘forgiving.’”

    4. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski took 10th at Kansas, surviving a spin with 26 laps to go to post his sixth top 10 finish of the year.

    “I got loose racing with Denny Hamlin,” Keselowski said. “Interestingly enough, there was no contact between us. That’s certainly not the first time Hamlin and I have looked at each other ‘sideways.’”

    5. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished 17th at Kansas, his day sidetracked by a late pit road speeding penalty that cost him crucial track position.

    “Track position was everything at Kansas,” Johnson said. “If you didn’t already know, ‘track position’ is NASCAR code for ‘it’s impossible to pass.’ That’s why you saw so many pit road speeding penalties. That’s where the action is. And that’s why, when you ask a driver about racing at Kansas, they always say, ‘It’s the pits.’”

    6. Kurt Busch: Busch finished third in the GoBowling.com 400, recording his third top-five result of the year.

    “Kansas Motor Speedway had a special booth set up where fans could buy a bowling ball and have finger holes drilled to their exact specifications,” Busch said. “They also had televisions broadcasting the race so fans wouldn’t miss a single minute. So, if you asked anyone what was going on in that booth or the race track, they’d tell you the same thing: ‘It’s boring.’”

    7. Joey Logano: Logano slammed into Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota after Hamlin and Brad Keselowski got loose in a lap 221 incident. The wreck sent the No. 22 Penske Ford to the garage and Logano finished 38th.

    “Matt Kenseth and I spoke before the Kansas race,” Logano said, “and came to some sort of mutual understanding about our past issues. But it’s a tenuous peace treaty. We weren’t quite ready to shake hands, so instead, we just shook fists.”

    8. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Earnhardt finished 15th at Kansas on a tough day for Hendrick Motorsports, which placed only one car in the top 10.

    “My stepmother Teresa and my brother Kerry are locked in a court dispute over the use of the ‘Earnhardt’ name,” Earnhardt said. “I’m surprised Teresa didn’t have a problem with a race sponsored by bowling because she thinks the use of ‘3’ fingers is an infringement upon the name.”

    9. Chase Elliott: Elliott recorded the best finish among Hendrick Motorsports drivers with a ninth in the GoBowling,com 400.

    “I may not have the Cup titles of Jimmie Johnson,” Elliott said, “or the popularity of Dale Earnhardt Jr., or the wasted potential of Kasey Kahne. What I do have is a legendary pedigree and an iconic car number. So, unlike some other young drivers looking to make an impact in this sport, I don’t have to worry about making a name or a number for myself.”

    10. Austin Dillon: Dillon finished sixth at Kansas, posting his sixth top 10 of the year.

    “My No. 3 RCR Chevy was fast,” Dillon said. “My teammate Ryan Newman finished seventh. That means RCR put two cars in the top 10. Could we ever put three cars in the ‘top 10?’ Only if Paul Menard drops 20 digits from his car number.”

  • Contenders Taken Out in Late Race Wreck

    Contenders Taken Out in Late Race Wreck

    Several strong cars were taken out of contention in a wreck in the closing stages of last night’s race.

    A lap after the penultimate restart, Denny Hamlin threaded the needle going between Brad Keselowski and Kyle Larson entering turn 3. This pulled the air off of the No. 2 Ford and sent Keselowski spinning. Likewise, doing so also sent Hamlin spinning. He got into the side of Larson and put him into the wall. Hamlin continued spinning and rear-ended the wall. Blinded by the enveloping smoke, Joey Logano t-boned the drivers side of the No. 11 Toyota.

    “I had a huge run off of turn two and I was going to go low on the on 2 (Keselowski), but he went to block, so I went through the middle and I didn’t let off into turn three,” Hamlin said on what caused the accident. “I went through the middle of them and I either got touched from the 2 or I got loose underneath the 42 (Larson). I’m not sure really until I get a good look at it honestly.

    “I was going in there three-wide. I wasn’t letting off and the 42 was just too close up there. It wasn’t his fault by any means, but we were both trying to drive in there to clear each other and I just got loose and I mean that’s crazy there was no contact, but both me and 2 (Brad Keselowski) got loose there. Shame – I just screwed us on pit road twice. Our car was a fast car today. Just didn’t show it. We were just in the back because I sped twice. I’ve got to get better on pit lane to give us a chance and then I was just going for it there because I knew our car had some speed. I was on two tires and the guys in front of me were on none or two. I was just going for it. I’ve got the win and that’s part of this format is going for it and that’s what we did.”

