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Tag: Ricky Stenhouse Jr

  • The Final Word – Newman’s early success deflated heading into Texas

    The Final Word – Newman’s early success deflated heading into Texas

    As the boys and girl venture on to Fort Worth, it seems apropos for some to seek a resurrection of their hopes on the season. For others, the off weekend did little to help matters from where we left off after Martinsville.

    Somebody was doing something to their tires, and somebody was going to pay. We knew NASCAR had some suspects, that they had some tires that they were testing, and we discovered soon enough that this was one conspiracy theory that held up.

    The rules state that “any device, modification, or procedure to the tire or wheel, including the valve stem hardware, that is used to release pressure, beyond normal pressure adjustments, from the tire and/or inner shield, will not be permitted.”

    For violating the rules, Ryan Newman’s crew chief Luke Lambert has been fined $125,000 and is gone until the points race in Charlotte in late May. Team tire tech James Bender and team engineer Philip Surgen are similarly on vacation. Seventy-five of the points that Ryan Newman had garnered in the opening six events, along with the same amount of owner points for Richard Childress, are gone, as they say at Shawshank, like a “fart in the wind.”

    Newman falls from sixth to 26th in the standings, yet could bounce back with a win this Saturday night. At least he will be in the race. Thankfully, Kyle Larson is also back after fainting at a Martinsville autograph session prior to that event. The culprit turned out to be dehydration.

    Will the Roush-Fenway trio of Greg Biffle, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Trevor Bayne be back? Sure, they are participating, but a combined total of a single Top Ten and two laps led does not make one a competitor.

    Voting is now open for the next class for the Hall of Fame. I think Rick Hendrick’s 232 Cup wins to go with his 11 Cup championships should make him an automatic selection. If I had a vote, other picks would likely be crew chief Harry Hyde, track owner Bruton Smith, and driver Mark Martin.

    Maybe even Richard Childress. Hey, the guy could use some positive feedback about now.

    Jimmie Johnson heads to Texas having won three of the past five there, though none of them was in the spring. Those went to Kyle Busch, who continues to mend, and Joey Logano.

    However, Matt Kenseth is also strong at this track, and is seeking to resurrect his success on the Texas circuit. He was 25th last fall, his worst performance there in 25 starts, where ninth or better is an expected outcome. If it all comes back together, maybe a third set of six-guns could be in the offing.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Atlanta Folds of Honor QuickTrip 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Atlanta Folds of Honor QuickTrip 500

    With several of the sport’s biggest names starting from the back of the field, from missing qualifying sessions to missing driver introductions, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 56th annual Folds of Honor QuickTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

    Surprising: The top ten finishers at Atlanta were a fascinating mixture of everything from four past champions to two one-car team drivers and one young replacement driver.

    The four past champions included winner Jimmie Johnson, runner up and immediate past champ Kevin Harvick, fifth place finisher Matt Kenseth and Brad Keselowski, who finished ninth. And in the midst of those champions ran young Brett Moffitt, who replaced Brian Vickers in the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine for Michael Waltrip Racing to finish eighth, as well as the single car teams of Martin Truex Jr. and AJ Allmendinger, who finished sixth and seventh respectively.

    “This thing was just bad fast,” the race winner and driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet said. “I had a blast racing with the No. 4 (Kevin Harvick). He was awfully strong today. I think track position there at the end just kind of set things in place. We had the restart we needed to and off we went.”

    “This is truly amazing,” Moffitt said after finishing top-ten in his No. 55 replacement ride. “We showed good speed all weekend long. We just couldn’t bust off a quick lap on fresh tires and we kept adjusting on the car during the race. It wasn’t where we needed it to start and I kept learning how to be more aggressive on the restarts and use other people’s air to benefit me.”

    “I can’t thank Michael Waltrip Racing, Toyota and Aaron’s enough for this opportunity. Definitely learned a lot out there. Wish I could be in the car more often.”

    Not Surprising: Jeff Gordon had an immediate partner in commiseration after again hitting hard into a wall sans a safer barrier.

    “Pretty convenient to see that SAFER Barrier end just before @jeffgordonweb pounds wall,” Kyle Busch tweeted ironically from his home while recuperating from his lack of safer barrier crash injuries. “Hope he’s healthy! When will this end @NASCARsafer barrier.”

    “I’m very frustrated the fact that there was no SAFER barrier down there,’’ Gordon said after exiting the infield care center. “I know it was a hard hit. I didn’t expect it to be that hard. I go out and looked and ‘Oh well, big surprise I found the one wall on the back straightaway that doesn’t have a SAFER barrier.’ ‘’

    “I don’t think we can say any more after Kyle’s incident at Daytona. Everybody knows they’ve got to do something. It should have been done a long time ago. All we can do now is hope they do it as fast as they possibly can and get it done.’’

    Surprising: While he treasured his former crew chief Steve Letarte in the role, there is apparently a new cheerleader on top of the box for fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. And this new cheerleader helped his driver right to a 3rd place finish at Atlanta, backing up his 3rd place finish at Daytona the week before.

    “The communication is great and he’s actually a pretty good cheerleader to be honest with you,” Dale Jr. said. “Who knew? I think he’s going to be awesome to work with and he’s got a hell of a future and I’m glad to be able to have a few years with him here while he’s sort of learning the ropes.”

    Not Surprising: Reviews were mixed on the use of track bar adjustability, from drivers who loved it and felt it made a tremendous difference to those that did not use it at all.

    “I thought it was great,” Martin Truex, Jr., driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet said about his track bar use after finishing sixth. “I used it all day. I thought it was something neat to play with.”

    “We made a decision last night to drop ours a little bit for the start of the race. Had we not had that adjustment we would have been in big trouble. It helped us a lot today just having that. We were up and down, back and forth with it.”

    “I thought it was a great little tool. It wasn’t like you were going to go from a 10th-place car to winning the race with it. But it was something there that you could tune on to make your car more comfortable on shorter and longer runs.”

    “My crew chief Brian Burns says I’m not smart enough to have one in there right now,” AJ Allmendinger, driver of the No. 47 Better Than Bouillon Chevrolet, said about the track bar. “We never had one all weekend. We were letting everybody get the bugs worked out of it.”

