AAA 400 entry list

Posted on September 22, 2014 by Staff Report

See which drivers will make up the field for the return trip to Dover

Entry	#	Driver	Owner	Crew chief	Manufacturer	Sponsor
1	1	Jamie McMurray	Felix Sabates	Keith Rodden	14 Chevrolet	McDonald’s
2	2	Brad Keselowski	Roger Penske	Paul Wolfe	14 Ford	Wurth
3	3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress	Gil Martin	14 Chevrolet	Dow
4	4	Kevin Harvick	Tony Stewart	Rodney Childers	14 Chevrolet	Budweiser
5	5	Kasey Kahne	Linda Hendrick	Kenny Francis	14 Chevrolet	Farmer’s Insurance
6	7	Michael Annett	Tommy Baldwin	Kevin Manion	14 Chevrolet	Cypress HQ No. 7 Chevrolet
7	9	Marcos Ambrose	Richard Petty	Drew Blickensderfer	14 Ford	Twisted Tea
8	10	Danica Patrick	Tony Stewart	Tony Gibson	14 Chevrolet	GoDaddy
9	11	Denny Hamlin	J D Gibbs	Darian Grubb	14 Toyota	FedEx Freight
10	13	Casey Mears	Bob Germain	Bootie Barker III	14 Chevrolet	No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS
11	14	Tony Stewart	Margaret Haas	Chad Johnston	14 Chevrolet	Mobil 1 / Bass Pro Shops
12	15	Clint Bowyer	Rob Kauffman	Brian Pattie	14 Toyota	5-Hour Energy
13	16	Greg Biffle	Jack Roush	Matt Puccia	14 Ford	Post-it
14	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	John Henry	Michael Kelley	14 Ford	Zest
15	18	Kyle Busch	Joe Gibbs	Dave Rogers	14 Toyota	Interstate Batteries
16	20	Matt Kenseth	Joe Gibbs	Jason Ratcliff	14 Toyota	Home Depot Husky
17	22	Joey Logano	Walter Czarnecki	Todd Gordon	14 Ford	Shell Pennzoil
18	23	Alex Bowman	Ron Devine	Dave Winston	14 Toyota	Dr. Pepper Toyota
19	24	Jeff Gordon	Rick Hendrick	Alan Gustafson	14 Chevrolet	Drive To End Hunger
20	26	Cole Whitt	Anthony Marlowe	Randy Cox	14 Toyota	Uponor Toyota
21	27	Paul Menard	Richard Childress	Slugger Labbe	14 Chevrolet	CertainTeed / Menards
22	31	Ryan Newman	Richard Childress	Luke Lambert	14 Chevrolet	Quicken Loans "Design A Scheme"
23	32	J J Yeley(i)	Frank Stoddard Jr	Ben Leslie	14 Ford	CorvetteParts.net
24	33	David Stremme	Joe Falk	Mike Hillman Jr	14 Chevrolet	Little Joe’s Autos
25	34	David Ragan	Bob Jenkins	Jay Guy	14 Ford	PLIMPTON & HILLS
26	36	Reed Sorenson	Allan Heinke	Todd Parrott	14 Chevrolet	American Muscle Driving Experience Chevrolet
27	37	Mike Bliss(i)	Tommy Baldwin	Tommy Baldwin	14 Chevrolet	Accell Construction Inc.
28	38	David Gilliland	Brad Jenkins	Frank Kerr	14 Ford	LONG JOHN SILVER’S
29	40	Landon Cassill(i)	Michael Hillman	Mark Hillman	14 Chevrolet	Newtown Building Supplies
30	41	Kurt Busch	Gene Haas	Daniel Knost	14 Chevrolet	Haas Automation
31	42	Kyle Larson	Chip Ganassi	Chris Heroy	14 Chevrolet	Target
32	43	Aric Almirola	Richard Petty	Trent Owens	14 Ford	Nathan’s Famous
33	44	Timmy Hill	John Cohen	Peter Sospenzo	14 Chevrolet	Phoenix Warehouse
34	47	A J Allmendinger	Tad Geschickter	Brian Burns	14 Chevrolet	Hungry Jack / ACME
35	48	Jimmie Johnson	Jeff Gordon	Chad Knaus	14 Chevrolet	Lowe’s / Kobalt Tools
36	51	Justin Allgaier	Harry Scott Jr	Steve Addington	14 Chevrolet	BRANDT Professional Agriculture
37	55	Brian Vickers	Michael Waltrip	Billy Scott	14 Toyota	Aaron’s Dream Machine
38	66	Joe Nemechek(i)	Jay Robinson	Scott Eggleston	14 Toyota	Land Castle Title
39	78	Martin Truex Jr	Barney Visser	Todd Berrier	14 Chevrolet	Furniture Row
40	83	Ryan Truex	Ron Devine	Joe Williams	14 Toyota	Burger King Toyota
41	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr	Rick Hendrick	Steve Letarte	14 Chevrolet	National Guard
42	98	Josh Wise	Mike Curb	Gene Nead	14 Chevrolet	Phil Parsons Racing
43	99	Carl Edwards	Jack Roush	James Fennig	14 Ford	Fastenal

MORE:

PLAY: Monitor your Chase Grid Game picks

FOLLOW LIVE: Get
RaceView

Posted on September 22, 2014 by Brad Norman

Driver-by-driver news and notes from the second race of the Chase

MORE: Full race results | Updated series standings | Best Loudon photos | Gallery of winners
RELATED: Track your picks in the Perfect Chase Grid Challenge and Chase Battle Grid Presented by Toyota

Editor’s note: Drivers in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup will appear in italics.

1. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford, Team Penske. Logano called this his "worst track," yet picked up his second career victory here. He’s guaranteed a spot in the Contender Round along with Team Penske stablemate Brad Keselowski after a late four-tire strategy call paid off. To watch Logano’s highlights from Sunday, click here.

2. Kyle Larson, No. 42 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing. Consecutive top-three finishes is a great way to start the postseason for Larson — it’s just too bad he’s not actually in the 16-driver Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field. Still, doesn’t it seem inevitable that the rookie will win at least once in 2014? To watch Larson’s highlights from Sunday, click here.

3. Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick soothed crew chief Rodney Childers over the radio, saying it’s as much about "advancing as it is winning" when Childers second-guessed a strategy call. Still, the desire to win was as strong as ever, which was evidenced by Harvick’s talk on the radio about his displeasure with Joey Logano‘s restarts. For access to radio scanners during the race, sign up for RaceView today.

4. Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Chevrolet, Chip Ganassi Racing. Chip Ganassi’s two cars both finished in the top 10 for the second consecutive week, and both finished in the top-five for the first time this year. McMurray recovered from contact with Matt Kenseth on Lap 188 for his third fourth-place finish of 2014, and second in the past three races.

5. Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Johnson didn’t spend much time running inside the top five, but that’s where he finished. Perhaps the best part of his day, though, was avoiding a calamitous five-car wreck on Lap 188 that involved four other Chase drivers.

6. Aric Almirola, No. 43 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Almirola’s odds of advancing to the Contender Round still aren’t exceptional, but the No. 43 team again brought a really good car to the track. He’s 16th out of 16 in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings, but just 10 points behind 12th-place Ryan Newman.

FULL CHASE COVERAGE

• Chase hub page
• Chase Grid games
• #MyChaseNation

7. Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Ford, Team Penske. Keselowski led early, then ceded the lead by taking four tires on the first pit stop. He led late, but didn’t quite have the car capable of keeping up with the leaders by the end. Oh, and he took a spin into the wall on Lap 194 to bring out the caution. Just another day at the office for the series points leader. Watch Keselowski’s race highlights here.

8. Kyle Busch, No. 18 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Following a Lap 188 wreck, Busch said his car was "absolutely wrecked." He wasn’t wrong, but his No. 18 crew taped it up enough to stay out of the garage. And he made up ground as the race went on, finishing with a race-leading pass differential of 25, for a stunning top-10 finish. See Busch’s race highlights here.

9. Dale Earnhardt Jr., No. 88 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Following a caution for debris on Lap 105, Junior noted on the restart that he thought there was a loose wheel. He pitted again. "Great decision," crew chief Steve Letarte said, after confirming the problem. The No. 88 eventually got back on the lead lap and avoided the late trouble that plagued so many others. See Junior’s race highlights here.

10. Brian Vickers, No. 55 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. Vickers stood alone in at least one aspect Sunday — he was the only driver in the field to run all 303 laps in the top 15. And he also led 15 circuits, the first time he’s been out front for multiple laps in a race since Talladega in May.

11. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Finishing 11th was the best showing for Dillon since July, and there was a fascinating moment during the race when the No. 3 and No. 88 made contact. Past meets present.

12. Martin Truex Jr., No. 78 Chevrolet, Furniture Row Racing. "I worked all day for ya," Truex said as the race concluded, and it was evident. He was two laps down after a Lap 181 wreck, but rallied for his best showing since the first race at Loudon — also a 12th-place finish.

13. AJ Allmendinger, No. 47 Chevrolet, JTG Daugherty Racing. Allmendinger was one of the only Chase drivers not involved in some sort of trouble Sunday. Despite running 25th or so most of the race, he climbed into the top 15. Due to that and others’ misfortune, he’s 10th in the standings with one race remaining in the Challenger Round.

14. Clint Bowyer, No. 15 Toyota, Michael Waltrip Racing. Always one of the best radios in which to tune, Bowyer uttered a "we aren’t worth a (expletive)" early on, and then noted that Kyle Larson was "taking this (expletive) too seriously." For uncensored audio during the race, click here.

15. Paul Menard, No. 27 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Menard led all drivers with 64 green-flag passes. His day seemed destined to end with a top-10, but wrecking with Matt Kenseth on Lap 270 while battling for fifth ended those thoughts.

16. Greg Biffle, No. 16 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. "What a (expletive) (expletive) show," Biffle uttered after the race. As his radio would indicate, he was fortunate to even finish 16th and benefited from a spate of late cautions. The top 12 drivers advance out of the Challenger Round, and Biffle is 14th with one race to go. To subscribe to RaceView, click here.

17. Carl Edwards, No. 99 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. Edwards’ car seemed to get worse as the race went on, and he’s now finished outside the top 15 for three consecutive races.

18. Ryan Newman, No. 31 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing. Newman qualified for the postseason by virtue of his consistency, something that’s been lacking during the Chase. He’s currently the bubble driver, sitting 12th in the standings.

