Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: Regan Smith

  • Jason Burdett to call 250th Xfinity event as crew chief at Daytona

    Jason Burdett to call 250th Xfinity event as crew chief at Daytona

    In his eighth full-time season as a NASCAR Xfinity Series crew chief for JR Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro team piloted by vt, Jason Burdett is within reach of a milestone start. By participating in this weekend’s Xfinity event at Daytona International Speedway, Burdett will call his 250th career event as a crew chief.

    A native of Arkport, New York, Burdett, whose racing career commenced by working with several local teams near Watkins Glen, joined Robert Yates Racing in 1998, where he worked as a tire specialist for Dale Jarrett. Three years later, he transitioned to Hendrick Motorsports, where he was a part of the 2001 Cup Series championship-winning team piloted by four-time champion Jeff Gordon. Another six years later, he joined forces with Michael Waltrip Racing and served as Jarrett’s crew chief for 14 Cup events. Upon returning to Hendrick Motorsports in 2008, he spent the following three seasons serving as Gordon’s car chief before teaming up with Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 HMS team from 2011 to 2014.

    In 2015, Burdett was named a full-time Xfinity Series crew chief for JR Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro entry piloted by Regan Smith. Despite commencing the season with a 35th-place finish at Daytona, where Smith was involved in a late rollover accident, the duo earned 12 top-10 results through the first 20-scheduled events. Then at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in August, Burdett achieved his first victory as a NASCAR crew chief when Smith pulled a “bump-and-run” move on Alex Tagliani on the final lap to claim his first victory of the season. Another seven races later, Burdett and Smith went to Victory Lane for the second time of the year at Dover Motor Speedway in October. By then, Smith was in third place in the standings and trailing the points lead by 36 points. Despite finishing in the top-10 for the remaining five Xfinity events, Smith capped the 2015 season in fourth place in the final drivers’ standings and 22 points shy of the title. Overall, Burdett led Smith and the No. 7 JRM team to two victories, 11 top-five results, 26 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 9.0 in his first season as an Xfinity crew chief.

    The following season, Burdett remained as crew chief for JRM’s No. 7 entry that was being piloted by Justin Allgaier, who replaced Smith. Despite not recording a single victory throughout the season, the new duo utilized consistency on a strength of 21 top-10 results to qualify for the inaugural 2016 Xfinity Series Playoffs. Burdett and Allgaier went on to finish no lower than 14th throughout the Playoffs as they transferred all the way to the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November with an opportunity to contend for the 2016 Xfinity title. During the finale, however, Allgaier finished in sixth place on the track and in third place in the final standings. Despite falling short of the title, Burdett managed to lead the No. 7 team to two additional top-five results (13), an additional top-five result (27) and one spot higher (third) compared to the 2015 season.

    Remaining as Allgaier’s crew chief for the 2017 Xfinity season, it only took the first four scheduled events of the season for Burdett and Allgaier to achieve their first victory of the season at Phoenix Raceway in March. By then, Allgaier snapped an 80-race winless drought dating back to August 2012 and a one-year winless drought for JRM’s No. 7 team. Six months later, the duo wheeled their way to their second victory of the season at Chicagoland Speedway as they earned a spot in the Xfinity Playoffs for a second consecutive season. Throughout the Playoffs, Burdett and Allgaier earned four top-10 results in six races as they managed to earn a spot in the Championship Round at Homestead for a second consecutive season. Prior to the finale, however, Burdett was suspended from the event and fined $10,000 for an L1 infraction stemming from an unattached brake cooling hose that was found on Allgaier’s car the week prior at Phoenix in November. With Burdett absent, veterans Billy Wilburn and Chad Knaus worked atop Allgaier’s No. 7 pit box at Homestead, where he went on to finish in 12th place on the track and in third place in the final standings for a second consecutive season.

    Returning atop the pit box for the 2018 Xfinity Series season, Burdett and Allgaier rallied from sustaining two DNFs through the first 10-scheduled events by earning six top-10 results and claiming their first victory of the season at Dover in May. Following the Dover victory, however, Burdett was suspended for the following two Xfinity events and fined $25,000 after it was discovered that some rear suspension components on Allgaier’s race-winning car did not meet NASCAR specifications. Once Burdett returned as a crew chief at Michigan International Speedway in June, the duo went to Victory Lane during the following event at Iowa Speedway. They went on to win at Mid-Ohio, Road America and Indianapolis Motor Speedway between August and September. Once the regular-season stretch concluded at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in September, Burdett and Allgaier captured the 2018 Xfinity Series regular-season championship as they entered the 2018 Xfinity Playoffs as a title favorite. During the Playoffs, however, they managed to finish in the top five twice in six events. Coupled with two DNFs and three results outside of the top 20, Burdett and Allgaier failed to reach the Championship Round and compete for the title. Despite settling in seventh place in the final standings and being suspended for two events, the 2018 season produced a career-best season for Burdett, who achieved five victories, a pole, 17 top-five results and 24 top-10 results with Allgaier. In addition, he surpassed 100 Xfinity events as a crew chief.

