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Logano: ‘I thought the racing was significantly better than last year’

CONCORD, N.C. — Giving his thoughts on the impact of the changes to the aero package, Joey Logano said “the racing was significantly better than last year.”

In his post-race media availability, the driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford was asked what impact the changes to the aero package had on his car and the race.

“I thought the racing was significantly better than last year,” Logano said. “As a racer out there, I remember this race last year and I’d get trapped because all you can do is run the bottom. That was last year. On the bottom, on the bottom and it’s really hard to pass someone because you can’t get clean air. It was a lot of fun as a drivertonight to be able to move up the race track and find speed. That’s something here at Charlotte at night that is very rare. You don’t see that at night here at Charlotte very often, so I think taking the downforce off these cars, being able to move to the right side of a car and be able to continue forward progress was really nice. It was really fun to be a part of that.”

In the past, the driver leading the race in the final segment would just drive off and the dirty air made it next to impossible to pass him. Not only was Logano able to run down Kyle Larson in the final segment, he was able to pass him as well.

“I think it promoted a lot of side-by-side racing, a lot of passing. It took six or seven laps for the second lane to come in after the tires would wear a little bit, but the tires would definitely wear out, that’s for sure. There was definitely a lot of fall-off it felt like from inside the car and that’s what we want to see. That’s the reason for doing all this is to promote better racing, promote more tire fall-off. We saw that tonight. We saw a lot of side-by-side racing, saw a lot of fall-off. There was so much strategy that a lot of us didn’t know what was going on because there was so much strategy going on in this race, but that’s what it promoted. It promoted a lot of hard racing and I thought it was great.”

Todd Gordon, Logano’s crew chief, was also asked about what impact he saw on the race.

“I don’t know that I would say significant,” Gordon said. “I mean, Joey can answer from how they drive, but from a setup standpoint I thought it was something we could adapt to in 10 minutes or the 20 minutes of practice that we had. I think we’re all fairly smart to what’s going on. It was kind of an even loss for aerodynamic forces, so you didn’t have to make a huge balance shift in the car for it. It was something I think if guys had decent packages they at least had a foundation to build off of. I can’t speak for how they drive.”

Logano was also asked about his thoughts on the format.

“There was a point I came over the radio and said, ‘I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t really want to know what’s going on. Let me drive the car and you call the race’ because I was confused,” he said. “All I know is if there’s a car in front of me, we should pass them. That’s kind of where my head was. It doesn’t have to be as complicated as you think it is. It’s complicated for this man (Todd), but not so much for me. Sometimes the simple life is a little easier inside your race car. I had my hands full with enough things, so I was able to focus in on my job and Todd was able to focus in on his job. The whole falling back and trying to position yourself to the front didn’t really play because there were only two or three cars – I think a lot of cars got trapped on pit stops when the caution came out and they got trapped down a lap. It didn’t really play out like a lot of us thought it would when there are only three cars on old tires in front of you, so we got through them in the first corner and then it was like, ‘Alright.’ It was Larson and I for this thing. I felt confident that we had a very good shot at racing for the win when we were restarting there at the end.”

May 22, 2016
Joey Logano Earns a $1Million in Charlotte

CONCORD, N.C. — Joey Logano will return home tonight a $1 million richer after winning in the Queen City.

The driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford out-dueled Kyle Larson in the final 13 laps to win the Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Teammate Brad Keselowski finished second in his No. 2 Penske Ford while Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the podium in his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

“Awesome race. I thought it went great. What a great car,” Logano said post-race. “It says a lot about our race team to unload today with a completely new package, have 10 minutes of practice and unload and say, ‘The car is pretty good. I don’t have much to say. We really made only one change on our car. That was about the only amount of time we had in practice was to make one change. It was the same for everybody, but, overall, I felt like our car was competitive.”

He also spoke about the final laps and battling with Larson for the lead.

