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  • Exclusive: First-Seasons with Greg Zipadelli

    Exclusive: First-Seasons with Greg Zipadelli

    In this edition of Speedway Media’s first-seasons column, we caught up with former NASCAR Crew Chief and now Vice President of Competition for Stewart-Haas Racing, Greg Zipadelli. He discusses how he became a crew chief in NASCAR, how he connected with Joe Gibbs Racing, his success with Tony Stewart, and more.

    SM: You burst onto the NASCAR scene in the early 90s when you were only 21-years-old as a crew chief for your family team in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour with Mike McLaughlin in 1988. The team advanced to the Busch North Series in the early 90s and had success. What drew you to make a career in racing and why did you choose the role of crew chief versus being a driver?

    GZ: “I don’t know, I just always remember being three or four years old going to the races because my uncle, he always owned an asphalt modified and ran in New England, my dad built the motors in the early days and the car was kept in our house a little bit so I was just around it,” Zipadelli said.

    “I always liked working on them (cars), that seemed to be my comfort zone. I just never had a desire to drive. I never had money to speak of to build my own car or even try that. I just don’t know, I didn’t have a lot to desire (to drive a car) I always enjoyed working on them more.”

    SM: You had a lot of success early on in your career, winning a combined eight races in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Why did you have so much success in your career as you started?

    GZ: “Well, I had been involved early on when I was working on them,” he said. “I was just young as a crew chief. I think when a lot of people come into the sport young, they have a different mindset. I didn’t have any bad habits or notions of this is what works. It was like, ‘let’s try this. Let’s do that.’

    “I was working on the same car when Brett Bodine came to work for us. With Mike (McLaughlin), we ran (NASCAR) Busch North Cars. Mikey was doing really well at that time and him and I hit it off.”

    SM: After spending some time in the Modified Tour and Busch North Tour, your first major break came in 1997 as a crew chief for Mike Stefanik in the Nazareth race. Unfortunately, your day ended early due to a crash. But, in the weeks leading up to that event, were you anxious or nervous about working as a crew chief in the Busch Series knowing it was your big break?

    GZ: In ’88, ’89, ’90, we ran the Modified and then ’91 we ran with a limited schedule with McLaughlin,” Zipadelli said. “We were kind of dabbling with the Busch North Car, going back and forth. We then went Busch North racing for a few years. McLaughlin was there for a few years and then Stefanik came and took the ride.”

    “I had crew chiefed all those years in the Busch North Tour. We did a lot of things together as friends.”

    SM: Following the ‘97 season in the K&N East Series, you were on a one-year hiatus before returning to the sport full-time crew as a crew chief for one of the up-and-coming drivers of the sport, Tony Stewart. How did you connect with Joe Gibbs Racing and get paired with Stewart for your first season in Cup?

    GZ: “So, in ’92 and ’93, I moved down and worked for Todd Bodine in the Busch Series, but I still owned a house in New York with Mike McLaughlin,” he said. “That’s when I took McLaughlin and said ‘come on back here. We’ll put you full-time’ and so I packed up and moved home.

    “Honestly, it felt like I never accomplished something in the Busch North Tour. I wanted to win a championship in that series before I left to crew chief in the Cup Series.

    “I went to work for Jeff Burton and I built shocks, changed tires, I was the car chief for that role in that year (1998). We were parked next to the 18 (Bobby Labonte) and I got to meet with Jimmy Makar and they were starting their second team and he asked if I was interested in working for their second team. I met Jimmy at the old Cracker Barrel and we hung out for a while and talked.

    “That afternoon, I got a call from Joe Gibbs and he asked if I could meet him at Denny’s in Huntersville, North Carolina and we sat down and just talked. At that time, I could do anything on a racecar. Jimmy was talking to me about doing shocks and car chiefing that team. However, a day later, Joe called me back and asked me if I was interested in the crew chief job. It literally happened that quick. I’ve been fortunate to be surrounded with a lot of great drivers in my life. With that being said, it was fun and we had a lot of fun.”

    SM: Do you remember your first conversations with Tony Stewart? How did that all become about?

    GZ: “I talked to Joe (Gibbs) and I accepted the offer,” Zipadelli said. “Afterward, he gave me Tony’s number and I gave him a call. (Tony) was still in Columbus, Indiana. I called him and Tony had a bunch of people over at his place playing pool and we talked for a quite bit. I don’t know when (we met), but it wasn’t long after that where we went down to Daytona and started working the test session.

    “Tony wasn’t very involved in what went on with the team, he would just show up and drive. My personality was just to take ownership of everything and being responsible, it worked good for us.”

    SM: Your first Daytona experience was that year and your driver was on the front row in your first gig as a crew chief in the Cup Series. Even though you, unfortunately, finished 28th, 19 laps down, do you have good memories of that experience? Do you remember your thoughts when you first entered the track and experienced all of the excitement that racing at Daytona brings? Did you look forward to it and did you feel ready or were you nervous?

    GZ: “Oh gosh, there’s always nerves,” he said. “To roll down to Daytona, we didn’t have any points. Back then, you had 50 cars (show up and qualify) and we had to qualify our way in. Fortunately, we tested and had a really good racecar and qualified on the outside pole. However, we had an issue with the intake manifold and we ended up not running very well in that race.”

    SM: At the Martinsville race that season, you qualified on the pole with Stewart and were a part of helping the team gain momentum with a string of top-five finishes, with the exception of Richmond. Was there a particular moment during the ‘99 season when you and the team began to get comfortable with the car or was there still a learning curve as the season progressed?

    GZ: “I’ll be honest with you, I’m always a believer that there is a learning curve,” Zipadelli said. “I don’t know, if the learning curve ever ends, you’re always trying to adjust. There was a time during midseason, I don’t know when exactly, but I think it was the Loudon race that we should have won but ran out of gas. At that point, we realized, we can do this but we just have to clean up the loose ends. Winning a Cup race is hard.

