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Ross Kenseth spins, recovers well at Chicagoland Speedway

RELATED: Ross Kenseth to make XFINITY Series debut for JGR

JOLIET, Ill. – Midway through the opening NASCAR XFINITY Series practice session at Chicagoland Speedway on Friday afternoon, the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota got loose off Turn 4, swerved left, then right, then left, then right, then left again before spinning sideways and finally straightening out at a slowed pace.

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The incident brought out a caution flag, but it was one of the most impressive no-damage saves we’ve seen across any series in 2015; the type of skilled maneuver we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from the likes of 2003 Sprint Cup Series champion Matt Kenseth.

There’s only one thing. It wasn’t Matt behind the wheel – it was his son, Ross, fittingly making his series debut this Father’s Day weekend.

“We worked on (our car) quite a bit; we were pretty free there for most of the session on the throttle, so we spent a lot of time working on that,” Ross said in between practice sessions. “I just kind of got in the gas pretty hard off (Turn) 4 there and started stepping out. I got to the point I thought I had it then I just got real loose and from there it was just hanging on, not trying to hit the wall or get in the grass and knock the front end off it.”

RELATED: Kenseth wins third career ARCA start  

Fresh off a win last weekend at Michigan International Speedway in just his third career ARCA Racing Series start, the 22-year-old Kenseth is already exhibiting shades of dad, pulling into the garage 13th in the opening session with a best speed of 173.589 mph in the final session.

One thing Ross still has to fine-tune, however, is that famous Kenseth sarcasm. Luckily Matt, watching practice from on top of the No. 20 hauler, gave him a free lesson in it after the younger Kenseth climbed from his ride after the session.

“(My dad) asked if it was all out of my system or not. Hopefully it is,” Ross said. “I think it’s just, you’ve got to know where that edge is at. I think right there I got a little bit too far on the wrong side of that line. We were kind of fighting free the whole session there and between that and getting used to these cars for the first time, used to this track for the first time and knowing where all the bumps are at and kind of the line to make as much speed as possible, I think all that (rolled) kind of into one and I just got kind of a bad off on 4 there and kind of hit it the wrong way and just got free.”

Still, to come away from such an incident with a fully intact Toyota Camry without a scratch on it after such a potentially devastating spin is nothing to downplay, like he’s doing.

Perhaps it’s because the advice Pop, who opened the 2013 Chase for the Sprint Cup with a Joliet victory, has been giving him has been paying dividends already.  

RELATED: Kenseths eager for memorable Father’s Day

“We talked quite a bit about different lines here and kind of what you’re going to feel through a tire run and through practice versus the race and being around other cars and where you need to be and where not to be and where the seams go. It’s been really helpful.

“He’s been real fast at a lot of these tracks and I think he’s one of the better ones at these mile and half-type race tracks and that kind of racing. Having him there for questions and advice and all that is obviously a huge help."

Huge help, sure.

But it’s clear talent runs in the family.

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No. 4 KBM driver earns first victory of 2015

RELATED: Full results from Iowa

NEWTON, Iowa — Last season, a powerful run through Iowa Speedway helped Erik Jones finally emerge from the tall shadows cast by bad luck.
 
But the talented 19-year-old’s relationship with misfortune re-formed in 2015 — until, again, Iowa.

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Jones entered Friday’s American Ethanol 200 winless in eight NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts this season and stung by back-to-back finishes of 23rd and 15th.
 
He left the track pumping his fists, victorious.
 
The Kyle Busch Motorsports driver led 112 laps and dominated most of the race en route to his fifth career series triumph.
 
“We’ve had fast trucks,” Jones said. “Things just haven’t been happening. Just kept fighting the good fight and waited for it to come around.”
 
Jones sped to the victory by 5.661 seconds over Brandon Jones, who notched a career-best runner-up finish.
 
Tyler Reddick finished third, Matt Crafton took fourth and Christopher Bell — in his first career start — completed the top five. Crafton retained his points lead by 12 over Reddick. Jones now stands third, 26 points behind Crafton.
 
“I think we’ve had speed all year long, honestly,” said Brandon Jones, whose GMS Racing teammate, Spencer Gallagher, secured a career-high second last weekend at Gateway Motorsports Park. “It’s just starting to come around for us.”
 
