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Tag: Tony Stewart

Smoke Had ‘Much Fun’ in his Return to Racing

When asked what stood out about today’s race, Tony Stewart said, “How much fun I had in it.”

The driver of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet brought his car home 19th in his first Sprint Cup Series race since Homestead of last season.

“This place is so cool anyway,” Stewart said of Richmond International Raceway. “It’s always been my favorite race track. Like we predicted, a day race we’d be all over the race track. That’s what made it fun. The drivers got to dictate it today as far as…. You weren’t just stuck in one line. You had the ability to move around and change lines. We got in a spot there with a group of five cars racing for position once and it was fun because the five of us totally ran the track totally different. So, it made it a lot of fun. We got the lap down there. I got a lap down and almost drove back by and got my lap back.”

“But Carl (Edwards) was strong. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to hang on long, but I was going to hold on as long as I could and hope we got a caution. It just seemed like we would get really close to being able to get that Lucky Dog spot back, and something would happen and we’d miss it by one. So, magic cautions coming out at wrong times for us. But it was fun. I had a good time and I’m looking forward to running the rest of this year with these guys.”

His day wasn’t without mishaps as he made contact with Joey Logano shortly after the lap 258 restart and this cut down his left-front tire. Other than that, it was a typical day for Stewart as had been the case the last two years. He ran in the 20s for much of the race and made it as high as 14th before falling back to 19th.

Even still, he loves to race at Richmond.

“That is Richmond,” he added about racing at Richmond. “That is part of racing at your favorite race track and running a day race here where it gets slippery and you have to use all of the track. That is what made it fun and that’s what I miss, that is the stuff I dearly miss with this series is having days like today where you get on track and you are sliding around and the drivers get to make the difference.”

Next week, he heads to Talladega where he plans to start the race before giving way to a replacement driver.

April 24, 2016
Stewart’s Return to Racing Marred by NASCAR Fine

Tony Stewart announced Wednesday that he had been cleared by his doctors to return to racing this weekend at Richmond International Raceway. He suffered a burst L1 vertebrae fracture on Jan. 31 driving an off-road vehicle and has missed the first eight races of the 2016 season.

NASCAR then promptly announced that Stewart had been given a medical waiver meaning he is eligible to compete in the Sprint Cup Chase for the championship. The news quickly sparked a celebration among his fans as fellow drivers also welcomed him back. The celebration, however, was short-lived.

Only hours after his announcement, NASCAR issued a $35,000 fine to Stewart for statements he made on Wednesday concerning NASCAR’s decision not to monitor whether all five lug nuts are on each wheel during pit stops. The change was instituted in 2015 as a result of new pit-road technology which meant there would no longer be an official in each pit box.

As a result, some teams may not use all five lug nuts or may not sufficiently tighten all of them in order to decrease the time spent in the pit box in an effort to gain track position. Stewart voiced concern over the possible repercussions of this decision as teams continue to push the boundaries of safety on SiriusXM NASCAR radio on “The Morning Drive” program.

He prefaced his comments by saying NASCAR had “done such a good job since Dale Earnhardt’s death of working hard to make sure that the sport is as safe for the drivers as it can be and for the fans and crew members and everybody involved.

“And then they do a rule that doesn’t dictate how many lug nuts you have to have on the car, Stewart continued. “And now guys are leaving more and more of them off each week to try to have that money stop at the end to get two positions that you may not be able to gain back on the track.”

He went on to say that he thought it was “a huge step backwards for the sport. I think it’s bad for the fans and I think most of all it’s putting the drivers in jeopardy. I think it’s putting their safety in jeopardy and I think it’s wrong.” Stewart summed it up by stating that “safety should not be compromised because of competition,” and it’s hard to argue with that.

You can listen to the entire audio here.

Stewart was fined for violating Section 12 of the rule book which addresses member conduct guidelines. And while he is certainly not the first driver to be fined for remarks considered to be disparaging of NASCAR and/or its leadership and the rule book leaves much to interpretation, one has to question the validity of the ruling in this instance.

Just last week at Bristol Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. commented on the subject saying, “It freaks me out. I was blown away that NASCAR quit officiating that aspect. I could not believe that was the choice that they made. But that is the world we live in.”

Greg Biffle has also weighed in, going as far as saying, “I feel like it’s a ticking time bomb. The left rear tire’s gonna fall off of one of these cars and spin out and the thing is gonna go driver’s side into the fence and we’re gonna hurt somebody. He went on to say,”There’s five on there for a reason.”

