Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR officials handed down L1-level penalties to two more Monster Energy Series teams Wednesday, docking the No. 12 Team Penske operation and the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team for body panel infractions in last weekend’s event at Texas Motor Speedway.

The No. 12 Ford that Ryan Blaney drove to a runner-up finish in last Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 was found with unapproved door front crush panels, a violation of Section 20.4.17.6.b in the NASCAR Rule Book. That rule states that “all filler panels must remain permanently attached for the entire event.”

RELATED: Harvick loses 40 points

The No. 20 Toyota that carried Erik Jones to fourth place was found with infractions on the body and package tray. Those sections (20.4.h and 20.4.17.8.b) in the rule book note that “air cannot pass from one area of the vehicle interior to another. Vehicle package tray must remain flat and straight, front to back, with one break.”

The penalties for both organizations are identical, with each team losing 20 points in both the drivers and team owners standings. For the No. 12 team, crew chief Jeremy Bullins has been fined $50,000 and car chief Kirk Almquist has been suspended from the next two Monster Energy Series races. On the No. 20 team, officials issued a $50,000 fine to crew chief Chris Gayle and suspended car chief Jason Overstreet for the next two events.

Those punishments are in addition to L1-level penalties handed to the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team of Texas race winner Kevin Harvick. NASCAR officials issued penalties for an unapproved spoiler on the No. 4 car, stripping the team of the benefits associated with the win and shaking up the playoff picture.

Both violations, found after a post-race technical inspection at the NASCAR Research & Development Center, are applied to the race finish for both teams. Blaney and Jones each qualified for this year’s NASCAR Playoffs, but both have since been eliminated from championship contention.

MORE: Updated playoff standings

Officials also penalized one team in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for a safety infraction for losing a ballast container during a practice session last Thursday at Texas. NASCAR officials suspended three crew members for the No. 35 NextGen Motorsports team — crew chief Ryan Bell, truck chief Jerry Kennedy and mechanic Patrick Magee — for the next three Truck Series events, a span that stretches until after the 2019 season opener at Daytona International Speedway.

Brennan Poole drove the No. 35 Toyota to a 15th-place finish in the NextGen team’s debut in the series.

Posted on by Staff Report

The No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing team has been issued an L1-level penalty following driver Kevin Harvick’s win Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, an infraction that carries major championship implications in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

The team violated Section 20.4.12 of the NASCAR Rule Book that is specific to spoilers. Spoilers must be used exactly as supplied from the manufacturer and not altered. The infraction was discovered in post-race tear down at the NASCAR Research & Development Center.

As a result, Harvick has been docked 40 driver points and the team loses 40 owner points as well. Harvick’s win at Texas no longer automatically qualifies the team for the Championship 4 in Miami. He will enter this weekend’s Round of 8 finale fourth among eight playoff drivers in the standings, three points above the cutline – should there be a tie for the final transfer spot, Harvick cannot use the Texas win in the tiebreaking procedure.

RELATED: Nos. 12, 20 also penalized

Additionally, both crew chief Rodney Childers and car chief Robert Smith have been suspended for the next two races – ISM Raceway at Phoenix and the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Childers also has been fined $75,000.

“It is not our desire to issue any penalties, but will do so when necessary to ensure each race and championship is contested on a level playing field,” Scott Miller, NASCAR senior vice president of competition, said in a statement. “We will now return our focus to Phoenix, and the battle for a championship.”

Greg Zipadelli, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Vice President of Competition, said in a statement that the team would not appeal the penalty. Tony Gibson, SHR production manager, will serve as interim crew chief for the No. 4 team and Nick DeFazio will be its interim car chief.

“We work tirelessly across every inch of our race cars to create speed and, unfortunately, NASCAR determined we ventured into an area not accommodated by its rule book,” Zipadelli said in the SHR statement. “We will not appeal the penalty. Instead, we will direct our immediate focus to this weekend’s event in Phoenix and control our destiny on the race track.”

