Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: Terry Labonte

  • NASCAR’s Hot 20 of All-Time

    NASCAR’s Hot 20 of All-Time

    The best of the best, a legacy that has given us 70 championships since 1949. 33 individuals have been able to lay claim to the crown. Three men have won it seven times.

    To be a champion immortalizes you, but so does excellent performance. A driver can win, but fail to grab a title. He can also rack up Top Fives and Top Tens, even if he fell a tad short in claiming the checkered flags earned by his competitors.

    A few names might surprise you, at first. Yet, when ranked for most championships, wins, Top Fives, and Top Tens, these are the 20 best NASCAR has had to offer in the driver’s seat over 70 seasons of motor mayhem.

    I bet there is no argument that the King leads the parade.

    1. RICHARD PETTY – Born July 2, 1937
      7 Championships, 200 Wins, 555 Top Fives, 712 Top Tens
    2. JEFF GORDON – Born August 4, 1971
      4 Championships, 93 Wins, 325 Top Tens, 477 Top Tens
    3. DALE EARNHARDT – (April 29, 1951 – February 18, 2001)
      7 Championships, 76 Wins, 281 Top Fives, 428 Top Tens
    4. DAVID PEARSON – (December 22, 1934 – November 12, 2018)
      3 Championships, 105 Wins, 301 Top Fives, 366 Top Tens
    5. DARRELL WALTRIP – Born February 5, 1947
      3 Championships, 84 Wins, 276 Top Fives, 390 Top Tens
    6. JIMMIE JOHNSON – Born September 17, 1975
      7 Championships, 83 Wins, 224 Top Fives, 352 Top Tens
    7. BOBBY ALLISON – Born December 3, 1937
      1 Championship, 84 Wins, 336 Top Fives, 446 Top Tens
    8. CALE YARBOROUGH – Born March 27, 1939
      3 Championships, 83 Wins, 255 Top Fives, 319 Top Tens
    9. LEE PETTY – (March 14, 1914 – April 5, 2000)
      3 Championships, 54 Wins, 231 Top Fives, 332 Top Tens
    10. BUCK BAKER – (March 4, 1919 – April 14, 2002)
      2 Championships, 46 Wins, 246 Top Fives, 372 Tens
    11. MARK MARTIN (Born January 9, 1959)
      40 Wins, 271 Top Fives, 453 Top Tens
    12. RUSTY WALLACE – (Born August 14, 1956)
      1 Championship, 55 Wins, 202 Top Fives, 349 Top Tens
    13. TONY STEWART – (Born May 20, 1971)
      3 Championships, 49 Wins, 187 Top Fives, 308 Top Tens
    14. TERRY LABONTE – (Born November 16, 1956)
      2 Championships, 22 Wins, 182 Top Fives, 361 Top Tens
    15. NED JARRETT – (Born October 12, 1932)
      2 Championships, 50 Wins, 185 Top Fives, 239 Top Tens
    16. RICKY RUDD – (Born September 12, 1956)
      23 Wins, 194 Top Fives, 374 Top Tens
    17. KEVIN HARVICK – (Born December 8, 1975)
      1 Championship, 45 Wins, 191 Top Fives, 336 Top Tens
    18. HERB THOMAS – (April 6, 1923 – August 9, 2000)
      2 Championships, 48 Wins, 122 Top Fives, 156 Top Tens
    19. KYLE BUSCH – (Born May 2, 1985)
      1 Championship, 51 Wins, 183 Top Fives, 269 Top Tens
    20. BUDDY BAKER – (January 25, 1941 – August 10, 2015)
      19 Wins, 202 Top Fives, 311 Top Tens

    Three of those boys will be out to add to their accomplishments this weekend. The Daytona 500 is coming up this Sunday, a time for new beginnings and a time for bringing things to an end. After 15 years and over a thousand columns of various incarnations, this edition represents my final regular contribution to this site.

    I want to thank Barry Albert for providing a writing home for me back in 2004. My thanks to Angie Campbell for her editing prowess and her encouragement. I would like to give a shout out to Racing Reference, a website that helps a fellow make sense of it all, a great aid to such scribes as myself. Finally, thanks to you for joining me on this journey.

  • The Final Word on 2015

    The Final Word on 2015

    The gifts are open, the tree is on borrowed time, and a New Year is almost upon us. Seems like a good time to reflect on the year that was, as we embark on the one that will be.

    Once again, 2015 brought us a satisfying champion. He might not have been the one you were cheering for, Junior fans, but you cannot quibble about the great story that was Kyle Busch. Hurt in the opening junior series race, he missed the opening 11 of the Cup schedule. In the old days, he would have been an also-ran, but that was before a win and a Top 30 position in the standings forgave such things.

    With just 15 races to accomplish what needed to be done, Busch won some. No surprise there. The fact he got into position to make those wins count was in doubt, at least, we thought so. We of little faith. It would appear that those who really have what it takes to challenge for the title need not bother to appear until May, which helps explain why NASCAR insists drivers run all the races rather than pick and choose.