19. Danica Patrick, No. 10 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Patrick ran in the top 10 and was in fifth with the race more than 80 percent of the way finished. The spate of late cautions (five in the final 50 laps) didn’t help, and in fact sent her No. 10 Chevy sliding down the speed chart.

20. Justin Allgaier, No. 51 Chevrolet, HScott Motorsports. Allgaier has improved as the season’s gone on, and this result bears that out. His finish was 17 places better than his first trip to Loudon, and it gives Allgaier his fourth top-20 in the past eight events.

21. Matt Kenseth, No. 20 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Kenseth may have had a more eventful day than any other driver. He was involved in one five-car wreck, then another that sent Brad Keselowski into the wall. "Gosh man, I gave him three lanes," Kenseth quipped. The worst incident came late, when a surefire top-five turned into a finish outside the top 20 after contact with Paul Menard. See his highlights here.

22. Casey Mears, No. 13 Chevrolet, German Racing. A 22nd-place finish matches Mears’ best effort since the Bristol race a month ago, and it betters his finish in the summer Loudon race by 16 positions.

23. Kasey Kahne, No. 5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. Kahne’s car handled OK, and it wasn’t mashed like Kyle Busch‘s following a five-car wreck in which Kahne was involved. The problem? As Kahne succinctly said over the radio: "It would be really good if it would just go faster."

24. Marcos Ambrose, No. 9 Ford, Richard Petty Motorsports. Ambrose has been remarkably consistent lately, following a 27th at Richmond and 25th at Chicago with a 24th-place effort at Loudon. He has eight races remaining before heading back to Australia.

25. Landon Cassill, No. 40 Chevrolet, Hillman Racing. Cassill improved nine spots on his previous performance at Loudon and improved five places from his starting position on Sunday.

26. Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports. The thought of a smooth, no-frills top-10 in which Gordon’s pit strategy paid off went up in smoke when the veteran blew a right front tire on Lap 292. Thanks to his finish last week and his nine bonus points from the regular season, he doesn’t appear to be in any real danger of missing out on the next round, though.

27. David Gilliland, No. 38 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Gilliland had his best finish in four races and improved seven spots from his starting position, but he was slightly worse than his previous outing at Loudon (24th).

28. Alex Bowman, No. 23 Toyota, BK Racing. The 20-year-old had his best finish in five races and improved seven spots from his starting position.

29. Michael Annett, No. 7 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing. This was a nice finish for Annett after two weeks of struggles in finishing 37th and 40th, and two weeks of DNFs in two of the three races before that.

30. Tony Stewart, No. 14 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. Stewart struggled and was on his way to a ho-hum finish when his spin on Lap 298 necessitated a green-white-checkered finish, shaking up the field in the process. See Stewart’s highlights.

31. Reed Sorenson, No. 36 Chevrolet, Tommy Baldwin Racing. Sorenson ended a run of seven straight top-30 finishes as he completed 300 of 303 laps on Sunday.

32. Travis Kvapil, No. 83 Toyota, BK Racing. Kvapil was supposed to drive the No. 93 for BK Racing, but got this seat when the team announced Ryan Truex would not compete. This was Kvapil’s first race for BKR this year, and it produced his second-best 2014 finish in 18 starts.

33. Josh Wise, No. 98 Chevrolet, Phil Parsons Racing. Wise completed 297 of 303 laps as he finished 33rd for the third time in the past four races.

34. Mike Wallace, No. 66 Toyota, Jay Robinson Racing. In his only Sprint Cup Series race of the season, the veteran Wallace improved on his starting position by eight spots.

35. Timmy Hill, No. 32 Ford, GO Fas Racing. The 21-year-old improved eight spots from his starting position and six spots from his previous performance at Loudon this season.

36. Kurt Busch, No. 41 Chevrolet, Stewart-Haas Racing. The ‘Outlaw’ put himself in perfect position to get back on the lead lap on Lap 170 following a debris caution. But a cut tire sent Busch slamming into the wall on Lap 222. He was 15th at the time and, with one race remaining in the Challenger Round, is 15th in the standings. "I am not (expletive) coming in until there is another yellow," was one of his radio comments. Click here for his highlights.

37. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin had a good car and great stops on pit road early, but he also had a mechanical problem. His machine wouldn’t take on fuel, leading to a lengthy pit stop to fix it and a testy exchange with crew chief Darian Grubb. "Keep your mouth shut until we get it fixed," Grubb said after Hamlin’s colorful expression of dismay. He came out four laps down and was caught up in a later wreck. Click here to subscribe to RaceView and listen to in-race dialogues as they happen.

38. Cole Whitt, No. 26 Toyota, BK Racing. Typically BK Racing’s most consistent driver and often its top finisher, Whitt’s 38th-place effort was his worst showing since Watkins Glen. He had previously finished 30th for four consecutive races.

39. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 17 Ford, Roush Fenway Racing. At times, Stenhouse ran consistently in the top 15 — and even top 10 — with the Chase drivers. His finish does not reflect that. Contact with teammate Carl Edwards sent Stenhouse slamming into the wall late, creating a tire rub which eventually resulted in a blown tire that ended his day on Lap 264.

40. David Stremme, No. 33 Chevrolet, Circle Sport Racing. Stremme’s ninth start of the season produced his worst finish of the year.