Neither driver was fined for their remarks, another example of the inconsistency that plagues NASCAR and infuriates its fans.

Stewart has received support not only from his fans but from his competitors as well. NBC reported Thursday evening that Denny Hamlin, a member of the Driver’s Council, released a statement on behalf of the council.

“We as drivers believe Tony has the right to speak his opinion on topics that pertain to a sport that he has spent nearly two decades helping build as both a driver and an owner. While we do not condone drivers lashing out freely at NASCAR, we do feel Tony was in his rights to state his opinion. We as a Council support him and do not agree with the fine. Therefore, we fellow council members have agreed to contribute equally to paying his fine.”

Though NASCAR has a reputation to protect, matters of safety should always be addressed openly and not relegated to the shadows. More importantly, when several veterans of the sport are concerned enough to speak out, NASCAR would be well advised to listen rather than worrying about public perception.

April 22, 2016
Stewart To Return at Richmond

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – Tony Stewart has been cleared by his doctors and NASCAR to return to racing, effective immediately. He will drive the No. 14 Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy Chevrolet SS fielded by Stewart-Haas Racing throughout this weekend’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.

Stewart missed the first eight races of the season after sustaining a burst fracture of the L1 vertebra in a Jan. 31 all-terrain vehicle accident. The prescribed rehabilitation regimen instituted by his doctors following a March 9 evaluation proved successful, allowing the three-time series champion to return for his final Sprint Cup season.

“As soon as the doctors said they were happy with my scans, I wasn’t going to wait any longer to get back in my racecar,” said Stewart, who announced last year that he would retire after the 2016 season. “I want to make the most of my last season in Sprint Cup, and I’ve been on the sidelines long enough.”

Following Richmond, Stewart will participate in a Goodyear tire test April 26-27 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He will then practice and qualify his No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet in the Sprint Cup Series’ next event at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. However, Stewart will only start the race before yielding the car to Ty Dillon, who split substitute driving duties this year with Brian Vickers.

“We’re taking a strategic approach to my return,” Stewart said. “Richmond is a track where I feel very comfortable and because it’s a short track, the speeds are substantially less. The Goodyear test in Indy is sort of a controlled environment, allowing me to get more acclimated with my car at higher speeds. We’ll start the Talladega race to get the points, but understanding the style of racing and the higher potential of getting involved in an incident, we thought it was best to minimize the amount of time I’m in the car. I’ll return full time at Kansas and enjoy every moment I can in my final year of Sprint Cup.

“I appreciate everyone’s patience and all the support they’ve given me the last couple of months, but the best medicine will come this weekend at Richmond when I finally get to go racing.”

Richmond will mark Stewart’s 591^st career Sprint Cup start. Thirty-three of those starts have come at Richmond, where Stewart has three wins, four second-place finishes, 11 top-fives, 19 top-10s and has led a total of 950 laps. Richmond is home to Stewart’s his first career Sprint Cup win, earned on Sept. 11, 1999, when he led 333 of 400 laps.

-SHR-

April 21, 2016
NASCAR Fines Tony Stewart

NASCAR has fined Stewart-Haas Racing driver and co-owner Tony Stewart $35,000 for violations of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rule Book, the sanctioning body announced Thursday.

Stewart’s fine falls under Section 12 of the rule book, specifically member conduct guidelines.

According to Section 12.8.1, actions that could result in a $10,000-$50,000 fine include disparaging the sport and/or NASCAR’s leadership, or verbal abuse of a NASCAR Official, media members, fans, etc.

Stewart announced earlier Thursday that he would return to the No. 14 Chevrolet this weekend at Richmond after missing the first eight races due to injury.

April 21, 2016
Statement from Steve O’Donnell on Tony Stewart’s Return

Statement from Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer, on Tony Stewart’s Return

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 21, 2016) – “NASCAR received the appropriate medical clearance documentation allowing Tony Stewart to resume normal racing activities.

We also have granted the request from Stewart-Haas Racing for a waiver for Tony to be eligible to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. As he begins his final season, we wish Tony the best of luck.”

April 21, 2016
The Final Word – The best little race car in Texas was not the one that won

Watching NASCAR is very much akin to viewing a bunch of toddlers race each other. Little Johnny might take off early, get within a few feet of the finish line, then that damn butterfly takes all his attention and he swerves right and off the course. Saturday night in Texas was a lot like that.

