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  • Austin Dillon secures Playoff spot with a win at Texas

    Austin Dillon secures Playoff spot with a win at Texas

    For the second consecutive week, a late caution changed an outcome of a NASCAR Cup Series race. On this occasion, Austin Dillon utilized pit strategy and capitalized over a handful of late restarts, including a battle with teammate Tyler Reddick, to win the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. The victory was Dillon’s third of his NASCAR Cup Series career and the first of the season for Richard Childress Racing as Dillon snapped an 88-race winless drought dating back to February 2018.

    The starting lineup was based on a random draw. Aric Almirola started on pole position for the second time this season and was joined on the front row with Ryan Blaney. Chase Elliott and Reed Sorenson started at the rear of the field due to their respective cars failing pre-race inspection twice. Josh Bilicki, Joey Gase and J.J. Yeley also started at the rear of the field due to driver changes.

    During the pace laps, Almirola reported issues to his brake pedal, but he remained on track for the start of the race. When the green flag waved, Almirola battled dead even with Blaney through Turns 1 and 2 before he cleared the field in Turn 3 and led the first lap. Blaney settled in second while the Busch brothers battled for third place along with Brad Keselowski.

    Behind, the early battling for positions continued as Kevin Harvick moved into the top five by the third lap after passing Keselowski. Three laps later, Martin Truex Jr. gained a spot over Keselowski for sixth with Matt DiBenedetto joining the battle. 

    At the front, Almirola continued to lead despite his brake pedal issues by nearly a second over Blaney with Kurt Busch in third and brother Kyle battling Harvick for fourth. Though Blaney narrowed the gap between himself and Almirola to approximately a half second, Almirola was able to retain the lead when the field reached the competition caution on the 20th lap. At the time of caution, Jimmie Johnson, who started 20th, was up to eighth while Denny Hamlin, who started seventh had fallen back to 16th. Chase Elliott, who started at the rear of the field due to failing pre-race technical inspection twice, was up to 24th.

    Under caution, the majority of the field pitted, and Kyle Busch was the first to exit pit road after opting for two fresh tires followed by William Byron, Alex Bowman, rookie Tyler Reddick and Blaney, the first with four fresh tires. Following the pit stops, Johnson was assessed a pit road penalty for having too many crew members over the wall. At the front, Almirola, teammate Harvick and Truex remained on track as they inherited the top-three starting spots.

    On the ensuing restart, Harvick assumed the lead on Lap 26 and on the inside lane while Truex challenged Almirola for the runner-up spot. Behind, Byron nearly slipped beneath Kyle Busch in Turn 3, but he was able to keep his car straightened and inside the top five. At the front, Harvick continued leading by a tenth of a second over teammate Almirola with Truex and Kyle Busch closing in for more. Behind, Blaney was back in ninth in between Erik Jones and Kurt Busch.

    By Lap 40, Harvick was still leading by nearly half a second over Almirola with Truex also closing in the two Stewart-Haas Racing teammates. Behind, Kyle Busch and Byron were in the top five with Bowman in sixth. Erik Jones, Blaney, Reddick and Kurt Busch were in the top 10 followed by Chris Buescher and DiBenedetto. Hamlin was in 15th followed by Joey Logano and Ryan Newman while teammates Elliott and Johnson were in 18th and 19th. Austin Dillon was in 20th followed by rookie Cole Custer, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and rookie Christopher Bell while Bubba Wallace and Matt Kenseth were in 27th and 30th.

    Ten laps later, Harvick continued to lead by a tenth of a second over teammate Almirola, who continued to stalk his teammate for the lead but was unable to navigate his way around Harvick’s No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang. On Lap 55, Almirola bolted his way around Harvick on the outside lane in Turn 2 to return to the lead. Four laps later, Almirola extended his advantage to over six tenths of a second over teammate Harvick while Joe Gibbs Racing’s Truex and Kyle Busch were slowly closing in towards Harvick. A lap later, Truex moved into the runner-up spot while Kyle Busch started battling Harvick for third. 

    Shortly after, Almirola and Harvick made a pit stop under green, giving the lead to Truex with Kyle Busch trailing by a second. Not long after Almirola pitted, he was penalized for a blend-line violation and was forced to serve his penalty by driving through pit road, a penalty that cost him two laps behind the leaders. On Lap 67, Truex’s No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry started sputtering after he ran out of fuel in Turn 2. He was, nonetheless, able to nurse his car back to pit road for service, but he lost two laps from the leaders when he returned on the track.

    At the front, Blaney was in command by half a second over Kyle Busch. Byron was in third, trailing by less than five seconds, followed by Jones, Bowman and Reddick. By Lap 85, Blaney was still ahead under two seconds over Kyle Busch. Behind, Johnson was in 10th ahead of Keselowski, Hamlin was in 12th, Elliott was in 18th, Harvick was in 29th, Truex was in 30th and Almirola was in 32nd.

    Not long after, pit stops under green commenced when Buescher made his stop followed by Johnson, Wallace, Custer, DiBenedetto and Newman. With 10 laps remaining in the first stage and with the entire field completing their pit stops under green, Blaney cycled back with the lead followed by Kyle Busch while Harvick was back up in third. Reddick was in fourth followed by Byron.

    For the remainder of the first stage, which concluded on Lap 105, Blaney was able to hold off Kyle Busch to claim his second stage win of the season. Harvick was in third followed by Reddick and Byron while Kurt Busch, Johnson, Bowman, Buescher and Truex were scored in the top 10. Under the stage break, some like Harvick, Reddick, Byron, Kurt Busch, Johnson, Truex, Newman, Kenseth, Wallace and rookie John Hunter Nemechek pitted while others led by Blaney and Kyle Busch remained on track. Also remaining on track included Hamlin, Elliott, Logano, Clint Bowyer and Bell. Following the pit stops, Newman was held a lap on pit road for pitting outside his pit box.

