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Tag: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

  • “Bad Brad” Leads the Way in Opening Practice

    “Bad Brad” Leads the Way in Opening Practice

    Brad Keselowski was fastest in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series opening practice on Friday at Kansas Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Team Penske Ford set the fastest lap in first practice with a time of 27.785 and a speed of 194.349 mph. Austin Dillon followed in second in his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet with a time of 27.803 and a speed of 194.224 mph. Matt Kenseth placed his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in third with a time of 27.814 and a speed of 194.147 mph. Ryan Newman timed his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet in fourth with a time of 27.879 and a speed of 193.694 mph. Brian Scott rounded out the top-five in his No. 33 Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet with a time of 27.885 and a speed of 193.653 mph.

    Martin Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing, Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports, Kurt Busch of Stewart-Haas Racing, Carl Edwards of Joe Gibbs Racing and Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing rounded out the top-10.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. of Hendrick Motorsports timed in at 11th while teammate Jeff Gordon timed in 13th.

    Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing timed in 14th. Team Penske driver Joey Logano timed in 18th. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick  was the lowest-finishing Chase driver in 27th.

  • Hollywood Casino 400 Preview

    Hollywood Casino 400 Preview

    Sing a song about the heartland because the NASCAR convoy is rolling into Kansas.

    This week, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Kansas Speedway for the Hollywood Casino 400. It’s the 31st race of the season, fifth of the Chase and second of the Contender Round. The motto for this weekend is simple: Win this weekend, or race for your life at Talladega.

    Kansas Speedway is a 1.5 mile (2.4 km) intermediate track located in Kansas City, Kan. It’s played host to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series since 2001. I recently re-watched that 2001 race and I forgot that it was a wreck fest. That first race had 13 caution flags for 70 laps (26.2 percent of the race), 19 lead changes among 11 different drivers, lasted three hours, 37 minutes and 19 seconds, an average speed of 110.576 mph and was won by one Jeffrey Michael Gordon – that is his middle name – on his way to his fourth Sprint Cup Series championship. It was also his last win for the next 31 races.

    When NASCAR returned in 2002, it was just as much a wreck fest. There were 11 cautions for 52 laps (19.5 percent of the race), 13 lead changes among 10 different drivers, lasted three hours, 21 minutes and 16 seconds, an average speed of 119.394 mph and was won again by Jeff Gordon. This race stands out for two reasons: Sterling Marlin’s wreck on the backstretch that broke his neck and ended his time as a top level NASCAR driver and Jimmie Johnson became the first ever rookie to lead the Sprint Cup Series points.

    Despite 19 races, Kansas hasn’t had that “marquee” moment that defines it or gives the track a personality. When you think of Daytona, you think speed, packs, carnage and glory. When you think of Bristol, you think small, fast and action-packed. When you think of Darlington, you think tradition, old school and black marks. But Kansas just doesn’t have the defining trait that makes it stand out. It’s basically just another track on the schedule.

    However, I could argue that Kansas is close to being a track for carnage and mayhem. Since the in-season repave in 2012, the number of cautions we see in a race jumped into the double-digit average. In the last six races at Kansas, we’ve had 14, eight, 15, eight, eight and nine cautions for an average of 10.3 cautions per race. Of those 62 cautions, 51 have been for wrecks. The first caution of the race flies on average at lap 28. The earliest the first caution has come out in those six races has been on the second lap in the Chase race in 2013. The latest the first caution has flown has been on lap 72 in last year’s Chase race. The final caution flies on average with 35 laps to go. The furthest from the final lap the last green flag flew was with 64 laps to go in May of 2014. The closest to the final lap the last green flag flew was with six laps to go this past May.

    It’s also worth noting that there’s only been one green-white-checker finish at Kansas Speedway.

    As I mentioned in my piece on why the Contender Round favored Jeff Gordon, his top-10 average is his eighth best of any track and his top-five average is his third best. He finished fourth here back in May and I think Jeff Gordon could battle for the win this Sunday. Being at the bottom of the Chase grid, I could expect to see Matt Kenseth throwing caution to the wind and racing up front. I can’t discount Kevin Harvick. Hell, it would be wise for defending race winner Joey Logano to win this race to force his rivals to race for their lives next week at Talladega.