    “I learned a lot and I still beat myself up over it. Shortly after, we won Richmond, then Phoenix and Homestead. We had a very successful rookie season.”

    SM: You got your first Cup Series win at Richmond as Stewart dominated the race leading 333 of the 400 laps. What does that victory mean to you today and have you ever had a chance to go back and re-watch that race?

    GZ: “No, I haven’t been able to re-watch that win,” he said. “I haven’t done a good job in my life of going back to enjoy those special moments. It’s kind of been, what’s next and working harder to go to the next race.

    “As far as that moment, it was surreal. We ran really well that night. That night, we closed the deal.”

    SM: You and the team finished fourth in the points standings in 1999. Did finishing fourth in your first season exceed your expectations especially after earning two more wins at Phoenix and Homestead?

    GZ: “Oh, absolutely,” Zipadelli said. “I don’t know if there’s anyone who has ever had that kind of season. If you go back and look, I don’t know if anyone has won three races and finish fourth (in the standings) in a rookie year as we did.”

    SM: When you reflect on your career, are there any races that you wish you could go back to and have a do-over, such as a win that got away? Is there one race in particular that stands out?

    GZ: “There’s a few that got away from us that we never did win,” he said. “A couple of Daytona 500s where we had some good racecars, good opportunities, but things always seem to get taken away from us at the end of the day. It is what it is at the end of the day.”

    SM: Do you collect memorabilia from your career? If so, what do you have in your collection that reminds you of your early years in the sport?

    GZ: “I have some articles that were done,” Zipadelli said. “I try to keep a shirt or firesuit every year that I crew chief. Other than that, not a lot. some collectible cars that we used to get all the paint schemes. I’ve got a few hoods in my shop, just the normal stuff.”

    SM: Do you have a favorite victory or two from your career? What were your favorite wins and why?

    GZ: “Obviously, the first Indy win for sure because that was more of a relief than excitement,” Zippadelli said. “Tony put a lot of pressure on himself to go out and perform and we had a good racecar that day. Without the Loudon win, the Indy win is definitely a highlight.”

    SM: What do the Winston Cup championships in ‘02 and ‘05 mean to you and were they the highlights of your career?

    GZ: “Yeah, for a kid to grow up in New England and have the opportunity to work yourself through the ranks, I mean at the time, (winning the championship) was pretty special,” he said. “During that period, there were some tough characters you were racing against, some of the greats of the sport. We were fortunate enough to have that success early on.”

    SM: Do you miss working as a crew chief?

    GZ: “I do. The ups and downs, the adrenaline, making good calls and bad calls. I didn’t think I would miss it as much as I do I honestly, sincerely miss it.”

    SM: It’s hard to believe your first start as a crew chief came 33 years ago. If time travel was possible, what would a 54-year-old Greg Zipadelli tell a 21-year-old Greg Zipadelli? Is there anything you would do differently?

    GZ: “Man, I don’t know,” the two-time Cup Series champion crew chief said as he reflected on his career. “You always look back and think if I can go back and know what I know today, how much could you do? I don’t know if I would have a whole lot to change. I was an extremely dedicated hard worker, very motivated. I think I would do the same things.

    “Would I go back and do it all over again today? Definitely, I would. Honestly, I don’t know if there’s anything I could change. I would have to really think about that. I had a lot of fun crew chiefing for 33 years and having that success. I was fortunate to meet a lot of good people and make really good friends. I don’t think I would script it (my career) that much different.”

    Fans of Greg Zipadelli can follow him on Twitter and visit his website here.

    Throughout Zipadelli’s Cup Series career, the New Britain, Connecticut native has made 468 starts, earned 34 career victories, 143 top fives, 237 top-10 finishes and won 13 poles. Additionally, he won two Cup Series championships with former NASCAR driver and Hall of Famer Tony Stewart in 2002 and 2005.

    Special thanks to Greg Zipadelli for taking the time out of his busy schedule to conduct the interview.

  • Chase Elliott wins SRX season finale, Tony Stewart claims championship at Nashville

    Chase Elliott wins SRX season finale, Tony Stewart claims championship at Nashville

    Chase Elliott, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion, held off Hall of Famer Tony Stewart Saturday night at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway to win the finale of the inaugural Camping World SRX Series season.

    “I had a ball. I got to race against two of my heroes,” Elliott said. “I got to race against Dad there throughout the race and those are moments I will cherish forever. Just super thankful to be here.”

    He also commented on how competitive the racing was between him and his dad throughout much of the 77-lap feature event.

    “I don’t know who lit a fire under him,” he said, smiling. “I had not seen that in him in years. It was amazing and a lot of fun. I thought it was going to be between he and I. I think he just got a little high into one and missed that restart. Other than that, it was so much fun.”

    Bill Elliott won the first heat race, leading all but three laps with Chase behind him in second. The finish positions were inverted for Heat Race 2. Helio Castroneves took the heat win as Bill Elliott finished sixth and Chase Elliott placed eighth.

    The lineup for the feature was based on the finishing positions in the two heat races. Bill Elliott started first with Chase Elliott in fourth place, but by Lap 32, Chase Elliott was on his dad’s bumper. He took the lead on Lap 55 and Bill Elliott fell back to third. From that point, the battle was on between Chase Elliott and Stewart, who had started fifth but worked his way toward the front to challenge for the win. Elliott was able to maintain the lead to score the victory at the .596-mile oval in Nashville.

    Stewart clinched the SRX Series championship during the second heat race and finished second in the feature.

    “How could you ask for more than to finish between two Elliotts?” Stewart said. “That’s pretty badass in itself, and we really appreciate NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports for letting Chase come run with us. It means a lot to us, it means a lot to Bill.”

    Bill Elliott finished third after a disappointing final restart but described the race as “cool.”

    “I’ve raced here before and I kind of had an idea of what I needed, and I think that helped as much as anything. It was such a cool deal to be able to come here and do this and have a crowd like this.

