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Surprising and Not Surprising: Chicagoland myAFibRisk.com400

In the first race of the 10-race Chase to the championship here is what was surprising and not surprising from 15th Annual myAFibRisk.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Surprising: While Denny Hamlin proved he was better than the rest of the field, coming back from an early spin to win the first race of the Chase, he also proved he was better than one of basketball’s greatest.

“The first thing I’m going to do is text Michael Jordan,” Hamlin said in the media center after the race. “He texted me on Wednesday. Jordon said he was in Monte-Carlo. I popped in his head like I always do, which I thought was a little odd.

“He says, I know you’re about to head into the playoffs. I just want you to know I’ve never admitted to anybody that anyone is better than me at anything my whole life. But if you win this race this weekend, I will admit that you’re a better driver than I am.

“So the first thing I’m going to do is text him and say, Admit it, I’m better than you, and I want everyone to know.”

With the ‘W,’ Hamlin advances to the Contender round of the championship and also ties NASCAR Hall of Famer Fred Lorenzen for 27th on the all-time Series win list.

Not Surprising: Remember when Carl Edward’s nickname was ‘Concrete Carl’ for all of his wins on those types of tracks? Well, that moniker might now be changed to ‘Comeback Carl’ as the driver of the No. 19 Stanley Toyota finished in the runner-up spot after going down a lap earlier in the race.

“I had a speeding penalty. I set us back there,” Edwards said. “We knew if maybe we get our lap back, get back up there, we’d be all right.

“Overall we planned on the racetrack changing a lot. I felt like my guys did a great job getting the car tuned in for the end. I felt like all of us as a group at JGR worked great together this weekend.”

This was Edwards’s fourth top-10 finish in 11 races at Chicagoland and it was his 10th top-10 finish of the season.

Surprising: He may have achieved Iron Man status, but he certainly might have traded all that for just a little more rubber instead at this first race in the Chase.

Jeff Gordon tied Ricky Rudd with 788 consecutive starts, however, the driver of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet stayed out on old tires instead of coming to pit, causing him to go from leading the race to finishing 14th.

“I knew we were going to have a tough time with old tires like that,” Gordon said. “Gosh, it would have been so much sweeter if I’d been in Victory Lane right now.

“I’m very proud of all that I’ve achieved in this sport. There’s a lot of stats that are awesome numbers. This is one of them. And we’ve got nine more to go.”

Not Surprising: After recovering from his close encounter with Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick has a simple one-word recovery plan. He just plans to win.

“I just held my ground and he just slammed into the side of the door like I wasn’t even there,” the driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet said after his wreck with Johnson that led to his 42nd place finish. “So, the spotter was telling me four-wide and I guess he just figured that he’d come up the race track.

“But, I’m just really proud of everybody on our Jimmy John’s/Budweiser team for not giving up and doing all the things they had to do to get the car back on the track and we’ve just got to go win one of these races.”

Surprising: Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet was apparently readying himself for a pilgrimage after his third place Chicagoland finish.

“This is a long journey through these next 10 weeks,” Busch said. “We weren’t given a hall pass now, through Loudon and through Dover. We’ve just got to work hard as a team and saddle-up.”

This was Busch’s ninth top-10 finish in 15 races at Chicagoland Speedway.

Not Surprising: The mantra of every child known to man was echoed by one Chase driver Joey Logano, who basically said ‘It wasn’t me’ after the first Chase race.

Of his restart issue where the No. 48 and the No. 4 cars mixed it up, Logano replied, “I had nothing to do with that. The 48 went three-wide bottom and I was just sitting there. I was no part of it.”

And of the restart of Jeff Gordon that NASCAR reviewed and pronounced good, the driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford said, “I felt like the 24 jumped it once, but NASCAR isn’t calling it so we just need to push it.”

Logano qualified second and finished the Chicagoland race in the sixth spot.

“I felt like we were in the catbird seat on that restart starting sixth with new tires. I had a good start and got three-wide. The 18 got tight and fenced us. We lost all the spots that we should have gained. I felt like we were in the position that we needed to be in to win this thing.”

Surprising: While Hamlin punched his Chase ticket, there was no ticket, especially one of the speeding variety, for his teammate Matt Kenseth.

“I definitely didn’t speed anywhere today,” Kenseth said. “We really struggled. We had probably a 15th-place car at best and barely hung onto the lead lap all day and got the right line on the restart.

“Jason made some good adjustments, guys never quit. We were in the right line at the restart. Everybody got bottled up. I think passed seven or eight of them in the first corner, another two or three the next set of corners.

“Somehow we wound up fifth. We definitely finished way better than we deserved today. But that’s what you have to do in these things, you have to try to take your days and try to make them the best you can.”

Not Surprising: Martin Truex Jr. came close to losing it at Chicagoland, in fact losing out on his top-10 finishing record and slipping to finish 13th instead.

“You can’t win the Chase in the first race but you can sure lose it,” Truex said. “We didn’t lose it today but finishing 13th after running solidly in the top-10 for almost the entire race is very disappointing.

“We didn’t have the speed to get back up there at the end. Though we didn’t have a great race car today, it was sure better than 13th. We’ll regroup and go after it in New Hampshire next week.”

Surprising: Two drivers, who no doubt had Chase expectations coming into the 2015 season, showed they could still mix it up with the best. Kyle Larson and Aric Almirola both finished better than many of the Chasers, in fact in seventh and 10th respectively.

Not Surprising: Sometimes drivers are fans and sometimes not. After this race, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was not alone in not being a fan of restarts while Tony Stewart was all about proving that Ryan Newman should be his fan.

