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Hot 20 – If you’re going to play in Texas, you got to have a Biffle in the band

The voting begins, and there is nary a Trump, Cruz, Clinton, or Sanders to be found. Of course, I am referring to NASCAR’s all-star event coming up in May. While Danica Patrick and that neat gimmick of her’s attracts lots of interest, my pick based on performance would be A.J. Allmendinger. It is not easy for teams to gain relevance. Stewart-Haas picked up a star and that worked for them. Furniture Row had Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr. to allow them to turn the corner. A.J. is doing it for JTG Daughterty. That is great to see.

With the pipes on Chase Elliott, I am wondering if the guy can sing. We have had Merle Haggard, Randy Travis, and Josh Turner, to name a few, but if Chase can sing, we got another potential star on our hands. If not, broadcasting is in his future, but we might have to wait a long, long time. That is a hell of a lot of Boogity-Boogity-Boogities we might have yet to endure in the meantime.

A three-part series on NASCAR is coming to CMT next month. It looks good. Now, will it show up north of the line? Sometimes I fear that somebody built a wall on the wrong damn border.

This Saturday night, the boys and girl head west. The way I hear it, if you are going to play in Texas, you got to have a Biffle in the band. That may be true, and it may be a fact this weekend, but sadly such edicts do not include our Hot 20. Greg sits 16 points shy. Maybe the following week.

1. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 2 WINS – 216 PTS
Three straight at Texas, five of the past seven. Jimmie does not share easily, except for tweets.

2. KEVIN HARVICK – 1 WIN – 220 PTS
Still stands tall, despite less than stellar finish last week.

3. KYLE BUSCH – 1 WIN – 215 PTS
After winning a Cup and truck grandfather clock last week, he should never be late ever again.

4. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 1 WIN – 178 PTS
Took some time off in Birmingham to see some humpy backed camels and some chimpanzees.

5. DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN – 172 PTS
Collected a win at Daytona and a wall at Martinsville. Still, he had a better day than Almirola.

6. CARL EDWARDS – 206 PTS
When one struggles and still places in the Top Ten, you know you are having a good season.

7. JOEY LOGANO – 196 PTS
11th is not bad, but it sucks when you had hopes of finishing first.

8. AUSTIN DILLON – 176 PTS
A small issue with teammate Menard, but I understand he has connections with the ownership.

9. KURT BUSCH – 176 PTS
Must have the odd Jan Brady moment hearing how wonderful Kyle was…Kyle, Kyle, Kyle.

10. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 172 PTS
Junior loves banana and mayo sandwiches. I prefer tuna and sandwich spread. Discuss.

11. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 150 PTS
Other than for that loose wheel and speeding penalty, Martinsville was great. Just great.

12. A.J. ALLMENDINGER – 147 PTS
What Kurt and Truex did for Furniture Row, A.J. is doing for Daugherty.

13. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 143 PTS
For Jamie, the STP 500 stood for Stupid Tire Problem.

14. MATT KENSETH – 140 PTS
Does not always take the high road, but when he does, he loses a lot of spots late in a race.

15. RYAN BLANEY – 132 PTS
Not David Pearson just yet, but at one time even Pearson was not that David Pearson.

16. CHASE ELLIOTT – 131 PTS
Jeff who?

17. RICKY STENHOUSE JR. – 128 PTS
Sunday he was undone when he got spun.

18. KASEY KAHNE – 128 PTS
I think he needs to get All-State back as a sponsor. He was in good hands back then.

19. RYAN NEWMAN – 126 PTS
According to the Internet, Newman is a driver, an actress, and manager of the minor league Birmingham Barons. Busy guy.

20. KYLE LARSON – 125 PTS
Along with Dillon, Blaney, and Elliott, the kids are making their presence known, with more great talent on the horizon.

21. PAUL MENARD – 125 PTS
Should Dillon and Menard have issues, I am sure Paul would retain the support of his sponsor.

April 6, 2016
Hot 20 of the 40 making their way to the truly traditional race at Martinsville

A full field. I may be a traditionalist in many ways, but a 40 car field seems about right to me now. It costs money to put a car on the track, to fit the templates, to run fast enough over a lap or two to qualify. That is even so when that auto is destined to simply start and park.

Three fewer starting spots means an entry that has no intention to try will soon enough whither and die. It becomes too much of a gamble, leaving it to teams like the Wood Brothers, Premium, and the Motorsports Group to fill up any void, to grow, to matter. The No. 55 Premium owned car of Reed Sorenson makes its season debut. The 39 others have all attempted every race, with the No. 30 of Josh Wise and the No. 98 of Cole Whitt only missing the start at Daytona.

