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  • Logano Moves on with Victory at Talladega

    Logano Moves on with Victory at Talladega

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — A jack getting stuck under the car of Joey Logano on his first stop didn’t stop him from rallying back to score the victory in Alabama.

    Martin Truex Jr. led the field to the green flag at 2:22 p.m. Brad Keselowski got a run on him going down the backstretch to lead the first lap. Truex worked his way up alongside Keselowski in Turn 1 to take the lead for the first time on the 13th circuit, only to give it back to Keselowski a lap later.

    The No. 2 Penske car spent most of the run blocking all three lanes, which allowed Chase Elliott to get under him in Turn 3 and take the lead on lap 26. Keselowski regained it briefly two laps later before Elliott powered by on the top in Turn 1 to regain the lead back on lap 29, only for Keselowski to take it back on lap 32.

    Green flag stops started on lap 37 with the first wave of cars hitting pit road. Race leader Keselowski was among the second wave the following lap. After the third wave pitted, the lead cycled back to Keselowski.

    Teammate Logano was penalized for removing equipment (jack) from the pit box under this pit cycle.

    Truex’s Chase hopes went up in smoke when his car went up in smoke in Turn 2 on lap 41.

    “Just developed a vibration and started to lose a little bit of power,” Truex said. “Originally I thought it could have been a tire because it was shaking worse and worse and worse until it was time to pit. I slowed down to hit pit road and felt the vibration still there and knew it was the engine. Definitely not the way we wanted to go. It’s a tough way to go out, but proud of the effort and proud of all the guys.”

    The race restarted on lap 47. Attempting to block Elliott’s advance, Keselowski found himself without drafting help and Elliott took back the lead, only for Biffle to get a run on him going into Turn 1 to take the lead on lap 49. Elliott worked his way back to the lead by dropping to the bottom lane going into Turn 1 and driving under Biffle on lap 78.

    Another wave of cars started pitting the following lap. The lead under the cycle went as follows: Elliott, Hamlin, Edwards, Annett and Keselowski.

    A three-car wreck involving Biffle, Jeffrey Earnhardt and Casey Mears on the frontstretch brought out the second caution with 74 laps to go.

    After the race went back green with 68 to go, it settled into a routine of going back and forth between single and double file. The most notable event during the run was Keselowski blowing an engine on the backstretch with 42 to go and bringing out the third caution. Teammate Logano assumed the lead

    The next run didn’t last a lap because the caution flew the same lap as the restart with 39 to go for a big piece of debris on the backstretch.

    Going back green with 35 to go, the race was slowed down with four to go by Kasey Kahne wrecking in Turn 3 and Alex Bowman going for a spin through the tri-oval grass coming to the line to get two to go.

    Restarting in overtime, Logano had to hold off Brian Scott to score the victory.

    “It’s never a layup here at Talladega. It’s always close,” Logano said. “You never get a big lead. A good Shell/Pennzoil Ford. Todd made some good adjustments during the race and found some speed in the car, so that was pretty neat to see some of that. We got that track position and just hung onto it. I was able to stay on the bottom and try to run the bottom and keep everyone in lane, and that worked out really well. Kevin did a good job with that, which ultimately got us all a great finish. It was fun racing there at the end. I was really confused. I didn’t know what lane to pick coming to the last restart, but I knew Kevin had a lot of experience in these situations and is great at speedway racing, so he did a good job of pushing me out and then had to defend the top lane with Brian Scott, so a couple of Fords out front here at Talladega is pretty cool.”

    It’s his 16th career victory in 287 Sprint Cup Series starts, second of 2016 and second at Talladega Superspeedway.