    The second stage started on Lap 112, and Blaney battled dead even with Kyle Busch for two full laps before Busch cleared Blaney for the lead on the bottom lane entering Turn 3. Two laps after, the caution flew when Johnson got loose entering Turn 4 and made contact with the outside wall, damaging the right side of Johnson’s No. 48 Ally/Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. Under caution, Johnson pitted along with Truex and Wallace. Following his pit stop, Johnson was assessed a two-lap penalty under caution due to having too many crew members over the wall, a misfortune that cost Johnson valuable points towards the Playoffs. Following Johnson’s incident, Newman was able to receive the free pass and return on the lead lap.

    When the race restarted on Lap 121, Kyle Busch received a push from teammates Hamlin and Jones to retain the lead. A lap later, Hamlin moved into the runner-up spot followed by Hamlin, Logano. Behind, Bell slipped through Turns 3 and 4 while running in the top 15 and made minimal contact with the outside wall, but the race remained under green. 

    On Lap 123, Hamlin moved into the lead followed by Blaney while Kyle Busch was in third ahead of Jones, Logano and Elliott. Three laps later, Blaney reassumed the lead following a battle with Hamlin. During this time, Johnson, following his two-lap penalty, was able to maintain minimum speed to remain on the track and racing despite the damage. He was, however, back in 40th, last, and eight laps behind the leaders. 

    By Lap 140, Blaney was still ahead by nearly a second over teammate Logano followed by a trio of Joe Gibbs Racing competitors led by Hamlin followed by Jones and Kyle Busch. Elliott was in sixth followed by Harvick while Kurt Busch, DiBenedetto and Almirola were in the top 10.

    With the race progressing under green, Buescher, one of many competitors looking on the outside of the Playoff picture, was in 11th followed by Byron and Truex while DiBenedetto and Almirola, both of whom are inside the top-16 cutline, were in ninth and 10th. At the front, Blaney was still ahead by two seconds over teammate Logano followed by Hamlin, Jones and Kyle Busch.

    On Lap 158, a second round of pit stops under green started when Byron pitted followed by teammate Elliott and race leader Blaney. Soon after, Bowyer made a pit stop followed by Kyle Busch, Reddick and Hamlin. When the field reached its halfway mark on Lap 167, Logano was in the lead, but he still needed to pit. A lap later, Logano pitted and Jones moved into the lead.

    With 30 laps remaining in the second stage and with most of the leaders pitting, Truex was in the lead but was among a handful of competitors who needed to pit. On Lap 190, Blaney cycled back to the lead followed by teammate Logano and Hamlin. Truex, who pitted with enough fuel to complete the second stage, came out in fourth ahead of Kurt Busch.

    For the final 20 laps, Blaney was able to stabilize his advantage by more than five seconds over teammate Logano to win the second stage on Lap 210 and claim his third stage of the season. Hamlin was in third followed by Kurt Busch and Harvick while Truex, Elliott, Almirola, Jones and Kyle Busch settled in the top 10.

    Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Blaney retained the lead following a four-tire pit stop. Keselowski exited second after opting for two tires followed by Hamlin, Logano, Elliott and Harvick.

    The final stage commenced with 116 laps remaining, and teammates Keselowski and Blaney battled dead even through Turns 1 and 2 before Keselowski cleared for the lead in Turn 3. At that time, Blaney got loose on the outside lane and teammate Logano had to lift off the throttle to avoid hitting Blaney, which jumbled up a number of competitors running in the top 10. Soon after, the caution returned for a multi-car wreck on the frontstretch that started when contact from Kurt Busch and Almirola turned Almirola into Kyle Busch, who then tagged teammate Truex sideways and into the outside wall as Busch plowed his No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry through the grass while continuing with no serious damage. Truex, however, was unfortunate after sliding across the wall and receiving hard contact from Stenhouse. The wreck also collected Byron, Custer, Buescher, Ryan Preece and Kenseth as the race was red-flagged for more than 11 minutes.

    When the red flag was lifted and the caution flag was displayed, some like Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Harvick, Bowyer and Byron pitted while others led by Keselowski, Hamlin, Elliott, Blaney and Almirola remained on track.

    With 110 laps remaining, the race restarted under green and Keselowski jumped to an early advantage. Hamlin pursued Keselowski followed by Blaney, who was battling with Elliott against one another for third. Soon after, the battle for the lead intensified as Hamlin and Blaney drew themselves to the rear bumper of Keselowski. 

    With 103 laps remaining, Hamlin made a challenge for the lead beneath Keselowski in Turn 4 and was able to lead a lap shortly after with both competitors battling against one another dead even through the corners and the straightaway. With Hamlin in the lead, Blaney moved into the runner-up spot with teammate Logano joining the battle for third against Keselowski. Behind, Almirola rallied his way back into fifth ahead of Elliott, Harvick and DiBenedetto. 

    With 97 laps remaining, Logano passed teammate Keselowski to move into third. At the front, Blaney reassumed the lead after passing Hamlin on the bottom lane in Turn 3. A lap later, Logano got loose in Turn 3, which allowed Almirola, Keselowski and Elliott to pass Logano with Harvick also in the mix of the battle. 

    Four laps later, the caution flew when Nemechek spun and made contact with the wall on the backstretch. At the time of caution, Blaney was ahead by above a second over Hamlin. Under caution, some led by Blaney, Hamlin, Almirola and Elliott remained on track while others led by Harvick, Logano, Keselowski and Kurt Busch pitted.

    The race restarted with 86 laps remaining, and Blaney and Hamlin battled against one another for one full lap before Blaney retained his lead through Turn 1. Behind, Elliott was in third followed by Almirola and Newman with DiBenedetto and Austin Dillon in sixth and seventh. Logano, Kurt Busch and Keselowski were in the top 10 followed by Harvick. Shortly after, the caution returned when Ty Dillon and his No. 13 GEICO/Germain Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE got loose beneath Byron’s No. 24 AXALTA/Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE as both competitors made contact with the outside wall. Under caution, Bowyer, Reddick, LaJoie, Byron and Ty Dillon pitted. Byron, however, retired, which cost him in his battle to make the Playoffs.

