Posted on by Staff Report

RELATED: Junior makes broadcasting debut during Super Bowl

Dale Earnhardt Jr. spent nearly a week in South Korea covering the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics for NBC Sports, giving us an all-access look into the games and country’s culture.

Prior to returning home, Earnhardt and business manager Mike Davis recorded the latest edition of “Dale Jr. Download” on Dirty Mo Radio in their hotel room. Earnhardt and Davis shared their various experiences, one of which included the opportunity to hit the ski slopes for a few hours.

After a few warm-up hills, Earnhardt decided he would tackle a double black diamond slope — the steepest hill offered.

“If someone had said you wanna go down that when we got there … no chance in hell,” Earnhardt said.

But Earnhardt built up the courage tackle the humdinger of a slope. The wild ride only took about 20 seconds and fulfilled the need for speed he has always chased throughout his life.

“It scares the hell out of you going down that double black diamond,” he added. “It’s just straight down. It’s crazy.”

Posted on by Staff Report

It was Kevin Harvick leading a veteran-fueled performance at Atlanta Motor Speedway, showing off the tricks and experience he’s gathered over the years to pace the field Sunday. 

His first win at Atlanta since 2001, Harvick led 181 of 325 laps as he and his experienced co-workers dominated at the 1.54-mile track. Perhaps equally as impressive, though, was his commentary after the race on the veteran-youth movement budding rivalry. 

“For me right now, the sport is what enthuses me,” Harvick said. “(It’s) very intriguing to me because there’s a lot of things that need some help and guidance with so many of the young guys coming up through the ranks, and there’s so much to learn. But we have to teach them about it. Jimmie Johnson and myself have talked about it.  

RELATED: Harvick pays tribute to Earnhardt | Fords find their way to the top early

“Somebody has to explain to them how things work and show them the ropes. And that to me is fun. You want to go beat them on the race track still … but it just feels like everybody has kind of forgotten exactly how much fun this is.”

Kind of heady, right? Harvick, 42, is one of the oldest drivers in the garage. He’s a part of the oldest full-time, multi-car team in Stewart-Haas Racing. But he’s at the point in his career where he’s comfortable with the spotlight cast on the young guns … and his role in helping the sport continue to evolve.

“Look, we need to introduce new people and new stars in our sport,” he said. “I don’t have a message other than our sport is great. I love racing cars, and we have to have great competitors to make the diverse fan base have people to root for, and some people like calm, shy Ryan Blaney that knows a lot about the sport, or Chase Elliott, who’s been around racing and has those deep ties to NASCAR and the southern roots of our sport. Those guys are all important.

“And when everybody realizes how important the young guys are to the old guys, and the tweeners have to do the same. There’s not one person. There’s no two young guys that are going to make it, there’s no two old guys that are going to make it. This is all about everybody.”

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

Martinsville Speedway is reuniting with an old friend — Jesse Jones Southern Style Red Hot Dogs.

After a two-year hiatus, Jesse Jones will once again provide the necessities for a concession stand favorite on the NASCAR circuit — The Famous Martinsville Speedway Hot Dog.

“Our fans have told us they wanted Jesse Jones back and we have listened,” said Martinsville Speedway President Clay Campbell. “The Jesse Jones hot dog is part of what made the Martinsville Speedway Hot Dog famous and we look forward to working with them for many years to come.”

In celebration of the new partnership, the speedway gave everyone an inside look at how the red hots are made.

Anyone hungry? We are, too! Race weekend for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Camping World Truck Series at Martinsville Speedway can’t come soon enough. Thankfully, it’s less than a month away.

Posted on by Steve Luvender

Most would agree that late winter is the worst for driving. The weather is unpredictable and the roads are riddled with bumps and potholes. It turns out when NASCAR races on Atlanta’s heavily-worn asphalt amidst uncertain weather conditions, it’s not too much different. Here’s what earned our thumbs-up and thumbs-down in the race in the Peach State.

 

Thumbs Up: The Vortex Theory

It didn’t seem likely we’d watch racing from Atlanta with forecasts predicting rain storms throughout the weekend, but, by some miracle, the entirety of the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 happened Sunday, much to the surprise of many.

Racer-gone-commentator Darrell Waltrip’s “Vortex Theory” — the idea that dozens of race cars buzzing around a circular track at full song wards off bad weather — may not be based on science, but it seemed plausible in our imaginations this weekend. Aside from a delayed start, there was no impactful rain during Sunday’s race until after the checkered flag.

Thumbs up for that magical junk-science vortex keeping the weather at bay in Atlanta Sunday.