    “I think everybody got a glimpse of just how important and how impactful the air is to the race cars,” Keselowski said speaking on the wreck. “We just all went down in the corner and the air spun us all out just with the positioning we had. It’s unfortunate, but it is what it is.”

    “It just looked like the 2 got loose and then the 11 got loose,” Logano said. “I was hoping the 11 would come down the hill and when you’re in the smoke you can’t see anything. I hit the wall, so I knew where that was and I just kept riding and riding and hoping the 11 would come down the hill because I couldn’t see and he stayed up there and I got him right in the door. It’s unfortunate. It’s just racing. Things happen sometimes.”

    Keselowski brought his car home to a 10th-place finish while Larson finished 35th, Hamlin finished 37th and Logano finished 38th.

    Keselowski leaves sixth in points, Logano leaves seventh, Hamlin leaves 13th and Larson leaves 21st.

  • Kyle Busch Bowls Winning Strike at Kansas

    Kyle Busch Bowls Winning Strike at Kansas

    While the yellow brick road didn’t lead to the Emerald City tonight, it did lead Kyle Busch to victory lane in America’s heartland.

    The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led 69 laps and was up front when it counted to take the checkered flag in the GoBowling.com 400 at Kansas Speedway. It’s his 37th career victory in the Sprint Cup Series, his third of the season and his first at Kansas.

    “This is pretty big – man, there’s been a lot of rough days here at Kansas, that’s for sure,” Busch said. “A lot of good ones too, but I just can’t say enough about this team and everyone on this M&M’s Camry, this thing was awesome tonight. At the beginning and middle part of the race we weren’t great, but Adam Stevens (crew chief) and the guys, they just kept working on it. The 78 (Martin Truex Jr.) was probably the fastest car, but we kept ourselves in the game. It was pretty impressive.”

    Kevin Harvick finished second in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet while Kurt Busch rounded out the podium in his No. 41 SHR Chevrolet.

    “For whatever reason I got tight, I hit a big piece of debris down there about six or seven laps into the run,” Harvick said of those final laps chasing down Kyle Busch. “From that point on I just got really tight…We overhauled this thing this morning to try to get it close. They did a great job.”

    “We battled hard,” Busch said of his night. “I was trying to find all the different lines on the track to find speed. We did a lot of things good and to win you’ve got to be great. We are right there, we are knocking on the door, but thanks to Haas Automation, Monster Energy, Chevrolet, everybody at Stewart-Haas it’s a great second and third place finish. We always want to win and we have been doing really good with this Tony Gibson (crew chief) led team.”

    Matt Kenseth led three laps on his way to a fourth-place finish in his No. 20 JGR Toyota.

    “It’s our best finish of the year so that’s the bright side,” Kenseth said. “I’m sort of happy for Kyle (Busch) and Adam (Stevens, 18 crew chief), but seriously happy for everyone at JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing). Martin (Truex Jr.) had them covered and I don’t know what happened to him in the pits or whatever. We were about a second to fourth-place car most of the day. I thought we were as good as the 18 (Busch) if we could have had the position, but it was tough to stick on that bottom. I tried something different there to try to lay back and get the pass, but once they were single file I couldn’t go get them. We were just a little off, but these guys had great pit stops and great adjustments and we seem to be getting closer.”

    Ryan Blaney was the highest finishing rookie as he rounded out the top-five in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford.

    “We started off the race really, really good, and I thought that’s when we were the strongest – when the sun was up and the track was a little bit hotter,” Blaney said. “We were really strong and then as the night came and it cooled off a little bit, we lost a little bit of speed. I felt like everyone kind of gained grip and got better and we lost a little bit. It took us a while to try to get that back. We got it closer towards the end there, but it was still a decent finish for us. We got some spots with that little accident, but we were up there all day. It was just a good day for us, a good night and something to build off of for sure.”

    Austin Dillon finished sixth in his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Ryan Newman finished seventh in his No. 31 RCR Chevrolet followed by AJ Allmendinger who finished eighth in his No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet. Chase Elliott finished ninth in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and Brad Keselowski rounded out the top-10 in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford.