RELATED: Race results

Other Monster Energy Series penalties announced in the Wednesday penalty report were:

• An L1-level infraction to the No. 12 Team Penske camp. Crew chief Jeremy Bullins is fined $50,000, and car chief Kirk Almquist is suspended for the next two races. Driver Ryan Blaney loses 20 driver points, and the team loses 20 owner points.

• An L1-level infraction to the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team. Crew chief Chris Gayle is fined $50,000, and car chief Jason Overstreet is suspended for the next two races. Driver Erik Jones loses 20 driver points, and the team loses 20 owner points.

Posted on by @nascarcasm

The name “Jimmie Johnson” invokes many images. A seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion. A certain first-ballot Hall-of-Famer. A fitness fanatic. A man with a beard so perfectly and meticulously groomed that you wonder if he’s of this planet.

Well, you can add “Budding Merchandise Magnate” to that list.

As it turns out, Jimmie’s spontaneous reply to yet another keyboard schmo on Twitter telling him to retire has inspired what is sure to be the fashion must-have of the fall.

Anyways, you probably saw this tweet/reply/third-degree burn…

… “I’m far from done, JA” — a reply that became an inspirational motto we can all live by. It inspired a bad tweet from yours truly …

… which wound up inspiring a good shirt by Twitter user and race fan @LandonShaffner.

… which has led to this moment. YOU TOO can rock this stylish shirt. It is now available for purchase here. Order, and be awesome.

Join the legions of fans who support Jimmie and are out to spread the message that, as evidenced by the final turn at the Roval this year, Jimmie Johnson shows no signs of slowing down.

Before going any further allow me to add that Jimmie has several good years left in him, and will retire when he feels like it. He won’t call an unexpected news conference, saunter to the podium with his head down, and say “I still feel like I have several wins and a championship or two left to win, BUT @BooJimmyJonson7665876544, whose Twitter avatar appears to be a blurry picture of his cat, told me I should ‘Hagn it up’ so I have no choice but to follow his demand.”

I had a chance to speak with Mr. Seven-Time himself regarding this magnificent attire. He was forthright and honest with his answers, as he is known to be. This is NOT made up dialogue. These are Jimmie’s actual words.

NASCARCASM: “I’m far from done, JA” is a powerful message. One that resonates with both young and old. One suitable for anyone facing adversity whether in life or via a random troll on Twitter. Tell me how you came up with this motto.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: I saw the posts, and I’ve seen posts from people not being so kind and suggesting my work ethic, my focus, my talents, my desire, all that stuff, is out the window and that I should just hang it up. And I saw it one too many times and saw that post and responded with that caption.

NASCARCASM: Did you have any other potential responses composed other than “I’m far from done, JA” that you opted not to use? I would assume your Twitter drafts folder is quite the treasure trove.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: I try to keep it clean, and I did flinch a little. I had “jacka—” written out and then I shortened it to JA. I know there’s kids watching and reading and stuff, but I’ve seen enough abbreviations that I felt like it was safe to use it and it wasn’t ultimately vulgar so I felt like it would be just fine.

NASCARCASM: How did the idea for the shirt come about?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Just looking around on Twitter and I think you either posted it or responded to somebody that was making a shirt and going to Martinsville with it, so when I saw the shirt I thought it was a super-cool idea. I had a chance to actually meet the guy in Martinsville and had some shirts made for my crew guys and a few buddies that I’ve distributed, and just having a little fun with it. Hopefully we’re in Victory Lane soon and can bust out the shirts and show everybody then.

NASCARCASM: Will these be available in children’s sizes? Not trying to put ideas in your head but if you post a picture of your kids in this shirt it’s gonna get ALL the likes.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: I’m not sure mom’s gonna approve of that one, so I’ll let you ask her. (AUTHOR’S NOTE: Nooooooope, you ain’t getting ME in trouble, Jimmie Johnson)

NASCARCASM: I think we all know what “JA” stands for, but if you could, please provide some G-rated options for what it could mean, just in case a small child or William Byron asks “What does that stand for?”