    “I don’t like having it in there because it gives me one less excuse to yell at my crew chief about why my car is not very good (laughs),” the seventh place finisher continued. “We will work on that.”

    Surprising: For Danica Patrick, it was all about the tape, ‘bout the tape.

    “I’d have to say one of our biggest problems today – aside from getting going on the start and getting the car tuned in – was that the tape kept coming off the front,” the driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet said after finishing 16th. “The tape was making me handle. It wasn’t only running pretty cool but the tape helps front downforce.”

    “It was pretty noticeable when the tape came off. That was our biggest problem today as far as a better result goes. I believe we wouldn’t have been a lap down if we had kept that tape on.”

    Not Surprising: For many drivers, it is sometimes where you are happy not to be that makes all the difference.

    “That’s kind of been our goal going into the season is to not start in such a big hole like we did last year,” Aric Almirola said after finishing 11th in his No. 43 Fresh From Florida Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports. “We got a little bit behind right before halfway and then we got it back, so I’m proud of this run and proud to start this season off with two top-15 finishes.”

    “Last year I think going into the third or fourth race we were outside the top 30 in points, so so far, so good. “

    Surprising: While not a superspeedway per se, Atlanta did see the ‘big one’ late in the race when Greg Biffle got loose and collected five other cars.

    “I think the 16 and 34 got together, something up front there,” Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford, said after being involved in the crash. “I was committed to the top and got in the brakes and got in the back of the 15, which was down on power I guess.”

    “And then a lot of smoke and somebody was in front of me as I was still on the brake and went ahead and ended our day.”

    Not Surprising: Replacement drivers Regan and Ragan had solid runs but were not stellar, finishing in 17th and 18th place respectively.

    “It was a battle all day,” Regan Smith, replacement driver for Kurt Busch, said. “We kind of struggled with the handling on the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet SS. Finally when we got it where I was happy with it, we were a lap down already. It was kind of too late at that point.”

    “Right after we got it where I was happy, we got damage on the nose. I don’t know… somebody up there wrecked and everybody stopped. Tony (Gibson, crew chief) made some great pit calls to somehow get us back to one lap down. I still don’t know how that happened. It was a good job by him to salvage the day for the team.”

    “The first 100 laps of the race, our M&M’s Crispy Camry was fast, had speed and track position means a lot at any race and as we fell back a little bit and I think it was a snowball effect,” David Ragan said, in for the recovering Kyle Busch, said. “We just really probably were a little behind on our adjustment and that’s probably just my inexperience with these guys and being a little timid on making a few adjustments.”

    “We had some good speed, but we had lost too much ground. We learned a lot, brought the car back in one piece, but we can run better than that.”

    Surprising: Landon Cassill experienced déjà vu all over again. For the second time in two races, his engine let go in the No. 40 Snap Fitness Chevrolet. Cassill finished the race dead last in the 43rd spot and fell to the basement as far as the points standings.

    Not Surprising: Although the Team Penske drivers described their race day as being up, down and all over the place, both Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski managed to finish top-ten at Atlanta. In fact, Logano, who started from the pole position, finished fourth in his 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford, while teammate Keselowski finished ninth in his No. 2 Detroit Genuine Parts Ford.

    “We raced hard and raced up toward the front all day,” Logano said. “Those Hendrick cars are fast, and obviously the 4 car, but the other guys would just take off and leave me. I did everything I could to maintain on restarts and be aggressive and that’s where we ended up.”

    “We were just kind of up and down and floating all day long,” Keselowski said. “At one point, I thought we were gonna have a 15th-place day and towards the end I thought we were gonna have a fifth-place day.”

    “We cycled out to a ninth-place finish, which wasn’t our best and wasn’t our worst today. It just was what it was.”

     

  • The Final Word – A Lack of Love at Daytona

    The Final Word – A Lack of Love at Daytona

    We have just gotten the season underway, and already we got guys torqued. I mean, some got downright ornery.

    Take the Sprint Unlimited race last Saturday. Joey Logano seemed just a flying fist of fate away from being all gums, no teeth. In fact, the best save of the day came when one of his crew grabbed his driver by the scruff of the neck and dragged his butt out of harm’s way. Down to the final couple of laps, Logano was driving up Kevin Harvick’s exhaust when that battered car tagged the wall. That was enough for a post-race discussion, but when Joey decided to stick his mug into Harv’s face to drop the f-bomb, he was suddenly hauled away. In doing so, he avoided a possible sock-it-to-me moment.

    Oh, by the way, Matt Kenseth won the race, ahead of Martin Truex Jr. and Carl Edwards.

    The next day, NASCAR’s wacky method to determine the front row for the Daytona 500 came into play. Instead of just finding out who is the fastest, we now include cars actually racing during qualifying, blocking to maintain position and to interfere with another’s time, along with jockeying on pit road as to who goes when to take advantage of what. The result is a nonsensical farce just to provide some kind of show for the fans. If you do not believe me, ask Clint Bowyer. He ignored his crew chief’s pleas to leave his smoking wreck to yell at Reed Sorenson, who had tried to block, which caused one hell of a mess. By being taken out early, the best Bowyer could do was record the 41st best qualifying time.

    Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson survived it all to take the front row spots in the Daytona 500. On Thursday, the duels will decided the other 41 positions.

    So, Bowyer is not happy. After getting out of his car to jaw with Sorenson, a rule violation, he could wind up even unhappier. The fact he called the new qualifying format idiotic, saying “It’s NASCAR’s fault for putting us out here in the middle of this crap for nothing,” it is doubtful he has endeared himself to the powers that be. However, among the drivers, he is not alone in that observation.

    If Kurt Busch’s ex is some kind of trained assassin, she must truly suck at her job if Busch can assault her, and live. The judge must think so, too, according to his ruling, ordering that Kurt stay away from her. If she is fearful of mean ole Kurt, she must be scared crapless of Jimmy Spencer.

    Having to go home is a fear for a few on Thursday, but with Carl Edwards securing a spot last weekend in his new entry, all the familiar faces are locked in. Almost. 13 are in, with Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson on the front row. Aric Almirola, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Edwards and Jamie McMurray are in through their qualifying times. Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano get a pass from their 2014 owner’s points, with Tony Stewart in as the most current past champion.

