Posted on by Brad Norman

Drivers’ cars come together late in Las Vegas race

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Related: Full Kobalt 400 results

LAS VEGAS — Carl Edwards apologized publicly and then again in a more intimate setting to Kasey Kahne, but the Hendrick Motorsports driver was still smarting after a shot into the wall ruined both his fast car and his good day at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

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Kahne’s No. 5 Chevrolet was a constant force in the top five Sunday in the Kobalt 400, and that’s where it was on Lap 195 attempting to make a pass on the outside when Edwards drove him into the wall.

As Kahne bounced off the barrier, he maintained his line, caught back up to Edwards and sent the No. 19 spinning — and eventually into the garage — with a subtle, meticulous shot. 

"It’s completely my fault," Edwards said from inside his car, in the garage, while his crew repaired damage. "Kasey did a good job. I just got sucked up into him there. That’s definitely my fault and I feel bad for Kasey."

Edwards followed those remarks with a post-race discussion on pit road, strolling over to the No. 5 car as Kahne and crew chief Keith Rodden debriefed.

The conversation was short and direct, with Edwards again apologizing to a curt Kahne, who was fast all weekend but settled for 17th on Sunday.

"Carl just came down and apologized," Kahne said after Edwards went on his way. "He said he hadn’t done that before to anyone. We basically needed just about a full car length more there in order to make it, and he just never lifted and put us right into the wall. It ruined his day as well." 

Edwards was all too aware of the implications to his own car — and finish — as well. That much was clear when his No. 19 Toyota Camry, which had run in the top 10 all day prior to the wreck, was scored 42nd when the checkered flag dropped.

"It’s not just frustrating — it’s pretty stupid," Edwards said. "I just should have been a little calmer, but it’s kind of fun racing up front like that and it got me going. … I was being too aggressive on that restart. I started to slide up and I should have backed out of it way earlier."

For Kahne, it was a missed opportunity. His cars have been swift in all three races this year, but his third-place starting spot Sunday gave him the ability to chase leaders Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano and Jimmie Johnson all day prior to the damage. 

"We had a second-place car the first 30 laps of a run and a winning car the last 15-20 laps of a run," Kahne said. "The way it went down, I feel like we would have been able to race (winner Kevin) Harvick. He was unreal throughout the entire race, but I think our car was unreal, too."

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Posted on by Brad Norman

Multiple-time series champions battle flat tires, wrecked race cars

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Related: Full Kobalt 400 results

LAS VEGAS — Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon must be thrilled to get out of Sin City.

Armed with two of the fastest cars on the track throughout the weekend, both multiple-time premier series champions couldn’t shake off a spate of unfortunate events that seemed to magnify as race day deepened.

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Johnson had to pit from second place with a vibration, then blew a tire just when he had climbed his way back through the field. Then he blew another one for good measure.

Gordon’s misfortune actually began late Saturday with less than a minute remaining in final practice, when he rammed the No. 10 Chevrolet following a spin from Danica Patrick, and it caused enough to damage to his No. 24 Chevrolet that it necessitated a backup car.

So the Coors Light Pole Award winner started from the rear, sprinted his way into the top 10, and then mussed up his car’s nose by running into Jeb Burton … the direct result of Burton trying to get away from Johnson’s wrecking No. 48.

"I guess Jimmie blew a right front tire," said Gordon, who patted Burton’s head on pit road after the race as the two had a brief talk. "I was right behind Jeb (Burton) getting ready to make a move on him. I wasn’t sure if I was going to go inside or outside, but all of a sudden he started checking up and I thought he was doing it to let me go by him and I didn’t realize until right at that moment when my spotter said something to me that Jimmie was having a problem. And I ran into the back of him. It ruined our day and certainly ruined the front end."

The 43-year-old wound up 18th, as he nursed his battered, tape-covered Chevrolet around the 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway oval over the final 80 laps.

Johnson’s bad vibes didn’t start Saturday as Gordon’s did, but they came over a brutal hour-long stretch Sunday.

The No. 48 Chevrolet was out front for 45 laps and seemed to have a car with the ability to challenge eventual race winner Kevin Harvick, who led 142 of 267 laps. In fact, "Six-Time" was leading on Lap 91 when he slowed considerably after feeling a vibration.

He came down pit road for tires and was scored 35th (and one lap down) when he returned to the track. Johnson worked his way back to being one spot behind Clint Bowyer, and then Brad Keselowski, for the beneficiary position.