“Those debris cautions, I’m not a fan of them,” Junior said after finishing 12th in his No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet.

Tony Stewart, on the other hand, was not only signing autographs for fans before the race but also autographing the back of Newman’s shirt, no doubt for a bit of luck.

Newman, one of the Chase contenders, finished fourth while Stewart finished well back in the 25^th position.

“I did what I had to do,” Newman said. “I was a lap down and took the wave around. That last caution was a blessing for us. Big improvement for where we were last year in the Chase. We just have to keep focused on our own deal.”

The second race in the Chase will occur at New Hampshire Motor Speedway next weekend on Sunday, September 27, 2015. The Sylvania 300 will begin at 2:00 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN.

September 20, 2015
Hot 20 – The Chase for the Championship Commences in Chicago

So it begins. Sixteen drivers, each trying to avoid being one of the four eliminated from contention for the championship after each round of three races.

The first round, Chicago, New Hampshire, and Dover, will see each running for the best finish amongst those qualified. A win in any of the three would guarantee them a spot in the next round of three events no matter how they might fair in the other two contests. History tells us that Jamie McMurray and Paul Menard will not do well this weekend.

For them, this would be a good time to rewrite history. For those outside the Top Sixteen, no time like the present to break a few hearts. A win now robs a contender of a free pass and could go a long way in getting sponsors thinking more of what is to come than what could have been.

That would be the goal of the bottom four amongst our hot 20 heading into Chicago this Sunday.

1. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 2012 POINTS (4 Wins)
The firm of Petty and Earnhardt still has room for another name partner.

2. KYLE BUSCH – 2012 (4)
Having a leg up on the opposition was not a good thing in his case, but it matters not now.

3. MATT KENSETH – 2012 (4)
If his 2003 title started this Chase business, now he can start eliminating his critics four at a time.

4. JOEY LOGANO – 2009 (3)
Had the pole at Richmond, but Kenseth only allowed him to lead 25 of the 400 laps.

5. KEVIN HARVICK – 2006 (2)
His points standing just went from a 30 point lead to a six-point deficit.

6. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 2006 (2)
He and his buddy Greg Ives come in with four straight Top Tens. Three more would be nice.

7. KURT BUSCH – 2006 (2)
First Chase champion would like to be the next one, too.

8. CARL EDWARDS – 2006 (2)
I am not sure if he misses Jack Roush at all, considering how his season with Joe Gibbs has gone.

9. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 2003 (1)
One of six in the Chase who already knows how it feels to be crowned a champion.

10. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 2003 (1)
Team-mates? We ain’t got no teammates. We don’t need no team-mates.

11. DENNY HAMLIN – 2003 (1)
Adversity is racing with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his throttle leg’s knee.

12. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 2000
So…this is the Chase, eh?

13. JEFF GORDON – 2000
What better way to ride off into the sunset than with a fifth title?

14. RYAN NEWMAN – 2000
Winless in 2015. Runner-up to Harvick in 2014.

15. PAUL MENARD – 2000
Chicago has not been his kind of town.

16. CLINT BOWYER – 2000
Like his team owner, he is out of a job after this season. Both could use a little good news.

17. ARIC ALMIROLA – 693
Fourth at Richmond was like being a groomsman at your sweetheart’s wedding.

18. KASEY KAHNE – 677
Only Hendrick driver to miss the party this year, needs some positive results heading into 2016.

19. KYLE LARSON – 618
Sophomore jinx bit him hard this season.

20. GREG BIFFLE – 611
Limping along in his worst season ever, as Jack Roush has his worst as an owner.

September 16, 2015
Hot 20 – The final hurdle for Bowyer and the rest comes this Saturday night in Richmond

If history repeats itself, there will be no surprise winner at Richmond on Saturday night. Going back over the past 10 years, every single driver who has won there is currently locked into the Chase for this year. Except for one.

Clint Bowyer has a pair of victories on the 3/4-mile track, but none anywhere to his credit this season. To make it worse, even if a first-time driver does not emerge this weekend to steal his thunder, he still sits just 29 points up on Aric Almirola for the final Chase position, with Kasey Kahne just a couple of points further back. A sour engine, a meeting with a wall or a competitor, a bad tire or messed up pit stop at the wrong time, and Bowyer’s season turns south faster than one’s job security at Michael Waltrip Racing. To make sure he is in, Bowyer needs to finish in the Top 25 on Saturday night. That and hope history does indeed repeat itself.

The odds are almost prohibitive that the winner this weekend at Richmond will be from amongst our Hot 20…

1. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 4 WINS
Expect the team of Jimmie, Chad, and Lowe’s to be around for some time yet.

2. KYLE BUSCH – 4 WINS
The story of the year to this point.

3. JOEY LOGANO – 3 WINS
Liked Johnson’s car so much he almost took it out with a spin last week.

4. MATT KENSETH – 3 WINS
Progress last week was thwarted by an early Darlington stripe…okay, more like a sledge hammer.

5. KEVIN HARVICK – 2 WINS
A late trip to the pits in Darlington was the pits for Harvick.

6. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 2 WINS
Getting some real cool throwback gifts from fans lately, including on his last trip to Walmart.

7. KURT BUSCH – 2 WINS
Went digital with his Darlington dashboard.

8. CARL EDWARDS – 2 WINS
After three Bristol wins, he has added a World 600 and a Southern 500 to the collection in 2015.

9. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 1 WIN
Led the most laps, but Edwards got to walk down the aisle, leaving him a bridesmaid.

10. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 WIN
A Darlington Top Ten, and he wasn’t happy. Has three Top Tens in last four at Richmond.

11. DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN
On Saturday night, he denied Daniel Suarez his first career XFINITY victory. My hero.

12. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 726 POINTS
To make the Chase, he just needs to start on Saturday night. If he gets the flu, it could get messy.

13. RYAN NEWMAN – 714 POINTS
If his finishing position matches his car number, or better, he rockets in as well.

14. JEFF GORDON – 700 POINTS
17th will do no matter what anyone else does…and he needs that only if there is not a repeat winner.

15. PAUL MENARD – 692 POINTS
Ninth if there is a first time winner…38th if there is not.

16. CLINT BOWYER – 682 POINTS
25th gets him in if history repeats itself, or a move ahead of Ryan, Jeff, or Paul if it does not.

17. ARIC ALMIROLA – 653 POINTS
Has the King’s car and last week stole his old mustache.

18. KASEY KAHNE – 651 POINTS
Can’t grow a mustache. Okay, I am just guessing here.

19. GREG BIFFLE – 598 POINTS
I could get Biffle into the Chase…but it has to be in EA Sports’ indestructible mode.

20. AUSTIN DILLON – 586 POINTS
One of three Cup guys in the XFINITY race. Go Austin! Go Rowdy! Go Joey! Just be gone!

20. KYLE LARSON – 586 POINTS
Last week, they called him Mello Yello, but is he truly just mad about Saffron?

September 9, 2015
The Final Word – A Southern 500 that took us on a nice ride back to the future

Tradition. On Sunday, we learned that tradition means something. We learned it is actually worth waiting for its return, though why it took NASCAR a decade to solve the hot, muggy conditions of a day race in early September by simply moving it to the evening still boggles the mind. The Southern 500 was back, back to where and when it belonged, along with throwback paint schemes and other nods to the past. Tradition.

We learned that Ken Squier should be cloned. He is to auto racing what Vin Scully is to baseball, a poet with a microphone who has the gift to paint vivid pictures through prose, to enhance the action we see with our own eyes, to allow us to commune with the best of the sport’s past even as we watch its future unfold before us. One is an 80-year-old legend who we got to hear from again on Sunday night, the other is an 87-year old Dodger icon. We learned that sometimes the best of what is has been with us all along. Tradition.

Jeff Gordon, for one. Seven times he managed to not just survive but to thrive on the track too tough to tame over the course of his career. He finished 16th on Sunday in his event curtain call. Jimmie Johnson, a six-time Cup king and three-time Darlington winner, was 19th. These two eventual Hall of Famers were seen last weekend in the company as such past stars as Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, and Bill Elliott. Terry Labonte was the Grand Marshal. Ned Jarrett was put to work in the broadcast booth, alongside his son Dale. Tradition.

We learned that even though it is possible for 26 drivers to win a race from Daytona in February to Richmond later this month, it seems improbable. Only 11 different pilots have shaken the suds in Victory Lane this season, with the last first-time victor coming in the form of Martin Truex Jr. three months ago. For the second time this season it was Carl Edwards doing the backflip at the finish line, his first at Darlington’s Lady in Black. Once again, the same 16 drivers sitting in a Chase place coming in will be the same when they hit the line at Richmond next Saturday night.

Racing began in Darlington in 1950. Three years later, the Richmond tradition got its start. Potential winless Chasers have won there, including Gordon, Ryan Newman and Clint Bowyer. Drivers such as Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne have claimed the prize before, and their only route to the Chase is to do it again this Saturday night. Of the quintet, though, only Bowyer has done so in the past decade. In fact, 19 of the other past 20 Richmond winners have already punched their tickets for this season’s Chase. Unless there is a break in tradition, the 20th should as well.

The 20 Richmond race winners over the past ten years include…

Kyle Busch (4)
Jimmie Johnson (3)
Kevin Harvick (3)
Denny Hamlin (2)
Kurt Busch (2)
Clint Bowyer (2)
Brad Keselowski
Carl Edwards
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Joey Logano

September 7, 2015
Hot 20 – The Southern 500…a tradition truly reborn this Labor Day weekend!

It is the Southern 500 coming our way from Darlington on Sunday night. Interestingly, I do not view it as one of the circuit’s marquee tracks, where you do not dare touch the fast-forward button. However, like Indianapolis, it is one of the Cup Series marquee events where a win gets you remembered.

After a few years of tinkering around with tradition, something NASCAR seems more than eager to do until the manure hits the ventilation system, the Southern 500 is back for the Labor Day weekend. It worked from 1950 until someone had a bright idea in time for the 2004 event. They pushed the legendary race back to November so that fans would no longer have to face the heat of day in September. That, and they thought it also a brilliant move to give the 500’s date to California after it had taken Rockingham’s spot on the calendar. I wonder how that worked out for them?

Somebody sued so that Texas could have a second race, and they got it when the Lady in Black’s spring date was spirited away. Then to prove their astute understanding of its fan base, they moved the race to Mother’s Day before dropping the iconic “Southern 500″ moniker entirely for four seasons, starting in 2005. Then they did not have a title sponsor in 2009, at least before Go Daddy came on board, so the Southern 500, now presented by Go Daddy.com, was back.

The tinkering did not end there, of course. Sponsors come and go, but traditions remain…except in NASCAR. In 2014, the race date was shipped to April before someone came up with a bright idea. No, really. They moved the Southern 500 back to the Labor Day weekend, but as had been the case since its rebirth, they scheduled it for Sunday night to avoid the heat that started all the nonsense a decade before.