    Not only did Busch win the title, as he and Kurt join the Labonte brothers as champion siblings, but he also came up with a rule change that makes sense. If you lead the pack entering the Chase, you should get a free pass into the second round. Other sports give a bye or, at least, home field advantage to those with the best record entering the playoffs, why not NASCAR? Some might argue the front trio should have such an advantage, but I would settle for one. Like Kyle’s championship, that driver would have earned it.

    Four-time king Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart have earned their eventual invitations to enter NASCAR’s Hall of Fame. Gordon left his famed No. 24 only after his 93rd career victory at Martinsville and finishing third in the battle for the championship. Stewart has one more round left in him, as he embarks on his farewell tour at Daytona. The three-time champion lost the magic suddenly in 2013 after a pair of sprint cup race mishaps, one that broke his leg, the other that took the life of another driver in 2014. May 2016 bring him some deserved satisfaction.

    It was also a tough season, at least at the start, for Kurt Busch. A domestic violence accusation got him a three-race suspension to start the year. Matt Kenseth ended on a sour note, as he was gone for two after delivering some on-track justice that left Joey Logano’s title hopes about as shot as Kenseth’s own. Michael Waltrip Racing went the way of the dodo, as the outfit never recovered from Clint Bowyer’s 2013 spin that almost got Martin Truex Jr. a Chase place. Instead, after the controversy they lost the NAPA sponsorship and the Truex entry, and during this season, Waltrip’s financial backer backed out.

    That means Bowyer moves to the seat of Harry Scott’s No. 51 for a season before taking over Stewart’s No. 14 in 2017. Brian Scott replaces Sam Hornish Jr. in the Petty No. 9 while Chase Elliott replaces Gordon in Hendrick’s No, 24. Jeffrey Earnhardt will drive most of the season in the GoFAS Racing No. 32, with the Front Row No. 34 taken over by Chris Buescher. Ryan Blaney returns with the Wood Brothers No. 21, which returns to running a full schedule in 2016.

    2015 was when we had to say goodbye to broadcaster Steve Byrnes. We lost Buddy Baker over the past year. Red Farmer mourns his wife Joan, and Bobby Allison lost his wife Judy. My own mother, Mae, passed away this past August.

    As for 2016, it will bring us a new rules package, supposedly making the cars slower, less comfortable to drive, and closer in some regards to the XFINITY model. It is hoped this will make the racing more exciting, which we have heard before, but could also see more Cup guys in the XFINITY series to tune up. If so, that would, in the parlance of my youth, blow chunks.

    I am sure you would agree that would be something to avoid come New Year’s Eve as we have just seven weeks to go before they go again in Daytona.

  • The Final Word – NASCAR truly is a family tradition, as another Busch celebrates

    The Final Word – NASCAR truly is a family tradition, as another Busch celebrates

    Family. We often hear how NASCAR is a family sport, where drivers, their wives, and their kids all share in the experience behind the scenes. The family theme has dominated since the sport’s earliest years. I mean, it starts with the France family, as Bill, Bill, Jr., and now grandson Brian have held the reins of the family operation since the very beginning.

    Family. If you do not know the names of Allison, Baker, Bodine, Earnhardt, Flock, Wallace, Waltrip, and Wood, welcome to NASCAR. You must be a newbie, my friend. Might I suggest that you have some catching up to do.

    In 1954, Lee Petty won his first of three titles, while 10 years later his son Richard claimed his first of seven. Ned Jarrett was champion for the first time in 1961, with his son Dale taking the title in 1999. It was good enough for father-son tandems, so the siblings got into the act. Terry Labonte first claimed the crown in 1984, with brother Bobby taking his in 2000. Then, Kurt Busch, the 2004 king, was joined last Sunday by brother Kyle as the Sprint Cup series champion. That should take the edge off the family Christmas dinner next month.

    Only under this format could Kyle Busch win it all. He missed the first 11 races of the season as he mended a broken leg. In the not so old days, that would have been the end of his hopes. A win gets you in, almost, and he then stormed back to win four to get over one hurdle. Now, all he had to do was be within the Top 30 in points to cash those wins into a post-season berth. Busch then eliminated that barrier with a few races to go before the Chase. In the year he and Samantha extended their family with the birth of son Brexton, Busch won at Homestead to beat out runner-up and defending champ, Kevin Harvick to win it all. Did I mention that along with his wife and son, he was joined in Victory Lane by his parents and even got a post-event hug from brother Kurt?

    Family. That is what means more to Jeff Gordon that a fifth championship. Sure, he would have loved to have finished better than sixth in his last race and third in his last season, but what and who was more important were there for all to see. Ingrid, Ella, and Leo joined such motorsports royalty as Mario Andretti and Lewis Hamilton at center stage to wish farewell to an icon after a career of 797 consecutive starts and 93 victories. Few are able to quit while still at the top of their game. We saw a legend do just that at Miami.

    Family. Gordon is the bridge between Richard Petty, who ended his Cup career the same race Gordon began his, and 19-year old Chase Elliott. The youngster, who began his Cup experience this season and who takes over from Gordon in the No. 24, is himself the son of former champion Bill Elliott. By the way, Elliott won that race, 23 years ago, that saw both Petty and Gordon on the track together.

