Hamlin: ‘Larson is definitely the Cole Trickle’ between he, Kyle Busch

Posted on March 16, 2019March 16, 2019 by Reid Spencer

FONTANA, Calif. — Denny Hamlin conjured up a name from “Days of Thunder” when talking about his golf buddy Kyle Larson.

The debate was simple. Is it better for a driver to know his race car from the ground up, as Kyle Busch does, or is it better for a driver to leave all the mechanics and setup to his crew chief, as Kyle Larson does.

MORE: Larson has extra motivation to win in home state

Busch often suggests specific changes to crew chief Adam Stevens. Larson remains deliberately and blithely uninformed about the workings of the car.

“I’ve talked to both of them pretty often, between Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson,” said Hamlin, who has been Busch’s teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing for more than a decade. “Larson is definitely the Cole Trickle. He just gets in and drives. He has no idea what’s going on within the car — and that style works, and he’s fast, and he’s really, really talented.

“Kyle Busch, when I hear him talking in debriefs, he’s very downloaded into ‘The right front has this feel. It’s got too much load, not enough load, this, that and the other.’ Some crew chiefs could maybe be overwhelmed with that. I think he’s got a great pairing with Adam. He understands (Kyle) when he’s saying what he’s saying.”

If Busch and Larson are the two extremes, Hamlin considers himself more of a blend of styles.

“I think I’m kind of an in-between guy, to be honest with you,” said the most recent Daytona 500 winner. “There are so many different ways to do it. (Teammate) Martin (Truex Jr.) is kind of an in-between guy as well, but Kyle is certainly more detail-oriented with the car itself.”

Posted on March 16, 2019 by Reid Spencer

FONTANA, Calif. — Kevin Harvick has a selective memory — and he’s happy about it.

When Harvick came to Auto Club Speedway last year, he was riding a three-race winning streak and trying to join the elite four-in-a-row club. But Harvick’s bid to win at the 2-mile track didn’t survive the first stage of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. Harvick was racing for position against Kyle Larson on Lap 38 when the two cars collided near the exit from Turn 2.

After repairs, Harvick finished the race nine laps down in 35th place. But does the memory of that wreck and the lost chance for four straight victories bother him? Hardly.

“I honestly had forgotten we wrecked until you brought it up,” Harvick told reporters during a question-and-answer session Friday at Auto Club Speedway. “I couldn’t care less. Sometimes I wreck. Sometimes I win. Honestly, I have grown so numb to what people think or the things I have done that I just love going to a race track with a fresh mind-set on a week-to-week basis.

“I’ve learned that what I did last week has no merit in what I need to do this week. I don’t know. I guess I have done this for so long that I just have a short memory. I can laugh those things off.”

This year, Harvick comes to Fontana third in the standings and seeking his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory of the year. In the first four events of the season, his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing cars have been fast, but not dominant.

“For us, I feel like we have had top-five, top-three cars the last three weeks,” Harvick said. “They’re just not quite winning cars.”

Of course, that could change in Sunday’s Auto Club 400 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Harvick will start on the front row beside pole winner Austin Dillon.

Posted on March 16, 2019March 16, 2019 by Chase Wilhelm

FONTANA, Calif. — A new teammate and rules package have given Ricky Stenhouse Jr. a clean slate — and he’s capitalized on it.

In the first four races of 2019, the No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing driver has finished no worse than 18th, including a season-best, sixth-place effort at Las Vegas. In contrast, Stenhouse Jr.’s best finish in the first four events in 2018 was 14th, with a result as low as 29th.

Stenhouse Jr. hopes the uptick in performance continues during Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway where he’ll start 12th(3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“We did expect it,” Stenhouse said. “We knew these cars fit my driving style maybe a little bit better. But we also knew it was kind of an opportunity to kind of close the gap on the competition.”

While Stenhouse Jr. has thrived with the new aero package, it’s still been a seesaw for him and new Roush teammate Ryan Newman as each race has presented a different set of challenges for the entire Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series field – something he anticipates will continue.