    Burdett and Allgaier commenced the 2019 Xfinity season on a strong note, where Allgaier finished in the runner-up spot behind teammate Michael Annett at Daytona. They went on to earn 17 additional top-10 results, including three runner-up results, to qualify for the Playoffs for a fourth consecutive season. After finishing no lower than sixth through the Playoff’s Round of 12 and 8, Burdett and Allgaier notched their first elusive victory of the season at Phoenix in November. The victory enabled the duo and the No. 7 JRM team to secure a spot in the Championship Round at Homestead, where they ended up in 14th place on the track and in fourth place in the final standings. Ironically, the 2019 season marked the third season where Burdett led the No. 7 team to an overall average-finishing result of 9.0, including the years 2015 and 2018.

    Burdett and Allgaier recorded 10 results in the top 10 through the first 19-scheduled events of the 2020 season before notching their first victory of the year in the first of a Dover Motor Speedway doubleheader feature in August. A month later, they swept both Richmond Raceway events as part of a doubleheader feature as they went on to make the Playoffs for a fifth consecutive season. Despite finishing outside of the top 20 three times throughout the Playoff’s Round of 12 and 8, the duo made the Championship Round for the fourth time in five seasons. During the finale at Phoenix in November, Allgaier was in position to win his first championship during an overtime attempt before he was overtaken by Austin Cindric on the final lap. Unable to mount a final lap challenge on Cindric, Allgaier fell back to fifth place on the track as he and Burdett settled in a career-best second place in the final standings.

    This past season, Burdett and Allgaier recorded two regular-season victories at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March and at Darlington Raceway in May as they made the Xfinity Playoffs for a sixth consecutive season. Despite finishing no lower than ninth throughout the Playoffs, they missed the top-four Championship finale cutline by a mere margin as they went on to finish in fifth place in the final standings. Together, the duo achieved two victories, 16 top-five results, 23 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 9.6 throughout the 2021 season. In addition, Burdett surpassed 200 Xfinity events as a crew chief.

    This season, Burdett and Allgaier have achieved three victories through the first 22-scheduled events: Darlington in May, Nashville Superspeedway in June and at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July. To go along with a pole, 10 top-five results, 15 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 11.4, they are currently ranked in third place in the 2022 Xfinity Series regular-season standings and trail the points lead by 70 points.

    Through 249 previous appearances as an Xfinity crew chief, Burdett has achieved 18 victories, three poles, 104 top-five results, 175 top-10 results and 4,049 laps led while working with two different competitors (Regan Smith and Justin Allgaier).

    Burdett is scheduled to call his 250th Xfinity Series event as a crew chief at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, August 26, at 7:30 p.m. ET on USA Network.

  • Taylor Moyer to call 100th Xfinity Series event as crew chief at Daytona

    Taylor Moyer to call 100th Xfinity Series event as crew chief at Daytona

    A significant milestone achievement is in the making for Taylor Moyer, crew chief for rookie Sam Mayer and the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro team for the upcoming NASCAR Xfinity Series season. By participating in this weekend’s season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway, Moyer will call his 100th Xfinity career event as a crew chief. 

    Moyer, a native of Shoreham, Vermont, who graduated with a mechanical engineering degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and worked as a race engineer for Kasey Kahne and William Byron at Hendrick Motorsports, assumed the role as crew chief for JR Motorsports’ No. 8 “all-star” Chevrolet Camaro entry prior to the 2019 Xfinity Series season. The ride was shared between Chase Elliott, Ryan Preece, Zane Smith, Ryan Truex, Jeb Burton, Brett Moffitt, Sheldon Creed, Regan Smith and Dale Earnhardt Jr. 

    Commencing the 2019 Xfinity Series season with a 10th-place result at Daytona International Speedway in February with Elliott, Moyer led the No. 8 JRM Chevrolet team to seven top-five results, 23 top-10 results and a 10th-place result in the final Xfinity owner’s standings. The team’s best on-track result during the season was a runner-up result posted by Ryan Truex at Phoenix Raceway in March.

    For the 2020 season, Moyer remained as the crew chief for JRM’s No. 8 “all-star” entry that was shared between Burton, Daniel Hemric and Earnhardt Jr. The team commenced the season with two consecutive results outside of the top 20 due to wrecks, but rallied during the following event at Auto Club Speedway as Hemric finished seventh. Three races later, Hemric posted a runner-up result at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May. The team would achieve two additional runner-up results throughout the season (one by Jeb Burton at Richmond Raceway in September and another by Hemric at Kansas Speedway in October) along with a total of 11 top-five results, 19 top-10 results, 68 laps led and a ninth-place result in the final Xfinity owner’s standings.