    Like in all families, we have had to say goodbye to loved ones over the years, like Lee and Adam Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Davey Allison, Buck Baker and, earlier this year, his son Buddy. Like in all families, roles change over time. This off-season team owner Richard Petty will be searching for a new driver for one of his teams, Jeff Gordon prepares to enter the FOX broadcast booth in February, joining Darrell Waltrip. Waltrip’s brother Michael closes his race team, Chase Elliott prepares to build on his family’s Hall of Fame legacy, while Kyle Busch, like his brother before him, becomes the face of the sport as its latest champion.

  • The Final Word – A Southern 500 that took us on a nice ride back to the future

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • The Final Word – Monaco, and Indy, and Charlotte, Oh My!

    The Final Word – Monaco, and Indy, and Charlotte, Oh My!

    It was the biggest day in motorsports, starting with the streets of Monaco, where they have been racing since 1929. Then, to Indianapolis, where they have been logging 500 miles this time of year since 1911. Finally, the long way home, the World 600 at Charlotte for the boys and girl with fenders.

    Overseas, Nico Rosberg claimed the prize for the third straight year. It helps when it is handed to you. During a late caution, the dominant car of Lewis Hamilton was called in for fresh tires. He had thought Rosberg and those immediately behind him had done the same. They had not. Nice call, team. Thanks a bunch. Surprise, surprise, surprise, as Gomer Pyle used to say.

    Gomer’s creator, actor Jim Nabors, performed “Back Home Again in Indiana” for the final time last year, but Juan Pablo Montoya was back in Indianapolis. An early mishap cost the former NASCAR performer what passes for a rear fender on his open wheeled car, forcing him back to 30th. That set the stage for his charge through the pack. With just three laps to go, he made his pass for the lead and claimed the crown he first won back in 2000.

    They have been racing 600 miles at Charlotte on Memorial Day weekend since 1960, the longest NASCAR event of the season. Martin Truex Jr. would have been the story, had he won after leading 131 laps. He did not. Kurt Busch led the way for 118, but no suds for him, either. In fact, five other drivers led more than Carl Edwards, but it was the man from Missouri doing the back flip in the end as he led the final 21 to take his first of the season, 24th of his Cup career. It might still be a bit premature, but what the heck. Welcome to the Chase, Mr. Edwards.

    Welcome to the Hall of Fame, Bruton Smith. The 88-year old owner of the Charlotte track, along with seven others on the circuit, will be inducted as part of the class of 2016. Joining him will be two-time champ Terry Labonte, the legendary Curtis Turner, six-time Modified king Jerry Cook, and 1970 Cup champion Bobby Isaac.

    Landon Cassill was still running at the end of the race in Charlotte. For another hour, 41 minutes, and 49 seconds, he continued to run the 14 miles between the track and the Hall of Fame. This time, the only rubber on the road was on his sneakers. This sounds like something my sons might do. I, on the other hand, am much too smart…and fat…and old…for that.

    If you want to win the Indianapolis 500, spend some time in NASCAR. Montoya won his second after 278 races in Cup and the XFINITY series over parts of the previous nine seasons. His Indy lead engineer, Brian Campe, was on the box as a crew chief for 22 Nationwide races in 2009, including seven for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Not a bad apprenticeship.

    Jeff Gordon was at Indianapolis, drove the pace car before returning to North Carolina. After getting out of the car, he will head to the broadcast booth to join Mike Joy and Darrell Waltrip at FOX next season. I think they might be replacing the wrong guy, but maybe that is just me.

    So, what is next? The Monster Mile in Dover is slated for this Sunday, where everybody who has won there the past nine events also has claimed a Cup title along the way. In fact, over the past six years, the only non-champion to take the checkered flag there was Kyle Busch. Not a bad pick, come to think of it.

  • NASCAR BTS: Petty Charity Ride Turns 21

    NASCAR BTS: Petty Charity Ride Turns 21

    With the Charity Ride Across America celebrating its 21st anniversary, this week’s edition of NASCAR Behind the Scenes focuses on Kyle Petty, who founded the unique motorcycle event that raises money for a charity near and dear to his heart, Victory Junction Gang camp.

    According to Petty, the ride began very simply 21 years ago, with a few NASCAR friends and avid motorcyclists joining together to share a trip across country. And then it took on a life of its own once charity came into play.

    “We had done a ride before with a couple friends, Eddie Gossage and Robin Pemberton, and we talked about it then and not long after that we rode from North Carolina to Phoenix,” Petty said. “We just started picking up people along the way. So, we thought, what a cool idea if we just rode across country and picked up people as we went like a bike-a-thon.”

    “Well, that didn’t go over too good because I was driving a race car at the time and you only get two off-weekends a year. So, everybody got mad because you didn’t want to spend one of your off weeks riding motorcycles across country.”

    “So then we came up with the idea to do it for charity, stop at children’s hospitals and give money away, and try to help local communities. That first year, we thought it would never get any better than that and we were never going to do it again.”

    “We got close to the next year and some people said, hey why don’t you all do that again? So, we did it again and again and again and again and here we are 21 years later and it has evolved into what it is.”

    As Petty reflected on the 21 years of the ride, there were so many highlights to remember. But it was really the people involved that has made it so very special to him and his family.

    “The highlight in the beginning was the ride,” Petty said. “Riding is just a highlight unto itself.”