    On Thursday, a Top 15 finish in one of the duel races locks a driver into the Daytona 500. If that driver already has a secure spot, the pass goes to the driver with the most 2014 owner’s points not already in the field. The six with the fewest owner’s points need to race their way in Thursday, with Ryan Blaney, Reed Sorenson, Michael Annett, Cole Whitt, Justin Marks and Ron Hornaday currently on the outside looking in. Those they are hoping to leap over include, in order, Michael McDowell, currently on the bubble, Johnny Sauter, Ty Dillon, Mike Wallace, Bobby Labonte, with Josh Wise the most secure of the bunch. Of course, if any of those bubble boys finish 15th or better in their Thursday race, they lock themselves into Sunday’s field. Simply put, for those high in 2014 owner’s points, it is less crucial to do well on Thursday. For those who are not, Thursday could mean everything.

    Fans of Dale Earnhardt Jr have to love the fact that the next available spot would go to their guy, who has the best total in 2014 owner’s points among those not yet locked in. There is a chance, a very small chance, that Junior could fail to make the field. For that to happen, he would need to miss the Top 15 in his duel, as well as see every one of the 13 drivers currently locked in to finish their race 16th or worse. If just one of them finishes 15th or better, Earnhardt is in, and his fans have to love that.

    Thursday they run the duels, Friday the trucks (except in Canada), Saturday the junior league, and Sunday it is the Daytona 500. What is not to love?

  • The Final Word – The Countdown to the New Season is Down to Single Digits

    The Final Word – The Countdown to the New Season is Down to Single Digits

    The countdown has begun to the start of a new season, with less than ten days to go before the Sprint Unlimited exhibition race at Daytona. A new campaign, some new teams and some new expectations.

    Stewart-Haas had a year of mixed results in 2014. Kevin Harvick has his crown, but I think if you claim one championship you might like to claim another. Hey, it works for Jimmie Johnson. His boss, Tony Stewart, has three, but just having a year without the drama would be a Godsend. Kurt Busch won a race, which placed him in the Chase, but he actually was not even as good as Austin Dillon, Paul Menard, or Brian Vickers over the course of the season. He needs to show this year as to why Gene Haas spent the big money to bring him into the stable.

    Danica Patrick must do well. I hear that, I believe that should be so, but I am not so convinced the bloom is off the rose just yet. With the big money funding, a solid organization behind her, and the media attention she gets, I do not believe she needs to be anything more than the novelty she already is. Being the best female driver in NASCAR history might still be enough, but results better than those of, say, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. should be expected as the soon-to-be 33-year-old embarks on her third full season.

    Kasey Kahne turns 35 this spring and probably is considered the little guy at the big boys table at Hendrick by some. Seventeen wins over his career, including six in the past four years, argues otherwise. The only reason Kahne is not more front and center is due to having teammates who have either won the title multiple times or who happens to be the sports most popular performer. Even Harvick and Stewart would be considered fourth on the depth chart on this outfit.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a new crew chief. After matching his win totals of the previous nine seasons in 2014, Junior has Greg Ives on the box after Steve Letarte left for the broadcast booth. The 40-year-old needs to repeat what he did in 2014, as 23 Cup wins, 23 more on the junior circuit, two Daytona 500 wins, five Talladega celebrations, and a dozen straight Most Popular Driver of the Year nods might not be enough to make the Hall…in 2030.

    2015 marks the final full-time season for Jeff Gordon. You better enjoy it, as he will not be eligible for the Hall of Fame until at least 2023. That would mark 30 years since he began his career, which is one qualification. If he has to wait until he is 55, that would be in 2027. Gone is the former three years in retirement qualification, as of this year. This alone causes me to expect more tinkering to the qualification rules between now and then.

    Trevor Bayne has a Daytona 500 to his credit, and not much else over the past four seasons. He leaves his part-time job driving for the Wood Brothers to a full-time gig with Roush Fenway. Bayne turns 24 the day they run the Duels at Daytona, with hopes of taking Mark Martin’s old No. 6 ride back to the front. The question is, does he and teammates Greg Biffle and Stenhouse represent an organization on the rise?

    Bayne takes the place of Carl Edwards, who hopes to realize that first championship with his move. Twice he has been the season’s runner-up, as the 35-year-old seeks some greener grass on Joe Gibbs’ side of the fence. Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth are a pretty good trio of teammates to roll with. Without question, one of NASCAR’s Big Three organizations, along with Hendrick and Stewart-Haas.

    Or should that be Big Four? Penske is just a two car outfit, but with Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano on the reins their wagons can make something happen. Both finished amongst the season’s Top Five, combining for 11 victories last year. Yes, Big Four is more like it.

    Is there anyone to make it a Big Five? Childress has youth in Austin Dillon, with brother Ty waiting in the wings. They have experience in Ryan Newman, who was just one point behind Harvick when the smoke cleared at Homestead last November. Then there is Paul Menard, who has yet to crack the season’s Top Fifteen in his career, the past four with Childress. On the positive side, he does come complete with a sponsor. Is that enough?

    Michael Waltrip’s crew once was considered a top flight team, until the wings came off. Martin Truex Jr. found himself with Furniture Row, where their gains with Kurt Busch disappeared with his replacement. Brian Vickers is on the mend with a heart issue, so he will require a temporary replacement. As for Clint Bowyer, Captain Skid dropped to 19th in the season rankings after being the runner-up in 2012 and seventh the season after. Bowyer is locked in for another three years, but will they be the best of times, or the worst of times?

    Ganassi has 22-year old Kyle Larson, who just missed the Chase in his rookie season, along with veteran Jamie McMurray. Am I the only one who thinks this team should have been, and should be, more successful? McMurray has only seven wins over 13 seasons, but where he won is impressive. Two came at Daytona, including the 500 in 2010, two at Talladega, two at Charlotte, as well as the Brickyard 400. Not enough to make one a contender, but certainly one who gets remembered.

    You cannot forget Petty, if only for the guy the outfit is named after. Aric Almirola is back, after a single win got him into the Chase…for three races. That victory was just one of five the team has had over six seasons. Coming in is Sam Hornish Jr. who, in 239 NASCAR races in all three top series, has just three wins on the junior circuit. Two of them came over his last 39 races run there over the past two campaigns. Let us not forget his 19 IndyCar wins between 2001 and 2007, including the 2006 Indianapolis 500. Does that get one excited? Sadly, not much.