 

Thumbs Down: A “Harvicking” Redux

After a 2014 post-race brawl, somebody coined the term “Harvicking” in reference to Harvick’s role shoving Brad Keselowski into a post-race kerfuffle. If you pushed somebody into the path of mayhem, you totally “Harvicked” them.

However, with Kevin Harvick’s dominance of Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend, the term found new life when other competitors described Harvick’s unusual approach to getting around the track, where he’d ease off the throttle earlier than most entering the corners, hug the bottom of the track, then tiptoe back into the gas to produce a strong run off the turn. (Apparently the new definition of “Harvicking” works; Harvick dominated Sunday.)

But, much like in 2014, “Harvicking” is very much a thing again — but it’s a variation of the original meaning. We can’t let the original definition die. It’s too good.

Thumbs down for co-opting the term “Harvicking.”

 

Thumbs Up: Varying Pit Strategies

While it was a very Kevin Harvick-looking day Sunday, a few teams tried to play spoiler — most notably Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano, who both tried to make up time by pitting one fewer time under green flag conditions. The strategy wasn’t quite fruitful, especially after a late-race caution racked up the field in the closing laps when Trevor Bayne’s engine did its best fog machine impression. Still, alternating strategy and trying to steal a win by playing the race differently throughout a massive long green flag run felt like a good, old-fashioned classic NASCAR race.

I mean, it makes sense on paper. You stop fewer times, you spend less time going slow. Thumbs up for giving it a try anyway.

 

Thumbs Down: Hang in there, Jimmie Johnson

After a crash in the Daytona 500 and a spin in Atlanta Sunday, Jimmie Johnson finds himself 35th in points, behind the likes of Gray Gaulding, Mark Thompson and DJ Kennington — the latter two having started only the Daytona 500. That means Johnson is currently the lowest-ranked of all drivers who’ve started both races this season.

And while it’s silly to read into the points situation after two races, and with 24 more opportunities to improve before the Playoffs begin, it hasn’t been the ideal start of the season for the seven-time champ.

Thumbs down for Jimmie Johnson because we feel bad about his start of the season. You’ll find your horseshoe if you keep your chin up, Jimmie. F.E.A.R. not (or F.E.A.R., if you prefer).

 

Biggest Thumbs Up of the Week: Three Fingers for Dale

After Kevin Harvick crushed the field en route to Victory Lane Sunday, he celebrated the same way he did in this race 17 years prior — Harvick’s first win substituting for the late Dale Earnhardt — holding three fingers in the air to pay tribute to The Intimidator.

WATCH: Harvick pays tribute to Senior

While the emotions of the 2018 win differed from the tear-jerking 2001 race, it’s hard not to like seeing three fingers out the window to remember No. 3.

A giant thumbs-up for Harvick’s tribute of a tribute. Is it dusty in here, or is somebody chopping onions?

Posted on by Holly Cain

“Crazy Fast.”

That’s how Sunday’s third-place finisher Clint Bowyer described his Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Kevin Harvick’s day dominating the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and their Ford Fusion’s podium sweep.

It was a strong statement at Atlanta and a strong statement for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings.

So much so that the fourth-place finisher, Toyota driver Denny Hamlin, couldn’t resist a little fun at the Fusion’s Atlanta scorecard Sunday evening.

“Well, it’s clear the Fords have an unfair advantage,” he said, laughing. “It’s clear.

“No, just kidding.”

RELATED: Harvick storms to win at Atlanta | Full race results | Series standings

The manufacturer does, however, boast an early and impressive lead in the Monster Energy Series championship standings – holding four of the top-five positions – and seven of the top-10 spots.

Team Penske’s Joey Logano has earned a six-point edge over his new teammate Ryan Blaney atop the leaderboard, two races into the season. Harvick is fourth and Bowyer is fifth. Their SHR teammates Kurt Busch and Aric Almirola are eighth and 10th, respectively, in the standings.

Wood Brothers Racing’s new addition to the Ford stable, Paul Menard, is ranked ninth. And Brad Keselowski, last year’s Atlanta winner and this weekend’s runner-up, is ranked 12th in the championship points.

It all bodes a positive outlook for the Ford teams as the series heads out for #NASCARGoesWest, which includes races at Las Vegas, Phoenix and California.

“I sure hope so,” Bowyer said. “Yeah, one, two, three for Fords.  Fords were good all weekend long.  It wasn’t just today, it was unloading off the trucks.

“It was neat to see all four Stewart‑Haas cars in the top 10 qualifying.  Everybody is working hard.  You’ve got another manufacturer that got a new body, of course, over the off‑season; that makes you a little bit nervous.