    “But besides riding, the highlight was stopping at some of the children’s hospitals and seeing the kids. Coca Cola has always been a big sponsor of the ride and they’ve got motorcycles that have side cars that look like Coca Cola bottles. The kids would come out and they would love that. I think that was a big part of it in the beginning.”

    “As we all got older and we rode more, I think the big part of the ride is the people that ride and meeting people along the way.”

    “We met so many race fans and so many cool families, kids and people along the way. They come out along the way or at a gas stop and just talk about motorcycles, racing and camp. I think the highlights have been the people. That is what has made it special.”

    Of course, in 21 years of riding across the country, there have been a few challenges and funny stories with the trek as well.

    “The first year, the very first fuel stop, there were only 35 of us. When we pulled into this gas station, there was a lady running it and she cut off the power and locked the doors. She thought we were a motorcycle gang,” Petty said. “She would not sell us any gas. So, we had to work our way back through traffic.”

    “Also, that first year, we had a couple that went with us that left San Francisco and were going to ride to Huntington Beach and then turn around and go home,” Petty continued. “When we got to Huntington Beach, they were having so much fun that they decided to ride to Vegas and then go home.”

    “When we got to Vegas, they asked where we were going next and they said they would go with us to Phoenix and then go back to California. And the next thing I know, they’re in North Carolina with us.”

    “Every night they would go to Walmart or Kmart and buy more clothes. They just kept riding with us. Their name is Dave and Renee Bartell and they’ve been with us for every ride.”

    “This will be their 21st ride. They’ve been with us every year.”

    “One of the strangest things, we were somewhere in New Mexico and we had ridden about 70 miles and we hadn’t passed a house or seen anything in miles,” Petty said. “Terry Labonte was with us on this ride. We came to an intersection and there was a family standing in the back of a pickup truck with all their Terry Labonte T-shirts on and Terry Labonte hats on.”

    “They had driven three and a half hours just to one intersection because they knew we would be coming through there in hopes they would get a glimpse of Terry Labonte. So, we stopped and all of us had pictures taken with them. We spent about twenty minutes alongside the road and then left and went on.”

    “There has been some strange stuff that has happened but it has been fun.”

    The 21st anniversary also includes some special tributes, one to Richard Petty, ‘The King’ who will be riding for a portion of the event, as well as to Don Tilley, who has mapped out the ride every year until this year when he was killed in a motorcycle accident this past summer.

    “The King bought me my first motorcycle when I was five and we’ve been riding ever since,” Petty said. “He’s always ridden and has always had bikes. When he has time, he goes and I think this year he is only going for three or four days because he has to be at the race track. But he goes as often as his schedule permits.”

    “For twenty years, we’ve had a gentleman named Don Tilley, who owns Tilley Harley Davidson in Statesville, North Carolina and he’s always drawn our route out,” Petty continued. “He told us what were the pretty roads and he knew more roads than Rand McNally, I’ll tell you that. He would draw out maps and he drew one out for this year.”

    “But last summer, he was in a motorcycle accident and passed away. For 21 years, Don Tilley has drawn the route so this will be the last year and our last ride that he will route.”

    “Someone else will have to do that and we’re looking for somebody. But I think he’s pretty irreplaceable.”

    While there have been so many highlights, funny stories, and tributes in the 21 years of the Kyle Petty Charity Ride, there is nothing more important to its founder than the purpose of the ride, raising money for Victory Junction camp.

    “For camp, the ride is critical,” Petty said. “We’ve raised $16 million the last twenty some years.”

    “The ride is one of the founders of camp. It’s so important to be able to send kids to camp free. That’s the whole point of Victory Junction that these kids with chronic and life-threatening illnesses can come to camp and it doesn’t cost their parents anything to send them.”

    “We’re constantly raising money at camp and to have a fundraiser like the Kyle Petty Charity Ride is really big for camp. The water park, where the swimming pool is, was donated by the ride. So, camp and the ride, even though they are two separate entities, it’s important for camp to continue the ride.”

    Petty hopes that all race fans will participate in this year’s 21st anniversary ride, which kicks off May 2nd, in whatever ways they can. But most importantly, he hopes that fans will actually come out and cheer the riders on in person as well as making any kind of contribution.

    “Fans can follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/KPCharityRide) and Twitter (@KPCharityRide), which everyone has now,” Petty said. “But if we come close to your area, we want people to come out to the gas stops or the hotels at night and say hey, get autographs from Harry Gant, Herschel Walker, myself, my father when he is with us, and just hang around and talk camp and racing.”

    “And please make a donation to the ride because that money goes right to camp.”

    So, just what does this ride mean to Kyle Petty personally?

    “I think that’s hard to put into words,” Petty said. “In the beginning it started as a fluke and it has turned into something far beyond my wildest dreams and imagination.”

    “It’s kind of like camp. You build a bunch of buildings at camp and you think, what a cool looking place. But it’s really nothing until the kids come.”

    “And then it has a spirit and it picks up a heartbeat of its own. It becomes alive.”

    “And I think the ride is the same thing,” Petty continued. “You take one bike and then there’s two and four and eight. And the next thing you know, you have 140 or 150 riders and everybody believes in the same thing, giving back and caring.”