A tire blew on Lap 173, though, which eliminated any hope of Johnson getting back on the lead lap. Twelve laps later, another tire went down — and his No. 48 Chevrolet again caromed into the wall as a result. 

"The first one, they said the bead blew on it," Johnson said. " That’s kind of a freak deal. The second one, it went soft. So there could have been some damage that caused it or some rub or something like that, and it went soft going into Turn 3 and I hit the wall, unfortunately. I’m disappointed. We certainly had an awesome race car."

The poor result is less of a worry for Johnson than it is for Gordon. With one win in pocket already, the No. 48 team has virtually clinched a spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

It might be a little more concerning for Gordon, who actually jumped six spots in the standings — up to 30th — following his 26-point day.

"It was a great effort," Gordon said. "I just can’t believe the way these days are going."

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Driver leads 142 laps to win first race of season

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Related: Full results

LAS VEGAS — Kevin Harvick must have been tired of finishing second, because on Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion did something about it.
 
Once Harvick got to the front of the field from his 18th-place starting spot in the Kobalt 400, he was untouchable.

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All-time consecutive top-two finishes

Streak Driver Year
11 Richard Petty 1975
10 Richard Petty 1971
10 Richard Petty 1967
9 Richard Petty 1964
8 David Pearson 1968
7 Richard Petty 1967
6 Kevin Harvick 2014-15
6 Jeff Gordon 1996
6* Darrell Waltrip 1981
6 Richard Petty 1971
6 Richard Petty 1967
6 Tim Flock 1952

*Two streaks of 6 in 1981

Even with a disquieting vibration on the final green-flag run — and a left-rear tire that shredded during his celebratory burnout — Harvick had enough of a working margin to hold off runner-up Martin Truex Jr. by 1.640 seconds.
 
Harvick, who ran second in the season-opening Daytona 500 and in last week’s 500-miler at Atlanta, led a race-high 142 laps in winning for the first time in Las Vegas and for the 29th time in his career. In his last six races, dating back to last year’s championship season, Harvick has three victories and three second-place finishes.
 
Ryan Newman came home third, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin and AJ Allmendinger. Brad Keselowski, last year’s Las Vegas race winner, rallied from a pass-through penalty for a runaway tire on pit road to finish seventh. Kyle Larson, Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano completed the top 10.
 
Harvick will try to extend his string of top-two finishes next weekend at Phoenix International Raceway, where the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet has won four of the last five NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.
 
"It’s so cool to win here in Las Vegas, and to start this West Coast swing off this way is pretty awesome," Harvick said in Victory Lane. "Just to be in front of all these fans I’ve raced in front of since about the mid-‘90s… it’s pretty special to win here."
 
The only issue in doubt for the last half of the race was whether Harvick’s car would hold together in the closing laps.
 
"That wasn’t a comfortable last run there," Harvick radioed to his crew after he crossed the finish line.
 
A few minutes later, after climbing from his car, he elaborated.
 
"It wasn’t right," Harvick said. "Luckily we were able to hang-on to it and had a good enough lead to where we could pace ourselves and be able to keep the lead, I guess.
 
"It got to be a handful there at the end. For whatever reason we got really, really loose the last run. Tires started vibrating and we were just kind of hanging on. Glad the race is over at that particular point for our own good."
 
The victory vaulted Harvick into the lead in the series standings by nine points over Earnhardt, who has finished third, third and fourth in the first three races of the season.
 
Fourth in the standings after three straight top 10s to open the year, Truex was gaining on Harvick at the finish but never got close enough to make a move. Nor was Truex aware that Harvick had a potential problem.
 
"I noticed he was getting a lot bigger, and I asked ‘Why in the world is Harvick so slow right now?’" Truex said. "They gave me my lap times and his and I’m like, "What’s going on?’
 
"I really thought he was just playing with us, taking it easy because he knew he had a big gap. They never said anything to me about him thinking he had any issues or anything else."
 
Note: Pole winner Jeff Gordon started from the rear in a backup car because of an accident in the last minute of Saturday’s final practice. The four-time champion’s luck didn’t improve on Sunday. He ran into the back of Jeb Burton’s Toyota as both drivers were trying to avoid the Chevrolet of Jimmie Johnson, who had blown a tire and hit the wall ahead of them. Gordon finished 18th, one lap down… Gordon was the last driver before Harvick to post six straight top-two finishes, a feat he accomplished in 1996.
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2013 XFINITY Series champion earns third series win

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LAS VEGAS, Nev.– As dominant as Austin Dillon was in Saturday’s Boyd Gaming 300 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he had to give his utmost effort in the closing laps to hold off charging Ryan Blaney for the victory.