JIMMIE JOHNSON: We’ll investigate. I don’t have a clue. (AUTHOR’S NOTE: Potential substitutes include “Jedi Apprentice,” “Judgmental Accuser,” “Jerky Auctioneer” or “Jennifer Aniston,” just to name a few. Or you could simply tell your child that it’s Jimmie telling Justin Allgaier to wait his turn.)

NASCARCASM: In what other instances in life do you think the message on the shirt is applicable? It certainly applies to more than just racing. For example, just last week at Don Pablo’s the waiter tried to take my plate as I was scraping that last remnants of guacamole off my plate with a tortilla chip and I yelled “I’M FAR FROM DONE, JACKASS” at him. What would be some others?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Anybody trying to steal your guacamole too soon is certainly appropriate. Or if they touch my ice cream. Both of those are worth fighting over.

NASCARCASM: If Chad Knaus had a shirt similar to this one, with a short motto and an image of his likeness, what would it say?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: This one 🤬. I think he would be a little less PC and more direct.

NASCARCASM: Have you had any other memorable tweets in recent years that you think also warrant a T-shirt?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: I think witty ones. Look, I’ve got thick skin and I make mistakes and if I spin out their driver I’m fine having the banter. I’ve never blocked anyone on any of my channels. I read it all, I see it all – the good, bad and the ugly. But the witty ones, even if it’s something not in my favor that’s witty, just be creative. You don’t have to be a jerk. Just be creative and have some fun.

NASCARCASM: One idea. Lemme know if you like it. If not, throw it right back. A version of this shirt for your new best friend Fernando Alonso that reads “Estoy lejos de terminar, imbécil.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON: I’ve sent him a shirt, I just need to send one now in the correct language.

NASCARCASM: Also, this is unrelated, but I told a couple people I would be interviewing Jimmie Johnson. More than one said “Please ask him how he keeps his beard so meticulously groomed to such a perfect length.” Can you enlighten us or is this a trade secret.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Head to your nearest pharmacy, and buy a beard trimmer. Buy a No. 1 blade and use it every third or fourth day.

Posted on by Zack Albert

Aric Almirola says he spoke with Joey Logano on Monday night, ironing out their differences after an on-track dust-up last weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.

Almirola had pointed words for Logano after their close-quarters battle for position late in Sunday’s AAA Texas 500. Logano drove on to a third-place finish, while Almirola lost momentum and dipped to eighth place in the final order.

RELATED: Playoff standings | NASCAR.com roundtable on incident

Almirola’s post-race interview Sunday contained hints at possible revenge, but in an interview Tuesday with NASCAR.com, the driver of the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford said that he’s on better terms with his Team Penske rival after their Monday evening phone conversation.

“I think we both know where each of us stands and I feel good about it,” Almirola said. “I know a lot of people are confused at why I was upset when you look at the replay, but the reality is that as race car drivers, we both know the situation that we were in, and he knows kind of where my head was at and what I was thinking and I know where his head was at and what he was thinking, and we’ll move on. We’ll go from there.”

Moving on for now involves just two more races on the Monster Energy Series calendar, this Sunday’s Can Am 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at ISM Raceway in Phoenix and the championship finale Nov. 18 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Logano is locked into the four-driver hunt for the title, thanks to his victory late last month at Martinsville Speedway. Almirola sits in a must-win scenario at Phoenix to qualify for one of the two remaining Championship 4 slots.

RELATED: Phoenix schedule | Where is Almirola in this week’s Power Rankings?

Almirola said he didn’t quite have enough oomph to contend with eventual race winner Kevin Harvick or runner-up Ryan Blaney, but indicated that had he gotten past Logano for third place, he would have been in prime position had something happened between the two front-runners.

Almirola chalked up another portion of the conflict to the difficulties with racing two-abreast at the 1.5-mile Texas track, causing his car to get loose entering Turn 3 as he ran to the low side of Logano. With Logano already cleared for the Homestead finale, Almirola said he didn’t expect such a hard-fought contest for the spot.