Bell started 10th and the former USAC National Midget Champion hadn’t raced on pavement until last September.
 
“I just had one expectation and goal and that was just to finish the race,” Bell said. “I really didn’t know what to expect, so to come out with a top five, I’m just thrilled about it.”
 
A different type of excitement pulsed through Jones, who earlier Friday became the series’ youngest Keystone Light 21 means 21 Pole winner at Iowa (19 years, 20 days).
 
He led the first 43 laps, slipped back to ninth after a lap 53 restart, but patiently threaded to third by lap 98.
 
Jones re-took the lead for good on lap 128, surging by Crafton on another restart and within 15 laps had built a 1.5-second advantage.
 
Crafton led 33 laps and nearly outdueled Reddick for third in the closing stages. His ThorSport Racing teammates, Johnny Sauter and Cameron Hayley, led 14 and 37 laps, respectively, before mechanical issues put them off the pace.
 
Jones finally evaded a similar setback.
 
“This one’s just enjoyment now,” Jones said. “We’re back in the swing of things. I guess the last month was just stressful all around. Stressful on me as a person. … I kind of came to realize it doesn’t come as easy as everybody thinks it does. I had a lot of success early on and definitely got into kind of a hard spot.”
 
Make that hard spots.
 
His win last season at Iowa’s fast, short track ignited a much-needed hot streak that followed a 23rd-place finish at Gateway.
 
Deja vu?
 
“It’s really similar,” Jones said. “Last year we really kind of came off the same beginning to the season to this point and went here and kind of turned everything around. So I would say our luck or whatever you want to call it was worse this year at the beginning of the year than it was last year, but definitely a similar feel in getting back to Victory Lane here and getting things going in the right direction.”
 
It worked last season.
 
Jones closed out the 2014 Camping World Trucks season with two more wins and posted at least a top-seven finish in seven of the final eight races.
 
And while it’s doubtful 2015 will fully mirror 2014, Jones offered a confident prediction.
 
“It took is a while to get here, but now that we’re here I think we’ll keep reeling a few off.”

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See where every driver will pit Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1

RELATED: Full starting lineup

Defending American Ethanol 200 winner Erik Jones claimed the 21 Means 21 Pole Award at Iowa Speedway for Friday’s race (8:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM). His No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports team chose the first stall at the Turn 1 exit of pit road.

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The 19-year-old driver will start on the front row with John Hunter Nemechek, 18, who qualified second and chose the 11th stall with an opening in front of him. Another 19-year-old, Tyler Reddick, qualified third and picked the sixth stall with a front opening.

Brandon Jones, 19, and Cameron Hayley, 18, qualified fourth and fifth with Jones choosing the 15th stall and Hayley selecting the 24th stall. Each driver will have a clear shot out of his pit stall.

Caleb Holman earned a career-best sixth-place start and picked the 27th stall with an opening behind him right at the start/finish line. Last week’s Gateway winner, Cole Custer, qualified seventh and picked the 20th stall with a front opening.

Last year’s Sunoco Rookie of the Year, Ben Kennedy, qualified eighth and picked the 18th stall with an opening behind him.

Points leader and two-time defending champion Matt Crafton qualified ninth and will pit in the fourth stall, across an opening from title contender Reddick.

In his Camping World Truck Series debut, Jones’ KBM teammate, Christopher Bell, will start 10th and pit in the ninth stall with an opening behind him.

Posted on by Staff Report

Defending race winner claims fifth pole of career

RELATED: Full starting lineup

Based on practice and qualifying, Erik Jones enters tonight’s American Ethanol 200 at Iowa Speedway with the dominant truck.

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The 19-year-old Jones, driver of the Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 4 Toyota Tundra, won the 21 Means 21 Pole for tonight’s race (8:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1) by turning a lap in 23.129 seconds (136.193 mph) in the third and final round.

Jones, who won the fifth NCWTS pole of his career, was the only driver to eclipse 23 seconds in the first and second round. He had the fastest lap of the day in the first round at 22.836 seconds (137.940 mph).

John H. Nemechek will start second (135.940 mph), marking the best start of his career, followed by Tyler Reddick (135.176), Brandon Jones (134.921) and Cameron Hayley (134.811).