    “For me, I finally got what I wanted out of a racecar and I felt good out there. I thought, I’m on Medicare and I’m trying to keep up with these young kids. You’re trying to learn and gain, and every time you get into a racecar you learn something, you learn from your mistakes. Not being in one in a long time and kind of making a mistake in turn one, not cleaning up my tires good, that was it.

    “To me, it was a great night. My hat’s off to everyone at SRX for what they did and I’m proud of those guys. I just hope that we, as a racing community, can embrace this and learn from it, especially what we saw here tonight at the Nashville Fairgrounds. I haven’t seen a crowd like this here in many, many years.”

    Stewart, a co-founder of the Camping World SRX Series, echoed Elliott’s sentiments.

    “This series had every variable that you wanted and looked for. You had good racing, you had different winners, you had awesome crew chiefs, awesome ringers, awesome local track champions. To have heroes and villains in the series, I don’t know how you can ask for more than that.”

    Feature Results (77 laps):

    1. Chase Elliott (Started 4th; led laps 53, 55-77)
    2. Tony Stewart (Started 5th; completed 77/77 laps)
    3. Bill Elliott (Started 1st; led laps 1-52, 54; completed 77/77 laps)
    4. Bobby Labonte (Started 2nd; completed 77/77 laps)
    5. Paul Tracy (Started 7th; completed 77/77 laps)
    6. Ernie Francis Jr. (Started 3rd; completed 77/77 laps)
    7. Michael Waltrip (Started 10th; completed 77/77 laps)
    8. Tony Kanaan (Started 8th; completed 77/77 laps)
    9. Helio Castroneves (Started 6th; completed 77/77 laps)
    10. Hailie Deegan (Started 11th; completed 77/77 laps)
    11. Marco Andretti (Started 9th; completed 77/77 laps)
    12. Willy T. Ribbs (Started 12th; completed 56/77 laps)

    Camping World SRX Series FINAL Championship Standings:

    1. Tony Stewart (237 points)
    2. Ernie Francis Jr. (192 points, -45)
    3. Bobby Labonte (182 points, -55)
    4. Marco Andretti (171 points, -66)
    5. Helio Castroneves (164 points, -73)
    6. Tony Kanaan (162 points, -75)
    7. Paul Tracy (121 points, -116)
    8. Michael Waltrip (111 points, -126)
    9. Bill Elliott (105 points, -132)
    10. Willy T. Ribbs (67 points, -170)

  • Mike Bugarewicz to call 200th Cup race as crew chief at New Hampshire

    Mike Bugarewicz to call 200th Cup race as crew chief at New Hampshire

    A significant milestone start is in the making for Mike “Buga” Bugarewicz, crew chief for Aric Almirola and the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang team in the NASCAR Cup Series. By participating in this weekend’s event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Bugarewicz will call his 200th Cup career race as a crew chief.

    A native of Lehighton, Pennsylvania, Bugarewicz earned a B.S. and a M.S. degree in mechanical engineering from Penn State before joining Roush Fenway Racing as an engineer in December 2005, which marked the beginning of his racing career. From 2006 to 2013, Bugarewicz worked as an engineer within the Roush organization, where he also worked with names like Danny O’Quinn, David Ragan, Paul Menard, Matt Kenseth and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    In 2014, Bugarewicz became a lead race engineer for veteran driver Kevin Harvick, crew chief Rodney Childers and the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet team. The season was one to remember for Bugarewicz as Harvick, who was in his first season with SHR, captured five victories, eight poles, 14 top-five results, 20 top-10 results and the season’s Cup championship.

    Following a productive 2015 season with Harvick, where Harvick won three races before settling in second place in the final standings, Bugarewicz was named a Cup Series crew chief for three-time champion Tony Stewart and the No. 14 SHR Chevrolet team for the 2016 season, which marked Stewart’s final full-time season as a NASCAR competitor. A month prior to the season, however, Stewart suffered a back injury after being involved in a sand buggy accident outside of San Diego. With Stewart hospitalized and forced to miss the early portion of the upcoming season, Bugarewicz spent the first eight Cup events of the season and of his career with Brian Vickers and Ty Dillon. During this span, Vickers, who made five starts, finished as high as seventh at Martinsville Speedway in April while Dillon, who competed in the other three events, finished as high as 15th at Phoenix Raceway in March.

    At Richmond Raceway in April, Stewart was medically cleared to return to racing. In his first race with Bugarewicz, Stewart finished 19th. The following race at Talladega Superspeedway, Stewart, with relief help from Ty Dillon, was credited with a sixth-place result before he competed the following six races through the entire distance.

    Then at Sonoma Raceway in June, Bugarewicz achieved his first NASCAR victory as a crew chief when Stewart prevailed over a late battle with former teammate Denny Hamlin to snap an 84-race winless drought and collect his 49th Cup career win, a victory that also placed the No. 14 team in a guaranteed spot to make the Playoffs. After winning at Sonoma, Bugarewicz and Stewart earned four top-five results and recorded enough points through the final 10 regular-season events to secure their spot in the 2016 Cup Playoffs. Their run in the Playoffs, however, came to an end following the Playoff’s Round of 16, where Stewart finished 16th, 23rd and 13th in a three-race postseason stretch and missed the cutline to the Round of 12. Bugarewicz and Stewart went on to finish in 15th place in the final standings.

    Bugarewicz remained as crew chief for SHR’s No. 14 team in 2017 with the organization swapping manufacturers from Chevrolet to Ford. With Stewart retired, Bugarewicz was paired with veteran Clint Bowyer, who was named Stewart’s successor of the No. 14 car. Participating in all but two of the 36-race schedule, Bugarewicz and Bowyer achieved six top-five results, 13 top-10 results and an average result of 15.0. They, however, did not make the Playoffs as Bowyer settled in 18th place in the final standings.