41. Corey Lajoie, No. 77 Ford, Randy Humphrey Racing. Fellow drivers first started reporting a possible oil leak from the No. 77 after 45 laps, and Lajoie finally had to go to the garage after 88 laps to change a rear gear. He would return to the track and log 201 total laps, even tweeting while his car was being worked on, in his first career Sprint Cup Series start.

42. David Ragan, No. 34 Ford, Front Row Motorsports. Caught up in a wreck on Lap 180, Ragan’s day was done for good. His finish was the worst of the season and the only time he’s been outside the top 40.

43. Clay Rogers, No. 93 Toyota, BK Racing. Sunday was the first career Cup start for the 33-year-old, who found out Friday he’d have a seat when Travis Kvapil slid over to the No. 83 Toyota. Rogers went to the garage after completing 45 laps.

MORE:

READ: Latest
Chase news

PLAY: Monitor your Chase Grid Game picks

WATCH: Latest
NASCAR video

FOLLOW LIVE: Get
RaceView

Posted on September 21, 2014 by

Ninth-place finish gives him 28-point advantage over 13th headed to Dover

LOUDON, N.H. — If Dale Earnhardt Jr. advances to the next elimination round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, he can thank his team’s collective salvage operation on Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, not to mention his own ability to drive on old tires.

FULL CHASE COVERAGE

• Chase hub page
• Chase Grid games
• #MyChaseNation

It’s a rarity in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but Earnhardt used his entire allotment of tires during the Sylvania 300, in part because there were 15 cautions and in part because he had to change a set during an unscheduled pit stop on Lap 123 after his crew failed to tighten all the lug nuts properly during the previous stop under caution.

"We had to put on some real old tires there," Earnhardt said. "We ran out of tires, so that last set of tires we put on had some practice laps on them. We still hung in there and had some good restarts. We had fun and I’m glad we were able to rebound — that was pretty dramatic there for a while.

"Had a little issue on the right-front, which is going to happen. We shook it off and we went back to work. The guys gave me great stops after that, and I’m proud of my team. You’re going to have mistakes. I’m going to make mistakes, but nobody really got on anybody. Everybody sort of regrouped and we finished out the day."

Though he lost a lap because of the unscheduled pit stop, Earnhardt regained it as the highest scored lapped car for a restart on Lap 193. He rallied to finish ninth and heads to next Sunday’s elimination race at Dover tied for fifth in the standings with a 28-point edge on 13th-place Denny Hamlin.

And for those who have started to question Earnhardt’s viability as a championship contender based on his runs at Chicagoland and Loudon, Earnhardt urges the same sort of patience he showed on Sunday.

"I know everybody is looking at us like we are falling off a little bit," Earnhardt said. "But Chicago hadn’t been a great track for us, and New Hampshire hadn’t either. Dover has.

"So I’ll be surprised if we don’t go down there and be competitive. We were racing for a win there last year and ran pretty good there this year. I look forward to going and having a good car."

MORE:

READ: Latest
Chase news

PLAY: Monitor your Chase Grid Game picks

WATCH: Latest
NASCAR video

FOLLOW LIVE: Get
RaceView

Posted on September 21, 2014 by

No. 22 joins Team Penske teammate in Contender Round

MORE: Full race results | Updated series standings
RELATED: Track your picks in the Perfect Chase Grid Challenge and Chase Battle Grid Presented by Toyota

LOUDON, N.H. — Out of the maelstrom that was New Hampshire Motor Speedway sped Joey Logano, who took control of Sunday’s Sylvania 300 on a restart with 27 laps left and held on to win the second race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

But the crux of Sunday’s race wasn’t about Logano’s fourth victory of the season and the second straight for Team Penske in the Chase. It wasn’t about Logano winning for the seventh time in his career and punching his ticket into the second elimination round under NASCAR’s new playoff format.

It wasn’t about Sunoco rookie Kyle Larson posting his second straight top-three finish. Yes, Larson ran second, passing third-place finisher Kevin Harvick on a green-white-checkered flag restart that took the race three laps past its scheduled distance, but Larson was almost an afterthought amid the chaos that scrambled the Chase standings.

It wasn’t about another strong run for Jamie McMurray, who finished fourth, or about a top-five for six-time champion Jimmie Johnson, who came home fifth.

FULL CHASE COVERAGE

• Chase hub page
• Chase Grid games
• #MyChaseNation

It wasn’t about the crazy afternoon of polesitter Brad Keselowski, who ran back and forth through the field like a yo-yo, spun on Lap 194 of a scheduled 300 and nevertheless had a chance to win the race at the end before falling back to seventh on the restart that took the race to overtime.

No, the crux of the race wasn’t about the winner. It was about those who survived the crucible of pressure the Chase creates — and those who didn’t.

It was about uncharacteristic mistakes on pit road. It was about the aggression and desperation on the track that left the cars of six of 16 Chase drivers in relative states of damage and disrepair.

It was about Aric Almirola‘s heroic drive to a sixth-place finish after the heartbreak of a late engine failure last week at Chicagoland Speedway. It was about a 13th-place finish for AJ Allmendinger, who re-entered the Chase conversation, as did Almirola, by avoiding the calamities that placed some of their more potent peers on the cusp of elimination.

But first, credit to Logano, who survived a succession of restarts in a race littered with cautions — 13 of a total 15 in the last 134 laps — and prevailed on tires that, thanks to crew chief Todd Gordon’s astute call with 53 laps left in regulation, were superior to those of the drivers in contention on the final restart.