    With 79 laps remaining, the race restarted as Blaney and Hamlin, again, battled against one another for the lead before Blaney moved in front of Hamlin to clear him for the lead. Soon after, Almirola started to challenge Hamlin for the runner-up spot with DiBenedetto and Elliott moving into the top five ahead of Logano and Keselowski.

    Three laps later, DiBenedetto and Almirola battled for third while Hamlin was trailing Blaney by three-tenths of a second and trying to gain a run back to Blaney for the lead. Behind, Kyle Busch had worked his way back to 10th behind brother, Kurt, while Harvick was in eighth. Jones was in 12th behind Austin Dillon while Reddick, Wallace, Kenseth and Bowyer were in 15th through 18th.

    With 60 laps remaining and the leaders needing to make a final pit stop for fuel to make it to the distance, Blaney was still leading by more than a second over Hamlin with Almirola, DiBenedetto and Logano in the top five. Elliott settled in sixth followed by Harvick, Keselowski and the Busch brothers.

    Under 50 laps remaining, the final round of pit stops under green started when Elliott pitted followed by race leader Blaney, Almirola, DiBenedetto and Hamlin, who opted for a two-tire change. Following the pit stops, Hamlin emerged ahead of Blaney, but as the laps dwindled, Blaney was able to chop off a chunk of the deficit from himself to Hamlin as they approached traffic. 

    Under 30 laps remaining, the caution flew when rookie Quin Houff made contact with Bell in Turn 3 while appearing to move to the inside lane off the pace and after bouncing off of DiBenedetto, he spun and made hard contact with the outside wall near Turn 4. At the time of caution, 14 competitors that needed to make a final pit stop occupied the top-14 positions led by Harvick and Logano. Under caution, a majority of those competitors pitted and Reddick exited first after only taking fuel to his car. Austin Dillon and Kurt Busch followed pursuit followed by Wallace and Logano, who was the first to exit pit road with four fresh tires over Harvick and Kyle Busch.

    When the field cycled through, Reddick emerged with the lead followed by teammate Austin Dillon, Kurt Busch, Logano and Harvick. Kyle Busch, Keselowski, Wallace, Jones and Bowman were in the top 10 while Hamlin, who received the free pass after being scored a lap down, was in 15th. Blaney, Almirola and Elliott were in 16th through 18th as they took the wave around under caution to return to the lead lap along with Newman, who was in 19th. DiBenedetto, who sustained damage following contact with Houff, was in 20th and scored a lap behind the leaders. 

    With 23 laps remaining, the race restarted and Austin Dillon, racing on two fresh left-side tires, cleared Reddick for the lead in Turn 2. With the two Richard Childress Racing competitors at the front and by more than a second with 20 laps remaining, Kyle Busch and Logano battled for third while Harvick was in fifth ahead of Wallace.

    With 16 laps remaining, the caution flew when Hamlin, who was battling for 12th, got loose underneath Bowman as both competitors spun through Turns 1 and 2. Bowman made contact with the outside wall and sustained right-side damage that eliminated him for the remainder of the race while Hamlin managed to slide his No. 11 FedEx Toyota without sustaining any significant damage. At the time of caution, Austin Dillon was ahead by more than two seconds over teammate Reddick with Logano, Kyle Busch and Harvick behind by more than three seconds. 

    The race restarted with 11 laps remaining, and both RCR teammates battled against one another for one full lap, where Reddick led a lap, before Austin Dillon emerged back at the front. The following lap, Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was ahead by less than two-tenths of a second over Reddick and his No. 8 Caterpillar Oil and Gas Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. Shortly after, Reddick started to close within teammate Dillon for the lead while Logano passed Kyle Busch for third.

    Then, the caution returned when Hamlin, whose race went from good to bad and worse, got loose entering Turn 4 and spun through the frontstretch grass, which set the race up for a two-lap shootout and another opportunity for the competitors on fresh tires to try to pounce on the two leading Richard Childress Racing competitors.

    With two laps remaining, the race restarted and Austin Dillon got a strong start on the inside lane to launch ahead with the lead with teammate Reddick pursuing him. On the final lap, Dillon was still ahead over Reddick while Logano and Kyle Busch battled against one another for third. For one final circuit, Dillon was able to stabilize his narrow advantage over Reddick and cross the finish line in first for his first checkered flag since winning the 2018 Daytona 500, which also marked the last time Richard Childress Racing and Justin Alexander, Dillon’s crew chief, were in victory lane in NASCAR’s premier series.

    With the win, Dillon became the 10th Cup competitor to be guaranteed a spot in the 2020 Playoffs by virtue of a victory, which marks his first Playoff appearance since 2018, as he recorded the third win of the season for Chevrolet. In addition, the native from Welcome, North Carolina, recorded the 100th Cup victory for the number 3.

    “Not bad for a silver spoon kid, right? I’ll take that.” Dillon said on NBCSN. “Got to thank everybody at RCR, ECR [Engines], Bass Pro Shops. Man, Tyler Reddick, he raced me clean. One-two [finish] for RCR – this has been coming, man. We’ve had good cars all year. Justin Alexander and my whole crew. I got my baby, Ace, back home, my wife, I love’em so much. Man, I don’t know. I’m just so happy. Thank God. To tell you the truth, it means a whole lot just for the family, for everybody, all of our partners. That was fun. I, definitely, had to earn it. I changed it up. I waited the second [restart] and I went on the last one. It worked out for me good.”

    After driving his No. 3 Chevrolet to victory lane and celebrating, he went to the infield care center for treatment following a 500-mile race with temperatures in the cockpit and around the track soaring above 90 and even, 100 degrees.

    Behind, rookie Reddick continued to impress after notching a career-best runner-up result in his 20th Cup career start while also recording his second top-five result of this season. This also marked the first 1-2 finish for Richard Childress Racing in a Cup race since Talladega Superspeedway in October 2011 between Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton. The runner-up result has Reddick 14 points below the top-16 cutline with eight races remaining until the 2020 Playoff field is determined in August.

