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Tag: Stewart Haas Racing

On the Edge with Ed: Kevin Harvick Edition

Last weekend, after a dominating win at the Phoenix International Raceway, Kevin Harvick’s crew chief Rodney Childers got up in front of the assembled media and said, “I know it didn’t seem this way, but we actually struggled a little bit.” Childers, who saw his driver lead 224 of the scheduled 312 lap affair continued, “Fault some of our tools and different things that weren’t matching up with the car this weekend. Finally we had to kind of wing it late model style. Finally got it going really good in Happy Hour. The guys at the shop have built great cars. You know, everything just went our way all weekend. You come to these deals, and some weekends it goes your way and sometimes it doesn’t whether you got a fast car or not.

Childers went on to speak about the added demands of competing at Phoenix, saying, “just proud of all the guys back at the shop that have worked so hard, and of course Kevin. I think his record speaks for itself at this place. I said a minute ago, somebody asked me what was wrong with me this morning. I said that I felt more pressure to win this one race at Phoenix than I did to win the race at Homestead. When you bring him here, I think everybody expects him to win. I didn’t want it to be my fault if we didn’t. Just proud of everybody, like I said. Just a great effort.”

It was a great effort. The thing is Harvick has dominated the Sprint Cup Series since last season when he ended the season with two wins and the Sprint Cup championship. In fact Harvick has had seven top-two finishes in his last seven races dating back to last season. The last guy that accomplished such a feat was Richard Petty, who had 11 consecutive top-two finishes back in 1975. Harvick said after being told that fact, “When you said the Richard Petty part, that just gives me chills.”

Runner-up in Phoenix, Jamie McMurray, said after the race, “That was a fun battle with Kevin (Harvick). Those are the kinds you wish you could do over again, because I would have slid up earlier. It’s similar to plate racing with the engine package we have now, where if you don’t get the guy cleared he can kind of stall you out a little bit. And I saw Kevin coming and I thought I could slide up in front of him, but I also knew it was for the win and that we would probably have wrecked there. But it was a good team effort with great pit stops all day. Our team is as good or better than where we left off last year, and it’s a great feeling.”

Harvick’s teammate, Kurt Busch, racing for the first time this season due to his well documented off track problems finished fifth in Phoenix. He said about his team, his car and his owner after the race, “It means I’ve got a strong team. And personally it’s great to get back to them and produce a result like this on our first day back. It’s a quality car. Haas Automation and Gene Haas and everybody that’s there; I went over and visited the headquarters this week and I can’t thank them enough for believing in me. The truth will be shown later on. But, the way that we raced today, it was with heart. And I thought there had been enough good will in the bank to try to bring home a win. But Kevin (Harvick, race winner) was tough. Congratulations to my teammate, Kevin Harvick, for winning. We had a great day. To run up there and almost lead a lap; I was just too loose on restarts and couldn’t quite capitalize on some of those positions that I needed to gain early in a run. But thanks again to all my sponsors and Chevrolet and everybody that’s part of our team and the whole group at Stewart-Haas. Thank you.”

Their teammates, Tony Stewart and Danica Patrick finished 39th (accident) and 26th respectively and sit 36th and 23rd in points respectively. Busch’s finish has him at 33rd in points after the Phoenix race. What is odd to me is the fact that Harvick’s dominance isn’t really odd in the sport. In 1998, on his way to his third championship Jeff Gordon tied Richard Petty, in the modern era, with 13 victories. Since then Jimmie Johnson’s dominance in the Chase secured him multiple championships, most notably in 2004 and 2007 when Johnson needed those victories to storm back from early chase mediocrity. Also, let’s not forget Tony Stewart who just weeks before the chase started in 2011 said to us in Bristol that his team was not “chase worthy” and then rattled off five victories, including a nail biter in the final race at Homestead to break a tie with Carl Edwards for his third championship.

Some will say that Harvick’s peaking too soon this season and that there are many teams that will fill the gap before the season’s end. However, I look back to just last season, when they ran a completely different race package and the fact that Harvick dominated many races that resulted in poor finishes due to equipment failure, poor strategy or pit stops and he still won his first championship with a brand new team. Right now the usual suspects will be chasing Harvick. Jimmie Johnson, fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. and even sentimental favorite Jeff Gordon should be in the mix by the time the chase starts but I fully expect that Harvick will be a factor in who wins the 2015 championship.

March 19, 2015
Finley Factor: Is Danica Really Any Good?

Danica. Danica. Danica. Danica. Danica. Danica. Danica. Danica. Danica. Danica.

I’m still amazed at how popular this person is, in spite of having little to show for it after two years in full-time Sprint Cup competition.

It’s kind of sad, really. All of this talk of Danica being the face of women drivers in NASCAR, all four of them. I think there can be great female drivers. As a non-contact sport there is no doubt in my mind a woman can do it against men.

I think there are great female drivers. Johanna Long showed a lot of promise in the XFINITY series a couple of years ago. But because she can’t find sponsorship, she can’t find a ride. Let’s not pretend, however, this is a gender problem. It’s a NASCAR problem, where young drivers with promising careers, like Bubba Wallace Jr., Jeremy Clements or Chad Boat, regardless of gender, just cannot catch a break and get a single big company sponsor behind them. But, hey, that’s another Factor for another day.

Anyway, here is Danica. What happens when we take away the fact that yes, she is a she, and compare her fair and equally? What I did during the last month or so is simple. Using Racing Reference for stat lines, I have ranked the 52 drivers who competed in either 2013 or 2014 who had or completed two full-time seasons in those years, using only those year’s stats. I’ve also added Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon to the ranking, as both had comparable rankings already towards the rest of the field. What this basically means is that only the first two seasons, along with anything beforehand, matter in this ranking. For example, Tony Stewart won nine races in 1999 and 2000, his first two seasons in Cup, and thus he is listed as having nine wins in the ranking. However, his three victories in 2001 or anything else he has done since 2000 is not part of the ranking. This way, Danica and everybody else ranked are on completely equal footing. But first, Phoenix preview!

Favorite

Kevin Harvick is on a complete roll right now, with the last six Cup races ending with him either winning or in second. It won’t stop this weekend, as Harvick goes to his best racetrack. With an average finish of fourth in the last four races, and having won the last three races here, expect Happy to bring home another victory.