    Maybe the biggest move comes off the track. Gone is ESPN. Thank God Almighty. FOX returns, with NBC taking over the second half of the season. Mike Joy is a good lap-by-lap announcer, while Rick Allen is even better. While he may have a few detractors, I enjoy Darrell Waltrip, along with Larry McReynolds, providing color analysis. I think Steve Letarte will be even better though, surprisingly, Jeff Burton may be the weak link until he smooths out his delivery. Still, he has a few months to work on it. All are infinitely better than the ESPN crew, and that works for me.

    It all begins on Saturday, February 14th with the Sprint Unlimited from Daytona on FOX. Dare I say it, “Boogity, Boogity, Boogity.” Sorry, I just could not resist.

  • Driver and Team Changes for the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Season

    Driver and Team Changes for the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Season

    As one season ends and a new one approaches, teams begin a self evaluation that often results in changes among key personnel. Here’s your guide to some of the new alliances we will see in 2015.

    Hendrick Motorsports

    Dale Earnhardt Jr.:

    As Steve Letarte departs for the television broadcast booth; Greg Ives will take over the role of crew chief for the No. 88 team. Ives will have big shoes to fill as the pairing of Letarte with Earnhardt in 2011 was the catalyst for resurgence in Earnhardt’s career. He’s coming off his first multiple win season since 2004 and running out of time in the championship hunt.

    While some question his lack of experience in the Cup series, Earnhardt is confident that Ives is the right person for the job.

    “I don’t think it’s a step back, I think it’s a step forward,” he said. “This is a guy that engineered Jimmie (Johnson) to five championships, won the Nationwide Series championship last year, almost won it with Regan (Smith) the year before. Basically, in more than 50 percent of the years he’s been in the sport, he’s won a championship.”

    The No. 88 Chevrolet will also have a new sponsor in the Sprint Cup Series as Nationwide Insurance takes over as Earnhardt’s primary sponsor, replacing National Guard. Nationwide will sponsor 21 races each year of the next three seasons.

    Kasey Kahne:

    Keith Rodden, formerly of Chip Ganassi Racing, will assume crew chief duties for the No. 5 Chevrolet in 2015. Rodden worked with Kahne at Hendrick Motorsports as team engineer from 2004 until 2013. He replaces Kenny Francis who has been with Kahne since the end of 2005.  The successful partnership of Francis and Kahne produced 16 of Kahne’s 17 career Sprint Cup wins but floundered in 2014. Kahne only had one victory and barely made it into the Chase. Francis moves to the new position of vehicle technical director and will also serve as Chase Elliott’s crew chief for five races in 2015.

    “I worked with Keith for years, said Kahne.”We’ve got a great relationship, we’re friends, and it’s exciting to know we’ll be working together full time again. I think he brings a lot to the 5 team.”

    Chase Elliott: After winning the XFINITY championship and becoming the youngest NASCAR Touring Series champion last year, Elliott has been named as Jeff Gordon’s successor in the No. 24 Chevy in 2016. As preparation for that role, he will run five Cup races this season in the No. 25 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet with Kenny Francis by his side as crew chief. Those five races include Martinsville Speedway in March, Richmond International Raceway in April, Charlotte Motor Speedway in May, Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July and Darlington Raceway on Sept. 6.

    Joe Gibbs Racing

    Joe Gibbs Racing ended the 2014 season with only two wins and as Carl Edwards moves from Roush Fenway Racing to Joe Gibbs Racing in 2015, J.D. Gibbs, president of JGR, is using the opportunity to make some changes.

    “With the expansion of our NASCAR Sprint Cup Series operations to four teams next year with the addition of Carl Edwards,” he stated, “we have been able to take a step back and evaluate each of our teams and make decisions that we feel are best for our organization long term.”

    Kyle Busch:

    Adam Stevens will move from the XFINITY Series where he and Busch combined for 19 wins, to partner with Busch in the Cup Series as crew chief for the No. 18 Toyota.

    Busch had one Cup win in 2014 and advanced to the Chase but was eliminated from championship contention in the second round. The frustration of the season sometimes disintegrated into heated exchanges between Busch and Rogers, undoubtedly putting a strain on their relationship.

    Denny Hamlin:

    Dave Rogers (Busch’s crew chief for five seasons) will join Hamlin’s No. 11 team as crew chief.

    Hamlin scored one victory last season and advanced to the final round of the Chase. He led 50 laps in the championship title race at Homestead-Miami Speedway but Darian Grubb’s decision not to pit for fresh tires late in the race was costly.

    Carl Edwards:

    Edwards, the newest member of the JGR team will be paired with Darian Grubb (Hamlin’s former crew chief) in the No. 19 Toyota.

    Richard Petty Motorsports

    Sam Hornish Jr.: Three-time IndyCar champion Hornish signed a multi-year deal to replace Marcos Ambrose in the No. 9 Ford this year after Ambrose announced his intention to return home to Australia at the end of the 2014 season. Drew Blickensderfer will continue in his position as crew chief.

    Hornish is optimistic about his future stating, “I feel like having the opportunity is great for me, and above and beyond, to be able to drive for Richard Petty now is just awesome. I’ve worked four years to get back to this point, and I feel like as a driver I’ve come a long way. ”

    Roush Fenway Racing

    Trevor Bayne:

    Bob Osborne will return to RFR as the crew chief for the No. 6 when Bayne begins his first full-time Sprint Cup season in 2015. Osborne was Carl Edwards’ longtime crew chief and a guiding force behind his 18 career wins.

    Ricky Stenhouse Jr.:

    After a disappointing season with only one top-five finish, Nick Sandler will take over crew chief duties for the No. 17 of Stenhouse in 2015, replacing Mike Kelley who will continue as car chief.

    “Nick has a strong engineering background with the company”, Jack Roush explained, “and his time working hand-in-hand with Jimmy Fennig over the past few seasons will prove invaluable as he takes the helm of the No. 17.”