The fact they installed lights in 2004, just before they moved the date to avoid the heat, doesn’t make much sense, either, come to think of it. However, let us just be glad the Southern 500 is truly back with cars with paint schemes from Darlington’s glory years.

The Hot 20 as they challenge “The Track Too Tough to Tame” include…

1. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 4 WINS
Christopher Walken’s favorite driver. More cowbell!

2. KYLE BUSCH – 4 WINS
Looking to finish two spots up on Cole Whitt to claim his Chase place. Let the battle begin.

3. JOEY LOGANO – 3 WINS
The Shell logo on his car is one I remember…from way back…when I had hair…and youth.

4. MATT KENSETH – 3 WINS
After running less than 60 miles at Bristol, he should be well rested for Darlington

5. KEVIN HARVICK – 2 WINS
I keep underwear longer than he keeps a house.

6. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 2 WINS
Is Junior interested in driving IndyCar? Apparently, the answer is “no, no, no, no.”

7. KURT BUSCH – 2 WINS
Kurt is engaged. It would be easy to come up with a punchline, but I truly wish him happiness.

8. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 1 WIN
Frank Kimmel, 10 time ARCA champ and Brad’s matchmaker.

9. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 WIN
Furniture Row might not be big, but you cannot say they have not been successful.

10. DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN
Only problem with a throwback weekend is do you go with a Ned, Cale, or Jaws scheme?

11. CARL EDWARDS – 1 WIN
Worst driver at Gibbs Racing? Honestly, I do not believe there is such a thing.

12. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 696 POINTS
After claiming a Brickyard 400 and a Daytona 500, he needs a little trinket from Darlington.

13. RYAN NEWMAN – 683 POINTS
Riding along the walls at Darlington, it might be best to be driving a Caterpillar.

14. PAUL MENARD – 674 POINTS
Paul won the XFINITY race last week. I used to outrun my baby sister.

15. JEFF GORDON – 672 POINTS
Only driver whose throwback paint scheme could be one of his own.

16. CLINT BOWYER – 655 POINTS
Sitting pretty, unless the wrong guy wins on Sunday. Then it could get ugly.

17. ARIC ALMIROLA – 620 POINTS
The King won 200 times. Aric needs just one.

18. KASEY KAHNE – 618 POINTS
Will be channeling his inner Geoff Bodine this weekend.

19. GREG BIFFLE – 572 POINTS
Roll them dice. Daddy needs a win.

20. AUSTIN DILLON – 564 POINTS
Race car driver, former Little League World Series player, now basketball star?

September 2, 2015
Surprising and Not Surprising: Bristol Irwin Tools Night Race

With lots of discussion and questions about restarts in the drivers’ meeting prior to the race, here is what was surprising and not surprising after the checkered flag flew on the 55Th Annual Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Surprising: Joey Logano took a page from ‘Through the Looking Glass’ as he battled against Kevin Harvick and the rest of the field to take the checkered flag at Bristol Motor Speedway. This was the third win of the season for the driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford for Team Penske.

“It was kind of interesting to watch it in the mirror,” Logano said. “I was watching him (Harvick) drive in and I was like, ‘He’s going to get me eventually,’ so I just wanted to make sure I stayed at least three or four car lengths up on him so he didn’t get to me.

“There’s not much time to look in the rearview mirror, but I realized how different his line was than mine. He’d drive in so hard and almost get to my back bumper and then I’d drive off really good. It’s kind of interesting to watch a race like that when two cars are a similar speed but in two complete different ways. That’s what’s so fun about Bristol is you can drive the car about five or six different ways and make it fast, so it’s fun to race here.

“That’s what we did and that’s what we do every week. We just try to keep our heads calm and cool and just run our race.

“I feel like we’re right where we need to be, just like we were last year at this point. I can’t wait for the Chase to start.”

Not Surprising: It was a twofer for the No. 4 car, who turned two pit road penalties into another second place finish.

“Yeah, we had an interesting night,” Kevin Harvick said after finishing second for the 10th time this season. “We went to the back twice and passed a bunch of cars.

“I think, all in all, it’s just a huge credit to the team. They just keep bringing fast cars to the race track and we’re able to overcome a lot of things.

“So, it’s just great to be a part of a team like this and just really excited to be able to run like this at Bristol.”

Surprising: It was a blowout of the unwanted kind for Kyle Larson, who had such high hopes coming into the Bristol night race. The driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet had a tire blow out when he stayed out after taking just two tires, finishing 41st.

“The first time we blew our left front we stayed out on two tires and we had a lot of laps on our lefts,” Larson said. “And we blew that one out. Later on we had a lot of damage and got really tight and blew the right front.

“I guess on our left front the side wall got cut out. I don’t know if that was a wear issue or not. Then we got into the wall and we were pretty tight after that with lots of damage on the right side. So, probably just used up our right front tire because I couldn’t turn. I just hate it we hit the wall with a blown right front and ended our night.”

Not Surprising: By no means out but……could best describe Paul Menard, who finished 24th at Bristol and is hanging on to 12th in the point standings and 14th in the Chase grid at present.

“This was not the finish we wanted when the weekend started at Bristol,” the driver of the No. 27 Knauf/Menards Chevrolet said. “We got behind early in the race and then were never able to make the improvements work to our advantage during the night. Then we ended up getting some damage there near the end and that didn’t help us any.

“But, the good news is we fought through all that and finished the race. We are by no means out of the Chase for the Championship and look forward to being there after Richmond.”