    “[Today] was about strategy in our Cat Oil and Gas Chevrolet,” Reddick said on NBCSN. “We had good speed in our Chevrolet ZL1 1LE, but we just couldn’t get our Camaro back in contention after we took right sides [tires]. It really shifted the balance of our Camaro. That just put us behind and we had to catch a few breaks, some cars got collected in carnage. We avoided, but can’t ask for much more than what we got there. Me and my teammate on the front row there the last couple of restarts. [Dillon]’s done this a little bit longer than I have, and I’m a little rusty. I haven’t been on the front row in a while. He just snookered me those times. Kyle [Busch] was doing a really good job of pushing me, but that last [restart], I put us in a big deficit and just couldn’t get back out of it. There was one restart where I, probably, could’ve went to [Dillon’s] inside. I just wanted it to between us. I didn’t want to bring other cars into it, make sure that we could fight it out. We just got the restarts, kept giving us opportunities. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t get it done today, but hats off to the 3 [crew], all those guys working hard. It gets one RCR Chevrolet into the Playoffs and now, we’re below the cutline. We gotta keep fighting. If we can keep running like this, we don’t have to worry about points, hopefully.”

    Logano settled in third for his first top-five result since Martinsville Speedway in June ahead of Kyle Busch, who rallied from his midpoint accident, while Harvick finished fifth in his 700th Cup start.

    “I couldn’t believe it,” Logano said on NBCSN. “I thought when [Dillon and Reddick] did fuel only and we were sitting fourth, I’m like, ‘Man, we got’em.’ I thought, ‘Boy, we’re gonna win this race.’ We just needed 15 laps to get off the splitter down in [Turns] 3 and 4, that was the problem. By the time I got to that point, the race was over. Overall, I’m proud of what our Shell/Pennzoil Ford team did today. I thought that finishing second the first stage and a third overall with a shot at winning is progress. That’s what we need to do, build a little momentum. It stings not to win, but hey, it’s progress. So, we’ll keep moving.”

    Jones, Blaney, Kurt Busch, Keselowski and Almirola rounded out the top 10. Elliott finished 12th behind Bowyer, Wallace and DiBenedetto finished 14th and 17th, and Hamlin ended his run in 20th. Johnson settled in 26th, 12 laps behind the leaders.

    There were 29 lead changes for 12 different leaders. The race featured 10 cautions for 45 laps.

    With his top-five run, Harvick continues to lead the regular-season series standings by 91 points over Blaney.

    Results.

    1. Austin Dillon, 22 laps led

    2. Tyler Reddick, five laps led

    3. Joey Logano, 22 laps led

    4. Kyle Busch, 11 laps led

    5. Kevin Harvick, 40 laps led

    6. Erik Jones, seven laps led

    7. Ryan Blaney, 150 laps led, Stage 1 and 2 winner

    8. Kurt Busch

    9. Brad Keselowski, 15 laps led

    10. Aric Almirola, 35 laps led

    11. Clint Bowyer

    12. Chase Elliott

    13. Ryan Newman

    14. Bubba Wallace

    15. Michael McDowell

    16. Corey LaJoie

    17. Matt DiBenedetto, one lap led

    18. Matt Kenseth

    19. Chris Buescher, one lap down

    20. Denny Hamlin, one lap down, 11 laps led

    21. Christopher Bell, three laps down

    22. John Hunter Nemechek, three laps down

    23. Daniel Suarez, five laps down

    24. J.J. Yeley, six laps down

    25. Gray Gaulding, 11 laps down

    26. Jimmie Johnson, 12 laps down

    27. Brennan Poole, 12 laps down

    28. Reed Sorenson, 12 laps down

    29. Martin Truex Jr., 14 laps down

    30. Alex Bowman – OUT, Accident

    31. Josh Bilicki, 16 laps down

    32. Joey Gase, 16 laps down

    33. B.J. McLeod, 16 laps led

    34. Quin Houff – OUT, Accident

    35. Ty Dillon – OUT, DVP

    36. Timmy Hill – OUT, Electrical

    37. William Byron – OUT, Accident

    38. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Accident

    39. Cole Custer – OUT, Accident

    40. Ryan Preece – OUT, Accident

    The NASCAR Cup Series will return to action in the midwest at Kansas Speedway on July 23 with the race to air at 7:30 p.m. on NBCSN.

  • The White Zone: Thoughts on Texas

    The White Zone: Thoughts on Texas

    Race No. 7 of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season is in the books, and I have some thoughts to share with the class.

    The race

    Kyle Busch leads a line of cars down the front stretch at Texas Motor Speedway, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 500. Photo: Don Dunn/SpeedwayMedia.com

    If you follow me on Twitter, you know my thoughts on races at Texas Motor Speedway already. For those who don’t, I’m not a fan of the racing at Texas. For years, it’s been unwatchable, single-file snore-fests. And the fact that both races at Texas are 500 miles in length made boring races there more agonizing to watch.

    Maybe it was my low expectations for races at Texas, but Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 was good.

    The field didn’t get exponentially stretched out as the race progressed, and the leader didn’t simply pull away from the car in second.

    It was the race that I thought we’d get at Las Vegas Motor Speedway a few weeks ago.

    With that said, however, there was still the ever present fact that passing the leader was a Herculean task. Yes, the number of lead changes were up from 2018 (26 among 13 different drivers in 2019 vs. 16 among eight different drivers in 2018), but by my count, only five of them happened on track under green. The rest were a result of pit stops, which tends to inflate the number of lead changes.

    It was more of the varying pit stop mistakes and cycles that made the race compelling to watch. Last season, races at Chicagoland Speedway, Las Vegas in September and Homestead were great races, because of the racing product, not pit road mistakes.

    Which is why I don’t believe this high downforce package is the right direction for the sport.

    Yes, it was entertaining, but it was in spite of the racing on track, not because of it.