    The following season (2021) marked Moyer’s third consecutive season as an Xfinity crew chief for the No. 8 JRM Chevrolet team that was split between Josh Berry, Miguel Paludo, Sam Mayer and Earnhardt Jr. After finishing no higher than seventh place twice during the opening six scheduled events, Moyer achieved his first NASCAR victory as a crew chief after the No. 8 Chevrolet piloted by Berry won at Martinsville Speedway in April. The victory was also the first for Berry and the No. 8 JRM team as the team was placed in contention to compete for the 2021 Xfinity owner’s championship. For the rest of the season, however, the No. 8 team only achieved four additional top-five results and a total of 13 top-10 results before settling in 12th place in the final owner’s standings.

    The 2022 Xfinity Series season is set to mark Moyer’s fourth full-time season as a crew chief for JRM, but the first season where he will be paired with a full-time competitor as Sam Mayer, a two-time ARCA Menards Series East champion who drove the No. 8 JRM Chevrolet in 17 events and earned six top-10 results in 2021, prepares to embark in his first full-time Xfinity campaign in the No. 1 JRM Chevrolet Camaro.

    Through 99 previous Xfinity starts, Moyer has achieved one victory, 23 top-five results and 55 top-10 results while working with 13 different competitors.

    Moyer is scheduled to call his 100th Xfinity Series event as a crew chief for the 2022 season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, February 19, with coverage to start at 5 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Greg Ives to reach 200 Cup starts as crew chief following Michigan

    Greg Ives to reach 200 Cup starts as crew chief following Michigan

    A significant milestone is in the making this weekend for Greg Ives, crew chief of the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE driven by Alex Bowman in the NASCAR Cup Series. When the Cup Series completes its upcoming doubleheader races at Michigan International Speedway, Ives will achieve 200 starts in NASCAR’s premier series as a crew chief.

    A native of Bark River, Michigan, Ives graduated from Michigan Technological University with an engineering degree in 2003 and joined Hendrick Motorsports as a mechanic for the No. 24 Chevrolet team driven by Jeff Gordon the following year. As a lead engineer for the No. 48 Chevrolet team driven by Jimmie Johnson and led by crew chief Chad Knaus, Ives was part of Johnson’s historic run of winning five consecutive Cup championships from 2006 to 2010.

    Following the 2012 season, Ives spent the next two seasons in the NASCAR Xfinity Series as a crew chief for Regan Smith in 2013 and rookie Chase Elliott in 2014. In his two-year role as crew chief, Ives achieved his first five career wins, two poles, 23 top-five results and 44 top-10 results. In addition, he achieved his first NASCAR championship in 2014 with Elliott.

    In July 2014, Ives was named crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS team for the 2015 NASCAR Cup Series season following the departure of veteran Steve Letarte, who joined NBC Sports as an analyst. Nine races into his rookie season as a Cup crew chief, Ives notched his first career win with Earnhardt Jr. in May 2015 at Talladega Superspeedway, the same venue where he also achieved his first Xfinity career win in 2013 with Regan Smith. Throughout the 2015 season, the combo also won at Daytona International Speedway in July and at Phoenix Raceway in November while racking up 16 top-five results and 22 top-10 results. When the final checkered flag of the 2015 Cup season waved, they concluded the season in 12th in the final standings.

    The 2016 season was an eventful season for Ives and the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team. For the first 18 races, Earnhardt Jr. drove the No. 88 car to five top-five results and six top-10 results, and they were situated in 13th place in the regular-season standings. The following race, however, Earnhardt Jr. was sidelined due to suffering concussion-like symptoms. When Earnhardt Jr. opted out of racing for the remainder of the 2016 season, Ives worked with Alex Bowman and Jeff Gordon for the final 18 races. With Gordon, the No. 88 team achieved two top-10 results and seven laps led. With Bowman, the team achieved a pole position at Phoenix in November along with three top-10 results and 200 laps led.

    In 2017, Ives reunited with Earnhardt Jr. with Earnhardt receiving medical clearance to return to racing. Following the first eight races of the season, where the combo only achieved one top-five result, Earnhardt Jr. announced his retirement from full-time NASCAR racing following the 2017 season. Three months later, Bowman was named as Earnhardt Jr.’s successor of the No. 88 Chevrolet with Ives to continue to lead the team. Throughout the 2017 season, though he was absent for two races, Ives achieved one top-five result, eight top-10 results and two poles with Earnhardt Jr. before concluding the season in 21st in the final standings. By then, he surpassed 100 Cup starts as a crew chief.