    So who will win and not have to worry about Talladega? Find out this Sunday at 1:30 p.m. on NBC. You can also hear the radio broadcast on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

    Joe Moore, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace will work the booth. Dave Moody will work Turns 1 and 2 from a billboard outside Turn 2. Mike Bagley will work turns 3 and 4 from a billboard outside Turn 3. Alex Hayden, Winston Kelley and Steve Post will work pit road.

    *Lineup is always subject to change.

  • Weekend Schedule for Kansas

    Weekend Schedule for Kansas

    Here’s the weekend lineup for the NASCAR weekend at Kansas Speedway.

    The Sprint Cup Series hits the track first on Friday at 1:00 p.m. on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra. The Sprint Cup practice sessions can also be heard on MRN. I’ve seen some conflicting reports on this with some outlets saying NBCSN and others saying CNBC. The XFINITY Series hits the track at 2:30 p.m. for their first practice session. That can be seen on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra. They’ll be on track again for their final practice session at 4:30 p.m. on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra. Sprint Cup Series qualifying begins at 6:00 p.m. on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra. You can also hear the radio broadcast on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio (subscription required for the latter). Forty-four cars are entered for the race, so one will fail to make the field.

    The Sprint Cup cars hit the track on Saturday for their second practice session at 11:30 a.m. on CNBC and NBC Sports Live Extra. XFINITY Series qualifying starts at 12:30 p.m. on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra. With 41 cars on the entry list, one will fail to make the show. Sprint Cup Series final practice starts at 2:30 p.m. on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra. Countdown to Green for the XFINITY race starts at 3:30 p.m. on NBCSN. The green flag flies for the Kansas Lottery 300 at approximately 4:18 p.m. on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra. You can also hear the radio broadcast on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

    NASCAR Raceday hits the air Sunday at 11:00 a.m. on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports Go. NASCAR America Sunday starts at 1:00 p.m. on NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra. Countdown to Green starts at 1:30 p.m. on NBC. Motor Racing Network hits the air at 1:30 p.m. Pre-race ceremonies begin at 2:00 p.m. The green flag for the Hollywood Casino 400 flies at approximately 2:31 p.m. on NBC and NBC Sports Live Extra. You can also hear the radio broadcast on MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. The post-race show starts shortly after the conclusion of the race on NBCSN. NASCAR Victory Lap starts at 6:30 p.m. on NBCSN. NASCAR Victory Lane starts at midnight on Fox Sports 1.

  • “The White-Zone” Get Over Your Hatred of the Chase

    “The White-Zone” Get Over Your Hatred of the Chase

    “The white-zone is for immediate loading and unloading…” and it’s time NASCAR fans load up their cars, find the nearest anti-Chase bridge and get over it.

    For some reason, even after 11 years, there’s still a notable section of the NASCAR populace that can’t accept the fact that the Chase is never going away. I understood the distaste for it back in 2004 when it was a whole new idea of determining the champion, but now it’s just gotten to the point of being on par with those who hate dubbed anime with a passion…It makes no sense!

    I’ve heard just about every excuse for being against it. “It’s not tradition.” “It’s artificial entertainment.” “It’s killing the sport.” “It cost the Red Sox Game 6 of the 1986 World Series.” Okay, I made up that last one, but you get my point.

    For those who say it’s “not tradition,” traditions change. Once upon a time, it was a tradition in NASCAR to race back to the caution. What started as the leaders running at a slightly reduced speed to allow any lapped car to get their lap back turned into a fustercluck of leaders speeding back to keep certain cars from getting back.

    On Sept. 14, 2003, Dale Jarrett got turned by Jimmy Spencer and hit the wall driver-side at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. His car came to a stop in the middle of the track. Meanwhile on the backstretch, race leader Bill Elliott, Ryan Newman and Michael Waltrip slowed down to a reduced rate while Bobby Labonte, Kurt Busch and Jimmy Spencer rocketed by trying to get back their lap. That gaggle of cars had taken up most of the track exiting Turn 4 with Jarrett’s No. 88 UPS Ford sitting lifeless in the middle of the track.