One to Watch

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has had a good start to the season. He has had an average finish of 4.8 in the last four starts here and is the only driver to have finished in the top 10 in all four of the last races. Don’t expect Earnhardt Jr. to win but another solid top five run would shock nobody.

Dark horse

This is one of Tony Stewart’s best race tracks, and certainly one he knows best, having raced here in various series for over 20 years. If there was ever a track for Stewart to turn his luck around at, it’s here.

Before I show the ranking, I would like to point out something. To those out there who do not fully understand NASCAR, to compare drivers you must remember that a driver may only be as good as their team and equipment 90 percent of the time. It’s like in football, where Tom Brady is such a great QB because he’s on the best team, whereas if he were drafted to the Jaguars at the start of his career I doubt we’d know his name.

Many claim that Danica has never had good equipment. This is a flat out lie. Why? Because her teammate won the Sprint Cup championship last year. She is part of Stewart-Haas Racing, which runs Hendrick Motorsport cars, whose cars have won eight of the last nine championships, two of which came from Stewart-Haas Racing. To say “Well, she can’t drive well because she isn’t in good equipment” is like saying “JR Motorsports needs to fire Chase Elliott and hire Jeffery Earnhardt, because Chase has no future and Jeffery is family.” It’s moronic and makes absolutely no sense. And if you turn around and say that Jimmie Johnson only wins because he has the best car IN SPITE of both the 48 and 10 being made at virtually the same shop, that’s double jeopardy stupid. Anyway, on with the list:

Key: Drivers ranked by wins, then top fives, then top 10s in their first two full time seasons as well as any races done beforehand. Attempting at least 30 races equals a full time season.

1^st Ryan Newman- 9 wins, 33 top fives, 46 top tens.

2^nd Tony Stewart- 9 wins, 24 top fives, 44 top tens.

3^rd Jimmie Johnson- 6 wins, 20 top fives, 41 top tens.

4^th Dale Earnhardt Jr.- 5 wins, 12 top fives, 20 top tens.

5^th Carl Edwards- 4 wins, 24 top fives, 43 top tens.

6^th Kurt Busch- 4 wins, 15 top fives, 26 top tens

7^th Brad Keselowski- 4 wins, 11 top fives, 18 top tens.

8^th Denny Hamlin- 3 wins, 20 top fives, 38 top tens.

9^th Kyle Busch- 3 wins, 19 top fives, 31 top tens.

10^th Greg Biffle- 3 wins, 7 top fives, 14 top tens.

11^th Jeff Gordon- 2 wins, 14 top fives, 25 top tens.

12^th Kasey Kahne- 1 win, 18 top fives, 22 top tens.

13^th Jamie McMurray- 1 win, 15 top fives, 38 top tens.

14^th Joey Logano- 1 win, 10 top fives, 23 top tens.

15^th Terry Labonte- 1 win, 9 top fives, 32 top tens.

16^th Clint Bowyer- 1 win, 9 top fives, 28 top tens

17^th Morgan Shepard- 1 win, 9 top fives, 24 top tens.

18^th Matt Kenseth- 1 win, 9 top fives, 22 top tens.

19^th Martin Truex Jr.- 1 win, 9 top fives, 20 top tens.

20^th Juan Pablo Montoya- 1 win, 5 top fives, 9 top tens.

21^st David Ragan- No wins, 8 top fives, 17 top tens.

21^st Kyle Larson*- No wins, 8 top fives, 17 top tens.

23^rd Mark Martin- No wins, 7 top fives, 23 top tens.

24^th Marcos Ambrose- No wins, 7 top fives, 11 top tens.

25^th Brian Vickers- No wins, 5 top fives, 14 top tens.

26^th Reed Sorenson- No wins, 4 top fives, 11 top tens.

27^th Aric Almirola- No wins, 3 top fives, 12 top tens.

28^th Scott Riggs- No wins, 3 top fives, 6 top tens.

29^th Jeff Burton- No wins, 3 top fives, 5 top tens.

30^th Ricky Stenhouse Jr.- No wins, 2 top fives, 8 top tens.

31^st Joe Nemechek- No wins, 2 top fives, 7 top tens.

31^st Sam Hornish Jr.- No wins, 2 top fives, 7 top tens

33^rd David Gilliland- No wins, 2 top fives, 4 top tens.

34^th Casey Mears- No wins, 1 top five, 9 top tens.

35^th Bobby Labonte- No wins, 1 top five, 8 top tens.

36^th J.J. Yeley- No wins, 1 top five, 6 top tens.

37^th Mike Bliss- No wins, 1 top five, 5 top tens.

38^th Austin Dillon*- No wins, 1 top five, 4 top tens.

39^th Scott Speed- No wins, 1 top five, 3 top tens.

40^th Paul Menard- No wins, 1 top five, 2 top tens.

40^th Mike Wallace- No wins, 1 top five, 2 top tens.

42^nd Dave Blaney- No wins, no top fives, 8 top tens.

43^rd Ken Schrader- No wins, no top fives, 7 top tens.

44^th David Reutimann- No wins, no top fives, 4 top tens.

44^th Danica Patrick- No wins, no top fives, 4 top tens.

46^th David Stremme- No wins, no top fives, 3 top tens.

47^th A.J. Allmendinger- No wins, no top fives, 2 top tens.

48^th Elliott Sadler- No wins, no top fives, 2 top tens.

49^th Travis Kvapil- No wins, no top fives, 2 top tens.

50^th Michael Waltrip- No wins, no top fives, 1 top ten.

Josh Wise- N/A

Landon Cassill- N/A

Michael McDowell- N/A

Regan Smith- N/A

*=Before Daytona statline, second season so far ignored.

Keeping in mind what I said beforehand, literally everybody on this list is in either comparable equipment or, for most, worse equipment than Patrick. They also usually have less experience racing in stock cars. Take A.J. Allmendinger, for instance. His rookie year, 2007, was plagued with a horrible team, a new car, an old car, less than a year of racing stock cars beforehand, and a new make of car (Toyota). He was never in a car that could break the speed limit on pit road until 2009, his third year in the sport, with Petty. Josh Wise and Landon Cassill have never been in even mediocre equipment. Perhaps most incredible to me, however, is just how well Kyle Larson has done. The youngster who I wrote about being the next big thing nearly two years ago is just that. And he has only had experience running cars on pavement since 2012, when Patrick had been running in NASCAR for two years up to that point and around seven years’ experience in national racing leagues (IndyCar).