“I was hoping he’d cut me a break to be quite honest and that didn’t happen to be the case,” Almirola said. “I feel like if we go to Homestead and for whatever reason I wasn’t in the championship that he would expect the same out of me. He would expect me to cut him a break if we restarted with 30 laps to go and he was third and I was fourth, I feel like he would expect me to cut him a break and let him go race for a championship, and that’s kind of what I was hoping for. Whether that was wrong or right of me is beside the point. I was mad and upset, and it didn’t work out for me.”

Almirola admittedly was bitter in his post-race interviews, having lost a chance to capitalize on any possible Harvick-Blaney trouble over the final laps. His tumble out of the top five also cost the Stewart-Haas Racing driver precious points in his fight to stay alive in the Monster Energy Series playoff picture.

“These are high-pressure times and the intensity level is incredibly high, and emotions run high in situations like this,” Almirola said. “I got cameras and microphones stuck in my face immediately upon getting out of the car and being upset, and everybody heard it.”

That heat-of-the moment response created some reaction of its own, with broadcast commentators and others on social media critical of Almirola’s stance on being raced hard in a late-race situation. The 34-year-old driver said he hasn’t let the opinions of others ruffle him as he continues to chase his first premier series title.

“If I worried about what other people thought, I wouldn’t be here where I’m at today,” Almirola said. “People are always going to criticize, especially on social media. It gives people that their opinions mean absolutely nothing still a platform to say whatever it is that they want. I really could care less what anybody thinks about what I said or what I did or anything about Texas or otherwise.

“The people’s opinions that matter the most to me are (team owners) Tony Stewart, Gene Haas, all the guys on my 10 team and everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing, the people at Smithfield, Ford Motor Company — the people that directly impact my life and my career. All that outside stuff is just noise.”

Posted on by Steve Luvender

Getting Dirty with Clint Bowyer

While iRacing is traditionally known for its NASCAR-style stock car racing roots, it also offers a diverse platform of different racing disciplines, including road racing and dirt racing.

Newly minted iRacing dirt champion Zach Leonhardi won an experience of a lifetime: teaming up with Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver and dirt aficionado Clint Bowyer to tear up some dirt on the Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Other drivers expressed their respect for the program that gave an iRacer an exciting shot in a real race car.

Dale Jr. Talks Sim Racing’s Role

Longtime iRacing community member Dale Earnhardt Jr. spoke about the importance of online racing in developing his own team — including meeting his longtime spotter, TJ Majors, and late model driver Josh Berry.

 

While Junior’s racing online a little less frequently these days — you know, family obligations, a recent book release, and his job with NBC Sports — he admitted he still turns some practice laps from time to time.

Roval Progress

iRacing shared a work-in-progress screenshot of the Charlotte road course, expected for release soon.

Look out for those turtles!

Bubba’s Battlestation

Maybe we’ll catch Bubba Wallace turn some laps on iRacing with his sweet updated PC setup — in between streaming Call of Duty, of course.


NASCAR PEAK ANTIFREEZE iRACING SERIES UPDATE

The NASCAR PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series crowned Ray Alfalla as 2018 champion two weeks ago, holding off defending champ Ryan Luza in a thrilling late-race battle.

The now-four-time champ will accept his $10,000 prize and a NASCAR championship ring at Homestead-Miami Speedway during Ford Championship Weekend.

Relive the season finale in three minutes:

The start of the off-season means Most Popular Driver voting for iRacing Series has opened.

Speaking of virtual NASCAR champions, recently-crowned eNASCAR Ignite Series champ Zack Novak stopped by Martinsville Speedway for some recognition at the site of where he clinched his title.


IRACING PAINT SCHEMES OF THE WEEK

While Jimmie Johnson’s official new Ally Financial paint scheme hasn’t been unveiled yet, that hasn’t stopped creative iRacing painters from using their imaginations in creating their own fictional design concepts.