    In 2018, following Earnhardt Jr.’s retirement and with Bowman behind the wheel of the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro, the combo started off on a high note by winning the pole position for the Daytona 500. Throughout the season, however, Bowman and Ives achieved three top-five results and 11 top-10 results. Though they made the Playoffs, they concluded the season in 16th in the final standings.

    The following season, it took until the first 16 races into the new season for Bowman to achieve his first Cup career win at Chicagoland Speedway in June. Bowman’s victory also snapped a three-year winless drought for Ives and the No. 88 team since their last victory in November 2015. Throughout the 2019 season, the two achieved seven top-five results and 12 top-10 results as they made the Playoffs again before concluding the season in 12th in the final standings, four spots higher than the previous season.

    Through the first 20 races of this season, Bowman and Ives have achieved one victory at Auto Club Speedway in March. They have also achieved two top-five results and six top-10 results, and they are one of 10 teams to be guaranteed a spot in the 2020 Cup Playoffs. Heading into this weekend’s doubleheader races at Michigan, Ives’ home track, the U.P. native has achieved five career wins, four poles, 34 top-five results and 70 top-10 results in his sixth year as a Cup crew chief for Hendrick Motorsports.

    Catch Greg Ives’ milestone at Michigan on August 9 at 4:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • The Final Word – Indianapolis proved to be more a brick than a crown jewel for much of Monday

    The Final Word – Indianapolis proved to be more a brick than a crown jewel for much of Monday

    Storylines, we had a few going into the Indianapolis Brickyard 400. We wondered if the crown jewel race on the historical track would be worth watching. Sometimes it has not been. However, now that NBC has brought back meaningful commentary to the experience, we had high hopes. Hell, despite it being obvious no one was going to be racing for a while, I was glued to the television just to hear what everyone had to say. The network that once brought us Rusty Wallace now presents Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Burton, and Steve Letarte. Now, that is the true meaning of being progressive, as Lord knows progress has finally been made.

    Yet, the big story was the start of the race. When would that be? The wet cold rainy weather punted both practice and qualifying, thus nobody would have any laps in their car when the green waved. None. Zip. That had never happened before in NASCAR’s modern era. I mean, with defending race champ Kasey Kahne out of the car due to the after-effects from heat exhaustion in the Southern 500, Regan Smith was in a Cup car for the first time in 17 months. No practice, no laps, nothing before he takes the green flag on a green track known for grinding tires down to the nub.

    Obviously, we also wondered if someone below NASCAR’s dividing line between contenders and pretenders might shock us all with a win. Someone who might actually put Jimmie Johnson and Alex Bowman in jeopardy of losing their spot in the season-ending party. Winning this particular race is a big deal. Winning it to steal a spot in the Chase would have been huge.

    Sunday came and went, but when they waved the green on Monday we discovered tire wear and lack of practice was no big deal. The cars stuck and when Denny Hamlin ignored the competition caution after 10 laps, he went to the front and stayed there. So much for those storylines.

    So much for the Sunday fans as many, if not most, were nowhere to be seen in the stands come Monday. Maybe they knew that being there was not as good as watching it all from home. As for the racing, the boys were stretched all around the track. If you love pack racing, you would have hated Indianapolis. Meanwhile, the NBC boys and girls kept it more than watchable due to the insight of their commentary. See, it all was not bad.

    It was not a good week for Martin Truex Jr. First, we heard that his team is heading for the exits after this season. Then we saw in the middle of the opening stage that same car heading for the exits after shattering a left front brake rotor. When it rains it pours, at least it did at Indianapolis.

    Lost brakes ended all hopes for Bubba Wallace when a failure caused his wreck. Johnson got some relief in the middle frame when A.J. Allmendinger crippled Bowman’s ride. That guaranteed Johnson was in the Chase, but it still meant someone on the outside had to win to beat Bowman out. The odds were not great, especially considering the fact the best of the rest with 60 laps to go was Stage Two winner Matt Kenseth, and he was not even eligible for a playoff run.

    As the laps clicked off, it was down to a pair of drivers. Hamlin was up front, with Clint Bowyer trying to track him down. With seven to go, Jeffrey Earnhardt and Landon Cassill came together to bring out the caution. That set the stage for those two boys left hoping to hold off Brad Keselowski, with his fresher tires, sitting a row behind them. He was sitting beside Jamie McMurray, who is in final campaign in his current ride, needed a win to be in. Same for Ryan Newman, who started right behind him. Finally, this thing was going to get interesting.

    On the restart, Bowyer spun his tires and sank from view. Keselowski came up to challenge Hamlin, and the pair did some beating and banging before Mad Brad took off to collect a second straight crown jewel, coming off of his win last week in the Southern 500. Erik Jones finished third, ahead of Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, and Bowyer. Three outsiders finished in the top 10, but McMurray, Newman, and Paul Menard came up short of the prize they were after.