There’s no doubting Danica has made some progress, wrecking less, but at her age and with her level of experience, the learning process is now over. If I where in charge of Stewart-Haas, I’d know what I’d do: not renew her contract at the end of the season..

March 13, 2015
Two Dark Clouds Over NASCAR During Busch Absence

Kurt and Kyle Busch, two names that ring loud with emotion for many NASCAR fans. Some love them, others hate them. What they bring to the sport is much more than fan reaction, though. They bring passion, excitement, and most of all, two sources of incredible talent. How will the sport endure a time of no Busch brother being in competition in the near future?

Dismissed by NASCAR due to actions detrimental to stock car racing, Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing, was denied on both his first and final appeal to reverse the punishment brought down on him by NASCAR. Suspected of actions of domestic violence, but not yet criminally charged, Kurt Busch was indefinitely suspended from racing in NASCAR, meaning his return will not be welcome until the sanctioning body allows it under their own discretion.

Whether the accusations prove to be true or false, has yet to be determined by the court, but the entire light of the case has brought a dark cloud over the sport.

Another dark cloud appeared on another side of NASCAR Saturday evening at Daytona.

As Kyle Busch came diving off of the track in the Xfinity Series season opener in his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota and made head-on contact with the inside retaining wall, a non-SAFER barrier, Daytona International Speedway officials perhaps realized their negligence to fully protect the drivers to the best of their ability. Busch was taken straight to nearby Halifax Medical Center where he was found to have suffered both a right leg compound fracture and fractured left foot. An injury of this severity most likely means months away from the car for the driver of the No. 18 Toyota in the Sprint Cup Series.

While NASCAR suffers from one dark cloud over the portrayal of a driver’s behavior at home, it also suffers from a dark cloud over it’s ability to protect its drivers and their control over what tracks do to keep the drivers safe. What gets lost in all of this is the absence of two major talents in the Sprint Cup Series.

Two top teams are without two of their strongest drivers. Multiple major sponsors are now in limbo with replacement drivers yet to be determined. Two easily Chase-worthy drivers will be missing out on many chances to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship. Dozens of crew members who worked tirelessly over the off-season building cars for their driver now wait for an answer as to who will be behind the wheel.

One driver had no control over his situation and now suffers the agony of being held from the car due to injury, while the other now suffers from the consequences of what may or may not have happened in his motorhome in September 2014.

The 2015 Daytona 500 marked the first race without a Busch since Atlanta in 2001. Each lap certainly missed the daring moves of Kyle, as well of the veteran experience Kurt brings to the track.

Two of the most hated, while also most loved–in an almost envious way–drivers in the series were missing in the 2015 Daytona 500, and they will be missing for much of the foreseeable future. With two completely different dark clouds above each driver, it is not only unfortunate for them, but also unfortunate for the sport of NASCAR.

February 23, 2015
Stewart Haas Racing – Looking For Less Controversy and a Healthy Tony Stewart

Charlotte, NC – Kevin Harvick is ready to defend his first Sprint Cup Championship title. The assembled media met with Stewart-Haas Racing drivers on Tuesday afternoon and the defending champion was confident and ready to start the 2015 season. After 13 years of frustration, Harvick can relax, but not too much.

“The pressure’s definitely off,” Harvick said. “There’s not that pressure of being that guy who was so close to winning championships and had not won one. To be able to accomplish that and take that pressure off is a really good thing because that’s really what we wanted to accomplish in coming over here. So to be fortunate enough to be able to do that is definitely a sense of relief, and now you’ve been through it, you understand it, you know the feelings, the emotions and the things that you’ve been through, and hopefully that leads to that chest full of experience that you carry around with you to just put another tool in that chest to hopefully win more.”

Harvick came to Stewart-Haas from Richard Childress Racing. Though he is nicknamed “Happy,” the frustration of his last year there reared its ugly head during the 2013 season. At a Camping World Truck race at Martinsville, Harvick got in some on-track beating and banging with Ty Dillon, Childress’ grandson, and made some comments that weren’t complimentary to Dillon. He left RCR on good terms, but wasn’t interested in being comfortable after making the change

“I didn’t want to be comfortable,” Harvick said. “I wanted to experience what we experienced last year, and sometimes you have to make some bold or hard decisions in order to make things like this happen. So for me, I’m as comfortable as I’ve ever been.”

Team co-owner Tony Stewart has faced adversity over the last two years. First a sprint car accident that left him with a broken leg and a shortened season, then the poor performance on track and the horrible accident in another sprint car in New York in which a young man died. From the looks of things, Stewart was more himself which has to be good news for the organization.

“As soon as the calendar flipped to 2015, I put the rest of it behind me and I’m not looking back,” Stewart said. “I’m not looking back at all. I’m looking forward and focused on what we’ve got coming up. Physically, even after the surgery Dec. 1, this is the best I’ve felt since the accident two years ago,” Stewart said.

The big question for all the drivers, Stewart included, is how the new rules package will feel to them when in the cockpit. Stewart had no answer.

“I have no idea if it’s going to feel better or worse,” Stewart said. “But you know what? I go back to all the years we’ve raced so many different types of cars. You were always having to adapt to it, anyways. So I don’t think this is going to be any different than what we’ve done in the past. It’s just a matter of finding out that feel that we want in the car right away.”

Kurt Busch said he was eager to start the season and have the best run of his life. He also wants to get the domestic violence case behind him so he can concentrate on racing.

“I feel like 2015 can be the best year that I have ever had with the situation with (crew chief) Tony Gibson and being the second year with the team,” Busch said. “My years of experience with teams in the second year have always produced the best result.”

Whether Busch is allowed to race this season will likely depend on the outcome of the case. Gene Haas, who handpicked Busch to drive a car sponsored by Haas, said he believes Busch’s testimony and that he will be exonerated. Haas said he hasn’t considered suspending his driver.