Scott Pierchorowicz assembled a design worthy of consideration, down to the iconic yellow No. 48 numbers.

Anthony Mahone took a different approach with his design concept.

Painter Justin Bland tweaked a classic mid-2000s Hendrick Motorsports design to create a new paint scheme idea.

 

DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME

Everybody can agree flying race cars are a bad thing, even in the virtual world. Check out this close call, in which a car flips over another, somehow not taking out an innocent bystander car.

We have a lot of questions.

Posted on by Jordan Bianchi

Ahead of Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Can-Am 500 at ISM Raceway in Phoenix (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) — the final race in the Round of 8 — we take a look back on the 2014 race that propelled Kevin Harvick into the Championship 4 with a win, and Ryan Newman into the title mix with a late-race dump-and-run.

Coming Wednesday: A look back at the 2015 race.

The scene

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series rolled into Phoenix for the Round of 8 elimination race with no drivers having clinched a spot in the Championship 4 the next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Non-playoff drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Martinsville) and Jimmie Johnson (Texas) had won the previous two races in the round.

In the first year of NASCAR’s new multi-round, elimination playoffs format, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin were tied atop the series standings by a two-point margin over third-place Ryan Newman, with Jeff Gordon provisionally holding the fourth and final transfer position. Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth each trailed Gordon by point, with Brad Keselowski 17 points back and Kevin Harvick 18 points back.

RELATED: Current playoff standings

That Harvick found himself teetering on playoff elimination was a surprise as he had dominated the regular season and postseason and was considered the championship favorite. He found himself in a sizeable points hole, however, due to a crash in the Round of 8 opener at Martinsville, and entered ISM facing a virtual must-win scenario. Working in Harvick’s favor, ISM presented an ideal track for him to maintain his championship eligibility by winning, as he had won there earlier in the season and three of the past four overall.

Logano and Hamlin seemed like good bets to qualify for the championship finale at Homestead, but still found themselves vulnerable if they had a disastrous result at ISM. The remaining drivers were in more tenuous situations, either needing a win to clinch a berth or misfortune to befall other title contenders.

MORE: Full results from 2014 Phoenix

The action

Conventional wisdom suggested Harvick would be the driver to beat and he wasted little time fulfilling that expectation. After qualifying third he moved into the lead for the first time on Lap 44, then proceeded to lead all but five laps the remainder of the way.

While Harvick dominated to secure one of the four available transfer spots, the battle for the other three slots intensified and was compounded by both Hamlin and Logano encountering various issues.

MORE: Harvick’s winning move last week

A flat tire forced Hamlin to make an unscheduled pit stop early, and on two occasions he would go down a lap. He rallied to finish fifth. Logano was penalized for removing equipment outside of his pit stall, eventually fell a lap behind and narrowly missed being collected in an accident. He too rallied and finished sixth. Both drivers advanced.

The battle for the final position was between Gordon and Newman, with Gordon seemingly set to claim the spot through a second-place finish. But a desperate Newman completed a brazen pass on Kyle Larson on the final lap that saw Newman dive-bomb going into Turn 3 then slide up the track and into Larson, whose car body-slammed the wall. By advancing his position Newman gained one point, the difference he needed to break a tie with Gordon and qualify for the Championship 4.

Ryan Newman is all smiles
Sean Gardner | Getty Images

The winner

Harvick led nearly 85 percent of the laps on the afternoon — including the final 187 — and won by a comfortable 1.6 seconds over Gordon. It was Harvick’s fourth win of the season and third straight at ISM. And considering the circumstances it was as clutch a performance as any in recent NASCAR history.

“Wow, I guess that’s what it feels like to hit a walk-off in extra innings there,” Harvick said. “I could tell that we were probably going to have to win, because everybody was running up in the front of the pack that we were racing against. I think this says a lot about our team. We had our backs against the wall. We’re in Victory Lane and we get to go on.”