    “And the ride takes on a life of its own. I think it is just the spirit of the ride and the people of the ride.”

    “The caring and the giving of the ride is what it means to me. That’s what it represents.”

     

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Talladega Geico 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Talladega Geico 500

    After a confusing qualifying session set the starting field, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 46th annual Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

    Surprising: Even though it is the season, there were a surprising number of football references when the ‘Dega race was completed, from Brad Keselowski’s ‘Hail Mary’ win to Clint Bowyer’s third place gridiron game plan finish.

    “We had to win the race,” the driver of the No. 2 Redd’s Wicked Apple Ale Ford said. “This would be the football equivalent of scoring two touchdowns with two minutes left in the game. That’s what we did and it’s just an incredible feeling.”

    “The whole time I knew the odds were against us and to pull it off was something I don’t even know how to reflect upon.”

    The driver of the No. 15 Pink Lemonade 5-Hour Energy Toyota was also in the football mode, pronouncing his game plan good.

    “Well, my game plan worked,” Bowyer said. “It’s so hard to strategize around this. You can a little bit, but you still got to bob and weave and take it as it comes.”

    “I was in a pocket where I felt it was safe,” Bowyer continued. “I went from about 25th and drove up to what was going to be third. That caution came out when we were all on pit road.”

    “Still, third place is a good day for us.”

    Not Surprising: Matt Kenseth demonstrated his role yet again as one of the most cerebral racers in the sport, using strategy and even his arch enemy from last week’s race, to secure his second place finish. Kenseth also punched his ticket to the next round of Chase competition.

    “That was his (Brad Keselowski’s) only way in I think was to win that thing and I gave Kevin (Harvick) a huge push,” Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota, said after the green-white-checkered finish. “I thought Kevin was going to go right around him and Brad went for the block.”

    “I had to get a finish so instead of going with Kevin I went to the bottom,” Kenseth continued. “I thought maybe I would get a big enough run to get underneath Brad, but I just didn’t quite have the speed to do it.”

    “Like I said, that’s where I felt I had to put my car for my best chance at the best finish. All those guys were pretty quick up there. Got a good restart, got a good run. It’s just how it turned out.”

    Surprising: While there was not a ‘big one’ to be had at Talladega, there were some surprisingly deadly small ones in the Geico 500. Two Chase contenders, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch experienced those small ones that unfortunately played into their lack of advancing to the next round of championship contention.

    Junior was involved in a racing incident with Greg Biffle, finishing 31st in a race that he had to win to move on to compete for NASCAR’s biggest prize.

    “We worked real hard all day long trying to run up front,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I knew we needed to be up front all day long. We got shuffled to the back. I made a move trying to get up front and it didn’t work out. So, we lost a lot of track position and never got it back.”

    “The race is over, it’s time to go home,” the driver of the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet said. “Well, we will just go try to win some more races before the year is out. That is all we have left.”

    Kyle Busch experienced his own heartache in one of the ‘small ones’, which caused major damage to his car, forced him into a 40th place finish, and dashed his Cup hopes yet again.

    “It’s a shame, everyone has been working really hard,” Dave Rogers, crew chief for the No. 18 M&Ms Halloween Toyota, said. “I felt like we got off to a slow start early in the season and we were advancing through the playoffs pretty well with hard work and good decisions and good teamwork.”

    “I thought we were in a decent spot coming into the race and rode around in the back,” Rogers continued. “Kyle got checked up for the wreck and had everything saved up, but he got run over from behind.”

    “There is no safe place in here. The truth is that if you’re out there on the race track at Talladega or Daytona, you have a pretty good chance that you’re going to get in a wreck and today was our day. It’s unfortunate, but that’s the way it is.”

    Not Surprising: The one thing that makes Talladega unique is that even the ‘little’ teams have a chance at an upset victory. And one of them, Landon Cassill, in his No. 40 Carsforsale.com Chevrolet, took full advantage, finishing fourth and scoring his highest career finish.

    “We wanted to win this race,” Cassill said. “We came here to win it. My team deserves it. Carsforsale.com deserves it.”

    “We don’t have a lot to work with,” Cassill continued. “But what we do work with, we set out to run good at these four superspeedway races, and we proved that this year.”

    “Fourth place is just amazing.”

    Surprising: After so many races where rookie Kyle Larson not only almost won the race, but also finished as the highest rookie of the race, it was Austin Dillon’s turn to be the rookie star.

    Dillon, in his No. 3 Dow Chevrolet finished 13th, ahead of Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 42 Energizer Chevrolet, who finished 17th.

    Larson is still leading the Sunoco Rookie of the Race points, with 290 to Dillon’s 206, with just four races left to go in the season.

    Not Surprising: He may have secured his place in the next round at Talladega, having squeaked by with just three points to spare, but Jeff Gordon had only one thing in mind at the end of the race.

    “If I never have to come back to Talladega, I’ll be fine with that,” Gordon said. “I’m just mentally drained right now. It’s always tough racing here at Talladega trying to put yourself in position to win. But when you have that much on the line and you know that your championship hopes are right there in that final moment, it’s nerve racking.”