“Domestic violence is very serious, but at the same time I do believe in due process,” team co-owner Gene Haas said. “At the same time, I feel there can be abuses to the system, too.”

January 28, 2015
Surprising and Not Surprising: Ford EcoBoost 400

As the Florida sun faded to darkness at Homestead-Miami Speedway and a first-time champion was crowned, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the season’s final race, the Ford EcoBoost 400.

Surprising: Although Stewart-Haas Racing has always touted its Hendrick Motorsports partnership, it was surprising to learn in more detail just how important that connection has been to the new NASCAR champion and the winning race team.

Kevin Harvick, winning his first ever NASCAR Cup Championship, specifically and repeatedly paid homage to Hendrick Motorsports six-time champion Jimmie Johnson in his post-race and champion-clinching comments.

“Jimmie Johnson was a huge help in just helping — he’d show up in the trailer after every practice and called and texted to Rodney (Childers, crew chief) and myself,” Harvick said. “You’ve got to remember, Jimmie and I have — we’ve known each other for a long time. We slept on those same couches at Hornaday’s house adjacent to each other in the game room.”

“He’d go race his ASA cars, and I’d go race the trucks for the Spears bunch, so we spent a lot of time together as friends and have grown to be better friends as we’ve gone past the last few years for sure.”

Tony Stewart, co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, echoed his driver’s comments about the HMS connection.

“We’ve got a great partnership with Hendrick Motorsports, and like Kevin just mentioned, when you’ve got eight drivers that are sharing information, it’s a lot easier to race seven guys than it is to try to worry about racing 34 or 35 guys.”

Not Surprising: Although they are three very different drivers, in age, size and style, they all had one thing in common after the final race was run. All three races were visibly despondent, from Ryan Newman, who finished the best of the three contenders in the second spot, to Denny Hamlin who finished seventh and Joey Logano who finished an even more disappointing sixteenth.

“We had a couple pit stops that kind of put us back,” Newman said. “It is disappointing, don’t get me wrong, but there’s no point in being a sore loser. We came back for the entire season to make our best finish our last finish.”

“The race did not go too well for us,” Hamlin said. “Obviously we had a championship-type car, championship-type effort, but those last breaks just didn’t go our way. We just struggled with restart speed.”

“Obviously our race was not too good,” Logano said. “We knew what we had to do, we just didn’t execute from every angle it seems like. I hit the wall a bit early in the race and then we came down pit road, made a mistake and went to the tail end of the lead lap.”

Surprising: Jeff Gordon and crew chief Alan Gustafson had a surprisingly testy exchange at the end of the race, all about whether or not to pit from the front of the pack for tires in the latter part of the race.

Gordon was one of the few drivers who stayed out late in the race and when another caution came, he desperately pleaded for tires. Crew chief Gustafson argued against giving up track position but Gordon was insistent and down pit road he came.

After starting mid-pack, the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet rallied back to finish tenth.

Not Surprising: Who knew that Kyle Larson, officially named Sunoco Rookie of the Year, had his own bandwagon?

“There was a lot of room on the Kyle Larson bandwagon on to start the season,” Larson said. “I think a lot of people chose Austin Dillon to win it, and I was pretty confident in myself and in my team that we could do it.”

“I knew there would be some ups and downs, but I felt like we would be the top contender once we got halfway through the season, and we definitely were. We’ve gotten better throughout the season, and just is a huge honor to win this title with all the other names that have won it.”

Surprising: During the race, NASCAR made a surprising announcement that Chad Knaus was called to the NASCAR hauler for disobeying a NASCAR directive. The issue, involving the team’s use of a wheel spacer, turned out to be much ado about nothing as confirmed by Robin Pemberton, Vice President for Competition.

“We just had a discussion on pit road between our official and Chad and really it was just to discuss it,” Pemberton said. “It was really not a big deal. We were just trying to clarify what went on, that’s all.”

“Everything is fine.”

Not Surprising: Greg Biffle ended his difficult year with a blowout, of the unfortunate tire type. He was having a solid run when he blew a tire, hit the outside wall and had to go to the garage for repairs.

Biffle finished 41^st in the season finale and ended 14^th in the championship standings.

Surprising: The crew chiefs, teams and drivers that were racing together for the very last time sadly did not finish on the best of terms.

“It had gotten dark, and the track was doing just what Trevor and Donnie expected,” team co-owner Eddie Wood said. “The track was coming to us, and Trevor was running some really good lap times. He had gotten in the lucky dog position, which would have gotten us back on the lead lap when the next caution came out.”

“Unfortunately, that caution flag wound up being for us.”

Carl Edwards and Jimmy Fennig also parted ways after the season finale, with Edwards going to Joe Gibbs Racing and Fennig ratcheting his time down on the box.

“Jimmy Fennig is an unsung hero at Roush Racing,” Jack Roush, owner, said. “He doesn’t do things that create a personal image away from the driver or away from the sponsor or away from the team. He’s the trooper that’s back there doing everything that he can every day.”

Probably one of the most dynamic driver/crew chief duos also did not finish off their relationship in quite the manner that they wanted.

Dale Jr. and Steve Letarte raced one last time as driver and crew chief, finishing 14^th in the Ford EcoBoost 400. The two summed up their feelings on Twitter as Letarte leaves for a television broadcasting career next season.

“Me and Steve didn’t count on becoming such great friends,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “That’s just really been a bonus to the whole thing.”

“I might not be talking to @DaleJr thru the headset any more but we will still be friends,” Letarte tweeted. “Taught me a bit about racing and a lot about life.”

Not Surprising: Chevrolet had a big night at Homestead-Miami Speedway, with their driver winning the championship, six Chevy drivers in the top-ten, and securing their 12^th consecutive manufacturer’s championship.

“Winning the Manufacturers’ Championship is one of the goals we set at the beginning of every season,” Jim Campbell, U.S. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports, said.

Surprising: Matt Kenseth had a surprisingly good weekend, as the highest finishing Toyota and also winner of the Nationwide race.

“It’s been a long time since I won a race in anything, so just happy for Kevin (Kidd, crew chief),” Kenseth said. “He’s been trying to get a win over here for a long time, and he’s going on to something different next year.”

“Happy to send him off with a win here; that was pretty good.”