If you tuned in early, you saw rain for two hours. Not the beginning they had hoped for, but for others the rain on their parade would come later. In the beginning, it was pole sitter Carl Edwards dueling Martin Truex Jr. for the lead. If it was not one, it was the other. That is how it went for 200 laps, then came the butterfly. Actually, then came a loose lug nut on the right front after a pit miscue, and Edwards went from leading 124 laps to fighting just to get close enough to finish seventh.

That left Truex. He led 141 laps. He was leading with just over 30 laps to go. Truex did not wander anywhere, but he should have. When most came to the pits for tires under caution, the team threw caution to the wind, and Truex under the bus. Sometimes Little Johnny needs to come in for a change, but the call from Cole Pearn to dive into the pits came too late for the driver to do so, and they were left with a soiled diaper.

Some wore their big boy pants, again. If you tuned in when things turned green, you would have thought Kyle Busch had one hell of a day. He immediately charged past Truex, who finished sixth, and that was it. Rowdy was literally off to the races to claim his second straight Cup victory, the 36th of his career. While Busch was near the front for the latter half of the event, Dale Earnhardt Jr. made a few cameos but only in the late stages did he emerge to claim the runner-up spot. Joey Logano, Jimmie Johnson and Chase Elliott rounded out the top five.

Matt Kenseth was a factor early, but you just knew something had to go wrong. It always does this season. Look, a butterfly. Eleventh proved to be a good result after a flying lug nut in the pits got caught behind a new tire and prevented the crew from tightening the replacement. Greg Biffle is having a sad season, and after hitting the wall he got even sadder. The Biff was boffed, to finish 39th, just one behind Clint Bowyer. Driving for Harry Scott this season as he awaits Tony Stewart’s retirement is not proving to be much fun.

In fact, you probably did not notice Bowyer much out on the playground, at least not until late. With 40 laps left, Austin Dillon tried to fit into a spot ahead of Johnson, but there was not enough room and soon enough not enough air on the rear spoiler. Dillon lost control, hit the wall, and came back across the track to clip the inside fence. Meanwhile, the checkers behind him became wreckers, with Bowyer and Brian Vickers ending their day as a host of other cars received a dent or five in the mishap. Hard to watch for butterflies when someone just kicked open a hornets nest.

The Danica Patrick Line was set this week at 21st in Texas, just ahead of Ty Dillon and one up on A.J. Allmendinger. The trio were all a lap off the pace and nowhere near the front the entire day. As much as I wish for her better things, this fourth season appears a be a lot like the previous three. Patrick sits, as per usual, 24th in the rankings. If we are asking too much of her, at what time should we?

Any butterflies at Bristol this Sunday probably will come in the form of a similar looking vehicle doing things to make a driver’s auto look less similar. Six drivers come in with at least a pair of victories there, but no one could use another more than four-time winner Matt Kenseth. He comes in as the Food City 500’s defending champion. Just as long as those Busch toddlers are not so spoiled as to add to the 10 they have already split between them.

I just do not think you can rely on their sharing natures at Bristol over the past five years to continue. The younger one has been exceptionally greedy as of late.

April 11, 2016
Remembering the Underbird

I still can’t imagine that it has been 23 years since we lost Alan Kulwicki in a plane crash as he was headed to Bristol Motor Speedway. The sight of the No. 7 hauler taking the lap around Bristol before leaving the track still brings a chill up my back.

Kulwicki did things his way. He brought engineering into NASCAR and now 23 years later, most crew chiefs are engineers. Future crew chief and owner, Ray Evernham, lasted six weeks with Kulwicki in 1992. Evernham later said, “The man was a genius. There’s no question. It’s not a matter of people just feeling like he was a genius. That man was a genius. But his personality paid for that. He was very impatient, very straightforward, very cut-to-the-bone.”

When Kulwicki started his own team he served as his own engineer and crew chief. Eventually, he hired Paul Andrews as the crew chief and the team also featured two future crew chiefs, Tony Gibson, the current crew chief for Kurt Busch at Stewart-Haas Racing and Brian Whitesell who succeeded Ray Evernham as the crew chief for Jeff Gordon.

In the early 1990s, very few people would say no to Junior Johnson. When Johnson was looking to replace Terry Labonte, he offered the seat to Kulwicki who said no because he wanted to run his own team. Kulwicki had another run-in with Johnson. In 1991, Johnson wanted to start a second team and offered Kulwicki $1 million to drive for him. The Wisconsin owner/driver turned him down thinking he had secured Maxwell House as a sponsor for his team. Johnson wound up taking the Maxwell House sponsorship and hired Sterling Marlin to drive the No. 22 Maxwell House Ford for Johnson and Kulwicki started the 1991 season without sponsorship.

Kulwicki would eventually secure Hooters to sponsor his car for one race in 1991 and it grew into a multi-year commitment. That commitment from Hooters and Kulwicki’s determination turned into magic in 1992. It was a season of consistency. He scored two victories and only had two finishes outside the top-20 all season. When the team rolled through the gates for the 1992 Hooters 500, Kulwicki was second in points, trailing Davey Allison by 30 points. He went to Ford and NASCAR to get approval to have Underbird on the car because he relished the underdog role.

During the race, points leader Allison was involved in a wreck with Ernie Irvan and fell out of contention. It became a battle between Bill Elliott and Kulwicki to determine the 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup championship. Elliott won the Hooters 500, but Kulwicki managed a second place finish to capture the series championship.

The 1992 Hooters 500 is one for the NASCAR record books. It was Richard Petty’s final race, Jeff Gordon’s first race and the day the Underbird took Alan Kulwicki to the championship.

It was a championship he wouldn’t defend. After an appearance at the Hooters in Knoxville, Tennessee, Kulwicki was flying to Bristol when his plane crashed on final approach to the airport. Kulwicki was gone at the age of 38.

His legacy continues in the sport. Tony Gibson is still on a pit box, engineers are the life blood of Sprint Cup success for any team and now the Alan Kulwicki Driver Development Program is helping worthy drivers along the way to reaching their dream.

It’s been 23 years since NASCAR lost a true independent owner/driver who did it his way. Tony Stewart has won a championship since Kulwicki as an owner-driver, but Stewart also had the partnership with Gene Haas and support from Hendrick Motorsports. Kulwicki did it on his own.

I can still see the Hooters No. 7 taking the Polish Victory Lap waving to the fans and I will always wonder how much more he could have accomplished if he wasn’t taken so soon.

Rest in peace, Alan Kulwicki. You are still missed.

March 29, 2016
Hot 20 – Johnson is again California dreaming while Harvick is staying with SHR…or is he?

Best damn finishes ever. Well, for two of the four events to date, that has been the headline for NASCAR in 2016. Daytona and Phoenix were decided by gaps measurable with a ruler, and that has to be a good thing. Hell, a great thing. That said, just how exciting has the visual been, what you and I see on the television prior to the final few laps? Pushing the fast forward button at Daytona was difficult, but it always is. As for the rest, the temptation has been there to quicken the action, if only for a few round and round laps.

Kevin Harvick won last week by a hair over Carl Edwards. That was a good story. Rumblings that Harvick might bolt Stewart-Haas Racing when it abandons Chevrolet for Ford might be a better one. Oh, no, it is not going to happen, if you listened to the driver at Daytona. Funny, that was the same line Tony Stewart gave before he dashed away from Joe Gibbs when they went with Toyota. Mind you, this is different. For example, we are not hearing anything about anyone about to place Harvick’s name on the wall as a name partner any time soon, but the point is that today’s promise could always wind up broken.

A piece by Beyond the Flag’s Christopher Olmstead does make one ponder, with sponsor deals with Busch Beer and Jimmy Johns coming to an end after this season and only an option of keeping Harvick for a season longer if push comes to shove. If he bails, some figure he could replace Kasey Kahne in the Rick Hendrick stable. Makes some sense. Still, there is a good chance that where there is Smoke there shall also be Harvick. Rumors can be fun, at least for the gossipers if not so much for the principles involved. Did we not once think a certain Hendrick driver would actually wind up driving for Richard Childress in a car his dad made famous? Nice story, different ending. It could be the same with this one.

Here is hoping the racing at Fontana proves entertaining from start to middle, as well as the finish. Even more entertaining than any rumors. No doubt, a few of the drivers among our Hot 20 will be front and center this weekend, as Jimmy Johns might be replaced by Jimmie Johnson as Sunday’s center of attention. Now, why am I yearning for a sandwich about now?

1. KEVIN HARVICK – 1 WIN – 154 PTS
In the words of Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes, he is once again back up where he belongs.

2. JIMMIE JOHNSON – 1 WIN – 140 PTS
Expect no less than a Top Ten, as long as he has something more than vice-grips to steer with.

3. DENNY HAMLIN – 1 WIN – 131 PTS
Last week he did not have a great performance, yet finished third. Sometimes okay is enough.

4. BRAD KESELOWSKI – 1 WIN – 110 PTS
Needed a bus at Phoenix, as everyone knows its wheels go round and round, not kaboom!

5. KYLE BUSCH – 154 PTS
3rd, 3rd, 4th, 4th kind of works as he goes forth.

6. KURT BUSCH – 137 PTS
At least, we have one Busch who knows why Big Leaguers do not regularly play Little League.

7. CARL EDWARDS – 136 PTS
Carl mattered in Phoenix, he will matter at Fontana.

8. JOEY LOGANO – 127 PTS
Life lesson #22: Gas and go…but get all the gas you can before you go.

9. AUSTIN DILLON – 122 PTS
A new generation is making its presence felt…but where are Newman and Menard?

10. MARTIN TRUEX JR. – 117 PTS
A new manufacturer, trouble in inspection, a race without his crew chief…and all is well?

11. DALE EARNHARDT JR. – 115 PTS
Would be much, much higher if Daytona had not been so much a disappointment.

12. RYAN BLANEY – 104 PTS
Some fly charter, some fly coach, and for some, it just does not matter.

13. ARIC ALMIROLA – 100 PTS
No matter where he goes to bed at night he always remains Almirola by morning.

14. KASEY KAHNE – 96 PTS
Beaten up by a loose air cooling hose in the car, finally beaten by a tire issue outside it.

15. JAMIE MCMURRAY – 94 PTS
Has never enjoyed a Top Ten season. Even in 2010 (Daytona 500/Brickyard) he finished 14th.

16. MATT KENSETH – 90 PTS
Relevant in every race, but just has had trouble before the end of every race…except for last week.

17. KYLE LARSON – 85 PTS
Not yet a Top 15 driver. Not yet.

18. RICKY STENHOUSE JR. – 83 PTS
Even after the disaster that was Phoenix, he still is the best performer Roush-Fenway has.

19. GREG BIFFLE – 76 PTS
A mean handling car meant another long day for the Biff.

20. A.J. ALLMENDINGER – 75 PTS
Average finish of 20th does not cut it, but it beats Trevor, Chase, Danica, Ryan, Paul, Clint…

March 16, 2016
The Final Word – Harvick rises like a phoenix at Phoenix from the tears of Edwards

A phoenix rises from the ashes to be reborn. In Phoenix, Kevin Harvick rose from the tears of Carl Edwards to once again become the Cactus King, the driver to beat at Phoenix.

In November of 2012, Harvick won his first at that track. The next spring, the winner was Edwards. Last fall, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was the victor. The four in between were all claimed by the man who has been victorious in six of the past eight events run in Arizona. That is domination, but it was close on Sunday. Very close.

Harvick had the dominant car on the day. Oh, what a surprise that was. However, he came to the overtime dash to the finish on four used tires, compared to the two fresh ones underneath Edwards. Underneath is where the gent went to make the pass, but Edwards did not get a clean get away. Side by side, fender to fender, fender into fender they came to the stripe, with Harvick taking it by a head. My head, if I had been foolish enough to have had it laying on the track, just 0.01 of a second for the closest outcome ever at this track, one of the closest finishes on any track, at any time.

Edwards was no slacker on the day, sitting among the top three pretty much from start to finish. He was the guy who was chasing Kyle Busch over the first 60 laps of this thing. Even a little miss on pit road did not derail Busch for long, as he concluded the event in fourth. Denny Hamlin was third, even after an early stop saw a tire roll away to find him penalized from fourth to 26th at the time. Earnhardt (5th) and Kurt Busch (6th) were also among the notables on the day, with young Chase Elliott bringing it home in eighth.

Sometimes being tired equates into being fatigued, adding new rubber in the pits, or having them fail to send one into the wall. Ryan Newman (39th) was the first casualty just over 50 laps into the race, and every fifty laps or so after somebody else got bit. Next up was Paul Menard (38th), to be followed by Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (37th), but the exploding tread from Brad Keselowski (29th) was the most spectacular failure.

The Danica Patrick Line last Sunday was drawn at 19th, one place behind Joey Logano, who had a fuel intake issue that forced a late stop for juice, and Matt DiBenedetto in 20th.

The good news for everybody is the fact Harvick has not won at Fontana for the past five years. From 2004-2010, they visited the California venue twice, allowing the likes of Jimmie Johnson (5), and Matt Kenseth (3) to pick up a bunch of wins. Harvick and Tony Stewart have won there since they returned to a one and done situation, with Kyle winning twice before Keselowski took it last spring.

Those last two might be considered decent selections for the prognosticators, but remember that since 2006 Johnson has finished outside the Top 15 just once over the past 15 starts at Fontana. With both Edwards and Kenseth also boasting Top Ten averages, the track could live up to the community’s motto as the “City of Action.” I can live with that.

March 14, 2016
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Atlanta

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Kyle Busch: One day after winning the XFINITY Series race, Busch finished third in the Folds Of Honor 500. He now stands third in the points standings, eight behind Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin.

“I originally won the pole,” Busch said, “but my car failed inspection. That gave the pole to my brother Kurt. You could say Kurt backed into the pole. That ‘pole’ at Atlanta caused no damage to Kurt’s car, unlike that ‘wall’ at Dover last October, which damaged Kevin Harvick’s car not only beyond recognition but beyond inspection.”

2. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson short-pitted with about 40 laps to go in Atlanta, and held off the charging Kevin Harvick down the stretch to capture the Folds Of Honor 500. With the win, Johnson matched Dale Earnhardt with his 76th career win.

“That’s why I held three fingers out of the window,” Johnson said. “Not because I was three times as pissed off as Martin Truex Jr. was at Regan Smith, but because I wanted to honor Dale Earnhardt. Just call me the ‘InJimidator.’

“I have to give it up to Chad Knaus for making a bold strategy call. Chad firmly believes in staying one step ahead of the competition, and two steps ahead of the rule book.”

3. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex led 34 laps and finished seventh in Atlanta, and is now fourth in the Sprint Cup points standings.

“You may have seen me give Regan Smith the finger,” Truex said. “You may not know this, but the Sunday before ‘Leap Day’ is ‘Flip Day.’”

4. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin fell a lap down early at Atlanta and never recovered, finishing 16th, two laps down.

“I call it the ‘Daytona Hangover,’” Hamlin said. “The thrill of victory at Daytona is often determined by less than a tenth of a second. The agony of defeat is often marked by more than a fifth of liquor.”

5. Kevin Harvick: Harvick led a race-high 131 laps but was outsmarted in the pits by Jimmie Johnson, who short-pitted to build a big lead, then held on after a late caution.

“That race was mine to lose,” Harvick said. “But I’ll let my crew chief, Rodney Childers, take ownership of it, though, because he was outsmarted by Chad Knaus. It was a contest to see who was going to pit first. You could say it was a game of ‘cat and Knaus.’”

6. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished 19th at Atlanta after a mid-race penalty left him two laps down.

“That’s called an ‘improper fueling’ penalty,” Kenseth said. “Apparently, my gas man placed a wrench on the back of the car. That’s a no-no. But not as big a no-no as me placing my front bumper on the back of Joey Logano’s car.”

7. Carl Edwards: Edwards finished fifth in the Folds Of Honor 500 to score his second top-five result of the year.

“There were 327 laps of green flag racing,” Edwards said. “We haven’t seen this much green flag racing since 2015. Or, should I say, ‘We didn’t see this much green flag racing in 2015.’”

8. Kurt Busch: Busch started on the pole and took fourth at Atlanta, one spot behind younger brother Kyle. Kurt is seventh in the points standings, nine out of first.

“Did you hear?” Busch said. “Brian France endorsed Donald Trump for President. That’s interesting because, in July, NASCAR said it would not hold its Camping World and XFINITY banquets at Trump’s National Doral Resort after Trump made racist and disparaging remarks about immigrants. Apparently, France puts the ‘race’ in ‘racism.’ I can see Trump spin this to even greater advantage: he’ll say he was endorsed by France, and his supporters will believe it’s the country. Viva Le Trump!”

9. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished ninth at Atlanta, plagued by handling issues that likely prevented a top-5 result.

“In light of Brian France’s endorsement of Donald trump,” Keselowski said, “this is certainly not the first time someone has looked at France and said, ‘What is he doing?’

“But enough about a pudgy-faced clown who is clueless as to how to run a race, France needs to mind his own business. He can’t even handle the politics of his own sport, much less those of a nation.”

10. Austin Dillon: Dillon started eighth and finished 11th in the Folds Of Honor 500. He is ninth in the Sprint Cup points standings, 15 out of first.

“My younger brother Ty subbed for Tony Stewart in the No. 14 car,” Dillon said. “Tony is out for a few weeks, mostly to rehab a back injury, but also to work on his new cookbook, ’50 Shades Of Gravy.’

“While Tony is out, Stewart-Haas Racing wants someone in that car. They certainly don’t want that ride empty. Ty is more than happy to occupy that spot. So, with or without Tony, you know there will be an ass in the seat.”

March 1, 2016