    Wally Dallenbach put it best. “Here’s the bad deal. You got a car sitting in the race track right now and these guys are racing back to the yellow. That’s just…ugh I hate that!”

    NASCAR had always maintained that the leader should be the first one back to the line and let him decide who should get his lap back. Now Labonte had made a deal with Elliott to let him back on the lead lap the next caution and Bill slowed down to let him pass. Then Jimmy Spencer, being Jimmy Spencer, decided to fly up to the leader and almost spun Waltrip out to get by.

    This incident, and a string of close calls in the 2003 season, finally made NASCAR realize someone is going to get killed if this keeps going and they banned the practice of racing back to the yellow the next week at Dover.

    With no social media at the time, I don’t know how well received it was with the NASCAR fans, but 12 years later, I don’t hear anyone clambering for the return of racing back to the caution.

    With the “it’s artificial entertainment” argument, someone will have to explain that to me. I don’t understand it. If you’re saying it’s not natural, no sport on Earth is natural entertainment. All sports on Earth are artificial entertainment. Someone didn’t just one day plant a seed into the ground and suddenly, Bristol Motor Speedway popped out of the ground. Until someone shows me a field of Sprint Cup cars growing out of the ground, it’s not natural. Even the traditional method of determining a champion is not natural. A human created an arbitrary points system, thereby making it artificial.

    For the “it’s killing the sport” argument, that holds no weight until you present an academic study proving that the sagging attendance and diminishing ratings correlates with the Chase.

    In conclusion, traditions change, all sports are artificial and there’s no evidence to support the hypothesis that the Chase is killing the sport.

    If you honestly think the old way of determining the champion is better than the Chase, that’s your right to think as such. But after 11 years, the Chase isn’t going away. It’s here to stay. The current incarnation of the Chase is the best and it’ll carry this sport for a number of years.

    My plane is ready to board, so I must wrap this up. Until next time, I’ll leave you with this fact. Heart attacks are more likely to happen on a Monday.

    Chase-2015-logo.jpg.main

     

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Charlotte

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Charlotte

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Joey Logano: Logano led 227 of 334 laps and held off Kevin Harvick down the stretch to claim the Bank Of America 500. With the win, Logano advanced to the next round of the Chase For The Cup.

    “I knew Harvick was creeping up behind me,” Logano said. “I knew I had to hit my marks to maintain my cushion. I kind of utilized Harvick’s strategy from Dover, because I knew if he got close enough to see my rear end, it would be bad news.”

    2. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished second in the Bank Of America 500, posting his 12th runner-up finish of the year.

    “I ‘backed up’ my win in Dover with a second,” Harvick said.

    “I am the defending Sprint Cup champion, but that doesn’t mean I’m not extremely motivated to win it again this year. Last year means nothing. In my mind, all evidence of that victory has been destroyed.”

    3. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished fourth at Charlotte, the top finisher among Joe Gibbs Racing drivers.

    “I dealt with some battery issues,” Hamlin said. “As you know, that comes with the positives and the negatives.

    “Matt Kenseth has been JGR’s best driver all year, but he struggled at Charlotte. And, if you remember, he had his issues last year at CMS. So for Matt, nothing is a cinch at Charlotte, except Brad Keselowski’s noggin in a headlock.”

    4. Carl Edwards: Edwards took sixth at Charlotte, joining Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin, who finished fourth, in the top 10.

    “I bumped Dale Earnhardt Jr. and sent him into the wall,” Edwards said. “Now, my status with Earnhardt fans has been upgraded, from ‘unlikeable’ to ‘hated.’”

    5. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished third at Charlotte, scoring his eighth top-five result of the year. He is third in the points standings, seven behind Joey Logano.

    “NASCAR did a sorry job of cleaning the track of oil and fluid,” Truex said. “But let’s face it, if anyone’s guilty of pulling a slick one, it’s not the track at Charlotte, but Kevin Harvick at Dover.”

    6. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished ninth in the Bank Of America 500, posting his 20th top 10 of the year.