Surprising: Ryan Newman apparently was doing his best imitation of David Copperfield, working some magic on his. No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet.

“We took a 20th place car from Friday and turned it into a top 10 on Saturday,” Newman said. “Not the end result that we wanted, but a good points day for us. That is part of what we are racing for right now.”

This was Newman’s second straight top-10 finish at Bristol and his 10th place finish advance him up to the 11th place in the championship point standings and 13th in the Chase Grid.

Not Surprising: After the devastating news of the demise of Michael Waltrip Racing for the 2016 season, Clint Bowyer fought the hard fight for his team, finishing fifth in his No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota.

“MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing) really needed that run,” Bowyer said. “With that being said we desperately needed a solid run right there. I mean obviously you’re hungry for a win with this organization given everything it had and I drove my ass off, we just come up short.

“I’m really proud of all of these guys on the 5-hour ENERGY Toyota. They’re digging man. It’s fun to be a part of this. It’s fun to be a part of a group that can answer the call when you gotta dig down and reach down a little bit more to get in that Chase and be a part of that elite group.

“These guys are up for the challenge.”

Surprising: One young driver surprisingly logged an incredible number of laps at Bristol Motor Speedway, in fact, one thousand to be exact.

“I could do it again,” Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 21 SKF Ford in the Cup race and driver in the Truck and Xfinity races as well. “It’s just nice to get all those laps under your belt and know the race track, what it does and learn for next time.”

In the Cup race and after completing his one thousand Thunder Valley laps, Blaney finished 22^nd.

“It’s not the night we wanted, but we gained some good experience and hopefully we come back better.”

Not Surprising: As they have done for much of the season, Hendrick Motorsports shop mates Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. fared fairly well at Bristol where shop mates Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne continued to struggle.

Johnson finished best in fourth in his No. 48 Lowe’s Pro Services Chevrolet, and Earnhardt Jr. popped off another top-10 finish in his No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet. Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon, however, finished 16th and 20th respectively.

Jeff Gordon, in his final year of Cup competition, currently sits 15th in the Chase grid after the Bristol race.

Surprising: Martin Truex Jr., who has been so consistently running for much of the season to date, took the biggest tumble in the point standings, falling two spots to the sixth spot. Truex had to go to a backup car, then had a lug nut issues, which put him back in the field, and finally was collected in an accident.

“I felt we had a top-three car tonight, but the loose wheel really hurt our chances,” Cole Pearn, crew chief, said after the race.

Not Surprising: As usual, given his dry wit, Matt Kenseth had the quote of the race after finishing 42nd due to engine failure, wishing for at least a text before going up in smoke.

“It broke in the middle of the straightaway – it had that hop and that noise that it makes when you know you dropped a valve,” the driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota Camry said. “Something in the valve train, we dropped a valve or something it felt like and sounded like. Things like that happen.

“They never warn you, it would be cool if they would send you a text or something. Just the middle of the straightaway it made that pop where you knew that was it.”

As the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series prepares to head into the Chase, the racers get a needed weekend off next weekend. On Sunday, September 6, racing will resume at historic Darlington Raceway.

August 23, 2015
NASCAR BTS: Stewart Haas Sponsor Code 3 Associates

While Danica Patrick may just have scored a brand new sponsor for the next race season, Stewart Haas Racing has another unique sponsor relationship with a nonprofit organization by the name of Code 3 Associates.

This week’s NASCAR Behind the Scenes takes a closer look at Code 3 Associates, their unique synergy with an elite NASCAR team, and their new relationship with up and coming driver Cole Custer.

“Code 3 was a company that I will readily admit that I half-heartedly started in the 1980s when I was a police officer,” Eric Bagdikian, President, Code 3 Associates, said. “Right around the mid-1990s, my wife Nan Stewart had retired off the road as a California state humane officer and was in very high demand to teach and consult.”

“So, Code 3 became the perfect platform for her to work off to do that. She has really been the driving and passionate force behind Code 3 Associates.”

“As things developed, Code 3 branched out into two areas,” Bagdikian continued. “My wife and a former partner saw a need for animal welfare and care in times of natural disasters. At the time, there was little or nothing in the federal incident command structure has various different emergency service functions (ESFs). At that time, the realization of animals as part of the family was just coming out into the open as part of that protocol.”

“Nan and my partner saw this but also saw the need for a tool, which gave birth the BART, our 82-foot hauler, known affectionately as the Big Animal Rescue Truck. It literally houses everything that operators and responders are going to immediately need to respond to the needs of animals in a disaster.”

“The other side of the company that developed concurrently, because of Nan’s expertise, was training. At the time, there were only a few organizations that specialized in animal control training. This has become more important now because training is the first line for liability and risk management.”

“So, over the years, Code 3 has continued to develop in this area. One of the bigger animal control organizations was National Animal Care and Control Association (NACA) and Code 3 ended up joining forces. So, that is how Code 3 Associates came about and has evolved.”

Code 3 Associates also has a very unique story when it comes to their involvement in NASCAR.

“We have a benefactor who has a very, very strong interest in animals and are big NASCAR fans,” Bagdikian said. “Putting the two together, we are able to combine their passions, get into NASCAR and provide a cause to apply to that interest.”

“We looked at various different teams and drivers but back in the early 2000s Code 3 received an unsolicited donation of $500 from the Tony Stewart Foundation. The craziest things happen from the smallest seeds. So, that was the link. We approached Stewart-Haas Racing and it was the perfect recipe.”