    Compare it to the Bahrain Grand Prix earlier in the day. It had a great mix of pit stop strategy and on track competition that made it legitimately good racing.

    I know that “we’re in the entertainment business,” but I believe that NASCAR should treat its events as a sports competition first.

    Jimmie Johnson’s afternoon

    Jimmie Johnson races, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Photo: Kathryn Gaskill/SpeedwayMedia.com

    In 2018, Jimmie Johnson led a grand total of 40 laps, and didn’t lead more than 13 in one race. On Sunday, he led 60 laps, 150 percent more than he did in 2018.

    And while he didn’t lead a second time in the race, he maintained the second-highest running average all race at 7.78.

    Johnson had a race that was a step in the right direction. His car was great in clean air and had speed.

    “It was a little evil in traffic, and I had a heck of a time on green flag restarts, but really worked hard to get it up underneath me and tightening the car up a little bit for us to race,” he said. “Ended up having great pace and decent drivability, so are working in the right direction.”

    For the first time in quite a long time, Johnson was a legitimate threat to win, and at a mile and a half track.

    If he continues this at Kansas Speedway in a few weeks, we can truly say he’s back.

    Qualifying

    Let’s just get something out of the way. NASCAR brought this on itself.

    If you missed qualifying Friday, there were multiple instances of drivers blatantly violating NASCAR’s new impeding rule. Most egregious was Ryan Newman and Clint Bowyer.

    And what did NASCAR do? They did nothing. All they had to do was enforce the rule they put in place, and we’re not talking about this.

    And now, we’re seriously discussing the possibility of returning to single-car qualifying for mile and a half tracks, because NASCAR didn’t enforce its own rules.

    This same thing happened with the restart zone four years ago and the overtime line two years ago.

    NASCAR, if you want these games to stop, enforce the rules you put in place, unless you want the inmates to continue running the asylum. If not, don’t have these rules in place.

    That’s my view, for what it’s worth.

  • Hamlin wins O’Reilly’s 500 at Texas Motor Speedway

    Hamlin wins O’Reilly’s 500 at Texas Motor Speedway

    Denny Hamlin won Sunday’s O’Reilly’s Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, his second win of 2019 and the 33rd of his career. It was also his third win at the speedway after sweeping both events in 2010.

    Hamlin crossed the checkered flag after starting sixth and leading 45 laps, along with earning the Stage Two win earlier in the day. Clint Bowyer was second, 2.74 seconds behind while Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones, and pole winner Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top-five. William Byron, Aric Almirola, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, and Kyle Busch rounded out the top-10.

    The win was not without adversity, as Hamlin was penalized twice; he missed pit road in the first stage and was hit with a speeding penalty, then was hit with an uncontrolled tire penalty. However, crew chief Chris Gabehart and team continued to work through and put Hamlin in the position he needed to be in for contention.

    “Yeah, our car was really, really fast. We obviously saw that,” said Hamlin from Victory Lane. “Once we got out front, we were able to pull away from the pack a bit. Got a little bit loose when we were racing our teammates in the 18 and 20, so I wasn’t able to be as aggressive as I was earlier in the race. We had a super fast car, that’s why we won.”

    “Our Mustangs were fast all weekend long,” said Bowyer. “Took awhile for our Mustang to get good. This Rush Trucks Center Cummins car, to be honest, was a little off all weekend long. I was pretty nervous coming into the race, but we made some good adjustments and leaned on our teammates.”

    Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch had the dominant car of the race, leading 66 laps before contact with the wall sent him to pit road and a 10th-place finish. Meanwhile, Ryan Blaney led 45 laps before an overheating issue sent him out of the race with a 37th-place finish.

    The race saw 26 lead changes among 13 drivers, with five cautions slowing the race for 29 laps. The next race is April 7 at Bristol Motor Speedway, as the Food City 500 will start at 2 p.m. EDT on FS1.

  • NASCAR announces updates to qualifying procedure for Texas

    NASCAR announces updates to qualifying procedure for Texas

    After what most considered to be an awkward qualifying session at Auto Club Speedway, NASCAR promised two things: qualifying rule changes coming before Texas, and not going back to single car qualifying. Both were fulfilled on Monday when NASCAR officially announced changes moving forward.

    During the final round of qualifying at California, none of the 12 drivers made it to the line in time to begin an officially timed lap. NASCAR’s response? Any drivers that fail to run a timed lap in any of the qualifying rounds will have all times disallowed and start at the rear of the field. This includes those that advance into a further round of qualifying. For example, if a driver makes it to Round 3 of qualifying, yet fails to post a lap time, they would start 12th for the race under previous rules. Now, they would be moved to the rear of the entire field for the start of the race.

    Another frustrating situation for some drivers was the congestion at the end of pit road, blocking some drivers from entering the track if they desired to leave the pits for their timed lap. At the judgment of NASCAR officials, teams could face severe penalties if they end up prohibiting other drivers from exiting pit road.

    “The inherent problem (at Auto Club) was obviously everybody waiting to the end, and it being unorderly on the end of pit road with people blocking and playing all kinds of games,” NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition Scott Miller told NASCAR.com. “So really, we want to retake control and make order out of pit road and the way that drivers leave.

    “We want to allow every competitor the chance to leave pit road when they want to leave and not be at the mercy of somebody else.”

    The current structure of qualifying will stay as is: three rounds of qualifying with the first round being 10 minutes, and the last two rounds at five minutes.

    According to NASCAR’s official statement from their website, Scott Miller, Senior Vice President of Competition, shared that they collaborated “with teams and others in the industry, and there were a few options considered.” Returning to single-car qualifying however was not considered, which was what he initially shared with the media at Auto Club Speedway immediately after qualifying.

    “One of the things we wanted to hold true to is not to go back to single-car qualifying,” Miller said. “Single-car qualifying is two things – it’s boring and it’s expensive. It also doesn’t create a good show.

    “Anytime we go on the track it should be a show. Certainly, we are in, first and foremost, the racing business. But we’re also in show business. We definitely have to provide our fans with something that’s intriguing to watch and gets them excited about coming back and watching the race.”