    “There were a lot of cars making contact with the wall,” Keselowski said. “The wall played as big a factor in the Charlotte race as it did in the Dover race. For further explanation, see Kevin Harvick.”

    7. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth started on the pole at Charlotte and struggled thereafter, battling tight-handling conditions and hitting the wall three times, the last of which ended his day. He eventually finished 42nd.

    “We thought we had the No. 20 Dollar General car set up perfectly for Saturday’s night race,” Kenseth said. “Then rain postponed it until Sunday. So, after a tough day on Sunday, we were a day late and a Dollar General short.

    8. Jeff Gordon: Gordon finished eighth at Charlotte and has not finished below 14th in the Chase.

    “I may be Hendrick Motorsports only hope for the title,” Gordon said. “What’s shocking is that’s a long shot.

    9. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Earnhardt found trouble early at Charlotte, hitting the wall on lap 70 after making contact with Carl Edwards, then hitting it again after running through a patch of fluid on the track.

    “Carl Edwards flat out wrecked me,” Earnhardt said. “I promise revenge is coming. It will be swift and just, and will be called ‘E-taliation.’”

    10. Kyle Busch: Busch finished a disappointing 20th, his day spoiled by an incident with Kyle Larson that damaged his car.

    “I damaged the right front of the M&M’s No. 18 Toyota after colliding with Kyle Larson entering the pits,” Busch said. “You can’t blame me for that—I hit the Target.”

  • Charlotte In the Rear-View

    Charlotte In the Rear-View

    It’s time to put a nice little bow on everything that happened in NASCAR’s backyard.

    This weekend, the NASCAR traveling carnival made its annual October stop at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Bank of America 500. It was the 30th race of the season, fourth race of the Chase and first of the Contender Round.

    It was supposed to go green just past 7:00 p.m. on Saturday night but unyielding rain showers forced NASCAR to push the race to the following day at 12:30 p.m.

    Under clear blue Carolina skies, Matt Kenseth led the field to the green flag at 12:32 p.m. Eastern time. The field didn’t make it halfway down the backstretch before the first caution of the race flew for debris on the front. It came from the No. 23 BK Racing Toyota of Jeb Burton when the field accordioned back and he rammed the back of the No. 35 Front Row Motorsports Ford of Cole Whitt.

    The race restarted on lap five and it remained under green until the competition caution on lap 26. J.J. Yeley was tagged for his crew being over the wall too soon and restarted the race from the rear of the field. The race restarted on lap 31. Yeley was posted for an unapproved adjustment on his car during his pit stop. He was forced to hit pit road and fix the problem.

    Kasey Kahne made contact with the wall on lap 41, pitted from 12th and rejoined the race in 41st two laps down. It went from bad to worse when he suffered a right-front tire blowout and slammed the wall on lap 61. This brought out the third caution of the race.

    Kahne said that he didn’t “know why either one of those tires went down. Obviously, we were doing something wrong to have two tire failures like that. It’s discouraging, but that’s the way it goes.”

    Greg Biffle was busted for speeding on pit road and restarted the race from the rear of the field.

    The race restarted on lap 66. Four laps later, Carl Edwards tapped the back of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and sent him into the wall. Earnhardt eventually cut down his right-front tire and slammed the wall a few laps later. This brought out the fourth caution of the race.

    He said that Edwards “got a great run on us and drove down into one and got in the back of us a little bit. I don’t know if I cut him off or not. But he drove in there pretty hard and ran over the left rear quarter panel of the car and got in the fence.”

    Joey Logano opted to stay out under the caution and assumed the lead.

    After the race restarted on lap 81, not much really happened. The lead only changed during the lap 120 pit cycle. Debris on the backstretch brought out the fifth caution on lap 167.

    The race restarted on lap 174. Kenseth drifted up in front of Ryan Newman and was hooked into the wall exiting Turn 4.

    Kenseth said that his situation “just kind of snowballed, you know. We were real fast out front. We were kind of tight in traffic and got behind pitting, and then I missed the pit stall trying to come around the 21 and had to back up in the pit, and that put us back there, so just kind of snowballed. But with Ryan, I honestly don’t know. I’ve got to look at it. He went up like I thought he was broke, so I went up through the middle, and I thought I left him plenty of room and then next thing I know, I was pointed at the fence.”