    “It was a long night,” Keselowski said. “We had so much long run speed, but weren’t where we wanted to be on the short runs, so we would kind of lose track position and then gain it back at the end. We kind of clawed our way up into that fifth to 10th range and stalled out there a couple times. With about 30 to go we made a great strategy call that got us up to fourth with fresh tires, and it looked like we were gonna have a shot to give Kyle a run for the race win and kind of got caught up there in turn three battling for second, so that kind of put us in the back. We drove back up to 10th in the last 20 laps from 17th or whatever, so it was up and down.”

    Martin Truex Jr., who led race-high of 172 laps, had a loose wheel on his final stop and finished a disappointing 14th.

    “I couldn’t believe it,” Truex said on the loose wheel. “Went around (turns) one and two and I was like, ‘Wheels loose.’ I kept telling myself that maybe it’s not me, maybe it’s just shaking because it has tape on it or something stupid. It was loose and I knew it right away. Frustrating, but that’s how it goes.”

    The race lasted two hours, 49 minutes and 20 seconds at an average speed of 141.909 mph. There were 16 lead changes among 10 different drivers and six cautions for 30 laps.

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  • Martin Truex Jr. on the Pole for Kansas

    Martin Truex Jr. on the Pole for Kansas

    Martin Truex Jr. will lead the field to the green flag for tomorrow’s race in America’s heartland.

    The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota scored the pole for the GoBowling.com 400 at Kansas Speedway with a time of 28.284 and a speed of 190.921 mph. It’s his eighth career pole and first of 2016.

    “Thought it was good,” Truex said of his qualifying run. “Feels good to be getting another pole – it’s been a long time. I think I’ve got a XFINITY Series pole here at Kansas back in about ’05, so it’s been a little while here at Kansas and it’s been a few years in the Cup Series altogether. We’ve been really close with our Furniture Row team the past few years. We’ve qualified second a handful of times and been just right there at it. We’ve led the first round. We’ve led the second round. We just haven’t quite figured out how to lead that third round, so today just really proud of everyone at Furniture Row Racing. Bass Pro Shops/ TRACKER Boats Toyota was really good all day long and just can’t say enough about my team and what we have going on right now. Our Toyotas are really fast. Everybody at TRD (Toyota Racing Development) is giving us great engines and just doing all the things it takes to have fast race cars and that’s what it takes to get poles. Excited to be here. Excited for all of our guys and Barney (Visser, team owner) and just everyone in general for all they do and hopefully we’ll be able to finish the deal here tomorrow night.”

    Matt Kenseth will start second in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota after posting a time of 28.337 and a speed of 190.564 mph. Denny Hamlin will start third in his No. 11 JGR Toyota after posting a time of 28.361 and a speed of 190.402 mph. Kurt Busch will start fourth in his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet after posting a time of 28.401 and a speed of 190.134 mph.

    “I told them to write down the driver needs to get (Turns) 3 and 4 done better so that our lap times can improve,” Busch said. “I felt like I overdrove Turn 3 and I could feel the engine bog down a little bit off of 4 just because I killed the speed, I killed the momentum of the car. I didn’t quite carry it smoothly through 3 and 4. One and 2 was alright, but all-in-all the Haas Automation/Monster Energy Chevy, it feels good to be the top Chevy.”

    Brad Keselowski will round out the top-five starters in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford after posting a time of 28.435 and a speed of 189.907 mph.

    Kyle Busch will start sixth in his No. 18 JGR Toyota. Ryan Blaney will start seventh in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford. Ryan Newman will start eighth in his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

    “Well, it was a decent run,” Newman said. “I’m okay with starting eighth. Track position is going to be important during the race. We’ve had a solid day and we have a good Grainger Chevy. I’m happy for my buddy, (Martin Truex, Jr.) even though he’s not the right brand, congrats to him.”

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will start ninth in his No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford.

    “That’s our goal in qualifying every week now, short track or mile-and-a-half, is to qualify in the top 10,” Stenhouse said. “We’re a little bit better at it at the mile-and-a-half for sure, but we had a little mishap there in the first round. I had to go out twice or I think we could have been a little higher in that final round. We got a little extra run on the tires there that first round, so that was a bummer.