“But so far, so good.  We were as good as anybody, obviously.”

RELATED: Banner day for SHR | Bowyer eyes more consistency in 2018

On Sunday, they were better.

Harvick, who also won the NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday, led 181 of 325 laps Sunday to push his career total at Atlanta to 1,152 laps, which leads the next closest active driver (Kurt Busch, 801 laps led) by more than 350 laps at the 1.54-mile speedway.

The last time a manufacturer swept the top three spots in a Monster Energy Series race was Aug. 19, 2017 at Bristol Motor Speedway’s night race when Toyotas Kyle Busch, rookie Erik Jones and Hamlin took the podium.

What makes the early season success even more impressive is that Ford teams are excelling even with a good dose of personnel change in the offseason.

The popular, 24-year-old Blaney left the Wood Brothers team to pilot a third Team Penske car this season and has finishes of seventh (at Daytona) and 12th (at Atlanta).

Menard came from Richard Childress Racing’s Chevrolet team to the Wood Brothers for 2018 and has a sixth place at Daytona and a 17th place at Atlanta – driving the car Blaney recorded his career first Monster Energy Series victory in (at Pocono) and qualified for the 2017 Monster Energy Series Playoffs.

The veteran Almirola has moved from Richard Petty Motorsports to replace Danica Patrick in the SHR No. 10 Smithfield Ford and very nearly won his maiden outing in the car, the Daytona 500, last week. But he got nudged from the race lead by eventual winner Austin Dillon, only a half lap from the sport’s most celebrated finish line.

He managed to finish 11th at Daytona and was 13th in Atlanta.

RELATED: What we learned from Atlanta

All of these drivers would remind you that it’s only two races – and a single mile-and-a-half track – into the 2018 season, so it might be a little premature to guarantee anything. But such a strong start sure doesn’t hurt the good vibe.

“I think absolutely we’re in a little bit better place,” said SHR Vice President of Competition Greg Zipadelli. “These guys have had a year to work with the car and understand it and make some little adjustments.  Understanding what you have and what you’re working with every week, but like how you said, we unloaded, and I don’t know if anybody really knew where they’d stand among the competition.

“There was some aero balance changes with just the way they’re doing the process of inspection and how far you can push things and what you can get away with and all those little details.  These guys did a great job.

“They unloaded with really good race cars, and they executed well all weekend, and that’s the biggest part is being able to execute when you have that good car, good speed.  All our teams did it.”

Posted on by Kathy Sheldon

To say ‘placing outside the top 25 in back-to-back races’ is uncharacteristic of Jimmie Johnson would be an understatement.

Coming off the heels of a 2017 season that saw him finish 10th in the standings with a career-low 11 top 10s, Johnson was determined to grind harder than he ever had in the offseason. After Sunday’s 27th-place finish, Johnson is 35th in the point standings — a territory neither he nor his fans are familiar with seeing. However, Johnson isn’t known for getting down when the going gets tough. Instead, he is known for doing the exact opposite.

MORE: Desire still burns for Johnson | No. 48 team wants to ‘buckle down’

And with one simple tweet, fans of ‘Seven-Time’ could feel calmed thanks to their leader providing reassurance that the No. 48 team will rise.

Former Hendrick Motorsports teammate, and close confidant, Dale Earnhardt Jr. weighed in on Johnson’s early season struggles. He doesn’t seem too concerned two races into the season, and having Dale Jr. in your corner can only mean good things.

It’s impressive that Johnson has fire in his eyes and a hunger to win another championship, but we’re here for it. Having super inspirational tweets come across our timeline doesn’t hurt either.

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer Steve O’Donnell addressed Sunday’s handful of common pit gun malfunctions at Atlanta Motor Speedway, saying it’s something he wants to “get cleaned up” before teams take the track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“It’s something we’re going to review,” O’Donnell said during his Monday morning appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “Obviously we never want to see any failures with any part or piece. ”

NASCAR and the race teams worked together to implement the common pit gun initiative for the 2018 season in an effort to reduce the performance premium on equipment and place the emphasis on the pit crews’ athletic performance. Some teams were forced to pit twice, or had an extra long stop, due to a malfunction.

“We’re going to have those conversations and get it right,” O’Donnell said. “This was an initiative we worked closely with teams on, and we never want to see a part or piece malfunction. We want it to be in the hands of the drivers and the race teams. That’s something we obviously take very seriously. We’ll have that dialogue this weekend and head to Vegas and hopefully get that cleaned up.”