    Justin Allgaier laid oil on the track when his engine expired on lap 182, bringing out the race’s seventh caution. On the ensuing restart, Dale Earnhardt Jr., riding the high line, drove through the uncleaned oil and made contact with the wall. Earnhardt spoke on the incident after the race.

    “We all hit the wall. I hit the wall, Brad hit the wall. Then we went another lap and I pitted and a bunch of other guys hit the wall. There was oil down there. It wasn’t Speedi Dri,” he explained. “I’ve raced this for 20 years. I know what oil and Speedi Dri is. We hit fluid and flew into the freaking wall hard. That’s not Speedi Dri. It was oil up there. There were some shadows cast by them billboards across the track and that may have made it difficult for them to see. Justin blew a hose. He didn’t knock a hole in the bottom of the engine that would just leave a track of oil. He blew a hose or something that is going to spray oil and throw oil all about the race track and up the race track. Maybe it was two-and-a-half car lengths wide how much oil was on the track. You can put it where the car went. You got to get out there maybe and feel around, get your hands on the track.”

    After the race, Managing Director for the Sprint Cup Series Richard Buck said that they (NASCAR) “looked everywhere, including putting people on the ground and walking the area where they said the oil was and there was no oil. I don’t know that you say that anybody misread anything. We all did our jobs. We actually had a human being, protected by the trucks, walking that area to make sure. We do everything we can to bring the surface back to a raceable condition. I think we’ve got an excellent record with that. Sometimes with these lubricants and things that they use, there is some staining to the track, and we’ll go back and do a double-check on that … to make sure that we have got all the fluids. We did that today and we feel absolutely confident that there was no oil on that very top groove or down below or anywhere else.’’

    Now I’m not going to sit here, play armchair-spotter and say there was oil. Depending on what brand these teams use, it can be any color. Some brands of motor oil are black and some are a bit clearer. I have no reason to doubt “June Bug”. He’s been racing in the Sprint Cup Series since 2000. I also have no reason to doubt Richard Buck. But I will say that given some teams – especially teams one or more laps down – have a propensity to “call out” debris to get a timely caution, it wouldn’t shock me if NASCAR views those drivers as the boy who cried ‘wolf.’

    But I digress.

    Another thing that happened under this caution period was the two Kyle’s (Busch and Larson) making contact and Larson getting spun out on pit road. It looked like to me that Larson made the last second decision to hit pit road and Busch made the last second decision to stay out. Both were tagged for commitment line violations as both ran into the orange commitment cone and restarted the race from the rear of the field.

    After the lap 201 restart, the race proceeded more orderly until the next cycle of green flag stops on lap 231. During these stops, Sam Hornish Jr. took the lead for the first time this season. The ninth and final caution of the race flew with 95 laps to go when Kenseth suffered a right-front tire blowout and slammed the wall in Turn 3. Hornish pitted under the caution and the lead cycled back to Joey Logano.

    The race restarted with 88 laps to go. Jimmie Johnson was running third when his engine blew up on the backstretch. He would go on to finish 39th.

    Martin Truex Jr. kicked off the final round of stops with 52 laps to go. Sam Hornish Jr. took the lead with 50 to go and led until he pitted with 34 to go. He finished the race in 19th and his 22 laps led were the most laps he’s ever led in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

    Logano regained the lead and drove away from Kevin Harvick to score his 12th career victory.

    If the NASCAR community were playing a drinking game where we took a shot every time someone said Talladega in the last seven days, we’d all be dead from alcohol poisoning. Logano said after the race that this makes Talladega easier.

    Logano left Charlotte with a six-point lead over Kevin Harvick in the points standings.

    Chevrolet left with a 47-point lead over Toyota in the manufacturer standings. With 23 cars in the field representing the bow ties, Chevrolet really has a race and a half lead over Toyota. If it had been a Toyota car that won and scored max points (48), the lowest the highest finishing Chevy could’ve possibly finished would’ve been 23rd and gained 21-points. To put this in simpler terms: If Toyota doesn’t close the gap to within 22-points by Phoenix, Chevrolet will clinch their 13th consecutive manufacturers title simply when the green flag flies.