    “I’m proud of this team for the job they did,” the driver of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet said after finishing 24th. “We had a great strategy. Unfortunately the caution hit us at the absolute worst time and put us behind there. We fought hard that last restart. The inside lane just didn’t go anywhere. I was just sitting there going backward and couldn’t do a thing.”

    “I’m just glad we made it.”

    Surprising: Even six-time champions sometimes cannot find a friend or catch a break in the draft. Jimmie Johnson led the most laps in the race at 84 but finished a disappointing 24th, ending his quest for his seventh championship.

    “At the end, I guess on the next-to-last restart – assuming it would be the last restart – I was lined up in fourth,” the driver of the No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet, said. “I made my move, got to his outside, looked in the mirror and I had no friends.”

    “It’s how plate racing goes,” Johnson continued. “If I knew there was a second green-white-checkered I probably would have stayed in line, but you just don’t know how those things are going to develop.”

    “They gave me a great Lowe’s Chevrolet today and unfortunately we just didn’t get it done.”

    Not Surprising: Terry Labonte, behind the wheel of the No. 32 C&J Energy Services Ford, finished the race in the 33rd spot and completed his 890th and final race at Talladega.

    “After I came here the first time I didn’t know if I’d have the opportunity to come back a second time much less 61 times, but it’s been a lot of fun,” Labonte said. “Of course, you know it’s only about the third time I’ve said this is gonna be my last race, but this is really gonna be the last one.”

    “It’s been fun.”

    Surprising: What happened after the race may just have a critical impact on the Chase. Ryan Newman, who finished fifth, had his car go through post-race inspection only to fail, being too low on both sides at the rear.

    NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp said a decision on any penalties would come either on Monday or Tuesday, with the chance for an early appeal by the team if the penalty warrants.

    Not Surprising: Michael Waltrip finished the race in the similar fashion to his finishes on Dancing with the Stars with pro Emma Slater. Waltrip finished 16th in his No. 66 MyAFibStory.com Toyota for the team that bears his name.

    “This was a good day,” Waltrip said. “We got a top-20. I just wasn’t as strong as I hoped. My car wouldn’t draft up as well as I envisioned it.”

    “We kind of struggled.”

    In spite of that Waltrip, @mw55, tweeted the following “I told @EmmaSlaterDance how wonderful @NASCAR fans are. Thanks. Y’all made her weekend very special. Cheers!”

     

     

  • The Final Word – Rains delayed and shortened the race, but there were still fireworks at Daytona

    The Final Word – Rains delayed and shortened the race, but there were still fireworks at Daytona

    Holy crap, what was that? If nothing else, the Firecracker 400 in Daytona sure was not predictable. A few yards short of a competition caution, many of the favorites were removed or seriously hampered when all hell broke loose. Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart got involved in a non-romantic triangle that involved some of the circuit’s best. Just past the half-way mark, they took care of a bunch of others with an even bigger demo derby. Greg Biffle caught up to Kasey Kahne, who in turn kissed Joey Logano, which commenced a wrecking orgy. In the end, half of the field was gone and those running up front were folks we usually expect to see running near the back.

    Aric Almirola was not favored to return the iconic 43 that Richard Petty won his 200th win the Independence Day weekend thirty years ago, but he did. The rains that delayed the action for a day, and delayed it again early on Sunday, returned to finally put a wash to the proceedings prior to the three-quarter mark. The man in front was the 30-year old Tampa, Florida native, recording his first Cup victory in 125 starts. That goes with his single Nationwide win from 2007 and his two truck series triumphs back in 2010. Better yet, that car is all but entered into the Chase, with eight races to run before they settle on the 16 championship contenders.

    Brian Vickers is not in a Chase place, yet finished second. Ditto for Casey Mears, in fourth. Danica Patrick and Marcos Ambrose had Top Ten days. Michael McDowell , who is not even in the Top 30 in points, was seventh on Sunday with Alex Bowman finishing 13th. Even part-timer Terry Labonte, the former two-time champ, was 11th. For some, it was worth the wait to run this thing.

    For others, not so much, as barely half the field managed a hundred laps. Our list of likely Chasers who wound up in scrap metal included Jimmie Johnson (42nd), Kevin Harvick (39th), Carl Edwards (37th), Kyle Busch (28th), and Ryan Newman (24th). It is too early yet to get all tight ended about the chances of Kahne, Biffle, and Kyle Larson after they all finished outside the Top 25, but they could have done without this Daytona experience. On the other hand, Stewart and Jamie McMurray might be puckering up a little as both dropped points they could ill afford to lose. It has become even more likely than ever that without a win they will be running the final ten just for fun.

    Almirola is the 11th driver to win this season, so as long as no more than five more drivers win their first of the season over the course of the next eight, he and the others will be in the Chase. Matt Kenseth is 90 points to the good in the Top 16, so he is secure as they sit right now. Newman also is strong, but things start to get tight after that. Still, anyone in the Top 20 can still dream of making it in on points, but the next dozen will need a win to even hope of making it.

    Next Sunday it is New Hampshire. Sadly, that marks the final race broadcast on TNT before the ESPN gong show returns to test our love of the televised version of the sport. Adam, Wally, and Kyle, thanks for showing us how the job should be done.