“At the time Ryan Newman was one of the drivers on the team and of course Tony Stewart. They both have a very strong interest in animals. They both love animals. And Tony operates his Foundation, which provides for animals and/or children.”

“So, that’s how it all came about. It was a synergy that was waiting for a catalyst. It just so happened that Code 3 was the catalyst. We met with the VP of Business Development for SHR and we were truly amazing at his reaction to the synergy. Stewart-Haas has taken an active interest in what we are doing in almost a daily basis. They have been very supportive of Code 3 and animal welfare issues in general.”

Code 3 Associates and Stewart-Haas Racing also combine their missions in very down to earth unique ways.

“Code 3 holds a couple of training sessions at the race shop during the year,” Bagdikian said. “And that’s been at Stewart-Haas insistence. But they do have one complaint because when we are there all of the workers want to come out of the shop and play with the animals.”

“They’re not getting much done, but their frame of mind is much better when they get back to work!”

One of the most unique aspects of the Code 3 Associates partnership with Stewart-Haas Racing is their interest in the development of a seventeen-year-old racer Cole Custer.

Cole is a very bright, well-educated, outgoing young man. You don’t get that from him initially, but he is. And he really cares,” Bagdikian said. “When we initially started talking about this, Cole does bring the young element to the table.”

“And in my opinion, we have sold that generation short. I’ll call them kids, but that generation does care. They really do want to help. Cole is emblematic of that. NASCAR really needs to culture that generation into their fan base. So, it’s a perfect platform for that generation’s passions to also make that bridge to NASCAR.”

“While nobody can predict a cut and dry timetable, right now our mutual interest is really Cole’s development,” Bagdikian continued. “Some of us are focusing on the competition end of it and some of us are focusing on the off-track development. And that is where we see providing Cole the opportunity to represent the cause that he believes in as us helping him with his development.”

“I am a firm believer that as each day, month, year goes by, that representation will be more and more present. If we can help him grow and develop and benefit this cause, we are all for it.”

The most important partnership for Code 3 Associates is that they are fulfilling their mission with a long-term commitment to drivers like Cole Custer and teams like Stewart-Haas Racing.

“One of the things that I like is that drivers like Cole are coming in with no sense of entitlement,” Bagdikian said. “The vast majority of them have had to compete. Yeah, it’s all fine and well to say you are part of a team, but when you’re out on the track you are competing for yourself.”

“Cole has really worked and honed his craft with diligence and determination. I think this is one thing that really separates our sport from others as far as our up and coming athletes. There are not scholarships. They have to come up on their own merits. The recruitment opportunities in our sport are not as prevalent as in other sports.”

“So, I definitely I think we are in for the long-term with this NASCAR relationship.”

For more information about this unique organization and its NASCAR commitment, check out www.Code3Associates.org.

August 19, 2015
Hot 20 – Bowyer soon to become a free agent as MWR goes part-time in 2016

Hot news this week is headlined by the near-demise of Michael Waltrip Racing. The team has announced that it will not run full-time entries in 2016 and that Clint Bowyer will indeed be a free agent after this season. It has been a bit of a bumpy ride for the team that Mikey built, and Rob Kauffman paid for, and with the money man headed elsewhere, the writing was all over the wall. Kauffman is looking to buy into the Ganassi operation, but that deal is not done. Bowyer could wind up there, or wherever an opening appears between now and next season.

Danica Patrick has a new sponsor. With Go Daddy about to be Gone Daddy, Nature’s Bakery has decided that sponsoring the only woman in Sprint Cup is a great $20 million sponsorship opportunity. With just a single IndyCar win back in 2008 to go with her Budweiser Duel victory in 2013, she is not a great driver, but still a competent one with tons of drawing power. Plus, did you see her latest yoga video? I mean, I am a straight male and I fear the day I find something similar posted by Tony Stewart.

Stewart has had some tough times, with results no better than Patrick’s since he broke his leg driving on dirt in 2013. Then came the tragedy in upstate New York a year ago. The family of Kevin Ward Jr. filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Stewart on Friday. It alleges Stewart drove his car up the track, gunned his engine, causing the vehicle to slide and strike Ward with the rear-right tire. As a father of a couple of lads about Kevin’s age, I understand the family’s course of action. It was either Stewart’s fault or, as what came out of the criminal investigation, their son had enough marijuana in his system to impair his judgement and that in an act of bravado he approached Stewart’s car on foot and simply got too close and was struck. As a parent, what would you want to believe?

The action will be hot on Saturday night at Bristol, one of NASCAR’s fan favorite venues. There should be enough action to satisfy a television viewer who simply finds their way to the telecast, along with those who know what it all means for Kyle Busch, Bowyer, Aric Almirola, Kasey Kahne, and those behind them in the standings.

Our Hot 20 heading into Bristol include…

1. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 4 WINS
You know your focus is off when you can’t even remember where your pit stall is.

2. KYLE BUSCH – 4 WINS
Second in the standings, yet battling Cole Whitt for his playoff position.

3. MATT KENSETH – 3 WINS
Owned Michigan, has a down payment on Bristol.

4. KEVIN HARVICK – 2 WINS
Only three times he has missed finishing in the Top Ten…including Bristol in the springtime.

5. JOEY LOGANO – 2 WINS
Winner at the Brickyard and the Glen…you know, races one might actually remember.

6. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 2 WINS
Man, he feels like a woman. Really. I heard him say so. You can’t make something like this up.

7. KURT BUSCH – 2 WINS
Sure, his brother has more wins, but when it comes to points, baby, Kurt rules!

8. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 WIN
Finished third and is still frustrated. I wonder if he has ever met Timmy Hill?

9. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 1 WIN
He and Joey no doubt would like their splitters back, splitters back.

10. DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN
Kyle and Matt and…what are the names of their two teammates again?

11. CARL EDWARDS – 1 WIN
Figures he has the car to beat at Bristol. Forty-two other drivers will attempt to prove him right.

12. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 663 POINTS
70 points up on Almirola, 47 ahead of Bowyer. McMurray remains good to go this Saturday.

13. PAUL MENARD – 654 POINTS
Along with Junior, loses 15 minutes of practice time this weekend due to inspection issues.

14. RYAN NEWMAN – 649 POINTS
Having an actress of the same name is confusing. I do not believe he is dating Jack Griffo.

15. JEFF GORDON – 648 POINTS
When they say “pull those belts tight, boys”, his boys tend to argue for a bit of slack.

16. CLINT BOWYER – 616 POINTS
NASCAR’s own bubble boy.

17. ARIC ALMIROLA – 593 POINTS
It would be a real shame if Clint has another bad day. Yes, it sure would be. Just ask Aric.

18. KASEY KAHNE – 590 POINTS
Now, if both Clint and Aric had bad days this Saturday night…

19. GREG BIFFLE – 553 POINTS
Three races in just over two weeks and he has to win one of them.

20. KYLE LARSON – 548 POINTS
Has done well in the few he has raced at Bristol. Now he needs to be great.

August 19, 2015
Surprising and Not Surprising: Pure Michigan 400

With the new high drag package creating some high anxiety, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the Pure Michigan 400 from the speedway nestled in the Irish Hills.

Surprising: With Matt Kenseth’s win in the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota, his manufacturer reigned supreme in Michigan. And with the trip to Victory Circle, Toyota received the Michigan Heritage trophy, initiated in 2013 to celebrate the winning vehicle manufacturer.

Toyota gets to hang onto that coveted trophy until the next race at Michigan International Speedway in June 2016. This was Toyota’s fifth Cup win at Michigan and the manufacturer’s ninth win of the season.

Winning Coach Joe Gibbs summed it up best as far as the partnership he has enjoyed with the manufacturer, with his Toyota team winning five out of the last six races.

“Well, the first thing is it’s a team sport all the way,” Gibbs said after the race. “We’ve got great partners, thanks to Toyota, all the hard work they’ve done over the last year and a half.”

“You really need to enjoy it because about 10 races back, we were struggling trying to get there, and you just hope now that we’ll be able to hold some momentum here and head into the Chase.”

Not Surprising: To tinker or not to tinker, that has been NASCAR’s question and the sanctioning body provided some answers after the Michigan race.

As for the high drag rules package used at MIS for race day, Steve O’Donnell, Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer, acknowledged that it did not achieve the passing at the front goal as evidenced by the dominance of the No. 20 car.

NASCAR, however, decided not to do any further tinkering, especially with any rules package changes during the Chase for the Championship.

“We’re going to stay with the 2015 package,” O’Donnell said. “We’ve seen some good things with that package. A lot of work has been done by the race teams already leading up to the final 10 races and feel like that’s the best decision for the sport.”

“Excited about the Chase, excited about the package and what’s to come in the Chase, especially when you look back to last year.”

Surprising: Kyle Busch not only overcame having to start in the rear due to a practice crash in his No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota but also demonstrated his best ‘Carnac the Magnificent’ skills with his prediction that there would be a crash in the first lap of the race.

Busch was so convinced of his prediction that he hung back almost half a lap from the field during the start of the race, only to have David Ragan spin, fulfilling Busch’s prediction.

Busch went on to finish 11th, moving himself up to 29th in the point standings.

Not Surprising: For the driver who came in runner up, yet again, the Pure Michigan 400 was a one-off in his opinion.

“I would say we didn’t really learn anything today,” Kevin Harvick, the driver of the No. 4 Jimmy John’s/Budweiser Chevrolet, said. “Not only is this racetrack nothing like what we race on in the Chase, it’s just kind of a unique animal, and then you have the rules package.”

“Today was really just about trying to win a race, and it’s really not going to lend itself towards anything that we do in the last 10 weeks.”

Surprising: Martin Truex Jr. is not only locked into the Chase but he continues to break records in his quest for the Championship. The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Visser Precision Chevrolet finished third, scoring his 16th top-10 finish in the first 23 races of the 2015 season.

This tied a team season record, set in 2013 when Kurt Busch piloted the No. 78 for the Colorado-based race team.

“It was a good day for everybody on the Furniture Row team,” Truex said. “We had a good car from the get go. We made some adjustments throughout the race, but overall the No. 78 was a fast hot rod.”

Not Surprising: Team Penske drivers may have had a rocky start with their splitters being confiscated by NASCAR prior to the race, but both Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski recovered to both finish in the top-10.

“My team did a good job and we executed fairly well,” Logano said after finishing seventh. “We had a couple bad restarts but a good one there at the end to make up for it. I would say we finished about where we deserved.”

“We made the most of our day in every way we could,” Keselowski said after his ninth place finish. “We just needed to be faster, for sure, especially down the straightaways.”

Surprising: Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the best of the Hendrick Motorsports drivers, finishing in the 10th position. Teammates Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson finished 15th, 17th and 39th respectively.

In fact, the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet had a miserable day, cutting a tire down early in the race, overshooting his pit stall, and spinning through the grass which destroyed the front end of his race car.

Johnson finished an uncharacteristic 10 laps down.