    Wood Brothers Racing

    Ryan Blaney:

    Blaney will replace Trevor Bayne as the driver of the famed No. 21 Ford Fusion this year in an expanded 18 race Sprint Cup schedule as Wood Brothers Racing enters its 65th year in NASCAR with a new technical alliance with Team Penske.

    Blaney is optimistic about the upcoming season saying, “We have a very fast car for the 500 and a fast car for this whole year. They’ve worked really hard on our speedway car and they are very confident going into it.

    “Just the history of this car with that race, it would be just amazing. I hope we can pull a Trevor Bayne moment.”

    Jeremy Bullins will reunite with the team to serve as the crew chief for Blaney. Bullins first worked with Wood Brothers Racing in 1999 and from 2000-2002 was the race engineer for the No. 21 in the Cup Series.

    Furniture Row Racing

    Martin Truex Jr.: Truex’s first year with the team failed to produce any wins and only one top-five in the No. 78 Chevrolet. In his sophomore season with the team, he will be paired with former team lead engineer Cole Pearn who will replace Todd Berrier as crew chief.

    General Manager Joe Garone emphasized the struggles they experienced last year will make them stronger going forward.

    “What we went through last year, our performance was horrible and we hadn’t gone through that as a team yet,” Garone said. “We’ve been through that, we looked at where we were weak, where we had things where we were off base, and we’ve realigned it and we’re going to prove it this year.”

    HScott Motorsports

    Michael Annett: Annett, who brings sponsorship from longtime backer Pilot Flying J, joins the organization for the 2015 season as they expand to a two car team.

    “This opportunity came very late, but it was one that I couldn’t pass up and definitely wanted to jump on,” Annett said. “I know there’s going to be some growing pains. We don’t even have a car number yet, let alone a crew chief.”

    Tommy Baldwin Racing

    Alex Bowman: Bowman will drive the No. 7 Chevrolet in his second full-time year in the Sprint Cup Series after a rookie season at BK Racing.  Kevin “Bono” Manion will remain with TBR as Bowman’s crew chief.

    Owner Tommy Baldwin Jr. said, “Alex is the future of TBR, and he will be a great representative of our team. He is a young driver who displayed a great talent in both the Xfinity and Sprint Cup Series the past few years. We are pleased to give Alex the opportunity to further showcase his skills behind the wheel of the No. 7 Chevrolet this season.”

  • Roush Fenway Looks to “Tweak” Their Way Back to Winning

    Roush Fenway Looks to “Tweak” Their Way Back to Winning

    Charlotte, NC – Wednesday was Ford Day at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour and it began bright and early with Roush Fenway Racing. Although the team won two races in 2014, they both came from Carl Edwards who now resides at Joe Gibbs Racing. Other than those two wins, there wasn’t much to shout about for Jack Roush’s team. That’s something they are trying to correct and hopefully very quickly.

    All teams use simulation programs to help set up cars for certain tracks and team owner Jack Roush discovered that the program that the team was using was not accurate. Roush then went to work to correct the problem.

    “Jack really imparted to Robbie Reiser, myself and the rest of the management team that we have to embrace change and figure out what we needed to do to get our team back on top,” said RFR President Steve Newmark. “That is what we did beginning the middle of last year. We made a lot of changes, some of them hard decisions. I will mention a few of them. You will hear a lot about it from these guys. Some of the things, fortunately we have a great partner in Ford that stood behind us and worked tirelessly as we tried to replace our simulation program.”

    It didn’t stop there. RFR added engineers Mark McCardell, Kevin Kidd, Phil Gould and others. They feel like that is a real position of strength for them going forward. They did all of that and kept the anchors of the organization that gave them so much success in the past. Robbie Reiser, Bob Osborne and Jimmy Fennig are all still there, and Newmark says you can feel the energy in the building.

    “If you go through the halls of Roush now I think it is more energetic than I have ever seen it,” Newmark added. “There is a lot of excitement about the direction we are heading. We understand that hope springs eternal for all teams at this point and that we are going to be judged ultimately by the performance on the track but are extremely confident we have made significant improvements with the help of Ford to get us where we need to go.”

    In addition, Roush Fenway added Elliott Sadler and rising star Darrell Wallace Jr. to the Xfinity side of the organization made up of Greg Biffle, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Trevor Bayne, Ryan Reed, Chris Beuscher, Wallace, and Sadler.

    Stenhouse had a dismal season, missing a race at Talladega and running in the second pack all year. He credits his optimism for 2015 with the return of Jimmie Fennig, Carl Edwards’ crew chief the last two years.

    “We have some new changes on our team and a lot of the guys are working really hard in the shop. Nick Sandler has moved over from Carl’s engineer from last year and learned a lot from Jimmy Fennig,” Stenhouse said. “Mike (Kelly) is still a big part of our team and that was really important for me to have him stick around. It means a lot to me personally but also to the team. He sets a great example to our crew guys and we have some younger crew guys that really look up to him. I think everyone really appreciates his dedication. With Nick and Mike working together and with leadership from Jimmy I think we will have a great season. I am ready to get it going.”

    Greg Biffle had a less than satisfactory season last year. Biffle stayed with Roush, despite offers from other teams, and looks to improve in 2015.

    “You know, as everyone knows and Steve mentioned earlier, last year was certainly a tough season for us. I will tell you that this off season and the no testing that has gone on, we have really kind of agonized over things but I really feel like it has been a turning point for Roush Fenway because it has given us the down time and opportunities to step back and look at potentially where we had made the wrong turn in the road at,” Biffle said.

    “We have some new people in and when you are racing every week and trying to do this and testing and over at Nashville and doing all these things, you are looking at the problem down low. It wasn’t until we got up higher and really looked at the landscape we decided we made some wrong decisions back possibly over a year ago on the direction with our cars. We really feel like we have found some things we have done wrong. We feel we have righted those things.

    “I appreciate what Ford has done for us. They have really put their nose to the grind stone and provided everything, especially with the new alliance they have created. I am excited about it. I am ready to go.”

    Trevor Bayne is no stranger to fans. He won the 2011 Daytona 500 for the Wood Brothers, but hasn’t won since. Still, he says he is “pumped up” for the new season.

    “I get to drive for Jack, the man I signed up to drive for six years ago in the Cup Series with the 6 car, said Bayne. “What an opportunity it is to bring that back, especially with a full time sponsor with AdvoCare. To make that step and be full time at the Cup level, I can’t think of many sponsors that make that step. What a great year we have to look forward to.”

    Finally, Roush is energized, even at age 73. Instead of calling the new people “changes”, he prefers to call them, well, something else entirely. He praises the three wins the organization had last year, two on road courses with Edwards and Beuscher, and one short track also with Edwards, but acknowledges that the 1.5-mile tracks, which make up a majority of the circuit were RFR’s Kryptonite.

    “I characterize our changes as tweaks. We looked at a number of things on the 1.5 mile cars and Mark McCardell and Kevin Kidd have given us some new perspective on some things that have gone on in the industry beyond the vision of myself and Robbie Reiser,” Roush said. “We made our tweaks and have a strong lineup of partners.”

    “The support from Ford has been good, the partnership has been good,” he continued. “We need to maintain our position with our road racing prowess and superspeedway prowess and pick up on the 1.5 and two-mile tracks. I am anxious to do that. I have never been more excited about our lineup of drivers. Greg Biffle and Elliott Sadler being the senior group – not senior like myself but seniors in terms of drivers – and the rookies, we don’t have any rank rookies but Ryan Reed with his second year and Chris Buescher in his second year and as a ARCA champion as well and there is an expectation of what will happen with Chris Buescher and Bubba Wallace. I couldn’t be happier with our XFINITY program and we just have to go to the race track with our Cup cars and see what we can do on these 1.5 mile race tracks.”

  • The Final Word – Sprint Cup’s next irrelevant driver to earn respectability shall be…

    The Final Word – Sprint Cup’s next irrelevant driver to earn respectability shall be…

    Recently, a story by Chad Robb listed the top ten organizations in Cup. Not surprisingly, those ten organizations represented all but one of last season’s top 28 teams. Hendrick, Penske, Gibbs, Stewart-Haas, Ganassi, Childress, Roush-Fenway, Waltrip, and Petty were all there.

    Also included, and 10th on the list, was a single car operation. For the past six seasons, Barney Visser’s Furniture Row operation has been a top 28 entry. Mind you, they did drop back from being 10th in 2013 when Kurt Busch was behind the wheel to 24th with Martin Truex Jr. The only miss was the Germain Racing No. 13 driven by Casey Mears, that was 26th in 2014, two steps back of where they were a year prior. Yet, they were seen, they challenged, they mattered.

    Twenty-eight teams that belong on the track, based on results, fan base, and the ability to generate sponsorship dollars, as we enter a new campaign. Yes, Danica Patrick is 28th best. Three top 10s and 735 points might not be up to the expectations of some, but she represents the line between the haves and the have nots.

    Some may criticize her on-track results, but when it comes to producing dollars, be it from fan support, sponsorship, endorsements, and media appearances, few can top her. So, unless that dries up or her production completely falls off the table, or she improves, Patrick will continue to represent our Mendoza line for NASCAR. That leaves 15 entries each week that struggle for respectability. Which team might make the leap in 2015?

    Based simply on the number of arrows in the quiver, one might suspect Bob Jenkins and Front Row Motorsports to be the best bets to emerge. They come into 2015 with three bullets, the No. 32, No. 33 and the No. 38 Chevrolets to be piloted by David Ragan, Cole Whitt and David Gilliland, who had the pole last summer at Daytona, but a 17th at Pocono was the lone result inside the top 20. Whitt did that three times while driving for B.K. Racing, while Ragan had four, including a top 10 at Martinsville. Not much to write home about, I agree, but this trio were 30th, 31st, and 32nd a year ago in the drivers’ standings. The bad news is that each would need to pick up about 200 more points on the season to be considered relevant. That might be just too much ground to make up, at least this season.

    It has been years since the Wood Brothers ran anything close to a full schedule. Might they be a contender should they show interest in coming back? Not really, not yet. Even if they had run for points, all they would have collected in a dozen starts last year with Trevor Bayne would have been 143. Over a full schedule, they would have been hard pressed to crack the top 35. So, no.

    Maybe the one to watch is the driver who finished just behind Patrick, albeit by a whopping 99 points. In Harry Scott’s No. 51 Chevy, Justin Allgaier managed to crack the top 20, 10 times, though he did miss the cut at Talladega in October before rebounding for his best showings of the season. Allgaier claimed a pair of 15th place results late in the year at Charlotte and Homestead. Last season was the organization’s first big push at a 36-race schedule, and those Hendrick engines gave them some reason for optimism.

    Last season, Allgaier’s average finish was 25.9, compared to Patrick’s 23.7. Just a tick better than 25th is what is needed to claim a 700 point season. While Casey, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, and Danica attempt to improve matters in 2015, they might check out the rear view. Justin Allgaier might be looking to join them, if not take their seat, at the adult’s table during this upcoming season’s party.

  • Odds and Ends as the New NASCAR Season Prepares to Crank it Over

    Odds and Ends as the New NASCAR Season Prepares to Crank it Over

    A new season, with a new defending champion, will be soon upon us. Kevin Harvick and the rest of the boys, and girl, will be in Daytona in less than a month to kick things off. According to Jayski, 43 teams have dreams of running full-time in 2015, with more than a dozen seeing drivers with new crew chiefs, and a handful of wheel men changing seats.

    Former Daytona winner Trevor Bayne goes full-time with Roush, returning in Mark Martin’s old No. 6. Sam Hornish Jr. makes a return to Cup driving the Petty No. 9. Carl Edwards moves on to Gibbs and the No. 19. Brian Vickers is out of Waltrip’s No. 55 until he mends from a heart repair. Nineteen-year-old Chase Elliot should get some seat time with Hendrick, while driving for Junior in the minor series. In the trucks, Junior will have soon-to-be 17-year-old Cole Custer running about 10 races. Cole Custer. If that isn’t the best damned name in NASCAR, I don’t know what is.

    Danica Patrick will be back. She will continue to be back regardless as to what she does, or does not do on the track, as long as fans and sponsors love her and pay her way. You could say she is a lot like Dale Earnhardt Jr. in that way, albeit minus the iconic father, the two Daytona 500 wins, five Talladega triumphs, 23 career victories, and seven appearances in the season’s top ten rankings.