“I knew we were gonna race really hard. It’s for a million bucks,” he said, “and I was able to, around lap six, move up the race track and find some speed. Obviously, Kyle saw that and he moved up and then I knew I was gonna have to make the bottom work somehow. Once I had position on him going into the corner I had to make sure I kept him on the quarter panel and not to the door. I knew he was gonna drive in to try and suck me around from the outside, and I knew I had to drive in to make sure he didn’t do that, and it was just good, hard racing there at the end. It was a lot of fun. He’s a heck of a racer. He’s gonna win a lot of races, that’s for sure, and it’s fun to race against him and it’s fun to see the youth in this sport. For me, starting eight years ago now, to see guys that are close to my age now and I get to race them for wins is a lot of fun.”

Runner-up Keselowski described his finish as, “a decent night, but not the great night we wanted with the Miller Lite Ford ending up second. I’m pretty happy for my teammate Joey Logano. He kind of did exactly what you would expect out of an All-Star Race format and made a pretty incredible pass to win the race. I’m happy for Team Penske as a whole, but, of course, I wish it was me in victory lane.”

Third-place finisher, Earnhardt, used the race as an opportunity to learn.

“Yeah, we tried to come here and learn as much as we could to get better as a team,” he said. “Ninety percent of the setup in this car we hadn’t run this year. This is the race to try those things. Heck, we kind of came close. We didn’t have the speed those guys did on that last run. Right before that at the end of the second segment, I really loved our car. We’ll see how it works next weekend when we actually get to practice, try some things and change some things. We’ve learned a lot We’re still not as good as the 22 and the 2 at the end of this race but it’s better a run than we’ve had in the last several weeks.”

Carl Edwards finished fourth in his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and will be featured on the cover of “NASCAR Heat Evolution” this September for being the highest finishing Toyota driver.

“I put my guys in a box by missing pit road,” Edwards said. “I tried to come to pit road with the 2 (Brad Keselowski) and the 42 (Kyle Larson) and it just didn’t look right to me so I thought, I’m going to go by and then I put us in that box where my pit crew had to do a really fast pit stop and one lug nut just wasn’t pulled all the way up. Then as it stood we got back up to the fourth position and if we would have had a caution there at the end, I think we had a shot at it. We were the top-finishing Toyota and I had forgotten about the video game cover so the top-finishing Toyota gets the cover of NASCAR Heat Evolution, which is pretty cool. We got something out of the night and really I had fun on those restarts. That was wild. I don’t know what it looked like on television.”

Kurt Busch rounded out the top-five in his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet.

Chase Elliott finished sixth in his No. 24 HMS Chevrolet.

“I was just very, very confused, I felt like, for the majority of the race,” Elliott said of his thoughts on the race. “We had a really good car until we got our damage there. We were trying to play the pit road game. You want to spend the least amount of time you can on pit road and that’s what everybody was doing. I was planning on pitting on that first lap after we got back going and it was just chaotic and if it was my fault and I didn’t do a good enough job getting out of the way, I’ll take the blame. I was just trying to get on pit road.”

Trevor Bayne finished seventh in his No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford and Greg Biffle finished eighth in his No. 16 RFR Ford. Denny Hamlin finished ninth in his No. 11 JGR Toyota while Kyle Busch rounded out the top-10 in his No. 18 JGR Toyota.

Larson was understandingly disappointed after competing for the win, only to settle for a 16th place finish.

“I hate that I keep letting my team down,” Larson said. “You know, they did everything right. They worked their tails off after I got all that damage in the Showdown and we had a really, really good Target Chevy and I was able to get to the front pretty quick there.

“I was getting looser throughout the race. We were making adjustments but I guess we just weren’t making big enough ones, and just got loose and Joey caught me. He did a really good job side drafting me and tried to hang on to his quarter (panel) there and I just got really loose as soon as I got down in the corner. We were going so fast I couldn’t correct it and drilled the wall. Really disappointed but congrats to Logano and their team. I’m having fun, just, this will be hard to get over.”

The race lasted one hour, 43 minutes and 40 seconds at an average speed of 98.103 mph. There were 13 lead changes among seven different drivers and four cautions for 18 laps.

May 22, 2016
Five Drivers Advance to All-Star Race

CONCORD, N.C. — Five drivers have raced their way into the Sprint All-Star Race and a chance at a million dollars.

Trevor Bayne, Greg Biffle and Kyle Larson raced their way into the main event by winning one of the three segments in the Sprint Showdown. Danica Patrick and Chase Elliott were voted by fans into the All-Star Race.