If I were a strict traditionalist, I would love races decided by laps instead of inches, but I do not. A traditionalist would want a return to old stock cars, open masked helmets, a monkey in the cockpit or even concrete walls. I do not. What I want is to have Joe, Fireball, Tiny, Bobby, J.D., Clifford, John, Adam, Kenny, and Dale back.

A traditionalist would subscribe to the notion that a driver can drive where ever he damn well pleases. Still, I think Kyle Busch and other Cup drivers have made the XFINITY series irrelevant, which is a damn shame. It irks me how much it steals from the public spotlight that should belong to up and comers like Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones, Ty Dillon, and Darrell Wallace Jr. If NASCAR instituted a “powder puff” division for women, hell, Kyle would probably want to run there, too.

However, a traditionalist loves excellence. A traditionalist wants to see a king on top of the mountain and a field of challengers looking to knock him off the peak. There were some seasons it appeared that Richard Petty was competing against XFINITY drivers. Some might argue that, back in the day, he might have been. Some argue how bad it was for Jimmie Johnson to win five straight titles. I argue that it made it that much sweeter when someone came along good enough to take that title away.

Martinsville reminds me of that. The three hottest of our Hot 20 have, between them, claimed 14 victories at Martinsville. Kevin Harvick has one of them. Denny Hamlin has five. Johnson? He would be the guy with eight to his credit over the course of his career. As a traditionalist, I like that. It gives the rest of them something to go after, something that would be really meaningful if they can accomplish it. Still, Johnson needs another seven just to tie Petty’s career total on the circuit that has been hosting such events since 1948. A traditionalist would love to see him do it.

1 – JIMMIE JOHNSON – 2 WINS – 184 PTS
Most successful driver of the 21st century, the best active driver competing at Martinsville.

2 – KEVIN HARVICK – 1 WIN – 195 PTS
A former champion, the leader in points, and still feels he has something to prove on Sunday.

3 – DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN – 170 PTS
I bet his grandfather clock was too large for the shelf, so it stood the past year on the floor.

4 – BRAD KESELOWSKI – 1 WIN – 142 PTS
If the future President Keselowski has to wear a sponsor covered fire-suit, shouldn’t politicians?

5 – CARL EDWARDS – 171 PTS
Averaging a seventh place finish every week is not bad.

6T – KYLE BUSCH – 170 PTS
Ditto. Now with no XFINITY race to worry about this weekend, the trucks, the trucks are calling.

6T – JOEY LOGANO – 170 PTS
Ditto that ditto. Now, as long as Kenseth doesn’t get mad at him this weekend…

8 – KURT BUSCH – 148 PTS
Will not be in the Indianapolis 500 this year. So, I guess that also means Monaco is out.

9 – DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 145 PTS
Will donate his brain for concussion research…but they should expect a very long wait.

10 – AUSTIN DILLON – 139 PTS
How a guy looks in a cowboy hat may depend on his ability, and he is looking better all the time.

11 – MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 127 PTS
Just the latest member of the “Joey is a Jerk” club.

12 – JAMIE MCMURRAY – 125 PTS
No truth to the report that he has insured his dimples for a million dollars.

13 – ARIC ALMIROLA – 120 PTS
You would think the ole No. 43 would be a favorite to win the STP 500.

14 – RICKY STENHOUSE JR. – 119 PTS
Not everyone gets to escape from all his racing peers on a holiday, or wants to.

15 – MATT KENSETH – 113 PTS
If having a horrid season still has one sitting in a Chase place, just how horrid can it be?

16T – RYAN BLANEY – 110 PTS
When your son surpasses you, that is when a father knows just how great a job he has done.

16T – CHASE ELLIOTT – 110 PTS
If he used his given name, we would have yet another “Junior” on our hands.

18 – KASEY KAHNE – 109 PTS
I am guessing Ricky and Danica did not invite him over for Easter.

19 – A.J. ALLMENDINGER – 108 PTS
Might consider a return to IndyCar…once they put a roof on the auto and not before.

20T – TREVOR BAYNE – 95 PTS
Almost easy to dismiss the once promising rising star driving for Roush…but he is only 25.

20T – RYAN NEWMAN – 95 PTS
Wants more barrier protection for his pit crew…and on some tracks that shortfall is evident.

March 30, 2016
Could This Be a Turnaround for Ricky Stenhouse Jr.?

Not since his rookie year of 2013, has Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had such a consistent start to the Sprint Cup season. Since taking over driving duties of the No. 17 from two-time Daytona 500 winner and 2003 champion Matt Kenseth, Stenhouse has had little reason to be confident. Yet, after a fifth-place run at the Auto Club 400 on Sunday he currently sits 14th in points. This coming a week after he finished 37th at Phoenix, thanks to a blown tire and a crash.