“We’ve done a good job this offseason taking steps in the right direction, but I think every race this year, you see teams kind of go up and down — gain speed, lose a little bit of speed,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “So, I think it’s going to be kind of a cat-and-mouse game I feel like for the first half of the year. Everybody just trying to figure out what package and how much downforce they’re going to bring to the race track on that given weekend. Definitely a good start for us and want to keep that going.”

Like Matt Kenseth last season, Newman has brought valuable information and unique, veteran feedback to the table to help steer the Roush ship in the right direction. Stenhouse Jr. feels he and Newman have a strong relationship both on and off the race track — which has allowed the organization’s gains to flourish even more.

“I like Ryan,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “I think Matt and I said a lot of the same things in different ways, kind of like Ryan. He talks way different than Matt did and any teammates I’ve ever had. Some of that comes from a little bit more engineering-minded driver, which you don’t have many of. So, I’ve never had a teammate like that. To listen to him talk about and kind of pick apart the car in different ways has been kind of cool.”

While both drivers have enhanced speed in their Ford Mustang fleet, Stenhouse Jr. has also muscled his way to finishes – making headlines for rubbing multiple drivers the wrong way from time to time in the year’s early races. But the 31-year-old says his driving style hasn’t changed, nor will he alter it.

“I’ve got a car better to work with and (I’m) able to do different things with it,” he said. “For me, I feel like I’ve always driven the same, it’s just depending on what situation that I’m in, depending on what I want to do. So, I’ll always race hard.”

It’s that type of driving style that gives Stenhouse Jr. and Newman something in common. But according to Stenhouse Jr., it’s not so much Newman’s aggression that makes him notoriously tough to pass.

“Everybody says that Ryan’s hard to pass, but I’ve always told Ryan I feel like he’s hard to pass because he doesn’t make mistakes,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “He’s got the same mentality – if you’re faster, pass me. Go around me, run (a) different line than I am. But the reason he’s so hard is because he never messes up.”

If that mentality sounds familiar it might be because that’s exactly what Stenhouse Jr. said following his battle with Martin Truex Jr. late at Atlanta. It’s actually Stenhouse’s goal to develop the trait that Newman currently possesses — being hard to pass because you don’t mess up.

“I want to get in that position where I don’t make mistakes because I feel like that’s helped Ryan throughout his whole career,” Stenhouse Jr. said. “He might not have a 10th-place car running 15th, but he never makes mistakes and so he kind of grinds out good finishes. I think that’s a good trait to have.”

Posted on March 16, 2019March 16, 2019 by Staff Report

Brad Keselowski topped the leaderboard in Saturday’s final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Auto Club Speedway at 176.648 mph in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford in preparation for Sunday’s Auto Club 400 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Keselowski will start 13th.

Right behind him was Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Daniel Hemric in the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet at 176.548 mph. Hemric was at the top of the charts for a majority of practice and will start 17th on Sunday.

Rounding out the top five were Daniel Suarez in the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford (176.293 mph), Aric Almirola in the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford (176.168 mph) and Ryan Blaney in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford (176.130 mph).

Hemric was the only Chevrolet among a Ford-dominated top five.

Kevin Harvick, who led the second practice at Auto Club in his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, finished final practice in 17th, followed by Jimmie Johnson, who paced the first practice in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, in 18th.

Series points leader Kyle Busch was 11th fastest with a speed of 175.820 mph in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

Kevin Harvick paces second practice at Auto Club

Kevin Harvick topped the leaderboard in Saturday’s second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Auto Club Speedway at 175.867 mph in the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford in advance of Sunday’s Auto Club 400.

Harvick has one win at the 2-mile California track in 2011 and is still looking for his first victory of the 2019 season.

Right behind him was series points leader Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at 175.773 mph. Busch is one victory away from logging 200 NASCAR career wins in all three series and could make NASCAR history at Auto Club.

Rounding out the top five were Brad Keselowski in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford (175.644 mph), Martin Truex Jr. in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (175.550 mph) and Daniel Hemric in the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet (175.409).

Kyle Larson in the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet got into the wall in Turn 4 late in practice after a tight squeeze by Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. He scraped the right rear quarter panel of his Chevrolet but didn’t suffer from any significant damage.