Jones also had the fastest circuit around the tri-oval in practice at 136.051 mph. KBM teammate Christopher Bell, making his debut race in the series, was second at practice (135.682).

Bell qualified 10th.

NCWTS points leader Matt Crafton qualified ninth.

Crafton (329 points) has three wins and six top-five finishes in eight starts this season; he’s won the series the past two seasons.

Jones won last year’s race at Iowa and Crafton won it in 2011.

Posted on by Staff Report

Rookie and KBM teammate Christopher Bell earned second-fastest spot

RELATED: Complete practice results

His No. 4 truck reaching a high speed of 136.051 mph, Erik Jones soared back to the top of the leaderboard just minutes before the end of the sole Camping World Truck Series practice at Iowa Speedway for Friday’s American Ethanol 200 (8:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM). The Kyle Busch Motorsports driver had spent most of the afternoon riding the top position.

Bell, who is making his series debut this weekend at Iowa for Kyle Busch Motorsports, created quite the first impression, wheeling around the tri-oval at 135.682 mph to briefly lead the session, before eventually earning the second position under teammate Jones.

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Coming off a strong fourth-place result at Gateway last weekend, John Hunter Nemechek‘s No. 8 NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet was next on the leaderboard with a top speed of 135.193 mph. GMS Racing’s Spencer Gallagher (135.037 mph) and ThorSport Racing’s rookie Cameron Hayley (134.933 mph) rounded out the top five.

Reigning back-to-back series champion Matt Crafton propelled his No. 88 ThorSport Racing Toyota to sixth on the leaderboard.

The Truck’s sole practice — which spanned two hours and 25 minutes — saw four cautions overall, three for spins in Turn 4. Tommy Regan brought out the first one when his No. 45 Chevrolet spun off Turn 4 one hour into the session. Minutes later, Ray Black Jr. brought out the second caution when his No. 07 Chevrolet also spun. Tyler Reddick‘s No. 19 ride took a spin in Turn 4 onto the frontstretch with less than an hour remaining, signaling the final caution.

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is back on track at Iowa at 5:45 p.m. ET for Keystone Light Pole Qualifying (FOX Sports 2).

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Ty Dillon places fifth in final session after leading first practice

Practice 2 recap | Get results

Austin Dillon turned in the top time during Friday’s final practice for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Owens Corning Atticat 300 at Chicagoland Speedway, which starts on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.

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Dillon, driving the No. 33 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, covered the track in 30.450 seconds at a speed of 177.340 mph.

JJ Yeley was second (176.546 mph), followed by Ryan Blaney (175.245 mph), Drew Herring (175.245 mph) and Ty Dillon (174.317 mph), who had the best time in the opening practice of the day.

Series points leader Chris Buescher placed sixth in the final practice (173.930 mph) and defending NXS champion Chase Elliott was ninth (173.773 mph). Elliott current ranks third in points.

Practice 1 recap | Get results

Ty Dillon topped the leaderboard late in Friday’s opening practice with a time of 177.392 mph in his No. 3 Chevrolet. He had the best time of either practice.

Blaney posted the second-fastest speed, propelling his No. 22 Team Penske Ford at 176.875 mph around the Illinois track. The eldest Dillon — Austin Dillon — was third behind his brother, recording a high speed of 176.702 mph in the No. 33 Richard Childress Chevrolet. Roush Fenway Racing‘s Chris Buescher (176.114 mph) and Richard Childress Racing‘s Brian Scott (175.313 mph) completed the top five performers.

Midway through the hour-and-a-half session, Ross Kenseth — son of Sprint Cup Series regular Matt Kenseth — brought out the caution flag, when he got loose and spun. The No. 20 wheelman impressively avoided contact and recovered to post the 13th-fastest speed in the field.

Posted on by George Winkler

Dirt racer shows he can get it done on pavement at Iowa

NEWTON, Iowa — Christopher Bell said he didn’t come to Iowa Speedway with any expectations for his first career start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. But he sure left with them after finishing fifth in Friday’s American Ethanol 200 Presented by Enogen.

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Despite not having much experience on pavement, the 20-year-old Bell drove the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota right up front with stars such as race-winner Erik Jones and two-time defending champion Matt Crafton.