Dillon led 183 of the 200 laps at the 1.5-mile speedway, but Blaney had a tire advantage at the end of the race, thanks to a late pit stop after his car snapped loose and knocked Erik Jones into the outside wall at the exit from Turn 4.

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After restarting fifth with 21 laps left, Blaney charged to the front, making up a deficit of more than 1.5 seconds and forcing Dillon to block him repeatedly during the last three laps. Blaney ran out of room in the final corner, his No. 22 Ford turning sideways and tagging the outside wall as Dillon crossed the finish line with an advantage of .664 seconds.

During the closing laps, winning crew chief Nick Harrison made a point of not telling Dillon that Blaney had fresh tires. 

"There at the end, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do," said Dillon, who won for the third time in the XFINITY Series and the first time at Las Vegas. "You got to do whatever you can to win. Our car was dominant all day, and to give one away like that would have been heartbreaking.

"I hadn’t heard in my ear all day that somebody was catching me, and he was catching me at about three tenths (of a second) a lap. And that was all I had. The other good thing is that my crew chief made sure no one told me that he had tires on, so I wouldn’t second-guess myself. I just thought I was getting slower–I didn’t know what I was doing wrong."

In his post-race question-and-answer session with reporters, Blaney was more distraught about his contact with Erik Jones than he was disappointed with his runner-up finish. And after the run-in with Jones, Blaney wasn’t about to move Dillon for the win in the closing laps.

"I didn’t want any more people saying bad things about me after I wrecked Erik," said Blaney, who passed fourth-place finisher Denny Hamlin on Lap 190 and third-place Regan Smith on Lap 193 before charging after Dillon. "I wasn’t going to move Austin, that’s for sure.

"He did what he had to do. He stopped my run. I didn’t expect him to pull over. So, no, I wasn’t going to move him to win the race." 

Chase Elliott came home fifth, followed by hometown favorite Brendan Gaughan, rookie Darrell Wallace Jr., Ty Dillon, Brennan Poole and Daniel Suarez.

Ty Dillon, Austin’s brother, took over the series lead by six points over Chris Buescher, who came home 14th.

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Posted on by Staff Report

Gordon will start in back in Sunday’s Kobalt 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX)

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Coors Light Pole Award winner Jeff Gordon earned the right to start first in Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series Kobalt Tools 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX).

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However, contact with Danica Patrick late in the final practice session on Saturday ensures he’ll start from the rear of the field, as the damage endured will force the four-time series champion to a backup No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

Gordon’s primary car, which he used to earn his 79th career Coors Light Pole Award on Friday, took on right-side damage, particularly in the front.
 
His team swiftly unloaded the backup car from its hauler and wheeled it to the garage bay, then backed it up and put on a cover. Meanwhile, work continued on the No. 24 primary even after Gordon tweeted he would go to a backup car.
 
Eventually, the team dragged an oversized toolbox directly in front of its garage stall, blocking the view for the many who were interested in the progress.

While the wrecked chassis is the one Gordon used to win at Indianapolis and Michigan in 2014, his backup is the one that picked up a pair of runner-up finishes in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup at Chicago and Charlotte and was on pace for a top-five before contact with Brad Keselowski derailed his efforts at Texas.

David Ragan, who qualified 13th, also will go to a backup car after slapping the wall in final practice and consequently head to the back of Sunday’s field.

Brad Norman, who is in Las Vegas, contributed to this report.

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See where your favorite driver will pit in the Boyd Gaming 300 (4 p.m. ET, FS1)

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Following NASCAR XFINITY Series qualifying, pit still assignments were also revealed for Saturday’s Boyd Gaming 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

 

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After winning the Coors Light Pole Award, Austin Dillon had first pick of pit stalls. Dillon chose the stall closest to the pit road exit, which will give him a speedy exit off pit road. He also has an empty stall in front of him, which will eliminate the chance of his No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet getting blocked in by other cars on pit road.

Brian Scott, who qualified second, chose pit stall No. 15 with an open space in front of it. Erik Jones, who qualified third, also chose a pit stall with space in front of it (stall No. 31), just farther back from Dillon on Scott on pit road.

Coverage of the Boyd Gaming 300 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway gets underway at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.