MORE: Best 10-lap averages from practice

Posted on March 16, 2019 by Staff Report

See where your favorite driver will pit in Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Posted on March 16, 2019March 16, 2019 by Chase Wilhelm

Jimmie Johnson said he believes he and the No. 48 team are taking steps in the right direction, just in time for one of his best tracks on the circuit.

Last weekend at ISM Raceway, Johnson hovered around the top 10 — and even the top five, leading four laps — for much of the day before finishing in eighth place. The result was a welcome sight after finishes of 24th and 19th at Atlanta and Las Vegas, respectively.

The seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion hopes for more of the same in Sunday’s Auto Club 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), where he’ll take the green flag from the 11th position after opening up the weekend with the fastest lap in first practice.

“I think last weekend showed that if we have a mistake-free race that we can run in the top five and in the top 10,” Johnson said. “So, we do have some pride in that. Clearly, we’re putting a lot of time and work and effort to get better. So, it’s nice to have those better runs. But it’s not where we want to be. It’s not where I want to be, or Mr. (Rick) Hendrick or (crew chief) Kevin (Meendering) or this whole team (wants to be).”

Fortunately for Johnson, the fifth stop of the 2019 season is one where he has a history of success. In 24 starts at the 2-mile Southern California track, Johnson has six victories, with the latest coming in 2016. With that kind of track record, the El Cajon native is cautiously optimistic about his chances of breaking a 63-race winless streak in his home state.

“There are tracks that a driver can make a difference at,” Johnson said. “Dover has always been one for me. This track has been one. The one thing that is so different right now is we’re back to a package we’ve run two other times this year. We’re on a high-wear track. I look at Atlanta. It did not go well. Atlanta is similar to this place. So, I’m hopeful that we’ve made our car better since Atlanta for this type of environment.”

As the 48 team continues to search for its old winning ways, Johnson’s assertiveness hasn’t changed, but it’s the timing of that assertiveness that has shifted over the years.

MORE: Is Johnson a fantasy sleeper pick in Fontana?

“We’ve always been aggressive, but for me aggression has changed to short run,” Johnson said. “When I first started, you absolutely had to be aggressive. But it would wear your car out. It would wear your tires out. There are other elements. And you’ve spent 450 miles playing a chess game and respecting one another and then it was all out and restarts didn’t matter as much.

“Now, restarts are everything. When you get close to somebody you have to capitalize and get by and not lose momentum. As soon as you lose momentum, you literally just stall out wherever that is in the running order. So, I think we’ve always been this aggressive, but it’s just changed to different parts of the run and different parts of the race.”

As unknowns swirl around the complexion of Sunday’s 400-miler with the 2019 rules package, Johnson is focused on what it will take to get to the front and on beating drivers such as Kyle Busch with fast cars and restart prowess — two elements that take on extra importance in Fontana.

“We’re trying to celebrate the small victories, but at the same time if you look at the speed that the No. 18 (Kyle Busch) had on the field and his ability to pass, we want that,” Johnson said. “And we’re not going to stop until we get that.”

Posted on March 15, 2019March 15, 2019 by Chase Wilhelm

FONTANA, Calif. — NASCAR Senior Vice President of Competition Scott Miller addressed the media Friday afternoon after all 12 drivers failed to make it back to the start/finish line to post a time in the final round of Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series qualifying at Auto Club Speedway.

He didn’t mince words, either.

“I saw what our fans don’t want,” Miller said. “Having the last 12 cars wait until they couldn’t get a time posted on the board and kind of making a mockery out of the qualifying is not what we expect for our fans. It’s a little bit on us in that we hoped things would go better than that.

“It’s an exciting show when they’re out there on the race track, but obviously, we have a little work to do on our part to get a little bit better format so things like can’t happen,” he added. “We certainly want to provide our fans with what they deserve. We and the teams didn’t do a very good job of that today. We’re really disappointed.”

Miller noted that no decisions have been made regarding how the current qualifying procedure will be tweaked at this time, but single-car qualifying would be a last resort.