    As I mentioned, while Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus continue their most successful racing marriage, others will be in new relationships. Danica, Junior, and Cousin Carl will be amongst those with new crew chiefs. So will Jamie McMurray, Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Paul Menard, Martin Truex Jr. and both Busch brothers. That could prove interesting, especially in the early going.

    Some get going, some get gone, and sometimes somebody is not happy the ways things turned out. As none of us were witness to the alleged altercation between Kurt Busch and his ex, we are left following along the court case. To be honest, as long as the guy is shown not to be a menace to society, as long as what may have happened is all that may have happened, I really do not care. As much as it is serious business for the principles involved, it is nothing more than a sideline event for the rest of us. An outcome to take notice of if we so wish, but not much more.

    It would be nice to owe millions, if only for having the chance to have spent millions in the first place. We try to live within our means, so that means my family is not bogged down in debt. Still, it would be nice to know that if I completely blew it there might be a bank or two willing to forgive millions in loans they gave me. It must be sweet to be in a position to forgive such a loan.

    The NASCAR Hall of Fame has been a white elephant from the beginning, with even its location suspect. It would seem the 25 minute drive from the track in Concord to downtown Charlotte is a trek many are not interested in making. Even the Daytona Experience, rejected as a site for the Hall, closed its doors and it was located right beside that track. I understand it will re-open again next year as the home of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. That is irony. Oh well, all is forgiven, I guess, to the tune of nearly $20 million. Now if they can only attract some paying customers, or the Convention Center there might wind up with tons of space for it to expand.

    It would be nice to say the new season means a change in the seasons, but for those of us in the lands of snow and ice, it does not. At least it gives us an idea what clear pavement, green grass, and shirt sleeves might look like. That, and a return of our favorite drivers, is good enough.

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: New Hampshire Sylvania 300

    Surprising and Not Surprising: New Hampshire Sylvania 300

    In the second race of the Chase for NASCAR’s championship, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 18th annual Sylvania 300 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    Surprising: Instead of being magical, New Hampshire Motor Speedway proved to be more of a combination of Daytona, Darlington and Martinsville.

    The 303 lap race included a Daytona-like ‘big one’, many cars striping the wall similar to Darlington, and some typically short-track Martinsville-like beating and banging, especially during the restarts.

    David Ragan was involved in New Hampshire’s version of the ‘big one’, slamming hard into the wall after tangling with Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr. and then getting tagged after the wreck by Denny Hamlin to boot.

    “It was unfortunate,” Ragan, driver of the No. 32 Taco Bell Ford, said. “It looked like the 51 and 78 were both mad and they were running over each other. They kind of shot up the race track and that just kind of shot me up.”

    Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. was just one of many drivers who had a too close encounter with the New Hampshire wall, getting an even more severe stripe than at Darlington.

    “I blew a left-front,” the driver of the No. 17 EcoPower Ford said. “We were all just racing really, really hard on that restart. Everybody was bouncing off each other. I don’t know who hit my left-front, but it got a fender rub and just blew the left-front going down the front straightaway.”

    “I was trying to get it slowed down as much as I could, but it wasn’t gonna turn, so I just hit the wall.”

    Chaser Matt Kenseth and Paul Menard were just one pair that were duking it out like on a short track while on the Magic Mile. Both drivers spun, causing a 21st place finish for Kenseth while Menard soldiered on to finish 15th.

    “I got spun out on that wall up there,” the driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota said. “Menard said he wheel-hopped it in there and got into me.”

    Not Surprising: New England native Joey Logano, clicking his heels together in Victory Lane, proved that there truly is no place like home. Logano won his fourth race of the season at his home track and secured his place, along with his Penske teammate, in the next round of the Chase competition.

    “This is my home race track, the coolest place to win for me,” the driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford said. “I could never pick a better race track to win.”

    “I watched my first Cup race here when I was five and I won that other Cup race here (rain-shortened race), but I just felt like I had to win one the right way here, and this means so much.”

    This was Logano’s seventh career NASCAR victory and his second win at the Magic Mile.

    Surprising: Penske teammate Brad Keselowski emerged after the race surprisingly conflicted, in spite of finishing fourth in the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford.

    “I don’t know,” Keselowski said. “We had a lot of adversity. I made a few mistakes that got us behind, but Paul Wolfe (crew chief) and the crew did a great job of getting us back in position. It was kind of an up-and-down day and I guess we ended on an OK note.”

    “We finished seventh, but I was definitely looking for more than that,” Keselowski continued. “We certainly have a lot to be proud of, but there’s still a lot of work to do.”

    Not Surprising: It certainly was not surprising that Denny Hamlin’s post-race interview included the word crap as he battled a fueling issue and then got involved in a wreck to finish 37th in his No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota.

    “It’s so frustrating,” Hamlin said. “We just got bit by a mechanical deal. We’ve had them bite us in the Chase in the past, but I thought we were past that — but sometimes you roll the dice and you crap out.”

    “Today is that day for us.”

    Surprising: While Michael Waltrip lived to dance another day after being in the bottom three in ‘Dancing with the Stars’, his drivers both had decent top-15 runs at New Hampshire this race weekend.

    Vickers fared best in his No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, with a 10th place finish, while Clint Bowyer, expectant father, finished 14th.

    “The guys just did an awesome job with our Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota today,” Vickers said. “We had a really good race car — it was fast, we were one of the best cars in the corner today.”

    “The guys did a good job today, I’m really proud of them.”

    Not Surprising: Yes, the youngster did it again. Kyle Larson, the highest finishing rookie, scored the runner up finishing spot in his No. 42 Target Chevrolet.

    “It was a really good race for us,” Larson said. “Our Target Chevy wasn’t even a top-15 car the first 100 laps, and Shine (Chris Heroy, crew chief) and everybody on this Target team did a great job to get me in the game.”

    “They made some big changes there under the second or third caution, and it felt like a totally different race car.”

    This was Larson’s second top-10 finish in just two races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and his 13th top-10 finish of the season.

    Surprising: There was plenty of talk after the race yet again about restarts, from Kevin Harvick’s complaint about the restarts late in the race to other drivers commenting on the craziness of the multiple restarts, particularly the green-white-checkered finish.