Not Surprising: There was no doubt that Aric Almirola felt like a winner with his top-15 finish. The driver of the No. 43 Armour Ford overcame a stomach virus as well as a 30th place qualifying position to take the checkered flag in the 14th spot.

Almirola also won in the point standings and now sits just 23 points behind competitor Clint Bowyer in the battle for the final playoff spot.

“We may have finished 14th today, but it felt like a win after the weekend we had,” Almirola said. “Everyone worked really hard to get the car where we needed it.”

“We made the best out of our situation and made up some good ground in points. We started the year with a goal to be consistent and just scored our 12th Top-15.”

Surprising: One young gun showed the field that having fun and performing can indeed go hand in hand. Austin Dillon, in his No. 3 Dow Chevrolet, had a career best finish in fourth place and yes, also had a little fun along the way moving from the back to the front.

“We had some circumstances where we had to start at the back and had to figure out a way to get our track position back,” Dillon said. “Slugger (Labbe, crew chief) and the engineers did a good job coming up with a plan.”

“The first 20 laps was no fun for us because we had to ride around and try and stay in front of the leader, but we saved gas and decided to not come down pit road on that first competition caution for fuel, and it worked out,” Dillon continued. “It showed that our car was fast enough to stay up there.”

“We pitted, drove back up to where we needed to be, and it was a fun day for us, the Dow Chevrolet was fast, and I felt like I passed a lot of cars, also, getting into fourth.”

Not Surprising: With his mentor Buddy Baker being laid to rest after losing his battle to cancer, Ryan Newman did him proud, scoring his eleventh top-10 finish, in spite of some damage incurred after a collision with the race car of Clint Bowyer. The finish was essential to the driver’s championship hopes and he moved up to the 12th spot in the standings.

“I am so pleased with this top-10 finish,” Newman said. “It was an awesome team effort. It was a good day for us and a good points day for us.”

“I’m looking forward to Bristol and I just found out that it will be my 500th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start. I had no idea, so I’m hoping it will be another good weekend for us.”

August 17, 2015
Hot 20 – Unless Kyle sputters or someone new wins, not much drama to be expected at Michigan

There are only two things to watch for in Michigan on Sunday. One is the ride of Kyle Busch and the other is the car that crosses the line first.

If Kyle does well and at least stays in the Top Thirty in points, nothing changes. Aric Almirola and Kasey Kahne would not mind if we have such a change, as it would put them back in the mix on points. However, the way Mr. Busch has been running, I would not hold my breath, if I were them. If no one currently outside the Chase wins, then nothing changes. It will be up to those pretenders to become contenders at Michigan, Bristol, Darlington, or Richmond.

Meanwhile, this week we said goodbye to Buddy Baker. The 74-year old legend, a winner of the Daytona 500, the Southern 500, and the World 600 twice, passed away on Monday.

This week also marked the 60th anniversary of my parents, Ron and Mae Thornton. Wednesday was a day of love, laughter, and family memories…just as it should be.

Cancer is what took Buddy Baker from us. That same disease will take my mother, sooner than later. As a fan of NASCAR history and as a son, love, laughter, and memories are becoming more cherished than ever before.

Here is a look at the Hot 20 as they run this Sunday at Michigan.

1. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 4 WINS (747 Points)
Denny said he was sorry. Jimmie replied with something possibly describing an unnatural act.

2. KYLE BUSCH – 4 WINS (361 Points)
Back where he belongs.

3. KEVIN HARVICK – 2 WINS (823 Points)
Turn, turn, turn, turn, turn, turn, turn, turn, turn, damn…damn.

4. JOEY LOGANO – 2 WINS (781 Points)
Fresh tires and some fuel made all the difference last week.

5. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 2 WINS (750 Points)
Like most others at the Glen, they were left wondering, “Where in hell was that last caution?”

6. MATT KENSETH – 2 WINS (703 Points)
Five straight Top Tens makes Kenseth more than just a pretty face.

7. KURT BUSCH – 2 WINS (659 Points)
You can never have too much help…except in the pits…or so says NASCAR.

8. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 1 WIN (719 Points)
Figures if you liked the Brickyard, you might love Michigan. Sadly, few did and few will.

9. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 1 WIN (714 Points)
On a Rocky Mountain high after locking in his berth into the Chase.

10. DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN (631 Points)
Last week, he drove with the hood up. This week he will try to drive blindfolded.

11. CARL EDWARDS – 1 WIN (589 Points)
Under former rules, he would be just a pretender…but not under these rules.

12. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 635 POINTS
No wins…and in the end last week…no fluids.

13. PAUL MENARD – 622 POINTS
Ten up on Bowyer, 60 ahead of Almirola, vulnerable as hell if the wrong driver wins Sunday.

14. JEFF GORDON – 620 POINTS
Ditto.

15. RYAN NEWMAN – 613 POINTS
Did you read the comments for Menard and Gordon?

16. CLINT BOWYER – 612 POINTS
Sitting pretty, as long as no one beyond this point comes up with a win.

17. ARIC ALMIROLA – 562 POINTS
Watkins Glen hurt, but it meant only the difference between 50 or “just” 40 points out.

18. KASEY KAHNE – 561 POINTS
One of two active drivers not currently in the Chase who has won at Michigan. That was in 2006.

19. GREG BIFFLE – 532 POINTS
The other driver is this guy, a Michigan winner in 2004-05 and in 2012-13 (summer/spring).

20. KYLE LARSON – 517 POINTS
To do list: Win one of the next four races.

August 13, 2015