“I think we definitely make some tweaks to it,” Miller said. “… We really don’t want to go back to single-car qualifying. There may not be another way, but we want to try to exhaust every possibility before we do that because it’s not as fun and not as intriguing of a show as the group situation. We’re going to try to figure out a way to adjust the group qualifying thing and not go back to single, but we’ve got some work to do on that.”

Miller expects no changes will be made prior to the race weekend at Martinsville Speedway, but rather NASCAR officials will shift their attention to enhancements in time for Texas Motor Speedway.

“We won’t see this sort of situation at Martinsville, so I would say by Texas we’re going to have to because it will be a little bit of the same scenario with wanting to go out there and run together and draft. I would say by Texas we will have something different in the queue.”

Miller also noted he was surprised by how drivers and teams were unable to begin a lap before time expired in the final round.

“It surprised me that they weren’t smart enough to go out and actually get back to the start/finish line in time to post a time,” Miller added. “Yeah, that surprised me.”

Posted on March 15, 2019March 16, 2019 by Holly Cain

At this point, NASCAR history properly teed-up, Kyle Busch is simply ready to buckle up, fire up, and hopefully raise a 200th trophy up.

The 33-year old has combined to win 199 times in NASCAR’s three national series – Monster Energy NASCAR Cup, Xfinity and Gander Outdoors Truck Series. The historic mark could come at California’s Auto Club Speedway in Sunday’s Auto Club 400 (at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Fans and historians are eager to see if and when he sets the mark. Busch figures he’s more ready than anyone to see where his fortunes take him. But then again, he stressed Friday, his desire to win races has little to do with historical numbers and everything to do with personal high expectations.

“It doesn’t change anything,” Busch said of being on the verge of win No. 200 this weekend. “Just come out here and we’re entered in both races. We come out here and try to do the best we can to win.”

Certainly Busch’s record at the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway – located a little more than three hours from his Las Vegas hometown — should provide plenty of confidence and optimism.

Busch has three Monster Energy Series wins at the track – including his very first series win in 2005. He has a record six Xfinity Series wins, too – including three consecutive from 2010-11. And he is a perfect 2-for-2 in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series at the track too, even though the Trucks aren’t racing this weekend. Busch’s 11 combined national series victories at Auto Club Speedway make him the winningest driver at the facility and that’s not a bad stat to carry into a potentially sport-changing race.

His 199 wins are as varied as his work at this particular track. He has 52 Monster Energy Series wins (11th-most all-time) and his 94 Xfinity wins and 53 Truck Series victories are most ever in those respective series. He won both the Xfinity and Cup race just last week in Phoenix. He swept the two series at Auto Club Speedway in 2013.

His competitors do not doubt that Busch may score win 200 this weekend. And at the young age of 33, with a multi-win pace established for the past 15 years, Busch will likely add many many more victories – and probably more championships — to his future NASCAR Hall of Fame trophy total.

“I hate to see Kyle Busch win as much as anybody does,” 2017 Auto Club Speedway winner Kyle Larson said with a laugh.

“It’s just amazing to see how good he is in all types of series and race cars and his win percentages are unbelievable even with all the restrictions that you have now with the amount of races you can run.

“He still wins just as much, if not more. For him to be as good as he is at every race track is pretty spectacular. You can look at most drivers and pinpoint their best race tracks, and I don’t know if you can really do that with Kyle Busch.

“Every race track is his best race track.”

As reverent as Busch has been regarding his win total and where it places him historically in the sport, he is quick to remind that he just wants to win. Period. The headlines, record books and buzz about the accomplishment — none of that is what has motivated him. He did, though, concede trackside Friday afternoon, it will be special.

“Certainly, I have had a few of my friends and stuff send me some links of things they saw this week of some articles and things,” Busch said. “I read what [200 Cup race winner] Richard [Petty] said the other day, which was cool. He talked about how if I was thrown back in their era with [David] Pearson and Petty, I could compete with those guys.

“That’s very respectful and I appreciate that. I am honored he said that. I feel I’d like to think the same way, that I could do it. It doesn’t matter. It’s a different time and place. Overall, excited to just continue on and keep winning.”