Sadly enough, crashes seem to be the norm for the 28-year-old Mississippi driver. In his fourth full season as a Sprint Cup driver, Stenhouse has finished no better than 19th in points in his rookie year. Since then it seems that the only coverage he was known for was being the boyfriend of Stewart-Haas Racing driver Danica Patrick, who he competed against for the 2013 Rookie of the Year title that Stenhouse won. But in five events in 2016, the No. 17 has earned a fifth at Fontana and a 10th at Atlanta, which is more than what can be said for his rookie year.

It’s no secret that the Roush Fenway Fords aren’t what they once were. Although every Roush car made the Chase for the Cup in 2005, as of now they have not won a Cup race since Sonoma in June of 2014, one of only two wins that year. Roush staple Greg Biffle has had major issues since his last win in 2013, Trevor Bayne has not come close to relevance since winning the 2011 Daytona 500, and Stenhouse has not had an ounce of glory since winning back-to-back XFINITY championships in 2011 and 2012.

This is Stenhouse’s second year with young Crew Chief Nick Sandler, who coached Stenhouse to a trio of top-10’s a year ago and has had plenty of time to get comfortable with his driver. A comfortable driver/crew chief bond is pretty ideal, but what else sticks out is this low downforce package.

KANSAS CITY, KS – OCTOBER 20: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the #6 Cargill/Sam’s Club Ford, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway on October 20, 2012 in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR)

It’s already been pointed out the low downforce helps drivers maintain better car control, and it’s been said that the package especially helps drivers with a dirt racing background. It so happens that Stenhouse does have a dirt background, having run several midget races and Sprint Car events over the course of his career. He hasn’t reached an Austin Dillon level of comfort in this new package, but like Dillon, he could be expected to shine on tracks where he hasn’t done that well at in 2015.

Is it too early to say Stenhouse and the Roush Fenway organization is going to thrive in 2016? Yes. However, it’s not unlikely, with the way that team has been running. Expect Stenhouse and Sandler to pull off some great runs at unexpected places in 2016.

March 21, 2016
Hot 20 – Johnson is again California dreaming while Harvick is staying with SHR…or is he?

Best damn finishes ever. Well, for two of the four events to date, that has been the headline for NASCAR in 2016. Daytona and Phoenix were decided by gaps measurable with a ruler, and that has to be a good thing. Hell, a great thing. That said, just how exciting has the visual been, what you and I see on the television prior to the final few laps? Pushing the fast forward button at Daytona was difficult, but it always is. As for the rest, the temptation has been there to quicken the action, if only for a few round and round laps.

Kevin Harvick won last week by a hair over Carl Edwards. That was a good story. Rumblings that Harvick might bolt Stewart-Haas Racing when it abandons Chevrolet for Ford might be a better one. Oh, no, it is not going to happen, if you listened to the driver at Daytona. Funny, that was the same line Tony Stewart gave before he dashed away from Joe Gibbs when they went with Toyota. Mind you, this is different. For example, we are not hearing anything about anyone about to place Harvick’s name on the wall as a name partner any time soon, but the point is that today’s promise could always wind up broken.

A piece by Beyond the Flag’s Christopher Olmstead does make one ponder, with sponsor deals with Busch Beer and Jimmy Johns coming to an end after this season and only an option of keeping Harvick for a season longer if push comes to shove. If he bails, some figure he could replace Kasey Kahne in the Rick Hendrick stable. Makes some sense. Still, there is a good chance that where there is Smoke there shall also be Harvick. Rumors can be fun, at least for the gossipers if not so much for the principles involved. Did we not once think a certain Hendrick driver would actually wind up driving for Richard Childress in a car his dad made famous? Nice story, different ending. It could be the same with this one.

Here is hoping the racing at Fontana proves entertaining from start to middle, as well as the finish. Even more entertaining than any rumors. No doubt, a few of the drivers among our Hot 20 will be front and center this weekend, as Jimmy Johns might be replaced by Jimmie Johnson as Sunday’s center of attention. Now, why am I yearning for a sandwich about now?

1. KEVIN HARVICK – 1 WIN – 154 PTS
In the words of Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes, he is once again back up where he belongs.

2. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 1 WIN – 140 PTS
Expect no less than a Top Ten, as long as he has something more than vice-grips to steer with.

3. DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN – 131 PTS
Last week he did not have a great performance, yet finished third. Sometimes okay is enough.

4. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 1 WIN – 110 PTS
Needed a bus at Phoenix, as everyone knows its wheels go round and round, not kaboom!

5. KYLE BUSCH – 154 PTS
3rd, 3rd, 4th, 4th kind of works as he goes forth.

6. KURT BUSCH – 137 PTS
At least, we have one Busch who knows why Big Leaguers do not regularly play Little League.

7. CARL EDWARDS – 136 PTS
Carl mattered in Phoenix, he will matter at Fontana.

8. JOEY LOGANO – 127 PTS
Life lesson #22: Gas and go…but get all the gas you can before you go.

9. AUSTIN DILLON – 122 PTS
A new generation is making its presence felt…but where are Newman and Menard?

10. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 117 PTS
A new manufacturer, trouble in inspection, a race without his crew chief…and all is well?

11. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 115 PTS
Would be much, much higher if Daytona had not been so much a disappointment.

12. RYAN BLANEY – 104 PTS
Some fly charter, some fly coach, and for some, it just does not matter.

13. ARIC ALMIROLA – 100 PTS
No matter where he goes to bed at night he always remains Almirola by morning.

14. KASEY KAHNE – 96 PTS
Beaten up by a loose air cooling hose in the car, finally beaten by a tire issue outside it.

15. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 94 PTS
Has never enjoyed a Top Ten season. Even in 2010 (Daytona 500/Brickyard) he finished 14th.

16. MATT KENSETH – 90 PTS
Relevant in every race, but just has had trouble before the end of every race…except for last week.

17. KYLE LARSON – 85 PTS
Not yet a Top 15 driver. Not yet.

18. RICKY STENHOUSE JR. – 83 PTS
Even after the disaster that was Phoenix, he still is the best performer Roush-Fenway has.

19. GREG BIFFLE – 76 PTS
A mean handling car meant another long day for the Biff.

20. A.J. ALLMENDINGER – 75 PTS
Average finish of 20th does not cut it, but it beats Trevor, Chase, Danica, Ryan, Paul, Clint…

March 16, 2016
The Final Word – Harvick rises like a phoenix at Phoenix from the tears of Edwards

A phoenix rises from the ashes to be reborn. In Phoenix, Kevin Harvick rose from the tears of Carl Edwards to once again become the Cactus King, the driver to beat at Phoenix.

In November of 2012, Harvick won his first at that track. The next spring, the winner was Edwards. Last fall, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was the victor. The four in between were all claimed by the man who has been victorious in six of the past eight events run in Arizona. That is domination, but it was close on Sunday. Very close.

Harvick had the dominant car on the day. Oh, what a surprise that was. However, he came to the overtime dash to the finish on four used tires, compared to the two fresh ones underneath Edwards. Underneath is where the gent went to make the pass, but Edwards did not get a clean get away. Side by side, fender to fender, fender into fender they came to the stripe, with Harvick taking it by a head. My head, if I had been foolish enough to have had it laying on the track, just 0.01 of a second for the closest outcome ever at this track, one of the closest finishes on any track, at any time.

Edwards was no slacker on the day, sitting among the top three pretty much from start to finish. He was the guy who was chasing Kyle Busch over the first 60 laps of this thing. Even a little miss on pit road did not derail Busch for long, as he concluded the event in fourth. Denny Hamlin was third, even after an early stop saw a tire roll away to find him penalized from fourth to 26th at the time. Earnhardt (5th) and Kurt Busch (6th) were also among the notables on the day, with young Chase Elliott bringing it home in eighth.

Sometimes being tired equates into being fatigued, adding new rubber in the pits, or having them fail to send one into the wall. Ryan Newman (39th) was the first casualty just over 50 laps into the race, and every fifty laps or so after somebody else got bit. Next up was Paul Menard (38th), to be followed by Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (37th), but the exploding tread from Brad Keselowski (29th) was the most spectacular failure.

The Danica Patrick Line last Sunday was drawn at 19th, one place behind Joey Logano, who had a fuel intake issue that forced a late stop for juice, and Matt DiBenedetto in 20th.

The good news for everybody is the fact Harvick has not won at Fontana for the past five years. From 2004-2010, they visited the California venue twice, allowing the likes of Jimmie Johnson (5), and Matt Kenseth (3) to pick up a bunch of wins. Harvick and Tony Stewart have won there since they returned to a one and done situation, with Kyle winning twice before Keselowski took it last spring.

Those last two might be considered decent selections for the prognosticators, but remember that since 2006 Johnson has finished outside the Top 15 just once over the past 15 starts at Fontana. With both Edwards and Kenseth also boasting Top Ten averages, the track could live up to the community’s motto as the “City of Action.” I can live with that.

March 14, 2016
Hot 20 – The heat is on at Phoenix after an endorsement, poor ratings, and some poorer finishes

It is a strange world we live in. Donald Trump appears on his way to the Republican nomination, but an endorsement from Brian France has folks in a tizzy. It could kill the diversity NASCAR is striving for, some claim. That is true. I doubt Trump would be a supporter of any team hiring an illegal alien to drive for them. Crazy, I know.

If that is not bad enough, the television ratings have gone from bad, to worse, to not nearly as awful as the first two races. In a sport that had something of a cult following a decade ago, NASCAR no longer releases attendance figures, prize payouts, and has torn down some grandstands. The antidote will be found on the track, in their marketing, and in the economy. As always, there remains stark room for improvement in all those areas.