Logano won Sunday’s race at a track that gave him his first victory in NASCAR’s premier series — but a win that will always have an asterisk in Logano’s mind because it resulted from a fortunate pit call in a rain-shortened race.

The call for four tires on Lap 247 helped Logano on Sunday, but he had to earn the win, and he did so with a bold charge past Harvick and Keselowski on the Lap 274 restart.

"I thought we gave it away at that point," said Logano, who traded track position for the new rubber and restarted 16th on Lap 251. "But four tires were good, and we had some good restarts and were able to get ourselves back up there. We worked hard. This is my home race track, the coolest place to win for me. I could never pick a better race track to win. I watched my first Cup race here when I was 5, and I won that other Cup race here, but I just felt like I had to win one the right way here, and this means so much.

"I’ve got to thank all the boys at Team Penske. We’re doing what we’ve got to do to win this thing right now — both teams are — and I’m proud of that. This is my home track, so it means so much to me."

If Logano was elated with the victory, other Chase drivers experienced a gamut of emotions that ranged from relief to abject misery.

Kyle Busch crumpled the hood of his car in a wreck that started when Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Matt Kenseth got loose in traffic on the backstretch. Busch’s team did yeoman work to keep him on the lead lap, setting up an eighth-place finish.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. brought his No. 88 Chevrolet to pit road for an unscheduled stop on Lap 123 to tighten a loose wheel — the result of a hurried-but-unsuccessful attempt to tighten the lugs — and lost a lap in the process.

But Earnhardt regained his lap under caution and salvaged a ninth-place finish, so no harm done to his hopes of advancing after next Sunday’s race at Dover.

Kenseth survived the melee with Busch on Lap 188 but was gobbled up in a wreck with Paul Menard on Lap 270 and finished 21st.

When Busch slowed after contact with Kenseth, he was rear-ended by the No. 5 Chevy of Kasey Kahne, who obliterated the nose of his car. Kahne finished 23rd. Ryan Newman also got a piece of that same accident and came home 18th.

But the real casualties of the afternoon were Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin, who finished 36th and 37th, respectively and saw their hopes of advancing to the next round take a serious turn for the worse.

Hamlin led early but a problem with the fuel probe in his No. 11 Toyota prevented his crew from filling the fuel cell. All told, Hamlin lost four laps as his team tried to rectify the issue.

But Hamlin’s woes were far from over. On Lap 180, he slid into a Turn 2 wreck involving Martin Truex Jr. and David Ragan, knocked his right front wheel out of kilter and took the car to the garage. He lost another 34 laps before returning to the track.

Kurt Busch had to return to pit road on Lap 109 to tighten a loose wheel. Busch fell one lap down after Harvick passed him on Lap 162, but got the lap back as the beneficiary under a debris caution called on Lap 170.

But that was a brief reprieve. Busch was running 15th when he clobbered the Turn 3 wall on Lap 221. He lost 35 laps in the garage before returning on Lap 255.

After Sunday’s race, only 12 points separate Kenseth in eighth from Almirola in 16th, with Carl Edwards, Allmendinger, Kahne, Newman, Hamlin, Biffle and Kurt Busch in between. The tightness of the standings sets up a free-for-all next Sunday at the Monster Mile for the remaining spots in the Chase’s second round.

MORE:

READ: Latest
Chase news

PLAY: Monitor your Chase Grid Game picks

WATCH: Latest
NASCAR video

FOLLOW LIVE: Get
RaceView

Posted on September 21, 2014 by Staff Report

Moments that changed the course of the 28th race of the 2014 season

RESTARTS KEY TO LOGANO’S WIN

Joey Logano got a good jump on a green-white-checkered restart, allowing him to hold off rookie Kyle Larson and win Sunday’s Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

The Connecticut native took the lead for good after a restart following the 13th of 15 caution periods as he got past Kevin Harvick, who led a race-high 104 laps (out of 303), finished third while Jamie McMurray and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top five.

Logano’s fourth win of the season was his second career win at Loudon. It also guarantees him a spot in the Contender Round of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Chase leader and Logano’s Team Penske teammate who is also in the Contender Round, Brad Keselowski, started on the pole for the fourth time this season, led 78 laps and finished seventh.

FOUR CHASE DRIVERS INVOLVED IN MID-RACE WRECK

Contact between Matt Kenseth and Jamie McMurray on Lap 180 led to a five-car incident that involved four of the 16 drivers in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup during Sunday’s Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Kyle Busch suffered the most damage, with his No. 18 Toyota smacking the back of the No. 20 when Kenseth checked up. Not only did Busch’s car take damage, the contact sent him spinning into the infield grass. Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman were also involved.

"It’s absolutely destroyed," Busch said over his radio. Urged by crew chief Dave Rogers, the No. 18 team did not go to the garage but spent time on pit road fixing the problem.

Four ensuing cautions over the next 25 laps ensured that none of the drivers involved lost any laps.

FUELING ISSUE KNOCKS HAMLIN OUT OF CONTENTION

Denny Hamlin, one of 16 drivers in this year’s Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field, suffered an early setback Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway when a fueling issue dropped the Joe Gibbs Racing driver four laps down to the leaders.

Hamlin led 32 laps in the race before he had to pit under green-flag conditions on Lap 96.