    Following the first five events of the 2018 Cup season, Bugarewicz returned to Victory Lane when Bowyer scored a dominating win at Martinsville Speedway, the sixth event of the schedule, in March and snapped a 190-race winless drought. Ten races later, they won for the second time of the season at Michigan International Speedway in June, which was a rain-shortened event. Making the 2018 Cup Playoffs, Bugarewicz and Bowyer remained in title contention through the Round of 8, where they fell short of making the Championship Round and contending for the title at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November. Nonetheless, Bugarewicz and Bowyer achieved two victories, nine top-five results and 16 top-10 results before finishing in 12th place in the final standings.

    Remaining as crew chief for Bowyer and SHR’s No. 14 Ford team in 2019, Bugarewicz guided the driver and team to a pole, seven top-five results, 18 top-10 results and through the first two rounds of the Playoffs before finishing in ninth place in the final standings. By then, Bugarewicz had called more than 100 Cup races as a crew chief.

    For the 2020 season, Stewart-Haas Racing reshuffled most of its crew chief lineup, placing Bugarewicz as crew chief for Aric Almirola and the No. 10 SHR Ford Mustang team for the upcoming season. Bugarewicz achieved a second consecutive consistent season as he led Almirola to six top-five results, 18 top-10 results and through the first two rounds of the Playoffs before settling in 15th place in the final standings.

    Thus far, Bugarewicz and Almirola have recorded a pole, one top-five result and two top-10 results through the first 21 Cup races of the 2021 season. They also achieved a victory in the first Bluegreen Vacations Duel event at Daytona International Speedway in February and the NASCAR All-Star Open at Texas Motor Speedway in June. They are currently ranked in 27th place in the regular-season standings.

    Through 199 previous Cup appearances, Bugarewicz has achieved three victories, two poles, 34 top-five results and 76 top-10 results while working with five different competitors. 

    Bugarewicz is set to call his 200th Cup race as a crew chief at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday, July 18, with the race scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Tony Stewart claims first-ever SRX win at Knoxville

    Tony Stewart claims first-ever SRX win at Knoxville

    For the first time in his driving career, Tony Stewart brought home the checkered flag Saturday night at Knoxville Speedway after drawing pole position. The Indiana native had to fend off battles from Hailie Deegan, Michael Waltrip, and Ernie Francis Jr. to earn his first win at Knoxville.

    “It’s the first time I’ve ever been in victory lane at Knoxville as a driver, are you kidding me?” Stewart said to CBS Sports. “This is where I watched Donny Schatz and Steve Kinser, the greatest of the greats in Sprint Car racing. I’ve never seen one coming backwards like this, but this is a place I always wanted to be for sure. So this is pretty cool.”

    After making some rule changes earlier in the week, SRX Racing Series officials reduced the main feature from 75 laps to 50 laps and cut the heat races from 15 minutes to 12 minutes.

    Stewart grabbed the checkers early on winning the first heat race but the field was inverted for the second heat race. In the second heat race, dirt late model racer stand out, Scott Bloomquist, scored the victory with Eddie Francis Jr., Michael Waltrip, Tony Stewart and Hailie Deegan rounding out the top five.

    After the two heat races were completed, next up was the 50-lap main feature. Stewart was on the pole based on a random draw.

    Four cautions occurred early in the main event due to multiple incidents. The first yellow was for debris with 46 to go and then the next two yellows were brought out by the “Local All-Star” Brian Brown. Brown caused two yellows as his machine spun around twice. During the first incident, he spun by himself while the second spin was caused by contact with Willy T. Ribbs.

    The final yellow of the night flew with Ribbs spinning on the backstretch and bouncing off of Helio Castroneves.

    Following the yellow, Scott Bloomquist was poised to pull away from the field with his dirt experience. Unfortunately, he slid up the track and lost several positions, ultimately falling back to eighth. It was during that moment that Stewart took the lead.

    Shortly thereafter, Waltrip led with 39 laps to go and held on to the lead for 10 laps before Stewart resumed the top position with 29 to go. As Stewart was setting the pace, the field was slowed once again for a caution with 18 to go as Bloomquist was spun in Turn 4 by Castroneves.

    Despite the late-race yellow and multiple challenges from Waltrip and Deegan, Stewart held on to win his first-ever Knoxville dirt race and his first SRX victory. Hailie Deegan, Ernie Francis Jr., Helio Castroneves and Michael Waltrip rounded out the top five.

    Deegan, who competed in her first SRX race, came home second to Stewart as she replaced Tony Kanaan in what was called “The Replacement” car.

    “My goal coming into this race was to prove to everyone that I deserved to be here. I feel like we did that tonight, running second to Tony Stewart, that’s a huge accomplishment for me,” said Deegan, a three-time winner in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West – one of which came on dirt Feb. 28, 2019 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Dirt Track. “I feel like we just ran a clean race, we just wrapped the bottom, stayed consistent, ran my line and finished second.”

    Meanwhile, Ernie Francis Jr, a winner in the Trans-Am Series rounded out the podium finish with a third.

    “Not too bad for my second-ever dirt race,” Francis said. “We were just kind of riding around there trying to save the tires as much as I could. The car wasn’t as good in the feature as it was in the heat races, so I was just trying to keep the back end underneath me and just try to save it as much as I could, try to keep my position and I really had an awesome battle with Hailie out there. I was trying to get to the back of Tony’s bumper to try and get by him, but you can’t be happier than this. It was an awesome race. The car’s a little beat up, but I can’t wait to get to the next one.”

    Next week, five-time USAC Silver Crown Series Champion Kody Swanson and former NASCAR driver Scott Speed will join the field.

    Official Results following the Camping World SRX Series at Knoxville Raceway.

    1. Tony Stewart
    2. Hailie Deegan
    3. Ernie Francis Jr
    4. Helio Castroneves
    5. Michael Waltrip
    6. Bobby Labonte
    7. Marco Andretti
    8. Brian Brown
    9. Scott Bloomquist
    10. Willy T. Ribbs
    11. Bill Elliott, 11 laps down
    12. Paul Tracy, OUT, Crash

    Up Next: The Camping World SRX Racing Series continues its summer stretch by heading to Eldora Speedway next Saturday night. It will be broadcast live on CBS.