    “We did make some changes right before we switched to qualifying trim that I think made a good direction for our car and it actually ran faster and was a little bit better for us on the long run, so I’m excited to look at that and try to put all the pieces together and make the right adjustments for tomorrow night,” Stenhouse added.

    Trevor Bayne will round out the top-10 starters in his No. 6 RFR Ford.

    Paul Menard will start 11th in his No. 27 RCR Chevrolet. Carl Edwards will round out the 12 drivers that made the final round of qualifying in his No. 19 JGR Toyota.

    Forty cars were entered, so no driver was sent home.

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  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Talladega

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Talladega

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kyle Busch: Busch finished second in a wild and crash-filled Geico 500 at Talladega as Brad Keselowski captured the win. Busch is second in the Sprint Cup points standings, nine behind Kevin Harvick.

    “I finished second,” Busch said, “and Carl Edwards finished 35th. Just like last week, I see Edwards behind me.

    “Everybody knows I owe Carl Edwards. Carl knows, too. I told Carl I’d give him fair warning, though. That’ll come in the form of Jamie McMurray. When Carl sees McMurray, he’ll know he’s got ‘1’ coming.”

    2. Kevin Harvick: Harvick’s strong day at Talladega ended on a sour note when he was sucked into a last-lap pileup. He finished 15th.

    “Danger is always a factor at Talladega,” Harvick said. “Nothing speaks to that better than the fact that Busch beer was on the No. 4 Chevrolet for the race. Whether you’re headed to the mountains of Busch or the air of Talladega, you’re likely to get wasted.

    “Tony Stewart started the race. Ty Dillon took over after the first caution. That was at the orders of Tony’s doctors. So, it was good news for Tony’s back, and his stomach.

    3. Carl Edwards: Edwards suffered damage in a lap 96 incident, then blew a tire on lap 111 and slammed Jimmie Johnson. The wreck ended Edwards day, and he finished 35th in the Geico 500 at Talladega.

    “I still haven’t spoken to Kyle Busch about bumping him out of the lead at Richmond,” Edwards said. “I expect I will at some point. When I do want Kyle’s attention, I’ll just tap him on the shoulder.”

    4. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski led a race-high 46 laps and won the Geico 500.

    “There are two types of people that love racing at Talladega,” Keselowski said. “Fans, and the race winner.

    “But seriously, Brian France claims to have safety in mind for the drivers, but what’s more likely to be hurt are his feelings, not a driver. If you can’t take criticism from Tony Stewart, you’re not fit to be in this sport, because everyone’s been criticized by Tony.”

    5. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson’s day ended early after a lap 160 incident with Kurt Busch that sent Johnson into the wall. Johnson finished 22nd, six laps down.

    “Busch just ran right through me,” Johnson said. “Kurt’s been known to charge with full ferocity. But it’s one thing to pin your ears back surgically, which Kurt had done in 2006, and pin your ears back figuratively, which he did at Talladega.”

    6. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Earnhardt started third at Talladega and struggled from the start, spinning on lap 50 before being taken out by Carl Edwards after the No. 19 car blew a tire. Earnhardt finished 40th.

    “My steering wheel came off at one point during the race,” Earnhardt said. “Here’s the interesting thing: that’s the best my car drove all day.”

    7. Kurt Busch: Busch ran up front for much of the day at Talladega and delivered an eighth-place finish in the Geico 500.

    “To succeed at Talladega,” Busch said, “you have to find the right balance of patience and aggression. The problem with fellow drivers have with me is they lose their patience altogether.”

    8. Joey Logano: Logano finished 25th at Daytona, with a strong run negated by a last-lap pileup that victimized the No. 22 and several other cars. Logano is fifth in the points standings, 35 out of first.

    “Cars were going airborne right and left,” Logano said. “As a driver, you hate to see that. It sends a chill up your spine and makes your testicles retract way up into your abdomen. That’s a real ‘aero package.’”

    9. Chase Elliott: Elliott won the pole at Talladega, thirty years after his father Bill did and came through with a fifth in the Geico 500.

    “’Like father, like son,’ as they say,” said Elliott. “I guess it runs in the family. I could say, ‘I have speed coursing through my veins,’ but I’d rather not be mistaken for Jeremy Mayfield.”

    10. Austin Dillon: Dillon finished third at Talladega, earning his third top-five of the year.

    “There was a lot of duct tape used at Talladega on Sunday,” Dillon said. “That’s not unusual. This is Alabama. Duct tape is a part of life. Heck, it’s part of the state flag.”