    Now it is off to the playoffs. Three drivers go in with a big cushion in playoff points. For the rest, a win would automatically launch them into the next round. The excitement begins next Sunday at Las Vegas, where there is always a story to tell.

  • Driver Analysis: T.J. Bell And Regan Smith

    Driver Analysis: T.J. Bell And Regan Smith

    T.J. Bell and Regan Smith are NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regulars. This season marked Bell’s 15th year in the series, while it was Smith’s sixth year. Smith made 13th starts while Bell made 15 starts in the 2017 season.

    Smith made his first start of the year at Daytona International Speedway by qualifying 25th and finished sixth after the last lap melee, while Bell made his first start at Atlanta and finished 17th. Like most drivers who faced setbacks during the season, Smith had two DNF’s at Charlotte and Talladega, while Bell had five DNF’s at Dover, Iowa, Kentucky, Las Vegas and Phoenix.

    Despite having the DNF’s this season Smith’s sixth-place finish at Daytona was followed up by one more top 10 result at Dover where he finished seventh. Throughout the season, he averaged a 19.4 start and a 14.1 average finish.

    Bell, on the hand, had a 21.3 average start and a 19.9 average finish. Bell’s best finishes of the year came at Charlotte, Fort Worth and Pocono of 14th.

    When the season was over, Smith was scored 18th in the standings while Bell ended the year in 20th.

    Smith’s Twitter handle is @ReganSmith. You can follow T.J. Bell on Twitter at @TJBell_racing.

  • The Final Word – Kyle Busch sweeps Bristol to claim his 180th NASCAR victory

    The Final Word – Kyle Busch sweeps Bristol to claim his 180th NASCAR victory

    Bristol is where the legends win. Darrell Waltrip won a dozen times there. Cale Yarborough, Dale Earnhardt, and Rusty Wallace each had nine. Then there is Kyle Busch, who’s victory on Saturday night pushed him to six, one more than his brother Kurt and David Pearson. Each one in the Hall of Fame, or will be. No exceptions.

    As far as races go, Bristol provided a decent amount of excitement. It was not one for the ages, but few are. Rowdy claimed his 40th career Cup win, to go with his wins in the junior and truck series on the weekend at the same locale. I guess I should be all a quiver that he pushed his career totals to 91 XFINITY and 49 Camping World victories. That is 180 when all three are combined, just 20 short of Richard Petty’s record in Grand National and Cup. Do the records compare? Let the debate begin.

    Erik Jones is 21-years-old, with 15 wins in the two secondary series but still looking for his first Cup victory. His second place finish Saturday night was fine, but he still needs that victory if he is to make the Chase. With the exception of one other car, he earned it. Busch just earned it more.

    At this time of the year, when all but three playoff positions are written in stone, it has come down to winning. No one is going to catch those hanging on to those three spots except by a win. The best Jones could do was move past Joey Logano into 18th on the ladder and that is just not good enough. Unless Logano, Jones, or someone still winless comes through at Darlington or Richmond, our list of contenders for the championship has been set.

    However, Saturday night was a good night for racing, a good points day for some racers. Very good for the younger Busch and Jones, pretty good for Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and Matt Kenseth. For the latter, he moves three points ahead of Jamie McMurray into 15th, but with Clint Bowyer still 58 points behind him, McMurray has nothing to worry about. Well, unless the wrong guy wins one of these next two races. The gap between McMurray and Chase Elliott sitting in 14th is just 11 points. Should one of those not yet in come up with a win, then things could get pretty darn exciting, but only then.

    Brad Keselowski had a tire go down six laps in, and that was the last we saw of him last Saturday. Austin Dillon broke loose and got into a wreck during the second stage to end his day. Still, each is locked in the Chase, so the impact was minimal.

    Winning the next race, however, can help make a career. Win the Daytona 500, and you become somebody. Just ask Michael Waltrip and Sterling Marlin. Win the World 600, and you have passed the test in the longest race on the schedule. Win the Brickyard 400, and you get to kiss the masonry at the finish line.

    Coming up is the fourth jewel among NASCAR’s iconic events. One you will be remembered for even if it is the only checkered flag you ever get. Darlington and the Southern 500. Kenseth won it in 2013. Regan Smith has just one Cup win, but it was there in 2011. No one else currently not locked into the Chase has claimed the prize. Now would be the time to make a little history in South Carolina.  Action resumes on Sunday, September 3.

  • The Final Word – Dover, where yellow became my favorite color

    The Final Word – Dover, where yellow became my favorite color

    When it comes to extraordinary television, sit on the edge of your seat excitement, Dover under green will not exactly get your heart racing. In fact, Sunday’s race was more of a cautionary tale. When the yellow waved, the interest spiked.