    “And then at the end there, NASCAR must not be able to see the lines on the restart there and the No. 22 (Joey Logano) was way early all day,” Harvick said ruefully about the restarts after finishing third. “But all in all, we did what we had to do and I just enjoyed racing that hard.”

    “All those cautions are fairly frustrating,” Jamie McMurray said after finishing fourth in his No. 1 Belkin/WEMO Chevrolet. “I know it is fun to watch as a fan, but you are so panicked as a driver as to which lane you are going to get to restart in because that is critical.”

    “It was a wild day, especially with all of those restarts,” six-time champ Jimmie Johnson said. “Man I don’t know what it looked like from the grandstands today, but I can tell you that inside the car, I was hanging on trying not to spin out.”

    Not Surprising: The pendulum swung for Aric Almirola, whose engine blew up last weekend, to his sixth place finish this weekend in his No. 43 Smithfield Ford.

    “We’re down but we’re not out,” Almirola said. “We can only control what we can control and today we did that and did a good job and finished sixth.”

    “Last week it didn’t work out in our favor, but this week it did,” Almirola continued. “We’ll do the same thing at Dover and we’ll see what happens.”

    Surprising: Martin Truex, Jr. made another surprising comeback from two laps down just like last weekend to finish a respectable 12th place.

    “The guys didn’t quit on me today and I’m driving my heart out,” Truex said. “Though we made good adjustments today and came through at the end, we struggled for most of the weekend and need to work out some issues. But the guys worked hard and kept on making the car better.”

    “I never thought I would say this about New Hampshire Motor Speedway, but I wish the race was longer,” stated Truex. “We were moving forward and felt there were more cars that we could have passed.”

    Not Surprising: Next week will be anything but comfortable for the remaining Chase contenders fighting to go into the next round.

    “I wonder that the last race in each round may be quite eventful,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said about the next race in Dover after finishing ninth at the Magic Mile. “Guys are going to have to – you know on the last restarts or those last cautions guys that need those points and aren’t going to get them any other way are going to have to take some crazy gamble on tires, fuel.”

    “You are going to have some guys out there on old tires trying to hold people off and it’s going to cause a lot of traffic,” Junior continued. “It’s going to get tight. It’s going to get furious.”

     

  • The Final Word – If You Only Caught the Final Forty at Chicago, it was one Heck of a Race

    The Final Word – If You Only Caught the Final Forty at Chicago, it was one Heck of a Race

    Forty laps. The action was exciting, the announcers sounded excited, it was NASCAR at its best in Chicago. For 40 laps.

    Within those 40 laps, we saw Brad Keselowski shoot through the middle between the dueling Kyle Larson and Kevin Harvick to take the lead with sixteen to go. It was a great piece of racing, and once he was through he was gone. Two in a row, fifth of the season, and Keselowski earned himself a berth in the next round of the Chase.

    Within those 40 laps, we saw a kid truly emerge as a star. Larson just missed the Chase, but the 22 year old did not miss an opportunity to show the big boys that he is and will be a force to be reckoned with. He led, he fought to keep the lead, and he challenged anyone who attempted to get by him, which helped allow Keselowski to disappear in front. If not for Larson, Harvick or Jeff Gordon might have had a chance to go after Keselowski, but the young man did not give them that chance. His first career Cup win still lies ahead of him, but it does not seem to be that far away.

    Within those 40 laps, we saw Gordon come up from fourth to be in the mix at the end. He caught Harvick and then he battled the boy for that runner up spot. When Larson touched the wall with a couple to go, the veteran went by for good. Good racing, with the former champ even offering congratulations and a few words of advice to the newcomer when it was all over.

    Within those 40 laps, we discovered that there are times couples should not touch, especially when using their fenders. Danica Patrick got by Tony Stewart, but when she slipped in front of boyfriend Ricky Stenhouse Jr. he touched her behind in an unappreciated fashion. Both needed repairs to run the final ten and neither finished inside the Top 15.

    Within those 40 laps, we discovered who amongst the Chasers would be snake bit. Aric Almirola looked great, was up there running well within the Top Ten when his engine blew up. He finished 41st and already needs a win if he hopes to advance to the next round as a contender.

    Within those 40 laps, Joey Logano benefited from some trash on the grill that really perked up his ride. Perked it to a fourth place finish, but it did not benefit his engine. That blew at the finish line, but those 40 points more than made up for it.

    Within those 40 laps, Carl Edwards lost a left rear tire. That left him 20th when the day was done. No good, but not as bad as some, and still leaves him among the top dozen in the standings.

    Not as bad as Almirola. Not as bad as Greg Biffle in 23rd. Not as bad as A.J. Allmendinger in 22. Not as bad as the first 227 laps of what had been yet another snore-fest on ESPN until the end. In fact, Edwards sits a point to the good amongst our Chasers, a point up on Ryan Newman.

    Sunday, it is New Hampshire holding their fate. That should be welcome news for those who run well there. Among those who have average finishes of 12th or better we have Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Gordon, and Keselowski. Maybe we might see the kid once again up front. Larson finished third there in July in his only Cup start on the track.

    Not all will be happy. Those who average outside the Top 15 at Loudon include Kasey Kahne and Logano, who after Chicago just need to avoid disaster this weekend. As for Biffle, Almirola, and A.J. Allmendinger, they will have to do more than that if they hope to advance on points. Then again, wins erase sins, so maybe, just maybe.
    1 – Brad Keselowski – 1 Win – 2059 Points
    2 – Jeff Gordon – 0 – 2051
    3 – Joey Logano – 0 – 2049
    4 – Kevin Harvick – 0 – 2047
    5 – Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 0 – 2042
    6 – Jimmie Johnson – 0 – 2041
    7 – Denny Hamlin – 0 – 2041
    8 – Kyle Busch – 0 – 2041
    9 – Kurt Busch – 0 – 2039
    10 – Kasey Kahne – 0 – 2034
    11 – Matt Kenseth – 0 – 2034
    12 – Carl Edwards – 0 – 2030
    13 – Ryan Newman – 0 – 2029
    14 – A.J. Allmendinger – 0 – 2025
    15 – Greg Biffle – 0 – 2021
    16 – Aric Almirola – 0 – 2007