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Why rear tires are sliding for several Sprint Cup racers

In between the second and third NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practices at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for Sunday’s Kobalt 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX), drivers took to Twitter in search of rear grip.


In a "NASCAR Illustrated" Q&A, No. 13 Germain Racing crew chief Robert "Bootie" Barker explained how drivers would lose grip with the new Sprint Cup Series rules package for 2015.

LOSING GRIP
"What they’re trying to do is take away downforce, make the cars lighter, take away power so we’re not going so fast in the corner," Barker said. "Therefore, they can develop a softer tire that will wear more. So, you might run a 30-second lap on new tires, but you might run a 34-second lap on old tires. What that will promote is more sliding around, maybe more racing, maybe less dependency on all the factors we have now. In the beginning, though, you’re going to have less downforce and you’re still going to have a hard tire. That’s going to be terrible, but it’s going to take time to get there."

Barker noted the new package will benefit some drivers while others will turn to social media, as they did today.

"Carl (Edwards) has raced dirt," Barker said. "Kyle Larson, people like that, that will slide and don’t mind a car that’s not stuck, are going to excel. People that love them some grip and want to feel all comfy are going to be in a bad way."

RELATED: NASCAR Illustrated: Ask a Crew Chief on 2015 Sprint Cup rules

GAINING GRIP
In another "NASCAR Illustrated" Q&A, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing crew chief Tony Gibson explained how the team puts mechanical grip into the car when it leaves the shop and then adjusts to aero around other cars throughout the weekend.

"When you’re balancing a race car, typically you’re by yourself," Gibson said. "You’re on the race track and you’re not really running right behind somebody or passing somebody. They’re kind of strung out. Well, the car has max downforce and you have all the mechanical grip that you’ve built into the car for the particular race track.

RELATED: Ask a Crew Chief on aero vs. mechanical grip

"When you get in traffic, the air is so disturbed that it takes so much air off the car. Really, all you have left is the mechanical grip that you have built into it.

"We try to do our best during practice to prepare for Sunday if we have to make some changes during the race. Maybe we need to be 1.5 percent tighter mechanically to make up for being two percent looser in aero."

Posted on by Staff Report

Driver nets his second XFINITY Series pole of 2015 season

Related: Full Boyd Gaming 300 lineup

Austin Dillon, driver of the No. 33 Chevrolet, won the Coors Light Pole Award for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Boyd Gaming 300 on Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

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Dillon turned a top lap of 184.332 mph and 29.295 seconds on the 1.5-mile track in the final round of knockout qualifying. For Dillon, it was his 12th pole win in the XFINITY Series and his second this season.

Brian Scott, driver of the No. 2 Chevrolet and a Richard Childress Racing teammate of Dillon’s, finished second at 182.753 mph. Erik Jones, Ryan Blaney and Brendan Gaughan rounded out the top five on the leaderboard.

A red flag was thrown for debris in Round 1. Eric McClure‘s No. 24 was hit in the nose by a spring rubber that came out on the track, according to the team’s social media feed.

Coverage of the Boyd Gaming 300 will get underway at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.

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Hendrick driver leads field ahead of Sunday’s Kobalt 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX)

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RELATED: Practice 3 results

Jimmie Johnson swept both Sprint Cup Series practices Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, pacing the weekend’s final practice with a best speed of 187.637 mph.

The six-time series champion appears to have his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in prime condition for Sunday’s Kobalt 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX) as the only driver to hit 187-plus mph in the last session.

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Johnson was trailed by Daytona 500 winner Joey Logano (186.916 mph), Casey Mears (186.458 mph), Martin Truex Jr. (186.438 mph) and defending champion Kevin Harvick (186.342 mph).  

Defending race-winner Brad Keselowski was ninth on the charts at 185.605, while Coors Light Pole Award winner Jeff Gordon was 14th at 185.306 mph. However, Gordon sustained damage in practice and had to go to a backup car and to the back of Sunday’s field.

RELATED: Gordon goes to backup car

Also going to a backup car is David Ragan, who is filling in for Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Toyota and rode the wall late in the session and took significant damage on his ride side.

Practice 2 | Results

Jimmie Johnson vaulted to the top of the speed charts in the first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice of the day Saturday morning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Johnson, driving the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet, turned a fast lap of 191.891 mph on the 1.5-mile track in preparation for Sunday’s Kobalt 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX), the third event of the season and the first leg of the three-race West Coast Swing. The six-time series champion was two mph faster than any other driver, but below the track record of 194.679 mph set by Jeff Gordon in Coors Light Pole Qualifying on Friday.