    They waved the flag to start the race. I dozed. There was a caution, but it was for one of the exhaust eaters. No big deal. Then they dropped the jack on leader Kyle Busch in the pits, nearly spun the fingers off tire man Kenny Barber, and then the tire rolled off as Busch pulled out. That got my attention. I bet it got the attention of the entire crew. It sure got the attention of NASCAR. It seems Barber, tire changer Jake Seminara, and crew chief Adam Stevens could all face a major penalty. That could cost them each up to four races. We shall see. However, instead of trying to jump the gun by putting on fewer lugs nuts, the air gun was actually pulling them off instead of spinning them on. Be it a malfunction or a miscue, it was rather memorable.

    Then, back to my nap. For a couple of laps. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. did not take tires under the caution, but caused the next. The lights went on, I woke up, and Stenhouse had some mangled rubber. That contact with the wall did not help either.

    I was about to head off to dream land when Stenhouse hit the wall again. He was finally done. Still, no nap for me, as on the re-start, Kurt Busch broke loose and drove Brad Keselowski into the fence. Bad Brad was toast. Busch lingered, but the damage he sustained finally got to his tire, which got him into the wall, and finally in to the garage to stay. There were still three-quarters of the race left to run and three bound for the Chase were already gone for the day.

    They pitted, when Clint Bowyer’s crew noticed a mechanical issue. Fluids were flowing out where they should not be flowing. To the garage for repairs. By the time he returned, 18 laps had gone by.

    I was able to get in some serious “zzzz” time for the next hundred laps. That was interrupted by another caution. It would seem Joey Logano met the outside barrier, and the repair time cost him four circuits.

    More than a hundred laps of round and round later, the alarm went off again. Regan Smith, sitting in for the mending Aric Almirola, had his right front surrender. Another caution, another tire, another fence, another retirement.

    As the final laps clicked off, it was Kyle Larson, Jimmie Johnson, and Martin Truex Jr., the contenders. One more caution, and we were off to overtime. Six additional laps under green, we thought. It actually ended under caution.

    Johnson moved to the lead with a better re-start and had gone by the overtime line when all hell broke loose behind them on the front stretch. Ty Dillon wiggled and got punted into the safer wafers, while Trevor Bayne and Kasey Kahne not only rhymed but also were among those who failed to make the line. Under caution, Johnson, Larson, and Truex did, in that order.

    It marked the 83rd career win for Johnson, tying him for sixth all-time with Cale Yarborough. It gave him his 11th career Dover win in 31 attempts, and third victory of the season. As far as the standings go, the only real change of note was Matt Kenseth out performing Ryan Blaney, 13th compared to 32nd, and moving seven points up in the battle for the final Chase place.

    With Pocono coming up next week, here is a final cautionary tale. If you are not in the Top 17 heading to Pennsylvania on Sunday, you are not going to make the Chase on points. With the rest 40 or more points out, their best hopes lie in winning one of the next 13 events. The way things have played out so far, with nine winners to date, even a single victory might not be enough.

    This might be a good time for recent past Pocono winners Kahne, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kenseth, and Chris Buescher to catch lightning in a bottle one more time. Either Sunday, or the return date in August will do. Maybe.

  • Regan Smith Will Sub for Aric Almirola in Monster Energy Open in Charlotte

    Regan Smith Will Sub for Aric Almirola in Monster Energy Open in Charlotte

    Richard Petty Motorsports announced Wednesday that Regan Smith will drive the No. 43 Smithfield Ford in this weekend’s Monster Energy Open Race, replacing the injured Aric Almirola. The Open event offers three transfer spots into the Monster Energy All-Star race Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    Smith is a former Cup driver with one win and 13 top 10s in 211 Cup Series starts and six wins in the XFINITY Series. He currently competes in the Camping World Truck Series for Ricky Benton Racing. It is not known if Smith will fill in beyond this weekend but he has proven to be a preferred substitute in the past for several drivers including Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch and Kyle Larson.

    RPM will hold a press conference Friday at 11 a.m. at Charlotte Motor Speedway with Almirola to provide an update on his injury and a recovery outlook. It will be streamed live on NASCAR.com.

    Almirola was injured during the Go Bowling 400 at Kansas Speedway, Saturday, May 13, suffering a compression fracture of the T5 vertebra after a collision with the cars of Joey Logano and Danica Patrick. The accident began with a parts failure on Logano’s Team Penske car which caused him to swerve and make contact with Patrick’s Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. Almirola was unable to avoid the wreck and slid into them, lifting the rear wheels of his car before it slammed back onto the racing surface. Emergency workers had to cut away the roof of his car to safely extract Almirola.