  • The White Zone: Plate Racing Isn’t Going Away

    The White Zone: Plate Racing Isn’t Going Away

    TALLADEGA, Ala.– “The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading…” and I need to make it clear that restrictor plate racing isn’t going away.

    As usual, yesterday’s GEICO 500 was quite the show of excitement and carnage. We saw cars upside down and a whole gaggle of cars caught up in one wreck, 37 lead changes among 17 different drivers and mayhem coming to the finish line. It was hands down the most competitive race of the season and arguably one of the best races at Talladega. That, however, hasn’t stopped the critics of restrictor plate racing from pointing to the carnage as the argument against it.

    Now plate racing has always come with its detractors. The late David Poole was probably the most hardened critic of restrictor plate racing. Every Monday after a race at Daytona International Speedway or Talladega Superspeedway, he would pen a column in The Charlotte Observer and say on The Morning Drive on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that we should knock down the banking at Daytona and Talladega. The wreck with Carl Edwards at Talladega in 2009 sent him over the edge and led to him suffering a fatal heart attack.

    As of late, I’ve started to notice some more people I work with in the media center, I won’t name any of them, who are starting to turn against plate racing.

    Here’s my take on restrictor plate racing: I love it and I’m not ashamed to say it! Whether you like it or not, Daytona and Talladega are the most competitive races of the season and the numbers back that up. The number of passes is higher than at any other track and the lead changes are higher than at any other track. More than anything, it’s unpredictable and anyone who so much as qualifies can realistically win.

    The carnage is always there, but that’s part of the game. If you go into a race weekend at Daytona or Talladega thinking to yourself that you won’t see big crashes, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

    Racing is a dangerous sport. It’s been a dangerous sport since auto racing was born in France in the early 1900s and remains the most dangerous sport in the world. To quote Brad Keselowski, “racing has always been that balance of daredevils and chess players.”

    We’ve seen other forms of racing continue to race at tracks that don’t fit any current safety standards. One of Formula 1’s crown jewel races is held every Memorial Day Sunday on the streets of Monte Carlo and it doesn’t come close to meeting the safety standards of modern F1. Speaking of Memorial Day, IndyCar continues to race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway despite the fact that these cars are racing at speeds that couldn’t have been imagined in the early days of the Brickyard. Just last year, we saw heart-stopping wrecks in the days leading up to the Indianapolis 500 because of the emphasis on higher speeds.

    Despite all the dangers of Monaco and Indianapolis, these racing series still race at these historic venues for one reason; they’re the cathedrals that embody the greatness of their respective sports.

    This was the reason that Daytona and Talladega were built in the first place. They were built to be the cathedrals that embody what is so damn great about NASCAR.

    The bottom line is that unless fans can settle for Daytona and Talladega becoming drawn out and uncompetitive like Indianapolis, which is exactly what would happen without the plates, plate racing isn’t going away.

    My plane is about to take off, so I must get going. Until next time, I’ll leave you with this fact. It takes about 142.18 licks to reach the center of a Tootsie pop.

     

  • Dillon Gives Stewart a Top-10

    Dillon Gives Stewart a Top-10

    TALLADEGA, Ala.– While Tony Stewart was the driver of record for starting the race, relief driver Ty Dillon drove the car to a top-10 finish at Talladega.

    After switching out with Stewart under the first caution of the race, the relief driver of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing survived carnage to finish sixth in the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. It gave Stewart his first top-10 since the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway in October of 2014.

    In what was unofficially his first Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega, Dillon described it as “just wild and crazy.”

    “We had a really strong car,” Dillon said. “Fighting from behind, it’s hard to get it up front. I felt like if we could lead a pack at any point, we would have put ourselves up front. Early one, once I first got in the car, we drove right up to into the Top 10 really quick and we had some air on the nose and was able to go. The team built an awesome race car. I just kind of got mired back. I made some mistakes being my first time here racing. But we were able to dodge crashes and survive here, which is the big thing. We made some good moves at the end to get us into to the top six or seven.”

    The decision for Stewart to get out of his car after starting the race at Talladega was done at the request of his doctors. Even still, the ever competitive “Smoke” wasn’t too thrilled with the prospect.