    So that should just about wrap up everything that happened in Charlotte.

    Next up, NASCAR heads to America’s heartland to race at Kansas Speedway. Coverage of the Hollywood Casino 400 begins at 2:00 p.m. on NBC. The Motor Racing Network will be on the air at 1:00 p.m.

    Until then, I’ll leave you with this fact. There is a persistent storm at Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela. Lightning storms occur for about 10 hours a night, 140 to 160 nights a year, for a total of about 1.2 million lightning discharges per year.

  • The White-Zone: Don’t Do Single-File Restarts at Talladega

    The White-Zone: Don’t Do Single-File Restarts at Talladega

    “The white-zone is for immediate loading and unloading…” and I need to unload about some possible rule adjustments for Talladega Superspeedway.

    In case you haven’t heard, NASCAR has been talking to teams the last few weeks about possible changes being made to the upcoming race at the Alabama roulette-wheel of Talladega Superspeedway. Some of these changes include doing nothing at all and limiting the number of green-white-checker attempts down to one or two. Personally, limiting the GWC attempts wouldn’t bother me. I’d personally reduce it to two, but I could live with one.

    There’s one possible change, however, that would really bother me. That would be the possibility of going to single-file restarts for Talladega.

    This bothers me because I envision the possibility of teams just racing single-file all race long. I know that’s possible even with double-file restarts. Hell, it happened back in May. However, that was the last 30 laps and the race as a whole had been mostly three-wide racing. With the Contender Round ending at Talladega and 10 drivers needing to survive or win to advance, they would have little incentive to race up front all race long. If you can’t get these top drivers, especially at the top plate races, heading the lines on the bottom, middle or top, everyone might be content to race single-file.

    We’ve been building this race up to a monumental race for the ages. Drivers have been talking for weeks that everything will hinge on Talladega. Grant Lynch, Chairman of Talladega Superspeedway, is probably loving all the free publicity the track is receiving. If we go single-file on the restarts, we’re running the risk of this Talladega race falling flat on its face.

    Now I understand why NASCAR is doing all this. I’m certain the horrific last-lap wreck at Daytona in July was the catalyst for this discussion. I understand that nobody wants to see drivers or fans get injured or killed. The catch fence did its job and kept Austin Dillon’s car from going into the stands. I completely understand that we have to protect the drivers and fans from unnecessary danger. But at the same time, let’s not neuter Talladega, take the one race that would be next to impossible to botch and manage to botch it.

    In conclusion, if NASCAR is going to make changes in order to protect the drivers and fans, let’s not knee-jerk it and ruin the hallmark style of racing that practically sells itself. You don’t have to do much to sell people on Daytona and Talladega. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that every race at Daytona and Talladega is going to be the “race of the century,” but eight times out of 10, the restrictor plate races are among the best races of the season. If NASCAR wants to reduce the number of GWC attempts, I’ll be fine with it, but leave the single-file restart idea at the door.

    My plane* is ready to load and I’ll wrap this up. Until next time, I’ll leave you with this fact. The probability of two whole fingerprints matching is around one in 64-billion.

    *I use the word plane as a metaphor for getting off my soapbox and ending the piece. It’s not an actual plane and I’m not actually about to fly out to “parts unknown” (that’s for those of you who follow pro wrestling).

    The opinions expressed in this piece are solely those of the author and may not reflect the beliefs of SpeedwayMedia.com

  • ‘Sliced Bread’ Tames the Beast of the Southeast

    ‘Sliced Bread’ Tames the Beast of the Southeast

    In two weeks, Joey Logano will go into Talladega breathing a sigh of relief after taking the checkered flag at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford led 227 of the 334 laps on his way to victory in the Bank of America 500. It was his 12th career win, fourth of the season, first at Charlotte and third at the track for Team Penske.