Posted on March 15, 2019 by Holly Cain

It’s not as if Kyle Larson needs any extra motivation.

One of NASCAR’s most popular recent breakout stars, Larson has enjoyed a good six-year run in the big leagues. Approaching the fifth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the 2019 season, he’d like to regain form and regain his footing as a perennial can’t-miss player in the championship.

What better place to restore winning ways than his home state’s Auto Club Speedway – about a seven-hour drive south from the small Elk Grove community where he grew up and began his career. Two years ago, he won the Auto Club 400 (Sunday, 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) from the pole position – one of the most popular victories in the track’s history.

He’d love to repeat that this weekend to get back in the win column for the first time in two seasons and regain that title form. He figures there’s no better place. He has two runner-up finishes (2014 and 2018) and a victory (2017) in five starts at California.

“We won here a couple years ago and ran second here last year, got my first Xfinity win here and I have a [Cup] pole,” Larson said. “It’s been a good track for me, it’s Southern California and I’m from Northern California – about six hours away. I still have a lot of Central and Southern California sprint car fans that are here walking the garage and taking pictures and I sign a lot of autographs of sprint cars I ran in the past.

“It’s cool to have support anywhere you go, but your home state is nice. I guess it gives me a little bit of extra motivation maybe to go out there and win for all the California people out there.”

After earning Rookie of the Year honors in 2014 with 17 top-10 runs in 36 races. He claimed his first Monster Energy Series trophy two years later (at Michigan) and put an exclamation point on the showing with a four-win 2017 season, when he swept both Michigan races and had a win from the pole position at this week’s Auto Club Speedway venue.

He was championship bound – a title favorite – in 2017 only to have four consecutive DNFs in the 10-race playoff portion of the schedule from Kansas to Phoenix.

Last year was a challenge for Larson’s No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet team. He had a healthy total of top-fives (12) and top-10s (19) but winless for the first time in three years and ended up ninth in the Playoff run.

This season Larson has stealthily been a big time player. He’s been ranked seventh or better all year in the championship with top-10s in the Daytona 500 (seventh) and last week at Phoenix (sixth). In fact, for the first time in team history Larson and his new teammate Kurt Busch (ninth) have both been ranked among the top-10 in the standings all season long.

Larson led a race high 142 laps at Atlanta – and won the first stage – only to finish 12th after receiving a heart-breaking pit road speeding penalty late in the race.

Only championship leader Kyle Busch (227) and Ryan Blaney (148) have led more laps than Larson’s 142 this season.

He’s been a legitimate contender in every race and wonders what the outcome might be if not for little missteps along the way. The encouraging thing is how far up in the standings he is – even with the extra work of overcoming miscues.

“We haven’t had the greatest last three weeks when it comes to execution,” Larson said. “We just try to learn from it, talk about it and figure out how not to make it again.

“I think I had only one speeding penalty all last year then I sped at Atlanta (three weeks ago).

“This series is so tough you have to be perfect all weekend long,” he continued. “From Friday to Sunday you can’t make any mistakes. You’ve got to make all the right decisions just to maximize your potential of winning. Putting us back and starting 31st last week hurt us. We could have a lot more points right now and be top-three or four in points, but didn’t do a great job. Just have to clean that stuff up. And I’m confident our team can do that.”

Posted on March 15, 2019 by Staff Report

With St. Patrick’s Day right around the corner, it’s only right to highlight what we consider to be the top 10 luckiest moments in NASCAR history.

They say it’s the luck of the Irish, right? Well, what about the luck of the guy in front of you running out of gas on the final lap or the race being called for fog while you’re in the lead? How lucky would it be if the car in front of you cut a tire with one to go?

NASCAR Digital and NASCAR Productions take you back in time through some of the luckiest (and some, the unluckiest) wins in history, some dating back to a battle between Bill Elliott and the late Dale Earnhardt and others as recent as the 2018 Daytona 500.

Watch the video below, or head to our YouTube channel to check it out.

Do you agree with our choice for No. 1?