    Busch Pole Qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway is scheduled for Friday, March 29 at 7:40 p.m. ET.

  • Faulty air gun leads to ‘elevator day’ for Harvick

    Faulty air gun leads to ‘elevator day’ for Harvick

    Most drivers who have an “elevator ride” day up and down the running order and still finish runner-up would leave it at that. When Kevin Harvick spoke in the deadline room at Texas Motor Speedway after the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500, however, he was anything but content. The source of his frustration was the continuously malfunctioning, NASCAR-issued air guns.

    “Yeah, it’s just been a frustrating two days,” he said, also referencing issues he suffered in the previous day’s XFINITY Series race. “We had a pathetic day two days on pit road because we can’t get pit guns that work in our pit stalls. Today we had to pit under green‑‑ got ourselves a lap down because the pit guns work half the time, they don’t work half the time. Yesterday we had four loose wheels because the pit guns can’t get the tires tight.

    “Our guys did a great job with a really fast racecar. I feel bad for the guys on pit road because they get handed just absolutely inconsistent pieces of equipment. Today it wound up costing us a race.”

    Under the third caution of the day, for Kyle Larson suffering a right-front tire blowout and slamming the wall in Turn 1, a lug nut got caught in the jack, impeded the pit stop for a few seconds and cost Harvick the lead. A few laps after the ensuing restart on Lap 135, he came back down pit road because of a loose wheel.

    He rejoined the race 22nd one lap down.

    “We had four or five issues with the pit gun this year as we’ve gone through the year,” he added. “We wound up winning the race. It’s unfortunate that we have to use a piece of equipment that is handed to us, and that dictates your day.”

    Harvick got back on the lead lap when the caution flew with 99 laps to go, during the middle of a green flag pit cycle. He restarted at the tail-end, however, when a crew member fell over the wall to catch a rolling tire (thus a “Too many men over the wall” penalty).

    He worked his way up to second, overtaking McMurray for the spot with 56 to go.

    FORT WORTH, Texas – APRIL 08: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 Interstate Batteries Toyota, leads Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Busch Light Ford, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 8, 2018, in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo: Robert Laberge/Getty Images

    On the final restart with 23 to go, Harvick and Kyle Busch broke away from the field to settle the victory for themselves. Harvick couldn’t get close enough to Busch, got as close as three-tenths of a second, and finished second to the No. 18 Toyota Camry.

    “I mean, Kyle had a decent car,” Harvick said. “It’s just in traffic, our car wasn’t as good as it was obviously in clean air. He did a good job of not making any mistakes there at the end and kept his car on the bottom, never gave us an opening to really drive in there and be able to, you know, capitalize on a mistake.

    “He kept his car right on line and did exactly what he needed to do. It was fast enough to be able to keep us back there. My car would slide the front tires. We had some trouble keeping the car on the bottom once I would get close to him.

    “I needed the whole run to capitalize on the full strength of our car, with his car. I felt like him and the 78 (Martin Truex Jr.) probably had the best two cars, aside from ours, on the racetrack. It just took a long time to get to the point of being able to pass him.”

    All in all, it was a solid afternoon for Harvick. He led 87 of 334 laps, won the first stage and jumped up to fourth in points.

    “So, you know, you can overcome a lot of things,” Harvick said. “We had a super fast car today, but in the end pitting under green for the wheel was what put the dagger in it. We just didn’t make it all the way.”

  • ‘Rowdy’ breaks through to victory in Texas

    ‘Rowdy’ breaks through to victory in Texas

    Out of his car and flag in hand, Kyle Busch performed his trademark bow to a mixed reaction of cheers and jeers from the fans in attendance at Texas Motor Speedway. After weeks of coming up short, despite dominant performance after dominant performance and weeks of frustration mounting, he was back in victory lane.

    “We were probably just a tick faster, overall, but I just to make sure to do everything I could to hit all my marks and everything,” Busch said. “To focus on making sure that I did the right things to block his air a little bit.

    “This has been a trying couple of months, I guess. After Daytona, we’ve just been on a roll of finishing really good. Been really pumped and excited about that, and the momentum we were able to carry, but frustrated at the same time trying to get to victory lane.”

    Busch led the field back to green for the final time with 23 laps to go. After Ricky Stenhouse Jr. bogged down the field on the restart, he and Kevin Harvick pulled away from the field to settle the race between themselves. The closest Harvick could get, however, was within three-tenths of a second.

    “We did overcome a lot. That was unfortunate,” Harvick said after finishing runner-up. “We had a pathetic day on pit road, two days on pit road because of pit guns. When you have a pit gun problem like we have multiple times and been able to overcome it and then today we couldn’t overcome it. Time after time you can’t get the lug nuts tight because the pit guns don’t work.

    “Kyle’s car was good enough to where he could get out there and run pretty good in clean air. It took us the whole run to be able to get everything back together and do everything we needed to do to make up a position. We weren’t as good behind him as we were in front of him. His car would run fast enough. There is only so much you can make up.”

    Jamie McMurray, Erik Jones and Ryan Blaney rounded out the Top-five.

    Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, Darrell Wallace Jr., Clint Bowyer and William Byron rounded out the Top-10.

    RACE SUMMARY

    Kurt Busch led the field to the green flag at 2:13 p.m. Kevin Harvick powered ahead through Turn 2 to take the top spot and led the first lap. Busch, meanwhile, got loose in Turn 3 and fell back to seventh. Martin Truex Jr. pitted a bit shy of the end of the estimated fuel window on Lap 41. This forced the rest of the leaders to pit as well. Harvick pitted from the lead on Lap 44, handing it to Denny Hamlin. Hoping to catch a caution, he finally pitted on Lap 56 and the lead cycled back to Harvick.

    Hamlin was hit with a pass-through penalty for speeding on pit entry.

    The first stage ended with a caution five laps shy of the conclusion when second-place Martin Truex Jr. suffered a right-front tire blowout and veered up into the Turn 4 wall. As a result, Harvick won the first stage.