    “It sucks, to be honest,” Stewart said. “I know why we got to do it, but it sucks. It still sucks that you have to do it but if I hadn’t broke my back at the end of January, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

    Stewart suffered a burst fracture of his L1 vertebrae in a dune buggy crash in the desert on January 31. The injury forced him to miss the first eight races of his retirement season. He returned last week to an 18th-place finish at Richmond International Raceway.

    He added that this would be the “last time we have to do it and I am back in next week.”

    Stewart leaves Talladega 38th in points 71 back of current 30th-place driver Matt DiBenedetto.

  • Brad Keselowski Endures Carnage to Win at Talladega

    Brad Keselowski Endures Carnage to Win at Talladega

    TALLADEGA, Ala.– As the field wrecked behind, Brad Keselowski was up front when it mattered and scored the victory at the Alabama roulette wheel.

    The driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford led 46 laps, the most of anyone, and survived a host of wrecks on his way to winning the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

    “I didn’t have a great frame to see what happened to everyone else,” Keselowski said. “The guys at Team Penske gave me a great Miller Lite Ford and this Fusion was hauling it. One of the best tickets to stay out of the wrecks at Talladega is if you can stay up front, and you’ve got a great shot of not getting wrecked. But this No. 2. Daytona didn’t go the way we wanted it to go. We thought we were gonna be better than that, but we just didn’t show the speed in the 500 and the guys went to work and they brought me a really strong car here for Talladega. I’m so proud of everybody at Team Penske. To be back in Victory Lane with two wins this year, and we feel like we can get a lot more. We’re growing as a team. We made a lot of changes at Team Penske and this feels really good, really good.”

    The victory was the 19th of his Sprint Cup Series career, second of 2016 and fourth at Talladega.

    Kyle Busch led 12 laps on his way home second in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. He described what others were doing at the end of the race as “some moves that you made that were just lucky and just trying to get through some of the holes that were there and that were forming and guys bumping and banging each other, pushing all around and everything and trying to get the most out of what we had with our Skittles Camry,” Busch said. “You know, second’s not bad. I think the quota of three cars on their lids today is a little high, but it’s racing.”

    Austin Dillon rounded out the podium in his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

    “My car was actually probably dragging; the No. 1 (Jamie McMurray) could stick to my back bumper and he gave me a heck of a push all the way through (Turns) 3 and 4 and when he did that, I knew we were going to have a shot at it,” Dillon said. “But as soon as I pulled out, it was kind of a parachute but I had to make a shot at it. I wanted to have a shot at the win. If I would have pushed the No. 18 (Kyle Busch), he might have beaten the No. 2, I don’t know. But hat’s off to these guys. They fought so hard. We pitted 15 times, they said. That’s amazing. The car was killed, and to come home with a third place finish we’ve got to thank the good Lord above.”

    Jamie McMurray finished fourth in his No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.

    “I was really fortunate,” McMurray said. “I was only caught up in one of the wrecks. And I don’t know exactly what happened in the other two. Honestly, I don’t even know what happened in mine. I was so lucky that I got hit in the back and I spun to the bottom, but it didn’t tear-up the front-end. It didn’t tear the splitter up. And I don’t know that my car was faster afterwards, but it didn’t seem to hurt it any.”

    Chase Elliott led 27 laps and was the highest finishing rookie as he rounded out the top-five in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. When asked about what stood out to him in his Cup debut at Talladega, he said, “trying to finish. You can’t have a good day unless you finish. Just trying to focus in on that. Obviously, it got a little wild. For us, we just tried to keep that in mind and make it to the end.”

    Ty Dillon, subbing for Tony Stewart, finished sixth in his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet. Clint Bowyer earned his second top-10 of the season with a seventh-place finish in his No. 15 HScott Motorsports Chevrolet. Kurt Busch was leading with two laps to go before getting shuffled back and finishing eighth in his No. 41 SHR Chevrolet. Ryan Blaney finished ninth in his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford. Trevor Bayne led 22 laps on his way to rounding out the top-10 in his No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford.

    The race lasted three hours, 34 minutes and 15 seconds at an average speed of 140.046 mph. There were 37 lead changes among 17 different drivers and 10 cautions for 41 laps.

    Kevin Harvick leaves Talladega with a nine-point lead over Kyle Busch in the points standings.

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