Last season’s series runner-up Ryan Newman, driving the Richard Childress Racing No. 31 Chevrolet, was second-fastest at 189.773 mph in the 55-minute session. The veteran was trailed by reigning champion Kevin Harvick (189.667 mph), Daytona 500 winner Joey Logano (189.620 mph) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (189.394 mph.)

Defending race winner Brad Keselowski was 13th with a speed of 188.627 mph. Coors Light Pole Award winner Jeff Gordon, second in opening practice, was 14th at 188.324 mph.

Aric Almirola spun off Turn 2 with just over nine minutes left in the practice session to bring out a caution.

Several drivers filling in as substitutes had mixed fortunes:

• David Ragan, making his second interim start in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota, was 16th (187.806 mph) in place of the injured Kyle Busch, out indefinitely with multiple lower-leg injuries suffered in a Feb. 21 crash during a NASCAR XFINITY Series event at Daytona International Speedway.

• Brett Moffitt, filling Ragan’s regular ride in the Front Row Motorsports No. 34 Ford for the first time, was 35th (184.723 mph) fastest as he prepares for just his ninth Sprint Cup start.

• Regan Smith, subbing for suspended Kurt Busch in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 Chevrolet for the third consecutive week, was 22nd-fastest (186.981 mph).

In a heartwarming return to the driver’s seat after missing the first two races of the season, Brian Vickers was 29th-fastest in the Michael Waltrip Racing No. 55 Toyota. Vickers has spent the offseason recovering from heart surgery last December; team owner Michael Waltrip (Daytona) and Moffitt (Atlanta) drove the car in his place to start 2015.

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Posted on by Brad Norman

No. 22 driver offers apologies to Erik Jones for day-ending bump

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LAS VEGAS — A late-race wreck in Saturday’s Boyd Gaming 300 led to two drivers being upset at Ryan Blaney.
 
Erik Jones. And Ryan Blaney.

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Blaney’s bump on Jones’ No. 20 Toyota on Lap 173 turned the Joe Gibbs Racing driver and sent him hard into the outside retaining wall, which appeared to not be protected by a SAFER barrier.
 
The head-on shot mangled the front of Jones’ car and sent the driver, who was battling Blaney for third place, on an ambulance ride to the infield care center.
 
"I’m not sure what I hit," Jones said when asked about the SAFER barrier implication. "I just knew it was a wall. I’m not too sure."
 
Safety measures have been one of the major talking points for drivers this year, starting in Daytona when Kyle Busch — Jones’ boss in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series — broke his right leg when he smashed an inside retaining wall. Jeff Gordon crushed his car last week at Atlanta hitting a concrete wall.
 
This shot was a direct hit, but came via inadvertent contact. Racing in close quarters, Blaney’s car, which was on the inside lane, wiggled significantly and drifted up the track. His No. 22 Ford righted once it hit Jones’ car, but it sent the No. 20 into a spin that Jones had no shot of righting.
 
"The 22 (of Blaney) just lost it, obviously," said Jones, who would finish 29th. "We were there to catch him and save his day. Not a lot of car control from him, and it was really unfortunate to get taken out that way. We had a strong car, and one I thought could probably contend for the win. It’s just a shame that it had to end the way it did."
 
Blaney opened every post-race interview by apologizing to Jones for his role in the wreck. By the time Blaney arrived in the media center for his press conference following a runner-up finish, his body language gave even more cues than his words.
 
"That sucked," Blaney said, his face a grimace and his shoulders slumped. "I hate to see him wreck. It was unfortunate."
 
Despite his role in that incident, Blaney was in position to challenge Austin Dillon, who led 183 laps, for the win. Dillon threw a block when Blaney attempted to pass low, and then again when the No. 22 roared up to the top line.
 
Was there a thought in Blaney’s mind to attempt to move Dillon for the win? No. And it was directly due to the previous incident with Jones.
 
"I didn’t want people saying any more bad things about me after I wrecked Erik," Blaney said of his reasoning. "I mean, it’s a racing incident, but you never want to see a wrecked race car and you be a part of it. I know it’s a racing deal, but that’s the worst spot to be in, pinned down on the bottom and have someone right on your door. It happens, but I don’t like getting into things with people. I hope he knows I feel bad about it."

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