    Kyle Busch beat Harvick off pit road and led the field back to green on Lap 91. Harvick took advantage of Busch getting loose in Turn 1 to get to his inside and retake the lead on Lap 116.

    Kyle Larson, who worked his way back into the Top-10 after starting the day from the tail-end of the field for failing pre-race inspection too many times, suffered a right-front tire blowout and slammed the wall in Turn 2 on Lap 126.

    A lug nut got caught in Harvick’s jack, costing him the lead. Kurt Busch exited first and led the field back to green on Lap 135. Adding insult to injury for Harvick, he made an unscheduled not long after the restart for a loose wheel, as did Ryan Blaney. With four laps remaining in the second stage, the Kyle swapped the top spot with his brother exiting Turn 2 and won the stage.

    Erik Jones exited pit road first and led the field to green on Lap 178. Busch got loose going into Turn 1. Heading down the backstretch, he backed up into the path of Aric Almirola, who checked up and got Hamlin loose, triggering a multi-car wreck. Cleanup required 11 minutes under red flag.

    The race restarted on Lap 184. A round of green flag stops commenced with 103 laps to go. Jones pitted the following lap, Busch pitted with 101 to go and the lead went to William Byron.

    Following a caution for Paul Menard hitting the wall in Turn 1, Kyle Busch beat Jones entering Turn 1 and retook the lead with 94 to go.

    Everyone hit pit road for their final round of pit stops with 45 to go. Race leader Kyle Busch did so with 44 to go. Ryan Newman blew a right-front tire and slammed the outside wall on the frontstretch, bringing out the caution with 30 to go. Chase Elliott pitted from the lead and it cycled back to Kyle Busch.

    He led the field back to green with 23 to go. After Ricky Stenhouse Jr. bogged down the field on the restart, Busch and Harvick pulled away from the field to settle the race between themselves.

    NUTS & BOLTS

    The race lasted three hours, 32 minutes and seven seconds, at an average speed of 141.714 mph. There were 16 lead changes among eight different drivers and eight cautions for 48 laps.

    Kyle Busch leaves with a 38-point lead over Joey Logano.

    [pdf-embedder url=”http://www.speedwaymedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/C1807_UNOFFRES.pdf”]

  • Johnson Wins at Texas; Dominant Blaney Finishes 12th

    Johnson Wins at Texas; Dominant Blaney Finishes 12th

    Jimmie Johnson took his seventh Texas Motor Speedway victory and his first victory of 2017 on Sunday, holding off Kyle Larson by 0.340 seconds to win the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500. Johnson, who has struggled mightily in the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, also earned his second top-10 of the season.

    “I guess I remembered how to drive, and I guess this team remembered how to do it! I’m just real proud of this team. What a tough track and tough conditions. We were really in our wheelhouse and we were just able to execute all day. Thanks to everybody at Lowe’s and Chevy and the fans and a ton of sponsors,” Johnson said.

    Although the Chad Knaus-led No. 48 crew wound up in Victory Lane, it was the No. 21 Ford of Ryan Blaney who was the dominant car of the day, leading 148 laps and winning the first two stages of the day. However, Blaney was only able to manage a 12th-place at the end of the race after being penalized for sliding through his pit box during his final pit stop.

    “Our car today was really strong,” said Blaney. “We made really good adjustments to get our car to where we needed it to be. If you would have asked me yesterday if our car would have been so great during the first couple of stages, I wouldn’t have thought so.”

    On sliding through his pit box, he said, “It was kind of an unfortunate deal. We were pinned between the 4 and the 88 at a weird angle, and I hurt us on that one for sure and we weren’t able to pass anyone after that.

    Blaney’s Team Penske Brother-In-Arms Joey Logano managed a gutsy pit play and finished third, while polesitter Kevin Harvick finished fourth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished fifth for his first top-10 of the season.

    Brad Keselowski finished in sixth, while Jamie McMurray earned a seventh-place run. Martin Truex Jr. had a strong car early on as well, leading 49 laps, but faded back to eighth at the end. Chase Elliott and Kurt Busch rounded out the top-10.

    Eight cautions slowed down the race for the day, with the most serious being on lap 11, a three-car accident involving Reed Sorenson, Gray Gaulding, and Jeffrey Earnhardt in Turn 2, with Earnhardt receiving the brunt of the accident by backing into the wall hard and ending his day.

    Larson’s runner-up finish maintained his point lead over Chase Elliott by 17 points.

    Ty Dillon was the highest-finishing rookie of the race, finishing in 17th, while Daniel Suarez took his No. 19 Toyota in the 19th-position as the second-highest rookie.

    The next race will be on April 23, at Bristol Motor Speedway.

     

    Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race – O’Reilly Auto Parts 500
    Texas Motor Speedway
    Fort Worth, Texas
    Sunday, April 9, 2017
    1. (24) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 334.
    2. (32) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 334.
    3. (4) Joey Logano, Ford, 334.
    4. (1) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 334.
    5. (37) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 334.
    6. (5) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 334.
    7. (6) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 334.
    8. (7) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 334.
    9. (33) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 334.
    10. (10) Kurt Busch, Ford, 334.
    11. (3) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 334.
    12. (2) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 334.
    13. (12) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 334.
    14. (11) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 334.
    15. (34) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 334.
    16. (8) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 334.
    17. (14) Ty Dillon #, Chevrolet, 334.
    18. (18) Aric Almirola, Ford, 334.
    19. (20) Daniel Suarez #, Toyota, 334.
    20. (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 334.
    21. (38) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 333.
    22. (36) Erik Jones #, Toyota, 333.
    23. (13) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 333.
    24. (19) Danica Patrick, Ford, 333.
    25. (17) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 333.
    26. (9) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 332.
    27. (27) * JJ Yeley(i), Chevrolet, 330.
    28. (21) David Ragan, Ford, 329.
    29. (15) Landon Cassill, Ford, 329.
    30. (28) Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 327.
    31. (26) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 327.
    32. (23) * Corey LaJoie #, Toyota, 326.
    33. (25) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 322.
    34. (29) Gray Gaulding #, Toyota, 322.
    35. (30) Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, 319.
    36. (22) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 314.
    37. (40) * Derrike Cope, Toyota, 313.
    38. (35) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 303.
    39. (39) * Timmy Hill(i), Chevrolet, Engine, 104.
    40. (31) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, Accident, 9.