Not Surprising: There was at least one drive ready for Daytona after his third place run in the season finale.

“Yeah, it was a heck of a season, not just for me but for all of Team Penske,” Brad Keselowski said. “I’m kind of wishing it wasn’t over, but we still have some work to do to continue to work and get better.”

“In some ways, I hate to see the season come to an end, and honestly I’m ready to be at Daytona next week for the 500. That’s probably not the most popular comment in the world, but sometimes I’m not the most popular guy.”

Final Note: In a most unusual year with the brand new Chase format, it has been a pleasure to share the surprising and not so surprising moments of the season. So, sit back, enjoy the off-season and as Brad Keselowski said, see you in Daytona!

November 17, 2014
Surprising and Not Surprising: Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500

In the final race of the Eliminator Chase round, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 27th annual Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

Surprising: Not only did Kevin Harvick take his No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet to Victory Lane at Phoenix but he also achieved perfection. Harvick scored a perfect 150.0 driver rating as a result of his race domination, in addition to winning his fourth of the season and his sixth at PIR.

“That’s a good day,” Harvick said simply. “I’m really proud of the guys from Stewart-Haas Racing and Rodney (Childers, crew chief) for the group of guys that they put together over the off-season, and to see this team build throughout the year has been something that for me has been just — it’s just fueled life back into me to come to the racetrack and be a part of something like this.”

Not Surprising: All of the manufacturers currently in the sport will have a shot at the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship this year. Joey Logano will be representing the Ford Camp, Kevin Harvick and Ryan Newman will fly the Chevrolet banner, and Denny Hamlin will carry the torch for Toyota Racing in the Homestead championship finale.

“There are a lot of emotions, believe me,” Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford, said. “My hat’s off to all the Shell/Pennzoil guys on this team. They deserve to be in the final four. We proved it throughout this whole Chase and really this whole year, and I’m glad to be sitting here and going for it and have some fun next week.”

“Just so proud of these guys, everybody, for fighting back, Luke Lambert, everybody at RCR and ECR, this Caterpillar team, they fight hard, there’s no doubt about that,” Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 31 Cat Mining Chevrolet, said after muscling his way into the Chase on the last lap. “I guess the only mistake I made all day was showing these guys what I’ll do on the last lap for when everything is on the line. We’re in this hunt. I’m proud of all my guys, and today was a lot of hard work, and in the end, the last lap was fun.”

“Coming over here and racing this year has given me new life and a new perspective,” Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet said. “It’s like a dream. You lay it all out on paper and you say, this is what we want to do and we want to race for wins and championships, and all of a sudden you’re a week away from everything that you talk about and dream about and dream up and want it to be like, and here we are.”

“We just kept working on it and getting our car better,” Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota said. “Probably our saving grace was we definitely didn’t have that strong of a car today but we had a strong car on restarts, and that kind of allowed us to be aggressive and pick up a handful of spots and then a caution would come out, we’d pit, get a little bit better tires, then the guys that stayed out would make up a few more spots, and next thing you know we ended up finishing in the top 5 somehow, some way.”

“It was a battle.”

Surprising: In spite of his disappointment in not advancing to the championship round, Jeff Gordon affirmed his support of the new Chase format, although with a bit of a caveat.

“I like it. I do,” the driver of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet said. “I’m a little concerned where it could go with — just like last week we found out on pit road where the line is drawn and when you cross over that line, and I think that it could get to that on the racetrack, as well. I don’t necessarily know that it has gotten there yet, but it’s certainly possible.”

“I think it’s incredibly intense,” Gordon continued. “This is the most interest we’ve had in this sport in a long time, so obviously it’s been good. I feel like the only disappointing thing or the only thing I don’t like right now is the fact that I’m not in it next week.”

Not Surprising: Even though Halloween has passed, Carl Edwards was still looking for some tricks this weekend in order to pull of his dream of advancing to race for the championship. It was not meant to be, however, as the driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford finished 15^th.

“Yeah, we tried every trick that we could,” Edwards said. “We just didn’t have a lot of speed all weekend. The car actually drove pretty decently at the end. These guys dug deep and worked hard. I’ve never been a part of something like this where everybody just doesn’t give up. This means the world.”

Surprising: After so many championship runs, it was surprising to see six-time champ Jimmie Johnson have such a bad day that all he was thinking about was getting home safely.

“The root of our biggest problem was the fact that the alternator quit working and we had to keep changing batteries on pit road each caution,” the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Patriotic Chevrolet, said. “Then when I would go back out on the race track I would need to run with my fans off. I didn’t have my brake fans on and was racing hard to try to get a decent finish and evidently just got things too hot and the brakes failed.”

“I felt a rotor explode on the front straightaway,” Johnson continued. “Luckily it did it there so I had time to throw it in third gear, slow it down some, stay wide into turn one and try not to have a bad angle of the impact of the wall because I was going to hit for sure. So, it was just bad day that kept getting worse. I hope to make it home safe and outside of that, we will see you in Homestead.”

Not Surprising: While others were competing for championship rites, other drivers were running races with totally different agendas, including just finishing on the lead lap.

“We were on the lead lap, which has been a struggle here lately,” Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet, said after finishing 22^nd. “The GoDaddy car was good early on, but I think the track got tight later on. We finished decent, so I’ll take it. It’s always important to run well here because of GoDaddy so I’ll take it.”

Surprising: With an investigation of domestic violence facing the driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet off track, it was surprising that Kurt Busch was able to pull off a seventh place finish at Phoenix, no doubt in part due to his owner’s confidence in him.

“He’ll be in the car until someone else pulls him out,” Gene Haas, team owner, said. “I’m not pulling him out. I think we’re just going to let the police department do their job and try not to say anything that would compromise that. We want an unbiased investigation and we’ll see how it all plays out.”

Not Surprising: In spite of being bumped out of the way by Chaser Ryan Newman on the last lap, Kyle Larson continued his winning ways as rookie of the race. The driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet finished 13^th, with the next highest rookie finisher, Michael Annett, in the 26^th position.

Larson’s usual rookie nemesis Austin Dillon finished 38^th after having a tire go down, causing a close encounter with the wall.