    Loudon could be the place where some winless drivers can show us how it should be done. Newman and Stewart each have three wins there. Clint Bowyer has a couple, and Biffle, Kenseth, Vickers, and Kahne also know where to find Victory Lane. Now, as long as other former New Hampshire winners, such as Johnson, Gordon, Harvick,  Logano, Denny Hamlin, or one of the Busch brothers do not get greedy…

    SWEET SIXTEEN
    1 – Jimmie Johnson – 3 WINS – 596 POINTS
    2 – Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 2 – 624
    3 – Brad Keselowski – 2 – 586
    4 – Joey Logano – 2 – 546
    5 – Carl Edwards – 2 – 543
    6 – Kevin Harvick – 2 – 514
    7 – Jeff Gordon – 1 – 651
    8 – Kyle Busch – 1 – 524
    9 – Denny Hamlin – 1 – 493
    10 – Aric Almirola – 1 – 452
    11 – Kurt Busch – 1 – 422
    12 – Matt Kenseth – 0 – 580
    13 – Ryan Newman – 0 – 534
    14 – Paul Menard – 0 – 516
    15 – Clint Bowyer – 0 – 509
    16 – Austin Dillon – 0 – 494

    CONTENDERS & PRETENDERS
    17 – Greg Biffle – 0 – 490
    18 – Brian Vickers – 0 – 484
    19 – Kyle Larson – 0 – 482
    20 – Kasey Kahne – 0 – 482
    21 – Marcos Ambrose – 0 – 472
    22 – Tony Stewart – 0 – 465
    23 – Jamie McMurray – 0 – 447
    24 – Casey Mears – 0 – 438
    25 – A.J. Allmendinger – 0 – 414
    26 – Martin Truex, Jr. – 0 – 414
    27 – Danica Patrick – 0 – 358
    28 – Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. – 0 – 342
    29 – Justin Allgaier – 0 – 319
    30 – Michael Annett – 0 – 299
    31 – David Gilliland – 0 – 256
    32 – Cole Whitt – 0 – 254

     

  • Hot 20 – The season’s best driver does not always claim the Cup championship

    Hot 20 – The season’s best driver does not always claim the Cup championship

    There is something about having a single win and getting into the Chase. It gives everyone a chance, one that for some would have pretty much been gone in the wind. Kurt Busch is having about as much luck as Danica Patrick right now, but he has his win. If Danica could just get one, somehow, somewhere, she also could launch herself amongst our contenders. It is that simple. Heck, even Josh Wise could make some noise if he could win, and work his way into the Top 30. Everyone in the Top 36, in fact, still has hope, and that might be a good thing. If not, then the debate as to who will be our new champion would be down to talking about no more than nine or ten drivers.

    Using today’s point system, but giving the winner 25 points instead of just 3, the Hendrick duo of Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson rise to the top. Yet, should Matt Kenseth take the prize at Pocono on Sunday he would take over the top rung no matter what the other two boys did. Winning has its privileges, and while it is not as generous or as forgiving as the official method, this does offer a truer reflection of who is hot and who is not.

    If you are a sponsor of Carl Edwards, Joey Logano, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, or Kevin Harvick, you should be pleased. At the one-third mark of the season, those drivers and the aforementioned trio have been the most relevant each week, with a nod to Denny Hamlin. He remains close even after having to take an extra week off. Yes, that win does help.

    Being the best over the course of the season has never ensured a driver of a championship, no matter what points system or method has been used in the past. Jimmie Johnson (2004), Ryan Newman (2003), Jeff Gordon (1996), Rusty Wallace (1994), Bill Elliott (1985), Darrell Waltrip (1984), and David Pearson (1973) are just the most recent examples. Come to think of it, I wonder how we would look at Newman today had his 8 wins trumped the single victory of Kenseth in determining the crown that season? How would our perceptions have changed in regards to the likes of Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Terry Labonte, and Benny Parsons?

    While we will watch each week to see if a win can salvage somebody’s season, to witness which 16 will be eligible for the title, and who gets eliminated from contention over the final ten events, we should try and remember the drivers who gave us cause to watch each and every week. Here are the hot 20 who have done just that this season.

    (Win bonus increased from 3 points to 25)

    Driver – Points (Wins)
    1 Jeff Gordon – 483 (1)
    2 Jimmie Johnson – 480 (2)
    3 Matt Kenseth – 463
    4 Carl Edwards – 460 (1)
    5 Joey Logano – 458 – (2)
    6 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 451 (1)
    7 Kyle Busch – 433 (1)
    8 Brad Keselowski – 426 (1)
    9 Kevin Harvick – 417 (2)
    10 Denny Hamlin – 401 (1)
    11 Kyle Larson – 377
    12 Ryan Newman – 374
    13 Brian Vickers – 366
    14 Paul Menard – 362
    15 Austin Dillon – 358
    16 Greg Biffle – 357
    17 Clint Bowyer – 350
    18 Kasey Kahne – 349
    19 Aric Almirola – 344
    20 A.J. Allmendinger – 337

     

     

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: The Daytona 500

    Surprising and Not Surprising: The Daytona 500

    In spite of the unusual happenings that perpetually occur at Daytona, this year a six hour plus rain delay with tornado warnings, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 56th running of the Great American Race.