Bayne got an excellent restart with one lap to go in segment 1, split Elliott and Ryan Blaney and took the lead to make his way into his second All-Star Race start.

“That was pretty cool,” Bayne said. “That takes me back to Texas in 2011 in the XFINITY race when I restarted fourth and pushed Carl out before winning the race. I was thinking about what I could do and I timed the restart really good and got right to the 21’s bumper at the line and was able to get three-wide off of turn two. The car was pretty good there. In clean air I was alright. I was a little concerned with dirty air, but I got a run and went through the middle. It was a little sketchy squeezing through that hole, but it worked.”

Biffle made his way into his 13th All-Star Race start, in part, by taking two tires during the first segment break.

“Brian Pattie is a very, very smart veteran crew chief in this sport and it was his call,” Biffle said. “I was skeptical of it, trust me, but I tell you what, what really made the difference was we made a chassis adjustment, two left side tires, the car was really fast the last single lap that we made under green and I was able to pass four cars in one lap. Then we came down and the guys ripped off a great two-tire stop like a lot of other cars did and got us out third. Really, that’s what did it. I was being as aggressive as I could be, and I knew it was 20 laps and I knew that was my chance. The 3 car was a little bit loose and so was I, but I made some adjustments on my driving style and was able to get by him.”

Bayne and Biffle making their way in ensured that a Roush Fenway Racing Ford made the All-Star Race for the 27th consecutive year.

Larson edged out Elliott and they banged sides coming to the line. Photo: Tucker White/SpeedwayMedia.com

Larson edged out Elliott coming to the line in the final segment to advance to his first All-Star Race start.

“Chase got to my inside there with 2 (laps) to go and I was able to run him pretty hard there and get him loose and was hoping I could hold him off to the checkered,” Larson said of the final lap battle. “I knew he’d get close. I didn’t know he would get that close there coming to the line. I had to squeeze him because I knew he was going to get the fan vote. He has a lot of fans. I knew Danica (Patrick) was going to get the fan vote also. And if Chase was to win, I wouldn’t be in. So, I had to do everything I could do to get to the start/finish line in first and luckily it paid off.

“I was pretty loose there towards the end,” he added. “So, actually, when he got to my right side, my car drove better. I had no more grip or sideforce or whatever. We ran a decent corner but he was able to slow me down enough. And he had the run. I just had to squeeze him. So, I’m sure he’s upset with me. But, it’s a non-points race and we’re going for a million bucks. I felt like I had to get it done; especially knowing that he would be in the race and I wouldn’t.”

“Kyle did what he had to do to beat us back to the line,” Elliott said. “We had a real good run. I hate to not to race your way in. That’s pretty frustrating on my behalf. I just didn’t do a very good job. Regardless, it was great to have some great fans to get us in this race because I couldn’t get it done for us.”

Elliott and Patrick will start the All-Star Race after receiving the two fan vote spots.

“First and foremost, thank you to the fans,” Patrick said. “The only thing that would make this any better is if I could deliver a great finish for them and an exciting race and pass cars and make the car better for next week. I definitely felt like there were some things we could learn from getting out there. Obviously, we got put in the challenging situation of having zero practice with the new package and just going out and racing. So, there were definitely some issues and we had to kind of Band-Aid them for the couple of segments that we had out there. But, I really want to do better. I feel like I was at the wrong place at the wrong time a few times out there.

“But on the plus side, I felt like we learned about the car. Even if we didn’t make it through, we were going to be more prepared for next weekend. But, it’s just even that much better to know that I have incredible fans that always come through. Don’t think that I don’t see social media fans. And I see all the times that people said they voted for me. So, thank you very much. I hope I give you something fun to watch tonight.”

The race lasted 54 minutes and 16 seconds at an average speed of 82.924 mph. There were three cautions for four laps and four lead changes among five drivers.