Winning crew chief Rodney Childers, whose team had to make two pit stops following the competition caution at Lap 30, chimed in during his post-race victory press conference, emphasizing the continued need for collaboration.

“I have to be honest, the people that have took that on really have done an outstanding job,” Childers said. “Like, there’s no way I could sit up here and complain about anything they’ve done because I can’t imagine taking that on over the winter and what they did over a two‑month span or a three‑month span of trying to get all this stuff ready for the teams, number one.

“But my opinion is we’re going to go through ups and downs, and we need to go through them together and learn together.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Mobil 1 is again throwing its support behind Stewart-Haas Racing. Part of that includes the return of “Tiny” Kevin Harvick.

Harvick, who won Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, will serve as the face of Mobil 1 Annual Protection motor oil marketing campaign once again. The company will appear on the hood for a total of 10 races in 2018, with every one of SHR’s four cars represented (Six times for Harvick’s No. 4, twice for Clint Bowyer’s No. 14 and once each for Kurt Busch’s No. 41 and Aric Almirola’s No. 10).

Watch the above video for a behind-the-scenes look at the latest “Tiny Driver” spot.

“The commercials and everything they did on the marketing side at Mobil 1 last year was obviously a huge hit,” Harvick said. “My son (Keelan) still asks how they made me 3 inches tall standing on top of that engine.”

We wonder, too, Keelan.

The full national marketing campaign commercials will be released later this season, but for now, here’s the newest:

RELATED: Harvick emotional after win

Posted on by Reid Spencer

RELATED: Harvick hoists Atlanta trophy | Complete race results

HAMPTON, Ga. — When race leader — and eventual winner — Kevin Harvick came to pit road on Lap 212 of Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano stayed on the track.

Brad Keselowski inherited the lead two laps later, and still Hamlin and Logano stayed out. Not until Lap 226 did the two drivers come to pit road, after running laps at a far slower speed than those with fresh tires.

Staying on the track was a deliberate strategy play, designed to run the final 155-lap stage of the race on two pit stops, rather than the customary three. Indeed, Hamlin picked up the lead after Harvick pitted for the third time during the stage on Lap 288, but his stint at that point was short-lived. 

Rocketing around the track on fresh tires, Harvick passed Hamlin for the lead on Lap 291 and regained control of the race.

Crew chief Mike Wheeler prepped Hamlin for the strategy before the start of the third stage. 

“As soon as I left pit road, he said I was going to have to go 50 laps the first time, so I immediately knew he was going to break it up into two stops instead of three,” Hamlin said. “I wasn’t surprised at all about it. Worried about it, a little bit in the second stint, because I wasn’t running really fast lap times on new tires – I think 32 (seconds) flat or something like that. 

“Other guys were able to run some 70s (31.70) and 80s (31.80), and it seemed like we got to the lap time of like 33 or whatever pretty quick, and I was just worried that the strategy … you need the lap times to be pretty linear for that strategy to work, and we kind of leveled off a little bit, and some of the field leveled off.  

“I was worried a little bit, but I kept seeing it cycle around to where I was in a good position.” 

Hamlin rolled home in fourth place and left Atlanta third in the series standings, 12 points behind Logano, who assumed the lead with a sixth-place run.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

RELATED: Stewart-Haas savors Atlanta strides | Complete race results

HAMPTON, Ga. — Clint Bowyer didn’t win Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, but he got the sort of run he needed in the second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race of the season.

On a day when all the Stewart-Haas Racing Fords were fast, Bowyer finished third overall behind SHR teammate Kevin Harvick, who dominated the action, and fellow Ford driver Brad Keselowski. 

The third-place result was a welcome tonic for Bowyer, who suffered through an up-and-down campaign last year in his first season with SHR.

“I said it all offseason,” Bowyer said after the race. “What we have to do is get more consistent, know what I mean? Over the course of my career, kind of what’s kept me in the game is consistency, and last year we were spraying it all over the place. 

“We’d have a good run and back it up with a bad one or two bad ones and then a good one. We were all over the place.”

Bowyer managed a 15th-place run in the season-opening Daytona 500 despite an engine issue. 

“We were at the big dance last weekend and dropped a cylinder, and everybody was dejected and bummed out, and we come here and unload four fast (Stewart-Haas) cars and did a great job as a company. 

“That’s what it takes. You’ve got to be able to unload good cars and then work together to fine-tune them to make them good for the race and enjoy that strength in numbers, and that’s certainly what we had going on this weekend.”

Bowyer climbed to fifth in the series standings, 15 points behind leader Joey Logano.