A year ago, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won at Phoenix. Five of the six before that, Kevin Harvick claimed the prize. Now, if anyone could use a win this weekend, Danica Patrick, Chase Elliott, and Clint Bowyer would be among them. They sure are not among the Hot 20 going into Sunday’s action.

1. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 1 WIN – 110 PTS
Drives like Superman. In California, he will even look a bit like him.

2. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 1 WIN – 98 PTS
Flag on the ground, flag on the ground, felt like a fool with the flag on the ground.

3. DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN – 93 PTS
Recently was asked if driver confrontations are staged. Sure, about as much as a Republican debate.

4. KYLE BUSCH – 116 PTS
Best in points, zip in wins. Close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and NASCAR

5. KEVIN HARVICK – 109 PTS
Has won five of past seven races at Phoenix. If I were a betting man…

6. JOEY LOGANO – 104 PTS
Truck decal: Things I hate: warm beer, cold women, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski

7. KURT BUSCH – 102 PTS
A pit-road speed limiter button request was made by the speedster to f****** NASCAR.

8. CARL EDWARDS – 96 PTS
Twice failing template inspection last week earns the team a written note of bad tidings.

9T. AUSTIN DILLON – 90 PTS
It has been a while since the No. 3 sat in Victory Lane. It might not be long before it returns.

9T. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 90 PTS
Crew Chief is in the sin bin this week, but the driver has been a factor thus far.

11. RICKY STENHOUSE, JR. – 79 PTS
If Dillon’s performances surprise you, this must make your head spin.

12. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 78 PTS
California’s Caped Crusader hopes to repeat at Gotham…er…Phoenix.

13. KASEY KAHNE – 77 PTS
Bouncing back, or just bouncing. The jury remains out.

14. RYAN BLANEY – 73 PTS
While Mr. Elliott gets the headlines, fellow rookie Blaney thrives in un-Chartered territory.

15. ARIC ALMIROLA – 72 PTS
Living the all-American dream in the all-American car, employed by an all-American icon.

16. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 69 PTS
Some consider this to be a slow start, but it is way too early to get terribly excited just yet.

17. RYAN NEWMAN – 66 PTS
Led just one lap this season. Maybe he is going for quality rather than quantity.

18. PAUL MENARD – 62 PTS
Getting out of a hole at this time of year is a whole lot easier than trying to do it later.

19. REGAN SMITH – 57 PTS
Good start by Tommy Baldwin entry, but last two results have been far from impressive.

20T. TREVOR BAYNE – 56 PTS
Finally had a Top 20 finish last week. Well, at least, that is something.

20T. KYLE LARSON – 56 PTS
Was looking pretty good, then came Las Vegas.

20T. MATT KENSETH – 56 PTS
If NASCAR had a bumper car division, he would be running away with it this season.

20T. GREG BIFFLE – 56 PTS
Tied with his former team-mate and ahead of Danica. That might not make him feel any better.

March 9, 2016
Hot 20 – If rules are meant to be broken, somebody forgot to tell NASCAR

Rules be rules, and the book was tossed at a number of folks after Atlanta. The biggest hit was taken by Martin Truex Jr. after a roof flap issue meant the loss of 15 points. Thanks to the appeal process, he keeps crew chief Cole Pearn for this weekend otherwise, he would be gone for a race and tagged with a $50,000 fine. Considering it is the second straight race the issue has come up, NASCAR got rather ornery.

The honchos were not happy. A.J. Allmendinger lost 10 points for issues regarding his rear wheel crush panels. Austin Dillon, Paul Menard, Ryan Newman and Michael McDowell lost 10 each for components of the car not being kosher. Each crew chief also got to donate $15,000 to the cause.

The poobahs were not done. For failing to pass the pre-qualifying inspection after three attempts, they sent nasty notes to Jeffery Earnhardt’s people, along with the loss of 15 minutes of practice time. Uncle Dale Earnhardt Jr., along with Matt DiBenedetto, and Cole Whitt, were written up after each failed twice.

The lords of all racing even managed to hand out a $5000 penalty to an XFINITY crew chief, wrote up six others for pre-racing inspection issues, and even tagged a Camping World team for failing post-race inspection.

Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do?

In the meantime, NASCAR boss Brian France came out and endorsed Donald Trump for President. To each his own, but I cannot help thinking that while the Donald might not be everyone’s cup of tea, the character and morality flaws of some of the others leave him looking like Gandhi. Yes, it is a strange, strange world we live in, Master Jack.

Off to Las Vegas, our Hot 20 performers include…

1. DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN – 70 PTS
Still has Atlanta car, but his Daytona car is missing. It happens every darn year to somebody.

2. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 1 WIN – 70 PTS
Win a race, tie Dale Earnhardt, pretty much lock in a spot in the Chase. Check, check, and check.

3. KYLE BUSCH – 78 PTS
Won Atlanta’s XFINITY race and outran my five-month-old nephew Oscar. What a guy.

4. KEVIN HARVICK – 74 PTS
If he hopes to repeat in 2016, does that mean Harvick “peated” at Las Vegas last year?

5. CARL EDWARDS – 73 PTS
No one mentions his former friend 12919-028 anymore.

6. KURT BUSCH – 69 PTS
Will the hometown look the same as he steps down from the plane?

7. JOEY LOGANO – 64 PTS
A recent story was entitled, “Logano tries to adjust to new package.” I giggled. I am so immature.

8. MARTIN TRUEX, JR. – 60 PTS
Roof flap issues cost Truex 15 points, but the appeal retains for him his crew chief, for now.

9. ARIC ALMIROLA – 55 PTS
Some with Cuban heritage are running for President. President Almirola has a ring to it.

10. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 54 PTS
While Mr. France likes Donald Trump, Brad kind of likes the sound of President Keselowski.

11. AUSTIN DILLON – 53 PTS
When I rechecked the point standings from Tuesday, I thought I might have had another stroke.

12. MATT KENSETH – 51 PTS
In future, when the flag goes black, maybe they should get back.

13. RICKY STENHOUSE, JR. – 50 PTS
Later this season, he will truly be a Sunny Delight. I wonder if Ms. Patrick would agree?

14. KYLE LARSON – 49 PTS
A big fan of the NBA Charlotte Hornets. I like the NHL Montreal Canadiens. We both are weird.

15. KASEY KAHNE – 46 PTS
Named by Hollywood Life as a Top 10 Hottie of NASCAR. Nope. Danica is all alone.

16. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 45 PTS
After failing pre-qualifying inspection twice, even Junior got written up on Santa’s naughty list.

17. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 44 PTS
Looked good at Atlanta, then they began the second minute of action.

18. REGAN SMITH – 40 PTS
Tommy Baldwin should be proud.

19. CHASE ELLIOTT – 38 PTS
Thanks to good, clean living and NASCAR penalties, the rookie makes the list.

20. RYAN BLANEY – 38 PTS
Some got a Charter, some did not need it.

21. RYAN NEWMAN – 38 PTS
Must have been a Childress thing, as Newman and Menard are also 10 lighter than first tallied.

March 2, 2016
The Final Word – 2016’s NASCAR Contenders, Pretenders, and Participants

Starting in ten days, just about every week the engines will roar to life and 43 cars will take the green flag. However, we all know that not all race drivers and teams are created equal. A half dozen will come from the part-time ranks, and only a couple of dozen will have any kind of hope of even challenging for a win. To put it in culinary terms, you have your steak, your hamburger and, to fill out the field, your hamburger helper. Here is a look at who is who on the menu, with the Daytona 500 less than two weeks away.

TIER I – THE CONTENDERS

Few can question that the 2016 champion could well come out of the top tier of drivers. In fact, half of them already know what it is like to claim the crown.

2 – Brad Keselowski
4 – Kevin Harvick
11 – Denny Hamlin
18 – Kyle Busch
19 – Carl Edwards
20 – Matt Kenseth
22 – Joey Logano
31 – Ryan Newman
41 – Kurt Busch
48 – Jimmie Johnson
78 – Martin Truex, Jr.
88 – Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

The odds might favor Kyle Busch repeating in what we hope, this time, will be a healthy full campaign though Harvick had the best season from start to finish. Well, almost to the finish. Johnson has already claimed the trophy six times, and seems to always be in contention even in those years he falls short. If one was going to pick a potential winner, race in and race out, chances are the favorites would come from this list.

TIER II – THE PRETENDERS

There are those you expect to have a good shot at being victorious every week, and then there are those who, if they did, probably would not come as all that much of a shock, either. In fact, I would expect at least four of these drivers to make it into the Chase, where a pretender could get hot and become a true contender themselves if things fall into place at the right time.

1 – Jamie McMurray
3 – Austin Dillon
5 – Kasey Kahne
6 – Trevor Bayne
13 – Casey Mears
15 – Clint Bowyer
16 – Greg Biffle
24 – Chase Elliott
27 – Paul Menard
42 – Kyle Larson
43 – Aric Almirola
47 – A.J. Allmendinger

In this case, a pretender is one with tons of talent, one with a good chance of claiming a Top Ten, but just not a driver you expect taking the checkered flag on a regular basis. I have always liked McMurray, but he just doesn’t seem to be able to clear that final hurdle. Biffle should be rated higher and in previous years he no doubt would have been, but Roush Fenway has not been an outfit on the rise. Kahne has the ability, but not the results in recent seasons. Dillon and Larson are touted as future stars, and just maybe this is the year they meet expectations. Elliott has things to prove, and a lot of eyes with be watching Jeff Gordon’s former ride to see if the rookie can break out in his rookie campaign.