May 21, 2016
Keselowski Fastest in Final Practice

CONCORD, N.C. — Brad Keselowski topped the chart in the final Sprint Cup Series practice at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 26.121 and a speed of 192.027 mph followed by Carl Edwards who was second in his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a time of 28.121 and a speed of 192.027 mph. Denny Hamlin was third in his No. 11 JGR Toyota with a time of 28.139 and a speed of 191.904 mph. Kurt Busch was fourth in his No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet with a time of 28.155 and a speed of 191.795 mph while Joey Logano rounded out the top-five in his No. 22 Penske Ford with a time of 28.169 and a speed of 191.700 mph.

Jimmie Johnson was sixth in his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Kevin Harvick was seventh in his No. 4 SHR Chevrolet. Martin Truex Jr. was eighth in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota. Kyle Busch was ninth in his No. 18 JGR Toyota. Matt Kenseth rounded out the top-10 in his No. 20 JGR Toyota.

Keselowski posted the fastest 10 consecutive lap average at a speed of 189.349 mph. Johnson was second at an average speed of 189.181 mph. Harvick was third at an average speed of 188.958 mph.

May 21, 2016
Blaney: ‘You’re just going for a million dollars’

CONCORD, N.C. — Ryan Blaney says it’s better that NASCAR would test new aero rules in an exhibition race because the drivers are, “just going for a million dollars.”

During his media availability at Charlotte Motor Speedway earlier today, the driver of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford was asked how the results of testing changes to the aero package would turn out in a non-points race versus a points race as NASCAR did last season at Kentucky Speedway and Darlington Raceway.

“I think the reason why NASCAR wanted to do it in this race rather than a points race like we did last year was to just try it out and really kind of throw the teams a curveball when it doesn’t really have any points implications,” Blaney said. “You’re just going for one million dollars. I’m not saying you’re just going for one million dollars, it’s one million dollars, but I think it’s just better than throwing it out there in a points race. I don’t want to say it’s a test session, but it’s almost that way being a non-points race and everything like that.”

NASCAR announced changes to the aero package for the All-Star Race. The changes include a reduction in the number of brake cooling fans cars can use, welding the trailing arm of the rear toe and setting the rear toe to zero at the start of the race.

The brake cooling fan reduction is in response to teams using fans not to cool the brakes, but to suck air from the bottom of the car to increase downforce. The rear toe has been set to zero to reduce the amount of side force the cars generate. It’s only in place for this race.

The welding of the trailing arm, however, will continue for the remainder of the season.

“I think NASCAR is always trying to make improvements to racing, and they did that this year with the aero package, and I think they’re gonna do it this week with less skew package and the new rules package,” Blaney added. “The main point is just trying to slow these cars down in the middle of the corner. That makes for better passing, it makes more mechanical grip. You’re always gonna be relying on aero – always. I don’t care if you’re going 70 miles an hour, you’re always gonna have aero troubles and it’s not gonna be as good behind a car. But the more that we can do to try to put more mechanical grip in it and make aero not as big of an issue, the better it’s gonna be.”

NASCAR has not announced whether the other two changes made will be used again next season.

May 20, 2016
NASCAR is Bringing Back the ‘Heat’

CONCORD, N.C. — As part of bringing back the “Heat,” one driver from the Toyota camp will grace the cover of the next NASCAR game based on tomorrow’s race.

Dusenberry Martin Racing announced today that the highest finishing Toyota driver in tomorrow night’s Sprint All-Star Race will be featured on the cover of NASCAR Heat Evolution. They unveiled some mock covers with all four of the Joe Gibbs Racing drivers and Martin Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing. Carl Edwards was among one of the artist rendering covers.

“I’m sitting here thinking of how strange this is for all of these things to converge,” Edwards said of the possibility of gracing the cover of the game. “As a race car driver right now at this point in my life and my career I’m out here in the All-Star event racing for a million dollars that Sprint put up and all of the stuff that goes along with it but growing up my only opportunity to drive a stock car like the one I drive now in reality was through video games. So, I played a ton of video games and I really loved driving games so it’s almost surreal to have the opportunity in my real capacity as a race car driver now to be driving for the opportunity to be on the cover of a video game that if a couple things hadn’t worked out that would be the closest I’d ever got to NASCAR.