It was the culmination of a one-day show that also included Bell finishing second to Jones in the lone practice session and putting together a qualifying run of 10th.

"The only goal was to be able to finish the race," Bell said on pit road afterward. "To come home top five is unbelievable and something I will be proud of for awhile."

He’ll have time to savor the Iowa performance because Bell said this was the only Truck race scheduled for him this year. He’ll go back to driving for KBM’s Late Model team, where he began his pavement career in September.

Since then Bell has compiled five victories in Late Models. He prepared for his Truck Series debut by running two K&N Pro Series races earlier this season, including one at Iowa Speedway in which he finished fifth after starting 18th.

Before taking up pavement racing, the Norman, Oklahoma native won the 2013 USAC National Midget championship on dirt. In 2014, he compiled 26 feature wins on dirt, including the Turkey Night Grand Prix USAC Midget race in Perris, California — an event that Tony Stewart won in 2000.

But with such a short resume on pavement, Bell said he needed to call team owner Kyle Busch on the way over to the track and ask him for some advice.

"This is my first time ever on radial tires," Bell said. "That was probably one of the things I was most nervous for coming in here was never running these tires. So he gave me some pointers there."

Apparently, the advice worked, because Bell moved up from 17th after Lap 50 into the top five for the race’s final 50 laps. From there, he was rock-solid through to the end, seemingly satisfied with an unlikely top-five finish.

"Obviously being in a KBM truck definitely puts a lot of pressure on you because they’re expected to run good and they do have really nice trucks," Bell said. "The truck’s probably a little better than the driver tonight, but I’m just really thankful to be here and hopefully I’ll get some more opportunities."

Humble as that may sound, Bell’s Truck debut registered as more than a blip on the radar in Iowa and won’t be easy to forget.

"It’s was a dream come true," Bell said. "Every short-track driver in the United States wants to run in NASCAR."

Posted on by George Winkler

Two-time winner in 2015 stays close to two-time champ Matt Crafton

DES MOINES, IOWA — Tyler Reddick started racing go-karts when he was 4, which may or may not seem like a long time ago considering the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver is just 19. But one thing is for sure, Reddick has come a long way from those humble beginnings in Corning, California, a town of about 8,000 along Interstate 5 between Sacramento and Redding where Reddick said there was plenty of space to do all sorts of things outdoors.

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Now Reddick is trying to go door-to-door with two-time defending champion Matt Crafton as the series heads to Iowa Speedway for Friday’s American Ethanol 200 (8:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, MRN, SiriusXM). Reddick, who drives the No. 19 Ford for Brad Keselowski Racing, is just 12 points behind ThorSport’s Crafton and has two wins, five top fives and six top-10 finishes compared with Crafton’s three wins, six top fives and seven top-10s.

The youngster has done a good job of keeping up with the wily veteran, but can the success continue during a key summer stretch that will set up the race for the title in the fall?

On Thursday, Reddick was at the Baker Boys & Girls Club at Amos Hiatt Middle School in Des Moines. He and fellow drivers John Hunter Nemechek, Ben Kennedy and Timothy Peters were interacting with children and teaching them about NASCAR. Reddick and Nemechek were in front of the school, snapping photos with some of the students, when the question came up whether Reddick was ready for a pressure-packed championship run.

"Confidence-wise I knew going into it that we were going to have a shot at winning a championship and some races this year," Reddick said. "But until it happens, it’s pretty unreal to see it happen. You know you can do it, but to actually see it and partake in it, that is pretty special."

Reddick entered this season with 17 Truck Series starts, including nine top-10 finishes and two poles, but he had yet to register a victory. He got his first win in the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway and followed it up with another at Dover International Speedway. The wins have made Reddick feel confident, but the second didn’t come without some drama.

In the Dover race, Reddick had a run-in with Jennifer Jo Cobb, who thought Reddick wrecked her. Cobb got out of her truck to show Reddick her displeasure and subsequently was fined $5,000 and put on NASCAR probation through the end of the year.

RELATED: Cobb calls out Reddick, earns fine, probation for leaving truck

Since the incident, which occurred on May 29 in the Lucas Oil 200, Reddick says Cobb has not spoken to him about it.