    Logano said that the team “had a great car.” He continued, saying, “Todd Gordon and this Shell/Pennzoil team, all of Team Penske, you always want to win it. Charlotte is everybody’s home turf and you want to make it happen here.” Logano also added that the win “makes Talladega way easier. I know that’s on everyone’s mind when this round starts and last year we won Kansas when it was the first race of this round and now we were able to get it this time at Charlotte. We’ll get lots of sleep here the next couple of weeks.”

    Kevin Harvick brought his Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) Chevrolet to his 11th runner-up finish this season (an average of 36.7 percent). Martin Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin and SHR’s Kurt Busch rounded out the top-five.

    Carl Edwards, Austin Dillon, Jeff Gordon, Brad Keselowski and Aric Almirola rounded out the top-10.

    Ryan Newman lumbered his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet to a 15th-place finish.

    Following contact on pit road under the eighth caution of the race, Kyle Busch finished 20th one lap down.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. made contact with the wall on lap 70, fell back through the race and finished 28th, four laps down.

    “I lost count of how many time we hit it (the wall) today,” Earnhardt said. “I don’t know. We had a pretty decent car. Carl (Edwards) got a great run on me down the front straightaway and just drove in there and the left rear quarter-panel, I have to look at that to see whether that was a racing deal or whatever.”

    Pole-sitter Matt Kenseth led 72 laps before falling back in the field and slamming the wall multiple times which relegated him to a 42nd-place finish. He was the lowest-finishing Chase driver.

    Notable finishes include Greg Biffle, who started fourth, finishing 24th, Jimmie Johnson finishing 39th after blowing an engine with 77 laps remaining and Kasey Kahne who slammed the wall early in the race and finished dead last.

    Logano leaves NASCAR’s backyard with a six-point lead over Harvick. Truex Jr. follows seven back. Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards leave tied for fifth at nine points back. Jeff Gordon leaves in seventh place, 11-points back. Brad Keselowski leaves 13-points back.

    Ryan Newman is six points behind the eighth-place cutoff. Kyle Busch is 10-points back. Earnhardt Jr. is 19 back and Kenseth is 32 back.

    Next week, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rolls into America’s heartland for the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

  • Rowdy Heads Final Practice

    Rowdy Heads Final Practice

    Kyle Busch topped the charts in the final practice session.

    The driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was the fastest with a time of 28.518 and a speed of 189.354 mph.

    Brother Kurt, who led the way in the earlier second practice session, was second with a lap of 28.572 and a speed of 188.996 in his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet. Joey Logano placed his Team Penske Ford in third at 28.646 and 188.508. The No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet of Ryan Newman was fourth at 28.649 and 188.418. Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top-five at 28.676 and 188.311 in his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

    Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards, Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top-10.

    Kevin Harvick placed 12th.

    Martin Truex Jr. placed 15th.

    Jeff Gordon finished 16th.

    Pole-sitter Matt Kenseth rounded out the Chase drivers in 20th and continued his under 20th run in the Friday sessions following his 22nd-place run in the earlier session.

    With practice and qualifying in the books, all that remains is to run the race. The Bank of America 500 begins tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC and NBC Sports Live Extra. The radio broadcast begins at 6:00 p.m. ET on the Performance Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

  • Kurt Busch Leads the Way in Practice

    Kurt Busch Leads the Way in Practice

    Kurt Busch led the way during the second practice session at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    The driver of the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 Chevrolet posted a lap of 28.606 and a speed of 188.772 mph to top the charts in the second Sprint Cup Series practice. Carl Edwards was second in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a lap of 28.629. Edwards won the Coca-Cola 600 the last time the series competed at Charlotte in May.

    Ryan Newman was third fastest in the No. 31 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing at 28.780. Martin Truex Jr. was fourth at 28.789 and Joey Logano was fifth with a lap time of 28.802.

    Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch rounded out the top-10. Johnson, who was eliminated from the Chase after the last race of the Challenger round at Dover International Speedway last week, was the fastest of the non-Chase entrants.

    Pole-sitter Matt Kenseth timed in at 22nd-place and Kevin Harvick placed in 25th. Jeff Gordon rounded out the Chase drivers in 32nd.

    The final practice for the Sprint Cup drivers is scheduled for Friday evening from 6:30-7:20 p.m.ET and will be televised on the NBC Sports Network.