    Surprising:  With so much focus pre-race on the return of the No. 3, formerly driven by Dale Earnhardt Sr. and now by rookie Austin Dillon, the son of the Intimidator and NASCAR’s most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. instead stole the show with his second Daytona 500 victory.

    This was Junior’s 20th victory in the Cup Series and, with the win, he joined Bill Elliott, Michael Waltrip, Sterling Marlin, Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson as two-time Daytona 500 winners.

    “I’ll never take this for granted,” Junior said. “We’re two time Daytona champions.”

    In addition to the coveted win at Daytona, Earnhardt Jr. had a big weekend overall. The team bearing his name, JR Motorsports, won the Nationwide Drive4COPD 300 race with driver Regan Smith at the wheel.

    Not Surprising:  In spite of several on-track incidents, the driver of the aforementioned No. 3 for Richard Childress Racing, did quite well for himself, starting from the pole and finishing ninth.

    Austin Dillon was also the highest finishing rookie of the race, taking the early lead in a Sunoco Rookie of the year battle.

    “That’s what this year is about — experience, trying to finish races and getting better each week,” Dillon said, “We have a long year ahead of us, I’d like to use some of this momentum going forward. I know it’s going to be a long, tough year, and hopefully we’ll be there at the end of these races and try to learn something.”

    Surprising:  Goodyear had a little scare early in the race when both Kyle Larson and Greg Biffle had tire problems, causing hard hits into the wall for the rookie and veteran racers.

    Larson, in the No. 42 race car formerly driven by Juan Pablo Montoya, actually hit the wall twice in the opening laps, going a lap down and soldiering on to finish 38th.

    In spite of his blown tire early in the race, Biffle had a much better finish than Larson, taking the checkered flag in the eighth spot in his No. 16 3M Ford.

    “It was a good night,” Biffle said. “We had a really strong car but the 88 was real fast. We just couldn’t hold him off.”

    Not Surprising:  With the combo platter of the rain delay, potential for additional weather coming in, and the pent up energy of the first race of the season, it was not surprising that there were a number of pit road incidents that created some major mayhem for several drivers.

    Early in the race, Matt Kenseth had contact on pit road and ended up spinning to pit backwards in his box. Both Kyle Busch and Aric Almirola removed equipment out of their pit boxes and had to serve costly penalties.

    And then there was one of the more controversial calls, with Kasey Kahne called for speeding, all of which he did in an effort not to get hit by Michael Annett who had lost control of his vehicle coming to his pit.

    Surprising:  After dominating most everything during Speedweeks, from the Sprint Unlimited to the second Duel race, it was a bit surprising that Denny Hamlin did not claim the big prize. He did, however, come home in the runner up position in his No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, which was his best finish ever in the Daytona 500.

    “I thought — the Duels and the Unlimited — I felt like our car didn’t have quite the speed,” Hamlin said. “It was a solid run for us and really it was a fun race.”

    Not Surprising:  Given the manufacturer change to Chevrolet and a new alliance with Richard Childress Racing, it was not surprising that Casey Mears and his GEICO No. 13 team had a great run in the Great American Race.

    In fact, team GEICO finished in the top-10, getting their driver and crew chief Bootie Barker off to a great start for the season.

    Surprising:  The Labonte brothers, Bobby and Terry, not only made the race but had surprisingly good finishes, 15th and 20th respectively.

    Brother Bobby extended his consecutive start street for the Great American Race to 22 while elder brother Terry most likely ran his last Daytona 500 competition.

    Not Surprising:   Because it was after all Daytona, there were several big crashes, collecting many good drivers, to no one’s surprise. One of those hard hits, however, impacted the only female in the field Danica Patrick.

    “I think more than anything I am just upset because the GoDaddy car felt really good and it was the best car that I had all Speedweeks,” Patrick said. “I felt like everything was going pretty well, so it’s just upsetting.”

    “It’s a bummer, but you know that is the excitement of speedway racing that anything can happen, and it was unfortunate that I was on the short end of the accident.”

    Surprising:  With a more than six hour rain delay, some of NASCAR’s finest were up to some surprising activities to pass the time away. In fact, several of the racer dads were busy with their children, from Jeff Gordon making Lego creations to Keelan Harvick suiting up in his dad Kevin’s fire suit.

    Probably most novel, however, was David Ragan, still clad in his own fire suit, who went out to pick up pizza for his team during the break.

    Not Surprising:  While Junior reigned triumphant in Victory Lane, just like in the Olympics, there was some agony of defeat in this year’s running for the Great American Race.

    Most agonizing were those drivers impacted by engine or fuel pick up woes, including Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex, Jr. and Tony Stewart.

    “If it was going to blow up, I wish it would have blown up four hours ago,” Clint Bowyer said. “I could have been home watching.  Just disappointing — the guys work so hard for this race.  Everybody is out there having fun and we broke our toy.”

    “It’s definitely a tough break for our team,” Martin Truex Jr. said. “I went to bed thinking this was my best chance to win the Daytona 500.”

    The Cup Series moves on next to Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Arizona for The Profit on CNBC 500 on March 2nd.