"I think we both know what happened," Reddick said. "She thinks that I hit the back of her vehicle, but it was backed into the wall so there was obviously going to be damage there. I watched the XFINITY and Cup races from that weekend, and you didn’t have to have any contact with anybody — and if the car behind would run up on the car in front of you, the car in front would get loose naturally. I’m assuming that’s what happened."

While Cobb went home disappointed, Reddick ended up in Victory Lane. Then after an 11th-place finish at Texas, Reddick had another shot at victory last week at Gateway Motorsports Park near St. Louis. However, a faulty restart opened the door for Cole Custer to charge to the front and get the win.

WATCH: Custer takes advantage of Reddick’s poor restart at Gateway

"Every race I run, I get better, and I learn more," Reddick said of his performance last week. "And I learn from my mistakes."

But a blip like last week, if one could call an eighth-place finish a blip, hasn’t dulled the shine of Reddick’s career progression.

"It’s a dream come true," Reddick said. "Never knew (when I started at 4) that I would be racing still to this day at this level, so it’s been quite an experience."

Posted on by Holly Cain

Voda, Jarrett and Petty bring mix of integrity, ease, experience and opinion

Their chemistry is immediately evident.

Fifteen seconds into an interview with the NBC Sports’ NASCAR pre-race broadcast dream team of veteran broadcaster Krista Voda, former NASCAR champion Dale Jarrett and former NASCAR racer turned high opinion analyst Kyle Petty, the trio were finishing each other’s sentences and launching one another into laughter.

"I think what’s great about our combination is that in this job you don’t necessarily have to like the people you work with but you do have to respect them, and we’re very lucky because I think there is both," Voda said. "We genuinely like each other in addition to respecting the work we do."

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"But," Jarrett deadpanned, "We’ve just got to get Kyle to come out of his shell and then everything will be good."

The overriding theme of this group is unmistakable.

Not only do they respect one another, but they are all well-respected in the NASCAR garage area. Each brings a level of experience and knowledge that creates authenticity for the network in its NASCAR return. The result should be a compelling, enjoyable, informational start to the season’s final 20 Sprint Cup races and 19 XFINITY Series events, which the network (using both NBC and NBCSN) will air for the next decade.

NBC Sports takes over coverage of the Sprint Cup and XFINITY Series beginning with the July 4-5 race weekend at the iconic Daytona International Speedway. Voda, Jarrett and Petty will handle the pre-race duties – a responsibility each takes to heart.

"Working with Krista, I know she is such a professional, so well-prepared," the mercurial Petty said. "She studies, she takes notes, talks to people, and she has a funny sense of humor and throws things out that make you feel at ease.

"Working with Dale on ‘NASCAR AMERICA’ (NBC Sports Network studio show), I realize if I was as smart as Dale, I would have won more races because I’m learning stuff now from him I wish I knew when I was driving a race car. You’re talking about a guy who’s won a championship (1999), won the Daytona 500 and is so articulate.

"It’s such a mix of Krista’s professionalism, the deep history knowledge that Dale brings and if you’re going to have those two bookends then you need to tie it in the middle and that’s where I come in."

After not broadcasting a NASCAR race since 2006, the network comes in with a bit of blank slate, but one that will fill up quickly with the duties and privileges of covering both the Sprint Cup Series’ exciting Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup 10-race playoff as well as the XFINITY Series championship run. It’s the first time the season finale will be on network television since 2009.

"I was glad to be a part of last year’s [Chase broadcast],” Jarrett said. "That was so exciting. There was great anticipation as an analyst of what was going to happen every week. The things that took place off track, to see the raw emotion and passion of drivers and teams knowing that each lap meant so much to them.

"Now they know a little more what to expect, I expect it to ramp up.

Petty agreed. Developing must-see storylines won’t be a problem.

"You hang on every lap, every thing that’s said, then you watch the drivers and what they do and how it goes,” Petty said. "I think if we use last year and how that Chase went, it will be different this year. It’ll be a little bit different from the standpoint now they have a year under their belt and understand how to race the Chase, what they need to do get through the first three races, then run the next three races.

"You see teams do things … and as an analyst think, ‘why would they do something like that?’ And then they win the race.

"The game has changed because of the Chase. I think that the crew chiefs being willing to gamble and the drivers willing to gamble, makes it exciting because it’s never, ever, over until that checkered flag."