“So, it’s really neat, it’s an honor and I don’t think anyone has every partnered in the way Toyota has with a video game licensee and manufacturer the way they have. It’s just a cool opportunity and the game sounds really neat so I look forward to the opportunity to play it. It would be crazy to be on the cover. I hope I’m on it. It’s neat for you guys to have me be a part of this because truly I had so much fun growing up, and I still do, with the video game stuff. It’s such a neat way for the fans to experience our sport. We have a very rare sport or opportunity that’s rare in the sport because the drivers, the participants, all we do is we push the throttle pedals and we turn the steering wheel and people through video game technology experience that as close as any fans can experience any sport because of the simulation properties that you guys are so good at. It’s cool, it’s fun.”

DM Racing will release the first official NASCAR game for the “next generation” of gaming console (XBOX 1 and Playstation 4) with NASCAR Heat Evolution on September 13, 2016. Being developed by Monster Games, who also made NASCAR Heat and NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona, it seeks to get back to the franchise’s roots with a thrilling racing experience for pros and rookies alike.

It features all 23 tracks on the Sprint Cup Series schedule with all 36 races as well. It also includes every driver in the Sprint Cup Series right now. It’s unknown if the game will contain any of the classic cheat codes like “shooting tires” and enlarge tires with miniature car bodies.

May 20, 2016
NASCAR Racing Schedule Charlotte All-Star Week

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Camping World Truck Series will compete at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend. The XFINITY Series is off. Please check below for the complete schedule of events.

All times are Eastern.

Thursday, May 19:

On Track:
12:30-1:30 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Practice (canceled due to rain)
2:30-3:30 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Second Practice (canceled due to rain)
4:30-5:55 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Final Practice – FS1 (Time moved due to rain – Results)

Press Conferences: (Watch live)
11:15 a.m.: Christopher Bell
11:30 a.m.: Daniel Hemric
11:45 a.m.: Cole Custer

Friday, May 20:

On Track:
1:30-2:55 p.m.: Sprint Showdown Final Practice (Sprint Showdown Qualifying) – FS1 (canceled)
3-4:40 p.m.: Sprint Cup All-Star Race Final Practice – FS1 (postponed to Saturday)
5:30 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying – FS1 (canceled — starting lineup)
7:15 p.m.: Sprint Showdown (20 laps, 20 laps, 10 laps) – FS1 (postponed to Saturday)
8:30 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series – NC Education Lottery 200 (134 laps, 201 miles) – FS1 (postponed to Saturday)

Garage Cam: (Watch live)
2:30 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (canceled)

Press Conferences: (Watch live)
11 a.m.: Dusenberry Martin Racing announcement with Carl Edwards
11:30 a.m.: Matt Kenseth
12:45 p.m.: Ryan Blaney
1:15 p.m.: Kevin Harvick

Saturday, May 21: (Updated due to rain on Friday)

On Track:
9:30-10:30 a.m.: Sprint All-Star Race practice – FS1
10:05-10:15 a.m.: Sprint All-Star Race Pit Road Speed Practice – FS1
11 a.m.: Sprint Showdown (20 laps, 20 laps, 10 laps) – FS1
12:30 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series NC Education Lottery 200 (134 laps, 201 miles) – FS1
7:10 p.m.: Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying (three laps with pit stop) – FS1
9 p.m.: Sprint All-Star Race (50 laps, 50 laps, 13 laps) -FS1

Press Conferences: (Watch live)
10:15 p.m.: Post-Sprint Cup Series race (time approx.)

Race Notes:

Greg Olsen, tight end for the Carolina Panthers, will drive the pace car for the All-Star Race Saturday night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Pre All-Star Race:

8:49:p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star Race, Driver & Crew Intros
9:10 p.m.: Presentation of Colors by 14th Weather Squadron, US Air Force, Asheville, North Carolina
9:10-9:20 p.m.: Invocation by Joe Gibbs
9:11: p.m.: National Anthem by Caleb Johnson
9:12 p.m.: Fly-by TOT: Team Aerodynamix (Turn 4 to Turn 1)
9:17 p.m. (approx.): “Drivers, Start Your Engines” by Tony Stewart (Done from inside his car)
9:26:p.m. (approx.): Start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star Race

Additional Info:

Complete NASCAR TV Schedule

May 18, 2016
All-Star Race Revises Format to Enhance Excitement

This year the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race has been revamped to create an atmosphere that will promote more competitive racing as the drivers battle for a $1 million prize.