The impact

Harvick, Hamlin, Logano and Newman — none of whom had ever won a premier series title — were the four drivers who advanced to Homestead with their championship aspirations intact. And in a thrilling finale where each of the title contenders ran near the front for much of the race, Harvick prevailed. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver did so with an inspired charge where he was 12th after making his final pit stop to passing Hamlin for the lead with eight laps remaining, then held off Newman on a restart with three laps remaining.

Posted on by Staff Report

Goodyear Racing will bring a new right-side tire for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race this weekend at ISM Raceway in Phoenix for the Round of 8 finale.

The tire features a slight construction update for Sunday’s Can Am 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the ninth of 10 postseason races for NASCAR’s top division. The switch is intended to promote adequate cooling on a 1-mile track where braking and brake heat are often a factor. The left-side tire code remains the same one that has been in place since March 2016.

RELATED: Full schedule for Phoenix

The decision stemmed from a tire test Oct. 2-3 at the Arizona track. Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Larson and Paul Menard participated in the two-day session.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series also will hold races this weekend that will determine the four-driver championship field for each circuit. The tire combination for both of those series remains unchanged from their most recent race at ISM Raceway.

Posted on by Staff Report

One race and three more spots are up for grabs in the Championship 4 for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Sunday’s Can-Am 500 at ISM Raceway in Phoenix (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will see seven drivers compete for the final spots available in the postseason finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 18.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series

• Kyle Busch: Busch would clinch with 31 points and a new winner. If there is a repeat winner (or a win by Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick or a non-playoff driver), he would clinch with 28 points. With a win, he would clinch.

• Martin Truex Jr.: Truex would clinch with 34 points and a new winner. If there is a repeat winner (or a win by Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick or a non-playoff driver), he would clinch with 31 points. With a win, he would clinch.

• Kevin Harvick: If there is a repeat winner (or a win by Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. or a non-playoff driver), he would clinch with 53 points. With a win, he would clinch. Harvick could also clinch on points with a new winner, but would need help depending on the winner.

RELATED: Playoff standings | Full schedule for ISM Raceway

• Kurt Busch: The only guaranteed result that gives Kurt Busch a Championship 4 spot is a win. Busch could also clinch on points, but would need help depending on the winner.

• Chase Elliott: The only guaranteed result that gives Elliott a Championship 4 spot is a win. Elliott could also clinch on points, but would need help depending on the winner.

• Aric Almirola: Almirola can only clinch a spot with a win.

• Clint Bowyer: Bowyer can only clinch a spot with a win.

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Cole Custer won at Texas and Christopher Bell prevailed in a must-win scenario at Phoenix to seal automatic berths in the Championship 4. Daniel Hemric and Tyler Reddick advanced to the Homestead-Miami finale on the basis of points, completing a field of four drivers from four organizations for the title battle.

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

Johnny Sauter locked up a Championship 4 spot with a win at Martinsville, while Justin Haley prevailed at Texas to secure his fate in Miami. Brett Moffitt won at ISM Raceway to lock in, while Noah Gragson reached the Championship 4 on points.

Posted on by Staff Report

There’s plenty of pressure mounting as the NASCAR Playoffs head into the penultimate race of the season at the newly configured ISM Raceway in Phoenix. With one more chance left to punch an automatic ticket to the championship race in Miami, it’s understandable if drivers’ nerves are becoming a bit frayed.

Aric Almirola, who is 57 points below the playoff cutline after Sunday’s race at Texas, made no bones about his displeasure toward Joey Logano for a late-race move that left the driver of the No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford feeling miffed. With Almirola running in the top five, Logano appeared to bring the No. 22 Team Penske Ford down toward Almirola’s vehicle, taking some air off it and resulting in a bobble that shuffled Almirola back in the pack.