It’s a good bet that Voda, Jarrett and Petty will send fans off to the green flag feeling more knowledgeable and eager. These three personalities bring a primetime mix of integrity, ease, experience and high opinion. Add in the network’s history of good storytelling and it appears NBC won’t just be picking up where it left off, but launching its new NASCAR era forward at full speed.

"Doing the pre-race show is a huge responsibility and I mean that in a good way,” Voda said. "We’re telling the fans what we expect them to see and why you should be glued to the seat. Our job is to bring the passion of the sport to our fans’ living rooms so they can’t imagine getting up and turning the channel.

"Fans are going to want to be a part of what we have. Wow, Kyle and Dale are having so much fun. If we can bring that passion we have the sport home to people then we have done our job."

Posted on by RJ Kraft

NBA’s Warriors overcome obstacles just like Harvick did in run to title

Back-to-back days this week saw two champions crowned in the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League.



The NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup on Monday night, while the NBA’s Golden State Warriors won their first title in 40 years on Tuesday night.



The Blackhawks have been something of a modern dynasty, winning three titles in six seasons, while the Warriors have been an emerging team in the Western Conference. Golden State had made the postseason the previous two seasons but had missed the playoffs the five seasons before that. The last time the Warriors made it out of the conference semifinals was when they had won their previous title in 1975.

Last summer, the team made a coaching change, firing Mark Jackson, who the players loved and bringing in Steve Kerr, who nearly took the New York Knicks coaching opening.



Kerr took a team that had pretty much the same roster the season before and won a league-high 67 games in the regular season. He then led his team to overcoming two 2-1 series deficits in the Western semifinals against the Memphis Grizzlies and again in The NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Yes, the Warriors had league MVP Stephen Curry, but the tide shifted against the LeBron James-led Cavaliers when Andre Iguodala was inserted into the starting lineup for Game 4.



Iguodala, who came to the Warriors in the summer of 2013, had been a starter for most of his NBA career and was a member of the 2012 Gold Medal winning USA Basketball team in the Summer Olympics. This season, with the Warriors he came off the bench, doing a variety of little things to make the sacrifices to help his team win. Iguodala performed admirably as a starter in Games 4 through 6, all wins for the Warriors and he was named the MVP of The NBA Finals.



Getting to the mountain top in any sport is extremely difficult. It requires sacrifice and buy-in by all members of the collective. And like all good drama, there is also usually a pivotal moment that has to be overcome. 



We saw that last year with Kevin Harvick. Harvick left Richard Childress Racing after 13 seasons for Stewart-Haas Racing. He and his new crew chief Rodney Childers won at Phoenix International Raceway in just their second race together.



There were some trouble spots though, as Harvick had some engine issues, tire trouble and pit crew woes that hindered him and cost him valuable position in a few races.



Prior to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, SHR swapped pit crews with Tony Stewart‘s over-the-wall crew becoming Harvick’s pit crew and vice versa. Stewart’s pit crew had several members that had been with him for his 2011 championship.

In the Chase, Harvick seemed to fine another gear as he won at Charlotte Motor Speedway to lock up a spot in the Eliminator Round. 

After a crash with Matt Kenseth led to a 33rd-place result at Martinsville Speedway, Harvick had his back against the wall. He scored a runner-up finish at Texas Motor Speedway before scoring the victory at Phoenix to advance to the Championship Round. As it turned out, Harvick had to win to advance to have a shot at that elusive title and he did. 



The California native came to Homestead-Miami Speedway confident in the task at hand and used a late stop for four tires to be able to get by several championship hopefuls for the lead and held on to the take title. 



In 2015, Harvick has picked up where he left off this season with two wins, a series-high 10 top-five finishes, including eight runner-up finishes and the series points lead. 

Perhaps, his strong start following a championship bodes well for the Warriors next season, who like Harvick will see competition come at them from everywhere. 



While Harvick has to fend off six-time champion Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr. and several others, the Warriors face a similarly tall order.
 Their challengers will include a healthy Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder, a rested and veteran group in the San Antonio Spurs, James and his Cavaliers and a potential surprise team that much like the Warriors could come out of left field to surprise everyone.

But for now, the Warriors can let the championship tonic overtake them because after all, you don’t get to the top of the mountain all the time.