TIER III – THE PARTICIPANTS

43 cars hit the track each event, with some having pretty good odds of finishing high in the running order when things are said and done. Some others are not as fortunate.

7 – Regan Smith
10 – Danica Patrick
14 – Tony Stewart
17 – Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
21 – Ryan Blaney
23 – David Ragan
32 – Jeffery Earnhardt
34 – Chris Buescher
38 – Landon Cassill
44 – Brian Scott
46 – Michael Annett
83 – Matt DiBenedetto
95 – Michael McDowell

Stewart is on the mend, again, and could be out for quite a spell at the beginning of his final season. Some tend to believe we won’t see him for months as he recovers from his recent back injury. If only Patrick could emerge as the next Jamie McMurray that would be something, but thus far cracking the Top Twenty has been a struggle every week. There is nothing I would like more than to see someone from this group emerge as a pleasant surprise, but they are going to have to prove it for me to believe it. Sure, Stewart could mend enough to rise by the end of the year and Patrick could finally cash in on all of those resources to take it to the next level, but my money would be on Blaney and the Wood Brothers as they return to running a full schedule.

February 8, 2016
Surprising and Not Surprising: Phoenix Quicken Loans 500

From a rain delayed and a rain-shortened race in the Valley of the Sun, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 28th annual Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

Surprising: Two rookie crew chiefs had to make the tough calls that saw one of their drivers win the race and the other make the Chase.

“We kind of knew that once past halfway we’d see a couple more cautions,” Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s rookie crew chief Greg Ives said after scoring the victory. “So that rain started to pop up again and we’re on two long green-flag runs there, and we just saw it coming. We didn’t know if it was going to happen before we pitted or after, but we knew at some point it was going to happen, and we elected to kind of pit, be one of the first few to pit.”

“I think somebody got us one lap early, and our pit selection at pit stall 33 there allowed us to, when the caution came out, finish our pit stop and cross the start-finish line and allowed us to be scored the leader.”

Cole Pearn, Martin Truex Jr.’s rookie crew chief, called his driver to pit road when an unfortunate caution came out shortly thereafter. Truex was able to finish 14th, which was just good enough to secure his spot in the Championship four.

“I was real concerned until I looked at the scoreboard, and I was like, okay, we’re going to be fine. We’re going to be back on the lead lap if we get going here, and really the only guy we were racing was one car ahead of us, so we felt okay about it,” Truex said. “It’s definitely obviously an exciting day for everybody at Furniture Row Racing and me and just super proud of my team for the season we’ve been able to put together.”

Not Surprising: It was lucky 13 for Chevrolet as they secured their 13th consecutive Manufacturer’s Championship thanks to Dale Junior’s win.

“Winning the Manufacturers’ Championship is one of the goals we set at the beginning of every season,” Jim Campbell, U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports said. “This award is the result of great teamwork by the owners, drivers, crew chiefs, crews and technical partners. Special thanks to the Chevrolet powertrain team, along with the engine shops at Hendrick Motorsports and Earnhardt-Childress Racing for delivering the right combination of power, fuel economy, and reliability throughout the entire season.”

“Congratulations to everyone who has made this special achievement possible for Chevrolet.”

Surprising: The Sunoco Rookie of the Year race is surprisingly close with just one race remaining. Brett Moffitt currently has 196 points while Matt DiBenedetto sits at 192 points in the rookie battle.

DiBenedetto was the highest finishing rookie at Phoenix, finishing 28^th while Moffitt finished 36^th.

Not Surprising: Joey Logano was not the only driver who was hoping to see a restart before the rains came to end the race.

“I think it would have been pretty interesting to see what Joey did on that restart, I will say that,” four-time champion and 2015 championship contender Jeff Gordon said. “But I didn’t want to get caught up in whatever was going to happen.”

“I was going to do whatever I had to do try to win the race if I had a chance to restart,” Logano said after being bumped out of the battle for the Sprint Cup. “I guess it just wasn’t in the cards.”

Surprising: Even after finishing runner-up at a track where he has so often dominated, Kevin Harvick was still trying to figure out whether he was on the right side or the wrong side.

“We made great adjustments overnight and got that little bit of balance that we were looking for from practice. “Just the way that the caution fell, I didn’t get all my distance back on the racetrack under green and Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) was able to beat us out,” Harvick said. “But hey, you lose some and you win some like that.”

“Sometimes you’re on the right side of it, and sometimes you’re on the wrong side of it. Today we were on the wrong side of it, but in the big picture we’re on the right side because we’re racing for a championship next week.”