The All-Star event will be held on May 21 at 9 p.m. ET at Charlotte Motor Speedway and consist of three segments for a total of 113 laps. Qualifying will be held prior to the race (three laps with pit stop) at 7:10 p.m. ET.

The final segment (13 laps) will feature a unique format that requires the leaders to pit before the last segment begins. None of the other drivers will be allowed to pit. The leaders will then line up behind the cars on the tracks that did not pit, setting up a dramatic dash to the checkered flag.

To make matters more intriguing, a random draw before the final segment will decide how many of the leaders must pit; nine, 10 or 11.

This year there will be two drivers added to the lineup by virtue of the Sprint Fan Vote. As of May 16, the top five up for consideration are, in alphabetical order, Ryan Blaney, Matt DiBenedetto, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson and Danica Patrick. Fans can cast their votes until 5 p.m. ET May 20.

As an added bonus, Tony Stewart, participating in his final full-time season, has been selected to get things started with the words every NASCAR fan anticipates, “Drivers, Start Your Engines.”

Sprint All-Star Race Format:

Segment 1(50 laps): The field will be determined by qualifying and includes a mandatory green flag pit stop for a minimum of two tires.

Break 1: After the first segment, there will be a break of 3-5 minutes with a mandatory pit stop with a minimum two-tire change.

Segment 2 (50 laps): The field will be set by the exit from pit road with one mandatory green flag pit stop a minimum two-tire change before lap 85.

Break 2: After the second segment, there will be a break of 3-5 minutes. This break will feature a random draw that will decide whether the top nine, 10 or 11 cars have to pit for a mandatory four-tire stop. Pit road will be closed for all other cars. The starting order for Segment 3 will be set by order of pit road exit and they will line up behind the cars that did not pit.

Segment 3 (13 laps): Only green flag laps will count in the final segment. NASCAR Overtime rules apply.

Sprint All-Star Race Eligibility:

The All-Star race will include a minimum of 20 cars. Fifteen drivers have already qualified, being 2015-2016 race winners or past All-Star winners. Three more drivers will advance from the Sprint Showdown race (May 20 at 7:15 p.m. ET) and two more drivers will be voted in by fans.

The 11 winners from 2015-2016 are Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr. The four past All-Star winners are Kasey Kahne (2008), Jamie McMurray (2014), Ryan Newman (2002) and Tony Stewart (2009).

Sprint Showdown:

The Sprint Showdown is divided into three segments (20/20/10) and each segment winner will advance to the All-Star Race.

Segment 1 (20 laps): The field will be set by practice speed. The winner advances to the All-Star race and will not continue in the Showdown.

Segment 2 (20 laps): The field is set by pit-road exit order after a mandatory minimum two-tire pit stop. The winner advances to the All-Star race and will not continue in the Showdown.

Segment 3 (10 laps): The field is set by pit-road exit order after a mandatory minimum two-tire pit stop. NASCAR Overtime rules apply. The winner advances to the All-Star race.

Saturday’s event will be the 32nd All-Star Race and all but one (1986-Atlanta) have been held at Charlotte Motor Speedway. There have been 21 different winners with Jimmie Johnson leading the series with four wins (2003, 2006, 2012 and 2013).

The All-Star race has been underwhelming the last several years with few lead changes and sparse cautions. NASCAR is hopeful that the format changes will provide a spark that will showcase the top drivers and give the fans what they want; an edge of your seat, nail-biting, display of pure adrenalin-fueled racing.

May 17, 2016
The Final Word – Wide open fan vote to make Josh an all-star was not all that Wise

Vote early, vote often, or so it seems when it comes to selecting the driver the fans want to see. I am talking about the driver more individual fans want to see than anyone else get a free pass to Saturday night’s feature race. If that is not good enough, how about selecting the one who can get more people to vote for him, hundreds or thousands of times each. Such great fans these voters, most of whom are all about voting but know zip about NASCAR. Many would not know the difference between Lee Petty, Leroy Van Dyke, or the Dutchman with the paint brush. Josh Wise got in the Sprint All-Star race, and at least managed to still be running at the end. His sponsor, Dogecoin, got all sorts of publicity, and Danica Patrick, Kyle Larson, and Austin Dillon got screwed.