    If Almirola is unable to compete in every regular season race, he will need a waiver from NASCAR to be eligible for the playoffs this season. He would also need to win a race as well as finish in the top 30 by the end of the regular season. Almirola is presently 23rd in the Cup Series standings.

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

     

  • The Final Word – Pocono proved a great place to be, whether you be 4 or 24 years old

    The Final Word – Pocono proved a great place to be, whether you be 4 or 24 years old

    NASCAR’s most popular driver had his problems this past weekend. He was taken out of his ride by his car owner over some behavioral issues, then later got into hot water by getting into cool water. Barefoot and with his sneakers laying nearby half submerged, four-year-old Keelan Harvick was having a great time. After seeing the little lad sprawled right out in a puddle of water, so were a few of the other drivers. Action for most might have been put off to Monday at Pocono, but for one fellow, a rainy Sunday is a good day.

    Monday. Well, Monday was a great day for Chris Buescher. With the fog rolling in at the Pennsylvania 400, he stayed out while others pitted to have the fuel to run the final 22 laps that never were as the race was red flagged. With impending stormy weather ensuring things would not be re-started, the 24-year old claimed his first win in his 27th Cup start. Team owner Bob Jenkins took his second career victory, to go with David Ragan’s 2013 win at Talladega. The win does not put Buescher automatically into the Chase, but he has just six points to make up over the next five races to move into the Top 30 in points to do just that. The man he needs to catch? B.K. Racing’s David Ragan.

    Brad Keselowski, Regan Smith, and Keelan’s dad, Kevin Harvick were next, with Tony Stewart rounding out the Top Five. Martin Truex Jr. looked real good for about 20 laps. After his fresh right front went down to send him into the fence, it went all bad. Joey Logano looked real good, too, at least until Chase Elliott drifted up and they both drifted the wall a good one. None of this trio finished among the Top 30.

    Kyle Larson went in seeking to at least finish ahead of the law firm of Kahne, Bayne, and Blaney to keep his Chase position well secured. He did, finishing sixth on the day, while Ryan Blaney was 11th, Kasey Kahne 15th, and Trevor Bayne was 19th. That means Kahne sits 20 points out, with Bayne and Blaney 28 away. However, if Buescher moves into the Top 30 and thus, among the 16 Chasers, Jamie McMurray becomes the new target and he sits nine points ahead of Larson.

    Jeff Gordon was 27th in his 799th career race. As for the man he replaced, Dale Earnhardt Jr., he falls 47 points out as he recovers from his concussion issue, and out of the conversation for the present. Gordon, by the way, was one of seven drivers at Pocono who were 40 years of age or older. McMurray, Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Stewart, and Greg Biffle were the others. Only Elliott and Blaney were younger than the race winner.

    But the kids are coming. In Iowa, 20-year old Erik Jones won the XFINITY race, his third victory of the season. The lone Cup representative, Keselowski, finished eighth. I bet he feels like a loser. As for the Camping World truck event in Pocono, 19-year old William Byron claimed his fifth race of the season. The kid has taken four of the last six contests. Would it not be nice to talk about those boys on their way up, and a bit less about Keselowski and Kyle Busch when it comes to these series? Of course, it would. One day, maybe the seven-race cut off for rookie eligibility might be used as a cut-off for the number of races one can run outside of their registered division in a season. Maybe.

    Talking about kids, check out this weekend’s CARS Late Model Stock Tour at Orange County in North Carolina on YouTube. Sixteen-year-old Chase Purdy was racing hard and turned 24-year old Ryan Wilson. Wilson was not happy, got out of his car and stood on the track to stop Purdy under caution. He then took down the window net and punched the young man a few times. Something tells me they run under different rules than NASCAR. Oh, by the way, Purdy finished the 100 lap race in seventh, while Wilson’s best car in his stable is now junk.

    Meanwhile, where was Keelan on Monday? Maybe dad took his car off of the blocks and let our new favorite return to racing. As for the young Harvick’s favorite driver? Well, that would be Kyle Busch, of course.

  • Hot 20 – We realize NASCAR is a commercial enterprise…but enough is enough

    Hot 20 – We realize NASCAR is a commercial enterprise…but enough is enough

    Sponsors pay for stuff. They pay enough cash that NASCAR and its track owners have sold their collective souls and it explains why they no longer promote a Firecracker 400, or a World 600, and why they actually dumped, for a time, the Southern 500. Money talks, tradition walks. It is an old story and as long as there is a can of soda to be sold, some tools to be used, a grocery chain with vittles on offer, a casino seeking guests, insurance to be flogged, tents up for grabs, or a car model to be promoted, it appears that will remain the case. Do the folks doing the advertising get their money’s worth? Who cares; that is their worry, not mine.

    What an event is called matters little in the grand scheme of things, I guess. A race is a race, and if prestige is swapped for big bucks, I guess that is the price one is willing to pay. To watch the races on television, the price viewers pay is a slew of interruptions in order to make room for a word from a sponsor who is paying too much for a message most of us ignore.

    That was not always the case. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip were one hell of a team selling everything from pizza to car parts to beer. The boys from a day not so long ago sold razors, hardware, gum, insurance, cars, and who can forget about that Big Brown Truck? Hell, we watched those commercials and they were classic enough to be watched over and over without complaint. Today, it is a different story. They seem to think they can get away with little creativity, provide little entertainment value, yet apparently not bright enough to realize that a lot of us do not even watch the damn things long enough to even know what they are about.

    Last Saturday night, 124 commercials got in the way. That is 28 more than what ran a year before. As it is, nearly 20 percent of the airtime over the course of this season has been devoted to commercials but they upped that for Daytona. It reached up to nearly a quarter of what you watched had nothing to do with the race. Then the idiots actually scratch their heads and wonder why the television numbers are down. Duh!

    The current model is not working. While we realize everything comes with a cost, that somebody has to pay in order for us to watch the action, they should realize that either we pre-record the action to avoid the commercials, or we hit the head or the galley during such interruptions, or we wander off to do other things instead. Last week, we might have hung around just because of the action promised at Daytona. The sixth running of the Quaker State 400 from Sparta, Kentucky does not have the same pedigree. It is just another race.

    You and I know why we watch. Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch have combined to win four of the first five run there at Kentucky. Will one of them take his fourth victory of the season on Saturday? We watch to see if Ryan Blaney can hold down that final Chase place, despite challenges from Jamie McMurray, Trevor Bayne, and Kasey Kahne. We watch to see if Tony Stewart can stay ahead of the two boys close behind in the battle for 30th in points. We watch because we like the sport, the action, and its athletes. We do not watch for the commercials.

    The Hot 20 heading into Kentucky include…

    1. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 3 WINS (551 Pts)
    Winner last week, and he is two for five at Kentucky. Maybe more bubbly is in his future.

    2. KYLE BUSCH – 3 WINS (492 Pts)
    Won the first race at Kentucky, and won the last race there.

    3. CARL EDWARDS – 2 WINS (527 Pts)
    If being at the wrong place at the wrong time was a goal, Edwards attained it at Daytona.

    4. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 2 WINS (475 Pts)
    Thirty wins since 2010, but none at Kentucky though five for five in Top Tens is pretty good.

    5. KEVIN HARVICK – 1 WIN (565 Pts)
    If points still told the tale, he would be at the top, and still might when they finish in November.

    6. KURT BUSCH – 1 WIN (545 Pts)
    It seemed that Kurt was very understanding of Logano after Daytona. We shall see, we shall see.

    7. JOEY LOGANO – 1 WIN (531 Pts)
    Too bad this jerk is on this list. Too bad this jerk is also one hell of a driver.

    8. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 WIN (482 Pts)
    He probably did not appreciate the 30 lap rest in the middle of last week’s race.

    9. DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN (446 Pts)
    We heard Denny was hungry for a Daytona sweep. I guess the boy must be starving today.

    10. MATT KENSETH – 1 WIN (443 Pts)
    Only three drivers have won the five races held thus far at Kentucky. Matt is one of them.

    11. TONY STEWART – 1 WIN (212 Pts)
    He is ba-ack…but can he stay here?

    12. CHASE ELLIOTT – 482 PTS
    The only winless Chaser who heads to Kentucky fairly relaxed. The rest hear footsteps.

    13. AUSTIN DILLON – 434 PTS
    A 29 point pad is good unless an engine goes south or he gets caught up in someone else’s mess.

    14. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 433 PTS
    Biggest free agents in sports history include the names of Bobby, Reggie, Payton, LeBron, and Junior.

    15. RYAN NEWMAN – 425 PTS
    His Kentucky goal is to keep the likes of Blaney, McMurray, Bayne, and Kahne in the rear view.

    16. RYAN BLANEY – 409 PTS
    A Chase place would be a wonderful story, but not everyone likes wonderful stories.

    17. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 405 PTS
    Got a little loose, got a lot wrecked. Now his goal has to be to break a kid’s heart.

    18. TREVOR BAYNE – 399 PTS
    See a Blaney, catch a Blaney.

    19. KASEY KAHNE – 396 PTS
    Things were getting better, then Daytona happened.

    20. A.J. ALLMENDINGER – 393 PTS
    The Glen is coming up August 7th.

    31. BRIAN SCOTT – 209 PTS
    Stewart sits 30th in points, just three ahead of Scott. Talk about incentive.

    32. REGAN SMITH – 203 PTS
    If Scott falters, there is still another shark in the water close behind.