"We’re not getting fuel in the car; just barely," Hamlin was told of the need for the early stop.

"What do you mean we’re not getting fuel in the car?," he responded.

Team members said there was an issue with the fuel probe that was not allowing fuel to flow into the fuel cell, leading to a frank exchange between Hamlin and crew chief Darian Grubb.

When a caution appeared at Lap 105 for debris, Hamlin pitted to correct the problem. He returned to the track just as the field was taking the green flag at Lap 113, and was four laps down to race leader Kevin Harvick.

Posted on September 21, 2014 by Staff Report

Kyle Busch spins into grass after contact with teammate Matt Kenseth

FULL CHASE COVERAGE

• Chase hub page
• Chase Grid games
• #MyChaseNation

“It’s absolutely destroyed," Busch said over his radio. Urged by crew chief Dave Rogers, the No. 18 team did not go to the garage but spent time on pit road fixing the problem.

Four ensuing cautions over the next 25 laps ensured that none of the drivers involved lost any laps.

Earlier Sunday, Denny Hamlin had a fueling issue and was later caught up in a wreck, further complicating the Chase picture.

MORE:

READ: Latest
Chase news

PLAY: Monitor your Chase Grid Game picks

WATCH: Latest
NASCAR video

FOLLOW LIVE: Get
RaceView

Posted on September 21, 2014 by Staff Report

Get all the on-track times for the weekend’s NASCAR action

All times ET

TV LISTINGS / BUY TICKETS FOR DOVER/ BUY TICKETS FOR LAS VEGAS /WEEKEND TRACK EVENTS

This week, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the NASCAR Nationwide Series head to Dover International Speedway while the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28:

PRE-RACE SCHEDULE
–12:00:00 p.m.: NSCS Driver / Crew Chief Meeting (NSCS Garage, Goodyear Tent)
–1:04:00 p.m.: Oath of Enlistment Ceremony / Delaware National Guard Soldiers lineup with American Flags in Pit-Boxes
–1:07:30 p.m.: USO Show Troupe Performs “God Bless America” & USO Every Moment Counts Flag raised on infield horse track
–1:11:30 p.m.: 10 Golden Knights Parachutists Jump – Frontstretch on Turn 1 side of Frontstretch / Backstretch / Grass in Turns 1-2 / 3-4 (11 minutes)
–1:30:00 p.m.: NSCS Driver Introductions w/ NASCAR Special Awards (Presented back stage)
–2:02:00 p.m.: Intro Presentation of Colors by: Dover Air Force Base
–2:02:20 p.m.: Invocation by: Pastor Dan Schaefer from Calvary Assembly of God in Heightstown, NJ
–2:02:45 p.m.: Intro National Anthem
–2:03:00 p.m.: National Anthem by: USO Show Troupe
–2:05:00 p.m.: Fly-By TOT: (4) Bandit Flight Team
–2:10:00 p.m.: "Drivers, Start Your Engines" by: Brian Mitchell, Former NFL Football Player & Proud AAA Member
–2:17:30 p.m.: Green Flag: AAA 400 (400 Laps / 400 Miles)

ON TRACK
— 2 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 (400 laps, 400 miles), ESPN (Follow live)

PRESS CONFERENCES (Follow live)
— Approx. 5:45 p.m.: Post-NSCS race

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26:

ON TRACK
— 10-10:50 a.m.: NASCAR Nationwide Series practice, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 11 a.m.-12:20 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— 2-3:20 p.m.: NASCAR Nationwide Series final practice, ESPN2 (Get results)
— 3:40 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, ESPN2 (Get results)

GARAGECAM PRESENTED BY MOBIL 1 (Watch live)
— 10:30 a.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series GarageCam
— 1:30 p.m.: NASCAR Nationwide Series GarageCam

PRESS CONFERENCES (Follow live)
— 9 a.m.: Joey Logano
— 9:30 a.m.: AJ Allmendinger
— 9:45 a.m.: Jamie McMurray
— 10 a.m.: Jimmie Johnson
— 10:15 a.m.: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
— 12:30 p.m.: Chase Elliott
— 12:45 p.m.: Carl Edwards
— 1 p.m.: Matt Kenseth
— 1:20 p.m.: Ben Rhodes
— 1:45 p.m.: Cole Custer
— Approximately 4:45 p.m.: NSCS Post Qualifying Press Conference
— Approximately 7 p.m: KNPSE Post Race Press Conference

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27:

ON TRACK
— 11-11:50 a.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FOX Sports 1 (Get results)
— noon-1:15 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series practice (Get results)
— 12:15 p.m.: NASCAR Nationwide Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FOX Sports 2 (Get results)
— 1:45-3 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series final practice (Get results)
— 2-2:50 p.m.: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FOX Sports 2 (Get results)
— 3:30 p.m.: NASCAR Nationwide Series race (200 laps, 200 miles), ESPN (Get results)
— 6:40 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Keystone Light Pole Qualifying (Get results)
— 10 p.m.: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rhino Linings 350 (146 laps, 219 miles), FOX Sports 1 (Get results)

PRESS CONFERENCES (Follow live)
— Approx. 5:35 p.m.: Post-NNS race

MORE:

READ: Latest
Chase news

PLAY: Monitor your Chase Grid Game picks

WATCH: Latest
NASCAR video

FOLLOW LIVE: Get
RaceView

Posted on September 21, 2014 by Zack Albert

Keselowski: ‘You’re thinking too hard’

LOUDON, N.H. — After withstanding the frantic environment of multiple late-race restarts, Kevin Harvick lived up to his "Happy" nickname with plenty of smiles after a Sunday afternoon of survival at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, even if he wasn’t completely ecstatic about how those restarts panned out.