Jamie McMurray is not the winningest driver who has ever come down the pike, but he wins those that matter. Not only has he won such name events as the Daytona 500, the Brickyard 400, and now the Sprint All-Star race, all of his wins have come on tracks that matter. All seven points race victories, as well as the million dollar exhibition win last Saturday night, came either at Daytona, Charlotte, Indianapolis, or Talladega. You know, tracks that attract spectators, be they in the stands or watching from home. His wins have value…probably worth at least a gazillion Dogecoins.

Sam Hornish Jr won the Nationwide race over the weekend. How sweet it was to see a junior circuit contest featuring not a single Cup guy. What I do not get is how Hornish, a three time IndyCar champion with 19 victories, has not done better driving these sedans. No wins in 131 Cup starts leaves him in Danica country, but she got the sponsor, the fans, and all he has is three Nationwide victories and a Sprint Showdown win in 2009. I’m guessing he needs longer hair.

Next weekend is truly the big one in motorsports. Kurt Busch will not be attempting the triple, thus he will not be running in Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix. He will leave that to Lewis Hamilton, who will be seeking his fifth consecutive win of the season. As for Busch, he will be starting 12th in the 98th Indianapolis 500, then winging it to Charlotte for the 65th World 600.

As we return to racing for wins and points and a place in the Chase, Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick lead the parade with two wins each, but a spot is open to any of more than thirty drivers who can take the checkered flag in Charlotte. Even Josh Wise can do it…but I wouldn’t bet a whole lot of Dogecoins on it.

1 Joey Logano 2 wins, 346 pts
2 Kevin Harvick 2 wins, 302
3 Jeff Gordon 1 win, 394
4 Kyle Busch 1 win, 373
5 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 1 win, 368
6 Carl Edwards 1 win, 367
7 Brad Keselowski 1 win, 326
8 Denny Hamlin 1 win, 318
9 Kurt Busch 1 win, 211
10 Matt Kenseth 379 pts
11 Jimmie Johnson 340
12 Ryan Newman 332
13 Greg Biffle 328
14 Brian Vickers 327
15 Kyle Larson 318
16 Austin Dillon 306
17 Kasey Kahne 294 pts
18 A.J. Allmendinger 293
19 Paul Menard 292
20 Marcos Ambrose 288
21 Clint Bowyer 282
22 Aric Almirola 278
23 Tony Stewart 268
24 Casey Mears 262
25 Jamie McMurray 246
26 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. 240
27 Martin Truex, Jr. 232
28 Danica Patrick 213
29 Justin Allgaier 198
30 Michael Annett 163
31 David Gilliland 159 pts
32 Cole Whitt 147
33 Reed Sorenson 143
34 Alex Bowman 141
35 David Ragan 137
36 Josh Wise 130

May 19, 2014
Surprising and Not Surprising: Sprint All-Star Race

As NASCAR’s elite briefly battled Mother Nature and then each other, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the aftermath of the 2013 Sprint All-Star Race.

Surprising: The race was won not so much through fierce competition on the track but more through strategy and quick execution on pit road. And in the end, Jimmie Johnson and his team, including crew chief Chad Knaus and the new overall-the-wall group, had to pull out a record-setting pit stop to score the All-Star win.

Johnson had to claw his way to the front after a poor qualifying run, which included a loose lug nut penalty and a slide through his pit box. He started 18^th as a result but worked his way methodically to the front with the help of his team.

Johnson’s pit crew, however, actually delivered the million on their final ‘money stop,’ according to Knaus.

“We dug in really deep and got a really good set up in the Lowe’s Chevrolet,” Knaus said. “The pit crew did fantastic.”

“11.8 second pit stop,” Knaus continued. “I’ve been fortunate to win a lot of races but this was a lot of fun.”

Not Surprising: While the race was ‘pointless’, with no points gained or lost in the race to the Chase, given the race winner, it was still a record setter when the checkered flag flew.

The million dollar driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, broke a tie with his HMS teammate and partial owner Jeff Gordon and legend Dale Earnhardt Sr. for the most wins in a non-points race.

Johnson won his second straight All-Star Race and scored his fourth All-Star Race victory.

“It’s just dedication and drive from every member of Hendrick Motorsports,” Johnson said. “We know we have to keep pushing one another.”

“I don’t know how we keep doing it.”

Surprising: Reigning champ Brad Keselowski had a surprisingly bad All Star event, with a transmission break down of some sort early in the race.

“Something just broke in the back half of the drive train, either the transmission or drive shaft gear – I’m not sure which one – but it’s one of those deals, unfortunately,” the driver of the Blue Deuce said. “We’ll try to learn from it and move on.”

“You can be mad about it or move on and get ready for the next race,” Keselowski continued. “We’ll do the latter.”

Not Surprising: The Busch brothers, Kyle and Kurt, were both dominant yet again but could not pull of the finish they no doubt wanted so badly, with one having damage and the other a slow pit stop at the end of the race. Both brothers, however, took away lessons learned for the next big race, the Coke 600.

“I think we were just getting beaten around on every restart,” Kyle Busch said. “We had the best car here tonight but it was a good learning day for the 600.”

“To win segments and to be in position, it still makes you feel proud,” Kurt Busch said. “They put me in position with the overall best finish.”

“We were a shade slower on pit road and a shade slower on that last adjustment,” Busch continued. “It was a million bucks going out the window, but we’re building our notebook up going into the 600.”

Surprising: The rules of engagement were surprisingly so complicated that not only were the announcers in the booth confused, but calculators in the control tower were working at a feverish pitch trying to determine the order on pit road for the last segment four-tire money stop.

Not Surprising: Joey Logano, in the Penske No. 22, exercised some muscle, pushing the No. 5 car of Kasey Kahne out of the way to charge up to take the checkered flag in the second position.

“The 22 guys did a great job,” Logano said. “We had a good restart in the last segment.”

“The only shot I had would have been a caution but it was a lot of fun,” Logano continued. “Second is awesome but then it sucks at the same time.”

“I wish we had another caution to give Jimmie a run for his money.”

Surprising: Jamie McMurray kept the competitive fires going for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with scoring the Showdown win to make the race and then going on to score a top-ten finish in his No. 1 Bass Pro Shop/National Wild Turkey Foundation Chevrolet.

“Really happy with our car,” Jamie Mac said. “Our car was extremely fast.”

“It was tough in traffic but overall we had a good car.”

Not Surprising: According to pole sitter Carl Edwards, who finished the All Star race in the tenth position, tires were critical. And if he could do it all over again, Edwards would no doubt reconsider the decision to stay out without those fresh tires.

“We thought if we stayed out we could maintain track position but tire wear had to be taken into account,” the driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford said. “Everyone was racing so hard, right on the edge of wrecking.”

“I wish we had another shot at it,” Edwards continued. “We’re going to talk a lot about strategy for the 600 and take all this information and put our best foot forward for the 600.”

In spite of his tire troubles, Edwards acknowledged that he thought the All Star racing was some of the best that he had ever seen.

“It was very good racing,” Edwards said. “This track was so fast.”

“These are the best drivers in the world and I saw some saves out there that I don’t know how they pulled it off.”

Surprising: Although the struggles of Stewart Haas Racing continued, team owner Tony Stewart, known for his occasional angry outbursts, was quietly encouraging throughout the All Star Race, in which he finished 14^th.

“Keep your heads up guys,” Stewart said over the radio when the checkered flag flew. “We’ll figure this out.”

“Just have to keep working at it.”

Not Surprising: It was an up and down kind of night for the lone female on the Sprint Cup circuit. Although Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, was voted into the All Star Race through the fan vote, she certainly did not have an All Star evening, finishing in the 20^th position, the last of the running vehicles.

“First and very foremost, thank you to all the fans who voted for me,” Patrick said. “I’ll never forget that.”

“It just makes me feel bad to win the Sprint Fan Vote and fun in the back of the race,” Patrick continued. “It was a tough night.”

May 23, 2013