Surprising: After several tough race weekends and in his next to the last NASCAR race of his career, Marcos Ambrose finished strong. In fact he finished top-10 for his Richard Petty Motorsports No. 9 Stanley Tools Ford team.

“The track changed a lot, but Drew did a great job of making adjustments,” Ambrose said. “We really made the car a lot better all race. It was super-tight in the middle, but we made the right calls. It’s nice to get a good finish. The last few weeks have been a struggle and it’s nice to get back on track. It was a good day for our STANLEY team.”

Not Surprising: Even those drivers not involved in the Chase competition are looking forward to the last race at Homestead, especially after testing there.

“We’re looking forward to the race,” Dale Earnhardt, Jr. said. “We feel like we had a good car there last year and we just wanted to learn a few more things.”

“We’re looking forward to the race.”

November 10, 2014
Kurt Busch under Investigation Following Allegation of Domestic Assault

NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Kurt Busch is being investigated after an allegation of domestic assault against his ex-girlfriend, Patricia Driscoll.

The Dover (Del.) Police Department issued the following statement:

The Dover Police Department can confirm that an investigation is being conducted based on an allegation of domestic assault that is alleged to have occurred in the City of Dover involving Mr. Busch. These allegations were brought to the Dover Police Department on Wednesday, November 5th at 2:00PM. At this time, the department is still investigating the victim’s claims and will not have any further comment on this matter in order to preserve the integrity of the case. The Dover Police Department will release further information as it becomes available. We appreciate the public’s and media’s patience in this matter and are confident that the department is taking the proper investigative steps to ensure the case is resolved appropriately.

Multiple reports state that Patricia Driscoll said the incident occurred inside Busch’s motor home during the Dover International Speedway race weekend in September. Driscoll filed court documents Wednesday asking that a judge order Busch to have no contact with her and to stay away from her. She is reportedly also asking that Busch undergo a psychiatric evaluation and an evaluation by a certified domestic violence treatment agency.

In the documents Driscoll alleges that, “He (Busch) was verbally abusive to her and said he wished he had a gun so that he could kill himself.”

Driscoll said Busch called her names and accused her of “having spies everywhere and having a camera on the bus to watch him.” He then jumped up, grabbed her face and smashed her head three times against the wall next to the bed, the documents say.

The documents further state that Driscoll says she pushed Busch away and ran from the bedroom, going to a nearby bus to put an ice pack on her head and neck. She said the incident caused her severe pain, difficulty breathing and bruising on her neck.

Busch’s attorney, Rusty Hardin, issued a statement Friday afternoon saying Busch would cooperate fully with the investigation.

“The Dover Police Department has been informed that Mr. Busch will fully cooperate with their investigation,” Hardin said, “and he expects to be vindicated when the entire truth of the situation comes to light. This allegation is a complete fabrication by a woman who has refused to accept the end of a relationship, and Mr. Busch vehemently denies her allegations in every respect. At this time, we intend to have no further comment in the media out of respect for the Dover Police Department’s desire to conduct a thorough investigation without a media circus.’’

Busch is at Phoenix International Raceway this weekend in preparation for the upcoming Sprint Cup race but has made no statement concerning the allegations.

Mike Arning, a spokesperson for Busch’s team, Stewart-Haas Racing, issued a statement which said, “This is an allegation Stewart-Haas Racing takes very seriously, but we’re still gathering all of the facts and are not in a position to comment in greater detail.’’

NASCAR responded to the incident with a release from Brett Jewkes, NASCAR Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer, as follows, “NASCAR is aware of the investigation involving driver Kurt Busch. We recognize the seriousness of this matter and are actively gathering information from all parties, including law enforcement authorities and Stewart-Haas Racing. It would be inappropriate for NASCAR to comment further on this matter until we have more information.”

Driscoll is president of the Armed Forces Foundation and Busch has participated as a spokesperson for the organization.

Pat LaFrieda, chairman of the board of the Armed Forces Foundation issued a statement saying, “I want to, first and foremost, express the direct support from the Board of Directors of the Armed Forces Foundation to Ms. Driscoll. For more than a decade, Ms. Driscoll has been a tireless worker and advocate for our nation’s service members, veterans, and military families. The Foundation will continue working to support service members, veterans, and military families and we ask that Ms. Driscoll’s privacy be respected. Given the serious nature of the allegations, the Foundation has suspended its association with Mr. Busch.’’

A hearing in the case is scheduled for Dec. 2.

November 7, 2014
Surprising and Not Surprising: Cheez-It 355 at the Glen

As the NASCAR community mourned the death of sprint car driver Kevin Ward Jr., which led to Tony Stewart’s decision not to participate at Watkins Glen, the racing did go on at one of the sport’s more challenging road courses.

And with that overlay of respect for all involved in the tragedy, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 29^th annual Cheez-It 355 at the Glen.

Surprising: For at least two drivers, one with a powerhouse team and the other from a small operation, the race was all about power, from the four-time champion driver who lost it to the first-time winning driver who dug down deep to find the sheer willpower to get to Victory Lane.

Jeff Gordon, whose sponsor Drive to End Hunger just announced their renewal for 2015, looked like the man to beat, scoring the pole position and leading laps early in the race. Then, inexplicably, Gordon’s No. 24 machine slowed on the track and he lost power, finishing a disappointing 34th and losing the points lead to teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr.

“I’ve got to get with the team and find out what caused it,” Gordon said. “It looks like we had a battery go dead, two batteries go dead. I didn’t see anything on the volts meter that stood out or anything really going on there that was alarming.”

The other driver, AJ Allmendinger, drove the race of his life against Watkins Glen expert Marcos Ambrose, running on sheer willpower, as he was bound and determined to get his first ever win in the Sprint Cup Series.

“I wasn’t going to let Marcos take that from me,” AJ Allmendinger, driver of the No. 47 Scott Products Chevrolet for JTG Daugherty Racing, said simply. “I’ve dreamed about this moment, and I’m not going to forget it.”

Not Surprising: It is not often that the race winner pays homage to the track workers, but AJ Allmendinger did just that, recognizing those that had to make extensive repairs, not only to the Armco barriers but also to the pit road barrels, after two horrific crashes.

The first crash involved Ryan Newman and Michael McDowell, resulting in almost a rebuild of fencing, and the second involved Denny Hamlin hitting the pit barriers hard. Track workers labored furiously making repairs for almost two hours after the serious damage from the two crashes.