After opening the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs with two straight top-five finishes, Harvick has some much-needed breathing room for next week’s Challenger Round finale at Dover, but he’s certainly not ready to exhale.

FULL CHASE COVERAGE

• Chase hub page
• Chase Grid games
• #MyChaseNation

"Never," Harvick said. "It’s 10 weeks of hell."

Pressure aside, Harvick and his Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 crew managed to avoid the fire and brimstone that befell several of his Chase rivals, leading the most laps (104) before settling for a third-place finish in Sunday’s Sylvania 300.

The result, combined with a postseason-opening fifth-place effort last weekend at Chicagoland Speedway, moved Harvick to third place in the standings behind Team Penske teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, who automatically advance after dividing victories in the first two Chase battles.

While Harvick isn’t ready to use the word "relieved," he does savor having a more comfortable perch heading into next weekend’s race at the Monster Mile.

"This is just important to knock off top-fives in the first two races, have a huge cushion going into Dover and to be able to race like we need to race next week," Harvick said. "There’s so much that can happen at Dover — you can be pitting under green and get two laps down with a caution and your day will be over with. I think all in all, it was good to get this run in and looking forward to Dover."

The heavy concentration of 15 yellow flags — second-most in track history — produced a heaping helping of restarts at the end, most of which were to the benefit of his Penske rivals. The penultimate one, in which race winner Logano got a significant advantage, prompted a lively rant from Harvick over the team radio.

Crew chief Rodney Childers was the first to lend a sympathetic ear.

"The 22 (Logano) played games with restarts all day, and the 2 (Keselowski) does it every week, too," Childers said. "I don’t know why those two can get by with it and everybody else can’t, but I guess the biggest thing is we did a good job all day, we had a fast car, we came home third, didn’t have any mistakes on pit road and everybody did a really good job."

Keselowski was less sympathetic, though he was among those congratulating Harvick on pit road afterward. Harvick, however, was quick to point out Keselowski’s contact with his car’s quarter panel late in the race, potentially costing him a chance to contend for the victory.

"Just remember that in the next round, bud," Harvick said, poking Keselowski in the chest in a gesture that was equal parts playful nudge and stern warning.

"You’re thinking too hard," Keselowski replied.

Though Harvick said he welcomed the hard racing at the finish, the team’s ability to minimize the perils of an attrition-filled event was perhaps the bigger windfall. Harvick ranks just seven points behind standings leader Keselowski, and carries a 35-point cushion over Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman, tied for 11th place and just inside the bubble before the Chase field is whittled from 16 to 12 after Dover.

While there’s temptation to alter strategy while seemingly far removed from any elimination danger, Childers says the plan is to stay the course.

"That’s two solid weeks the first two weeks of the Chase, and we feel good about the next few weeks," Childers said. "… We’ve had almost the fastest car every week, so these guys are doing an awesome job and the guys at the shop at Stewart-Haas are doing awesome. We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing, get through this first round and then we’ll go race."

MORE:

READ: Latest
Chase news

PLAY: Monitor your Chase Grid Game picks

WATCH: Latest
NASCAR video

FOLLOW LIVE: Get
RaceView

Posted on September 21, 2014 by Zack Albert

No. 11’s disappointment leads to terse exchange with crew chief

LOUDON, N.H. — Denny Hamlin‘s high hopes for New Hampshire and the rest of the Challenger Round in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup took a damaging blow Sunday afternoon with a double-dose of misfortune that knocked him from contention.

After leading 32 laps early, Hamlin faded a handful of laps down with a fuel pick-up issue that required multiple pit stops for repairs. After logging laps in hopes of bringing his Joe Gibbs Racing entry home, he was caught up in a multi-car wreck in the 179th of 300 laps, crumpling the right-front corner of his No. 11 Toyota and sending the team scrambling to fix the damage.

FULL CHASE COVERAGE

• Chase hub page
• Chase Grid games
• #MyChaseNation

The finish near the tail end of the running order pushed Hamlin out from the ranks of the top 12 drivers who will advance to the Contender Round, the next three-race cut in the 10-race Chase postseason. With just one race left — next weekend at Dover International Speedway — to avoid elimination, Hamlin may be scrambling again at the Monster Mile.

"It’s so frustrating because you know on performance you deserve to move on," Hamlin said in the garage area before the race’s end. "We would have a great shot to move on and really make some noise here in these last eight races, but in this three-race section, you just can’t have one bad week — not right now. You’ve got to be flawless, you’ve got to be at your best these last 10 and we just got bit by a mechanical deal. We’ve had them bite us in Chases in the past, and I thought we were past that, but sometimes you roll the dice and you crap out. Today’s that day for us."

Hamlin started second in the 43-car field and made his way to the lead after early leader Brad Keselowski was shuffled back during the first round of pit stops. Even after losing the lead to Kevin Harvick on a long green-flag run, it was still smooth sailing until he was forced to pit under green in the 96th lap.

"We’re not getting fuel in the car; just barely," Hamlin was told of the need for the early stop.