  • Adam Stevens to reach 200 Cup starts as crew chief at Dover

    Adam Stevens to reach 200 Cup starts as crew chief at Dover

    A significant milestone is in the making for Adam Stevens, crew chief for Kyle Busch and the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry team in the NASCAR Cup Series. By the time the Cup Series completes its upcoming doubleheader races at Dover International Speedway on August 22 and 23, Stevens will reach 200 starts as a Cup crew chief.

    A native of Portsmouth, Ohio, who raced in late models throughout high school and college, and whose father raced dune buggies and dirt late model cars, Stevens’ career in working with racing cars started off as a designer for Petty Enterprises after graduating from Ohio University with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. After working for Petty Enterprises for three seasons, he joined Joe Gibbs Racing and worked as a race engineer for Tony Stewart, crew chief Greg Zipadelli and the No. 20 Home Depot team. Stevens worked with Stewart from 2005 to 2008, winning the 2005 Cup title with Stewart, and continued working with JGR’s No. 20 Toyota team as a team engineer from 2009 and 2010 with Joey Logano.

    In 2011, Joe Gibbs Racing fielded three cars for the Xfinity Series season and Stevens was named crew chief for the team’s No. 20 Toyota Camry team driven by a number of competitors, including Logano, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Truex. In April, Stevens achieved his first NASCAR win as a crew chief when Hamlin won at Richmond. From 2011 to 2014, Stevens won 31 NASCAR Xfinity Series career races as a crew chief with drivers Hamlin, Logano, Kyle Busch and Sam Hornish Jr. between the Nos. 18, 20 and 54 operations. During his four-year span as an Xfinity crew chief, Adams worked with 12 competitors.

    In 2015, JGR underwent major changes to its driver-crew chief pairing for its Cup and Xfinity Series program. As part of the changes, Stevens graduated to the NASCAR Cup Series and was named crew chief for Kyle Busch and the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry team. A day prior to the 2015 Daytona 500, however, Busch suffered a massive compound fracture in his lower right leg, a small fracture in his left foot and a sprained left finger after being involved in a multi-car wreck in the Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway, where he made head-on contact into a concrete barrier installed with no SAFER barriers. As a result, with Busch out of the early portions of the season due to his injuries, Stevens worked with Matt Crafton, David Ragan and Erik Jones for the first 11 races of the season. In May, Busch was medically cleared to return behind the wheel of the No. 18 Toyota and was also granted an injury waiver to make the Playoffs if he won and gained enough points to remain within the top-30 mark by Richmond in September. Following his first four Cup races with Busch, Stevens achieved his first Cup victory as a crew chief when Busch won at Sonoma Raceway the following race.

    Following the win at Sonoma, Busch and Adams stormed out of the gate as they won three consecutive races over the summer (Kentucky Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway). With five additional top-10 results to go along with four regular-season victories, Busch was able to earn enough points to make the Playoffs. Throughout the Playoffs, Busch was consistent and was able to earn a spot in the Championship Round at Homestead-Miami Speedway. During the finale, Busch took the lead on a late restart and was able to claim his first NASCAR Cup Series championship after winning the finale. The championship was not only the first for Busch, but it was also the fourth for Joe Gibbs Racing, the first for Toyota and the first for Adam Stevens in his rookie season as a Cup crew chief.

    For the first 11 races of the 2016 Cup season, Busch and Adams won three races (Martinsville Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway) and achieved nine top-five results. Following Busch’s victory at Kansas in May, however, the No. 18 team was issued a P3-level penalty as a result of an infraction with the No. 18 Toyota’s lug nuts discovered during post-race inspection. As a result, Stevens was fined $20,000 and suspended for one race along with front tire changer Josh Leslie while veteran Todd Berrier filled in as an interim crew chief. When Adams returned atop the pit box at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600 in May, he and Busch achieved seven top-10 results and won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the second year in a row as they both qualified for the Playoffs. Throughout the Playoffs, Busch was consistent as he earned eight top-10 results and made the Championship Round at Homestead with an opportunity to defend the title from the previous season. During the finale, however, Busch and Adams concluded the season in third place in the final standings after Busch finished in sixth place, five spots behind race winner and the champion Jimmie Johnson.

    In 2017, Adams was atop the No. 18 pit box for 32 of the season’s 36-race schedule. In May, Adams and Busch captured the All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway and in Busch’s 12th attempt to win NASCAR’s annual event. In June, following the 12th race of the season at Dover, Stevens was suspended for the upcoming four races due to a safety violation, where a left-rear tire came off of Busch’s car and rolled on the track as Busch was exiting his pit stall and heading back on the track under cautious pace. This was a result of Busch’s car being dropped off the jack with no lug nuts being safely secured on the left-rear tire. Engineers Ben Beshore and Jacob Canter served as interim crew chiefs before Stevens returned atop the pit box at Kentucky Speedway in July. Three races later, Stevens and Kyle Busch achieved their first victory of the season at Pocono Raceway. The combo would win four more races, make the Playoffs and make it all the way through to the Championship Round at Homestead, where they settled in the runner-up spot behind Martin Truex Jr., crew chief Cole Pearn and Furniture Row Racing. By the time the 2017 concluded, Stevens surpassed 100 races as a Cup crew chief.

    From 2018 to 2019, Stevens was atop the No. 18 pit box for the entire 36-race schedule. With Kyle Busch remaining as driver of the No. 18 Toyota, the combo achieved 13 wins, five poles, 39 top-five results, 56 top-10 results and back-to-back regular-season titles. In addition, Busch and Stevens claimed their second Cup championship in 2019 after winning the finale at Homestead and capping off a dominating season for Joe Gibbs Racing, which achieved its fifth Cup career title after winning 19 races throughout the 2019 season. By then, Adams also achieved his 27th Cup career win as a crew chief.

    This season, through the first 23 Cup races of this season and in his sixth season as a Cup crew chief, Adams and Busch have earned one stage win, 10 top-five results, 12 top-10 results, 211 laps led and an average result of 15.1. With Busch still pursuing his first Cup victory of the season, they are in 10th place in the regular-season standings and are 100 points above the top-16 cutline to make this year’s Playoffs with three regular-season races remaining.

    Catch Adams’ milestone start in the second Dover International Speedway race of a doubleheader weekend on August 23 at 4 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

  • Tony Stewart’s All Stars Circuit of Champions to visit Volunteer Speedway

    Tony Stewart’s All Stars Circuit of Champions to visit Volunteer Speedway

    Tony Stewart’s All Stars Circuit of Champions announced today that the series will head to Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tennessee for two nights of racing on Saturday, June 27 and Sunday, June 28.

    The two-day doubleheader at Volunteer Speedway will see up to $5,000 in prizes along with drivers also being awarded championship points.

    This will be the first time in at least 10 years that the All Star Circuit of Champions will visit Volunteer Speedway, with Joey Saldana and Jason Meyer scoring wins on the March 19-20 weekend.

    A few of the driver entries have already been announced for this event. These include 2019 Rookie of the Year Cory Eliason, Brock Zearfoss, Sprint Car regular Paul McMahan, two-time champion Greg Wilson, Skylar Gee, Justin Peck, Danny Dietrich, Zeb Wise, Sam Hafertepe Jr. and Josh Baughman.

    In addition to the driver entry list, former NASCAR driver and series owner, Tony Stewart will also partake in the action in hopes of taking the checkered flag. Stewart was the recent race winner when the series visited 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa. The Indiana native picked up $26,000 in addition to his race winning victory.

    Fans who are interested in more information regarding the All Star Circuit of Champions can visit the Volunteer Speedway website.

    Those unable to visit the race weekend can also watch on floracing.com and can watch all season long.

  • Interview – First Seasons: Tony Stewart

    Interview – First Seasons: Tony Stewart

    In this week’s interview highlighting driver’s first seasons, we caught up with NASCAR Hall of Famer, Tony Stewart. The Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner and former IndyCar Champion discussed his early IndyCar days that occurred in the 1996 – 1997 seasons.

    You entered the IndyCar Series in 1996-97 at the age of 25 for your first full season. What was it like entering the series when it was still young and getting the opportunity to drive for John Menard? Was it a dream come true for you?”

    TS: “Yeah, absolutely,” Stewart said. “I didn’t really know much about John (Menard) at the time. However, on January 2nd of 1996, I got home from Australia and had been racing over there during the winter. I went to bed at 4 in the afternoon because of the time change but got woken up by a phone call a couple of hours later and Terry Dolan (former Chevrolet Director, Motorsports Marketing and Activation) told me I needed to get on the first flight I could to go to Orlando the next morning.”

    “I said, ‘Terry, I just got home from Australia’ and he says, ‘I know but we’re going to go down and test an IndyCar for Team Menard Racing.’ I said, ‘you’ve got to be kidding me.’ So, I dumped out the dirty clothes, piled up a few clean clothes I had left and went down for the test session for three days.”

    “There was interest before I went to Australia because I had talked to A.J. Foyt and had done a test with him at Phoenix. But, I’d been working with the Laniers’ on the NASCAR side. They were fine with letting me run both (NASCAR and IndyCar), but Foyt wasn’t. I had to turn away the opportunity of working with my hero. To get to go down there (Orlando) and test was really cool.”

    Do you recall meeting John? If so, when did it happen?

    TS: “I didn’t even get to meet John (Menard, Team Owner) until the day of the race,” he said. “John wasn’t at the test, because he was running his business. I had met part of the team down there (during the test). To go down there for the race, I was totally a duck out of water and had never done anything except for the IndyCar stuff. I had no idea what the procedures were, so I had no clue what was going on. It was extremely overwhelming that whole weekend, you know, just meeting John, the team. We were really just a two-car operation and I was the third car. The guy who called the race for me was the parts manager. At the same time, it was a fun weekend. It was new for everybody and it was the first IRL (Indy Racing League) race for everyone.”

    Disney was a strong run for you by finishing second right out of the gate. Is there anything you recall about that first race?

    TS: “What I remember about it was practice seemed pretty sanitary,” Stewart said. “When you ran around there, it was kind of like testing for the most part. It was definitely warmer when we went back for the race. During the race, it didn’t take long to realize everyone was extremely loose. Looking back, I had a tough time getting off Turn 1 there because I was loose, and the pace had slowed down so much that when you were off the gas, and when that turbocharger kicked in, you had too much horsepower than what you were asking for. It was easy to shake the back of the car and I just remember how many times that happened. When you did that, it caught my attention during the race.”

    “It was so bad that my teammate (Scott Brayton), that he just parked it. He told me, I could not drive it anymore when I talked to him after the race. But as far as driving in the race, Turns 2 and 3 were pretty sane. However, the exit of Turn 1 was the slowest corner on entry. I remember that I just had a lack of knowledge about those cars and I think had I kept the turbo at a pace, it would have helped tremendously.”

    A few weeks later, you made your first start at the Indianapolis 500. What did it mean to you to make your first start with you being from the state?

    TS: “It was like being in heaven,” Stewart said. “Not because of the talk around us, but we did quite a bit of testing before we got to the Month of May. I remember the first day we tested, there were snow flurries and I questioned if it was safe to be out here. And the officials said, yeah, as long as it’s not getting the track wet.”

    “But, I remember we tried breaking rookie orientation in the least amount of laps, I still think we ended up doing that. During orientation, we ran a 237 mph average lap in practice, which was way over the track record at the time. Pretty much from that moment on, the media was following us for the entire month because of that.”

    Kind of take us through what it was like being in the garage area, on the grid, and the pace laps before the green flag. Was that overwhelming for you at all?

    TS: “The amount of people on race day for sure (overwhelmed me), because I had never been there,” he said. “On race morning, there were a lot of people. I pretty much stayed around Larry (Curry, crew chief) the whole time and followed his lead on stuff we had to do, you know, as far as mandatory things go. He was pretty calm about everything and that really helped me. It’s kind of funny because you would get caught up being a racecar driver, but also get caught up in the moment of being a race fan at the same time. It seemed as though the time leading up to the green flag took forever. I got to the point where I was thinking, ‘Can we please get in the car? I am losing my mind.’ By the time I got in the car, I was over ready.”

    You finished 24th in that race after starting on the front row and leading 44 laps and ultimately had an engine problem taking you out of the race. Was that a heartbreaker for you since that was your first Indy 500?

    TS: “Oh definitely,” Stewart said. “We realized early on that if it just stayed together, we were going to win this thing. At one point, I was told to have the boost turned all the way down and then we still weren’t satisfied with the pace. When I did that, I was actually going into Turn 1 and Turn 3. It got so bad that my lap times started to become inconsistent. The car was so easy to drive that we had so much speed left. All we had to do was finish. There’s not one percent of me that thinks that it wasn’t our race to win. It was our day, all we had to do was to keep it running.”

    Going into 1997, you got your first win at Pikes Peak and completely dominated the race, leading 192 laps. Does winning at Pikes Peak still mean a lot to you to this day? Do you ever go back and watch that specific race?

    TS: “You know, I haven’t watched,” he said regarding the race. “Maybe, I have caught clips of it at some point. I just remember leading the majority of the laps and the laps we didn’t lead were during the pit stop sequence. I honestly don’t remember a ton about it, but I wish I could. Aside from that, it was an awesome day. To say I won in an IndyCar was a huge accomplishment to me. My family was also there, which was very unusual. We actually drove up to Pikes Peak the next day.”

    At what point during the ‘97 season, did you and your team realize that you might have a shot at winning this championship? 

    TS: “It was probably with two races to go,” Stewart said. “We kind of realized that earlier in the year, but we were in the stages of a new car, new engine package. We would still occasionally have motor problems and trying to navigate around that. We didn’t really focus on points. We just took each event one at a time and focused from there.”

    You won the IndyCar title by six points that year. What did winning the title mean to you, despite the points battle being so close? I am also sure the post-race celebration was memorable.

    TS: “I wish I could remember it,” Stewart said jokingly. “It seemed as though I liked the Vegas track. For some reason, we got out of balance with the car and the car got tight during the race. I remember hitting the wall off (Turn) 2. Those cars are extremely fragile. To bump the wall like that is way different than a Cup car. So during the rest of the race, I questioned if anything was going to break on me. We kind of limped along there and had enough points to win it.”

    During that time, there was the CART/Indy split. Were there ever any offers that you received from the CART side to compete over there? 

    TS: “I did get an offer,” he said. I got an offer from Team Green Racing at the end of the ’96 season. Barry Green called me and offered me a full-time ride. It was kind of weird at the same time because I had only run eight races in NASCAR and only ran five IndyCar races. Literally, in two days, I got a call from Rick Hendrick to drive the No. 25 Cup car. I had never driven a full suspension car that I had to shift on a road course. During those eight NASCAR races I drove in, I just didn’t have very good luck. I felt like I wasn’t ready to make that next step. I thought it was a great opportunity and was flattered to get the call from Barry about the IndyCar deal. I just didn’t have the confidence to drive on a road course and also wasn’t ready to go on the Cup level.”

    When you look back on your IndyCar days, what are some of your fondest memories? 

    TS: “I think the team more than anything,” Stewart said. “I really enjoyed the guys at Menard. John and I weren’t super close, because he worked on the car for Robby (Gordon). I enjoyed the opportunity. I remember John taking me up to Wisconsin and we went up to race on the ice, and I enjoyed that day up there. I thought back at the end of my IndyCar career of what Larry Curry and John did for me. To sit there and take a chance on somebody that had never driven an IndyCar was something else. John didn’t have to go out on a limb to take a chance since he had great equipment. I was real appreciative of that. I had a lot of fun with those guys.”

    Some drivers keep memorabilia while some don’t. Are you a collector of your own merchandise and if so, is there anything in your collection that reminds you of your rookie season in IndyCar?

    TS: “I still have most of my helmets,” he said. “I don’t have every one of them, but I have my rookie year helmet. I have both of the helmets from ’97 that I wore on the way to the championship. I also have the double duty helmets from 1999 and 2001. The helmets are a big thing to me that I want to keep.”

    It’s hard to believe that it has been 24 years since your first IndyCar start. What would a 48-year-old Tony Stewart tell a 25-year-old Tony Stewart if you had the chance to time travel? Is there anything you would do differently? 

    TS: “I would have done it the same way,” Stewart said. “I felt like I was with the right organization. If I knew I was going to have the ability to time travel and learn what the problems were with the motor, I think taking some knowledge back to help with the motor liability with that side of it. We had a lot of chances to win in the IRL. I know three (wins) doesn’t show it. If I could go back to fix the motors, especially in ’96 and ’98, those two Indy 500s, I felt like we had cars capable of winning the race for sure.”

    *Special thanks to Misha Geisert for setting up the interview and for Tony Stewart for taking time out of the day.

  • NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart to compete in NASCAR Xfinity Series Race July 4 at Indianapolis

    NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart to compete in NASCAR Xfinity Series Race July 4 at Indianapolis

    Tony Stewart will compete in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race July 4 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in a Ford Mustang from Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR).

    The three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and 2020 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee will headline the inaugural Xfinity Series event on Indianapolis’ 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course, with the 62-lap race serving as Stewart’s 28th overall start at the Brickyard but his first in the Xfinity Series. Stewart has competed in 18 Brickyard 400s, five Indianapolis 500s and four IROC Series races. Stewart is a two-time Brickyard 400 winner (2005 and 2007) and a member of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame.

    “Everyone knows what Indy means to me, so I can’t think of a better place to race on Fourth of July weekend,” said Stewart, who grew up 45 minutes from Indianapolis in the towns of Columbus and Rushville, Indiana. “It’s going to be cool making history by turning left and right in a stock car at the Brickyard, and the racing will be full of action and contact. Any time you can drive any racecar at the speedway is special, and you know I’m going for the win. The date is already circled on my calendar.”

    The road course at Indianapolis has hosted INDYCAR, Formula One, sports cars and even MotoGP, but never NASCAR. And while Stewart is no stranger to Indianapolis, be it in open-wheel Indy cars or full-bodied stock cars, he has never driven the road course in any type of racecar. But Stewart has proven to be prolific when turning left and right. He has eight road-course wins in the NASCAR Cup Series, including his 49th and final career victory in 2016 at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway. Stewart is second to only Jeff Gordon for the most road-course wins in the NASCAR Cup Series with a tally that includes Sonoma in 2001, 2005 and 2016 and Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2009.

    Outside of the NASCAR Cup Series, Stewart has a road-course win in IROC and a near win in the prestigious Rolex 24 At Daytona. Stewart won Round III of IROC XXX on the Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway road course en route to the 2006 series championship. He also competed in the prestigious Rolex 24 At Daytona five times, with a best finish of third in 2005 with co-drivers Jan Lammers and Andy Wallace. Stewart nearly won the 2004 Rolex 24 At Daytona, where with co-drivers Wallace and Dale Earnhardt Jr., they led 355 of the 526 laps available and had a commanding five-lap advantage before mechanical problems less than 20 minutes short of the finish ended their shot at victory and placed them a disappointing fourth.

    Stewart’s most recent road-course outing came in a demonstration run last October at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas. He took an SHR-prepared Ford Mustang specially outfitted with a passenger seat around the 3.426-mile, 20-turn layout and showed Haas F1 Team drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen how to wheel a 3,200-pound racecar around America’s only purpose-built Formula One track.

    “It was a lot of fun for me to get in one of our Ford Mustangs and do that exhibition run at COTA,” Stewart said. “It kind of got my juices flowing to get back in a car again, and what better place to come back than Indianapolis Motor Speedway.”

    The Indiana 150 will mark Stewart’s 95th career Xfinity Series start and his first since the 2013 season opener at Daytona, where Stewart collected his 11th Xfinity Series victory. It will also mark Stewart’s first NASCAR start since the 2016 NASCAR Cup Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    “People sometimes say, ‘We miss seeing you behind the wheel,” and I’m like, ‘Well, you’ve just got to go to different places now’,” said Stewart, who has collected 23 wins in an assortment of sprint car races since retiring as a full-time NASCAR driver at the end of the 2016 season. “I’m racing 100 times a year in a sprint car, but seeing some of these road-course races – especially the Roval at Charlotte – piqued my interest a bit, and running the stock car at COTA, it kind of fed my hunger. All of it has led me back to the place I’ve always called home – Indy.”

    Details regarding Stewart’s car number, crew and primary partner will be announced closer to the race.

  • 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.

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kyle Busch: Busch started sixth at Phoenix and took the checkered flag in the Can-Am 500 to advance to Homestead with a chance to win his second Cup championship.

    “Kevin Harvick got in when Denny Hamlin knocked out Kurt Busch and Chase Elliott,” Busch said. “Either Kurt or Chase could have played the spoiler, and the last thing Harvick needed is another troublesome spoiler.”

    2. Kevin Harvick: Harvick started on the pole at Phoenix and finished fifth after an early flat tire scare.

    “Our goal was to start on the pole,” Harvick said, “build a big lead, and pray we didn’t ‘get caught.’ I guess two out of three ain’t bad.”

    3. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished 14th at Phoenix and advanced to Homestead on points.

    “I’ll have to go through three other drivers to remain Monster Energy Cup champion,” Truex said. “And if need be, I’ll literally ‘go through’ Joey Logano to get there.”

    4. Joey Logano: Logano blew a left rear tire early, leading to a spin. He finished 37th.

    “It’s me,” Logano said, “and Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex Jr. at Homestead. I’m in trouble because now all three of those guys have vowed not to let me win.”

    5. Kurt Busch: Busch was running second late in the race before he was taken out by an overly aggressive move by Denny Hamlin. Busch finished 32nd.

    “I’m not sure what Denny was thinking,” Busch said. “But I’m pretty sure who Kevin Harvick was thanking.”

    6. Chase Elliott: Elliott started second at Phoenix but was collected in a crash when Denny Hamlin spun Kurt Busch late in the race. Elliott finished 23rd, three laps down.

    “It sucks that I don’t have a chance to become the Monster Energy Cup champions,” Elliott said. “But I’m looking forward to just being a spectator at Homestead. And Lord knows NASCAR needs as many of those as possible.”

    7. Aric Almirola: Almirola finished fourth at Phoenix.

    “I needed a win to get to Homestead with a chance to be NASCAR champion,” Almirola said. “I didn’t get the job done. I came up a little bit ‘short;’ ironically, my championship hopes said ‘so long.’”

    8. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished second at Phoenix.

    “I’m pulling for my Penske Racing teammate Joey Logano to win the championship,” Keselowski said. “Mostly because Roger Penske told me I had to. It’s the closest you’ll get to ‘team orders’ in NASCAR.”

    9. Kyle Larson: Larson finished third in the Can-Am 500, posting his 12th top five of the year.

    “It’s the ‘Big 3’ and ‘Sliced Bread’ in the finale,” Larson said. “Here’s a little-known fact: a young Tony Stewart was also known as ‘Sliced Bread.’ Then he got heavy and his nickname changed to ‘Doughy.’”

    10. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 13th at Phoenix.

    “If not for me and my reckless driving,” Hamlin said, “Kevin Harvick wouldn’t be among the Final 4 at Homestead. I drive a Toyota Camry; Harvick now says I drive a Dodge ‘Bullet.’”