“For me to be able to have that race be so memorable about how it ended, for the fans, they were so great for staying around through all the red flags, the track workers did such a great job to fix the fence and everything,” the Dinger said. “It’s just a memorable day to go out there and remember everything that just happened.”

Surprising: Just when you thought that Kyle Larson’s rookie mistake of missing the inner loop would lead to a surprisingly bad finish, the Rookie of the Year contender pulled it off once again, scoring a surprising top-five finish.

“It was a really good day for us,” The driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet said. “We were terrible all weekend long. I was down on myself. It’s probably the most frustrated I’ve ever been with myself, aside from racing sprint cars in Pennsylvania.”

“I can’t believe we finished top five,” Larson continued. “It feels like a win. I was hoping for a top 15 or top 20 going into today. I’m totally shocked and super excited.”

Not Surprising: While it was not at all surprising that the No. 9 Ford of Marcos Ambrose was strong, taking the checkered flag in the runner up position, the Australian also had some Ford comrades with whom to celebrate. In fact, there were four Fords that finished in the top-ten at the Glen.

“I left nothing on the table,” runner up Ambrose said. “We just came up a little short. I am just really proud of my Stanley team. We put a lot of effort into this race and really tried to win it. We won yesterday and came up one short today.”

“I am glad Jimmy Fennig put us in a position to be up there for the win,” Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Kellogg’s/Cheez-It Ford and fifth place finisher, said. “I am sure like everyone up there that you want the last few laps to do over again. It was a blast and a lot of fun.”

“That was crazy to say the least,” Joey Logano, driver of the No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, said after finishing sixth. “We had about a fifth place car and had to go through a lot to get back to that point. We fought hard with this Shell Pennzoil Ford and put tires on it late and was very aggressive on the restarts and got a few spots back. I wish there were more laps. The tires were worth a few there at the end but I needed a few more laps there at the end.”

“The racing was really good,” Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Ford said after finishing eighth. “We were able to make up a lot of ground. It is aggressive and as people got more comfortable it got nuts. You just try to do the best you can and protect your position and race hard. That is about all you can do.”

Surprising: Jimmie Johnson’s troubles continued to plague him, even at Watkins Glen. The six-time champion went for a dramatic spin late in the race, resulting in a 28th place finish. Although he has three wins to his credit and is solidly in the Chase, Johnson fell one position in the point standings, from sixth to seventh as a result.

Not Surprising: Perhaps it was because he can relate to having to overcome adversity and seek redemption in the sport, but third place finisher Kurt Busch had nothing but praise for race winner AJ Allmendinger.

“He won the race today in a fashion that everyone is proud of him for doing, to beat one of the best in the world at driving these stock cars,” the driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet said of race winner Allmendinger. “He deserves the trophy, and he had to pull from within. He had to dig in deep, and he had to believe in himself all the way through this.”

“He’s put himself through all those mental challenges, and today he persevered. He didn’t break down and he brought home a victory, so we’re all very proud of him.”

Surprising: Brakes, or the lack thereof, were responsible for some of the bigger crashes of the day, especially for Cole Whitt, who crashed his No. 26 Bully Hill Vineyards Toyota Camry surprisingly hard into the tire barriers, finishing 43rd.

“It just seemed like something in the rear brakes faded or just actually just completely lost them going into (turn) one,” Whitt said. “It seemed like the front was trying to stop but the rear wasn’t at all and the pedal was just going to the floor on brakes. Not a whole lot you can do there. I was trying to get it turned but there was no way I was going to be able to.”

“Sucks for the guys but I know we’ll rebound.”

Past champion Brad Keselowski also suffered from tire issues, finishing a surprising 35<sup>th</sup> in his No. 2 Miller Lite Ford.

“We had something in the brakes that broke,” Keselowski said. “At Watkins Glen you can’t run without brakes.”

Not Surprising: Matt Kenseth, still without a win, continued his run of good points days, advancing one spot up to third, just 70 behind new points leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kenseth was the top-finishing Toyota driver with a ninth-place result in the race at the Glen.

“It was an okay finish,” the driver of the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota, said. “Things didn’t pan out quite as we were hoping. But, overall not a terrible day.”

Surprising: Danica Patrick was making quite the bear bond fashion statement after surviving an accident in practice, as well as one during the race. The driver of the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet soldiered on in her bear-bonded race car to finish 21st, after gaining 22 spots

“It was a tough day,” Patrick said. “It was a long race, but Gibson (Tony, crew chief) and the GoDaddy guys worked on the car and we got a 21st out of it, which isn’t bad with the weekend we had.”

Not Surprising: Regan Smith, who was called on at the last minute to replace Tony Stewart in the race, summed up the situation best after an on-track incident at lap 81 caused him to finish 37th.

“It’s my job to be able to drive a race car and it took me a little longer to get acclimated than I would have hoped it would and felt like at the end there I was finally starting to make some progress and I was able to get consistent with the car and understood the car a little better and what it was doing,” the substitute driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet said. “These guys build fast race cars at Stewart-Haas and I was thankful to get to get in one. Definitely not under the circumstances.”

“My day really doesn’t matter right now,” Smith continued. “There are a lot of people more important than me at the moment; so we’re thinking about all those people and our prayers are with them.”

August 12, 2014
Kurt Busch Comes up Short on the Double

Kurt Busch attempted to complete “the double” this weekend – the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600. That’s 1100 miles of racing in one day on two tracks that are 575 miles apart, not to mention the fact that it is also in two very different types of race cars. It’s a truly impressive feat for anyone that can complete it. Busch’s attempt, while impressive, came up just a bit short.

Busch started the day in Indianapolis, competing in the world’s most famous auto race – the Indy 500. Though Busch had no experience in open wheel cars, he turned quite a few heads in practice earlier in the week. His race day was actually pretty good as well.

Busch finished the day in sixth position, tying the best previous attempt by a driver attempting the double. Ironically, the person who set that record was Busch’s car owner, Tony Stewart.

Stewart started seventh at Indy in 2001, and finished sixth. On that day, Stewart also became the only driver to compete all 1100 miles in a double attempt. Driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, Stewart finished a strong third place at Charlotte in the 600. That’s 1100 miles and two top-six finishes – not bad.