"What do you mean we’re not getting fuel in the car?" he responded.

The problem was eventually diagnosed as an issue with the fuel probe, which impeded the flow of gas into the No. 11’s tank. During the next caution period, starting in the 105th lap, a lengthy stay on pit road forced Hamlin to return to the race four laps back of the leader in 37th place.

During the interminably long stop, Hamlin vented: "We suck at this. We are so bad."

That led to a testy reply from crew chief Darian Grubb: "Dude, I don’t need you doing this. Keep your mouth shut until we get this fixed."

After a cooling-off period while his crew worked, Hamlin didn’t assign blame but lamented the turn of events that dramatically altered his Chase outlook.

"I don’t think it was anyone’s fault, I don’t think, but we couldn’t get fuel in it from the get-go," Hamlin said. "Don’t know where that’s coming from or what it’s all about, but you just can’t have any mistakes in this three-race Chase deal. We went from looking pretty and probably going to coast our way to the next round to a long shot at best. So it’s frustrating, but what can you do about it? You really can’t do anything about it, obviously. You’ve just got to suck it up, move on and try to do the best you can next week."

Hamlin was already well removed from victory contention when he was snared in a crash ahead of him, adding another wrinkle to an already disappointing day. Hamlin was unable to avoid the stalled and crippled car of David Ragan, skidding into the melee and forcing him to take the car behind the wall.

Now the pressure turns to Dover, a demanding track where Hamlin has twice captured the Coors Light Pole Award, but has finished no better than fourth. Hamlin said his team’s approach won’t necessarily change, but that he’ll need performance and luck on his side.

"You just try to do the best you can to get the best finish and hope for some help," Hamlin said as the race continued without him. "I mean, there’s a long way to go in this race, and I hate to say it, but maybe some guys have some trouble and let us back in it. Other than that, it’s going to be hard for us to do it without some help."

Contributing: Kenny Bruce

MORE:

READ: Latest
Chase news

PLAY: Monitor your Chase Grid Game picks

WATCH: Latest
NASCAR video

FOLLOW LIVE: Get
RaceView

Posted on September 21, 2014 by Nascar

Crew chief says result felt more like a win under circumstances

LOUDON, N.H. — Kyle Busch finished eighth in Sunday’s Sylvania 300 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

And he did so with a car that would have looked more at home on the back of a wrecker than idling its way back into the garage under its own power.

FULL CHASE COVERAGE

• Chase hub page
• Chase Grid games
• #MyChaseNation

For roughly two-thirds of the scheduled 300-mile event, the second stop for this year’s Chase For The Sprint Cup, Busch, 29, kept his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota inside the top 10.

But when Matt Kenseth and Jamie McMurray made contact battling for position on Lap 188, Busch hit the brakes. And Kasey Kahne hit Busch, sending the No. 18 car careening into McMurray, off the track and through the grass on the backstretch.

“It is absolutely destroyed,” Busch radioed to his crew.

Rather than head to the garage, where it was a guarantee that Busch would lose multiple laps, crew chief Dave Rogers called his driver to pit road to assess the damage.

Multiple stops combined with multiple late-race cautions enabled Busch to not only remain on the lead lap but gave him the opportunity to race his way back through a large part of the field.

It was a daring, four-wide pass on the final restart, however, that enabled Busch to go from 12th to eighth on the green, white, checkered finish.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for all the drivers at Hendrick (Motorsports),” Rogers said after what was left of his driver’s car had been loaded onto the team’s hauler for the trip back to Huntersville, N.C. “But Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. calls it the way he sees it; I really appreciate his candor. He made a comment afterward, said ‘man, if a guy’s going to put it on your quarter panel four-wide going into (Turn) 1, he can have it.’

“He gave Kyle a big compliment and Kyle deserved it. He wanted it; he wanted to carry this team to the best finishing position possible and he did just that.”

Of the crash, Busch said he “checked up, but not quick enough.”

Kahne “just drove right through me,” Busch said, but added that it’s likely the Hendrick driver couldn’t see what was going on in front.

“I don’t know,” he added. “We kept working on it, kept fighting on it and put fresh tires on it every chance we could … and we came back for a really good finish, all things considered. And how bad it could have been.”

Team Penske driver Joey Logano won Sunday’s race, and along with teammate Brad Keselowski, earned an automatic bid into the next three-race Contender Round, which begins two weeks in Kansas.

For Busch and the others, Dover lies ahead, and an opportunity to seal one of the 10 remaining points positions that will guarantee advancement.

Fifth in points, Busch is 28 points ahead of 13th place Denny Hamlin, one of two JGR teammates. Fellow JGR driver Matt Kenseth is eighth.

Given the amount of adversity his team had to overcome, Rogers said the end result felt like a win.

The damage raised the splitter several inches off the ground, killing the front downforce and bumper bars on the front were pushed back on the tires.

“It was torn up good,” he said.

“The guys just did a good job of making repairs whenever we could; playing the whole game, flag to flag, and then Kyle just putting the team on his shoulders, picking us up and carrying us to the fourth lane, making a four-wide pass to come up eighth.

“I can’t be more pleased with the effort.

“Everyone dreams of a championship full of roses and good times but the truth is if you’re ever going to win the championship at this level, you have to endure days like today and I’m proud of my guys for doing that.”

MORE: