You sure could not beat the car that had Brad Keselowski behind the wheel Sunday in New Hampshire. And nobody did. He might have loaned out the lead from time to time to the likes of Kyle Busch and Clint Bowyer, but make no mistake about this one. The 30-year old Michigan driver owned this race as the former champion recorded his 13th Cup victory. With his third of the season, his moves atop the standings, 36 points up on Jimmie Johnson.
To be honest, this was not one of the more visually stimulating events we have seen. It did provide a few surprises, though. Just ask Johnson. He might have three wins of his own, but he just picked up a pair of points at Loudon. First, a tire went flat, then its replacement blew out to send Six Time into the wall. That was all she wrote before five percent of the race was run.
Morgan Shepherd provided a surprise of his own. Just ask Joey Logano. Fifteen laps down, the 72-year-old Shepherd slipped up to clip the 24 year old, who found the wall himself to end his day in 40th. The lad, who had been running second at the time, was not terribly understanding, wondering how the slowest guy on the track could eliminate him in such a fashion. As there was no camera shot that showed the event as it unfolded, we are left hearing arguments on both sides.
We do know Shepherd was running above minimum speed. We know the driver who experienced the bulk of his Cup career from 1981 to mid 1990s has passed all the requirements needed to satisfy NASCAR that be belongs out on the track. It would appear his age was not a factor, just the quality of his ride that had trouble staying at the bottom. As for his being a friend of Logano’s team owner, Roger Penske, I think that ends the discussion right there.
Are there more commercials or have we just become too impatient these days to sit through them? TNT had enough of them, and while I see the Canadian sponsors rather than what is seen in the U.S.A., most are not much to look at, especially for the tenth time in three or four hours. Thankfully, they invented the PVR/DVR, and as I do not watch the race live they last as long as it takes for me to hit the 30-second jump button six times. I might wear that button out in the upcoming weeks.
Even though the work of Adam, Wally, and Kyle was not enough to keep me glued to this one, they are the best crew in NASCAR. Not even FOX is close. ESPN? Damn near unwatchable, as they will illustrate when action resumes in Indianapolis in a couple of weeks. As much as it saddens me to see TNT’s 32-year run come to an end, I look forward to seeing Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte on NBC next season, as long as it signals the removal of Allen, Rusty, and Brad.
On the other hand, a win means inclusion in the Chase if you are still without one going into the seven race run from Indy to Richmond. If we have less than five first-time winners in that span, at least one driver will make it on points. Probably more. Eleven have their victories, two (Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman) do not need to worry about that just yet, but there are 19 others who can punch a ticket to the Promised Land by taking a checkered flag. For more than half of them, that stands as probably their only chance for an invite to the dance.
SWEET SIXTEEN
1 – Brad Keselowski – 3 Wins – 634 Points
2 – Jimmie Johnson – 3 – 598
3 – Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – 2 – 658
4 – Carl Edwards – 2 – 574
5 – Joey Logano – 2 – 551
6 – Kevin Harvick – 2 – 528
7 – Jeff Gordon – 1 – 670
8 – Kyle Busch – 1 – 567
9 – Denny Hamlin – 1 – 530
10 – Aric Almirola – 1 – 473
11 – Kurt Busch – 1 – 440
12 – Matt Kenseth – 0 – 621
13 – Ryan Newman – 0 – 573
14 – Clint Bowyer – 0 – 548
15 – Paul Menard – 0 – 541
16 – Kyle Larson – 0 – 524
CONTENTERS & PRETENDERS
17 – Austin Dillon – 0 – 524 Points
18 – Greg Biffle – 0 – 519
19 – Kasey Kahne – 0 – 515
20 – Brian Vickers – 0 – 507
21 – Tony Stewart – 0 – 502
22 – Marcos Ambrose – 0 – 489
23 – Jamie McMurray – 0 – 475
24 – Martin Truex, Jr. – 0 – 446
25 – Casey Mears – 0 – 444
26 – A.J. Allmendinger – 0 – 440
27 – Danica Patrick – 0 – 380
28 – Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. – 0 – 377
29 – Justin Allgaier – 0 – 326
30 – Michael Annett – 0 – 311
31 – David Gilliland – 0 – 276
32 – Cole Whitt – 0 – 270