“So, I’m just really proud of everybody on our team.”

Not Surprising: Roush Fenway Racing had another bad day at the track in Phoenix. Greg Biffle was the highest RFR driver, finishing 25th. Both Trevor Bayne and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. struggled as well, with Bayne suffering a pit road speeding penalty to finish 34th and Stenhouse involved in an incident with Joey Gase, limping home to a 41st place run.

“That was disappointing,” Stenhouse said after the race. “We had a decent run here earlier in the spring and I think we could have had a decent finish. We will put this behind us and head to Homestead for the final race of the year. We’ve struggled this year, but my guys have never given up.”

Surprising: The Busch brothers were prime examples of making little mistakes, however, the end result was far from similar.

Kurt Busch made a little mistake, jumping the initial start, for which he was penalized and had to serve a pass-through penalty. Busch recovered to finish seventh, but it was not enough to advance him to the final four.

“I don’t even think it was a penalty,” Kurt Busch said after the race. “It’s not even a call in my mind.”

“We had a great season. We won two races, sat on three poles,” Busch continued. “We did everything possible to put polish on a season like that and get out there with elbow grease and work hard at it. There is some tarnish that is sitting there, polish and polish and that is all I kept doing this whole year.”

Brother Kyle Busch also made a little mistake, but his ended up being not so costly. Busch pitted too close to the wall and lost several positions, however, bounced back to finish fourth and advance to the final four.

“I had a little mishap on pit road, just overshot my marks a little bit, being a little bit slick and got my guys too close to the wall, but past that we had a really good race car,” Kyle Busch said. “The M&Ms Camry was fast. I felt like we had a good top-three, top-four race car and long runs seemed to be our friends and we got some of those tonight, so couldn’t be more pleased to finish where we did and be more pleased to go to Homestead.

Not Surprising: With his Chase hopes dashed, Brad Keselowski now has his hopes set on a high five.

“It was a long day for everybody and to have it end like that wasn’t surprising. We kept adjusting on it, but it’s a short race and who knows? Maybe that last run we would have had something, but that’s not the way it played out,” the driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford said. “The highest we can get is fifth in points now, so I’d like to pull that off and take advantage of that opportunity when we get to Homestead next week.”

The NASCAR season will now finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway with four surprisingly distinct storylines. Two of the contenders have already been champions, one Kevin Harvick looking to go back to back and one Jeff Gordon looking to close out his career with his fifth championship.

The other two drivers in the Sprint Cup hunt could write the surprising storylines of being first-time champs, with Kyle Busch hoping to play the role of comeback kid and Martin Truex Jr. as the little engine that could.

The 17th Annual Ford EcoBoost 400 will run on Sunday, November 22 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, in Homestead, Florida. And in less than a week, the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion will be crowned.

November 16, 2015
The Final Word – Earnhardt takes Phoenix unchallenged…in the end

Once Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the lead at Phoenix, no one was going to catch him. Not a single driver even challenged him. Yet, there was still one vehicle that even the race winner could not pass. The pace car.

While Junior was in the pits for a green flag stop, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Joey Gase collided on the track. Earnhardt rolled out first among those who had pitted, and when the rest of the field came in for servicing, Junior eventually circulated around to the front. More than twenty laps went by under caution, and before they could return to racing, the rains that had plagued the day returned. They went to a red flag, and soon the event was in the books, shortened by 90 laps. It marked Earnhardt’s third win of the season, albeit one segment too late to keep him in contention for the title.

That title will go to one of four drivers. Kevin Harvick dominated the event, leading 143 laps, but lost it that final pit stop to finish second, yet he advances. Jeff Gordon, who was sixth on the day, already had a free pass after his Martinsville win. Kyle Busch was fourth, sending him through to Homestead a contender. Martin Truex Jr. was back in 14th but had enough in the bank to cash in for a title run.

Joey Logano needed to win, and he was behind Harvick much of the way. However, third place would not cut it on Sunday. Kurt Busch jumped the start, got penalized, and though he was seventh in the end, it proved to be too little. Ninth was not good enough to advance Brad Keselowski while Carl Edwards was close, but he needed to finish seven spots up on Truex and wound up just a couple ahead.

So, we know who the main characters in next weekend’s play shall be. In the end, we will be blessed with either a five-time champion as he ends his career, a two-time defending champion, a very talented driver ending a very trying campaign with his first, or a single-car team concluding a Cinderella season. I will be satisfied no matter the outcome.

Meanwhile, Matt Kenseth returns after his two race exile. I wonder if Logano will again think it a smart move to bump him out of the way? I guess that all depends on how smart that driver is.

The 2015 season concludes on Sunday at the track near Miami.

November 16, 2015