RELATED: Full race results

Almirola finished in eighth place while Logano came home third, and in his post-race interview with NBCSN, Almirola said, “When Homestead comes around, if I’m not in, he’ll know it.” When asked to elaborate, Almirola said, “I will just make it real difficult on him.” Almirola ended by saying about Phoenix, “I’m fired up, let’s go!”

Alrighty then! Were Almirola’s hard feelings toward Logano warranted? NASCAR.com’s Pat DeCola, Jonathan Merryman and George Winkler debate.

PD: Aric Almirola is a nice guy. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt here and I’ve been wracking my brain trying to see this from his viewpoint, but I just can’t get behind it.

Sure, he can be displeased that Logano perhaps came down on him a little too close for comfort, but, for starters, there was no contact made and, secondly, what else does he expect a race car driver to do in a race, but to … race?

This playoff format is exciting for tons of reasons, one of which is exactly this situation. Logano is already locked into Miami so *conceivably* he could lay off the gas (pun intended) and coast into the title race. But that’s not how race car drivers are born and bred, and that’s certainly not how Logano — arguably the sport’s most-aggressive driver — would ever act on a race track.

RELATED: Updated playoff standings

Video games are way less fun when you change them to the easiest difficulty, and that’s essentially what Almirola is expecting out of his opponent. Unwarranted.

GW: I’m also having a hard time getting behind Almirola, but Logano’s aggressive driving gets under people’s skin. Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and now Almirola are some of the drivers who’ve come away either miffed — or in some cases swinging their fists — at Logano after he races them hard to the finish.

Whether or not Almirola’s hard feelings are warranted, it’s legitimate to wonder whether racing hard for third place at Texas will cost Logano in the end at Homestead-Miami. Because unless Almirola pulls off a clutch win at ISM Raceway this weekend, he likely will be out of it. And that will free him up to make life difficult for Logano, who will be racing for a championship.

So maybe next time in the interest of the bigger goal, Logano should leave the little battles alone and settle for a fifth-place finish or whatever. Hey, I’m all for competing hard for the win, but sometimes you have to be smart and make sure you don’t add another enemy to your list. And right now, that list of enemies is pretty long for Mr. Logano.

RELATED: Logano, Truex swap texts

JM: Joey Logano’s job is to put Roger Penske in a position to race for a championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway. I suspect Aric Almirola’s job requirements are to make sure he’s got a chance at a Cup title for his owner Tony Stewart.

That being said, just because Joey Logano is locked into the playoff finale set for later this month in South Florida doesn’t mean he needs to pull over to give another drive a shot at a win.

Logano is paid to win, something he has done 20 times in his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career. He’s done this by being a hard-nosed, never-give-an-inch racer, so don’t be surprised when he doesn’t let you by.

In the closing laps of the AAA Texas 500, Almirola said over his radio “That (expletive) won’t get a break at all from me when we get to Homestead, I  guarantee you that.”

Good. He shouldn’t. But that should be due to the fact he’s paid to drive a race car to the best finish possible every week, and not because he’s mad at Joey for doing just that.

RELATED: Almirola vows payback 

Posted on by Holly Cain

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — One race. Two championship bids remain.

There is so much anticipation as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to the new-look ISM Raceway in Phoenix this week to set the final two positions eligible for the series Championship 4.

MORE: Full Phoenix schedule | TV listings

Kevin Harvick won Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway to secure his fourth championship run in five seasons. Team Penske’s Joey Logano won at Martinsville Speedway two weeks ago to punch his first ticket to the title race in two years.

That leaves two positions remaining to earn a chance in the title bout. Regular season champion Kyle Busch holds a 28-point edge on the field going to Phoenix. And reigning series champion Martin Truex Jr. sits 25 points to the good.

Chase Elliott and Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Aric Almirola, Kurt Busch and Clint Bowyer round out the list of eight eligible Playoff drivers, who will essentially need to hoist a trophy at ISM Raceway to earn their opportunity at the 2018 Monster Energy Series title.