Busch, however, didn’t fare so well. After finishing sixth at Indy, Busch quickly made his way to Charlotte to start the 600. Due to missing the drivers meeting, Busch, per NASCAR rulebook, had to start at the rear of the field. Busch worked his way through the field, and appeared to be on his way to a respectable finish. His day came to an end, however, on lap 230. The engine blew on his No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet.

Engines for the Stewart-Haas team are supplied by Hendrick Racing Engines; several other Hendrick engines also had trouble during the 600. Busch’s teammate, Danica Patrick, also lost an engine as well as Dale Earnhardt Jr.

When it was all said and done, Busch did complete 906 laps of racing in his double attempt. It was a very impressive day regardless of the end result.

Busch was asked to describe his day after dropping out of the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday night, Busch replied, “Today is a memory I’ll have forever. It was a challenge I put forth for myself. I enjoyed. I soaked it all in up North. I loved racing up in Indy in front of all the Indiana natives and the Hoosiers. They love their speedway up there. That speedway loves them. That’s what I really saw out of that track today. There was a grand stage to stand on represent NASCAR. We brought her home in sixth place. I didn’t think I had anything for those top five guys. They were racing hard. And those were the top five in that series. They’re strong. They’re tough.”

May 25, 2014
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Richmond

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Jeff Gordon: Gordon led 173 of 400 laps at Richmond, but his quest for his first win of the season fell short. He finished second behind Joey Logano after a spirited four-car battle for the win during the final laps. Gordons leads the Sprint Cup points standings, five ahead of Matt Kenseth.

“This race had everything,” Gordon said. “Excitement, controversy, confrontation, and a punch. Marcos Ambrose really let Casey Mears have it. I guess you could say the Australian gave him a ‘vegemite knuckle sandwich.’ It was ‘Aus-some!’

“NASCAR doesn’t have the guts to admit it, but I think Ambrose’s punch was good for the sport. There’s plenty of ‘talking smack’ is NASCAR; finally, someone actually did more than just talk it.”

2. Joey Logano: Logano started fourth on the race’s final restart and zoomed to the lead as Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon, and Brad Keselowski jockeyed for position. Logano took the lead with three laps to go and held on for his second win of the year.

“I passed three NASCAR Sprint Cup champions,” Logano said. “While Kenseth and Gordon were sandwiching Keselowski, ‘Sliced Bread’ stole the win. Thanks to my teammate for helping me with the win. Brad then jumped on my hood to congratulate me. I’m not surprised. Just ask Kenseth. Brad was feeling a little ‘froggy.’

“Marcos Ambrose punched Casey Mears. That aggressiveness inspired me, so I punched my ticket. Here’s hoping it doesn’t punch back.”

3. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth lead on the final restart and valiantly held off Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski, but in doing so allowed Joey Logano to slip by for the win. Kenseth finished fifth and was confronted after the race by Keselowski, who accused Kenseth of blocking.

“Brad had some words from me,” Kenseth said. “He can get mouthy when he’s angry just as easily as he can get ‘gummy’ when he smiles.

“But there’s no place for violence in this sport, at least not from me. If I ‘raise my hand,’ you can rest assured it’s because I want to ask a question.”

4. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt finished seventh in the Toyota Owners 400, posting his sixth top 10 of the year. He is fifth in the points standings, 32 behind Jeff Gordon.

“I don’t appreciate getting caught up in Brad Keselowski’s desire for vengeance,” Earnhardt said. “He’ll ‘pay’ for this, most likely with a ‘brake check.’”

5. Kyle Busch: After rough going for the better part of Saturday’s race, Busch stormed to the front on the final restart and claimed third in the Toyota Owners 400. He is now fourth in the points standings, 31 behind Jeff Gordon.

“What a great run by Joey Logano,” Busch said. “But he’s not the happiest driver of the day. That would be my brother Kurt. He’s thrilled that someone got punched and it wasn’t him.

“But let’s be serious for a minute. Ambrose and Mears finished 18th and 19th, respectively. Is that worth a punch in the eye? By that rationale, Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., who finished 34th and 38th, could have very well scrapped. In that case, someone would have taken one right in the kisser.”

6. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski battled for the lead late at Richmond, but was held at bay by Matt Kenseth’s tactics, which were dirty, according to Keselowski. Keselowski finished fourth as Penske Racing teammate Joey Logano took the win.

“Kenseth tried to run me into the wall,” Keselowski said. “I called it a ‘mind-boggling’ move. What’s really mind-boggling is that I found it mind-boggling.

“We had a car honoring Detroit Genuine Parts. Detroit is known for its car parts. The city is littered with them.”

7. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson lost a front tire with 34 laps to go at Richmond and limped home to a 32nd-place finish. He is now eighth in the points standings and still winless on the year.

“It’s been a tough year for us so far,” Johnson said. “But, despite being a six-time Sprint Cup champion, I’m human just like every other driver. The worse that can happen to me is the same as the worse that can happen to them—-not winning the championship.”

8. Carl Edwards: Edwards took ninth at Richmond, recording his fifth top-10 result of the year. He remained third in the Sprint Cup points standings and trails Jeff Gordon by 28.

“Robert Griffin III drove the pace car at Richmond,” Edwards said. “He was recruited by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Those two have a lot in common; they’ve never won a championship, and they both like white women.”

9. Ryan Newman: Newman finished eighth in the Toyota Owners 400, posting his fourth top 10 of the year. He stands ninth in the points standings, 69 out of first.

“Casey Mears got KO’d,” Newman said, “while Brad Keselowski got PO’d. I’m shocked….shocked that Ambrose’s punch wasn’t an uppercut. If it had been, we could say that the punch, much like Ambrose himself, came from ‘Down Under.’”

10. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished 11th at Richmond, posting the top finish among Stewart-Haas Racing drivers. Race winner Joey Logano joined Harvick as the only two-time winners this season.

“What a race!” Harvick said. “And what a punch by Marcos Ambrose. I’m sure that left Casey Mears with a black eye, which, in NASCAR’s eyes, is proof enough that the ‘Drive For Diversity’ program is working.”

April 29, 2014