    Average Speed of Race Winner: 147.137 mph.
    Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 24 Mins, 18 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.340 Seconds.
    Caution Flags: 8 for 35 laps.
    Lead Changes: 16 among 6 drivers.
    Lap Leaders: K. Harvick 1-15; R. Blaney 16-32; K. Harvick 33-36; R. Blaney 37-88; M. Truex Jr. 89-92; R. Blaney 93-125; M. Truex Jr. 126; R. Blaney 127-172; K. Harvick 173-219; B. Keselowski 220-223; J. Logano 224-228; M. Truex Jr. 229-272; J. Johnson 273; J. Logano 274-290; K. Harvick 291-301; J. Logano 302-317; J. Johnson 318-334.
    Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): R. Blaney 4 times for 148 laps; K. Harvick 4 times for 77 laps; M. Truex Jr. 3 times for 49 laps; J. Logano 3 times for 38 laps; J. Johnson 2 times for 18 laps; B. Keselowski 1 time for 4 laps.
    Stage #1 Top Ten: 21,78,1,4,2,42,14,17,22,18
    Stage #2 Top Ten: 21,48,1,42,24,41,4,2,88,78

  • Texas Motor Speedway – Did You Know?

    Texas Motor Speedway – Did You Know?

    This weekend the Monster Energy NASCAR Truck Series heads to Texas Motor Speedway for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500. With his victory at Martinsville, Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski became the first driver to grab multiple wins this season. But did you know that Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing, the two most successful active teams in NASCAR, are winless after six races?

    Texas may be the perfect track for these teams to rebound. HMS driver Jimmie Johnson has the best overall driver rating (107.1) at the 1.5-mile track but so far this year his best finish was ninth place at Phoenix. However, with a track-record six wins, history may be on his side.

    Or maybe Chase Elliott will break through and capture his first win at Texas. He had two top-fives in his 2016 rookie season and is currently in second place in the standings, only four points behind leader, Kyle Larson.

    JGR’s Kyle Busch is also hungry for a win especially after last week’s race at Martinsville where he led a race-high 274 laps only to see victory elude him. He has scored two checkered flags at Texas and is the defending race winner with 11 top fives, 12 top 10s and one pole at Texas.

    But the bigger story may be the newly repaved track surface that was completed during the offseason. Did you know that the entire track was repaved and an extensive drainage system was added on the frontstretch and backstretch? Turns 1 and 2 were also reconfigured with the banking reduced from 24 to 20 degrees and the racing surface widened from 60 to 80 feet through Turns 1 and 2.

    Some of the drivers have expressed concerns about the unpredictability of heading to Texas to compete on the new surface, especially since there will be no opportunity for pre-race testing.

    “To head into Texas with no formal tire test, no official track mapping, let ’er rip, this is new territory for our sport,” Stewart-Hass Racing’s Kurt Busch said. “I think it shows how much we’re having to adapt on the fly. Is it a good thing? A bad thing? It doesn’t matter. It’s what it is, and it’s unique the way we’re headed in there to go 215 mph with no track time.”

    JGR driver Matt Kenseth, who has the second-best driver rating of 104.7 at Texas, calls it “unprecedented,” adding, “I don’t think that we’ve ever gone to a newly paved race track without some sort of a test day, a tire test, or something along those lines.”

    There’s no doubt that this weekend will likely test the skills of even the best driver but let’s look at some statistics to set the stage.

    Did you know that four active drivers have multiple wins at Texas Motor Speedway? Johnson leads the way with six followed by JGR’s Denny Hamlin, Kenseth and Kyle Busch with two each. Roush Fenway Racing leads the Cup Series in victories with nine while Hendrick Motorsports has eight and Joe Gibbs Racing has six.

    There have been 32 MENCS races at Texas, one each year from 1997-2004 and two per season since 2005, resulting in wins by 18 different drivers. But did you know that 78.1 percent (25 of 32) have been won from a top-10 starting position? And, to narrow it down more, starting in third place has produced more wins (six) than any other starting position.

    Don’t miss the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Sunday, April 8 at 1:30 p.m. on FOX as the 2017 season continues at Texas Motor Speedway. While you’re waiting, check out the gallery below for a preview of the paint schemes we’ll see this weekend.

    Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

    Texas paint schemes

     

  • Texas undergoing repave prior to next race

    Texas undergoing repave prior to next race

    Come this April, one track will have a completely new surface and slightly different profile.

    Texas Motor Speedway announced plans for a complete repave of the 1.5 mile quad-oval racing facility where completion is expected, barring any weather delays, before the start of the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race weekend on April 9. The repave includes a new asphalt racing surface, “an expansive French drainage system on the frontstretch and backstretch,” according to the release by the speedway, and a four-degree reduction in banking in Turns 1 and 2. Turns 3 and 4 will remain unchanged.

    This is the track’s second repave in its 20-year history and first since 2001.

    The repave came as a result of races being delayed as a result of water seeping out of cracks in the track and improper drainage. Both Cup races were delayed by rain and track drying efforts. Weather delays and track drying halted last year’s Firestone 600 IndyCar Series race 71 laps in and the remainder of the event was pushed from June 12 to August 27.

    “The old pavement no longer dried as quickly because through the years of use and weather, the asphalt became porous, kind of like a sponge,” said Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage. “Even if we only had a brief shower it was taking us far too long to get the track dried in order to get on to the racing. We owe it to the fans to present the best possible race track so they will be assured of seeing NASCAR and INDYCAR races even if we face some brief inclement weather. This will accomplish that goal.”