MORE: Full NASCAR Playoffs standings

If the race winner of Sunday’s Can-Am 500 (at 2 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio – Channel 90) is one of the eight championship eligible drivers, he would automatically earn a position in the Championship 4. If not, then two drivers from that group of eight would advance based on points.

All four Stewart-Haas Racing Fords are among those still vying for a title — Harvick, Kurt Busch, Almirola and Bowyer — and it’s the only four-car team to have all its drivers advance this far in the title run.

“Just the fact that we were able to get all four of them this far is an accomplishment, a huge year for our company,” team co-owner Tony Stewart said Sunday.

“Couldn’t be more proud of everybody. But the reality is we knew, everybody knew, when they started the playoffs that those first three spots were already for the most part taken unless they had a natural disaster happen.

“I guess from our standpoint now, I mean, we got one in. There’s one more race left. We got one more opportunity to get one more of those three in. No matter what, it’s been a record breaking year for our company in so many ways. There’s so many different records that have been broken, if Kevin is the only one that ends up in there, it’s still been a great season.”

Of the four drivers essentially needing a victory to break into the top-four in the standings, only Kurt Busch has won at ISM Raceway before. His brother Kyle and Joey Logano each have a victory, too. Harvick scored his ninth win at ISM Raceway this spring – most among the field; double that of any driver entered this week (Jimmie Johnson is next best with four wins).

Harvick’s Phoenix mastery includes a massive 1,522 laps led at the track compared to 827 for Kyle Busch — the two largest lap totals among the current eight Playoff drivers. Kurt Busch is next with 757 laps out front.

Among those still looking for that first Phoenix trophy, Truex has led only 104 laps in 25 starts. Elliott – the lone Chevrolet still running for the crown – has led 140 laps in only five ISM Raceway starts. Bowyer has led only 22 laps in 26 Phoenix races and Almirola is still looking for his first lap out front in what will be his 16th start.

Counting Harvick’s victory on Sunday, six of the eight Playoff drivers finished among the top-10 at Texas. Kyle Busch was 17th and Bowyer, who qualified on the outside pole position, was 26th.

“That stinks, first corner of the race,” Bowyer said of contact on the opening lap with Denny Hamlin.

“I’m sick. It wasn’t what we were hoping for today. We were having to turn right to get into the corner and were ploughing in the middle. I think something was going on with the car when it was getting in the corner.

“We’ll go to Phoenix and try to win. This isn’t over yet,” said Bowyer.

Past statistics certainly may not predict the outcome this week either. The track is debuting an incredible $178 million makeover featuring not only new fan amenities, but the one-mile oval itself will present differently. The start-finish line is essentially flip-flopped with it now located where Turn 2 used to be. 

RELATED: Revamped ISM Raceway set to awe

Whether Harvick’s previous amazing work at the track can be replicated on the fresh layout remains to be seen. Certainly there is plenty of motivation from the other Playoff drivers realizing this is their last opportunity to “win” their way in to a shot at the sport’s biggest trophy. 

The entire slate of championship chasers turned in good showings at Phoenix earlier this year. All four of the drivers essentially needing to win to secure a championship position scored top-10 finishes there this March. Kurt Busch was 10th, Elliott was third, Almirola was seventh and Bowyer was sixth.

Truex, the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota, was fifth in the spring and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Kyle Busch was runner-up – his fifth top-five at Phoenix in the last six races. 

“I feel okay about where we are and feel like we’re in decent shape going to Phoenix,” Truex said Sunday. “We’ll go there and race hard again and see what we can do. I think we need a little more speed to run with the Fords – they’re clearly really, really fast right now and if we’re off just a little bit we can’t run with them.

“On the short run, they (Fords) were really fast, but on the long run I thought we were as good as anybody, but just never got to show it. Track position was so hard to get.”

Even needing to overcome a 25-point deficit, Kurt Busch seemed optimistic about his chances to rally into the championship field.

“We are in a good position,” Busch said. “There are a lot of other people I would like to be right here.”

It all comes down to one thing.

“We’ve got to win, simple,” Chase Elliott said.