    Scott brought his No. 44 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford home to a runner-up finish, his career-best finish and first top-10 finish of 2016. Hamlin rounded out the podium in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

    Describing the level of stress, Hamlin said the race “was crazy. I mean, it was very tough in there not having any teammates, but there were a lot of guys that acted like teammates today to me and can’t thank enough for that. They know who they are. I don’t want to get them in trouble with their race teams because they’re probably a different team, different manufacturer, but thank those guys for that. 4 (Kevin Harvick) cut me a break at the tri-oval. I mean, just – we had something go our way for crying out loud. One time, we had something go our way and we just battled at the line right there with the 41 (Kurt Busch), so just – I’m just so happy.”

    Kurt Busch finished fourth and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the top-five.

    “It was really fun. Every time I would make a mistake and get shuffled to the middle it seemed like the crew guys would bring back a solid pit stop to put us in position and to be in control,” Busch said. “It feels good when we have that plus alongside our name in points. I was trying to ease it for Tony Gibson (crew chief) and all these guys that work so hard. There was some rooting and gouging at the end and I got some damage. I don’t even know where we finished, but all I was shooting for was top 15.”

    Kyle Larson finished sixth, Kevin Harvick finished seventh, Aric Almirola finished eighth, Austin Dillon finished ninth and AJ Allmendinger rounded out the top-10.

    Logano, Jimmie Johnson, Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Edwards, Hamlin and the Busch brothers advance to the Round of 8 while Austin Dillon, Elliott, Keselowski and Truex go no further in the Chase.

    The race lasted three hours, 11 minutes and 38 seconds at an average speed of 159.905 mph. There were 31 lead changes among 14 different drivers and six cautions for 25 laps.

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  • Truex Earns Pole at Talladega

    Truex Earns Pole at Talladega

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — Martin Truex Jr. will lead the field to the green flag tomorrow at Talladega Superspeedway.

    The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota posted the fastest time in the final round of qualifying and scored the pole position for the Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway with a time of 49.509 and a speed of 193.423 mph.

    “It’s definitely the place to be to start the race – it’s just about trying to stay there as long as you can,” Truex said. “We’ll see what happens. This is obviously a big race with a lot on the line. I look forward to it. I’m just so proud of the guys in Denver and everybody here at the race track for what they did here. This is all about the team, all about what they do and all about the guys at TRD (Toyota Racing Development) in California building these engines, so my hat’s off to all of them. I’m lucky to be sitting behind the wheel and holding it to the floor. It was a good day today and hopefully, we will have another good day tomorrow.”

    It’s his 11th career pole in 401 Sprint Cup Series starts, fourth of the season and first at Talladega Superspeedway.

    His car was at the center of a parts confiscation stir earlier today when NASCAR confiscated a front jack bolt that started a discussion over Truex getting a Chase-ending penalty. But Scott Miller, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, said it wasn’t “a real competitive advantage” and “unlikely” to result in a penalty.

    Three of the JGR cars – 11, 18 and 20 – were sent back to the garage before they were allowed to make their qualifying run. Miller said the issue was “body manipulation.”

    “The quarter panels (on the right side) appeared to have been messed with around the deck lid,” he added. “(We) brought them back in to rectify it.”

    Brad Keselowski will join him on the front row in his No. 2 Team Penske Ford after posting a time of 49.523 and a speed of 193.365 mph.

    “It’s good to qualify up front,” Keselowski said. “I think it’s a good confidence boost. I feel like when we have cars that qualify well here, we race well. The Miller Lite Ford was really fast here in qualifying and hopefully, it will stay the same for Sunday.”

    Matt Kenseth will start third in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota after posting a time of 49.568 and a speed of 193.189 mph.

    “Good for America. It was good,” Kenseth said of his qualifying run. “I think we ended up third, so that’s really good. It’s obviously a team qualifying session – not anything to do with the driver really. I just steered around and hold it to the floor, so obviously, they did a good job and it’s a good spot to start.”

    Chase Elliott will start fourth in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet after posting a time of 49.574 and a speed of 193.166 mph. Greg Biffle will round out the top-five starters in his No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford after posting a time of 49.585 and a speed of 193.123 mph.

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Austin Dillon and Paul Menard will round out the top-10.

    Trevor Bayne and Reed Sorenson, who posted the fastest time in the first round in his No. 55 Premium Motorsports Toyota, will round out the 12 drivers that made the final round of qualifying.

    Carl Edwards will start 13th, Kyle Busch will start 14th, Joey Logano will start 16th, Jimmie Johnson will start 17th and Kevin Harvick will be the lowest starting Chase driver in 22nd.

    David Gilliland was the lone driver that failed to make the race.

    In total, 19 Chevrolet’s, 12 Ford’s and nine Toyota’s will comprise the 40-car field for Sunday’s Hellmann’s 500 at Talladega.

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  • Edwards on Aspects of Plate Racing

    Edwards on Aspects of Plate Racing

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — Among the topics Carl Edwards addressed with the media were if he thinks plate racing is “insane,” the unpredictability of plate racing and Talladega not being an elimination race come next season.

    Speaking to the media yesterday at Talladega Superspeedway, the driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was asked, given the unpredictable and volatile nature of restrictor plate racing, if he as a driver ever stopped to think “I am insane to do this.”

    “It’s a crazy style of racing and there are times at the end of these races where you think, ‘This is just – this is truly insanity,’” Edwards said. “All the cars are torn up, everybody is limping around, but I think NASCAR – aside from completely changing the race track and the style of racing – I believe NASCAR does the best job they can do keeping things as safe as they can. We’ve got the best technology that we can have to keep the walls soft and the cars safe and monitoring everyone and keeping us from bumping too much and all that, but it is – it’s a crazy style of racing. That’s all there is to it.”

    He also expanded on the unpredictability, stating “if you look back a couple – I think it was a couple years ago – Dave (Rogers, crew chief) mentioned it and he doesn’t like to talk about it, but I guess he and Kyle (Busch) came here basically leading the points or really close to leading the points and got knocked out running 42nd and were out of the Chase, so that’s a pretty big swing in fortune. I think all of us are aware that can happen here and it’s not just that it can happen – I mean that can happen anywhere, it can happen at Charlotte, we saw a lot happen there – but it can happen and it’s not your fault so to speak. Outside circumstances – you’re just so close and you’re in a pack and I think that’s what makes this race interesting to watch is that truly anything can happen. I mean, I’ve been staring at the checkered flag thinking I was going to win and then been upside down in the fence. I mean, it’s – and that was just the two of us messing around. If you get the whole pack in there, it can get crazy.”

    Edwards is not the only driver to note the “insanity” of racing at Talladega. Brad Keselowski, in his post-race media availability following his victory in the GEICO 500, talked about how racing is a “balance of daredevils and chess players” and that Talladega “has always been the more daredevil style of track.”

    Restrictor plate racing, exclusive to Talladega and Daytona International Speedway, has always been a polarizing topic in NASCAR since its introduction nearly 30 years ago. Drivers tend to dislike or outright hate plate racing because of its unpredictability and violent nature. Fans, on the other hand, overwhelmingly love it.

    The nature of plate racing has made Talladega’s position late in the schedule a hot button topic over whether it should have any impact on the championship that late in the going, especially in the elimination format era of the Chase.

    While some drivers are in favor of NASCAR swapping Talladega’s place as the final race of the Round of 12 with Kansas Speedway next season, Edwards doesn’t think it’ll make that much of a difference.

    “I think Talladega being in this round, I think it makes all of the races crazier just because you know this one’s slightly less predictable, so it puts a pressure on regardless of where it’s at,” he said. “I guess if it were the first race, there’s a chance you could come out and everything will go smoothly and then your next two races might be more normal, but heck I don’t know. I feel like truly Talladega gets a lot of attention, but as this – as being a real ‘wild card’ – but as people get better at this Chase and understand how important each lap is and each position is, the intensity has just been ramping up the last couple of years and it seems like it’s there for sure this year.”

  • Johnson Fastest in Final Practice at Talladega

    Johnson Fastest in Final Practice at Talladega

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — Jimmie Johnson topped the chart in final Sprint Cup Series practice at Talladega Superspeedway.

    The driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 48.761 and a speed of 196.386 mph. Matt Kenseth was second in his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 48.773 and a speed of 48.773 and a speed of 196.338 mph. Chase Elliott was third in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 48.774 and a speed of 196.334 mph. Carl Edwards was fourth in his No. 19 JGR Toyota with a time of 48.775 and a speed of 196.330 mph. Alex Bowman rounded out the top-five in his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet with a time of 48.775 and a speed of 196.330 mph.

    Kasey Kahne was sixth in his No. 5 HMS Chevrolet. Paul Menard was seventh in his No. 27 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Ryan Reed was eighth in his No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford. Kyle Busch was ninth in his No. 18 JGR Toyota. Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top-10 in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota.

    Denny Hamlin was 11th, Joey Logano was 13th, Kurt Busch was 15th and Austin Dillon was the lowest Chase driver in 16th.

    The Cup drivers are back on track tomorrow after the Truck race for qualifying.

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  • Biffle Fastest in First Talladega Practice

    Biffle Fastest in First Talladega Practice

    TALLADEGA, Ala. — Greg Biffle topped the chart in first Sprint Cup Series practice at Talladega Superspeedway.

    The driver of the No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 48.133 and a speed of 198.949 mph. AJ Allmendinger was second in his No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet with a time of 48.284 and a speed of 198.327 mph. Chris Buescher was third in his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford with a time of 48.300 and a speed of 198.261 mph. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was fourth in his No. 17 RFR Ford with a time of 48.300 and a speed of 198.261 mph. Trevor Bayne rounded out the top-five in his No. 6 RFR Ford with a time of 48.338 and a speed of 198.105 mph.

    Michael McDowell was sixth in his No. 95 Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet. Brian Scott was seventh in his No. 44 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford. Landon Cassill was eighth in his No. 38 FRM Ford. Kevin Harvick was ninth in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet. Kyle Larson rounded out the top-10 in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.

    Martin Truex Jr. was 13th, Denny Hamlin was 14th, Jimmie Johnson was 15th, Matt Kenseth was 16th, Kyle Busch was 17th, Chase Elliott was 21st, Brad Keselowski was 23rd, Joey Logano was 26th, Austin Dillon was 27th, Kurt Busch was 29th and Carl Edwards was the lowest Chase driver in 31st.

    The Cup cars will be back on track for final practice at 4:30 p.m.

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  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Kansas

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Kansas

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished fourth at Kansas, posting his eighth top five of the year. Johnson leads the Sprint Cup points standings and has already clinched his spot in Round 3 of the Chase.

    “I’m looking forward to Talladega,” Johnson said. “Who doesn’t enjoy a nice, relaxing Sunday drive? Well, besides everyone but Kevin Harvick and I?”

    2. Kevin Harvick: Harvick held off Carl Edwards over the final 30 laps at Kansas and went on to win the Hollywood Casino 400. Harvick advanced to Round 3 of the Chase For The Cup.

    “We’re standing behind the 8-ball,” Harvick said. “Then, as you would expect from the guy they call ‘The Closer,’ I won the race right on ‘cue.’”

    3. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth started on the pole at Kansas as Joe Gibbs Racing swept the top three spots in qualifying. Kenseth led 116 laps and finished ninth.

    “That’s 10 poles for Joe Gibbs Racing this season,” Kenseth said. “We’ve yet to win a Chase race so far. So that just goes to show, you can lead a horse to water, and JGR can lead a field to green, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you can lead a field to checkered.”

    4. Kyle Busch: Busch powered to a fifth-place finish in the Hollywood Casino 400, recording his 14th top five of the year.

    “I love casinos,” Busch said. “And I love gambling anywhere except Talladega, where it doesn’t matter how many chips you have because the chips are going to fall where they may anyway.”

    5. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished 11th at Kansas and is now sixth in the points standings.

    “After five straight top sevens ,” Truex said, “I’ve had two finishes outside the top 10. I don’t think there’s really an explanation for it. I often lay in bed at night and try to determine the reasons behind what happens. But I often find myself asleep soon after. In an algebraic sense, it’s a matter of ‘Truex + y=z.’”

    6. Kurt Busch: Busch came home 13th in the Hollywood Casino 400 and is well-positioned at fifth in the Sprint Cup points standings.

    “I had to go to a backup car after spinning through the grass in practice,” Busch said. “So we started at the back of the field. I commend my crew for getting the backup car ready. They worked with the precision, diligence, and steely nerves you’d expect from a dedicated crew or a government assassin.”

    7. Carl Edwards: Edwards took second to Kevin Harvick in the Hollywood Casino 400.

    “Harvick got past me on the final restart,” Edwards said. “I thought I had a clear stranglehold on the lead, but Harvick had the grip, and much like the time I wrapped my hands around his neck in 2008, I did the ‘choking.’”

    8. Joey Logano: Logano finished third at Kansas and is now eighth in the points standings, tied with Austin Dillon.

    “Kevin Harvick always seems to thrive in these must-win situations,” Logano said. “I don’t know how he does it, but he always seems to find more speed. I’m ‘Sliced Bread;’ he must be ‘Yeast Bread,’ because he rises to the occasion.”

    9. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski got loose on lap 190 and slid up the track, where he was bumped by Denny Hamlin. Keselowski’s No. 2 Chevy slid through the infield grass, which heavily damaged the front of his car.

    “I believe we left a divot in the infield,” Keselowski said. “And keeping with the golf theme, I believe we’re out of mulligans.”

    10. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin suffered several bad breaks at Kansas, including a broken splitter, a penalty in the pits for a loose tire, and a crash initiated by the loose car of Brad Keselowski. Hamlin still finished 15th and will likely need a win at Talladega to advance in the Chase.

    “We were tripped up,” Hamlin said, “by a string of bad luck.”

  • Harvick Moves on with Victory in the Heartland

    Harvick Moves on with Victory in the Heartland

    No matter the result next week at the Alabama roulette wheel, Kevin Harvick is moving on to the next round of the Chase after scoring the victory in America’s heartland.

    Matt Kenseth led the field to the green flag at 2:34 p.m. Debris slowed the race for the first time on the 26th circuit.

    The next two runs saw quick bursts of green followed by caution. The first saw Aric Almirola get loose, make contact with another car and spin out exiting Turn 4, and Jamie McMurray suffered a right-front tire blowout and slammed the wall in Turn 3 following contact with Alex Bowman in Turn 2.

    After the race restarted on lap 48, it settled into a long green run that was interrupted by green flag stops lasting from lap 83 to lap 95. During it, the lead went as follows: Kenseth, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Casey Mears and back to Kenseth.

    Martin Truex Jr. had an issue during the stop that prevented him from getting his car completely full of fuel. As a result, he pitted well before the rest of the field on lap 114. To make matters worse, the caution flew for Josh Wise slamming the wall in Turn 4, trapped him a lap down and the fuel issue still wasn’t resolved.

    The race went back green on lap 121. After working on Kenseth for a few laps, Harvick got a run on his outside on the fronstretch to take the lead on lap 128.

    He held the lead for the next 41 laps until Chase Elliott, who spent 15 laps trying to pass him, got a run on him going into Turn 1 to take the lead. He gave up the lead four laps later to pit under green. Carl Edwards took over the lead before pitting and the lead cycled back to Elliott. However, he returned to pit road on lap 176 for a left-rear tire rub that gave the lead back to Edwards. Kyle Larson brought out the fifth caution the same lap after he slammed the wall in Turn 2.

    The race restarted on lap 184, only for the caution to fly for the sixth time with 77 laps to go for Keselowski getting loose exiting Turn 4, driving through the infield grass and destroying the front end of his car.

    He also brought out the next caution after he returned to the race with 45 to go and his engine let go on the apron in Turn 3. Austin Dillon exited pit road first by taking just right side tires.

    Edwards had little trouble passing Dillon on the restart with 42 to go to retake the lead. Regan Smith slowed the race down for the eighth time with 34 to go after making contact with the wall in Turn 3.

    The race restarted for the final time with 30 to go. Harvick got the better of Edwards on the restart and drove on to win the Hollywood Casino 400.

    “I think the best thing is that we prepare this thing for every race,” Harvick said of his motivation after his runs at Dover and Charlotte. “I try every week to find something to motivate myself and I know these guys do the same thing.  It’s hard to keep yourself motivated and continue to perform at a high level. Being able to do it for three years now says a lot about the character of this team and the things that they do.  It is like they say, anything that is really, really hard to get and come by, there are going to be some obstacles and some bumps in the road. I am just really proud of everyone at Stewart-Haas Racing.”

    It’s his 35th career victory in 569 Sprint Cup Series starts, his fourth of 2016, second at Kansas Speedway, 23rd top-10 finish of the season and 11th top-10 in 22 races at Kansas.

    “I just got two good restarts against the No 19 (Carl Edwards),” Harvick added. “He didn’t have a car quite as close to him, and I was able to break that draft before I got to the middle of one and two and get away from him, so that was pretty awesome.  I just needed to go for and that is really the mindset we go into every race in the Chase was to go for, and we did.

    “I’ve done a poor job the first half of the year.  We struggled with some ratios and timing.  We came up with some ratios that really fit what we were doing, and the processes and some other things and it has really paid off twice in the Chase.”

    Edwards led 61 laps on his way to a runner-up finish in his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

    “Just the restarts. That bottom line got a good run and they got in front of me,” Edwards said in response to what made the difference at the end of the race. “And, then I got choked up and raced Kyle (Busch) for a long time and that set us back. But, man, we had a really good car so it’s frustrating to come home second here. But, Kevin (Harvick) and those guys did a really good job. They didn’t have that fast of a car, they just made the most of that restart and then took off. We’ll just go to Talladega now, but man I wanted to win. I really appreciate all of the support out here. We’ll come back next year, we’ll give it 100 percent effort. That was a lot of fun to run up front today.”

    It’s his 17th top-10 of 2016 and 13th in 19 races at Kansas.

    Logano led two laps on his way to rounding out the podium in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford.

    “That was hard fought,” Logano said of his day. “I am still breathing hard. We just weren’t very good on the short runs so I had to play defense instead of offense on restarts. After 15 laps we were equal to, not way better to the point we could make up a bunch of time. We did what we had to do. I think they told me I am eighth in points so we will be close on it racing at Talladega. We did what we had to do today. We wanted to get a solid top-five and if we could win that is what we wanted. We had a good effort, we just have to get our cars a little faster right now.”

    It’s his sixth top-10 in 15 starts at Kansas.

    Jimmie Johnson finished fourth in his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Kyle Busch rounded out the top-five in his No. 18 JGR Toyota.

    Dillon led two laps on his way to a sixth-place finish, Alex Bowman finished seventh, AJ Allmendinger overcame a speeding penalty to finish eighth, Kenseth led a race high of 116 laps on his way to a ninth-place finish and Kasey Kahne rounded out the top-10.

    Truex finished 11th, Kurt Busch finished 13th, Hamlin finished 15th, Elliott finished 31st and Keselowski was the lowest-finishing Chase driver in 38th.

    The race lasted three hours and 28 seconds at an average speed of 133.155 mph. There were 16 lead changes among 10 different drivers and eight cautions for 33 laps.

    Johnson leaves with an eight-point lead over Kenseth leaving Kansas.

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  • Kenseth grabs the pole in Kansas

    Kenseth grabs the pole in Kansas

    Matt Kenseth will lead the field to the green flag on Sunday afternoon in America’s heartland.

    The driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota scored the pole for the Hollywood Casino 400 after posting a time of 28.112 and a speed of 192.089 mph. It’s his 18th pole in 609 career Sprint Cup Series starts, first of 2016 and third at Kansas Speedway.

    “It’s nice to get a pole,” Kenseth said of getting his first pole of the season. “I feel like our qualifying hasn’t been nearly as good this year as it has been in the rest of the years I’ve been at JGR. We barely got it – it was by a thousandth, or something like that. Obviously our Camrys have been fast. Our DEWALT FLEXVOLT Camry has been driving good and all the right adjustments. Round one we were pretty decent, it was off a little bit and then round three it was just right. We almost got beat, but it was as good of a lap as we were going to run. They did a good job today.”

    Kyle Busch will start second in his No. 18 JGR Toyota after posting a time of 28.113 and a speed of 192.082 mph. Carl Edwards will start third in his No. 19 JGR Toyota after posting a time of 28.270 and a speed of 191.015 mph. Martin Truex Jr. will start fourth in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota after posting a time of 28.304 and a speed of 190.786 mph. Alex Bowman will round out the top-five starters in his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet after posting a time of 28.374 and a speed of 190.315 mph.

    Joey Logano will start sixth in his No. 22 Team Penske Ford. Denny Hamlin will start seventh in his No. 11 JGR Toyota. Brad Keselowski will start eighth in his No. 2 Penske Ford. Ryan Newman will start ninth in his No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. AJ Allmendinger will round out the top-10 starters in his No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet.

    Kevin Harvick will start 11th and Austin Dillon will round out the 12 drivers that made the final round of qualifying.

    Twenty-one Chevrolet’s, 11 Ford’s and eight Toyota’s will comprise the 40-car field for Sunday’s race.

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  • Johnson says if Talladega comes down to him and Elliott, he’s going for the win

    Johnson says if Talladega comes down to him and Elliott, he’s going for the win

    If it came down to a duel between him and Chase Elliott at Talladega, Jimmie Johnson says he’s “here to win the race.”

    Speaking to the media this afternoon at Kansas Speedway, the driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet if he would be Elliott’s “wingman” next weekend at Talladega Superspeedway or if there were things he could do to help him advance into the Round of 8.

    “I think from an on-track standpoint Talladega is about the only place I could help him and could work with him,” Johnson said. “We want to win the race here and do all that we can and if we can’t of course we want the No. 24 to. They need to have a great day, but if there is a [duel] at the end of the race between us and the No. 24 I’m here to win the race.”

    Despite a strong run by the driver of the No. 24 HMS Chevrolet, he was caught up in a restart wreck with 76 laps to go in the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and finds himself 10th in points needing to race his way into eighth before the checkered flag flies at Talladega.

    Despite this, Johnson isn’t going to just move over for his teammate and will race him for the win. He also added that the 24 team knows this.

    “I know for a fact Chase and Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) would expect us to do that,” he added. “So, there is not much we can do here other than the prep that we’ve had leading into this week and how awesome our teams have been working together and the ground we’ve covered in a short period of time. That element is still there, still going on. We have all been leaning on each other tremendously, so that will also be there, but come race time we still have to race. Talladega is probably the one place I can help him.”

    The six-time Sprint Cup Series champion led a race high of 155 laps on his way to ending a 24-race winless streak (the longest of his career) with a victory in the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It’s the first time he’s advanced past the Round of 12 in the elimination format of the Chase.

    Combined with Elliott’s 103 laps led at Charlotte, Hendrick Motorsports has led over 500 laps in the four Chase races this season. In the 26-race regular season, the organization led a combined total of under 500.

    Johnson was also asked if the speed the four Hendrick Motorsports cars has shown in the Chase has been surprising.

    “I wouldn’t say surprising,” he said. “It’s tough because we try to show our optimism through interviews and social posts that we might make. I think if you look back over the course of the last few months our comments have all been directionally optimistic and been building speed. To not close on a couple events that we led a lot of laps at at the start of the Chase I think that finally showed everybody that we weren’t just ‘bs’ing’ them and that we really did have the speed. To us it was frustrating that we didn’t close and we didn’t execute like we needed to. Then Charlotte we did so. So, for the No. 48 team that has kind of been the progression and the way things have gone. It was real nice to have a clean, solid race in Charlotte and get the win.”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Charlotte

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Charlotte

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson outdueled Matt Kenseth for the lead on a restart with 18 laps to go and went on to win the Bank Of America 500. Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet was the class of the field at Charlotte, leading 155 laps.

    “I want so bad to win my seventh Cup championship,” Johnson said. “I can assure everyone, fan and drivers alike, that I’m going to put all of my ability and energy into trying to make that happen. That makes me the greatest ‘try-athlete’ in the world.”

    2. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth delivered a strong start to Round 2 of the Chase with a runner-up finish at Charlotte.

    “Hurricane Matthew wreaked havoc with the NASCAR schedule at Charlotte,” Kenseth said. “And it was certainly gusty during the race. I haven’t felt that much residual wind since I hung out in A.J. Allmendinger’s No. 47 Bush’s Beans hauler. In any case, ‘Hurricane Jimmie’ ‘blew’ right past me on the final restart.”

    3. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished seventh at Charlotte, posting his 21st top 10 of the season.

    “There was no controversy at Charlotte this time,” Keselowski said. “The only person that got ‘jumped’ at Charlotte was Martin Truex Jr. when he stalled his engine.”

    4. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex started seventh and finished 13th at Charlotte.

    “Our day could have been better,” Truex said, “but I stalled my engine during a late pit stop and lost track position. Well, so much for the proposed ‘Sitting Pretty’ line of recliners at Furniture Row.”

    5. Kyle Busch: Busch finished sixth in the Bank Of America 500, joining Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Matt Kenseth, who finished second, in the top 10.

    “Denny Hamlin’s blown engine on lap 309 was a nightmare for him,” Busch said, “but a dream come true for some drivers, like Kevin Harvick, who finished 38th. Could Harvick have had something to do with Hamlin’s engine failure? Who knows? All I know is this: if Harvick needs a wreck to advance and he’s on the track, you should look out for Harvick. Heck, and even if Harvick’s not on the track and he needs a miracle, someone’s ‘looking out’ for Harvick.”

    6. Kurt Busch: Busch finished eighth in the Bank Of America 500, posting his 19th top 10 of the year.

    “We’re off to Kansas Motor Speedway for the next race in the Chase,” Busch said. “The pressure is on everyone to advance, and that pressure can play with your emotions. So, while we’ll be in the physical ‘state’ of Kansas, I have no idea what my mental ‘state’ will be.”

    7. Kevin Harvick: Harvick started on the pole at Charlotte but experienced electrical issues that ended his day early. He finished 38th.

    “Frankly,” Harvick said, “I’m shocked that we had electrical issues. But I think it’s way too early to pull the plug on our championship hopes.”

    8. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished 12th at Charlotte on a day when several Chasers struggled.

    “A lot of drivers dug themselves holes,” Edwards said. “Such as Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, and Denny Hamlin. There are by no means out of the running to advance to the next round, so I can only advise them to give it their all and continue to grind away. In other words, I hope those guys ‘keep digging.’”

    9. Joey Logano: Tire issues ruined Logano’s day at Charlotte after blown tires sent him into the wall on two occasions. He limped to a 36th-place finish.

    “We were doing so well in the Chase with three top-10 finishes,” Logano said. “Things were going right, but sometimes, things can go too right, like your steering wheel.”

    10. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin lost his engine on lap 309 while running second. Hamlin finished 30th, 26 laps down.

    “Something broke,” Hamlin said. “It was most likely my spirit.”